A lovely combination of lace, warmth, and wash-ability.

This pattern uses 400 grams (8 skeins) of Dale of Norway Baby Ull, or 1440 yards of a substitute yarn with 6 stitches to the inch.

$5.00 US, via PayPal.

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It was the sensation of not sweating.

Could it be? Might I make it through this Texas summer??

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It’s all about living’ on the edge, I suppose.

Yes, that’s orange soda. It was a little early in the day.

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I didn’t hear a peep from them for hours. Aside from the crunching, of course.

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Have a great weekend!

I have a book to my nose every minute that I’m not watching this:

I think I already watched the first two movies ages ago, but watching them back-to-back makes a big difference for me in following the story.

I understand so many pop culture references now. I know who Strider is! I know who Arwen is!

Yeah, sometimes the bandwagon picks me up much later than everyone else.

As with every knitted baby blanket, when I near the end, I start to knit furiously. Trying to END THE MONOTONY. Besides, my next project is calling to me. (Since I’m a one-project-at-a-timer, I won’t start the next one until this one is complete.)

Almost there.

My friend, a.k.a. “Strider’s Mistress”, let me borrow her Lord of the Rings DVDs. Her Basenji happens to be named “Strider”. I’ll have this all figured out soon.

After a few days of searching high and low for something good, my next project idea came in the mail.

Cute, right?

The shocking thing is…

I know that people find nice things to knit within the pages of Cast On, but I usually flip through for a good belly laugh.

After all, it oftentimes provides us with gems like this:

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Hair, like any other part of your body, should be washed when it is dirty. If you live in an industrial center where coal dust rules the waves, your hair needs laundering once or twice a week.

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These are the Go With the Flow Socks from Interweave’s Favorite Socks book. I’m using Araucania sock yarn.

This is also the maiden voyage for my new Knit Picks DPNs. Wow. These needles are fab.

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Have a great weekend!

These are the Aran Braided Socks from Knit Picks, knit with Colinette Jitterbug.

I would have made them longer, but Jitterbug doesn’t really offer enough yardage for longer socks.

This photo is another total ripoff from Caro’s awesome photo styling.

The first thing is the way the cables appear to “drip” right down into the ribbing.

The second thing is how stretchy the finished socks are. Very well-fitting, even on my skinny feet.

I can’t see myself wearing short wool socks outside during really cold weather.

I’ll get plenty of use from these, but I’m feeling a little ripped off by the yarn company. They could have given me enough yarn for a normal pair of socks. (It was an impulsive purchase where I didn’t check the yardage.)

Ah, lesson learned.

Yesterday I did a home visit for some potential Basenji Rescue adopters. One of the people in the couple had never met a Basenji before, so Lou came along to remedy that problem.

Lou was such a gentleman, and he totally turned on the charm. Needless to say, the couple can’t WAIT to get their own Basenji now, even after I told them some horror stories.

Here he is, being such a good boy during the car ride there.

So I asked the yarn to speak to me, and this is what it said:

So I got to work.

This is my own design…guess what I’m calling it.

I love pretending that I have long hair.

You guys totally missed it. It was a wild party.

I realize that I am forgetting Dutch…but I do know that this says “10% Savings on Everything!” Not really all that useful, but a personal triumph.

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This is my tshirt after yesterday morning’s walk. I would have been embarassed if any neighbors saw this. Ah, vanity.

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I couldn’t understand it. Chicken? I eat chicken all the time and he doesn’t care. Black beans?

I figured out pretty quickly that it was the fried plantains. Huh? I don’t get it. This is a fussy, fussy dog who won’t even eat most dog treats. Maybe he’s Cuban.

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This poor little man was bit so many times! The more ants I brushed off of him, the more ants I found.

Even with a Benadryl inside him, he’s still so very itchy. Poor Louis.

Please stay out of ant hills and have a great weekend!

Details:
Pattern: my own design
Intarsia motif: Arrrgyle by Julia Farwell-Clay and Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull
Size: 12 -18 months
Recipient: My niece, who still insists on not being born yet

Not my best finishing work, but damn…I had a lot of ends to weave in.

Dirty little secret #1:
I tie knots when I do colorwork. If tying knots is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

Next time I do argyle, I’ll probably just duplicate stitch the outline stitches, and save myself the trouble of four more bobbins hanging from the work.

The sweater has lots of tiny stitches to clearly show a detailed color pattern, and simple dropped shoulders to keep there from being much shaping. Tiny stitches + dropped shoulders = plenty of room for a big motif.

I’ll be looking for other cool intarsia designs to use on this simple sweater pattern.

See the scale there? I’ve been weighing each piece and crossing my fingers. I’m so close to being finished, and so close to being out of yarn…

When I talk to her on the phone, she’ll say, “Hello (pant, pant), how’s it going? (pant, pant)”. I’ll say, “How are you? In labor? Why are you panting?” So far, her answer every time has been something like, “Oh, I was just walking to the kitchen.” She isn’t very comfortable.

Once Molly Renee is born, I have decided to celebrate by releasing the Renee baby blanket pattern. Hopefully, for my sister’s sake, this will be soon.

I’ve arranged it in this photo to hide the good parts.

I should have something to show you on Monday. And it’s FUNNY.

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I’m moving to Austin, and I’m so excited.

I thought that I should wait until I actually have things set up there, but then I thought again. Wouldn’t it be better to open up the possibility of making more Austin connections before I even leave Houston? Yes, indeed.

Details as they happen.

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This former Alaskan needs to cowgirl-up. I need to acclimate to Texas weather. I need to make friends with it.

I promise to do my best, right after this godforsaken heat wave passes.

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Have a great weekend!

Insane.

The heat index here in Houston is probably 106 degrees (41 degrees Celsius), and where is Lou? Basking in the direct sun – on a black rug, no less.

He could burst into flames at any moment.

He seems okay with that.

I have a problem, however. My dogs LOVE him. And not in a good way.

He must smell like a real animal (alpaca, perhaps?), and my dogs are mighty African hunters. They want to tear his new little arms right off his body.

Thanks again, Drew. The Bobbi Bear kit was a great gift. He was really fun to make. I promise to keep him away from the bad dogs.

The whole bobbin thing is new territory for me, so, fingers crossed.

Shouldn’t this photo be named Knitting in Outer Space or something?

It is called A Symphony of Croutons. Turn up the volume for maximum enjoyment.

Abe was there, just not in the video frame.

Here’s my South Park character. She looks as much like me as my Simpsons character, I suppose.

Mo sent me the link to this little treat. You can make your own here.

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This is Twisted Sisters Pattern “Eve”. I have a feeling I will wear it more like this than how the model is wearing it.

I’m not even gonna model it like she did for a laugh. I’m more of a “bra girl” myself.

Reversible cables. No wrong side. Super soft and warm.

Thanks again for the yarn gift, Melissa!

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So why on earth do I wear this ugly row counter half of the day?

Is anyone out there making a row counter that I can wear with pride?

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It is made from the fuzzy fur of the alpacas on the Old Oaks Ranch, and spun with a little angora bunny. I even found out that the bunny’s name is Charmin. Don’t squeeze her!

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Have a great weekend!