JooKnits

2010-02-23T14:49:00.009-05:00

Ahoy. I just finished a pair of socks. For some reason I've been way more into buying shit that knitting lately. Oh well.

Here's a pic of my recently finished sockies:

This is my second pair of pink socks. The first ones were solid pink, though, and these are handpainted, so they have several different colors peeking through. The pattern is called "Flabella," and is part of a sock club I'm in. OK - so I'm in 4 sock clubs. Sue me. But this is the first one I got in the mail. I haven't messed with the other 2 I've gotten, although I did wind one handspun hank into a ball last night, and I'm contemplating patterns. It's hard to find the perfect pattern. Snazzy handpainted or handspun yarns call for a sort of bland pattern, because the crazy yarn can obscure the crazy pattern. Crazy patterns call for a solid or semisolid color yarn.

Ok enough of that.

I also finished my little red cowl and made a not-so-impressive but comfortable hat.

The cowl looks cooler when it's not on me which is kind of lame. Oh well. It's pretty. And it's warm.

I wish we would have a hugeass thunderstorm right now. That would be nifty.

I also made progress on my first ever Fair Isle or stranded or whatever you want to call it project. It's stalled right now because of the aforementioned socks I just finished. And I'm kind of more in the mood to knit something new than to pick up something older right now. I also started a shawl at the beginning of February, but I effed up on one of the lace repeats, and I haven't been in the mood to fix it. Bleh on that. Here's the stranded mitt:

I think it looks PDG (pretty damn good, of course) for my first stranded project. Yep. Didn't take as long as I thought either once I knuckled down and just started working on it.

Ok that is all.

WIP WThursday!

2010-01-14T15:00:00.007-05:00

That's right - WThursday. It's kind of like Fourthmeal from Taco Bell. I made it up. Well, I didn't make up Fourthmeal, but it *is* made up. You catch my drift, yeah?

So, I finished a scarflet this morning, but I still need to wash and block it so it looks kinda crap right now. Also - buttons. It needs buttons, and I take forever looking for the perfect buttons.

I'm almost done with the Pretty Thing cowl by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I'm using yarn from a local dyer, and I love it. It's a dark-ish red color that's neato. I'm also working on the fiddlehead mitts. It's my first stranded colorwork project, so it's really clunky trying to figure out where the hell to put my hands and the yarn, but it looks awesome so far.

So not interested in posting pics though. Hmmm...here's some I took several days ago. Up there you see the scarflet made out of a variegated Malabrigo yarn that I can't remember the colorway right now. Also, fiddlehead mitts - I'm about to start the thumb gusset and am on the second contrast color. Lastly, you've got the cowl which is almost completed at this point. It's not as radioactively colored as it looks in the photo. I actually already have one project that was started and finished in 2010 - a pair of baby booties for a friend. I made Saartje's baby booties out of Miss Babs sock yarn in the Cleopatra colorway. They look awesome - still need some pesky (and teeny tiny) buttons though.

Holiday Knitting

2009-12-05T13:41:00.003-05:00

That title is a lie...I am not doing any holiday knitting this year. Screw it - I'm just continuing to work on my own stuff. I'm finished with all my Christmas shopping - did most of it on etsy.com, and I'm really pleased with the stuff I picked out. Etsy never ceases to amaze me both in terms of the selection they have and the absolutely awesome people on there. Try feeling that good about your Wal-Mart purchases.

Right now, I'm knitting on a scarf and a pair of socks. I've been really getting into handpainted sock yarns lately. I really was only knitting in solids, because of all the crazy cabled Cookie A. patterns I'd been doing. The handpaints obscure the awesome pattern, but I've been digging around on ravelry for a while trying to find some nifty patterns for the handpaints. The pattern I'm working on at the moment is called Bellatrix. That's a Ravelry link (if you knit or crochet and you're not on there, you've been on the moon). It's mostly plain stockinette but with lots of on-purpose dropped stitches. I love dropping all those yarn over's off the needles. It keeps the pattern interesting, and it's coming along pretty quickly. The yarn is Misti Alpaca sock yarn in a really obnoxious bunch of colors - I love it. Also making a scarf out of Malabrigo silky merino DK but no time to talk about it now gotta go clean out cat boxes.

Slacker

2009-06-05T09:42:00.004-04:00

Wow - so those WIP Wednesday things never seem to stay in my memory for very long.

I screwed up a whole row of my scarf and didn't notice it till a few rows later, so I'm procrastinating on ripping out 4 rows of 400+ stitches cause it's gonna suck.

Finished one sleeve on the February Lady Sweater and picked up stitches for second sleeve. So, not much farther to go on that project. I haven't been in the mood for knitting lately, though. I am on a reading jaunt. I read a self-help book that was kind of like "homework," and now I'm reading lots of poetry and a poetry how-to guide. I also ordered a ton of books from Amazon and went out and picked up a whole ton more in person. On top of that, I bought several magazines. Voracious. Reading.

So, knitting inevitably has to suffer.

Waking up with weird anxieties. I don't know what causes it, but it's not cool.

WIP Wednesday a smidgey early

2009-05-19T14:11:00.002-04:00

I can never remember to make these posts on Wednesdays, so let's call it the Weekly WIP (although I am sure it will probably become biweekly then monthly then annually - you catch my drift).

I screwed up on the first sleeve of my February Lady Sweater. It's an easy fix, but I'm just not in the mood for it. I want loud colors and no pile of wool lying in my lap creating sweat. So, I've been reading Paper Towns (just finished it last night - don't like it as much as John Green's other books) and knitting on my Blooming Cotton Scarf cause it's got loud colors and it's not wool.

It's brighter in person. So yep. That's about it.

Also, I got some ink for my favorite fountain pen, and I think I might dig in and do some writing if I can settle my brain and body enough to do it.

The Green book led me to wanting some poetry in my life. So, I've been listening to the Writer's Almanac podcasts, and I picked up Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and Billy Collins's The Art of Drowning - the name of that one really appeals to me. Makes me think of The Piano and The Awakening - two stories that have always captivated me. Also bought a book of Poe's poetry. Bill and I are planning on reading poems to eachother at night instead of watching lame TV too late too often.

I am feeling kind of crummy today and in no mood to do any public speaking which is what is on the menu for this afternoon. Would rather go home and crawl up in a ball. My head aches.

Cake trials and tribs

2009-04-27T10:59:00.002-04:00

OK - I am not a cake decorating person. I have now decided this. After looking at the zillions of Barbie cakes out there, I thought it would be a cinch but no no no. Not so.

I did succeed in making the cake, but it was not nearly as cool as I thought it was going to be. Oh well. I will order a cake next time and skip out on the stress.

It's not the worst cake ever, but it's still kind of lame. Oh wells. I tried. Amelia liked it, and it tasted pretty good.

Now I need to figure out what cake I want for my birthday. I am a buttercreme fan as I may have mentioned before. So, I'm going to go for a massive cake with lots of icing. That's the main requirement for any cake in my opinion.

Last week at a meeting at work, they had this awesome yummy cake, and I dropped my piece on the floor. Not cool.

That is all.

W.I.P. Wednesday!! (except on Thursday)

2009-04-23T12:41:00.003-04:00

I have been working solely on my February Lady Sweater this past week. I stuck the Blooming Cotton Scarf in the closet, because I've been knitting on the move, and having a bajillion different colors of yarn doesn't work well as a travel project.

So, here is a picture of the sweater on the needles as it now stands - the sleeves are sitting on scrap yarn to go back and work later.

The color is way prettier in person that is looks in this picture which is kind of washed out because my camera sucks. I have been eyeballing digital SLR cameras lately, but jeezy peezy they cost like $600+ which I can not justify spending on a camera that I do not actually need.

I have been eating to much junk lately. Anyone who knows me very well knows that I have an insatiable appetite for buttercreme frosting. Can't get enough of it. I dream about it at night.

I have a meeting this afternoon and someone is retiring, so they have cake. I have my sights set on that corner piece covered in frosting and flowers.

And then I will feel guilty about eating it for the rest of the day.

This weekend is sure to be covered in buttercreme frosting, because Bill and I are going to experiment with making my niece a Barbie cake for her 6th birthday. If we can pull it off, she is going to FREAK. Do a quickie search of Google images or Flickr, and you will find tons of homemake Barbie cakes like this one I found on Flickr:

So anyway - frosting, knitting, cake-baking, and living life. That's what's going on my way.

Blue blue electric blue

2009-04-16T12:13:00.003-04:00

Well orange actually.

In honor of a recent spate of water-hating, I am changing the color of my blog to the soothing color of orange juice. Water has been grossing me out lately. I usually drink gallons of it per day. Instead, I have been drinking Kool Aid and OJ. I have a fondness for the two ends of the OJ spectrum but not much love for anything in between.

I dig super cold OJ made from concentrated slime and poured over ice after you shake the hell out of it. I used to just scoop the concentrated frozen stuff out of the container and eat it when I was a kid. That fills me with nausea just thinking about it right now.

And I also love love love fresh squeezed. I don't have a juicer though, and that junk beez expensive.

In the world of knitting, I have been doing lots. Finished my first-ever sweater, and it's actually really cute. Also made a few pairs of crazy cabled socks, a capelet, bunches of cute slippers for Christmas presents (which I forgot to take pictures of before giving away), an annoyingly more complicated than I thought it would be Valentine's gift. I also finished up some of the hibernating projects from the closet - finished the mermaid gloves and monster slippers. Still have a couple of lingering hibernators, but I am in no mood to mess with them at the mo.

Right now I am working on the Blooming Cotton Scarf in its fiery red incarnation. It's kind of like the Ballband dishcloth from Mason Dixon Knitting with the colorwork done all with slipped stitches. Of course, the back of the scarf is gonna look like crap but whatevs.

Also working on a February Lady Sweater like everyone else. Mine is in a semi-solid deep bluish colorway from Dream in Color. I haven't taken any pictures of either of them. Maybe that will be my project for next Wednesday's W.I.P.

Livin la vida l'aspirin

2008-08-14T14:14:00.002-04:00

I have a headache. This is a daily occurrence.

Reading - it's about all that I have been doing outside of work lately. Work has been very busy, and it will only get busier. I'm almost too tired to read when I get home, but I do it anyway staying up till the wee hours.

I have forced myself to get back into knitting my twisted flower socks. I am about halfway done with sock #2.

So my deal with myself is that I knit a couple rows and then I'm allowed to read a chapter. I am doing this to keep from flying through Breaking Dawn too quickly. By the way - don't investigate that link too closely if you don't want spoilers. I haven't read any of the reviews, and I will not until I finish the book. I bought the second and third books of the Twilight series on CD so I can re-listen to them. I listened to Twilight when I was in L.A.
I want to drag it out as long as possible, but wankers all over the Internet are publishing spoilers left and right, so I am trying to weight my wish to put it off with the horror that someone might ruin it before I finish reading it.
Ugh.

I have been wanting to write a lot, but I am not doing a very good job of making myself do so. I have even been having massive amounts of very memorable dreams. This is the easiest way to write - it's already all there, you just have to write it out. Easy peasy, but I have been slacking on that. I don't write them down cause I'm sleepy and then I can't remember them later in the day or I left my notebook at home. I am a disgrace.

I have a vague recollection of being the trophy wife of some old man. He was a nice looking old man, and I actually think it was Bill. He was super rich and had all kinds of houses and stuff, and I remember thinking he was awesome.

The books I read seriously inject themselves into my subconscious sometimes.

OK - enough for now. Headache and heart murmur still with me.

cheer me up. i am cheered.

2008-06-09T16:53:00.004-04:00

My brain has something like a low buzz - a hum - going on inside. The noise of high voltage wires when you are in a quiet enough area to hear their sound.
It is the buzz of possibilities, but it is the smoothness of relaxation. It is an excitement and anticipation of something that I do not know. But the relaxation being there is unison is a bit odd. Smooth is the only word I can think of to describe it.
My brain is having problems concentrating on objects, people, places, things, but I do not seem to have a problem in thinking of the adjectives to describe those things. Although maybe I can not think of the *perfect* adjective.
Did you rub my lamp? Did you wake me up? Did you bring me here?

Why did you bring me here? Why start it if you are not going to follow through. There is never a finish. Why put out the advertisement if you never plan on purchasing or selling it? Abstraction.
Make sure that the love you offer up does not fall on barren soil.

"The soil is not barren, but it's mine."

So prone to worshiping I am on the one hand, and so completely vehemently against it on the other. And so let down so easily, but lifted up as easily at times it seems.

"love me, and cheer me up
show me you're the one who can make me happy
cheer me up, c'mon and cheer me up
I don't wanna spend the rest of my days in yesterday's daydream.."

But I kind of do want to spend the rest of my days in yesterday's day dream. Sometime about that seems incredibly appealing to me. Living out my dreams in the only place where they will ever come true 100%.

Los Angeles

2008-05-27T13:52:00.001-04:00

OK - So know of any cool stuff to do in LA? I haven't been there in years, and the last couple of times I went, I just hung out with my dad. I need stuff to keep me occupied. I always go with no plans whatsoever and then I realize I missed a bunch of cool shit when I get back. Any ideas?

Slackadaisical

2008-03-06T17:23:00.002-05:00

I have been seriously slack about doing much of anything lately except for reading and listening to Clark Howard. I have gotten my brain all wrapped around personal finance stuff again. I kind of let it lie dormant for a while, but now that I actually have some money, I want to do useful things with it other than just buying yarn and yarn winders and swifts and stuff.
I haven't been knitting much at all lately, but I need to finish up an Easter basket I am making for Amelia, because Easter is creeping up mighty fast. I am almost done with it though, actually. So, it shouldn't be a big deal.
I have been rabidly listening to Clark Howard though, seriously. I used to listen every day when I had a super long commute, but I haven't listened in probably 5 years or more. I have been downloading podcasts like a junkie and perusing his website. I am often heard to say, "Well, I heard on NPR that..." and lately I have been saying, "Well Clark Howard says ..."

It is kind of a sad life I lead, but he seems like such a nice guy. I am sure I will get burned out on it again at some point. And I haven't skipped out on NPR. I am still listening to it too. I drive a lot, so I have time for lots of podcasts.

And I have been reading a (nother) nutrition book. Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy. I was really jamming on it until I got to the current chapter which is about vitamins, and it is full of all these conjectures and studies which cancel each other out, and it has gone from what seemed like sound advice for chapters and chapters to something which sounds more like a load of BS.

I am at work right now, and I am bored to tears. I have something I could be working on, but it's my annual review, and I HATE writing those things. And then, I have to write up a review for my non-student worker employee, and I hate that almost as much. So, I'm putting it off.

I am going on a week-long vacation in April to who knows where. I haven't been on an actual and factual vacation like this in a really really long time. I hope it's fun, and I hope we find somewhere cool but not too expensive to go.

Brighten up, hippies

2008-02-06T00:12:00.001-05:00

Seriously - do organic fabrics and yarns have to be so frigging boring? What if I don't *like* brown and beige, huh?

What if I like bright ass purple and midnight blue and blood red???? And - yep, this is a major stretch here - what if I want a cool PATTERN? Like skulls or something? Can't people who want organic cloth like skulls too??? All of the organic patterns have f'ing butterflies and crap. Wtf???

So - here is my request of you, hippies who own your own business - make something that would be interesting to people who aren't hippies and you might make some money. Hippies spend all their money on weed anyway.

OK and for real - this site I am currently perusing which does no straying from the beige/brown motif has actual pictures of people hugging trees. No joke.

Hi there bloggy land!

2008-01-29T14:53:00.000-05:00

I have neglected you so. Go ahead and blame Ravelry, because when I have something knitting related to think about, I usually go there. I don't write on there, though, I just post new pictures of projects in progress.

Speaking of projects in progress, I am working on 3 right now. One I will abstain from mentioning till later.

The first one is the Sleepy Snake from MochiMochiLand. Mine isn't going to be as cute, but oh well. I'm totally done with all of the knitting. Just have to felt it a bit and sew on eyes, ears, toupees - you know, the usual.

Sleepy Snake and Mischievous Mouse

I might post pictures of my own version when I get finished. My snake is black and red and my mouse is gray and pink.

The other project is the knitting needle bag

That link is probably going to fuzzle up, but it's a neat bag knitting in trinity stitch (looks like little bobbles) with the last row at the top on each side left on the needles permanently. I have a couple of sets of badass needles I've been perusing online. I want some snazzy jazzy decorative ones. My bag is a pewter-gray color. The pattern hurts my wrist, but I like the way it looks so far. I am dreading when I get to the point of making the handles. ughhhhh I hate purse handles.

Anyway - so that stuff is pretty boring. See why I haven't updated?

I am going to see Al Gore speak on Thursday. Should be fun.

Back to my tea now.

Oh yeah - and I ended up becoming the chairperson of some library committee, so yay. I hope I don't regret it later.

Crappy Eating!

2007-12-12T12:46:00.001-05:00

I need to snap out of this crappy eating slump I have gotten myself into. I want to eat good stuff, but I am feeling overly lethargic and the options for locally decent restaurants are slim to none.

So, today I ate raisin bread, green tea, some teriyaki jerquee that I found in my cabinet and some chocolate candy. :(

I suck.

Yesterday I had lots of good-for-me Indian food, though, so maybe I'm ok. And I have been lazy about making lunches for work, but I have a good supply of Amy's frozen dinners at both jobs. And I don't feel too bad about eating those. So, maybe I just feel all slumpy, but I haven't been eating too too terribly. And I put up all my clean clothes today which is pretty much my most loathed job.

And started on a sweater - well, a shrug actually. I've never made an adult-sized sweater, but the pattern for this one is super easy compared to a regular sweater. Here's a sleeve (on a cat). Yes, it is mighty orange. That's what it looks like in the book and although I am not usually a huge orange fan, it looks really neato. So, I bought lots of orange yarn.

Man, chocolate and fake beef jerky leaves a really terrible taste in your mouth.

I wish cats would wear clothes

2007-12-06T09:59:00.001-05:00

Cause I don't have a dog, and this is about the cutest shit I've ever seen. Every dog should have a shrug. They are the new black dress for doggies. Too bad my cats would probably kill me in my sleep if I made them wear clothes.

O M G!

2007-12-05T20:50:00.000-05:00

Holy poop on a stick!

Farm Sanctuary is auctioning off lunch with Paul Reubens!!!!!!!

There are 11 days of the auction left, and it's up to $200

If I lived in LA, I might bid....but I probably wouldn't, because I don't want to ruin my brain image of Pee Wee Herman.

Kind of retarded, huh? Yep.

By the way...

2007-12-03T16:57:00.000-05:00

I totally bought that gay shirt on QVC, and it's awesome.

Does your Best Buy have Chinese dragons??

2007-12-03T16:56:00.001-05:00

Nope. It doesn't.

But mine does! My nephew had his wish granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation yesterday, and Best Buy doo'd it up right.

All of my pictures suck, because I took them with my phone, but the Make-A-Wish volunteers who were with us were taking pics like crazy, so hopefully they got some good ones. I got to ride in one of those Hummer limos that I rag on when I see them. hehe

And I have been finishing so many knitting projects that I find myself without anything to work on!! That sucks! I am totally done with Christmas stuff unless I pick up a new project - with 3 weeks still left, it's completely doable. But, wouldn't it be crazy to make something for myself right now when knitters around the world are frantically knitting on gifts?

Yep.

OK - my back hurts, and I'm bored now. More later.

Finish up and slacking off

2007-11-26T12:37:00.001-05:00

I am supposed to be doing a book review for the Georgia Library Quarterly, and I can not seem to get motivated to finish reading the book, but I am making headway today.

The all vegetarian Thanksgiving went off really well! The seitan was pretty good - I probably should have made it into a roulade, but I had a bajillion other things to do, and the plain seitan roast was easier. It turned out very moist and tasty, and I've made several sandwiches. My sister sliced up some of the leftover and made fajitas, and those got rave reviews as well. I didn't even taste my own tofu pot pie, but I heard from everyone that it was really good, and there were several who ate it as leftovers for a couple of days. I personally enjoyed the Oma's Mushroom Turnovers from GasTank Zine the bestest. I have made them about 5-6 times now maybe more, and I love them every time. And to add to my enjoyment, I figured out how to reheat them without them turning rubbery and dry. I dribble water on them and then microwave them under plastic wrap. Works like a charm. I made a whole bunch of other crap too, and everyone seemed to enjoy. And only my 4-year-old niece bitched about there being no turkey, but only momentarily until she was stuffing her face with everything else. My sister (who has not eaten red meat or pork in years) decided that she is going to cut way back on her poultry consumption as a result of the Thanksgiving success - so that is awesome.

In the world of knitting - also great success!!! With Bill's help, I have all three of the purse straps that were vexing me for MONTHS now completed!! YAY!!! I still need to do a little seaming and felting, but that involves a sewing machine and washer, so not much work involved there. I might get that stuff done this week after or before work even.

I need to start doing more exercise. That is the only major thing that my life lacks. I eat pretty well, I handle my time wisely for the most part, I get stuff done and such...but I never ever exercise. And I seriously need to. I love how I am totally anal retentive about spelling and grammatical errors when they are on paper, but when I am writing in a blog, I cease to give a crap. It is a less formal atmosphere...or so I tell myself.

Anyway - back to reading this book. I am listening to an audio book (not right at this moment, but when I'm driving and stuff) called "Eat That Frog," and it is making me prioritize somewhat. I wrote out a list of what I wanted to get accomplished last week. I hope I can stick to it and get some stuff done.

I had a whole bunch of other stuff I wanted to discuss in here, but I can't remember them right now.

So, here's a picture of me with a goofy look on my face. That's me buried under the mound of cats. And I'm wearing my Christmas tree hat (duh, you say) that I knitted a couple weekends ago. Got the yarn and pattern here:

Material Whirled

Every single time I type that or even think it, I get "Material World" by Madonna stuck in my head for like 5 hours.

No dead turkeys

2007-11-19T16:44:00.001-05:00

I am incredibly excited about Thanksgiving. I convinced my entire family to go meat free for the occasion. This is a pretty big deal. I always cook my zillions of "side items" and I skip all of the meat parts of dinner, but this will be the first year ever in which there is NO MEAT at all being made for Thanksgiving in my family. I am really really proud of everyone for going along with me on this. I hope my dishes do not disappoint. Here are my menu ideas:

- tofu pot pie
- glazed carrots
- fresh steamed brussels sprouts w/ walnut vinaigrette
- cornbread dressing
- mac n cheese
- broccoli/cauliflower casserole
- mushroom turnovers

Don't know about desserts - probably sweet potato or pumpkin pie and whatever else - maybe banana bread or apple something cause I have apples and bananas that need some attention.

Also, I was thinking....only *thinking* (because I already have a lot on my plate so to speak ) about trying to do the seitan roast. I really think I might try it though because it sounds awesome. Maybe I will make an extra pan of dressing and make a stuffed roast....

Anyway - I feel like a million bucks for not having any meat on the table this year. Thanks to a Publix commercial for seriously bumming me out and instigating this whole thing (40 something turkeys later commercial).

Also - I have been knitting like a crazy person. Just this past week I finished a pair of socks, a hat for Nanny, and a Christmas tree hat. Today I am working on a pair of fingerless gloves for Lisa. They are coming along nicely I think. Will post pictures later - I'm not in the mood to fiddle with technology at the moment, I have a headache.

QVC? What is my life coming to here?

2007-11-10T18:57:00.000-05:00

So, should I start seeking out therapy now? I honestly spend time on the QVC website last night looking at Christmas clothing. Yeah. I really did. I was ogling at stuff I would have previously termed "gay teacher clothes." Like not clothes that a homosexual teacher would wear, but gay as in bright as tacky and with little snowmen and shit emblazoned on the front. And I looked at these things with the idea that I wanted to buy AND WEAR the stuff.

Yes, friends and neighbors, I was looking at fiber optic lighted holiday sweaters. No, I didn't buy one, but I'm not ruling out the possibility that I might. Cause they would go really well with the tacky Christmas tree hat that I'm RABIDLY waiting on. I go check the mail every day with a big smile, and the damn thing's not there waiting on me. Since when did I become an old lady who enjoys looking at the QVC website and wearing giant Christmas tree hats? I think it's this holiday obsession that I have. It mostly is just for Halloween, but I have to admit that I enjoy the whole twinkly-ness of Christmas and the opportunity to be completely tacky. Although, I must admit that I've been tacky for at least a couple of decades, but *I* think I pull it off well (and I don't care if anyone thinks anything to the contrary).

Umm...

In other news.

I will be shopping for yarn a lot whilst participating in the first annual Atlanta Metro Shop Hop. Went to the first three stores today and got three free patterns! Sweet!

And now I don't feel like typing anymore, so I leave you with my first pair of socks made on circular needles in progress. Pattern is from Knitting Circles Around Socks. Yarn is squeaky Sassy Stripes in "Crayon." Yeah I didn't want to take my socks off to try them on cause my feet are cold.

Birthday Gift with a Halloween Tinge

2007-10-30T11:40:00.001-04:00

Finished Bill's snake scarf. His birthday was last Saturday. I also sent the critter I made to Robert whose birthday is the same as Bill's. Yay.
I am about halfway done with the alligator scarf I've been working on. I am also trudging through 3 purse straps. After that, I need to do a bit of felting on 3 otherwise finished projects. And then I'm pretty much caught up on all current works in progress.
Of course, I have about a bazillion other things I need to cast on. Just got yarn to make Lisa some fingerless gloves for Christmas. That will be *MUCH* easier to finish by Christmas than the shrug I was thinking of making her. So - voila - I now can make the shrug for myself ;)
Also got some badass yarn to make myself some awesome awesome fingerless gloves. I would post links, but I'm lazy and I hate this laptop. The end.

I finished somethin!

2007-10-22T11:51:00.001-04:00

So, I finished Amelia's mittens - even pulled in all the loose ends! I know - I can't believe it either. Now I have to finish up those other annoyingly close to being finished projects too. Gotta knit 3 purse straps and do a lil bit of finishing on a couple others. One of them *needs* to be finished this weekend.

Also, what the hell am I going to be for Halloween? I'm planning to go to a Halloween party on Friday, but I have absolutely no good ideas for a costume.

I need to work on taking some better pictures of my stash yarn and finished projects for Ravelry. Also, I'm going to try to make these badass gloves maybe for myself maybe for Lisa. There's not really a pattern given, but I have cobbled together some glove patterns from the net, and I have the stitch pattern for the lace look. We shall see if I can handle it. I also have some snazzy yarn picked out. I think I like the Peacock colorway, but they are all really neat colors. I'm not doing a variegated yarn though, because it will make the lace pattern hard to see.

Anyway - I bought some Addi Turbo needles for trying out the two at a time socks on circulars method. I wanted to check out a bunch of yarn shops that I haven't been to before, but I ended up getting stuck in the traffic from a fatal accident on the freeway on Friday, so everywhere was closed by the time I made it out of town. So, on Sunday, I went to the only shop that was open, and it was pretty cool. Only Ewe and Cotton Too was very small and crowded with women knitting, but they had some really nice finished projects on display and some nice yarns and needles to choose from. I found the Shi Bui yarn there, but the peacock colorway did not have enough skeins to finish my project, so I'll try elsewhere. OK - that is enough rambling for now.

Ribbit

2007-10-17T11:51:00.000-04:00

Ok - so I frogged that sock cause it was looking super retarded and too huge. No biggie though - I did learn the basics of the 2 circular method. Now, I'm going to take my yarn and pattern with me out of town this weekend and pick up some Addi Turbos at a LYS. THEN I'm gonna try it again, and I think I'm going to try the two at a time method as well. That would be awesome to have 2 socks done at once.

So, pretty much the only other project I'm working on is the gator scarf, and I'm not feeling it today. All of the other items I'm working on I am waiting on some different needles that I ordered. I just can not stand working with the sucky bamboo ones anymore. They are cheap and shoddy and full of splinters, and they give me the feeling like when a doctor puts a wooden tongue depressor in your mouth.

uhhhhhgghghhghgh

Just thinking about it gives me the heebie jeebies.

I could start on the retro shrug I want to work on, but I am too lazy to wind the yarn right now. Maybe Bill will help me this weekend. I'm going to bring tons of knitting crap with me on our mini-vacation =D

It's gonna be awesome.

cheapass needles

2007-10-16T14:16:00.001-04:00

1016071409
Originally uploaded by Joolee_2000

My circular needles suck :(

I knew they were kinda lame, but now they full on suck, because I'm trying to knit a sock on two circulars. I have these Susan Bates fixed circulars, and the cords and all wonky and they're getting in my way. Everyone (well, the book I'm reading and one faculty member at work) tells me I should get some Addi Turbos for socks. It's just lame that I bought all these other sucky ones, and now I'm going to have to buy some more...and the Addi Turbos are mega expensive! They are $12-15 for ONE set, and I would have to have two sets of several sizes if I planned on making socks that way for the long haul.

I do think I prefer this method even without the better needles. I don't feel stressed out like I do with the DPNS, and I don't have to fear that stitches are slipping off where I can't see - I'm super paranoid about that. Also, I always knit extra tight on the DPNS and still end up with ladders. With the circulars, I'm not seeing a ladder yet, and I'm not pulling tight as hell (which puts me in a bad mood).

So, right now I have the heel done and gusset stitches picked up - working my way through the decreases. It's an ankle sock, so it looks really weird to me right now, but hey - no leg means I'm done faster. I would like to work on a decorative leg though. Maybe that's what I'll do next - and 2 at a time. I seriously think I'm going to wait on the Turbos to try that out.

I have a giant headache.

Samhain bogeys

2007-10-10T19:21:00.000-04:00

I just blew my nose on the super snazzy tissues on the left and checked for stray bogeys using my swank new compact. I am at work going through old books to delete, and they are putting me in allergy hell.

Stuff to finish

2007-10-10T11:06:00.000-04:00

I so hate finishing things - I just like the interesting knitting parts, and the putting together parts suck. This list is for me, so I can *maybe* accomplish something this weekend:

-deco clutch purse strap
-deco clutch sew together
-deco clutch felting

-wallet sew together
-wallet felting
-wallet zipper

~~-tie cut out liner>~~
~~-tie sew on liner~~

-snake tongue
-snake tail
~~-snake blocking~~

-ruffle purse strap
-ruffle purse sew together
-ruffle purse felting

-blue purse strap
-blue purse sew together

~~-mittens ruffles (X2)~~

I think that's it.

Alligator Scarf

2007-10-09T15:10:00.001-04:00

I cast on the alligator scarf yesterday. It's looking pretty fun so far.

The theme for today is: I HAVE HAD TOO MUCH COFFEE.

And I feel like a mega-spazz.

And I'm really not interested in doing any work.

And I really want to do some blogging, cause I have stuff to talk about, but

a) my laptop has a sucky keyboard that keeps pissing me off
and
b) my brain can not focus on anything for that long
and
c) I just want to keep typing and and and and and

I have a Queensryche song stuck in my head. ??

My first mitten

2007-10-05T23:00:00.000-04:00

This is my first ever mitten. I made it tonight while watching Tourist Trap. It came along mighty quick. Course it's for a four year old. I am paranoid that it is too small. It looks tiny as hell. Used knit picks superwash wool and a pattern I found online that I'll link to later when I am home.

Stressful Knitting

2007-10-01T15:29:00.001-04:00

So, knitting is supposed to be relaxing, right?

Well, not when everything you are working on is completely jacked up in some way.

Finally finished all of the knitting on the snake scarf, but the head was a major pain in the ass. I ended up with some weird holes that I had to whipstitch together. I am sure this had to do with the fact that the FRIGGING YARN KEPT BREAKING. The yarn broke like 12 times during the course of the project. And the place where it broke on the head was pretty much totally unfixable without some major jimmy rigging (which I'm pretty good at), but it was mighty frustrating.

I've also been knitting on this purse that I started in like February. It has been one of those super mega boring projects that is just plan knitting for miles that I only work on in social settings. Seeing as how I have not gone to any knitting groups lately, it's been languishing for a while. I brought it with me to hang out with a friend over the weekend, though, and I finished all of the plain knitting!!! YAY!!! Only sucky thing is that the top has a ruffle. The ruffle is made by knitting into the front and back (increasing) of every stitch for 2 rows. This means that after the first row of increases I had 200 stitches and after 2 rows of increases (not quite done with row 2 yet) I will have 400 stitches. Last night, I was knitting along while watching Death Proof (which I saw in the theatre too, and I REALLY LIKE IT LOTS - even more on second viewing) when one of my circular needle cords BROKE. So, after much cussing and pissed offedness, I had to waste like 2 hours screwing around with moving stitches around and stuff.

So, now I am a few dozen stitches away from being done with the 2nd increase row.

Also started on the strap for the deco clutch bag I'm making. Purse straps are REALLY BORING, and I'm so not in the mood, so it's coming along mighty slowly.

I have a library instruction course tonight, and I am way not feeling it. But when am I ever?

OK - my fingers hurt.

Not in my store you don't

2007-09-25T15:27:00.001-04:00

I am getting nothing accomplished today. Doesn't it look like this sign says "piss on pizza" though?

Workin on some stuff

2007-09-24T11:11:00.000-04:00

This is the current state of the snake scarf I am working on. I have 20 stripes, and I am working my way toward 33. I will then begin the head. I finished the clutch and liner I am going to felt. Totally not feeling like making the strap, but I also can't think of what I want to cast on next. What I need to do is finish a couple of unfinished and neglected projects that are stuffed in the closet but not feelin that either. And now I have two more projects to sew up and felt. ugh I hate the finishing steps.

2007-09-20T13:55:00.000-04:00

I have been feeling fairly unproductive at work lately. I'm just not in the mood to do the projects that I have set out for myself, so I have been doing a lot of piddling around. I found this site via a new Firefox plugin I downloaded called StumbleUpon. Anyone have any experience with this?

Create roses out of maple leaves

Went to see the Yarn Harlot last night. She was quite amusing. Shouldn't have had the two glasses of wine, though. They made me a bit melancholy. Started feeling old and lame for some reason, but it passed and then I was just tired.

The weather this past week has been amazing. I have been craving this weather for months. Please don't get hot again, Georgia.

So, the Yarn Harlot was in Atlanta last night and hundreds and hundreds of knitters showed up. I spent a lot of time goggling at everyone else's stuff as I worked on my plain ol' stockinette stitched purse lining. I don't work on anything complex when anyone else is around, because I always end up having to rip it out to fix mistakes. Meanwhile, Stephanie (the Yarn Harlot, that is) is standing there at the podium giving a very funny little talk all the while knitting away with no thought or spare glance at a sock on double pointed needles.

I am such an amateur this makes me realize....

Anyway - I hate typing on this frigging laptop. So. Done.

Puff

2007-09-16T23:07:00.000-04:00

The finished dragon from the Morehouse Farms kit. I think it looks pretty sweet. Just started a new kit from the same place over the weekend. It will be a rattlesnake.

Current projects take 2

2007-09-15T12:08:00.000-04:00

Bart Simpson looks over the very humble beginnings of what will be a striped rattlesnake scarf. It is also from a kit - this one from Morehouse Farms. They seriously have the coolest stuff. Just yesterday I was looking at the new issue of knitty and saw an ad for a scarf kit that looks like a bunch of rats. Sweet.

Current projects take 1

2007-09-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

Current progress on a purse kit from pick up sticks. I'm all about the kits lately for some reason. Anyway this will end up getting felted and having these other 2 colors used as a stripey inside.

the downfall of buying books online

2007-09-11T10:23:00.000-04:00

I got some new knitting books I ordered, and some of these patterns are downright hideous. I give you the "woodstock waistcoat" and some homeless wino they bribed to model it.

Movies and stars

2007-09-10T12:05:00.001-04:00

I have been watching lots of movies lately - mostly via Netflix.

Anyway - I watched these movies over the weekend:

Amores Perros - I have seen this one before, but it's been several years. I didn't remember exactly how much dog death there was in it or I would've warned Bill. Anyway - I liked it just as much on rewatching it, although it is longer than I remembered too. This is not necessarily a bad thing, pendejo.

Garden State - I really ended up liking this more than I thought I would. I had assumed it would be your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, but it was much quirkier than that label. I liked the music in it a lot, too. Two songs in particular are ones that have been given to me on various Bill compilations, so I liked hearing something familiar. The ending was somewhat disappointing to me, but I prefer tragic/realistic endings as opposed to open-ended happily ever after endings. My brain thinks of all of the potential problems with the scenario continuing into the future. Anyway - no matter.

Ginger Snaps - I really like this movie even though it's kind of cheese. I have watched it several times, but not within the last few years. I didn't pay 100% attention to it, because I was knitting, but I liked it. I like the main characters and their relationship with each other. The sister/sister bond is always a messed up one, and I should know. My favorite part of the movie are the assorted "death scenes" the two sisters create - very reminiscent of Harold and Maude.

Martin - I bought this movie several years ago, and I remember watching it, but I didn't remember if I liked it or not. On rewatching it, it was really boring. I don't hate it or anything. It has an interesting premise, but, as usual, I feel that Romero's social commentary gets in the way of the movie instead of adding to the plot. I didn't finish watching it, because I started zoning out and wanting to go to sleep.

After I posted the song lyrics to Star/Fool the other night, I was listening to it in the car with Bill, and I actually saw a shooting star. It was one of those weird moments...For some reason, my whole weekend was full of those weird moments of serendipity.

I have 5 more spikes and the head left to go on my dragon scarf.

Awesome.

Do you believe in what you see?

2007-09-08T23:38:00.001-04:00

This is nightlife in douglasville, georgia.

Snatches of snatches

2007-09-08T23:07:00.000-04:00

Is it saTURDay already? i so dislike crapplebees but my glass of wine was tasty and i met a new friend of bills. i am contemplating feminism in my brain and it doesnt seem 2 fit in well w "decent conversation" ever notice?

More scarf pix

2007-09-07T16:20:00.000-04:00

Some pics of the dragon scarf. got a long way 2 go

Today

2007-09-06T12:32:00.000-04:00

OK - I know I am making a retarded amount of posts today, but I'm experimenting.

So, here's the stack of crap I'm working on today. Fun fun fun

These education materials look so garish compared to the rest of the collection here. Ah well.

Anyway - this is the source of the dust that is up my nasal cavities at the moment.

I'm on the 50th sneeze of the day

2007-09-06T12:19:00.001-04:00

Today, boys and girls, I am weeding my curriculum collection. It is a thankless job, but somebody's got to do it - mostly because I have no space.

And secondly, because some of these books are ridiculously old. I just pulled a stack of social studies books from the 60's. Now, if accuracy happens to be something you are interested in, you might want to skip out on using these books. Their useful days are long gone by, although they certainly can still provide some amusement. The amount of dust on these puppies is a bit excessive, though, and I forgot my Claritin at home. So, this should be fun.

I am bored, so I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures from my phone. If it works, you may see random photos of old ass books.

1968

2007-09-06T12:10:00.001-04:00

Yes, 1968 was a good year for "Living in the Americas."

Pleasantly Unpleasant?

2007-09-05T17:01:00.000-04:00

The tiny voice in the back of my mind is reminding me that I didn't finish my dad's tie. It is vexing me somewhat although I did block it, so I did do SOMETHING with it. It's all nice and neatly pinned down and dry....I just need to line it and get it away from me. I'm sick of looking at it.

I am also totally sick of looking at the mermaid outfit I started for Amelia several months ago (June, I think maybe). And I haven't even looked at it in a long while. I stuffed it in the closet and haven't given it much thought, but I really want to be done with it. There's a loooooong way to go on it though :(

And it's not a fast-moving project with lots of different stuff to do to keep me interested. It's a LONG area of the same ol' shit over and over and over. But it's ever so slightly too complex to do in a social setting.

ANYWAY - I'm more excited about the fact that I worked on my dragon scarf today. It's fun to work on, because it's not mindless, changes some on almost every row, and it looks neat.

I may get sick of the red color eventually, but at least the pattern is interesting. It would be even more interesting visually if it were variegated but then it would probably look lame when I got done with it. I'm sure everyone but me is getting sick of seeing these incremental pictures, but I'm so amazed by the coolness of the pattern, I'm going to keep posting them.

On another note (see entry title), I forced myself to watch Day of the Woman (better known as I Spit on Your Grave) last night. I was left actually liking it. I don't know why. The acting for the first 20 minutes or so was absolutely appalling. After that, the shocking scenes apparently shocked some talent into all involved. My only complaint would be that the "second half" or revenge part of the movie was not violent or vindictive enough for me. And the interspersed sex / revenge parts were morally and ethically confusing, and I still don't know 100% what I think about it.

BUT - the lead character CHOSE all of her actions in the later parts of the movie, and that makes it less blurry morally for me. I also picked up on some things that I don't know if they were intentional or not that amused me...

In one part, she is pointing a gun at a scuzz and he says she asked for it (the typical yadda yadda about her clothes or whatever), and she puts the gun down and seems instantly sweet to him and asks wouldn't he like a hot bath...

The hot bath leads to one of the best scenes in the movie - one of the only scenes that felt like sweet justice. So, I think at the point of his "blaming the victim," she decided that shooting the guy was letting him off too easy.

OK - that's enough. I watched it.

My blood pressure is going up lately, I think. I need to chill.

Got a lot done kind of weekend

2007-09-04T13:08:00.001-04:00

I accomplished tons this weekend knitwise. And I got my new phone, so I'm taking more pictures - yay! And my phone seems to take (somewhat) better pictures than my camera so yay again. I finished knitting the wallet and stashed it away to weave in the ends, sew up the seam, felt and sew in the zipper. All of that stuff won't take too long. I will probably get it ready to felt during the week and felt it this coming weekend. Also finished the knitting part on the wristband. Now I need to study the graphic I'm planning on putting on it. I think instead of double stitching, I will use embroidery floss and just wing it. I did the wristband on double points, so no seam to sew up - just a couple of ends to weave in.

I cast on two new projects...

One is a purse kit from Pick Up Sticks! - I am working on the blue version. The gold/green version in the pictures is even too retro for my tastes.

I also started on the dragon scarf from Morehouse Farm Merino - it is seriously badass looking already. I have already done three little dragon "spikes." I am making it in the red version (called "Huff" on the website). Here's a sample...

I am really thrilled with the results so far. When I first read the directions, I had some serious misgivings and some doubt as to whether I could pull it off, but it's really not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be - just a lot of counting and concentrating. It's not something I can multitask on. The multitask project will be the aforementioned purse which has long stretches of stockinette. I didn't take a picture, because it's just a rectangle of baby blue stockinette stitch right now - not very thrilling.

Oh yeah - I also put the face on my teddy bear:

The evil Mountain Dew "game fuel" that almost made me vomit and incited really weird dreams can be seen in the background there.

I wish I didn't have to work today, I am in a knitting groove, and that's all I want to do. I want to make more dragon spikes!!

Mostly finished projects

2007-09-02T18:34:00.001-04:00

I actually did something!! I have been working on a wallet - I'm about halfway done, also been working on a wristband for Jesse - bout halfway done with the plan wristband - still brainstorming about the picture I'm going to try to duplicate stitch onto it...

Anyway - Dad's tie is all pinned and blocked out downstairs to keep cats off of it, but I still have to cut out the liner and sew it on.

Finished the Condom Critter from Naughty Needles completely. The legs are the drawstring to a pouch inside the critter and there's a pocket on the front.
100% DONE =)

Also stuffed & sewed up the pieces of the teddy bear from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby.

I bought some black felt for the nose and eyes, but the black hardly shows up on the deep brown color, so all I have left to do is to buy a smidge of a tan-colored felt and slap those on there. Less than 5 minutes of work left on it. So, I'm calling it complete.

Y A Y for doing the finishing bits. I suck at it.

Now I just need to vacuum.

Bizzee

2007-08-24T12:18:00.000-04:00

I want to update more often cause non-updated blogs are boring, but I'm busy dammit.

But I don't want to be busy hence I am procrastinating.

I should be getting a cellphone with a camera in it within the next week or so...that might cause me to take more pictures and make more updates. I am slack about carrying around my camera, and I like to make photo updates cause I drone on. Pictures are more interesting.

Anyway - on the needles:

- Debbie Bliss teddy bear: I am working on the second leg. After that - I only have an arm and an ear to go before I stuff it and stitch it up. I must admit, I'm getting a little bored with the brown color I'm working with, but the yarn itself is awesome. It's a bit boingy/stretchy and is very sooooooft. Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. It should be done quite soon.

- If I could get a free weekend, I have a couple projects I need to just polish off with finishing touches
--> condom critter needs to be stuffed, sewn shut and decorated with eyes
--> Dad's tie needs to be blocked and lined and ends pulled in

I have got to get started on some September birthday projects...I have two definites in mind that are not going to be very time consuming. I want to make Jesse a wristband which will knit up super quick - I just need to get a bit of extra yarn or embroidery thread to make a duplicate stitched Zelda. Need to figure out colors, print out patterns, make yarn/thread purchases.

I also think I might knit up something for my friend Dan's daughter, because she's almost one, they live like 20 minutes away, and I have never even met her!! It's been that long since I've been to see them. I am a sucky friend.

I was thinking of knitting up one of these Knitted Cuddlies - they're pretty cute.

After that, I would like to get back to work on Amelia's mermaid costume, but it's gotten REALLY BORING.

And Christmas is coming up super quick it seems.

What to do what to do?!?!?!?

I think I'm just stressed the hell out about everything.

Mostly the presentation I have to give tomorrow.

ugh
ugh
ugh
ugh
ugh

Is that the best you can do, Milwaukee?

2007-08-16T17:57:00.000-04:00

I am hopped up on way too much sugar right now. I have been eating for shit, and my skin is starting to look like I'm a 16 year old World of Warcraft playin' geek. Not cool. I never had bad skin as a teen - just lucky, I guess, and I'm not interested in catching up now.

So, I need to lay off the ding dongs and ho ho's. Ok - just kidding, I've never actually eaten either one of those things, but I did eat a couple of cookies and some carrot salad that was really sugary. And two giant iced teas, but they weren't sweetened.

I have been in the realm and subject to the whims of free food this week. Partially that sucked such as when the only lunch option I had on Monday was a big salad with pieces of bacon all over it that I had to pick off. Partially cool like when they had yummy pasta and tiramisu on Tuesday. Sucky again today when all they ordered was various incarnations of chicken dishes from Chick-Fil-A, so I get sugary lemonade and carrot salad. But I'm not gonna bitch about shit that's free.

I just caught a faculty member who shall remain unnamed stashing a bag full of beer into a nook in the kitchen. He totally knows I saw him and said "glad it was you who saw me and not someone else." He then proceeded to make fun of me for being short. Nice guy, actually. He's British and the accent alone makes me give him a lot of leeway, but he's also a total snarky smartass, and I love it.

Milwaukee's Best - I shit you not.

Apparently, they don't pay the faculty around here very well, eh?

....So, I'm dying to do some knitting. Can't knit at work though, cause all the bigwigs are here today, and my fricking wrists are killing me. I g uess I need to go ahead and make a damned appointment. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

**Things to finish this weekend:
- Block Dad's die and cut out lining
- Finish up critter
- Work on teddy bear
- Start a new project; preferably one with a time limit that's coming up.

Pictures of this stuff coming up this weekend!

Van Hagar Blows

2007-08-15T15:00:00.001-04:00

So, I don't feel like talking about knitting today. Maybe it's because my hands hurt.

I am listening to Pandora at work, because no one is here...why is there no way to distinguish between Van Hagar and Van Halen? Cause I want to "thumbs down" some Van Hagar, but I don't want it not to play Van Halen based on that. Eh - whatever.

Pandora knows the mood I am in which was crappy, but is now semi-decent. I got some work done whilst listening to Guns N' Roses, Skid Row, and L.A. Guns. Now I'm eating lunch and no longer in the mood to do any work although I am still here for four more hours.

I am trying to create a presentation called "Library Resources for Meaningful Assignments." The title alone pretty much makes me want to take a nap. And that is probably why I have not even gotten to the point of choosing colors for my slides.

I think working full time totally leads people to watching reality television. I have never understood the phenomena, but lately, when I come in from work, I feel like watching The Two Coreys or Rock of Love or some shit. WTF?? Corey Feldman is still kind of cute though, eh? Like when he's not talking too much, I mean. Someone shoot me.

Drop Stitch Scarf

2007-08-12T10:30:00.001-04:00

Drop stitch scarf from a kit I got in a grab bag a few weeks back. I posted a pic of the wound yarn.

Currently working on a teddy bear pattern from Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss and the condom critter pattern from Naughty Needles. Finished the body and lining and feet/drawstring, now I just need to stuff it and sew it up and add eyeballs. Batting was silly expensive at the store, so I might just use some polyfill I had in the closet.

I am in a cranky ass mood today for whatever reason, so ugh.

At work on Thursday, a student who appreciated my help gave me two free Braves tickets to be used at any game I choose. Pretty sweet.

Oh yeah - and I bought a business card holder for my new business cards from an Etsy shop. There's some really snazzy stuff on here, but, of course, I like mine the bestest.

Online shopping spree

2007-08-07T19:40:00.000-04:00

So I got my first full-time paycheck for the new job last week, and I have been online shopping like a freak....some in person shopping too.

Also been drooling over the handspuns at Ozark Handspun, but I don't really know what to make out of the stuff. I did buy some handspun the other day at Knitting Emporium, and I am making the "Condom Critter" from Naughty Needles with it. I've been having some issues reading the patterns in that book. I feel like I'm either being really dense or the patterns are kind of vague. Anyway, it's a pretty blue shade with purples and greens that my camera is sure to butcher. It is the Gaugin shade of Colinette Point Five yarn. Don't know if that gigantic link will work or not. http://www.colinette.com/ That'n will though.

In the ATL that's pronounced pernt5, y'all.

As in, PowerPernt Presentation.

Yeah, anyway - here's the butchered picture of my new yarn:

And that picture reminds me that I need to dust.

I also completely finished and shipped off the baby shrug. Here's the finished project:

That's a pen above it. Yes, I know - it's not just the camera's fault - I take sucky pictures, too.

So, I could bitch about how lame work was today and how the management meeting I attended was kind of depressing, but I don't want to relive it, and I'm tired. I have the day off tomorrow, but I have to get up at 6am to take my niece to school and then fret and worry all day about my nephew who is having surgery and then pick up my niece at 2:30 and take my older nephew to his 8th grade open house at 4pm. Busy day.

I hope to get some knitting in, though, to calm myself down...and maybe an episode of Days of Our Lives too. I haven't watched it in over a month, because I've been busy. I caught like 5 minutes of it yesterday when I went by Bill's to feed his cats and all I saw was Kate & Stefano making out.

W T F?!?!?!

Anyways...I leave you with Spooky looking surly on top of a drop stitch scarf that I finished last week. I should take a picture of it. I like the way it turned out, but it's itchy as an STD.

toodles.

Baby shrug

2007-07-30T10:59:00.000-04:00

So, I'm almost almost almost finished with the baby shrug. I have to just pick up a few stitches along the back and sleeves and then sew up the two seams and pull in the ends and presto bango, it will be done.

Been really busy with work lately. And the next couple of weeks are probably going to be mostly unproductive knitwise, cause I have so much other shit to do.

Today's my mom's birthday.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the birthday of the baby whose shrug I am making.

Here's a picture of the almost finished shrug. (As an aside - new job paycheck starts coming in this week, so maybe I can afford a decent camera, eh?)

I did a few rows of the Peaks n Valleys socks, but the DPNS are irritating the shit out of me, and I am nursing some major wrist pain lately, so I think I might try to make them my first pair of socks on circulars. The only thing that kinda blows about that is I have a circular needle kit, so I'll have to order some extras to be able to have two needles of the same size. Oh well. No biggie. Especially if I end up really doing well with the technique. A slew of birthdays just passed, and I didn't knit jack shit for anyone. I should be ashamed. Oh well - maybe I can gear up for the September birthdays on a niece and nephew that are coming up...I have ideas for both of them. I am thinking of either some ankle socks or a Zelda wristband for Jesse. Bill put together a color chart for Zelda, and I think I would just duplicate stitch it onto there.

Also, Bill made me a washcloth/stuff sack that he created the pattern and everything for. Here it is in "stuff sack" mode:

Finished stuff n' goings on

2007-07-16T18:03:00.000-04:00

So, every time I post pictures in here, I am reminded of exactly how much my camera sucks. So, I think I am seriously going to buy myself a digital SLR after I pay off my student loan and stuff. Since I do not yet have a snazzy camera, please pardon the shittiness/blurriness of these photos. Things are this blurry even when I have *just* put in new batteries.

Went to the Stitch n' Pitch yesterday (Braves v. Pirates) at Turner Field in Atlanta. We didn't really talk to anyone, and I didn't recognize one single person, but there were some AWESOME, inspirational projects being worked on by the zillions of knitters there. My mom was one of the only crocheters. We got a bag full of stuff including some gigantic wooden needles. And I decided that I need to start on some socks STAT. But I have also decided that I hate the bamboo DPNS that I have, so I ordered some metal ones and am waiting (impatiently) for their arrival. In the photos, you will see the yarn and pattern I plan on working with. The yarn came in a grab bag at the big Knitch sale a couple weekends ago. I got 5 skeins of this stretchy fingering weight yarn along with a drop stitch scarf kit with some funky pink/green yarn (also in the pics). All of that for ten bucks! I am planning on making the "Peaks n' Valleys" pattern from Knit Socks! I was wanting to wait on my second pair of socks until I figured out the circular needle method, but I just wanna knit socks now, and I'm not feeling sufficiently smart enough to master a new skill right at this particular moment. Plus, I'm kinda waiting on this new book to come out that specifically talks about the circular needles and making 2 socks at once. I know there are tons of books out there on this subject already, but my brain likes to make up excuses. Anyway - it's not like I'm a badass at the DPNS, so it can't hurt to hone the skillz.

So, here's some pictures of the purse I'm carrying now and the sushi wallet in which I carry my iPod and cell phone.

Looking forward to the knit group next Sunday. Maybe it will inspire me to get some more work done on the baby shrug I'm making (pictured below). It looks like a drab ass color, but it's a pale lavender - not quite as lame as it looks in these washed out, blurry photos. It's my way of testing the waters for an adult-sized sweater.

Carrying around the goods

2007-07-02T20:22:00.000-04:00

So, I am actually keeping something that I knitted. And I think I'm going to get hooked now. Since I started knitting, I have been in this mood for making stuff for other people, and I always find cool patterns for myself, but I don't make them. So, anyway - I made a purse (it's actually a purse I made in like February and posted pictures of in here, but I never sewed on the handles and stuff) that I had intended as a stash back for a future Christmas or Birthday gift, but I REALLY like the way it turned out and so....I'm carrying it with me today. Also, my other purse was starting to fall apart some. I also decided to keep the felted wallet I just made.

I don't have pictures, but I'm hoping to post some this week. I think I'm going to buy myself a snazzy camera for Christmas.

I have cool stuff to show off today. And it's my first day on my new job which means I am - as of today - a librarian. Of course, I've been working in libraries for like 5+ years, but always in a parapro type of position. So, I thought it was a suitable day to bring in my snazzy jazzy new purse and wallet.

Still working on my dad's tie, but definitely making progress. I have put the mermaid outfit and bad linen hand towel on temporary hold cause I'm not feeling it. I want to make some socks. I think my next project will be a baby sweater though. OK enough of this boring no pictures post.

Finishing and starting and ideas

2007-06-26T19:46:00.000-04:00

So, I finished up 3 washcloths now - 2 ballband ones and 1 Mason-Dixon one. I will take some pictures at some point and post them. They are all done with Sugar N' Cream cotton. I also bought some chenille to make a couple more of the Mason-Dixon washcloths. I think those will look neat - one is a variegated blue/green and the other is variegated pink/green. Speaking of pink/green, I am finally to the point of putting on the handles and button of the purse I made in December or January(I know - I suck).

I finished a wallet and felted it - just need to put in the zipper and sew on the decorative pieces. It's gonna be badass. I made it from this kit in the red version. I think I made it in like 2 days. It's the first kit I've ever bought. It just looks so neat, and I got it on sale 50% off.

I also started a tie for my dad. I originally saw it on the Knitpicks site as a Father's Day suggestion, but I'm not one for time limits on my knitting, so it will end up being a whenever I get finished you'll get it type of project. I decided to go ahead and use the silk/wool blend they suggested on Knitpicks, and I chose to use burgundy, black, and a smoky blue for the colors. It is being knit on size 1 needles which are the smallest ones I have used as of yet.

Bill finished the socks he was making for me. They are worsted weight camouflage yarn made with a pattern from a magazine that I can't remember the name of right now. They are snazzy wazz and are gonna keep my toes nice and toasty this winter. So, since I haven't taken pictures of the projects I'm working on, here some pictures of my new socks and of Spooky and Frannie being cute.

Spooky with the yarn and pattern for my Dad's tie:

Spooky snoozing on Bill's dishcloth yarn:

Spooks in the shadow of Bill knitting on his dishcloth:

Bill's socks knitted for me modeled on my feet =)

Frannie lounging on top of Bill's knitting bag:

Bill showing off his first pair of finished socks! (Sorry I cut off part of his head - that's one photo flub that's not the camera's fault):

Projects!

2007-06-13T20:04:00.000-04:00

I am on the rag....the warshrag!

Yes, that was terrible, but I stand by it.

I have been making warshrags, ladies and gentlemen (or crickets and dust to be more exact about who reads this thing). I finished two and got Bill into making (A REALLY SNAZZY) one which I hope will be for me :)

OK - so, I think my cheapness on yarn has finally bitten me in the ass. I am trying to make the moss grid hand towel from Mason-Dixon Knitting, and the linen I am using was (relatively) CHEEP CHEEP at the LYS. After looking at linen at another LYS and almost dying from sticker shock, I bought the cheap stuff. So, now I think I'm paying for the money I saved with the lameass way my hand towel is looking. Everything looks so loosey goosey, but I still really like the color.

I spent the past 30 minutes drooling over the Louet Euroflax linen that the pattern actually calls for and what I imagine to be much snazzier than the stuff I ended up buying. But, hey - I'm not going to pass judgement totally until I (hopefully) finish this thing and wash it. Until then I will (probably not) not bitching about it.

In other projects, I finished 2 of the ever-so-popular ball band washclothes using Sugar and Cream. I bought a bunch more, and I'm also making the Mason Dixon Washcloth out of some variegated. I love the way the sugar and cream looks, but I love even more all the varieties of colors available from peaches n' creme. But I can not find any stores here that sell it, so oh well.

Still working on the tail section of Amelia's mermaid outfit. And um...I think that's about it. I bought some yarn from Knit Picks to make my dad a tie. Obviously, this tie will not be done for Father's Day. I sent him a card, and I'm going for Christmas for the finish date...

I have been drooling maniacally over a tank toppy thing on Knit Picks. I put the yarn in my cart like 12 times, but I can't bring myself to buy it because a) I have loads of unfinished projects that I need to finished and b) I don't want to pay $16 for the pattern. Soooo...after exhaustive searching in all the local library systems, I finally just put in an InterLibrary Loan request for the book through work. Awesome use of work perks, I think. So, if it looks like something I can actually do, I might order the yarn or go get some from a yarn store here. I'm looking forward to actually being able to afford some of the shit at Knitch in the future.

Totally unrelated - going to the Stitch N' Pitch in July.

Yee haw.

That's a much too long post without pictures, eh?

In Progress Projects

2007-05-30T18:34:00.000-04:00

My wrists hurt like a monkey, so I'm trying not to knit for a little while. Of course, typing on the computer doesn't really do wonders for my wrists either, but hey - whatevs. I'll type this out and then try to do some reading. Gotta catch up on my Rue Morgue magazines so I can reinstate my subscription here pretty soon. Man, I smell fresh coffee, and it smells awesome, but it is way too late for me to be drinking coffee.

OK - enough of that. So, I'm still working on the mermaid costume from New Knits on the Block. I finished the tank top part of it. Bill is making my i-cord straps, and after that I just need to sew them on and sew up the side seam. I HATE SEWING UP SEAMS AND WEAVING IN ENDS. I have like five 99% completed projects in the closet just waiting on the final touches, and I can't bring myself to do it. I think I'm going to have to enlist Bill again, because he's nice that that, and he doesn't loathe it as much as I do.

So, here is a shot of the tank top thing. I hope it is big enough. If not, I will cry for a long time.

There also was a glimpse of the tail fin seen a little bit better here (I am SO trying not to bitch about my camera right now):

I have also been working on a warshrag from Mason Dixon Knitting. It is made with a variegated and plain color of Sugar and Cream. I'm not really digging on the color effect, and I think next time I will go for the more contrasting colors. Bit it still looks kind of neat (even though this picture SUCKS CAUSE OF MY SUCKY CAMERA).

And lastly...when getting ready for work, I am often heard to say, "Which frigging one of you rubbed fur all over my damn shoes?!?!?!"

And the culprit is caught in action:

Need a new camera

2007-05-16T11:41:00.000-04:00

So, howdy. My camera still sucks. What I would give to have the one I lost in Mississippi again :(

Anyway - here are some shitty, blurry pictures of my first completed pair of socks and the beginnings of Amelia's mermaid outfit from New Knits on the Block. I am using blue Lion Brand Incredible ribbon yarn. This part of the mermaid outfit is a tank top. I am almost finished with it, and then I will begin on the skirt/tail portion...

The scale look is accomplished by slipping several stitches every other row with the yarn in front, so there are several loose pieces of yarn that you pick up and work as one stitch several rows later. This pulls all of those loose pieces together to make a little butterfly-looking thing. Done in a staggered fashion, it makes the scaley looking stuff.

Hi World

2007-05-03T12:38:00.000-04:00

Hiya - I am still alive, and I finished a pair of socks! I need to take a picture of the completed pair. I used self-striping yarn, and I didn't make an effort to make the stripes match, but who cares. I think they look snazzy anyway.

And I started on the mermaid outfit from "New Knits on the Block." The yarn that the pattern calls for is obsolete, so I have been on the prowl for some comparable ribbon-type yarn. I've actually been looking for yarn for this project for like 4 months, and I finally found some last Sunday. It's Lion Brand Incredible yarn. I've been looking on eBay for weeks for some cheapies, and the cheapest I've found has been $5 a skein, and I need 10 skeins!! So, anyway, I went to a Michaels in Acworth last week, and I found 10 skeins of blue shades. I wanted green, but the blues look mighty nifty. The pattern is funky with a lot of slipped stitches with the yarn in front which leaves all kinds of lame strings of yarn hanging about. But, I think what's going to happen is I will knit several rows like that and then pull all of the hanging pieces together to make a puckered look. When done again and again, it ends up making a snazzy scaly looking mermaid pattern. I wish I had a picture to post of what the finished project looks like. Anyway - it will take me a while, but every row is different, so I won't get bored. Boredom is my anti-knitting.

Whoops

2007-04-09T10:22:00.000-04:00

So, I was going to make sure I posted in here at least once a week, but I slackened. And it's because I have nothing to report.
I have done no knitting and not even any reading in several days. I have become a sloth. A brainless, disinterested sloth.

That is me.

Slowaitus

2007-03-31T07:34:00.000-04:00

So, I'm not taking a hiatus, and it's certainly not on purpose...but I'm so shoved up a book's ass for the last couple of weeks, that I've gotten like 10 rows of knitting done - period.

And I've read 5 books.

And had a mini-mental breakdown.

But I just wanted to make sure this blog doesn't totally languish in the meantime.

I so wish I could knit and read and listen to NPR simultaneously. That would be the shizzle, I'm telling you.

So, anyway, no new pictures until I can pull my head out of my ass and get some knitting done.

Gatherings

2007-03-26T10:59:00.000-04:00

So, yesterday's get together went pretty well, I think. I ended up knowing two people there. Along with the woman who started the group, I was the most advanced knitter there. It was kind of neat. I taught someone to long-tail cast on and to purl. They also inflated my ego about my sock :)

No one else had conquered the double pointed needles. Not everyone read the (neat) book, and the ones who read it didn't necessarily like it. Bummer. I thought it was awesome. For our next group, we are reading "Twilight" which is apparently about vampires. In high school, I was all about the vampire novels, but I haven't read one in like 10+ years, so we shall see. That damn book is checked out at every library, though...wonder if I shouldn't just go ahead and buy it.

Anyway - I worked on my rasta purse yesterday for the first time in like 2 months. It was a mindless knitting in the round project to bring along so I didn't screw up my socks, but I worked on the socks a little too. Every single other person at the table was making "scarves." Or, rather, they were pretty much just knitting to knit - garter stitch only. I felt like a rockstar (kind of - ok not really).

Anyway - enough of that. I have a vampire book to find, a sock to knit, some NPR stories to listen to, some leaves to drop off at the composting facility, and some pollen to inhale.

I started something I can't finish

2007-03-25T14:13:00.001-04:00

Well - not really. I actually started something that I really did finish, but that's not the name of a Smiths song.

So I finished my sock, and I went ahead and cast on the second one, but I'm sure it will take me longer to finish the second one than it did the first. And I've got tons more sock yarn I need to burn through, but y'see...I've been reading all these snazzy young adult fiction books lately that have been heavily cutting into knitting time.

I'm going to meet up with some fellow knitters today to well....knit. And also to discuss a book. So, hopefully I won't make a big goober out of myself. I'm not much of a socialite.

OK, so now for pictures which include: finished sock, Where's Waldo??, Spooky is fat and snazzy, and purse that currently looks like a badass rasta hat (made with Moda Dea Cache which I snagged fo' cheap on eBay as usual)...

I so need to stop being lazy and get a decent layout going, but not feeling it today.

Some Stuff I've Been Working On

2007-03-19T12:17:00.001-04:00

For some reason my camera is making everything blurry. My camera kind of blows is probably why. Anyway, I have been working on a sock made from Moda Dea Sassy Stripes. I'm almost done with the first sock. I also finished up a hat and booties. So, here are the blurry pictures.

OK - no pictures

2007-03-12T16:32:00.001-04:00

So, I didn't get to the point of taking any pictures this weekend, so I kind of suck. I am working on a new project, though - some socks made with Moda Dea Sassy Stripes. I'm still on the cuff of the first sock, but the self striping stuff is pretty jamming. So, of course, I had to go buy like 10 other skeins of it on eBay. So, I'm pretty stoked about actually making a pair of socks. I really will try to do some pictures soon. Also still need to finish my brownish felted purse. I kind of threw that in the "not interested" pile momentarily...

Finishing and starting

2007-03-07T15:28:00.001-05:00

I finished knitting the hat and booties I was working on. I'll post pics this weekend. I'm going to see if I can get B. to work in the ends for me, because I hate doing it, and he likes it. There are like 4,000 ends that need to be worked into the hat, and I had SO many mistakes that I had to go back and fix....and a couple that I can't fix, but they're not very obvious. I pulled out so many damn rows and dropped so many stitches that I had to go back and pick up. I used Lion Brand Micro Spun which feels awesome on the finished product, but it's slippery as hell, and it was also my first time using aluminum dpns. Probably not a good combo. My stitches were slippin' off the backs of the needles like crazy. So, now I'm working on my first pair of real socks. I'm using a pattern I got off the 'net and I'm actually also using the yarn called for in the pattern...course I bought the yarn first and then found out that there is, coincidentally, a pattern to go along.

I also need to chill on the online yarn buying. I have been buying all kinds of yarn online, and I need to CHILL, because I still have a stash of all kinds of crap in the closet that I don't know what to do with it. Need to come up with some projects for the stash yarn before I add any more to the stash, right?

Pictures to come this weekend.

Finishing up

2007-03-02T14:28:00.001-05:00

I suck at finishing projects. I do the whole entire thing - all the knitting, and then I let everything lie around for weeks with strings hanging off, because I loathe pulling in the ends. And it takes like 5 minutes to do it. And the blue purse I've been working on has bored the hell out of me. I need to finish ONE STRAP. That's it. And it's like 75% finished, but thinking about finishing it bores me to tears. So, instead I've been making baby booties and a hat. The booties look awesome (of course, they have strings hanging off of them everywhere), but I'm not super happy with the hat at the moment. And I ordered more yarn from Joann.

Need to figure out a better way to change colors in the round, because I'm creating a ladder from the loose joins. Ugh.

I'll post some pictures this weekend when I'm done with the hat.

DPNS vex me

2007-02-26T11:46:00.001-05:00

I am working on what I hope will be a cute project on the double points, but I have already pulled the whole thing out once, and I'm doubting myself at the current moment. It is my first real attempt at socks, but I already learned how to work from a stitch holder, pick up stitches, and turn the work and leave some stitches unworked, so I should be well on my way, yes?

The only thing that confused the hell out of me was when the pattern told me to change the spot where the round began. So, I just fuzzled my way through it, and I think I'm doing ok.

Pictures (maybe) to come later in the week if I can keep from screwing up.

Also - if I finish this project Imma begin a hat - haven't done one of those yet either.

V-Day Gift

2007-02-24T22:23:00.001-05:00

So, here's my V-Day gift. I used cheaper yarn than the pattern called for, so you can see some stuffing showing through, but it was hard as poop, and I learned a lot of new techniques (increasing, decreasing, dpns, leaving stitches on a holder and coming back to them later - think that's it). So, here it is from both sides. It's from the Winter 06/07 issue of Knit.1 ("The Love Issue").

Still working on purses. Felted two and working on another. I guess I will post pictures of the felted ones next week although I am not sure if I'm 100% happy with the results.

Commiserating

2007-02-21T19:02:00.000-05:00

Found my camera, but I won't have it back till this weekend. So, by then, my two felted purses should be dried out and I can take pictures of them and the heart. Whoopee!

As I was sitting here at my desk at work knitting on (yet another) purse, a woman came in and got really excited about the yarn and pattern I was using, and I ended up getting her email to send her a pattern and a link to a couple of places on ebay where I've been trolling and buying expensive cum cheap yarn.

It's neat to have a little knit chat with someone, because most of the people I know have no interest in it whatsoever. And all the knitting groups around here meet in the evenings during the week which is exactly when I work :(

V-Day

2007-02-21T09:38:00.000-05:00

So, the thingy I made for V-Day was an anatomically correct heart I snagged from a Knit.1 magazine pattern. But, over the weekend, I seem to have misplaced my camera. So, I will be posting pictures of it as soon as I can remember where the hell I stashed it.
I also felted the stripey purse, and it came out pretty well. I didn't make it as small as the pattern called for, because I thought it would look retarded to have this purse with these huge long straps and a tiny ass little purse on the end that your wallet would barely fit into.
Also finished all details on the green/pink/metallic purse except for felting it. Might do that today if I feel so inclined. Now I need to figure out what my next project will be, cause I'm not feeling like doing the straps on the blue purse, and I know I won't be making much progress on the camo pants.
My mom made me a camo hat. Will post pics when aforementioned camera situation is figured out.

Here's a list of things I want to work on, but I really want to find a kickass pattern that I want to make for myself (aside from the witches britches, cause I want something that will knit up faster and give me quicker gratification):

- mermaid outfit for my niece (out of New Knits on the Block book)
- wristbands for B. & my nephew (by request)
- bikini for my sister (also by request - still looking for the perfect pattern. She wants a red, white & blue bikini - anyone have any ideas of where I can find a pattern? Let me know please.
- mittens for niece (by request - I might try to start on these soon although it's getting warmer cause her b-day is in April)
- Kind of want to make a toy for littlest nephew - need to find a pattern
- witches britches for me
- 5 more purses (know of any cool patterns? Let me know - I'm on the lookout)

My mom is the coolest

2007-02-15T18:48:00.000-05:00

She works at an elementary school and got many of the teachers and some of the kids to knit/crochet hats and scarves for kids at the AFLAC Children's Cancer Center. We are, unfortunately, quite friendly and well-acquainted with the people at the Cancer Center. Anyway - here's a picture. Mom's in red. And she crocheted the neat white hat with flowers that the other lady is holding.

Techniques

2007-02-15T16:10:00.000-05:00

So, there are a lot of techniques out there that I want to learn and some that I have no intention of trying to do anytime soon, because I envision the frustration, and I'm not feeling it.

I have learned quite a few new things (well, all new things since I just started knitting in October). I am proud of figuring out double points. I'm not perfect at them, but I figured out how to do increases and decreases on them. The hardest part was when I had to leave some stitches on a stitch holder and then come back to them later. I still don't understand which yarn I'm supposed to be using when I'm going back to those stitches later. I kind of just improvised and started out with a new piece (which made the first couple of rounds loose, but I jimmy rigged it later). At one point, I went back to some stitches on the holder and started knitting them and realized like 10 rows up that I was knitting inside out. That was interesting. This is the point where I mastered another technique - unraveling and starting again.

I really like working on circular needles, and I wish I could make socks on circular needles (cause I really want to make some jamming socks and legwarmers), but I think they will need to be done on the double points. If you don't know what any of this crap is that I'm talking about, and you have any interest in knowing more - here are some videos.
The circular needles are easy peezy once you get past that first round of tight stitches.

I woke up around 6am this morning for no reason, and I have been terminally bored since. So, I started two new projects. One is a change purse for my sister, Lisa, to match the makeup bag I made her for XMas. Nextly is another purse (I'm making lots of purses, yes?) made out of the same type of yarn that the green-y metallic-y one is made out of that I posted about earlier. The yarn is called Moda Dea Cache', and I bought a bunch of it for super cheap on eBay. The person who shipped it to me tried to make it smell nice with a dryer sheet, and they do smell nice, but I am allergic to dryer sheets. So, the whole time I'm knitting with this stuff, I'm sneezing and my nose is running. Anyway - that's all beside the point.

This pattern will allow me to learn a new technique - picking up stitches. I watched a video on how to do it earlier, and I think I've got it covered.

So, this is how this one is supposed to look when I'm done (although I'm using a different color yarn)...

The one that I posted a not yet finished picture of the other day is supposed to look like this (the one with the curly handles, not the long tube)...

So yeah. I wanna make something cool for myself. I'm itching to actually make something and then use it instead of giving it away or stashing it in the closet to give away at a later date. Pictures of B. with his v-day gift forthcoming. Aren't you excited?

And - to end, I will direct you to another knitter's blog that I have been eyeballing. Her socks are amazing and kickass.

http://knitpowerstopeace.blogspot.com/

I don't remember how I happened upon it, but I am loving all those socks.

Anyone who knows me also knows that I have a bit of a thing for socks that started when I was a kid. When I'm able to make my own pair of socks, you ain't gonna be able to tell me nothin' (that's Alabama talk for "I will think I'm the shizzle nazz").

The end.

Current Projects

2007-02-14T12:08:00.001-05:00

I know there's probably some rule out there that you're not supposed to show anyone your unfinished projects, but I could give a crap. I'm new at this stuff.

So, anyway - first off...here's a finished project that I didn't do. My mom crocheted me a pillow for Valentine's Day (and bought me a box of organic chocolates and some pjs).

Nextly, I'm totally finished with the knitting and stitching together of this bag, I just haven't gotten up the nerve to felt it yet.

I am finished with the knitting on this one as well, but I still need to stitch in the straps, sew up the bottom and I am going to felt this one as well. I really like the colors, and I think I might keep this one. If so, it will be the first thing I've made for myself.

Lastly, I am slowly finishing the purse straps for this one and then I need to stitch up the sides of the bag and it will have a little flap at the top.

I am also making some camo pants, but they are soooooo slowly coming along, that they don't quite warrant a picture yet. Next up - a cabled purse and I don't know what else.

Also, after v-day, I can post pictures of the thingy I made as a gift.