piperknits

Megan Finished -- FINALLY!

Finally! Like my flower? You'll find the pattern in the premiere issue of Vogueknitting's Knit.1 magazine. Very easy and knit on straight #9 needles. Very cool. I'm putting these little blooms on everything!

YO-Cho progress

Finished the back (or maybe it's the front...) of MEGAN/YO-Cho Poncho, and have about 1/3 of the other piece done. Added some more YOs to the yoke area not called for in the pattern.

In other news, my new breakfast table finally came YOO HOO! Check it out -- so cool to have a counter-height table (36 inches tall) - it leaves so much more foot room. There are actually 8 stools, but the two missing in the photo are in the kitchen at the moment. That's my son's college homework spread out all over the table.

I've decided I now need a larger rug for the room -- anyone know where to find a square rug????

In other knitting news: Knit this scarf last night when my fingers started aching from the MEGAN. Two entire balls of Rowan BIG WOOL TUFT in chocolate brown. Photo doesn't show it so much, but this looks like either Chewbacca's arm from Star Wars or a skinny Yak. Glad I didn't plan to knit an entire sweater out of TUFT or I'd have to take out a loan to pay for it. Really stinks how small the balls are... I also bought 2 white balls, but I might save it for trimming something special later.

Hep me, hep me, I've been YO'ed

I love the yarn overs in my MEGAN so much, I've added some to my feathery, KidSilk Haze scarf I'm knitting for Mom for Christmas!!! Check it out!

Also decided to add another row or three of YOs to my MEGAN. Pictures tomorrow. What do you call half a poncho? A Pon? A Cho? I suppose it depends on which side you knit first....For now, I'm naming mine the Yo-Yo Cho...

We carved Jack O' Lanterns yesterday -- Here's a peek at our mess:

Yarn Over, Yarn Over, send Piper right over...

Cast on yesterday for the MEGAN, only I'm using LANG POLAR in blue on US 10.5 needles, so I had to rework the pattern to fit the smaller gauge (who knew math would come in handy in real life???). Keep your fingers crossed. Who knows how this will turn out....
This is my first foray into Yarn Overs. I'm hooked. Took me a couple of froggings to get it right. FUN FUN! What pretty stitches I've created. I'm so excited!!! The photos don't show it, but I'm an expert Yarn Over-er now! Can't stretch out the yarn over the short needle or everything will drop right off the end. Oh, and the pattern calls for knitting this in one piece but I'm doing it in two. No way I could fit the entire circumference of this thing (52" around the bottom) on my 12-inch straights. Tried knitting on circulars first and even flexibles after the second froggin', but this was a disaster waiting to happen. I need some honkin' 20" straights for this to be comfortable. Can't wait to be able to stretch this puppy out and admire my lovely YO's!!!

Caveat: This was supposed to be a Christmas present for someone else, but I like it so much I'm giving it to myself -- that is, until I try it on and discover I look like the Liberty Bell or something....

Floppy Booga

My Booga is not stiff like I want it! I have a front loader washing machine, so I'm thinking this must be the problem. I will take it to my mom's tomorrow and try to stiffen it up in her machine.

Knit with Kuryeon #81 on 10.5 circuitous bamboo-zles

More "Reade-wear"

This little bag started out as a cell phone case but transformed into a shoulder bag/purse for my niece, Reade. It took me about 1 hour to knit, plus another 1/2 hour for the i-cord strap.

BAG - knit in one piece with Paton's Twister 'Pink Power' on US 10.5 bamboo needles (bamboozles, for short).
STRAP: 3-strand i-cord with Lion Brand Fun Fur 'Soft Pink' on US 10.5 DPs.
I think it needs a cute button of some sort to finish off the flap. Any ideas?

Here's the schematic for the bag:

I'm back, alive and knitting again...

Just completed -- "Reade" Pop-Star Poncho (my title) knit with 3 balls of 'winter white' Rowan polar on very cold, very clangy, size US15 aluminum needles. I guess you can tell I'm not a metal needle fan. Happened upon some really mod sequinned flower-power pins at The Gap yesterday that would be so cute on the "READE". Still looking for the perfect accessory to help camoflauge the seam on the front piece.

Piperknits is undergoing a major overhaul. Don't worry, you didn't miss anything over the summer because I didn't pick up my needles for 4 months.

Right now I'm knitting a BOOGA BAG in Noro Kureyon #81 for my SIL for Christmas and have ordered some more colorful Kureyon for a "happier" BOOGA to give to a more perky relative....

Also on my list is the Coty capelet/poncho webbed thingie from Rowan's "Things Just got Bigger" but this project is CROCHET EEK!!!!!!! I am looking for a knit project that is similar -- anyone???

Just sold off most of my aging stash on ebay and then turned around and started replenishing with new fiber from Rowan and Crystal Palace -- I've gotten the ribbon yarn bug and have even resorted to picking up some cheap Patons novelty stuff from my local Hobby Lobby. I have no idea what I'm knitting with all the pink and fluffy new yarn in my stash, but I'm sure my Britney Spears loving niece could use plenty of new pink, fluffy garments and accessories. The poncho above is for said niece. She's 5 years old and loves to play "pop star". The poncho will go great with her new green, black and white Go-Go boots, I'm sure....

In non-knitting news, I've been struck with a severe bout of luck in my photography career. Last month one of my images
was licensed and published in FAMILY CIRCLE's October 1st issue (last page of the mag, if you want to see). This was my biggest sale to date, and it couldn't get any better, I thought. Last week another image
was licensed to Georgia Power Conglomerate (official name) -- VERY, VERY COOL. And that's all I have to say about that...

My husband and 18-yo son made it through a full week of B.O.S.S. Boulder Outdoor Survival School back in August. I was so worried about my son, but it turned out to be a great character-building experience for both men. Yes, that's real MUDDY WATER they're drinking. This was day 2 and they hadn't had any food or water for 24 hours of hiking in the boonies of Utah. Oh, and there were no tents or sleeping bags either. The whole idea was to learn to "survive" hence the name Survival School. They weren't kidding... This is the program the producers of "Cast Away" with Tom Hanks went through to prepare for the film. Nick and Paul did all the same things Tom Hanks did - learned to make fire the same way, etc. Very cool. If you are the adventure-seeking type, you should check it out.

**NOTE: Both Nick and Paul are marathon runners and in excellent shape. They both found BOSS to be challenging, both physically and mentally. There were at least two men who didn't make it past the first day. One was sent to the hospital for heat exhaustion and dehydration. You need to be in excellent physical shape to make it through a week of BOSS hell. Nick was the youngest surviver. I'm very proud of him (and Paul too! :)