Knits in Fits

Autumn fit

2008-10-28T20:14:00.004-05:00

Discovering that my brother is expecting his second bundle of joy, I have a legitimate reason to knit again. Yaaaaaaaaaah! I picked out some yarn with my friend (he's a good friend to be so patient as to pick out yarn with me and give me opinions as a non-knitter!) and got started. At around the same time, the weather cooled down, and that was it. I'm well into another fit of knitting.

I started the blanket. I am 10% of the way done with it after 3 days. My friend expressed that he's been wanting a hat, and hey! suddenly I have yarn for a hat. (Maybe a halfdome variant.) I also have knit a coffee cup cozy, because when I start knitting I am crazy. And believe me, I have looked at every free hat and coffee cozy pattern available on the web before starting, and looked up every technique listed on each of those patterns. Really now. I'm sick.

I have nothing to show you yet, but soon I will. I do have to get my camera fixed first. In any case, reading my last entry I realize that I owe you all a pic:

Hee hee hee! No, I don't mind that the bunny is getting mauled a bit. The whole idea was to make a toy for the child to enjoy. Here's a better picture of the finished object.

Cute kid, eh?

So.

2008-01-01T20:04:00.001-06:00

Why is it that all the best knitting websites and online magazines are Canadian?

Anyway, I finally finished my latest project. It's a big bunny, probably twice the size of my usual ones, in chocolate brown with a blue tail. It's for my friend's baby. Baby's probably nearly two months old now. I have no pictures of it as my camera is broken, but I have requested that my friend e-mail me a picture of the bunny with his new baby.

I have not started the sushi. Camodidi called and told me he is wearing the version of Halfdome I made for him, and that the nubbiny part is gone. I finished one of my wristwarmers. And that's it.

Knitting is for people who live in cold places and/or who have time to spare. Neither applies to me.

Sigh.

New project

2007-08-19T13:40:00.000-05:00

I'm gonna do it.

I'm going to knit the sushi.

Never thought I'd get so far as to 1) be able to knit them, and consider the pattern rather simple, and 2) have the desire to knit such frivolous things.

But I like knitting, and I like sushi, and I have this great red rectangular plate and gold chopsticks that would be great for displaying them...

So I'm gonna do it.

oops

2007-07-23T01:13:00.000-05:00

i forgot to mention.

i started knitting "fetching", fingerless gloves/wristwarmers. i think i started this in may. within a very short time i had made significant progress on one, and then something held me up-- the bindoff, i think. well i stumbled across the project this weekend, and finished the knitting on the left glove.

once i make the other one, i may wear them at work. however, they are black fingerless gloves. will they look punky? too punk for work?

i don't think i care, as long as it contributes to keeping me warm in the a.c.-frozen tundra of my workplace.

i fully plan on wearing my chevron scarf at work as well.

but not at the same time as the gloves. they won't match.

boo

2007-07-21T03:21:00.000-05:00

just had my first bad experience with untangling yarn.

yes that is why i am up so late tonight.

note to self

2007-07-16T21:58:00.000-05:00

okay, okay, so seeing t's knit post inspired me to take a look at the chevron stripe scarf that has long been dormant. i'm pleased with it in concept, but each time i put it down i forget the pattern, and the reference i have is incorrect. i have to figure it out every time i restart, using google searches and whatnot. this time i had to do some tinking back and re-knitting (had to bust out the crochet hooks for dropped stitches and everything) on top of the google searches and the knitting help website. blah.

so here's a note to myself. and now, may it be documented on my very blog, so that i will always know where to look for the corrected pattern and i don't have to waste as much time getting re-started!

row 1: k1, ssk (that's slipping first as if to knit, then as if to purl, just for consistency's sake)
[k9, sl2 tog k-wise, k1, psso] k9, k2tog, k1.

row 2: k1, *p1, k4, [k1, yo, k1], k4*, p1, k1

i'm sure one can do the centred double decrease however one pleases, but that's the way i've been doing it.

there. it's documented. [sigh of relief]

Gifted away

2007-04-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

Howdy.

I finished Yarnboy's Halfdome! Immediately thereafter, I gave it to its intended recipient, Camodidi. I forgot to take a picture of it, so there's no FO picture to post.

Two issues came up in completing that project.

1) I've never had to do mattress seaming on reverse stockinette before. It didn't turn out quite perfectly, but Camodidi didn't mind and so neither do I. And now, after a little research, I know how to do it, but the hat is finished so-- too late!

2) The hat itself is slightly, well, acorn-y, because the last few stitches on top come to a little pointy nubbin, which sort of conflicts with the smooth half-dome effect I was going for.

Aaaanyway the point was to make a hat that fit Camodidi's giant head without making him look— as he puts it— like a sloth, as other knit hats do. Since he likes it, I am pleased.

So. Yay.

Oh, and next time I will definitely knit the thing in the round.

Knit tip

2007-02-05T22:09:00.000-06:00

Perhaps I'm not far enough along in my life as a knitter to be offering tips, but I enjoy this so much I can't help but pass it on. Have people already figured this out?

If you're looking for a way to store your knitting needles, gift boxes made for wine bottles work pretty well.

See?

Okay that doesn't really show anything at all.

What about this one? It's a little washed out, but the other knitting props help set the stage. You can see some of my stash down below.

Hmm. Anyway they're pretty, and they're handy.

Just thought I'd share that.

halfdome

2007-01-30T20:29:00.000-06:00

so here's my start on halfdome, which i was going to make for camodidi.

suddenly i realized that the colors are reminiscent of a certain football team.

i don't think i care though.

(it won't be ruffly; it's just that my needles are short for this project.)

oops

2007-01-10T22:30:00.000-06:00

i have, quite literally, gauged incorrectly.

i'm making the cupcake hat for a certain little one, and i found this perfect pink yarn. it's pink, with little sprinkles of color that look like, well, sprinkles. how great is that?

well... maybe not perfect. i'm looking at this yarn. i need worsted weight; the label calls this one "bulky". only it looks too skinny. skinnier than worsted? i think so. but what of the label? i should have known better, but i got all indecisive because i like the color and the sprinkles so much. i figure, well, fine. i'll knit a gauge swatch and figure it out.

so i did. and drat. it's too small. so after some calculations i figure out i need to go with twenty extra stitches.

knit knit, purl purl, i finish two inches of 2x2 ribbing in the round on aluminum double pointed needles. i mention these because does synthetic yarn slip off of metal dpn's? yes. yay, i get to start the frosting! but something doesn't look right. this yarn really does not hold ribbing well, does it. and hmm... one side looks taller than the others. oh, crap. i bet i twisted.

i've knit plenty of things in the round and have never twisted before, but i guess there's a first time for everything. so. off the needles it comes, and i frog back to the twist.

okay. no biggie. here we go... oh wait. how big is this? so... i put it on my head. and it fits.

hmm. i know i have a peanut head and all, but it's GOTTA be bigger than a baby head.

so. i have to begin again.

anyone want an adult-sized cupcake hat?

out of control

2007-01-07T20:38:00.000-06:00

okay, so i went a little out of control this past "break"-lette.

i started the cupcake hat.
i started the halfdome hat.
i worked quite a bit on the tempting sweater.
i did not make any progress on the chevron stripe scarf. there's something about stripes that is unappealing to me. by the time i get done with it the color scheme will be dated.

how many active projects is that now?
the four above, plus
one blue penguin,
one camo-coloured bunny,
and the stuff that needs to finish felting.

oh. is that really that bad?

don't answer that.

pics to follow.

update...

2007-01-02T22:55:00.000-06:00

not yet... wait for it...

sort of an update

2006-10-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

1. i picked up my scarf yesterday, just to look at it, and before i knew it, i'd added a stripe of the pink. i couldn't help myself. feeling guilty about neglecting the other work i have to do, i made myself stop knitting. but there it was, sitting there, so soft. so i wove in some ends.

2. while browsing shops with a friend, i came across a few missoni pieces. leaving the store, i said a sentence that came out all wrong, something like, "i can't believe i saw some missoni pieces...." and i stopped myself. what i meant was, i can't believe i saw some missoni chevron-patterned pieces that have the same color scheme as the chevron scarf i'm knitting. it kind of confirms that it's a good color scheme, which allows me to continue with it.

3. i finished my first pink bunny. i forgot to take a picture of it before i gave it away. but it is adorable, and all docile-looking (not as perky as my camo bunnies).

4. i officially don't have time to knit. so i do it on the sly, as mentioned in #1 above. um, implications? no one say the word "addiction" or anything of the sort.

Whining

2006-09-22T22:56:00.000-05:00

Last year I picked up knitting to help pass the time.

Now I have no time to knit.

"No time to knit?" some of you may ask. I know, some people think it isn't possible, but with my sort of job it actually happens. I have the kind of job where you work ten to twelve hours on a good day, thirty hours on a bad one, and then when you get home you have "homework" to do.

So for reals. No time to knit.

My chevron scarf and the Tempting sweater lie forlornly in the bottom of my knitting basket. My bunnies are appendageless, awaiting just a few stitches, but alas. No time whatsoever.

I sort of regret taking up a new hobby only to abandon it, but not really. I look back on the things I've made and am mildly impressed with the magnitude and/or cuteness of some of the projects.

That's all I can say right now. Honestly, if I oughtn't be knitting then I oughtn't be blogging either. So, goodbye for now.

Hesitation

2006-07-21T19:03:00.000-05:00

I am reluctant to continue with my scarf.

I'm itching to knit it, but hesitant to continue it. Know what I mean?

I've decided to keep this color scheme, but my last decision is whether or not I should change the width of the stripes.

So I am on pause until I feel certain enough to proceed.

This is me being hesitant (after a point) to solve problems.

Bah.

OMG

2006-07-17T22:51:00.000-05:00

Sorry. I dislike that abbreviation too.

But you see, I was completely JOKING about the whole toilet paper cosy thing. As in, I was trying to think of the most inutile thing I could think of to knit. Does toilet paper really need to stay warm or look cuddly?

But OMG. They make them. And they're serious about them.

Suddenly I am paralyzed by a horrifying flashback of doll shaped crocheted toilet paper cosies in old ladies' houses from back in my childhood. The faint smell of rosewater and Pine Sol wafts in along with my memory. Yuck. Yeah, and I always thought those dolls were creepy weird. And they were always purple and white. How could I have forgotten?

Here's proof, I guess, that other kinds exist.

(images lifted from carol browne, jan-on-ice, and mk carroll)

and again.

OMG.

Obvious

2006-07-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

Darnit. I cut my yarn to take a picture today. I don't know what I was thinking.

Anyway, you know I've been griping about not getting the right look. Two obvious things have come up for me.

1) Draw. I was thinking about knitting a bunch of sample swatches, and I've already done a lot of computer cut-and-paste with the photos of my scarf to try to figure out what different color patterns would look like. I just didn't think of getting out my crayons before. Duh.

2) Check this out. Right side,

Wrong side.

That's actually kinda close. It gives me ideas.

Basically, I'm not sure what I want anymore. Time to get out the crayons I guess.

What else I'm not sure about? If I'm going to make stripes THAT skinny, carrying up vs. weaving in even MORE ends— which, as you can see, I have not done at all yet. (I honestly do not know where my tapestry needles are right now.)

That's all for now. Do look at my previous post because it is pretty.

Not quite

2006-07-14T22:52:00.000-05:00

This is the part where I tell you that what I was going for with the chevron stripe idea was the old Missoni look from the 1960's and 70's. You know the one? With the psychotic, luridly multi-colored, nearly eye-numbing zigzag patterns? I guess a little bit like this

or like this (the cup)

and like these.

(All the above are actual Missoni patterns, by the way.)

My problem was that I had an image in my head and did not study the real thing before I got started. My stripes are far too regular and perhaps even too harmonious. They are staid and boring. Or is it that I just haven't gotten very far yet and so my photos are really zoomed-in on the pattern? I may frog back and do a little of that visual disruption thing, or maybe even just start doing it from here, seeing how there doesn't seem to be a true order to the way Missoni did it.

Things brings me to an interesting point. I used to think this pattern was so tacky. Now I find myself trying to mimic it in my knitting.

I don't know what else to say about that, so I'll just leave you with this image.

Comments?

Striped

2006-07-13T20:24:00.000-05:00

You know what?

I think I like it.

Addendum: Crud! Dang! and Gah and Bah! I just began to consider what the other end of the scarf will look like if I stay with this color repeat scheme. I don't think it will look right ending on the accent stripe followed by a brown border; perhaps I need to tuck the green accent stripe in the middle somewhere. Darnit, darnit, darnit... I will frog the whole thing if I need to re-order the colors...

Legendary

2006-07-13T00:12:00.000-05:00

Look who's a knitter.

Excited

2006-07-12T15:36:00.000-05:00

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

(I'm saying it on the inside.)

Lookit!

A special thanks to Penny for her efforts in tracking down confirmation of what's wrong with line one of the pattern.

Addendum: on second look, maybe I need to make the red stripe as thick as the others. What do you think?

Addendum: on third look, maybe I need to re-order my color pattern. I type this after I've frogged back and re-knit six rows of red followed by six rows of white. Gah.

Confession

2006-07-12T01:49:00.000-05:00

You know what?

Sometimes I knit to help myself feel better when I'm down.

Concerned

2006-07-10T17:21:00.000-05:00

You know what?

Now that I think about it, I think I may have gotten the inspiration for the color scheme I've chosen for the chevron scarf from this.

I must just have it on the brain. These are the fabrics being used to make my living room furniture.

So aside from feeling goofy for having chosen to make a scarf in a scheme that will match my sofa (can you say fuddy-duddy?), I have another concern. Allow me to demonstrate.

I bought five different colors to make the scarf, knowing that this was one color fewer than that in the pattern. This was mostly to save money, because the yarn ended up being costly. I was planning on having bright white be the eye-popping contrast color (taking the place of the acid yellow in the original pattern). However,

I think I may need a sixth color. This color repeat scheme seems too short. I was going for something retro-funky, and what I've got so far is just old-lady.

I think I need an apple green. Now THAT would be a good contrast. But then would white be too white? What would I change it to?

Puffintoad? Any suggestions?

I would also like to report that the pattern to which I linked thoroughly confused me, and I had to do some research and modify it before obtaining any results at all. I am still trying to understand what was written, so that maybe I could frog back and do it "right", but I have a sneaking suspicion that the pattern was transcribed incorrectly from the Debbie Bliss book or slight modifications were made to it either before or after its submission to the goofy teen magazine that re-published it. And I must say, the word "jazzy" in the description makes me want to barf.

Lastly, I hereby officially complain about the price of yarn. Ouch.

Committed

2006-07-09T13:42:00.000-05:00

Here are the yarns from which I shall make the chevron stripe scarf.

I've bought the yarns. Now I HAVE to make it, right?

I'm excited. I hope the colors work out okay.

Next project, please

2006-07-08T11:40:00.000-05:00

The problem with posting a "knitting update" as I did in my previous post is that it shows you just how much unfinished work there is to do on my current projects.

Then you wonder if you really ought to be starting this new project that I want to start. Soon. Today.

See, it's cold where I work. I mean, it's hot where I live, but to compensate, they refrigerate the rooms at work. My fingernails turn blue, it's so cold. And you know that I feel a bit unhappier when I am cold, just because I'm cold. I can't wear sweaters to work because a) it's hot outside, b) scrubs are sometimes the attire for the day. So maybe when we're in the conference hall, where I get cold most quickly, I can wear a scarf.

Other problems with starting this scarf?
1) The boredom of knitting a scarf. Yes, it will be in a chevron pattern, so it won't be boring like a stockinette or garter stitch pattern, but still. Scarves are slow going. Irish Hiking Scarf nearly got abandoned/frogged because I found it tedious.
2) It's stripes that are skinny. That means [cue suspensful music] weaving in ends. [shudder]
3) Buying the yarn will be more expensive than I want it to be. The pattern calls for Debbie Bliss Merino DK. I know I don't have to make it with that, but to make a cool looking chevron stripe pattern I'll need at least four, maybe six or seven colors. For DBMDK, six skeins would be $39. For any other yarn that feels decent against the skin, it may be comparable.
4) Weaving in ends.
5) It may take so long (limited time with new job) that I won't be done with it until I have died of hypothermia in the conference room.

I'm going to a yarn store today anyway, on my way home from the furniture store, just to check out what sort of LYS options I have here. I guess we'll see.

update

2006-07-04T15:45:00.000-05:00

it's been a while since i've posted anything good because it's been a while since i've knit anything.

inspired by a new knitblog (go see it!), i wanted to post a photo of my current knitting project status. the lighting in my room is a bit off, but i think you can see okay if you click on it.

to clarify:

bunny bits: assemble pink bunny, the parts of whom all are made. make a tail for the camo-coloured bunny and assemble.
penguin parts: make two more feet pieces, then assemble and stuff.
tempting: it's a sweater. got a ways to go.
madelines: pink— felt once or twice more, then add snap closure and lining if able. striped— felt a bunch more.
booga bag (not pictured): felt a bunch more, if i have the patience for it.
mascots: the bunnies were gifts to me and i just think they're cute. i made the penguin, as you will recall; he reminds me that i am capable of making cute things.

and that's the state of things.

lucky girl

2006-06-24T23:13:00.000-05:00

(shakes head)

look at me.

three days in a new city, and already i'm checking out where the yarn stores are.

i must really be hooked. or not, since i don't crochet (dorky guffaw).

fortunately the best three stores (at least, per user reviews) are close to my place.

yay.

except i'm hurting because of all the money i'm spending from relocation. so in my mind i can't afford to start anything new, or shop for knitting stuff, or whatever. plus i oughtn't, because there's a lot of unpacking and organizing to do around my home. plus i ought to be reading to get smart for work. plus it's like ninety-thousand degrees out right now, a little warm for working with yarn.

boo.

oh yeeeeeeah...

2006-06-11T01:27:00.000-05:00

bunny.

(shakes head)

oh, bun. you know better than that. say it again, out loud.

"unsolicited knitted gifts may not be a good idea."

perhaps it would be wise not to force knitted objects upon my unsuspecting friends. i get these ideas to make "gifts" whenever i just want to try knitting something new. the pink madeline with the white trim, for example. it's done. it could maybe use one more trip through the washing machine. and i was just about to give it to someone, but i'm not sure how practical it is, really. and it's pretty cute for a hand-knitted object (cuter than the picture), but is it really cute enough to be used? for reals? in public? i dunno.

my pile of knitted objects with no use is growing. the stuffed animals i make usually leave my possession fairly quickly after completion (except penguin; he's mine), but i have, let's see, two bags made of kuryeon (curse you, noro!), one failed-to-felt madeline, one ug-gah-lee vomit-rainbow colored scarf out of lionbrand homespun (i really thought the yarn looked cool when i picked it out, and oh-ho-ho did it end up being beastly stuff) that will have to go in the donation bin at church (where the kids dress funky enough that someone might actually like it), umm, oh yeah, and the aforementioned cute pink madeline. i also have this random swatch of leftover kureyon because i don't know what to do with the yarn and it was expensive.

heidi? are you there? emily? margarita? what do you do when you have the itch to knit but you don't need anything and no one has requested anything?

why did i choose this hobby again?

and i still haven't made myself that blue scarf.

ooh.

2006-06-02T09:22:00.000-05:00

a day off.

i want to knit.

to sit in my lovely living room and make stuff with the tv on in the background.

no, something within me says. you must do horrible responsible things on your to-do list that you do not want to do. for you are an adult. a responsible adult who takes care of herself.

looking at these two choices of my activities for the day (for who says i cannot do both? knit just for a little bit anyway, just an hour or two)

i feel very lonely.

beginner no more

2006-05-31T11:59:00.000-05:00

oh, i almost forgot.

remember that one time when i wrote that i'll consider myself a beginner 'til someone thinks something i made is store-bought?

well, it happened with the little pink penguin. and he actually said, "i mean this as a compliment, though it may not sound like one, but that looks store-bought."

yay.

knitter's block

2006-05-26T21:25:00.000-05:00

k2, p2.
k2, p2.
k2, p2.

and the project never gets any bigger. i can't see my progress. the pattern is boring. it's one of those simple patterns that one ought to have on hand so that one can knit in a group and chat without having to either screw up your project because you're talking and you lose track, or be unable to chat because you're concentrating on counting.

i'm not sure it was such a great idea to start this project in the first place. i still haven't decided how i'm going to replace the big giant ribbon bow. needless to say, this project really isn't going anywhere.

somebody give me a summer project, quick. hats and scarves are for winter, darnit.

penguins

2006-05-18T19:48:00.000-05:00

you remember penguin, right?

well, lookit! it's penguin's little sister.

(pattern from knitty.com)

tears of a clown

2006-05-17T21:39:00.000-05:00

hey, madeline. some circus clown called. she wants her handbag back.

today being laundry day yet again, i found my forgotten felting projects at the bottom of my laundry baskets. i didn't really give it too much thought, knowing by now not to get my hopes up.

wait, do you even remember that far back? well, if not, in my felting queue are two madeline bags. (the booga bag i've put aside for now.) one of the madeline's is made of noro kureyon. the other madeline is of cascade 220. the bags were done with the same pattern, same needles, same number of felt cycles. i did make the kureyon's handle longer, but the bag part should still be the same size. check out the difference.

thus reinforcing my ever-growing disappointment in kureyon. the thing looks like a color-blind circus clown's makeup bag after it's been through the dryer.

but look at the madeline out of cascade! if i may say so, i think it turned out to be sooooooo cute! (i say it that way, with tons of "o's" and an exclamation point, because it is pink.)

i feel a bit sheepish admitting that it took three tries for me to finally get madeline down right. the trick was, evidently, to use the kind of yarn suggested. (although kureyon was mentioned in the instructions as an alternative, just so ya know.) but this time that i did it right, i nailed it. may i direct your attention to the cream-colored edging i added on my own. i knit this bag in the round and did the pseudo-edging as impromptu intarsia, knowing that it would probably felt differently because it is so close to white. for that white-trimmed look that was so popular-- last fall. oh, well.

in any case, it's done. my first successful felting project is done, and i'm pleased with how it turned out.

now what to do with my booga and madeline mishaps of the kureyon kind?

gah

2006-05-16T15:43:00.000-05:00

to celebrate another one of my friends getting knocked up,

i mean, the miracle of bringing a new little life into the world,

(which is actually a good and wonderful thing, i don't mean to sound harsh)

i am making a little something. not that it's not taking effort. as a matter of fact, it's a good thing i have today and tomorrrow off.

it's pink. it's all baby-y and pastel.

i'm fretting about my color choices, my little plastic eye choice, my technique choies,

and then it occurs to me. this family is moving away; i will probably never see this child out of her infancy; the toy will probably get chewed on. or peed on. or worse, the latter, then the former.

i don't mind those things above, and thinking about them reminds me that it's okay if this little toy isn't the ultimate in perfection, and maybe white-with-little-hints-of-color will work out better than plain stark white after all.

i do really really hope my friend enjoys it (it's for her, after all), but now i don't have to stress so much about it.

hedgehogs!

2006-05-15T13:59:00.000-05:00

"you knit what??" made fun of them, but i think they're kinda cute.

fiber trends' bunnies are pretty cute too. howEEver (rhymes with cleaver) i've not had much success with the whole felting thing so i'm not sure i wanna do one of these.

i find that i really enjoy making stuffed animals. they're little, so they don't take long, they progress right before your eyes, and when you're done, they're so cute!

Irish Hiking Scarf

2006-05-14T17:32:00.000-05:00

Yay, it's done. The binding off? I decided I could live with the edge produced by the grafting technique. As a matter of fact, it looks remarkably similar to the cast on edge, which I like. As the yarn settles it'll be nearly indistinguishable.

Photos? Did I mention this one is difficult to photograph? It will not drape gracefully over anything, for some reason. Surprisingly enough, it looks just like it did in previous photographs, only now it's longer.

Not satisfied? Fine. Here.

Pattern here.

Grrr.

2006-05-14T12:02:00.000-05:00

I'm binding off on the Irish Hiking Scarf. Ought to be exciting but it's kinda ticking me off.

See, I did an alternate cable cast on, and I don't want the other end to look completely different. I did start with the usual bind off method, and it wasn't stretchy enough for the k1p1 ribbing I've added to each end of the scarf.

So now I'm doing that thing where you slip the knit stitches onto one needle, and the purl stitches onto another, and kitchener graft them together. The end result is rather funky looking; kinda sloppy.

Any suggestions?

What I did at work today

2006-05-08T21:38:00.000-05:00

I'm okay with the fact that this one is dark and out of focus.

But it does look like it'll fit.

I didn't do all this today; I just added a few rows. This one's been dormant in my knitstuff bag for weeks and weeks.

what i did at work yesterday

2006-05-07T20:57:00.000-05:00

okay, not all of this. just the knitting for the pink one. i did the stitching and stuffing yesterday evening at home. it came together much more quickly than i expected.

there's something different about the baby yarns that make the bunnies look a little more laid back. i think i may prefer the perkiness of the bunnies made with the yarns that have more body. i don't know.

i think this is proof that i sort of dislike making and attaching appendages, considering that i finished the body of this camo-coloured bunny over a month ago.

Pattern

2006-05-05T17:24:00.000-05:00

Eeeeee hee hee hee!

I bought a pattern.

I know, I know. There are so many patterns that are free online.

BUT. There are some cool ones that are not free. This one cost me (gasp) a dollar!

Do ya wanna see what I ordered? Dooya? Dooya? Huh? Huh?

(giggle)

(It's one of the prizes for winning PricklePoints™. Play Contest #5 to win some of your own.)

HA! Ha ha ha!

That picture makes me laugh.

Ghet-to pho-tos

2006-05-05T16:52:00.000-05:00

I did it. I knitted some.

Had trouble photographing it though.

W.I.P. Irish hiking scarf.

One stitch.

2006-05-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

Literally. One stitch, and my beeper went off.

Of course, now I'm writing on my blog about it. So now there must be time.

I'll give it another try.

Superstition

2006-05-04T01:31:00.000-05:00

I was never superstitious before. I'm still not really superstitious. But.

I've started half-jokingly participating in some superstitious thingies at work. For example, at work, you do not, repeat, do NOT say the full name of a chronic patient out loud. Do so, and within a few days that patient will be admitted, and you will probably have to take care of him/her. You also never talk about how well the night is going, and you NEVER say that it is (whispering) "quiet" (shudder). All hell will break loose if you do. But if you knock on wood (we usually use our heads), the effect will be mitigated somewhat.

The superstition I'm thinking of is a mild one. It's more like a Murphy's law type of thing, I guess. It is that if you expect it to be slow and bring something to do, it will be extremely busy. "Busy" in a hospital is not good, because what it means is that people are very sick.

And so I was going to announce that today! Today's the day I bring my knitting in to work because I'll probably have some down time, meaning I can make some significant progress. Last time I did watch all of "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" without being interrupted, after all. Complete with commercial breaks. And not a single page. Not a one. (Loved the movie by the way. Mostly because I am a sucker for movies about kids getting interested in music. Oh, and I loved it despite the fact that I am completely trounced upon by the fourteen-year old boys who can sing the same solos I do and do it way way WAY better, with improv, mordents, whistle tones, and an incredible amount of soul.)

BUT.

NO! I am not going to make such an announcement. I am going to say, no, it will probably be insanely busy and I probably won't be able to even eat or sit down or even go pee, not once during the entire sixteen hour shift! Because sometimes (read: often) that actually happens. And this way if it doesn't happen, I can be pleased. And if it does, I won't be disappointed that I didn't get to knit.

Fits and starts

2006-05-02T13:11:00.000-05:00

I knit in fits and starts.

So I've just come through a fit. When will my next start be?

nobunny reads this

2006-05-01T01:41:00.000-05:00

right?

i am still a knitter, but i haven't knit anything in a long time. why? because my house a mess and if i have free time i OUGHT to be cleaning it. i ought to be finished cleaning it before i pick up my knitting again. but no. i can't finish my cleaning. so that's why i haven't knit anything. that and the fact that any time i get on a plane i am incredibly sleep-deprived (i'm talking 32-36 hrs here folks) so i just pass out.

i still have projects going stale on my needles. this is not good.

bunnies from the bunny

2006-04-15T15:22:00.000-05:00

i know...

... but i don't FEEL like making any more bunnies.

i just don't feel like it. i know it's just a simple stockinette square but— eh. and the appendage-making and the finishing— meh.

i have trimmed my bunny list down to two. i have decided that i will give no bunny unsolicited for a long while. especially since an unsolicited bunny, once given, would have a high likelihood of being lost, chewed on, or otherwise destroyed.

and the two bunnies left on my list are to be pink. i've bought the yarn, but i can't bring myself to start them.

i have one incomplete camo-coloured bunny that i was making for someone. it was unsolicited. after having the aforementioned revelation about unsolicited bunnies, i've decided to keep it for myself. so now there is just about NO incentive to finish it, especially since the only steps left are making an i-cord tail and sewing on the ears. blah.

so if you get or have gotten a bunny from the bunny, consider yourself special. because the series is going to be very limited.

Got better things to do?

2006-04-10T12:29:00.000-05:00

Ah-oh.

Suddenly I want to knit.

Usually this means I'm procrastinating. Am I?

Hmm, let's see. I need to clean my house. And do laundry. And call the phone company. And do some official business. And exercise.

Yes. That would explain why I suddenly want to k2p2 to pass the time.

Sigh. Guess I'd better get started notknitting.

addendum
wait a minute. laundry day? that means... that means felting! hmm...

felt already

2006-04-08T01:14:00.000-05:00

i now have three, count 'em, three projects that are ready to be felted.

well, one of them is partway felted. it's my first felting project. actually, it's one of my first projects ever (booga bag). i finished knitting it in late december. while waiting for the opportunity to felt it (i.e. laundry days with multiple loads), i've completed more complicated and mo' bettah projects. i've moved on, and still i have this darn booga here, waiting to be finished, and i just don't know how much more it's supposed to be felted.

the other two? madeline bags. one of noro kureyon, and, because i'm sick of kureyon (see below), one out of cascade 220. sure to felt, right?

we'll see.

i have to do laundry and then we'll see.

i can't wait to see.

Official guidelines

2006-03-27T12:25:00.000-06:00

From the Transportation Security Administration website:

Transporting Knitting Needles & Needlepoint

Knitting needles are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage. However, there is a possibility that the needles can be perceived as a possible weapon by the TSA screener. TSA Screeners have the authority to determine if an item could be used as a weapon and may not allow said item to pass through security. TSA recommends the following when bring knitting needles on an airplane:
Circular knitting needles are recommended to be less than 31 inches in total length
We recommend that the needles be made of bamboo or plastic (Not Metal)
Scissors must have blunt points
In case the screener does not allow your knitting tools through security it is recommended that you carry a self addressed envelope so that you can mail your tools back to yourself as opposed to surrendering them at the security check point.
As a precautionary measure it is recommended that you carry a crochet hook with yarn to save the work you have already done in case your knitting tools are surrendered at the checkpoint.
Most of the items needed to pursue a Needlepoint project are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage with the exception of circular thread cutters or any cutter with a blade contained inside. These items cannot be taken through a Security Checkpoint. They must go in your checked baggage.

Just in case you were wondering.

No no Noro

2006-03-20T13:46:00.000-06:00

I am going to say it.

Noro is overrated.

(pause for dramatic effect)

In the fall of 2004 I went to visit my friend Nora, who had been diagnosed with leukemia a few months prior. Nora is a friend from college who was born and raised in Alaska. She would use qiviut to knit fascinating items with fascinating patterns. When I went to visit, Puffintoad and I felt like gifting her. We thought about what it would be like to have cancer and things we would want if we were in her shoes. I bought her a scarf, knowing she would have lost her hair and I didn’t want her head to feel cold. Puffintoad decided to buy some knitting materials so Nora would have something to do while on bedrest.

We walked into an Anchorage yarn shop to find said materials. I’d never ever been in a yarn shop before, and I think what I saw there on that day has lingered with me, subconsciously pressuring me to learn how to knit. It was the multicolored yarns. The color combinations were fascinating. I remember that black label with the stylized word “Noro” on it. It’s an image in my mind, that label around the yarn with the coolest color schemes. And it stuck because we were there for Nor-a.

Fast forward to this past winter. My second knitting project was the Booga Bag. Noro Kureyon? Say, I recognize that label. Excellent.

Demystifying moment number one: on looking at the color swatches, I didn’t strongly care for any of the schemes. The skeins looked cool, but the swatches were kinda weird. And each colorway looked different on the various different websites.

I ended up picking colorway #90.

Demystifying moment number two: CamoDidi points out to me that “kureyon” is “crayon” with a bad japanese accent.

I ordered the yarn. It was kinda pricey and I ordered too much of it. What did I know? I started knitting with it.

Demystifying moment number three: while knitting the bottom of the Booga, I discovered that a) some of the uglier colors are not displayed on website color swatches. b) there are some exceedingly ugly colors mixed into these colorways.

Disappointing moment number four: I found bits of grass and other organic material in the yarn. When getting up close to pick these out, I found that the yarn smells like barn.

Frustrating moment number five: The yarn is spun heterogeneously. Big fat superbulky parts of yarn knitted adjacent to little bitty skinny fine as a human hair “I’m not sure this will even hold weight” parts of yarn makes holes in the knitting.

Annoying moment number six: Finding a knot in the yarn where two pieces of shorter yarn were joined to meet weight for the skein with no regard to colorway. I knew this would happen as Wendy of wendyknits.net had mentioned it, so at least I was prepared, but it was still annoying.

Disappointing moment number seven: I had waited and waited ‘til laundry day to finally felt my completed bag. Four loads later, the bag was still big and floppy even though I could tell some felting had occurred. A few weeks and three more cycles later, it is only slightly shrunken and a touch more stiff. I don’t know how many more times I’m going to put it through before I call it quits.

My experience knitting the Madeline bag for my mom in colorway #95 (by my mom’s request) was just as full of similar moments.

So tell me again. Why are people nuts for Noro?

bitter kitty

2006-03-17T21:53:00.000-06:00

another reason why one oughtn't knit clothing for animals:

they hate it.

picture taken from the "you knit what??" blog, which took it from somewhere else on the internet.

yay

2006-03-15T18:38:00.000-06:00

alas, my photography skills cannot fully capture the personality of this pengiun. in any case, it turned out okay. it's a fun, relatively simple pattern that knits up quickly. i'd recommend this pattern as a weekend project.

here's a link to the pattern.

appendages

2006-03-15T12:47:00.000-06:00

and thus it is confirmed that i do not really enjoy making appendages.

I am a beginner

2006-03-14T11:40:00.000-06:00

Aren't I?

I started knitting about a year ago, and took a 2-month hiatus for certain pressing reasons. That means I've been knitting for about 10 months. That qualifies me as a beginner, doesn't it?

I can knit, and I can purl. I can tell the difference between the two. I can cast on (a couple of different ways), and I can bind off. I can increase and decrease in multiple ways. I know what to do if my needles fall out of my work without panicking (although it annoys me greatly), and after replacing my needles, I can tell when a stitch is twisted. I can knit in the round on circulars and on double-pointed needles, in jogless stripes no less. I think short row shaping is much easier than it sounds. I can recognize mistakes, and prefer to fix them by running a ladder and then using a crochet hook. I can add the simplest of modifications (a ribbing edge here, an intarsia stripe there) to certain patterns. As for finishing, I weave in all my ends, and am comfortable with kitchener stitching and mattress stitching. I can felt and do some easy blocking.

So maybe I oughtn't call myself a beginner anymore.

But. I have never done a project for which I've needed to knit a gauge swatch. The idea of knitting from a graphic pattern (like that for the Mariah cardigan on my sidebar) is daunting to me. The thought of making a garment that requires calculations involving gauge, fit, and ease fills me with dismay. I don't even aspire to try making complex fair isle patterns; it just doesn't appeal to me. I never wanted to be an expert knitter to begin with. I just wanted a scarf.

I suppose this lands me squarely in the intermediate category of knitting expertise. But you know what? I want to be a beginner. That's how I am with most things. I like having that label to blame for any ignorance, mistakes, and inexperience that I and my projects display.

So I'll keep calling myself a beginner until I don't feel like one anymore. Or until I end up teaching someone to knit. Or until I make something that someone mistakes for storebought. How does that sound?

yes,

2006-03-13T14:10:00.000-06:00

yes, i did eat lunch before i started this today.
yes, i am stopping here to get my chores done.

it's official

2006-03-13T12:06:00.000-06:00

i'd rather knit than eat.

make one however you darn well please

2006-03-13T07:33:00.000-06:00

by now you can tell what i'm working on.

last night after i posted the two pictures, i hit a roadblock. "M1" looks like such an innocent instruction, doesn't it?

i was downstairs and i didn't want to come upstairs to check on the knittinghelp website to see whether i remembered correctly how to "make one." i just did something that i thought seemed right. oh, wait, i'm supposed to knit into the back loop of something. frog. re-knit. okay. they were close to the edge so it didn't matter. it looked fine.

then came a whole row full of increases. i did my thing and went on about twelve rows. then i thought, oh, i don't remember it looking like this. maybe i ought to check the website after all. i looked, thought i'd done it wrong, then frogged back and did it the way the website said to ("lift the horizontal strand between the two stitches and...").

it left holes in the work. big holes! i thought this way was supposed to be the most invisible! so i ripped back, re-knit without knitting through the back loop, and the resulting holes were even bigger. "screw it." i ripped back again and did it my original way. turns out i had accidentally "figured out" KLL and KRL on my own. forget M1.

did i do something wrong, such that my "invisible make ones" came out very visible indeed? anyone have any tips?

do i even care? no i do not. penguin's tummy will be round and smooth with no holes, by golly.

but i guess it would be nice to know for future reference.

still day 01

2006-03-12T22:48:00.000-06:00

hmm...

2006-03-12T22:37:00.000-06:00

overcoming fear

2006-03-08T21:09:00.000-06:00

the fear of frogging, that is.

i started working on this bag quite a while ago. i've gotten really far. as a matter of fact, it's just about done. usually something being in the state of "almost done" spurs me on to finish it in a hurry, but this one's been sitting in the bottom of my knitstuff basket for weeks and weeks. as a matter of fact, i was considering it a failed project.

i started it for my mum. she saw this picture of the original booga bag, and said she liked the colors a lot, despite the fact that i had called them garish and obnoxious. "are you sure?" i asked. "sure! it's nice and bright," she said. and there you have it.

so i set out to work the felted madeline bag with this yarn. it would make up for the true failure of making one out of yarn that doesn't felt. i put the vomitous brown color on the bottom, where it wouldn't be seen (and it wouldn't show dirt), and worked my way up. little did i know that would put the pukey-brown in the perfect position to re-appear on the flap, where it would cover up all the "nice and bright" colors. see how that works? then i ran out of yarn several inches shy of having a complete handle.

say, why didn't i notice that ugly brown on the booga bag? oh, because its circumference is so much bigger the brown just appears in passing. dangit. it's very prominent on this pattern.

well today i wanted to free up those needles for a new project (perhaps something in pink for one of my pinkaholic friends), and suddenly it occurred to me. i can solve both of my problems (ran out of yarn, vomit-colored flap dominating the color scheme) if i buy a new skein and knit a new flap and the rest of the handle— after frogging the old flap.

for those of you who don't knit (which is all of you but puffintoad), frogging means ripping out stitches by grabbing the end of your yarn and just pulling. you can watch your work melt away before your very eyes. it can be rather disheartening. oh, and it's called that because frogs say, "rip it. rip it." silly, i know, but i didn't make it up.

i've noticed mistakes in my irish hiking scarf and had to frog inches and inches back to correct them. after that, frogging this little bitty flap seems like no big deal at all. i don't know what i was afraid of. evidently, i've overcome my fear of frogging.

hey, it's a step.

bunny no. 3

2006-03-03T22:58:00.000-06:00

i'm definitely ready to try new patterns, but this one is so popular and so simple.

this white rabbit was done by request and bartered in a mutual gift exchange (not involving money). i decided to branch out and accessorize this one. i wasn't sure at first about the ribbon, but now i think it adds a nice touch of, well, a touch of "me." since it had to be black ribbon (of course), i was compelled to add a little pink to the ears for balance. making the ears drove me nuts, and now i have a few experimental rabbit ears lying around, but the final ones do look okay.

here's a link to the pattern.

What knitting does for your reputation

2006-03-01T09:44:00.000-06:00

Please allow me to clarify.

I am not a badass. It's just that sometimes people at work or church ask me questions as though I were one. Questions about my motorcycle (I do not own one) or my tattoos (I have none) or how many men I've killed and the like. Maybe it's my haircut.

I think all y'all know that inside, I'm a kitten. Actually, a bunny. A fuzzy bunny. With tiger stripes. A CamoBunny. Hiding is more my thing. Quiet hiding is advantageous. Example: in paintball, I was always elected to the position of sniper; because I'm small and quiet and able to stay still (and I own my own camo) I was good at hiding. Being a sniper in paintball does not require good aim; paintball guns are always off anyway.

In any case, I'm not exactly sure what knitting has done for my reputation. Someone once called me "domestic" (haaaaaaahahahahaha!) because one day to a volunteer workshift I had brought cookies I'd made from scratch and was knitting to pass the time. Most people just look kind of confused and stay quiet, or ask me if I'm pregnant. Maybe the ones who stay quiet are silently judging me for getting pregnant. (I'm not pregnant.)

Really, I think what it does is make me just a little more difficult to pigeonhole. How I do enjoy defying expectations.

Okay. Enough of that. Here's the pic that got me started on the topic in the first place.

BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

According to Yarnboy, from whom I ganked this image, the Crowe didn't even know how to knit. He was just posing for the picture to maybe appear sensitive. A POSER KNITTER? (snort of derision!) He really does look like quite a dope. I have never been a fan of Russell Crowe. This does not help him. But Yarnboy says the Crowe has now learned to knit as a form of anger management (chuckle). I don't know, maybe giving pointy sticks to a man with obvious anger problems isn't the brightest of ideas.

That's about as far as I'll go this time. Oh but I will add that George Washington Carver also knit. Now, he I will give it up for. Genius inventors who buck the system deserve props. Here's Yarnboy's blog (click on this other pic I ganked from him), from which I got this information. No he is not gay. He has a little historical thingie that has a few tidbits about men knitting that I thought was interesting.

Oops, gotta go!

Look at this!

2006-02-28T17:36:00.000-06:00

So freakin' awesome.

I don't aspire to make these, but my love for sushi makes me post the picture. Click on it to go to its source webmag.

charity?

2006-02-28T12:00:00.000-06:00

claude needs some more clothes.
everything he had was in a small plastic shopping bag.

"claude" is a little boy who has come to the u.s. from africa for a surgery. he is an orphan. he has never been in such a cold place before.

on reading those sentences i wanted to shower him with gifts of warm clothing. i have nothing that's his size.

so i gave claude a scarf.

because i gave it away before i remembered to take a picture, there is no photo of the scarf for posting here. instead, there is a short awkward story.

i remember walking into that LYS for the first time. it was small and very cramped, but of course, i liked it. and there, on the very first display stand, i saw it. it was, um, equinox stripe from nashua yarn, in "storm." it was wound so that on the outside of the skein was a beautiful light blue, striped with grey. very soft. i didn't buy it right away, but i obsessed about that yarn until i did. i purchased two skeins of it on my third visit to the store. i didn't know how much it would cost, and it ended up being rather pricey (for me).

i churned out a ribbed scarf in no time at all. the yarn is super bulky weight, after all. the scarf ended up being a lot darker than i had expected. i didn't know it was a self-striping yarn, and i didn't know how much of it would be charcoal grey or dark blue. only a tiny section in the middle of the scarf showed the light colors i had obsessed about. i decided to make the scarf a giveaway, but because the yarn had been so expensive, i thought, "i'll give this one to a family member instead of donating it to church."

i kept feeling a little bit guilty about that. my materialism continues to disappoint me. do poor people not deserve nice things?

evidently i am not naturally charitable. i am glad that the two sentences in that e-mail prompted me to do the right thing.

claude needs some more clothes.
everything he had was in a small plastic shopping bag.

My friend's wife

2006-02-28T11:58:00.000-06:00

Somehow, she manages to make even a poncho look sort of elegant and dispel my anti-poncho sentiments.

lookit

2006-02-28T11:54:00.000-06:00

now we're talkin'.

i made a camobunny.

oh yeah i made a kitty too.

bunny pattern from heartstrings fiber arts.
kitty pattern from knitty.com.

lookit

2006-02-28T11:52:00.001-06:00

i made a bunny.

disturbing knits

2006-02-28T11:52:00.000-06:00

it is disturbing.

i don’t know what to say.

(pause)

...

(recover)

“hello, i see that you’re knitting. what are you making?”

bored with scarves, i was looking for something different to knit. a hat, or another bunny or something. now i found bunnies and i found hats. but you know what else i found along the way? all sorts of weird s***, that’s what. pardon my language, but that's what it is.

knit breast prostheses. okay, if you’ve had a mastectomy, maybe that’s not so weird. actually that makes sense. okay. but knit condom pouches ("for when you're on-the-go"), vibrator cosies, and "willy-warmers"? useful or weird? can’t decide. oh, wait, actually yes i can: weird. knit (and crocheted, being very careful about typos now) male and female external genitalia? whatever. weird.

what took the cake was the knit uterus and fallopian tubes.

why? why, why, why?

please don’t answer.

that’s what i get for looking for patterns on the internet, i guess.

people are bizarre.

now a prude i may be, but it’s not the subject matter that bothers me. i am a physician, after all. it’s the fact that someone thought to design and knit all these things. i mean, what the heck? i’m much more comfortable with the real things than these weirdo knit versions.

wait, that came out sounding all wrong.

nevermind. there’s no fixing any of this.

“hello, i see that you’re knitting. what are you making?”

LOL

2006-02-28T11:51:00.000-06:00

to me, LOL stands for "little old lady."

that's what i think of whenever i consider my newest hobby. i am kind of regretting having chosen this hobby. well, regretting is not the right word-- it's too strong. i am, um, wondering about the wisdom and utility of that choice.

i started knitting less than a year ago because, well, at first because i wanted a light blue scarf and couldn't find one in the stores because freakin' everything was pink last year (not that pink isn't lovely, but it was just, you know, a pepto bismol explosion last winter) so i decided to make one for myself. i ditched that project when i found out my brother and sister-in-law were expecting, and made that blanket i posted a picture of a while back. (i also ditched it because i snapped one of my needles in half while working with it, likely a sign of the ridiculous amount of tension i tend to carry in my body.) what better reason to learn how to do something than for the sake of a family member? or a baby? or a baby family member?

anyway, since then i think i may have gone overboard in my usual way of going overboard with things. a respectable quantity of money and time have been invested, and i've got a few projects— some failures, some successes— under my belt. the successes include mostly long straight things, like that blanket, and scarves, one of which i now use myself, one of which i donated to the cold africans at church, and one of which i am saving to give someone as a gift. the failures? a meant-to-be-felted bag that i made out of yarn that doesn't felt (duh). well i guess that's the only failure and i guess i could salvage it with some seamstress-type work. the other not-quite-success is the same bag in a yarn that does felt, but i ran out of yarn and i really don't need enough to warrant buying another skein. i'll graft something in, i suppose.

"why do you like to do that?" camodad asked me, unable to completely hide his tone of nauseated anxiety. "i don't know," i answered. but i do know what he was thinking. he's thinking his eldest daughter is never gonna catch a man if she is seen doing something that only LOL's and pregnant women do. and no, it does not help my reputation as a closet badass. in fact, it strengthens my reputation as a poser. maybe i should take up motorcycle repair or archery, or trap shooting, or woodworking.

furthermore, i cannot argue strongly by saying that i will be making useful things as i am moving to a place where it is warm all year 'round, and no one needs hats, scarves, or sweaters. (except newborns. i guess i could do the knitting for newborns thing.) and i refuse to start making tea cosies, tissue box covers or toilet plunger covers. (shudder) not while i'm in my twenties, at least. or thirties. or forties or fifties.

so why do i keep doing it? because i like it. i've always liked making things and crafty-type activities. i like having a finished product i can be proud of, especially if it's something useful. it's repetitive and (sometimes) mindless, which can be therapeutic. it's something i can do while watching tv, and that makes me feel like i'm not wasting that time. and the yarns are soft and their colors are preeetty.

despite its recent increase in popularity (don't believe it? ask 5 women you know when they started knitting, and at least one of them will say within the past two years), knitting will always be uncool. to most americans' untrained eyes, it will always be an activity for older women, sitting by the fire, rocking in a rocking chair while the cats play with balls of yarn. but i don't care. like i said, i like it.

so, does anybody need a scarf?

Blankity-blanket

2006-02-28T11:49:00.000-06:00

because we said we'd post pictures of our projects.

details:
color detail
stitch detail
steve wearing blanket

Hey, look!

2006-02-28T11:36:00.000-06:00

I too have a blog about knitting. Brand spankin' new. And it's got the cheesiest template, complete with frosty, misty, wistful colors. Awww.

Why ANOTHER blog? Because sometimes there are things I want to write about that I don't want to bore non-knitters with. Because I want to share pictures of my works-in-progress sometimes. Just because, okay?

I'm going to copy my knit related posts here. When I get around to it.

Hey, it's a start.