Yummy

First of all, I have all but finished the Peacock bag I was working on. I just need to figure out just what I'm going to do about handles. I might just make the ones the pattern calls for .. but I also kinda wanna create a drawstring to close it, so I dunno.

Let me tell you .. seed stitch in the round? Easy peasy. but oh my gods did I mess it up about a billion times. At least I never got but a few stitches before I'd realize, and tink back.

This picture doesn't show the stitch definition as well, and is closer to the actual colors, at least on my monitor. I have just loved knitting with this ribbon, and have a skein left .. before making the handles at least. I'll probably still have a skein, or most of one, once I do the handles. Could have made the bag longer but .. why?

Details, as always, on Ravelry.

I also have done a little stash enhancing. We went to the Yarn Shop in Pineville ... I think I went in looking for needles, and Jason wanted something to make a cute dishcloth he found. Well, as usual, there was something I just couldn't pass up. This time it was three somethings.

I have wanted to try the corn-fiber yarn for as long as I've known about it, and they had a bunch of it on clearance. Now, I know that means it didn't sell well and all. But c'mon. It's corn fiber. That's cool! So I bought this little grab bag which also has a funky ribbon yarn in it along with two balls of the variegated purple. Jason and I were talking as we picked up our lunch, and decided to go back to see if they had anymore. And we got there in the nick of time! THey were just closing. In fact, Hattie had already closed the register down. But they let me pick out all the A-maize-ing and put it aside for me. I went and picked it up yesterday. Quite a bit of yarn, let me tell you. but I think I'm going to use it to make bags similar to the Peacock, only smaller.

I love Araucania's yarns. I dunno what it is about them .. and I haven't actually knitted up any that I have. But I love them just the same. So when I saw this little beauty in with the cottons, I had to have it. I'm probably going to use it to make something for the 'Wrath' project from Seven Deadly S(p)ins, since the projects we were sent aren't exactly Wrath-ful. Not that I mind. I absolutely love the project we were shipped, and really need to get started on it.

It's got this almost-boucle texture though, so I don't think I can make the Sheepie cloth with it. The soap sack though, for certain.

Last but certainly not least is this cotton. It is Araucania's Nature Cotton, and it is heavenly. Very very splitty, sad to say, and Jason's ball, which is much darker colors, gave us fits trying to wind it out of the skein. But it's lovely and soft and I almost want to never use it. Almost. I think it's going to make a beautiful dishcloth. Probably a washcloth, actually. I can't see using something this soft and luscious on my grubby dishes.

Knitting Knews .. or Gnus. Or News.

Or it could be a noose. The old saying is 'give them enough rope', right?


Anyway .. I finished my socks! I love them. I think I might have liked them a little higher up on the leg, maybe, and perhaps a teensy bit more snug. But I dunno. They're not falling down or anything, so I really can't complain there. And they don't feel loose around the ankle or anything.



I do think that for my first pair of socks they are definitely a huge success. I learned a lot... including not to be afraid of knitting socks. I think I will always have a pair on needles. Now it's time to tackle the whole knitting two socks at a time on one circular thing. I haven't exactly decided which yarn I'm going to use, or if I'm going to try a pattern. But I have plenty of yarn to play with.


That's all of them I could find. I may have a few more tucked somewhere, but that's the bulk of it. There's some Sea Wool, thanks to my darling honey. There's some Cherry Tree Hill in Cherry Blossom. I also have a CTH boucle in the same colorway. Love! THere's some Regia 4-ply, and two different kinds from Yarnsmiths I got at SAFF 2007. And some Tofutsies. Underneath I have more CTH, and some Lorna's Laces, and some Opal. Oh, I have a little more. Some Koigu too is hiding in my office I just found.

I'm so very pleased that I finished my socks, because I just got the package for the second installment of the Seven Deadly S(p)ins yarn club. This month is Wrath .. but instead of doing wrath they did peace. And while there's been some grumbling about it in the Ravelry forum, I think it's great. I utterly -love- the yarn. Peruvian cotton! Oh my goddess it's so soft. It's going to make a lovely facecloth and soap sack.


And the goodies! A candle, and soap, and bath salts .. and a little sheepy stitch marker and some chocolate! I still haven't eaten my jellybeans from Gluttony either. I might have to keep all the yummies and celebrate with them when it's all over.

I also have -another- WIP. I started working on a bag from this pattern for Trio, though I'm using my Trendsetter Segue in Tahitian Twist instead. And it looks gorgeous. It's going to be, more than likely, a knitting tote for me, but I'm totally okay with that. Who can't use more knitting bags!?


I'm actually a little further along now, but that's the last picture I took. And it shows the colors beautifully. It's like a peacock!

Ravelry Details - Gluttony Sock
Ravelry Details - Wrath
Ravelry Details - Peacock Bag

So much to do.

Perhaps now that I don't have schoolwork to do, and likely won't until at -least- Fall 08 and perhaps even Spring 09, I can get more knitting done. I have so many projects I want to do, as is evidenced by my Ravelry Queue and my list of stuff On Deck.


There has been much knitting however. I'm still working on my second Wicked-themed dishcloth .. I'm about a pattern repeat from finishing that one. But I have other dishcloths finished too; more of my ecospun and cotton ones.


Details on Ravelry

There is also the sweater I do intend to finish at some point. I'd like to maybe have it done by SAFF this year, but I'm not making any promises. I bought the yarn two years ago, started a sweater and got halfway through before I hated the design and the pattern and ripped it out, so .. we'll see. I have swatched though.


Details on Ravelry

I'm still plugging away on my Gluttony socks. A good thing too, because the new Seven Deadly S(p)ins project is on its way to us. I was -hoping- it'd arrive today, but they likely did not get shipped until yesterday, and I don't think Ellen shipped them overnight. Sigh.


Details on Ravelry

In which there is more knitting, and other fun things.

I am trying, trying to keep up with the blogging. Things got really really hectic around here, since it was the end of the semester. But that's done, and both honey and I are happily taking the summer off. No classes, whatsoever.

And look at the wonderful thing his parents gave us to celebrate us both graduating with honors!

Why yes, that is a beer bottle sitting next to the plate. My husband has a taste for Yeungling. And what sort of grilling picture would it be if there wasn't a beer in the picture?

In more knitterly news, I've been greatly enjoying getting together with ohter knitters in Rock Hill, and it looks like our new permanent location is going to be Durango Bagel, thanks to the generosity of the owner. In fact, tomorrow night we're getting together again, and I'm actually looking forward to going out. Amazing, hmm?

Honey and B and I are doing our own little knit-along. We're making adorable little stuffed owls. See!


Isn't he cute!

I've also been working on my sock still. I'm up to the arch ribbing now. Not too far now! And it's a good thing, because I'm running out of the 2nd colorway. I think I should be able to make it work though.


And not a moment too soon, too. Jason just got notification from Ellen @ Earthfaire that she's shipping out the next 7 Deadly S(p)ins package. I should have it by week's end. Yay!

My HOA can Bite Me!

The 'president' of my HOA just rang my doorbell ... to inform me that any 'modifications' I make to the exterior of my home ... including landscaping ... 'do not belong to you'. WTF? This aged bitch who sounds like she's had a pack-a-day habit for 50-years wants to come 'inform' me that I can't landscape my fucking yard? She can take my stones and shove them up her ass. Better yet. I think I'll help her.

Nosy busybodies need to avoid my doorstep. Because I'm more likely to get in a fistfight than discuss something. I have to get 'approval' to plant a fucking flower? I have to 'take a picture' and submit my work for some dumbass bitch and her cronies to 'approve' something I put my sweat into? Yeah. Fuck you, bitch.

This has completely ruined what was otherwise a lovely day. We went to a farmer's market in the next town, visited with one of the ladies we met in the Rock Hill Knitaholics group Wednesday, had a wonderful little lunch, and I -was- excited about putting in some new plants. Not anymore. Fucking bitch had to come over and ruin my day. Now I'm all pissed off. And have no way to vent it.

WIP - Gluttony Socks and FO - Pink Goes Good With Green Dishcloth

I was inspired, by my trip to see Wicked last Friday in Charlotte, to create something in Wicked colors. I didn't have green and Black, but I did have green and pink.


And thus was born the Pink Goes Good With Green dishcloth. I used the Ballband Dishcloth pattern from the Mason-Dixon girls, and I think it looks pretty good. a little Easter-y, a little cherry tree blossoms in spring, a little pink dogwood-y. But I like it. And I knitted it while at the show .. though not during. That would be silliness.



I also finished a sock. Not a pair. I haven't yet cast on the second one, though I'd best get to it if I intend to finish before the next Sin arrives.


If I were to re-knit it, I'd move the arch shaping a bit, and maaaybe make the foot a little longer, but we'll see how they wear.

Once I'm finished.

The House That Yarn Built

Before I go on to gush and gush and gush about how phenomenal the Wicked performace last Friday was, and about the sock that I finished, and the new dishcloth I finished and the new one I'm making, I need to take a moment to post about an organization I feel strongly about.

About the Make It Right Project

Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The slow reaction to the initial emergency and to the ongoing crisis exposed troubling realities about the response capabilities of the American government when the citizens of our most culturally diverse city were in desperate need of help.

When Brad Pitt visited the Lower 9th Ward for the first time after the storm, he was shocked by what he saw: the remnants of people's lives strewn across the streets and an entire neighborhood torn apart and turned upside down. Pitt was even more disturbed by the lack of a clear plan to address the situation. Many were quietly saying there was no chance the Lower 9th Ward would ever be re-built.

In a series of community meetings, residents of the Lower 9th Ward told Pitt about the challenges their community faced, both before and after the storm. The rising cost of energy placed a strain on the low-income households of the neighborhood and residents expressed concern about worsening environmental conditions. Their concerns have been validated by many scientists, who have concluded that climate change is increasing the frequency and strength of hurricanes, resulting in the erosion of wetlands and barrier islands that once protected the coast. The residents of the Lower 9th Ward told Pitt that while their terrible crisis had exposed their vulnerability, Katrina had also created an opportunity: to build something better than what had existed before.

Inspired by the courage and hope of the residents he met, Pitt resolved to do whatever he could to help them rebuild. Just as importantly, he wanted to help recreate and nurture the unique culture and spirit of the Lower 9th Ward, which symbolizes the soul of New Orleans. He understood instinctively that a New Orleans rebuilt without the Lower 9th Ward would never be whole.

He began by working with Global Green to sponsor an architecture competition aimed at generating ideas about how to rebuild sustainably. Pitt worked with local community leaders as well as experts from around the world to develop viable ideas for the Lower 9th Ward. That successful project inspired Pitt's new focus: Make It Right.

The Mission of Make It Right is clear: It is to be a catalyst for redevelopment of the Lower 9th Ward, by building a neighborhood comprised of safe and healthy homes that are inspired by Cradle to Cradle thinking, with an emphasis on a high quality of design, while preserving the spirit of the community's culture. The goal is to accomplish this quickly, so that the first residents can begin returning to their homes as soon as possible.

I learned about this project from Allison at SimplySockYarn, and I've donated $20 for this month, and plan to try to make a monthly donation to this very worthy cause. I have had a chance to visit New Orleans twice, both before the disater, and have not had opportunity to go back. I do however have a friend that lives there that had to evacuate, and so I know from her stories what it was like to have to clean up afterwards .. and her house wasn't destroyed.

Thus has been born The House That Yarn Built. I think it's an incredibly amazing idea, and I've already donated $20, and hope to be able to donate more. I might make it a monthly thing .. I'll not purchase some yarn, or something I want, and instead put that money towards The House That Yarn Built. I encourage you to donate too. Let's give some home, and some homes, to people that sorely need them both.

WIP - Gluttony Socks

We went on a trip to the mountains this weekend .. intending on taking a leisurely drive to see the blooming dogwood trees. Sadly, the dogwoods in the mountains aren't yet blooming. Best we saw was some cherry trees.


I did bring my sock with me, however, and managed to get quite a bit of work done on it. There was a bit of a dicey moment when I dropped two stitches, but I was able to catch them and work them back up, all without a crochet hook, cos I was silly enough to travel without one.




The trip was lovely indeed. We got to stop at two not-so-local yarn shops in the area. The first was Yarn to Dye For in Hendersonville, NC. There we got to meet the proprietor, a lovely woman by the name of Donna, as well as her husband and another lady whose name I've sadly forgotten, but I believe she helps out at the shop. In addition to many lovely yarns .. including quiviut, which is incredibly light I must say (no I didn't buy any, but I got to feel some. Lovely stuff!) .. Donna says that her passion is painting silks, and we got to see some of her creations. Absolutely stunning, I have to say. She teaches at the John C. Campbell school, and I'm highly considering asking my mother for a weekend class there so I can take Donna's silk painting class. It sounds like an amazing art.

Our second stop was in Brevard, NC, a lovely shop called Charlotte's Fibers. We even met Charlotte, and I have to say, I very much enjoyed my experience there. I even found that they carry Unique Sheep yarns, so I have a place I can go that's not a far drive where I can fondle the yarn before buying it. I actually did pick up some yarn there .. some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in Cherry Blossom, and some Tofutsies in a colorway I've forgotten.

As we usually do, we asked in Charlotte's Fibers for a restaurant recommendation. We try to ask the locals where to go, rather than picking something touristy, or worse yet, going to a chain we could go to at home. Charlotte suggested to us a place called The Square Root, and if you are ever in Brevard NC, you should stop in. It's located in an alley, and kinda easy to miss, but it's a delightful little place and something you shouldn't ever miss. We opted to each get a different sandwich and share, and we weren't disappointed. They have a fried green tomato sandwhich that was a hit with hunny and Brandon, but wasn't to my taste .. not being a fan of the fried green tomatoes. They make a mean apple and brie grilled cheese, however. And their london broil sandwich, which was my choice, is divine. They also have sweet potato chips which are about the yummiest thing ever, and fried zucchini fries, which were notably yummy-licious.






This is a white squirrel. He's not, as you can tell, an albino. Apparently, there is a story about how the white squirrels came to be in Brevard NC. Something about a circus train back a long time ago. Now, they run wild. One of our main goals was to see a white squirrel, and unlike the unsuccessful trip clear through Maine to see a moose for Jason, we actually did get to see the white squirrel. Isn't he .. erm .. she cute?
So. That was my weekend. How was yours?

Ravelraiser!

Got $10 to spare? I'm sure I do, somewhere. It's only half a pair of socks, y'know.

Fricknits has started a fundraiser to help Jess and Casey of Ravelry fame purchase a new server and assist with the upkeep of such an amazing resource for all of us in the fiber community.

What do you have to do? Just go to this thread, and click the 'Donate to Ravelry' button at the top. It's a good idea to put 'Ravelraiser' in the comments section, too!

Quote of the Day.

"Restored steam locomotives left unattended in the wee small hours of a fine spring night are a good place to kiss someone."

That just sounds.. nice, Juno.

There is progress, I swear!

So I'm a very, very bad blogger. But I'm not a very, very bad knitter! (At least I hope I'm not!)

I took the plunge recently and started my very first sock. Well, -technically- it's my second, because I finished the mini sock for the mini sock-blocker keychain. But as far as socks that would fit a human of any size, it's my first sock. And though I've been a mite concerned about the stitch numbers, it's looking good now, so I'm pretty sure I've done alright thus far.


I absolutely love this pattern. Just some slipped stitches and pur rows to give it substance. No complicated lace or anything. This gives me confidence that I actually can knit socks.



See how lovely the pattern is! I just adore it. I made the cuff a wee bit smaller than the pattern called for, because I'm not a fan of cuffs. We'll see how that works out in the end, I suppose.


I knit a heel flap! And I (successfully?) turned a heel!


I picked up (probably a few too many) stitches for the gusset, and have remembered to knit the even rows as well as the decrease ones!

I suspect I'll be done with this sock this weekend, and will immediately cast on the second one, lest I get caught in the 'one sock' trap I hear so much about.

As with everything now, project details on Ravelry.

Quote of the Day

Homespun is like boot camp for knitters ..

From a post in the the Coast to Coast AM listeners Ravelry group.

FO - Sock Blocker Keychain

Details on Ravelry

I figure if I can knit a sock this tiny, it's time for me to try a real one.

Project Spectrum 2008: Fire

Early Easter

Because Brandon is going home today, we decided we could have easter a little bit early. So lastnight we gave eachother our easter baskets. Jason got me some DPNs, size 0, Some absolutely gorgeous bamboo/merino yarn, and a book: 2-at-a-Time Socks. (And some candy too .. yay candy!) I'm so excited about it! Just about every sock pattern in it I can see myself knitting and wearing .. I just have to figure out the technique!




Our other gift to us was a home theater system, something that'll grow with us, that's not just a 'set' with a receiver and speakers, but that we can add to and change pieces of. You can read the fun of my annoyance with setting up av equipment in my boring blog