7.20.2010
ugh
According to Ravelry, I have 25 projects "in progress" - and I know I have a couple of projects that are off the books (but on the needles, lol). Goal for the week: get 2 things off the needles. There's a 2-project penalty for anything I start before Saturday night.
6.23.2010
I made another Anthropologie Inspired Capelet. It's really cute! I just picked up a button for it yesterday at Knit, but here it is buttonless:
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It's my favorite color combination: Green and Purple.
The yarn is some Colinette Graffiti I got on sale from Knit. All the yarn was about $35, which isn't bad for a sweater. And OMG it is super cute with a tank top and jeans.
Now that I'm knitting sweaters, I decided to finally knit the Lotus Blossom Tank I'd been wanting to make since last summer. I gathered my supplies and headed to Knit yesterday on my 1/2 day off work to cast on, which worked out very well. I didn't swatch because I never do - swatching hasn't been very accurate for me in the past so why bother? Anyways, Ellen helped me determine the size I'd need (the 39" bust size), whereas I'd have assumed the size smaller & been WRONG. Lol. I cast on and started knitting, and at about row 5 I realized I could much-too-easily slip the sweater-in-progress over my head, and then go swimming in it. Ellen said it was no good. So I packed up my sweater & went to run errands. I'll try again later.
Tuesdays at Knit are really jumping, I found out. Both tables were completely full of knitters. At my table, 2 women were working on the same scarf from crocheting in color and 2 were knitting the same sweater from a Sublime booklet. One other person was working on the Clapotis scarf in Koigu that a bunch of other Knit Patrons had already made. It seemed like a lot of people were working on the same projects and helping each other out, which was really nice to see.
Anyways, after I left Knit I met up with my friend T and taught her how to knit. Then we went to an Israeli Dance class at our shul, which was SO FUN. I am a terrible dancer in the real world, but Israeli Dancing I am good at :) It was the last class before a break until after Tisha B'av for the 3 weeks, so they were going over all the dances they'd already learned and T & I were trying to follow along. Sadly, T and I were already better than 1 person in the class, despite not knowing the dances & just following along. It was really fun, although some of the ones with a lot of turns I sat out & watched, they're a little hard to follow blind.
T might come to my knitting group tomorrow for followup knitting instruction. I think I hooked her with the Pi Shawl - she's a math nut.
This morning I was thinking: I should pick up some cheap yarn to practice the Lotus Blossom Tank pattern on, and then knit the real thing on the good stuff. I might hit Michaels on the way to softball and use my 20% off coupon...
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It's my favorite color combination: Green and Purple.
The yarn is some Colinette Graffiti I got on sale from Knit. All the yarn was about $35, which isn't bad for a sweater. And OMG it is super cute with a tank top and jeans.
Now that I'm knitting sweaters, I decided to finally knit the Lotus Blossom Tank I'd been wanting to make since last summer. I gathered my supplies and headed to Knit yesterday on my 1/2 day off work to cast on, which worked out very well. I didn't swatch because I never do - swatching hasn't been very accurate for me in the past so why bother? Anyways, Ellen helped me determine the size I'd need (the 39" bust size), whereas I'd have assumed the size smaller & been WRONG. Lol. I cast on and started knitting, and at about row 5 I realized I could much-too-easily slip the sweater-in-progress over my head, and then go swimming in it. Ellen said it was no good. So I packed up my sweater & went to run errands. I'll try again later.
Tuesdays at Knit are really jumping, I found out. Both tables were completely full of knitters. At my table, 2 women were working on the same scarf from crocheting in color and 2 were knitting the same sweater from a Sublime booklet. One other person was working on the Clapotis scarf in Koigu that a bunch of other Knit Patrons had already made. It seemed like a lot of people were working on the same projects and helping each other out, which was really nice to see.
Anyways, after I left Knit I met up with my friend T and taught her how to knit. Then we went to an Israeli Dance class at our shul, which was SO FUN. I am a terrible dancer in the real world, but Israeli Dancing I am good at :) It was the last class before a break until after Tisha B'av for the 3 weeks, so they were going over all the dances they'd already learned and T & I were trying to follow along. Sadly, T and I were already better than 1 person in the class, despite not knowing the dances & just following along. It was really fun, although some of the ones with a lot of turns I sat out & watched, they're a little hard to follow blind.
T might come to my knitting group tomorrow for followup knitting instruction. I think I hooked her with the Pi Shawl - she's a math nut.
This morning I was thinking: I should pick up some cheap yarn to practice the Lotus Blossom Tank pattern on, and then knit the real thing on the good stuff. I might hit Michaels on the way to softball and use my 20% off coupon...
6.12.2010
sweater number three
Sweater number three is done!
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Pattern: Anthropology Inspired Capelet
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Bulky in Fragrant
I bought this yarn from the MadelineTosh Etsy shop. It's so soft and the colorway is gorgeous. However, I had a major problem with it. When I used up the first skein I wound another & went to attach it - and the yarn seemed thinner than the yarn I'd been knitting with. Sort of like a size 9 needle and size 8 needle are different sizes. Or even a 9 and a 7. It was very noticable. I pulled out the 3rd skein and that seemed to be the same thickness as skein #1 so I wound it up and used that one instead. Dye lot issues like my Saroyan shawl are one thing, but I've never heard of someone buying skeins of yarn from the same dye lot and getting such obvious differences in thickness. I need to email them....
Anyways, yarn weirdness aside this was a very quick knit and I love the finished results :)
I cast on the 49 stitches the pattern called for. I wasn't sure how to tell when to finish the Raglan Increases section, so I took some scrap yarn and measured around my arm. When I stopped increasing I had 28 stitches for each arm, but I think I should have gone 1 more row. Oh well.
After I split off the sleeves, I got through 2 rows before finishing my first skein. After I attached the second skein and knitted a row or two I realized that I should have knitted the sleeves before attaching the yarn to the body, so that I’d know exactly how much yarn I had to spare for the body of the sweater. Instead of ripping and un-attaching the yarn, I started knitting the sleeves using the other end of the yarn cake, and then went back and did the rest of the body.
On the sleeves I added 4 rows of stockinette before the 5 rows of ribbing that the pattern called for. For the body of the sweater, I knitted 15 rows of stockinette before switching to the 5 rows of ribbing. I have a tiny bit of yarn leftover, enough for at least 1 row but I didn't want to make the sweater too long.
I have 2 ends to weave in (oh Sarah, where are you?) and then I need a button or clasp or something to close the sweater with. Or not, I need to ask my Monday Panera group if I can wear the sweater open. Hey, everyone needs a fashion committee ;)
.jpg)
Pattern: Anthropology Inspired Capelet
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Bulky in Fragrant
I bought this yarn from the MadelineTosh Etsy shop. It's so soft and the colorway is gorgeous. However, I had a major problem with it. When I used up the first skein I wound another & went to attach it - and the yarn seemed thinner than the yarn I'd been knitting with. Sort of like a size 9 needle and size 8 needle are different sizes. Or even a 9 and a 7. It was very noticable. I pulled out the 3rd skein and that seemed to be the same thickness as skein #1 so I wound it up and used that one instead. Dye lot issues like my Saroyan shawl are one thing, but I've never heard of someone buying skeins of yarn from the same dye lot and getting such obvious differences in thickness. I need to email them....
Anyways, yarn weirdness aside this was a very quick knit and I love the finished results :)
I cast on the 49 stitches the pattern called for. I wasn't sure how to tell when to finish the Raglan Increases section, so I took some scrap yarn and measured around my arm. When I stopped increasing I had 28 stitches for each arm, but I think I should have gone 1 more row. Oh well.
After I split off the sleeves, I got through 2 rows before finishing my first skein. After I attached the second skein and knitted a row or two I realized that I should have knitted the sleeves before attaching the yarn to the body, so that I’d know exactly how much yarn I had to spare for the body of the sweater. Instead of ripping and un-attaching the yarn, I started knitting the sleeves using the other end of the yarn cake, and then went back and did the rest of the body.
On the sleeves I added 4 rows of stockinette before the 5 rows of ribbing that the pattern called for. For the body of the sweater, I knitted 15 rows of stockinette before switching to the 5 rows of ribbing. I have a tiny bit of yarn leftover, enough for at least 1 row but I didn't want to make the sweater too long.
I have 2 ends to weave in (oh Sarah, where are you?) and then I need a button or clasp or something to close the sweater with. Or not, I need to ask my Monday Panera group if I can wear the sweater open. Hey, everyone needs a fashion committee ;)
6.09.2010
the story of my hat
About a week ago I was invited to a Bridal Shower for L. L is marrying A, the son of my parents' very, very good friends whom they've known since college.
A was Bar Mitzvah-ed but his family isn't very religious, and L isn't Jewish at all, so this will be my second non-Ortho bridal shower ever. That's significant not because I'm snobby about hanging out with gentiles or non-Ortho Jews, but in my experience, Ortho people in NY have a very specific Way of Doing Things which is sometimes loosely based on what the rest of the world is doing, but usually is quite different. I'm familiar with only the Ortho WoDT because that's what I've experienced to date, so I'm going to have to go over the etiquette with my coworkers before this shower. And the wedding.
Typical Bridal Shower I've been to: The invitation (or evite) invites everyone to Bridesmaid X's house at whatever time of day. We're asked to bring a recipe on a card. Sometimes we're asked to bring a photograph of ourselves with the bride or something. When I call to RSVP I offer to bring something, and usually end up bringing my favorite chocolate cake. Alcohol is unfortunately optional, but it's very low key and fun.
L's Bridal Shower invite: Very pretty printed invitations invite everyone to some nice-sounding place in Manhattan. The party begins at 2:30 and we are told to be on time (!) because L's arriving at 3. It's a surprise - my friends usually can't pull off a surprise. There are printed index cards for our recipes, and we are told to wear our favorite hats. (In July!)
Mom can't go because she'll be out of town that day, so I'm flying solo. I'll know L, A's mom and sister, and I may or may not recognize some of A's aunts and cousins from the Bar Mitzvah 13 years ago - but it's highly unlikely that they will remember me.
So of course I focus on the hats :) My favorite hat is probably the Divine Hats I've made 30 of, but that's hardly appropriate for a fancy affair in July. So I'm knitting Windansea, a free pattern from Berroco that uses 2 skeins of their Seduce yarn. The project calls for 50" of 18 gauge Milinery Wire, so yesterday I scouted the garment district and found some (6 yards for $6,which I think is a good deal). As of Monday I was up to the crown shaping, but the dpns I have are too grabby for the yarn, which is also super-grabby, so I'll have to hit Knit on my way to Softball tonight to get some Brittanys or Clovers.
*****
Last night Mom & I went to see Promises, Promises with Sean Hayes and Kristen Chenowith.
I like Neil Simon's Rumors a lot, and I also really liked this play. Sean Hayes is such a good actor!! I've seen Will & Grace but wasn't a fanatic or anything. I'm now a Sean Hayes fan :) There was a lot of witty and funny dialogue and he did such a great job with it.
Kristen Chenowith was pretty much as good as I expected her to be, and I had high expectations after seeing Wicked (without her :( ), Pushing Daisies, and Glee. She's so freaking talented! I hope she does more Broadway once she finishes this show.
As musicals go, this wasn't my favorite music-wise. All the actors did a terrific job singing, however I just didn't like many of the songs they were singing. Not my taste I guess. I didn't realize that Say a Little Prayer and A House is Not a Home were from Promises Promises. Both were on Glee this year, and I liked them in the show. There's a song sung by the 4 executives, and it was very well done - very witty and funny and they performed it very well too. My favorite song of the night though was I'll Never Fall in Love Again (and the reprise). The two main characters sing it as a duet, and they just did a GREAT job. It was beautiful.
I need to go see more Neil Simon plays, and I'd like to see more of K Chenowith & Sean Hayes's future projects.
A was Bar Mitzvah-ed but his family isn't very religious, and L isn't Jewish at all, so this will be my second non-Ortho bridal shower ever. That's significant not because I'm snobby about hanging out with gentiles or non-Ortho Jews, but in my experience, Ortho people in NY have a very specific Way of Doing Things which is sometimes loosely based on what the rest of the world is doing, but usually is quite different. I'm familiar with only the Ortho WoDT because that's what I've experienced to date, so I'm going to have to go over the etiquette with my coworkers before this shower. And the wedding.
Typical Bridal Shower I've been to: The invitation (or evite) invites everyone to Bridesmaid X's house at whatever time of day. We're asked to bring a recipe on a card. Sometimes we're asked to bring a photograph of ourselves with the bride or something. When I call to RSVP I offer to bring something, and usually end up bringing my favorite chocolate cake. Alcohol is unfortunately optional, but it's very low key and fun.
L's Bridal Shower invite: Very pretty printed invitations invite everyone to some nice-sounding place in Manhattan. The party begins at 2:30 and we are told to be on time (!) because L's arriving at 3. It's a surprise - my friends usually can't pull off a surprise. There are printed index cards for our recipes, and we are told to wear our favorite hats. (In July!)
Mom can't go because she'll be out of town that day, so I'm flying solo. I'll know L, A's mom and sister, and I may or may not recognize some of A's aunts and cousins from the Bar Mitzvah 13 years ago - but it's highly unlikely that they will remember me.
So of course I focus on the hats :) My favorite hat is probably the Divine Hats I've made 30 of, but that's hardly appropriate for a fancy affair in July. So I'm knitting Windansea, a free pattern from Berroco that uses 2 skeins of their Seduce yarn. The project calls for 50" of 18 gauge Milinery Wire, so yesterday I scouted the garment district and found some (6 yards for $6,which I think is a good deal). As of Monday I was up to the crown shaping, but the dpns I have are too grabby for the yarn, which is also super-grabby, so I'll have to hit Knit on my way to Softball tonight to get some Brittanys or Clovers.
*****
Last night Mom & I went to see Promises, Promises with Sean Hayes and Kristen Chenowith.
I like Neil Simon's Rumors a lot, and I also really liked this play. Sean Hayes is such a good actor!! I've seen Will & Grace but wasn't a fanatic or anything. I'm now a Sean Hayes fan :) There was a lot of witty and funny dialogue and he did such a great job with it.
Kristen Chenowith was pretty much as good as I expected her to be, and I had high expectations after seeing Wicked (without her :( ), Pushing Daisies, and Glee. She's so freaking talented! I hope she does more Broadway once she finishes this show.
As musicals go, this wasn't my favorite music-wise. All the actors did a terrific job singing, however I just didn't like many of the songs they were singing. Not my taste I guess. I didn't realize that Say a Little Prayer and A House is Not a Home were from Promises Promises. Both were on Glee this year, and I liked them in the show. There's a song sung by the 4 executives, and it was very well done - very witty and funny and they performed it very well too. My favorite song of the night though was I'll Never Fall in Love Again (and the reprise). The two main characters sing it as a duet, and they just did a GREAT job. It was beautiful.
I need to go see more Neil Simon plays, and I'd like to see more of K Chenowith & Sean Hayes's future projects.
6.06.2010
the continuing saga...
The continuing saga called "Where the hell is my mail???"
I was expecting my sock club shipment to arrive this weekend, so I checked my mail twice on Friday, once yesterday, and even again this morning in case I missed the mailman yesterday. The only time I left my apartment building since about 8pm Thursday was lunchtime Friday to run some errands (it is WAY too hot out for me).
This morning I saw my neighbor leaving the elevator as I was heading upstairs from the laundry room, and she tells me to ring her apartment because they have some mail for me. Her husband tells me that the package has been sitting out since Friday evening so Saturday morning they took it in for me, because he doesn't like leaving mail out overnight. And that this morning he was going to ring my doorbell.
I've been home the whole time!!! And I would've seen a package Friday because I went downstairs after 5 to double-check if the mail came late.
I told him I was home the whole time but didn't necessarily leave, and thanked him for taking it in. Um, maybe next time he could ring my doorbell when he sees the package out there? Sigh.
To recap, the possible places for me to find my mail now include:
My mailbox
A slip to go to the postoffice
The Super
The Porter (assistant Super)
My neighbor
I was expecting my sock club shipment to arrive this weekend, so I checked my mail twice on Friday, once yesterday, and even again this morning in case I missed the mailman yesterday. The only time I left my apartment building since about 8pm Thursday was lunchtime Friday to run some errands (it is WAY too hot out for me).
This morning I saw my neighbor leaving the elevator as I was heading upstairs from the laundry room, and she tells me to ring her apartment because they have some mail for me. Her husband tells me that the package has been sitting out since Friday evening so Saturday morning they took it in for me, because he doesn't like leaving mail out overnight. And that this morning he was going to ring my doorbell.
I've been home the whole time!!! And I would've seen a package Friday because I went downstairs after 5 to double-check if the mail came late.
I told him I was home the whole time but didn't necessarily leave, and thanked him for taking it in. Um, maybe next time he could ring my doorbell when he sees the package out there? Sigh.
To recap, the possible places for me to find my mail now include:
My mailbox
A slip to go to the postoffice
The Super
The Porter (assistant Super)
My neighbor
6.03.2010
Sarah came to visit me again, and this time she brought her husband too :)
They arrived in NY last Friday afternoon. I cooked dinner (because how often does one go to a Shabbat meal in Arkansas) and invited 2 couples from the neighborhood and a friend from GN. I figured this way, Sarah & Chris wouldn't be the only "new" people since the GN friend was new to the RP friends. Also, T is from Nebraska originally, so S&C weren't the only non-NY-ers.
One of the dinner guests also has a motorcycle, and he was in an accident on Friday! He has a broken something but is otherwise okay.
Saturday S&C went to Manhattan while I cleaned the kitchen and mostly hung out on the couch. :D
Sunday I introduced S&C to the NYC bus system. Gotta love the unlimited ride metrocards! We took a bus to the express subway stop since the local was closed in the direction we needed. We got out of the subway @ 63rd and since it was on the way we stopped in to String (65th @ Madison) for literally 5 minutes. We could've taken the 6 but the M3 up Madison Ave was much more scenic, and I pointed out my high school as we passed by.
The Met was SO fun. We started in the Egyptian wing. It's incredible to look at stuff that's 3000+ years old. I'm amazed that they even know it's that old! We tried the 2pm 'Highlights of the Museum' tour but it wasn't our taste, so we ditched that. I was really into finding the Van Goghs and S&C indulged me :) Along the way we found a special exhibit on Picasso, which was so inspiring to see. We found the 19th century impressionists eventually and I decided that it's my favorite kind of painting. I LOVE the happy colors. I also decided Van Gogh's my favorite artist. I got a couple of posters of his art for my apartment, and since they had a buy 2 get 1 free deal on the posters, S&C picked a Monet poster.
Lunch was good, we went back to Ozu on the UWS. Mostly because it was near Cafe Lalo. S&C are obsessed with You've Got Mail, and S loved the cafe. Then we walked around some part of Riverside Park that was in YGM. We hit a Starbucks & then caught the subway home to meet T. Her first time at my apartment! I think it got a good review, it was hard to tell :) After some super quick showers - I love that Sarah's as OCD as I am! - we went to a diner a couple of blocks away for dinner.
Monday - on Sunday C invited us out to Fire Island, and S&C had expressed interest in going to the beach, so that's where we went Monday. I had fun, and I think S&C did too. My friend from GN that was at dinner Friday went with us also.
I started a toe-up sock with some KP Felici yarn.
Tuesday I went back to work & S&C went back to Manhattan. At night we went to see the Yankees play the Orioles. Of course my Yankees won :)
Wednesday S&C had their concert at night, so I played softball. Thursday morning I dropped them off at JFK to fly to Boston. All I can say is that Jen'd better treat 'em right up in Boston! lol
They arrived in NY last Friday afternoon. I cooked dinner (because how often does one go to a Shabbat meal in Arkansas) and invited 2 couples from the neighborhood and a friend from GN. I figured this way, Sarah & Chris wouldn't be the only "new" people since the GN friend was new to the RP friends. Also, T is from Nebraska originally, so S&C weren't the only non-NY-ers.
One of the dinner guests also has a motorcycle, and he was in an accident on Friday! He has a broken something but is otherwise okay.
Saturday S&C went to Manhattan while I cleaned the kitchen and mostly hung out on the couch. :D
Sunday I introduced S&C to the NYC bus system. Gotta love the unlimited ride metrocards! We took a bus to the express subway stop since the local was closed in the direction we needed. We got out of the subway @ 63rd and since it was on the way we stopped in to String (65th @ Madison) for literally 5 minutes. We could've taken the 6 but the M3 up Madison Ave was much more scenic, and I pointed out my high school as we passed by.
The Met was SO fun. We started in the Egyptian wing. It's incredible to look at stuff that's 3000+ years old. I'm amazed that they even know it's that old! We tried the 2pm 'Highlights of the Museum' tour but it wasn't our taste, so we ditched that. I was really into finding the Van Goghs and S&C indulged me :) Along the way we found a special exhibit on Picasso, which was so inspiring to see. We found the 19th century impressionists eventually and I decided that it's my favorite kind of painting. I LOVE the happy colors. I also decided Van Gogh's my favorite artist. I got a couple of posters of his art for my apartment, and since they had a buy 2 get 1 free deal on the posters, S&C picked a Monet poster.
Lunch was good, we went back to Ozu on the UWS. Mostly because it was near Cafe Lalo. S&C are obsessed with You've Got Mail, and S loved the cafe. Then we walked around some part of Riverside Park that was in YGM. We hit a Starbucks & then caught the subway home to meet T. Her first time at my apartment! I think it got a good review, it was hard to tell :) After some super quick showers - I love that Sarah's as OCD as I am! - we went to a diner a couple of blocks away for dinner.
Monday - on Sunday C invited us out to Fire Island, and S&C had expressed interest in going to the beach, so that's where we went Monday. I had fun, and I think S&C did too. My friend from GN that was at dinner Friday went with us also.
I started a toe-up sock with some KP Felici yarn.
Tuesday I went back to work & S&C went back to Manhattan. At night we went to see the Yankees play the Orioles. Of course my Yankees won :)
Wednesday S&C had their concert at night, so I played softball. Thursday morning I dropped them off at JFK to fly to Boston. All I can say is that Jen'd better treat 'em right up in Boston! lol
5.18.2010
the sweater i knit in a day
It must have been last summer that I found the yarn at a Smiley's sale. Who could resist buying a whole bag of Rowan Biggy Print for $6 - a yarn that normally goes for over $10 a skein in stores? I'd used some in college to make hats, and loved the colors, but it was too expensive to become a favorite yarn. Smiley's only had a solid-colored bright pink, not my favorite, but I bought two bags with the vague notion of making a sweater.
An extensive Ravelry search for patterns for patterns was the next step. I wasn't interested in a solidly stockinette sweater. First I searched patterns with Rowan Biggy Print (or their similar yarn Big Wool) as the recommended yarn, but nothing caught my eye. I poured over page after page of projects knit with both yarns, but nothing clicked for me. Then I searched for yarns that seemed to be the same gauge and searched patterns with that as their recommended yarns, and that is how I found Wrenna.
When Sarah came to visit me last October I cast on for Wrenna, thinking that she could help if I got stuck on my first sweater project. A couple of days and about 14 rows into the sweater I lost a couple of stitches. I needed something more mindless to knit while hanging out with Sarah, and something more portable than 400g of superbulky yarn for our excursion to Boston, so I set the project aside & started some socks.
Fast forward to May: Sarah is coming back for another visit in less than 2 weeks (!!!), and I'd promised her the leftovers from the 2 bags of yarn once I'd finished the sweater. My DVR was at 90-something% full because I've been away on the weekends, and too busy during the week to watch much TV. I'd blocked out Sunday for a road trip to Webs' tent sale, but it just made more sense to stay home & knit down my stash (and my DVR) rather than aquire more.
Sunday morning I cast on the sweater, and 13 hours later I cast off the second sleeve :) I either used a whole bag of yarn or I lost a skein or two, I can't tell yet because I weave in ends as I go. There's a photo on my project page but it's got a lot of stuff in the background so I'm not re-posting it here.
When Sarah came to visit me last October I cast on for Wrenna, thinking that she could help if I got stuck on my first sweater project. A couple of days and about 14 rows into the sweater I lost a couple of stitches. I needed something more mindless to knit while hanging out with Sarah, and something more portable than 400g of superbulky yarn for our excursion to Boston, so I set the project aside & started some socks.
Fast forward to May: Sarah is coming back for another visit in less than 2 weeks (!!!), and I'd promised her the leftovers from the 2 bags of yarn once I'd finished the sweater. My DVR was at 90-something% full because I've been away on the weekends, and too busy during the week to watch much TV. I'd blocked out Sunday for a road trip to Webs' tent sale, but it just made more sense to stay home & knit down my stash (and my DVR) rather than aquire more.
Sunday morning I cast on the sweater, and 13 hours later I cast off the second sleeve :) I either used a whole bag of yarn or I lost a skein or two, I can't tell yet because I weave in ends as I go. There's a photo on my project page but it's got a lot of stuff in the background so I'm not re-posting it here.
5.11.2010
softball last night was interesting
Softball last night was interesting. I'll try to tell it how it happened.
First game I was Catcher, and the very first inning one of the first guys up hits the buntiest ball ever - it kinda dropped straight down, and just barely rolled fair. It took me a sec to realize the ball wasn't going anywhere, and by the time I set to throw to first he made it safe. On the other hand, I didn't throw a wild pitch that could've cost us a second base, but I was bummed.
A couple of innings later, someone else hit a bunt, and I threw the girl out at first! It was my first time ever getting an out in softball! And it was the third out so I ended the inning :D
Then there was a third bunty shot, which I fielded it okay but the guy got to first safely anyways. Considering I've never fielded one such ball while playing Catcher in this league, this was a lot of action for one game.
As for hitting, I struck out once swinging, but the pitching from the other team was so poor I don't think I swung the bat the whole rest of the game. The whole game was walk after walk after walk for me. I made it home once or twice too :) We got 11 runs one inning, and won the game 22-15! (This is our second win of the season, whereas last season we only had 1 win total, so everyone was pretty happy about it.)
Second game was a whole 'nother story. I was DH (designated hitter), which was fine with me 'cuz my arm gets tired of throwing after about a game, and the next day my legs are sore if I crouch too much. And I would rather not play other positions, because there's more chances I will screw up a chance to get someone out.
Anyways, we're up and get 1 run. The other team goes up and gets six. Then we're up again, and get one run. They might have gotten 2 more runs in the second inning. Third inning was the worst. One of our guys (one of the team captains) hit a nice shot to left field, which should have been a double. He made it to third and kept going... The other team's catcher sucked, I mean really. She rolled the balls back to the pitcher! So it's not terrible strategy to try for home plate, because there was no way she was making an out. It worked for two other guys last night. This time though, the pitcher had plenty of time to cover home, and he got our guy out. The bad part was, when our player slid into home, he got up holding his shoulder, in a lot of pain. Nobody on our team was medically trained, but after a couple minutes of walking it off you could see that the injured shoulder was hunched much lower than the other shoulder...
He was tough though, and sent the male DH in to play the field the next inning, while he decided how he felt. Maybe two plays into the inning, the ex-DH fielded a line drive that popped out of his glove and bounced into his nose.
After about 15 minutes of figuring out what was what, it was decided to seek medical attention (ALWAYS!) and the surviving team captain decided to call an ambulence instead of us driving them to the hospital(s) ourselves. 2 for 1 deal and all :) The paramedic showed up along with a police car, and the officer questioned the injured players separately about how they'd gotten hurt. Apparently they thought that the guy with the shoulder injury might've punched the other guy in the nose.... The team captain got a ride in the ambulance, and the other captain drove Mr. DH to the hospital, along with about 1/2 the team who were going to help move the injured players cars to the hospital (we thought they'd lock the gates to the park & possibly keep the cars overnight otherwise).
Word today is that the one guy separated his shoulder and the other has a broken nose, which might require surgery so he can breathe through his nose. Yikes!!!
Anyways, moral of the story is twofold:
a) always have at least 1 first aid kit (which we did)
b) when someone hits a line drive to me and I jump out of the way, I'm not going to feel stupid about it anymore...
PS I finished the first of my 50/50 socks on Sunday at the Mother's Day BBQ, and I'm 2 inches into the leg of sock #2.
First game I was Catcher, and the very first inning one of the first guys up hits the buntiest ball ever - it kinda dropped straight down, and just barely rolled fair. It took me a sec to realize the ball wasn't going anywhere, and by the time I set to throw to first he made it safe. On the other hand, I didn't throw a wild pitch that could've cost us a second base, but I was bummed.
A couple of innings later, someone else hit a bunt, and I threw the girl out at first! It was my first time ever getting an out in softball! And it was the third out so I ended the inning :D
Then there was a third bunty shot, which I fielded it okay but the guy got to first safely anyways. Considering I've never fielded one such ball while playing Catcher in this league, this was a lot of action for one game.
As for hitting, I struck out once swinging, but the pitching from the other team was so poor I don't think I swung the bat the whole rest of the game. The whole game was walk after walk after walk for me. I made it home once or twice too :) We got 11 runs one inning, and won the game 22-15! (This is our second win of the season, whereas last season we only had 1 win total, so everyone was pretty happy about it.)
Second game was a whole 'nother story. I was DH (designated hitter), which was fine with me 'cuz my arm gets tired of throwing after about a game, and the next day my legs are sore if I crouch too much. And I would rather not play other positions, because there's more chances I will screw up a chance to get someone out.
Anyways, we're up and get 1 run. The other team goes up and gets six. Then we're up again, and get one run. They might have gotten 2 more runs in the second inning. Third inning was the worst. One of our guys (one of the team captains) hit a nice shot to left field, which should have been a double. He made it to third and kept going... The other team's catcher sucked, I mean really. She rolled the balls back to the pitcher! So it's not terrible strategy to try for home plate, because there was no way she was making an out. It worked for two other guys last night. This time though, the pitcher had plenty of time to cover home, and he got our guy out. The bad part was, when our player slid into home, he got up holding his shoulder, in a lot of pain. Nobody on our team was medically trained, but after a couple minutes of walking it off you could see that the injured shoulder was hunched much lower than the other shoulder...
He was tough though, and sent the male DH in to play the field the next inning, while he decided how he felt. Maybe two plays into the inning, the ex-DH fielded a line drive that popped out of his glove and bounced into his nose.
After about 15 minutes of figuring out what was what, it was decided to seek medical attention (ALWAYS!) and the surviving team captain decided to call an ambulence instead of us driving them to the hospital(s) ourselves. 2 for 1 deal and all :) The paramedic showed up along with a police car, and the officer questioned the injured players separately about how they'd gotten hurt. Apparently they thought that the guy with the shoulder injury might've punched the other guy in the nose.... The team captain got a ride in the ambulance, and the other captain drove Mr. DH to the hospital, along with about 1/2 the team who were going to help move the injured players cars to the hospital (we thought they'd lock the gates to the park & possibly keep the cars overnight otherwise).
Word today is that the one guy separated his shoulder and the other has a broken nose, which might require surgery so he can breathe through his nose. Yikes!!!
Anyways, moral of the story is twofold:
a) always have at least 1 first aid kit (which we did)
b) when someone hits a line drive to me and I jump out of the way, I'm not going to feel stupid about it anymore...
PS I finished the first of my 50/50 socks on Sunday at the Mother's Day BBQ, and I'm 2 inches into the leg of sock #2.
4.22.2010
old friends and new tricks
I can't believe I didn't blog about this!
So last May (and I know it was May only because of my project page) I had Jury Duty. I was super excited because it was my first time on Jury Duty, and I like new experiences. I asked a whole bunch of friends and family what to expect and was told lots of sitting around and wanting to leave, but I was undaunted! When I called the hotline Monday night & they told me I had to go in the next day, I was psyched. I prepared - me, prepared! - a whole bunch of knitting projects, a book or three, charged my ipod, and then I even left the house on time. I parked ok, got to the metal detector, and mini-disaster struck: no knitting needles allowed! They said to go leave my knitting stuff in my car - good thing I was slightly early :) - but that crochet was ok. Well fine, I didn't really want to crochet my acorn (it was coming out wonky even then), but thank goodness I had it.
(See, not thrilling, right?)
Anyways, about 30 minutes into the opening schpiel about doing our civic duty and everything, I was happily crocheting away and I noticed a woman sitting a few rows up knitting a sock. After the talk when everyone dispersed, I moved my seat over near her, and we were happily knitting and crocheting away when another sock knitter found us! They commiserated about my trouble with security, I admired their very nice-looking socks, and we hung out all day. We even got called up to the same potential jury pool but they only needed 1 guy. During our lunch break we walked to Garden City Stitches together. It was very fun! We got dismissed at about 3:30, and it was really much better than going to work for the day. Best Jury Duty ever!
Last night Gryffinitter invited me to her Spinning Guild. Her friend Alphawave, who she taught to knit, was recently elected president, and did a good job of going over guild business and explaining some stuff to the n00bs. Then there was a really interesting talk about Mohair from one of the Guild Members. I always thought mohair meant scratchy, hairy (ugly!) sweaters, but that's completely innacurate! It was sooooo interesting. And all the while, I was spinning away on my little Drop Spindle, using some great fiber I received in an HSKS from Sara. Fun night! Afterwards, I met the Sock Tsarina! (::swoon:: I love her patterns! And Rachel talks about her sock club All. The. Time., which I love). She was as cool as Rachel & Gryffinitter described, and when I mentioned that I knew Rachel from Panera, she mentions the Sunday Panera that they do, and points out two friends of hers from that Panera group.
One of whom, of course, was one of my Jury Duty friends! So now I have to go one Sunday, because a) I was invited b) JDf is very cool and c) as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I enjoy new experiences, and from what I've heard the Sunday group is a blast.
As for my new trick, I ordered some yarn off Etsy and didn't completely love it. Someone on Ravelry was looking for 1 more skein for a big project, so I PM-ed her about a destash. Learning to let go... a very good thing :)
So last May (and I know it was May only because of my project page) I had Jury Duty. I was super excited because it was my first time on Jury Duty, and I like new experiences. I asked a whole bunch of friends and family what to expect and was told lots of sitting around and wanting to leave, but I was undaunted! When I called the hotline Monday night & they told me I had to go in the next day, I was psyched. I prepared - me, prepared! - a whole bunch of knitting projects, a book or three, charged my ipod, and then I even left the house on time. I parked ok, got to the metal detector, and mini-disaster struck: no knitting needles allowed! They said to go leave my knitting stuff in my car - good thing I was slightly early :) - but that crochet was ok. Well fine, I didn't really want to crochet my acorn (it was coming out wonky even then), but thank goodness I had it.
(See, not thrilling, right?)
Anyways, about 30 minutes into the opening schpiel about doing our civic duty and everything, I was happily crocheting away and I noticed a woman sitting a few rows up knitting a sock. After the talk when everyone dispersed, I moved my seat over near her, and we were happily knitting and crocheting away when another sock knitter found us! They commiserated about my trouble with security, I admired their very nice-looking socks, and we hung out all day. We even got called up to the same potential jury pool but they only needed 1 guy. During our lunch break we walked to Garden City Stitches together. It was very fun! We got dismissed at about 3:30, and it was really much better than going to work for the day. Best Jury Duty ever!
Last night Gryffinitter invited me to her Spinning Guild. Her friend Alphawave, who she taught to knit, was recently elected president, and did a good job of going over guild business and explaining some stuff to the n00bs. Then there was a really interesting talk about Mohair from one of the Guild Members. I always thought mohair meant scratchy, hairy (ugly!) sweaters, but that's completely innacurate! It was sooooo interesting. And all the while, I was spinning away on my little Drop Spindle, using some great fiber I received in an HSKS from Sara. Fun night! Afterwards, I met the Sock Tsarina! (::swoon:: I love her patterns! And Rachel talks about her sock club All. The. Time., which I love). She was as cool as Rachel & Gryffinitter described, and when I mentioned that I knew Rachel from Panera, she mentions the Sunday Panera that they do, and points out two friends of hers from that Panera group.
One of whom, of course, was one of my Jury Duty friends! So now I have to go one Sunday, because a) I was invited b) JDf is very cool and c) as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I enjoy new experiences, and from what I've heard the Sunday group is a blast.
As for my new trick, I ordered some yarn off Etsy and didn't completely love it. Someone on Ravelry was looking for 1 more skein for a big project, so I PM-ed her about a destash. Learning to let go... a very good thing :)
4.19.2010
games both non-magical and magical
Yesterday I played a pickup game of softball in the park with some friends. We played against a bunch of guys that have a longstanding Sunday game. I have NO IDEA why they'd want to play a bunch of 20-somethings, 1/2 of whom are girls, all but two of us hadn't played since high school... and Dani & I play on our company teams, but neither of us is spectacular - we just know how to throw the ball properly. We were up for a while, but they picked up about 5 runs in the last inning, and it was all over. It was a LOT of fun anyways. The other team wants a rematch next week, but idk if we'll be able to reassemble our team again.
Last night I finally caught up with all 500+ posts in the Reducio swap's round 10 chatter thread. Someone had a good idea for the handmade item - a pouch for gobstones. I like that idea a lot, especially since it'll be useful, but I don't have gobstones to put inside. I was thinking of doing stitchmarkers instead, maybe reducio'd Quidditch balls out of Fimo, with a hole through them, and turned into stitchmarkers? All still very useful - I like pretty things that are useful :) Then I think I have to make a Golden Snitch tape measure, since I wrote the pattern. But its not reducio'd so it won't count as the second handmade item, in my book.
I was reading the Wikipedia article about Quidditch to check what colors of Fimo I'll need, and I'd forgotten all about the Golden Snidget. I have the yellow wool crepe yarn from the Secret LYS that I could use to crochet a tiny bird.
Considering that last round, I went through 3 failed ideas before coming up with something that I liked enough to mail, I am very happy to now have too many ideas of what to do. Something will work out right!
Oh I forgot to mention, yesterday I ordered yarn for some baby blankets. Two of my first cousins' wives, one on mom's side & one on dad's, are due in July. Of course neither side knows - or wants to find out - what they are having. The cousin-in-law on my Dad's side - let's call her L - is very quiet around our family so I'm not sure if she likes us. I checked with my cousin first, and he was ok with me knitting them a baby blanket (in fact, really liked the idea). So I called L to check what colors she likes. It took a few back-and-forths but I am so glad I asked, because she requested Cream or Yellow. They aren't really my taste, but who cares? It's not my kid that's going to be using the blanket!
The cousin-in-law on my mom's side - A - is super religious, and those super-frum types have very specific ideas about appropriateness, especially wrt colors. But, she's really really sweet, and I think they'll use it no matter what color it is. I ordered Knitpicks Comfy Worsted in Seafoam, a blueish-green, and Pomegranate, a cranberry red color. Boy or girl, they can pick whichever color they like best.
Last night I finally caught up with all 500+ posts in the Reducio swap's round 10 chatter thread. Someone had a good idea for the handmade item - a pouch for gobstones. I like that idea a lot, especially since it'll be useful, but I don't have gobstones to put inside. I was thinking of doing stitchmarkers instead, maybe reducio'd Quidditch balls out of Fimo, with a hole through them, and turned into stitchmarkers? All still very useful - I like pretty things that are useful :) Then I think I have to make a Golden Snitch tape measure, since I wrote the pattern. But its not reducio'd so it won't count as the second handmade item, in my book.
I was reading the Wikipedia article about Quidditch to check what colors of Fimo I'll need, and I'd forgotten all about the Golden Snidget. I have the yellow wool crepe yarn from the Secret LYS that I could use to crochet a tiny bird.
Considering that last round, I went through 3 failed ideas before coming up with something that I liked enough to mail, I am very happy to now have too many ideas of what to do. Something will work out right!
Oh I forgot to mention, yesterday I ordered yarn for some baby blankets. Two of my first cousins' wives, one on mom's side & one on dad's, are due in July. Of course neither side knows - or wants to find out - what they are having. The cousin-in-law on my Dad's side - let's call her L - is very quiet around our family so I'm not sure if she likes us. I checked with my cousin first, and he was ok with me knitting them a baby blanket (in fact, really liked the idea). So I called L to check what colors she likes. It took a few back-and-forths but I am so glad I asked, because she requested Cream or Yellow. They aren't really my taste, but who cares? It's not my kid that's going to be using the blanket!
The cousin-in-law on my mom's side - A - is super religious, and those super-frum types have very specific ideas about appropriateness, especially wrt colors. But, she's really really sweet, and I think they'll use it no matter what color it is. I ordered Knitpicks Comfy Worsted in Seafoam, a blueish-green, and Pomegranate, a cranberry red color. Boy or girl, they can pick whichever color they like best.
4.18.2010
field trip
Last Tuesday, I met some knitters from my neighborhood in Queens at our local Starbucks. Friday, 3 of us went on a field trip to a Secret Yarn Store! It was pretty awesome, the kind of hole-in-the-wall place that you'd never find without an experienced guide, with lots of interesting yarns inside.
I bought a cone of hemp yarn to make a shawl, and some "Wool Crepe" yarn in Gryffindor colors for my Reducio swap package.
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The theme for round 10 is "magical games and sports". I have no idea what I'm making yet, but getting the yarn is a good start :)
I bought a cone of hemp yarn to make a shawl, and some "Wool Crepe" yarn in Gryffindor colors for my Reducio swap package.
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The theme for round 10 is "magical games and sports". I have no idea what I'm making yet, but getting the yarn is a good start :)
3.22.2010
what happens when I order from smileys
What happens when I order from Smileys online yarn sale is this:
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6 skeins are going to Gryffinitter, the rest will become a Hemlock blanket, a sweater, and probably some hats :)
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3.14.2010
felted bowl/vase/thing
Yarn: 1 skein of Chaco, color #59 which is a green.
Needles: Size 10.5 Clover DPNs
Knit using 2 strands held together - I wound the yarn into a cake and pulled from the center and outside.
CO 6 stitches on 1 needle
Row 1: KFB into the first stitch cast on and the second, use a second dpn to kfb into the next stitch, use a third dpn to kfb the next two stitches, and use a 4th dpn kfb the last stitch (12 stitches)
(Adjust your stitches every few increase or decrease rows so that all 4 needles have similar #s of stitches)
Row 2: K in each stitch around
Row 3: *kfb, k1* around (6 times)
Row 4: K in each stitch around
Row 5: *kfb, k2* around
Row 6: K in each stitch around
Row 7: *kfb, k3* around
Row 8: K in each stitch around
Row 9: *kfb, k4* around
Row 10: K in each stitch around
Row 11: *kfb, k5* around
Row 12: K in each stitch around
Row 13: *kfb, k6* around
Rows 14-15: K in each stitch around (2 rows)
Row 16: *kfb, k7* around
Rows 17-20: K in each stitch around (4 rows)
Row 21: *kfb, k8* around
Rows 22-29: K in each stitch around (8 rows)
Row 30: *kfb, k9* around
Rows 31-40: K in each stitch around (10 rows)
Row 41: *k2tog, k9* around
Rows 42-49: K in each stitch around (8 rows)
Row 50: *k2tog, k8* around
Rows 51-54: K in each stitch around (4 rows)
Row 55: *k2tog, k7* around
Rows 56-57: K in each stitch around (2 rows)
Row 58: *k2tog, k6* around
Row 59: K in each stitch around (1 rows)
Row 60: *k2tog, k5* around
Rows 61-64: K in each stitch around (4 rows)
Bind off all stitches
I had about 4 inches left after binding off.
Photos before felting:
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Stay tuned for photos of post felting... laundry day is Friday.
Needles: Size 10.5 Clover DPNs
Knit using 2 strands held together - I wound the yarn into a cake and pulled from the center and outside.
CO 6 stitches on 1 needle
Row 1: KFB into the first stitch cast on and the second, use a second dpn to kfb into the next stitch, use a third dpn to kfb the next two stitches, and use a 4th dpn kfb the last stitch (12 stitches)
(Adjust your stitches every few increase or decrease rows so that all 4 needles have similar #s of stitches)
Row 2: K in each stitch around
Row 3: *kfb, k1* around (6 times)
Row 4: K in each stitch around
Row 5: *kfb, k2* around
Row 6: K in each stitch around
Row 7: *kfb, k3* around
Row 8: K in each stitch around
Row 9: *kfb, k4* around
Row 10: K in each stitch around
Row 11: *kfb, k5* around
Row 12: K in each stitch around
Row 13: *kfb, k6* around
Rows 14-15: K in each stitch around (2 rows)
Row 16: *kfb, k7* around
Rows 17-20: K in each stitch around (4 rows)
Row 21: *kfb, k8* around
Rows 22-29: K in each stitch around (8 rows)
Row 30: *kfb, k9* around
Rows 31-40: K in each stitch around (10 rows)
Row 41: *k2tog, k9* around
Rows 42-49: K in each stitch around (8 rows)
Row 50: *k2tog, k8* around
Rows 51-54: K in each stitch around (4 rows)
Row 55: *k2tog, k7* around
Rows 56-57: K in each stitch around (2 rows)
Row 58: *k2tog, k6* around
Row 59: K in each stitch around (1 rows)
Row 60: *k2tog, k5* around
Rows 61-64: K in each stitch around (4 rows)
Bind off all stitches
I had about 4 inches left after binding off.
Photos before felting:
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Stay tuned for photos of post felting... laundry day is Friday.
2.22.2010
ravelympics report - day 11
Three down, lots to go.
So after I finished the Divine Hat I got back to knitting Traveling Woman. I finally finished at 1:30 am last Friday! Lots of rave reviews about the color, but it desperately needs to be blocked:
Close up of the lace:
I earned 3 medals for this FO!
(well I got this one twice, once for the Divine Hat too)
Tonight I finished another hat project called the Slouchy Hat. Usually I look terribly in slouchy beret-type hats, but this hat is made of alpaca. I'll make it work :)
PS - Taking a photo of a hat that's on my head, from the side to get a good view of the slouchy? Not easy.
So after I finished the Divine Hat I got back to knitting Traveling Woman. I finally finished at 1:30 am last Friday! Lots of rave reviews about the color, but it desperately needs to be blocked:
Close up of the lace:
I earned 3 medals for this FO!
(well I got this one twice, once for the Divine Hat too)Tonight I finished another hat project called the Slouchy Hat. Usually I look terribly in slouchy beret-type hats, but this hat is made of alpaca. I'll make it work :)
PS - Taking a photo of a hat that's on my head, from the side to get a good view of the slouchy? Not easy.
2.16.2010
ravelympics report - day 5
Some of you may recall from Thursday's post...
So far I am way off the pace. Sigh.
Saturday night I worked on the Slouchy Hat and Traveling Woman.
The Slouchy hat came with me to Chavi's to watch The Wiz with some friends. OMG. That movie is nothing like the play and very trippy to watch. Anyways, the hat is coming along just fine - except it's not slouchy. I started on the recommended size 6 needle, but I went up to a 7 instead of the 8 the pattern calls for because I usually knit loosely. Well anyways, end result = no slouch. By Sunday afternoon I was up to the decreases for the top, but I decided Monday that I need to rip back about 30 rows and use the size 8s the pattern calls for. Oh well, lesson learned!
The Traveling Woman was coming along fine... until I hit row 9 of the second repeat of the lace chart A, and realized that in the first repeat I'd used row 9 of the lace chart B the first time through. Majorly demoralizing! Sunday my friend Emm1e talked me through it. It's not a glaring mistake, and I'm just repeating it in each repeat of Chart A so it looks uniform (because I'm OCD).
Anyways, right now I'm up to the 4th repeat of chart A. I'm doing 4 or 5 repeats of A before the single repeat of B (and binding off). I hope to be done tomorrow, realistically by the weekend is do-able.
Yesterday I crocheted about 1.5 divine hats. I started one on the Subway to Manhattan, where I met O to do a mini yarn-crawl. That would be the .5 - because I dropped the hook on the way home, and although I wrapped it in napkins and will wash it thoroughly before using it again, there was simply no way I was going to use it unwashed.
The yarn crawl was awesome! It was great to see O!! We went to School Products first, where I got some lace yarn for a reworked Citron (the original yarn choice is not a good fit). O got some cashmere that I won't talk about b/c it's for people. Then we both got 1lb cones of Jute (yellow for me, Navy for O) to make these cute crocheted bags - there was a sample in the store and the lyso told me how to recreate it.
Next we walked downtown to the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. Despite the lowbrow rep that Lion Brand Yarns might have, it's really really really worth a trip. O got some LB Baby Alpaca, and we both got some of the LB Wool with Stainless Steel to try different projects - knitted scarf for O, crocheted necklace for me. I also picked up a couple things for my Reducio package - house unity stitchmarkers and a mini sock blocker keychain.
Monday night was the big Ravelympics meetup slash hat race at Panera. It was fun!! R finished a Ravelympics project already - a very pretty Ear Sweater in blues and black. B and M brought WIPs to show us. Ph finished a Divine Hat-inspired cowl she is designing called - what else? - Intervention! Lol. Ch wasn't doing the Ravelympics thing, but she brought a Sock Monkey to work on.
M, Ph, B and I all worked on Divine Hats, and although M and I came close (under 2 rows left) nobody finished theirs before leaving Panera. I finished mine quickly after arriving home, so I present my Ravelympics 2010 Team Uniform:
This morning I logged onto Ravelry to find that I had been awarded a medal for finishing the Hat Half-Pipe!!!
Ravthletes are also awarded a special Ravatar:
Proposed project schedule:
2/12-2/14 Traveling Woman & Citron
2/15 - both Divine hats
2/16 - 2/18 - the Elegant Ribbed Stockings
2/19 - 2/21 - FLS
2/22 - 2/25 - Bella's Mitts
2/25 - 2/28 - Maple and Wrenna
So far I am way off the pace. Sigh.
Saturday night I worked on the Slouchy Hat and Traveling Woman.
The Slouchy hat came with me to Chavi's to watch The Wiz with some friends. OMG. That movie is nothing like the play and very trippy to watch. Anyways, the hat is coming along just fine - except it's not slouchy. I started on the recommended size 6 needle, but I went up to a 7 instead of the 8 the pattern calls for because I usually knit loosely. Well anyways, end result = no slouch. By Sunday afternoon I was up to the decreases for the top, but I decided Monday that I need to rip back about 30 rows and use the size 8s the pattern calls for. Oh well, lesson learned!
The Traveling Woman was coming along fine... until I hit row 9 of the second repeat of the lace chart A, and realized that in the first repeat I'd used row 9 of the lace chart B the first time through. Majorly demoralizing! Sunday my friend Emm1e talked me through it. It's not a glaring mistake, and I'm just repeating it in each repeat of Chart A so it looks uniform (because I'm OCD).
Anyways, right now I'm up to the 4th repeat of chart A. I'm doing 4 or 5 repeats of A before the single repeat of B (and binding off). I hope to be done tomorrow, realistically by the weekend is do-able.
Yesterday I crocheted about 1.5 divine hats. I started one on the Subway to Manhattan, where I met O to do a mini yarn-crawl. That would be the .5 - because I dropped the hook on the way home, and although I wrapped it in napkins and will wash it thoroughly before using it again, there was simply no way I was going to use it unwashed.
The yarn crawl was awesome! It was great to see O!! We went to School Products first, where I got some lace yarn for a reworked Citron (the original yarn choice is not a good fit). O got some cashmere that I won't talk about b/c it's for people. Then we both got 1lb cones of Jute (yellow for me, Navy for O) to make these cute crocheted bags - there was a sample in the store and the lyso told me how to recreate it.
Next we walked downtown to the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. Despite the lowbrow rep that Lion Brand Yarns might have, it's really really really worth a trip. O got some LB Baby Alpaca, and we both got some of the LB Wool with Stainless Steel to try different projects - knitted scarf for O, crocheted necklace for me. I also picked up a couple things for my Reducio package - house unity stitchmarkers and a mini sock blocker keychain.
Monday night was the big Ravelympics meetup slash hat race at Panera. It was fun!! R finished a Ravelympics project already - a very pretty Ear Sweater in blues and black. B and M brought WIPs to show us. Ph finished a Divine Hat-inspired cowl she is designing called - what else? - Intervention! Lol. Ch wasn't doing the Ravelympics thing, but she brought a Sock Monkey to work on.
M, Ph, B and I all worked on Divine Hats, and although M and I came close (under 2 rows left) nobody finished theirs before leaving Panera. I finished mine quickly after arriving home, so I present my Ravelympics 2010 Team Uniform:
This morning I logged onto Ravelry to find that I had been awarded a medal for finishing the Hat Half-Pipe!!!
Ravthletes are also awarded a special Ravatar:
2.11.2010
ravelympics training
Ravelympics to do list:
Write up project schedule
Print out all patterns (in duplicate)
Pull Ravelympics yarn from stash (so it's easy to find)
Arrange for period well-being checks from a local knitter (because a non-knitter might miss-interpret the yarnbarf and have me committed)
Grocery store: stock up on hot chocolate, tangerines, bread, honey and peanut butter.
Ravelympics project list (so far):
February Lady Sweater in Nashua Focus Superwash - Emerald Green (b-day gift from Gryffinitter!)
Wrenna in Rowan Biggy Print - hot pink
Citron in BMFA STR Rare Gem - purple/red
Maple (possibly more than 1) in Chaco - colors tbd
Bella's Mitts in Louet Riverstone - Aqua
Elegant Ribbed Stockings in Louet Gems Worsted - Neptune
Traveling Woman in Dream In Color Stardust - Firefrost
Divine Hat (2+) in Chaco - colors tbd
On the fence:
Arden in WOTA Bulky - Red and Black
I bought the kit and want to knit it, but I worry that the colorwork will slow me down too much.
I am SO excited for the Ravelympics, it's not even funny. Of course I tell non-knitters I am excited for the Olympics but I really mean Ravelympics. Although I do like watching the Olympics on TV. I'm especially looking forward to the Cross Country Skiing, because I just started doing it last year and I love it. So I want to see how the pros do it, because I'm sure I'm doing it wrong, lol. And of course the Figure Skating, Snow Boarding, and Skiing are great to watch. Especially the Figure Skating!
As for strategy, I think I should get a few projects out of the way before I hit the February Lady Sweater. The Divine Hats, Stockings, Maple, and Bella's Mitts are the most portable so I'll save those for when I am out of the house. I also want to have FLS be my first sweater, so I think I will start with Traveling Woman and Citron the first weekend, then do the FLS, and anchor my big projects with Wrenna - which is Super Bulky and should be good for the final stretch.
Proposed project schedule:
2/12-2/14 Traveling Woman & Citron
2/15 - both Divine hats
2/16 - 2/18 - the Elegant Ribbed Stockings
2/19 - 2/21 - FLS
2/22 - 2/25 - Bella's Mitts
2/25 - 2/28 - Maple and Wrenna
Ok, I just re-read that. I might be insane...
ETA: Crap! I forgot the Slouchy Hat with Picot Edge. Um... maybe I'll do that this weekend also. Because, you know, 2 shawls aren't enough.
Write up project schedule
Print out all patterns (in duplicate)
Pull Ravelympics yarn from stash (so it's easy to find)
Arrange for period well-being checks from a local knitter (because a non-knitter might miss-interpret the yarnbarf and have me committed)
Grocery store: stock up on hot chocolate, tangerines, bread, honey and peanut butter.
Ravelympics project list (so far):
February Lady Sweater in Nashua Focus Superwash - Emerald Green (b-day gift from Gryffinitter!)
Wrenna in Rowan Biggy Print - hot pink
Citron in BMFA STR Rare Gem - purple/red
Maple (possibly more than 1) in Chaco - colors tbd
Bella's Mitts in Louet Riverstone - Aqua
Elegant Ribbed Stockings in Louet Gems Worsted - Neptune
Traveling Woman in Dream In Color Stardust - Firefrost
Divine Hat (2+) in Chaco - colors tbd
On the fence:
Arden in WOTA Bulky - Red and Black
I bought the kit and want to knit it, but I worry that the colorwork will slow me down too much.
I am SO excited for the Ravelympics, it's not even funny. Of course I tell non-knitters I am excited for the Olympics but I really mean Ravelympics. Although I do like watching the Olympics on TV. I'm especially looking forward to the Cross Country Skiing, because I just started doing it last year and I love it. So I want to see how the pros do it, because I'm sure I'm doing it wrong, lol. And of course the Figure Skating, Snow Boarding, and Skiing are great to watch. Especially the Figure Skating!
As for strategy, I think I should get a few projects out of the way before I hit the February Lady Sweater. The Divine Hats, Stockings, Maple, and Bella's Mitts are the most portable so I'll save those for when I am out of the house. I also want to have FLS be my first sweater, so I think I will start with Traveling Woman and Citron the first weekend, then do the FLS, and anchor my big projects with Wrenna - which is Super Bulky and should be good for the final stretch.
Proposed project schedule:
2/12-2/14 Traveling Woman & Citron
2/15 - both Divine hats
2/16 - 2/18 - the Elegant Ribbed Stockings
2/19 - 2/21 - FLS
2/22 - 2/25 - Bella's Mitts
2/25 - 2/28 - Maple and Wrenna
Ok, I just re-read that. I might be insane...
ETA: Crap! I forgot the Slouchy Hat with Picot Edge. Um... maybe I'll do that this weekend also. Because, you know, 2 shawls aren't enough.
2.10.2010
reducio
Despite the snow, an hour ago an adorable little owl tapped its beak on my window. I didn't even catch his name before he flew off - he absolutely loved the snow - but he had an unbelievable package for me from Selina/ZTAgirlknits!
The little socks are so cute. I'm 90% sure I have a skein of the purple yarn (from Hobby Lobby, right?) so obviously the color is a hit too :) And I love love love the mini knitting bag!
Selina sent tons of little goodies:
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Check out the house unity teabags! And the hot chocolate with chili sounds yummy :) And new Potter magnets for my collection! And the Slytheriny stitchmarkers - you probably can't see how awesome they are, but one even has a dragon.
Thanks Selina! I hope the package you receive is as excellent as the one you sent me.
The little socks are so cute. I'm 90% sure I have a skein of the purple yarn (from Hobby Lobby, right?) so obviously the color is a hit too :) And I love love love the mini knitting bag!
Selina sent tons of little goodies:
.jpg)
Check out the house unity teabags! And the hot chocolate with chili sounds yummy :) And new Potter magnets for my collection! And the Slytheriny stitchmarkers - you probably can't see how awesome they are, but one even has a dragon.
Thanks Selina! I hope the package you receive is as excellent as the one you sent me.
snow photos
1.27.2010
sock progress
I'm up to the heel gusset on my Luna socks, but I'm not feeling it. Or maybe I just have caston-itis. Anyways I really wasn't feeling the Luna sock vibe this morning, and my Inside Out socks are at the point where I need to try them on a lot... so I cast on new socks.
The pattern: Leafling, a Socks That Rock club pattern that I picked up at MDS&W '09.
The yarn: STR MW mill end, purchased at the BMFA website sale of 12/31. The 3rd skein from the top (or 2nd from the bottom)
The yarn is about 1/2 leaf green and 1/2 yellows (from golden yellow to yellow-green), with a splash of dead-leaf-brown thrown in. I'm calling it "First Signs of Autumn" in an effort not to hate the yellowness.
In other news, Gryffinitter talked me into signing up for the Reducio mini sock swap. It's only fair considering how many Ravelry-related things I've talked her into, plus she's always telling me about the swap and the people in it and how fun it is. It should be a good time.
The theme of this round is house unity... I hope I get a Hufflepuff to mail to, because I now have the perfect green-and-yellow yarn to use for a mini sock...
The pattern: Leafling, a Socks That Rock club pattern that I picked up at MDS&W '09.
The yarn: STR MW mill end, purchased at the BMFA website sale of 12/31. The 3rd skein from the top (or 2nd from the bottom)
The yarn is about 1/2 leaf green and 1/2 yellows (from golden yellow to yellow-green), with a splash of dead-leaf-brown thrown in. I'm calling it "First Signs of Autumn" in an effort not to hate the yellowness.
In other news, Gryffinitter talked me into signing up for the Reducio mini sock swap. It's only fair considering how many Ravelry-related things I've talked her into, plus she's always telling me about the swap and the people in it and how fun it is. It should be a good time.
The theme of this round is house unity... I hope I get a Hufflepuff to mail to, because I now have the perfect green-and-yellow yarn to use for a mini sock...
1.14.2010
if luna were a gryffindor
I worked in Manhattan yesterday, so I made a lot of subway-knitting progress on my sock:
The Pattern is Luna's Moonlight Socks by Ann Kingstone. I got on a kick last weekend after my brother and cousin came to visit, and had a very strong urge to knit this pattern. The Ravelry photo shows a midnight blue (shaded solid?) sock but I didn't have a similar color, so I stash dove and found a skein of Kettle Dyed Essential (in Wine) from last month's Knitpicks order. I figure Luna hangs out with enough Gryffindors in DA that she can pull off a pair of Gryff-colored socks ;)
I am loving the pattern, and the yarn makes me very frustrated. It's really nice to knit up, but the "Kettle Dye" translated into a mostly-solid sock with dark stripes every so often, which make the sock look wrinkled, no?
Last night I was going to hit Gotham Fine Yarn after work but they posted on Ravelry that they'd be closed, so I went to Seaport yarn in search of Louet Gems in Worsted Weight... which they did not have. They did have some other, very reasonably priced (!!!) yarn - so I got a skein of beautiful purple sock yarn, and Arauncia Ranco in dark blue for another pair of Luna socks - I did mention I love the pattern, didn't I? Also picked up a set of square dpns to try.
Wednesday night, I discovered, there is a Knitting Circle at Seaport Yarns. I was too tired to go straight home so I sat down and started working on my sock. Two cool things happened then:
- Every single person (all 5) said that they really liked Ann's sock pattern! I'm looking forward to passing that along to her :)
- One of the people knitting there lives about 5 blocks away from me in Queens, so she and I took the subway home together and had a nice chat about knitting.
As a reward for making it all the way through this post, the very pretty skein of sock yarn:
The Pattern is Luna's Moonlight Socks by Ann Kingstone. I got on a kick last weekend after my brother and cousin came to visit, and had a very strong urge to knit this pattern. The Ravelry photo shows a midnight blue (shaded solid?) sock but I didn't have a similar color, so I stash dove and found a skein of Kettle Dyed Essential (in Wine) from last month's Knitpicks order. I figure Luna hangs out with enough Gryffindors in DA that she can pull off a pair of Gryff-colored socks ;)
I am loving the pattern, and the yarn makes me very frustrated. It's really nice to knit up, but the "Kettle Dye" translated into a mostly-solid sock with dark stripes every so often, which make the sock look wrinkled, no?
Last night I was going to hit Gotham Fine Yarn after work but they posted on Ravelry that they'd be closed, so I went to Seaport yarn in search of Louet Gems in Worsted Weight... which they did not have. They did have some other, very reasonably priced (!!!) yarn - so I got a skein of beautiful purple sock yarn, and Arauncia Ranco in dark blue for another pair of Luna socks - I did mention I love the pattern, didn't I? Also picked up a set of square dpns to try.
Wednesday night, I discovered, there is a Knitting Circle at Seaport Yarns. I was too tired to go straight home so I sat down and started working on my sock. Two cool things happened then:
- Every single person (all 5) said that they really liked Ann's sock pattern! I'm looking forward to passing that along to her :)
- One of the people knitting there lives about 5 blocks away from me in Queens, so she and I took the subway home together and had a nice chat about knitting.
As a reward for making it all the way through this post, the very pretty skein of sock yarn:
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