i'm bored. here r some pics... one of mandara's hats - made out of debbie bliss' wool/cotton. an almost finished camoflage rambling rows baby jacket for kkarma's sakura if u haven't been to redlipstick lately, u need to click the link now and check out stacey's funky, new hats. i really need to work on my knitted hat skills. man oh man. k, i'm goin to bed now. goodnite world.

i need more space. i suddenly got the urge to finish things. mandara leaves tues. nite and i've got four of her items washed and blocked. how long does it take for things to dry after washing them? stuff is laid out all over my living room floor. clem is going to shit bricks when she comes thru tomorrow. ha. while finishing things, i also have the urge to start things. i've been wanting to make funky looking sleeves. so i started knitting some w/ the left over pink mohair. i'm also thinking 'bout starting a scarf w/ artful yarn's museum. i got some help w/ the rebecca sweater. i was cruisin along and have gotten stuck/confused once again. i made sure i fully understood the next set of instructions before i left the frenzy, but i think i've forgotten what i was told. then again, i think it's more doubt than forgetfulness. i'd hate to get really far on it and then have to rip all my work out. i guess that's the onlee way i'll learn right? ::: roc, i want to see some of ur handi.work.

i'm making the orange sweater. it comes out of a rebecca mag and is also shown in this month's interweave. it seems to knit up pretty quickly, but i'm not sure if i'm doing the stitch correctly (half fisherman's rib). my stitch doesn't match the stitch shown on the sweater. hopefully, i can get some help on it today and work on it over the weekend. oh, i can knit some. the pain in my hand has gone away, but it's still a lil tender in the area where the stitches r. while watching 'dances with wolves', i finished the sleeve on the rambling rows baby jacket and got it all sewed up. i'm thinking 'bout making a hat and matching booties too. i've got some blocking to do as well. i've never blocked anything before. the concept has been explained to me and i've read a lil bit on it. it seems simple enuff. pictures soon come.

mmmmm mohair. i am loving the stuff. i have to buy more of it. maybe even knit w/ it. i've decided to frog the neckdown sweater. continuous stockinette is not fun. i have been bored to tears (working on smaller projects hasn't even helped). so now i wanna make sumthin funky. sumthin colorful and chunky. the rebecca mag always has cool stuff in it. i've checkin out a few lopi patterns too. hopefully, i'll find sumthin to tickle my fancy. i'll keep u posted.

not a lot has been goin on. i managed to cut my hand on thurs nite (story on the other blog) and got 5 stitches. i went 2 days w/o making anything, but the pressure was too much. i was goin nuts just sittin 'round. i even started bitin my nails again. pitiful, i know. i ended up crocheting 2 mohair hats. i should b able to relax, but i can't.

aight y'all, i've been thinkin of a way to get active in my community. and one thought i have is makin winter gear for tha homeless. so i wanna know...r u active in ur community? if so, what do u do? (it doesn't have to b crochet/knit related).

i've been surrounded by cotton yarn. yep. my ex has asked me to make 10 "lighter weight" hats. so i've been busy. i have to get used to tha stuff. i spent a couple hours on one hat bcuz it kept growing. no matter how many times i ripped it back and decreased, it still kept growing. turns out i shoulda been using an "f" hook instead of an "h". tha teal socks r close to being finished. i turned one heel and i'm starting tha heel flap on tha second. mandara has been wearing tha jacquard joints and they look so cute on her. i gotta hurry up and finish this new pair. also, tha rambling rows jacket is close to being finished as well. i'm half way done w/ tha first sleeve. i'd like to have it done by sunday, since tha baby will b here soon.

here's a not so great pic of tha lang jawoll jacquard socks.

made w/ tha himalayan yarn co.'s wool/recycled silk blend... above...tha "tibetan dreams" hat i made for knitting frenzy. i made a red one for mandara, it's groovy. tha jacquard socks r almost finished. pics of those will b up soon.

i just finished making a hat for tha frenzy. it's tha "tibetan dreams" hat made w/ tha himalayan yarn co.'s wool.silk blend. it's quite groovy if i must say so myself. mandara modeled it for me and she looks damn good in it. anywayz, i'm proud bcuz this was my first time following a crochet pattern. starting tha hat was a lil rocky, but once i figured out what i was doing, it was a piece of cake. pics soon come. tha neckdown sweater seems to b takin forever to make. tha whole thing is in stockinette. i've been trying to do @ least 2 rows a day, but it's not gettin me anywhere. i guess i'll need to increase that. i will finish it...even if it takes me a year. happy moon-day.

tha temps have been in tha 80s tha last couple of days. babygirl and i stayed home yesterday since we were both getting over some type of stomach flu. around 5pm, i made her get dressed so we could go outside and sit in tha sun. we laid out tha blanket and crocheted. she's makin a bag for her wooden flute. i hope she finishes it. i haven't been makin much of anything. i'm workin on tha mate to tha jacquard sock. that's it. i need to build up my inventory for tha fall. i'm tired of makin tha same ole stuff...same ole styles. it's time to step things up a bit.

since tha orange variegated sock i was working on was stolen, i decided to start on a different sock. this pair will b for mandara. i'm using lang jawoll jacquard in red/raspberry/black. i've been zippin thru it mainly bcuz i want to see what tha pattern will look like. this month is almost over and winter is around tha corner. i don't know if folks in otha states experience this, but alaskan summers basically last 2 1/2 months. august is usually rainy and dreary and the temperature begins to drop. oh, and tha loss of daylite hours r more noticeable. so, i've begun thinkin 'bout the knitted winter gear i will make for myself and my babygirl. mandara is moving back to new york in four weeks. i'm goin to b busy completing her order (i've been takin my sweet time). i've been considering entering staceyjoy's hat contest. if i do, i will fly to new york in october to see tha entries (and i could visit mandara). is anybody else out there thinkin 'bout flyin to new york?

tha rambling rows sweater is gone. i was really upset, but i think i've accepted it now. i went out and bought more yarn so i could start over. it's heart breaking man.

alyssa milano was crocheting on charmed last nite. i thought that was cool, since u don't see many folks doing it. i went to tha yarn store and wound up some yarn. that's a good de.stresser. i walked in highly irritated aka pissed off. once i started crankin away on tha ball winder, tha irritation drifted away. i'm currently working on a small hemp bag. i gotta order more of this stuff man. i luv it. tha hemp i'm using has a texture similar to tha linen that is being sold @ tha frenzy. it's nice.

these r tha necklaces i bought from tassita. aren't they beautious? tha top piece is made w/ bone, agate, and an ethiopian coptic cross. tha bottom piece is a small turquoise bead w/ a bone bead on top. this is a pic of tha hat i made over tha weekend. i fell in luv w/ lamb's pride while makin this.

tha montera muffler is almost finished. tha rambling rows baby jacket is almost finished. i made a hat over tha weekend. royal blue lamb's pride w/ lime green reynold's lite lopi. i'm goin to put a pompom on it. i found a place to showcase my wears. well actually, it found me. it's amazing how connected ppl r to each otha. i met this woman a couple of years ago thru a mutual friend. i didn't know she was into beading and had a business selling her stuff (amazing stuff). i came across her booth @ tha solstice festival and was blown away by her jewelry. we talked and i told her 'bout what i was doing, and w/o even seeing my stuff she said she'd sell them outta her studio. i then see her @ tha saturday market over tha weekend and she asked me to come check out her studio. i did yesterday and it was so beautiful. it was full of art from all over tha world. turns out her whole family are artists and they all do sumthin different. it felt good to b 'round so much creativity. we ate black cherries and did our crafty things in tha sunshine. i bought a couple of necklaces from her and she gave me some info on upcoming shows. isn't that cool?

@ lunch, i went to tha frenzy for my daily lunch time cool out session. as soon as i sit down to work on my socks, cleary comes up to me and says, "didn't u sign up for tha kool.aid workshop?" i totally forgot 'bout tha workshop! i've been talkin 'bout tha class for a couple of months now. i was bummed but not for long. i got to do a lil dying b4 i went back to work. my skeins r drying in my car right now. haha. i figured they would dry quicker in tha sunshine. what am i goin to make w/ tha stuff?

tha frenzy has been gettin a shitload of sock yarn lately. i couldn't resist tha temptation any longer. i bought 6 skeins yesterday. they feel so damn good...hella soft and tha colors r really bright. bright is good for tha dark alaskan winters. i pulled out tha neck down sweater and did a couple of rows. i've been neglecting it for a couple months now, but i'm determined to have it finished by september.

while sittin in my bed crocheting, babygirl said that bestest thing to me. "mama, i now see how u can sit on tha couch all day and do this." i think she's hooked.

tha forest fair was awesome. i sold a lot of stuff and met a lot of great ppl. i needed that weekend in tha woods. it did wonders for my spirit. i was able to trade a few things. trading is so much fun. i got a really beautiful handknit scarf, an hour massage (that was a blessing), a couple crocheted purses, and a beautiful hemp bag. i'm glad i got tha opportunity to b apart of that. i was kinda surprised @ what sold and what didn't. i made a lot of crowns (big hats for dreads) knowing there would b a lot of dreads @ tha fair. tha skullies sold like crazy. most of tha dreads wanted smaller hats. lesson learned. sara and i have already talked 'bout workin togetha next year. we will have a lot more stuff made. my 50-sumthin hats weren't enuff for tha two days. i have a few orders to fill. once i get those finished, i can re.focus on knitting and getting those projects outta tha way. i hope everybody is well. peace to u.