Finally a Finished Object!

First read this. I still need a few volunteers to test soap; you know you want to!

I've been promising pics of the Pretty in Pink Tank.
This is not a perfect sweater, but I've been wearing it! I bound off a little too tightly, and the straps will not stop curling.... I've taken to wearing it inside out to keep the straps in line. This pattern was quick and easy to follow; perfect for a first sweater.

I've still got the baby cardi on the needles, but I'm in the final stretch of stockinette for the hood and it's boring!

So, to keep my sanity, I started Cherie Amour! I plan on doing this sweater twice. The first time will be without modifications for my sister Sassy, the second time will be for me, with lots of mods. I've found this to be a very quick, satisfying knit, but I also know that many have been frustrated with various design elements. We'll see how it goes.

This is yarn that I over-dyed color on color to create a very subtle variegation. It came out perfectly, IMHO! I'm trying to get a good pic of it, but with the time change, I can't seem to take pictures in sunlight. This pic was taken in the parking lot at work (while all the other mindless drones wondered what the hell I was doing!).

And last but not least, I've calculated that I need to knit at least two hedgehogs this weekend. That's the only way I'll finish them all in time for the holidays! Hermione had her debut at the LYS on Wednesday; she was greeted with critical acclaim and applause.

Well, if I'm going to knit two hedgies this weekend, I'd better get cracking!

The Angel of Death needs to speak with you

We're doing some remodeling at the office and the project manager's name is Azrael. No one here understands why I laugh like a mad woman when they say, "Azrael has a question for you."

I'm not surprised

The Breakfast of Champions*

Please note that the breakfast items are on the car. I know it's horrible and the super cool Allstate guy says I'll go to hell for it, but I eat on my commute.

*I've now got "We Are The Champions" ala Chicken Little in my head. Also, did you notice the addition to my dashboard? I love my monsters.....

Calling All Brave Souls

Although inspired by all the knitty blogs out there, I originally started this blog to talk about soap making. It's been three months, and I only have one post about soap..... Silly girl.

So, tra-la! *furls arms like a magician's assistant* Beautiful handmade soap!

This is Naked Goat Soap, a goat’s milk soap with no added fragrances. It naturally has a soft, sweet, milky scent. The goat's milk combined with nourishing olive and rice bran oils and luxurious mango butter gently cleanse without stripping your skin's natural oils.
And the all-time favorite (so far): Almond Biscotti Kitchen Soap. This is a gentle yet hardworking soap to combat those persistent kitchen smells: onions? garlic? This soap knocks them all down without drying your skin! Cocoa butter soothes while fresh coffee grinds scrub and whisk away stinkiness. And the scent? Divine chocolate amaretto.... Mmmm yummy!*

For those of you who've made it all the way here, you're probably wondering "What's the deal with the title?" Well, I need soap-testing volunteers. My friends and family have happily tested my soaps for years, but they can only wash so many times a day! Plus, I'm not sure they are as brutally honest as they should be.

So, if you are feeling brave and love fancy schmancy soaps, send an email to twopalms @ cfl dot rr dot com (or click on the sidebar). I will randomly send you samples of my latest creations with a detailed ingredient list and a tentative name of the soap. All you have to do in return is give me an honest critique.

Why the sudden largesse? I will be opening an Etsy store soon, and I want to hook as many customers as possible before hand. Okay, not really, but I would like to take the next step of soap for profit (yeah, right - no one makes money on soap). Before I invest in the local round of spring craft fairs, I'd like to know which soaps are popular across the largest spectrum of people.

You know you're curious!



*Do not eat soap! No matter how good it smells. Really. It won’t taste good at all.

Happy Birthday Bubba!

Bubba turned six years old this weekend! He's grown up so fast.... We went to the Renaissance Faire, as we do every year. We were halfway through the two hour drive when I realized I forgot the camera! Crap.

This year the fire eater Johnny Phoenix used my lighter to start the show! You have to understand that the Hairy One and I have been inadvertently stalking this guy for seven years now. We saw him at our first ren-fair together, and he has been at every ren-fair since. He does a hilarious show! If you ever get a chance to see him - take it. You won't be disappointed. I was going to talk to him after the show - maybe joke a little about stalking him, but I got too shy and chickened out. There's always next year.

The finale at the ren-faire every year is the royal joust to the death. Every year the bad guy cheats and kills the good knight (sorry for ruining it for you!). Every year, my sweet monsters have to check to make sure he's not really dead..... "I know this is really pretend, but I just want to make sure he's okay."

Speaking of the monsters, how about Halloween costumes? Bug is the knight, Bubba is the skeleton monster. I've been thinking of ways to knit "armor" for the boys. I'm thinking a shiny silver/gray yarn, DK or worsted weight, knitted in garter stitch on size 13 needles..... Maybe for next year!

Here's an awkward segue into crazy projects: my first two hedgies are done! They are desperately cute, if I do say so myself. Hermione, the pink one, will go on display at All Strung Out. Hedgie is destined to become Bug's best friend. I have three more to make: Bubba's in brown and black, Sassy's in purple and burgundy, and Yaya's in green and orange. Here's the details:

Hermione Hedgehog
Pattern: Fiber Trends Hedgehogs
Yarn: Approximately 165 yards Dark Horse Yarns Rhapsody 100% Merino color # 71; 100 yards each Dark Horse Yarns Metal Wink, yellow and pink. I skipped the darker color for the paws.
Needles: US 10 1/2 (6.5 mm) for the body and US 11 (8 mm) for the back. After the first hedgehog, I also used US 8 to pick up the stitches for the back, then knitted those onto the 11's.

Notes: These knit up super fast! It's instant gratification. A few observations, though: I found it so much easier to pick up the stitches for the back with smaller needles; when I did that, I didn't end up with holes I had to sew up later. The back is done is a series of short rows - great practice for me! I would strongly recommend that you do not put the hedgehog down in the middle of the series. You will become completely lost! (Or is that just me?)

All in all I love these guys. They are sooo cute!!

Finally, I am very behind on Blogstalking. Last week's assignment was the oldest picture of yourself you have. I wasn't sure what I'd find for this. About four years ago we had a house fire and lost almost everything. We were able to save some pictures, but they were all damaged. I haven't had the heart to go through them in any detail until now.... Forgive the crappy quality of the picture of a picture. My scanner at work died, and I can't get my photo editing program to work here at the house.

That little black dot is my head! The gorgeous woman reading is my mom. I love the fact that she is intently reading while nursing; I did the same thing with my monsters.

I'm Back!

So last Wednesday our modem craps out. We get on the phone with Tech Support and they are adamant that it is not the modem.... I changed out the NIC card (yay me!) replaced the cords - nothing. Back on the phone with Tech Support and they still say it must be something with the computer. I check the settings, the firewalls, the filter - the stupid thing should be working!

Finally they send a guy. He says, "I don't know" (after replacing 99% of the hardware). They send another guy. After three hours, it's fixed, but he doesn't know what caused the problem or how he fixed it. I love computers! And I love Tech Support!

So, mad catch up! First, a Day in the Life at the House at Two Palms:


That sums it up. The only consistent thing day to day is my coffee.

Next, some Works in Progress. These are actually a week late.

I've been working on a baby cardi for my little sister's peanut. I've decided that I need to knit more baby clothes. Talk about instant gratification!

I am so excited to finally be an aunt. Sassy is due in May, and that baby will have the most hand-knit items of any child in our family! This sweater only has three inches on the sleeves and finishing left. It's kind of an "Oh Duh" thing, but I've been knitting both sleeves at the same time.

I've also joined the Hedgehog craze. These guys knit up so fast that it's easy to see why so many people are making them. At the time of the picture, we were trying to decide between the orange and the teal funfur. The orange made him look like a team mascot, so I went with the teal.

I took him to knit night last week, and the fabulous Gigi was so taken with him, that she asked me to make one for the store. She gave me some wool that they are thinking of carrying; I get to be the first to test it! It is absolutely fabulous, smooshy marino wool. I'll get pics and details up soon.

Hedgie and Hermione are done and awaiting felting. I will be making at least three more, so you will soon be sick and tired of hedgehogs!

In other news, I finished the Pretty in Pink tank. Pics and pattern notes soon; I'm still waiting to get both sunshine and a photographer at the same time. I had to frog the Shapely Tank: I was knitting it in a cotton blend that did not take well to the pattern. I've got a light wool blend to try, and I'm adjusting the pattern to knit in the round.

I will add this week's wip's, catch up on Blogstalking, and post pics of the monsters in their Halloween finery soon.