Tuesday, August 31, 2010

A Plate Full

Well, there has been quite a lot on my plate here recently, so that's why there have not been blog posts for the past couple of days. Here's just a few things:

Preparing for a garage sale

Getting a job (got one, albeit just part time)

Studying and doing homework for class (time suck!)

Having cavities filled in

Plus a few more things. So, knitting has not been going fast around chez Magic Knitter. I did finish the scarf and I almost finished a sock. I'll try to get a post up here soon about those.

Knit on...

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

WTF??!!....

Yes, that is what I am asking myself right now. What happened to me while I was in Korea? The reason I ask this is because I went to the dentist today to get a checkup and cleaning and came out knowing I had 8, yes count them, 8 cavities! WTF?

First, this more than triples the number of cavities I already have. The most I had ever had at one time was 2 and that was after 12 years of not going to the dentist. I had one other small one pop up a few laters, but to have 8, and possibly more weak spots that will eventually develop into cavities, was a shock to say the least.

So, I have been pissed all day because of this. I'll get over it, I know, but since finances are rather tight at the moment since I'm jobless, the last thing I needed was to have to sink almost 1000 bucks into my mouth. But, that's just what I'm going to do. I wonder if I chewed on the money directly it would fill in the teeth better?

So there's no knitting content today. I went running this afternoon and I applied for jobs online. I may knit a little bit tonight, but as of right now, I haven't knit a single stitch. Blah.

Knit on...

And floss. For the love of all that is good, floss!

Monday, August 23, 2010

The Scarf Grows

It's growing, albeit rather slowly for my normal speedy pace. I went out to lunch today and have been applying for more jobs online while I take care of Obi. In between job applications and taking the dog out to pee, I managed to add about a foot to the scarf, and I may get some more done this evening while watching TV and entertaining the dog. So, without further blabbering, here's the scarf:Oh, and Lumpy Bumpy is so soft and squishy. It's just fun!

Knit on...

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Drumroll Please...

Ok, first and foremost, I entered all your names into a spreadsheet and then used a random number generator to choose a winner, and that winner is....

Marjon! Congratulations! I'll be contacting you through Ravelry to get the pattern and yarn to you! Thank you to everyone who left me a comment wishing me safe travel home and to enter the contest!
Since I've been back, I've been seeing family, friends, and applying for jobs. I haven't done a whole lot of knitting the past few days because of that, so I don't have much to show you. Also, the other reason I haven't been knitting as much is this guy:This is Obi and he's a 13 year old Shitzu who is partially blind and nearly deaf. He needs a lot of care, and I'm here to care for him until Wednesday while my cousin, his mama, is out of town. He's very cute, but he's spoiled, and expects you to pay lots of attention to him!

I did cast on a simple garter stitch scarf out of 2 skeins of Lumpy Bumpy yarn. Here's the progress on it:It's lumpy, it's bumpy, it's soft, and it will make a nice, warm scarf for the winter.

That's it for today. I'll show some more stuff here soon.

Knit on...

Friday, August 20, 2010

And I'm Back!

Hello, everyone! I'm back from the land of kimchi, am very jet lagged, and am trying to recover from 13 time zones' difference. I'll be posting more in the next couple of days, but I wanted to just remind you that you have a few more hours to enter the contest for the Pretty Thing cowl and yarn giveaway. At midnight, the entries will be closed, and I'll announce a winner tomorrow.

Good luck!

Knit on...

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Vacationing and a Contest!

Yep, I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow. DF and I are heading to Bali where we intend to be beach bums for about a week. I've got plenty of knitting packed for the plane and the down time on the beach, so look for a big update in a week or so.

I did finish another project yesterday though, so now the only thing on my needles for the next week will be plain vanilla socks, unless I decide to jazz the socks up somehow if I get bored. I decided to make the Pretty Thing cowl by the Yarn Harlot after picking up the pattern the other day through Ravelry. It's a super fast, easy knit, and it makes a lovely cowl when it's all said and done:And now, to celebrate my imminent return Stateside, I'm going to have a give away. Do you like this cowl? If you do, you could win the yarn and the pattern in order to make your own. Just leave me a comment on here and I'll enter you in for a chance to win the pattern (gifted through Ravelry, so if you're not signed up, you'll probably want to be so I can buy it and send it to you through there. If not, we'll work something out) and the same yarn I used for my cowl:That is one full ball, plus my little bit of leftovers so you have a cushion in case you need to make the cowl a little bit bigger. Mosco is a rayon, mohair, viscose blend that is super soft and does produce a nice little halo because of the mohair. There are 137 yards in a ball, and I used up a little over 3/4 of the ball to make the cowl.

Want to win it? Just leave a comment on here before August 20 at midnight eastern time and I'll choose a winner from a random number generator. The pattern will be a PDF file that I will either gift through Ravelry or purchase and then forward to you. I want to make sure the Yarn Harlot gets all her money from the pattern, so I'm not just going to forward you my own copy. You get your own.

See you all in a couple of weeks! Happy knitting!

Knit on...

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

And Now For Ishbel

Yep, I finished Ishbel today and she's blocking away on the bed right now. The shawl blocked out much bigger than I had planned, and I didn't even block it to death like I usually do for lace shawls. Anyways, here's the finished shawl:It's certainly not the best blocking job that I've ever done, but it got the basic shape blocked out and will open up the lace enough. I have a feeling that this will be one of my go-to shawls and may end up being washed and blocked back out periodically if it gets as much wear as I think it will.

The pattern was very easy to read and had both charts and written directions. It's a very simple lace pattern, and since the yarn is fingering weight, it works up quickly too.

The yarn I used was Knit Picks Essential Sock yarn. I had three old balls from the batch that was having felting issues a while back before they renamed the yarn Stroll. I decided the yarn would make a very soft, smooshy shawl, and it appears that it did just that!

Knit on...

Monday, August 02, 2010

The Finished Herbivore

Well, Herbivore was blocked this weekend, and Ishbel should be finished being knit sometime today. I only have 7 more rows to do on it. So today, I give you the finished Herbivore:I really like the combination of browns and greens in this colorway from Enchanted Knoll. I had just a tiny little bit left by the time the shawlette was finished, so one skein should be enough for anyone to knit Herbivore.I really would recommend this pattern to anyone interested in a small, scarf-like wrap that will stay in place. It's a very easy knit, but there's still enough going on to keep an advanced knitter interested in the pattern.

Tomorrow, there will hopefully be finished Ishbel pictures!

Knit on...