Knitting Eileen

Monday, November 26, 2007

I think it was Bill Cosby that said that there is a very strong curse that your parents put on you when you are young. The curse goes a little something like this; "I hope you have one that is just like you so you will know how it feels!" I would just like to say that it works. My daughter is EXACTLY like me. It is very strange, now that the 80's are back with such a vengence, she is even dressing and playing with toys that I played with in my youth. She wants nothing more than My Little Ponies, Strawberry Shortcake dolls and yes, even Care Bears. For my son there are Transformers. Kinda makes me wonder if they are going to be bringing back the illustrious Thundercats or He-Man any time soon (I totally had Skeletor's castle!)

Anyway back to the daughter. Today she asked me for a side pony tail. As she is leaving the house I realize she is dressed like me circa 1986, side ponytail, drop waist oversized tunic shirt and leggings. Add some Keds into the mix and yes, she has become me. She is very assertive to the point of bossiness and sassy and doesn't know when to hold her tongue. It's strange, and I'm very worried for the time she turns 14 when I really have to pay my dues (lets just say that I shaved my head and wore combat boots, nuff said).

In knitting news, Christmas knitting is in full swing over here. I have about a million pairs of Fiber Trends Felted Clogs to make for various family (and non family) members as well as a few scarves and assorted lovely things which shall remain a secret. My ultra secret sweater for the hub has been discovered and is no longer a secret :( Sound familiar San Antonio S n' B gals? Oh and Amy, this pic is for you:

Yeah, they are getting pretty big. Happy Holidays y'all!

posted by Eileen at 7:11 PM - 2 comments

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Question:

What does my blog look like to you? For me, it looks mint green on the sides, black in the middle where the writing is with pink flowers and pink titles and I think pink words as well. Interestingly though, when I was at work I wanted to show someone something I had knit and when I pulled the blog up, it was all mint, no flowers and white writing! So tell me, what does it look like to you?

posted by Eileen at 6:47 AM - 3 comments

Monday, November 12, 2007

Just Call Me Speedy

I've been quite the prolific knitter lately. When we first moved to Tampa, I would say that I had two projects that had been languishing on the needles for more than six months. One was a blanket, and the other was my Telemark Sweater. It seemed as though any time I cast on for something new, there they were making me feel guilty about not finishing them. I know that there are many knitters out there who don't have this issue. They can cast on and knit willy-nilly. For me, the girl who hates unfinished business, well it isn't so easy. So without any further ado may I present a finished blanket:

And yes, here she is, my Telemark Sweater. Finished. I can't hardly believe it myself. This sweater is a personal benchmark in my knitting. I love new techniques and this sweater was full of them. Two handed, stranded knitting. Steeks and calculating my sweater pattern based on percentages. Well I'm happy to report that she is finished and is just lovely. And most importantly of all, she fits. I just wish it were cold enough to wear! I suppose one could crank up the A/C though ;)

And you didn't forget about my baby sweater obsession: yes, the February Baby Sweater is finished. I also made some lovely Sarrtje's Booties for good measure. I told the gals in my knitting group that the race is on, the first one of them to have a baby girl will receive the sweater and boots.

And while I'm on such a finishing roll, may I present my Swallowtail Shawl:

The great thing about being this way though is that I have so many finished things to show ya'll!
As a quick aside, I just want to say "Howdy" to all my gals from the SnB in San Antonio. I was thinking about you guys this weekend and sorely wishing I were there at Kid n' Ewe! A quick look at your blogs has shown me that you guys scored some good stuff. And Amanda, your yarns and bags are lovely!

Well that is all for now. I'm going to go and work on a super secret project now.

posted by Eileen at 12:42 PM - 3 comments

Saturday, November 3, 2007

If You Want to Destroy my Sweater . . .

So there was this sweater. The EZ February Baby Sweater from Knitters Almanac to be exact. Well, I fell in love with it. So much so that the minute I had any spare cash I ordered the book and waited. And waited. And waited.

The post office here decided on the same day that it arrived that it was undeliverable and promptly sent it back to Amazon. After calling Amazon, they upgraded me to two day shipping. Well my two day shipping turned into five day shipping. Not cool. After many near frantic phone calls (did I mention my obsession with this sweater?) I opted that since clearly the USPS and UPS were incapable of delivering to my address that I would pick them up. Which I did. This is what the Hub bought me for being so distraught;

Book in hand, all other projects were put on the backburner for this sweater. Did I mention that I don't know anyone who is haveing a baby girl any time soon? I cast on immediately with Koigu Kersti. I love this yarn, but in my eagerness forgot my personal cardinal rule of knitting which is this; If a pattern has a pretty stitch, or a stitch that is the main focus, typically I will use a plain yarn to give the stitch a chance to shine. On the flip side of this, if the yarn is going to be the main focus (a yarn such as Koigu, for example) than the best bet would be to knit a plain pattern. So this is how the sweater looked before I ripped it out:

And this is the sweater now. I'm much more pleased with it overall since I can now see the pattern and I think I'm in love with this yarn. I'm using some Rowan Wool Cotton that I picked up forever ago and have been trying to figure out what to do with ever since.

I think the Koigu Kersti is destined for the Baby Surprise Jacket. Oh, didn't I mention that I also bought Knitting Workshop? Well I did.

posted by Eileen at 10:47 AM - 1 comments

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Name: Eileen
Home: FL, United States
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