End of another year.

The end of another year... and yes, I have been neglecting my blog. However, it has not been for naught. Lost my job this summer (sucky-poos), but got another one where my bosses are much, much nicer (yeah!). Spent the fall adjusting to the new job, as well as continually being sick and buying the local drug store out of Sudafed, Nyquil, and Robitussin. Spent my days at the new job drugged up and promptly crashed as soon as I got home and slept until I had to get up for work in the morning. I think I spent about two months in this physical state (that's what I get for having a job with middle school students). Needless to say, not much happened in all other aspects of my life. I survived, though, and I consider that coming out on top.

I did knit during the last six months, though. Here is proof:



If you want more specific details, you will have to visit my Ravelry project page, as I don't have enough energy for you now.

I am particularly proud of two items though, but they need a background story. My husband's sister (Connie) passed away many years ago, long before I met him. Well, about eight years ago one of his aunts also passed away and her house and belongings were auctioned off. Well, stuffed in among her various treasures of years' past was a box full of yarn, needles, crochet hooks, and patterns which had belonged originally to Connie. We scooped up the box. However, I was not yet a knitter, so the box sat safely in our basement for the time being. This spring we received the news that my husband's brother was going to have his first grandchild. Well, it was time for the box of goodies to come out of hiding. I took Connie's yarn and one of her patterns (from 1977) and knitted up a sweater for Connie's great-niece-to-be:

That wasn't enough though, because this child needed something more fun that a sweater. This called for a Bunny Rabbit! So I took more of Connie's anonymous acrylic and whipped up this bunny from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. The dress is completely my own creation though (including the adorable carrot-pocket).

Although I never met her, I am hoping that these will carry Connie's spirit to her great-niece, as I am sure that Connie would have knit many items herself, were she still here.



However, it is an end-of-year post, so that calls for some personal-what-have-you-done-with-your-life-and-what-should-you-feel-guilty-about reminiscing.

What have I done?

• Spent more time with hubby - not really in the fall, but we definitely had some time over the spring and summer together :-) Been playing a lot of board games, which is loads of fun.
  
• Made lots of knitted gifts, socks and scarf for hubby, hats and scarves for family, the FSM, lots of stuff for me... Learned new skills - like socks and continental knitting.
• Conquered a New Job. This is a major one and took up a good 5 months of the past year. Hopefully the spring semester will not be as intensive. I sure as hell hope so.
• Learned InDesign. Well, kinda (I can firmly state that I know the basics now).
• Adopted two little ratties! I haven't had rats since high school, and it is so nice to have the little furry creatures in my life again. They are just so freakin' adorable.
• Helped Obama win Indiana! Yes I was out there - for both the primary and general elections. I was one of those annoying people walking door-to-door. But it was so worth it because Indiana is actually a BLUE state now!
• I have an office now! It is a complete mess, due to moving everything into the room or I would post pictures to prove that my four walls, two doors, and closet does actually exist.
• Not only do I have an office - I have a craft room!!!

Life is good.

What do I still want to do?

• Knit and quilt for charity.
• Design more knitting projects. I have a lot of ideas percolating... I just need to follow through with them. The idea of a book is in the back of my mind...
  
• Get back into quilting. This will require cleaning up aforementioned craft room, which went promptly from looking like the picture above, to being a storage room for crap again. I have a feeling it will need several days of hard work to whip it back into shape.
• Weave again. See previous statement regarding craft room.
• Use all the lovely, beautiful beads that I got this June and make some lovely, beautiful jewelry out of them.
  
• Use my Mr. Bento more. I sustained that for several months, but will need a healthy-eating-recharge for the new year again.
• Exercise. Yeah, that one totally did not happen this year.
• Re-learn Spanish. Hubby is now talking about going to Europe in a couple years (yippee!), so I would like to be able to ask at least some basic questions while in Spain, because I have a feeling I will be continually asked "What does that mean?" or "Ask them for __fill in the blank__." throughout the trip. I am also throwing "Learn Basic Latvian" onto the to-do list, because I would love to go to Riga as well, and would like to communicate at least a little in the language of my ancestors.
  
• Take more photographs. We are also talking about visiting my stepson in Portland, OR. this summer - and I would love to make a photography outing out of it.
• Still my goal to write more as well. I got a few writing guides and would like to spend some time on this... if only I had more time...

That's it for you... I am going to go play Parcheesi with my sweetie now, so Happy New Year's to you all.

Beautiful Beads

Didn't get much knitting done this last weekend, because we spent TWO full days at the Rock and Gem Show! It was very awesome; Bloomington has one of the best Rock and Gem Shows in the region and as I have two rockhounds in the family it must be an all-day event (well, kind of... I had to go back to work for a couple hours on Friday - couldn't get off entirely...).

But the really exciting thing is that I got lots and lots of beautiful beads for wholesale prices:

Look how pretty they are! You are jealous; I know you are. I am so friggin' excited right now. I wish my craft room was finished so that I could just lay everything out to stare at for hours, but I must be patient.

I still have this nagging voice in the back of my head telling me that the last thing I need right now is to start another hobby, but I am ignoring that voice because it is no fun.

Anyway, since I finished my FSM birthday present, I have moved on to trying to make my lace mitts. Right now I have about five rows done and it looks like total crap. I am hoping that it will improve as I go along, but we will see.

Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Directions for the Flying Spaghetti Monster

First of all, I would like to give credit to Sherry's FSM and Lucia's FSM; both excellent patterns and worth checking out.

However, I wanted an FSM with some mass to the body as well as posable noodly appendages. I wanted to go for the "classic" FSM look, as depicted in Niklas Jansson's rendition:



(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

To make your own FSM, you will need the following:
Approximately 300 yards of worsted weight pasta-colored yarn
Approximately 50 or so yard of Aran weight meatball-colored yarn (a heathery/lightly variegated wool works well)
At least 18 inches of heavier gauge wire, such as 18 gauge
Lighter-gauge wire, such as 24 gauge (thicker florists' wire works well)
Wire-cutters
Size 7 dpns
Stuffing material
1/2 oz of white Sculpey or Fima clay
Less than 1/4 oz of black Sculpey or Fima clay
Tapestry needle

Optional, but recommended:
Electrical tape
Glue

Directions:

The Meatballs and FSM Body portion of the pattern are heavily adapted from "ohballs" by Marcie Nishioka.

Meatballs

Needed:
Aran weight meatball-colored yarn
Size 7 dpns
Tapestry needle

Cast on 6 sts and divide among 3 dpns. Place stitch marker and begin to knit in the round. Pay careful attention to * (not all round begin with the *). Don't worry about making mistakes with knitting or purling. The point of the purls is to add random texture to the ball, so their placement is not crucial. Do, however, be sure to be accurate with your number of increases or decreases per round.

Rd1: kfb all sts (12)
Rd2: knit around to marker
Rd3: *p1, kfb, repeat from * to marker (18)
Rd4: *p1, k2, repeat from * to marker
Rd5: *k1, p1, kfb, repeat from * to marker (24)
Rd6: k1, *p2, k2, repeat from * to marker, end with a k1
Rd7: *p1 k1, p1, kfb, repeat from * to marker (30)
Rd8: p1,*k2, p3, repeat from * to marker, end with a p2
Rd9: *k1, p1, k2, kfb, repeat from * to marker (36)
Rd10: k1, *p2, k2, repeat from * to marker, end with a k1
Rd11: *k1, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, kfb, repeat from * to marker (39)
Rd12: *p1, k2, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, repeat from * to marker
Rd13: same as Rd12
Rd14: *k1, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, k2, repeat from * to marker
Rd15: *k1, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, k2tog, repeat from * to marker (36)
Rd16: p1, *k2, p2, repeat from * to marker, end with a p1
Rd17: *p1, k2, p1, p2tog, k1, p2, k1, k2tog, repeat from * to marker (30)
Rd18: *k1, p2, k2, p1, k2, p2, repeat from * to marker
Rd19: *k1, p2, k2tog, p1, k2, p2tog, repeat from * to marker (24)
Rd20: *p1, k2, p1, k1, p2, k1, repeat from * to marker
Rd21: *p1, k1, k2tog, k1, p1, p2tog, repeat from * to marker (18)
Rd22: k1, *p3, k3, repeat from * to marker, end with a k2

Stuff balls. I recommend using a bundle of the same yarn that you are using to make the meatballs with. It does feel like you are wasting a lot of yarn, but you do not have to worry about a contrasting color peeking out between the stitches.

Rd23: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * to marker (12)
Rd24: knit around to marker
Rd25: *k2tog; repeat from * to marker (6)

Cut yarn leaving a 12-inch tail. Thread needle with yarn tail, pull through remaining
stitches and knot discreetly. Run needle down the center of ball and through to other side. Trim excess yarn close to meatball body.

Repeat for the second meatball.



FSM Body

Needed:
Worsted weight pasta-colored yarn
Size 7 dpns
Stuffing material
Tapestry needle

Cast on 6 sts and divide among 3 dpns. Place stitch marker and begin to knit in the round.
Round 1: kfb all sts (12 sts)
Round 2: knit
Round 3: *k1, kfb; repeat from * (18 sts)
Round 4: knit
Round 5: *k2, kfb; repeat from * (24 sts)
Round 6: knit
Round 7: *k3, kfb; repeat from * (30 sts)
Round 8: knit
Round 9: *k4, kfb; repeat from * (36 sts)
Rounds 10-35: knit
Round 36: *k4, k2tog; repeat from * (30 sts)
Round 37: knit
Round 38: *k3, k2tog; repeat from * (24 sts)
Round 39: knit
Round 40: *k2, k2tog; repeat from * (18 sts)
Round 41: knit
Stuff tube with batting.
Round 42: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * (12 sts)
Round 43: knit
Round 44: *k2tog; repeat from * (6 sts)
Cut yarn leaving a 9-inch tail. Thread needle with yarn tail, pull through remaining
stitches and knot discreetly. Run needle down the center of ball and through to other
side. Snip excess tail close to ball’s surface.

With these three parts and a naughty imagination you could make something else entirely at this point.

Go ahead. I won't judge you.


Eyeballs

Needed:
Heavier gauge wire, such as 18 gauge
Lighter-gauge wire, such as 24 gauge (thicker florists' wire works well)
Wire-cutters
1/2 oz of white Sculpey or Fima clay
Less than 1/4 oz of black Sculpey or Fima clay

Take white Sculpey or Fima clay and roll into two balls, each approximately 3/4 inches in diameter (1/4 oz of clay each). Add a small (1/4 inch) black circle of clay to the middle.

While leaving the front half of each sphere intact, carefully mold the back end into a blunt point



Measure and cut at least 26 inches of thin, flexible craft wire (longer is always better, though). Straighten one end and carefully slide 6 inches of wire through the back of one of the eyeballs. Be sure not to slice or cut the clay with the wire. Repeat for the other eyeball.

Bake eyeballs and wire according to directions.



Let cool completely.

I recommend folding down the very end of the long side of the wire and wrapping it a couple of times with electrical tape, just to prevent having a "pokey" end.

Measure and cut 9 inches of thicker wire (strong enough so that it will hold up the eyeball without bending, such as 18 gauge). Bend one end of the wire into an "eyestalk" shape - a gradual 90 degree angle.

Take thin wire that is on either side of the eyeball and wrap it around the back of the eyeball cone, in order to prevent the eyeball from swinging down. Place the thick wire at the back of the eyeball and begin wrapping both of the thin wires around the thick wire. Stop wrapping when you reach the end the of the short thin wire (5-6 inches).

Before you ask - yes, you could insert the large wire into the clay and bake it too. However, it will most likely slide right out anyway while you are working on the eyestalk sheath. So there.



Eyestalk Sheath

Needed:
2 Eyeballs (see previous section)
Worsted weight pasta-colored yarn
Size 7 dpns
Tapestry needle

Be sure to plan on knitting this portion of the FSM somewhere in public (a coffee shop, library, etc.) in order to ensure the most number "What in the world are you making?" questions, as well as dumbfounded stares. If you are lucky you will encounter distraught parents who will desperately pull their children away from the "weird person sitting in the corner knitting eyeballs." No matter what, you are guaranteed to provide people with conversation fodder for the day.

Cast on 12 stitches, leaving a long tail hanging from your original slip knot. Evenly disperse your stitches on 3 needles.
Row 1: Knit around with both working yarn and tail yarn, to ensure an even first row with no gaps.
Row 2: Drop the tail yarn and knit with just the working yarn, being sure to pick up 2 yarns with each stitch (the previous working yarn and tail yarn), so that you don't add any extra stitches.
Row 3-4: k12
Row 5: k10, ssk
Rows 6-7: k11
Insert eyeball into knitted tube, with pupil centered in hole surrounded by your first row of stitches (we will continue to knit down and around the wire).

If the eyeball is too large or too small for the opening, then redo the tube, adding or decreasing the original number of cast on stitches as deemed necessary.

Row 8: k6, ssk, k3
Row 9: k10
Row 10: k2, ssk, k6
Rows 9-10: k9
Row 11: k7, ssk
Rows 12-13: k8
Row 14: k4, ssk, k2
Rows 15-16: k7
Row 17: k1, ssk, k4
Rows 18-19: k6
Row 20: k4, ssk
Row 21: knit all 5 stitches onto a single needle, being sure to keep them in the correct order and not twisted.
Rows 20-22: knit as in i-cord, being sure to keep the wires inside the cord as you knit.
Row 23: k3, ssk
Continue to knit as a 4-stitch i-cord until the eyestalk is the desired height (approx. 5-6 inches). At this point you will separate the thicker, 18 gauge wire from the thinner, flexible wire. You will continue to wrap the thinner wire in i-cord, whereas the thicker wire will be left bare (to be later inserted into the FSM body). To do this, lay the eyestalk in front of you, after having just finished a row. Your needle will be in the front, with the yarn off to the left. Separate the two wires slightly so that the thinner wire is to the right and the thicker wire is between the yarn and the thinner wire.



Carefully lift the yarn over the thicker wire so that the yarn is now between the two wires. Then carry the yarn under the thinner wire so that the yarn is farthest to the right.



Now start a new row of i-cord.
Repeat this procedure for several rows until the thicker wire is clearly separate from the i-cord.
Continue to knit i-cord to the end of the thin wire. Bind off.
At this point I recommend positioning the eyeball in the tube exactly as desired and applying a small amount of clear glue around the perimeter to keep it secure.

At this point in time your eyestalk may just resemble the trash compactor monster from Star Wars.



But we will save that project for another time.

Repeat for the second eyeball.

Posable Noodly Appendages

Needed:
Lighter-gauge wire, such as 24 gauge
Wire-cutters
Worsted weight pasta-colored yarn
Size 7 dpns
Tapestry needle

Take the wire and cut one piece approximately 50 inches long, and 2 lengths of wire approximately 30 inches long.
I recommend folding down the ends of the wire and wrapping it a couple of times with electrical tape, just to prevent having a "pokey" end.

Cast on 4 stitches.
Knit 3 rows of icord.
Insert one end of one of the wires into the middle of the icord.
While holding onto the wire, continue knitting icord so that the wire stays in the middle of the cord.
Knit icord until you have reached the end of the wire.
Bind off.
Sew yarn ends back up into the appendage.

You may make more posable noodly appendages if you wish, however I recommend three as the minimum.

Limp Noodly Appendages

Needed:
Worsted weight pasta-colored yarn
Size 7 dpns
Tapestry needle

Cast on 4 stitches.
Knit icord until you have reached the desired length.
Bind off.
Sew yarn ends back up into the appendage.

I recommend making a variety of different lengths, between 20-40 inches each.

Go through almost all of your remaining yarn to make several appendages. However, leave enough yarn for assembly (about 30-40 yards or so).

This is what you should have so far:



Assembly:

Worsted weight pasta-colored yarn
Tapestry needle

Slide Eyestalk into FSM body until thick wire pushes all the way through the bottom. Carefully bend the thick wire forward at the point where it comes out of the bottom of the body. Wrap the wire around to the front of the body, so that it lies flush against it. With a few small stitches, sew the wire to the front of the body.
Repeat for the second Eyestalk.



Sew Meatballs to the front of the body, at either ends.

Using your shortest Limp Noodly Appendage, leave 6-7 inches hanging and wrap appendage around where Meatball joins with FSM Body. Sew in place.

Repeat for the second Meatball.

Take remaining end of Eyestalk (the Posable Noodly Appendage end) and sew part of it down to the FSM body, leaving a few inches hanging.

Sew longest Posable Noodly Appendage next. Leave 8-10 inches of either end protruding from either side, to use as "arms" so that your FSM can hold things.

Sew all remaining Appendages on to the body.



Suggestions:

Make sure the noodles bend and turn often.
Be careful of the Eyestalks while sewing the other noodles on; they can be somewhat fragile.
When attaching the Posable Appendages, have part of the loops stick out from the FSM body (i.e., don't sew everything tightly against the body).
Having all the Limp Appendages ends hang consistently about 6-8 inches from the bottom of the body tends to look good aesthetically.
Wrap many noodles around the Meatballs as well, so that they appear to be more a part of the body mass, not just stuck on the outside.
Don't forget the back and the underside.








You may find the pattern on Ravelry here.

iPod Touch Felted Cozy

Felting the yarn adds an extra thickness to this cozy which will help keep your iPod Touch protected from miscellaneous scratches.

You will need:
Approximately 80 yards of wool. I used tapestry wool, which is a worsted weight. I used approximately 30 yards of light green, 40 yards of dark green, and 10 yards of peach (not counting what I used to swatch).
I used size 7 needles
Unless you enjoy doing math longhand, then you will also need a calculator.
Tapestry needle
You will eventually need a button - but worry about that later.

Swatching is ABSOLUTELY essential to make this bag. So is middle school math (or high school math, depending on how good your school district was). So yes, remember when you thought, "When will I ever actually use this stuff?" Well, right now, when you have an iPod Touch that needs a felted bag.

Make a good sized swatch, at least five inches by five inches. It seems silly as you've nearly made it the size of the iPod, but trust me on this one.

Lay the swatch down on a flat surface and without stretching it out, write this information down.

Your gauge: _______ stitches per inch
Your swatch height (sh): _______ inches
Your swatch width (sw): _______ inches


Now felt your swatch. I stuck it in with a load of sheets in the washer which I washed on hot and dried on high heat.

Measure the felted swatch.

Your felted height (fh): _______ inches
Your felted width (fw): _______ inches


You now have to figure out what percentage your swatch shrank while felting.

Take your felted width (fw) and divide it by your swatch width (sw). You should get some number between .45 and .95; write that number down: ______

My felted width was 4.7 inches and my swatch width was 5.75 inches, so my answer was .82
This means that my felted swatch width was 82% of the original.
Now you write yours down: My felted width was _____% of the original.

Take your felted height (fh) and divide it by your swatch height (sh). Write that number down: ______

My felted height was 3.4 inches and my swatch height was 5 inches, so my answer was .68
This means that my felted swatch height was 68% of the original.
Now you write yours down: My felted height was _____% of the original.

Forget about your swatch now. All that matters is the percentage shrinkage you wrote down. The original widths and heights and felted widths and heights mean nothing... because now it is time to figure out what size to make your cozy, so that it will shrink to the correct size.

Width:
Type in 5.75 and DIVIDE it by the percentage difference in width (the number you got between .45 and .95). Make sure you are doing width, not height. You should get a number between 13 and 5.8. Write it down: ______ inches. This will be the circumference of your bag before you felt it.
I took 5.75 and divided it by .82 so my circumference came to 7 inches.

Take the circumference of your bag before you felt it and MULTIPLY it times your original gauge of your swatch: ______. Round it off to the nearest whole number, and this how many stitches you will cast on.

Height:
Type in 4.75 and DIVIDE it by the percentage difference in height. Write it down: ______ inches. This will be the height of your bag before your felt it.
I took 4.75 and divided it by .68 so my height also came to 7 inches.


Cast on, leaving a long tail hanging. Spread your stitches evenly among 3 dpns.
Knit until tube is the correct height.
My pattern: 3 rows light green, 2 rows dark green, 1 row peach, 2 rows dark green, repeat
Bind off half your number of stitches. Move remaining stitches onto one needle.
Knit to the end; turn needle around (to wrong side) and
Purl to the end
K1, ssk, knit until you are 3 stitches from the end. k2tog, k1
Repeat the last two rows until you have three stitches left.
Cut yarn, leaving a 6 inch tail. Thread yarn through last three stitches and pull taught.
Cut a length of yarn 12 inches long.
With the tapestry needle, thread the 12 inch yarn through the knitting above the last stitch and let it hang evenly.
Braid the three hanging yarns until your braid is approximately 2 inches long.
Take the three loose ends and weave them up into the knitting, leaving the braided end to form a loop. Secure ends.
Use long tail left from cast-on and sew up base of tube with tapestry needle.
Felt bag in the same manner in which you felted your swatch.
Find a button to match the size of your button loop, now that it has felted. Make sure you choose a FLAT button (one with holes in it), NOT a button with a raised loop in the back, as it may scratch your iPod.
Sew button onto front of bag.



All Finished!

Random Finished Objects

Finished my Blueberry Socks! Woohoo! Quite happy with them:



So comfy... Of course now it is too warm to wear them, but oh well.

I also took the leftover sock yarn from my sweetie's socks and made myself a headband:



Made a couple cute finger puppets.



Used a free pattern from this site:
http://chrisknitsinniagara.blogspot.com/2008/01/poppets-childrens-hospital-finger.html

Not much for words today, but we had our Knit in Public Day at the Farmer's Market. The weather was spectacular! Here I am sporting my huge hat:



I have also designed, knitted, and felted a bag for my iPod Touch - but it is so special that it deserves a post of its own.

Whooo!

My future daughter-in-law's birthday is today (well, technically yesterday as it is past midnight now) and I wanted to make her something. She loves owls and while I like the owl on Janelle's dishcloth, I wanted to make her something to wear.

So here is my owl headband:


It is made with Blue Sky Alpaca Silk, which is deliciously soft against the skin.

At size 4 needles I swatched at 6 sts per inch.

Loosely cast on 88 stitches.

Ribbing:
K2, P2 for 4 rounds
K2, P2 for an additional 32 sts. Place marker.

Pattern:
Row 1: K2, P5, K8, P5, K2, Purl around to marker.
Row 2: K2, P5, K8, P5, Knit to end (marker).
Row 3: K2, P5, place 2 sts on cable needle (cn) and hold in back, K2, K2 from cn, place 2 sts on cn and hold in front, K2, K2 from cn, P5, K2, P to end.
Row 4: K2, P5, K8, P5, K to end.
Row 5: K2, P5, K8, P5, K2, P to end.
Row 6: K2, P5, K8, P5, K to end.
Row 7: K2, P5, K8, P5, K2, P to end.
Row 8: K2, P5, K8, P5, K to end.
Row 9: K2, P5, K8, P5, K2, P to end.
Row 10: K2, P5, K8, P5, K to end.
Row 11: K2, P5, place 2 sts on cn and hold in back, K2, K2 from cn, place 2 sts on cn and hold in front, K2, K2 from cn, P5, K2, P to end.
Row 12: K2, P5, K8, P5, K to end.
Row 13: K2, P5, K1, P2, K2, P2, K1, P5, K2, P to end.
Row 14: K2, P5, K1, P2, K2, P2, K1, P5, K to end.
Row 15: K2, P5, K8, P5, K2, P to end.
Row 16: K2, P5, K8, P5, K to end.
Row 17: K2, P5, place 2 sts on cn and hold in back, K2, K2 from cn, place 2 sts on cn and hold in front, K2, K2 from cn, P5, K2, P to end.
Row 18: K2, P5, K8, P5, K36

Ribbing:
K2, P2 for 4 rounds.
Bind off loosely in pattern.

Blueberry Socks

I finished my sweetie's socks about three weeks ago and I felt like the second sock was much better than the first. I was beginning to understand not just how to follow the pattern, but also why I was doing certain things when I was. The trouble was, I was certain that if I just merrily went on my way to other projects, then I was definitely going to forget everything that I had just learned. With that in mind, I decided to knit a second pair of socks, this time for myself.

But I wanted the ribbing to extend down the foot... and I wanted cables down the side too.

I sat in bed one evening and did all the math in my head (at 52 stitches around how large the cable would be and how many repeats of ribbing there needed to be on either side of the cable so that it would still split evenly when I reached the heel). Happy with myself, I got started the next day and wrote down my plans. Only later did I discover that what I had come up with was nearly identical to the Cable Clock Socks on p104 of Ann Budd's Getting Started Knitting Socks! I just don't have the extra cables around the cuff and my cables are at regular intervals (every 6 rounds). Oh well, I know that I came up with it in my head.

Here is the finished first sock, completed last night:


However, I went out on my own when it came to the toe. There were several things I didn't like about the toes on my first pair of socks. Mainly I thought they were too pointy and came down to much too small before finishing (only 8 stitches). That last little bit of the sock would just get stuck under my toes and would bother me to no end. Plus, my feet are not exactly typical in shape. I realized that my first three toes are nearly the same length.

Finally, if I followed the method of toe decreases as described in the book, the lovely cabling pattern would be the first thing to disappear!

So instead I decreased through the ribbing pattern, and I only decreased on one side of the sock. This will require making a right- and left- foot sock, but I am happy with that.

You can see how neat the decreases are in the ribbing on the toe. Now, you might ask why I should care so much about the toe? Why, because these will be my sandal socks, where the toes of my socks will be displayed in all their beauty. Now all I have to do is make sure that I mirror all of this correctly in the left sock...

Knitting Update

Yes, I have been knitting a lot recently. Here is the proof.

Made a scarf to match the beautiful hat:



Still haven't decided who will be the worthy recipient of these items...


Made my first pair of socks for my sweetie who picked out the yarn nearly a year ago (and told me "when you learn how to knit socks you can make me a pair with this" - and I did).



But now I am afraid that I will forget everything I learned while making those socks, so I have immediately started another pair for me:


(have actually gotten past the heel already, but haven't taken another photo yet)

At the moment I am attempting to adapt this owl dishcloth pattern (http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/clothowl.htm) into a headband... but it is not going so well. I made it far to big and I think I need a different kind of yarn. Hopefully I will have more to say on this on my next post.

Well, I obviously suck royally at keeping a blog.

I did not just recently figure this out. This fact dawned on me about a month ago when I was struck with spasms of guilt for not having posted in a terribly long time. While I briefly contemplated posting a "My goodness, it has been so long" post, I then felt like after such a prolonged absence I must have something Very Important to say, but of course I didn't have anything Very Important to say because rarely does anything Very Important happen to me... This is doubly weird because as far as I know hardly anyone even knows that my blog exists, much less would critique me for my untimeliness. Nonetheless, my blog sat untouched and unread for another month.

My blog was destined to sit untouched forever as the longer it went unposted, the more dramatic I felt a post should be, but then Orata came along and forced me to arise from my blogging doldrums. She tagged me in her blog for 7 random things.

The rules are:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven random/weird things about me:

1. I was born at home. Yep, in my parents' bed. Not just that, but I was born just feet from the ocean (well, technically the Long Island Sound, but close enough). 

Ironically, I hate seafood. Go figure.

2. I have an extra tooth. I just found this one out a few years ago. Apparently 32 teeth are not enough for me. I’ve got an extra one shoved up there ready to come out should I need it. It’s called a “maxillary fourth molar,” but I prefer to think of it as my shark’s tooth… 

Nope, I won’t post a picture of my x-ray.

3. I own two rats. Most people freak out about the tails, but I just love rats ever since my sister brought one home from her high school psychology class. They are just so friendly and sweet and they love to hang out inside my hoodie and stick their noses out to see what I am doing. 

Here is Trudy when she was five weeks old:

4. I can’t stand to have things read out loud to me. I don’t know why, but my auditory processing is just horrible. When they do those learning style tests to see if you are an auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learner, most people are a healthy balance of all three, but I am completely and utterly visual. I can’t even handle hearing and remembering a phone number long enough to dial. My husband is a musician too. He tries to see the positive side of this situation – he can practice all he wants and I never get annoyed, because it never sounds repetitious to me!

5. Related to number 4, I am really good at organizing complex things visually. I constantly see the patterns in objects. Right now I create the schedules each week for everyone at my work, which involves 14 students and 16 staff and a hundred or so appointments. It is like a giant friggin’ Rubik’s cube, but I am good at it. It has also made me good at weaving, and hopefully good at knitting, although it is too early to tell.

6. And now for something completely random. When I was 13 I used to have the Tim the Enchanter speech memorized and would give a performance for anyone that would let me. Yes, I was a Monty Python geek. For death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth.

7. And finally, the last random thing about me is that I have no online friends. That’s right, I have no one to tag this onto. I am a disgrace to my generation. I was such a nerdy outcast in junior high and now all those feelings of inadequacy are returning. The people from Ravelry are the only ones I really know who really know their way around the internet. It’s not that I don’t have any “real-world” friends, its just that I can’t think of any which have entered the blogosphere. I don’t know if that makes my friends lame for not being online, or if that makes me lame for not having any technically-savvy friends? 

So, I’ll tag Nicole from the knitting group, since she’s on my friend list on Ravelry and Huan Hua didn’t tag her for this particular blog list…

More Stash

So my husband and I go to visit his uncle about a week ago. He is the type of person who can make just about anything. He made all his dining room and living room furniture and they seriously look like they came right out of France in the 1700s - they have the cool dragon-claw feet holding onto a ball and all these intricate carvings on the back. He also makes ducks where every feather is individually carved, not to mention making all his own draperies and lampshades. We're talking and my husband casually mentions how I've been doing a lot of knitting lately. His uncle promptly asks me if I would like some yarn (like I'm going to say no to that one). Apparently when he made his furniture he also embroidered all the seats as well as made tapestry-style pillows to match. These were his leftovers:

There's no acrylic in any of that - it's all wool! I've already gotten suggestions on ravelry from someone who's felted with tapestry wool and says it works great, so I think that is what I will try with some of it. So many colors! Plus he gave me a large container of embroider floss (already separated into little drawers for all the colors!).

As wonderful as this gift is, it unfortunately brings me back to my greater problem - where do I put it? I do actually have a bedroom designated to be the "Craft Room" but right now it is "Where To Store Anything I Want To Keep Protected While the House Is Still Under Construction Room." In addition, I already have 12 big Rubbermaid bins labeled either 'craft' or 'yarn.' When the room is finished I will be both excited to go through the bins and find cool stuff I haven't seen in years as well as apprehensive of the inevitable fact that I will already have too much stash to fit into the shelves and drawers that will be in the Craft Room...

None of this of course is stopping me from looking forward to finding more cool yarn in February when the new local yarn store opens. I promise I will stop adding to my stash after that... I promise...

Cabled Hat

I am finished with the cabled hat. Isn't it pretty:

Say it's pretty dammit. very good. Actually I completed it last week, but I just now got around to taking this lovely photograph of it. Here is the top, I just love how the spiral pattern fell into place:
And you can see how nicely shaped it is, sitting atop the head-shaped bowl. Almost no mistakes, too. Now I am getting started on the scarf. I thought it would be more challenging, because I have to knit the backs, but it is really quite easy. I have finally got to the point where I don't need to have the pattern with me. I took it to my second SnB last week. I was actually productive in my knitting and participated. Whoo-hoo. Now I am getting more excited about the new local yarn store opening up. Three and a half weeks is sooo long to wait.

I also drew another cartoon, for your visual enjoyment:

Like this image? Check out www.zazzle.com/historyweaver

First SnB

I went to my first local Stitich'N'Bitch group knitting night. I am not a very social person, so it took me a bit to get up the nerve to do this. Two glasses of wine during dinner sure helped though. I arrived fashionably late and did the round of introductions and promptly forgot everyone's name (I am quite horrible about that). I was then faced with the great dilemma. What do I pull out of my knitting bag to work on? Do I pull out the very pretty cabling hat which states that I might actually know what the hell I am doing as well as have some sense of style, but which there is no way I could actually work on while talking to people at the same time and I would end up having to frog everything I did? Or do I pull out the ugly- ass- first- knitting- project- I- started- eight- months- ago- and- left- at- the- bottom- of- the- bag- because- I- realized- how- atrocious- the- yarn- color- really- was- and- haven't- touched- since- then- going- to- donate- to- the- humane- society- with- the- hopes- that- it- will- make- the- kitten- look- that- much- cuter- in- comparison- so- someone- will- want- to- adopt- him- blanket, but that is really easy to knit because it is just a rib stitch?
Well, I pulled out the ugly duckling project, because as a newbie knitter I am still deathly afraid of messing up and having to frog several rows, especially with cabling. Of course everyone in the group was terribly nice to me and I had quite a pleasant time. It very much strained my multi-tasking skills, though, as I was trying to actually knit correctly myself, listen to what people are talking about, and then even contribute to the conversation now and then, so I don't look like a complete idiot. Meanwhile, simultaneously while doing all this I am desperately trying to covertly stare at what everyone else is doing with their hands, as I have never actually been in the presence of Real-Live-Knitters. I am filled with a profound sense of Awe and am battling with the conflicting emotions of "Wanting To Learn Everything There Is To Know About Knitting Right Now" and "Feeling Like an Utter Idiot Because I Don't Know Anything At All About Knitting." Will have to go again soon.

For final news, I am super-excited because my Solstice gift to myself arrived today, a wonderful order from KnitPicks:
Harmony Wood Interchangeable Needle Set as well as two sets of double pointed needles (size 1 and 2) and two skeins each of Felici Clay, Pebble, and Arugula. Very, very excited.

Raven and knitting

I have been spending more time on Photoshop than I have with my knitting...

but I rather like the results:

Like this image? Check out www.zazzle.com/historyweaver

I did do some knitting over the weekend while we were traveling. My husband brought up the potential for bodily harm when handling knitting needles in the car. I did have the gruesome image of being speared by a bamboo skewer, but continued nonetheless. I couldn't help but do the math and computed that on average I knitted 8 stitches per mile...

Cabling Progress

I have been making more progress on the cabled cap. I am now getting ready to start the decreases. I messed these up some on my brother's cap, so I am going to pay more attention this time. The green yarn is in there to keep track of the starting point and what row I am on. I weave it in and out every four rows, which is once every cabling cycle. And of course Mr. Frodo had to be in on the shot as well.


I just love how cabling looks on white yarn. The shadows on the cables add this great sense of dimension. Here is what the cap will look like with the edge turned up.

Belated Christmas Cartoon

Brrrr, it's cold outside! Have to go back to work tomorrow morning... Definitely not looking forward to that.