One More Photo!

Just wanted to show you progress on the knitting front - this is the baby blanket for DGS #3 who will be joining his mom, dad, and two brothers in Florida in September (estimated arrival!) :) You can find the pattern for this here and all I'm doing is changing colors with every repeat of the pattern - using baby acrylics that I had on hand in yellow, green, blue, variegated, and white.

Lazy Sunday - NOT!

This weekend has been busy, too, making lots of bags, tho' most have been one-of-a-kind so I can't show you...but this one I have more fabric for, so if you've a bit of the wanderlust, it might be the one for you! Vintage Postcards in the Mera size (6 interior pockets). Check out Nana Sadie Rose for your special bag?
More Oressa dpn cases - this one matches the Asian Kitties Mera you see in the sidebar over there --> The Mera is probably the best size for you sock knitters looking for something that will carry all you need - socks in progress, dpn case, wallet, keys, cell, makeup case! The perfect size for small knitting projects and the Oressa case will slip right inside.

For the special sock knitter in your life who is a survivor, this lovely Pink Ribbon case, accented with pink and purple hearts on the inside flannel, to show your admiration for the struggle she's gone thru!

And The Meezer has been busy, too!
Really Mom, what else can I do, you spend so much time with that sewing machine....
And for those of you wondering, yes that's the same tearstrip, she's kept it since mid-March (I got another in the mail this week and we've got it hidden just in case this one somehow disappears! Do you know how much a Siamese resembles a crying baby when they're upset?)
It's my toy...I love my toy...you can't have my toy...I'm NOT obsessed
...The Meezer
The Meezer brings this to bed every night...we have a rousing game of catch me if you can...but ONLY on the bed. In the middle of the night, I'll find the toy dropped on my face, or in my open hand, because at 3 a.m., The Meezer has decided "It's Playtime!"


Here I am overseeing the work done at Nana Sadie Rose...She acts like I'm such a trial...but she knows I'm her very best sewing assistant (knitting assistant, too!)...The Meezer

More Oressa DPN Cases!

Purple and white polka dots on the outside, inside the softest flannel in lavender solid and a sweet purple lamb patchwork! Nestle your double point needles in here for their rest between socks!
Each Oressa Double Point Needle case is closed with an elastic loop and button, not velcro that will snag your yarn!
These cats are stylin' - how about those retro 1950s chairs? These black cats have the best fashion sense!
In turquoise and avocado with a neat modular boxes flannel inside.
Don't wear your heart on your sleeve! Put them on your dpn case, though. This hot pink heart fabric will certainly be easy to find in your knitting bag. The pockets are pink and red hearts on white flannel.
Buttons on your case are often vintage from my mother's button boxes and the entire case is lined with extra padding to protect your precious double points and crochet hooks.
Click on the pink rose stained glass button over there ----> to see more of Nana Sadie Rose's creations. And if you'd like any of these items here, email me at siameezercatATyahooDOTcom.

Busy Day!

A new Oressa DPN case - The striped flannel fabric was serendipitous - the colors match perfectly! I made two of these today, plus another Oressa and 3 Nana Sadie Rose bags, as well...a busy, busy day!
This is a lovely Jacobean floral in my favorite colors of purple, pink, blue, green, and yellow.
This last photo is of MY FIRST PAIR OF SOCKS! They were completed this evening...Whoohooo! (can't tell I love purples, pinks, and blues, now can you??
(((hugs)))

The Meezer's Adventures Continued...

Hmmmm....bamboo sock needles or tearstrip? Which is more interesting for a meezer like me?
Tearstrip wins paws-down! ...The Meezer

Yarn Focus Challenge - Free Day!

Today was my one "free" day this month on the Yarn Focus Challenge so I made a few purchases: sock yarns at KnitPicks and their Entrelac Tote pattern and the yarn for it; a variegated yellow-blue-green-white yarn to go with the solids I already had in stash for a baby blanket for DGS#3 (due in Sept.) from Walmart; a skein of Swizzle by Reynolds in the colorway Cobalt for Wendy's Generic Toe-up Sock from my LYS when I stopped to pick up the SB Quicksilvers I'd ordered. I did plan for today to be my Free Day on the Yarn Focus Challenge. A big part of the Challenge is to think about your purchases of yarn, instead of buying for the sake of buying.

More time for consideration as the Knitpicks order will arrive in a couple of weeks, and I have handdyed yarn coming from Knit n Purl Zen for Clapotis in exchange for Roxanne's Mavis bag (this barter was made before I even knew about the Yarn Focus!). In the meantime, I now have my SB Quicksilvers so I can get back to knitting my Highland Triangle Shawl from Folk Shawls, which has been waiting patiently...I had a "near catastrophe" with it when my Denise needles extension came apart in my hands, not once, but twice! I was able to catch the stitches back onto the cable (WHEW!), but decided I wanted the security of a solid needle and cable to finish this large and heavy shawl. Then I also have the socks down below that are ALMOST done.

Photos as soon as possible, I promise!

Oressa DPN Case - Knitting Kittens! Too Sweet!

This is the purrrfect spot to store your dpns when they're not in use. I thought this knitting kittens flannel was a natural choice - Sweet white kittens knitting dark pink SOCKS on a light pink background.


Their needles are brown, and there are dark pink balls of yarn... just too cute!

The outside fabric is a wonderful brown stranded yarn swirled over the pink background of this fabric. It rolls up and closes with a pale pink heart button and elastic loop. Just Yummy! Email me at siameezercatATyahooDOTcom for your own special Oressa dpn case...Just the spring treat for sock knitters...(or let it hold your crochet hooks, too!)

A Matter of Restraint...

9 days. Nine Days. NINE. Only 9????

I began the Yarn Focus Challenge on April 10. Yup. Nine days. {sigh}

I've been very very good. I have a large cart full of yarn at KnitPicks and a somewhat smaller one at elann. I have shopped. And shopped. And SHOPPED. But I have not bought. I'm amazed. I'm also pretty proud of myself. It's amazing how much I think about yarn. How often I'm prone to stop at AC Moore, Michaels, or some other store on the way home for a ball of dishcloth cotton, or some such. How often I tend to make an online purchase. When there's no box at my door when I get home at night, it's like withdrawal from a drug...or smoking...
;)
I'm learning I can withstand the compulsion (I'm still obsessive, but I don't have to act on it).

You know what else occurred during this 10 days? I learned I am a sock maniac. I was already a lace shawl addict. But fortunately it takes quite a bit of yarn to make a shawl, and I've bought a lot of yarn for shawls, and not had any where near the time to make them all up. So I'm feeling pretty flush with lace yarn.

But ... socks? Well, I just got started. Just. I don't have a sock yarn stash. I'm only just learning about Regia, Opal, Lorna's Laces, Cherry Tree Hill, Koigu. We won't talk about those multiple balls and skeins of sock yarn in my two shopping carts patiently waiting...for what?

OH...for my "free" yarn purchase day. On the Yarn Focus Challenge, we get one free day a month. So when is that?

When I can't stand it anymore...which is probably going to be pretty darn soon.

That brings up another point: how is the second sock coming? Past the toe, turned the heel, started the patterning on the cuff. I'll show you when it's off the needles and on my foot - I want to show you BOTH OF THEM ON MY FEET! By the weekend, I'm sure!

New Fabrics For Spring! Nana Sadie Rose!

If you've been thinking of a new spring bag, just take a look at some of the new fabrics that have been arriving in my mailbox! Most of them are florals, but ...
How about this lovely vintage lingerie fabric? And since brown is the new black...you could choose the great combinations of brown and pink or brown and turquoise...
Just visit Nana Sadie Rose to special order your new bag!

Bestest Toy!

Mommie can't believe I'm still so loyal to this tear strip, but it's just the best thing...I carry it everywhere I go, I fetch it, I love it, I jump up on the desk to get her attention to play with me with it.

I even sleep with it. And why is it weird to be loyal to a toy? I'm completely loyal to my Mommie! She doesn't think that's weird...
....The Meezer

Warming Grace

If you have a few moments and would like to help Cynthia with her project to create blankets for her niece, Grace, and her friend, Simone, two little girls taking chemotherapy for leukemia, please knit a 5-inch square with pink in it? Chemo isn't a fun thing for anyone, but I can't imagine anyone so young having to undergo this treatment. Anything we can do, to help make that more bearable, I certainly want to do. Check out the pink button over there ---> on the sidebar for more information.
I'm sending Grace & Simone extra special, quite gentle (((((hugs)))))

Yarn Focus Challenge

It's time for this. Thank goodness Deb joined, or I might not have seen it. But ever since I Flashed my Stash on April Fool's Day, I've felt like something of a fool. I don't have near the stash of some folks, I know, but what I have is more than I feel comfortable with. No, at present it's staying here, because I have a good use for all of it! ;) But it's time to step back and think twice before I buy - this isn't a yarn diet - I tried that before and it didn't work. Diets don't. This is a concerted attempt to be rational in my purchases. I can still buy - once a month...a "free day" to buy. But then after that, if I buy again in the month, the ticker starts over. It's a low-key group - we don't get hyper and crazy if you miss the target, but we do hope everyone is accountable on their blogs (and honest). This is more a mindfulness exercise. Just to get you to think before you do (and oh, boy, do I need to think before I buy!).

If you're interested in where my philosophical foundation of this decision is coming from ... in the next couple of days, I promise Nana Sadie's Place will have an explanation. Till then, I will focus! Join us? Just jog on over to Rebekah's blog.

1st Sock Done!

I'm so excited! It's done and I love it and I can't wait to start the second one so I can cover BOTH of my feet! WhoooHooo! SOCKS!

Library Book Sadie Tote

I was so tickled with this one, I had to share! This fabric is gorgeous, antique books with the gilded lettering (yes, the fabric is gilded, too!) and the size of this bag makes it perfect for anyone who works as a librarian, loves books, or has to tote a LOT of stuff (your knitting, your lunch)! Even the laptop fits in here, and there are two pockets sized perfectly for your water bottle, too! (Nana Sadie Rose thinks of everything) Visit my website and place your order? (and btw, the red latch on that bag is really reflecting as RED - it's not, it's burgundy to match the books on the bag!)

Prizes & Gifts! Oh MY!

I stopped by my Post Office Box today and what did I find? These two packages: Rebecca had sent two skeins of Tahki Stacy Charles Tweedy Cotton Classic from her stash in an ice-cream colorway for my (rather odd) answer to the housecleaning question on her blog and Birdsong had sent along a scissors case (with stork scissors!) that she thinks Nana Sadie Rose should consider carrying on her website (we're considering it!).

And when you think that I had a GOOD day of shopping for fabrics today, all in all, not a bad one at all...in spite of the gloomy skies around here.

Thank you to both Rebecca and Birdsong! Love and ((((hugs)))) to you both!

1st Sock Photos!

This is a close-up of the "mock cable" pattern of the sock. Btw, The Meezer would have joined me in this photo session, but she was busy cowering under the bed during our "shock and awe" thunderstorms that passed through tonight ahead of a cold front...She's not a brave girl when it comes to storms but all the girls were frightened this time.
And here the sock on my foot! Okay...what are those small holes there? I am tugging the yarn as I move from dpn to dpn, I shouldn't have those holes...no I won't frog back, I'll darn those instead...this is my FIRST sock...arrrghhh.

Thursday Surprises!

A surprise package from Jane was in my mailbox when I got home tonight! Looks just like the loveliest floral cluster of jewels, doesn't it? It's stitch markers threaded on a grosgrain ribbon! I'm not sure I want to unthread them, tho', 'cause they're just too pretty! Thank you, Jane! (((hugs)))
Then...you see that sock in the photo down below? Well...Thanks to Rae in my RVSpinKnit group tonight - I've turned the heel! Wheeee...Lots of surprises this Thursday night. Who'd a thunk I'd be knitting SOCKS and LACE just over a year ago when I started this blog? Well, I surely didn't! (photos to follow soon...I promise!)

First Sock I've Ever Knit - Wow!!

"Mom, I know this sock thing is exciting, but do you really plan to wear those sticks stuck out around your foot?" ...The Meezer.

Ignore ME?

"You may not ignore me by sewing...I will settle between your makeshift footrest and the sewing machine foot pedal. You will be forced to acknowledge that I am still the most important thing in your universe...OR ELSE!" ...The Meezer.

FLASH Your STASH! Soft, Sensuous, Sexy! :)

First up? Sock yarn...I have also purchased three books in an attempt to finally learn to knit socks. (Okay...one book I bought just for the patterns...) Maybe in the next century I'll get a pair made? >^..^< Oh! And that's 3 skeins of Himalayan Silk gifted me at Christmas...I may add it to the Ruana stash...haven't decided yet.

Then this lovely Jo Sharp Cotton in colorway Crete for Annie's Silk Corset KAL - button on the sidebar! I love this beigey-sagey color! My MFMPPF loves this pattern, and it's for HIS eyes ONLY! >^..^<

Yarn for 6 shawls - Merinos and Alpacas, then Peruvian Baby Cashmere...what a sensuous romp this was, pulling all these yarns together for the photo! (how many hits do you think that'll get me from Google?)

Below you'll see what I think of as my "find of the year" - vintage navy wool and camel yarn from France. I was lucky enough to find 12 skeins purchased by the friend of a friend who decided not to knit it! This is such luxurious yarn...just as soft and sexy as the ones above!


I also have 16 skeins of Berroco Cotton Twist that I frogged from Knitter's Sunset Wrap and am planning to use to make another Clapotis for DD. And I have some of Roxanne's lovely variegated yarn coming to make my OWN Clapotis with...(I frogged the first one I was making for DD out of Caron's Rainbow Dreams - it hurt my hands to knit with - has found a new home with Jane as she loves it! (I love finding new forever homes for cats, yarn, whatever!)

In my stash but not photoed are many skeins of lovely novelty yarns (I am NOT a snob) for making interesting scarves...when I get the time. And of course, much dishcloth cotton. Would YOU consider, taking a few moments a week to knock out one simple dishcloth? Hold onto it and build a stash? Because Cloths for Crisis is trying to plan ahead - we know there'll be a reason for our cloths in the future (hurricane season starts in two months!) and it would be lovely to already have some cloths made to begin to ship out immediately to those in need! (((hugs)))

WOW. That's some stash...and I didn't even show Ruana (I did that just a couple weeks or so ago...check my archives if you'd like to see?). I'm so glad I did this exercise. Maybe I won't feel such a need to buy yarn for a bit? Nnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww. What fun is that? :)