The Mariners Revenge!

I started a Quick Cable scarf today, again using cheap-o Lion Brand Yarn. I'm not too snotty about what I'm using if it still yields a decent result. I saw the pattern in the back of Knit.1 and it's free on Lionbrand.com, if you sign up :-) I really like how exaggerated the cable looks in that super chunky yarn. On size 13 needles I'll be done in a day or so.




Oh! BTW, the pic was taken with my new phone <3333 I've got a Mint Choclate and I have to say, it's pretty adorable :-)

I've noticed some bloggers out there want to send SnAIL MaiL X-mas CarDs, so if any of you guys are intrested email me your address and we can also exchange some ephemera...

That's it for today!
<333 KnitXcorE

Cupcake!

I made a hat similar to this not too long ago, remember? Well, I gave it to someone I work with, and his fiance wore it to work. All the girls there went crazy for it!!!! Everyone at her store wants one... This one is named "Cupcake" because it reminds me of a cute choclate cupcake with pink icing. I may have just been kinda hungry. "Cupcake" was finished in about 2 1/2 hours. I used extremely cheap yarn (it felt funny in my hands), but none of them are willing to pay $30-35 for a hat made out out quality materials. So that's it, what do you guys think???

Currently Rockin':

Artist: Lady Sovereign

Album: Public Warning

Song: Random

It Ain't Easy Being Green!

I don't know if any of you have seen the new issue of Knit.1, inside is not only an awesome interview with Dr. Ruth by Vicki Howell, but probably one of the craziest patterns I've seen!!! I end up buying knitting magazines on my lunch break at work, and everyone is usually just as excited as me to see what's inside. So everyone is looking at the new Knit.1 and there it is, The Balaclava! An extremely utilitarian knit, with an almost absurd kitschness. One person, in particular, showed a lot of intrest in said pattern. What kind of person would I be if I didn't give him exactly what he wants for X-mas????

I had the entire weekend off, two balls of Cascade 220, and ABC Family showing a Harry Potter movie marathon. What did you think would happen? In addition to decorating our tree (complete with X-mas butterflies and alcoholic hot choclate), a Balaclava was born! I added the pom-pom and buttons from Hobbledehoy to cute it up a little bit :-)

Currently Rockin':

Artist: The Mountain GoatsAlbum: GhanaSong: Creature Song"The Mountain Goats is the name of prolific American singer-songwriter John Darnielle's long-running musical project. Darnielle began recording in 1991, and has become known for his highly literary lyrics and, until 2002, his lo-fi recording style. Currently, when the band plays live, it comprises John Darnielle and Peter Hughes, but Darnielle has worked with a number of other musicians when recording albums under The Mountain Goats name."- Wikipedia.com

Lazy Days...

Not much going on here, I finished my Winter Warm Exchange Pal's gift. I'm just waiting on one thing I ordered on Etsy.com and I can send it out. I'm really excited about my first swap! I hope he/she likes it :-) I can't wait to see what I get!!!!

I've quit the beaded gloves until December first (I needed to seperate from them for awhile, after our torrid love affair), I hope I have enough time to finish them before Christmas. HelloYarn's Besotted Scarf has been stealing most of my attention right now, I really love working on cables. You don't have to pay too much attention, but you still get to do something fun every couple of rows. I don't remember what yarn I'm using, someone gave it to me a few months ago. The Ol' Moderne Log Cabin Blanket is still hanging out OTN also, I haven't forgotten about it. It just kind of... found it's way to the bottom of the basket.

I'm already ready tired of X-mas shopping, I work in retail and I've had just about enough. Most of my shopping is now being done via Amazon.com. I have a majority of my shopping done now. I just have to dedicate some time to finish up some handmade gifts and figuring out which cookies to bake. I got a billion books and movies for my birthday last month that I haven't even begun to think about.

I'm going to go get started on a meatloaf, I have an awesome recipe somewhere. We're cutting back on carbs in Casa de KnitXcorE, and it's kind of hard for me not to make pasta or rice with every meal. I'm going to have to get creative. Has anyone had success with one of those spaghetti squashes????

Currently Rockin':

Artist: Sufjan StevensAlbum: A Sun CameSong: We are What You Say "Sufjan Stevens (born July 1, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Michigan. He is known for his lyrically focused and instrumentally rich songs that often relate to faith and family. He has enjoyed wide critical success in the United States. He is considered part of the folk revival in indie pop, but his influences are very broad. His music has been likened to electronica,[1] the jazz of Vince Guaraldi,[2] and the academic minimalism of Steve Reich.[3] Stevens has announced plans to make an album for each of the 50 U.S. states, having begun the series with the albums Michigan (2003) and Illinois (2005)." -Wikipedia.com

HaPPy ThanKsGiviNG!!!!

Sublime Stitching, Jenny Hart and Frozen Hot Choclate...

About a year ago, I bought Jenny Hart's Stitch-It Kit. There was a huge buzz about it on Craftster and in a few magazines I read (ReadyMade, Bust, Venus, et. al.). I whipped up a quick dishcloth with coffee cups and cakes on it, put the kit away and forgot it existed. Sometimes, I get craft burnout and just want to try something new for a little bit.



I collected dust until last week, when I got the first issue of Craft: transforming traditional crafts. First of all, this magazine rocked my socks. It had projects for everyone from beginners to crafty gods. I don't want to give anything away, because you should all buy it. I know $14.99 seems like serious cash for a magazine, but this is so much more than just a simple magazine. Anyway, there was an article about Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching. I'm sure you've all seen the embroidered portraits of Marianne Faithful and Dolly Parton. She's resposible for them. I couldn't stop thinking about that dusty kit, wayyyyy back on the bookshelf. Last night I pulled it out, dusted it off and immediately started a hanky sort of thing for a co-worker (she has a gross thing with clover on it that she uses to blow her nose... a lot!). She likes Day of the dead stuff and old tattoo flash, so this will be her gift :

I'm going to put a matching skull on the other side and a banner in the center that reads "The Red Death", as that is what she refers to herself as on occassion.
For my Birthday, I got a $10 gift certificate from Fred Flare. It was perfect timing because I had been eye-ing up Serendipity's Frozen Hot Choclate Gift Set. It was AMAZING! I am postive, however, that if I had been more creative in the kitchen, I would have come up with eventually. Basically, to make a frozen hot choclate, you put powdered hot choclate mix, milk, and ice into the blender in that order. And that's it!!!! Dave and I were crazy for it!!!!! TRY IT!!!

into the pond...

This is what's left of 4 hours of tiny needle knitting.... *sniffLE* Vintage Beaded gloves no more. I'll pick them back up in a few days. Thank you, anonymous, for pointing out that i missed those decreases.



I'd love to show you all what else I've been working on, but it's for Charles' Warm Winter Exchange . You should check out his shop, CooL Buddha Tonic, he's got some great hand dyes in beautiful colorways. I'll post pictures of my secret project as soon as my partner gets it.

I went thrifting today, and scored 20 records for $2. Everyone is getting record bowls and vinyl wrist cuffs for X-mas now :-) I also found a pretty awesome bag for $ .99!!!! Pretty great, eh?

I really don't have much for you guys today, so here's a video :-)

Belle & Sebastian featuring the Maisonettes - Legal Man

Erase Errata?

So here I am, minding my own business... Making my way thru the extensive X-mas knitting list, and I wonder why the glove I'm currently making is enormous? I used sport weight yarn (Knitpicks Ambrosia) and size 1 needles, I cast on exactly 90 stitches. Why does said glove have an almost 10 inch circumference??? Who's hand is this big??? Where on earth would this be considered a women's small?




I calmed down and remembered that Midnight Purls once had shown me the errata page for MDK. I was so happy to remember something useful for once, and not just something stupid like,"Leonardo Dicaprio is a scorpio". Armed with my new knowledge, I immediately googled "handknit holidays errata", to find out that there is NOT an errata page for this book. After a trip though blogland, it seems many of you have had this exact problem. What do we do now? How can I make these gloves not look stupid?

In light of today's events, I'll leave you with a sweet video for an ironically named band "Erase Errata::



any suggestions or secret errata pages will be rewarded.... :-)

7 Songs...

I saw this on Lani's Blog, and had to steal it:

Here are the rules: List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre. Whether or not they have words or even if they are any good but they must be songs you’re really enjoying right now! Post these instructions in your blog along with with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

1. These Days - Nico
2. Drunk Kid Catholic - Bright Eyes
3. O Valencia - Decemberists
4. Bone Machine - Pixies
5. Jellybones - The Unicorns
6. The Price of Gas - Bloc Party
7. Misery is a Butterfly - Blonde Redhead

Now as per the rules, I'm supposed to tag 7 of you... I hate rules, do it if you want to :-)

Snowy Triangles...

I actually finished something!!!! Don't tell anyone it was on size 10.5 needles.... This scarf and pin are for a friends mom. It was just a quick knit to break up the monotony of the bigger, more involved projects I've been working on.

Pattern: Snowy Triangles and Pinwheel Flower from Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick
Yarn: Paton's Nuance in Cedar Rose Colorway
Needles: Clover Takumi US Size 10.5
Time: Total of about 3 hours

I haven't used a "craft store" yarn in awhile, and it wasn't really that big of a deal. Yeah, it was cheap and about 80% acrylic but I'm happy with what came out of it. I really liked the metallic thread it was plied with and it was very soft.

HaPPy HaLLoWEEn!!!

YowZa! iT'S hALLOWEEN ALREADY!? The year just seems to be flying by. I had a pretty awful week around here, but I promise I'll be back to a regular schedule starting this week. It seems like I haven't really blogged or knitted much due to some family issues but, I've got to get back into the swing of things to get all that X-mas Knitting finished.

Last week, I was kinda down until I picked up Amy Sedaris's book on hospitality "I Like You". It's full of crazy ideas, and antecdotes about entertaining in modern life :-) If you've seen "Strangers With Candy" or "Reno 911", you've already got a pretty good idea of Sedaris's sardonic sense of humor. We've truly been having a good time playing with food and laughing at all of the lil' stories. If you haven't picked up this book, and you're tired of pretty pictures of complicated food made with tools you've never seen before, this is for you.

Some of the things we've played around with:






Yeah, so that's pretty much what I've been up to...

I was going to make a really elaborate Halloween post, and I started collecting cool patterns for you guys, but things didn't go my way. I lost the list in my computer and the script didn't work so, WYSIWYG...

Everyone have a safe and happy halloween!!! I get to hand out candy while I'm at work tomarrow... GooD TimeS!!!!

and now back to your regularly scheduled Knitxcore blogging!!!

Back by Popular Demand...

So, I have no FO's for you guys. But I do have about 90 different projects going. Stupid X-mas!!! Besides knitting my way to arthritis, I haven't been doing that much. Just working and what have you. I don't know how many of you are Project Runway Fans but, I'm really happy Jefferey won, I love his Cosa Nostra Collection, but something I could afford would be pretty great. He definitely worked the hardest, and that crap about the pleated shorts blew up in Laura's face because the leather pants he showed instead were AMAZING!!!



On Thursday, we went to The Pier @ Caesars because Michael Kors was there opening his new shop and we were hoping to meet him. Unfortunately we just missed him :-) The shop was beautiful, even though we couldn't get in, we dreamed from outside. I did a tiny bit of pre-shopping for X-mas, and got the sweetest boots @ Steve Madden (I know I'm usually a pretty DIY, but I can't make shoes :-)

As for knitting, this is my *new* list of WIP's:

-Black Rayne's Kitty discloth
-HelloYarn's Besotted scarf
-Moderne Log Cabin Blanket From MDK
-Interweave's Mitered Square Rug
-Vintage Beaded Gloves from Handknit Holidays
-Knuck's from Knitty
-My So-Called Scarf Snowy Triangles Scarf

So, right now, I should probably clean up the house so I can knit for the rest of the day :-)

Tuesday, I'm going to see Tilly and the Wall again... In honor of the most amazing band ever, I'll leave you with a video from Bottoms of Barrels:

Bad Education

Add to My Profile More Videos

Real Men Knit!

Sleep-in Sundays...

I have absolutely nothing to do today!!! It's amazing :-) I'll probably do some reading ( I've been reading How to Breathe Under Water), and knit a dishcloth. I really need to catch up on that KAL! Speaking of reading, I got Issue #5 of Croq the other day. There's a great article about why buying local always trumps organic. I never really thought about it, buying organic things most of the time wasn't really helping the enviroment as much I had previously thought. It makes sense to me now, that if an apple grown in washington state has to be sent by plane or truck to new jersey the amount of pollution and waste of gas outweighs any good that you think you're doing! Also, you always pay more for organic produce, when in fact most small farmers have much more stringent processes than the organic acts that most commercial farms stick to. I, for one, will be trying to make a conscious effort to buy more local produce.

I bought this amazingly cool yarn from Hobbledehoy's Etsy shop today. I've had it bookmarked for sometime and finally gave in to temptation. Her description: ""Sporezilla" is one of my wackiest yarns. It is a blend of recycled wools plied with puffball pom pom novelty thread. This yarn totals 65 yards in length, and would be plenty for a light crochet or knit hat or very unique fingerless gloves." I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, so if any of you have a fun idea, please share :-)


I'm going to make Baked Rigatoni in Bechamel Sauce from Everyday Italian (I have terrible cookbook fetish, but we'll save that for another day), tonight for dinner. It's been awhile since I've made a nice meal for Dave and I. We're always on the go, so I never really get the chance to cook anything that actually tastes good. So, I better get moving...

C is for Cookie...

On my days off, I get really bored. Living in the middle of suburbia and not driving doesn't help. My situation has offered me many opportunities, strangely enough. I've learned to knit, sew, decopauge, and many other things I never thought I would EVER do. Including baking these delicious snickerdoodles :-)

I got the recipe from Nigella Lawson's "How To Be A Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking", and it's one of my favorites. Other amazing recipes include; Jam Doughnut Muffins, Snickers and Peanut Butter Muffins, and Sugar cookies. I used to be a GIANT klutz in the kitchen, but I'm slowly learning :-)

I'm Plastic!

What kind of knitting needles are you?

You are plastic.Futuristic, milky, and silky, you are willing to go where no crafter has gone before. You can do just about anything, with strength agility, and pretty colors to boot! While you are good at slipping and sliding out of sticky situations, remember to stay where and when you are needed. Don't overdo it on star gazing when there's earthbound knitting to be done!
Take this quiz!








Quizilla
Join

Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code

Whaddya Think?

With a little help from this thread on Craftster.org, and Vickie Howell's show Knitty Gritty, I started making some sweeet earflap hats! Putting together a few patterns that I've liked in the past and my new found knowledge led me to this:

So... WHADDYA THINK????

(Excuse the picture of me, I woke up and immediately finished the hat)

Busy Bee!!!

Hey everyone!!!

I don't want you all to feel neglected, I've just been doing a lot of stuff this week. First, I finally recieved every back issue of Croq (which isn't a lot, only 4). Of course, I've been reading like a mad man!!!






Croq covers everything from what you need to know about starting your own indie craft business to how to make a vegan thanksgiving dinner that doesn't taste like reheated oatmeal :)
In the past couple of days, I've learned how to roll my own sushi, how to reclaim fabric from old clothes, and how to start my own shop on Etsy.com. I know my fellow Craftsters know what Etsy is, but for the rest of you Etsy.com is a place where you can buy and sell just about anything that can be handmade. I've gotten really great yarn (among other things) from Etsy. A few of my favorite sellers are Hobbledhoy, and Stickchick.

For those of you not involved w/ the Dishcloth KAL, I've been working on those for a days also. The first dishcloth I finished was the Ostrich Plume Dishcloth from Knitting Pattern Central in Sugar and Cream's Contry Side Ombre and the second one is a Clapotis Inspired Dishclothin Sugar and Cream's Butter Cream Ombre I did on my own (basically just removing the straight rows from the original pattern).









I also worked on 2 crafty project this week. I finished up Snakes on a Ape from my previous post. Thank you all for the help w/ pricing. I can't wait to let them know that it's finished. I also tried my hand at decopauging today. It was my first time working w/ Modge Podge, and let me tell you, IT'S REALLY MESSY and fun :-) I just decopayged some cool tissue paper I had laying around onto a Ball jar I had laying aroung from the last time I dyed yarn. I'm not completely thrilled with it, but it was my first time.



I've become OBsessED with another band!!! I know it's a weekly occurence with me, but Harry and The Potters is everything any self respecting indie rock band should be. Not only do the have the sweetest Harry Potter themed tunes, but they also encourage their fans to educate themselves by participating in their Summer Reading Lists. The idea behind the idea is that Harry Potter from year 7, and Harry potter from year 4 meet and start a rock band. They've went from playing in shed to playing in libraries, art galleries and hot dog jamorees. I am so dissapointed that I missed these guy the last time they were here :( So today, I leave you with a video someone made for "Save Ginny Weasley" by Harry and The Potters.

Am I Really Neurotic?

My Personality

Neuroticism	76
Extraversion	61
Openness To Experience	88
Agreeableness	7
Conscientiousness	56

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report Find your soulmate / pysch twin Ugg Boots, MySpace Codes and MySpace Layouts by Pulseware Survey Software

Snakes on a Ape!

Someone saw my sock monkey and needed to have one for themselves.... I haven't sold a crafty thing in a long time.... how much should I charge??? Supplies were $5, it took about an hour.

So Much Stuff!!!!

There hasn't been much knitting here this week, I apologize :-( On Friday, Dave took me to Johnny Carinos. We had fun and cannolis!!! It also turns out my Mom was admitted to the hospital on Friday, apparently she had a kidney infection that poisoned her blood. She's okay now, but we had a scary couple of days worrying about that.

Sunday was Manda's Baby Shower. It was good to see oldfriends and free food for a lil' bit. I ended up giving her a Mason dixon Washcloth, a cute hoody for the baby and some Baby Bee (from Burt's Bee's) stuff. We also ended up going to Dave's parents for dinner and stopping by the hospital just in time to see my mom get released.

Yesterday, Kellyn and I went to Philly to shop and meet Lauren @ Cobra starship and Gym Class Heroes. Good times! Cobra Starship was AMAZING!

So, that was my week! I have to go make a sock monkey for someone now, the saw mine and had to have one.... after that I'm going to sleep :-)

Sock It to Me!

Today, I decided to take a stab at making a sock monkey. It's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen. I must give credit Supercrafty for the inspiration and work for giving a nice discount on the sox, and Kellyn for informing me that sock monkeys love to eat yam pudding....

Under him you'll see the washcloth from Mason Dixon Knitting, which was really fun to make. I never did bobbles before, but now I love them!!! It's late and I'm tired, maybe I'll get pictures of the washcloth on Wednesday for you all.

Quickie....

So there hasn't been much knitting recently, but I did finish this hat for a friend's birthday... It's The Watchmen Cap from the men's issue of Knit.1. I did it in Lion Suede, it took about 2 hours.

I'm working on the round Mason Dixon Washcloth, The Moderne Log Cabin Blanket, and Fetching and Knucks from Knitty. Because I have so mnay projects in rotation, it doesn't feel like I'm finishing anything!!!

I just got my hands on copy on the Science of Sleep soundtrack and it's AMAZING!!! If you haven't seen the trailer for this movie, check it out now :-)

Tagged Again !?

That's Right!!! Charles got me this time...

1. One book that changed your life: Stitch N' Bitch by Debbie Stoller- It was the first knitting book I bought, and I used it to learn... I still use it as a reference from time to time.

2. One book that you've read more than once: Anything in the Harry Potter series...

3. One book you'd want on a desert island: The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks- If I'm on a desert island the Apocolypse is coming, so I want to be ready...

4. One book that made you laugh: Post Secret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren- Some of the confessions are hilarious!!!

5. One book that made you cry: Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne- It's crazy story line, where you really get to know the protagonist and you end being a wreck until you finish it.
The Giver by Lois Lowry- I read this years before it became required reading in HS, It's amazing! I haven't read it in about 5 years and i can still tell the story like it was yesterday.

6. One book that you wish had been written: "How to knit in your sleep: directions for a one man sweatshop"

7. One book you wish had never been written: The DaVinci Code- That's enough Dan Brown, we get it.
The Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister- Life's too short to read bad fiction.

8. One book you're currently reading: Why Do Men Have Nipples? Hundreds of Questions Youd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg

9. One book you've been meaning to read: The Scum Manifesto by Valarie Solanas- the lady who shot Andy Warhol

10. Tag 6 people:Midnight Purls, Yarns and Musings, Obsidian Kitten, and Impossible Princess,


Not much other news, I started a quick hat and I'm almost finished Fetching. I'm trying to do some stash busting :-)