Smoke on the Water

My hairdresser trimmed my hair the other day and said we should do a trade. She asked for deep purple gloves. I'm interpreting that to mean purple fingerless gloves - she wasn't definitive, so I feel like I have enough artistic license to not produce solid indigo fingering weight gloves. Part of the reason I plan to do fingerless gloves is because I have this great skein of white Cascade Lana D'Oro yarn that's not quite enough yardage for really-o-truly-o gloves. Anyway, it's allowing me to kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone - trade work and stash busting. I dyed it this afternoon using Wilton's icing dye. It took a couple of hours because I seriously underestimated how much dye the whole skein would really take, but in the end I think it has turned out awesome! I'd like to find a smoky stitch pattern so I can really call them "Smoke on the Water Mitts". I'm so creative, I know, besides who doesn't love some classic rock in their knitting?



In general today has been super productive! While the yarn was prepping and dyeing I was trimming my quilt pieces that I cut sometime during the last ice age. Now with the whole world warming up I'm finally getting ready to actually assemble this quilt :) I'm about 1/2 way through the process of trimming the previously cut pieces, but considering how long it's been since I've even thought about it, I'm calling that a major success!
Now I'm cooking one of my favorite dinners - Chicken Cacciatora. It's been at least 2 years since I've cooked it and now just smelling it is making me smile :D It's one of my very own comfort foods not handed down from my mom. Much as I love things like chicken over rice and beef stroganoff cooked only the way she cooks it, it's really fun getting to have a few of my own. Maybe someday it will be my family's favorite. Man, must I wait this last 15 minutes before it's ready? I am so excited for dinner!
In other news, I'm working on Christmas knitting which consists of lots of things that I will put on Ravelry (or are already there). I'm knitting Owls for myself. The body is complete up to putting together w/ the sleeves and the sleeves are almost 1/2 done. I'm worried the sleeves will be too tight, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Not Knitting

Today I tried needle felting! I got a kit when I went to NW Needlemarket with the ladies that own Cashmere Cottage Yarn. They asked me to make a sample because I thought we needed the kits. I finally did it and I think they turned out great :)

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm not sure what I was expecting... The directions are really clear.

The kits are Woolpets and they come in Chinese food boxes.

The kits have enough roving to make at least 2 of the pet in it. All I need are a few inches of pipe cleaners and I can make more of these guys. I'm thinking of using it to make something different, though. We shall see.
Now I'm going to try and make chickpea burgers by mixing hummas with rice. Then I will get back to knitting.

The Ends

How to maximize weaving in ends on a pair of socks in just 6 easy steps:
1. Begin by deciding to make socks with contrast yarn for the heels and toes. (btw, this is a great way to use up that little bit left from your last pair of socks)
2. Start knitting beginning at the toe.
3. Knit a few rows past the heel and admire your handiwork.
4. Decide said handiwork is not at all what you were after.
5. Start over.
6. Knit your pair of socks again using a pattern you like better.
By following these steps you will undoubtedly not line up your knitting the same way you did before and have many many more ends to weave in than your every day, one-yarn-throughout pair of socks. However, the final product is totally worth it!

Go Cougs!

Knitting and Music

Last night I went out to see these guys play. They are called Ravinwolf aka Jamie & Heather.


They are such nice people and I love their music, so it's perfect :) Well, except for the weird guy old enough to be my dad that asked me to dance at least 3 times. I finally said, "You just don't get it, do you? I'm not interested!" His response, "I'm just asking you to dance. I'm sorry." Dude, you've asked me several times and I've said no each time... He also told me about how he coached his kids' baseball teams, his ex-wife, how his mom used to crochet doilies, and his poetry. It's too bad that he's lonely, but if I'm knitting at the bar and talking to the band I'm probably not overly interested in dancing with people twice my age...
In other news, I'm thisclose to being done with my Go Cougs socks! And in plenty of time for the kickoff of Cougar Football in Seattle on September 12th.
I'm going to finish my brunch of home fries w/ garlic and sour cream, then finish those socks and do a bunch of sewing. (I said I should sew last weekend and I definitely didn't... my excuse is that the lining fabric needed to be washed, dried, and ironed and by the time it came out of the dryer it was way too hot to iron and by the time it had cooled off enough to iron it was way too late to cut. Good news is it's all cut and ready now!)

I dare you!

Tell me these don't look delicious! (I can tell you that now that they are baked, they are delicious)


Peach Tartlets with 50/50 butter/margarine pastry and fresh, local peaches. Yummy!

Project Runway...

premier on Lifetime tonight! When PR is on, I feel an uncontrollable need to craft.
I'm blocking the crazy scarf.

And the fronts and back of the blue sweater. They need to block before I finish the sleeves because I need to make sure I've got enough yarn to get it done. Eek!

I'm also starting a dress that I've had fabric for all summer. I'm doing view A of McCall's 5876. If I get on the stick and sew this weekend I'll still have a few days of sun left to wear it :)

I've been knitting nonstop, but other than the sweater, not a lot of finished projects.

Am I in Oz?

Things come and go so quickly!
The former neighbors and previous-now-current kitty owners came by at a friendly 12:30 this morning to let me know they'd like Topaz back.
I'm a little bummed, but I hadn't become completely attached because I had it in the back of my mind that this might happen. At least other than the wool fetish he was the best kitty one could ask for to look after :)

I'm off to NW Needlemarket with the ladies who own Cashmere Cottage Yarn for the weekend!