Well, I completed Ice Queen this afternoon and discovered that I have made it just a bit too short to be worn as a hood, but it looks great as a scarf. I also realized that I used the wrong skein of Kidsilk Haze. I was supposed to use the skein of Blush that I had, and instead I just grabbed and used Heavenly- so from pink to blue, and I didn't notice until I had nearly finished it. So I just completed it and will deal with the difference somehow. : /
Earthen Hemp Skirt
This is a great skirt for the late days of summer and fall. Made from Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, a blend of
Hemp, Cotton and Modal, it is soft to the skin with a wonderful drape. A gradual flare down to mid-calf length
makes it a flattering fit for many body shapes. (Shown in 32-34 size)
Requirements:
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy 6(7,7,8,8,9) Skeins Shown in Color 02
Needles: sz.US 4 24” circular
Sizes: 24-26 (28-30, 32-34, 36-38, 40-42) inch waist
Pattern is available for $5.50
After Purchase, you will be directed to the pattern available for download
Thank You!
I'm back and normalcy has pretty much occurred. Disney was fun but HOT. I was very happy to be back with my Chicago weather (especially since we came back the day after the storms and we were lucky enough to have not lost power). I will spare you pictures, only because we have about 200 that I would have to choose from!
So we came back, spent the first weekend doing absolutely nothing and last weekend we went to the Renaissance Faire. It was a beautiful day and I made another snood out of sock yarn to wear.
Th pattern is pretty simple as far as it goes. I used a different lace pattern on this one. Also, I used kitchener to bind off, the only trouble with that is that although it keeps the pattern better, I had to tuck in the corners so it wouldn't be a square. SO you have the option of doing kitchener like I did, or doing some decrease rounds instead. Anyway, here is the pattern and a few more pics of different angles.
Snood Deux
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss 1 skein (shown in Pumpkin)
Needles: Size US 3 16inch circular
Openwork Leaf Pattern (Multiple of 8 stitches plus1)
Row 1 and all other odd rows: Knit
Row2: K1 *YO, K2, Sl1, K2Tog, PSSO, K2, YO, K1* Repeat from * around
Row4: K1 *K1, YO, K1, Sl1, K2Tog, PSSO, K1, YO, K2* Repeat from * around
Row6: K1 * K2, YO, Sl1, K2Tog, PSSO, YO, K3
Row8: K2Tog * K2, YO, K1, YO, K2, Sl1, K2Tog, PSSO* Repeat from * around, ending last repeat with SSK instead of Sl1, K2tog, psso
Row10: K2tog * K1, YO, K3, YO, K1, Sl1, K2Tog, PSSO * Repeat from * around, 
ending last repeat with SSK instead of Sl1, K2tog, psso
Row 12: K2Tog * YO, K5, YO, Sl1, K2Tog, PSSO * Rpeat from * around, ending last repeat with SSK instead of SL1, k2tog, psso
Using sz. 3 circular, Co 104 sts.
PM and begin working in the round
Work 6 rounds in K1, P1 ribbing
Next round: Knit, increasing 9 stitches evenly around
Begin Openwork leaf pattern
Work Rows 1-12 of Leaf pattern around until piece measures approximately 11 inches unblocked ending with row 12 of pattern
BO options: K1 round, Knitting the last 2 stitches tog. Divide stitches evenly on 2 needles, using Kitchener stitch to graft together
OR K2 tog around for 2 rounds, cut a long tail, pull through remaining stitches and fasten off
That's it! It makes a cute snood for all your faire going purposes (or a bad hair day with a fashion statement!). A note: The pic from the back makes it seem uneven but its not, I had my head tilted and it was the end of the day. But it was the only one I had that had a close up of the back where you could really see the pattern plus tell where the kitchener sat so you could decide what BO you wanted to do. Also, if your hair is longer or shorter than mine, you may want to shorten or lengthen it depending.
In other knitting news, I have almost finished the Titled Duster from the new IK. Unfortunately, it is too small for me and looks awful on me. So it is going off to my LYS to live there on display. I did it in Elsebeth Lavold Chunky Al which is a lovely yarn and really did make a nice duster, so I may be doing this one again. Right now I am kind of floundering in the land of knitting. I have a bunch of projects on the needles, I don't really want to work on them as a lot of them are my own designs which takes concentration and a notebook next to me at all times, as well as the possibility of frogging the work done if my measurements were off. I did the duster as an instant gratification project, which obviously did not work out too well, so I am still on the quest for instant gratification. I finished a cute sock for my daughter but now I am fighting second sock syndrome. Sigh. Too much yarn and my hands just don't move at lighting speed. If I was Supergirl, I would so be a knitter. Imagine all that you could acomplish. Christmas presents in a day! New sweaters for every occasion! Yeah that's it. Forget my old desire for teleportation, I want lighting speed.
My daughter went back to school today. She was so excited. We went to Target to get a new backpack for the year and she picked out The Little Einsteins one, which was great cuz it was on sale for $6. When she found out it was on sale she got so excited and told me "I can't wait to go to school and show everyone my backpack and tell them I got it in SALE!" Funny funny. She loves a good sale though. My little 4 year old. She tells me all the time that I can't get something because it's not on sale. LOL
Oh! Thanks Johnna for picking me as a 
Now its my turn to pick 5 that I love. I don't read a lot of blogs all the time, but there are a few that I do check often.
1.) Chelle - She tells it like she sees it, and I love that she is a druid and working toward becoming a doula.
2.) Practical Polly - I just started reading hers but her projects are great and her Wonder Woman sweater is AWESOME
3.) Knitting Kninja - As another fledgling designer, I like to read others that go through it as well. Also, my daughter is in Ninja training, so I totally understand how cool ninja kids can be!
4.) Knit and Tonic - I know she's a popular one, but I love her blog and her designs are great
5.) Three Twisted Stitches - She's as bad a poster as I am, but hey what can you expect from my sister?!
Alright already, I have to go pick up Le Fay from school 
Here she is getting Knighted by Queen Elizabeth at the Faire. She had to wear her fairy costume by the way, she wouldn't have it any other way.
One last note to leave you with. Coming Soon! This adorable Skirt pattern!
(and by soon, I mean whenver I get around to double checking all my math and what not and actually getting it set up on the sidebar as I will be selling this pattern)
I finished it! The other tank in the smaller size is all finished.
AS I said, it is done in savannah DK from the Fibre Co. In some ways, I like it more than mine. I LOVED working with the yarn, and this one didn't grow like my other one did after blocking. I am writing up the pattern now for this yarn and will know sometime next week what is to become of it. 
resizing the pattern was pretty easy because the 2 yarns were fairly similar. The one done in the Lily was done on 7's and this one was done on 6's.
In other news, I am headed up to Lorna's Laces this afternoon to hash out the details on the pattern for this sweater:
It's a wrap cardi that ties around the back. I am bringing the pattern up to her today to look over and then I'll pick up the yarn to make the model for her. I can't wait to see my first pattern in print! As soon as it's out there, I'll post here!
I am so exhausted right now. the 4-yr old monster woke up at 3 AM and was awake for about an hour. I, on the other hand was awake until after 5 when the hubby's alarm started going off. every ten minutes for an hour. Finally he got up at 6, so I got another hour of sleep before I too had to get up. Sheesh. Sometimes the human body really annoys me. Times like that when my mind just wouldn't stop going is one of em. I swear, I started coming up with the craziest designs in my head, then thinking about the next tattoo I want to get, then thinking about writing(which I almost got up and did) and every time I would get nice and relaxed, I would think "hey maybe this time I'll fall back asleep!" and that would ruin it and my mind would be back to going a mile a minute on a hundred different topics. Argh. Hopefully, I won't start babbling with exhaustion when I go up to Lorna's today!
So I finished the design for the tank I was working on. It turned out lovely, just as I wanted it to, only now I am knitting it in a different yarn as I negotiate to sell THIS pattern. 
Here is a pic of me modeling it, thanks to the wonders of 4 year-old photography. And here is the back shot (excuse the bra, I just wanted to get some shots up of the design before I forgot). This one is done in Noro Lily.
I am knitting it now in Savannah yarn from the Fibre Company. It is a blend of merino wool, cotton, linen and soy. Once i finish the one I am working on now in a smaller size, I will post pics of it again, this time with a better model than I am! As soon as I know what is going on with the pattern, I'll post that too. I may sell it, or I may keep it and post it here. We'll see! I have 2 new designs I am working on now as well. Crazy crazy.
I don't know where the time comes from sometimes. Between the kids and all that we have to do, including trying to pack in as much fun on the weekends as possible (Highland Games, Museums, the zoo, Great America, Chuck E. Cheese, and all the other fun things that don't cost money like walks and fairy hunts in the forest preserves) I am shocked that i get any knitting at all done. And really, all that I ever spend my knitting time on lately is my own designs.
In other news, my son just turned 2 on the Summer Solstice (hence the trip to Chuck E. Cheese). I don't know that I will ever stop getting choked up on my kids birthdays. I love watching them grow up and every day is an adventure, but that doesn't stop me from lamenting how quickly time goes by!
