knitting
Because torturing myself is fun…
I have issues.
I could totally fix this situation, but I choose not to…because I like to torture myself.
I work in a bitterly cold office. You would think that, because I am a knitter/spinner/crocheter, I would be able to fix this situation pretty easily. Knit or cro something up and wear it up in this icebox I call “work”. Do I do that? Of course not.
Back in our old building, what seems like ages ago, I had started the Office Blankie of Doom. I pulled that sucker out of hibernation in March. I am knitting it on something crazy like size 17’s or something. No, I am not done yet.
So, I started a couple of shawls. Aestlight is one of the patterns I started. I worked on it today at lunch…and this is where the torture begins…
Look at me! You know you wanna...
Here she is…three repeats of edging left to do. I left her sitting on my desk all afternoon. I am rubbing my nose in the fact that I am freezing here and this 100% superfine alpaca shawl is still not done. Take that Ice Girl! Not even your knitting gives a crap that you can’t feel your extremities.
Carnival of FO’s!
Man, I have been busy!
May is normally a pretty busy month for me. My folks make their regular trip out to stay with us for a few weeks, during which time we celebrate my Dad’s Birthday, Mothers’ Day…and the Twin’s Birthday.
This year the twins turned 5…which is a big one…
My babies are so big!!
But despite the multiple birthday party plans (we threw two parties for the kids…that a lot of freakin’ cupcakes…) and my folks a good time while they visit sunny California, I did get a boatload of stuff done. Mostly various “life” type things…but some knitting too. Plus, to be honest, I have held some of my finished objects back. I’ve started a “Block Party” bag. I have just been throwing various knitting projects in it that need to be blocked.
So let the Carnival of Finished Objects begin!
My Twin Cities Headband...
First I finished my Twin Cities headband, which was a kit I bought from The Sweatshop of Love. It is a great little headband and I have been itching to knit a few more…especially now with my new short hairdo!
Baby Hat
Damnit! It just occurred to me I needed to send this home with my folks and I didn’t! Doh! Oh well, I guess I will have to box it up and send it. I totally just ruined the surprise. Baby Gillies, this one is for you!
My Second Simple Things...the first isn't blocked yet...
A Simple Things all blocked and ready for my mom to wear! Woot!
I also finished my strappy tank…and finished before the Classic Elite Yarns KAL deadline.
318 stitches in the round is really painful.
I know, the mere fact that I get anything done is amazing. Yet I still don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything. Mostly because I am out of my freakin’ mind, but that is common knowledge. Do I dare talk about all the projects I just started?
Maybe I will wait for the next post.
Sidetracked? No.
Today I had posted a picture of a project I am working on to my Twitter account. I immediately got a message from a friend telling me to get back to my blanket!
Let’s crunch some numbers, shall we?
In my yarn stash, I have enough skeins of sock yarn to complete somewhere in the neighborhood of 26 pair of socks. No, I’m not joking. If I want to have scrap yarn for my blanket, common sense dictates that I best get my ass to knitting!
So, in the last week in a half I have finished my Tudor Grace scarf, which got me a nice ball of shiny purple yarn…then I did my first Simple Things with some Socks That Rock in “Fire on The Mountain”. Nice scraps there too. Now I am working on second Simple Things that will eventually be a gift… even more yarn for my Insanity Blanket.
Simple Things alongside my Strappy Tank
More knitting...
I have started to make plans for the other sock yarn in my stash. The stash has yet to include my Wollmeise acquisitions… but I am planning projects for those too.
I also snagged some of the sock yarn out of the stash to put up for trade on Ravelry. So far, so good. I actually traded four balls of Knit Picks Palette for sock yarn scraps. Yes, I am *that* determined to get this blanket to work.
I have also gotten some great donations from friends of mine at my LYS!!
So, blankie update time…
So far...so good.
I am 49 squares in. 2 are not attached. One more to the 50 square mark! I am moving slowly right now, but once I get a few more projects under my belt I can start to devote more time to this. Plus I will have more colors to choose from once I get some of my swap stuff. I am hoping for some yellow.
Solid. Yellow.
I never knit anything for myself in yellow and there is spot in the blanket that looks like it wants it.
Slowly…things progress
I haven’t been sleeping much lately and that seems to leave me with a lot of time for crafting. I mean, God forbid I do the dishes or vacuum the house. Not that it would be a wise thing to do at 11 o’clock at night. I mean…what would the neighbors think? What? I don’t have downstairs neighbors right now? Um…yeah…well…
Crafting is pretty quiet.
Except for the sewing, which I try to keep to a minimum after 9 p.m.
I finished two skirts recently. Yay, something to wear this summer for work! The hand sewing hook and eyes with black thread was a real treat for some evening fun in low light. MY EYES! MY EYES!
I had some fun with a hot glue gun after knit-a-long last Sunday and made some cute hair flowers.
My daughter is thrilled with Mommy's attempts at girlieness
Then there is the knitting…all the knitting…
I have slowed down a little on my strappy tank, but it is pretty much all stockinette at this point. So it is more my mindless knitting. It’s “I’m half asleep on the couch watching bad t.v. shows” knitting.
So. Much. Stockinette.
Then my baby for the moment, the Insanity Blanket. It is coming along nicely. I got some great yarn from Vilma and Camille this week!
Vilma's contributions.
Camille's samples: noro from her poncho, and some of her koolaid dyed yarn from a class she took
The new stuff is amazing, and it is hard to get sick of knitting the same thing over and over when you get to try out all kinds of different yarn. It is really starting to grow.
I am going to knit some more squares as soon as I am done blogging.
I have been making sure to keep track of where everything is coming from. I have been tagging all of my flickr photos and labeling each square. Yay me!
Also, in a “hell must have frozen over” moment, I have started spinning again! My wheel and I have not had the occasion to spend much quality time together since the new year. It feels good to get reacquainted.
Of course I have been spinning all of my fiber samples for use in my insanity blanket. Man, ulterior motives!
I spun them end to end...
Later I will break the ends and ply them on themselves.
Now, off to knit some squares!
Go ahead and say it…
I am clearly insane. I *know* this and I really can’t help it.
This week’s craft update is just stating the obvious, because what would I be doing if I *weren’t* crafting?
Oh yeah, probably cleaning my house or something…
So, my WIPS (”works in progress” for you non-knittahs):
Classic Elite Strappy Tank.
Faerie Mountain Fibers spinning (drop spindle, this may take awhile).
2 skirts I am currently half-done sewing. I have waistbands and hems left.
Grey, my little alien friend.
An Insanity Blanket.
<insert screeching tires sound here>
What the heck did I just say? An Insanity Blanket. Yes that is right! For the record, I am not the first one to make one of these…you can see the original, and find directions on how to make your own on The Heathen Housewife’s Blog. That banner at the top….that’s it. The one that pushed me over the edge belongs to The Other Side of The Pom. Really, click that link…you may fall prey to it’s magic too.
So what is an Insanity Blanket? It’s a blanket made up of mitred squares. Sound crazy? Not really…until you throw in the fact that it is knit up of stray sock yarn…and I am knitting it on size 2 needles. It is sure to take me a very long time to finish, given that I don’t even own enough sock yarn to complete it, but we’ll see what happens.
I am also planning an taking it an extra step further and journal/blog my progress and chart where each square “comes from”. I figure there is a story in just about everything.
So here is a little example of what I have so far…
My squares.
The attached ones on the end there are the foundation corner of my blanket. Now to figure out how many 2 3/4 in. squares I will need to make a Queen size blanket. Eek!
Crafting Hijinks…
There is no way that there are enough hours in a day for me to get done the things I *want* to get done.
I am knitting…
The Office Blanket of Doom.
Yes, out of hibernation and appearing on my living room floor is the Office Blankie of Doom! This isn’t the only thing I have on the needles right now. I am also taking part in a knit-a-long at Unwind sponsored by Classic Elite Yarns. I am knitting the strappy tank…I’ll take some pics of it eventually.
I am also sewing.
I started a couple of skirts...
There is a lot I need to learn about sewing. I did do a happy dance when I figured out how to pop off my presser foot. The lapped zippers were a little less fun.
I am also learning how to skin a puppet.
I meant sew skin onto a puppet.
I know…it’s all new to me too…
I would take some pictures, but this puppet gig is for a friend at work and I will wait until he has more of his stuff ready…plus I haven’t asked if he’s down with it yet. I will though. In the meantime, you can check his stuff out here:
Oh lookie….he has pics up!
The dash to get ready for Stitches West!
This seems like the longest day ever! My last day of work before my Stitches West trip.
The game plan...so far...
I’ve printed out my coupons, map of the show floor, started making a list of things I am looking for… and most importantly…
I got my February Lady finished!!! Thank God, I feel like I got something accomplished. Especially since I haven’t gone to the bank, filled up my gas tank, bought snacks and water, packed…or even figured out what I am knitting while I am there. I am NOT bringing Lucy (my spinning wheel) or any yarn with me. I am, however, bringing all of my needles and notions and my laptop. I am just gonna wing it as far as my knitting is concerned…
So, I will actually try to sleep tonight, with visions of yarn and fiber dancing in my head…’cause I need to be out of the house by 6 a.m.
Yeah, wish me luck. I’ll be picking up some Starbucks…
Happy Birthday to Me!
I have been busy slaving away on my February Lady Sweater, trying to get it done before I leave for Stitches in less that a week. Last year I didn’t wear any of my own knitwear to show off at Stitches. WHUT? I know, shame on me! I am determined to get it done and I am, quite literally, in the home stretch. Boy, sleeves sure do seem to take forever.
Sorry for my crappy Blackberry photo.
Saturday, I took the day off knitting (sort of) to celebrate my birthday. I had a day full of fun activities.
First, my kids presented me with the cake they made…
Yes, that is yarn and needles...and some balloons.
Then my husband gave me the card he made…
The inside says something like "Wouldn't you like to get 'Pegg-ed' for your Birthday?"
We left the house to head to Chinatown with a stop at Pep Boys…and hell yes…that is me putting in power steering fluid IN A CLAPOTIS. Check it out! You know it looks good.
That's right! Me, under the hood.
If you didn’t think that wasn’t awesome enough…we headed to Chinatown where I had Dim Sum for the first time. We ate at The Empress Pavilion…it was quite an adventure. The kids weren’t so sure about it though. They enjoyed the little shop next door that sold the cool toys.
The girl picking at a sesame ball while reading "Yum Yum, Dim Sum"
After we ate, we walked down to the street where Chinatown had a parade in my honor! Isn’t that the nicest thing ever?!? Huh? Chinese New Year? Yeah, I don’t know what you’re talking about…
Dragons!
Flags!
More Dragons!
My party hat...
It was already a long day, but it was far from over. After getting home from the parade, my husband and I got ready for dinner. I had no idea where we were going. After driving in the dark, along winding roads, we got to Inn of The Seventh Ray. It was a beautiful place, with fairy lights and a creek. It even has this little new age bookshop near the entrance. It was lovely! I did take one picture of the city while we were driving back…
A blurry pic of the city as we were whizzing by...
We got home pretty early and luckily the kids were asleep. I parked myself on the couch and worked on my sleeves. I guess I did get some knitting in after all!
Someone’s been a busy girl!
The slippery slope of my latest crafting phase started like this…
A Special Order...
My sister-in-law works for an entertainment union that…oh screw it, I’m not using names…the girl works for Screen Actors Guild and needed some fancy jewelry for the latest SAG Awards. I made this. It is a crappy photo, I know, but they turned out really pretty.
Stitch Markers Galore!
While I have been in my whole “trying to make lemonade” phase, I’ve decided to start getting my act together and start selling stuff. I haven’t gotten all of my photographs taken and color corrected yet, but for a girl who works a full time gig *and* has preschool aged twins, I think I am making pretty decent progress.
I am also attempting to get a little knitting done. While waiting to get the Manos I ordered for my Clasica Coat, I broke down cast on a new sweater. I had some Asland Trends Invernal in my stash to knit February Lady so I started it. It’ll be freakin’ awesome and so far it seems like a pretty quick knit. I anticipate I will have it done in time to wear to Stitches West.
Coming along nicely...
The buttons will definitely make this sweater extra awesome. I got them from happysilence on etsy.
Bad vibes, stress and knitting! Oh my!
So right after the Ravelry event I got pretty sick. I must have felt it coming on. It was so bad I couldn’t get any knitting done. I would have been content to sleep all day long…given I wasn’t barfing at the time.
So I spent an entire weekend being ill, then my little boy got it, then my little girl got it…
Then other weird stuff started happening in all aspects of my life. Weird as in “not good”.
To be honest, life had me pretty disgusted. I had no urge to knit. I had a fear…and you can call me crazy if you wish…but I felt like if I even touched my sweater I would transfer some sort of bad vibes to it. I wasn’t prepared to do that. It is my first self-designed sweater.
So I had a talk with my friend Kate at work. She had this fabulous idea for knitting when bad stuff is happening. She said I could knit an “anger blanket”.
Yes, an “anger blanket”, but I imagine it can be knit for any kind of negative feeling or bad vibe you might have. Keep it around for all those times you want to choke someone out with a pair of circular needles, if you are depressed, hurt, grieving…whatever yucky feeling you might have.
Once you’re done, bless the thing, or have it blessed by someone less negative, and donate it to the homeless.
Bad vibes turned into something positive. I like the idea. I am going to do it.
So, everything above postponed my self-imposed knitting deadline. I want to report that I did finally finish my sweater…and it looks great. I think it is my fourth official sweater…and it is the first I designed myself. I can’t wait to wear it…with only positive vibes.
Knit in True Love Fiber Sock in "Bruise"
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