Keeping up the good work!

I finished knitting a couple of items. A pair of socks for my nearly 18 yo son, and a cowl for my boss. Both out of stash yarns, which is my desire to go "Cold Sheep" for a while, not buy any yarn, but knit only out of my stash. So far, I've survived January! YAY! I'm doing a couple of challenges for this year thru one of my groups on Ravely like finishing 52 items over the course of the year and using up 100 balls of yarn from stash! I don't have 100 balls, as much of my yarn is on cones for machine knitting. So my equivalent, is that every 50 grams of coned yarn used equals a ball of yarn.

These are 80 stitches around, and took nearly 3 balls of Heart and Sole yarn by Red Heart. I hadn't tried it before, but bought some before Christmas. He likes them!

This is my boss' cowl, she complains about being cold around her neck this winter, so made this out of left over "I Love This Yarn" in camo colors, and it's worked ina linen stitch, from a pattern called Chickadee Cowl by Kirsten Kapur for her blog, "Through the Loops".

also on the fun horizon, I've been making some stitch markers. Will be offering them for sale in sets of 5, for $5. They're cute, and I enjoy making them.

They are made of shell "coins" with 8 mm split rings, so they are a bit limited as to how big your knitting needles can go. I have used them on size 10 needles, which is the limit. It's snug, but they do work up to that size.

And, I have lost some weight! So I've updated my ticker!

Weight loss goals for 2009

Trying to lose some weight this year, I've gained more than I thought to start out from, but between walking at least 10,000 steps a day, and riding several miles on the stationary bike, I hope to whittle down about 40 lbs. I'm following along with Dave Weaver, AKA Big Daddy Weave, a contemporary Christian artist, who is working on losing 90 lbs this year. I need to stay motivated, and accountable for my exercise. I haven't done well this month, as it's been colder, and I hate walking in the cold.

I'm OFFICIAL!

Both dh and I are now licensed EMT-B's! Look out world, we are allowed to "practice medicine"!!!!

This should actually add knitting time, because our calls are fairly infrequent, so that's lots of knitting time in between the calls. And I can get paid to knit, because I'm on call. If I can't get hired to ride on the "box", I guess I'll head for a hospital and work in the ER as a tech. That will take a bite out of my knitting time, won't it?

OK, Knitting updates: Booga bag is coming along, I'm well into the second ball of hand spun, hand dyed yarn. It's Corriedale wool, and dyed with Berry Blue Kool Aid.






















My 9 yo. daughter's circular shrug is getting sleeves added to it. So it's progressing well.














I started some fingerless mitts, had to re-design them, I'm not happy with the fingers, so am just doing ribbing for the fingers and the thumb opening. One is nearly complete.
This was before I ripped back the 2 fingers I had worked and switched it to ribbing. It's actually be cold most mornings this past week, so my fingers are cold, and need some extra protection but yet I need my fingers to work with...


So, these are the more active projects keeping me busy. I need to finish several, get a shawl or 2 done, still have my Mystic Waters in hibernation right now... Want to do another Rose Heart Shawl. Am on the Ravelry group and the Yahoo group for that. Several other knit alongs are starting up. I haven't cast on the one that started on the 1st, and have another starting like the 18th, so I need to buckle down and get busy.

Happy New Year!

OK, I'm way behind in my posting. So much has happened, and I didn't get them up here. I've officially finished my EMT course and passed my National Exam! I'm currently waiting for my State Certification, because I can't start working as an EMT until I get it. It's been 2 weeks, and I know in the middle of the holidays isn't helping, but I'm anxious to get the mail from them ASAP. Dh scored .09 point higher than I did, in spite of my highest final exam grade for the whole class, he takes his National exam tomorrow afternoon.

I did get some nice fiber-y gifts for Christmas. Some yarn from my Secret Santa, with a really neat gadget holder. It has cable needles, scissors, stitch markers of 3 different types, darning needles, crochet hooks, dpns, and even a circular needle as I just cast off my latest pride and joy!




This is my Rose Heart shawl by Elizabeth Matthews, I made it from a black, gray, white wool blend yarn, but the colors hid the design. So off to the dye pot it went, green, with a hint of blue made a lovely teal. It's actually still some variegated, but my queen sized bedspread hides that muted color variation.



Here is a close up, trying to show the design in the pattern. It's hard to see, but the photo above and this one are the same beast. I did run into a bit of trouble with the bind off, I ran out of yarn 81 stitches from the end. I was doing a very stretchy bind off, and by reverting back to a normal bind off, I was able to get it to make it to the end with yarn to spare. I have 2 more shawls planned for this pattern, one in another variegated yarn, but it's more subtle, and a rose colored cotton boucle. Still trying to find a suitable carry along yarn to add to that.

I'm needing to focus on the shawl for my sister, it's getting closer to completion, and I need to get it in the mail to her. Her wedding was in November, and Christmas is past... I'm nearly done with the main shawl, just need to finish the last repeat and do the edging. This does have a white acrylic carry along to go with this cotton boucle yarn. It's turning out very pretty. This is Wildflowers shawl, a free pattern by Posh Yarns.

Secret of the Stole is looking GOOD!

This is clues 5 and 6-- COMPLETED!!!! On to clue 7, which is the current clue, so I'm caught up on it! I need to play catch up on Mystic Waters, as it has languished while I zoom thru this one. Oh, well, I'm proud to see the progress on my work. Minimal mistakes, few tinks back, NO frogging back to the lifelines. I feel good!

Update on the EMT front. I have only one more shift at the hospital that is required, with 2 more patient contacts. That should be easily done during that shift. The past 2 shifts with EMS haven't been active. I have enough patient transports, but no contact means no learning, so I'm thinking of requesting an additional shift this week, just for the experience, and the study time.

I got the highest grade in the class with Exam #3 last week! Even beat out my husband, who usually does better than I do. I have a lot of trouble remembering things from the time I read them to when we test. Still, I'm holding a decent GPA, so can't complain. We are off from class this week, because of Thanksgiving, back next Monday, will review for the Final, which we take on Wednesday! So I should be studying all this week. National testing is Dec. 12. We have 2 practice tests right now that we are to be going over, with the book, and that needs to be turned in by Dec. 1. I am about 100 questions into the first (150 total on each). Haven't touched the second test yet. Lots of work yet to do! We'll see how much I accomplish while on call with my local EMS-- I'm currently just an ambulance driver, not an EMT, with lots of down time to study and knit.

We should be licensed to practice before Christmas, if the testing goes well, the contact with the State and their acknowledging our grades quickly happens.

Recent acquisitions

OK, got a little crazy-- for me, anyway. I hit Webs, Knit Picks and Wally World and got some fun stuff. I have a million projects going, with plenty of yarn to use during the next 4 lifetimes, but I go buy MORE!

6 balls of Bollicine from Cascade yarns. Am thinking this may lend it self to a nice, warm shawl. Still looking for the pattern I want to use.

One ball of On Line Supersocke 100 yarn in Holiday colorway. I just printed off a sideways sock that might look cool in this yarn. Haven't tried a sideways sock yet. It's an adventure!


Knit Picks, new 60" cables plus size 5 and 10 tips for them. Size 0 dpns in the Harmony wood. We'll see how they work out...






Knit Picks Shadow yarn in Campfire Heather. Unfortunately, it looks very University of Texas, burnt orange... Dh went to Texas A&M, so this color isn't allowed in my house. However, the Flavor Aid, in Tropical Punch red may be able to salvage it for me. I soaked all 3 hanks, mixed in the Kool Aid, and did a purposely uneven dye job. It's now draining, I'm not really impressed with the minor difference in the wet colors I see, but will wait until they are dry to see if we need to attempt another coloration.




It looks more brown in the picture than it does in real life. I like it here. It looks like sable in the photo.








I'm also attempting some knitting bags, the kind you hold your yarn in on your belt loop and can knit while you walk. I got the spring closures for that. My fabric store has them on sale for $ .13 each this week so I think I need to go back and pick up some more!








Another sewing project for our EMT uniforms, as well as the knitting bags. Iron on velcro, bias tape, and jean type snaps. Should be fun.










Clearance yarn from Walmart! The Bernat Super Stripes was more than 1/2 price, so it jumped into my cart. These will probably become hats for charity, so one ball of each was plenty.






These are good non-gender colors, so will be nice for either boys or girls, infants or kids on the Reservation that I send hats to, as well as the ones that go to the hospitals locally.





Strata, also at $2 each. I've started a scarf with one of these already. I'm hoping I can get a whole scarf done out of a single ball. We'll see if I can do 2 or 3 scarves from these.

catching up

OK, it's been quite a while since I've "done" anything to show off, but I am working on projects as well as my EMT training is taking a lot of time. It has become a full time job, in effect, but I get paid in knowledge, not cash.

For a fun photo, here is my 16 yo son, wearing a ball on his head. At least he is smiling under that thing, I think. It was his idea to do this, not mine. I just took the picture.




This is the combined yarn for my Mystic Waters Knit Along. Finally found something I like that was in stash, came up with 2 that I thought would look cool together, so plied them on the spinning wheel-- Her name is Rapunzel because she has long flaxen hair. My oldest son calls her Steve-- Watch Over the Hedge movie, and you may understand. Or not, I don't try to understand college students. The 2 yarns are a BRIGHT royal blue and a teal/brown, when blended together, it's brighter, but muted for a cool deep water color. I'll do the swatch and get started on clue one and try for a photo in the sunlight. My camera chose not to use a flash since we were outside, so it's very shadowed.





This is the beginnings of a lap afghan for charity. It's a silver rayon chenille with a cotton boucle in purple/black/white. The photo doesn't do it justice. It's a cool blend. I like to use large needles, multi strands of yarn to make bigger patterns and make faster projects. This is done in a basketweave stitch.




This is the beginnings of my Secret of the Stole Knit Along. I'm WAY behind everyone, as clue 4 came out today, and I have just finished clue 1. The yarn is white with gold metallic thread running thru it. The beads, which are pretty invisible-- see the nearly clear things just above the needle? Those are my beads. They are clear with an opal lining. I couldn't find a neat gold I liked, and the multi shaded browns I liked, but not the quality of the beads, so passed on those.




This is the beginning of another lap afghan, which is actually nearly completed. I did this stripe in burgundy in basketweave stitch, followed a cream using Angel Wing Lace pattern, and now am about 1/2 way thru a Colonial Blue using a fireman's ladder pattern. I'll seam them together as soon as the blue stripe is completed. This will go to Brook Army Medical Center to one of the soldiers being treated there after returning from Iraq.


So, now back to my studying, I hope to get some knitting time to get into clue 2 of the SotS and finish the plying together of some of the Mystic Waters yarns, so I can start the swatch for that and see how that turns out. One of these days, I'll actually get started on knitting that!