Time for eye candy...

I think that I've kept you waiting long enough so, without further ado, here are the long awaited photos of my recent finished projects...

Pattern: Artful Afghan from Lion Brand

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted

Modifications: None

Comments: I love the finished product after months and months of work! That said, I don't know that I will EVER make this blanket again because it was so time consuming. I thought that it would keep my attention a little more than it did, but I quickly realized that while 4 increases every row may be a little interesting at first (when there were only 8 stitches) it quickly loses my interest. No big deal, though! I'm thrilled that it's done, I think that the recipients will be very happy, and I am glad that I finally tried the pattern. Enough said...

Pattern: Fat Bottom Bag from "The Happy Hooker"

Yarn: Lambs Pride Worsted

Modifications: None

Comments: This has very quickly become a popular bag among my friends and I have made more than I could have imagined. However, this was the very first and I made it for myself following my surgery. It's a cheerful little bag that did exactly what I wanted it to - cheered me up! I do think that I will switch out the handles for some round bamboo handles, but this works for now.

Pattern: Purl Beret from Purl Bee

Yarn: Claudia's Handpainted

Modifications: None

Comments: I'm still not sure about the shape of this hat on my head, but it was a great pattern for a single skein (175 yards) of fingering weight. I was not thrilled with this yarn as the dye was very clearly not set, so my fingers turned a very disconcerting purple every time I knit on this hat. I washed the hat with some Soak and it seems to have gotten the dye out, but I think the real test will come when I wear it out for the first time. Let's hope that I don't have a purple stripe on my forehead!

Pattern: Stella's Hat from Knitting School Dropout

Yarn: Galway Chunky

Modifications: None

Comments: There's not much to say! It's a fun pattern with a great finished product. I imagine that I will be making more of these in the future!

And finally, here are some pictures of my current projects in progress. I am not including pics of all of my projects as some of them are gifts and I don't want the recipients to sneak a peek...But don't worry, Mom, your Mother's Day gift will be making its way to you very soon!

That's a baby surprise jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman on the top. I'm knitting it in Encore Worsted Colorspun and am loving it! The bottom photo is of a fat bottom bag in progress. I'm making it for one of my coworkers in some kind of Red Heart.

So, that's it. I'll try to be back more quickly than I've been managing...:)

Happy New Year!

Okay, so I missed the new year by a while, but I'm going to wish you a happy new year all the same! Just consider it my welcome back to both of us as I reenter the blogging world...

So, I know that I fell off the face of the earth after that last post, and I am hoping to start rectifying that situation now. It's been a really crazy couple of months with my recovery from surgery, return to work, the busy holiday season, and then just keeping up with life...That certainly does not mean that I have put my crafting on the back burner or that I don't have some big projects coming up in the near future, so I'm going to dive back in.

First of all, I'm still plugging away at the SSCCG (which the couple knows about now and has seen, so it has lost its super secret status), but am exactly 6 rounds away from being done with this huge thing. I can't wait to finish the blanket and pass it off to the happy couple...I think that it's going to look really wonderful in their home! But, the wedding projects don't end there because I'm going to be starting a new blanket for some dear friends who are being married later this year. Lest you think I haven't learned anything from the SSCCG, I am going to be knitting with MUCH thicker yarn and it will be in several pieces (easier to cart around with me!) that I'll seam up in the end. I can't help it, I love making stuff for the people I care about...That is going to include me, though, because I have some great projects in the wings for myself. Mrs. Ha-Ha bought me a kit for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan in a lovely shade of red and I have a bunch of smaller projects that will start to use up my stash. By the way, the yarn diet has been extended to the end of 2008 because I'm just not going to be able to make enough of a dent by my birthday...That doesn't mean, however, that I might not treat myself to a little yarn treat for my birthday! It's number 30 for me and I figure that deserves some yummy yarn...

In other exciting news, Mrs. Ha-Ha and I have officially booked a place for our commitment ceremony, which will take place in May 2009. We scheduled it to coincide with our 5 year anniversary, so it will be a celebration in many ways...I'm already starting to brainstorm as to how I can include crafting in the ceremony! :)

Okay, there's more to share, but I'm going to save it for the next post which will hopefully also include some pics! Thanks for sticking around...

In lieu of a regular post...

Still recovering here, but thought that I would share the fiber related pictures from my recent vacation...Enjoy!

If you look closely at the center of the photo, you will see me petting the yarn and choosing which skeins will be coming home with me...

Yarn: Paca-Peds by The Alpaca Yarn Co.

Colorway: Tye Dye

Yarn: Koigu for Endpaper Mitts

Colorways: 2120 and 2235 (from top to bottom)


Yarn: Socks that Rock (yep, I went all the way to LA to get some)

Colorways: Shrinking Violet and Ruby Slippers (from top to bottom)

Forced hiatus...

I thought that I would be updating this blog with vacation pictures and descriptions before now, but life has again gotten in the way...And, I'm not going to be sharing those things with you now. For my very few readers who don't know what has been happening in the past week, I have found myself in the middle of a little medical emergency...I'm doing all right now and I'm out of the hospital after partaking of a few days of inpatient care, but I have a long road ahead of me. I am not shutting this blog down because there will be knitting again and I will return, but I am going to take a break for now...Thanks for being here!

Checking in...

Well, I'm still alive but this past month has certainly kept me busy...I've been working at three jobs during the past month, and one of those jobs ended yesterday. So, I'm down to the two jobs that I'll be sticking wtih for the forseeable future. Can you hear the relief in my voice? The two jobs are still going to keep me busy, but I will at least have my weekends off! Those two days might just mean that I will again be able to pick up my knitting after nearly a month hiatus...It was a forced hiatus, to be sure, and I am so looking forward to reintroducing some knitting into my life! Of course, that also means that I will be reintroducing my presence at this blog with one new feature...Mrs. Ha-Ha purchased a digital camera for our family yesterday, so you will now be treated to some pictures of the knits that I keep mentioning in this space. To answer the big question (although I think that all of you already know this), the SSCCG was not completed by the ceremony and is still not completed. I am planning on diving back into that this week and will hopefully be able to get it off the needles in the next couple of weeks. The other good news? We leave for LA and Vegas next Saturday! Oh, I can't even begin to explain how wonderful a vacation sounds right now...I'll be back soon with knitting and vacation pictures!

Running on fumes...

Well, I didn't expect for it to take that long to get back here, but it has been a pretty crazy week! It's been my last full week at my current job before I start my new job...That doesn't quite mean that I will be done with my current job as I am putting four more Saturdays in there to take care of my last clients. I'm definitely feeling excited about starting the new job, but also a little nervous which is pretty typical for me...I haven't knit a single stitch this week, which is typically my therapy, so I hope to get some in over the weekend. I think that could help me to feel more relaxed about starting the new gig...

Mrs. Ha-Ha and I are visiting her parents for the 2007 Pumpkin Festival this weekend. My mom is also joining us for the event, so it will be a big family weekend...It also means that we get to eat pumpkin pancakes tomorrow morning! Yum!

I haven't made much progress this week on the SSCCG...I'll blame it on the craziness of the week, but I also feel the pressure to get on with it so that I can have it done in a timely manner. It's probably a bad sign that people have started to remind me that it's still okay to give a commitment ceremony/wedding gift within 12 months of the event. I really hope that I don't have to apply that old rule of etiquette...

I've spent a little time on what sweater I might want to make with the yarn that I'm going to allow myself to purchase during the big diet...I have been thinking of Morrigan from "No Sheep For You" or the Threepenny Pullover by Veronik Avery (in Interweave Knits Fall 2004). But I'll continue the search for a little while because I might as well enjoy the planning and then purchasing of my last yarn until May of next year...

Well, there are chores to be done before I can leave this afternoon for Pumpkin fun so I had better get on with it. I hope that all of you have a great weekend!

It's official!

Yup, I have officially decided that it's time for a yarn diet. It's going to look a little different than I first planned, so I'm going to lay it out here. This is both my way of providing myself with a reminder about the basics of my yarn diet, and also to try and convince some of my knitting friends (hello Cynical Knitting Gal!) to join me in my venture! If nobody joins me, I'm still going to do this on my own, but I know that it would probably be easier and more fun if I had some company! So, here's my plan:

1) The yarn diet will start today (9/8/07) and will continue through my birthday (5/23/08).

2) I will allow myself to purchase one more sweater's worth of yarn, which I will likely buy on vacation in October. I am unlikely to be able to avoid wanting to purchase souvenir yarn and I would really like to be able to have enough yarn to make one more sweater, so I'm going to just allow myself this one purchase during the yarn diet.

3) I will accept yarn gifts (I know that I should have a yarn gift coming from a contest that I won a while ago, and there's no way that I would turn that away) during the yarn diet.

Okay, so it's pretty simple when it gets right down to it, but now I've told all of you and I will feel tremendously guilty if I give in to the yarn temptation...If anybody else wants to join me, then let me know!