Stitching Weekly

This past weekend was the HAED Background SAL, so I pulled out Storykeeper which is mostly background. I love the idea of a set background SAL; every piece has background and having a set SAL for working on it would be great. If the board doesn't do one, I think I may set aside the first weekend of every month for background.



I didn't participate in QS Wednesday this week for a couple of reasons:
1. I am only aiming for 3 Wednesdays a month and I've done my three for September.
2. I have a new start that has captured my attention.

I started I Love Thee on Monday night(24Sept07). Right now I'm in a heavily white on white section of the chart. There is no point in putting up a WIP picture until I get a little further into it. You don't want to see white and white--not to mention that you can't actually see it in a picture. Heck, I can barely see it when I'm working on it. Hopefully I'll have some exciting progress to show on this one next week.

**knitters--don't despair there is actually knitting content coming. I was hoping to have a really cool picture of a Jaywalker sock near completion done in some lovely Red Rocks Fiber Works yarn, BUT after trying to turn a heel in a dark car at 10pm last night, I ended up ripping out the whole thing. . .I'm too angry to go any further into it than that. Long story short--don't do any type of technical knitting in the dark.

Deathly Hallows Musings

Spoiler Alert--although if you consider yourself a fan of the books and haven't finished Deathly Hallows yet--well, I just don't get it. Moving on:

I have not talked about Deathly Hallows here because I've really been letting it sink in for a few months. I don't really have any problems with the main storyline. I'm a bit disappointed that Harry didn't die and REALLY disappointed Ginny didn't(as my knitting crew knows).

Keep in mind that I am a huge fan of the Mauraders and I really pick apart things about those characters. There are some questions and thoughts that have been lingering in my mind.

Remus/Tonks
**did they "have" to get married? That would explain a lot; although admittedly I haven't analyzed the timeline to figure it out(yet).

**what was the point of Tonks as character? Seriously, I thought that when she was initially introduced it was to show some more good in the Black family tree(outside of Sirius) and possibly to show the Trio someone who is closer to their own age making a difference in the world. She would have been really well utilized if she had shared more with Harry(and Ron) about being an auror--since they had both showed interest in it. The fact that she became a desperate/love sick teenager type was weak.

**The whole Remus/Tonks marriage-baby-death thing. It seemed like an afterthought to me; it happened so quickly and beneath the radar(of the main story line)making it really difficult(for me at least)to become to upset about their passing. Plus after JKR offed Sirius; I really haven't been upset about her killing anyone--the higher the body count got the better ;)

**The Harry/Remus "go be father" discussion. It really irritated me. Harry has had a lot of life experience in his 17 years which all involved keeping himself alive; none of it revolved around an "adult relationship" and certainly had nothing to do with parenting. I don't see Remus putting much creed into the opinion of a 17 year old--I know I wouldn't, but in that conversion Remus came off as the child being chastised by an adult. It totally went against character, to me.

**Snape, dear Snape. Good or evil?
You know whose side Snape was on? Snape's--pure and simple. I don't think good or evil really entered his mind; self preservation and self serving is how he came off to me. And let's not forget to mention creepy--carrying a torch for a childhood crush who never reciprocated it(and who, in fact, has been dead for quite some time)? Let it shape the course of your whole life? Come on, Severus, you're better than that. His hatred of Harry revolved around his resemblance to James and all that brought up for him. What if--a big what if, I know--what if James and Lily had a girl? A girl who favored Lily? How do you think that would have changed things?

**finally Albus Severus Potter?! Really? Seriously? Albus Potter I get. Severus, no way. Let's immortalize my mother's obsessive stalker and the bane of my existence all through school--I'm sure that's what Harry was thinking.

That's it for now; although I'm sure I'll have more after I reread it.

Stitching Weekly

I got the kiddos to bed last night and spent some time on Little Diva's Swimming with Dolphins while watching Prisoner of Azkaban(I NEVER get tired of that movie--I think Order of the Phoenix will be the same once I get it on DVD). Here's the result:


I also managed to get out over the weekend and buy this:

Isn't it pretty? Click away on the picture to see what all that floss will turn into. I need a new start like I need a hole in the head but I've been wanting to try a monochromatic chart and I love this one.

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Black Bess Cash says, "Get ou' thar--pillage, plunder, an' wreak havoc. Make all o' yer shipmate bretheren proud! Knittin' shipmates--brandish them knitters wi' th' skill o' a master swordsman an' create some shipmate worthy booty."

This post be brought to ye by: Talk Like a Pirate Day

Love the Stranded Knitting

I don't know what it is about stranded type knitting, but it always seems to go so fast. I just love watching the pattern develop and find myself unable to put a piece down, which is exactly what happened with Little Diva's bag. I worked on it at home, at my knitting group, and in the car waiting for Diva and/or Rage to get out of school. Here's the result:

Keep in mind that this isn't blocked yet and I still need to crochet the edging/strap and add a lining(which I'm excited about because I want to use paw prints, black paw prints, as an homage to Sirius). The crochet thing is freaking me out a bit, because I suck at crochet--really it's just sad. There is something about it that doesn't click with my brain? I'll have my copy of Happy Hooker in hand while I try to follow the crochet instructions--with me luck ;)

**I really want to make a Ravenclaw bag too--I'll have to get that on the list.

Stitching Weekly(hopefully)

I'm going to try and post weekly on my cross stitch pieces; showing my progress on which ever piece or pieces I've worked on that particular week. I'm hoping it will give me incentive to stitch more often(and hopefully my knitting won't suffer). If you want to see what the final product will look like, just click on the pictures or look in the sidebar :)

Here's my progress on Misty Weniera from the HAED Yearly SAL this past weekend:


And here's my progress on Swimming with Dolphins from QS Wednesday:




It's no secret that I love Heaven and Earth Designs charts. These are the charts that brought me back to stitching after a 7-8 year break. I love the detail and the subject matter. I even enjoy browsing the site when I have free time--even if I'm not in the market for a chart. Michele and Bob(the owners) are fabulous to work with--they go above and beyond for their customers. I'm excited to see that they are starting to get some recognition in the stitching blogosphere. Unfortunately, 3 of the 4 pieces in the piece are not available as charts--I'm not sure what that was about? A small part of me is a little bummed that the secret is getting out there ;)

Halloween--Little Diva style

Yes, the Little Diva "mommy sweatshop" is working in full force this fall. Besides her cross stitch piece I am knitting her two things for her Halloween costume.

You see, my darling daughter wants to be Hermione for Halloween(I couldn't be more thrilled and no I didn't encourage her too much towards this idea ;)). I've already gotten her a Gryffindor robe, a tie, and a uniform--she has an authentic Hermione wand that lights up. I could have knit the sweater, I suppose, but realistically I knew I wouldn't have it done so I bought a black cardigan(a la Order of the Phoenix) and I may duplicate stitch Gryffindor colors on it. I know I'm her mom and just a little biased but she looks TOO CUTE in that uniform--it makes me wish she went to a fancy private school. Since major Halloween knitting wasn't in the picture I figured I could whip up a Hermione hat(for trick or treating in the frozen/rainy/sleeting tundra that is Colorado at the end of October) and this bag:



Stats:
Pattern: HP House Fair Isle Pouch Bag**kudos to Ravelry without which I wouldn't have found the pattern to begin with
Needles: 4 and 5 16"
Yarn: Encore Worsted(colors 999 and 175)

Lest you think that I do nothing for Rage--as it probably seems due to his limited blog coverage--I tried very, very hard to get him to be Hedwig(I found an awesome costume)--he said NOOOOO. He wants to be Spongebob or Patrick--darn it--so the search continues for a Spongebob costume in his size. I'm also starting a sweater for him(which has nothing to do with Halloween but I didn't want you to think I do nothing for him) and a hat and mittens are in his future too.

Oh, and Little Diva's best friend(who is a boy) decided to be Harry--"so he can match Diva when they trick or treat". How cute!

Cool!

I bow before greatness and vision. I'm totally blown away by this--it makes me want to quilt. And call me crazy(or crazier, if you will) but this looks like it would be really hard and full of minute detail--is that up my alley or what? Don't worry--quilting is not in my immediate future, but this would sure be on the list if it was.

Swimming with Dolphins

I managed to squeeze in some time yesterday on Little Diva's cross stitch. Here's the progress:


It's not a lot but those pieces of seaweed have a surprising number of colors in them. I also worked a little more of the dolphin head(aka the big blob of gray).

Little Diva is loving this so far--although I think she's a bit disappointed that it's not almost done(she's not so accepting of the "it takes time" thing). She has also informed me that she wants this one to go with Swimming with Dolphins. I think I'm her one woman stitching sweatshop ;)

If you want to see an amazing HAED finish--check this out. Here's a link to the chart--just to give you the stats on how big that one is. I'm very, very impressed and envious, Arthemise.

Textured Blanket

aka. An exercise in dexterity.

I decided to knit a blanket for my cousin's second baby(due in November). She's having a boy and I wanted something masculine(ie. not lacy) and not boring. Well, I got my wish and then some with this bad boy:



I have one repeat done and I have about 15 more to do. The reason I'm going to be calling this my dexterity blanket is because it feels like my fingers are doing a workout while I'm knitting. EVERY row has something going on. EVERY row has a right-twist in it, EVERY row has some crazy knit/purl pattern that as of yet I haven't found a pattern to. It's a twelve row repeat pattern and there isn't a "tune out" row in there anywhere.

It's from one of the Vogue Knitting on the Go Baby Blanket books but I can't remember which one offhand. Looking at the picture and even the pattern you wouldn't think it would be THAT big of a challenge, but I'm thinking this one is not for the faint of heart.

I'm soldiering on--come what may!

Leaving the Nest

My littlest progeny, Rage, will be starting preschool tomorrow. Today he went in for his "open house" where he, his father, and I could get the lay of the land and make sure he was comfortable in his new surroundings.

We went into the room, signed in, and put on his name tag. We went around and did the scavenger hunt the teachers had set up, then we handed it in so he could get a sticker. We let Rage continue to look around--he walks over the the fish tank, staring at it blankly for a few seconds. His father and I stand a little behind him watching. He turns around, my littlest child, my baby, my sidekick for the last 4 years. He turns around and says:

"So when are you two leaving?" Then stomps across the room.

Nice, huh?