Pond Alligator!

While I was in Pittsburgh after I finished my Top, I cast on for my shawl. I was doing it double stranded as the pattern called for, even though I was using a different yarn/weight. Eeeeehhh. It's only a shawl. Well, it turned out if I continued as I was, the 4 balls of yarn I was using wasn't going to get me too far. Even though at knit group on Thursday G told me it looked nice thick and that I should keep going, this morning I decided I didn't like it and proceeded to frog the whole thing. It wasn't as bad frogging two balls at once as I thought it would be. All I had to do was wind one ball for a few inches, then the other and that pretty much ensured that they didn't get tangled (too badly). And when it did, it only tangled slightly and was really easy to undo. I started it again, single stranded this time and am now about 9 inches into it. I am liking it a lot better this time.


Tonight I went to Michael's to buy some Lion Brand yarn to make the alligator that my mom has requested. The pattern is for this little alligator. I am using different colors (I think the lighter one in the image is discontinued) but I hope it ends up looking more or less the same.

There will be pictures of lots of things posted when I get around to uploading the images from my camera.. oh what a task that will be.

The Professional Knitter

Last night I had just gotten back from the trip to Pittsburgh. It was full of lost of late nights and early mornings, as well as lots of partying and seeing old friends. It rocked. I did end up finishing my Lelah Top, and started the new shawl I had been meaning to make since November. Oh, it is so soft! The Lelah Top is only finished by way of knitting however, and I may change my bind off meathod to make it looser. Then onto sewing in the elastic and making i-cords. :o)

While getting coffee from an unnamed-large-succubus-coffee-shop chain, I looked across the street to where the LYS was. The store logo was so cute, because it had a naked cartoon sheep looking quite confused, wearing a sweater clearly of its own wool. On the doors however were signs plastered EVERYWHERE saying the store was closing, and yep! SALE. So I brought Nici, my one and only knitting friend up there to go shop the soon to leave knitting shop with me. So the sale wasn't that great (measly 10% off) but I bought some balls of cashmere and silk blend. Oooohh the spoil. And I actually bought enough to make something nice out of it... and not just another scarf.

Going to the yarn shop make me think of the other week when Marin IJ came to the Stitch n Bitch, so once I was in the vicinity of a computer and internet (ahhh I love CMU and the ability to always be plugged in even when you're an alumn) I looked up the article online. And wow. One section focused on me and Sunny, even though they couldn't handle spelling my obnoxious last name correctly. I felt bad, because I thought there would be more about the owner and the other ladies. This was only my second time there and I feel like I stole the stage! When I went in to work (yes folks, I got up at 5:30am EST (2:30am PST) and arrived at work to do hours of mousies at 4pm PST!!) one of my lab mates said "Do you know you were in the Marin IJ?" ...and here I was thinking this was a newspaper that no one reads, since I don't live in Marin and don't happen to get the paper all the way in Contra Costa. I think three total people asked me about it, the original person, CT who had the copy of the paper had told J "Did you know your lab mate is famous?!" and expressed to someone else that she wanted to go too. Ha haa. I haven't seen the hard copy, but I was told I am in 3 pictures. Among my office, I have been dubbed "a professional knitter" because I was in the newspaper. I have already been summonded to knit a lot of hacky sacks for one of the husbandry staff since he doesn't like paying $11 for each. I can't wait to go back to knit group. I hope they're not mad at me though for showing up so much. Maybe I'll bring some ladies from work.

And when I get time, I'll post pictures of the top and shawl.

Travelling and Knitting

So tonight/tomorrow morning I am going to be flying to Pittsburgh. And of course long airplane trips require knitting projects! I have a feeling I am going to finish the Lelah Top that I am working on, or at least the knitting part of it. I probably have 4-6 inches left. Last night I spent some of my time at home after work not packing, but instead looking for projects to make with my huge stash of yarn. It was difficult. I wanted something somewhat simple so that when I am cooped up in a little seat on the plane at irritating hours I don't become uncomfortably irritated at the knitting as well. So, now I have two potentials. I can either make a nice lace shawl that I had been planning on doing since... November. Or I can figure out how to do the magic loop (I think I got it, but this is me saying that without my needles in front of me and only after studying multiple tutorials) and make my wrist warmers at the same time. So torn. I am itching to get the magic loops down, but the yarn for the shawl is more compact and, well.. I like packing as light and orgnized as possible. Maybe I'll jsut stick with the shawl. The yarn is orgasmically soft on my hands. That will be nice at 2am tomorrow morning during the first leg of my journey. :o)

My mom asked me to make her something. She wanted to have a knitted thing from her daughter that she could show off. Of course all the really cool things to make are sweaters, scarves, mittens, hats... insert random colder weather thing here. And she lives in South Florida and (as much as other knitters have yelled at me with "nuh uhhhh!!") has no use for any of thoes things. It would be pointless for me to make them for her and it would just waste my time. So I came up with all of these potentials and showed her. Over the womb, nautie, the squid hat, and felted bags, she sent me back a little alligator and said "I want an alligator or a frog. I couldn't find a frog pattern though.. only this knitting technique called frog." Of course I couldn't find a knit frog either; only people talking about frogging their work. So, alligator it is! That will be a project once I get back.

I am not going to be able to update until after Monday, so hopefully I will have some new and exciting knitted items finished by then!

Trees need warmth too!

I can never get over this. Every time it is sent to me I giggle. Possibly because it is something I would do too. :o)

http://erika.fisherking.org/?page_id=271

FO's that I never put up anywhere

This was a little rose and leaf that I had made out of a yarn sampling that I received at Stitches West 2006.


The subsequent image is of my cat sniffing it, wondering why I was paying attention to something else and not her.


My MIL gave me a small kit for a felted coin purse for Christmas. It was so simple and I think it came out cute. I had to hand felt all of these since I live in an apartment and it is about $1.50 for each wash. I used my hair dryer for help too. For small objects, I didn't see much of an issue in felting them this way, and I liek the way everything ended up.


Who says cats can't help knit? Cora decided that regardless of the fuzzy stringy stuff in my lap, she wanted to be there too and nothing was going to stop her.


I'm saving some of the images from current WIPs for another post so that this one isn't too image heavy, and I like to show them from beginning to end. :o)

Long's + yarn?

I was at the local Long's Drug store today in the older part of town. You know, every town has the central location where all the condos, assisted living homes, slow drivers and quiet communities are. Well, the closest drug store is right in the middle of that. This place is trying to be everything at once. From the outside, it looks like a normal drug store. Inside, however it had the typical drug store items as well as, fruits, items you'd find in a grocery store, and YARN! the sign to the aisle listed "shoe polish, sewing needs, yarn".... it was quite amusing. It was a very small little shelf for yarns, and it was nothing like what you'd find at a LYS, but it was cute and amusing! I was almost tempted to buy a skein just to say "Look at what I bought from the drug store!" ..maybe I am the only one amused by this..

First one!

So, tonight at the knit group I was finally inspired to make an all knitting, or crafty, or... creative blog to document all my fun crafty things. This will mostly be comprised of knitting and belly dancing, along with the occasional sewing or painting or drawing projects. Because I have SO much time for all of my crafty needs. So here it is! Enjoy, all you bloggy stalkers!