Soapturtle Knits

I've moved.

2006-12-14T23:15:00.000-05:00

I've finally gotten off my ass and have my own site now.
The blog has moved to www.soapturtle.net/blog
Please come join me there. :)

She's in love with the boy.

2006-12-05T08:15:00.000-05:00

First off, Hi. I'm not dead or anything. I just don't really have anything to blog about. I knit, I rip, and life goes on. I am just not boring you with the details of the ripping anymore. Is it bad that my knitting group can see me looking at a WIP and say, "You're going to rip that aren't you?"

So today, I give you a video of shmoo (with his permission). A fellow shmoon, 3ric, made an ad for the 2007 con featuring none other than *cough* slightly *cough* drunk shmoo. It made me laugh, so I figured I'd share.

http://furtiveglance.com/shmooconadd2007.wmv

(I tried embedding it but... screw it. I have no idea how to go about it and have it actually work.)

Yes, I still love him. :)

What is "worthy"?

2006-11-15T12:39:00.000-05:00

OK so I don't really have any new knitting to report. Everything looks pretty much the same. The purple sock is still purple, Lady Eleanor slowly plugs along, and I am getting ready to start Arwen soon.

But I was cleaning the kitchen and thinking about "sweater worthiness" and relationships in general, (don't ask me why, I don't know) when it occurred to me that we (we meaning some women, not all women, and as a society, not as any one individual. I don't mean to presume, it's just how I see things) are so quick to give our bodies to a relationship when we wouldn't give them the time of knitting them a sweater.

And it makes me think.

My body is so much more important than the time I spend knitting something.

Perhaps this a view that come with the wisdom of life experience and older age, but I wanted to share it.

If a man (or woman as the case may be) is not worthy of hand knit sweater from you, then is he really worthy of your body? It certainly makes me rethink my views on certain things, because I have been involved with men whom I wouldn't have knit an I-cord for, much less a sweater.

As for my current relationship with shmoo, I knit him stuff all the time. Many hats for instance, that I know he will love, appreciate, and quickly lose. I knit and give them freely to him, as I do for everyone else I love. So I am not worried about where we are headed, because I know that he is worthy.

Just something to think about.

Changes.

2006-11-05T10:12:00.000-05:00

Viveka is history! Or she will be as soon as I rip her out. I am doing Arwen from IK instead, just as soon as my issue gets here. I'm using the same yarn for Arwen, and thinking of doing the cables in the brown.

I've started the Embossed Leaves socks from last fall's IK in purple Gloss from knitpicks.

And Lady Eleanor progresses. I think I will end up using 8 balls on her, leaving 2 for the fringe. I am hoping to end up with enough to do a hat or panta or something that will match it. If not.. oh well!

And here's my haul from Stitches East. I got some trekking for the entrelac fish mittens and two bumps of merino/tencil fiber dyed by MamaE for Cloverhill .

And a better shot of the fiber colors.

Meme: A second look.

2006-10-31T14:59:00.000-05:00

About a year ago I did this meme.

I thought that it would be a good idea to revisit it since I hadn't really been knitting that long when I did it the first go 'round.

What is your all time favorite yarn to knit with?
Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted or bulky, I just love it.

Your favorite needles?
Addi Natura Circs mostly. I tend to favor circs over straights just because it's less strain on your wrists.

The worst thing you've ever knit?
Hard to say. I generally rip stuff I don't think it's turning out well.

Your most favorite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it...but it was the most fun to knit)
I don't view knitting as "fun", and while that might sound I think it's torture, I don't. It's just something I do. I sometimes thing the end results are fun, but not necessarily the process itself is fun. I always try to challenge myself with my projects. I like them to be something I have never made before or some new technique I have never tried before.

Most valuable knitting technique?
Knitting Backwards. Thanks Coleen!

Best knit book or magazine?
I read Interweave pretty regularly. And sometimes Vogue.

Your favorite knit-a-long?
I have discovered I don't really care for knit-a-longs. They make me feel guilty for not getting around to doing or completing the specified project.

Your favorite knitblogs?
Check the link on the sidebar, I like all of the ones I read.

Your favorite knitwear designer?
Evelyn Clark, Kate Gilbert, Kristen Nicholas, and of course.. Eunny. :)

The knit item you wear the most?
I don't. Most of my knits have been given away. Or they aren't clothing items. I am working on some stuff now that will be items for me to wear, so perhaps that will change with time.

That's it. I don't know that my answers are any mSave as Draftore satisfactory than they were a year ago, or even that my thoughts have changed that much, but it's neat to see at any rate.

How Fetching.

2006-10-24T13:59:00.000-04:00

Jeebus people! These things are like potato chips!
I can see I am going to have to knit up a ton of them.
Why didn't someone warn me not to do the first one?
How can I not make a million of them now?

It was 4.5 hours for one. During that time I did a little email checking, blog reading, chatting with shmoo, and ate lunch. I do believe I'll work on the right one this afternoon!

Resignation.

2006-10-23T13:26:00.000-04:00

Dear Lolly,

I love you but, this sock thing... I quit.

Love,
Laura.

No really people. Socktoberfest has come to an unplanned early end for me. Perhaps it's because I tried a Cookie A pattern again when I KNOW that I have never successfully completed one of her patterns for one reason or another. Perhaps it's just poor planning and measurement on my part. Perhaps I am just not meant to be a sock knitter. *shrug*

While waiting for shmoo to get home yesterday so he could try on this sock that I knew I needed to stop knitting on until I was sure it fit.... (it didn't).....I finally cracked and cast on for Lady Eleanor. So far I am digging it. I'm not sure, but I think this colorway would actually look better as a Clapotis. I could be wrong of course, but we'll see.

Sharing.

2006-10-20T15:25:00.000-04:00

Ok people, I am gonna share.

While on vacation, we found a fabulous wine. At least my mother, my Nana, and myself thought it was fabulous. If you like sweet white wines, give this one a try. it's Nummy.

Socktoberfest and other things.

2006-10-18T10:40:00.000-04:00

First, the other things.

My Gallery seems to have shit itself when I wasn't looking so I'll be dinking with it more later to correct the issue. So no beach pictures right now.

I ripped the Clapotis (which I may have already mentioned, can't remember) and I have ripped out the sock I was doing for shmoo as well. I am also ripping out the one Jaywalker I have completed and the 3 rows I did the other night at knitting group. It was a hard to decision to rip my first completed sock, but I have decided I really don't care for the colorway with that pattern. I want something better, or different, or something. I still like the pattern but I will wait til a yarn tells me that's what it wants to be.

I finished the cape for Supersheep while on vacation, it's a little short, but mostly the thing still looks the same, so no new picture.

I also worked on my lace leaf shawl but didn't do that much on it because it will be a gift for my mom and I didn't want to flash it in front of her too much.

I did some spinning as well, both lace weight with Mama E's Platinum and then some fingering of that chocolate cherry fiber I mentioned ages ago. Also no pictures right now.

But wait! Lest you think I have no pictures to show. I do!
I was working on the front of Viveka cause that will be the hardest part with the most mods on it, and I wanted to get rolling on that before I forgot what I wanted to do while drudging thru the back.

So I started with an OXO cable up the front sides along where the zipper will be.

But then I didn't think it popped enough, so I decided to change it to a simple chevron like cable and let it go at that. This however, required surgery.

The braid I switched to:

One surgery down, one to go:

And finally, for Socktoberfest, I have cast on for the Red Herring Socks from Knitty. These socks will be for my shmoo, since I just ripped his current WIP sock out. I do like the colors I have chosen, and while they don't "pop" as much as I would perhaps wish for myself because of similar color saturation, I don't think shmoo will mind at all. They are definately his type of colors. And since he also approved the zigzag design, as long as they fit, I am sure he'll wear them! This is of course assuming I actually finish them.

Dolphins on Monday.

2006-10-16T09:13:00.000-04:00

Actually, we saw the porpoises all but two days (Wednesday and Thursday). With the best showing being the morning we left right as we were doing one last check to be sure nothing was left behind. We checked the porch for several minutes. Just to be sure nothing was left behind you understand.

We had a wonderful vacation in a beautiful location.

All my knitterly needs were met.

And as a bonus, this was my view.

And I was able to relax and enjoy it because I knew that Daisy was in good hands.

I'll try to get the photos up in my gallery soon, in the mean time I have babies to collect and errands to run. It's good to be home, but I certainly wouldn't have minding staying longer!

Vacation

2006-10-06T14:54:00.000-04:00

I've done some knitting but not anything I am ready to show. Mostly still working out the front of the mods I am doing for that viveka pattern. I've set it up twice and frogged it once and now considering frogging again, but a two color cable set into another color seems like a lot more work than I really feel like doing.

Regardless, we are leaving in the morning to go to St. George Island in Florida, and will be staying here for the next week. I look forward to a relaxing week of knitting and spinning and perhaps having another FO by the time I come back.

I'll think about you all while I relax in glorious splendor............ really I will.

Stereotypical.

2006-10-03T11:38:00.000-04:00

OK here's the typical "with a dime or pen point" shot with double your stereotypes.

And here's some more stuff I am messing with. I can't decide which fiber to spin up as lace. So I figure I'll end up trying them all. The results might be less than glamorous should I decide to knit with them all, but that's ok too.

Woot Woot!

2006-10-02T00:01:00.000-04:00

My beautimus new spindle has arrived! It's handmade by Mr. Tracy Eichheim of Woolly Designs in Colorado. I got the Ultralight with hummingbirds carved into it. It's about 19 grams (just under .7 ozs) and spins like a dream.

And check out those hummingbirds! He carves all that stuff using a scroll saw. No laser cutting! He has lots of great options, but I chose hummingbirds cause they make me think of my mom.

I have big plans for it next week when we go on vacation to St. George Island (Florida) with my family. I plan to spin up some of the deep dark blue I bought awhile back from Cloverhill as a lace weight, and do more of the BFL I got from Amy Boogie on my Kundert spindle as well.

Anyway, overjoyed, and wanted to share. A shot of some finished yarn after it dries.

Hypocrite.

2006-10-01T11:15:00.000-04:00

Not too long ago, (I am sure if you scroll down you can read it, it should still be there) I bitched about Knitty and Suss and the Suss pattern with the Suss yarn. Yeah. That was me.

But then it was cold, and I didn't feel good, and I just wanted a big floppy cardingan that would be easy to make and still have good details to it and ended up casting on for the damned thing.

Yeah. Me. Hypocrite. I am however changing a few things about the sweater. I am NOT using Suss yarn. I am using Paton's Classic Merino Wool. And I shorted the bottom band from 5 inches to 2.5 inches. I am making it a Cardingan and not a Pullover. I am adding a zipper to the sleeves as well, so they can be loose and floppy or close and tight.

I am not proud of myself for giving in this way, but hopefully it'll be a nice comfy sweater I can wear on the days I feel bloated and fat and be fine with it.

I leave you with a picture of my pin-up girl modeling beside my knitting the other day.

Oh noes! Not again!

2006-09-26T07:09:00.000-04:00

Yes! Again! Again I have an FO. And this time it didn't take 3 months either.

It's the Child's Placket-Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts that has already been seen a bazillion times on the 'net so I don't feel too bad about my horrible pictures.

The yarn is Lion brand Wool-ease. I did the smallest size. It took just under one whole ball. I bought two just in case, but I don't really use wool-ease unless it's a baby project for the washable factor so I guess I'll hang on to it until the next sucker has a little girl that needs a sweater.

The only thiing I didn't like was the sewing down of the front flap you make at the bottom of the neckline. See below.

I feel like it would have been better to tuck it under and sew it to the upper side. but I didn't want to change the orientation of the opening so I haven't redone it that way. I'll just keep it in mind for next time and add the 5 flap stitchs on to the opposite side so I can sew it to the back side.

I am not going to add buttons. I think it's fine just like it is. Easy to get over the kid's head and easy to get off as well. And no fiddly buttons to scratch or distract little hands.

This was my second completed sweater ever. (The first being Batman) It was also my first Raglan. I do believe I like raglan just fine and could see easily making one for myself. Perhaps the cardigan I have been dreaming up for myself for eons will be a raglan now. I kinda doubt it because I want cables, but you never know.

That's it for me today! Soapturtle OUT!
(I really hate American Idol and "Seacrest Out!" btw. I'd hate it more but it would mean I'd have to bother to watch the show.)

I did it!

2006-09-20T09:25:00.000-04:00

Holy Shit! I actually have an FO!!! The first one since the Mother's Day shawl!! Whoa.

Unfortunately it's a seekrit. I can't show it until the recipient gets it. Which will be over a month from now. In the mean time, here's what I can tell you. It's Manos. Colorway 119. It's the first time I have used Manos, and damned if I don't like it! It's nice and soft and knits up fast. It's a little pricey for me, but for what I did with it, I could see using it for Christmas gifts and getting away with quite an affordable Christmas.

Here's a close-up, so you can see the colorway/yarn without seeing the actual knit.

A lovely day.

2006-09-17T11:33:00.000-04:00

What kind of day would you expect to have if you woke up to this?

And the culprit of this mess? Why he's innocent as a babe of course!

Fall Knitty - the self-promotion issue.

2006-09-11T14:27:00.000-04:00

Rant incoming.

It's great that a new knitty is out. It's great that it has more and more patterns all the time. It's great that it's free and accessible to innumerable knitters out there.

But this post, it's about what's not great.

Knitty is becoming more and more......"snotty". It seems that it is so hung up on it's own leetness that we are losing something somewhere. I think that something is quality, freshness, and the chance for the small new designer to get their feet wet.

And this issue, (it's the self-promotion issue because knitty has allowed something I have never approved of to not just continue but to flourishing this issue) designers submitting patterns that are in yarn that they make. (With no listed alternatives I might add.) And not only has knitty accepted them, it has given one of them top billing. What the hell?

3 patterns this issue are by the people who make the recommended yarn. Viveka is by Suss, and made in an expensive Suss yarn. Lucie is by some chick that also sells the yarn, but her name is long and cumbersome so I forget what it is. Tamarah is by the owner of Artyarns in Artyarns made yarn.

When did this groundbreaking free knitting mag become a venue of shameless self promotion for yarn manufacturers? When did something the knitting community was so proud of become something shameful, sold out, and dirty?

The fabulous Kim over at YarnAbuse has covered my thoughts on Vivika very well, so go there to read it, I'll wait here and then we'll continue.....

Ready? Ok good!

I find more and more that I prefer MagKnits. Not because they publish monthly, (and on time I might add, since it seems Knitty doesn't know how to do that anymore) but because they aren't pretensious. They don't pretend to be cooler/hipper/leeter than they are. I've always preferred people/entities who are themselves as opposed to always trying to impress, and MagKnits is whooping Knitty's ass in this department.

So while I like "Sherwood" and one of those pairs of socks in the new knitty, (can't remember which and can't be assed to look) mostly I just come away feeling dirty.

If you are still here, thanks for listening.
I have to go wash up now.

Am I crazy?

2006-09-08T17:59:00.000-04:00

Or does this 5lb rice bag look like it would be a great small/medium project bag? Because I sure think it does. I'll have to test it of course, but I am sure it will be great, and if it gets dirty or tears or something.... who cares? It was a rice bag!

In other news, I didn't die from the plague that beset me, I just felt like I would. I haven't really been knitting much so I haven't posted either. Hopefully, I'll finish something soon so I actually have something to post about.

Long Incoherent Rambling

2006-08-30T10:40:00.000-04:00

I had a fun trip, but was extremely glad to be home. And then I woke up Monday morning with awful throat cooties and didn't feel like doing anything at all.

I would love to show you the beautiful photographic highlights of my trip, but... well... I forgot my camera. So we'll do like Amie did and just pretend, kay?

First we have a picture of a box truck that is spewing smoke out of its tailpipe. Lovely, black smoke. And then...as you can see on the back of the truck, it has a picture that says "You're car has never run better." and then.. the "Snap-On" logo. That's right folks, the Snap-On man can't fix his own truck.

And then we have a picture of of the green exit sign for "8 Mile Road" if only because I had no idea that Eminim was from Detroit. And while I don't like all of his music, and I think he has lots of issues that he needs help with, I sometimes find his point of view correct and think he is lyrically brilliant.

And now, you'll really have to picture this one.... because I really regret not being able to get a shot of it. Imagine a small seedy adult "toy" shop with a nice big parking lot all around it. And next to it.. there's a lovely woodworking shop with the title "Natural Wood". Talk about shop placement!! We rolled.

That's about it for missing pictures. Wasn't that a fun game? Sure it was. But moving on!

The driving itself was long and tedious. And it turns out, that if you make a wrong turn on the Penna Turnpike, you end up having to go about 30 miles out of your way and pay a freaking toll charge just to turn around. Ask me how I know.. ASK ME!!!! (ok don't, it'll just bring up all my frustration again) And their "Service Plaza" areas, well, they sucked. Dirty, crowded, shitty parking, just unpleasant.

But that did mean that when we got to the lovely, beautiful, wonderful, oh so flat state of Ohio, we rejoiced. Well thought out and planned Service Plazas, that were spacious, and clean. They had a nice food court seating area, and they were clean. Did I mention clean? Ohio charges less for you to go across their state than Pennsylvania charges to go across one freaking corner. And it's so much nicer. They really know their niche I think. They know that most people aren't stopping, but just passing through and they make you happy to spend your money with them. So kudos to you Ohio! ( Pennsylvania however, can die in a fire.)

That mostly sums up the trip. Other than the I got sick somewhere along the way part and feel so very rotten now that I am back. I can't sleep because I feel like I am suffocating when I lie down. I can't get my throat to stop hurting, and I am a miserable human being. *whine whine whine*

But I found my camera. So I can now supply some photos for you eye candy readers out there.

These are the bowls we got on our trip. They are perfect French Onion Soup bowls and I plan to make some as soon as I feel up to going to the store to replenish the onion supply.

I am thinking of making myself a new needle case now that I know more what I need in one, and was thinking of using these fabrics, but I am still undecided.

And then I was going to take the current cover flap of my old case (below) and make it into a dpn case. There should be just enough fabric there, and I love the print, which I got as scrap, so I don't think I could ever find more of it.

Now I just have to feel like bothering to sew them up.

Cleaning up and heading out.

2006-08-23T19:41:00.000-04:00

I am headed out of town this weekend so I have been spending my free time doing more cleaning than usual. I hate to come home from a trip all tired and have a dirty house. It's depressing. Home should be warm and inviting and comforting after you've been gone.

So tomorrow I do tons of last minute things. Work, gas up the car, try to get an oil change in, last minute laundry, packing, and dropping the kids off at a friend's. If said friend is reading this, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I hope they do anything to make you never want to baby sit them again.

Speaking of the kids, is this familial love or what? I came out of the bedroom to find them both sacked out on the couch.

I couldn't resist. They often lay around on each other but never when I have my camera handy.

Since all this doing has left me with nil for knitting time, I'll leave you with a picture of our new bedding set and new roman shade. (If you have problems with light still coming in even with blinds, go to Ikea and get a roman shade, it's cheap, easy to hang, and does a bang up job of filtering the light. We love it.) It's no home magazine display, but I like it. And I was happy to find a bedding set that had sheets to fit my super thick mattress. And it was $40.00. Total.

Have a great weekend, I am off to Michigan!

My SuperSuit.

2006-08-22T22:25:00.000-04:00

My SuperSuit is done. Now I just need to put a sheep in it. I bound off at the collar and cuff of the outfit so that I could pick up stitches for the hands and feet. I want the demarkation to be definite and deliberate. I want it to appear that sheepy is actually wearing a suit and could fly away at any moment with a young Sheep Kent appearing is glasses shortly thereafter.

Now that I think about it, I should go ahead and add the cape before I pick up for the head. It'll make it a lot easier. Thanks y'all, I'm glad you suggested that before I forgot!

I am so stealing this idea!

2006-08-21T22:12:00.000-04:00

Tonight at knitting group we had a new member join us. Her name is Lisa and her blog is over at I Tink, Therefore I Am. And besides having a clever and orignal blog name, (of which I am envious, because while soapturtle knits is cute, it's not clever) she also had a great idea and I am going to copy it.

When we asked her if she had a blog and what it was, so I could add her to my sidebar, she pulled out a business card!!!!!

It has her name, her blog link, her email, and her cell number on it, (which I have blurred out most of, since I figure if you want to start stalking her, you need to work for it a little more than just getting it from my blog) and all I could think, besides "oohhhhhhh purple!!! pretty flower!!!" was how freaking cool is this? And how freaking cool would it be to have these on hand at something like Maryland Sheep and Wool? And in your knitting bag, so if you pick up random knitters they can find you to come to your group, or if you get a new group member they can easily find you on the intarwebs and get it touch with you if they need to do so.

She ordered them online at VistaPrint, and I have to say I am inspired and will be doing the same!

Now go on over to her blog and say hi!

Absence

2006-08-18T18:31:00.000-04:00

Please excuse Laura's absence... blah blah blah.

I'm not sick anymore, but I just haven't really been knitting. I don't have anything really exciting or cool to share, so I haven't posted.

The best I can offer is some pet pictures to distract you from my recent lack of content.

First up is the cat, who it seems likes printers. And if he isn't parked on my 3-in-1, he's got his ass parked on our HP. Go figure. It might be that the printers are above our desk and he likes to look down on us.

And finally a picture I took of my other babies, while they were sleep. Say it with me now.. "awwwwww!"

Have a great weekend!

Raise your hand, raise your hand if you're sure.

2006-08-14T17:26:00.000-04:00

Not much to post about today. I haven't done much on the knitting front and today I am sick as all get out. Mostly I sleep and then drink fluids, or try to make myself have some soup. It's fun.

Supersheep is not much further along than he was last Monday.

And my handspun swap is already in.

And what I am sending her is done and packaged and going out tomorrow.

What's that you ask? Is there actually a bit of soap being posted here at soapturtle knits? Why yes, yes it is.

It's some I had made a while back and boxed up and I figured it would help the yarn smell until it arrives at its new home. I always like to include a little something extra in my swaps.

Have a good week people, I'm going back to bed.

Results.

2006-08-10T12:42:00.000-04:00

The results are in for my Telemark swatch test!

The pattern calls for 22 stitches and 30 rows over 4 inches.
With Telemark using size 4 Brittany Birch needles I got 24 stitches and 30 rows over 4 inches.
(Please note that I did a full soak and then laid it out flat to dry, per instructions on this one because everyone was having so many problems getting gauge.)

I plan on using it and just bumping up a chest size (or 2) to make up the difference and just going with it over all because the row gauge matches. Now to choose colors. I can't decide if I want to keep the double green combo or do something else.

And here's one for you sickos who like to see the knitting innards.

Go there.

2006-08-09T19:48:00.000-04:00

Read this.

Randomness and 2 Reviews

2006-08-07T08:11:00.000-04:00

I haven't finished Supersheep yet. I'm still on his first arm. I did work on him a tiny bit this weekend, as well as the Lace Leaf shawl but mostly I played WoW with shmoo. ( For those of you who plau, my mage hit lvl 58, got attuned to the core and is ready for Jailbreak. This will be my second toon to hit 60. )

Review 1:
I worked on Lace Leaf while watching V for Vendetta. It was good. I enjoyed it, I felt I got something from it and I didn't hate any of the characters at the end (like I did with Capote). I'd recommend this movie. It was interesting, moved along nicely, and I got a whole repeat done while watching.

Review 2:
My Knitpicks order came in as well. It was 3 lace patterns and 2 balls of their new Telemark.
You can see it here amongst the frantic chaos of knitting piled on the coffee table.

I ordered this to swatch for Eunny's Deep V Argyle Vest. I joined the knitalong for it ages ago, but haven't found the right yarn and everyone was having such a problem getting gauge with Merino Style that I knew I didn't want to use it. So I ordered Telemark as soon as someone mentioned it.

I really like this yarn. It's soft. It feels sturdy but very touchable. Don't get me wrong, it's no Baby Ull, but it is very nice. So nice that I keep petting it as I swatch. So nice that shmoo thought it was soft and would be willing to wear it. So nice that he recommended I send a swatch to my mother to try out. I loved the way it felt in the ball. I love the way it feels as I knit it up, and I like the way it looks so far. I am very happy with the little test and will certainly order this again. The colors are most accurate in the swatch picture below.

Now on to the random babble. You may want to stop here.

I have been lusting after Rowan 37's Butterfly for a while now. I have read the huge thread on Craftster. I have drooled over different lace weights looking for the perfect one but still haven't found it. I know I don't want to use Kidsilk, at least not for the first one. The test run if you will.

Then I figured I could just use the lace weight from my stash to test it out. And what's better to test out a lace pattern than a swatch.. and why not make the swatch into a shawl, Evelyn Clark style? Why not? Because the stitch pattern really doesn't fit nicely into the schematic. That's why. The repeats for growing the sides are screwy so this has now been abandoned. But during the charting of said stitch pattern on graph paper to find the growth repeat, I realized it's really very easy. I mean.. EASY. So then I re-read the pattern last night and see no reason I shouldn't just go ahead and make it. So I'll be sticking that back on my todo list. I think I'll start with the vest and then if I like it, I'll make the dress for a special event/night out.

And how cool would an argyle hat be from those shades of green? Yeah... that cool.

I ripped the back of the Drop Stitch Hoodie, so it is no more. I'll probably go with the newer card from the Fall IK and made the previously mentioned adjustments.

I think I need to knit more from my stash. It's getting bigger than I would like. It's nice to have stuff on hand to tinker and experiment with, but I want it to be more under control.

I think doing the Altered Halter Bag will help with using stash. Especially if I make two of them. Everyone needs a prototype, right?

Here in the near I need to finish 1. Supersheep, 2. The baby blanket, 3. The lace leaf shawl, 4. Edgar, 5. Clapotis 2, 6. shmoo sock(s)

I have decided I need to finish at least 3 of the 6 above before I am allowed to actually start anything else. Swatching and planning other projects doesn't count.

I am ripping the hat and the scarf listed in the sidebar and removing them. I don't remember what I was doing with the hat, if I ever actually knew, and I don't like the way the scarf is looking.

I also need to finish up the last of my yarn for the Handspun swap I am in on Craftster so I can get it mailed out early/on time.

Tonight is Columbia Knitting Group. If you are in the Lower Baltimore/Columbia/PG County area, come to the Borders off of 175 and Dobbins. We'll be there at 7. Come and have fun if you can!

Late last night....

2006-08-03T09:06:00.000-04:00

TADA!
On to the arms.

Idea Overload

2006-08-02T11:43:00.000-04:00

As with every new knitting magazine I get, I am overwhelmed with ideas that I now know will never come to fruition.

For instance, (get your IK out and be prepared to flip around) remember that Drop Stitch Hoodie I did the back on and then proceeded to let sit in my work basket? Yeah, I do too. And it occurred to me looking at the new Fall 06 IK that it wasn't the dropped stitch I liked about the hoodie it was the zipper details. I liked the zippers at the wrists, and the middle, and the hood, so that the hood actually laid flat against the back. Loved that last detail actually. LOVED.

But then I saw the Wanderlust Hoodie (page 58 for those of you following along at home) and thought, "Huh. I really like the way this looks. I'd like it better as a cardigan. Structured more like the Dropped Stitch Hoodie really, and it would be bang up." And then I saw that it was with bulky yarn. And bulky yarn and bulky girls (which I am) don't go that well together.

So I flipped some more. And I found the Sienna Cardigan (page 122). And I could make the 52 inch chest size and have several inches of ease there. Which is good for a sweater you wear over everything. You want room to breathe. At least I do. Tighter is for the T-shirt I have under the Cardigan. And this one looks like it would be fairly easy to change to a zipper. And add zippers in at the wrists. And make the neckband an actual hood and add a zipper to it as well.
And then, there would be a hood, and it would lie flat. Yum.

I still don't know that I will just abandon the Dropped Stitch Hoodie. I mean, the back IS complete. And it was fairly easy to do. I am just worried it will look awful on me. In fact, as cool as the stitch pattern is, I am almost positive it will not look great on me. And for all that work, it should look great dammit!

And then I have been thinking about felted bags again. And after the last disaster with one, I have been a bit hesitant to do another one. But then I saw the staff projects for this issue, (page 98) and before you hurl, what about this....? Bag two. The pattern at the bottom with the stranded knitting flowers, done in the manner of the top of the bag, with the flowers in the center of each panel and then the columns (that look like steeks to me) between each motif. And that's all there is to the bag. Except the straps of course. I don't exactly like the straps there, but I am not sure a different strap would look better and if so, which one would be best?

Here's my rough (very rough) sketch of what I have in mind, but you get the idea.

So taking all this into account. And having all of these ideas roaming around my head (note: this is not counting the ones I immediately dismissed) and thinking I needed to finished up some of the WIPs I have going on first......

I went and cast on for the Lace Leaf Shawl.

bonus progress shot of supersheep/sheeperman:

lessons in the round.

2006-08-01T07:44:00.000-04:00

Yuck.

Yuck at a side angle.

Yeah. I ripped. Again. Wouldn't you?

I have decided I will do the emblem the same way I did the belt. With a crochet hook, and patience.

When I started this, I KNEW you weren't supposed to do intarsia in the round. I knew. But I figured it would be ok. I just couldn't get the tension right. Too tight, too loose, both, hell, I don't know. But I tried it several different ways/times and it just isn't working out and looking like I want it to. Perhaps this is because it's on size 0 needles and it's just too damn small to get intarsia in the round to be just right. Whatever the case may be, that's fine. I'm going to do it this other way and see how that looks, and go from there.

In other news, my IK Fall 06 came in the mail. It was a good issue for the Columbia knitting group. Eunny has two articles and Lolly has a whole paragraph of Amy Singer's column that talks about Project Spectrum. It's nice to see people you like get their 15 minutes.

As for the rest of it, I am a little meh. I have a problem with one of the designer's attitude regarding her pattern in this issue. I don't want to trash her, since this is how she makes her living, but I was totally pisssed off at her view of cost and what she considers worthwhile. I'm sorry but I will not pay roughly $500.00 for yarn to make a knit item that makes the skinny model in the picture look like a fat cow. And this is beside the fact that I think it's hideous. It could be the most beautiful knit on the face of the earth and I would think $500.00 is too much. And when one of the readers on her blog questioned her about the use of this expensive yarn, her response was roughly that worthwhile things take sacrifice. That may be so, but to assume that the world will consider a $500 yarn knit item worth it, it had best look a damn sight better than what it does. Hell, I can buying a spinning wheel for $500. An! Effing! Spinning! Wheel! That's my car insurance bill for A YEAR! Think of all the things you could spend 500 bucks on in your life. Yeah. That's exactly what I mean. It's just too much. The only exception to this being too much would be if the knit item in question did all my laundry and cleaned my kitchen every day for at least 2 years. Hell, it should cook dinner too.

I quit reading this designer's blog that day. I just couldn't take it. I hope her career continues to do well, but I am no longer a fan. My cheap little soul refuses.

On a more positive note, I have a question..... Supersheep or Sheeperman?

The making of a hero.

2006-07-28T14:42:00.000-04:00

Irritation

2006-07-26T14:01:00.000-04:00

This is one of my rants. You've been warned.

I am tired tired tired of the phrases "not your grandmother's knitting" and "...think knitting/circles is/are for grannies?"

TIRED.

It is for grannies dammit. Grannies are the ones that kept it alive when women's lib came along made all homemaking crafts taboo. It angers me that we are so harsh as to dismiss the "Grannies" and what they have done. How many people learned to knit/crochet from their granny or someone else's? Why would we continue to bash the people that gave us the knowledge to create almost anything we can dream up with two sticks and some string?

Almost every news article or commentary on knitting these days says "not your grandmother's knitting" and I say it's time we take a stand. It IS our grandmothers' knitting. Knitting belongs to everyone who participates in the craft, regardless of what they make, or how pretty or horrid we think it is.

One day, we'll be "grannies" and I don't know about you, but I will still be knitting when I am grannie aged. And it will be MY knitting.

"Taking back the knit" doesn't mean we have to take it away from previous generations.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

Spunky Eclectic

2006-07-24T11:15:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday morning, I ordered some fiber from Spunky Eclectic. Amy was having a sale so I ended up with 24 ozs total. 3 bundles of Merino and 1 bundle of BFL. It arrived on Thursday and it's just fabulous.

The colors are great. Especially the BFL. It's in the Tahiti (dark) colorway, and it feels like warm sunshine. All that's missing is the smell of tiare flowers.

So yeah, here's my haul.

And here's the Tahiti BFL spun up. It's my first time spinning BFL. I'm not sure what I think about it honestly. I know that lots of people LOVE it, but I don't think I am one of them. It has spun up softer than my other yarns however, so that is in its favor.

And as for my Supersheep? He progresses. Much like the last one, with stranded knitting only on the band at the bottom. I'm obviously going to have to do a fully stranded sheep at some point. But for now, this will do.

A change in revamped plan is I dropped the belt. Turns out I have no gold/yellow yarn. And I the yarn I tea-dyed... well, the darker of it will be ok for the emblem, but I didn't like it at all for the belt.

Seen here, the bottom ball isn't really white, it's a nice off-white now, and the top one is a goldenish beige/brown. I really need to make my photo-box soon.

I'm not not licking frogs.

2006-07-19T19:57:00.000-04:00

Ok, I cracked. I'm guilty. But you had to know I would. I mean... Supersheep! How could I resist casting on for it?

Actually, I went to do the charts, and when I got them done and posted and linked, I just had the urge to keep going. So I did. I cast on and then didn't like the needle size because it made it too small over all and then I cast on again on 2s and upped the number of stitches and I liked it just fine. Then I realized my orignal plan wasn't going to work as well as I wanted it to and I was carrying over 12 stitches regularly and that just wasn't going to work. And I noticed a mistake in the 5th row as well. I had knit over half a row instead of purlling it.

So here's my drawing of the original plan (1) and the new revised plan (2).

And here's my first ever attempt at fairisle/stranded knitting. (And it didn't suck near as much as I thought it would. Of course the revamp makes it more intarsia than fairisle. Win some, lose some I guess.)

And here's a blurry photo of the guts for those of you who like to see that sort of thing.

It's now been frogged. I'll be starting over with the improved stitch count and going back to US1s once I get the cast on done. I think it will make a better fabic over all.

So, yes, I cheated on all my other projects again. But that's ok, this project feels right. Like I'm not forcing it. So that's a win.

Hey! What's that?! Over there! Look!

2006-07-19T09:25:00.000-04:00

Oh. It's just another post trying to divert you from my actual lack of real knitting progress.

Today I bring you Pincushions and Supersheep!

First, Pincushions. I have always been fond of pincushions. Not sure why, but there it is. The little ones, the big ones, from the plain tomato to the fancy ornate. I love them all. But I refuse to pay $14 (or more!) bucks for one. REFUSE.

To that end I bring you two things that lead to one idea.
1. Makeblog had an entry on soda pop bottle cap pincushions. You will find the makeblog entry on it here.
2. There's this woman, whose online shop is full of fabulous hand made pincushions for way more than I would ever want to spend on one. But I fell in love with one that is already sold. This one to be precise.

Isn't it lovely?

So... the big idea that has sprung forth is this: What about a small jar pin cushion, done the same way as the bottlecap one, with flowers like these on it, but.. wait for it... from felt that I have knit up and fulled as opposed to cheapie craft felt. (Ok, maybe the thin cheapie felt for the flowers, as it's thin and easier to cut.) It would be perfect for holding the T-pins I use for blocking in a decorative way. PERFECT!! Muahahahahaa!

And now.. Supersheep!

Have you seen the little sheep hand puppet on the cover of the Summer 06 Spin Off? If not, Coleen has made one and it's wonderful. And now, I want to make one. But not an Estonian one.

You see, I have all this red and blue knitpicks palette yarn in my stash that I didn't use for the things I intended to use them for. And what's red and blue if not superman? And if Superman were a sheep puppet, what would he be called? Why Supersheep of course!

And I'll be tea-dyeing the white Nature spun. I just don't want to have an albino supersheep. I think a nice off-white been out in the field fighting crime (or mean grass clumps and gophers) beige would be better. And more sheep-like. I'm going to try and get that done today.

I plan on using KnitPro to make a logo chart and then tweaking it to be similar to one of the repeats given in the magazine and going to town on my sheep puppet. Mind you, I won't actually make it until I finish at least the first of shmoo's socks. I need to get something finished so I can get my FO mojo back.

And then, who knows. Perhaps a Batsheep. Batsheep would be an awesome Christmas gift for the little Batman fan in my life, who also likes hand and finger puppets I might add.

And after that.. THE WORLD! MUAHAHAHAHA *cough* I mean.... maybe some more socks.

I get bored.

2006-07-18T18:37:00.000-04:00

Visually. So I changed my blogger template once again. I know, I do this a lot, but you should see how much I change my desktop wallpaper!!

Also, I noticed that someone's blog I read is using the exact same template, without the header modified, and I just really wanted my blog to look different.

So I went template hunting today and found 3 that I like, so not only do I have this lovely creation (which took little editing I might add, and has a search function to boot!), I have two more waiting in the wings when I tire of this glowing blueness.

On a more fibery note, I called Amie today and she went with me to Cloverhill to play on the wheels they have there. (THANKS Chris!) It was great and I learned a bit as well.

I have been spinning a lot more than knitting lately because ever since finishing the Flower Basket Shawl, I haven't managed to complete anything else. I don't know if it somehow cooked my little knitter's brain to do it in 4 days, or if I just now hold myself to a higher standard on my projects. I don't know. What I do know is that I rip a lot, and I get frustrated with lack of progress, which makes me not want to knit. Which means even less progress. It's circular and frustrating, so I spin instead. And I am happy, and at the same time, I make yarn. So... that's good right? Right?

But I digress.

I learned today that I prefer double treadle wheels. I really liked the Ashford Joy, but it was the only double treadle they had out to use, so I have to find more double treadles to try out and see if it really is the Joy DT that won my heart, or just the double treadleness of it. Time will tell.

Warm Tingly Feelings.

2006-07-17T22:33:00.000-04:00

Today started off rather badly. I awoke at 6 am as usual, but with a nasty headache. And I felt like I had been run over by a rather big truck. So after seeing shmoo off to work, I laid back down and tried to sleep off my headache.

It didn't work.

So I took some ibuprofen and laid back down some more. And finally, it was down to a dull roar, unless I decided to be in a position other than horizontal. If I stood up, throb throb when my head. So... more ibuprofen, and a big glass a tea, and then off to work and knitting group.

My head still hurt when I got to Panera tonight, so I thought it wouldn't be a great night. I took some Advil liqui-gels and ate my dinner, and damn if it didn't turn out to be a fabulous night.

We picked up 5, yes 5 new knitters tonight. And had another knitter who had come previously return, which is success of another kind after a rowdy night with us.

The lovely new ladies who joined us and have blogs are now listed in my sidebar, so go check them out and tell them hi. They are fun.

The fifth knitter we picked up tonight was named Sharice. (Hi Sharice, I hope I spelt your name right!) She's a hooker. And Coleen asked her if she wanted to join us but she declined as she was there waiting on her husband and crocheting a beautiful throw. Then her husband called her and told her he was going to run even more late and she decided to come and join us after all. She was fun. And her husband's relief at finding her not infuriated and ready to beat him senseless was comical. She was sitting there laughing with us and not mad at all. And best of all, I think she's going to come back. It's fun to make new fibery friends.

Speaking of fibery friends, Erin (of Mama-E fame, not new to the group Erin, boy that's going to get confusing in the future!) made me stitch markers. And they are fabulous. Have a look!

Now, lest you think I am offended by these saucy words, I'm not. It shows she really loves me!!! I often use the word asshat to describe people who are bothersome, and well, there's a saying I have that involves me being a dirty whore, so that fits as well. It's a true friend who not just tolerates your quirks but celebrates them with you.

In fact, I love all my fibery friends. Despite being tired and sweaty and headachy tonight, it felt good to see them. It felt good just to joke and talk and be with people who understand exactly what I am trying to say, despite my saying it all wrong. (It's ok you know, I'm southern.) It felt good to laugh too, and we did so much laughing my cheeks hurt.

So thank you Columbia Knitting Group aka Sucky Knitters. You made my day!

New Spindlicity

2006-07-17T12:13:00.000-04:00

Go here to check it out.

As for knitting, I turned the heel on shmoo's sock, but I don't like it and I am ripping it out and redoing it.

117 feet of purply goodness.

2006-07-11T11:17:00.000-04:00

I finished up the rest of my purple roving. I am very happy with it.

Here it is soaking in the sink so the twist will set.

This bit ended up being about 63 yards. So add that to the previous 54 and I end up with roughly 117 yards of fingering weight handspun for 2 ozs. of fiber. That's enough to do a little something lacy I think, or perhaps mix it with some of the green handspuns (after I do a little more) and make a Flower Basket with it. There's a similar shawl coming out in the next IK so perhaps I'll choose that one instead. No idea! But it will, at some point, become lace.

On a technical sidenote, I tried posting photos directly to the blog from flickr and I hate how it does it. It doesn't let you post more than one per entry, and they look rather blurry from the crappy way it's handling the photos. So you have to come and edit and tweak and if I am going to do all that I might as well do it myself, like how it looks, and be done with it.

cheapie light tent.

2006-07-10T13:59:00.000-04:00

Need a small, cheap light tent to take fabulous pictures for your blog?
Go here and enjoy.
I believe the author called it a macro-studio, but *shrug*, it's a good little instructional guide regardless. I plan on making one as soon as I find a box I like.

And now, because my posts have distinctly lacked both knitting and photos lately, I present my distraction from shmoo's sock and the onset of gifting season panic.

Aka The Clapotis (2).

As you can see, I went ahead and did some early drops all the way across. I wanted to be positive that I was ok with the final product early on so that I wouldn't be frogging it once I was half the way in. This was especially important to me as it's a cotton yarn and I was very unsure how it would look. I am fairly pleased and hope the recipient will like it just as much.

Of course, there's no way I'll know this until at least 6 months from now. Holiday Panic - 1, Laura -0.

Knot me.

2006-07-07T09:59:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, at a knitting group far away, the lovely and beautiful Princess Coleen said, "There are no knots in knitting!" To which I responded, "the hell you say!"

I'm a knotter. I admit it. I mean... sometimes you just can't felt every join, for whatever reason. And I always worry about the ends I weave in coming undone. It does happen at least once in a while doesn't it? After all, once it leaves your hands, it's out of your control and well... it could happen!

So Make Blog had an entry on knots for needle work, and an alternate non-knotting entry link as well, for those of you who are not knotters. I am passing this on because... well, it just might be useful to someone besides me.

Celebrate your individual style this weekend! Tie one on! Or knot.

Tacky.

2006-07-06T12:34:00.000-04:00

Today I stumbled across this article.
And went to this website.
And then clicked to see how much money they were charging for this crap, and found that out here.

That's right folks, you too can have a marvelously super-tacky 9" pair of straight needles for the low low price of 38 bucks plus shipping and handling.

If you like these, I'm sorry, we obviously have different tastes. I won't condemn you for them; you might still be a cool person, but know that I might think your knitting uber-tacky.

At last.

2006-07-05T12:45:00.000-04:00

The new knitty is up. With a assload of sock patterns.

Ok, it's really an "extremities" issue and it would appear from reading the scoop that it's another mini issue (and the last!) rather like the men's issue last summer.

Glancing over it quickly, I like....

Baudelaire -Yes I know it's by the same person who made the failed Pomatomussusses and Hedera, I know. But I'll end up trying them anyway. And this one... it's toe up. I will not curse the attempt of making them by using the red yarn again however. I am just going to save it for another pattern that I know will be available soon.

Lickety Split -I'll never make them most likely, but I like them.

Fetching -I've yet to actually complete a pair of armwarmers, but these have potential, even I personally will extend them further up the arm if I make them.

Swell -I'm always looking for things to use up leftover Clapotis yarn, and this just might be one of them.

So yeah, that's about it. Not saying you'll be seeing any of these soon. I still haven't made Topi or Nautie from the last issue.

Now, that being said, onwards and upwards! Shmoo's sock is progressing. I'd model it for you but it's a little saggy on my foot. I'm fairly close to being at the heel. Hoorah.

And the promised picks of the red/black/white roving spun up. I need to call this something besides red/black/white. But I can't decide between something desertish, like chococherry delight, or something blood-n-goreish/gothy/vampiric, like.... carnage... or something.

Let's go with desertish. Chococherry ftw.

It's my new usual, a fingering weight, and this skank is a tidge over 28 yards.

Baubles.

2006-07-04T17:19:00.000-04:00

Last week, the wonderful and fabulous Coleen gave me some beaded stitch-markers (seen above) she made.

And then, last night, we had our knitting group at Border's, which is right next to JoAnn's. And we were talking about the fancy stitch-markers. And that they were easy. And that I had no clue what a jump ring was, nor did I know what kind of dooflachie to put the beads on. So Erin, Coleen, and myself took a little field trip next door. I bought jump rings and dooflachies. I bought one of those boxes of different kinds of beads in the same color, and a little tube of mixed random beads in the same color family. Lucky for me, I already have 2 sets of beading pliers from previous futile attempts at beading stuff. (and a ton of seed beads, but I digress....)

So today, while toodling around waiting for shmoo to be done at work so we can go see fire-works, and listening to the thunder and rain outside, I went nuts.

And I still have tons of stuff left to make more!!! Sadly, we could not find the larger jump rings so these lovely danglies will be for smaller sized needles. That's ok. They were fairly quick and easy.

I did a tiny bit of spinning on the black/white/red stuff, and it's currently soaking in the sink, so picture tomorrow perhaps. And while I have not knit a lick today, I did do some crocheting on the baby afghan I need to get done. Yay me.

Happy Fourth!!!!

Socks and Rovings.

2006-07-03T10:35:00.000-04:00

I worked up the ankle a bit on my Badcaul sock. And while it's lovely snug on my footsie, it's not so great on my heel and ankle. My shortrow heel was a bit sloppy and then it was tight around my lower ankle. I'm guessing I should have adjusted the pattern and used 60% of the stitches instead of the 50% the pattern uses. I know I have big ankles, and I should have thought of that. So, I have halted knitting Badcaul. I might do it with my Knitpicks Dancing yarn instead, since it has elastic in it and is more stretchy. And possibly use sz 2 needles instead of sz 1s.

So yesterday I said, "screw this!" and started a sock for shmoo instead. It's just a basic toe-up with the baby cable where you k2tog and then keep it on the needle and knit the first stitch and slide it all off every four rows.

Friday night we had our first spinning group meeting and I picked up some roving while I was there. I wanted something that wasn't green. Don't get me wrong, I love my green rovings, boht of them, but ... they are both green! So I picked up 2 ozs of marvelous purple! 3 ozs of wonderful intense blue, and 2 ozs of red/white/black. I picked up the red/white/black because I am curious how it will spin up with the way the roving is dyed and it has silk in it, which is new to me (so is the Alpaca in it as well). The purple is 20% mohair/80% wool. And I think the blue is all wool.

And here's a close-up of the multi-colored stuff.

And of course as soon as I got the purple, I started spinning on it. I was aiming for a heavy lace/fingering type weight. And I think I got there. I'm very pleased. This skein is about 54 yards, and is the longest yardage I have spun to date. I am thinking I'll have enough to do my second Flower Basket shawl with it if I keep going. Woot!

Overdue.

2006-07-01T09:23:00.000-04:00

I was looking forward to July 1st with great anticipation.
Not only are we going to a cookout this weekend to celebrate the 4th, but it should have been a good knitting day.

Knitty was scheduled to have a new issue out today. It doesn't. I would complain more, but it's free, and you get what you pay for.

Spindlicity is now a month overdue for a new issue as well.

Magknits is on time with it's July issue, and there are two things I like in it, so there is hope there, not that I will get around to making them any time soon anyway.

And Interweave doesn't have it's preview up for the fall IKnits yet. And it comes out on newstands August 8th. My renewal notice said it had already left (it lied I am sure) and was on it's way to me, but that was a week ago, and it's not out for another month. I figured at the very least if it had "left the building" there would be a preview for it. Nope.

So all in all, I am disappointed. And Magknits is becoming my favorite online knitting mag for it's monthly updates and timely updates. It may not have but 6 or so patterns at a time, but if you hate them all, you only have to wait a month.

Enjoy the weekend, and earlyHappy Fourth!

What to do, what to do?

2006-06-27T10:31:00.000-04:00

Many of you have asked what I am doing with the new handspun. Well, orignally, I was going to be alternative hippieish and make A Maiden's Glory from The Anticraft.

I realized when I decided I wanted to make it that I would
A) probably never wear it except for maybe Halloween or a Ren Fest.
B) feel all stupid and like I was trying to be one of those fake alternative punk knitting teen types, whose also into witchcraft. This would be made all the worse by the fact that I am not teen, punk, or wiccan.
C) be wasting my handspun on something I'd never use.

Keeping all that in mind, I want something that's unique, and beautiful and takes advantage of the colorways of the yarn, and mostly, I want something I would use.

I have another idea in mind, but I'm still not sure if it is something I would actually use, or how it will turn out in the end. Maybe I'll just end up making a hat.

More spinning, more pictures.

2006-06-26T11:22:00.000-04:00

I've had a productive morning. I decided to try and spin up the Tintagel Farms fiber I got at MS&W. A 50/50-wool/mohair blend in the colorway "Lillypond". The last time I tried to spin it, I couldn't. Not a lick. It was just too fine, and slippy, and short. This morning went much better.

I am pleased with how it turned out over all. The fiber is overall green but it has some brilliant spots of blue, a touch of purple, and mustardy yellow as well, and when I was drafting it out, I tried to make the most of the color changes so there would be more variation. It's still mostly green, but once I plied it, it was neat to see the other colors spiraled throughout the green.

The texture of the fiber was super light, soft, and airy. The texture of the yarn, not so much. It's a little scratchy, but has the mohair halo. But I still like it.

To the left is the corriedale light green, hanging quietly in the bathroom after having it's hot water bath.

And here is the detail shot of the same. It's a thickish worsted. And the picture, a little blurry.

And this is the Lillypond, on the spindle.

And a detail of the yarn before I set the twist. Also pretty much a worsted.

Blergh.

2006-06-26T06:38:00.000-04:00

Today looks much like yesterday did. Dreary.

And despite plans to knit yesterday, I didn't. I did some spinning instead.

And then, at 11:30 last night, I decided that I MUST go ahead and ply it as well. So I wound it around my hand, as referenced here.

And I slipped the "ring" off and was ready to ply.

When I was finished, an hour later, I had appoxiamately 30 yards of yarn and about 2 to 3 yards of yarn vomit.

I was also too tired to remember to take more pictures of the process. I am fairly happy with the yarn I made, but I still need to set the twist in it to know for sure. I made a point of trying to be more consistent and a touch thinner this time, and twisted the yarn a lot more while plying as well.

As a curious side note, I was listening to Beyond Band of Brothers on audiobook. It's quite good.

Badcaul or Bad Call?

2006-06-25T07:44:00.000-04:00

I have already messed up these socks, and pretty much decided not to fix it. Here's why.

First, the errors! Or just non-conformity in my knitting.
The pattern says just to slip stitches but not knitwise or purlwise, so I was slipping knitwise. I didn't like the way it looked so then I tried not slipping at all, and then finally settled on slipping purlwise with the yarn in the back. It makes a difference, and I am happy with slipping purlwise, but then I had to decide whether or not to rip yet again or just go with it.

And OH MY! Look how skinny it is! I put the quarter there for reference. Yes, it is a most skinny sock for my most wide foot.

But it does fit, and it's comfy, so I am not so worried about that anymore. And really, the minute changes I made in slipping/not-slipping don't show up that much. So... not ripping. Hopefully I'll get to the heel today, if not past it.

They aren't perfect, but I think it'll be OK.

And to Susan from the Eastern Shore, feel free to comment all you like, it's not an intrusion. As someone who blogs, I have to realize that I am putting myself, or my craft at the very least, out there and that the public has access to it. As long as the comments aren't unduly snarky or hateful for no reason, I don't have a problem with them, nor with responding to them. :)

Run. Don't Walk.

2006-06-22T16:15:00.000-04:00

Yes, I said RUN.
To your local Target.
Hit up the dollar section by the door.

There you will find some little bags that they call "Fabric Treat Cans" and I call "I just got a neat little wrist bag for making sock knitting easily portable and didn't have to pay a bazillion dollars for the Lantern Moon one" bag. I got two. (They also have loads of Napoleon Dynamite stuff on markdown too. Vote for Pedro Fridge Pad ftw.)

OK. Got your bag? You can walk now.

Here is the yarn I spun up Monday night during knitting group. The wonderful Amie helped me out. Basically, spinning on a spindle is indeed as slow as I seem to be doing it, I can't make it faster, and I need to be more patient. But I ended up with not quite 20 yards, and I'm not giving myself blisters anymore, (don't ask!) so there is some definite improvement.

And finally, OMG! I won the yarn naming contest that Mama-E had. BEAUREGARD won! So now I get some of that SO SO BEAUTIFUL purple yarn. And I even got to pick the name. How cool is that?

And since several people asked, the reasons I didn't like the Hedera socks were... While the pattern was good, it wasn't toe-up, and with it as written, it looked horrible on my ankles. They looked like fat stuff sausages and it was just unattractive. I am sure this wouldn't have been a problem had they been taller, but they weren't. And I didn't want to randomly make them taller because I didn't want to run out of yarn. So I am doing the Badcauls because everyone in the knitblog universe says they are superfast, and because they are toe-up. I can make these puppies as tall as the yarn will let me and I think that's a good thing.

And finally, I am curious about the people that actually read my blog. So if you read it fairly regularly but haven't ever commented, leave a comment! I'd like to get to know you!

Happy Thursday!

Round X.

2006-06-21T10:24:00.000-04:00

What once was this:

Is once again this:

I am going to try Badcaul next.

7 little yards.

2006-06-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

No new knitting content, but I did do a little spinning. Very little actually. But I plied the little bit I had on the spindle and this is the result.

And close up.

I even rinsed it and hung it to dry to set the twist! Of course, it is only 7 yards. What am I going to do with 7 yards? It's so very litte, but I feel the need to do something with it. It's yarn I made with my own two hands, I MUST do something with it!

Change is the only constant.

2006-06-14T20:18:00.000-04:00

For those of you who liked the armwarmer, I'm sorry. I decided I didn't care for it, not one bit!

So I'm doing Knitty's Edgar instead. Seen above with a "blanket buddy" I started for the upcoming tot of shmoo's bestestest friend ever.

Extremeties

2006-06-13T07:11:00.000-04:00

I am knitting for both of my extremeties right now. Socks and Armwarmers.

My Hedera sock is progressing along. Slowly but surely.

And all stretched out so you can see the lace pattern.

And I took the same stitch pattern and stuck it in the armwarmers.

At the zoo.

2006-06-11T11:06:00.000-04:00

As promised, here are a few highlights of the zoo trip.

This guy was determined to get to the tree bark, despite the fence and the heavy screen protecting it.

This colorful bird reminded shmoo of a Nike commercial for some reason. And the red eyes aren't from the camera, they are actually that red.

These boys are located at the sea lion enclosure. I think this photo is my favorite of the bunch. In fact, the original is my current desktop wallpaper. The super-saturation of the light, the cool gray of the stones, and the faint greens of the moss give the picture a stark, surreal, almost alien feeling.

I've seen London, I've seen France....

2006-06-10T08:48:00.000-04:00

Ok.. I haven't seen France. But I have certainly seen a ton of D.C. this week.

We ended up taking TourMobile on Tuesday. I think it was a good decision. You got lots of random touristy info, and there wasn't as much walking. I was a little worried about wearing Nana out. TourMobile helped with a lot of that and I learned more about D.C. and some other places besides the Smithsonian and the Monuments that would be nifty to visit.

Wednesday we went to the Phillips Collection Gallery and the Textile Museum. I didn't like a lot of the paintings the Gallery had on display but I was definitely impressed with the breadth and scope of the collection. I am normally a Dali girl all the way, and I loved loved LOVED the Dali Museum in St. Pete, Florida, but I did find several things to like in the Phillips Collection. El Greco, and his repentant St. Peter, was just beautiful. I also liked Kandinsky's Succession, and one of Picaso's blue period paintings I don't remember the name of.

There were also some Manets, and I think one Monet, and Van Goghs and just an astounding scope of artists in the Gallery. If you are an art lover, I suggest you try to make it one of your stops if you are in D.C. (And I mustn't forget the Renior, considered the jewel of the collection, even if not by me.)

The Textile Museum was neat. So much intricate embroidery/needlework on display. When you consider the man hours that went into that, it's overwhelming. I wish they had had more on knitting, as they had very very little. They did have a little fiber and spinning display, but the spindle that was there wasn't really user friendly and I think they are recycling previously spun fiber. It was still nice to visit however, and it was free (donations welcome/suggested).

Thursday we went to Mt. Vernon. We didn't get to go on the cruise down and back that we wanted because it was booked full on the day that everyone could go, but we hit up Metro and Fairfax Connector and it was just fine. The restaurant at the Inn was very reasonably priced as well.

Friday we hit up the National Zoo before they had to leave to catch their plane. It was a little hot, but if was fine if you stayed in the shade, and there was a nice breeze. I have tons of animal pics, but I haven't edited any for blogging yet, so perhaps I'll toss some of those up tomorrow.

For now, we are off for a leisurely breakfast at IHOP! Don't forget it's Knit In Public Day!!!

AFK....

2006-06-06T07:43:00.000-04:00

I am spending this week touring my Nana around D.C. Not much knitting is getting done, however I ripped my toe-up sock and decided to do Hedera instead and I am happy with. So perhaps I'll actually finish and like a project some time soon! Here's a picture of some of the critters from Dark Crystal. Sorry for the blurriness, the case didn't like me. :)

We've Got Spirits, Yes We Do!!!!

2006-06-03T15:23:00.000-04:00

Remember Wine in the Woods? Hot, busy, crowded, loud, I was kinda sick, and mostly overwhelming? We ended up buying from only one of the wineries. ( Loew's)

So it turns out that Loew Vineyards and Elk Run are in the same town, on the same road (Mt. Airy, Liberty Road aka MD 26). And I like to plan little local day-trips for us. So this time we decided to do a winery, and since they were both right there together, it just made since to go there and hit both, right? Exactly!

While at Elk Run, the nice lady mentioned Linganore/Berrywine (They were also at Wine in the Woods, but neither shmoo nor I remember tasting them. That's not to say we didn't. We just don't remember. There was a lot of wine and a lot of tasting. It got confusing. But I digress.) and that it was right in the same area. So we decided to check them out as well. Compared to the other two, they were GINORMOUS! Their current building is rather largish by comparison and they are putting the finishing touches on another, larger, GIGANTIC building. It's the size of a barn. They also had multiple staff members, unlike the other wineries. They even had a guy with an accent (british maybe? seemed a little softer than that to me, perhaps he's been here a while) to do the tasting recommendations and pouring.

So we had a great time, tasted tons of wines, and come home with 12 bottles. When you add that to the one we had leftover from Wine in the Woods, we have 13, yes 13, bottles of wine. I'm feeling a little lush!

EDIT:

Editting to add the wine info in case someone is interested. You can click on the picture to see it full sized and read the labels, or just read here!

Elk Run: Sweet Katherine and Cabernet Sauvignon
Loew : Serendipity, Country Classic, Harvest Red
Linganore: Sangria, Spicy Regatta, Black Raven, Merlot, Terrapin White

How cool is this?

2006-06-02T10:24:00.000-04:00

You can make your own Opoly board.

I am not sure I'd want to spend hours doing it, but it sure sounds neat if you had kids or a theme in mind to give someone.

On the knitting front, I am working on some armwarmers. Cause, you know, you NEED them in June when it's 90 degrees out. Yeah. In all actuality they'll probably get frogged too because I'm didn't write down or chart out my cables as I went and I need to be able to reproduce it for the second one. I am sure I can just figure it out and continue to wing it, but I'd like for them to match.

EDIT:

Not long after I posted, shmoo found the cat entranced. He was staring out the door to the porch intently.

So we look on the porch to see what he's obsessed with, and there's a ginormous pigeon, on the porch rail. Excuse the blurriness of the shot, I took it through the door so he wouldn't fly off.

Then shmoo quietly opened the door just a touch. Where Bri could get a paw thru. So he attempted to go-go-gadget his paw towards the bird.

Frogcity.

2006-05-31T10:53:00.000-04:00

I've frogged the Diamond Fantasy Shawl. I wasn't that far into it, so no big loss. But I dropped some crucial stitches (ones too hard to just pick up and fix) before I had gotten to the point I wanted to place my first lifeline.

I'm probably going to frog the yoda sweater beginnings as well. I'm not happy with it. The fabric it's creating is too thin. I have some other things in mind for the baby so it's not a huge loss, but I did think it was cute.

I think I am frogging my start on my toe-up socks too. I might do those lovely lace socks from IK in that yarn instead. Or maybe something else.... not sure yet.

Perhaps I'll just work on finishing up some of my open projects instead. Maybe a clean slate would help. Or maybe I'll flip thru the mags and books and find something else to work on.

Or maybe I'll do another flower basket. Or maybe I'll start lady eleanor. Or... or... something!

I'm just bleh about my knitting. I know I said I'm process, but I want the things my process creates to be nice so when I get the "this is not working" feeling, I am listening to it.

Maybe I'll just start the big area rug for the kitchen.

Chatty.

2006-05-30T10:15:00.000-04:00

First! Knitting content.

Another Log Cabin washcloth is almost done.

I have started the Yoda Sweater designed by Cari. I am doing this in some Peter Pan acrylic something or other. It was Odessa 2 but I ripped it because I wanted to use it for this.

And I haven't made any more progress on anything else. I have, however, set up a knitting chatroom on the IRC network I am always on. While I may not be there all the time, my computer is. If you'd like to drop in, just click on the link on the sidebar and go from there.

Finally, the picture below is from last week. We were eating hotwings, and because we were in the living room, I was sitting on the floor and close to the coffee table. Daisy was waiting, not quite patiently, to swoop in and grab anything I dropped, and this is the face that peered up at me the entire time I ate.

Memorial Day.

2006-05-29T12:47:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I think we get so caught up in life, and politics, and opinions, and the relief of having an extra day off that we forget why we have the day off. So here is my Memorial Day photo collection.

THANK YOU.

Face-lifted.

2006-05-26T00:38:00.000-04:00

I got bored with my old look and disliked that some of the functionality was missing because I used a non-blogger skin and edited it. So I switched back to a blogger skin and edited it instead.

Hope you like it. I tested it in IE and Firefox, and they both seemed ok. The font did seem a tidge smaller in Firefox.

If you are having any problems viewing/reading/whatevering the site, let me know.

Thanks!

It ain't cheap.

2006-05-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

The Atlanta area just found out what all knitters already knew. Yarn ain't cheap.

It's been discovered that two ladies were stealing from a store in Woodstock. One of them stole $13,000 worth of yarn over a period of time. Talk about SABLE!!

You can read the article and watch the news report here:
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/9268970/detail.html?rss=atl&psp=news

I'd like to say I was smart enough to tell you what yarn store it was, but I'm not. I didn't know that there was a yarn store in Woodstock. I had a hard time finding yarn stores when I lived back home, and now that I am up here in the "Great White North", I hear about yarn stores all over the place down there.

As a side note, is it wrong I was comforted by watching the news reporters I've grown up with? It felt good. I might have to do it again. I still listen to my old radio stations online from time to time. It's nice, even if it makes me feel sneaky and dirty for some reason.

I do have some knitting content to report. But not much. I started another log cabin cloth.

And then the pattern I ordered for the Diamond Fantasy Shawl came. So I started it in that mohair yarn I got not too long ago. I just think it's too fuzzy, also, it's a bitch to rip/tink out.

So I started again, this time with the Knitpicks Palette (in "Pool") I ordered. The pattern of the lace looks much better in it, even if it's not as pretty colorwise, and has no fuzziness at all.

Thanks for all the good wishes regarding being sick, I'm much better now!

And to Jeri, it's Wool of the Andes from Knitpicks. I completed the first one and decided I didn't really like the way it fit at all, so I'm not doing the second.

Sick.

2006-05-22T08:57:00.000-04:00

After fightingit for a few days, and even going to Wine in the Woods (www.wineinthewoods.com) on Saturday and meeting up with Lolly and Coleen (links on sidebar). It was great fun, and I think the wine helped me ignore that I was getting sick.

Shmoo and I found out that we have very differing tastes in wine. I like fruity and sweet. He detests it. He dosn't mind fruity and dry, or woody and dry, but the only type of wine I can stand causes him to make a face.

I was suprised by the number of vineyards in Maryland, and I think we might plan some day trips to them some time this summer. We bought some wine from Leow's Vineyard. One Honey & Grape for me, and two Harvest Red for shmoo. I want to go to Boordy at some point and pick up some of their Sangria, it was lovely as well.

As for knitting, I have managed to finish my log cabin washcloth between stints of hot tea and naps.

And now for the promised geeky keyboard pictures. Unlit, lit, and close up.

Have a good one, I am going back to my decongestants, chicken soup, hot tea, and bed.

Geekiness.

2006-05-19T09:15:00.000-04:00

I started the Hippopotamoose socks from Knitty. You know the ones. No one can pronounce/spell/remember the name properly but they have that cool pattern? Yeah, those.

Turns out, the pattern wasn't as cool as I thought, so they got ripped. BUT! I loved loved loved the look of the plain twisted rib. LOVED. So I restarted a toe up sock with the same yarn and plan on just doing twisted rib. I'm not super far into it, but that's ok.

The more I start things and rip and reknit, the more I think maybe I am process knitter. I knit things for the finished product of course, but I want them to be things I like, whether I am keeping them or not, so it doesn't bother me much to rip, or abandon a yarn or pattern. Perhaps that's also why I have a bazillion projects.

I haven't been doing much knitting this week. We've been doing some rearranging here at the house, and I've been a little bit geeky as well. I ordered a new keyboard. (It should be in today so I'll update this with pics later.) And I have been working on re-setting up my server since it died ages ago, and I really want it back. The geeky bit is that it used to be debain flavored linux and now it's FreeBSD (also a sort of *nix flavor, but really it's own seperate branch) and I am using fluxbox for the window manager/gui.

It will be nice to have my email on my server again and get my photo gallery back up and running. It's a steeper learning curve for me (and I never did really figure out how to do much more than bare bones with debian), but I have a nice book, tons of web docs, and shmoo, so it should be fine. I'm pleased to be close to having it done and everything restored like it should be.

That's about it, I might add a pic of my tiny piece of sock when I update, just to maintain the knitting content.

Have a great weekend!

Out of Sorts.

2006-05-16T07:10:00.000-04:00

To start with something positive, everyone who received something knit from me for Mother's Day was very happy with it. Now on the the fussing.

I'm just out of sorts. Nothing feels right. I keep starting projects (lace) and end up not happy with the needle size, or the yarn itself, or just the combo of the two with whatever particular pattern I happen to be trying at the moment. Perhaps I am just being fussy but... nothing fits my hands at the moment, so lots of false starts and frogging have been going on.

And then I feel like I shouldn't bother to start because I'm just going to not like it and frog it.

And I don't want to finish up any of my current projects right now.

*sigh*

I do feel better since sucky knitters met last night and then I went with Erin and Coleen to some place that serves Margaritas, but I can't remember the name of it. They both crack me up, and their perspectives on things often help.

If you found me because Erin (Mama-E) pointed you this way for hand cream, leave a comment or email me. I'll be happy to talk to you.

And because I really don't have anything to take pictures of besides my washcloth knitting, I'll leave you with those. Have a great day!

Lost

2006-05-12T10:37:00.000-04:00

Since finishing Flower Basket, I have felt a little lost. I didn't want to do any of my current projects, but I wanted to knit. Mostly I wanted to knit more lace, but didn't really have any yarn I wanted to work with. And I wasn't sure of a pattern, and I didn't have the needle size I wanted to work with the yarn I had.

So... I ordered the Diamond Fantasy Shawl pattern. I ordered many many skeins of Palette from Knitpicks in Red and Pool. And a lace book by Martha Waterman.

Then I went to All About Yarn and did some stash enhancing. I picked up some KFI Whispers to do some lace something for my mom for her birthday or Christmas. I also replaced my two balls of Dale Baby Ull, this time in a claret color, as I had a plan for that yarn already and it's just waiting on the pattern to be available. I also nabbed a blue Chibi and a pair of sz 4 Natura's. I think I have just about decided that Natura's are my favorite needles.

I also frogged my toe-ups on two circs. I turned the heel to early, and I still didn't really have a stitch pattern in mind, and so I decided to just frog it all and try again later, perhaps when I have something more specific in mind. Or maybe I'll do some cotton lace. Who knows.

In the mean-time, I started Knitty's pedicure socks. Certain to be abandoned if not finished by the time my lace goodies get here, and possibly even sooner if I decide which pattern I want to use that Whispers for. (Possibly Print o' the Wave)

That's about it. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

And in your mind....

2006-05-09T00:54:00.000-04:00

is where I'll plant my seed. - Guster, The Airport Song.

The seeds of future lace projects have surely been planted. I really enjoyed Flower Basket. A lot. I have been at a loss as to what to knit since I finished it. I was so focused on getting it done, now that it is, I am having a hard time remember all the other things I had going on knitwise. I mostly just want to go buy some more Baby Ull and do another one, much larger. But I digress.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present Flower Basket Shawl!

The blocking shot. As you'll see in the detail shot, it's wrongside up.

Blocking detail. Man I love the macro function on my camera.

Finished/Front detail.

And finally, the money shot. Proudly brought to you by a leather chair at Panera. She's a lovely model isn't she? This picture represents the color of the shawl best to me as well.

Quickly for the notes now.... I used the pattern from IK Fall 04 ( I think, it's free on the website as well, possibly subscriber only.) I used US 6 Addi Natura Bamboo circs and not quite two balls of Dale Baby Ull in a lovely peach color. (Can't remember/don't know the color number.) As for pattern mods, I added one more repeat of the lower chart for a total of 8 instead of 7.

It was a good first lace pattern. It covered all the basic stitches and wasn't a terrible repeat. In fact, after the 2nd or 3rd time thru the chart, it gets a lot easier. I highly recommend this for a first lace project.

I plan on making it again, possibly in a proper lace weight and smaller needles. But we'll have to see really. I have so many other things to finish up and that I want to do, but if I need another outstanding gift fast, I can see doing it in a week again. Preferably, next time I'll give myself at least 2 weeks so I can do my usual project hopping around.

Tagging (aka bad knitters)

2006-05-08T16:31:00.000-04:00

Today on the craftster forums, I stumbled across some chick "tagging" things with her knitting and taking pictures of it. She was leaving a Knittaplease tag on it as well. Now she had no affiliation with this group, she's just using their name on the tags, instead of hers, and encouraging others to do the same.

Now, I admit it's a cool concept, but that's all it is. Going on forums everywhere and encouraging other like minded teenish types to do out and do things that can potentially damage OPS (other people's shit) is not a good thing. In fact, I'd call it vandelism. Sure, it's not paint, it can be taken off without lots of scrubbing, but it's OPS. And the potential for damage is there. Especially since a lot of the targets are car antennas. Things that are easily broken and cost lots of money to replace just aren't the way to go. And I don't think this is encouraging others to knit. I'd say it's exactly the opposite, but there are young (and dare I say foolish?) teens who think this is hilarious. They justify it because it's their way of trying to share their knitting with others, and it doesn't hurt anything and yada, yada, yada.

To these people, I say this:

You aren't doing this to things you own. You are doing it to things owned by other people or the public. Stop it. If you want to share your knitting with others, go to a kid's center, or a senior center, or a community center, and teach other people how to knit. Knit hats for the Dulaan project. Knit items for the homeless. Knit items for the women's shelters. Teach knitting at women's shelters. Just get out and make a difference in someone's life instead of being a vandal and thinking how cool and punk rock you are. Because you're not.

And most importantly, stop messing with OPS.

The Flower Basket shawl pics will be up sometime later tonight or in the morning, as I am going to try and coax one of my knitting buddies into modeling it for me while I take the picture.

And I ain't got no worries.....

2006-05-07T13:46:00.000-04:00

'cause I ain't in no hurry, at all. (Doobie Brothers, Blackwater)

I have finished the Flower Basket Shawl.

I'll block it shortly and hopefully have some decent pictures of it compelted before I send it off.

Neat plates seen at Maryland Sheep and Wool:

An awesome felted fishie bag:

A super cute face:

And my purchases:

10 ozs of Corriedale to learn to spin with.

A Kundert top-whirl drop spindle. 1.2 ozs, made of Walnut, with Zebra-Wengle and Birdseye Maple whorl accent.

And, from Tintagel Farm, 8 ozs of 50/50 wool and mohair.

8, it's the magic number.

2006-05-05T21:56:00.000-04:00

I am on my eight repeat and then I am going to go ahead and do the edging. No pictures, it's just a big peachy wad on the desk. Imagine the last picture, only bigger and with a few more mistakes and you'll be bang on.

Top of the 6th

2006-05-03T16:12:00.000-04:00

I'm two rows into the 6th repeat. Out of 7. It doesn't seem that it's going to be that big at all. There will surely be repeats added. Definitely one. Likely two. Perhaps even three.

Cracked.

2006-05-02T16:38:00.000-04:00

It's finally happened. I have cracked. I have decided that my Grandmother needs a Flower Basket shawl this Mother's Day. Yes, this Mother's Day. Cracked.

I started with Knitpicks Shadow in Lost Lake and did it double stranded like the pattern said. I got halfway thru my second repeat of the lower chart and decided it was too bulky and unclear.

So I frogged and started over single stranded.

Yeah, I frogged that too. It was too thin and loose.

So, I went to the stash, hoping it wouldn't let me down. Possibly considering my KnitPicks Essentials sock yarn. Wondering if I had enough not to run out....

Dale Baby Ull for the win. It's a lovely peach color, and if I run out, I can hike it to the LYS and pick up another ball. I have caught back up to where I frogged and feel good about it this time.

So when you don't hear from me, just know that I am desperately slaving away at my crazy mission, questioning my sanity every few minutes. I'll try to post pictures as I go, but if not, I'll nab a finished one before I send it off.

Random.

2006-05-01T07:26:00.000-04:00

Drop Stitch Hoodie has a completed back. Can't decide if I want to do fronts or sleeves next.

If you have a Mac, check this link: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/04/30/apple.security.ap/index.html

Mac has changed some things and now viruses for them are starting to appear out t here. Also, it has fellow shmoon Rodney in it, and I think he's a nice guy.

Columbia (aka Sucky Knitting Girls) Knitting Group is meeting tonight at 7 at Borders.

Maryland Sheep and Wool is this weekend. (As if you didn't know!) And the Knitbloggers Ball is this Saturday night. The details are on Mama-E's blog. (link in the side bar, I'm lazy this morning.)

Also, it seems that Maryland has a huge Ren Faire in the fall. As big as Georgia's in the spring. I want to go, but perhaps for the first time ever I am thinking of going in costume or something else super cheesy. Are their knitting patterns out there for these outfits? And lord help, what would you knit it in that wouldn't be too hot?

Time to put the laundry in the dryer. Ya'll have a nice week!

Yeah, me too.

2006-04-29T15:54:00.000-04:00

I know the urge to knit washcloths has hit us like a virus since Mason Dixon Knitting came out. I know. But, in my defense, I did knit washcloths BEFORE this book. Just not ones that looked this damn cool! These should end up being for my mother. At least, most of them. I'm probably going to do a few more for us too, and they'll help break up any boredeom I get on the drop stitch hoodie.

Other than that, no new knitting progress to report. I've been toodling around with shmoo on his off days instead. We went to Annapolis yesterday, and it was beautiful. I even managed to get some sun-burn.

Thank you all for the honey recommendations. I am using them to help me suss out a supplier. I have left a message with the Entomology professor at UofM. They actually teach a beekeeping course, so surely I can get some honey from them or they'll know to whom I should be refered.

Honey?

2006-04-27T18:58:00.000-04:00

Does anyone know of a local beekeeper/honey seller withing 10 miles of College Park, MD?
I am having trouble finding one and I need some local honey to help with allergies.

Wonderknit powers activate!

2006-04-26T17:05:00.000-04:00

Form of Drop Stitch Hoodie, Shape of Armholes!

I am excited about the armhole shaping. Can you tell?

Fin.

2006-04-24T10:34:00.000-04:00

My Clapotis is complete!

Pattern: Clapotis, by Kate Gilbert for Knitty Fall 04
Yarn: Wool of the Andes in Chambray and HyacinthYardage: Approximately 440 yards of each color. (4 balls each)
Yarn Source: KnitPicks
Needles: US 8 Addi turbo circulars
Gauge: Around 4.5 spi
Modifications: Swapping colors every 10 rows, Single Crochet edging around entire piece.

Basically my idea behind this was to create very definitive stripes that went against the bias of the dropped stitches. That way, there are two strong visual elements opposing each other: the dropped stitches and the wide bars of color.

I started this around the New Year and then it sat in my work basket for a very long time.

I joined the Yahoo Clapotis group a few weeks back for the charts they have for it. They are a great help. I had been a little under halfway done with it when I put it down, and I finally decided to just go ahead and get it done.

Now to figure out what to do with the 4 balls of yarn I have left.....

Random Clapotis photos:

In the sink...

Wow at the blue water!

As a scarf (pre-washing and blocking)

As a stole (also pre-wash/block)

In other knitting news:

I have decided to frog Danica. I was only doing it as a pre-Lady Eleanor at any rate, and despite liking the way it looks over all, I think I'll either just dispose of the yarn or do something else with it. Perhaps a feather and fan scarf.

I also changed my mind about IK Spring 06's Aran Rose. I still like it, but I don't think it will be that flattering on me. Besides, having to do all the math changes to make it my size would be a major chore. I have decided to do the Drop Stitch Hoodie instead. It's a neat little pattern repeat. I am living dangerously and not swatching, so either I'll have a sweater or someone I know will. I am ok with it either way. I would really like a nice zip-up sweater, but it doesn't have to be this one. Mind you, if it fits, it's all mine.

That's my man!

2006-04-20T17:20:00.000-04:00

Non-knitting content warning!!!!!!

So today we tried a little eatery near where we live. Hard Times Cafe. It was very good. They have 4 different kinds of chili, huge salads, and sweet tea. And they serve their drinks in HUGE classes.

So while we were eating the conversation came around to guns. Shmoo says, "I had a gun once, it was a .22. My dad took it away from me for shooting the toaster." When asked why he felt the need to shoot the toaster, the answer was, "It made me mad. It shocked me when I stuck a knife in it." After I got done spewing my food and laughing so loud the waitress had to come check on us, the details all came out.

He stuck a knife in the toaster because he knew he wasn't supposed to use a fork*. He took the toaster and shot it REPEATEDLY with the .22 rifle***. Then his mom came home and he hid it, under the back porch. When she asked him about the toaster that had been on the counter that morning when she left, he said "I don't know." (He now says it's important to understand that it's not the first time appliances had disappeared. It's another funny story having something to do with the pawn shop**.) She didn't believe him. Lord only knows why. After all, he and his best friend had only pawned his parents' (the friend's parents) small appliances the summer before when his parents had gone out of town. There was no reason at all to suspect he was lying, now was there?

He dug the toaster out from under the porch three months later and threw it away.

And lest you think he was young and didn't know any better, he was 15 at the time.

Yes, that's MY man.

*Edit: Please note, the toaster was ON when he did this. He couldn't see to get the crumb that was stuck out if the elements weren't lit up.

After shmom read this, she messaged me:
[Shmom]: Did [shmoo] tell you why the toast was stuck in the toaster?
[Shmom]: Because he always wanted his butter melted, so would toast the bread and then spread on the butter on it and return it to the toaster to melt the hard butter.
[Me]:haha. He bought me a butter dish so we could keep some soft all the time.

**[Shmom]: I decided that's the reason he always buys expensive appliances - he knows their worth at the pawn shop.

***And as for the gun: "It is actually his - it was his Grandpa's and I have custody until I think he is mature enough to handle it AGAIN."

Epiphany

2006-04-18T11:53:00.000-04:00

So yesterday while trolling the intarwebs, I finally stumbled across Mama E's profile.

I knew that she had been making yarn and it was being named for people I knew (two of the sucky knitting girls in fact) but it just didn't dawn on me she might be local.

So, yeah, her profile says "Charm City" Maryland. Hrmm.. Charm City!!?? (Yes, just like the old cowboy in that old Pace picante commercial.) I go to mapquest.... no Charm City... ok.. google...Aha! Charm City is Baltimore! Well, hell!

So I go to knitting group last night, and lo and behold, Mama E (and her cool friend Cheryl) have come to knit with us. And they are funny! Lord knows I love funny people. I am pretty sure they thought I was funny too, and there is nothing better than someone who gets your jokes.

So we had a great time, and laughed and laughed. And we even knit some too!

I finished most of the blue scrap scarf while there. And I finished it up this morning.

It's not soaking in the sink. I had several thoughts while I was knitting it. "Aw, man, I should have made this wider and made placemats out of it." But there wasn't enough yarn for that. And then, "Shit! I could have made Daisy another sweater very quickly with this, it would have looked great and been soft for her." But, then I would have had more yarn left over, and it's getting warm, so she doesn't NEED another doggie sweater anytime soon, and getting her to try it on wouldn't be pleasant. So perhaps the scarf was the right thing to do. It's very soft and sproingy. It's also pretty if you like shades of blue. I don't know if I will keep it, or gift it, or even donate it, but regardless, it's done.

So I started on a second scrap scarf. Also with Batman yarn. All garter stitch this time, and the addition is Dalegarn Stork in red. Another stashbusting quickie. Yay.

Now, I have a why question. Whhhhhyyyyy are cats, who hate having baths, obsessed with running water? Why? The water in their bowls; the water in the sink; the water when you take a bath, even the water in the commode. Why? I just don't understand.

Bri takes this obsession with running water so far that you can't leave a drink on your desk, or side table unattended because he will deliberately knock it over just to watch the contents pour out. Of course, he also deliberately knocks off other random things from tables, and shelves. You catch him at it, tell him no, and he'll shoot you and look, and there's still a 50% chance he'll do it anyway.

*Sigh.* If our pets are this bad, how bad will our children turn out to be?

Exclamatory

2006-04-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

It has occurred to me that I use way too many exclamation marks. Both in blogging and in my e-mails. Maybe I am just too excitable.

So I have been trolling for new podcasts, and spent much of yesterday listening to them. (I was going to watch Dune -the original movie one, not the SciFi channel version- and it was just so cartoony and awful, I gave up not very far in. I know it's been over 10 years since I read the book, but it just didn't seem to match up to what I recall. We have the SciFi version too, deluxe version with commentary, but I want to wait on shmoo so we can watch it together. But I digress.) I found several new podcasts to which I will actually continue to listen.

Pointy Sticks: She plays music, but not too much and I am getting better at skipping songs. If I remember correctly this is another podcast out of Texas. I like hearing her talk about her projects, and her husband who knits.

PixiePurls: A southern girl, (Shout out to the Northeastern Atlanta area!) who doesn't play music. Obviously that's a win for me. I also like that listening to her talk. It's like being back home. Shmoo gives me a hard time about my accent and tells me to "speak English!" all the time. But listening to PixiePurls is almost as good as calling back home, maybe even better, because she's talking about knitting (and spinning).

It's a Purl, Man: Guido's podcast is a little different. He plays music. Most of it, worldbeat style, so sometimes I actually listen to it. It's really about the music hooking me before I go to click past it. His podcast is interesting and different, if only because you get a male knitter's point of view.

Knitcentric: Shannon is living in Okinawa, Japan. And I am guessing from some of her comments, that her husband is in the service, and that's where they are stationed. She's a huge sock knitter, and stash collector. She doesn't play music (/cheer) and so far, I like this podcast.

Stitchcast: This is by Julie of the Boogabag fame. So far it's interesting, and I plan to keep on listening.

There were 3 or 4 others that didn't make the cut for me, and I still have to check out Craft Borg and At the Yarn Shop, but over all I am pleased with my new podcast additions. It's certainly a lot more than the 3 I had before I started looking again yesterday. (KnitCast, Knitting News Cast, and Musing of a Peaceful Knitter just in case you were curious.)

That's it for me, Columbia Knitters Group meets at the Panera on Dobbins tonight at 7. Be there if you can!

Scarftastic

2006-04-16T12:05:00.000-04:00

So after finishing up Batman, I was in a finishing up mood and picked up the sari silk scarf I had going. Mostly, it's garter stitch but I threw in some stockinette on opposite sides here and there just for the hell of it. It was interesting to knit with the silk yarn. Very thick and thin; very heavy, and yet it still has a super drape. It would be neat to see a garment done in it, but it's just so damn heavy, it's not reasonable. Perhaps a shawl, but again, heavy. And it's hard to get a stitch pattern that works with it at all. The finished product is very soft however, and it shouldn't give my mother skin cooties, since it's all silk.

So after I finished up the sari silk scarf.... Instead of casting on a project(s) I really want to do, or finishing up something else that's in progress, I cast on for another scarf instead. Yes. Another scarf. Don't ask, I have no idea why. Well, I do. It's the leftovers from the Batman pullover, and the 2 ply Botany from my stash. They are all different shades of blue and the botany is very thing as well. I am using US 13s and it's knitting up nice and soft as well as a little springy. I'll probably make a garter stitch version from the yellow and black, and add in another random ball from my stash (the red Dale stork). It's just 24 stitches, and it's obviously not intensive knitting. But I do like the way it's turning out.

Now to just finish Danica, and Clapotis, and Jaywalkers, and my toe-ups, and maybe do something with the Jaywalker armwarmer idea, and rip out the Geisha sock (because I have decided I didn't care for it), and finish up the kid's knitting machine scarf for my brother, and a hat I did for shmoo and got halfway done with but didn't finish.

After all that, I can start Lady Eleanor, Topi, Nautie, and just maybe Aran Rose. Of course, by then it will be June and I will not want to knit on hot all woolen items. Perhaps I'll start socks for shmoo instead.

Batman Forever!

2006-04-12T21:45:00.000-04:00

I have completed the Batman Pullover and one of the wristbands. Hooray!
It is now blocking on my table. I know, I don't really NEED to block acrylic but it doesn't really hurt it either.

One more wristband to do and I'll be able to box this sucker up and wrap it for gifting. Over all I am pleased with this project. It was my first Intarsia and it didn't turn out totally shitty. It was my first pullover. (In all honesty, my first sweater period.) And so I have accomplished two firsts with this project, and I don't hate it.

I didn't use a pattern, I just bought a 4T t-shirt, and based it off of that. That's pretty much it.

And here's a pic with the sleeve down so you can see the whole thing.

Then End!

The New Knitty

2006-04-10T16:20:00.000-04:00

The new Knitty is out today, and well... after that goofy April Fool's delay, yet again... I am just not that impressed. There were, however, a few things that managed to catch my eye.

Exchequered is pretty fabulous, but not my kind of knit.
I liked Tendrils but the yarn is way to expensive and it rather reminds me of Clapotis, but with beads, and I already have one of those in progress.
Topi will surely be made, maybe twice. Once in manly man colors for shmoo and perhaps once for me.
I love Reid. Quick someone have a baby girl so I can make this for her. Actually I'll probably take the stitch pattern and make a scarf of it. Perhaps that unassigned Rowan Felted Tweed in my stash....
The Pedicure Socks are freaking awesome. Oh yes. They will be mine. Not for pedicures, but for the whole flip-flops and socks thing.
And finally, Nautie. SO cute, and it reminds me of my childhood fascination with fossils.

I wonder what the poor people are doing tonight.

2006-04-07T21:47:00.000-04:00

Two years ago today, my Grandfather died. It wasn't totally unexpected but it was heart-tearing none-the-less. But when we would all sit down for dinner together, he would always say, "I wonder what the poor people are doing tonight." Indeed, we were blessed.

And now, a little knitting content. Batman has a sleeve.

Sweet Tea.

2006-04-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

I have decided that I need to talk about sweet tea. Now, those of you from the south, you can skip this, because you already know it. You live it every day.

For the rest of you, especially those of you who happen to work in restaurants or might be a waitress or something... Sweet Tea is Southern Ambrosia, Nectar of the Gods. When someone asks you if you have sweet tea, and you say "No, but you can sweeten it." You just lost half your tip. Also, you are wrong. Utterly, completely wrong. Ok, yes you technically CAN sweeten it, but it sucks. Unless the right amount of sugar is added while the tea is fresh brewed and hot, it's not gonna be good. Learn it. Love it. Live it.

Also, please understand that when you call yourselves a "Southern" place, such as Red Hot and Blue does, you are saying, "We have Sweet Tea," which they don't. (At least not the one close to me.) To call yourselves a Southern Eatery and not have Sweet Tea is a fallacy, a misrepresentation, a damn lie!

As for the right amount of sugar, well... 2 cups per gallon is what my mama taught me. I have since cut back on that a bit, generally to a cup and a half. It's still plenty sweet but won't make me a diabetic as early.

For those of you who just don't understand this obsession with Sweet Tea, all I can say is, "It's a Southern Thing, you wouldn't understand." And sadly, you probably never will. It doesn't mean I can't be your friend, it just means I won't be coming to your house for dinner. :)

Y'all come back now, ya hear?

A Day Late.

2006-04-02T15:37:00.000-04:00

And a dollar short. As usual.

I meant to flash my stash yesterday but I was too busy out galivanting around and having fun. So I did it today. I have been planning on doing this for a while now so Flash Your Stash Day seemed as good a reason as any. Excuse the bad photos and the horrid spelling, I was in a hurry. :)

So here, without any further ado is my stash page.

How Freakin' Cool.

2006-03-28T12:19:00.000-05:00

How cool is this?! Amie, aka RosebyAny (see sidebar for link), knit me a turtle soap holder. Out of the blue! He's so damned cute too! I love him. She said she was willing to write up a pattern for him too, if someone asked. I think I am going to do so. I was a little out of it last night, so I doubt my true appreciation for this little fella came thru when I received, but I love the little bugger.

And here he is stuffed with a peppermint tea-tree soap from my cabinet. He's actually a little darker than he is in these pics, I took Soapy (yeah, I named him Soapy) out on the porch for the light and the flashed kicked in as well. Can you say.. overexposure children? Sure you can.

I finally got around to starting the front of the Batman pullover last night, so hopefully I'll have something to show in another day or two. Happy Knitting!

EDIT: Bonus entry!

And another thing..... I was looking around for some new blogs to add to my list today... when BAM! Oh. My. God. I love this freaking sweater. My shmoo NEEDS this freaking sweater.

So I give him the link; "wow...that's rather nice"!!!!

Hell yes! A sweater we both like. FOR HIM!

It's Pulse by Kim Hargreaves for Rowan's Denim People. I have looked at this book before mind you, and thought...ehhhhh it's ok I guess. And the picture of the sweater in white and blue, it does it no justice. But wow! Loving those blues! And imagining it in greens.

So... anyone got this book they wanna sell cheap?

Yay Pictures.

2006-03-25T20:43:00.000-05:00

Because you have been so patient,(and I finally got the camera out of the car) here are your pictures!

The long awaited back-of-the-Batman-sweater. It's going to be a pullover by the way.

The sari silk scarf I started in guilt after starting my socks. This was the yarn I picked up at Celtic Knot.

My toe up socks on two circs in that Dale Stork yarn I bought last Saturday. I did the figure 8 cast on for the first time ever, and I have to say that I like it. I love the way the toe looks. I think these will end up being the MagKnits Happy Socks but I am not quite sure yet. It really depends on how the pattern looks in this yarn once I get to the lace bit. I did make my cast on about twice what it called for however because I don't have pointy feet, I have wide feet, and they are almost the widest at the toes. I am really pleased with how this toe fits however. So even if they aren't fancy, they'll get worn. And there shouldnt' be any SSS with these either!

And finally a picture from today at the Kite Festival in DC. How cool is this kite?

Still no pictures.

2006-03-21T15:23:00.000-05:00

Ok so I left the camera in the car again last night. Sue me.

In other news:

The Columbia Knit Night (aka Sucky Knitting Girls) was great! There was laughter and drooling over yarn and projects, and even a little knitting. Check out the link to Lighting Chick Knits in my sidebar for the pictures. Coleen not only brought her camera, she actually got it out and took some snaps! :)

As for the Batman Sweater, it is under revision. I have the back done. But now I am having doubts about the original plan for the sweater and have to rethink it. Do I just want to make a Vest? Do I want to do a sweater with a zipper? Or maybe buttons? Can I find Batman buttons? *sigh.* Should this be read by the intended recipient's Mom, can you please advise what he would be most likely to wear? Should I just say screw it and make a pullover? I have no idea.

So... in light of the delay on Batman, and instead of finishing up a current project or starting on my mom's Clapotis, (yes I know the first one I started isn't finished... hush!) I cast on for toe-up socks on two circs with the Dale Stork I nabbed on Saturday. It's a neat concept. I feel like it's moving very slowly but then I keep reminding myself it's two at once, not just one, so it has to be better. Or something.

Pictures tomorrow if I remember!

No pictures.

2006-03-19T13:23:00.000-05:00

My camera is in my car and I don't feel like going down to get it so... yeah.

I went with Coleen (Lighting Chick Knits from Sucky Knitting Girls) to the Baltimore Knitting Group's Field Trip. It was great fun. We met up at All About Yarn, where I purchased two size 1 24 inch addis that are not naturas so hopefully they won't snap like my natura's did, and two balls of Dale Stork in color 105 (it's variegated blues. I know, ME! Variegated yarn! Why! That's so.... not shocking at all.) I plan to use this yarn to try making toe up socks at the same time on two circs.

Then we went to some coffee place and ate and knit and chatted for several hours. It was good stuff.

And then, because I was so close, I went ahead and went up to Celtic Knot Yarn Shop.
They have sari silk for sale there now! They also are now carrying that new yarn, "Meditation" that smells like Lavender when you knit with it. I managed to limit myself to only 3 skeins of the silk, because I can actually use it to make something for the-woman-allergic-to-wool, aka Mom.

I also managed to finish my Batman Motif (after ripping it 3 times) yesterday evening, and I have to say I am pleased with it. The rest of the sweater should progress along nicely.

That's it, pictures later.

OH! Don't forget if you are in the Columbia, MD area, Sucky Knitting Girls meets at the Panera Bread on Dobins at 7pm!!!!! Come join us!

Batman Revised.

2006-03-15T16:56:00.000-05:00

Last night I did intarsia for the first time. It took a little bit to get hang of it, and it's possibly still not right, but I am happy with it now. I was not happy with the half-way point of my chart. The emblem was just too small. And to double (quadruple?) it would mean it was a little jumpy and way too big as well.

So I printed out some knitting graph paper and got the colored pencils from my previously unused art kit, and went at it.

I used the chart I had as a base for my sketch and then plugged it into an excel spreadsheet. Then I tweaked it a bit. I tweaked so much I have to drop down and change some of my stitches now.

The result of my labor is available here for you to download should you find yourself needing a batman emblem chart. I did the chart in gray and yellow so that you could still easily count stitches and I made it as big as I could on one page. So if you have need for the caped crusader, have at it.

Batman Begins.

2006-03-14T18:14:00.000-05:00

You know that niggling feeling you get? The one that says... "Hrm.... You should really work on this project right now. I know you hadn't planned on it and you have other things to do, but really, work on this."

I got that. I had been toying around with my Batman Intarsia idea for a while. All in my head. I decided that I should actually take a look at the pattern I was basing this off of, and maybe get started on the first piece and plan some color and design placement. I got the 4T shirt I had bought to use as a reference. I cast on and measured as I went. I figured my gauge and my plans. And then I realized, the shirt I bought was short sleeve. I had NO IDEA how long to make the sleeves!

So I got in touch with Batman Junior's mother. Turns out his birthday is at the end of April and not in July like I thought it was. Hello little feeling, I hear you loud and clear! And I know that it's the time of year that is not for receiving sweaters, no matter how cool. So I am making this on the largish side of 4T (possibly it's 5? I don't have kids, I don't know.) and am supplementing it with Batman Armbands, a Batman Hat, and a Batman Ninja-tie Headband. Then perhaps he won't try to wear the sweater when it's 80 degrees out this summer.

Where is Christian Bale when you need him?

Bobbing right along.

2006-03-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Shmoo wore his sweater last week while it was still cool. He refused to let me take his picture in it, but it looks great on him. Something about raglan sleeves on men; it just looks right.

I haven't been knitting very much at all. Honestly, I've been playing warcraft. We have a patch that changes some things soon and I am trying to accomplish certain things while it is easier to do so. (Tier 0 gear anyone?)

I have made some hat progress however minor. Just some basic cables and ribs. I am playing with the rib a bit here and there as a tiny cable, semi random-like. I don't know that it will look good but that's ok, shmoo will wear it anyway. :)

That's it for here. I leave you with a picture that I couldn't resist taking last week. My lumps. :)

In-vest-ment.

2006-03-08T09:50:00.000-05:00

Eunny released her larger size Vest pattern yesterday, so I bought it. It's such a lovely vest. It will be a good chance for me to learn colorwork and steeking.

I have even decided on my yarn and colors, KnitPicks Merino Style in Cornflower and Asparagus. (The Asparagus isn't available until April 7th.) But I have a ton of projects to complete before I am allowing myself to make this vest. I want to wrap up all my currents, and make that Aran Rose sweater I have the yarn for..... no, honest I do!

I have also joined the knitalong for the vest. You can find it here. I look forward to learning from the other members as they go along. Perhaps then I won't have any problems.

I haven't done much knitting in the past couple of days. Mostly just played with that cable design. I even checked for good cable books at the library yesterday, but didn't really find anything that sang out to me. I'll try again when I actually get around to designing the aran. Mostly, I am just happy to have gotten the central motif settled so that when I see other stitch patterns I like I can go ahead and decide if they would go well or not.

That's it from here, except:

Hey sucky knitting girls... I am thinking about making lip balm before Monday, what flavor would you most like to have?
peppermint, spearmint, doublemint, hibiscus, sweet orange, or orange cinnamon?

Damnation!

2006-03-06T18:54:00.000-05:00

This is the second glass I have broken in just under 3 weeks. It was one of my favorites too! This is why our household has a plethora of plastic cups. Classy eh?

Thanks to Amie (RosebyAny in the Sucky Knitting Girls Links) and her suggestion of Aran Painter, I found my afternoon sucked away clicking my mouse and painting away at my cable pattern. It was great. I'll most likely buy this software once I find employment. (On a side-note, what the hell is wrong with Monster? They send me jobs that have nothing to do with what I entered. Sometimes it's frustrating, to say the least.)

Since it was the free demo copy, I just clicked away like a maniac and did screenshots to share how they looked.

First up, the cable as plotted on the graph paper.

Next, how it looks in a repeat. (Yay for photoshop!)

I like this, but it's just so BIG.

So I did some tweaking, and about the 3rd or 4th tweak through, I came up with this.

And the repeat....

I think I am happiest with the second one, just for ease of doing it and overall appearance. You really need several repeats to appreciate the motif and when it's huge, you just can't have as many. So it looks like I'll be charting again. (Note: If I had purchased the software, after I tinkered with it, it would have printed me a chart, or directions, or set it up in html for easy sharing with the world. Nice.)

And finally, I leave you today with a gratuitous cat shot. Here is Bri, busted playing with one of the dog's stuffies. Ironic when you consider that the only toys she plays with now are his cat toys.

My first time.

2006-03-04T12:10:00.000-05:00

At creating my own cable that is.

Remember the picture I took from Ironforge in World of Warcraft?

Well, I finally started tinkering with it.

And then I drew my chart (and cussed).

Now I just need to get it into an electronic format so I am not dependent on this one piece of paper to remember my cable. I am also thinking of tweaking it some more... I have one or two more variations of it I am considering. I am not sure they would work out just right, but you never know until you chart, do you?