Sweetie's Nemesis -the bat

Last Night I gave away the super secret birthday project I’ve been working on...Sweetie's Nemesis -the bat!


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I’d say Batgirl was pleased to receive the prototype of Sweetie’s Nemesis. He’s been officially named Christian Bailey the Bat.
I think it’s a fitting name and hope it makes her smile whenever she sees it.

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Everyone who sees Sweetie's Nemesis, loves it, including Dad. I knew he did becuase he got a silly smile on his face and informed me that Yoda doesn't have wings.

The pattern is now available for purchase in my Etsy shop. I hope everyone knits there own Nemesis for Halloween. There will be more patterns posted to the shop later this week.

It's Fall

Before heading to Mamma Mia for the 6th time my mother sees it, we did a little redecorating. I guess I’m being a bit a fruit about this, but I just love the way my hallway looks with the addition of these two paintings. So much classier. And of course Mamma Mia was even better than the previous times. Such a great feel good movie.



Today marks the beginning of fall. For most people that’s when kids go back to school or the nights start to get a little chilly. Not for us. Fall starts when The Boyfriend starts wearing football jerseys on Sundays and friends and family join him for the afternoon. Fall is when I start to go a little crazy listening to the Fantasy Football talk (at least I understand the game of baseball which makes that somewhat tolerable).
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Yesterday I finished off 216 Cascade Lana Grande in the form of a second, smaller oven mitt. The first is too big for me.
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After that I moved onto 3 Variegated Acrylic which was promptly turned into a sac to stuff with grocery bags, which we save and reuse for poop scooping.
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Lastly I started designing this Wavy Baby hat using lots of complicated math to hide the decrease and maintain the size and shape of the waves. I used more of the 195 Lion Brand Microspun, but of course there is still some left from the never ending ball of yarn!

Currently I'm at 0.62 miles. I’ve got to tell you. It felt amazing to zip through two yarns yesterday. To clear out just a little space in the stash. I am still a little buzzed off the excitement. I think I need to do more challenges that involve clearing out single skeins.

Oven Mitt and Matching Pot Holder

They are complete. The Mitt is just the thing for quickly pulling something out of the oven. It's small and goes on fast. They are the perfect house warming gift. Knit them to match the colors of the kitchen.

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Requires US size 11 20” circular needles

The pattern is now available for purchase in my Etsy Shop for next to nothing. Knit a set for all of your holiday gift recipients. I just might ;-)

Handful of Elephant

As you can see I have a handful of elephant. She has a little flower tattoo, and a cute little bow. And look at that dainty little tail. I shall call her Daisy. Although she is intended for another.

I knit her using 195 Lion brand Microspun but barely put a dent in the skein. I’ll definitely have to do some baby hats. While Daisy is adorable she was not so much fun to knit. Next time I’ll knit her flat rather than fighting to knit 30 stitches in the round. I used magic loop which may have added to my frustration.
The pattern is the Flower Power Elephant.

Right now Mac is pacing back and forth on the table between the keyboard and my face purring up a storm. It’s one of those rare moments when he actually likes me.

Get ready tonight, or tomorrow morning there will be some felting! Yes I have my pillowcases ready and I promise not to put items directly into the machine. But before that I'll be working on the Rose Ribbing while watching Mamma Mia!

...Here I go again, my my how can I resist you...

Oven Mit

I just had to share. This is Nessa Rose’s baby Big Papi. Isn’t he just the cutest? He looks like he should be reclining on a chase lounge by the pool, doesn’t he? I haven’t said much about what I’m currently knitting because there are 3 super secret Christmas and birthday gifts being knit. But as soon as I’m able I’ll share details with you all.

2 Random Mile Challenge:
Since I was already using number 216: Cascade Lana Grande, I decided to keep going. I was inspired to design something based on the quiches I just made. When I took them out of the oven I used our trusty “grippy frog” and a regular pot holder. The pot holder didn’t lend the same confidence as the grippy frog. Here I was holding a 2 pounds of bubbling cheese and egg with the tips of my fingers. There was a need for another grippy frog, but not as structured. Something that could hang with the pot holders and not need space in a drawer. Enter my Oven Mitt.

Side note: every time I talk about it or he sees it, The Boyfriend yells, Mittens!!!! And laughs as he thinks of Mit Romney.








I also decided a matching pot holder to sit the dish on once it’s been taken out of the oven would be nice. Both will be felted and I’ll be sharing the pattern in a few days.

The Yarns

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Thank you all for your help. This will prove to be a very challenging month for me, as the yarns that came up are far from my favorites.
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First I sorted my list of yarns by weight, then assigned the numbers. I didn’t want to do the predictable listing by name, as it’s shown on Ravelry.
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312 is Plymouth Indicita Alpaca, in Black. Just one skein at 102 yards. Fairly harmless. I had bought this envisioning mittens or perhaps a hat.
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216 is Cascade Lana Grande, in Purple. It’s a super bulky yarn of which I have about 200 yards. I got it in a Valentine's Day swap and never was sure what to do with it, until I used some for the Curlfect Mice. Turns out that this is a gret felting yarn. Funny thing is that I actually picked this up last night and knit a water bottle cover out of it.
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195 is Lion brand Microspun in Yellow. This is a 100% acrylic and very splitty yarn, plus I despise this color. According to my records I have 126 yards but it’s a massive ball so I’m thinking it might be more than that. I see some preemie hats with purple accents.
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3 is a variegated acrylic yarn that I purchased at Michael’s way back. I have no idea what the name is or if it’s blended with anything else. Here I only have 90 yards and a complete lack of inspiration. Maybe I’ll make some Christmas ornaments out of it, or something. Hello Ravelry Queue, any suggestions?
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13 is Cascade Pastaza, in Navy. I had also seen hats when this was purchased. Some sort of fair isle with the light blue Pastaza I already had. Pastaza is a 50/50 wool/llama yarn so it might be too itchy. We shall see.
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245 is Berroco Sowftwist in Aliziarin which is a rich burgundy color. I have one skein of this as it was bought with 13 skeins of the Turquoise color as I dreamt of doing a sweater with a slight amount of color work. Again mittens, or maybe a headband with the 85 yards.
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177 is Shepherd Baby Wool, in an orange sherbet sort of color. I had used this yarn in an attempt to make baby piggy mittens. They failed and I was left with 239 yards of fingering weight baby wool. Who knows what to do with this?!?!
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243 is Berroco Nostalgia, in Magenta. I just used this yarn in the cream color to make the Lutea-Lace Tank Top that was part of the Tour De France July Challenge. Currently I’ve been working with the Magenta color on the Rose Ribbing Sweater. I had to rip it back and just this weekend finished off the first skein. I have ten more skeins to complete this short sleeve sweater.
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9 is Berroco Zen, in a lime-green. This is probably the second oldest yarn in my stash. When I first began to knit, I began to work on a massive grey Donegal tweed rolled cuff sweater for myself. One Friday afternoon I had a haircut and felt like a treat so I stopped into the yarn shop next door, mind you, this is some 4 years ago but I remember it as clear as day. I spoke with the owner for a while and landed on a second project, a scarf for my mother in this very expensive yarn. I have no idea how much it cost but at that time it was an extravagance to buy anything at a yarn shop. While I did finish the Grey giant, and do still wear it on occasion, I have never knit that scarf for my mother. Advice for what to do with 110 yards of ribbon yarn would be greatly appreciated.

So these 9 yarns represent the beginning of my Random 2 Mile hike to burn up some stash yarn. I feel as though I’ve been dared to use them up and clear out some space for more. Actually I don’t need anymore I just need to get rid of the old stuff (i.e. department store purchases) I’ll never use and the odd balls I’m no longer inspired to use. Well watch out cause here I come!

Oh and if you’d like to add to my challenge, go ahead and throw out a number! If I do knit all this up, that’s only 2,000 yards and I need 3,520 to make 2 miles. So if you can think of a number between 1 and 319 I’ll gladly add it to my list. Thanks so much.

Still Need Help

What’s on tap for September?

Maybe I should throw down the gauntlet and knit 2 Miles this month! Oh and make it be some of the old stuff? Alright pick a number between 1 and 319. This’ll be the 2 mile month of random yarn. Pist, I have a list of all of my different types and colors of yarn and there are 319 of them, but that’ll be between just you and me. Please Help me by throwing out some numbers and I'll knit with the corresponding yarns. That'll be my random 2 mile Challenge. I'm anxious to start so hit me with those numbers.

Thanks for your help!

Exhausting Exhilarating...Gauntlet? Help Me

What an exhausting and exhilarating day. The alarm went off bright and early and we rushed out the door to the show hall. Nessa’s eyes were not the greatest and were a bit challenging all day as they were running and needed to be wiped several times, which makes her scrunch up her eyes, which means you can’t get all the wetness, which means you have to keep wiping, it’s just a vicious circle which makes for a sullen Nessa Rose.

We did have some nice chats with people in the area who had previously purchased kittens from Mum as well as people who are interested in Devons. Usually I dislike this part of showing, I’m there to see the judges and earn points, not chit-chat, but today was nice and relaxed all morning. It’s funny to see how the different judges handle the cats.

Some are nonchalant and want to see the cats personalities while others manipulate the cat spending their time evaluating against the standards.

I guess they are all evaluating but I’d love to know what they’re thinking when they look at each cat, to just hear the inner dialog as they measure the shape of the head or the texture of a coat.

In the afternoon we were up in four rings and ended up getting called back for four finals. This is what we’re there for so it’s thrilling but can I tell you how loud it is in a show hall, with all the microphones and meowing? Maybe I’m more sensitive now because of the quiet lifestyle.

In the end Nessa took home Third Best Short Hair Champion for four of the six judges. It was a brilliant showing and we were all very proud. I say all because my Dad made a surprise appearance. Poor guy, Mum and I were both so happy to see him and tell him all about showing that I think he felt overwhelmed. Typically he sees us at the end of the day when we’ve run out of steam and are both just looking for food and a place to put up our feet. In the midst of showing we’re both pretty high strung.

I did manage to squeeze in a little work on my Space needle socks. Again, I can’t “be in opposition to” (dis-recommend isn’t a word) this yarn enough. Knit Picks Essential. I can’t even feel the 25% nylon, it’s like 100% wool. ITCHY!

I’m also realizing that it’s the end of the month. Woaw, where did that come from? I did accomplish the Complete the Ivy League Vest Challenge so if anyone’s keeping track that’s 7-1, it’s a winning record so I’m happy. But what’s on tap for next month?

The Boyfriend suggests I Knit for Obama. While I’d gladly wear a Knitters for Obama t-shirt, I don’t think I want to knit for the man. Although…?

EZ would have me knit tights for children and adults. Yah that’s not going to happen. Tights! Honestly who wears those? Can you tell it’s late and I’m a bit punchy? Maybe not the best time to make a decision.

I have been eager to tackle a pair of socks from New Pathways for Socks Knitters, but then again I’d knit that anyway and it’s not really so much of a challenge. I prefer the challenges that cause me to use up the stashed yarn, the really old stuff. Oh wait, isn’t it time to do a Mile in a Month?

I think it is, since I wanted to knit 4 miles spaced evenly throughout the year. But maybe I should throw down the gauntlet and say knit 2 Miles this month! Oh and make it be some of the old stuff? Alright pick a number between 1 and 319. This’ll be the 2 mile month of random yarn. Pist, I have a list of all of my different types and colors of yarn and there are 319 of them, but that’ll be between just you and me. Help me out and throw out some numbers and the corresponding yarns will be what I’m challenged to knit 2 miles with. Even you quiet people, who don’t like to comment, even you, throw out a number. It’ll make it more a challenge for me which inturn is more fun for you as you watch me knit circle around myself.

By far this is my greatest achievement

While I really wanted to win the Trifecta and get three five-mile days in a row, today just wasn’t meant to be. My feet were a bit too soar (and blistered) to attempt it. Instead I worked on designing something new, more on that at a future date.

I also packed and headed north for a Cat Show. Here’s hoping our Nessa Rose can strut her stuff tomorrow and win over some judges.

Before I left Mr. Chipmunks son came for a visit. Of course the peanuts were a too tempting to pass up on. I know it wasn’t Mr. Chipmunk since this one was very small with a relatively short tail. Oh and by the way a little something happened today, something of minimal

importance…I finished the IVY LEAGUE VEST!!!

As you can see I have many many ends to sew in. Logan (my parent's big guy) thought the ends smelt funny. The yarn definately has a smell to it, which I notice if I leave the vest in a bag. It's a nice fresh smell so it's fine with me. Logan wasn't so sure.

I’ll have to model it after blocking. Right now the armhole ribbing is curling up and needs some convincing to lay flat. I’m also not sure what to do with the steeks. Should I just ignore them or am I supposed to tack them down or cut them off? By far this is my greatest achievement.

Finishing kick

Five Mile Thursday….I know what you’re thinking, is this an alternate universe where The KnittingSamurai is active? No it’s just Seattle recovery. Ten miles in two days, I’m pretty proud of myself.

Last night I finished the Bulldogust socks. Words can not express how much I love these socks. 100% merino with a some sort of wonderful wash that makes them silky soft.

The pattern is just subtle enough.

I finished the thumbs and sewed up the Devon Rex Norwegian Mittens today. 100% alpaca and super soft. Knit on size 2s so it’s a very dense fabric which means they’re very warm. I can’t wait to go to a football game and drink hot chocolate with my mittens on.

Oh and I cut the final armhole steek and started the ribbing. No pictures yet…is the suspense building?