As Promised...

The REAL post!!!

So like I said, I've had a pretty busy week. I did however, get in some quality time in with the sticks. I also from an RLYS (really local yarn store) about 15 minutes from my house! Fiber Arts Studio has everything I could need and more. Remember those light up needles from the new Vogue??? They have them and they look like fun :-) Early in the week, I stopped by to pick up one more ball of Noro to finish this:

In addition to my AMAZING pillow, I started Fetching from Knitty. I love the fact that it uses cables for shaping, but i agree with Michael that the holes around the thumb look less than great. I did a duplicate stitch (sort of) to cover those bits o' nasty up. I'm blocking it now, but here's pic of the WIP:

The yarn is a special colorway (the name escapes me, I'll post it when i get to the center of the ball) from Woolbearers, that i bought simply because I loved the colors. I know you can't see the cables but, the colors are so amazing that i don't think it matters much.

The MLC blanket is till slowly moving along. I'm on the third block of color and there is still no end in sight. I'm really bad at math and it turns out that i need like 8 more balls of Sonata to finish it. That day is still very far away, so I'm in no rush to order the rest.

I actually got some reading time in this week, and i finished Choke by Chuck Palahniuk. It was a Xmas gift that I finally got around to finishing up, and i loved it. In true Palahniuk style, the book deals with self-destructive agressiveness (transgressional fiction), and some pretty colorful subject matter. The book was truly shocking and the plot twist (which was to be expected, after reading several of his books) blew my mind. I don't want to give anything away to the people who haven't read it, so i don't want to go into detail because the story is seamlessly linked together. I will warn you that it's not for anyone who has problem with taboo situations, it really seems to cross the line of what people think maybe grotesque.

On Thursday, we went to Great Adventure. It was a lot of fun! I haven't been in maybe 6 years. As far as the newer rides went, we didn't want to stand in line for hours on end. We opted for the older less appreciated rides like Congo Rapids (where we got soaked), Houdini's Great Escape, Rolling Thunder and The Great American Scream Machine! I have a picture of us on it, but blogger is acting up :-( After a soaking ringing wet day of $9 hamburgers, I didn't get a chance to post, but it was worth it. We didn't take our camera, so i don't have any of the pictures yet. We got an especially cool one with Daffy Duck.

Today is the only day I have to clean, so i had better get moving...

SoRRY!!!

I know i didn't post on thursday this week as usual... We went to Six Flags and it was a FUN, super long day. I have a *NEW* FO, and a couple of WIP's to show off! I also have big dreams to rip off a D&G sweater that costs over a thousand dollars!!!! I have to upload my pics and get them all in order, hopefully, I'll have a post ready by sunday...

*the video is not mine, i'm just borrowing it to give you an idea of our day*

Set Myself on Fire...

We went to the beach on sunday a i got the nastiest sunburn ever... That's right!!! I got sunburn and it hurts :-( I was just minding my business, reading "Why Do Men Have Nipples?" (which I reccomend to everyone, it's very funny) and the sun came down and punched me in the face! I was feeling terrible and having a bad day on monday when I went back to work and this showed up and turned my whole day around:

Charles from CooL Buddha Tonic sent me some of his beautiful hand dyed yarn!!!! Charles is awesome, if you haven't checked out his shop yet, you should. The colorway is called "Shanghi Noon", the picture does this yarn no justice. I need to give a stab at using acid dye, the colors are so intense! So I have 210 yards of worsted weight *SOFT* merino, what should i do???

I ran to A.C. Moore last week to pick up some thing because Kellyn wanted to learn how to knit. She picked it up really quick!!! We just did a garter stitch scarf in Thick and Quick, if I can pull it away from her for 2 seconds I'll snap a pic for you all. While we were there I grabbed some Sugar and Cream to try out Dave's Garterlac Dishcloth. After 3 attempts, I finally got it:

I can't wait to make another one, but I'm trying to hold off on dishclothes ans washrags until the Dishcloth KAL starts in September. That's gonna be awesome, BTW! JoiN if you want to be cool and you're just not sure how :-)

I may finally cast my second Knuck on today, though I'm not excited about it. I not the biggest fan of the pattern. It's a little messy, IMHO. Maybe I'm just a bad knitta? I do plan on making another pair out of the Rowan Cotton Tweed, just to see if I get better results.

I still have to get needles for the Moderne Log Cabin before I pick it back up. I'm going to try the new Knitpicks needles, because I also want the super big jug of Kookaburra Woolwash.

I don't have any new pictures of the kitties, so we're gonna do a music video instead. I found this Swedish band listening to a channel on my Last.fm Player and I love them!

"The Concretes began as a three member all girl band with Victoria Bergsman, Maria Eriksson, and Lisa Milberg. Since then they have picked up members, growing into an eight piece band. The also have a number of "Honorary Concretes" who play on their records.
One of their songs from their album The Concretes, "Say Something New", has been featured on TV advertisements in the United States for Target.
Another of their songs "Chico", has been remixed by Australian electronic artists The Avalanches..."-Wikipedia.com

"Seems Fine" by The Concretes

Yeah, I did it myself...

Remember that sock yarn I bought from StickChick? I finally got around to dyeing it this weekened. I used Wiltons Icing Dye in Royal Blue and Leaf Green. I dyed yarn a few times before, but it was the first time I did two colors at one time. It was wayyyy easier to clean up than the Kool-Aid fiasco. I'm pretty happy with results, and Dave loves the colors. I didn't bother to re-hank it (the first one ended up in the biggest knot I've ever seen). So this is the final product:
I haven't really talked about the pillow I'm making yet!!! I'm pretty excited about it, actually. I'm knitting it on the bias, so the Noro makes diagonal stripes. I'm not using a pattern, and I think it's looking pretty good anyway. I need to stop by the LYS and pick up another skein to finish up the back. Here's the top piece:
I'm thinking of casting on Criminy Jickets Garterlac Dishcloth tonight, we'll see if I get that far. I need to get somee things done around the house and I'm starting to get a headache, YUK!

Oh yeah! We washed Adrienne the other day and i got a really cute picture...

An actual LYS? I declare!

Yeah, I found a REAL LYS!!! Doesn't sound too hard, right? WRONG!!! I love Woolbearer's but, it's definitely an hour away. I love their hand dyed yarns and the ladies are amazing. But in between visits i need stuff, too.

Kellyn and I were goofing aroung in Ocean City last week and I found The Knitting Niche. It's sorta back off the street, I had been looking for it for awhile and just never saw it. Vicki (the owner) was really cool, especially with a shop full of Shoobies. She made the time to show me things that were knit in each of the colorways I was looking at. The Knitting Niche has tons of Debbie Bliss (I finally got to touch Cotton Cashmere, it's beautiful and affordable! I can't wait to make something with it!), Noro and Plymouth Yarns. There are a bunch of intresting sock yarns that I've never heard of, in pretty cool combinations. They have classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights, it's $10, you can take whatever your working on, and get help from people with 20+ years of experience. If anyone is intrested in going, I'll email you the phone number. You have to call ahead as there is only enough room for 15 people.

While I was there, I picked up 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon in color 51 and a tiny bottle of Kookaburra Woolwash. I've already started designing a simple Bias Pillow with the Noro, and washed the piece I've finished (pics to come). The Kookaburra softened up NORO, I'm sold! It also smells great, very clean!



I haven't really done much this week, just sat around in the A/C... I'm going to try to fold the mountain of laundry today, maybe i should make some coffee....

I've been tagged!

Obsidian Kitten tagged (http://obsidiankitten.blogspot.com/2006/07/oh-so-i-was-tagged.html) me. I'm supposed to come up with "6 weird things/habits" about myself and then pick on six other bloggers/diarists to do the same. (Great, if I follow thru, I have to torture 6 other people. So watch out.)

1. I love bubble baths!!!! I have to avoid looking at fun bath toys/products because I lose self control. I have these amazing rubber duckies that light up and change colors in the water. I could be in there for hours at time listening to music and playing with bubbles....

2. I dance with my cats when I'm cleaning the house (ALONE). I always listen to loud crazy music like the Blood Brothers or the Gossip when I'm cleaning and it makes us all really hyper.
I should probably close the shades. My neighbors probably think I'm nuts.

3. I can't sleep without a blanket, no matter how hot it is!

4. When I'm upset, I sit on the kitchen floor... I always have, I don't know why... I just do it.

5. When I'm angry or stressed out, I clean like Cinderella. I scrub the floors, and every little spot that usually goes untouched. It helps me calm down and focus on the situation (or forget about it).

6. I'm a HUGE fan of poop jokes. You can just say poop, and I'm rolling on the floor. It's totally immature, and gross. But, I just can't help myself!

I'm coming for 6 of you, so be prepared to get down and dirty. This where people stop being polite and start getting real. LOL!!!!

Nothing's Ever Finished...

So here's the first knuck.... It was weird to knit fingers and joining was a lil' rough. I think I got the hang of it, though. I modified the textured stitch from the pattern. I onlt did rows 1 & 2, skipping 3 & 4 all together. I just did a regular bind off b/c i didn't have a crochet hook in the right size, it made the opening smaller but i still got my hand in!





The Moderne Log Cabin Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting is coming along VERY SLOWLY ... I want to know who's idea it was to knit a giant blanket on size 6 needles!!! If I see said person on the streets, I'm throwin' down! I'm just about halfway through the first square, MAYBE it will be done by Xmas. MAYBE!






The Mitered Square Rug from Interweave is looking pretty sweet!!! Doubled yarn on sz 10.5 needles is my kind of knittin'.
I'm amazed that Red Heart can look that good! I'm obsessed with knitting for the house now. It doesn't matter if it fits or if too itchy... It accepts everything and never asks if you can modify it after you've knit it. I have this crazy idea that i want to knit and felt pillows for my living room with Noro Kureyon in a wicked colorway. I'm afraid to venture into felting w/o a pattern, but i guess if i swatch everything first...



So, we got the new Format album (Dog Problems) at work and I absolutely LOVE it! It's sorta Alt. Country (think Wilco) , with an Indie sensibilty. These guys actually got dropped from Atlantic Records for recording a song about the shadiness of the record industry. They pretty much did this new album on their own, with a few new members in the line-up, and put it out on Nettwerk. If you're into Belle and Sebastian or The Shins, you'll love it too :-) "She Doesn't Get it" and "Time Bomb" are AmAZING!!!!

WoW! It's late and i should go to bed....

YaY SocKS!!!

That's right, they're finished! No thanks to Monk! I was paying so much attention to the new episode, i stopped turning my heel and started working straight rows. I had to frog the entire heel flap and re-work it. I have no clue how i picked the stitches back up, but I did :-)

After throwing it, and contemplating why anyone would knit a stupid sock you can just buy for lots cheaper. I calmed down and took it all back. I finished my socks :-)

The stripes aren't even, i know... It was my first time using a striping yarn and i wasn't sure how much i could waste. I'm still really happy with them. I'm even more excited that I can start my KnUcKS! I'm using Rowan Cashsoft DK in Mist. I bought it at my LYS in hopes of making Xmas gloves and i just never did. It's 57% extra fine merino, 33% microfiber, and 10% cashmere. I'm sure it's going to be a dream to knit with. I'm so excited to finally use it :-)

Alright, Alright...

I guess I'm sort of obligated to post something. It's been about a week, but i don't really have a lot of knitting progress to catch you up on. I did however, get to go to the beach. It's amazing how i get absolutely no tan. It was fun, though. I went into the ocean for the first time, it was crazy, i couldn't stop thinking about how many people were peeing (lol).

I just got Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins.





I know I'm a little late on it, but i had one of those nifty CoinStar gift certificates. I love all things on Team Love Records but this isn't my favorite. I <3 Tilly and the Wall. If you haven't heard them, you should give Bottoms of Barrels a listen. The band features a tap dancing percussionist, and while it sounds like something that should never have left a musty basement, they can pull it off.

Oh yeah! this is my knitting blog, isn't it?

The yarn for my Moderne Log Cabin Blanket came yesterday!!! The colors are actually a better match than i had planned. I casted it on last night as soon as i got home. Turns out i need a really big circular, so if anyone knows where i can get one the isn't a billion dollars, lemme know!

I know everyone is itching to see the sock, but SOMEONE deleted my entire series of sock pics... I promise I'll put pics up this week. In addition, I have a few WIP's on the progredd bars now. I started a Mitered Square Rug, in some good ol' Red Heart (an X-mas gift, Thx Ann!) to get used to picking up stitches for my blanket. I also added the Knucks to my WIP section even thought they have to wait until my sz. 4 dpn's come out of the socks.

It's my day off, we all know what that means... I've got dishes to do :-)

This Is What I do...

with a day off from work!!! It's beautiful out, i live near the beach, I'm sure something needs to be cleaned somewhere in the house... So, i knit a dishcloth!!! It may help with the cleaning part, since i use them for every and anything. But, it didn't help me get to the beach. :-( Me and Dave got beach passes for the O.C. (Ocean City!!!) and i've yet to go. Oh well at least I've got this to dry my tears:

As always your super-fantastic KnitXcorE close-up:

I've yet to cast on my second sock. I'm not as excited about them as i was when i finished the first one. I finally got Mason Dixon Knitting. I want to knit everything in it! We picked colors yesterday for the Moderne Log Cabin throw on Elann.com (I'm using Sonata in shades of brown). I'm REALLY jazzed about it, I've never knit anything bigger than a couple of bad sweaters (that i will not share). The hand towels are amazing, as well. Instead of euroflax I may use AllHemp6, I was looking for an excuse to buy it anyway :-)

Yesterday, I found an amazing podcast! Mosh Knit Is CrAzY amazin'! Quirky and filled with grrrrreat music (Episode 12 featured Fall Out Boy, American Nightmare, Le Tigre, Bright Eyes, et. al.) it is my new favorite podcast. If you like punk or indie music, or just wanna change things up (some of those knitting podcasts can get boring), the is where it's at!!!

Like I said, I'm sure something needs cleaning and the kitties wanna eat:

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub

The Reverse Bloom Flower Washcloth is finished. I feel like it was on the needles forever, considering that it's such a small project. I made one for my mom on Mother's day and my Grandmom saw it and sort of... well... demanded one for herself. I usually jump at the chance to knit something but, I'm afraid this pattern is going to be retired.

I'm sure you all want to know the specs...

-Hand Dyed Cotton Chenille from Woolbearers

(i wish i could remember the colorway!!!)

-Sz. 6 straights and DPN's

Here is a close-up of the colorway:

Woolbearers always has really great hand dyes, in addition to some ol' favorites. I have a hank of beautiful merino wool put away, I have no clue what to do with it. I couldn't resist the color!!! I'll post a pic when i get a chance just to show it off....

It seems everyone has a gratuitous kitty photo on their blog... So here's one of mine:

This is Adrienne, we adopted her a couple of months ago... We named her Adrienne after Adrian Monk, he's a detective with an OCD. She's a kitty with and OCD (she licks off patches of her hair sometimes). She's sooooo sweet!!! She'll come in and wake us up in the morning or sleep on our backs. I always said I didn't want a second cat, but I'm glad we could save her :-)

Sleep + Ice Cream =

An Ice Cream Cozy?

Last night, before i went to bed, i had some ice cream... and i started thinking, "Maybe i should wear gloves, my hands get really cold." In those last couple of seconds before i fell asleep, i realized what my life was missing!!!

After a little bit of swatching and simple math... I got this:

~Ben and Jerry's Cozy~

Gauge: 4stsX 6rows=1"

Materials: Lamb's Pride Bulky Wool

Sz' 10.5 Needles (or size needed to obtain gauge)

tapestry needle

Ben and Jerry's Pint is 10" at bottom. 11" at top, and 3" tall.

Co 12 sts.

*K18 Rows.

Knit 6 sts, slip next stich pwise, bring yarn to front (as if to purl), slip stitch back to left needle, Turn.

K 6 sts.*

Rep from * to* two more times.

K 6 rows.

BO.

Sew seam using mattress stitch.

The End Has No End...

It's Finished!!!

Just in time! The shower is in a few hours... I did modify the pattern for my needs: I only used one strand (concerned that i would run out of yarn), i went down a needle size, and i cut the border in half (hoping to speed things up).

it's been soaked, washed, wet blocked and ironed (don't tell the knitting gods!). The blanket is pretty soft and drapes beautifully, i cant help to think it may be because of my modifications.. hehe.

Here is a close up of the edge-

My yarn from StickChick came the other day. It's amazingly soft, and much shinier than the pics suggest!!! I can't wait to dye it! We're going to do 3 different blues, it's his favorite color :-) I tried to take an artsy blog pic for you guys-

Next Up:

-finishing the reverse bloom washcloth from Weekend Knitting

My Man Wants .... SocKS?!

Yeah, that's right! I'm working on my first pair ever, and after i finish the one, he decided that he wanted to steal them. I'm using pretty expensive yarn (Austerrmann Step), i only got because i had a gift certificate. Of course, i didn't want to give them up! After looking at what seemed like a million skeins of hand painted yarn on Etsy.com, we didn't see anything he liked. It's not often he asks me to knit him something, so i wanted it to be special. I found a seller who sells tons of undyed natural fiber at the lowest prices i've ever seen. Stickchick had exactly what we needed!!!



Dye Your Own 100% Merino wool Superwash fingering wt. sock yarn in natural cream. Lovely and soft, this yarn is absolutely perfect for socks!
2 oz skein/approx 280 yards

I can't wait to get it!!! I'll post right away to let everyone know how it looks/feels/smells :-)

I'm a little more than halfway through BBBB, i should have it done by Sunday (i hope!).

My other ribbed sock is still on th back burner, and grandmom may get pot holders in the next couple of years!

Big Bad Mutha!!!

so here's the progress on the blanket.... 20 inches to go!!!

OMG! I have 2 weeks to knit a baby blanket...

That's right, i was just invited to a friend's sister's baby shower. Of course, because I'm crazy, the first thing i say is. "I want to knit her a baby blanket!". Stupid big mouth!!! UgH! I've only been knitting for about a year or so, and I haven't made one yet. First instinct is to take the easy way out, so i pulled out the ol' SnB book, dusted it off and remembered the Big Bad Baby Blanket. I found this hand painted yarn, a cast off from a friend, in my obscenely large stash hamper and thought it would be perfect. In fact, i shouldn't be working on this blog, after all I only have 2 weeks....