Smell This!

Ok, so the ability to transmit scent via the web is still a ways off... I just wanted to post a quick shout out to a super creative fun person who makes amazing soap! This is Dawn's site...


All of her scents are yummy including DIRT! Yup, you read correctly. Dawn has created a soap which invokes the smell of rich, clean earth. I really dig it!

Cruel, Cruel Summer

I don't feel the need to elaborate on the title of this post. Life has been in a state of stress and upheaval. However, things are starting to settle down a bit. I am continuing to knit like mad, with a little crochet and spinning thrown in for good measure. Good thoughts are appreciated!

Shifting Gears...

Like many others, I am becoming increasingly drawn to the "make do and mend" movement. In addition to my works in progress (knitting and crochet), I have an ever-growing pile of mending I need to get through. I am not an expert seamstress and however competent I become through practice of sewing, it won't be "my thing" like knitting and crochet. So to give myself the freedom to talk about mending/sewing and other crafts (in addition to crochet and knitting), I have decided to remove myself from all but one knitting blog rings. My blog, which I have become very lazy about updating, wasn't seeing a great deal of traffic anyway so quitting the blog rings doesn't feel like such a big deal.

Another issue I wanted to share is my need to make wearables for myself. However, I am also working within the confines of my stash, so I have come to the conclusion (AGAIN) that I really need to lose some weight! The smaller I get, the less yardage it will take to make a garment and the further my yarn will go. Sounds good, huh? Too bad I can't just wiggle my nose and blink my eyes to make it happen. *sigh* From time to time I may share my dieting progress but I reserve the right not to share my starting or goal weight :p

More soon...

Spinning? Me?

It is true. I have joined the dark side and drank the kool-aid (goes great with cookies BTW). Several members of my local knit/cro/spin group have recently taken up spinning. While most are becoming quite adept with drop spindles, some have gone so far as to acquire wheels! Now, I don't see myself with a spinning wheel anytime soon but I am finding this new skill to be quite intriguing. Thanks goes to Bellatrix for the lessons, gifts and general enabling, and to Dr. Gemma and Stashymama for their generous contributions and more enabling :)

I won a prize :)

From the Holiday KAL/CAL!!!

I am the proud and thankful recipient of THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF KNITTERS. This little gem of a book is just a hoot to read! Filled with entertaining and informative definitions, this book fits neatly into any knitting bag. I can't wait to share this with my knitting/crochet/spinning group! I also received my choice of three pattern downloads from Mary Beth's site. So many great patterns to choose from, you really should check it out! I can't wait to cast on for the 50/50 sock :) I do believe this will be one of the next two projects I cast on for... stay tuned!

Please spread the word!

The freedom to buy and sell handmade items is under attack!

Off to a pretty good start I'd say!

940 Meters... This reflects both of my most current finished objects. With KnitMeter you have the option of showing your progress by miles, meters and yards. For now, i will stick with meters...

FO #2 for 2009: JoSpun Beanie

beanie
Originally uploaded by pudmuddles.

This beanie was a very quick knit using some lovely hand spun yarn I was given as a gift from a dear friend. The pattern is a modified version of a hat recipe from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd. I knit it on size 8 (5.0 mm) because it was thick and thin in spots but I wanted to make as dense a fabric as possible.

I'm very pleased with the results!

First FO of 2009! A Baby Round Ripple

IMG_0046
Originally uploaded by pudmuddles.

My husband's sister is expecting her first child in July. Since I have had this gender neutral Pound of Love sitting in my stash since 2002, I thought this was a great time to try my hook at a round ripple pattern. I started January 2nd using a G (4.00 mm) and completed it on the 11th. I could have finished it two days sooner but had to take the time off to complete a book review. In all, I used just over 8/10 of a skein or 826.2 yards. I enjoyed this pattern and look forward to making another one (though bigger) in the future.

The pattern I used can be found here.

2008: A quick look back...

The theme for 2008 was apparently stash busting and felting. I predict that 2009 will be dominated by socks :)

In 2008, I finished a total of 18 projects -- this I find impressive since I believe I only finished 15 projects in 2007. There are still a few UFOs which are carrying over into the new year but I won't count those here.



















As of this writing, I do not have any definite resolutions for 2009. However, I do want to be better about updating my blog. I would love to have an integrated blog which will cover all of my interests, instead of the handful I have spread out all over Blogger. Hopefully by the end of 2009 this little daydream can become reality. As always thanks for reading! Happy New Year!