Tamiknits and more

Retirement

tamiknits — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:32:55 +0000

Today is the first day of my new retirement. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t medical (don’t worry). But I am totally embracing it. This blog, among many other things, has been sorely neglected due to an insane work load. That too will change. Now maybe I’ll have the time to finish projects that I can show and talk about here. Maybe now I’ll have time to do things that I enjoy. That I have wanted to do. I can’t wait.

Stay tuned to see what kind of ~~trouble~~ fun I can get in to.

And Happy Knitting.

I’m so proud

tamiknits — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:05:02 +0000

Of myself. I finally managed to finish the GM Tablecloth. It only took me 3 days to clean off the table so I could put it out.

Pattern Galadriels Mirror by Susan Pandorf

Knit with Royal Crochet cotton

Needles 2.5mm in every size from double points to a 60″ cable needle.

Beaded and knit as a full square. Pattern adjustments are available thru the designer.

Click on any of the pictures to enlarge.

Now I’m off to work on some other projects that need some love and attention. Happy Knitting

The week from H E double hockey sticks

tamiknits — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:22:29 +0000

This has been a rather difficult week in our home and family. I’m very scattered, so that’s what you get.

1. DH’s Aunt Claire passed away this week. While the family had been expecting this. It is never easy. Our hearts go out to Marcie, my MIL, and all of Claire’s children. Rest in Peace Claire. You were loved and will be fondly remembered.

2. Yesterday I fell. This is always my fear. It doesn’t happen often. Mostly because I’m so aware of my moves. But it leads to a few nasty days afterward. I’m currently covered in some very nasty bruises and in more pain than usual.

3. Mickey spent Tuesday at The spa at the vet. He had a cut on his cheek that got slightly infected. My fabulous vet and staff had to give him a little nap so that they could clean out the gunk. He’s being a real toddler* about taking his medicine. *If you’ve ever had a 2-year-old with a fever you know what I’m talking about.

4. With all the above I’m at least getting a lot of knitting done. I’ve been on a push to get GM done. I’m now working on the bind off. There’s a lot of stitches there. I’m figuring around 1484. I really want this done to add to Stash Dash.

5. I’m playing with a pair of socks. They’ve been OTN for a long time and really getting on my nerves. I’ve ripped back 5 times, re-knit to make them longer, tried them on and I swear they are shorter than they were to start. I’ve now decided that I will finish these socks and if they don’t fit me then they will go in the gift box.

6. I am already starting to think Christmas. I’m making plans. Lots of plans. I special ordered some yarn from one of my favorite indie dyers. Lisa will be creating something for me to start on the gift list. I know exactly what I’m making. More on that later. Maybe. I have to make sure that none of the family is reading the blog.

7. I also have a request to another indie dyer that has no deadline on it. I’m not in a rush and Melissa knows that so when it comes I’ll show off the goodies.

That’s enough for now. Back to the knitting.

FO round-up

tamiknits — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:06:04 +0000

I’m still here. As always, life gets in the way of my good intention to blog more often. I have made some progress in the last week. I’m now four rows and the bind off away from finishing my GM tablecloth. I’ve been working hard on getting it finished. I’m hoping to get some good pictures when its finished.

I did manage to knit up a quick little sweater for my DGD. She needed a little something to go with her new dress for her birthday pictures. You never know how cold the AC will be.

Baby Shrug

Pattern made up from a stitch directory. The pattern was named Feather Lace. I used a 3.5mm needle and cast on what ended up being the center of the shrug. I then knit both sides out at the same time using a long circular needle.

Tour De Fleece has finished. I did manage to cross the finish line but I was a few days behind the rest of the competitors. I wanted to spin the green fleece that I got from Rhinebeck last year. I managed to finish the green, then I came across some of the pink that I got at the same time. (it had been hiding from me) I finally finished the pink today. Maybe now I can start spinning some of the fleece that has managed to find its way to my stash.

150 yds. 2 ply

I’m pretty proud of how well this came out. It’s a little thick and thin, but mostly even. I plan to make some baby blankets out of these smaller pieces of handspun. I have some white bucle in the stash that I think will look great. Someday. Definitely not today.

Well, it’s work week. And I have something else going on that’s slowing down my knitting. I still have hopes of putting in a good showing on Summer Stash Dash. I think I can get close if I can work on GM.

Happy Knitting.

Accountability Update

tamiknits — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:45:33 +0000

Caution: this post is heavy with links many from Ravelry and pictures.

It’s time for me to issue an accountability update. It’s been a slightly productive time but I don’t have much to say about it.

1. Ply on the Fly yarn. Someone on Plurk sent me this great tutorial. I’ve never seen this before but knew instantly that this would be the thing for me to master. Amazingly I did. I got 32 yards of Navajo plied yarn on my first try. I will be using this a lot in the future.

40 yards

72 yards

2. 2 Ply yarns. I spun 2 skeins of yarn. 40 yds and 72 yds. That’s 112 yards to add to my stash dash total. I plan to use these small skeins for a baby blanket that I’ll eventually make. I can see it in my head. Someday it will translate and come out my hands.

3. Large Beaded SMS Shawl. I’m making progress. I’ve been working on this for the last few days. I’m starting to worry that I might run out of yarn. I have 3 plans to deal with a possible shortage.

4.Summer Flies Shawl. This will never run out of yarn. I’ve decided that this project is stuck in the black hole of knitting. The plan is to knit until I run out/low on the main yarn. Then cast on the mini matching skein for the edging. I’ll see how that plan goes.

I cast on a pair of socks and a pair of fingerless mitts so that I have some more travel knitting. That might work out a bit better if I wasn’t always the driver.

I need to get back to work on the GM Tablecloth. That’s my Secret to finishing the Stash Dash. Chart knitting has been difficult lately.

I also need to work on Evenstar. I’m still waiting on my bead order. I think if the ones I chose don’t come soon I’ll have to change plans.

I did finish a cute pair of socks for DGD. I’ll have to get a picture of the socks. (I gave them to her at the party and I didn’t take a picture) OD also asked for a sweater for DGD’s birthday pictures. I have to get her measurements (another thing I forgot to do) so I can start. I have 2 stash yarns that I’m gonna have to choose from soon.

That’s a lot. ~~And it’s not even all of it~~. I better get back to the knitting.

I had a secret

tamiknits — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:05:08 +0000

I had a secret I had to keep. So I disappeared a bit. I was so afraid of my big secret getting out that I was afraid I would say something accidentally to someone from my plurk friends and it would end up on my twitter. Then somehow my family would find out. I don’t think that my kids actually read my blog. They’re teenagers. But I wasn’t willing to chance anything. I didn’t even tell Hubby. My Big Secret????????

Army Boy came home for a few days. I was so happy to have him home. Even if it is only for a few days. I planned a Birthday party for OD. She turned the big 25 on monday. I invited the family together for her party, nothing special, just a relaxing day around our Pool (the unheated hot tub) and some food & cake. No-one told about my Present that was here. It was such fun seeing the reactions of everyone as they discovered that AB had come home as a surprise.

I had so much fun watching the kids playing together. Even DGD got in on the fun in the way that only a 2yo can. I’m so happy I had this great day with all my babies (even the slightly adopted ones). Thank you guys for such a great day. AND Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

I’ll tell you about the spinning and knitting later.

I made Yarn

tamiknits — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:26:11 +0000

I finished the spinning of the singles a few ~~days~~ weeks back. Last night and this morning I plyed up the singles to get a very nice 2 ply. I got 12 yards on the first little skein as it broke apart from the rest of the singles.

It’s a cute little skein that I’ll use in a baby blanket that I have planned.

I also got a great skein of 150 yards.

The last picture shows the colors much better. It’s a pretty green, a bit of yellow and a soft beige. I have more of this spun into singles that I think I’m gonna try to navajo ply. I have a few days off to play so I want to get a bunch of knitting on GM, some knitting on the SMS shawl and more plying done. Lets see how much really happens.

Bath Mat

tamiknits — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:57:11 +0000

We all need bath mats. They soak up the drips so that we don’t slip. If your life looks like mine they wear out kinda quick. My old bath mat was in pretty sad shape. Oddly, I didn’t know this until I saw a huge(I mean 10 inch) hole in one end of it. I quickly grabbed my size 10 (6mm) needles and a one pound cone of cotton that I got in the P&C clearance sale. 2 very short days later I have a new bath mat.

I’ll make more of these when I decide what the new decorative scheme will be. This quick project adds 250 yds to my total for the 5K and 1 skein to the stash dash. ETA: My math is bad. The teachers must have kept my brain for the summer. This mat is actuallly 328 yards.

I’m also getting some spinning done while waiting for data to upload. It’s not quick but it is fun. I spent yesterday afternoon playing with my new trindles. Wow, I’m in love. Not that I don’t love my other spindles. Below are the pictures of what I managed on my first day of spinning with the trindle.

I’m letting the single rest for a few days then I’ll decide how I’ll ply it. I’m thinking Navajo. Back to work & some more spinning.

Random Wrap-up

tamiknits — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:02:12 +0000

It’s another one of those weeks. Instead of a formal post I’m just putting all my random thoughts into one post.

1. Tour De Fleece starts tomorrow. I have my Trindles ready. I’ll go decide which fiber to spin in a little while. I wanted to finish the green I was spinning but I ran out of time. Maybe I’ll try to finish that first and still spin another braid too. That picture isn’t of my trindles, I borrowed it from the web.

2. I haven’t touched the 2 shawls or the 2 tablecloths I have going in ~~forever~~ weeks. I just don’t have the brain power for charts.

3. Because I haven’t worked on any of my large projects, I don’t think I have much chance in the 5K.

4. I started a bath rug. It’s working up very quick. Large needles & cotton make for quick work. That and it’s a super easy pattern & I don’t need to worry about how much my brain can handle. Because I have been asked to share my secret to this project I’m sharing it here.

Cast on any multiple of 4 stitches that give you the desired size.

Row 1 & 2 – Knit 2 Purl 2 until end.

Row 3 & 4 – Knit across.

Repeat these 4 rows until your bath rug is the desired size.

Repeat Rows 1 & 2 once more. Bind off

I don’t block a project like this. Just throw it in the washer & dryer, then drop it on the bathroom floor.

That’s all for now. It will be a busy few days. Hope everyone in the US has a wonderful and safe July 4th.

Shop the stash

tamiknits — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:27:23 +0000

I’ve been cleaning out my stash. Trying to do a little organizing. hoping to get a handle on all the things I have and all the projects that are in progress. Since I have crafting ADD, I have a lot of different things going at the same time. Some Knitting, Beading, Spinning, Tatting,Weaving, Crochet, Sewing. It’s in the mix. I have a stash that has expanded drastically lately. I’ve hit a few closeout sales. I’ve hit a few regular sales. And I’m constantly on the lookout for a deal. My justification that this is my retirement fund is only going so far. Sadly this only hits me when I try to organize the stash.

I don’t do diets in any form. I find that for me it is counterproductive to deny myself. I only end up wanting more till I get what I’m craving. This plan really backfires when I’m avoiding chocolate and milk products. So I’m gonna try something ~~kinda~~ new. When I want to start a project I’m gonna shop the stash first. Hopefully this will help me get a handle on things a little bit.

So this is will be ~~Hopefully~~ my new motto. It doesn’t mean that I’m not doing any shopping. But hopefully it will remind me to look at what I already own to see if I have the perfect yarn/fabric/beads for a project before I pull out the credit card.

I’ve been working on a few of my current knits. I have no new finished objects but I’m getting close on a few.

~~I had to switch computers & finish something none wants to hear about WORK.~~ I did manage to cast on a bath rug out of stash yarn. I need a project that is brainless. This completely counts. Sadly, it’s also drastically overdue. I could see the floor thru my old bathrug. I have lots of lace OTN. That’s not a good choice when I can barely remember my name.

I’m hoping that I can get caught up on the work so I can enjoy some of this weekend’s holiday. Happy Knitting.