4.17.2009

I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away

I disappeared there for a while again - sorry about that! I think I'm back for good, but we shall see what happens. At any rate, I've decided that I miss the posting titles as song lyrics, so that's back too.

Hope everyone is enjoying this sunshine-y day! The first of many I hope.

With my beautiful spring day I decided to make a trip to the yarn store. You know, 'cause who doesn't want to spend a lovely spring day buying a crap-ton of merino wool. The obvious choice, don't you think? So here's what I got:


7 skeins of Sublime in Color 0019: Waterleaf to test knit this beauty

5 skeins Jojoland Melody in Color MS26 to knit a Swirl Shawl for my mom's birthday

And a few buttons for a Shalom cardigan that I'm almost finished with.

Pictures coming soon - if I can find my camera under all this yarn!

3.27.2009

Squid and Ink

Sweater, what sweater?

Maybe I can distract you with some yummy socks! Sorry for the crappy picture. I had to go to the post office today and by the time I got back the sun was gone. But, if you look closely you can see a tiny part of Wicked on the left edge of the photo. FYI the body is done, now it's just the sleeves to go.



Specs:
Pattern: Squid by MamaBlue
Needles: US 1 1/2
Yarn: Mama Blue Troika Sock in Ink
Pattern Notes: Great pattern! Easy to follow, but not mind-numbingly boring. I had only just discovered Mama Blue when the original Squid and Ink kits came out, so I missed out on them. Luckily, I was able to snag the highly-sought-after Ink in Troika Sock recently, so I gave it a go. It's kind of a bonus that I missed out on the original, because the kit included the simple merino yarn and I'm an MCN girl myself.

There was a time when I swore off of buying sock patterns. Mostly because there are so many that are free and I also have a crapton of knitting books, many of which have some quality sock patterns in them. However, I couldn't resist this one, and I think these are calling to me for my next pair. In fact, I may have already gone ahead on bought it. Ravelry is too good of an enabler. Grr. But it is almost my birthday, so it's ok, right?

3.19.2009

Oops!

I have been making impressive progress on Wicked. I started it on Saturday and last night I pretty much finished the main body of it. Up next is the pocket. So, I scrounged around looking for the US7 straight needles only to discover that they have been chewed on. That's right, chewed on. And not by me. I have vague recollections of a visit from a friend and her puppy, resulting in knitting disaster.

I've tried sanding down the needle in question and the yarn is still snagging on it. I think I will have to borrow some needles or buy new ones. In the meantime, it seems that something new jumped onto my needles this morning.



I was really trying hard to be a one-project-at-a-time kind of knitter, but it seems that this is just not to be. Alas, I suppose I will suffer through some Squid Socks in Mama Blue Troika Ink. It's rough, I know, but I'll try to get through it.

3.16.2009

I'm back!

So, it's been quite a while, but at long last I am back. Miss me?

Besides revamping the blog, here's what I've been up to lately. Check it out - my own store! I haven't made any sales yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I have a whole pile of new things to put up in the shop, but I have to take some more photos before I can do that.

I've also been consumed by this lately:



It's Wicked. I've been dreaming about this sweater for years and finally decided to just go for it. Now that I've done about 1/3 of it, I'm already thinking about making a cardigan version like this one. Haven't decided on a color yet. Suggestions are welcome!

5.23.2007

Even if things get heavy we'll all float on

I got tagged by Helena for seven things about me, but I've actually already done that one. No worries, I've decided to change it to 7 Exciting Things That Make Me Smile. As things continue to go well over here at Chéz Griffin, I don't think this will be all that hard. Let's see:

1. Yesterday I got my invite to Ravelry , and I just can't stop playing around with it. I think I'm going to end up with carpal tunnel syndrome from all of the computer time I'm logging these days. I hope I don't have to take a knitting break due to sore wrists. Today I realized I have a message box over there and inside it was a hello from Eleanor ! She's now my first Ravelry friend - yay!

2. There are less than 20 days of school left. While I'll miss my school, I'm so happy to be moving on. These last few weeks will be really tough, knowing the excitement of what's coming next!

3. I have had some yucky dentist issues of late, and after three Wednesdays in a row of getting all novacained-up and having work done, I am now dentist free for the next six months! Yay!

4. I'm still in the midst of packing up my entire apartment. So far I have 13 full boxes, 2 extra thick trash bags, and 1 very large suitcase all set to go. In addition, I have 4 1/2 bags of clothing/shoes to donate to charity, 2 bags of books that are ready to move on (used bookstores and library donations), 1 bag of books to go back to school, and approximately 6 bags of apartment trash. It's coming along, but there's a lot left to do. The thing that makes me smile about it is the fact that I finally have a good reason to get rid of stuff. I've been in this apartment for 3 years now, and that's a new record for me. I've accumulated quite a bit of crap in that time, and it's time to say goodbye to a lot of it.

5. Hehe, Socks that Rock yarn is abundant in my stash. After starting in on cataloguing my stash for Ravelry, I've realized that I have nine unused skeins of the stuff. Yum! Much of that is due to the recent acquisition seen below:



Then of course there is the April sock club yarn:




6. I'm going to Harvard!

7. I'm going to Harvard!

Ok, I cheated at the end there, but that was a lot of things, don't you think? I think I did pretty good. Plus, Harvard counts for AT LEAST two, if not three or four, on a list of things that make me happy.



Previous Title: Dave Matthews Band, "Monkey Man"

5.21.2007

The lucky one's going to get it all

I'm glad you all liked the baby bear sweater as much as I do! Baby Griffin will definately be getting one of those. In addition, I've been frogging some old items and have consequently added to my stash. I have about 6 skeins of this yummy Sirdar Snuggly Domino.



It's clearly designated for Baby G, but what will it become? I have this pattern for it, but I'm not sure how I'll like it in this colorway. Still thinking on that one . . .

There's also some pink cotton yarn that I think is Classic Elite Premiere and some light blue cotton (maybe Tahki Cotton Classic?) for when the baby is actually born. Although both may become sweaters for my friends' twins.

Talk about planning ahead on projects! Sheesh! I better speed up on my current projects. The Dollar and a Half cardi is about 70¢ along, and my bandwagon scarf (can you guess which one?) is about halfway there. Pics of both coming soon.


Previous title: The Beatles, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

5.20.2007

With a couple of kids running in the yard . . .

News! I have news! My brother and his wife are going to have a baby! Courtney's due in November. They've decided to wait it out and let the sex of the baby be a surprise, which is great for them, but kind of sucky for an anxious and over-excited knitter. Still, I think the idea of letting it be a surprise is kinda cool too. So, who's got suggestions on their favorite gender-less baby patterns? I'm thinking this is the perfect excuse for the Debbie Bliss teddy bear cardigan that I have always loved.



Also, I have a collection of rainbow colored leftovers of Tahki Cotton Classic - maybe a cute baby item? All ideas are much appreciated.

Before I say goodbye for today I also want to thank both Johanna and Helena for their really sweet words of encouragement and support. I'm still working on staying cheery, but lately things are good.


Previous title: Our Lady Peace, "Innocent"