Knitten Chow

February

2012-02-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

I have a countdown widget on my phone to remind me that life is still worth living. February is a hard month because we're still in the dark days. And for me, dark days are especially dark.

Lately I've been feeling tired in a way that goes way beyond any ordinary fatigue or sleepiness. I'm so tired that I don't want to sleep. I want to be dead. The trouble with sleep is that after a while you have to wake up and I know for certain that I can't handle that. I won't stop being tired, and I'll just have to go around doing normal things, getting tireder and tireder. Working, eating, walking and talking. Thinking.

So I tell myself I just have to hang on. Only a few more days until we cruise, and then I'll get to charge up on all the sunshine I need. Will it last me past the cruise? I'm hoping so. I need to store up enough sun on our cruise to get me through the rest of these dark days of February.

2012-02-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, if I were anyone else but me, I would punch myself.I steal things from myself and hide them--and manufacture false memories of where they are. Tonight I was looking for my precision screwdriver set (the NICE one, since I have two and the crap one was easy to find). It wasn't on or around my desk or in my toolbox, which is where such a thing would normally be. So I thought about where I had seen it.... Oh yeah, my entertainment center! I could see it so clearly! So I looked there. And looked again. And I kept on looking in places where I remembered seeing it and not finding it there.
I did eventually find it--in a place I had already looked--by hulking out and smashing some stuff.
I still haven't found the charger to my electric shaver. My shaver got low on charge, so I went to get the charger from where I knew it was. In fact, I knew there were two of them there.
Ok, certainly at SOME point there were two of them there.
I've done the same drill as for the screwdrivers, but it just hasn't turned up in probably over a week. So I know that the me with the other brain has hidden it away somewhere SO CLEVER that nobody else--especially the me with THIS brain--can ever find it.
So frustrating.

2012-01-18T06:52:00.001-08:00

November

2011-11-15T21:09:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago, I wondered whether I should write a novel for NaNoWriMo or knit a sweater for NaSweKniMo. The reason it was an either/or proposition is that they are of course both November, and while in theory a person could write a complete novel AND knit a complete sweater in a single month, there are extenuating circumstances, such as that I have a job.

And so I made the choice I always make when confronted with two options: do nothing instead.

Happy _____________

2011-11-09T07:03:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow is my birthday, but my family is making today "My Birthday Observed" for reasons of scheduling. That's fine by me. But today marks a very special anniversary: Exactly one year ago, I was leaving the gym and spied something small and white darting around the parked cars in the lot. When I realized that this was a kitten and it was alone, I started trying to catch her. I enlisted Rachel and Dad to bring some smelly wet food and a carrier, and once they showed up with the goods, the actual capture of the kitten was easy.

We weren't planning to KEEP Hazel-- we already had three cats, so we were going to just foster her. But she started purring when we brought her in, and didn't stop for several days. How can you say no to a sweetie like that?

And so, what would have just been the day of her rescue turned into the date she got a permanent (purr-manent!) home.

She has grown to be pretty big at about 12 pounds, though she's still tiny compared to the boys. And even though she's the youngest cat, she has the oldest, biggest voice, and lots to say.

We love you, Hazel!!

And also Happy Birthday to me.

I have failed...

2011-10-16T23:04:00.001-07:00

So, a couple of weeks ago, I felt a strong and certain calling: write.
And here I have been, not writing. I was elated, ah! I know at last what I am to do with my life! What a relief!
In my excitement, I sort of forgot to actually start doing it.
Oops.
I'm terrible at not sucking.

Thursday was my work-from-home day, but I ended up not getting much work done because I was busy with my real full-time job: Going to medical appointments.

First off, I had to get blood drawn. I've gotten blood drawn many times that didn't result in any consciousness-related problems, but this was not one of those times. There was a spot of trouble regarding the needle actually getting into my vein, at which point I mentioned that I might like to lie down.

I didn't get to lie down as quickly as I would have liked, so I slid right on out of the special chair and into some alternate dimension until I was pulled back by the sharp smell of ammonia. It's always weird when I faint like that, because it isn't the same thing as sleeping, really. I guess maybe I go immediately into the dream phase of my sleep, but it mostly feels like I've just moved into another reality, and I never want to leave. I always hate it when they wake me up--today I had to smell ammonia, sometimes it's rubbing alcohol, sometimes they just say "Angela, wake up!!" repeatedly. Huge drag. How am I supposed to get any sleep around here?

But the nurse in charge used this as a teaching experience for her assistant: "And now you've seen a classic vasovagal response!"

'Roid Rage

2011-09-15T13:05:00.001-07:00

Well, ok, no rage, but today I got a steroid shot in my knee. Now, I'm a well-known wimp when it comes to medical stuff. I faint when people even talk about medical procedures. Any time I Google-image-search a medical condition, I regret it.
Needles, though, are fine. Totally fine. It was funny to me that during the shot, which took a long time to administer, I was all cool. But then they just wouldn't stop TALKING about stuff and I had to lie down. Ha, ha.
The injection included a topical anesthetic, which has now kicked in. That, combined with the Tramadol and ibuprofen I've been making sure not to forget, helps a lot. Now I just hope I can survive physical therapy! Go me, I can do it!

Desire to write something...

2011-09-12T02:59:00.001-07:00

But no knitting content. I'm not sure whether I should transition this blog or start a new one; already I have left in my wake a trail of discarded blogs. Abandoning projects half-way through is my primary hobby, after all.

I have been thinking lately about pain and pain meds because I am living that right now. When you have surgery they send you home with a prescription for narcotics and tell you to "stay on top of the pain," but here's my question: at what point do you move beyond "staying on top of it" and into "I am addicted to pain pills" territory? Sometimes when I hurt I'll take a Tramadol and then wonder if I'm not getting hooked on not being in excruciating pain. It's an easy thing to get hooked on, certainly. At this point my "habit" isn't interfering with my life or work or anything so I don't think it's cause for alarm, but how will I know? Ideally the pain will diminish and then stop, but I have no guarantee that will happen. I'm not worried about it, just wondering.

I'm also wondering, somewhat less hypothetically, if I ever will get better and be able to just do life normal again and walk a lot and take the stairs and go back to yoga and stuff. I think I would benefit from a lot more exercise, but see above in re: pain.

I'm such a whiner.

headband

2010-07-14T10:47:00.001-07:00

I had yarn and needles at work, but no idea what to do with them. So I knitted up a headband, using psammeadred's pattern and I'm wearing it even now. Picture to come. I did the cabling sans cable needle, which I love because I, like a great many other knitters, just can't seem to keep track of my cable needles.

I post so seldom on here it's not even funny. I think one of the main reasons is that this is a knitting blog, and I just do so little knitting these days. The reason for the infrequent knitting may also be the reason I never post: I have very little free time. I'm in choir at church, I work full-time, and I'm always trying to add a little more exercise. So right now I'm having a little trouble deciding whether to expand this blog's scope (which I kind of have already) or to start a new blog that will include all KINDS of stuff about my life, or whether to let the blogger in my just die peacefully. This is the sort of decision I may ultimately make via coinflip, because I am so bad at choosing things on my own, no matter how consequential they are or aren't. Don't judge me!

Stupid with a flaregun

2009-11-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

I finished weaving in the ends on these today. Stephanie and I both fell in love with this knit while we were yarn-crawling a few weeks ago, so we each got a kit. I of course went with an eggplant color, and tada! I love them. Bonus? The match my new Namaste knitting bag, which I've been carrying everywhere as a purse (that is mysteriously full of knitting).
And also the shirt I was wearing today.
As well as the purple part of my market squares bag.
And my robe (though nary the twain shall meet).
And honestly a bunch of other stuff I have around here, because apparently this is my favorite color.

In sadder news, my crochet hooks have gone missing and I cannot figure out where they are. I even thought that by looking feverishly for something else I could trick them into appearing, but it wasn't to be! Alas, and also alack.

This week in pain...

2009-08-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we took Madeline to the vet. Now... Maddie isn't fond of me at the best of times. But when I'm trying to get her into the carrier? She really isn't. I came away with a nasty bite on my finger, but the swelling has gone down on it enough for me to move and it's healing up nicely.
But then Thursday comes along. We're out for a treat of ice cream (hooray!) and get rear-ended. Hello, whiplash. No worries, I'll just continue my regimen of frequent ibuprofen that I began in response to the hateful cat.
And now Sunday.
I used my Burt's Bees Milk&Honey lotion, which smells so tasty that my Banzai had to lick my leg. We sit outside to warm up after being in a too-air-conditioned restaurant. I get in the car to leave and feel something brush against my face. Thinking it is my hair, I reach up to brush it out of the way, when OW! What the hell! I look at my thumb and there it is: a stinger.
Poor little honeybee gave her life to fight off my thumb. I feel horrible. This wouldn't have happened if I didn't smell so sweet. :(

red

2009-07-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Rachel and I have been swimming about three times a week lately, and I have found Swimplan to be a handy resource. It generates workouts based on a number of factors, and saves me from having to decide what to do. Love that.

I'm making a Red Scarf this year. This picture was taken on Wednesday, so I've made a lot of progress since then, but... at least it's a visual. I love how it's turning out so very squishy!
On June 1st, we adopted a new cat into our house, and she has been under Rachel's bed this entire time. It really seems like there isn't even a third cat in the house, except that there's an extra box to clean. We feed her separately from the boys, too, because they are known piggies (no offense to actual pigs).

Snails!

2009-05-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

Rachel removed this snail from the pathway of lots of foot traffic, and said snail didn't want to let go of Rachel's hand. But it's awfully cute. And big. The snails near my house are never nearly this large.

And here's another snail.

Thought for today:
Say no to drugs
unless you need or want them.

Banzai has turned five!

2009-04-22T00:16:00.000-07:00

So it's Banzai story time.

One morning a dreadful storm blew down the fence in the back yard. A neighborhood cat alerted us by staring intently at the spot. Not long after, the next-door neighbors' massive dog decided to check out our yard. No problem. Except that Banzai saw him.

He got fluffy.
The situation was resolved peacefully, as Rosco was more than willing to return to his home, and the fence was easy enough to prop back up and stabilize with a ridiculously heavy cast-iron chair that just happens to live in the back yard.

This is the face of contentment. Someone to pet him, AND an afghan to snooze on!

Happy EarthDay to you, Happy EarthDay to you...

2009-04-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

Since it's Earth Day, but mostly because I have them, here are some nature-related photos I've taken lately!

We've had several bees around the bushes in our front yard, and they don't really respond to my requests to please hold still so I can take a picture. But this one was a little bit cooperative, and isn't she cute?

I know it's a weed or whatever, but I think dandelions are lovely, and this one greeted me yesterday as I was out the door to go to the health club.

On March 31, it still looked like winter. The sky was grey and the tree was mostly bare (although there was a good deal of new growth).
Now, it's summertime. It was 90 degrees yesterday and this same tree looked thus:

She provides a good deal of shade, for which I am grateful. Even in a light-colored car with a sunshade in the window, it gets mighty hot being parked in the sun.

Angevoli

2009-03-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

Mom said I had made enough changes to Picovoli that it was like a different pattern. She recommended I write up my notes. Sigh. I'm far too lazy for this sort of thing! But here we go:

The yarn I used, 2nd Time Cotton, knit up at a gauge of 4 st/in on size 8 needles (Denises, if you were wondering) instead of the 5.5 st/in called for in the original pattern. I'm not gonna let a little thing like gauge stop me! This looks like a job for math!
So, the cast-on specified for the size I wanted to make (40-inch bust) was 140. Divide that by the gauge: 140/5.5=25.4545454545... which either I or my cell phone (which doubles as my calculator!) rounded up to 25.5.
Multiply that by the new gauge: 25.5 * 4 = 102
But I wanted a number that divided by 4 evenly, so I made it 104. I could have made it 100 instead, but I didn't. Oh well! I cast on with crochet hook because I like the way that looks with garter stitch, and purled my first round. Right now, and until I finished the garter stitch rows, I was working on a size 6 needle.
At this point, honestly, I think I just picked nice divisible-by-four numbers to be how many I have at front, back, and sleeves. I went with 16 stitches at each sleeve and 36 at front and back. I didn't take very good notes as I went along.
Anyway, with my markers placed, it was time to work my first increase round. I worked the increase rounds thus, every other round:
*Knit to 1 st before marker, yo, k1, sm, k1, yo, repeat from * until end of round. When I finished garter stitch, I switched to size 8 needles but kept on in the increase pattern.
I worked until I had the sweater the size I wanted it, then put the sleeves on holders (extra Denise cables). On front and back I had 76 stitches each, and at each underarm I cast on 4 stitches, which put the sweater right at 40 inches. Cool.
Then I worked even until the point where it was time to begin decreases. At this point I basically followed the pattern except that I had to adjust the number of stitches between markers on the waist shaping:
The original has 52 stitches at front and back and 58 stitches at the sides, so for me
52/5.5≈9.5*4=38 "untouched" stitches at sides
58/5.5≈10.5*4=42 stitches to start waist shaping with.

This is where I switched my size, too, to account for a larger waist and hip. This part is easy: I just stopped the waist decreases early. The I increased as per instructions and then knit even till it was as long as I wanted it. Switched back to size 6 needle, worked 10 rounds of garter stitch, and bound off.
All this part I finished probably in August, not too long after I had started it.

After that I left it in a project bag all by itself for a long time.
When March rolled around, I put one sleeve's stitches on needles, picked up the four underarm stitches, and knit my sleeves, decreasing two stitches at the bottom side every 1.5 inches twice. Then I worked 10 rounds of garter stitch on size 6 to make it match the neck and lower edges, bound off, and did the same thing on the other sleeve. The process took part of an evening.

Then I wondered why I had put it off so long. Oh well, I've got a new top now. It's on Ravelry here!

Octopus Prime

2009-03-21T01:11:00.000-07:00

This little fella came from Tamie Snow's book Tiny Yarn Animals: Amigurumi Friends to Make and Enjoy, which I got way back when I had a birthday. I'm pleased with how he turned out.
Something else I'm pleased with:

the shirt I finished a couple weeks ago, a version of Grumperina's Picovoli that I reworked for a larger gauge and sleeves. I changed the increase ratio at the yoke for this, but maintained the shaping because I love it. It's hella comfy, but the neckline is pretty wide. Which WOULD be okay except that my purse is wool and has a wool strap. Which, again, WOULD be okay except that I'm allergic to wool. So the exposed bit of neck/shoulder turns red. Guess I'll just have to use a different purse when I wear this top.

Great Blue Heron?

2009-01-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

Today Mom, Rachel and I were meeting Dad for lunch and took a wrong turn. We pulled into an apartment's parking lot to try and figure out where to go, and saw what I believe to be a great blue heron:

He or she (apparently males and females look the same) was just hanging out there. I wasn't close enough, so I had to take this picture with the digital zoom, but you get the idea. I had no idea these guys live in San Antonio, but sure enough, we're well within their range.

2009-01-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

I saw a ball of Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton at Joann's and had a coupon, so I thought, why not? So yesterday evening I started playing with it. Here's what the ball band said:

This was a lie. Here's the yarn on my WPI tool (which was a Christmas gift!):

Below I've helpfully drawn red lines between each wrap and numbered them so you can see.

That's 6 wraps per inch. And on the recommended needle size, I don't get 4 stitches per inch. I get just about 3, or maybe as many as 3.25. Either way, this is decidedly not worsted. This is not even Aran. This is straight up bulky yarn, or possibly even super-bulky. So what's the deal, Lion Brand? Did you not realize that numbers have meaning to knitters and crocheters?

It's fine for me, as I'll be using this yarn to make chemo caps and bulkier yarn just means the project works up more quickly, but if I had wanted to make a top from it and had ordered the yarn online going by the information provided I would be a little bit upset.

OH WAIT, something exactly like that DID happen to me back when I made my Lutea Lace-Shoulder Shell from Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton. Now, that yarn wasn't as bulky as this, but it was definitely beyond worsted and I ended up making an entirely different size top than I would have.

Is this an organic cotton thing? The Plymouth stuff I used to make my bobble dishcloth seemed to be the actual weight stated, so... uh... was it not really organic?

Photos that are unrelated to Thanksgiving.

2008-11-28T17:55:00.000-08:00

I just thought that was too funny, and can't imagine a good slogan for them. "If you need someone to Arse it up..." and that manner of thing.
While I was at it with the uploading today, I took a bunch of knitting pictures as well, because I needed to. I was tired of seeing blank spots on my Ravelry.
Here's the baby sweater, laid out in pieces, waiting for me to muster the conviction to sew it up:

And here's one of the socks for Rachel, the other one still needing to be grafted at the toe:

FINALLY, I've taken a picture of the post-fulling version of Market Squares:

Here's a man-sized hat:

Most exciting of all, part of our tree believes it to be autumn now! It's turned a brilliant shade of red on one side (the rest is still green).

I confess, I'm pretty glad Thanksgiving is over. We had a full 16 humans in this house yesterday, and while I love each and every one of them, everybody at once is overwhelming to my poor senses. Timothy spent the whole day hiding under a bed and Banzai spent most of it hiding behind a plant in a bedroom that was free of traffic. I hung out with him for a long time, because I really have feline instincts about crowds. The food was good though, and the meat-eaters feasted on a free-range organic turkey that we're saying died laughing. From what I've heard, it was delicious. And well, it should be! It was healthy and free of antibiotics, not to mention all the adrenaline that can be found in ill-treated turkeys. And it had a special bonus flavor: Good karma. Rock on. If you're gonna eat animals, you gotta do it right (though I'm still dreaming of a vegetarian holiday one of these years).

Oddly lacking in case of Mondays

2008-11-24T19:58:00.000-08:00

I've been in a pretty swell mood today, and haven't had any trouble staying awake, which is strange, because I had tons of trouble falling asleep last night. I ended up being awake until about 3, and then getting up at 7. That's just ridiculous. It sucked too, because I was lying in bed with my eyes closed and they felt gritty and gluey like eyes do when you're sleepy, but my mind was just refusing to cooperate. And it wasn't that there was anything bothering me or consuming my thoughts. It's just that my brain wasn't ready for bed yet.

I've knit a new hat. I started it last week sometime and finished it today. I'm pleased with the stretchiness of the tubular cast-on and the swirls of the decreases and the softness of the yarn. I hope it goes to a good home.

I also want to show off a use for my cellphone that takes full advantage of its skinny shape:

Resolved: No more woollergies.

2008-11-17T07:34:00.001-08:00

Wow, it's been a long time.

I guess it's regularly a long time between posts, actually. But this time I have a really good excuse: I'm employed. It's temporary, and it won't last much longer, but I've been here since July and that's adding up to a decent amount of yarn money. My Banzai is trying to make sure that a lot gets spent on him as well, by having been diagnosed as having anxiety issues. He's on fluoxetine now, which thank goodness is a generic drug, but still. That's fifteen dollars a month for my cat to take Prozac.

Meanwhile, lately I've enjoyed torturing myself by looking at all the pictures of projects that people have made from Noro Kureyon, the yarn I'll probably never be able to use because I'm allergic to wool. Siiiiiiiiiigh.
It started when I saw this scarf on Knitty and said, "I must have it." Except that yarn with Noro-like color patterns doesn't occur in vegan varieties. There are self-striping cotton yarns, sure, but they always wind up with nasty and obvious spots of The Dark Color in the part that is supposed to be The Light Color, and the colors don't transition into each other, it's just a blunt (and sloppy) switch.

With this in mind, I've decided to quit being allergic to wool.
It won't be easy, and it may not be possible. But the other day I wore a pair of socks all day that have some wool in them (not too much) and they didn't make my feet itch much, so I figure that's a start, amirite?

Missed it by that much.

2008-06-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

I saw Get Smart on Saturday, and loved it.
Anyway, before the movie I cast on a scarf I could work on without looking-- a lot of stitches for a knit-sideways garter stitch fluffy purple affair. Mindless knitting. When the movie ended I started casting off with what I assumed was just the right amount left. I thought to myself, "My, what a clever knitter you are" and patted myself on the back until I ran out of yarn about, oh, ten stitches from the end? And that's what the picture shows. The sad remainder of live stitches. You can't see it but the tail is only about 3" long.

But wait!
I AM such a clever knitter! I fixed it. Tomorrow maybe I'll tell how.

A dream of gloves

2008-06-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

Knitting shows up in my dreams. Sometimes in a dream I will be wearing a project I'm working on in my awake life, and I like those dreams because they make me feel like it's gonna be just great.
Last night, however, I had a strange one. In my dream, I was wondering whether to frog something that I had knitting back in the days of wrapping my yarn the wrong way so that all my knit stitches were twisted. This item was never knitted by me while awake, and that's what makes it rather strange.
It was a pair of gloves, using very fine yarn--laceweight, or maybe a crochet thread. I remembered having used size 0 DPNs for it, and the gloves were done in a self-patterning yarn.
It wasn't just stripes or anything like that, though. it was yarn that gave itself a skull and a couple of... cats? Or some kind of adorable little characters, that looked like they were screaming. And I had gone back and duplicate stitched over that (in the same pattern) to give it more definition or something. So these were some unusual and labor-intensive gloves, and here I was thinking about ripping them out!
If I recall, the hand part was white (to better show the design) and the ringers and cuffs were striped in cool colors, like the chevron socks I'm working on now.
I have no doubt parts of this were from the fact that in my working on said chevron socks, I came to a knot in the yarn. I cut it, joined the yarn like nothing was happening, and realized a couple inches later that the yarn hadn't even been knotted in a place where the stripe pattern would continue. So I ripped back and joined the yarn anew at a place where the sequence would continue appropriately.
What a hassle. But it looks SO GREAT now and I'm awfully proud of myself for being so clever.
Back to the dream, though. I guess I totally have to make those gloves now, and knit them right so the stitches don't twist.

Juke Sock

2008-06-03T01:12:00.000-07:00

Last month everyone in the family got new cellphones and switched carriers. I picked out this adorable little combination phone/mp3 player, the Samsung Juke, and immediately had to begin knitting it something to wear so it'd stay shiny and safe.
I like to use fun details like the Turkish cast-on to give me a nice start and very little finishing, and the i-cord bind off to make the edge look clean.
Without further ado,

The Juke Sock.
yarn: sport weight
needles: US size 1,16 in circulars, x2

Turkish CO 16 st (8 wraps)
increase (kfb) at 2nd and 2nds to last st each needle until there are 16 sts each needle (32 total)
knit 1 round.
Begin cable pattern:
Round 1: (p4, k8, p4) twice
Round 2: k4, c4f,c4b, k8, c4b, c4f, k4
Round 3: rep. rd 1
Round 4: knit.
Repeat these four rows 12 times
Work i-cord bind off:
co. 3 stitches using backwards-loop caston.
1. knit 2, k2tog through back loop.
2. slip 3 stitches back to left needle.
Repeat 1 and 2 until you've come to the start, then kitchener the ends of the i-cord together.

Of course, this pattern can be easily adapted for like... anything. Just increase at the beginning until you've got the circumference you like, put in more garter stitch between the cables, and knit until it's whatever length seems right to you. Eeeeasy.

on aspartame

2008-05-31T19:58:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I made the decision to give up Diet Coke, when I learned that Aspartame, the sweetener therein, is linked (anecdotally) to elevated liver enzymes, which I have (or had at the time).
Quitting it hasn't been as hard as I expected, with the addictive properties I believed the drink to have. The only side effect I've noticed is that there is no longer any brightness in my life. I have nothing to look forward to, and to reward myself with.
Ah, well.
Who needs happiness anyway?

A Pattern! Tiny Scarf.

2008-04-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

This little scarf won't keep your neck very warm, but it's pretty and the yarn (which I'm pretty sure is bamboo) is soft and smooth against a sensitive neck. It'll look lovely with a little brooch to close it, don't you think?

And because I'm always taking and never giving when it comes to content online, I've written it up like a real live pattern.

Tiny scarf that's really way too easy

CO 24 stitches using the crochet-hook cast-on.
Knit 3 rows, and always slip the last stitch of the row purl-wise with yarn in front.
Begin Pattern:
Row 1: K3, (k2tog) thrice, (yo, k1) 6 times, (k2tog) thrice, k2, slip 1 purlwise wyif.
Row 2: Purl
Row 3, 4: Knit.
Work those four rows until you get sick of them or the scarf is the length you like (Mine will just go around my neck twice with a little stretching), then knit 3 rows (slipping last st), and bind off.

Some things I've been working on are:
Pacman on acid. This is the Sunburst Sling Bag from Just One More Row, size medium, and

Rachel Calado's Fern Clog Socks
(click here for non-Ravelry link). They're lovely in this yarn--Kertzer's "On Your Toes Bamboo", which is 75% bamboo and 25% nylon. I'm completely done with this first sock and have yet to cast on the second, but I totally WILL. I swear.

Log Cabin

2008-04-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

It is done. I had finished the knitting and bound off but there were still just a few ends to weave in (I did most as I went) and some ends to trim, and for some reason that was enough to make must just set it aside for a couple weeks.

In this blanket, I'm particularly proud of my picking up stitches, as I got my bumps all lined up.

It's worked in Caron Simply Soft on size 7 needles, and following the instructions for "How to Log Cabin" in Mason-Dixon Knitting. I've got on my ravelry here.

Between each brilliant shine

2008-04-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Rachel and I were on our way out to run some errands and saw that someone was already using my car!

But we agreed that lizards are generally safer when NOT on my car, so relocated our new friend.
Since it's spring, there is so damn much life everywhere. Our sago (I totally would have thought it was "seigo" from how my mom pronounces it) has these new fronds that look like they came from outer space. Maybe they did. I don't have a hard time at all believing this plant grew when dinosaurs roamed about just exactly the way it does these days.

For a while, I had difficulty reconciling a despairing attitude on my part with the greenness all around. I would see these instances of life, but just behind them lurked Death. It must be the season for roadkill, and for tiny eggs knocked from their nests, inhabitants dying before they ever knew life. A cat who looked like my dear late Kitty had been hit by a car and I felt all my old scars reopening, not healed as well as I'd thought. I was pretty sure I was losing my mind, as these weren't only emotional scars--one morning upon arriving to work I noticed my wrist was bleeding. Oh, of all the days to not have band-aids in my bag!

The conclusion I've drawn from all this, the only LOGICAL conclusion, is that work is bad for me. I'll have to do something ELSE with my life.

potent ninja

2008-04-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

First, the tree:

And also, an absurdly beautiful day. I took a walk to get some vitamin D, and found this flower growing by the driveway:

I don't know what kind it is, but I like it.
Progress on my LogCabin blanket has been embarrassingly slow. I knit maybe three rows today. But, since I've run out of one of the colors, I'll be done very soon.

Tomorrow I'll be sitting at a table at church, hoping against hope that I can generate some interest in my knitting group. Oh yeah! That's the whole reason I got on the computer now instead of going to bed. I'm easily distracted.

The Spirit of Some Friendly Imp

2008-04-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hooray for noticeable growth on our tree.
During work hours I've been having trouble staying awake. I find myself sort of nodding off and hallucinating at different times, and reading things in my visions which are completely unrelated to the papers I'm reading in real life. Today I read something about Egyptian Cotton, and a phrase involving "paranormal purple papers". Today's title comes from yesterday's hallucination. It's entertaining! But I've got to find a way to stay awake.

Shoots & Leaves

2008-04-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday:

Today:

Work exhausts me. I can't believe I'm still up at almost 11pm when I know full well tomorrow will arrive too early yet AGAIN.

It's ironic, really. The way that they keep the building air-conditioned to a temperature between "arctic" and "absolute zero" means that this would be a great time to have more warm hand-knits, and yet the fact that I am working this job means I have no time for knitting. I've been squeezing in a few minutes each night to make a little progress on my Log Cabin blanket (no pic now), but that's all. Sigh.

Bleh!

2008-03-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

Today's tree picture looks like crap. I thought for sure I had the macro setting on, but it sure doesn't look like it, does it? I'm not even going to upload this one to Flickr. What a drag.

THIS SUNDAY I'm going to be kinda recruiting for my church knitting group. That's great. But I don't know how I'll even LAST till then. I got home from work today and just felt exhausted in every way. And there are four more days of this to go, plus they're talking about possibly having work on Saturday, ick, but it's only optional. However, I have to be at church after all three services, and it looks as though we'll be having company this weekend. The whole thing makes me want to take a Very Long Nap (like until June).

Grow, little tree, grow.

2008-03-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

The tree stretches out to soak up all the sunlight it can. It would be awesome if I could photosynthesize too. Of course, I already don't spend enough time outdoors. Perhaps I need to go for a walk?

it's nice having a camera

2008-03-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Chinese Pistache in the front yard has been growing a lot and I thought it would be fun to take a photo every day and see its progress. I've focused on one particular branch. Yesterday:

Today:

In knitting news, I've finally gotten a pic of my Picovoli in its finished state. Not a GREAT picture, taken in the computer room with indoor light and stuff, but whatever.

And one final thing, a treat. Banzai went into the closet in the computer room (the only walk-in closet upstairs, and ironically the one that is NOT attached to somebody's bedroom) and seemed to be pursuing something. I watched him put a paw in the wire drawer where some of my fabric is stored, and then proceed to put the rest of himself in too.

Yawwwwwn.

2008-03-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

I love pictures of cats yawning or otherwise engaged in having their mouths open. This is Timmy, on Rachel's bed.
I made myself a shirt, Picovoli, but I haven't taken any pictures of it since I finished it. I do have one from when I was working on it and hadn't decided how much longer to make it:

I like it, and it fits well. I used size 5 needles and four skeins of Lion Brand Microspun for it, which feels really nice but tends toward splittiness while knitting. It's also 100% acrylic, so it's not the BEST for garments, but whatever. It reduced my stash.
This is a top I may well make again.
Rachel and I both have gotten new assignments at Pearson (used to be Harcourt), so that's good. It's not a job I've been pining after or anything, but it'll be money, and we'll be working together (ish). We start Wednesday--THIS Wednesday--so that makes me wonder whether they were, you know, planning to get some scorers? Was it a case of divine Providence for them that we called? What a mystery!

Oh noes.

2008-03-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

I. Am. Terrified. My church is big on --nay, obsessed with--small groups. I support the general idea of getting people connected to one another, because in my brain I know how much we need other people. In practice, however, I like to hide away from humans. I feel like I've failed if I get stuck having to talk to people other than my cats. I usually wear non-descript clothing to avoid drawing attention to myself. My result from the little character-creation personality test at the start of "Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines" gave me Nosferatu. They talk about what a horrible curse that is, what with the hideously disfigured visage and all, but to me, high stealth + the obfuscate discipline? Dream come true.
Anyway, at my church, in addition to the home groups or whatever they're called where people get together every week to talk about stuff, there are "activity groups" which involve getting together to do stuff. There is a "sportsmen" group which involves murdering animals, and a scrapbooking group, which appeals to me about as much. Scrapbooking is, in my opinion, the most useless craft. I thought to myself, "Oh, if only there were a knitting group, I might actually go to that." I made the mistake of thinking this out loud, and one thing led to another.
And so it has come to pass that I will be starting a knitting group with my church. Probably not meeting at my church, and most definitely not meeting at my house, because I think neutral locations are best. I want people to be able to wander away if they think it sucks. It wouldn't hurt my feelings. I guess the point is, I don't want to do this at all. But I kinda know it'll be good in the long run? Ugh.
And double ugh.

In other news entirely, I've gotten very nearly to the end of Picovoli (here for anyone not on Ravelry). I had to start twice but, on the second time it's going great. I fought against this idea of negative ease, but it's gonna be okay, I think. I'm using Microspun in red because I have it. If I love it as much as I suspect I might, I'll probably end up making it again in different (better) yarn. Microspun, being acrylic, isn't ideal for the hot weather we can count on for half the year here. I've got some other things I've been working on, and I still haven't fulled my Market Squares bag... but I HAVE been knitting and AM still alive (yay?).

THAT IS ALL.

Cutie

2008-01-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

It's been really hard lately to do much of anything.
My Cutie, best friend of almost 20 years, has gone. He isn't suffering anymore, and for that I am glad, but I am utterly distraught. He was the most gentle and loving cat in the world, and he admirably tolerated such things as my childhood, a mother who chewed off his whiskers, and having to get shots in his eyes. There were many times when we thought the end was close, but he pulled through and outlived any of our expectations.

I think it was about three years ago that Rachel was home alone with him (Mom and Dad were visiting family, and I was in Austin taking a summer class), when he took a very bad turn and she took him to the vet to be told that he had a tumor, and wouldn't last long, so she should take him home and spoil him. At his age, he had little chance of surviving cancer treatment and even if he did, his quality of life would greatly decrease. It wasn't worth it. So we spoiled him, and he stuck around for it longer than we thought he would. Every day with him was a gift.

I've finished the knitting on my Market Squares bag, and that seems like such a worthless accomplishment.
But I think it's good, in my grieving, to keep on doing productive things instead of hiding under my covers all day and wishing I were dead too, so I'm trying.

Bummer and WIP

2008-01-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

I finally got my Winter issue of Interweave Knits...

So I wrote them an e-mail as per the instructions on the website. They must be sick of hearing from me about this damned issue. Oh well! It's not really my problem!

At least the Market Squares Bag, which I started yesterday, is progressing nicely.

Banzai is inspecting my work. It's his job. I love the colors I've got, and I'm doing the tiers in a different color sequence because the final color (an off-white not seen in this photo) wasn't added to the project until after I'd started on that beige there and the two next to eachother lacked contrast and that just wouldn't work. And don't worry, according to somebody on Ravelry (I forget who), even the off-white color of this yarn felts. Huzzah.
This is such a learning project for me. Hem, entrelac, felting. And I'm finding that wool is really a pleasant yarn to work with.

Some knitting, but mostly cats

2008-01-14T14:36:00.000-08:00

KNITTING

I finished another string bag and it has already been put to that most noble purpose of carrying a yarn store purchase, since we ate lunch at India Oven today and were so close that we had to go to Yarnivore. I spent $40. I am weak. But from that I should get a bag, some socks, and some playing, so it's not TOO bad, right...?

CATS

Cutie, now 19.5 years old, has been climbing the stairs mom made him to get up onto her bed to enjoy the sun that comes through the window and warms it. I love pictures of Cutie sleeping. He looks so peaceful and his back paws are crossed.

This cat below lives in our neighborhood and likes to hang around our yard. I guess she's probably about a year old or so.

string bags

2008-01-13T16:01:00.001-08:00

I've been knitting some shopping bags lately, for my own personal use, and of stash I've had lying around. The blue/green/yellow one has gone to my mom, though, when she commented that shopping bags were "really a good idea". These are both of my own design, and very simple. The ecru-colored one is some twine I picked up at the UT co-op, and is done in crochet only. The colorful one, with knitted body and crochet top and bottom, is Sugar'n Cream in "Summer Splash" that I bought a ton of way back when I started to knit because the colors so charmed me. I still feel just as fond of it because it's so cheery.

Every time I take a step, I feel like it's not enough. So I'm trying to remember that no matter how small, a step is a step. And I think that maybe the next step is to try and get everyone I know to use reusable shopping bags. I figure that, with any luck, I could even sell them at like $5 each? I don't know.

Haha, I didn't do any Christmas knitting this year.

2007-12-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

I've been knitting the Nomad Hat and Scarf from Interweave Knits Fall 07 issue, which is still the last one I've gotten (Yeah, I could whine about it but my head hurts too much for shrill noises). Instead of the called-for yarn, I'm using Bernat Alpaca because it was cheap on sale. It's soft, I seem to not be allergic to alpaca (score!!!!) and it being a blend (with acrylic) rather than bulky-weight 100% alpaca yarn means I won't be too overheated if I try to wear it, since after all, I live in south Texas. It almost never gets freezing.
This yarn sheds. The photographic evidence shows the yarn's hairs all over my knee. But I really don't mind that much, because it really reminds me of Pooh this way. She was a prolific shedder, and her hairs were similarly greyish white.
Oh, I've made myself sad.

Changing the subject then! I keep forgetting to take a GOOD picture of my laburnum socks, but this will just have to do! I knit them from Panda Cotton in Red Cinnamon, using two balls, toe-up on 2 circular needles, size 1. I used the instructions from Sensational Knitted Socks, except that I used a Turkish cast-on. They bias a bit because of the stitch pattern, but they're comfy and I like the bright colors. They look great with my red Birkenstocks.

Two examples of "Cozy"

2007-12-07T23:33:00.000-08:00

Timothy has found my pillow to be juuuust the right size for himself. It's the kind that has an indentation in the middle, and is good for supporting my neck while I sleep, but Timmy discovered its secret other purpose of cat bed. Such a clever boy.
Oh yeah, and remember how I sometimes knit? Well, I've actually got a FO to show, but it's tiny.

My favorite lip-balm, Burt's Bees, had become lost! I was pretty distraught and for a week or so went around with dry lips. My Mom, my hero, bought me a new tube and I vowed to never lose it again, so I made a cozy. Not much later the old tube showed up, but oh well. I used a minuscule amount of Sugar 'n Cream in countryside ombre, and US size six needles. I saw it as an opportunity to play with double-knitting, and I really like the way the yarn makes stripes when I used so few stitches. Now it's attached to my keychain so I can't leave home without it.

Eventually, I'll post photos of my brand new socks! Won't that be nice?

Stripey wrist-warmers

2007-12-06T23:19:00.001-08:00

I did not knit these. All I did was cut the holey parts (the feet) off some knee-socks and then make a ruffly edge with the sewing machine. But they're cute anyway, and I like that this photo includes my Banzai inspecting my work.

I suck at titling my posts

2007-09-16T23:38:00.000-07:00

Pat's hat has been finished and given to its recipient. If I'd been thinking this morning I'd have brought my camera with me to church to get a picture of the hat on its owner, but I have been feeling dreadful. I'd had this headache for probably 34 hours?
Anyway. I've since embarked on a new project, and photographed the (mid-blocking) swatch: As usual, my photography kinda sucks hard, but I really like this lace pattern and am going to use it on a stole for myself. Though the swatch is in color #80 (ivory), I'll do the stole in #59 (orange) and it will be great. The pattern is Vine Lace from Barbara G. Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns (the first) and is so easy I feel like I'm cheating.

Third time's the charm, eh Vin?

2007-09-02T22:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, well. Pat, a woman who goes to my church and loves Newsboy-style hats (I can't blame her!) has asked me to make her the "Headline News" cap from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, in "fire-engine red". I asked what kind of yarn she wanted it out of and she requested acrylic since it's washable.
Monday I went to Yarnivore to get some orange yarn to knit a something to go with my new Earth-mother dress that I love (I got Plymouth Royal Bamboo for that btw) and while there I asked Melanie for help finding a really bright red acrylic. She produced Dark Horse Yarns "Fantasy" and I squeezed the skein. It does not feel acrylic. So I checked the label--aha! It's 50% nylon. Nylon is my guilty pleasure fiber. It's made of coal, so it's not exactly eco-friendly, but it feels as soft as bunnies.
So anyway I've been knitting this dang hat all week, because I'm just incompetent. I didn't like the gap between the last knit stitch and the first purl stitch on my wide ribs so I went down a needle size, which required me to use a different number of stitches and I had a headache. Then I decided to omit the first of two purl stitches at each occurrence then pick up the missing stitch near the end, which worked but it all got cruddy after that as the really loose top stitches didn't match the neat tight stitches below. And so now I've finally decided to just do it as written and hope that some blocking will miraculously make it not so bad (Don't spoil my fantasy). Only now I've lost my cable needle.
Sigh.
So I'm giving cabling without a needle a try, as learned from Grumperina's tutorial here. I've done one round of them, and it looks kiiiiinda messy, but I guess that'll just happen when using worsted weight yarn on 6.5mm needles?

Bamboo socks, yum.

2007-08-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

I finished these socks quite a while ago, but only recently have gotten around to taking a picture. I used the turkish cast-on, found at Fluffy Knitter Deb's blog. I worked in beaded rib stitch and followed the heel instructions as found in Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. As might be expected, the second one turned out better--the toe was less tight and heel moreso. As my feet are wide at the toe and narrow at the heel, these changes were welcome, but the first sock is still usable and quite comfy. I haven't really worn socks for several months now, as warm weather makes anything but my Birkenstocks seem a silly choice, but I'm sure they'll get plenty of use this winter. Maybe under my Birkenstocks.

So many pictures.

2007-07-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Heh heh heh.
These are very belatedly posted, even though they were finished and given to their recipients before Christmas. But... uh... well, no time like the present to post them!

And I'd like to say that Ravelry has inspired me to get on the ball about this stuff (I can be found there as Angeluhh) but it didn't. It was Cutie. I took some cute pictures of him with my parents' camera today and then borrowed said camera to get the pictures off it and found our Christmas pictures too.

Cutie turned 19 on July 4th and he's my inspiration. I thought he looked super sweet rolled up like that. I love you Cutie.

But here are some things Ravelry DID inspire me to photograph (I am so bad at the taking pictures):
Needle Roll that I made when I'd just started knitting.

And my Shapely Tank that I've been wearing a LOT this summer (see that unfortunate color pooling? Yeeeeah.):

And finally, my Lutea Lace-Sleeved Shell, which I've also been wearing a lot but which I washed in the washer making it fuzzy. I need shots of me actually wearing these but something > nothing, yes?

And now finally, my Work-in-Progress.

I love the way this yarn looks in the feather & fan pattern, and it's easy enough I can work it in front of the TV or whatever. The only concern I have is that my yarns so far are two different dye lots, but that didn't really dawn on me until I had gotten quite far into skein #2 and said, "Oh my, these don't quite match." I'm debating whether it's noticeable enough to rip out... which I do not want to do.

a wip

2007-07-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

I cast on 288 stitches for this, which will become a tunic (knock on wood) and am working feather & fan pattern in the round. All was going smoothly until one of my Denise cables did this:

Well. After a brief moment of panic, I started right at work rescuing the piece. Victory! As for the cable, the Denise people are pretty great about that, so I'll send it off and get my replacement pretty soon. My only concern is that this has happened before. I don't think I'm a particularly rough knitter...

Edit: 288 was way too many stitches. Gotta rip.

Yarn porn, and a wee little FO

2007-06-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

Admire my photographic (total non-) skills.

This is Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton, in color 83 (sage). It's worsted weight, but seems quite a lot thicker than other worsteds I've used. So far I'm using 8s and getting about 3.25 st/inch. Am I counting right? sacre bleu. But oh man is it soft.

Story time!
I have been using Dove body wash for like uber-sensitive skin with no perfumes or anything, and that's all well and good, except that the new bottle it comes in has a lid that's difficult to remove, and I usually like to use "Lotion Saver" bottle couplers to get the last bits of stuff from one bottle to the next so less gets wasted. But with lids that don't like being removed (or replaced once removed) and that lack the standard bottle threading that makes the lotion saver a viable tactic, that gets a little tricky. Not to mention, Dove is made by Unilver and they've made no promises (as far as I know) to, say, not torture animals in the name of testing their products. Add to that the fact that, even though the plastic bottles are recyclable, reduction is still always better. So I decided to go with bar soap. Specifically, Dr. Bronner's, a bar of which I picked up at Sun Harvest, in peppermint scent (one that's never caused me allergic reactions!). I was drawn to it because it's 100% cruelty-free, uses fair-trade ingredients, and has hemp oil, and I'm a huge fan of hemp.
I was feeling all good, but then I couldn't find my soap-saving sack thing from way back. Therefore, I made one. And none of the patterns online really satisfied me. I wanted to knit one because I like knitting, and crochet projects never really work out well for me. Plus, I wanted to use nylon yarn that I have lying around, and most of what I was finding called for worsted-weight cotton, which is great stuff, but takes forever to dry. So I just winged it. Wung it? Wang?

Sorry about that unsightly shadow. Anyway, it's pretty simple. Size four needles. Turkish cast-on 24 stitches (12 wraps), did a couple rounds stockinette then switched to seed-stitch until it was long enough, then a couple more st st rounds, a round of yo, k2tog, a couple more st st rounds, and bound off with a sz 9 so it wouldn't be too tight to get the soap in there. And it fits perfectly. And I already used it too, and it works great. Is it my imagination or did I get cleaner this morning than ever before? Dudes, my SOUL is cleaner.
That's probably the hemp talking.

Oh, one more thing: Those socks I made, they were only 40% wool, and superwash at that, but apparently even THAT is enough to irritate my stupid feet so FINE. I give up! I will seriously never try knitting wool things for myself ever again!

shaken, not stirred.

2007-04-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ugh. Is the little pop-up on the blogger dashboard (even though your blogs are already showing) a phishing thing? Because I fell for it. And kept on falling for it. And then I thought, "Oh, I'm already logged in... OH DAMN."
That's neither here nor there as I have taken care of it.
Now! I recklessly spent a chunk of my paycheck on an Ultimate Sweater Machine. I had a 50% off coupon for Joann's and ... well... I am weak. I like toys. Especially knitting-related toys. And possibly my least favorite knitting to do is back-and-forth stockinette (that's just knitting; as far as finishing, well, I hate ALL that).
It arrived today and I wasted no time in setting it up and beginning to knit with it. Only AFTER that did I watch the video that came with it, which is mind-numbingly boring. I watched it on 2x speed and even then the lady didn't seem to be talking THAT fast. Anyway, I didn't watch the WHOLE thing because I was eager to get to the projects, which I had heard are something like a workbook; you do each and learn new stuff.
So I started with the scarf which I hate.
I didn't bother with the seaming it up or attaching tassels because I hate this look of worsted weight yarn that is knitted on size 15 needles, single-stranded. This is achieved here through dropping every other stitch. Yeah, it's neat that it works that way but... seriously. If I wanted that look I'd just handknit it on needles that were way too big. It's not pretty.
Also I evidently haven't learned not to drop stitches all over the place. Irritating! AND one of the latches is BROKEN so ... I don't know what to do about that.
In short, I haven't decided yet if I hate this totally or just haven't gotten it down yet. In the meantime, it makes me feel like a really good hand-knitter.

TRAGEDY

2007-03-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

That was the cast-on edge. The yarn broke when I was putting on my sock.
Granted, I broke this same yarn twice while winding it and that's why the yarn left over is in several pieces but, still. I mean, I thought I must have been being uncharacteristically rough on it but as it turns out, no. This yarn is just weak! Boo!

FO--socks

2007-03-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

They're just plain stockinette with a little bit of ribbing at the top; top-down, heel flap. Kitchener toe. My first socks ever. Done in Plymouth Sockotta (45% cotton, 40% Superwash wool, 15% nylon) on US 2 DPN, as per the label, but I think if I use this yarn again for socks I'll want a tighter guage because I can feel individual purl bumps on the soles of my feet.
I made them pretty short because I didn't know how far the skein would go, and so I'm left with enough to make something else small-ish.

just a link

2007-03-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

This pattern: Felted Red Rose Handbag Made me laugh for about a solid minute.

Not-so-Local Yarn Stores

2007-03-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Mom and I made a trip up to the town of Boerne, just outside of San Antonio. We knew there was a yarn shop there so we set out to find it. Well, we had a hard time finding Rosewood Yarns, even though it's on Rosewood street and just off of Main. We seriously drove right by it without seeing it somehow. That turned out to have been Divine intervention because when we were lost we located another store by the name of Ewe and Eye. I don't know if she stocked every color of Tahki Cotton Classic, but she may well have. I scored a set of bamboo #0 DPNs which makes me happier than it should, and a spool of "Knitting-in elastic" in black. Yayyyyyyy for toys. Then we did eventually find Rosewood Yarn and they had banana silk yarn! I've long been intrigued by this, and since I've already gotten hemp, corn, soy, and bamboo yarns, banana was due! I could not wait to get home and play with swift, winder, and yarn and produce:
I love that the one on the right, which is called "Rangi Changi" looks like recycled sari silk, but without all the death!

YAY YAY!

2006-12-23T21:20:00.000-08:00

YES! I finished mom's shawl and dad's hat--which they've claimed now is a Christmas present. But they've both already taken their gifts, giving me no chance to wrap them up! I haven't photographed them either but I will in the next few days. I haven't finished the present for Rachel yet but that won't take TOO long I hope. Again, pictures will come!... that's what I'm telling myself anyway.

Christmas knitting... nearing the end.

2006-12-23T00:57:00.000-08:00

I've finished knitting mom's shawl but haven't blocked it or woven in the ends yet. Likewise, Dad's hat. Basically, I've done the fun and easy parts of my Christmas gifts and need to really focus on how much I love the recipients in order to finish them... ugh. And I've been hit by S.A.D. it seems. Just the past few days. It's unpleasant. Maybe tomorrow I'll try some light therapy.

one more row... ?

2006-11-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

I know I don't post nearly often enough and I'm going to try to fix that (easier now that October's past! Like that was ever a good enough excuse).
Anyway, when kntiting in the round, there's no end of row to stop at. So I've continued knitting long after I SHOULD have gone to bed and I just can't put it down. I think, "Oh, just a bit more." and I've thought that like ten times and you know, there's always more to knit! Urg, frustrating!

hats and cats

2006-07-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

I'm such a terrible person for never updating this thing! Anyway, I joined the Happy Hooker Crochet-along and I've made two hats. This is the "Boy Beanie" but I made it for myself. And I haven't taken care of that last bit of yarn poking out there.
And this is the "Anarchy Irony Hat" that I'm not thrilled with but whatever.

And also I wanna post some kitties because I love them.
Here are Timothy and Banzai having some territory issues over the desk near the computers...

This is Timothy. He likes to hang off the edge, just to show how casual he is.

This is Timothy in one of my favorite poses. He looks like a frog.

finished things

2006-03-14T00:57:00.000-08:00

Here's Rachel wearing the Anarchy Irony hat from The Happy Hooker. I finished the hat part last night, but then had issues with the anarchy sign. I ended up just freehand surface crocheting that part on. I think it's crappy but acceptable. Turns out I'm a very loose hooker. The pattern called for a size J hook, and to match gauge with my Simply Soft yarn, I had to use a size G. I found this hard to believe. I thought I must be wrong in the way I checked gauge, or something. So I read the instructions again, checked again, had to keep going down in hook size... weird. So for the first time in my life I'll have to learn to tighten up rather than hang loose. Damn you, crochet! You've flipped my world inside out!

I also finished my left armwarmer and the stripes don't match up with the right one but that's okay with me. And of course they're finished just in time for me to not need anything even remotely warm for at least half a year.

I'm updated! Oh boy!

2006-03-08T10:26:00.000-08:00

This scarf is meant to be shaped like a fish. In retrospect, I should have continued the shaping more because right now it looks like a giant necktie. I plan to add some fins and eyes to make it look more fishy. It was just gonna be a plain old scarf, knitted garter stitch from some Yarn Bee Italia (100% nylon and 100% so soft!), but after I started the colors reminded me of koi. So it's a plain old garter stitch knitted scarf with some shaping to make it look like a tail and head. A little.

Here's my right armwarmer, which has been finished for a few days now. It's made of Moda Dea Sassy Stripes in Stormy (I think that's the name of the color), #6 DPNs, and the worksheet from the Snowball's chance in Hell armwarmers from the Anticraft.
Its mate is still in progress, but I'm actually working on it. Honest.

I've also been learning to crochet, and my first FO was a square for Warm Up America, which is boring so I'm not posting it and my second is also kinda boring but I consider it a HUGE success:
It was really simple to make, mostly just chaining and slip stitching. The pattern came from JPF Crochet Club, and more specifically, from http://www.jpfun.com/patterns/14misc/spidercattoy.shtml
So anyway, it was successful in that Banzai chased it down the stairs tonight, and we played with him with it in the kitchen and in the living room, and a jolly old time was had by all, then he went and took a rest by the door and Cutie, the Grumpy Old Man cat, who's 17 and a half in human years and like a million in cat years, came and played too! He batted at it and caught it in his paw and bit at it... It made my heart so happy! And for such an old cat, it was a lot of playing. Anyway, I'm happy, so happy. Gonna go now. And I really do intend to update this thing a lot more often... I'm just so bad at it.

bitter

2006-02-24T13:06:00.000-08:00

No pictures.
Go cry about it.
I almost cried about it last night when I was happily knitting along on a sweater made of Lion Brand Homespun because darn it, I'm going to use that stuff up. I had my Denise circulars and things were just great till SNAP. Cable broke. Missed Arakawa's skating. I call this "Stitch and sonofabitch". So I had to do stuff to save the sweater and after that I felt pretty completely disheartened. And I don't even care about the olympics, I mostly do it because it's a way to hang out and socialize with mom and dad, so I'm not THAT bummed about having missed a figure skater, except she turned out to be the gold medalist. The fuels my theory that me watching is bad luck.
But that's beside the point.

I hate that yarn reviews, projects, everything everywhere is wool, wool, wool. Okay! FINE! I get that it's BETTER than the stuff I'm not deathly allergic to. I'm gonna cry about that too. Knitting world can kiss my aspartame.

So current knitting projects are:
1) get new cable for Denise Interchangeables.
2) Do that other crap I've been meaning to do.
The problem is I just don't FEEL like it anymore. Why bother? Plus I've noticed myself being too AR about my knitting. That's fine. I'm like that. But the reason I loved it when I started is because I'd make mistakes and that was OKAY. I could accept that I'm not perfect, I'm just a beginner. That's gone now and I don't know why.

It might be because of those overachieving knitters who start knitting one day and the next day they've created a custom sweater and have sold it for big bucks. I hate those people. Because YES, I'm jealous. FINE. Shut UP.

Banzai in the sink

2006-02-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

WAAAAAY overdue (bonus: crappy layout!)

2006-01-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

I made the "Headline News" Cabled newsboy cap from Stitch n Bitch Nation (which I got for Christmas) using some pretty and soft-feeling red yarn and lo, when I put it on it was like no time at all before my face got just ALL itchy and turned around the hairline. So I washed it and after that, the same thing happened. Clearly, wool + my face don't mix.
That hat found a home with someone at church, and I re-made it using some Caron Simply Soft in Autumn Red. It's lovely and I wear it all the time. I plan to make another, probably in black.

This is a hat for Rachel made from Moda Dea Eden and using the only knitting pattern that they even HAVE for it on the website.
It isn't done yet; I still need to weave in ends and make the pompoms and the scarf to match, since I had to order more yarn of the "Apple" color for it. But Rachel wanted to wear it anyway. She's super awesome.

The Sweater. I'm determined to use this homespun! I'm doing it as a top-down raglan this time, so there are no seams, HOORAY! I still think it's pretty, if a little MUCH as far as number of colors per inch.

This is half a pair of "Warmer World Wristers" that I made both at the same time using the pattern from the Knitting Pattern-a-day calendar. I'd show both, but I needed one hand to take a picture and it's not like they don't look the same. They're made in Wool-ease. It itches a little. Maybe if I wash them that'll stop, or maybe I'm just that allergic to wool.

those damn armwarmers

2005-12-22T22:29:00.000-08:00

i'm almost done with the "Snowball's Chance in Hell" armwarmers from theanticraft.com--all I have left to do is the ribbing at the end of the left one, and the thumb of same, and to weave in all those damn ends. Oh man. I'm dying. It's not FUN anymore. Anything that can gone wrong has, so I guess at least there are no more mistakes to make, but if I say that then I'll find some new ones. So I'll say I'm almost done and probably have only about 10 mistakes left in the damn things. Have I said damn enough today? It's how I feel. I feel damn.

Gifty!

2005-12-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

I'm nearing completion on armwarmer #1 and have done the duplicate stitch of the first snowflake design:

That's my hand you see in the picture--all wrapped up in an elastic bandage because for reasons unknown, it started hurting a few days ago. My best guesses are that I slept on it funny or that I strained it trying to open something. Whatever happened, though, it sucks because it's been making knitting harder and slower. Mom says I should go to the doctor, but almost every time I go to the doctor, I regret that I did because they tell me something like, "Just take advil and rest it." and stuff like that, that I've already been doing. What a waste!
My aunt gave me a (belated) birthday gift a couple days ago, too: the knitter's handy book of sweater patterns and the knitter's handy book of patterns, as well as some money that will almost definitely go toward buying yarn. Yum, yum, yarn. I've already started making a drop-sleeve sweater from the book, because it's easy. And I have the homespun just sitting around after I frogged my horrendous previous attempt at a first sweater. Yes, I'm learning! I've learned that I really am just a beginner and I shouldn't push self too hard.
I'm knitting the sweater in the round instead of straight, so that I won't have to sew any seams, because seams are the devil.

Hurrah!

2005-12-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

I've finished the sleeve for Rachel's DS! I can now say I pretty much love the Turkish cast-on. This was knit in the round on two #8 circulars. Rachel says it fits her portable game system "elegantly" and is "SO soft!"
I was thinking about waiting until Christmas to give it to her, as I'm not completely sure about these armwarmers, but she has the DS already, and needed something to keep it in.
Also, I realize that I take the worst pictures. Ever.

Froggy

2005-12-01T00:52:00.000-08:00

I've now frogged Rachel's first armwarmer three times. Okay, I get it. The project is above my ability. But that doesn't give me any reason not to do it. The other project I'm working on for her, though, the sleevy thing for her DS, is coming along fairly well. I need to figure out what button to use to close the flap to proceed from here. I guess those are the only things I'm working on right now.

remember??

2005-11-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

So, you remember how I said I gotta get me some Moda Dea Dream (no affiliation!) to make something for me? Remember that? Huh? Probably not, since I'm reasonably sure nobody reads this... but anyway, it was on sale this week for $3 at Michael's. Yummy! Yummy! Awww yeah! So now I have some and I'm planning to make a hat or something. You know. Something soft. I'll just start knitting and see how far it takes me. I got like five skeins. Mom and I also bought a bajillion skeins of Wool-Ease worsted, and yes, I know i'm not wool's biggest fan but it's dirt cheap and seems to be softer than plain old acrylic. And for a couple of newbie knitters like us, dirt cheap is the right price. Har har. I'm gonna make myself a sweater in Diet Coke colors (grey, white, black, and red)... Of course I need to finish up the armwarmers first but... uh. They just are going slowly. But I'm almost through with the knitting of the first one (with the easy part of it anyway), and now I need to do the thumb and the duplicate stitching and stuff. Only I can't do that yet because I'm not sure which is the front and which is the back. Also it's a little annoying because the instructions are written with the assumption that you're using five needles instead of four, which is cool, but I only have four #3 dpns so I have to do some extra math to figure out where increases and stuff go. It's not THAT big an obstacle, but enough to make me set it aside a bit more often than I might otherwise.

snuggles

2005-11-21T21:40:00.000-08:00

So my cats found something to do with the aborted sweater that's been lying around:
A nice soft bed~! Also Banzai's been having a lot of fun playing with the yarn tail that's sticking out. It's almost as great as a twisty tie!

Work in progress: a pair of armwarmer for my sister's Christmas gift. It's the Snowball's Chance in Hell pattern from anticraft.com and so far I think it looks lumpy. But I enjoy the yarn (Sirdar Snuggly DK) as it's stretchy and soft... it has nylon and I think nylon is the best thing in the world. And it's not all ITCHY and SCRATCHY like animal fibers. I don't understand the "I only use wool!" Mindset people have, because to me it's like self-flagellation. I have ways to punish myself that don't involve knitting wool garments.
This is the progress I've made so far. I think I need to take a break and knit something with some big needles that will go fast and make me feel proud of myself.

Happy Birthday to me...

2005-11-13T21:43:00.000-08:00

My birthday presents this year included:
The Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns
The 2006 Knitting Pattern-a-day Calendar
and the Denise Interchangeable Knitting Needle set.
Hooray!!!!
I had read various opinions on the Denise vs. the Boye set and had decided to go with Denise, though for the past several months I've been using a few individual Boye pieces that I'd bought at Hobby Lobby... WOW are the Denise ones better! They weigh less and the cables are so flexible! It's a billion times easier to work with them than with the Boye ones! Plus, the cables don't have to SCREW into the needle tips, and so they also don't screw out. Plus they're easier to get a grip on--the aluminum of the Boye needles is so hard to hold firmly while I try to screw the stupid little cables in, and it would be kinda nice to get some leverage on the needles themselves...
so anyway, that's my two cents.
I'm currently working on a case for Rachel's GB DS, and I'm using some Moda Dea dream that I grabbed at H.L. for a discounted price (missing the labels) and OMG this stuff is SO FREAKIN' SOFT that I definitely need to make something for myself out of it. Yummy yummy yarn.

The Sweater Mess

2005-11-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

from far away it looks like less of a disaster, I guess, and I do like the stripey effect of the yarn even if I'm thinking that it looks pukey up close. I shouldn't have used Homespun... it's a mess to knit with and it's falling apart and the pattern tells me to pick up 143 stitches around the placket opening and there are not that many stitches there, so I'm unsure how to proceed. I'm following Mom's advice and setting it aside, working on something I currently hate less. It may be the time of year and the fact that I just keep aging (my 23rd birthday is TOMORROW) and have nothing to show for it, but I've had such a sense of "Why bother?" lately. And this damn homespun sweater ain't helping.

better late than never.... right?

2005-11-06T05:09:00.000-08:00

Some photos of things I have knit! Hurrah! They're taken against my sheets which are soft and a solid color, but not the best background... I'll have to figure something out there.

I made these armwarmers for myself and called them finished but they're unusable as they are--I need to thread elastic through the ribbing at the top (I should have used a smaller size needle, but I FAILED!), and I need to do something about the part at the hand because I don't like the rolling up. So they're still a work in progress.

Legwarmers for my cousin Grace. She rides her bike to school every morning and likes to wear skirts rather than pants, so her legs get cold. I haven't gotten to see them on her yet. I made them of Wool-ease chunky, and did the whole thing in 2x2 ribbing because it's easy and stretchy. I hope they past muster!

sweater

2005-10-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

I'm making a hooded pullover from the big fat knitting book mom got at costco, and it has me bind off like EVERYTHING. And that WOULD be okay, but have you ever tried picking up stitches from a bound-off edge in Lion Homespun? Egads. It's really freakin' hard. I don't think I'll do THAT again. If I ever make this sweater again, I will NOT bind off, I'll just put the stitches on another needle or a stitch holder. That's what they're FOR after all.

cthulhu!

2005-10-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

I decided to make my cthulhu chullo because, damn it, for 1.77 a skein it's not like i can't afford to use the yarn on a frivolous project! Look, I started it. I plan to make i-cord tentacles. Oh, it'll be so great.

No pictures! OH!

2005-10-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

yarn was on sale today, so I bought five skeins of homespun to make myself a new huge sweater because my old huge sweater, which I've worn for like ten years, is kinda falling all apart. So sad! But the new one is gonna be DAMN soft.
I also bought a skein of wool-ease because a) it was only $1.77 and b) I wanna make a hat. I'm thinking of doing the "Lady" hat at http://www.spunkyhats.com/boogie_3hat.htm but I'm also thinking, since I got a dark and kinda warmish green color (Loden), this might be a fun time to make the "Cthulhu chullo" I dreamed up a few weeks ago because I liked the way it sounded (am I shallow or what?) I would make it using http://flor.trix.net/chullo.htm for the reference on that hat and good ol' google for references on Cthulhu.
Also I figured nobody else would have one. But it's maybe a little beyond my abilities.
Yesterday mom bought one of the hugest books I've ever seen, by Leisure Arts. It has lots of pages. Heeee!

Little Green Bag

2005-10-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

I'm putting up, as my first post in my knitting-only blog, a picture of my recently created knit hemp bag.