Describing Myself in One Sentence

"Does not knit well under pressure."


That pretty much sums up how I've been feeling the last few weeks. It doesn't help that just about everything I'm working on right now (knitting and other things) has to stay under wraps and is unbloggable.


I don't even have any cute cat photos to distract you with since my camera battery is dead and I haven't bothered to charge it.

If I get my act together I'll have one finished object post, an in progress post (the one thing I can share), and hopefully a few recipes and other holiday goodness later this week.

I hope all of your holiday preparations are going well!

Under the Radar

I've been busy lately knitting projects that can't be spoken of here yet, doing some paper crafts, and firmly ignoring the fact that there are only 29 days left in 2009.

Oh, and napping. Serious insomnia has struck leaving me wide awake most nights and napping after work. It's a vicious cycle I would really like to get out of.

I ordered a box of goodies from Knit Picks about a month ago now, maybe longer. The idea was that I'd have plenty of time to knit up some small Christmas goodies like Alan Dart's Gnomes and Snowmes or a felted slipper or two.





Of course, I haven't touched a thing in this box since I took the photo except to move it off the dining room table. I still believe that I have plenty of time to do everything that I want done before the holidays but I might just be deluding myself at this point.

As I mentioned, I've been spending a lot of time working on paper crafts lately and I've decided to make my own Christmas cards for the first time. I'm sure you won't be surprised when I tell you this has become much more time consuming and costly than I originally anticipated. But, I'm very excited to see how they turn out.

And because I take more cat photos than anything these days, here is a little montage of Reggie 'helping' me test some new stamps:

Organization: a small step forward

Since we moved last April and I wound up with an entire room for myself, I've been trying to find the best way to organize my craft supplies.

It's been difficult because while I would love to have things in the perfect place, labeled, and in attractive containers, I'm paralyzed by my fear of putting something in the 'wrong' place. And what if I put it in the wrong place, and because it's in the wrong place I never find the 'right' place?

I know. Crazy.

So I have been living with things still in boxes. Not very inspiring. After watching hours of craft room tours on YouTube and browsing IKEA and office supply stores for ideas, I present my first bit of organization:





I put each of my knitting wips in it's own bag and tied a label on listing what the project is. It's a small step forward. Eventually I do want to sew matching project bags and find a better storage container for them. I look forward to the day when I can photograph my area to show you!

Halloween, take 2

I have been asked if I really was able to put a costume on my cat and how long he tolerated it for.

Well, the headband lasted all of 15 seconds (too bad, since that made him look awesome) but he really didn't seem to mind the jacket. Here are a few more photos of Reggie sitting in his favorite position on the stairs in it as proof:





And a short, badly lit video of him playing with it on:




Now, I know what you want to ask. And yes. I am totally going to knit him a sweater for the winter.

The Big Huge Finished Objects Post

So I finished a number of smaller projects in September, but got so far behind in writing about them that I finally gave up. I'm going to put photos and basic information on all of them here now so at least there will be some record of them.

Please feel free to ask questions if you'd like to know anything more about something. They can all be found on my Ravelry page as well.

Cabled Waves Scarf


my own design


Perdita Cuff Bracelet


from Knitty Summer '06


Bacteria!


Clockwise from top right: Salmonella, e.coli, Shigella
based on Bacteria!


Bead Soup Bracelet


from an Earth Faire kit



Hermione's Cable & Eyelet Hat


from this pattern; based on the hat Hermione wears in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Key Chain Sock Blocker

I bought this adorable little sock blocker keychain from The Loopy Ewe a few months ago, and just got around to knitting a little sock for it.




(I realize that I forgot to put anything in for scale - it's about 2.5 inches tall)

The yarn for this little sock was leftover from yarn I spun for my mom. (I still need to take some decent photos of her yarn.) I had some thin singles left on one of the bobbins and chain plyed it just to clear the bobbin for the Neapolitan yarn I wrote about yesterday. It turned out very soft and squishy, and looked a whole lot like sock yarn. I was very excited since while I've seen a lot of gorgeous handspun sock yarn, I didn't think I'd be capable of it for a long time. Maybe I will give it a try sooner.

I have been home sick from work for the last two afternoons. (I've gone in for the mornings since some work just had to get done.) I hate missing work; I haven't had to take sick time in over a year because I don't usually get sick. I am feeling pretty bad and am just hoping I don't have the pig flu. Ugh.

Finished Yarn: Neapolitan

I've been itching to do some spinning since I purchased the alpaca fiber last week. I have a growing stash of nice fiber, but haven't had the nerve to spin much of it for fear of 'ruining' it.

In my defense, it's not like knitting - if I mess up, I can't just un-spin it. (Would that be nips? Like tink?)

Anyway, my desire to make yarn took over and I got out some Neapolitan Blue Faced Leicester fiber from Spunky Eclectic. I tried spinning from the fold for the first time, in an attempt to get a little softer, loftier yarn than those I have previously spun.






It worked so well. Much easier than I anticipated, and it seemed to go quickly too. I ended up with around 114 yarns of semi bulky yarn from 4oz of fiber. I haven't measured the wraps per inch yet, but I'm guessing it's around 7 wpi.

I think I am going to make a cowl or short cabled scarf from it.

Alpacas

Last Sunday was one of those days where I had nothing to do, but the weather was nice and I felt like I should be out enjoying it. It was one of the few non-rainy days last week, and I was afraid it was going to be one of the last nice days of the season. (Although today is looking decent so far.)

My mom had found a little ad in the paper about an "Alpaca Extravaganza!" at my county fairgrounds. (Why the ad was in her paper when she lives in a different county and I didn't even hear about it... I'm not sure.) So we stopped by.

I just love their sweet little faces. And so soft!







There were some alpacas for sale there. Steve is lucky they didn't fit into the backseat of my car. Of course I had to get a little fiber:

Happy Halloween from the Karate Kat!

*No cats were harmed in the making of today's post. One was mildy annoyed, but cheered up when he saw that there were treats involved.

**I'm really not the kind of person who likes to dress up my cat. Really. This was on sale at Target and I couldn't resist.

Finished: One Row Handspun Scarf

Before I started spinning, I imagined that it would be difficult to actually knit with (and "use up") the yarns that I spun. In fact, the opposite has been true for me. I love knitting with my handspun yarn, and only worry a little about finding the perfect pattern to use for them.

I'm sure it helps that all of my spinning to this point has produced worsted weight yarn approximate to a skein of Cascade 220. Hats and scarves, anyone?

I wrote about spinning this Spunky Eclectic fiber here in March. I was excited to see how it knitted up, since I didn't pay any attention to how I split the colors while spinning. I ended up with some great subtle stripes:





Pattern: One Row Handspun Scarf by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (available free here)
Yarn:Handspun Spunky Eclectic Roving in "New Day", details here
Needles:size 8US bamboo straights
Start/Finish: October 6, 2009/October 13, 2009

Break out the wool.

Cold. It's cold here. The heat is on, my wool socks are out, and the cat has been sleeping under the blanket against my side. (Which at least keeps me warm even if I can't roll over.)

We watched the Iowa vs. Michigan last night on TV and at one point they showed the "feels like" temperature as 24 degrees in Iowa City. After that, I was glad to be home on my couch wearing my Sedum sweater and a blanket instead of at the game. We were at Kinnick last weekend for the Iowa/Arkansas State game and I felt cold sitting there is a 50 degree breeze. (At least the awesomeness of the game would have kept me warm last night.)

We are spending this weekend organizing the garage so we can fit both cars in before the weather really turns bad, cutting down plants in the garden (I've have a garden update written for a while that needs to be posted), and decorating for fall/halloween.

Monday is Columbus Day and Steve has the day off work. I am taking the day off since I don't get it off automatically and we are going to IKEA to buy a new rug for the living room. The wood floor looks nice, but is definitely not cozy enough for the winter. I am challenging myself to only come home from IKEA with the rug and nothing else.

I have been on an upswing of knitting productivity lately. I've got at least a half dozen of finished projects I need to post here individually for my own record keeping. I'm afraid I've already forgotten some of the things I've wanted to say about them. Is it too early to make a new year's resolution for 2010? I resolve to stay on top of things I want to get done, because it easier stop and take a minute to do something right away than catch up later!

Finished: Sedum Sweater

:::dances around:::

It’s done It’s done It’s done It’s done.

Actually, it was done September 6th. I love it.

And I am never making a one piece, top down, bulky yarn, oversize cardigan again. Especially not during the summer.







I feel like I need to say that it actually does fit very well, even though they way I am standing in one photo makes it appear too small and the other a little too big.

I don’t have buttons for it yet, and hope to find some lightweight plastic ones that will blend into the fabric rather than stand out.

Let’s see, what else to say about this. I changed the pattern to make the body of the sweater in stockinette stitch instead of seed stitch. While I love the look of seed stitch, I didn’t think the extra bulk of it in this yarn would be very flattering on me.

I also wish I would have had one more ball of yarn to make the ribbed collar a little longer. Still, it's very comfy and is going to be perfect to wear this fall for running out to the store or keeping warm at home.

Pattern: Sedum Sweater (on Ravelry)
Yarn: GGH Aspen in Camel
Needles: size 10 US circs and dpns
Started/Finished: May 19, 2009/September 6, 2009

Fall Football Season

As much as I hate to admit it, Fall has arrived in Chicagoland. This has both bad (weather) and good (football!) points.

It is pretty easy to tell when college football season begins around here. Every time I turn the TV on, it is tuned to ESPN or the Big Ten network. Radios are tuned to AM stations, especially if we are in the car on a Saturday. We stop in front of any TV showing score for a quick update. And I am struggling to keep up with the player’s names and team standings as every other sentence out of my husband’s mouth is football related.

It’s lots of fun. He has plenty of things to say about how ESPN treats the Hawkeyes, and about the polls in general, but I think I am going to let that go here for now.

Since we can no longer make it to Iowa City for all of the Hawkeye home games anymore, we have switched to Illinois State Redbirds season tickets. We meet my family there; my Dad is an alumnus. It is a lot of fun and we get to see some excellent 1-AA football. Also, their marching band is fantastic and it makes this former band geek/drum majorette feel very nostalgic.

(Every time I am on a college campus I have to resist the urge to run to the admissions office and sign up for classes. But as I’ve said – geek.)

Do you remember Reggie?


seen here, trying to steal my watermelon


He was actually named after Reggie the Redbird.




An extra special bonus to attending Redbird games is that we have a 2.5 hour drive each way. That is a lot of quality knitting time while my husband drives. I’ve actually finished a few small projects already – two games into the season.

(And once again I have a serious backlog of FO posts.)

This weekend the Redbirds are away, and we are actually driving to Iowa for a Hawkeye game. This is our first one in… two years I think? I’m very excited. Well, except for the fact that the game starts at 11am, and we have to leave at ridiculous o’clock in the morning to get there in time. Oh well – more car knitting!

Last Weekend

I can't believe a week has gone my since Mom and I were at Stitches Midwest. I am once again so far behind in things I want to write about.

I took Friday off work and stayed in a hotel in Schaumburg (about 45 min from home) for two nights. Friday night was basically just for fun - a girls night with mom - but I stayed Saturday because my husband and I were going to a concert at the Park West in the city and I didn't want to have to drive home after my class on Saturday, down to the city, back home, and then back to Schaumburg the next day. It worked out really well, and was a nice little escape from the real world for a few days. In fact, by the time work on Monday rolled around the perpetual mental list of things I needed to do that morning was gone from my brain. Wow. It's a good thing I write everything down!

Unfortunately I don't have any photos at all of the entire weekend. Lame. I'm gotten so bad about pulling my camera out and taking pictures. I need start that again. I think it's nice to have a record of even the somewhat mundane things in life.

The two classes I took at Stitches were excellent. I am going to take a few photos of what I learned and talk a little bit about them in a separate post.

We (well, I) did quite a bit of damage at the Stitches market. Since I was there for three days (Friday with Mom, Saturday and Sunday for classes) I kept going back and picking up 'just one more thing'.





I'm not going to show a photo of the yarn, since much of it is for gifts.

______

I feel it necessary to say that I am a little overwhelmed my all of my yarn and projects at the moment. I didn't mention it here yet but a few months ago I ran across a sort of local yarn store that was going out of business, and had everything 75% off. Ahem.





I have enough yarn now for about 10 sweaters, 25 pairs of socks, and countless other smaller projects. This is the first time it has ever felt like too much and I am looking forward to finishing some of the gift projects and getting them out of here.

Swatching.

I spent part of my weekend combining patterns with yarn and doing a few swatches for the things I want to start soon.





The green is Cascade Sierra, the gray is Plymouth Encore, and the red is Rowan Summer Tweed. The first two are for vests and the Summer Tweed is for a Liesl cardigan. I am constantly pushing long sleeves up at work to keep them out of the way (and out of chemicals/media/burners) so I thought I'd try combos of warm vests with short sleeves to stay warm this winter with less hassle.

The swatches have already been washed and blocked. I know many people don't swatch at all, much less wash and block them, but my scientific brain can not comprehend how to make a garment that fits without knowing how the yarn is going to act. I am a little disappointed to see that my stitches still look uneven in the Sierra after blocking. This is actually my second time attempting to use this yarn and I just can't get it to look smooth. Is it the cotton content? Frustrating.

These swatches:





are homework for a seaming class I am taking at Stitches Midwest next weekend. I am really looking forward to this class; my seaming is atrocious and no matter how many times I read instructions on how to do mattress stitch I just don't get it.

Judging by the swatches, we are going to learn to seam many different types of stitches and edges. Maybe after this I will not shy away from knitting a sweater in pieces instead of top-down all at once. My bulky, heavy, too hot on my lap Sweater of Doom has made me question that method, as convenient as it sounds.

The Neverending Sweater of Doom

The only thing left to finish on my Sedum cardigan is the collar, which is long and ribbed (har) so it can fold over on itself and be cozy.

I have worked on it every night since last weekend. It doesn't seem to be getting any bigger.

Arggh! I just want it finished!

As much as I love sweaters that are knit in one piece, having the entire thing in your lap while working on a sleeve or the collar is really a pain. Especially when it is a large cardigan/coat sweater in bulky yarn.

You may need sunglasses before viewing this yarn.

I forgot to mention this on my to do list: dye sock yarn.

I need yellow sock yarn for a knit along I am participating in starting September 1st, but I didn't have any in my sock yarn stash or the desire to spend money on new yarn. (Isn't that strange? But I have become inundated with yarn this summer and It's all a little overwhelming. I'll write about that sometime in the future.)

I did have a ball of Opal Uni-Color in Natural. Perfect! I picked up a vial of Wilton Icing color in Lemon Yellow at Michaels for $1.70 and was off.

I've only even done a little Kool-Aid dying experimentation in 2003. It worked well, aside from the face that I never figured out what to do with the neon variegated, fruit scented yarn I created.





This time is I just used my Crock-pot, wound the yarn in to a hank and dunked it in. (Unfortunately, no photos of the process since I did this at night and it is ridiculously dark in my kitchen.) I was hoping to get more of a kettle dyed, semi-solid color, but there are only a few subtle variations. I probably used too much dye for the yarn, even thought I only put in about a 1/4 teaspoon. Oh well, it's bright at least! I almost wish I would have gone with the Golden Yellow or Buttercup Yellow dyes. I figure if the finished socks really are too bright, I can try to overdye them with a warmer yellow after they are knit.




And now, I have to resist the call of a new hobby. Because even dying one skein of yarn a solid color has me itching to try more. And, my hubby bought me the book Spin Dye Stitch: How to Create and Use Your Own Yarns for my birthday. I know I've said it before, but he's such an enabler.

Looking Ahead.

So I'm in the midst of a finishing frenzy, and taking a little time out from new projects to assess what I want to accomplish in the remainder of 2009. This includes the fate of a number of project that I wrote indecisively about here in my In-Progress Roundup. Whatever uncertainty I held while writing that list is gone. It I don’t like it, it’s getting frogged. If I don’t want to work on it, I’m considering that a symptom of not liking it and frogging.

It’s very freeing.

(The following list is mostly for my own reference, but you can play along at home.)

To be finished (soon):
Sedum Cardigan - 1 sleeve cuff, button bands, and collar remaining.
Mom's yarn - two bobbins left to fill, then ply

To be started/continued:
Steve’s Henry scarf – I really really love the pattern. Who cares if it's a little fiddly?
Doughnut – decided to change pattern to fit my needs

To be frogged:
Chevron scarf – going to be turned into a tweed/woven stitch, still alternating the two colors, possibly lengthwise
Turtleneck Tube Vest - going to be turned into a different, u-neck vest

This weekend I am going to work on matching some (most?) of my yarn up with projects and putting them in a loose to-be-knit timeline. I'm also going to write up the ideas I have for my growing spinning fiber collection.

Ahhhhh, organization. You feel so good.

Finished: Anastasia Socks

I have a love/hate relationship with this sock yarn, Misti International Hand Paint Sock Yarn. I love the colors and soft, smooth feel. For whatever reason I had a beast of a time keeping consistent tension with it while knitting. Almost as if it was so smooth as to be slippery. It was so frustrating, and cramping up in my left pinky, that I put them aside for almost six months.

I found them about two weeks ago in the bottom of my knitting bag and just wanted them done. Apparently that was enough motivation; I finished them last Friday. My tension must have been a little more relaxed with the second sock since the colors didn't pool the same way. Oh well, the fit is the same.

As for the pattern itself, I love that the spirals travel in opposite directions. I substituted an afterthought heel for the one written in the pattern. No reason, other than I wanted to keep working on the spiral instead of knitting a heel when I got to it on the first sock.


Pattern: Anastasia Socks by Minty Fresh (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Misti International Hand Paint Sock Yarn
Needles: Addi Turbo 0US, 2 circs
Started/Finished: February 9, 2009 - August 14, 2009

Finished: Swallowtail Shawl

The Swallowtail was my first triangular shawl. I think I'm hooked! (But I still need to figure out how to photograph them to show off the lace best.)





I've said it before, but I am a much better knitter when I'm using an interesting pattern stitch, instead of plain stockinette or rib. It's like, if I'm not forced to pay attention then I won't at all. I knit this whole thing without lifelines, marking up my chart, or even writing down what row I was on. And I didn't ever need to rip more than two or three stitches. (I did need to correct a lost yarnover from the previous row a few times though.)

I'm saying this not to brag or feel like a superior knitter (I'm definitely not), but to prove how important learning to read your knitting is. It's something I struggled with for a long time. It actually took me years to figure out that the row where the two stitch leaned together wasn't the decrease row, but the row where the loop passed through both of them at once was.

The Swallowtail is a simple enough pattern that I could tell what row I was on by a glance at what I had done in the previous row. Pattern repeats were easily counted, and the repeat section across the chart was short, intuitive, and easily memorized.

Plus, I think I got lucky.



I'll probably wear it like this, under my coat.



Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark, Interweave Knits Fall 2006
Yarn: Wisdom Yarns Poem Sock, in color #955
Needles: Addi Turbo Lace in 3US
Started/Finished: June 2009 - August 3, 2009




I really tried everything when it came to the photo.

Blocking the Swallowtail

I finished knitting my Swallowtail shawl in a haze of decongestant on Monday. I am so pleased with this project. As my first triangular shawl, I wasn't entirely sure how it was constructed. Logically I knew, each row increases from a central point, but my brain needs to see something before it believes it.

I sort of winged this entire project. I didn't use any stitch markers or lifelines, didn't highlight or write on the charts, didn't even use anything to mark what row I was on in the chart. I kept saying "I just want to get started, I'll fix that stuff up later". And then I was done. And it worked!

I broke out the blocking wires purchased almost a year ago at Stitches Midwest for the the time. Let me say, once i figured out how to pin and pull them to stretch the fabric, I will never block something without them again.

The yarn I used (Wisdom Yarns Poem Sock) is marketed to use as a sock yarn. Obviously, I guess. It is a loosely spun single with 25% nylon. It didn't seem like it would be very sturdy for socks and this suspicion was confirmed while blocking. My yarn tails were almost fragile while wet, and one kept disintegrating in my hands. Luckily I left them extra long. I was concerned about how aggressively I could block it without damaging any of the stitches, so I probably erred on the side of caution.


Here is the unblocked shawl:




Here is the bizarre milky purple color it turned the water while it was soaking:


What's up with that?


Blocking:


On old maroon towels, to avoid any chance of dying the carpet.


With cat anchor:


While still damp. Crazy cat loves water.

Happy Belated Birthday to Me (With Prizes!)

For the last few years, I've done a little contest/giveaway for my birthday on August 1st. I think it's fun and I always seem to get a good response to I guess some of you think it's fun too!

(For the record, I turned 29 - for the first time, not the "29 again" as many people assumed when they inquired my age.)

Unfortunately I ended up sick as a dog for my birthday, with a cold that morphed into a sinus infection. I don't get sick very often and to get a cold in the summer, on my birthday was almost insulting. I still can't smell or taste anything but at least the floor isn't spinning anymore.

I'd still like to do a little giveaway sometime soon. I am playing a little catch-up with work and real life from being out of it for a few days, so let's plan on Friday night (Aug 6th) for the contest to be posted. I thought about doing something a little different, like a virtual scavenger hunt, but laziness might set it and knock it down to 'post a comment'.

Check back soon!

It might be an addiction.

So a few weeks ago, Steve and I stopped by IKEA on the way home from my parent's house to pick up a shelf I wanted to add to my wire basket yarn storage tower.

This is the ($7) shelf:





And installed:





Perfect.

But. Despite my best intentions to walk out of that damn store with only one thing FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE, we came home with all this as well.





As an aside, if you are ever at IKEA do check out their knife selection. They are some of the best knives I have ever used and they are ridiculously inexpensive. For instance, above you can see a set of 6 steak knifes we picked up for $2.99. I have a $6 chef knife that is 10x better than my $35 Pampered Chef model. I am slowly growing a full collection of them. (See here, on their website.)

Finished: Fruit Protector

Also possibly called an Apple Cozy.



Adorable Apple Cozy by Theresa Grant


I know some people have issues with things like this, since it just seems to pointless. While I am not against making pointless items (see: knit t.p.) this little guy actually serves a purpose for me.

I take a nectarine, peach, or pear to work almost every single day. I love these fruits when they are super ripe, but not quite mushy. Consider that I also typically carry a Tupperware or corning ware container with the main part of my lunch and you might realize what my problem usually is. Bruised fruit with split skin and usually some pear or peach gooped all over the inside of my lunch bag. Blech.

I used to wrap my fruit up in a napkin or paper towel but that felt too wasteful so I switched to a knit dishcloth. Which is really only a half step away from something fruit shaped with a keep-the-fruit-inside button.

The attentive among you may notice that my fruit protector is crocheted. I wanted a quick project and crochet has always been much much faster for me than knitting. (This took around 25 min.) You know, only one hook to hold, only one loose loop to worry about. For the record, my mom taught me to crochet around 1987, and I taught myself how to knit in 2002.

I have a feeling there are going to be a few more crochet projects coming. I'm not sure when I got bit by the bug since I haven't actually crocheted in almost a decade, but I have found a few patterns I'd like to try.

Finished: t.p.

The first time I came across this Toliet Paper pattern at Mochimochi Land I knew I had to knit it. In fact, I feel that way about most of her patterns. It is completely useless but (I think) hilarious.






This was a stashbuster project that wasn't quite successful as I still have a little of each color wool left. It was a quick knit, and once I steam blocked the heck out of it the stockinette section didn't curl in very much.








It has now made it's home in the downstairs bathroom. Here are the answers, in order, to the questions I received after placing it there:

1) Yes, it is.
2) Because I can.
3) Please don't. For decorative purposes only!

WIP Wednesday

I've been spinning!

I set my wheel up for the first time since we moved in April. My room (craft room? knitting room? relaxation room? I'm not sure what to call it yet.) is almost put together so I have a nice space to spin without feeling like I'm talking over the living room.





The fiber is BFL from Spunky Eclectic in "Riverwalk". There are 8oz, which I gave to my mom for mother's day. It was supposed to be in yarn form already then - over two months ago. Whoops.

In other WIP news, the sweater and socks still haven't been touched. I have been working on my Swallowtail shawl but each row takes a while at this point and I only seem to have the time and patience to do one or two at a time.

Something wonderful, and frankly a relief, is that Reggie doesn't seem to be interested in the fiber or my yarn at all. He was a little too interested in the wheel as it was spinning but I stopped for a minute and he lost interest.

(Gratuitous cat photo:)