I'm back to knitting and I splurged.
Well, I am knitting again. I can't quit. Quitting is for wimpy wimps and I am NOT a wimpy wimp. I already started on a new felted bag project. I got so many compliments on it last night and it is still on the needles. It really doesn't look like anything. You know when you are making a felted bag and it looks like a big blob? That's the point I am at with my felted bag.
All the compliments on my blobby bag were very helpful.
The fact that I spent gobs and gobs of cash on yarn at
Jessica Knits didn't hurt either. I am super excited about my purchases.
The Noro Kureyon between Jail and Free Parking is all for the Noro Mistake Rib Scarf in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which is now out of print. If you see one and you want it, scoop it up. It'll probably be a while until stores get any new shipments. I saw a few at Barnes and Noble on Christmas Eve in Chandler Fashion Mall so if anyone here in the valley wants one, you can get it there.
The Rowan Kidsilk Haze and the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece between Go and Go to Jail are for legwarmers. Oh yes. I need to make these fast before legwarmers go out of style again. I am using the legwarmer pattern ALSO from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I really like the way these two yarns feel together and look together. The Cotton Fleece is 80% cotton and 20% merino. It's a gooooood combo. Becky is using this stuff to make an awesome beaded flapper scarf. I wonder if she ever finished that project?
Once my bag loses it's blobness and starts looking like a bag on the needles, I'll post some pics. I think the colors are actually pretty cool.
And tonight's New Year's Eve. This year has been absolutely amazing. I fell in love and I learned to knit. That's all I could ever ask for.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!
The Greatest Knitting Day
Today was an awesome knitting day. I got some really beautful yarns today and that makes me feel goooooooood.
I am going to make the
Hello Knitty Cutie Booties with Rowan Big Wool. I love these little slippers. They are totally adorable and I am going to use this pattern a gazillion times. Here are the colors I picked:
Next up, I got 2 balls of Fiori which I was talking about a couple-a-posts ago. I started knitting with it. It is so beautiful and it's softer than I expected. It's a rayon nylon blend so it's pretty shiny too.
It really does look like flowers when it's knitted up. Here's a strand:
The Fiori is a bulkier gauge than my Chickami so I had to make some adjustments. I felt very smart for being able to actually do the adjustments. This is what I did:
- Knit a gauge swatch for the fiori and figure out how many stitches per 4 inches I got. I wanted to use bigger needles so that you can see the yarn itself more. It turned out to be 15 stitches per 4 inches on number 9's.
- Compare the gauge to the gauge I was getting on the chickami. The chickami is 20 stitches per inch. So there is a 3:4 ratio between the fiori and the soy silk.
- Figure out a mini-pattern for when I change the yarn to the Fiori. For this project, I needed to decrease every 4 stitches down to 3 stitches. So my mini-pattern is *K2 K2tog* al the way around. Lucky for me, there were 180 stitches on the needle, and that number is divisible by 4, and it all worked out LOVELY.
Then I just knit the new yarn in on the bigger needles. It was pretty simple, and probably a lot more simple than I just made it sound.
I really wanted to get a nice picture of how the 2 yarns look together so far, but I really couldn't. This is the best I could get, and the color is really not accurately represented.
So, like I said, today was a great knitting day.
THE END
I might not have enough yarn
I have been visciously working on my
Chickami in the Green Soy Silk Chenille that I got from South West Trading Company. I had no idea how much I had, since it was company leftover and had no tags, but I knew I had poop-load of it. The other day I found out that there are 1000 yards to the pound, so I weighed it at the post office. I did some algebra and found out that I have 437 yards. This might not be good.
The pattern calls for 550 yards for the size I am making. HOWEVER (and this is a big however), when I weighed the skein, I already had about 3 inches of knitting done on the thing. I didn't weigh that part because the addi turbos were attached and I didn't know how much the needles weighed alone.
So I may or may not be short on yarn. Here's my solution:
SKACEL FIORI
This stuff knits up and looks like flowers. I was considering using this as trim in case I run out of yarn just at the end. Here it is knit up with another yarn:
I think this might be pretty with the green grassy chenille that I'm using. It would be very appropriate since I am using a plant fiber (soy silk) and then I add flowers (which are a plant too).
Unfortunately, if I run out of yarn in the boob area, this will not work too well, since it is see-through. This is what it looks like by itself:
It probably doesn't matter though. I don't think this thing is going to fit me anyway. Maybe I'll post some pictures of the Chickami tonight.
FO Marsupial
I finally felted my SnB Marsupial Tote last night! It came out pretty cool. Max said it looks like an oil slick. The other people in the apartment complex laundry time thought I was crazy... Anyway, the prefelted photo is
here, and the post-felted photo is below.
Today I had to make an emergency christmas scarf for my business. I went to work to finish the scarf, and I LEFT ONE OF THE NEEDLES AT HOME! I wish I had a camera with me to show what I used to finish this scarf. It was pretty much a curtain hanger. It came from the back office here at Kidstown, because I was desperate.
I am still working on my Chickami with the Soy Silk Chenille that I got from SWTC. I am up to the midsection now, and it's a little boring. Haven't had any progress on the Hourglass Sweater since last post.
I have been thinking more and more about designing lately. My body type is hard to find clothes for, and it would be so awesome if I could make all my own custom fitting clothes. There is a really cool article in this issue of Knitty all about using math to design sweaters. I think I might try it soon. Here is a list of the things I want to make pretty soon:
I'm going to work on Chickami right now. Seeya.
One Sleeve Down
Disclaimer: I am going to apologize for the quality of my photos AND the quality of my carpeting right now. I am kind of in a rush, and I live in a cheap apartment in the ghetto. Cheap apartments tend to have this kind of carpeting. If you live in a cheapo apartment, you are sure to recognize this crappy wall-to-wall as well.
Lookie! I got a sleeve on there! It looks like the sleeve is attacking my body with stitch holders. Those stitch holders (by the way) came from a japanese dollar store in Forest Hills, NY. For this sweater, you need 4 stitch holders, but then again, just about anything can be a stitch holder.
This sweater would fit TROGDOR the Burninator perfectly right now (any Homestar fans?)
I also cast on for the Chickami I talked about earlier. Here is my 1 row of progress:
I feel like I haven't posted in forever
It's only been since Wednesday though. Since my last post,
- I got a job at Jessica Knits and I start this Sunday
- I learned how to spin yarn at the SnB meeting (thanks Terri)
- I realized that spinning might not be for me
- I finished 3/4 of the first sleeve of the hourglass
- I got the new Stitch n Bitch from my awesome friend Hila
- I started eating kind of healthier
I got my grades back from my classes today. Here is my report card:
Tourism Marketing: A
Leisure Programming: A
Wilderness and Parks in America: A
Patterns in Nature Physics: B
My classes sound pretty fluffy, but that's what us Tourism Management majors learn about. Well that's all for now.
The Best Kind of Dilemma
My mom offered to give me a gift certificate for Hanukkah. I can't decide which store I should pick. Some ideas I had were
Hello Knitty,
Jessica Knits,
Purl,
Fiber Factory,
Rosie's Yarn Cellar, and
Jimmy Bean's Wool. I also considered a
Paypal gift certificate so I can order from
Ebay. Any suggestions?
Chickami and/or Dollar Store
I decided that I am going to make a
Chickami! I bought the pattern from
Chicknits the other night.
There are instructions to make the camisole longer or shorter, and even to make it with thicker straps. It seems like it will be very easy to follow this pattern. The whole thing is in the round, which I LOOOOOOOVE. I am going to use the Soy Silk Chenille I got from
Southwest Trading Company.
I bought the needles today from
Fiber Factory (and there's a funny story on that):
The little japanese circulars (left) are 12" needles for the sleeves of my hourglass sweater.
So get this: I spent $13.50 per package of the addis. For a starvin' student like me, that's a lot. But I like them. So after that, I went to the dollar store to buy soap and shaving cream, AND THEY HAD CIRCULAR KNITTING NEEDLES THERE. AT THE DOLLAR STORE. IN THE SAME SIZE THAT I JUST BOUGHT. Here it is:
Note the fact that it comes with a crochet hook. Needless to say, I was livid. These needles look and feel just like Inox needles. How is it possible that I just paid $13.50 for something that I could have gotten for $1 + free crochet hook? Just to give you an idea, they are the EXACT SAME SIZE AND LENGTH. And oddly enough, this was the only size they had. Blech.
I have been working on my Paper hourglass sweater mostly. I also made a scarf, but that's boring. I like how it looks so far. I put it on top of one of my shirts to show the size:
As you can see, I used rib stitch on the bottom instead of doing the turning round (which I did on the last one). Right now, I am up to the last 2 rows before the final increase, and then I guess I have to do a bunch of rounds straight, then sleeves, then finish. Sounds like not a lot, and in fact it isn't.
Today I made my Whole Jar of Peanut Butter Cookies for the cookie exchange. Here is the recipe:
Whole Jar of Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 (18 ounce) jar chunky peanut butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, yolks, and vanilla; mix until fluffy. Stir in peanut butter. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
- Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Place on the prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly with a fork. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should look dry on top. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to cool completely on a rack. These cookies taste great when slightly undercooked.
Ta Ta! Time to study!
Long Post, Lotsa Pics
I just learned how to compress photos, and why it's useful, so they should load up a little quicker from now on.
I had a huge blast at our SnB holiday party, as did everyone else it seemed. Our party was in
Southwest Trading Company's open warehouse. There was a wonderful fashion show of their yarn and patterns, and they even sold us loose skeins of yarn for only $5! I picked up a BUNCH of soy silk:
From top to bottom: Melody (soy silk ladder yarn), Soy Silk ribbon, and neon green soy silk chenille
More soy silk ribbon
Soy silk chenille in Neon Pink
There's actually a lot MORE than what's in those pictures, but I have to send it to my grandma. She really likes taking out knots in yarn and winding it into balls. Apparently, since the yarn was handled so much, some of it became a blob. Just to give you an idea of the amount of yarn, there is at least 1600 total yards of yarn.
Next, not only did I get all that cool yarn (for only 30 bucks by the way) but I also got some amazing GIFTS! We had a free raffle and a grab bag, and Alison made me a Hanukkah present!
These are the yummy stitch markers that
Alison made me:
The picture doesn't do them justice!
I also got a pair of Brittany Birch needles. These are the first hardwood needles I ever had. They are size 4 and they are lovely. I got these from the grab bag. I knit up a swatch last night using these needles and the pink soy chenille and it felt REALLY good. Here are the needles (and my grab bag gift):
My grab bag gift was a donation from
Jessica Knits, the prettiest yarn store I've seen so far. I cannot believe how lucky I was to pull this from the grab bag. It's a velvet needle roll:
And it holds double pointed needles! I really needed this one since I already got a straight and circular case on my birthday! I filled it immediately:
And last, but not least, this last picture is for
Alison. Thanks for letting me use your ball winder! It REALLY helped me wind these huge 375-yard skeins of wool!!!
Man oh man that was fun!
SnB holiday party was a BLAST. I got so much cool stuff. I don't have much time to post now, but I'll post all the details (and pics of what I got) later. Now I'm off to work. I started working at Kidstown with my awesome knitting buddy
Alison. We have 2 parties today so it should be a busy day.
As far as knitting, I'm still on the Paper Hourglass Sweater. I'm up to the last set of 14 rows before the final increase. It's getting pretty big. I'd say I'm at least 30% done right now.
Holiday Party Tonight!
I took a couple more pictures of my hourglass sweater. I really wasn't happy with the last ones I took. I think these show off the shaping and the color a little better:
I organized my stash a little bit using a hanging organizing system from IKEA. It has 6 pockets to store stuff in, and it looked perfect for my closet. I categorized my yarn by fiber content so each of the cubbies. I like this system and it is DEFINITELY big enough to hold a huge stash. I haven't even filled half of it yet. Here's the picture (it matches my sweater!):
Tonight is my stitch n bitch holiday party. I made some stitch markers for the grab bag with cute charms on them. I just finished making my famous spinach feta dip for the potluck part of it. Apparantly there will be a lot of door prizes from our local LYS and other places. I am really excited to see how this all turns out.
Guess What I Found!!!
First off, I know that my latest posts have been LAME. I know that a picture of row counters is not the most exciting thing in the world. Bare with me. All I am making is scarves for my business. They are all the SAME. My Katcha Katcha drama is the most dramatic exciting thing going on with my knitting life. Now I will proceed.
"What is that pile of mess?" you say.... Why did Illanna take a picture of her big mess?? WHY?
Here's the closeup:
That's righhhhhhht! I found my katcha katcha counter! It was under a bunch of crap! Just like I thought.
Last night was the first night of Hanukkah. I love Hanukkah. This year was the first time I lit the candles with my boyfriend in our own apartment together. We sang the blessings in Hebrew and I sang some songs to get in the Hanukkah mood. Max told me I have a bad voice, and he's 100% right.
Tomorrow is the Stitch n Bitch holiday party. I think I might take my camera with me. I am pretty excited about the grab bag because everyone's making the coolest stuff.
Tonight my Max is taking me to Buca di Beppo in Scottsdale. See you all tomorrow!
P.S. USE MY BUTTON IN YOUR SIDEBARS!!! PLEEEEEEEASE!
My New Button!
Lookie Lookie!
Paper Hourglass Sweater
Well, I am very sad because I think I lost my Katcha Katcha row counter:
I guess it's probably in a cushion of the couch but still, I can't find it. I have resorted to using this thing:
I hate these, not because I am a snob, but because I can never remember to move the knobby things. The Katcha makes a sound that is soothing. If I don't hear the soothing sound, I know I didn't do another row. Anyway...
This is my second Hourglass Sweater. The color is WAYYYY off. See the post down below for a better picture.
I think I like it. I haven't ripped it out yet, so I guess I do like it. It is 6 inches from the bottom right now. I ended up ordering more from
Noble Knits so that I have enough to finish the sweater. The yarn, R2 Paper, doesn't seem to have a dyelot. This is very lucky for someone like me who had
so many problems with the last sweater. Right now I am up to the last set of 8 rows before the final decrease on the bottom. Next comes upper tummy, then boobs, then sleeves, then top. Pretty simple.
Lyrics to Gangsta Knitter
From tomanddoug.com
Thomas P.: I’ve got lots of trouble on my mind
My knitting’s smooth as ice
My yarn is spinning
The whole wide world knows I’m winning.
People like to call me Gangsta Knitter
And I work with the needles that are bigger.
When you’re finishing your first, I’m two-timing
Hear the nasty knitting rap that I’m rhyming
See I’m rich, see I’m smooth and fast
Knit so well knock you on your ass.
There’s a new line this season
See my gauge, so even
Knit and purl, make you stand when you’re sittin’
Like a trip on some page in Vogue Knitting.
Chorus: Gangsta Knitter, Knit for me!
Doug E. Fresh: Word up – I’m a Gangsta Knitter!
Get back to your baby sitter!
I’m so good, see my scarf? Doesn’t curl
Number One, gettin’ jiggy with the girls.
If you see me coming better step to one side
A lot of men didn’t, though not many tried
One fist of mohair, the other of wool
I’m gonna knit your socks off you slow-knitting fool!
Look there, can’t you see? My ribs are nice and tight
You’re too slow you knitting neophyte.
When I’m finished my hems never pucker
Unlike your sorry seams mother f*****
Chorus: Gangsta Knitter, Knit for me!
Knitmaster SSK: Stand back boys,
you should both take a hike
Master SSK is stepping to the mike.
Your gauge is wrong, you dropped a stitch
I can knit so well that you’ll both be my bitch!
You two scrubs you knit like a jackass
Don’t ya know? I’m knitting with alpaca.
Didn’t weave your ends in, you bind off tight
Your sweater’s always looking like they just lost a fight!
Chorus: Gangsta Knitter, Knit for me!
Knitmaster SSK: Go back to patterns, little boys,
We’re freestyling here.
Doug E. Fresh: Owww!
Thomas P.: Ouch!
Doug E. Fresh: Oh man, that was harsh!
Thomas P.: That was harsh, Doug…
Knitmaster SSK: Rip it out!
Hourglass Sweater- Finally Finished
Here is the finished hourglass. I haven't blocked it yet. I don't really have enough room in my apartment anyplace for laying it down flat.
Here are the last pics if you want to compare.
11 things about this Celery Sweater
- I used Noro Lily which is 70% cotton and 30% silk.
- I used size 9 needles- inox for the body and addi turbo for the sleeves.
- The pattern comes from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
- I accidentally bought two different dyelots and there are subtle differences throughout the sweater.
- This is the first sweater I ever made.
- It took me about a month to finish.
- There are a lot of mistakes that I worked through in this pattern.
- I made size Medium.
- I bought the yarn at Jessica Knits (who was in the Arizona Republic yesterday)
- I twisted EVERY stitch in the sweater by accident.
- I already started another onein Rowan R2 Paper:
New Knitting Phenomenon?
Check out
this post. Knitting bloggers teaching their HUSBANDS to knit! He knit her a purse! And felted it with her! I am SO jealous....
