Livin' La Needle Loca

...I totally love this Iris cardigan!! It is a fast knit and it is so cute. Last night I finished the body and moved it onto waste yarn until I'm ready to do the trim. Here's what it looks like now: I'll start the sleeves tonight. I like how the colors came together, but I still haven't decided whether to use the blue (sky) or the green (Fog, the middle color) for the trim. Any preferences? I'm open to suggestions! Because I'm having such a good time with this sweater, nothing else has called my name, meaning that I probably won't start anything new until this is done. That's a big change for me since I'm so easily distracted by pretty fiber to spin. (LOL!) That being said, I'll probably do a little spinning on the weekend. Our garden continues to explode with color. Here are a few flowers I saw this morning. A red poppy in the front yard (I think the petals look like crepe paper)... Flowers on one of the trellises in the backyard... and a be...

...I know, what a concept! I finished one Saartje's Bootee. I think it's too small, but I definitely liked working it in the round. I'll make a complete pair using larger needles. I made the decision to frog the Crossover Top—I just wasn't happy with the color differences. Since Purlescence was having a sale (LOL!), I decided to go look there on Saturday. I ended up buying the same yarn, but in a different colorway, again making sure that the lot numbers matched. I know I'm taking a big chance here, but I really do love the yarn! Since I was out and about, I decided to take a trip over to Full Thread Ahead . The last time I was there they had the Vickie Howell Craft yarn ( South West Trading Company) that I used to make the bunny. I wanted to get more so I could make another one. They didn't have that yarn, but I did find some sale yarn that will do. It is Cloud 9 yarn by Cascade and contains 50% merino and 50% angora. It's soft and squishy and has a nice l...

...after our April showers earlier this week: After I took that picture, I turned around and got this picture: Quite a difference, isn't it? Still no knitting to show you. Saartje's Bootees are causing me a little grief...the strap instructions are not as clear as I'd like them to be and I'm not loving the seams that will run across the bootee bottoms and up the back. I found an in-the-round variation that Fleegle created , so I'm trying that even though I have nearly finished one bootee in the flat version. I have a short day today—the Daughter and I are spending some time together this afternoon. Also, let's hear it for the Husband...it's his birthday! Happy Birthday, J ! Is this what you'll be doing this weekend??

...because I'm smack in the middle of a work project that requires all of my brain cells. Very little knitting is happening right now. I am working on Saartje's Bootees , but they don't look like much at the moment. The Crossover Top is at a standstill because even though I bought all the yarn in the same dye lot, the one I used for the front is much lighter than the one I used for the back. ARG! So now I have to decide whether to just start over with different yarn and use this yarn for some one-skein patterns. At least it's an easy knit... Since I have no crafts to show you, how about another "playing with Picnik" picture? I took a photo of a red rose blooming in our front yard and sent it through the Holga-ish filter. This is the result (make sure to click for the larger size): I think it's cool... I tried the black-and-white effect, too, but I really prefer this one. See you on Eye Candy Friday...back to work for me!

...I'm a little tired from the driving and I have a ton of work to do. It took me about 4 hours to get to my mom's...going through Gilroy was slow and I did make a Starbucks stop in King City (which is about halfway). I'd forgotten how much I hate to drive! I visited with my mom, sister, brother, and nephew; it was really good to see them. My brother took me out for dinner, which I really enjoyed. There's nothing like a good filet mignon cooked over oak wood....yum! The weather was overcast on Friday and Saturday, so no good picture opportunities there. I didn't have time for a lot of knitting, so nothing to show there! On my way home yesterday, I stopped in Morro Bay for a mini-reunion with some high school classmates. What a kick to see these people again! I took a few pictures (which will remain private since I don't have permission to post them) and caught up with what everyone was up to. I had a good time, but I only stayed a couple of hours as I wanted to...

...well, for me anyway. I'm leaving this afternoon to visit my mother for the weekend. It takes 3 1/2 to 4 hours to drive there, depending on how long it takes me to get through Gilroy. Going by myself means that I don't get 3 1/2 hours to knit! I packed last night and reviewed what I wanted to take knitting-wise. The Crossover Top is going with me, but I'm starting to get bored with all that stockinette. I decided to take the yarn and needles for Saartje's Bootees . This is a very popular pattern in Ravelry and they are too cute for words. I decided to use a Dream in Color "Smooshy" yarn in Wisterious. It has a lot of pale purples and doesn't look too girly, so it should work for either gender. I wound it into a yarn cake last night and tucked it into my bag. So today's eye candy is Wisterious: I'm taking my camera with me this weekend and I'm hoping to get a few pictures along the way. I'll give a trip report on Monday!

...I have been knitting on the Crossover Top, but it's not worth posting another picture that looks essentially the same as the one I posted on Friday . I have finished the back and am nearly done with the left front. Still to do are the right front and the sleeves. At first, I wasn't sure exactly how the left front was going to work. I just kept plugging away at it, making sure that I followed the instructions carefully. Now that I'm almost to the shoulder, it's looking just right. Instead I'll show you one of my older finished projects. Click a picture to see the larger version. (Apologies up front about the picture quality: they are scans of photos. Eventually I'll retake them with a digital camera.) The following pictures are of the quilt I made for our daughter's graduation from Stanford in 2000. This was my second full size quilt and was a year in the making. It is an attic windows quilt, which I find is one of the better patterns to show off novelty ...

...Jane received her present on Saturday (Yay, USPS!). I can now show you pictures of what was in her package, using the list I posted on her birthday. One celebrates her birthday and can be used every year: One celebrates our friendship: One will help her through her day: One is to share with someone special: Remember this bunny? I made it for Jane to share with her first grandchild who is due in September. Jane reports that she loves everything, especially the bunny (what's not to love about that cute little thing?). So it was another successful surprise. As for my weekend, I finished and e-filed our taxes; I got the last information from The Daughter today and will finish hers tonight. I did do a little spinning, but mostly I knitted the Crossover Top. I finished the back and am working on one of the two front pieces. (If I read the instructions a little closer, I'd have probably finished the first front by now...oops!) So far, nothing else is calling my name to be cast ...

...the garden is exploding with color right now and I am totally enjoying all of the flowers. We have pansies... some unknown red flowers (if you know what this is, tell me!)... apple blossoms... and poppies! This poppy picture is one of my photos to which I applied Picnik's Posterize feature. It's a cool little effect. There has been some knitting. I am working on the back of the Debbie Bliss Crossover Top. I'm using Crustal Palace's Merino 5 and I love the way the colors are falling. It looks a little too blue in this picture; there more teal-y in real life. Up this weekend, finishing off the taxes and then some spinning! I have to get my craft on this weekend, because next weekend I'm driving to my Mom's and visiting my sister.

...because it's her birthday! Happy Birthday, Jane! She hasn't posted on her blog in a few days, but go leave her a comment anyway! Jane and I met in high school. We were friends all 4 years, but after graduation I moved away and we lost touch. Fast forward to October of 2004...she found me on Classmates.com and emailed me. We exchanged lots of emails as we caught up. We segued to IM and now use that as our preferred communication mode. Everyone who knows us is aware that Jane and I have a standing IM date on Monday nights—we try hard not to break that, but sometimes life gets in the way! The last few weeks, I've been giving her a bad time about her birthday gift. She's been begging for clues, so Monday I told her that her present was "bigger than a bread box, and smaller than a horse." Needless to say, that didn't appease her. So, because I'm late (AGAIN!) in mailing her present (I took it to the post office today, Jane), I thought I'd post a f...

...not only did I get to do the taxes, but I discovered that the tax software is only for Mac OS 10.4 and above. I had 10.3.x—how fabulous! We had to buy a new OS and install it on my laptop before I could go any further. Several stores and many hours later, I had Leopard on my Mac and the first draft of our taxes and the Daughter's taxes done. And it was 11PM... It was kind of a lost weekend, craft-wise. I did manage to finish the secret present on Saturday. Now I need to find a box to fit it in, wrap it, and get it mailed. So, Jane, it might be a day or so late... (I try so hard every year to get it in the mail on time, and I'm batting zero so far!) Most of Saturday was taken up with shopping and prepping for the company party at 5pm. We have themed holiday parties and this year's theme was "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon." We could bring a bacon dish, a movie title inspired dish, a song title dish, or whatever as long as you could make the connection back to Kevin ...

Is this cute or what?! Eye Candy Friday AND a finished project! I liked doing this pattern...it was a little challenging to put it all together and embroidering on knitting was not fun. However, I really like how it turned out! Hopefully, the baby who receives it will love it as much as I do! Next up: Crossover Top from the Debbie Bliss book "Essential Baby." I cast on last night and managed to get a couple of rows done before bedtime. I realize that the blog has been quiet for the last few days...I'm really busy with a couple of work projects and once I get home, all I wanted to do was finish the bunny or work on the secret birthday present (almost there!). There have also been lots of phone calls with family members about the various goings on...trust me, it's very draining. Up this weekend: our company Christmas party (yes, we have our Christmas party in March or April...when we have a summer picnic, it's in October. It works for us!), taxes (ick), and whateve...

...no pictures, just the recap! Finished: 3/23 Lenore Socks from BMFA Rockin' Sock Club (knitting) 3/22 Penngrove Purples yarn Royale Hare superwash merino (4.0 oz) in Penngrove Purples Spun and plied on Lendrum Folding wheel 2-ply, yield: 315 yds. Weight: 11 WPI average 3/14 Knit2 Bag Pattern 3/8 Knitted wire necklace (copper and beads) 3/9 The Wright Stuff quilt Edited to add: 3/30 "Block Party" pillow by Pine Mountain (cross stitch kit) 3/29 "Best Things in Life" pillow by Pine Mountain (cross stitch kit) Worked on: Black leg warmers in Caron Simply Soft yarn (knitting) Secret birthday present components (will update recap after they are opened by the birthday girl) See edited list above Ravelry Notebook! Started: 3/25 Knitted bunny from Last Minute Knitted Gifts 3/15 Spinning Copperhead 2 (Falkland) from Yarn Wench. Works In Progress (did not work on): Montego Bay wrap in Walking on the Wild Tide yarn, using Montego Bay scarf pattern from Interweave Knits...