Battle of Knits

End of a January…

Tea Leaves (petite) Cardi

I was insure about the separating for the sleeves on the Cardi, so I took it over to Hank’s (he’s dreamy) and I proceeded to do this part in a safe knitting environment.  I had a safety net of 3 ladies… Lorena, Sharon and Ginger. It was simple, just as I had hoped, but somehow I knew that if I tried to attempt it at home I would be in cuffs on CNN as the world heard a story of how my partner died of complications from multiple knitting-needle stab wounds. So in a sense, the ladies of Hank’s saved a life today.

Now that I am actually finishing the yoke and stuck in the boring stockinette section of the Cardigan I am happy to see it take some shape. It is funny, since this is my first “adult” sweater, however it really is not that much bigger than the Wonderful Wallaby hoodie I made for my son! HA! This yarn is incredibly hard to photograph, but this pic came out pretty close. One day I will take it outside and try to capture it in better light.

I was again reading obsessing over the project notes for this Cardi on Rav and I notice everyone complains about how it turns out too long after blocking, so I intend on combating that problem by finishing a little short. At the rate I am moving I might just finish this before the Ravelympics… which are going to help me fix my WIP problem. I need to finish Amanda’s gift and also I am ripping out Josh’s socks and instead making some for myself.

Speaking of Josh… we are getting along a bit better recently. We start counseling on Friday afternoon. I think it will be good for us both and besides that we have a sitter so we can grab some food after the fun-fun-fun shrinkage session. For now, I am just moving forward with each day. Trying to keep the damn drama to a minimum and trying to maintain a level of happiness for myself.

Hank's famous "Sock Monkey" sock yarn

I was excited to see this on the shelf at Hank’s… I have been eye-balling it on Ravelry since it came out in the sock club last year… This yarn is why I joined the sock club. Its a very cool color combo and it’s SOCK MONKEY! How can you resist it? It was hard to choose between merino and bamboo base… I went with Merino in the end, so my colors are a bit brighter. I really want to make the Cookie A. Monkey Socks with this, but I am not sure yet… I may decide to do something else… so for now this lovely is going to hide out in my closet.

FL Gator-- Tebow Commemoration Pants 2009

You can hardly see this pic, but here is my son wearing the Tim Tebow tribute pants. The self striping yarn came out nice with this project and I have a whole skein left. I think it will become a hat. I love this yarn. It is from Little Bo Peep Knits on Etsy and just looking now to link to her, it looks like she has no yarn for sale…

Allie loves the shawl!

I mailed the shawl to Ms. Allie all the way up into the frozen tundra called Maine. Here she is modeling it and I think it looks nice! The color is amazing and I think she wears it very well. I think I might need to buy her a shawl pin or two, since she loves it so much. Not only is she a great model, but she is my #1 reader, commenter and certainly my fave cousin. She is currently working hard going to school and working at the local hospital in her spare time. She also knits, which is pretty rad… I just dont know how she has time! Thanks again, Allie!

BTW Hank’s also featured my beautiful shawl on their blog… in case you missed it, see it here!!! If you are local, they are building a new HUGE Publix across the parking lot from Hank’s so you might want to start shopping over there.

Boo-Bear Picasso

Here is my little artist, coloring his heart out. Little does he know, but I plan on saving every single picture he draws. I actually bought the crayons last year, but he is just now getting into it. Shortly after creating this masterpiece he decided to throw all the crayons on the floor and sketch a bit on one of our floor tiles in “blue”.  Taking after his mom with this artistic ability, I am ever-so proud and I look forward to more works of art.

And it is January 31, 2010… this ends the first month of the year. I am hoping the next 11 months go a little bit better! I look forward to the big giveaway with Hurried Homemaker this March. We have a huge bunch of things ready to giveaway! I am very excited and hope both of us gain a bunch of new readers in the process! I have had a great month as far as stats  were concerned! Dont ask me why, but on the 26th I had 138 hits, but I did not even blog that day! I always find it amusing when things like that happen!!! As always though, thank you everyone for reading. Lets all get ready for the Olympics and the Ravelympics! W00T!

Pictures

My winnings from eatsleepknit.com

Finally I am able to post some pictures… So why not go crazy.

Tea leaves cardigan

Starry - Dream in color

Shrug I made for Miss Teagan

Why I am behind on laundry...

Congo is closing.

First off I want to thank everyone who has sent me tweets, notes & comments recently. I appreciate the support! I have been in an emotional and stressed out state of mind since the holidays and I am now getting back on track to feeling better. Josh and I start counseling next week and I am looking forward to it. I try to be as optimistic as I possibly can.

So my congo is closing. I have to say I am not really surprised. The girl running it did not even have a store herself, so I am curious about what she actually thought she would get out of it. I think she expected to actually make a profit. When it comes to WAHM (Work At Home Mom) businesses it is hard to actually make much of a profit. I will explain why:

Let’s say for example you knit wool baby items, like yours truly. Wool baby pants (aka longies)  cost anywhere from $40-$80 depending on size and type of yarn. A pair of longies for a newborn generally take me about 5 hours.  If I want to make minimum wage for my work… I already have to charge $25.75.  Then you have the $8 or so you paid for the yarn… $33.75.  So if you charged $40 for that pair you have made $6.25 profit.  Oh wait– no, not quite… we forgot to add fees for listing the item on Etsy (3% of the price of the item) or Hyena Cart ($5 per month, more with web design) then paypal fees and of course I usually stuff a small little gift or trinket in with the item to encourage repeat business. In the end… reality tells me I made about $3.00. I am aware that I made $5.15 per hour to make them, but this also means my time was dominated and I was not able to knit anything for myself, clean my house or drink too much wine.    … You have now had your basic economics lesson!!!  This is exactly why American companies lay-off and fire American workers… so they can go to China and run their factory where minimum wage and handmade personal touches are non-existent. Of course, then we import the items back from them and our children’s items are tainted with lead and other toxins. This is also why American hand-made items are so expensive. Humans are not as efficient as machines. It boils down to what you prefer… baby items like cloth diapers with wool covers toys and blankets made by mothers who have children and need income in AMERICA or machine and  factory-made items from CHINA… where lead-inspections seem to be lost in translation. Dont even get me started on the disgusting amounts of chemicals in disposable diapers… THEY NEVER BIODEGRADE. Seriously. One day we will be living on planet P@mpers, not Earth, since Earth will be buried and smothered with disgusting filthy diapers. Okay, if anyone is still reading this– just know that I am proud to say that I did not mention any politics or specific politicians in that rant! *Patting self on the back*

So back to the original subject, the congo is closing. I will no longer list items on Hyena Cart at this time. I would like to list there in the future, but I am unsure when that will be. I will simply be running the Etsy shop and I always consider any email request for customs at BattleofKnits@gmail.com. The reason she gave for shutting it down was because  the Mama running the “Loverbugs” shop was ripping people off, by accepting paypal payments and never sending out the items purchased. Karma is a funny thing… and I suppose if you really have to rip someone off for $50 then, I hope you spent the money well. I just hope her children have other role models available.

Alright, I am signing off now, it is time to watch Fringe.

CIAO

(PS Wordpress, I hate you right now, since I cannot upload pictures. Do not force me to go back to Blogger. Please.)

Drama

So, more drama. Yesterday I put my son to bed… I was listening to some music and typing a new post, hit publish and *** poof! Everything was gone. I knew instantly who was behind it. It wasnt Josh. We are not on great terms, but he is not really vicious like that. I called Josh and he helped me fix things. He was actually pretty sweet about it. He knows how much I love having this outlet. That is one thing I hate about Josh… he isnt all bad. Deep down he really is a good person and he loves me. I know he feels badly about things. I also know that he was not the leader either. He is no angel, but he would not have planned such a thing. I doubt it was his idea and I know for a fact it was not something he would have done on his own. It does not make it okay… and it does not make me feel better.  I do know though that the prick who deleted my blog from the server is just afraid of what others may read. He knows he is not a good person and I could go on and on with examples, but honestly I dont care. The night they left for Miami they put a ladder in the garage. They mentioned it was expensive… so when my blog went offline I went onto the local freecycle and listed it as “Offer: Very expensive ladder, Please come pick up, it must go ASAP” …I got over 32 emails before morning.

I’m tired of all the bullshit and drama though. I interviewed a babysitter today. She seems great! Two minutes of being in the same room as her and I could tell she will work out very well. Now to make the counseling appointment and make up some lists for her. I hope we can get an appt for counseling soon. The first visit or two are always formality anyway. If this does not help things, then not even Dr. Phil can save us.

Did I mention I had won a free skein of sock yarn and a Cookie A sock kit from EatSleepKnit.com??? Well, I got to pick out the sock yarn I wanted, and then I even got to pick out the Cookie A. pattern I wanted! I picked Handmaiden, Casbah sock yarn and the Tryserto pattern. I do not see myself making the socks any day soon…  Not the biggest sock fan. I do like the pattern though and can see myself making it in the future.

I am trying to post pictures and it is not cooperating. I will keep trying.

Lies.

Yep. I was right. He went to a strip club and he tried like hell to lie about it. Told me some story about the hotel bar… then when I questioned how his clothes stunk like cigarette smoke, he said there was smoking… which is highly unlikely. I have never heard of a hotel bar that allows cigarettes. Then he said it was the other bar they went too. I guess that was the other bar he forgot to mention when he told me that he only went to one bar in the conversation before. So he was stuck. I asked him to just admit it. Surprisingly, he did. I told him the only way I will tolerate even thinking about staying in this “relationship” is if he sets us up for some counseling. I am not even sure if that will help. Just so many lies, so many times… so much other garbage piled on top of that and I am just drowning in bullshit here. This relationship is unbalanced and I cant deal with it. I am already so stressed out that it is taking a physical toll on my body. I feel like the rug has been pulled from underneath me. I am mixed on my feelings though. On the one hand, I want to just kick him in his face, on the other I am just mourning the loss of my relationship. I dont trust him and I dont know how I ever can again. It might seem dramatic, but obviously this isnt the first lie. I honestly dont think he ever really loved me. I think our son is really keeping us together and I am trying to figure out now if it is worth my effort to even go to counseling.  All of the hurtful things he has said over the years are just echoing in my head. I hate feeling like this. I hate the choices he has made. I hate that he is sleeping on the couch right now… I want to push him on the damn floor. I am really not even that angry, I am kind of over being angry.

I want to cry. Simply for the fact that this cannot be fixed and I dont think we will ever be happy together. Simply for the fact that I will try counseling and I dont think even a professional can help me forgive him. He knows how I feel about trust and he has broken it yet again. My heart just feels empty, like there is nothing left to give.

I cast on for my Tea Leaves Cardigan last night. I needed some distraction. I originally hated my swatch, but I like the looks of the 8 rows I have so far. I decided to go with the 36″ medium. I am excited to get working on it. At least I have something to focus on. I also bought 3 more patterns last night. Part of their proceeds were going to benefit Haiti and I wanted them anyway… Gaenor, Ishbel and Baby Cables and Big Ones Too. For those who has no clue what I am talking about, I am sorry I should have snagged some pics… but I am just not in the mood. Sorry.

A Baby Hat to Help HAITI

If you choose to use this pattern, please do so and enjoy it, but please make sure you either donate to the relief efforts in Haiti, or make a few extra hats and donate them to the Red Cross or your local hospital. THANKS!

A Baby Hat to Help Haiti!

All proceeds go to help Haiti

I came up with this pattern  when looking for a baby hat with a particular band and stitch to match some baby pants I made. Well, necessity is the mother of invention, right? So I made this… I was typing up the pattern and had intended on posting it on Ravelry as a free pattern. I mean, it is a hat… not rocket science, nothing really innovative… but then after watching some coverage on Haiti and the carnage they are dealing with I remembered that Ravelry is allowing you to send proceeds to relief efforts for Haiti. That is why I am charging for this hat. So you are able to donate as you crochet a baby hat… and if you are so inclined you could crochet a few extra and donate them to the Red Cross.  I only wish I could do more!

I chose to add a a flower and threaded a braid through the brim. Have fun with it.

Jaime Pelletier/Slychikadee/BattleofKnits ©all rights reserved, personal use only!

Shawl (again!) & some updates + news

Yeah, I am going to make you look at that shawl again. Sick of it yet? I seriously love that thing. If i didnt mention already, that shawl is going up to Maine to live with my cousin Allie. She will appreciate and I know it will safe from grubby little toddler hands! Besides she has much more time to wear something like that. If it lived here it would be hanging on something for 363 days a year… what kind of life is that? That shawl was made to party!!! Ha, yeah… okay in all seriousness… I bragged like a little kid who just won a spelling bee on my LYS’s forum on Rav and Lorena is going to post some picks of it on the Hanks blog. Without further ado…

BEHOLD:

Traveling -up to Maine shawl

I think this my biggest accomplishment since carrying a child for 9 months inside my body.

It has really brought me back. I was out of sorts for awhile.

…

Totally unrelated news…

I have some more donations lined up for the big giveaway! I was hitting a lot of walls at first, but now I am having better luck– Keep checking in for more info!

Josh is in Miami tonight, for some work related conference. Now I have gone to many work conferences back when I was in the corporate world. Most of my conferences involved drinking tasting wine and trying to hold important conversations while completely buzzed worrying about how red my teeth were from the wine, but never once were they ever held in a strip club. What you say? A strip club? Well, he didnt tell me that is where they are held… I can just only assume he will be going to one and then will sleep in far too late to attend the conference. We will see. In 2010 I intend on exposing much more of my personal life. Why? Well, why the hell not? I Facebook and Twitter all day anyway. I would like to give ya’ll something interesting to read besides just pics of my knitting, pics of my kid doing crazy stuff and general whining. The stats have gone up considerably in the last 2 months. Now, dont let me scare you off… Stats just tell me how many people are reading, not *who* is reading. So you are still an anonymous reader. How do I know you wish to stay a closeted reader??? You dont leave comments. Come on people. I think you can do that anonymously too. So keep on stalking reading!

(Does this mean I need to hit the spell check once in awhile?)

I have a bunch of gluten-free product reviews to post. I just have no time. Clingy child= neglected blog. Sorry! Do I even have any GFree readers? Most people think this is completely in my head, with the exception being Josh, since he knows how sick I get. GLUTEN IS EVERYWHERE!!!

I am really feeling for the survivors down in Haiti today. Normally I live the usual selfish live, believing if I cant see it, it aint that bad. Well, today I watched Oprah (sue me.) and Wyclef Jean (dont be hatin’– I love him) was showing actual video his brother shot on a flip cam. There are piles and piles of bodies everywhere, dead children and lots of people just freaking out in general due to lack of supplies and care. He said the stench is overwhelming and the graveyards are full. Here I sit in my nice big house, drinking my wine, listening to music on my laptop, typing away on my blog— and it makes me feel terrible! I dont know what there is that I can do. My only idea is this baby hat pattern I made. I am going to post it on Ravelry tonight and sell it for $5 and list it under the Patterns for Haiti. All proceeds go to help Haiti. I was going to type it up and give it out for free. I mean, its just a baby hat… but if you need to get something for your donation… here you go! I sometimes wish I was independently wealthy and didnt have a young toddler to chase right now– I would go down there and help out the people. That would be a great life. Might be hard work, but at least I would sleep soundly knowing I did what I could for my fellow peeps. Yeah, if I had a billion dollars… I’d be there digging through the rubble in Haiti, trying to save people… children… and well, humanity in general. Until then… I will cherish my son and raise him to be as giving and caring as his mommy is. The kid is golden though, he will be a a wonderful addition to society, I just know it.

(LISTENING TO WYCLEF)

Okay off to post my pattern, then off to knit and watch some Nip/Tuck. Wait! I cant leave this on such a somber note… SO here you go:

Don't be hatin' on Wyclef.

PEACE.

Super-mom!

I felt like super-mom today! I always do when I multi-task and get a bunch done. Today after kiddo woke from his nap, I was cooking dinner, doing dishes, listening to a knit-picks podcast, chasing my son around and picking up his toys. I wasted a lot of water and nearly burned some french fries, but I still felt awesome about my simultaneous accomplishments. I also designed a crochet baby hat while my darling was napping. Now I need to figure out a name for it. I was stuck, flipping through Rav patterns looking for something with a particular style band around the bottom to match a pair of crochet longies (baby pants in laymen terms) and I couldnt find one. So since necessity is the mother of invention, I just sat down and made  what I was picturing. Now I am writing down the pattern. I figure I cant be the only one who wants something like this!I do not think I will bother with testers, since it is such a simple and small pattern. I am going to make a bigger size though to test it myself.

The giveaway is set for March! It is going to be “knitting” themed and I was emailing back and forth with Rhiana of  HurriedHomemaker who is teaming up with me and she has all kinds of yummy things lined up already! I feel like such a slacker, but I got a few emails out today. I am excited though just thinking about some of the things she has lined up!!!I cant wait!

Oh, boy, there is my screaming kiddo… gotta go put him back in bed.

FO Traveling Woman Shawl

I finished it today. I love it! I had read some notes about casting off very loose so I made sure too. I think I could have even gone looser than this, but live and learn. Except for some minor problems on the second repeat around rows 2-4 it went smoothly. The ladies in the Rav small shawl group were right, it is a great first shawl/first lace project.

Holy purls!

I have 8 rows left… Technically 16 if you consider that it is RS (right side) and WS (wrong side) rows. The WS rows are killing me… They are mindless and they seem to take forever!!! I feel like I am doomed to be freaking purling for the rest of my life!!! What a fate! I had a genius idea for a design during a purl row though! It is an idea for a sleeve-less little number and I am excited to put some ideas on paper. I just bought some yarn today that will be perfect… It is only a matter of doing some math really. Then sketching and knitting up a test… I guess purling isn’t so bad. At least it gives youind a chance to wander.

I am hoping to finish this shawl this weekend. I hope I remember to bind off super loose… So many Rav folks mentioned this in their notes. Then I will get working on a few fun crochet projects… Strongbad and Homestar Runner for Josh and Toodee from Yo Gabba Gabba for my buddy Boo bear. All while designing this IDEA. I think it will be the perfect pattern to include in the BIG GIVEAWAY… Yes! I am teaming with another mommy blogger to do a big giveaway! Expect it this Spring!!! There are 3 planned for the year so far, so bookmark this blog, check back often and tell your friends. This will be fun!

Enjoy some pics of the shawl…