In which I am a dirty, dirty, cheat...

Good morning my wonderfully non-judgmental people,

How are you? I hope everything is going well. I have a confession to make. I am a dirty, dirty, cheat. I made promises and plans, and I meant every word. But, then in a moment of extreme temptation, I caved. You may be wondering what I am talking about. I am talking about this:

Do you see this? This is mine. It is sitting in my house, in it's box (yes, I made myself put it back after taking the picture). It is an Ashford Joy. I saw it the other day (still in its box) at one of my LYSes. This particular LYS is closing its doors at the end of next month. So everything is on sale, and this puppy was right in my price range. I know, I was supposed to wait. I have projects that need to not only be completed, but started and completed. I had a list and everything. But, the temptation was too strong.
      I had only run in for a longer set of size 7 circular needles (the double points on the sweater sleeves is just not doing it for me), and maybe some yarn. When I saw it sitting there, high on the shelf, still in its box, where it had been waiting for years (Ashford has a newer version of this model, the Joy 2, so this one is kind of discontinued). It was fate, it fit all my spinning wheel criteria; small, folding, used(ish), good condition, and on the less expensive end (those of you who know spinning wheels, know they are not cheap).
So, now I must practice real self-control. I am still going to make myself finish all of those projects before putting it together. In addition to all of that I must pass all of my exams. Well, I must get back to studding, this one is math and science (algebra and periodic table of elements, here I come).

Wish me luck and thanks for checking in,
XO Lue Lue Ellabee

The thing about persimmons...

Good morning all,
Before I update you on the progress of my projects, I would like to say a few words about persimmons.

 You see these? These are persimmons, not tomatoes. To be more specific, these are fuyu persimmons (the best kind!). And they came from our tree.
Our super happy, very well established tree.

When love and I moved to this house 6 years ago, we had no idea what a persimmon was, let alone what to do with them. Our first fall I received a lovely surprise when all of the fruit ripened, I literally had buckets of persimmons, and I was scrambling trying to figure out what to do with them. Now, for the most part, we give them away; to friends, family, random people on the street. Most years we have given away around 4 grocery bags full. This year we have already given away 5 and the tree does not look any different.

 The small percentage that we keep usually ends up being canned for use in recipes  later on. Yesterday I took 20 persimmons cored them; peeled them; chopped them; added some lemon juice, water, and cinnamon;

cooked it until everything was nice and mushy; then pureed and canned them. It made 11 cups of persimmon mash. I have plans to do another batch today.
 Here is hoping we can find enough people to share these with.

On the UFO front. I am almost done binding the quilt, today is the third day of trying to get together enough time to work on it.
 
 And, the scarf for my dad is coming along okay. I have figured out that if I knit between 20 and 40 rows a day (that is 40-80 minutes of knitting time) I can finish it before Thanksgiving (Nov. 27th). Then I can start on the stuff for my sister and her family (I might just give the kids gift cards).

 I wanted to show you what the scarf looks like in person and on paper. I have done a few more rows since I took this picture.

Well, thanks for checking in. I hope your holiday projects are doing better than mine
XO Lue Lue Ellabee

just keep swimming

Good morning my sweets,
And happy Halloween yesterday to all of my American and Canadian friends (and anyone else who celebrates this holiday). Our kiddos had super fun trick-or-treating last night. Little man was a jack-o-lantern, lady was a witch, I was a widow, and love decided last minute to be a ninja turtle. When I say last minute I mean yesterday morning he asked me to keep my eyes out for something that could work as a ninja turtle costume while I ran errands. Of course there was nothing, so I decide to do this:

It is really amazing what a couple pieces of felt, a sewing machine, some stuffing, and a sharpy can do. It took maybe 40 minutes, and now we have a turtle shell pillow.

In other news, I took the first sub-test of the CSET last Tuesday. For those that don't know, the CSET is a type of entrance exam for a masters or credential program-- think LSAT (lawyers) or MCAT (medical). In this case it is an exam that must be passed before you can be accepted to a teacher credentialing program here in California. Any way, I took the first of 3 sub-tests last Tuesday, and I did better than I thought I would. There is a distinct possibility that I passed, and this makes me very happy. My next exam is in 2 1/2 weeks, then I have the last one 3 weeks after that. So my posts will continue to be spotty at least until the end of the year.

And finally, this is what I have been doing to stay sane:

 why, yes that is the sweater for the lady. I have only been working on it for a bit in the evenings before bed and on Wednesdays when I hang out with my knitting buddy (and very good friend). Even with this limited amount of time, I feel like it is flying off my needles.





Another project I have started working on is the Doctor Who scarf.

My father grew-up watching Doctor Who, and is a big fan. I thought this would be a perfect Christmas present, but it is very long so I thought I should start early. I started it last week and it is proving trickier than predicted, because you need to keep track of how many rows you do in each color and I changed it a little by using chunky yarn and size 10.5 (6.5mm) needles, so I could do fewer rows in each color and be finished sooner.

 Of course I can't leave without giving you an update on the quilt:

 
As you can see I am in the home stretch: the top is done and it is pinned to the batting and backing. The second picture is to give you an idea of how it will look with the binding.

Well I must get back to studding (math and science up to 8th grade...I can handle it)

Thanks for checking in,
XO Lue Lue Ellabee

Torla shawl

     

hello my lovely people,

Good news, I have finally gotten around to blocking and writing up the pattern for that shawl that I was knitting this  past summer while traveling through Spain. You remember, the one that started out as Softsweater's sunlight shawl for sad people. But then I decided to change it up by adding some of Orange flower's Age of brass and steam. I know you were wondering if I was ever going to mention it again or if I had forgotten all about it.
Well, I didn't forget. In fact, I really love how it turned out, especially now that it is blocked. I have named it Torla, after the stone village outside of Ordesa National Park.
If you would like to make one, here is the pattern:


Material: 1 set of size 6 circular needles, 2 stitch markers, about 400 yards of fingering/ sock yarn.
It is a triangular shawl worked from the top-center out.
vocab:
k - knit
p- purl
pm- place marker
yo- yarn over
ws - wrong side (purl side)
rs - right side (knit side)
k2tog -  knit 2 stitches together
sts - stitches

CO 10 stitches
knit 3 rows
Row 4: k2, yo, k2, yo, pm, k2, pm, yo, k2, yo, k2
Row 5: (ws) k2, p to last 2sts, k2
Row 6: (rs) k2, yo, k to stitch marker, yo, slip marker, k2, slip marker, yo, knit to last 2 sts, yo, k2.
All odd rows from 7-51: same as row 5
All even rows from 8-52: same as row 6
Row 53: knit across.
Next 21 rows (54-74): return to even rows the same as 6 and odd rows the same as 5
Row 75: knit across
Row 76: same as row 6
Row 77: knit across
Next 13 Rows (78-90): return to even rows the same as 6 and odd rows the same as 5.
Row 91: knit across
Row 92: k2, *yo, k2tog*, repeat from * to* until stitch marker, yo, slip marker, k2, slip marker, *yo, k2tog*, repeat * to * until last two stitches, yo, k2.
Row 93: knit across
Next 9 rows (94-102): even rows same as 6, odd rows same as 5
Row 103: knit
Row 104: k2, yo, knit to marker, yo, slip marker, k2, slip marker, yo, knit to last two stitches, yo, k2.
Row 105: knit
Row 106: k2, *yo, k2tog*, repeat between * to marker, yo, slip marker, k2, slip marker, *yo, k2tog*, repeat from * to * till last two stitches, yo, k2.
Row 107: knit
Row 108: k2, yo, knit to marker, yo, slip marker, k2, slip marker, yo, knit to last two sts, yo, k2.
Row 109: knit
Next 5 rows (110-114): even rows same as 6, odd rows same as 5
Rows 115 and 117: knit
Rows 116 and 118: same as row 106
Knit last 3 rows
Bind off loosely
Weave in ends and block

Please let me know if there are any mistakes in the pattern. Since I am the only one that has tested it I can not guarantee it is without mistakes. Also, I would love to know how this works out for you.

Thanks for checking in,
XO
Lue Lue Ellabee

PS. Here is a picture of it flat, after blocking:

Good news everybody!

Hello all my wonderful people,
Wow, keeping up with this blog is hard. Fortunately, I have some exciting things to tell you so you may forgive my silence.
First, I received the results of the essay exam from a couple weeks ago. I passed! You may have some idea of how excited I am that I will never need to take that test again. The most important aspect of my passing is that I have officially passed the whole of the CBEST, and am now able to apply for a substitute teaching licence. So, even if I am not excepted to a credential program, I can sub next year which will make my next round of applications 100xs better.
My next bit of news is this:

Yep, I finished the shawl for my sister and sent it off to her last week. I could not find the tag for the yarn but the pattern is Bigger on the inside. It was super fun to knit and I learned a lot; like how to follow charts that show both right side and wrong side and how to make bobbles.
Since finishing the shawl I have been working on a sweater for the lady and it is going sooooo fast:

Those little hanging down bits are destined to be pockets. I would share the pattern but, I have plans to significantly change it. If it turns out the way I am imagining it, you will be wanting that pattern too.

Finally, I have blocked that shawl I knit way back in Spain. I have named it Torla and I am working on writing up the pattern now. I am hoping to have it ready for you tomorrow.

Well, I must get back to studding. I have another exam starting next week (I am taking this one in 3 parts because it is a monster). Wish me luck and I will try to keep you posted.

Thanks for checking in,
XO
Lue Lue Ellabee

so close, yet so far

Happy Sunday my lovely people,
    For those of you wondering, I think my exam went well. At least I think I passed, which is all that really matters with these exams. So that is the last part of the first exam, and I am hoping, the end of that bit of worry. Now I am in full study mode for the first part of the second exam. I have two weeks of serious study ahead of me. Here is hoping everything sticks (my recall abilities are not awesome).
     Lets move on to things that make me feel clever, rather than below-average. Friday, the lady was off from school (it was a teacher development day), little man had morning pre-school, and love chose not to make it a three day weekend. So, lady and I had some quality time in which we did this:

 
She has been begging me to teach her how to sew, and the four hours of just us seemed like the perfect time. She helped with cutting the pattern out and pinning the pieces together. She practiced using the sewing machine on some scrap fabric. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the part she was supposed to sew, she was only interested in playing. For some reason she thought I was going to let her just use the sewing machine without learning all the other steps to a project.  Fortunately, for her, I don't mind. I have been wanting to make her a skirt with this fabric since I bought it last year, and there is enough left over to make a matching one for me. I find this very exciting, although it could be weird....nope, it will be awesome.

      I suppose I should mention that Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love the costumes, candy, trick-or-treating with friends, and kids'  scary movies (I don't like adult horror films, they give me nightmares). I especially love the decorations. I have a dream of one day turning my house into a haunted house, I have it all figured out, the kids just need to be a little older. This time, when mister got home from pre-school, the three of us just decorated the front of the house:

 
Spider webs are my favorite Halloween decorating tool. As you can see we had good times.
       Finally, progress on the last bits of the shawl and quilt are on going. I only have about half an inch of ribbed edging to knit before I can bind off. Then it is weaving in the ends and blocking (neither of which takes very long). Once I have sent it off to my sister I will show you the finished object and share the pattern I used.
      This is where the quilt is:

As you can see, the top is almost done. I am quite pleased with how it is turning out. I had only a vague idea of how it would look once it was finished, and this is already better than I imagined. I am thinking the binding needs to be dark purple, to contrast all the yellow. Red, black, or dark green may also work, but I feel the purple would do the best job of bringing it all together. 

       I  hope all your projects are cooperating.

Thanks for checking in,

XO

Lue Lue Ellabee

slowly moving forward

Hello my loves,

I hope the big wide world is treating you well. Usually I am only up at this time to run (well, walk/run. I have an injury that prevents me from doing an all out run). On this morning, however, I am up to take an exam; yes ,you read that right, an exam. I am in the process of applying to a teacher credential/ graduate program. Our little one is supposed to start school next fall, and my love and I have an agreement: while they are home, I am home; once both are in school, I go back to school. Unfortunately, before I can even apply, I have two exams I must pass. So, I will update you quickly on my progress for the last two weeks.

The quilt is now moving along quickly. I have all the rows figured out and have started sewing them together. I hope to have the top done be the end of the week.

 The shawl is also moving along, although not as quickly. My sister's birthday was last Tue. I only have a couple inches of border left, then cast off, and block. I have only just started the second ball. I am going to have more than half left over. Any ideas what to do with it?

Well, it is time to head out to my exam. Wish me luck.

XO
LueLue Ellabee