A Little Yarn On The Side

In spite of all Mr. Sparky's attempts, I did actually finish the pajamas on Friday in spite of the pattern being a bit off--the way they had the pieces laid out for the medium was just impossible--I even got out the ruler & did the math--but luckily I had extra material this time, so I still got pajamas. Yesterday I finished a fleece blanket for winter though I might add our names to it later, or maybe a few beads or something.  BUT, I have now used over 60 yards of material this year.  Whoo hoo!!!!! The pajamas are just in time, as it's gotten quite cold here.  The cats no longer want to go outdoors, so they have to find new ways to amuse themselves.  Calisto has taken up yoga and Theo greatly amused the piano tuner on Friday by hopping up on the piano bench and playing some of the keys to watch the hammers hit the strings once the front of the piano was removed.  I've had my grandmother's piano for quite some time, but Andy refinished it this y...

Mr. Sparky has been part of the Chateau Sutton-Goar household for about 3 years, but until the last couple days, we were unaware of the tricks Mr. Sparky can do.  He started off his show by setting off the smoke alarms in the house TWICE, though we're still not completely clear how as there was no visible smoke or steam pouring out of him.  I thought perhaps there was something clogging his "pores," so I ran some vinegar through him to remove any mineral deposits, at which time I was introduced to a new trick--constant beeping and flashing of lights and screen.  It had a pretty decent rhythm, so this might have been the musical portion of the evening.  When unplugged and plugged in again, he introduced his next trick--a constant clicking & flashing of lights, sort of like a festive timebomb--then finished the entire act by setting off the smoke alarms again.  As we seriously hate to hold anyone back from his or her true calling, Mr. Sparky has been invite...

To summarize how MY day went...... did you know it was possible to set the smoke alarm off while ironing?????

So, there are 57 days left in the year.....which means I can buy yarn in 58 days.  Of course, since I have only used up 57 skeins of yarn so far this year, there hasn't been much of a dent in the stash overall, so the question is......... Do I Continue Cold Sheeping in 2010? I'd like to say I have grown & matured enough to be trusted with the option of buying yarn without going on a total free-for-all with the Visa, but I'd like to be taller too, and that hasn't happened either. My original plan was to buy yarn for one sweater each for Andy & I, then go back to cold sheep, but that little naggy voice in the back of my mind that is always SUCH a kill-joy has nicely reminded me that I still haven't finished the Kauni cardigan, which was my reward yarn for LAST year.  I'll probably just Beginend up ignoring Little Miss Buzz-Kill, but that does raise an interesting point. Before I started the FIRST year of Cold Sheeping, I bought--well, and insane ...

....you would be absolutely correct.  Since the costumes turned out pretty darn well, if I do say so myself, I have been taking it a bit easy on the crafting front.  However, one can only rest on one's "laurels" so long before one's "laurels" get sore, so...... meet the November Project of the Month.  Flannel pajamas!  How amazingly appropriate, don't you think?  There may have been a little peaking when drawing out of the project bin, but a project is a project.  The fabric is washed & I'm in the process of ironing it now.  In general, I love having a front-loading washing machine, but it can really turn long pieces of fabric into some serious knots. Not forgetting about my Double Dog Dare challenge, the Kimono Shawl has moved to the forefront The alpaca cardigan is super-close to being done, but I'm going to set that aside for just a little bit to see if I can channel the momentum to finish this project within November.  There are s...

They are done, finished, and have been worn!!!!!  (And without losing any parts of Andy's costume even)  The finished pirate look: And I finally wore the Dorothy costume I finished last year: Complete with the basket, Toto, "Witchy Water" for any Wicked Witch-type emergencies, a bottle of poppy killer, and a travel guide, because Dorothy probably learned her lesson about being prepared after that first trip to Oz. We attended a fabulous party last night--getting home around 1:00 AM, so today I'm feeling more like Cinderella's pumpkin than anything Dorothy.  A good day for some knitting......

Really, how many times has that actually happened for me? Remember the October Project of the Month? Ta-da!!!!  A simple little blanket, and my first ever tied quilt because in general I don't really like tied quilts, but on the second-to-last day of the month, I can learn to be flexible. ..... Theo was so thrilled to be sewing again that I actually had to scoot him away from the machine a few times I will never understand how the cats can be positive that the vacuum cleaner equals certain death, but they are both completely unafraid of the noise of the sewing machine.  Personally, I've sustained more injuries from sewing than vacuuming......but that could have something to do with how often I do each one, come to think of it.  I finished the blanket early enough that I had time to finally finish the ribbing on the alpaca sweater. I thought I had taken pictures of my first attempts, but apparently my pride intervened.  I decided to change the neck of th...