Crankin'

Well, I made it to Van Alstyne this weekend to meet up with 11 other CSM owners to learn how to use my machine.

And boy, did I ever learn!

I loaded up my machine, had some trouble with yarn not knitting and learned the importance of having weight on the bottom of my knitting and the importance of making sure the yarn is fed in without any interferance.

And thus, I knitted my very first tube.

Behold!


So, next thing to learn: Picot edgings.

I mastered that one and made my own set up bonnet (yay!) It's the knitted item on the left.


Next the big daddy: learning how to turn a heel.

I sucessfully got one heel done. It wasn't pretty, but I now know the mechanics.

I tried getting another heel turned today, but I just couldn't get my machine to cooperate. Plus, I just didn't know how tough this was on your lower back and upper shoulders.

I got home late on Sunday and I whipped up another set up bonnet. I tried turning a heel, but every time I turn and start going back, my yarn breaks. It could be because I've been using the same yarn over and over again, so I'll try with some virgin yarn another day.

So basically I have enough skills to knit a simple sock. No ribbing yet. That will have to be mastered at the next crank in after I have my first couple of pairs of socks cranked out.

Yay!

Oh, and if you are interested in seeing some photo's of the weekend at Apple Leef Farm, click here.

So I guess there was nothing wrong with my CSM (although I DID replace the yarn carrier - which has made a ton of difference). I'm just glad I didn't follow through with getting the cylinder's milled down. Now I just have to practice, practice, practice. My fingers are sore. I may have to invest in a leather thimble for my thumb.

Oh, and I met some of the greatest ladies this weekend. Their patience with me was great and we all got along just great.

WIP - Bombshell #2 - Short Rows

Okay. I admit that I really don't understand how to put in bust darts.

I love Big Girl Knits because they spell out in a very logical way how to figure out how many stitches to increase and the number of rows you knit.

So, in an effort to try to understand this, I've made some schematics to try to grapple with this topic. I'm using the data that's found in Chapter 4 of BGK. Please, if anyone is reading this, and I have this totally wrong, help a sista' out. I'm tired of ripping my short rows out on this thing!

Here's a figure from BGK showing where short rows help out us busty types:

Okay. That's clearly a triangle with the pointy side up. So, according to BGK, then will the short rows look like this:
Or like this (triangle down):
Since I'm visual, I drew out what I think the instructions are saying to do. Start at the bottom with the dimensions to follow what I think is going on.
So, it's making an inverted triangle. So I rewrote the above to show how to knit an inverted triangle top down (read from the top down):
BUT!!!!!

I went to SnB last night and the ladies there said that the bust darts need to be in a diamond shape - like this:

RIPPPPPPPPPPP. I had other problems with the ribbing - like being 10 stitches too short - my waist is just not that small - so ripping back was already in my future.

Seriously, though. What is it? I'm tired of ripping back on this and I don't want it to become a WIP Closet Monster.

Baby Surprise Jacket Help - Decrease section

Well, I'm impressed. My mom, who is the queen of free form garter knitting, is following a pattern. She's decided to tackle EZ's Surprise Jacket.

Of course she's hitting problems. It's a simple pattern, but isn't written very clearly for the novice knitter.

So I made a chart for mom to help her keep track of stitch count.

This is only for the decrease part of the pattern. I'm sure as she progresses, I'll post other helpful hints.

Stitch count chart:

Click here for corrected chart (you can print it out easier from here, too).

Click here for a pdf of the same file. Some people have had difficulty with Google Docs.

Also, she was really confused about what to do on the increase row. Here are rows 9 through 13 written out.

Row 9: K30, sl1, k2tog, psso, k78, sl1, k2tog, psso, k30 (140 st)

Row 11: (K3, M1) x 9, K1, sl1, k2tog, psso, move marker, k76, move marker, sl1, k2tog, psso, K1, (M1, K3) x9 (154 st)

Row 13: K37, sl1, k2tog, psso, k74, sl1, k2tog, psso, k37 (150 st)
(Corrected: Thanks Karen!)

keep going till you have:

Row 43: K22, sl1, k2tog, psso, k44, sl1, k2tog, psso, k22 (90 st)

Then you knit the 90 sts plain (no decreases, etc)

The Band Meme

Ya no vivo yo, mas vive Cristo en mi...
Originally uploaded by Proverbs 31:10

The Band Meme

You are about to have your own band’s CD cover. Follow these directions to the letter. It’s fun and requires no thought at all. Go to……

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RandomThe first article title on the page is the name of your band.

http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result as a comment in this post. Also, pass it along on your own blog, because it’s more amusing that way.

Mine:

Name of band: Kinross
Name of album: Spaces Surrounded By Teeth
Cover: This pretty flower photo!

WIP - Bombshell #2 - The back boobs saga

Well, I absolutely shot a whole day's worth of knitting yesterday.

I am knitting another Bombshell because I just loved the first one - before it was ruined . This one is being knitted in machine washable cotton.

I knitted short rows and some of the ribbing on the back side of my sweater.

Crap.

I've really been struggling with the short rows in this thing because the BGK explains how to figure short rows for a bottom up sweater. The Bombshell is knit top down.

I initially knit it like the book said - and made my darts the wrong way - RIP

I then fixed that and moved onto the ribbing. It seemed like I was a little off with the instructions, but I knitted on.

THAT SHOULD HAVE SENT OFF WARNING BELLS!!

But of course, intrepid knitter that I am, I pushed on and "corrected" the pattern on the fly.

For some reason, I finally looked at the sweater - because I wanted to see the pattern forming on the front.

But. . . it wasn't on the front. . .

I had knitted back boobs.

I put my knitting down and just couldn't even look at it. It was like it had betrayed me. I worked SO hard - even corrected my initial mistake. And this is what happened - back boobs.

My knitting is still sitting untouched in a corner.

Is this how some of our items become UFO's? I wonder.

Heidi

Well, M's old enough to follow story lines with movies and I remembered that we had an old Shirley Temple movie - Heidi.

J put the movie on in her playroom and we watched TV in the living room. According to J, as soon as Shirley Temple showed up on screen playing with the goats and generally being a cute little girl, M was hooked.

After about a half hour, we hear this wailing and crying coming from M as she's running in to us.

"I don't like it," she wailed with huge crocodile tears streaming down her face.

"Sweetie, what's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?" I asked while wiping the tears from her face and giving her a big hug.

"I don't like the movie."

"What don't you like about the movie?" I ask.

"I don't want to talk about it. It makes me sad!" she cries with tears still streaming down her face.

I mean, this kid was inconsolable. Really.

So, I went back to her playroom to see what had made her so upset. As soon as I saw what was on the screen, I understood.

Heidi was taken away from her Grandpa by her Aunt.

Then the memories resurfaced. I was a very sensitive child and hope that M is not as susceptible to being as sensitive as I was growing up. Mom called it "wearing my heart on my sleeve". I remember crying when Heidi was taken away, too. Sometimes its hard to see your kid go through the throws of something that's devastating to them, but you know it's not all that bad.

To get M's mind off the movie, we had her take a bath. When it looked like she was calmed down, I tried to get her to talk about why she was so sad. Then the tears started up again.

Whew.

I know from experience with M that if she doesn't conquer her fears early on, then they just get bigger and bigger. So, I told her that I would sit and watch Heidi with her because it has a happy ending - really.

We watched more of the movie and she was really doing well - until the Christmas scene. Dad had given Clara a beautiful china doll for Christmas. Clara's gift to her Dad was to show him that she could walk. While trying to walk, Fraulein, the lady who watches over Clara when Dad is away on business, drops the doll and it breaks into tiny pieces.

Waaaaaaah. "That hurts my feelings!"

She then said that she was tired and had to go to bed. While tucking her in, she asked what present Clara was going to get now that her doll is broken. I told her that her daddy is very rich and would buy her a brand new one to replace the doll that was broken.

(Sigh)

I never knew that Heidi is a harsh mistress for a five year old. . .

Best Cereal EVER

Did I ever confess that I have a true weakness for all those kids cereals that most adults snicker at? I especially like chocolate ones - it makes the BEST cereal milk. I also confess that I pick my bowl up and drink the milk. Yes I know this isn't good etiquette, but it's cereal milk, ya' know! :)

So the week we were in Cozumel, M found what is to be described as THE BEST CEREAL EVER!!

Chocolate Frosted Flakes with mini marshmallows.

(cue the Ariel song - aw aw ahhhh, ah, ah, ahhhhhhhhh):

Yes. You read right.

Hey, I would have been over the moon with just Chocolate Frosted Flakes, but the marshmallows - man - that just blew my mind.

And yes, it's every bit as sugary sweet as you can imagine.

Knitta' Please Strikes Southlake

Well, the local Darth Vader cow was hit by knitting graffitti.

Aren't his leg warmers cute?

Reviewed:"Wildseed" by Octavia Butler

I read this on the recommendation of my husband. I read entertaining books far more than he does, so when he reads a book that he likes, I tend to listen to him.

This book is the first in a trilogy. I have to admit that I must be going through a bit of Octavia Butler burn out after reading her previous trilogy, so I didn't receive this book as well as I probably would have if I had more time between these trilogies.

There are many similarities that it was difficult to keep the two different "universes" separate.

The most frustrating part of the book is the main character, Doro. He is thousands of years old and survives by hopping into someone else's body until that body is used up. He kills indiscriminately and you get the idea that he really has no use for the human race. His whole focus is on breeding people together to make a race of people like him.

Thing is, when he comes across a woman who does live long, he both loves her and hates her. He loves that she's great "seed" for the future race he's trying to breed, and yet, she's so independant minded and is one of the few people who aren't afraid of him, that he hates that she doesn't fear him - which is the way he's been breeding people for years.

I started reading Mind of My Mind, but my heart is just not into it.

Mom & Dad's really great porch

I love sitting out on covered porches to eat, talk, or watch the world go by.

My folks have done a wonderful job making what's essentially an outdoor living room. Recently they took up the outdoor carpeting they had and had the concrete acid washed.

I just love how it looks. According to mom, close up the floor looks like an old leather floor with all the cracks in it.

WIP-Back of Oregon Vest Done

back of Oregon Vest done
Originally uploaded by civilgrrl

The back is done, but I found out that the Lion Brand Suede has nap. The first ball I pulled from the center. The next two I pulled from outside.

I tried casting on and knitting on both the left and right fronts, but it got to be too difficult to follow the pattern, so I frogged.

CO - Bombshell #2

Bombshell #2
Originally uploaded by civilgrrl

Pattern: Bombshell from Big Girl Knits
Yarn: Online-Garne - 100% cotton (color 57) lot 032
Needles: US 8

FO-Jaywalkers ankle socks

Jaywalkers
Originally uploaded by civilgrrl

Pattern: Jaywalkers by Grumperina
Yarn: Spinning Straw into Gold Superwash wool with Tencel
Needles: Magic loop with 3 mm.

Thoughts: This went pretty fast. I think I figured out how to get rid of the whole between the gussett and the heel flap. I still have some, but it's only on one side. I forgot to p2tog with one of the second loops.

Mel Update

Well, my little dog has been through the wringer - and so I have I.

Last time I posted about this, we had just had him stitched up. Well, he popped his stitches a week later and I had to take him in again to get new stitches put in.

Three days later, THOSE stitches pulled apart - so in we go again. It looked like a portion of his skin had adhered to his skin (which was good), so the doctor went ahead and took out all the stitches, allowed us to keep off the Elizabethan collar, and let Mel lick his wound.

That evening, I went to check on him, and the bugger had pulled the flap away from his leg - thus - uggh - it's really too gross to describe.

So, in we go again. This time the vet said that his wound is not life threatening and we had three options:

1. Go see a board certified vet surgeon and get an opinion.
2. Put him under general anaesthesia to take the flap off.
3. Let the flap go necrotic and he could then just cut the flap away without any anesthesia.

Well, Option One would cost more money. We've already spent over $1,000 on this little guy. I love him, but if we can stop the hemorrhaging (so to speak) and he's not in pain, then Option One is out.

Option Two will cost money, too. But it also puts him under again for a third time. I just didn't feel comfortable doing that. We were given a couple of days to think about this option, and while we were thinking, we've found that he's actually doing just fine with Option Three.

I have to wash his wound twice a day and he's still taking antibiotics and some type of pain pill to keep him lethargic. Mel is a high energy dog and we need him to keep still so his wound will heal.

Good news is that his appetite is finally coming back.

2008 Knitting Resolutions

I have only a few:

• Restart my Hex Coat. I'll knit it like I did the Arwen - all three pieces together. I'm finding that when I knit each piece separate, I don't do such a good job matching the sides and have difficulty sewing them together.
• Finish my Oregon Vest.
• Knit another Bombshell with a machine washable yarn
• Do more charity knitting.
• Knit something for my daughter that she can use for a while.
• Learn how to knit socks with my CSM.

Awww

Yesterday I gave D her jammies. While her mom held them up, she ooo'd and ahhh'd the pink jammies.

She gave the Batman jammies a great big hug.

Ya' know, that has to be one of the best gift endorsements I've ever seen.

D's superpower is absolutely the "power of cute". Her folks are so doomed. Fortunately, GOAM is nigh-impervious to her wily ways. :)

GOAM says she has photo's of her in them. I'll see if I can post them when I get them.

WIP-Jaywalkers

Project: Two-at-a-time, toe up socks (for ME!!).

Needles: 3 mm needles (47" long).

Yarn: I'm knitting these with Christine's yarn that she spun up (I love the colors). If you want some yarn like this, head on over to her site: Spinning Straw Into Gold. She raises her own Satin Angora rabbits, and currently has the cutest batch around - all are white, except one light brown one.

Notes: Cast on 10 stitches using Tunisian Cast On (basically I just wrap the yarn around both needles and knit from them - it works great - thanks Carissa!). Increased each row for three rows (16 sts on each side) Switched to inc every other row and increased to 30 stitches on either side. Top of socks are knit with Jaywalker pattern, but I k5 instead of k7. Works just fine.

Jammies!

M LOVES her new jammies I made her, so I had a little extra time on hand and made her another set - this time with some Cheetah Girls fabric.

For the uninitiated, the Cheetah Girls are a girl band that Disney made up. If you ever turn on Radio Disney, they're played in heavy rotation (Fuego, fuego, fuego. . .)
So here's my Cheetah Girl (don't mind the goofy look in her face - her eyes really aren't that strange):

I also made two more jammies for M's good friend, D. Her momma was who I made the pirate hat for, so I thought this fabric would be very appropriate.

D also got a Batman watch for Christmas, so I thought this would be well received:

And viola:

FO-Super-sized Spiral Doily

Pattern: Doily with Spiral from Yarn Over
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic, Deep Red #3424 - 11 skeins (I could have gotten away with 10, but I kept making my joins with very long tails).
Needle: US 6
Size: 48-inches in diameter.
Modifications to pattern: The spiral part of the pattern only goes up to 33 stitches between markers - it only has 8 points. I knitted to 66 stitches and have 14 points. So, if I were to knit this for me, I'd knit it with 99 stitches between markers.

Mom, thanks for the great vacation.

2007 Finished Objects

1. Super-sized Spiral Doily Shawl
2. We Call Them Pirates Hat
3. Flying Spaghetti Monster Ornament
4. Little Treasure Jacket
5. Hedgehogs
6. A Cardigan for Arwen
7. Little Treasure Booties
8. House Slippers #1
9. Bar Harbor Bag
10. Pi Topper Chemo Hat #5
11. Pi Topper Chemo Hat #4
12. Pi Topper Chemo Hat #3
13. Pi Topper Chemo Hat #2
14. Small Rabbit with Sweater
15. Sleepy Snake & Mischievous Mouse
16. Felted Invaders Coffee Cozy
17. Felted Snowflake Coffee Cozy
18. Pinwheel Baby Blanket
19. Baby Surprise Jacket
20. Fair-Isle Baby Halter
21. Katja Baby Halter & Striped Baby Halter
22. Pi Topper Chemo Cap & PICC Arm Band
23. Satchel [Smaller Striped Version]
24. Twisted Stitch Baby Hat
25. Franny Onsey
26. Garter Scarf
27. Wedding Gifts
28. Spherey Bunny
29. Eye Ball
30. Boy Robots & Spherey
31. Nearly Gloves II
32. Girl Baby Bobbi Bear & Towel, MDK Kimono & Ruffled Hat
33. Boy Baby Bobbi Bear & Towel
34. First Socks

WIP-Super-sized Spiral Doily

I am so close to having this done. Here's a photo of the edging - what's cool is that it's actually looking like the what the pattern photo looks like. That's always encouraging.

This pattern has a weird YOx2 that's repeated through out. Usually when I see this, it's to do a bobble or knit into it several times. This pattern does not do that, so it threw me off a bit. Markers are a MUST as sometimes the YOx2 do get dropped. If I work on it this weekend, I think I may actually finish this up!

FO-We Call Them Pirates hat

This was a quick knit and I really like how it looks with the Encore DK.

Pattern: We Call Them Pirates by Hello Yarn

Yarn: Plymouth Encore DK, white and black

Needles: US 3

Notes: I didn't anticipate this hat being only half-way lined, but I'm pretty happy with the final results. Hope Terri likes it. I love the idea that this is machine wash/dry.

Poor Puppy

We don't keep our dog in a fence because he just keeps getting out. He's a bit of a social dog and likes to go visit the neighbors - who have assured me that they don't mind. We live at the end of a cul-de-sac style road surrounded by Corps property, so the road traffic is really limited to folks who live here.

There is a Siberian Husky who occasionally runs by and plays with Mel - and he gets caught up and keeps following him. Unfortunately, these are nail-biter evenings because I just hate feeling like I'm going to get THE CALL that Mel has been hit by a car. We've been fortunate as he's been found by some really nice people who call us.

The other night Mel didn't come home and I ended up driving around the previous areas where we've found him trying to find him, but I had no luck and went to bed around 10:30 hoping that he'd come home.

We got a call around 11:30 pm. Mel had impaled himself on a wrought iron fence at a house located about three or four miles away (in an area where he had not gone before) and it was bad. I ran over there and got him to the local animal emergency room. I have to admit that I did pretty well at not freaking out. Mel had essentially peeled away all the skin from his right hind leg and all I could see was muscle and red. Once I got him to the vet and knew he was being cared for and out of pain, I started shaking. The vet told me that he was fine, but I had to leave him overnight because he had to operate - the words he used were, "he's a bit of a mess."

After I calmed down enough to drive, I got home and didn't really have a fitful sleep. The next day, I got over to the vet to pick him up. He had MANY, MANY, MANY stitches. I don't want to post a photo because it still freaks me out just to look at them. Let's just say that the gash is over a foot long - and Mel's not that big of a dog.

So yesterday was spent sitting on the floor of my living room and keeping my puppy still by petting him. When he slept, I was able to get some work done on a hat I've been knitting for a good friend. I actually finished it - so I guess that's the only really good thing that happened yesterday. It was really stressful - even though I didn't do much.

He's still sore today, but is doing obviously better. Poor little guy.

Work on Vacation

I have a project that's due at the end of the month, so I brought my laptop on vacation with me. I'm actually able to get a couple of hours worth of work done - it sucks, but it's better than sitting in 40 degree wet weather.

Oh, and the lobby keeps playing the same insipid Christmas music - over and over and over again. If I hear Jingle Bell Rock one more time, I'm gonna kill some one.

J surprised me, though. There was a weird Spanish carol on and he started singing it. I had never heard it, but here was my DH singing this song. I asked him about how he knew the song, and he answered in one word: Catholic. It was funny. He says its about Joseph going from house to house trying to find a room for his pregnant wife, Mary. It's just a little strange having a 6'8" hulk singing a Spanish song at a high pitch - and someone who only knows how to ask where his shoes are in Spanish.

We went snorkeling a couple of days ago. M was scared of getting in the water, but finally had to go to the bathroom. She insisted that Francisco go back so she can use the bathroom. Francisco pointed to the water, and M was horrified. "I don't want to go on my suit!"

So I had to pull the suit aside. After much thought and angst, she finally went pee and proudly announced it to all. Oh. She went pee in the ocean FOUR times that trip!!

Once M was in the water, she did really well. I had her grab on to me while I snorkeled. J finally got to get into the water and snorkel, too. It was great. The fish were beautiful and we saw several eels - very cool.

When M gets tired, she wants to go hang out in the hotel room and watch "Neek" - or Nickelodeon for the non-initiated. She gets to see the same programs she knows and loves - but in Spanish.

All in all, I'm ready to come home. It seems five days is just enough time for us to be on vacation. Seven is two days too long.

Must. Stop. Jingle. Bell. Rock.

Hola!

We've been in Cozumel for a couple of days now. It's a beautiful resort. For the past two days, though, it has gotten chilly and was difficult to go swimming because the wind was so cold. The locals called it an El Norte. Hopefully it's gone today because M had declared that she WON'T go swimming today because it's too cold.

It's not the greatest photo, but here's a picture from where I'm sitting while blogging today:

Life can be so difficult sometimes! :)

I finished the Hemlock Ring blanket. I'm glad I finished it. M has claimed it to be her shawl and wears it around the resort. I am getting close to finishing up the Spiral Doily. I'm really liking the way the it's coming out.

AFI Top 100

I've watched 86 out of 100 of the AFI's top 100 movies. How about you?

1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2. THE GODFATHER
3. CASABLANCA (1942)
4. RAGING BULL (1980)
5. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
6. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
7. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
8. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
9. VERTIGO (1958)
10. WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939)
11. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
12. SEARCHERS, THE (1956)
13. STAR WARS (1977)
14. PSYCHO (1960)
15. SUNSET BLVD
16. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
17. GRADUATE, THE (1967)
18. GENERAL, THE (1927)
19. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
20. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
21. CHINATOWN (1974)
22. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
23. GRAPES OF WRATH, THE (1940)
24. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
25. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
26. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
27. HIGH NOON (1952)
28. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
29. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
30. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
31. MALTESE FALCON, THE (1941)
32. GODFATHER PART II, THE (1974)
33. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
34. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
35. ANNIE HALL (1977)
36. BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957)
37. BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE (1946)
38. TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE (1948)
39. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
40. SOUND OF MUSIC, THE (1965)
41. KING KONG (1933)
42. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
43. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
44. PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE (1940)
45. SHANE (1953)
46. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
47. STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A (1951)
48. REAR WINDOW (1954)
49. INTOLERANCE (1916)
50. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE (2001)
51. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
52. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
53. DEER HUNTER, THE (1978)
54. M*A*S*H (1970)
55. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
56. JAWS (1975)
57. ROCKY (1976)
58. GOLD RUSH, THE (1925)
59. NASHVILLE (1975)
60. DUCK SOUP (1933)
61. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941)
62. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
63. CABARET (1972)
64. NETWORK (1976)
65. AFRICAN QUEEN, THE (1951)
66. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
67. WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)
68. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
69. TOOTSIE (1982)
70. CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A (1971)
71. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
72. SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE (1994)
73. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
74. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE (1991)
75. IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)
76. FORREST GUMP (1994)
77. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)
78. MODERN TIMES (1936)
79. WILD BUNCH, THE (1969)
80. APARTMENT, THE (1960)
81. SPARTACUS (1960)
82. SUNRISE (1927)
83. TITANIC (1997)
84. EASY RIDER (1969)
85. NIGHT AT THE OPERA, A (1935)
86. PLATOON (1986)
87. 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
88. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
89. SIXTH SENSE, THE (1999)
90. SWING TIME (1936)
91. SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982)
92. GOODFELLAS (1990)
93. FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (1971)
94. PULP FICTION (1994)
95. LAST PICTURE SHOW, THE (1971)
96. DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)
97. BLADE RUNNER (1982)
98. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
99. TOY STORY (1995)
100. BEN-HUR (1959)

WIP - Spiral Doily

Still knitting along on the spiral doily. I think I have something like thirty six rows to go before I start doing the fancy ends.

The pattern is very easy to knit once I figured out to place markers after each k2tog's. I'm also over knitting the spiral area. The original pattern goes as high as 33 stitches per marker. I'm going to knit till I have 66 stitches per marker. The fancy edging is broken up by 11 stitches, so I think it'll work out.

I have my fingers crossed.

Free Pattern - FSM Ornament

Flying Spaghetti Monster Ornament Knitting Pattern

Materials:
1 skein worsted weight 100% wool yarn – Brown
1 skein worsted weight 100% wool yarn – Cream (can’t felt white yarn)
US size 4 needles – DPN’s or Circular
US size 11 needles
Tapestry needle
Poly-fil
Oobi eyes (I used the oobi like eyes)
Upholstery thread for loop to hang on tree.

Meatball (make 2):

Knitting in the round with brown wool, cast on 6 stitches with US size 4 needles and join. Place marker.

Row 1: K all stitches
Row 2: Kfb around (12 sts)
Row 3: K all stitches
Row 4: (Kfb, K1) around (18 sts)
Row 5: K all stitches
Row 6: (Kfb, K2) around (24 sts)
Row 7: K all stitches
Row 8: K all stitches
Row 9: K all stitches
Row 10: (K2tog, k2) around (18 sts)
Row 11: K all stitches
Row 10: (K2tog, k1) around (12 sts)
Row 11: K all stitches

Stuff the meat ball at this time.

Row 12: (K2tog) around (6 sts)

Break yarn leaving a long tail. Take tail and tapestry needle and thread through remaining stitches and cinch up to close the meatball. Leave the tail so you can use it to sew the meatball to the spaghetti monster.

Felt. (I just throw it into my washer and wash with hot water. If the monster still has some stitch definition, your monster needs more felting).

Spaghetti Monster:

With cream wool, cast on (double stranded) between 20 to 30 stitches with US size 11 needles.

Cast all stitches off but keep the last stitch on the right needle.

Repeat until you have roughly 30 to 35 tendrils.

You’ll have a long string with tendrils on it. Using a tapestry needle, sew the string together to make the monster, leaving the tendrils to dangle.

Felt.

Make up:

Sew the meatballs on the monster (use the photo above as a guide). Trim all stray yarn ends. Take Oobi eyes and thread some of the tendrils through the loop so the eyes will stay in place (Usually can stay in place with three tendrils). Sew upholstry thread on top and make a loop so you can hang it on the tree.

Variation (added 12/25/07):

If you don't want/can't get the oobie eyes, you can do this instead:

After knitting all 30 tendrils, knit two additional tendrils like this:

Cast on 8 stitches.

K2, turn work, k2, turn work

Cast off 8 stitches.

Make him up as shown above. Using two buttons for each eye socket, you can buy a large white button and insert a smaller black button to make them look like googly eyes. I've found that these work better than the plastic googly eyes. (look at my alligator mittens for an example).

This work is licensed under a
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Brain Bones

Random Thought

I truly don't understand the big worry over illegal immigrants in the US. I know that a lot of it is borne out of fear of 9/11, but I can't help but notice that the guys who brought down the towers were Saudis, not Mexicans. You can bet that many Mexicans will be there to help re-build it.

Do our political talking heads have silly priorities or what?

Almost finished - Hemlock

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Originally uploaded by civilgrrl

I'm almost finished with the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I am going to run out of yarn, so I am waiting till I get the final ball to finish binding this off.

Mom - don't look!

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Originally uploaded by civilgrrl

I've cast on for a spiral doily shawl with a nice cotton yarn. I really love knitting this so far.
Pattern: Doily with Spiral from Yarn Over (Vintage Pattern)
Yarn: Cotton Classic by Tahiki/Stacy Charles. Color: 3424; Lot 371

Here's what I hope it'll look like when I'm done:

FO - Flying Spaghetti Monster Ornament

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Originally uploaded by civilgrrl

I have a party to go to this weekend and we do a gift exchange. This is my gift to exchange this year.

Can you see the meat balls?

FO - Little Treasures Baby Jacket

Pattern: Little Treasures Jacket from Simply Knitting Magazine
Yarn: Sandnes Garn Mandarin Petit
Needles: Size 3
Mods: I didn't knit a button band or add a picot edging to the bottom or to the sleeves.

Hemlock Ring Blanket

I had some yarn left over from my sweater, so I cast on for the Hemlock Blanket (as inspired by the Knitting Rose).


I put my keys in the photo because I wanted to show the scale of the flower. It's HUGE!

Thanksgiving crazies

I love my daughter. I really do.

But I'm SO glad school is back in session. M was sick for the most part of the Thanksgiving break, so she spent a lot of time indoors.

I finally had to come up with something to do, so we decorated T-shirts.

I have been wanting to try freezer paper t-shirts, so we did one. I also bought an iron-on crystal wand, so we did a couple of crystals. M has really great motor skills and was able to put some crystals on herself. I was truly impressed.

FO - Gator Mittens

I made these for a teacher at M's school. She noticed M's gloves and really loved them, so I made some in her size. We just gifted them and she LOVED them.

Pattern: Later Gator Mittens from Stitch N Bitch Nation (size: Women's S)
Yarn: Berocco Comfort
Needles: Size 5 & 7
Thoughts: Love the yarn for these - they're machine wash and dry. They also knit up nice and thick. Buttons are used for the eyes and I fastened them with upholstery thread.

"The Siren Queen" by Fiona Buckley

This was one of my favorite Ursula Blanchard stories. It was written in 2004, so I'm feeling that maybe Ms. Buckley has stopped writing the series - which is really too bad. The final sentence was fabulous as the north is now on the march to the south, Meg may have met her future husband, Matthew de la Roche isn't dead, Cecil is on the outs with Elizabeth, and Gladys may finally stop throwing curses on people.

I think I also liked this book in the series because Meg starts being a character - and she's a pretty astute young lady.

I hope the series continues. I just don't think we'll see it happen as it's been three years since the last book. :(

FO-Flannel nightgown

We went to Joann's yesterday because they were having a GREAT sale - especially on flannel. M fell in love with a mermaid print, so I bought a cheap pattern and knocked out a nightgown for her. She loved them so much, she wore them almost all day today. If they weren't dirty, she'd be wearing them tonight, too. :)

FO - Hedgehog #1 & #2

Patttern: Huggable Hedgehog by Fiber Trends
Yarn: Ella Rae 100% wool; Schachenmayr nomotta Salsa & Brazilia
Thoughts: Fast knit. Terribly cute.

Another Hedgehog!

Boy these things whip up so quickly and they're really cute, too!