I'm Ba-ack!

I've never taken a month and a half break from my blog since I started in 2006 (not that I can remember anyway). Well, there has been a LOT going on.

The largest of which is that my company that I was with for 8 years basically was going under so it had to be taken over by a larger organization in order to "survive". Sadly, a lot has changed our organizational structure and staffing needs. We lost tons of staff and a few doctors in the transition.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to apply for the practice manager position. The job is much more demanding and I have a lot more responsibility than before. It's been really hard but I'm keeping my head above the water, so far.

So, along with everything going on, I've had a few weekend visits: one with my mom, one with my dad, and one with Jorge's family down in Virginia for his sister's Quincenera. This didn't leave me with tons of time to knit or craft but I have made a few things since last I posted.

When my dad visited he decided that I needed an electric sander. So we went to Home Depot and got this lovely:

I primarily needed it because I was refinishing a piece of furniture and sanding it by hand which sucked. The piece was an old phonograph cabinet from the '30s. We stripped off the brown finish, then stained it black and added a coat of polyurethane for a bit of sheen. It turned out beautiful and now serves as the home for our stereo and turn table.

For Jorge's sister's Quincenera, I made her an aquamarine (her birthstone) necklace.

Not sure if she actually liked it because I didn't see her open it but she's pretty ungrateful in general so I guess it doesn't matter. I liked it.

My bff, Rebecca, is having a baby. She just had her 21 week ultrasound and found out that she's having a boy. Even though I'm pretty anti-baby in general, I still want to be supportive of her. This is something that she's always wanted so I've been making stuff for her to show how much I care.

So far, I've only made a few things. I made a couple of rock'n'roll onesies and a light blue hat for Jr.


This oughta tide her over for a bit. I also want to make a sweater and some booties, but I have time. She's not due until the end of October. But since she'll be in town this week, I'd like to give her what I have for Jr. so far.

And that's it folks! I've also been altering clothes but no pics yet. Hopefully I do not disappear again for any length of time. I really want to continue being crafty as often as possible. Just have to keep my motivation up and hope that I have the time to create.

April Lady Sweater?

I started my FLS back in March, planning on bringing it to Puerto Rico and actually finishing it. Turns out that I didn't knit one stitch while I was in San Juan, only on the plane on the way down. Once I was home, I sort of lost interest for a bit and decided to just set it aside until the mood struck once again. During that hiatus, I was able to start and finish Owls and I was just dreaming of casting on Liesl. I told myself "project monogamy is the only way I will get these pieces done!" So I limited myself to casting on (and finishing) Owls and then back to the FLS!

Once I completed Owls, as I mentioned in my previous post, I bought the perfect buttons for my FLS to motivate me to finish the bugger. It must have worked because it was done within the week! I <3 how my FLS turned out!


It's not the best pic but it's gray and raining out so I had to use the flash. I'll attempt a better pic on a nice day. Here's a close up of the buttons.


The other night I cast on for Liesl. I decided to do the short version with the lower neckline, which isn't very low at all. I'm using Dreamweave, which is a wool/silk blend in an avocado green. I'm on on the 11th row of the yoke but it's already 2-2 1/2 inches long, so I think that once I get into it I will be able to breeze through. I only have 3 skeins in my stash (318 yds) but the sweater only calls for 260, so I'm cutting it close and really wish that I had an extra skein due to my track record. Well, I'm just going to jump in with my fingers crossed. Wish me luck!

I <3 Three Day Weekends

Today is Patriot's Day (in the Boston area) so that means no work for moi! I got to relax this morning, clean my house (and my oven!) and go to the gym all before 3pm. Ahhh, 3 day weekends rock.

This weekend also brought a visit from my mom. She got in at 2pm on Fri so we got to hang around for a couple of days, do a little shopping and eat JP Licks (mmmm, Rice Dice Cream!). She got me some treats (pictured below) at Anthropologie that I would never have bought for myself. I love these vintage looking bowls and cloth napkins!

***

On Thurs, I went to Windsor Button after work. I was in search if button eyes for my Owls sweater and some buttons for my February Lady Sweater. I found some pearly yellow-green buttons eyes and sewed them onto one owl in the front and one owl in the back on Saturday morning.

I had my sights set on something clear or transparent for the FLS because I didn't want it to look too overdone. It's busy enough as it is with the lace and the variegated blue yarn. So I settled for a clear and transparent blue button. They looked perfect when I layed them over the button band so they had to come home with me.


I'm almost there with the FLS. I have the body and 1/2 of one of the sleeves already done. I can't wait to finish it and to wash, block and sew on the buttons. I'm just dying to wear it!

It All Worked Out in the End!

Yesterday I received my Web's order containing the skein of Berroco Comfort in Copen Blue needed to finish just the neck ribbing of my Owls sweater (I was able to use scrap pieces to knit the short rows!). I seamed up the underarms and all my ends are woven in!

I tried it on and it fit pretty well. There's slight looseness in the upper back which seems to be a common problem with this pattern. I just need to sew on the buttons, that I found in my odds & ends button box, to one of the owls. Now, if only it wasn't going to be in the 50s & 60s this week!

In other knitting progress, I've picked up my FLS again after a few week-hiatus. I'm loving the colorway-- it's brighter than this pic.

Next up on the docket is Liesl. I'm thinking about using Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Maize. I'm not sure about the length but I've been thinking about the middle length.

Holy Shit-- I ran out of Yarn!!!

I swear that this has never happened to me before. I don't know what's going on. It's not you-- it's me.
I canNOT believe it-- I ran out of yarn with mere rows to complete before my Owls sweater could be completed! I don't even think that it was a miscalculation on my part. I thought that I ordered 1 extra skein, as a matter or fact. Do you see what I have left around the neck of my dress form? WTF!?

I'm so bummed b/c I was supposed to finish my sweater last night while watching Heroes. That was the plan. I noticed that the ball I was knitting from was shirking exponentially but figured that I'd have just enough-- no suck luck. I'm still in shock that this could happen to me.

On a whim, I pulled up the WEB's page before bed last night and guiltily order another skein but who knows if the new dye lot will match. I'm soooo disappointed. I was just a few short rows and some ribbing away from a comfy Owls sweater. Wah.

Owls

I cast on for Owls on Saturday. The thing that I love about bulky weight projects is that they knit up so fast! I'm almost done with the body. And I've already decided that I'm not going to put buttons eyes on every owl-- only one. Button eyes on every owl is just too much for me.

The only thing that makes me nervous is that the end product may not look good on me. I don't usually knit projects that call for bulky weight yarns because I just don't need the added bulk to my already bulky frame. But this one may be different. As I look through the Ravelry project gallery, I've noticed that lots of the comments says that though this is a bulky weight project, it has enough shaping to still be flattering. I hope that I feel that way too when I'm done.

Not a Whole Lotta Knittin' Happenin'

We got back from Puerto Rico last Thursday (sorry for the crappy pic-- the only one I have of me actually wearing my Tuscany). That's an entire week ago and I 'm finally back to normal. There was zero knitting on this trip other than on the flight there. I knit most of the garter yoke of my FLS but that's where it ended. I just haven't felt like knitting much but I did manage to do a few rows on the FLS today before a doctor's appointment.

Just because I haven't been knitting doesn't mean that I haven't been thing about it....obsessively. I went to the Holy Craft Fair & Flea Market last weekend and spotted a chick in the Owls pullover that I've been seeing popping up on Craftster and in Ravelry. This adorable sweater definitely found it's way into my heart even though it's knit in a bulky weight yarn. So weakly, I went over to the Web's website in search of a bulky weight non-wool yarn to make my very own Owls sweater from.

I decided on Berroco Comfort Chunky which is a nylon/acrylic blend. I chose a blue that I thought was sort of teal looking at my monitor but it arrived today and it's not exactly what I was expecting. I think that I might just be able to live with it as long as the owl cables are visible. Guess I'll need to swatch it up.

The pic on the left is from the Web's website and
the pic on the right the yarn I took when I received my order yesterday. I'm trying to envision what a sweater made out of this yarn would look like. We shall see.