More fiber to share!

Anyone ever wake from a fitful night, crabby and tired? Okay, many of us have. But I'm honestly pissed off at my kids ... and they haven't even woke! They were just ANIMALS in my dream! ARGH! Anyway, how about a little more fiber-luvin'? Just look at this gorgeous washcloth I finished Sunday night!

It's a pattern I purchased from Susan B. Anderson and I had to teach myself to crochet, but thanks to my copy of Teach Yourself Visually Knitting, I got it done. And not to shabby, eh?

Here's one I finished yesterday afternoon.

And I also started my hemp washcloth project. After completing not quite half of, I'm calling it "The FBI Witness Protection Washcloth" because my finger prints have been effectively erased! It's some tough stuff, but I think it shall be a fabulous kitchen washcloth (I'm using the same Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth pattern on US 6 needles). Miss Daisy tells me hemp does not retain mildew (joy!) and the coarseness of this Mother Nature Yarn of 50% wool/50% hemp will surely rid my surfaces of grim and germs (euphoria!). Now . . . to find the band-aids for my poor fingers.

As for my version of the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf? I call her 'Marilyn' and let me say that all I want to do is punch it! I chose to do this project with a delicious Moda Dea yarn that's a dreamy soft lavender. One of my beloved Bitches recently broke her fibula in a stellar display of racquetball prowess and I thought this yummy thing would help her through the remaining days of Minneapolis winter. But now, finishing this scarf is a march to the death.

I refuse to frog this beast! NO! Rather, I'd like to take a flame thrower to it, but given it's mostly acrylic, I don't think it'd burn with the veracity I crave. It's been the bane of my knitting existence since I started it on the 7th, which is why I call her Marilyn -- the other Marilyn in my life is the bane of my work life. 'Nuff said...

Show 'n Tell time . . .

I've been asked to post a show-and-tell of fiber wares. Here you go!

Here's Miss Mo wearing a boa scarf made with Lion Brand Fun Fur. I'm made loads of these because they're fun and easy! Basically, cast on about 15 to 18 stitches and then simply knit to the desired length. When I make these for kids, I knit with size 11 needles, but for adults, size 13 needles.

These are my Cyclone Fingerless Mittens. VERY easy, simply garter stitch two rectangles! And then sew up the seams. Though DO remember to leave a thumb hole in the seam. I sewed the first two completely up, so I actually knitted 4 f'ing rectangles before I actually accomplished a usable pair. But they're fun and perfect for the Cyclone in your life. Pick your colors in an average worsted yarn and Go 'Clones!!!

This is a pair of fingerless mitts for my sister, K2, who requested a pair she could wear while working on the computer. Her office is apparently a wee frigid. Anyway, I modified a free pattern found on the Net with an irksome homespun (it looks and feels yummy, but being a newbie knitter, it's a pain in the arse).


Me mum asked for a scarf to go with her brown coat and I decided to make one from the diagonal check pattern from Teach Yourself Visually Knitting in a basic worsted yarn. I failed to click pic of the finished product, but Mom said she loved it. Though I've yet to see her wear it. Humph. Maybe our 50 degree temps could be why, no?


Here's my present fav: the dishcloth! This first one came from Miss Wooly Daisy who suggested I whip them up for Christmas presents. Well, I was too crazed with painting and pre-holiday freaking out to do it then, so I'm hoping to build up a stash of these for Easter! Miss Daisy forwarded the favorite pattern: Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth. I used Peaches N Creme 100% cotton yarn for both this and the following Fishy Washcloth, also loosely based on the same pattern.



But knitting isn't my only thing distracting me from housework: beads! Here's a peak at some stuff the kids and I put together awhile ago.

A crafty son-of-gun

So, I haven't been posting because I've been purging even more "friends" from Facebook. Not because they've done anything, but because I just wasn't comfortable. Now I'm down to about 109 and am feeling quite ok with things. And there's also a dog tale I'm just not ready to share yet. So, here's what I've been doing . . .

The knitting is going quite well. I made these fingerless mittens for myself. Go Cyclones (or Hogwarts)!

This crazy boa was done for my sister C3 who celebrated another birthday with Abe this week. I also did sister K2 a black one.

Since I made K2 a blue scarf (that I didn't photograph) I made C3 a second warm and cuddly number.

Because I absolutely adore the Lion Brand Fun Fur (which I snag for a buck a skein at the local Super Dollar) I made Mo this fun boa as well as a friend's "Little" who's involved with the local Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.

Then, last Saturday, when I attended my first Knit-a-thon with a local knitting group: Root Cellar Knitters, I made this bambino hat. The group was replenishing the supply of hand-made hats for fresh hatchlings at the hospital.

A few weeks ago, sister K2 was interested in the Magdalene Rosary that I'd made for myself

So I made her one.

While sisters A1 and C3, along with Mom, aren't jiggy with the Magdalene, Mom and C3 requested traditional rosaries. Here's Mom's that I finished last night:

Whew, I'm a crafty son-of-bitch, aren't I? :-)

I'm sooooo Martha!!!

Can you stand it?! I type in jest, but have to admit, I'm so friggin' PUMPED!!! I can't believe I did this! The yellow square was my first project, complete with peep hole. In progress is this stripey scarf for my son or daughter, it's their school colors. Unfortunately they both balked because it wasn't 'cardinal & gold' (a made-to-order scarf to anyone who can correctly guess why!). I started the scarf at 3:30 this morning, couldn't sleep. Voices in the head were too loud. The knitting was pretty therapeutic, but Turbo needs a nap!