H is for Hole

Believe it or not, this is first time this has happened to me!

I really didn't expect it from a pricey sock yarn. Maybe I wore them too much?

Either way, the situation gave a chance to learn how to darn. I found a video on YouTube of an old lady doing it, and that it looked simple enough. While I didn't move as quickly as her, or do as perfect a job, the hole has been patched up and the socks will live to see another day. (I, honestly was almost in tears, over a hole in a sock.)

You can darn socks to:



or just listen to good music, if darning isn't you bag:

Tegan and Sara - Speak Slow




<3
knitxcore.

G is for GroW!!!!!

You may remember last years garden, and that even though I had all the basil anyone could ask for I couldn't get a damn tomato to grow???? Yeah, that garden.
Instead of getting discouraged and throwing in the towel, I've decided to give this whole "growing food" thing another shot. Inspired by Jana's recession garden, I lurked a few gardening messageboards, I found what could be a perfect plant fot my tiny shady deck.
Tom Thumb Peas!!!!! (even their name is cute!) Apparently, it is a quite rare heirloom variety dating back to the 1800's. I had quite a hard time actually getting the seeds, though. I ordered from one website and they had sold out, others were in the UK and Canada and the shipping wasn't worth the cost of the seeds. I finally found some @ Trade Winds Fruit. They sprung up pretty quickly considering I didn't use an inoculant or even bother to freeze the seeds first. The lil' seedlings need to make it a few more days on the kitchen table before I'm comfortable putting them outside in their pots.

I still haven't made my mom a gift, it's obviously to late to knit anything fancy and I couldn't think of anyhing to sew :-( If anyone has any good ideas, lemme know? I have 10 days left and she really likes handmade gifts. If it gets down to the wire, I'm sure I could find something on Etsy.

I finished something for the shop!!!!! I know it's been empty for a while, but I have a plan and hopefully this time I can fill it up and keep it full. You all will be the first to know when it's ready :-)

---KatenaShcOre---

Kate Nash - Mouthwash



<3
knitxcore.

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



<3
knitxcore.

SPT: 032708

Thursdays are for:

-listening to records
-eating bean soup
-forgetting to take ur self-portrait until 7PM
-planting tom thumb pea plants
-folding laundry
-eating more bean soup
-petting kitty cats
-catching up on blogs

---IfeELJustLikeAChild---

most of time, anyway.

Devendra Banhart - Feel just like a child

HoppY Easter!

not completely relevant, but there is a scandalous bunny :-)

Motion City Soundtrack - My Favorite Accident



<3
knitxcore.

D is for dance parties.

(tilly and the wall: First Unitarian, Phila. PA.)


I'm so lucky!
my favorite band comes around once or twice a year.
this time they brought balloons.
maybe we hung out in a church basement.
maybe it was 300 degrees in there.
maybe the opening band had quite a hippie following.
it doesn't matter, i like patchouli.

Honestly, it was one of the best shows I've ever been to. Maybe it was the confetti, maybe it was the ballons? Everyone had so much energy! I've seen Tilly quite a few times, but last night the were at the top of their game.

I really need a nap today.


---LeT teh BeAT ContRol YoV---

Tilly and the Wall - Beat Control




<3
knitxcore.

SPT: 030608 Personal Party

Sometimes, I dance around the house when I'm alone.
Is that weird?

I swear I'll tell you all about that striped scarf on Friday (it's not as exciting as you think).

I'm working on those same socks still, but thinking of starting something else to break up the monotony of a stockinette sock. Maybe just a quick hat? I have a few balls of malabrigo left from the salad sweater.

---Have a Dance Party of Ur own---

Vampire Weekend - A-Punk (this is what i danced around to!)

<3
knitxcore.

SPT: 022808 swapcore

i made a ganomy hat for an awesome girl i never met.
she made me this super rad shirt.
we found each other on stylemob.
pretty awesome, eh?


(this is what she got.)

---current obsession---

Has anyone heard of Kate Nash?
probably the cutest video ever, and @ 33 seconds in she's knitting a scarf!!!!!!!



<3
knitxcore.

Stuff I did this week.

1. I cut my hair



2. started a ganomy hat for a personal swap via stylemob.



3. frogged about 30% of the secret project because, somehow a ball of worsted yarn got in my pile of DK at the LYS.




4. worked on 2 new things for the shop (they're not finished, i'll list them soon).

5. I saw Hellogoodbye and Say Anything @ the HOB in AC.

WIP Tuesday

1. Another Ganomy Hat (for a personal swap)




2. A secret project, that I'm having yarn issues with.




3. The second RPM sock (from which I'm suffering a giant cast of the SSS)

Plus: the hibernators; Mr. Besotted Scarf, Miss Branching Out, and The Moderne Log Cabin Blanket of Doom.

So, as you can see I really should be knitting. While I do that, you all can watch a video:

Tilly and the Wall - The Freest Man

halfapair=onesock

The first RPM sock is complete! I'm kinda proud of this lil' guy, he's my first sock where an actual stitch pattern was involved. I also got to try a short-row heel (and then sew up the disgusting row of holes) and a fancy-dancy pointed toe.

I started a pretty awesome hat this week, but i had a nasty migraine all day so I didn't take any WIP pictures. You'll see it soon enough. Hopefully it will be the first item in the long awaited Knitxcore's etsy shop. maybe.

I feel like a post isn't complete without a cute video, and it keeps you all coming back. So today you get this:

Tender Forever - Magic of Crashing Stars



<3
knitxcore.

Post Modern Music Monday

I don't have any FO's or WIPS to share today. But, since everyone responded so well to my last post about music, I've decided to make Monday's post music oriented.

Last Tuesday, I went to see Rilo Kiley with Art in Manila and Grand Ole Party in Philly. The show was awesome, even though I hated the venue. So, since you all couldn't be there, I hunted down some videos to share.

Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining




Art In Manila - Set the Woods on Fire



Grand Ole Party - Bad, Bad Man




Rilo Kiley was amazing. Absolutely one of my fave bands, and it was my first time seeing them live. They covered a Jenny Lewis and the Watson twins song, and an Elected song, pretty fresh!

Art in Manila was pretty cool, they do a lot of calmer stuff, so there wasn't a whole lot of ass shakin' going on but, still a good time :-) I didn't know it until we got there, but Orenda Fink from Azure Ray was in the band. I, of course, loved them just by proxy.

Grand Ole Party, was indeed that! They sort of had a Gossip-y, YeahYeahYeah's thing going on. The singer also played the drums! I've been to a ton of shows, and I've never seen it before, it was pretty awesome.

I'm sure some knitting might pop up this week. I'm just about finished my first RPM sock, even though the heel is a lil' heinous :-(

<3
knitxcore.

Roller Skating is awesome.

Everyone knows I've lost it, I'm completely obsessed with the past. Today, I got to revel in nostalgia @ the Roller Rink. That's right, KnitXcorE on roller skates! The rinks haven't changed much since I was 10. Everything is a puke-tastic shade of neon, it smells like feet and burnt pizza and you still do the hokey pokey. AMAZING! It was like being in the most ridiculous time warp ever. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and had to snap a quick one with my phone.

The Baby Surprise Jacket is coming along nicely, I'm on row 60, out of about 110 (a lil' more than half-way). I'm using a hand dyed yarn, so I'm using alternating balls of yarn to keep the colors from pooling. I can't wait to finish it! Once it's finished I can pick my sock back up, b/c I'm out of row counters :-( I'm too paranoid to just count the rows myself, so that's not even an option.

And to all of you that don't think roller skating is cool, I have one word... XANADU!

You Spin Me Right Round...

I'm halfway through my first RPM sock and just about to start the short-row heel flap. It's also my first time doing the magic loop method, which I love! I got kind of nervous and cast on for the baby surprise jacket instead of finishing the sock. It's not that I can't do it, but I've already frogged the thing once and that's not common around casa de knitXcore. I think I'll finish the jacket and revisit the sock when I'm done. I really love the Socks that Rock colorway (thanx MP!), and the pattern is actually a fun knit but i refuse to screw it up again.

If anyone has done the short row heel or has any pointers, shoot me an e-mail?

Without further adieu, I leave you with this post's namesake as interpreted by KIDS Incorporated.

I really miss the eighties.


<3

knitxcore.

Five Alive!!!

yeah, so I'm still alive and doing a jillion things.

Thursday:

The Swimmers

Maria Taylor

On Thursday; Kellyn, Nancy and I went to Philly to see Maria Taylor. We got to the city super early, and goofed around for awhile. We stopped by Urban Outfitters but, everything looked kinda cheesy and mass market. So, we went down the street to American Apparel and I bought some stuff. I also ran into LUSH and picked up some things I needed.

The show was gr8! It was raining pretty hard, and there wasn't a huge turnout. Most of the good shows around here are in a church basement with no climate control, so it was a good thing that only about 40 people showed up. Both opening bands were really good. The Aderbats gave me an EP that I've already listened to a couple of times, it's pretty good (espesh 4 a local band). The Swimmers were a lot of fun and sort of reminded me of the Zombies. They had a sort of *new* Mod sound thing going on. Maria was quite amazing. I didn't know that her siblings were also her band, pretty cute.

Friday:

I decided to try the croq pot method to dye some yarn. It was kind of explained in the new Knitty. I soaked the yarn overnight in vinegar and water. The next day I drained it and added more water and vinegar. I poured in the dye and put the pot on high and just left it sit while we watched The Stewie Griffin Movie. It took about an hour and half, and there was no mess to clean up. You really do give up control when using this method but I'm happy with the results. I'll take a pic once it's re-hanked. I may just put this lil' guy up for sale in my Etsy shop. I already have plenty of sock yarn waiting to be knit up.

When I stopped by Lush, I got a free FRESH! face mask. I picked one called cupcake, pretty much just because of the name. It smelled so great, that even if my skin turned green and started peeling off, I would still use it. But that wasn't the case at all! In addition to the choclate-y goodness, it actually evened out my skin tone a little bit and even made some trouble spots go away! I love cupcake :-)

Saturday:

I had to work during the day. I don't really celebrate St. Patrick's day, so it didn't really matter. It was fun to see a bunch of people dressed up and a couple of people in animal suits doing the electric slide! When I got home, we watched The Science of Sleep. It's probably one of the best movies I've ever seen, right behind Amelie anyway. All of the dream sequences had tons of beautiful handmade things produced by a single, very talented woman. I was flipping through the special features and they were all about cat rescue and adopting pets. It was really cute! Our second kitty, Adrienne is adopted and she's pretty much the sweetest thing ever.

Adrienne

Amelie

The Science of Sleep

*to watch the videos, you can scroll to the bottom of my page and pause the music player*