o v e r b r e w e d

First up? Cars. Last, oh…January or so (I have no real concept of time) Adrian, best friend of Chris, decided he wanted to enter the oh-so-classy world of demolition derby. Chris, being the good friend he is, got roped into helping him get his car ready. After an entire week(!) of working on this beauty, the “Stinkin’ Lincoln” was ready for its debut. It lasted 5 minutes and I had a frozen butt for 2 days.

The day after the derby, Adrian informed me that he and Chris were both going to be entering the next one. I told him no, they ignored me. As usual. So for the past few months everything has been cars, cars, cars. Cars on the weekend, cars during the work day, cars until after dark every. freaking. night. And now, this Saturday, I will be forced into having my eardrums blasted, my lungs assaulted, and quite possibly dying of heat stroke, all so the boys can have wrecks on purpose. I can’t even take knitting with me, because apparently i’m expected to man the video camera. Sob. All I can say is, Chris had better win some money and had better buy me a spinning wheel with some of it. I think I deserve it.
Next subject. I now know exactly what i’m going to look like once I stop dyeing my hair and it goes completely grey. It’s not pretty and I suspect I may turn into one of those obnoxious old ladies that dyes their hair completely unnatrual shades of red or black just so I never have to see it again. I know this because I had to dump baby powder on my head, because once again the water company is frakkin’ up the water lines and we have had no water pressure in 3 days which means my hair has not been washed in 5 and oh god I feel dirty. So now I smell like a clean baby butt and have enough static in my hair to power a small generator. At least it’s marginally clean-er, and it’s a damn good thing I straightened my hair before all this happened. I think I would have scared the cats if they had to see me with dirty Hermione bad hair day hair.

Now, on to the fiber! I won 3.5oz of silk hankies on ebay about 2 weeks ago, and finally got around to dyeing it this weekend. It sticks to everything, and took for-freakin-ever to soak up all the dye, but oh boy. This is fun and easy to spin, and so. shiny! I’m planning a 3-ply once i’m done with the singles…as fine as it’s spinning up I should still end up with a substantial amount of finished yarn.

Also, I dyed some sock yarn. I’m loving these colors (especially the mossy green!), even if the purple/teal was supposed to be cornflower blue. Stupid Wilton’s. Time to move on to grown-up dyes, I suppose.

Annnnd finally, a new hat. There are actually 2 hats, but my camera crapped out on me before I could take a picture of my Zeebee. No pattern on this one…just stockinette with some garter stitch and a pom-pom for the hell of it. I’ve lovingly named it Jelly Bean Explosion, because it looks like some kid ate too much easter candy and puked on the couch. It’s a fun hat though, and Chris said it suited me which i’m not entirely sure is a compliment. Whatever, I shall wear it with pride once our 2 days of cold weather hits again. The yarn is Lion Wool, hand-dyed by me with Easter egg dye. It was an experiment that I don’t think will be repeated anytime soon, at least not in those colors.

Umm. That’s it. I have to run out to Hobby Lobby and pick up some felt-able wool so I can make drink cozies that match the cars. The joys of being me, I tell you.

I was too busy following the fiasco at LiveJournal to post about it yesterday, but yeah.  Finished.  No pictures yet, none of the ones I took turned out.  Overall, i’m kind of meh oh the FO.  I love the pattern…it’s easy, cute, and quick, but the fit is not the best.  It bunches up a bit at the neck, and rides up a lot, so I should have definitely gone ahead and made it a couple of inches longer.  This one is most likely going to end up just an around the house sweater, but that’s ok, since i’m always home anyway.  I think the next time I do this pattern, i’ll be making some major modifications.  Different yarn, longer body, fewer raglan increases, short rows for the bust, and possibly turn it into a long-sleeved cardigan instead.  Whether I turn it into a cardigan or not, I won’t be doing the pocket again.  It sits at a weird spot, and no matter how many times I repinned it, I could not get the damn thing seamed on perfectly straight.  More details on the knitting once I get pictures.
Anyway, now i’m off to get started on my Zeebee.  Hooray for making warm wooly hats in the middle of summer when I absolutely do not need them!

My shoulders are killing me. I guess that’s what I get for casting on for Wicked and refusing to stop until I finished the increases. Sheesh. I know I should probably give myself a break today, but I really want to finish this ASAP. I don’t know why…maybe it’s just the thought of finally having a sweater done and not leaving it to marinate in the WIP basket for half a year. I finished up the increases at around 11 last night night, pulled it off the needles and tried it on, and thanks to my mammoth chest, the freaking sleeves are about 4 inches too big. Lovely. I could rip back, do some math and fiddling and fix it, but no. No, No, No. I’ll worry about fiddling when I get to actually finishing the sleeves. I can already tell though, that i’m going to need to make the body a couple of inches longer…I hate short sweaters, and don’t want to spend all my time yanking on the hem trying to get it to sit right. Good thing I bought extra yarn!

Pattern: Wicked by Zephyr Style
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Cordovan (The most perfect heathery brown ever.)
Size: Ha. See above; re: fiddling.

Also! FOs!

Pattern: Two-Toned Ribbed Shrug from Fitted Knits
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Chocolate Brown and Gold (Woo! Stashbuster) 1 skein of each, no idea how I managed but I think the yardage is mislabeled…need to weigh the remaining skeins to see.
Size: 17″ with modifications…shorter sleeves, less ribbing.
Meh. It’s cute-ish. And functional. But. The yarn is, quite obviously, crap. I’ll make it again, but with better yarn and no mods. And probably all one color, so it will be a smidge more versatile.

Pattern: Cotton Baby Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots in Berry, not even half a skein. (And another stashbuster, yay!)
Size: Toddler
Oh my gravy. This is one of the cutest, easiest baby hats ever. I love the nubbly, homemade appearance the cotton yarn gives the hat. I will definitely be making this again, once I find a source of mini-humans in need of cotton hats. And i’ll use the recommended yarn next time, because the colors are to die for and the hat is even cuter in solids.

When I ordered my Wicked yarn from Webs, a skein of Malabrigo in Brown Berries just accidentally fell into my cart. Oh. Oh. I see what the fuss is about. I’m currently alternating between wanting to find a project for the single skein and wanting to just unwind it and roll around in it. I don’t care that it’s a smidge pricey…for this level of soft i’m willing to fork out the dough for a sweater I will never, ever want to take off. Chris even wants a sweater made out of it, and he’s not a sweater person. I know what i’m doing for Christmas!

On the spinning front: UGH. How, how, how do you people make such smooth, squishy, wonderful yarns? I spun up 90-ish yards of the Texas Peach merino the other day to see how the colors spun up, plied it, and ended up with around 45 yards of nicely colored fingering-DK weight crap. I know it takes time. I know it takes practice. BUT. But. While i’m getting better at spinning finer yarns, the nubs, slubs, and fuzz continue to haunt me. I’m being ridiculously careful with my pre-drafting, and nothing seems to help. Honestly, the slubs don’t bother me quite as much as the fuzz, although I wish they would go away too. I can’t figure out if it’s something i’m doing when i’m drafting, or what. It’s driving me bonkers and I do not like it, no Sir. This is yet another one of those times when I really really hate living in the ass-end of nowhere, and can’t find anyone to show me what i’m doing wrong. Sigh. I wish (ha. wish in one hand…) I could find somewhere to rent a wheel, and see if the spindle itself is part of my problem, but well…ass-end of nowhere. I’m beginning to think mastering the squishy smooth yarn is not in my future. Hmph. (And sorry about the crap picture…camera batteries went pffft on me.)

Unfortunately though, I didn’t quite have the guts to tell my former (as of 1pm today!) employers just where they could shove their job.  I am not, however, unemployed.  I am now officially (instead of the unofficial busywork I was doing before this last job from hell) the office manager here at the mill.  (And for those of you that remember the whole office manager saga from way back on my LJ, yes, my office is finally finished.)  (Sorry for all the parenthesis, I promise i’ll stop.)  (Maybe.)

So on top of actually being at home and doing a job I like, i’ll finally be able to get all my craftyness back on track and spend more time online/updating the blog.  Which is definitely a good thing, as that dishcloth is the absolute only thing i’ve managed to have the time to finish in the past god knows how long.  I love the dishcloth though, so quick and easy to knit, and I can finally use up all the damn kitchen cotton I have somehow aquired over the past year or so.   The pattern is from Mason-Dixon Knitting, which I finally caved in and bought this weekend.  I have no idea why I resisted it so long; it’s chock full of fun little projects and funny to boot.

Now, what’s next on my crafty agenda?  Who knows?  The only thing I know for sure is that some stash busting will be in order, along with getting my dye kitchen set up sometime in the next few months.  I’m absolutely dying to handpaint some yarn, and get some up on my as yet empty etsy shop.

This is just a very small sampling of my latest yarn splurges.  I couldn’t fit the whole basket in a  decent picture without dragging it outside.  AND, this is just the teeny basket that sits nexts to the couch.  I don’t even want to think about taking pictures of the real stash, it’s scary.  (That Nashua cotton?  To. Die. For.  It is so freaking soft, I want more more more so I can knit something big out of it.  And I lied about the parenthesis, obviously.)

So.  Yeah.  I’m back!

So yesterday the plan was to head over to the old home place and help my aunt set up her new computer. Instead, I made the mistake of glancing through the yarn store lists at the back of the new IK in the desperate hope that a new yarn store would have magically appeared somewhere within driving distance. Lucky for me and unfortunately for my credit card, I actually found one. So, instead of spending the day tangled up in wires and USB cables, I dragged my aunt and grandmother out of the house to join me on my quest for non-icky yarn.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t holding out much hope that this shop would be any better than the last I tried. While it wasn’t quite up to par with The Woolie Ewe, Rose Path Weaving was a lovely little store. I knew I (or rather, my credit card) was doomed the minute I walked in…the very first thing you see is a shelf full of gorgeous sock yarn. Opal, Lorna’s Laces, Claudia’s Handpainted, Koigu, Regia, and Supersocke 100 all jumbled together in colorful abandon. No Lion Brand or Red Heart anywhere. It was a beautiful thing. I think I spent over an hour in this teeny tiny shop…I dug through every shelf at least 3 times. The staff was ridiculously friendly and helpful; they were even nice to my grandmother (who is just learning to knit)…all the other stores we’ve been to, the staff has looked down their noses at her and basically gave her the brush off when she tried to ask questions. The back of the shop was taken up by ladies working at looms, which was very interesting to watch. If I didn’t live over an hour away from the store, i’d probably take weaving lessons there, just for the hell of it. They also had a good selection of fiber, spindles, and wheels, the latter of which i’ll be taking advantage of once I have some extra cash. I can definitely say I will be headed back to this shop sometime soon, gorgeous yarn that close to me is not something I can ignore. Plus, they have a spinning workshop twice a year…I can’t pass that up.

I picked up a ball of Opal, 2 hanks Lorna’s Laces, another skein of Ultra Alpaca (originally for some cabled fingerless mitts, but now possibly for the Brea Bag because it’s adorable), some Silky Tweed for a modified Dream Swatch for my grandmother, a drop spindle, and 1lb of Corriedale roving. I absolutely cannot wait to start spinning…I just have to decide whether I want to dye the roving first, or spin it up and then dye it. I also grabbed a copy of Spin to Knit and Knitting Vintage Socks from Barnes and Noble, both are excellent.

And finally, before I go on rambling about my stash additions, two FOs.

Pattern: My own…just a plain round yoke cardigan
Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots…ugh. Never ever ever using this yarn again, it pills and fuzzes like crazy and kept me sneezing all through the knitting. It also makes the knitting a bit bumpy, so the finished object doesn’t look very polished. The button band got all bumpy after washing too, even though I know I didn’t pick up too many stitches…it looked fine before washing.

Pattern: Dream Swatch Head Wrap
Yarn: Berroco Soft Twist. This yarn is pretty, and looks great knitted up, but it’s a bitch to work with. The rayon splits and breaks easily and you have to pay really pay close attention to your work.
Mods: I love this pattern but I didn’t want a scarf, so I knit a 3 stitch I-cord for a tie then worked bar increases until I got to the cast on number for the original pattern. I worked in pattern until it was a good length for a headband, then decreased back down to 3 stitches and finished it off with another I-cord tie. Eeasy peasy. (And sorry about the horrid picture…it was the last picture before my camera batteries died, and now that I have new batteries I can’t be bothered to take another picture of myself. My hair isn’t usually that 80s-esque. Unfortunately, however, I am always that pale.)

First things first: I actually finished stuff!  I’m still suffering horribly from what Kay  so aptly called “startitis”, but as Christmas gets closer I figured I should at least try to see things through to completion.

I had some Sugar ‘N Cream kitchen cotton sitting in my yarn basket, so I decided to knit up that soap saver i’m planning to use for bath baskets just to make sure I liked the pattern.  It was super quick, super easy, and actually pretty cute.  I made a couple of alterations, namely going up to a US 8 needle and increasing the CO from 28 to around 40-something. My homemade soap is generally pretty large, and the original pattern would have been way too small.  I don’t think i’ll use this pattern for all of the ones I need to make, but it won’t be bad for one or two of them.  I’m in the process of working up a new pattern, i’ll post it once I decide on something I like.

Next up, I actually finished Fetching.  I went through so many fits and starts with this pattern, I just knew it would end up never being finished.  But, with the weather finally getting cooler here, I figured I should get some finished before my hands froze.  I originally started this pattern with a self striping Bernat acrylic, but the cables looked like ass.  I ended up using about a skein and a half of Lion Kool Wool I picked up a few months ago for about $.50 a skein, simply because it’s been discontinued and I won’t be able to buy more to make something bigger.  This yarn is bulkier, so I had to go up a needle size, drop my CO down to 40, and work fewer rounds of ribbing, but it still worked pretty well.  The yarn is a 50/50 merino/acrylic blend, and it’s actually quite soft.  These are most likely just going to be my around-the-house gloves, i’ll make another pair once I get the Berroco Ultra Alpaca I ordered.

I also decided I needed to try my hand at crochet again.  It baffles me that crochet is the one thing I can’t master…pretty much every female in my family is a whiz with a hook, my mother could practically crochet in her sleep.  Me?  I end up makiing things that look like this:

That’s supposed to be straight.  Head, meet Desk.  Obviously I need to stick with knitting and only pulling out the crochet hooks when I need a chain, or i’m working fringe.

Remember the Debbie Bliss Donegal Chunky Tweed I posted about?  I went to cast on for a bag with it, since I can’t be bothered to order enough for something larger, and the damn yarn broke 3 times just while casting on.  This pisses me off because A.) The yarn is gorgeous and I want to use it badly,   B.) I just ordered another skein in a different color to use with the skeins I already have, and C.) I didn’t pay $42 for 330 yards of yarn just to have it fall apart on me.  I guess my only option, other than just glaring at it, is to knit very carefully and then felt it so it will actually hold up.  I had wanted to use some sort of cabling on the bag, but I suppose that’s right out now.  Maybe i’ll do some sort of intarsia instead.  Meh.  Very disappointed.