Sleep, Breathe and Knit

Oh yeah, and sometimes I eat a bit =) But the former 3 seem to be all I do lately. The sleeping is real nice. After having such a hard time sleeping for so long, it's such a relief to be able to relax into sleep.

The knitting is nice, too. I didn't realize I could finish a pair of socks that fast. I really like these. They look a little similar, but different. They are very comfy and that's what's important.

You can I've cast on for pair number 3. There were only 10 stitches on the needles in this picture, but now, I'm very well along into the first cuff.

I would like the start my second sock some where close to the same spot as these since it's a self striping yarn. One of the Knit Picks variety. I don't recall the name or even the color. I've had it in a ball waiting to be knit for like a year and a half, at least. Too long. It's a little rough on the hands now that I've gotten used to the bamboo stuff, but these yarns always soften up greatly once washed. (as you all know, so why did I bother to say so? hmmm?)

Well.... we'll see how I keep up the pace. I would like to at least start pair number four this month. That'll be a serious record for me. I don't think I've knit 4 pairs in 6 months before! The weird thing is, you'd think I'd be getting tired of making socks, but it seems to be the reverse. I won't be able to keep up this pace forever, but I can see me making lots more that I have been.

Yaay for Socktoberfest!

Hey Everyone

Check out my Socktoberfest Socks! 1 1/2 pairs so far! Yaaay!

Feeling Better

I want to start this particular post by thanking all of you who left comments on my last post. I'm doing lots better now. I've been reading a couple of good books about how to talk to yourself in the positive instead of the negative and it really helps my attitude. I still have lots to learn, but I'm on the right track.

On a lighter note, here is the "so far so good" shot of my sock in progress. I'll be turning the heel next, when I actually pick it up again. Can't read and knit at the same time very well, and I have 2 books to read, well 1 and 2/3's since I've read at least 1/3 of the first book.

I really thought I had more to say, but I guess I didn't! Hmmm.... I must be processing what I've read so far or something. OH well, maybe it'll come to me later.

OH yeah, I found the other balls of this yarn. Where? In the place I keep my sock yarn, duh, I just didn't think it'd be on the bottom for some reason. I probably put it down there to hide it from myself so I wouldn't think about how many times I tried to knit with it on my cruise. Wow just "voicing" and I started clenching my teeth, I think I have some tension about that, ya think? dang -- cleansing breath and let it go. I think I'll go and figure that one out! ttyl!

Posts from Winter '06

Monday, January 08, 2007

Hasta La Pasta, Blankie!

SO, long, it's been GOOD to know ya, SO long..... blah blah blah, I don't remember the next line. oh well. It's true. This has been a pretty satisfying knit all and all. Just when I thought I was going fast, I wasn't. Just when I thought I was going slow, I wasn't! A little confusing, yes, but always a surprise down the next row.







A very pleasing stitch pattern, I think. I really like the colors now, that I've aquired an eye for them. The yarn, scrumptous, of course.

Pattern: Warm & Cuddly Baby Afghan
From: Quick Knitted Afghans pg 64
Yarn: Shine in Worsted Weight - Knit Picks
Colors: Crocus and Grass




Just as soon as it was dry, and photographed, I lost no time in wrapping it up like a giant candy.

Making it look all pretty, and so much LESS purple next to it's paper. Too bad, but, that's ok. It only looks slightly pinkish that way.

I thought it would be cute to use some small bit of the miles of extra green I have left, for a little garnish.





Then it was into the bag with it. How does she look, y'all? =)*) All purty and dressed up for the daynce. heh heh heh, shucks and garsh

So, it's Fare the well, sweetie baby blanket, I hope your new girl loves you! byeeee








...and hello new project! -- well until I get to the LYS for laceweight stuff --

(since I feel all NEKKID with no knitting project)


Hill Country Yarns

Strawberry Swirl

I've been waiting for ages to use this yarn, yaay. I think I should always have a sock going on the side, from now on. k? Should cut down on monotony once in a while.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

The Remains of the Yarn

Here are the remains of the yarn.

The two pieces left from stitching up the sides.

Of course I had to use the purple, since I couldn't have made the green blend in with the border so easy.


And of course you remember the tiny bit that was left after finishing the top.

I should admit that at both corners of both borders I weaved in the ends in such a way as to start the stitching, partly to conserve yarn, and partly really give it added strength at the corners - if you would call them corners? I guess they are the corners of the body of the blanket. Something like that.

It had been in the plans for me to be posting pictures of the blanket as a whole, all weaved in, washed and blocked. But NO! Thursday night, all my late nights caught up with me and I was hit by a very angry flu bug. 2 days of forced rest later, and a probably drug induced feeling of sorta wellness (Excedrine Migraine, how do I love thee?) I still haven't weaved in the rest of the ends, which means it hasn't been washed or blocked either. Hopefully I can weave in the rest of the ends today, and possible do the wash/block thing, too, which would (theoretically speaking) mean there may be pictures in the morning. (we'll see how that goes)

For now, mainly I could use a few postive thoughts, (or whatever you call it)lol and I'll get back to knitting, soon. =)

Weaving in Ends? CHECK!
Washing? CHECK!
Blocking? next =) and CHECK!

WOO HOO PIX TOMORROW BABY!

edited again to add:
yes, I know it's tomorrow already, but that thing is taking FOREVER to dry. So I put it out in the sun for a bit. Now it's half dry and half damp, it's been turned damp side to the sun, now and SOON we will have new pix.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Believe it or Not

Guess what? I have enough yarn! Here's what I had left after knitting the left border and the first row of the the top border. It was about at this point in time that I started to suspect that I may have enough yarn and that my order to Knit Picks may have been premature.

uh.... OOPS! and OH WELL! lol That's ok, I got myself a little present in that order, so I don't regret it. After all, I have 2 and a half balls of the green left, so I may as well have 2 balls of the crocus to match, right? I can always put yarn to use =)


Here is an artsy fartsy shot showing what it looks like right before I started knitting the top border.

Remember me saying that getting a good detailed shot of the whole blanket is hard? Well, it doesn't get easier on an overcast day when the blanket is even bigger.

So I figured I'd make it more interesting than detailed and pretend I am some awesome famous photographer who can show depth instead of detail and make people say, "OOOOO!" and "AAAAAAHHHHH!" and "Isn't that interesting?"

You don't have to burst my bubble on that fantasy, ok? lol




For all of you that love to get lost in the wrong side of this stitch pattern, here's YOUR artsy fartsy photograph showing depth AND detail.


(and YES, I'm aware of my weirdness, don't worry, I'm highly medicated on caffiene and antioxidants)






For those of you that don't love artsy fartsy so much but still enjoy they hypnotic properties of the reverse side of this blanket, your photo is here.


Zone out all you want!

And finally to totally freak out all the people who are very scared of running out of yarn....

I present, the end of the line. A line so close to being just short of the end of the line, that it boggles the mind.

This is the end of BOTH remainder balls from both the left and right sides. I did no calculations, no fancy measurements, it is pure coincidance, accident, random good happenstance. It's nice, it's rare, I know, so I wallow in my freakishly random good happenstance. =)*)

Just so you know, I'm using the scrap that wasn't part of either left side or right side border skeins to stitch up the side borders to the middle. I have JUST enough for that as well. How, random and freakishly good is that? yaay

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

LOOK! The Borderths of InTHANity! hahahahaha!

Now he'll NEVER catch uth! hahahaha

As you can see, my trusted photographer's assistant is doing an excellent job of impersonating a kitty cat.

She's definitely already a fiber snob, she knows the good stuff when she feels it.

Stho! What makeths me inthane over my borderths?



Well.... see the yarn ball on the left, compared to the right? Right ball is one skein. Left ball is one skein after knitting the right side of the border.

So... logically after knitting the left side of the border using the skein on the right, I'll have the same basic amount as the one on the left.

Do you think that's enough to knit the top border?

Am I INTHANE, or did the word THINK ethcape my mouth? I think it'ths NOT enough. We'll have to wait and THEE about that, but it totally thuckths.

ANYWAY, here it is in it's giant squareness, knitted from border, across the top to join the border for stability and to make it easier to move it around.

It's not easy to photo this thing in it's entirety, but this will have to do.





I tried the join as I go strategy and it didn't work so good, so I ripped back a couple rows of it and left a couple for a good anchor.

Now, to start the left side.

Looks like I'll have to buy more yarn, but I can't just order the ONE skein, right? hmmmm..... time to start thinking what I want from Knit Picks. (ah rats) hahaha

Monday, January 01, 2007

The Final Countdown?

It's 9:55 am, I haven't started knitting but I kept knitting after midnight and got down to 7 repeats. I haven't had breakfast and I'm going to snag a shower before I start knitting again. I'm hoping to be able to get thru the 7 repeats needed today, I did 7 yesterday even though I seemed to be in some sort of odd time warp. Why is it that some days you can knit SO fast and other days it seems like you are going JUST as fast but progressing OH so sssllllooooowwww? Since I can't make much sense of it I just attribute it to being in my own personal time warp.

The topmost marker is pinkish and marks the repeat for 10 to go.

The middle one marks the 21 spot.

I forgot the other one, but scroll down and you can find that answer.

I'm starting to plan the border, which is simple garter stitch, but I'm thinking of attaching it as I go, instead of stitching it up at the end. We'll see how that works out, or not.

I probably won't get to start knitting until after the munchkins get lunch (somewhere around the time I get breakfast) hmmmm, maybe I should do breakfast before I shower so I don't pass out? (Ya THINK?!)

Once I get a few repeats done, I'll check back.



10:28 am and 7 repeats to go

1:30 pm with 5 repeats to go wooo hooo yaay refill the coffee and knit some MORE weeee!

3:07 pm with 3 repeats to go except 3 is now the new ZERO so I'm DONE with the repeats!!!!

I'm not cheating even tho it seems so, because if I don't stop NOW (or 2 repeats back) I'll run out of the purple (crocus, I think) and I probably will anyway. (anyone have a spare ball of worsted crocus Shine in their back pocket? hahahaha)

Now I start the border. (after a couple of chores and one errand) I WOULD try the green as part (like the sides) of the border, but it scares me as the border. (I tried it to begin with and I nearly threw up, so NO to that)

scratch that! I found ONE MORE BALL OF CROCUS! yaaay I should have plenty

posted by JustApril @ 9:55 AM 7 comments

Posts from Fall '06

Winter Storm/Watch Socks

Fittingly, the Storm Watch Socks were being cast off just as the 1st major Winter Storm blew in last night. It rained all night as the temperature dropped. Lightning blasted closer then further and closer again. As I drove my daughter to school this morning, the temperature went from 34 degrees to 31 and just like that, everything was frozen. The sleet began to pelt the house at the same time, I was informed upon arriving home. The sleet came down harder and we started to see snow flurries swirling around playfully in the midst of it's more serious cousins. The leaves on the just turning leaves on the crepe myrtle tree looked slightly glittery in the diffused light of the almost white sky. In the end, the gregarious snow annoyed the scowling sleet into submission giving the impish flakes free reign to twistingly fly, float and fall according to their individual fancies.

posted by Aprilynne @ 11:26 AM 11 comments

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Storm Watch Socks So Far

Well, I'm getting there. I've had lots of interruptions, so my really fast start sort of stalled out. I guess being sick for most of two weeks can do that for ya. ha

Anyway, here they are to date, they fit SO perfect so far and they feel so buttery. Fiber-wise they feel better than anything I've had on my feet so far. I'm not sure why but it's true.

I LOVE THEM!




Storm Watch by Sunshine Yarns

I really love this color way.

It looks all stormy to me.

OH, I nearly forgot, we're leaving town for a few days, so I'll respond to all the comments next week.

Where am I going? Well, my best friend's new business burned down over the weekend and it was a total loss. The real bad part of it is that her parents owned the building and it wasn't just one place, it was like a little shopping center with several little businesses that employed about 40 people total. Her parents also had their business in there, as well, and they had so many keepsakes in there, like vintage baseball cards and book collections etc... it's sad.

So, we'll be there the next few days for support and my DH is going to help them pick out new computers suited to getting back on their feet to some degree. He's so sweet =)

Well, see y'all soon!

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Trying to Cheer Myself Up

the picture got lost on this one, but you may recall it?


Well, I can see some of these more than others. I always WISHED I looked like Terri Hatcher, she's so cute. I used about the silliest photo of my I could find on my third try. You should have seen some of the freaks on my first two. One was a very very very VERY scary drag queen who's had too much collagen - and the first one on my first try was Angelina Jolie hmmmm YEAH RIGHT! I think not. Maybe the eyebrows? Anyway, I just kept trying different photos to see what I got. I got Greta Garbo on my first two, which was cool, she's cool.

OH, why do I need cheered up? I've been SO sick. Monday night I started feeling achy (while at the grocery store - fun, eh? - at least my DH was with me, sweetly) I was OUT all day Tuesday which is my DH's day off and my sis who lives here, so that's handy at least. I was MOSTLY out yesterday, too, and I'm sorta not up today, but not in bed either. If this throat would just STOP HURTING!!!!! I'm to the point I want to tear it out and throw it away. If only that would help.

****sigh****

I was making good progress on my mindless socks, I did a couple of rounds on each last night while watching the finale of Dancing with the Stars. DH was rooting for Mario and I Emmit, I guess I won? I actually thought that any of the final 3 could easily deserve it. I liked different aspects of each one.

Anyway, I'll show pics of my socks, soonish - stay healthy out there, this throat junk is NOT fun!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Stockinette Stitch Comfort

No pattern, no rules, no thinking, just knitting.

***sigh***

It's what my mind deserves and needs, mindless stockinette in the round. Around and around, knitting like the wind.

Yarn: Stormwatch by Sunshine Yarns

By Dani of Knitting Sunshine

The Etsy shop was down for maintenance when tried to visit it today, Saturday, but maybe it'll be back up before too long. She has awesome colorways.

Anyway, on the home front things are better and worse - don't ya hate when that happens? Yeah, well in THIS home things are better, at least!

Is it just around here, or are there lots of people losing their minds at once? Just curious.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

The Neverending Jaywalkers - Done!

They are finally finished! I can't believe I finally finished them! I'm SO glad. SO... Now I can make myself some plain jane socks and knit in mindless stockinette stitch for miles. Maybe I can have them done before the next cold snap.

Have you ever wondered what happens to the Kitchener Stitch if you put just a tiny bit too much rum in your Pepsi? Well if you've ever wondered the answer is, Half Backwards Kitchener Stitch.

I think I rather like it, actually, on Jaywalkers at least, because it sort of marries the toe to the rest of the sock. Anyway, this affect is accomplished by doing the same thing to both the top stitch and the bottom one. In other words you slip off the top stitch as to purl and put the yarn in knitwise then slip the bottom stitch off purlwise and put the yarn into the next stitch knitwise - over and over - the same two steps - instead of alternating and you get a tiny little row of reverse stockinette =) even if you didn't have the rum.

I'm rolling my Stormwatch yarn into a ball RIGHT now, just chomping to cast on my second pair of fake Socktoberfest socks - fake b/c Socktoberfest is over everywhere but in my head. Sock on peeps and knit OUT!

Friday, November 03, 2006

I'm Extending MY Socktoberfest Indefinitely =P

OH I didn't want Socktoberfest to be gone so fast =( So I refuse to let it go yet. I'm keeping Socktoberfest going in my head until I've done at least 2 more pairs of socks! Assuming that I can EVER finish these! What is my deal? It seems that even when I knit for hours (not uniterrupted, of course) but still, I'm knitting a bunch, ok? It seems like they hardly progress at all. So... in spite of being a serial Jaywalker, the next pair of socks I do will be plain old mindless Stockinette stitch - and then I may do the Garter Ribbed pattern, b/c it looks very cool - Then I think I'll make the Dublin Bay pattern for myself.

I know I have been talking up the whole Bamboo sock idea and I really can't wait to get some Bamboo socks on my feet and try out the no tired theory on them. HOWEVER, Texas may bet getting an actual Winter this year, and I am actually cold! yaay - So I must have some wool socks first. Don't I have some wool socks yet? Well... yes and no. I have the lovely first Jaywalkers, but I never finished darning them. My first pair of socks were just a tiny bit too small, so I gave them to my sister. And they fit her like they were made for her, maybe they were? She loves them so much that she wears them all the time. I have a feeling she'll eventually be a sock knitter, too.

So I've revisted my love of Sunshine Yarns. Look at these gorgeous colors, people. I saw 'Stormwatch' my heart skipped a beat. Not only is blue my favorite color, I LOVE stormy skies and lightning and all the color play that comes along with them. So this was a no brainer buy. As for Neopolitan, c'mon - how gorgeous is that going to be as socks? TOO gorgeous!


Then there is my Bamboo yarn! I noticed yesterday that this yarn is surprisingly similar to the colorway of Stormwatch! So, it's no surprise that after I saw it at "Yarns Ewenique" a few weeks ago, that I couldn't stop thinking about it. So when I finally had a dollar or so (haha) I went and got it! They had another purply colorway, oh.... what was the name of it? Something witty with 'Purple' in it - ah, too bad, it's gone forever out of my head. But this particular colorway is called "Intensity". I think this yarn will make a very interesting Dublin Bay Sock =)



In Assimilation news, my brother, 2 of 7, has come all the way to the dark side. Check out this gorgeous handpainted alpaca that has an inspecific project planned for it! It's wonderful, yes? Just think, he's only been knitting a couple of years, and sporadically at that, and here he is suddenly a yarn conniseur! He found this at the "Shabby Sheep" in Downtown Dallas.


Color me proud. **sigh**



Check out this cabley good scarf he is knitting for himself. Can you believe the very first cable he did was the one at the beginning of this thing? He's totally got the cable pattern memorized already, too. Amazing! It's a pattern I made up on the fly, but, I think it's pretty cool looking. I'm sure it's been done before, but hey - whatevah =) I don't recall the exact fiber content in this one, but it's definitley wool. I think it's Merino, but not sure. It has enough lanolin to moisturize your hands after you've been knitting a bit! I know that much.

Oh, I would totally link everything, but I seem to be getting sick, so I don't feel like it. Maybe next time, better get back to knitting or napping, not sure which =)

There's a button for Sunshine Yarns in the sidebar if you want to shop Dani's awesome stuff.

See y'all when the Jaywalkers are done, I don't think I can show my face until then! lol knit faster knit faster! aaaaauuuugggghhhh - bye

posted by Aprilynne @ 10:35 AM 15 comments

Post from Summer '06

I Feel Floopy, oh so Floopy

You Have a Choleric Temperament

You are a person of great enthusiasm - easily excited by many things. Unsatisfied by the ordinary, you are reaching for an epic, extraordinary life. You want the best. The best life. The best love. The best reputation. You posses a sharp and keen intellect. Your mind is your primary weapon. Strong willed, nothing can keep you down. Your energy can break down any wall. You're an instantly passionate person - and this passion gives you an intoxicating power over others. At your worst, you are a narcissist. Full of yourself and even proud of your faults. Stubborn and opinionated, you know what you think is right. End of discussion. A bit of a misanthrope, you often see others as weak, ignorant, and inferior.

What Temperment Are You?

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Picovoli Pics Pre Pinned Prior to Project sPectrum

Posting while watching the Princess Bride

It's DONE whaaaa HOOOO =) I just finished it and now, after the pic was taken, I've got it washed and hopefully blocking enough to stop the rolling that I'm holding down with my hands so expertly =) I had a couple of closer pics, but they just looked a little TOO dorky =/ Taking pictures of yourself is not so easy. Now we know why most of us take pics that don't include the head, thereby completely avoiding the dork factor that is pretty much inevitable when trying to concentrate on getting a good picture without making a strange face. That may not make YOU look dorky, but for me it SO does. =)*)

I'll be casting on my daughter's Picovoli today, if I get my way. Incontheivable!

EDITED TO ADD: I cast on the Picovoli was sure it wasn't twisted, got several rounds done. Completed the picot edge and 3 needle knit off only to finally discover it WAS twisted! ARG! Hallo, my name is April, my knitting is twisted, prepare to cry. So I went back to the beginning, just like Vicinny told me to. At least I'm not inebriated.






PROJECT SPECTRUM

Here is my one blue flower from my very green little garden cove thing in front of my house. So pretend it's still May while you look at it, because I don't have any more blue things out there!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Just for Fun

Ok Peeps, I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things, and, hey - I LOVE THIS CRAP

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have high extroversion. You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends. You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation. Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!" Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

.........................................................

I'm hemming up my Picovoli this very minute! Well... the minute of 5:58pm Saturday June the 24th.

PS. Confidential hello to all of Emily's friends! =)*)

Too Hilarious to Pass Up

You Are 40% Normal (Somewhat Normal)

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

OK, so that's just a little too true. Is that pic crazy or what? I could totally do cat eyes makeup, too, and look even freakier than that! THAT is what is REALLY freaky.

I also got tagged by Samantha for the one word meme that's going around blog town. SO... here goes!

This is your mission, should you decide to take it:

So after you comment on my freakiness, please leave a one word comment which you believe best describes me. (NOT catty, too easy)

IF you decide to take this mission, then I will do the same for you. This message will now self destruct.

ok, so that's a lie, but hey - it sounds good, right?

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Whassa Motta Me?

I'm still slacking in just about every way I can think of. I don't wanna blog, I don't wanna clean (do I ever want to? hmmm) I don't wanna eat lunch until supper time b/c I'm too lazy. All I wanna do is knit and knit and nap and knit some more. So that's mostly what I've been doing, knitting and knitting, dozing off, jolting awake and knitting some more. Well.... that's not entirely true because I did vacuum and do the dishes and feed the kids a few times, but I really just wanted to keep knitting instead. (except for the kids eating, of course - I'm not a monster) hahaha

Of course all this knitting means I'm nearly done with my Picovoli, which I probably forgot to even mention in here. I can't even remember. Anyway, remember the awesome yarn I got on my first trip to a LYS? It's cotton, silk and angora dk weight stuff. I had originally thought that I would make a cardigan with it, but soon realized that although I completely cleaned them out of that particular dye lot, it just wasn't enough for that sort of project. SO... since it's partly cotton and I need another Picovoli, and this yarn is scrumptous on the skin - good solution! right? heee! I can't wait to wear it. It looks SO rich colorwise!














As soon as I'm done with this one, I'm starting one for my daughter in the yarn that she picked out for herself at the same yarn shop. She rolled two balls of fingering weight together, one pink one orange to make a very interesting ball of egyptian cotton yarn that's the perfect weight for a cute little Picovoli in her size! That should be a super quick knit! Especially since there will be only slight fitting inc's and dec's if any. Can' wait to start it!

Speaking of my daughter, I've been trying for several months to come up with suitable nicknames for her and the two boys, well... three counting the DH. I'm tired of the DS's and DD's. I was considering Thumbelina for my daughter or something of that nature, but it probably won't fit for long, and it's not such an easy name to type. Maybe Sunshine or some such. Then there are the boys who are really nothing alike. Of course the 7 yr old fancies himself a super hero, but I probably couldn't get away with calling him one of those names for very long. ? who knows ? I could probably call the youngest SpiderTot or SpiderKid because he is SUCH a climber! I'm always finding him atop things he should not be climbing. Too bad there's not a dinosaur notorious for climbing, because he loves to roar like a dinosaur, too. SpiderRex? haha My D7yrS decided on Dash - like from the Incredibles and with his help we've come up with Spidey for the 2yr old. What do y'all think? Now if I could just think of a name for the Man of the house... hmmm He's good at everything sciency, electronic, computer or phone related. I'm stumped. MrPuter hehehe - I'm sure I'll get in trouble for that double entendre! hahahahahaaaaa

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Hello, my name is April....

......and I am a Project Spectrum slacker for May and June. Especially where it concerns the Post Card Swap! I stink!

I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. I'm not even sure what my excuses are. All I know is that I have totally lost my motivation or something. I kept wanting to paint something awesome and viney, but my artistic Rennaissance seems to have gone into a Reccession. Oh BLAST! Oh WRETCH! Oh FIDDLE dee DEE!

My one consolation is that she'll die of a broken heart and THEN he'll be sorry for what he's done! ahem! cough cough.... aHEM. You mean I can't just quote movies for this WHOLE post and get away with it? RATS! .....well......ALRIGHTY then....

My ONE consolation is that my Project Spectrum Post Card Pal for MAY, Amy, through no fault of her own, also had to send her post card a little belated. And WHAT a post card it is! Actually HOW beautiful they BOTH are!?! ***sigh*** So I'm sorta glad that I didn't send my cheesy viney idea for a card that would have been half hearted at best, because OMG this chick sent me a true work of art. I mean, I KNEW she was an artist and all, but the thing she sent me is FRAME worthy! I want to put it on my wall and stare at it every day. In FACT, I just spied a perfect spot for it on my little 3 tiiered heart shelf. Feast your eyes on this thing, I think it's made of WOOD, too, so no ordinary post card, my friends, NO ORDINARY POST CARD!
(my pics are not showing up, so these links to flikr are my only option, sorry for the inconvenience of clicking a million times in this post, when blogger or my computer starts acting like normal, I'll put in the pics for real, sorry sorry sorry SO sorry)

Awesome Green Card for May Project Spectrum

Then, for good measure she sent me something for the month of JUNE! Of COURSE she did! Why? Well, because she's really very very sweet and not at all trying to intimidate me into a creative anal retention. Noooooo NE-ver! LOOK HOW PRETTY!

Awesome Blue Card for June Project Spectrum

Of course, you know what this means, right? I have to do a really awesome job on TWO cards as well, or feel guilty for how long? FOR-E-VER..... FOR-E-VER.... FOR-E-VER..... FOR-E-VER

So my MAY card I'm sending IS still cheesy, but it took a lot of work and it's a tiny bit ok. Here's the May card I'll mail on Monday. It's very..... uuuuuuummmmm..... layery - many layers of stuff and lots of spray glue. (so that made it an enlightening experience wooooooo)

My Cheesy Green Card for May

So what do do in blue? hmmmm What to do for JUNE?

FOR

JUNE

I did a tiny little painting for Amy, a little reminiscent of what she did in her painting, but different too. I hope she likes it, and I hope it's ok to put it in here before she gets it, but seriously, I HAD to HAD to HAD to post SOMETHING for Project Spectrum or go crazy. So here's what I did.

My not SO cheesy, but not so awesome as Amy's, Blue Card for June P. S.

Now to go drink my coffee, even though it's pushing 10:30 pm. Why is that? Am I really that stooopid? Well, yes I am, but that's beside the point. I have to drink the coffee to keep from getting a migraine from the movie my twisted husband is making my watch tonight. Don't get me wrong, I love this movie, but it breaks my heart to watch it and it gives me a headache to watch these kind of movies, so if I caffiene up, sometimes it helps =(

Oh, btw.... the movie is Pay it Forward. I get a lump in my throat just saying the title.

Ok, I got thru the movie and no headache! It's a miRACle ***whew!*** I did cry my eyes out, so I guess I'd better go and try to find 'em (which can be pretty hard when you can't see) =p

Monday, June 05, 2006

Two FO's forward, One FO back

OOPS, I guess I ought to post something, eh?

One finished Jaywalker

One finished Dishcloth thingy

in the shape of a Honey Bee

The Jaywalker was too floppy, so it was frogged and I'll go down a size, it was good practice, anyway =)*)

posted by Aprilynne @ 6:56 PM 12 comments

Posts from Spring '06

Bye Bye Booty Kickin' Baby Blanket Blues?

It hardly seems real, but it's finally done. I finished it on the 25th, yesterday at the time of this posting, and I could barely even believe it. It hasn't even sunk in enough for me to be excited yet!


After I cast off the last stitch and pulled the yarn through the last loop to tie it off, I promptly took a nap to 'celebrate'.
The blanket is the perfect napping size for a grown person, so it is, as I planned, big enough to be useful to her well into her teens. Not so babyish as to be embarrassing, and cuddly cuddly soft soft. It has the feeling of nice soft quilt, but not too heavy. During the knitting process I was putting aroma therapy essential oils on my hands to give it a soothing calming scent. I'm very happy with how it turned out =)






Once I had rested up a bit, I weaved in the ends and took a few pictures.



I even like how the wrong side looks, it's kind of cool too.

I used purple for one border and blue for the other one, and the border up the sides is just knit in line with the stripes. I didn't want to pick up a hundred thousand stitches up the sides to make it look like the other borders. It always looks wonky when I do that. So this blanket is definately a baby blanket Ala-April - meaning I broke all the rules and only sort of followed the pattern. At least this time it was on purpose instead something I can attribute to being an air head =)





Here I am posing with the blaket to give you an idea of how giant it is. I'm 5'6" or so and this thing is only slightly shorter than me. I think it makes an excellent wrap, yes? (no)























It is the weirdest feeling being finished, though, I thought I'd be wild with joy and giddy and jumping up and down, but no, I just stupidly sat there staring at it in disbelief. It's odd, like a whole chapter of my life is closed. I'm almost sad or something! I've finally gone off the KNIT end. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this?



Correct Colors Captured

Pattern: Bernat Baby Free Pattern available at their website (modified a LOT)

Yarn: Knit Picks Crayon (running two strands together at all times) Purple and Light Blue


By the way, thanks to everyone who left comments last post expressing well wishes for my poor little sicky. She's doing 200% better now and I think we may all be over the stomach yuck for good. hope hope hope =)

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Yaaaawwwnnn Strrrreeetch... is it morning?

aaaaahhhhh RATS! 10 more minutes? 5 more minutes? COME ON! I need some sleep! WHY did I stay up so late? I'LL tell you why....... somewhere in my twisted head I must have known that at least one of my kids would be throwing up all night.

Poor thing, she was the last one of the kids to get the stomach bug that's been going around here. I have to say, though, out of all my kids to have it in the middle of the night, she's the best choice (not that I wish it on her at all) it's just that she handles it much better than the other two. She always wakes up, she always manages to recall that she has her container and she doesn't need much help. I checked on her a few times at first, then the last couple of times although I woke up, I just listened to see if she called me. She's a total pro. She sure is worn out though, poor baby.

This bug really sucks the life and color out of you, too. My oldest was sent home from school a week ago Monday with it, just in time to miss his field trip =( NATURALLY! He came home and just crashed for something like 8 hours. The youngest got it on Thursday night, just as we were about to leave for a special meeting. So the hubby and the other kids went and we stayed home.

Anyway, it's been a long week, but not all bad. I got loads of yard work done this week and I've even made a dent in that mountain of laundry that seems to be the 7th member of my household. 5 people, 1 dog and the laundry beast. I swear it gets up in the middle of the night and raids the refrigerator. How else can I explain why that thing is empty all the time?

Well, since I worked myself into a frenzy on Saturday in my yard, I put off doing the podcast this week. I've got a little game going into the next one, though, and if y'all want to participate, you can. I'm doing a segment called "The Name Game". The premise is, look up the meaning of your name and see if you think it describes you. If you want to participate you can leave a comment here or at the podcast blog. If you go to the podcast blog you'll get to see me in my "Farmer April" yardwork outfit.

The picture, above, is out of context I know, but I thought there should be SOME knitting content. I think she's well on her way to being a hard core knitter. She wanted to take her knitting outside, so we put the ball of yarn in her backpack and she sat it the shade peacfully knitting. Speaking of knitting, I think I'll pick up mine now. Maybe.....juuuust maybe...... nope, not gonna say it. Just keep knitting, just keep knitting, knitting, knitting, knitting la la la laaaaaaaaa la laaaaa

(the grass is cut now by the way, even though the kids were really mad about it, apparently it's good for hide-n-seek.... hmmmm.... good thing we don't have chiggers!)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Something to Talk About

I don't know what's up with me, but I seem to be not feeling like blogging lately. I don't really know why? Well, maybe it has something to do with not really having my partner in crime around to say, "Hey that's funny." or "It's good." or even, "Yeah, I read it, look how many comments you already have!" booooooo whooooooooo

AH well, I need to get a grip, I know. I knew I'd miss Mica, I just didn't know it would make blogging less fun. I should have known, I suppose, the address IS MICAknits.blogspot.com how could it be the same without her?

Well, my dog is dreaming and barking in his sleep ever so softly, that's good for a smile at least.


I got tired of using my scarf as a pop screen, so I made one on Sunday.

Then I crocheted it to a baby hanger, although I am NOT much of a crocheter, but it's on there and I'm happy with how it turned out.

Edited to add:

I knew I should have defined "popscreen". It's a soft barrier between my windy P's and S's and my hot air laughs to keep those awful pops and hisses out of my Podcast. =) Just in case you couldn't tell, I've got LOTS of air and it blows and explodes out in downburts and updrafts just like any little Texas Tornado.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Project Spectrum Past and Present

PROJECT SPECTRUM PAST

I got my postcard from my Project Spectrum for the month of April! How pretty is this?

I LOVE it =) Thanks Angela! She doesn't have a blog, yet, which bums me out a bit, so everyone together say "ANGELA GET A BLOG!" It's so weird how blogging introduces a certain security to life. You can always check on your friends to see if they are ok. Peace of mind or something. hmmm... why doens't everyone have a blog?


PROJECT SPECTRUM PRESENT

Look at this! My very own sock bag (now I have to start a sock project) made just for me by

Trek!

If you would like YOUR very own sock project on the move bag, visit her blog and find out the details =)

I really thought I had something more to say? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

OH! I've been knitting much more than I thought, I guess. How does that work? The Booty Kickin' Baby Blanket is getting HUGE! WHOO! I'm about halfway done with the last purple ball of yarn, and since I'll have more blue left than purple, I'm doing the end border in blue instead of purple like the beginning. Just to be weird and to conserve purple! hahaha

Hey! If I'm going to rebel against this pattern by doing it totally wrong, I may as well rebel against the whole thing! Bigger Yarn, Bigger Needles, DIFFERENT TYPE of yarn, refusing to pick up a GAzillion stitches along the sides at the end to make the border, changing the number of stitches that make up the pattern stitch b/c I'm lazy. Did you even KNOW that if you have a stitch pattern that has the slanted lines meaning you purl one at the beginning of one row and purl one at the end of the other row that if you JUST drop one stitch you can just do the pattern stitch with no beginning purl stitch or end purl stitch on the first line and on the other line you purl one at the beginning AND the end? I was very glad to discover that because it was MUCH easier to remember no purls on the purple and 2 purls on the blue. Are you sufficiently confused yet? OH, good, my job is done here! TTFN! bwa ha ha ha HA

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Cables Anyone? .... anyone.... anyone?

I'm happy to report that I'm finally knitting again. I had stopped knitting mainly because I ran out of the yarn I was using for the Booty Kickin' Baby Blanket. I was scared to start another project for fear I'd never return to knitting the blanket, a legitimate fear, as you all know. The yarn didn't exactly delay in arriving, but it was JUST long enough for me to get out of the knitting routine, I guess, because I didn't jump right to knitting as soon as the yarn arrived the way I expected myself to.

I put it off and off, things started to take priortity over it. That's how it goes when you are interested in a million things, though. It's sort of a mixed blessing to have that many interests. Things never get boring, but it's easy to lack focus. Funny.... that's the same note I always get from the 1st grade teacher regarding my son..... hahaha My husband and I had the same problems in grade school, lack of focus. That's ok, we turned out just fine. I think grade school is structured for a certain percent of the population, and the rest of us are up a creek! But as usual, I digress.

SO....... one of the ladies in one of my online knitting groups designs patterns and was looking for a couple of volunteer test knitters for a very small project. So I volunteered! I was very excited to be chosen and here it is!

Chain Reaction

by Wendy of

Wendy's Wee Woolies

&

Creations W.E. Design

Yarn Knit Picks Peruvian Wool Sock Yarn Stuff

Friday, May 05, 2006

MUST SHARE

OK, so I'm desperate! None of my Podcast Pals are online, none of my grown family is here, there is NO ONE around here to share this with and I am just much too excited to stay quiet. So..... hopefully none of YOU are tired of me talking about my Pocast. If you are, just bear with me for a couple of seconds PLEEEEEEEEEEEZE!!!!!

Here's the painting I did today for my Podcast that's going to be my new profile image for awhile and will be (hopefully if I did it correctly) in iTunes on the feature page. BY THE WAY... I'm on the feature page!!!!! OMG OMG OMG I am SO excited! I have about 110 subscribers and I'm FINALLY starting to get feedback!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I'm totally flippin' out DUDE eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Ok, sorry, I'm also SO hungry I can barely do this, so this will be a quick post.

Monday, May 01, 2006

I am the Knitting Borg Queen

I am happy to report that we the Knitting Borg have assimilated another Non-knitter into our perfection. Thanks to blogging and knitting and lots of nano probes. I think it's not a coincidance that blog and borg are only one letter's difference from each other.

So I can't keep up smooth cold borg queen talk for very long, I'm just too giddy! Can you see the borg queen being giddy? NOPE, if she's anything, it's coooool.

ANYYYYYWAY..... How cool is it that we have another knitting convert? It's such good news to me that it's nearly enough to DE-funk my attitude! I'll be skipping about like..... uuuuhhhh.... something that skips a lot. hahaha, I'm SO tired, sorry!

So this new convert, is Mica's and my cousin in Minnesota, who has been reading our blog for a while now. So all this knitting talk has started to infiltrate her brain. It probably helps that Mica's and my sister-in-law is great friends with her and she also has been assimilated. hahaha In fact Mica taught her to knit socks a couple of weeks ago. So Tiff, my cuz - and Meli my S-i-L are like twins and they love each other. They both started blogging fairly recently and we keep in touch with each other that way to some extent. So I'm reading Tiff's blog today and it's all about knitting!

Check her OUT! The crazed ramblings of a Dark Side Twin

posted by Aprilynne @ 9:01 AM 17 comments