I Meant To...

I meant to take pictures of my current knitting today. I really did. The day went by too quickly once again, though, and now the light outside is too crappy to take photos. I will do it soon. Currently I am working on a scarf for my sister which is really cool and very interesting in its construction, as well as another scarf for myself in a beautiful yarn that I absolutely LOVE. I don't think I am working on anything else currently. Of course there are a pile of WIP's that I feel really guilty about. I should really be working on those. Also, trying to figure out what I want to do for the upcoming Ravelympics (basically knitting olympics, for those non-fibery people out there, or non-Ravelry users.) Also, trying to work up the motivation to drastically change my eating habits. I am heavier than I ahve ever been, and I hate it. A few counseling sessions with the school psychologist last term at school also brought to the surface that there is a good possibility that I have an overeating type of eating disorder. Unfortunately, I can't really afford long-term therapy, so this is something I need to try to figure out on my own. Either way, I need to change how I eat. Same with the boyfriend- he is diabetic, and it is getting worse. So, tough changes need to be made. For now, though, I will continue to enjoy the fresh baked banana bread I made yesterday and try to ignore the fact that I am fat. Blegh. Have a bunch of reading and a paper to write tonight after The Monsterette goes to bed. Going to have to do some catching up on homework this week. Just writing that I can feel the stress sinking in. Not really looking forward to the late night tonight, followed by an early morning and yet another Monday. Friday is disbursement day for financial aid as well as the day I am supposed to get my tax return, so things to look forward to, at least!

Mosaic Bag

I made this over the summer. It's a little bag for stuff. I use it all the time, actually. I really love the organicness that is created with the combination of the tweed yarn and the pattern: The pattern is from the book 1000 Knitting Motifs, which a really excellent book if you find yourself wanting to add some colorwork to a project, but not sure what. I've used it a few times, and will definitely use it again. I love that it is spiral bound so it lays flat, and that the motifs are organized by origin. some close-up pictures: The cord is just a braid made from the blue yarn. The yarn is Plymouth Tweed, which is my favorite tweed because the tweedy bits match the color of the yarn. I love that! I'm really happy with the way this bag came out.

Knitting!

I know I've been promising some knitting content, and I finally got around to taking some pictures today! Woohoo! Today I'm going to share a hat I made sometime last year, I'm pretty sure in the fall: The pattern is called Opus Spicatum, and it was a lot of fun to knit: The yarn I used was either Paton's Classic Merino or Lion's Wool. It might even be both, but I'm really not sure. The pattern was a simple fair isle knit, and went pretty quickly. I absolutely love the cast-on in the second color: This hat is so, so cozy. There are definitely more colorwork hats in my future. Probably somewhere down the road, I'll make another one of these! I also want to make matching mittens and a matching scarf. The herringbone pattern is so simple, but looks so great! I really love this hat. Do you have a favorite hat pattern?

Socks!

A few days ago, I finally finished my Desert Jaywalkers! WOO! They came out great, and fit like a dream. See for yourself: I love these socks. They're super comfy and cozy and soft. LOVE! The pattern was really great, and I am beyond stoked that they fit so well. Awesomeness all around! Once I finished those, I wasted no time getting started on another pair of socks. (Is this one of the signs of sock addiction? I didn't even CONSIDER any other project.) I decided to copy Sara, for once, and started a pair of the RPM socks in some Panda Wool (Her's were actually Panda Cotton, but whatevs). (I'd link to her project, but um, Sara? I cannot for the life of me figure out how to pull up an individual post from your blog. It hates me.) Anyways, I'll quit with the ellipses now (maybe) and get on with a photo: This pattern is ridiculously simple. I think these socks are going to be great, too! Yaay for socks! Okay, on a crappy note- something weird is going on with my elbow, and knitting seems to be aggravating it. so, I'm trying really, really hard to not knit for a couple of days. I don't think I'm going to last the rest of the afternoon...

Doin' Stuff

Gah. Still insanely busy. Enjoying it, though! Here's a little bit of what I've been up to, at least today: Knitting! I do still knit! I started the second jaywalker (one of my goals, ya know!), and that's going along well enough. I definitely haven't been knitting as much as I'd like to. Hopefully after this upcoming SCA event, that'll change a bit- I should have more time to knit. Speaking of SCA, I have my chemise done, which I'll be wearing under my dress, and then a corded bodice, which will go over that. The corded bodice is kind of like a corset, but not so stuffy and hard to wear. The one I made is functional, but not perfect- If I have time, I might do it over. I also drafted the pattern for the bodice of my dress today- yaay! It took forever, but now I should ahve a decent idea of how to make a bodice. I'll be doing a little test bodice tonight with some leftover muslin, and then on to my dress! Woo! On that note, I should be doing a formal dress diary post soonish. Hmmm, what else have I been doing....oh! SANDING! I'm actually getting close to finishing the sanding on the coffee table. Hopefully soon I'll be able prime it and paint it, and we'll be able to use it again. That'll be nice, since the coffee table does double duty as our dining room table. our actual dining room table is my sewing table, and when I'm not sewing, it holds crap. We don't have any chairs for it, though, hence why we don't ever use it for eating at. I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but I've also been running a gaming session for the Hubbster and Erin on Saturday nights. A lot of me little bits of free time go into planning for that. It's been a lot of fun, though, and I ahve a TON of stuff to do before this Saturday! I'm going to try to be nice, since I almost killed them last weekend. MWAHAHAHAHA. I think I'm going to arse around on the computer for a bit. (That's for you, Katie!)

'Poo Free, Day 7

No 'poo update time! I washed my hair on Sunday, and used 1/2 a teaspoon less baking soda, to see if it helped with the greasiness. It didn't. I think (HOPE) that my hair is going through and adjustment phase, because it's kind of gross. Not horrible, but not super pleasant. I'll be washing again on Friday, and we'll see how it goes after that. All in all, though, I'm happy with my decision to go 'poo free so far, and I hope it works out. I think it will. Since going 'poo free, I'd like to start going natural with my soap and toothpaste, as well. Thanks everyone who gave recommendations for this stuff! I've been looking into things, and I'll see how that goes, too. In knitting news, I FINALLY cast on for my second Jaywalker sock last night at Stitch n' Bitch. Yaay! I haven't been knitting as much because of the sewing, but I'm still doing it here and there. OH! If I'm going to switch to all-natural soap soon, I'd like to make some "soap socks", since it's typically in bars. Know of any cute patterns out there? What yarn would YOU use? I look forward to your suggestions again. You guys really do rock!

What's Knitting (And Crocheting!)

Contrary to the recent activity on this blog, it is still about the crafting! I have been knitting, but not as much, since I have this huge sewing project going on. (FYI: I don't think I'm going to do a separate dress diary, but just put posts for it in their own category, and make you guys deal with it.) Conducive to my summer knitting goals, I've been working on some projects that have been sitting waaay too long. First off was finishing this amigurumi: I've had the bits and bobs for this one all done for a while, just needed to finish stuffing and sewing her together. Cute, huh? I originally had planned to send her off to someone, but Monsterette took an instant liking to her, and has claimed her as her own. (No kidding, I had to wait until she was asleep and sneak it out of the bed to take pictures.) The yarn is Caron Simply Soft in lavender. I suppose if you really want the pattern info and are too lazy to go look at my Ravelry projects page for it (or don't have Ravelry), I'll give it to you. Next up is one of three or four preemie hats I crocheted, all which just needed the ends woven in: They're all identical, so I only took pictures of one. Kind of cute, though! And they're itty bitty! It's hard to imagine there are wee little babies born with heads that small. I should've put a quarter or something in the picture for reference, but I didn't. You'll just have to imagine. They do fit inside the palm of my hand, though. Last, but definitely not least, is my new favorite project. I'm stunned by it every time I pick it up, and I know it's going to be gorgeous when all is said and done: This is the Celtic Cable Neckwarmer pattern, and it ROCKS. The little cables are actually kind of fun, and I love how it is turning out. I actually started this the first time at one of my Tuesday night Stitch n' Bitch meetings, but had to rip it out, due to cable-reversing wonkiness. (Ah, what we lefty knitters have to do to make cables look right!) At any rate, it's a nice, challenging knit that I'm enjoying. Now, because I can, a few close-ups to say goodbye:

Summer Knitting Goals

I don't know about you, but summer in New Mexico doesn't really scream "knitting!" at me. Sure ,I could quit knitting for the entire summer, or make nothing but little cotton dishcloths. That's kind of silly, though. So, since I know I'm going to keep knitting (although maybe not as much), I decided to set some summer knitting goals, and get a chance to win a great prize in the process! My Summer Knitting Goals 1. Finish the Jaywalkers. 2. Crank out the UFO's, especially the ones that have been languishing for quite some time. 3. Knit only from the stash, unless it's for a gift and I do not have yarn that could be used. 4. Start Christmas knitting! 5. Finish at least one more pair of socks. 6. Try colorwork. 7. Knit Hubbster's dream dice bag. 8. At least 4 charity projects, and at least one being a blanket. 9. Knit something for the Monsterette. 10. Knit something with my handspun (note: spin enough yarn to knit something with.) There! I think that is a totally doable, but not too lame, list of goals. Don't you? If you want to do this too, go ahead! you can sign up for the contest here.

Finally!

I'm sure you all have been waiting on bated breath for a Jaywalker progress picture, so without further ado, here it is: I've just completed the gusset decreases. Woo! It's coming along nicely, don't you think? I still love the colors, they definitely remind me of New Mexico. So, here I am, about to start the foot, and I'm having a dilemma. I'm not really sure how long the foot should be. Last time I knit socks, I misjudged this horribly. So, fellow sock knitters, How do you get your magic number for foot length? Where do you measure from on the sock? Where do you measure from on your foot? What the HELL am I supposed to do?! Ahem. Sorry. Side note: Thanks to those of you that left me well wishes when I wasn't feeling well! I feel all better now, and I can only believe that you guys sending good juju my way is what did it. Thanks friends!

Blegh.

I totally feel like crap today. On top of that, when I went to go to the store, the car was dead. Double crap. So, yeah. I've spent most of the day lounging around and napping, and working on my sock. I realized when I finished the cuff (where I had planned to stop, and start the second one) that I should have wound the bell into two separate balls first. Uh, duh. So, I'm just cranking away on sock number one. Otherwise it would've meant breaking yarn and mismatched stripes and all that crap. This pattern isn't so bad, though, and hopefully I'll be able to avoid the Second Sock Syndrome. Jeez, I hope it fits. Tomorrow I'll try to take some progress pictures for you guys! I feel kind of bad blogging about knitting with no pictures! Off to go lounge and knit some more. See ya tomorrow, of course.

Jaywalking

Well, hopefully the third time is a charm. This is my third attempt to successfully knit socks. It's not the technique of knitting them that's an issue- it's the sizing. This time, though, I think I'm on track. I swatched for gauge, and my gauge is much tighter than what is recommended for the pattern. However, If I knit the size up from my size, it should work out perfectly! I did put the sock on some waste yarn last night to try it on, and it fits perfectly so far. We'll see how it goes, but I sure am hoping it works well, because I have too much sock yarn to not knit socks with. Here's a progress picture: The yarn is some Austerman Step, which has been really nice to knit with. It's really soft! I love the colors- they remind me of New Mexico, with the desert and the bright blue skies. It's kind of fun to see a new color after the long color repeats, too. Keep your fingers crossed for me guys!

(Insert Witty Title)

Not really sure, once again, what to blog about today. The computer and Blogger and kind of pissing me off right now, so this should be short and sweet. I should have taken pictures earlier when the light was good, to show you my nearly-complete Campfire Scarf- all the knitting is done, just need to weave in ends and find some buttons! Luckily, I have quite a few months before it'll be cold enough to wear it. In other crafty news, I've been crocheting quite a bit, too. Kind of hush-hush stuff, so that's all I'm going to say right now. I started a sock last night, too! I decided to go with the Jaywalkers, since it seems to be a good starter pattern, and it has sizes, and one of them is mine! Woo! There's a wee bit of craziness with it, but that's a story for another day. Alright, I'm sick of sitting here already. See you tomorrow!

Ummm...

I don't really know what to blog about today. I suppose I could mention that my downstream swap pal for FCS3 got her package, and wrote a great, heartfelt post about it. Or, I could blog about these cool needle felted sculptures that Erin found and shared with me... Oh! Maybe I could blog about the fact I've finally gotten motivated to pick up the needles again, and did a few rows on the Campfire Neckwarmer. Nah... Maybe I'll come up with something good for tomorrow.

Wee Tiny Socks

As you all know, I participated in the Wee Tiny Sock Swap, and got a lovely spring Christmas surprise. Sadly, I had horribly failed to take pictures of the socks I sent out. Yes, socks, plural! my test sock, knit out of Cherry Tree Hill Super Sock, was so perfect for J.P., I had to send it to him. Here's the picture I snagged from him: By the looks of it, the card and everything barely made it there! I'm glad he got it okay, though. If you want to read about it from his end, here's his blog post about it. The second sock I made was for my pal in the swap. I knit it out of the hand dyed sock yarn I received in the Dye-O-Rama swap. Here's the picture I borrowed from her: Cute, huh? Here's her blog post about my sock, and tons of others. I really loved making the wee tiny socks. They're totally fun! I kind of miss this little guys. I know they're happy in their new homes, though. So I guess it's okay. See you all tomorrow, as always.

Yarn Meme

Casey, Ravelry's code monkey, recently posted a Current Top 100 Yarns, by both projects and stash. The meme goes like this: Out of the top 50 yarns on Ravelry (by number of projects): Bold the ones you’ve used and would use again, Cross out the ones you’ve used and would not use again, and italicize the ones you’ve never tried, but would like to. Add comments as desired, and then pass the meme along to 5 knitters/crocheters. Link back to this post and the person who tagged you. Here goes: Top 50 yarns (ranked by # of projects) 1, Cascade 220 Wool, 11967 projects 2, Patons Classic Wool Merino, 10445 projects 3, Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted, 8421 projects 4, Noro Kureyon, 7947 projects 5, Caron Simply Soft, 7914 projects 6, Lily Sugar’n Cream Solid, 6864 projects 7, Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted, 6619 projects 8, Red Heart Ltd. Super Saver Solids, 6176 projects 9, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Solid, 5554 projects 10, Noro Silk Garden, 5410 projects 11, Koigu Painter’s Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM), 5094 projects 12, Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, 5071 projects 13, Lion Brand Homespun, 4296 projects 14, Lion Brand Cotton-Ease, 4157 projects 15, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Multi, 4086 projects 16, Manos del Uruguay 100% Wool, 3989 projects 17, Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky , 3927 projects 18, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 3751 projects 19, Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock - Lightweight, 3723 projects 20, Plymouth Encore Worsted, 3573 projects 21, Cascade 220 Heathers, 3422 projects 22, Lily Sugar’n Cream Ombres & Prints, 3384 projects 23, Zitron Trekking (XXL), 3348 projects 24, Patons SWS (Soy Wool Stripes), 3243 projects 25, Rowan Kidsilk Haze, 3203 projects 26, Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, 2917 projects 27, Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing Co., Inc Peaches & Creme Ombres, 2658 projects 28, Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, 2512 projects 29, Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock - Mediumweight, 2503 projects 30, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, 2489 projects 31, Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing Co., Inc Peaches & Creme Solids, 2476 projects 32, Cascade 220 Superwash, 2323 projects 33, Berroco Ultra Alpaca, 2286 projects 34, Knit Picks Swish Superwash, 2226 projects 35, Knit Picks Essential, 2149 projects 36, Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice Solid, 2142 projects 37, Colinette Jitterbug, 2090 projects 38, Lion Brand Lion Wool Solid, 2030 projects 39, Knit Picks Shine Sport, 1976 projects 40, Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Baby Ull, 1885 projects 41, Lion Brand Microspun, 1871 projects 42, Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino, 1863 projects 43, Knit Picks Palette, 1765 projects 44, South West Trading Company TOFUtsies, 1762 projects 45, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, 1756 projects 46, Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 1725 projects 47, Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK, 1718 projects 48, Red Heart Ltd. Super Saver Multis/Ombres, 1664 projects 49, Rowan Felted Tweed, 1646 projects 50, Rowan Calmer, 1571 projects There. That wasn't so hard! Although I wasn't officially tagged, I got the meme from Feather and Fan. Here's her meme post. Hopefully this'll make up for Leigh pretending she was dead so she wouldn't have to do it. You all know I don't tag, so I'm just going to guilt five of you into doing it. There. If you read that last line, and you haven't done it yet, consider yourself obligated and guilted. HA!

Sandy Beaches

When thinking of making my new hat, I pulled some inspiration from Project Spectrum: Elements. I knew I wanted a summery hat, something to wear when it scorching hot. I also wanted it to be loose fitting, so I can stay cool, but tight enough that I can tuck all my hair up into it when it starts to drive me nuts. I came up with a mesh of two hats, which I'm going to call my Sandy Beaches Hat- a little rasta, and perfect for summer: I totally love this hat! Some stats for the knittahs out there: The pattern for everything but the brim is the Topi hat. The brim is from the Cabled Newsboy Hat in Stitch n' Bitch Nation. I love the brim, it was exactly what I was looking for! I used Lamb's Pride Cotton Fleece, just over half a skein, in the "Antique Lace" colorway. May I just add that this yarn is awesome? I love the way it knits up, I love to softness and sheen, and I absolutely love the drape. I'll definitely be using more of this! (I'd like to see how it handles cables, though, being mostly cotton- any of you guys out there have any experience with that?) All in all, a great knit, and I know I'll get a ton of use out of it this summer. What are your plans for summer knits?

Wee Tiny Christmas

Yesterday I received my sock from my Wee tiny Sock Swap pal. I wasn't quite expecting a wee bit of Christmas, but it was gladly welcomed! Christmas is definitely my favorite time of year: Inside my Christmas card was a lovely message and my wee tiny sock: I totally love it! It's going to be a cherished ornament. You know, this is the first thing that's ever been knit for me? I'm totally stoked. (You know, guys, you can send me hand knits any time. Really.) My pal hand-dyed this yarn last Christmas for her sister, so it makes it even more special! The base yarn was Louet Pearl, for those of you who are wondering. Isn't it the cutest?! Thanks again, pal, for a special treat in the mail. I know my sock got to it's new home safe and sound, I'll let you know when she blogs and takes pictures of it. Yaay for tiny socks!

Please Come Back

My knitting mojo has been eluding me lately. I finished the cuff on the Aquaphobia sock, and had to frog it completely, because it was too small. since then, I've been a little blah. I think the onset of spring, too, has had something to do with it. I want to knit warm cozies like mittens and scarves, but not much use for them this time of year. Even at the Tuesday night Sn'B I had a hard time knitting. This sucks! Come back, mojo! The Hubbster said since I'm not really feeling the knitting for me, maybe I should work on some charity knits. I'm not very inspired by this, either, but did manage to crochet two super cute and way tiny preemie hats today. I think I'm going to keep doing this, and maybe start some Christmas knitting. I'm also working up some motivation to start a Topi in cotton, like I mentioned before. Send some good knitting vibes my way- I'm boooored!

Buh Bye

I shipped off my scarf (finally! Jeez, do I put things off too long.), all blocked and fringed and pretty, to the Knitter Project: I'll miss it, but I should get it back well before it's cold enough to wear it. I love how it came out! In other news: Today is my blogiversary! Two whole years of blogging. (I've actually been blogging a bit longer, but I'm not counting the Myspace crap.) Woo! The Ten on Tuesday today was "Ten Things You'd Fix in Your Home (If you had the Time and Money)". I live in an apartment, so not much for that list, really. So I'm just not doing it this week. Next week! Hubbster is at his first day on the new job- yaay! I'm finally getting back in my routine, and going to set some "rules" for myself. Mainly, eating well and exercising. I've got a vacation to Minnesota in about two months, and there will be beaches and pools. That means swimsuit wearing. And that means, I want to start losing weight. We'll see how it goes! The next phase of Project Spectrum: Elements starts today. The element of focus for the next two months is Earth. I've got some plans! Woo! I've got lots of great earthy colors in my stash, from great greens, to earthy neutrals, and even a bit of metallics. We'll see what this brings!

Wee Sock

I got my wee sock knit up, and all ready to mail! It was really fun to knit, and I'll definitely do more of them in the future. Good thing, too, because typical of me and swaps, I forgot to take a picture. D'oh. Hopefully the recipient will blog about it when they get it, and I can show you guys! I'll show you the one I get, too, of course. Fun times! Well, besides the breaking a needle thing. Yep, I broke one of my brand spankin' new KnitPicks Harmony sock needles. Luckily, a set is six needles, in case you break one. That, and it wouldn't be too expensive to buy a new set. Oh well. That's what you get when you knit with toothpick sized needles! See you tomorrow...