Tag Archives: Kosher Sweater


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no idea what title to put

Here’s Mommy with Jakob at 41 weeks (last week). I know it’s not the clearest of photos, but I love the way he’s cracking up, and couldn’t resist posting it.
Here’s another shot. I know he’s not looking- but guess why I posted it? I’m wearing the Kosher Sweater! You can see here that the sleeves are a little baggy, but otherwise I love the sweater. It’s great to throw on with a pair of jeans, but boy- the Decor yarn is warmer than I’d thought!
Here’s a photo from today, of Mommy with Jakob at 42 weeks. I need to start wearing makeup, or tanning, or something- I look so pale and washed out!

This is a photo from yesterday. Jakob was having fun sitting and “hiding” in his little tunnel, and popping his head out to “surprise” me. Did I mention that he crawls now? And he waves to EVERYONE. I have it on video, I should post it one of these days…

So is anyone out there wondering what I did on Monday night that I was so excited about? Get your minds out of the gutter- I dyed yarn for the first time! Maaike and I went over to Gillian’s house (another member of the MKG) and Gillain taught us how to dye yarn. We used regular dyes that we mixed with rubbing alcohol (as opposed to Kool-Aid or natural dyes) then heated them in the microwave to set them, and we each dyed 3 skeins.
This is what mine looked like after I got home, re-nuked them, did a few rinses and hung them up to dry. The one to the right I dyed in an attempt to get a fake “Fair Isle” look like the self-striping Regia yarns. I find the colors look very “preppy”, so I call it my Oxford yarn. The one in the middle is my Black Cherry yarn; it is mostly black with random splashes or Madder and Grenadine colors. The one on the left is my best achievement, I think. It is dyed to be self-striping (the stripes are longer than the number of inches it takes to work 1 round) and goes in 5 shades of green from dark to light. I worked hard at watering down the colors to get a subtle transition, and I LOVE it. I also dyed this yarn, my Celery yarn, with a specific project in mind. I’ve wanted to knit Mona‘s Embossed Leaves Socks (ravelry link) for the longest time, but have mostly striped or patterned sock yarns in my stash, and wanted something a little more solid or subtle to let the lace show up properly. I also wanted something “leafy”, be it green, brown or orange tones. Well, I can’t wait to start those socks now, because this yarn is exactly what I was looking for!
I should have taken photos of the yarn twisted into traditional skeins, but I forgot. Anyways, here’s Oxford. I know it looks weird to have the solid section and the striped section. I’m hoping that as I knit it will make 2 spirals up the foot, one solid, and one patterned.
Here’s Celery. This photo actually shows a pretty accurate color. I don’t have the stripes lying in order, but you can kinda see the transition from one shade to the next.
Finally, here’s Black Cherry. I love this color too! I’m hoping to find a good pattern for this yarn, something with cables maybe, or perhaps lace…but something that works well with a more solid yarn. I can work a project like the Jaywalker Socks (Ravelry link) in any old striping yarn. The pattern for this sock has to be special!


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speedy gonzales

I have so much I want to blog about!

First of all- I’m really impressed by this. I found this speed typing test on both of my cousins’ blogs (Amy, Robyn). I had taken a touch typing class in high school because I used to want to be an author, and figured it would come in handy. I think it is one of the best “investments” I’ve ever made, it is a skill that I use daily. I remember being able to type 75 wpm in class, but today I kicked my old score’s butt! I managed to type 89 words per minute! At work, while half paying attention to Jakob! With only 1 spelling mistake! Go me! 🙂

89 words

Speedtest

The project I mentioned in the last post, the one that is FINALLY finished, is my Kosher Sweater. I had started it waaaaay back in April 2005. Anyone remember that? I had borrowed a bulky-gauge knitting machine from my friend Nicole and had worked up a sweater with Patons Decor in a smoky grey/charcoal color. Knitting the front, back and both sleeves took the better part of one afternoon. I seamed it the next day, and over the course of that week (I think, I am going from memory here) I did a sewn-down hemmed neckline, added a crochet edge for stability, and did the ribbings on the cuffs. For some reason I’d decided to do a k3p1 rib for 5 rows then switch to a k1p1 rib for another 5. The sleeves were fine, but working that rib on the bottom of the sweater was long and boring! Against my better judgement (I was fed up with ribbing) I bound off after the 5 rows of k1p1 rib, even though I had a feeling the ribbing would flip up. I think I was trying to be “professional” and did a sewn bind off, however I must have been interrupted with 4 inches (!) left to bind off and I left the sts on a holder. And put the sweater, 4 extra balls of yarn and my yarn scraps into a bag. And left it for nearly 3 years.

When I found it last week I couldn’t bear to leave it in that nearly finished state any longer. It took me 3 nights to pick out the sewn bind off and put it back on the needles, and then another night or two to do an extra 11 rows of k1p1 rib. I bound it off, sewed in my ends and tried it on…

It fits! Really well! The sleeves are a little baggy for my taste, and the neckline isn’t as low as I would like, but otherwise it fits well, and is really comfy! I threw it in the washer and dryer this weekend and am wearing it, at work, while I type this. Finally, a knit for me! 🙂

I’d like to post photos, but the battery in my camera died. It is charging at home so hopefully I’ll be able to put up some photos tonight.

When I do post the photos, I’ll have some other ones to show you too…I had a VERY productive night last night. (I still can’t get the song verse “I just dyed in your arms tonight” out of my head…)


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finally finished!!!

Recognize this? You probably don’t, unless you’ve been reading my blog for 3 or so years, and unless you have a REALLY good memory. Let’s just say that something I started in APRIL 2005, and has been sitting in a bag at 99.44% completion ever since, is FINALLY DONE.

I apologize for the abundance of caps, but I’m really excited about this. It’s finished. And it fits!!!

I just have a few ends to weave in and then I’ll post it in all its glory. Whether or not you’ll see it on me will depend on if I had a chance to shower. 🙂

Anyone know what comes after Noah? I’ve been playing a demo version of Noah’s Ark (by Astraware, I think) and after each target point amount you hit a new level. I think I started off as a shepherd, then a master shepherd, etc… leading my way up the ranks through Noah’s son, his wife, and now finally Noah himself. You get to the rank of Noah at 100 000 000 points, and then it says the next rank is at 999 999 999 points. I’ve been playing for a few weeks now, slowly raising my score, aiming for that huge number. I’m already on level 570 (each screen is a new level). I don’t particularily enjoy the game. It’s fun as a diversion, but the main reason I’m playing is to see what comes next. My guess is “God”. Any ideas?