I Can Too Read!

Ding!

2010-06-24T08:17:00.001-07:00

It's ready!

Fa-shwooom!

2010-06-21T12:43:00.001-07:00

Drive by blogging!

Ishbel by ysolda teague
Yarn by Alina Shea Creations

Someone out there thinks I'm good at this?

2010-04-23T09:32:00.001-07:00

My favorite ravelry group is letting me help out with their blog! I'm guessing it's just because they like me, because
my body of work here on my own blog isn't exactly Webby worthy :-/

I'll have to do better than pictures of the cheese tray I brought to the office party, heh!

I bought the app, so I'm determined to use it.

2010-04-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

I paid for the blogpress app for my iPhone, so I'm darned well going to use it now!
Thanks for the finishing suggestions, I'll be sorting out the last details of my blanket in no time. Juuust in time for airconditioning season ;-). Ah well.
That reminds me, I need to get this sweater off the needles before it really heats up here :-/

I'm thisclose to being done with the front, which leaves two sleeves, a neckline and assorted finishing.

It's the "harry's red cabled sweater" pattern from charmed knits (love that book). I'm using my Christmas present yarn ( Webs own Valley Yarns, Northfield in 'wine') and it is awesome! Seriously, the most enjoyable fine(ish) gauge yarn I've ever worked with. It's squishy, springy, and has a beautiful sheen from its silk content.
Ok, I'm all psyched up with yarn-love and ready to get knitting!

Breakfast!

2010-04-07T08:21:00.001-07:00

Peanut butter crunch Clif Bar! They are waaay tastier than they look and are nutrient dense (unlike those cereal bars).

Yes, I'm blogging my breakfast. But only as an FYI about a product I really enjoy. There will be knitting content later on today.
I wonder if the Clif people would consider sponsoring a knitblog...I'd accept payment in bar form ;-)

Happy Easter, and happy spring!

2010-04-04T11:29:00.001-07:00

The ubiquitous Easter egg pic:

Yes, they really are that bright.

And brownie bunny treats! Yum.

There are egg shapes too, because I happen to have an egg shaped cutter as well.
There's no recipe really, just a boxed mix with half a tub of frosting and half a jar of marshmallow fluff melted on top. Refridgerate. Cut out. Eat! The best parts are the leftover scraps, because they have no calories ;-)

Look! All the tomato seedlings have survived! Well, not all, but 120+ plants is more than I know what to do with as it is.

I think this is going to be a glorious spring and summer, probably full of tomatoes :-)

Betcha didn't think I'd finish it!

2010-04-02T10:07:00.001-07:00

My patchwork blanket is done (for all intents and purposes)!

Sorry you're only getting iPhone pictures, my camera battery was not charged and ready for action.

This behemoth even got batting and a backing! I just need to tack all the layers together in a few spots, but I'm not quite sure how.
I am exhausted from the effort this took, but I'm so pleased with the results! Plus, it's big enough for a queen sized bed! I'll have to do some "modeled" shots of it on my bed once the camera is ready.

If you're considering a Ron Weasley Blanket like this one, I should warn you about the extreme amount of "finishing" ( a.k.a sewing) required. Take a look at that pile of ends!

::shudder::

Big ol' pile of seams

2010-03-15T11:32:00.001-07:00

Yup, that's precisely what I see here, cleverly disguised as a blanket.

Actually, there are a bunch of other squares that missed picture day (because they were upstairs and I was not, haha). This is a behemoth: 64" x 88" when it's all together (more actually, because the carpet is rather grabbity and leads to stretching)!
In other news, all of the tomato seedlings made it this year. Yessiree, all 110 plants :-P. WHAT on earth am I going to do with all of them! They have been settled into their own 4" peat pots and are taking up an entire table by a sunny window. It's a 60/40 ish split between Roma and Brandywine, and my dad has some HawaiianTropic variety to share, and I haven't even gotten to the wee little cherry and Juliet varieties! At this rate I'll need to plough the entire backyard and open up a produce stand.

Designs on a hat

2010-03-05T09:47:00.001-08:00

I had a picture of a hat, conjured up in my imagination, and I now have the ability to make things like that into a reality. Which is very exciting for me, but all you get to see is a little stripey hat.
In an effort to pump up the excitement level for everyone else, I'll be writing up the pattern for this bulky weight yarn (quick) adjustable size (perfect for gifting) hat! The buttons on the side were placed that way so as to suggest eyes (snakey hat!), but I think I'll be replacing them with one larger button soon.
Well, not that soon. It's not exactly hat weather anymore here. Which is Fine By Me thankyouverymuch!
My favorite thing about this hat though is the stripeyness, because I really like knitted stripes for one thing, but there's no color jog! The end of the rounds keeps moving over in a physics-defying optical illusion sort of way. All of the color changes occurred in plain view in the picture, but unless you turn the hat insideout and find the ends, you wouldn't see it. Clever no? Not my idea you know, but clever nonetheless :-)

Let's see what's in the picture archive!

2010-03-04T01:27:00.001-08:00

Might as well right?

Oh look! It's the sweater I'm working on. It was one of those "some assembly required" Christmas presents ;-).
It's being made from a yarn I am not-so-secretly in love with called Northfield (with merino and silk and alpaca, what's not to love) in color Wine.
This also needs to be finished up this month...better get knittin'!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Drive-by Blogging!

2010-03-03T22:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't always have my laptop, camera, and assorted cordage handy but I am inseparable from my phone! I think I might get more blogging in this way...

Look! More blanket squares! I'm up to 50 or so, but I need 88 by the end of the month.

It's also seedling time again. I know, I know, but some day one of these little buggers is going to make it if it kills me. I have been all over the bottany archives of JSTOR in the off season and I've got some renewed hope for these little dudes.

Fingers crossed that this sort of blogging works...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Squares, squared

2010-01-19T15:49:00.000-08:00

23 squares down, many more to go! I really like that cable-y one in the bottom right corner. So crisp! This is not the final layout of squares though, thankfully. Some will be swapped with other square-knitter's squares, and many more of my own will be added.

new year, new colors, new projects

2010-01-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that the blog has changed colors/design lately. I'm playing around with new and different layouts and color combinations because it is amusing :-) Things should settle down soon.

I have also embarked on a great big blanket project for the new year! It's a patchwork blanket made up of 8" squares. Some of the squares will be mine, some will be from a swap (over on ravelry). Progress is going well so far:
These are the first 14 squres I've come up with. Since this picture was taken I have completed 4 more squares and have another one on the needles. When I've accumulated all 88 squares I'll sew them up, give them batting and a fabric backing, and collapse from the exhaustion of completing this project before the end of March! Someone be a dear and throw it over me at this point.

I haven't figured out how I'm going to tackle the seaming yet ... I don't want to have to mattress the whole thing together, the seams will be too bulky. I'm sure there's a sewing solution out there, so I'll peruse the interwebs and cross that bridge when I get there.

Now for some actual knitting content

2009-12-27T23:16:00.000-08:00

So, it turns out that I didn't burn my hand as badly as I thought (and the aloe helped a lot too). Which means, I had some actual knitting time and I chose to spend it working on my pockets for the Jackie Jacket (Knitspot creation) that I had to order justonemoreballofyarn to make. I tend to underestimate the amount of yarn I need sometimes. Hey! That sounds like a New Year's resolution to me!

I ... will ... remember ... to buy ... enough ... yarn. There.

And to all a good night!

2009-12-25T23:14:00.000-08:00

The food was great, the gifts were fun, and that's another Christmas in the bag!

I finally have a complete and respectable set of sock-size-DPNs (and the new Zephyr circular set, not pictured)! I love my family, especially because they think the knitting is kind of ... crazypants, yet they have been cajoled into supporting it :-D

And I got the new camera too, but you already heard about that. Still reading the owner's manual. I know I don't seem like a "reader-of-directions", but I really really don't want to miss out on any of the cool features because I didn't read the manual.

Now, look at the shiny! Oooh, shiny!

This was a gift for my mom, Birthday or Christmas, whichever she feels like. It was made especially for her by the supa' talented Kelly, who is awesome (and also a very nice person)! She was able to take the inkling in my brain and turn it into this. I know, awesome right?

My Grinch moment for the day was when I burned my hand on a hot! hot! pan. So there isn't any knitting per se, but I'm totally thinking about what my next project will be. Hmmm.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T02:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas all you happy people!

I am getting a new camera, which means that meaningful blogging (without the use of iPhone photography) can begin again.

Hey, don't walk away! I really mean it!

Since I'm not much of an expository writer when it comes to knitting, I need Pictures! to show you what I'm rambling on about now. So when the old (old old) camera decided that it wasn't going to speak to my computer ever again, I sort of ran out of steam. It happens.

I like having this little piece of the blogosphere, really I do!

P.S. I'm also getting my favorite type of sweater ... "some assembly required"! So it's going to be a good day :-)

Aha! I can post things from photobucket.

2009-10-18T00:09:00.000-07:00

I was not aware of my ability to post photos from photobucket before! This is a nice feature, especially since it means that you get to look at my Linoleum Dishcloth (by Mason-Dixon knitting blog).

I liked (very much!) the scrubby texture of the finished dishcloth, and I expect that it will be quite effective in dish-cleaning-endeavors. I don't plan to investigate personally, but I'm sure it will suffice ;-)

I followed the pattern, used the correct needles, and thoroughly enjoyed the results! Well whatdayaknow?! Also, I have enough yarn left for another one, maybe two.

Edited To Add: Hmm. It seems that these pictures come in a one-size-fits-all format. I guess I won't be posting photos this way anymore :-( Dangit, it would have been so convenient!

Hey, I have a blog?

2009-10-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I've completely forgotten that I have this place to write, record, and create. Let's see if some resurrection can occur here, because I really do like my little blog. Really. I do!

So, what's OTN you ask?

I'm working up one of the latest patterns from knitty, dubbed Girl Friday, which is very neat so far. In two senses of the word; neat = crisp & tidy and neat = cool & engaging. Not in the last sense, which refers to a manner of serving whiskey or scotch ;-)

I think my mom will like it. It's being done up in navy colored cotton, so if she doesn't like it I would totally steal it back, haha!

I'm hoping to have this sweater-ette finished by the end of the month (so I can turn it in for house cup points too!).

Also seeing some progress is my Jackie Jacket (by Anne from knitspot) which is a bit more long term, but should be done for wearing this autumn. If autumn ever decides to get here! It was 90 degrees today.

There should be pictures of these things, but I'm just getting back into the swing of blogging. You'll forgive me this once right? Thanks!

Beeeeeeeeep!

2009-09-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry blog, was that you flat-lining? Stay with me! I'm not going to lose you!

My goodness, I've missed the entire month of August. Not that it was particularly interesting anyway, but it went by without a peep!

Well, as soon as this BIG week is over, you can expect some much needed attention.

For now:

The summer gardening went well, many tomatoes and peppers, happy happy herbs, the swiss chard really took off (which is a shame, since nobody likes it, live and learn!)
The knitting has been intermittent, usually eclipsed by more important studying.
The HPKCHC is back in full swing (expect more HP related dorkiness), so is Reducio Round 7
The holiday gift knitting has begun. Really. (Felted slipper socks for everyone this year!)

I'll be seeing you again soon, I promise!

Love,

Your absentee blogger

Tiny sock knitting

2009-07-07T00:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the people over on Ravelry that are responsible for the Reducio Mini Sock Swap are at it again, and so am I!

I don't have an assigned 'spoilee' yet, but that hasn't stopped me from knitting a pilot sock:

The penny is included for scale, and the Felix Felicis is included because this might be my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework assignment for the month as well.

I'm supposed to come up with something from Book 6, and hopefully stump the professor (for bonus points!), so this is the old sock of Uncle Vernon's that Harry uses to keep his prize bottle of Liquid Luck Potion. [Side Note: Not to be confused with Liquid Courage, a.k.a Adult Beverages.] Betcha didn't remember that! (If you did, kudos to you!)

True to my word, I posted it here first! Now, if someone could please tell me where the entire first week of July went, I'd be much obliged.

Can she knit it?

2009-06-30T23:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, she can!

I have knitted a hammock. I'll let that sink in a bit.

That's right, a full-fledged, person-sized hammock for my enjoyment in the backyard! It was a bit trying at times, but since I was doing it as another "homework project" I persevered.

I'm going to copy/paste my homework submission now, because I worked really hard on it, and I don't think I could write it over again very well tonight. (Don't mind the HP dorkiness.)

Hello Professor! LNS of Slytherin, turning in my Transfiguration homework … a HAMMOCK!

I began this adventure with some closet-dowel, 8’ of 2x2 pine, and 800’ of 0.5” nylon rope. {Aside: If someone happens to know a good whittling spell, it would have been a big help, because doing it the muggle way (with a big ol’ knife) gave me blisters.}

I tried to cast yarnio, but the rope just gave a little wiggle and flopped down again. So, I tried to be more specific: Yarnio Hammock, no dice. One more try: YARNIO GARTER DROP-STITCH HAMMOCK and that did the trick. The unwieldy rope behaved like nice pliable yarn, and my giant kniting needles went to work (seriously, 1.5” in diameter, that’s huge! {which is also what she said}).

Along the first edge, I cast on through the spreader bar (pine 2x2, sanded, drilled with 30 odd holes, and stained walnut). Then the spell really went to work, and it created a nice open net with a lot of stretch.

The ends from the cast-on were ~4’ long, so they could be lashioed to 3” solid steel rigging rings. I also used some muggle eklectical tape to carefully keep the nylon rope from fraying. Fire was also employed.

Once the knitting was complete and attached to both wooden spreaders, I enchanted some smaller cording to lace itself through the edges in order to stabilize the structure. It worked like a charm (obviously) ;-)

And, lest you think that this is only for decoration, here I am putting my feet up and relaxing before the July classes start up.

Thank you professor, for your encouragement and input! I really enjoyed this class :-D

Holy Backlog Batman! (4 of many)

2009-06-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

Here's another little project that was a homework assignment, but also highly useful and needed. It's a pouch, made out of cascade 220 superwash, and emblazoned with an apple logo (from the Tech Guy Sock Pattern).
It's used for, you guessed it, wrangling various bits of technology. All of these were churning around in the spin-cycle that is my big canvas bag, so to keep them from getting dirty and/or damaged they now all reside together in this simple drawstring pocket.
P.S. I wonder if I can sell this idea to apple? I mean, I could never keep up with the demand, but I'll bet they could charge $30 for one of these, even if it was mass produced.

Holy Backlog Batman! (3 of many)

2009-06-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Huzzah for mini sock swaps! I recently participated in the Reducio mini sock swap and, pictured above, is what I received from my lovely Spoiler. That is the fluffiest, loveliest cotton yarn I've ever come across and I'd love to make, well, anything out of it! The awesome inverted holly will be decorating my table top christmas tree this year :-) Not pictured were the little Toblerone treats. Because they were eaten.
This is the package that I sent to my spoilee. She got a mini weasley sweater with her initial on it (and some little Lavender buds) a couple socks (one quidditch and one regular house sock) and some other applicable goodies.

[Side Note: The sweater counted for HPKCHC homework, because it had a monogram on it! Sweet!]

I really liked participating in this swap, and I think I'll do it again in the future. It made going to the mailbox fun again!

Holy Backlog Batman! (2 of many)

2009-06-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

Um, yes. It is a wand-tip protector. This is the toy wand that came in my stocking this past Christmas and I needed a quick and easy homework assignment.
Besides, I keep accidentally setting off the Lumos charm whilst rummaging through my bag. It makes the muggles suspicious you know ;-)

Also, there's no need to mock the dorkiness. I'm well aware of my situation. I have decided to adopt the "embrace it" approach, and I recommend that you all do the same.

P.S. Is this the wizarding equivalent of a pocket protector? Oh lord, I think it is. ::facepalm::

Holy Backlog Batman! (1 of many)

2009-06-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

This little beauty is my doily version of the Jared Flood Hemlock Ring Blanket. My prize winning doily I might add! Seriously, is there anything better in this world than having your work appreciated by people you love and respect and admire? It fills me up with knitterly pride :-D.

I used crochet cotton (cardinal and gold, of course) and my newly acquired (on sale!!) addi turbo size 0 circular. It wasn't tedious until the picot edging. ::GROAN:: I have long entertained the idea of making this in the intended blanket size, but that border has made me think twice about it. I already have one giant blanket project languishing in the corner, sending me forlorn, neglected vibes; it sure doesn't need a partner to commiserate with!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads, Grandpas, Uncles, Godfathers, etc. out there!

I'm spending the day with my dad, watching baseball and grilling up some dinner. I might also take this opportunity to cast on something for my dad, most likely to be a Christmas gift. His mom (my late grandmother) was a marvelous knitter and accomplished crocheter, so he has the proper appreciation for yarny goodness, which makes him a great person to knit for!

Unfortunately, we lived clear across the country from my grandparents and she passed away before I was bitten by the knitting bug. I sort of hope that she is peeking down from time to time to see how my projects are going. (Lots of love Grandma Rose, and I really appreciate all of the time and effort you put into the little sweaters you made for me when I was just a tot. Especially the red one. With the little scotty dog buttons.)

Ravelry has eaten my blog.

2009-06-21T01:44:00.000-07:00

I figured out where all of my blogable content is going. Right on to ravelry.com.

So, my plan of attack from now on is to post things here first. Simple eh?

Let's start with my Cable and Bobble Mitts.

These are going to be turned in to the HPKCHC (that's Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup, for you muggles). They are my herbology homework, which was supposed to incorporate bubbles (a.k.a. bobbles) this month. Twelve bobbles, present and accounted for!

These were knit to pattern specifications [Side Note: this is code for "I'm too lazy to look up what the needle size and pattern gauge were."] but I used some of the reclaimed sweater yarn that was used last summer in my Cable and Bobble Scarf project. (I also used this yarn to make my dad a hat. He loves it. He also wears it with no regard for the weather. As in he wore it driving a few weeks ago, when it was 100 degrees outside. Sigh. Parents.)

I might have enough yarn left to make myself a headband (or Calorimetry, those are quite popular on rav) and then I'll have a complete set!

See, that wasn't so difficult now.

Dear Blog,

2009-06-12T00:23:00.000-07:00

Where did all this time go? I really haven't posted in over a month? Wow. I am such a slacker!

I think I mentioned that I was participating in a great big knitting competition/game on Ravelry (way back before this unplanned hiatus). Well, it has been immensely fun, but bad for the blogging, because I've been putting all of my blogable content on there, and not here. For shame!

I have recently made: a wand tip protector, (no real purpose IRL, oh well, it's shiny and pretty) a scrub cap (see last blog post, prior to absence), a fancy-pants doily (the doily version of the Jared Flood Hemlock Ring Blanket, and it WON A PRIZE ::insert happy dance::!), a fluffy white tree-skirt for a table-top christmas tree (with silver buttons!), a blue market-bag for hauling groceries, and a mini weasley sweater that got sent to my Reducio swap buddy (along with a couple mini socks). Whew!

Muggle Studies

2009-05-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

I finished my first 'homework' assignment in the Ravelry, Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup! [Side Note: this whole school dynamic is addictively motivating!]

The assignment for the Muggle Studies class was to knit something inspired by a muggle entertainment source (film, tv, etc). Sooo, I designed and knit a Grey's Anatomy inspired scrub cap.

It's a clever bit of shaping and careful use of reverse stockinette, and it worked out marvelously. Here's the free pattern link! CLICK HERE for PDF

I made myself the medium size, but if I had it to do over again I'd make the large.

Also, there are i-cord ties at the very back. But it's physically impossible to take a picture of the back of your own head with an iphone and a bathroom mirror.

Commence Happy Dance

2009-04-30T23:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been sorted into my #1 (and only) choice, Slytherin for the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup. [Side Note: Which I'm pretty sure also qualifies me for my "geek" merit badge ...]Anywho, I'm looking forward to the motivation that this group will provide to actually finish a knitted object sometime soon. Oh, and making some like-minded knitting friends will be nice too!

They are going to post a list of "classes" tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to casting on for something interesting and new. I'll be looking for patterns that use the same size needles as ones already tied up in other projects, you know, so I'll be forced to finish it to get the needles back. I'm tricky like that with the self-motivating ;-)

P.S. Dark Mark Drawers! [Because I've posted them everywhere else already today, haha!]

Dear Blog,

2009-04-29T22:58:00.001-07:00

Dear Blog,

Missing you!

--Me

Sometimes life gets away from me and I have to spend time catching up, and the blogging time suffers. But no more! I am super-dee-duper excited to get sorted into a Hogwarts house in the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC), which should be happening any time now. I will have PLENTY of blog fodder from the competitions, and I've got a few things up my sleeves now as well. Secret things.

I am participating in my first-ever swap on ravelry and I've already knitted some reducio-ed things for my spoilee. I'd also like to include something for his/her little one(s). I have really enjoyed the blog-stalking and ravelry-stalking! It's fun to see how much you can learn about a person without interacting with them.

And speaking of sleeves (no really, I said sleeves somewhere up there ...) I really must use some of my time off tomorrow to sew that second sleeve into my gathered pullover. Really.

Finally, some whining: Something happened to my US 1 dpns, something bad :-( I'm down to 4 of the original 10, and they just keep breaking. What's wrong with me?

Can't escape the gravity!

2009-04-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

Sooo, I'm maybe a bit enthralled with Guitar Hero World Tour at the moment. I'm becoming quite a drummer, and I just can't seem to put the sticks down. At least not long enough to pick up the other sticks, you know, the ones used for knitting?

So far, what I lack in 'natural rhythm' I'm making up for in obsessive practice. There has to be a breakthrough moment where it all gels and I'm drumming like a pro, so I'm working towards that.

This might not be a very interesting blog post for anyone who hasn't played this game, so I'll wait patiently while you go pick one up ...

...

... (and for any karaoke fans out there, it has a microphone and scrolling words and everything!)

Aaand in other news, I've signed up for a swap on ravelry! It's centered around tiny things, tiny socks, and the Herbology theme. Yes, it's Potter related too! I'll be knitting a mini sock and something else tiny while also including my swap partner's house colors as well as something Herbology-ish. This is my very first swap, so I'm a little nervous about living up to expectations etc. I mean, there are far better knitters out there than I'll ever be.

I also have to rustle up some goodies to go with it, but I'll have to wait until I know who will be receiving them (personalization. WANT.)

pop

2009-04-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

Here is the front left side of my Soap Bubble wrap (a leeetle too much flash).
I like the bubble details a lot (even if they require much "paying attention"). It looks pretty wonky now, but I don't think I made any errors. Hopefully everything will block out alright when it's done. [Side Note: If I did make any errors, they're getting chalked up to 'character' or 'rustic charm'. Whichever one means I'm not ripping it all out, no matter what.]
I was just trying to be artsy with the camera. This is a little garter stitch road (a.k.a. the border) trailing off in the distance (a.k.a. the end of the dining room table).

I'm nearing completion on the back of the sweater and it's at a stage where it's impossibly wide due to the fact that the sleeves are being knitted at the same time through the clever use of the backwards loop cast on. It's so scrunched up that I didn't bother to take a picture.

Gettin' Goin' in the Garden

2009-04-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

I don't know where that kitchy/cheesy title came from, but once I said it out loud I knew it was a keeper. Sorry.

Now, watch me get all knitspot with the photos of the garden here:

These are my floppy Freesias, being held up with kitchen twine and sticks.
And the wide angle effect. It looks a lot more 'finished' now with all that bark there. I should have put the garden hose away, but you don't mind do you?
My raised planter bed, full of pine tree related junk. I could spend a week picking out those little pollen related thingies, but I just don't stock that particular brand of crazy.
This is Pete, the garden gnome who protects the plants, wards off neighborhood cats, and gives nosy pigeons a sharp jab with that pick-ax (at least I hope he does, because they deserve it). Pete is very pleased with himself and his work in the garden. Verrry pleased :-)
Here we have a Brandywine tomato plant, looking the way they are supposed to when they are alive and cared for by a nursery during the delicate seedling stage. Mine are all long since deceased. So I bought this one at the nursery too.
This Jalapeno plant was on sale at the nursery, so I figured "eh, why not. Peppers are pretty hard to kill aren't they?" This concerned the staff. But, here it is, completely alive and producing flowers like crazy! There are little wee pepper buds forming inside the flowers, hopefully to become full grown, fiery fruits. It took a little battering by the wind, but it seems to be doing ok.

And finally, the neat little row of swiss chard. When they get about 2" high I'll thin them out to about a foot apart. I should be able to keep 8 plants that way, allowing for a few of each color. [Side Note: I'm not completely sure that I even like swiss chard, but I was drawn to the bright colors on the seed packet. Magenta! Gold! Red! White! Pathetic. If they ever make shiny seed packets I'll be in real trouble!]

A list:

2009-04-05T00:49:00.000-07:00

It's April.
It's been April for a while now, and yet no April blog posts? Oops.
I'm convinced that wallpaper removal is destined to be my own private circle of hell, ala the Alighieri construct.
The swiss chard is sprouting! I haven't killed it yet, so we're doing pretty well here.
Happy Belated Birthday to Fred and George (April 1, how fitting)!
I've decided that it's ok to reference fictional characters as if they are real people. Sometimes.
My bubble wrap ... wrap has a back and some sleeve progress now. I will take pictures of many things for the next post. When it is not 1 AM.
I am convinced that I went to bed with a breathe right strip on my nose last night, but I woke up without it. Curious. I hope it isn't stuck to the sheets!
Nope, I guess this list ends at 8.

grooowing; plants, sleeves, tangent side stories

2009-03-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

The hydrangea plants that I ordered arrived today! They didn't look anything like that picture there though. These were some bare root, dormant little twigs that ship more easily from the nursery in TN. They looked a little more like ...

Yeah. Forgive me if I am a little skeptical about their survivability.

I managed to put quite a few rows on my Gathered Pullover sleeves. [Side Note: Yes, that's a plural because I am knitting both of them at the same time! It was very exciting at first, but after some 8" the novelty has tempered. I am able to do this because of the power of superglue. Remember the bellyaching about the knitpicks needle that wouldn't screw together properly? I made it fit. In a permanent manner. So when knitpicks sent me the replacement (a harmony wood set, but I don't know why. I had the nickel plated to begin with. oh well.) I now had two sets of circs and figured, why not? Also, the harmony needle came unattached from its metal fitting, so more superglue was employed and all is well.]

Also, the house is still standing after the windstorm, and no additional plants were harmed. We didn't end up in Oz either.

Woah! It's windy out there!

2009-03-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

I thought March was supposed to go out like a lamb, what the heck is going on here?! This is like an ornery lamb that's quick on its feet and does not want to be sheared and will fight you every step of the way. I'm harkening back to an episode of MarthaStewartLiving where they tried to make her shear a sheep, but the sheep had other ideas (namely knocking martha over without a fragment of fleece to show for it). [End of extended analogy and use of sheep imagery]

Seriously though, I've seen some high desert winds before, but not for weeks-on-end and not so violent! We have a lot of mature trees and I'm beginning to worry about them losing branches or toppling into the dining room totally uninvited and without a hostess gift.

Bottom line, if the house blows down, or I end up clear in Oz, I won't be surprised.

This has hampered my pending "look at my garden isn't is pretty" post because I had to cover all of the plants with pots to try and protect them. Also, I put in a whole bunch of Freesias in the backyard (the shaded, well watered part) and it promptly blew over. Frown. They had already bloomed for the year, but maybe they'll survive and bloom properly for us next year. Or do they bloom continuously until their blooming season is over? I didn't do proper research on these guys.

The pine cones from the giant tree in the front yard keep dropping on the roof and pitter-pattering all the way down the shingles. That should be real peaceful for sleeping. SIGH, is it summer yet?

Happy Birthday Blog!

2009-03-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

My blog turns a year old today!

My knitting has improved a whole lot in that time: I'm faster, more confident, and have a whole bunch of new skills. The blogging has probably gotten better too, though maybe less frequent. I'll make a blogiversary resolution to blog better (not necessarily more, or more often, just to always do the best that I can).

Gathered Pullover: Progress is being made

2009-03-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

These have been some busy weeks around here, what with Spring and all. Now that the weather is nice, all of the outdoor chores that were neglected during the winter are demanding to be done (right now!). I work and work and work, yet the list just keeps getting longer! It's a race to get everything done before it becomes unbearably hot here. It's actually the same exact time each year; exactly one week before I finish. So I end up with heatstroke and a sunburn from standing on the garage roof, painting the trim in 110 degree weather. Good times.

I will write up a post about the more fun/interesting house projects soon. Like my garden! [Side Note: It has 1 brandywine tomato plant in it. I bought it from the nursery. All of my seedlings died. No big surprise here. I just wish I knew WHY! They never made it past the 'first two leaves' stage. I avoided fungal rot at the base of the plants this year though. That's progress!]

My gathered pullover has an entire body, eagerly awaiting sleeves. The fabric is lightweight and has enough drape along with really defined stitches. I think the larger needles (US 7) really help this pattern live up to its potential.

Here's a close-up view of the ribbed, cabled, gathered area on the front of the sweater. It's like an island of intricacy sitting in a sea of stockinette. It was a very welcome change after nearly a foot of knitting a straight tube!

Alas, I don't think I'll finish this in time to wear it this spring. We've already had a few 80 degree days. There's always the office though, kept at a crisp 68 degrees during the hotter months. That sounds like light sweater weather to me.

I'm going to have to adjust my knitting calendar so that I'm a season ahead from now on. Note to Self: Begin spring things immediately after Christmas. Begin fall things in July. Begin winter things by September. That ought to do it.

2009-03-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

My bubble wrap sweater is coming along pretty well (if you don't count
the time I had to rip back 20 rows because I didn't read the
directions thoroughly). This sure has some unusual construction
methods that I've never done before. Short-row shoulders? Hmm. I can
tell already that I'm going to love this little sweater to fuzzy bits,
as soon as I finish it that is...

I can haz ball band dish cloth?

2009-03-12T02:14:00.001-07:00

Yes, I can. This is actually the second one I've made already and I
think I can squeeze one more out of the leftover Sugar-n-cream cotton
yarn.

Edit: It didn't occur to me that people would want to know where to get the pattern. This lovely creation came from the Mason-Dixon Knitting gals book and can be found online here: Ballband Dishcloth. It's the 'official' one too. Don't be put off by the simplicity. It turns out great!

Hey,What Ever Happened To ...

2009-03-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

Remember those curtains I posted about a while ago? They didn't work out.

There were marks all over them that needed washing (I was willing to overlook this as long as they came clean). So, they went through a gentle wash cycle, on cold, as per their instructions, but the problem areas remained and they got a little Spray-N-Wash and OxyClean in the water. The marks were gone, but after letting them air dry and ironing them ... they shrank! So much that they no longer fit in the intended area. Unacceptable!

Grumble*lousy curtains*Grumble. So they got a one-way ticket back to the store for being defective, deceptive little buggars. I haven't found a replacement yet, so my desk area is still unusable at peak afternoon times. Sigh.

It isn't that I mind toting the laptop around or working while sitting, ok laying, on my bed. It's a little too comfortable though so I tend to do more "napping" than "working". There's also supposedly an associative problem that can crop up if you start to associate 'bed' with 'work' and it leads to insomnia. I wonder if they've studied the reverse effect of associating 'work' with 'naptime' and discovered a well-rested, though underachieving population. ;-)

Growing

2009-03-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

These are my tiny tomato plant seedlings! The reaction I had when these little guys sprouted up over night was akin to the reaction Tom Hanks' character in Castaway had when he finally made fire. "I have made plants, from tiny lifeless seeds in a packet. I have made plants!" As you can tell, I am not much of a green thumb. Truth be told, I've never planted anything and had it live. (Herbology, D for Dreadful, sigh.) We'll see how this goes, but I'm looking forward to some heirloom Brandywine tomatoes circa 1885.

This is my Gathered Pullover. The color is a bit off, but trust me, it's a light blue with hints of purple-e-ness. Yup. 6" of knitted tube. Ok, moving on ...

[Side Note: My nifty new Options circular needle, via knitpicks, is having a problem. The one side won't tighten up. It's doing it on both ends, and on another cable as well. I called knitpicks to see if I might be doing something wrong and they are sending me new interchangeable heads! Now that's customer service! Meanwhile, my knitting sort of catches in that space, which is cumbersome and also rather annoying, so that sweater is in timeout until the new needles arrive.]

Here we have my bubble wrap. It's actually called the Soap Bubble Wrap, but bubble wrap sounds more fun to me. Bubble wrap also = entertainment, who knew? Try the Manic Mode, you'll be glad you did.

It's been a long time hasn't it

2009-03-03T00:44:00.000-08:00

Jeez, February just got away from me there! Unfortunately, there have been recent posts that never posted. I tried to use the email/remote posting thing to add some fun internet content and commentary (and knitting and stuff too), but it appears that nothing has actually made its way onto the blog. :-P Drat! Outsmarted by technology again!

"It's a work in progress really."

2009-02-17T23:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get a tad ... overambitious let's say.

Sometimes I jump right in and start 2 (!) cotton and cotton/linen sweaters at once.

I am maybe a little crazy. Like I don't have other things to do with my time or something?!

Well, I stalked the Gathered Pullover pattern on ravelry for a while and I knew that I had to make that sweater. I'm going to assume that you know the feeling. [Side Note: It's going well, but it's basically just 5" of knitted tube right now, so I haven't bothered with a picture. It's in knitpicks CotLin in color Glacier, which is very much like the font color here.]

Then, out of nowhere, Interweave Knits (via knitting daily) released a freebie pattern called Soap Bubble Wrap. It beckoned and I answered (with some re-claimed cotton yarn that used to be a nice raglan pullover, belonging to my brother when his arms were 6" shorter than they are now). This is a complex pattern with lots of charting, but I'm enjoying it in the same intellectual way that I enjoy the Sunday crossword puzzle: tough but rewarding results. [Side Note: Ok, maybe more like the Thursday crossword. Sunday is mostly frustration.]

Discontinued.

2009-02-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Lion Brand Chenille yarn has been discontinued? It was news to me, sadly. I found a great sale price at $2 a ball and ordered it (to make a throw blanket in "antique white") from Jo-Ann. I bought the only ball they had and I swatched with it. I even blogged about it.

A month went by and there was no word on my special order, so I called the store. They told me that the yarn had been discontinued and that they wouldn't be able to fill my order :-( I got my money back, but it would have been nice if they had told me this BEFORE the yarn was ordered errantly and my time wasted. Grr.

Also, where else can I find a decent chenille yarn? This is a novelty project, but I was kind of attached to the idea. I even went to Pottery Barn and snuggled/felt up one of their Chunky Chenille Throw Blankets in the name of 'research'.

In conclusion, "oh poop!"

Acid Pop (TM) Scarf, totally finished now

2009-02-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

The Acid Pop (TM) Scarf is completely done being knitted, washed, and put on one of our more eccentric beach towels to dry.

It might need some de-fuzzing and a few ends taken care of, but I'm calling this one done! Yay! There will probably be some additional pictures when it's completely dry and ready to wear.

Also, this post was supposed to go up last night, but the camera and the computer weren't speaking to each other. I don't know what's going on between them, but they seemed to have made up in light of the holiday. On that note, Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

The mitt idea took flight ;-)

2009-02-03T22:49:00.001-08:00

I apologize for the poor modeling job, it ain't easy taking a picture of your own hand!

The owl mitt worked out just like I envisioned it. Well, except for the thumb, but I figured if I was going to have to pick up stitches and knit tiny rounds anyway, I might as well have a full thumb to show for it. That will be an optional design feature when I write up the pattern.

For now though, I'm going to bed; it was a long, busy, and drudgerous day.

Whoooo

2009-02-02T00:32:00.001-08:00

Look at that cute little owl cable pattern! I'm making myself a pair of mitts before I freeze my fingers off on the long walk from the parking lot into work in the mornings. I'm winging the pattern (bad pun intended) and making them out of my Hedwig Opal sock yarn :-D

I outlined it, in case it wasn't all that clear. He says "Hoot!". He's excited to be on the blog. Anyways ...

If the pattern works out, I'll post it when the first one is complete. If not, trust that they will never be spoken of again (It's so cute and I want it to work so much that I would feel personally
betrayed if it didn't. Wouldn't you?).

[Side Note: My team won the Superbowl! Yay! *happy dance* Sorry if your team didn't win today, just know that my love for Matty means I cheer for your team too!]

Acid Pop (TM) Scarf!

2009-01-31T18:03:00.000-08:00

My mom wanted a bright green scarf this year, so I ordered 4 balls of Shine Worsted from Knit Picks in Green Apple. It's quite a color, and the Cotton + Modal yarn is sooo soft and buttery! Also, it was just enough to push me into the free shipping category, yay!

I then went paging through some stitch cards to find something I wanted to turn into a pattern, and I found the Eyelet-Diamond Pattern. After two repeats of the pattern I knew that I had a bona-fide WIN on my hands, so I'm sharing it with the world even before I'm done knitting it! It reminds me of the embossing that the Harry Potter book covers have (if you have a hardcover, American version). The color of the yarn just lends itself so nicely to the title I decided on : *Acid Pop (TM) Scarf*

CLICK on the Pattern (and HERE) for a FREE PDF download!

The pattern can also be found on Ravelry.

Speaking of Ravelry, I put the pattern up this morning and people LOVED it! I was so pleasantly surprised to have 130+ people download it today, wow! :-)

[Side Note: I know the pattern says to end on Row 1, but it really makes more sense to end on Row 2 and then bind off knit-wise. That's minor though.]

Finished that Noro Stripe scarf!

2009-01-30T10:34:00.000-08:00

I finished my 1x1 rib Noro Cash Island scarf and I love it! It's super soft (duh, cashmere) and doesn't make my neck itch. Ok, if I think really hard about it, I can feel a little itchy-ness, but I'm sure it's imaginary. Like when you think about little creepy crawly critters like ants and all of a sudden you can feel them on you. [Shudder]

I've decided that this is my favorite section of the scarf, because I love the turquoise color, and the way it transitions into pink.

This is the whole scarf, or most of it. It's pretty skinny, as scarves go, but I like it better that way. I tried a bunch of different widths during the 'Knit 6" and then change my mind' part of the process, and this one was perfect. 36 sts wide, on size 7 straight needles.

P.S. There hasn't been any pilling, but if I keep petting it, it might felt. Oops!

P.S.S. Also pictured are the pretty bathroom towels that no one is allowed to use.

Wait a second ... all the handknits have to match?!

2009-01-21T21:47:00.000-08:00

After an incredible bit of insight from the Yarn Harlot today I realized that none of my knits actually match any other knits. At least not really. And at the time I was wearing my Dumbledore socks, my red not-so-invisible scarf, and my olive hat which is far too many knitted items at one time (bordering on crazy knitter levels). In my own defense, the 'pimento' on the hat matches the scarf and I wear a plain black pea-coat. You couldn't even see the socks. [Side Note: Yes, I'm trying to justify the crazy.]

So that's how the muggles pick us out from the crowd, mismatched handknit items?! Well, that and the pointy sticks and the yarn ;-)

In a separate and unrelated conversation as we were walking into Costco:

me: Oh, what if they sold yarn at Costco!

mom: *stunned silence*

me: How long do you think it would take me to get more than I could knit in my lifetime.

mom: *stunned and horrified silence*

me: They probably wouldn't have much variety, but I think they would make up for it in sheer quantity.

mom: I can just imagine them loading a pallet of yarn into your Jeep. Stay away from the Member Services desk.

Irish Hiking Hat = British Driving Hat

2009-01-14T00:13:00.000-08:00

"You know, I don't think you've ever knit anything for me." -- Dad

Well, we can't have that! My dad really needed a warm hat as he likes to take his MG roadster out for a spin with the top down on a regular basis. Baseball caps just don't do the job when the chilly air is rushing past your ears.

I used this pattern right off of ravelry (Irish Hiking Hat-Archived) and knit it to the letter. [Side Note: The only modification that I made was to the title, since my dad won't be using it for Irish hiking but British driving.]

This was the feel-good project of the weekend because I cast on Friday afternoon and finished blocking and all by Sunday afternoon! This might be the fastest project I've ever done.

This is the hat with the brim folded down. I love how dimensional those cables are! And yes, it is sitting on a silver charger plate. The hat was clean, the plate was clean, I'm not bothered by it and the colors seemed to want to be together. So there.

This is the top view of the hat (which looks like a flower to me) graciously modeled by my brother. "Jeez, did you use a watermelon for size?"--Brother

It's going to fit my dad just right though, and I didn't use a watermelon for size :-P

Curtains!

2009-01-08T23:39:00.000-08:00

That might look like just a pile of fabric full of grommets, but it's really my new curtains (on sale)! They are going to help filter that afternoon sunlight that comes streaming in (right at eye-level) when I'm at my desk. And I'm at my desk quite a lot, just not between 1pm and 4pm (see 'blinding light at eye-level', above). I've never found anything, window treatment wise, that works for the big semicircle windows without reminding me of those crepe paper 3D decorations, so the whole little nook is getting curtained off. I'll bore you with pictures when it's finished!

One Draco Sock

2009-01-05T00:00:00.001-08:00

This is my first finished (sort of) project of the new year, yay!
It's going to be a good year :-) sock-wise anyways.

"UFO's of 2008" or "It Came From The BIN OF UNFINISHED KNITS"

2009-01-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

Cotton I-cord dish drain-board mat thing

I finally picked up some embroidery floss to finish this!
There's still cord to be made. Probably half a ball left.
I don't know, but I might need another ball's worth of cord to make the mat wide enough.
Now, how to sew this together? Hmm.

Quidditch/Rugby Sweater

There are no sleeves, only yarn cakes waiting patiently.
I really want this sweater, so I don't know what the hold-up is.

The Never-Ending Afghan

The name really is self-explanatory.

Noro Scarf

It's a beautiful product with really enjoyable yarn.
I'm not dragging my feet (needles?), I'm just, uh, "savoring the experience". Yeah, that's it.
I like it so much, in fact, that I've knit the same 6" half a dozen times now, trying for perfection.

Broad-Street Mitts ... OF DOOM!

Well, these were an unmitigated disaster and will require frogging, ripping, or maybe just a good ol' burning. Ugh.
When knitty says "extra spicy" boy do they mean it.
I still need gloves. My hands are so cold on the way in to work. What a pathetic situation for a knitter!

Draco Socks

This project lives in my work-bag and gets a few rows every now and again.
Also, it's rather difficult to take a picture in a bag. Just in case you were wondering.

I kind of thought there were more than this, so it's relieving to see an end in sight for some of these projects. [Side Note: Except for the Never-Ending Afghan, which will never end. I'm pretty sure that something cataclysmic would happen to the fabric of space and time if I ever cast-off. Because I have that sort of power apparently. In all seriousness though, there are only 8 more BIG yarn cakes to go.]

Old Year, New Project

2008-12-31T23:38:00.001-08:00

I got a great deal on some chenile, so I'm doubling it up and knitting
a SUPER chunky throw blanket. [Side Note: It's going to look a LOT
like a product from, um, "Ceramics Farmhouse" shall we say. I'll post
a pattern when I've worked it all out.]
Also, Happy New Year!!!

Spring ... um, springs eternal?

2008-12-30T23:46:00.001-08:00

Well, at least the flowers are fooled by the central heating :-)

Bonus: no crap accumulating on the dining room table (yet)!

...I thought you would be shinnier

2008-12-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

I received Free Range Knitter as a Christmas gift and I must say, I thought it would be bigger. You know, like "coffee table" books are. With glossy pages. I'm not sure why I thought this and I am certainly not disappointed with the little gem of knitting humor and life lessons that showed up in snowman paper under the tree. I'm zipping right through it and enjoying every page!

Knitting philosophy has never been done better. It also really makes me think about things I probably wouldn't have thought to think about before. Yeah, deep, I know.

There is a particular chapter where she talks about being a young, yarn-poor knitter that I can really relate to (gee, I wonder why?). I must say though, yarn really has come a looong way since the plastic crap she describes and some acrylic these days is pretty darn good. It's not wool, or alpaca, but it's being the best it can be.

[Side Note: Thank the yarn-gods for the advent of internet yarn stores that email sale info and coupons! That's how I got the Noro cashmere blend for my striped scarf for <$15!]

I get to have occasional tastes of the "good life" but I can manage within my means too. As a matter of fact, the Practice Sweater (of Summer 08 fame) has turned into my go-to sweater for around the house. It cost me about $8.00 in yarn to make and it is holding up remarkably well (with a little fuzzing that I don't mind at all).

One day, money will be less scarce and I'll have more knitting freedom, but I think the knitting joy will stay the same :-) Thanks Stephanie Pearl-McPhee for a thoughtful, philosophical knitting book that is most deserving of great big glossy pages and a position of prominence on the coffee table!

P.S. Thanks for the book mom!

Eggnog, not from a carton

2008-12-20T01:08:00.000-08:00

I've never liked the mass produced eggnog that appears on store shelves this time of year, so I make my own. You can leave out the bourbon if it doesn't suit your tastes (or you might prefer rum, or cognac instead, and that's ok too!).
Eggnog

8 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 ½ cups milk
3 ounces bourbon (or more, depending on how “festive” you like it)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 egg whites*

In a double boiler over medium heat, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved and the mixture is warmed through.

Combine the milk, heavy cream, half-and-half, vanilla, and nutmeg and cook (stirring frequently) until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture. Enjoy within a few days and be sure to store it in the fridge, covered.

* And if you're looking for something to do with the 4 extra egg whites, you can always make macaroons!
[Side Note: It's delicious, but not exactly low fat. Eh, it's the holidays, might as well live a little. It's got a whole lot of protein!]

Here comes the ice age...

2008-12-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

It was a "snow-day" in Las Vegas yesterday. The snow came down heavily on Monday and again Wednesday, but it never stuck around for accumulation to happen. They closed the schools anyways, thereby triggering a bright sunny day with no snow! Good job CCSD. This is the only snow-day I've ever seen in Las Vegas and it didn't even pan out. I'm not complaining though, snow and I aren't exactly compatible (you know, in the "I really really hate it" sort of way).

In other news, the blog managed to fix itself. Really. I didn't touch a single thing and all of a sudden it loads again. Story of my life.

I have been up to so much knitting: The Never-ending Afghan has eaten two more yarn cakes, I've jumped on the Noro-stripe-scarf bandwagon, I invented (not designed) a sock pattern for the Draco yarn (with no green), and I've begun and ripped a worsted weight slipper-sock for my brother twice (they aren't a Christmas gift, so I'm not in a hurry). [Side Note: Don't feel bad for him though, I made him a chunky ribbed hat for a quick & easy gift!]

These could all be blog posts on their own so consider this a glimpse into the future.

I broke the blog apparently

2008-12-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I can't access the blog page from Firefox. I assume that I have done something to trigger this, but I don't know what. The page loads partially, then everything grinds to a halt. I'll struggle through on Safari until this 1) gets fixed or 2) resolves itself. [Side Note: Since I'm not actively doing anything to fix this, my money is on option 2.]

What I do when I forget to blog for a while ...

2008-12-13T01:17:00.000-08:00

I walk around and take pictures of random things. That's what I do.
Clearly there is a non-muggle among us at the office, and they are well versed in the yarn arts.
There's no way to judge the scale, but trust me, some of these pieces are quite large.
And why do snowmen need brooms? I'm not totally sure, but I don't think snow is something that can be swept. Correct me if I'm wrong.

My favorite ones have fringe on their scarves!
[Side Note: I wonder if whoever made these is on ravelry...]

Sometimes the best gifts are the ones you get for yourself

2008-12-04T23:38:00.001-08:00

There's just something so inherently satisfying about winding yarn
into neat little cakes! As you can see, I got myself a Royal yarn
ball winder as a birthday gift to myself. The best part is that it
was half off [Side Note: If you sign up for email updates, the craft
stores will flood your inbox with coupons. Sometimes 2 or 3 a day.
Sometimes it is annoying. Every now and again, though, it comes in
handy.]. The only downside is that I'm running out of yarn to wind.

Tag, I'm it!

2008-11-30T13:02:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged for the disclosure of 7 random facts about myself by the lovely SusanB-knits.
[Side Note: I've added your blog to my reader and blog-roll! Love it!]

Now for the scoop:
1. I am perhaps a little competitive when it comes to arts&crafts projects. I don't get very many creative outlets in my chosen field(s) of study, so I tend to over-compensate when given the chance. Like by bringing fondant to a sorority gingerbread decorating contest and creating historically accurate representations of the founding sisters. Um, yeah, I won though!

2. I cannot carry a tune in a basket! I have no musical inclinations. None. So, in 5th grade when all the other girls in my class were in "Honor Choir" I didn't even try out. I never had to go to school early to 'practice' and I got to have extra recess with the boys (who were way more fun anyway!) when they would 'practice' some more before a big 'concert'.

3. Number 2 (above) is not going to stop me from getting Guitar Hero World Tour complete with drums and karaoke mic. I apologize to the neighborhood dogs in advance.

4. I dream in color. I had no idea that this was a somewhat rare occurrence for people, but I always have.

5. I like my tea with milk and sugar. Coffee ... eh, not so much. Diet Coke, right out of the can.

6. I'm allergic to more than my fair share of things. Wool too, a little bit. That's why Cortisone 10 is in the stashket with the WIPs. *itch* *itch* *itch*

7. The laboratory on Dexter's Laboratory is my dream lab. Is it weird to have a dream lab? How about an imaginary house on the cape?

I don't know all that many of you out there in blogland (not well enough to reach out and tag), so forgive me for breaking the chain! But if you want to be tagged, consider yourself tagged! You're it!

Why am I so absent?

2008-11-28T19:25:00.001-08:00

It has been far too long since I've sat down and blogged about anything. We had a great Thanksgiving here, including the best, most moist turkey we have ever made [Side Note: I will brine everything from now on. If it stays still long enough, it will get brined. Seriously.], and pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin pie!

That doesn't mean that there haven't been bloggable things going on, far from it. I just haven't. Oops!
Let's get back on track then shall we?

This tiny knitted tube is made on US 1 dpns, from a yarn sample that was sent out with a yarn purchase I made. It was a Halloween colorway, something like "very scary" but I lost the little card that came with it. While it looks purposeless from this angle, I assure you, it is a highly functional little knit-ring!I made it for the purpose of holding onto my cable needle when I'm doing cable work. Instead of putting the cable needle in my mouth. Which is unsanitary, blech! And I needed that cable needle to make myself a Koolhaas hat! I have had the pattern in my ravelry queue for a long time and I'm so glad that I finally got around to it. I really really tried to learn to cable without a cable needle for this project, but it just wasn't happening. Notice also the vase with decorative pebbles where my needles supposedly reside, ha! The needles have migrated all over the house by now, oops.

The hat is too big for me, but that won't stop me from folding up the brim and wearing it anyway! This was one fun and challenging pattern to knit, so I expect that I will make 3 or 4 more before it's out of my system. Perhaps one of them will end up being the right size?Also, a bookmark! Made on US 1, 16 sts, 1x1 rib out of HP Opal Dumbledore remnant.

Hey,What Ever Happened To ...

2008-11-18T11:55:00.001-08:00

Wondering what ever happened to the finished pictures of the Wee Wizard Wrobe?
It's completely finished, but I still don't have anyone to try it on. I thought of asking the neighbors, but they are not HP people in the least. And without context the sweater just doesn't make sense.

Anyone out there in blog land know someone who would appreciate a middle sized Harry Potter themed baby sweater? Oh well, it was worth a try.

The pictures aren't so good. They came from my iPhone camera and I maybe used too much extra lighting too. Black yarn is proving quite difficult to photograph.

[Side Note: This is my 100th blog post! Yay me! And here's to the next 100! *clink*]

Twenty-Four

2008-11-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm 24 years old now. That's officially and inextricably "grown-up" territory. But at least it comes with cake! Yesterday was my birthday, but no blogging occurred, so I'll make up for it today with a tempting picture of cake.

Dumbledore Socks are finished

2008-11-10T00:18:00.001-08:00

I finished the second sock tonight and here they are, taking a soak in
the bathroom sink. The stripe pattern matched up with an exactness
that will continue to amaze me for a long time :-)

These were made from the Opal HP Dumbledore colorway using the
Quidditch sock pattern by Lauren Kent, but I stopped and bound off
before the calf increases (the pattern = knee socks, which are nifty
but I didn't think I'd have enough yarn).

[Side Note: The colors are great, but they just don't represent
Dumbledore to me for some reason. I love these socks despite that
though!]

Shopping days? More like knitting days.

2008-11-07T00:07:00.000-08:00

Well, there are 47 knitting days until Christmas (or insert your holiday here). I haven't done much gift-knitting in the past because typically gifts are something that the recipient should appreciate :-D But the ol' knitting skills have improved a lot over the last year so I'm thinking of knitting a few gifts this year. Simple things, like a hat or scarf. Maybe a few of those bookmark scarves. They were quick and easy, but still novel (they also give me an excuse to buy books for people, even when they might rather have video games or iTunes *cough* brother *cough*).

My mom is the proud owner of a pair of maroon mittens from last year. They certainly took me a long time to make, but looking back on them I'm so proud that I did! Even though they are super thick and perhaps better suited to the frozen tundra of Siberia. Her hands are always cold though.

So this year, I'm coming up with a few knitted items for select family members and friends who might enjoy a hat, scarf, or bookmark. I'm not the world's fastest knitter, but I do work well under deadlines. Let the holiday knitting begin!

ICHC Loose Thread

2008-11-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

One loose thread and it all comes apart! This could be a deep metaphor, but really it's just a funny cat picture :-)

Best Weekend Ever!

2008-11-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

Weekends like the one I just had make me wish I was a "journal" type person. You know, the type to write down all of the wonderful details so that they can be recalled and relived. But who are we kidding, I can barely blog on a consistent basis! Also, I can't 'misplace' the blog, haha!

I went back to my Alma Mater USC for homecoming and got to see all (most) of my favorite friends and sisters and revel in the LA-ness of the city. Campus, the Coliseum, The Grove and Farmer's Market, everything a little different but still very much the same. Sigh (of contentment)! I'm sure that I walked around grinning like a tourist/fool for 2 straight days, so lost in my own reminiscing. Also, it's unbelievably wonderful to have friends who appreciate your dorky accomplishments :-)

For anyone who remembers, the sweater I intended to finish for homecoming did not get done. As a matter of fact, I realized that the sleeve I had already finished was too short and ripped it back out. I also decided that knitting it in the round would be much better. So, I have less of it done than before, but this is ok with me, because it was waaay too warm for a sweater anyway. Pause and think about that for a moment: waaay too warm for a sweater, in November. I'm going to enjoy this 'global warming' thing :-D [Side Note: Yes, I do understand the "science" of this phenomena. Yes, I'm determined to enjoy it, because the next thing coming down the climatological pike is an Ice Age. Not that any of us will be around to see it.]

I also thought I could pop into a LYS while I was there, but nothing opens before noon on Sundays and by then I was already enjoying a smoked salmon, scrambled egg white, cream cheese and caper crepe with more of my favorite people. Then I had to drive back home and get ready for the week to start.

New and 'Improovd'

2008-11-03T08:29:00.001-08:00

Because everyone loves the prize inside!

Also, "It seemed like a good idea at the time ..." says mauling victim, film at eleven.

Tomorrow, I seam

2008-10-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

I (finally) finished the second sleeve of the Wee Wizard robe. Tomorrow I'm going to seam everything up and have myself a finished object, yay! A little 'blocking' and weaving of ends and I'll add some much needed final measurements to the pattern.

I wonder if it bothers people when I update the pattern, just for aesthetics reasons. There aren't dire changes like "oops, I forgot to tell you to do something vitally important" but when I noticed that the indents were wrong, I fixed it. And when I had some finished measurements, I added them. I hope I'm not aggravating people. I'll just do one final update with all of the pictures, pretty text boxes, and other fancy inclusions and call it the Rich Format, and re-name the original "Plain Text". That way people can look at the fancy one, but print the simple one and save ink. There, justification :-D

Dumbledore Socks!

2008-10-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

I've been a little gun-shy with the HP yarn, not wanting to 'waste' it
on something unworthy. So to work out the excitement/nerves I'm
making myself a pair of toe-up Dumbledore socks. There's nothing more
'worthy' than socks where TLG Dumbledore is concerned :-)

I can't seem to take a good picture.

2008-10-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

No, not of myself. I'm somewhat photogenic really. Even my driver's license photo looks good! I'm talking about how I can't point my camera at something and capture a decent likeness on film. The camera is average across the board, so it has to be User Error, a.k.a. I'm the problem.

[Side Note: In an example of irony-and-coincidence that makes me laugh, I saw a license plate the other day that read 'vampyr1' so I decided to take a picture (for one of those aforementioned college friends), but guess what, the plate doesn't show up at all! Oooooh! Though, it could be because I took the photo while moving, in traffic, with my phone. I followed this guy quite a bit out of my way trying to get a picture, and I think I started to creep him out. Oops!]

I located and read the entire book that came with the camera and fiddled with my settings. They are all in order now, but still no quality pictures. Now that traditional research has failed me, I'll have to turn to the internet:

Dear Google,
how to take digital pictures that look great with the average camera I already have, free, no new equipment.
No, I'm not "feeling lucky".
GO!

Test knitting on a wee scale

2008-10-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

The prototype Wee Wizard Wrobe is zipping along. All I have left to knit is about half of the second sleeve. I'll probably finish it tonight during Trueblood. [Edit: Nope, did not finish it.]
[Side Note: I had no intention of adding another show to my TV viewing schedule. I'm two weeks behind on my DVR. But it reminds me of some of my best college friends. I'm sentimental about a sexually violent vampire show? Great.]
I did all of the seaming on Saturday in the daylight (see The Great Seam-As-I-Go Edict) because it is very difficult to see anything on black yarn. I guess that's a blessing too because I can't see any mistakes either :-) The neck area seems like it might be a little tight, based on the head of a Brand Name Patch doll (whose name is Charlie, very creative of those Patch people huh). I'll have to give it a little stretching when I "block" it. I know it's acrylic, but the preliminary blocking I did on the hood helped the stitches even themselves out and made everything lie flatter.

Speaking of the college friends, I'm eagerly anticipating homecoming in a few weeks here! Let's hope that all of this stomach virus plague nonsense dies down at USC before I get there. The hazmat suit just takes up too much room in my suitcase.

[Side Rant: USC did NOT run up the score against Washington. Mark Sanchez left at the half. There weren't ANY forward passes thrown after the half. We ran the ball using only 2 plays the rest of the game (left and right). Every Tom, Dick, and RUDY made it into the game. And yet, if the end-zone had been moved up to the 50 yard line, Washington still wouldn't have scored.
What more could we do? Play blindfolded? Take a knee? I think that would have been insulting. I'm finished now.]

Also, I'm still looking for an interesting pattern that will allow me to combine the Tonks and Lupin skeins of HP Opal in an 'individual and autonomous, yet matchy-matchy' sort of way. I'm open to suggestions!

It's a Pullover Sweater for the Wee Wizard

2008-10-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

(and the Potter-fan parent who will be amused to no end, probably more so than the recipient)!!!
Wee Wizard Wrobe
(You can click on the title to DOWNLOAD a PDF of the pattern.)
SIZES: [Small/Knut] {Medium/Sickle} Large/Galleon
NEEDLES: US 6 / 4.0 mm (plus an extra for three needle bind-off)
YARN: [2]{3}|3| 85g / 3 oz. balls of Bernat Satin Sport in Black. This yarn is a slippery sport weight acrylic, making it easy to care for and not scratchy at all. Also, any little ones with wool issues will appreciate it.

HOOD:
Cast on [52] {60} 72 sts using the long tail cast-on method. The leftover tail will be used to sew the hood onto the body of the sweater.
Row 1: Purl all sts.
Row 2: Knit all sts.
Row 3: Purl all sts.
Row 4: Knit all sts.
Row 5: Purl all sts.
Row 6: K7,
[K3, M1, K3, M1, K3, M1, K3, M1, K3, M1, K3, M1, K2, M1, K3, M1, K3, M1, K3, M1, K3, M1, K3, M1, K3] ending with K7. [64] sts.
{K4, M1, K4, M1, K4, M1, K4, M1, K4, M1, K2, M1, K2, M1, K2, M1, K4, M1, K4, M1, K4, M1, K4, M1, K4} ending with K7. {72} sts.
K5, M1, K5, M1, K5, M1, K5, M1, K5, M1, K5 M1, K8, M1, K5, M1, K5, M1, K5, M1, K5, M1, K5, M1, K5 ending with K7. 84 sts
Row 7: Purl across. PM in the center of the row.
Row 8: K7, M1, Knit to 1 stitch before center marker M1, K1, Slip Marker, K1, M1, Knit to last 7 stitches, M1, K7.
Row 9: Purl all sts, and be sure to slip center marker.
Repeat rows 8 and 9 three additional times [80] {88} 100 sts.
Row 16: K to 1 stitch before center marker, M1, K1, Slip Marker, K1, M1, K to end. [82] {90} 102 sts.
Row 17: Purl all sts, and be sure to slip center marker.
Repeat rows 16 and 17 until there are [108] {116} 128 sts.
Divide evenly between 2 needles with right sides facing and perform 3 needle bind off.

BACK:
Cast on [54] {64} 74 sts and work in stockinette stitch for [6”] {8”} 10” ending with a WS row. When measuring, be sure to flatten out the rolled edge created by stockinette stitch.
Shaping Armholes: Bind off 6 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows [42] {52} 62 sts. ***
Continue without shaping until the armhole measures [4.5”] {5.5”} 6.5”, ending with a WS row.
Shoulder Shaping: Bind off 7 sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows, [28] {38} 48 sts.
Bind off 8 sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows, [12] {22} 32 sts.
Bind off the remaining [12] {22} 32 sts.

FRONT: (If you’re adding something fancy, like an intarsia House crest, this is the place to do it.)
Work as given for back to ***
Continue without shaping armholes for [2.5”] {3”} 4” ending with a WS row.
Neck Shaping: K [20] {25} 30 sts, turn and leave remaining [34] {39} 34 sts on a stitch holder.
Working on these [20] {25} 30 sts only, continue as follows:
Next Row: Purl all sts.
Work 2 rows, decreasing one stitch at the neck edge in every row. [18] {23} 28 sts.
Work 5 rows, decreasing one stitch at the neck edge in rows 1, 3, 5. [15] {20} 26 sts.
Continue without shaping until armhole measures [4.5”] {5.5”} 6.5”, ending with a WS row.
Shoulder Shaping: Bind off 7 sts, knit to the end. [8] {13} 17 sts.
Next Row: Purl all sts.
Bind off 8 sts, knit to end. [0] {5} 9 sts.
Bind off remaining [0] {5} 9 sts.
Neck Shaping: With RS facing, join yarn and work remaining [34] {39} 34 sts.
Bind off 2 sts and continue to the end of the row [20] {25} 30 sts.
Reverse all shaping and complete to match the other side of the neck.

SLEEVES:
Cast on [35] {40} 45 sts and work in stockinette stitch for 2”.
Increase 1 stitch at each end of every following [4th] {5th} |5th| row to [55] {60} 65 sts.
Continue in stockinette stitch until sleeve measures [8”] {11”} 14", ending with a WS row.
Bind off.

TO FINISH:
Block and press as directed on the yarn label, but don’t block out the natural stockinette curl on the bottom of the sleeves, bottom of the sweater, or on the hood.
Join shoulder seams. Seam up the sides of the body and the sleeves. Sew in the sleeves, being sure to match up the seam with the bound-off stitches at the bottom of the armhole. Join the hood to the body, beginning by pinning the hood at the center of the center of the back and seaming from one side of the front to the other. Weave in ends.
Just like magic*, a sweater has appeared!

* magic ... and a bunch of knitting, seaming, and weaving of ends ;-)

I'm 'designing' a 'pattern', oooh fancy.

2008-10-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

Wee Wizard Wrobe in progress!Actually, it is more of a wee pull-over with a nifty hood.
This is the first real pattern that I am designing, so I wanted to make sure that it would be something small, quick to knit, and inexpensive to test knit. When you add that all up it equals baby pattern. Trust me, I speak math.

I don't have kids [Side Note: Did you just hear the world sigh in relief? Yeah, so did I.] so I don't have anyone to try on my Wee Wizard Wrobe when it is complete. Maybe the neighbors would be willing to trade: baby sweater for picture of baby in sweater?

It's going to come in three sizes; small, medium, and large (or Knut, Sickle, and Galleon, if you prefer). But since I don't have a frame of reference for what sizes = which months of development (See: no kids, above) there will just be measurements. Kids come in all sizes, just like regular people, so enough with the population averages being used to size garments! Enough!

As soon as I get all of the pieces made and seamed up I'll get everything compiled into a pattern for the blog! This should be within the next few days (in time for Halloween? Well, only if you're a reasonably quick knitter). Also, I'm getting the hang of all the design posting stuff on ravelry (finally). So, this design will appear there in glorious PDF fashion as well. [Side Note: I can make pdf files now too! And contrary to what Adobe would have you believe, you can do it for free. Yes, free! Google around about it, there are many helpful programs out there.]

Not so easy afterall.

2008-10-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

Thumbs help. So does not drooling on the yarn. Or rolling in it. Doesn't mean I don't do it too, but it's easier if you dont.

Welcome Dolores Van Hoofen and fellow Fibertarians!

2008-10-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

Franklin, of Panopticon fame, has decided to send Fibertarian Party Candidate Dolores Van Hoofen on a cross-country campaign tour and I have been trying to track her down for some photo opportunities all week. Unfortunately, I live in Las Vegas, NV and Dolores has been busy.

Luckily for her, many new establishments have sprung up since the last time, and she has yet to be banned from them. That's not to say that casino security doesn't keep a close eye on her though. As well they should.

As a matter of fact, I haven't seen Dolores since I dropped her off at Bellagio days and days ago. And by "dropped off" I mean that I chauffeured her around for an hour before she decided to hop out, in traffic, to do some shopping and has been busy ever since. I did get a photo as she leaned on the driver's side window to tell me not to wait up.

Dolores Van Hoofen is my kind of candidate!

I do not concede.

2008-10-07T10:59:00.001-07:00

This is the Draco colorway of the Opal Harry Potter series of yarn. I borrowed the pictures from Webs and Opal to illustrate a point [Side Note: Webs may still have some in stock in all the colors, hurry! I'll be here when you get back.] I know that you can see green in it. I can see it too. But my skein doesn't have any of this green in it. Mine has many shades of blue, and NAVY where the green should be. I'm going to unravel the whole damn thing when I get home and there had better be green in it. Otherwise, I have to learn German in order to pen a linguistically and gramatically correct crazy-person letter to Opal asking them Wo ist das Grün in meinen Dracosockenwollen? Hey, that wasn't so difficult. Or I could buy a solid green skein and intersperse its slytherin-y goodness as I desire. But I prefer the crazy-German-letter-writing.

Putting all my yarn in one basket

2008-10-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Normally that would be a bad thing (Ex. the eggs-in-one-basket metaphor), but this was a productive type of cleaning that prevents such tragedies as Yarn Loss.

[Side Note: Eggs in baskets? Ok. My eggs have always come in cartons. Also, I don't think I've ever seen a real live chicken in person before. I am a city girl. Which is a little ironic because I really really enjoy the outdoors and LOVE Man vs. Wild type stuff. Yet, I've never been camping. My parents weren't big on that sort of stuff. They worked hard to put a roof over our heads and food in the kitchen (and braces on our teeth) and probably didn't seen any reason to pack it all up, schlep it up into the wilderness, and 'rough it'. Plus, I had a very poor sense of direction and a tendency to wander, right from the beginning. It's ok, we enjoyed other outside activities, like parks, beaches, and our yard.]

My, that was a lengthy bracket. Where was I ... oh yes, I got all the yarn together and in a basket. I looks like I had more than I thought, since it filled a rather large basket all the way up to the top. The 8 skeins of HP Opal really fleshed it out too.

Speaking of the HP yarn, it's making me a little (more?) crazy as I try to figure out what the designer (yarn painter?) had in mind. I'm looking for their motives and inspiration. Yup, crazy. But the Lupin yarn has sections of greys (his werewolf-ness) and sections with red and gold alternating bits (his Gryffindor-ness) and pink (for Tonks!) . See how nicely it fits! What I can't understand is why the Draco yarn is just shades of blue and grey. It looks almost like denim. I'm not one to criticize someone else's artistic vision, but I need some green! There should be a nice slytherin-y green. Just saying. Grün Opal, grün!

I should take some WIP pictures. I'm making some Draco footie socks (with a surprise!) and a great big coil of white cotton i-cord that will become a drain-board mat thingy for by the sink. I just ripped back my Lupin/Tonks Scarf too. It wasn't turning out the way I wanted, just alternating the colors when I felt like it. There was no autonomy between the two skeins. And besides, it looked like Crayons-in-a-blender. Not good. I'm going to have to ponder my options for a little while on this one. Excuse me while I ponder.

Up to nothing

2008-09-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

There's not much going on here, so this will be very short. My Harry Potter Opal yarn is winging it's way to my house as I type. There isn't anything interesting on the needles at the moment. But there will be! Verrry soon. Excuse me while I go watch the front door for signs of the mail person.

The Dark Mark: a knitting chart

2008-09-24T00:14:00.000-07:00

This is the little surprise freebie I've been working on! It's a *NEW AND IMPROVED * knitting chart for the Dark Mark (of Harry Potter fame ... but if you didn't know that, you may not care about the chart anyways).

Please click on the photo to make the photo bigger.
Please click RIGHT HERE to Download the .pdf File

I absolutely LOVED the chart by Storm Moon Knits! So, I went with the "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery" approach and made up one of my own. It's pretty different though, as far as two charts of the same subject are able to be. [Side Note: If you are, in fact, Lindsay Henricks of Storm Moon Knits fame and you don't like me doing this, let me know! Also, holy crap! People actually read this thing?]

While the original is, I believe, much more true to the book representation, my version is more closely modeled after the movie representation. Perhaps I am just splitting hairs.

I have something planned for this little chart, but I'm going to see how it turns out before I go and blog it to death. I'll keep you posted.

email full of excitement today!

2008-09-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

An innocuous blog post from Simply Socks pinged in my blog reader today at work. I was unable to focus from that time on. It read (just the black words, the red ones are my additions):

"But for those of you who have been waiting on the Harry Potter sock yarn from Opal," ME ME ME!!! "I've been told that Simply Socks order has shipped!" *faints* "I'll put the yarn on the website as soon as it arrives (and I'll do a quick post on the blog), and I'll also ship out the preorders." Haha, suckers, that's me too! But don't fret if you didn't pre-order: "This could all happen as soon as Friday or mid weekend- it all depends on UPS. I don't have more details, but will post here as soon as I do. I won't be able to send out individual e-mail updates." Get your mouse-clicking fingers in shape for this one: "I do expect the yarn to go quickly b/c of the flood at Opal us yarn stores are only getting about 40% of what we ordered, but I do have A LOT more on order from Opal's second shipment, which will come in about a month."

[Side, um, Post Script?: I'm working on a really nifty chart that will culminate in a terrific (and free) surprise for the blog. Because I'm awesome (and humble?), and maybe someone, someday will actually want it.]

Hey, I can blog with photos too.

2008-09-21T00:39:00.000-07:00

So, the camera was located under my nightstand. Of all the places it could have been, why there? Oh well, I found it. I also dug out the book it came with to see if I could "adjust" the settings. I think I should have read the booklet a long, long time ago. It would have prevented much camera related angst. [Note to self: Read the instructions. Really.]Now there will be an inundation of photos. This set is documented proof of the Golden Snitch ornaments I constructed (courtesy of Charmed Knits, once again). They don't have a hanging string yet, but I'm not in any rush.
Haha, don't they look like they'd rather be out in the yard, zooming around in the air?
I really like the 3-toned effect (though knitting with yarn that thick was a real challenge), and the colors aren't quite as true as they could be. But hey, this is as good as it gets without professional photography knowledge.Here's a little sample of the three colors together, though the 'white' is actually butter yellow, the 'uber-golden' color is really goldenrod, and the 'brown' is much brassier in real life.

As you can see, my Sophie bag is complete! It felted marvelously and is super thick. I'm enamored with the charcoal gray color as well as the small-ish size of the bag. It's going to be very useful and get a lot of wear, I can tell already! Joy!
I put a fabric-covered piece of cardboard in the bottom for stability and it's just perfect! I might stitch the straps together to help them stay more balanced in their twistiness, because the twists have a tendency to congregate to one side of the bag or the other. I would make this project again in a heartbeat! Love (1)!

My Sophie Bag

2008-09-19T01:55:00.000-07:00

Knitting round after round.
Loving the yarn for it's fluffiness + sturdiness.
Hoping it will felt. It is mostly merino after all, but I have my doubts.
Wondering just how long the handles/straps are going to need to be.
No sign of the camera yet. I may have to resort to using my phone again. Sigh.
That is all.

Where have the pictures gone?

2008-09-15T23:17:00.001-07:00

The pictures will be back soon, because I will find that darn camera. For now, how about a quick update? I went to the USC vs. Ohio State *cough* overrated-every-year *cough* and watched my Trojans dispatch them with ease. [Side Note: So that's how the SEC feels every year. Pretty nice!]

It was wonderful to have a little weekend vacation, but now I'm sicker than ever and have been without a voice since Saturday. Joy. [Quote my brother "I think I like you better this way."]
I will say that Ohio State has the nicest fans I've ever sat next to (even when I was obnoxiously dancing in aisles and giving high fives over 3 rows of people). All in all, I imagine Ohio must be a great place to live with all these happy, polite, friendly people around. [Side Story: One of the fellows I sat by informed me that Buckeyes are poisonous, which I'm not sure about, so I'll google it sometime when I'm bored.]

I got to see a few of the LA people I love, but it makes me miss my adopted home city and my Trojan family that much more. To be honest, I'm not that attached to Las Vegas and would gladly be back in Los Angeles forever, but alas that's not going to happen any time soon.

In other news, I got my replacement DPNs from Webs today, so now I have 9. Huh. I guess that enables me to knit a pair of socks at the same time now.

ACHOOO!

2008-09-12T00:10:00.000-07:00

I have a cold. Again. And it's making me miserable. Again.

On the upside, it means plenty of couch time for knitting. On the downside, it means I'll have to Lysol any Finished Objects. And the couch.

I knit up a couple golden snitch ball ornaments (out of Charmed Knits. Yes, I realize that this is becoming an obsession. No, I don't mind.) I held together three golden shades of scrap acrylic; light yellow, goldenrod, and a brassy brown that would look gold if it were really shiny. It's a beautiful effect I think. [Side Note: 3 x worsted weight is GIGANTOR! And really hard to knit with. Thankfully I'm out of scraps.]

And I got my box of yarn and stuff from webs today, so I immediately cast on for a footie sock version of my Patriot Socks to use up the leftover yarn. [Side Note: One of the new needles was broken when it arrived :-( the little plastic tip on the end had broken off, but I've made do with just 4 dpns.] I don't know if there's anything webs can do about things damaged in shipping, but it can't hurt to email them, right?

And I'm using one of the Karabella balls to make a sweet little felted purse based on the popular MagKnits Sophie pattern. Mine will be much smaller than the pattern suggests, because I just don't need that much space. If it's too big I probably won't use it. As a matter of fact I could get by with just my wallet, cell phone, and keys. But I love this pattern and the results it has produced (ala ravelry).

Well, the cough medicine just kicked in so I guess that's it for zzzZZZzzz

Too bad I don't have anything interresting to say

2008-09-08T23:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the knitting projects have ground to a halt. Grad school nonsense stuff has taken up all of my free time and drained me of any productive energy. Plus, I'm waiting on yarn. I'm waiting on yarn to finish my Quidditch/Rugby sweater. I'm waiting on my Harry Potter Opal Sock Yarn that I have lusted after for so long. I'm waiting for this Karabella fluff to decide what it wants to be.

I guess this is just a natural lull in knitting. It's still 110 degrees when I go to get in my Jeep, forgive me if I don't feel the urgency to knit warm things. Once 'fall' kicks in I'll get back into the groove. [Side Note: Las Vegas doesn't have 'fall' per se, but we have a brief period of 'less hot' followed by many blustery months of chilly and windy directly followed by Easter (when it rains) and then 'hot' again. Once every 5 years or so it will snow here. That is when all hell breaks loose on the roads.]

Oh, I tacked a set of US 1 dpns onto my Webs order, the Pony plasticky kind that I like so much. If I'm going to commit to this sock thing I'm going to need the cavalry (a.k.a. properly sized knitting needles.

I don't know if I want to make all of the HPO yarn into socks, but I had to have a smaller set to get gauge etc. I thought it would be quite poetic to turn the Lupin and Tonks skeins into an object together. Perhaps a simple scarf? I'd like to know why there isn't a Dobby colorway though. Nobody loved socks like Dobby!

Oh well, I've rambled on long enough. I'll try and get it together around here so there can be some quality posts.

Results and Conclusions

2008-09-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

I can't find my camera, but I know it's around here somewhere. Frustrating isn't it? I nabbed this picture off of Ravelry for illustration purposes.

Anyways, as you can probably tell I purchased some lovely Karabella Souffle (Four balls for less than $20!) in my little experiment. That's 200 grams and 400+ yards. The color caught my eye because it's a beautiful smoky grey, and then I touched it. I didn't want to put it down, so I figured that was a pretty good litmus test for yarn love.

I haven't the slightest idea what to do with this, but I love it. According to the people at Gail Knits that's all that really matters anyway :-) [Side Note: There's a name for people like this, they are called enablers. Yay enablers!]

The real beauty of research like this is that you find out all sorts of things you weren't even seeking. Like the fact that a two-at-once-sock-class is being taught less than a mile from your home. [Note to self: Remember to look into that.] I also discovered that this is how a "stash" starts. The other knitters at Gail's informed me of this with all-knowing nods. Up to now I am pretty much stashless and buy yarn for immediate consumption, but when I am complaining in 5 years from now about having a stash that might be visible from space I can definitively point to where it all began. Right here. Must tread carefully around tempting fibers. Must retain will power and closet space.

Grr.

2008-09-02T00:49:00.000-07:00

Well, so much for a WIP weekend. I ran out of the yellow "Butternut" color for my Rugby/Quidditch sweater midway up the second sleeve. I probably won't have enough of the red "cranberry" either though, so now I've got to track down my dye lot. Groan. Let's hope Webs can help me! [Side Note: I don't know how I ran out of yarn though. I ordered what the pattern told me to. I'm consistently getting gauge. Why must the knitting gods smite me so? Why!?]

Also, I've discovered that the crochet gods might be trying to tell me something too. But since it involved stepping on a crochet hook, I don't think it's anything nice or constructive. It didn't go through the skin or anything, but I have a G-hook sized bruise now. Must tidy up room.

P.S. I will report on my Experiment in Yarn soon, but not in this post because it's late and I haven't taken pictures.

An experiment in yarn

2008-08-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

After last weekend's frantic knit-sprint to the finish of the ravelympics I'm in the mood for some WIP work this weekend. I really need to churn out the second sleeve for my Quidditch/Rugby sweater before I forget what I did with the first one. It helps that I wrote down everything from the first sleeve, but only in a such a way that I'm left puzzling a tally on a post-it and wondering why I thought this would be helpful. Sigh.

Now for the good news: my LYS [Side Note: Local Yarn Store, Gail Knits] is having a big sale this weekend and I'm ready for some experimentation. All the yarn in the sale bins is 50% off, so I think I'm going to take $20 and see what I can come up with. I'm sure there will be plenty of other things to tempt me too! However, for experiment purposes, I'm going to see just how far twenty bucks goes these days, literally. You know, in grams and yards. Expect a report on my findings :-)

There's no avoiding it any longer

2008-08-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

I knew I was going to have to get back to it eventually. Yes, the monster afghan that will take an eternity to finish. I'm making it my downstairs/couch project and not starting other new things until it's done. Maybe.

It's the Embossed Diamonds pattern from Spin Dye Knit [Side Note: I probably mentioned this before, but it has been in hibernation so long that I've forgotten.] Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the finished product, it's just the dimensions that are getting to me. Perhaps making it, oh, twice as wide as the pattern called for was overly ambitions. Perhaps.

Crossing the finish line!

2008-08-24T19:52:00.001-07:00

Yay!!! I've crossed the Ravelympics finish line in the Scarf Stroke!

My Cable Bobble Scarf was great fun, probably because of the Ravelympics. I enjoyed the pattern a whole lot and the finished scarf is great! It's soft, has good stitch definition, and is warm but light.

Each pattern repeat ended up being 4" in length, so I did 10 pattern repeats + 2" of garter stitch on the ends for a 42" scarf. Now let's give this yarn a bath!

It's going to be close

2008-08-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't been watching the real Olympics very much at all. I don't feel like I'm missing much since I don't know the rules for, well, any of the obscure sports. Which is all of them. Of course, I watched Mr. Phelps in his quest for Epic Hero status, but nothing else really caught my eye. [Side Note: I was watching water polo for a good 20 minutes. Until I realized that I was only watching the players (and all their muscles). I felt a bit shallow so I turned it off. Ditto for men's beach volleyball.]
Anyway, I have been dutifully plugging away on my Scarf Stroke project for the Ravelympics and I think I might end up being that French guy who missed the gold medal by 00.0000000000034 seconds.
I suppose that I can just bind off wherever I am when time is up and call it a scarf, but that's not the point of the games. I'll just have to ramp it up at the end here and hope for the best.
I love the scarf so far, pattern, yarn, width and all. It's really light but very warm and I think I'll get a lot of wear out of it if it doesn't become a gift instead. Also, it is in dire need of some quality blocking time and doesn't really look all wonky and strange in person.

Random Public Service Announcement!

2008-08-20T00:07:00.001-07:00

This is of dire importance, believe me. [Side Note: Our water heater exploded all over the garage. The havoc that ensued has kept me busy busy busy.]
"Water-Heater Maintenance" on the DIY Network Web site:

http://www.diynet.com/diy/pl_water_heaters/article/0,2037,DIY_14194_2277696,00.html

http://diynetwork.com

A Scarf With Cables and Bobbles Too

2008-08-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried the "permission" thing first because I was sampling from another knit pattern, but I haven't gotten a response. I believe that I have changed the pattern/chart enough from the original that a) you probably won't know what it was before and b) there's no way you could reverse engineer what it was before from what I've created.

So I'm sharing the chart from the Ravelympics project that I took on, but I'm not going to say which pattern it mimics (just in case). Please click on the image to make it bigger!
Notes:

The four stitches on either end of the pattern are all knit stitches, i.e. the garter stitch border.
I used six rows of garter stitch to begin (and end) the scarf.
My bobble construction method was:

K, P, K into bobble stitch; turn
P row; turn
K row; turn
P row; turn
pass 2nd and 3rd stitch over 1st stitch and knit into the back of the 1st stitch.

Use as many repeats as you desire until you get to scarf-length.
On size 6 (4 mm) needles with a slim DK weight yarn each pattern repeat ended up being 4".
Also, you should probably have a cable needle at the ready for this project, unless you are superfancy and don't need one. In which case, nobody likes a show off.

Now, if you are the person who I tried to contact and you believe that I shouldn't be putting this chart on my blog you'll have to let me know! I respect your intellectual property and will pull it ASAP. And ask your forgiveness. [Side Note: In real life, I'm a firm believer that both permission and forgiveness are overrated. Bah, silly human social constructs. I try to avoid situations that involve either of these things. And moral turpitude. I try to avoid that too.]

I am all Raveled up at the moment

2008-08-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy (knitting and otherwise) that a whole week has slipped by without a blog post! And this one isn't even going to be very good because I haven't taken pictures of the things I've been working on.

This is going to be a huge Ravelympic weekend for me though! No word yet on whether or not I'll be able to post the chart for my scarf (I don't want to infringe on anyone's intellectual property you know).

I was right on top of the Opal Harry Potter Yarn pre-sale at Simply Sock Yarn thanks to my avid blog reading and scored the WHOLE SET at a discount! Yay me! And Yay Allison + Simply Sock Yarn.com. [Side Note: YAY!]

In other, more horrible news, the money grubbing bastards Warner Bros. executives decided to push the Half-Blood Prince film all the way back to July 2009. If this delays my yarn in any way I will be forced to make daily aspersions on their character and insinuate that they maintain inappropriate relations with goats. [Side Note: You know they do.]

I Can Too Read!

*Ding!*

Fa-shwooom!

Someone out there thinks I'm good at this?

I bought the app, so I'm determined to use it.

Breakfast!

Happy Easter, and happy spring!

Betcha didn't think I'd finish it!

Big ol' pile of seams

Designs on a hat

Let's see what's in the picture archive!

Drive-by Blogging!

Squares, squared

new year, new colors, new projects

Now for some actual knitting content

And to all a good night!

Merry Christmas!

Aha! I can post things from photobucket.

Hey, I have a blog?

Beeeeeeeeep!

Tiny sock knitting

Can she knit it?

Holy Backlog Batman! (4 of many)

Holy Backlog Batman! (3 of many)

Holy Backlog Batman! (2 of many)

Holy Backlog Batman! (1 of many)

Happy Father's Day!

Ravelry has eaten my blog.

Dear Blog,

Muggle Studies

Commence Happy Dance

Dear Blog,

Can't escape the gravity!

*pop*

Gettin' Goin' in the Garden

A list:

grooowing; plants, sleeves, tangent side stories

Woah! It's windy out there!

Happy Birthday Blog!

Gathered Pullover: Progress is being made

I can haz ball band dish cloth?

Hey,What Ever Happened To ...

Growing

It's been a long time hasn't it

"It's a work in progress really."

Discontinued.

Acid Pop (TM) Scarf, totally finished now

The mitt idea took flight ;-)

Whoooo

Acid Pop (TM) Scarf!

Finished that Noro Stripe scarf!

Wait a second ... all the handknits have to match?!

Irish Hiking Hat = British Driving Hat

Curtains!

One Draco Sock

"UFO's of 2008" or "It Came From The BIN OF UNFINISHED KNITS"

Old Year, New Project

Spring ... um, springs eternal?

...I thought you would be shinnier

Eggnog, not from a carton

Here comes the ice age...

I broke the blog apparently

What I do when I forget to blog for a while ...

Sometimes the best gifts are the ones you get for yourself

Tag, I'm it!

Why am I so absent?

Hey,What Ever Happened To ...

Twenty-Four

Dumbledore Socks are finished

Shopping days? More like knitting days.

ICHC Loose Thread

Best Weekend Ever!

New and 'Improovd'

Tomorrow, I seam

Dumbledore Socks!

I can't seem to take a good picture.

Test knitting on a wee scale

It's a Pullover Sweater for the Wee Wizard

I'm 'designing' a 'pattern', oooh fancy.

Not so easy afterall.

Ding!

pop