Big Top Wear

I ran into a major roadblock with the crazy striped sweater.

My sleeve was too small for my circular needles. Knitting around a tight circle is no fun.

Amazon came to the rescue. I ordered these doublepoints on Friday night and they were here Monday morning.

The only trouble is that I really hate knitting on big needles like these. It feels so clumsy and slow but I suppose I'll have to get over it.

This giant clown sweater needs some sleeves asap. Yowza. That thing is really crazy looking.

Rewind

The first bobbin of BFL/Silk in Elven Woods is done.  I spun the red section first. Now I had to figure out how to ply it-which meant I had to split the singles in equal halves.

 This was much easier said than done as I had to rewind it all onto a paper tube so I could weigh it on my itty bitty scale.

Silly me. I thought all I had to do was to wind it all on one tube, weigh it and then halve it and wind that half onto another tube. Nope. It clearly didn't work that way.

I had to weigh the tube first, then subtract that amount from the total and then halve that and then add the weight of the second tube to get the correct amount on each. Whew.

What that really meant was a whole lot of transferring of the singles to different tubes. All day. The singles were getting cranky and so was I. I can't believe I didn't break them.

After I decided that I had it right, it took me a long time to work up the courage to cut each side free.

 Then they still had to be put back onto to bobbins for plying. It's a good thing for them that I really playing with my handspun or the whole mess would have been in the trash by now.

After plying I had a nice little skein of red. So how much waste was there?

 Hardly any. Now I only hope I can remember how I did this when it comes time to do the purple and green sections.

Baby Cakes

 I've been making big messes in the kitchen but they are not of the fiber variety.

Much to the dismay of my ever expanding waistline, I have been on a cake baking binge.

Middle Sister gave us some local honey for Christmas and I have discovered that substituting honey for molasses in a gingerbread recipe is delish.

This is the recipe I found somewhere in the internet that makes a small 6 inch cake which is perfect for several days worth of tea though they never last that long.

The molasses version covered in powdered sugar is also terribly yummy.

Now that I am looking at this I am pretty sure the one on the counter is doomed. Time to put the kettle on.

No End in Sight

I have been machine quilting this project forever. For. Ever. Constantly shifting around this mountain of fabric isn't my idea of fun.

 I've also had to put up with a lot of this......

...and that. None of this bodes well for the finished quilt since cat dander and I don't get along.

I certainly can't blame Daddio for getting me into this mess. I did this one all by myself.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Daddio's latest table runners have been done for a while but I thought I would save the their mugshots for today.

Little Sister and Middle Sister were the recipients of his latest obsession-Valentine's Day.

He cuts and sews all the paper piecing elements and I applique them down for him. It looks like I was asleep at the wheel for this one. See that plaid petal on that plaid background? I didn't even notice it until I took the photo. Lucky for me neither did Daddio or he would have had a fit. Even though these are done, there is no rest for the weary-he's already made me a bucket of pieces for St Patrick's Day AND Easter. Goodness, there is no end in sight.

The Cobbler's Children

 

Daughter works outside in the cold all winter and then inside in chilly ice rinks the rest of the year. She is forever asking me to knit warm things for her but...well, we all know how that goes. I can promise things much faster than I can actually get around to making them. She recently showed up with a bag of pretty new store bought woollies from H&M that put my nose right out of joint.

There is nothing here that I couldn't have made for her. I just didn't.

Her new cowl is one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. Yes, it was machine knit but it is still beautiful. I could have made something like this for her but it would have taken years.

Remember this? Still very much a work in progress since August 2009 for Pete's sake and it's not as near as big as that cowl.

I also couldn't have made it for that price. Six or seven balls of Palette at $3.99 plus shipping-no, it couldn't be done. Besides, she didn't pay even close to that for it because-adding insult to injury- it was on sale.

I couldn't stop playing with the pretty thing and when I did, I noticed.....

 ...there was stranding on both sides!

 See? Isn't that the strangest thing. I don't think it's a boo boo. I think it's supposed to be that way. Right?

 No matter. It is lovely. I would wear it inside out or right side in. I may just have to make one of these for myself after all. Some day.

Say Cheese

 I finished my Honey Cowl so I needed to get some photos for my Ravelry project page. My standard mug shot doesn't tell you much.

Neither did this pose. I am afraid it needed a neck.

Standing in front of the bedroom mirror didn't work. Too dark.

 Taking it outside made the cowl look better but made me look like a California raisin having a bad hair day.

The bathroom mirror worked best. That's me, still sans makeup and a hair brushing but at least the scary wrinkles are softened a bit with the bright lights right in my face.

As for the cowl, it turns out I like it. It wasn't exactly what I consider a fun knit but it is surprisingly stretchy and comfortable. I also like the rolled edging. It gives it a good solid feel.

My one disappointment is with the inside. I chose this pattern because it claims that it is "lovely on both sides". I don't think the back side is hideous but it is certainly not lovely. Just sayin'......