F is for FO

I just finished a pair of socks I started in January, the sad part is that there just plain ol' stockinette socks. No cables, or fancy ribbing just generic toe-up socks. I\
]=mmediately upon finishing them I decided I wanted to take the FO pic outside, outside where it rained last night. I was pretty much standing in mud. Oh! The things I'll do for a good photo.

Pattern Particulars

Pattern Source: Wendy's Fingering Weight Toe-Up socks with Gusset Heel
Needles: 32" US Size 1 Addi Turbos
Materials: Hobbledehoy Merino Sock Yarn in Pop Quiz
Time: Longer than it should have ever taken. I started these in January.
loved: Not picking up any stitches for the heel!!!!!!
hated: I casted off sort of tightly, and I'm not going back to fix it.
Notes: I followed the pattern for the Large size, and did a 3X2 rib before casting off in pattern.




I need to make something new for my mom for her birthday. I started an apron and realized I cut the pieces out wrong, so that's not going to work. I know that Branching Out pattern is supposed to be pretty simple for beginner lace, and I have some raw silk hanging around it may look nice in.

---FeedtheTrEE---

Belly - Feed the tree



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knitxcore.

First things first.

Remember this scarf from last weeks SPT?



For those of you that wanted to know...

It's one of my first knitted projects ever. This particular scarf is quite a few years old so, you'll have to bear with me.

Pattern Particulars

Pattern Source: Improvised. I used the stripe pattern from the Hot Head pattern in Stitch n' Bitch
Needles: Clover Takumi US size 10.5 straight
Materials: Lion Brand Homespun
Time: Just a few hours.
loved: the colors.
hated: i can't remember :-)

So there it is. I said it wan't too exciting. Buy some cheap yarn, forget what you know about gauge or drape and pop out a 2X2 ribbed scarf and you too can look as dashing as Engelbert Humperdinck (in his prime of course).

Now, on to more exciting things.

I had off today. Martha Stewart was switched to a new time on NBC. So, in order to get my fix, I had to visit the time-suck that is marthastewart.com. While browsing for about a half an hour I found the cutest easter decoration anyone could ever have. Even though mine isn't as cute as this, I couldn't fathom spending $130 on the real thing (though, you can buy reproductions for about $20). Anyway after a couple of hours worth of glueing, cutting and cussing I have this adorable bunny for my kitchen table.

I followed the tutorial exactly, just changed a few materials so i wouldn't have to go out. I used acrylic yarn, craft felt, and wooden beads. Her fancy pedestal is an upside down frappacino cap coverd in green fabric and mod podge. I'm so fancy! If I make anymore I may just use real wool ande felt, but the wooden eyes are so cute! I'm definitely sticking with those.

and I assume you all expect a video, so without further adieu...

---More Kate Nash!---

Kate Nash -Foundations

(I really can't get enough of her!!!)

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knitxcore.

A is for Alpaca.

I finished the lil' number just in time to give to my long-time friend Bryan for X-mas (it was kinda belated). We've been friends since we were in high school, and he's the only childhood friend that I still talk to on a regular basis. So, his gift had to be pretty nice. I used the yarn I was kinda hoarding for myself in a fit of LMGS (lastminutegiftsyndrome), although I hated to see it go, I know it will be loved in it's new home.

Pattern Particulars
Pattern Source: The Fidget by Robin Dodge for One Sheep Hill
Needles: Clover Takumi US size 10.5 straight
Materials: Misti Alpaca Chunky in Color #1000, vintage buttons from stash.
Time: Just a few hours.
loved: The stitch pattern! i will absolutely use it again!
hated: That I had to frog it about two or three times.
mods: None, really, I used the second option and just sailed through.

I'm sooper dooper happy with the fidget. I may have to order some more Misti Alpaca to make one for myself now.

---Today's Video---

Mates of State - Goods (all in your head.)




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knitxcore.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

It's eighty-five degrees here in South Jersey today but I'm still pretty excited to show off my first official fall FO. I tried to take a really artistic picture, complete with faux tealights, if you want a full color no frills affair, just scroll down.

Pattern Particulars
Pattern Source: Pumpkins by Jordana Paige for Knitty, Fall '05.
Needles: Clover Takumi Straight Needles US sz. 10.5 and Clover Takumi DPN'S sz US 11

Materials: 1 Skein each of Lamb's Pride Worsted in Oatmeal and Rust
Time: Maybe 3 hours???

Loved: Instant Gratification!!!! This really is a one night/weekend sorta deal. I sorta love the vine, too :-)
Hated: Sewing all the wedges together

Mods: I was not about to sew the top on, after sewing all the other pieces together. I got out my trusty felting needle (from a YarnPunk Kit), and just felted the crap out of it. I also used the needle to define the wedges a lil' more, because I noticed a few on Ravelry were kinda shapeless.

Even though I'm roasting here in NJ, I'm sure most of you are starting to experience fall. What better way to start it out than dusting off a gem like this:

Charlie Brown

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FO: Baby Surprise Jacket!

It's finally finished!!!

Pattern Particulars

Pattern Source: Baby Surprise Jacket from Spun Out #1-B by Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Needles: Addi Turbo US sz 6 24" circular.

Materials: 3 skeins of Woolbearer's Hand Dyed Kona Superwash.

Time: just a lil' here and there, over a week.

Loved: that I had no clue where the seams would be until row 80. modular knitting is awesome.

Hated: absolutely nothing, this was a fun, no nonsense knit.

This came out wayyyyy better than I ever could have hoped!

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knitxcore.

Salad Sweater!!!!!!

It's finally finished! I'm sooooooo excited! This is the first sweater I've knit that I won't have to hide.

Maybe it was Elizabeth Zimmermann's "pithy" instructions, or the tasty Malabrigo named after food but something clicked this time.

Pattern Particulars
Pattern Source: Seamless Raglan from Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Needles: Clover Takumi 32" Circulars US sz. 8, Addi Natura 16" circulars US sz. 8

Materials: 5 skeins of Malabrigo Worsted Merino in Lettuce (from Misocrafty's de-stash) and one in Glazed Carrot (from Webs).
Time: I didn't actually time this project but I did start it in June.
Loved: the ease of the pattern and the perfect fit. Because EZ pretty much forces you to pay attention to the gauge, you shouldn't expect anything less.
Hated: nothing. I want to knit like, 300 sweaters now.

Even Jesse Spano is excited, see?

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knitxcore.

Knitted hems.

Every sweater should have a knitted hem, IMHO. It's so much easier than it looks. I picked up the back loops of the cast on edge to make a neat turn, decreased by 10% (so it wouldn't flare out) and knit about 1 and a 1/4 inches in straight stockinette. When it was long enough, I basted just below the circular and pulled the needle out (SCARY!). Then, I just picked up the live stitches and sewed them right to the sweater fabric, skipping every 10th stitch so it would stay straight.
After knitting a ton of stockinette it was really fun to try a new technique. I'm so glad I bought those Elizabeth Zimmermann books! I'd be lost without her advice.

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knitxcore.

Another Ballband dishcloth?

You can never have enough.

Pattern Particulars

Pattern Source: Mason-Dixon Knitting

Needles: Clover Takumi Straight sz. 7

Materials: Lily Sugar and Cream in asst. colors.

Time: About 1.5 hours

Loved: Not having to look at the pattern anymore.

Hated: nothing

The yarn for my sweater is in, and hopefully I'll work all the ends in tonight. My kitchner on the armpits is backwards, so I may rip it out and do it correctly. We'll see.

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knitxcore.

Simply, a few of my favorite things.

Inspired by watching Amelie, I've decided to make a list of my favorite simple pleasures.

Knitting

My EZ Percentage Sweater is moving along. I've got to start the second sleeve and get it attached today. This is the first time I've used Malabrigo for anything, and I'm sort of upset that no one told me how incredibly soft it is.

Happiness Soup
I was introduced to this amazing recipe by a friend a few years ago. You can't help but smile when you eat a bright yellow bowl of soup. It's actually made me become quite fond of yellow squash. You can find the recipe in Nigella Lawson's "Forever Summer".

Reading

I'm in the middle of three books right now; "Demonology" by Rick Moody, "Pattern Recognition" by William Gibson, and the new Harry Potter. I'm currently obsessed with short stories, after finishing Miranda July's "No One Belongs Here More Than You". I'll read just about anything. When I was just a wee one, I used thumb through the phone book when I ran out of "real" books to read.

(you can download and print out that snazzy book cover from katespade.com)

French Movies

Unfortunately, I do not speak french. I don't really mind reading subtitles, though. It seems as though film-making is still considered an art in most countries (except the good ol' US of A). Strong attention is paid to color schemes and small details that seem to be overlooked in american blockbusters.

I'm going to go try to make a cake in the crockpot, I'll let you all know how it goes. While you're waiting, go check out Charles' Vlog. He's an awesome guy and he dyes some pretty gr8 yarn :-)

<3

knitxcore.

I've got STEAM HEAT!

Otto is finished! After what seems like days of sewing (about 3 hours in real life), Otto is alive and touring the neighborhood. He seems to like Harry Potter, but is quite concerned about the conditions in which the delivery owls live. He likes trees, but hates getting dirty. He likes waving at passers-by on sunny Thursday afternoons.

Pattern Particulars
Needles: Clover Takumi Straight needles sz. 8

Materials: KnitPick's Merino Style in Cinnamon, Vanilla, Asparagus, and Cornflower. Fiberfill.
Time: 9-ish hours?

Loved: The short row wings and tail.

Hated: Sewing all the pieces together. In the future, Otto will be knit in the round.

When we First moved into our current condo, Dave's boss had given us a fancy wok with steamers and tools. I've used the wok a million times, but tonight I gave the steamer a shot. I was a little aprehensive, because I tried to use one a long time ago to make a steamed egg cake and burnt it, a lot. (the steamer, not the cake). I googled bamboo steamers and ended up at the same site where I get all my cooking advice. Thanx Martha! I made a quick spice rub with some of the organic parsley growing on the deck, and tossed some orange roughy on top of some sliced lemons. I put a second steamer on top of the fish with green beans in it. Awesome! Dinner on one burner! It took about 20 minutes and absolutely no-fuss. I wonder what else I can steam??

I casted on for my Seamless Hybrid today, I've only knit about 6 rows, but that damned Malabrigo is sooooo soft! I can't wait to knit some more. I need to pick a color for my hems and decide which yoke I'm going to do. I hope this one fits and looks good, I can't bear to throw another sweater under the bed.

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knitxcore.

If I knew you were coming, I'd have baked a cake.

FlintKnits showed me how to make an awesome photo mosaic.

Let's go clockwise from the top left.

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Ganomy Hat from the Knitter's Almanac: I'm going to try to do each of her monthly projects, in order, to have Christmas gifts ready when the time comes. The Ganomy Hat is one of June's patterns and a bunch of cool kids have already made them. I'm pretty much playing catch up.

Strawberry Cake: This comes to us from MarthaStewart.com. Lately, I have become obsessed with her website and consult it before I do pretty much anything. Why stress out about how to do something, if someone else has already done it perfectly? You can trust me that this cake is as simple as throwing strawberries in store bought cake mix and layering it all with fresh whipped cream, or you can go straight to the source.

Speaking of food, has anyone seen the Hungry Planet book and photo essay? It's amazing to see what people are eating, how much they spend, and how much it varies from culture to culture. Lupinbunny suggests that we should start a Hungry Planet Meme, where everyone takes a picture of what they buy in their weekly grocery shopping. No cheating! Be honest and have fun, we are not here to judge. I'll do mine the next time I go shopping. I can't wait to see what everyone does with this.

Seven Skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Lettuce: This is the beginning of my Seamless Hybrid. I bought it from Misocrafty's Amazing De-stash. Hopefully, I'll get around to swatching it up this week, so I can start doing my math. Rodger from Over Abundance will be knitting his Seamless Hybrid at the same time, so when we're finished you'll get to see how 2 different knitters interpret the design.

me: i like trees.

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knitxcore.

WIP..... monday?

This is all I have to share today. Kinda sad, eh? It's the front of Otto the Owl, and I'm pretty happy that it doesn't look as crappy as I thought it would. It's still 999 bajillion degrees in my house (well, not tonight, which is why I'm going to be quick), and it makes knitting almost impossible. Knitting wool with sweaty hands is gross and it's not really much of a pleasure. My Elizabeth Zimmerman books arrived and I've also been admiring those for the past couple of days. I even took them both to work today, so I could read during my lunch break. She's actually quite funny whilst being EXTREMELY informative.

Alright, like I said, short and sweet. It's cool tonight, so I'm going to go knit while I'm not sweating.

<3

knitxcore.

Where did this week go?

I hadn't realized that a whole week had went by without making a blog post. I guess I'm just a jerk. Sometimes, time really escapes me. I mean, I like to sleep a lot, but there are full days that just go right out the window. Ravelry isn't helping with this complete loss of time, either. It's funny how you don't realize you been looking at knitting patterns for hours on end. Luckily, I do have a few things to show for this whirlwind of a week.

It was raining outside, these pics were my plan B.

Pattern Particulars

Needles: Clover Takumi DPNs sz. 8, Clover Takumi Straight needles sz. 8
Materials: Plymouth Jelli Beenz Yarn , some red buttons from my awesome button stash.

Time: about 3 hours.
Loved: The yarn, the ease of the pattern, the buttons!!!
Hated: trying to figure why the second flap didn't work out right (it was my fault).

Knit.1's Spa Socks are finished! When I started them, I wasn't that excited about them but I did want a worsted weight pair of socks that were kinda slipper-ish. After finishing them up I've decided that they're kinda fun and the buttons are really cool. I'm really into the yarn, too! I'm using what I had left to make the Umbilical Cord hat From Stitch n' Bitch. Someone on Ravelry had made it out this exact yarn, and it was so cute that I sort of did a lil' dance when I realized that I had enough left.

A while ago, one of the cool girls at our lil' (sorta defunct) stitch n' bitch, had an awesome book by Lucinda Guy (And so to bed...). Midnight Purls and I immediately fell in love with Otto the Owl, among other things. All of the patterns were really cute and the sizes went up to 5 years old, so I'll have plenty of time to make everything in the book. The only "issue" (it's not even that extreme) is that every pattern calls for Rowan Cashsoft DK or Baby DK and while I love the yarn, a ton of colors have been discontinued. I used YarnDex and checked to see what other things I could use and decided on KnitPick's Merino Style. They had a billion colors and it was too cheap to pass up. It came the other day and while its pretty soft and the colors are great there is one discrepency... What color (exactly) is cornflower? I've used crayons and seen Fight Club, so I was very confident when choosing this color for my owl's blue eyes. According to KnitPicks cornflower is in fact, the lightest purple I've ever seen. I'm not ordering 1 ball of yarn and I'm almost positive there's no blue in my stash. It looks like Otto will have light purple eyes.

I bought some more flowers for the "deck jungle", as we're now calling it. The crazy flower is Fuschia (I think), it didn't have one of those stakes in it. The other is a Dahlia of some sort. The bulbs I planted we're just taking too long and I really wanted some color out there. We picked up some Petunias also, but they wouldn't photograph well for some reason.

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knitxcore.

I blame Reese Witherspoon.

If she wasn't such a covincing idiot, I never would have ruined my beautiful RPM sock. I was just knitting along and minding my own business when she destroyed what I had worked so hard to create. Somehow, during the first 20 minutes of Legally Blonde I had moved the stitch pattern over 4 or 5 stitches. OH yeah! Did I mention I was on the last pattern repeat before the heel flap? Yeah, it sux. If it had been on bigger needles, I could have just pulled back the 9 rows i messed up. Unfortunately, I don't have the patience to pick up 80ish stitches on size 1 needles. I frogged the whole damn thing! His remains lie here:





Even Dave was asking why I frogged the entire sock. It's a small price to pay for my sanity.

*WARNING* DO NOT WATCH THE FOLLOWING CLIP WHILE KNITTING!!!!

I didn't want to torture you all with real clips from the movie. Can you believe it's a goddamn musical? HAHAHA.



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knitxcore.

I'm Crazy for the Hogs!

I can't stop making hedgehogs! It's time for an intervention I think.

Pattern Particulars

Needles: Clover Takumi Size US 10.5

Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in Wild Oak and some weird cotton I had in my stash.

Time: Approx. 2 hours (most of it was spent pulling through loops of yarn for hair)

Loved: How quickly the yarn felted and the new animal eyes I bought at JoAnn's.

Hated: nothing.

I ran into JoAnn's tonight to pick up a few things I needed to continue working on Dave's Valentines gift. In addition to what I needed, I found official looking eyes for my hedgehog and future sock monkeys. I also picked up the new addition of ADORN. There is a lot of cute stuff in this one. Shrinky Dink Jewelry and ruffled flowers made from grosgrain ribbon are my to do list. There is also a pretty exciting contest from the people @ Velcro. All you have to do is use their *new* Fabric Fusion Iron-On velcro in a project and you could win $500, a Rowenta Professional Focus Iron and a 1-year subscription to ADORN. I'm kind of excited and I want to send something in.

Our dinner tonight was the biggest fluke ever!!! I was making an easy-peasy recipe I've made a few times and I only changed one thing. It was a baked chicken and rice dish, and we only had black rice in the house. We bought it one day because it looked exciting. IT WAS NOT EXCITING! It turned into a strange gelatinous sludge in the casserole dish and it had a very strange flavor. In order to make up for my kitchen blunder, I made Lumberjack's Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from "I Like You" by Amy Sedaris. They are so tasty even my new hedgehog treid to steal a few. When I first got this book I thought that the recipes were jokes. I've tried three or four and all of them have been AMAZING! Amy Sedaris is a goddess!

I wanted to take a second and talk about something important. I'm not sure if you guys know what the AIDS Lifecycle is or how you could do anything to help. Here is the info from the website: "(It) will take place June 3-9, 2007, as cyclists and volunteers will travel 545 miles through beautiful California from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
(It) is the official cycling event of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.
(It) is about HIV/AIDS and raising money to help the beneficiaries continue to provide the critical services and education needed to meet the growing needs of our community.

(It) increases awareness and knowledge about HIV/AIDS among participants, their donors and the general public,addresses the widespread misperception that HIV and AIDS are no longer a problem -- in fact more people are living with HIV & AIDS today than ever before, which means a much greater need for services....

(It) provides a reminder that the rate of HIV infection is increasing, particularly in communities of color and in individuals under the age of 25. In California alone there are more than 55,000 people living with AIDS, and another 125,000 living with HIV, many unaware of their infection....

(It) requires each cyclist to raise a minimum of $2,500. Each cyclist is assigned to a personal "Cycle Buddy" for assistance with training, fundraising, and emotional & practical support from the moment they register through the event's completion."

The last part is the one I would like to address with you all. One of my dear blog friends will be participating in this ride and they need help from our blogging community. I'm not asking for a miracle, or for someone to donate a zillion dollars. I know we all need yarn money.

Ms. Brooklynne Michelle is the AMAZING host of "The Mosh Knit", my absolute favorite knitting podcast. She has been knitting for almost 12 years and always has great advice on new yarns, patterns and music. A lot of people listen to her podcast but, unfortunately she has only raised $175! The money she raises will still be donated to AIDS research but, I'd really like to see her go all the way and make a huge difference, and to do that she needs our help. You can donate, check out her progress or stop by and offer her support @ The Punk Pedaler.

I'm sleepy and I think this qualifies as my longest post ever! So, Goodnight! Don't let the bedbugs bite! Sweet Dreams!

Henry the Hedghog!

I finished Henry on Saturday night, and we went out to play in the snow on Sunday morning! You heard right Sunne! It finally snowed in New Jersey. YAY!

Pattern Particulars

Needles: Clover Takumi Size US 10.5
Yarn: Included in kit from Craftyalien.com .
Time: Approx. 2 hours (most of it was spent pulling through loops of yarn for hair)
Loved: How quickly the yarn felted, everything I needed except for a tiny bit of Poly-fil was in the kit, the cuteness factor!
Hated: The tiny bald spot i missed.

I definitely want to pick up another kit or even just one of the pattern booklets. I'm so excited about felting again! I want to try needle felting now, and make the fruit from the new issue of Craft:. I'm afraid of jamming the barbed needle in my hand but, it has been a long time since a *severe* crafting injury. I might as well give it a shot.