Double-yay!

Playtime at Azkaban has certainly charmed me. The Bellatrix pattern is moving quite fast--it's all those dropped yo's. And that whole wavy thing is cool. It certainly wouldn't show up with an all-over single color. Good thing I'm using IceHouse! And here's something weird: my hands are changing. They're harder, somehow. Perhaps the muscles I'm using are tightening up. Too bad I can't work up a good sweat and call it exercise, huh?

And I got to work on Warm Water Wash: it's finito! Yay! I love the feeling I get when finishing something. My breathing changes. I'm more relaxed. Yay! Ooh, that's a double-yay!

Book-wise: I just finished reading Beyond Stitch and Bitch. It's about finding peace, inner and outer, through your knitting. A very quick read. I had accidentally picked it up from Paperback Swap because I want all the Stitch and Bitch books. They're modern, upbeat, and full of interesting patterns.

Knit Happens

First I have to tell you about Saturday morning. My knitting friend, Sherry, and I met at Liberty Station, as we usually do. Sometimes the group is much larger, but this week it was just the two of us.
Now and then we are joined by a new friend who finds us through Ravelry or Yahoo groups.
Well, there we were, chattering on, knitting our little brains out, when who should show up but Daryl Hannah. You know, the actress who knits those lovely garter stitch scarves? She sat down and we taught her how to purl. Okay, Sherry taught her. I got distracted when Debra Messing showed up with a sumptuous sequined silk/rayon DK weight that she's working into a shrug. The whole morning kinda fell apart, though, when our new members got into a tussle about the right way to knit: picking or throwing. Heavens! That was just when Lawrence Fishburn appeared with an amazing grey cashmere and... well, you'll just have to imagine the rest because I'm done. The only part about these celebs that is true is that they all knit.

Now a little update with my cross-stitch projects: I completed Snowy Evening... at least the stitch-y part. I think I'll finish it the same way I did Liberty Bears.
And here's the October portion of The Red Thread. I sewed most of it in a breezeway between two coffeeshops near Tiny's school. I call that spot "my happy place."
Also, I pulled "Warm Water Wash" out of the closet and got some more work done on it. Frankly, I think it could be finished pretty quickly at this point. All that's left is a bit at the bottom. I completed the sand castle today while I was watching "Persuasion." You can see theblue bucket is about half done. All that's left is the picnic basket, the right pole, and sewing on the buttons.

... and the Red Thread Continues!

Here's the February installment of the Red Thread. Gosh, I like this project! I almost want to start March now, but discipline is a good thing. You might be able to see where I used the hand-dyed threads as opposed to the standard DMC colors: The hat & little heart and the red thread itself. It's nice to have options. Especially less expensive options!Warm Water Wash is moving right along. The trunks are a little like my DH's, and I've had a black bathing suit with a gold buckle--how funny is that?And here's Liberty Bears! I'd like your opinion. As you can see, the pattern calls for a checkerboard border around the whole thing. I'm thinking of deleting the border and just framing it without. The border seems awfully busy and will just underline the country theme which is not really my style. Will the no-border look just kinda bleed off the edge? Am I just trying to finish it sooner?

Bad Yarn

Hey, Kids! A little warning: don't buy this yarn! It splits really easily. I couldn't even finish casting on with it. I plan to return it as soon as I can get down to the store. I want to make the blanket from the novel The Store on Blossom Street. In support of small business, I've tried two of my local yarn shops (LYS) , but I think I'll have to go to the superstore and buy acrylic. Boo. Warm Water Wash is progressing nicely--it's almost all I did yesterday! Tomorrow I get to go to the cross-stitch store and I can look for something appropriate to make the sun look good. Also, I can start on the Bent Creek SAL, God willing.
Consarn it, I suppose it's time to set some goals! By the end of February, I want to

1. Finish the pink & blue flannel quilt
2. Bind Kiwi Twist
3. Start Bent Creek SAL and finish 1 element
   

De-stressing

Warm Water Wash is proceeding with alacrity--I suppose that's due to

1. a big headache (but it will be over)
2. the desire to avoid stress. I love my DD, but raising a teenager (and being one, if I recall correctly) is like walking into a haunted house at the fair: you never know what icky thing is going to jump out at you but you're sure something will any minute and you won't like it. To carry the analogy further, you know that it will end, and approximately when. Further, it's pricier than it should be.

The flosses I've pictured are the ones suggested to create the sun. However, the dye lot is quite different than the one in the picture supplied--I'll have to make some changes. Bwah-ha-ha! The mad scientist emerges from her psyche...

Washing Liberty?

As you can see, I've started Warm Water Wash. These threads are a bit tricky to work with. I want to preserve the striations that come from the deliberate unevenness of hand-dying so each stitch must be completed on its own rather than running a row in halves then coming back over it. Some of the color runs show variety better than others. Also, this one is another that requires good lighting. I can only sit in Starbucks so long to sew! Longer if I can get a window.
Also, Liberty Bears is showing some personality. I decided to focus on the bears so they can keep me company. Their names are Troy and Zelda. This one is huge count--I don't know, maybe 7 stitches to the inch! Sometimes that gives a simple piece a more primitive feel and, as the fabric looks almost like natural burlap, that seems appropriate. Happily, it doesn't require great lighting!