Don't get "chic-y", Mr!

Sleeve number 1 is done. Mr Catty narrowly avoided bodily injury via an Addi Turbo when he commented, "But it's a little short isn't it?" I showed him the pattern pic and clearly indicated what "bracelet length" sleeves are. Men. Can't live with 'em, can't bury 'em the backyard.

The yarn shows up here truer to the actual color. Plymouth Sunsette is a 60 Rayon/40 Acrylic blend. Since I wanted more of a 3-season garment and didn't want cotton ( I'm putting a lot of effort into this sweater - I want something that will look good longer than one season), this seemed like a good choice. The yarn is very soft but knits up into a substantial weight with a well defined stitch pattern. However, it is loosely twisted and splits when you look at it cross-eyed. This is definitely not a yarn I want to knit with when I watch "24" or any other show demanding my full attention.

Sitcom Swatching

Yes, I decided to do this sweater right! And the swatch? Came out perfectly to gauge. The body of the sweater will be this taupe color (coffee with cream, not this greeny!), with black tipping on the sleeves and hem and the yoke.

Look Ma!

"A picture is worth a thousand words." Wish I had remembered that when I was telling Mom about the stinkin' purses. Think of the money I could have saved on the phone bill! Here is the first set of 3 completed. The pen is for reference.

Odds 'n' Ends

I've decided to put "Splash" cuffs some of the purses. I also may do some poppies as shown here . Speaking of the purses - 3 of them have been felted three times now and still have not reached felted perfection, though they are close. A word to the wise? Knitting one strand of wool with one strand of novelty puts a serious cramp in the felting time.

Still crocheting those granny squares - wow, does it feel good to get rid of some of those remnants that have been sitting in my stash box for...um...ever? There is some wool I finally used up that I knitted into a cardigan for my nephew...when he was two...and he's now 16. Ayep.

And the car project this week was a Sizzle scarf for Fran and Ev's mom in Snapdragon . I did the scarf on #9 bamboos, cast on 18 stitches and have almost 1/2 a skein left over. Note to self when I use Sizzle - go up 2 needles sizes. This scarf felt like it took forever.

Crossing off the list

Items I can cross off the WIP list-
Dad's polar fleece blanket with the crocheted edging is done. Finished it tonight while watching my favorite all time movie "French Kiss".

Stinkin' purses were felted a second time today. I'm thinking that I should do the novelty/wool ones one more time - they aren't as tight as I would like them to be. I have to pick up the yarn for the novelty trims, but I would count this project as 85% done.

I also started attaching the crocheted granny squares. I am really at a point where I don't want to start a new project until I feel the other stuff is done. By done I mean "put in the closet awaiting the Christmas wrapping". (Can you say "linear"? I knew you could.)

So once I finish the stinkin' purses, I think I will either start Sitcom Chic OR I may make this ribbed chunky Turtleneck pattern which I found when I organized my knitting patterns. And I'm thinking Chinchilla or similar yarn in a root beer color.

The "Other" Knitting

What do you do when you have more 1/4 skeins/remnants than you know what to do with? Me? I make granny squares. Ok, ok - I know it's not knitting, but it's a darn pleasant way to use up those loose ends and give my knitting muscles a break.

I've been doing double crochet squares which I learned just a few weeks ago at the "Crafty Women" group I belong to. While the interiors of the squares are every different color and style yarn, I've been edging them all with a black wool blend. It' gives them a "stained glass" appearance and unifies them. My plan is to just keep making them as I have yarn and eventually sew them together into a large afghan. It's a perfect 'car' project (because really, how many scarves can one person make and own?) I can usually finish 3-4 squares per round trip.

And no, I'm not driving.

Organization is the key to success

Here's a picture of my journal and a tag I made for finished goods. The label has space for the person's name, item, yarn details, needle size (and cast on number if something simple like scarf or hat). I then attach a strand of the yarns I used. This journal really helps if I need to go back and reference any details. The tag is just a business card I created on Pagemaker with a cat graphic (which I love. Alot.) I printed them out on pre-bordered business cards.

Stinkin' Purses

So the purses? The purple/green one and the black/purple one have gone through one course of felting. They haven't yet achieved "felted perfection". And stink? Hoo baby! Dead sheep in the washing machine! During the felting process is the only time the CatMan hears me say "Get dirty so I can do laundry". Gotta have those jeans for felting agitation!

I finished the dark/light green purse except for the bottom seam and I completed another purse during one day's commute back and forth to work (don't worry, the CatMan was driving!) I really like this 4th purse - it's a combo of Chinchilla Colors and an ANCIENT skein of "100% Virgin Wool" by Bernat called "Blarney Spun" in Chestnut (a deep rusty brown). It was a freebie skein from a yarn swap a few months back. Though I wasn't too crazy for it when I first touched it (very very coarse), I thought it would make a good felting project. Knitting it with the Chinchilla transformed it! The chestnut color is a great backdrop color for the Chinchilla rainbow. I can't wait to see how it felts up!

Off to get the CatMan to play in some more mud!