Monday, September 22, 2008

Neat Stitch Markers

Pirates:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_6&listing_id=15376313

Dragon stitch marker set:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_6&listing_id=13163435

Hearthstone: (from World of Warcraft)
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10085035

Pac-Man and ghosts:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15388521

Aliens:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13900762

OMG, WTF, LOL
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15300274

Drinks
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11175371

Monkeys!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15043128

Rhino!!! (and other stuff)
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12735467

Dice
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14599336

Also Dice! (for crochet)
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12419730

These two and the first dice one will be added to my wishlist! :)
Turtles
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15264513

Pumpkins
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15472651

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Need to Frog a Finished Sock

I have decided that my first ever finished sock (with a toe) is too big.

So, I'm going to frog the toe out and one repeat of the lace pattern. Then re-do the toe.

Unfortunately, I can't do this until I finish the second sock: my needles are all tied up in that. (No pun intended. :))

Friday, September 12, 2008

I'm a goober.

I'm working on my second monkey sock and I found I had an extra stitch when I got to the end of the heel flap. Everything looks even and nice, so I just knit two stitches together and got on with turning the heel.

When I got to the end of the heel turning, I was short a stitch.

It turns out that I didn't have an extra stitch, I just misread the pattern. But I didn't realise that until I had frogged almost the entire heel flap.

Oh, well. At least the heel flap knits up quickly. :)

First Real Sock!

I made my first real sock! :)



I used the Monkey Sock pattern from knitty.com. The pattern is really clear and easy to understand.

I found myself getting confused about which row I was on in the lace pattern. So, I used a sticky tab to keep track of where I was. I think I need to get one of those things you click the button on and the number changes.

The pattern is designed for a longer leg, but I wanted short socks. So, I only went through the lace pattern twice before starting the heel-flap.

It's a cuff down pattern, and the toe is kitchener stitch. Man, kitchener is fun! And look how good it came out on my first attempt ever.

Pedicure Socks!

I finished my first pair of socks a couple weeks back.



They are toe-less so when mom goes to get pedicures in the winter, she doesn't have to stuff her pretty toes into her shoes and mess them up. With these, she can put them on before the paint, then put her sandals on. Her feet will stay warm, but her toes won't get smudged. :)

I used Patons SWS yarn (a mix of wool and soy). It was really nice to work with.

These socks had me using DPNS (double-pointed needles) and knitting in the round. Two things I had never done before. :)

Monday, August 11, 2008

And we have a heel flap

My First Sock

I am incredibly excited! I started my first sock yesterday. Granted, it's a toeless sock, but it's a sock! :)

Here is the pattern I'm using: Pedicure Socks.

This is a picture of the cuff: 1 inch of 2x2 ribbing.



It's my first time using double-pointed needles. The cast-on was much easier than I expected it to be. Knitting in the round is so fun.

After working on it just yesterday, I'm ready to work on the heel. Here is my progress so far:

OMG It's August!

Hello!

It's been forever since I posted. Let's see... what have I made since April?

The Tychus Hat
This is a pattern from knitty.com. It's an adult sized hat that taught me to do short rows and color changing. It's all knit-stitch, so it knitted up super fast! I used red and grey Red Heart yarn and the colors look really great together.

** I don't have a photo of this item.

Baby Tychus Hat
I had decided to give the Tychus Hat to Brian's Brother-in-Law and I thought it would be cute if they had a matching hat to fit their son. So, using the same yarn and much smaller needles (2s), I made the Baby Tychus Hat. It took FOREVER! Knitting worsted weight yarn on size 2 needles is not something I plan on ever attempting again. But the hat was so cute once it was finished.

I made my first pom-pom to go on the peak of the baby hat.

** I don't have a photo of this item.

Heather's scarf
I had some purple yarn that just called out "Heather" to me. So, I made Heather a scarf with it. I learned 2x2 ribbing and added fringe on both ends. I gave it to her for her birthday and she loved it.

** I don't have a photo of this item.

Dishcloths
I have made three dishcloths with the same pattern and cotton yarn. The first was orange and beige. The second, orange and green. The latest is red and green for Christmas. It's intended to be a gift for my mother's pedicurist. That's the one in the photo.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Update! :)

Wow! It's been a long time since I've updated. Brian and I got engaged recently, so between school and wedding stuff I've hardly had time to do any yarn work.

I finished the set of dishcloths/washcloths and the bathmat for John and Jennie. To give it to them, we rolled up the items and put them in a basket. Around each item, like a napkin ring almost, we printed out labels. The labels said things like: 1388 wishes for a happy marriage. The number indicated the number of stitches involved in that item. The card said something like: each stitch contains our love and a wish for your future.

Sadly, I forgot to get a picture of the basket (or the items) before we gave it to them.

This weekend I felt a bit under the weather, so I spent most of it on the couch knitting (even though I didn't have the time to do that).

I have made much progress on the knitted scarf for Heather. It will definitely be done in time for her birthday. Though I may wait for Christmas anyway since she won't have any need for a scarf in Southern California in July.

The scarf ended up being 2x2 ribbing with 32 stitches per row. This way, every row is the same. It was too hard to determine which row I should do. The boucle yarn makes it so hard to see the stitches.

I started my first knitted hat. It involves two colors; I've never knitted with two colors before. And it involves short rows; something else I've never done. It's coming along very well.

Since it's an educational piece, I pulled out the worst yarn from my stash: RedHeart. It squeaks as I use it. Ick! The colors are nice though. A cherry red and a heathered gray. I didn't have the right sized needles (9), so I'm making it on 8s. If it doesn't fit, I won't care. I probably should have used 10s, but Heather's scarf is using my size 10 needles.

Sip or Stitch is meeting tonight. The week before last, we had seven people. Last week we only had 4.

Monday, March 24, 2008

SoS: Third Gathering

Tomorrow will be the third gathering of the SoS. I will NOT be attending. I have a project due on Friday and it's taking far too long.

Also, I will not be around for next week's gathering. I have a previous engagement.

Friday, March 21, 2008

WIP: bathmat (gift)

This will be gifted with the dishcloth set I made.

I couldn't find a bathmat pattern that wasn't in the shape of something silly. I came across an article about the absorbancy, durability, etc of various cotton yarns and stitch patterns. Using the information in this article (namely, the section titled "Stitch Matters"), I decided to use the "Back Loop Stitch Washcloth" pattern as a base for the bathmat.

I decided that I would make six washcloths (three of each color) and join them to make a rectangle.



However, I have run out of the blue yarn. I'm planning to go back to the store ASAP and see if I can get more of the same dye lot. If not, I'm going to use the natural color cotton yarn I have instead of the blue.

EDIT: I've decided to just use the natural color yarn. It's the same brand as the red (the blue is not), I already have one square made, and it will probably be easier to match her bathroom if it's only got one real color in it.

FO: dishcloth for us

This square was meant to be part of a bathmat to go with the dishcloth set. However, I ran out of yarn and the last two rows are in a different dye lot. So, this can't be a gift.

When I was working on the gift dishcloths, Brian said something like: "Do we get to keep this one?"

So, he gets to keep this one. :)


I've taken to calling it the "Three Errors Dishcloth". Error 1: yarn ran out halfway through the last row. Error 2: the last few rows are made with a different dye lot. Error 3: it's made with three pieces of yarn and the knots I put in look terrible.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

SoS: second gathering

The second gathering of Sip of Stitch was last night.

Christine came again with her entre-lac stole. And Shandra (new this week) was there working on her 2nd monkey sock. Man, those socks looked cozy!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

WIP: Cold Shoulders Capelet

I recently purchased the "Happy Hooker" book. This capelet is one of the patterns. It calls for mohair yarn, bun I have been wanting a shawl/stole/shrug/capelet-type thing made from some black fun fur I had in my stash.

It's difficult to crochet with because I can't see the stitches. So, I'm cheating a bit. When I was crocheting into the chain, I only caught one loop. When I crochet into stitches, I am crocheting into the space between the stitches.

WIPs, WIPs, everywhere!

After yesterday's post, I reached my homework goal for the day about 8 hours ahead of time. So, I stopping working for the day and crocheted instead.

I worked on the stroller blanket and I started a capelet.

The capelet is out of black Bernat Boa (fun fur!). It's really hard to put the stitches into the right places, so I'm cheating a bit. When crocheting into the chain, I only caught one loop. When crocheting into stitches, I put the stitch into the hole between the stitches. It's impossible to distinguish where the correct place is.

I need to look for an errata for that pattern. I found what I think is an error in row 3. It says to double-crochet in next stitch, but I think it should be "first" stitch.

Anyway, I'm going off to game today. I'll be bringing the stroller blanket. The last time I gamed and crocheted I got a lot done.

I'll try to get pictures of all this up soon.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Update: not enough time to craft!

I have no time! :(

School is kicking my butt and I haven't had enough time to work on anything interesting.

I've been working on a bathmat. But I ran out of yarn last night. Hopefully I'll be able to find some of the same dye lot to finish it. I think I just need to make 2 more squares and sew it all together.

I found out my friend Nate and his wife are going to have a baby in October. So, I want to make them a baby-blanket for the stroller. I started it about half a dozen times and pulled it all out. The first time I had started with the wrong color yarn. Then I discovered that a size G hook didn't get me anywhere near gauge. I swatched about 4 times trying to get gauge. Finally, I started it again last night with a size-J hook and I am close to gauge. I'm a little off, but since it's a blanket, I'm not going to fret about it.

I've given up on the purple scarf for now. Every time I start it, the first few inches look great, then I get an extra stitch and can't get it back on the needles and looking right. Gonna wait until my stress level is lower. Maybe I'll work on it when Brian and I go to wine country (after finals in May).

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Sip or Stitch: First Gathering!

Last night we had our first Sip or Stitch Gathering. Three people came. It was very pleasant to sit and craft with others doing the same.

Jerry brought his spinning wheel and that was fascinating to watch. He also had this really soft yarn that he was making into a sweater. It was a lovely green as well as being super soft.

Debbie (Jerry's wife) had a really graceful way of knitting.

Christine was working on this gorgeous entre-lac blanket.

I didn't notice, but apparently Jerry was getting a lot of stares while he was spinning. He didn't seem to mind.

Oh, and my tea was tasty.

WIP: Stroller Afghan (gift)

I found out a friend of mine and his wife are having a baby in October. So, I started this Stroller Afghan. The pattern is out of the "Happy Hooker" book.

I have modified the pattern slightly to fit my yarn supply. The pattern calls for three colors. I'm only using two. To make up for this missing color, I'm crocheting twice as many rows in white as I am in green. This will allow me to use more white yarn than green. The white yarn I have is slightly better quality and I have far more of it.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

WIP: Our Bathmat

We seem to go through bathmats very quickly in our house. Since they usually cost around $20, I think I can save us some money if I make them myself. (Shocking since yarn prices are so high.)

I'm using the same pattern I devised for the bathmat that will be a gift. I plan to use the same red color that I'm using for the gift and the natural color that may end up in the gift (if I don't find more blue colorway).

I've only made one square so far.



EDIT: This square has been reassigned to the the gift bathmat.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Sip or Stitch is a go! :)

I went up to Coffee Bean last night to ask about having the SoS gatherings there. They are totally cool with it and very welcoming.

They were rather busy last night (a Thursday), so I asked if Tuesdays were slower. The barista said that Tuesdays were slower nights than Thursdays. I take that to imply that it will be less crowded on Tuesdays, so I'm going to go up on Tuesday with my sign and my "cards" and see what happens.

I'm also going to announce my gathering on ravelry.com and maybe create a yahoo group (if I can figure that thing out).

EDIT:
Yahoo Group created!
Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/siporstitch
Group email: siporstitch@yahoogroups.com

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

SoS: Sip or Stitch

I want to start a crafting group at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf near my house.

I'm planning to go up and discuss it with a shift manager tomorrow night at 7:30. That is also the time that I'm hoping the gatherings would start. Will also give me a chance to see how busy they are at that time. If they are terribly busy, I don't want to crowd the restaurant.

After I get permission, I'm planning to go up there with a sign to place on my table. Maybe some "business" cards with my name and email address on them. And of course my craft projects. :)

Needle Tips

Yesterday I purchased needle tips to prevent my knitting needles from poking holes in my craft bags. Most of my planned projects will be worked on smaller sized needles (8's and below).

I accidentally purchased the large sized tips. So the tips I ended up with are made for sizes 9 through 15. Size I had just purchased (the same day) size 10 and size 13 needles, I decided to open the package and try them out on my 8s. They fit and work great.

However, they don't fit on my newly purchased sized 10s! :) lol

FO: Scallop Scarf

I finished the scallop scarf!



I would like to gift this scarf because I'm allergic to the yarn (20% wool). But since it was the first knitting project that I did without help, I've grown rather attached to it.

Current Projects

I'm still working on the the scallop scarf. Last night, it was a bit chilly in the house so I was wearing the scarf and knitting on it at the same time. I was terribly amused. :)

The scallop scarf is 65+ inches long. The pattern said to go to 59 inches, but I was so close to the end of the skein, and longer scarfs are better, I just kept going. Now, to figure out how to "bind off"....

I'm expecting two knitting books and a crochet book in the mail. Ordered them from amazon.com. One is "Stitch and Bitch", one is called something like "When bad things happen to good knitters: an emergency guide", and the other is a crochet book.

I'm planning to start the purple, boucle scarf soon. I started it a couple times last night, but kept making mistakes. With that yarn, it's impossible for me to identify the stitches. So, I think the pattern was too complicated for that type of yarn (since you wouldn't see any of the fancy/interesting stitches).

Instead, I may just do a garter stitch scarf with the boucle. I'm going to try a k2p2, p2k2 before I resort to garter stitch though.

Yesterday, I bought yarn for bathmats and dishcloths. Gonna make a bathmat as a gift (red and denim). And another for us (red and natural). Brian seemed like he wanted to keep some of the dishcloths I made as a gift, so I figured I'd make some dishcloths for us, too.

Monday, March 3, 2008

WIP: Purple Scarf (gift)

I had this boucle yarn that I wanted to get out of my stash. But since I don't look that good in purple, I wasn't sure what to do with it. After a day of thinking about it, the idea came to me an a flash: I would knit a scarf for Heather (Brian's cousin).

After about a dozen false starts, here is what I have so far:



If it's done before her birthday (in July), I'll probably give it to her then. Otherwise, I will wait until Christmas.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Scallop Scarf Update

It's been a while since I posted! :(

The scarf is about 25 - 30 inches long now. 25 if I don't play with it. 30+ if I tugged it a bit.

I've decided that I'm going to keep it. I can't see giving it away since it's the first project that I've worked on without handing the needles to my mom when I made a mistake. Pulling it out and reworking it hasn't been fun, but I've certainly learned a lot from it.

I plan to make another scarf after this one is finished. I have some purple yarn (the stuff I used for my wrist warmers) that I want to knit with. So, I'm going to make a scarf for Brian's cousin. She loves purple and looks gorgeous in it. Me, not so much.

I have a pattern all picked out. I found it on ravelry.com. The project is in my queue already. I can't wait. :)

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

"Knit Nut"

I went on a quest for local yarn shops. My quest led me to a woman's house. She had owned a yarn shop in Long Beach and when she retired, she moved all her yarn into her house and garage (and a storage unit somewhere).

She has TONS of yarn and she'll sell most of it for 25 cents an ounce. I got two skeins of wool sock yarn, three skeins of Egyptian cotton yarn, two skeins of "Gelato cotone" yarn, and two cones of yarn for $24.

If you want to go see her, she's in Huntington Beach. Just call her first so she can put your name in with the guard at the gate. Here is the information: Knit Nut.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Looking for Stole/Shawl pattern

While entering my yarn stash on my Ravelry account, I saw my Bernat Boa yarn and thought how nice it would be to have a classy looking shawl/stole made out of it.

I have three skeins (mini-skeins?) of that yarn in black and 2.5 in Phoenix (orange).

I need a pattern.

Any suggestions? Please post a comment.

Update

The scarf is around 21 inches long. I didn't work on it much yesterday. Instead I was crocheting some projects that will be a gift.

Brian said he would take the octopus and give it a good home on his desk at work. :)

FO: dishcloths

These will be part of a gift. I got the patterns from lionbrand.com. However, the patterns were single colored. I added everything that is in red yarn. The one with the border didn't even have a border in the pattern.


If you have a Lion Brand login, here are the patterns that I based these on:
left: Back Loop Stitch Washcloth
center: Sedge Stitch Washcloth
right: Double Crochet Washcloth

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Scarf Progress

The scarf is coming along well. It is 14 inches long, 7 of which were done today. The pattern calls for 59 inches. So, theoretically, it should be finished in about a week.

I had to frog back twice today. Kept getting the pattern appearing on the wrong side.

Still haven't figured out what I'll do with it when it's finished. Being wool, I dont think I could wear it. Since my mom has about the same allergies I do, she's out, too. I thought about giving it to my brother, but it's a bit too feminine.

Any suggestions? Add a comment.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Looking at my scarf yarn...

I'm not sure I have enough yarn to make a 59 inch scarf.

It's hard to tell how much yarn I've used from the first skein. But I would guess somewhere between a third and half of the skein has gone into the 9 inches of the scarf.

I started with 2 full skeins, so hopefully the scarf will be long enough when I'm finished.

Ravelry.com!

I got my Ravelry.com invite! :) yay!

Ravelry.com is a website where you can store information about your projects (past, present, and future), your yarn stash, your patterns, your needles/hooks, etc.

You can also see what other people are making, see pictures of their FOs, and talk to them about their projects. It should be handy.

My username is Blamdarot.

My First Frog!

While working on my scarf, I suddenly realized that I had skipped a row and the result was that the front design was appearing on the back of the scarf!!

So, I looked up how to frog on the interweb, and nervously set to work.

Long story short: it worked. I used some fingering yarn and a tapesty needle to keep from losing the stitches. (I found the suggestion on the Internet.)

The scarf us about nine inches long. Fifty inches to go!! Whoo!!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

I'm allergic!!!

It appears that I am highly allergic to wool.

I've been working on my scarf and I decided to sniff it. (Wool smells nice and the yarn I'm using is 20% wool. Dont look at me like that.)

Each time I sniffed it, I sneezed immediatly and my left ear got itchy. (I'm weird. When I have an allergy attack, the insides of my ears get unbearably itchy.)

This is a very sad allergy for a yarn lover to have. :(

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Frogged the Scallop Scarf

I frogged the three inches I had done on the Scallop Scarf. Got back to about the same point in a little over an hour, so I'm glad I did it.

Now, to figure out how to tell what the last row I did was so I can tell where I am in the pattern....

EDIT: 2/21/08
I've got about 5 inches done now. I sent Mindi the picture of it asking her if it was looking the way it was supposed to. She said that it was, but that I had taken a picture of the backside. :) oopsie!

Mouth on the octopus?

The pattern for the octopus says to sew a mouth on. But the mouth of an octopus is at the apex of it's tentacles. So, I'm thinking I'll leave it as it is.

Anyone have an opinion? Please post in the comments. :)

New Project: Scallop Scarf

The scallop scarf is underway! :)



After practicing a bit on my UFO scarf, I realised that I was casting on too tightly and then knitting far too tightly, as well. So, I took a deep breath. Relaxed a bit. And started again.

It's coming along decently. There are bunch of mistakes: I missed a row of knit, I keep ending up with one too many stitches on my needle, and I can't imagine that my stitches are even. I'm hoping that the scarf will be a testimony to the improvement of my knitting. One end a mess, and one end gorgeous and a slow transition through the rest of the piece.

Oh! and I love the color of the yarn I'm using for it. It's mostly blue with specs of green, pink, purple, and a darker blue through it. It's beautiful. However, it's Lion's Brand (Wool-Ease) and the plys are hard to keep together. This is the second time I've tried using Lion's Brand for something and I can't say I'm impressed.

EDIT: One last thing.
I started being able to read my stitches while they are on the needle. I can tell the difference between the regular stitches and the YOK1 stitches. I think I could tell a K2tog stitch, too, but I'm not certain.

However, after the stitches aren't on the needle any more, I can't tell what they are. Aw, well. Baby-steps. :)

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

FO: Amigurumi Octopus!

I finished the Octopus tonight.



Sewing on the tentacles was tricky. It didn't seem like they would fit correctly. And I couldn't get them lined up with the eyes the way I wanted them to be. But they are on. It looks decent.

Not sure what I'll do with it now that it's finished. I really have no room for a purple octopus. Maybe Brian would like it for his desk at work. He has mentioned that he doesn't have enough toys on it.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Knitting is hard

I haven't done any knitting in a few years, so I'm quite out of practice. Especially when you consider what a noob I was when I was knitting.

So, after I finished crocheting the last two tentacles, I tried to knit the scallop scarf pattern that Mindi gave to me last Saturday.

This turned out to be an exercise in futility since I don't know how to cast on. I tried it a few times, but couldn't do whatever magic my mom uses to cast on. Then I watched some demonstrations on youtube.com and I managed to find a method that I could get to work for me.

However, once I had cast-on, I kept messing up the stitches and dropping them all over the place (even the standard knit and purl). I must have torn it out and cast it back on three or four times before my hands started to cramp and I gave up.

Aw, well. Hopefully I'll have time to call mom sometime this week and have her help me through casting-on. Sadly, I doubt I'll have time to work on it again before the weekend.

Progress on Octopus

Most of the body is made. I need to go buy stuffing before I can finish that part.

Six of the tentacles are complete. I need to make two more. I expect to finish them up later today.

Then I need to get the stuffing, finish the body, stuff the tentacles, attach the tentacles, and add some eyes.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Mindi's Knitting Patterns

Last night I saw Mindi (an avid knitter) at a party. She gave me some knitting patterns to try to help me learn the knitting craft. I had emailed her describing how much I can do (knit and purl, baby) and had asked her to recommend some patterns or a book to get me going onto harder stuff. She gave me a pattern for a scarf that will teach me to knit multiple stitches together, a hat that will teach me to do "short rows", and a dishcloth.

I will need to call my mom and have her help me cast-on over the phone. She does it in this odd way that want to preserve. I say "odd" because I have yet to see her method on any of the tutorials I've found online.

She does some very simple thing to get loops on the needle while leaving a long tail. Then she uses the tail to knit into the loops on the needle. And that's her cast-on.

If it turns out I can't get that to work for me, I'll probably go with the "Italian Cast-On". I saw a tutorial on it and gave it a try. I almost managed it, but it will take a bit more practice.

Amigurumi Octopussy

Last night I started an Amigurumi Octopus.


I have the body mostly done and two tentacles complete. I couldn't finish the body because I didn't have anything to stuff it with. I need to hit the craft store for stuffing (for this project) and some double-ended knitting needles (for the condom project).

If you have a Lion Brand login, here is the pattern: amigurumi Octopus.

FO: Cat Mat

Two years ago this past New Years Eve, I started crocheting an afghan without a pattern. I started with a granny square, and then started adding to the outer edge of the granny square with different stitches I found on the internet. I learned treble stitches, cross-stitches, etc.

Mid-January, I put the project aside and never went back to it. Yesterday, I tied off the end and gave it to Brian's girl-cat. She seemed to like Tyler's Baby Blanket so much, I figured she would like a blanket of her own. When I came out to the living room this morning, she was sleeping on top of it. :)


When I went out to take the picture of her, she was more in the mood for playing. So, I had to recruit Brian into helping me keep her on the mat long enough to snap the photo.

You can see how curly it is all around the edges. I think I was adding too many stitches in the corners. It was definitely a project that had to be ended. It couldn't become the blanket I had envisioned and it couldn't be frogged with all those tied off ends. I'm glad I found someone to appreciate it. :)

FO: Hooded Baby Afghan

I finished the "Hooded Baby Afghan" at 3:00am yesterday morning. Here is a picture of my coconut-pirate wearing it:



I really like this blanket. It's not too fancy, so it's less likely to end up unused in a drawer. When I send it to Nikki, I'm going to include the title of the pattern and the washing instructions.

If you have a Lion Brand login, here is the free pattern: Hooded Baby Afghan

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Future Projects

See sidebar for updated listing.

Yarn User's Dictionary

Here is my personal dictionary of new slang words (to be edited as needed):

stash: the "collection" of yarn kept by someone that knits, crochets, or uses yarn for some other purpose.

frog/frogging: to pull out your stitches when knitting or doing crochet work.

UFO: Un-Finished Object. Refers to a project that isn't finished and isn't being worked on.

FO: Finished Object. Refers to a project that has been completed.

Amigurumi: (from Wikipedia) the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. (added 2/17/08)

WIP: Work In Progress. A project that you are currently working on. Some people set limits for themselves, such as: "It's only a WIP if I have worked on it in the last 30 days. Otherwise it is a UFO." (added 3/21/08)

***Urban dictionary: I added the definition for "stash" and "frog" to Urban Dictionary. UFO was already in there. :)

Podcasts!

I'm an avid podcast listener. I started by listening to Rachel Maddow and then included NPR. Lately, I've started listening to podcasts about yarn, knitting, and yarn projects. I started with YarnCraft (the Lion Brand podcast) because it was the first one I had heard about.

In one of their episodes, they talked about related podcasts that their listeners had mentioned during a poll they had done. So, that led me to downloading about half a dozen shows.

Yesterday, I listened to the first show or two of each of these while I drove to school, walked to class, and sat around waiting for a class to start. My favorite so far: Stash and Burn.

Stash and Burn is almost a support group for dealing with your stash. It's two woman talking about trips to yarn shows, "yarn crawls" (like a pub-crawl but to yarn shops), the projects they are working on, their UFOs, their destashing efforts, etc. They are very amusing to listen to.

Another I liked was Lime and Violet, but it didn't seem as good as I'd been led to believe it would be. Maybe because it was the first episode. Perhaps it gets better as they get more practice podcasting.

There was another that annoyed me while I was listening, but I've come away with some interesting images in my head. So, I'll have to listen to that one a few more times. What was annoying was that the woman that did most of the speaking had an annoying voice and sounded like a pushy sort of over-friendly type person. While the quiet woman had a voice I could listen to for weeks and not get tired of hearing it.

I'll do an update to my podcast preferences after I've had more time to listen to them.

One thing I've found is that there is brand new slang to learn! Which is exciting for me because I'm such a word lover. My next post will be a dictionary.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

FO: Wrist Warmers

I finished a pair of wrist warmers:



I started these on Saturday, February 9th and finished them Monday evening. I used this pattern: Fingerless Mittens. However, I changed row 8 to be:
Row 8: Hdc in BLO first 20 hdc of row 7 , chain 5, skip 5 hdc and hdc in BLO of remaining 9 hdc of row 7. Chain 2 turn.
I made this change because I plan to wear these when I'm at the computer and I didn't want them to cover my fingers at all. The yarn I used was very fluffy, so it was tricky to crochet them with G-sized hook: I had to guess where my stitches were. But they came out great and I'm really happy with them.

They stretched a bit more than I was expecting them to, but that's no fault of the pattern.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Project Binder

On my way home, I thought of a great way to keep track of past projects.

A project binder.

I'm going to get a binder and those inserts with pockets. Then I will include a picture of each completed project, a sample of the yarn I used, the yarn label (whenever possible), and the print out of the pattern.

Now, to find time to go to the office supply store...

Goals and Resolutions

I learned to crochet a couple years ago (Christmas of 2005). My mom taught me. Recently, I've been crocheting a lot and I realised that my crocheting projects are going the same route as all my other craft projects: I start a project, then set it aside and start a new one.

Enter Resolution #1: finish your projects!

That's easier said than done, so I've started this blog in hopes that it helps me see what I've got going and encourages me to finish what is started. How else can I expect to get that feeling of accomplishment? :)

I then started thinking about past projects and found that it was getting hard to remember them all. So, I want to start taking pictures of my completed projects and post them on my website. But I don't have time to update my website as often as I plan to finish projects, so I started this blog to help with:

Resolution #2: keep track of what you've finished!

and

Resolution #3: keep photo records of the progress made on current projects!

I figure Resolution #3 will help keep me motivated to finish something. Seeing a project grow in the weekly pictures should help. When the project is in your lap and it seems like you've been doing the same set of stitches for an eternity, it's difficult to see how much you are accomplishing. Hopefully the weekly photos will help me see my progress and keep me excited about each project.

Soon I will post pics of my past projects.

Current Projects

Crochet:
- baby blanket (started spring of 2007)
- sweater-like poncho (started spring of 2007) I think I need to start over. The yarn is broken even before I've used it....

Cross-stitch:
- a large tiger in a jungle (started in fall of 2001)
- a Chinese Character (started in fall of 2001)

Knit:
- a scarf <-- many errors, should probably start over (started in spring of 2006??)

Why Start This Blog?

Hello, there! :)

FAQ1: Why are you starting this blog?
A:
To keep track of the crochet projects I do this year. I want to keep records about what I'm working on, how my progress is. I plan to post pictures of my projects about once a week.

FAQ2: How often will you post?
A:
I'd like to post once per day, but with schoolwork and housework interfering, I will probably only get time to post a couple times a week.

FAQ3: Why an online blog and not a notebook or journal?
A:
I don't want to carry another item around with me. I currently carry my school bag (with laptop), all the stuff from my purse, a Nalgene bottle of water, and a crochet project. However, I have internet everywhere I go thanks to the laptop and my iPhone. So, it will be easy for me to post online and difficult for me to write in a journal. Also, I have a bad hand that makes it much easier to type than to write.

I guess that's enough for now. I plan to post again tonight with a list of my projects. This means I'll have to dig through my supplies and find them all. I'm sure I've completely forgotten about a few.

Cheers!