Stitch, Brinn, Stitch!

FO: Lakeside Socks

July 21, 2010 in knitting, swap | Tags: fiished object, FO, knitting, socks, swap, wwfy, yarn | Leave a comment

Or: THEY’RE DONE THEY’RE DONE THEY’RE DONE!!

Pattern: Lakeside Socks from Knotions
Yarn: Fleece Artist Nyoni
Needles: US 1
Mods: None? Maybe made them a tick longer? I think I mostly knit them as written.

Holy crap, these socks took so long. But they are DONE. I actually really enjoyed knitting them–the pattern was simple and easy to memorize, and the shaping was pretty intuitive. I’m still not sure how much I like knitting socks cuff down as opposed to toe up, but these actually went by pretty quickly, even though Ravelry tells me they’ve been a wip for about a month. But now they are done! And I can knit other things! Like the other WWFY trade I’m working on. : )

As for the yarn: I did enjoy working with the Nyoni. It’s a little think/thin, but it’s pretty squishy. I don’t know how much I’d like it for knee socks (it’s a little itchy on my calves, but who knows, that may come out in the wash). The colorway is GORGEOUS though, and I love it a lot.

Currently, as I mentioned, I am working on another WWFY trade: a lace ribbon scarf in Malabrigo lace (LOVE). I have some Mal lace in my stash from my trip to Fiber Space that will eventually become a Featherweight cardigan, but it’s nice to get a feel for the Mal in something smaller first. : ) I’ll show you pictures of the scarf a little later, but it’s looking great so far.

Battlestar Galactica Swap Part Two!

July 19, 2010 in other people's crafts/cool things, swap | Tags: art, Battlestar Galactica, BSG, cylons, embroidery, felting, knitting, painting, swap | 4 comments

I received from my Battlestar Galactica swap today! I was in a round robin, and the crafter of these wonderful items was the swap organizer, LimeRiot, who is totally wonderful. Check out what she made:

A sweet embroidery with a cute lil toaster. : ) Frakkin’ Toasters!

An AWESOME painting inspired by Starbuck’s paintings.

And two felted bowls, inspired by the Cylon Centurions and Caprica Six’s red dress (which, btw, I totally love). The larger Centurion bowl will be perfect for a key bowl to keep by the door of my apartment next year, and the smaller one will probably hold odds and ends around my craft space.

I TOTALLY LOVE eveything Lime sent me, and I can’t wait to display it in my room in August. For more Battlestar-inspired crafts, the gallery thread for the swap is located here

Knitting Away

July 18, 2010 in knitting, life | Tags: knitting, life, socks, work in progress | Leave a comment

Nothing much new to report on the crafting front, I’m afraid. I’m still plugging away at the Lakeside socks (I just finished the calf decreases and am now working on the rest of the leg), but there’s a ways to go yet. Here’s a bad picture of the second sock so far:

I’m getting my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow, so wish me luck for my surgery tomorrow. I don’t know how lucid/willing to blog I’ll be for the next couple of days, but I do suspect I’ll be able to knock out the rest of the socks–I won’t be about to do much else but knit tomorrow and the next day.

I’m also going back into DC later this week. I’m leaving early Thursday morning and I don’t know yet whether I’ll be back on Friday afternoon for a couple of days or if I’m staying through the week. Either way, I’ll try to blog as things happen but no promises. : )

Tie Dye

July 15, 2010 in dyeing | Tags: dyeing, tie dye, yarn | 1 comment

So my sister has a thing for tie dye. And I have a thing for dyeing yarn. So when my sister decided she wanted to dye some white sheets to take with her to college this year, I decided to dye up some yarn as well. I dyed four hanks of wool reclaimed from a thrift store sweater into three different colorways:

Peace and Love and Braaaainss. Because it reminds me of hippies and zombies.

Sunset

Raspberry Stains

Not sure what I’ll do with them yet. Sunset might become a hat or something. Peace, Love, and Braaaaains will probably be a contrast strand in something colorwork. *shrug* Mostly I just like looking at the colors in my stash and knowing I put them there. : )

Awesome Things

July 13, 2010 in knitting, other people's crafts/cool things | Tags: dinosaurs, knitting, lace, scarf, socks, swap | 2 comments

So I received in the mail today possibly the most awesome knitting-related thing ever:

It’s a book of stuffed dinosaur patterns. AND THEY ARE AWESOME. It includes a pattern for a 15-inch high Parasaurolophus:

I discovered the booklet while browsing for stuffed animal patterns to make for Sarah for her cousin. I put out a quick note on the ISO/Destash books forum and within a couple hours, I had a reply from someone who had a copy, so I bought it from them. And, to reiterate, it is AWESOME. Much dino knitting will be happening.

In other news, I’ve been knitting. As I mentioned before, I finished the first Lakeside sock:

I also started another swap project, a Ribbon Lace Scarf in Malabrigo Lace (which is hella soft and wonderful):

I’m also working on stuff for another swap, but I’ll tell you about that when it’s all finished. : )

FO: OWS Cabled Cardigan

July 12, 2010 in knitting | Tags: baby things, cables, cardigan, knitting, ows, swap, sweater | Leave a comment

So I recently claimed gatheredthreads for a baby sweater on Ongoing Wish Swap on Craftster.org. She sent me links to a couple sweaters she liked, but I ended up making up my own pattern:

Pattern: My own, which I’m considering writing up if anyone’s interested.
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Tweed, about 2.5 skeins.
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm

So I like how this came out. I ended up knitting too many rows above the sleeves, resulting in a cute little foldover collar. And open cables! Guys, I LOVE open cables. LOVE THEM. It took a bit to figure out how they worked, but once I had it, they turned out fantastically. Love ’em. Not sure how the sweater will fit or how it will look on the kid, but hopefully it fits well enough.

If I do end up writing this up it won’t start testing until my current test is done (the Green Leaves tank), but since it’s a fall/winter garment, the timing will work out well. If you ARE interested in maybe testing this when I’ve written it up, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. : )

Also, in case you were wondering, I finished the first Lakeside sock! It’s done! I still have to knit the whole other one, but I’m officially half done. *dance*

Battlestar Galactica Swap!

July 11, 2010 in dyeing, embroidery, knitting, sewing, swap | Tags: Battlestar Galactica, BGS, cowl, dyeing, embroidery, knitting, sewing, swap | 5 comments

So I don’t remember if I ever told you guys this, but I’m totally obsessed with the tv show Battlestar Galactica. The boyfriend and I watched all four seasons over a couple of months over the past year, and I got HOOKED. It’s a very gripping show.

Anyway, I joined a swap on Craftster that was Battlestar themed! I had such fun making the items for my partner AggiegirlKatelyn:

First, I dyed up some wool I harvested from a thrift store sweater:

Now it’s my Eye of Jupiter yarn! I dyed up two skeins: one for her and one for me to keep. : ) Not sure how it will knit up, but I do like the dye job. The blue part is a little purple cause my blue dye was a little light and I wanted to darken it up (which happened to debatable success). I like it thought. : )

Next, I embroidered a panel and turned it into a tote bag:

Guys, I totally love this thing. I have a ton of tote bags, but I desperately wanted to keep this one for myself. I didn’t though, and sent it off to my partner, who specifically requested something with “Frak off” on it. This is probably the closest to quilting I’ll ever get (I had to center the panel in four bars of the grey fabric) cause I totally lack the patience and precision, but I LOVE how this bag came out. It looks great and totally professional. Even my line of top stitching around the top is even and wonderful.

I also made her this kickin’ card:

I cut out all the yellow pieces then glued them on, did the detail work in black pen and applied a layer of mod podge. YES. It’s bitchin’. I know.

Have a Picture of a Cat

July 9, 2010 in life | Tags: cat, life | Leave a comment

Still no finished objects to report (I’m working on a baby sweater for OWS and knee socks for the trade), so instead, here’s a picture of my sleepy cat:

Happy friday, all.

Baby Things! Part Two

July 7, 2010 in knitting | Tags: baby things, bib, commissions, elephant, knitting, toys | Leave a comment

So my friend Sarah commissioned me to make more baby things because another of her cousins in pregnant. Which means I get to knit more cute things!

Pattern: Steggie Bib, the same bib I knit before.
Yarn: Recycled cotton from a thrift store baby blanket I dismantled.
Needles: US 6/4 mm
Mods: Several since the pattern has a bunch of errors (if you know what you’re doing, it will work out fine but if you follow the directions as written, the border will come out funky)

(The dino shows up much more clearly than it does in the photo)

Pattern: Elijah by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Some sport weight acrylic I got my grandmother eons ago.
Needles: US 1.5
Mods: I made the trunk a little shorter than specified by mistake. Otherwise, knit exactly as written.

Guys. I totally love this thing. It’s completely adorable and I want him to snuggle and love. Unfortunately, he’s going to a baby related to my friend Sarah. Fortunately, I can make another! I probably won’t for a while (and probably not for me) but I bought the pattern (I’d been debating it for a while) and while it’s a little fiddly (especially the ears), but the result is SO CUTE. And the pattern is SO WELL WRITTEN. Guys, there’s a reason Ysolda Teague is the celebrity she is in the world of knitting patterns. It’s clear, lots of pictures, and every step is clearly spelled out.

So yes, I’ll definitely be making this one again. Here’s hoping Sarah’s cousin’s kid likes it as much as I do. : )

I’m on a Boat

July 5, 2010 in knitting | Tags: knitting, life, work in progress | Leave a comment

So my family went out on the boat this evening:

Of course I brought my knitting. I’m currently working on Elijah, a Ysolda Teague pattern I’m knitting for my friend’s cousin (well, I’m knitting it as a commission for the friend, who’s planning to gift it to the cousin at the shower). I’m also still pluggin’ away on the Lakeside socks: I turned the heel yesterday and am now motoring down the foot. I also finished everything for my Battlestar Galactica swap, but I have to mail it, so I’ll have that to show you on Wednesday probably.

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend, whether you’re celebrating Pride Day, Independence Day, or Saturday. : )