Snip snip snip

Well I've been snip snip snipping away and I've cut out all of the lighter fabrics. Here's 176 light pink 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares.

And 88 light pink 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles.

In other news, I have actually completed my Girly-Man Sweater. Yay!!! It has not been washed & blocked yet, but I seamed up the arm, redid the neckline and wove in all the ends. I wanted to include a picture of me wearing it... but between my camera being funky & not knowing how close/far to stand in order to get the right picture, well it just didn't happen. ...Correction - got an okay picture of it! =)

But... tonight is Knitting Night - that is if anyone is free. Otherwise it's just me at Mabels sipping iced tea & knitting. Which actually wouldn't be that bad either. =) I just have to figure out what project to start.

Believe it or not I have *no* new projects on the needles. I have one other project that just needs to have ends woven in. But I hadn't cast on for anything since finishing my sweater & starting my quilt. I have the yarn for a few different projects though. I just have to decide which one to start.

1. Cardigan from Lorna's Laces Bullfrogs & Butterfly yarn.
2. Gothic Leaf Stole from Highland Silk
3. Something lacey (I have a bunch of patterns printed out) from Artyarn's Regal Silk
4. Cozy wrap from Knit Picks Swish.


What should I cast-on for tonight?

Girly-Man Sweater

Look! Actual proof that I knit (sometimes). This is the Manly Sweater from Stitch & Bitch. Appropriately re-named by Hellahelen as the "Girly Man Sweater". :)

It's *almost* done. I still need to seam up one of the arms. I hate seaming :(

And the neckline will need to be re-done. Melody pointed out that I should have bound off a few more of the stitches along the shoulder before casting on for the neckline. So I'll rip it back (for like the third time now) and hopefully it will start looking like a V neck, and not a... well... whatever it's doing right now.

And then, of course, I have to weave in all the ends. I think it's time for me to learn one of the knitting in ends as you go techniques. I tried the spit-splice, but I don't think I did it right. And the Russian Join just looks like too much effort (gotta go find a needle and all that!).

I intend to do some work on this today and tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have a picture of the finished sweater by the end of the week.

Chicks kick ass!

So.. my teacher, quite a proper woman, has been telling us how not to offend people from other cultures, and how to teach them not to offend anyone in the US. Well, today she kicked Mr. Origami Darth Taco out of class! At our first break today she pulled him aside and asked him to leave because he didn't seem to be paying attention to the class. I wasn't there for it, but one of the other gals in the class was and she said he tried to get in her face and was basically telling her off. But she stood her ground and we were able to have the rest of the class in peace. Yay for awesome assertive teachers! Boo for Mr. Origami Darth Taco.

Today we focused more on Adult Basic Education, literacy for English speakers. We learned about decoding, comprehension and some different techniques for teaching reading & writing. She would demonstrate some of the methods and have us respond as though we were the student. But you know, we all speak English and we all read so she'd be pointing out a word and sounding out "S - a - t", and we'd respond "sat" which of course we could read before she even started sounding out. So it was both hilarious and incredibly satisfying, correctly answering such easy questions. It was also interesting to see the language we use and take for granted every day deconstructed and analyzed.

Now if I can only get one of the volunteer coordinators to call me back I might actually get to use what I've learned!

Tutor Training

Today I'm going to the second tutor training workshop. After today I should be qualified to help an adult learn to read or tutor an English language learner. Last week's class was really good. I learned so much about how to teach English to someone who doesn't speak it. I also learned a little about learning disabilities. It's by no means a comprehensive course (I'd need to get a Masters degree to learn the theory behind it all), but it will get me started. Now I just need the volunteer coordinator to call me back with a placement. She has until Monday morning - after that I'm calling one of the other coordinators.

I do have one gripe about the class last week - the guy next to me. Seriously, I thought I left guys like that behind when I graduated High School. He spent the first hour or so of class doing Origami. He made a couple of cranes, and this weird ball type thing. Then played with the paper scraps. Now, we did learn about how some people are "Kinesthetic/Tactile Learners" ... you know they need to touch everything and learn best by hands-on-methods. I buy that. But I still fail to see how doing Origami in the middle of a lesson on adult literacy is helping anyone. I found it unbelievably distracting & annoying.

Oh, and he was a breather. I hate breathers. You know, the ones who give big heavy sighs on a regular basis... who sound like Darth Vadar. Now I'm asthmatic and even I don't breathe that loudly (when awake anyway, I've been told I snore quite heartily). I was so irritated and distracted by his very existance in the class I nearly got into an accident when I went to get my lunch.

Then, back in the class-room (she'd only given us a short break to get lunch... then we ate in the class room while watching a video)... the guy comes back in - with a FISH TACO! Yeah, that's considerate when you've got 20 people crammed into a small classroom where you can't open the windows. Oh man.

So today... I'm going to try to sit as far away from Mr Origami Darth Taco as I can.

Wish me luck!

The Best Laid Plans...

<--This is a picture of the quilt that inspired the one I'm making. I really like the way the designer took a classic pattern and updated it a bit. For those of you not familiar with quilt terminology (J!) the "geese" are the triangles and it's supposed to look like they're flying across the quilt. Thus the "flying geese" pattern.

This is my plan for the quilt ----->

The one in the books is lap-sized, and I'd like it to be big enough to fit on my bed. As you can see I'm using dark 'geese' against light 'sky' for the center, and will reverse it for the borders.

I'm really interested to see how the plan all comes together with the fabrics I've chosen.

Blush and Bashful

Yes some of you may have noticed a certain color trend in my projects. While I do have an affinity for the many shades of pink, it's not the only color I ever use.

This is, of course, my much loved everyday cardigan. I made it a couple of years ago and while I don't wear it every day... I do wear it quite a bit. And I like the pattern, very basic, easy to construct, and comfortable. I think I'm going to use this pattern for my next cardigan.

Eye Candy Friday

I'm familiar with the post pretty-pictures of yarn on Friday routine... but I saw one blog that called it "Eye Candy Friday" and I have to say I think I prefer that title. So thanks blogger-whose-name-I-can't-remember! =)

Art Yarns Regal Silk in colorway 123. Yummy!

What a Welcome!

Thanks everyone for such a warm welcome! I'm going to start showing off some of my older FOs, now that I have a place to show off. And now you'll get to see why it takes me so long to finish my knitting projects. Too much fun stuff to work on!

Sally's "Quilt"

Here's the "quilt" I made for Sally. I bought the fabric at a quilt show a few years ago, and as soon as I brought it home I realized I'd crossed a certain point on the road to "crazy cat lady".

Here's a close up of the little French kitties.

And here's the back.

Time to Quilt

So the WIP getting the most of my attention these days is the "Best Friends" flying geese quilt from Time to Quilt. I've graphed out the pattern, and purchased a ton of fabric for it. I'm changing the orientation (from horizontal to vertical), adding several inches and adding a couple of extra borders. Or at least that's the plan.

I'm in the cutting phase right now, using my as yet unpatented Complete Quilt Piece Organization System (aka lots & lots of zipper bags).

Vague memories of working on my last quilt keep coming back to me ... something about "never again!" Oh well... if I get really frustrated I could always just stick it in the closet for a few years like I did the last one. Sometimes projects just need some time to mature... like wine.



Speaking of which... I think there's a glass of Red Bicyclette in my near future. =)

Introducing Sally

So for those of you who haven't seen/met her, this is Sally and you'll be seeing more of her. She's sitting on a little "quilt" I made her. Yes technically it's a quilt because it's two layers of fabric with batting in the middle & all three layers are sewn together. But it's a "quilt" because, come on... well I have more respect for the art of quilting than to call that a real quilt. Sally seems to enjoy it though... it's absolutely covered in fur & dirty paw-prints at the moment. =)

Welcome to my blog!

Well, I finally caved to peer pressure and decided to create my own blog. Because, clearly, I don't spend enough time online as is.

I intend to use this blog to track my various works in progress (thus the title), knitting, baking, quilting, other crafts, and life in general. So leave a comment to say hi!