Watermelons Galore

Since our trip to Maine didn't work out, I spent a few hours yesterday playing with dye. I wasn't happy with how my first try at the watermelon design came out, so I gave it another go. I did two skeins... the first is a "seedless" watermelon since I wrapped up the watermelon color before I could dap some black on there. The second skein (which is the one that is knit up below) has seeds. I am still not happy with how the seeds are coming out, since the black dye is really hard to work with. I think it still is really cool though.

Both of these skeins are for sale. If you are interested, please shoot me an email at dani44@hotmail.com. The yarn is 100% merino and is 440 yards. The recommended needle size is US1-3 and the gauge is 7-8 stitches/inch.

UPDATE: Since so many people emailed me asking about the prices, both the tiger and the watermelon skeins are $20! You can get an adult pair of socks, plus a baby pair out each skein. If you definitely want some, I will be taking orders. Just email me your address and whether you prefer to pay using paypal or a check. Thanks!





This morning I also did another tiger stripe skein. I don't have pictures yet since it is in the drying process, but it looks something like the one below. If you are interested in purchasing this yarn, please email me once again!



In terms of dying, I am also playing with a few other design ideas. I think a "grape vine" and a "bumblebee" yarn would be cool. Anyhow, hope everyone is having a great Sunday!

An Ode to Lace

"Well some say life will beat you down, break your heart, steal your crown. So I've started out, for God knows where, I guess I'll know when I get there. I'm learning to fly, around the clouds, but what goes up must come down." -Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne

Needless to say, it was a magical night at Tom Petty. It was almost as if I was dreaming, or maybe that was just the five shot rum and coke talk'in.... I am exhausted today from all the dancing and screaming! If you have not seen Tom Petty, you must.. and I swear to you its worth every penny.

Since Scott and I had the whole day off yesterday, we made use of the gorgeous day by heading to the park! I started knitting my Go With the Flow Socks out of Summer 2005 IK. We had a great time and even got a chance to play some Frisbee! Yes, a Frisbie playing Frisbee, can you imagine that?! This is my favorite park in Boston since you get a great view of the city and have lots of nice grass and trees, not to mention blackberry bushes! Does anyone know what park I am talking about?! If you guess, you get a prize! Oh, and see Scott sitting there on our blanket in the far right side of the pic?!





And, since that picture was from yesterday morning, here is a more up to date picture of my socks. I am just about halfway done with the leg.



Also, my order came in from Knit Picks today! I wanted to see how their new lace yarns stacked up again the Alpaca Cloud (which I LOVE). So, I bought a few skeins in a few different colors (Lost Lake, Sunset and Vineyard) of the new Shadow lace weight yarn that is 100% merino. The colors aren't very accurate in my pictures (see the Knit Picks site for better color representation). All in all, go with the Alpaca Cloud if you want something super soft! The Shadow yarn is a bit thicker, has nice color accents and comes in great colors, but the Alpaca Cloud is definitely softer due to it being made out of baby alpaca. Personally, I will use both and there are some new colors in the Shadow series that are absolutely gorgeous (great fall colors too).



I also wanted to see what the new Gossamer lace weight yarn looks like, so I ordered four different colors. The yarn is the same, but the Gossamer has the variegated appeal. Okay people, can you say bright colors! Wow! Its really pretty, but I just can't picture a shawl in the Rose Garden (the red, orange and yellow) colorway. Maybe I just need to see it knit up first. My favorite colorway out of the ones I ordered is Blue Jeans. If you like blue, go for this one!



And last but not least, I ordered some of their new sock yarn called Essential. This stuff is great and comes in, well, essential colors! I will probably use this to make some manly socks for my dad or my Uncle. The colors seen below are Dusk and Cocoa.

Bags and Socks, Socks and Bags

First things first, my cousin Rachel came over to knit with me the other night and look what she is doing!!! She is making a bag made out of recycled plastic bags (okay, I am totally blanking on the official pattern name)! The pattern is from Simple Knits With A Twist, by Erika Knight. I am so proud of her... partly because I taught her how to knit, but also because she has only been knitting since late last year. So, congrats Rachel on almost being done with an awesome project. I will post a picture of the completely finished version soon since you can only see the bag pieces below.




As for my knitting, I finished my Trekking socks today and am super happy with how they turned out! They are really comfortable and colorful and went super quick with the Magic Loop method. A bunch of you have asked me where I bought this yarn... I got it online from The Knitter. This online store is great and is based out of Boulder, CO, so how could I not support my hometown?!

In terms of a pattern, I sort of used the Winter Sock pattern in the Magic Loop pamphlet, but mainly did it on my own. I used size 1US needles, and 64 stitches. The leg part is 7 inches long, the heel is 2.5 and the foot is 6.5 before the toe decreases. Hooray socks!







As for the next few days, I plan on starting the Field of Flowers shawl (I did try to start one already, but got hung up on the crocheted cast on) and some more socks. I am also going to dye some more yarn if I am in town this weekend. We might be heading up to Maine on Saturday morning. Oh, and I am going to see Tom Petty tomorrow night.. how fun!! Have a good Friday and weekend everyone!

HP for HP

Through all the Harry Potter craziness, I've been knitting rather than reading. I actually started this scarf the end of May... however, it became lost in the shadows of larger projects. I am knitting this for my 10 year old cousin named HP (yes, how odd and coincidental) which stands for H. Perry (with Perry being his official middle name and what he tends to go by). Anyways, I am really happy with how its turning out. I am using Cascade 220 yarn in a maroon and gold for gryffindor! I am modifying it a bit by making it shorter (probably 10 repeats instead of 14) and 10 stitches narrower to better suit a small 10 year old. And guess what??!! I found a great little project to make with the scrap yarn I have leftover from this project. Check this out if you are reading Harry Potter too! How cute is that?!



Also, I have been trekking away on my Trekking sock #2! I am just about at the heel and hope to finish this by next week to complete the pair. I didn't even attempt to match up the stripes since there is no pattern and the colors are all random.

Who Are You People?!?!

First things first, who are you people?! And, why have I never found you before?! Yes, I am talking to all you RAOK'ers out there that are spoiling me to death! Why do I deserve such beautiful gifts?! I totally appreciate it and know that I love giving as well... but I never knew there was this huge group with SO much to give. So, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have sent me presents but also to those of you who have just sent me emails and ecards to say hello!

So, with that said, of course I have to show you what came in the mail today from Lizzi! Check out the bag she made... and that hand dyed lace weight yarn!! And, in my favorite colors! She also sent me some beautiful blue ribbon type yarn, some home-made stitch markers and some yummy candy. So, thank you Lizzi... you just made my week :-)




I also need to show you all the coolest bead/sheep I have ever seen! Leah sent me these cute little stitch markers! Aren't I lucky!?!? So, thank you Leah... I appreciate it and send you and Itty lots of hugs.



And, since this post is already long enough with all my gift babbling, I will wait until tomorrow to show you some knitting progress... Have a good night everyone!

Another Week, Another Yarn Splurge

First things first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL AND PETER!!! My cousin, and her husband Peter have the same birthday, isn't that cool?! I hope you guys have/had a great day today and I am so excited to bake some cakes and join in on the celebration picnic tomorrow at the park!

And, Happy Friday everyone! Since I have very little knitting news, I figured I would show off some stuff I bought a while ago as well as some yarn I purchased today while at A Good Yarn. The beige green yarn is called Saucy Sport and is 100% cotton. It was on sale today for $1.75 a skein... who could pass that up?! Its going to be a tank top someday :-)! The blue Trekking XXL yarn and the ArtYarns Ultramerino were purchased about a month ago and are just waiting to get a chance on the needles.




So, as for knitting, I don't have a lot to show since I was so busy this week. However, I have been slowly trekking along on some stuff for the Preemie Project. I am almost done with four sets of hats and booties and am going to try to bust out a quickie baby blanket (okay, I guess there is no such thing as a quickie baby blanket)! Anyhow, I brought some flyers and tags to both Black Sheep and A Good Yarn in an attempt to spread the word. Please, if anyone is interested in knitting, even one thing, for the Preemie Project, click here to get to the volunteers page. The first hospital donation is happening on Sept. 1, 2005, so hurry!



Anyhow, have a great weekend everyone!

A Simple Quote

I will post more later, but feel down in the dumps right now. The part of this quote that really hits me hard is the part I have highlighted. Life is so funny sometimes. Things end, and new things begin, but sometimes its just plain old hard to figure out whats next...

"Seems like I've been here before, can't remember when I get this funny feeling, we'll be together again; No straight lines make up my life, all my roads have bends; No clearcut beginnings; so far, no dead ends."
-Tom Chapin

I promise, knitting tonight :-)

A Quick Hello

I just got back (and a bit earlier than expected) from my fieldwork trip up in Vermont and New Hampshire. Last summer I spent three days a week up there, whereas this summer I am only going to be gone every other week. We had a long three days (try 3 15 hour days of running around) and some frustrating events, but how can you be too annoyed when you are here (see below)! The middle picture is one of the reservoirs I do water quality work on. The other pictures are from some day trips we did around the Franconia Notch and Mt. Washington area.

And, thank you everyone for all your incredible comments on my skirt! I truely appreciate those of you who gave me suggestions for the waist issue. I am hoping to fix that tomorrow night! I will touch base tomorrow with some knitting... take care everyone! I send smiles and hugs ;-)

A Day of Waves

I am sitting pretty today in my new Wave Skirt! This was a fun, quick knit that uses a fabulous yarn! The pattern was by Kat Coyle and published in Spring 2005 IK. I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in colors #585 (Wolverine Blue, 2 skeins), #610 (Nymph, 1 skein), #460 (Jungle Green, 1 skein), #790 (Columbine Blossom, 1 skein) and #620 (Banana, 1 skein). The pattern calls for three different needles sizes (5,6,7) and I only used the 5 and 6 circulars. I also shortened it a bit because I wanted it to hit right above the knee while being able to wear it low on the waist.

The dimensions for both the front and back after blocking are: 13" across waist, 17" across prior to the start of the wave pattern, 26" across at bottom edge, and 20" long from top to bottom.

The one "mistake" I made was omitting the eyelet pattern on the waist where the drawstring was supposed to go! Now, I am left with a skirt that doesn't quite stay up! I am planning on adding in some elastic thread to the rib, but if anyone has any suggestions on how to keep this skirt up, let me know (ok, Blossom, you were right on this one!) All in all, I am extremely happy with this skirt!

On another note, I am going to be up in the White Mountains for field work until Thursday afternoon, so I will catch you all on the other side! Have a fabulous week :-)!






And before I leave, I need to post my answers for the Gimme Some Needle Exchange hosted by the lovely Catherine! So, here you go Secret Pal!

1. What do you like to knit or crochet? (socks, sweaters, etc.) My favorite things to knit as of today (it changes practically daily) are socks, anything with a lace pattern and bags.
2. What fibers do you like? I love anything natural besides itchy wool.
3. What type of needles do you use most often? Well, I used to enjoy both straight and circulars, but am just recently veering more towards circulars.
4. Do you like to knit in the round? You bet!
5. Do you use a magic loop method or any other we should know about? Are you interested in learning a new method? I just learned magic loop a few weeks ago and I am loving it! I have only one pair of Addi's... a size 1 40"
7. Do you have a favorite place that you shop online? (knitpicks.com, knitpixie.com, jimmybeanswool.com....)?oooh, KnitPicks.

I Wish I Had Twins

Look at my new sock! I wish it already had a twin, but soon enough. I am extremely happy with how it turned out considering it was my first magic loop sock. It fits perfectly since I added an extra 1/2 inch to the heel flap to account for my massive arch. I also made sure I had enough stitches around (66) and enough length (6.5 inches) before the toe decrease. The sock felt super soft on my foot and was really comfortable to wear. Mind you I looked like I lost a few screws when I went outside to water plants with only one sock on. I think the neighbors were a bit confused until I told them I was trying on a sock I just finished knitting... they still looked confused. I don't think they knew what knitting was!? Owell, I tried.

Have a great Friday everyone and thank you thank you thank you for all your kitty birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday!

Kali and Soma are 1 year old today! I feel like such a proud mama.. they have come so far in the past nine months. To celebrate the day, they got some new toys and a special dinner which consisted of a little wet food, some proscuitto, shrimp and treats. Of course, I had to light a candle! I blew it out for them though before we had some singed whiskers! I made a wish for many more years like this one...



Here are a few more pictures I took today! Comm'on, wish 'em a happy birthday!




And since this is a knitting blog, here is a sneak peak at my wave skirt that will probably make its debut over the weekend!