Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Short


Monday the KP bare yarn came, along with the Jacquard dyes. I dyed the yarn 2 colors of blue, which turned out to be so similar that on the skein it's hard to tell them apart. I was a little disappointed because I spent so much time on them for it not to look different, but I'm happy with how the yarn turned out. I decided to call it "Sapphire Sky" and if I ever launch a yarn dyeing/pattern company, it's going to be called Holey Sheep! Designs. This line would be called Jewels of the Nile.
In preparation for my yarn diet I got some Tykie Knits sock yarn. One skein if BFL, my first purchase of it. It really is nice and soft, I can't wait to knit with it. The other 2 are 50% merino/50% tencel which is really nice and shiny. I don't think I've used any tencel yarn yet.
My baby turns 3 tomorrow. Because she's now going to be a "big girl" we went to Ikea tonight to get her a big girl bed. A good idea turned into a fiasco. First, DH decided to take the long way (and the short way is 1 1/4 hours!). We needed gas on the way, add another 15 minutes. Then at a most inopportune time, Cee-Cee decided she needed to go potty, so we ran by our old neighbor's house to see if they were home. Nope. So we hope to get to McD's about 10 minutes away and she ends up peeing her pants. Good thing we brought extras. We hit about every light and got behind every slow truck on the way. Then we got in the general vicinity but couldn't figure out how to get to where we needed to go. So we had to go past it, then turn around. It was almost 7 when we got there, the kids (and I for that matter!) were starving. The line at the restaurant was long and we had to wait another 10-15 minutes. We didn't finish eating until after 7:30 (and we ate fast) and we still had to shop. We ended up checking out just after they announced they were closed, and we didn't get home until 10:20. Cee-Cee fell asleep in the car but the boys were still up. I hope they sleep in in the AM.
Long story short, Cee-Cee got a new "big girl" bed and bedding. The bed is adjustable, so it will be shorter for a few years (maybe) and then we can make it longer when she gets taller. She's so tiny that even a twin bed would dwarf her. Of course, we had to buy slats for it and a special mattress too. The bedding is stripes and polka dots. The one I really wanted was out of stock, but since Ikea is so cheap I can just pick it up another time.
So we dropped a load tonight but my baby is worth it. She always gets hand-me-downs and I really wanted her to have something new.
Here's a few pictures of her from a few days ago. She wanted Grandma to read her a story, so my mom lay down in her bed with her. That's a bottle of root beer in her hand, but we thought it looked funny so DH snapped a picture. In the second picture, she is wearing the tutu I bought her for her first birthday. She's obviously grown since then.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Stalling again

So today I just didn't feel like knitting. I did finish the toe of my Naive sock (which fits amazingly). There was no toe pattern included, so I just found another sock pattern to use as a gude for finishing the toe. I had some ends to take care of (because I used the Duets yarn) so the sock is all done and needs to be put on the blocker for a picture. I didn't feel like starting anything else until my KP order came, which it did. Then I remembered I ordered yarn to DYE for the Peapod set, so I couldn't get started on that right away. I also ordered a bunch of their limited edition sock yarns (they were a test dye run and they weren't completely satisfied with the colors, but they were CHEAP) but I just didn't feel like starting socks. I have an idea for a sock pattern but I just couldn't get the concept down on paper today so I gave up. I did knit several rounds on the pinwheel baby blanket but that is so freaking boring. I'm up to like 300 stitches per round so it's very slow going. It's also still pretty small. I'm using bulky yarn next time.
So I wasted most of my day and did very little knitting. Hopefully I'll get more done.
In case anyone is reading and wondering, I did hear from my secret pal and all is well. She had a sick child and that was more important. I totally understand that. Usually around here more than 1 is sick at a time. Oh the joy of having 3 kids.
I did cave and ordered some more Fly*Dyed from Little Knits as well as the Cat Bordhi book. Maybe if it comes tomorrow (it should, she only lives a few hours away). Maybe I'll find inspiration in it to start some new socks.
I ordered some new clothes a few weeks ago and they hadn't arrived yet. I called the company today to try to figure out what is going on. Turns out, I forgot to change my email address, home address, phone etc so they had all my old info from over a year ago before we moved. They canceled the order because they couldn't get a hold of me. My credit card had been declined due to an incorrect billing address. They wouldn't reinstate my order and I had to reorder everything. When I had ordered before, some things were on sale and they aren't now. I asked them to honor that sale and they wouldn't. But, they sent me a coupon code for 25% off over $100 (which I was spending anyway) and the whole thing ended up costing me $1 less than the original order. After I placed the order I reconsidered and wondered if I shouldn't order from them in protest. But I need some new pants so I guess it doesn't matter.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

SP11--in case you're reading my secret pal....

I'm really sad that I've only received the one brief first email from you. It's been a few weeks since the matches went out and I've tried to be patient and understanding but I feel very left out. I've participated in several exchanges and nearly always had a really good experience. I've had several emails with my downstream pal but just the one from you. I hope that you are just busy or something like that but I just want you to know that I'm sad and feeling neglected......
I spent all day yesterday avoiding knitting on the Naive socks. They just drone on and on. We spend most of the day cleaning the house, cleaning out the kids' closets, etc. And when I wasn't cleaning or cooking, I was on Ravelry or using other avoidance techniques. So today I decided I should just quit stalling and work on them some more. I've managed to get in about 15 rows today, which really isn't much. I plan to get this one sock done then putting the 2nd sock into hibernation status. I just CAN'T work on the second one right now.
I didn't get my KnitPicks order so I didn't get to start the Peapod Set this weekend. I hope it will come tomorrow, but then I have to dye the yarn. I forgot until yesterday that I bought bare yarn to dye. I haven't yet decided quite what color(s) to dye it. I hope inspiration will come to me tomorrow (when I'm sure the stuff will arrive).
I ordered one last yarn purchase before the big stash diet. One of my co-ops sells off Tykie Knits dyed yarn every once in a while so I bought some sock yarn. One skein is BFL, and I've never knit with it before. I hear it's 'da Bomb, and I hope that's true. It will ship Priority tomorrow, so it should be here by Thursday. I might sneak in an order with LittleKnits too, since she sells Fly*Dyed. Now that's some beautiful stuff at a great price with amazing yardage. I'm kind of dying for the new Cat Bordhi book too, and if I buy it there (it's not any cheaper at Amazon) I can get free shipping. I love free shipping!
My birthday is in a week and DH hasn't even asked me what I want. I tried to convince my mom to buy me a yarn club subscription but I don't think that she bought that one. Maybe DH will, or maybe my dad will send money. If I'm going to be on a yarn diet at least I'd like to get some yarn in the mail once in a while.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Still Naive

I'm still working on the Naive socks. Trying to keep track of the cable turns is really far more complicated than I expected. If I had designed these socks (which obviously I didn't) I would have coordinated the cable turns so that they weren't so hard to keep track of. But the socks will probably turn out prettier because of the way they are made.
I finished the heel flap and turn, then remembered I was using Duets yarn and was supposed to change yarn for the heel. So I had to rip the whole thing out and re-do it. That was a gymongo pain in the ass. And I was supposed to pick up for the gusset in a way that the edge stitch showed on the outside but for some reason I couldn't figure that out. Now I'm about half way down the foot and am glad to be almost done with the first. It would be d a shame not to knit the second but I need to take a break from all the cabling. I knew there was a reason I hadn't knit cabled socks before.
I'm hoping to get my package tomorrow so I can start on the Peapod Set. That needs to get done in a hurry so that's a good excuse to bail on the second sock for now.
I'm also considering designing my own sock. Nothing too complicated but pretty. I'm not too much into lacy socks so they will be more utilitarian but still feminine. I have some lovely yarn to use that is VERY light fingering weight. I'll probably have to knit with it on a 0 to get the density of fabric I want.
We're cracking down on our budgeting next month so I'll be on a yarn restriction for a while. That doesn't mean I can't buy anything but I need to bust through some of the stash I have so we can save some money.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Quick Post



I started the Naive socks yesterday, and had about 30 rows done. I screwed up one of the 6 stitch cables, and tried to rip it down and fix it but it was a mess. So then I decided to just rip it back to that point. When I was trying to get the needles back in, Cee-Cee got mad at me and grabbed it. Well, that was the end of it, and I just ripped the whole thing to restart it. I think it was going to be too small around anyway. I was using magic loop on a 2, and it just seemed small. So I switched to DPN's (the instructions are written for DPN's anyway) and it's much looser and is going well. I've completed about 50 rounds. What's difficult is keeping track of when to turn the cables. Each cable (2 stitch, 4 stitch, and 6 stitch) is turned at a different interval, and usually they end up being on different rows. I have a system, and as long as I make the proper marks it will be OK.
I got my 100purewool co-op order yesterday. It ended up costing me $85,45 (w/shipping)for 12 skeins, or $7.12 per skein. If I would have purchased it from the website, it would have cost me $128.50 (w/shipping) plus any customs fees. I think I got a pretty darn good deal. The colors are beautiful.

Monday, August 20, 2007

What's the use in trying?

I finally retired the Lime N Violet yarn back to the sock yarn bin for a while. I got frustrated with all the BS involved in trying to knit with it. No matter what I did, disaster followed. So I give up on it for a while, but I won't be defeated. I WILL knit that yarn at one point. Just not right now because I'm too pissed off at it.
I found a really cool pattern on Ravelry yesterday. Turns out the girl who wrote it hasn't released it yet, but she let me have a copy to test knit. This AM I worked up a chart for the leg portion because it was confusing to me to read the pattern the way it's written. I'm sure she will write up a better pattern before she releases it.
I caved and ordered some new yarn to make a Peapod Baby set for Baby M. I ordered it from KnitPicks so I didn't spend that much money. Plus, while I was at it, I ordered a bunch of their limited edition sock yarns. They are cheap and available in limited quantities because they didn't come out exactly like KnitPicks wanted them to.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Holy Disaster Day!

This was a knitting disaster day. What can I say except that nothing seemed to go right. I was trying to finish up the cute little vest, but the stupid pattern doesn't make sense. No matter what I do, it doesn't work out. I think that the person writing it must have been on crack. But someone on Ravelry made it and didn't make any notes referencing crack-using pattern writers, so maybe it was just me. No matter what I tried, the stitches didn't add up, and I couldn't figure out how I was going to attach the front to the back given the way I was supposed to bind off stitches. I hate it when patterns say "AT THE SAME TIME". I tried doing "at the same time" and that didn't work. So I tried doing what it says after it says "at the same time" at the same time, and that didn't work either. Somehow I ended up with a vest with a different sized front and back, and no way to understand why or how it turned out that way.
I just checked out the blog of the only person I can find who knit this blasted pattern, and this is what she says (and I quote)

A wee vest for the chap i work withs wee boy who will be 1 next week, cute dontcha think, looks like something one would play cricket in! Cygnet wool rich 4ply and this pattern
Was a fairly quick knit even if i did have to frog half the front due to unclear pattern, but i muddled thru!

Notice the part about the unclear pattern. Glad I'm not the crack smoking idiot, the pattern writer is. I hope she doesn't come to my blog (Jan McCarthy if you're interested in having a chat with me about this pattern, I'll have you over for coffee!) and see what I've written. Screw it, I hope she does. Pattern writers need to know when their patterns suck.
That brings me to a topic I really want to delve into today. Patterns NEED to be test knit. Not just by the pattern writer, but by a non-biased third (and maybe fourth and fifth) party. And please please please make things clear. None of this "at the same time" shit. If you want me to do a row, and do two things at once, write out the whole row you lazy writer! Sheesh, it probably would have taken Ms. Jan a few more minutes to write the pattern out more accurately than it did for her to slop together the crap she calls a pattern. Maybe I'm not supposed to complain since it was a free pattern but still, one has expectations of accuracy in a published pattern, and even more for one that was published by a well known yarn company **cough cough Classic Elite Yarns cough cough**.
So I pulled the whole thing out and rewound up the yarn and I intend to make a lovely pair of socks with it when I'm no longer so pissed off. That might take a while.
In the mean time, I decided to knit on my toe up socks in the Lisa Souza Lime N Violet. Well, in my flurry of pissed-off-ness, I tore out the needle from the part I'd already done. So I ripped that too, and decided to try a short row toe sock, thinking it might be less boxy. Nope, when I got the whole toe done, it looked basically the same as the Sock.ra.tease one I was doing, and was a lot freaking harder. So I ripped that, and plan to start the Sock.ra.tease one again. But I decided to blog first while the frustration was fresh in my mind.
So any pattern writers out there, please make sure your instructions are clear to even the most basic knitter (which I'm not). None of this "at the same time" shit, and have a few strangers test knit your patterns.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.
(PS now what in the heck am I going to make for my friend's new baby boy? Oh, and it has to be from my already purchased stash since I've bought 2 kinds of yarn already to make him something that hasn't turned out.....)

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Frog


Diane asked what color of Rainforest yarn I'm using for the baby vest, and it's Frog. It's actually coming out quite nicely, with wide stripes. I think I'm going to do the v-neck and sleeve trim in just the white speckled color. The color changes are really long, they must have some hugely long factory to get this long of striping. I really like it though.
I took a bunch of pictures with my camera yesterday and something was all f-ed up. They all came out blue and funny looking. I spent a little time messing with the settings and someone had changed the exposure comp from +1.3 to -1.3, so the exposure was way off. I think that because I was trying not to use the flash the white balance was off too. I changed the exposure comp (Nikon cameras notoriously underexpose) and used the flash this AM and everything came out just fine. I finally got my stash updated and my WIPs too.
I bought new tubs to sort my yarn on Monday at Target. The cardboard boxes I got at IKEA weren't kid tough. The first time they sat on one it got smushed. I've been using them since I had nothing else but I got some pink tubs that are cute. The only problem is that they aren't opaque so DH will be able to see how much yarn I have. He's been blissfully innocent until now.
I'm very impatiently waiting my "welcome" package from the Lucky Lurker club. I love getting packages in the mail and I don't have any yarn ordered right now. Not that I haven't wanted to, but I just got a package Monday from LittleKnits with this so I gotta chill on the purchases for right now.
Plus school is starting and my boys needed all new pants. They still fit, but they had blown through the knees of all their jeans before school got out in June. I need to cut them off to make shorts. They also needed new shoes and 7 pairs of shoes later (2 for each boy, 3 for H.).........

Monday, August 13, 2007

Mission--bust

The Mission Falls cardi I was going to knit was a bust. First off, I wasn't sure I'd have enough yarn as I didn't check to make sure of yardage, just of how many grams of yarn I needed. Stupid me. Then, it's knit in intarsia, with 5 balls going at once, I just can't handle that. Too freaking much work for me. So now I'm knitting a cute little baby vest with Opal Rainforest sock yarn that will probably take me until the kid is 10 to do, since it's sock yarn. But it's going to be cute since the yarn is self striping and quite nice if I do say so myself. I also started myself some toe up socks with Lisa Souza Sock! in Lime N Violet. I wanted to do a toe up sock for the first time, but every pattern I tried was too confusing. So I am doing the toe part of the Sock.ra.tease pattern I got with my Duets Mariners yarn, and then using the Rockin Toe Up Sock Pattern to finish the sock. I just didn't like the "after thought" heel that the Sock.ra.tease pattern used.
I gotta get to bed. I'm falling asleep on the keyboard.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Thank God it was only a week

I was so exhausted last night when we got home from camp. I went to bed at 7 PM and didn't get up until 8 AM this morning. That is amazing for me, because I didn't even take my usual medications. I was just WIPED OUT!
I did get to knit some this AM and finished my Horcrux socks (yeah!). They are drying on the blockers right now. I started on a round baby blanket for my friend J. who had a baby a month or so ago. I'm a little behind I know. I went to the yarn store today and bought some Mission Falls 1824 cotton to make the baby a sweater too. The blanket is going fast, I'm using sport weight yarn (Lorna's Laces) doubled. The sweater is a one piece cardigan, letterman style. I hope it goes as fast.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some more knitting time in but for now I'm off to bed.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

My poor neglected blog

My kids are at daycamp all week, and therefore so am I. It was 70% cheaper to help out, and H. gets to go as well if I help (otherwise she'd have to wait until she was 5). So we trudge out there every morning and get home near 4 in the afternoon. I'm just exhausted but the kids are having fun and that's what counts. Their lunches leave a lot to be desired (PBJ, PB and honey, cheese and mayo, cheese only, and the very different selection of cheese and mayo on wheat). I brought my own lunch today. Tomorrow G. needs to go to the orthodontist in the AM and I have an orthopedic surgeon appt shortly after, so we'll miss the delicious lunch. I'm planning on getting Mickey D's, which I don't even like but sounds like luxury to me.
I'm working in the "portraits" station. The kids lie down on big pieces of paper and another kid traces them. Then they color the picture to look like themselves. I have one other adult helper and 4 teens (2 boys 2 girls). They are all really nice and we've had fun. Today we didn't have any groups so I ended up helping in the bookmarks which sucked. The lady running it was really bossy with the kids. I've got my group whipped into shape. They basically do everything while I supervise (READ:KNIT). I was hoping to get my Horcrux sock done today but I had to actually help out bossy lady. Tomorrow our station has a 1 1/2 hr break after lunch so I'm going to try to go around and take some pictures.
There are probably at least 250 people at c thisamp. It's been going on for a long time and this is supposed to be the biggest camp ever. You can tell they are not completely prepared for the size.
Thursday starts at 1 PM, and the bigger kids (G.'s age) get to stay overnight. We're trying to drum up a tent so DH, B, Cee-Cee and I can stay up there too.

Monday, August 6, 2007

SP 11 Questionaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love using natural fibers. I don't much care for novelty yarns or acrylic. I'd rather have a little of good yarn than lots of cheap yucky stuff.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have a needle case, and my KP storage binder.

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 2 1/2 years. My mom taught me the basics and I taught myself the rest. I consider myself an intermediate-advanced knitter. I've never made myself a sweater but I've done some for kids.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Nope. But I'll work on one if you just ask.

5. What's your favorite scent?

I like things that smell fresh. Nothing flowery.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I LOOOOOOVE chocolate. And skittles :)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I've pretty much abandoned all my other craftiness to knit obsessively.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Country. And yes, I can play MP3's.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

Pink. And I like all colors.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have 3 kids (10, 7, 3), 1 dog, 4 cats, and a husband.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Scarves and hats, yes. Mittens and ponchos, I'll take a pass on.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks lately. I've also knit over 30 toddler hats for friends of mine.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Horcrux Socks, a baby sweater, a baby blanket, and soon some more socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

I love handmade gifts. They are the best kind.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I almost exclusively use KP circulars. I knit my socks using magic loop. I do have an assortment of short bamboos for toddler hats though.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I have a winder and a swift. And I love to use them!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

I have something festering from when my 3 year old was a baby. It'll never get finished because it's acrylic.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas. I love to give gifts.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Knitting books.

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'd love some Knitting Pure and Simple sweater patterns. I just got a subscription to Interweave Knits. I usually buy all the magazines though. I just love to look through them.
I just discovered Wisdom Yarns Poems online. I'd love to try it out. Oh, and Wollmeise. I'm DYING for that.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Not really. If I need to do something, I just do it. Maybe entrelac. I'm a little scared of it. And I haven't done toe up socks yet. That's on my to-do list.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I love making socks. I wear a size 9 shoe and have fat calves. If you want me to measure them just ask.

23. When is your birthday?

September 3.

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

I love Ravelry. I'm a volunteer editor there. My ID is MomtoGBandH