Entrelac progress...

I just thought I would update my progress on the Felted Entrelac Bag. I expect I will have some quality knitting time tomorrow watching the Buffalo Bills in their season opener. Hopefully I will be doing some felting next week!

A Finished Project...

I have finished the Wallaby Sweater (except for blocking).
It was a fun one to do, but I will never do striped sleeves again! The way this is done is...you knit in the round until you get to the placket then you go back and forth. Consequently I couldn't carry the light blue yarn, I had to start a new piece for each row. I used a cotton blend yarn that I had in my stash. I want to make this again soon in a nice wool in one color!

I am furiously knitting the entrelac bag. My family thinks it is very ugly...I keep telling them that it will look completely different when it is felted. Stay tuned!

Tomorrow I begin another knitting class. It is the Lots-of-Choices Top from The Knit Stitch book by Sally Melville. This is a great book with lots of nice projects in it.

Son #3 goes back to school tomorrow. A new school year always makes me a little sad, but I guess we are both ready to get into a routine again. I have some major housecleaning to do and lots of projects to keep me busy.

Phew...

We delivered son #2 to college on Saturday. It was a whirlwind trip...very emotional for me. This proves I am aging! Now I only have one child at home. Lucky him, he gets my undivided attention!! He starts school on Sept. 7th so he is trying to get his summer reading done (a procrastinator like his mother!).

We visited our daughter in Boston after the college drop. She is very busy getting ready to move to a new apartment and she just got a great promotion at work that is keeping her hopping. The visit was too short, but I got a chance to go to Paper Source and Beadworks!

I was able to get some quality knitting done on the Wallaby Sweater while I was in the car. Unfortunately I had to rip out large portions...twice. I will post photos soon because I plan on finishing it this week.

Never a dull moment...

Things are so hectic around here. Son #1 is back at college in Burlington, VT. Right now I am getting son #2 ready to go this weekend with a small change in plans...he is now going to Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. It was his first choice and he was wait listed there. They called last week to let him know he was in if he still wanted to go there. Yikes, all of our plans have changed. He is very happy, but his older brother was disappointed that they wouldn't be at the same school!

There's not much time for sewing or knitting. I did sneak a few minutes yesterday to make myself some earrings and finish a bracelet that I had in process. I need to do something creative every once in a while or I really go crazy! The Baby Surprise Sweater is off the needles and just needs to be sewn...I will do that in the car this weekend. I should be able to get some quality knitting done while we are driving to New England.

You can tell that summer is coming to an end...

You can tell that Summer is coming to an end when:
1. The days get shorter.
2. The weather gets cooler.
3. The checkbook is empty after back-to-school shopping.
4. My kids start to drive me crazy!!!
My oldest son, aged 21 (some might call him an adult even), cannot put a roll of toilet paper on the holder. Now, you think he might know how because he first went into another bathroom (passing by the cupboard where we keep the extra rolls) and took the toilet paper off that holder, but no...the roll is sitting on the counter! Augghhhhh!!!

I feel much better now...in another week I will be so lonely.

Birthday Banter

I had a birthday last week and I just wanted to share one of the gifts my husband bought for me. He went to one of the LYS and they helped him pick out a pattern and yarn. I was floored! My darling hubby has NEVER set foot in a yarn shop before.




I think the yarn might have a bit too much orange in it for my taste, but I am going to use it anyway!

The other gift I got from him was a bracelet with a turquoise stone in it. He bought me a turquoise bracelet for my birthday last year! That gift is going to be exchanged!

Finally Back

I can't believe how the time has flown since my last post. I have been very busy. I took a trip to Vermont with son #2 for his college academic orientation. Of course, when he was busy picking his classes I was visiting the local yarn shop and the local quilt shop and another great fabric store.
I have been knitting like crazy. Project #1 is the
Wonderful Wallaby. Next class we will connect the sleeves and body and begin knitting in the round to finish the body. I am making the smallest size so I can learn how to do it and then maybe I will make it for one of my kids. So far, I have only done knitting for myself, but I'm thinking of branching out and knitting for gifts.

Project #2 is Entrelac Bag. I'm not sure I like the color combination, but I think I'll keep going because the felting will make it look completely different. I'm supposed to have this ready for felting in class on Thursday...that's not going to happen!

Project #3 is the Baby Surprise Sweater. It's amazing that this blob of knitting will turn into the cutest baby sweater. I don't have anyone to give this to...yet. I just needed to learn how.

I also took a quick trip to visit my mom and dad. It's only a 2 1/2 hour drive which isn't bad when I am used to 7 1/2 hours to either VT or Boston. My mom took me to her favorite quilting stores. We had lots of fun.

The summer is really flying by now. I am working many hours next week and the week after I will be getting the boys ready to go back to college. Then we make that trip to VT again! I know it will be bittersweet to have them go back, but I need to get my house back. It will be so nice to have clean bedrooms and bathrooms again! Only having one child home will be a big change.

Going Crazy...

I have just spent the whole day trying to organize my knitting, sewing, crafting "stuff". Oh, my, gosh, I can't believe what a mess it is...and how much "stuff" I have. I think it's a sickness! Do you think there's a 12-step program for people addicted to fabric and yarn? I have hauled 4 garbage bags of trash out of the basement (that's where I sew and craft) and there's more to go. I can't believe some of the scraps of fabric I was saving! I still consider myself a beginning knitter so I only have one large storage container of yarn, but I had some that I had forgotten about...yikes!
I almost have all of my "homework" done on the Entralac Bag. I have the base triangles and one handle done and the second handle is half-done. All I have to do now is decide where the other colors should go and I'll be ready for class on Thursday. This is the first time I have made I-cord. I loved it!

I'm learning...

Thanks to Isabelle I now know how to add links to the blogs that I read in my sidebar. Many thanks Isabelle! There are more changes that I would like to make...and I have no idea how to do them...so I guess I'll keep on trying!

Thank God it's Friday...

I haven't been this tired in a really long time. Too much working I think. Friday is usually a going out night, but I am not going to be able to make it tonight. I'm looking forward to getting into my "jammies" and doing some knitting. Today at work I made this needle case on one of our fabulous embroidery machines. It's very delicate and not very big (as you can see from the photo with the penny in it). It's from a design disk called Andrea from Marcia Pollard. I still have to fashion some type of closure...a small pearl button or ribbon. There is also a scissor case that goes with it that I'm going to do too...someday...soon!

Reading, reading, reading...

I am having so much fun reading so many blogs...it's seriously cutting into my knitting time! You people are so entertaining. Here are the blogs I check on regularly: I'm Knitting As Fast As I Can, Green-Eyed Grrl, KnitterPatter, Nutmeg Knitter, Crazy Aunt Purl, Knot Without My Knitting...with more on the way everyday!
Now if I could just learn how to add these to my sidebar I'd be all set. I am such a newbie to this webposting stuff.

Still Knitting...

I'm still working on my sock, but it's getting close to the toe! I have put off the finishing of my cable sweater, but I am inspired to get it done by Thursday because I am taking a class at my LYS and I want to show it off! The class I am taking is a Felted Entrelac Bag. Entrelac has always fascinated me so I am going to give it a try. I am using jewel-tone colors...very pretty. The yarn is Cascade 220 which I hear felts beautifully.

My cable sweater is almost done!! I am blocking the last sleeve today. I just have to sew it together and finish knitting the neck. I can't wait until it's done. While I am waiting for the blocking to dry I have pulled out an old sock project...I had one done so all I have to do is the other!
 

Last post I mentioned my 4 "young adults" (I use that term loosely!). My daughter is the oldest, she is 23 and lives in Boston, MA. I love to visit her because I can go to the Paper Source and Beadworks . Then I have 3 boys: 21, 18 and 15. The oldest will be a senior at St. Michael's College in VT. His younger brother is joining him there this fall--this photo was taken at his high school graduation. The youngest is going to be a sophomore in high school. They are great kids and they keep me hopping!

Just to introduce myself... I am a crafting queen. I love to sew, including quilting, garment sewing and machine embroidery. I also love to do cross stitch and needlepoint. My new handwork favorites are knitting and beadwork. I am a wife and mother of 4 children who really aren't children anymore...they are getting very grown up and moving out of the house quickly. My youngest just finished his first year of high school so I know my husband and I will be alone again before we know it! I decided to write this blog to help me complete some projects...I figured if someone was paying attention to what I was doing I might be more apt to finish something! My current project is a cable sweater. I took a class at my favorite yarn shop to learn how to cable and here it is so far:
I've really been plugging along, I have the front, back, one sleeve and half of the other sleeve done. I'm ready to move on to a new project so I've got to get this done! I also signed up for three more knitting classes this summer so I really have to finish this.

Sunday Afternoon

A quiet Sunday afternoon...I should be sewing or knitting or cleaning...or maybe I should just take a nap! I was spending time reading other peoples blogs and decided it was time for me to try this for myself...so here goes.