TAKING BACK [THE KNIT]

when I accidentally delete my entry halfway through posting it.

And I can't even get mad a the computer or blogspirit, because it's my own damned fault!

So I only got one sock done. I like it though, but it might be a bit too short when it come to the length of the foot. But I'm happy with it. I'm not looking forward to the second one. Also, I feel like I should get going on my holiday knitting first. (A pretty good way to justify my procrastination, don't ya think?) If you want specs, I'll give them to you, but I am going to wait 'til I get both done to post all that juicy stuff. I really enjoyed Socktoberfest, mostly because of the inspiration I got from everyone else! Everyone's socks are so beautiful. I love looking at the flickr group. I'm so glad it's going to stay open year-round!

Since it's getting colder every day, I've wanted to start on some mittens for a while. Once Socktoberfest was over, I figured that was the perfect time! So have some other knitters, and thus MittenFest was born! I'm not usually a "joiner" but lately there have been some great knit-a-longs.  Two days ago my mitten progress looked like this:

And as of last night, it's DONE. D-O-N-E. C'est fini! Ends woven in and all. It's amazing! I have a few friends who left sunny California to go to college on the east coast, and now I know what they're getting for Christmas! I really like a lot of the things everyone likes about socks: quickness, easiness, customizability, etc. Since I have fallen in love with the Magic Loop, that makes me love them even more. Mittens have even made me want to think about color work, which is something that I have never done. They seem small enough that it would be a good intro to such things.  Hell, everyone might be getting mittens for Christmas! I just wish they weren't so confining

I just don't feel inspired to put up a whole, entertaining, interesting blog. But I do feel like posting something. So, for your viewing pleasure, here is my progress on my newest socks.

Here's my progress as of last night:

And as of this afternoon:

I love the fit so far. I went down a needle size, and it fits so much better. I had planned on making them longer and using garters (like we do for dance. Just an elastic band that goes under the flipped-down cuff. Not like a garter belt), but is fits so well I won't have to do that. Trying it on for these photos inspired me: I'm supposed to knit some legwarmers for a dance frined and I think I am going to give them a heel! It would be easy to flip it up if she doesn't want it, but it will help keep her ankle/achilles warmer.

 I just want to mention, once again, how much I love the Magic Loop techinique. It was a little tough in the picking up sts/gusset part but it is worth it. I love the ease of being able to try my sock on anytime I want, with littel hassle.

 In non-knitting (but yet still nerdy) news, I am soon joining Rainbow Girls. One of my friends is a Past Worthy Advisor, and asked me to join her Assembly. As a much younger young lady, I was in Job's Daughters. (that wikipedia page SUCKS, and I am actually going to edit it!)  My dad was in DeMolay, and my aunt is a Majority Member of Job's. My grandpa is a Shriner.  I joined because my cousin was being installed as an Honored Queen, and my aunt wanted all of us cousins to be there so support her, I guess. Then we all continued and she quit. Anyway I age out of Rainbow at 20 so I figure I'll get a couple of terms under my belt and get my Majority. Not enough time to run for the line or anything. Then, if I ever have a kid she can be in Rainbow. I am also considering going back to Job's to get my Majority there. It would be cool, but Job's and Rainbow meet on the same night. Am I just talking to myself here, or are any of you knitters familiar with Masonic stuff? I know it's weird ...

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about switching away from blogspirit. ... blogger fucked up when I was trying to leave natasha a comment today, so I'm thinking it might be a sign to pick wordpress. Which is easier to import old posts? ha!

... I'm considering/working on redoing my layout and switching to another hosting site. Any recommendations? I would like something fairly simple to work with. I only know basic stuff about HTML and fixing layouts and pages and stuff. Even if you just want to let me know your pros and cons with what you use  The only things is I need someplace free. I am young and poor, and I would rather buy yarn than have blog I could have for free.

I love flickr. Just the whole tagging thing, and favorites, and groups and all that. For example, I just found pictures from a Highland Games in Japan! I didn't know they had Highland Games in Japan! I am actually considering going pro, which says a lot. Supposedly the new YahooPhotos is supposed to be really rad, and it sounds a lot like flickr. Hopefully it is! Speaking of YahooPhotos, I hadn't really been keeping up with adding pictures to mine, but I went back and added all my old craft pictures. So if there are any old craft pictures you want to see, or you want to laugh at how bad my old photos are, check that out. (I guess I didn't get the memo that pictures that are so dark you can barely see aren't good.) I'm still in the process of adding titles and descriptions, but that's fairly quick. I'm updating all my albums so if you need more weird/boring/highland dance pictures in your life, you can find some there. Link is to the left.

I took another million pictures yesterday. I just do it in bursts, I think. No pictures for a couple of weeks and then pictures of every minute detail of everything. (All the pictures of yesterday's photo sesh are in my yahoophotos. Some are on flickr)

For some reason, I'm all worked up about Socktoberfest today. (That said, I am sitting here with a washcloth in front of me and not a sock!) I joined the flickr group, and put a couple of pictures in the pool. And I got a comment from Lolly herself. Wheew!

Older socks and newer ones. Same yarn and pattern, different colorway. A girl can never have too many knee socks! Especially not a Highland dancing girl. And speaking of Highland dance, I have a special something planned for the end of the month for the sock appreciation week. 

 I bought a pound of Peaches and Cream cotton in Daisy Ombre to make washcloths for some of my friends. I've got 2 1/2 so far. Easy peasy. But kind of addicting. The crochet one is just half-double crochet on a size I-ish hook. (It was my great-grandma's and doesn't quite match up with what I's are supposed to be. I think it's way old, when sizing was different!) The knit one is sotckinette with a garter border. I'm doing one know that is bias knit. Fun, but again easy. I finished it in the course of watching the new Law And Order SVU. I don't like the new detective broad ... but that's a whole other story. 

The yarn looks a lot more orange than it is. It's really just white, light yellow, and yellow.

I've mentioned granny squares and all the scraps I got that were my great-grandma's. Well, I have been crocheting granny squares on-and-off lately. I like that they're small and yet when I finish one I still feel as if I have accomplished something. Anyway, here is the progress so far:

I think I've decided that I'm going to switch to blogger, for sure. This is just not cutting it.

Today I am just feeling doing a meme. Also, I have a very attractice picture of myself knitting, and my friend Kim in the background, that I'd like to share:

I'm a generally unfuckwitted, liberal, tight as fuck, pathetically simple-minded, dribbling child!
See how compatible you are with me!
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

When was the last time you shaved?
When I showered on Saturday. I have showered since then, but not shaved.

What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
Sleeping, of course. Dreaming about moving in with some family with like 5 kids and taking all my clothes over there.

What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
This general sort of internet thing. Specifically, I think I was reading people's new blog entries via bloglines.

Are you any good at math?
Not bad at the basics. But I don't have the desire to work hard to understand harder stuff.

Your prom night?
Junior prom was miserable. boring. not worth the $$$ so I stayed home from senior ball. I probably went to a show.


Do you have any famous ancestors?
William Frawley, who played Fred Mertz on "I Love Lucy" was my great-grandma's cousin.   

Have you ever taken out a loan to pay for school?
Not yet!

Last thing received in the mail?
bank statement, i think.

How many different beverages have you drunk today?
just a glass of milk.

Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machine?
if they don't answer, sure.

Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
yeah, but i forgot to last time. i was going to be super cheezy and write my and boyfriend's name and draw a heart and all that jazz.

What's the most painful dental procedure you've had?
Maybe having my Herbst appliance put in and taken out. That thing sucked. It was to fix my overbite. rather than to pull it forward with rubber bands (it was almost a centimeter overbite) they use this weird appliance to push it forward. bars and such. and it would come undone every once in a while, like during a yawn. or it would get stuck. no wonder i was such a nerd as a kid!

What is out your back door?
patio, complete with four hibiscus plants and a fountain. also, usually a dog or two.

Any plans for Friday night?
partying, of course. my friend Raime's birthday happened to land on Friday the 13th.

Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
Most of the time, I straighten the shit out of my curly hair so that sort of wind and humidity is a nightmare. When it's not straightened within an inch of its life, it is curled and hairsprayed to death.

Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different kinds of popcorn for Christmas?
nope. and hopefully it stays that way.

Have you ever been to a planetarium?
sadly, no. however, from south reno (weird, i know) the stars are amazing. also, in the middle of pennsylvania. (Did I ever tell the story of staying at my mom's uncle's house in the middle of nowhere in PA? I had never been that far away from, uh stuff! It was quite a doozy. Pitch black at night. They have bears and shit. We saw a woodchuck.)

Do you re-use towels after you shower?
of course. i don't like to do laundry every 2 days.

Some things you are excited about?
partying this weekend.

What is your favorite flavor of JELLO?
strawberry.

Are any of your great-grandparents still alive?
Nope. (I was thinking about this the other day, my great-grandmas had some awesome names: Hazel, Lillian, Ivy, and Blanche.)

Where do you keep your change?
pockets, wallet, Mason jar. I am looking for a cute change purse.

When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people?
probably the last time i danced out and announced what i was dancing.

What kind of winter coat do you have?
a black peacoat, which is ill-fitting and has shoulder pads. also the kind with a fake fur collar. like a parka-ish thing.

What was the weather like on your graduation day?
warm?

Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
closed

8 lasts --

8.] last kiss: last night when boyfriend dropped me off.
7.] last beverage: milk
6.] last movie watched: 12 Monkeys. weird.
5.] last phone call: boyfriend
4.] last cd played: hell if i know. ipod is on shuffle right now, playing nihilism from rancid.
3.] last "i love you": when i got home last night

2.] last time you cried: last night. long, lame story.
1.] last alcoholic drink: strawberry margaritas. last saturday night.


6 have you evers --

6.] have you ever dated someone twice: no way.

5.] have you ever been cheated on: nope. at least i fucking hope not.
4.] have you ever kissed someone: refer to #8 above.
3.] have you ever kissed someone you regret: no way.
2.] have you ever been depressed: definitely.
1.] have you ever been drunk and thrown up: yep but not in a while, thankfully

6 things you've done today
1.] woke up
2.] ate an amazing breakfast
3.] put makeup on, which is a feat for a tuesday morning.
4.] this
5.] checked bloglines

6.] checked out the "arts and crafts fair" at my school with really features little art and next to no craft.

4 places you've lived--
1.] south sacramento

2.]
3.]

4.]

3 favorite colors --
1.] yellow
2.] teal
3.] purple

2 things you want to do before you die --
1.] knit argyle knee socks
2.] figure out what i want to do in life.


Q 01: is there a person who is on your mind right now?
A 01: yes

Q 02: Where is the last place you went?
A 02: here, to school.

Q 03: who is the last person who called you?
A 03: mike. (boyfriend)


Q 04: do you have any siblings?
A 04: younger sister

Q 05: do you smile often?
A 05: I am told I am always smiling. which is why I am a weirdo magnet. I need to look weirder or something.

Q 06: do you think that someone is thinking about you right now?
A 06: yeah

Q 07: do you wish on stars?
A 07: definitely!

Q 08: do you untie your shoes every time you take them off?
A 08: no, but i untie them before i put them back on. i cannot stand to walk on the backs of my shoes.

Q 9: do you like your handwriting?
A 9: sometimes. other times it just looks horrendous.

Q 10: who's bed did you sleep in last night?
A 10: mine

Q 11: what color shirt are you wearing?
A 11: i am wearing two slate greay shirts. i love this color.

Q 12: do you have any pets?
A 12: 2 dogs. one i absolutely love.

Q 13: what is the color of your bedsheets?
A 13: blue with polka dots

Q 14: What were you doing at 9 last night?
A 14: talking to boyfriend. and laying in bed.

Q 15: I can't wait until..
A 15: i can go home and decide whether to craft or shower.

Q 16: Look to your right. What's there?
A 16: another computer and a guy I don't know.

Q 17: Ever cried yourself to sleep?
A 17: yeah

Q 18: Song that makes you cry?
A 18: Stuff that's somewhat nostalgic. time of your life by green day. makes me think of middle school.

Has anyone ever thrown you a suprise party?:
no. but i dearly hope that happens someday!

Are you easily excited?
depends.

What event is coming up that you're most excited about?
halloween. just all the partying and fun that always happens in october. (i am going to be Wilma Flintstone!)

If you won a million dollars what would be your first thought?
holy. shit. YARN!

If you could have anything right now what would it be?
now that you mention a million dollars ...

What was your latest dream?

i had two dreams last night. one about gardening and my old house and backyard. one about moving in with some family, i'm not sure why. i don't think i was going to be their nanny but it wasn't because i didn't have a family or anything. bizarre!

Do any of your dreams come true?
hopefully not, becauuse i had a dream about being unable to stop drooling the other night.

What was the weirdest dream you've ever had?
almost all of my dreams are really weird. like why i would be moving in with some family. a lot of mundane things happen, but their combinations are what makes it weird.

5. Do you usually remember your dreams?
Most of the time, yes.

Feel free to tag yourselves.

It just dawned on me right now that it is October and I should be listening to Halloween-themed music. I love Halloween! (And psychobilly, too. Shut up, I know.) And that reminds me, on the right side I have a little chart of my most-listened to tracks from last.fm. It is one of my new obsessions. It takes what you listen to on your computer (and with an additional program, your iPod) and gives you stats, suggests new bands, and gives you "neighbors" that have similar taste to yours. I LOVE it! If anyone has one, let me know. I wonder what a lot of you bloggers actually listen to.  

I have attained the high honor of having two more people subscribe to me on bloglines recently. Thanks, whoever you are! <3

 I will have pictures and updatish things soon. I have been crazily busy. But a lot of it has been busy crafting and too into it to stop and photo everything.

  -When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I knit my first pair earlier this year, and am working on the second and third. I taught myself, just like everything else I've ever learned about knitting.

-What was your first pair?  How have they "held up" over time?

My first pair were the Sassy Socks, my version of the Pippi Kneestockings from SnB. I have actually not worn them yet! They seem like they will be very warm, even though the are acrylic, and it just hasn't been cold enough yet. But winter is on its way!

-What would you have done differently?

Funny you should ask, but I am knitting a couple more pairs of these in different colors, so I get to go back and make all the little adjustments I would have made. Like making sure I am starting at the same point in th stripe pattern that I ended. And I might go back and put elastic in the ribbing.

-What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

I have yet to knit with actual sock yarn, at this point. However, my boyfriend told me yesterday that he wanted nice, warm, wool socks. And we are going to the LYS to pick him out some sock yarn!

-Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I knit my first pair on DPNs and am now Magic Looping this one. Yay Magic Loop! I love it! It is so much less of a pain. Crocheting socks would be interesting.

-Which kind of heel do you prefer?  (flap? or short-row?)

I have only done one thus far, and it's slipping my mind as to which one it is.

-How many pairs have you made?

Just the one, so far. I see a long future of sock knitting ahead of me. Especially since I am all about Magic Loop now!

absolutely head-over-heels with the MAGIC LOOP technique! I'm trying to keep from tossing all my DPNs out the window right now! 

Also, can anyone explain to me what a flippin' trackback actually is or does?

I forgot to put up the picture of my crocheted octopus! Here she is:

   I love her! She's so cute but such a pain. I'm just not a fan of working in such small spaces. However, she's so darling that it's worth it. She's being made with Caron Simply Soft and a size G(? I can't remember!) hook. Pattern from someone on craftster.

A couple of really good bead pictures: (If you liked the other one's you'll love these!)

The one on the left is all the beads I have made from magazine ads/catalogs over the years. There is a big group of unfinshed ones towards the top, as I've found it's easier to roll a bunch and then Mod Podge them all later rather than rolling them and immediately Mod Podge-ing one-by-one. The close-up is of some of my favorites. I LOVE the brown ones, and I don't even remember what they're from. They're originals, from when I was making these in high school. (Although, the real originals are the ones I made when I was about 10 from the Americal Girl craft book.) A lot of the newer ones are teal and purple out of a Pottery Barn teen catalog. They've turned out well. 

 There have been a ton of butterflies in my yard lately. I took some pictures today and they turned out awesomely.

 There a literally a TON more pictures in my photobucket, so if you like these there are more there. (beware that they're not really separated by album or subject so there is random/weird stuff in there!) 

There will be some more knitting content soon, I promise!  

You know what I am sick of as a crafter? It's one thing that really gets my goat, or 'grinds my gears', as Peter Griffin might say. I am SO sick of hearing and seeing crafters complain about people calling them grandmas for knitting/crocheting/whatever. YEAH, WE GET IT. There is a stereotype that only old ladies do this kind of stuff. I know it's frustrating, and I often deal with it myself. If you're hearing it so often, shouldn't you be used to it by now?! I just laugh when people call me a grandma when I knit in public. If your grandma knits garter belts, parties every weekend, and is obsessed by Futurama then she must be pretty rad! And I am taking it as a compliment. So why get butt-hurt every time someone doesn't realize that knitting is the hip new thing to do? I just figure in the end, when I'm knitting sweet gifts for everyone but them, they will realize their error. I'll have the last laugh.

I did a little photo shoot today. Mostly pictures of paper beads and flowers (of course!). I managed to forget to take pictures of my Betty, which is coming along swimmingly so far. I am in the process of uploading things at the moment, and will add pictures as they come. I'm downloading the new photobucket drag-and-drop thing at the moment, so expect a report on how that works. (It's taking forever! I'm starting to get frustrated.)

More about the Betty: I got my package from White Lies Designs in the mail last Friday. Due to an incredibly busy weekend of dance competition and craziness, I didn't get to swatch until Sunday. I got gauge on the first try and cast on. I love the Cascade Fixation! It was awkward to knit with at first, because I didn't quite get whether I was supposed to be knitting tightly, with it stretched or loosely. Then it clicked: hello, this is a tight-fitting garment that is meant to stretch, of course it's supposed to be done tightly. I like that the pattern is very clear. It's obvious when you get to the YO columns and when to increase. Also, the purl rows are all plain, so it's easy to get in the zone and get through them. I love simple and beautiful! Also, I was really happy with how quickly I got the pattern, and that she emailed me about the little delay. I definitely recommend White Lies, and will probably shop there again. Perhaps for some stockings to match my garter belt. And also she's in Sacramento, so I have to support that. I've got Sacto pride!

I'm crocheting an octopus. The pattern's from craftster, and it's way too cute. Fairly easy as well. I did a bad job sewing on her legs (tentacles!), so they are awkwardly spaced. We'll see if I can cram the next 4 on without it looking too weird. I don't want to have to redo them. I'm lazy.

You know, I really wish YahooPhotos had a way to view the image in its original size. Some stuff just sucks when it's scaled down.

I knit under the influence for the first time the other day, and I'm glad to report no major mishaps. The next morning while working on Betty at some friends' house, someone asked me what I was knitting. When I showed her the pattern her response was, "That's a project!". Agreed. It is a "project". The real "project"-y part will be sewing on the ruffles, rosettes, and attaching the hardware. Anyway she went on to tell me she knits, but only scarves because they are so repetitive(!). That's the reason I dislike scarves. She's a prospective member of my prospective knitting group, though. I just recently re-taught a friend to knit (she learned as a kid and just needed a refresher) and we are thinking of starting a group. However I also just recently joined the Sacramento SnB group, so I might be going their instead. Or maybe as well. My point is, it's exciting to find out friends are knitters! After seeing the Betty pattern and hearing our conversation, her boyfriend commented, "I think someone's going to be the president of the knitting group!" and smiled at me. Hilarious!

I was my own 100th comment on this blog. Kind of lame.

I am really considering switching to some other hosting service. I am so unsatisfied with blogspirit, and although it hasn't shit out on me lately I am sure it will soon.*** I just don't want to go through the process of transferring everything over. What a pain!

This drag-and-drop thing is going well so far. It seems faster, and I like the browser. Of course, this is after only about 20 minutes of using it.

With no further adieu: BEAD PICTURES!

They're way blurry. Apologies.

The paper these are made from looks like this:

Some more made of scrapbook paper:

While looking for paintbrushes, I found a bunch of these I had made in middle school using magazine ads. Here are some that just got one coat of Mod Podge and strung simply onto elastic cord:

There is a tutorial for these over at being natasha fialkov (link at left.) More pictures should be up or in my photobucket soon, but I am DEAD as it is 2:40 am.  Sleepy time!

 ***Just asI thought, blogspirit lost part of my post as I was working on this. While I now have the drag-and-drop awesomeness, if I hadn't and had been doing it by hand I would have been rather upset.