Dishcloth Mad

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

So ever since I started the Kris Knits dishcloth KAL I have become obsessed with them. I never understood the appeal of knitting dishcloth, I never actually made them when I was learning to knit. I now have plans to make them for my mom, to make some for gifts for other family members, and lots for me.

The only this I've knit for the frog so far are these set of Kris Knits Baby Cloths. I need one more color of Sugar and Cream to finish the last cloth. I figured out you can get 1 of her small cloths and 1 large cloth from 1 ball of sugar and cream.



Next up is the February KAL. Some people said they had a hard time seeing what it was. Once it was pointed out to me that there was a branch on the bottom I saw the love birds and the heart.



Last is one of a set of cloths I plan to make for my mom for mothers day. Another Kris Knits cloth (I told you I'm obsessed right?).



The little I-cord loop was from another cloth. Ladonna put one on her Jan cloth and I thought it was a great idea.

New Fireplace

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The fireplace was completed today. I am thrilled at how it turned out. It will be a beautiful focal point to our downstairs.

Here's the frame after we decided to take it all the way to the ceiling. We should have done that in the first place instead of having the framer come out twice.



The stonework was completed today. It is actually darker then I thought I wanted, but I love it.



The funny stone on the side with the white in it is the switch to turn fireplace on. I've already put some accessories on the mantle. We will set up the logs and see how it works tomorrow.



The french doors were also installed today. They look great, but I think they need trim. It took me a while to figure out what was missing. Maybe Daren and I will be brave enough to try it ourselves.

A Lion Among Men

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was just ok. It's corresponding tales of the lion's history and Yackle's past (she was in Wicked and Son of a Witch) as well as a current war started by Elphaba's younger brother. The ending made it seem like he's planning on write more Oz stories.

I loved Wicked and have not been impressed with Maguire's book since. This was interesting enough, but unless you're a fan of Wicked I wouldn't recommend it. If there are more books around Oz I will read them, but I've lost interest in Maguire as a writer.

View all my reviews >>

The Hero

Monday, March 08, 2010

I finished my Ravelympics project almost a week late. But it was only 3 weeks to knit a men's sweater, I'm pretty happy with that.

Here's the Hero Pullover by Ann Budd. I used Berroco Ultra Alpaca which I purchased in Denim Mix, then over-dyed with navy. It came out as a lovely shaded dark blue.



I actually blocked the gauge swatch I knit, which meant I knit this with size 7 needles in the size 44. It was way to small after knitting, but blocked out to perfectly fit Daren. I switched from knitting this in pieces to knitting in the round to the underarms. I knit the arms flat, just as instructed.

Here's the back of the pullover in a 3x1 rib.



The zipper was very easy to sew in. I don't think he'll actually use the zipper, but it gives it a finished look.



He loves it and says it may become one of his favorite sweaters. He wore it to dinner Saturday night, wore it yesterday when it got cold and wore it to work today. Let's hope he doesn't love it too much and wear it to excessive stinkiness.

States of Deconstruction

Thursday, March 04, 2010

We have wanted to do some major remodeling of our main floor since we bought this house (almost 2 years ago!) After having several contractors in and having issues just getting quotes (or ridiculously high quotes), we finally got one in.

The first thing done is removing a dated and awkward gas fire place in-between our living a dining room. This picture is the only one I have that actually shows a bit of the fire place. It's when we were looking at the house and has the previous owners' furniture. Maybe the lack of pictures show how much I hated that thing.



So first step this week was the old fire place was removed. You can see the 2 types of flooring that we have on this floor. We will be getting hardwood floors to replace the carpet and the current hardwood floors in 2 weeks.



The new fireplace is framed out and just needs stone and a mantle. I changed my mind on the height, so next week the frame will be raised to the ceiling. It's our long wall in the living room instead of splitting up 2 rooms.



We will be replacing the sliding doors with french doors. Hopefully they will be installed next week. They need to be installed before the flooring can be done. My biggest hope is that all of this work will get done before our little frog shows up. It's still 5 weeks until my due date, so cross your fingers for an on time baby.



I'm sewing cushions for a built in bench on our patio and had a little help. I guess all that fabric looked a bit like her bed.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Monday, February 22, 2010

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Starts out slow, but flowers into an interesting and magical book. I'm not sure I would recommend it, but I did enjoy the story. It's difficult when one of the main characters is so unlikable. Plus the book is written like a historical text full of foot notes, which can get a bit tedious.

Norrell is a whiny, selfish man. I'm not actually sure it's redemption he gets at the end, but you accept him for who he is. He actually seems to understand his faults. Strange is very likable in the beginning, but becomes more ambiguous towards the end.

What is done masterfully in the book is intertwining actual historical events with the story of magic without coming off silly. Napolean, Duke of Wellington, George III and Lord Byron make appearances or are referred to in the story.

The characters that are consider to be "lower classes" by the 2 magicians are who ultimately rise and prevail in the story. The underestimated powers of women and minorities are what finally save England.

View all my reviews >>

The next book to read is A Lion Amoung Men (book 3 in the Wicked series)

Drop Stitch Cable Cardigan

Thursday, February 11, 2010

I finally finished the Cable Band Cardigan from Vogue Fall 2008. I am mostly happy with it. It is so warm and cuddly, perfect for cold winter days. The collar wraps around the back of the neck like a scarf. It flares open a bit around the belly, so I should be able to wear it to the end of my pregnancy.



As you can see I have the sleeves rolled up a bit. For some reason I made them very long. It fits well enough, but I think I would make a size smaller next time. I was worried that the hips flared out too much, but looking at these pictures I think it's fine. I'm not happy with the buttons , I think they are a bit small. They will work for now, but I'm keeping my eyes open for better ones.



Nice back shot with big cable band just under the butt. Making that band was very tedious. I ended up knitting almost 11 repeats of the pattern. It says to do the band for 104", which I think I was pretty close to. Over all I'm very happy with the cardi. My winter jacket (non maternity) is quickly shrinking on me, so I think this could be good for the rest of winter. Well, as long as it doesn't get too cold.



I started some washcloths for the frog. They are Kris Knits patterns. These are 2 of 8 cloths. They knit up very quick, in an hour or less. She has several cloths this size, which I think are nice for baby washcloths, but a little small for dishcloths.

Making Room for Baby

Monday, February 08, 2010

Only two more months until our little frog makes an appearance. Daren and I have started the nursery. I should have taken a before picture of the dark greenish walls. We painted over them with a buttery cream color and will paint a mural of one fish two fish on one wall.



If you couldn't tell we are going with a Dr Suess theme in the room. All of the accesories will be in bright primary colors. There was a bit of drama putting the crib together. Why do they make the instructions so criptic?! After figuring out which legs were the front and which were the back we have a lovely sturdy crib.



Still a lot of work to be done, but we are on our way.



On a completely different note I finished the January dishcloth KAL yesterday after the last 2 clues were posted. It is so cute, I can't wait for this months KAL to start. I'm going to be doing a few of her other cloths, the are brilliant.

WIPs and a Swap Package

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

I thought I'd do a big post updating my Wips. I have quite a few, more then I usually like to have on the needles. I'm making decent progress on the ones I have listed here. I'm hoping to get the cardi and socks finished before the Ravelympics.

I'm loving this cardi so far. The body is made from double seed stitch then a drop stitch cabel band is added at the end. The pattern is from the Fall 2009 Vogue Knitting, designer is Norah Gaugan. The yarn is Berroco Peruvia in a beautiful teal. I am finished with the body of the cardigan and just need to finish sewing the body togetther. I am 9" into the 104" of the cable band that is sewn around the outside. It's a little daunting, but I'm hoping to finish by Febuary, so I can actually wear it.

The Ocktoberfest Socks are a fairly easy pattern from Tsarina of Tsocks. This is my second time doing toe up socks. She did a short row toe and a provisional cast on that I love. I will adopt both f these methods for future projects. I had to frog the heel after I relined the 2" shorter then foot length she recommended for the short row heel would leave them way too small for my foot. I added another 1/2" and they fit perfectly. I had to frog the cuff after working the pattern, because I assumed I knew what the instructions would be and never bothered to read them. The pattern is staggered and only occurs 8 times around the ankle and not repeatedly through the foot. The instructions are well written and easy to follow as long as you actually read them.

I started the Raha scarf out of Knitted Lace of Estonia because I wanted to start a project for my 10 in 2010 group and I'm ok if I don't finish this until next fall. I have a rule with this project that I can only work on it while I'm at Purls. It's turning out to be a fairly quick knit and the yarn is like knitting with clouds. I'm using Windy Valley Muskox Qiviut Luxury Blend and if I were rich I would make myself a cuddly sweater with this yarn.

The January Dishcloth KAL by Kris Knits has been fun. I can't wait for the next set of instructions. It only takes less then an hour to knit a clue when she post, it just takes patience to wait for the next clue. I still am not sure what the picture will be.

Finally a swap package from Becca. We had a little swap in our local knitting group. Becca gave me a great package, she gave me Owlet pattern and the French Press Slippers, 2 skeins of Cascade 220 in a beautiful teal (can you tell I like teal?), super cute sheep note cards and a take-out box full of sock yarn scraps for my Scrappy Blanket. The yarn is enough to do either pattern, I was debating which to do, but I've decided on the slippers. I think I will find a softer superwash yarn for the Owlet.

Special Order Colorways

Thursday, January 14, 2010

I'm offering 2 new colorways that will be special order. Send me a message on Etsy or through email and I will make an Etsy listing for you. It will take slightly longer to ship as I will dye to order.


Guy Fawkes


Lone Ranger

SP15 Questionnaire

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

I've decided to participate in the Secret Pal Swap again. I had such great partners in the last 2 rounds I couldn't resist.

What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely not like? I love natural fibers, soft wools and cotton. I am not a fan of acrylic yarn

What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a basket for my circular needles and a vase for my straights. I need a better option for circs

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I learned to knit in 2002, so 8 years. I consider myself intermediate, I could always learn more.

Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I have an Amazon and Etsy wishlists. I also have a Babies R Us registry.

What’s your favorite scent? I love citrus scents. I also like lavender and cinnamon.

Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I have a huge sweet tooth. I love toffee, peppermint chocolate. My husband is English, so any English candies are always a treat for him.

What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I sew and have a dying business. I don't spin and am not really interested in it.

What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like alternative, surf guitar, and rock. I can play mp3s

What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand? I love blues and greens (think sea colors). I prefer vibrant colors over muted. I'm not a fan of orange.

What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married and expecting my first child (April 12). We have an 8 1/2 year old Black lab.

Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves, hats and mittens. No ponchos!!!

What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I love to knit socks. I also knit sweaters and am really getting into cute dishcloth patterns.

What are you knitting right now? I'm working on the Raha Scarf out of quiviut, Drop Stitch Cable Cardi out of Peruvia, Oktoberfest Socks, Great American Aran Afghan, and Kris Knits Dishcloth January KAL

Do you like to receive handmade gifts? I love handmade gifts

Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I prefer circular needles. I was introduced to addi turbos recently and am slowly replacing my needles.

Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? both

How old is your oldest UFO? 4 years old

What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe? I love Halloween. I celebrate Yule and Christmas.

Is there anything that you collect? I collect funky salt and pepper shakers. I would love to get seasonally themed ones, like flowers or suns for spring/summer.

Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I have a subscription to Interweave knits, I love Yarn forward in the UK. I have a lot of books in my wishlist on Amazon. I have some patterns in my wishlist on Ravelry, and will update the patterns I have. I love Ysolda's patterns. I already have WLK 1 and 2.

Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn? I would like to improve my color work skills

Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes

When is your birthday? November 12

Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID? Yes, surfdonna

10 in 2010

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

I joined a Ravelry Group called 10 in 2010. The description from the group: "Ten projects in 2010 - a simple idea but a great goal! We have all committed to try and knit ten projects, use ten different yarns (if they overlap, that’s great, if not, you can certainly complete more projects!), and complete them all in 2010!"

I think my list is doable, and a bit modest. I am expecting a baby in just a few short months, so I have to plan for less time. Here is the list of my 10 patterns for 2010.
Hero Pullover (still looking for the yarn, my Ravelympics project)
Ducky Onesie (made with Dale of Norway Stork for my summer baby)
Firebird Socks (kit in stash)
Rufus Textured Cardigan (made with Sumblime organic Merino DK in Stash)
Frances Nursing Shawl (made with my own Skeindalous yarn!)
Raha Scarf (made with Windy Valley Muskox Quiviut from stash, cast on January 8)
Viper Pilot Socks (Made with Arucania Ranco from my stash)
Jasmine (still need to get the yarn, plan to use Rowan 4 ply)
Funky #7 (received pattern and yarn from Love bites Halloween swap, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool)
Winter Twilight Mitts (will use my Skeindalous yarn again)

There are just a few of the patterns that have a firm deadline, like the summer baby onesie and the Ravelympics project, but most I can work on the others at my own pace throughout the year.

I am still working on the Drop stitch Cable Cardi by Nora Gaughan from Vogue Knitting Fall 2008. It's out of a beautiful teal Berroco Peruvia. I have the body and sleeves knit up I just have 104" of band to knit up. I am also still working on the Oktoberfest socks by Tsock Tsarina. They are really easy, but I have made a few mistakes from not actually ready the instructions. They have been a bit frustrating, but that is my fault and nothing to do with the pattern.

Some FO's

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Damson Shawl by Ysolda made with Skeindalous Bettie sock in Digitalis
It a relatively simple shawl that takes one skein of sock yarn. The edging didn't quite turn out like the other Damson's I've seen. Not sure what I did different, but I'm still happy with the results.


Socks for Daren made with my usual formula out of Opal Harry Potter yarn in the Ron Weasley colorway.Big


A quick and simple bolero by Kim Hargreaves in Rowan Big Wool.




Kumera Bed Socks from Interweave Holiday Knits 2009 made in Malabrigo Merino Worsted.
I loved these sock, they took 2 days to knit and are super warm and cozy to wear around the house all winter long.

Dishcloth KAL

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

I am joining the same Dishcloth KAL that LaDonna has signed up for. I can always use more dishcloths and KrisKnits' are amazing.

She will be posting about 10 lines 6 times per month. I still need to get the cotton I will be using for Jan.

Book Challenges Updates

Sunday, October 25, 2009

I have been very lax in updating my book challenges. I've managed to read quite a bit in the past 2 months, just not blogging about it.


Dusk Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book 12 in the RYOB challenge and book 1 in the R.I.P. challenge. The third book in the watch series.

I finished this on my flight to Italy. Probably not the best of the books, but just as entertaining. It just opened up the lore of the others even more. You discover more about the others with Anton, and how similar both sides are. The lines between good and evil become more fuzzy with each consecutive book.

Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book 13 in the RYOB challenge and book 2 in the R.I.P. challenge. I read this in 1 relaxing day in Italy.

This has been my favorite Christopher Moore book so far. I've been wanting to like him more then I have, and this book was the one that made it happen. It's the story of Jody who was turned into a vampire and Tommy who she enlists to help her with things that can only be done in the day. It's funny and sweet with some great characters. I will be picking up the sequel.


Under the Fang by Robert R. McCammon


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Book 14 in RYOB challenge and book 3 in R.I.P. Challenge.
This is a collection of short stories based on the premise of vampires taking over the world. I have to say it was very hit and miss. some of the stories are interesting, but quite a few are horrible. I've discovered short stories are great to read before bed, I can finish one before falling asleep.


Night Shift by Stephen King



Book 15 in RYOB challenge and book 4 in R.I.P. Challenge. I'm actually going finish all of the books I said I would read for the R.I.P. Challenge.

View all my reviews >>

Final Secret Pal Package

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

My final secret pal package for my wonderful partner Frances. She really was a great partner and I apologize for not being a good blogger. She sent me my first baby gift, a little Elmo book, hand knit wash cloth and soap sack with yummy soap in it, 2 Ghirardhelli caramel candy bars (1 of which still exists), Rowan organic cotton (I love that cotton) and beautiful hand dyed yarn from New Jersey.

Thank you so much Frances, you've been a great partner!

Finally Italy

Friday, October 02, 2009

First I will start my making my big blog announcement that I'm pregnant. Thirteen weeks now , due April 12. That meant no delicious Italian wine for me. I technically am not suppose to eat smoked deli meat either, but I was in Italy. I ate lots of prosciutto and salami and enjoyed every bite.

Well on to the actual trip. We stayed at Podere Palazzo, a beautiful 5 bedroom villa that is on the edge of the Lazio, Umbria and Tuscany regions. For some reason no one on the trip really took any pictures of the actual house. There are plenty on the website though. There were 9 of us that stayed in the house. Despite the fact that we didn't know 3 of the people before we went it was fantastic and completely free of drama. I came back with some new friends.

I won't bore with the day to day detail since even to me the medeival hilltop towns started to look the same. The picture above is Montepuliciano a lovely town famous for it's wine. I did buy a bottle that the hubby is suppose to keep his grubby mitts off until I can drink it. Nest to it is the town of Pienza which is basically just a long street. Pienza is famous for it's Pecorino cheese. Daren is not a fan of cheese in any way, so when he charged ahead and told us the town smelled really bad we thought he was exaggerating. He wasn't the little street smells of strong cheese. I brought home some of the aged percorino. They serve it with a drizzle of honey which is surprisingly addictive.


We also visited on of the natural parks. I was stunningly beautiful. The 3 hour drive there in the back seat of the small car with 2 other girls was more then I could take. It wasn't just pregnant stomach either, because the other 2 were queasy as well. Our friend Diane wanted to go there because of trails she read about that had beautiful monasteries along the way. When we got there we found out the hike she wanted to do was 5 hours one way and required equipment!


Seeing as non of us were up to the hike we found a road that drove up to the monastery. It wasup a steep windy dirt road and with 5 adult bums in the seats the little car did not want to
cooporate. We gave up on the car half way up when the smell of the clutch was too much to take. Once we got to the monastary we couldn't figure out how to go around or through. There was just a little sign in Italian on the stone next to what looked like should be some sort of buzzer. We ended up ringing the big bell, but no one came. Later we used Babelfish to decode the sign, it said 'it is prayed to abstain itself from the demand to visit l'eremo. So we basically door bell ditched a monastary.


We ended up getting a cooking lesson back at the villa. A chef from a local restaurant came out to give the lesson. She taught us how to make pasta and roll it by hand. We made fried zucchini flowers with a tomaoto bread salad, a roast beef in rock salt with fresh herbs, and a kind of lava cake chocolatey thing.

That's it for now. I'll do another post on Rome later. We have all of our pictures here.

Killer SP Swap Package

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I have to apologize to my secret pal first. There was a bit of a saga just getting to this package. We have a box down the street with the neighborhood's mail boxes. When there is a large package the mail lady puts a key in for a larger box. The key wasn't working, so I called the post office and they came out to look at it. The post office man told me the box was empty and he didn't know where the key came from. So yesterday morning I left a note for my post lady saying the key doesn't work and I was told there is no package. She left a note back saying the lock was broken and she couldn't even get into it. Well this morning there was a knock on the door and a nice post office man handed me my package. Only a week after it was delivered.



On to the goodies. I got Continuous Cables, Rogue, Smith by Ysolda, Malabrigo yarn in my favorite color, cute doggie magnetic paper clips, Toffee chocolate and mint chocolate.



Thank you so much secret pal! This package was awesome.

And I promise I will post about my Italy trip this week.