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September 30, 2005
Knitting past
I have a sock that needs to be photographed, and plenty of knitting to do, but instead I bring you a Clapotis modeling shot, since I never posted one. My outfit today inspired me to dig it out. Hey, it's kind of chilly.
Posted by Betsy at 12:46 PM | Comments (9)
September 29, 2005
Afghantastic!
I started this afghan for my friend Jenny's wedding two years ago. Actually, I started making squares to sew together, and I realized I'd never finish it that way. So I got some giant needles and went to town. The pillow is made out of the afghan squares I completed before I switched gears.
Project: Giant Dishcloth Afghan
Pattern: Ye Olde bias dishcloth pattern
Yarn: Lionbrand Homespun, baybee! two strands in Corinthian
needles: SIZE 36! Addis
I finished this a few months ago but it took me awhile to weave in the ends and sew/crochet the pillow together, and then even longer to get it in the mail.
Ibook shown for scale. Tousled covers and orange walls shown for ambiance. Oh, we miss our orange walls.
Were I to make another one of these afghans, I think I would use three strands of Homespun, not 2. It is extremely stretchy! I am worried about the ends working their way out more than anything. Homespun tends to fuzz with wear, but that will be okay.
I think she likes it! Recipient says:
"Oh my GOD! You are so fucking talented it makes me want to puke.
Seriously, the pillow and blanket are gorgeous. Perfect for today when it's
chilly."
How satisfying to hear about an all garter stitch project! :)
Posted by Betsy at 04:22 PM | Comments (2)
September 27, 2005
Neither a starter nor a finisher be
People often go on about how they are either starters or finishers. Starters end up with a ton of uncompleted projects. Finishers often don't cast on the next thing until the current project is through.
I realized something very important about myself as I sorted through my Excel document of WIPs. I am neither a starter or a finisher. Well, I'm obviously not a finisher. But I'm a tweener. My favorite part of a project is the meat of it, and I like getting to that point with lots of things so I have something to pick from; Perhaps earlier in my knitting career I was a starter, but no more. I want to know where I am with all my projects (and where all my projects are, which is sometimes another story). I do get in finishing moods, which I take advantage of.
So I'm trying to accept myself. I have long term projects that I have no intention of single-mindedly finishing. I have other things that will truck slowly for the finish line, and others that I will churn out in no time flat. This is my knitting brood.
Uh oh! I have thirteen projects! I need to cast something else on, STAT. Actually, not all of these have been cast-on, so maybe I'm okay. #10 and #7 are still in the planning stages. By that time that happens, I'm sure I'll come up with something else.
Posted by Betsy at 09:19 PM | Comments (2)
September 21, 2005
Everyone loves magical knitting!
Everyone loves magical knitting, the tricks that it does are ever so fitting...
Stay tuned...
Bibliography:
Addi Turbos
Denise Interchangeables
Inspirations Yarns
Magical Trevor
Second Treasury of Magical Knitting
Posted by Betsy at 06:10 AM | Comments (5)
September 20, 2005
It's a Gift!
There's a store called "It's a Gift!" in Union Square, and every time we pass it, one of us has to say it out loud. Ah the little rituals of life.
I am lucky to have an awesome bunch of knitting pals who keep me inspired, in line, and basically out of trouble. Thank you, ladies!
Recently they've been manifesting their fabulous in material ways:
Grumperina gifted us with a 52" Denise cord and 60" size 11 Addis to be used for the felted wonders in A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting, which she gave us for our engagement. We are a felt-friendly household.
Michelle and her daughter picked out a housewarming gift for our new apartment. Well, Z picked it out, and Michelle...well, she made it special. It is obviously a totem or a patron saint or something, but I'm too awed to figure out of what.
Morgan the penguin was feeling pretty snazzy in his new capelet. However, something was missing from his life.
After some contemplation, he decided that he needed a Martha Stewart Freedom Poncho to express his individuality.
Like Diana, he got some good poncho-wearing days out of his new garmet before disaster struck. However, all too soon things began to go wrong.
Okay, I can deal with one sheep in an identical poncho.
Uhhhh...
Oh, that is just TOO FAR! *
*The finger puppets starring in this saga were store-bought, before anyone admires our skill. The penguin and rabbit were purchased without any label of any kind at Papersource in Cambridge. The sheep (which is adorable and has bobbles in its wool that the poncho obscures) was then purchased at a Mexican imports store in Tuscon, AZ and did have a made in Mexico tag. It is very sad to think that the craftspeople who are making these little wonders are most likely grossly underpaid.
Posted by Betsy at 06:26 AM | Comments (4)
Crumpette & crochet
Pattern: Crumpets
Yarn: Cascade Pima Tencel
Trim Yarn: ?
Needles: Size 6 Denise
crochet hook size: C, I think.
Recipient: Alice, pictured here wearing the Haiku I made her.
Still needs: blocking, ribbon for straps and waistband, elastic
close-up: cables and half-double crochet trim
close-up: scallops
Comments: Wow, the skirt on this is so full all that stockinette in the round nearly killed me. I adore this yarn, anything with tencel is like buttah. The trim, one of my newbie crochet attempts, is due to the genius and encouragement of Michelle, who made a great Crumpets for her daughter Zella. She also donated artistic inspiration as well as the yarn for the trim, which was splitty as hell but the best color, a grab-you-by-the-nipples-pink! :)
Posted by Betsy at 06:03 AM | Comments (4)
meta-blogging: with egregious pet photos!
This is our extremely cute boy bunny, Haruki. Please pay attention.
While I said I wasn't going to make a post apologizing for our long absence, I will apologize for my lack of responsiveness to comments in the past month. If you've commented, it has most likely been drowned out in a barrage of spam. We tried the MT-Blacklist plug-in, and aren't thrilled with it. Hopefully the new version of MT will help.
Also, I'm going to clean up the sidebar. While I love our progress sheep, they haven't been updated because Dreamweaver, which we use to update them easily, has taken to crashing both of our computers. Hopefully they will return at a later date.
This is our extremely cute girl bunny, Foucault. Thank you for listening to this off-topic post.
Posted by Betsy at 05:51 AM | Comments (1)
pony pearls, stat!
I'm not one of those knit bloggers who says "Sorry I've been neglecting the blog! I swear I've been knitting, but let me tell you about my life first." Forget it. Here's proof.
Pattern: eh, kinda this Basic Sock Pattern for Regia Jaquard, kinda not.
toe has a K1, Sl1 pattern at color transitions
Needles: size 1 bamboo
Needles broken: 4
Yarn: Lana Grossa Sockengarn
ode to my hairy legs:
slip stitch detail:
Comments: 4 needles down! I am dangerous. I now have a piecemeal set, meaning...half of the ones I broke were Omar's. Oops.
I L O V E the colors of these socks, and I have enough left for footlets or baby socks/booties. I have another ball in similar palate: pale lavender, maroon, orange and something else.
The yarn texture is okay, sturdy enough, but not super soft. This might improve with washing. For some reason it became Splitty McSpliterson on that olive toe and had to have an emergency operation by Grumperina. Yes, you're jealous, your knitting is jealous. Tiny stitches and splitty dark yarn are my bete noir, as demonstrated by these puppies.
Test: which is blocked, which is unblocked in the photo below?
Posted by Betsy at 05:05 AM | Comments (3)