Addicted Knitter

A Quick Hit

2006-08-22T21:14:00.000-04:00

I finished a few things - first, Bo's cat-ear hat.

He wanted it black, of course, and with ears that were bigger than normal. So I added five stitches to the ears when I started them. It made them bigger than normal, but I dunno if they're as big as he wants. Just for comparison, I put the one I made for myself on top of it. You'd be surprised how little difference five stitches makes.

I also made it out of wool, because I worry about people having cold noggins. I really think it came out well - it's the third I've made, so I guess I'm getting good at it. I hope he likes it. I haven't shipped it yet, I should do that...anyway, I also whipped up a couple quick wristbands, because they're so fun!

They only take like forty-five minutes to makes, I'm going to have to have one to go with every outfit. Thanks to Star for the awesome free pattern:

http://keeponknittinginthefreeworld.blogspot.com/2006/07/band-cuffs-free-pattern.html

You know I love free patterns.

Not much happening around here.

2006-07-31T14:10:00.000-04:00

I had jaw surgery a few weeks ago, so I've been doing more morphine than crafting. However, I have started a pretty little scarf - laceweight black merino, with clear, dark purple beads at the end. The gauge is pretty small, so I thought it would be really slow going, but it's not too bad. I've got about eight inches so far. It's not really my taste, but if it comes out well I think I'll do a pink one with black beads. I was actually going to start with that, but it's surprisingly hard to find plain black seed beads.

Maybe I'll sell it. I also made myself two shirts - all this non-knitting content, it's sacrilege, I know. Well, what're you going to do, huh? Wanna make something of it?

The one on the left I just stenciled, with black acrylic paint and textile medium. I though it was really awesome until my Mom made a comment about personal hygiene. It's still cool, though. The one on the right I - gasp! - sewed. It came out pretty well, really fits me nicely. (Please ignore that there are still threads hanging off it. I am infinitely lazy.) The only problem is that when I pull up the hood it kind of slopes into my shoulders and looks really odd. But I just won't wear the hood, I guess.

Ok, that's all for now!

new hat

2006-07-10T23:52:00.000-04:00

I finished my hat! Yes, that's my hair in front of my face. Why censor when you can imitate Cousin It?

I used the kittyville pattern from SnB, minus the earflaps. Lion brand cotton ease color #148. Love it! Now I, too, can be an electric blue kitty cat. Excellent.

Lazy Sunday

2006-07-08T15:37:00.000-04:00

Mom's rose vine is blooming.

I finished the Big Bad Baby Blanket.

I started a hat for myself.

New Knitty

2006-07-08T01:31:00.000-04:00

Well, the new Knitty has probably been up for a few days, but I'm a bit slow on the uptake. It looks pretty good. I love the extremities idea. I also love the patterns for Lickety Split and Swell.

However, I noticed there's one extremity they neglected.

So that no one feels left out, I thought I'd present you with a link to the pattern for Strange But Trewe's Penis Cozy.

Enjoy.

Stenciling

2006-07-07T00:09:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have tried a new craft. I made myself a sweet new shirt, using a 99 cent bottle of fabric paint, a $4 dollar shirt, a stencil made out of freezer paper, and a stiff-bristled paintbrush I dug out of my craft bin. Please excuse the crappy photo - when I didn't have the flash on it got really blurry, for some reason. The yellow is a bit brighter in real life.

The idea is that everyone has shirts with names of bands on them, so I made myself a shirt that just says 'band' on it. I don't know how well that gets across, though. I wore it yesterday and my sister thought it meant "I'm with the band", like those shirts that say "Security" on them or something.

Still, I love it. And I'm afraid of what will happen when I try to wash it. :X

Nature Walk

2006-07-05T18:05:00.000-04:00

There's lots of nature stuff around my house. Let's take a little tour, shall we?

First thing up, here are the flowers I planted. This is the species Onsaleat Homedepot. And look! Here's a bedraggled little robin we found on the porch. We moved it to the park behind the house so nothing would eat it.

And what's that? There's a Tenyearold Nephewius poking it with a stick!

And on the way back into the house, we can see an example of a domestic canine, very interested in the shoebox the bird was in.

Look, a FO!

2006-07-03T17:38:00.000-04:00

Not only did we get a new digital camera, but I also have a FO to show off using it:

This Irish Hiking Scarf is a Christmas present for someone in my family - not going to say who, since you never know who reads these things! It was made with two balls of Paton's Canadiana in Forest Green (I think that's the name of the color...) on a size seven circular needle because all my size 7 straight needles have other projects on them. At about 60 inches long, it's a bit shorter than I'd like, but I ran out of yarn - it hadn't occured to me that I'd need more than two balls of yarn for a scarf!

Here's a closeup of the cables:

This was my first cabeling project in ages. (I made the Hurry Up Spring armwarmers from SnBN almost as soon as I got the book, which was a while ago.) I'm working up to making Mariah this summer. Trying not to think about how much more complicated the cables are on that.

Here's an almost-FO picture of the BBBB:

I have another few inches until I start the outer border, and then I'm DONE! I made another blanket almost exactly like this when my friend Courtney had a baby - same yarn, same color, same pattern. I think it was even the same needle. This one is a bit bigger though, since I started it when I didn't have the pattern on me. When it's done it'll probably be about a yard square. A good size, I think.

Still working on that pink cardi. ::blush:: I haven't even finished the main piece. It's been sitting in my knitting bag for so long that it's gotten some serious wrinkles. I'll have progress to report on that soon, really!

Look, a picture!

2006-06-12T01:11:00.000-04:00

...strangely enough, this picture wasn't taken by me.

This is the package I sent to firebird1919 in the Color Swap 2 on craftster...and there in the center is one of my first FOs in ages. It's knit in frog tree alpaca, with blue seed beeds knit in every six stitches on every three rows. (did that make sense?) The cord is a braid of silver Glitterspun. It was muy fun to make, and she liked it, too! :D

So many UFOs!

2006-06-09T11:27:00.000-04:00

Okay, I still have no camera, I'm sorry. We took it to the camera doctor and he said that it was irreperably messed up. But I'm getting a bit of money soon, and hopefully I'll have enough left over to get a new one. In the mean time I have been starting so many new projects I think I'm going to overload soon.

UFO list:
-Irish Hiking Scarf
-Socks
-BBBB
-Pink cardi
-Mariah

Now that I look at it, I gues it's not that bad, but it's definitely the worst I've had. At least I finished something! I made an incredibly pretty little something (if I do say so myself) for my partner in the Color Swap 2 - but I'm not going to say anything else until she gets her package, because I know some peopel have been stalking everybody in the swap to figure out who their secret partner is.

Okay! Back to my Ethics paper!

Yarn, yarn, it's good for the heart

2006-05-23T14:07:00.000-04:00

Went to a HUGE yarn sale at Smiley's yesterday. Spent about $100, got a big garbage bag full of yarn, and a bunch of free patterns. Pretty good stuff too. Trying to find a way to post pictures.

Been working on the BBBB (Big Bad Baby Blanket! ^_^) a bit, though not as much as I'd like because school is really crazy right now...I pulled my first all-nighter last night, how fun. I'm about two inches past the half way point, and need to attach some more yarn. Got to get that finished now that I have all the yarn for the other projects I was planning...Stanley's gloves, my sweater, color swap gift, my aunt's scarf, john's hat, socks for the grandparents...getting an early start on Christmas this year.

Also participating in my first swap on Craftster. So excited! It's tough, though, and kind of nerve-wracking, because I dunno for sure that the person I'm sending to will like the stuff. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right? And she seems really nice.

Oh, and if my partner is reading this...hi. :)

I'm still here!

2006-05-14T14:54:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, I haven't died since last month, don't worry. I just don't have a working digital camera right now, which is kind of a pain, so I haven't updated much. I've been continuing to work on Grandma's sweater; I'm almost done with the back...the end is in sight, but I've kind of lost steam on it. I also started a BBBB for a friend of the family who's expecting (or at least something close to a BBBB, I didn't actually use a pattern this time.) That's pretty much all I have going right now, which is amazing in and of itself. Oh, wait, that's not strictly true. I also have been experimenting with making felted bracelets, although right now "experimenting" means I've got two sitting on my desk and have not actually felted them yet. I'll let you know how that goes.

I also got two free circular needles today! They're both size five, one is 18" and one is 29". Rob (the guy who lives in our basement in Jersey, long story) found them when he went to his storage facility. Apparently someone was throwing out a bunch of knitting material, and he grabbed these for me. Thanks Rob! So now I'm planning to make a hat with the shorter one, since the only things I've made on circular needles have been either flat or not wearable.

Yes, I'm a loser

2006-04-22T15:20:00.000-04:00

Let's take a moment away from sweaters and such to look at the inner workings of my knitter/gamer brain.

I don't often get ideas for original projects that I actually might make...but I like this one! It's a white felted messenger-bag style purse; maybe six or eight inches tall, four inches wide, and two inches deep, just big enough to hold a wallet, cell phone, and game boy. :) The flap would have a small intarsia design on the lower right corner, of...yes, I'm a loser...Dance Dance Revolution arrows.

Stomp to my beat!

I'm thinking that it should be lined with some cool, brightly-colored cotton fabric. So now all I have to do is find some. And some white yarn that isn't bleached, so it'll felt. Hm...

Sonnet

2006-04-20T17:31:00.000-04:00

Hey, check it out, I'm posting semi-regularly again!

Anyway, I've been working pretty much non-stop on that cardigan I was talking about. (It's Sonnet, from Knitty - Fall 2003, I think. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall03/PATTsonnet.html) Unfortunately I still haven't figured out the problem with my camera, so I only have a crappy cell phone picture. I fiddled with the coloring in Photoshop, but it's still a little too orangey - in reality it's a soft pink, a little bit grayer than a pastel. That green stripe is the marker for the edge of the walkway backstage at my school, where I spend the majority of my "free" time.

You can't really see it in this picture, but it's all seed stitch except for the two bands, which are a 4 by 4 box stitch.That slit in the middle is where one of the sleeves will go. On the right you can see one-half of the front neckline, on the left is about a half of the back neckline. (The front and back are knit all in one piece.) The seed stitch is getting boring, I must admit, but I think I'll go pick out buttons soon so I get all enthusiastic again. :)

I'm here.

2006-04-12T21:24:00.000-04:00

Wow.

It's been a long time since I posted, hasn't it?

I've been kind of out of it.

However, I have been knitting and lurking on people's blogs and such. Since I last posted I have knit....hm...

-2 scarves in different shades of purple
-1 teddy bear (and one more that's just waiting to be stuffed)
-1 pair of super-cool wristwarmers

And started myriad other projects, including a pink sweater for a member of my family who will remain nameless because I believe some of them read this. I have also gotten into making t-shirts, more on that later.

More on everything later, actually. I'd post pictures now but there's something up with the screen of my camera; shhh, don't tell my mom...

We don't need no education

2006-01-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

So, this week I went back to school. Yuck. But the one good thing about that is that I went back to New York, and that meant I got to check my mail! I got the final package from my SP, and it was the best yet - which is saying something, because she's been awesome. :) I didn't have my camera with me (stupid stupid) but I'll put up some piccies next week. I'll give details of the contents when the pics are up.

I also caught up with my blogs today, and saw Rock Chick's kickass "We Call Them Pirates" hat. And guess what? The pattern is free! So I went and printed it out, and added it to my huge list of things to knit. Here's the picture from the pattern - I think I'm going to do mine in something other than black and white, though. RC did hers in hot pink and lime green, which looked great. Hm.

Oh, and since I haven't put it up here yet, my Knitting New Year's Resolution is...(drum roll please)...

Stop making promises to knit things for other people!

Thank you and good night!

Gingerbread!

2005-12-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

If there's one thing I love, it's an oppurtunity to use my icing gun.

Merry Christmas! (So it's a little late. So what?)

I'm baaaack!

2005-12-27T22:13:00.000-05:00

'Allo! Okay, right on to the good stuff. This is my Christmas present to my mom. It's a snowflake headband from the fall 2005 issue of Knit It, and came out twice as wide as I had expected. Nevertheless, the colorwork came out great and it'll be perfect under a ski helmet.

I used Paton's Simply Soft, which is 100% acrylic but quickly becoming one of my favorite yarns. It's so soft and awesome! And cheap! And it comes in some kickass colors. But speaking of awesome yarn...I was up at my GS leader's house discussing my Gold Award, and just before I left she was like "Oh, wait, I have something you might want..."

YARN! Lots and lots of odd balls of yarn, which I promptly took home and sorted into big ziplocks by colors. It's all free, the only condition being that it had to be used for charity projects, which is fine by me. I do a lot of them anyway. YAY! I've started a child's cardigan with the dark purple stuff on the left there - that's the one thing that there's a significant amount of, ten or eleven balls.

I actually didn't knit as much as I had thought I would during the holiday season. There was that snowflake headband, and a scarf for each of my two sisters, and Wendy's wavy scarf, but that's about it. Very unusual.

2005-10-30T12:23:00.000-05:00

Hi.

I'm sorry I'm not here much. It's not that I'm not knitting - I've been knitting more than ever lately. I finished that scarf, and a tail for Nora, and a hat for my friend Alisa, and started that blanket for Grandma. Life has just been getting in the way of actually writing.

I don't know if I've mentioned it on here or not, but my dad has had cancer for about a year and a half. He's such a big, strong man - a six foot seven police officer - that it never even occured to me that he wouldn't beat it. He's been going through his treatments like the hero he is. But he hasn't been reacting to the chemo in the way that he should. He'll stay on it anyway, but he doesn't have very long. A year at the most, a month at the least.

My family and I are trying to deal with this and keep on keeping on as best we can - I mean, I'm supposed to be looking at colleges right about now. And I have a major surgery coming up over the summer. (Like we need any more medical stuff.) So, while I'm knitting almost constantly - it's very relaxing - I might not be writing in here very often.

Blessed be.

YAYY!!

2005-10-19T21:22:00.000-04:00

I'm going to an OK Go concert on Wednesday! I'm SO EXCITED! I just found their blog about a half hour ago, and it turns out their having a concert here in NYC in a week - so I'm going to pick up tickets after school tomorrow. Standing room only, but they're only 15 bucks! OH MY GOD I AM SO EXCITED!! AAAAAHHHH!!!! ::fangirl screech::

Ahem. (aaaaahhhhh!!!)

I also got another package from my SP yesterday! Huzzah! (I love you SP!) It had this really cool tape measure that looks like a die, a sampler of Burt's Bees products (AWESOME), and three balls of beautiful kid mohair in my favorite colors - two black, one bright pink! I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet, but I am definitely excited. I'll post pictures this weekend, of everything - I've been very lax in my picture taking duties. I apologize.

I've been making progress on Wendy's scarf, but am getting bored with it - so I'm going to start work on Nora's tail tomorrow, I think. I have to have it for her by Halloween, after all.

Oh, speaking of Halloween, I saw the Knitty surprises...eh. They were okay, but since I don't have breast cancer, or the desire for a skull scarf, or time to knit another Halloween project, I'm kind of out of luck. Oh well!

2005-10-12T23:42:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I have made absolutely no progress, but I have added another person to my list to make gifts for. I found out today that my friend Niall does ballet SIX HOURS A DAY - on weekdays! We're still in high school, in case you missed that. I dunno when he finds time to do any homework. He wants to get into Julliard, and I don't doubt that he will, but jeez...anyway, we never have any time to hang out any more, so I figure I'll make him a scarf instead. >_<

I also picked up yarn to make an astrodome for my friend Alisa, and a tail to match Nora's hat.

I really need to get knitting...

2005-10-10T01:57:00.000-04:00

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Hello out there!

2005-10-05T12:38:00.000-04:00

Well, I haven't been doing a whole lot of knitting in the last week. Which makes me sad. But I got a new bag, which is awesome except that it's too small to bring knitting along - bummer. No knitting on the subway. And I'd do it after school, but the world has been conspiring to kill my free time. I'm stage manager for my school - have I said that before? - and rehearsels for the musical are getting pretty intense. They also just announced the winter play, which is Dracula and will be SO FUN - excpet that rehearsels between the two will overlap and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to manage that. So confusing! Plus I have PSAT classes - which will end next week, thank god - and homework is nearly double what it was last year.

Good grief! (Can you tell all my time is spent at Charlie Brown rehearsels?)

BUT some good things, knitting-wise, have happened. Like...
-I got a package from my Secret Pal! Yay! It had three balls of really soft purply pink yarn in it. Awesomeness!
-My mom got me some very nice sock yarn (white with little spots of primary colors, plus green) so that I can start learning to knit socks with my new book.
-I found the little purple pencil case I keep all my miscellaneous knitting supplies in!
-AND the first quarter is nearly over (FINALLY, although it's hardly even been a month) so I'll be getting a yarn shopping spree soon. Assuming my grades are good. Which I think they will be.

My stash is starting to expand outside of the red bin I have for it! AAAHH! I'll have to use some of it up. And I'm due to get a dozen or thirteen balls of Rowan in any minute now - although it's been like a month since I ordered it. Rowan's shipping is crazy, I tell you.

Double robotics soon! yay!

Okay. Calm.

I'll post pictures this weekend.

Finally, an update!

2005-09-26T16:35:00.000-04:00

You're right, I haven't updated in a thousand years. I intended to, really! I even took these pictures...

On top is the second package I received, which I have already talked about. I think I may have left something out of the picture...::thinks:: Oh! I know! I left out the yummy-smelling soap. It's in my drawer, making my clothes smell nice.

Second is a picture of the last package I received. (Minus jelly beans, which were ultra-yummy and didn't last very long.) (I've just noticed how much I say 'yummy'.) I got an awesome eco-friendly notebook, a book of 'soda fountain wisdom' which is very fun, Wish #1, and some kickass mermaid embroidery patterns which I have to find something really cool to use on. I'm also very glad to have Wish - it's one of my favorite series EVER, and the second manga I read, and the book that introduced me to Clamp, and it's just AMAZING and I didn't own it! So that was perfect. Thank you. ^_^

Next up is Wendy's Wavy River Scarf, so called because it's blue and wavy and I think it looks like a river. So there. It's actually about twice as long as that now. I'm about to move on to the second ball of yarn, which makes me happy. I think I might make it ten or eleven repeats instead of nine, though, since Wendy is really, really tall. I mean, she could squish me by accident and not notice. So a little extra length would be good.

Requests for stuff has been pouring in from my friends...Sarah wants a hat like Nora's except pink, Alisa wants an Astrodome hat, Theodora wants a scarf to match her clutch, Katelyn wants wristbands that say 'hope' and 'dream'...It's nice to be loved, but a little overwhelming. At least nobody has asked for a sweater! I like knitting stuff for people, too. Although if I make more than two things a year for a person (one for Christmas, one for their birthday) I think I may start charging.

My yarn for Grandma's blanket has STILL not come in. This makes me angry. To console myself, I got myself Knit Socks! Which made me not so angry any more. Socks will make good Christmas presents, I think.

I'm a....Junior?

2005-09-15T20:40:00.000-04:00

Wow, being back at school is so odd. I adjusted to the 'Eleventh Grade' part pretty quick, but the 'Junior' part hasn't really sunk in yet. The workload has definitely picked up, though, so I guess I really am an upperclassman now. XD Weird. I also got the Stage Manager position, which both has me jumping up and down, totally psyched, and mourning for my free time. I went and helped out with the first round of auditions for the Musical (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) today, which was fun.

On the knitting front...I've started a nice blue Wavy scarf (from Knitty, of course) for Wendy for Christmas. I was going to do it in Boston College colors, since she's up there coaching Women's Crew now, but I saw this blue and liked it way more. It's color number 9455, all the way on the left there. Wendy's going to love it, it's totally her style. (Wendy taught me to knit, just so you know.) I'm a little more than two repeats in.

Nice, right? I'm also picking up the yarn I ordered for Grandma's blanket tomorrow, if all goes well. I actually put pictures of all that stuff on my computer, but blogger isn't cooperating. So maybe I'll be able to get them up tomorrow. I hope so.

Oh, and my new SP e-mailed me! Hi SP! ::waves:: I'm going to email you back soon, once I figure out the actual name of this really fuzzy yarn I've been coveting.

Pictures

2005-09-11T11:39:00.000-04:00

Yay for photos! Okay, first up, this is the blanket I'm making for Grandma. Except that I'm making it in pink. This picture is scanned directly from Knit It, and is copyright to them and the photographer. I don't own anything! Don't sue me!

Pretty, yeah? She's gonna love it. And speaking of pretty, here's my mother dearest, modeling Barbara's fuzzy blue scarf and the first teddy bear I made for the Mother Bear Project.

That's all, folks!

2005-09-10T20:07:00.000-04:00

Yay! New Knitty AND Magknits! The Magknits was a bit dissapointing for me – I liked the ‘Crime of Fashion’ scarf, but I’d never wear it – same thing with Sesame, and the others weren’t very interesting to me at all. (Is it just me, or were there only six patterns? o_O) Still, I was very glad to hear that they’ll be publishing every month now! Huzzah! Knitty was better – I LOVE Revolution and Arisaig, although I’m not sure that I’d actually wear them. I also loved the ideas behind Leaves in Relief and Samus – but, personally, I think that Samus would hang around in something much more futuristic than a sweater. I always kind of picture her dressing like the girl in the Fifth Element.

My friend Alisa also requested an Astrodome set for her birthday, which is fine by me. (I'd love one for myself, too, but I look horrible in hats.) She wants it in red, orange, yellow, and brown - nice fall colors. I think I'd go for something a little more out there, myself, but it's all good.

In other news – I finished the Tie One On, and it looked great on her, although I didn’t get a picture. I will, though! She’s coming to see Pillowman with us on Tuesday, so I’ll get one then. I also finished my first bear for the Mother Bear Project – did I say that yet? Eh, whatever. I got most of a second one done before realizing I didn’t have enough yarn to do its arms, too. But I think it’d be a shame to rip it out (it’s a cute one with a ringer tee style shirt) and the yarn is cheap no dye-lot stuff, so I'll pick some up soon. I always use more white acrylic than I mean to in my charity projects, anyway.

Actually, that brings up something I've been wondering about. I tend to use acrylic in my charity projects. A lot of times it's nice soft stuff, but I'm still being a cheapass. I feel kind of bad - I mean, I always use the best stuff when I make presents for people I know...I make excuses to myself like the rather harsh-sounding "beggars can't be choosers" and the slightly more reasonable fact that I can make more with the same amount of money if I use acrylic, but I still feel bad. :*( Opinions, anyone?

Well. Now that I've told you about how I use expensive yarn for presents for people I know and cheap stuff for people I don't...I went and ordered yarn for my grandma's Christmas present today. I'm making a blanket from Knit It, which I may upload a picture of if I can overcome my lazy nature. It's got a garter stitch border, and a checkerboard pattern of two different stitches - some basic 2x2 ribbing and a kind of jumbo seed stitch. The reccomended yarn, 'Pleasure' by Berocco, looked really nice - but it's been discontinued, so I ordered some Rowan (Mom was paying or I never would've been able to afford it, lol) in a sort of dusty pink. I figure if I start it ASAP I might actually have it done for Christmas. The yarn store I went to is called Glenmarle Woolworks - I've never really shopped there except for stuff like stitch markers because I thought it was very overpriced. But it isn't! I was poking around today and they have all kinds of nice stuff for reasonable prices, including Lamb's Pride, which is called for in like half the patterns I use but which my other LYS doesn't stock. (I guess I thought it was expensive because they DO stock all the really expensive stuff, right up at the front of the store. It gets cheaper the farther back you go.) And the woman was very helpful. I'll have to go back there! They have this awesome plushy yarn that I NEED. I'm thinking that if I knit some of that and the Tutti Frutti lace yarn together, I could get a pretty nice scarf. Of course, I already have twenty million scarves. But that's okay. I could always use one more.

Bob II seems to be thinking about the holidays already, too. My computer keeps playing all my Christmas music. (I've sort of started seeing Bob as the soul of my computer, controlling what comes up on shuffle and things like that.)

You'll notice I haven't said anything about Katrina. There's not a whole lot to be said that hasn't been said already - except that I am, as usual, pissed at our government. The estimated casualties are equal to September 11th and the war added together and doubled, and many of them could have been avoided if the fatcats who run our country - or at least say they run it - had thought about the fact that not everyone has a big SUV to leave town and their pick of vacation homes to go to.

2005-09-10T09:22:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm filling out the SP6 questionnaire, because some stuff has changed...I'll do a real post soon, I promise.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

I do avoid Red Heart, but some Lion Brand is okay. Natural fibers are best, but I don't mind acrylics if they're soft.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

Nope! I tried to learn how to crochet, but...well, it didn't happen.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

Nope! But I don't like the smell of smoke.

4. How long have you been knitting?

Um...about four years, I guess. Since middle school. But I took about a year off.

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

Yes I do! :) It's linked on my sidbar.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Food smells, like vanilla or other spices... and I LOVE the Christmas Cookies scent from Yankee Candles. Stuff like that.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Do I ever.

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

Not a whole lot. I keep trying to get into other things, and keep coming back to knitting.

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

I like pretty much everything except for rap and yodeling. :) My favorite genres, though, are any kind of rock, pop punk, doo wop, and J-pop.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

My favorite colors are purple and hot pink - my favorite color combination is hot pink and black. But as long as it's bright (or black - weird, I know) I'll like it! I just don't like dull colors, like gray or brown.

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

I live with my parents and our dog. No, I'm not some 30-year-old who never moved out - I'm still in high school.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

Go to NYU, major in Theater Design, work on Broadway for a few years, get married, have a couple kids, move back to Princeton, raise my kids and run the community theater. is it weird that I have this all planned out already?

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I love Cacade 220 because it's moderately priced, felts well, and comes in awesome colors - I also love Frog Tree Alpaca because it's SO SOFT, cheap, and also comes in awesome colors. :)

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Anything itchy, ugly-colored, too novelty-ish, or made from gasoline.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Hm. I don't know, I don't really have one right now! Weird. Just learning new skills. Oh, actually, I've been doing a whole lot of charity knitting.

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

Accessories - hats, scarves, purses, wristbands, gloves...the list goes on. I'm hoping to do an actual sweater soon though.

17. What are you knitting right now?

A teddy bear.

18. What do you think about ponchos?

Some of them are okay, some of them are justt freakish. I have a really nice red one (it's machine-made, a lacy type pattern, and everyone always asks me if I made it myself - WAY too complicated) and I don't need any more.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Both are good.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Bamboo or casein - aluminum is okay too, but I don't like plastic.

21. Are you a sock knitter?

Soon, hopefully!

22. How did you learn to knit?

My friend Wendy brought me to a group at her church who were knitting hats for kids in Trenton. Now I'm teaching HER new techniques!

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

Um...that'd be the Letter Have It bag. I don't know. About six months - maybe more.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

Oh, god, you're asking an anime nerd this?? Well, I love the Totoros, and Koga the wolf-demon from Inuyasha - pretty much all anime wolves are cool, especially the ones in Princess Mononoke. And I LOVE Ed from Cowboy Bebop, and Ein, too...I'll spare you my list of favorite videogame characters.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas! And Halloween. And my birthday. :D

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Shoelaces. Cool ones. And demo CDs,

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

None.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?

A few - check out my Amazon wishlist.

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another??

Nope! I really just need more pattern books. T_T

1:12 AM

2005-09-03T01:11:00.000-04:00

It's about 1:15 in the morning, and I don't feel tired at all. I do have a headache. This isn't good, though - I'm working at the Ten Thousand Villages booth at a farmer's market at 8 in the morning tomorrow. So I'll probably have to get up at 7:30...and get about 6 hours of sleep, if I go to bed and fall asleep within fifteen minutes...I've been working in the yard all day, you'd think I'd be more tired.

Anyway, enough ranting. I have been continuing my charity knitting rampage. I recieved my pattern from the Mother Bear Project, and have finished the main piece. I also have plans for a striped roll-brim hat. And I still have to sew in the ends for the Tie One On, and do those wristwarmers for my nephew. And I have to send off the things I've finished already. I went to the post office yesterday and sent off three packages - two to friends who are in boarding school, one to my SP5 pal - but I haven't sent off the hats I finished yet. Maybe I'll wait until I have a few bears to send. Oh, and the cat blankets! man, I've got to get cracking.

I also got another package! I got six balls of fun fur in pink, black and white - love the colors - a bar of soap that smells SO GOOD, two cute little TY elephants, a pretty bookmark, and two Japanese anime magazines! SO COOL! I can't read them, of course, but it's way fun to look through them reading the Engrish, looking at the fanart, realizing how much of an anime nerd I am that I recognize and can name almost all of the character pictures without having to read it...where did you get these?? :D There's an ad in one for Tales of Symphonia, one of the best games EVER...they had the Japanese and English versions of all the names, except that they called Genis 'Genius'. >_< Gotta love the Engrish. It kinda makes sense, though.

I'll post pictures soon, but right now I have a headache and am determined to get six hours of sleep.

Fo shizzle!

Sorry, that was kind of random.

2005-08-31T00:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I don't have epilepsy. Yay! I just have very low blood pressure. I coulda told them that, I'm a laid back kind of girl. :) They did an EEG though - or EKG? something like that - which required putting nodes on my head with this gluey stuff that smelled like oranges. So then I had to shower again. That stuff was really gross. Bob II is scared of it. Here he is hiding behind my Favorites dropdown. Ain't that cute.

But, as I expected, I did have plenty of time to knit. I finished that blue scarf, and I think I'll give it to my friend Barbara for Christmas. Although it's very nice, and I'm tempted to keep it for myself. xD I also mostly finished the Tie One On for my hostess, finally. I just have to weave in the ends. It looks really nice. I have a couple balls of the yarn left, too, which was a surprise.

I'll post pictures later - right now I need some shuteye. Au revoir!

Whee! Peasants!

2005-08-27T11:32:00.000-04:00

Erm, presents, I mean. I always used to say 'peasants' instead when I was little. And 'etertise' and 'aminals'. I was a cute kid. ^_^ Anyway! I got a present from an angel a few days ago. Huzzah! I got a very cute card, equally cute stationary and magnet (my mom freaked when she saw the magnet, she loves ladybugs) some awesome green tea scented lotion and body mist/perfume from Elizabeth Arden, a pair of very nice size 10 bamboo needles, and some beautiful beaded stitchmarkers.

I especially liked the needles and stitchmarkers! Here's a closeup of the goodness.

Yay! You rock, Angel! ^_^ (Speaking of rockin' angels, I think it's awesome that one of you is into City of Heroes. Good game! City of Villains is coming out soon, just FYI.) I didn't have any size 10s, so this was perfect. Those are some fine lookin needles. I've cast on a nice fuzzy blue scarf with them since taking this picture. Other than that, I've been on a charity knitting rampage. I made three ubercute umbilical cord hat. I finished the green cat blanket (that's five blankets in all for K4P) and sent off for the bear pattern for the Mother Bear Project. There's also that red hat I made at Mohonk, seen here modeled by my dad. He looks like he's in the Life Aquatic.

Eddie tried it on too. He's the one with the fro. It might've actually fit him if it weren't for the hair. The guy on the right is John, my dad's cousin. He's requested a hat for Christmas, black or gray. That's kind of boring, so I think I'm going to put some intarsia around the edge...norwegian type patterns...anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Here are the first two umbilical cord hats I made...they're going to TLC for Angels.

And here they are all packed up and ready to go, plus the last one. I've got to go to the post office, I have all sorts of stuff to mail off.

I'm going into the city tomorrow...I had some sort of seizure when I was volunteering at 10,000 villages day before yesterday, so I have to go see some specialist. God, I hate doctors. We really don't need this right now. My grandma is in and out of the hospital, my dad has cancer, I have Crouzon and am preparing for major surgery this time next year, and now I have epilepsy or some shit. Wonderful. Anyway, yeah. Maybe I'll be able to send off my packages from there. I'll definitely have lots of knitting time on the train and in the waiting room, so FO pics will be forthcoming.

UFOs and Resolutions

2005-08-24T00:38:00.000-04:00

School is starting in two weeks. I'm so excited! In honor of the event of my first actual first day of school at BFS (last year I transferred in between the first and second semesters, cleverly dodging midterms at both schools) I have decided to make a few resolutions, some knitting related, some not.

I'm not going to snack in between meals. If I'm not hungry at a mealtime, I will not eat.
I'm not going to sign up for anything I will regret later, especially RPs. I WILL NOT found any more RPing sites, or revive any of my old ones, or agree to co-admin.
I'm going to get out of as many of my RPs as possible.
I'm not going to have more than three WIPs at a time, not counting charity projects.
I'm going to keep in touch with all my friends as much as possible.
I'm going to reply to all emails, phone calls, letters, and posts ASAP.
I'm not going to be so impulsive.

OK, that's that. We'll see how it works out. The RPs have always been a problem for me - escapism is my vice, whoo. Every time I get back into it I regret it about a month later. You'd think I'd learn, but nooo. Of course, none of this kicks in for another two weeks. ^_^

As far as knitting goes...I still don't have pictures to post, but I will soon. I've made another Umbilical Cord hat, and cast on a third - quick charity projects, so addictive. I haven't made any progress on the tie one on or my pink bag. But I have started experimenting with wristbands for my nephew - we picked up some red and black Frog Tree Alpaca today. (I love that stuff!) And I made a deal with mom to make an afghan for my grandma for Christmas. It'll be from both of us; she'll be the yarn, I'll do the work. It'd definitely going to be my biggest projects yet, but the pattern looks interesting enough to keep me going. I'll post a picture when I have the energy to scan it. (It's from Knit It.)

Nora has also requested a tail to go with her hat, with the promise that I don't have to get/make her a Christmas present if I can get it done in time for Halloween. I'm thinking black acrylic. ::cringe:: I know, I'm such a bad kid. Anyway, I'm going to use the cabled belt pattern from SnBN, and then attach a thick I-cord, at least 7 or 8 stitches, with a double thickness of soldering wire run down the middle so she can twist it however she likes and it'll stay that way. Should be good.

And now I'm going to go watch Adult Swim and knit hats for babies in the ICU. Buh bye!

2005-08-22T15:08:00.000-04:00

Well, I've come back home to death and destruction.

Our house sitter killed my fish. My two Oscars, P and Diddy, who were just the most kickass fish in the world, were growing up big and healthy, and could easily have lived another seven or eight years. But noooo. George, the crazy old guy mom insisted would be a FINE housesitter even though all of the people he's lived with so far have kicked him out, fed them a WHOLE CAN of fish food in a week. A whole can! AND he finished the packet of pellets we already had open! That much food should last them months.

From the smell of it, they'd been dead for days. But yesterday he had the nerve to call us and say that the tank was getting cloudy and the fish were looking a bit sick, and what could he do? No shit, Sherlock, when they're floating on the top of the tank they MIGHT be an itsy bitsy bit sick.

F#&%ing a@(*$$#.

He also messed up the microwave and the TV. And my pet desktop panda was dead, too, which is my own fault. (Of course, I got it in Japan, so I couldn't read the directions to know if it kept going while my computer was off, but hey...) Poor Bob. Oh well. Here's Bob II, rolling happily on his tire.

The office (where I upload photos) is in the basement next to the fish tank and currently smells of dead Oscars, so I'm going to postpone uploading for a while.

Vacation, whoo!

2005-08-21T22:34:00.000-04:00

So, I'm now back in good old NYC - I've been upstate for the last...um...five days, I believe. Three days at Lake Mohonk, which was the most beautiful and relaxing place EVER. I did lots of sitting by the lake knitting. I also did a lot more exercising than I usually do - swimming, boating, Pilates, horseback riding, rock scrambles...it was good. The rock scramble was awesome, although I now have a huge bruise on my ass from where I fell. At least I didn't fall down a crevasse!

So what did I knit, exactly? One red cotton hat with a pompom on top, accidently made child-sized, which I'll give to charity, and one blue Umbilical Cord Hat, also for charity. I just finished it, it's so cute! ^_^ I've never made a baby hat before. It came out well. Although I did sew down the 'umbilical cord' because I tend to knit I-cord a bit stiff and so it would've been standing straight up otherwise. I also finished one of the ties on the Tie One On - so now I've just got to do one more. It's so boring though - just 1x1 rib, but because I'm knitting it at such a loose guage and with such a slippery yarn I can't just do it while I watch TV or I drop stitches all over the place. What a pain. It's long enough to tie it now, but of course I'll still do the other one, in the interest of symmetry.

After Lake Mohonk we went to visit my Dad's cousin John and his wife Kate. They live waaay upstate, up in the mountains in this little house that they used to heat only with wood until about eight years ago. (They raised three kids that way, can you imagine?) You can only see one other house from where they are, and kate has this amazing huge garden with EVERYTHING in it - black-eyed susans, squash, catnip, potatoes, tomatoes, daisies, soybeans, three or four other kinds of beans, those purple flowers with the really tall centers, red climbing vine flowers...and hummingbirds practically swarm those red ones. It was so beautiful! We went to a county fair. Now that was an experience. I'm about 40 pounds overweight and I felt positively thin compared to most of the people there. Which was nice.

I got a bar of sandalwood-scented goatmilk soap for my secret pal, and a skein of beautiful brown alpaca that I haven't decided whether I'll keep or send off to her. I had been planning to send her some sock yarn, after all. Well, we'll see.

I'll be getting back to NJ tomorrow afternoon (or maybe night) and will upload pictures of all this. As well as a picture of another charity project that I will probably have started by then. I knit a lot of charity stuff on my own, but I'm doing even more right now because I've been told I can count it for the Service Project requirement of a Textile Arts badge I'm working on. Yes, I'm 16 and I'm still a Girl Scout. Yes, I know I'm a nerd. >_< But I want to get my Gold Award. it looks good on college applications!! Really!!

Golden moles are so cute!

2005-08-15T00:21:00.000-04:00

I'm watching Animal Planet. Golden moles are so cute. They're like little puffs of fur without heads or legs or ANYTHING except little bumps that are either noses or penises. Who knows.

Now, onto more knitty matters. I got another card today!

It made me happy. And gave some good advice. ^_^ But I'm confused - the two cards are definitely from two different people. Do I have more than one angel? Not that I'm complaining, of course. Anyway, as far as actual knitting goes, I've been working on that green cat blanket I started, and I have to say it's coming out pretty well. It'll be great, if I can scrounge enough green yarn to finish it. Ah, the joys of knitting with scraps.

While I have been busy with knitting, Xbox, cross stitch, cooking, and all my other stuff - and my nephew Eddie, who's here for a few weeks - I have found a reminder of my wish to learn how to crochet.

Isn't that beautiful? It was done by BlackDog and is just rocking my socks right off. I can't believe the colors in it! SO amazing. I want one. The pattern is from Toast & Marmalade, which isn't on Amazon.com, or I would put in on my wishlist. I have a feeling that if I learned how to crochet, though, I'd how to do that whether I bought the pattern or not. And I don't really like most of the other patterns in there. Although that could just be because they're using such dull colors...I like bright stuff. :)

I was very bitchy today. I'm sorry, Mom! I don't think she reads this, but it can't hurt. I was PMSing. So I went out and got myself a bar of fair trade Divine chocolate from Ten Thousand Villages, where I volunteer and where you should shop because they do good work. I also picked up a bar for my Secret Pal, who I think I will send another package before SP5 ends. I'm thinking sock yarn and Hello Kitty, but I don't have a lot of time - signups for SP6 have already started! And I've signed up, of course. ^_^ I'm going off on vacation tomorrow, though. Up to Lake Mohonk in upstate NY for a week, with my parents and the Edmeister. Should be good. I am looking forward to much swimming, massages, and of course knitting. :) Ah, man, I could use a massage right now...see, this is why I need a boyfriend. Someone to get me fair trade chocolate and give me massages. I'd be a good girlfriend! Hm. Maybe I should have Rod lend me one of hers.

Nah.

Okay, I'm off to sleep, and the upstate. See you in a week!

w00t!

2005-08-12T23:12:00.000-04:00

I have had a very good couple of days.

First off, I went to the mall yesterday and picked myself up an Xbox. Score! I wanted to get DDR, but the Box, pad, and game all at once were too expensive, so I got Blinx the Timesweeper until then. Good game. But an Xbox wasn't the only thing I got at the mall. Oh no. My niece Moira's birthday is coming up. Now, I am a very cool and generous aunt, if I do say so myself, and will probably spoil both my nieces rotten by the time Moira is 7. But right now she's turning four, and is totally into all the Princess stuff. So, check this out.

How kickass is that? Every princess needs a bright pink electric guitar. I want one, too. ^_^ I might give it to her for Christmas, though, since it's supposed to be for 5 year olds and up, and I got her a Totoro plushie from Japan, but...eh. ::shrug:: it's all good. I just love that you can get one of these. It was on the shelf next to the Princess Magic Mirror and Princess Phone and Princess Nailpolish Set and all that, hooray for feminism! Maybe she'll be a punkass rocker someday.

I also found out what my friend Emma's dad does. This has always puzzled me. Her mom teaches Spanish, which isn't a very high-paying job, but despite that, and having five kids, they never seem at all worried about money. Quite the opposite. I went to babysit for the little ones while they went to a Barenaked Ladies concert, and there were tickets on their bulletin board for Coldplay, too. So guess what he does? He works in publishing. And his company just bought Tokyopop. I am SO jealous of Emma - she gets free manga, models, and plushies all the time. But she came over and shared the wealth. ^_^ I got five free manga, and I've only read one of them before. Score again!

And to top it all off, today I got a postcard of Grand Central from my SP angel. Yay! This is cool on two counts; 1) it's the first actual object I have gotten out of this whole SP thing, and 2) it's Grand Central! Fun! It's a cool picture, too.

Oh, and I got a haircut, too. Which is good because my head was starting to look thatched.

As far as knitting goes... I have mostly been working on cat blankets, which are addictive. They're quick, they use up scraps, you can make them up as you go along, and you can try all kinds of stuff you haven't done before without worrying about making mistakes. Homeless cats don't really care, I think. So, I've been trying out diagonal knitting. I finished this one this morning...

I need to sew in the ends, but other than that it came out pretty well. The black there is actually dark green, so it has a kind of Jamaican look, which I didn't do on purpose but is okay. I like diagonal knitting. It's fun. ^_^ So I started another one this morning.

The variegated yarn looks good, I think. I don't have enough to finish a whole one, though, so I'm putting in a few stripes of the dark green. Should be good. Of course, this is all taking time away from the project I ought to be working on, which is the Tie One On for my hostess in Japan. She's going to be back in the States on the 17th, and I want to have it ready for her then. I should be able to do it, I'm just working on the ties now.

It's longer and shorter than I thought, but it actually works pretty well when I try it on. And she's short anyway. :)

EDIT: Longer and shorter. Yeah, that makes sense. I meant longer and thinner.

I'm back! Miss me?

2005-08-08T14:36:00.000-04:00

So, does my neglecting my blog mean that I'm busy with other things? Well, obviously! I have been knitting, traveling, cleaning, cooking, all sorts of stuff. Before I left for Japan I knit a catear hat for my friend Nora, out of some cheap cotton I've had lying around for forever. I've never knit with cooton, but I really liked the way it turned out. It was warm enough for the fall but cool enough for the summer, since I knew she'd probably be wearing it around the clock. (She is.) It was also very quick and gratifying. I used the pattern from SnB, minus the ties. Definitely going to have to make another.

And here is Nora modeling and laying out my fortune - I'm teaching her tarot. The whole shebang, as you can see, not one of those wimpy three-card layouts.

I also did a bit of stash enhancing. I found some beautiful lace-weight merino in this ubercute colorway called 'tutti frutti' - and it was on clearance, no less! I only had the money for one skein, but I went back and grabbed the last one the next day. It's kind of hard to get a picture that does the colorway justice, but here's an okay one;

I have no idea what I'll do with it, since there's very little, but I'm sure something cute will pop up sometime. Then I knit this:

Yet another cat blanket. It's not the prettiest in the world, but it's very soft, and I doubt homeless cats will really care. Not bad for an hour of knitting in front of the TV, though.

Now for some real projects...remember that Letter Have It bag I've been working on for all of eternity? Well, I felted it and blocked it, and it came out pretty well, except that the blocking was a bit wonky.

So then the next thing to do would be to install a zipper, right? I got a nice pink one from the cheap-o craft store. It was a little lighter than I liked, but not bad. The only problem was it was too long - so i did something stupid. I held it up to the opening and measured it. Anyone with half a brain would've pinned it in and measured it that way, but obviously I've only got a quarter. So it went from being too long to too short.

I'm going to wash the bag again and see if it shrinks any more, since I've only done it twice. That way I can fix the blocking, too. If it doesn't get small enough to fit the zipper, I guess I'll have to get another one. That's okay, they're pretty cheap. It's just a pain.

And now I would like to take a moment to acknowledge one of my other hobbies and complain about being underappreciated, all at the same time. What a multi-tasker I am!

I am very odd for a teenage girl. My hobbies include knitting, shouting orders at middle schoolers, and, of course, cooking. I am a fledgeling gourmet, if I do say so myself. During the school year my mom complains that she cooks too much, but during the summer the kitchen is my domain. Now, a few days ago I decided I wanted to make veggie quiche and herbed flatbread for dinner. Mom was going grocery shopping, so I asked her to pick up some cheddar, and she reached into the back of the fridge and pulled out this:

This is not CHEDDAR! This is CAMOUFLAGE CHEESE! Geez, I'm making dinner all the time, you could at least pick me up some decent cheese. I made do, but let us highlight the phrase 'fledgeling gourmet'. A beautiful crust, free-range eggs, organic veggies and full cream deserve some nice cheese. Meh. Then when she got back from the store she hadn't gotten basil, feta, yeast, or sundried tomatoes, so no herbed flatbread. Gah! But today I made two loaves of nice white sandwich bread to console myself, so it's all good. Maybe I'll make some herbed flatbread, too. Just for the hell of it.

Now, what else...Japan was amazing, of course...it's the last month of SP and I haven't gotten anything, so I'm officially in the 'Needs an Angel' folder unless I get sent something soon...meh. I've also gotten interested in cross stitch a bit, so more news on that when I've made some progress. I think that's it.

Au revoir!

Japan!

2005-07-18T19:20:00.000-04:00

I'm currently in Japan, and will be for the next 8 days. I'd hoped to put up an entry with all sorts of pictures before I left, but it was not to be. I have been doing a lot of knitting though! Right now I'm working on a "Tie One On" from knitty for my hostess.

When I get back, I'll have pictures of lots and lots of knitting - and Japan, of course!

2005-07-02T23:39:00.000-04:00

You are plastic.
Futuristic, milky, and silky, you are willing to go
where no crafter has gone before. You can do
just about anything, with strength agility, and
pretty colors to boot! While you are good at
slipping and sliding out of sticky situations,
remember to stay where and when you are needed.
Don't overdo it on star gazing when there's
earthbound knitting to be done!

What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Plastic? Eh. Well, okay.

Real post coming soon.

Ignore this

2005-06-29T12:06:00.000-04:00

This is me trying to figure out image sizing. (This pic is nearly 700x1000 pixels in paint, but when I upload it to photobucket it becomes like a third of the size.) No, this isn't actually me - it's a guy I RP as.

Don't know what RPing is? Don't ask.

2005-06-27T20:52:00.000-04:00

I'm planning the stuff I'm going to knit for Christmas. Yes, that's right. Six months ahead of time. Why? Because I just gave my Dad his scarf from last Christmas about a month ago, that's why.

I'm not stupid enough to knit people sweaters, since I know they probably won't appreciate them. So, scarves, hats, and mittens are on the menu. I've found a whole bunch of kickass patterns on the web and bookmarked the ones I have in my book.

The only problem is...you know...yarn. Don't get me wrong, I have a nice little stash, but I have all these random balls of yarn that really wouldn't go too well together and definitely wouldn't fit into any of the patterns I have. I need to go yarn shopping.

Not anytime soon, though. I'm not getting rewarded with a yarn shopping spree for my grades this summer...oh no. I'm getting a trip to Japan.

SCORE! I'm totally psyched.

But since my parents are paying for the plane ticket, they're not giving me any spending money. So I need to save up every penny for the next few weeks. Which is a pain - I mean, I'd like to have something to knit on the disgustingly long flight.

Meh. Secret Pal, if you're out there...I could use a couple balls of yarn...preferably that match each other. ~_~ I haven't gotten anything yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining - I mean, IF everything went as scheduled, my pal will just be getting her first package today. I'm just...you know...reminding. :)

Whoo, knitting pics

2005-06-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

Just as I figure out how to put in pictures, Blogger comes up with a picture tool. How nice of them. ::grumble:: Well, guess I'd better try it out, right?

Hm, actually, that works pretty well. Slow, but...well, yeah. That's the bag, and it actually IS a bag now! It has both sides and everything. I figured out the twisty thing, which was a pain in the ass because I had to unsew everything, but I think it'll be worth it.

Here's the first cat blanket (for Knit 4 Paws, it's linked on my sideber, have a look) I did...its edges came out a little wonky, but it's very thick and pretty. I used a chunky blue acrylic and a thin purple yarn that I've had for ages, I'm not sure what it is. it didn't come out too bad for a patternless piece. :) I think whatever cat gets it will like it. And that's not the only one I've done! Oh no! There's this one, finally completed:

And this one, recently started and already close to being done:

I'm just a charity knitting machine. I have been doing some stuff just for the fun of it, though. Here's Morgan, finished and lying on top of some Emo for size reference:

She doesn't look quite as good as the first one I knit - there might be something to the fact that I was supposed to knit it in garter stitch. ~_~ I think she'll look fine once I get a dress done for her, though. Travis is still on the needles, I've been distracted by other things.

I also made a nice blue Pasha for my friend Emma, who has a thing for bouncy blue penguins. Although it wasn't very bouncy, it was very blue and uber-huggable. It was a wrench, actually giving it to her. I definitely have to make on for myself. I'm thinking pink and purple.

She turned out pretty well, right? :) Yay for using up scraps. So, next up, I figure I should actually do some lace knitting, seeing as I'm supposedly a part of the Summer of Lace knitalong. Once I get some nice yarn - I'm thinking a dark blue - I'm going to try the fishtail scarf pattern they posted. It'd make a very nice Christmas gift for my Grandma, she always loves seeing that I'm knitting. (My Grandma has always knitted my family stuff - most recently I remember a cheesy red acrylic cardigan with white anchors and such on it for my nephew. That was just when I was starting to appreciate how much work would go into that. Eddie said he hated it, I was SO PISSED at him.) I just finished buying and sending off stuff for my SP, and now I have something I want to get for myself, so I dunno when I'll have the money for yarn...but my grades should be coming in soon, and Mom always gives me 50+ dollars to spend at Pins & Needles when they're good. And I happen to know they're good this time, my GPA is finally going to be above 3. ^_^ Hm, in fact, maybe I'll go check the mail now.

...

Nope, nothing. Damn. Ah well. Until next time.

2005-06-24T23:42:00.000-04:00

Am I the only one that thinks that 'Clapotis' sounds like a sexually transmitted disease?

Real post, with pictures and everything, coming soon.

Yay for pictures!

2005-06-09T00:47:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm going to see if blogger will let me put my pictures into the post this time instead of just linking to them. That'd be nice. I doubt it'll happen, though - blogger hates me. As evidenced by the fact that my 'stalked bloggers' thing is still just two people and my wishlist. Eh.

I had a very good first day of summer vacation. I spent...oh, I dunno, maybe eleven hours playing Tales of Symphonia. (I took a shower, I promise. And no, you don't have to tell me I'm a loser. I know.) I haven't spent that long on a game since I bought Skies of Arcadia. I think I'm nearly to the second disc. I also took and uploaded pictures! whee!

First things first. This is one of my nieces, Maeve.

Ain't she a cutie? This is from her second birthday party, last Friday. A few hours after I took this her dad abducted me and made me go to the comicon. ...well, something like that. Maeve Fyfe McGrath. Nearly as celtic as her sister, Moira Lyn. Pretty names, hm? Matt wanted to name Moira Galadriel. Nerdiness can go too far, though.

Now to knitting...this is my small amount of progress on the Letter Have It bag.

I've sewn the front panel to the center panel, but...look at the lower left corner. wtf?? I guarantee you, I tried to get it to untwist in every way I could, and it just wouldn't work. So I just sewed it like that. With my limited experience in felting, I'm pretty sure it'll be more or less smooth, even if it is thicker in that corner. What I'm worried about is how it'll affect the shape of the bag overall. If anyone knows what the hell is going on with it, let me know. Worse come to worse, it'll make some cool applique.

I have been working on this bag for so long, look what happened to it's page in SnBN.

Yeesh. Oh well, whatever. As long as I don't lose it I should be fine.

Next up, teddy bears! This is that awesome uber-pink Caron yarn I was talking about, with Morgan sitting next to it, all ready to be stuffed. The yarn looks red in this light, but it's really not.

I have Travis on the needles, too - he should be ready this week. Now I just have to get some stuffing. I gave my last bag to my friend Wendy for a ginormous pillow she was making for her bf, since it'd been ages since I'd needed any. Stupid. Maybe she'll get me another bag. Not that it's expensive or anything, but I'm a little tight right now, what with just having gone to Comicon and Coney Island, and having to get stuff for my pal. Well, it'll work out. My pal's first priority, of course. :) I sent her a cool Labyrinth postcard a few days ago, letting her know I'm around and she's got a gift coming - I wonder if she's seen the movie. She seems like she might've. I probably shouldn't talk about that stuff on here...eh. Hardly anybody reads this.

A note on teddy bears. And money. You know what I think would be a really good business? One-of-a-kind, handknit teddybears. But not just any teddy bears. Cool ones. Like Morgan and Travis, if they come out like I'm imagining them. Bears with Attitude. Punk ones, ghetto fabulous ones, gay pride ones - stuff like that. And cutesy ones, too - mommy bears & baby bears that stick together because they both have magnets in them, Valentine's Day ones, stuff like that. New York is all about that stuff, especially right around where I'm living right now. All you'd have to do is prove that people would buy them - maybe sell a dozen or so at a flea market or something - to get them into one of the many expensive gift shops or children's boutiques in the Upper East Side. Then set up a web site, where people can request custom-made ones, see where they can buy them, that sort of thing.

That's my game plan. If Morgan and Travis come out okay. Of course, I'd be eternally knitting teddy bears. But that's fine by me. I like them. And the one-of-a-kind thing would keep it interesting.

Anyway...here's the rainbow stripe on my second cat blanket. It's about an inch and a half in from the left side, and the rest is going to be white. Very Rainbow-Brite. And a good way to use up acrylic.

Isn't that a cute picture? I'd like to make it into an icon for something, but people would probably think I'm gay.(Not that there's anything wrong with that.) I finished my first cat blanket, and I think it looks great, but it's still in NYC. So I'll post a pic of it on Friday, maybe Saturday.

Blessed be!

PS - my HTML is working! Yayy!

Edit: ...BUT they all have to be small, otherwise my sidebar dissapears. Godammit. Just can't win.

SUMMER!

2005-06-07T21:31:00.000-04:00

School's out for summer...school's out for ever...

I am psyched.

Resolutions for summer vacation:
1. Hang out with my guy friends. A lot. I've been hanging out with girls way too much lately. I might as well have gone to Hewitt.
2. Knit obsessively. Make a sweater in time for fall. Or maybe two.
3. Make money - enough to pay for presents for my friends and pal, and a new copy of Animal Crossing. (I was playing it at Nora's today, and I do believe she's gotten me obsessed again.)
4. Update my fanfictions regularly.
5. Never crack a book. Except for knitting books, of course. And those two I have to read for school.
6. Lose weight, get a tan, get highlights - generally start paying more attention to my bod.
7. Veg as much as possible.

I think that should keep me busy.

So my knitting has oficially become an obsession. Why wasn't it before, you ask? Because although I spent a good chunk of time knitting, I didn't usually have more than one or two projects going, and I didn't often carry my knitting around with me. I hardly ever KIPed. But in the last two or three weeks I've started...::counts::...five projects, and have never been without needles and yarn. To the point that tonight when I was coming home to Jersey my mom said "You don't have much to carry, do you? Your knitting, of course. Anything else?" She was right. In my backpack were the white and rainbow blanket, Morgan & Travis, two extra balls of yarn, and my knitting accesories. And my yearbook. Ha.

Well, anyway.

I designed a button for Wendy's 'Summer Of Lace', which quickly became a knitalong. So, I'll have to figure out something nice and lacy to knit. Hm. (Don't tell my rational mind this, but lace is scary. Terrifying. Not to mention something that I don't really wear.) I'm sure I'll find something doable in the Knitty archives.

I don't have the energy to get off my ass and find my camera, so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow. I did finish the purple and blue cat blanket, though. Yay.

Comicon!

2005-06-05T22:26:00.000-04:00

So, I didn't post pictures today. I'm sorry. It's all my brother-in-law's fault. And my nephew's, a little.

They brought me to a comic convention all day today.

It rocked my theoretical socks.

I got tons of loot, a bunch of it free - including like $30 worth of Magic cards, which was awesome. Oh my god, it was just so great. And I'm not even that much into comics. They had some cool manga booths though, and lots of good cards and electronic gaming stuff and OH MY GOD I am still totally hyper.

I did get some Hello Kitty stuff for my Pal, though, so it wasn't a totally selfish experience.

Will post pics ASAP. Of everything.

yeah.

oh! hi secret pal! I understood your comment, but I'm not really sure what to say - except, of course, 'Merci Beaucoup'! ^_^

Happy Days

2005-06-03T20:14:00.000-04:00

Woot! I'm having a very good day. Well, I think I may have failed my French final. But other than that.

As of 10:30 this morning, when I finished my last final, I am done with sophomore year. (There's two more days, but one is going to Coney Island and the other is just partying and returning textbooks.) Mom came up to the school so I could show her around the neighborhood and we could check out real estate - we're moving to Brooklyn next year, because I refuse to sleep on the couch for my entire high school career. It seems that she likes the place almost as much as I do. I showed her all the best places - Zam's, the Meeting House, everything on Court street, and of course Knit-A-Way. She let me pick out two skeins of yarn as congratulations for finishing exams, which was sweet of her. I got some chunky blue stuff to finish my first cat blanket and some sock yarn that reminds me of those 'confetti' cake mixes. It's cute. I can't wait to try knitting socks.

I was also there a couple days ago, picking up a bday present for Barbara, who I taught to purl and bind off last month, and found the best deal I have ever seen. Okay, I know I said I don't like acrylic...but this skein of hot pink Caron's 'simply soft' acrylic was lying on top of all the other pastel stuff, and it just called to me. I love it. I love it. It was only four bucks, it's the exact pink I love, and it's a NO DYE LOT YARN! So any other 'Rubine Red' I get will be exactly the same as this one!

Ah, I love my life.

I decided to make a couple of punky teddy bears with it. They're going to be called Morgan and Travis. And they are going to be the coolest, sexiest teddybears you ever did see. Morgan is already sitting in my knitting bag, ready to be stuffed.

So, I have acquired a whole bunch of UFOs lately. (which is fine, seeing as summer vacation is coming up.) I have two cat blankets, Morgan and Travis, the eternal Letter Have It bag, and later tonight probably another teddy bear (purple) and, if I'm feeling extra ADD, my first pair of socks.

It's a crazy, crazy world.

I also got my secret pal tonight! Hi secret pal! That was way cool. She sounded nearly as hyper as me in her email. I also got the person who I'll be secret pal too, who lives right near where I was born, which is cool, and shares a bunch of my interests, which is cooler. I plan to send her a postcard and pick up some Hello Kitty stuff for her tomorrow if I've got time. Also fix my 'stalked bloggers' HTML, which blogger is screwing with again, and post pictures of my UFOs. Should be interesting.

Okay, I think that's it. Au revoir! (see, I do know some French.)

SP5 stuff

2005-05-25T18:37:00.000-04:00

In preparation for my first Secret Pal (whoo!) I'm going to make my blog pretty. ha. well, I'm going to try, anyway. I'm also going to do the questionaire. whee, fun.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
A little. I don't like acrylic, and red heart is usually acrylic...so yeah. Although actually I've seen some pretty nice fuzzy acrylic blends, which aren't so bad. Lion Brand, too, does some cool stuff. But just plain old 100% worsted acrylic...blech.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
Spin, no. Crochet, a little - long chains, lol. I want to learn how to really do it, though, because of the freedom to make really big throws and stuff. I have this ripple afghan my great-grandmother made...I love it so much. It's pink. ^_^ So I want to be able to do that, too. ...wow, rambling.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
No, just the one food allergy, ginger. Which sucks, because I LOVE gingersnaps. :*(

4. How long have you been knitting?
Um...since middle school...I guess around seventh grade. So almost four years. I didn't do much last year, though.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes I do. ^_^

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Hm. I dunno...cooking stuff. I mean, fruits and things are nice, but spices rock. Vanilla expecially.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Do I ever.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
When I was little, I was really into sewing...lol, I was so ghetto - all my friends would be shopping for their American Girl dolls and I would be making my own clothes for mine. I still save cool fabric and stuff, just out of habit, but I haven't done much sewing in a while. Just knitting. I do some drawing, though...I'm trying to learn how to draw manga.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like pretty much all music. (Really.) My favorites, though, are any kind of rock (including punk, metal, etc.), pop, gospel, and some jazz. And a little classical, although only TSO, which is more rock classical. (no, not classic rock, rock classical. hee.) And yes, my computer can handle all that stuff - although it can't burn CDs itself, which makes me sad.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
Purple. All purples, except for lavender. (yuk.) I also really like hot pink and black. And hot pink with black, or purple with black. I don't like really drab colors...mustard yellow etc. And certain color combinations are bad, like green and orange. ::shudder:: other than that, it's all good.

11.What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my parents (no, I'm not a 30 year old who never moved out - I'm 16.) In New Jersey, there's also Wendy, who lives in our basement guest room and is the one who taught me to knit, and my beautiful doggy, Pepper. We're only in NJ on the weekends, though - usually we're in New York, wher I have no pets. I hope to get two gerbils next school year though. I wanted a cat, but since I'll be going to college in a few years, my parents threw that idea out.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
I'm not really sure yet. Get into a good college, get a degree in something I like - theater design, maybe. start making some money, get married, have kids, become a stay-at-home-mom. Or just a mom. Who knows.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Right now, Cascade 220, because it comes in nice colors and is perfect for felting, which I've been into lately. I also like anything Noro, because it's Japanese and very pretty - although Kureyon is a little too itchy for me. And Rowan. So pretty. Expensive, though, so I don't use it much.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Acrylic. And 100% wool tends to be too itchy.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Felting. And I've been doing cat blankets for Knit4Paws - I'm in the middle of a blue and purple seed stitch one. It's very pretty, if I do say so myself.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Accessories. Armwarmers, hats, purses, scarves, mittens...and I've made some baby stuff. Lots of blankets and teddy bears. I'm hoping to tackle my first sweater soon though.

17. What are you knitting right now?
A cat blanket, althouh I have some UFOs sitting around too. Most notably a hot pink and black felted purse.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
I have a really nice red one...everyone always asks me if I made it myself, but I think it would be waaay too complicated. So yeah, I think Ponchos in general are nice. People have been going a little overboard with them lately though. I saw this one in an ad in vogue knitting...it was made of this specialty yarn that made it look like it had ribbons hanging off it...::shakes head:: too much.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Straight in general, but circulars are okay too. Usually just ifthe project is really big, or you know, circular.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo. Those milk protein ones are really cool, too. But that's it. I'm pretty snobby about my needles. ...well, I can put up with plastic other than the milk things, but aluminum is icky.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
Nope. I will be someday, I hope.

22. How did you learn to knit?
My friend Wendy taught me. Her church was doing this thing where they got together and knit hats for kids in Trenton who didn't have them, so she brought me with her and taught me. I swear that first hat must've been waterproof, I knit it so tightly.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
About a month, maybe a month and a half. A few days ago I would've said like a year, but I finally finished up this little teddy that's been sitting around. It's very cute, if I do say so myself.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Hm...I'd have to say Ein, from Cowboy Bebop. Pretty much all anime animals are awesome though. Especially wolves, there are some kickass anime wolves out there. Like in Princess Mononoke. Oh! And the Totoros, of course! From My Neighbor Totoro. ...wow, I watch waaay too much anime.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas. Halloween's good too, but Christmas is just awesome.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Demo CDs/singles and cool shoelaces. (My current ones are about an inch wide, black with big rainbow stars.) And manga, of course, although since they're books I don't know if that counts. Oh, and Magic Cards. But I'm more into the game side than the collecting side.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None, I spend all my subscription money on gaming magazines. But I do keep an eye out for knitting magazines on the stand, and pick them up if I like the patterns. Vogue knitting is especially good.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Ecotopia Emerging, lol. Knitting books, though...Last Minute Knitted Gifts and Knitter's Stash: Favorite Patterns from America's Yarn Shops. And the one by the Yarn Harlot that everybody's been raving about, I suppose, although I'm a Quaker and therefore already 'meditate' quite enough.

Whew. done, finally. I missed the Simpsons doing that, I'll have you know.

Okay, off to spruce up my blog...

OMG, FOs!

2005-05-21T16:35:00.000-04:00

WARNING: Long entry.

Well, I finally found the cable for my camera. Actually my mom found it - one of my technologically challenged parents put it in the case for the OLD digital camera, which uses floppy disks and, therefore, doesn't need a cable. But I got blamed for it, as I am for all mishaps involving anything that was invented after 1950. ::throws hands in air:: This despite the fact that I am the only one who actually knows what I'm doing when I use this stuff.

Thw point of this is to say that I now have pictures. Yay! So, here goes...

This is that teddy bear I was talking about. Isn't it sweet? I'm going to give it Karl, instead of making another one, because when I tried making one out of the Rowan I have the guage was off and it just looked weird. And his surgery is in three days, so I don't have a whole lot of time to tinker with needle size and such. Oh, and I got the pattern here, although I just made the scarf up as I went along, since I didn't have the pattern with me at that point.

And here's the first thing I've ever felted! It was so cool to take it out of the washer and have it actually turn out the way it was supposed to. (Felting has always freaked me out.) The handles are a little off, but I figure it's not bad for a first shot. I'm going to wash it one more time (I've done two so far, and I think it's a bit big) and sew some buttons on where the handles meet the bag, and then I'll be done! It's going to be a present for Wendy, who taught me to knit. For Christmas or when she moves out, whichever comes first.

The last FO(s) I have to post about are the armwarmers I made. They were my first project after a really long time of not knitting much, so I'm a bit attached to them. As you can kind of tell from the picture, the cabling on the left one is more on the side of the arm than the top, since I don't think I flipped the pattern right. But other than that, they come out pretty well. Unfortuneatly (sp?) they're waaaay to itchy for me. So I gave them to mom, for mother's day, since she was bugging me to make her a pair anyway. I think I'll make some for myself in a softer yarn at some point. When I don't have any other projects to do. Ha, ha.

My Letter Have It bag is coming along much more slowly than I had hoped, mostly because of knitter's ADD. I did purchase a zipper for it at the same time I got buttons for the red purse, though, so maybe that will get me more motivated.

Remember when I was talking about Nora and the 'sad boy in snow' armwarmers? Well, she was getting very annoying about them, so I strangled her with a circular needle and buried her under the Brooklyn Bridge.

I'm thinking about making a blanket for Knit 4 Paws this summer. I wanted to do a Big Bad Baby Blanket from SnB, which I've done once before, but I think it comes out to 36" and they want 24". Hmm...I think I'd be able to figure that out...I'm really bad at math, though, even in knittin.g x_x

I'm just kidding about Nora, by the way. Really, she and our friend Britanny took me to see a yarn store by our school called Knit-A-Way of Brooklyn. Corny name, good store. Possibly better than Pins & Needles. Possibly. Nora got some nice yarn and icky metal needles, I reminded her how to knit, and she started to make her own armwarmers, which are looking very pretty. Maybe I'll post a pic of her with them, if she'll let me.

All done. Phew.

2005-05-08T10:30:00.000-04:00

So, I dunno what happened to my camera's wire, so I can't upload pictures. This makes me very sad, because I have been in super-duper-homemaker mode and knitting up a storm lately. (Also baking, cleaning, doing yard workmy friends think I'm a freak. They're probably right. I'm the only girl I know who doesn't think being a soccer mom would be so bad.) I finished the center panel for the 'letter have it' bag (finally) and will probably assemble it tomorrow, if I can do all the I-cord stuff. I'm also just about done with the felted purse from Knit It. I'm working on the handles now; my first I-cord, whoo! And I stuffed and embroidered a little teddy bear that's been sitting at the bottom of my project bin for months. I even made a little scarf for it. It's so cute! (I'm definitely going to post a pic once I can find that wire.) My mom's 'going out with a bag' has been wait listed, since I gave her my newly-finished armwarmers for Mother's Day. They were a bit too itchy for me, and while I was trying them on she was on the other side of the room and I could see her putting on the exact same Gwen-you-know-I-love-you-please-knit-this-for-me face that my friends do. (My friend Nora is continually bugging me to make her a pair of 'sad boy in snow' armwarmers. Story behind this: anime/manga always has pictures of hot girls, because most readers are guys. Particular favorites of anime nerds are shirts with large pictures of curvy anime girls in sexy nurse outfits on the back and anything with sad girls in snow. So I decided I was going to make a sad BOY in snow answer to this blanket. Maybe a bit too ambitious, yes? But armwarmers I can do, so...yeah. Wow, rambling.)

Anyway I think my first priority is to make a teddy about twice the size of the one I just finished out of some nice fuzzy white Rowan I have. For Karl, the only other person on the East Coast with Crouzon Syndrome. He's having major surgery sometime this month (not exactly sure when, although you can bet your ass I'll be there) and I want him to have something fuzzy to cuddle up with. Admittedly, his mom is an extremely accomplished knitter and could probably make him a much nicer bear than I could, but I still want him to have something from me. He'sthree, I guess. About old enough to start remembering me and knowing that we have something in common. I can't wait to see him, its been nearly a year. He's uber-cute, a real flirt. I'm picturing a smiling white bear with a little blue vest for him. Or maybe green. White and blue seems a bit too Hanukah. Yeah, green. Or red? Oooh, Pins & Needles has that beautiful worsted Lobster Pot Yarn in stock...Yarn store, here I come! Muahahaha!

I recently found - get this - a scholarship for knitters. Hopefully no one who reads this is going to be entering college anytime soon, and won't apply for it, cause I want to win it. Still, I'll post it, because I just think it's the coolest thing ever and everybody should know about it. Of course, there's practically no one who reads this blog, but hey, whatever.

National Make It Yourself with Wool CompetitionThe National Make It Yourself with Wool (NMIYWW) competition awards $2,000 and $1,000 scholarships for knitting wool garments. Winners are selected based on the appropriateness to the contestant's lifestyle, coordination of fabric/yarn with garment style and design, contestant's presentation, and creativity. For more information send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: National Make It Yourself with Wool Competition Box 175 Lavina, MT 59046

The only thing is that I think it's for kids who really need the aid. Which is totally
fair, of course, but my parents would probably be able to pay for my entire college education if they really needed to. Actually, I know they'd be able to, but I'd still like to rack up a couple little scholarships, maybe pay for some of it myself - God knows I owe them enough already. Either way, time to start designing!

Okay, I think that's it. Wow, long entry.

Oh! Before I go - you know that blanket pic I posted? It's in an online store for the coolest webcomic (and second coolest manga) ever, Megatokyo. Go read it. Now!

Shopping!

2005-04-24T18:13:00.000-04:00

My grades came in a while back. They’re the best I’ve ever gotten – my lowest was a B-, and at this time last year I was failing Bio – so mom gave me $60 to spend at the yarn store. :D I’ve got to keep my grades up. Free yarn, woohoo!

I got 2 skeins of red Cascade 220 (quickly becoming my favorite yarn) for a purse I’m making for my friend Wendy, some fuzzy black stuff for ‘Going Out with a Bag’, which I’m making my Mom for mother’s day, a ball of white Rowan for baby booties (my second cousin is getting christened) and needles and stuff for the projects too. It was so fun! And then I went up to Morning Glory and picked up this ultra-cute pencil case to keep my crochet hook, tapestry needles, etc. in. I love it so much. Picture of Pencil Case. Morning Glory is awesome, it’s like a Japanese gift store. Anything Hello Kitty (pencils, bags, toasters), Godzilla models, stuffed animals and keychains, and lots of kitsch, like lipgloss in containers that look like those truffles wrapped in gold foil. Of course, it’s obscenely expensive for NJ, but I’d never be able to find stuff like this at these prices back in Manhatten, so…::shrug::

However, I have officially decided that I need to finish all my projects before I start any new ones. Currently I have going; ‘Letter Have It’ bag (SnBN), ‘Hurry Up Spring’ armwarmers (SnBN), ‘Felted Purse’ (Knit It!), a teddy bear (here), and ‘One Hour Baby Booties’(SnBN). This really isn’t too bad, considering the fact that I have all my projects until Christmas planned out (about 50 of them) but I really don’t have that much to do on any of them, and it’s just ridiculous. Pics of works in progress: armwarmers, felted purse.

Of course, I have an excuse for the ‘Letter Have It’ bag. I’d lost my second skein of pink yarn. But I found it (at the bottom of my yarn bin, of course) so that’s going better now. I’m about ¾ of the way done with the center panel.

Goals for this weekend (today, really):
-finish armwarmers - I really just have to do a thumb. Picture
-finish teddybear
-finish center panel of letter have it
-finish baby booties

I think that’s reasonable. I can work on/finish the felted purses and the bag for my mom during the week (you really make a lot of progress, knitting on the subway) and then maybe pick up supplies for my next projects (a multitude of scarves and handwarmers, knit 8 months before Xmas so I know they’ll be done on time) next weekend. Sounds like a plan.::thinking on blog::

In other news…Secret Pal 5 is starting soon, and I’m uberexcited! I’ve never participated before, but I’m going to make sure to sign up as soon as it’s open.

Piccies

2005-04-16T14:53:00.000-04:00

OK, so I don't have pictures of the armwarmers - they're in New York, I'm in New Jersey. But here's the beggining of my Letter Have it Bag, in't it pretty? Blogger is acting up and my HTML isn't working, so I'll just have to post hyperlinks for now.

Front Panel (look, my first intarsia!)

My tech crew leader Catherine said that I actually did both fair isle and intarsia on here, since I didn't carry the yarn over each time - only when there was just a bit of black between two pink places. That's what happens when you teach yourself, I guess. The back is all yarn ends, which I suppose is evidence that she's right. Fine by me, Fair Isle always seemed kind of freaky to me, so I'm glad it's easy enough that I did it by accident... Other Side of Front Panel

Back Panel - still on the needles, but nearly done.

Many thanks to Teresa over at liquidgirl, who told me where to find the pattern corrections for the center panel. I'm very glad I haven't started that bit yet.

Of Armwarmers and Bags

2005-04-14T09:10:00.000-04:00

So I finished my second armwarmer, but it will only fit me if I have my thumb surgically removed and sewn onto my palm. So I'm going to ribbit it and try again - I think I didn't flip the pattern right.

I also started work on the 'Letter Have It' bag from Stich 'n Bitch Nation. I'm doing the pink and black G one from the picture...it's so perfect for me. ^_^ It's my first intarsia project, but it actually isn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

I'm going to post pictures tomorrow. Really.

Woot!

2005-04-08T08:24:00.000-04:00

I now officially have a knitting blog! This makes me happy.

So...a little about me, I guess. I learned to knit about two years ago, but it was neglected for freshman year while I went through a period of typical high school angst. (After I made a hat that was knit so tightly it was nearly waterproof, that is.) Now I'm almost done with sophomore year and I've picked it up again, because it's very therapeutic and will, hopefully, keep me from having a nervous breakdown. That's important to me right now.

My current project is (are?) the Hurry Up Spring armwarmers from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. I'm very excited about them. ^_^ Since it's my first cabling project, there're tons of mistakes, but I will post a picture ASAP.