I finally finished my Schneeberger lace bookmark that I traveled to Moline to take the class in August.  It was good practice for me since I haven’t done any Schneeberger in about 10 years!  There were LOTS of sewings in this project and I don’t think I would recommend it for a beginner. 

So, now I’m ready to start some of the bells from the Brigitte Bellon book that I bought this summer at convention.  I have the bobbins wound and the pricking ready to go; BUT I have two projects that must be finished first because they have a deadline.  I hope to finish one of those things tonight and maybe I’ll start the bell tomorrow?  That is, if I don’t get sidetracked by knitting…

On the knitting needles I have a pair of socks for me and a vest for me.  I’m a very selfish knitter right now.  But that’s only because I’ve finished one Christmas present already and am waiting for the yarn and needles to arrive so I can start more presents.  I feel pretty confident about my ability to complete the items on my list except that OMG it’s October already!  And nearly halfway into October!  That’s okay, I know I can start one more project this weekend and get it done then I’m 2/7 of the way through my list…

My men are gone for the weekend and I have been focusing on projects.

• The first mitten is done and the second one has only 2″ left to go.
• I put the zipper in the Oregon vest and it worked beautifully.
• I altered a pair of pants that were too big in the waist (yay!)
• Got hours of knitting done on the Moderne baby blanket and actually saw some progress

Last weekend I finished the brown Mojo socks for myself and wore them a couple of times already.  I pulled out some yarn and a few different patterns to knit a tea cozy for the teapot that I want to take to the camper.  I want it to be a fitted one instead of the hood/cover that I use at home.  The pot has a different shape and I think I’ve chosen the elements out of the three patterns that I want to use.  I thought I had it all figured out then realized that my idea was closed at the top and bottom and no way to get it over the pot!  I’ll let that idea keep “percolating” for a while and work it out some more in my head

Still on the needles besides the baby blanket and mittens are a pair of socks for Ted.  I’ll work on them tomorrow night while waiting for the boys to get home.  Also I haven’t worked on my bobbin lace for a week or so.  I thought to get to it today, but the mittens were just flowing for me.  It was a great day for knitting with the Cast On and CraftLit podcasts to entertain and energize me.

I’ve made some progress on the current projects, and started some new projects as well.  Since new is always fun we’ll start with those.

These are the two color mittens in Galena Pirates colors.  I’m taking a class at Fiber Wild and this is hard but super fun.  Today I knit the thumb and attached it.  Amy has a really slick method for the thumbs and the pattern just continues up it.  We started the mitten at the tip and are working toward the wrist.  The pattern is the same on both sides of the mitten.

I’m also working on socks for Ted.  Plain, toe-up with Chain Rib for the leg. 

I am making a pair of Mojo socks for myself and all I have left to do is add the after-thought heel and they’ll be done.  You’d think I could’ve had that done sooner, but instead I keep starting new projects…like my bobbin lace fan!

  The photo of the lace will seem dark, but otherwise the flash makes so much of a glare that you can’t see the threads.

And I’m also making good progress on the Moderne baby blanket, but the squares are getting so large that I can knit and knit and it hardly looks any different.

I’ve started a Moderne baby blanket for one of my co-workers whose wife is due in May.  She was also Ian’s teacher at school last year.  Our family is liking the blankie so much that I might have to make one to have as a throw at home.  This seems to be a theme – making great things and giving them away!  I didn’t use baby colors hoping that this will be a blankie that will last the baby well into his or her college years.

I have also been working on my lace pillow the last couple of weekends.  I’ve got a little more than 26 inches of my Downton lace edging.  I think I’d like to make enough to edge a hanky.  I also copied the pattern and am starting to work on the pricking for my ’s Gravenmoer fan.  I hope to get the bobbins wound today so I can take it to lace night tomorrow. 

Wow, I woke up this morning and I am just jumping around planning more projects that I want to start on.  It probably didn’t help that I had two pots of Scottish breakfast tea when usually I have one cup of Lipton decaf!

Since I finished my socks, I have to get another pair of socks on the needles really quick-like.  It seems to be Ted’s turn, so I’ll start a pair of toe up socks in the lovely Socrates yarn he bought me for Christmas.  I’ll knit a plain foot and have plenty of time to think about the pattern on the leg.  I counted and realized that I knit 11 (that’s ELEVEN!) pairs of socks in 2008.  Wow, some kind of record for me.  I think I’ve been more prolific since I started knitting two socks at once.

I am knitting a lace scarf for the Read-a-long on Ravelry of the book The Lace Reader.  Actually, I’m listening to it on audio so I can knit at the same time.  The pattern is a traditional Estonian Stork’s Nest by Nancy Bush that was in the January/February 2008 issue of Piecework magazine.  I am really enjoying it.  The 12-row repeat goes quickly so I can pick it up and put it down without a huge time commitment.

Last summer I bought a pattern and yarn for a vest for myself.  I’ve swatched twice, but couldn’t get gauge so I put it down and started my Christmas knitting.  I better get back to it or I won’t be able to wear it at all this winter!  Maybe I’ll go to knit night at Fiber Wild and get going again.

And my poor bobbin lace pillow is feeling very neglected lately.  I did do some lace during the holidays when I really needed to clear my mind from the multitude of lists for Christmas preparation.  But I went to lacing at Borders last Monday night and got that itch to start something new.  I bought this pattern and the fan to mount it on at the IOLI convention last August.   It’s ’s Gravenmoer lace worked in a very fine thread.  I think I’ll start getting the pricking ready when I go to sewing tomorrow night and wind bobbins during the week.  That way I should be able to set aside a chunk of time to start it before I go to Borders at the end of this month.  Yay!