Friday, April 28

Knitter's block

No, not as in blocking a knitted object.

I want to knit something but once I get my desire up for something it dissapears quick as can be. POOF! There are a few shirts I want to make for me but I don't have the right size needles so that put a damper on my knitting mood. I did find something (Iris from Knitty) but for some reason or other ended up not doing it. I have needles. I have yarn. I have no motivation. :(

That said, I am looking forward to getting some cotton yarn. I need to find it of course but I can't wait. I am making my SIL some washrags to be included in a basket for her wedding gift. I know I could have used things like that when we got married. Instead we have a candy dish and a serving spoon/fork set.

I haven't done anything else for S. I started a pair of shorties and was using the Tiny Birds longies pattern but it's going sooo ssssssllllllllooooowwwww. I am not liking this pattern at all. I wish I could find a pattern for size medium shorties on size 6 straights knit flat and in one piece. I've posted on Mothering to see if anyone knows of one but so far it's looking grim. The weather is perfect here and I would love to get S some shorts made up so she has something to wear now that it's warm. I have one pair I got from someone else but want more. Plus it'd be a good way to get rid of some of my acrylic. I would love to use it up and since it seems to work for soakers why not put it to good use?!

Blah. Anyone know of a pattern?

Wednesday, April 26

A knitty sort of day

Mmmm man! I got some good stuff today! At least I think so. :)

The hubby and I walked down to St. Vincent's this afternoon. I was hoping to snag some of the last sweaters they had to recycle. The day was gorgeous and as fragrant as could be! It was great! The walk was tiresome but it was nice to get out and breath some fresh air and spend some time together.

St. Vinney's recently redid their store though and things were gone. Including sweaters (and books! ). They had none left in the entire store. I was pretty dissapointed. I did manage to find their file cabinet of crafting notions though. I got a pair of size 1 needles. They don't match though which kind of sucks. One is a straight and one is a DPN and they are of a weird plastic type material. They bend kind of funbky but I got them so I could make the mother in law something that screams dainty and fragile. :) I also got 5 balls of 3 cord crochet yarn. It's a bit thin for knitting but that was the appeal. I'm sure I could use it for practice on something that would ask for lace. Who knows? Maybe it won't work. I can always free cycle it. One ball is a bit thicker though. I think it was meant for knitting. I was so excited to use this stuff too. It feels like cotton and was a not so bad color. It looks like someone snipped it though. I could have gotten 2-3 average sized washrags out of it and due to the places it was snipped I can now get maybe one smaller one. :( Oh well. It cost me next to nothing and S sure liked playing with it.

Sooo after we got back from there I headed over to Freddies and checked out their yarn and needles. I have that place memorized but it's nice to go look you know? :) I got two more pairs of needles! I got some size 10 aluminum straights after reading about washrags on Mothering. I cast on for a washrag and felt guilty for the soaker I am plodding through. So I headed back over and got some size 6 aluminum straights. The husband thinks I am loopy for going to Freddies so much. I think I was there three or four times today. :) I bought the 6's though for soakers. I know most patterns call for 5's but I knit tight so I'm hoping these will be ok. Plus they didn't have any 5's. They are long though which makes them kind of butt heavy. They're 14 inches which I didn't notice till I got home and had cast on for another soaker (that will likely sit and gather dust). It was too late to take them back and see if they had shorter too. Oh well. It'll be nice when I get to doing longies. The shorties I am working on are from the Tiny Birds longies pattern and they are currently on my circulars BECAUSE of the amount of increases. My short DPN's couldn't handle that many stitches on them.

I feel like I am cheating on my other needles. :) I lvoe my wooden noes. They are easy to make, custom made each and every time, are warm on the hands, and are from natural materials. But they are heavy. I never notice til I get a pair of metal ones in my hands. I'm already addicted to the ones I bought today because of how light they are. Plus they have a little more slip to them. I've noticed more and more lately that I have to fight with the grip my wooden ones provide. While it was great when I was first learning it's a bit annoying now. I'm thinking my needle stash may become obscene. :) I think I will have to get a complete set of straights in aluminums and then a set of DPN's in wood. There are just so many qualities to both that I can't pick and choose. My heart goes to wood most of the time but that slipperyness is so appealing. :)

As I said, I'm working on some shorties for S. They are taking forever. I'm just not thrilled with the pattern .The soaker was so quick and easy and knit in one piece. These are not so quick (though stil leasy) and I'm going to have to do two pieces. I just don't find that idea a lovely one. I would love to find a pattern that knit them flat and in one piece. I have a pair here that are like that. I bought them from an (ex)friend when she bought some diapers and turned around to sell them (she did it in such poor taste :( ). They have a darker orange waist and leg cuffs with an orange body and red drawstring. If I could find the mama who made these and get her pattern I would be eternally grateful. They fit perfectly! I'm just notpattern oriented enough to sit down and figure it out just by looking at them. Plus I'm still learning how to count stitches and rows after they've been knit. I have yet to find a way that works for me.

Acrylic yarn, surprisingly enough, gets soft after washing. At least the brands I do did. After I had finsihed the soaker I was pretty disappointed that it was so stiff but after one wash and dry it's super soft and more "cloth" like. I love it. Too bad it got washed with diapers and attached itself often to the velcroe. :S I need a sweater shaver now.

Monday, April 17

Leg ties and new needles

DD has worn her lovely new soaker a handful of times and I have found the spot where size 8 needles does make a difference. The legs. Those bad beasts are huge! I only notice when shes laying in my lap or something like that where I can see the gap. When she's sitting down her fat little thighs fill out quite nicely. :)

So instead of doing leg ruffles (when I went back to read the pattern on how to do it she warns that it can make the leg openings bigger which I DON'T want) I threaded some yarn through them and have made leg ties. Like cinches. It adds a little shape to the hole (makes it more round and leg like) and adds a bit of cuteness by allowing for the hang off of the tie. I am very pleased with it. AND because I made them a bit big through the legs as she grows I can just cinch/uncinch when need be.

I went and bought a dowel tonight in the right size though and made myself some size 5's. We'll see how much of a difference it really is when I can compare the two side by side. I'm all out of steam though and have no desire to start on another one. :) Although I did email Jenny from Tiny Birds and asked if I am allowed to sell them on eBay or something and she said yes. Glad I asked! Maybe that will be my motivation to get some more made up. It'd be nice to have some extra cash here and there.

When I heard about doing soakers in acrylic everyone said you would need to wash them more. I didn't understand why until tonight. The soaker is still a little damp from the last change but it already has a faint urine smell. Maybe once I wash it and the yarn has a chance to be broken in (I was so excited I didn't bother to wash it after I finished. I just put it on the girl!) it won't be as bad. I don't mind though. It lasts about two days (assuming it stays this way) and I do diaper laundry about every two days. So it all works out. :)

Sunday, April 16

*Cue drum roll and trumpter blasts*

Apparently all I needed to get my ass in gear wass to view some of these fabulous blogs in the blogring. After looking at (more than once) a bunny on one I had to make the same thing. So without a pattern I decided to wing it and make my own. I had the right idea but oh lordy! lordy! did it not turn out the same. :) I was able to finish it up within a few hours. I used some yarn that I think is homespun or that icky baby crap everyone makes. Either way it was perfect. It is so freaking hideous my 11 month old has hidden it a few times already. Needless to say there won't be a picture gracing this blog of that sad little bunny. I have the pattern now and plan on making it the right way.

But that is not the cause of celebration in this post. Oh no. The celebration is for something far better and more glorious.






I mad emy first soaker! I used the Tiny Birds free soaker pattern and I am glad I finally bit the bullet on it. It was freaking easy and fast. My slowness was able to finish it in about a day and a half. I started it in the evening two days ago and finished it this evening. So that techinically puts it at two days but considering my daughter knew I wanted to knit and therefore demanded my undivided attention I need to factor that in. Take her out and I think it was about a day to a day and a half. I am so pleased with it. I knit super tight though and had to undo my cast off and redo it. So I ended up learning how to do a stretchy cast off. I think I'm in love with it now. :) I still need to add the leg cuffs although I am almost tempted to not do them. It is so cute without them (when it's on). When the munchkin is in bed and the soaker is off I shall take a picture of it. Due to some security issues I have had I cannot post pictures of her in it. If you would like to see it on just ask and I can shoot you the link for it (the picture has not been taken yet since there are no ruffles on it. Give me a few hours....or even tomorrow to get it done and then ask :) ).

I am so proud of myself. I can't wait to make more. So the details about it:
I used size 8 dpn's. I use dpn's for everything so that has no bearing on anything. hehehe. The pattern called for size 5's but I don't have any and I knit tight. I measured my final product and it's the same size that she list at the end of the pattern. Yes, I knit TIGHT.
I used some acrylic yarn. I wanted to try it out with something not so spendy as wool. It's holding up great on absorbancy.
I knit it in two days.
I did it in two colors: a dark brick red for the ribbing/waist and a multicolored for the body. The ruffles will also be the red.

So all in all I learned how to do ruffles, stretchy cast off, color change, and I used a pattern. I am so unbelievably proud of myself right now. :):):) I called my sister to brag and have already pulled out my next color combo. Pics to come!

Tuesday, April 11

The wheels are churning

I posted last night and got offline with every intention of working on the hat. I didn't. Instead I attempted to read a piece on vaccines and SIDS. I didn't even do that very well. So I headed to bed where my mind went crazy. So I got up, went through my sewing patterns, did some research on LASIK, and thought about our upcoming move. I was wired. During the sorting of patterns I think I came up with what I am doing for my mother in law. She is the sweetest person in the world so her gift is always first on my mind. I just want something spectacular. I have a pattern for some quilt squares, some of which are Amish based. I love Amish quilts. If I could afford it I would so buy a genuine one. As it stands I am poor so I shall resort to attempting to make one. One of the patterns is for a water lily square. I think I am going to make her a quilt. Seeing as her and my father in law have seperate bedrooms I can go all out on the feminine-ness of this without worrying. I also have some very thin lightweight grey wool. I have been dreaming of making it into some simple yet sophisitcated scarf. So I now officially have one person done away with!

Christmas
B- scarf of grey wool and quilt

Have I mentioned I am crazy? Why do I say that? If I were to do individual gifts as opposed to family (which I may have to do on some of these) I would have to complete (in 8 months that is) 43 gifts. That's both of our families and that's ONLY the people I can think of right now without listing anyone down on paper to make sure I am not forgetting anyone. I am thinking of doing something in bulk based off gender. I know, horrible but 43 people, I've got to do something! Maybe all the cooks will get aprons, all the kids will get hats, and everyone else will get something according to what I can group them in. Ugh.

List time!

I just went through and caught up on all the blogs. And I must say...I suck. :)

After reading through and seeing various pictures of glorius projects I found myself feeling envious and depressed. I have completed squat. I have so many OTN type projects and yet I finish nothing. For instance I was working on a dress my DD's birthday next month. I was going good and was doing a texture I had never tried before (little butterflies). I was even getting gutsy and was winging it on pattern. You know what happened last night when I messed up? I frogged it. Gee, who'da thunk it? I am getting freaking irritated with my desire to start and my desire to frog.

So I put DH's hat back on the circs and have been plugging along. I need a list or a series of lists. This will be the first. If I knew how to do html I would plug it into the side bar and make it look all cool like some of you others. Since I don't though I'll just type it out.

DH things
Hat- currently OTN and about 2 inches. I need 7.5
Socks

DD things
Birthday dress
Birthday soaker
extra soakers/longies
hat
socks

ME things
Socks
hat from the new Knitty
blanket from cool funky yarn

So tehre you have it. The first of my lists. I plan on sitting down tomorrow afternoon when the munchkin naps and writing out what I plan on doing for Christmas. I am a slow knitter so if I am doing anything like that I need to get my ass in gear. I am so tired of not completing things. I want to be productive and efficient.

I feel like I am on the verge of something. I am dis-satisfied with my current status quo and need to change it. That includes getting up and moving. I need to get back on track with simple things like cooking and cleaning and making everything else run that needs to be ran. Once those are in order I seem more capable of doing my other stuff...like knitting. Ugh. I need to go to bed. Instead I shall attempt a few rounds of DH's hat.

Tuesday, April 4

Big head schmig schmead

Lesson learned: When knitting something such as a hat that you do not measure the recipient for be forewarned. Attempting to fit it over a big head when still on the needles will not always be a good idea.

I pulled the hat off my needles and was about to frog it when I decided to try it on my daughter and then on me. Surprisingly it fit us both...and on her it had ample room. I took it downstairs and slipped it over my husbands large noggin and you knonw what? It fits.

Yes the hat I groaned about fits his head and it fits perfectly! Good thing I didn't frog it. Now I just have to get it back on the needles.

BUT! I'm glad I took it off. I have cast on for my DD's birthday outfit. I am just going to wing it and make a dress as it comes to me. No patterns here! I am trying to decide how to do the top. What I was wanting to do was basically a tube with something up top like ribbing and then the bottom would be plain. The top is a light blue and then the bottom and straps are going to be a light pink. However, I don't want to do the math to figure out any decorative stitching. My basketweave that I considered is in multiples of ten (that's how it's written down). I don't want to figure it out if I cast on something that won't work with that. I don't want to figure out ribbing. Yeah I'm lazzy like that but it's mainly cause I suck at math and DH laughs when I ask something that seems ridiculously hard for me. :)

I have fiddled with this once before but got discouraged pretty quickly. I wonder if I randomly throw in a purl stitch if when the segment is done it looks like polka dots (so to speak). I know when I do a row of purl after and before some rows of knit that it creates a kind of dip within the project. So....I have every reason to believe that by doing a random purl I shall get a random "dip" in my segment. I'm not sure though. I don't want to try it out on this project and then find out it doesn't work. But I also don't want to start a swatch just to test my theory only to find out it may or may not work. I could be using that time doing productive knitting. Anyone know?

Stupid big fat head!!

The hat I am making for DH was going to be a surprise. I tell him often I am going to make him something and then fail to do so. For example he has a pair of jeans he has wanted to me to patch so he can wear them again. I love these jeans on him. They have not been patched. I have been telling him I will get to them for about 6 months now. Yes, I know. I'm a slacker.

So when I started this hat I was excited. I had cast on and gotten a few rounds done. I was haulin' ass and it was looking good. I even managed to figure out adding a new color! Because of my excitement I couldn't contain myself and told him what I was making. He was excited.

Last night as he was closing everything down for the night I wandered upstairs to do a round or two. When he joined me I rearranged everything to have him "try it on".

My cast on's are super stretchy! I am unable to get them to the tightness that I prefer. Probably a good thing I suppose. My knitting however is super tight. Tighter than I would refer sometimes. So as I knit my cast on becomes the tightness that I prefer. My knit is pretty consistent although at times it does get tighter in spots. Nothing major...something to work on though. However, it is a problem with this hat!

The hat does not fit my husband. It does not evenn hint at fitting his huge head. I curse his genetics and told him he has a stupid fat head. I was so excited!! This is not a matter of simply being tight in the rim and adding an increase or two to the body. Oh no. This thing will NOT fit him in any sense of the word. It would have when it was only a cast on though. Wanna know who it will fit?

My 11 month old daughter.

Monday, April 3

No title today

I figured I should update. :)

I have OTN today a hat for DH. He's not really deserving of a hat right now but I started it on a day that he was so I figure I should finish it. It's just an acrylic one but he picked out this yarn back in December and asked me then to make him a hat. It's now April and time I get to making one. :) It has a dark blue rim on it and the body is out of a mutlicolored yarn. Pretty manly looking if I do say so myself. I'm doing it on the circulars my sister gave me. They happen to be of a size that fits my husband's gigantic head. This is my first hat and my first circular project.I'm not too far into it but am already thinking about how I decrease further up near the top. I do decrease right? I'm not using a pattern so it's a bit confusing right now. I'm pretty sure the patterns I've read call for a decrease (which I can do) but I have a hard time thinking that anything less stitch wise on these needles will be too hard to keep going. Hmmm...I think I need to look up some patterns. But I'm not sure that will even work. The few I can think of right off the bat usually have two sets in different sizes. I only have this one set. Hmmmm.

I am also working on a rug/seat cover. I made myself some gargantuan needles the other night and set to workto see if they would work with my recycled wool. They work wonderfully!!! The yarn was meant for big needles. I say rug/seat cover cause I am just not sure. I love the color combo I am using (the multi and the red I dyed) and would love to make a rug for our kitchen or bathroom since they are essentially our "colors". However, DH received a chair from a friend that has a blanket covering the seat. I hate the blanket, I hate the woman who made the blanket, and DH says it smells like our friend's ass. See my dillemma? I can make something pretty for our house or I can get rid of the offensive blanket and rid my husband's chair of ass. :)

Other than that I have no knitting news. I am thinking of making DD a dress for her birthday next month but I have no idea what to make!!! If you have a free pattern for something cute, easy, and fitting of a one year old girl tell me!!!!!!!!