Wednesday, December 30, 2009

I have so many UFO's, that I forgot a couple...

When posting my new years resolutions the other night I took photo's of all of my UFO's but failed to list them all. I have more. Oh no, is this a tangible resolution? Here are a few more of my UFO's.


Leftovers Sock Yarn Blanket - will likely remain a UFO for awhile...


Uptown Boot Sock (s)

OK. I think that this is all I have on the needles. How many of these would make fabulous gifts next year for birthdays or holidays? Many of them I think, however, I have my eye on the socks and the sweater for myself...

One of my friends suggested I use the resolution to do more spinning combined with making six sweaters next year. Yes, you have it, spin enough yarn to knit a sweater. I think it is a fabulous idea. The next step is figuring out what sweater I might like to make with hand spun. I think something simple for sure. Not highly decorated or detailed. I have one in mind already. What do you think?

http://knitbot.com/2009/10/07/a-finished-lightweight-pullover/

Monday, December 28, 2009

Knitting Resolutions...

Has anyone been thinking about the new year. It is approaching rapidly... What are your thoughts on resolutions? I am generally opposed to them but for the sake of my hobby and my sanity, I have decided that this year I would make three. Three resolutions does not seem to many for something that consumes many hours of my life...

Resolution #1: FINISH my UFO's (unfinished objects). Knit them, frog them, decide what they are to become once and for all!!! Here are my current UFO's...


Lace Beret

Tapestry Cowl

Selbu Modern for Kirsten

Woodlands Shawl

Cable Ribbed Wrap
Resolution #2: Use my spinning wheel more.
Resolution #3: Support hand made artists and spread the word.
What are some of your New Year's KNITTING Resolutions! Are they doable?
Oh, I have a New Year's Challenge too. It is not really a resolution so it was not mentioned above. The Challenge is the one I mentioned in my earlier post, to knit 6 sweaters this year. Is it doable? I don't know, but I sure do like the challenge!




Owls!




I couldn't wait. My new years resolution with BFF was to knit a sweater every other month. Well. New Years does not start until the end of the week but I cast on early. I cast on Owls by Kate Davies (needled.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/owls/). Here is my progress thus far. Maybe this will be all 2009.


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Sunday, December 27, 2009

Spinning. Finally.



So I have been on a bit of a spinning hiatus. I took my class and immediately ran out of time to actually practice what I learned. I vowed that I would sit at my spinning wheel at some point over this 4 day weekend. It took until today but I did it. I finished spinning up some alpaca/silk blend that I purchased in Portland at the Flock and Fiber Festival. I then plied this on itself which leaves me just a bit to work with but I am sure it is going to make a cute little project. It is a bit chunky for my taste but I keep reminding myself that I am just learning. Practice makes perfect, right. Next I took out a braid that my BFF Farrah brought me for Christmas. It is so yummy in red, brown, green and cream. I am still working on this braid as there is a lot of it and I have not decided if it will remain a single or be plied on a solid color. I am going to have to think about what it might become. I met a goal of spinning for a couple of hours today but now it is back to Clint's hat!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Wicked Sweater - Finally finished thanks to Farrah...


I started this sweater months ago and it is certainly an easy enough knit. The trouble all started when I could not seam up the stinking pocket to the front of it! It looked terrible every time I tried so I sent the sweater down to my bestie in Portland to get help from her knitting friend Leslie. She returned it to me on Wednesday morning! I love it and I know I will wear it a ton.

Happy Holiday's from the Farley's

The Christmas Hat's Fit


I made these hat's for Christmas gifts and as a knitter you are never sure if the item is going to fit. Well, the Christmas Hat's fit the Rabung's. Hurray!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Squee...

My BFF, Farrah and her husband Adam, are, according to flight tracker around or above Juneau. The flight is pretty much on time and I will leave here in a few to pick them up for the night! Their family gets them for Christmas but hopefully we will get them for New Years! Fun, fun, fun for knitting and spinning adventures. Check back soon for progress on projects.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Life at the Farley's


So my parents arrived in Anchorage two nights ago. Monday I came home from work, hoping and wishing and praying that my three capable children had done what I asked of them. In turn I would be able to finish getting the house picked up and ready for company! One of the tasks asked of them was to empty the dishwasher and load it though out the day! I came home to the same dishes that had been washed three times being washed AGAIN! This of course put me in a foul mood and the yelling started. Through all the commotion we figured out that our dishwasher did not work! By now Mom and Dad have arrived. I am frustrated that chores were not done and now I have a broken dishwasher that was FULLY loaded with dirty dishes and it is the holidays. Really, today of all days do I have to REALLY call a repair man to come and fix this dishwasher. By the way, this dishwasher is really only 10 years old but looks about 50. The top rack is being held up by twine and zip ties. It sits a little lop sided. I think about it, my Dad chimes in, my Mom chimes in and we all come to the conclusion that it is going to cost more to fix this hunk of junk than it is to replace it (sad but true in the world today). Timing could have not been better, Dad is a pro at this stuff so Clint has all the help he needs to replace this beast. Brendan and Mom do all of the dishes by hand. The fully loaded dishwasher's worth as well as the new dinner dishes from the evening. They are awesome!!!

Tuesday Dad volunteers to go and find us a new dishwasher. He does this between doctors appointments and medical procedures and I can't thank him enough. He even went to pick it up at the warehouse. He gets to the house after leaving a recovering Mom at my Aunts to rest. The boys hauled the new beast into the kitchen and the cleaning, removing and installing begins. We need pipe tape, to Fred Meyer I go. The hose is to short, to Lowes the men go. I return home with a recovering Mom and the men are still gone. Long story short. I did a load of dishes in my brand new BOSCH dishwasher last night and they are clean! I think my old machine was bad for awhile because I have not seen dishes this clean in some time. I started my second load before I went to work this morning!!! YEAH new dishwasher!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

My Christmas Gift is BACKORDERED - WHAT!

Order Number: 26567
Date Ordered: Monday 21 December, 2009

Thank you for shopping DreamWeaverYarns.com! Your order has been updated to the following status.

New status: Backorder in Process

Hi Jeanie,
Thank you for your order. Nifty Swifts have sold out, but we do expect more within three weeks. We will ship as soon as they arrive. Thank you for our patience.

~Natalie

Monday, December 21, 2009

Christmas from Dad and Mom...

My parents arrived tonight from Homer and we promptly sat down and ordered my Christmas gift. How about that for getting what you want... I had told my Mom several weeks ago that I was drooling over this yarn swift and explained what a great Christmas gift this would make. It is on the way to me as we speak! Merry Christmas to me. Thanks Mom and Dad...

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Friday Night Knitting Holiday Gathering

We had a gathering on December 12. All of the Friday night Knitting Grounds followers were invited to attend. The gathering was held at the Upstairs Studio. We had a good time with a pot luck, knitting, catching up with friends and a fun White Elephant gift exchange with a knitting theme and $25 stash busting rule. Here are some images from the evening...

In the photo's we have...
~ Zaynab holding up her gift exchange gift. I think she went home with this...
~I keep a tight lid on my fabulous gift of two sock knitting books and some beautiful rose wood knitting needles and crochet hooks from Grandma. I went home with this gift and it is so special.




Saturday, December 19, 2009

Charting for fair isle...


So I have been spending a lot of time this week charting a new fair isle pattern. I have used pieces and parts from other patterns and put some ideas together. I am hoping to get feedback from my friends on what they think. This new hat will be for my husband and will be in brown tones. What do you like best...

Spinning...

I attended a fiber festival in Wasilla a few months ago. When we were cleaning up for the evening and helping the organizers pack up their goods, I sat down at a spinning wheel. I had been toying with the idea of purchasing a spinning wheel but they are expensive and when would I find the time to spin the yarn that I love to knit with? Well, I fell in love with the wheel and anyone who knows me, knows that I am impulsive. Denise offered me a pretty good deal on the wheel that was talking to me so I did it. I brought home my Victoria. Isn't she pretty? She folds up small and fits in the bag...

A few weeks ago I participated in a class to learn a little bit more about using her. I have not had a chance to sit down since but I am sure I will be spinning up some great yarn soon. I need to! The class was wonderful for learning techniques on testing your spinning and seeing if you like what you are doing. It was more wonderful for spending time with old friends and making new ones. Check back for posts on my spinning adventures.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Labels for knitted goods


So, I found a lady on Etsy who makes labels to put inside your hand knitted wears... I ordered some. Here are my labels. What do you think?


I ordered these from http://www.etsy.com/shop/MommieMadeIt

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Starting to blog...

So today I decided it is time to blog again! I have been knitting a whole bunch of wonderful stuff and I would love a place to post it. Gearing up for the holidays has been strange. I have done a little gift knitting but not a ton. I was commissioned to do an ear flap hat by Clint's supervisor, Taylor. My priorities have been concentrated on writing the pattern for this. Here is the final result.




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Location:Concord Hill Cir,Anchorage,United States