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Yes, today is the second night of Chanukkah. Woot! This year, since we’re broke, We’ve deicded to wait until payday and each of us gets one largeish gift. My gift is a pair of new boots from HT. You know the ones..theyre like 20 eyelets, they lace all the way up to the knee. Yuhp. Those. Dad has promised those to me for a gift. SCORE FOR ME.
Anyway, I know you don’t read this, you just look for pics, so here’s some new ones.
Yarn Vomit Ninja:
Yes, I’m wearing my glasses. Becuase I’m going blind, aparrantly. Or something.
So, it’s COLD here. and when it gets cold, most people drag out their heavy coats, which are usually wool or down. Not me. When it’s cold, I drag out the WARMEST things I own, which include one of my many knitted scarvesone of my many pair of thick winter hunting/hiking socks, and my Wool Cloak:
To be honest, I love this thing more than I love my down coat. And I love that sucker.
My VERY FIRST EVER knitting project, way back from 2005-2006: My Slytherin Scarf. This sucker is double thick, made from Caron SS in Dark Sage & Heather Grey. I need to order about 10 skeins of each and stick them away. It still has the weirdness where I magically dropped and gained stitches, a bleach spot on one of the green stripes, and the bagically different in size stripes, which I’m not sure how they happened. It’s solid garter stitch, and one day I MIGHT knit another one, but this is still my FAVORITE project I’ve EVER done.
Also: HOLY CRAP HOW LONG IS MY HAIR GETTING? Jeebus. Maybe by the time AdventureCon rolls around, It’ll be long enough to cut and have it done up exactly like Movie Rogue?
One more thing: I knitted these for mom, at her request. It took me 2 days (1 glove per day) to knit them, while she was at work. I think it took a total of like 6 hours?
The yarn is Caron SS, doubled, knitted on size 8 dpns. Check my ravelry for the pattern I used. See that? Mom’s already got mustard on them! Jeese..can’t make anything nice..
Till next time, kiddos. Have a Happy Chrismahanukwanzaakah!
This is getting out of hand!*
I put the finishing touches on my Mushroom Hiking Socks last night. I used the Knit List “get Together” sock pattern, lion brand Wool-Ease yarn, and size 2 & 4 DPNs. I used up 1 & 1/4 skeins of the yarn, meaning I still have 3/4 of a skein left to knit..something else.
Pattern Notes: (the pattern is NOT mine, this is just my variation and how I made my socks, becuase the pattern includes lots of substitions that you can do.) for a woman’s size 81/2 – 9 (american)
Cast on with US2s, work 12 rounds of ribbing.
Switch to US4s, work 10 cable repeats.
Follow directions for heel, work 25 rows (Not including the very first one where you are dividing for the heel, which is a purl row. Start counting on the first knit row.)
Turn the heel, pick up the gusset stitches, etc.
For the Foot, work as many cable repeat rows as you need to make it to 21 total, from the top of the sock.
For the toe decreases, I altered them a bit, too. Follow the decrease pattern until you have 30 stitches, not 20, and then decrease every row as the pattern directs. To finish it up, I didn’t do a kitchener, I simply ran the yarn through the stitches and pulled tight. It worked very well.
So that’s it. The only project I have on the needles right now is the Top Secret sweater. My goal is to wear it new years eve. Like that’ll happen..
*Kudos, Cookies, and a Link to your blog or website if you can guess what movie the title and first line is from.
You know how it is when you get so far into something that you start dreaming about it? Yeah, That’s how I am with this silly sweater right about now.
Last night, I had a good rhythm. Knit 1 round, mark it on the pattern page. Knit 1 round, mark it on the pattern page.
I dreamt (so much so that apparently my hands were motioning like I was knitting) that I was working on this sweater, and I WOKE MYSELF UP, because I was freaking out that I had knitted 2 or 3 rows and not kept track of them. I woke up sweating. Profusely. WHO DOES THAT?!
The sweater is coming nicely though. It’s starting to look like a rather large, tubey thingy. I’ve just started the decrease rounds, which is why I have to keep such meticulous track..
In other news:
I don’t think I’ve blogged this before, but my mom & I are members of the local FCE group. FCE “used” to be a group where new housewives & homemakers came to learn the arts of housewifery. The women who were members would come to your home, and teach you baking, cooking, sewing, knitting, crochet…
They also used to have open classes (For anyone in the FCE) on cool stuff. Our county used to have the best workshops, according to the President & Vice President of our group (New Market! YEEAAHH!).
However, in the 1970s, people stopped joining. Women kept coming to the meetings, but people flat out stopped joining.
Now the groups have degraded into a bunch of older women (in heir 60s and 70s.) who don’t even CRAFT. I think there’s four of us out of 12 in the new market group, who actually DO stuff. As one woman put it, at the October meeting:
“It’s just so much easier and cheaper to buy knitted things than to make them. We don’t HAVE to make them anymore for our families, so I don’t do stuff like that.”
All through the November meeting though, I was working on my crocheted PSP case. It was funny how many women decided that they would talk about crafts. IT turns out that more than just 4 of us do crafts. Now there are 6. Half. Wheeee!
Either way though, the President (who’s name I cannot remember!) and the VP (Sue. <333) were talking about how they no longer have craft demonstrations, and so mom and I volunteered to teach workshops.
Mom is teaching – among other things: Cross Stitching, Paper Making, Basket Weaving.
I’m teaching: Needle & Shuttle tatting, Cable & Aran Knitting without cable needles, Lace Knitting, Mosaic (slip-stitch) knitting (which I have to learn first..)..
YAY.
Next, We’re thinking about starting a fiber/yarn festival/convention somewhere local. All we get around here is the Gatlinburg Craftsman’s fair (which is really a whole lot of ceramics and birdhouses), and 1 fiber festival, which is on a Saturday, from 10-4. Wtf? No 3 day conventions? This will NOT do.
Lets see..what else..
I’m thinking of finding out about having a small knitting get together at the next AdventureCon, in Knoxville. I see so many women at AdventureCon knitting stuff while at their booths (one woman was walking around, knitting a Jayne hat. It wasn’t me, I swear.), that I think it would be cool If we all got together at the con, in costume, and talked about our fandoms & knitting obsessions.
Lastly, I’ve already started on my list for next year’s county fair.
24 items so far. Among them is the following:
Knit baby bonnet & Layette set
“Washington Square” vest from the newest IK
Fleece Lined Cloak
Knitted Xmas Stocking
Whittled walking stick w/ figure head
Knitted & Crocheted pot holders
Filet Wall Hanging
Crochet *CENSORED BECAUSE THIS WILL BE A GIFT FOR ONE OF MY SISTERS *
CROCHETED STUFFED TOMMY GUN.
Crocheted Tunic
Crocheted Shawl
Knitted Shawl (The Luna Moth Shawl..)
I got work to do. I’ll start on this stuff just as soon as I finish this sweater.
HA. I almost kept a straight face. Project Monogamy is not one of my strong points.
So, I was having a grand ol’ time today, staying home and hanging out with my mom (this is like, the first day that we’ve actually GOTTEN ALONG in like..months..), and I thought I would post a few things that I have never done before.
1) I’ve never posted a picture of “the little one” – General Patton (yes, that is his name). He is our smallest, weighing it at just over 30 pounds. He’s a needy thing, and he’s snuggled up in my blankets.
2) I’ve never seen a knitting related license plate. It doesn’t matter that this plate wasn’t MEANT to be knitting related, the point is that it IS knitting related, and I stopped dad in the parking lot to take a picture of it, when he was in a very very big hurry to get back to the house..
3) I’ve never knitted a sweater. Behold, the start of my FIRST sweater.
I’m calling it “Manzanilla”, becuase the yarn is Vanna’s Choice in the colorway “Olive”. Yes, it’s acrylic, shut yer piehole. I dont care. The pattern is “Topsecret”, from Knitty’s fall 2002 issue.
So there. Three things I’ve now (kind of) done.
Its no doubt that winter is in full swing here. The leaves are gone from the trees, the frost stays for more than 3 hours in the morning, and the rain. Oh lord, the rain.
See, here in East Tennessee, if we get some form of precipitation in the winter, it’s likely to be rain. Snow is only for the higher elevations, and we live smack between two mountains.
Oy.
So, after 1-2 dry days, we get 6-7 wet days. Which means LOTS of time spent indoors, or lots of time spent wet & cold while bringing in or cutting up firewood to keep our butts warm and dry.
I both love and hate winter.
In winter I get to knit stuff and wear it right away, as opposed to sweating my ass off just for the sake of showing off my mad skills.
In the winter, I get to knit stuff for other people, and usually they appreciate it because they themselves are knitters.
In the winter, I get to sit next to a roaring (or most times, a bed of coals which is hotter than flames) fire and knit stuff, and watch gory horror movies or cheesy horror movies with my family. These are some of my most treasured moments.
In the winter, I look forward to daddy’s homemade pumpkin pie and hot chocolate, made with real milk and Hershey’s cocoa powder.
Those are some of the good things.
In the winter, our pipes freeze because this is an older house. So when we wake up in the morning, frequently, we have shovel coals into a tin can, and place said can underneath the pipes to thaw them.
It’s cold, and wet. Which is good if it’s snow, but it’s mostly rain here, which is no fun.
Dad has to work twice as hard because everyone else decides to take their vacations, and dad doesn’t. Which means he’s hardly home.
We often run out of firewood, which means heating the house with kerosene or electric until dad can get a day or two off work to cut enough wood to do us over the week.
Those are the only bad things about winter here. And the Rain. I hate rain. If it’s a nice warm spring or summer rain, it’s fine, but the cold, driving, winter rain is insanely evil. I always joke that October to February is monsoon season. Any drought we have through the year, is made up for in the late fall through the early spring.
But on to the knitting, now that I’m done with the sentimental crap that no one wants to read about.
I’ve finished my holiday knitting. Finished. Boxed up and ready to send out on Friday. Lea’s gift will be a little late since she’s in England, but Sparrow’s will be there on time.
Only after Xmas will I post what got sent to whom and pictures of said objects being worn by the recipients will be copious.
I do have one more project that I haven’t even started on yet, and I feel VERY guilty about it, but I can’t get the cabling to work on it, and it’s pissing me off to the max. It’s a manly-ish scarf for a co-worker (sort of co-worker/friend/acquaintance) of my dad’s, who is a very nice guy whom I enjoy talking to. He wants a cabled scarf…no I’m not knitting another yarn vomit. I thinking of maybe a wishbone scarf for him. I have the yarn, and he said he wants a relatively large gauge (he fell in love with my swamp witch..Maybe I should knit a manly version with cables for him?)…
It’s weird though, because the only thing I have on the needles right now is my Mushroom Hiking Socks. The second sock is halfway done, I already ripped the hell once and have to reknit it again. I screwed up when I was picking up the stitches, and I ripped too far..
Crap.
It’ll get done before New Year’s eve.
Maybe.
A pretty bomb.
So, I’ve had the same, dull, boring layout, for over a year now. I decided it was time to try something new. So I went ahead and did..something. I dunno exactly WHAT I did. But it works, and I like it. What do you think?
So, Aside from the new layout (and new “About the Author” page..go look), I have a couple of FOs for you lovely peoples.
First, my year long Yarn Vomit scarf. No seriously. I cast on for this about a year ago. I just recently finished it. Don’t ask what happened, I’m not sure..The yarn is Red Heart in Hunter Green. I like Green. Green is good to me.
Next is the “MossHat”. I used Caron Simply Soft Eco in “Forest Floor”. Yay for Green, again! This hat is the “Hannah” pattern, from the former Mag Knits. You can find it on Ravelry as a PDF download. I LOVE this hat and it keeps me very warm while I’m helping dad cut firewood.
And lastly, the “Official Kitty62 Hat”, knit up in Sirdar’s Nocturne. I dont know the colorway, but it’s RAINBOW. So I’m gonna call it that. I LOVE this hat. And everyone insists on FONDLING IT. MY HAT. MINE. LEAVE IT ALONE.
I love my hats. Hats are my addiction. I’m thinking of joining up the next round of Hat Attack, on Ravelry.
Before I go, I leave you with one more thing. I recently got the newest issue of Interweave Knits. I love Interweave, but while preusing the yarn market section, in the back, I noticed something:
Crotchet? It’s people like this that give us “Crotcheters” a bad name. (yes, I do Crochet..)
But I can’t help but laugh, becuase it’s so stupidly funny and awesome.
Till next time, Kiddies..
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, or so the song says.
For knitters, it’s the time when we decide that we’ve knitted for ourselves all year lnog, and now should be knitting for other people. Unfortunatly, we decide to knit these things all of 30 days before christmas/chanukkah/kwanzaa. Faced with the prospect of having to knit 3 sweaters and 4 hats in 30 days, the knitter gives up and settles on washclothes & fingerless mittens with little shaping.
This happens to me EVERY year.
This year I actually finished one gift, and for another person, who is also a knitter, I’ve decided to simply gift her with yarn, instead of a knitted item. 2 balls of naturallycaron.com’s Country in white. That stuff is NIIICE, and it came from my own stash.
So, while surfing the intarwebz, I decided that a list was in order. These are all things I want or have or need, and things that would be good for the knitters on your list.
For the Traveling Knitter – The Knit Light
I own one of these, and they are AWESOME. I frequently find myself in for long rides in the truck or car at night, and this handy dandy little light makes knitting SO much better. You simply clip it to your shirt collar, and turn it on. The flexible neck makes positioning the light easier so you can move it to where your most comfortable.
The only thing bad about these is the price. From $8.00-12.00 a piece. Save some money and buy the exact same thing at your local walmart or dollar store – I picked mine up for around $3.00. Look for clip on booklights.
If you HAVE to have one that says “Knit Light” or can’t find them at your local store, buy one from Nancy’s Knit Knacks for $11.99 and get a lanyard with it, so you don’t have to clip it to your shirt.
For the “On-The-Go” Knitter – DPN WIP Tubes
I want some of these. I’m the kind of person who takes my knitting EVERYWHERE, and I tend to keep a sock on the needles in my purse at all times. Because I have so much other stuff in my purse, my stitches tend to fall off the needles. These little paper tubes serve two purposes: They keep the stitches on the needles, and they prevent the needles from flopping around your purse, poking your cellphone & other shinies. Nancy’s Knit Knacks has the best deal – 2 for $9.00
For the Social Knitter – A Knitting Bag
Knitting bags may seem old fashioned, but there is nothign better than having an oversized bag that can hold all your stuff for the project your working on, and one thats fashionable or expressive enough to be able to take places with you (I.E. Resteraunts, coffee houses, the movies, a bar, etc.)
The best knitting bags are ones that have one large pocket, with a few outer pockets. They can stand up on their own, and stay open on their own. These types of bags are in style right now, and can easily be found at walmart for less than $20.00 Some examples might be:
No Boundries Zebra Puffer Tote – for the knitter who likes things wild.
No Boundries Tassled Patent Tote – For the knitter who likes Shinies
No Boundries Heart Club Tote Bag
No Boundries Metallic Pocket Tote Bag
So there you have it. A short list of stuff that I wouldn’t mind having would make good gifts for the knitters on your list. Stay Tuned for the normal update.
No I’m not dead. In fact I’m quite not-dead. I am Undead, if you will. Nosferatu, Vampire, Zombie, Mummy..Whatever. You get the idea. My point is that I’m alive (or am I?) and well. How are you? I know no one really reads this, so you won’t answer me, but I enjoy posting picture of my knitting & other stuff.
I’ve been quite busy lately, which would be why I haven’t updated. “What, oh what, have you been doing, that has kept you so busy?” I can hear you asking. Okay, not really, that would be the imaginary voice in the back of my mind that likes to think that I have readers that actually enjoy listening to me rant about how my knitting never goes quite as planned..whatever. I’m rambling.
Well, I’ll tell you anyway.
First, I’ve been doing non-knitting (BLASPHEMER, I know!) activities. I went and saw Dark Knight (for just $4.00, including popcorn and cherry coke. My dad took me. HA. BEAT THAT.), which, unfortunatly, I got no pictures of. Heath Ledger = love. Too bad hes dead. Does that make me a necrophiliac? Discuss.
Dad also took me bowling. I have pictures to prove that.
Dad Bowling. He has a nice form.
Me bowling. That would be the one time I hit a strike. That would also be about the time I threw my hip of whack, which still hurts.
I’ve been playing with my new camera. Which I got on black Friday, (Dad got it for me. HE loves me. I love him. Love him more when he buys me stuff..JK.^.^) 10.3 megapixels, for $79.00. Yay, deals! Either way, I take it with me everywhere, and that’s how I managed to snag this shot of an awesome statue in Knoxville.
Proof that it DOES SNOW in east tennessee..This was taken jus as the snow was letting up. At first, you couldn’t see two feet in front of you. It didn’t stick though..
And as for knitting?
Finished the White Nights scarf for my sister, Sparrow. This sucker weighs in at just over 8 feet long. LONG ENOUGH FOR YA, SIS?
Knitted one sock, and I’m halfway done with the second (I have to turn the heel, and work the foot & toe). This is that awesome Wool-Ease yarn that I posted about before. It’s so squishy and awesome. I don’t remember the pattern name, but you can find the info & pattern link on my Ravelry Page.
I got a PSP for my birthday (A gift from Bio-Father, essentially), and so I needed to make a case for it.So I corcheted one. I made up the pattern as I went (I’m that good now!) and made it from the green Saucy Cotton Yarn, so that it wouldn’t build up a static charge. I used a plastic brass toned button for the closure. The crochet chain just wraps several times around it.
Also, knitted daddy a hat, to keep his head & ears warm while he’s cutting firewood. He loves it, and it looks very good on him. I used Kody May’s Brother In Law Basketweave Hat Pattern. It knitted up easily. The yarn is some cheapo Red Heart in Hunter Green.
I DID knit some felted mittens, but I gave them away is I screwed up and felted them too much. I found a woman at one of my dad’s stores (that he works at) who had tiny hands, so I have them to her. They were blue, purple, and brown Lion Wool, with Lion Fun Fur cuffs in dark brown. I used the Elegant Eskimo Pattern for them.
I also knitted a Hat. For Myself. Huge surprise there. It’s the Official Kitty62 Hat, and I made it from that Nocturne (which you can see below in an older post.). People cannot resist fondling it. Scary. The pom-poms have been chewed off. Aparrantly they are tastyful. I will make a new set of pompoms, and then take pictures.
Also, a new pattern coming soon. I was inspired by the Noro Striped Scarf, but I had no noro. Ive never used Noro. I’m cheap. So I altered the pattern, to use with cheap red heart. I don’t want to overstep any boundries with this pattern & copyright (being that the Noro striped Scarf pattern belongs to the genius at Brooklyn Tweed) So I’m going to email him and ask before I write up & post any pattern that might infringe on copyright. Cus I’m nice like that, or whatever.
Also, if you have time, go read The Panopticon, and the Yarn Harlot. Because they are the two awesomest knit-bloggers evar.
