YAY!

So here is the deal. I have no time for computer time at home. My work involves me in front of a computer for 8 hours a day and then I have an hour drive home. By the time I get home I feel like eating dinner and relaxing (which is either knitting, video games, or fleece blankets when I have room). In November, for a reason unknown to myself, blogger decided that it didn't want me to blog. Well, that or every programs but the ones I needed to do my work (very interesting, eh?) stopped working. I couldn't blog at work anymore. That saddened me. My computer ran so slow and then someone broke the processor clips off. How do you do that? I've been repairing/installing (mostly for home and when my work pc needed it) for a few years now and I've never seen that(?!?!?!?!). Now I have a new puter. Brand spanking new. and look at this, blogger works! I have pictures of my christmas presents and a few things I've made since, and pics that I have yet to take.... Joy! I am connected once again to more than me and my knitting boyfriend. Which is by no means a bad thing, since he understands my need for yarn and knitting notions... but he doesn't want a stash. I hope he doesn't think he can steal from mine when he wants something. :) He wanted to knit his scarf and mitts and then whatever from there. (He's working on a hat now, and I'm trying to talk him into knitting dish/wash cloths so that he doesn't lose it completely... he said he would, but saying isn't doing.) Hopefully I will be posting pictures next week (I forgot my usb cable at home, or else they'd already be up). So I'm back. Again. YAY!

What are these "FOs" that you speak of?

I read the November 1st post from Dogs Steal Yarn about UFOs entitled "Monogamy vs Temptation". It seems that she and I, though on opposite sides of the country, can really relate. You see, I have not blogged because I have not accomplished squat. Nope. Nothing. Oh sure, I am making progress. (I have found my camera! It's alive! It was under sock yarn, go figure. Pics as soon as I get my laptop back from the boyfriend! lol) I have finished the Devil Hat from SNB The Knitter's Handbook. Oh wait. No I haven't. It doesn't have horns. That and a secret (I'm not sure if she's reading) project that goes along with it hasn't even been cast on. A week from tomorrow. Geez. I know what I'm doing this weekend. I have until Christmas to finish the Clapotis. That's nice. I have 4 repeats (minus two rows... gee, you'd think I'd remember to p2tog at the end of the row... since that's about the only exciting thing left besides the kfb...) of the straight rows and then I start the decreases. I have the cuff and some of the body of my (second attempt at a...) Jaywalker. And yet I bought more sock yarn that I am fighting with. You see it's this in the Meadow Multi colorway. Then my mentally unstable lovely boyfriend bought me Knitting Rules! and I now have access to The Yarn Harlot's sock recipe. I was doomed. I guess it also didn't help that I bought some of this in Lettuce and immediately cast on for this as my first lace project. In my defense, I would recommend this yarn to anyone and everyone. It's so soft... so nice... and it didn't split after I frogged that stupid pretty scarf four times.

So where was I? Oh yes... hat, Clapotis, sock, scarf... The boyfriend still only has one mitt... my sister has 1½ rows of her Kitty Hat (also from The Knitter's Handbook.) I bought 3 skeins of this in... a color that isn't listed. It's brown/blue/red/orange/white/yellow... It reminds me of all the colors of fall plied together. It's going to be a scarf and a hat. I hope. I cast on for the scarf (I know! I have no willpower.) two nights ago... while eyeing up this (in the natural green colorway) that I bought the same day. (tell me about it...) And I don't even know what that will be yet. I have two medium sized Rubbermaid containers, four baskets, and a HUGE Rubbermaid container (I could probably curl up into it) filled with yarn, spinning supplies/fiber, and dying supplies/yarn to dye. I don't know why I buy yarn, does anyone really know? I see it. I want it. I buy it. Then I try to tuck it away out of sight so that I am not tempted to cast on. I have all of these ideas and yet... no. Must. Finish. WIPs. I have made a promise to myself. I will finish things in the order of importance. One at a time. Me, little miss no attention span. First on my list is the secret project and adding the horns. I will finish that this weekend. I probably have two hours left and I will force the boyfriend to lock me in the bathroom (nobody will bother me there...) until I finish it. But during the week you see, it will be the Clapotis. I would like to tell the Yarn Harlot that I am experiencing the Knitting Black Hole. I knit and knit for HOURS and I measure... and the only thing that has changed, as far as I am concerned, is that I have more dropped stitches. It gets better, right? This thing will be finished, yes? I'm not freaking out. Not at all. :) Then the boyfriend's last mitt because he is so patient and tries to stop me from buying yarn. He told me last weekend, he's not going to try to stop me anymore... there is no stopping me. Hmmm... I really don't see a problem there. :) I will work on the Jaywalkers when my mind fries (unless my mind fries from that, too. In which case I will commence the casting on of simple stockinette socks.......)

I guess, what I'm trying to say is.... It's been a month since I posted... and I have nothing to show for it.

Hello. My name is Amber and I have no FOs.

Last night while riding in our golf cart, my sister my boyfriend and I went to the far back of our property (I have 3½ acres of land). Normally we just drive around picking flowers and watching the clouds and checking on our neighbor's overgrown vineyard. Which, next year I think we are going to clean it out. They don't know this yet. Our neighbor is a 93 year old German woman who had to have her eye removed this summer due to an infection. Wouldn't some fresh grapes be nice? Anyway, last night as the sun was setting we went to the back to drive around and when we got to the very back, we stopped. There was a doe and a fawn just staring at us. All 5 of us were completely frozen. We turned off the cart and sat perfectly still. The doe walked towards us, all the while keeping her eyes on us. The fawn was prancing around behind her, completely distrusting of the strangers who interrupted their dinner. For probably a good 15-20 minutes we sat in the cart watching the deer. All the while they crept closer and closer and ate grass and stared. This was the closest I've ever been to a deer while not driving, at the zoo, or to a dead one on a wall. About 100 feet away from two of the most gentle, docile creatures I have ever seen. A helicopter flew over and the deer darted towards the woods. There I noticed what had been there the entire time, an opening that resembled a wooded cave. My sister and I dared to get out of the cart and take a few steps towards the animals when they weren't looking. JR (this will henceforth replace "the boyfriend" as I think he deserves a more respectful title lol) is 6'4". I'm not sure a deer could have handled that. My sister is 5'11" and I am 5'3"... Did I mention that this is my 5 years YOUNGER sister? Heh. The fawn went into the woods and the doe stayed in the field, though cautious. Nipping the trees and almost putting on a show for us. Turning to go into the woods, and turning and coming back out. She came back to the field and started eating again and after a few moments the fawn came out. Then another fawn came out. Three total. All of them eating and watching us and playing in the field. It was probably 5 minutes after the third came out that they all went into the woods for the night. The three of us went back to the house in awe that an animal so skittish would allow us to observe so closely and not run away. After a 60 mile drive to and from work in rush hour traffic, plus driving my sister to school... That seemed to melt any and all of the hostile feelings and stress that had built up throughout my day. I am still completely amazed and I could have kicked myself for not having my camera. But who normally takes a camera on a golf car ride? Not I.

Knitting is moving along... I made myself a list of what I want to get done in the order I want to get them done...

SNB Devil Hat - It'll be finished this weekend. Gotta finish the crown and add the horns. If I have time before her birthday I'm going to take the spare yarn and make some quick matching wristwarmers.

Clapotis - I am on the third repeat of Section 2. I ended up getting This yarn in Blush Heather and so far so good. Very very slight variegations in the yarn, but just enough to give it a sense of depth. If I do two repeats a day, it will be finished in two weeks. Less if I work on that predominantly on the weekends.

1up beanie and Kittyville Hat - 1up beanie is over halfway done, I just have to finish the colorwork on the last half of the mushrooms and then the crown. Definitely going to be longer than the space invaders beanie. heh. That one's a little short. The kitty hat is for my sister and she wants it in grey. I think i'm gonna toss in some pink on the ears for her. Nice little Surprise. I'll be working on those simultaneously since I bought another US 7 16" circ. I still haven't used it... I planned on casting on last weekend... but blankies got in the way. :(

JR's mitt - He told me to make this at the last possible second since it doesn't take that long and it's still in the 70's here. That's okay, I live by Cleveland, OH. The weather changes every 10 minutes anyways. :P

The cursed blanket from the depths of hell that somehow sucks the life out of me as I make it - I dunno why. Intarsia isn't hard. I know how to do it, it looks good. So what the hell is making me procrastinate so much!? Everytime I want to pick it up, I look at it and think about how it's a vampire of energy. Why? Why does is a blanket so hard? I'm knitting it on big needles. It's a nice, soft yarn to work with. The pattern isn't THAT hard. Sure there are a lot of color changes... Black, Light Grey, Dark Grey, Red, White... But really. Someone motivate me... After I finish the above things. :)

And last but not least... my socks - Yes. I am making socks. Isn't that great? Me. A sock knitter. I guess to be a sock knitter, though... you'd actually have to complete a pair... or more. Well. I am trying. I have never used such tiny needles (US 1) and when it comes to knitting I have some patience, but it runs very thin when I seem to knit and knit and knit and get nowhere. This sock, however.. Has taken to me. The yarn has taken to the sock. Grumperina's Jaywalkers are liking the yarn... which I forgot the name of and I know it's wool with something else. Bad me. Losing the ball band. >_< I plan on working on these when I don't feel like working on any of the above. I hate wearing socks, but I want to knit myself some. Ironic. So as you can see, I am excited to make them but not at all in a hurry to wear them. :) I will let you know, and hopefully post pics because I will have my camera and I have nothing but a haunted house and some cleaning planned for this weekend.

Other than that I am making the no-sew blankets (after I post pics, I'd be more than happy to post a tutorial if interested.) and I JUST learned how to make pin cushions! :D Now I am on a mission to find the cutest Japanese fabric I can find to make my very first and my super special pin cushion... and also to find some that I like for Christmas presents.. and maybe to sell since they aren't too hard. I am afraid of sewing machines. Mine will be hand stitched. :)

Also on my mission I am attempting to locate 2 skeins (at the very least one skein) of Bernat's Camouflage yarn in the Snow Ghost colorway. How depressing would it be for JR to get to the end of his skein and not have yarn left? :( We checked Joann (stores, I am going to check online when I finish this post), Walmart, and Pat Catan's. Nothing. I don't like Michael's, but for him... I would check. Sigh. The things we do for love. :) Hopefully my next post will be few words and all pics!

time flies when you're... yep.

Has it really been that long? I am a bad blogger. I'll admit to that. I religiously read several blogs, and yet I don't have the time to blog myself. I haven't knit much lately, because I haven't had much time. I have started a new job for an hour after work Monday-Thursday helping a 16 year old boy with Cerebral Palsy. My job is to help him with his homework, however, when we finish early we play video games. :) It's very educational for me, as well as for him (he's getting straight A's!). This is my second time working with a handicapped student, and I truly enjoy the experiences I have had. I thank knitting for all the help in teaching me patience. I've developed patience beyond anything I ever could have foreseen, and it's wonderful. I'm gonna look around and see my best options for pursuing a Music Therapy major with a minor in Music Theory. There's just so much in being able to do what you love and help people at the same time. I absolutely adore music theory, you hear music so much more clearly when you fully understand where it's coming from, and I would love to be able to share that with everyone and anyone would is interested. Anyways, on to what I have been, and am knitting. :)

I finished a scarf for my father for Christmas (knitters think about Christmas in August. lol). I was inspired by the pattern in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, but I altered so much that it's really just a mistake rib scarf. 21 stitches across size 13 needles makes for a nice warm scarf. :) It's knit with Lion Brand Thick and Quick in the charcoal color. If I did it again, I would most definitely use a lighter color, but the scarf is gorgeous nonetheless. And heavy. It's perfect for snowmobiling, if I do say so myself.

Working on some fingerless mitts (the kind with individual fingers cut off at the knuckle... my first time!) The right glove is finished, I still have to cast on for the left... can you get SSS on a glove? The pattern is from Knitted Accessories and it's knitted on two needles instead of in the round. It gave me a chance to practice my seaming. :D I'm getting WAY better! I even shocked myself, you can't even tell it's a seam. The yarn is acrylic. I know I know... but look. I usually have to frog the first new thing I make, and I didn't want to ruin some nice yarn if I had to frog it at the end. I'm an odd one, this I know. :) I plan on buying him nicer yarn and surprising him with a better pair made out of wool. Mmm. Wool. Although, he seems to be very very happy with the acrylic... The fluffy wool ones I made him last year make his hands sweat. I feel cheap making him gloves with yarn that cost less than 3 dollars to make both gloves and then some... but if he is happy, I am happy. Speaking of the boyfriend... guess who learned how to knit? :) He had been asking for a while and I have finally taught him the knit stitch. I started on some green acrylic, and he was okay with it, but I could tell that a more fun yarn was in order. He was poking around my stash and came across some Bernat Camo that I completely forgot I bought. This happens often. I have SO MUCH YARN that when I go through it, I forget what I have and what I've bought. I have to post pics of the monster that is my stash. Your jaw will drop. Maybe. I don't know how much you have. :) Where was I? Oh yes. So while the boyfriend and I were cleaning out my stash and putting it into fine ziplock bags and plastic tubs (which... I ran out of bags and tub room. How does that happen?), he kept putting yarn aside. Grey yarn here, camo there. I told him he could take whatever he wanted, since I obviously forgot I had it, the use for it was lost deep in my brain. He has 13 inches of garter stitch scarf now!!! I'm so proud. :) He's anxious to learn purling, but I told him that he needs to get familiar with the basic stitch before he moves on to anything else. You know, so he can knit without thinking. He can now knit without looking at the needles! Also, he had his first knitting dream. Hehehe It's so awesome to have a boyfriend who WANTS to knit and finds enjoyment in it. He said that he can't wait until I show him how to make a pair of fingerless gloves and hats. :D

Speaking of hats, for my friend's birthday I am making her the devil hat from SNB. She wanted it black... okay. :) I'm making it in Lion Brand Wool-Ease. Soft. Cheap. 20% wool. Huzzah! I may alter the pattern a bit if I can and give it the horns from the Snow Devil Hat in Dominitrix. Maybe. If I'm not lazy. My sister wants a grey kitty hat, I might be nice and make the ears grey with pink inside. :) Maybe. If I'm not lazy. :D Also, I have to finish my 1up beanie. I had to get more needles! I got a pair of Knit Picks Harmony. US 7 16" circs. Not the interchangeable ones, but they are the pretty wood ones. :) I'll let you know how they are... I'm sure wonderful. :D

I have decided to make my grandmother a Clapotis. Was going to use red Wool-Ease, but I have since discovered a yarn store that I did not know existed. THEY HAVE SPINNING CLASSES AND SPINNING WHEELS. I need to change my panties now, thanks. HOPEFULLY I can find a not so expensive variegated worsted weight yarn that is soft and slightly drapey in a pretty colorway that screams GRANDMA!!!! If not, looks like I am dyeing my own. :)

I've started making those no-sew blankets. They're super duper easy and soft and awesome. Buy some fleece, cut it, tie it... blanket. I made a small one for the boyfriend's cat to see if I could even make one... he loves it. We put it in a chair, he grabs the felted mouse toy I made him, and goes to bed. Every night he sleeps on the blanket with his cat toy. Who said that nobody appreciates what we make them?

I'll update with some pics (and more info about the books) when I remember to buy batteries for my camera. :) And I'll try to blog more... ADD is a cruel mistress.

Wow. Just wow. I kept meaning to blog, I did. Every day was "well, I will have time tomorrow." And I didn't. Or I forgot.

So I am here. I am stressed. Every time I go to the doctor about my wrists, I get a new medication. This is all on top of new birth control and more work at work. Not complaining... just very very worn out; physically and mentally. Even a week off from work didn't help all THAT much.

You would think that knitting would relieve stress. You'd think. I have been working on the garter stitch blanket... That doesn't help stress. I cast on for three pairs of socks... and frogged it all. I am thinking maybe I'll try some Sidewinders or a second attempt on the Jaywalkers. Or maybe I will practice more with sock yarn and knit some Endpaper Mitts or those pirate mittens from www.helloyarn.com. :) (I'm so lazy right now. I'll fix the hyperlinks later... hehe) Maybe both? Who knows.

I have knit some smaller things... I'll post pics after I take them. (Again, I am a lazy, lazy girl)

- Felted Ant
- Felted Bee
- Felted Lobster
- 8 Billion Catnip Mice (I altered the pattern from before) Seems like everyone with a cat wants some mice. The boyfriend's cat sleeps with his every night. It's cute, really.
- An angry banana.
- Two relatively happy limes. (One WAS angry, but I changed his disposition)
- Restarting the 1up mushroom beanie. I reworked that pattern also, it's no longer the Kittyville hat from SNB. :D
- Starting the design for a pair of kind of lacy fingerless mitts made with my hand dyed yarn
- Starting the basic pattern for what will become my transformers/nintendo/versatile pattern for a fingerless mitt, scarf, and hat set. This is most exciting. I absolutely adore Fair Isle.
- No more progress on the Boyfriend Blanket yet. Intarsia can kiss my buttsnips. Jerk. Although I did figure out a much me-friendlier way of doing it. (I am anal about yarn twisting and tangling, and plastic bag noises annoy me.)
- Attempting to design a pair of gloves similar to Knitty's Knucks, only Thing sized and made with worsted weight because he wants me to use the blue/purple skein he dyed. Okay, my boyfriend's hands are not that huge. I lied. They might as well be though. Any suggestions? ^_^
-Working on the baby blanket(the baby is born! Hailee is her name). Almost done, then a hat and booties... Maybe not booties. What is a good baby thing to make?

That's it. So you see I have been busy. And I have also been playing WoW tcg, seeing Transformers and seeing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Go see them. Now.

Not much else to report, I think I'll go read some Half-Blood Prince and reaquiant myself before Deathly Hallows shows up on my doorstep. Hopefully, it won't be two months again. ;)

Baby Junk and Felted Things.

I've been up to nothing lately, but very busy. Family from Florida came last week, so I spent a long time cleaning and I'm still not done... Can someone tell me how I have so much yarn? Seriously. I'm going to take pics for you, but I'm lazy and i have yet to organize it all. So far I have two big baskets full of yarn, another filled with my spinning supplies and yarn, and a HUGE bag holding the motherload of my yarn. Crazy. I'm not doing it tonight though. Maybe Tuesday you'll get to drool over my mass quantities of yarn.

I found out my cousin is having a baby. It's a girl. She isn't due until late July or early August, so I have some time. I started knitting a blankie... It's pink and pale pink acrylic with a shiny strand inside. Plain old boring garter stitch. Well, not so boring. I'm knitting it normal and backwards so I never have to turn it. Turning huge pieces on circular needles annoys me immensely. I use mostly bamboo needles because I love the feel and nothing slides unless I want it to. I have some metal and some plastic needles, but I prefer bamboo. So here I am using a US 10.5 29" circular needle. This blanket will be huge. :) I never really measure baby blankets when I make them... I do a good job of guesstimating and they're always big enough to either wrap the baby or cover the carseat. Since she's due in August-ish, I'm making the blankie winter/autumn thick. It's 80 stitches across, and I'll probably make it 120-140 rows... or until I get sick of knitting. :)

On to the fun knitting! I have been wanting to felt for a while now. I have no knowledge of how to work a washing machine. (Laugh it up. 22 year old chick can't do laundry. Ha ha ha.) I had to start with something small. What is small that you can felt? Cat toys. The little mice from SNB Nation to be exact. I used this yarn in Carrot, but I don't see it on there anymore.... hmmm. No bother, I had four skeins. I also have two skeins each of the Heather Amber, Avacado and Pumpkin. Cheap wool. :) I love Knit Picks. Anyways... I used that Carrot color which is a nice deep orange. I followed the pattern exactly, only I used size US 9 needles instead of US 4. I posted on craftster, I read many a website. I was ready. After I attached the little ears and sewed up his butt with the best mattress seam ever (there are pics below of my most perfectest seam ever done by me and my crapping stitching), I filled my sink with the hottest water I could stand (which, since my hands are usually numb, was surprisingly hot). I was too lazy to go downstairs and get laundry detergent, so I just squirted some Dial in the water and swished it around a little. It's a cat toy, not a me toy. I rubbed it between my fingers, against itself, turned it inside out... and it was felting. Slowly but surely it was felting. I couldn't wait, not only am I lazy but I have no patience. I made sure it was good and wet then I held the blob between my palms and rubbed. Soak, rub, soak, rub. All in all it took about 5 minutes to hand felt Mr. Mouse. I dried him on a towel as best I could and since his middle was fairly dry, I decided to stuff him before I finished stitching him up. he's layered. :) His butt is catnip, his tummy is a combo of polyfil and catnip, and his nose is catnip. I finished stitching him up with the long tail I left (I felted it a little so it would blend better, and it looks pretty good I think, especially for my first time). He has no eyes and no mouth... or a normal tail. On purpose. I was inspired by this. Aren't they cute? Mine doesn't look like a mouse-pig though. :) I didn't want to make an i-cord tail, I just stitched up to the tip of Mr. Mouse's nose and shoved the needle through the body and out the butt. Because of the felting, I don't think it's going anywhere, and if it does, it's just a kitty toy. :) I do like the green of the mouse-pigs. I think I'll make some of these to sell in September for the garage sales around my house. I'll have to figure out what to charge. What do people pay for felted catnip mice? WARNING: DO NOT EVEN CARRY THESE AROUND WHEN THERE ARE CATS WITHIN 500 FEET. This particular mouse is for Jiro, the boyfriend's cat. I have three minions of my own... and all of them were mewing at me and trying to climb my legs. These mice are potent. ;) And now for the moment you've all been waiting for....

Pre-felting.


Do you see that seam? That's right. No, you don't. :)


Isn't he cute? Even with no eyes. :)


Post-Felting!


This is him all finished, but before I shaped his nose. You can still kind of see the seam.


Now that I'm back, I can catch up on e-mail and blogs! Yay!


PS After seeing how much yarn I have gathered and collected, I have decided to go on a mini yarn diet. Just until I get rid of some of it. Is this cheating? :)

Yarrrrrrrr!

I finished my "We Call Them Pirates" hat! It's great... for the most part. I effed up a little. The rows on the brim don't match up 100%. Just the brim. How does that happen? WHY does that happen!? Obviously I did something wrong, but at the same time, I have no idea what I did. Sigh. Here is the hat.




See? Everything else is FINE. I just don't get it. It's made out of Lion's Brand Baby Soft in Black and White. I wanted to use acrylic for my first major Fair-Isle project in case I had to frog a lot. I only had to frog two rows because of one stitch. Oh well. I like it. My dad likes it (which is good because it's his). I didn't do the provisional cast on for the liner. I'm lazy and scared. :) I have the yarn that the pattern calls for on the way. But instead of black and white, it's red and dark grey. I can't wait to try the yarn, coated with teflon? I should make gloves out of that...