Wanna see something REALLY beautiful???

This is my good friend Shawna...WEARING HER NEW ESPRIT TANK!!

Doesn't she look lovely and isn't it a PERFECT fit? I'm so happy :):)

Happy Birthday, My Friend!!

I have so much to show (and tell) you!

The good thing about non-stop rain for over 3 weeks is when the heavens finally decide to shine a little light on this fluffy knitter's lowly existence, I have LOTS of FOs and other good stuff to share so get ready for a picture *fluffy* post, heh!

Since my birthday was 3 weeks ago it's about time I showed you two of my favorite knitting related pressies...

This was hand made for me by the talented and generous Sallee aka Nana Sadie Rose...

needle case front
needle case inside
Isn't this adorable? I LOVE the fabric! In fact, I told Sallee I wish I had jammie bottoms made out of it too cause it's warm cozy flannel!

Now we all know FKD is of the ahem, hoarder persuasion so thinking my DPNs will fit in this beautiful case is laughable BUT my crochet hook collection will fit perfectly and it will be a very welcome improvement over their current residence of a ziploc sandwich bag!

If you want a needle holder of your own or one of Sallee's gorgeous original bags, go click on the link and pay her a visit!

Thanks Sallee, I love my new kitty needle holder!

The reason I don't own one of Sallee's amazing bags is I'm not much of a bag person! Shocking, I know...the one obsession I don't have, right? :)

When I started back to knitting 5 years ago I was desperate to find other knitters so I found a clear vinyl knitting bag, thinking if people could see my knitting while I was out and about, they might ask me about it. And they did!

But despite all the amazing knitting bags out there, I've stuck with my clear vinyl...until now....

Look what I got for my birthday!!

Isn't this a hoot?

It's made by a company called Angry Little Girls and it was a gift from my good bud Laura!
It's such a fun bag in my favorite color! I especially love all the little pockets and compartments for every notion you can think of! I don't think I'll be wearing it to church but it is certainly a conversation piece! Thanks Auntie La!

Now for some knitting...I finally finished the albatross Esprit Tank!!

This project has been on my needles longer than any other since I learned to knit!! Miles and miles of sportweight garter stitch, I thought I'd never get thru it! In fact I came *this close* to abandoning it quite a few times but I'm glad I didn't! Have a look at why...

pretty collar

border close up

the money shot!

folded border

Specs:

Elann Esprit Tank (free pattern from Elann.com)

size #6 addi turbo 32" circular needle

size D crochet hook

10 skeins Elann Esprit cotton/elastic yarn, colorway Capri Blue

2 skeins Elann Sonata for trim, colorway Indigo Gold

Mods: The largest size this pattern was written for was 36". I upsized this to a 56". I continued the drop stitch pattern over the whole tank rather than over just the midriff as the pattern suggested. The crochet border as written was WAY too big and came out like a giant ruffle - not the look I was going for! - So I kinda redneck engineered (a phrase and action coined by Kris!) the crochet motifs and decreased half the stitches in between each motif to have the border lay flat. I also used a smaller crochet hook.

In the end, altho the knitting was quite a slog, I'm very happy with the final product. It's winging it's way to it's recipient as I write this and I think she'll love it too! At least I hope so!

It's an easy, easy knit with some very basic crochet added in and in a "regular" size it would be a fun and fast knit. I'm very glad I made it but I'm sticking to smaller projects for a while...

I took the tank outside to get a decent pic (it's hanging from my porch light in the "money shot" pic, heh) and Pumpkin was bereft that he couldn't join in the fun too!

what a sad, lonely face

But wait! there's more!

I finished my Vog On footies!

Specs:

'Vog On socks by Aleta Fera for Knitty

2 skeins Crystal Palace Panda Cotton, colorway Blueberries and Grapes

Size US#1 (2.25) Knitpicks 32" circular needle, magic loop

Toe up using a Turkish Cast-On

Tubular bind-off

Mods: I made these more of a footie than the anklet the pattern suggests. I changed the eye of partridge heel to a yo short row heel and I eliminated the picot bind off as I didn't think FK Mom would appreciate it so much.

My love of Panda Cotton is well documented, especially this delicious colorway! These socks are so soft plus the pattern is super easy and so pretty. I think FK Mom will love them!

Now you'll note those socks are blue. Guess what color my new socks are? PINK, what else? Sheesh, maybe I do need to knit some brown socks to break this color rut I'm in! Here's the new socks on the block with some Knails thrown in for good measure...

Just a simple toe-up, magic loop, garter rib sock in some pretty Lorna's Laces, another birthday pressie, this time from Jessica. The juicy nails are OPI Brights Collection, Goldilocks Rocks! I went for extreme contrast vs. matching this time - isn't it pretty? :)

As your reward for reading ALL of this, you get a second P-Man pic - cause there's never enough P-Man, right?

The handsome boy makes everything he sits on look comfy, doesn't he?

Have a good week...I'll be back soon with my new WIP, weather/pic taking permitting!

OOPS!! One more thing...I added a new free pattern on my sidebar if you're interested. Just a simple wrister pattern written for koigu or any sock yarn, enjoy!

After the party's over....

So another birthday's come and gone...good thing I'm perpetually 29! :)

Thank you one and all for all the wonderful birthday wishes, between here and Ravelry I've never gotten so many "happy birthdays" in my life!

But enough rambling on and on, I know what y'all *really* want...the answer to the mystery of the universe, just how many OPI lacquers does obsessive FKD have?

Well first, here are the birthday knails holding the current SIP, 'Vog On...

Virgin Island Velvet...and to the commenter(s) who asked, if you keep the caps on tightly and store the OPI in a cool, dark place (my closet, my dresser) they can last a LONG time. I have some that are well over 5 years old, maybe closer to 10! (Virgin Island Velvet being one!) and they are just like the day I opened them. Gotta love the OPI huh?

Isn't that a festive birthday color even tho I trimmed my knails a bit?

So now that you know I've been collecting OPI for more than 10 years, you know how some of your weenie guesses just cracked me right up, heh!

Now for some more birthday eye candy, here's a bouquet from the FK Mom...

Isn't she the best Mom?
Now where was I? Oh yes....birthday contest!!

OK, enough teasing...the total mumber of OPI lacquers I posess is....

~~TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY TWO ~~
That means if I was so inclined I could change my polish every week (I'm not) and have no repeats for FIVE YEARS!!

And the winners of the contest...the guess that came closest with their FIRST guesses was TRISH with 243 and the runner up was MEL with 275.

So ladies if you will email me with your addresses, and Trish you get to decide which gift you prefer, I'll get your FKD birthday gifts right off to you!

Now wasn't that fun? Thanks for playing, everyone!

There's been precious little actual knitting content here lately cause I am still slogging thru the Esprit tank but I am just about at the armscythe for the back so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I so want to finish this thing, I won't even *allow* myself to knit on my socks until I do, which is making me a bit nuts, I admit!

I did get a little respite from the tank tho...I signed up for Dish Rag Tag a couple of months ago and despite the fact that I think my team is in last place, I finally got the box! Here's what I got from my upstream tagger...

Of course Mr. Nosey had to check every thing out! Thank you Karen, Pumpkin and I love our surprises and my dishy new dishrag! :)

I'm the last stop for my team so I get to send a dishrag to Emily, the coordinator of DRT. I wanted something different so here's my welcome respite from the Esprit tank...

Say what you will about "warshrag" knitting, but I think they are a fun way to try out different stitch patterns and they make splendid, extra soft and soapy washcloths!

So it's back to the albatross Esprit tank for me, and birthday week is almost over :::sigh:::

I hope to have a finished tank soon and then I promise to lay off the giant projects for a while cause they sure make for boring blogging! (btw, the tank is actually a gift but it's a secret, don't tell, k?)

I'll leave you with another lucky gift recipient and it wasn't even his birthday....

I decided the the P-Man needed a bed of his very own** so I got him one made for up to a 75 pound dog!! (He's about SEVEN pounds) He LOVES it...see?

Granted, it's a bit roomy but I can't get him out of it! I think he looks so cute kinda swimming in the thing :)

I'll share a couple of my most favorite birthday gifts with y'all next time and hopefully have a finished tank too! Til then, have fun and knit lots!

** he's rejected a kitty pi and his previous preferred place of slumber was in my closet on my shoes! Crazy kitty man!

It's that time again and what FKD is up to .....

It hasn't quite been a whole year yet but it's time again for all us knitter's to rally to support a very worthy cause. It's time again for the Red Scarf Project!!

We all did such a great job last year the Orphan Foundation of America got TOO MANY scarves!! YAY Knitters! So this year they are asking for knitters to limit themselves to two scarves only.

The amazing Norma of Now Norma Knits has championed this wonderful charity for three years and she's at it again but with a twist!! Because now we knitters can sponsor a scholarship fund too!!

Just click on the button to visit the Red Scarf Project Blog and learn all about how you can make a difference...

Or zip on over to Norma's Place and see all the amazing prizes you can win once you click that little PayPal button.

So get knitting those scarves and making those donations, you'll be so glad you did!


Now for some FKD knitting!

First off, thank you all for the lovely compliments on Bonita! I am very happy with her and I'm glad y'all like her too!

After I fishished Bonita I figured I'd get one more summer top in before the cold weather gets here (hee!) I saw this while surfing around (damn insomnia!!) I think it's really pretty and something that would get a lot of wear in a warm climate...


It's a pattern from Elann, the Esprit V-Neck Summer Tank. It's simple yet attractive, a very easy knit with just enough patterning to keep it interesting, as well as very comfy and forgiving cause it's made with stretch cotton yarn. Altho be advised the pattern only goes to a 36" bust so I had to do some serious upsizing!

I've already knit a good portion of the "front" (both back and front are the same) and here is what I'm using for the trim too:

I'm enjoying knitting with the Esprit (Elann's version of Cascade Fixation) cause it's soft and squishy plus the simple pattern is welcome after all Bonita's beading (and re-beading!)

Of course I'm also knitting socks. Remember the screamingly pink well marinated Elann yarn I was using for the Go With the Flow socks? Well they've gone with the flow right into the trash!! I used the yarn because I loved the bright colorway and the recipient wanted pink but what complete crap that yarn is!! I freely admit to being a total yarn snob and I bought it when I first came back to knitting in 2002 so I didn't really know better but that stuff was beyond bad! It was harsh and lifeless and altho I persevered thru 2/3 of the first sock it was so disgusting I took it off the needles and tossed in right into the garbage and will be donating all the other skeins in my stash! What a waste!

So my knitting supervisor and I went poking around the stash and came up with a much nicer pink alternative....he even helped me wind it, see?

Ah, now that's much better! This is Louet Opal in Pink Panther and I'm making a simple twin rib pattern this time.

Isn't that pretty? Note of course the matching mani, OPI Brights Collection, This Little Piggy :)

Have a great weekend!