the happy homewrecker

Just put two lots of yarn up on ebay: Phildar Aviso and some authentic traditional Irish Bainin.

Ever seen a knitting geisha?

Once upon a time, I had more creativity than I knew what to do with. Now I'm so busy and pooped taking care of the kids, there are days when I can hardly put together an outfit for myself in the morning. I'm looking for costume ideas---Spencer's supposed to wear a costume to preschool in a few weeks, but it has to be one that he can wear for three hours and play in and use the toilet in, so he can't wear his trick-or-treating costume, a fully-body cat outfit. The only thing I've thought of so far is maybe getting some bunny/cat ears and painting his face and having him wear a sweatsuit of the appropriate color.

I'm trying to find a decent, inexpensive costume idea for myself, too. We're going to Boo at the Zoo in a few weeks, and after Spencer kept asking me what I was going to dress up as, I figured maybe I should, especially since I'll need a costume for the Halloween stitch n bitch. I'm coming up blank on this one. I have my wedding dress, but I doubt that I can fit into it; the last time I wore it was before I was pregnant with Spencer, I think my bigger boobs won't work with it. I saw this cool geisha wig at Jo-Anns that I could get for $6 with a coupon, but then I'd need some kind of silky kimono-like pajama top and bottoms to wear with it, and I'm not sure I could find something like that for cheap.

Also posting this over in my knitting blog:

I have some Phildar yarn I need to get rid of to make some room in my stash. I've been holding onto it for a couple of years and realized that while I can wear some oranges, I can't wear them all, and this one just doesn't suit my sallow skintone. I have 10 skeins of Phildar Aviso in Mandarine (I think the color has been discontinued), a 60% cotton/40% acrylic in a medium orange that's not overly bright. To give you an idea of what it could make, I bought it to make a v-neck long-sleeved stockinette stitch sweater in a 38-inch bust size. It knits up at 17 sts/22 rows over four inches on US 7-8 needles; each 50g skein contains 74 yards of yarn. It sells overseas for about $4 skein; I'd like to sell it for $30 + shipping. If no one claims it here within a week or so, I'm going to put it up on eBay, but I like to offer it here first because I know there are some fellow Phildar-lovers reading ; )

It's been awhile since I had one of these up for auction: French Country Floral Knitting Needle Case.

A somewhat hypothetical question here (because we all know I need another hobby like I need a hole in my head): if I were to, say, make an eensy weensy attempt at putting together a scrapbooking layout, what's the best adhesive to use to stick my stuff to the page? One book I read espoused the virtues of repositionable adhesive, which I tried; it stuck for awhile and then everything fell off.

I can't take the MT comment spam anymore. The knitting blog is moving, its new home is here.

Head on over to the knitting blog to see more of Ginger's new handknit sweater!

. . . and the Phildar yarn is gone! Hope everyone enjoys their stash additions!

See what happens when I start my spring cleaning? More yarn!

First thing up for grabs is six skeins of Phildar Lambswool in Melon (see more about the yarn specifics here). I bought it to make the t-shirt-type sweater below, but after two years, it's slipped way to the bottom of my to-do list. I'd rather it go to someone who really wants to make something beautiful out of it. Comes with the pattern for the short-sleeved sweater, and the six skeins make up to a bust size 38-39 1/2. Each skein sells for $3.54 in Europe; I'm offering all six plus the pattern for $20 (+ shipping)..

This is a really pretty pinky-peachy-orangey color of Phildar Coton Microfibres (read more about Coton Microfibres here) called Mangue that's been discontinued. I bought it to make a strappy, summery Phildar tube top pattern that isn't right for my newer, bigger boobs (if you'd told me in high school that one day my breasts would be a tad too big for my tastes, I would have laughed my head off). I don't have a photo of the sweater, but if you're interested in seeing a picture let me know and I'll e-mail you a link to the site of someone who knit it a few years ago (no linking here for my own weird reasons).  The four skeins will make up to a size XL; there's no corresponding bust size but I'm thinking it's about a 40-42. Each skein sells for $3.80 in Europe; I'm offering all four plus the pattern for $15 (+ shipping).

And last but not least, four skeins of Phildar Phil Ruban ribbony tape yarn in Bluet, a beautiful turquoise color. This was intended for yet another summery top, a Phildar halter pattern for which I have no photo and despite much Googling, couldn't find online anywhere. The pattern itself seems simple enough: back and front are identical and then you make a little cord to thread through the top to hold it up. The four skeins are enough to make up to bust size 41/42. Each skein sells for $5.69 in Europe; I'm offering all four plus the pattern for $20 (+ shipping).

Interested? Drop me a line or leave a comment here. I'll give it a week or so and then I'll be posting it on eBay.