I think I’ve (finally!) matured as a quilter. that or I just care enough about the FO to behave myself.

Tonight I finally started my BOTM quilt that’s going on my bed (eventually). (it’s the gold one mentioned about halfway through this post here.) the first block was in September, which I bought in late Oct/early Nov. It’s a bitch measuring things constantly, but so far my square in a square in a square (which will be the center of the quilt) looks pretty darn nice.

(I’ll post pics when I finish the square.)

in knitting news, I went to my friend Kim’s yesterday and we had a Harry Potter movie marathon in anticipation of the new movie coming out this week. since the last time we tried this we only made it through the first two movies, Emilea and I decided to start with the third movie. and as is usual for me, I fell asleep during the fifth one. anywho, I took the intarsia bag (started back in March ‘05) and managed to figure out where I left off (row 5 of the chart) and managed to get through the chart and beyond. I stopped at the part where I have to miter the bottom of the bag cuz I started overthinking things.

I’ve been trying to focus on the WIPs. I keep sort of joining ‘focus on the WIPs’ type groups on ravelry, but my knitting enthusiasm has been kind of low lately. at any rate, I’m sort of participating in the WIP Wrestling group - the intarsia bag has had good progress, and I’ve also been working on the Harry Potter book scarf this month. and I really want to get all the things that just need the ends woven in finished. we’ll see how I do.

in spinning news, I signed up for the Tour de Fleece - the goal being to spin every day with the Tour de France. I started out good, but haven’t really done much spinning since last weekend. so much for spinning a little every day. and the grand plans I came up with for the month. ah, well. at least I’m being crafty.

in other news, Kashka’s been sick the last week and a half or so. I took her in to the vet, and it’s either a tumor or just some really badly infected teeth. she’s been on antibiotics, and she seems to have improved a little bit. (the greatest evidence being her enthusiasm at chasing and pouncing at a moth that she and Wolfie found in the apartment. she’s been pretty lethargic since she’s been sick.) at any rate, she’ll be going in to have surgery soon to either figure out if it’s a tumor (I hope not) and, if not, have her teeth sorted out (cleaning, removal, etc). so if you’re so inclined, healthy kitty thoughts would be appreciated.

Monday I lost my car key. since it’s one of those bizarre keys that flips out of the remote and can’t be easily copied at a local store, I only have the one key. (I really should get a copy made, shouldn’t I?) where was it? in my purse. boy, did I feel stupid when I found it. (in my defense, the purse interior is black and the key is black. but still) so I stayed home (by the time I found the key, it really wasn’t worth it to drive and park or drive and park and bus since I work part time).

I spent much of the morning feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed (and downloading podcasts). at some point, I felt compelled to knit, so I worked on the strap of the Tasha bag a bit. (boy is that braided cable fiddly - I did get it memorized by the bus ride home last night, though.) I contemplated resuming work on the Sockamania River socks, but just couldn’t get the required mojo for that. meanwhile, the armless & faceless Mother Bear lay there staring at me (which I imagine must have been difficult for her, considering the lack of a face).

as an aside so that you may fully understand the way my knits can stare at me, my desk is angled to fit in a corner, with the computer in the center and space on either side. currently, on the left are about 4 WIPs and on the right side just out of the way (but barely) of the mousing zone are another 5 WIPs (which included the bear up until Monday). let it also be noted that there are more WIPs floating around the room in various places.

so yeah, the bear is now finished:

Started: Summer 2005
Finished: 2 July 2007
Pattern: Mother Bear Project - can be ordered from their site or found in Knitting for Peace
Mods: I knit it in the round. worked ok, though I think I’d prefer knitting it flat next time. also added the skirt.
Needles: Size 7
Yarn: Various worsted weight acrylics from the stash

I also finished sewing up the dh’s stripey pajama pants of blindness:

just in time for his trip to Ohio for Origins. he left yesterday, so I am home alone for a week.

in other news, nothing says summer like fresh berries. one only needs to walk about 3 steps from the front door to get them:

yes, they’ve taken over the front deck. we also have some along the edge near the neighbors horse fence and in the back woods somewhere.

the nice thing is, they don’t all go ripe at the same time - I think I’d go nuts if they did. (it’s bad enough trying to harvest and eat them daily)

we also have a little friend in the pond bucket. anyone know what he is?

(heh. can you tell what decade I grew up in?)

Here we have the WIPs started in 2005:
* red toe-up socks (one sock has a bit of the cuff started, the other is in the middle of the short row heel redo)
* a soap bag - just needs a cord to cinch it closed
* Mother Bear #2 - still needs an arm and a face
* The Sweater Workshop “Thing” - this is probably a perma-WIP
* modified mini-skull tote - got too tangled. I’m not sure why I’m so concerned with keeping the colors as continuous as possible - it’s going to get felted.

The 2006 WIPs:
* Fox & Geese mittens in purple & white - for Lilin. I’m at the point of increasing for the thumb.
* Dad’s xmas gloves - all that’s needed are one pinky finger and two thumbs
* Tasha bag
* placemat from sari silk
* lacy snowflake (it’s the tiny speck of white by the addi dpns)

* CTH glitz socks
* the start of some fuzzy feet (the blue wools)
* the test-knit sock - I have a toe! (and it fits! shocking)
* Dulaan hat #1 - needs a cuff. and maybe a pompom
* felted penguin

The Swatches that Mock me:
* blue KP Wool - a sweater of some sort. would help if I remembered what size needles I used on the swatch.
* carmel Dale Svale - to be a tank (think it was Calla from MagKnits last year). gauge was a bit off.
* sock yarn ribbing swatch - I was thinking of making gloves with it at the time.
* brown sock yarn - swatching for dh’s socks
* fushia CE Princess - possibly my Wicked sweater. again, gauge problems.

the result of this is that it feels like I have a lot less WIPs then I think I do. maybe cuz in my head, the list includes all the things I have yarn for but haven’t done much with yet. or maybe finishing and frogging things for the UFO Challenge has helped. (March’s project was my “Olympic” legwarmers. They are now frogged. frogging frozen mohair isn’t nearly as bad as ‘dry’ mohair. still a pain though.)

so, what to choose for April’s UFO project… I’m leaning towards one of the bags - either Tasha or the felted mini-skull.

Tomorrow, I’ll share the stash. Assuming I can find a WIFI zone that’s open.

this, according to my notes, was started in July 2005 with the thoughts of “it’ll be quick - it’s just garter stitch!” I think the yarn was bought during the xmas shopping season of 2004. good ol Lion Brand Wool-Ease and Fun Fur. finally finished: Feb 6, 2007

let me tell you, my it’ll be quick thoughts were so far off, it’s not even funny. yes, the circle base did go pretty quick, but the sides. tell me how you feel after you’ve knit a garter stitch scarf made with those yarns held together. (the fact that I alternated white and black fur every few rows probably didn’t help my speed.)

on the plus side, Kashka took to using just the base quite nicely. I think she enjoys it fully finished better though. I did make a modification - I stuffed the sides (with the stuff you stuff stuffed toys with). definitely like it that way.

here’s some pics for your enjoyment:

from January:

What do you mean it’s not finished? It feels finished to me?
(I don’t think it was stuffed at this point, and if you look closely, you can see the gray yarn ends floating about on the floor)

all finished:

thanks for putting this in front of the heater. now I’ll be comfy while lounging here.

ok, stop it with the pictures already. I’d like to sleep without that light that keeps flashing.

they don’t call me the Russian Spy Kitty for no reason. I’m keeping my eyes on you…
sidenote: she’s not really Russian. just her name is.

apparently I didn’t realize that my sister put up pics of Eli wearing the sweater I knit. She also put some pics of the kids modeling their hats last winter. Sorry!

and since I’m never home (or feels that way lately), I still haven’t gotten most of my pics sorted out to get them up on here. so you get to see her pics before my flat model-free pics. maybe that’s a good thing.

the snowflake sweater got stalled the last few days - no bus means less knitting. I did get over to Amazing Threads and found some amazing Alpaca (I want to keep it) that is destined to be sent to my Mitt Kit Swap pal, unless I find something else before the mailing date. I really need to figure out what I’m going to do for the bag for this. I found a felted bag that I’d love to send, but I still have 4 pairs of gift mittens to knit after I finish the sweater, so I may need to find a plan b (which would involve sewing).

the not-being-home thing also means that I still haven’t gotten the stitch markers finished. (I don’t think twisting beaded wire on the bus is the best of ideas.) I haven’t forgotten them, don’t worry!

I have been home long enough to pick up the mail though. The other night I got another package from my Winter Cheer pal (vegasknitter). She sent me some Karaoke yarn in a dark reddish sort of color and lots of other goodies. I also got a new monitor (thank you employer for the gift cards) - 19″ flatscreen. The best part is, the colors are pretty darn accurate! (The old monitor gave everything a greenish cast. Made it very hard to adjust pictures if they needed it.)

ok, so here’s one of the pics from my sister:

The other pics are in the gallery.