Uli's Creative Corner

Oh another Monday............ and since we had our holiday last Monday, we're not off today like my friends and famiy in the U.S. are.

I worked and worked on my WIP's this weekend and I did make some progress so here are some pictures.

Charlotte only made it to Row 104 but since it was my goal to get to row 100 this week, I exceeded that goal by 4 rows. I'm almost into the solid Colour 4 knitting. Here she is........ a little scrunched up as I don't have needles that are long enough to spread it all out on:

I let myself have some stress over the size of Charlotte and whether I'd be too big to even have her wrap around me when she's done but I've given up on that. All I have is the yarn that she came with and this one, I'm finishing up as she's meant to be and then I'll decide what to do when I make another one. No sense stressing over a project that's so lovely as Charlotte. I'm plugging away, row by row.

Phil'Onde took over all of a sudden. I was getting into the groove and really enjoying working with the yarn so I just kept working away at it. Not much to see but a sea of stocking stitche but you can see the lovely colour graduation of the blue Phil'Onde yarn.

I'm only a few inches away from getting to the armhole shaping, however, I am already on my first ball of the solid colour so I know I will not have enough yarn. Need to go buy some more....... I think I might try to finish the back and one sleeve and then decide how much more I need to buy. It depends on how quickly I'll be able to finish the back.

And then, I got carried away with Erika's Sunshine Ruffles. Well, I didn't get carried away but all of a sudden I realized how close I was to starting the colour work section so I pushed it to get to that point. Now that I'm doing the little simple bit of colour work, each round is going quite slowly. There isn't much to see yet but the colours are so lovely. Erika seems to like it, too.

And last but not least, I'm 2 or 3 inches away from reaching the armhole shaping for the Tank Top:

It's not a good picture but the colours really are very nice. I think I will like this one.

The weekend was crazy but nice at the same time. I don't know how I found so much knitting time but somehow I did. I think it was because Erika was just so in love with her Uncle Ian that she demanded much less of my attention than usual. Ian is gone now. He left early this morning and I am kind of glad that our couch will be our couch again and that I can air out the house from the smell of smoke. Even though he doesn't smoke in the house, the scent carries through the house.

Found this over at Knitti-Me

U	Unnatural
L	Lively
R	Relaxed
I	Irresistible
K	Keen
E	Excellent

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

I'm off for now. Have a nice Monday.

It was a short week, yet it has seemed long.  Long and tiring and I'm tired.  I'm wearing my V-neck T-shirt today and so far, the response has been great.  I'm glad people seem to be noticing.

Uncle Ian arrived last night and Erika sure was the most excited little girl.  She was such a little show-off.  Woweeee...... It was fun to see her have such a fun evening. 

I didn't get home particularly early yesterday because I stayed late at the office trying to resolve some computer issues.  So I didn't get any quiet Charlotte time.  So I spent most of last night working on my Phil'Onde revival.  It's just rows and rows of stocking stitch right now going from dark blue and fading into the lighter shade of blue.  The fading is almost all done and I think I'm getting close to the first ball being finished.  I'm enjoying it so far.  I think this time around it will work out for what me and what I want it to be.

At one point, I did pick up Charlotte for a bit and did 2 rows but there were too many distractions going on so I was a bit frustrated so I put her down again.

I'm feeling very, very tired today.  I hope the day will go by without any major events.  I'm hoping to go to the LYS at lunch time to return one hank of my Araucania Nature Cotton and maybe for a little treat.  Have a good one and enjoy your weekend (your long weekend if you're in the States).

What a great knitting evening.  American Idol was a great show to knit to last night.  I think Fantasia deserved to win but I would have loved to see Diana get it as well.  I loved the spunk and spirit of this young girl as well as her voice and how much she managed to grow through the competition.  Very focused young lady.

So I got 6 inches done on my tank top which looked something like this prior to me getting going on it yesterday.

The stitch pattern is a 3X1 rib so the one purl stitch kind of disappears among the knit stitches so it almost looks like a textured stockinette stitch fabric with the elasticity of a rib.  We'll see how it works out as we progress.

No Charlotte progress because I was finishing my S.P. gift when I came home.  I'm just not sure that I'm happy with it.  The yarn I used is a pretty yarn but split very easily so the knitting is not as perfect as it could be. 

Now I did promise a model shot of the Tiny Tots DK shirt and here it is..........

A couple of comments:  The button in the back didn't get done up so the front neck line gapes more than it actually does.  And look at how big it is on my small sized munchkin.  She's mostly in size 2 but can still get away with wearing 18 month sized clothes a lot of the time.  This sweater is a size 3/4 so I am guaranteed that she will get wear out of it through the fall.  When I asked her if she would try it on for Mommy, she flat out said NO but I did make her put it on and in front of the camera she just ends up hamming it up.  I didn't put up the really fake plastered on smile shot........  She's also not wearing the right shirt with it underneath.  I think a pink or white turtleneck in the winter would look awesome with it.

And here's what nap time looks like around our house:

Erika is very excited about her Uncle Ian arriving tonight (just a friend - not a real uncle).  She's telling everyone that he's coming on the ferry boat with his truck and that he'll stay at Erika's house.  I'm just hoping for lots of knitting time (or maybe even some quilting time) this weekend.  I'm enjoying my projects but I'm feeling a little blah about having nothing in progress that's close to completion that will give me that satsifaction and gratification (or even the justifcation to start a new project) of a new finished object.

I am eagerly awaiting a couple of patterns from Rob.  I ordered the Cottage Creations Rambling Rows jacket (see his May 21 entry for a cute rendition of it for a baby jacket) and the Babies and Bears pattern (see the May 17 entry for an awesome little baby cardigan made from Koigu Kersti).  I will have a couple of babies to knit for later this year and I think those are just too cute.

The weather is frightening out today.  The rain is just pouring down.  I think I'll stay put in my little corner of the world for now as I don't even have a jacket here at the office. (it's in the car - smart move on my part.......)

Almost Friday.  I'm looking forward to the weekend.

I feel like a boring post coming on.  I have no pictures, I have no exciting knitting to report on...... mind you, this weekend was filled with quite a bit of excitement and finishing.  Now I don't really have anything on the needles that's close to completion.  I'll be working on stuff for a while before I get to the finish line again.

Thanks for all the awesome comments on my projects yesterday.  I will need to give you a model shot of Blue Hawaii sometime because it looks so drab and boring in the picture but it's really quite cute when it's worn.  Leandra, if you stop by again..... English or German..... doesn't really matter to me.  I speak them both fluently and I miss speaking German on a regular basis.  And yes, I will still try and get Erika to model that Tiny Tots DK shirt for me - even if it will be a struggle.

Charlotte Progress: I have completed row 92.  That's 36% complete by my trusty little calculations.  I just introduced colour #4 and although you can't see much of the colour change (only worked 2 rows in the new colour) I love this colour change from the purples in to the orange/red tones.  Very, very pretty.

It was a rainy night so the evening actually seemed long.  Erika has her own computer now so we had to play games.  Evan set an old PC up for her, networked to our regular PC.  She has an old, old keyboard and an old mouse.  Now a few sticky fingers won't matter.  We installed some Toddler computer programs for her and she's been having a blast.  My knitting time was spent working a bit more on the Phil'Onde (I've worked 5" of the back now - slow, slow growing).  And just before bed time, I worked 2 or 3 rows on the tank top.

Evan's good friend is coming to visit this weekend.  He'll arrive tomorrow evening and leave again Tuesday morning.  Boring for me..... That's okay.  I'll at least be home most of the weekend.  Not too much running around to do.  There was a quilt show in Abbots ford that I was planning on dragging Evan to but that won't happen now.  But that's okay, too.  I don't need even more inspiration.  I already can't finish the projects I'm already working on.

Time to run..... Enjoy your Wednesday.

I had a little bit of time so I managed to upload the Charlotte spreadsheet for your own downloading pleasure.  In the left sidebar, scroll down to Charlotte Spreadsheet, right click on the link and Save the file to your computer.  In my version of Internet Explorer/Windows the option is called "Save Target As....."

What a lovely long weekend.  I'm not happy that I'm back to work today because I still have lots of unfinished things lying around from the weekend but what matters is that we had a really fun weekend.  The stories I could tell about Erika and her steel trapped mind............ here are a few!!!  We're at church on Sunday and at a quiet, contemplative moment she uses her most persistent voice and yells out for everyone to hear that she wants to go to the running track (there's a highschool and a sports field right outside the church).  Yesterday, she went into Playland at McDonalds and she gets really, really scared as she gets to the top so Evan had to climb after her because she's sobbing and screaming inside this wonderful play structure.  Other parents are looking on going "Oh, my God.....".  Evan climbs in and coaxes her down the slide and as she's sliding she's starting to enjoy it and starts giggling.  So as she comes out the chute, she giggles gets up runs back to the entrance and goes "one more time".  Evan tells her that she'll have to do it on her own this time and to only go if she isn't scared and she happily goes ahead until we hear the scared sobbing and crying again from the top of the slide.  So, Daddy to the rescue again.  Third time trying to go into the play structure we didn't let her and that wasn't a happy moment either.... go figure out a 2 year old.  I'm glad I wasn't by myself.... there is no way I would have climbed in there.  I think I would get stuck.  And what else..... last night Evan went to take Erika to the park by himself because I needed to finish up the ironing and some other chores and Erika says..... Mommy stay home to do her knitting..... oh my kiddo.  She knows me too well.

Here's how we spent most of our Saturday:

Doesn't she look grown up??? (except for maybe the thumb....)

I did get a few early mornings to do some work on Charlotte and I'm on row 82 now.  Look at her......... this is not quite a row 82 shot.  Maybe a row 72 shot.

I can't say often enough how much I'm enjoying this project.  I think there will be more Charlotte's in my future and I'm thinking there might be more shawls in my future, too.  I'm thinking of at least a very nice but casual shawl to have here at the office on those days when I just can't warm up in the mornings etc.

Now to my finishing pursuits.  Erika's Tiny Tots DK shirt is now finally blocked and finished.  You can see the details over in the Knitting Gallery 2004.  I already showed it once here and I still have no Erika model shots so this will have to do.

And here's Blue Hawaii.  I didn't get a chance to model it but I'm wearing it today.  It's comfy.  I like the fit.  I've received some good compliments already so I'm pleased.  The picture does not do it justice at all.

Details:

Yarn: Araucania Nature Cotton

Pattern: Knitter's Magazine - Spring 2004

Needles: 5.5 mm

New things: I haven't made a twisted chord in years and I've never made one to be used as a closure.  I like it.

And I'm leaving the V-neck T-shirt for last because that's the model shot and you know how much I like myself in pictures but here you go.  I really like this little sweater.

Yarn: Phildar Cotton Flamme

Pattern: Knitting Pure & Simple

What else did I do in knitting news?  I'm almost finished my secret project that I can't talk about here.  I started the Tank Top using Nova La Playa yarn in shade 9907.  I got a couple of inches done and I like the feel of it.  The yarn is a bit of a pain to work with.  It splits like crazy so it makes for slow knitting.  I think the result will be great though.  And I re-started my Phil'Onde once again.  I think we're in the game now.  I'm making up my own pattern.  I'll show you as it grows.

In othere news..... I planted two things in the garden yesterday.  I planted my big hanging basket.  I hope it works out as well as it did last year because it was a show stopper last year.  I bought these Stack-A-Pots at a Home & Garden show last year and I combined 5 layers to make a tall structure and planted it with all kinds of trailing bedding plants from trailing petunias to Bacopia to trailing snap dragons etc. etc.  Last year it was great.  I hope I did as good of a job this year.  I won't really know until all the little baby plants grow up.  Right now it doesn't make for an interesting picture but I'll post a picture as it grows up and starts blooming.  And then I planted a mass of impatients in my strawberry pot with the expectation that this will also generate just a mass of pretty little flowers.  I still have more garden work and planting to do but the big basket took me a few hours to put together and I ran out of plants so with some luck the rest will get done next weekend.

How's that for a long weekend?  I enjoyed myself.

Oh, such a lovely and relaxing Saturday. 

Erika and I went to music class this morning.  She just loves it and we had lots of fun.  As she's getting older and starting to be one of the older ones in the group she is starting to get so much out of it.  It's very, very cool.  We sing and play and have fun.  Then she promised me to be good at the yarn store if I would take her to the Lollypop (Holly Pop in her world of devloping language) store (aka Shopperh's Drugmart) afterward.  Well, she was okay at the yarn store but she kept reminding me of the lollypops so I didn't get much of a chance to look at anything.  I only ended up with a 4 mm Addi Turbo to add to my collection.  I saw lots of cool stuff on my quick run through the store though.

Erika even napped this afternoon and Evan did all the pressing housework while we were out so I got to do some knitting related stuff.  To make a long story short, the V-neck T-shirt is 100% completed now and I think it looks great.  I'll get some pictures (modelled and not) taken tomorrow and post them later.  I really like this one.  It's casual, comfy and I think it fits well.

Based on my statistics, I'm almost 25% done with Charlotte.    I got up early this morning and got a few rows done.  I'm up to row 72 now.  I haven't had any major issues and I have the stitch pattern about 90% memorized now so that feels good.  I did make a few minor mistakes on one row this morning but I fixed them all.  It really is a matter of taking it nice and slow.  The stitch markers really work and I count my 8-stitch repeats on every wrong row.  That way I discover fairly quickly when something is off.  This morning I had forgot to pass over a few of the k2 together, slip 1, pass over.... I didn't pass over so I had more than 8 stitches in a few segments.  Pictures of my progress tomorrow.  I think it's really awesome that so many have come to visit to get a copy of the spreadsheet.  I really don't think it's anything major or earth shattering but plain useful (for me anyways).  What's really neat though is that by having everyone stop by, I've seen and found new blogs that I might have never come upon otherwise.  Thanks for letting me share!!!!  And if I have inadvertently missed someone, please do let me know.  If I did, it wasn't done on purpose.  And the offer still stands.......... just let me know if you want it.

It has been proven that I can't work on Charlotte with the distraction of Erika around.  It's a bit too much for me to concentrate, count and interact with a toddler so tonight, I think I will let myself cast on something else.  I'm either going to cast on my Phil'Onde over for the 3rd time or I might cast on for the Tank Top.  We'll see.  I have both yarns sitting in my yarn basket downstairs.  Or maybe I'll work on one of my other WIPs.  One of Erika's WIPs?  Oh, whatever mood strikes me.  We're about to put together some hamburgers for dinner and we'll go from there.

Have a good day.

It's Friday................... wahoo.................. and it's a long weekend for us.................... even better.

Are you interested in some Charlotte stats? Well, I found this fun to do:

1. By the time you are done with Charlotte you will have knitted 24,486 stitches. (obviously not counting and frogging, ripping, knitting backwards or re-knitting)

2. There are 154 rows to the pattern.

3. Here is how the percentage completed breaks down into the total shawl (just the knitting - not the edge or fringing portion) based on total # of stitches

- Row 10: 0.61% complete

- Row 26: 3.29% complete

- Row 51: 11.67% complete

- Row 77 (1/2 of total rows completed): 25.79% complete (so based on total stitches, when you have knit 1/2 of the rows, you're 1/4 of the way done).

- Row 99: 42.05% complete

- You're halfway between row 108 and 109

- You're 75% done between rows 133 and 134

- You're 90% done when you mark off row 146 as completed

I'm at row 52 now - so that means I've got about 12% under my belt.

But while I got all those numbers figured out very quickly, I didn't manage to get my second sleeve knit on the V-neck T-shirt. I just have to complete the ribbing so it's almost done.

Looooooooooong weekend.... we'll maybe go to the Cloverdale Rodeo and see if there's anything fun going on if the weather works out okay. That's about it. I hope to get some time on Charlotte and some time to block and finish my almost finished pieces.

Have a good one.

Last night I finished one sleeve of my T-shirt.  Only one more sleeve to go.  And the neck edge.... it's all good.

So finally, when I finished one sleeve, I decided I could pick up Charlotte for a bit.  I almost got 3 rows done when something happened upstairs.  Erika got scared of the dark and was screaming like her life was over.  She was still awake and with her Daddy.  He had to bring her downstairs and she quickly climbed in my lap.  All I could do was to put a firm hand on both my needles and just let her be.  I was worried that I might be dropping stitches though.  Well, Erika told me that she was scared of the big green eyes outside in the dark.  I don't know if she saw a cat's glowing eyes or if it was all imagination.  She fell asleep on me within minutes and then I was able to rescue Charlotte.  Fortunately I hadn't dropped any stitches or had any other disasters occur.  Erika was still talking about the big green eyes this morning.

I used to be big on music.  Well, I still am but I don't have the time these days.  My piano has sat untouched for quite a long time and my guitar... oh my poor guitar..... that last time I actually played her was the time I directed my church choir for the last time and that's already 2 years ago now.  Well, Erika has taken a real liking to singing various nursery rhymes, especially Ba, Ba Black sheep, Twinkle, Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Row, Row, Row your boat.  She listens to those stories on tape at daycare and has a book to read along with the story.  Last night I decided it was time to revive the music books I had bought even before she was born and was playing piano with her.  She sure loved it and my skill is still good enough to bang out some chords to some simple nursery rhyme melodies.  It was a lot of fun.  I'll have to do that more often.

Now who do you think will win American Idol next week?

This weekend will be a blocking and finishing weekend.  Anyone want to have a finishing party???

Have a great Thursday.

 

My lovely Charlotte is still exactly where I photographed her last.  She keeps watching me trying to do other things.  Poor thing...... all neglected.  This weekend.... It's a long weekend (so it will rain) and I'm hoping to "steal" some early morning hours of quiet time to concentrate on my dear Charlotte.  I'm glad some of you think they can make use of my little spreadsheet.  It just serves as a good reference for me.  If you would like and you don't have it yet..... let me know.  I keep forgetting to upload it to my server so I can't make it available just yet via an easy download.

Not much time last night to do any knitting.  The nice weather really hampers our inside time but I don't mind.  We went to the park last night.  It was nice.  And instead of getting time while Evan puts Erika to bed, I ended up putting Erika to bed because she wanted "just Mommy".  We read a Thomas story and I fell asleep right next to her (in our bed) and then Evan came and moved her into her bed and I had to get up and put my PJs on.  As a nice treat Evan had fixed Erika's lunch so that saved me from having to go back downstairs to do that.

I did finish the ribbing on the V-neck T-shirt so I was able to slip it on.  I love the fit of it.  It's not too fitted and it's not too big.  As I've said before, I'm so glad that I did the ripping back when I had the chance to create a better fit.  I made it bigger than the pattern in this weird thought that I'm bigger than I really am.  The largest size was large enough after all......  It will look great with jeans.  Now just the sleeves left to go.  I had knit one sleeve before ripping and it didn't take me any time at all (it's only a few inches of knitting to get the short sleeves done).  Maybe tonight.

Yesterday at lunch I found a lovely spot for some knitting so I worked on my Broadripples.  That was very enjoyable.  Today the sun isn't out yet so I'm not sure if outside knitting will be a part of my lunch hour but I do have a project with me.  I quickly started a little secret project for my secret pal yesterday.  I'm not sure if it will work out yet though..... yikes!!!

Better go.  It's Wednesday already.  Yeah!!!