Knitting?

I actually did some knitting today. This sock has been stuck at row 1 of the gusset since April, and now it is on row 10. Metal needles hurt my hands. I have no idea why I am using them. Are all my wood 1.5s taken?

Kevin just got a lathe. Maybe he can turn me new ones...

Swap!

One of the great things about the internet is meeting other people with similar interests. For me, this means a lot of time on revelry, skatingforums and twop.

A knitpicks group.on revelry did a "rehome your stash" swap, and my swapper spoiled me. It sounds like the bare yarn and the dye is rehomed but the rest seems brand new! For my part, I passed on about 14 skeins of yarn I bought for melting but probably won't have ever gotten too and about a pound of merino roving! I hope the person. who got my stuff likes it as much as I liked the package I received.

Finishing up, in the middle, just starting

I finished my Cusp socks. I am LOVING! Cookie A's Knit. Sock. Love. book. I've never made so many projects from the same book before. This pattern is pretty unique because it starts on the back of the leg and wraps around to the front. The gusset is totally different from any I've ever done- the decreases are incorporated into the pattern, not at the sides like all the other ones. (After you have decreased enough, you then have to start adding stitches back in to make up for the pattern decreases.)

The yarn is one of my favorites- Wollmeise 80/20 in "Neptun". I actually have another skein of this yarn (this one came in a grab bag, that one I had bought a few years earlier). I can't decide if I want to try to sell it, or just hold onto it to pet lovingly for being so pretty.

So what am I in the middle of?

Well, the first Cookie A sock club packet came and it is as awesome as I thought it would be. I'm not going to post details until next month, as there are still some people who haven't received their yarn yet. There were 2 sock patterns, 2 cookie recipes, and a skein of yarn. I'm one cuff into one of the socks, and I really like it. The yarn isn't really my style, but it's neat to break out of my box. And it is expensive- I would never have bought it for myself!

Also in the middle- the sock yarn blanket. I don't have a picture, but this weekend I wove in a bunch of ends, and added about 8 squares. It's getting bigger... this thing will take me at least another year though, I'm sure.

What's starting up? My Masters :)

I'm doing an M.Ed. in Mathematics Education through Lesley University.

My first course starts this week. The assignment technically doesn't begin until Monday, but it was posted Friday, so I'm spending the weekend getting started. I like to be ahead of the game, because I can really be a procrastinator if I don't. (There is just no middle ground.) I'm very nervous about this because a) my only online course in college didn't go so well, but that was very independent study, and this is very forum oriented, b) I haven't taken a class since the spring of 2004 (it's 2011! How did that happen), c) I'm not a teacher... and that will make some of this tough.

What's a knitter to do?

Leaving work in a blizzard but no scarf or hat? Reach into the knitting bag, surely something in there will keep you warm!

This picture is me when I got home yesterday.

And this is the finished scarf! I LOVE knitpicks Chroma yarn. It's exactly like Crystal Palace's Mochi yarn, except I don't hate it, it didn't fall apart, and it didn't turn my fingers blue!

Pointelle done!

I started these socks last month and they knit up fast- but I got distracted and kept knitting other things...

This is another sock from Cookie A's Knit.Sock.Love. That book is fabulous and every knitter should own it.

In other knitting news, I started a striped scarf with 2 colors of knitpicks Chroma yarn. This is the kind of scarf where 2 different self-striping yarns will make the scarf look like I put a lot of effort into the pattern, but really it's nothing at all. Also- worsted weight yarn is amazing. I've done like a foot of knitting in an evening. That's just not possible with the yarn I normally use. And size 8 needles just feel HUGE.

In other craft news, I got 2 sewing books today: One Yard Wonders (not too impressed) and The Bag Making Bible (looks interesting). I need to just find some time to sit down and use up some fabric- but I keep getting distracted by knitting.

Oh, and the yarn I overdyed looks fantastic. Dad's socks are next on the docket- though if the sock club subscription comes in I'll get distracted for sure!

A crafty round up! (oops, it's a novel)

I finished another "pair" of socks- well, sort of.

The blueish socks I finished awhile ago, and I actually only started them because the stripey looking socks I had taken to work and needed something to work at while I was at home.

Well the blueish socks are "Pointelle" from Knit. Sock. Love and they practically knit themselves. Plus, they have a diagonal pattern across the foot, and I am just a sucker for that.

The stripey socks are "Wedge" also from Knit. Sock. Love. They are a really clever design- a regular variagated yarn is turned into an interesting patterning yarn by using short rows to create garter stitch wedges that cause the pooling/striping pattern of the yarn to break up into a new pattern. Look closely (or enlarge the picture, if you can) and you should be able to see garter stitch bands and stockinette bands. This also marks my first short row toe. I don't love it, but it is really neat how it makes a little pocket for your toes.

So what else crafty happened? I made a stocking for my niece (picture soon- the name on it is drying, then I'll spend a week trying to get glitter out of the fleece top.)

I also made a quilt top for my friend Andi, who is having a baby in January. I need to figure out if my friend Sarah also wants one. I didn't make one for Shanna (and wish I had)- but bought her a registry gift, it's possible Sarah would rather have a "thing", I don't know. (Andi has always been more quirky, so I figured she'd rather have a homemade gift...)

I also went to Joann's- twice. I did the black friday thing, and on after thought probably didn't have to. I didn't do the super cheap flannel, so everything I wanted was still there the next day. Still, the knits I got weren't back on the shelf- so is that because I bought them and they weren't restocked, or because someone else did? And one of the butterick patterns I wanted wasn't available- so maybe if I had waited, I wouldn't have found even more.

I also met a group of ladies who do sewing and knitting for "The Premie Project"- they make blankets, kicking bags, and sadly bereavement gowns for all the premies at UIHC. Their website says they make 900 blankets a year- and based on the probably $2,000 of flannel they bought, I believe it. (They had 3 baskets stacked 6 feet tall with bolts of fabric, and bought the entire bolt of each one!) I filled out a form to volunteer by sewing for them. Totally worth the 6:00 a.m. trip.

So what did I get a Joann's?

10 Butterick patterns (2 are the same- in two different sizes. OF COURSE, I fall between the size range)

Red rick-rack for Rylee's stocking

A fabric yo-yo maker (stupid, but I've always wanted one and it was half off)

2 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver to knit more monsters (Luke green and Brody blue!)

2 yds Black cotton fabric for the back of the quilt for Andi

2 yds Denim to make skirt

2 yds each of 2 different Jersey fabrics- a dark flora and a bright green geometric print

1 yd Daisy patterned fleece

2 yds Sports ball patterned fleece

1.5 yd White fleece (annoying! It was "anti-pill" not "blizzard" so not on sale! But I needed a teeny bit for the stocking)

1.5 yd Baseball print fleece

1.5 yd of home decor fabric for a purse.

So what am I going to do with all the fleece? Well, I don't know yet, but I tried to get mostly boy prints in case a nephew project comes up (the Daisy was with Rylee in mind), and it was really cheap (2.99 a yard!) Fleece is what I use for purse linings, so it will get used eventually.

All this stuff, I "saved" $270.85. Sure I did- that's counting patterns at full price, and no one buys them at full price. But even still, I saved a ton. The who purchase was only $71 with tax.

And then I went again today- to pick up a rotary cutter refill. Well, a few other things fell into my basket...but everything was half off. Plus, like yesterday I had a 20% off everything coupon)

Rainbow Batiks fat quarter bundle (I love batiks)

The rotary blade I went for (those suckers are expensive... thank goodness it was on sale)

A diamond grid quilting template (for falling block quilts!! fancy!)

A square grid quilting template (Linda used one at my house and it seemed so neat- I need to figure out how to use the angle guides in the middle...)

2 spools of thread

Yellow top quilting pins (so weird- they have the exact same pins with a different label on the notions wall, those weren't on sale- just the "quilting" ones.)

Today, I only saved $35.58 (those patterns REALLY add up)... and spent $26.

So $100 isn't too bad for black friday weekend shopping.

What I haven't done yet: personal statement for my grad school application. MUST DO for tomorrow

Monster Days...

So I finished another Monster. Really, I think I shouldn't have gotten these patterns. I remember the "Knit a Square, Make a Toy" disaster (a camel ended up being a pillow. It just would not work). And well, it turns out I'm not too good at 3D.

This one is Daphne of Daphne and Delilah. I decided not to make Delilah (the mini-monster that goes into the pocket) and put a bit of halloween candy into the pocket instead.

What I do like about this monster is she is a bit bigger- which I think makes her easy to play with. What I don't like is she looks all kinds of wonky.

Hopefully Cole will like her though. She goes into the mail this week.

Also, I thought I should share with you all that my husband is currently doing a magic trick with the dog. He got a bit stuck at the "pick a card" stage. Elsa carefully considered all the cards, but never settled on one. I think he assigned one to her. Then, when he told her to remember the card she did the thing where she swings her neck to the side (like the Sea Lions at Sea World do when they don't want to listen.) Now it appears he's given up.

Yarn Weekend!

It has been one crazy yarn weekend.

Here's what has gone on:

1) Saturday Morning begins with a package from Jimmy Beans Wool. (Awesome yarn shop btw). I got a beautiful teal Merino Lace from Skacel, a gorgeous skein of Noro sock yarn to weave with, and 2 skeins of Black Purl color in Lorna's Laces Green Line DK (not sure if this is for weaving or a monster.)

2) My knitting patterns arrived in my email inbox. Um- the "I can only get one" didn't work. I got 5. (It's a very very good deal to get 5- highly recommend a visit to Danger Craft's etsy shop.)

3) I finished up the golf club cover I started for my Dad earlier this week. (A repair of the one I made previously and he got holes in.)

4) I dyed 2 skeins of yarn for a swap blanket swap. I think I am now done swapping, as I have what I think is enough yarn for my blanket. I believe the blanket is at 35% done!! It's looking really nice. I did a few blocks on the blanket too.

5) I knit Maddox the monster (pictured). He was SUPER quick, but knitting tightly on big needles kind of hurts my hand.

6) I finished the Rainbow sock I started knitting on the trip to Texas. Now I have to do another. I think maybe the sock obsession is waning.

7) I knit a few rows on the scarf that will never end. Not sure if I have ever even posted about it. It was supposed to be 1 skein, but that didn't work out and I had to trade really gorgeous Jade kettle-dyed stroll for more green since it's discontinued. Same dyelot, but they don't match at all :(

8) I bought cheapo yarn at Walmart to make another monster at- Daphne and Delilah is up next!

Hi!

Remember me? I was the one who used to post on this blog, but haven't in ages because I have nothing to say.

Here's the quick update: still working on the sock blanket, swapping yarn like crazy for it (it's an addition I must stop!), had a fantastic time during my trip to Texas, decided soapmaking isn't for me, no longer ice skating, now I'm taking tap dance classes, and I want to knit a monster.

Wait- monster? What?

Okay- so I just found out about Danger Craft. Seriously are these things not the cutest things ever? I want a monster for myself, but really- they can't breed here. I need children to knit for! OH WAIT! I have nephews (and a niece who isn't quite monster ready.)

Now, I'll change the colors to suit boys, but which monster do you like better? Are these good for a 5 year old too? Or just for the young-uns?

So should it be Daphne and Delilah
Or Penelope?

I'm leaning towards Penelope as being more cuddly, but the 2-in-1 monster has lots of play value.

I also really love Tofu the Dachsund but after my last disasterous toy making experience (a camel from "Knit a square, make a toy"- it ended up as a square pillow.) I'm hesitant to make anything that has to look like anything else.


Now- the most obvious answer is "get both". But for me, these are kind of expensive patterns (yes, I'm spoiled by free. And there are lots of free toy patterns on Ravelry- but I want to buy from this designer because I think she is brilliant!) so I kind of only want to get one. AND if the boys (or I) really love them, she's coming out with a book in January- and the book of like 20 patterns costs the same as 2 individual patterns. I wish the book was out now- January is, unfortunately after Christmas.

So who will it be? Daphne or Penelope?
(Photos from the etsy shop.)

Something new for me...swatching

But first- the DNA scarf is blocked, ends are woven in, and Kevin's worn it. (Then put it away for the winter.) The scarf grew a TON in blocking. It's almost 8 feet long, which actually works well to wrap it around Kevin's neck and then let it hang down on a coat. It has a huge tendancy to curl, which blocking helped, but you have to smooth it out when you put it on. I'm a little disappointed that the blocking flattened out the base pairs (I think) inside the DNA structure. Oh well. I promised him this around 2005, so I'm glad to have finally done it.

I'm also working on a WendyKnits sock in Knipicks Felici, but it's been put aside for the project I'm about to describe. (ooh- and I got new yarns in for my blanket, but I need to do this next thing first...)

So swatching...

I'm test knitting a project for the yarn store. It's a cute little mobius style wrap - one of my friends actually made the basic version of it- but this is a variation with a lace design. The design- I can handle it no problem (though the yarn is so slippery it would be tough to recover a mistake.)

However, it's a good thing I love this yarn- I have spent HOURS swatching. I'm thinking the gauge might be impossible. I've swatched on every needle from size 9 to size 15 and I can't get close to what the pattern calls for. I'm going to bring the swatches to the store and see which needle they want me to go for. If it was me, I'd just pick one, and the design stretches, and I'm sure it was fine, but it's not for me- it's to check the pattern. I need to know what they want.

The urge to spend

Why is it that so many hobbies revolve around buying things for the hobby? Are there any out there at all that aren't like that?

Knitters want yarn, patterns, needles, stitch markers, and more more more
Quilters want fabric. Lots and lots of fabric. Can you ever have enough fabric?
Stamping- omg, don't get me started.

Even my sports hobbies are easy to spend on- skating is a money pit, yoga classes are expensive, and it's just not the same at home. Plus all the cute clothes.

Why is there always an urge to buy?
This morning (and last weekend) I didn't buy more Wollmeise. I'm proud of myself for this, but I have a longing to get more. Why do I need more? I have so much yarn to knit up still. But I have project after project that I really want to do "next". The list of "next" goes on forever... but always there is something new to buy.

Yesterday I cast on for a pair of socks (Mirror Mirror pattern) in Wollmeise 100%. I haven't used this for socks and am a bit worried it won't hold up as well as the 80/20, but my other 100% merino socks seem to be doing fine. I love this fuschia color. I had tried to do "Hearts Afire" in it, but I hated every second of knitting that pattern, and decided to frog after I put the heel on just a little too late and they were too long. I'm on the heel of MM now, hopefully it's in the right position. I hate toe up- it's so hard to tell when to start the heel. Additionally, I'm giving this a go on 2 circs, and it is NOT for me. I keep switching to DPNs for awhile to give myself a break from wrestling the octopus of needles and cords. But I wanted to learn a new technique, so then I go back to 2 circs. I cannot believe people prefer this. Casting on with DPNs is ackward- but the knitting process here is crazy.

Blanket Update

90 out of 800 squares complete for 11.25%

This has all the "Mini Mini Skein" swap yarns (minus the repeat, and one I think is alpaca so I didn't want to chance). My favorite was a rainbow-ish color that I used for the base of a large square... at 3 grams, it isn't enough for a big square, but I wanted it to stand out. (I also really like the glitter yarn that someone sent.)

It also has some Lion Brand Magic Stripes I picked up when I first started knitting.

Tonight I'll probably do one more large square in the upper right hand corner- yarn Suzy gave me this weekend. I want to make it a large square because it is from her first pair of socks!

I have two more swaps outstanding, so that will be about 40 more colors (assuming no repeats) but I need to find some more!

Oh and in case you missed it yesterday:

Aren't I awesome?

Daffodil Design- Totally done.

You may remember this post. It was almost a year ago, and I had to use someone else's picture to illustrate what I was going to under take. My sister was pregnant with twins, and I wanted to make something really special for their baptism. We have a heirloom gown that is passed down through the family- but only one. I wanted to do something that would be heirloom quality for the other twin, that could be passed down with the baptismal gown.

Awhile ago, I finished my biggest knitting undertaking ever. I did the crochet bind off and got this. This alone, I think was pretty impressive.
But today, today I took the next step. First, I got 26 pins and pinned out each scallop section.

Then, each of those 26 sections got 10 more pins to complete the scallop, and really stretch the whole blanket.

Isn't it just gorgeous.

I don't think you can even see the mistakes that were completely clear while knitting. (I did find a few of them while blocking. No one will ever see them, I'm sure. And in 100 years a knitting historian should know this is handmade. LOL)

So what's the finished project.

THIS:

I don't think I will ever top this.

A good day...

Pictures tomorrow, I promise.

This morning I woke up and went to skating. And I skated for 30 minutes without pain. A very exciting thing. My skating journal chronicles that a bit more.

For some reason, waking up at 7:45 to skate leaves me just exhausted (I got to the rink at 8, but on ice at 8:30), but all week I wake up earlier and start work at 7:30. Then again, I guess I'm generally always tired, so maybe it does make sense.

Anyhow, when I got home I cleaned the house the best I could, since Suzy was coming over, then took a quick nap.

Suzy got here and Kevin talked her ear off about cameras. (His camera is really cool. The pictures are pretty amazing) and then we moved onto some knitting. (After a bit of lotion show and tell... she went home with a bar of Yuzu fragranced lotion.) I taught her how to make a mitred square to start her sock blanket. With one square down, we went off to El Dorado... mmmm.

While there I stuffed my face with chips and salsa, and got a "Burrito Dorado" plate. I got some tortillas and ate the lettuce, beans, rice, sour cream, and pico and didn't touch the Burrito. That will be lunch tomorrow!

Then off to the yarn store! We visited Crazy Girl, though not for nearly the amount of time that we did the last visit. I resisted all the yarn- to be honest, I have a lot of yarn already- but bought a booklet "The Great American Aran Afghan". It has some gorgeous cable patterns in it, and I have plans to make at least one of the patterns (the sweater one, if you know the book) into a pillow in the near future.

Then back to the house where Suzy did her second square and I worked on my blanket a bit more (it's grown a lot. Since I got the swap in I've added quite a bit. I need to get another one in though, because the yarn supply is getting low again...) When she finished up, I showed her how to pick up the stitches to join the squares together, and she headed home. Apparently her anniversary can't be spent completely on a knitting day... thanks for spending the day with me Suzy!

Then I spent the evening working on the DNA scarf a bit. I'm almost done- it's about 6 feet long, but Kevin wants it at about 7 ft. It folds over on the 2 stitch stockinette panels between the seed stitch and the mini twist cable. I really hope blocking fixes this, because it's the worst "curling" I've seen in a scarf. Because it's on either side it really does just fold in like shutters on a window. Not good. At the yarn store, I asked for blocking wires, but apparenlty they don't carry them :( Amazon.com has them for not too much, so that will be an order soon. (Speaking of blocking Daffodil Design is on the weekend's docket... we'll see if that happens.)

And now I'm typing this!


-yawn-

Is it a blanket yet?

42 small squares, 1 large square- so many more to go.

Also- see the transition strip? The house is getting really really close to being done. Yay Kevin!

AAARGH!

This weekend I started knitting a DNA scarf for Kevin. Hopefully it will be done before his graduation! (He could have used it today- it's freezing here.)

Anyhow- I'm using Knitpicks Gloss Lace, and the cables are popping great on it. The problem- I keep miss crossing them. Since it's for Kevin and not me, I want it to be perfect. First- I crossed them in the wrong direction- rip out. Then I knit on the backside when I should have purled- so the DNA backbone had purl show up on the rightside... oops- rip.

So I got those mistakes fixed and was about 3 repeats into the scarf. And then I noticed it- another set of purl bumps on the DNA backbone. I just ripped out an entire 40 row repeat to get back to it. That was the entirity of yesterday and todays knitting.

I am so bummed, but I want this scarf to look great. I cannot believe I have to reknit that whole repeat again.

Knitting Round Up

Flat Stanley came to visit me. He picked some yarn out of the stash and made a scarf!

Pictures of projects I've talked about but never posted. Ravelry can be viewed by the public now! Hopefully these links work.

Spring Forward

Cauchy

Seascape Shawl (the Olympic project)

Where's Daffodil Design? Yeah... it's going to be awhile. The crochet edge is horribly hard. It might take me as long as the shawl did. I have to do 23 repeats of the crochet pattern, I did 2 yesterday and wanted to drive the #5 steel crochet hook through my skull. I'm going to try to do 2 more today.

A momentus occasion

Tonight I finished the knitting on the Daffodil Design.

But it's still on the needles, because I have to crochet the border- this is going to be a huge hurdle.

But the knitting. The knitting is FINALLY done.

Weekend Warmies

Here are the handknit ones! Super quick- just a few hours today and most of yesterday.
(So to save $12, should I send an itemizd bill? Yarn $4, Knitting 10 hours @ $10 per hour- legwarmers $104?)

Want to make some too? Just knit a tube with ribbing on the other end :)
Need more direction than that? Here's what I did?
(I didn't measure the gauge but it will be between 8-9 st/in based on other use of that yarn with this size needle)

The yarn is Knitpicks Stroll Multi, (less than 1 ball, and a ball is 50 grams- this is a small project- but any sock yarn should do- check out the new Stroll Tonals WOW!) I used US size 1.5 and US size 2 DPNs. I knit with only 4 DPNs, but you could use 5, or a circular small-circumference knitting method.


With size US1.5 needles CO 44 stitches.

K1, P1 for 12 rows. (approx 1 in)

Switch to size US2 needles, knit 74 rows (approx 7 in)

Switch to size US1.5 needles, K1, P1, for 12 rows (approx 1 in)

C/O using JSSBO.

-These seem so small, but I could get them onto my arm, so they should work…

Want to knit it? You can add yours to Ravelry here. (Yeah, I know it's a silly pattern to offer- but it's my first ever!)

Baby Legs

My sister emailed me yesterday to see if I could make her some Baby Legs type legwarmers for the boys. Baby Legs are apparently a great way to keep lower legs warm when wearing shorts, if it's not quite warm enough for pants, and can easily be whipped off if the temperatures get higher, and also fantastic for when not wearing pants at all- making diaper changes much easier.

The actual baby legs seem to be a very high quality product- made for all ages, they are big on your infant, and scrunch up a bit (which looks adorable), fit the full leg of a toddler, the lower leg of a young kid, and can even be arm warmers for teens and adults. Very cool. The problem- they cost $12 each. Which seems like a fair price for the product, but when you have twins, and need a new pair every day or so, or even a few times a day- that's way too much.

So a bit of googling, and it seems a DIY solution is possible, and easy. Just cut women's socks above and below the heel, cut off the toe, fold over the foot of the sock and use it to form a cuff on the top.

Because the twins are very tiny babies (Courtney estimated their legs as the size of the index finger to the joint of the thumb- I can't fathom that small of a baby!) I decided to get ribbed socks, because it pulls in more. As they grow, the ribbing can stretch, so hopefully the width of the sock will last awhile, though maybe the length won't? (I'm not sure how much leg needs to be covered- ankle to mid-thigh, or more? How long are babies legs anyway?) So I did that process with the blue and green sock. They kind of look like bell bottoms because of the ribbing, and I worried they were too short. So that's where the blue/white sock comes in.

That's actually one of my old socks (if she likes it, I have a black/white one, but I didn't want to cut up a sock if she didn't like it.) These look less weird because they don't pull in at the ribbing, but if the babies are as small as she says, then I think it will be too loose. But they are longer, so she can hang onto them, and they can grow into them.

Okay- so I need smaller width, but maybe long length? That's where I got the idea for the dual color ones. These don't have the cuff from the foot (I saved the feet of the socks to dust with...) instead, I just sewed two cuffs together. They are longer than using the foot, but take 2 socks to make. I can make them solid colored if she wants.

Each of these took only a few minutes.

And last, if what she really needs is smaller than a women's sock, I hand knit one (still working on the pair). That actually stretches enough to just barely fit onto my lower arm, so it shouldn't be too small (though maybe too short? No idea what length I need...). I'm only making one pair until I hear back from her. If it's what she wants, I'll get working on knitting more. (That was a 1 day project, so no big deal... though I did have to put off my Cauchy socks which are part of a March KAL, and probably won't get done in time now- but twins are way more important.)

In other news- Kevin did the tile at the upstairs door. Only 2 more areas to tile, and lots more laminate to do. Also we go curtains for the bedroom. They are dark purple. Pictures eventually.