Archive for knit/crochet
June 26, 2006 at 7:24 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
This will get me by until I have something fancier. I finished it in less than a week, and the price was right.
The before picture. I used four colors of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride, one skein of each. The finished bag was so huge, I didn’t think it would possibly shrink enough. I’ve felted knits before, but it still seemed like too much fabric. I started out making a medium bag, but switched to small in progress.
After the wash. Not bad! The bag is a little oversized, but it’ll definitely work. And it’s fuzzy. I like that.
I had enough yarn left over to make a little felted pouch for my mouse or adapter. I can either make a drawstring for it, or fasten it with a button. (I’m leaning toward the button.)
Now I’m working on my blue ponchette and a Mason-Dixon Knitting inspired rag rug.
June 15, 2006 at 9:20 pm · Filed under career, knit/crochet
I quit my job last week.
I’m finally going to give self-employment an honest-to-goodness try. My last day as an employee will be June 22. Everybody is being great, and of course I’m sad to leave my co-workers. But this has been a loooooong time coming. (Well, maybe not that long. Just looong.)
Anyway, I’m nervous about not having a regular paycheck, but I’m getting more and more used to the idea. The great thing (I think) is being more available to my kids over the summer. Of course, I might have to escape to a coffeeshop with internet access every now and then.
Which leads to … my new toy. I realized that my old-school G3 clamshell was not going to be adequate anymore. I did some eBay browsing and was considering a MacBook, but I couldn’t make up my mind. Pete told me that if I was going to manifest my laptop, I needed to really visualize what I wanted. So I did: a 15″ G4 Powerbook with at least 1GB RAM and a 60-80GB hard drive. For $800 or less.
The next time I jumped on eBay, a new listing popped up. All of the above, with a buy-it-now of $799. And the seller was in Madison. I dashed off an email asking about local pickup, and by the time I heard back from the seller, someone else had clicked the buy-it-now. But the potential buyer had no feedback, so the seller and I reached an agreement. It all happened pretty darned quickly. Power of intention, all right!
In other news, I continue to knit like a maniac. I finished my Mason-Dixon absorba bathmat and made a crocheted washrag out of some of the leftover yarn. I’m now working on a baby kimono, a crocheted one-skein scarf, and my aforementioned June Project Spectrum ponchette. As you can see, I also made a knitted headband from a pattern in Interweave Knits.
I’m thinking that a knitted laptop sleeve is in my near future.
June 5, 2006 at 12:47 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
I’ve finally finished my fourth-ever pair of socks! There’s a mistake, but it’s pretty minor and I was too far along to rip. So I’m living with it. If you want to see the socks on my feet, look here.
‘Twas a busy weekend, but I still had time to knit. I’m working on a bathmat (a few rows at a time, because it’s slightly unwieldy) and I started a headband. The weather was absolutely lovely, so I took my knitting outside to the swing. Even though our backyard isn’t exactly a showpiece, I like sitting out there. Sometimes a squirrel will even mosey through.
On Saturday, I was up early to walk in Race for the Cure with Patti, her sister Jeannie, and two other women (including an ex-coworker). As always, it was an inspiring event. We had brunch afterwards, and an older women spotted our t-shirts and came over to our booth to thank us. She was a 14-year survivor.
Oh, I finished another project last week:
It’s the Lacey Poncho from green to help me celebrate the end of May.
May 27, 2006 at 10:18 am · Filed under knit/crochet, movies
Right now, I’m sitting with my laptap, listening to Peter play videogames. Moon is working on a group project at a classmate’s house, and Pete is practicing for a concert that’s happening on Tuesday. The sun is shining, all is well.
This afternoon the kids and I are planning to see the X-Men movie (X-Men Reunited? I can’t seem to remember what it’s called) and we might end up walking home because Pete has to play for a church service at the Catholic church. (The church that asked him to stay on as a music director after he “came out” as a newly-former Catholic.)
In knitting news, I am digging the book my kids gave me for Mother’s Day, Mason-Dixon Knitting. I’ve made two of these washrags already, and I picked up three cones of Peaches ‘n Cream so I can make a bath mat. Total fun. I’ve also been doing some crochet — and figured out how to make an otama so I could do a birthday greeting for my crafty buddy Rakka.
May 20, 2006 at 9:37 am · Filed under family, knit/crochet, movies
Okay, our family has been incredibly busy. And I’ve been knitting/crocheting more than this little credit card holder (which I’m using for the various punch cards and things that I use). Cute, though, isn’t it? I made it on Wednesday, when Pete and I were at Sundara Spa celebrating our 20th (!) anniversary by being thoroughly pampered. We spent pretty much the whole day wearing robes and relaxing, with intermittant foot rituals, massages, etc.
My mom is doing really well, by the way. There wasn’t any more cancer, and she’ll be starting radiation soon. Her prognosis is very good — yay!
In other news, it’s movie season. The Friday opening-day theater viewings have begun! We saw The DaVinci Code yesterday (which was okay … Moon really was into Silas), and we’re planning to see X3 next week.
And the weather today is unbelieveably awesome. We’re spending the afternoon at Good ‘n Loud for Moon’s master class. I’m excited because she’ll be doing some stuff on drums as well as bass. And I’m bringing my yarn.
April 20, 2006 at 10:54 am · Filed under idol, knit/crochet, shopping
One.
My family long-ago dubbed me Queen of All Purses, so it’s no surprise that I can’t stop thinking about this:
I know I already have two awesome knitting bags, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up the search for the PERFECT bag. When I saw the Namaste collection, the most difficult decision was which one to order. Truth be told, a messenger bag seems to be the best fit. I love the way traditional purse/bags look, but I keep going back to the diagonal-over-the-shoulder thing.
If I like the new bag as much I think I will, the Lady B will be going back — or on eBay.
Two.
I thought I was addicted to American Idol last season, but that was when I only loved one or two of the top 10, and not nearly all of them. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are nail-bitingly nervewracking at our house. Moon has lost two of her favorites in a row (the aforementioned Bucky, and now Ace), and she’s crossing her fingers and toes that Elliott won’t be next.
We’re Yaminions. (Although I’ve been pulling for Taylor Hicks from the start, and not just because he looks like he could be my age. He’s entertaining enough to be parodied on SNL, ya know.)
Moon’s already bugging me about buying tour tickets. And in case you didn’t think I was geeky enough, I’ve crocheted a beanie for Ace.
April 12, 2006 at 9:08 am · Filed under idol, knit/crochet, spiritual
Just a quick update. First, the Everyday Goddess Conference was a fabulous way to spend a weekend. I met some awesome new friends (hi Jodie!) and my two teen roomies (Moon and Nicole) seemed to have a great time.
Second, I now have a shop at Etsy. It’s http://aine.etsy.com. Rakka was my inspiration … her shop is here. Now I can make stuff without having to worry about where to put it all!
Third, guess who Moon’s pulling for in this year’s American Idol? None other than Bucky Covington. Yep, my speed metal girl now appreciates (gasp) country.
April 5, 2006 at 1:32 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
You heard it here first: I crochet.
Behold:
I bought the Happy Hooker book, but the whole technique thing escaped me until Patti showed me double and triple crochet in person. (I had already managed to do a single crochet edge, so that wasn’t as tough.) Best of all, she made me understand the elusive chain-and-turn thing. Before I knew it, I was well on the way to finishing a “washcloth.”
My confidence boosted, I tackled the instructions for making a crocheted circle. Then I decided to try a shell stitch, courtesy of the aforementioned book:
I’ve decided I love me some crochet, and you’ll soon be able to feast your eyes on more of my creations. Not that I’m neglecting my knits, mind you. I still have Tubey and Jaywalkers on the needles, and I promise they’re getting attention.
March 17, 2006 at 5:48 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
Absolutely! (Oh, and by the way, my name is official. I went to court first thing this morning, then the Social Security office, then the DMV and the credit union. Wahoo!)
First, a project that has been on hold for months.
It’s Sitcom Chic from knitty.com. Fun pattern, with one of my favorite yarns — the discontinued Cotton-Ease by Lion Brand. Most of the Cotton-Ease I’ve knitted with has been a dream, but the red had knots and split like crazy. I stuck it out, but I kept putting the sweater aside for other projects. It feels good to be finished.
Here’s the detail of the front. It’s not blocked (how do you block cotton blends, anyway?). I picked out the chunky wood button when I was shopping at Sow’s Ear a few weeks ago. I was actually after a set of size 1 DPNs, which is another story. Currently on those needles is a Jaywalker sock, and I’ve discovered that knitting on size 1 needles goes a heck of a lot slower than it does on size 2s. I’m hanging in there, but don’t expect to see a finished pair of socks any time soon. Good thing I didn’t attempt this during the Knitting Olympics, or I’d have never won my gold medal.
My other recent FO is this hooded capelet from Teva Durham’s Loop-d-Loop book. Moon and Peter’s reaction when I first tried it on: “No.”
Apparently I’m not enough of a wood nymph to pull this off, so I thought I’d better at least go outdoors for the picture.
Much of the knitting for this piece took place at the IRS office. Did I mention that we received a letter from them last week? Just days before the fender bender? Our friends at the IRS think that we owe an additional $23,000 from our 2004 taxes, a notion which made me laugh heartily. It’s a mistake. (Duh.) I didn’t even bother calling; I just showed up Tuesday morning and took my place in line. Naturally, the computers were down because of a power outage in the building the night before. The good news is that I had plenty of time to knit before my turn at the one service window. The helpful rep took my information and asked me to fax last year’s W-2s. Which I totally planned on doing, except the IRS fax machines were down, too. (I went back the next day and begged the 12 people in line for a chance to just hand the paper to someone on the other side.)
Anyway, back to the knits. I’m looking toward the future here, and I want to make a Cotton-Ease Tubey in the worst way. Thing is, I need 3-4 skeins of black, or rather, “Licorice.” I might have to come up with something else in the meantime.
February 25, 2006 at 9:00 am · Filed under knit/crochet
Definitely my personal best! I love these socks. I can’t believe it only took me two weeks to make them, start to finish.
Here’s the pattern. I’m so pleased with them that I want to keep making more socks and trying other patterns, but I think I need a rest from the tiny needles. Time to go back to Sitcom Chic for a while. (Almost time to start the sleeves.)
Now for a close-up of the toes. I just so dig my own toes.
It’ll be strange watching the closing ceremonies without my DPNs in hand.
February 16, 2006 at 10:13 am · Filed under knit/crochet
I finished my goal! Never did I think I could finish a sock in five days, and now I have my eyes on the gold medal — a pair of socks! Yep, I’m casting on sock #2 today, and I’ve got my eyes on the winner’s stand.
This is the same pattern I used for the orange Koigu socks I posted earlier. This time, I kept the ribbing over the front and started with 50 rounds of ribbing instead of 35.
In other news, there’s a blizzard outside. I’m supposed to be at a trade show today, but right now I’m wondering if I can even get out of my driveway. Oh, and there’s lightning.
February 11, 2006 at 1:32 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
I finished a set of moebius baskets for Moon. She selected the colors to match the decor in her room. There’s still Cascade 220 left over from the two skeins I bought for these!
Here’s the “before” shot. Pretty floppy!
And here’s the “after.” I like how the fair isle pattern pulled the center of the baskets in a bit, so that they ended up more cylindrical. I still have yarn leftovers from the two skeins I started with. I might be able to dig up enough green yarn to make a basket for Peter. (He wants the blue one, but Moon said no.)
February 11, 2006 at 10:19 am · Filed under knit/crochet
I’ve cast on my Knitting Olympics project, and I’m on my way to having a new pair of socks by the end of the games.
So here are my shout-outs to my teammates!
(…if they’ll have me! I was a little late finding my homestate-ies)
Now, off to knit!
February 5, 2006 at 5:04 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
Fo’ sure.
First off, a long-overdue photo of the bag I finished right before my feng shui week. It started off as a moebius scarf knitted from Noro Kureyon, but after making the overly-shrunken swirl bag I really wanted to do one for myself — and having a pre-finished strap was a huge shortcut.
I pulled out some Lamb’s Pride leftovers, and followed Cat Bordhi’s directions for doing an afterthought pouch. I had enough yarn to make a small pocket, too. I love this bag. It’s very pettable. It was perfect for carrying my notes, pencils and lip balm up and down the stairs at the bed-and-breakfast.
After I returned from my week away, I was eager to do another moebius project. So I made a felted basket to give to my mom as kind of a belated birthday present. It was a super fast and easy knit, but of course I forgot to actually tell my mom about it while she and my dad were visiting last week. I’ll have to fill it with something good and bring it with me next time we’re near their house.
There are definitely more baskets in my future. Moon went with me to Lakeside Fibers and picked out several colors of Cascade 220 that went with her new room decor. She’s pretty good at color selection … too bad she’s not interested in learning to knit.
Finally, my most recent finished object: my second-ever pair of socks. They’re far from perfect, but I couldn’t wait to get them on my feet! This is the first time I’ve made something with Koigu, and wow, all the stuff I’ve heard about that yarn is true. It’s so pretty, and feels so nice, and is pleasant to work with.
I have two more balls of Koigu that will be transforming into another pair of socks soon. I’ve joined the Knitting Olympics and I’ll be knitting with Team DPN. My goal is to finish one sock … that will be challenging enough for me during that time period. Moon, however, thinks I should go for the pair. I don’t know, I may not be able to do that without steroids.
January 9, 2006 at 11:07 pm · Filed under knit/crochet, spiritual
I’m supposed to be on a media break this week, but I don’t think this counts. My teacher knows I have my laptop (although the wireless connection is a bit of a surprise — what would the original tenants of this Victorian mansion think?). Anyway, I’m in intensive training for feng shui certification. Day Two has flown by, and now the information is whirling around in my brain. I’m processing.
It’s strange being away from my family all week. When I left, Peter dashed outside and ran alongside the car, waving to me until the car turned the corner. I’m thankful for the cell phone, because at least I’ve been able to fulfill my motherly role of nagging about homework.
As for the accommodations, can you say, “delicious, aesthetically pleasing vegetarian meals, prepared by someone other than me”? And “in-room whirlpool bath”? I could definitely get used to this sort of thing.
January 7, 2006 at 11:07 am · Filed under knit/crochet
About my perfect feng shui bag. I swear I followed the adult-sized pattern in the Second Treasury of Magical Knitting book. It looked suitably huge and seemed to have plenty of leeway for felting. So I didn’t pay attention to the felting time. I just threw the bag in the washer with a towel (dumb idea, BTW) in hot water, and let it rip.
Check out what happened. (The pen is there for comparison.) Worn diagonally across my chest, the bag now barely clears my boob, which definitely isn’t feng shui. My niece Ambria is going to be 5 this month, and I think this is going to become an auxiliary birthday present. Hope she doesn’t mind the green and blue, because she’s more of a pink and purple kind of gal. Pete says the bag is very girly and ought to suit her, though. It’ll be interesting to see if the bag actually fits. I don’t have any five-year-olds around here to test it.
This was an amazingly fun knit, though. There were directions in the book for adding a pouch to a moebius strip after the fact, and now I’m eyeing the moebius scarf I made last fall and wondering what it would look like as a felted strap. It’s even longer than the swirl purse strap was, and if I’m careful with the felting it might actually fit me.
In other knitting-and-fitting news, I finally photographed my Banff sweater which I had finished a while back. Although I was very proud about the completion of my first long-sleeved sweater, I wasn’t so happy about how it looked on me. It’s pretty huge, which would be cute if I was my previous dainty self, but not so cute now. I do like its warmth and color, so I’m thinking about frogging it and re-knitting it into a poncho/wrap that I saw in Weekend Knitting (the twist stitch it uses was one of the first things I learned when I taught myself to knit).
January 5, 2006 at 12:48 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
Okay, so I haven’t posted my New Year’s list yet. I’ve been busy knitting.
Yes, I finished Moon’s poncho on New Year’s Day. She put it on when we went on family walkies with Foxxi. It’s sooo soft and warm, and I’m wearing it as I write this. The poncho was supposed to be a coat substitute, because Moon doesn’t use her locker at school (not enough time, too far away, lost the key to the lock) and the kids can’t wear overcoats in class. I mean, they might be concealing an AK-47 in there or something. But ponchos are fine, although I’m thinking a lot of contraband could be hidden underneath. It might be that ponchos are worn mainly by females, and the school district might not consider girls to be a threat.
Anyway, Moon’s not planning to wear it unless it’s really cold, because the classrooms are kept rather toasty. But it’s perfect for wearing in the house, especially when IM-ing and doing other important computer tasks. Which tells you something about our energy conservation practices.
In other news, I cast on a new project from a book I received for Christmas, using brand-new needles which were also a gift. I had some leftover Cascade 220 yarn that was perfect for the pattern. It’s a sling bag, and although I already have two awesome bags, it totally caught my eye. Next week I’ll be away getting feng shui certification, and the bag just seems very feng shui to me. Yes, there will be pictures, but for now you’ll have to look at my cute family.
December 26, 2005 at 1:43 pm · Filed under family, knit/crochet
One of the final touches on our pile of gifts this year was a pair of crocodile mittens for each of the cousins whose names were drawn by our kids. (At the in-laws’, the adults exchange names, and so do the kids.) The larger pair were for Sister #1’s daughter, and as you can see, she’s old enough not to try to eat googly eyes. The other pair were for Camden, the next-to-youngest cousin.
Before we headed for the in-laws’, however, we had our immediate family gift exchange and various church adventures. Pete still directs a choir at the Catholic church he used to attend, and he was scheduled to do music for the Christmas Eve mass. I decided to sing with the choir at my former church, too. We had tofurky for our mid-day meal, and as soon as the sun set, we piled into the car to go see the lights. (Foxxi included.)
My parents, Brother #2 and his wife drove up last Sunday for holiday festivities, as my parents are visiting Brother #1 in Seattle this week. My mom left a small package for each of us to open on Christmas day. Imagine our surprise when we all received …. underwear. Not just any underwear, either. Mine were white cotton granny panties, a size too large. Moon had the same, but with snazzy multicolored patterns. Peter’s were adult men’s briefs, which I’m sure would have come up to his armpits. Pete’s were two sizes too big (and not his preferred brand).
So basically, my mom gave us the gift of laughter for the holidays. And that’s cool. (Plus, we were able to return the errant undies.)
Our other presents were pretty awesome, though. The kids and Pete gave me a sewing machine and a JBL OnStage for my iPod. Now we can hear my tunes all through the house! We gave Moon a video iPod with 60GB memory. I downloaded all her music into it and bought a few music videos for her from the Apple Store. I think she was surprised. Peter got a PSP, and I’m sure he had it all figured out in advance.
Later, when the 20 of us gathered in my in-laws’ living room for gift exchange, Camden showed us that he knew exactly what to do with his new mittens: dominate them!
Pete, Sister #1 and Sister #4 went outside with some of the kids later and built a snowman. Peter hauled his cousins around on a sled and thoroughly enjoyed himself. I put my feet up and watched them all out the window with Moon by my side. It was lovely.
And it was all over so fast. In a few days, 2005 will be but a memory. Merry Christmas!
December 3, 2005 at 11:35 am · Filed under knit/crochet
But first, I must show you the awesome shoes I bought when I was at the Anew Women’s Expo.
The second I saw them, I knew they must be mine. And buying them made my weekend worthwhile, as I was pretty much stuck in my employer’s exhibit booth there and could not enjoy my usual leisure time activities.
Obviously, I managed to check out the other booths, and I was astounded by the number of exhibitors whose businesses were dedicated to improving women’s looks. Not just makeup and diet clinics, mind you … but hair products, salons, and even plastic surgeons. One booth was offering botox on-site. Get yours today and enjoy a $100 discount!
Pete asked me later, “So … where was the booth where they told people ‘You’re fine just the way you are’?” Not at the Women’s Expo, obviously. Brainwashing works, because I caught myself looking in the mirror in the ladies’ room, wondering whether the creases between my eyebrows made me look old.
Okay, no botox for me, but I do admit the laser hair removal place had its appeal.
Now to feast your eyes on my latest work. My Hogwarts scarves are finished! Notice the lack of Slytherin … I’m tempted to make one just to have a complete set. As you may recall, I started with Ravenclaw (for Moon), followed by Hufflepuff (for Peter, although that’s my house), and finally Gryffindor for Pete.
These scarves make me smile, because they are warm and cozy, and a constant reminder of the goodness that is the Harry Potter series of books and movies. Did I mentioned we saw Goblet of Fire the day it came out? We did. And Moon saw it again two days later. In my opinion, it’s the best movie of the series so far. (And I loved Prisoner of Azkaban, so that’s saying something.) I hope that the deleted scenes include a bit more footage of the World Quidditch Cup, because the tent area was so full of interesting visuals that I wanted to slow it down and check it out more thoroughly. I also enjoyed that the movie makes Neville into a dancing enthusiast (note the bravery of being the first to get up and try — very Gryffindor).
But I digress. Here are two quite uncharacteristic knits that were quick and fun to do:
Yes, fun fur! I normally don’t care a whole lot for the stuff, but the yarn jumped out at me when I was shopping at Michael’s for kids’ art supplies. We picked up a few names from the giving tree at church, and the 9-year-old girl we selected had asked for paint-by-numbers or color-by-numbers stuff. She also wants a Hello Kitty nightgown, so I thought a fuzzy scarf might appeal to her. When I was knitting it, I kept stopping to pet it and check out the color changes of the ribbon that was woven with the eyelash yarn. On the other hand, the bunny was a project I had planned months ago, but never got around to doing. When the scarf was finished, I remember the ball of Moda Dea Aerie that I’d put away with the pattern. He’s stuffed with bits and pieces of leftover yarn that I had been saving in a Ziploc bag, so in a way he’s a talisman for my knitting. He’s got a little dab of all of my projects from the past year inside him.
And hey — I’ve been knitting for a year now! November is my knitiversary.
One more observation: I love my nostepinde. My family gave me a ball winder last Christmas, but I had to return it because I had nowhere to clamp it. All our surfaces were too thick. I wound yarn on my fingers until I discovered the nostepinde — which is inexpensive, completely portable, and does the job. Check out the amazing results!
November 11, 2005 at 3:12 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
The Hufflepuff scarf is finis! Peter graciously agree to pose for me. He’s probably more of a Gryffindor (gets in trouble, dislikes rules) but he makes a fine Hufflepuff as well. I used the rest of the scarf yarn to make a short version of Alison’s HiP Scarf. I think I’ll wear it as a headband.
Only one week remains until the Goblet of Fire movie, yay! I started a Gryffindor scarf for Pete. If I manage to finish it in time, we’ll all have something appropriate to wear when standing in line. (We have tickets, but we’ll still stand in line for good seats.)
I also finished my Moebius scarf (I’ve been spelling it incorrectly, I guess). What a fun and quick knit! It was a worthy use of my remaining ball and a half of Noro Kureyon. I also used up a bit of the Lamb’s Pride I had left. Now I know what to do with my odd balls of yarn. The next one I make will be shorter, more like a cowl.
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