SpaceTricot

Dear Diary,

I have lost my mojo.

I believe it is hiding with the tape, the MIA sock and the pink scrunchie Jen lost about 2 weeks ago.

I started a sock. AN ANKLET!
I have yet to finish the yoke on my tangled cardi....

This would be one year of knitting ennui.

Will it come back?
Shall I ever knit in earnest again?

Fondly I remember the burning NEED to knit...the anticipation of my hands reaching for the cool DPNs, the excited weaving of the ends, the accomplishment of a Finished Object...

Why has my ardor cooled? How does one stoke the flames of knitting mojo?
I am able to walk by yarn...without a second glance...oh the horror!
While my stash silently weeps for lack of use.

Find me Frantically searching in the couch cushions...
H

I am knitting.

this is due to the people I know procreating at an alarming rate.
None of them want to know what they are having.
This is really an ordeal for a knitter.
I dont really like to knit creme colored things.
So I am using what I have.
boring yellow.
in the creme family.
YAWN.

I have 3 baby things to knit.

I am knitting a sweater.

I have to knit a hat and baby socks.

I want to knit a blankie. (ha!)

I lost my mojo for knitting with all of the fabulous stuff going on...
I thought I would take you on a tour of my baby knits of olde.

All two of them
Vintage H Knitting

Hat and Socks

Hand Dyed Woolerina yarn

Baby Trellis Sweater
This was a labor of love as I gave it to an old friend for her first baby.
This was the only knit she got from me.
Enough effort for 3 babies went into this sweater.

The Front

The Back...

People will be getting shortchanged this year. Simple and from the stash!

GUS

I love my baby Gustopher.
M calls him FishHead or DisGUSturd...these names mean Gus is pugging his way into M's heart, slowly but surely.

He got stabbed in the eye by the stupid cat on tuesday.
Punctured Iris. O.M.G.
One of the only parts of the eye that bleeds.
Within 2 hours, he was at the vet. Probably saved his eye.

Gus and I will be going to his follow up Vet appt. today...
I hope he is healing nicely.
Man, it takes the patience of Lord Buddha himself to get drops into his eye.
He got wise to me dropping it in with a treat.
I thought I was slick.
One time was all it took.
Little white bottle = Gus' audition for Cirque du Soleil...the Pug Contortionist.

The cat is lucky that there would have been witnesses to retribution - that is all I am saying.
M and I are deciding if declawing or outside is best for Carrot if there is more disturbance in the Force at Casa K.

I can't have Carrot turning into Darth Maul every time Gus is around.
My light saber is bigger.

Just because I love him so...
here is what I look like without my knitting on the couch lately...

Couldn't you just eat him up?
PugDelish!

look at that thumb gusset!

I'm into the gusset shaping on the second... keeping true to the sorta colorwork on this one.

Here I am with my little lapwarmer...GusMan

This is a gift for the holidays.
I'm way behind. Everyone wants socks. and they all have big feets.

I'm forecasting stash busting at it's best. The TUBE SOCK.

Just because I live someplace beautiful...

Happy Fall from Northern Baltimore Country.

Zombies aren't really crazy about the knitting...but they sure do love BRAINS!!!

here is the beginning of my latest pair of fingerless mitts.
I knitted a pair for Jenna...Cast on 60 - *k2p2*
so these are Em's...Cast on 54 - *k2,p2,c2,p2,k2*
'
Same but different. I am addicted to this Whorled Peace yarn. I got this on my recent trip to Lancaster PA. I think I can get a pair of baby socks and a hat out of it too! This yarn I can't get tired of...look at this color!

Yowsza!
Nasturtium.. is a flower. I had to google it.
here is a picture of the real flower...I think the dyer got really close.

This halloween Jen is with her dad...so I will be going it alone. Which means no new zombie costume. I love being a zombie for halloween.
Staying true to our traditions...We watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Good Times.
Happy Halloween!

here is the pair of fingerless mitts I made for Jen.

They have been lovingly worn every chilly day since they were off the needles.
Notice the GUS hair...it's EVERYWHERE!!
he's moulting he's moulting!!!!

I gave these to my baby early in the morning of her birthday.

Someone told her on the BUS that they looked like they were bought from a STORE.

Nice compliment from a tween indeed.

Here is one mitt for Em - and the other started/restarted while watching the Ravens game at a friends house.

I sacrificed color for stitch definition on this pic.

Not too shabby I must say!

And just because I thought I would share with you... geekout for a minute...

Here is a jar of silica sand now residing on my desk - from the White Sands National Monument.

A very good close friend of mine... Bill brought this to me from New Mexico last time he was in town. He managed to get a whole water bottle full...and brought it to me.

Get your NASA geek out...and marvel at my contraband silica sand.

let me tell you about my latest obsession... National Parks. (thanks Ken Burns!)
I saw that week long documentary...and wow.
Somehow after thirty hours of watching it on the telly, I got national park fever and we went to Harpers Ferry
Something about aquiring/stamping the park passport and watching it fill up...it GETS me! stamp stamp stamp!

The girls clambered on rocks and trees.

We only ended up with one wet foot. M and I were white knuckling it while they were up on the tree...
Someone may have inherited my apprehension of heights and falling into cold water.
I like the direction provided to the faint of heart...lets just go up that way...
skootching on yer butt up a log...ugh. Scary!

But, closer to the bank, courage returned!

They apparently make leaves bigger in Harpers Ferry. This one was particularly Blog Worthy

Yikes!
I was expecting to find some sort of tree nut the size of an ostrich egg with a leaf that big.
This was my view for most of the trip...I guess I am slow

A sign that echoed what I had been saying all day.
Tweens are notoriously clumsy...especially when they are eating, walking, bickering, looking about, and not listening to their parental unit.
I made this one pose with the sign so I could say...
See I told you! Now eyes in front of you!

Here is M - probably herding us toward the exhibits. Tweens love to dwindle and dwaddle.

I'm getting good at these! My freakishly long limbs do come in handy!

happy newlyweds...
Next excursion...we are going to DC... there are 4 stamps to be had in the district and I am going to get them.

This past weekend I went to Georgetown with these fine ladies...

Tanya, Donna, and Ei

What would we do without our PDAs?

I think it went like this...
Synchronize iphones/Blackberries!
Right, where are we now?
Ooh I got a text!

My favorite text was the "what are you wearing" sent by tanya at many given points during the weekend.

We had a fine old time!
There was yarn shopping, regular shopping, SWISH dinners, and cupcakes...

There *may* have been a small mishap with my lovely cupcakes...but they tasted FABULOUS just the same.

We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel in DC...and it was a lovely place to rest and recouperate.

Even with all this cavorting about...I've managed to get 2 items knitted and off the needles.

I finished the 2nd pair of the fingerless mitts - with plenty of yarn to spare!

and I knitted a sweater for my GUS.

This is the Cowl and Howl pattern from Stitch and Bitch...I took a little cowl off the howl. . I also added a hole for his harness for when he takes me for a drag. He has so much energy!!
PS that coke can is empty...but he is always looking at me (see below) and I had M distract him with something that smells tasty.

here he is in his favorite spot..curled up anywhere he can find on me.

Although this morning, he elected to stay in bed with M. When no one is looking, they are best buds.

This year of 2009 has seen me get married to a wonderful man, be a stepmother to one and a mom to another, and best of all regain my knitting mojo. At the end of the year I pulled out the needles and began in earnest.

here I am - Spacetricot on ravelry...if you want the deets.

December 2009
Citron
Yarn: knitpicks bare that my sister and I dyed a few years back...used all of it.
Mod: left off the 5th section and only did 7 ruffle rows. Ran out of yarn.
Quick and fun knit to keep idle hands warm and to add to the pile of knitted lovelies I have.

Dec-November 2009
Shalom Cardi knit for me! ( I added sleeves)
Yarn: Brown Sheep Worsted in Oak. 3 skeins

December 2009
Cabled baby hat
Yarn: 1/2 skein of Aurora 8 - size 4 DPN
A baby hat for CeCe to keep out the arctic Chill

Oct to November 2009
Raglan Baby Sweater for CeCe (Gender neutral knitting)
Yarn:Cotton Ease - 3 skeins total

Back View

October 2009
A sweater for my darling pug Prince, Gus...
Howl and Cowl - Stitch and Bitch pattern
Yarn: Noro Kureyon 2 skeins

August 2009
Fingerless mitts for my two tweenie girls\
Yarn: Whorled Peace - 1/2 skein
Jmm's

Em's

For Twenty Ten I believe this shall be the year of my first men's sweater, socks for JMM and finally finishing my tangled yoke cardi! Oh and Stash Busting!!!

First on the needles though...

DROPS Cardi

This color...

This yarn is Green Mountain Spinnery Green - LOVE IT!
The back has been completed!
This is a stash buster too!

Welcome to 2010!

I'm slowing down on Drops...
and my ravelry queue is gearing up for Ravelympics.

I'm supporting Team GoPugYourself - from my Pug Lovers forum in Ravelry.

I have these projects in the queue.
360 Vert Indy Porom - Pattern by Brooklyn Tweed

Events: HatHalfpipe (hat) and speedskate (one skein)

Yarn: I skein of Rowan Felted Tweed - Sage
I'm stash busting this baby - it's been marinating for about 3 years.

Tangled Cardi

I feel that I have to be honest...because if I can't truly let it all hang out on my blog...well. WTF.

I hate knitting the Tangled Yoke cardi.

The yarn is gorgeous...but the cables (only 17 rows mind you) are driving me mad.
mAd i saY.

I even took this over to the lovely Ei's house and got some (liquid) courage and began the first row of the cables. It's times like this that you need a knitting intervention, to help reintroduce yourself with the joy that you once felt for a project...and only another knitter (especially one who knit this blasted sweater) can tell you "it's just yarn" and "beautiful work" and "you are so close to finishing H!" (thanks ei.)

I dont have time to just sit and get through them in the house.
I have too much going on!

These are the things I have been telling myself.
I just have to come to terms with PROJECT FuGUE...
number one it's become a dread
number two I have this feeling that in the middle of a bobble...the yarn is going to SNAP.
number three I began knitting this in one of the hardest periods of my life. This project has sat in a (fabulous) knitting bag for almost 3 years.
Number four it's on teeny needles

The last time I had this feeling was when I attempted to knit Audrey out of Calmer. I ripped that sucker with vigor and never looked back.

I am going to finish this sweater that I call my opus (dei). it requires penance to complete.
What better way to overcome than with an olympic effort. ha!

Until the cast on of Feb 12 - I am working on this lovely

I have the sleeves and the right front to finish. I am GOING to get this done before mass cast on.

Here is another project I have been working on for about 2 years...
my HAIR!

About 4 more inches and I will be happy with the length!

Lookie what I gots...
I keep hearing on the rav...
Sanguine Gryphon...
and I found in their Little Traveller sock yarn they have a colorway known as Boring, Maryland.
Guess who lives within that tiny little border? ME!

DELISH! and that would be 560 yards. I forsee a shawl with this lovey stuff.

that's all for me.
stay tuned for I shall be blogging ad tedium during the ravelympics.

This last weekend I got to go to my first Bar Mitzvah.
Hubby and I got to get all gussied up!

As I had RSVP'd and knew it was cocktail dress.

I have decided as one of my resolutions this year
I will change out my wardrobe with Classic Elements.
Having a Little Black Dress became my obsession, and this was my first occasion to wear it.

I found this Vintage 1960s Black Velvet LBR on EBAY.
I won it for $6.91
It is in PERFECT condition.

I even got to use my velvet jacket

Hubby got into a suit...

and off we went...
he even disco danced with me.
HEAVEN!

Twas the night before Valentines Day... it was perfect.

Elizabeth Zimmermann February Baby Sweater
Stash Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style - Petal
Needle: Size 4
Modifications: none

Once again, I envision the buttons...
I go to JoAnn's and there they are.

Stash busted about 3.5 skeins of this yarn.
Giving it to my brother in law for his new baby girl.

A valentines from my favorite boy...

This last couple of weeks have been snow covered... this did not deter my little family in getting in DC and going to see the Terracotta Warriors Exhibit on display.

I love living where I can see this great stuff.
I've seen exhibitions of King Tut, Cleopatra, and now the Terracotta Warriors.

National Geographic Museum in Washington DC.

We took the metro down and enjoyed the National Mall in the slushy snow.

Washington Monument

The Capitol Building

I got a little cheeky with a warrior...
I like older men (2200 year old ones...)

It was a grand day...
Look at my little pixie.

I knitted those hats, btw.
Gull Lace beret
160 yards.

Poor Gus...

"Mom wont let me take the Metro... but howsabout a COOKIE?"

Spring has sprung in Boring, Maryland...

The GusMan is out and about among the bees and the buds...

"Beez? Did you say Beez, Mom? Wherez?"

I've been knitting socks socks socks lately. Three pair in about 3 months. Not too Shabby.
These were knitted for my grandma...
Summer and winter socks for her!

All superwash. Super easy. Super Special for my Gma.

Here are my latest...
Knitting at the airport...

Completed!!

Colinette jitterbug...
Made for this lovely bestie of mine, my darling Ange.

modelled by her...

My little girl who isn't so little anymore...
Shiny faces for Springtimes

Hubby likes to pick me fleurs...

"beez? wherez are the beez?"

Tuckered out...

Happy Spring!

I love these. I can knit these with leftovers.

I love them so.

Someone else is not as impressed.

"all knitting does, is take up Mom's lap"