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BlahBlahBabble Knittastic!

Tired.

I can’t believe what a whirlwind this past week has been. No, I still can’t tell you what is up. I will soon. Today was the first day in over a week that I didn’t feel like I was walking around in a fog. Of course, only getting 2.73 hours of sleep Sunday night didn’t exactly make Monday a great day. I still didn’t get quite a full night last night, but 6-7 hours is a lot better than less than 3. I was just too wired.

Now that the majority of the dust has settled, I’m just waiting for Mike to finish his online geek class so that I can go and podcast. I’m running out of steam though, so if he isn’t done soon it might have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. Which is seriously frustrating, because I wanted it out by last weekend. Two weeks – I have a schedule here! Gah.

Oh well. I guess I have to play nice and share the computer – for now. Until I find a way to record decent sound quality on the laptop, that is.

As for other news – I got to have lunch yesterday with Staci, which was a fabulous treat. Except we both were suffering from an attack of The GERD, which cut it short. We will definitely have to do it again soon though. Her dogs are so fabulous – I adore them, and she has for them the best beds from the dog bed reviews at dogsrecommend.com. If I could have smuggled one of them out of her house without her noticing, I seriously would have considered it. Of course, I would have had to post photos of them all the time because they are so darn sweet, and she would have busted me – but I live way out in the ‘burbs and she would have to find her way out into the wild wilderness of the outskirts of Houston. I also got to see her Steekin’ Project up close and personal, along with her Master Knitter goodies and some other gift items that can not be seen on the blog. I am always so impressed with her knitting. Oh! I got to see her new knitting bag in person too! I’ve got my album ready to send off to have one made up for me – I can’t wait!

Elaine came over Sunday night so we could discuss photography stuff. She is making me be organized, and good things will come of this. We have plans in the works, and will be sharing more details as soon as we get everything lined up. My Big Thing had thrown a sudden kink in everything, but now I think we are rolling ahead. I’m so psyched! I *heart* photography. And Elaine.

On the knitting front, I started a sock in the pink Regia Bamboo sock yarn, and I am going to frog it and make it larger. I might make it ribbed all the way down, but I haven’t decided yet. I might just rip it off the needles and dig into the Vesper “Big Pink Cookie” sock yarn that is calling my name. Loudly. I am also part of the way into my sweater sleeve, for the third time. I think this one is a winner. I love working with the Brooks Farm 4-Play yarn, it is so fabulous! Photos of all to come soon. I promise.

But first? Episode 8 of PointySticks! (I think I hear Mike getting off of the desktop, and I’m going to snag it while I am still awake!)

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Knittastic!

Finish It Friday!

Remember how I said I finished the baby blanket and the Clapotis last weekend? Well, that isn’t completely true. I have yet to weave in a single end of yarn, and on the Clapotis there are still some rows where the stitches haven’t been dropped all the way to the end.

The truth is, I hate doing the “finishing” work.

So Katy Blogless and I are getting together today for Finish it Friday, and I wanted to invite everyone else to join along. Get out those projects that aren’t quite all the way there – the sweaters without sleeves attached, the blankets without the ends woven in, whatever it may be, and get it finished!

Come back when you are done and tell us about it! (She reads the blog too.) Post photos on your site and share the link. And if anyone has time to finish a button for it for us, I would really appreciate it!

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Knittastic!

It Was an Honor Just to be Nominated…

Thanks to Sara’s comment over on the PointySticks site, I just discovered that PointySticks won 2nd place in the “The Addicts Choice Knitting Blog Awards” best knitting podcast! Dude, how cool is that?!? Considering there are so many knitting podcasts out there now, I’m totally stoked. I didn’t even know the show was up for an award, and it came in second place. Sweet!

Want to help with the show? Get the word out! Blog about it, tell your friends about it, listen to the show and spread the word. I’m going to do a “commercial” as soon as I can get Mike’s help with the music editing to send to the other podcasts. Seems taking the summer off leads to fewer listeners. Eep! We can’t have that now, can we? Also – please – if you have anything you want to submit for the show – an advert for your business, a story to be shared, links that you think the world should know about – let me know. I would love to hear about it!

Next recording session is tomorrow, so episode 8 will be live this weekend! (Maybe even tomorrow afternoon!)

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Knittastic!

UFO August Worked!

Baby Blanket

I finished not one but TWO projects this weekend! (it still counts as August as long as they were done by Labor Day, right?) First up, I finished the Clapotis. It refuses to be photographed right now, so as soon as I get a picture I’ll post it. Then, 24 hours later, I finished up the baby blanket for Zach. Baby blankets make a great 1st birthday present, right? *sigh*

Yes, I started this before he was born, but it is hard to work on a warm, cozy blanket when it is a bajillion degrees outside. Then the whole hand thing happened, and after my surgery I wasn’t comfortable knitting with large needles. I had put off working on it in the summer heat (I didn’t work on anything at all for at least 6 weeks), but this weekend I picked it back up and zoomed right through to the end.

Somewhere in the span of the weekend I also managed to start two new projects. One is the “test” Humpty Dumpty sweater from the class that I took at the Knit at Night Guild conference last weekend. It is an “unpattern” sort of project, which tends to make me nervous. I’m not a free and easy knitter like that normally. I also started the sweater I am going to make with my Brooks Farm yarn. Mmmmmm… their Four Play is heavenly to work with! Unfortunately, I am not getting gauge, so I’m going to have to frog it and start over. I have only made it about 3 inches into the sleeve though, so it is ok. I want to redo the garter stitch cuff anyways.

Question … I have never knit garter stitch in the round before. Where I switched from the one row of knit to the one row of purl, there are ladders. Ugly ladders. I don’t normally get ladders, so I suspect it has to do with the switching from knitting to purling. How do I make that transition look smoother? Any ideas?

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Knittastic!

Calling all Crocheters!

Dear Crocheters,

I know, I don’t normally crochet. I just can’t do it – it doesn’t make my hand happy, and it doesn’t make me happy. However, my cousin Leslie has taken up the crochet hook. And just like a good cousin should, I’m supporting her crochet endeavors. Because really, it is all about the yarn. Mmmm… yarn.

Anyways, she is a fairly new crocheter, and she wants to make a hat. One of those cool, hip, trendy hats – the kind that fits rather close to your head. No brim, if I understand her hat desires correctly. Just a cool hat.

Anyone have links for a cool hat? Or anything else that she might want to knit that you recommend? And yarn to go with the patterns? We’re looking for more “basic” yarns for right now – none of the luxury fibers.

If you can hook me up, I would really appreciate it. (Get it? Hook me up? Oh my, I crack myself up…)

Love,
Christine