One Stitch at a Time

The Music Thing

2005-02-12T13:17:00.000-05:00

There's been this music thing going around. I couldn't resist!

Pick a band or artist and answer the questions using only the titles of their songs.

Artist: Sarah McLachlan
01. Are you male or female: Perfect Girl
02. Describe yourself: Drifting
03. How do some people feel about you: Good Enough

04. How do you feel about yourself: Train Wreck
05. Describe an old girlfriend/boyfriend: Path of Thorns
06. Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend/interest: Building a Mystery
07. Describe your best friends: I Will Not Forget You

08. Where are you: Home
09. Describe what you want to be: Angel

10. Describe how you live: Do What You Have To Do
11. Describe how you love: Fumbling Towards Ecstacy

12. Share a few words of wisdom: Wear Your Love Like Heaven
13. What is your biggest fear: World on Fire

I did a bad thing...

2005-02-12T11:01:00.000-05:00

Yup that's right. I have knitter's ADD: BAD. Did I work on Cathode last night? Did I work on Topsecret? Did I cast on for my second sock? Did I work on my mom's Christmas scarf???? That's a big fat no to every single one. What did I do? I casted on for Mariah. Wheeee! I loooooove the cables :)

Sock Pictures!!

2005-02-11T22:50:00.000-05:00

I promised pictures. I know I said it would be a couple days ago, but hey, I'm a busy college girl. This is the first of a pair (there will be a second someday!)

Sock #1!

Sock #1 (on)

And...kitchener stitch...first time ever!!!

Sock #1 Toe

Kitchener Stitch

It's a lovely little sock, isn't it? *sigh*
Now...to knit up a mate!

Socks!

2005-02-08T23:53:00.000-05:00

I LOOOOOOOVE socks! :) Pictures to come tomorrow!!!!!

Hmm.

2005-01-28T23:48:00.000-05:00

I think I'm growing up.
It's 11:43 PM on a Friday and I'm so wiped out my eyes are drifting closed. For those of you who haven't noticed, I'm a MAJOR night owl. Maybe it's the 8 am classes...Last weekend when I had the chance to sleep in I got up at 9 am on my own!
On top of that, I have a day off from work tomorrow (YAY! I haven't had a Saturday off without asking for it in months!) and I'm really looking forward to just sitting at home and relaxing, cooking dinner for myself, knitting, cleaning, and working on homework. Homework on a Saturday? What's wrong with me???
Anyway, I'm off to knit a few rows on my sock (if I can keep my eyes open long enough) then go to bed!

Too Personal?

2005-01-27T15:09:00.000-05:00

The few people who read my blog may remember that back in December I posted an entry about the end of my year. In said entry I made a chronological list of all the important (and mostly awful) things that had happened to me in December to keep me from blogging, or even feeling up to blogging for that matter. One of the major issues I posted was that on December 9 I had broken up with my boyfriend who I'd been with since April 13, 2001. We had been "separated" but still not officially broken up since the end of September.
Today I recieved a comment from "Anonymous" that said "You told me in April you broke up NOT December hun" First of all: we did not break up in April unless I have somehow had some lapse of memory and forgot, which I'm doubtful of. I don't know how anyone at all would get the idea that we'd broken up in April. Why would I post that we'd broken up in December if we'd really broken up 8 months earlier? Secondly, I don't know anyone who would call me "hun" except for said ex-bf. Obviously the commenter is someone who knows me, seeing as I supposedly told him/her that the breakup occurred in April. Lastly, it seems as though if this person didn't have a negative intent in posting said comment, he or she probably would have filled in a name.
I do not know what this commenter intended by posting this, but it's really upset me. Just thinking about what the ex would have thought had he read this before it was deleted makes me cringe. I've deleted the post and in the future I will try to keep my *more* personal life out of this blog. This whole thing has just made me realize that no matter how innocent you think something you post on the internet is, you need to rethink it because regardless of how kind some people are, there are others that are cruel.
The only reason I posted that entry in the first place was to let my readers know why I hadn't blogged in a month or so. I thought it was impersonal enough to put in my blog but I guess I was mistaken. I have enough heartache to deal with right now. I don't need anymore trouble to deal with, so you won't be seeing my more personal life appearing on this blog in the future.

Two FOs and Some WIPs

2005-01-23T15:06:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the blog-neglect, folks. Things are a bit crazy. Well, I have for you today, first, another of the Christmas FOs.

This is the Pink Cloud Scarf.
I used Patons Divine (light pink) and Moda Dea Dream (snow white) double stranded and knit it on size US 15 needles in a K3P2 rib. This was given to my Aunt Cathy for Christmas.

Aunt Cathy wearing the Pink Cloud Scarf

Stitch Detail (Pink Cloud Scarf)

It was a really fun, fluffy, soft scarf. It worked up really quick on the big needles (but made for really sore hands!) and the yarn despite all the acrylic and man made fibers was REALLY soft. If you haven't touched Moda Dea Dream, go find some and pet it, it's luscious!

Next, a FO for me! As soon as Christmas was over I couldn't wait to get my hands on my Misti Baby Alpaca Chunky to make a scarf. I was going to do a simple rib but decided to make a modified Wavy. I cast on 30 stitches and used size 11 needles. It's not quite as long as I would have liked because I ran out of yarn, but it's really soft and REALLY warm (which is a necessity here right now)! Oh and this still needs to be blocked.

Wavy

Wavy 2

Stitch Detail (Wavy)

Next, here's some WIPs! First up: my first EVER socks! I'm using Regia Crazy Color sport weight yarn and size 4 dpns. (please ignore my backwards decrease, like I'm trying to! *grrrr*)

Regia Crazy Color Sock (mid foot)

Next: a Lacy Scarf made from Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush stranded with Filaturia de Crosa Night (for the hint of sparkle). This is going to match a cute little angora bucket hat and convertible mittens I got for Christmas.

Baby Alpaca Brush Lacy Scarf (in progress)

And last but not least: I started Cathode in Noro Kochoran (color 31) as the MC and Manos (don't remember what color) as the CC. Had to play with the numbers a bit but hopefully it'll work out. So far, I just finished the collar. Being snowed in has allowed ample knitting time!

Cathode Collar

That's all for now, hopefully now there will be more updates more often!

I'm Knitting Socks!

2005-01-08T11:55:00.000-05:00

Guess what folks!? I'm past the heel of my first EVER knitted sock :) I went to the yarn sale at my LYS to hunt for yarn for a Clapotis for myself...found nothing. I couldn't leave without buying something so I picked up some Regia Crazy Color sport-weight sock yarn and size 5 dpns. Well I swatched on 5s and it was too loose. I swatched on 4s and it was perfect. BUT the LYS is closed. No fear, I went to A.C. Moore and got some size 4s and off and away I went! I'm using this pattern. Turning the heel was much easier than I thought. I have a few visible mistakes but I couldn't bear to rip them out. They are thick and probably will be worn only with boots anyway...and plus, I'm learning! Can you all tell by the excessive use of exclamation points that I am super excited? Oh, also, I completed a Newsies hat from Stitch N Bitch Nation in Gedifra Fashion Trend in a Faded Denim Color. Anyways, unfortunately I have no time to take/upload pics of anything today, so it'll have to wait. I have to go reorganize and clean my kitchen. And my living room. And my bedroom. Yes, you get the point. Later, all!

Gratuitous Stitch Photos :)

2005-01-04T00:43:00.000-05:00

These were taken a while back but I've been too busy to remember to share them. Can you resist the fuzzy white belly!???

Fat Lazy Stitch

Tubba kitty!

Attacking the camera strap

Stitch being a funny kitty

Gotta love that face!

[FO] Holiday Knitting - Clapotis

2005-01-04T00:20:00.000-05:00

So, I decided I'm going to post one FO at a time (to keep from having one ENORMOUS entry). I chose Clapotis to post first because it's my favorite.
Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn Used: 5 skeins of Artyarns Supermerino in color 105 (this is my new yarn love!)
Needles: size 8 Clover bamboo circs

Modifications: I did one less increase section, making the straight rows only 95 stitches across. I had JUST enough yarn.
Gifted: to my Aunt Mary Anne who had an inkling to teach me how to knit when I went away to college but never had any idea that it would become such an obsession! She looooved Clapotis and is now hunting for yarn to make one for herself (as am I!)

Here are a couple pics of Clapotis blocking:

Clapotis blocking

That is a twin size bed (for size reference).

One corner of Clapotis blocking

Here is a picture of the stitch detail (my favorite)!

Clapotis detail

Finally here are a few of the happy recipient!

Aunt Mary Anne opening Clapotis

Aunt Mary Anne wearing Clapotis

Aunt Mary Anne wearing Clapotis 2

I realllly loved this project (seems to me that everyone who has made it has the same sentiments)! I want to make one for myself but I'm on a budget. I'm thinking of ordering some yarn from Handpaintedyarn.com for mine. I decided I want red (atypical for me, but hey it's a new year!)...but there are too many beautiful reds to choose from!!! Ahhh...the joys of decision making :) Hope everyone's new year is going well!

Dear Readers

2004-12-11T14:22:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I can't come to the blog right now, I have finals. And the nasty breakup of a close to 4 year relationship that meant the world to me. Oh, and did I mention I'm really sick, too? So needless to say, I (a) have ZERO time and (b) can't think of anything good to write about because I pretty much despise my life right now (c) it's almost Christmas, which makes the whole think a million times worse and (d) don't feel much like doing anything at all. Sorry for the lack of posts, I'll be back when I have time and feel better. For now, it's back to making honey lemon tea and crying.

Polar Fleece Knitting

2004-11-24T01:12:00.000-05:00

As promised, here's the post about polar fleece knitting! I read this recently, and decided I just had to try it.

So...I went to Walmart (even though I HATE it) and bought some polar fleece. Here's the fleece I got:

Polar Fleece 1

I cut in into strips (sorry forgot to take a picture of that) then I knitted my first hat ever! And I didn't even use a pattern!!! I used size 15 circs/dpns and made it up as I went.

Polar Fleece Hat (flat)

Polar Fleece Hat

Polar Fleece Hat (on)

Pardon the crappy picture of me :) I bought 1.5 yards of this fleece (plus 1.5 yards of a different fleece, too) and I used less than 1/2 a yard so I have plenty more to make more hats! With size 15 (10 mm) needles, it took between 2-3 hours INCLUDING cutting the fleece. Superfun and easy project, and it makes a really soft, squishy, warm hat!

WIPs, oh so many WIPs!

2004-11-23T01:53:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd share some of my WIPs!

First, a Manos Cabled Scarf (gift for my Mom for Christmas):

Mom's Cabled Scarf 8 repeats in

Mom's Cabled Scarf detail shot

Next up, the Irish Hiking Scarf (for my dad for Christmas):

Irish Hiking Scarf (21? repeats)

Irish Hiking Scarf (more than halfway done!) detail

Next...a little purse I've been working on forever...this ones for my sis:

Berocco Lullaby Purse (just finished the back and started the front)

Berocco Lullaby Purse Flap

Last but certainly not least...Le Projet Secret!!!!! For someonefor Christmas!

Le Projet Secret....oooooh la la!

That's all for now because it's late and I'm sleepy. Next post (hopefully tomorrow): POLAR FLEECE KNITTING!
Night all!

Bad Things Happen to Procrastinators...

2004-11-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

I have a term paper due on Thursday (the 18th). It is 12-15 pages, no more, no less. All research...lots of journal articles. About bleaching of coral due to global warming and increased sea surface temperatures. It's so effing boring I want to stab myself with an aluminum DPN (since they have no other purpose besides to make your stitches fall off). So. It was supposed to be due Tuesday (tomorrow) but over the weekend I recieved a lovely email saying they changed the due date. So instead of completing it today like I intended to, I decided to procrastinate by knitting a repeat or two of my mom's scarf. Well, SOMEONE knew that I should be doing my term paper instead of knitting, because guess what happened. I turned one cable wrong. Then I turned the next one wrong. TWO wrong cables. Sigh. I had to rip out the whole repeat, and I LOATHE ripping cables. After I finished ripping I finished the repeat correctly, then decided rather than fight with karma anymore, I'd work on my term paper. That was around 12:30. Then I changed my sheets. Then I found another resource on the web. Then I wrote about 3 sentences. Then I decided to update my blog. Yep.....I need serious procrastination therapy :(

Snow :(

2004-11-13T01:18:00.000-05:00

It's snowing. A lot. The roads are slippery and everything's white...:( supposed to be 3 inches before its done tomorrow sometime.

Election Results

2004-11-04T14:33:00.000-05:00

I'm very angry with 51% of America. How could you vote for Bush? I am likely going to be paying for the damage he's doing to the economy for the next 50 years of my life, not to mention all of the other horrible things. We live in a "free" country and over half the country chooses the candidate who TAKES AWAY our rights. The fact that I live in the same country with people who support this man makes me ashamed to be an American. No, I'm not kidding.

Quiz!

2004-11-01T13:58:00.000-05:00

You are bamboo.
Warm, cozy, and thoughtful, you take your time and
enjoy how things feel, smell, and taste. You
love the craft and beauty of traditional
things, and you value the comfort and
experience of knitting as much as the results.
But while you are reveling in your warm cozies,
don't get stuck. Warm is wonderful, but so is
the whole wide world!

What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Surprisingly fitting :)

Politics

2004-10-31T23:14:00.000-05:00

So...here's my two cents on the upcoming election. I'm registered as a democrat (and in case you were wondering this is the first election that I will ever be voting in). I'm voting for Kerry. I LOATHE Bush. I LOATHE him as a president so much that if he wins I will seriously consider moving to New Zealand to farm alpacas at least until he is out of office. He screwed our country over royally. He didn't do ANYTHING about Osama bin Laden attacking us, however, he felt it necessary to send thousands of our troops to Iraq to get rid of nonexistant WMD and kill thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. He claims that looking back he wouldn't have done anything differently and sending troops to Iraq wasn't a mistake. Perhaps Bush is not a horrible person (which I cannot judge since I have not met him), but he is obviously not equipped with the intelligence required to run a country. The man cannot even form a complete, intelligible sentence 75% of the time.
I spent a good part of the day listening to political talk on public radio (discussion supporting both sides) and was only reminded of all the reasons why I am a democrat. There was a discussion about voter registration. Apparently there are multiple organizations that spanned several states claiming to be nonpartisan but really were republican. They hired people to approach people on the street and introduce themselves and ask who they would vote for in the elections. If they said they were voting for Bush, the employee was supposed to have the person fill out a voter registration form. If the person said they were voting for Kerry the employee was to thank them and tell them that their comment would be added to the polls. If employees from these organizations took democratic registrations they were shredded and thrown away so hundreds of democrats believe they were registered but in actuality were not. When republicans tried to find the democrats doing similar things they found one or two isolated cases that were only one individual, and really didn't have a big affect on anything. The CROOKEDNESS of the republican party amazes me. It also amazes me that someone can actually vote for a candidate who cuts taxes for the richest people but raises them for the poorest.
As for issues: abortion-I am pro-choice because I can't imagine telling a rape victim who was pregnant that she HAD to go through with the pregnancy; or a crack addict whose child would end up with enormous amounts of birth defects. Gay marriage-I support gay marriage. I don't care what religion anyone is, I don't care if they love men or women or both; if they want to celebrate their union like heterosexuals, I don't see why they shouldn't. As a science oriented person I can see that being gay is often NOT a choice and is instead somehow genetic or inherited. The Christian aspect of marriage holds no meaning to me since people of all religions have marriages: Hindi get married, Jews get married, Christians get married, Buddhists get married. If gay people want to get married, LET THEM! War on Terror-It was wrong for Bush to send troops to Iraq in the first place, however, now it would be irresponsible of any leader to pull the troops and leave the country in shambles. I fear for the other mistakes Bush may make in fighting terror, and I don't think by fighting in Iraq he is making America any safer. In fact it is probably drawing our attention from the actual terrorists who have attacked us and may very well attack us again. I understand that in many cases war is not avoidable, but what blows my mind is the talk of winning/losing wars. It is war: there is no winner, everyone loses in the end. I am probably forgetting a lot of important issues but these are the ones standing out in my mind right now.
As far as the Kerry/Edwards campaign goes, I'm not the hugest fan of Kerry, and I don't like Edwards, but I do think that they will do a much better job in office than Bush. I'm not voting for Kerry just because I'm a registered democrat; if there was a republican running that I liked I might vote republican, however, I tend to agree much more with democrats on most issues. In this case, I just think that Kerry will be a much greater president than Bush ever has or will. And that is why I am voting for Kerry/Edwards on Tuesday.

STASH ENHANCEMENT! :)

2004-10-24T12:24:00.000-05:00

I got a raise at work on Friday night (wasn't due for one til May!) so to celebrate I went yarn shopping of course. I spent more than I should have, but all of it is for gifty stuff so I guess it's justified :)

First I got 5 skeins of Artyarns Supermerino in color 105 for a project that I can't yet disclose :) As you can see by the photo I was so anxious to start I stayed up late late last night getting the project started. This yarn is absolutely a DREAM to work with. It is soooooo unbelieveably soft, it almost feels like there is alpaca or even cashmere in it. And the colors....fabulous. My only issue so far is that it splits fairly easily, but everything else makes up for that!

Art Yarns Supermerino and the beginnin of a SECRET project!

Artyarns Supermerino (color 105) and secret project detail

I also got 3 skeins of Manos del Uraguay in color 1. These will be made into a scarf for my mom for Christmas (hopefully). The pattern hasn't been chosen yet but I do want to incorporate a cable.

Manos del Uraguay (color 1) for a scarf for my Mom

I also got a set of size 11 Brittany Birch needles for my luscious Misti Alpaca scarf, but I think due to the overflow of Christmas projects all of my projects for myself are temporarily being put on hold...:(

More soon!

A quiz!

2004-10-16T13:47:00.000-05:00

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can't imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.
http://marniemaclean.com

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

New York City

2004-10-10T22:27:00.000-05:00

Yup, that's where I was this weekend. Specifically, my sister, my aunt and I took a bus trip to Manhattan to shop. We shopped on 5th Ave and 42nd street, which turned out was not a good place for us since we couldn't afford $3000 tank tops and $800 bags! It was fun, I got a new wallet with a kitty on the front at the Fossil store. I also got a poster with some white flowers on it at some record store. The NY trip meant I did a TON of driving this weekend: to work on Friday, to my parents house to get my sis, to Albany to my aunts; Saturday two 2.5 hour bus trips; Sunday to my parents house from Albany, then to work, then finally home. Its been a long weekend and I haven't accomplished nearly enough homework seeing as I have an ecology midterm on friday =/

I did manage to knit a few more repeats on the Irish hiking scarf. I've finished one whole ball and started a second! I wanted to bring my knitting on the bus but it turned out we were switching buses so we couldn't leave anything on the bus and I didn't want to carry it around all day. Oh well. It was fun. More updates probably not until after Friday night (MY PARTY!!!).

Irish Hiking Scarf-Progress

2004-10-04T09:32:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple pictures of my Irish Hiking Scarf for the knit-along (link in the sidebar). I'm 8 repeats (64 rows in). I'm using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in color #300102. I love the way this yarn feels and the stitch definition it has when knitted. The cables stand out wonderfully too! This will be a Christmas gift for my dad along with a matching hat with earflaps :)

Irish Hiking Scarf (8 repeats in)

Irish Hiking Scarf (8 repeats) detail

Click for a larger view!

As for everything else, school is really keeping me too busy right now to think about much else. I have a big exam tomorrow morning so I'm spending the entire day today studying, then tomorrow between classes I have to do my homework due Wednesday because I'm working tomorrow night. Ugh...I guess lacking more sleep is necessary (why did I have to go and be a science major!?) but after Wednesday it should be a bit calmer and perhaps I'll have more time to update then.

Lousy Weekend

2004-09-19T22:03:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a really lousy weekend. I have accomplished close to no schoolwork and even less knitting. I have a quiz in all four of my classes this week, plus the short paper for my writing intensive ecology class due on Thursday. I wouldn't be so worried about the quizzes if I had time to study for them but I'm afraid that this paper will take a while (seeing as I have yet to choose a topic because I know nothing about ecology, or do any research) and that will cut into my studying time. This weekend I intended to do a lot of schoolwork but never really got around to it because I was lazy on Friday afternoon and Saturday and I worked Friday night and all day today. Apparently management is angry that I can't come in on Monday night (I have class from 7-9:30). It's not my fault they scheduled me a day I'm not available. It's not like they don't have a copy of my availability....Arg.

In knitting news, I'm more than halfway done with the bag I'm knitting for my sister out of Berroco Lullaby. I don't have any photos of it yet but hopefully I will get around to taking some soon. It is from a pattern that someone from my LYS wrote (it was free). The bag was originally for Koigu KPPPM on size 2s but I modified it to make it on 7s in the Lullaby because I wasn't sure I was prepared for working with 2s yet when I started (although now I think I could handle it).

I'm also about 6" into Topsecret. It looks fabulous so far and I'm so excited to be knitting my first sweater. I was really frustrated with it for a while because the first inch is all purling and somehow between row 1 and row 4 I continually managed to somehow lose between 1-4 stitches. Since I'm using the recommended Bernat Illusions, which is a boucle yarn it's really hard to rip out row by row or to see any mistakes so I figured I was better out to take it out completely and start over every time it happened. I recasted on and did the purl rows about 5 times before getting really frustrated and putting the whole thing away for a few weeks before trying again. When I started a couple days ago I had to divide the 120 stitches by 20s and count between all the markers to make sure I didn't lose any stitches while purling the first inch. I was glad that my patience paid off, and now I'm into the body portion! Hopefully will have photos of that to post soon too!

Thats all for now, perhaps more later on in the week (after the craziness dies down)

Fall?

2004-09-18T13:13:00.000-05:00

It has been pouring rain since sometime in the middle of the night. The leaves at the top of the trees have been a bit on the orange-ish fall colors side for a couple weeks now. I just looked out my window and all the orangey leaves at the top of the tree across from my window are on the ground and theres just a big bunch of bare branches. This makes me depressed. I'm not ready for fall and winter yet, it feels like summer's barely just started (aside from the fact that I have classes every day and a mountain of schoolwork to remind me that summer is indeed over). Urg. The thought of the schoolwork makes me even more depressed.

Flea Bath!

2004-09-18T10:46:00.000-05:00

Stitch-y had a flea bath yesterday. Somehow he acquired fleas...he didn't have any when I got him and I suspect he picked them up at my parents house. So anyway, I decided we are going to get rid of the evil fleas before they get out of hand. Megan came over and helped me give him a flea bath. It was quite an ordeal! Stitch is not as afraid of water as you might think; sometimes he even jumps into the shower with me or Meg and doesn't mind getting a little wet. The wet bathtub is one of his favorite play areas.

I thought this might mean he wouldn't hate a flea bath that much, but boy was I wrong. He HATED getting completely sopping, then we had to hold him in the sink for 5 minutes for the flea shampoo to work. He looked so sad and pitiful and drowned-rat-esque that I just HAD to take pictures to add to my Stitch photo collection :)

Click on the pictures to see them fullsize!

These were taken while he was in the bath.

9.17.04 Stitch covered in gross flea shampoo

9.17.04 Stitch trying to escape the sink during his flea bath

These were after his bath was finished and he was all toweled off. He decided he needed to wash himself REALLY well to get rid of all the evil water in his fur ;)

9.17.04 Stitch washing his face

9.17.04 Little pink kitty tongue!

Here are a couple more pictures of Stitch being exceptionally cute!

9.16.04 Stitch in the window

9.16.04 Stitch relaxing...zzzzz

Rogue

2004-09-11T15:14:00.000-05:00

I think it is entirely necessary that I get much better at knitting and become a cable expert so I can buy this and make it. mmmmmmm.....

Ok, I'll stop dreaming now :) Maybe someday!

Yummy Yarn :-)

2004-08-31T17:09:00.000-05:00

YAY! I don't have to be distressed that WEBS might be out of my yarn anymore because it just arrived at my door. And the Cascade Lana d'Oro is here and absolutely delicious!! I also got two balls of Berrocco X-Press because I needed to bring my order to above the minimum and it looked interesting :)

Here are some photos:

All 10 hanks of my beautiful Lana d'Oro (the color is West Point Blue Heather, its a bit darker than in these photos)

Here is the Lana d'Oro in a big pile :)

Here's the Berrocco X-Press (color Vintage Beige), though I'm not nearly as excited about that...could ya tell!? Lord only knows what I will do with two 42 yd balls of it...

Weight Loss!

2004-08-24T00:19:00.000-05:00

Since this is happy news I thought I'd share. I went shopping with my mom and sis today, and I got two pairs of jeans in size SEVENS!!! =D I haven't worn a size 7 since I was in the 7th grade. I've lost 9 lbs. so far. But it could be a tad more since last time I was weighed was at the doctor a couple weeks ago. The real kicker...I WASN'T TRYING!!! Since I lost the first 6 lbs unexpectedly followed by 3 more, I've bought:

1 pair of khaki capris with embroidered rainbow stripes on the sides from the Gap in size 6

1 pair of dusty pink light corduroys from Express in size 6

2 pairs of Levis low-rise stretch bootcut jeans in junior size 7 longs.

=D

I finished my other stash buster slipper but I haven't had time to take pictures of the pair yet. Maybe tomorrow I will do that. For now, it is off to bed.
~K

Slipper and a DNA Cable

2004-08-19T15:15:00.000-05:00

So...many thanks to LJ user trillian42, I whipped up a (still haven't done the second one) stash buster slipper! :) I think I'll make a bunch of these and give them as Christmas gifts. I remember getting knitted slippers from my neighbor when I was a little girl and loving them so I'm hoping my friends and family will enjoy them. Also, the other day I decided to overcome my fear of cables and pick up some needles and yarn and learn how to make them. So I knitted a swatch with two repeats of the DNA cable and I'm thrilled with how it came out. I've successfully overcome my fear of both cables AND charts!
Note...all these small easy projects are a distraction from "Topsecret" from the Fall '02 Knitty because I'm frustrated with it. I've started it 4 times and all 4 times by the time I finished the first inch I was missing two stitches. So I decided to take a break from it until I'm less frustrated.

Anyways.....

Two of my first slipper =D This is LB wool ease in green heather double stranded with LB wool ease in dark green variegated.

Green Stash Buster Slipper

Green Stash Buster Slipper Top View

And two of my DNA cable! Its just some leftover yarn from my stash, not sure if its wool/acrylic/something else.

DNA Cable Swatch

DNA Cable Closeup

Stitch in a Bag

2004-08-18T00:39:00.000-05:00

I emptied out my knitting bag the other day to organize the stuff I had in it. It didn't take Stitch long to find it!

Hmmmm...this looks comfy, maybe I'll have a nap in here...

Or maybe I won't have a nap because you keep snapping that darn bright light in my eyes

I think I see something to my left! Prepare....POUNCE!

Will you STOP with the flash in my eyes already???

What's this I see? A loop of string? How fun!

Sitchy sure did enjoy my knitting bag...too bad I had to fill it up again! To make up for it I'm going to knit him a cute little kitty bed for Christmas becuase he's the sweetest kitty ever :)And we're on Catster too!

New Porch

2004-08-17T10:51:00.000-05:00

I was rudely awakened this morning by lots and lots of loud noise. I discovered that the apartment maintenance people are outside tearing off my porch and building a new one. It's about time, the old one was about to rot to pieces everytime anyone stepped on it. So despite the rude awakening, I'm glad to be getting a new porch.As far as knitting goes, I'm thorougly frustrated with Topsecret. I have started the first inch twice now. Cast on 120st. Purl for 1" then start knitting. But TWICE now I have gotten through the purling (4 rows) and found that I was missing two stitches. I know I didn't do any decreases because I was especially careful not to, so the only thing I can think of is that I just dropped two stitches somewhere????? It's very aggravating. I hate doing the purling rows, it takes forever, and it's a pain to rip out again but it's also near impossible to find and weave up a dropped stitch with the boucle yarn. On a brighter note I finally sat down and figured out how to do TWO things: cables, and read charts. Will post pictures later.
~Kaitlin