Completed Project: Felted Scarf

Here's the felted scarf made with Blue Heron chunky chenille that I bought at Frivolous Fibers in St. Michaels. I started it on MS&W weekend and finished knitting it in early July. I didn't get around to felting it for a month. This is my first knitted scarf and my first felted project! (quasi felted, really)

Here are the before felting photos:



Of course, a finished project must be appropriately modeled...


And the after felting photo:



Seamus found the scarf to be uber stylish and uber tasty.


All details are available on Ravelry. I meant to measure it before it was felted but I didn't remember to do it until the washer was on the spin cycle. Oops.

If I didn't have all these babies to knit and crochet for, I would consider getting more of this yarn and making lots of hats and scarves for Christmas gifts. The colors are so rich and vibrant and the yarn is soooo soft. Looks like all the adults are getting store bought items this year.

Completed Project: Baby Hat (1 of at least 5)

While all's been quiet on the blogging front, I have been busy knitting away the summer. I've needed to keep all needles going at every break since I currently have five...count 'em FIVE... prego friends who are all due between November and January.

During my last trip to St. Michaels and Frivolous Fibers, I bought 2 skeins of Encore yarn because they came with a free hat pattern. The pattern came in newborn and toddler sizes. I got one in blues and one in purples/pinks since the gender of two babies is known (boys) and the other three are surprises and/or unknown right now.

Last Sunday, on the train ride home from New England after my brother-in-law's wonderful wedding, I cast on for the newborn sized hat. That evening, while watching TV, I had a finished hat. I couldn't believe I finished it in one day! Sure, the 7 hour train ride helped but still, I must be a tad bit faster at knitting than I was before.



This first hat is for Julie's baby boy who is due in early December. All details are available on Ravelry. I'm hoping to make another newborn hat from the same skein and maybe even have enough yarn left over to knit up some matching booties or socks. If not, the yarn was under $6.00 per skein so I can always pick up another one (or more depending on how many other pregnancy notices I get in the coming months).

Between the hat and the socks I'm working on (yes - I'm really making socks!) I've come to really love my DPNs... yes, the same DPNs that used to scare me with all their points sticking out. I think the switch from slippery metal to smooth bamboo DPNs made all the difference.

Chicago LYS: Loopy Yarns

At the end of June, I was in Chicago for work. As luck would have it, my hotel was just a few blocks away from Loopy Yarns.



Located at 47 West Polk Street in Chicago, it's a charming store full of fabulous yarns and very friendly staff. The store has about 4 rooms plus a downstairs area to shop. There is also a place for classes upstairs and downstairs and lots of books and patterns to choose from. You can see in the photo that the front window was all blue yarns. When I drove past it the next day, all the yarns were red. Very fun display.

I was quite measured with my purchases given the $55 yarn I fell in love with, but dutifully put back in the bin.



I got some Maxi crochet thread in the bright blue and deep green and then got some more sock yarn just because it was such a pretty color. The yarn is called Tofutsies and what is so cool (that I didn't realize until after I bought it) is that the yarn contains 2.5% chitin --- and chitin is made from shrimp and crab shells! I :heart: souvenir yarn.

All over the store were these cute little stuffed sheep, too. It says "Loopy Yarns" on the ribbon. I bought one without even asking the price. After looking at my receipt, I probably wouldn't have bought him if I had known he was $5. Oh well - he's too cute. Here's a close up:



I got the bag for free with my purchase - it's too cute! If you're in Chicago, check out Loopy Yarns.

Still here....

...just too busy to blog. It is amazing what a time-suck a puppy can be. Why would one want to spend an hour or two in front of the screen when an adorable little face is ready to play fetch?

So that's what I've been up to - the puppy. But that is not to say I haven't been busy with yarn and such. A quick recap of the last 2 months - and I hope to put together some better posts based on these adventures, too.

Made the bridal shower cake for my future sister-in-law. It turned out beautifully! And now I've been asked to make flowers to adorn the cupcakes they will be serving at the reception. I'm happy to do it and happier that I won't also have to make and frost the cupcakes.

Visited a number of local yarn stores in Maryland and Chicago. I bought some more yarn - not out of need, just out of desire to own some local fabulousness. I also found the LYS store nearby has changed names and ownership. I was not impressed by the view through the window.

Started my first pair of socks that have actually made it past the first few rows. I think there's a chance I'll actually really learn how to knit socks now. It's a basic sock pattern so I can learn the construction of socks. I'm knitting the old-fashioned way, too - on DPNs. The book I bought shows me DPN, 2 circular and the Magic Loop method. I'm determined to learn all three...someday.

Three baby blankets must be done by December. Yep - three friends have announced they're preggers and all three are due around December. I bought some fun self-striping yarn to make baby beanies to go with whatever blankets I make.

So many WIPs sitting around. I did a once-over look at the craft room and I have waaaay too many WIPs sitting around. I've got to start plowing through the pile starting with the felted scarf I've been working on and the aforementioned knitted socks. Once those two are done, it will be on to either the baby blankets (if I know the gender or color schemes for the nurseries) or the baby beanies.

New furniture for the craft room. My cake decorating hobby has officially become an addiction. Just like knitting and crocheting, it's so easy to want to buy all the fun stuff to go along with the hobby. As my cake decorating stuff (pans, decorating supplies, etc) have taken over two shelves in the pantry and since my yarn cabinet is almost bursting at the seams, I need to buy some new furniture to house it all in the craft room. I've got my eyes on a number of pieces at Home Decorators which, with the bad economy, has some pretty good prices.

More blogging. I'm going to try to blog more here but with the puppy, travel for work, summer day trips to the Eastern Shore and a quite busy social calendar, we'll see how much blogging I get around to.

New Project: Seamus! ... and a Completed Project: Irish Flag Blanket

He arrived safe and sound (though mildly dirty and a bit discombobulated) on Friday afternoon. Sean and I had a wonderful time with him all day yesterday as he learned about his new home. He did a great job - with a few accidents here and there - but a lot of times he did his business on the wee-wee pads like a good boy. He is an affectionate little guy with a lot of spunk. Want to see him in action? I've set up a YouTube channel, The Crocheting Commuter, to show the videos. The channel has my blog name and my blog is about knitting and crocheting but the videos are about Seamus. Oh well. It works.

Here's his first video (you can check out the channel for more):



I thought I'd also share this Washington Post article which talks about getting a new dog and how it can affect the family. It's true - because I got up at 7:30 this morning (instead of sleeping in like so many Saturdays before) and I don't feel like I missed out on the sleep. I got to enjoy the morning sunshine with Seamus and play with him afterward. Now I'm enjoying his company as he sleeps by my feet and I'm typing away on the computer. All before 10 am - and I'm loving it. What did I ever do without this little guy?

I'm also happy to report that he loves his little Irish flag blanket, made to celebrate his Irish ancestry (from the human side, not the Yorkie or Maltese sides). Here are a couple of photos of him with it - one awake and one passed out.





I've got all the details on Ravelry, except the finished size. I haven't had a chance to pull it away from him to measure it.

So far, the craft room has been off limits to him so he doesn't attack the yarn. I'm hoping in the next few days to let him check it out. Keep your fingers crossed that he's a lover of yarn and not a destroyer of yarn. :)

Completed Project: Dog Dish Placemat

Seamus will be here on FRIDAY!!! Yay!!!

In anticipation of his arrival, I got crafty. Here's a new dog dish placemat for Seamus.





Ravelry details can be found here. I didn't use a pattern - I just saw the project and improvised it. If you look really close, you can see where the nubs aren't even. But hey - is the dog really going to notice?

I'm also working on a small blanket for Seamus. It is going to be a mini version of the Irish flag. I'll have plenty of time to work on it during my travels for work this week. I'm off to the mid-west, Indianapolis and Iowa City to be exact. While I definitely won't have time to check out anything in Iowa City, I will hopefully have time for a store in Indianapolis.

And - I'll be home just in time for Seamus' arrival. I. Cannot. Wait!!!!

A Cute Distraction

My knitting and crocheting has taken a backseat this past week and I'm guessing the distraction will increase even more in the next week or so.

Sean and I are getting a puppy!!! YAY!!!!

Here are some photos from the breeder. He's a Maltese-Yorshire Terrier mix, aka a Morkie. We're naming him Seamus (pronounced shay-mus).

WARNING!!! The following photos may be too cute for some readers.









He's about 5 or 6 weeks old in these photos and we have to wait until he's 9 weeks old to have him shipped on a plane. I cannot wait! We're keeping our fingers crossed we'll get him Memorial Day weekend. And while the majority of posts on the blog will still be about crocheting and knitting, there is going to be plenty of cute puppy posts, too!

MS&W 2009

The weekend of Sheep and Shenanigans was wonderful! It was so much fun hanging with all my girls and getting to ooh and aah over little baby, Edward. The festival itself was a blast. The rain couldn't keep our spirits down. The music also helped.



There were the usual cute critters, especially the alpacas.





We checked out all the booths and tents and even the Ravelry meet up. The one spot where the Mistress spent a bunch of money was at Brooks Farm.




So how much yarn did I buy?




Absolutely NONE.




??????



Yep. I didn't buy any yarn whatsoever. I sure did look at a lot of different yarns and even toyed with the idea of buying some roving and a drop spindle to learn to spin, I just didn't want to buy any of it. Maybe it's because I've been buying such wonderful yarn throughout the year as I travel for work and check out all the local yarn shops. Plus, the yarn I brought with me, the recently purchased Blue Heron Yarn, was practically yelling at me to use it. So, while resting on a blanket with KMP and baby Edward, I started the scarf.



The photo shows a week's progress and I hope to have it done soon.

Are you disappointed that I didn't buy any yarn? I thought I would be, as we drove away from the festival but I stand by my decision. I've got to make a dent in my overflowing stash of yarn that includes yarn purchased at MS&W 2006. Maybe I'll make enough of a dent that I'll have to buy tons at MS&W 2010.

Three Days and Counting

I cannot express in words the excitement, the joy, the antici....





...pation of MS&W!!! This Saturday be a day filled with fibery goodness at the Howard County Fairgrounds!

But most importantly, in just three days, all my girls and baby Edward will be here. I cannot wait!!! But there is plenty to do before their arrival. I'm sorta ahead of the game with the bulk of the grocery shopping done but there's plenty else to do before Thursday night when the contingency from NYC arrives. Hence, it's 11:00 pm and I'm just finally getting some blogging done. (I had to make a cake for work, but that's a subject for a later post.)

In preparation of the big weekend, I recently tried out the swift for the first time to make sure it worked...



...and it did!



That's the Blue Heron yarn I bought in St. Michaels. Wanna close-up?



While I have every intention of posting more before the big weekend, I don't think my schedule will allow it. There's just too much to do between now and Thursday night. If only I could take an extra day off from work, but alas, that is not looking like it's in the cards.

If you happen to go to MS&W, be sure to check out the Ravelry meet up at the Rabbit pavilion and if you happen to see this Crocheting Commuter, do stop me and say hello. Safe travels and happy yarn shopping!

LYS in St. Michaels Maryland

The first weekend of April, Sean's Mom came to visit. We had a wonderful weekend spending Saturday in Downtown DC to see the cherry blossoms and then Sunday in St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore. I feel in love with the place as soon as we drove down the main street of town. It has all the things I liked about the Hamptons without the stuff I hated about the Hamptons. So cute with boutique stores and high end stuff I can't afford to buy (but do enjoy browsing). Right by the water with wonderful restaurants and fresh seafood. We got to really enjoy the water with a long boat ride on the Miles River with Patriot Cruises. A must see and do if you're in the area.

And you know what else was in St. Michaels???

You know it - a yarn shop! Yay!!!

Frivolous Fibers located at 112 N Talbot Street in St. Michaels. The store didn't stand out at first with the main sign on the side of the building.





The yarn store is actually in the back of the store. Here's a photo from the front...



Though it was a small space, there was a large wall of needles and hooks and a great selection of yarns.



I loved this painter's palette of yarn colors.



One of the best parts of the store was the huge selection of Blue Heron Yarns which are hand-painted in nearby Easton, Maryland. I had seen Blue Heron before when out on the West Coast - but I refused to buy it since it was from Maryland. Now I was in Maryland with a huge selection of the beautiful yarn. How could I resist?

I couldn't. :)

I did restrain myself and buy just one skein of yarn.



It's bulky rayon chenille in Sandstone. I had to get it after I saw the felted scarf they had on display. I got the pattern with my purchase.



I must also mention that the ladies at the store were super friendly. I'm very much looking forward to our next trip to St. Michaels so I can check out the store again.