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30 July 2006

Tips, Tricks and the Frog Pond

i've started the Myster Stole 2 over. i screwed up clue 3 somewhere along the line and, since i was already on the fence about whether or not i liked the effect the 3.5mm needles and the Skacel Merino Lace made, i ripped it out. My LYS was lovely about exchanging the needles for 3.25 mm ones (admitedly, they would've been crazy not to--Bryspun circs to Addi's equals about $8). i'm not very far in yet (no pics for a day or two) and i'm really pleased with how all the stockinette looks now--still open, but not crazily so.
i thought that i would share two of my most favorite new knitting hints and tricks. i came acrossed these in my browsing of the web, so someone else thought of them before me; i'm just passing on the goodness! First, if you use any of the interchangable needle sets that tighten up with the little "key" thing (i know of the KnitPicks Options set and the Boye Needlemaster set), it is super easy to add a life-line to your work. just thread your life-line yarn through the little key hole as shown, and then work a row. there you go! all safe and secure now. of course, it does snag stitch markers, too. i would put the life line in on a plain (or at least the closest thing to plain) row and then just add the markers back on the next row.

Next tip, and this one is good for knitters AND spinners. if you're working with a really fine yarn/ fiber, ya know, one that catches on every little minute piece of loose skin, exfoliate your hands first with this: mix together some salt or sugar and olive oil in your hand and scrub scrub scrub. rinse the goo off, and your hands are as soft and smooth as a baby's butt. i have eczema on my hands, and that can make laceweights a pain in the ass. this helps soooo much!

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26 July 2006

breaking out the graph paper

well, i've decided to go for it. i spent the bulk of the day putting down on to paper my very first ever designs for a sweater. more math than i've done in 6 years this is what my little work table looked like. i felt like i was back in math class. i've seen some other bloggers' notes for their own patterns, and they just look so....well, neat. mine, at a quick glance, resemble calculus (poorly done and messy calc, granted). it's nothing fancy; just a fitted v-neck cardigan. i've had a bunch of Noro Lily for almost 2 years, and i'm hoping that this is what it was waiting for. cause seriously, i don't think this poor yarn can stand a FOURTH froggin'.

i've been all crazy-like for sweaters lately. oh how i long for thee, Autumn. and i've made an executive decision: SUCKS to the "Manly Sweater". i'm tearing the bastard apart! no longer shall it call to me "finish me for the Fella! finish me!! whooOOOOooooooooOOOO." no. i'm going to make the Cambridge Jacket from the summer IK. here's a picture
the NEW kid on the block i know, i know, nothing any more fancy than the sweater that shall no longer be named, really. but it's soooo cute. and i never really liked that other one, it was just there and the yarn was cheap. and, coinsidently, the right gauge for this zippered hottie. knitting serendipity, i tell ya!

increasing the stash and elf shoes

i broke down and bought some more yarn. *le sigh* i keep saying "i need to go on a yarn diet!!! no more yarn until (insert goal here), and then, oh boy!" yeah, i'm a damned liar. i've had the pattern for the Eris cardi since 20 Aug 2005, and i really wanted to make it in a cotton/wool blend. so it would be something i could probably wear for at least 3 seasons instead of 2ish. i'd been eyeing the knitpick Main Line, but at $3.29 for 82 yds, it was a sucktastic deal. well damn you knitpicks! damn you and your sale! i got the yarn in Red Velvet Cake. and so the shipping would be free, i added in a hank of the brand spanking new Bare Merino DK so that: 1) the fella can swatch for the awsome sweater (the first one in 222) he's picked out to knit (when his socks are finished. one-project-at-a-time-freak) and 2) i can try my hand at designing a cardigan. so, we'll see.

and, i've fallen in love:

ELF shoes!!! RED elf shoes!! red elf shoes. **swooon** unfortunatly, they're a little bit salty for the wallet...that's a lot of yarn (not to mention food and stuff like that) to give up, even if they are red elf shoes. (Fella, if you're reading this, keep an eye out for these to be cheap someday. cause they would be the most rockin' thing....ever)

24 July 2006

Garden Shawl--but wait, there's more!

just for you, dear reader of my little slice o' blogland, a WIP pic of the Garden Shawl: great background...duh
yeah, and i appologize for taking a picture of lace on my insanly stripey sheets, but you get the idea. and by the by, this thing is going to be huge. this is just the pattern through round 55 (i think) and it's already about 16" across. i think that it won't be so much a shawl on me as a really pretty blanket.

have you seen the new yarns at knitpicks? they've added 9 that are shown. they have also, however, added to their Dye-your-own line (now called "Bare"). they aren't easily found on the site though. so, i made up a little chart that lists them all (with links) the yardage, weight, and prices. and i thought that it might be nice to put it up here so others could buy buy buy with ease.

really, they're like crack speaking of ease, a new Perdita for your viewing pleasure. i used silver beads this time, and i sure do like how they look. OH! and the .50 three packs of the Pearl Cotton are not, i repeat, ARE NOT a myth! if you have a Michael's near you, go and check it out. not all the 3 pks are that cheap, some are $1 and a couple are $2. but, wow! i'm going to have yarn for 2227 of these babies!

22 July 2006

Danger! Danger!!!!

oh dear god. i have been initiated into the world of knitting with beads. for so long, i had held out against the siren call of beads, glittery, sparkledy bits of happiness that they were. sure, i picked up the odd bag of beads here in there, ya know, for making cutie stitch markers and the like, but it was all just innocent, i swear. cause i knew what would happen if i gave in. that brings me to the pattern that tempted me to the darkside--Perdita from the 06 summer Knitty. oh, foul temptress. i didn't succumb to any of the other beaded patterns i oohed over cause, well, they're all major investments of time and money. but these cuffs are just the opposite. cheap? yeah, less than $3--and that's if i bought new beads every time. quick? i've completed 2 since yesterday, and i'm on my third. and look what i picked up tonight: my works see all the Perle cotton? i found it on clearance, 3 for $1. and i've heard rumors that another big chain craft store has 'em for 50 cents.
i've chosen beads in a smokey color and silver ones. here are the two that i've finished so far: black-tie wonder woman cuffs i felt like a fancy Wonder Woman when i had them both on. the steel colored one is the Blue bell pattern done in the called for thread/yarn, and it is now in the possesion of a dear friend. the purple one is made out of Knitpicks Shadow in Vineyard (left over from the Lily stole) and it's the Lilac pattern. it will also be going to a friend. i love this pattern. ah, lace--if you've ever read this blog, you know how i feel about lace.
oh, this is a slippery slope, i can tell. after i finished the first one, i chatted ceaselessly to the fellow for about 15 minutes about all the things i could do with beads in my knitting....save us all.

19 July 2006

green thumb shawls

is there a prize available for being a bad blogger? if so, someone needs to nominate me, i think! to anyone who still checks out my little blog with any regularity, i appologize for the hiatus. i've been knitting a lot of lace, and i am of the opinion that most lace project updates are 1)very very boring, and 2) a pain in the behind to photograph since i have to pin out the project so that it doesn't just look like a wad of yarn. that said, here are updates on 2 of the 3 lace projects i'm working on. i've not pictured the Garden Shawl that's on the needles. getting it all pinned out would have driven me to drinking. when i'm feeling braver, i'll get a picture!
i wish you could touch this! this is the almost half-way done center of the Fir-cone Shawl. i am still in deep deep love with the Lacey Lamb. i spoke with my LYS owner, and she said that she may pick some more up at Stitches. (and that would be nice since there is exactly 1 ball of laceweight left in the store...in a color that i'm not fond of or i would have snagged it. i'm hoping for some aubergine, but i digress...) to save my sanity, i don't plan on taking another pic of this until i'm onto the edging.

i likes it! here is lace project 2--the Mystery Stole 2006. i'm almost done with the first half of clue 1. i got a late start on this since my internet went down the Friday the first clue came out and didn't get going again until the next Friday. i'm using the navy merino laceweight i picked up at the going-out-of-business sale. i'm actually glad that i took a (blurry--sorry) photo of this. i wasn't sure if i was digging the combonation of a cobweb weight and 3.5 mm needles was to my liking or not, and they quite are. it's wierd the little bit of perspective that a photo can bring....

between knitting on the shawls (it's sort of a round robing process i've been using--a row here, a round there. it keeps me on my toes), i've decided to repot all of my plants. i snagged some beautiful pots that didn't have any drainage holes in them and today, that all is getting fixed. how to make drain holes if there's something i love almost as much as knitting, it's power tools. and see the safety glasses? i'm so proud of me! i would like to add that the drill is not mine, it's the Fella's and i think that i may just hate it. it's pretty weeny. i've been drilling for, oh, 30 seconds and then i have to let the damnedable thing charge up. i need to get another drill....anyhow, my pothos is crying out for his new home, so i better get back to playing in the dirt!!!!

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