Happy Chocolate Bunny Day

Say hello to M's new pal, Bunny (that's the name she's decided to call it).

From behind: A close up
The pad of the feet: In hindsight, I wish I had duplicate stitched before I felted.
Paws
Joints: I'm supposed to sew buttons on to cover the dimples. I couldn't find my buttons, but now think it doesn't really need them.

I used Galway wool for the cream and am not happy with how it sort of felted. I've felted with other cream wool, so I know it can be done. The ears were done with Cascade 220 wool and felted like a dream.

Love the way this turned out. LOVE IT!!

Pattern: Knitted, Felted, Jointed Rabbit (BBE02) by Bear Brain

Books

I haven't reviewed any books lately, but I have been reading (I always have a book going).

Here's a list:

1. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
2. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
3. Specials by Scott Westerfeld (I must admit that I stopped reading this one)
4. Mind of My Mind by Octavia Butler
5. Patternmaster by Octavia Butler
6. March Violets by Phillip Kerr
7. The Positronic Man by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg
8. The Dispossesed by Ursula K Le Guin

Currently reading Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest. This book actually started out on her blog and was picked up by a publisher.

WIP - Easter Bunny

I started knitting a toy. Couldn't help myself. I've been working on so many larger projects and my CSM machine, that I just HAD to cast on for a toy.

And of course with Easter on it's way, I decided to finally make the Felted, Jointed Rabbit by Bear Brain for M.

LOTS of sewing, which is one of the reasons why I put the pattern aside for a while.
The body is sewn together:

I sewed the arms together, but I did it wrong. I'm going to have to pull out some of the stitches at the end of the arms so I can gather the ends to make them round. Of all the pieces that could be knit in the round, the arms definitely could be rewritten.Here are the feet. I stopped sewing them last night because I was hurrying the result. I think the feet on these are really super cute.

So, I have to finish sewing the pieces up and will probably felt them tonight (fingers crossed).

FO - Trinomial Cube!

DD goes to Montessori and this is her last year with her teacher (she’s been there for almost three years). I am modifying the Fibo-optic to look like a trinomial cube.

Oh, joy! The afghan is done! The afghan is done!

I must admit that in the end, I do like it. I was having some doubts midway!

Hope Miss Marshall will like it.

(Notes on the afghan: I modified this afghan from a known pattern:

Pattern: Fibo-optic by Pat Ashforth & Steve Plummer of Woolly Thoughts
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun.

• Fawn (1 skein)
• Cobalt (1 skein)
• Granite (2 skeins)
• Sierra (1 skein)
• Covered Bridge Red (1 skein)
• Candy Apple (1 skein)
• Montana Sky (1 skein)
• Sunshine State (1 skein)
• Black (2 skeins)

Some notes:
To make this match the tri-nomial cube, I ended up leaving off the last four blocks.

I sewed up the front blocks and it took me a long time to do, so I ended up playing with a different technique for the “shadow” blocks. I cast on all of the stitches, but added one extra one between the two like colors. When I get to that stitch I K it on the RS row and P it on the WS row (after I’ve increased). It’s working out and I’m pleased with the result.

First Ribbed CSM Socks!

100_2107
Originally uploaded by civilgrrl

I went to the North Texas Crank-in this past weekend and I did it, I did it! I got my ribber to work!

Here's my first ribbed pair of socks (for MEEEE)!
Yarn: CK King handpainted
20 rows 1 x 1 rib
50 rows 3 x 1 rib
15 rows preheel
65 rows foot
gage: 10 rows per inch
Size: Ladies 10.5

Math for size: 10.375" (toe to heel measurement for ladies 10.5) - 4" (for toe & heel) = 6.375" x 10 rows / inch = 63.75 rows (or 64). I did one extra row, so I think these will fit very well.

-----

Note: Thea wanted to know how these fit. Well, I'm now not a fan of 72 needle cylinder socks. When I put them on, they're great, but they stretch out and become bunchy towards the middle of the day. My 60 needle socks don't do that. The leg, however, rocks. I have large calves and these just fit me great. Mary Berry (my CSM guru) has mentioned that she does a ribbed sock with the 36 needle dial and the 54 needle cylinder. It gives a nice large leg and a snug foot. I don't have a 54 needle cylinder, so I won't be doing this for a while. While I was able to whip out the ribbed sock, some knob or setting must have been disturbed during transit because I have not been able to get the ribber going since. I'll get it working! I also have been EATING my ribber needles through this difficult time. I have been wanting to order some large eye needles from Pat Fly with Angora Valley. I'll probably order 50 more ribber needles.

"How did I get such a great kid?"

Warning: There is an explicit word in this post.
--
I was tucking M in the other night and while I was giving her smooches, I asked her, "What did I do to deserve such a great kid like you?"

With a twinkle in her eye, she answered, "You let Daddy put his penis in all the way up to your funny bone. That's why I got so silly!"

Speechless. . .

So, I gave her a kiss and bolted for the door before I would bust a gut.

I told J, and he said, "I'm gooooooooood."

I am in so much trouble between the two of them. :)

Mystery Solved

We have a bird feeder and it always seems to be empty - even though we fill it up quite frequently.

With the snow still on the ground, we finally had our suspicions confirmed: Raccoons!

WIP - Trinomial Cube - 3D

The 3-D effect is starting to show on this afghan.

It's snowing!

It snows a total of two or three days in the D/FW area each winter. Today my daughter was sent home early from school.

My back patio looks like this:

It snowed two days ago and warmed up to a balmy 69 degrees yesterday.

Meme - 4 Things

Four (4) things about me that you may or may not have known, in no particular order.

Four (4) jobs I have had in my life

1. Lifeguard
2. Pizza Delivery Person
3. Mail Clerk
4. Receptionist

Four (4) movies I've watched more than once:

1. Pretty Woman
2. Hotel New Hampshire
3. Grace of My Heart
4. Star Wars - the first one (ep. 3)

Four (4) places where I have lived

1. Naples Italy
2. Honolulu, Hawaii
3. Anchorage, Alaska
4. Miami, Florida

Four (4) TV Shows that I watch:

1. American Idol (a little embarrassed to admit - but I do watch it)
2. Jericho
3. Lost
4. Reaper

Four (4) places I have been

1. Las Vegas, NV
2. Paris, France
3. Munich, Germany
4. Gillette, WY

Four (4) of my favorite foods:

1. Pizza
2. Ice Cream
3. Spaghetti
4. Lasagna

Four (4) places I would rather be right now:

1. Knitting
2. On vacation
3. On vacation
4. On vacation

Four (4) things I am looking forward to this year:

1. Going to Randy's Ranch
2. Going to Seattle
3. Going to Las Vegas
4. Going on a camping trip

If you read this, consider yourself tagged.

Girl Power

Well, I had a great big dose of being a girl yesterday. After school, I picked up M and took her to Town Square. We went and early voted - Go Hillary! Then went to the library.

Next stop: Sweet and Sassy. My daughter loves going here and if left to her own devices, would have her hair cut here all the time, and get her nails done, and have her birthday party, etc. . .

My folks had sent a check for her birthday present and M had been bugging me about getting an ear piercing appointment (her best friend S got her ears pierced for Christmas). So I thought this would be a great use for the birthday money.

BOY WAS IT EVER!!!

M picked out her ear rings and they did them two at a time. I was really proud of her - no tears, no screaming. She did better than I did when I got mine pierced at age 10.

She also needed her bangs trimmed, so the ladies cut them and put her hair up into a style that showed off her new ear rings. M called it her make-over. :)

So, here's M with her make over.

Here's a close up of her ear (she wanted to see what it looked like)

Great Wolf Lodge

Well, M turned six last Saturday! We spend Friday night over at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. It was a blast. We got back on Saturday and I ended up falling asleep at 8 pm.

More details later.

CSM Sock

I'm still having difficulty with determining how to size socks. J is a solid size 13. So when I made this sock - a Men's 10 - it turned out BIGGER!!

Ugh!

Here's a photo. I really like the color.

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette, Verdant Heather

20 rows - hang hem

Leg: 40 rows

Foot: 68 rows

Here's the deal, each heel and toe is 4" (2" for each)

Size Men 10 foot length is 10.81" - 4" = 6.81"

I have a gage of 10 rows per inch, so

6.81" * 10 rows/inch = 68 rows

But this is a good 1" too large for my Men's 13 husband.

I need to wash the sock. Perhaps that will "fix" this problem.

I think I'm going to try to work on a couple of mock ribbed socks.

WIP - Trinomial Cube

You can't see it very well with the lighting of this photo, but the black blocks are separated by a purled row. I sewed the two red borders together to get a scope of the size of the cube. It's going to be on the small side, but I've purchased a nice neutral color to make the blanket/wall hanging a little larger. I am liking how it is turning out. The colors are working out well, too.

WIP - Bombshell #2 - Missing 6th skein

Well, I bound off on the bottom of the Bombshell. Only thing left is to do the seed borders for the sleeves and the neck.

Of course, I've run out of yarn on the fifth ball and I have a sixth one - I just don't know where I put it.

FRUSTRATING!!

Mainly because I feel that I can finish this sweater up in a matter of an afternoon - I just don't have the yarn to do it with!!!

I've tried it on and it definitely needs the neck band - the structure of the sweater just needs it as it's too stretchy right now.

I love the color and the fit. I'm glad I took the time to make the bust darts.

Here's a photo of the sweater to date.

Little Big Foot

My other nephew, Big Foot's twin, wears a size 13 - which is interesting because a number of men in my life have size 13 feet.

So, here's a sock I made for him last night:

Yarn: Knit Picks Pallet

Color: Bark

Hem: Plain hung hem - 20 cranks

Leg: 30 rows

Foot: 78 rows

Gage: 8 sts/9 rows per inch

Toe to Heel measurement: 12 inches

Walked out on Weight Watchers

I really do consider myself a fairly tolerant person but I hate to admit that I walked out on my Saturday Weight Watcher meeting. We had a substitute leader and she was just way too evangelical for my taste.

First strike was when she was talking about how "God wouldn't want you to be thinking negatively about your body". I let that one go.

Strike Two was when she was describing your morning routine, "when you do your devotion".

My friend and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes when we heard this (my friend is a believer).

Strike Three was when she referred to our bodies as our "worldly bodies". I just felt that it was not appropriate for my Weight Watchers meeting and looked over at my friend, who was really ticked off at this point. I whispered over to her that I just wasn't going to get anything out of this meeting. She said she wanted to go, too. So we went out to the front and complained.

The response: Oh, well you guys are just Casi fans (Casi is the name of our usual leader). While I love Casi, this was just not the case. We've had substitutes before and had no problems with them. This particular leader just crossed a line in my opinion.

And really, I am not intolerant. I go to UU church each Sunday and have believing friends and family.

The thing is, this substitute probably doesn't even know that evangelical speak has just taken over her vocabulary. I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt.

To add insult to injury, my Curves had Praise Music blaring when I walked in and we had to politely ask the trainer to change the CD.

Just not my cup of tea.

I'm Dead

I received my death hat in yesterday's mail. I must admit that I quite like the hat. Well done, assassin of mine. The little snot also sent a condolence card!

And no, I'm not stoned, I'm sick.

Sock for Big Foot

I have a nephew with a size 17 foot. Yes. That isn't a typo. Size 17. My sister says it's very difficult to find socks for him. She just buys size 13's and let's him stretch them out.



Mom bought a whole bunch of sock yarn for me to make socks with. I haven't made a sock with my 72 needle cylinder, so I decided to try to make one for Big Foot.

Yarn: Knit Picks Pallet
Color: Ash
Hem: Plain hung hem - 21 cranks
Leg: 35 rows
Foot: 99 rows
Gage: 8 sts/9 rows per inch
Toe to Heel measurement: 13 inches

Valentine's Dress

Last Saturday was the school family Valentine's Day dance and M had been begging me for the past few weeks to wear a dress to the dance. Because I love her, I ran over to the local thrift store and bought a dress. After trying it on to show her that morning, she immediately went into a funk - She had nothing to wear to the dance.

So, being the oh-so-indulgent mother, I ran back over to the thrift store to see if I could find Miss M a dress. I scored BIG TIME. It is a red dress with a jacket. The jacket is trimmed with faux fur. She LOVES it. I think she wore it every day since I bought it. Here's a photo of my snaggle toothed valentine:

Snaggle Toothed Grin

Well M finally lost her first top front tooth. Her grin is just adorable.

The tooth has been loose for months. It'd get loose, then tighten up, loosen up again, then tighten up. She's been pretty frustrated.

I got back from working out on Saturday and was practically tackled by her when I walked in.

"Momma, momma, momma! Guess what! I lost my TOOTH!!!!" she said excitedly. "The tooth fairy will have to visit tonight," she continues like she's imparting a great truth to me.

FWIW, she already knows the tooth fairy is us but she likes to pretend.

We went to church on Sunday and she had to share with the congregation during "Joys, Sorrows, and Concerns"

"My joy is that I lost my tooth yesterday and got a dollar from the tooth fairy this morning!"

Of course this prompted many folks after the service to ask her what she's going to do with her dollar.

She looks at them with a little exasperation, "Well, it went into my bank," like there was any other way she could use her dollar. . .

Makes a Momma's heart sing!

I've been informed that she's saving for a Barbie doll (which she already has several of and doesn't play with).

Heart's not singing as loudly, now. . .

:)

Charity Baby Hats

One of the things that is nice about my CSM is how fast I can make baby hats. I'm using remnant sock yarn to make these and will donate them to my knitting guild. The hats will go to JPS hospital.

The Assumption

This is a very clever video.

Just killed a woman (FO: Binary Hat)

I joined HAT ATTACK! which is a knitting game - of sorts.

The idea is you are assigned a target and will knit a specific hat for that person. You need to try to get it finished as fast as possible because someone is knitting the same hat for you (your assassin). If you receive a finished hat, then you are considered killed and need to send your unfinished hat to your assassin to finish knitting. It's all circular and eventually one person is left and wins the competition.

I finished my hat last night and it is going in the mail today. The front:

The back:

I have to admit that I hate sending this off as I love the colors and cabling of this hat. I took the time to knit in the Fibonacci series, too. This is a truly Geeky (capital G) hat. Notice the cabling on the hat? It's counting numbers in binary - look at the front and go left to right and you'll see it.

My assassin has finished her hat and has posted it. It's green, which is nice because my winter jacket is green, too. She lives in Illinois, so I am expecting it in tomorrows mail.

So, Livviebrooke, you may want to avoid the mail box for the next few days as I have my weapon built and it's on its way.

Yes, knitters are a strange lot. We definitely have our own little subculture going.

Instant Knit Gratification

I just love my CSM.

LOVE. IT.

I hauled it out to my local Stitch n Bitch last night to show it off and was able to knock out a pair of socks! I'm wearing them on my feet as I type this!

Yarn: Berroco Comfort Sock
Color: Southland (1813 )
Hem: Double 15 row Picot (crank 15 times, yarn over ever other needle, crank another 15 times, hang bottom hem)
Leg: 52 rows
Foot: 59 rows
Gage: 7.5 sts/9 rows per inch
Toe to Heel measurement: 10.5 inches

No holes in the heel!

Observation:

These are the first socks made out of Comfort Sock I've made for me. They aren't as toasty warm as wool socks are, but they are super soft. They're made of nylon and acrylic. For $7.00 a ball, though, the price is really good.

All animals are equal,

but some animals are more equal than others.

M put up some house rules.

To translate:

1. Be Respectful
2. Girls Rule, Boys Drool
3. Don't Cry
4. I Rule the House

Life from the point of view of a soon to be six year old.

More CSM Socks

I made these for my Weight Watcher's leader - she'd been having a difficult week.

Yarn: Berroco Comfort Sock

Color: Hari Hari (1811 )

Hem: Double 15 row Picot (crank 15 times, yarn over ever other needle, crank another 15 times, hang bottom hem)

Leg: 52 rows

Foot: 52 rows

Gage: 7.5 sts/9 rows per inch

Toe to Heel measurement: 9 inches

What I did over the weekend

Socks!

These are all for my mom - she bought the sock yarn from Knit Picks. The top two yarns is Elements and the stripy ones are Felici.

I learned something about sock sizing. You need to make the sock to the size of the foot. It will be a little large on the foot, but all you have to do is wash the sock - they will shrink a little and become perfect fitting socks.

Good to know.

Mom also gave me her "Sock it too me" sock sizing guide. I love it!

We also made a deal, if she buys the yarn, I'll make the socks. She will also buy a little extra for me to use. Sweet!

Now all I need to do is to play with my ribber and get selvages under control. Then I can make nice ribbed socks. Right now the socks are good if you have big ankles!

Another CSM pair

Well, since the other socks were too small for MA, I whipped out another pair last night.

Here's my second attempt at making size 7.5 socks.

Yarn: Comfort Sock
Color: 1812
Hem: 15 row Picot
Leg: 52 rows
Foot: 52 rows
Gage: 7.5 sts/9 rows per inch

Toe to Heel measurement: 9 inches

I washed the other pair and superimposed it onto the ones I just made:

Observations: The yarn color faded a bit, but there wasn't any shrinkage with this yarn. The 15 row picot edge doesn't flare out like the 10 row picot edge.

BSJ - Corrections

Well, Mom found some errors in my row count stuff.

Here's the revised instruction for row 112 (or the button hole row)

Row 112: k4, (YO, K2tog, k7) x 4, YO, K2tog, k4, M1,sm, M1, k98, M1 sm, M1, k46

I updated the spreadsheet, so click here for the corrected one.

WIP - Bombshell #2 - Solved the bust dart mystery

I love Ravelry. I posted my problem with the bust short rows there and got my answer. I had to post it here.

You aren't making a diamond on your chest, you are knitting a short row bust heel - if you will.

So the shape you knit is more of two tetrahedron's on top of each other.

Scarlettb posted this:

So I’m gathering from your math that your bust dart length is 24 stitches total, 12 per side. Your total BDR is 12 rows, which means you have to do the decreasing part in 6 rows, and then the increasing again in 6 rows. That means that you have to decrease four stitches per row (your SRI), So here’s what you’re going to do:

R1: K92, W&T

R2: P88, W&T

R3: K84, W&T

R4: P80, W&T

R5: K76, W&T

R6: P72, W&T

R7: K76, knitting wrap together with stitch

R8: P80, purling wrap together with stitch

R9: K84, knitting wrap together with stitch

R10: P88, purling wrap together with stitch

R11: K92, knitting wrap together with stitch

R12: P96, purling wrap together with stitch
And then continue the pattern normally.

------------

Thanks Scarlettb. I'm knitting the ribbed part of the sweater. My handknitting has been suffering a bit lately because I've been messing with my CSM.

2 Hour Socks

Yarn: Comfort Sock

Color: 1812

Hem: 10 row Picot

Leg: 45 rows

Foot: 45 rows

Gage: 7.5 sts/9 rows per inch

Toe to Heel measurement: 8 inches

Wow, I even have matching patterns on each sock! I DID not plan that out, but how cool! I'm hoping this will fit a size 7.5 foot, but feel that it may be too small. A 7.5 shoe is 9.5" from toe to heel (ladies shoe chart). According to a child's shoe chart I found on-line, the sock may be for a child size 2.

I'm gifting my socks tonight. Hopefully they fit. As soon as I understand the expected stretch required in socks, I'll post it here.

(Note: MA tried on her socks and the heel was an inch too short - darn!)

Second Sock

Well, I got the second sock done

First attempt at Kitchnering the toe: (Terrible!)Second attempt: (better)I also whipped up a pair for M, but the picot edging is just too wide for her, so I'll have to frog those and redo them once I have the ribber under control.

I played a bit with the ribber last night and actually got it working.

Now I'll have to get a pair going because the ribbing is just SO cool. I'll redo M's socks. The nice thing about her failed pair to know is that I made a size 3 sock and the heel/toe area fit her just fine. I did the toe/heels down to 8 needles instead of the 12 I have marked on my cylinder.

I also would like to start making some baby hats with this for some of my charity knitting for the knitting guild.

Grammar Test (corrected spelling)

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

Surprise Jacket Revisited

I got an email asking for help on Row 59 (where you increase 10 stitches along the back area of jacket. This is what I came up with.

Row 59: K28, M1,sm, (M1, k7) x 4, M1, k1, M1, k6, (M1, k7)x 3, M1, sm, M1, k28 (124 st)

(sm = slip marker)

I also went ahead and finished writing out all the stitch counts row by row.

Click here if you want access to the full spreadsheet to print out.

One sock!

I made a sock! I made a sock! With my machine!! It took 2 hours to make this sucker!

Hem: 10 row Picot edging.

Size: fits me, so I'm gonna say a 9 - 11 sized sock.

Yarn: Trekking

I don't remember how many cranks I made between the heel and the toe. I'm going to have to count them so I can make a match.

As Ronda says: Whoo to the Hoo! ;)

Big Fish

Well, J was contacted by Big Fish Games - they wanted to use his games as an on-line game of the day. I couldn't say anything because he signed a NDA.

Yesterday was the first day his games were up on their site. They chose to post Baffle Bees. I must admit, this isn't one of my favorites of his as I just don't grock how to play it.

Today they put up Brain Bones. Now this game is probably my all time favorite that he's made. It's a little intimidating at first, but the best advice I have is to watch his animation as it really does sort of explain how to play the game as you go. It's a dice game and I secretly like to think he made this game for me because he knows how much I love dice games.



I'm really proud that his games are starting to get some great buzz and hope that one of these buggers becomes the next Internet phenomenon! I know I'm biased, but I play his games everyday. They're quick and fun.

Oh, and the more you play them, the more we get paid. The games are sponsored by various companies with ads.

I made a heel!

Well, what a difference a day makes.

I was able to successfully get one heel and one toe done today - and they're good.

Here's the heel - there are no holes!

And the toe:

I've been putting off buying a ball winder mainly because a friend of mine has one and we occasionally have yarn winding sessions at our local Stitch n Bitch. But I really need one now because it makes ripping out practice socks quickly.

I'll have to wait till there's a 50% coupon from Joann's.