This Was The Fest That Was

Also known as "Please don't notice that I have no exciting progress for WIP Wednesday". So, yes. This past weekend was the annual event we call EdFest. For those of you unfamiliar, this is a gathering of a group of hubby's college friends held the third weekend in July (usually - there was a minor rescheduling this year). It has gone on since the summer after their freshman year at Penn State, which makes this year #16. This year's fest was held locally (in past years, we've all rented a beach house or a ski house for the weekend), with the main goings-on at our friend John's place outside of Annapolis. However, since we are getting old and generation 2 of the Festers is growing rapidly, the sleeping arrangements were far less "Sleep where you land" and far more "Guest room or hotel". J and Betsy arrived here from Florida last Tuesday night and stayed with us until Monday. Until the major festivities started on Friday, we spent some time with Hyon and Drew, and Betsy even came to my Thursday Barnes & Noble knitting group. Friday, Betsy and I were in charge of picking up the food for the weekend, and we may have accidentally fallen into a shoe store on the way to BJ's. :) I picked up 2 cute pair of wedge sandals, just to have something other than my Crocs and Birks to wear once in a while. While we were out, Big Steve (yes, there is a Little Steve, too, but he and his quite pregnant wife didn't make it up this year) arrived at the house. We got back and packed up the van and headed over to JMac's. I spent most of the afternoon frantically finishing the assembly of the third dragon, because I knew Ed and Karin (parents of Sam, the recipient of said dragons) would be there Friday evening at some point. And yes, I was thoroughly mocked for knitting at EdFest. Everyone DID agree that the dragons were cute, though. Naturally, Ed and Karin arrived before I was done. I shoved everything hastily into my bag (I think I was down to attaching legs and wings at that point) to say hello, especially because I hadn't yet met baby Sam, who is just adorable. I did finally finish the dragon and give the set (the dragons and the coordinating log cabin blanket) to Ed and Karin that evening. They were cracking up, because they had no idea that I was working on something for Sam while they were there. They both seemed to really love the dragons, and Karin handed the green one to Sam, who immediately started drooling on it and jabbering away at it. Yay! Baby seal of approval. But yeah... the upshot of this is that I don't have a finished picture of them. Ed and Karin promised to send some, though. I'll post them here when I get them. There was a lot of hugging and greeting Friday evening as everyone arrived (including Kris, who had to work until mid-afternoon and came over afterward). We had a couple of people there who haven't been for the last couple of years, so it was great to see them, in addition to seeing the people we pretty much only see at EdFest. There was the usual significant quantities of beer, some pool-playing, a little poker, and some Guitar Hero. In one overenthusiastic moment, there was a bit of breakage done to JMac's ceiling fan with the guitar, but SOMETHING always breaks, and it was cleaned up with no major issues. Eventually (like, at about 1:30am) Kris, J, and Betsy decided it was time to bail, so I grabbed Big Steve and the five of us headed back to the house. The funny thing? Steve and I had both been drinking, the others really hadn't been. Take a stab at who was up first in the morning, by a margin of a good 2 hours... :) So, since Steve and I were up and about way before the others (I even had the time and inclination to make pancakes), we headed over to JMac's earlier than they did. In retrospect, this was a good thing, because when we got to one turn, there was a police car sitting there, blocking the way we needed to go. I pulled up and rolled down my window, and the officer asked where we were headed. I told him, and he said that there was a power line down, so we were going to have to take a detour. He gave me directions, and we headed back the way we came. Luckily, we had the GPS with us, because in his "Take road A back to road B, turn onto road C, which will get you back to road D" haste, the officer forgot to mention road E, which was a key connection from road B to road C. Once we arrived at JMac's, we discovered that the power line that was down? Was one that included his neighborhood. So, we were without power for a significant part of the afternoon. Luckily, JMac picked up a generator during the nasty ice storm last February, and could at least run the 2 refrigerators to keep the food and beer safe. Also, since we were among the first to arrive (other than those who had stayed there Friday night), and I now had the directions to get around the roadblock, I spent some time on the phone giving those directions to everyone else. Saturday afternoon, Amanda and her hubby came by for a while, and J even participated in the Testicle Toss tournament, coming in as half of the second-place team. (I think there are TT pics in last year's EdFest post. Basically, there are two ladders at each end, and you throw a bolo-like thing of 2 golf balls on a string, scoring points depending on which rung it lands on. Don't ask about the name. I didn't come up with it.) And yes, Amanda and I were knitting while we watched the tourney this year, as we drank our strawberry daiquiris. :D Later in the evening, Carrie and Alex stopped by, and we played a little Karaoke Revolution. They also bonded with Drew and Scott over a mutual love for Metallica, and have made plans to go see a Metallica cover band (Battery) together in September. Drew swears that they are amazing, and they are all trying to convince Kris and I to go with them. I doubt Kris will crack (crowds kind of annoy him), but I may yet cave. It's not really my music (nothing against Metallica, I don't mind them at all. It's just not my personal favorite - I listen to stuff I can sing to, not shout with. ;) ), but it does sound like they will all have fun. We'll see. J and Betsy had headed back to the house earlier in the evening (J wasn't feeling well), and Kris started developing a migraine not long after Carrie and Alex arrived, so he headed home. Steve and I decided to stick it out, and Kris said he'd just come back for us in the morning. I ended up crashing on a papasan chair cushion (I've slept in an actual chair before, and it's a recipe for a very stiff neck, so I just dragged the cushion onto the floor.), and Steve sacked out in a slightly less than steady recliner. Of course, the next morning, we discovered that there were in fact a couple of unclaimed air mattresses upstairs, and we could probably have both spent a significantly more comfortable night. *sigh* We got a lot of cleaning up done Sunday morning, and the house was just about back to normal by the time Kris arrived with a change of clothes for me so that I could grab a shower. Everyone gradually headed out, and by noon-ish, the only folks left were either locals or had a short drive, so we all piled into cars and went to a diner for breakfast. We (Kris, Steve, and I) got back to the house, where Steve got showered and changed, and we hung out until it was time to get J and Betsy to the airport. Since Steve goes right past it to get home to Mechanicsburg, he offered to drop them off and save Kris and I the trip. Their flight was at 5-ish, and at 4:30 or so, the phone rang. It was J, asking Kris to check online to see if there was any information on the flight, because all they were hearing was that it was delayed. It turned out that yes, it did end up getting cancelled, and they got seats on another flight out Monday morning. So, we hopped in the car, zipped over to BWI and brought them back home. We had a mellow evening at the house, me working on my Mystery Stole, Betsy alternating between her MS and the green dragon she decided to make for herself after falling in love with the ones I made for Sam. Happily, I had lots of yarn left, so I could hook her up. (Kris is also hinting that he'd like a red one, so I'm guessing there will be more dragons in my future as well...) So, that was EdFest in a (rather large) nutshell. I have in fact made progress on both my Chevron Scarf and my Mystery Stole since last week, but as the scarf looks exactly the same, just longer, and the Mystery Stole is still in the neverending stretch of cat's paw lace/flowers/snowflakes/whatever they are, neither of them makes for particularly interesting photos. I'm hoping to get the stole finished between today and tomorrow, and then I'll pin it out again and take an official "end of Clue 4" picture before Clue 5 comes out on Friday. And now, I'm off to see what my idiotic dogs are barking at in the backyard.

MDS&W Pr0n - Week 7

The last of the STR from Sheep and Wool - Mediumweight in Seastone And yes, I am aware that three of the five colors I bought were blues and greens (Plus the green Footzey Foo heavyweight I used for my Red Dwarf Socks). It was slightly less obvious when I was also picking up pinks and purples for Roxy, but what can I say? I am drawn to them. :D I was hoping to be able to post a triumphant FO picture of my Molly sleeves today, but there was an Incident. I cruised through the second sleeve on Wednesday and managed to actually finish it. I slipped it over my arm to admire it (Pride goeth before...), and I looked at the cuff. Huh. That's really, really big. Way bigger than I expected. I took it off, and compared it to the first sleeve. It was SIGNIFICANTLY wider. I stared at it. I looked at every pattern row, trying to figure out where I went off-pattern. Finally, I found it. Do you see where the arrows are pointing? I anchored those light green loops in the wrong spot on sleeve #2, which gave me 12 of them, instead of 8. (...aaaaaand there's the fall). So, yeah. The ENTIRE cuff was half again as big as it was supposed to be. I had to rip the entire thing out, back to that green row, to fix it. (17 rows, if you are wondering.) On the upside, now that the rows are 2/3 the length they were, they move a LOT faster. I'm back up to the orange row just before the pink I was on when this picture was taken. With any luck (and less foul-ups), I'll have a FO by the end of the weekend. Have a good one, all!

WIP Wednesday 3

Yes, I know. I missed Handspun Monday this week. I'm lame. So, anyone care to take a stab at what the WIP of the week is here? Yup. Molly's Sleeves. I really, really hoped I'd have them done for this week, but I just didn't quite make it. The sleeve on the right is done, except for attaching the half-circle at the top and weaving in the ends (gulp). The sleeve on the right has half a round of pink, 2 rounds of lilac, a round of orange, and a round of blue left to go, plus the attaching and end-weaving. As I recall from sleeve 1, the last couple of rounds went fairly quickly, so I'm thinking I should be on to weaving the ends this weekend, and then attaching them to the denim jacket. For the curious, this is the one I got. It's in the washer right now - it was a little stiff and I wanted to soften it up a little. Other than that, um, not much going on around here. I'm still babysitting 2 or 3 days a week, which cuts into the knitting/crocheting/spinning time. I do still have a few more things from MDS&W for Yarn Pr0n Fridays, and then I'll be going back through the stash to find some new stuff. I need to get pictures of a lot of stuff for my Ravelry stash pages, so I'm going to use that opportunity to get some classic pr0n, too. :)

WIP Update

So, I've been surprisingly faithful to one project since last week's WIP Wednesday post. In fact, other than swatching for the Mystery Stole 3 KAL (more on that in a minute), I've only worked on my Molly Weasley Sleeves. Last week, I showed you this picture, but like I said then, that wasn't an accurate depiction of where I was on the project. This is a little more accurate picture of where I was: Since then, I've gotten to here: (And yes, I know this is a crap picture. I'm babysitting, and therefore can't really get everything up to Kris's studio with the good lighting.) I'm hoping that I will be able to finish this up sometime this weekend. I have 4 more rounds left to finish the sleeve on the right, there, and then I need to catch the other one up and finish it. Once that is done, I have to weave in the ends, and voila! On the recommendation of some of my knitting group buddies, I found a denim jacket at Old Navy's website, and I'll be attaching the sleeves to that instead of a sweater. I think they will look really cute with the denim. And the Mystery Stole - thank you all for your input and opinions. Most of you agreed with my feelings, which was that the Charcoal (which I had labeled as "Steel" in the pictures... *sigh*) was the better color. The bead opinion was pretty split, and I wasn't sure which I liked better, either, so I swatched: The bottom repeat has the #901 beads, the middle repeat is without beads, and the top has the #912 beads. You don't see them? Yeah, me either. It looks like they matched the yarn color a little TOO well. Bummer, because I really liked them. That's ok, though - I like the way that the #901's look. And I like the fabric I got on the US3's, so it looks like all I need to do now is wait until the first clue comes out! Think I can get the sleeves done by then? Here's hoping! ETA: And I completely forgot that I wanted to mention this! I saw on Annie Modesitt's blog (while looking for something else) that her husband Gerry has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which completely sucks, to be blunt about it. She has a pattern posted for the "Red Carpet Convertible", and she is using the sale of that pattern to help offset some of the expenses of Gerry's treatment. (If you remember the stories of the knitted Emmy dress last year, this is that pattern). So, if you have a couple of bucks, why not pop over there, pick up a gorgeous pattern, and help a knitter who is in a cruddy situation.

WIPping 'Em Out!

Ok, I THINK this is all of my current WIPs, but I'm not swearing to that. :) Current project, not a current picture. This is the "Molly's Sleeves" pattern from Jo at Fruitcats.com. I am making it in Valley Yarns Longmeadow, which is a cotton/microfiber blend. I really like the yarn, and the pattern is great, too. The plan is to have these done for the HP7 book and HP5 movie releases. It's crocheted, so it's moving pretty well. This picture is actually from attempt #1, which was on an E hook. It was too small, so I moved up to an H (The F wasn't enough of a difference, and I didn't have a G). It's working out well now, but I haven't gotten picture just yet. :) Next, my almost-completed log cabin blanket for our friends' little guy. Three more stripes, and it's DONE! Of course, once it is done, I have to make the three Norbertas to go with it... They all have to be done by the end of July, when we'll see Ed and Karin and get to meet Sam. I've been working on my ribbon Clapotis as my car/SnB project. I'm on the second hank of the three that I picked up at MDS&W - this is Tess Designer Yarns Microfiber Ribbon. Love the look, love the feel, love knitting it. Haaaaate winding it. Total PITA. :) And, like everyone else in the blogosphere, I'm making a Chevron Scarf. It's a little further than this now, but it's just more of the same. :D Claudia Handpaints Superwash Sock in "Eat Your Veggies" and "Caribbean Blue". These socks are based on the Diamante pattern, just without the cabling. (Kris vetoed it) As such, they are incredibly boring to knit and have been sitting at this stage since, oh, St. Patrick's Day, I think. Knit Picks Memories in "Cape Cod". And I'm sure you all remember this one. The Palette Fair Isle Cardi. Wool sweater + summer = hasn't been touched in a while. I might pick it back up once I finish the "deadline" knitting so that I can have it done for the fall. HushHush. Ummm... yeah. Just sort of got put aside because of the miles of stockinette staring at me. Valley Yarns 3/2 cotton in "Tea Rose". It's gonna be pretty. Someday. And Kris's Shamrock Henley. No idea why this got set aside. I think it was in favor of the cabled sweater for my Dad for Christmas. I should probably get moving on it again one of these days... So, there we are. My WIP pile. Hopefully there will be some progress to show next week. :) ETA: Aw, crap. I just realized that I did miss two projects: the Market Squares bag from "Bags: A Knitters' Dozen" - I can't even tell you offhand where it is at the moment - and my Simple Knitted Bodice. I don't have a decent progress shot of either of them, so you'll have to wait until next week for those. And yes, I do have a crap-ton of WIPs. *blush*

Yeah, yeah...

I suck, ok? I know I do. Cristi suggests we race to see who finishes Tomato first, and I am crazy enough to put sock yarn on the line. So today, she posts this. Yeah, she's done. Want to know how "close" it was? This is where I am: (That's Lion Cotton Ease in "Popsical Blue" and "Bubble Gum", by the way) So, clearly I was delusional on this one. Want to know where I was when she sent a text message to my phone last night asking if she should block it before posting her victory? Right below the colorwork. I had NO chance. This thing just moved ridiculously slow. I think I might have shot myself in the foot from the very beginning, though. Looking at Cristi's, I'm thinking this should have ben done with negative ease, and I probably should have done the next size down. That would have given me a few less stitches to do. :) I actually considered ripping back on this one, but I just can't bear to. I've got ridiculous amounts of Cotton-Ease, so I can always do the smaller size on another one if I choose to. Oh well, if I had to lose to someone, I can honestly say I'm very ok with it being my dear darling Turtlegirl. I'll be happy to present her with her prize sock yarn at MDS&W next weekend (Woohoo!) I've got an inch or so to go in the "waist" area before I start the increases, and then the bottom of the body and the ribbing before I do the neckline and the sleeves. I've got an idea I think I'm going to play with on that, so it won't be identical to the pattern, but when is ANYTHING I knit?

Claudia Handpaints Pr0n

Here are the two colors of Claudia Handpaints sock yarn that I am using for my Chevron Scarf. Eat Your Veggies (Best. Color name. Ever.): Caribbean Blue: Happy Friday! (And yeah, I owe FO pics. I'm hoping to take them this weekend, finally. It's been an odd week around here.) ETA: For Zonda: And the pattern is from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. Two hanks of each color in the case of this yarn.

Dancing with the Stars - Week 6

First of all, I blame Turtlegirl for the fact that, instead of working on the SEVEN projects currently in my sidebar, I cast on today for "Tomato" from No Sheep for You. See, she was talking about working on her Textured Tunic, and that since it is now finished she was going to start Tomato. I was teasing her, asking if she thought she could finish it by the time she came up for Maryland Sheep and Wool (A week from Friday! Yay!). I mentioned that I was thinking of looking locally for the yarn (BSA Cotton), and she scoffed at me, insisting that there had to be something in my stash that would work. OK, so she had a point there. So, I thought about it, and I remembered my massive score of Lion Cotton Ease from last August. I pulled some skeins out, and compared colors, and I finally settled on a main color of Popsical Blue (the turquoise in the top half of the right-hand box in that pic) and a contrast of Bubble Gum (the pink in the top box). I think it will be fun and springy. I'm currently about halfway through the increases before the sleeves are separated, and I like the way it is working up so far. Now the question is, will it be done to wear to MDS&W? (No, not the same day Turtlegirl wears hers. That would just be weird.) And I know I promised FO pics, but it's been a busy weekend around here. Kris worked from 6am Friday until 4am Saturday, and then spent half of Saturday night on the phone with work, so he's a little beat. I'm going to try to get a couple of my own tomorrow - I've got the Chrysanthemum Tea Shawl to show off (Love it, love it, love it!), as well as a couple of house-oriented projects. And now... on to the show! Week 6 - Latin and Swing Joey & Kym - I love that Joey was singing along while they danced. They both looked like they were having such fun. And Joey was just a complete maniac. Loved it! Judges: 27 Heather & Jonathan - Heather is looking rather clunky this week - not as graceful as she had been. Not nearly as impressive as previous dances. Judges: 23 John & Edyta - I continue to be amazed at how nimble John is for such a teddybear of a guy - this was great. Judges: 19 Laila & Maks - Very enjoyable - energetic and fun. I fear what Len is going to have to say about the funky stuff, though. :) Judges: 28 Billy Ray & Karina - Probably the most relaxed he has been dancing the entire competition. Unfortunately, it just wasn't all that great to me. Not terrible, just very middle-of-the-road. It feels a little like a swan song to me - they've decided they are going home, and decided to quit trying. Judges: 21 Apolo & Julianne - Great chemistry. Sexy and romantic without being dirty. Wonderful. Judges: 28 Ian & Cheryl - Strong, but not stiff, confident, intense, sexy. Awesome! Judges: 24 I felt so bad for Ian this week. He tried so, so hard to give the judges what they wanted, and they just shredded him in their comments. I'm guessing that Billy Ray and John will be the bottom two, and I'm going to have to say that it will be John going home. Not because I think he's the worse dancer, but because Billy Ray really has a likeability thing going - sort of the aw, shucks-ness. And the group swing number? Was a total hoot. I can only imagine what that particular rehearsal was really like...

WIPs, FOs, and the Kindness of Knitties

So, I did actually finish that crocheted scarf that I showed you, and courtesy of the crappy-ass weather we've been having, I've been wearing it quite a bit. Here 'tis: I also finished the Counterpoint scarf I've been working on as a "Congratulations" gift for my friend Hillary, who is off to NYU this fall for graduate school in the vocal performance program. (Classic Elite Lush. A new fave. It's SO SOFT!) I've got 2 WIPs I'm carrying with me at the moment. The Chevron Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, in Claudia Handpaints "Eat Your Veggies" and "Caribbean Blue" (They will be the subject of a future YPF post): and the Chrysanthemum Tea Shawl from Doris Chan's Amazing Crochet Lace (FABULOUS book - beautiful patterns. You will be seeing more stuff from it here.) in King Tut Cotton. And finally, a little proof that Knitties rule. I've been working on my Simple Knitted Bodice, and the further I got, the more I worried that I was going to run short on the Berroco Denim Silk I was using for it. The biggest problem with that is that the yarn is discontinued. So, I posted on the board that I was looking for something to work with the Denim Silk to use for the lace bands and the neckline/cuffs/hemline. The wonderful, fabulous, ohsoverysweet Mary Mary came to my rescue - she had some Denim Silk in another color that would work wonderfully with my funky Absinthe green. So, we swapped for it. The package from her arrived yesterday, and in with the Denim Silk (6 of the Creme Caramel, plus one in Carob - any and all leftovers will be combined into something fun), she tucked a little surprise for me. According to her note, Texas is cracking down on license plate frames, so she thought I would be able to get some good use out of this one. I cracked up! I can't wait to put it on my van. Thank you, sweetie. You rule! And your box will be in the mail tomorrow, I promise.

Dancing with the Stars - Weeks 1 and 2

Yes, that's right - I'm hooked on Dancing with the Stars. Me, the queen of anti-reality tv, hooked on a reality show. I even mocked my Mom a little last year for voting for Emmitt Smith. I'll take some ketchup with those words, please. Anyway, just for shits & giggles, I thought I'd start blogging my thoughts about each week's episode, along with the judges' scores, and my prediction for who will go, with a followup to see if I was right. (Hint - I was wrong for the first one). I realize that no one may have any interest in this but me, but hey, it's my friggin' blog. :D For those who are interested, the official home page is here. Week 1 - The Foxtrot and the Cha Cha Ian & Cheryl - He is obviously enjoying himself. Even when he wasn't technically perfect, he sold it well. Judges: 21 Paulina & Alec - I love her. I know it's at least partly because something about her makes me think of my very dear old friend Nikki, but I also thought she danced well. Judges: 19 Billy Ray & Karina - Two words: train and wreck. I really felt for Karina - I'm not sure she knew what to do with him on this one. Judges: 13 Leeza & Tony - Pretty middle of the road - nothing particularly memorable. Judges: 15 Joey & Kym - Too fun. LOVED them - the couple to beat, for sure. Judges: 24 Laila & Maks - First of all, DAMN is she gorgeous. And that orange dress looked amazing on her. Plus, who knew a boxer could dance like that? Judges: 23 John & Edyta - Very nice - John's a bit like a teddybear. He dances quite well! Judges: 17 Shandi & Brian - Whichever judge referred to them as "Barbie and Ken" was right. Not bad, not outstanding. Judges: 19 Clyde & Elena - He's likable, but he's clearly a little uncomfortable with the whole dancing thing. Judges: 16 Heather & Jonathan - Wow... what was with that dress? What an awful color combo. She looked a little nervous, but still danced well. Judges: 18 Apolo & Julianne - You can tell he's a little nervous, but they were great together. Plus, I've liked him since the Salt Lake Olympics. Judges: 21 OK, I knew they weren't eliminating anyone until after the second round of dancing, but I wasn't feeling good for Billy Ray and Karina after week 1. That was just not pretty. Week 2 - The Mambo and the Quick Step Apolo & Julianne - He really seemed to relax and enjoy this a little more. Judges: 26 Shandi & Brian - Wow. That was the boringest, least sexy Mambo ever. Lose the pageant walk and move those hips!! Judges: 20 Clyde & Elena - Clyde looked like he was getting into it and having a little more fun this time. Judges: 18 Leeza & Tony - Not bad, but not great either. I don't dislike her, but I doubt she'll be around for long. Judges: 21 Ian & Cheryl - Lots of fun, enjoyable to watch. Cheryl makes me think of someone I used to know at the theatre I worked at years ago - she always seemed to think that if she had LOTS ! OF! ENERGY! that everyone would somehow "catch" it from her. Mostly, she annoyed me, so I have a feeling I'm going to be watching Cheryl through that lens. Judges: 22 Paulina & Alec - She's really adorable. She looks fabulous, and I really loved her this week, especially because she went for it on the death drop. Judges: 21 Billy Ray & Karina - THAT was an improvement! I think if he can overcome the debacle of the chacha, he will make some serious progress. Judges: 21 Heather & Jonathan - Kick ASS outfit! She looked fantastic, and WOW that was some awesome dancing. Girl can shake it! (See, Shandi - THAT's what your hips should be doing.) Judges: 24 John & Edyta - They've got great chemistry, and I love seeing someone who's a little older out there working it. Judges: 21 Laila & Maks - OK, that thing about Joey and Kym being the couple to beat? Laila and Maks just upped the ante. A LOT. That was smokin'! Judges: 27 Joey & Kym - And they brought their A-game again! I know Joey did a lot of dancing with *NSync, but this is really, really good. Judges: 24 Ok, so after dance number 2, I'm guessing that Shandi is going to be in trouble, along with Billy Ray and possibly Leeza. Elimination Show: WTF? Paulina and Alec got booted? That is so wrong. (Although I was right about Shandi being in trouble.) In knitting news (assuming you've gotten this far, that is), I'm almost done with the Counterpoint scarf. I am loving the yarn (Classic Elite Lush), and I think she's really going to like it. I'll get Kris to take some pics as soon as it is totally finished. The illusion reads pretty well - I'm going to have to play with that some more in the future. Oh, and we did the photo shoot for Flash Your Stash '07 the other day. The idea was totally Kris's, and I think you'll like it. Remember, folks: FYS April 1!!

Random Stuff and Nonsense

I had the loveliest Saturday this weekend. I met up with my friends Maryanne and Carrie (mother-daughter duo from my knitting group) and we went in to StitchDC. Not only did we have fun fondling all the new yarns (some of which, erm, may have come home with me and will be featured in future YPF's), but we got to meet Marie's (the owner) too-cute baby boy Cole, we got to check out the new Addi Lace needles (very nice - the tips are comparable to the KP Options in terms of pointiness, from what I could see), AND I finally found a copy of the incredibly fabulous No Sheep for You!!! Seriously - I am in love with this book. I have a hunch I will be making quite a few of the patterns in it. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. And really, really good information about all the different types of non-animal fibers, how they behave, and how to substitute them in a pattern that calls for a sheepy yarn. Public service announcement: Heather over at All Things Heather is doing some fundraising for her daughter's school and their sister school in South Africa. She's also giving away her hand dyed yarns as a thank-you for those who contribute. Go, take a look, and see if you can spare a couple of bucks to help buy books for some kids! And some knitting news: I finally got a progress shot of the Palette Cardigan! This is where it has been for a while - I haven't actually worked on it for probably two weeks now. I'm in the midst of stripe #14 of the 18 for the body, and then I will cut the sleeve steeks, pick up and knit the sleeves, steek the front, and do the button bands and collar. I should be done right about when the weather hits 100 and a wool sweater is truly ridiculous. :D In other knitting news, I was reading the Purling Sprite's blog last week, and saw her announcement of her new endeavor - Loom Knitter's Circle magazine! I've seen the Knifty Knitter looms at my local AC Moore a few times, and thought about picking some up to play with them. Well, I looked at the magazine, and I thought about it, and then when Kris and I were at AC Moore on Sunday (he was picking up stuff to make a light diffuser and a reflector for his photography), I took the plunge. This is just the first thing I was playing with, getting an idea of how to use the loom and whatnot. I plan to keep playing with it. I don't think I'm going to be replacing my needles with looms permanently, but it's a different technique, and I'm glad to have it in my repetoire, along with crochet as an alternative for when I get bored with knitting.

Vacation Yarn Pr0n

By the rules in this article from Knitty, this qulifies as Souvenir Yarn because I bought it at Great Yarns in Raleigh last weekend with Mtwelovett, but I do actually have plans for it. :D My very first Malabrigo! Yes, I know - it sounds crazy, but I've honestly not owned any before now. It's lovely stuff, though, very soft and squishy! (But not "yummy", Bezzie - I'm trying to stop using that one so much. ;) ) This is the "Dark Earth" colorway, and the three skeins I picked up are destined to become another Calorimetry (Oh, yeah. I made one out of Paton's SWS. I just haven't gotten a picture yet.) and a My So-Called Scarf. If there is enough yarn left, I will probably also make some wristwarmers. Following along in the same color scheme, I picked up some Artyarns Ultramerino4 in color 105.Very soft stuff, which will be (of course) socks for me at some point. And two progress shots of my KnitPicks Palette Cardigan (my Fair Isle February project) - three pattern stripes done, 15 to go on the body, plus the sleeves. Honestly, I'm surprised at how quickly it is going so far, but I have to say, I am totally thrilled with it. I'm even looking forward to the steeks! (That would be because I am clearly insane, of course. Happily, I've long since accepted and embraced that part of me.) Closeup! Once again, Happy Friday, all!

Fleece Artist Pr0n!

Fleece Artist Merino Sock yarn in "Paris". Purchased from my fave online yarn store, Little Knits. This will be socks for me. (I also got another color that will be socks for Kris, but that's for next week) And for Jenneke, the current state of her Swap Socks: We've passed the heels and are working our way up the gusset. Woo hoo! (Mountain Colors Bearfoot in "Juniper") And I can't believe I almost forgot this! If you like Kris's yarnography... how about owning it on a mousepad, or a mug? He opened a CafePress store: The Digital Arcana Shop. More stuff will be going up all the time, and if anyone has ideas or suggestions or requests, let us know! ETA: The establishing shot of the Fleece Artist Merino Sock yarn: See - all of those colors in just one skein! It's nice bouncy stuff, too. I look forward to working with it. Eventually. After my eight million other to-do projects. :D

Sock Swap!

Hi Jenneke! Thought I'd post a progress pic of your socks, so you can see that I really am working on them. :D Two toes, happily hanging out on the needles: Obligatory pr0nny shot of the stitch pattern: It's a fun pattern* to work. I'm enjoying it, and I've got it pretty much memorized (I think I've done 4 or 5 repeats so far), so I was actually able to work on them during "Heroes" last night. (YAY for a continuing-arc show that I can love, since "Lost" now disappoints me so) So, now I have another question for you: how tall do you like your sock cuffs? Obviously, I'm not there yet, but I want them to be the length you like. *And Kir, yes, I know that Miss Berardi is cringing somewhere. I'll just give myself a "D" for this post. Oh - and I forgot. I mentioned it in the last post, but the pattern is "Small Capitals" from Sensational Knitted Socks.

Progress!

I've been stealthily working on a project of late (I needed to step away from the log cabin blanket for a little while), and although it did pop up in the sidebar with its own progress bar, I never actually mentioned it here. I finally cast on my Simple Knitted Bodice! Turtlegirl scored the yarn for me ages ago (same as hers, different color), but I just hadn't gotten to it yet. So, yesterday while she and I were working on the Knittyboard SP8 matches, I set Kris loose on it with his camera. (And for those who asked, it's a new Nikon D2xs. And he's in love.) Waist lace detail: Mmmm... raglan-y Holy detail, Batman! Sleeve, back, and waist lace section The pattern is, of course, the Simple Knitted Bodice by Glampyre for Stitch Diva. It is being done on size US5 KnitPicks Options in Berocco Denim Silk in "Absinthe" (#1426). I've got most of the body done but will be lengthening it a little, so I'm pausing to do the sleeves and neckline so that I can lengthen to my heart's content without worrying about running out of yarn. I have made a few... um... alterations to the pattern (some intentional, some not). First, I apparently can't read, so when I got to the point where the arms are separated and you work on just the increases at the neck, I missed that you were supposed to increase EVERY row, and still did only EVERY OTHER row. So... that section is a few rows deeper (Yeah, that was the "not intentional" one). Also, I don't usually like how raglan sleeves meet under my arms, so when I joined under the arms, I used a provisional cast-on and added about 10 stitches under each arm. The cast on was pulled out, and the stitches picked up for the sleeves when I went back to them. (I can get pics of that later, if that doesn't make sense). It gives me a little more room, and I like the way it looks - no holes in the armpits! Oh, and as Jenneke chose the Juniper (the one on the right), I cast on her socks Saturday evening. I decided to do the "Small Capitals" pattern from Charlene Schuch's* "Sensational Knitted Socks". I've had the book for a little while, but hadn't done anything from it yet. I like it a lot, and I love her "easy toe" for toe-up socks (my preference). Kris likes the pattern and the yarn, so I had him look at the colors it comes in. He'll probably be getting some at some point. :) And no, no piccies yet - not really enough progress for that. In the next day or so, I hope. *I always want to call her Charlotte instead of Charlene. I think it's because of Charlotte Church. Who, admittedly, has very little to do with socks. Or knitting at all, as far as I know.

New Year, New Project!

So, as we were packing to leave Pittsburgh after Christmas, Kris got a call on his cellphone that our friends Ed and Karin had become parents! Their little guy was born on the 26th. We haven't been able to meet him yet, since we had to get back for Kris to be at work on the 27th, but I did start a little project to take up to him: A log cabin baby blanket in Knit Picks Crayon in Lime, Periwinkle, Azure, Green, Blue, and Purple. Why that color combo? Because it is going to go with a trio of dragons! Specifically, Knitty.com's Norberta, one each in the greens, the blues, and the purples. See, Kris and Ed used to play D&D together in college, and even once we moved up here (before Ed and Karin moved to Pittsburgh), we would play. My feeling is that we need to encourage the geekitude in the next generation as soon as possible. So, the little guy is getting an emerald, a sapphire, and an amethyst dragon to snuggle with, and a matching blanket. :D I played a little with the basic log cabin premise from Mason-Dixon Knitting. In that book, they tell you to cast on, knit the center, bind off, and then pick up for the first band, knit it, and bind off.. and so on. Well, I hate picking up stitches with a fiery passion, and they are doubly a PITA with a floofy yarn like Crayon (which is soft and snuggly and will make a great blanket). So, I thought about it, and it ocurred to me that it was a little silly to bind off stitches just to pick them back up again. So, I tried something. When I finished a band, instead of binding off on the right side, I just knit across that row and turned my work to the right. I picked up the stitches in the end of the band I just completed, and then just knit across the live stitches on that next side, which I had held from the previous band on that side. You can sort of see what I mean here: It does require a really long circular needle (possibly two, eventually), but I think it makes the log-cabinning go a bit faster. Plus, there are no lumps on the back from picking up stitches, and you don't need to even attempt to find the stitches in the bindoff to keep your count consistent! I suddenly realize that I'm possibly not explaining this all that well. If anyone is curious and wants a better explanation, let me know, and I'll enlist the photographer (aka Kris) to help me put one together this weekend. I finished my version of the Red Light Special hat that I mentioned in the post about Kris's. I love this pattern - I did almost the entire thing on Jan 1 and 2. (And no griping - I was pretty much on the couch all day after a very long New Year's Eve. And no, I wasn't hung over...) Here it is blocking on my patented upside-down-mixing-bowl-balanced-on-bottle hat blocker. I should really find an easier way... I call it my "Swamp Thing" hat, because although I love the colors and am very happy with how it came out, that is the only thing I can think of when I look at it. Oh, and you know how everyone seems to be posting their New Year's Resolutions? I'm not. Not only am I not posting them, I'm not making them. I've realized something in the last year or so - the best way to guarantee that I will do something is to tell me that I can't, and the best way to guarantee that I won't is to tell me that I have to. (That noise you hear would be my father falling out of his chair laughing. I'm pretty sure he and Mom figured that out YEARS ago) So, I'm not doing it. I'm not telling myself that I can't buy yarn until such-and-such date, and I'm not telling myself that I will lose X pounds by summer. I am considering this 100 miles by April 1st thing, though. Mostly because I have doubts that I can do it, which pushes me to want to prove myself wrong. And yes, I know that I am a sick, twisted woman who clearly needs help. :) The debate is, of course, treadmill or stationary bike. I did 500 miles on the bike in 2005, but I'd like to push myself beyond that. And 100 miles by April 1 is just barely over a mile a day. I should be able to walk that. Hmm... Food for thought, anyway. Note to anyone who reads this via Bloglines - you might want to check to see if you have the "Updated Items" option set to "Ignore", or every time I update the "Finished Objects" or "Planned Projects" posts, they are going to show up as new. And I don't want to annoy anyone.