Kimmish Knitting

Inspired.. But Not There Yet.

2007-11-22T20:56:00.000-06:00

Hey there!

Yes.. it's Thanksgiving.. but we've been back home for a while now so I'm actually a bit bored.. It's really different not to be at work on a Thursday.. and I don't go back to work until Monday!

We went to my family reunion today for our annual Thanksgiving thing at the lake.. I really love seeing everyone and eating food that is really tastey! I also found out that one of my cousins is a heavy duty knitter lady and I wish she didn't live all the way in Atlanta even more now!

But anyway... I wanted to make a post because I've decided on the next project I want to tackle.. I just haven't ordered the yarn for it yet..

I think the Ribby Pulli is seriously cute.. So I decided that I want to knit the short sleeved hooded version.. and I've also pretty much decided that I want to use Lorna's Laces Sheppard Worsted.. in a blue color (duh.) So I started a swatch..! With the yarn we bought a long time ago to knit my dad some hunting socks. Which still haven't been started.. He won't let me measure his feet.

So anyway.. that's where I'm at.. So hopefully I'll be really.. actually.. for sure.. knitting soon! And that means posting too. Christmas is coming and that means lots of time off for me.. (Over a week!) so you'll hear from me again before too long..

Uninspired

2007-07-29T15:49:00.000-05:00

Hi there..

Did you think I died? (If there is anyone reading this..?) I haven't.. I just haven't been knitting.. anything.. at all... since February.

It's very sad.

I'd really like to make a really cute summer top or something but I haven't run across anything that really speaks to me.. I don't see anything out there that I just have to have. I look every once in a while.. but I haven't seen anything good.

It's a bummer.

I still haven't put the TCC together but since it's summer time I really don't see the rush. I haven't figured out exactly how it is supposed to go together or anything.

In general life we've been trying to organize the apartment.. and buy a new car.. and Brad just had oral surgery to have his wisdom teeth cut out.. so it's all been stressful lately.. Not much good for inspiration.

So I guess if you guys can point me to a cute summer top or somethin I'd appreciate it. I've considered making another 'Voli but I dunno.. the neckline doesn't sit right on me.

Anyways.. throw some ideas out there for me.. Thanks!

Alfred's Kitty Pi - Revealed.

2007-03-27T00:15:00.000-05:00

Hello there again..

I have finnally settled down here with my laptop to bring to you pictures of Alfred's Kitty Pi bed.. He does love it.. and he sleeps in it pretty oftin..

Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Yukon

It all begins with the yarn. I really liked knitting with this yarn.. I started knitting on December 12th 2006.

Here it is all knitted up.. It ended up being REALLY BIG.. which I understand is good for felting.. I modified the pattern a little by putting a hem at the edge instead of the fluffy eyelash yarn around the edge.

Feburary 23rd was felting day, so I put it in a zippered pillow case and threw in some old stiff towels and washed it, I think a total of 4 times with hot wash and cold rinse. And it came out like this:

I took our plastic cake dome/transporter thingie and put towels around it to make a drying rack for it. I think I actually need something with a bigger diameter to make it really work properly.. but I'm just not sure what that could be. I'd like to give it a shot because even though when it came out all standing up and pretty, after a while it got really... well.. floppy. Now it's balled up in the corner.. and I'm not sure how to fix it. But like I said.. Alfred likes it anyway:

So I don't really know why the sides don't stand up properly.. I think maybe I need to felt it one more time.. AND dry/block it on something larger.. but I don't really know... I want to work on it soon though.. cause it just makes me sad.

But to leave you with something more positive.. Alfred and I bring you an artsey type picture.

The fuzzyness intrigues you.

Ahhhh! It's been a while!

2007-03-02T23:29:00.000-06:00

Hello there.. Lets get a few things straight, shall we?

1. I am alive.
2. I have been BUSY!!!
3. I live at a new place now!

Yes, that is right.. We have just moved.. I now live amongst the boxes again.. Which is a total pain.. But I think the new place is going to turn out better for us.. The short drive to work (A whopping 2-5 minutes!!) is worth it entirely, that is for sure.

I have been knitting too.. well.. sortof. I've been felting! I finnally felted Alfred's bed.. and I took pictures too.. I'm just not sure where the camera is right now.. (Oops?) But I'll post the pictures as soon as I possibly can. I ended up letting it dry over a plastic cake carrier thing.. I don't think it was quite wide enough though so I may end up trying to figure something else out to get the thing to really look right. Alfred loves it though.. When I pulled it off the cake thing and plopped it on the floor he went right in it as if he knew it was just for him. He sleeps in it pretty oftin too.. It is SO addorable.

In more sad (pathetic?) news.. I haven't put the TCC together yet. I am shameful.. and I am afraid winter has passed me by. On the upside of this, our new place has massive walk in closets.. with doors.. that close... Which may just be the best idea since a cage over a sweater to keep the kitten off it. (You guys crack me up btw.) I think that my closet will hold a drying sweater.. and I will feel NO guilt whatsoever keeping Alfred locked out of it. It may take weeks to dry in there with no air.. but that is a risk I might just be willing to take.. Or I'll put a small fan in there with it.

So maybe soon I will be able to do it.. A couple of weeks from now is Spring break.. and that means I won't have a school assignment and I'll have a free Saturday all to myself.. That might just be TCC blocking/seaming day.. or week.. depending on our work schedule. All the kiddos seem to be going out of town so we might just be home more than usual, which should give me some time to block.. and I have nice new super-clean sinks to wash sweater parts in. I'm already excited!!

Anyway.. I just wanted to make sure you guys got an update eventually.. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of this blogging thing soon.. rather than later. I am paying for it after all.

What Will I Do Now?

2007-01-19T14:32:00.000-06:00

At officially 12:05pm today.. I... finished.. knitting.. the TCC. Not to say that I'm totally done with it.. but there is no more knitting to be done at all. None. Over. Finished. No more knitting.

...What will I do now?

I know what youre thinking.. "How about weaving the ends and blocking and seaming and buying the buttons and wearing it?!?!!"

Yeah I know.

I may try to block it this weekend.. but I tell you.. my Alfred has been a terrorist lately and I'm afeared of what he might do with a sweater on a blocking board. If I had an extra bedroom or something there wouldn't be a problem.. but I have no such space. The plan is to put the blocking board on the diningroom table.. Alfred also has an affinity for pins.. One day I noticed one of my blocking pins on the floor in an odd place.. and then I looked for my pincushin and it wasn't in my bag.. I proceeded to use the rest of the day searching for it.. When I finnally found it most of the pins were pulled out and it was obvious that Alfred thought it was so much fun. I ended up putting them in an old perscription bottle that has a lock on it..

So I dunno.. but it needs to be done so I can wear this dangd ole sweater.

It has taken me 10 months to finish the knitting of this thing.. No wonder I feel so lost about it.. lol. I started back in March of 06.. that is just nuts.

Anyway.. I have to go get ready for work now.. if anyone has any tips for how to keep a kitten off a drying sweater.. please let me know!

Alfred Eats My Addis..

2007-01-14T20:19:00.000-06:00

Believe it or not.. I have been knitting! I just haven't been blogging or writing much.. er.. anything at all.. but this is about to change.

Coming soon (Hopefully in the next 24 hours) will be a brand new domain name for my knitting blog.. with 100 (Yes.. one HUNDRED) gigs of server space.. Which is good.. because last time I tried updating here my current server wouldn't do it because it's full. So I won't be having that problem anymore.. Yayyyy!

But yes.. the link to my blog will be changing.. it will be even easier to remember than it is now.

www.kimmishknitting.com

I have already registered it.. it just hasn't taken hold quite yet.. but soon my pretties.. soon!

So in actual knitting news.. Yesterday I actually decided what I wanted to do about my TCC sleeves.. so I found my sleeve in progress and I just started knitting.. I ended up deciding that 10 extra rows before the shoulder shaping would be just the right amount to add length to the sleeve.. and if it happens to grow a little after I wash and block it, it will still be within the ok limits of comfortable sleeve length.

And ofcourse Alfred thinks that he owns my sleeve (and my new Addi Turbos) and all the other yarn related items in the house.. He is slowly being taught differently.

Speaking of Addi Turbos... I OWN SOME! WOO!! Lol.. It was the gift I picked out and watched Bradley buy for me for Christmas for him to put in my stocking.. So I finnally tried them out yesterday.. and they are really.. smooth.. and the cord is soooooo flexible.. I really like them.. but I think I still like my Denise needles the best. I could see using Addis for certian things though.. They do sure feel luxurious though.. that's for sure.

Also I've been working on Alfred's Kitty Pi bed.. it seems to be going well.. but I am SO close to running out of yarn on it that I've moved it to the back burner for a while. I have also put in an order for the missing yarn.. I hope it gets here soon because it is a really great project for me to work on at work.

Course I do wish I were finished with my TCC by now.. apparently we're going to have freezing HIGH temperatures in the next couple of days and I am going to be COLD.. but oh well.. I'm sure I have plenty of cold days left... hopefully.. lol.. atleast one.. would be nice.

So I guess that is about it.. Expect some changes around here soon.. namely writing more oftin.. I am committed to writing atleast once a month when I pay the new domain name bill. lol. But hopefully I will write more than that.. and soon!

One Year Older.. One Sleeve Richer

2006-11-14T21:56:00.000-06:00

I should be ashamed of myself.. I have no excuse for not blogging for so long.. I really can't even tell you why.. What I can tell you is that I haven't forgotten about you guys and I hope you still like me anyway..

Can I tempt you with a picture of my sleeve?

This is the sleeve I have completed.. but I have the second sleeve over half done.. it's nearly to the shoulder shaping.. I'm debating whether or not I want to backtrack and add an inch into it before I get to the shoulder (Yes.. this would mean undoing the shoulder on the first sleeve too) but I'm thinking that if I really need another inch I could just er.... block it into submission? I'm not sure on that.. I've never blocked wool before.. Any thoughts?

Another tempting tidbit is the fact that I've had another birthday recently (I'm 22 now!) and I got a very special gift..

His name is Alfred..

And he's bugging me right now.. lol.. He's about 10 weeks old now I think.. I'm not totally sure when he was born.. but he's seriously cute and very attached to me. I call him Alfie.

I want to make him a KittyPi.. which should be fun for a first leap into felting... I think it'll be a good Christmas vacation project unless I get to it before then. I haven't knitted around him yet so I don't know how he'll handle it.. but I refuse to allow him to run off with my yarn!

I kindof feel bad.. it's currently hunting season and I haven't even begun knitting my dad some hunting socks at ALL. He seems to really like avoiding the fact that I need to measure his feet to make a proper sock.. but theres always next year eh?

I go through little spurts of knitting.. then some time of non-knitting.. but I'm always thinking about it.. I even got to order the new Knitter's Companion book, which seems to really be as great as everyone says it is.

Alfie is waiting for me to lay down with him.. and I just can't refuse that face... so I'll try to write again soon.. especially before another month goes by.

To anyone still reading this: Thank you for putting up with me : )

That.. was a Close One..

2006-09-23T18:51:00.000-05:00

I feel slightly ashamed.. I let my domain-name expire for 3 days.. I knew it was up in September and I thought I had plenty of time.. but obviously not. lol.

I hope it didn't scare anyone.. I'm still alive! I've just been sick.. and I don't like doing much when I'm sick.. I just lay on the couch and watch TV.. It's a kind of sad existance.

I do have some of my first sleeve on the TCC done.. I just hit a little snag when I went from round knitting to flat for the shoulder.. somehow the wrong side rows are on the odd-numbered rows which throws off the cabling.. so somehow I have to get it back on track.. I think if I cut the yarn and start the yarn on the other side then it should work out.. but I'm not totally sure.. I do plan on trying it soon though.

I'm also concerened that they are going to be too short.. but I won't know that until the sweater is put together..

But anyway.. I am still here and I plan to be here for atleast the next 12 months.. lol.

I will be posting again as soon as I work out the sleeve thing.

Left and Right.. Just Right.

2006-09-06T22:31:00.000-05:00

Late last night.. at around 1AM I finnally did it... I finnally finished... The Right Front.

It looks amazingly similar to the Left Front.. but.. you know.. for the right.. Which is just what I wanted ofcourse.

So there we have the Back, the Right Front, and the Left Front... and I will admit to you here and now that I have no idea how I am supposed to seam those together.. The collar construction really confuses me and I have no clue what I'm doing..

But I'm not going to worry about it right now.

Next on the agenda is the sleeves.. and hopefully working them in the round. I'm going to try my darnedest to do them in the round because I personally know that a seam down the inside of my elbow drives me totally insane. I will persevere. If I can make it through the right front... I can make sleeves round... Right?

I hope so.

In Jaywalker news.. well.. there isn't much.. I got almost down to the toe and decided to try the sock on.. and.. er... it didn't.. fit. It was too tight to pull over my ankle.. So I increased my stitches to try again and it really seems too big and the yarn is doing something funky to the striping pattern that I really don't like.. so I'm thinking I might try a bigger needle size and go back to the first number of stitches to see what happens. Unfortunately I can't take a picture of the stripey weirdness right now because the sock is in the car.. and the car is at Wal*Mart with my husband.. So maybe once I work out what I'm going to actually end up with I'll post a "before and after" picture to show the weirdness.

Speaking of pictures.. I do finnally have a picture of the bear I made for my Aunt Nelda (The one I finished in the police car.) Unfortunately my dad misunderstood what kind of picture I wanted.. so this will just have to do:

This is my Mammy and Pappy, the bear, and their dog Sam

I wish the detail of the bear was better.. but I guess I just have to take what I can get in this case.. cause if I heard right the bear is already in Atlanta with my aunt.

So there you have it.. and I am really eager to try the sleeves out.. so I must go do that before I get too tired to think straight.. lol.

Sleeves.. in the round... I can do it!! (I hope.)

Look Ma, I'm Jaywalkin!

2006-08-08T00:26:00.000-05:00

Ahh yes.. April has finally come through for me. She sent me the magical mathematical key to the Jaywalker pattern. And really.. I guess if I had sat down with it long enough I might have been able to figure it out myself.. but she spelled it out really easily for me so now I can confidently jaywalk myself silly.

Did I mention I have really small feet?

Oh.. well.. I do.. and I'm knitting my Jaywalkers with 52 sts around.. Which is kinda nuts when you think about it.. But it really seems to be working out.

And let me just tell you.. this is the most fun (without trying too hard) I've had with yarn in a LONG time.. My yarn choice has made this pattern so darn fun I can't hardly stand it. I was even showing it to the guys at work and they'd give me that look.... you know the one... and I kept pointing and saying "LOOK! CHEVRONS!!" and then they'd finally walk away from the desk.. lol.

I know you'll understand.. so I'll try it with you..

LOOK! CHEVRONS!

Is that cool or what?! I love it.. and I hope I can end up wearing them atleast sometimes in the winter.. For this is 100% wool yarn and I live in Texas..

But even if I never wear them a day in my life I will still be pleased.. because I'm making chevrons and they look SO NEAT!

.....I'm a knitter dork...

Oh and guess what else I finally got done this weekend? The rest of the writing for the Right Front! YAY FOR ME! So I've started knitting on the TCC again.. All of this bodes especially well because I have TCC to work on at home.. and Jaywalkers to work on at work.. (Hehe.. I get to knit at work!)

So I'd be expecting another TCC picture soon.. I'm almost to the scary gotta-have-a-life-line part of the pattern where I will be reuniting with Mr. Spreadsheet again..

I have faith we can make it through!

Until then... LOOK! CHEVRONS!!

Holy Blocking Board Batman!

2006-08-04T00:59:00.000-05:00

When Dad and I went to the building supply store to figure out this Homasote stuff.. well.. it left much to be desired.. First of all they only sold full sheets.. which meant having to buy a board the size of a wall.. Something like 4' by 10', which is entirely too huge.. and the board was 25 dollars or so.. Which didn't much sound like a deal to me once you have to buy all the stuff to make it into a blocking board..

I would have concidered doing it for real if I had knitting friends local to me that would go in on it so they too could have blocking boards and everyone would be happy.

But it was not meant to be..

It just so happened that the night or two before that day someone on KR was posting about blocking boards and how expensive they were and some really nice person mentioned that the manufacturer's website sold them.... cheaper... and they were... On SALE.

..Ooo..

So.. dad let me order it : )

....And he let me order the BIG one..

And it's here..

AND IT'S HUGE!

Now.. when you shop on the internet and you read about measurements and you even take out a tape measure so you can "imagine" and "see" how big something is... that.. usually doesn't work..

Let me tell you.. THIS THING IS FRIGGIN HUGE!

And it's all mine >: )

It's so big that I could sleep on it.. (If it wasn't so.. hard.. lol.) and if we became homeless we could use it as a roof.. If it had legs we could eat dinner on it..

And it's really heavy.. which kind of shocked me.

But I think I'm really going to enjoy having it.. I just have to.. er.. find a place to put it.. Unfortunately we don't have an "under the bed" as we have a waterbed.. so.. that's out.. so I'm going to have to get pretty creative..

But I can't possibly tell you how eager I am to get the TCC done so that I can block it.. I'm thrilled that I don't have to try and fight with towels and the carpet and hope that I'm pinning in straight lines.. lol.

I'm even thinking I might want to try lace so I can block it.. LOL.

I.. need help.

...and maybe some more pins.

The Cops Took My Pictures..

2006-07-31T00:46:00.000-05:00

I would love to show you my most recent finished project.. I really would.. but I can't.. and I won't be able to for probably over a month.

I know that sounds very strange.. but it gets even stranger.. lol.

I've spoken about it before a few times in passing.. but I actually settled down this past weekend and finished the Bobbi Bear I started for my Aunt Nelda. My grandma commissioned me to knit it for her.... I don't even remember when.. but her birthday was in April (I know.. I'm SO LATE!) and it has been a long trudging kind of project.. Mainly because I hated the yarn.. I really just hated it.. it faught me every step of the way.. My boss at work kept laughing when he'd see me at my desk fighting my way out of tangles with this stupid yarn. And ofcourse it doesn't help that I was knitting it double stranded...

..Never again.

No sir.

I will not be buying any more Austermann Mayfair. Even though it is seductively cheap.. I will resist.. because this yarn hates me.

But at any rate.. I was motivated to finnally finish because my dad was going to leave for a month long trip on his motorcycle and his first stop was to be my grandma's house..

The last time I knitted a gift for one of her sisters she didn't get to see it.. and that really tore me up.. so I decided that this bear had to be on the back of my dad's bike before he left for an entire month.

So I finished it.. finnally.. and when I was done I didn't like how bland and naked he looked.. so I took the last ball of mayfair that was dark blue and started a tiny miniture ribbed scarf for him.. and it was going pretty well..

The night before my dad left we went to his work to pick up his car because he won't be needing it ofcourse.. and.. it has air-conditioning.. and our car does not. So we went to get his car and he gave me his Ziplock bag-o-bills (I kid you not.. his filing cabinate is a gallon ziplock bag.) and I showed him the naked teddy and he said it was very cute.. but then I took out the scarf and I said "But.. it's not finished yet.. do you have time? I can finish it now."

Some of you may or may not know.. but my dad is a policeman.. which means he has a police car (Not the car we took off him. LOL.) and he needed to show Brad where his post-office is so we can pick up his mail while he's away..

So... I finished the mini-scarf.... in the back of a police car.

Which I find so entirely hillarious.

I knitted in the back of a police car.

Oh.. and let me just tell you... it wasn't comfy.... it was very hot... and weird feeling... and it kinda smelled..

But just being able to say "I knit in the back of a police car" is quite cool..

So dad is gone.. and he did take the bear with him.. but unfortunately I didn't get to take a picture before he left.. so dad has promised to take a picture of him before he leaves for the next leg of his journey. Otherwise I'll never get a picture of it.. ever.

Which would be sad.. because he is quite cute... I just hate the friggin yarn.. and I'm ashamed that it was so late.

So.. this being done I have no other choice than to sit down and crank out the directions for the Right Front of the TCC... I actually sit down to do it right now.. but as you can see.. I'm blogging.. not pattern deciphering....

......Some things never change.. LOL. I will be a procrastionater to the very end. More than likely the last minute.. lol.

Nope.. It's Not A Jaywalker.

2006-07-21T23:44:00.000-05:00

Actually I haven't even started them yet.. *sigh* I have been abandoned. Left alone to wander the jaywalker sock path by my self. (Yes, April.. I'm trying to guilt you. lol.)

But I do have some other progress instead! YAY!

I finnally got my yarn free, and did try out what I had written out for the Right Front so far. If you look close enough you might be able to see the two out of three button holes I have completed. I think they're pretty good.. Hopefully I can find some nice buttons to go with this thing.. It would be a crime to put soooo much effort into it and then tack on some crappy buttons. lol.

I'm so glad I only need three.

I still have more direction writing to do.. which is why I've stopped knitting where I have. I'm hoping that the effort in writing it all out properly will be useful for someone else.. (Or possibly me.. later.. after I've forgotten everything. lol.) Because I think I could possibly.. maybe.. make it the rest of the way without it.. but it would be a little slower I think.. but then again writing it all out takes lots of time.

I don't know.. but I'd really like to knit on it again soon. It might be a case of writing out a few rows... then knitting them.. then going back to the writing.. but I'm not sure. I don't think I have that many left really..

Oh boy I'm sounding wishy-washy..

Some more good news is that I just earned 10 dollars today for completing an online survey.. which I have offically deemed yarn/knitting money. I believe I will be buying some more KP needles with it.. because I want them so! I'd especially love to have them before I tackle the TCC sleeves.

Tommarrow my dad and I are planning to go hunt down some Homasote so that we can build a blocking board. He said he would do it probably over a year ago and we're just now getting around to it. Hopefully we will also be stopping by Yarns 2 Ewe, which would be really really nice.. I haven't been there in ages. I'm thinking of taking my camera with us so that I can do a photo-blog entry about the trip.. It sounds like a good blogging opportunity to me : )

But we'll see what really ends up happening..

Meanwhile I go back to the grindstone of writing out those Right Front directions. (Note to pattern publishers: I do not like spending money on a pattern only to have to spend my time writing out more coherent directions!!)

It's Like A Shot in the Arm!

2006-07-09T15:40:00.000-05:00

Just because I don't blog as much as I used to doesn't mean that I don't read blogs every few days.. and also doesn't mean that I don't try to keep up with the new knitting news.. and when I heard about the new Knit Picks knitting needles I got all hot-n-bothered about them!

So... given the thoughts of sock knitting (Jaywalkers) that have been going through my mind.. I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to order some Knit Picks.

I was looking through their sock yarns and really noticed that I hated all the colors they offer.. I mean.. ew... I don't really get why they can't make some nicer stuff.. but I guess other people must like it.. For some reason.....

But I kept looking.. and I've also been concidering lace, as yall know.. so I looked into their thinner yarn in general and I found one that I just had to have.. They call it Memories and this color Yukon is just.. wonderfulness in a hank.

So I ordered two hanks of it, and a set of size 3 DPNs.. And I know you're probably thinking "Socks, on size 3s? She's NUTS!".. But I ordered them anyway because I know I'm a tight knitter.

So ofcourse I stalked my order status page insanely because I can't stand the thought of a package out there waiting for me and me not knowing where it is and when it would get here.. Although I wasn't quite as obsessed with it as normal because I kept reading that any orders with KP needles would be shipped late.

But it did finnally get here.. and it got here sooner than I thought it would.. but annoyingly enough even though it got here on Wednesday I didn't get to have it until FRIDAY.. which is SO annoying.. because the apartment office recieved the package and put a note in our mailbox for us to come and get it "PROMPTLY" (In big nasty bold letters no less.) So when Brad got up the next morning I sent him with our water payment and to get my package, but ofcourse no one was in the office. So we waited a while and then when we were heading out to work I asked him to go check again.. and he did.. and they STILL.. WEREN'T.. THERE. And their little sign on the door said they wouldn't be there until 3:30! And ofcourse the office closes at 5pm so there would be no way to go and get it after work.. So I had to do without. The office was holding my package hostage. But finnally on Friday afternoon Brad got to actually take it from them..

And I opened it : )

First I touched the yarn.. and suprisingly it's REALLY soft.. and really lovely.. and then I opened the needles.. and if you've read anything about them.. yes.. they are really really pointy (To the point of pain if you push your finger on the tip.) and suprisingly to me was that they're kinda hefty for their size.. but in a nice way.

To add even more excitement to all this... Having new yarn in hanks meant... I got to use my swift! Finnally!

And it really did work.. and I didn't even make a huge tangled mess like I thought I would. I'm really pleased with it and it was SO FUN to use it with my ball winder..

Almost immediately I cast on for a swatch so that I could see what gauge I'd get with this yarn and the size 3 needles.. I was a little worried that the yarn would make my hands itch.. but.. suprisingly enough.. nope. No itching at all. So I'm getting less timid of buying wool yarn. (YAY!)

So by the end of the day I had my swatch done! (Super fast... holy moly. Especially for such tiny stitches.)

I really like how the colors change with the yarn.. I'm going to be really interested to see how it goes with the Jaywalker zig-zag.. I looove the shades of blue with the bit of grey. Oh.. and my gauge was 31sts to 4 inches. Told you I'm a tight knitter.

I really really like knitting with those needles.. If I had money to spare right now I'd probably order more of them.. I'd really like a set of 7s right now so I can knit my TCC on them.. I might end up ordering them before I try tackling the sleeves.. I want to do them in the round with the Magic Loop Method.. and having a thinner cable than my Denise would be wonderful for that.

The pointyness of the needles makes knitting REALLY easy... almost entirely efortless.. I never thought I could like metal needles so much.. but then again all I ever had before were Boyes. (Eww.)

Speaking of the TCC.. Some of you have been asking how that's going.. and well... it's going.. slowly. The pattern is not charted like most of you think it is.. All of it is written out directions, so when I said I was going to write out the directions for the Right Front.. I really meant it.. I did start that but then I had a sudden fear of "I think I might be doing this wrong" and I knew the only way to find out was to cast on.. So I finnally did.. last night.. and for the most part from what I can tell my directions are accurate.. but I just didn't flip the bits in between the * *s like I should have. But that's easy enough to deal with. When I get into the harder part of the pattern (Curving cable lines!) I'll have to come back and finish the directions.

I got 14 rows completed last night.. but... I had to frog some of them this morning because I.. forgottoknitthefirstbuttonhole. *Sigh.* But I have my button hole now.. I had to look up the directions again on how to do it.. I always have to look it up even though it isn't that hard.

Hopefully it'll be smoother sailing for the next few rows.. I think I'm going in the right direction though.. (Heh.. RIGHT direction.)

Hopefully April will be back soon to help me shrink down the Jaywalker pattern for my tiny Kimmish feet.. I really want to start them to see how they come out!!

So.. As you can see.. I'm excited.. and excited means lots to talk about and blog about.. I guess all I really needed to fix my blogging slump was a nice new yarn order.. It really had been a while. Go figure.

Me and Mr. Spreadsheet Made it Through..

2006-06-22T23:16:00.000-05:00

I have progress!

I don't know if you can see the safety pin or not at the top corner.. but.. I am not committed yet. I am not sure if my short rows have gone the right way and done what they are supposed to do or not.. but one side of the collar is an inch shorter than the other side.. so I think it might be right... I'm just not sure yet.

I don't know how long I will be able to keep that safety pin and the ball of yarn attached.. but I'm thinking I might break out a new ball to start the Right front..

Oh..... I think I just got light headed thinking about the Right front...

You see... "do it all again, but the other way" is really really scary with this pattern... so I intend to type out all the real instructions.. but I have fears that I will miss some stupid little detail and it will be all.. my.. fault...

I am scared..

But.. I will persevere.

Oh and I found a new project to satisfiy my work knitting..

Liz has tempted me into knitting my own Saturday Market Bag, which is just the right thing I need for our grocerie shopping.

It's really interesting making such big loops.. and it's a little freeing too because if you make a mistake.... you can't really tell.. because it's just big loops. Heh.. Just the right thing for when I have to set it down and answer the phone, or talk to a parent about their bill, or worry about some woman's throw-up not flushing down the toilet.

Ok that last part sounds really gross.. but I swear to you it happened the other day.. This woman went to our restroom and then came out and went up to the desk and said, "Uh, I just wanted you to know that I just hurrled in the toilet and it won't flush."

Our work toilet does this weird thing where it only flushes properly every other time or something.. it's weird... and bad... Especially when that happens.. Hurrling.. ew.

Not that you guys really needed to know any of that.. but that is my work life... lol.

So now I just have to worry about writing out the instructions for the Right front... and hoping that it comes out as a mirror image of the Left front... With button holes... can't forget the button holes.

(This is the part where you hold my hand and tell me that everything will be ok. And offer nice tips. This is the first time that I think that a glass of wine might actually ease the knitting process... but I know better than that.)

Ugh..... I fear.. I am one of Those bloggers.

2006-06-14T00:41:00.000-05:00

Hello again...

Why am I greeting you? Because it's been too long just to start talking out of nowhere like you know me or something. I feel like a stranger.. like I've come to the party three weeks late.. It's a weird feeling.

I don't really have any knitting progress to show... Not to say that there hasn't been knitting, because there has. I did infact put the life line into my left front.. and I did infact use Mr. Spreadsheet to the fullest extent of my abilities.. I think it's going well.. I've gotten to the point where you bind off for the top of the shoulders.. and then comes the weird collar short-row-shaping thing they do.. That point is going to be a little scary until I actually do it I think.

I could technically post a picture of what I've knitted so far.. but it really isn't that much different from the last picture.. Or maybe it would be.. I don't know.. I guess I should just do it and let you guys decide.. lol.

Now that I look at it.. if you see the life line in the picture you can see that I've made a fair bit of progress.. There is hope for me yet!

That is Mr. Spreadsheet in the background there.. If you click and maybe squint you'll be able to see all my little check marks down all the rows on the page.. I'm really glad I thought of doing it that way because it was ooooh so helpful.. I mean seriously.

I am still however scared of the right front and the shadyness of "Do it all again, but the other way" but I think I can make it through.. It's just going to take lots of typing.. lol.

I find that even though my job allows me to knit, I don't knit there very oftin.. I need a project that is interesting, but portable, and not so hard that I can't put it down every few minutes. Maybe I need to seriously concider being a.. sock knitter? I hear that is all the rage for portable projects with just enough interest. I am still wishing I could make jaywalkers for myself.. (Who hasn't done those besides me? Is there anyone left?) and I have to investigate the concept of sock yarns that I can knit with.. Now that I know I can knit with some wool it shouldn't be nearly as hard. Maybe I could start with a knitpicks yarn or something.

Ahh the possibilities.

Speaking of possibilities.. I still haven't tried out my swift.. Is that sad or what? I haven't even finished it or anything.

I guess I just see a whole bunch of stuff around here that I need to do, get overwhelmed, and then decide (well not really decide..) to spend all my time laying on the couch watching weird shows on the Style Network and TLC.

Have you seen the Take Home Chef?! I love that show!

Erm... anyway.. lol.. I just wanted to touch base again and let you see that I am still here, and still knitting, even if I'm living in the shadows. I hope that I can break out of the funk soon.

Definitely sooner.. rather than later.

You Know Knitting Complicated When..

2006-05-20T23:02:00.000-05:00

You have to break out the spread sheets.

You know.. I knew when I signed on to knit the Travelling Cables Cardigan that it would be a bit of a stretch for me knit-wise.. (As oppose to purl-wise.. har har!) But I didn't think I'd have to make a spreadsheet for myself to keep my mind around the pattern.

I'm working on the left front.. and finnally this pattern is getting really.. complicated.

Just so you guys know.. I absolutely hate the phrase "AT THE SAME TIME" and this pattern says it twice in one paragraph. Then the lovely instructions for the Right Front are basically "Do it again, but the other way".. lol.

Two phrases I hate in knitting patterns:

"AT THE SAME TIME"
and
"REVERSE ALL SHAPING"

My spreadsheet is keeping track of four different things at once for me.. I know I wouldn't be able to do it on my own.. but thankfully I have set it up to tell me when to twist my cables, what row of the pattern it is, when to move the marker in for the collar, and when to increase for the collar. I'm pretty sure there is something I've forgotten but I'm willing to take that chance.

I'm seriously contemplating writing out the real instructions for the Right Front.. because "REVERSE ALL SHAPING" isn't exactly good enough for me. I like having it all spelled out so I can check off the rows once I've done them.

I'm needing more and more tools as this goes on. So far I have used, a copy of the pattern and a pen, a highlighter, seperate scratch paper, my super-duper-row-counter and a calculator. Now we add in the spreadsheet and I'm afraid of what the rest of the pattern holds in store for me.. lol.

There is another line in the pattern that scares me because I don't quite understand what it's saying:

"Work in short rows as follows: on RS row work 9, wrap next st and turn."

Now don't get me wrong, I totally get short rows but I've never done wrapping.. and I even watched a video about wrapping stitches.. but in the video she wrapped the stitch *after* she turned, not before.. so I don't understand..

But I knew going in that it would be a challenge for me...

Here's a pretty picture before it gets all scary:

You know.. it just might be time for a life line.. Here's hoping Mr. Spreadsheet and I can make it through alive! (With a pretty sweater at the end too.)

Don't Worry..

2006-05-18T22:07:00.000-05:00

I'm still alive : )

And I have to admit I'm feeling about 80% better about things.. I have completed yet another semester of college, and am holding strong onto my 4.0. (Yay another A!) I got a 100% on my final exam.. and I'm still happy about that.. lol.

I haven't been knitting much though.. I find that when I get home from work I'm just so tired.. and then in the mornings before work.. I'm just so tired.. Lol.. It's tough.

But I do knit some.. just not enought to post pictures of progress just yet. I think over the weekend I should be able to get some serious knitting time in. You know.. in between housework <: /

But ya know.. whatever.. I'm getting things done.. and our apartment is looking quite a bit better since my mom came to rescue me from the box maze. Her and Brad put up a bunch of the stuff I couldn't.. and it looks so much better. Really. It's so nice. It's not "Lets have company" nice.. but it's nice.. lol.

I still haven't tried out my new swift yet.. I should buy some yarn in hank form just so I can try it out.. Everyone is knitting lace now days.. Should I conform to the peer pressure? (I'm starting to think so.)

On mother's day we spoke with Brad's mum (She is mum, my mom is mom.. confusing? Not as much as two moms!) and she is knitting a knee length coat for herself in an aran pattern.. I told her that she needs to show me as soon as it's finished, because it sounds really exciting. I wish we lived closer to her so that I could borrow it >: )

But anyway.. I just wanted you guys to know that I'm still around and alive and I should get back to this whole blogging thing soon enough!

Swift Like the Bunny..

2006-05-04T00:56:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I ever mentioned it before now.. I honestly don't remember.. but my family friend who built my yarn box has struck again.. and he has built me a swift!

Yes.. my lonely yarn winder has a new friend..

But unfortunately he's still nakie.. I'm battling myself once again with staining vs. painting.. but for this I would tape really well and spraypaint for sure.. Brushing would just make a mess of it.. but staining could be really nice too.. I really don't know.

I haven't tried winding any yarn yet.. I only have one hank that could be wound and I heard that if you wind yarn into balls too soon it can hurt the yarn.. and I'm not ready to start on dad's socks yet.. so.. erm... I dunno.. Is it really that big of a deal to wind ahead of time? Or could I wind it into a ball and then straight back into a hank? Does anybody know?!

..I don't.. lol.

If you look into the picture of the swift and see past the swift a little.. you'll get a feel for what my life is like right now.. I know we moved over a month ago.. but I am still drowning in boxes and other assorted clutter.. it is awful.. all kinds of awful.. and I've just felt dreadful because of it.. (This is why I haven't been blogging much.) I have been knitting.. don't think that I haven't.. I just haven't wanted to do much of anything that requires time besides that.. I guess I'm tired of keeping up a "everything is allright" facade. I guess I feel like I have to do that all day at work and when I get home I just want to sit and knit and watch tv and not worry about what other people are thinking or anything like that..

Boy that sounds bad.

Anyway.. I'm sure it'll get better soon.. my final exam is this weekend so after that I won't have to worry about doing school anymore.. so I'll have more time to do things like clean and put things away (hopefully.) and then get back into blogging and chatting on the forum. I think being done with school will help me feel a lot better actually.. even though it has nothing to do with clutter.. I guess I'm just drowning under stress? Yes.. that sounds like it. The clutter just makes it 1000 times worse it seems.. I just can't ever relax.

It's agravating..

But I sure do have a nice new swift : )

Mr. Pod and Me..

2006-04-22T17:19:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't mentioned Mr. Pod since I got him.. but I do still have him and I bought him a new case since I showed him last.. I returned the cute blue case that I had before.. I know it was cute.. but I was really unhappy with the fit. It also didn't give me quite enough protection that I wanted. Too many open places in that case.. but the new one is very cool.

(And it is very hard to photograph.)

The new case is an Iskin Duo.. which I sooo love.. On www.iskin.com they're a tad expensive. I found mine on froogle for much cheaper.. The Iskin website gives tons of info and lots of pretty pictures of the cases though.. I so admire their photographers now.

Since we moved out of mom's house I have been using Mr. Pod a lot more.. I mainly listen to him while I'm washing the never ending cycle of dishes in the sink.. Which.. is kind of boring.. and totally not knitting related.. BUT! What I listen to is the actual point of this entry..

I listen to knitting podcasts.

Yep.. I'm one of those people.. I figure there are two kinds of people in the world.. People who love knitting podcasts... and people who hate them and think that they're pointless. lol.

I love that I can find free content to fill my Ipod.. and I love that it's knitting related because that is what I'm (obviously) interested in.

KnitCast
This was my first knitting podcast.. I think she's pretty talented and I love it when she has interesting people on her show. The episodes with the Yarn Harlot and Clara from Knitters Review have been my favorites so far.. They are such fun women (We all knew that already) but being able to hear them and laugh with them is really special and different. They're really fun episodes for sure. Hopefully they'll be on the show again sometime soon.. or maybe on someone else's podcast!

Cast-On: A Podcast for Knitters
While I don't always agree with everything she says.. and I don't usually agree with her politics.. Brenda is usually pretty darn fun and entertaining. She plays music in her podcast which I usually skip.. but I like listening to her talk and I can so tell she used to work in radio. I'm behind on her episodes and I feel like I'll never catch up and listen to one when it first comes out. The next episode I'll be listening to will be episode 13.. and she has 21 right now.. I guess I need to wash more dishes! Actually most of her episodes I have listened to while at work.. but I have since decided that it isn't such a good idea cause sometimes.. rarely.. she lets "colorful" language slip.. lol. One coworker was at my desk one day and she said something out of nowhere and his eyes got HUGE when he heard it.. It was pretty funny. But it would have been bad if it were the boss.. or maybe a parent or a child.. so.. I listen to her while I wash dishes now.. it's much safer.

Knitting Newscast
I downloaded a few episodes of this podcast and I have to say.. from what I've heard.. it was bor-ring.. Seriously boring.. but maybe she's gotten better in her more recent episodes.. I'm willing to give it another shot..

About Time
Well now I'm bummed.. While I was finding the link to the site that goes with this podcast I realized that she hasn't had an episode in a while.. and I couldn't find any explination on that site.. So I put "Whit Larson" into google and her personal site came up and on a post there she said "I won't be doing the knitting podcast anymore for anyone who has wondered".... How sad.. I really loved her show and thought she was really good. She was pleasant to listen to and never used bad language (would be great for work!) I understand that people get busy.. but fooey.. that's a bummer. Her archives are still good though if you haven't heard her before.

Knit2BTied
Last but not least.. this podcast only has one little episode.. but concidering that my friend April does the podcast.. I couldn't very well leave her out could I? Her first episode was pretty decent.. If you can look over the bad sound quality (that she's working on making better!!) you'll hear a sweet Texas girl with a great big heart.. Most of her first episode she talks about how great the people are in her life.. Her sister and her husband.. and her kids.. Which is nice.. It lets you see that she's just a good person right down to the depth of who she is.. It's HER podcast and she's talking about how good other people are! lol. But it's nice.. and I think she'll be a good podcaster.. I can't wait to hear her and Mica together.. that should be fun.. hehe.. and funny!

So.. That's it.. those are the podcasts I'm subscribed to at the moment.. I've heard of others that I'm going to try soon.. but these are the ones I've listened to so far..

And to think I got an Ipod so that I would listen to music.. LOL.. Go figure.

I Am.. A Knitter..

2006-04-15T15:17:00.000-05:00

I was thrilled when I found out that our apartment came with a washer and dryer.. I was even thrilled when I found that I could reach everything I needed on my own to complete a load of laundry...

..But..

I wasn't so thrilled when I found that the dryer door doesn't stay open while I'm trying to put the wet laundry up and into the dryer. The door actually HITS me in the HEAD.. which as you could imagine.. is very uncomfortable.. and annoying.

But today in a totally brilliant moment of self enlightenment I have found a solution..

You guys may notice that I don't really knit with straight needles very oftin.. but I do own some.. and that size 13 needle saved me a huge headache today..

Yes.. I am a knitter.

Sho Nuff Progress..

2006-04-12T20:12:00.000-05:00

Today I slept in.. erm.. way.. in.. but after that I got some serious knitting progress done.

The back of my travelling cables cardigan is.. complete! Need proof?

I think it looks a bit like a little girl's dress.. but the cables are *really* pulling it in.. this sucker is going to need some SERIOUS blocking..

...I might just have to buy a new blocking board... Oh darn >: )

So I guess it's on to the left front.. I should probably start on the bobbi bear I have planned for Aunt Nelda though... fooey.

But progress is progress.. and I'm pleased!

Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?

2006-04-01T18:28:00.000-06:00

Pillows... Knitted Pillows to be exact.

My new couch was delivered last weekend and it came with the ugliest pillows. I really really hate them. I hate them so much that we eat our dinner on them.. Litterally.. to save the couch from getting crumbs in it.

So I've been thinking of knitting some of my own.. Peggy knitted some that I really like.. but I ofcourse would have to use blue yarn..

I've also been searching the library archives for promising patterns.. I checked out one book but I'm not sure I like any of the patterns in it. Allthough the knitted bath mat is promising.

Oh and what is that? My TCC! I'm still working on it even though the progress seems kinda slow. Allthough it only felt slow when I saw the date of my last progress picture.. I've been busy.. but I've been knitting on it exclusively for the past three days. I think I've been doing quite well.. and I'm pleased that I've been able to handle the pattern so far.. I'm on the last repeat of "Curving the cable lines" and then comes the shoulder shaping..

I've also knitted quite a few coasters out of hardware store twine.. but for some reason I just can't keep them square. I think I cast on waaay too tight. Squares aren't squares when they have one rounded edge. lol.

Anyhow.. hopefully soon I'll find a great pillow pattern that I won't mind knitting twice.. (or four times.. if they're two sided and the same.) I welcome any ideas!

Back In The Saddle Again..

2006-03-21T10:50:00.000-06:00

I don't know if you've guessed by now by my absense but.. we did infact move.. and it's been pretty good.. but really busy. I only just started knitting at home (MY home!) this past weekend.. I was knitting some at work on my Ribb2 sleeve but home time was reserved for cleaning and putting away dishes.. or shopping for furniture.. or buying things like a toilet brush and other boring domestic thingies like that.. LOL.

But over the weeked things calmed down enough to where I could knit again.. I really wanted to knit on my Travelling Cables Cardigan but first I finished my Ribby2 sleeve.. I don't have to worry about them anymore.. so after the sleeve was done I delved back into the TCC and started the part about "Curving the cable lines" which I still don't really understand.. but I had to employ some new tools to get through the pattern though.. a hilighter and a pen.. I think the more marks that end up on the pattern.. the more complicated it is.. I'm SO glad I have a copymachine! lol!

Anyway.. I do have a picture to show just so this isn't all boring:

My first picture in my new place! I think I'll miss the dark grey carpet at my moms.. but this new beige carpet really does photograph better. Once we get things more aranged around here I'm going to try doing some more creative photographs.. maybe things on diningroom chairs or something.. I'm not sure.. I'm just hoping to get beyond laying things out on the carpet or the futon. lol.

I'm really enjoying our new place.. but I still haven't got a special knitting area.. and I don't think I'll have one anytime soon.. unless someone wonderful gives me a knitting chair (or a chase!!).. Brad has an office/music stuido brewing up nicely and I'm getting pretty darn jealous. But anyway..

I'll post a picture of the TCC when it actually looks different from before.. I'm a little worried about it though because it looks a little funny in one spot.. I'm hoping I'm just crazy and it'll work out in the end. I should have put a lifeline in before I moved onto the curving cable lines section. Oh well...

I also need to work on my Aunt Nelda's bear.. and I've been commissioned by a cousin to knit a baby blanket for one of her neices.. She wants to pay for the yarn and pay me.. and she wants me to charge her fairly.. fairly to me.. which I feel a little weird about.. I have no idea what I'll charge her.. and I have no idea what pattern I want. I want to make something interesting to knit.. but still nice looking.. Maybe something with texture that would keep it just interesting enough. I don't know.. I really like April's baby blankie.. but since she's having so much trouble finishing it I don't think I'll even go there! lol!

Other knitting projects that are brewing up.. Maybe a bath mat for the bathroom for when I step out of the bathtub. I'm deathly afraid of slipping on the linolium. Also some coasters.. and some pillows or pillow covers for our.. brand.. new... SOFA! Which will be delivered Saturday. The throw pillows it comes with are seriously U. G. L. Y. So I might knit some covers for them.. Or we'll buy new pillows.. lol.

Things a brewin.. and school is allllmost over... I only have one exam left.. and two assignments. And I've been working alot too.. I'm scheduled for three days this week.. but I have a feeling it'll turn into 4. They wanted me to work yesterday but I had to turn them down because I had my exam to do..

All this adult stuff is bringing me down.. But I do enjoy knitting and if I keep doing projects for other people I won't have to worry about where the yarn will come from.. It's not as satisfying.. but it's still good.

And that lovely Travelling Cables Cardigan is going to last me a good.. long.. time.. : )

We Got It!!!

2006-03-03T13:12:00.000-06:00

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

We're moving out.. on our own.. without my mom.. in our own apartment with our own masterbedroom and our own.. bills..

The bills are kindof a downer.. but hey.. We're gettin our own place!!

YAY!!

I'm so happy I could just.. well... BE HAPPY. lol.

I'll be able to knit in my own place wherever I want! That's gonna be neat.. I want to buy a special piece of furniture for my knitting.. a comfy chair or maybe a chase lounge.. Something nifty and good for knitting.. That'll be neat..

I'll have plenty of room for blocking now!! YAY!

I know you guys probably don't know much about our living situation or anything but since importing a husband is really hard and takes a loooonnngg time.. (And he wasnt allowed to work for the longest!) We've been living in my mom's house since he flew in from Australia.. I've never lived on my own either though.. She let us have two rooms which are side by side.. one was my old bedroom (The blue room you see in pictures) and the other was our "guest room".. They're both 10'x10' square boxes. We turned my old bedroom into our "livingroom" where I knit and watch tv and our computer and Brad's piano is in here too.. the bedroom just has our bed and a nightstand.. The bed basically fills the entire tiny room.

So basically what I'm saying is we're very cramped.. but our new apartment has 829 square feet of living space which is SOOOOO much more! I don't know what we'll do with it all!

Anyway.. Just wanted to let you guys know that we got it.. and that means we'll be moving VERY soon! Thanks for yall's nice comments and hoping for us!

Maybe I should knit some to take the edge off.. LOL.