Thank you!!

Hokay, so as I mentioned yesterday I was having a craptastic week and I suddenly got an outpouring of unexpected goodies.  Everything was small and cute and just perfectly wonderful.  So, in order of the date they were posted, I'm going to upload photos.  Some of these were posted a while ago, so my postal hub is definitely experiencing technical difficulties.

I'm going to keep the senders identities for their privacy, but I know who you are and really appreciate all of the effort and affection that went into each of these.

First up was a really fantastical envelope and card.  Inside was something pretty fantastic!

Lookie, the other side is just as exciting:

Hehehe, I just love the puffy sheep!  I may have to admit that I've already got it helping me keep my spot in one of my Japanese stitch dictionaries.

Next up were these beauties:

Aren't they pretty?  They're soft jewel tones, and I just love them!  So much fun!

Next, I got an envelope with a weird squishy feel to it.  Inside was this little guy:

Hahaha, I love him.  I don't know if it's the pink or the squishy, but he's my laptop mascot now.

Here's all the loot together:

Seriously, thank you guys.  I was completely surprised and it was a complete 360 on how the last 2 weeks have gone.  You really brightened up my day, and I'm still giddy over it!

Thank you, for thinking of me and for sharing a bit of your whimsy and heart.  I really appreciate it.

For those curious, I used this as my staging for the photos:

Can't beat natural light for capturing stuff.  And the wooden bowl completely makes my questionable bread look decent haha.  I'm trying to do my photos in natural daylight so that I get accurate colors, and this will pretty much be my staging area for a little while.  Tomorrow, I will have a few progress shots on something new, and I am continuing to curse(?) fight(?) work(!) my way through the FO shots so hopefully I'll have some posts on that forthcoming (work allowing).

So thank you all again, I have to say that knitters really can't be beat for generosity of heart!

what have you been up to lady?

So, last week, I knit a red sweater.  This week, I'm blocking it.

I took 35 pictures of the darn thing, and this is the only decent shot.

At least they don't look fuchsia today.

This is a scarlet knit, and believe it or not those are the same size.  I totally measured them and everything.  The blocking looks wonky, but the knitting is solid enough.

Let's see, what else?

Ah, I figured out how to make window box leaves accessible to people other than myself.  Here's the test knit that let me use the new directions:

photobox prototype in madelinetosh greens

After that, I wrote a spring version of the pattern and am now test knitting it in the pale green that I dyed myself the other week

I enjoy this color, although it's cooler than I usually like to knit with.

And finally, someone came up with a use for left over peeps

it's melting.... meeeelting....

not every crazy idea here is mine...

The NH Sheep & Wool festival is coming up shortly, which is why I've focused on knitting these sweaters.  I want to get them done before the next one, because they're made with some of the yarn that I bought at last year's show....  and with them done I'll have turned over all of the wool purchased by this time last year.  This is a good feeling for sure.

It's been a while...

So, things have been busy at 200 Shawl Central.  I've been knitting, but it's been mainly knitting infidelity.  I should be ashamed.  I really should.

Some of this is for the show that was put off at the coffee shop.  They are waiting for Old Home day since their original weekend clashed with something else that was happening in the area.  Since I've hit 18 shawlettes, 8 felted bags, and 16 market bags I'm going to walk away from the show knitting for a while.  It sounds like a lot, but I'm sure they'd like more.  I just really want to focus back on the 200.  I'm up to 20 shawls out of 200, and I need to finish blocking and take pictures of the latest and then post them.  It takes me about an hour to take the pictures, about an hour to edit them (meaning cut them down to size) and at least an hour to blog about them.  So it may be next week before I get to them :(

Here's a quick photo chain of what I've been up to shawlette and shawl-wise.

First, these:

finally blocked out

there are 2 of these, one for the blog one for the shop

silk singlespun

These are some of the blocked 'ettes that are waiting for hang-tags.

Then this:

Was knit into this:

Which needs to be blocked.  But I thought it might be nice to show what it looks like pre-blocking.

These are also entering the blocking line up

While working on writing out the pattern for Autumn Glow, I realized that I hadn't explored fully what I wanted to do with it.  So this is a test-knit blocking out

Then I started on these:

Originally, there were 4 of these... guess who absconded with one?

I started a White Rabbit (have some great chessboard fabric that will become a waistcoat, and a pocket-watch button to go with it) as a gift.  Here, I'm deciding how to put the ears on.... looks a little intimidating

look out, he's got dpn's hiding in his ears

Then, there were these:

number 2 and number 3

The original test knit was done in an alpaca boucle that I had left-over from something else... but as with much I knit someone absconded with it.

I found the shaping of the head a little off in this test knit & have since modified it.

But, really... could you resist letting him have it?

Yeah, me either.

Anyway, computer troubles have been solved and work is about to become less frenetic.  I'm dedicating one day a week to the stuffies for the next ~ 3 months.  I'm hoping to get into a more regular blogging rhythm now that life is no longer creating fireworks.

Thanks to everyone who waited me out, and all those who make it to the bottom of this long post!

where did the time go?

Today's entry is brought to you by the letter V (as in Vacation and Vomit) and the number 3 (as in the average number of showers per day I've needed since Friday)....

Well, this week is school vacation week.  I took it off to spend some time with the kids.  In some ways I'm very glad I did, as trying to work while a 40 lb moaning creature lays on your lap can be somewhat detrimental to actually getting things done.  In other ways, I look at the knitting I refuse to touch while I am continually bathed in effluvia and sigh.  But, I did do my taxes, so that's something off my mind.

I've been busy.  Very busy.  It might be easiest to do this bit as a photo series.  These are photos of things I've been working on for the show in March at the local coffee shop.  I'm going to give some detail shots, but not too many of the full shawlettes.  I'm hoping they'll be a pleasant surprise for folks in the area who can check them out.  And anything that doesn't find a home from the shop will make it to my artfire store, so it's always possible you'll see them later on that page.

Let's start with this:

malabrigo silky wool in indicita.  Needs ends woven in

Something simple I could knit while being driven places on a weekend.  Which brings us to this:

same yarn, same colorway, testing a concept

Unfortunately, this segues me into these, which I'm debating for the full concept knit:

for the record, going with the bottom for the full size shawl

Yarn makes me think about other yarn.  This was the second package of my last yarn fling.  It had the very pale yellows and the green in the middle above.

I really do like their stuff

Those yellows make me think of a concept that I did out twice.  Once for the show:

detail showing the new increase.  I like this method better.  There aren't missing threads, there are dark beads between leaves.

That one is the shawlette version that uses some really dark red beads.  Then, there's the version that my husband inspired:

to show the natural colored yarn and the pink beads

None of this stuff is blocked, so it does look like limp noodles.  Plus, the two above are in cotton.  The second one with the pink beads is a full sized shawl, but I'm having trouble deciding whether it needs to stay with me as an example of the pattern.  Yep, example of the pattern.... that's my story.  I do not intend to pet it and drool (although we all know that's exactly what will happen).

This leads us to this one.  Same pattern, in a familiar yarn:

man, this is hard to photograph.  It is NOT neon in real life.

Again, showing the increase.  You get a full leaf at the top of each, which almost looks like a flower bud.  I like this effect much better, and have changed the pattern to reflect it.  This may look very familiar.  It is the same yarn I did the original Joie shawl in.  I had just enough left to squeak out a shawlette, so that's what I did.

Then, I think pink.

strawberry smoothie

linen yarn.  Yes, I made a linen shawl.  In worsted weight no less.

And finally, there are these:

don't look like much at the moment

That beauty above is a market bag.  It's made from cotton (also in worsted weight), and I can wash the silly things if the little man has a bad tummy  moment near them.  I love these bags.  I have a bunch, and there are 2 ways to knit them that create 2 very different types of mesh just using a yo, k2tog as the "lace" pattern.  I started with these because I found that the grocery bags you can buy are not typically washable... making them really heinous germ magnets.  I actually have 4 different sizes and styles that I make, and figured that since I can't work on 'ettes at the moment, maybe I'd see if the local coffee place would want these as well. 

Anyhoo, I am hoping small tummies are quiet tomorrow so I can 1 knit, 2 blog, 3 work on hang-tags.  All the fun things in life and cleaning the kitchen too!

nothing to see here.... tralala

I've come to the conclusion that I would be a dangerous woman if I could count to... say... 3.  Effectively.  Consistently.  This morning is obviously not a lace knitting morning, as I've screwed up counting to 3 more times than I can count (haha).  Coffee is not helping, so while my fingers are feeling fine and ready to fly.... I should stick with the blanket until the stupids fall out one of my ears.

This morning, I took my heart in my hands, my finished knits in a bag, and walked the (freaking freezing btw) distance to the Coffee Shop in the heart of my town.  Nice people there, and they know my husband and youngest on sight.  Which is kind of funny and kind of cool.  Anyway, they're doing a craft show there in March and my husband asked me to put some stuff in it.  As much as I grumble, I really can't refuse him anything (but don't tell him that or I'm doomed).

I'm hideously shy.  Something about being able to always find the exact wrong thing to say in any situation.  Need to know what to say?  Ask me, and do the exact opposite.  It's a talent.

Anyhoo, I brought in the last set of knits I finished and blocked to show them and.... they said would be happy to have some shawlettes in their craft expo thingy.  Yay!  It's totally not me, my social retardation was at an all-time spectacular high.  They like the knits, they really like them.  I've been happy dancing for a while, but now I have to knit about 6 more ettes in something other than a triangle shape.  I guess it's time to do some stoles.  I've knit purples, blues, pinks, greens, browns... so I'm thinking some reds, some black, and some white.  Maybe a yellow... although the yellow yarn hasn't gotten here yet.   I do have some gorgeous gold yarn, but am not ready to share it.  It makes me happy when I haven't seen the sun in days, so I'm having trouble knitting it instead of just fondling it.

You guys have listened to me gripe about the not as happy things, so I figured I'd share about the exciting (and slightly scary) things too.  I'll post more about it when I get more details, and I'll blog the remaining ettes as I get them knit so you can see them as they happen.  I won't be not doing the full size shawls in the meantime, and in the almost finished conga line of blocking I have some that I've knit for myself to keep as samples... and to wear because I lurve them.  So I'll have some FO posts coming up soon.

And thanks for making it to the bottom of a non-picture post.  :)

squeeeee, thank you!!

Look at what came in the mail today!!

sweet surprise!

Aren't they cute??

Look, there's a little box with note cards

so cute!

and a project bag

can never have enough project bags

This was a totally unexpected surprise, and it really brightened my week.  I've been having trouble with the cast, it's been making my thumb numb when I try to use the hand.  So this package really gave me something fun to be excited about.

The package came from Graywolfie, who has a definite eye for the cheerful.  Thank you so much for the presents, they totally made my day!  I might have already started using them... ;-)

perfect traveling size!

I'm going to go play with them now.  Thank you again!