Saving Daylight!

I wonder how my computer knew we were changing the clocks two weeks earlier than we usually do?

It's warmed up quite a bit - like from windchills of 40 below to a temp of 42 above! The snow is melting and is being replaced with MUD! We don't have spring in Downeast Maine, we have 'mud season' and then come the black flies (tiny flies that swarm and bite). We go through a lot to get to summer! But I guess that only makes us appreciate it more.

I've been putting together some things for the Chinese Auction and Spaghetti supper that my grandchildren's 8th grade class is holding next week to raise money for their trip to Boston. In some places it's called a 'tricky tray'. There are items all laid out on tables and you buy tickets and put them in items that you would like to win. Then one ticket is drawn for each prize for the winners. I put together a 'learn to knit kit' - the bag is a Booga Bag made with Noro Kureyon. I added some knitting needles, 2 skeins of Wool-Ease yarn, and some knitting notions along with a learn how to knit book. I also put together a scrapbook basket with all kinds of papers, albums, stickers, stamps, books, and a photo box. Scrapbooking is my other obsession, although I haven't been doing much of it lately.

Global Warming???

The wind was whipping around the house (and into the house) at 40MPH Monday night - and the windchill was down to 40 below by the morning - I don't think it's ever been so cold. And tomorrow is supposed to be even colder. I wore my entrelac scarf to school today - and everyone was totally amazed that I had made it. It really looks so complicated, especially knit in Noro - like I had knit all of those little triangles separately LOL.
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I think I'm going to knit a headband with my leftover yarn tonight.

I finished another square for the Whoduknit charity blanket. This one is really easy. It's a Bernat acrylic yarn in a light green tweed worsted weight that's been in my stash for years, and size 10 needles.

CO 52 sts. knit 3 rows in garter stitch for border.

row 1: k 3 *knit into 2nd stitch on needle, pull through, but do not slip off the needle, k into first stitch on needle, pull through and slip both stitches off the needle* repeat up to last three stitches, k 3.

row 2: k 3, purl 46, k3

Repeat these two rows until square measures 11 1/2" and then knit 3 rows in garter stitch for top border.

I'm working on another square in a honeycomb pattern and I'm trying out this method of doing cables without a cable needle.

Babies are arriving!

This is my younger sister's first grandchild, Dylan Isiah, and she is ecstatic, as are his parents. He is the baby I knit this outfit for.

Emma Mae also made an appearance last week - she's the one I knit these for. Two more babies to go - both due in April. And the new Knit Picks catalog is all about babies - just too cute! I need more grandchildren!

In Like a Lion

March came roaring in like a lion and closed down most of the State of Maine on Friday. Here on the coast it turned over to sleet later in the day, giving us a nice coat of ice over everything! Fortunately, Saturday was warm (40 degrees!) and most of the ice on the roads melted. And, fortunately for us, my son-in-law has a plow on his truck, so we were plowed out by early Saturday morning. It would be nice to think this is winter's last hurrah - but the forecast is for a little more snow tomorrow and temps down below zero again.

I took advantage of the snow day to block my entrelac scarf, and make a square for the Whoduknit charity blanket.

This Bag is Mine!

This is what I found sitting on my dining room table when I got home today. I knew exactly what it was. You see I had seen this very package on the ITEIII blog and I had commented "who wouldn't want to receive a package wrapped like that!" I opened it carefully - not wanting to rip the beautiful paper - and was greeted with this:

Well - I knew what I was going to find inside. You see, I've been following this bag from its beginning on the ITEIII blog, never guessing that it was for me.

Out of all the amazing bags I have seen on the blog, this one just called out to me saying "Jane" all over it! It's perfect. The perfect color, shape and size. I really love it and it will be my go everywhere bag. Next came this cute handmade card revealing the true identity of "Annie Snuffleupagus" was Vicki - also known as Dandy.
But of course, that wasn't all. Pinned to the bag was a pin and a set of stitch markers - so cute! And a beautiful butterfly clasp. And look what else was in the box.

There was a skein of yarn hand spun from Vicki's own Alpaca "Uncle Buck" (I've been petting him),
some unspun fiber and a handmade (by Vicki) drop spindle so I can try spinning, a cute teddy bear key chain, yummy candy and gum, A crochet change purse with three Canadian coins in it. A Saskatchewan quarter celebrating their 100 year birthday, a quarter with the breast cancer ribbon on it to help support the fight and the bravery quarter to never forget the men & women who put their lives on the line everyday. These I will treasure!
And look at this cute sheep notepad and pen, with a lovely note inside.
And last, but not least came "Maple Bear" dressed in a hand knit sweater and socks with this note: "Through the wonders of the internet I come to live with you. I was made in China with "Canada" across my chest. My sweater 7 socks are Opal yarn, made in Germany, bought by a lady in Australia and swapped for Kool-aid from Canada. Now I'm living with you in the USA. Cool huh?"
So...do you think I've been spoiled??? Wow - I'm just overwhelmed and so excited. So much time and thought went into this package. There was a little note attached to each item telling me why she chose it. I am really touched by her thoughtfulness.

Thank you so much Vicki! I'll be visiting your blog often - please keep in touch!

GRAMMIE

What Grammie Means

G is for Gentle R is for Responsible A is for Artistic M is for Moral M is for Magical I is for Influential E is for Easy

What Does Your Name Mean?

ITEIII Prize Package

The hostesses of the ITEIII put together some prize packages for the participants and I was lucky enough to win one in a drawing for the "Post Your Supplies" contest. Laurie C. was the generous hostess who provided this prize - and it is fabulous!

There were two skeins of Knitpicks Marino Style yarn in Cornflower, and a skein of Trendsetter's Pagoda in Bright Multi (I'm picturing a cute little spring purse!), some beautiful handmade stitch markers, cute knitting note cards, a row counter and tapestry needle set. AND....Eva Wiechmann's Pursenality Plus book. I love this book! Just look at all of these cute purses - I don't know which one I'm going to make first.

Thank you Laurie - I'm overwhelmed with your generosity!

FOs and WIPs

Here is the 'Heartbreakingly Cute Kimono' from Mason Dixon Knitting and the equally 'heartbreakingly cute hat' from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I also started a square for "The Great Whoduknit Charity Blanket." The pattern stitch is from an old knitting pattern book I have and is called 'trinity' which is very appropriate for our March book - Haunted Ground. If you are not already a member of Whoduknit and you like to read mysteries and you like to knit - why don't you join us at Whoduknit.
We have a blog and a Yahoo Group.

Vacation is Over :(

Back to work tomorrow. Things didn't turn out exactly as I had planned. I didn't get to do a tour of yarn shops - my car ended up in the repair shop instead.
And I didn't buy $200 worth of yarn (our boiler bit the dust, and we needed to buy a new one- guess heat and hot water come before yarn, at least in February!) But fortunately I'm very easy to entertain - books and my yarn stash can keep me busy and happy for hours/days/weeks/months! So, I finished Northern Lights and started Haunted Ground, finished my entrelac scarf (it's blocking now), finished my ITEIII bag and mailed it, and knit this "Heartbreakingly Cute Kimono" from Mason Dixon Knitting and equally 'heartbreakingly cute hat' from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for a friend's daughter's baby shower next week. And - oh right - I did some organizing, cleaning, etc. - but that doesn't count as a vacation!

Toggle Contest Winner

Thanks for all of your great answers as to what to do with the 'other' part of the toggle. Your answers were all very imaginative and I couldn't pick just one - so I used that handy random number thingy, numbered you in order of your comments - and the winner is.......Annie! Well - that's probably not her real name, so I will have to wait until I receive a certain package in the mail with her real name and address on it so that I can send her the prize - which of course is all those leftover toggle parts LOL. Not really - as I promised the prize is a set of stitch markers. Congratulations Annie!!!

Monthly Dishcloth Swap

I received this pretty butterly dishcloth from Jessica today, along with some tea, Hershey's Kisses, tissues, and a cute handmade card.

Thank's Jessica.

I sent off my ITEIII package today - it's got a long way to go - to the western part of Canada so it will take at least 4-5 days to get there. My upstream pal says she sent mine out too - can't wait!

I finished my 'back-up' tote. The one I was making in case the Aran bag didn't come out right.

It's a 'ballband' bag, but I made this one a little taller and deeper than my last one. I used black Paton's wool and a variegated Lion Brand wool. They both felt evenly and quickly.
I CO 50 stitches and knit in garter for 14 ridges - then picked up 14 stitches along the side, the 50 CO stitches, and 14 on the other side. It was 19 x 15 x 4 before felting and the Icord was 75" long. After felting it is 10 1/2 x 9 x 4. I will probably donate this one to the 8th Grade Chinese Auction.

There are some pretty neat ideas for what to do with the other part of the toggle (see post below). I'll let the contest run a few more days until I pick a winner.

A Little Contest

When I was in A.C.Moore on Saturday looking for beads for my ITEIII bag (see below)
I saw these cute little charms and thought they would make great stitch markers (always have knitting on my mind!). They already had a jump ring attached, so I bought some toggle clasps popped the charms on the ring part of them voila! stitch markers in two sizes, plus the jump ring on the charm itself fits on size 1-3 needles. So, my questions is - what to do with all of the other halves of the toggle clasp? Got any ideas? Post them in the comments, and I'll send a set of stitch markers to the person whose idea is the best!

ITEIII Tote Finished!

My tote for the ITEIII is finished and I've collected the goodies to go in it, and made a little felted change purse with the leftover yarn. If I can bear to part with it I will mail it off to my partner.

This is the Aran Bag from the 2007 Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar - (November 16) with a few modifications. It took 3 skeins of Galway Highland Heather Color 729. The finished bag is 14" wide x 12" high and 28" from the top of the straps to the bottom of the bag. The lining is fabric from my stash (yes, I have a fabric stash too!) which just happened to have all the colors of the yarn in it. It has two pockets sewn into one side. The beads are glass beads from Blue Moon.

The change purse is my own pattern. CO 4 stitches and knit in garter st. increasing one stitch on each side until you have 26 stitches. Then knit in St. st. for 12 inches. BO, sew up side seams and felt. Stuff with a plastic to shape while drying. Sew on a button and cut a slit in the flap for a buttonhole. Fill with goodies! It's 3"x 6" after felting. I love how this yarn felted - you can see the subtle colors of the heather in it. I just may have to buy some more of this yarn and make a felted purse with it.

TGIF

I like the snow, and don't mind driving on it (once it's stopped coming down that is) - but ice is a different story! After the snow storm on Wednesday turned over to rain the temps dropped and it turned back to snow, leaving a layer of ice underneath. Yesterday our front door and garage door were both frozen shut. We had a two-hour delay in starting school while the plows tried to get the roads cleared. My DH had to drive me to work, since I couldn't get my car out of the garage - he has 4 wheel drive so we didn't have a problem. Last night we ran a heater in the garage and defrosted the door. This morning I should have had blades instead of tires on my car because the side roads were a sheet of ice. White knuckle driving all the way! And there is not much hope for a thaw in the near future. The good news is - I'm on vacation next week!!!!
It's our winter vacation - which always falls during the week of President's Day. In Downeast Maine it's basketball tournament time so the folks who aren't lucky enough to be vacationing in Florida, usually spend their time at the Bangor Auditorium watching basketball. Me? I'm going to spend the week knitting and reading! When you think about it - I could go to my LYS and spend a couple of hundred dollars on yarn, and it would still be a cheap vacation - right? If the weather cooperates and the roads are not too bad, I'm going to go on a yarn shop tour - some not so local yarn shops that I have read about on the web and have been wanting to visit. I love winter vacation week!

Entrelac Scarf Progress

I'm starting the third ball of yarn - that means 1/3 to go on the scarf!

Snow Day

We are snowed in today - and the snow is supposed to last well into tomorrow. It's just as well, as we have had so much illness at school this week. Yesterday 87 out of 170 students and 7 staff members were out sick. In 2nd grade were were down to 6 out of 18 students by the end of the day. They have everything from upper respiratory infections, stomach viruses, ear infections, strep throat infections, bronchitis and even pneumonia. Today was supposed to be our Valentine's Day party - but it's looking like we won't have that until Friday. So...what's a person to do? Hmmm- maybe knit some, and read some?
I finished the front and back panels of my Aaron bag last night and sewed it together this morning (wishing I had taken the time to figure out how to knit it in the round and wondering why I didn't stick to a felted bag which covers up all the uneven knitting and felts the ends in securely). It does NOT look like the picture in the knitting pattern a day calendar. And now I know why - the directions do not match the picture.

The directions call for knitting the two side panels of cables in the same direction - the picture shows them going in opposite directions. The center cable is also going in the opposite direction in the picture. And..the ribbing at the top in the picture is wider than the directions called for. I never noticed any of this until I sewed it together of course! I think it is probably still fine, and I actually love it, except that the bottom is not straight, and blocking should fix that. I still have to make the handles and the drawstring with the beads, which I think will add a lot to it, and line it. And if all else fails - I have this back-up bag on the needles!

Sunday

Once again the weekend has gone by much too quickly. I really need more than a two day weekend! Oh well, one more week, and then a week off for winter break. I finally finished one panel of my Aaron bag for the tote exchange. I am not happy with the way the bind off is curling - it's not even at all. I hope blocking will take care of it. One more panel, the straps and the lining to go. Good thing it doesn't have to be mailed out until the middle of March.

Never Knit While Watching Survivor

My favorite reality show began a new season last night and I settled in to watch and knit. (I even have some buffs thanks to Michelle, my KMKS Pal) I knit about 4 inches on my Aaron bag while I was watching, and then realized I had cabled the wrong way (front instead of back) about three repeats down. Ugh! Rippit, rippit. It took me another hour to get back where I was before I started. Lesson Learned!

Knitting to Keep Warm!

My progress on the Aaron bag for the tote exchange is slow going, but then I'm working on the entrelac scarf and another ballband felted bag too. All three of these are such fun knits! And what else is there to do when the temperature is below zero? It's hard to get a good picture of it - the color really has a lot more green in it.

The ballband bag is easy knitting - it's a little bigger than the last one I made and I hope the brighter colors will show up more after felting.

Entrelac Scarf Progress

I can tell that blocking will be crucial with this scarf! But I love the way it is coming out - love the colors in this yarn too. I'm glad I bought an extra three skeins....maybe for matching mittens, or a hat, or even a felted bag.

International Tote Exchange III

I have my partner for ITEIII and except for a couple of preferences, she has pretty much given me permission to experiment on her! I never thought I would chose a non-felted tote - since felting is what I do LOL.

But this bag from the Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar (November 16 - yes I do peek ahead!) is just calling to me to be knit. It calls for Aaron yarn - 100% worsted weight wool, but I am using Galway in a pretty blue/green heather. I have already frogged and re-started. The pattern is not very clear, but I think I have it figured out now. Once the pattern is established I should be able to do it without reading each row. I do have a back-up plan just in case (l) It doesn't come out right, or (2) I can't bear to part with it. My back-up is, of course, felted. This Noro sling purse, but in more earth-tone colors.

Snowy Saturday

We finally have some snow on the ground - not much but enough to cover it. At least it has warmed up (to 20) and I'd rather have the snow than the below zero weather!
So here is my progress on the entrelac scarf. Deb says it is supposed to look puckered and lopsided so I guess I am doing well LOL.

I have my package for my Monthly Dishcloth swap partner ready to go.

I made the Mason Dixon dishcloth in her kitchen colors and a ballband 'warshcloth'. I'm also including a soap sack to match with some oatmeal/almond soap in it, a cinnamon stick candle and some Cafe Vienna.

Hope she likes the package!

I'm puppy sitting this weekend. This is Casper - isn't he adorable? He is a Maltese and just the sweetest dog.

Spring is on theWay!

Phil Says Spring is Right Around the Corner!

Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/07 at 7:28 a.m. at Gobbler's Knob:

El Nino has caused high winds, heavy snow, ice and freezing temperatures in the west.
Here in the East with much mild winter weather we have been blessed.

Global warming has caused a great debate.
This mild winter makes it seem just great.

On this Groundhog Day we think of one thing.
Will we have winter or will we have spring?

On Gobbler's Knob I see no shadow today.
I predict that early spring is on the way.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

We've been in the deep freeze all week with temps in the single numbers and windchills well below zero. Today it warmed up enough so that it could snow! And, we finally got the kids outdoors for recess after a week of indoor recesses.

I'm doing an entrelac scarf KAL that Deb is hosting on WhoDuKnit. We've done the border and the first three triangles, and with Deb's help, it has been really easy so far. It takes three skeins of Noro - I'm using Kureyon in color 40 . It's blues/greens/ purples, which you can't really see yet in this picture. Here is my progress: