Knit it, Violet!

And Just Like That...

2010-03-20T20:17:00.001-07:00

I've moved! Not literally, we're still in the same little apartment we moved into just a few months after I started this blog nearly four years ago, but I've decided to move my knitting blog elsewhere. You can find me here: VioletsKnits.wordpress.com

I have mixed feelings about leaving this blog space, but since I haven't posted since last year...well, you can tell it hasn't been inspiring me a lot lately. I needed a change. All my old posts will still be here for you perusal and my nostalgia. It's been fun and I'm looking forward to a fresh start, and renewed energy!

Please come visit me & update your bookmarks and feeds. VioletsKnits.wordpress.com See you soon!

PS- Kellen and I have started a garden/sustainability blog, too: Sweet Avenue Farm.

See you soon!

The Saddest Little Appendix

2009-09-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

My baby brother is not such a baby anymore. In 4 months, he's going to be 14. I can't even fathom that. Nine years older might not seem like that much, but this kid is my little Glorfka.

Me and the Bub, probably around 2002 or 2003...

Last week I got a scary text message from my mom saying he was in the emergency room with severe abdominal pain. He was sent home with a false alarm, and then two days later was back in the emergency room. This time it was for real, his little appendix was coming out. He's a healthy little athlete (even though he has been known to eat an entire box of Honey Buns, and *ahem* several pounds of corn chips in one sitting. In fact, it was the copious corn chips that caused the "false alarm" diagnosis in the first place) so he's never really had any medical problems. It was scary for all of us.
Here he is all doped up just after surgery. He kept showing me the punching game hand gesture. What a punk.

I did a little bit of knitting in the emergency room, but once surgery was over and he started to recuperate, I realized what he really needed was a stuffed appendix. I had originally planned on getting him a Giant Microbe appendix, but they don't make one, so I had to get creative.

My own pattern (cast on 6 stitches and increased until the desired fatness, then decreased when it seemed appendix-y). The yarn is lamb's pride worsted, and I used US 8 dpns. I think he came out pretty cute.

Here's the saddest little appendix with the grumpiest little appendectomy patient. This was actually the night he was allowed to come home. I think the little appendix came out pretty cute, and now Jaime has a souvenir from his adventure. He's on the mend and gets to play baseball again in a week; we're all thankful. Plus, I got to knit an appendix, adding to my knit body-part repertoire.

Phat Fiber Box

2009-06-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

I love surprises. As a kid, I was a sucker for a grab bag (actually, I still am), even though I usually ended up disappointed. I'm also hopeless when it comes to resisting "limited time only" things. So, obviously, the Phat Fiber box left me totally defenseless. Similar concept to The Sampler, which I pined over for years, and finally snagged, only to be totally disappointed with the knick-knacks I got (to be fair, some of it was cool, but the majority was unusable and disappointing. Just luck of the draw, I guess, because some people have gotten great stuff!)

So, I totally wanted a phat fiber box, but I was wary of dropping $32 only to be disappointed. But then I watched the YouTube teaser video and I was a goner. I had to have one. I counted down the mintues to the "secret" time the boxes would be released and then hit "checkout" as fast as my little laptop touch pad could click. Here's what I got (click photos for more details):

The whole shebang! I was so excited to see a copy of Knit Circus, which I've been wanting. It's got a ton of adorable patterns. I didn't get a close-up, but there's some gorgeous purple fiber from Sneaky Pig Yarns that is one of my favorite items.

Yarn samples from: Gale's Art, Holiday Yarns, Yarn Floozie, Serendipitous Ewe, Twisted Fiber Yarn, Shady Side Farm and Mad Angel Creations. Whew!

Platform Nine

Teresa Levite Studio, Wonders Mohair, and Plum Crazy Ranch.

Spincerely Yours and Goat Goat Sheep (I love that name!)

Vickie's Stitch Markers

Liberty Fibers.

There was some other delicious goodies, but those are some highlights. There were also TONS of coupons; I can't wait to do some shopping at my new favorite fibery people. I'm also looking forward to spinning everything up. I'm thinking of spinning them all together (the theme is ocean, so it'll be organized chaos) and knitting them into the Briny Sea Cowl pattern that was included.

Needless to say, it was totally worth more than the $32! Plus the box arrived on my doorstep after a very bad day, and a box of fiber makes everything better.

I'm off to take a knitbreak. Links are exhausting!

Plain Vanillas, Mixed Berries

2009-06-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Like a lot of knitters, I like to keep a pair of plain vanilla socks on the needles in my purse or backpack. I don't drive, so I have plenty of opportunities to knit on bus rides, waiting for the bus, waiting for appointments, and for classes to start (before I graduated, that is). These were my most recent On-the-go socks.

pattern: none, just plain ol' stockinette. Yarn: Knitpicks Felici in Mixed Berries. Needles: US 1 dpns.

This yarn is so soft. If you haven't knit with Knitpicks sock yarn in a long time, I strongly recommend you try it. The base yarn is 10,000 times softer than it used to be. Remember Simple Stripes? It's a sturdy yarn and the socks I knit from it wear like IRON, but it's a little rough. The Felici, and the newer Essential (they're changing the name to Stroll, which I'm not fond of, but I digress) anyway, these are silky soft. Buttery. And they wear well, too. They've pilled a bit more than the Simple Stripes (which haven't pilled at all), but I was them in the washer and toss them in the dryer, and they still look good. No felting. Just cozy, pink striped sock. What more could a girl ask for?

Oops, I forgot.

2009-06-06T17:03:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I forgot to mention the most functional thing I dyed in my dye techniques class. This tank top! It was dyed with procion dyes which are really genius. They're so easy to use and the colors come out really juicy. I used a shibori technique, but I mean, really, it's just tie-dye. I love the tank top, though, and I wear it all the time when I garden.

Speaking, of plant life, I cast on the Climbing Vines Pullover from last winter's Interweave Knits. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm passed the ribbing.

Catching up

2009-06-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

I got my wisdom teeth taken out on Friday.
I took today off from work because I'm still in a good amount of pain, so I thought it would be a good time to catch up on some things I've wanted to blog. I have lots of FO's to talk about, but for now I want to talk about my Dye Techniques class I took this past semester. I'm so glad I got the chance to take such an awesome, fun, inspiring class my last semester at HSU.

We learned a lot of different techniques, including a lot of things I definitely plan on doing again. Here's a silk painting I did, one of our first projects:

I can't express how in love I am with Alter Ego Dyes. Can you believe I put this fabric swatch in one vat of purple dye? The silk absorbs one color dye, and the synthetic fiber absorbs the other. The result is beautiful.
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Because the fabric's expensive, we only got to dye a swatch, but I'm planning on sewing it into a little pouch. Wouldn't a whole dress dyed like this be gorgeous?

For our final, we dyed swatches of different fabrics in a variety of Rit dyes, so we could have a reference log of sorts.
It's inspiring to just flip through them and arrange them in different combination.

I met a lot of knitters in the class, and of course we had an acid dyeing demo. I had some white lamb's pride at home, and I whipped up this with Wilton dyes and Kool-Aid.
There will definitely be more yarn dyeing in my future. I've got a lot of work lined up this summer, but I'm also hoping to make time to craft and put some things in my etsy shop, which is currently filled with cobwebs.

That's it for now. I'm resting, drinking cocoa and listening to birds chirp after a nice thunderstorm this morning. Finishing up some old UFO's and excited about sharing again on this blog!

Where I Have Been.

2009-05-18T10:06:00.001-07:00

I haven't been blogging because I've been dedicating every minute to finishing up my degree in Women's Studies with a concentration in women's expression in art and languages at Humboldt State University. Wooo!

I'm lounging in bed on a Monday at 10 am and it feels wonderful. I can't wait to get back into the swing of documenting my craftiness again. So stay tuned.

While I have not been blogging...

2009-02-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

I knit a valentine for Karla. Free pattern from MochiMochiLand, leftover lamb's pride.

I knit a hat for my not-so-little brother's 13th birthday. Norwegian Star Earflap Hat by Tiennie, Wool of the Andes in Coal.

I've been spinning. Mystery Wool singles, shown here on one of the very awesome niddy noddies my dad made me for xmas.

I knit two noro kureyon squares for the All Noro Afghan we all made for Handmade Memories' 8th Anniversary party.

We raffled it off, and had a really fun knitting party.

And I did a bit of sewing. This is a small project bag I made for Karla. I made an even smaller, sock-size prototype for me, too. Knit Pirates and Quilt Pirates fabric by Henry Miller, no pattern for the bags.

I guess that's been it for the craftiness. I've also grown some Paperwhites that are threatening to take over the entire living room, started some sage seeds, become an intern for a women's health project, started my insanely busy last semester of college, cooked a few good meals, done a lot of homework, drank a lot of tea, and snuggled a lot with Kellen. 2009 has been good to me so far.

2008, knitting in a nutshell

2009-01-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

1. le slouch, 2. BR Knockoff Hat, 3. Fuzzy Feet, 4. Bzz on my mind, 5. Sweater curse, Sweater shmurse, 6. embossed leaves, 7. Kellen's Cobblestone, again., 8. It's blocking!, 9. Peaks n Valleys, from above, 10. Patti's Footies, 11. Punkin Dishcloth, 12. Rainbow Jaywalker, 13. Fetched., 14. Corazon Mittens, 15. Almost Argyles, 16. Modeling Grandma's Mini Clapotis, 17. Tired. but handknit., 18. Norbert!, 19. Soap and washcloths, 20. Grandpa's hat., 21. Rainbow Hat, 22. Felted Beret, 23. Sunflower Tam, 24. Alpaca Cowl., 25. Unoriginal Hat, 26. Wicked pocket, 27. I do this a lot, 28. 9.16.2008

Quite a few FO's came off the needles in 2008. Not quite as many as in years past, but then again I did have one failed sweater (currently being reknit, but more about that later) and three large-ish projects still in the works. I knit two sweaters for Kellen, one for myself, fewer socks than in years past, and quite a few things I didn't blog, which I feel kind of bad about. Details for everything are on the flickr pages, and ravelry, as usual.

I learned to spin on a wheel this year, which was one of my biggest goals. I'm quickly becoming addicted. My knitting goals for 2009? More sweaters for me, more socks, more knitting. and MORE blogging! I kind of let the blog slip, because the thought of putting everything into flickr, then ravelry, then the blog (or vice versa) just became too daunting. This year, I'm going to try and document more, share more, and create more. Happy 2009!

Holiday Gift Wrap-up, or Unwrapped!

2008-12-31T09:58:00.000-08:00

I decided I better post about my holiday knit gifts before I post my end of the year wrap-up, right? I didn't really feel like blogging each project detail individually, so here we go:

1. Peaks n Valleys Socks, 2. Patti's Footies, 3. Corazon Mittens, 4. Grandma's Mini Clapotis, 5. Tired. but handknit., 6. Norbert!, 7. Soap and washcloths, 8. Coloring Wallet, Exterior, 9. Grandpa's hat., 10. Tea Towels., 11. Peanut Butter Blossoms, 12. cookies
Click on the links for details on the flickr page, or visit my Ravelry Page to see complete details. Oops, I just realized I forgot to put the previously blogged noro fetchings in the mosaic. They were well recieved...and now I totally want a noro pair.

I didn't get everything finished- Kellen's sweater, my grandma's lap blanket, and my brother's socks are still on the needles, but that's okay. They'll be done eventually. It was a very good Christmas, although gone too fast. I was spoiled as usual. Kellen bought me a super awesome Michael Graves tea kettle (it looks like a rooster!), sock blockers, a fiber scale for my handspun, and yoga accessories. I also got Scrabble, the new Mason-Dixon book, and a gift certificate to a new lys. Totally spoiled in so many ways this year.

I always like new years, but to be honest, 2008 was pretty darn good to me. There was lots of knitting, school was survivable (I got straight As!), and work was for the most part enjoyable. It was a very stable year, and 2009 will be...full of growth. We'll put it that way. Graduating, finding a new job, etc. Oh well, at least I'll have my knitting! Hope you have a safe and happy new year, and I'll be back in 2009!

Merry and Bright.

2008-12-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

I really didn't plan on disappearing from the blog world again this December, but it appears I've made it a tradition. The past few weeks of school were particularly stressful, not so much because of assignments (although those weren't a stroll in the park) but because of about-to-graduate hassles and what-are-you-doing-with-the-rest-of-your-life discussions with advisors, trying to figure out how I'm going to cram an internship into my already jam packed schedule, working a lot, and of course:
Christmas knitting. I had to give up on three projects (Kellen's sweater, my brother's second sock, and my grandmother's lap blanket) but all will be finished eventually. I'm also been baking, drinking tea and coffee, and sewing a bit. I really love the holidays but especially with my family's traditions evolving (divorce, new significant others, and all the kids, myself included, growing up) I find myself putting a lot of pressure on myself to make it merry for everyone. And it's not really something I can control, you know? I will not bring about world and family peace if only I can knit everyone a pair of socks. What I can do, is relax, breathe, knit what makes me happy, and leave the stress and expectations out of my celebrations.

Amanda, Stephanie, and Velma all posted things I really needed to read as the clock ticked closer to Christmas. Maybe you'll enjoy them too.

If you're celebrating this week, I hope you find yourself peaceful, cozy, and grateful. That's my goal. I'll be back soon with a post-holiday knitting wrap-up!

1 Month, 1 Week, 1 Day

2008-11-16T12:47:00.000-08:00

First of all:

It's that time of year again. I'm drowning in school, but I've also been spinning:

And baking:
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It doesn't look like much, but this was delicious apple cobbler. The apples were gifted to us from our knitting group organizer Velma and the delicious recipe came from here.

And of course, the gift knitting:

I wish I had pictures of these modeled, but it's quite difficult to take pictures of your own hands, and Kellen is at work. But you get the idea.
Pattern: Fetchings from Knitty.com
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, color no. 188
Needles: US 5, Susan Bates dpns
This is my second pair of fetchings, first pair blogged here. I absolutely love this pattern, and in the noro, they're squishy and wonderful. I hope the recipient likes them! (I'm not going to reveal recipients on the blog, just yet...)

Again, sorry they're not modeled, but you get the idea.
Pattern: Corazon Mittens from Knitty.com
Yarn: Telemark from KnitPicks in Passion Heather and Drift.
Needles: US 3s and 4s. Susan Bates dpns.
I'm not totally thrilled at my tension on these, but I think they still came out pretty nice. The chart keeper Kellen got my from Knit Picks for Christmas last year helps a lot with colorwork. I find it super enjoyable but I defnitely could use more practice. I hope the recipient doesn't mind!

Finally, a WIP:

This is a sock leg, distorted because I photographed it on my hand. It's the Almost Argyle pattern by Susan Lawrence. It was available at Knitpicks, but is now discontinued. I knit these once before, for Kellen, but I'm not sure if I blogged them. You can see them on Ravelry, though. I enjoy this pattern, but with all the other Christmas knits on the list, we'll see how much I like it by the end of the second sock.

So that's about it for now. I'm off to do some homework, and think about how much I'd rather be knitting.

It's November, Really?

2008-11-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

Halloween came and went pretty uneventfully in the Violet/Kellen house. I made Harvest Soup, without the beef, using veggie stock instead of water and bullion, and it came out great. Then we spent the evening with friends. No complaints!

At the begining of the month, I made two Halloween-y FOs, though. One for my Secret Pal and one for me.

Pattern: Punkin Dishcloth (ravelry link).
Needles: US 5, clover bamboos.
Yarn: Dishcloth cotton from Handmade Memories. I think it's Bernat?
Karla made this pattern last year and it was so cute I had to make one. Quick, easy pattern, although there are a few typos in the pattern. They're easy to make sense of if you really look at your knitting, though.

Other than that, I've been spinning.
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This is a bit of merino I spun up. I'm still getting used to my wheel (it's old and almost as cranky as I am) but we're starting to learn to work together. All my practice yarn (including what I spun on the spindle a few years ago) is slowly being knit into an "artsy" (aka crappily spun yarn) scarf. I think it might look cool when it's done...whenever that will be...

And then of course, there are xmas gifts. I'm hoping to have another FO this week...I'll keep you posted!

Socktoberfestivities!

2008-10-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

I celebrated Socktoberfest 2008 in a very small way, by finishing up two pairs of socks, thus completing my first two xmas gifts this year!

First up were these Cabled Footies for Kellen's Stepmom. I've knit this pattern three times now and I'm always pleased with how quickly they knit up and how comfy they are. I got this pair out of only one skein of yarn, and I had enough left over that I probably could have done another cable repeat on each cuff. Good to know, since there may be more of these in my holiday knitting.
Pattern: Cabled Footies by Leigh Radford from the book One Skein.
Needles: US 7 Susan Bates dpns
Yarn: Dark Horse Fantasy, 1 skein

Next up, I finished my mom's socks. (I doubt she's reading this, but if you are Mom, stop!)

Ha! I just realized I took an upclose shot of a glaring error. Oh well, don't judge me. Nonknitters probably won't notice.
These were knit out of yarn my mom and I won (one skein each) at the Handmade Memories creative retreat this summer. After a few attempts, I decided on this pattern, and let me tell you, it was not very popular with some of the ladies I knit with. I got, "What a nice pattern; I would have used a solid yarn," a lot. Yes, they're loud. Yes, the lacey pattern might have looked better in a solid yarn. But I like them, and I think my mom will, too. They're super comfy and the yarn is very nice. If a bit clownish. And I really like the wavy edge at the top.

Pattern: Peaks n Valleys by Besty Lee McCarthy from the book Knit Socks!
Yarn: Brown Sheep Wildfoote, in Rock n Roll, 2 skeins
Needles: US 0, Susan Bates dpns
Modifications: Cast on only 63 stitches, because 72 is big enough to make socks for Kellen; it would have been way too big. Then, just followed the stitch pattern and went from there. It's an easily memorized, two row repeat.

Happy Socktoberfest...only 60 days until Christmas!

Begining again, in Fall...

2008-10-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

I did a bit of remodling on the blog, mainly because I wanted to post larger pictures than my old template allowed. It's not perfect (for one, I can't get my damn flickr badge in the side bar, but I'm learning to let go...) but I think it'll be a nice fresh start for me. It's a gorgeous time of year here, and even though I have four(!) papers due this week, I've been knitting a lot. Christmas is coming! Sorry if that fills you with dread. I'm beyond excited to finish up this stressful semester (even if it seems like it just started) surround myself with some wooly gifts and my family.

Anyway, this is just a post to test out the new look. I hope you like it! I'll be posting later this week (assuming those papers don't kill me) with an update about my Socktoberfest!

So it's not Rhinebeck, but...

2008-10-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

I always get jealous this time of year reading everyone's Rhinebeck posts and seeing all the gorgeous pictures. The yarn! The foliage! The fiber animals! The blog friends! Well, as a left coast girl, I make do with what I got. Weekend before last, Kellen and I made the nice drive down to Redway for our Natural Fiber Fair.
It was a goreous, rainy autumn weekend, I had a friend covering my shift at work, Kellen wore his cobblestone and got lots of compliments, and I got fiber! My spinning is still slow going, but I'm getting there (if I could quit my job and school, I'd have much more fiber time, but I digress). I got some gorgeous redwoods colored merino, some green romney (I think) wool to spin for Kellen, and beautiful blue and purple angora that I'm saving for when I become a more skilled spinner. It's a small festival (smaller than it has been in the past, too) but it was still really nice. Fun to see my knitting friends there, too. Afterwards, Kellen and I went to Garberville to get lunch and poke around my favorite art shops there. Now that I'm drowning in midterms, it's good to remember these nice autumn weekends. Have fun at Rhinebeck if you're going, I'll try not to be jealous. Afterall, I don't have it so bad. :)

A Belated Thank You!

2008-10-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

To my awesome secret pal!

Mel was my very awesome secret pal for round 12. This was my grand finale package, which arrived just in time for me to have quilts on the brain. All these gorgeous fabrics!! I'm in love. I'm thinking maybe some small patchwork projects and some sock bags? She also sent shrinky dinks, a See's Candy gift certificate, my favorite dishcloth cotton and a dishcloth pattern.

Thanks so much, Mel! I'm sorry it took so long for me to blog, this semester has really kicked me in the ass. I loved having you as a secret pal!

In other news, I think I'm ready to start blogging again. Like I said, my schedule is hectic, but I think what was really holding me back was feeling obligated to blog every project. Then put them on Rav, on Flickr, etc. I've finished quite a few hats and smaller projects during my blog break, but I'm not sure I feel like blogging them. I will direct you to the Rav & Flickr pages, though. Then I'll start fresh blogging what I'm working on for Xmas. But more on that later...

Apologies.

2008-09-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

I'm terribly sorry for the blog silence. The photo explains where I've been. Be back soon! (...I hope!)

Thank you SP!

2008-08-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

Where did the summer go? Is it almost the end of August? How did that happen. I've been working a lot, little brother has been spending the night almost every weekend and while it's been nice...it's flown by! I can't believe I'm starting school again next week. And Christmas is 130 days away. We won't talk about that yet, though.

What I really wanted to post about was this:

Last week I got an amazing 2-in-1 package from my secret pal! I almost cried opening everything. It had been a rough week at work, and everything in the package was so nice, and so me. It was just what I needed.

Gorgeous wool and alpaca, candy, super soft dark horse yarn, 3 skeins of Cadena - this yarn is sooo soft, a purse pattern and handles, note cards and a notepad, a bee hive tea infuser, bath stuff, bubbles, and a super cute (and I think handmade?) apron. I'm an apron junky and this is my new favorite! It's so cute, I'm tempted to wear it out as a skirt, over pants of course. ;)

Thank you so much, Secret Pal! You made my week!

I'm going to try and post more regularly as fall rolls in. I know I say it about every season, but I think fall really is my favorite. I've got a lot to tell you, too. Stay tuned for what I've been sewing, quilting, and to see how my knitting did in the fair!

Cobblestone, finished.

2008-08-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

I cast on the Cobblestone Pullover while Kellen and I were in Idaho visiting his family, as sort of a birthday gift. I was amazed at how much I got done while we were on vacation- about half of the body.

Unfortunately, when I got home I realized my gauge was off. I swatched, of course, but these things happen. I got gauge with a smaller needle, but I just didn't like the fabric- this yarn wants to be 4 st/in. So, with a little knitterly math on my part I decided to knit the smallest size in my original gauge, which gave me a 44" chest. Perfecto!

Pattern: Cobblestone Pullover by Jared Flood, Interweave Knits Fall 2007.
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted, color no. 1444, purchased at Webs anniversary sale, with this project in mind. I love this colorway, it's brown with a blue cast and tweedy bits- perfect for this sweater, minus my gauge issues.
Needles: Knitpicks Options, US 7 at a gauge of 4 stitches per inch.

This sweater was a lot of fun to make. The pattern is fairly easy, but the short row shaping in the yoke keeps you on your toes. I just finished weaving in the ends last night and today we dropped it off at the county fair. We'll see how it does! Regardless, Kellen is happy, so I'm happy.

I've been knitting, I swear.

2008-07-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

My blog in a nutshell, from Wordle. Click to embiggen. I love all the positivity- like, love, knitting, favorite!

There's just been a lot of working and a lot of relaxing with friends going on, too. Very soon, though, I will tell you how I finished Blue Cozy Thing, and it was a disaster. It's waiting to be frogged. I also need to tell you about the Creative Retreat I went on with ladies from my LYS, and how far I've gotten on Kellen's Cobblestone (almost done!) and the two hats I've made, and finishing my first (small) quilt! I know! Soon.

PS- Haven't heard from my sp in a while, so Swap Happy, if you're reading this, hope your summer is going beautifully!

A bit of Ketchup

2008-06-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

I have a lot on my needles, but none of it is really blogable or blogworthy right now, but I feel a bit guilty for not updating, so here's what I've been up to.

I got this cookbook from my book club and I'm so happy I did. I think slow cookers are genius inventions, but when you don't eat meat, you have to get creative with recipes. How much stew can one couple eat? This book is seriously a godsend. I made the veggie potpie with biscuit crush- cheap, delicious and so easy. This book will definitely be seeing more use.

Aside from making yummy food, we've been visiting the zoo a lot, enjoying the summer. Check out these cuties:

And, since I've been neglecting my Secret Pal Questions, here's my answer to last week-
What's your favorite summertime drink?
I drink lots of ice water during the summer, but I love suntea (when it's sunny!) and Kool-ade lemonade. Classy, I know! We don't really get too much warm weather here, though.

and this week's:
As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?
Honestly, I've always been a total homebody. There was no summer camp or anything for me. I always loved endless afternoons at home though. I was hardly ever bored with chickens to chase, a huge swingset, and a garden to hide in. When I got older, I spent my summers reading or knitting on the bench swing while the dogs panted in the sun.

Secret Pal 12 Questionaire

2008-06-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it's time for another round of Secret Pal. I had such a great time doing this in the past, so I'm excited about Secret Pal 12. My answers haven't changed much, but here's my survey for this time around:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I really love Lamb's Pride and Cascade 220 as far as good, worsted wools go. I knit with KnitPicks a lot and I've never had a bad experience. I love wool and alpaca, but I'm really getting into using nice cottons, too. There's no fiber I *don't* like (even some acrylics and blends have their place, in my book) and I'm a sucker for fun sock yarn.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have the Knitpicks Options set (love them!) that I store in their little pouches, and my straights and other circs are stored in wine bottle containers. My DPNs have a cute little metal pencil holder that they go in. Notions are stored in a Koala Kritter Case.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting for a little over five years. I taught myself with a few pages riped from the Martha Stewart Living that belonged to the lady I babysat for. I was sixteen and had no idea it would become such a passion! I'd consider myself and adventurous intermediate. There's not very much I won't attempt.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I do have an Amazon wishlist. There's a link over in the side of my blog.

5. What's your favorite scent?
I like a lot of scents! I'm a big fan of baking-type scents like vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin, spice, etc. but I also really like a good, fresh floral or fruit scent as long as it doesn't smell like something you'd clean the bathroom with. ;) I love lavender, too.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a major sweet tooth! I don't know if I have a particular favorite candy, but I love chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I'm slowly learning to spin, and I really enjoy it. I love to bake, especially desserts. I also sew (a lot), embroider (a little), play with polymer clay, make jewelry, and I'm learning to quilt. There are other things I dabble with occasionally, but not much.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I listen to a lot of different music. Not as much punk as in my youth, but still quite a bit of indie and alt-folk stuff. I'm a big fan of Kimya Dawson and She and Him. I can play mp3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love pinks, purples, blues, and greens. Bright colors jewel tones. I like reds, too. I used to not like orange, but I like it paired with other colors (especially pink). I just really love color, so I'm easy to please.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
My family lives about half an hour south of me. I'm the middle child and the only girl, two brothers (12 and 26). We're a pretty close family. I live with my boyfriend of six years, Kellen. We can't have any pets in our apartment, but I have two dogs and a cat who live with my mom.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, hats, and mittens. I don't have any ponchos but I'd probably wear a cute one.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
This year seems to be about sweaters for me, but I love knitting socks. Really, there's not a whole lot I don't like to knit.

13. What are you knitting right now?
The Cobblestone Pullover for Kellen, a Clapotis for myself, and some socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
LOVE to receive handmade gifts, but don't get them often.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
All of the above with the exception of plastic. I use different needles for different projects. I've never found a really good pair of plastics, though.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Both. Kellen got them for me a few Christmases ago.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Less than a year?? Maybe just about a year. I have a few things languishing.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I love Christmas. I know there are not-so-great things (consumerism, stress, etc) but I make at least 90% of my gifts and I really enjoy crafting for my loved ones, getting together with family, and good food. I also love Thanksgiving (again with the food), and Halloween is a favorite of mine. I'm just a holiday kind of girl.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Teapots and tea related items, bookmarks (they're practical!) and anything with bees.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I have a subscription to Interweave and KnitSimple...I can't think of things I'm particularly dying to try...the books I want are on my wishlist, and if you're on ravelry, you can see my queue of projects I have planned.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Toe up socks, steeking, and double knitting.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I love knitting socks. I wear a ladies US 7, most medium sock patterns fit me.

23. When is your birthday?
May 13.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Violet!

Home again!

2008-05-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well, as it turned out, I didn't get a chance to blog from the road. There was just way too much going on, and not a whole lot blog-worthy. We spent a week in Idaho, visiting Kellen's family and enjoying some much needed time off. And of course, shopping for yarn! We only got a chance to go to three shops, which was actually fine for me. They were so amazing, anything more would have been sensory overload. First up there was Ewephoria, where I got some adorable knitting fabric. I'll post pictures of it as an FO as soon as I sew it up. Talk about a friendly, inviting yarn shop! They had a great selection, too.

Then we went to Puffy Mondaes, which I was really excited about because the owner is from Arcata! Again, an amazing, inviting shop. And I scored the sock yarn you see above! Yes, that's the highly sought after Regia nation yarn that The Harlot blogged about. I scored their last two balls! And, as it turns out, the socks will match my new garden clogs (purchased at Fred Meyer along the way) perfectly. And no, container gardening doesn't really warrant garden clogs, but living in soggy Humboldt County does, and besides, they're adorable.

Then it was on to Boise

Fuzz was our final store, and it was awesome too. I wanted to squeeze everything, but settled on the gorgeous manos and this yummy roving.

How amazing are those colors? I can't wait to spin this up.

And because you can't buy too many shoes on vacation, and because it's Self Portrait Tuesday, here's one final indulgence:

So, now I'm officially on a yarn diet until I get some things off the needles. Stay tuned for The Cobblestone, The Clap, and the Blue Fuzzy Thing.

Birthday Edition.

2008-05-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Today is my 21st birthday. I snapped this picture shortly after I finished my 8 AM final, although This is a more accurate example of my appearance today. It's been a mellow birthday, I took the aforementioned exam, came home, and knit on this for awhile:

Just a plain vanilla hat in my handspun. It was going to be an Urchin, but I just wasn't feeling it. . .plus I thought I *might* run out of yarn. So I went for this instead. Then I spent a ridiculous amount of money getting a much-needed hair cut and a very painful eyebrow wax, and now I'm home again, and (suprise!) getting ready to take another exam. Oy.

But this too shall pass. And in a few days, I'll be blogging from the road on our way to Idaho. I have a ton of LYS's to visit. I can't wait.

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T13:56:00.001-07:00

As you might have guessed, the Embossed Leaves socks were for my mom. They were gifted to her at Jaime's baseball game on Thursday and well received. Which is great, because I love my mom. I couldn't find a picture of us together, so a photo of Jaime and myself, circa 4 years ago, will have to do.

Happy Mother's Day!

oh, May.

2008-05-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

May is usually my favorite month. Kellen and I have an anniversary (Click for Photos), both our birthdays, the weather is gorgeous, and school gets out.
Oh, right. School. It's nice when it gets out, but these two weeks or so suck. Papers and Projects and Exams, oh my. I'm still working on the Blue, Cozy Thing (and oh is it nice...) but I also finished up these babies:
I haven't gifted them yet, so I don't want to reveal the recipient, but if you think about an upcoming US holiday, you'll know.
Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Favorite Socks. On Ravelry Here.
Yarn: Alabama Fiber Dreams, gifted from my SP!
Needles: US 0s, Susan Bates dpns.
I can't stress enough how much I love this yarn. Thanks again, Anne! It was really nice to work with, a perfect match for the pattern, and I have enough left over to make some ankle-socks for me! The pattern was great too. It knit quickly and was really easy. I didn't add any mods, but I love the garter edged heel and the star-toe!

I still have a few things on the needles, but I couldn't resist the Webs sale, and I bought this to make Kellen's Cobblestone Sweater:

It's Plymouth Encore, which is a really nice, washable wool/acrylic blend. When I first saw the color, I thought of coffee grounds. It's a rich, dark brown and black heather. But when it arrived in the mail, I was pleased to find it has some tweedy bits of blue in it too. Blue's Kellen's favorite color, so we're fine with that! I think it's going to look great as a Cobblestone. I can't wait to cast that on!

Blue. Cozy.

2008-04-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

The end of another semester is approaching, full of term papers and final exams and stress. To top things off, I've been fighting a cold (although I feel much better today), Kellen had jury duty (but didn't have to serve), and some scary things have been going on in the community. So, between papers, I've been working on this blue frothy wonder. Size 15 needles, fluffy alpaca. It's just what I need, especially paired with a cup of tea in my matching mug.

So I Married A Crochet Pirate

2008-04-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned many times before, my darling boyfriend is a crochet genius, and now you can get your hands on his items. Go check out his shop! Free up some space in our apartment and score some rad crochet goodies for yourself. All items are currently half-price!

Wool and Tea

2008-04-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went with Kellen, my mom, Jaime, and Mom's Man Friend to Parasol Arts, a paint-your-own pottery place in Ferndale. Being queen-of-the-teapots I considered painting one of those, but I couldn't resist the enormous mug and saucer. Click to enlarge.

Isn't it a perfect tea-and-knitting mug? I had a lot of fun and I like how it turned out. Of course, there's a little black sheep too.

Right now, it's filled with English Breakfast tea, waiting for me to hunker down and finish the toe of the Embossed Leaves sock and listen to some CraftLit.

Year of the Sweater?

2008-04-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

How did April already get here? It's a gorgeous warm day, and here I am posting about two wool (well, one wool, one wool/acrylic blend) sweaters that I knit while it was still winter! We'll start with the one I finished most recently. My fourth sweater, but the first one for me!

Karla and I have been itching for some knitalongs for over a year, and we both have a major crush on all the ZephyrStyle Patterns. So, before she moved we cast on the Wicked, hoping to finish it before the weather warmed up, which I did! We cast on late February and I cast off early March.

This photo shows the gorgeous color of this yarn really well. When I got three skeins from my Secret Pal, I knew it would be perfect for a sweater, so I cast on even though I knew I needed 5 more balls. Knitpicks came to my rescue and even though they are completely different dye-lots, there's not even the slightest color discrepancy. I love it.

Pattern: Wicked by Zephyr Style. On Ravelry , too
Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, Claret Heather, 8 balls.
Needles: Knitpicks Options, US 7
Mods: Added about 1.5" of stockinette stitch below the pocket because I have a long torso.
I love everything about this sweater. It's warm and cute, and while the pocket threatens to draw too much attention to tummy pudge, the waist shaping keeps it from looking frumpy. Heathered wool, mock cables, and a knit along? What more could a girl ask for?

In August 2006, I swatched for Kellen's sweater. It was going to be the first I knit him. And it was going to be all black. And a Men's large. After the swatch, I dabbled here and there, modifying the pattern without writing down what I was doing. Then I stuffed it in the closet. In January of this year, I frogged my progress and started again. This time, start to finish took about 2 months.

I really enjoyed knitting it this time, and that made it go so fast. I think he looks pretty darn cute in it, too, huh? He claims it's comfy, and as I predicted, the sweater curse can bite me. I can't wait to cast on the next one for him! psst, it'll be a Cobblestone pullover! It'll be an "easy" project without being boring.

Pattern: Jesse's Flames from Stitch n Bitch Nation by Debbie Stoller. (On Ravelry, here) Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease. 8 skeins.
Needles: KnitPicks Options, US 8
Mods: No flames on the sleeves, thanks.

So now it's spring and warming up, but there's still some chilly evenings that make sweaters useful. Especially watching my brother's little league games on ice cold bleachers! Plus, sporting handknits ups a couple's cuteness, don't you think?

Fetched.

2008-04-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not exactly one for trends. When everybody's doing it, I'm usually talking about how annoying everyone is. Last winter, when everyone in the knitiverse was making Fetchings for Christmas gifts, I was stitching frantically on sweaters and socks and scoffing that everyone else was doing fingerless gloves just because they're quick.

Then Karla made a pair. Karla is basically my gold standard for everything cool. She could probably talk me into jumping off a bridge, if we were going to stop by the LYS on the way. I liked Karla's fetchings. A lot.

Then Tuesday I had an 8 AM exam and my hands were so cold I could barely concentrate. (I still think I got an A, but I digress.) I have some perfectly nice wrist/hand warmers on the needles, but they go up to high on my pinkie to write comfortably. Or type comfortably. Or knit comfortably. If only there was a pattern that would be warm, adorable, and allow me to do those things.

I came home Tuesday afternoon and cast on. Kellen worked two graveyard shifts, so they were quickly knit while staying up late, listening to Cast On and then finished while watching The Jane Austin Book Club which happens to be one of my new favorite movies. Amazing. And there's knitting in it!

Pattern:Fetching (on Ravelry, too) Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Beryl Heather Gorgeous, with a teensy pink heathery-haze. Sadly, discontinued. A little bit less than one skein. Needles:US 5 DPNs Mods: Regular bind-off rather than picot. My late night picot looked like crap and was too loose. I like the neat looking knitted-off bind-off instead.

This is one trend totally worth following. I love them. Next bandwagon I'm chasing? Clapotis. I know I'm a little slow. But it's worth the wait. PS, I got a hair cut!

Bzz, Me, Fuzzy, and WIP!

2008-04-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Since it's Tuesday, let's start off with my Self Portrait of the week, As I was rooting around in our drawer of hats for something to wear today, I realized I never really blogged my Bzz Hat! So here's to two birds with one stone.

Remember back in June(!), when I said I'd post more details as soon as we were all finished. Well, ask Karla what happened. Anyway, here's mine. It's gotten lots of wear this past winter. Pattern: Bzzz Hat for Queen Bees from SNBN. Yarn: Wool Ease by Lion Brand. Needles: US 5 Susan Bates circ and dpns. I actually knit this twice, once on 7s, then frogged and reknit with 5's in an attempt to reduce the gappy-ness of all the purling on dpns. It didn't really work, but the hat is still cute. As the daughter of a beekeeper, I'm pretty much in love with anything bee related, and very much concerned about the future of our honeybee. So the hat makes a great conversation piece. Plus, it's pretty damn cute!

Now for something else old:

Pattern: Fuzzy Feet from Knitty.com. Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in Mulberry. Needles: Brittany DPNs, US 10.5. These, believe it or not, were Christmas gifts, and they are sitting on my counter as I type. I actually knit them on time, but I handfelted, which I realize now works great for toys and bags, but not so much for slippers, which sort of need to be the same size. So, they sat in a drawer for awhile, until I remembered to toss them in with a load of laundry. I didn't even worry about checking on them, since they were so wonky to begin with, so I just ran them through the whole cycle and viola! Perfectly felted, just the right size. This still isn't my favorite slipper pattern, but with one skein of LP you can't complain. They're off to their recipient this weekend. Nothing like Xmas in April, right?

And now to the present:

A top secret pair of socks (Okay, you can probably already tell they're the Embossed Leaves pattern, but I'm not telling who they're for!) and Fetchings for me. The Fetchings were totally spur of the moment. I took a midterm at 8 AM this morning and my hands were freezing, so I decided I needed some handwarmers that would allow me to write. So, this afternoon I came home and cast on.

I think that's just about it from me, how are you?

Just a Sneak Peek

2008-03-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

I finished my Wicked awhile back. Full FO post coming soon, but for now, here's a picture of me wearing it on my date with Kellen this weekend:

It's funny, I wore the first sweater I knit myself on the date where I had Creme Brulee for the first time. And I totally love both. More details soon!

Knock it off!

2008-03-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

I had seen the Banana Republic Knockoff Hat pattern floating around the internet, and while I thought it was cute, I had no burning desire to cast on. Then Karla came over to knit one day, and what do you know, she had one on the needles. And naturally, I had to cast one on. I am so weak. I can not resist chunky hat patterns. Or seed stitch. Or cute buttons. Or Karla's enabling. Pattern:Banana Republic Knockoff Hat. Yarn: Knitpicks Decadence in Tide. Needles: US 10.5, Brittanys.

I have a confession to make though. I knit this back in January, but I'm only blogging it now. I got so caught up in Kellen's sweater (blog post coming soon!) that everything else went blurry. It was a fun knit though. It's a little on the drapey side because of the Alpaca, but it's nice and warm! I definitely want to make more in the future. Mmmm...seed stitch and cute buttons! You can't go wrong.

Oh, yeah, and Happy St. Patrick's day. As a not-very-Irish American, the holiday isn't big in my house. But I am wearing a green sweater. And I am going to cook cabbage and potatoes for dinner. Celebrations are worth celebrating regardless, in my book. :)

It's Tuesday, again?

2008-03-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

I have a (big!) FO to post soon, but since I don't have any decent shots of it yet, here's what I'm working on right now:
It's the Wicked Sweater from Zephyr Style, in Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, Claret Heather. Isn't that color gorgeous? My SP sent me two skeins and I loved it so much I bought more for this sweater. It was a gamble, and they're different dye lots but they match perfectly. Completely seamless transition. Karla and I are having a long distance knit along on this one.

And, because it's Tuesday: Here's my self portrait for the week. I just bought this shirt yesterday. The bottom part says, "Eat Tofu." I think having been a vegetarian for over half my life means I deserve a tshirt, right?

slouchy tuesday

2008-03-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

As part of my 101 goals I decided I wanted to participate in Self Portrait Tuesday for a year (but on my own terms, not paying attention to their themes or guidelines unless I wanted to). And then there were the camera issues. Well, I finally got a new camera, so here's what I looked like today: Actually, I kind of cheated. Kellen took this picture. But I wanted to get my whole dorky outfit in. Why yes, Pippi Longstocking just happens to be my hero. How'd you know? And yes, I do own and wear Crocs. I don't believe in shame, so there.

But you're here for the knitting, right? See what's on my head? Pattern: Le Slouch by Wendy Bernard (pdf). Yarn: TLC Heathers. Needles: US 7, Susan Bates. Mods: Cast on about 10 extra stitches to account for big noggin' and smaller needles, only worked St st for about 4.75 inches before decreasing. I had this yarn in the stash from when I made Knitty's Wine Cozy for my aunt in 2005, and although it's a very squeaky acrylic, I love the pretty heathered color, and it was just sitting on the shelf...now I have a pretty cute hat, and it only took a few days to knit. I think I'll be making more of these in different colors. Very handy for my awkward, growing-it-out hair.

Playing Ketchup, or Xmas in February

2008-02-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm still waiting to get my digital camera issues resolved, but I finally got my film developed from Xmas. So here is a recap of all the secret Christmas knitting you missed out on, plus a few pictures of our celebrations. Better late than never, right?
Click to make photos bigger.
Our little tree, Me and The Boys, Presents!

Now for the knitting...
Travis' Volcano Socks. Yarn: Knitpicks Essential Twist in Volcano. Needles: US size 0. Pattern: Basic Sock Recipe, standard heel flap. Men's size 11. The fact that these are shown posing with the Halloween pumpkins shows how long I was knitting them...and unfortunately my gauge revealed it too. When it came to hours of marathon knitting mid-December, I apparently loosened up and one sock was bigger than the other. I thought he wouldn't notice, but being an older brother, it was the first thing he pointed out. I still like them, and I hope he does too. They're his colors, after all.

Okay, to be honest, those socks were supposed to be for his birthday. Here's his actual Xmas present. Pattern: Hello Yarn's There be Pirates hat. Yarn: Knitpicks Telemark in Black and Squirrel Heather, with Shine Sport cotton lining in Cherry. Needles: US 3 for hat, US 1 for lining. I Loooved knitting this. It was my first "big" stranded knitting project and it was so much fun. I want one for myself.

Grandma's Fairly Easy Sweater. Yarn: Lion Brand Jiffy in Turquoise. Needles: US 10.5. Pattern: Fairly Easy Fair Isle (minus the Fair Isle) in SNBN. I really loved knitting this. The buttons have real pressed flowers! The yarn is acrylic, but very cozy. I didn't get a pic of Grandma wearing it, so you'll have to settle for a shot of me at 2AM.

Mom's Sweater. Pattern: Sitcom Chic from Knitty.com. Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Autumn Red. . .or Harvest Red. I forget. Needles: US size 7, knitpicks Options. This was the first sweater I ever knit and I really enjoyed it. It went fairly quickly too!

Auntie's Monkeys. Pattern: The ubiquitous Monkey from Knitty.com. Yarn: Knitpicks essential multi in Blue Violet. Needles: US 1 dpns. I really loved knitting these. I think the pattern is perfect for variegated yarn like this. The different pooling was really interesting. But, like Travis' socks, my hours of knitting caught up to me and the second sock was bigger. The good thing is it's superwash yarn and hopefully they'll shrink a bit to size. I was pretty devastated when I grafted the toe Xmas Eve and realized the discrepancy. My aunt fuels my knitting addiction and I really wanted the socks to be gorgeous (and wearable!) Hopefully they're loved anyway.

Dad's Griswold Hat and Scarf, left. Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in Edwardian. No pattern. Needles: US 10.5. Leslie's Kittyville, center. Pattern: Kittyville from Stitch n Bitch. Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Coal and Austermann Metropolis, which is the shiny stuff. Needles: US 7. Mason Dixon Washcloths, right. Pattern: Mason Dixon Washcloth, from Mason Dixon Knitting. Yarn: Sugar and Creme from the stash. Needles: US 7, maybe 5? I gave these to my aunties with bath stuff. All three of these gifts were quick and fun. Obviously I didn't get any pictures of them with their recipients, which is why you're looking at my mug.

Whew! I think that about wraps up Christmas, only two months late. As usual, you can see more details on My flickr, and My Ravelry Page. Hopefully I'll be back soon, with more current knitting! I've got a lot on the needles, as usual.

Where's Violet?

2008-02-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, I'm alive and well. My camera battery is dead though, and while I could shell out $10 for a new battery, I think I want to invest in a completely new camera...which will take a little bit of saving up.

We've also been having a lot of rainy, gray days, not exactly conducive to picture taking, but great for knitting. I've got a lot on the needles, and a lot of FO's I need to blog, so keep your eye on this space!

101 in 1001

2008-01-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

I've been laying low for a bit, fighting off a cold and recharging my batteries with some good wool. Still waiting on the xmas pictures to get developed! But before we got too far into the new year, I thought it would be a good time to post about my 101goals in 1001 days. It's a project that Day Zero put together. I started officially on August 1, 2007, which means I'll be done on April 28, 2010, but since it's a new year, I thought it would be a good time to tackle some of the tasks I haven't started yet, and share my list with the world. Here goes:

Bold=done, Italics=in progress
Violet's 101 in 1001
1. Floss daily
2. Wash face daily
3. Water plants regularly
4. Get a new job (done, 8/16/2007)
5. Get a bike, bike at least weekly.
6. Knit a sweater. (4/1)
7. Launch etsy shop.
8. Make another zine
9. Get two new tattoos (if you're a disapproving family member reading this, JUST KIDDING!)
10. Grow my hair out. No cuts until 12/31/07
11. Dye my own yarn
12. Learn to steek
13. Take a spinning class (yarn, not exercise)
14. Buy resin molds and learn to make resin jewelry.
15. Make dinner at least once a week.
16. Try 15 new recipes (10/15)
17. Make at least one dish for family holiday get togethers. (done for 2007, 2008.)
18. Make a mosaic
19. Do something romantic (i.e, leaving kellen a note to find when he gets ready for work, making a surprise dessert etc) at least once a week.
20. Read 100 books
21. Get my wisdom teeth pulled
22. Keep my GPA above 3.5
23. Sew myself pajama pants, 3 new tops, and two dresses.
24. Memorize how to make a paper crane
25. Make a small quilt
26. Learn to make bread.
27. Contribute to The Sampler.
28. Learn to make peanut brittle
29. Get a watercolor pad and paint.
30. Get or make three new pieces of art for the apartment.
31. Graduate college!
32. Pay back at least 1/4 of student loan debt.
33. Take at least one road trip.
34. Decorate an inspiration board for above my sewing table.
35. Put all my photos into albums.
36. Switch to environmentally friendly shopping bags.
37. Make Kellen 3 new pairs of socks.
38. Take another PE class (yoga)
39. Take a jewelry making class.
40. Table at a craft fair.
41. Spend 5 minutes each day consciously thinking positive thoughts.
42. Write in my journal at least once weekly.
43. Buy a juicer
44. Check out the student rec center (the gym at school), and use it at least once!
45. Try 5 new teas (5/5)
46. Take a roll of film each season at HSU.
47. Transplant my herb garden.
48. Re-do my website
49. Make a cheesecake
50. Write a poem (not for school!)
51. Try a new craft (weaving!)
52. Read at least one Harry Potter book
53. Finish reading all of Roald Dahl's books
54. Write down every quote that inspires me.
55. Subscribe to my favorite magazines (2/4)
56. Send out 15 postcards (1/15)
57. Write a letter a month.
58. Make an honest effort to learn to use my keeper. (I just don't think it's right for me, but I use Moon Pads now, so I'm still sustainable!)
59. Read a "Book of the Year" book
60. Research the history of something random
61. Master coptic stitch bookbinding
62. Make ice cream
63. Put at least one thing in the fair each year (done for 2007, 2008)
64. ~~Borrow Mom's vaccuum and deep clean the carpets~~ Buy new vacuum
65. Knit at least half of my ravelry queue
66. Continue making the majority of my xmas gifts (done for 2007, 2008)
67. Learn to use the buttonhole function on my sewing machine.
68. Take my vitamin every day
69. Wear my retainer at least every other night
70. Grow some strawberries
71. Grow sunflowers
72. Get an eye exam.
73. Go to lunch with my mom, without any boys.
74. Buy a new planner, use it to get organized.
75. Complete my Wreck This Journal exercises.
76. Participate in Self Portrait Tuesday for a year (10/52)
77. Clip out interesting magazine articles and keep them organized. Recycle the rest (except knitting mags, of course!)
78. Do one load of laundry a week (that may sound like practically none to some of you, but i'm a college student with a large wardrobe)
79. Make a scrapbook of accomplished goals
80. Knit a blanket
81. Track every penny I spend and earn for a month.
82. Get my nose pierced.
83. Track everything I eat for a week.
84. Buy a gift for an "Angel Tree" at Christmas. (Gifts for underprivileged children.)
85. Practice three random acts of kindness.
86. Read every book Jane Austin ever wrote. (Audiobooks count)
87. Come up with more goals!

Goodbye, 2007!

2007-12-31T12:29:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, Christmas FO updates will be blogged about soon! I just need to get my film developed and put on disk, since I didn't take my digi for xmas. Stay Tuned

I know other people have been doing different wrap-up posts, but I decided to stick with the one I posted last year, only modified for 2007, of course!

List Your FO's:
The grand total was 35, that's 5 more than last year! Here's what I knit:
4 hats for me
1 pair of cabled footies for mom
1 pair of felted clogs
2 swallowtail shawls
2 cabled beanies
1 pair of monster slippers
1 noro scarf
2 stuffed animals (fatty sheep and sheldon, respectively)
1 bath scrubby
1 felted purse
3 pairs of socks for me (2 stockinette, 1 monkey)
1 pair of monkeys for my aunt
1 pair of stockinette socks for my brother
1 airy scarf
1 calorimetry
1 odessa hat
1 chunky scarf
3 washcloths
1 mug cozy
1 sweater for grandma (fairly easy fair isle)
1 kittyville hat (minus the ears)
1 chunky hat for dad
1 chunky scarf for dad
1 We Call Them Pirates hat for my brother
1 Sweater for my mom (Sitcom Chic)

Wow! You can see most of them either at my ravelry page or My flickr page, if you don't have a ravelry account. As mentioned before, xmas gift pictures are coming soon!

List Your Works In Progress.
Fuzzy Feet slippers for my mom's friend
A Branching Out scarf for my future MIL
Norbert
RPMS that need to be frogged and reknit
A pair of Knucks that were supposed to be kellen's xmas gift!

What skeletons are in your knitting basket?
a pair of wristwarmers I started last year, and a mon petite chou that I'll finish someday.

What was your favorite project of 2007?
Again, I really loved everything. I think my second swallowtail shawl might be my favorite though. It was an excellent choice for that yarn. I also loved knitting my grandma's sweater, and Travis' hat...and my monkey socks...I don't know!

What projects will you never knit again?
The bath scrubby I made Kellen. The pattern is great (bath puffy from the book One Skein, but the aloo yarn just turned into a slimey mess in the shower. It never really dried, and started looking really pathetic.

What was your major knitting accomplishment in 2007?
Knitting two adult size sweaters and having them done in time for Christmas! I'm really happy I finally tackled the sweater. I also felt really accomplished knitting Travis' hat, since it was my largest colorwork project so far. Those were two things I wanted to work on in 2007, and I did!

What was your favorite yarn of 2007?
I can never decide on a favorite yarn...I'm such a sucker for knitpicks. I enjoyed the shimmer, memories, and telemark lines from them. And of course, Lamb's pride and Noro are always favorites.

What's your favorite yarn overall?
See above.

What new knitting techniques did you learn in 2007?
I definitely got more experience with colorwork and lace, but I don't think I tried any completely new techniques.

What are your knitting goals for 2007?
Knit socks for Kellen! He didn't get a single pair this entire year! Good thing his old ones have held up. Knit a sweater for me. Try steeking?

Keep Knitting!

Happy New Year!

A Christmas Meme

2007-12-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

I survived finals, have only finished *one* knit xmas gift, and I've got a bit of a headache, so......

A Christmas Meme

1. Wrapping Paper or Gift Bags?
I know it's not ecofriendly and all, but I really love cute wrapping paper (and I try to reuse whenever possible). I do use gift bags when the gift is an awkward shape, though.

2. Real tree or artificial?
I always loved real trees, but it was more practical and economical for us to get an artificial. It's about a 4 footer or so, and pre-lit, so we get to go straight to the fun part, decorating!

3. When do you put up the tree?
Generally, the first part of December.

4. When do you take down the tree?
By the begininng of January, when I realize I can't keep Christmas around forever.

5. Do you like Egg Nog?
I like Soy Nog even better, because it's got a lighter flavor, but yes, I love it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My American Girl dolls, by far. I still love them.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No, but I'd like to get a really creative one. Kellen's not a fan, however.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
I really enjoy gifting for everyone. My grandpa can be a challenge, though.

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Kellen and my mom.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I've never really gotten a bad present that I can remember. Oh, maybe that bit of knotted rope from a friend in high school. That was weird. I've gotten some gifts that "weren't me" but they were all well intentioned.

11. Mail or email Christmas Cards?
Mail, all the way. Not everyone knows how to work Ecards in my family!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
It's a Wonderful Life and Charlie Brown Xmas, but I also watch The Grinch (cartoon) every year.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
All year long. Really! But more seriously in November.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
There's no shame, as long as it's tactful. Better than being wasteful!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
My grandma's mashed potatoes. Okay, maybe we usually have them at Thanksgiving, but they're my favorite thing to eat, period. After that, cookies!

16. Clear lights or colored?
Colored, but clear can be pretty too.

17. Favorite Christmas Song?
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow! (it never snows here)

18. Travel or stay home at Christmas?
Stay at home. I worry about traveling in bad weather.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer?
Of course! Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen (and Rudolph, if you count him). That was without cheating! I used to have "The Night Before Christmas" memorized, so that's how I learned them.

20. Angel or Star on the top of the tree?
Either

21. Open Christmas Eve or Morning?
Both!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Grumpy people in crowds.

23. What’s the corniest family tradition you do or miss doing?
Watching our taped Xmas cartoons. The tape finally died a few years ago. My family is dorky, but we don't have many corny traditions.

24. What’s the worst thing you’ve seen related to Christmas?
I try to avoid the terrible things.

25. Which looks best, theme trees or homey trees?
I like theme trees, but not in my house. Homey all the way.

26. Gingerbread or Sugar Cookies?
Gingerbread.

27. Do you like fruitcake?
I bet there are ways to make it delicious. I have faith in the fruitcake!

The Important Things

2007-12-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

Well, final exams have finally rolled around and I'm up to my ears in term papers and study guides. I know I probably should be stressed, but I'm more hopeful, because I know it will all be over in a week. This weekend, I put off the books for awhile and focused on the important things. Jaime (11-y-o brother) spent the night, and we made pomanders, which I've been doing since I was a kid. Mine's hanging above my stove right now, and it smells wonderful!

I sent out my Christmas cards:

And we made gingerbread houses:
Well, Jaime made a gingerbread fort, and it was made of cinnamon graham crackers, but still...

My house is on the left, Kellen's is on the right. Apartently, Kellen missed his calling as an architect. I practically had to stop him before he installed a working garage door. My walls are made out of gingerbread, but being the queen of chewy cookies, I didn't bake it long enough, and it collapsed shortly after construction. Oh well, we had fun.

And that's the important part, right?

THANK YOU, ANNE!

2007-12-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

This morning before work, I made a mad dash to the post office and picked up my final secret pal package. The line was ridiculous (of course) so I didn't have a chance to open my goodies until after work. It was worth the wait though. When I opened the box, I actually started crying! This is such an amazing package, and the perfect week to get it! Here are my goodies:

A box of Tazo Awake tea, several packages of hot coccoa (Kellen and I are going to have a cup by the tree tonight!), a dark chocolate bar, Coccoa notecards, gorgeous stickie notes, two bottles of mini m&ms, a Vanilla Creme drink mix, a sparkly blue snowflake ornamet, an advent calendar (I almost bought one the other day, but something told me to wait!), three tubes of Burt's Bees lipbalm in a cute carrying case, a yummy candle, a journal, a midnight scent sachet (that's as beautiful as it smells!), a lavendar bath set, two beaded stitch markers, sweet pea body wash and lotion (the lotion has a little shimmer to it, and smells wonderful), and YARN! Take a look:

Shaefer Laurel in Florence Nightengale. I'm melting over this. The colors are so rich beautiful, and it's from a series created for memorable women! I don't know what this is going to be yet, but for now I'm just content petting it.

Koigu. mmm, Koigu. These pretty pinkies are going to be socks for me. The colors remind me of frosting. My camera ate the picture of the purple yarn, but it's gorgous too. It didn't have a label, but I'm thinking it's wool and handdyed, maybe by my pal? It's beautiful shades of violet and lavendar. ;)

Thanks so much, Anne! You truly spoiled me!

1 Month and Counting...

2007-11-25T12:24:00.000-08:00

I'm back from my little break, and while the thought of going back to school and work tomorrow is filling me with anxiety (and crankiness) this week off has been much needed. I didn't get as much knitting done as I would have liked, but I definitely made progress. The sleeping was nice, too! But speaking of knitting, there is exactly one month until Christmas so I thought it would be a good day to take stock:

NOTE:What looks like a pile of crap is actually Kellen's present. I blurred it on the off chance that he'll read this. That said, what you see here is 2 unfinished sweaters, 1/3 of a branching out, a sock and a cuff, a sock and a half, half of a stuffed animal, one finished hat, 10 rows of a matching scarf, a half finished fair isle hat, one unwound skein(!) which may or may not be actualized as a trellis scarf, and a partridge in a pear tree. . .

Think I'll make it? Keep in mind I still have things to sew... At least most of my holiday *shopping* is done...

In other news, I'm finally getting off my lazy ass and posting pictures of the fabulous package Karen sent me for the Fall into Autumn Dishcloth swap!

Very lovely handmade lotion, lip balm, and soap in great scents, a handy little container filled with my favorite cotton yarns, a little notebook and crayons, a pink rubber ducky,a dishcloth pattern booklet (which I neglected to take a picture of) and best of all, a beautiful handmade washcloth. It's in my favorite colors, and so gorgeous I haven't wanted to use it yet. Check out the detail:

There was also some candy in the package, but that vaporized long ago. Thanks so much, Karen! I love everything!

I promise I won't stay away so long in between posts. The next three weeks will be finishing up school, finals, and then nonstop knitting. Wish me luck!

Blog Break!

2007-11-13T19:06:00.001-08:00

I am taking teensy break from the blog (or rather, taking a teensy break from feeling guilty about not updating the blog), so that I can focus on this semester (which is nearly killing me), taking care of myself, and enjoying the holiday.

See you after Thanksgiving!

ps- when I get back I'll be sure to post about the wonderful Fall Into Autumn Dishcloth package I got from Karen!

The Pumpkin Patch!

2007-10-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, we made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch.

The boys hunted for the perfect pumpkin.

Jaime took a roll in the hay.

Kellen and I were cute. (Jaime took this picture. Actually, he held the button down and took 6 of them.)

Then, Kellen found a new girlfriend.

I was abandoned in the Corn Maze. I got lost and had to make my way back out the enterance. I barely survived.

In the end, we found great pumpkins and had a lot of fun. I think I just might keep the boys around.

More photos on my Flickr, including some other autumn-but-not-pumpkin photos. And because this is a knitting blog, I'll have you know there was a sock in my purse the whole trip. I thought about sitting down and knitting in the corn maze until the boys rescued me, but then I realized I might die first, so I focused on making an escape. ;)

Thank you, SP!!

2007-10-22T16:17:00.001-07:00

Despite being green with envy reading everyone's Rhinebeck posts, I'm one very happy knitter. Why, you ask? Because my secret pal rocks. Friday I came home to a card in my mailbox saying I had a package to pick up at the post office, and today my afternoon class was cancelled, so I had a chance to pick it up!

Check out all these amazing goodies!

Lots of candy (Kellen has a giant sweet tooth, too, so we'll see how long this sticks around), cute notecards, heart shaped post-its, a halloween notepad, a calendar/mousepad (my birthday month has a teapot on it!), some Tazo Awake tea (I'm wondering if she took at peek at the Tea group over on Ravelry, where I mentioned that this tea is my favorite for staying up with homework. I have a term paper coming up, so it's come in handy soon!), an adorable sheepy tape measure, a beautiful autumn leaves travel candle, a fresh scented shachet, and...

Yarn! 5 skeins of yummy Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, 3 in Claret heather, and 2 in black cherry heather. I'm not sure what I'll make with these yet, but it'll definitely be for me, and I can't wait. She also got me a skein of tofutsies, which I've been dying to try, also in a gorgeous burgundy colorway.

Thank you so much, SP! This past week has been pretty stressful (school and work, as usual...everything else is wonderful!) and the package was a really nice pick-me-up. I'm off to pet my yarn now!

2 months 1 week 3 days

2007-10-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

If it wasn't for that darn college education and working for a living, I would be getting a ton of Christmas knitting done, I swear! As it is, I'm doing okay. Here's a little update on what's been keeping my needles hot:

The Brother Sock. Okay, to be fair, this was a birthday knit, but I accidentally only ordered one ball of yarn, so only one was done on time. Okay, not entirely done. But why bother grafting when you can't start your second sock? I really need to order that second ball. I am a bad sister. oops.

The Other Monkeys. These are a Christmas gift, but I won't say for whom. It only one sock, but I wanted to give you a front and back view so you can see how the yarn is working up. I'm digging it.

Christmas Sweater #2. I'm quite a few inches into the body of this baby and so far so good. I hope the recipient likes it! I'm finished with the body of Christmas sweater #1, but after getting cocky with my sleeve modifications, I had to frog the entire sleeve, so it's on a shelf for awhile. I really need to get going on both, so I can start more gifts! I'm definitely feeling the pressure, but compared to the midterm pressures I've had going on this past month (I've gotten A's on all my midterms, and an 89% on another exam, by the way!) knitting pressures are pleasurable.

In other news, I went to the Midnight Madness S&B at Handmade Memories on Friday night with Karla and Kellen. It was a ton of fun, and it was great to meet other Humboldt knitters that I had previously only known through blogs and Ravelry. I also picked up a yummy skein of yarn for my Secret Pal's October package.

Speaking of Secret Pals, I got a sweet e-card from the person sending to me, who gave me some migraine tips, so I thought I'd update on the Migraine Situation. I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and got samples of Maxalt and Frova to try out. Then, luckily, I was headache free for a few weeks! This morning, I woke up with a monster one, though, so I took a Maxalt and it really helped! My only gripe is that it took quite awhile to kick in and it made me a little drowsy. I was able to go to work and school, though, and that's all I ask!

Okay, I just wanted to catch my little blog up on what's been going on in my neck of the woods. There's a lot more, but it's so hard to blog secret knits!

She's Aliiive

2007-10-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

I am, in fact, alive and well. School is just absolutely exhausting this semester, and Christmas knitting is in full swing. Expect a huge catch up post soon, but for now....We inturrupt this knitting blog to bring you a public service announcment:

October is breast cancer awareness month, and I hope you don't need a reminder, but please do remember to perform a self-breast exam, and get a breast exam every year with your gynocological visit to your health care provider (no excuses about not going to that, either!). There are so many environmental dammages increasing our risk of breast cancer every year, it's scary. But by educating yourself and taking responsibility for your health you can do your part to stop breast cancer and keep yourself safe. Tell a friend!

Links: Check Your Boobies! (sign up for their email reminder!)
Humboldt Community Breast Health Project
BreastCancer.org
Breast Cancer Action!

Read These Books:
Pink Ribbons, Inc. educational and eye oppening.
Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy. Such an inspiring (true) story of strength, hope, and survival.

Thank you for your attention. Your regularly scheduled Knit Blogging will resume momentarily.

PS: the yarn "boobs" are Plymouth Yarn's Suri Merino, in case you were curious.

Dishcloth Swap question #3

2007-09-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I missed question 2, because between migraines and midterms I didn't have much time to blog, but here's question 3!

Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?

I can't possibly name just one thing. Fall just might be my favorite season, but I say that about all of them, so... I really like being able to wear snuggly warm handknits and skirts with leggings. I like working on Christmas knits, seeing all the beautiful crunchy leaves on campus, and seeing all the yummy seasonal things in stores. Give me pumpkin candles and gingerbread lattes, and I'm one happy girl. And this fall specifically, I'm thrilled with Knit Picks's new heathered yarns!

Dishcloth Swap Topic #1

2007-09-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

I'm lucky enough to live in very beautiful Humboldt County where the weather is mild year-round. This means I don't knit cotton in the summer and wool in the winter, but all the good stuff year round. My main focus as the weather turns cooler, as you know from reading my previous few posts, is Christmas knitting. This means I get to knit a variety of things for the variety of people I love. Wool hats, acrylic kidswear, superwash socks, alpaca shawls, cotton dishcloths, etc.

Sorry this is such a short post, but I need a nap! I'm halfway through the first volacno sock, details on that soon!

another wonderful day

2007-09-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to everyone (especially my SP!) who have been reminding me to take it easy and relax. I'm definitely enjoying this crazy time in my life (riding my bike to work, taking an intense pilates class, spending time with Kellen, and of course knitting. All of my favorite things!) Today was no exception. Even though it's a little cold and dreary, work was fun. The people are great and it's so wonderful to be around such great food! On my break I got to eat asparagus and a veggie bagel with herb cream cheese and avocado, tomato, onion, sprouts and Larrupin sauce. Yum! I only have one class on Tuesday/Thursday and it was canceled today, so I got to walk down to the post office, which brings me to my real news:

Christmas. Or the yarn-y makings of it. If you peek at my Ravelry queue you can probably guess what most of these are going to be. I don't want to reveal too much and spoil any surprises, though. Oh, and I lied. It's not entirely Christmas. See that blue cotlin? That's a Rusted Root for me. Just watch.

Happy Knitting!

Dishcloth exchange questionaire

2007-09-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, Karla twisted my arm, and I couldn't resist signing up for the Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Exchange. Here's my questionaire:

1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been doing it?
I knit, and have been doing so for about 4 and a half years.

2. Have you made dischloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both?
I've done both. I've made a few for swaps, a few for gifts, and two for myself. I also had my boyfriend crochet me one, because he's sweet like that.

3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before?
I usually just use sugar & creme or peaches & creme, because it's affordable. I also love KnitPicks Shine, but I haven't used it for washcloths. I heard their CotLin makes a great facecloth, so if I have any left over after I knit my rusted root out of it, maybe that's what I'll use it for.

4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles?
It really depends on the project. I like both circs and straights, as long as the straights aren't too long. I usually use metal needles, but if it's really slippery yarn, wooden is great.

5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much?
I really love all colors, especially jewel tones. Pink, blue, green... I used to not like orange, but this is an *Autumn* swap, and the color really has grown on me!

6. What do you like best about Autumn?
Baking, beautiful leaves, wearing sweaters and scarves, going back to school, quiet evenings, Thanksgiving! All the smells...and seasonal items in stores! I can't tell you how much a pumpkin spice latte or gingerbread scented candles makes me happy!

7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of em? or No Thanks!
All of them! My family doesn't make pecan too often, but it's good. Pumpkin and Apple are absolute musts. Same with Pumpkin cheesecake!

8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school , or the one who overslept on the 1st day?
I was usually pretty excited for it. That is, until the last few years of high school! Now I look forward to it again. (I'm in my 3rd year of college. Drowning under homework, but enjoying myself!)

9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap)
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! I absolutely love it!

10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose?
Wait, does this mean I get other food in addition to my treats? Because I wouldn't want to live on candy alone...but if I have to pick three candies I'd pick plain milk chocolate, reese's, and jelly beans. That's a good variety, I think.

11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;)
I can't have pets in my apt, but I have two dogs and a kitty that live with my mom. No babies yet, but Kellen and I are still kids ourselves!

12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why?
I would be Lamb's Pride worsted because it's warm, good for a lot of projects, comes in a variety of colors, and some people find it too itchy!

13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths?
The ones I've made have been dishcloths, but I use the one Kellen made as a facecloth.

14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays)
I really can't choose. I love them both so much. I guess now that I'm older Thanksgiving gives me more to participate in, but I really love putting together cute Halloween costumes. And there is such fun cooking/baking potential for both.

15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about?
Nope!

3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days

2007-09-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't want to give you a heart attack. You're sitting down, right? Take a few deep breaths. There are 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days until Christmas. It makes me a little dizzy even to type it. I'm steadily at work, though. See?

Plus, a very large Knit Picks order should be on its way to me soon. Also on the needles are some RPMs for me, and Jo-Ann's is having a button sale, so maybe a Buttony is looming in my future? There's some Cotlin in that Knit Picks order for a Rusted Root, though, and one look at that Christmas countdown reminds me that maybe sweaters for me should wait a little bit.

That's it for now. I just wanted to quickly check in. Between the Christmas Project and homework, I'm pretty swamped!

sweet socks!

2007-08-23T21:05:00.001-07:00

I've been so busy with work and school lately, I haven't had a chance to blog. I started my junior year of college and a new job, and tomorrow I start a second job, all within the span of 2 weeks! Whew! I realized tonight that I never got a chance to blog my Sweettarts Socks, so here they are!

Pattern: 56 st basic stockinette. Yarn: Knit Pick's Simply Stripes (sadly discontinued!) in Sweet Tarts. Needles: Susan Bates US 0 dpns.

This yarn is really wonderful. I knit Kellen a pair almost a year ago and they've held up perfectly. He wears them all the time, and trust me, he is not gentle about washing. He just tosses them in the washer, and the hot dryer without any problems. No felting, pilling, holes or signs of wear. I'm really looking forward to wearing our coordinating socks together!

Other than that, I'm plugging along on Christmas knitting and sneaking a few rounds of a new pair of socks whenever I can. I'll blog about those when I actually have some significant progress!

cozy, chunky, quick

2007-08-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

It's been all stockinette, all the time at la casa de VioletsKnits. That's all well and good, but sometimes a girl needs a treat when it comes to knitting. Something chunky, squishy, slubby, and woolly. Something quick and easy to knit without being mindnumbing. Enter the Blue Liccorice Scarf and Hat.

A few years ago I knit a hat out of a different colorway, my first hat without a pattern as a matter of fact, and I loved the yarn. It has a thick and thin, almost handspun feeling to it, with two yummy plies. When I saw the gorgeous blue color at JoAnn's last Friday on clearance for $2, I jumped on it.

I cast on the hat Friday afternoon and by Friday evening I had a hat. With a skein and a half left, I cast on for the scarf, and finished it the wee hours of Sunday morning. A cozy set that was easy and comforting to knit.

Yarn: JoAnn Sensations Liccorice, color #120. Needles: US 13 Clover circ and Brittany dpn for the hat, US 15 Susan Bates for the scarf. Pattern: basic hat, CO 47 St, 3 rows of seed st for the brim. Alternated 8 rows of garter st with 4 rows of stockinette for the scarf. I'll enjoy wearing this on chilly days at school this fall!

my boyfriend is a crochet celebrity!

2007-08-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

My wonderful boyfriend was featured on the CraftZine blog! Check it out! He was also featured on Crafty Crafty! I'm so proud!

Also, see the hat in the foreground of The new Stitch n' Bitch book?

That's a Kellen creation, too!

Secret Pal 11- Questionnaire

2007-08-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

It's that time again; I'm so excited! My answers haven't changed much since last time around, but here's my fresh questionaire.
-------------------------------------
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Let me just come out and say that I am not a yarn snob. I think every yarn has it's purpose. That said, I like natural fibers, especially wool (Wool of the Andes and Lamb's Pride are favorites). I love alpaca and silk. I like trying new, fun yarns as well.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
My straights and circs are in wine bottle holders, my dpns are in a pretty glass.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting for about 4 and a half years. I taught myself using pages ripped from a Martha Stewart Living. I'd say I'm an adventerous intermediate with advanced tendencies. ;)

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
The link to my amazon wishlist is in my sidebar.

5. What's your favorite scent?
I love baking scents like vanilla, clove, cinnamon, and "sugar" scents. I also like clean scents like "fresh cotton" types, and most floral scents in they're not too dizzying.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a wicked sweet tooth. I love chocolate. I'm not huge on sours, though.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I sew, embroider, make jewelry, mosaic, block print, print gocco, make soap, play with polymer clay, paint, and occasionally put out a zine. I'm learning to spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like 70's and 90's punk, indie, and indiepop, and folkpunk. and cheesy 80's pop. a few of my favorite bands are listeded in my profile. and yes, I can play mp3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love pink, purple, blue, black...reds, greens. Brights and jewel tones. I don't really have a color I can't stand. Even if it's not my favorite color, chances are I can think of a good project to use it in.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live in an apartment with my darling boyfriend (who crochets). My parents are separated and live 45 minutes south of me, as do my older brother (25) and younger brother (11). I can't have pets in my apt, but my chihuahua, cat, and turtle live with my mom.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
All of the above except ponchos. And I'm not really anti-poncho, I just haven't found one that tickled my fancy.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
socks, lace, anything cabled or fair isle. hats. I'm currently working on two sweaters. I like trying new things.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Two sweaters (one for kellen and one for a secret christmas present) and that's about it. I have a Mon Petit Chou hibernating. I usually have a pair of socks on the needles, too, but I just finished some.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I like both straights and circs depending on the job. I usually use aluminum, but bamboo or other wooden ones are great too. I've never met a plastic needles I could stand, but they might exist...

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
yes, and yes. (Thanks, Kellen!)

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Less than a year. I had a purging session not long ago.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween, but I really love Christmas because it involves knitting gifts! Thanksgiving is a favorite too. Anything with family and food.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Teapots and tea! Knitting books, and things with bees, lately.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I have a subscription to Interweave. I can't think of any needles or patterns I have my eye on. I've been eyeing the Felted Hedgehog from Fiber Trends and the Wicked Sweater from Zephyr Style. The books I want are on my wishlist.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Steeking. I'd like to get better at intarsia. I haven't knit a sock from the toe up, yet...

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes. I usually fit a women's M. My foot is about 9" long, about 8 1/2" at the instep and calf.

23. When is your birthday?
May 13th.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
I am. My name is Violet on there. go figure. ;)

4 months 2 weeks 6 days.

2007-08-05T17:51:00.001-07:00

Christmas knitting has commenced. I know there are a few family members that ~~spy on me~~ show their interest in my life by reading my blog, so I've thought long and hard about how to blog about Christmas gifts without ruining the surprise. So, here we go. I'll post some progress shots, but I'm going to be vauge about exactly what I'm knitting and who it's for. If you hang in there until December, I'll be posting it all before it's gifted, though. I'll also be posting details on Ravelry, since my family won't be able to peek there. Anyway, I'm a few inches into the above pattern and I'm loving every second of it. So easy! I got to knit on it while enjoying coffee and chocolate with The Girls today. I also snagged a copy of The Knitter's Almanac at the local used bookstore. Yay!

God, this is an AWFUL picture, but I was tired and it was the best I could get. Bear with me! Since we were stitching out on the town, I needed a cute outfit, so I whipped up another Built By Wendy/Simplicity 3835 top. By "whipped up" I mean cursed the neckline and wanted to set the whole damn thing on fire, but I perservered. It's an easy peasy pattern but something just wasn't working. Kellen took me out for ice cream, which helped. I think it turned out pretty cute, too, and the girls and I all matched in our polka dotted cuteness!

Another FO to share!

2007-08-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of mine is going through some unexpected and, to be honest, quite scary medical problems right now. Being a knitter, I did what knitters do when someone we care about is in need. I cast on. I'd been wanting to knit Odessa for quite some time, but never really got around to it. When I heard my friend's news, though, I knew it was the right time. I cast on with some hot pink to match my friend's bright personality, and a few days later, here it is, ready to be sent. She lives across the country, and while a hat might not do much, hopefully it lets her know I'm thinking about her.

Pattern: Odessa by Grumperina. Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Watermelon. Needles: US 5, Brittany Circ and Susan Bates dpns.

Calorimetry and Me

2007-07-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

Brittney and Karla came over yesterday to watch the movie Antonia's Line, which according to Weekend Knitting was about unmarried women knitting while they waited out their pregnancies. Well, there was no knitting in the movie, although there was one scene where two women were winding a ball of yarn, and another where a woman was using an old fashion knitting loom...but we were expecting full on knitting and chatting about knitting. Oh well, it was a good film anyway. (Wikipedia calls it a "feminist fairy tale," which I can kind of see...)

Anyway, while the girls were here I finished my Sweettarts Socks (pictures soon!), and Brittney finished her Calorimetry. I had cast one one ages ago, but frogged it due to gauge issues, which practically everyone had with this pattern. I always meant to cast on another one, though, and seeing Brittney's off the needles inspired me. So, here's mine:

Pattern: Calorimetry via Knitty.com. Yarn: Leftover Noro Kureyon from a scarf I made my grandma for Christmas. (It's the smaller one in the photo.) The Cal took less than half a skein! Needles: US 9, vintage Susan Bates. Mods: Cast on 80 St instead of 120. Used W&T method to prevent holes from forming (with the exception of a button hole). Added a cute wooden button!

I didn't mean to burn though this project in an afternoon, but there it is!

My Very Own Swallowtail

2007-07-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today was a wonderful day. Kellen took me to the Heart of the Redwoods Quilt Show (he went to the batting cages) and it was really amazing! The quilts were inspiring, but I think anyone who says they don't have time to knit should talk to a quilter! Mostly, the show made me miss my Great Grandmother, who quilted. I wish I could have gotten to know her as a crafty adult, instead of just as a 4-year-old. On a happier note, we also took pictures of the Swallowtail!

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark. Interweave Knits, Fall '06. Yarn: Knit Picks Shimmer in Turquoise Splendor. Needles: Knit Picks Options, US 6. You already know how much I love this pattern, and this yarn, so really what more can I say? It was a dream to knit. I wasn't quite sure I could pull off wearing a shawl, being the cranky hipster that I am, but I think it's pretty beautiful and definitely worth showing off!

I almost didn't want to cast off because I loved knitting it so much! I don't know if I'll make another Swallowtail anytime soon, but this definitely has a place in my "Favorite Patterns" collection!

It was an Airy Scarf!

2007-07-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Remember my secret knit? It was the Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts! If you're my friend on Ravelry, you might have already seen it, but my secret pal, Robyn, finally received her last package, so now I can blog about it!

Pattern: Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts Yarn: Knit Picks alpaca cloud in Horizon Needles: US 10.5 clovers.

This was a fun, easy knit, and I'll definitely be making more in the future. Maybe for Christmas?

Swallowtail, part deux

2007-07-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

I finished my second Swallotail Shawl. Action photos this weekend after I convince Kellen to take some pretty ones!

Hey, hey, they're the monkeys!

2007-07-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

I tweaked the photo a bit so the yarn color was more accurate. My lawn isn't really radioactive green! Pattern: Monkey, by Cookie A (as if you didn't know!) Yarn:Knit Picks Memories in Hawaii (why does knitpicks insist on discontinuing my favorite yarns?!) Needles: US 1, Brittanys, gifted to me by my secret pal.

I really like these socks a lot, although the second one is a bit tighter than the first. Maybe I was more stressed the second time around? They both fit though, and the yarn is comfy, soft, and warm. Good thing it's been too hot for socks, though, because I can't wear these just yet. I'm going to put them in the fair! I just need to get my hands on some sock blockers. Oh, and remember when I said I had to go down to 00s to get gauge? My swatch lied. It couldn't go over my foot. I should have just used common sense and realized that I almost always cast on 64 stitches and size 1 needles almost always fit me. These were worth frogging and reknitting though.

Okay, time for me to go listen to some knitting podcasts and finally finish my swallowtail! I think I'm procrastinating because I don't want it to end!

just keep stitching, just keep stitching

2007-07-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

i know i've been a bad knit blogger lately, but i've just been plugging along, so i haven't had a lot to update! I'm on the last chart of the Swallowtail, I finished one sweetarts sock, but it's a little tight, so I think I'm going to frog it and knit them 4 stitches bigger. Might as well make comfy socks, right?

I *did* get to finish my second monkey tonight, except for grafting the toes. Pictures of those soon! Anyway, I got to finish them up because my little brother, Jaime, had a baseball game in Crescent City today. Crescent City is about 2 hours north of here, so I got a lot of knitting in on the drive there and back, and of course during the game. I also got to check out A Perfect Yarn, Crescent City's tiny-but-wonderfully-stocked yarn shop. If you're ever heading up or down the 101, check it out! I treated myself to some wonderful yummy opal handpainted yarn, at 50% off!!

I think that just might be a Clapotis for me! The book, as you probably know, is America Knits by Melanie Falick, which I snagged used on Amazon for 69 cents.

Like I said, I'm just finishing up a few things, then I'm ready to get started on my Christmas knitting!

What's This?

2007-06-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some secret knitting for my secret pal. Well, not too secret, but Karla won't tell! I'll post a proper FO pic after my pal receives.

(almost) finished

2007-06-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

The past two days have involved a lot of knitting with Karla and Brittney, which makes me a very happy girl. You probably remember that we're making the Bzzz Hat together. Well, here's mine:It's not *totally* finished, because we're waiting until everyone is done to sew our buttons on, but you get the idea. This is actually the second time I finished this hat. I frogged my first attempt because I wanted a tighter gauge, prompting Karla to do the same. More about that later, though, when we're all finished.

I'm still working on my Monkeys, but last night I gave my Sweetarts socks a little attention. I'm also knitting a secret project for my secret pal, but I'll blog about that when it's safely at its destination!

Swallowtails and Busy Bees

2007-06-15T23:20:00.001-07:00

I'm plugging away on the swallowtail shawl, version 2:

The pattern is so much easier this time around. It wasn't exactly hard last time, but now that I really understand the construction, I can look at the stitches logically, so it's easier to fix any mistakes as they arise. I just finished the first lilly of the valley border, so only two more charts and this baby will be ready for blocking. I find it a little bit funny that I'm going so much faster than last time, when I was on a deadline. I have all the time in the world this time around, and I've buzzed through this far in about a week or two.

Speaking of buzzing...Brittney, Karla and I have just about finished our Bzz hats that we're knitting along together. Okay, actually all I need to do is break my yarn and weave in the ends (plus sew on buttons, which we're going to do all together. I lost mine though! That's what I get for cleaning...So another trip to the craft store needs to happen soon) The hat is not my only Bees on The Brain project though:

Pattern: McCalls M4323, with modifications. Fabric: from my local Joanne's. I'm not totally thrilled with how this came out, for one, it sat in my closet for weeks because I could not get the lining sewn in properly, and the directions left a lot to be desired. I finally managed to get it all together, but there are definitely more puckers and gathers than there should be. The handles are sort of ill-fitting too. I omitted the pockets and the snap because I just didn't want to sew them. Next time (if there is a next time) I'll use a stiffer interfacing too, since it's a little floppy. As a whole, though, I do like the purse. I am absolutely crazy about bees (my family raised them while I was growing up, and my father continues to do so.) and the fabric is way cute. Maybe I'll use it as a knitting bag.

Hey, are you on Ravelry? I just got my invite a few days ago, and I'd love some new friends. I feel geeky adding people when I'm not sure if they know who I am or not. So do a shy girl a favor, and stop by my page and say hi! And if you're not a member yet, join the waiting list, but be patient. It took a few weeks for my invite to come (but I think they're going through the list more quickly now) but it was worth it. Except now I have another excuse to spend precious knitting time online! It's a double edged sword. ...Or maybe, a double pointed needle?

fatty sheep is finally finished.

2007-06-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

Remember a loong time ago when I mentioned I was knitting a sheep? At the time Kellen was working graveyard shifts because one of his coworkers quit, which meant I was up late drinking tea and knitting into the wee hours, because it's hard for me to fall asleep while he's working all night. Anyway, during a particularly late night I stumbled upon someones blog (I wish I could remember it!) and she had made the sheep from Debbie Bliss' Toy Knits. I had the book out from the library, some sheep-colored yarn sitting around (okay, actually it was Kellen's, from when he made his tattoo inspired laptop sleeve), and several hours before Kellen got off work, so I thought, "I bet I could make this whole sheep tonight!"

HA.

Just about two months later, my Fatty Sheep is done. The actual knitting took less than a month, but then there were several weeks where she sat in a plastic bag in my closet while I cursed seaming garter stitch and lamented over the fact that so many cute toys have so much freaking seaming. Get some DPNs, Debbie Bliss!! Luckily, my boyfriend is handy with a crochet hook and helped me overcome the perils of seaming.

Pattern: Ewe from Debbie Bliss' Toy Knits. Yarn: acrylic (maybe red heart?) in Fishermen. I know, I know! Acrylic to knit a sheep. I am bad. Needles: US 7. Modifications: I bought her eyes, instead of using french knots, and because I could not get the hooves to assemble decently I just picked up stitches around the leg openings and knit until I thought it was time to decrease. I also gave her a little bobble-type tail, since all the sheep I grew up with had docked tails. OH, and the biggest modification? She is almost twice the size of the sheep in the pattern.

Now you can see why I call her fatty sheep. While Ms. Bliss used DK weight and size US 2 needles, I used worsted and size US 7. Her ewe is 16" long. Mine is 21" long. While her sheep is proportional, mine looks like an armadillo. She also took two bags of fiber fill. I guess you could call this a completely useless project, but I don't want to frog her. She's lumpy and disproportioned, but she's kind of growing on me.

7 things

2007-06-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Pam, Queen of the Badass Knitters tagged me for the seven random things meme, so here it goes:

1. I've been a vegetarian since I was 9 years old. Everyone asks if I had some great epiphany, but really, my older brother's friend, this gorgeous, super-cool punk rock chick, was a vegetarian, and I just wanted to be like her. 11 years later, I guess it was a good life choice anyway. ;)

2. I'm blessed with two amazing, talented grandmothers. They fostered my creativity and taught me many things, including how to read, cook, bake cookies, and why it's important to always take a jacket. They are truly my greatest heroes in the world.

3. I met my darling boyfriend on the internet. GASP! Everyone gives us a hard time, but we've been together for 5 years now, and I wouldn't change a thing. Besides, now that there are commercials for internet dating sites on daytime TV, I think it's becoming less shocking. For the record, though, we did not meet on a dating site or in a chat room.

4. I was a breech baby and had to be delivered emergency c-section.

5. My hair has been every color of the rainbow except orange. I started dying it at 13 and it hasn't been my natural color since. (Although for the past year and a half, it has been a natural color, but not my own. I hate it and I want rainbow colors again.)

6. I hated high school. Everyone thought I was really mean, my best friend moved sophomore year, and my boyfriend lived 700 miles away. The only good thing I miss is having virtually no responsibilities.

7. I don't drive, and I have no problem with this. Nothing makes me more crazy than people bitching about gas prices and then acting like I'm a freak for not driving. I might learn someday, but not until I want to.

Okay, I'm not going to tag seven people (because I can't think of seven people who haven't done this yet!) but I'm going to tag Karla and Brittney, and anyone else who wants to do it! Karla can do it if she wants, but Brittney better do it, because she owes us some blogging!

swallowtail, take II

2007-06-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't stay away!

And since I've been on a sewing kick lately, here's a skirt I made a few months ago but never got around to posting:

Pattern: Simplicty 4019. Fabric: Alexander Henry Zodiac close up photo here. I absolutely love this pattern, and I've made 2 more skirts since this one. Maybe I'll post them when I get a chance.

Another look at Sheldon

2007-06-01T16:10:00.001-07:00

I just got some film developed, so I wanted to post this picture of Sheldon I took with my new camera, since the last one wasn't all that great. I think Knitty's Norberta is next on my toys-to-knit list, but I definitely want to make another Sheldon one of these days.

monkey, beehives, sweetarts

2007-05-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

Karla and Brittney came over today for some stitching and bitching. and hair dying, too, but that's a different story. we're all working on the Bzzz Hat from Stitch n Bitch Nation together, but in different yarns.
I got this far:

I also finished my first Monkey, but I had to pick out my kitchener stitch and redo it because I was talking too much and not paying attention at first:

and for the record, this is how much sock can be knit (by me anyway) during Pirates of the Carribean III:

The girls just left after much excitement. We dyed Brittney's hair (her first big change, ironic since she's friends with me the hair chameleon) and she was a wee bit freaked out. It looks adorable, though. Anyway, now the apartment is quiet so I'm going to go drink my tea and catch up on some blog reading.

Built by Violet

2007-05-27T16:07:00.001-07:00

Proof I'm not a one-craft wonder:

Pattern: Built by Wendy/Simplicity 3835 Fabric: Pink Astral Skulls by Alexander Henry, purchased at my local Joann's.
This top was super easy to sew, but cutting it out was a pain in the, well, wrist, back, neck, etc. That was my fault, though, because I'm fairly sure I only bought enough fabric for a size smaller than I actually am/made, and my "cutting table" is my floor.
I think it's a great top for summer, but because it's 100% cotton, I'll definitely have to make friends with my iron. And can I just say I'm in love with Alexander Henry fabric? Skulls, loteria, Sailor Jerry-type tattoo prints? Love!

Okay, knitting will resume shortly, I promise!

It's not a poof, it's a man scubber...

2007-05-25T23:46:00.001-07:00

I've felt a little bad for neglecting Kellen's sweater, so this week I did knitted up something small for him. My mom bought him some Manly Body Wash, and since he didn't want to use my pink fluffy piggy poof, I decided to whip him up his own bath poof. Ooops, I mean Man Scrubber.

Pattern: Puffy from One Skein by Leigh Radford. Yarn: 100% Aloo from Himalayan Yarn Co. Needles: US 10.5 Brittany wooden DPNs.
This pattern is essentially a knitted tube and an i-cord, so needless to say it was a pretty simple knit. It was really enoyable, though. I'm a totally sucker for new and interesting fibers, and I was excited to try Aloo out. According to the book, Aloo has medicinal uses, relieving headaches and fever, which is really interesting. It took a bit of getting used to (winding it from the skein was not fun), but using wooden DPNs made knitting a lot easier; it slips right off aluminums! I also had to watch what I was doing, too, because it was so easy to drop stitches or knit them together.

If you've been thinking about knitting this, I totally recomend it. I wouldn't exactly knit a sweater out of this yarn, but it was fun to try. Kellen's yet to put his scrubber to use, but he (at least claims) he's excited about it!

I'm still not thrilled, but...

2007-05-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

Having eaten a decent meal (and felted a bit more) I don't totally hate my felted strawberry tote.
Before Felting:

And After:

Pattern:Strawberry from Spring 2007 Knitscene, designed by Kate Gilbert. Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in red, grass, and daffodil. Needles: enormous, ancient, US 13s.

I bought the magazine specifically for this pattern because it is cuteashell, but i really didn't enjoy knitting it. At all. I love fair isle...with smaller needles. the 13s and the yarn held double stranded, it was just not fun. I trudged on though, because I wanted that purse. I think my main problem (aside from my inability to fair isle neatly with those needles) was the yarn substitution. WOTA felts nicely, but not at the same proportions as Cascade 220, which the pattern called for. And duh, I didn't do a felted swatch, because 1. I'm lazy, and 2. I don't know the rate that Cascade felts at anyway. (I could figure it out, but I'm not all that fantastic at math, and i wanted to CAST ON!) I wanted the purse on the cheap, so I went with Knitpicks. Now I have a freakishly long strawberry purse, that's lumpy and bumpy because of my wild tension. I had dreams of entering this in the fair, but for now, I guess it can just hold my wallet on my glamourous trips to the grocery store. Live and learn, right?

ARGH!

2007-05-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

So, this post was going to be about how I finished Kate Gilbert's totally cute strawberry clutch from Knitscene, which I spent ALL day on.....

But it looks like crap. Half-felted crap. That BS they feed you about "felting away any discrepancies in gauge"? TOTAL CRAP. "Just whipstitch around the edges"? BIG HOLES. ugh.

It's really discouraging because everything I knit lately seems to be really awful. That's what i get for thinking I'm a semi-skilled knitter, huh?

From now on, stockinette socks. we'll see how I can bungle those up.

***this post brought to you by a cranky girl who's eaten only leftover chocolate cake today, due to the all-day-knitting. your usual cheery blogging will resume shortly. I hope...***

introducing sheldon the turtle!

2007-05-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just realized I never even mentioned I was working on this, but here he is, Sheldon the turtle!

I'll get a better picture soon! My batteries are dead in my camera, and I'm not used to Kellen's. Plus, I'm in my pajamas, so it had to be an indoor pic! Pattern:Sheldon from knitty.com Yarn:Knitpicks Shine Sport in Grass (left over from peapod baby sweater) and mystery acrylic- probably red heart? in dark green. Mods: I gave him smaller eyes because that's what I happened to pick up at the craft store, also, the dark green is a worsted weight, again, because that's what I had around, but I also wanted to give him a slightly plumper shell.

He was such a fun knit! His neck is a little floppy, though, despite the fact that I tried to stuff it as firmly as possible. Oh well. I was absolutely in love with the slipstich shell pattern. It was my first time doing something like that, and I was suprised how easy it is! This was also my first attatched i-cord (around the shell) and while it took a little bit of getting used to (there may have been a few curses uttered here and there) I think it's an awesome technique and I'm glad I learned it!

I'm taking a break from the other things on the needles for awhile. Here's what I plan to relax with today:

Yarn Snobs, Divert Your Eyes!

2007-05-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday (and it was a very happy one!), and my little brother spent Saturday night at our place, so I finally had a chance to snap a picture of his orange monster slippers.

Pattern: Fuzzy Feet via Knitty. Yarn: Lamb's Pride in Orange You Glad (held double) and Lion Brand Fun Fur in tangerine. Needles: US 10.5 Susan Bates 16" circ, and Brittany dpns. Finished: ages ago! (March 12, 2007).

This pattern was wonderful, although the fun fur made it a bit less enjoyable. It also meant the yarn didn't shrink up as much when felted, so even though my gauge was dead on, they're a little floppy. I've offered to put elastic in the ankles, but received a non-commital grunt in response, typical of an eleven year old boy.

My least favorite part was sewing the teeth and eyes on while the slippers were still wet and stinking of a sheep in a storm. I felted them at my mom's house (Laundromat Felting? NEVER AGAIN!) and wanted to finish them up so they could dry there and he wouldn'thave to wait until he next saw me to wear them.

And he actually does wear them! The bottoms are filthy. But he shuffles around in them, looking like he's dragging two dead muppets on his feet. But, hey, at least he's wearing knitwear, fun fur or not.

Thanks, SP!

2007-05-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

My secret pal might be a mind reader!

what a wonderful, generous package! i absolutely love everything. what you see here is: a super cute sock pattern, US 1 brittany needles (my standard sock knitting size, and i've been needing another pair! this is also my first wooden pair of sock needles, which i've been wanting to try!), and adorable lantern moon Bee measuring tape (i'm on a bee kick lately. The Girls and i are going to start beehive hats soon, and i'm sewing a honey bee purse, so this is perfect!), a set of Burt's Bee's lotions (again, bee love! and i just ran out of the milk and honey lotion that i had, so this came just in time!), a crackling wick candle in warm sugar which i can't wait to try, a See's candy bar wrapper, the candy...uhm...dissappeared before the photo was taken, and finally, Lorna's Laces shepherd sock in Lucky Stripe. I've been dying to try lorna's, and i absolutely love the pink and orange together. i can't wait to cast on!

thank you sooooooo much, SP! i've been thoroughly spoiled!

also, today is kellen's and my fifth anniversary, so it was wonderful to get this package after a great morning and a delicious brunch at the creperie! i couldn't have asked for a better day.

PPP socks!

2007-05-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

yarn: Knitpicks Dancing in Ballet (discontinued, but there are a few other colorways left on clearance, if you're interested.) Needles:Susan Bates US 1 dpns Pattern: plain old sock recipe. cast on 56 (yarn is stretchy), 2x2 rib cuff, heel flaps.

i called these socks a lot of different things while making them: dancing socks, bubblegum socks, valentine's day socks, spring socks, and finally The Perpetual Pink And Purple Socks. i started these sometime in january and finished them saturday. April 28. these socks took 4 months to knit, making them the slowest pair of socks i have ever made. my 10th pair of socks, plain, no frills, stockinette socks, took me four months! i think they earned their name.

nonetheless, these socks are great. the colors are pure happiness, they fit perfectly, they're light and cottony and perfect for warmer weather. see? my timing worked out fine...

(to my credit, the past few semesters i have commuted an hour a day to work, which gave me a lot of sock knitting time. i took this semester off work, so i only got a row in here and there on these guys before and after classes. but still. molasses.)

now...if i could just finish up the other 10,000 things on the needles, i'd be in good shape!

A note to my secret pal...

2007-04-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

Even though you commented with your real name, i read the comment through my email, so i am being a good secret-paller and not clicking on the link to your profile! so, your real identity will still be a surprise! ;)

sheepy love

2007-04-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

now don't get my wrong, i love amy singer. and i looooooove Knitty.com. her new book is full of lovely patterns.

BUT No Sheep signs break my little heart! i know it's all in good fun, but as a sheep loving wool enthusiast, the little fluffy creatures and knitting are innately connected for me. i thank my lucky stars that i'm not allergic.

but let me let you in on a little secret....that sheep i'm knitting? the debby bliss pattern? i'm using acrylic. shame! i know!

but it's all in good fun.

just a quick note...

2007-04-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

look what i picked up for $16 a few weeks ago at a local used bookstore:

Click here to see the going price on Amazon! proof you should shop local and used!

in other news, i haven't finished anything lately, but i do have proof of my startitis: Debbie Bliss' sheep pattern, in worsted rather than DK. this guy is going to be big!

my aunt and cousin have also sent me some wonderful knitting books lately, but i'll post actual reviews of them soon.

and today is the 15th, so if you're my secret pal and you're reading this, hello!

wool for...spring?

2007-04-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

sorry for the lack of posts lately; i took a trip to orange county for my boyfriend's brother's wedding. i didn't get much knitting done, but it was fun anyway!

before i left i finished this up:

a nice noro scarf just in time for our beautiful spring weather! well...at least it will still be nice for chilly mornings waiting for the bus. if you've been reading for awhile, you might remember the scarf from my pile of unfinished christmas presents. well...time ran out and the giftee received a store-bought present from me, which worked out for the best anyway. so, without an ounce of guilt, this scarf is mine now!

2 skeins of noro kureyon, 1X1 rib. US 10.5 needles. the colors are actually much more beautiful than this setting-sun picture shows.

and what have you been working on lately? stay tuned for updates on kellen's endless black stockinette sweater. i'm on sleeve II!

2007-03-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Cecily, my hostess over at Secret Pal 10 asked us to make a post talking about one of our current favorite WIPs. thinking about this made me realize i have a lot on the needles. now, i'm usually pretty monogamous. or at least almost monogamous. a bigger project or two, and usually a sock for knitting out and about.

maybe it's because spring has officially started, but i can't stop casting on. it's official, i have Startitis. i decided i was going to slow down, finish things up...but then i saw the sock yarn staring at me, and...
I couldn't resist! The ubiquitous monkey socks from knitty. i'm only at the cuff, as you can see, but i can't get enough of this yarn. it's Knitpicks Memories in Hawaii. the colors are so bright and springy, and the pattern is perfect. i wanted something that would be more interesting than plain stockinette socks, but not something so complicated it would compete or get lost in the hand-dyed colorway. this is my first Cookie pattern, and i'm looking forward to it! it's also nice to knit something bright and cheery for me to take a break from the black sweater for the boyfriend. (by the way, i finished the first sleeve!! and it was waay too long. it's repaired now but i'm not looking forward to sleeve 2.)

i do have one little gripe though...I had to go down to a size 00 to get gauge! 00, people!! this has nothing to do with cookie's designing or anything like that; i usually have to go down a needle size or two for patterns, which i find very odd, since if i'm knitting without a pattern, i can use the recommended needles for a given yarn and get the "average" gauge. i'm not a loose knitter, i swear! i get jealous of other knitters, traipsing through the world blissfully knitting away on size 2s while i try not to bend my 00s!

oh well, the socks'll be worth it.

This is my 50th post!

2007-03-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

in case anyone thought i slipped off the face of the earth, i am, in fact, still here! my knitting has just been terribly boring lately, so i haven't had much to post. on the needles, i have the slooow going mon petite chou, miles of black stockinette for kellen's sweater, and some plain stockinette socks for me.

however, Jaime tossed a curve ball into my projects last time he was over. he said he wanted slippers. i had already bought the mandatory Orange and White to make him some fibertrends felted clogs back at christmas, but he insisted he would never, ever, ever wear anything knitted. i finally talked him down to admitting he might wear something knitted at home, if it was really cool, but never in public. that was in december, and i had dropped the subject thinking he'll come around eventually. like when he's 40.

you can imagine how thrilled i was when he finally admitted he wanted slippers. i pulled out the fibertrends pattern and the size 13 circ... and then he said, "no, not that kind. like lukes's! He wanted orange fun-fur monster slippers. i might be crazy, but the idea didn't sound too bad. maybe it's because of the aforementioned miles of black for kellen's sweater. orange sounded goood. we agreed on the Fuzzy Feet pattern, and went down to the craft store and bought 4 skeins of the fuzzy crap. (i ended up only needing two and half. how come that never happens with the good stuff?) and i cast on:
i'm off to felt them today. we'll have to see if he actually wears them now.

Swallowtail Shawl takes flight...and Kables for Kellen

2007-02-24T17:39:00.000-08:00

I kept imagining beautiful shots of the swallowtail resting gently on spring blossoms. however, it doesn't appear that the rain will EVER STOP here. such is the way of humboldt county. anyway, i'm eager to get the shawl off to grandma, so off it goes. here's one action shot though:

and a close up of the nupps:

Pattern:Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A Clark. Interweave Knits fall 2006. yarn: knitpicks alpaca cloud in horizon. NeedlesKnitpick's Options, US 4, 36" circular. these needles are amazing. other people had problems with the nupps (p5tog, it made me a little faint when i first read it...) but i had no problems whatsoever, at least when i went slow enough. the tips are sharp, the joins are smooth, and the purple cable is cute.notes: it took me a little (A LOT) longer than i had hoped to finish. this is grandmas's Christmas present. it's the end of february. oops. but really, this shawl was a joy to knit and i think i might knit myself one for kellen's brother's wedding. i hope grandma likes it!

in other news, Brittney, Karla, and i are all going to make the Bzzzz hat from SNBN, so i bought a quicksilver US 7 16" circular. (my last 7 16" circular got chewed on!) anyway, i love quicksilvers and i have the yarn and i'm dying to start. but we're knitting together so i decided to cast on another hat so i couldn't use the needle. behold, kables for kellen:

excuse the bad picture. kellen was playing a video game and couldn't be bothered. you might also notice a few other things in this picture, which reveal my organizational style. (i think it's called creative chaos?) pattern: modified basic cable from SNBN. yarn: leftover lamb's pride from felted clogs. i *think* this color is called dark charcoal? Needles: aforementioned quicksilver, US 7 dpns. Mods: subbed garter stitch for the ribbing at the bottom. mock cables instead of ribs between the cables. extra cable repeat. notes: even with the extra cable repeat (and getting gauge) this hat is dorkily short. it barely covers the top of his ears. i know that's the style of the pattern, but when i make it again, i'll do two extra repeats. i would have done that this time, but i ran out of yarn! i considered getting more, but the whole point was to use up leftovers.

On The Needles: mon petit chou, bublegum sock, kellen's sweater sleeve.

rain, rain, go away...

2007-02-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

things have been wet and gray in my neck of the woods, so i've been unable to get a good shot of the swallowtail. i've really wanted to post about it though, so here it is blocking. i straightened it up a bit after i snapped this shot but you get the idea.

more details when i get a good picture, then it's off to grandma!

quick FO fix

2007-02-15T23:56:00.000-08:00

Things have been really stressful for me lately (don't even get me started. . .) but let me tell you, chunky wool on wooden circulars is perfect zen knitting. i can even do it while i read for school! this is what i whipped up tonight:Yarn: Lion Brand Lanscapes, color #227/country sunset. Needles: US size 13 16" clover bamboo circulars, then US 13 Brittany dpns. Pattern: basic, off-the-top-of-my-head roll brim recipe. CO 48 stitches, knit for a goodly amount, then start decreasing every 8 stitches (then 7, then 6, etc.) I swear it looks cuter in real life. any one else fed up with this lack of natural light to take good knitting pictures??

also, the swallowtail has been done for over a week! i'm holding out until i can get a picture that does her justice. no crappy bathroom pics for the swallowtail!

Secret Pal 10 Survey

2007-02-04T18:24:00.000-08:00

it seems like i always miss the sign ups for secret pals, but not this time! i'm super excited. i'm also sick right now, so hopefully my answers are coherent.
------------------------------

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I'm really anti yarn snobbery. I like knitting with wool. lamb's pride is a favorite. i like merinos. alpaca. silk. but i also do a lot of knitting for kids/babies/hand-washing-impaired, so i'm not opposed to acrylic and blends. i like plymouth encore for these purposes. i'm not a HUGE fan of novelty yarns but some are okay. (i prefer thick 'n thins to eyelash, for example)

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? i keep my straights and circulars in two wine bottle holders. dpns go in a pretty glass. maybe i'll post pictures one of these days.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? i taught myself how to knit about four years ago, using a tutorial i swiped from a martha stewart living. i had purple hair at the time so the irony amuses me. i would consider myself an adventurous intermediate knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? i have an amazon wishlist. there's a button link to it in my sidebar.

5. What's your favorite scent? i like what i guess you would call "baking scents" vanilla, cinnamon, buttercream, "sugar" scents...i also like some fruity scents too. strawberry, pear, etc.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? i think all my teeth are sweet teeth! i love chocolate. reeses. i'm not a big fan of sour candies though.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? i sew a lot, make jewelry, and paint a little bit. i also do blockprinting, embroidery, and other crafts when i have time. I garden as much as an apartment dweller can. I spin very crappily on a drop spindle, and i recently acquired a wheel, so hopefully i'll be spinning successfully on that.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) i listen to a lot of different music, but mostly in the punk and indie genres. i have some of my favorite bands listed on my blogger profile. i can play mp3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? i like pink, purple, blue, black, and silver a lot. i used to pretend that i didn't like orange, but i love it with pink. yellow and brown aren't favorites, but combined with other colors, i like them.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? i live in an apartment with my boyfriend of almost five years. my parents live about half an hour south of us; they're separated. i have a younger brother (11) and an older brother (25). we don't have any pets living with us here, sadly, but at home with mom we have two dogs (a chihuahua, my baby, and a blue heeler), a cat, and a turtle. animal gifties would be appreciated, since i visit them as often as possible.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
i wear scarves, hats, and mittens often, especially to school where it gets chilly. i've never met a cute poncho, but if one exists i would wear it.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
what a hard question! socks, baby items, i've recently got the lace bug. i also like knitting quick hats. all different things. i guess i'd have to say gifts! i like knitting for others.

13. What are you knitting right now? a raglan sweater for the boy, socks for me, a noro scarf, and the swallowtail shawl (which is two rows away from finishing!)

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
i LOVE handmade gifts, but don't often receive them. i'm also cool with thrifted things (in decent condition, of course) especially vintage knitting booklets.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
i like straight aluminums for most knitting. i do like wool on bamboo though. circulars are good if the project doesn't fit comfortably on straights. and i've never used a plastic needle that didn't suck. (although i'm sure they exist!)

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
i do! they were a christmas gift from my boyfriend, along with a new sewing machine. (i know, i know, he's wonderful. he crochets, too.)

17. How old is your oldest UFO? only a few months. i did a cleaning sweep and frogged or finished all the older ones. although i think there is a rogue legwarmer half finished on the loose at my mom's house. we won't speak of that.

18. What is your favorite holiday? i always say halloween. but i love christmas and thanksgiving too. and i'm a totally sucker for "spring" themed things.

19. Is there anything that you collect? teapots! and teapot themed goodies. typewriters, too, but i don't really need any more of those! i also "collect" different teas. i have a whole cupboard full of different teas to suit my moods.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? that's another great question. the books are all on my amazon wishlist, so you can check there. i've never tried bamboo yarn, so that would be fun. no particular needles. i do want to get the fiber trends felted hedgehog pattern, but that's the only one i can think of off the top of my head. i have a subscription to Interweave Knits, but i also purchase vogue knitting, knit simple, and knit1 whenever they look good.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? steeks (am i brave enough?) and i'd like to knit a toe up sock, just to expand my horizons a bit.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
yes. my feet are about 9.5" long, and the "cuff" part of my shin is about 9." most women's Medium patterns fit well. i wear a size 7 shoe.

23. When is your birthday? May 13.

massive postapalooza

2007-01-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

so i realized, like the past five of my enteries have no pictures. good god, what will keep you people around?? blame the poor weather for the lack of natural light to take flattering pictures. or my laziness.

anyway, here i am to redeem myself.

first, an FO from 2006.When i said i knit 30 things in 2006, i forgot about this little number:

Anthropologie Inspired Caplet by Julsey723. Size 11 needles. SWTC Karaoke in Mermaid Mix. about 1.5 balls.

I luuuurve this yarn. it was my first time using soy silk. and it was yummy. I kind of forgot about the project though, because i didn't like how loose the gauge was (size 11s on worsted) but i added the little abalone button (it's a button glued to a pin back, actually. so it's removable) and it's growing on me.

I knit myself up a quick brainless hat to soothe my back-to-school stress. I call it the Yarn Barf hat. excuse the dorky face.

Joann Sensations Thick and Thin yarn in "dark multi" colorway. Size 13 needles, basic hat recipe. i've had this yarn f-o-r-e-v-e-r, and struggled with getting it into a hat, but this time around it worked. it's silly but i think it's cute. i have the same yarn in a purple/pink colorway too. another hat, perhaps?

I finished my mom's cabled footies:
From One Skein by Leigh Radford. Cascade 220 Superwash. in...red? size 7 needles.

Mike's Slippers are waiting to be felted:

The Swallowtail is one chart away from being done:

And finally, my current SIP: Knitpicks Dancing in Ballet. discontinued, sadly. this is my first time using a (mostly) cotton sock yarn and it's turning out quite nicely. nothing fancy, just basic sock recipe.

okay, i think that's all the knitting news for now! i spent a few hours knitting with my knitting girl gang (go visit their blogs! Brittney + Karla) Karla is knitting for her kitty and Brittney finished her first non-scarf FO! yay knitting ladies!

did that tide ya over for now?
and ps, the new blogger is a pain in the ass!

just a quick note...

2007-01-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

just a quick post to let you all know that the stress of holiday knitting did not, in fact, kill me. however, i started school again, and i've been busy with that as well as knitting with friends. in real life! i know, i never thought i'd get off the couch.

no pictures today, i'll leave you hanging. i will tell you though, i'm a chart away from finishing the swallowtail (and insanely enough i want to make another one), halfway through a sock for me, and *almost* done with my mom's birthday present. exciting, isn't it?

Dear Stash...

2007-01-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Dearest Stash,
You may have read other knitters blog about "using up their stash" this year. In fact, you may have read about knit-alongs specifically for destroying stash. These knitters vow to not buy another ball, skein, or hank of fiber until their stash is used up. Enough is enough, they say.

They even make good arguments about how buying yarn is a waste of money in these dire economic times, etc.

Now, these knitters have the best intentions, and they may do as they please, but stashbusting does not go down in this house, so don't worry your pretty little head. Yes, I'll knit from you, (that purple-y heathered yarn? cabled footies for me. The black worsted? a sweater for kellen. the piles of sock yarn? i'll get there.) but then there are some gems, specifically acrylic gems, and on the other hand, gems to precious to knit with out serious thought, and they'll stay. And I'll definitely continue to buy yarn. Some knitters say they can knit any sweater in the world with yarn from their stash, but i am not there yet. (well, unless that sweater was going to be from mismatched garage sale acrylic, which has it's place, but not in a fair isled masterpiece.)

Bottom line is, I love you, darling. You impress my knitting friends and the thought of your endless possibilities calms my stressed-out student mind.

and about stashing being socially irresponsible? I don't buy yarn irresponsibly, and my credit cards are paid off, so i can't be in too much trouble. and besides, it's either knitting or therapy, and this way is a lot cheaper.

xo,
violet

Here's to those who don't want to shed any yarn related pounds in 2007!

2k6 Wrap Up!

2006-12-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

(swiped from Boogie Knits.)

List Your FO's:
the grand total was 30. not bad for a full-time college student who also worked 5 days a week this year, huh? you can see them all by Clicking Here. There were
.4 washcloths
.8 pairs of socks
.1 pair of mittens
.3 hats (two baby, one men's)
.1 ear of corn
.1 child's vest
.1 "soap sack"
.4 scarves
.1 pair of monster slippers
.1 felted alpaca
.1 pair of baby booties
.2 recycled silk purses
.1 baby sweater
.1 cupcake

List Your Works In Progress.
Fiber Trend's clogs for my mom's Goliath-footed man friend
Swallowtail Shawl for grandma
Cabled footies for mom
Noro scarf for close friend
(all but one are left-over xmas gifts. d'oh!)

What skeletons are in your knitting basket?
actually, none! i moved this summer, and a few weeks ago or so, kellen and i went through our mutual stash (he's a crocheter) and killed all the zombie UFO's...although i have to say they were mostly his. although i do have a few rounds of the peapod baby hat, which i decided i didn't have time for, but we won't speak of that.

What was your favorite project of 2006?
i really loved everything i knit this year! but i guess if i narrowed it down, i'd say Luke's vest, because it was my first intarsia project, and the closest i've come to designing my own garment. (we won't mention the fact that it fit him around, but was about two dorky inches too short. it still looks cute!) Then of course, i've loved all my socks. and the alpaca, and...

What projects will you never knit again?
this year was suprisingly Year Of The Things I'll Probably Knit Again. but i'd like to believe i will never knit another pair of Fun Fur Slippers. but if a cute enough kid asked, maybe...

What was your major knitting accomplishment in 2006?
i wish i could say the swallowtail, but it's not finished. So I'd have to say it was definitely learning how to knit socks!

What was your favorite yarn of 2006?
oh...that's tricky. color? texture? practicality??
i'll give it a top 3.
1) knitpicks shimmer
2) himilayan recyled silk
3) lamb's pride!
i'm not sure i'll use the top two in 2007, but #3 has my heart forever.

What's your favorite yarn overall?
overall?! didn't you see my agony over the last question??? i guess lamb's pride. even though it's "too scratchy" for other people, if i only had one yarn left on earth to knit with, i'd want that one. i'd just have to keep all my knits to myself!

What new knitting techniques did you learn in 2006?
intarsia, sock knitting, kitchener stitch, lace. i think that's about it. i learn something from everything i knit, it seems. and now i'm learning to spin on a wheel!

What are your knitting goals for 2007?.
learn to spin on aforementioned wheel, more socks, more fair isle, a grown-up sized sweater? xmas gifts on time?

how about, just keep knitting!

have a safe and happy new year, xo.

i failed.

2006-12-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

i finished the branching out, the burgendy double moss stitch scarf, and the noro scarf.

everything else? complete failure. i worked on the swallowtail until my wrists nearly snapped off, and there's just no way i can finish, let alone block it. i slept for 3 hours last night.

i had big, big dreams, and they just weren't compatible with finals, work, a wicked cold that's threatening to turn into a sinus infection, and a painful wisdom tooth. oh, and quitting the job i love! that too.

it's my sanity vs. lace weight alpaca.

i'm going to go make some truffles, write some IOU cards, and maybe sneak a quick nap before i head down to my grandmother's for some celebrating.

happy holidays, everyone!

six days...

2006-12-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

this is what i have left to do:i think i may be feeling what most people would call panic? you should note that is the *first* clog you see, so i still need to make a mate. this doesn't even touch the candles, fudge, peaunt brittle, peppermint bark, and breads that i need to make, too. and i still have a sewing project and a half to finish. oh, and one of my wisdom teeth might be infected. cheers!

bye bye, baby (sweater)!

2006-12-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

the peapod sweater is (finally) finished:
i absolutely love it. i'm definitely going to make the pattern again, although who knows when. Specs: Baby PeaPod Sweater by kate gilbert, in knitpicks shine sport. I think i only used 3.5 balls, which if i remember right was less yardage than the pattern called for. size 5 needles. the yarn was wonderful to work with and super soft. i don't think i'd use it for an adult sweater, but for babies it's tops.

I just sewed the buttons on last night and it's on its way to the mommies today! baby is due the 27th. i hope they like it!

oh, and i finished another recycled silk purse, this one is a gift: pretty much the same as the last one i made, although i went down 3 needle sizes for the garter stitch band at the top, which worked a lot better, and did a 3 st i-cord instead of 2.

okay, no more time to blog. time to ~~knit~~ ~~study for finals~~ knit and study for finals!