Knitting made me clean this weekend. Yes, you heard that right. I wanted to CO for my friend's afghan this weekend. The recommended needle size was way too small for the yarn I'm using (this was shocking because I usually have to go down several needle sizes to get gauge in a pattern).
So I went looking for my size 15 circular - nice and big and should've done the trick. It wasn't that long ago that I used it for a project, but the place where I keep it (do not ask me why I kept this one singular needle in a separate place from all my other needles) came up empty. I double checked to make sure I didn't have a rogue UFO using it and came up with a decided "no".
I peeked under the couch. And was horrified. Who KNEW so much stuff could accumulate under a couch?! Not to mention the mounds of dog fur and various food odds and ends, I uncovered old magazines, a couple of missing DPNs, a few darning needles, a CD case, a couple of Scoot's books and a few toys too! Alas, no size 15 circ.
It was so repulsive under the couch that I had to bust out the vacuum and suck up the funk. I checked under and in a few more pieces of furniture (including the couch cushion, almost as repulsive) until the cleaning end of this search got to me. Hey! Wasn't this supposed to be a knitting-related activity?
Never did find those needles though. William has a habit of stashing things, which usually turn up months later, so they'll turn up eventually. Yesterday, I went and bought a size 17 circular to do the job in the meantime.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
I've been feeling both must-knit-for-others and must-destash at the same time. Every so often long-planned, but not yet completed let alone started, projects start weighing down on my shoulders. I've found this tends to happen especially when my stash is getting a bit unwieldy (I've been buying lots of cheer-me-up yarn lately - mostly for specific projects). They buying finally caught up with me and I can't see buying any more yarn for awhile now (unless I need something for a specific gift).
I think I'm in the minority of knitters where I keep for myself a majority of what I knit. I don't have a lot of people in my life that I can knit for (that are grateful or appreciative, that is, and I only knit for those folks) and those that I do, I fear if I deluge them with knitting, they will either become sick of it or expect too much of it (lol). And I'm not great at knitting for a present months ahead of time (like I just can't bring myself to start Christmas knitting now).
In addition to my Earth Day bags, I'm also planning an afghan for a friend and some charity knitting. I especially want to do some stuff for Afghans for Afghans and some baby hats for the hospital my mom works at (not charity, per se, but unselfish knitting).
Part of the knitting-for-others has come from feeling the need for some good karma and kind deeds because of some craptasticness in life lately. Doing things for others always lifts the spirits.
I think I'm in the minority of knitters where I keep for myself a majority of what I knit. I don't have a lot of people in my life that I can knit for (that are grateful or appreciative, that is, and I only knit for those folks) and those that I do, I fear if I deluge them with knitting, they will either become sick of it or expect too much of it (lol). And I'm not great at knitting for a present months ahead of time (like I just can't bring myself to start Christmas knitting now).
In addition to my Earth Day bags, I'm also planning an afghan for a friend and some charity knitting. I especially want to do some stuff for Afghans for Afghans and some baby hats for the hospital my mom works at (not charity, per se, but unselfish knitting).
Part of the knitting-for-others has come from feeling the need for some good karma and kind deeds because of some craptasticness in life lately. Doing things for others always lifts the spirits.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Earth Day
We had absolutely miserable weather here yesterday. I'm big on traditions and one thing I wanted to do with Little Scoot was to do something on Earth Day each year. I think I'm relatively environmentally conscious, so I know that will be a quality that he learns. Maybe next year we'll be able to plant something or pick up garbage somewhere.
So for my contribution this year, I bought yarn. How, do you ask, does this contribute to Earth Day? Because I bought yarn to make BYOB bags - enough for four, I hope (three with coordinating colors - ie the MC of one bag is CC1 of another and CC2 of a third; and then I bought some multi-colored yarn for the fourth, where I'll probably skip the striping). I've wanted to make these since the pattern debuted, but just haven't felt (much) of a desperate desire to.
Well, I was inspired by Knit Picks' new Knit 1, Give 1 campaign to finally make those bags! I needed something a bit more economical though than the KP kits, which is why I went back to the BYOB. I chose Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn for its price and that it comes in tons of fun colors. If my planning works out as it should, I shouldn't have much in the way of leftovers.
I think the bags will make really great gifts for people (or add-on gifts, like using it in place of a gift bag or wrapping paper), since a lot of folks these days are more market-bag friendly. I've wanted to stockpile a few household-type knits for when I need a quick, small gift for someone, so this will be the start to that.
I personally bring as many of my own bags to the store as possible (I'm keeping one of the BYOB bags for myself!) and refuse bags if I get only a couple items that I can carry or stuff in my purse. When I do get plastic bags from stores, I find uses for them around the house when I can and if I can't, they get recycled.
So for my contribution this year, I bought yarn. How, do you ask, does this contribute to Earth Day? Because I bought yarn to make BYOB bags - enough for four, I hope (three with coordinating colors - ie the MC of one bag is CC1 of another and CC2 of a third; and then I bought some multi-colored yarn for the fourth, where I'll probably skip the striping). I've wanted to make these since the pattern debuted, but just haven't felt (much) of a desperate desire to.
Well, I was inspired by Knit Picks' new Knit 1, Give 1 campaign to finally make those bags! I needed something a bit more economical though than the KP kits, which is why I went back to the BYOB. I chose Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn for its price and that it comes in tons of fun colors. If my planning works out as it should, I shouldn't have much in the way of leftovers.
I think the bags will make really great gifts for people (or add-on gifts, like using it in place of a gift bag or wrapping paper), since a lot of folks these days are more market-bag friendly. I've wanted to stockpile a few household-type knits for when I need a quick, small gift for someone, so this will be the start to that.
I personally bring as many of my own bags to the store as possible (I'm keeping one of the BYOB bags for myself!) and refuse bags if I get only a couple items that I can carry or stuff in my purse. When I do get plastic bags from stores, I find uses for them around the house when I can and if I can't, they get recycled.
Friday, March 27, 2009
so....that sock yarn stash plan?
And because I have no self control over yarn buying when I've had an absolutely miserable couple of days (It's my consolatory, self-pity thing. I have an especially crap time and buy yarn to make myself feel better. Some people eat. Some people buy shoes. Me? I splurge on yarn I wouldn't normally have purchased.)...I've gone and bought 16 skeins of sock yarn (that's 8 pairs of socks!). I was going to buy only one expensive (to me) skein (for one pair of socks), but instead decided to spend a bit more than twice as much and get 8 pairs of socks worth of yarn. It was all on sale. >_>
So, yeah. I basically just negated my plan to use up a large portion of my sock yarn stash this year. The good thing with this recent purchase is I definitely plan on using some of it for gifts and some of it could even be used for things other than socks.
So, yeah. I basically just negated my plan to use up a large portion of my sock yarn stash this year. The good thing with this recent purchase is I definitely plan on using some of it for gifts and some of it could even be used for things other than socks.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
socks, socks, socks
I have decided that this year I'll be doing my own monthly sock club, so to speak.
I possess sock yarn stash of mountainous quantities. I am one of those "sock yarn is not stash enhancement" folks. That means I buy a lot (too much?) of sock yarn. And I love knitting socks; they are one of my favorite projects to do. They are the reason I wanted to learn to knit. But it seems that socks always get shuffled way back on the queue of Things to Knit. The only reason I can come up with is maybe I think "Oh, pish, I can knit socks anytime" and pass over them when I'm contemplating a new project. I keep a pair of simple socks in my bag, but I don't get many opportunities to knit anywhere but at home anymore. Having to keep track of a very busy two-year-old will do that!
I've been on a real sock kick lately because I got a new book last month - Knitting Socks With Handpainted Yarn, which is fabulous and inspired me to start knitting up some socks!
So, I decided to help quell the sock yarn "stash", I shall endeavor to knit one pair of socks per month this year. So far I've done these (January), these (February) and am working on these (sorry there's no photos of any of them up yet!).
These socks for my club will all be for me - socks for others (which I don't do a lot of), don't count. My other intention with doing this is to keep me motivated to knit socks so they don't fall by the wayside anymore.
I possess sock yarn stash of mountainous quantities. I am one of those "sock yarn is not stash enhancement" folks. That means I buy a lot (too much?) of sock yarn. And I love knitting socks; they are one of my favorite projects to do. They are the reason I wanted to learn to knit. But it seems that socks always get shuffled way back on the queue of Things to Knit. The only reason I can come up with is maybe I think "Oh, pish, I can knit socks anytime" and pass over them when I'm contemplating a new project. I keep a pair of simple socks in my bag, but I don't get many opportunities to knit anywhere but at home anymore. Having to keep track of a very busy two-year-old will do that!
I've been on a real sock kick lately because I got a new book last month - Knitting Socks With Handpainted Yarn, which is fabulous and inspired me to start knitting up some socks!
So, I decided to help quell the sock yarn "stash", I shall endeavor to knit one pair of socks per month this year. So far I've done these (January), these (February) and am working on these (sorry there's no photos of any of them up yet!).
These socks for my club will all be for me - socks for others (which I don't do a lot of), don't count. My other intention with doing this is to keep me motivated to knit socks so they don't fall by the wayside anymore.
Friday, March 13, 2009
yarn for sale
I have some hand-dyed sock yarn for sale on Etsy! Lots of different color combinations.
Check out my shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=58093
Check out my shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=58093
Friday, March 6, 2009
dyeing
I bought some bare sock yarn eons ago with the intention of dyeing it. I finally got around to it this week. Ohemgee it was so fun! There was a learning curve with this, but I'm happy with how it turned out for my first foray. In fact, I was so pleased, I bought more bare yarn and will dye it up when it arrives and I'm going to try my hand at selling it on Etsy. I'll post the info here when that's all set up (probably late next week). Worst case is that it doesn't sell and I've got some extra skeins of yarn to knit up and had some fun dyeing it!
But! Here are photos of my dyeing (I meant to photograph the whole process, but sort of forgot).
I keep the amount of chemicals in my house to a minimum, so buying a bunch of acid dyes didn't seem to fit into my philosophy on that. So, I chose to go the Kool Aid route. I also chose to use the microwave, because it seemed easiest.
I had to experiment with containers to find three that would fit in the microwave. Afterward, I remembered some smaller bowls I had and dontcha know they would've done the trick.
Part of the learning curve was the bleeding process. As you can see by the pink color, I actually ended up with a much larger chunk of that than I intended and it ended up nearly two different shades. However, I like the way it looks. There are also some white spots between colors where I anticipated more bleeding than their was.
And here are close-ups of the three colors I used. Strawberry:
Berry Blue:
And Lemon-Lime:
Here is the yarn twisted into a skein.
Finally, here is the yarn after I re-wound and skeined it to make it look prettier.
But! Here are photos of my dyeing (I meant to photograph the whole process, but sort of forgot).
I keep the amount of chemicals in my house to a minimum, so buying a bunch of acid dyes didn't seem to fit into my philosophy on that. So, I chose to go the Kool Aid route. I also chose to use the microwave, because it seemed easiest.
I had to experiment with containers to find three that would fit in the microwave. Afterward, I remembered some smaller bowls I had and dontcha know they would've done the trick.
Part of the learning curve was the bleeding process. As you can see by the pink color, I actually ended up with a much larger chunk of that than I intended and it ended up nearly two different shades. However, I like the way it looks. There are also some white spots between colors where I anticipated more bleeding than their was.
And here are close-ups of the three colors I used. Strawberry:
Berry Blue:
And Lemon-Lime:
Here is the yarn twisted into a skein.
Finally, here is the yarn after I re-wound and skeined it to make it look prettier.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
newfound loves
1. Garter stitch. After knitting two blankets, being on my third and have yarn and planned for a fourth, it is safe to say I cannot get enough of miles upon miles of garter stitch. I get a hell of a lot of knitting done when I really don't have to think about what I'm doing. Those 47 million times during the day when I have a spare 30 seconds I can pick up my knitting and knit 12 stitches and not have to worry about where I'm leaving off. Ah, bliss. And then I can crank through it after the wee one goes to bed and I am watching TV.
2. Mufflers. Of the kind you wrap around your neck, not the car variety. On a whim yesterday because of our so-cold-it-hurts-to-breath temperatures this week, I decided to knit Scoot a wee scarf. I found a muffler pattern, which would be a cozy muffler on an adult, but makes for an even cozier scarf for a tot. (I refuse to take him outdoors in these temperatures unless absolutely necessary, but unfortunately he starts a class on Friday, so alas, we shall have to venture out.) Scarves are not generally the done thing for toddlers since they're likely to strangle themselves with one, but tucked into his jacket for quick jaunts outside, I suspect he'll survive. I finished it up tonight whilst watching Brideshead Revisited (the new one, not the miniseries version) and decided to wrap it around my own neck because I was freezing (despite being wrapped up in layers upon layers) and Lo. I think I need to make a muffler for myself for wearing around the house. Much less get-in-the-way-y than a scarf. I also envision wearing mine to bed at night to keep me toasty (and again, lacking the strangulation factor of wearing a scarf to bed).
2. Mufflers. Of the kind you wrap around your neck, not the car variety. On a whim yesterday because of our so-cold-it-hurts-to-breath temperatures this week, I decided to knit Scoot a wee scarf. I found a muffler pattern, which would be a cozy muffler on an adult, but makes for an even cozier scarf for a tot. (I refuse to take him outdoors in these temperatures unless absolutely necessary, but unfortunately he starts a class on Friday, so alas, we shall have to venture out.) Scarves are not generally the done thing for toddlers since they're likely to strangle themselves with one, but tucked into his jacket for quick jaunts outside, I suspect he'll survive. I finished it up tonight whilst watching Brideshead Revisited (the new one, not the miniseries version) and decided to wrap it around my own neck because I was freezing (despite being wrapped up in layers upon layers) and Lo. I think I need to make a muffler for myself for wearing around the house. Much less get-in-the-way-y than a scarf. I also envision wearing mine to bed at night to keep me toasty (and again, lacking the strangulation factor of wearing a scarf to bed).
Saturday, December 13, 2008
free yarn!
Knit Picks is giving away free yarn! If you go to their Knitting Community section, it's a blog post. You need to choose one of three patterns from the Winter issue of Knitty, add it to your Ravelry queue, and then leave a comment at Knit Picks with your username and why you chose/want to knit that sweater. They'll be judging all the entrants and choosing one, to whom they will give enough Knit Picks yarn in a comparable substitution of the pattern yarn to knit the sweater you chose. Yay!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
a lot of catching up
There's been so much knitting and knitting related activities around here lately that are exciting!
~ Tuesday I had jury duty and I underestimated my knitting speed. I purposefully left the foot of a sock for that day and I finished it before we broke for lunch (I didn't bring any other knitting with me because I knew I'd be going home for lunch - I live about a mile from the courthouse). I was glad I brought a book to finish out the time! I swapped those socks out for another pair to work on after lunch.
As the subject states, yesterday, I blocked. A lot.
1. I had blocked a hat, fingerless mitts, and a pair of socks over the weekend, so I finished those up first (getting them de-furred, care cards printed out and wrapped up!).
2. I blocked a scarf (which thankfully dried very quickly - yay lace!).
3. I made an executive decision to try blocking my February Lady cardigan bigger (it's lace, so I'm fairly confident it will block to the size I want). I'll check on it later today and if it didn't work, I'll have to rip out the bind off and about 12 rows of garter stitch and then add in a few more of the lace repeats. Not a huge deal, but a minor pain.
4. I had started a blanket for William ages ago with some yarn from a scrapped project. Well, I decided quite a while ago that I'd have to axe that because the yarn would cost a small fortune. I took advantage of a sale online and bought (much less expensive) replacement yarn a couple weeks ago. The blanket is comprised of small striped mitered squares. I also happened to have some throw pillows that need recovering (I've been unable to find a fabric that is what I want), so after I bought that yarn I, stupidly, realized I could knit covers for the pillows and better yet - I could use the squares I already knit for some of them! So, yesterday I blocked one of the larger put-together squares (four mitered squares seamed together) to the dimensions I'll need for the pillow. I might have to add a border around the edge. It will take some fiddling, but that's to be dealt with after the hols. I just wanted to get the panel blocked so I knew what I would be dealing with.
5. I got those jury duty socks blocking too.
~ Since I allegedly finished my cardigan, I cast on another cardigan I've wanted to start for awhile (I promised myself I wouldn't cast on for it until I finished February Lady) - a short-sleeved dressier cardigan.
~ Stefanie Japel was selling some hand-dyed bamboo yarn scarf kits through her blog and etsy shop. I missed the first round completely. I missed the second round completely. I caught the third round and jumped on it. The kit arrived in the mail already yesterday and it is FABULOUS. I don't normally buy things like this because I generally can't afford them/can justify the cost, but this couldn't be missed. I'm SO excited to be able to knit these scarves after the hols.
~ The yarn for the last-minute gift idea I had for Jim arrived yesterday too, so I cast that on too. It's a hat, so it will be a quick knit, but then I have to do duplicate stitching, which hopefully won't take that long.
Then I'm done with Christmas knitting (with the exception of a pair of socks I'm working on, which won't have to be done until Jan. 1 and don't actually *have* to be completed - the recipient already has a hat and mitts I'm giving her. I can mail her the socks if needed, but I'm pretty sure I'll get them done (btw, Knit Picks Imagination sock yarn is fabulous! I bought a few skeins a while back, but this is the first time I've knit with it and omg. I love it.)
Phew!
~ Tuesday I had jury duty and I underestimated my knitting speed. I purposefully left the foot of a sock for that day and I finished it before we broke for lunch (I didn't bring any other knitting with me because I knew I'd be going home for lunch - I live about a mile from the courthouse). I was glad I brought a book to finish out the time! I swapped those socks out for another pair to work on after lunch.
As the subject states, yesterday, I blocked. A lot.
1. I had blocked a hat, fingerless mitts, and a pair of socks over the weekend, so I finished those up first (getting them de-furred, care cards printed out and wrapped up!).
2. I blocked a scarf (which thankfully dried very quickly - yay lace!).
3. I made an executive decision to try blocking my February Lady cardigan bigger (it's lace, so I'm fairly confident it will block to the size I want). I'll check on it later today and if it didn't work, I'll have to rip out the bind off and about 12 rows of garter stitch and then add in a few more of the lace repeats. Not a huge deal, but a minor pain.
4. I had started a blanket for William ages ago with some yarn from a scrapped project. Well, I decided quite a while ago that I'd have to axe that because the yarn would cost a small fortune. I took advantage of a sale online and bought (much less expensive) replacement yarn a couple weeks ago. The blanket is comprised of small striped mitered squares. I also happened to have some throw pillows that need recovering (I've been unable to find a fabric that is what I want), so after I bought that yarn I, stupidly, realized I could knit covers for the pillows and better yet - I could use the squares I already knit for some of them! So, yesterday I blocked one of the larger put-together squares (four mitered squares seamed together) to the dimensions I'll need for the pillow. I might have to add a border around the edge. It will take some fiddling, but that's to be dealt with after the hols. I just wanted to get the panel blocked so I knew what I would be dealing with.
5. I got those jury duty socks blocking too.
~ Since I allegedly finished my cardigan, I cast on another cardigan I've wanted to start for awhile (I promised myself I wouldn't cast on for it until I finished February Lady) - a short-sleeved dressier cardigan.
~ Stefanie Japel was selling some hand-dyed bamboo yarn scarf kits through her blog and etsy shop. I missed the first round completely. I missed the second round completely. I caught the third round and jumped on it. The kit arrived in the mail already yesterday and it is FABULOUS. I don't normally buy things like this because I generally can't afford them/can justify the cost, but this couldn't be missed. I'm SO excited to be able to knit these scarves after the hols.
~ The yarn for the last-minute gift idea I had for Jim arrived yesterday too, so I cast that on too. It's a hat, so it will be a quick knit, but then I have to do duplicate stitching, which hopefully won't take that long.
Then I'm done with Christmas knitting (with the exception of a pair of socks I'm working on, which won't have to be done until Jan. 1 and don't actually *have* to be completed - the recipient already has a hat and mitts I'm giving her. I can mail her the socks if needed, but I'm pretty sure I'll get them done (btw, Knit Picks Imagination sock yarn is fabulous! I bought a few skeins a while back, but this is the first time I've knit with it and omg. I love it.)
Phew!
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