Graphic-Rich Wildlife!

The computers I work on are often moving just a little slower than I would like and I am a Pretty Impatient Knitty! But, I often tell my family and co-workers, "It's a graphic-rich site. . .just be patient!"

And so I ask you today, my Pretty Knitty readers, to please be patient with my graphic-rich post. . .I will try to make it better by using fewer words, but I don't think that will make it load any faster. . .lol!

On Sunday, a friend visiting from Japan brought me some very yummy treats, and I wanted to thank her (THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!), and show them off!:
All the way home from church (where I was "gifted"), Sweetie and I tried to figure out what flavor candies were in the green bag! All of the writing was in Japanese! Mint? Green Apple? Nope. Green-tea! The Hubster and I both tried them, and we have also shared with some friends. . .I have never tasted anything quite like them!

And in the wrapper, was a box. . .

And in the box, a beautiful tin!:

And in the tin (which had some french on it, but Sweetie and I don't speak french), were these cookies. . .!:

Light, buttery, crisp, and filled with a delectable white-chocolate cream! drooooool

They are so good! (THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU again!) Of course, Sweetie and I just vowed to watch what we eat. . .ugh! But I must say that, with every cookie individually wrapped, it is more difficult to eat these en masse than it is with Oreos! Perhaps I should buy everything individually wrapped! lol

Or, I could just busy my hands with the knitting, making it less convenient to snack! Then I might finish my June socks on time, too - bonus!

In the land of Castin' on Again, I finished the details of the green sweater

with CHICKENS! OMGosh! Maybe too cute for even me!

And then the blue sweater jumped out of the stash, begging to be knit NOW for College Girl's co-worker's kid. . .it is a little bigger than the green one!

Here it is, all buttoned up. . .

. . .and with the collar turned down. . .I enjoyed the knitting, adding in it's own special details. Every Pretty Knitty sweater gets some special details!

But, where's the wildlife, Pretty Knitty?!? You promised wildlife!

That's right, I did! Remember the baby geese. . .how cute they were? Well, much like their human counterparts, adolescent geese are far less cute. . .and a little gangly. . .

. . .and they always seem to be eating! What's up with that?

I really don't know, it must be a growth spurt! So there is the wildlife I promised, and before I sign off, here is one gratuitous shot of Pretty Knitty "in the wild!" (and wearing her Aurucania Tee!)

Knit in Good Health!

Castin' On Again. . .

I just can't wait to get Castin' On Again!
Found my needles making music with some yarn. . .
But I can't wait to get Castin' On Again!

Maybe this "Pile O' Yarn" has something to do with it?. . .
So, last night, even though I have three things on the needles already (which is kinda my personal limit), I cast on yet another 5-hour sweater.This one is for a boy baby, so there are heavy modifications. . .like, no lacy holes or k2togs. . .those are replaced by some top-down, raglan shaping. . .still on 10.5 needles, tho, so it's a fast knit! I cast on last night, and finished the knitting early this afternoon. . .still need to add buttons and weave in ends, but I think I may gift it this coming week!

Aaaaand, the Peaches & Creme in the top photo will be another baby sweater, for the son of one of College Girl's co-workers. . .I think it will be another 5-hour, but it might also be a Knitting Fool pattern. . .decisions, decisions!

Aaaaand, the cone of blue yarn in the photo is the 50/50 wool/hemp blend from the Fiber Festival, and it is destined to become another Bagstopper! Super Yay!

In Knon-Knitting Knews, I have been playing at the photog thing again with Michelle! She is wearing her new tank (Lovely! - finished just moments before the photo was taken!), and this is my favorite shot of her at the barn on Thursday evening!

On the Home Front, we had a pretty productive day today. . .

For the past 15 years, we have not had a light by the door we use most frequently. Mostly, it was a nuisance when we came and went after dark, but lately we wondered if it was not also a security risk. There are some pretty big shadows between these little houses, and I would not want to be sneaking up on anyone "lurking" in the shadows. So, we hired a local handyman, and now we say, "Let there be [a] light!"

And, a few years back, we re-did the bushes in front of the house. We tore out the big ones that were creeping under the siding, and replaced them with two holly bushes, two daylillies, and what I think was a barberry shrub. . .the leaves were reddish and very pretty, but it was the prickly-est plant ever! Pruning was a pain! So, Sweetie took it out today, just before we laid more mulch. . .

We then went shopping to replace the center shrub, and decided on a boxwood for it's heartiness and evergreen qualities. The daylillies disappear in winter, so we wanted to be sure that whatever we planted would stay visible and attractive, rather than creating a big void in the center of the flowerbed when winter rolled around.

Now, we are not master gardeners, and it took us the better part of half an hour to pick which shrub we wanted to get. We looked at Azaleas, Roses and other flowering shrubs, as well as other varieties of evergreens. . .and then we just chose a lovely boxwood.

When we got home, we saw right away that there may be a "SMALL" problem. . .since we didn't have our other shrubs with us at the gardening center (should we take them next time? they felt so left out!), we did not realize just how puny a plant we had picked! lol

Sooooo, here we are, in the heart of summer, with a big void in the center of the flowerbed! lol And Sweetie and I are basically too lazy to go back and get a bigger plant. . .eventually, this one will grow. . .we hope. . .

But for today, we are finished with the landscaping. . .finished with the home repair and cleaning. . .finished with the shopping. . .finished with the hot and muggy sweating every time we even look out the window. . .and I am going to knit! I hope that you have some time to relax and unwind this weekend, and that there is yarn in your plans!

Knit in Good Health!

I Ought'a be in Pictures!

And now, I think I am!

I told you a couple weeks ago about a new craft venture, and it has now come to fruition! You see, I have a friend who has some stunning photo jewelry that uses pictures of her kids, and she wears it all the time, and I covet it. It is, however, on the pricey side of things for my Pretty Knitty budget. . .sooooo, I decided to see what I could do with some glass, some resin, some jewelry findings, and my own photos! This is what I came up with!:
A bracelet for College Girl, featuring her and the Boyfriend! She let me take some photos from her Facebook page, and I made some chain maille connectors for three charms, and I am rather proud of myself! Bonus!, she likes it, and I have even seen her wear it twice! I also did a few other picture charms, and I plan to make something(s) for someone(s) with them, maybe for Christmas?. . .more on that later.

For now, it seems that I am in [the business of] pictures! So I thought to my Pretty Knitty self, "Hey! I could make charms like this for my row counters!," And then I did!:

I used a couple of my personal, knitting and yarn photos, and played with the color a bit to "stylize" them, and I ended up with a few usable pieces that I truly love! So, I thought to my Pretty Knitty self, "Self, you should make some new row counters for the shop. . .," and then I did!:

Seven new counters for the Pretty Knitty Shop! At this point, only two are listed, but the rest will make their way over there in the next week or two. . .I am totally jazzed about them! Aaaaaand, I have also put the word out that I can even make custom counters with the knitter's personal photos for an additional $2! Yay!

In Knitting Knews, I am still working on a sweater, a shawl and a pair of socks. . .a pretty knormal knit load for Pretty Knitty! The sweater is a new project, the Harumi Cardigan from the Smart Knitter, and I have only just begun the project. The socks are a Snowflake Lace pattern that I have wanted to knit for a looooooong time, and they are the June edition of my Sock Kits! And the shawl is another of the Knit 1 Breathe 1 variety. . .this time in Wollemeise!

OH!, and I finished the Shapely, Summer Sweater! I am liking how it turned out, and I have already worn it once! Oh!, and I am going to wear it again tomorrow, because it makes me happy! See?:

Knit in Good Health, you Pretty Knitty People!

Rainy, Sleepy Saturday

So, you may know that cats sleep a lot. . .especially if you have a cat. . .and many of the yarnigans I know have cats. . .yarn and cats, they go together. . .like naps on rainy Saturdays! And, it was a little dark and wet here today, and the cats have come up with a new event for the Catlympics. . .TANDEM NAPPING!
And while they slept, I took some photos of my new sweater! It is a Shapely Tank, knit in worsted weight cotton. I made some mods to the original pattern, as my yarn was heavier than the DK called for, and all of those mods are on my Project Page! I am pretty pleased, and I plan to wear this to church tomorrow. . .YAY!
Then, while I sat on the sofa with my Sweetie this morning, a cat weaseled it's way between us to really stretch out and get comfortable. Is she sleeping or unconscious? We are never really sure with this one! lol

As if in answer to our question, she decided to change positions, only slightly, and splay herself out in front of us on the floor! Such a funny, lazy kitty is she. . .

Watching that sleepy, purry kitty, Sweetie and I were having a hard time staying awake, so we decided on a road trip to the Rubbermaid store for some protection. . .for the YARN I just got last weekend. . .which was still sitting in the bags I had brought it home in, because I didn't have any more room in the basement bins to add it to the stash!

(Please note: This does not mean that I have a stash problem. I have been told by some very trustworthy sources that 5 or 6 sweaters' worth does NOT constitute a stash problem. . .that, and I can stop any time I want. . .really.)

I took the Snowflake Lace Socks I started yesterday along for the ride. . .

When we got to the Rubbermaid store, I was inspired by the shelves of potential yarn storage that stretched before me, like a lazy cat. . .and we shopped all 4 floors!

Sweetie carried our selections, and we ended up with some things for the kitchen. . .like a bread box, a dish drainer and another reusable water bottle. . .because you can never have too many water bottles OR coffee mugs. . .riii-ight??? Even though we have cupboards full of coffee mugs and water bottles, still we buy them almost every time we go bumming around in a shopping situation. . .what's up with that? No, really. . .if you know, please tell me!!! The other thing we ended up with, the thing that I was after, is a suitcase-looking plastic container with a nifty handle. . .see below:

And here it is full of the yarn from the festival. . .I mean it is actually FULL! When I picked it up, I thought it was gonna have some space left. . .but I apparently underestimated my newly acquired stash! The thing almost bulged when I closed it! lol - and now I have a place for this yarn, and it is in it's place, and all is right in my world! Now I remember why I have declared a "yarn fast" until the fall. . .yeah, there is just no place left to put any more "potential sweaters."

And it rained on us, and it felt like it was falling in biblical proportions!

Even despite the rain, tho, Sweetie and I were having a good time, and we were almost sorry to see the road-trip come to an end. So, on the way home, we stopped off at Black Locust Farm yarn shop, in Spencer.

I did not break the yarn fast. Hey!, CKW!, I did NOT break the yarn fast!!! I got myself a 40" Addi Turbo in size 4 (the only size I was missing from 0 - 8) that I need for my next project. And I chatted with the owner, who is a full time nurse in addition to running the yarn shop! She is a busy lady, so the shop has limited hours, but I plan to stop back and maybe bring some friends, too! Eventually tho, I had to get back in the car, and Sweetie and I moseyed on home, knitting and talking and watching the storm clouds dangle from the sky in greys and blues and wispy white tendrils that danced just above the trees. . .

And I apparently made quite a bit of progress on the socks. . .yay! I hope that your day was good, and that you will Knit in Good Health until I talk to you again!

Good Things in Threes

. . .and in this case, the good things are Finished Objects. . .Go, Me!

First up, the May Socks are finished (and were finished in May - yay!), and here they are! Plain vanilla, knit with TV Yarn (Monk) by White Oak Studio on 2.25 bamboo DPNs, top down, 64sts. See how the feet pooled differently? I think it must be a gauge issue, as the knitting and re-knitting of these socks was a bit stressful for me. . .but they are FINISHED!
Aside: White Oak Studio's Etsy shop seems to be closed as she prepares(ed) for a fiber festival. . .check back to see her stuff when she re-opens!

Thing Two: Another 5 Hour Baby Sweater for a new baby! This one is travelling to another state with the proud grandma at the end of this week, and the Daddy is one of the boys that Army Boy played baseball with for years. . .so he is Army Boy's age. . .OMGosh! It boggles the brain, and I knit to stay sane! lol This is in Lion Brand Pound of Love, and I think it took me about, well, 5 hours to make up. These sweaters are soooo adorable!

Third Finished Object is also for the new baby girl. . .because I have known this kid for a long time, and his first child will have, not just a knitted item, but multiple knitted items. . .it just has to be! So, these are little Lacy Rib Baby Socks, made with Destination Yarn in the Vienna colorway! Aren't they precious?

And since we were on "yarn overload" in the Bonus Post, that's about all I have left for today!

Knit in Good Health, and there will be more FOs and WIPs on Saturday, for sure!