Digit is Back to Being Rotten

Digit is doing much better today.  He's been his normal rotten self all morning.  Right up until I went to take my shower.  Then he decided to be cute and cuddly, curling up on the bed and waiting for me to finish.  He's still up there taking a nice long nap.  Of course, that means that my afternoon will be filled with chasing him out of one thing or another.  His new favorite thing to do is make off with my wool mittens when I forget to put them away in the closet where they belong.  I really need to pull out some wool and make him a toy of his own to play with since he likes it so much.

Another day, another puff.  The container I've been storing these in is starting to get full, so I should be able to start sewing some together soon.

Got to the point where I'm suppose to do the face opening on the balaclava last night.  Paul and I decided that he needed another inch or so on this before I add the opening so it stays tucked into his coat.  It would pretty much defeat the purpose if he kept his face warm pulling this up, but his neck got cold because it rode up too high.  Even so, tonight should see the opening added.

Completed another 4 rounds on the Biscuit cowl too.  I'm really liking this yarn.  The colors are so vibrant and they are making a very nice striped pattern on the cowl.  I should be done with the lace pattern tonight or tomorrow night at the latest, and then this will go much faster.  Should have it done next week.

No photo of the Save the Stitches piece today because I didn't work on it after posting yesterday.  Today should see block 2 completed!

Tomorrow I am supposed to be getting the fabric I ordered to start the HAED piece over on.  Then I have a decision to make.  Should I go ahead and start on that this weekend or work on the Siren and Shipwreck piece I had planned for weekend work?

A Little Late Posting Today

I'm a bit later posting today than usual.  But, I did do my puff this morning.  Not first thing this morning though.  Today is the day that Digit is getting neutered, so first thing this morning I was bundling him up in his carrier and getting him to the vet.  Right after dropping him off, I had my coffee and made a puff.  And worried and worried.

I picked him up about an hour ago and he's fine, although still a bit unsteady on his feet.  I can't get him to just lie down and take a nice nap and sleep the last remnants of the anesthesia off.  He keeps wobbling all around and makes his way into the kitchen, where I'm afraid he's going to tumble down the basement steps.  I've just got him interested in a bit of food and I'm hoping that will lull him into sleepy time.

Yesterday I finally got the Blomekrans mittens blocked, and I think they look much better.  If I make another pair, I will make the cuffs a bit longer, and move the thumb up a bit.  And, I just might need to make another pair.  I think these will make a nice gift for someone, so I need to go down to the stash and check out more colors.

 I got another few inches done on Paul's balaclava.  It's actually red, and not the bright pink that this photo shows.  Amazing how much the flash on the camera changes colors isn't it?

I also got a bit more done on the Biscuit cowl.  You can just start to see the points that will develop as the lace portion is completed.  The bobbles were a bit of a pain to do with this silk.  Glad there aren't a bunch of them to do in this cowl.

I am very close to completing block 2 on the Save the Stitches project.  Another afternoon of stitching should see it done.  I spent some time this afternoon getting the Miribilia project and supplies pulled out and determining where I had left off in anticipation of working on it this weekend.

Ribs and a Biscuit

I did finish the bottom pattern yesterday, and get a bit of the top one started.  Not sure how much I'll get done on this today as I need to venture out into the cold and get some groceries.  I'd love to have all of block 2 finished this week.  Working on this is motivating me to pull out one of my other big projects to work on.  There is a "weekend sal" thread in the Counted Cross Stitcher group, so I think I'm going to pull out my Miribilia The Siren and the Shipwreck to work on.  I was making such good progress on that one until I needed to get things packed up to move.

As planned, I started both projects for Paul last night.  I got about 1 1/2 inches of ribbing done on the first Podcaster's glove.  I love how this yarn is working up.  This is some Socks that Rock that I've had for many years.  I had joined their sock club then got tired of making socks about halfway through and never did make them.  This is a nice manly shade so is great for Paul's gloves.

I also started his balaclava using some Cascade 220 also just sitting in my stash.  And, I got about as much ribbing done on this as I did on the gloves.  I need to spend more time on this one since he does have other gloves to wear, but he does not have a nice ski mask type hat to wear when the wind is howling and there's no choice but to shovel snow.

After getting my fill of ribs, I started on the Biscuit cowl for myself.  I'm using some really pretty silk yarn I got when checking out one of the yarn shops near me.  This is going to make a really nice drapey cowl and I can't wait to get it done so I can wear it.  There aren't that many rounds in this pattern, so I think it's a definite possibility that I'll be sporting this in the next week or so.

And for dessert?  A puff of course!

Save the Stitches

Block 2 of the blackwork project is going much quicker than block 1 did.  I'm just shy of halfway through it.  I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't catch up this month, but at the rate stitching is progressing now, I shouldn't have any problems.  I'm hoping that today I can finish the lower left area and begin on the upper right.

I wish the metallic threads showed up in these photos.  There are 3 different colors, and they really do add impact to this piece.

As usual, there is a puff for today :-)  I really need to sit down and plan out my blanket so I know how many puffs I really need to make.

Productive Weekend

I took some time today to finish a couple of projects.  First up was the octopus bag.  I reinforced the handle with some cording, and added a lining to protect the floats.  I'm quite pleased with how this came out.

 I used leftover yarn from the octopus bag to do today's puff.  This one has a duplicate stitched argyle pattern on it.  I think I'll try to do at least one duplicate stitch puff per week.

I finished up the Blomekrans mittens this afternoon.  All that's left to do is block them, and that will be done tomorrow.  I made one mistake on them, but I'm not about to take the thumbs apart to fix it.  The last color used on the thumbs was supposed to be one of the oranges and not the red.  Oops.  Oh well, I like them anyway.

I finally finished all the stitching for block 1 of the blackwork project.  Haven't added the beads yet.  Still deciding if I'm going to use them.  If I do, I may wait until the end to add them so I don't have to try to dodge them as I move my hoop from one area to the next.

Big plans for crafting this upcoming week.  I've printed off patterns and chosen stash yarn for a balaclava and convertible gloves for Paul.  I will most probably start those tomorrow.  I will also be starting the Biscuit cowl for myself.  Afternoons will be dedicated to my cross stitch projects, and I'll work on the knitting during the evenings when I watch Olympic coverage.

Fly Like An Eagle

 So, Paul has been stalking the bald eagles that live nearby and gets photos of them almost daily.  Until today, I had only seen them in Paul's photos.  This morning, we took a trip to the pet store and Kohl's, and Paul said he'd drive me by where he sees them.  OMG they are so beautiful and majestic!  This photo does not do them justice in the least, but it's not a bad picture considering it was taken with my phone camera.  And, these guys are everywhere along the river.  We were parked on the side of the road and I kept pointing and saying "There's another one".  I'm not as stoked as Paul is, but I'm pretty excited to have seen them fairly close up.

Yesterday, I pulled out the octopus bag and got it blocked.  This morning, I finished the i-cord handle.  Now all that's left is to reinforce the handle with the cord, sew it on, and line the bag.  I'll do that tomorrow morning before the Olympic coverage starts.  I think this will store all the little tools of my crafting (scissors, needles, pens, scrap paper, etc.) that currently litter the end table next to my chair.

The second Blomekrans mitten is coming along nicely.  I'll likely have them finished tonight.  At the least, they will both be complete sans thumb.  If I get this second one done early enough, I may add the thumbs; if not, the thumbs will be added tomorrow.  Once these are done, I will be able to start on my third chosen B project; a cowl named Biscuit.  But, Paul is in need of a new pair of gloves because he's finally wearing holes in the thumbs of the last pair I made him.  And, he could really use a balaclava for those really cold days where he's shoveling snow.  I guess those could be considered "gifts" and not count towards my started projects, especially since I will have them completed so quickly.  We'll see. 

And, of course, a daily puff!

Yesterday, I decided to give up on continuing with the HAED piece on the 25 count fabric.  It just wasn't fun for me.  Too much eye strain, the stitches weren't lying nicely like I wanted them to, the grid lines were a pain in the butt.  I've ordered a piece of 18 count large enough to stitch the piece on and a water soluble fabric marking pen (for marking the grid lines), and will start over once they are received.  I just couldn't see struggling with this for the 4+ years it was going to take to complete (at the rate I was completing stitches), when I know I can get it done in a year with new fabric.  I've heard that I shouldn't lose detail by doing it on 18 count, or at least not enough to make it worth the hassle I was dealing with.  Hopefully my order will be in this week, but we'll have to see.  Last time I ordered from this company it took forever to receive my order.  I'm taking a chance, and hope that they come through for me.  In the meantime, my stitching time has been devoted to the blackwork piece.  I'm making pretty good progress and will share a photo tomorrow.

What a Way to Start the Weekend

I started off this morning getting up a bit earlier than I normally do.  Dragged my tired behind out of bed and got into a hot shower to wake up.  No, I wasn't in some great rush to work on crafts.  I like my sleep too much to deprive myself of it even for knitting on fun fair isle mittens.  Well, at least I won't deprive myself once I'm already in my nice warm bed.  I'll stay up into the wee hours to finish something however.  Nope, I got myself up early because today was massage day.  I don't think there's a better way to start the weekend than with a nice relaxing massage.

I started on the second Blomekrans mitten while watching the Olympic coverage last night.  I stopped working when I got the corrugated ribbing done, and didn't continue on like I was thinking I would.

The blackwork project was calling to me, so I indulged myself and worked on it a bit.  This is going much slower than I had anticipated, so will need to be worked on during the week and not just on weekends if I don't want to fall behind.  I have a lot of catching up to do too, since I didn't start this until it had already been going on for a month.  I currently have 3 of 16 patterns completed for the January and February releases.  The photos do not show the metallic threads that I am using, which is a pity, because they are beautiful and make this all sparkly.

When I set the HAED aside yesterday, I was not as far along as I had wanted to be.  We'll see if progress on this picks up as I get used to working around these grid lines.  In this photo, you can see the mess created when I snipped the threads like I had read was supposed to be done.  I'll be so happy once I'm done stitching around them and don't have to deal with their frustration anymore.

And, of course, there is a puff for today.