apologies for yet another post without photos. I had intentions of doing a quick photo shoot last night before/while packing, but I got a bit distracted. I really need to get a progress photo of Twist.

a quick WIP Wednesday update:
Twist is going well. I probably won’t finish by the end of the month for NaKniSweMo, but I’ve made some good progress, I think. I’m at the armholes on the back.

at some point during the week, I ran out of yarn and forgot to pack a new ball of yarn. (I thought I had packed it, but apparently I was having a delusional moment). of course, that means I have nothing to knit on an hour-long bus ride home. ugh! so I studied the pattern a bit. and then I had the amazing realization that there was knitting in my bag. The Harry Potter book scarf to the rescue! (maybe it’s not so crazy of me to carry extra knitting around with me.)

Holiday Travel (and Holiday knitting)
we’re heading down to Wisconsin for the weekend. spending Turkey day with one of dh’s friends and whoever else shows up. and then I’m heading north from there to Green Bay to get together with some old camp friends for a quilting/crafting weekend.

so, last night was spent packing. priorities of course, I packed the sewing projects (the 2nd curtain, pajama pants for me, the quilt I mentioned back in May-ish, and the never-ending 5-year+ quilt. aka my first quilt project that I only ever seem to think about working on when meeting up with my camp friends.). while gathering the fabric, I realized I had misplaced the foot I’d bought to applique the May quilt. I found it in with the rest of the feet for the machine. and then I realized that the pattern(s) I had for pajama pants won’t fit me (one would have if I’d bought the Misses sizes instead of the Junior sizes. note to self, pay attention), so I may need to make a side-trip to the store for that (not a problem, at some point we usually end up in a fabric store).

alright, sewing being packed, it’s time to move on to the knitting. I’ve got Twist with me, of course. and 4 extra balls so I can start working on the fronts or the sleeves. whichever I choose to do, I’m doing both at the same time so they match.
since the holiday knitting has been suffering, I’ve made sure to bring plenty of that as well. but what to bring? well, I was going to force myself to work on L’s mittens from last year, but that’s at the house, so I guess those will have to wait a while longer (dammit!). so I’m taking yarn for L’s gift, A’s gift, the poinsettia wreath, and I think something else.

in mouse news, I caught one in a snap trap Sunday morning. I felt rather clever - I set the trap (which tried to attack me. I don’t like this brand) on a sheet of newspaper in the pantry and closed the door (to keep kitty paws and whiskers safe). The theory being that I could just fold it up in the paper and be done with it. it worked pretty well (I found a second sheet of newspaper to cover it with to avoid the ew factor). sidenote: I’m all about being humane, but I live in the country. if I release them, they’ll just find their way back in since we don’t know where they’re coming in from anyway.

MS3 update
I finally started working on it on Sunday. I didn’t get very far because I was working off the chart on the computer screen, and once it got complicated (around row 13, I think. wherever that next bead placing row is and the stuff in the middle kicks in) I couldn’t mindlessly follow it. and then I never got around to grabbing the printed chart from downstairs. and then I got distracted by the sewing machine (I’m fighting with the bedroom curtains at the moment. I did something backwards, and have to do some seam ripping)

lime dragon asked about my dying plans - before or after I knit.
I’m thinking of dyeing afterwards. I don’t feel like unwinding all the yarn from the cone just to dye it. KnitPicks had a how-to of dying a finished lace shawl/stole, so I’ll use that as a guide. I also need to make sure that dying wouldn’t do anything weird to the beads. and who knows, maybe I won’t mind the pink.

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?

wow, I’ve been a bit quiet here lately. I’ve been busy knitting the Sockamania River socks - I’m stuck halfway up the foot of sock #1. I need to figure out how to sort out my mods and a high instep modification. So today I went back to the Tasha bag. Also been busy getting my projects added to Ravelry.

so, strolling thru blogland this morning, I stumbled on this. Scroll down a bit. I’m loving that Cider Moon yarn she’s using on the socks. love the colors, love the way it looks. would love to have it. but that’ll have to wait a bit.

in other news, I hemmed some store-bought curtains Sunday night. and that turned out pretty well. (they’re pretty even and straight. dh is happy.) last night I layed out the fabric and cut out the pieces for dh’s pajama pants. I’m hoping the bedroom curtains will get done next week while dh is away (he’ll be in Ohio at Origins). and I want to make myself a skirt. and my pajama pants. and maybe go back to the quilt. I’m also planning some other non-knitting craftiness - my friend is getting married the end of July (on my birthday, coincidentally), and the shower is mid-July. I’m thinking soap and candlemaking as well as some knitting shall produce a nice gift. (she’s crafty too, so hopefully she won’t think I’m completely cheap or anything)

oh, and I’m feeling a bit giddy. since it’s kinda cold out today (compared to the last few days), I’m wearing my new socks at work. yeah, the glitz itches a lot. but my feet are comfy

originally. but then the quilt-that-must-be-made caught my attention. so the weekend plan was altered.

Friday night I finished sock #1 (aside from end weaving). the verdict - it fits, but kind of funny. so the ends have not been woven in and sock #2’s toe has been neglected. I’ve also discovered I have a good bit of yarn left and could probably have made the cuff longer.

the sock!

Saturday, the husband and I went fabric shopping. We hit JoAnne’s in Coon Rapids first. Saw a few fabrics that caught my eye, but they weren’t quite right. So we wandered over to the Hancock Fabrics over in Crystal which is one that’s going out of business. (we got a bit lost in the process - the cell phone map wasn’t as clear as it needed to be. and they don’t know how to name roads around here. example: on what must have been a town border, if you’re going in one direction on the 2-lane road, you’re on some numbered street. if you’re on the same road in the opposite direction, it’s some-odd Lake Rd.) I found most of the fabric needed for the quilt there (and at 60% off. woohoo!). We also got some fabric to make bedroom curtains from, and dh picked out some horrid green stripe flannel fabric for the pajama pants he’s been saying he wants me to make.

(horrid stripes, curtain back, curtain front, quilt contrast/border, quilt background, quilt border)

Onwards… to Mill End Textiles, who were having a 50% off Memorial Day Sale. Holy fabric batman! We should have gone there first. Found a ‘perfect’ fabric for the quilt. Just needed a couple basic solids for the quilt still, so back to JoAnne’s. we encountered another bit of bad cell phone mapping, so we went to the one in Maple Grove this time. which was good, cuz they had fabrics that were perfect that the other one didn’t. so got the backing fabric, another fabric, and a remnant, and quilt shopping was done. whew! (there was also a stop for lunch, a poke into Half Price Books, and a stop for dinner. yeah, it was a great all day event).

(quilt backing, ‘perfect’ for quilt, more quilt fabric and remnant for quilt)

when we got home, it was time to sort things out, and then the great prewashing began. my least favorite part of the sewing process.

Sunday morning was spent ironing the prewashed fabric. oh joy. and then I began cutting quilt squares/strips. and did a couple other things quilt-related. then we left to see a movie, which didn’t end up happening for various reasons, so we went to Hollywood Video instead.

This morning has been spent tracing. there’s a lot of applique on this quilt, and the tracing is starting to get to me. so it was time for a pre-lunch internet break. If I’m lucky, I’ll get the tracing done and be able to start putting quilt blocks together. why’s there gotta be so much darned prep-work????

Here’s what half the quilt squares will look like: