Weight Watchers day five, and knitting may be my salvation! That is probably true on so many more levels than just eating! I believe I have lost three pounds in the first week, though, which is very good progress. I have accomplished that by knitting instead of eating after work and drinking two entire BUCKETS of water every day!! Strangely, I seem to have lost the urge to drink Pepsi all together. I don't know what to make of that....
I plan to FINISH something this weekend. I have too many balls of yarn in the air, and it is driving me crazy!! On the needles, at the very least, I have the Nantucket Jacket, Brenda's Brea Bag, my Lizard Ridge (almost done!!), and the Sipalu Bag. I have to pause on the latter to wait for needles with a shorter cable, which will probably drive me nutty, but it is not like I don't have plenty to work on! I need to finish Brenda's bag this weekend, really. She is asking about it. Makes me not want to work on it..... Sad but true about me!
Ok, itchy dog and I are off to the vet.... Fun, fun, fun!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Almost Finished!
Here I am, the Sunday after the holiday, and I finished almost everything. What a relief!! Susan loved her shawl, Lauren loved her bag, I think Carla liked hers.... The sock-monkey hats were a big hit, made everyone laugh, which was what I intended! Ian seemed to like his sweater, and to appreciate the I in lieu of B for Butthead. I, however, did not finish the slippers for UJ. He doesn't know about them, though, so no problem!! Roberta LOVED her stocking, and Brenda went nuts for her bag, both gratifying reactions.....
I look back, and I am pleased with the reactions. But I can't help saying, THAT was all the presents I made?? Seriously?! Since July??? It seems like a lot of obsessive knitting for such a short list. Maybe that is the anti-climatic after-holiday blues talking.... All in all, that just reinforces my vow to knit only for myself this coming year!
Now, we all know that probably isn't true.... I still have to finish the bag that Brenda commissioned. And I still have to sew Meredith's sweater together, though the knitting is done and it steam blocked beautifully! And I have the 2/3 done Nantucket jacket for Mom to finish. So, see, there will be knitting for others thrown in there.... I started off the vow right, though, by immediately knitting four blocks for my afghan. That makes me so happy!!!!
AND, Christmas presents from Mom, Susan, and UJ have done nothing but encourage me to knit for Me, Me, Me!! I got the fair isle bag kit that I wanted, and the yarn is great!! I can't wait to start that. I got the yarn for the Minimalist Cardigan for our knit-along, which I am also very excited about.... Though, since Mommy is making one for Anna, it may be a while before she wants to make another one....
That's ok, I have other stuff to work on!! Because I also got two, count 'em, two gift certificates to Webs!! Now I can finish my afghan and more.... It will require some strategy. I got 100$ in certificates, and I need four more skeins of Kureyon for the Lizard Ridge. That leaves me with bunches of certificate money left!! AND, it only makes sense to get at least 125$ worth in a single order, because they offer 25% off after that amount. So not only will I get 100$ worth of yarn, but I will get an EXTRA 25%.
What do I want the yarn for? The Sylvi? I am in love with that project, but I got discouraged by working the swatch... Hmmm.... Like I said, this will require some strategy!!
I look back, and I am pleased with the reactions. But I can't help saying, THAT was all the presents I made?? Seriously?! Since July??? It seems like a lot of obsessive knitting for such a short list. Maybe that is the anti-climatic after-holiday blues talking.... All in all, that just reinforces my vow to knit only for myself this coming year!
Now, we all know that probably isn't true.... I still have to finish the bag that Brenda commissioned. And I still have to sew Meredith's sweater together, though the knitting is done and it steam blocked beautifully! And I have the 2/3 done Nantucket jacket for Mom to finish. So, see, there will be knitting for others thrown in there.... I started off the vow right, though, by immediately knitting four blocks for my afghan. That makes me so happy!!!!
AND, Christmas presents from Mom, Susan, and UJ have done nothing but encourage me to knit for Me, Me, Me!! I got the fair isle bag kit that I wanted, and the yarn is great!! I can't wait to start that. I got the yarn for the Minimalist Cardigan for our knit-along, which I am also very excited about.... Though, since Mommy is making one for Anna, it may be a while before she wants to make another one....
That's ok, I have other stuff to work on!! Because I also got two, count 'em, two gift certificates to Webs!! Now I can finish my afghan and more.... It will require some strategy. I got 100$ in certificates, and I need four more skeins of Kureyon for the Lizard Ridge. That leaves me with bunches of certificate money left!! AND, it only makes sense to get at least 125$ worth in a single order, because they offer 25% off after that amount. So not only will I get 100$ worth of yarn, but I will get an EXTRA 25%.
What do I want the yarn for? The Sylvi? I am in love with that project, but I got discouraged by working the swatch... Hmmm.... Like I said, this will require some strategy!!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Eaten by a giant mound of knitting.
Of course, instead of finishing something that is already mostly ready to be delivered, I started a new project last night... I cast on the first of two felted slippers for UJ for Christmas. I am apparently allergic to finishing anything. Oh, well, at least the first one is going fast. I am very skeptical that this isn't going to be so very tiny that He Who Must Be Kept couldn't wear it, but we shall see. I am felting the first one before I cast on the second. (Or is that a mistake? Will that result in two radically different sized slippers? Hmmm, something to ponder.)
Does it seem weird that the only socks I have made have all been gigantic? The very first one was Roberta's stocking, and now giant socks for felting.... I seem to have a thing for gigantic socks.
Stephen (from work) and I coined a new term today, finding "second sock syndrome" to be a bit cumbersome. We have decided to call it Sock-holm Syndrome. I like it. I think it could catch on. You know you are a knitter when you have coined a phrase.... even if no-one else uses it!
Does it seem weird that the only socks I have made have all been gigantic? The very first one was Roberta's stocking, and now giant socks for felting.... I seem to have a thing for gigantic socks.
Stephen (from work) and I coined a new term today, finding "second sock syndrome" to be a bit cumbersome. We have decided to call it Sock-holm Syndrome. I like it. I think it could catch on. You know you are a knitter when you have coined a phrase.... even if no-one else uses it!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Apparently I cannot knit and blog at the same time.
So, here I am again, all this time later. Now it is a perfectly good time to be obsessed with Christmas knitting! I have made it all the way to the weekend after Thanksgiving, and I still feel like there is a mountain of work to be done! Here is the Christmas list update:
1. Color Block Cardigans-done and delivered to Brenda the Friday before the holiday. They were adorable, and have cemented my hatred for tying in ends!
2. The sweater formerly known as Butthead- done but for tying in ends. Did I mention how I feel about tying in ends? I am not putting a picture here, because Butthead himself reads my blog. My one and only follower.... And he can't see his present until Christmas! (You thought I would slip up, didn't you??)
3. Lauren's bag- Changed this to a Brea bag. I still have to line it, but I found the BEST fabric for it! I got MONKEY fabric. It is so funny!! I am a little scared to start trying to line it, but I will have to bite the bullet soon....
4. Sock Monkey Hats- yes, that is right, hats! I decided that it was so funny that I had to make two. Uncle Jim, henceforth known as UJ, is lucky recipient number two. They still need their ears and their little faces embroidered on....
5. Susan's Clapotis- Oh, so beautiful. She has been copiously admiring my mom's version, so hopefully, she will be thrilled with hers. Now I want one made in the same yarn!6. Vintage Bubble Bags- I ordered the Noro Silk Garden today to make one of these for Carla and one for Brenda from work. They work up quickly and I think they are very nice.
7. Stocking for Roberta- done but for tying in the ends and doing a hanger. (Those damned ends!!) My first large scale fair isle project and also my very first sock. It is not perfect but I am proud of the way that it turned out!
8. Hat for Chalmers- have to decide on something.... I will make this from yarn I already have, but I have to nail down a pattern this week! Very tempted to do fair isle again....
9. Brea Bag for Brenda's sister- I got Lion Brand Fisherman's wool in a beautiful taupe-y brown for this, and she is going to help me pick out the lining next week. I have one side done and can whip up the rest of it pretty quickly. I will use a belt for the handle, which I believe I found at a thrift store. I love this pattern!
10. Nantucket Jacket for Mom- finished the first front panel this morning. Since she knows about it, she is aware that it might not be done by the 25th. I am steaming away on it, though. I like this pattern, too. It is made form the Debbie Bliss Cashmarino that she bought on sale, that beautiful bright red. It is a very complicated, textured pattern, but very easy to knit somehow.... I hope it is as great as I think it will be.
11. Clogs for UJ- Don't know why I committed to knitting YET ANOTHER project before the holiday, but UJ is coming for Christmas (yeahhhh!) and we decided to beef up his present! Gotta get a pattern, will knit from stash.
Now it is clear why it has been months since I have posted, right? I haven't put the needles down for five minutes! (And Ian just fixed my wireless Internet over the weekend, thank you very much!!) I will be here... knitting, knitting, knitting, knitting, knitting......
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Christmas in July.
It seems like an odd time to become obsessed by Christmas, but I was checking out my queue on Ravelry today, and I have a LOT of knitting to do before the big day. I mean a MOUNTAIN of knitting before me.... I decided to get everything ordered in my head, to try to make sure that I get the knitting done, so here we go:
1. Brenda's grand-daughter's Color Block Cardigans- they have to come first because she has paid for the yarn and will pay for the knitting. They go pretty quickly, thank goodness!
2. Ian's B-for-Butthead sweater- I know, I know I am not allowed to actually put a B on it, but that is what I choose to call it.... I am going to get the supply list to Susan this week.
3. Lauren's Adventure Bag- in red as ordered... :-) That one should be a pretty quick knit, too, though lining it will be its own adventure!
4. Sean's Sock Monkey Hat- quick and fun, and involving very little yarn.
5. Susan's Clapotis- no that is not a social disease, it's a shawl. She has mentioned wanting one, and this one is pretty and basic. I am not up to massive lace knitting, especially with a queue like this!!
6. Vintage Bubble Bags for all! I still haven't decided who and how many people are getting these, but they are on the list.
And that is it. I am not knitting for a bunch of people who won't appreciate it.... I have done too much of that in the past! I have to decide what to do for a bunch of other people, but that is probably all the knitting I can handle.
I looked for a group on Ravelry where I could organize this mess and talk to people about it, but they all looked cutesy. Nothing against them, but it wasn't the kind of thing I am looking for. I will work it out here, talking to myself! That is what that is for, after all, right??
1. Brenda's grand-daughter's Color Block Cardigans- they have to come first because she has paid for the yarn and will pay for the knitting. They go pretty quickly, thank goodness!
2. Ian's B-for-Butthead sweater- I know, I know I am not allowed to actually put a B on it, but that is what I choose to call it.... I am going to get the supply list to Susan this week.
3. Lauren's Adventure Bag- in red as ordered... :-) That one should be a pretty quick knit, too, though lining it will be its own adventure!
4. Sean's Sock Monkey Hat- quick and fun, and involving very little yarn.
5. Susan's Clapotis- no that is not a social disease, it's a shawl. She has mentioned wanting one, and this one is pretty and basic. I am not up to massive lace knitting, especially with a queue like this!!
6. Vintage Bubble Bags for all! I still haven't decided who and how many people are getting these, but they are on the list.
And that is it. I am not knitting for a bunch of people who won't appreciate it.... I have done too much of that in the past! I have to decide what to do for a bunch of other people, but that is probably all the knitting I can handle.
I looked for a group on Ravelry where I could organize this mess and talk to people about it, but they all looked cutesy. Nothing against them, but it wasn't the kind of thing I am looking for. I will work it out here, talking to myself! That is what that is for, after all, right??
Monday, June 23, 2008
Knitting binge.
Ok, so I haven't managed to post in ages because I have barely put down the knitting needles or the Ravelry forums most of this month!! See to your left the completed home-made blocking board on its inaugural run, showcasing the lovely first Lizard Ridge square. It worked VERY well, the block dried in less than a day this time! Lets hear it for moisture wicking qualities! Exciting stuff....
I have knitted and knitted on the Lizard Ridge until I have only three skeins of my birthday yarn left. I have enjoyed myself immensely, though, so I consider it well worth it! Trying to prolong my pleasure, I took a break, however, and knit....
An entire sweater for Brenda's granddaughter. It has turned out great, except for the truly frightening neon green color she chose. That green puts highlighters to shame. It hurts me. The sweater, almost completely sewn together, is very cute.... And too small. Fortunately, Brenda has three granddaughters, two of whom are smaller than Zadian! We are going to re-order yarn and start over on a larger size! I am so glad that Brenda likes it.... Zadian wanted to keep it today even though the pink sleeve isn't sewn closed yet! No finer compliment, that!
To be fair, abject poverty did give me some extra time to work on various and sundry knitting projects... I think the trip to Italy has been longer for those left behind than those seeing the sights!
I am gonna go block another square!! Whoopie!!!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Adventures in Home Improvement Land.
I got a square blocked, and I am very, very pleased with the results. It is much more supple, slightly softer, and significantly uncurled. The "bubbles" are not completely flattened, and I kind of like that effect. All in all, it is a worthy transformation. I am newly converted to the cult of blocking.
Which brings me to my recent foray into the world of the home improvement warehouse. I found a reference on Ravelry to a home-made blocking board, which interested me due to the 80-90$ prices I have seen on store bought ones. So, I found the instructions on Knitty.com and proceeded to gather the supplies. It called for 2-2' squares of homasote, one inch thick plus cover fabric and the stuff to stick it all together. (According to Wikipedia: Homasote is a type of wallboard made from recycled paper that is compressed under high temperature and pressure and held together with a glue. It is the stuff that ceiling tiles are made of, and they conveniently come in 2x2 squares, pre-cut.) I got the gingham fabric and staple gun at Hancock Fabrics and when that came to 30$ I began to wonder if I wouldn't be better off in the long run to buy a blocking board. But I persevered, and off to Lowe's I trotted.
In Lowe's, I asked the first red-vested person I came across and she gestured vaguely towards the complete other end of the store and said that ceiling tiles were in Building Materials. Duh. So, there I stood all tiny and lost staring at a sea of section signs, none of which actually said Building Materials. Gamely, my mother and I marched in that direction and the length of a football field later, we asked another woman where to find ceiling tiles. She, more specifically, offered that they were on isle 17. We traversed the entire length of isle 17, and alas, no ceiling tiles. We wandered vaguely around in the wall board section for a time, and managed to flag down a passing employee. He said that isle 18 is what we were looking for... Notice that at this point, not a single CUSTOMER SERVICE person in this place has offered to take us to the product we were looking to purchase? So, isle 18 it was and we FINALLY found the ceiling tiles. The bad news was that none of them were 1 inch thick (1/2 or 5/8 only.) and all of them were labeled for sale as whole boxes even though each selection had an open box on top. And there we stood in isle 18, alone and unhelped.
My mom left me standing in front of the ceiling tiles in case anyone came close enough or cared enough to see why I was standing alone staring at the ceiling tiles for so long and went the length of a football field back to customer service to ask someone to come help us. She made it there and back without me seeing anyone who worked there, and someone finally sent a sweaty 13-year-old boy who supposedly worked there to ask what we needed. I explained that I needed the homasote for a blocking board, and it therefore needed to be moisture wicking and hold up to pinning, etc, and he told me that he doesn't know what homasote and could I use plastic coated insulation board? I told him that homasote is the stuff that ceiling tiles are made of, and that is the reason we were standing in front of the ceiling tiles asking about ceiling tiles, and that plastic coated insulation board would be waterproof, not moisture wicking. He said that ceiling tiles were only available by the box and he doesn't think they sell any of that homasote, because he has never heard of it. After more head scratching and sweating, he went to find someone else to ask.
He brought back three other guys (where were they when we were searching the warehouse for help???) and they all said that they don't know what homasote is to get some of it cut for me. No matter what I said about what homasote is, apparently. I got the insulation board suggestion again, was told I could buy a whole box of tiles, and even after I explained that I would be pinning wet wool to dry on it and it needed to be portable, one guy suggested sheet rock. Soggy, dissolving plaster... very portable! That is when I gave up on Lowe's.
At this point, I was wondering if fabric could be returned or someone would want 3 yards of lavender gingham, but we decided to give Home Depot the old college try. I went in alone, asked the first person that I found, and he (much to my surprise) walked me right to the ceiling tiles, helped me decide that since the thickest they had was 5/8" that I could duct tape two together for each board, called three different people to find out the sku for a single piece (since the box sku was the only thing on the shelf), wrote it down on a piece of paper so that I would have it when I checked out, walked me to the duct tape (will wonders never cease), and helped me decide which size I needed for my purpose! The whole thing didn't come to 11$, and now Home Depot is my favorite new store!!
And by the way, homasote is available in sheets at Lowe's stores. I just checked the website.
Now I am exhausted. It was such a trial to get the stupid stuff that I haven't wanted to come home in the evenings and mess with it to actually assemble my blocking boards. I am happy to report, though, that today is Friday and I will get this puppy all fixed up tonight! Then maybe this weekend, in between cleaning like a maniac, I will get some more squares blocked.... I love this project!
Which brings me to my recent foray into the world of the home improvement warehouse. I found a reference on Ravelry to a home-made blocking board, which interested me due to the 80-90$ prices I have seen on store bought ones. So, I found the instructions on Knitty.com and proceeded to gather the supplies. It called for 2-2' squares of homasote, one inch thick plus cover fabric and the stuff to stick it all together. (According to Wikipedia: Homasote is a type of wallboard made from recycled paper that is compressed under high temperature and pressure and held together with a glue. It is the stuff that ceiling tiles are made of, and they conveniently come in 2x2 squares, pre-cut.) I got the gingham fabric and staple gun at Hancock Fabrics and when that came to 30$ I began to wonder if I wouldn't be better off in the long run to buy a blocking board. But I persevered, and off to Lowe's I trotted.
In Lowe's, I asked the first red-vested person I came across and she gestured vaguely towards the complete other end of the store and said that ceiling tiles were in Building Materials. Duh. So, there I stood all tiny and lost staring at a sea of section signs, none of which actually said Building Materials. Gamely, my mother and I marched in that direction and the length of a football field later, we asked another woman where to find ceiling tiles. She, more specifically, offered that they were on isle 17. We traversed the entire length of isle 17, and alas, no ceiling tiles. We wandered vaguely around in the wall board section for a time, and managed to flag down a passing employee. He said that isle 18 is what we were looking for... Notice that at this point, not a single CUSTOMER SERVICE person in this place has offered to take us to the product we were looking to purchase? So, isle 18 it was and we FINALLY found the ceiling tiles. The bad news was that none of them were 1 inch thick (1/2 or 5/8 only.) and all of them were labeled for sale as whole boxes even though each selection had an open box on top. And there we stood in isle 18, alone and unhelped.
My mom left me standing in front of the ceiling tiles in case anyone came close enough or cared enough to see why I was standing alone staring at the ceiling tiles for so long and went the length of a football field back to customer service to ask someone to come help us. She made it there and back without me seeing anyone who worked there, and someone finally sent a sweaty 13-year-old boy who supposedly worked there to ask what we needed. I explained that I needed the homasote for a blocking board, and it therefore needed to be moisture wicking and hold up to pinning, etc, and he told me that he doesn't know what homasote and could I use plastic coated insulation board? I told him that homasote is the stuff that ceiling tiles are made of, and that is the reason we were standing in front of the ceiling tiles asking about ceiling tiles, and that plastic coated insulation board would be waterproof, not moisture wicking. He said that ceiling tiles were only available by the box and he doesn't think they sell any of that homasote, because he has never heard of it. After more head scratching and sweating, he went to find someone else to ask.
He brought back three other guys (where were they when we were searching the warehouse for help???) and they all said that they don't know what homasote is to get some of it cut for me. No matter what I said about what homasote is, apparently. I got the insulation board suggestion again, was told I could buy a whole box of tiles, and even after I explained that I would be pinning wet wool to dry on it and it needed to be portable, one guy suggested sheet rock. Soggy, dissolving plaster... very portable! That is when I gave up on Lowe's.
At this point, I was wondering if fabric could be returned or someone would want 3 yards of lavender gingham, but we decided to give Home Depot the old college try. I went in alone, asked the first person that I found, and he (much to my surprise) walked me right to the ceiling tiles, helped me decide that since the thickest they had was 5/8" that I could duct tape two together for each board, called three different people to find out the sku for a single piece (since the box sku was the only thing on the shelf), wrote it down on a piece of paper so that I would have it when I checked out, walked me to the duct tape (will wonders never cease), and helped me decide which size I needed for my purpose! The whole thing didn't come to 11$, and now Home Depot is my favorite new store!!
And by the way, homasote is available in sheets at Lowe's stores. I just checked the website.
Now I am exhausted. It was such a trial to get the stupid stuff that I haven't wanted to come home in the evenings and mess with it to actually assemble my blocking boards. I am happy to report, though, that today is Friday and I will get this puppy all fixed up tonight! Then maybe this weekend, in between cleaning like a maniac, I will get some more squares blocked.... I love this project!
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