Fair Isle Mania

I am getting in WAY too deep with projects - things just keep popping inmy head that I feel compelled to go start - this afternoon I added tothe list of "projects I want to start" the Felted Fair Isle bag fromVogue Holiday 2006 magazine.

When I initially looked at it, I though itwas WAY too much work to "ruin" by felting. However, since doing the FI fingerless gloves (previously mittens) , I want to do more FI projects and I thinkthis would be great. At least I will actually use the bag a lot morethan I would gloves or a sweater - heck, I can use the bag EVERYDAY if Iso please! Isn't it pretty?

Cold & Flu season

Yuck - I am home with a cold today - it wiped me out after fighting it all week. I'm not even in the mood to knit anything - ununsual for me on a day without obligations or commitments. It is rainy and cool here - I'm ready for that daylight savings to kick in. Is anyone else SUPER excited to get more sunlight every evening? I was shocked to find out one of my friends could care less - it makes such a difference in my energy level and mood. Guess its different for everyone. If I feel up to it, I might make it to knitting tonight, the shop owner got married and I would really like to congratulate her in person, so that's is a good reason to go! More knitting news soon!

Hawaiian Vacation

We are back from vacation (as of Saturday evening) and it was a lot of fun! For the most part we had a great time – there were a few traveling snafus and some tiffs among traveling companions, but we pulled through and moved on. We did many of the typical Hawaiian vacation-y things like snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, & attending a luau, however…..
Even cooler were the unplanned things like hiking down a cliff to an amazing canyon and coastal view,

holding a baby octopus, and getting within touching distance to a sea turtle. Close encounters with nature!

On the snorkeling cruise we also saw a HUGE school of dolphins (like 30-40 of them) swimming along our boat and doing corkscrew jumps in the air. They seemed so happy and playful; they were so beautiful. I didn't know wild dophins could jump like that - it was a huge surprise to me and shows how agile they naturally are. The most amazing thing of all was seeing several "full breech" jumps by a humpback 30 yards from our boat – SO COOL. Everyone on the cruise turned into little kids running around the upper deck trying to get it on their digital cameras and gasping at each jump!

PICTURE TO BE POSTED (I couldn't leave my post to grab the camera, so I will have to rely on our traveling buddies to provide the dolphin & whale photos!)

On the knitting front, my biggest accomplishment over the week was finishing a red cabled hat for my MIL – I’m just not sure its her style. I’m not sure she’s even much of a hat person, but she specifically asked me for one, so what can I do? It was made from Lamb’s Pride and the pattern is coronet from knitty.com. Cute, easy pattern for gifts.

Last night I CO for a fair-isle (FI) mitten from Knitty as well. I’m trying to use yarn from my stash and chose a purple from the Vogue shawl for the MC and a variegated koigu for the CC. I just worry a little that the pattern will look weird, but I’m just experimenting with FI more than anything else….see? I like it, the variegation makes it look like i did more work than I actually did!

I did get to wear the Vogue Shawl on our trip on SEVERAL occasions (see prom-like photo below) – a very useful FO that I would totally make again! In solid black with white ruffles I think…
A high school friend just let me know she’s expecting, so I’m thinking about making her a baby blanket, but I haven’t decided. I’m not sure when the baby is due, but I think I have some time to put off making a decision right now. Somewhere between 1 and 9 months I guess =) Phew!!

That’s all for now

Confession

Ha - I was so determined to wear my Vogue top today I'm wearing it with all of the ends still unwoven inside of the right arm. Is this a bad personality trait, like poor follow-through skills? As long as I don’t have one of the loose ends poking out I can finish it tonight @ our KTOG and redeem myself. And probably get a good laugh from the other ladies in the group – I aim to please =)

There's Never Any Time!!!!!!!!

Hm – Something happened this week to all of my free time & I don’t like it. Its one thing to be busy & sleep deprived, but no free time (a.k.a. knitting time) – come on! When am I supposed to get any knitting done? I may never weave in the ends (although they are inside the sleeve there are too many to ignore) of my Vogue top that I was soooo looking forward to wearing this Thursday. OR start those v. challenging looking entrelec socks in the new Interweave mag. OR finish the lace top I specifically needed for our Hawaii trip next week…..

Okay Okay – I guess I can’t be too upset, I am taking a trip to a tropical island next week. Life is pretty good when you factor that into things. Complaint section over.

I don’t have any new pictures today, but I promise to post some by the weekend with 1 or possibly 2 Finished Objects (FO’s) to model & show off. Wish me luck & here’s to positive thinking!

Title reference: Did any of you “Saved By the Bell” fans think of that episode where Jessie gets hooked on caffeine pills after reading the post title? Just wondering….

Finished Objects

Yahoo! I finished the striped Vogue shawl today...actually I finished the knitting last Thursday at my "Knit-Together", but the finishing (snoore) was completed today. Now this was Very Impressive with my history of leaving knitted, but un-finished projects around the house for months at a time.

Exhibit A:

Husbands cardigan is going on 5 months now waiting for only a zipper installation - that's just pathetic, I must get my act together before Spring!

New project wise, I started a lace/ribbed sleeveless shirt (black Rowan Calmer - a cotton and acrylic blend) on Friday and am really hoping to have it ready for our trip to Hawaii in about a week (yeah!) The lace doesn't photograph very well, but here's a quick shot of the lace which is the top portion of the top :

Today - Super Bowl Sunday - Husband ran in a 1/2 marathon in Huntington Beach. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures because I forgot my camera. It was a gorgeous day and we both enjoyed the unusually warm weather & beach scene this morning. The only drawback was getting up at 4 a.m. on a weekend day - not my cup of tea, but at least I'll be up to enjoy the rest of the day off. Aside from a nap later.....

More pictures to come of the Vogue sweater, but the last post was a pretty telling preview. I am off to chow down on football snacks & drinks! Enjoy the game & have a great week!