Stitch, Brinn, Stitch!

FO: Baby Fan Mitts

October 31, 2011 in blog, knitting, swap | Tags: cold weather things, fingerless mitts, finished object, FO, knitting, swap, wwfy | Leave a comment

~~Today~~ Tomorrow is November 1st. That means the beginning of NaNoWriMo and also NaBloPoMo, which I will be attempting this year. I’m actually working now which might make things difficult (especially for pictures), but I’m going to do the best I can. So look for new posts every day this month! First up: A knitted thing.

Pattern: Baby Fan Mitts
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Rosehip, about half a skein.
Needles: US 4/3.5mm
Mods: None, knit exactly as written.

I made these for a WWFY swap (along with a second pair I’ve started) in return for two skeins (different brands though) of wool/silk yarn and a skein of baby alpaca yarn. Which I have pictures of. Tomorrow! For additional blog fodder.

Anyway, happy November (tomorrow)! Anyone else doing NaBloPoMo?

ETA: I’m dumb and published this post instead of saving it for tomorrow. So um, yeah. Happy Halloween! Have some candy. See you tomorrow for NaBloPoMo.

WIP-Loose and Plansy-Free

October 28, 2011 in knitting, stash, swap | Tags: cold weather things, fingerless mitts, knitting, recycling, swap, sweater, thrifting, wwfy, yarn | 1 comment

So Monday’s Halloween but people celebrate on the weekend cause they have jobs and stuff. Unfortunately, I’m doing nothing for Halloween. Well, I’ll be knitting. And watching science fiction tv (finishing up Charmed and starting Torchwood next I think). And drinking. Cause I’m a grown up, that’s why.

So I’m bummed that all my friends are three hours away so I have no one to celebrate with. Maybe I’ll wear cat ears and sit on the porch with some candy. Maybe I’ll dress young and go trick or treating. *shrug*

Anyway, things are going slowly on the knitting front because I’ve been volunteering full time. I have substitute orientation on Tuesday, so after that I’ll be actually getting paid for all the work I’ve been doing. Which will be the exact same time commitment but I’ll have some money. Which I’m going to need if I’m going to move next year (and I am).

Here are some things I’m working on:

Lace Ribbons Pullover in mohair for WWFY. Possibly a long-term project.

Fingerless mitts which I’m sure I’ll finish up quickly. Also for WWFY and in EL Silky Wool.

And this sweater. My mother picked it up at the thrift store today for me to unravel, which I’ve started doing. It’s a very loosely spun thick/thin single in a nice blue. Some of it will probably get knit into an Urchin hat, but much of it I think I will attempt to respin into a thinner more even yarn. It’s a ton of yarn as-is and would probably end up as twice as much of an even 2-ply dk. So that’ll be nice.

Do you guys have any plans for Halloween? Tell me in the comments so I can live vicariously through you.

FOs: Spats and Sharks

October 21, 2011 in knitting | Tags: commissions, Etsy, FO, knitting, mittens, sharks, spats | 1 comment

So I finished some things today for Etsy and got them in the mail. And I remembered to take pictures! Well, 2/3 anyway.

Pattern: Spiffy Spats (pattern linked on the patterns page)
Yarn: Recycled wool dyed grey
Needles: US 9/5.5 mm

I also made some sharks:

And the kitty try to play too is Stretch, a recent addition to my house of cats. Here’s a picture:

He’s not very bright and he kind of always has that clueless look and he annoys the other cats, but he’s nice. And enormous (he weighs like 20 lbs). : )

Awards and Annoucements

October 19, 2011 in blog, life, other people's crafts/cool things | Tags: blog, life, links, me, other peoples' blogs, versatile blogger award | 4 comments

First thing’s first: Announcement! Etsy has finally allowed one-time shop name changes, which I took advantage of to overwrite the silly name I picked in high school. You can now find my Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchBrinnStitch. The old url will still redirect to the new one, so don’t worry about links (mine or yours).

Second thing: I won an award!

The person who awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award is Renee of Confessions of a Yarn Addict., who is completely delightful. Thank you!

By accepting the Versatile Blogger award, I have agreed to the following:
1. Thank the blogger who presented it to me and link back to their page.
2. Share 7 things about myself.
3. Pass this award to some newly discovered blogs.

Alrighty then, seven things about myself (some of which you probably already know):

1. Having just recently graduated from college, I am unemployed and live with my parents. It is cheap but not always pleasant.

2. I love cats. LOVE. We have four here, two of which like to snuggle up on the bed. One of the others is outside most of the time and the last is usually in the living room, knocking things over so he can sleep where he wants.

3. My room has scary bugs, so I moved into my sister’s while she is at college. She will probably be upset at the changes when she gets home (YES, I did tell her).

4. If I had the space, time, and money, I’d do every craft. All of time. Glasswork, pottery, book-making, beading, quilting… I can’t think of a craft I don’t want to do. If it has a board on Craftster, I want to do it.

5. I suffer from depression (well controlled) and anxiety (working on controlling) as well as mild OCD. If you are suffering, GET HELP. I waited until my senior year of college and I shudder to think of all the things I could have done and been if I had gotten things together way earlier. Seriously, go to your local Community Services Board or Dept. of Health or non-profit hospital. You CAN afford it and you DO deserve the help.

6. I am a huge nerd. Which shouldn’t be a surprise. I love grammar and BSG and the Whedonverse and sci fi and biology and astronomy and comic book movies (and I would take up comics if I could afford it) and video games (when I can afford it, I want to buy a dedicated gaming tower. My MacBook can’t really run graphics-intense games and that makes me sad. I’ve never even played Portal! How sad it that?

7. I am completely (possibly weirdly so) obsessed with Rodney McKay from Stargate: Atlantis. Every time I think about it or see an actor from it elsewhere, I am utterly dejected all over again that it’s done and there really isn’t a movie coming. (Also, McShep. Yes.)

Okay! There’s seven things about me you probably already knew or didn’t want to know about me. Here are some blogs I’m awarding Versatile Blogger to.

1. Finny Knits In addition to having 101 hobbies (as she says), she is also completely hilarious. Um, also, she swears a lot (not that I care, but you might have sensitive eyes).

2. Wool and Cotton Muchly knitting but also gorgeous pictures of Greece, where she lives. I wish to go to Greece.

3. Odessa Knits She knits with pretty yarn. And works at (owns?) a yarn shop, so I am jealous.

4. Mixed Martial Arts and Crafts Nessa is completely delightful, very friendly, and does some nice crafts. Her blog is a lovely blend of crafts and life and other stuff.

5. Aunt Peaches She does many different crafts and has a delightfully quirky sense of humor. I always look forward to her posts!

6. Mich L. in LA Mich’s blog is one of my favorites, full of quirky and cute jewelry tutorials and giveaways and contests.

7. Kitschy Coo Sewing, fabric, Scotland, snark, kids, and daily life. Also hilarity.

I think seven is good. I follow a lot of blogs (I have 213 in my Google Reader account. Some are no longer active or are updated infrequently, but I usually have about 80 posts a day to sift through) so I forget which ones were added when. If you haven’t already (I think I linked Finny during the last blog week?) please do click through and add some delightful blogs to your reading list.

WWFY Forever, Apparently

October 15, 2011 in stash, swap | Tags: knitting, stash, swap, wwfy, yarn | 2 comments

So I do not have any FO’s at the moment (though I have shark mittens that just need teeth). I did, however, sign up for two more WWFY swaps (with the same person) because apparently I just like hoarding yarn and not actually knitting anything for myself. I figure I’ll stock up now so I’ll have lots to knit when I’m desperately poor and need the money for rent and groceries and whatnot.

Anyway, so I’m knitting Lacy Ribbons in Douceur et Soie (basically Cracksilk Haze). It’s pretty:

In return, I got six skeins Noro Aurora, which is SPARKLY. Seriously, I love it:

I’m also knitting fingerless mitts, but that yarn was just sent today, so more on that later.

Wednesday Wednesday

October 12, 2011 in dyeing, stash | Tags: commissions, dyeing, Etsy, recycling, shop, stash, yarn | Leave a comment

I didn’t go in to my volunteer gig today so I could get some work done for my occasional paid employment (shit I sell on Etsy). I’ve almost finished up a pair of shark mittens and I dyed up some wool for additional mittens and spats.

I just used black RIT dye in a bucket in the sink. I did four skeins then took them out to dry:

It’s damp outside so they’re on the kitchen table until my parents yell, in which case I’ll just hang them up in the shower or something.

All the yarn I dyed was recycled from thrift store sweaters, mainly from the Goodwill Outlet. I actually (or, well, my mother) found the RIT dye at the thrift too. I also used some leftover Dylon dye I’ve had for a bit. I probably paid less than $5 for the yarn, so it was a lot cheaper than buying WotA for mittens.

Because it’s so cheap to whip up, I’m considering offering kits for the mittens and spats. I’m not sure if people will be put-off because it’s recycled yarn and because it doesn’t have a “brand name”, but it’s just an idea. I’m not sure how much people charge for kits anyway. And I’d have to print up patterns. But I’d definitely appreciate another revenue stream.

Anyway, next time on Stitch, Brinn Stitch: Finished shark mittens. Maybe some spats (I forgot to photograph the last two pairs I made). Possibly Karlsro progress (it isn’t much, but I’ve been sneaking in stitches here and there).

SuccEsty

October 9, 2011 in knitting | Tags: commissions, Etsy, finished object, FO, shark mittens, spats | Leave a comment

Yeah, yeah, bad pun. Anyway, since the start of fall, my Etsy shop, wherein I sell custom knit shark/dino mittens and spats and patterns, has been doing very well. My needles are pretty busy which is good cause I need the money. Anyway, here’s what I’ve been making lately for the shop:

A pair of baby sharks, going to Canada.

A single shark to be used as a puppet.

And some black spats. I’ll be mailing everything off tomorrow, and I just got two more orders for spats and an order for shark mittens. So get used to seeing those things for the time being.

FO: Options Slippers

October 6, 2011 in knitting, life | Tags: commissions, Etsy, finished object, FO, internet, life, slippers, test knit, twitter, wip, work in progress | 2 comments

Sooo the other day I participated in a test knit on Ravelry for a pair of cute slippers. The pattern hasn’t been released yet, but I’ll edit this post with a link when it has.

Pattern: Options Slippers by KrisKrafter
Yarn: Two recycled wool/acrylic blends
Needles: US 8/5 mm
Hook: I (whatever that mm is… 5.5?)
Mods: Fewer heel stitches, blanket stitched the heel.

This was a pretty solid pattern, and it knit up reeeeeally quickly. It was sort of annoying to knit the upper and sole as separate pieces and sew them, but I like the two color effect. And also they’re super comfy.

There’s not a tremendous amount of things to say about these slippers, so instead I’ll tell you about some WIPs. I’m currently working on some baby shark mittens (they’re so wee!), a pair of black spats, and a single shark mitten to be used as a puppet. I’m nearly finished with the first two so they’ll probably go in the mail tomorrow. I’m thinking about adding custom knit dinosaur mittens to my Etsy shop, but people so rarely give me their hand length (it’s in caps in the description) that I doubt they would specify their dinosaurs. Maybe I’ll just say if you don’t tell me, I’ll do what I like.

Unrelated fun fact: I am on Twitter as Brinnanza. Feel free to follow me. I post things about knitting, live tweets of various shows/movies, and funny things people say. Sometimes I say swears, so be aware. : )

Sewing FO: Cashmere Quilt of Magical Softness

October 1, 2011 in sewing | Tags: blanket, felt, quilt, recycled, sewing, sweaters | 2 comments

So remember that stack of cashmere squares I showed you a couple of weeks (months?) ago? They’re now a patchwork blanket that is delightfully soft and amazing.

That’s a queen sized bed it’s draped over, and it’s a little skinnier and a little longer than my UMW t-shirt quilt. I have it laid out over my bed on top of the sheet and quilt for maximum contact while I lounge about knitting and watching Charmed, as I am wont to do on the weekends.

The colors don’t really go and the sewing is… uneven to say the least. My approach to sewing is the same as knitting: Make it up as I go; “good enough” really is good enough; if it’s horrible, hide it in the closet. My blanket is suuuuuper soft and I loooooove it.

I overlapped the squares and zigzag stitched them together into rows, then sewed the rows together. I think I used about ten sweaters? It’s a little bumpy cause I used a regular sewing needle (use a special needle for knits? HA! I say) and there’s definitely a bit of unevenness around the edges. I ran a line of zigzag stay stitching around the whole outside edge of the blanket so it couldn’t stretch too much. Here’s a close up of my crappy machine sewing:

It actually only took two days of marathon sewing to finish. I’d cut out the squares previously, sewed all the big rows together one day and finished the rest of the sewing the next day. AND a cold front just came in today and the temperature dropped 20 degress, so right in time, I say!

Mid-Week Post!

September 28, 2011 in dyeing, knitting | Tags: commissions, dyeing, finished object, FO, knitting, mittens, sharks, stash, sweater, wip, work in progress, yarn | Leave a comment

I’m back to full-time job hunting, which basically means full-time knitting and watching Charmed (which is the latest sci fi/fantasy show I’ve gotten into. I love it; it’s like Buffy except sometimes the characters are happy and there are more witches). This means there is more time for knit blogging.

I recently finished up the last pair of shark mittens on order. They look like this:

I also started another knitting project for me (even though I have two others on the needles at the moment). As I mentioned the other day, it’s Karlsro in some recycled wool. I went down a couple of needle sizes, and this is my sleeve so far:

Don’t mistake it for a swatch. You know I don’t do that.

I also managed to do some dyeing the other day. I recently recycled some undyed wool from a thrift store vest, and I dunked it in some dye:

Colorway: Sharks. For knitting more shark mittens, obviously.

Colorway: Gradiation Experimentation. I rolled yp two 50g skeins into loose balls and dunked them in a bucket of purple kool aid for a bit. Voila, two gradient-dyed skeins. Not sure what to knit with them yet. Maybe a striped something or other. Thoughts?