A blog about my life, knitting, and other stuff.

November 30, 2009

Snar Labbar



Pattern: Snar Labbar
Yarn: Malabrigo Twist in Azul Profundo
Needles: US8 Addi Turbos
Notes: We just got the Twist in at the shop and I really wanted to try it. It's a worsted weight merino that has 8 plies. It's still slightly thick and thin. It is luscious. It's soft, shows of the stitches beautifully and has great color. I love it. The pattern is okay. There's some weirdness with the thumb increases and, I believe, a typo in the pattern but I just fudged my way through it and didn't make a note of it. Oh, and I cast on while riding in the car and only cast on 32 sts instead of 36. But the fit is good so no harm done.

November 29, 2009

Is Wolf the New Black?

This morning, for no good reason, I started hunting around for the pattern for this Mary Maxim sweater.



It only comes as a kit. But then I found a vintage MM pattern online.



This is kind of awesome because it's a dude with a gun in a sweater. Covered in wolves. Awesome.

So then I headed to the mall to buy Younger Son some jeans. I walked into GapKids and there was this sweater.



Design swiped straight off the vintage sweater.

And then this all reminded me of this.



If you're unfamiliar with the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt meme then perhaps this informative video will help.

November 26, 2009

Because It's Not Thanksgiving Without It



Thursdays are for Thanksgiving

I can not possibly top these for Thanksgiving so I hope you'll forgive me for the rerun.




Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

November 24, 2009

"Oh My Gosh"

More Muppet madness.

Doubleknit #28

It's up!

Muppets! Queen! ZOMG!



via Boing Boing

November 21, 2009

Babette and Bleak House

I've spent the last few nights hunkered down in front of the computer crocheting squares and watching Bleak House. I've made it through episode six and just discovered it's a 15 episode series. Geez, Charles, concision isn't your strong suit, is it?

My original plan with the blanket was to do sections 1-7. I have four more blocks to make including the two largest blocks. I'll have to assess my yarn quantities when those are completed.

So far it nearly covers my coffee table.

Just Go Already!

This is painfully accurate.

November 19, 2009

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

You want to keep warm when you're feeling chilled but you don't want to raise your heating bill? Blankets are okay but they can slip and slide. And when you need to reach for something your hands are trapped inside. Now you can crochet a Snuggie!


Click for pattern pdf

That's right with just 9 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver you can be swaddled in plastic comfort. And there's a size for kids too!

Don't let baby get left out.


Click for pattern pdf

Or Sparky.


Click for pattern pdf

Because the one thing a dog wants more than anything is a blanket with sleeves. If they could talk, they would tell you that.

Isn't Barbie fashion doll looking a little cold too?


Click for pattern pdf

November 17, 2009

Babette Has Her Day in Court



I ended up bringing Babette, a set of dpns, a skein of Socks That Rock, Sock Innovation, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
and my iPod to jury duty. I got called right after lunch and ended up going through voir dire for a DUI case but was dismissed. So I had to go back to the jury assembly room and will have to go back again tomorrow. The voir dire was interesting to go through but it made me realize that I would be a terrible juror. I had already formed opinions about the case just based on the questions being asked. I was also one of only two people who admitted to watching crime dramas like CSI. And only one of two people who don't drink! I felt both tawdry and lame.

The jury assembly area for municipal court is swank. It's a giant, clean, bright room on the 12th floor with great views of the waterfront. There is television, games, magazines, wifi and a separate "quiet room" with lots of outlets and seating and four desktop computers that anyone can use. Also if you work within a ten minute walk of the building you can get a pager and just go back to work until they need you. Big thumbs up from this potential juror.

November 16, 2009

IK Preview

It's up.

I'm Torn

I hate Snuggies but I love Weezer.

Deliberating

I have jury duty tomorrow. I have talked to other people who have also recently had jury duty and I'm pretty sure I'll be allowed to take my knitting. But I'm bringing my Babette blanket materials with me too (eight squares done). And I'm going to bring sock yarn and some double points too. And a book. And my iPod. Just in case.

November 15, 2009

Short-Row Hat



Pattern: Short-Row Hat by Veronik Avery
Yarn: Karaoke in Mermaid by SWTC
Needles: US7 Addi Turbos
Notes: This is a clever, interesting pattern to knit. Unfortunately I kept making the same mistake of forgetting one yarn over which resulted in a lot of ripping and reknitting. I really enjoyed the Karaoke. The color shifts are very long and subtle. It's very soft. We used to carry it in the shop and it didn't sell well. I don't think it feels nearly as soft in the skein as it does when you work with it. I had enough left over to crochet another 8" square.

November 13, 2009

Thank You, Shelly!

I was contacted by Shelly of Butternut Woolens earlier this week about my indigo problem. Shelly offered to send me replacement yarn. I thanked her but told her it wasn't necessary. She insisted that I choose replacement yarn. I could only hold firm so long when being offered yarn so I took her up on her generous offer.


Superwash Merino


Superwash Falkland

These beautiful skeins arrived in the mail just now. They are gorgeous and put up in huge skeins. Thank you so much, Shelly! Now what to do with them...

Baby Steps

This Short-Row Hat has been giving me fits.



At first it was a lot of fun. All those little short-row sections coming together like a puzzle. But it's a real line by line kind of pattern. There are no zoning out spaces. It's nose to pattern and lots of instructions like, "yo, p10, ssp." I completed the first 6 sections and started to feel comfortable. So I tried to knit it in front of the tv. For two nights. The trouble is if you make a mistake you might not discover it until you've knit several more sections. Then you have to rip and figure out where you are. And there was that time I missed one line of the instructions and was attempting to knit the wrong row over and over and over. That didn't work out so well. But last night I got back into the groove of it and made some progress though I'm still only about half done.

I finished my granny square too. And it's a square also!



I know you're thinking, "Yeah, I made stuff like that when I was 8." Well for me this is a big deal.

November 12, 2009

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

I've had this in my Thursday folder for a while (thanks to reader Adrienne L. for sending it!) but couldn't decide if it was more appropriate for Halloween or Thanksgiving. So here it is, smack in the middle.

I present some of the most unsettling baby costumes ever.



My favorite part is the sideview where all the "food" items on the table are wriggling. And folks, just because your baby can't say "Stop it right now, please!" does not mean you have carte blanche to stitch them into a Boeuf Bourguignon ensemble and leave them strapped to the table all night on October 31st. Clearly I don't enjoy things that make babies appear to be eaten or edible. So to sum up, don't make babies into food please.

In case you want to make your own there's the turkey, the lobster and the salad and pie.

November 11, 2009

It Won't Be All My Fault

Older Son is working on a big school assignment and wanted to use my computer. I was busy introducing Younger Son to Fraggle Rock. Older Son kept pestering and I told him to wait. Finally he said, "If I don't get into Yale it will be all your fault." He is 11 1/2.

Crochet Foray

This weekend after finishing and blocking my blanket and shawl I started a few new projects.

The Short-Row Hat by Veronik Avery.



Ulmus by Kristen Kapur.



By Sunday night my hands were very tired from knitting. But I still wanted something to do while I watched the season finale of Mad Men. The Fiber Gallery has volunteered to be a drop-off site for a local project to benefit Knit-a-Square. Despite the name, squares can be crocheted too. I decided to crochet a scrappy square with whatever I had lying around. This is when I learned that I can't crochet a square. I thought I could. I also thought these colors looked good together so clearly my judgment was way off late Sunday night.



Yesterday I decided that I was going to crochet a square that was square damn it! And I did it.



No, really. It's an honest to goodness square. See?



It then occurred to me that a granny square might be easier to keep square.



Only just started this guy but I like it already. And it looks like a square.

November 9, 2009

Damson



Pattern: Damson by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Butternut Woolens Super Sock
Needles: US6 Addi Turbos
Notes: I ran out of yarn about ten rows before the bind off and used a second skein of the same yarn in, obviously, a different colorway. The yarn is indigo-dyed and bleeds horribly. I've tried many methods to rinse out the excess indigo but it still crocks.

Bobby's Garden




Pattern: Bobby's Garden by Megan Rogers
Yarn: 14 skeins Noro Kureyon, all in the same discontinued colorway, with 1 skein of Lana Loft Worsted in Dark Ash added in for the edging.
Needles: US6 Addi Turbos
Notes: I started this project long before the complete pattern was available. I used a 96 stitch hexagon and figured out a method for squaring up the sides. I picked up along the edge and knit a simple garter stitch border with eyelet increases on the corners. This was a very long but highly entertaining project.

November 8, 2009

I'm Sure There's a Really Good Sports Analogy for This

The Hexagon blanket is done. It's soaking right now to prepare for a good blocking.



Damson is done. I soaked and rinsed it many times last night. I scoured it. I rinsed more. I soaked more. It's still leaking blue everywhere. It's on the blocking board. I've kind of given up.

I knit a charity hat from some handspun.



So now what? I had no WIPs on my Ravelry page except for the vest I'm working on at the shop. I dug into my hibernating projects and pulled out the socks that I started last December. It would be nice to finish at least one pair of socks in 2009, I guess. But I'm not really feeling it. Where do I go from here?

Possibilities are Mondo Cable Cardi in Dream in Color Classy, Scroll Lace Scarf in Sheep 3, Short-Row Hat in Karaoke, Ulmus, Veyla. On the one hand, I'm burnt out on sweaters. On the other hand, everything that isn't a sweater feels insubstantial.

November 7, 2009

Squares Squared



Pattern: Squares Squared by Cosette Cornelius-Bates
Yarn: Elann Sierra (two shades) and Punta Merisoft
Needles: US7
Notes: I was trying to use up odds and ends for this hat. Clearly I didn't choose too well. I convinced myself that the variegated was brighter and deeper in color than it really is. So the contrast isn't so great. The pattern is very simple but the charting could use improvement as it doesn't mark areas that are not stitches. I think a newer knitter or someone who is not accustomed to charts would find them pretty confusing.

Weather and WIPs

The weather here is grim.



Nothing but rainy miserable darkness and the 10-day forecast shows no change. It makes taking photos really difficult.

Since coming back from the retreat I've been working on the border of my hexagon blanket. I have it on four circular needles ranging from 24 to 47 inches. I just knit the stitches off one end of a needle on to its other end. Like the two circular method but amplified. I have about 50 grams of the Kureyon and the Lana Loft combined. I thought I would get another skein of Lana Loft and make the border deep but I'm getting to that "I just want it done" point and, well, I just want it done.



I finished Damson last night. The second skein made my hands even bluer than the first. I immediately set it to soak in a vinegar bath. This morning the water was perfectly clear. I pulled the shawl out and rubbed it on my hands and got all blue. Now I have a pot of water on the stove with lots of Dawn dishsoap and vinegar in it. I'm going to give this a good, hot wash and hope that deals with this crocking.

November 6, 2009

Doubleknit #27

The latest episode of Doubleknit is up.

November 5, 2009

Who Built Those Shelves?

This FAIL blog video made me laugh really hard. Enjoy!

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

I wonder what this looks like if someone is wearing it?

Oh my God, Zombie clown!



Mmmm, brains.

November 3, 2009

Darn That Clever Child

Several years ago we instituted a Pay-for-Candy program post-Halloween. Basically, the kids started to notice that I was stealing their candy. So now we buy the candy from them. Older son, clever child that he is and knowing that I love Kit Kats, collected as many as he could on Halloween. Twenty-five! Because he knew they were as good as cash in our household.

November 1, 2009

Slipped Away

I went away for five days and didn't even tell you. I headed to Port Townsend for my annual knitting retreat. As always there are no classes or any set activities. Just hanging out knitting or spinning or sleeping or shopping or reading or walking or doing whatever you feel like doing. Last year was definitely a spinning year. This year was a knitting year.

I knit a Koolhaas hat in Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran.



I knit up all the yarn I had for Damson. I'm going to continue it in another colorway of the same yarn. It wont' match. I don't care at this point. It still turns my hands very blue.



I cranked on my hexagon blanket. I haven't worked on it since last November but this weekend I finished the main rectangle and have started to pick up for the border. I need to pick out a solid color to mix in tomorrow when I'm at work.

I bought some really primo stash. Someone was selling the exact yarn in the exact colorway I wanted for the Mondo Cable Cardi for less than I could get it with my discount at work. Yoink! I also got a sweater's worth of O-Wool Balance, a few skeins of Satakeili, many magazines and books and a small cone of shetland-type wool that shades from light to dark blue. I love it all!