KNITTING WITHOUT DOG HAIR IS NOT AN OPTION

All the best to you and your loved ones in 2008! And many happy fiber adventures!

I tried to find a video on YouTube with Happy New Year wishes - it seems that there's a video on YouTube for everything. So, I stumbled across this ABBA song. OK - I confess - they were one of my favorite bands as a teenager in the 80s. Yes, another of my dark secrets... ;-)

Man, I had a great vacation. I stayed away from the Internet most of the time, was in my pj's nearly 24/7, only left the house a few times, knitted up a storm and watched a ton of movies. At some point I wondered when hubby and the dogs would kick me out - I'm never home for ten days in a row. But they indulged me and we all had a good time. At least nobody complained otherwise. ;-)

Since I haven't been blogging since last year (doesn't that sound extremely dramaaaatic?), I'm going to try and remember all the things I wanted to blog about. But with my very bad memory, who knows... If I don't write down everything these days, I'm so lost.

OK - let's see. The fiber dogs had treats in their stockings:

Unusually, Noah still had some treat left when Hermione finished hers, and she gave him the evil eye... (Actually, the evil eye is probably for me for taking pictures.) Noah always finishes his food before Hermione. One of Noah's nicknames is Hoover - the food hits his bowl and 2 nanoseconds later... all inhaled.

And the dogs snuggled with me a lot, while I was knitting and watching movies.

Can you see what's next to Hermione's head? The corner of the Jeanie Shawl. I finished it three days before the wedding. It was truly a knitting marathon but it got done in time. All in all it didn't take me as long I thought it would. Interesting what can be accomplished knitting on only one project at a time. But I'm not a monogamous knitter - I like my variety knitting much better.

OK - ready for pictures?

Project Stats:
Pattern: Jeanie by Keri Williams
Needle: US 6 / 4.0 mm (Knitpicks Harmony)
Yarn: Tilli Tomas Disco Lights
Yarn content: 100% Pure silk with petite sequins every 1.5"
How much? 6 skeins = 1350.0 yards (1234.4m)
Colorway: American Beauty
Modifications: I changed the yarn from Smooshy by Dream in Color to the Tilli Tomas. Still, the shawl has the same dimensions.

And yes, it feels as luscious as it looks.

I'm very glad I didn't go through with my initial plan to knit the Lily Chin lace dress from the Vogue knitting magazine. There were too many issues with the pattern - thanks to VAGUE Knitting, NOT the designer! - and I wasn't sure if it would look good knitted up with the heavy silk yarn. I was thinking what I would do if I finished the dress a day before the wedding and it looked horrific because the heavy silk sagged like crazy. Then I'd have nothing knitted for the wedding and I'd have to rush out and buy a dress. Thankfully, when the latest issue of Knitty came out, I fell in love with the Jeanie shawl. And the shawl I can wear a lot more often. And I will. ;-)

I also blocked Jacquie's shawl shortly before her son's wedding:

Thank goodness for those big foam floor mats. They fit so nicely on our dining room table. :-)

What else? I started the Noro sweater from VERENA magazine, and I'm totally in shock how fast this knits up. And no, it's not only because I'm a fast knitter. I truly think this pattern is a very fast knit. It took only two days to knit the back - OK, granted, vacation days with lots more knitting time than usual:

And I caved and bought a ball of the new Noro Kureyon sock yarn. I totally love this colorway - S95 - reminds me of a rose garden. But to me it's too crunchy to knit socks with so I'm designing fingerless mittens with very long cuffs. What would you call these things? Is there a name? Let me know. Number one is done:

Trying to take a picture of the glove on my arm didn't really work. I'll have Hubby take a picture once I'm done. The cable pattern running up the front is from the Vogue Stitchionary Cables. It's called Fudge Swirl - don't ask me why...

I have a couple more projects that should be finished this weekend. More about them later.

Wait! Before I let you go, two more things.

Jen and I created a new group on Ravelry. It is called Mission Possible 2008:

We desperately need to destash, finish projects, etc., and we thought we shouldn't do this alone. It's a knit-a-long (or maybe a project-a-long because it's not only for knitting...) that runs all through 2008 - you need to commit to 12 projects. It's up to you when you finish them, but they all have to be done by December 31, 2008. Check it out! We posted the group yesterday and already have 42 members. WOW! I'm so glad we're not alone with our issues. ;-)

And last but not least - the Friday night knitting group at Knitch will start a knit-a-long tonight. It's the Uncle Argyle Scarves from Son of Stitch 'n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men:

The pattern calls for Cascade 220 but I'm going to knit with sock yarn, Toasty and Saucy from numma numma. Here are my color choices:

Squeeze Cheese & Blueberry Jam

Now that's a food combination!

With this - have a great weekend! It's great to be back in blogland! ;-)

OK, I confess. But I really tried... Remember the KAL for the double-knitted scarf? Here's what I accomplished after about three hours:

Sorry my dear fellow Friday night knitters, but I just don't have the patience for this. So, here's the final result on Sunday evening:

But... I really like the Argyle pattern and the color combination. I can see socks with this color/yarn combination in the future. (Note to self - don't forget about this pattern for socks!)

So, I'm getting ready to knit on my MISSION: POSSIBLE 2008 list, which I posted on Ravelry yesterday (a blog post will follow shortly). It's a bit overwhelming when you write it all down, but it's all good. I needed to do this, and hopefully I'll be able to get everything accomplished, too.

There was quite a bit of knitting and finishing this weekend at Chez Claudine (that's my name Frenchified). The Wisp is finished:

Project Stats:
Pattern: Wisp
Needle: US 8 / 5.0 mm (Knitpicks Harmony)
Yarn: Unknown - from my boss's wife (she gave me all her yarn and needles last year)
Yarn content: I think it is mohair
How much? no idea, two balls of yarn without a label
Colorway: Dark Blue

Also in the finished pile (and actually in the mail to my dear sister-in-law in Vermont) are a pair of felted mittens. She asked me to make her a pair because it is sooooooooo cold in Vermont. She also asked if I could make them to match the felted hat I gave her for Christmas in 2006. Boy, that was a task. Luckily I had a picture of the hat:

It took quite a while to remember what yarns I used to make that hat, but with Hubby's help I figured it out: a strand of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes and a strand of Knitpicks Suri Dream. BUT the baby blue color is not available anymore. Shoot... Thankfully I found a pretty close match among the Cascade 220 blues. And here are the mittens (before and after felting):

I think we matched the yarn quite successfully. (What would I do without Hubby dearest?) And I added a little ribbed cuff, so the mittens will stay on her hands and keep snow and drafts out:

My SIL typically reads my blog only on the weekend, so hopefully she won't see this until after she gets her package. If not - hey there - these are on the way with warm wishes!!! ;-)

I also managed to finish the front and back of the Noro sweater, attach them, and add the collar with a cute little crocheted (yes, I do that once in a blue moon...) shell edging:

And for superfast knitting and instant gratification - I finished a baby kimono for friends of ours in the UK. Here is the birth announcement, which I found in my emails when I came back to work last week:

Helen, Ian and James are delighted to announce the safe arrival of a baby girl yesterday morning. She weighed in at 6lb 8oz and is called Alice. She made an extremely rapid arrival and was safely delivered by Ian before even the ambulance could make the 3 minute journey from the hospital to our house. Mum, James and baby well, Dad in shock!!

Poor Ian - we hope he's recovered from his role as midwife by now.

I love knitting for babies and I haven't knitted one of these cute kimonos before. Perfect occasion to knit one up. I fell in love with the soft cotton at Knitch on Sunday and bought two balls:

Project Stats:
Pattern: One-Piece Baby Kimono by Christina Shiffman (from Mason-Dixon Knitting)
Needle: US 6 / 4.0 mm
Yarn: Araucania Nature Cotton
How much? 2 skeins = 210.0 yards (192.0m)
Colorway: Varigated Pink/Orange

Another fast knit... Good to know for last minute baby gifts. The original pattern calls for one ball of good ol' Peaches & Creme cotton. Instead of a Fabric tie, I crocheted one. Geez, again?

Aren't those colors wonderful? Love the combination of orange and pink.

Lastly, more proof that some people have too much time on their hands:

Man, I wish my mom would have let me play with food... Oh, well, I'm at the end of lunch break. I'll post more about my Mission: Possible projects later. See ya!

Or maybe better, crawling through the snow? Thanks to some snowflakes last night, it took 2½ hours to get home (instead of 45 minutes).

Well, I have to say it reminded me that I really love snow, and on days like yesterday I get homesick for good old Germany and its brutal winters - hard to believe, I know. I used to downhill ski, cross-country ski, and hike to lodges in the mountains, stop for hot spiced wine and ride down on a little wooden sleigh. Sigh.

Anyways, I had to take pictures when I got home. Of course it was dark by then, but hey, I've got a flash... So, here are some winter night expressions from Georgia, USA:

Some of those snowflakes were pretty darn chunky.

I have knitting pictures, too. Back in October, I placed an order online with a yarn store in Germany that never arrived. After some emailing back and forth, the store sent a replacement shipment (at no extra cost), and it arrived a couple of days ago:

2 balls of Regia 6-ply in a new colorway called Polar. They will make two nice pairs of socks for that one day when it snows in Georgia. ;-)

And a bunch of German lace magazines - actually one is in Spanish. I think I remember why I bought that one: I think I was in awe of the beautifully draped shawl on the cover. I'm sure I can find someone in my knitting groups who knows Spanish in case I need translation help:

I finished the first of my FOs from the Mission: Possible 2008 list - the opera gloves. Now I have to write up the pattern (part of the deal). I also have to blog the whole list here. At least it's already published on the Ravelry group.

OH, and the Noro sweater is finished, too. I'm going to show it off at Knitch tonight. No pictures yet - SORRY!

Let's hope that my boss will close our office in observance of MLK Day on Monday. Then there'll a long weekend ahead. Cross your fingers & toes!

Yup, that was me! The office was closed yesterday and I stayed home for three straight days. Knitterly heaven!!! I even didn't drive into the city to meet up with my Sunday afternoon knitting group. Jen didn't go either, and since she rides shotgun with me on Sundays, I had a perfect excuse to just stay home in my pjs and knit, knit, knit...

But this long weekend at home somehow fed my current emotional slump. Hubby and I had some talks about this because I'm a bit worried about it. I can't figure out what could be causing these current moods. It might just be all hormonal and pre-pre-pre-menopausal (hey, I just turned 40, ya know...), but I've never before felt so drained, tired and un-motivated. And I just had a lo-o-ong vacation over the holidays. I should feel refreshed - the vacation was just three weeks ago. It might just be my current workload. Or the feelings I have about my parents getting older - they will both be 70 this year - and me being so far away (and on another continent). Or maybe it's just me getting old. Who knows what's going on subconsciously in a women's head, right? At least I feel like knitting up a storm... that's one good thing. But enough with the whining already!

Here's the executive summary of last weekend: I slept and knitted a lot and watched silly TV shows/movies while knitting, with sleeping fiber dogs curled up beside me. It's especially cute when they have wild doggie dreams and make funny sounds. But having those warm bodies laying next you when it's snowing outside and freakin' freezin' cold is great. Ah, another good reason not to leave the house. ;-) But I was crazy enough to step outside for a couple of minutes to make a little snow video, which Hubby is trying to upload to YouTube. It's too big at the moment... 135MB, and YouTube's limit is 100MB. He's trying to find something online to edit it with. Once it's somewhere online, you'll see it on the blog.

In the meantime, here is Ms. Hermione standing in the snow, probably wondering what all that white stuff is about and why it makes her paws wet:

Here is the three-day knitting diary:

On Saturday, I finally knitted the Peasant Hat. It was on my mind for quite a while and the instant gratification was good for my knitting soul. ;-) If you have the time and you don't get discouraged by a 42 inch long and 18 stitch wide band, you can knit this hat in a day or in two to three sittings. And it's really cute. It's a knock-off (or maybe, better, a knit-off) of a very expensive cashmere cap that the designer, Melody, saw online. Unfortunately she does not have a blog and the pattern is only available on Ravelry (as far as I know), but it's free.

Projects Stats:
Pattern: Do-It-Yourself Peasant Cap
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm Knitpicks Harmony
Yarn: Rowan Kid Classic
How much? 1.5 skeins = 229.5 yards (209.9m)
Colorway: Burgundy red

Geez - I look tired... Note to self: Don't ask Hubby to take my picture late in the evening - OK, it was only around 7pm, but that's sometimes late for me - and no makeup. Hubby said the hat looks very European. Well, I'm a Bavarian farm girl after all. ;-) I guess that's a good match then. I wore the hat when I went out last night to pick up sushi for dinner (really the only time I left the house all weekend), and it was nice and warm and not itchy at all. By the way, Jane knitted this hat before me in the exact same yarn and color. Yup, I'm a copycat. And Jen and Regan knitted it too. We should take a group picture one of these days before the cold weather ends. The forecast says the following:

And get this, one of my coworkers was supposed to fly to Washington, DC, this morning, but Delta cancelled all their flights between 6am and 10am because of a freezing rain alert. And we didn't even have rain in the morning. Atlanta is a fun city when the weather is not normal, meaning something is coming out of the sky...

On Sunday, I started another Mission Possible: 2008 project - my SAFF sweater for 2008 with yarn I bought at SAFF two years ago. The orginal plan was to knit the Cable Guy Sweater from the Sons of Stitch and Bitch book, but I got a little scared because I'm not sure I have enough yarn. Supposedly, I have a total of 1,800 yards on the three hanks. But you never know, right? So, I figured this would be a good time to finally knit a top-down raglan sweater. All I've knitted top down so far are a poncho and a little baby cardigan. Plus I love the idea of NO SEAMS!!! Yes, no seams nowhere. That is so awesome!!!

And since I'm a very lazy person, I couldn't bring myself to actually read Barbara Walker's book Knitting from the Top Down and do all the calculations, etc. Instead, I looked online for a pattern and came across this very cool website, Top Down Raglan Sweater Generator. All you need to do is make a swatch (yeah, can't get around that if you want your sweater to fit), measure your chest, feed those numbers into the website, hit enter, and voila - you're presented with a pattern. And it really works... I knitted all this on Sunday and Monday:

I got past the part where the sleeves separate from the body. Those sleeve stitches rest on waste yarn until I pick them up again for knitting the sleeves:

I kept the cable pattern from the Cable Guy Sweater and incorporated it into my sweater pattern. It works out really nice. Except, I kinda forgot that I also wanted a cable running down the sleeves. You could call this an "afterthought" cable...

All you need to do is calmly drop the stitches that need to be changed into a cable, put them on double-pointed needles and knit them back in the desired cable pattern. Really not hard - although Hubby calls it magic. I like it when he thinks I can do magic. ;-)

The yarn I'm using is hand-spun alpaca and very soft. I'm hoping I can finish this before the AKG knitting retreat in February in the North Carolina mountains. Or at least take the sweater to the retreat and finish it there.

On Monday - besides knitting on the sweater - I also knitted on my new Argyle socks. Remember the double-knitted scarf Knit-A-Long that I dropped out of? Well, here is the sock version:

Front

Back

LOVE IT! It's a toe-up pattern with a Turkish cast-on and it'll have a Boomerang Heel (a German variation of a short row heel). I'm planning on writing up the pattern - eventually... And it'll have instructions on that specific heel. Somehow, I've found no English instructions for how to knit it anywhere. Let me know if you come across a pattern online with that heel.

So, that was the Three-Day Reclusion... And last but not least, the FOs of last week:

FO #1:

Project Stats:
Pattern: One-Piece Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Made for: Baby Holly Nicole in California
Size: Newborn
Needles: US 6 / 4.0 mm (Bamboo Circular 32")
Yarn: Bernat Cottontots Ombres
How much? 1.5 skeins = 225.0 yards (205.7m)
Colorway: Pink Varigated

Remember that I just knitted a Baby Kimono for friends in the UK? Well, the day I finished the first one, Hubby and I received a birth announcement from a couple that moved from Georgia to Germany to California. And they had a baby, too, just before Christmas. The funny thing about all this that before we all got married, we - meaning the wife of the UK couple, the husband of the now California couple and Hubby and I - hung out together on business trips when we all were coworkers at a huge computer company about 8 years ago. I know, it all sounds very complicated... but so funny!

FO #2:

Project Stats:
Pattern: Noro Sweater with short sleeves (from VERENA Winter 2007 issue)
Size: L
Needles: US 6 / 4.0 mm Knitpicks Interchangeables Metal 32"
Yarn: Noro Kureyon
How much? 2 skeins = 220.0 yards (201.2m) Colorway: 195
How much? 6 skeins = 660 yards (603.5m) Colorway: 172

This sweater was a very fast knit, and the lace pattern (just a 4-row repeat) almost looks like a cable. Might be a good pattern for socks, too.

FO #3:

Project stats:
Name: Opera Gloves
Pattern: my own
Needles: US 2 / 2.75 mm Yarn Knitpicks Harmony 32" circular
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock
How much? 1 skeins = 462.0 yards (422.5m)
Colorway: S95

This is the first project from my Mission Possible: 2008 list that's finished. Well, the knitting part is finished. Part of project is also to write up the pattern. I have the notes and I already have the chart, so it should be just a matter of days. And I need to figure what the best way is to sell this pattern. I'll keep you posted.

OHHHH - before I forget. Phyllis is hosting a contest on her blog. It's called Central Park Footie. I promised her pix of paws. Here ya go:

And here is a family "pawtrait". ;-)

I think that's enough sillyness for the moment. How come I always end up writing novels for blog entries... I should blog more often and then have shorter entries. We'll see...

Actually, when I came home tonight, there were several surprises. And this totally calls for a second post.

My SIL sent me a cute thank-you card for the mittens. She loves them and I'm glad I sent them to her early instead of waiting for her birthday this week. She also sent Hubby a very cute picture of our nephews, aka, Hermione's and Noah's cousins:

Emerson & Jasper from Vermont

Then Hubby had me open a huge box. He's my personal shopper, you know. For those of you who know him personally or through my blog, you know that he researches the H€££ out of anything before he buys a specific item. It doesn't matter if he's shopping for a big-screen TV or feminine products. In this case it was herbal tea - specifically Raspberry Leaf tea. He told me a while back that he bought some for me to try, but I didn't know that he would present me with this box:

Jen, he bought enough for both of us. I will bring you a selection on Sunday. I'd say this will last for a while. ;-)

I also got the spring issue of VERENA. Mom already told me that she got hers last week when we talked on Sunday and she said that there were a lot of nice patterns. NO KIDDING!!! Just quickly looking through the issue, I found one, two, three ... eight patterns that I want to knit:

Aren't they nice? You know what's scary - I probably have the yarn for every one of these sweaters in my stash. Well, my mom told me to bring her some of my stash to knit sweaters for me. And guess what goes in my suitcase when we go visit this May. But no worries, none of these are on my Mission: Possible 2008 list. ;-)

And the best news for last - I got my new green card today. My first one was conditional for two years - meaning the government had to make sure that Hubby and I would still be married after two years, and since we are, it got approved and now I have one that doesn't expire until January 2018. SO AWESOME!!!

Happy Anniversary, dear blog!

This is our second anniversary - one year on www.blogger.com and one year as www.bavgirl.com.

Many happy returns! ;-)

Finally - here's my project list with the twelve culprits. There's no numbering - I listed them alphabetically. I don't want to commit to which project is most important or when I'm going to finish it. We'll see how this all works out until December 31, 2008 - there's still plenty of time!!! See?

Anyway, here they are:

Name: Bart Socks
Pattern: Bartholomew's Tantalizing Socks by Cat Bordhi (New Pathways for Sock Knitters, Book One)
Made for: Me
Size: 8
Needles: US 1 / 2.25 mm US 2 / 2.75 mm Knitpicks Harmony 32" circular
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino Sock 2/6
How much? 1 skeins = 383.0 yards (350.2m)
Colorway: Rainbow colors
Started: November 2007 (after the Cat Bordhi workshop at Knitch)
Status: 50% - One sock done, one to go.

Name: Bayerische Socken
Pattern: Bayerische Socks by Eunny Jang
Made for: Me
Size: M (8)
Needles: US 0 / 2.0 mm metal dpns
Yarn: Austermann Step
How much? 1 skeins = 460.0 yards (420.6m)
Colorway: Melba
Started: June 2007
Status: 40% - I'm still working on the first one - probably a couple of inches away from the toe part. I should take a new picture...

Name: SAFF Sweater 2008
Pattern: Top Down Raglan Sweater Generator by Knitting Fool
Made for: Me
Chest Size: 38
Needles: US 5 / 3.75 mm Addi Turbo 40" circular
Yarn: Handspun Alpaca from SAFF
How much? 3 skeins = 1800.0 yards (1645.9m)
Colorway: Brown/creme
Started: January 2008
Status: 30% - Hard to say in percent tho'. I'm probably 3 inches past the armholes on my way down to the bottom edge.

Name: Chemo Hat
Pattern: My own
Made for: Charity
Needles: US 5 / 3.75 mm Inox metal 16" circular
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere
How much? 2 skeins = 206.0 yards (188.4m)
Colorway: rose
Started: November 2007
Completed: November 2007
Status: I need to re-knit the hat and write up the pattern. It will be for sale and the proceeds will go to S.D. Ireland Cancer Research Fund, a cancer research group that Cat Bordhi supports.

Name: Felted Fair Isle Bag
Pattern: My own
Made for: me
Needles: US 15 / 10.0 mm Knitpicks Harmony 24" circular
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool
How much? 3 skeins = 660.0 yards (603.5m)
Colorway: Brown
How much? 1 skeins = 220.0 yards (201.2m)
Colorway: Turqouise
Yarn: Ozark Handspun
How much? 1 skeins = 34.0 yards (31.1m)
Colorway: Lucie Darfent (355a)
Started: September 2007
Completed: September 2007
Status: I promised Kim that I'd write up the pattern for Knitch. I have the notes and the chart for the colorwork, just need to sit down and put it all together.

Name: Gilda Beaded Scarf
Pattern: Gilda by Twisted Sisters
Made for: Me
Needles: US 5 / 3.75 mm straight metal needles
Yarn: Classic Elite Imagine
How much?
3 skeins = 279.0 yards (255.1m)
Colorway: 9206 blue/purple/pink
Started: July 2007
Status: 30% - I'm getting ready for the second skein. The beads are from Westrim Crafts, Rochaille Bead Silv. Lined 6/0 Green Iris (3 bags = 9oz. - approx. 2,500 beads). Hubby counted and strung the beads - bless his heart!

Name: Haley's Scarf
Pattern: Designed by Haley from Knitch
Made for: Me
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm straight metal needles
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze
How much? 2 skeins = 458.0 yards (418.8m)
Colorway: 589 - Majestic
Yarn: no-name, no-label yarn for the garter stitch ridges
How much? 1 skein
Colorway: rose
Started: June 2007
Status: 40%

Name: Kiri Lace Shawl
Pattern: Kiri by Polly Outhwaite
Made for: Me
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm Knitpicks Interchangeables 40" circular
Yarn: Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud
How much? 2 skeins = 880.0 yards (804.7m)
Colorway: Midnight Heather
Started: December 2006
Status: 20%

Name: Mystery Stole 3
Pattern: Swan Lake / Mystery Stole 3 by Melanie Gibbons
Made for: Me
Needle: US 4 / 3.5 mm Addi Turbo Lace 32" circular
Yarn: Ornaghi Filati Merino Oro
How much? 1 skeins = 1375.0 yards (1257.3m)
Colorway: Burgundy
Started: July 2007
Status: 75%

Name: Opera Gloves
Pattern: My own
Made for: Me
Needles: US 2 / 2.75 mm Knitpicks Harmony 32" circular
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock
How much? 1 skeins = 462.0 yards (422.5m)
Colorway: S95
Started: December 2007
Completed: January 2008
Status: To finish this project, I need to write up the pattern. Charts are done and I have all my notes together. I just need to sit down and write it up.

Name: Spinning Claudia's Roving
Pattern: Spin a single-ply
Made for: Me
How much? 2 pounds of Islandic roving
Colorway: Brown
Started: January 2008
Status: So far, I've spun up 2 ounces of Claudia's fleece in a single-ply and ended up with 125 yards, which I'm going to use for a hat. I'm hoping I can spin enough yarn from these two pounds to make a sweater or maybe a poncho.

Name: Twisted Flower Socks
Pattern: Twisted Flower Sock by Cookie A.
Made for: Me
Size: 8
Needles: US 0 / 2.0 mm metal dpns
Yarn: Louet Gems Pearl
How much? 2 skeins = 370.0 yards (338.3m)
Colorway: Sandalwood
Started: July 2007
Status: 50% - Finished the first sock (according to my notes within a week), have to start the second one.

So, the oldest project is from December 2006 and the newest one is from January 2008. I think the toughest one will be the spinning project. Two pounds of roving... Whew... I'll have to get some advice from my wonderful spinning pals to see what I can do to keep a consistent thickness, etc. I don't think I'll be sitting at home for several weeks in a row just spinning.

...and I didn't even know it. If you want to take The 3 Variable Funny Test, click here.

This is my result:

Your score: the Ham (28% dark, 53% spontaneous, 31% vulgar)

Your humor style: CLEAN | SPONTANEOUS | LIGHT

Your style's goofy, innocent and feel-good. Perfect for parties and for the dads who chaperone them. You can actually get away with corny jokes, and I bet your sense of humor is a guilty pleasure for your friends. People of your type are often the most approachable and popular people in their circle. Your simple & silly good-naturedness is immediately recognizable, and it sets you apart in this sarcastic world.

People like you: Will Ferrell - Will Smith

Thanks Regan for the link on your Asides.

Also, I forgot to share a couple of things when I posted about the latest Verena issue a few days ago. I couldn't believe my eyes but there is a German Knitpicks ad:

And then there are these guys - so cute. If you didn't know which knitting magazine has this pattern, you'd say German, right? The Lederhosen are a dead giveaway...

I'm thinking about making one of these sweaters for my nephew.

OK - and I really have all the yarn I need at home to make those 8 sweater. Holy cannoli...Thanks to Raverly and my stash list there, it's really easy to find the yarn online. Finding the yarn at home - a totally different issue...

Yarn: Famos Paris Cotton
How much? 10 skeins = 853.0 yards (780.0 m)
Colorway: Lime (02)

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool
How much? 7 skeins = 1344.0 yards (1229.0 m)
Colorway: Rosehip (21)

Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too 2nd Time Cotton
How much? 6 skeins = 1080.0 yards (987.6 m)
Colorway: Valencia

Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too Angora Soft
How much? 15 skeins = 1725.0 yards (1577.3 m)
Colorway: Blue (635)

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport
Yarn weight: Sport / 5 ply (12 wpi)
How much? 16 skeins = 1760.0 yards (1609.3 m)
Colorway: Orchid

Yarn: Madil Yarns Eden
How much? 12 skeins = 1308.0 yards (1196.0 m)
Colorway: blue/green/silver

Yarn: Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4 Ply
How much? 10 skeins = 1200.0 yards (1097.3 m)
Colorway: Light brown

Yarn: Schoeller + Stahl Barolo
How much? 16 skeins = 1924.8 yards (1760.0 m)
Colorway: Periwinkle

And with this hilarious TV show video, I'm sending you into the weekend. My coworker just showed it to me on YouTube, and she and I were convulsing with laughter. I don't know what it is with the Japanese, but they have really incredible silly TV shows:

Oh, and I guess you figured it out by now... I'm blogging and looking at funny videos during the workday... My boss is in Germany and things are a bit quiet for the moment. I guess by saying this I probably just jinxed it...

Stay warm! According to the forecast it should be in the 20s tonight... Brrrrr...

PS: Remember that this Sunday is our first MISSION: POSSIBLE 2008 knitting meet-up at Knitch. Bring one, two, three or all twelve projects and we'll have a big round of group motivation!