Bunny!

I was inspired by this bunny I saw on Softies Central . . .Since Jess Hutch's Spherey makes a perfect quick sphere, here's my knitted version:
I knitted it out of Paton's Be Mine yarn. It's so nice and soft.

Thanks goes out to Cindy who mentioned the face was missing a nose. I can't help but feel like he looks more like a dog than a bunny. Perhaps the ears should have been longer and thinner?


Oh, and I now have a favorite fiber fill:

It's light weight and can be shaped well. I really like this stuff better than Poly-fil. I bought this bag at my local Walmart.

My next softie will be a chick that was inspired by the same artist:

It's an eye ball

D is the daughter of GOAM (who has REALLY been wonderful to help me on a project that grew to ginormous proportions). I have never met a girl who loves balls as much as this one does. She saw M's Mr. Handster and wanted one for her own. I showed her my big box 'o cotton yarn and told her I'd make one for her in any color she chose. As you can see, she chose the baby rainbow colorway.I made the mistake of showing her the head before I started on the arms and legs. She wanted no part of adding them to her ball. I am really touched by how much she loves it.

GOAM instantly dubbed it the eye ball. :)

I'm happy with how quickly it knitted up. I'm currently toying with the idea of writing a bunny pattern. I'm just thinking through how I'd like it to look.

I watch too many movies

I saw this on Tasha's blog and had to play along:

"It’s been alleged that if you’ve seen over 85 movies you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x’s by the ones that you have seen. Add them up, figure out whether you’ve got a life or not, and post it."

Bleh. I counted 161 and it could be more if you count that I saw a lot of the originals, too.

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
(X) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
(X) The Princess Bride
(X) AnchorMan
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
(X) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(X) White Oleander
(X) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
(X) American Pie 2
(X) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(X) Lilo & Stitch
(X) Finding Nemo
(X) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
(X) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(X) Butterfly Effect
(X)13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
(X) Robots
(X) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(X) Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(X) Along Came Polly
(X) Deep Impact
(X) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
(X) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
(X) Joe Dirt
(X ) King Kong
(X) A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(X) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(X) Halloween
(X)The Ring
( )The Ring 2
( )Surviving Christmas
(X) Flubber
(X) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(X) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
(X) Hellboy
(X) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(X) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(X) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(X) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number SlevIn
(X) Ocean’s Eleven
(X) Ocean’s Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
(X) Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled (I’ve seen both versions)
(X) Predator I
( ) Predator II
(X) The Fog (Does the original count?)
( ) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(X) Independence Day
(X) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(X) Christine
(X) E.T
( ) Children of the Corn
(X) My Bosses Daughter
(X) Maid in Manhattan
(X) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(X) She’s All That
(X) Calendar Girls
(X) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
(X) Event Horizon
(X) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X)The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
(X) The Terminator 3
(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday (Both versions)
(X) Reign of Fire
(X) The Skulls
(X) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
(X) The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
(X) Krippendorf’s Tribe
(X) A Walk to Remember
(X) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(X) The 40-year-old Virgin
(X) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
(X) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
(X) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(X ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
(X) Kung Fu Hustle
(X) Shaolin Soccer
(X) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(X ) Shaun Of the Dead
(X) Willard (both versions)
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(X) Hulk
(X) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
(X ) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
(X) Orgazmo
(X) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 1
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
(X) the Hills Have Eyes (again, does the original count?)
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
(X) Re-Animator
(X) Army of Darkness
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
(X) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
(X) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix: Reloaded
(X) The Matrix: Revolutions
(X) Animatrix
(X) Evil Dead
(X) Evil Dead 2
(X) Team America: World Police
(X) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
(X) Hannibal

Robots in the round & another Mr. Handster

I've been on a real kick making Jess Hutch's robots. I made one without taking a picture. But the other two are proof in concepts - i.e., you *can* knit her robots in the round. These two guys are headed to a pair of twin boy babies.

These were knitted in Sugar n Cream cotton. I love knitting them in cotton because they're nigh invulnerable and easy for new parents to throw them in the washer/dryer.

One problem with knitting them in the round is you have to start at the top of the head and, therefore, can't attach the antenna on the inside seam. Here's how mine turned out:
But the real problem occurs when I'm doing intarsia in the round. I still haven't found a clean way to wrap and turn the work without it looking wonky. My next attempt I'll knit them with an extra stitch cast on on both sides and mattress stitch the border. I think that's going to be the cleanest way to do it.Here's a Jess Hutch Spherey. My daughter dubbed it Mr. Handster when she was younger and the name stuck. When we got Mel our dog, he ended up chewing up Mr. Handster. This is his replacement with a different color scheme ala' M's choices.

I wanted to fix the smile, but M loves it just the way it is.

Snaggle Tooth

M has lost her first tooth at age 5. I couldn't help but feel a little sad to see her tooth fall out. The nights I spent trying to calm her when she was initially teething. . . We worked so hard on keeping her comfortable. I know it's a good thing, but I can't believe I have snaggle tooth!

Yarn

My neighbor raises satin angora rabbits and spins her own yarn. Her stuff is just beautiful and she's now venturing out on her own.

I have my eyes on the Blue Saphires!

Free Pattern - Nearly Gloves II

I fell in love with the Ziti yarn from Artfibers when I went to San Francisco. It reminds me of a sparkly mosaic. The photo doesn't do it justice! Here's a photo of the front and back of the gloves.The good folks of Artfibers sent me to Marnie Maclean's website for her Nearly Gloves. I wanted something a little more ornate and based this on the cables and eyelets dishcloth I did a while back.


Materials:

Ziti yarn (1 ball) Artfibers
Size 13 needles
Cable needle (I actually used a ball point pen)


Special Stitches:

yo - yarn over
skp - slip a stitch, knit the next stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch.
k2tog - knit two stitches together
C4F - slip two stitches onto cable needle and move the needle forward. Knit the next two stitches. Next knit the two stitches located on cable needle.
pm = place marker
CO - Cast on
BO - Bind off



If you have any questions, www.knittinghelp.com is a great resource.


Left Glove:


CO 25 stitches.


Row 1: (k2, p2) six times, k1
Row 2: p1, (k2, p2) six times.
Row 3: (k2, p2) six times, k1
Row 4: p1, (k2, p2) six times.
Row 5: (k2, p2) three times, k2tog, yo, p2, k4, p2, k2tog, yo, k1
Row 6: p3, k2, p4, (k2, p2) four times
Row 7: (k2, p2) three times, yo, skp, p2, C4F, p2, yo, skp, k1
Row 8: p3, k2, p4, (k2, p2) four times (repeats row 6 for each even row)
Row 9: (k2, p2) three times, k2tog, yo, p2, k4, p2, k2tog, yo, k1
Row 10: p3, k2, p4, (k2, p2) four times
Row 11: (k2, p2) three times, yo, skp, p2, k4, p2, yo, skp, k1
Row 12: p3, k2, p4, (k2, p2) four times

Repeat rows 5 through 12 three more times (for a total of 4 cables).

Picot bind off:
CO2, BO4 till the last stitch. Weave in ends.

Finishing: sew the top inch together. Weave in threaded yarn to allow for thumb (about 1 3/4 inch) and sew remaining edges together.

Right Glove:

CO 25 stitches.

Row 1: (k2, p2) six times, k1
Row 2: p1, (k2, p2) six times.
Row 3: (k2, p2) six times, k1
Row 4: p1, (k2, p2) six times
Row 5: k1, k2tog, yo, p2, k4, p2, k2tog, yo, k1, (p2, k2) 2 times, p2, k1
Row 6: p1, (k2, p2) 3 times, p1, k2, p4, k2, p3
Row 7: k1, yo, skp, p2, C4F, p2, yo, skp, k1, (p2, k2) 2 times, p2, k1
Row 8: p1, (k2, p2) 3 times, p1, k2, p4, k2, p3
Row 9: k1, k2tog, yo, p2, k4, p2, k2tog, yo, k1, (p2, k2) 2 times, p2, k1
Row 10: p1, (k2, p2) 3 times, p1, k2, p4, k2, p3
Row 11: k1, yo, skp, p2, k4, p2, yo, skp, k1, (p2, k2) 2 times, p2, k1
Row 12: p1, (k2, p2) 3 times, p1, k2, p4, k2, p3

Repeat rows 5 through 12 three more times (for a total of 4 cables).

Picot bind off:
CO2, BO4 till the last stitch. Weave in ends.

Finishing: sew the top inch together. Weave in threaded yarn to allow for thumb (about 1 3/4 inch) and sew remaining edges together.

If you make these, all I ask is that you send me a link to a photo!

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Good and Bad

Well, I've had good times and bad lately. First the bad: I hit my neighbors tree with my husband's car with everyone in it. I made over $4,000 in damages to the car. Thank goodness for insurance and seat belts.

Another bad is that I killed my phone when I was in San Francisco (see good below). I was touching sea creatures at the Aquarium of the Bay and it slipped out of my purse into the water.

The final bad is that my windows in MY car aren't working - the good is that I have 2500 miles left on my warranty so I hope it can be fixed.

Next the good: we went to San Francisco for a week. Highlight of the trip for me was a jaunt to Artfibers and Noe Knits. If you ever find yourself in SF, you need to ditch the hubby (or non-knitters) and plan on spending lots of time in Artfibers. They have samples of everything and encourage you to sit and knit them. All the people who stopped in had the same problem I did: husbands. I could have easily spent the whole day there. As it stood, I bought some Ming, Kyoto, Ziti, and Oodles. I knitted some Nearly Gloves in the Ziti - I really like them and will have to post my version of them in a later post. I love all the yarn I got from

I then ditched J & M on Monday night and went over to Noe Knits. The shop keeper is fabulous and they were very welcoming. I then went to Bliss Bar for the Chicks with Sticks meet up. What fun that was! I fell in love with a Peter Rabbit. I'll have to knit one up.

Seven days in San Francisco is too much. M & I did so much. I am totally exhausted and am very happy to be home. I'll blog about what we did in a later post.

MFN - warning: explict (sort of)

MFN = Male Frontal Nudity

Back in college, I used to keep a mental tally of all the movies that had MFN - not hard to do as it's not something that happens often.

Rome, the HBO drama, had an episode with MFN recently and I must say, Tobias Menzies has nothing to be shy about. I never did notice him until the MFN scene.

He's huge.

Babies - again

Sorry for not posting for awhile. I had to organize a retreat, a school Valentine's Day party, and a fifth birthday party (I can't believe I have a five year old!). All are thankfully done and everyone had a great time. Of course, my household was hit with flu this year right in the middle of all the festivities. We're getting the shot next year.

It seems like I haven't really wanted to knit, but I actually have gotten some items finished.

Another Bobbi Bear - yes, the legs are different lengths. I'm going to have to enter that into the "folksy hand knit charm" category and just not worry about it (of course I'm going to worry - don't we all knit pick our own stuff to death?). SnC in purple. 2 skeins of the small balls. I knitted this one differently than what was in the directions. I essentially knitted the main body/head, embroidered, and sewed on the ears before I stuffed it. I then picked up the stitches for the arms and finished him up. MDK kimono (I need to add the ties) with an Ellen's Ruffled Hat. OTN: Super Quick Baby Socks
Another hooded bath towel - and yes, my dye lots were different for the pink. (crud)

After I finish the socks, I'll make some Jess Hutch robots out of cotton. I like giving cotton to new parents because the item can be machine washed and dried.

Oh, and the blue bear/hooded bath towel was a hit at the baby shower last Sunday.

Babies, babies every where

I've been knitting - really! Here's my latest:

The hooded baby towel pattern is free and came from here.

The washcloth was a standard Grandmother's favorite but with four stitches cast on and a M1 after two stitches instead of a YO - I did it to match the towel pattern.

The bear is a Baby Bobbi Bear and was really great to knit up. The only sewing needed was to sew the ears to the head (and after looking at the photo's, I wish I sewed them a little lower). Very nice pattern and only uses two skeins of SnC cotton and one whole back of 12 oz of poly fill. I used some scrap green to embroider the nose and two 9 mm black safety eyes. Here's the bear all by himself:

Here he is snuggled up in the bath towel:

If you can't tell, I just love these colors for little guys. I am knitting up a Hot Pink, Orange, variegated version for a new baby girl that has been born into J's extended family. I may make a Baby Kimono instead of the bear.

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.

I made it around the heel!

Here's the toe. I started with 10 stitches cast on and increased every row to 60 stitches.

Here's my gusset which is 14 rows where I added 7 stitches on every other row. The heel is a short row where I made 8 on either side.Here's where I'm knitting up the leg.

Ever being the critic, I am very happy with the way the short rows ended up on this one. What I don't like is where I knitted up the heel - or where I did the ssk and p2tog. They just look sloppy to me. I have a second one to practice on.

I just love the colors of the yarn. The photo's don't do it justice.

Another Dishwashing Diva

All three of my folks dishcloths made into a diva on a "bathmat"

FO-Second Nephew Afghan

I didn't use a straight black as one of the strands on this one, so it came out a little more gray than the other one.

It's the one on the bottom. Both boys were very kind with their responses when they received them.

FO-Cigar gloves

This pattern comes from Knitty and I made them for my BIL.

I made them in black Lion's Brand Wool-ease. I'm pretty pleased with the results, but needed to use the tails of the cast on's to make sure the holes around the fingers were sewn together. I feel like it made them somewhat messy in between the fingers, but really, you couldn't tell unless you were a picky person. Aren't we all our own worst critics when it comes to our own knitting? :)

I scored for Christmas!

I hope I don't tick my mom off, but this Christmas was the best one from her in YEARS! Dad and mom went on a cruise around the tip of South America. While there, she brought back a couple of gems. Here's a whole bunch of mystery yarn. It looks like I will be able to try to hand dye it - way cool!

Then she gave me a weaving loom with some weaving thread.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with this, but it's really cool. I'm thinking Red Scarf project.
Then she gave me some really pretty roving. I'll have to break out my drop spindle and spin this up. It's really beautiful stuff!
So mom, thank you for these WONDERFUL gifts. Beats an aroma therapy basket any day!

The other neat thing I got was a couple of knitting calendars - one is the pattern a day, the other is the SnB one.

It was a great Christmas!

My first sock

I don't have photo's but I have finally started knitting my first sock. I initially tried to knit two at one time, but I really had some trouble. I must have started these socks at least ten times only to end up pulling them apart.

I'm using the Cybersocks toe up tutorial for toe up socks. My biggest challenge has been how to shape the toe. I initially increased too slowly and made a really funky looking toe. I eventually just ended up increasing each row until I got to sixty stitches.

I just finished turning the heel. I did short rows for the twinkletoes, but was not very happy with the result. I do not recommend following Lesson five for the round heel. I was TOTALLY lost while reading it. Luckily, one of my knitting yahoo groups mentioned a great tutorial for short rows. I have to agree. I finally get it. Go here for short row help.

Oh, and I'm knitting them in Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Ruby River yarn. I LOVE the colors.

Evil Thought

I stumbled upon a neat geeky site - www.thinkgeek.com. It has a ton of gadgets with all sorts of geeky goodness.

One caught my eye, though.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/755e/

As I read the words: Turns off virtually any television I saw in the product description, all I do is think about getting one of these babies and standing in the middle of Fry's or Best Buy to see how many televisions I can turn off at a time.

Bad, bad, me.

FO-Twinkletoes

Ballerina's are huge in the life of a four year old girl. So, after Knitty came out with the pattern for the Twinkletoes, I had to make them for her. These are the Child size pattern. M wears a size one and these fit her well. I think they'll stretch with her for a while. I also made a pair for GOAM's daughter Toddler sized in purple Lion's Brand Wool-ease (LBWE). I gifted them before I took a photo. I have to admit that I liked knitting with the LBWE better than with the Plymouth Encore. The LBWE might have more wool in it's makeup because it didn't have that strange acrylic feel while knitting it up.

Super fast project by the way. I was able to get two pairs done over the weekend!

I had one skein left over from knitting her an Easter basket that didn't felt so I used that. I made these out of the Joann's brand Sensations Tesoro Yarn in pink (100% wool-which is really wonderful on the hands!). I also used this yarn because I know it's washable. Of course I didn't have enough to finish the pair, so I rushed out last night and got another ball. I lost another project (my first SnB Devil Hat) to the washer recently, so I'm a bit cautious when it comes to hand wash yarns.

I think I need to have an experienced knitter sit down with me and go over picking up the wrap for short rows. My pick ups look very sloppy and I think I'm either not wrapping the yarn correctly or am twisting my pick ups.

I also had to do a provisional cast on for this. Initially I tried doing it with a scrap yarn piece, but that just didn't work out well. So I went over to my handy dandy Knitting Help dot com to see if there was a better way - there is. I used a circular needle. It worked out great because I used the same size needle as what was called for in the pattern so when I was knitting in the round. Very handy. I will always provisionally cast on for this. The only thing I figured out was that when you cast on this way, your loops will be twisted so I had to adjust knitting across them when I went to knitting in the round. In other words, I had to alternate knitting regularly versus knitting through the back. You more experienced knitters probably understand what I'm talking about. As C, my neighborly knitting guru preaches, pay attention to how the loops are while you're knitting.

I barely used any yarn (I was on the second heel when I ran out, damn it!) with the second ball so I'll use it to knit her a replacement Sphery. Mel ate her other one early this year and she's wanted a replacement (in pink) ever since. That's all she really wants from me for Christmas (GLEE!!).

Oh, and did I tell you how much I LOVE knitting backwards for purl rows? For a left handed yarn holder, it's a really terrific method and saves the wear and tear on my hands.

Gifted!

M and I went around to all the teachers and gave them our dishcloths. They were very much appreciated. Here's the final wrapped pile.

Whoo!

Now I have to work on end of the year gifts! Egads!

Party!

We went to a party yesterday way out in BFE Texas. It was SO much fun! A good friend made some yummy homemade egg nog. J even liked it and he HATES egg nog. Another friend made some of the best baby back ribs I've ever eaten - and I love baby back ribs. These were GOOD.

The best part of the party, though, was having other families with kids show up. The kids were a perfect age for M to play with and they all got on famously. The place had a ton of golf carts and we let M steer. Now that was special - she was SO happy. Later on I took her on a four wheel ride. What a great memory. I will all ways remember her sitting in front holding on to my arms. "That was like the log ride!" she'd giggle while we went through creeks. "That took my tummy away!" she yell after we went particularly fast.

The gift exchange was lots of fun. No real turkey gifts this year. I got a neat wind chime and a sun with a tea light candle in the back. I'm happy!

Next time we go we're going to stay overnight. It's really a lovely place and R has done a great job fixing up the property.

Well, it's almost 3. I have another check up. I'm hoping to get out of here soon.

Gettin' Shots

After I had a phone conversation with one of my clients, she mentioned that she noticed that I was stuffed up and that "you sure are sick a lot." You know, she was right and it's all allergy related.

So a couple of weeks ago I went in and got tested - sure enough, I'm allergic to everything in the world (except Hackberry, Elms, and Buffalo grass).

Today I'm sitting in my doctor's office doing a "Rush" treatment for shots. I've had fourteen shots today - gack! It's not been really that bad, just uncomfortable. I had a bit of a scare not too long ago as my blood pressure looked like it dropped below 100 - but it was a faulty reading. It's a good thing that the nurse re-did the test as the doctor was talking about giving me some epinephrine. Crisis averted.

I am dirt board, though. There's a television with a DVD player here, but I just don't want to watch TV. I did watch the latest Torchwood - it actually made me cry! I'm hoping it is the medication I'm reacting to as I hate it when I cry over cheesy television.

I, of course, brought my knitting, but I ran out of yarn to finish my daughter's Twinkletoes shoes. I finished another pair over the weekend for GOAM's daughter (I didn't get a photo - I'll have to get a photo later - they're pretty cute). Since I ran out of yarn, I have pulled out the Garterlac bathmat, but it's just too hard for me to knit with right now because I have an IV needle sticking out of my hand. The small project was easy to knit with, but it's just too hard with the three strand double worsted yarn.

Torchwood

One of the things I like about the 'net is how you can get shows from the BBC.

I think I wrote about The IT Crowd before. It's going to be picked up and American-ized by NBC. The only show where this has been successful is with The Office - and even the American version has a very different feel from the BBC version. Hope they don't screw it up ala Coupling and Men Behaving Badly. Granted, I never liked either version of Coupling, but the BBC version of Men Behaving Badly is terrifically funny.

My latest interest has been with Torchwood. I found out about it from a good friend and had J download it for me. It's been really fun to watch. It's also been interesting to see some of the parallels from the current Doctor Who to this series (they're by the same folks). The actor, John Barrowman, is dreamy. I think he may be gay, but he's still great eye candy!

Free Pattern - Cherries Dishcloth

I wrote this up a while ago and have never been able to test this one out. Thought I'd still post it, though.

Cotton yarn – red
Size 7 (US) = 4.5 mm needles

B5 = border (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)

Cast on 39 stitches

Row 01: p1 k1 across row
Row 02: p1 k1 across row
Row 03: p1 k1 across row
Row 04: p1 k1 across row
Row 05: p1 k1 across row
Row 06: B5 k29 B5
Row 07: B5 p29 B5
Row 08: B5 k29 B5
Row 09: B5 p29 B5
Row 10: B5 k29 B5
Row 11: B5 p29 B5
Row 12: B5 k29 B5
Row 13: B5 p29 B5
Row 14: B5 k29 B5
Row 15: B5 k17 p7 k5 B5
Row 16: B5 k29 B5
Row 17: B5 K3 P9 K3 P11 K3 B5
Row 18: B5 k29 B5
Row 19: B5 K1 P12 K1 P12 K 3 B5
Row 20: B5 k29 B5
Row 21: B5 K1 P12 K5 P1 K1 P4 K5 B5
Row 22: B5 k29 B5
Row 23: B5 K4 P2 K1 P1 K1 P1 K6 P1 K12 B5
Row 24: B5 k29 B5
Row 25: B5 K8 P1 K6 P1 K13 B5
Row 26: B5 k29 B5
Row 27: B5 K9 P1 K4 P1 K14 B5
Row 28: B5 k29 B5
Row 29: B5 K11 P1 K2 P1 K6 P7 K1 B5
Row 30: B5 k29 B5
Row 31: B5 K13 P2 K3 P9 K2 B5
Row 32: B5 k29 B5
Row 33: B5 K15 P1 K1 P7 K5 B5
Row 34: B5 k29 B5
Row 35: B5 K17 P1 K11 B5
Row 36: B5 k29 B5
Row 37: B5 k29 B5
Row 38: B5 p29 B5
Row 39: B5 k29 B5
Row 40: B5 p29 B5
Row 41: B5 k29 B5
Row 42: B5 p29 B5
Row 43: B5 k29 B5
Row 44: B5 p29 B5
Row 45: B5 k29 B5
Row 46: p1 k1 across row
Row 47: p1 k1 across row
Row 48: p1 k1 across row
Row 49: p1 k1 across row
Row 50: p1 k1 across row

Bind off





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Meme - Help a grad student out!

So, this guy has an experiment to see how fast a meme gets 'round the innernet.Read about it here, blog about it on your blog, and then ping Technorati by clicking here.

Finally!

I'm finally done with the teacher dishcloths. Here's another lacy round. I like how it looks with the Christmas colorway (PnC)

I also whipped up a Grandmother's Favorite for my folks (Black Lion's Brand Cotton)

Now on to finishing up the Garterlac bathmat for my sister and another Speed Stix Afghan for one of my nephews.

Tico

While browsing through Crooks and Liars today, I came across a quick story about how a right wing columnist attributes being gay to the rise of soy formula and other soy products (i.e., soy makes you gay).

It reminded me of a conversation J and I had a couple of weeks ago regarding Tico, the squirrel in Dora the Explorer. I mentioned to J that I was surprised the right-wingers haven't started to bash Tico. Here's a picture of him

Okay. So I'm going to list all the reasons why a right-winger would hate Tico the squirrel:

1. He's purple. (So is Tinky-winky, the so-called gay Teletubby.)
2. He wears a rainbow vest.
3. He's an immigrant
4. He refuses to speak English.
5. He drives a YELLOW car. (okay, I really don't know why this would out someone as being gay. It just sounded like something a right-winger would say)

So, Tico is a gay Mexican immigrant who refuses to learn 'merican and drives a girly colored car.

Whoo, hoo!