Aw hell

I know that I actually need to knit for gift purposes. I know this. I don’t need to be reminded. But honestly, since I have to basically start from scratch on a personal statement for this year’s round of law school applications, I haven’t had all the time in the world for it…also two of the gifts I’m working on are black ribbed objects that are way too similar for my puny human brain. Mike’s Prime Rib scarf is taking forever. I still like the stitch but seriously 2.5 skeins in how is this thing not *done* already? It’s like that Mitch Hedberg pancake joke: “exciting at first, but by the end you’re f*&^ing sick of them.”

I started the February Baby Sweater too and as cute as it’s gonna be…would it have KILLED EZ to warn us about the button holes while still on the yolk? I know her patterns are more interactive and ask you to…like…*think* about what you’re knitting but still. Now the buttons are gonna start after the yolk, but honestly I think it won’t look too too too stupid, and since this is the second time I’m trying to knit something for the kid it’s gonna have to just be good enough.

Once I cannibalize the yarn from the BSJ I’m sure I’ll have enough left over to make a little hat to go with it…and then I can also make one for Matthew. Oh! Speaking of whom, I got an email from his mom the other day who says they actually *use* the Trellis I made him! I don’t know if that’s actually true or not (I like to think it is but I’m not vain), but it makes me feel better that all that work was not, in fact, for nothing. I like making gifts, but it makes me so nervous, ya know?

Fact is I do most of my knitting for myself. Like…I don’t want to inflict a handmade object on someone who then has to pretend to like it. But knitting things for myself is always fun. Especially hats. And on that note, I plan on picking up a couple of Ysolda patterns, specifically Gretel and Estella. I’m kinda digging these really slouchy hats. They look pretty good with my hair (which I’ve decided to keep long), and don’t give me horrible hat head. I’m especially excited about Gretel, which from the ravelry pictures seems to always look awesome…

Not that I have time for that with all the gift knitting…

AND! I was tagged with a meme a little while ago but never got around to posting the reply. Sorry, Jody I’m catching up now.

The Rules:

    Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

1. Share seven random and or weird things about yourself.
2. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
3. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven Random Facts:

1. I have a bit of an obsession with my hair. Well…maybe not so much an obsession as a preoccupation. No matter how bad it misbehaves I still love it and try to make it look the best it can every day…if I don’t…the bad things happen. 
2. I speak Spanish nearly fluently, can speak a bit of French and Italian, and know the Arabic alphabet.
3. I typically drink my coffee diesel (black, no cream or sugar), but prefer tea with milk and lots of sugar.
4. I spent a semester of college in Granada, Spain to improve my Spanish. I now speak with the Spanish equivalent of a Georgia drawl. 
5. I have a level 70 character on World of Warcraft, which I play casually.
6. I am an only child.
7. I had a dog named Sandy since I was about 4 years old. She died two years ago. I still miss her.

Sadly, I don’t really know too many bloggers, so I can only tag two:

    Melissa
   and Marie

Good news and bad news

Well the Heir of Slytherin Coriolis socks are done. And somehow I made all the same mistakes on the second one as the first. The coriolis band is NOT supposed to be on the sole of the foot, but something about how I placed the markers  and made the heel totally screwed it up. I mean…the socks aren’t BAD. They still got on a foot and the yarn in very nice. For my first ever toe-ups, I’m really supprised that they are even foot shaped. But now they’re dona and I know I have a long way to go in my knowledge of sock knitting before I try another New Pathways pattern. If nothing else, these socks taught me that socks on circulars are deffinitely faster than DPNs and not as scary as it seemed.

I finished the Heirs on the heels of receiving the Prizoner of Azkaban yarn. LOVE. I was thinking about what I wanted to do with it and I was all set to use the enclosed pattern…and then Momma Monkey came out with Freya. Won’t this yarn look AMAZING with that pattern? The color changes going up the cables…I always feel bad when I don’t use the enclosed pattern, but I really really really love this yarn and I really really love this pattern.

Lastly, Thanksgiving has come and gone. NOW the Christmas gift fever has really caught me. I made crazy progress on the Prime Rib Scarf, I have the yarn all set to cast on for Jason’s Marsan Watchcap…and then there’s the baby sweater. Remember the BSJ I was making for little Ryan. Well I saw her on Thanksgiving. There is no WAY that sweater gonna fit. Oh well. I wanted to make the February Baby Sweater anyway….

“Well there’s your problem”

“What a cute hat!” my mother exclaimed on seeing the completed Odessa.

 ”Thanks,” I mumbled halfheartedly.

“It’s such a pretty color! Is it part of Ryan’s Christmas gift? It’s a bit big for a baby hat, but I bet she’ll grow in to it soon.”

“Not supposed to be a baby hat,” I grumbled.

But, sadly, there is absolutely no way this is going to fit on my head. Not with my hair. The yarn is very smooth so it slides right off, on top of the fact that it’s too shalow and too small around. I got gague. I don’t know what went wrong. But look at it! It’s the size of my hand! Now I don’t know what to do with it…

Heir of Slytherin Coriolis…what can I say? I did the socks really really terribly wrong…but I don’t mind. The second one is almost done and I’ll have some wonderfully warm, neat looking house socks (they’re not gonne fit in any of my shoes). Just a few inches of the leg and some 1×1 ribbing left to do before I show them off. The third shipment, Prizoner of Azkaban, came in on Monday while I was stranded at home from work due to bad weather. The colors are DEFFINITELY ones I would buy for myself, and I like the included pattern. It’s a bamboo blend, which I’ve never used before, but it feels so smooth and nice. I’m looking forward to getting the Heir off the needles and digging in to the new yarn.

Speaking of yarn, I haven’t actually purchased any new yarn at all this month. None! I’m not counting the sock club since that was set in motion months ago. I’ve been mainly stashdiving and making presents for people with yarn that was bought ages ago for just that purpose. No new yarn…that’s so strange. And I’ve even thought about it too. When I decided I wanted a heavy version of the Luna Moth Shawl, I was thinking of hitting my new favorite LYS (The Down Loft in Basking Ridge. It’s AMAZING in there) for the materials…when I looked in my stash and found some perfectly nice undyed Cascade 220. This was perfect! I love natural colors of wool and figured it would make for  nice, versetile shawl. Never done a real lace pattern before, but so far it’s really fun. Plus I’m kinda cheating as the yarn and needles are so big.

I also have a very fancy new coat that I hope to have a picture of soon, and it requires a black hat fancier than my beloved Glaistig (which probably gets worn more than anything else I’ve ever made) to go with it. I’m thinking some kind of beret (I might fancy up a basic pattern) out of the Black Lamb’s Pride I have stitting in stash. See! I’m being good!

Success helps

Thank heavens for Urchin. It was a quick hat with some interesting new things to learn that used a full skein of yarn and looks completely unlike anything I could have bought in a store.

It’s exactly what I needed.

This thing took no time at all to make. I don’t think it looks half bad, either (though I know I’ll never look as good as Ysolda in it)! The short row shaping was fun, and I learned how to do a provisional cast on *and* garter stitch grafting! Hats are also like comfort food to me. If I’m feeling low about my abilities, my best bet is to make a hat. In fact, I was feeling so much better after finishing the Urchin, that I got down to the business of overhauling the cuff of the Heir of Slytherin Coriolis.

This was serious surgery. I was ripping back like a full inch and a half, so I did the “put needle in right arm of stitch to hold it in place and frog away” trick. I only grabbed the wrong stitch in a couple of places, but managed to fix that with some crochet thread, a tiny hook, and a lot of profanity. A few rows of 1×1 ribbing and a sewn bind off later and I finally FINALLY have one sock completed. I was trying to finish before the next shipment from the sock club came in, but apparently it’ll be here any day now. Even at top speed I’ll probably be a little past my goal, but I think I really understand this pattern now. But I gotta say, the New Pathways patterns are not for people who don’t like math and thinking. The coriolis pattern itself, however, is great for handpainted yarns like this. I wasn’t really jazzed about these colors when I first got the yarn (not the pallette that I would pick myself), but I’m really growing fond of them as the play out in this pattern. Really looking forward to what Carrie does with Prizoner of Azkaban’s cover. It’ll also be my first time knitting with a bamboo blend. Is it weird that this is so exciting to me?

It’s a disaster

No pics in this post because I have absolutely nothing that I want shown.

The Odessa hat is a lesson in frustration. As nice as the beads look, I know I’m doing them in such a way that they are not quite lining up right on the hat. When things are not in a line when they are supposed to be that drives me nuts. Also, I’m starting to worry that the yarn might be too slippery to stay on my head. I have very thick hair and it takes a mighty hat to contain all of it. Odessa might not be up to the task…but it’s so pretty…

And then there’s the coriolis sock…JUST when I think I’m getting it right, something goes wrong. I totally screwed up the instep arch, but I know what I did now so i can fix it on the second sock. The leg went by well enough, but then I completely screwed up the cuff. I don’t know what I was thinking. I have to rip back quite a bit and try to salvage it…then I get to do it all over again.

I need a break. Maybe I’ll sew another one of those box bags….

A happy knitter

I’m feeling really content with my knitting right now. That’s a nice feeling. I did my first ever true stash-dive project and made a quick beret out of some leftover Skye Tweed I bought last year for $2 a ball. Sale yarn, good project, using up stash. That’s a happiness trifecta for me. I used the Le Slouch pattern, and I think it’s pretty good looking. I like the yarn, and the color goes well with a lot of things I own. This pic’s kind of a cop out, but I hope to get an actual wearing shot up soon. Didn’t have time this morning.

I’m also finally past the hesitation stage on my poor Heir of Slytherin socks. They just didn’t fit and no amount of stitch shifting was going to save them. I still really liked the coriolis idea, so I figured out the master numbers and I’m going to be making the Master Spiraling Coriolis to fit my crazy ass feet. P.S – The Whirlpool toe? fits really well but was murder to start. My figure 8 cast on was terrible. I’m gonna have to sew that up with the yarn tail. Feels nice to have a pair of socks back on the needles, finally.

Lastly, today I hope to begin spinning up the blue roving I bought. I think it’ll look nice with the yellow, and then I can try to ply using my ultra-high-tech Lazy Kate:

My motto is: If it can be built, a reasonable facsimile of it can be made out of carboard.

The fluffy stuff

Sunshine, Daisies, Butter Mellow

I am spinning something yellow

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please excuse the little poem. That part of the first Harry Potter book popped in to my brain while I was spinning up the roving I got in yesterday and hasn’t yet left.

Ooooo lookittheprettycolors! I got four colors of the SemiSolids from Spunky Eclectic and I’ll be using it to try my hand at plying. I haven’t quite decided which colors are gonna get plyed together yet, but I figure I have time between the spinning and building my own Lazy Kate. I’m also going to need to learn how to make individual bobbins. If I had a wheel that wouldn’t be an issue since they have multiple bobbins, but since I’m doing this with one spindle and half a clue what’s going on I need to set up something external to hold the singles. I don’t mind making things for myself, though. I am the queen of cardboard crafting. I made my own Nostepin from a rolled up wrapping paper tube, and even part of my halloween costume was cardboard (a cricket bat. I was Shaun of the Dead for a Zombies vs Survivors party). AC Moore should have what I need.

For some reason I chose to spin the nice yellow first (not pictured above). It’s a happy color. I have a real affection for yellow, even though I look pretty silly in it (skin pale as death).  My current idea is to ply it with the pretty blue, but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.

My singles are getting more even, but I still don’t think I’m getting it quite right. This roving is really easy to spin with, I’m just a total klutz. I’ve got most of the yellow spun up now, but need to finish up something to hold it before I can start on any other colors. This is fun! But I am nervous about plying…