TAKING BACK [THE KNIT]

cutest thing ever might be this phone cozy. i often think that about bittersweet's stuff, though. so much cute, i can barely take it. i have a ton of scrap yarn, and i am really thinking about making this. or at least using the concept for some other sort of cozy.

i forget how much easier it is to bind off with a crochet hook. especially with ribbing. and when BingO hundreds of stitches.

i have been knitting like crazy! it is amazing how much i can get done if i knit during all of my free time. i've been doing some stash-busting, and finally finishing something i gave up a long time ago. i started a Fiery Bolero, the first time, years ago. it was in red cotton ease, which eventually got frogged and turned into the fabled modified boobholder/minisweater. a better use for that yarn, i think. i had some white cotton ease laying around after finding it at Tuesday Morning, in kits to make baby hats. (this was while it was discontinued, mind you! i paid like $6 a ball for it, because it was in the kits. but i love this stuff.) anyway, i put it to good use and started another Bolero. i like this pattern for is simplicity. the fun is in the constrction. but not in the picking up 258 stitches, just for the front edging. also, BingO those 258 stitches, not so fun either. tedious! i usually like a little more texture, but for this shrug, the plain stockinette is perfect. (i went back through my old posts and found the {only!} one with a picture of the FB in-progress the original time. check it out here. even in 2005 miss Amanda Cathleen was leaving me comments! i love it.)

i've finished a couple of boring things, a mitered square washcloth among them. it's done in Paton's Grace, and i must say that i love this yarn. the mercerized cotton makes it so silky smooth and soft. i will definitely be making more washcloths with this in the future.

i really ought to be blogging more. it's just hard for me, these days. i play around on flickr too much!

I know it probably makes me weird, but I'm always a little bummed when I finish projects. Especially those that seem never-ending, things like aghans. I love the actual process of making things so much that when I am finished, it's like I have lost something. I get so used to working on a specific thing, and finding all those spare moments to work on it. Once it's done, I practically don't know what to do with myself. I'm at that point right now. I just finished a massive afghan that now belongs to TheBoy. I still haven't taken pictures of it. Originally, I was trying to get it finished and to him as quickly as humanly possible; our anniversary was last month. But now, I have had ample oppurtunity to photograph it, and I haven't. I think I just don't want it to be done. I want to have that thing that is nagging at me to be done- in the best way possible.
All that said, after a few days(nights) with the afghan, TheBoy wants me to add onto it. I was using all 1000+ yards of yarn I had from my frogged Mariah, and once I ran out, I was done. I'm just glad I hadn't added a border yet.
Having a boyfriend who appreciates the things I make him is wonderful. After propositioning some ideas for what I would do for his dad for Christmas, he had a great idea for another afghan- for him! I think I'm really starting to like these marathon projects. It's just hard to let go once you get attatched to them.

this sweater is so cute! Lady Linoleum's stuff is always cool in my book, but this is very wearable. trendy, too! i like it a lot!

  i went to michael's on friday, and i must say i was delighted when i discovered that cotton ease is back on their shelves! i had read that it was coming back, and seen all the colorways on the LB website, but actually seeing it in the store was great. i love this stuff, and my most wearble knit to date it made from it.

so i had to buy some. now i've got 1,000 yards of the "stone" colorway. it's a really nice, washed-out grey. i've got a few ideas about what it will become. summer is coming, and that is all i will say about that.

this morning, out of boredom and wanting to get out of the house, The Boy and I went to check out Twisted Stitch in West Sac. Overall, I'd say I like it much more than other LYS's in these parts. I ended up with two hanks of Chery Tree Hill SuperSock, since all the yarn was 40% off! One of them will be another pair of socks of The Boy, and one is for me! I will finally have some nice, warm, wool socks! I'm not sure what exactly I will do (pattern-wise) yet.

Speaking of socks, I am the last knittter on the planet to make a pair of Jaywalkers. Soon I will have some. (And trust me, it will be soon, because the sooner I am done the sooner I can start knitting with that beautiful stuff pictured above!) I'm liking them so far, although because of the plain color of the yarn, they're kind of tedious. Also, this is a test run with this yarn. It's made ofr crochet, and it's really cheap! $2.99, I think. It's a wool/cotton blend. Not very tightly spun, though, and there is virtually no spring or stretch. It's like the opposite of STR (Sproingy, shiny, stretchy). I'm just really curious as to how this yarn will last and wear.

I have not done/bought/made anything Project Spectrum related recently. I'm still stuck on the grey from the last couple months, I guess!

I am in an amazing mood. One of those post-excercise endorphin-caused good moods. And I must tell you, it's great. The frozen yogurt helped, too.

 I danced at a middle school this afternoon, and that was interesting. Middle schoolers + bagpipes = quite the combination! There were quite a few more "punk" or "rocker" kids than I expected. Kids with local band shirts, albeit crappy ones. I ever saw a girl with her septum pierced. Kind of weird for middle school, don'tcha think? There was also an amazing mariachi band. They played a cover of "Livin' La Vida Loca" and the Macarena. They were great! Definitely got a better response than we did, but that's no shock. I didn't take any pictures because I suck. At life.

I'm really happy that it's finally starting to really be spring 'round these parts. I can spend endless hours in the yard gardening and not be cold! I bought some new violas, and I'm stoked about them. They're so cute! I love little, petite flowers. Pansies just aren't as cute, to me.

Everything is blooming and growing! I've started a bunch of seeds, and there have been a few surprises. Let's just say come Halloween, I might be prepared.

I also did a little more dyeing. I found some neon and some black food coloring, and had to test them out. The black always came out brown, but the neons were perfect! Look:

I was planning on buying some dye your own sock yarn, but knitpicks only lets you pay with a credit card. no paypal! so none for me. (unless i'm mistaken, in which case feel free to set me straight.) I am envisioning blue and green striped socks.Something like this maybe, but just the blue and green.

Kind off off-topic, but I saw the Street Dogs last month and they were amazing. I definitely reccomend them if you're into that kind of thing. I was just listening to them, and I remembered.

Okay, in an effort to blog more often I am going to try to not put up massive posts. So here's where this ends! (I should have some real knitting content soon!)

stolen

Mark with bold the things you have ever done, with italics, the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest. (and I'm adding cross out things you have no desire to do. ever.)

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn

Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knittingb [what?]
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Spinning
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles

Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

when I was not planning on awakening until 9. Insomnia RULES! Especially when I know I have a rather grueling day ahead of me. Also, my scalp itches.

If, like me, you've ever wanted to knit some argyle knee socks to match your kilt, there are kits here. But they don't have my tartan! (I'm sure they have something that matches, or is similar, but I didn't feel like asking. Ane the colors on my monitor are fucked, so it's hard to tell. Not that I don't know what these tartans look like in real life, but still.)

I dyed some more yarn last night. And managed to burn myself in the process. It went well, although food dye seems a lot crazier than Kool-Aid. Things ended up a lot darker than I expected sometimes, and not as dark others.

I feel like I am going crazy because of the sleep I didn't get. My reaction times are slow, but I am kind of jumpy. Similar to what happens when I take a bunch of benadryl. I think I need to eat breakfast.  

I'm going to be gone all weekend, 'til Tuesday, for (suffice to say) a convention. And, I won't be able to use the phone, except at night, and my ipod ever. A weekend without an ipod for me is hell! Especially when travelling. I know it's so the group can "bond" and stuff, but geez! No one is going to want to bond with the superBitch I'm going to be sans music and contact with buddies. Thank god I will have knitting with me to keep me sane. Sane-ish at least!

 I'm off to do things like straighten my hair, listen to the new fluffalicious podcast, finish packing and do some swatching.

Kool-Aid was 4/$1 at the grocery store, so I couldn't resist! (I think it's always 4/$1 but I don't often go to the grocery store.) Long story short, I've now got some lovely Kool-Aid dyed yarn.

I used grape, strawberry, black cherry, and lemonade plus some yellow McCormack food dye. There are some more pictures on flickr. I love all the colors, especially the grape. I just don't know yet what I am going to make with all this. Maybe a Calorimetry or Panta, with the grape. I'm just not sure yet, but I really can't wait to use it. And to dye some more! I wish I had a ball winder and a swift because things would be a lot easier, but I can get by the old-fashinoed way.

Now I've got the Misfits in my head! I apologize if you do too.

I ordered earrings from Pam a while ago, got them, and then was too lazy to take pictures of them. So with no further adieu:

 I love them. And I loved the flip-flop/beachy stationary, Pam! I was totally expecting something black or something subculture-ish in some way. I actually laughed when I saw it.

I was planning on going to the zoo this afternoon, and then I found out it costs $8.50! Too expensive for me right now, even as much as I love the zoo.

I am sitting listening to natasha and barbe's podcast. the first one i've ever listened to. and i love it. i would like to declare my blog, as well, a no bitch zone.

city college really brings out the weirdoes sometimes. it's like a full moon 24/7 'round here. there is a lady sitting here typing with one finger, but feverishly. i'm pretty sure she does not have a full set of teeth. i'm imagining her writing an email to her ex-husband and his new wife in their new double wide trailer. sometimes i forget i'm in california because it seems more like tennesee. and i went to the flea market when i went to the south, so i'm familiar with such folk. there is also a girl sitting across from me with the worst acne i have ever seen. no exaggerations. i just feel bad.

i am going to write a paragraph about dyeing without using the "dying to dye" pun (again). it's killing me, but i must resist! anyway, since the new knitty came out, i have wanted to dye things. i never really had any serious interest in dyeing before. kool-aid dyeing seemed pretty cool but i have never been into it enough to actually get down to it and do it. but this article makes me want to make pretty yarn myself! especially using the dip-dye method. i almost bought dye at the craft store this weekend. twice. but i resisted. i've got so many projects i need to finish before i start something like this.

the mental picture of crotchless over-alls ... my god. i guess i have been missing out on this whole podcast thing. maybe i will get into it!

i have a ton of pictures from st. pat's day and craft supplies, and some decoupaging! finally crafting that is not needlework! i just have yet to upload and  describe and tag them and all that yet. soon!