Knitting Musings

Oops, I Cast-On Again!

Carolina - no pressure or anything, but...

... and it's good. Really good. Love me some lace good. Not that I'm trying to peer pressure you or anything, but everyone's doing it.

And in other equally exciting knitting news, there may be some Rogue zippering in the works - I did my basting, I pinned in my zipper, and thanks to a day with my butt parked firmly in front of the tv (except for dog walking and rug-steam-cleaning breaks), the zipper is 1/2 installed. I'm going to fire up the latest (and long awaited!) edition of Cast-On today and finish it up.

I'm also going to go pick up my wedding dress... I won't tell which one in case certain people who aren't supposed to know accidentally click on some links, but I'm very happy with my choice, and I'm equally glad to have it taken care of!

On Wednesday night at the Happy Place, I happened to glance over at the computer to see this scene:

The first thing that popped into all of our minds was "p*rn"... and, of course, we were (mostly) right - that, my friends, is what happens when you start pulling up knitting patterns on the internets around a bunch of other knitters. The sound effects were eqully funny - "oooooo! I like that!" "mmmmm, not really doing anything for me..." and so forth. Ahh, good times...

On Friday, I spent some "good times" (hah! almost a segue!) dyeing up some more sock yarn - I'm still not totally satisfied with my results. I usually end up with yarn that I like, but it's very rarely exactly what I had in mind. I'm hoping that I can take a workshop at MDS&W to get some more pointers. I'll take some pictures of the finished products once they dry (and once the sun comes back out!)

Of course, while I was dyeing my little heart out, I was fully supported by the entire crew. Abby made sure my spot on the couch stayed warm...

... while Cricket made sure that Abby's spot on the doggy-bed stayed warm.

There may have been a small failure to communicate, however, as Cricket did not seem to be interested in Abby's attempts to sit on her doggy bed. In fact, she seemed pretty much unphased by even the full force of the puppy-dog eyes.

Do I look like I would be interested in a smelly, dirty doggy bed? Please.

Labels: Abby, Cricket, Dyeing

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Stupid Law School

It's my last weekend of winter vacation - Monday sees me back at school and trying desperately to care about all of the work I have to get done. January and February in particular are going to be pretty rough, mostly due to a Moot Court competition I'm headed to at UCLA in February... in the next few weeks, I need to finish (perhaps start?) the brief I've been avoiding all break... that lovely green binder is chock full of all of my research. The brief will not be great - I've already accepted that. But it does need to get finished...

Speaking of finished, here's another photo of Grandma with her new lap blanket - because Grandma is so freakin' cute! Plus, she'll be 94 next week. 94!!! I'm sincerely hoping I got some of those genes...

Right. Perhaps this entry should have been titled "totally incapable of segues." Or perhaps next time I shouldn't write a blog entry before 8 am... on a Saturday... (1 guess as to what I got up early to do. I'll even give you a hint... it starts with "write" and ends with "brief"...) So anyway, apropos of nothing, check out what happened on my bed the other afternoon. I may have been "writing my brief" by watching a movie on my laptop and knitting... and I may have had some help! This is a HUGE step here in the "Cricket needs to get over herself because Abby is moving in soon" household... usually, Cricket gets all pissy when Abby is over and promptly leaves a surface (bed, couch, etc...) if Abby gets too close. But this time, Cricket held her ground and everyone had a lovely nap. Incidentally, this situation is exactly why S and I will be purchasing a new king-sized bed once we get all settled. How is it, exactly, that a combined 40 pounds of fuzzy-animal can take up more room than humans weighing 3-4 times as much?

And finally, knitting - which I have (of course) been doing WAY too much of in my attempts to avoid the dreaded brief-writing. There may be two Rogue Cardigan sleeves...

and check out that skein of yarn on top - it's Koigu kppppppppppppppppppm... I knew that my "dye-pot accident" colorway looked familiar! I accidentally created a colorway that is astonishingly similar to a koigu colorway. Now if only I could recreate it ON PURPOSE...

and I'm moving right along on the body - I have pockets! Well, I'll have pockets as soon as I get a zipper, finish the front, and sew up the front edge. (Note to self - you'll need to buy a zipper. You might want to order one...)

And in even more exciting news, the lovely and amazing Carolina SPUN ME SOME YARN!!! I'm so excited that I can't even stand it. It's mostly? all? angora, and it's so soft and beautiful that I just want to pet it and snuggle it. See?

And I tried to take a close-up, but it was a little, ummm, not-bright this morning when I was taking the picture, so the colors are a little off... they're better in the first picture. I was going to just leave the skein on my desk and pet it all day, but Cricket decided that she needed to bite it in preparation for all sorts of kitty-hijinks, and I had to put it away.

And finally (and again, randomly) - Holly - this one is for you. A t@rget trip for under $20... and I swear that I didn't get back in line to buy more stuff. And incidentally, am I the only one who finds it funny that I bought 38 pounds of cat litter for an 8 pound cat?

Labels: Abby, Cricket, Rogue Cardi

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2006 Ends with a Bad Blogger

So I meant to actually publish this post at least a week ago. But the problem with being on vacation - what will likely be my last "school winter break" vacation, is that I kinda want to savor it and do absolutely as little as possible. So I've been spending a lot of quality time in my pj's with the Grey's Anatomy dvds. And the knitting.

I dyed up some silk/cashmere yarn for (possibly) the Print o' the Wave - but possibly something else since I just received the Victorian Lace Today book from Santa, and there are a few projects in there I might have to make instead. So the jury is still out on what this may become when it grows up.

And in other knitting news, I've finished another pair of boy socks for S - I'll do a proper write-up later when I can grab my notes. But S definitely deserves the socks - he is REALLY hard on them, but he is properly appreciative and gets all excited and happy when he gets to wear them, so I don't mind. Plus, dyeing boy-sock-yarn is a lot of fun!

And speaking of dyeing, I dyed up 7 skeins of wool of the andes worsted. I intended it to be a light pink, but there was too much yarn in the pot, so it was really uneven. So I ended up adding red, then purple, and then blue dye to the pot, and ended up with something really cool -

(I may possibly have swatched a sleeve. Or two.)

Right. There will be more interesting content in the next day or two, but in the meantime, I'm going to let the fuzzles distract you from an otherwise boring blog-post:

Abby would like to point out that there's lobster in that pot. Apparently, she likes lobster. See? It's right there in that pot. Right there.

Abby would also like to point out that she likes Grandma. Grandma sits down a lot and doesn't mind petting her. Plus, Grandma doesn't keep hopping up to grab more presents from under the tree!

And finally, the synchronized-sunny-spot team has been practicing -

Happy New Year!!

Labels: Abby, Cricket, Dyeing, Rogue Cardi

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More "Studying"

I'm finding it extraordinarily difficult to care about finals anymore, which may be a teeny little problem as I have 2 left this week - International Law and Family Law - both with the potential to kick my ass if I don't study at least a little bit. But (I know, you totally see it coming) - I decided my time would be better spent updating the blog and finishing a few projects.

Rebekah's Scarf

Pattern: my own, with inspiration from the Fishtail Lace Scarf

Yarn: my own hand-dyed blue faced leicester sock yarn, 1 skein (other colors for sale here)

Notes: My lovely roommate fell in love with this colorway when she was helping me re-skein it after it dried. She asked me whether, if she bought the yarn, I would knit her a "really long, really skinny" scarf out of it. I told her that I would love to, and this is what I came up with! I decided not to block out the lace, so instead I just gave it a quick steam-iron so it would lie flat. She loves it, I love that she loves it, and it's a great use for yarn that just may be too lovely to 'waste' on one's feet.

Hot Water Bottle Cover

Pattern: my own

Yarn: my own hand-dyed worsted weight wool, 1 skein

Notes: I'm very happy with how this turned out. I'm really happy with the colorway (blues, greens, and a splash of yellow), and I think the little hot water bottle sweater is just adorable.

Right - that pretty much covers the extent of my current knitting content. I'm making a basic 2x2 ribbed hat out of some leftovers, and I'm thinking about what my next big project will be... but nothing too exciting. So, in the grand tradition of the knit-blogger without interesting content, I present:

Distracting Pet Photos

Cricket, fed up with "that dog-thing" hanging around all the time while S is out of town, decides to disguise herself as a present with hopes that someone will take her to a dog-free home.

When not planning her escape, Cricket joins teammate Abby to continue training for the Synchronized Sunny Spot competition. Here, they demonstrate the extremely difficult Multi-Elevational Full Forward Layout.

This was followed by the equally challenging Double Tuck Couch Snuggle. This manouver is especially difficult due to the extreme closeness required.

And finally, they rounded out their morning session with a Stacked Perpendicular Stretch.

Labels: Abby, Cricket, R's Scarf

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Studying Sucks

One final down, 3 to go. Technically, I should be studying for my Law in Cyberspace exam, but as I have all day tomorrow to study, I'm feeling entitled to a day off. I plan to take the dog for a walk, hopefully talk to S before he goes to bed (poor baby has a few days in Paris before he heads to Baku), and then head to the Happy Place.

Gathering Intentions

Pattern: Gathering Intentions from Inspired Cable Knits

Yarn: Tess' Silk/Merino, 4 skeins (2 leftover skeins for sale)

Notes: I am in mad crazy stay-out-all-night-and-do-the-walk-of-shame love with this sweater. Of course, in a perfect world, it might be just a teeny smidge longer - but I'm thinking we'll both compromise - I'll learn to love the slightly cropped fit, and it'll learn to stretch ever-so-slightly. If you've seen the pattern from the book (which I HIGHLY recommend!), you'll notice that I made a few 'minor' changes. First, I opted for raglan sleeves instead of the set-in sleeves in the original. I just like the way raglans fit me. Second, I ditched the mock-t-neck of the original entirely and instead chose a relaxed scoopneck with a small rolled edge. Third, I made the i-cord details at the waist and wrist shorter so I wouldn't drag them through whatever my hand happened to get near. I would definitely recommend both this pattern and the book, however, and plan on knitting a few of the other projects in it in the near future.

And in other knitting news....

I'm chugging right along on my roommate's scarf, knit out of the Shades of Autumn blue-faced leicester I dyed a few weeks ago. Wow - can I just say how amazing this yarn is? It is so soft and has a beautiful sheen to it that just makes it unbelievably gorgeous. It's billed as a sock yarn, but it almost seems like a waste to use it on your feet...

It might not look like I've made much progress on this in the last week. However, if you look carefully, you'll notice that I've wound up quite a lot of my already-completed scarf so it would be less of a pain to lug around. I'm thinking I'll finish it today.

And in cute pet news, Cricket helped us decorate our Christmas tree last week by making sure we got all of the decorations out of the storage bag. What a helpful kitty!

Abby, meanwhile, is suffering tremendously since S is gone - here she is suffering through a nap in the middle of my bed...

... and here she is suffering through having to wait until I finish this entry to go on a walk. POOR DOGGY!

And one last note before I run out the door on a dog walk? Our apartment smelled a bit like garlic, so I made some simmer potpourri:

2 cups water
3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg

simmer and enjoy! and keep adding water if it gets too low. It smells so amazing!

Labels: Abby, Cricket, Dyeing, Gathering Intentions, R's Scarf

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I Should Be Studying...

But heck, blogging doesn't REALLY count as goofing off, right? Anyway, I'm skipping class tomorrow to finish up my outlining, so, ummm, somehow that counts as being a responsible student. Or something like that.

Much excitement chez-moi the last few days - thanks to my cell phone, gravity, and the hard, unyielding concrete sidewalk. The phone - it is dead. Poor thing... but thanks to ebay, I should have a replacement in my mailbox tomorrow, and will soon be back in touch with the outside world. I would have just gotten a new phone, but I'm planning on switching carriers in February, so I went with "cheap that will will last me 3 months." All things considered it hasn't been too much of an inconvenience - I've just been sitting in front of my computer outlining, with small breaks to eat some turkey and go on some puppy walks, so I've been able to live without the cell phone tolerably well.

I've been knitting off-and-on on the cabled shrug I'm making for my friend Jen by request for those "chilly Albuquerque nights." The yarn is some blue faced leicester that I dyed in lightly variegated dark greens. The yarn was billed as a DK, but after a soak, it blossomed into more of a light worsted - very pleasant to work with. The pattern is my own, and one that I hope to write up and offer to the internets as a freebee if I can ever get it done!

And yes, that IS our Christmas tree serving as a background... once my roommate comes home, we'll get it decorated. I also bought some white pine garland - tree+garland = $35... and it makes the house smell so yummy!

Ok, that's about all the even moderately interesting content I've got, so I think it's time for the parade of cute pet pictures. Because, you know, they're so abused....

Making its debut in the 2006 Winter Olympics is this year's knuckle-biting sport of SYNCHRONIZED SUNNY SPOT. Here, you see the world-champion Abby/Cricket team demonstrating a mirror-image half-moon layout. Fantastic form.

And when the team isn't hard at work competing, Abby moonlights as a couch pillow...

Right - off to study some more. And then off to pie night --- mmmmmmm, Smithwicks and Guinness-Beef-Stew in puff pastry. SO GOOD.

And I still have some hand-dyed yarns and some destashing yarns left for sale!

Labels: Abby, Cricket

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Stop the World, I Want to Get Off

I've been feeling recently that I'm working like crazy, and still only barely managing to stay caught up. School is insane, and finals are just around the corner - and the journal is a huge time-suck. I'm managing to have some (probably too much) 'relaxing' time, but it's definitely at the expense of future insanity. Oh well - such is life. And all things considered, my life is fantastic, so I should probably quit my whining.

So onto the knitting - yesterday, Erin and Carolina and I broke out the dyes and got busy. Our attempts at handpainting were SO much better than our first attempts a few months ago ... I dyed three different colorways of sock yarn. This one is my favorite:

And in this one, I successfully dyed "tone on tone" with different shades of rosy pinks/reds...

And this is my "boy yarn" for S. He's very excited at all of the browns and greens...

And yesterday, a group of Irregulars headed on a "Stitches Field Trip." Like Carolina, I was, overall, disappointed with the vendors as I would have liked to have seen more small, independent vendors rather than so many yarn stores. However, I did find a few cute things, including the adorable "lambscape" in the bottom corner -

And I also bought a new knitting bag from this etsy seller, and I love it - the chicken is SO happy. And yes, I bought a tape measure to match, but technically the tape measure is for S since he likes chickens so much, so it's not really THAT bad, is it? Wait, don't answer that.

And I have been knitting here and there - currently I'm working on Eunny's Chuck's Cabled Socks. I've had to start these socks approximately 2 billion times before I finally got everything correct, but now I'm loving them...

And finally, in a nice segue between the knitting content and the cute pet content, here's where Cricket hung out yesterday while we all dyed yarn (well, when she wasn't trying to eat Erin's roving) -

Okay, and now to the cute animal pictures.

The Great Wuss-Out of 2006

The weekend before Halloween, S and I tried to squeeze one last camping trip in before it got too cold. We set up camp, had a lovely ~~hike~~ run to Elkwallow for lunch and then back - about 4 miles round trip. We saw the beautiful fall foliage. We commented that it was starting to get a little windy, so we went into the tent to give someone a chance to take a nap (she won't sleep outside of the tent - too exciting!) It was starting to get pretty cold, so we snuggled her all up...

After a nice nap, Abby woke up and decided it was time for tummy rubs...

"I'm cute! Rub my tummy!"

After another walk, we decided we'd better go ahead and cook dinner before it got dark. It was so windy that our food was literally being blown off of our plates, so we ended up sitting in the back of my car to eat. At which point we realized that it was SNOWING. With winds of 40-50 mph. So, mostly because I made grumpy noises, we bundled everything back into the car and came home, had hot chocolate, and took a nice hot bath.

Halloween

Thanks to the lovely folks at Trader Joe's, we got one of the biggest pumpkins I've ever carved - it was almost 2 inches thick! Luckily, we figured out what we could do with all of the extra pumpkin pieces... she also really likes squash.

And on Halloween Night, we took Abby to the doggy halloween happy hour in Old Town. She went in her bumblebee costume, and even though everyone thought she was adorable, she didn't really love the whole costume thing. In fact, she hated it - see the look of death she's giving me??