fly in my soup

Come on Over!

2006-10-11T02:45:16-04:00

come on over to the new site and let me know what you think!

Move in Progress

2006-10-03T17:59:48-04:00

i've not been knitting much lately cause i bought my own domain!!!!!!!!!! so, right now, my head is a whirl with CSS and Index templates and the what not. i'm really really jazzed about it! i danced around the apartment for almost 45 minutes when it all went through. i'll keep you all updated...should be a week or so, depending on how much i feel the need for pesky sleep and what not.

Horizontal Stitch Tutorial

2006-09-29T00:10:45-04:00

Here's a little tutorial on the Horizontal stitch used in the HBDS (as i've been doing it, any how!). i've never made a tutorial, so if it sucks really badly, i'm sorry! let me know how i can make it better, and i'll do my damnedest to oblige you. For the tutorial, i've used the following pattern: _|_|_|_||O|=|=|=|_|_|_

Step1: knit first 3 stitches, the next stitch will start the horizontal stitch (HS).

Step 2: in the next stitch (the fourth for our purpose) knit f & b. The stitch knitted in back is the 1st HS.

Step 3: Reverse the orientation of the 1st stitch on the LH needle.

Step 4: slip the 1st stitch on the RH needles to the LH needle. Knit the 2nd stitch on the LH needle (the one that you reversed in step 3) TBL, then knit the 1st stitch. Drop both worked stitch from LH needle.

Step 5: repeat steps 3 and 4 for the required number of HS charted.

Step 6: to finish the run of HS, k2tog (instead of steps 3 and 4) on the very last HS stitch.

Results (pic #7): here is what the above chart looks like, all knit up.

dragon tails

2006-09-27T22:35:22-04:00

i can't wait to see all the utterly witty titles pertaining to dragons that i can come up with while i'm knitting the HBDS....i appologize in advance! lots of interest in keeping you all updated on the progress, trials, and tribulations of the HBDS, so i will do my best to oblige. i've decided to post WIP pics when i complete a chart set (the pattern has the charts broken into 4 sections). in that vein, here's the pics of Chart 1 (82 rows down!) completed: as of right now, i'm loving the pattern. it is a great deal more involved that a lot of the knitting that i have been doing, and i'm tinking back a lot. since there aren't really vertical pattern repeats (or horizontal, for that matter) i'm not using any life lines (that and i don't really use them all that much anyhow). the pattern is worked on both right and wrong sides, so there isn't even a purl-respite every other row. that's where a lot of the tinking has come into play. there is a stitch used called the Horizontal stitch that i was not familiar with, and the instructions as written in the pattern were a bit unclear (imho). i did some searching and sussed it all out, and now i'm enamoured of that particular stitch. here's a detail picture that shows how the dragon form is made in a twisted latice type stich and how the horizontal stitches come into play. now to print off chart two!

Enter the Dragon, Part I

2006-09-26T10:38:53-04:00

i recieved the Heere Be Dragone Shawl (HBDS hereafter) pattern in the mail on Saturday. how fast was that??? (crazy fast is the correct answer) i ordered it on thursday! that's some stellar service, imho. and the shawl is just as cool on paper with all the nutso charts. looking at the charts, i felt something that i haven't felt in my knitting in a loooooong time--a tinge of fear! the dragon motif is made up of lots of different types of twisted stitches, many that i've never seen before. and, as of right now, it looks like it's going to be an interesting and slightly challenging knit. of course, check back as the project moves along, cause you know how that can change over night!
so, as i mentioned before, i got the HBDS pattern to make for a friend (Ms. HBD). after going through my lace weight stash (which is not as large as i would like) i found that i had 1760 yds of KnitPicks Bare that had been previously dyed a sort of washed out mix of purples, fuchsias, and periwinkle-y blues. it lacked a certain "umph", really. so, i thought "well, Ms. HBD likes (and looks good in) blues, why don't we try an overdye and see if we can get some depth and darkness into this washed out mess. that way, stash yarn is used and the project costs a measly $12"! so, i skiened up all 1760 yds, tied it off, mixed up a big ol' pot of blue/purple dye and set the fuckers on the stove to simmer. i ended up with something that looks sort of like this: now, i'm utterly in love with how it turned out. the picture simply doesn't do it justice (this is the best out of, oh 35, so...) it's soooo rich. i normally don't like my lace to be verigated at all, but this yarn makes me squeal a little bit. from far off, it's this deeply purple-y red, and as you move in closer, the separate colors begin to assert themselves and EEEEEE!!!! i just love it a lot. however, i've never seen Ms. HBD where anything even remotely similar to the shade, and i became worried. i inquired of a mutal friend (Ms. Skull Vest) "so, how does Ms. HBD feel about purple?" "She likes greens a lot.....(really long pause) I don't know about purple." yeah, that's exactly what i wanted to hear. so, after deliberation, i've decide that i'm going to place a Knit Picks order and pick up some of the Alpaca Cloud in Moss for the HBDS. it's green and alpaca, a good combonation as Ms. HBD has recently discovered how warm alpaca is and seems to be smitten with the fiber. and it green, which apparently she really likes. and, at $16 for the yarn and $12 for the pattern, it's still an affordable project.
i should have known when i found these yesterday morning taking xavier out, that it would all work out with the yarn. cause now, i get to make myself something out of the re-dyed Bare, which is awsome, cause i was getting sad about giving it away!

Gift Knitting

2006-09-22T05:25:04-04:00

my sister-in-law celebrated her birthday on Mexican Independance day, and i've made her a little sumpthin': she and my brother have started to go mad for the wine drinking (and really, can you blame them?!?!?!) so i thought a wine cozy/coaster/trivety-thing set was in order. plus, it gave me another chance to work with the DELICIOUS Malbrigio (this is the Purple Mystery colorway). lordy, i love this stuff. i would love a big ol' sloppy sweater out of it, were it not for the fact that it would look like utter shite in 2 seconds because of the pilling. *le sigh* but really, would it matter if i just wore it about the house, using it like a wearable secruity blankie? i would like to add that this entire set took only about 3 hours to knit. seems that, after knitting the skully vest--i do colorwork with the yarn in both hands--continental knitting finally "stuck." which is awsome, since i've been attempting it off and on for, oh, a damned long time now.

between knitting this gift, the slew of impending birthdays, fast approaching yule time, and a post over at Craftster, i got to thinking about gift knitting. i guess it was really the Craftster post that started it all--i'll give you the gist of it. a craftster was questioning making gifts for someone that you don't necessarily *like*. my opinion? you just don't do that. to me, creating anything for a person, be it a meal, an intricate shawl, or a simple felted coaster, should be done with love in your heart. i won't knit on a gift project (or cook, for that matter) if i am feeling down or unhappy about anything let alone the intended giftee. i'm afraid that the negative energy will transfer to the recipiant in some way. i dunno, do any of you have thought on the subject?

95 days to go

2006-09-20T20:20:18-04:00

i've been very unproductive as far as knitting goes this past week. the friend that i'd made the Skully Vest for moved, and i helped out. oh...my....god. it really really sucked, but at least it's done with! i failed to get pictures of her wearing the vest (i forgot the camera) but i'll get around to it sometime! i also made another buddy of mine an alpaca hat--there was absolutely nothing excitting about it that's why no pics--but he loved it. the 2 for 2 on knitted gifts this past weekend got me thinking about the Yule season and gift giving. and also the fact that the majority of my friends have their birthdays within the next 6 months or so. i think that i might start giving bigger knitted gifts for birthdays, and smaller ones at holiday time. that way, i don't go insane trying to make 20 sweaters or shawls in the next 95 days. it seems logical to me.
upcoming WIP's are as follows:

Josephine from Knitty.com

Heere Be Dragons shawl

the Argyle Slippers in Weekend Knitting

that's what is definite so far. anyone knit any of these? tips?
since the knitting content is low, i'll give you some Xavier pics. here he is checking out my singing lobster (i just found new batteries for him today!) i love the lobster--he's terrible, and kitchy, and my gramma gave him to me. Xavier is a little bit freaked out by it. but the best pic is coming up next. doesn't Xav just look like he's thinking "Give me a freakin' break already!" ????