I'm back!!

Hello....?? Is anyone there?  Probably not, it's been over FIVE years since my last post.  Once I got going on Ravelry, and was able to start tracking my projects there keep this blog up seems sort of duplicitous.  But, I have missed it, and I do have non-Ravelry type friends who might be interested my ramblings. 

Five years - lots of changes, and yet quite a bit are the same :)   I will start posting here a couple of times a week  I'm excited!!

Recession Swap Final Package!

I received the final package from my Recession swap partner! My upstream pal was Elise or catwoman429 on Ravelry :) Elise sent me an awesome scarf crocheted out off Noro Kureyon Sock yarn, in the style of Lizard Ridge! I love it, I've worn it twice already and have gotten compliments both times :) Elise also sent me some yummy goodies, none of which I have shared with anyone... yet... I'm still debating as to whether I will or not.

Elise, thank you so, so much for this package and the other two!!! I love everything you crocheted for me, and the yarn and other goodies too!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends, and Happy Thursday to everyone else! I wish you all a wonderful day :)

Wow, Really?

No posts at all October? Where was I? Oh yes, I work full time, I'm a mom, and I'm studying my a$$ off to pass the rest of the CPA exam.

Why in the world I didn't do this right out of school, or before kids, I'll never know. Actually, I think I remember saying I would never go into public accounting, and therefore didn't need to be certified. Well, I am in public accounting, and regardless of that, I do need to be certified.

On the knitting front - I need to look back and see what I've started since the last time I blogged knitting, and see what I've finished. I know there are at least a couple of projects. I also need to blog about the packages I've received from my secret pal (wonderful!) and the prizes I received from being matched with the girl who won Big Brother in the Ravelry BB11 group. I'll explain that one better when I blog about it.

Anyway, I just wanted to say I am still alive. Pardon my attitude, I'm a little tired :)

FO Report: Pleat Neck Top

Pattern: #06 Pleat Neck Top by Coralie Messlin from the Spring/Summer 2009 Knit Simple

Yarn: Queensland Collection Bebe Cotsoy

Needles: US 7 / 4.5 mm

Started: May 2, 2009

Finished: May 31, 2009

Modifications: The only thing I did was add about an inch to each of the sleeves! I love this, and have gotten lots of complements on it. I haven't worn it much this summer since it gets so hot here, but now that the weather's cooling down it may go back into regular rotation again. I've washed it once, and it pilled quite a bit, but they were easy to pick off. Hopefully that will minimize with each washing :) Other than the pilling I really like the yarn. It's very soft and drapey :)

Recession Swap Question #2

Time for the second question for the swap I'm participating in!

Are you attending any Fiber Festivals this autumn? If so, which ones and why?

Unfortunately, no. As far as I know, there is only one fiber festival held in my area, the last weekend in July. This past July was the third year for the festival, and I've never been able to go, due to previously planned trips out of town! I'd love to go to Rhinebeck someday, or Estes Park, since it is closer to me. Until I finish all four parts of the CPA exam (goal: within the next 5 months!), I don't have the time to be away for more than a day or so for fun stuff :( However, it will all be worth it when it's over :)

In related news, I am a member of CJ Kopec's fiber club on Ravelry. September's fiber was actually five different colors of wool, and each member could choose what colors / quantity they wanted. I ordered 4 of the colors, 6 ounces total, but have been mulling over how I would spin it up for the last couple of weeks. I finally made a decision (3 ply for stripey socks), and divided up all the fiber last night. Now I have six little balls of fiber, wound in color order, and I'm going to start spinning tonight when I need a study break. I wish I lived close enough that I could go home at lunch, but I don't really. My plan is to spin up 3 of the fibery balls, and ply them together to have one skein, for one sock, by next Wednesday.

Tubular Cast on and Bind Off for 2x2 Ribbing

I've had a few questions on Ravelry about my cast on and bind off for Cosima. I had to modify the instructions I found to work with this project, so rather than directing you all to links that don't really work for this application, I thought I'd write down what I did!

First of all, I usually use these instructions at Jigsaw Knits when I'm knitting socks top down. I really like the look it gives the cast on edge, so I wanted to use it on my Cosima. The problem with using these instructions is that my Cosima has a K2P2 rib, and is knit flat rather than in the round.

So here we go with the Cast On:

• Using a contrasting waste yarn, cast on half the number of stitches, plus 1. So if your pattern calls for 100 stitches, you would cast on 51.
• Row 1: Now with your project yarn, *knit 1, yarn over* Repeat from * until 1 stitch remains, knit 1.
• Row 2: *Yarn in front, slip the purl stitch. Yarn in back, knit the yarn over* Repeat from * until one stitch remains, purl 1.
• Row 3: * Yarn at back, knit 1. Yarn in front, slip purl stitch purlwise. * Repeat from * until one stitch remains, knit 1.
• Row 4: *Yarn in front, slip the purl stitch. Yarn in back, knit 1. * Repeat from * until one stitch remains, purl 1.
• Row 5: *Knit 1, slip next stitch onto a cable needle, hold in back. Knit 1. Purl stitch from cable needle, purl 1. * Repeat from * until three stitches remain. Depending on how many stitches you cast on, your last 2 stitches should either be knits or purls. If they should be knit, k2tog, knit 1. If they should be purl, p2tog, purl 1.
• Continue on with your k2p2 ribbing as the pattern calls for. The waste yarn can now be removed at any time.

Now for the Kitchener Bind off. The original instructions I modified for Cosima are here and here - I combined the two.

About 3 rows before you are ready to bind off, prepare as follows:

• Row 1 (Right Side): *Knit 1, slip next knit stitch to cable needle and hold in front. Purl 1, Knit 1 from cable needle, purl 1.* Repeat across.
• Row 2: Knit the knit stitches, and slip the purl stitches with the yarn in front.
• Row 3: Repeat row 2.
• Cut the yarn, leaving a length 3-4 times the width of the project to bind off with. Take two smaller needles and transfer the knit stitches onto own needle and the purl stitches onto the other. Thread a tapestry needle onto the yarn.
• Hold the needles in your left hand with the purl stitches on the back needle and the knit stitches on the front needle. The working yarn should be coming from the purl stitches.

1. Insert the tapestry needle into the first knit stitch on the front knitting needle as if to purl and pull the yarn through. Leave the stitch on the knitting needle.
2. Put your tapestry needle through the first purl stitch on the back knitting needle as if to knit, pull the yarn through, and leave the stitch on the knitting needle.
3. Put the tapestry needle through the first knit stitch on the front needle as if to knit, and drop the stitch off the knitting needle. Pull the tapestry needle through the next stitch on the front needle as if to purl, leaving the stitch on the needle.
4. Pull the tapestry needle through the first purl stitch on the back needle as if to purl, and drop the stitch off the knitting needle. Pull the tapestry needle through the next stitch on the back knitting needle as if to knit, leaving the stitch on the knitting needle

Repeat steps 3 and 4 until no stitches remain, and take care to keep an even tension on the yarn as you graft the knits and purls together. This bind off is a little tedious, but the end result is so worth it, in my opinion. And for what its worth, I didn't use a cable needle for the cast on or bind off. I'd say it all depends on how well your yarn clings to itself, and your confidence in your abilities :) Hopefully these instruction make sense. Please feel free to ask questions, and I'll do my best to answer them :)

Recession Swap Question #1

As I mentioned a while back, I'm doing the Recession Swap on Ravelry. There will be bi-weekly blog questions, and here is the first one:

If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?"

Ok, who hasn't already answered this a million times in their head? Of course, it would depend on how much, but just for fun, lets say it was a huge jackpot!

• Invest the bulk of it for our retirement, kid's college, and their future nest eggs.
• Give a chunk to charity
• Pay off our house (which we love, not selling), and buy some lakefront property with a great view of the sunsets and lots of trees. Someplace within easy driving distance of Tulsa, roughly an hour. Far enough to get away, but not so far that we couldn't come and go easily.
• Build a lake house, complete with a large crafting room for me, and an extra large garage for BHE. He'd probably stock with with a few cars too. The house would be large enough to entertain family and friends, but still have a cozy feel. The craft room would really be set up for sewing and probably have a long arm quilting machine. I'd do my knitting where ever the rest of the family was :D
• Help out family and close friends.
• Take a few extended vacations, all over the world.
• I'd probably keep working, at least part time. One, because I love what I do, and two, because I want to set a good example for my kids. Strong work ethic and all that, yada, yada, yada.
• Oh! I'd definitely hire a professional organizer to deal with the mess that used to be my sewing room. I am in dire need of organization for my books, magazines, fabric, yarn, and all sorts of works in progress. It is also my home office, so there's all sorts of paper in there.
• I also need a scanner to deal with the paper, and a temp to scan everything ;)

What would you do?

FO Report: Huron Huskies Socks

Pattern: My own

Yarn: KnitPicks Sock Blank, received in Dyed Sock Blank Swap #3

Needles: US size 1 1/2 / 2/5 mm

Started: May 23, 2009

Finished: June 30, 2009

These socks were received in a Ravelry swap on the Dyed Sock Blank Swap. The theme of this round was "Where I'm from" My upstream partner was Carol from Kitchner, Ontario (mullub on Ravelry). Carol based her sock blank on the school her husband where her husband works, and where they spend a lot of their time. The school is Huron Heights, and their team is the Huskies (hence the name of the sock). The blank was dyed in the school colors, which I love :).

These socks were knit in my usual toe-up fashion with a Eye of Partridge heel. I was inspired by the stitch pattern I used on the Trekking 159 socks to do this pattern variation, but it turns out it was already a stitch pattern in More Sensational Knitted Socks! (I believe it is the Baby Cable Rib pattern.) I can't wait for colder weather so I can wear there more - I have the a top that is a near perfect match for the eggplant purple :)

FO Report: Trekking 159 Socks

Pattern: My own, plus the Alternating 2x2 Rib (I think) stitch pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks

Yarn: Trekking XXL, color 159

Needles: US 1 1/2 / 2.5 mm

Started: April 4, 2009

Finished: May 9, 2009

I've knit so many dark colored socks, and am usually drawn to the darker colors, but the Spring inspired me to knit some lighter colors, so I pulled this from my stash. These were also toe-up, slip stitch heel, with a stitch pattern on the leg from the Sensational Knitted Socks book. I think its the Alternating 2x2 Rib, but I have misplaced my book and can't look it up. When I find it, if the name of the stitch pattern is wrong, I'll edit this for the correct name. Likewise with Ravelry.