the first day

did you know that if you visit the Interweave Knits web site they have free patterns that you can download that are not even in the magazine. and they are available many times before the newest magazine even hits the newstand or your mailbox? yep!

you know that birthday/mother's day gift certificate that traveled with me to Michigan last week well it found some yummy Julia Yarn by Kristin Nicholas. (you should check out her blog http://www.kristinnicholas.com ). you can find the blog through this site along with her fun and SO cute products!

she has some patterns that will be out in the magazine of course, but she has two patterns that are on the IK free downloads right now. i thought i was buying the yarn to make the cute little cat but you know how sometimes things change and yarn has a mind-of-it's-own. i didn't know it at the time but i'm making the Fiesta del Sol bag. only i'm really making a Fiesta del Jardin or a Fiesta del Flor bag.

yeah, i got out my husband's old English to Spanish dictionary from his missions trip years back to Nicaragua. jardin is garden and flor is flower, but you could probably figure that out. the Fiesta del Sol bag is all beautiful sunny yarn colors. i have the only 6 colors that the LYS had they are amazingly beautiful, but they are not sun inspired colors. 

listen to the names of these yarn colors: Ladies Mantle, Coleus, Geranium, Blue Thyme, Deep Blue Sea (to water the garden with, right!).

so my knitting bag is packed with my pattern, new project, and needles and i'm off to Lake Geneva with hubby and friends for the weekend.  i love car knitting!    BTW: might be making this at the same time, must have both! http://wicked_stitches.typepad.com

who says that HOT weather and knitting don't go together?

 infact i think just about any kind of weather compliments knitting. cold, snowy, snuggle-in days...and knitting. rainy days...and knitting. mild, spring days...and knitting.  HOT, 100 degree, stuck inside, air conditioned days...knitting.

me and the knitting are "getting along" again.

Nessie the vest is gone, ripped, and well on her way (1/2 way done in fact) to becoming a cute cotton sweater for a little beach going boy i know!

Florence the boring Rowan shrug, is still boring but i want her so bad i continue to do "my work". i let her sit for a full 2 days and that really helped, now she gets some attention each day.

And my Manos cabled creation only gets attention at Art 4 Soul nights so no guilt about not working on it otherwise, and my Tangled Web shawl will wait til cool weather.

i still have my growing "want to do pile" but the feelings of pressure are gone. i think they washed away in that last big rain we had. when i decided to "take to the garden" for 2 days.

did lots of planting, weeding, thinning, getting muddy...

who knows maybe it was spending time with those spiders... that oldest of crafters.  the myths and and magic and mystery of spiders. the spinner of the silkened thread.

my grandson sings a little song about the spider and the rain. maybe there's something to that!

(come to think of it, maybe i should re-think it all and JUST work on that Tangled Web Shawl?)

what would happen if i drove to my LYS (local yarn shop), walked in, right past all the yarn and straight up to the counter (okay, that would never happen) and told them i needed a prescription for "knitter's ADD"?

i'm sure they would prescribe more yarn. more patterns, magazines, a comfy chair, some knitting needles and tell me i just needed ANOTHER new project, one that i could be happy with and LOVE working on!

i think i have "knitter's ADD".  i started ANOTHER project 2 days ago. i've run out of row counters, they're all busy waiting on other projects.  so i'm using a post-it note for this one.   here's the ugly truth:

• manos cabled bag; (i'm making up the pattern on this one) work on this at Art 4 Soul Knit Nights
• blue sky's headband; IK staff project, cute, could be done with this in an evening, just don't do it
• Florence shrug from Rowan Classic; love and want this sweater just soooo boring, try to do 2" a day
• Nessie vest from Rowan Classic; so close to done, will have to re-work pattern (doesn't fit) and buy more yarn, i don't have enough to finish!  i'm letting it rest because i don't know if i want to do either, may rip and use yarn later for something different.
• New Project, alpaca shawl; saw this in the window at Tangled Web yarn shop. one of the employees made it so they wrote the pattern down for me. it's on big needles, multi-colors and a real no-brainer.

AND....to make matters WORSE there are about 4-5 patterns i have on my "back of my mind" list and my daughter just mentioned something to me about the Handknit Holidays book so i pulled that back out, just to have a little look-see and re-saw a few more ideas........and the new knitty is up!!!!!!  www.knitty.com i really need those cabled, fingerless, mitts on the cover.  they would be perfect for the fall and a great traveling project for my trip to NYC that's coming up!

oh, and did i mention that i have a birthday gift certificate for a yarn shop just staring at me from my desk. 

maybe if i just don't sleep!!!!! 

so...my sweater......the one that was off the needles a few weeks ago.  you know the one that i even wore to work one day but wasn't sure that she was finished, wanted to get a "feel" for her, see if she was done.  yeh....the So Not a Cowl that was turning into a Somewhat a Marilyn.  the one i wanted to use the leather ties on for the Hippie Chick look?  well, turns out, she wasn't done. she's been back on the the needles.

i had this "feeling" that she just needed something, something to finish her off but i knew i didn't want a plain old button band. and i liked the idea of wearing her open.  then last week the new Garnet Hill catalog came in the mail. LOVE that! i saw this cute ruffled sweater...that's it!!! so i picked up stitches all the way around the front, up and around the neck, and back down the front. lots and lots of stitches. and then i knit them. then the next row i did a K1,K1f&b,K1......to end and i just kept doing this every other row until it was as wide as i liked. (i didn't have a pattern you know!)

this morning before i left for work i had about 10 minutes and i was so excited to see if my "ruffle" idea was working so i started my bind off.  cool!! i think it's going to look great. of course the true test will be to see how it looks when i try it on.  i think i may use those leather ties at the bust to hold it together if it all works out. just can't get past not using them!

So, the Somewhat a Cowl/Shrunken Marilyn first became the So Not a Cowl and now it is becoming what i will call the Sort of a Swirly Stylish Ruffle Sweater.

how's that for alliteration for you. i know....you don't remember or use alliteration anymore.  but i'm a Jr. High Language Arts Teacher. it's a part of my life.

how would you do on the test?

sometimes your knitting takes on a life all it's own. yep....mine has done that. and i didn't realize it until today.

i just joined, or should i say my knitting joined The Project Spectrum KnitAlong.  actually my knitting join way back in the beginning of March, when the KnitAlong first began. i just signed up today.

go check out the rules, come back and i'll explain. www.lollygirl.com/blog

in March my SP sent me that amazingly soft Malbrigo, RED yarn. and last month i made a cozy, water bottle cover with it. trimmed it with a cute ribbon from my stop at M&J Timmimng in NYC last summer.

this weekend i cast on for a pair of socks using some Socks That Rock stash yarn. colorway Citrine. a mixture of YELLOW and ORANGE!!

it just happened!!! but now that i'm in i'm going to have to give some thought to May, June, July and August.  don't think that will be a problem!

BTW:finished my Be Sweet Magic Scarf this weekend. very sweet, and lovely!...   and just for the record, i did some spring cleaning on those cobwebs lastnight and decided to "spring things up" around the blog too.

go check out http://knitannie.blogspot.com yep........she's the gal that has treated me like a queen.

you know the sweet gal from London that i've been talking about that's been sending me all the lovely packages like i'm the Queen of England or something!

the reveal of SP7 was this weekend and my spoiler was KnitAnnie.

THANKS!!!!!! and speaking of that i've been spoiling Bev over at http://bev.typepad.com what fun it has been.

now for some other revealing knitting secrets:

i have cobwebs in my home because of my knitting....sometimes when i've made a mistake and have too many or too few stitches i do an increase or a decrease instead of "frogging"....i catch myself counting stitches even when i don't need to.....i hum in my head when i knit......and i could relate to Meredith on Grey's Anatomy last night, i have been at a bar and thought about or wished i had my knitting with me, but not for the same reasons as her.

okay.......some of you out there in secret pal land may think you have the best spoiler ever....but you don't cuz i have her!!!!!

WOW!!!!! i'm the luckiest girl alive. i hate to gush, but i must. i got my final package today from my SP7. so amazing (wish i had pictures).

two yummy skeins of Colinette Prism in Mushroom colorway, just dreamy. it's made in Wales you know. the sweetest skein of Be Sweet Yarn from South Africa. every skein sold helps fund the schools they are building there! go check out the site www.besweetproducts.com   i got the skein called Magic Ball, in a Shifting Sands colorway. guess what, they have a scarf pattern idea on the site just for this ball of yarn, i am going to wind it right after this post and start on that scarf tonight! so sweet! a very cute Mac & Me Pattern for a Vest. i think i would like to put this on my summer to-do list for a brand new "going back to school" vest for next fall. the pattern calls for Blue Sky Alpaca yarn. Love that!!

there's still more!!!.......4 beautifully packaged, antique, glass, vanilla colored buttons. from a London shop that i bet is "cute as a button" called The Button Queen. if i made the sweater vest in a rich chocolate yarn these would look great with that!!!      and some spectrum colored vanilla incense and white chocolate malted milkballs.  and a lovely note.

right away all i could think of was a yummy, vanilla ice cream cone. the theme of these yarns, perfectly together!! i just love everything. i have been SO SPOILED and have enjoyed every moment. THANK YOU!    BUT............

there's something missing. who are you? you signed your note again "secret pal".  where does your blog live? i want to come visit it!!  i do have your home address from the label on the package. it's a long ways but i guess i could hop a plane and show up at your door. i don't know much about London. the closest i've come to London is the snow globe that sits on my desk at school that one of my student's brought me a few years ago. hope to hear from you soon!!!!  now i'm off to play with my new yarn, and again, thanks is just not enough  :)

hope no one does some weird search engine on this title. i guess they will be greatly disappointed in the subject if they do tho......

well i broke into that Malabrigo yarn that my Secret Pal sent me. WOW!!!! now i know i told you how pretty and how soft that yarn was. but that was nothing, i mean nothing compared to knitting with it. (and i'm not just saying this to make my SP feel great, which i hope she does).

a m a z i n g!!!! softer than anything i have ever knit with. and the slight color changes are so beautiful. you can't really see them until you knit with it. secret pal, do you knit with this stuff? if not, you MUST treat yourself to some too.

this is, hands down, my new fav yarn. i've always been so in love with Manos. still am. love it for the many things it can do, the way the it last forever after it's been knit up, and love the way it felts. but this is butter baby.

what is this yarn becoming? i'm making a new hot water bottle cover. my daughter gave me a hot water bottle with a cover two years ago for Christmas. it was my first one. i love that thing. i've taken it to bed with me just about everynight in the winter for those two years. i like to fill it with really hot water and set it on my side of the bed, then go wash my face, brush my teeth, you know. and then when i come back to bed it's toasty warm. i put my feet on it when i read, before i drift off to sleep. no...don't get all excited, i'm not some princess living in a cold, dark castle. we just keep it really cold in the bedroom at night.

well that cover is getting a bit shabby. and guess what, without my knowing it, this is the perfect yarn for the project. i will have the softest hottie ever. (my English friend in knitting class told me that's what they called them when she was a little girl).

BTW: finished my Noro Winter Caplet. everyone must make one. it will only take you a day or so. you really could use any yarn. and so darn cute with a vintage or in my case a vintage looking pin at the neck. wore mine lastnight!!!

my son had certain favorite toys when he was growing up. he was quite particular. he knew what he liked and only played with those things.

remember Transformers. you know "more than meets the eye". (are you sing the song yet, in that robot voice?)

well my son liked Transformers. they were cool toys. a little car that would transform into a robot. he would carry around a transformer in one hand and a "guy" in the other (an action figure of some sort).

well my "So Not a Cowl" transformed into a "Somewhat a Marilyn". and i use the word somewhat very loosely. it does not have the ruffle and so far has no buttons. just kind of an open, cropped cardigan. it is finished, but not.  i wore it to work yesterday so i could continue to "get a feel" for what it was becoming. i think it is going to get some buttons. just not sure of their placement yet.

in the meantime i'm just about finished with a Noro (from the stash) Reversible Winter Caplet. so fast and cute. you can find the pattern over @ www.peonyknits.blogspot.com i still have to do the ribbing on the sleeves tomorrow and then try it on to make sure it's going to work out for me. i guess i could have finished it tonight but i'm too, dog (puppy) tired!!!!

then it is off the needles and i'm off to something new. hummm? still have that sock feeling.......also printed a pattern for some MaryJane slippers.....a new Noni Bag for spring would be fun....

so many patterns, what's a knitter to do?

i got the best surprise today.

it's cool and crisp outside today but sunny so i was outside raking and uncovering the front yard flowerbed, (thought this would give Emerson some time to roll around in the grass and run off some of that energy!)

i was just about to come inside and i noticed the door on the mailbox was open a bit and there was something inside. a letter, left from yesterdays mail that didn't get brought in, with an Air Mail sticker no-less!!! that can only mean one thing! yep, from my secret knitting pal!    don't you just LOVE mail. i mean REAL mail!!!

a cute red card (that reminds me of that beautiful Malabrigo yarn she sent). i don't even want to wind that yarn up yet. i've just been enjoying looking at it on my desk. so soft. but she did have a good idea about the Project Spectrum. this month is red right? or was that last months? do you think i could still fit that in? hummm? tempting......

the card had a pix of a dog on the front and she even asked about Emerson....and no, no sweaters for him. he's a Golden Retriever so he's on his own in that dept.

this secret pal thing is so much fun but i just can't wait to find out who this wonderful person is, learn more about her, read her blog, bet she has an amazing one, i want to see what she likes to knit...........

thanks, what FUN!!! and yes it would be lovely to have a proper chat!