My Happy Place

A Knitting P.S.A. in several parts

2009-02-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking it's time to do a little knitting P.S.A. around here because I've been tooling around and seeing blog comments and questions and frankly, I think it's time.

The one most important thing you can learn in knitting, that will help you in the long run and I think is above and beyond knowing how to make the stitches even... is how to RECOGNIZE your knitting.

How many times have you heard of people making the following mistakes?
1- Accidental yarnovers (adding more stitches!)
2- Purled or Knitted on the wrong row in Stockinette
3- Turned around the work while working in circular knitting and ended up
4- Lost your place in a stitch pattern and didn't know what to do
5- Lost your place when doing short rows and ended up wrapping and turning at the wrong times

The list can go on and on- feel free to leave a comment if you've got something else you add in there. Now, the truth is, everyone makes these mistakes. Some of them more than others- For example, I probably would never make the mistake of purling or knitting at the wrong time in plain old stockinette, and very very rarely do I ever turn my work around in circular knitting. Now I've had accidental yarnovers but I always notice them on the NEXT ROW and I just drop them and usually that doesn't leave any holes. When I lose my place in the stitch pattern, I can find it, and the same with short rows.

Now, why is it that these mistakes are easily avoided or fixed when I make them? It's because I know how to read my knitting, I know how to look at it and understand what is going on. There are tons of other knitters out there who do the same thing- they're the ones who can diagnose your problem with a snap of the fingers and can probably help you fix it.

But you know what? There's no reason YOU can't do the same thing! All you need to do is pay attention to your knitting, learn what the stitches look like, and learn a few really really simple rules about what your knitting is supposed to look like as you're working on it. Trust me- you don't have to finish that row if you don't want to. You can stop in the middle and come back later if you want to. It's not the end of the world if you stop in the middle of a stitch repeat- you can easily find your place if you know what the stitches look like.

I'm going to try to do some picture posts to accompany this, but what I really want to say to you today is just to pay attention to what your knitting looks like. If you're doing, say, 2x2 ribbing- you shouldn't have to keep count. The stitches should be your guide. Just look for a while- you'll see what I mean.

Dolly Restoration/Makeover

2008-10-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

My Blythe wig from Blythaholic came today, and I am so glad that it works. I was really starting to worry that I would HATE Kirsten because the last wig looked so abysmal on her. The wig cap DOES show on this wig BUT it's OK because really, it's a pale blond wig and it's really hard to tell unless you're right up in her face.

Let's take a look at the whole process...

First, we have a few pictures from the ebay seller I purchased her from for about $62+shipping (a bit steep considering the condition she was in but I wanted the Silver Eyes)

When she got here, she felt rather greasy and her wig was in HORRIBLE shape. It wasn't just chopped; It FELT nasty, so the first thing I did was get rid of it...

At this point I decided to take a Mr. Clean magic eraser to her because she had a very small mark on the back of her arm... I discovered this:

I could not for the life of me get the color difference but do you see how one leg is shiny and the other is not? The SHINE is GRIME. And here I just thought the vinyl was, well, being sticky vinyl. Nope. It was grime. I don't know what was all over that doll but I cleaned her up. The mark on her arm, however, is still there. I don't care.

Then I made Cerys lend her some clothes for deceny's sake..

She ends up looking like a cancer patient, poor thing, but fortunately the new wig is on the way...

And... FINISHED with her new wig on!

As of yet she's still unnamed but the tentative back-story is that she's Fae-touched and has dead parents and lives with her grandmother; I imagine I'll flesh that idea out more later. After I show Jeremy the pic of the new wig. He was really worried that the pale blond was too white and would make her look old, which I think is a complete crock because honestly there's no making the AG facemold look OLD. Srsly.

Oh, and in my woes, I was going back over my BJD order last night and I realized I had put the incorrect zip code. D'oh. I emailed them about it but WHO KNOWS if they'll read it, as they are Korean and I'm not sure if they even speak english at all or just use a translating software. However I did find a place to update my delivery address so hopefully that will make it a moot point. Also WTF $80 shipping! If I wasn't so in love with the fucking doll I would have gone to Junky Spot or Denver Doll and picked something out there. However, I fell in love with Ligaya- worse for me, lol. Still, since she was 40% off she still came to over $100 than her normal retail price so *meh*

Some knitting progress

2008-10-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not doing too great on the updating of the journals front but that's just the way it goes. I've done some knitting.

First, I finally finished the orange socks for the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous September Sockdown- the theme was Orange.

Sock notes:
Pattern- Yarnissima Firestarters (pdf)
Yarn- Wollmeise 100% Superwash in "Sonne" purchased from The Loopy Ewe.
Needles- Knitpicks Options Fixed Circs US 0
ravelry link

Then I used some leftovers from those to make a little hat for my new doll. I will be getting a larger doll in the next couple months so you will likely see a lot more knitting for her.

Next I decided I felt like making a gift with some cables so I started the mittens that brooklyntweed had published in VK Fall 08.

Notes:
Pattern- Druid Mittens/Green Autumn (3) from Vogue Knitting fall 2008
Yarn- KnitPicks Palette in "Salsa Heather"
Needles- KnitPicks DPNs in US2 (3mm)
ravelry link.

Tonight I'm going to also start on a Christmas Stocking for the October Sockdown, (DEADLINE WTF HELLO) but that probably will get set aside for a bit while I knit the mittens. They're for someone :D I'm feeling pretty good today, so hopefully the mood will stick.

More Yarnage

2008-10-13T01:25:00.000-07:00

I spun some more yarn- another roving from High Bid Farm.

Flamingos and Firebirds

I'm pretty happy with it, though I wasn't crazy about the colorway as it was spinning up. I've no idea what I'm going to make but this yarn is WAAAAY more even than my first so I'm pretty happy about that. It's so funny to watch Polyglot playing with the wheel- he'll go sit on the treadles and make it spin and then just go nuts, or he'll walk through the spokes, or just in general be cute. I don't bother stopping him unless he's chewing on pieces.

I also got some Seacell/Wool Roving in the mail today:

>

Colors from left to right are: Beautiful, Deep Blue Sea, and All About me!! All came from The Loopy Ewe and are just wonderful. I can't wait to spin them- they are each an 8oz braid though so I need to get all my bobbins emptied for them methinks. I can really only get 4oz per bobbin- maybe a little more. I know that a jumbo flyer is in development for my wheel but that will not be till late next year at the earliest I'm sure, and then there's the issue of being able to actually, you know, afford it.

Oh well.

My next project is non-knitting- I'm going to be painting up this bed I got at target for my AG dolls to look like wrought iron. Right now the lavender color is just TOO girly. I don't think you should make a bed like that and make it so girly and cute- little girls don't mind things that look real, y'know?

What Happened?

2008-10-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

I wanna know what happened. I used to be such a prolific knitter. And now I'm not. What's the deal?

I suppose it might have to do with the fact that I have less "downtime" away from my computer these days. Or the fact that I knit mostly socks on very small needles.

Whatever the reason I'm a little depressed about it since I'd really like to knit some christmas gifts and I have 2 almost-nephews that are the perfect kid age for making clothes for... but I just don't know if I could do it. I mean, I've got plenty of time, essentially... but I dunno.

I don't know if it's procrastination, lack of inspiration, or both.

The big spinning post

2008-10-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

I've done more spinning today; I finished up the 4 oz of roving I had and then I plied it.

Navajo Plied. Don't ask me if the Navajo actually plied like that, I've no idea the history behind it. Once I get a PVC pipe niddy noddy made and get that wound into a skein (and the twist set, etc) I'll post another pic so you can see the "better" parts of it. The most visible stuff in the photo is obviously what I spun first (and thus plied last) so it's not the "best" part of the yarn. I'm still practicing.

Here's my fiber "stash" in picture form...

Same as what I spun the yarn with just different colors

What the yarn above looked like before it was spun

Plain vanilla, will use a little bit for thrummed mittensl; Cormo wool I believe

Merino/Bamboo

Merino, color not very accurate

There was also an ounce or so of blue wool I spun up but haven't done anything with (Not much there) so it's just sitting on a bobbin.

I also took photos of a couple other pretty things from my stash. Daffodils Tussah Silk that I got for my birthday from Jeremy; He got it from here. And some merino/tencel in a nice blue color that I got from Woodland Woolworks when I ordered the springs for my Ladybug.

That being said, I still haven't thought of a name. I was thinking Virgo but I don't think it really fits her. Jeremy said I should go with Eglantine (what the kitten would have been named if he were a girl) or Nessie (because both the loch Ness monster and sheep happen to exist in Scotland). He also suggested "Beck" because it has a "turntable" but I thought that was a bit of a stretch.

We're going to the Hilton Apple Festival tom- well, today, actually. I'm going to get some apples and maybe some other stuff depending on what is there. Hopefully it will rock hardcore.

Spinarooni

2008-10-02T01:34:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm posting about spinning but you may recognize the Spinerooni as a wrestling move. Yes, Jeremy introduced me to the WWE and I can certainly see the entertainment value in it even though I think it's largely stupid, it can be interesting as well and there are some pretty decent athletes out there doing it.

The Spinerooni is a wrestling move that I believe is performed by Booker T. but don't quote me.

I am actually not sure why I even bought this roving, it didn't look that great as a roving (I will attempt to get a picture of what is left before I spin it) but it's actually turning into a fun little yarn. That's not the first thing I've spun on the Ladybug but it's the first thing I've thought to photograph while still on the wheel which I think is a good way to showcase it.

100% Merino Roving bought from the High Bid Farm booth at Finger Lakes Fiber Arts.

And now I'm feeling like my fiber stash is pathetically small because let's face it, spinning 4oz of roving takes waaay less time than knitting 4 oz of yarn.

Steampunk

2008-09-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Steampunk isn't entirely my aesthetic but like many "fashions," there are some fun things that I kinda dig.

Like these awesome goggles.

I mean, seriously! how awesome is that- I love that the baseball leather just HAPPENS to be perfectly shaped for it, too. A+++

Also, if you've never seen them... there's this guy who does "steampunk" makeovers on computers- they are incredible. I mean, truly- WOW. I adore it.

Batts of Love

2008-09-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

So, you guys may already know I'm into spinning; I'm not the best spinner in the world or anything, in fact, I'm still practicing a lot- I've mostly got the twist/feed part of the spinning, but it's the drafting that's getting me.

I get the technical aspect- you use one hand to pinch and keep the twist from running into your "drafting zone" and then you use the other hand to tease out the fibers- the problem is, I feel like I have to tug WAY too hard to get the fibers to separate.

Now, I don't know why this is- this could just be because I should be doing more pre-drafting. I don't really know, but I'm sorta testing it out- I figure I don't plan on doing anything that requires me to have perfect technique so long as what I'm getting is likeable I shouldn't care.

The problem, I'm having, however, isn't with the spinning itself- it's with the materials.

Batts. See, the thing about spinning- is that even with roving, it can be hard to tell what your finished yarn is going to look like if you have anything remotely multicolored. And a lot of that, honestly, has to do with how you spin it. For example, a roving with short little bursts of color- you could spread out those bursts into much longer repeats. Are you going to ply it? That'll change things too.

So what I have a hard time with is the fact that I keep finding these batts that look as yummy as the one I linked up above and I honestly have NO CLUE what it's going to look like spun up.

It's much the same thing with yarn, really. You find a nice, gorgeous yarn like this one, and you think "Wow, that's lovely." But knitted up it's hideous, and loses the charm.

It's rough- it's like artists really spend a lot of time making something that looks good as a product.. but then the actual finished product.. turns out not so great.

Sigh.

Packratting

2008-09-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

I think I am pre-disposed to hobbies that require stockpiling materials. I went to the Finger Lakes Fiber Arts Festival this past weekend with my aunt, and I could have bought a lot more than I did, but as it is my spinning container is now completely overfilled with fiber. I also saw some adorable little Shetland Sheepies and I am in love with them. So adorable.

My aunt wants me to make her a pair of thrummed mittens, so I ordered some Cascade 220 from The Loopy Ewe for that, along with a couple Dream In Color Smooshy colors that I wanted, another Orange sock yarn for the Mystery sock at the SKA Ravelry group... And I think that was it, lol.

I'll try to take photos of the fiber. I also posted on my normal journal that I had found a guy who makes spinning wheels at the festival as well- I was absolutely flabbergasted. Someday I'll have one- I didn't even ask the price for the wheels (which were absolutely gorgeous), because the Drop Spindles were so expensive that I didn't even want to know how much the wheels were going for. Someday, though.... They were really lovely (and small!). I really admire someone who can do that sorta stuff. I guess in a way I know I'd be able to do it, but like I said.. I have too many hobbies already. And as indicated by the "Tech" class I took in middleschool (Fancy word for woodworking in NYS schools), I've not got the patience for the finishing. Sanding and all that is just boooooring to me, though I love the result.

Anyway, I want to make a Tee-Shirt quilt with all the tee shirts I have that don't fit me or have stains or that I don't wear... so I looked online for memory quilts and found like all these great ones and suddenly it's like..... CRAP I don't need another hobby! LoL!

I also wish I didn't get sucked into my hobbies so quickly. Like, spinning- I haven't even had my wheel for that long but already I'm salivating over a drum carder. Sigh.

Wollmeise

2008-08-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, folks, I had my doubts about Wollmeise. I thought.. maybe it isn't all it is cracked up to be. Maybe everyone's just going crazy and it's not THAT nice. I mean, at least half the people who are buying it are just buying it because it's popular... right?

Well, when these babies came in the mail I remembered that things get popular for a reason...

Sonne

Lowenzahn

am kalten Polar

Wow. Just wow. At this point, I don't even CARE how the stuff knits up. I just love the colors THAT much. It's completely a different experience from Dream in Color, which I still ADORE of course.

Also picked this up...

From ebay.

Today was a good yarn mail day, though my makeup from Everyday Minerals still has not arrived and I'm getting a bit frustrated.

Freakin' A

2008-08-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

I just scored 3 skeins of Wollmeise. GO ME.

I'll post more about actual knitting later. Right now I'm going to go, like, do something useful.

Book Rant

2008-08-13T23:56:00.000-07:00

I'm totally not into knitting right now- oh, don't get me wrong- I'm still into yarn and I even still want to knit, but it's more like I can't decide what to knit. It's a little insane.

Anyway, today I'm going to blog about something I dislike in books and magazines; POORLY FINISHED SAMPLES. Seriously. I think if you are going to publish something in a knitting book or magazine you NEED NEED NEED to properly finish it. I should not be seeing wavy zippers, ugly seems, or ANYTHING that hasn't been blocked and neatly put together. If you are making something for a publication and you don't know how to finish it properly, for god sakes take it to someone who does and get it finished RIGHT.

What brought this on? Well, two books: Big Girl Knits and More Big Girl Knits. Don't get me wrong- I adore the books. There are designs in there that I love (even if I happen to be on the high end of their size range and am still unable to make all the patterns out of hand), and a LOT of good information about fitting clothing for larger ladies.

But damnit, I just CANNOT condone the poor finishing on some of the items in these books. It seriously drives me batty to see it. No, I'm not going to point fingers at particular members of the author team but let's just say I've seen poor finishing sneak by somewhere else, too. You may be saying that the finishing does not take away from the fabulousness of the finished item but, well, yes it does. And in a book that I'm paying money for it's just disgusting; If I want to see what it looks like with flaws and mistakes and crappy finishing I can log onto ravelry and see what people there have made (Thank god for Rav). In a book, magazine, whathaveyou- especially one that's published by reputable sources- I expect to see FLAWLESS finishing.

/rant

New Yarn

2008-08-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

Ok guys, I'll admit it- I've not bought from this person yet- I only just found them. But they're having a contest and their product is TOTALLY worthy so go check it out. For reals, yo. It looks like good stuff.

My Baby

2008-08-12T02:23:00.000-07:00

As life goes on, I begin to suspect that I'll never give birth to children; instead, I will have toys that become my children.

Yes, that's right. I got the spinning wheel (Schacht Ladybug) from The Loopy Ewe and it got here today. No, I haven't spun with it- I'm just taking a little time to analyze the scotch tensioner thingie it came with to make sure I'm using it right.

I really love it. I don't think I could be more happy with it, honestly. It's gorgeous, and it's fun, and cute, and they put a little ladybug on it just for me and I am just IN LOVE. And that's beore I've even spun on her! I need to give her a name- but I'm not sure what I'll be naming her. She's definitely a HER, though.

I'm trying not to feel guilty about this purchase. Truly, it was hard for me and I thought about it for a VERY long time. I got some inheritance money from my grandfather's estate in January and I decided that even though I am trying to make it LAST as long as possible, if I do not buy the spinning wheel NOW, when I can afford it- later on I will always wish I had. I know this because once when I was younger- about 5th or 6th grade- I ended up with about $3,000- a lot of money for a little kid. And I frittered it away, taking out $100 here, $200 there- buying silly things (makeup, clothes, etc). And afterwards I always wished I had bought a sewing machine. So, there you have it. I've made a big purchase, and it's one that I'm going to love for YEARS to come.

In other news, we're going to the Finger Lakes Fiber Arts Festival, and HOPEFULLY to Rhinebeck as well - eee!!!! I'm very excited. And Jeremy's coming at the end of this month and we're going to get to spend our birthdays together and I'm just feeling SOOO good about it.

:)

Taking the Plunge

2008-08-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I took the plunge. I haven't tried the wheel I've bought, but I'm enough of a beginner that I'm certain I'll work it out and if I don't, I'll sell it and get another one. I'm trying to take the easy-going route on this. Here's what I bought. The Schacht Ladybug. Not only adorable, but portable, and practical. I have no doubt that I'll love it and that I'll get spinning in a major way. Eventually I'll pick up a kate for it, and stuff.. but for now I'm just gonna fool around and get my spinning under wraps.

Other than that, I've done absolutely NO knitting. There's just too much I want to work on!

I'm doing OK mental health-wise, just a bit stressed. Trying to get everything in order and whatnot, but we'll have to see. My dad's supposed to be bringing some more stuff down to me this week some time but he hasn't called to say when, so I dunno. Meh.

Miscellaneous Stuff

2008-07-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I'm just going to go ahead and get a Schact Ladybug as my first wheel. I will learn to spin on it and I can get something more comfortable later (once I, I dunno.. sell off some fiber to fund my spinning habit? woe is me) if it isn't the best wheel for me. I've been feeling incredibly bad about spending money lately but I think this is one of those "now or never" situations and I know that if I don't buy the wheel now, then when my money runs out I'm going to wish I had.

In other news, I found this cool project. It's a tutorial on how to make wool dryer balls using leftover feltable yarns- the dryer balls supposedly take away the need for fabric softener or dryer sheets. I've got bits of leftover wool lying around that I'm not able to do anything with so I think that they'll be quite cool- I'll make one or two, maybe. We'll see. But a good idea, I think.

Anyway.. I'm gonna go take a bath and then maybe sleep. Or maybe just stay up until Jeremy gets online again. Maybe start some socks with the pink/brown yarn I have. I'm in such a weird mood- I want to knit like 100 things but I can't seem to get anything started! Insane!

Productive few days

2008-07-01T20:14:00.000-07:00

First, the knitting.

A couple Sock Blocker Keychains (From The Loopy Ewe:

And A pair of socks in Patons Classic Merino for my dad:

I got my Sock Blanks from KnitPicks, along with a starter kit of dyes, and I had a little fun yesterday. It wasn't terribly messy and the Jacquard dyes are most certainly more vivid than, well, koolaid- turned out well.

RAINBOW

These are for Jeremy. When they're knitted up you can't read the message but it's STILL THERE.

All in all I've been pretty productive, though I'm kinda stuck at the moment because there are too many projects I want to make.

Long Time No See

2008-06-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I've been gone for a while. I've actually gotten around to taking some photos and stuff so I'm going to make a post and I promise I will try to post here more often, but I can't make any promise that there will actually be more posts. I ordered a couple sock blanks from KnitPicks, though, so hopefully that will make for a few fun blog posts. We'll have to see, though.

Anyway, just to fill you in- I've come and gone from partial hospitalization treatment for my eating disorder, and I feel a helluva lot better than I did when I was in Ithaca, but I'm still struggling a bit so things are sort of tenuous. I'm at my aunt's house in Rochester indefinitely- until I figure out what else to do.

ANYWAY, when I got here I knitted a scarf for my aunt:

She needed something orange to wear for the awards ceremony at the Rochester School for the Deaf (where she works) so she had me knit that for her. It was super quick and took surprisingly little yarn, so it was a nice sorta "get me knitting" project.

That's right, I'm working on Frost Flowers & Leaves from A Gathering of Lace, like I said before. Inspired by Eunny Jang. As you can see I'm not terribly far on it, but it's already looking nice and I'm slowly working on it. I switched off from my Addi Turbo 0's to the KnitPicks Circs because they're pointier and thus better for lace, and now it's just a matter of tearing myself away from World of Warcraft long enough to knit (My character just hit lvl 60.. I can't help it, I want to be 70 before June ends).

All in all.. I'm just hanging around.

Thanks to my SP

2007-11-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

Who has sent me a second, wonderful package!

What a nice surprise! I was feeling deprived, too, because none of the stuff I ordered recently was going to be coming any time soon. I love getting mail.

I've been waffling on whether or not to buy this book, but my SP made the decision for me. It's a great addition to my library, too!

Really really yummy! I ate it all (bad Bronwyn!) in one day instead of saving it for later but it was worth it so its OK.

Thank you so much! This has been a great round! Can't wait for the reveal :)

Swaps & Baby Surprise

2007-10-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

I got a package last week from my Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 3 Pal!

You know are you jealous. Thanks so much to Jen C for the awesome kit. I think it was a good thing for me to switch to Ravenclaw for this round, because the yarn I got was GORGEOUS. I looove it. And Jen also managed to pick out something I'd never smelled before and totally get something I liked. This may have been luck, or she may have been skilled, but I'm certainly thrilled no matter what. My pal's stuff is going out this week, along with my Hogwarts Sock Swap pal's stuff as well. I'm still waffling on which yarn to give my sock pal, because I have separation anxiety about yarn. I'm weird, I know.

I finished up the Baby Surprise Jacket:

I like how it turned out, though I'm not crazy about how my neckline turned out. I think my cast-on got too tight at some point, so the back of the neck isn't as stretchy as the front, but it still looks OK and will not be noticeable on the baby, so I don't mind. I am probably going to make another one, because I do have enough of the Swish Superwash to make another. I'm starting to freak out just a bit that the Swish will not live up to the "superwash" thing, so I'm thinking I'll just put hand wash on them. It won't be the end of the world if it gets accidentally washed, but I don't want to disappoint Ivory. I'm hoping we can sort of be friends, you know? Wives of the Tudor boys and all that. And I know she'd feel bad if she washed it and it shrunk before Elijah gets too big for it.

Anyhow, I'm off to finish boxing up my Hogwarts swaps stuff. I'm going to make Jeremy mail them out tomorrow, and then HOPEFULLY I'll be able to go through all my yarn and start pulling out stuff for destash on Etsy. I need to do a major destash before I go back to New York.

And some mittens from the mitten swap I did. I think I'm definitely into doing another one of these. I've decided you can't have too many pairs.

Mitteny Mittens

2007-10-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

I finished the mittens for my pal. I have also shipped them. Today is actually a very good day, as I have been let off work early (they let us go home if there's not a lot to do) and am now at home, quite close (in my opinion) to finishing a baby surprise jacket. It's all wonderfully fun.

Luff on them!

Woe

2007-10-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

Sea Wool Bordello Sock is in stock over at The Loopy Ewe and I can't buy any.

*pout*

In other news, knitting is done on the fair isle mittens. I'm weaving my ends in now and will be blocking them later today or tomorrow. Huzzah.

Squirrelly Swedish Mittens

2007-10-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

I had to rip these things back a few times because I really didn't feel like doing colorwork for the mittens but the cabled tries I had just weren't working out- then I found the Squirrely Swedish Mittens (pdf) and I fell in love, and I already had some colors to use so.. I started on those.

1x1 ribbing on us0 needles with the Mountain Colors Bearfoot- I started the 'poles' section and decided that the needle size was too small- this pic was taken right after I switched up (just started knitting with the larger)

Starting on the Squirrel section

Palm side- I picked this one to be the palm because there is a section in the repeat on the Bearfoot that matches the knitpicks gloss I'm using, so I picked the more prominent squirrel side to be the back. As you can see I've tucked under the ribbed cuff- looks great

The back. There are a few sections of the deep red in the bearfoot that have snuck over on this side but it's OK.. The squirrels are the most important part for me.

Are they not so adorable? I finally cracked down last night when I said to myself "ZOMG I NEED TO HAVE THESE FINISHED ASAP!" Hahaha. I'm glad I found something I'm really happy with.

... Chickens?

2007-10-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sure this had something to do with the chicken-themed sock camp that they had but is anyone else disturbed by the large number (I counted 11) of poultry-themed colors over at Blue Moon Fiber Arts?

I know I am.

I am also not working on my baby surprise jacket, because I realized I need to have my mittens for mittenswap done by the 15th so I started those. progress here.

Singing Her Praises

2007-10-02T20:30:00.001-07:00

I know, I rave about her. Elizabeth Zimmerman is practically a goddess to me. When I posted on Zimmermaniacs and got a response from Meg Swansen (daughter of EZ) I practically squee'd myself out of my own body. I get that response sometimes- it's the reaction to the people who are celebrities in my own mind- people whose work I love, people who I never thought I'd meet, etc. I had similar reactions to Bill Nye and John Cleese when I met them during college.

But I digress.. I started a baby surprise jacket today.

It's one of EZ's more popular pattern. I have always been amazed by it- if you're familiar at all with the E.Z. phenomenon you'll realize that the Baby Surprise Jacket (or BSJ for short) is what a lot of people call a knitting miracle. You basically knit this big garter stitch thing that becomes a baby jacket.

I'm obviously not that far. But if you want to see some finished photos of the jacket, check here. It's really amazing.

So, in short.. EZ is the BOMB. Seriously. I could probably write a whole book about how much I love her, but right now I'm just sticking with the jacket. It's going to be cute.

New Yarn, New Project

2007-10-02T13:42:00.001-07:00

So I'm finally starting on a Baby Surprise Jacket for Elijah. I'll probably do a few other little things but this is going to be the last big thing for the baby.

Anyhow.. I bought some Swish Superwash in Marine Heather & Delft Heather and it's really pleasant to work with. Very soft. I just hope it stands up as well in the wash as it claims to.

Also, the heathering effect? Very pretty. Subtle, but pretty and wonderful. It practically sparkles.

Stuff about me.

2007-10-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

Ever wanted to know more about me aside from knitting? Here are some favorites:

Actor - James Spader
Actress - Lindsay Lohan (i know, i know.)
Animal - Cat
Band - This one is hard.. right now Tatu..
Book - Too hard. I have too many.
Bubble Bath - I don't have a bathtub :(
Candy - Dark Chocolate
Color - Rainbow
Flower - Rose
Food - Cheese.. and Seafood
Lip Balm - Gudonya Lip Smoothies
Lotion - Vaseline intensive care.
Movie - Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Song - Right now? Nolita Fairytale
TV Show - Burn notice
Vacation Spot - Adirondack Mountains

Anyway, not a lot of knitting getting done- I'm feeling really crappy due to head cold and putting off contacting Cornell.. buts I need to.

Gryffindor Dice Bag

2007-09-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

For my Sock Kit Buddy...

Good stuff :)

Busy Busy?

2007-09-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

Maybe. Not Really. A little.

I've got most of the stuff done for both the Hogwarts swaps I'm doing (photos later today when I have more time) and now I just need to get things boxed and ready. I probably would have been able to post pics this morning but unfortunately my fiance decided to turn the alarm off and just "assume" that I was awake (I wasn't) so I got rudely awakened by his father who came to knock on our door to make sure I was still going to work (I am).

I've been knitting up a storm lately, but I'm worried it's hurting my wrists. I think I'm going to lay off for a while (If I can bring myself to), and also try to lay off using the computer. My job at N.E.W. makes that impossible so I have to try to rest when I get home.. which does suck, of course, since that's when I get to do fun stuff but..

C'est la vie.

More Birthday Stuff (From my SP) & Good News

2007-09-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

So today started off shitty..

But it got better. Before I post pics of what I got from my secret pal, I'm going to say first- YAY I GOT INTO CORNELL FOR THE PLANT PROTECTION GRADUATE PROGRAM! YAY!!!!

OK.

Not pictured were some mints (they are pretty good) and some vaseline hand cream. What a way to brighten up my day. Even before I found out that I did get into Cornell I was cheered up by a package.. and then I find out that I DID get into cornell... Yay.

Happy Birthday To Me....

2007-09-20T13:44:00.001-07:00

This is what I bought with my birthday present (a gift certificate to Blue Moon Fiber Arts. From the left the colorways are: Lunasea, Sugarplums, Tanzanite, Thistle, Lagoon (silkie), Lucy.

It's all I can do to keep from starting to knit with it today.. OMG.

Though the colors aren't quite as vibrant as I was expecting (except for thistle, the green in thistle is way more lime than I expected!!), I still love them. I really want to start knitting right away but I have way too much stuff to finish.. baby booties, mittens, a bag for my swap pal.. all that stuff. Yeah. Lots to do.

Be jealous if you want. Just keep in mind I'm not allowed to buy any more yarn (ESPECIALLY SOCK) until I.. knit some of the stuff I have already. I really ought to stash-bust with some stuff for my aunt's bazaar. And maybe some mittens to donate to the thingie they do at work in winter. We'll see. I'm really a selfish knitter at heart.

Rippin' it..

2007-09-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Yeah..

So the project monogamy problem is still here. I've got no less than 4 projects within arms reach right now. Lol.

I abandoned my original idea for the mitten swap. The cables I was doing (2 stitch rope cables) were getting lost in the garter stitch. Have I ever mentioned that I really dislike garter stitch as a background for cables? It just doesn't make them POP as well as reverse stockinette. Garter stitch is so textural all by itself that it just doesn't work for me. Weird, isn't it? How different garter stitch really is from reverse stockinette. Anyway, I didn't actually rip back, I just slipped the 1/2 inch of cuff I had off the needles, cut the yarn, and started over with a regular 2x2 ribbing with the twisted rope cables on the right side ribs.

Much better. This particular color of KnitPicks Gloss doesn't really show the texture so well right now- or, well, moreso what it does is magnifies the texture of the reverse stockinette. It's kind of interesting, but annoying.

Sometime today I'm going to run into the bedroom and dig out my gryffindor-colored worsted weight yarn and get started on the bag for HSKS3. I got a note from Amazon today saying that my order with my Secret Pal's book in it had been lost in the mail so I'm vaguely annoyed by this.. I'm thinking I'm going to just send a skein or two of nice yarn and put the book in the next package but I'm annoyed with that too. Bleck. Ah well.

My ballwinder may be breaking.. and I'm a little worried about it. The handle has started to make a disturbing squeak when I turn it. I'm going to be very upset if it breaks when I just got it on the 15th! Seriously!

Anyway.. off to knit. I have too much to do. And I just remembered I had promised to send my aunt some baby stuff for her church bazaar.. I don't know if she's going to still want them (if she's feeling up to the bazaar after my grandfather dying) but I figure sending some stuff might motivate her and I know that the bazaar would do her good.. so we'll see.

Lacking in Project Monagamy

2007-09-18T20:08:00.001-07:00

I'm suffering from an extreme lack of project monogamy right now. I've got up to the end of the second clue for Scherherazade's Slippers and my other set of US2 circs is currently held up with the pi shawl I never finished due to other things getting in the way (read: sock and sock kit swaps) so I don't really want to start the other sock yet, since it would involve too much hassle... I'm starting on the mittens for the mitten swap I'm doing.. I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with the result but we shall have to see. I didn't really want to do fair isle but I don't feel like devising my own cabled pattern and I don't have the right weight/color of yarn to make the aran mittens in folk mittens right now..

So that's where we are. Because I'm not entirely happy with the mittens I started tonight and because I'm feeling guilty, I've started another pair of Christine's Booties for Elijah (not even born yet and I'm already obsessing).

Every time I look at my WIPs on Ravelry it just gets to me.. y'know? Ah well.. off to do secret projects.

Sutffies

2007-09-17T05:56:00.001-07:00

I've finished the socks for my Hogwarts Sock Swap pal and I'm going to be getting those sent out later this week. Yay! No pics yet.

My Swift and Ballwinder finally came! I had some initial trouble with them (see here) but then I read through the instructions more fully and figured it out.

They are from the Mystery Sock Pattern over here It's for a Sock Knitters Anonymous sock contest over at Ravelry. They are really pretty. I don't know if they're going to fit me, and the fabric didn't look that great when I tried it on my foot so I may have to reknit them later but right now I'm just sort of going with the flow. I didn't like that particular color of Dream in Color at first but now it's growing on me so.. Yeah. I'm thinking about waiting for the rest of the pattern and seeing what kind of ankle patterning she does so I can just add some stitches on the foot.. but we'll see.

Happy Birthday to Me

2007-09-12T10:47:00.001-07:00

Today is my birthday!

Over the last week or so the birthday presents Jeremy bought for me and that I bought for myself have been trickling in- I got the present from his mom today.

A $100 gift certificate to Blue Moon Fiber Arts!!!!!

Okay, so I spent way more than $100 on myself but still, I figured they'd give me MAYBE $50, I didn't expect that much, so I'm definitely happy.

I spent about 1.5 hrs trying to decide what to get, and I ended up getting STR in the following colors: Sugarplums, Lunasea, Lucy, Thistle, Tanzanite & some Silkie in Lagoon. I went over the $100 a bit but still, I knew that would happen- And I don't mind. I would have gone over paying for shipping anyhow so the extra $19 for another skein of STR Lightweight was worth it.

I can't wait till it gets here!

Anyway, I've finished both of the booties and now I'm just doing some 2-stitch Icords for the ties. I love two-stitch icords- they are SO MUCH BETTER.

OH, also, my Kauni came from Astrid's Dutch Obsessions a couple days ago. It's entirely unremarkable in the ball that they have it in because you can't really see the stripeyness- I'm thinking about rewinding it when I get my swift and ballwinder (another birthday present.. I hope they come today). Just so I can see the stripey colors all in the cake..

Speaking of cake, I had some this weekend but I want more now.

Baby Booties

2007-09-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

From this...

to this......

From this pattern. I want to make tons. I'm using my Brittany Birch 5" dpns for this.. I love them. Even though they stab me in the hand.

I want to make tons more of these booties in all different colors and stuff. Yay!

I should have KNOWN

2007-09-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

I knew I should have waited before buying the KnitPicks Options set. Yep. Guess what? They have Wooden Options now. And they're not just any wood- they're really pretty COLORED wood.

*sigh* I'm torn between getting my metal options set together and selling off the whole thing and then getting the wooden thing, or buying just the wooden tips (if I buy the same ones that come in the set it comes out to be just slightly cheaper than buying the whole set, which isn't.. well, that great considering) and keeping my metal options.

The thing is, I don't really like the big metal options. They're too heavy, and I like the TINY needles for socks and stuff but really, the big ones just hurt my hands. So the wooden ones.. Oh, they'd be sweet.

But I really shouldn't spend the money. Really. Truly. Sigh.

Ah well.

Birthday Goodness

2007-09-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

So, my birthday is coming up on Wednesday. Yay VIRGOS. Anyway, I'm slowly getting some of my birthday stuff because there are three September (early September at that) birthdays in the house.. So today we had our celebration. A nice autumn colored cake with lots of frosting flowers (what can I say, I REALLY like frosting flowers). I got a copy of the newest Sims 2 expansion, which won't play on Jeremy's new compy for some godawful reason (sigh), but which I'll install on his older compy and play there since my poor lappy is NOT doing well enough.

But, also, I got a loopy Ewe Package:

First, I spent a bunch of birthday monies on some more Dream in Color, because Sheri got some more in stock. I'm done, though. Seriously. DONE. I can't buy any more of this stuff.. Too much. Also I will be destashing on Etsy soon.

I also picked up a tiny sock blocker Keychain, and knitted a sock for it out of some extra yarn that was included in my order to make a "Red sock." I liked it better for the blocker, hee hee. I want to make a bunch of little socks to stick on it, though. It'll be fun.

Jeremy's parents picked me up a gift certificate to Blue Moon Fiber Arts but it hasn't come yet. Once I get that I'll be buying yarn from them, but that'll be the last of it. Blue Moon Fiber Arts seems to be really slow on the orders and doesn't update the order status much, which is kinda annoying.. Oh well. I'm not really worried about it yet given how long my last order took to get from them.

I'm still waiting on a swift and ballwinder (!!!) from KnitPicks and then that'll be it for my birthday. Good stuff. I also got a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble from Jeremy's uncle Brad, and I'll be spending that later on. Probably on knitting books. Yay.

Okay, Enough

2007-09-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

Alright, this has to stop. The Loopy Ewe put a little bit more Dream in Color Smooshy Sock up...

And I got 4 more skeins. After I use my gift card to Blue Moon Fiber Arts.. that's it. No more yarn. None.

No more. But I'm going to LOOOVE what I have. But no more yarn for me.. just yarn for swaps and stuff.

Happiness

2007-09-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

Despite the awful smell in the house today, I'm feeling good. Wanna know why?

Let me tell you.. I'm in love for life. I am also thinking I will be ordering from Sheri again because she really has such a variety. When I get my birthday money from my fiance I'm totally going to go NUTS. Hah! Now, I was a little worried after the fact- I could only pick 2 skeins and I knew I needed to get them NOW because Dream in Color is one of those yarns that sell out REALLY quick because everyone wants it.. No waiting for my birthday money. So I said "2 colors.. that's it (for now)" The Spring Tickle was a shoe-in.. but choosing my second color was hard. The pictures at The Loopy Ewe were not what I had seen over at Sonny & Shear so I wasn't sure which pics to trust.. Ultimately I decided to trust Sonny & Shear since theirs seemed a bit brighter.. and picked out Visual Purple. So I was nervous..

But the purple was just what I wanted and wonderful.. Yay! Can't wait to knit with it- but I promised myself I'd finish the Ravenclaw socks for my sock swap pal first.. and then I need to make a Gryffindor dice bag (I'm matched up with a Gryffindor.. Again! lol) for the sock kit swap, get together the yarn I'm going to send them..

Then maybe I'll knit a pair of socks for myself. I think I need to stay out of the next sock swap, lol.

FINALLY!

2007-08-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

They got Dream in Color Smooshy Sock in stock over at The Loopy Ewe.

I'm broke so I only got 2 skeins but I am praying that when we have money again next week she will still have some. I'm not hopeful, but still.. one can hope. I got Spring Tickle & Visual Purple. I'm so excited!!!!!!!

Yarn Buyage

2007-08-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

I just bought some Kauni EQ and a shawl pattern. Actually, I might not make a shawl but it comes free so..

This does not count against my diet at all. It's.. pretty much.. sock yarn. Yeah. Really pretty sock yarn that I might even use for socks.

Yup.

The money I made from those knittens is draining away really quickly, lol.

Some knitting is getting done..

2007-08-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

First, a project coming out of retirement

I don't really know what It's going to be, it's really more just for me to play with the yarn so I might just have it around for inspiration or something. From that Linie stuff with the ruffles like the yarn harlot used for that awesome orange scarf.

SOCK PORN

Again, for anyone who doesn't remember, they are KnitPicks Gloss & KnitPicks Palette. I'm feeling all accomplished and stuff now. Just got the leg part left to go.

After I finish these socks I'm on to the pi shawl I started ages ago.. or I might have to knit more for the HSKS3 Swap.. lol. Yay.

Not much knitting getting done..

2007-08-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

But I fixed the sock

It's still a bit depressing, because the sock obviously isn't the same.. but.. it's mended, it's wearable. I'm hoping I don't have moths or anything (believe me I'm stalking) and that I just snagged it on something (I feel like there would be more holes or something if it was moths). But still, can you say HEARTBROKEN?

I'm resting my hands after having to do all the knittens. They have been finished and shipped and now I have money in paypal burning a hole in my "pocket." I kind of want to buy the Cher collector barbie dolls.. but you know how that is.

Anyhow, that was it for my quick update. I'm still enjoying my chocolate from SP, and STILL needing to get together the first package for my SP, lol.

Miscellaneous Stuff- SP & Socks

2007-08-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

Flashing my Stash for SP11

So, remember my Koigu Super Saver Socks? My wonderful lovely socks that I love SOOOOOO much.

Well, LOOK WHAT I FOUND:::

I'm so upset. I was wearing them yesterday and they were FINE and I don't remember snagging them on anything.. and these holes just appear outta nowhere?! WTF!! The hole's on the TOP! So they aren't worn out!

*Sigh* I have some koigu in the same colorway so I'm going to be able to mend them but I'm annoyed because they'll never be the same.

Secret Pally Stuff

2007-08-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it wasn't totally a surprise. I knew it was coming. But I was happy it came today, because I was certainly feeling a bit down about things.

I got a copy of the ORIGINAL 30-Minute Meals book by Rachel Ray, a bar of single-origin dark chocolate (YUM) and a yummy yummy skein of Araucania sock yarn in a gorgeous purply-green colorway. I love it. Can't wait to knit with it. I have too many sock projects planned! Thank you, SP.

Now I just need to get a package for my own SP going.

And to top it off I'm asking for gift certificates from The Loopy Ewe and Blue Moon Fiber Arts for my birthday. There will be a post-Sept 12 sock yarn stock up. I can feel it.

Sewing

2007-08-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

I will be happy if I never have to sew up another god damned knitten ever again!

Too bad I have a bunch of knitted ones sitting around that I actually need to do nothing more for but sew up.

*sigh* I was supposed to have all this finished yesterday and I would have but I didn't feel like doing it so now I have to force myself to do it and get everything sent out tomorrow. Jeremy isn't going to like me, either. Too bad, he'll have to send international post. Assuming that after I finish them I get payment.. yeah.

In other news, it is a delicious 44 degrees here. I love cold. I even got to put on my Koigu Super Saver Socks for the first time in ages. Yay!

Wanting Sock Yarn

2007-08-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

*sigh*

So, Jeremy and I are broke. I helped buy him a laptop for his birthday, so all my money had to go to that. So we're broke. On top of this I'm working night and day on these damned knittens that I have to have done and ready to ship by Tuesday night. I'm actually doing pretty well on the knittens I've got 4 more head pieces to make then I just need to sew them up & figure out the wires. Totally worth it for the money I'll make, but also frustrating because..

I wanna knit socks.

And I want to buy sock yarn. NICE sock yarn. I am DYING for some Dream in Color Smooshy Sock. But it's out of stock in every color I would like. I want to go nuts at Blue Moon Fiber Arts and buy some STR... Hell, I want koigu too. I wanna go nuts on stuff at The Loopy Ewe. I want SOCKIES!

*tries to calm* Why is it that I never want to go shopping when I have money?

PS: Sorry to anyone who is also broke. I know I'm being whiny. Just bear with me for now.

Pattern: Dice Bag

2007-08-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hogwarts House Colors Drawstring Bag

This bag is VERY adaptable and I'm not going to write the numbers of exactly what I did, mostly because I can't tell you! There will be very few hard and fast numbers in this pattern, so just do it- it'll turn out nice in the end no matter what as long as you follow my simple instructions.

Materials
-2 skeins KnitPicks Merino Style in your choice of House Colors (1 of each color)* (shown here in Gryffindor- Hollyberry [MC] & Harvest [CC])
-US 3 DPNS (sef of 5 best)
Darning Needle

Instructions
note: first section of the bag is worked back and forth. I use the DPNS but if you prefer you can use straights

Decide which color will be your Main Color (MC) and your Contrasting Color (CC). In the bag shown I've used Hollyberry as the MC and Harvest as the CC.

Using MC, CO 29 sts
Row 1-?: K1, P1 across.
Work this pattern (seed stitch) until the bottom looks approximately square (or whatever other shape you'd like your bag to be)

Once you've finished working the bottom of the bag, it's time to bring the other DPNs into play & switch to circular knitting. Pick up stitches along the other 3 sides. Use one dpn for each side.

Next, we're going to knit a round with the MC. You should increase a bit- I did about 4 stitches at each corner, and make sure that your final number of stitches is divisible by 2- this is important! (If you want to make your job really easy, make this number divisible by 12, too)

On the next row, we start the color pattern (work this loosely! Any unevenness will be remedied in blocking, and we want to minimize how much color pattern "pulls in" as much as possible!):
Join CC
Bag Round 2: K1 with MC, K1 with CC, cont around.
Rounds 3-?: Repeat Round 2
note: Use your preferred method of Fair Isle for this, but make sure to be consistent. One color will be raised slightly out from the bag over the other one, and make sure you keep carrying the colors the same way so that the raised color does not change. So if you knit with the MC in your left hand and CC in your right hand, do that for the entire bag.

Continue in the color pattern for 5 inches or so, shorter or longer if you want. Break off MC and knit 2 rnds with CC.

Border and Drawstring Area:
With CC, Purl 2 Rounds
Knit 2 Rnds
Now it's time to make the holes: Take your total number of stitches and divide by 12. Subtract 2 from that number. We'll call that number "G"
Eyelet Row: (K "G" stithces, YO, K2tog) Repeat instructions in () until end of row
K2 Rnds
P2 Rnds
K2 Rnds
Bind Off

Weave in all your ends, and now we'll make the "Icord" for the drawstrings. While you're making the Icords you'll want to give your bag a quick soak in wool wash (or even just water) and then strech and block it over something to give it a more "Square" look and to also pull out the fair isle section so that it looks more even and also comes closer to the size of the border, which will be a little looser than the fair isle section due to it not being pulled in by the yarn carrying across the back. Let that dry while being blocked over a form (I used the end of one of those FridgePak soda 12-packs with a bag over it).

I-cord Drawstring (Make 1 in each Color):
With DPN, CO 2 Sts
K2 sts, slide knitting back to beginning of needle, K2 sts
Continue until your icord is "long enough" (12" for me but you can make it longer, shorter, etc)
Draw yarn through the 2 loops on needle and use darning needle to weave through the bag eyelets, then secure the 2 ends together in chosen method (I prefer to try and sew them so they look vaguely seamless)

Repeat this process with the other color. Make sure you weave the second icord in from the other side, so that the 2 strings will come out of 2 sides of the bag as shown in the photo. This means that you can pull on the 2 sides and the bag will close nicely.

* Recommended House Colors of Merino Style:
Gryffindor: Hollyberry & Harvest
Hufflepuff: Crocus & Coal
Ravenclaw (book): Storm & Cinnamon (this may be a bit dark for your bronze tastes, if so, you can substitute Andean Silk in Navy and Mustard (mustard is a REALLY good bronze)
Ravenclaw (movie): Storm & Fog
Slytherin: Moss & Fog

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the pattern. You can use the bag for carrying Dice, knitting supplies, or whatever you want. You can knit it smaller or bigger, use a different pattern on the bottom (I prefer seed stitch, though) use a different yarn, really, it's pretty adaptable. This was adapted from my original Knitted Dice bag pattern.

I decided to write this pattern out for the Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 contest.

Socks Put on Hold

2007-08-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

Quick bloggy before work.

The ravenclaw socks have been put on hold because I got an Etsy order for some jumbo-sized knittens that someone needs ASAP. So no sock knitting today, just knitten knitting until I get them finished. I'll post pics here when I do finish them- the person is having me put wires inside to make them poseable.

I can't say I'm looking forward to marathon knitting six jumbo-sized knittens but they'll be cute anyhow.

For now, off to work I go.

Miscellaneous Stuff

2007-08-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not getting much done. My Grandfather died on Monday evening and I've been successfully avoiding any actual emotion over it because I'm in Montana and my entire family is in New York. I feel terrible but I can't get out there. With Jeremy's parents wanting to force us to move out, it's.. We can't afford it. On top of this, you only get 3 days bereavement leave from N.E.W. and they told me that anything longer would have to be treated as a leave of absence and they would only approve it if service levels worked. SO, even if I could afford it, I could not go. I'm pissed, overall.

I'd say I'm about halfway done with the foot. These, of course, are going slower than my last pair for the Hogwarts Sock Swap, because I'm using actual sock weight yarn instead of the DK I was using last time. They're also a little bit more boring, but they're coming out great. I love KnitPicks Gloss so much, it's a joy to knit with and it looks really nice.

Also, I did a little bit of cross stitch on Tuesday..

Adorable, no?

Anyway.. I'm feeling pretty down so.. meh. We'll see what goes on. My back is hurting, And.. yeah.

EZ Socks

2007-07-19T09:59:00.001-07:00

They are finally done! And they look GORGEOUS on my fiance's foot. Before I get too deep into the post though, here're the details:
Yarn: Opal Handpaint (in a pretty dark grey color I got from a swap on knitswap)
Needles: KnitPicks Classic Circs US1
Pattern: Moccasin Socks from Knitter's Almanac & Knitting Around
Notes: With these socks you have to kind of trust the pattern because you don't see right away how it's going to happen, but they turned out really good. Except for the bottom of the foot. There are these "bumps" which EZ does mention in the pattern, saying they can be steam ironed away. I don't know if that's going to help me, as they're quite pronounced and I think I could have used another few decreases before ending the sock. I got a comment on the Zimmermaniacs blog from someone claiming to be Meg Swansen (if its really her I'm totally starstruck) mentioning 3 segment shaping every half inch which I think will work a bit better.

You can see the bottom of foot bumps. Looking back I think some decreases before the last row would have been prudent, but when I need to re-foot these I can work on that problem, in the meantime, I'm working on another pair for myself in Elann Peruvian Highland Wool so I'll experiment with those too.

>
The pointed heel. You can see that my fiance has very strange ankles so ignore the weirdness, but the heel is there.

I also really loved the pointed heel (seen in the last photo). It looks really pretty and fits my fiance much better than the normal heels I do for him, so if I can figure out the bumpy thing on the bottom of the socks I'll be making these almost exclusively for him. I will definitely be doing ribbed socks for him exclusively from now on, as well, because it helps a lot with his high arches and big heels. I can make the ribbing so that it's much bigger when stretched out and it'll go over his heel, but then pull in when he puts it on. I've had SOO many problems sizing his feet until I realized it was his high arches that were causing my woes.

As a note- there were definitely some holes when I picked up stitches (You can see some in the heel photo) but to fix those I just went through and tightened the row- starting at the hole, you pull the leg of the stitch till it tightens up, then you go sideways, pulling leg after leg of the stitch until the 'looseness' spreads itself over several stitches. Worked really well.

Also, I can tell from the writing that EZ thinks a lot of the toe she does on these socks and she's right- it looks really nice.

Socks that Rock yarn + Quidditch 2

2007-07-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

So, I got my order from Blue Moon Fiber Arts today. I had ordered 3 skeins of yarn- 1 skein of 24 karat, 1 skein of Mustang Sally, and 1 skein of lover's leap- 2 reds because I wasn't sure which one would be best for a Gryff sock kit. Turns out Mustang Sally was, because Lover's Leap was (as I suspected but wasn't quite sure) definitely more pink than red. But it worked out- I have a skein of STR to call my own. OH, yes, all were STR Lightweight.

Yum. The yarn is really lovely, and I wish I didn't have to send off the Gryffindor colored skeins. Also, for anyone who's wondering- 24 Karat and Mustang Sally are PERFECT Gryffindor colors. I'm also working on the bag (I plan to have everything sent out on MONDAY of next week I'm just waiting for a few things to come in the mail and I have mostly everything all set) and not making it in Gryffindor colors this time, but using some earthy Crystal Palace Taos instead. Good times.

Sock Kit Swap 2 Quidditch Trivia Round 2
1. What did Mrs. Weasley make to eat the first night that Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place?
Stew

2. When the children are de-Doxying the curtains what lunch does Mrs. Weasley say she will bring them?
Sandwiches

3. When Hermione arranges to meet Rita Skeeter in "The Three Broomsticks", what is Luna Lovegood eating?
A cocktail onion

4. The wizard bank Gringotts is located hundreds of miles below London, deep under the Underground. Due to this, what does Hagrid say you are mostly likely to die of even if you manage to break into one of the vaults?
Hunger

5. True or False: In "Sorcerer's Stone", when asked by Harry what the difference is between stalagmites and stalactites, Hagrid's answer is: "A stalactite grows down from the ceiling. A stalagmite grows up from the floor."
False

6. In "Prisoner of Azkaban", Harry meets Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, at the Leaky Cauldron when getting off the Knight Bus. Fudge takes him inside and sits him down to have a "chat" with him about blowing up his aunt Marge. Fudge says that everything has been repaired and that the Dursleys are prepared to take him back next summer on what condition?
That he spend the Christmas and Easter holidays at Hogwarts

7. In "Prisoner of Azkaban", Harry spends time every day gazing longingly at his dream broom, the Firebolt. The first day he ever saw it, Harry overheard the owner of Quality Quidditch Supplies telling everyone that which National Quidditch team had just placed an order for seven of them?
Irish International Side

8. Book Three: When Harry is hiding under the table in the three broomsticks what drink does Flitwick order?
Cherry syrup and soda

9. How much do Fred and George bet on Ireland winning and Krum getting the Snitch (Ignore the 5 Galleons for the fake wand)?
37 galleons, 15 sickles, 3 knuts

10. How much does a journey on the Knight Bus (without toothbrush or chocolate) from Magnolia Crescent to London cost?
11 sickles

Picture Scavenger Hunt
(worth 5 house points)
You can either post the pictures on your blog or leave a link so that we may find it.

Fountain from the Ministry of Magic
Quidditch World Cup Campsite
Diagon Alley
The Knight Bus
Flourish and Blotts

In other news, I don't want to go to work tomorrow. Why is my 'weekend' always so short? le sigh.

Quidditch and some Updates

2007-07-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

OK, before I start with the "real" updates, I just wanna say- if you haven't already, go get on the invite list for Ravelry. I've been on there for a few weeks now and it's really worth the wait, so get on the list and wait it out. Good stuff.

Lessee.. I've progressed quite a bit on the Moccasin socks for Jeremy, and next time I make them I will add a few more repeats of ribbing but I think they will JUST fit. I am going to make him try them on multiple times as I knit the bottoms so that I'll be sure they fit.

I got my final secret pal package last week (just a tad over deadline but my sp told me and it was just a few days so.. yeah) Thank you Miss Prism. There were a lot of British candies and some harry potter patterns (dark mark illusion scarf and weasley sweater cell cozy. And some green/black lamb's pride worsted for the scarf. I ate most of the candy, and I'm too lazy to take pics right now (God my job is exhasuting) but eventually, some day, I'll take pics of the patterns and the yarn.

I ended up with the same person to spoil for the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 2 so I'm devising a new bag strategy for that, and the yarn has FINALLY Shipped so I should be able to get it out next Monday and beat the deadline. Whew! 1 month is not a lot of time, even though I get things done quickly!

quidditch round 1 stuff
1. "What happens if I wave my wand and nothing happens?" "Throw it away and punch him on the nose." Which two people are talking?

2."If he raided our house he'd have to put himself under arrest." Who say this?

3. When sitting on the wall next to Professor Dumbledore at the beginning of the book, who does Professor McGonagall bet was the wizard responsible for the shooting stars seen by Muggles over Kent?
Dedalus Diggle

4. Known by the students as Nearly Headless Nick, what was Nick's actual name?
Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington

5. When venturing into the Dark Forest with Hagrid for their detention, who is the first centaur Harry and Hermione see?
Ronan

6. We know that Parvati Patil was sorted into Gryffindor house, but what house was her twin Padma sorted into?
Ravenclaw

7. What colour do the flames turn when you use Floo powder?
Emerald green

8. What colour tie was Cornelius Fudge wearing when he came to take Hagrid to Azkaban?
Scarlet

9. After running away from the Dursley's, Harry took up a room at the Leaky Cauldron. What number room did he stay in?
11

10. While Ron, Hermione, and his other classmates are in Hogsmeade, Harry stops in for a chat with Professor Lupin. What did Lupin tell Harry he had just taken delivery of for their next lesson?
Grindylows

Picture Scavenger Hunt
The pictures can either be posted on your blog or you can link to them from your blog.

Harry's Aunt
Whomping Willow
Cornelius Fudge
Buckbeak
Emma Watson
Whew!

Lessee.. I can't think of anything else right now, but I'll post more if I do.

Promo

2007-07-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?
Hufflepuff

2. Shoe size? Foot length? Foot circumference?
Um.. I guess it'd be a Womens 10.5 WWW But here's the specs: 10 inches long, 11" circumference at top of toes 12.5 at top of foot, and ankle is 13inches.

3. List your three favorite sock yarns.
a. Koigu (KPPPM)
b. Trekking
c. Opal

4. Would you like to try a new brand of sock yarn? If so, which brand?
I would probably most prefer a new brand- any of the following would be MORE than awesome: STR, Chewy Spaghetti, Fleece artist (espcially the sea wool), Tofuttsies, Zen String, Scarlet Fleece. I'm open to anything pretty and good quality.

Probably best to not get me any knitpicks sock yarns, though. I have pretty much every color that's there.

5. Do you prefer variegated or solid sock yarn?
Variegated all the way. Solid is nice, too, though. My favorite is the varied solids of 1 color- you know, where the color is all the same but varied, like the kettledyed stuff from handpaintedyarn.com

6. What colors would you like to add to your sock yarn stash?
Any colors. I'm especially fond of the ROYGBIV rainbow, but not especially fond of any other "rainbow" combinations, so if it claims to be rainbow but doesn't have ROYGBIV, i probably won't like it. Also not a huge fan of pastels, but pretty much anything else i'll love.

7. What kind of sock patterns do you gravitate toward? Lace? Ribbed? Fair Isle?
Anything that ISN'T fair isle

8. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, animals, etc.)
None, but dislike smoke.

9. Will your socks be exposed to cigarette smoke or animals as you knit them?
They only animal they will be exposed to will be ME. lol. I wash and block before sending though so none of my long falling out hairs will get in.

10. Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?
I'd rather not.
Now onto the fun stuff...

Sign-ups for the swap start on July 14th and it's totally going to be worth it. You should ALL sign up. Basically, what you do is knit a pair of socks for someone else, and if this is your first time participating (you should already know about the swap if it isn't) then you'll be sending along with that knitted pair of socks (In your buddy's house colors) & a set of sock needles as well as a set of stitch markers.

"Second years," though (and this is my favorite part) since they already have participated in the swap and have this stuff already, get to send sock yarn and a pattern instead, because they already got the first stuff. How great is that? How many swaps even pay attention to that? Yay!

EDIT to ADD: Second years also send bookmarks. Woohoo!

You do have to do a little extra, and if you're planning on signing up come July 14 pay attention- 1, you have to visit the Hogwarts Name Generator (or come up with your own Hogwarts name, like I did) and get a name. Then you need to create an email address containing that name (I got a gmail one with Holly Heathertoes in it). Then you determine what house you're in (Hufflepuff here), and then you email the headmistress your necessary information. A little more work than last time but still pretty simple and totally worth it to participate in a superfun swap. I know I'm really looking forward to it.

So go SIGN UP!

Sock Yarns

2007-06-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

I ordered some more yarn from Lazy Perry Ranch, and it came today. All I can say is wow.
. Seriously, the color? SO much more amazing than I could even imagine. Their picture did NOT do the yarn justice. You can see the listing here. Their picture, as you can see, doesn't do the yarn justice AT ALL.

Now, since I get an awful lot of sock yarn, I've been noticing there's a vast difference between thicknesses of brands. For example, Lion Brand Magic stripes is really thick, and Opal can be a little bit on the thick side as well. Koigu is a bit thick too, and KnitPicks sock yarns are at what I consider the "Perfect" thickness. Now, there are some sock yarns that are very thin. I don't know what base yarn the people on Etsy are using, but there seems to be this 2 ply sock yarn (I'm pretty sure it's all the same yarn) that is really loftily spun, so when you knit it into socks it stretches out quite a bit and becomes quite thin. Even just by ball winding. Now I thought it was just thin, but today when my yarn came from Lazy Perry Ranch, I realized that it's loftily spun, and not inherently thin.

From left to right: Koigu PPPM, KnitPicks Sock Memories, SunnySide Ellen sock yarn (she has now switched to Louet Gems for her base yarn, so she is using the same base as koigu), Rainbow Sock from LPR after winding, Rainbow Sock from LPR pre-winding, KnitPicks Shimmer (lace weight).

Now, as you can see.. there are some discrepancies. Now, the thinner sock yarn- I knit these sock yarns from some from LPR- it's not so bad. It still makes decent socks, and for some people, it might even be better for them because the socks fit better in shoes. But a difference of 10 stitches/inch with the thinner to 8 stitches/inch with the thicker.. that's actually a big difference in knitting time and number of stitches, etc. So I'm kinda stuck. But we'll see. I'm going to wind the Rainbow Sock from LPR really loosely and see if that helps at all. having it in a ball wound on a ballwinder seems to make it stretch more because those are more tightly wound. So we'll see. But it certainly is curious.

Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap TWO

2007-06-20T09:32:00.001-07:00

OK everyone, you probably remember my participation in the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap, right? Well, that's almost over. I got my kit, my partner got her Kit, and everything is peachy. So I'm left a little bored.

What do I do? Sign up for the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 2.

Now, you guys, you've got ONE day left to sign up, so if you're thinking about it... DO IT. Seriously. It's fun, and it's actually a super-simple swap. All you need to do is assemble ONE package for your pal including the following things: Sock yarn (in house colors), a bag (knitted, sewn, whatever), a set of house-related stitch markers, a set of sock needles, and a sock pattern. You can then add in whatever goodies you want- I put in some candy for my pal, and my pal sent me a mini sock needle case as well as some Harry Potter candy goodies. (if you want more details on what I got see my previous blog post on what I got.

I actually really love this swap because it's not as involved as Secret Pal. You just send 1 package, and you have a ton of fun making it, and that's it. It's also a tad cheaper. So if you're wanting a swap to do, you love harry potter, or your maybe not up to doing a whole secret pal.. seriously, check this out. It's easy to sign up and there's ONLY ONE DAY LEFT!

PS: You can view my livejournal blog here. I'm going to be trying to keeping the posts on both blogs current so take your pick.

Extreme Rainbow Socks

2007-06-19T18:50:00.001-07:00

As you all know, I've been working on the 2-in-1 Socks from Knitty for quite some time, and have finally finished them.. this is my official FO post. Enjoy.

Here we have an innocent looking sock toe...

But there is a hidden secret.. there are actually 2 socks!

And here we have a photo after the heel has been turned.. Still going strong.

Unfortunately.. the socks stagnated at this point for several months. More than half a year, actually.

But now.. they are finished:

Now I'm not going to post the photo itself behind the cut, but while my fiance and I were outside taking the FO photos of the socks, we ran into the cutest kitty that stopped for a petting session and to roll around at our feet.

Details
Pattern: 2-in-1 Socks from Knitty
Yarn: Superwash Merino Sock from Lazy Perry Ranch- note on this yarn: it is a bit THIN. Compared to Koigu or the Knitpicks Sock yarn or even like Opal or similar it's quite thin. I wouldn't even call it sock yarn, but.. it made a pair of socks so it was fine.
Needles: US 00 (because double-knitting tends to knit up looser than normal)
Notes: The pattern was modified to be toe-up, which means that I had to knit the toes separately. This may be considered "cheating" but I didn't feel the need to make this any more 'difficult' than it already was! On the technique of double knitting.. I don't really find it that difficult, but I probably will not knit another pair of socks like this because doing it on small needles in a small round is a total pain in the butt. You get into a rhythm, but it's still a pain and you have to constantly check to make sure you haven't crossed the yarn. In short, doable, something I'm proud to have done, but something I probably won't do again. Also, I wish the rainbow "stripes" on the yarn were more gradually color-changed (it's just an abrupt switch) or maybe in shorter repeats. I still like the socks, however.

Anyway, as a word of encouragement to anyone wanting to do double knitting (I'm an expert now, what with these socks and this headband and the number of other things I've double knit just for the fun of it)- It really is not that hard. Not something you want to try when you're just learning to knit and purl but if you have those two things pretty much grasped and you can hold the yarn in front and in back of your work as you go- just follow the instructions and I promise it'll work. Great beginner project would be the hoover baby blanket. Double knitting DOES NOT have to be done with 2 different colors, or even 2 yarns, so don't let that deter you. It really is super easy- just a bit tedious at times.

edit: as an add-on, I did indeed have to use the fix detailed in the 2-in-1 Socks pattern/article. It basically involves dropping back rows of knitting and then knitting them back up uncrossed. There was also a false start when I crossed the yarn in the toes. But I consider myself an expert in fixing mistakes several rows back so I was OK. Should you take on these socks, just follow the instructions in the article and make sure you haven't actually SWITCHED the two yarns (inside sock and outside sock). If you switched the yarns no amount of tinking back will help. You'll have to rip.

Knitting Musings

2006-12-29T16:26:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been wanting to design something, though I am suffering from a distinct lack of inspiration. I've been poring over knitting blogs, magazines, books, and websites and sitting at my desk with pencil and paper in hand, trying desperately to feel inspired.

It just isn't working. I need more.. resources, or something. I don't know what it is. I did discover, after thinking about it rather hard, that I have a thing for knitting accessories. I don't knit sweaters- I surmise, in part, because I am so large that the idea of knitting a sweater for myself is incredibly daunting. On top of this, I really don't know what would fit my body nicely. I know what would fit my ideal body nicely, but me? No idea. So here I am, making myself as many "perfect" pairs of socks as I can (none patterned though I have an itch to make patterned ones, I simply haven't found a yarn I can truly allow myself to be creative with), all the while thinking about making fair isle mittens and drooling over the sheer beauty of Eunny Jang's Blog. What is a girl to do?

Knit lace. If my book would ever get here! I blame my father wholly for this, as I had left three of my dearest knitting books in New York thinking I would be returning for the eating disorder clinic, only to discover that I would have to spend entirely too much money in order to stay there (already scared by the prospect of a summer with people I didn't know, I caved in and cancelled those plans). So now, Knitting On the Edge, Knitting Over the Edge, and A Gathering of Lace are all in New York*, taunting me. I have already asked (no, implored) my father to please send me these three books. I did get 2 packages from him last Saturday- imagine my disappointment when I opened both boxes only to discover that they were mere Christmas presents, not the fountains of inspiration contained in my three beloved books. I have an email from my aunt claiming that he will be sending them, but who knows how long this will take. And before any of you make smart remarks about me borrowing these books from the library- I have already tried! They are not contained in the Great Falls Public Library, and I certainly am not going to spend the $30 per book to purchase another copy of any of them (it gets more tempting each day, though, to buy another Gathering of Lace, every time I see the Frost Flowers & Leaves Shawl that Eunny Jang whipped up. I am simply in love).

What is a girl to do? The 8 knitting books I got for Christmas only served to intensify my desire for these three books. I got A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G. Walker, only to discover the very lace pattern used in the shawl I want to make is plastered all over the cover, taunting me. Of course, I could design a shawl of my very own, but why bother, when there is a pattern already so beautifully laid out for me? I lust for sumptuous, shiny, silky lace.

The rainbow socks are losing their appeal. The yarn doesn't really "fade" so much as it stripes in very wide and ungainly rainbow stripes. The finished product will be nice, but not as nice as I would have hoped. They will not be the incredible rainbow masterpieces that I had envisioned. Each stripe is over 3 inches wide! I suppose I will have to break down and just knit striped socks in rainbow colors, but still. Is a rainbow sock yarn so much to ask? I don't think so.

I fell this morning while walking to work. It really really sucked. I have skinned knees and my back is bothering me even more than it was already. Knitting isn't giving me the pleasure it should. I'm lusting after something I can't have, and I am sitting at work with 22 minutes to go and I simply just want to go home, curl up in a big chair (which we don't have) with my knitting. I miss Eco House, and I miss the big chairs, and most of all, I miss my copy of A Gathering of Lace!

*You may wonder why I left some of my favorite books at home. Firstly, there was the fact that those three books would be the ones I would want with me for the summer- then there is the fact that all three are rather large books so it was easier to stomach being without them for a mere 3 weeks than it was to stomach lugging them on the train to Montana and then on the airplane back to New York.

Christmas Meme

2006-12-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper

2. Real tree or artificial? Used to be real, but no tree now. Someday I want one of those sparkly disco ones- the silver ones.

3. When do you put up the tree? 2 weeks or so before xmas

4. When do you take the tree down? Weeks after christmas, lol

5. Do you like eggnog? Ew!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Oh god.. Probably one of those knitting machine kit things. You know, the ones that aren't actually "machines" but just big looms. I loved getting craft stuff for Christmas even then.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? No.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Brothers in law

9. Easiest person to buy for? Jeremy

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, if i send them at all

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Probably the crocheted hanging flowerpot holders from my aunt (it was one of those family gift exchanges so it wasn't for me specifically)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I hate christmas movies, but if it counts, Hook.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Right after Christmas last year.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes. I'm careful not to let anyone know about it but I'd rather give it away to someone who will like it than to keep it and never use it.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Turkey, and when I am with my family, macaroni and cheese.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colors- Blue

17. Favorite Christmas song? The one with the figgy pudding

17b. Christmas Song That, When You Hear It, Makes Your Eyes Bleed And Your
Brains Start To Leak Out Your Ears, Because That Is Less Painful Than
Having To Listen To: Most christmas songs

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Depends on where you count home, but not with my family, with my fiance's family.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Dasher, dancer, prancer, vixen, comet cupid, donner, blitzen And then there's rudolph. But he doesn't count in my mind.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Usually an angel back home, when I had a tree.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Used to be Christmas Day but since we don't have a tree or anything special we did it on the 23rd this year

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Christmas Crowds, Christmas Movies, and Christmas TV

23. Favorite Christmas Tradition? Homemade macaroni and cheese.

24. Outdoor decorations? No

Fair Isle for Fun

2006-12-15T17:43:00.000-08:00

So, I know I don't have pictures of my finished Koigu socks but I am waiting to block them because I want them to look absolutely perfect. I have a bit of a photo series planned ;-) Anyway, right now I'm using that amazing yarn I mentioned to knit a pair of socks X-Treme style. I've had some problems with the technique (see: crossed yarn a couple times) so I had to rip back to the toe (not that I'd gotten that far) and I don't think I'll be making socks like this again because it is kind of a pain in the butt, even if it does give me official knitting goddess status. but the yarn I bought is actually on the thinner side for socks sooo... I need to use the smaller size dpns that I have. Anyway, I decided this morning I wanted to mix it up a bit.

I don't know if I'm making a pair yet (the mitten itself may become some sort of ornament), but I'm working on the "Selbu mitten" from Folk Mittens. It's not exactly what I wanted but its turning out really nice. I can't wait till I get it washed and blocked- I bet they'll turn out great. I don't really do a lot of fair isle and I hate working on dpns to be honest but these are turning out quite good. The purple and the pink is a really good combo (it is KnitPicks Pallete, and I'm thinking about doing this same design with some modifications. I don't realy like the thumb gusset or the thumb design- i'd do the whole gusset in a solid color if it were up to me, you can't see the rest of the thumb obviously but it has a snowflake and I can think of ways to make it look better. I'm also thinking of doing some doubleknit reversible mittens with the snowflake. I need to buy more KnitPicks Pallete. Lol.

PERFECT YARN 2

2006-12-03T07:41:00.000-08:00

OK, Anyone remember the last Rainbow Yarn that I found? The perfect one? I found one last night that is even more perfect. The first one I got is a lovely handpaint, but this one is going to become the most perfect pair of socks ever!!

See, I'm already becoming a fan of the seller who makes this yarn. The yarn is a spectrum fade, so the socks will start at one color and then fade all across the spectrum to the next.. HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT? I haven't even got the yarn yet but I'm confident that only the nastiest yarn can ruin the colors this person makes.

The best part? They also have a custom color listing so you can get your OWN colors made (she only charges a $5 deposit which goes on to the final cost of the yarn, which is then charged in increments of 100 yards- read the lsiting if you're interested). If that rainbow one hadn't popped up I probably would have asked for one, but I guess they saved me the work, eh?

I'll let you know how the wool is when I receieve it, because I know not everyone is going to be so enchanged with the colors that they don't care about the wool, but I'm excited.

Koigu Super Saver Sox

2006-11-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

finished sockie:

..aaaaaaaaaand a progress shot

My previous post has most of the details on pattern and stuff of these socks, but I'm pretty proud of myself. I was using the stuff I picked up from Simple Socks Plain and Fancy, which is really an excellent book. Totally worth it, and it has a lot of information on estimating sock sizes based on just 1 or 2 measurements! And Mittens too! Plus, she totally advocates toe up socks, which are my FAVORITE. Anyway, I'm only a little way through the toe of teh second sock but I'm just busy doing stuff for and an Etsy secret santa.

I made this a while ago..

2006-11-29T17:53:00.000-08:00

Curly Mohair Rainbow Wrap
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

But I just got around to taking photos now that I have a dress form. It is made from a kit I got from some place in australia, but I'll be damned if I can remember where the website was... Anyway, it was expensive and it came with like 20+ skeins of yarn all perfectly dyed and it knitted into this huge wrap that is like.. 9 feet long, I swear. Its so good.

Its scratchy but it's really pretty so I don't care. Nothing beats a rainbow. TRULY. Rainbows make you feel happy. And just in case you're wondering about the sudden rash of posts, its because of susan. She has inspired me. I need to find all my damned books so I can get knitting.. I think my copy of A Gathering of Lace and my Knitting over/on the edge books are all still back in New York. GRR!

Also, I purchased a pattern for the Heere bee Dragone shawl. It's got a weird name but isn't it gorgeous? I'm excited to start it but I'm hoping that my secret pal sends me the perfect silk or silk/wool blend yarn for it. MMM.

"Krafting" in Montana (AKA reason 2002392938 why New York is BETTER than Montana)

2006-11-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday was a rather slow, enjoyable day. Lots of crafty ladies over here at N.E.W. but it's all very "Kountry Kraft Korner" here, which makes it hard for me, being the ivy-league educated "hip" twenty-something that I am. Hard to listen to Big Butch Lesbian Lady talk about how HORRIBLY overpriced the local yarn store is and extolling the virtues of the "Pound of Love" yarn you can buy at Walmart on sale at this one certain time of year. Ugh. Expand your horizons and realize that sometimes yarn is expensive because it is nice.

Don't misunderstand- I don't see anything wrong with shopping for cheap acrylic yarn at walmart- I think that cheap acrylic yarn has its place in the world, but talking down about the Local Yarn Store Owner because her stuff is "overpriced" is just close-minded, in my thinking. On top of all that, I haven't seen anything remotely "nice" from any of the ladies around here, unless you like garbage bag holders and novelty yarn scarves, but nothing that is remotely "hip" or even traditional- its all tacky "krafts." It's very uninspiring- I miss being around craftspeople who made things other than fun fur flip flops and furry scarves.

Seriously people, there's a whole other world out there, one where plastic canvas is recongized for the tacky travesty it is and where there are yarns beyond Red Heart Super Saver and Caron Simply Soft. There is a world of traditional knitting, lace and fair isle and loveliness, a world where legwarmers and armwarmers are made from deliciously soft merino wool hand-dyed by people just like you and me. There's a world where socks are like butter on your feet. There's a world where super-detailed counted cross stitch patterns look all the world like stitched paintings of landscapes and animals, a world devoid of cute little teddy bears and tacky 'homemade' looking things. A world where cabled sweaters are made by people and not bought at Old Navy.

Am I snobby for feeling this way? I don't really feel that I'm being snobby but for gods sake people there's more to the world than garter stitch fuzzy scarves and those stupid no-sew fleece blankets! Dammit! Yarn doesn't have to be made out of plastic!

And for god sakes Montana, there is a world where cheddar cheese is not dark orange.

I can't wait to go back to New York. Until then I'll have to comfort myself by looking at gorgeous pictures of pretty knitted things on

Sockles

2006-11-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

I started making some socks, these spiral socks using Koigu Painters Pallette Premium Merino and some KnitPicks Gloss. The gloss is so I can get a full pair of socks out of 1 skein of Koigu. Yum. They are super soft too because not only is the Koigu super yummy, the gloss is soft so these socks are gonna be heaven on my feet. I'm sooo excited.

I'll post pictures when I get a chance but they look totally rocking, the Koigu is pink and orange and the gloss is black so its a really great effect. Luff it.

I finally found it- the PERFECT rainbow yarn.

2006-11-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

Me LOVING my new yarn
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

If you've read my blog for any amount of time you may know that I've been on a mission to find the perfect rainbow-colored yarn for quite some time. In fact, I've failed many times- and the suggestions people give me are always "red Heart mexicana!" which doesn't have the right colors or "Bernat Hot Sox!" which, well, doesn't come in a decent fiber.

But at last, thanks to LavenderSheep on Etsy I have found the perfect yarn, and this yarn is going to be an awesome pair of socks that will be mine... alllll miiiine.

I LUFF IT.

I don't blog here nearly enough, I really need to start crossposting

2006-10-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Friendship Bracelet
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

I knotted this bracelet literally years ago, and I just found it as I was messing with my stuff today. I love it because it's rainbow so I put it on.

This is made from 6 colors of DMC embroidery floss using a knotting technique with half-hitch knots. It's basically macrame but this isn't usually the side you'd see if you were doing a macrame piece. For some reason macrame usually shows the other side which I'll try to take a picture of later so you can see how different it looks.

This is a REALLY elaborate version of the knotted bracelets i've posted pictures of before.

I'm really glad I found it- it really brightens up my day and it's so nice, stands out.. If you're interested in having a bracelet like this, contact me through my etsy store for details and pricing- you can have up to 6 colors for one this wide, and the price i assure you will be very reasonable but be aware that these bracelets take a really long time to do and are really complicated so it won't be cheap. Skinnier ones are avalable here and here and here.

Final Package for SP8

2006-09-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

Final Package for SP8
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

I got my spoiler package today, which was totally and completely AWESOME. I got stuff from Elizabeth and she seemed to really be worried about whether or not I was going to loooove the stuff but really, I ADORE it all. Seriously. I know that I didn't have the best knitting content on my blog but that's mostly because honestly I haven't been doing all that much knitting.

What you see in the pic- 2 skeins of Koigu (yum), 2 skeins of malabrigo (SP: you wrote that you weren't sure it was 'my thing' but I've been a devotee to Malabrigo Merino since it was sold for cheap on Hand Painted Yarn, and I just don't have access to it in an LYS anymore. I still buy other things from their website but getting my hands on some of my original favorite was awesome. I know you doubted yourself on this, but I LOVE IT.

Lessee.. what else.. great felted bag- really awesome shape. I'm not a big bag person, but I use ones that I like and I do like this one. You also see, on the bag there in the bottom, a clover yarn cutter pendant (something I wouldn't buy myself, but am glad to have gifted), and a little keychain notebook (journal obsession, uh ohhh). Also EZ's Knitting Workshop, which I didn't own before but had taken out of the library, so I know it's a GOOD BOOK- on top of that I adore Elizabeth Zimmerman. There's a pack of craft thread which is always good when it comes to making bracelets for the shop, AND, probably the 'funnest' thing in the package- the "Sew Crafty" mini sewing machine. I've had my eye on one of these but never got around to buying one sooo... Yay!

In short- Elizabeth (do people call you liz?), I'm sorry you got so stressed out about what to get me and that I wasn't the best blogger when it came to showing my interests, but you are BY FAR the BEST secret pal I have EVER HAD, so you really really don't need to worry about me being unhappy. Because I'm happy. Incredibly so.

PS: this is yarn that will NOT be getting destashed ;-)

Stubbed Toe

2006-08-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Stubbed Toe
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

I stubbed my toe today and its fucking KILLING me. My poor poor toe. Look at it! All bruisy and bad! I'm sure its broken but since it's my baby toe.. well you know how that is. I'm off to find my bruise ointment (i hope) and then maybe get some sleep. Wish me luck.

My Craft Entry: An embellished Jean Jacket

2006-08-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

My Craft Entry: An embellished Jean Jacket
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

Well, I entered the Etsy-Craft co-sponsored contest, and i didn't win anything (which is disappointing given how much I spent on this project), but I like my entry.. Not as much as I would have had I not gotten de-motivated halfway through, but I do like it so I'm not terribly displeased. It is for sale over here and extra embellishments are added at the buyer's request.

The jacket is a plain slightly stretchy dark-colored denim jacket with brass buttons down the front, 2 chest pockets, and a nice collar, button cuffs, etc. Pretty basic, womens size large. You'll notice you can see the sparkle paint through the beads because of the flash, but the beads actually look quite a bit more "solid" in real life under natural light. Like I said, embellishments added as desired- I might sew some beads onto the cuffs and stuff and add new detail pictures as is, but I don't want to bling it out too much in case someone just wants the nice "Craft:" logo, you know?

Interested in the magazine the contest was inspired by? Head over here to see Craft: Magazine.

Check the Features Blog!

2006-08-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

The Pimpin' Penis

2006-08-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

The Pimpin' Penis
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

New at heathertoes handmade. Hee heee. See the listing for all the details on his construction. Interested in a pattern? Comment here!

Custom Friendship Bracelets now available at Heathertoes Handmade

2006-07-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

3 skinny Friendship Bracelets
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

I finally got a listing done for the skinny friendship bracelets. This is in anticipation of being in this month's Sampler. For just $2.50 you can have up to 4 colors in a great, skinny bracelet. Check out the listing for more details about these bracelets.

As soon as I get some of my larger bracelets made up in design samples I'm putting those up as well. Should be oodles of fun, really. Ja.

My Friend's Kittens.. again

2006-07-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

Columbia_071806_002
Originally uploaded by release_me.

I wish I was in Ohio so I could go visit these cuties. Their mommy is very pretty, super interesting coloring. I want her, not the kittens. Heee.

Ocean Blue Felted Bowl

2006-07-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

Ocean Blue Felted Bowl
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

Got another bowl up for sale at Heathertoes Handmade. It's 100% wool crocheted and then felted to make this great bowl. Turned out quite a bit better than the last attempt, and I'm hoping someone buys it. I really really need to raise enough money to move out of this horrible house, so if anyone would like to help me with this cause and has a few extra bux (I know not many of us do this time of year, or any for that matter..), then head over to Heathertoes Handmade and see if there's anything that strikes your fancy.

Adorable Kittens

2006-07-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

Kittens_071206_002
Originally uploaded by release_me.

These kittens are so cute, and close, and obviously they'll grow up to be the best of friends.

I hope they don't get separated. So cute.

My Sock Suitcase

2006-07-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

The Sock Suitcase
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

This is my suitcase full of sock yarn. Not much more to it than that, really.

Mostly it's KnitPicks stuff- Sock Memories (quite a few discontinued colors actually) and Pallete, but there's some other stuff- the stuff on the bottom right with the rainbow colors and the silverish ball band is Schoeller and Stahl self striping, there's some koigu buried in there, some Moda Dea Sassy Stripes, some Bernat Sox.. etc.

All the 100% wool in there is being used for my felted bowl projects.

Miniature Crocheted Felt Bowl

2006-07-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

Miniature Crocheted Felt Bowl
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

Now for sale. Made from KnitPicks sock landscapes (now discontinued) in the "Mesa" colorway. Its about 4" across, and was made from leftovers from my larger project which did not turn out quite as well as I would have liked. This little guy turned out really good though. The other one will have to be cut up into dust rags I think- I might sell them off on Etsy later, but we shall see.

For now, enjoy the bowl.

Look at the kewt kittens.

2006-07-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Kittens_070806_001
Originally uploaded by release_me.

One of my Etsy buddies, Release, had some kittens- or, well, her cat did. Apparently one of them was stillborn out of the 3 but she still has these two. How adorable! Look at the little paws! the little cuties!

Bobby Boner and his Face

2006-07-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Bobby Boner and his Face
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

I finished BB v2, also known as Bobby Boner, the older brother of little Billy Boner, who you saw earlier this week. I like Bobby a lot more, and not just because he's more realistic. Billy was really an experiment and I learned what I needed to do to get it going right, so now I have the pattern all set. I'm going to make another boner out of Cinnamon colored andean silk today, and then maybe another one out of the chocolate color. Get some multicultural penises going here. I have a few ideas for penis characters so I'm going to start scavenging for fabric scraps and whatnot. That should be fun. I figure hats are the first place to start. Bobby will be for sale at Heathertoes Handmade later today.

Lavender Recycled Magazine Paper Beads

2006-07-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

Lavender Recycled Magazine Paper Beads
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

Now For Sale at my etsy shop. Apparently i had some beads featured on the Etsy front page, but they sold so fast that I didn't know until someone told me! On the bright side, I made a sale, and I'm offering an extra special deal with this set (because there is a total of 58 beads), so better snag them soon.

Samples for the Sampler- Finished!

2006-07-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

Samples for the Sampler- Finished!
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

I finally finished all my samples for The Sampler. There are 200 bracelets in there, all bagged up in great little baggies and tags with my shop logo on them. Talk about a ton of work!!!! And I still need to get together all my promo stuff.. ahhhhh!

So far it has been crazy, but this isn't the end. I'm doing another sampler type thing for october (at least I have some time, eh?) and even though it's not for a sampler i have 50 bracelets for a wholesale order. Wowie.

Billy Boner

2006-07-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Billy Boner
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

Look at my adorable amigurumi, who is for sale here! He's a little out of proportion for a penis, but that's OK because he's Billy Boner, the amigurumi penis, so his oversized head and undersized testicles are cute and loveable.

My first skein of yarn!

2006-07-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

My first skein of yarn!
Originally uploaded by cimorenegal.

I got some silk hankies off etsy, and I spun them up over the last few days. Hankies are a ton of fun and I'm really happy with how this turned out but I am going to spin some white silk I got from Castleman to ply with it, because it's my first yarn and its thin in places. Also, since it is my first yarn it is pretty thick and thin, but I love it and I can't wait to get more hankies so I can do more silk spinning. I think hankies really might be ideal for new spinners- they seem soooo much easier to spin than wool.

Destashing Yarn Sale

2006-06-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Destashing Sale at Heathertoes Handmade

I'm destashing, fuh realz yo. So, help me out- take my yarn and give me a little money. I'm working hardcore on bracelets for The Sampler, and I just got accepted into the Little Black Box for October's "Think Pink" breast cancer awareness box- I'm going to make breast cancer knotted bracelets for that one, and I'll be doing 100. So once I get done making bracelets for the sampler I've gotta make bracelets for the black box. Hee hee.

Another Project: Amigurumi and Sampler Contributions

2006-06-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a cute little amigurumi tomato I did for a custom order on etsy. adorable, no?

and the beginning of my contribution to The sampler

Wanna see me Topless?

2006-06-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Well, probably not, but I can reassure you that the photo is not in the least bit disgusting so head on over and check it out ;)

Cool stuff on Etsy.com: Featured Item: Fat Girl Zine issues 1-4

Finally a new crafy something...

2006-06-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

A knotted friendship bracelet! Specs: 100% Mercerized Cotton, adjustable from 6-10"

Selling for $10. If any of you readers are interested in a custom, feel free to convo me over at Etsy.

Cool stuff on Etsy.com

2006-06-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Cool stuff on Etsy.com

This is my newest project- go check it out. I've already featured someone, and I'm going to try to do 1 feature a day, plus "Theme Thursdays" which will be uberly cool. Let people know about the blog too, and if you're interested in being one of the contributors or if you have an idea for a theme or an item/seller to feature, then please please please email etsyfeatures@gmail.com

Boys and stupid foodness

2006-06-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

I'm raging mad at my fiance right now. I just made taco salad like I learned from Milan at school (basically its bagged salad, taco meat, crushed up chips, cheese, and thousand islands salad dressing). He came in when I was putting on a second squirt of Thousand Islands and flipped out. Basically, decided he didn't want any. I am so fucking angry with him right now. I made dinner. I MADE FUCKING DINNER, and he wouldn't even give it a chance. Fine. Whatever. Stupid fucker. He's like a child, honestly. If you tell him what is IN something he'll flip out and he won't eat it. Besides, it isn't like the salad is DRENCHED in the dressing. Not even close. You don't even know it's there unless you look and see it. It just adds a little tang to it- it's not like I fucking drenched it in Blue Cheese dressing. Fine, whatever, I'll eat the whole fucking thing myself.

He did this to me the other day, too. I made him some butterbeer (cream soda with a shot of butterscotch schnaaps), and offered it to him. Realizing it was alcoholic because he is smart, he immediately refused. But see, the thing is- you don't taste the alcohol in butterbeer at all. It's not that he's morally opposed to alcohol- he just doesn't, in general, like the taste. The only thing is, any time I pass him a drink that doesn't taste of alcohol, he refuses, and every time I push him a drink that does, he takes it. WTF. There is something to be said here about girly vs. manly drinks, but I don't even feel like going there. I just know that's his subconscious problem, though. I offer him a sip of a Strawberry Daquiri that you can barely taste the rum in, and he refuses, but I give him Rum and Coke and that's OK. Maybe I should make him drink a virgin daquiri sometime and prove to him that he's crazy. If I can get him to even take a sip, that is.

ANYWAY, I did eventually get him to taste the butterbeer, and, of course, he could 'taste' the alcohol. My guess? He was looking for it, the butterbeer didn't taste like plain cream soda, so he assumed that the BUTTERSCOTCH flavoring that he was tasting must be the alcohol.

*sighs*

Did I mention his asparagus/zuchinni thing? We were talking about his dislike of vegetables on the phone one day, and he mentioned that in Kindergarten they made him eat some "zuchinni" only when he described it, he wasn't describing zuchinni- he was talking about asparagus. I pointed this out, and he was a little confused, but he said "Oh whatever, I hate asparagus then!"

Only thing? I have served him asparagus several times. Sure, it was cut up in stir fry, but he ate it and he obviously didn't hate it. When I mentioned this he said "But you didn't tell me it was zuchinni!"

I'm so fucking sick of this. This is honestly a pet peeve- people who concentrate too much on the name and image they have of certain things rather than just eating it and deciding whether or not they like it. I hate how people are influenced by tv images. And it's so subjective I can never proove anything, but I bet that at least 80% of people's dislikes are based not on experience, but on how something was portrayed on tv. Take Brussels Sprouts- the famous, hated vegetable- how many people who claim to hate brussels sprouts have even eaten them? How many of them simply won't try them just because every kid on TV hates them? How many people just worked themselves up so much before trying them that they hate them? I won't deny that there are people who hate them- I am sure there are, just as I don't like spicy foods, thai food, or a number of other things- but I have tried all those things with an open mind. I truly don't like them.

*sigH*

Fart Help

2006-06-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

My fiance's family farts a lot, and it has been getting on my nerves.

Do you guys know what (besides beans, they don't eat that many beads) makes ppl fart a lot? They drink a lot of soda and eat a lot of frozen and canned convenience foods, so I'm geussing its some combination of this stuff.

Also, do you know of anything sneaky I can do to make them fart less? It's soooo annoying especailly considering that it's like a competition for them and a few of them have really NASTY smelling farts.

Thank you for your help.

Yucky Update- I AM IN MONTANA

2006-06-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

I so need to get out of here. Ugh. OH well. At least I now have a good computer chair and a desk to sit at. At the same time, though, Jeremy's family is driving me nuts. Oh well, I'm just going to have to try to enjoy the break for now and keep my eye out for promising prospects, then start looking for a place to live when we can really afford it. Which we cannot right now. We just don't have the money, or the time, and I'm sick of moving. I don't want to do anything right now, let alone the cleaning I have to do with my fiance because our stuff takes up too much space (being that we have the SMALLEST room in the house and are not allowed to leave ANYTHING in the living room, and we're TWO people!). I'm so sick of it- anyone who knows what it is like to move out of a dorm room knows what I mean. You have to fucking make that room spic and span. Bleck.

My back has been giving me problems so we went to office max this morning to buy a computer chair. We spent $170 on the chair (and also picked up a $10 frame for my diploma- FUCK YOU JOSTENS/BALFOUR/ETC!), and it is pretty nice but it tilts down a little bit so I am thinking of getting a thingie to put under my knees so it doesn't tilt down. Just the seat tilts down, and everything else is fine. I'm hoping that'll help a little bit because my pet peeve when sitting down is having my knees lower than the rest of my body. I don't care if my feet don't touch the ground or if my knees are higher than my hips, but having them lower just makes me feel like I'm going to fall off the chair.

Lets see.. what else did I do today. I decoupaged a cut up cereal box to make a holder for some of my knitting magazines. When I get another box I'm going to make one more for some more, and possibly one more after that. I love decoupage, but I don't really have a lot to decoupage, so unfortunately that's not going to work very well. ;) Lets see.. I bought an Apple Pie candle at Walmart (TEH EVIL) today and I've been popping it on my candle warmer. Works like a charm. It's really nice. I'm hoping to find some better flavors than apple pie, but that can wait. I don't need to overstock on candles right now. I don't need to overstock on anything.

We went to the Golden Corral for breakfast this morning. It's a buffet place and they have a really good breakfast buffet. Great yummy eggs (REAL eggs), quiche, pancakes, waffles, fruit, cereal, milk, juice... grits, oatmeal.. You name it, they probably have it at breakfast. Yummy. I stuffed myself. Three full plates- that's a lot! I walked out of there feeling like I was going to fall over. Better not do that again any time soon. I'm in the market for a scale that can weigh my fat ass, and once I find one I am starting on an organized and concerted routine to get my weight down. I'm going to have to prep Jeremy so that he can help me, and maybe we can both do it, which I think would really help, since he's put on a bit of pudge too.

Lessee.... I've been cleaning our room, so not much else is going to happen till I'm done with that. I am hoping to get more sleep tonight, because I didn't sleep well last night. I didn't get to bed till really late last night because Jeremy wasn't.. well, I don't know what's going on with him, but basically he hasn't been very.. attentive to my needs in bed. I won't get into detail for you, but it's like he's either completely forgotten or completely given up on making me "happy," and that pisses me off because I'm getting frustrated. On top of that, he's kind of being a drag when it comes to showing me he loves me. Ah well. I'll just have to suck it up and deal with it. Le sigh. I guess that's it for now. I'm sick of posting. Cross your fingers that the weather will be nice tomorrow so that I can photograph all the stuff I have made for Heathertoes Handmade photographed. It is mostly stuff I made a long time ago that I just want gone- 2 pairs of mittens, a camo scarf and hat from bulky yarn, a watchcap... a few other things. I also need to photograph the custom hat I made, and list that. Once I have the photos done I'll have listing material for a while, and I can start working on making some more stuff and cleaning out my yarn stash for more destashing. Huzzah.

Done, and Senior Week

2006-05-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, i am now officially done with Cornell and will be graduating next Sunday, May 28th. Hoorah.

THIS Sunday, however, Jeremy is arriving, and I will be spending oodles of time trying to get this damned shawl knitted for the senior formal on wednesday night, while also dragging my lovely fiance out to all sorts of fun events for senior week.. here's a taste of what's in store:

Casino night
Movies on the Slope (Projected onto a Building!)
Senior Formal
Lunch Cruise
Rulloffs Brunch
Club Cornell (Basically a dance club)
Midnight Brekkie
CALS Chicken BBQ
Cornell Night- Performances by cornell groups

Yay! It's going to be insane amounts of fun and I am pledging right now not to let anything get in the way!

What I am Up To

2006-05-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Here's what I'm doing right now:

1-Writing a paper entitled "Historical Attitudes of Monotheistic Religions Towards Women in Science" (I'm on page 5 of 12, was due on the 11th but I have an extension till tommorrow)
2- Hanging out in Etsy Chat.
3- Knitting a custom hat for CC over at Etsy. (out of yummy malabrigo.. mm.. thankfully she must sell some of the stuff she makes, because she's not afraid to spend MONEY)
4- Chatting with my Fiance
5- Attempting to Study for my "Atheism: Then and Now" Final exam- it is tomorrow at 8am.
6- Procrastinating
7- Trying to find my black embroidery floss so I can finish the amigurumi birdie I have made
8- Having a mental breakdown

Think I've got enough on my plate? And that's not even counting the rewrites I have for Youth Organizations, the take-home final for the same class, and the final for Orchard Management which is on Friday.

Go me.

New Word!

2006-05-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

I invented a new word for "Lesbian"

Vagitarian

Featured Item!

2006-05-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's $8 if any of you wonderful journal readers want it, and if not.. well I've got other stuff in my shop too.

Now, instead of celebrating this, I am off to work on my essay on the "Historical Attitudes of Monotheistic Religions Towards Women in Science"

Huzzah.

In love

2006-05-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Even though I don't know if it would fit my neck right, I am absolutely in love with this necklace. It is utterly and completely because of the gorgeous and dramatic pendant- the rest of the necklace can kiss my ass, but that pendant is breathtaking.

I wants it. I neeeeeeds it. So I am here to beg you to pleaaaaaaaase buy from my shop so I can buy this wooonderful pendant. Thank you.

/shameless begging

Journals!

2006-05-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

I do customs as well- convo me for more info!

Buy my crap! Please!

No really, I love you all. Plus I feel bad after exposing you all to the terrible-ness.