Kathy. Baseball. Maytag. and Felt.

What have I been up to during the past few weeks? Work. More work. Um, more work. Ohhhh and some fun stuff too :) ! Last night I got together with my friend Kathy (that's her in the pic). We intended to do some scrapbooking, but ended up making invitations to her son's fifth birthday party. I designed them based on his absolute loooove of baseball. It was great to get together and just hang out and create...I haven't done that in a while. I find that the world keeps turning and I get swept up in the mundane, everydayness of it. Sometimes it is wonderful to sit back, relax and play.

P.S. I swear these pictures were right side up when I uploaded them!!! Anyone know how to rotate a pic once it is in blogger???

Speaking of playing...I just got a NEW washing machine and dryer!!!! Ok you have 3 guesses as to why I'm incredibly excited. Is it a. I no longer have to drive to wash my clothes? b. they are beautiful objects of modern machinery and I am using them as part of my new interior decorating theme or ..... C. I can now FELT the stack of sweaters I've been collecting to recycle





Bet you can't guess hehe





Yes, driving to wash is a pain, but it isn't the end of the world and while they aren't bad looking washing machines aren't exactly the most decorative objects I have seen in a while so yes, you have figured it out. It is option c. I can FELT!!! (or full - I am usually a woman who loves the technical terms...but I have loved the word felt ever since I was a small child so that is what I still call the process - please forgive me) Woohoo!!!! Here is my first project - a sweater I purchased at a yard sale this summer. It is absolutely gorgeous and I am going to repurpose it as a purse...stay tuned to see how it comes out...





Until then, I hope you have a chance to take at least 10 minutes to have a creative frenzy today - it's totally worth it!

wonderful = kathy. baseball. maytag. and felt. - jj

projects. cleaning. and procrastination.

Monkey See, Monkey Do. I found my sock! Amazing what a little organizing can do, huh? I had my best friend's kids overnight on Sunday and as I was cleaning up to get ready for them, I found the monkey sock I had lost. I just finished the fourth repeat on the first sock and as I was working on it today I couldn't help but think of, first, how talented Cookie is to have come up with such a simple yet beautiful lace pattern, and second, how much I would like to come up with my own pattern. Sooo...I'm going to toss around the idea of coming up with something I can call my own...we'll see how successful I am at it.

In other parts of my knitting life...I am still working on the French Market Bag from Knitty and I am continuing to turn out squares for my fuchsia granny square afghan. While I am happy to make the squares the seaming is looming over my head like a big storm cloud. Strangely enough I actually like seaming so I'm not sure why...I'm thinking that I might start seaming it before all of the squares are finished so that the actual project isn't so huge.

Last but not least, I am finishing up the itty bitty sweaters I'm donating to Marly's KAL/CAL prizes. Several posts ago I mentioned that I might put them on etsy, but I have yet to follow through with it. Procrastination is such a difficult thing. It seems like such a brilliant idea at the time, but later, when you really want to see results it comes back and taps you on the shoulder saying, "Um, hello, you decided not to do that when you had the time, remember?" at which point, I usually think, "Oh, hmmm, maybe I should do that now, since I didn't before..." and then proceed to do something else.

Note to self: work on the procrastination thing.

wonderful = projects. cleaning. and procrastination. - jj

Hi!
I don't like to post without pictures...as the pictures are my favorite part of blogs...but it has been almost two weeks since I last posted! Since then, I have been up to northern NH for a 4 day teacher conference (which was fantastic, btw) and I am almost done with the French Market Bag from Knitty. I have also found the "I thought I had lost you" Monkey socks that I had started about a month back (also a fabulous Knitty pattern). I haven't worked on them as I have been working and cleaning and working and cleaning and...well you get the idea :) . I don't have to work tomorrow, and even though there is much cleaning in order, I intend to post with pictures so, .... until then ... have a great night!

stockinette. blue skies. potato chip yarn.

I really must learn to post more often!

The monkeys have not been worked on in a while...the main reason being....um....well....I can't find them. I was cleaning out my tote bag and I put them in a safe place. Ahem...very safe, apparently. I went to take a picture of the progress I had made on them and they have disappeared! I'm sure they will show up soon, I hope they will show up soon!



In the meantime, I have started a French Market Bag from Knitty (that orange blob in the pic above is what I have accomplished so far...I have done all the increases and am currently working on the body)...and I can't wait to felt it! I think it will be a bit deeper than the original (I like to carry lots of stuff) but other than that I am following the pattern. If you need a good knitting project to do while reading a book...this is it! LOOOOTTTSSSS of stockinette. Yep, LOTS.

Did I mention that there was a lot of stockinette in the French Market Bag? I did? Ok, just checking.

Also, I went to the beach the other week with a friend of mine. There literally wasn't a cloud in the sky. Here's a little eye candy for you :)




Just a side note...I now know why people don't knit at the beach...So much salt got on the yarn and my hands that it was like knitting potato chip yarn. If you like crispy yarn feel free to knit at the beach...otherwise I suggest reading a book. LOL.
wonderful = stockinette. blue skies. potato chip yarn. - jj

Monkeys. Yard Sales. 57g of sock yarn. and Bears.

Sooo....
I woke up this morning, stretched, rolled-over, woke up again, stretched, got out of bed, and walked into my studio. What the? I rubbed my eyes, and look again.
Yes, I was not mistaken, there was a bear, in my knitting bowl, wearing my new Tofutsies socks on his paws!!
"Hi Jenn!" he exclaims, looking up, "I found your knitting, and I see that out of the 100g ball that you purchased you only used 43 g for these socks...will you make me a pair too???"







Yup, that's right! Even stranger than a talking stuffed animal (his name apparently, according to his tag, is Gilmore), THERE IS ENOUGH YARN LEFTOVER FOR ANOTHER PAIR OF SOCKS!!!! I made the socks to fit my size 7 foot, and the ankles are a little on the short side, but A WHOLE PAIR OF SOCKS! 57g left!!!! Cool, huh? :)

In other knitting news...I cast on for a pair of Monkey Socks by Cookie today :) My first pair! They have been so popular in blogland that I thought, "Why not?, I'm going for it!" I just finished the twisted rib at the top...and I'm ready for the lace...I think I might even do a pair in all twisted rib at some point...I love how it looks.
Best part about these socks? The are silk, nylon, and angora. And they are going to cost me $1.00 with yarn leftover!!! Why? Yard Sales are wonderful! I am recycling a sweater by taking it apart and balling it up.(Thanks Cheryl - the felting is coming I promise :) )



Even better??? There is a possibility that there will be enough yarn for a tank top too!!! (Though I may need to combine yarns...I'm not sure yet :) )
All in all...Good knitting weekend!!

wonderful = Monkeys. Yard Sales. 57g of sock yarn. and Bears. - jj

etsy. Summers. The Lake. and. Acrylic.

My first item to ever be placed on etsy - I am sooo excited :) What is it you ask? And, why is it not KNITTING! Well, my second love is origami and I have been making these folded ribbon stars as package toppers / Christmas ornaments for years...I finally decided that I would do these as a jumping off item...with more to follow (I am still working on the itty bitty sweaters...I have shrunk them down a bit and changed the pattern, I will be revealing those hopefully within the next week). The new studio is almost completely set up so I decided to jump right in...feet first with my eyes closed as they say.
Ooohhh that makes me think of the lake - I used to looove going up to the lake as a kid. Picture this...11 yr old blonde girl in a ponytail and teeth too big for her head...the ONLY kid there with crochet hook and a ball of acrylic yarn...that's right, that was me, dry bathing suit, 85 degrees and sunny outside, sitting on a chair crocheting a blanket. :) Those were the days.
wonderful = etsy. Summers. The Lake. and. Acrylic. - jj

College. Ravelry. Pictures. Oh yeah...and some knitting... :)

I am back from Philly...am starting to get settled in the new house...and I'M ONLINE!!!!...

Things have been so crazy around here for the past several weeks. This week I am vowing to go down to the college that is in town and sign up for classes...I am no longer working at the school I have been at for the past 4 years as it is almost 1.5 hrs away. I talked to the assistant principal at a middle school about twenty minutes away and she said, "We'd love to have you work here as an education assistant!" I said, "I don't have a two year degree" and she said.... "Oh dear." Sooo......I am going to fast track my associate's... I have been collecting classes for the past eight years and I'm soooo close! Here goes...

On the knitting front... I have been working on a simple pair of 2x2 ribbed socks (the ankles are ribbed and so are the tops of the feet). I also finished a scarf out of the most incredible bamboo yarn (omg - I love this stuff!!!, now all I need to do is figure out a way to make enough $$$$ to make a sweater out of it...hmmmm....any ideas???) Usually I am not the scarf type, but I could only afford one skein this go round and I thought...hey why not...it's soooo soft, might as well make something I could snuggle up too.... I am also considering the French Market Bag from Knitty...I have some Cascade 220 (colourway 7824, burnt orange) that reallly wants to be felted, so much so that it has been sitting in the stash ruminating about what it wants to be... it has finally decided that it wants to be a toss-up between the Market Bag, or Fiber Trends felted clogs...what do you think???




Speaking of stash, and projects, I have spent a little time on Ravelry...and I love it!!! If you are on...come say hi... I'm rhymeswithsocks...


And, last but not least... I have posted my picture! I am one of those shy types...a bit self-conscious if you will... but, I thought, hey why not! Might as well put a face to a name right? So...here I am... (the pic is from my dad's surprise 50th birthday this past February)


College. Ravelry. Pictures. Oh yeah...and some knitting... :) = wonderful. - jj