Notice few more buttons?

Well, since today I was supposed to cast for Mariah and I haven't finished my Ribby Cardi yet, I have decided to join two more knit-alongs. I could not resist Marnie's Peace is Patriotic and Phoebe is the only capelet I have ever seen that I can actually envision myself in.
So I have two more things on my list, why stop at 25?

I have no clue of what I could make in yellow and blue for PIP, but I did ordered my Interweave subscription today, so I am set for Phoebe. Wait, what about yarn?

At least I started it.

I committed to do a blanket for Touching Little Lives by the end of January - that's today, right? I do think someone stole some of the January days, it used to be such a long month.
Anyway, I did started - last night:



I am using a pattern from the website, Wavy Boxes Baby Blanket with Yarn: Red Heart Sport Pompadour - Pink Frost and White.

Socks!

Here they are, the first inches of Principessa's socks:



She is pleased, I am happy.

And this is where I am with the fronts of my Ribby Cardi - I keep doing stupid mistakes and frogging it:



But it is a wonderful day and I knitting outside in my backyard - and blogging.

Real time progresses

Just finish my swatch - horrible photo because of the artificial light:



verdict: 6 sts and 10.5 rows for 1" - I am so average!

casting on .....

Here comes Daisy

that has been renamed Hearts since the daisies are gone.


Pattern by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee from Knitty
Yarn: Cascade 220 - Dusty Rose #8114.
Needles #7

I truly loved the pattern - it is so easy and fast!

And talking about finished project, here a better photo of Valerie:


Fiber Trend Pattern bought from One Fine Yarn
Yarn: Cascade 220 - Light Purple #8420, Cobalt Heather #9457 and Cerise #7802

As you can see the poncho is very heavy so it pulls down the collar. I'll need to sew that up so it stays put.

I am swatching for my Sock It to Me Collection socks right now as I type - I had such an hard time to settle on a patter, and finally I decided to use the Sock Calculator to make a pair of knee high socks for Principessa.

What Historic Woman Are You?

Take the quiz: "What Historic Woman Are You?"





Eleanor of Acquitaine

One of the first great queens of England, Eleanor was her own woman. She married the French prince at 14, but after six years of marriage and no son, she divorced him and secretly married the younger (and wealthier) heir to the English throne. Her sons were some of the greatest monarchs in English history! You must be tenacious, audacious, and brave if you're like Eleanor.

Read more about her:

Women in World History.

No stash of mine

It was bought to my attention that "stash" is yarn bought with no particular project in mind, so I do not have any stash. If you look at the long "In the queue" list on the right, you'll see that I have a project for everything I buy. That does not prevent me from changing my mind, but still, I do not buy if I do not have an idea about what I am going to make with it.

So I do not have a stash. May I buy more then?

This is a photos of samples of my latest purchases:

Secret Pal 4 of mine

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- and/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

Yes, I am. I use acrylic only if I had to (my charity projects, hospitals and so do not take wool because of allergies), but usually I cannot stand it.
I pretty much avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
No spin, I can crochet but I do not enjoy it much.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
No real allergies, but cannot stand smoke.

4. How long have you been knitting?
Since I was 14 years old, but I am not going to say how long ago that was.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes, links on the right.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Anything that's fresh, mint like. Don't like sweet, floral scents.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Not really.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I am not the craft type - knitting is the only craft I am good at.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Yes, I have an MP3 player. But I ususally I just listen to what on the radio - no memory for names of singers and songs.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?
I like warm colors for myself, like reds and browns. But today I am wearing pink.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married with two kids. No pets, children and husband are enough.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
Have a job that involves a lot of yarn.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I am obsessed with Noro and handpainted yarn lately. I adore the Peruvian Highland Collection from Elann. Debbie Bliss and Lorna's Laces are among my favorite. I would love to try Rowan. Cashmere and silk blends, I would kill for them.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Acrylic and chenille.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Socks and scarves.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Anything that can be knitted.

17. What are you knitting right now?
Click "On the needles" list on the right.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
I love them, but I have big boobs so they make me look fat.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Straight, and long. Cannot knit on anything shorter than 14".

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Aluminum, no plastic. Never tried bamboo. Would love to try casein.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
Yes.

22. How did you learn to knit?
My mom taught me.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
I usually finish what I start, but I have an afghan who is taking a long time.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Tweety Bird.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
I have two kids, I would love to skip all the holidays, go to sleep around Halloween and wake up after Valentine's Day. That leaves out Easter, but I do not like chocolate that much. How about my birthday? Can we make that an holiday and have everybody remember even if it is few days before my daughter's birthday?

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Duh, yarn

Sock-a-pal-ooza misnap

Is misnap an English word? When I am tired (and I am, very), my brain goes back to Italian and I start making up words.

Anyway, the yarn I bought for Sock-a-pal-ooza arrived, so I decided to read my secret recipient's preferences. Why didn't you do that BEFORE buying the yarn? You'd ask. Don't ask please, I do not know. So, of course, the yarn is not ok. She does not like that color.

Ok, yarn shopping again, yeah! So maybe I did it on purpose?

I did order the right yarn (right color AND right fiber) and for reason I won't say because I could give away my secret, I decided the patter I need to use is Happy Sox Pattern, design by Sarah E. Burns.

Now, she uses Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Yarn, I have ordered Cascade Fixation. I need a gauge of 32sts/4" on needles #0, while Fixation has gauge for sock of 24 sts/4" on #4 needle; so if I go down to #3 or #2, or even #1, I should be ok. I see some swatching in my future.

Did I say that I got these lately?





I am not overly impressed with Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, but I just browsed it. I haven't had time to even open Simple Socks.

Back to the socks, I am going to make the Wavy Rib Socks with Garden Spring anyway.

This week is for finishing

I am going to have two FO's this week, maybe tonight - really pleased!

Daisy is done, all I need to do is sewing it up, attach the buttons and do the daisies. I used 1 skein of Cascade 220 Dusty Rose and I just loved the pattern. Loved so my that I am thinking of not making a cotton blanket for my other niece who is coming in February, but a Daisy for her too. I may decided that Daisy is for nieces.

I just need to knit 1 inch of the Stripe and Solid Sweater, then the collar and that's done too. I brought to me at work hoping to have some time to work on it at lunch time.

What do I like best about completing projects? That I get to pick the next ones!

Looking at my queue, I have:
- the hats with the DB Cashmerino Aran leftover from the ChildHoods to make - I can whip each of them in one evening (if I found the pattern I chose - maybe I bookmarked it, maybe not);
- the Wavy Boxes Baby Blanket for Touching Little Lives - another evening.

Little projects are so satisfying!

But, the big projects ..... so behind. Tomorrow night I am going to work on my afghan squares - my goal is to make one per week, it is January 25 and I have made .... one, only one. Bad Lu, very bad Lu.

In my everlasting efforts to stay on tracks, I bought myself this:



and I have listed all my project on it, one for page, with all the important info, pics of the ones I have finished, strands of yarn, etc. No more "I am away from my computer, who knows what I am supposed to work on today, I'll start something new" excuse for me!

I have the best SP ever

I received a package from my Knitty SP and ..... oh my gosh, that is all I could say for a couple of hours. This is a photo of the bag (she made me a bag!) full of goodies she sent me:



May I repeat that she made that bag and then gave it to me?

And inside .....a beautiful and thoughtful card AND a hard pages book with a sheep on the front cover that I am not going to share with any child - it's MINE - AND a small wool sheep - cute as hell - AND the sheep tape measure that I wanted so much AND two skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in pink:







What can I say? OH MY GOSH!

Another one?

Yes, I joined the KR Secret Pal 3 too. I must be not completely sane, but I am having so much fun with the Knitty SP3.

Link on the left for KRSP3.

War President

Picture provided by American Leftist

Faces of the Fallen

Here comes Valerie

No time to write, only a pic:



For: Principessa
Pattern: from One Fine Yarn.
Yarn: Cascade 220 - colors: 9457, 7802, 8420.

Let's start the week right ....

go here, read and join us on the 20th.

Sunday is updates day.

Here it is, the back of my Ribby Cardi:



And I think it is just right, not too big, not too small. I am so happy.

Then, this are my charity projects right now:



The green and orange square is one of the 12" afghan squares I am making for PRR. I promised SSK to make a square a week this year.

The pink square is the one and only square I have for Juliana's afghan. I unraveled the ones I crocheted because I was too slow and they were ugly.

The camel and variegated thing is the first strip of an afghan I am making all by myself, again for PRR. Half of the yarn was donated to me by Bernat. I need five strip to complete the afghan.

Stash enhancement

Been so bad. So bad. Sales are bad.

Knit Picks has come out with their own yarns - could I resist their prices? Absolutely not. I ordered Coal Wool of the Andes (for Bpt) and Yukon Sock Landscape, because it is the year of the socks.

Moving on to Elann, they would do me a favor if they raised their prices. As they are, I need to order and order. So the following is coming: Endless Summer Collection Lara, because spring will be here soon and Principessa will need something new, Filatura Di Crosa 501, for something I am dreaming up for Paperino, bunch of double point needles, Denise Interchangeable Long Cords, and something else I cannot say.

Then I discovered Knitting Help. Learned how to purl Continental style - well, kind of - and browsed their free pattern section. Saw this:



Want it. No impulse control, so I hop to the Yarn Shoppe and I order Jo Sharp Desert Garden.

But I was good and I resisted, fought and won my knitting ADD. Saturday is socks day, but the yarn for the socks that I plan to make for Sock it to me has not arrived yet. But, hear people, people hear, I did not start a new project, but I worked on Valerie and on the Bernat afghan. I really want to finish Valerie.

Oh, and yesterday I finished the back of the Ribbi Cardi.

Yet another test

Found on Run&BlogKnitter:




And I did take another one too - I am a spoiled brat. Never doubted it.

Guilty, very guilty

Cara confessed that she watches 24. My conscience made me admit, yes, me too. Other people confessed their TV sins, but let's see if I can make anyone feel less guilty about their TV time with a full confession. I have a show for each night of the week, sometime two. I tape a lot and I am getting the new Comcast box.
On my defense I can say that I do knit while I watch and that I have never watched a reality TV show and intend to keep it that way.
Here it goes:

Sunday: American Dreams - I just love that show. Maybe it is because I did not grow up here so it's news to me - well, not all of it.
I used to watch Boston Legal, but they lost me. Is there a Law and Order on Sunday night? If yes, I probably watch it.

Monday: 24 Hours and CSI:Miami - I have been liking David Caruso since he was on NYPD Blue.

Tuesday: Judging Amy and NYPD Blue - I used to watch NYPD Blue back in Italy before I moved here. Still missing Jimmy, but .....

Wednesday: The West Wing (with Jimmy Smits now!), but before that Lost (do you remember Matthew Fox on Party of Five?) and after CSI NY.

Thursday: a natural disaster could not keep me from watching ER.

Friday: Medical Investigation

Saturday: it's movie night with the kids - they get to stay up late and we either watch the Disney Channel movie or something else.

Feeling better, anybody?

Sick but happy

I have the most terrible cold - and it is a cold, it's not the flu. I got my flu shot when I was in Italy in November, so it's just a cold. But I am miserable and I suspect running a temp anyway. But happy. Why?
The sun, the sweater, Knitty SP3, the Goddess Guards.

Today the sun was out.

I did not make much progress on Valerie last night, too sick, but on Monday I almost finished the front of the sweater for Paperino:



And see the Goddess Guards in the back? I just got them today. I ordered them from Knitting with Susan and they are so beautiful I have decided I have to order more as gifts.

Then Knitty SP3 is officially on, I have already shopped for my secret pal and my secret pal is shopping for me!

What brand of yarn are you?

Goddess yarns. I always get the prettiest and
softest yarn I can find, even if it's expensive
or hard to find.


What brand of yarn are you? (Knitting)
brought to you by Quizilla


Should I add, of course?

The sun is out

Well, it was, but I saw it, for two full hours from my window, there, behind my computer monitor. Usually I would not be so excited about the sun being out because I do live in California, but it has been raining since before Christmas. The weather has gone mad. It is going to rain again tonight, but it was there. Right now I can see greyish cloud and a small triangle of blue from my window. And it is not raining. I wonder if I can just send an email to my group and saying that I am leaving early because it is not raining and I just need to be outside. Knitting in the park.

Speaking of which, being this a knitting blog, progress report. The only thing I completed lately is a doll sock - afghan squares do not count unless I have made enough for a whole afghan. And being the sock the second sock, it was supposed to be the same size as the first one. No way, my gauge changed completely and it is way smaller. Sam, the doll, cannot complain, but I do need to do better for sockapalooza.

The border for the Valerie poncho is so long it will take forever to finish it since I am slow on circular needles. It is one of the projects I thought to write out as finished last week, but I am still working on it.

But I finally got my copy of "The Plot Against America", so I am on it!

Pics of updates

I took some pics of my progresses today, so this is going to be a lots-of-pics-not-so-many-words post.

Sweater for Paperino: the back is almost done, I am at the neck shaping!



Can you believe this is the poncho? I am knitting the border.



Thanks to the "plan" I finally worked on the Bernat afghan, I am almost done with the first strip - I need to make five.



And I am still here with the Ribby Cardi, but I finally got the gauge and the drape of the fabric right:

La Befana vien di notte .....

And indeed she arrived last night so the kids woke up to socks full of candies and small presents - they were both very happy. No presents or candies for the adults in the house, Mrs. Befana gives only to children.

The last but not least of my Tsunami relief purchase was made, I bought some Premiere by Classic Elite to make Anouk from Kaleidoscope Yarns - 25% of the proceeds from every order placed now through Saturday, January 8th will be donated to the Red Cross Tsunami/Earthquake relief effort.

The queue has now 20 items (gulp!) and I have added deadlines to the ones I have due dates for. I think that's it, I need to go on a yarn/pattern/no more browsing diet. 20 projects waiting to happen?

My weekly plan is going well - maybe I should not say since it has been only 3 days - but I am sticking to it. I finished my first PPR square last night, but it is not a square rather a small blanket - 14x16 inches - so I am going to send it to Indian Health Service together with more baby items I bought a while ago. But now I am already a square late for SSK since I did promise one a week.
Today I brought my Bernat afghan to work with me, hoping to get some knitting done at lunch time. Lunch time? There was not such a thing, of course.
I am really looking forward to tomorrow when I am going to finish Valerie (since I was waiting for the needles I ordered online, I swaped Valerie with the Ribby Cardi on Tuesday). So I am going to be done with it tomorrow, if everything goes well. And then Saturday is socks night and so Sam will have the second socks. Principessa will be pleased - finally mommy does something right. She is unhappy about the "laundry situation" again. Is 8 too young to learn how to run the washer?
Once Valerie is done, the next thing in the queue is a Cardi for a baby girl who is due any day now. The person who is charge of delivering the gift leaves on the 19th, and that gives me two Tuesday to whip the cardi up. Piece of cake! I am extremely happy about the fact that I am going to use some stash yarn - Cascade 220 in pink that Principessa did not like.
You all are starting to understand why we call her Principessa, right?

Sock calculator

I found this Sock Calculator on Prudent Purl's blog - intriguing!

Tsunami relief and more

I need to report good shopping. Thanks to fellow knitters' generosity and suggestions (Susan, Deb and Annie) I bought the Hugs & Kisses Socks and Goddess Guards© Beaded Stitch Markers, and I am going to buy something from Kaleidoscope Yarns.

My company just announced a match of $1 to $1 to donation to the Red Cross International Response Fund.

And I have mixed feeling about all this. Of course I want to do something, as my good shopping testifies, but how comes that everybody is missing Uganda and Sudan? My guess is that we do not have homevideo of American vacationing there who almost drown. Am I being too cynic? Think positive and be glad that CCN did not miss this one too, I am telling myself.

Stephanie wrote this great piece about "Needs and wants" with a MSF challenge. Please do donate to MSF. And I have few more suggestions to make a difference.

If you can spare $10 per month, you can send a child to primary school in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya; if you can spare $12.50 per month, you can send a child to secondary school.

If you have leftover yarn who really do not know what to do with, you can knit up a square and send it to Love Afghans For Pine Ridge Reservation or to Sewing Seeds of Kindnees.

And if you are up for a raffle, check out Caroline's challenge.

Divide et conquer

Reading Alison's "Tuesday is knitalong day" I had this idea to get my knitting ADD under control: what if I assign a day of the week to each project?
I am thinking:
Monday: The striped sweater for Paperino - to start the week well since this is my neglected project.
Tuesday: The Valerie poncho for Principessa
Wednesday: Charity squares - since I need something light to knit during the West Wing.
Thursday: The Bernat afghan - again, something easy for ER.
Friday: The Ribby Cardi - dreaming of the weekend.
Saturday: socks night!
Sunday: Juliana's afghan - charity work on Sunday is good, right?

That should be it - no extra project because I do not have a day for it. Is it going to work?

I am in desperate need of a plan for 2005. I got the idea from Kate's wrap up and looking at life but I am stuck at item #1.

Both childHoods done

As you can see, I modified the second one a little - due to my knitting ADD I cannot make two objects exactly the same.



I started my first afghan square last night - I promise to make one squares per week for Sewing Seeds of Kindness - but I think it is more then 13" instead of 12". I wonder if it is too small to be a premie blanket.