The Musings of a Magic Knitter

Thirds

2012-01-03T19:42:00.001-05:00

Today seemed to be broken up into thirds. This morning, I got up early and rode the exercise bike since it was cold. Then I went to work and dealt with the chaos that is the day after returning from vacation. Finally, I came home and just crashed. I had every intention of knitting more than three rounds on a sock. I also had every intention to take pictures of the in progress knitting. Finally, I had intended to make soup for dinner, but instead put some cream cheese on a piece of bread and sacked out on the couch until finally heading to bed with the kindle. Three phases of the day. Three intentions. I think now it is time for three dreams.

Knit on...

Yarn Aquisitions

2012-01-02T18:52:00.004-05:00

While in Florida, I visited a yarn store called Knit! The store was worth the exclamation point as the selection was good and the staff was very friendly. If you are in the Longwood area, check it out. While there, my mom bought me some stitch markers (which you will see soon when I do a WIP update) and a ball of Zauberball in a purple colorway:This will become some sort of a shawl as I find I want the colors of the yarn to be very visible and not hidden on my feet.

For my birthday, I was given a gift certificate to ReBelle, so I headed there today on a mission for new sock yarn. I was organizing my stash to see what I had and was shocked to find just a single skein of Malabrigo sock yarn. In the past year, I have knit through my rather massive stash of sock yarns, which shocked me. So, I picked up three skeins:And last, but not least, my friend went with me to the yarn store and she picked out two skeins of Lamb's Pride Bulky for a hat that I will be knitting for her:So new year, new yarn!

Knit on...

Canoeing

2011-12-30T16:52:00.008-05:00

Today, my dad and I went canoeing.

It was a fun trip down the river where we saw birds:We saw birds with turtles:We saw alligators (take my word for it, there was one there :oP )We had a good trip down the river, then a tougher trip back up the river. It was a fun time and it was nice to get out into the real Florida that hasn't been completely commercialized. We met my mom for lunch at a little Japanese restaurant downtown called Bento and now, I am going to kick my feet up and see if I can get a little knitting done before heading home tomorrow.

Knit on...

Meeting With Old Friends

2011-12-29T08:46:00.002-05:00

First off, there will be a picture up here once I can figure out how to get that to upload from my kindle.

The picture is of me and my friend Courtney. I have known Courtney for about 16 years now. I don't get to see my Florida friends very often, but when I do, it's as if no time has passed and we pick right back up where we left off. Courtney is now a crocheting woman so that just tickles me to no end. I should have grabbed a shot of her bag while we were together.

Knitting wise, I am happy to say that I am actually doing some again. I started the dragonfly scarf and am a repeat in now. I also started a new sock. Pictures will be coming soon for both.

Knit on...

A new device that leads to more blogging

2011-12-26T19:55:00.001-05:00

First off, let me wish you all a merry Christmas, albeit a little late. The past couple of months have been interesting to say the least. The biggest issue that came up was my inability to knit due to a cooking accident that left me minus a quarter of a thumb. Thankfully, month later, the thumb has healed up enough that I can finally knit again. To make the blogging hopefully easier, I now have a kindle fire that my parents gave me. I will be playing with the mobile blogging features in the next few days so I am hoping that it will make it easier for me to update my blog more often.

Oh and in case you were wondering, the kindle fire is as awesome as they say it is!

Sent from my Kindle Fire

Another New Thing

2011-09-27T19:55:00.003-04:00

So, I have inherited a very old sewing machine that once was my great-great aunt's. It's a Singer 1776 model, fully electric, and thankfully, new enough that it has universal needles and a universal bobbin band (very thankful for that after I broke the band this weekend). I'm thrilled to have it, so I wanted to try out doing a simple block quilt.

I am definitely rusty on my sewing skills. I wanted to just sew straight lines right now before I make the two skirts I have planned. Glad I did. Despite being slightly wonky, here is what my quilt top looks like without being ironed:It's crib-sized and I haven't cut the backing or the binding for it yet. In fact, I'm really just winging this whole quilt since I've never done this before. Anyone have any recommendations for a good, basic machine quilting book? I picked up a magazine at JB's the other day, but it doesn't give much as far as instruction goes, but does give lots of inspiration.

Anyways, that's what I've been up to. More painting will be coming in the near future, which I'm excited about. Also, I still knit :oP My projects are just in the boring stage now. I've got two more balls of cotton to add to the table runner before it's complete, so I'm chugging along there. Almost done with the first sock in the new pair too.

Enough rambling. It's 8 PM and I'm totally ready to crash and go to bed. Goodnight!

Knit on...

Charlie

2011-09-18T19:33:00.002-04:00

Charlie is now ready to spin! Today, I finished the last of the flick carding and then took the fleece over to ReBelle to rent their drum carder. I came home with this:A big tupperware bin full of carded fleece. Once I get the llama fiber finished that is currently on my wheel, the spinning of Charlie will commence.

Knit on...

Stitch Markers

2011-09-17T18:19:00.005-04:00

This week, I had fun making some stitch markers. I've never felt the desire to make them, but when I saw a few strings of beads at Hobby Lobby, I knew I had to make some. So, I made these:and these:And these:And my personal favorite:
These are all for sale in my etsy shop if you're interested in any of them. I'm hoping to add some more things to the shop in the near future since I'm doing some spinning and I've also got some hand knits that I'm now ready to part with after making them. And, I may have a new obsession, so you will probably see more stitch markers in the near future!

Knit on...

When You Have No Voice...

2011-09-13T17:55:00.004-04:00

You stay home and knit and spin. At least that's what I did today. I wound up with a fever and a throat that was on fire, so I figured I may have come down with strep throat. Well, turns out this is just my yearly bout with tonsillitis that then goes into laryngitis. So, I now have no voice, but thankfully no fever, so I am spending the evening in front of the TV, knitting and spinning away.

I figured today I would give a project update. First, I finished the next pattern for Fiber Fiction. I am very pleased with it and can't wait until October to release it with the next section of OtherKin. Unfortunately, you'll just have to wait until October to see that one :oP

My table runner is growing a lot. It's now about 2.5 feet long. Another 2.5 feet to go and I'll have enough to cover the table:Sorry for the crummy picture. I just could not contort myself or the knitting to do anything better than that!

Next, the travel sock got a little work at lunch on Monday, so it's growing some:Last for today, I did some spinning while I sipped hot tea. I started working on the llama from a few years ago and forgot how delightful it is to spin:Back to the hot tea I think for tonight.

Knit on...

Creativity of the Soul

2011-09-11T21:13:00.002-04:00

During times of major stress in the world, I am thankful that I have been blessed with a creative soul. I have found that ever since I was a child, when things would get bad, I would create things. As a kid, I drew a ton. When something happened, I would sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil and just draw whatever my brain could imagine.

In college, I learned to crochet, and while it frustrated me to no end that I didn't pick it up quickly, I would create when I was sad, stressed, or even on the rare occasion I was bored.

Now, I have many creative outlets. I knit, crochet, spin, paint, write, take pictures, and sometimes I even still draw. I've been contemplating creativity as an outlet of the soul the past few days because I have been watching a friend of mine go deeper and deeper into a funk. It has made me thankful for the blessing I have been given to have such a deep sense of creativity. I use creating as a way to commune with my Creator. Since I was made in the image of the Creator, it only makes sense for me to create.

I suppose I have been in a contemplative mood given that today is the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the situation with my friend. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who were affected that day directly by the loss of a family member or friend. My thoughts and prayers also go out for the nation I call home.

I think it's time to create again.

Knit on...

Painting, Not Knitting

2011-09-10T21:10:00.003-04:00

I've still been knitting away at the table runner and crocheting dishcloths, but tonight, I did something totally random. Renee and I wanted to do something different tonight, so we were looking into activities. We came across a painting website, and then it dawned on us: Bob Ross painting night!

So off we went to Michael's Craft Store and bought some acrylic paints and an economy pack of brushes. We didn't feel like we wanted to spend much on this, so didn't bother to get the good oil paints that Bob Ross recommends. She already had the canvas sitting at her house, so paint in hand, we went there.

We listened to the soothing voice of Bob Ross over the next couple of hours, creating our own little world that was supposed to be an autumn stream, but for me, ended up turning into an autumn lake instead. Then, to make our own truly unique happy trees, we did the next logical step: add glitter to the wet paint.

And so, I give you my first true painting that was not done by a paint by number:The picture does not do this thing justice. I think I managed to create a fairy wonderland :oP

Knit on...

Happy trees...RIP, Bob Ross

A Scaly Table Runner and Dishcloths

2011-09-08T20:40:00.003-04:00

I couldn't come up with a more creative title, so I figured I would just state the obvious. The first thing I have been working on this week is the dragon scale table runner and it's a little over 1.5 feet long now:And yes, I am still fascinated by the sparkling yarn. If I have any leftover, I am totally making a sparkly dishcloth of some kind.

Speaking of dishcloths, I made about 10 this week:I should have spread them out for you, but honestly, they all look pretty much the exact same. So, you get them stacked on top of each other. I'm now moving on to another cone of yarn to make more of these. I'm stashing these away for Christmas presents.

Oh, and I'm also painting. You will get pictures of that later on :oP

Knit on...

Knittin' and Spinnin'

2011-09-05T19:06:00.002-04:00

I managed to finish two things this weekend. First, I finished the anniversary hat from ReBelle out of their anniversary hand dyed yarn:And next to that hat, you can see a skein of finished yarn freshly off the wheel.

I think it was a productive weekend :o)

Knit on...

Knit n' ROCK

2011-09-04T15:15:00.004-04:00

Last night, I went to a roller derby match between the local Rollergirls of Central Kentucky (ROCK) and Knoxville (Hard Knox). I was sitting with a group of lovely knitters:We knit, we watched ROCK get torn to pieces by the jammer from Hard Knox named Goblin, and all in all, had a great time.On my way home, I stopped to get lottery tickets, pulled into the gas station and was greeted by seriously about 50 ducks:They kinda freaked me out too because when I came out of the store, they tried to follow me into my car. These ducks are obviously used to hand outs (as evidenced by the guy feeding them leftover movie popcorn) and expected me to contribute. Starting up the car seemed to make them realize they were getting nothing from me, but I think they all may now be plotting my death based on the looks they gave me. Just sayin'.

Tomorrow, I'll show you what craftiness I have been up to here recently. Right now though, I should probably do laundry so I have clean clothes for the upcoming week.

Knit on...

Happy Birthday to ReBelle

2011-09-03T16:12:00.005-04:00

ReBelle, my favorite local yarn store, celebrated 5 years of being in business. Not only were they celebrating being around for five years, but they now officially don't owe anymore on their loan and the business all belongs to these two happy owners:Congratulations, Sarah and Robyn! Oh, and this picture took some time to get because these two kept cracking up trying to find a pose :oP

To celebrate, there were cupcakes:There was a table of yarn, t-shirts, and embroidery bags for 5 bucks a pop:From that table, I scored two skeins of yarn (which I had to give Sarah a hard time about being all in the colors I can't see. For those of you who don't know, I am red/green colorblind, a rare trait for a woman. So yeah, reds and greens :oP I did have Renee pick me out two that matched so I didn't wind up with something truly wonky color-combo-wise) and a t-shirt. I also picked up a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn that just really called to me.

When I went up to the register and wished them a happy birthday, I received 10% off my purchase (I would have said this anyways, but on facebook, they had told everyone about the 10% off deal). Then I got to pick a prize out of the basket and scored a sample of lavender Eucalan wool wash. To just put icing on the cupcake, I then was able to draw a random prize out of the bag and came out with a Lamb's Pride printed nail file. All in all, such a great experience!

I congratulate these two. It's a rough economy, but they have made it work by providing a welcome atmosphere and the products that knitters and the community want. If you're not local, check out their website by clicking here.

And here is my score for the day:Knit on...and support your LYS!

Catch Up

2011-08-24T19:02:00.013-04:00

It's time to play "What's Been Up In Leah's Life?!"

First, there has been knitting and crocheting as evidenced by:

A table runner made out of cotton that sparkles. Ooo, shiny!

A never-ending parade of crocheted dishcloths.

A Fair-isle vest is forming, slowly but surely...

A new sock is being born because...

A new pair of socks was finished!

That's it on the knitting/crocheting side of life. Now I'll catch you up on the rest.

I had a couple of big life events happen in the past two months. At the end of June, my great-grandmother passed away. She was the only other fiber artist in my family, so I had a special connection with my Granny Johnson. When we were cleaning out her things at the nursing home, I cam across the Herbivore shawl I had made for her. Turns out she wore it a lot and would wrap it around her shoulders at night to keep warm since she was always cold. I also found her cotton stash, which she was using to make dishcloths. The dishcloths pictured above are made out of some of that cotton. She had a stroke a few years back that left her unable to knit, but she was determined that she would crochet instead with her arm that still worked. She crocheted until the day she died.

My parents flew in for the funeral and we had a big family gathering. It was a nice service and she will be greatly missed. She lived a long life though and I was very fortunate to have known her and to have really had a relationship with my great grandmother.

A few weeks passed, and then a big thing happened: DF came back from Korea for a visit! It was wonderful to get to spend two weeks with him, although they went by quickly. I was very sad to see him go through security at the airport and I stayed in a funk up until now. I'm still sad he's gone, but work has been keeping me busy, so I go on my daily grind.

While he was here, we did all kinds of fun things. We went to King's Island, which was my first trip there. It was a fun time for sure. We also went to Mammoth Cave:DF and I became friends with our tour guide that day!

We also went on a tour of a bourbon distillery:

After the bourbon tour, we drove to Ft. Harrod and I found the gravesite of the woman who brought the first spinning wheel to Kentucky. I paid my respects:
Thank you, Ann McGinty for braving the wilds to bring Kentucky such a wonderful invention!

And that about catches you up. DF and I had a few other side trips in there while he was here, but nothing with pictures. It was a wonderful two weeks and I was sorry to see them end.

But now, I want to get back to the knitting. Catch you all on here again real soon!

Knit on...

Flick, Flick, Flick

2011-06-13T19:30:00.003-04:00

So what have I been up to, you might be wondering since I haven't posted in a while. Well, I've been up to my eyeballs in fleece. Remember the fleece I picked up at the Sheep and Fiber Festival? Yeah, I think it grew exponentially after washing, and I still have 1/3 of it left to wash!

So, I've been flick carding the washed locks. I've done about a third and have the other third left to card. So, it's boring by blogging standards.

I have also been knitting some. I have been working on the Corrie Fair Isle Vest from Knit Picks, but I haven't had much time to devote to the colorwork. I do adore the patterning on this vest though and I'll get some pictures of it here soon.

I have also been working on a pair of socks. Just plain vanilla socks, but they travel well, which is what I was wanting. I've been putting in quite a bit of overtime at work again, so by the time I get home, I rarely feel like doing much of anything aside from fixing dinner (tonight was baby zuchinni, garlic, and briesling stir fry, and it was yummy), so I try to knit a little bit at lunch when I get the chance. Today there was no knitting at lunch since I had to take a shorter one because of prepping for a presentation this afternoon.

But tonight, you guessed it, there was flicking.

Flick on..., er, I mean knit on...

Fleece, Fleece, Everywhere

2011-05-25T20:41:00.004-04:00

And not an ounce to spin...yet!

That's what I've been up to the past few days. I have been washing the fleece in small batches, and tomorrow, I intend to flick card open the locks and get some of the dried fleece ready to spin. I managed to get most of the lanolin out of the fleece, but I did leave a little in there just to give it a nice feel while spinning. If it wasn't such a nasty fleece, I probably would have just spun the whole thing in the grease, but that would have gunked up my wheel beyond all gunkiness (and yes, today is the day that I feel gunkiness is totally a word worth saying).

I created a drying rig in my front living room where the batches are currently air drying, although it's taking a little while since the weather has been quite humid and I have yet to turn on the AC in my apartment since I run perpetually cold. Here's my set up:I'm amazed at how well that wire rack is working to help dry out the fleece. Hopefully by tomorrow all that will be dry and I can work on flick carding it open to see how the fiber really wants to be prepared.

And because I am adoring my Citron, here's another picture just for fun:

Knit on...

Blue Ribbons and Citron

2011-05-22T18:38:00.006-04:00

I told you yesterday that I would post about the skein competition in the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival. Well, turns out, I won first place in both categories I entered. The first is a 2 ply 70% alpaca 30% merino blend from S & S Camelid Company located in Morehead, Kentucky. The roving has been lovely to spin, despite a few nepps from the merino content in the fiber. I thought at first that it was going to be in the whole batch of roving, but it turned out the nepps were only in the first part of the roving and did not affect the finished product at all since they were easily picked out. The price point on this roving is quite good, especially given the excellent quality of the alpaca. I'm looking forward to purchasing some of their 100% alpaca roving once I finish spinning the rest of the roving I'm working on.

So without any more blabbering, here's a picture of the finished yarn:

The second category I entered was the spindle category. You all have seen this yarn before since it was spun while I was still in Korea. It's 100% Correidale that was purchased as a dyed fleece, which I then carded and spun into this:

And, to add icing to the cake of this weekend, I finished the Citron shawl:

I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I should have taken a picture of the shawl when it was blocked out nice and straight, but sadly, I didn't. You can still see the color repeats wonderfully in this shot though. I adore the Crazy Zauberball yarn, and it took up all but a couple of yards of one ball to make this shawl.

That's it for today. Hm, now what should I make?

Knit on...

Charlie and Fiber Festival

2011-05-21T22:28:00.004-04:00

No, there was no chocolate involved in today's fiber festival. Instead, I became aquainted with a fleece from a sheep named Charlie. This fleece made it home with me today:

Charlie's fleece had some incredible crimp to it:

I managed to get the fleece skirted and semi-picked this evening. I washed a small sample of it to see how a batch looked after all the heat on it. Basically, I'm trying to decide if I need to wash this fleece in locks or if I can do a big batch of it at a time. I want to maintain that lovely crimp, so we'll see how the small batch turns out.

I also picked up one 4 oz braid of roving:

Tomorrow, I will show you the results of the skein competition. That should be fun!

Knit on...

Creativity

2011-05-16T18:03:00.002-04:00

It has been almost 2 months since I moved into my new place. It took being away from my place for the past couple of days to realize that while I am now finally organized and fully unpacked, the creative juices had been diverted. My knitting slowed down dramatically, my spinning was near non-existent, and there has been absolutely no writing. This weekend, I stepped away to house sit for a friend for a week and within 24 hours of being in the country surrounded by baby horses and 3 baby robins (and a rather perturbed mother robin, but hey, not my fault you decided to nest right by the guest bedroom window where I can watch) I was reading. I read a whole fantasy novel in a day and then this morning, I had a complete and total burning desire to knit, which is what I intend to do this evening. I also have finally started getting super excited about the sheep and fiber festival this weekend. I had almost forgot it was coming up until someone mentioned it in passing.

I realize now that all my creativity had been flowing into my new place. This is not a bad thing, since my place looks awesome and it's now all set up for DF's return, whenever that ends up being. My stash is organized, the spinning wheel is adding a lovely touch to the living room, and my kitchen is fully stocked and I'm loving being able to cook in my own place. I unpacked the last box on Wednesday evening, and I even knit a little bit on Thursday before the Sisters Provocateur show. Friday, I spent the evening with family, and then Saturday, a brief trip to the farmers market, some cooking for the week, and then I wound up on the farm by Saturday afternoon.

Tonight, I will work on Citron. I even have a little desire to write right now, but not enough to postpone the work on the Citron. The past two months have been so chaotic with random family pop-overs, tornadoes, flooding, and the constant need to organize my crap. But now, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The creativity is starting to bubble up again, and the pointy sticks are calling. I'll probably finish Citron by this weekend and hopefully will be able to wear her to the fiber festival. I'll have some pictures in the coming days, but for now, just know, that creativity is once again my friend. For those of you who have also hit the creative doldrums, just know that it too shall pass. Sometimes it just takes seeing baby robins and their pissed off mother, or five baby horses bouncing up and down in the fields to spark it.

Knit on...

Citron Grows

2011-04-19T19:29:00.003-04:00

My Citron is growing, albeit a bit slowly. The main reason for that is that Farmer's Market is open again and I have been cooking a bunch of very yummy food. Before I get into that, I give you the Citron:

It's like a rainbow wedge of citrus. I think this pattern is aptly named!

When not knitting, I have been cooking. This weekend, I made this:

I call this 3 P chowder. It's Pea, Potato, and Parrotfish.

If you've never had parrotfish before, it's super yummy and holds up to making chowder extremely well!

Up next, more Citron!

Knit on...

The State of the Knitting

2011-04-13T05:27:00.002-04:00

Well, this week has been a slow week for knitting. Let me give you the reasons why:

1. Farmer's Market opened on Saturday. I had been looking forward to this for months and planning out what I would get depending on how good the growing season was. I bought greens, green beans, cheese, jam, and herb seedling this past week. Who knows what this Saturday will bring!

2. We're in training again at work, and two people have been out for the past week on top of that, so once again, I've been pulling 50 hour weeks. Hopefully this week will not be a 50 hour week, but who knows.

3. Because of number 2, I have crashed as soon as I get home, watched Iron Chef and Cupcake Wars, and then died for the night.

4. My family keeps bringing me furniture. So if I'm not already dead when I get home, I am after moving around stuff.

Ok, enough of me making excuses. I did get to work on the shawl some this weekend, just not enough to document in pictures. Hopefully I'll get some done here soon and can get some pictures up here for you by the weekend.

Knit on...

Citron

2011-04-06T05:52:00.004-04:00

I mentioned that since knitting was chosen as the next project by the voters, I thought I would finish my Citron up.

I haven't finished it yet, but I have finally taken a very bad picture of the knitted item and can at least show you the color scheme of the knit. So without further ado, here is the Citron in progress. I'm on section 4 right now:
The yarn is Crazy Zauberball in what I'm calling the Tropics colorway. Not sure which colorway it actually is since the label is now long gone, but I like it a lot.

That's it for today. Hopefully more progress here soon.

Knit on...

And The Winner Is...

2011-04-02T13:40:00.003-04:00

According to all 7 of you who voted (which, seriously, I'm so thrilled I even have seven people who read this blog anymore that you guys just made my day!), it looks like my next project is going to be a knitting one.

I'll figure out what I'm going to start working on in the next day or so, but in the meantime, the latest issue of Fiber Fiction is now live. Here is the pattern for OtherKin part two:This is a reversible cabled dishcloth that is good and smooshy for scrubbing. You can read the story here and also find the pattern.

Knit on...

A Finished Sweater

2011-03-31T20:27:00.003-04:00

Well, I was able to transfer a picture onto my USB drive while I was trying to get everything ready for Fiber Fiction's release tonight. I was foiled on the release since the story is on the computer that is at my grandparents' house, but at least I can show you a blurry picture of my finished Central Park Hoodie:

The yarn is Knit Picks Merino Style for the green and the brown is Patons Classic Wool. I was just a little short on the green, so decided for a contrasting color for the button band. The buttons themselves are a green paisley print and I'm rather fond of them.

That's it for tonight. Tune in tomorrow when there will actually be a Fiber Fiction release!

Knit on...

A Project

2011-03-30T05:21:00.002-04:00

I am in desperate need of a good project with a deadline. Perhaps I only have this need because of seeing Julie and Julia for the first time last night, but a good project would do wonders for me. So, faithful readers, all two of you who haven't gone away because I did, what should I work on? Let's do some narrowing down via a poll, shall we?

Why, Hello, World!

2011-03-29T20:28:00.002-04:00

Hello! How have you all been? Me? Where did I go you might be asking yourself. Well, the answer is quite simple: I have been in the process of moving. Yes, I am now in my own little apartment, decorating with what little I have, and it's awesome. I now have a craft room, which is also the workout room, but hey, you combine where you have to combine. The essentials are all moved, and now it's just a matter of piecing the place together. Have I been knitting? Why yes, yes I have. What you may ask? Well, I finished the Central Park hoodie that never once has been photographed until tonight, but seeing as I can't find my SD card reader, will still remain hidden for another day or two. I also just finished the latest Fiber Fiction pattern tonight since the website went on hiatus for the past month due to the packing and weeding out what I needed work. But I'm back, and I hope we can pick up where we left off. I missed you guys, and I look forward to returning here like old friends who just had to take a bit of a break because they had too much going on. Knit on...

Back

2011-01-25T20:00:00.005-05:00

Hi, everyone. I'm back from my vacation now, so let me share a few pictures to sum it up.

First, Hawaii is as beautiful as everyone says it is:
Second, volcanoes are awe-inspiring:
Lastly, when you haven't seen your fiance in over 5 months, the trip turns out to be wonderful if for no other reason than to be with him again:

Ahem

2011-01-04T04:59:00.003-05:00

Well, this is the longest I have ever gone before without blogging a thing. Things have been rather hectic over at chez MagicKnitter the past couple of months to say the least, so let me catch you up.

I got a new full time job with a college in town doing their accounts payable. I like it quite a lot.

I still work part time at the gym, in the early hours of the morning, before going into the full time job.

I was taking a class in medical coding until last week. I passed the certification exam, so now I don't have to cram quite as much time into that.

Now I'm looking for part time work in the medical coding field to get my apprenticeship taken care of. Can you say glutton for punishment?

I have actually been knitting, but no documentation. I made a slew of Intwined Hats for my family for Christmas, a few scarves, a different couple of hats, cowls, shawls, and now am knitting the Central Park Hoodie for myself now that the holiday is over.

That just about catches you up I think. I hope to be back in about a week with another update, and hopefully some pictures. I miss blogging about my knitting successes and fails, so I'll be back, when I have some free time (Ha!)

Knit on...

Birthdays

2010-11-07T06:59:00.005-05:00

You know, it's funny how birthdays come around the same time every year. This one kind of snuck up on me since I'm really still in transition mode from living overseas to now living back in my home country. The past couple of months have been super busy between working odd hours at the gym, launching Fiber Fiction, knitting for new babies in the family, seeing older members of my family so I can spend time with them as much as possible, and finally, getting to see my friends on occasion. It's been a whole season of transitions, so when November 6 popped up, I was caught off guard.

Thankfully, my family and friends were not. Let me start with my wonderful fiance, who is always referred to as DF on my blog. He knows me well and went onto my KnitPicks wishlist and sent me 10 balls of Merino Style in a lovely green color:Forgive the dark colors on these pictures. I took them with my camera phone because I had nothing else around me to grab. He also got me a fix it keychain with a tiny double ended crochet hook attached to it. It's very cute.

My grandparents got me a Bodum teapot which I will be using a whole lot right now since it's 20 degrees F outside right now:And yes, this teapot needs a cozy I think. I'm browsing patterns for tea cozies and sweaters right now.

My parents sent me cash, which will be put to good use and my other grandmother sent me a gift card to Dillards. I see some new clothes in my future.

My awesome friend Renee took me out for a lovely brunch yesterday morning for my birthday. Looking back, I should have totally taken a picture of this massive plate of food, but my word it was good. Good food, good company, and a good mood: does it get much better than that?

My mother-in-law-to-be gave me a gift certificate to my LYS, so I'm looking forward to browsing and figuring out what I want. I am thinking some noro may come home with me so I can finish my noro blanket this year :o)

I also finished the log cabin baby blanket yesterday and gave it to the new baby at dinner last night:The blanket is a little wonky in the picture, but I can assure you, it's not wonky in real life. I gave it to the new mom and dad last night and the baby was nestled cozily in it by the time they left and had a deathgrip on it. I started another one last night, but I'm just improving the design on it. I'll post pictures when I get more than one block into it.

The only thing that could have made the day better was if DF was here. His birthday is on Monday, so I'm wishing him a happy birthday from here! Distances can suck, but love rocks. I love you, DF, and I hope that you have a great day, even if we're away for the birthdays this year!

Knit on...

Endings and Beginnings

2010-10-29T06:50:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I finished the rainbow scarf for my cousin, and I still think it looks rather like clown vomit. But besides that, I'm happy with how it came out. It's just a simple 1x1 ribbed scarf:This picture shows you most of the color progression throughout the scarf. I like having finished pieces that started out as roving. Really is fun to see your babies grow.

And speaking of babies, we have a new one on DF's side of the family. This little one wasn't supposed to make her appearance for another few weeks, but you know how babies are. You don't always get to plan for when they come out (just ask my mother!), so we welcomed Lexi into the world this week. And, since the scarf ended, the parade of baby items will begin. I'm finally making one of the Moderne Baby Blankets from Mason Dixon Knitting. I finished two blocks yesterday:And now I knit like the wind and try to get the blanket done before Lexi is allowed to come home on Sunday!

Knit on...

What I Can Show You

2010-10-25T07:12:00.003-04:00

I've been knitting quite a bit the past couple of weeks, but most of it I can't show you until Sunday, and then November 30. It's been hectic at Fiber Fiction headquarters, but I'm looking forward to the response from the release coming up in a few more days.

What I can show you is what the rainbow yarn is turning into:Just a simple 1x1 ribbed scarf for my cousin for Christmas. Gotta love handspun when you never know what color sequence is coming up next.

Also, I've been spinning some alpaca/merino blend roving:It's not a bad blend, but the merino seems to be adding quite a few nepps which are driving me insane right now. I'm pulling most of them out, but it does slow down the spinning process dramatically when I have to do that. At least it's buttery soft!

Knit on...

Picture Proof

2010-10-16T07:45:00.003-04:00

I can't remember if I mentioned last week that I finished the Ice Queen Cowl from Knitty.com or not, but I did. I had no proof of finishing though since stupid me had forgotten to take a picture after finishing it 30 minutes before giving it to the recipient for her birthday. Anyways, behold the proof that I finished the cowl:And here it is being used as a hood:The woman in the picture is my dear friend. Actually, she is the one who first taught me to crochet 7 years ago now. She laughed when I gave her the cowl, because she could remember when I was getting so frustrated just trying to crochet a straight row, and now I'm crocheting and knitting intricate beaded lace designs and anything else I really want to make. Happy birthday to my mentor and good friend!

Knit on...

Finished Yarn and Finished Body

2010-10-12T08:19:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I finished the rainbow yarn I have been spinning since the Insubordiknit Drunken Sunset came off the wheel. The yarn spun up to be a decent worsted weight yarn and I'm going to be making this into a scarf for a cousin of mine. Here's the yarn:It's still a little over twisted. One of these days I'll get the right amount of twist into a yarn that's navajo plied...

Also, I finally got the zipper installed in my Vivian cardigan, and after taking a couple of pictures of it today, I realize that yeah, I've lost 81 pounds...Here's the cardigan and me from the front:And here's the sweater from the side:
Squeee!

Knit on...

Fiber, Fiber, Everywhere!

2010-10-10T21:45:00.003-04:00

Another week has flown by, and I have no idea where it went. It was an interesting week though, so here are the highlights:

Monday: Fiber Fiction Patterns
Tuesday: Fiber Fiction Patterns
Wednesday: Fiber Fiction Patterns
Thursday: Fiber Fiction Patterns
Friday: Kim's Birthday
Saturday: Renee's Party
Today: Downtown and Fiber!

So if you didn't notice the trend for the first 4 days of the week, Fiber Fiction launched and all the free dishcloth patterns are now up.

Today I went downtown to the Spotlight Lexington exhibition. I had heard from my grandparents that there was an alpaca lady out there, and I thought it would be fun to talk to a local fiber farmer. Turns out it was fun, and she, who happens to have a name and it's Sandy, had some nice rovings and yarns. I ended up coming home with a 4 ounce bump of roving:Her farm is S & S Camelid Co and her stuff was nice. If you're in the central Kentucky region, you should check her out. Also, I talked to a local fiber mill who happened to be the mill responsible for the roving I picked up. The mill was Flaggy Meadow Fiber Works and I'm looking forward to sending some stuff over to Shawn and Lori to have processed.

I'll review the roving once I get it all spun up. I think it's going to spin quite nicely after inspecting it some at home.

Can I Interest You in a Dishcloth?

2010-10-03T15:24:00.004-04:00

So yeah, if you asked me what I've been up to the past week, I would have to say this:Yeah, I've made 20 dishcloths in a week. Those are 12 of them, all crocheted. The other 8 were some test knits for Fiber Fiction that you'll be able to see if you head over there.

Speaking of, there are now 3 patterns up, and the 4th will be up today, so keep an eye out.

And for those who care, I also bought this today:Cascade 220 Sportweight in the color 2452. I also bought this:Lanaloft sport weight by Brown Sheep Company in the color Violet Shimmer. Yeah, not sure what happened with the picture, but it's purple and not blue at all.

Hm, wonder what I could be doing with sport weight yarn? Perhaps you will find out on October 31? Hint, hint, wink wink, say no more!

Knit on...

Mystery Journaling Prompt

2010-10-01T20:44:00.002-04:00

Since I asked everyone to try and write a short piece of fiction for their first prompt on Fiber Fiction, I thought I would share mine here:

The Mystery of Obi

The young woman jerked upright, sweat covering her body. She heard that noise again and it terrified her. The snorting, the rapid inhaling of breath cut the silence in her bedroom. She tried to pull the covers over her head and ignore the noise, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t ignore the heavy breathing and the little snorts coming down the hallway. What was she going to do, she wondered. She couldn’t close the door in time. She couldn’t run away from the being behind the snorts, sniffs, and heavy breathing. She was trapped.

She pulled the covers off her, slid her feet out of the bed and onto the cold wooden floor, and stood up slowly. The snorts were getting closer and she knew she didn’t have much time. She reached in her purse and grabbed the one thing that would appease the beast that was approaching.

“Obi!” she exclaimed as she held her hand out to the tiny shitzu and gave him the treat he was seeking out. “You silly old dog! You scared me with all that snorting!”

Obi, with his ancient eyes, simply took the treat, stared at the woman, and then walked out the door, moving on to bigger and better things. What those things could be was a mystery to the young red head.

For those of you who remember, Obi is my cousin's dog. I'm once again dog sitting for her, so Obi is snoring next to me while I write this. I'm finally going to be able to knit something else aside from dishcloths now, so look for some progress on that fair isle vest here soon!

Knit on...

It's Live!

2010-09-30T20:26:00.002-04:00

Fiber Fiction has launched! The first free pattern is up and ready for you to enjoy. Here it is:The pattern is based on the genre of mystery. It's illusion knit, but it reveals the manifying glass with the letter M for Mystery next to it. I hope you all enjoy it!

Oh, and you should totally tell people about Fiber Fiction. All the cool kids are doing it :oP

Who Needs Sleep?

2010-09-29T20:17:00.003-04:00

That's going to be my motto for the next few days. Between work, school, and launching Fiber Fiction, I'm going to be seriously sleep deprived I think. But, it's totally worth it and I'm looking forward to having some submissions coming in and getting to pair them up with designers and some of my own designs.

I wish I had something to show you today. Since I don't, I'm just going to give you a teaser photo of the first pattern that will launch on Friday. And yeah, looks can be very deceiving!Knit on...

Burning The Candle At Both Ends

2010-09-28T07:48:00.005-04:00

That's what I've been doing as of late it seems. First off, I'm working more since a few people needed time off or quit at work. Secondly, the stuff I've been knitting recently, I can't show you until Friday when the website launches. Lastly, between the first two things, I haven't had much time to do anything except work, come home and knit on Fiber Fiction stuff, and sleep!

But, so as not to disappoint, I did get something done. I took the finished Drunken Sunset yarn I spun up and Navajo plyed and made A Noble Cowl out of it. Here's the finished project:I also started on a new Fair Isle Vest from Knit Picks called the Corrie Vest. Here's what I have so far:That's it for now. Check back in a few more days for more fun stuff, perhaps a contest, and the formal launch of Fiber Fiction!

Life

2010-09-17T20:56:00.003-04:00

Sometimes life gets in the way of my posting stuff. This week, life is deciding that my hormone levels are fun to play with.

For those of you who have followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I do on occassion (read: all the freaking time) have some issues with being an estrogen factory. Well, turns out I'm now lacking a lot of it, from get this, losing weight! Stored fat apparently produces estrogens and since I have 80 pounds less of it, I'm not quite the factory I used to be.

So, this week I saw my wonderful doctor-who-keeps-me-regulated-and-sane, and we changed meds. For the first two days, I was nauseous as hell. And I was cranky. And tired. And, well, just feeling rather crummy. On the third day (today actually) I have started feeling wonderful. I'm regulated again, thank goodness.

So in the past week, I have knit a heel flap and turned the heel on the second red sock. That's it. I did do some spinning, and tonight I'm going to do some more before going to bed. So, since I did promise you pictures, here is the pair of worsted weight green socks I made for the family friend with cancer:That's it for tonight. Hopefully this next week is much more fiber-friendly and less hot-flash related!

Knit on...

Spinning, Knitting, and Fiber Fun

2010-09-13T14:16:00.002-04:00

I have been spinning, and in fact, I managed to go ahead and finish up the last of the Insubordiknit roving. It's sitting here staring at me, wondering what it will be. Anyone have any suggestions? I have about 250 yards of sport weight yarn in a nice varigated purple colorway. I'll post pictures of it tomorrow.

I finished the worsted weights socks and will also post pictures of that tomorrow.

And I'm getting there on the red socks too. I've been working on some writing for Fiber Fiction and working on some more designing for it. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should totally go look. It's not ready to launch yet, but there's going to be some fun stuff in October.

And for more fibery-fun, I think I finally got the hang of navajo plying. The second skein of yarn is much less over-twisted than the first one, so I think I'll be ok on it from now on.

Pictures tomorrow! Or later tonight if I feel like getting on the small computer to get the pictures off the camera :oP

Knit on...

An Announcement

2010-09-09T08:09:00.003-04:00

Ok, folks, I have been hinting that I've been working on something rather big the past few months. Well, I'm pleased to announce that I can finally talk about it some on here.

I have been working with a friend of mine to design a website that will pair short pieces of fiction with knitting patterns that somehow tie into the story. After taking over two months off from work and designing, writing, and working on the website stuff, Fiber Fiction was born.

The website is now up, but it is rough, so bear with us as we iron out the kinks and get it fully operational. The formal launch is in 3 weeks on October 1.

But for now, go check it out. It's fun :oP

Fiber Fiction: Where Fiber Has Character

Housekeeping

2010-09-07T19:43:00.005-04:00

Ok, I'm doing some housekeeping today. First, I did actually finish two pairs of socks while on vacation in Bali. Here's the first one out of Sensations basic wool sock yarn:Then I made a pair of socks out of Plymouth Sockatta cotton blend yarn:And I did finish the first red sock. Red sock number two is currently being knit:Yep, lots of socks. And now to get back to the red one...

Knit on...

New Yarn

2010-09-06T21:25:00.003-04:00

Hey, look, I have actually done fiber-related stuff! I spun up some singles out of the Insubordiknit humanely-raised merino cross in Drunken Sunset, then I practiced Navajo plying for the first time. I love how the finished product looks, but boy did I overtwist the yarn! That's why I wanted to get in some practice before doing a large project on the wheel that I want to Navajo ply. Anyways, here's the 155 yards of yarn:Knit on...

Catching Up

2010-09-01T08:33:00.006-04:00

Ok, so this is going to be a fairly picture-heavy post as I catch up on what all I've been doing the past week. So without further blabbering, let me get to it.

First up, we have the finished Lumpy Bumpy scarf. It's lumpy, it's bumpy, and it's squishy soft:Sorry for the craptapulous pictures on here. I'm rushing to get this in, talk to DF, and get ready for my class tonight all before heading to work.
Next, I finished the first red sock last night and just have to graft the toe. I'll be doing that sometime this morning before work probably.And then last night at SnB (It was great seeing you guys again!), I started a pair of worsted weight bed socks for a friend of the family who has cancer. I didn't get too far, but worsted socks knit up so fast:And last, but not least, I have really enjoyed being back with my spinning wheel. Yesterday was one of the first times I've had some time to really sit down and spin, and I got through about 1.5 ounces of roving that has been in my stash for ages. This is Insubordiknit's Drunken Sunset:It started out rough, but now I'm getting a nice, even single and I love the colors. I'm going to use this as practice for navajo plying since I've yet to do that and I want to keep the colors in this roving together as much as possible.

There you have it! One week down, many more to come. I'll try to be a bit more consistent since I'm pretty well settled in now and will be working, studying, and knitting, all while seeing friends and family.

Knit on...

A Plate Full

2010-08-31T08:13:00.003-04:00

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...

WTF??!!....

2010-08-24T20:16:00.002-04:00

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!

The Scarf Grows

2010-08-23T19:25:00.003-04:00

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...

Drumroll Please...

2010-08-22T19:52:00.004-04:00

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...

And I'm Back!

2010-08-20T15:10:00.001-04:00

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...

Vacationing and a Contest!

2010-08-05T21:15:00.002-04:00

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...

And Now For Ishbel

2010-08-03T02:52:00.004-04:00

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...

The Finished Herbivore

2010-08-02T21:28:00.004-04:00

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...

Herbivore and Ishbel

2010-07-30T21:00:00.003-04:00

That title really sounds like it could be the beginning of a love story or something. Herbivore and Ishbel had similar backgrounds, but where herbivore chose to be more solid, Ishbel went the more fanciful route. Ok, I'll stop, I swear.

Anyways, I finished Herbivore yesterday and I will do the blocking of it once DF wakes up and I can use his bed to pin out the shawlette. Here it is, pre-blocking:As soon as Herbivore was off the needles, I cast on for Ishbel. I must be on a shawlette kick right now, but it's what I want to make at the moment. I packed up all my other shawls this week in the big suitcase, so if I want something to take to Bali with me next week, it'll be one of these two shawlettes. I'm hoping to be through the stockinette portion of Ishbel by the end of the day today. Here's my progress so far:It's coming right along.

Knit on...

Wood Elves

2010-07-29T01:37:00.003-04:00

I always liked the Magic card Wood Elves. A 2/3 for 2 green mana always seemed pretty good to me and it's a little harder to kill than the other 2/2's you usually get for the same mana cost. Now that I've lost all you knitters out there with Magic talk, I'll bring it back. The reason I bring up Wood Elves is because the shawl I'm making now is made from that colorway from Enchanted Knoll.

I'm making Herbivore by Stephen West. It's a very easy knit and it's pretty mindless, which I like right now. I should be done with it by this weekend I think. I've got 8 of the 12 inches knit on the body now. And, so you can see why the colorway is called wood elves, here's a picture:It just seemed fitting to knit a project called Herbivore out of a greenish colorway.

Knit on...

Anniversary Musings

2010-07-27T22:09:00.005-04:00

So last night, DF and I celebrated our anniversary by having pizza and an ice cream cake from Coldstone. It was yummy and made for a nice evening. Also, for some reason they gave DF candles when he bought the cake, so we had to light them up :oPI had given DF his present yesterday, which included some of my favorite pictures of us. Like, our pictures with Hal Sparks, at the DMZ, in Japan, etc. DF gave me my presents yesterday and they cracked me up. First, he got me an eye mask for the vacation we're about to take and then the long trip back home.The second thing he got me is going to crack me up every time I see it. It's a little doll that says Breast Moppet on it. From some discussion among FB people, I think it was supposed to mean baby child, but the translation went horribly, horribly wrong.And I'll leave you for the day to ponder how it went wrong and became a disturbing baby doll sitting in a bucket :oP

Knit on...

What To Do With Leftover English Tweed

2010-07-27T21:47:00.005-04:00

I had 5 skeins of yarn left from my Vivian cardigan, so I knew I wanted to use it. The yarn is so nice to work with, and it wasn't too much leftover, so I wanted something small, quick, and fairly easy. I flipped through my notebook with patterns already printed out and came across the Brea Bag by Norah. I knew it would be cutting it close with the yardage, but I decided to go for it anyways.

A few hours later, I had this:I threw a few things in it to see how it looks and I decided that I definitely want to line the bag when I get back to the US. I'm thinking some hot pink fabric to match the button. And maybe a zipper to give the bag a little more security.

Here it is when not being supported by my hand:Another reason I think it needs to be lined. Lining will offer it some stability so it doesn't stretch out.

Also, I really like the purse handle that I had for this bag. I bought two of these handles the last time I was in Seoul and I wish I would have bought more in the different colors they had. They're really quite nice and the picture doesn't do it justice:And up next on the needles will be Herbivore. I'm ripping out the jaywalker sock I started with the Wood Elves sock yarn and will make that instead. I think I'll be happier with the yarn draped over me than on my feet.

Knit on...

Another Couple of Freebie Patterns

2010-07-27T21:26:00.007-04:00

Ok, before I make a separate post about life and knitting, I wanted to post a couple of free patterns up here for you all. Both patterns are going to be available as a PDF on Ravelry as well, so clicky for that link.

Flowerbasket and Fishy Dishcloths

These two dishcloths came out of my design process while working on something completely different. While they were not chosen to be the patterns used for the other project, I thought that you all might enjoy having them anyways. So, here are some free patterns for you all and I hope that you will enjoy knitting them and using the scrubby cloths! If anyone has charting software and wanted to make a chart for the cable pattern on the Fishy Dishcloth, please go ahead and do so. I did not have access to any charting software at the time of this pattern’s publishing.

Materials:

Worsted weight dishcloth cotton. One ball of Sugar and Cream should make 2 dishcloths.

US Size 8 Needles, straight or circular

Gauge: not too important. Just make it so it’s a density you’re happy with.

Flowerbasket Dishcloth:

Cast on 34 stitches. Work in Seed Stitch for 9 rows. Row 10: Work 9 stitches in seed stitch, place marker, work 16 stitches from flower pattern, place marker, work 9 stitches in seed stitch. Continue working in established pattern until flower pattern is completed twice. Next row, work all stitches in seed stitch, removing markers as you come to them. Work 8 more rows in seed stitch, then bind off.

Flower pattern:

Row 1: K all stitches

Row 2: Purl all stitches

Row 3: K all stitches

Row 4: P3, K3, P4, K3, P3

Row 5: K3, P4, K2, P4, K3

Row 6: P3, K4, P2, K4, P3

Row 7: K4, P3, K2, P3, K4

Row 8: P7, K2, P7

Row 9: K7, P2, K7

Row 10: P4, K3, P2, K3, P4

Row 11: K3, P4, K2, P4, K3

Row 12: P3, K4, P2, K4, P3

Row 13: K3, P3, K4, P3, K3

Row 14: Purl all stitches

Row 15: Knit all stitches

Row 16: Purl all stitches

Repeat these 16 rows for pattern

Seed Stitch:

Row 1: K1, P1 to end

Row 2: P1, K1 to end

Repeat these 2 rows, making sure to knit the purl stitches and purl the knit stitches to form the bumpy texture

Fishy Dishcloth:

Cast on 35 stitches. Work 12 rows in seed stitch. Next row, work 4 stitches in seed stitch, place marker, work chart 1, place marker, work 4 stitches in seed stitch. Continue this way until chart 1 is complete. Work 12 rows of seed stitch, removing markers as you come to them. Bind off.

Chart 1:

Row 1: P2 (k1, p1) 5 times, RBC, P1, (k1, p1) 5 times, P1

Row 2: FC, (p1, k1) 3 times, P1, BC, k1, FC, (p1, k1) 3 times, P1, BC

Rows 3,5,7,11, 13, 15, 19, 21, and 23: K all the knit stitches and P all the purl stitches

Row 4: k1, FC, (p1, k1) twice, p1, BC, k1, p1, k1, FC (p1, k1) twice, p1, BC. K1

Row 6: p1, k1, FC, p1, k1, p1, BC, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, FC, p1, k1, p1, BC. K1, p1

Row 8: k1, p1, k1, FC, p1, BC, k1, p1, k1, (p1, k1) twice, FC, p1, BC, k1, p1, k1

Row 9: (p1, k1) twice, p1, RFC, (p1, k1) 5 times, p1, RFC, p1, (k1, p1) twice

Row 10: p1, k1, p1, BC, k1, FC, p1, k1, p1, (k1, p1) twice, BC, k1, FC, p1, k1, p1

Row 12: k1, p1, BC, k1, p1, k1, FC, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, BC, k1, p1, k1, FC, p1, k1

Row 14: p1, BC, (k1, p1) twice, k1, FC, p1, k1, p1, BC, (k1, p1) twice, k1, FC, p1

Row 16: BC, (k1, p1) 3 times, k1, FC, p1, BC, (k1, p1) 3 times, k1, FC

Row 17: Repeat row 1

Row 18: Repeat row 2

Row 20: Repeat row 4

Row 22: Repeat row 6

Row 24: Repeat row 8

Row 25: Repeat row 9

RBC: Slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in back. P1, then slip the knit stitch from cable needle back to left hand needle. Knit it, then p1 from cable needle

RFC: slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in front. P1, then slip the knit stitch from cable needle back to left hand needle. Knit it, then p1 from cable needle.

BC: Slip 1 stitch to cable needle and hold in back. K2, p1 from cable needle.

FC: Slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in front. P1, K2 from cable needle.

Hope that you all enjoy the patterns. Let me know if there are any corrections that need to be made!
Knit on...

An Anniversary and a Free Pattern to Celebrate

2010-07-27T00:32:00.006-04:00

Today marks 7 years since DF and I went on our first date. It's hard to believe that we've been together for 7 years now. So in celebration of our anniversary, I'm going to tell a short story about a sweater and give you a free dishcloth pattern that came out of some of the design work I've been doing, but will not be used for the final project. Still, it's pretty and I thought some of you may want it.

The sweater I am referring to is this one:The reason I'm mentioning this is that the sweater actually worked its way into conversation last night and both DF and I ended up laughing. In fact, this sweater cracks us both up each time we think about it.

I made this sweater when I was still a fairly new knitter. I wanted to make something nice for DF, so I decided to make the unisex pullover pattern from Lion Brand. I made it out of wool ease.

First, the yarn was bad. Wool-ease has gotten better in recent years I feel, but a few years back, not so good. Second, I didn't really know what the hell I was doing when it came to the neck shaping. Heck, I had to make it twice since the first neck wouldn't go over my head when I tried it on to see how it fit on me.

But DF is a good man. He complimented me on it, even though I knew he didn't really like it much. He wore it to church the next Sunday, and I swear he told everyone around us that I had knit that. Now, I tell him not to tell people that I made the horrid, itchy, mal-shaped sweater. I even told him to get rid of the thing.

Nope, he's still got it. He says that it's special to him because I made it. Also, he'll use it as blackmail against me if I get out of line :oP

I found the picture of this sweater last week when I was putting together a small gift for DF for the anniversary. It was a book of pictures from the 7 years we've been together. I had the sweater picture printed, and today when he gets home from work, I'm going to give him a 4x6 picture of the horrid thing, just so we can both share a laugh.

DF, since I know you read this, I love you. Even if you do now laugh at the ugly sweaters I have made for you :oP I laugh too, which is what I love most about being with you.

And now, if you're still reading, here's a free pattern. I'm calling it the Fireflowers Dishcloth.Click on the pattern title to go to the Ravelry Download page for an easy-to-print PDF File
Fireflowers Dishcloth

Materials:
Worsted weight dishcloth cotton in two contrasting colors. One ball each color will make at least 2 dishcloths.
US Size 8 Needles, straight or circulars
Gauge: Not really too important, but if you are a super tight knitter, you'll want to go up to at least a 9 needle so your slipped stitches are not too tight.

Note: All stitches are slipped purl-wise unless otherwise noted.

Instructions:Cast on 33 stitches in color A (lighter of the two colors, in my case, cream). Work 5 repeats of fireflower pattern. On last row (row 8 of pattern), knit all stitches instead of patterned row. Bind of.

Fireflower pattern:
Row 1: Using A: k2, *(k1, yo, k1) in next stitch, k3* repeat from * to last 2 stitches. End k2

Row 2: Using B: P2, *Slip next 3 stitches with yarn held in front, P3* repeat from * to last two stitches. End P2

Row3: Using B: K1, *K2tog, slip 1 with yarn in back, ssk, K1* repeat from * to last stitch. End K1
Row 4: Using A: P4, *Slip 1 with yarn in front, P3* repeat from * to last stitch. End P1

Row 5: Using A: K4, *(k1, yo, k1) in next stitch, K3* repeat to last stitch. End K1

Row 6: Using B: P4, *Slip next 3 stitches with yarn held in front, P3* repeat from * to last stitch. End P1
Row 7: Using B: K3, *K2tog, Slip 1 with yarn in back, ssk, K1* repeat from * to last 2 stitches. End K2

Row 8: Using A: P2, *Slip 1 with yarn in front, P3* repeat from * to last 2 stitches. End P2.

Repeat these 8 rows for pattern.
k=Knit
P=Purl
k2tog= knit 2 stitches together
ssk= slip, slip, knit
yo= yarn over

I'm Back

2010-07-22T01:59:00.005-04:00

Sorry that I've been gone for a while. I've been taking some tours of things over here while I'm still in the country, and I've been knitting like a mad woman. Most of what I've been knitting, I can't show you, but I can show you the main thing I finished over a week ago. Vivian is done, well, it still needs a zipper, but it's done other than that. Here I am doing my best model pose:And here's the back of the cardigan:All I can say is that I love this cardigan. I made the size 38 chest measurement and it is nicely fitted, but has enough room that I can have winter items underneath of it. And since I heard so many people saying that the Vivian cardigan looks good on any body type, DF and I decided that we would find out:Sexy, baby!

Knit on...

Cables, Cables, Everywhere!

2010-07-08T01:17:00.003-04:00

Yep, I cast on Vivian once I finished the hat the other day. I've been wanting to knit this cardigan ever since I first saw it in Twist Collective, but at the time, I was in the process of still losing weight. Now that I'm in the process of maintaining my weight, I decided it was time to make the super cabled sweater.

I cast on the sweater on Monday. I'm now on the fifth ball and 69 rows into the back of the sweater. It's flying off my needles right now and it made me remember how much cables are like potato chips...you can't just make one. Every time I finish a twist row, I think, ah, I can do one more cable repeat, right? I'm about a third of the way done with the back now and I can't wait to work on it again. Here's what it looks like so far:I'm in love with the pattern, the cables, and the yarn. Yarn is Lana Gatto English Tweed in a denim blue colorway. The tweedy specks are all ranges of colors, which I also like. It adds some textural interest in there other than the massive amount of cabling and seed stitch.

That's it for today. I want to get back to knitting the sweater :oP

Knit on...

What To Do With Leftover Cashmere

2010-07-06T00:46:00.002-04:00

Well, make a hat! When I had the full ball of cashmere leftover, I was surprised. I asked DF if he would be interested in the matching hat from the Windschief pattern, and he said that he doesn't wear hats much anyways, so I should probably find something for me if I wanted to make a hat out of the cashmere remaining.

Well, I liked the Windschief pattern for the hat and I knew I had enough yarn for that, so, I made it for myself. Only takes about a day and it's soft and warm on my head, which is why it's being packed away for winter right now since it's 95 degrees today...

Anyways, here's the hat on yours truly:I also cast on for Vivian yesterday, but there's so much going on with all the cables, that I can't work on it and talk at the same time. So this sweater is going to be my silence knitting until it's done. Hopefully I can make good progress on it while I'm still in Korea (even better if I can finish it here), so that I won't need much silent knitting at home.

Knit on...

Cashmere in July

2010-07-05T00:47:00.003-04:00

Yep, it's hard to believe that July is here and upon us already. It doesn't seem like it's been over a month since I finished my job and have been able to focus on writing and knitting design. It does however seem like July, if for nothing else than the weather.

Which is why I'm knitting with cashmere yarn of course :oP
I've never worked with cashmere before, so when I went to Seoul a couple of weeks ago, I picked up two balls of Anny Blatt cashmere blend yarn to make a cowl for DF. I had picked up the pattern for Windschief by Stephen West about a month ago and I wanted to get a nice yarn for the neck warmer so that it would be nice and soft when DF is riding his motorcycle.

So, here he is, modeling his finished cowl:He says that he really likes it and will use it this fall and winter when it gets cold again. Meanwhile, we're melting with the heat and humidity.

Oh, and did I mention that the cowl only took one ball of yarn? So, tomorrow I'll show you what I did with the second ball of yarn!

Knit on...

Much Better

2010-06-30T21:55:00.004-04:00

Yes, I am much better now. It took until Wednesday for me to really feel 100% well again after the terrible boat ride, but thankfully, all is well now and I'm back to work.

Unfortunately, the stuff I'm working the most on right now, I can't show you on the blog. It's another pattern for the club I'm concocting and all will be revealed in due time. I know you're probably getting sick of me saying that though, so look, there's a little progress on the Jaywalker sock:I'm to the heel flap portion now. It's a little bit bigger than I like my socks, but since I know the 76 stitch version is just way too tight, I'll settle for it being a bit bigger. I also swatched for a new project.

Ok, pick your jaws up off the floor and settle down. I know you think I never swatch, but on occasion, I do. This project needed to be swatched since I wasn't sure if the yarn would meet the requirements for the pattern. Turns out it did. I hit gauge on try number one with the suggested needles. That is such an awesome feeling!This swatch is for Vivian by Ysolda from Twist Collective. Vivian is my reward sweater for losing so much weight. I knew I would never really be happy with making this cabled sweater while I was in the process of losing weight, so now that I'm right about at weight goal, I figured I could cast on. Not sure when I'll cast on yet, but I'm hoping it will be sometime this weekend.

Once I finish the crap I can't show you all :oP

Knit on...

Vanilla Socks

2010-06-27T22:26:00.005-04:00

I finished a pair of vanilla socks this weekend while on my way to Japan. The yarn is Bamboo and Ewe by Joanne's Sensations. Here are the socks:I also started a new pair of Jaywalker socks since one of my other pairs of Jaywalkers finally bit the dust this week. These are being made out of Enchanted Knoll in the colorway Wood Elves.That's it for today. I'm still recovering from the worst motion sickness I've ever had, so hopefully tomorrow will be a much more productive blog post.

Knit on...

When It Rains In Japan...

2010-06-26T06:32:00.002-04:00

Knit.

Well, after you've been out and seen areas you haven't seen before despite the rain.

Hello from Fukuoka!

I had to pop over to Japan for a day, so I of course brought knitting with me. I finished a pair of socks on the boat ride over and am about to wind the other skein of yarn I brought with me into a ball. It's pouring rain, and it has been ever since I got here. I actually had to break down and buy an umbrella just to be able to get around.

Anyways, it's still been fun. I went on a bit of an excursion looking for a Hard Rock Cafe location. That was successful, even though I got on the wrong bus twice and spent quite a bit longer than I intended in that area. I also went running despite the rain and had my ass handed to me by an 80 year old man who wanted to practice his English while running. Man, I hope I'm like that when I'm 80! I had such a big lunch today that I am in no way hungry, so I decided that I would spend the rest of the evening in the hotel room, lounging, knitting, and looking at the rediculously cute bento stuff I picked up while out earlier :oP

Catch you all back in the ROK.

Knit on...

Palindrome

2010-06-21T23:36:00.003-04:00

This weekend, I used the hand spun alpaca yarn that DF brought me from Peru to make a nice cabled scarf for myself. I've made several of the Irish Hiking Scarves, and I almost just jumped in and made another one, but then I thought that I should learn a new technique.

Enter the Palindrome pattern. It's super easy, baffles my mind with how simple it is, and looks lovely. Palindrome is a reversible cabled scarf pattern that is available for free on the internet. I didn't have very much yardage of the alpaca, so I thought that I would just see how long I could make it. The scarf is about 5 feet long and it's so soft, squishable, and just darned pretty. Here's the picture of the finished scarf:I highly recommend this pattern for anyone who wants an introduction to reversible cables. It's a great introduction and I see lots of playing with this technique by myself in the future..

Knit on...

Tan Monkeys

2010-06-17T02:14:00.006-04:00

The monkey socks are now complete. I finished the first sock yesterday evening and then plowed through half the second sock last night too. Today I finished it up and am now eyeing my next bloggable project. Before I get into that, here's the finished monkey socks:Yarn is Joanne's Sensations Bamboo and Ewe. 50% superwash wool, 20% nylon, 30% rayon from bamboo. Overall, this yarn is a decent workhorse yarn, but nothing more. It was all right to knit with, but not nearly as nice as Opal or Trekking, which are also commercial yarns. I paid a total of $1.99 a ball for this yarn while hitting an after Christmas sale, and for that price, it's well worth it. I'll let you know how these wear since it's the first pair of socks I've made out of this yarn. If they hold up well, I'll purchase this yarn again for cheapo pairs of knitted socks.The bamboo does give the yarn a nice shiny look. I'm hoping that the sheen sticks around with repeated washings. Time will tell.

Also, DF took some pictures of me the other day wearing my Evenstar shawl. I wore it to WWKIP Day on Saturday and got lots of comments. Here I am:Gee, can you tell I've lost 75 pounds now? :oP Here's the shawl from the back:Have I mentioned how much I adore this shawl? Go buy the pattern. It's for sale now and is well worth anything Susan is charging for it!

Knit on...

When You Can't Knit...

2010-06-16T02:08:00.003-04:00

Crochet! That's what I did yesterday anyways. I just made simple double crochet dishcloths for my grandmother. She's really fond of this particular style, so I just chain 28 stitches and double crochet for 11 rows. Fast, easy, and doable when my hand is messed up. Here are the 10 cloths I made:Today, my hand is doing much better, so I've been working on my monkey sock while sitting on the bus and the subway. I had some errands to run this morning, so the knitting was welcomed during the commute time. I'm even hoping to have one monkey sock completed by tonight.

Knit on...

World Wide Knit In Public Day 2010

2010-06-15T00:38:00.002-04:00

So I pulled out my camera just now and realized that I forgot to talk about WWKIPD on Saturday. So here's the report:

On Saturday at noon, Alice, Julia, and I plopped down in the comfy chairs at the local Starbucks with yarn, needles, and hooks at the ready to offer knitting lessons, or crochet if that suited people more, in honor of the public knitting holiday. Now realize that since we are members of the SnB here, it's really not a big deal for us to be seen knitting in public. It's really just something that we do all the time.

It was mostly just the three of us until Julia's friend Kat showed up to learn to crochet. Since she already knew how to knit, I was pretty sure learning to crochet wouldn't be terribly hard for her. She learned the basics of single, double, and triple crochet stitches and then we all decided to head our separate ways around 3. But before we did, we took a group photo:Front: Alice and Julia
Back: Me and Kat

Knit on...

How Running Affects Knitting

2010-06-14T23:08:00.002-04:00

Yes, while the two things seem rather unrelated, unless you're the woman in the upper right corner of page 26 here, they can affect one another. The reason I'm mentioning this is because I ran a race on Sunday. It was a 10k trail race up the side of a mountain and then back down. Well, at kilometer 4, I wiped out. I hit a rock going uphill and took skin off my right hand, both knees, and my left arm. I did finish the race and the full report can be found here if you're interested.

So yesterday, I picked up the knitting needles to work on the monkey sock only to find that my right hand hurt too much to knit. It also kinda hurt to type. So, I spent most of my day playing facebook games that let me just click. Today, I'm feeling much less sore, but my palm is still bruised and sore. I did however find I could crochet easier than I could knit, so today, I will be making dishcloths. Gee, I know how excited you all must be to get to see crocheted dishcloths on the blog tomorrow, but hey, at least it's something!

Knit on...

Monkey on my Back

2010-06-10T21:50:00.002-04:00

I decided to revive a project that was put on hold once the school said I wasn't allowed to knit on my breaks anymore. I had been working on a pair of socks at that point, but they were more travel knitting than something I wanted to work on at home. Now, I need another knitting project so that I can have something to show you all since I can't show you the things I'm working on for the secret project I have going. So, I leave you today with the tan monkey socks:Oh, and I finished a hat. Not than I can show you the hat, but take my word on it. Now I'm working on the medium size of the same hat.

Also, as the patterns become more time consuming than the hat I am working on, I'm going to need some test knitters. If you're interested, leave a comment with some way I can contact you and I will be in touch in the next few months.

Knit on...

Stealth Knitting

2010-06-10T01:47:00.001-04:00

Wendy from Wendy Knits always is talking about stealth knitting on her blog. She's a well-established pattern designer, and because of that, she can't always show what she's working on because it will eventually show up for sale or in a book, or something along those lines. For once, I understand what she's talking about.

I have been working on a hat pattern that will eventually be a part of the secret club that will be announced this fall. It's out of sport weight yarn, so it's slower knitting, and it's cabled, so it's even slower because of that. Since I need something to show you on this blog, behold the double crochet plain old dishcloths that my grandmother loves dearly:Yep, you may be seeing more of these in the near future :oP

Also, I found a cute dress that will go with the Little Squares Cardigan. Here it is with the cardigan on top:That's it for today. Maybe I'll have something other than dishcloths I can show you tomorrow!

Knit on...

Technicolor Baby Cardigan

2010-06-08T23:41:00.002-04:00

I finished sewing up all the squares yesterday and finished the Little Squares Baby Cardigan. It's a fast crochet project, but I have to admit that the seaming is a little fiddly and annoying for my liking. But, it turns out that one of my cousins just had a baby 2 weeks ago, so I'm going to pop this in the mail for the new baby girl in the family, whose name is Audrey. Since her sister's name is Addison, I think they have a thing for names that start with A :oP

Anyways, here is the cardigan, all sewn up:I may go try to find a little dress to go with this today and mail them as a set. I think it will look even cuter with a teensy dress to go with it, especially if I can find something with some Konglish on it!

Here's a close up of the seamed squares:Knit on...

Instant Gratification

2010-06-07T22:31:00.007-04:00

Since the past few projects have basically sucked the life out of me, I decided I wanted to make something very instantly gratifying. My friend Julia has been making tiny squares in double crochet for a baby cardigan. The pattern is called Little Squares funny enough and it is quite cute. Click on the name, check the pattern out, and then come back.

Ok, welcome back. Since I am even faster at crocheting than I am at knitting, I cranked out the 90 squares needed for the cardigan in under 2 hours. Here they are:The squares are very cute, but they are the fastest part of this cardigan. Then comes the sewing of the squares. Last night, I managed to sew up 28 of the 90 squares, which means the back of the cardigan is done:Sorry for the upside-down picture, but you get the idea anyways. It's really quite cute and very, very colorful.

I'll probably get the rest of the pieces sewn today sometime, so I'll have pictures for you tomorrow.

Knit on...

Evenstar

2010-06-06T21:19:00.004-04:00

The shawl is finished. This was quite a knitting journey. I signed up for Evenstar after I had finished The Enchanted Wood KAL from the Unique Sheep. I was quite enamored with beaded knitting after the triangular shawl, and after seeing some of Susan Pandorf's designs, I figured signing up for a beaded circular shawl KAL would lead to a beautiful finished object.

I couldn't have been proven more right about that. Susan, thank you for designing such a beautiful shawl. I have great respect for you as a designer, and I think you have handled yourself gracefully under a tremendous amount of pressure both in the knitting world and your personal life. Again, I just want to thank you for such a lovely pattern.

I ran 5 miles this morning and all I could think about was getting back and blocking the shawl. I am still giddy after pinning out the shawl this morning. I have never knit, and thusly, never blocked a circular shawl. I tried a string and pin method and was able to get it blocked out fairly close to an actual circle. I figure it'll bounce back a little after blocking anyways, so I wasn't too worried about having the shawl be a perfect circle.

So without further blabbering by me, I give you, Evenstar, blocking on a bed:Lovely, isn't it? Yarn is Malabrigo Laceweight in a royal blue color that is slightly darker than the picture shows.The beads are size 8-O seed beads from EarthFaire.com. Out of the close to 3000 used on this shawl, I only came across 2 beads that were not usable from being too small for the crochet hook. Compared to other bead companies I have used in the past, this is so nice. I usually buy up to 1/3 more beads than I need for a project just so that I can make sure I have enough in case there are bad beads. Not so with EarthFaire.

So, now what do I knit? :oP

Knit on...

Half Way There

2010-06-04T09:21:00.003-04:00

I'm half way done with the edging on the Evenstar. By the end of this evening, I should be up to 30 repeats, so that'll mean I only have 26 more to go until it's finished. I really can't wait for it to be done. The edging is very pretty and I can see how it's going to make for a lovely drape when it's all said and done. I'm really looking forward to wearing the finished shawl, especially when the weather gets cooler again. So, here's a blobby picture of the shawl so far:Knit on...

The End is Near

2010-06-01T20:44:00.003-04:00

I'm on the border of Evenstar now! Yesterday I completed the last half of clue 6 and 2 repeats of the beaded edging. The edging is definitely slower because of the beads, but I am so happy with the color contrast. The yarn on this project is Malabrigo Lace in some blue color I can't think of right now. I'm on the third skein now and that should be plenty to finish it up. The beads are from EarthFaire and they are size 08 seed beads in the color Olive. And without further blabbering by me, here is a picture of the beginning of the edging:I might also add that it's a lot easier to get a picture of the edging than it is to photograph the blobby shawl. Hopefully as I do more edging repeats, the shawl itself will become much more photo-friendly. If not, I'll just keep posting sparkly bead pictures here instead.

Knit on...

Finito

2010-06-01T02:57:00.002-04:00

No, not the Evenstar. I am going to be completed with clue 6 tonight and then will start clue 7, but rather, I finished my job and am now on vacation. I was originally going to work another 2 weeks beyond the end of my contract, but there was an issue with the amount I would be paid for the full time work, so in the end, I chose to be a bum.

But now, think of the knitting time! Sure, a lot of it won't be bloggable, but I'll make sure that I keep at least one thing going that I can keep you all updated on.

But talk about a feeling of relief. It's weird to be without a job now, but I feel as if a huge weight has come off my shoulders. I forget sometimes just how stressed I would get here. There's always a language barrier, even if the coteachers are pretty much fluent in English. Then there's the cultural differences, and lastly, the administration who had a tendency to be so blasted nit-picky that they would drive me insane. But now it's over. I get to work on some things that I am really passionate about and I'm really looking forward to the creative time that I'm going to have now.

But this week is all about finishing Evenstar. Back to work...

Knit on...

Around and Around and Around

2010-05-27T07:37:00.002-04:00

That's basically how the knitting is going right now. I'm just knitting around and around on Evenstar. I'm 10 rows away from being done with clue 5 now, so I'm making pretty good progress. Unfortunately the shawl is a bitch to photograph because it's so smooshed together on the needles right now. I have it on the biggest cable that I own, which I think is a 46 inch or something like that, and it's still quite smooshed together and not easy to get a picture of.

But, it's a wonderful knit. It's super entertaining and each section is a little different, so aside from the clue 4 TBL ribbing doldrums, I have been very entertained and satisfied with how the pattern is progressing. It also helps to see so many people posting pictures of their finished shawls on Ravelry. A few of my favorites so far are: here, here, and here.

And on a personal note, I was supposed to be finished with my teaching contract on Monday, but it appears that I may stay at the school for another two weeks. I'm not upset about the extra money for sure, but I was looking forward to that nice, long vacation-ish time where I could work on knitting and website design (not me, but directing my friend who deigns) for the super secret project I've been working on.

Speaking of, super-secret project should be announced sometime at the end of the summer, so stay tuned and I'll give you a heads up of when to look for it!

Knit on...

Blue Blob

2010-05-24T07:46:00.003-04:00

I have been continuing to knit on the Great Blue Blob TM this past week. I had a lovely SnB with Julia this weekend and was able to get through the clue 4 doldrums and am now working slowly but surely on clue number 5. I'm 4 rows into clue 5, and I'm really hoping to get quite a bit done tomorrow since my morning classes have been canceled because of midterm exams. Anyways, here is the blob:I would also like to apologize for the lack of decent photography on the blog as of late. I am in the process of moving out of my apartment now that my contract is up and my good camera is sitting in a different city right now.

But, that also means I'm almost done with teaching! Woot woot! For those of you who don't know, I am going to be returning Stateside in another couple of months. I'm changing careers and hoping to make myself more marketable to future employers by getting some new certification. It's a big change, but one that I'm looking forward to. DF will be coming back a few months after I do and we'll see where we want to actually wind up (or more likely where we can get jobs and afford to live).

That's it for today. The blob will hopefully continue to grow this week and then will hopefully fly off the needles in the next 1-2 weeks since I'll have lots more free time in which to knit!

Knit on...

A Gift Given and a Blob Returns

2010-05-17T18:00:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, I gave the finished Aeolian shawl to my former coteacher as her wedding present. Here she is, getting the first look at her present:And here I am, holding the shawl out to her so she can inspect it. She says she loved it and she's taking it with her for the cool evenings on the beach where she and her husband are going for their honeymoon:And, now that Aeolian is done, I have started working on Evenstar again. I'm half way done with clue 4 now, so I'm hoping to be completely done with 4 by the weekend and working hard on clue 5. The pattern is lovely, but I'm not 100% sure I am in love with Malabrigo lace. It's super soft, but it looks like it will felt in a heartbeat if I rub it against anything. We'll see how it goes, since I am for sure finishing the shawl with it.

Here's a blobby picture:Knit on...

Aeolian

2010-05-11T04:57:00.003-04:00

Aeolian is fully blocked now. I enlisted the help of my neighbor to get a decent picture of the shawl. It's raining outside at the moment, so I can't get a natural light shot, but this should give you a general idea of how the shawl turned out:This is one of the prettiest things I think I have ever knit. It's also kinda hard to part with it, but this former coteacher of mine was so nice and so helpful, and I consider her to be an actual friend, so I will lovingly part with the shawl and hope that it brings her lots of comfort and warmth in the years to come.

Knit on...

Twist Collective

2010-05-11T00:52:00.002-04:00

Have you all seen the latest issue of Twist Collective? I'm normally not one to gawk and rave at an online knitting magazine, but damn...

I want it all...

I have no money...

But I want it all! If I have to choose one thing from this issue (which I don't want to do, because I WANT IT ALL!), I really want to make Tanis. I love everything about this pullover. It looks interesting enough to keep me entertained for hours, but simple enough to not make me stab the couch with my Options needles.

Wow. The shawls are gorgeous, the socks are great, but the sweaters in this issue are astounding. Really, if you haven't checked out the issue, go do so now. I'll just be here drooling over the patterns while you go.

Seriously, Clicky to go check it out!

Knit on...

The Blob is Done

2010-05-08T20:26:00.003-04:00

Well, the blob is finished. I just spent the past day binding off the bazillion stitches at the end of the Aeolian shawl. Now all that's left is to block it, but seeing as I need a lot of pins to do so, it's not getting blocked until tomorrow when I'm back to my place. But in the meantime, here's the shawl:It is quite pretty. I may make another one of these eventually, but for now, I'm happy with the one that will be given away in a week. Now I can get back to Evenstar! At least I can start on clue 3 just in time for clue 7 to be released :oP

Knit on...

Bad Blogger, No Cookie

2010-05-03T22:14:00.002-04:00

Well, yes, I realize I have been a bad blogger. Is it because of the stealth projects? Nope. Is it because of lack of knitting? Nope. Is it because I am a lazy arse when it comes to making a blog entry? Yes, yes it is.

So yes, I am admitting right now that I have been a bad blogger. I think I just needed a little time away from the blog while working on other stuff, but now I'm back, and I should be updating with some photos and other things in the near future.

So what am I working on?

I'm about to finish and block the Aeolian shawl. It's lovely, the edging is nice, and I'll be glad when it's finished.

Once Aeolian is off the needles, I'm going to begin clue 3 of Evenstar. I had to fall behind on that project since the Aeolian has a time deadline.

I'm also working on some designs that you all should maybe see in July or August. Something big is coming, albeit it's still very loosely in the works and I'm really hoping you all will like it. I'm also about to have some big life changes (like, returning to the USA for one and having a career change for two), so I'll be keeping you all updated on those as they develop.

One last thing I thought I would post here for those of you who don't read my running log, or hell, even know I have one (Getting There The Long Way), I started a weight loss journey in January 2009. 1 year and 5 months later, I have lost 71 pounds and am now 9 pounds away from being at my goal weight of 160 pounds. I'm now wearing medium sized clothing, sometimes smalls, and have donated all the XXL, XL, and L stuff to charity. I have gone from a size 18 jean to a 10, and by the time I hit 160 pounds, I'll be close to a size 8. It's been a tough road, but I have finally changed my whole outlook on food and discovered the reasons I ate the way I did. For those of you who have been supporting me along this journey, I thank you for your encouragement. 9 pounds left, and I'll be celebrating with a new wardrobe!

The Blob

2010-04-18T17:49:00.003-04:00

Yes, the big, lace blob! The Aeolian shawl has grown more this weekend and I'm almost to the edging on it now. But let me tell ya, nupps may very well be the bane of my existence when it comes to this shawl. They take me so long to make, but they do look very good with the design, so I'm not leaving them out just because I find them to be a pain. Here's the shawl progress so far:Even with the number of lace things I have made now, I am still fascinated how such a blobby piece of wool can transform into this delicate wonder when it's all finished. It is the magic of lace, and there is real magic there for me.

I know that I was wondering where my knitting mojo had gone last week. Well, I found it. Once again, it's in the magic that is called lace.

Now if that magic can heal me of this stupid lung funk/cold. Come on lace!

Knit on...

The Lace Grows

2010-04-15T17:37:00.003-04:00

I caught my yearly upper respiratory infection this past week and ended up calling in sick for a day. The only good thing about that was that I had more time than usual to knit. I managed to get all the Yucca chart repeats done on the Aeolian and the Agave transition chart finished. Now I just have three agave repeats and the edging to do and the shawl will be finished. Of course, this will take a while because of the N word...

Nupps. Yep, nupps. Nupps are not something I'm enjoying right now. The purl 9 together is hell and I ended up using a tiny crochet hook to help me get that done. I think in my own lace design work that I will avoid nupps at all costs.
But I do have a picture I can show you at least of the progress. I'm feeling a lot better today, so I'm going in to work where I sadly can't knit anymore. The principals are on a rampage at the moment and don't want the teachers to have any kind of break at all between classes, but that's a whole other long story that I won't get into right now. Here's the shawl:Yep, it's a big blob of unblocked lace. Wish I could block it out some, but I'm already on my biggest cord length for size 2 needles and can't stretch it out anymore really. I'm loving how this is looking so far though, but it does make me really miss something...

Evenstar! I wish I could knit on my Evenstar shawl. I'm only finished with clue 2 and there are 5 clues out now! I need to get this Aeolian done first and foremost right now though for Sally's wedding, so sadly I can't work on the Evenstar right now. But soon, soon I will finish this white shawl and can go back to the lovely navy blue beaded masterpiece!

Knit on...

Once a Week Blogging?

2010-04-12T20:42:00.002-04:00

Yep, I think I have become a once a week blogger for knitting courtesy of stealth projects and lack of knitting mojo. There have been good days for knitting, or like last night, no knitting at all.

Now to be fair, I have a head cold, so right now the only thing I really feel like doing is watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on the internet and going to bed. Tonight though, I will be knitting some on the wedding shawl for Sally, so I'll hopefully have something to show you then.

Any of you other knit bloggers out there have a similar problem? Is it just knitting doldrums that hit every now and then for us all? I'm sure hoping they go away soon. I miss my hyper desire for playing with sticks and string!

Something I Can Show

2010-04-06T18:15:00.004-04:00

Yep, I finally have something I can show you on the knitting front. I've still been working on some stealth projects, but I have switched over now to knitting on the Aeolian Shawl almost exclusively. I have 6 of the 12 Yucca Chart repeats done now and here they are:It's growing pretty fast right now, which I am thankful for. I'm hoping to be through all the repeats of the Yucca chart by this weekend and on to the Agave chart.

Also, I received a prize for Team Plurk in the Ravelympics. I was given some very bright roving and two hanks of sock yarn. Here they are:
I was so thrilled to get these in the mail. Thanks, Morandia!

That's it for now. Hopefully more Aeolian progress soon!

Knit on...

Not Much to Show

2010-03-31T18:02:00.004-04:00

There's not much to show you today. I have been knitting on the stealth project mostly, so can't show pictures of that one yet. I did work a little bit on Aeolian, so here's the progress on that shawl:Like I said, not much there :oP

Maybe I'll make some progress on this sometime this weekend. We'll see!

Knit on...

3 out of 5

2010-03-28T18:08:00.003-04:00

That's right. 3 of the 5 pairs of mittens are done now. The last 2 are going to be put on the backburner for now since I have too much on my plate at the moment. I have a shawl to get done before a wedding in May and I have a few secret projects that I unfortunately can't show you yet since they are part of a bigger scheme of things that will hopefully be launched sometime this fall. I'll at least try and keep you posted on the status of the wedding shawl, which happens to be Aeolian from Knitty.com. So here's the finished mittens which will be given to their recipient on Tuesday:And lastly, I leave you with what DF and I saw this past Friday while walking around:That is a stretch Mini Cooper limosine. Yes, it was quite awesome.

Knit on...

As The Mitten Turns...

2010-03-24T18:06:00.002-04:00

Almost done with the third pair of mittens now. I'm going to really try to get them done by the end of the day today so that I can give them to the coteacher tomorrow when he comes to my school. Then, I'm taking a break from the mittens. Yarn arrived yesterday (jaggerspun Zephyr) for a wedding shawl for a former coteacher who I also consider a friend. She picked out Aeolian from Knitty.com as her shawl of choice, so I'm going to cast on for that and get it finished. I may also work on Evenstar some. I really just need someone to pay me to knit so I can stay home all day and design and work on things that need to be done so I can play Wii in the evenings! :oP

Pictures tomorrow!

Knit on...

Anyone See My Knitting Mojo?

2010-03-22T06:55:00.002-04:00

It went far away last week. In all, I only knit about 3/4 of a mitten all last week. I have accomplished more today than I did all last week, but still feel like I didn't do that much. Maybe now that I'm over half way done with the mitten parade I can push through the knitting doldrums. Either that or I'm going to just have to put the mittens away and work on something much more entertaining such as Evenstar. We shall see.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for my knitting mojo. I'd rather like to have it back!

Knit on...

Mittens.......

2010-03-16T06:13:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to stay positive right now, but I didn't knit any for the entire weekend, or Monday. Why? Because I'm making myself finish the last mittens before I can work on anything else. So, since that backfired and I just didn't knit any this weekend, I decided that knitting on other, more exciting things will be the reward for slogging through more of the dreaded mittens.

But look, there's a finished pair:Yarn is Bernat Sox in some green and brown shade. Size 1 needles, modifications for a smaller hand.

More mittens to come...

Knit on...

Begin the Mitten Parade

2010-03-09T06:47:00.003-05:00

That's right. For the next 5 projects on the list, you'll be seeing pairs of Broad Street Mittens in various colors. I know it's not terribly exciting for blog material, but I'm making coteacher gifts and birthday gifts for a couple of friends, and you guessed it, they all wanted convertible mittens after seeing mine. I swear, I've gotten to the point that I can knit this pattern from memory.

But anyways, I finished the first pair and am on to the second. More progress tomorrow:Knit on...

A Week of Knitting in Two Pictures

2010-03-07T16:55:00.006-05:00

Last week was all about Evenstar for the most part. I had missed working on clue 1 during the first 2 weeks of the KAL due to the Knitting Olympics. So, I began working on the clue on Saturday last week and finished it on Thursday last week, along with clue number 2. Here's the mushy lace so far. It's Malabrigo Lace on Size 4 needles:Not much of a picture, but it's hard to photograph lace on needles that don't allow it to stretch out. After clue 3, I'll see if I can get it on a longer circular and get a decent picture. It's really lovely though and I think it will be quite nice when it's all finished.

After I finished clue 3, I cast on for a Broad Street Mitten. Yep, I've lost track of how many of these I have made now. These are new coteacher presents since I have all new ones this semester and I gave them the choice of socks or mittens. They all chose mittens!This weekend I didn't do any knitting, so I'll be cranking out mittens all this week. Prepare for the mitten parade!

Knit on...

Happy Bloggiversary!

2010-03-03T22:51:00.001-05:00

Yep, the beginning of March always marks my bloggiversary. Hard to believe how the years have have gone by now. Normally, I do a lengthy post to celebrate the blog's anniversary, but today I'm just not really up to it. Hopefully in the next day or two I'll get something thrown together. In the meantime, flip through the archives to see what all I had to say years ago as a fairly new knitter :oP

Knit on...