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WIPping out some photos

We are now 9 days into WIP Wrestlemania 2009 and I actually have some completed projects.
Here is Hey Teach all completed


Yarn Valley Yarns Goshen.

I gave up on Firestarter. Ripping was starting to wear out the yarn as I tried to get the pattern gauge adjusted to the yarn gauge. This yarn basically doesn’t want to be socks. So I am frogging this project until I find a wrap pattern that makes the yarn happy.

Princess Buttercup has been taking part in WWM09 too. Here is her first project completed.

This is her own design. She calls it Playful Possum. She is quite fond of its prehensile tail.

I have also finished the Bath set I had OTN but I will wait until it is blocked before I post photos. Next project to conquer is Mystery Shawl 3. The mystery is why it has been on the needles for so long.

WIPing Along


Week 1 – WIP Wrestlemania update.

  • Hey Teach is knitted. All it needs to be complete is the seaming on the left side and to have buttons sewn on. Should be complete and ready for photos by afternoon. I found some great buttons for it. It looks great and is going to fit nicely. I am going to be really happy with this sweater.
  • Raindrops on Roses bath set is about one-third to one-half complete. It should have it off the needles in plenty of time for that bridal shower.
  • Firestarter socks – Frogged. &#9785 I am tired of fiddling with gauge on these socks. This lovely yarn will discover a new life as a shawl or scarf. I am thinking about Clapotis or Lace Ribbon unless someone has a better recommendation.

All other projects are patiently awaiting their turn for my attention. I should be starting back on MS3 this week.

Back and on the Attack

Wow! The month of June has flown by. July is here and I am off and running on another knitting challenge but I am getting ahead of myself.

For those who are bored beyond imagination, here is a brief recounting of the month of June at Casa de Tabitha.

We started the month with Vacation Bible School or as I like to call it Week of the Screaming Hordes. There is nothing more fun than spending a week of your life sugaring up a room full of overly excited kids. Fun, fun, fun. Took a week to recover from that torture

Then we had to celebrate a kid birthday. That required weeks of trying to decide what said kid would like for her birthday and lots of covert shopping trips. It also involved a trip to the local science museum, and her favorite restaurant then coming home and baking a cake – from scratch. Another week of recovery was required for that.

We have also been taking part in the summer reading program. Princess Buttercup and I have a private competition going to see who can read the most books during the program. She had already won 4 prizes and I won one.

The rest of the month was consumed with gardening. We have harvested summer squash, cucumbers, green beans, peas and finally tomatoes. The veggies have helped immensely on the grocery bill.

Some of my lovely green beans.

That about catches me up. July will be spent in the throes of WIP Wrestlemania 2009. This is a friendly competition to see how many WIPs we can turn into FOs by the end of the month. I have decided to try for the Piledriver Event in which you attempt to complete every project that you have on the needles. Fortunately for me, I had already reduced the WIP count a bit but here are the projects that I am attempting to complete in July.

  • First up and Oldie but a Goodie
    Soljoy Pomatomus

    Cast on in March of 2007 hangs head in shame. I got to the foot on the first sock when I realized that I didn’t have enough yarn to complete the pair. It got pushed to the back burner while I decided how to remedy the lack of yarn. I have decided to rip it back and convert it into fingerless mitts.
  • Next oldest UFO is this lovely lace
    Mystery Stole 3 aka Swan Lake

    Cast on in July of 2007, this project had a bumpy beginning but moved along quite nicely until I got to the end of it. I was never happy with the look of that eyelet row that connects the main shawl with the wing at the end. Fear of ripping lace has kept me from ripping back to that eyelet row to reknit the eyelet row or substitute a different transition. But I have the courage now. I am going to fix this baby or frog it.
  • Another Oldie
    Prince of Wales Socks aka The Neverending Sock

    This pair started life as a pair of Christmas socks for my hubby. I messed up the pattern and had to rip. They were reknitted as Earl Grey but the light-sucking black yarn and I are just not mixing well. These babies are destined for the frog pond. Sorry honey. I will knit you a pair in another color.
  • The more recent WIPs
    Firestarter Socks

    Outrageously lovely yarn but I am having trouble getting the correct gauge for the pattern. The designer used heavier yarn than this Schaefer Anne. I have ripped and reknit twice and I still don’t have the gauge right. This yarn may find a new life as a scarf or wrap. Clapotis, perhaps.
  • Raindrops on Roses bath set

    I started a couple of these for myself back in September but I made a mistake in one of them and had to rip and I let the ecru set fall by the wayside. It will make a great gift for the bridal shower that I have to attend in a few weeks. Better get knitting.
  • Yet another WIP
    Eggplant Diminishing Rib Cardi

    No photo of this one. Cast on in January 2009. The project was moving along nicely until I got to the bind off. The tubular bind off was messing with my mind so this project has to spend some time in the time out chair.
  • Proof that I am a Cast-on Monster
    Hey Teach

    This one was cast on in May but with the hubbub in June it got neglected. I plan to be wearing this very soon.
  • And last but not least
    Big V Vest

    I only just cast this one on so if I don’t get this completed in July, I won’t really consider myself a failure. But it would be nice to be able to wear it this summer. If I don’t complete it, this will be my first project for August.

There you have it. My incredibly ambitious WIP list for July. Think I can do it???
Well I am ready to rumble.

Grrrrrrr!

In which she actually does some knitting

It doesn’t seem that this is a knitting blog since I haven’t posted any knitting photos lately. I have been working diligently on one project that turned into a disaster at the last moment. I haven’t the heart to talk about it yet but the project is in time out learning its lesson.

I have had a few knitting successes lately. Princess Buttercup (the child formerly known as Preteena)and I have been working together on a felted bag project. We started them in March by Kool-aid dyeing the yarn together. You may remember the loverly fingernails from this post and the adventures of yarn winding in this post

So here is the finished product. A simple seamless felted bag.

I have been using the bags to teach her some new knitting techniques and we have knitted the bags tag team style.

The blue bag with green stripes is for her and the other for her best friend.

The third bag was just the leftover yarn with which I felt the compulsion to do something.

I actually like the striping pattern of the smallest bag best but I ran out of yarn before I got it the length I wanted. I did discover that it will make a handy traveling knitting bag.

The pattern is my own and will be available through Ravelry shortly.

In my despondency over the sweater-that-shall-not-be-named, I cast on another sweater – Hey Teach. This pattern is moving along quite nicely. It is a nice easy and fun knit and the yarn – Valley Yarns Goshen – is an absolute dream. I cannot tell you how much I love this yarn.

This is the back before blocking.

This is the left front visiting the unblocked back.

I plan to be wearing this beauty by the weekend. Let’s hope it actually fits.

I another post, I will tell you the heartbreak that is Diminishing Rib cardigan. But for now, I dare not speak of these things.

Warning: No knitting after this point.

I have also been doing lots of reading lately. One of the books I have been reading was Pilgrim’s Progress. These last photos are for Daisy. Please ignore them if you aren’t interested in non-knitting content, Pilgrim’s Progress or books in general.

Cloth hard cover.

Porter calls Discretion to the Door of the Palace

Pilgrims in sight of the holy city

Children eat of the enemy’s fruit

In case you wondered…

…what I have been doing lately.

Exploring nature with my kids

Found this little guy wandering around the squishy part of the yard.

Working on my vegetable garden

These are green bean plants. We have also planted tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peas, bell peppers, and some herbs. Oh, and SmallFry wanted me to tell you that he planted sunflowers and zinnias.

Trying to get the yard work done – when it stops raining for a minute or two.

The kids decided that mowing the lawn wasn’t that much fun. It has rained so much that it is difficult to keep it cut.

Enjoying my Mother’s Day flower.

The kids picked out one to fit in my rooster planter.

Celebrating my husband’s birthday

The kids gave him a Star Trek party complete with a cake they decorated.


But what dad really asked for was Strawberry Shortcake. We compromised just a bit.

And enjoying the other blooms from around my yard.

Clematis on the wishing well.


Lilies that bloomed for my anniversary.

I have been doing a bit of knitting to but that I will save for another post.