My dad bought me a nice winter coat for my birthday, but it does not cover my chest area, it has a suit collar. So I am in dire need of a scarf. I have a skein of Woolease left over from the sale rack at Joann's, which I've been trying to turn into a scarf. I don't want to make anything else in stocking stitch, so I'm trying to find another stitch, and am unhappy with everything I've found online. I've tried doubling the yarn and using seed stitch, or using moss stitch. . . nothing's going well. Will keep trying.

I finished the knitting on the AV sweater. Started to sew up the seams, but realized I need to block it first b/c it's all ribbing and therefore is only like half as long as it should be in the body. So now instead of finishing the sweater it is marinating in the closet while I wait to block it. I only have one table that can be used for blocking at it is never visible under all the crap that's on it.

Decided to start working on Christmas present for the people that need presents. . . Mel will be getting a scarf and hat, probably, to match the mittens I already made. I may or may not make something for Matt's brother Jeff (he has requested a Harry Potter hat like the one I made for Matt), depends on how much of a jerk he's being at any particular time. My parents will not be getting anything handmade this year, because they just found out they're definitely moving to Brazil come June, so they would have no need for something warm. I suppose I could make them something in cotton or linen, but I don't have any of that, so it's not going to happen. I gotta use up the yarn I have, I have no money. Matt's mom will eventually be getting an afghan with the yarn she bought me a long time ago, but it probably won't be for Christmas. We're still not getting along so I'm not about to kill myself making her a present. Matt's dad? I was thinking of making him a sweater, but I probably don't have enough time, so he may just get a scarf. =)

I also finished that hat I had started, but it turned out too "shallow" so I had to make another one because I really wanted a Penn State hat to wear to the game this past weekend. It turned out it wasn't cold at all, so I didn't need it, but now I have a nice hat! Though the second one is too shallow, too, it is wearable. I made it blue with a white stripe, and the letters "PSU" written in duplicate stitch on the white with blue. It looks very professional! I can't wait to wear it. Hopefully it will be warm enough, it is made in flimsy Red Heart but I did use two strands so that should help.

I played around with designing a reversible cable scarf, and actually got a pretty good design going. I wrote it all down and took pictures of it, so I will post it here when it gets written up and developed/scanned. Unfortunately I got bored with it and am not planning on finishing it. 

Instead, I am working on a hat and scarf set for my sister who is currently freezing in Boston. I'm using that 100% wool that was going to be the market bag, and I like the way it's turning out. I'm going to make it double thick (like 2 hats, one inside the other), and I'm using a ribbing pattern where you rib one row then work the other row in st st. This is producing a very nice fabric! It's making me think "perfect for a sweater." Too bad I am going to have to wait on that, I have way too many WIPS right now.

I also just got the Vogue winter edition, and there are some cool things in there! I really want to make the cover sweater, the hooded aran, and one of the color blocked sweaters (all for myself!!!).  Also the sweater which has a pinned front looks really cool! I love this issue! Of course, I still have a list of sweaters from the LAST Vogue that I planned on making! So we'll see how much gets done out of that. . . ah, dreaming of knitting. Is there anything better? <G>

In the meantime I am on a hat kick. I finished that hat for matt and immediately had to make one for myself! I'm using yarn leftover from something else, and definitely won't have enough, so I'll put a nice thick stripe in the middle, with some other yarn. That should work out. =)

So I've picked the AV sweater up again, and am determined to finish the last 22" of sleeve, so that I can finally finally FINALLY actually finish this thing. I mean it's really not been THAT long, but it's been way longer than necessary. And it's all because I don't think I have enough yarn to finish. I picked it up with the whole sleeve left to do, with only under 3 skeins of yarn left, when the first sleeve took about 4 skeins, so I'm pretty sure I'm gonna run out. What I realized is that I can go and steal some yarn out of the cowl, and use that for the rest of the sleeve, and just make the cowl less dramatic! So now I'm really plugging away, and I'll probably have it finished tonite. After jumping back in, I've already finished 3 of the 5 increase repeats, so am beyond the halfway  point. It really is almost done! yeah!

I think the market bag was a bad idea, it is such a waste to do all the work of entrelac with just one color! Feels like I'm making myself do needless stuff, and giving myself a needless headache. So I think I'm changing gears, going to go in one of two directions: Either keep the idea of a felted bag, and just make one the sane way (just like a big hat), OR scrap that idea completely and make the yarn into a hat and scarf set for my sister. There is definitely enough yarn (I think). . . we'll decide that when the time comes, though. For now, back to the sweater!

I also finished 2 of the doxie sweaters, the purple one and the blue one. Actually the blue one still needs a sleeve added to it, but it's going well. I will be emailing the lady and asking for payment before I cast on the last one, don't want to end up with three sweaters and no money. ;o) It's been fun making these, but I really can't stand Red Heart. Yuck.

I started working on the Market Bag from Summer 2001 Knitters, except I'm making it all in one color (a nice variegated blue). Entrelac is harder than I thought, but not impossible. My biggest problem came because I'm using only one color, and the pattern is written for different colors for each tier, so they do not really work, as the yarn tail gets in the way. So I just cut the yarn after every tier, and now it's working! I've never felted anything before, so I will be very excited to watch the transformation! And now that my 3rd and final exam of the week (SHEESH) is over, I can go back to knitting! Who knows, I may have the sweater done this weekend! woohoo!

I just got back a couple of hours ago from Stitches, I got to spend the weekend helping sell at Lanaknits Designs, Hemp For Knitting. It was so much fun being there! I couldn't believe my eyes at some of the stuff I saw! I met several people from KnitU and the Knitlist, too, which is always fun! I was told by someone who was passing, that the winter IK was out, so I ran out of the booth to buy it, but couldn't find it of course, because it ISN'T out. And how did I find out the truth? The editor of IK (!!!!!) told me that the issue's at the printers! How crazy is that? 

I didn't even spend much money (which is REALLY GOOD), I only bought a $9 cone of fuzzy, funky yarn from WEBS (which quickly became a set of pulse warmers, pattern here, the rest will be used for scarf/hat set for my DSis), a set of Bryspun DPN's, and a hank of 100% WW wool, which will become the felted entrelac Market Bag from Summer 2001 Knitters (finally getting to do this! Yeah!). I also came home with some chunky 50/50 Hemp/Cotton from Lana, which will become a purse, and some handpainted DK 100% hemp, in a beautiful bright rainbow colorway, which will be a nice accent scarf.

Complaint: I was charged TAX ON THE WOOL!!!!!!!!!! The vendor (who will not be mentioned, mainly b/c I forgot who it was) said the hank was $15, then asked for $15.90. This is the argument that ensued: 

Me: I thought it was $15. 
Her: Well, then there's TAX (in a "duh, don't you know anything?" voice) 
Me: There's no tax on yarn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (exasperated voice) 
Her: YES THERE IS. There's tax on practically everything! 
Me: Well I've never paid taxes on yarn, I buy it all the time and have never paid tax, both in PA and in NJ, even when I buy it at WalMart!!! 
Her: Well there's taxes on yarn, there is no tax on patterns or buttons (!!!!!!!!!) but there is tax on yarn. [emphasis added] 
Me: Hum. I wonder if it's different here. . . I live in PA and I know I don't pay taxes where I live . . . OH WAIT! WE'RE IN PA!!!!!!!!!!! 
Her: silence, waiting for money 
Me: Ok whatever, it's only $0.90 

I paid her, then quickly ran out of there, and back to my booth (we had NOT been charging taxes on yarn). I said to Lana, "is there tax on yarn?" she says no. So I ask the vendors across from us, they say no. I ask the vendors next to us, they say no. AND they add that the coordinators TOLD EVERY VENDOR THAT THERE WAS NO TAX! They said they'd been coming for years and never charged tax. Someone who was shopping there also pitched in with, "no, there's no tax." Another lady we were talking to said, "No, there's no tax in PA, there is in Vermont and some other states, but not PA". Mind you, I argued with this woman about the tax, told her I knew there was none, and she was RUDE and insisted. AND this was on SUNDAY, at 3:35 PM!!!!!!!!!! Right before the whole thing closed. So I'm sure she charged everyone needless taxes the whole time. I almost didn't buy it b/c she was so rude, but it was a good deal. <G> I'm not so much mad at having to pay needless taxes, I'm more mad that someone would do business without knowing what they're doing. And then argue about it. GRRRRRRR All in all my weekend was great, and I have some new yarn to play with. 

[knitting: Matt's Wizard scarf, hemp purse, hemp scarf] 
[fos: none]
[wim's: the market bag, a scarf for my sister, wristlets . . .]

I've also been working on my new top, I got a bunch of it done and it's looking good, except that I messed up the shaping decreases so they're not in the right spot -- one side is right but the other is not, so the shaping will be on my back instead of on my side.  Oh well, no one will be able to notice.  Though it's upset me enough to stop working . . .sigh.

This isn't helped at all by the fact that last night, I couldn't sleep and in my mind, thought up a new top!  I am going to deign it hopefully for sale, so I am not going to be going into too many details yet, but after thinking this up, I didn't want to stay in bed, I wanted to get up and start working!  But I was a good girl and stayed in bed trying to sleep, even though I had to evacuate the building at 3:30 am because of a fire in the apartment below me (everything's fine, just a drunk guy who was heating something on the stove when he passed out on the couch and the something caught fire and filled his place, and the whole building, with smoke).  We got no sleep last night, obviously.

Running out of yarn gave me an excuse to work on the square for the Phoenix Project using my new DPNs.  Almost finished the sweater and decided to measure it.  OF COURSE, it's way too big.  Oh well.  It looks good anyway.  =(

9.25.2001.  I've finally made myself a knitting and crocheting page, and here is my first blog entry!  finally!  I actually got quite a bit of knitting done today, I had designed a square to use for the KnitU Memorial Afghan and I started it today, looks like it may work out!  If the test run works, I'll be sharing the pattern here and on KnitU.  This square is worked from the outside edges in, and features girls and boys holding hands around the outside, with hearts, and the word Peace in 4 languages.  I really like how it's coming along, even through I'm making it out of Red Heart and it's very rough on my hands.  I also got a lot done on my cowl neck sweater from A.V. I worked the neck separation and decreases for the front, and probably about half the front neckline.  This sweater is slow going as it's knit on size 6 needles and is all done in k3,p3 rib.  But I'm trying to finish it by Stitches East, so wish me luck!