Goodies!

A few projects need some work (and photos) before I post them to the blog. I had a good mail day yesterday - the new Interweave Knits was in the mailbox and a swap package was inside as well. I think that I may have decided on a sweater for the SweaterKAL - the Trellis And Vine Pullover - top down (yay!) and just enough detail to keep it not-boring. I think I could use my Rowanspun DK for this too. I'm still considering Snow White though....

On to the swap package - WelshMillie sent me an amazing package for the "Starbucks & Yarn" swap on Ravelry.





Thank you so very much!!

Bobbles

Bobbles
Originally uploaded by nutmegknitter

I've started work on my test knit for Malabrigo. I forgot about my love / hate relationship with bobbles. They are.... intense? Once you get in the groove of making them they are ok and they do look nice in the end, but... back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

It could be worse

I tried to make my own fruit leather / fruit roll-ups the other day when it was really rainy. Lorelai was fighting a cold, so I plopped her on the couch with Sesame Street and juice.


I chopped up my fruits (apple, plum, nectarine)




1 piece of each fruit, chopped up, yielded me 2 cups of fruit puree. So far so good.

I spread it out on the pan + parchment paper:

It's a bit chunky. It smelled good though. Fruity.

Popped it in the oven, 175 degrees, 3 hours, just like Super Baby Food told me too.

I took it out of the oven and tried to flip it over to dry the bottom part that was still... damp.


Whoops. Maybe the puree was too chunky? Maybe the house was too humid? Maybe it's just not that easy to make fruit leather? I'll stick with buying my fruitabu. (Don't get me wrong, I still love the Super Baby Food book - most of what Lorelai ate when she started solids was mentored by that book. Some of the recipes though, well, it's no Mark Bittman.)

It's not quite a Fail Food, or a craft fail, but it borders on Handmade Gone Wrong

Detalles del envio

DHL stopped by today.

They brought me a package from Uruguay - hand spun wool! That means that Malabrigo!.

I'll be test knitting a lovely Girl's Dress for the upcoming Book 2! I think it will be adorable - I'll be knitting the size 2, and the colorway (Rupestre) is a great raspberry / ruby - it will be cute for the holidays!


Also included was this very pretty skein marked "Archangel SW" - superwash maybe? No other tags...


This afternoon I'll be looking forward to winding up the silky merino and swatching. To bring my WIPs up to date, I've now got 2 test knits going, a sweater to decide on for the Sweater KAL, a sweater I started (Shalom, couldn't wait - wanted to knit with wool!), and 2 baby / kid sweaters to seam. And a hat. And last night I had a brilliant idea on how to knit a dachshund. knit knit knit knit knit .....

Stuffed Animal Substitute

Stuffed Animal Substitute
Originally uploaded by nutmegknitter

Nothing exciting to post about that is knitting related. So it goes. Lorelai was quite taken with this bag of stuffing... she was hugging it like it was her stuffed sheep or puppy. Just wanted something to hug I guess.

I've been working on a new blog, stillenchanted.blogspot.com - that will be the toddler focused one. I'll still be posting Lorelai related stuff here (can't escape her!) and I"m sure there will be overlap, but I think it will be more productive to have two. I think.

Dress your Dachshund in Silk and Seacell

(Or, The Ishbel Post)
I've been inspired by so many Ishbel scarves / wraps on Ravelry I finally went stash diving and made one for me. I went for the skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk in the "Renaissance" colorway - jewel tones that are totally me. Under a week of on and off knitting and I have a beautiful little number.


I made the small size and looking at how much is leftover I probably could have made the large one (I really need to get a scale.)


I like this shot because that's one of the few times I can actually see the pattern.


I blocked, but not very aggressively, but I'm most often going to wear it like this:

(The back of the shirt says "The Hot Dog" - would it be poor taste or funny if I wore it to "The Black Dog" when we go to Martha's Vineyard this summer?)

And since I will be wearing it scrunched up I didn't mind too much in draping it on Jackson, who is still a very very good sport.

Peek-a-boo. His face was made for stuff like this, not badger hunting, I'm positive.




Good boy.


His tail was wagging away, the dog knows good yarn.

I'm sure he'll be just as excited when I get around to knitting and blocking this treat (courtesy of a birthday gift certificate!)


Jojoland Swirl Shawl

Oh Acrylic.

Do you have the Yarn Harlot's Page-A-Day calendar? Today's "Tuesday Tips" is about giving different yarns a chance - how some people are dead set against acrylic, others won't touch wools. As my knitting experience increases I have found that I can be a yarn snob. Given the choice I would prefer to knit with a wool over acrylic, mercerized cotton over kitchen cotton, something soft over something not soft, and something smooth over something fluffy / mohair / fun fur. The choice of yarn does depend on the project - kids and baby stuff needs to be in something kid-friendly - that means it can be washed / spit up on / cleaned / not get all fluffy bits in their face and airways. I've been working on a few acrylic based projects.

Peace Baby - is being made for Lorelai. I started this back in March and then it hibernated for a while. When I went to pick it back up again I was happy to find that I was making the 2 year old size. I swear she's a peanut but she's growing like a weed! I am thinking that I will leave off the dove embroidery and instead do an uppercase, cursive "L" a la "Laverne & Shirley". That's the front, back and one sleeve - I am so slow on these sleeves, not sure why. And it looks really long to me. The yarn is Vanna's Choice (100% Acrylic) in Kelly Green and Sapphire.


I'm also working on a baby sweater for a cousin of Dan's who is expecting. I always wanted to have Presto Chango for Lorelai but that didn't happen. I'm using Encore Worsted (Acrylic / Wool) in "Drifting" and I plan to add some color with the buttons. Again, the arms look long to me. And I'm having second thoughts about this yarn - it should be cute, but I'm thinking ahead to the finished front panel - is blocking going to be an issue? The panel is lacey. Soon enough.


And in a funny acrylic-blast-from-the-past, my mom found this sweater:

She gave it to me and said "Don't you remember your sweater?" Um, not so much, but it was part of my elementary school uniform (Catholic School). RMU. Funny. I could make Lorelai wear it someday I guess. Not surprisingly, it has held up well in the 25+ years since I wore it.
"And the label in that sweater said.... 100%.... Acrylic...."


One more acrylic-y thing - I was at ACMoore today and saw this display:

Red Heart Eco Ways - recycled polyester / acrylic - nice colors, soft, nice price - didn't have a specific project in mind, so I'll wait a bit, but interesting....

Considering.

I'm going to play along in a Sweater KAL with some gals from SnB and a few others that have decided to join. I've been pouring over my books and my stash and my queue and can't decide what I would like to work on for this KAL. Here's what I am trying to decide on:

1. Snow White in Berroco Pleasure (blue, not sure if I have enough purple)


2. Mr.Greenjeans in Schaefer Yarn Miss Priss (Thistle)


3. Shalom (you can see it on the sidebar) in Romney Ridge Farm


4. Brown Betty in Jarbo Yarn Duo.

(Look already swatched even!)

5. Basic Black in Farmhouse Yarns Summer Spun - Navy / White flecks.


6. Cabled Spiral Pullover (Rav link) in Rowanspun DK


7. Tangled Yoke Cardigan in Rowanspun DK

I do want to use stash yarn since it's good yarn and should be loved! Tough choices. Of course there are also many sweater options for Lorelai as well, but I want a sweater for me!

Low-Key Earnings

Lately I've been trying out a few things and I wanted to share them.

First off is Swagbucks.com



Swagbucks is so easy. First, you search the web using www.swagbucks.com and receive results from Google & Ask.com. Second, Swag Bucks are periodically awarded as you search the web. Third, redeem your Swag Bucks for exclusive swagbucks.com products and more in the Swag Store.

I do a few searches a day and usually pick up a few swagbucks just by doing that. If you are on facebook or twitter there are also bonus "codes" that will win you more swagbucks. I was figuring that I would work towards Amazon.com credits, but they have just added a PayPal reward - this will be so handy!!

The second thing I wanted to share is YouData.com Attention Paid. They are trying to convince consumers like us that we should be the ones controlling our own data and selling our own attention, not third parties like broadcasters, newspapers, and spammers. By creating a MeFile at YouData.com, I now control what ads I see and when I see them. Best part - I am selling my attention directly to interested advertisers, for real money. That's right, I get paid for giving them my attention. I can use the funds to buy music and video online, donate to charities, give to my favorite blogs and websites, or keep the change myself and do whatever I want with it. It's real. They pay. You should check it out. Click this link to sign up. My MeFile ID, beccah, in the "Referral Code" will tell them I sent you.

I've gone on YouData for maybe 5 or 10 minutes tops and take a look at the ads (and I have found some great new shopping sites too!) and that's it!

Neither of these sites will make me rich quick or at all, but it's easy enough to put a little cushion in the PayPal account - that will fund some new etsy treats or yarn / pattern purchases from Ravelry :)