Hypno-toad

J & I went to a great new Chinese restaurant located nearby. We were greeted by this monstrosity. Reminds me of the Hypno-toad from Futurama. (Warning, the hypno-toad link has sounds)

Knitting weirdness

I found this link on Jess Hutchinson's site. It took them 5 years to knit and you can see it on Google map.

2006 FO's

Toe-up Socks

Cigar Gloved

Another Speed Six Afghan

Twinkletoes

Lacy Round Dishcloth

Pinafore Dress

Alligator Mittens from Stitch N Bitch Nation

Interweave 2006 Holiday Fair Isle Hat

Speed Stix Afghan

Snowflake Illusion Dishcloth

Noni Majolica Vase Purse

Turkey Dishcloth

Captain Underpants

Garterlac Dishcloth, Flower Petal Dishcloth, Lost Points Shawl

Candy Corn Illusion Dishcloth

Double Flower Dishcloth

Mosaic Snowflake Dishcloth

Yuletide Gnome #2

Bulky Baby Bibbed Pullover & Umbilical Cord Hat

Mid-September Dishcloth KAL

Baby Hoodie Cardi

Yuletide Gnome #1

Moss Grid Hand Towel from Mason Dixon

Absorba the Great Bath Mat from Mason Dixon

Crochet Yarn Bag & Fair-isle Children's Hat

Snake Charmer Baby Cardi from Knitty

Mason Dixon Dish Towel/Cloth set

Double Heart Dishcloth & Lacy Mock Cable Dishcloth

Noni Bags: Another Medium Carpet Bag

Noni Bags: Medium Carpet Bag, Garden Party, Garden Party w/ruffles, Small Carpet Bag

Bombshell Sweater from Big Girl Knits

Another Henry bear from Jess Hutch

Felted Easter Baskets

Chemo Hat

A baby hat and another Robot from Jess Hutch

Another Henry bear from Jess Hutch

Another Henry bear from Jess Hutch

Alligator Mittens from Stitch N Bitch Nation and a Robot from Jess Hutch

Henry bear from Jess Hutch

Spherey from Jess Hutch

Devil Hat from Stitch 'n Bitch

Hex Update

I have the two front panels done and am working on the back panel.

I also have a better shot of the Moss pattern as compared to the Seed stitch.

Moss:

Seed:

Dumb old boring knitting post

J is tired of seeing me blog about knitting. Tough Titty Toenails! It's my blog and I can blog about whatever I want to.

I still haven't received my Circular Sock-knitting Machine. I keep watching the mail and every day around 3 pm I get anxious and volunteer to go get the mail (I never volunteer to go get the mail). I want my new toy!

I've been busy. Work is getting in the way! (It's a good thing, really)

I made a hat for Caps for the Capital and a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. I didn't get photo's because I knitted them right up to when I needed to get them to their respective charities.

I also finished and felted a purse. I still need to sew it together.

I'm not happy with how the purse blocked and am thinking about sending it through the washer one more time so I can work the kinks out.

I'm also not very happy at how the blue yarn bled into the yellow. I don't think the dye bled. I think the blue fibers felted into the yellow.

I am a bit lukewarm about the way the flower turned out. It's not as fuzzy as I would have liked. Probably should have double stranded the nylon/mohair yarn.

I do like the size of the purse and the length of the handle.

Teeth

The whole family went to the dentist last week. $4,000 + in dental fees later, all of us came home with crooked smiles. Turns out the old metal fillings I had in my mouth for decades aren't working so well, so I had to get them drilled out and re-done. Now the back of my mouth isn't gray anymore.

I hate the dentist. But I have only one set of teeth. I guess they're a necessary evil.

Update

I have been in CAD training this week, so I've been somewhat busy. It's always fun to attend classes all day and then work into the evening. (sigh)

I'm glad I am taking the class, though. I've been using AutoCAD since 1986 (egads I'm getting old). Civil3D came out and it's a TOTALLY DIFFERENT PRODUCT!! I've been hitting my head against the wall for the past couple of months as I stumble through using all the new do-dads. Once I finally figure out how to control stuff, I'm fairly happy with the new way of doing things. I just don't have the process down.

Gotta get back to class.

Gettin' Greedy

J has a new game up called Countdown Dice and it's based on one of our favorite board games by Sid Sackson, Can't Stop. Some times when I can't get a dice combination before I commit, I growl that I got greedy.

It's a fun little game and I like the way it plays and looks.

A building with no windows?

We've past by this building for years, but now they've done something that has captured my attention. . .

Did they paint the windows?

(I really just wanted to play with my new phone camera)

Six weird things about me

1. I had a fear of earwigs - really. I totally freaked out once when I thought one had gotten close to my ears. I thought they get into your ears and will pinch my ear drum. Just thinking about it makes me so embarrassed.
2. I stack plates at restaurants after we're finished eating. It's to help the wait staff clear the table and, I must admit, is somewhat fun to do. I like to try to get all the dishes put together so they can be taken away by one person. Drives my husband insane.
3. Whenever I end up liking a television show - namely Sci-Fi shows, they invariably get cancelled. I guess I like bad television.
4. I remember the color of people's eyes. Don't know why. I just do.
5. I am generally the straight man in my relationship with my husband. Bob Newhart was a straight man.

Auto Knitter Circular Sock-knitting Machine

Well, I bought an expensive toy off of eBay. It's an antique Circular Sock-Knitting Machine.


I'm not sure how old this one is, but they're generally a couple of decades old. I do love my knitted socks and would like to be able to whip them out in a couple of hours. This machine is in beautiful condition. Can't wait!

Uspshlee

M wrote us a note today and is very proud 'cause she wrote it out herself:

Re-started my Hex Coat

A while back, I started my Hex Coat, but I screwed it up. I knitted it in seed stitch instead of moss stitch.

If you've ever wondered what the difference is, hopefully you can see it here. Here's the seed stitch:

Here's what I'm doing now. The moss stitch:

I'm a bit disappointed that this photo doesn't show the diamonds. It really softens it up.

I also didn't take into account that my hips are wider than my chest. The other thing I did was knitted the rib in the same needle size as what I'm knitting the coat. I did not like how the rib area pulled dramatically in - not good for a woman with large hips.

The top of the photo below is where the hexagon's will be added later on. The bottom is the outer edge. I've chosen to do a shaped coat - 'cause I'm shaped. I've knitted to the waist and am now increasing to cover my chest. I'm keeping track of where I increased on each row.

I'm glad I ripped out my previous attempt. I'm much happier with this attempt.

Socks are DONE!

Okay, my fear of hand knitting socks is officially over. I don't know why it took me so long to get the toe right on the very first sock. It needlessly intimidated me.

Well, I'm not intimidated anymore!

Viola!

I love them. They are so soft and warm and fit my feet perfectly. The color is quite lovely. . Right now I have an obsession with Circular Sock Knitting Machines. I want one, but they're terribly expensive. Not to mention that it's a crap shoot on what you are getting if you buy one - they're all antiques. I'm still not besotted with hand knitting socks like other folks are as I've casted on for my Hex Coat

I'm heavily modifying it to fit my shape. Here's a quick sketch showing some of the modifications I'm doing to make this fit right.

The sleeves and arm holes are challenging me a bit right now. I'm not sure how to bind off in the sleeve area, and I have to work it out so I can adjust the arm hole area. I'm also shortening it quite a bit. The pattern calls for the 40 3/4" long. I'm going to shorten it to 30" long. That will make it hit my upper thigh, which is really just the right length.