Bobbi Bear in Perspective

Here's the picture to show just how big Bobbi Bear is. The pattern does give the final dimensions of the bear as over a foot tall, so to be fair I knew what I was getting into. Knowing in theory and seeing the reality are two different things, though. Here you can see Bobbi with Lincoln. Notice that Lincoln's arm is blurry - every time we tried to get him to sit next to Bobbi he knocked it over.

Next I'll be picking up stitches for Bobbi's arms, knitting some ears, and giving Bobbi a face.

Linda gets tagged, and Bobbi Bear attacks

Okay, this meme has been going around for a while, but I've finally been tagged. I unofficially tagged myself after reading Terri's blog, but I've also been officially tagged by Jennifer. Here's the deal - I'm supposed to tag seven people, but I've always done poorly at games like that so I'm following Terri's rules:

Here are the tag rules (as modified by Terri)
Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves.

Those tagged need to write on their blog the 7 facts as well as the rules of the game.

People who feel that they are tagged after reading this post can feel free to tag themselves and leave a note in my comments section.

Seven Random Facts:

1. I am left-handed, but I golf, knit, crochet, use scissors, cut my food, and do most everything else right-handed.

2. My favorite book of all time is "Emma" by Jane Austin. I've read it several times.

3. When I was little (okay, not so little - even now) I dreamed of becoming a writer

4. I love popcorn and eat it almost every day

5. I had all of my fingers crushed in a shopping-cart accident when I was 3. No permanent damage except my hands get very cold very easily.

6. I don't eat fish, or any creature that spends a majority of it's life submerged in water (eg crab, lobster)

7. I do eat meat. Yum!

Okay, now that that's out of the way I can move on to explaining the somewhat menancing title of this post. I have completed the Bobbi Bear legs, torso, and head, and have commenced stuffing him before I knit up the arms. From the photo on BB's pattern, I assumed he would be a petite bear, even though I had nothing at all on which to base that assumption. Well, BB is *huge*. He is full-teddy-bear sized, and stands at over a foot tall. I knew he was tall, but the full impact of his size did not strike me until he was stuffed. As soon as I have the opportunity, I'll take a photo so that you can see the giant that is Bobbi.

Crouching Fiber, Hidden Hedgehog

I received a fabulous new package from my secret pal this week! It was all beautifully wrapped, of course.
















First of all, I received the pattern and supplues for this really cute Hedgehog. I did not take a photo of the pattern, so you must click on the link to see how adorable these guys are.




I did take photos of everything else, though! There's two balls of Lambs Pride Worsted (which I've been wanting to try) and a ball of Funny, which will become the hedgehog's back. You can also see in the basket (which is my attempt at doing artful photography) a postcard for the Oriole's stadium. My secret pal is an Orioles fan, which is fine with me since our poor Royals can never seem to win a game.






There was also a dishcloth with an airplane motif (my secret pal promises to tell me where she's getting these patterns when she does her "reveal"). Finally, there was a set of four gorgeous stitch markers. I apologize for the blurry photo, but I seem to be having camera issues today.


Thanks secret pal!

Baby Knits

I finished the knitting on this baby jumper a couple of weeks ago, and took my sweet time doing the finishing work. It's for my sister's baby that is due in June. I actually had the side seams completely done using mattress stitch, but I ripped out the entire seam this weekend. The arms were a bit small, so I added a couple of rows to make them wider (that's the blue squares in the armpits), and I just wasn't happy with the way the mattress stitch looked - it made it too "rounded". I decided instead to do a backstitch. It gives it a more "rustic" look, but I think it looks better with the yarn and pattern. The whole outfit is basically knit in one piece from front legs to back legs, so it's really simple.

Here's the details:
Pattern: Baby knit from the Spring Knit Simple
Yarn: Bernat Denimstyle (cotton/acrylic blend)
Modifications: None, except for the yarn sub. I must have made a mistake around the neck, since the arms ended up so narrow.
Time: About two weeks to knit, and a day to do the finishing work.

Repetition Repeated

The Mr. was out of town most of this week, so I decided to treat myself by indulging in some in Jaggerspun Zephyr wool-silk from Sarah's Yarns. Sarah's Yarns is fabulous in that they send you color cards with your first order. Having already ordered some wool-silk from them (and falling in love with it), I had a huge color card at home and spent several agonizing minutes deciding what color to order. I'm terrible with colors, so this was a big deal to me. Finally, I decided on a color called "royal" that was (wait for it!) royal blue. It promptly arrived, I tore it open, and came to a crushing realization...

The color I ordered (in laceweight) was *exactly* the same color of Knitpicks merino lace-weight that I'm using for my Icarus shawl. Ouch!

I have no one to blame but myself, since I used a color card and knew exactly what color I was ordering. I guess I like the color blue. So I think a shawl is out of the question...so what should I make with my blue laceweight wool-silk?

I'd also like to note that for a limited time Sarah's Yarns is offering extra-large samples for swatching of many (if not most) of their lines for just the cost of shipping. I have a sample of the Sarah's Yarns Cashmere DK-Weight and it is heavenly!!

Ribs and Lace

Finally some progress photos! Here's where I'm at with the Ribs and Lace Tank from the Spring '07 Interweave Knits.


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I am done with the first lace pattern (basically just a feather and fan pattern) and there's one more lace pattern before the "ribs". I want to get this complete because: 1) I want to wear it! and 2) I have my next pattern picked out, and I'm itchin' to start! (More on that later!)

On the needles

I've realized I haven't been posted very often to this blog, and I do apologize. I don't have a lot of photos and/or finished objects to show for two reasons: 1) I'm not a fast knitter (this is the primary reason), and 2) I usually start 2-3 projects at once, and end up feeling so guilty about having so many projects taking up space in the house that I knit a bit on all of them until they're finally all done about the same time. So I'll have nothing finished for a long time, and then all of a sudden have three FOs. Reason #2, I've realized, is also why I don't knit socks (even though I want to) - since I have three "big" projects going on it seems like I'm "cheating" to start another small project while my other projects languish...

Enough of the psychoanalyzing, here's what I have on the needles:

1) A tank (Ribs and Lace) from the Spring Interweave Knits in Cotton-Ease. Yes, I once again frogged my Cotton-Ease to start a new project. Turns out the cotton/acrylic blend wasn't "sticky" enough and the dropped-stitch design on the Fitted Knits tank looked sloppy. I *will* find a good project for this yarn!

2) The "Icarus" shawl from last year's Interweave knit in Knitpicks Shadow. It's my first shawl project worked in laceweight, and I've allowed myself all summer to finish the thing.

3) "Bobbi Bear" from Blue Sky Alpacas, knit in Organic Cotton. Scott bought me this pattern while he was in Seattle (what a Sweetie!) and of course I had to cast on right away. It's a fun knit, and I would be done by now if I didn't stop every so often to work on my other projects.