Almost 700!

I can't believe it! I am nearing my 700th comment! I am so excited,...I wonder if I will hit my blogaversary first or the 700th.

The birthday boy had a blast last week, a pizza party and  chocolate cake. Of course, I forgot to find candles for his cake so I had to borrow some at the last minute from my neighbor upstairs. She only had a few and the few that she had were PINK! Bryant didn't even notice the color--actually, he said "Mum, they are not my favorite color--black!" hahaha. Can you see me putting black candles for a 4 year old.

Life sometimes throws you a fastball and you have two choices: hit it or miss it. I am the type of person who will always try to hit it. Thursday afternoon, I got a fastball thrown at me, I really wanted to just close my eyes and miss it altogether. I didn't want to deal with it, especially when the deadline was less than 12 hours hours and I had a birthday party for B. I was in agony--as my dear friend may be able to tell you, I was frantic, I was in the midst of a nervous breakdown! I allowed myself to be terrified, I counted to 10, then I sat down and loomed for the next 10 hours straight--sleep, no, no sleep for the wicked and procrastinators! I was up to the wee hours of the morning looming my little fingers away. Had to take pictures and submit them, but I am afraid that my eyes had two market size bags underneath and I was not going to send those pictures in, so I again begged another favor from the neighbor upstairs, her and her daughter were very happy to help me out, with one condition--that I would go to bed right after!!

My heart all throughout was in my non-stripe sweater, I was sooo in the mojo for it and then the deadline hit so I had to put it away, now I have this terrifying feeling that my tension is going to be terribly different than last week. But look at it, it is almost half way there, ok, so it is not half way, but it is looking sooo good, I want to put it on and model it, but I am too lazy to transfer the stitches on to a scrap yarn. Do you all use a piece of scrap yarn to transfer the stitches then try it on?

I have also been playing around with some lace stitches on looms--I don't know how to call this one, but the little eyelets go up diagonally. I think it would be nice on a hat, or a sweater.

B is for....

Happy Birthday my little love. He said hello to this world 4 years ago. He is my honeymoon baby. We knew right away that we wanted to have a little one. After being married for 15 days, I took a pregnancy test just for kicks, it came back negative. Oh, I was sad, I was very sad, I remember watching the movie Tarzan (the disney version) one evening when Sam was at work, and I remember having tears streaming down my face. I wanted a little baby of my own soooo badly. I really thought that I wouldn't be gifted with the joy of motherhood, then a week later, I was feeling out place and disoriented and I thought to myself, heck, I am going to take a test again. The line was pink! I was going to have a little one of my own!  I rushed out of the bathroom, jumped over our bed to tell Sam the great news. We were psyched and overjoyed beyong words.

  Bryant was born on one of the biggest snowstorms that hit Utah in 2002. Everything was closed on Sunday and Monday due to the snowstorm--which allowed Sam to be with us at the hospital. Coming home, the roads were so packed with snow that we had to park our car about a block away from our apartment--then we had to climb up the biggest hill by USU campus! As Sam carried the baby in the car seat, I waddled through the snow trying to get to our cozy little studio. Getting Bryant home was the most exciting and yet terrifying experience we have both ever encountered. We were home with a new baby--what in heck were we supposed to do? Breast feeding--what was that? how do you do it? Baby awake every 2 hours-- why? Why couldn't he sleep like the rest of the world? Changing diapers a whole new experience for me--even when I didn't change the diapers I ended up being squirted! Little stinker--it seemed that he was just waiting for me to come and see and then he will just turn into a little water fountain--let me tell you, it doesn't taste sweet like all the doctors say! Soon, we realized that the hospital handed us a baby but they forgot to give us the manual and his checkbook!

Bryant, my beautiful boy, happy birthday sweety! May you   be blessed with a long healthy life and hope that I am able to be around to see you grow up.

An Olympiad's Change of Heart

You may remember that I had chosen to make the Hourglass sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts as my challenge for the 2006 Knitting Olympics. While I have not chickened out, I have decided to choose another challenge, one that does not focuses on me.

I reached my decision after seeing the Dulaan's project pictures. The children's faces melted my heart and I have a strong desire to be there for each one of them, to hold them, to make them feel that they are loved and cherished. Since I can't be there for them, I am doing the little bit that I can, my new challenge:

I will knit 16 items during this challenge. I will start on the day directed and I will finish them by the end of the ceremonies.

I can either loom or knit the items--Thank you Ryan for letting me know that we can loom knit our items too :).

Are you in the Knitting Olympics? Would you like to join me in making it a Dulaan Project and an Olympic Challenge...come join the Dulaan Brigade with me, you don't have to  make 16 items.  I have kind of made a button--more like an alteration, but feel free to take it :).

Knitting Coma!

Going one week without knitting or looming finally got to me Sunday evening. As I sat in front of the tv, attracted to it like a moth to a flame, I realized that one entire week had passed by and I had not knitted one single item. Yep! you read correctly. One entire week went by and I didn't loom knit or needle knitted anything! I was a bit burned out after the whole proposal and frankly I didn't have the heart to pick up anything else. I really tried, but I just couldn't.

Sunday evening, I finally came out of my "knitting coma". I ran to see the stash trying to find something suitable to knit. And to my utter amazement, I couldn't find anything in the stash, nothing! I couldn't believe it! I knew I had something in there worth while a couple of weeks ago, but looking at it closely, I realized that there was nothing in there that was calling my name at the moment. 5 bins full of yarn and yet there was nothing to knit! Apparently, the haziness from being in the knitting coma had not worn off, so I ran to the bookshelf trying to find inspiration in one of the many pattern books. Finally, I set my heart on Essential Stripes, so I turn back and tried to find yarn that would go --found some yummies in the form of Aurora 8 and Andean Silk, then disaster--no needles to go with the Andean Silk. Digging through all the stash trying to find the circular knitting needle case, I became frantic--where in the world did I put it last time I "organized" the stash? I finally struck a little bit of luck and found a lonely Addi in size 7.  Immediately, I rushed to the "knitting couch" and casted on and the knitting faeries were smiling at me--I got gauge on my first attempt! I was knitting again....what a relief!

But my luck didn't last--my gauge was good yesterday, but today, I have 26 rows/ 4 " where yesterday I only had 23! Am I supposed to rip it out and start all over---not to mention I don't have a pair of 8s in a 24" length! Arrrrggg! What do I do know? Should I forge ahead and just adapt the pattern to my new rows per inch gauge? Help!!!!

Ranting Major--shopping is not fun anymore!

Clothes shopping can be so depressing and I am not referring to the money spent, I am referring to how fast it brings one to reality--or not!

First some odd background on me and my bodily measurements (not like you need to know, but just to get the point across) I am about a size 10, sometimes I can squeeze myself into a size 8, or if I am very lucky and buying some good clothes from Gap or Banana I can definitely get myself into a size 6. I am short, about 5' 3", closer to 5' 2" than the 5' 3. I am a bit stocky, weighing at about 130s. My body shape is more of a triangle, having the main part of the chub around my hips and the endowed section boobs (remember, I am of Mexican descent ;) thus the hips).

Anyways, now that you know my "measurements", I can go on to explain my saddening experience of the day. I went shopping for a top to match this cute skirt I found last week.  As I was browsing through the "selection" of clothes, I just wanted to sit down and bawl like a baby. Everything was made wrong, I mean, they are nice tops, however, something is seriously wrong in the women's fashion department.

Exhibit A: Nice cashemere top, upon closer inspection, if a person with any boobs tries to wear it, the top will end up at least 4" above the belly button.

Exhibit B: Gorgeous silk top, upon closer inspection, the designer forgot to add half the material for the V neck--this thing gives the boobs the most open view to the world they have ever seen!

Exhibit C: XL ribbed top, upon closer inspection, the midsection is sooo darn tight that it barely fits around Nyah's midsection. How in heck did they manage that one!

Exhibit D: Perfect black top, goes with everything, except my shortyness! The sleeves are soo blooming long I can wrap them around me and call me Slinky!

Conclusion 1: Came home with two cardigans that can cover all the chubs and make me look "fill in the blank with your favorite adjective".

Really, I am asking myself--what are clothes designers thinking? Are they on crack all the time? Do they really expect "real" women to fit into the slinky clothes out there? I mean, I can squeeze myself into them, but I prefer to have all my skin "contained within the shirt" rather than having 1/2 of myself popping out at different places. Do designers really think that we are just made flat--nothing in the front and nothing in the back? Maybe if I were 12 years old I could fit into the top and have it reach a decent length upon my torso, but not even then as my boobs probably would have made it go up 3 inches up!

Conclusion 2: If I want something to fit me really nice and whichever way I want it, I am just going to have to knit it!

Hubby brought a good point up on the way home:

H: It seems that all the clothes are geared towards teens

Me: Yep, it seems that way. I don't mind fun clothes, but the size of them is a bit off.

H: You would think they would put clothes out there for people that can afford them. Really how much can a teen afford?

Me: Well, it appears that they can afford about 1/2 a blouse according to the sizes they are selling now a days.

Alright, so I was a bit frustrated at the time, but really, even my teen nieces have to buy undershirts to go with their tops so they can have their mid section covered.

Remember this is only my nightmare when trying to find a top. Don't get me started about trying to find a pair of jeans or a skirt!

Am I the only one seeing this when purchasing clothes? Tell me about your experience--tell me I am not the only one that feels "left out" from the fun shopping experiences.

Ok, enough ranting, now I need something to make me feel better--I think I saw some dark chocolate in the kitchen someplace....hehehe.

Stockinette Cast On Method for Knitting Board

Another cast on in the Knitting Board Series is the Stockinette Cast On. Usually a misunderstood cast on method as many do not realize that the first set of stitches are actually "live" stitches left on an anchor yarn to later be finished off by crocheting them.

The stockinette Cast On method is actually my top cast on method for many knitting board knitted items. It provides a nice crochetted first row. Definitely no loops at all. Although the Lucet Cast on provides a less loopy edge than the Figure 8 Cast on, the Stockinette Cast on provides the neatest edge I have seen.

I hope you find these files useful in your knitting board knitting. Feel free to leave me a comment about the latest files.

Enjoy!

***EDIT***The file has been moved to the DA site and now it can be printed.

Lucet Cast On-An alternate cast on for frames

Although the art of loom knitting dates back to the 18th century, very little is known about it today. There are not many records of it and very few patterns exist today, compared to needle knitting. New techniques and stitches are popping up almost every day. The Lucet cast on is one of those new found techniques.

When knitting on a knitting board, you first need to set the very first row of stitches (just like in needle knitting), so that you can build more stitches later by wrapping around the pegs and lifting over the wraps.

Usually, knitting board/frames instructions include the Figure 8 method of casting on. Although this cast on method allows you to place your very first row of stitches on to the board, it does not provide the neatest first row.

One evening, after Becky sent me a Lucet, I sat for a few hours knitting on it. When an "a-ha" moment occurred. I realized that maybe I could do the same on a board by using 2 sets of pegs at a time. So, I grabbed a board and right away, I started trying it out. It was easy and the best part of all, the LOOOPY edge was almost all gone. I had a neat first row!

I made a PDF file of the instructions in case you are interested in trying it out.

Download Lucet Cast on

On to the Olympics!

Thanks to all of you for the encouragement and the good vibes sent my way about the book proposal. I am pleased to announce that the package arrived safely and in one piece...it was held hostage for a day at customs, but it was finally released! Most importantly, the publisher liked all the items sent! I still do not know the final decision yet, but at least they liked the items, so that is always nice to hear.

Now that the loom knitting marathon is over for a little bit. I decided that I need a little bit more excitement in my life, since I am in Utah, and we do have some of the best powder on earth. I might as well get fit and enter the olympic games. What should it be--skiing? luge? snowboarding? skating? Oh, I think I will go with knitting. Oh wait, that is not a qualified sport, but it should be, it is winter, we all need something knitted--right?!?

Since sports are not my thing and since there is no one flashing a big burger at me to make me run, I am entering a competition where there is no pain involved: the 2006 Knitting Olympics!

My challenge: The Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

Where is the challenge in this project?
1. Never knitted a sweater of my "size".

2. Work full time

3. Have two lovely little imps who distract me every time I try to knit!

4. May be writing a book by that time

Squiddy and Knitterly things

A new monster scarf is born--I dub thee Squiddy! As I was knitting it, the scarf kept growing on me and I don't mean in size only, but I kept falling in love with it even more. The yarn is nice and soft--which is always a big plus for me, especially if I have to wear it around the neck.

Specs:

Loom: Any loom with at least 14 pegs. I used the blue KK.

Yarn: 2 skeins of Patons Bohemian, about 136 yards.

If you are interested in the pattern, drop me a note and I will send you the file. I will be uploading it later this week to my Loom Knit website as well as to the DA website.

***EDIT***Click here to obtain Squiddy Pattern.

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In other knitterly related news, last week I attended my ritual Nite in Knots at Yarn Today. During the event, a challenge was given to me and to two of my very good knitterly friends (I shall not write names in order to protect the innocent, hehehe). The prize, nothing less than a $500 gift certificate. You read it correctly ladies and gentlemen, $500.00 bucks! The challenge: To get my driver's license!

Yeah, I confess, I am 28 years old and I don't have a driver's license. I have never needed it--I think of it as a way to let others give some community service :), me being the community service. Hubby has driven me everywhere and anywhere I have ever wanted--no matter the time--he even takes me to the yarn shop, whenever I want! However, they tell me there is a freedom that I need to experience by obtaining my license--is there? I don't know, you tell me.

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A Meme from Tracey

4 Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:

• Worked at a cafe
• Receptionist
• Executive Assistant
• Slave to DA

4 movies you could watch over and over

• Ever After
• Lara Croft
• Harry Potter
• Lord of the Rings

4 Places You Have Lived:

• Mexico
• Queens, New York
• Yonkers, New York
• Utah

4 TV Shows You Love To Watch:

• LOST
• Invasion
• Phil of the Future
• Suite Life of Zack and Cody

4 Places You Have Been On Vacation:

• Poconos, PA
• Florida
• Utah (before I moved here)
• New York

4 Websites You Visit Daily:

• www.bloglines.com
• Over 10 Yahoo Groups

4 Of Your Favorite Foods:

• Enchiladas
• Tamales
• Lamb Tikka Masala
• Chicken Tikka Masala

4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:

• in Bed sleeping
• Hawaii with hubby only :)
• Mexico with the entire family to visit Grandma

4 Bloggers You Are Tagging:

• Dlandra
• Cathie
• Connie
• Denise

My future in a box!

Never in my life, have I ever mailed anything so important as this brown box. The waiting begins! I have sent out my future. This particular brown box contains items that may determine the next three months of my life. As I was carefully packaging everything and arranging it inside, I was thinking of all the terrible things that may happen to it on its destination, I was carefully documenting every item with pictures, just in case one of my "babies" got lost on the way there. Each and every item was carefully made by me or by friend, who was eager to help me meet a very short deadline.  Will it get there safely and in a timely manner...we will see. I didn't want to take any chances and since reading Mim's terrible luck with the courier services, I am imagining the worst! Please make it there, make it there on time too.

As the impact this particular box has on my future, I still do not know if I want it to succeed or fail. I feel like I have to little people sitting on my shoulders, one says--"yeah, do it! It would be sooooooo cool to be published. But the other little person says "I will have to loom knit, and loom knit non-stop and then write, and write, in addition to all my 'regular' duties" The writing part is not difficult, heck! I have written my fair share of loom knitting instructions available on the Internet, plus I can almost loom knit in my sleep (if I didn't drop the loom when I drifted off!), the difficult part comes when foregoing some of my "fun" time and the stress. 

I will be at the edge of my seat until the end of the month, waiting to hear what my future may hold.

A Marathon

Toys sometimes are not the ticket for little ones imaginations, however, give them a box and they are sure to have their minds busy for hours on end. A simple box can become their "own" little house, where they are the only "boss". A box can allow them to become pilots of their own space rocket! In the case of the picture on the right, it is a phone booth where they can call Mum, even if she is sitting right next to them on the couch loom knitting away :). 

Marathon runners prep themselves for months before going on their race. First, they start slowly, they begin by running a mile. They slowly pump it up to 2, 3, 4 miles. At the end, they are running 10 miles, 15 miles. Everyone knows not to enter a race without first prepping yourself. If you do, you are bound to get hurt and burn like an overheated light bulb. Right now, I am feeling the heat. The heat is getting so hot that I am beginning to feel the tips of my hair crinkle. Although, I am far from being a marathon runner, during the past few days my life has been a continous looming marathon.

I have created a few new items, some others I have had  to re-create, but most importantly, in this overwhelming marathon, I have had a great achievement, that even if the "project" falls through, I have one new technique under my belt. I have achieved an "a-ha" moment! I still need to work out some very minor details, but finally, I am able to loom knit the whole toe tapered with no nasty seams! Bye bye square toes, bye bye gathered technique toes, bbye, hello comfortable tootsies :).

My *sister* Sarah was here over the weekend visiting from Austin, TX. She is the influence behind my beading obsession. Of course, I had to admit to her that without her, I have not created one single thing with beads. On her last day here, she brought the most exquisite necklace for me-the focus of the necklace is a rose, I tried to take a picture of it, but I am afraid the picture does not reflect its beauty and its light reflecting properties. Thank youuuu Sarah (waving hello). She is an avid blog reader. Although she doesn't knit (yet), she enjoys reading many of the knitting blogs-she believes we all speak a different language, but she is fascinated by the pointy sticks that make socks-she wants me to teach her to to make socks on a knitting loom first :).

Secret Pal 7

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?

I don't consider myself a yarn snob, however, I do like some of the nice yarns out there. I tend to Loom Knit a lot with Lion Brand yarns, however, when it comes to needle knitting I stick to the nicer yarns. Red Heart yarns are avoided if at all possible.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I do on both. I just learned how to spin so it is a new found love, I like spinning yarns that have Angelina in them.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have 2 needle cases for my straights and dpns, I also have an Addi Turbo case for my Circular Needles.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I have been knitting for about 9 months. I consider myself an advanced beginner that meddles a bit in the advanced :).

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I have an Amazon wish list on the side bar

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I don't use candles--little ones like to touch them. Bath products, I enjoy Moonlight Path from Bed Bath and Beyond.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Always game for some yummy dark chocolate.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

I *love* loom knitting. I also like to create things with beads but I am afraid I am not really creative when it comes to them.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I enjoy listening to dance music, pop, and alternative. I don't really go for country (sorry, but it has never gotten in my blood).  I can definitely play MP3s

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

Yarns: I usually buy dark colors: charcoal grey, burgundy, dark blue. I guess I am in the Winter colors. I can't wear brown or beige--it kind of makes me look all washed out since I have a permanent tan ;). 

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

Married to 1 ;), 2 children--Bryant who will turn 4 at the end of the month, and Nyah who just turned 1. No pets.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I do wear scarves and hats. No mittens and no ponchos (I am a bit tubby and it makes me look a bit bigger).

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I *love* alpaca. I *adore* hand dyed yarns.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Fun Fur--eeek! and anything similar to it. If it feels like plastic, I don't like it.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Socks, cables, and felting

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks and cables

17. What are you knitting right now?

Hmmm, a secret project, but on the side I am knitting socks ;)

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yep!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

It depends on the project, but when knitting with circulars, I tend to only use my Addis

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Bamboo for dpns and single points, Addis for circulars. I have all the larger sizes on Addis, however, I don't have any of the smaller sizes (both number wise and length)

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yep to both :)

22. How did you learn to knit? I took a class

23. How old is your oldest UFO?  A couple of months

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Eeyore

25. What is your favorite holiday? My birthday, hehehe

26. Is there anything that you collect? Yarn and dust!

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? IK, and Spin Off

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?

Some more Socks that Rock yarn. Needles: smaller length Addis.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Enterlac

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Yes, I wear a size 6.5 shoe, measure 9" around the ball of the foot.

31. When is your birthday? 10/17

Alright, so I hook up my camera, ready to upload some pics for the blog and guess what I found...yep, you guessed it, pictures of Dora the Explorer. How did they get there? I assure you I don't go around taking pictures of Dora...even if she is teaching the tykes Spanish. Apparently, Bryant got a hold of the camera while he was playing his Dora game and decided that I needed pictures of his game. I have about 30 pictures of the game in progress! I guess he believes my blog needs some spicing up! Next thing, he will be here typing away and bloggin for me. Both him and Nyah have a fascination with the computer.  I bet they will know how to use it proficiently by the age of 5!

I decided to start reading again, it has been difficult to read since I began knitting, but I have had the Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel book since I was pregnant with Nyah! Today I picked it up again and re-started it. I tried knitting at the same time, but I can only do knits, I still need to look down when purling and definitely when crossing the cables.  I know of a very talented someone that can read and knit lace at the same time! One day, one day in the distant future I will be able to knit in the dark, read and knit at the same time, and maybe one day I can knit while I sleep--no dpns in bed though :). 

Abs of Steel...

The tickle in my throat is making me get abs of steel...I believe I have coughed at least 300 times today, minimum!  I have had a cough for the past 3 weeks...I can feel the muscles in my mid section tightening with every cough. For each word I type, I think I have coughed once, so so far, I have coughed about 10+ times during the past minute. Nothing helps, I have tried Tylenol Sinus for the horrible headache, I have tried Tylenol Cold for the cough and nothing, zero, zip! Nothing helps, I tell you what, I am starting to believe all those medicines just get you feeling worse so that you can keep drinking it and buying more, it is a viscious cycle.

No, no knitting or looming content today, I haven't even touched my yarn for about 24 hours. Ok, I am a liar, I have petted some sock yarn, but the fact that I have to wind it into a ball to use it, took the desire of knitting away. Too much effort for this old hag who keeps coughing at 60 times per hour. If I ever get better, I will start my Gryffindor socks. I am off to see if Norma has a tonic to cure this horrible cough.

In the meantime, I will leave you with a picture filler of the new Knifty Knitters-due for release sometime in February. Just in case you are curious and want to take a peek, the looms pictured are the middle two sizes.

A close-up picture of the peg's distance, the top loom is a DA loom in regular gauge.

A is for....

is for Arwen, the middle name of my little girl, and it is my first entry in the ABC-Along. Arwen is Nyah's middle name, and as many of you may know it comes from the JRR Tolkien Middle Earth books. When thinking of names, I wanted one that was unusual and uncommon, Arwen felt to be the right one for my little princess.

When I was pregnant with Nyah and I found out that we were going to have a little girl, I informed Sam that it was a family tradition in Mexico to pierce the ears for earings. Sam was not very happy with that idea, after discussing the subject for many months like civilized adults (hahaha), we came to an agreement, I will not pierce her ears, but I will get to choose her middle name, mind you, I chose the first name too ;). So, it was a compromise, will she ever get her ears pierced, I do not know, that will be her own choice and if she decides to get them pierced, I will be there holding her hand.

In some knitting without needles news, my friend Becky sent me a Pocket Knitter. It has two rows of "teeth" sorta like a comb. You wind the yarn around the "teeth" and it creates knitted loops. The booklet contains a few patterns and detail instructions on how to use it. Interesting little gadget, but it is not sturdy, I fear I may accidentally sit on it and break it in half and hurt my bottom in the process!

What do you do when you have a terrible cold and you still want to knit? You dig through the drawers and try to find something easy to appeal the "knitting craving". In my digging, I found the Embellish-Knit by Bond. I got this a few months ago and I never even took it out of its plastic container! It took me two tries to try to get it going, but finally I was able to knit a long piece of I-cord with the test yarn included in the package. It is easy to use, Bryant enjoyed turning the handle. Although I got something knitted, it did not satisfy the "knitting crave". Overall rating, it is an ok gadget, but it can only handle thin yarns, consequently, it cannot be used to make I-cord for felted bags, which usually need to be knitted in a heavier yarn.

Happy New Year!

The New Year found me sitting on my couch, loom knitting away at a new scarf. I have been a bit sick (again!) so going anywhere was out of the question. So, if the first day of the year is any indication of my life in the year 2006, I am going to be looming away the days and suffering from colds while watching the hubby and kids play.

A new year usually means resolutions, in this corner of the world, you won't see a resolution, it is more of a mission statement. My mission statement for the year 2006 will be Self-Control. Under the umbrella of Self-Control falls many of my all time addictions that I must curb-no, I won't tell you my list..you will be reading for hours! First, I am going on a diet--no, not a food diet, but a Fiber Diet. I think I have enough yarn in the closet to last me at least 6 months. I was finally able to acquire my most desired yarns from Sunshine Yarns, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor, which fulfills almost all my sock yarn desires....of course, there is the beautiful Neopolitan but I am holding my ground. Hope I can stop my yarn cravings.