Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Project 365

As a fore note, who stole 2008? I'd like to have some of it back for a do-over please.

I'd like to do a Project 365 of something. I don't know what though. Maybe I could do a picture a day with knitting in it. On the bus, in a car, at work, and so on. Not necessarily a project a day, but just some WIP that I'm working on. Hmmmmm, that sounds like a good idea.

That will be my New Years Resolution, to blog with my Project 365 each day. I'll still have to do updates on knitting progress and photos of finished objects, but each day will have a picture with a work in progress in it. I just now need a cool name. Leave a comment with a name suggestion.

ETA: I'd love to have themes for each month too. Like January could be snow, May could be flowers, etc. Leave comments for those too!

Well that's all for now, it is nearly 3am afterall.

-Cheers and have a safe New Years Eve!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Well Frak Me!

I'm a geek. I know it. I'm sure you all have figured it out by now, but if you haven't this will set your mind straight.

I crocheted a couple characters from Battlestar Galactica. (Do you watch Battlestar Galactica? No? Well then you're an idiot.) I used the basic head and body pattern from Christen Haden's book "Creepy Cute Crochet", and then pretty much just added modifications to make the characters who they really are.
Saul is my favorite little guy. He's not my favorite character, but he turned out so well. I think if I were to do another I would get felt for the eye patch instead of embroidering it on, I also would play up the insignia on his chest a bit more.

Lee didn't turn out so great. I know he's Lee, and when I tell someone that's who it is, or they know that he's a Battlestar character, they know, but otherwise he just looks like some dude.

I think next will be Admiral Adama. I will also be making a 6, Kara, Chief, Rosslin, Baltar, and Boomer. Maybe a Helo, but I haven't decided yet. I hope to have most of them done (they've only been taking me like two hours to complete!) in time for the new season to start, but who know's if that will actually happen or not. Time will tell.

-Cheers and What do ya hear?

Friday, December 26, 2008

WTFrak? Finished Object?

Oh yes, you had better believe it, A finished object. It took about a day to finish which I thought was just awesome. I would make more, but I don't know if anyone else would wear one.

It's Thorpe by Kristen Kapur. I used the Cascade 109 Tweed LE that I had left from my first sweater attempt in Charcoal and Fuchsia. I already love the thing even though I have yet to wear it outside my bedroom. The stranding of the yarns totally makes it warmer, and it's wool, and it's made out of bulky yarn.

Now all it needs to do is snow and I will be very very happy.

I got a few magazines for Christmas, knitting magazines (go figure eh? It's not like I'm into knitting or anything :P). There's one pattern that has struck me as awesome and I really want to make them all.
(Image from the Knit.1 website)
I want to make all of those little guys, the only thing is, I have no idea what I would do with them all. Not so much a functionality question, it's more of the "I have no room for anything else in my room" kind of question. Dad and I added another shelf to my wall a couple months ago, but still I have no room for anything else unless I add yet another shelf. Oh well, maybe I'll just make them and then figure out what to do with them later.

I hope everyone is having a good holiday season.

-Cheers and happy knitting!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Day 7 - Greed

Well, I did it. I actually was able to blog each day about one of the seven deadly sins. I think to celebrate I will got make myself an extra strong drink, sip it slowly, and drift off to sleep to wake up early tomorrow (have been getting up around noon or later recently) to open presents, have Christmas Breakfast, then go up to my Nanny and Grampy's to watch them open theirs.

Today's sin:Greed (Latin - avaritia)

It's officially Christmas day right now, and in true Nova Scotian fashion, it's raining. Is it too much to ask for snow? Even Vancouver has the white stuff! *sigh* I guess I shouldn't be greedy. We had dinner with the family at Nanny and Grampy's tonight. I don't think I was very greedy at the meal, although my brother did accuse me of being wasteful when I took a glass of wine and didn't finish it (Nanny finished it though, so no waste). I can say right now though, seeing all those presents made me want to open all of mine right then and there. We played crib after dinner, myself and mom were on one team, brother and Nanny were on the other team. We won the first game, they won the next two. I must clarify that they only ever won by a maximum of 5 pegs, all the games were really close.

I guess I should have put greed on another day, because truthfully I was not greedy today. It is a time of giving, and I think I have given quite well this year. I'm pretty sure that I will do a recap of the year on the 31st. A Year in Review, if you will. That's it for tonight, I might stay up a bit later to see if the mister comes online so I can wish him a Merry Christmas, but tonight will not be a late night, too much excitement tomorrow.

Today gets a 4/10 for Greed. I guess I'm just not a greedy person.

-Cheers and have a Merry Holiday.

Actual knitting.

I don't know where all my knitting time has been going. Well, actually I do, and then it goes to the Frog Pond.

I cast on a WollyWormhead Meret out of some sort of scratchy wool I got from my aunt and uncle last year for Christmas, but it just wasn't screaming "Finish me!" So I frogged it.

I cast on for a Thorpe, more specifically, the one with the color work. I was using Cascade 220 (pink and black), and 3.75mm needles instead of 5.5mm, so I added a pattern repeat. I finished all the increases and it was still going to be too small, so I frogged. I cast on again, this time with two extra repeats. I got to the end of the increases and it looked like it was still going to be too small, so I added to the pattern to increase each pattern repeat by 4 additional stitches. I then worked a few rounds of the straight pattern. I didn't like how the top was flat, no bowl, just a bucket. so I frogged it. I haven't cast on again yet, and I haven't decided whether I will double the 220, or use the 109 tweed that I have.

I think I'll frog my Viheevara. I haven't worked on it in a while and I know I don't have enough yarn for it. It kinda makes me sad, but the progress on my other huge project lifts my heart.


Oh heck yes, you better believe that I've been working on the infamous Boob Blanket. I've got 5 blocks done and I don't know how many more I want to do. It's becoming a fairly good size already, but I want it bigger. I'm also not sure which layout to use.

And I know..... Block before seaming. But I got impatient! I will take out the seams to block and find a really good layout for the blocks, but for now, I like having a quarter (or so) of a blanket. What would my blog be without a random artsy-ish photo? I want a good camera. I can't seem to get mine to focus well. It could also be the light. Damn sleep patterns letting me sleep in till 1 and stay awake till 5.


-Cheers and happy knitting!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Day 6 - Lust

Today I had a job. An actual paying gig in my industry. It was awesome.

Today's sin: Lust (Latin, Luxuria)

I might have stayed up much too late last night, and I might have only gotten 3 hours sleep. It might have been a mistake, but it was worth it. Lust.

I got up early and tried to drop off the key that I accidentally took home from work on Sunday, but the complex still didn't have any power, so I didn't even bother walking down to the store. I instead went to McDonalds and got two #2's: Sausage and egg McMuffins. I went back home with the intention of showering before going off to my gig, but the guy who was picking me up called me and said he was running early, so he'd be there real soon. Needless to say, once again there is another day that I was rushed and unable to get completely ready before I went off for the day. I rushed around the house, and ate ONE hashbrown. I lusted after the hot, steamy Sausage McMuffins sitting in their bag on my kitchen table. I then ran out the door for one of the most interesting gigs I have ever done.

It was at a warehouse in Burnside, and they were playing in the warehouse. Not in a lunchroom or a seminar room, but in the Factory Warehouse with all of the huge computerized equipment as a backdrop (which I lusted after, omg big machines). We loaded in though the loading bay that was meant for an 18 wheeler, after which one of the workers told us to pile our gear onto palettes and they would use the fork lift to carry the gear to the "stage".The "stage" was three stacks of about 15 sheets of 8' X 12' pressboard. It was a sight to be seen. The "desk" that I sat up the console on was actually about 5 palettes stacked on one another, with a piece of pressboard (cut to size) screwed to the top. Like I said, it was interesting.

The guys brought me a plate of food during their break which was very nice seeing as I was getting hungry. I got paid in cash. I got home at 5. It was an awesome day. I was home for about 5 minutes before dad got in and we were off again! We went over to the Williams Street crew for supper. I had thought we were ordering Chinese food, so I was all geared up for it and lusting after lemon chicken, beef and broccoli, sweet and sour chicken balls, meat egg rolls, and chicken/beef/Chinese fried rice. We got there, and my Uncle was cooking Lasagna. It was still really good, but I had been all geared up for Chinese, so it was kind of a let down. On the way home I'm pretty sure that I fell asleep in the back seat. It might have been the glass of wine, or the (lack there of) amount of sleep I got last night.

Of course though, it's nearly midnight as I write this and although I could go to sleep now, I don't want to. I'll stay up later so see if the reason that I was up so late last night comes online. Talk about lust much?

Today gets a 9.5/10 for Lust. It only looses a point because of the sleep depravity.

-Cheers from this lusty babe ;)

Monday, December 22, 2008

Day 5 - Envy

Today was better than yesterday, but just about anything could have happened to me today and it would have been better than yesterday. By the way, my boss isn't upset that I accidentally took a key home, I just need to drop it off tomorrow before I go to my gig.

Today's Sin: Envy (Latin - invidia)

So Wentworth open up tomorrow, and I really want to go skiing. There wont be much open, just the main trail I think, which gets very boring after a while, but that one trail is better than the entire Martock hill. I've got a friend who's family has a cabin up in the Wentworth Valley, he and his brothers are leaving tonight (they're most likely on the road now) to go up skiing for the first day that the hill is open. I really want to go skiing, and considering how bad my back can be, it's a good thing that I don't actually get to go as often as I would like. If I did I would be flat on my back for weeks up to months, and that just doesn't fit into my schedule.

I give today a 7/10 for Envy.

-Cheers and Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Okay, that's enough of that.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Day 4 - Wrath

Today was not a good day.

Today's Sin: Wrath (Latin - Ira)

So let's start right from the begging. I was woken up at 10:00am by an old teacher of mine offering me a gig (that big was really good), but because I was up early, I slept in later than I had hoped. 12:30 to be precise, and here's the really bad bit: I worked at 1. I didn't even get to shower, I just got up, washed really quickly, threw my hair up in a pony, and ran off to work. I got there about 3 minutes before my shift started at which time my manager gave me a hard time for not being there ten minutes before my shift started. First off, I have NEVER been there ten minutes before my shift started, secondly, this is the first time I have come anywhere near to being late. So lady, BACK OFF.

My shift was relatively uneventful. It seemed very stupid that the same three people who closed yesterday were also the ones who closed today. I had a few customers who I could have kicked in the arse, but I also had a few really amazing women who truly were appreciative of the amazing customer service I give. I went to Atlantic Fabrics on my break to try and find a shorter 3.75mm circular needle, but all they had were crappy Boye or Susan Bates needles, and the shortest they had were 75cm. Needless to say, that excursion was a bust.

I came home, mom made french toast for the two of us. It wasn't enough for supper for me, so I made a plate of Nachos, still not enough, so I had an English Muffin. I was going to make Cherry Balls, but we don't have enough coconut, or any graham crackers. BUST. I tried to make peanut butter balls, the balls are made, and I tried to do the coating (I didn't have any milk chocolate, so I was going to use white which I figured I would have enough of), but after I got two balls done, I realized I had burnt the chocolate. I think that was the last straw, if I don't get a double broiler for Christmas, I'm buying one. I love making chocolates, but I hate the way I have to McGuyver a pot of water and the chocolate pot. And the best thing, I came upstairs to put on pyjama pants and realized that I had accidentially taken a key home from work, so even if I don't have to work tomorrow (can I just mention now how much I HATE on-call shifts), I have to go in fairly early to drop the key off.

Oh by the way, did I forget to mention that today was the Open House/ Family get together at the B&B my godmother runs in Windsor that I look forward to every year, that I didn't get to go to? Yea, NOT HAPPY.

Today gets a 10/10 for Wrath. Way to go for pissing me off life.

-cheers and pour me another, I need to drown my anger in something.

Day 3 - Sloth

I know, I know. It's technically not day 3, but is it my fault that someone gave me Black Books seasons 1-3 (which I finished in three days), and then I watched two Doctor Who episodes and worked on a toque that is going to be super warm and pretty much the best thing ever? I think it is not my fault. Which is the same stand I take when I say that I was a sloth today, and it was not my fault.

Day 3 - Sloth (Lain - Acedia)

So I stayed up late last night, perhaps a bit too late, and that is the reason that today was pretty much a write off, even though I'm completely wired right now, but that might have a bit to do with having a drink in my hands. I was up until nearly 7am last night.... I swear one moment I looked at my clock and it said 4am, which I thought was late and that I should go to bed, but I had only been talking to DWB for two hours, and I wanted more, and the conversation never came to a lull, so we kept going. It was a good thing that if I had had to work early, it would only have been at 2:30, so even that wouldn't have been too bad. Thankfully I didn't have to work early (as I found out when I woke up at 1:30 and called work). I spent the next half hour just lying in bed wondering if I actually had gotten up at 9am to give mom the hairdryer that was in my room (I had), and contemplating the thought of it all beaing a dream last night (it wasn't).

I went downstairs to discover that mom and dad were decorating the Christmas tree, so in true youngest child fashion, I proceeded to go to my chocolate christmas countdown calendar, ate today's chocolate, and then (while still in my pyjamas) I decorated the Christmas tree with a cocofany of handmade ornaments (remind me to tell you about the Bell Filled with Tears), ornaments that are older than myself (some that my mother had made in elementary school that her grandmother kept and my mother was given after she passed away), and cut outs from many of the various places that mother and father dearest have visited.

I ate breakfast (at 3pm), watched some House and knit for a while. Then I got ready for work, went to work (where it was d-e-a-d, dead. Made me sort of angry), then sat in the car as brother picked me up and then ran a few errands before returning home. I ate left over lasagna from Thursday, watched Black Books and Doctor Who and cast on a hat (twice) that I am changing from the pattern because I'm knitting it in worsted on 3.75mm instead of in chunky on 5.5mm. I'm working on Thorpe by the way, doing the patterened version to add warmth. The main color will be black, with a contrast of neon pink, it's looking awesome so far.

This day gets a 7/10 for Sloth.

-cheers and don't be too much of a sloth!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Day 2 - Pride

6 days till Giftmas, and I am (nearly) done my shopping. I only have two things left to pick up, both of which I can get tomorrow before I go in to work.

Today's Sin: Pride (Latin, Superbia)

I woke up at 8am this morning and was going to get into the shower to get ready for work when the phone rang. It was work calling me telling me that they had to cancel my shift. Some people get angry when that happens, but seeing as I don't need the hours, I was happy. It meant I could sleep in. So when I got up at 1 I was happy, rested, and ready to face the mall to finish my last little bit of shopping. I got up to Mic Mac about 2:30, and I was out of there at 3:15. Done. Everything is now done except two little things I have to pick up, one of them is at work, so I'll get that tomorrow, and the other is at Atlantic Fabrics which is right next to my work. I'm very happy to be done, and even more excited that I'm practically done with all the wrapping. I'm re-using some old shipping boxes for those oddly shapped items. Go Green this season! I think I'll wrap the kid's presents in the comics from the Saturday paper to go even greener.

I give this day a 9/10 for Pride.

- Cheers and be Proud!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Day 1 - Gluttony

Seeing as there are 7 days till the biggest commercially corupt non-denominational gift giving day of the year (read: Christmas), I decided to do a post every day along the lines of the Seven Deadly Sins. You can chalk this up to my being bored, and listening to far too much Flogging Molly.

Today's sin: Gluttony (Latin, gula).

We had our department's Christmas lunch today. Two hours of decent food with not so great service, followed by highly overpriced desert ($7 for a slice of cheesecake!). I are a fair bit of the nachos we had to start, then ate most of my caesar and only some of the lasagna I had. To top it off, I got the traditional cheesecake with caramel drizzle. The nachos were a tad over-cooked for my liking, the caesar was a bit dry, the lasagna was too spicy for my liking, but the cheesecake was sooooo rice and wonderful. The best part was that I didn't pay for it. Also, it was an extra hour on my lunch break that I'm not getting paid for. I spent the afternoon feeling overstuffed and wanting to just go to bed. All in all it was a good lunch with people I like.

I give the day an 8/10 for Gluttony.

-Cheers and happy Gluttoning!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Because the cat's out of the bag.

The Super Duper Secret Project was gifted tonight, so it deserves and is able to be blogged about now. Say hello, to Ten.



I used Snuffykin's Tenth Doctor Pattern, and actually stayed on the pattern, mostly.I didn't change anything, but I did add a collar by Ch20, skip 2, DC in next chain, HDC in next, SC 16, HDC in next, DC in next. I then sewed that to the neck join area, which helped clean it up a bit I found. The suit and hair are Patons Canadiana in brown, shirt, shoes, head and hands are Cascade 220 in various colours, and the eyes are Safety eyes I found at Atlantic Fabrics a while ago.



He worked up really quickly, or it might have been that I was a little obsessed too. The hair is totally awesome, and really looks (and even kinda feels) more like real hair than just a crochet cap.



I want to see if I can make some BSG dolls from the same type of pattern, We're doing a BSG party when the new season starts, so I think it would be awesome to have my own little Lee, Kara, and some of the others too.

Well that's all from me. I'm going to go get some food, left over stir fry is calling me. :)

-cheers and happy knitting!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

I did it, your turn now.

That's right Michael, the gauntlet has been thrown down. It's your turn to blog now. I apologize in advance for the pictures that aren't up to my usual semi nice standards, but I just needed something to show that I have actually been working on stuff.

So, my mojo has partially returned, not fully yet, but I'm definitely drafting a heck of a lot more than I had been for a while there. I finished a case for my Crochet hooks and short DPNs. I'm not sure if I had mentioned it before, but I'm actually quite proud of it.
It took me a bit to figure out the best way to put the zipper on, but I finally did figure it out, and it doesn't look half bad if I say so myself.
There are 12 spaces for hooks/needles. A few of them are larger for my bigger hooks and my short but large sized DPNs, and some are smaller to help hold in the DPNs, even though I don't have to worry about them falling out because of the zipper on the top. I know that there doesn't look like there's a zipper on the bottom, and that would be because there isn't a zipper on the bottom. The only one I had here at home was only 16" long, and I wanted instant gratification. Still, the needles/hooks wont fall out because the zipper is on the top and there isn't enough room for them to come out of their little pockets.

My sad attempt at an artsy picture, I don't know why, but I can't seem to get my camera to focus very well. I think at some point in time in the new year I might go and get a real nice camera instead of a pretty nice camera. Not SLR (which I would loooooove), but something with a manual focus would be nice. Auto-anything doesn't work for me all the time.

The main bit of my crafting time has been spent working on my Super Duper Secret Project, so I can't post pictures but it's about 98% done, just a few tiny finishing things and it's done! Too bad it wont get to the recipient in time for Christmas seeing as he leave on Tuesday and I wont see him again before then. *tear*

*Returning 10 minutes later.* Okay, so Michael'ss tactic of sending me to this site to try to make my blogging time even longer kind of worked, and OMG I want everything.

Back to actual knitting stuffs now. I've also started another Lizard Ridge block. I really like this color combo, not sure what color number it is though because I mistakenly threw away the ball bands. I did a recalculation of all the Noro Kureyon that I have, and I have enough for two more blocks after this one, I'll need two more balls to make one more block (I'm doing 8 blocks, a 4X2 blanket seeing as my blocks are fairly large). This is my 5th block and so far, I'm loving the pattern (it flies off my needles), the colors are wonderful, and it's really warm. I think I might do a backing in flanel maybe, just to make it so that theres a little more to it, and so the (IMHO) ugly purl/wrong side is hidden. I haven't decided yet, and I still need to block each piece.


I started these a while ago, and they're still on the needles. I think the thumb is a touch tight, so I wasn't happy with them, and as with everything that I'm not totally happy with, it sits in the wicker basket by my bed and cries tears of loneliness. I really like the palm, I might just frog back the thumb and then pick up more stitches at the base. I haven't decided yet.

Want a blast from your (or maybe it's just mine) childhood? Plastic Canvas. I bought some on a whim seeing as each piece it under 50 cents, I think I'm going to make a TARDIS pen holder for my cube at work. This is a piece I did, but there's an error, so I'm going to make all new ones for the actual one for work. (I'll be the coolest cat around, eh?)


Did I mention the neckwarmer that I finished out of the Malabrigo I bought from TLE? if I did, wewt, if not, here's a picture. The color isn't great, but it's really hard to get an accurate color of it. It's Lettuce Green by the way for anyoone who was wondering.

I frogged a few things too recently. The One Row Handspun scarf I was working on out of some single ply Aurelia Top Knot just wasn't looking as good as I wanted it to, so I frogged it. And the Two monkeys out of Bamboo blend were frogged. I might make another pair of firestarters out of the yarn. I really like the ones out of STR that I have, either that or if I can find another pattern that I love. Not decided yet, but it's not like I'm going anywhere.

Well, I have to go get ready for work (I really do NOT want to work tonight), but I think the best thing might be the fact that I'll have something waiting for me when I do get home. Three words: Rainbow Chocolate Chips.

-Cheers and happy crafting!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

I'm not so think as you drunk I am!

So last night I went to a party. A party where I knew the sum total of 4 people out of the....20 or more who were there. It was still one of the best parties I have ever been to. I think that one of the things that may have made it awesome was the fact that there was a theme. An awesome theme.



Did ya figure it out? I hope so. It was a M*A*S*H themed party. The house was all MASH-ified. (Well done Jenn, Adam, and Tyler by the way.)


Officers (& Enlisted Personnel) Club. AKA: the living room.


One of two Latrines and the Swamp (AKA, Tyler's room) Nurses were welcome, but seeing as I was Hot Lips, I didn't find the place too fitting.


They even put a sign on the shower. They did SUCH an awesome job! I really commend them.

What would a M*A*S*H party be without toilet paper streamers? I bugged Adam enough to not forget them, so I'm glad they didn't.

A few people came in costume, and they were good costumes. There was Hot Lips, Father Mulcahy, Hawkeye, a female Radar (She had the teddy bear, it was awesome), a nurse, a doctor in scrubs, three soldiers (Lauren had a gas mask, helmet, and army vest. Apparently she had a utility vest too, but it was too heavy.), and even.... Drum roll please.....

Klinger! He won the best costume prize by many many votes. He also had a pair of heels that he was wearing, and a matching purse. He spared NO expense. Even regaling us with his story of telling the older female sales associate that he wanted a dress to wear to a party.

An amazing time was had by all. I wonder if we could find enough people willing to do either a Dr.Who party when the Christmas Special comes out or when Battlestar Galactica starts up again... hmmmmmm.

Knitting news! um....nothing. I really want my mojo back. I am working on a Kenny doll for my dad to give to someone, but that's pretty much all. no progress has been made on anything else. I sort of want to get some plastic canvas to make a few TARDIS's, 3D or otherwise. I do have a few friends who would love to have ornaments that are TARDIS's. Maybe I'll pick some up at Atlantic Fabrics tomorrow on my break from work.

C'est tout! J'ais fini. My french is so bad. oh dear.

-Cheers and happy knitting! (and anything else it is that you do)

Thursday, November 27, 2008

But...Cookies make thing better.....

I've been a bad blogger I know. It's not like I can even say that life has taken over and has left me with zero time to blog. I just have lost the bug. I've lost a few bugs, and I miss them. I want my mojo back. So let this be a note to whoever stole my mojo, I'd like it back in the condition in which it was taken. I miss it dearly, and there might be a reward for it's prompt return.

So there hasn't really been much in the way of coming off the needles. I finished a neckwarmer out of the Malabrigo. I love it. I haven't taken pictures yet, but that's because I have rarely been home when the sun is up.

TOM's socks are still on the go, not much progress. I'm working (occasionally) on the Crochet earflap toque. Also, I cast on a pair of mittens from some Black Kroy and Eric's Dragon Feet in Lemon 'n Miss Lime (Cables and Lace), using the Space Invader's chart from BMP. I'm almost done the thumb on one mitten, I think I should have made the thumb a little bigger, I actually might end up taking out the thumb and picking up a few more stitches than I had this time. I really like how the intarsia adds an extra layer and warmth to the mittens.

Dad wants me to make a Kenny (Yes, from South Park) doll for someone's daughter that he knows. I need to go out an find some orange yarn now. I told that to dad and our conversation went pretty much like this:

Dad: "In all of this, you don't have any orange?"
Me: "No, I dont have any orange"
Dad: Picks up a skein "What about this?"
Me: "That's not orange, it's peach. Plus it's Alpaca and really splitty, not good for crochet."
Dad: pauses, looks from me to yarn to all my stash "Hunny, I think you have a problem."


Well that about sums up the exciting life of me. I'm going to a M*A*S*H Party tomorrow night, should have some pics if I remember to bring my camera. I'm definitely going to have fun though.

-Cheers and happy knitting!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

James Bond in style.

That's what I did last night. We went to see James Bond in dresses and suits (most of us, there were some un-cool people who didn't dress up)Then we went back to a friend's place and drank and drank and drank. it was awesome. I really enjoyed the night. I also got to play with a Sonic Screwdriver, but that's another story all together.

Knitting news! I finished the firestarters on Halloween night. They're awesome and so soft. I wore them in my (steel toe) boots to day camp with the Brownies and they saved my butt and my feet. :)


I got my The Loopy Ewe order in on Friday. I love it so much and really really want to cast on the yumyummalabrigo, but need a pattern first. Any ideas on what to make? I'm thinking maybe a cowl, but what pattern? oh and btw, the sock yarn is SUPER bright. I love it. I'll need a pattern for that too. maybe a toe up sock, I like gussets other than how they change the color repeats, we shall see anywho.

These are my pumpkin dudes from halloween. They were about the size of large apples, and I carved all 5 in the time it used to take me to carve one big intricate one. I don't remember what I did last year, I'll have to check out my blog, because I think i blogged about it....not too sure. There were lots of the "older" kids who went trick-or-treating that absolutely loved them, and a few even took pictures. My fav has to be the guy in the middle with one eye bigger than the other.

These are TOMs Earl Grey socks. I dont know if I'll have enough yarn to finish them or not, which is kinda freaking me out, but I do have some black in the same yarn that I might have to do the toes out of, that'll be okay. He's getting socks, who cares about the colors. lol.

I've been pretty monogamous to TOMs socks, but I have been working a little bit on the crocheted Ear Flap toque im doing out of Cascade220. It's coming along fairly well, not sure how happy I am with it though. we shall see when it's done though.

I think that's pretty much it. I need to be a better blogger, I need feedback too! if you guys tell me to update, I will! but for now, I shall leave you with this random quote from last night:

Me: "I'm getting wet!" Friend: "We all are, it is raining after all." Me: "Yeah, but I'm not wearing pants."

-cheers and happy knitting! .gg.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Earworm of the day

So here's what I just can not get enough of, it's an awesome song, and an awesome earworm. You're all welcome in advance. :)



-cheers and happy knitting!

Monday, October 20, 2008

I'm a good blogger

Media: Television, The Hour. My boyfriend (George) is doing his intro *swoon*

Projects: Two Monkeys on a Stick (two at a time Monkeys), Paca Cowl (Zig Zag cowl), Flowers on Fire (Firestarters)


So look at me, I'm a good blogger, keeping up to date and stuff. I even have pictures this time too! I've been a bad shopper though, more about my recent purchases in a moment.

I tried the two at a time on two circs, and I found that there was just way too much cable/needles, so I changed it to two at a time using Magic loop. Not only are things much less tangled, but the rounds are quicker. I've got two repeats done already and I think I might just do the short row heel next rather than go any longer (I like short socks). I'm liking how they're going so far and if I were to make them again though, I might try the purl-less monkeys, just to see the difference. And lookie! Picture.


I finished the first Socks and Stripes sock a few days ago. I didn't go all the way up to the knee, I'm pretty sure that I didn't have enough yarn to do that, but I did get them up to about mid calf. Of course, castonitis jumped me, and I didn't do the second Socks and Stripes, I cast on a different pair of socks. I need to cast on the second pair soon because damn, it's cold in my house (I broke down and turned on the heat, watching the budgie shiver wasn't a pleasant sight).

I've done about 3 repeats done on the Paca Cowl, just one more then a few rows of Garter stitch and BAM! I have a light warm cowl, I'm really excited. I tried to take pictures the other night when I did my latest photo shoot, but it kept coming out way too orange so I deleted them. It wasn;t even a nice orange, think radioactive gross orange, and this was still worse.

*Knock Knock Knock* Oh yea, Castonitis came to visit and left me with a toe for a pair of firestarters our of BMFA STR in Flower Power. I got dad to help me wind the skein into a ball, and I have to say, mom does it so much better. lol. I tried the firestarters a while ago, but I was doing them on Addi Turbos Size 0, which have a fairly blunt tip, all the cabling was killing me so I frogged them. I'm doing them on Knitpicks Size 1, which have a relatively sharp tip, so it should be better this time.

And now, I would like to introduce the latest addition to my knitting addiction, her name is Sally Fedora.
She will be helping me by modeling all of the hats and probably cowls that I make in the future. Here you see her in the Lolipop hat I made out of Twilley's of Stamford Freedom in the Lolipop colorway. I plan on giving this hat to the hospital, I just have to remember to bring it up to my Nanny's before she goes to donate all of the finger puppets that she makes.

I did some spinning and plying this week too. I bought some Fleece Artist fiber the last time that I was at LK with Crystal and the baby. It was an absolute dream to spin, pretty much like butter through my hands. I tried to navajo ply it, but I couldn't get a good rhythm going, so I canned that pretty quick and went back to my trust andean plying method. I got 132 yards out of the 50 grams. I'm very happy. It's soft too. Did I mention that I really love it?



I finally got pictures of the Vihevaara (Vogue Fall 2008) that I'm working on out of Cascade 109 Tweed LE. I don't think I have enough of the black, so I might have to do the sleeves out of pink and somehow try to figure out a way to make it look alright. Black really doesn't photograph well, but you can kinda see what's going on.

As promised, my recent purchases: Men with Yarn (an amazing calendar from the Panopticon), a set of mini prints from the Dreamy giraffe (I got Knitting is Love, Part Cookie Monster, Blonde Dream Big, and Makes Ordinary Things Extraordinary), I also bought a couple new books with some babysitting monkey, they are Free Range Knitter and Everything I Learned from knitting, both as you guessed it are by the Yarn Harlot. I finished up The Secret Life of a Knitter, and I've started Free Range Knitter, it's just as good as The Secret Life, I think I mgiht need to get more knitting books. I thought that my yarn stash was bad, and then the fiber stash was gettig bad, but now I'm starting a book collection. Great. Because my room isn't small enough already. I guess thats why dad and I put up a shelf on Sunday, it's currently holding some books, Sally Fedora, my newest handspun (Fleece Artist), and my small scale. Don't laugh, my room is tiny, my parents took pity on me in September, and told me to put a couple bins in the corner of the hall that has all my fiber in it. Gave me a bit more space, but I'd still like more. The wish of every knitter/fiber enthusiast.

Well that's it for now!

-Cheers and happy poly-crafting!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

argh, brains

Media (TV): The Hour, currently Fineses Mitchell (the black guy from SNL)

Projects: Socks and Stripes.


So I broke down and bought a book and omg I love reading it. I got the Yarn Harlot's "The Secret Life of a Knitter". It's hilarious, it's an easy read, and it's my life. Everything she says is like "omg, I've been there, done that and got the Ravelry t-shirt!". I highly recommend it to any knitter (or knitter sympathizer) who wants to laugh at real life.

Socks and Stripes would most likely be done right now, if laundry and the blogging bug came in the way. BTW, none of which are done, my knitting ADD has spilled over into-oh look, an angora-ooooo shiny. What was I talk about? Oh right, Noro Socks. I've got like 20 more stitches to bind off, then weave in the ends and one sock is done. I didn't do knee socks (insert knitting ADD here) because I really didn't think I'd wear them. So now they're mid calf, which will be great for wearing in boots of just about any kind, because as we all know, I'm in Canada, and it's October 15th, snow should be here any day now. (Just kidding, it's not that bad.)

There may be some super secret Giftmas projects that will be talked about over on plurk, but the URL for my blog is on my facebook, and certain people might stumble on over here (even though they taunt my knitting and say "Of course, what else would you be doing?").

Sounds like about it for now.

-Cheers and happy poly-crafting!

(and now my boyfriend George (The Hour) is setting up the List: Top 5 Dragons)

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Mark Your Calendars!

Media (Music): In Cars by I See Rowboats from the Album Music & Image 4 (Atlantic Film Fest album)

Projects worked on today: Socks and Stripes (stripped Noro socks, toe up, short row heel, 4 row striping), Alpaca Cowl (zig zag cowl, as per pattern)

I blogged twice in a week... well, a month too. I've been a bad blogger recently, but I'm back, and with a blogging bug that has bit me hard. I'm also thinking of trying something different (ie: the layout of this post). Media and projects right up front, so y'all know what I've been working on and listening to.

I turned the heel on my noro socks. *insert joyous chorus here* They're going so quickly and I don't really fear the SSS for these just because they are actually going so quickly.

I was kinda ticked that the yellow went to orange so quickly, but it wasn't a knot, just a really fast color change. Oh well, it still looks awesome. I love the bright colors, espescially the pink and the orange.

I'm going to try to make them knee socks, but I don't know if I'll have enough yarn. I'll weigh the sock VS the remaining yarn and go as high as I can until they're just about equal, and then I'll finish up and start the other sock, I can sort of see terror in my own eyes thinking that they'll end up no being the same length at all, but oh well, they can be fraternal socks, or I can take out the first one and frog back till they're the same length. It'll work out fine in the end...I hope.

The Alpaca Cowl is just that, a Cowl (ZigZag Cowl) that I'm making out of Alpaca yarn that I got for my birthday. Not sure what brand it is, but I'm pretty sure it's locally grown, sheared, and spun considering who I got it from and the fact that there were no labels. It's really light and lofty and I can't wait to wear it. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it yet, but they'll come in time.

I finished another block for my Lizard Ridge Blanket. That makes 4 blocks, half of what I've been planning on doing. I have 6 more balls of Kureyon, so I'll need 2 more. Oh yea, I'm making the blocks out of two balls from the same dye lot, working until I have 20 ridges, or ten of the short row repeat sections done. It'll make more a more uniform blanket I think. I just have to find some way of blocking them. I'm probably going to end up buying those rubber mat puzzle things so I can do blocking inside without worrying about having to weight down a blanket that I pin the knitted item to.

Well, that sounds like it's it. Amazing how much more concise I can be when I'm a good blogger eh?

-cheers and happy poly-crafting!

(btw, music now is Leave by Slowcoaster from Music & Image)

Friday, October 10, 2008

The Adventerous Adventures of...













Onto details now. Jack is all Cascade 220 with some beads in the base as a weight and poly fill stuffing. Jake is all 220 except the hair which is Vana's Choice (acrylic yuck, but leftovers), he has small pebbles in the base as a weight and poly fill for stuffing. The eyes and Jack's moustache are made out of air drying clay and then painted...with black nail polish. I didn't have any black paint and I tried to color them with a Sharpie, but it didn't come out how I liked, so once I bought nail polish, I used it instead. I'm happy with them both, Jack will go to Shawn, and Jake will go to ADONIS.

-cheers and happy poly-crafting!