May 26, 2009 at 12:36 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: auntie, baby, baby socks, craft, crafty, fail, friends, knit, knitting, sock, socks
So the good news is that I’ve mastered a fairly basic sock, or at least the general principles of not losing your mind when wrestling with said fairly basic sock. Other than having to cut Josh’s conversation mid-sentence with “haang on, HANG ONNNN!!!!………..okay sorry,” I’ve pretty much got the technique down! To make quick work of it, I thought it would be cute to knit a pair of baby socks for May’s latest bundle of roly poly joy.
Observe.
I got the pattern here.
An excellent turnout! But this baby is indeed roly poly, and growing by the second. I wanted to knit the second sock in a hurry, before they wouldn’t fit! Look at that healthy chub! And so I figured it would be a good idea to forgo the standard knit-2-purl-2 cuff (that’s “stretchy ribbing like you see at the top of most socks” for you non-knitters) and just do a plain knit one. Ribbing is what keeps the sock up on your leg instead of puddling around your ankle, but given that there is minimal need to keep them up on legs that do little more than wriggle toe-up in the air, I figured it would be no issue.
And it wasn’t. I got the second sock done relatively quickly, and although the cuff wasn’t as neat or pretty looking, it took care of the risk of ankle-muffin-top and all related circulatory unpleasantries.
So where did I fail?
Remembering what size needles I used for the first pair.
Fuuuuuuuuck.
And yes, that’s the smaller one that I knit second. Way to keep up with the growing – knit smaller! You know what kiddo? I think I’ll knit you a hat or something. You’ll look dashing.
Stupid needles.
4 Comments
February 24, 2009 at 12:41 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: apartment, basement, cleaning, craft, crafty, knit, knitting, landlord, power out, projects, scary, weekend, wrist warmers
After a birthday party this weekend involving much in the way of delicious, delicious face stuffing at May’s house, I found myself wandering around the kitchen this afternoon with no laundry to do, a sink empty of dishes, and a clean floor, bathroom, even rabbit cage. My usual Sunday afternoon Family Guy sit-fest, it would seem, was on hold in favour of some golf tournament or another. Well shit. It’s not like I’ve got a ton of other channels since I refuse to pay for cable, so after passing on the thrilling options of foreign news, some shitty cowboy family drama, a CSI knockoff and some right wing debate over American drinking ages, I decided to forgo the squawk box and get some cleaning detailing done.
I’ve got one of those apartments that are old, tiny, and shoddily put together. There are nooks and crannies you just can’t get into to clean, and the appliances are ancient. The gas stove has been here since who knows when, andI guess it’s been a while since anybody thought to clean around the splashguards behind the knobs. It’s normally the kind of q-tip and bleach job that I wouldn’t bother with in a place I plan to leave behind by the end of the year, but I was bored and it was grossing me out. An hour of the Fugees later and you can see the difference.
gross on the left, better on the right
In other news, I blew my power out again. Stupid microwave-spaceheater combination gets me every time. But the last time the landlord was here, he mentioned that the lady at the laundromat downstairs has a key to the utility room underneath the building. So since the power was knocked out a few minutes before midnight, I just slept through the night and waited until morning to see if she indeed had this free pass out of an embarassing phone call. Microwave gravy over homemade poutine and enough battery power in the laptop to watch a few episodes of Family Guy kept me happy enough. I even ate by valentine-shaped chocolate scented candles.
In the morning I went down and convinced the weird old lady in this tiny dusty shop that I seriously just needed to flip the breakers back on and wasn’t trying to stash a body or something. When I got down there it seemed like I wasn’t too far off. I swear they could rent the place out by the hour to malevolent knife welding maniacs in search of a dark corner to stow a rolled up stained carpet.
"Hi, my name is Dr. Jason McKruegerMeyers. I live in a cellar with a dish of rat poison. Please come in."
But at least once I braved my way inside the technical aspects were easy to figure out – there are only four apartments, each with it’s own box clearly labelled, and a set of switches. One of mine was flipped, and so naturally I flipped it back up. Return the keys, climb back upstairs, and presto! I fixed my own power!
I also sold another pair of wrist warmers, although technically that wasn’t this weekend. I’m working on a shawl right now. I’ll have pics of that soon enough, as well as a super romantic project I’m working on for Josh for our anniversary. You’ll see that soon enough too, it’s March 11th! Holy crap, I can’t believe a year has gone by already.
Anyways, it’s taking me quite a while, but it’ll totally be worth it. In the meantime, here are some pics of the Orange Blossom wrist warmers.
oh so pretty!
cutest pair ever
That’s all for now, I have more stuff to get working on!
12 Comments
January 25, 2009 at 4:05 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: burn, circular knitting, craft, crafty, double pointed needle, injury, knit, knitting, progress, project, pulse warmer, round knitting, scarf, scarves, twisted drop stitch, update, winter, winter crafts, wrist warmer, yarn
Alright, so haven’t just been scurrying around painting and renovating secretly. I have been knitting!
I suffered a bit of a setback with a rather dumbass move a few weekends ago. I had been scrubbing the kitchen with Vim and got down to the sink and stove. I reached into the sink before realizing the stovetop would be a better choice – it would dirty the sink after all. Right, I’m so clever. So I reached over to pick up the heavy metal burners of my gas stove – forgetting of course that not one minute prior, said stove was my primary source of heat in this less-than-insulated box. Ohmyfuck, hot ! It took nearly 30 minutes for the nauseating pain to go away. 20 minutes later there was no feeling at all, and it turns out that the little spot on my finger is not so much burned as cooked.
Ow! Ow! Fuckity! Ow!
Yeah, gross. I nearly puked again.
The not particularly awesome healing process has hindered me quite a bit. It’s been two weeks and only just healed enough to pick up any knitting. I didn’t entirely waste my time, although I have watched more t.v. this month than anytime in the past year or so. I brushed up on some new knitting techniques and bam! I can knit in the round on double pointed needles now. I found a tres terrific green yarn that perfectly matches a pashmina I wear. I’ve even given a hand at writing my own pattern. Turns out my brain can wrap itself around a pattern much more easily when there’s no need to worry about the wrong side. If all goes well, I should be able to finish at least one tomorrow.
This means faster project turnout, very exciting!
Anyways, here’s a few scarves I managed to get done before branding myself.
Greycicle
I really like this scarf, and it was easy to make. The yarn is pretty fun, there’s a white version as well that I’m going to knit up into a scarf named Icicle (Is it bizarre that I name my scarves? Probably not considering my favourite rabbit is Finnegan Cabbage Esq., and his offspring were Hannibal and Brutus. I like naming things. Don’t even get me started on baby names.) This is a greyer version of that yarn, hence Greysicle.
Gypsy Scarf
I like how this scarf looks in this picture, but it’s a little washed out with the sun. This is a better representation of the colour.
looks like this
It’s really light and meshy, but long enough that you can wrap it around enough to be warm. The twisted drop stitch is responsible for the meshiness, as well as the fact that I used needles slightly larger than the gauge of the yarn. I used the same technique on this last one.
Peasant Scarf
I finished this number at May’s house, hence the fabulous photo-op. Anyways, as per usual these are available for sale. If you’re interested, just hit me up in the comment section. As for me, I’m off to whip up a fabulous pair of wrist warmers, or ‘pulse warmers’ technically since I haven’t mastered a thumbhole yet (I just figured this out yesterday, give me a break!) If I can figure out a ruffly finish I’ll be set to start putting some up on the e-shelves ASAP.
Woot! Progress!
12 Comments
January 16, 2009 at 11:46 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: craft, crafty, fish, fishtail, knit, knitting, scarf, tail, update
Okay, okay, I’ve dragged it out long enough. A crafty update for you people, my flavourite flavours of the internet. Yes, a fish related crafty update.
Ta-da!
Fish scarf! Fish scarf!
It’s a FISH SCARF!!! Or to be more correct, a fish tail scarf! I figured out this nifty little piece all by myself. Now I’ve got to figure out a wave pattern to connect the two tail ends, the one I’ve got right now stretches out too much and just looks straight once you wear it a bit. If I can figure out how to get some beadwork going on here too, that’ll be even better!
Woo exciting! Now I want to make a seaweed scarf and maybe a flower scarf and all kinds of fun shaped scarves.
I’ve got a few other things to show you too, and more fun pictures from Christmas, but right now my apartment is freeeeeezing and I’m hungry so I’ll say a quick adieu and see you peeps later.
Word!
8 Comments
January 12, 2009 at 3:08 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: christmas, cold, cough, craft, crafty, fish, flu, gift, gifts, happiness, happy, love, romance, sick, surprise
Well it’s been nearly a week and I’m just now crawling out of the slight but constant head daze that seems to have resulted from whatever strain of flu settled in my ears shortly after Christmas. I worked up the courage to open the bottle of Buckley’s – even the guy at my corner store made ‘the face’ when I asked him if it works – and still coughed my way through the weekend. I’ve got that really scary deep cough that makes me sound like a creepy old man offering candy and rides to playgrounds.
Anyways, there has been at least one rad thing about this past week. While all the stores are taking down the decorations and the trees are lined up on the sidewalk, I got to open my gifts from Josh!
Woot!
I really wanted our first Christmas post to be written together, however, but his weekends are…otherwise occupied until April. We didn’t get to work on it until last night and I still have to put the pictures in. But it’s almost done! So you’ll hear from both of us really soon, but in the meantime, here’s a quick peek.
Josh sent me a few things, but my favourite is now kept right here in this little box.
Ooooh, suspense!
And yes, the fish-craft reveal is on the way 😉
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November 21, 2008 at 3:29 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: cooking, craft, crafty, flickr, knit, knitting, lace, lace knitting, recipe, scarf, scarves, shawl, shawls, toronto, winter
So it’s not like I don’t have scarves to churn out for Christmas or anything. Oh no, I totally have the time to sit here on my couch for an entire evening, knitting and ripping, knitting and ripping, knitting and ripping.
Just in case you’ve wondered where I am, I’m trying to knit lace and it’s not going very well. If I were knitting a standard width scarf it would be easy: a row doesn’t turn out right, just undo it and start again. But when you’re knitting a shawl about four times the width of a scarf, one row is a hell of a commitment. And then you get to the end of the row and think “Where did this extra stitch come from???”
Grrrrrrrrrr!!!
In more positive news, peep my new little widget to the left, linking to my Flickr page! All crafty things for sale will be posted up there until the website is up and running. For now there’s just a few pairs of earrings, but I’ll let you know when new things go up. I gots paypal yo, so just send me a note if you see something that catches your fancy 😉
Should my fingers ever remember how to knit again, you may see some scarves and other fun things up shortly.
Stupid fingers.
Stupid lace.
Also, it’s apparently winter here in Toronto. When the hell did that happen? I feel so unprepared! Ugh. Screw fashion, I’m getting me some ugly ass hiking boots for the thirty feet of sidewalk between me and the bus stop. One good thing about winter means more staying in and less temptation to go out for dinner. That means more home cooking!
Next week: I will show you how to make Cauliflower Pesto Soup, Broccoli Asparagus Soup, and Goat’s Cheese Pasta. Mmmmmmmmm.
For now, back to the knitty, knitty grind.
8 Comments
November 10, 2008 at 3:18 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: christmas, craft, crafty, douchebag, entrellac, halloween, knit, knitting, lace, scarf, seed stitch, stockinette, wool, yarn
Word to my internet peeps, yo!
So what’s been going on with my crafty endeavours that I was oh so gung-ho about? I haven’t forgotten! Remember my lime green basket weave scarf? That miserable cotton yarn that turned out so pretty but wreaked havoc on my poor fingers? Yeah, that one. Well someone at work bought it to give as a Christmas gift! He just so happened to be looking for a lime green accessory for someone who is very into lime this season. Worked out well for me! Take that cotton yarn! Not to be outdone, I picked up a robin’s egg blue version of the same yarn and have been proceeding to kick its ass just as hard as the first project kicked mine.
I present, my weeks-in-the-making attempt (and fairly succesful I think) at a lacey twist on entrellac. I got the pattern here and just had to make it. It’s also inspired me to try my own hand at writing a pattern, hopefully you’ll see it soon. As for this number, I am a little beyond ridiculously excited to wear it around Christmas shopping cause it looks fan-fricking-tastic.
Pretty!
Seriously, once I finish this thing, I’m going to be known across the city as “that crazy girl who keeps talking to strangers about how she knitted that goddamned scarf.” I care not. I love it.
In other news, I did not have time or real desire to do anything crazy creative for Hallowe’en. I’ll save that for next year, when I’ll – fingers crossed! – be with Josh. Dudes, can you just imagine what sick creations the two of us will come up with? But as for this year, I was quite thrilled to go trick-or-treating with Talea, May, and the wee ones.
Check out the rad pumpkins I carved for them!
Hehe, that’s my signature.
Next up on the crafty agenda:
A stockinette stitch scarf made of this very pretty stuff:
A seedstitch scarf made out of this yarn, and I’m going to try to figure out a way to do star-shaped cutouts. A perfect Christmas scarf! Woot!
I wish I could knit faster!
Less typing, more knitting! I’m off to get crafty folks, I’ll be back in a few days with a story about a douchebag. It’s a good one! Mahahaha, suspense.
16 Comments
September 23, 2008 at 12:04 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: accomplishment, basketweave, bobble, cotton, craft, crafty, emerald, green, knit, knitting, lime, scarf, seed stitch, yarn
Oh my freaking God, I finally finished the lime green basketweave scarf!!!
All praise the gloriousity that is my lime green basketweave scarf!!!
This yarn…it…tried to kill me, honestly. I’ve had it for EVER and this is the third time I’ve tried to knit something with it. It’s just so fussy, so splitty, and it’s 100% cotton, so it doesn’t glide like your cheap acrylics. It’s a bitch, plain and simple, and so unforgiving of any mistakes.
This yarn, it kicks my ass.
Oh, but it’s pretty! It’s oh so pretty and bright and vibrant! And so full of cottony goodness! So I fought and I fussed and I missed busses to stop and carefully undo six rows of what I had thought to be meticulous knitting and purling, and do it up all over again. I had already knit a third of a scarf in a seed stitch pattern, with nifty little bobbles running up the side in sets of three. But again, so unforgiving! – and the itty bitty flaws of the knitter I was six months ago drove me up the wall until I finally undid it all and wrapped it up to wrestle with again another day.
And this time, dammit, I was good enough and focused enough to take the most unforgiving (but so pretty) yarn and neatly loop it together in such a way as to produce a pretty fantastic scarf.
Go me!
*Gives finger to yarn* Take that, bitch! Think you’re tough? I bought your ass in BLUE! That’s right, a magnificent cyan! Coming soon, yo.
24 Comments
September 10, 2008 at 3:01 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: Asshole, bleach, catering, client, craft, crafty, egg salad, emerald, fucker, knit, knitting, love, meeting, munchies, office, project, pumpernickel, scarf, work
I just sold my first scarf! North Carolina, here I come! Eventually…
So the super rad Ginny from Praying to Darwin emailed me up to inquire about this scarf:
She loves it, and so lo and behold, I have my first sale! I’m pretty excited that Ginny gets my first scarf, ’cause it’s a pretty awesome scarf, and Ginny is pretty rad herself. Everyone go read her stuff, she’s hilarious. Soon, she will be hilarious, and also fabulously accessorized!
In other news, here’s what I’ve created today!
Them there’s mah bamboo curtains. Turns out they make for an excellent storage/display area. And how pretty and funky to have curtains full of pretty earrings! Don’t worry, they’ll be de-anti-septicized and all that germ free stuff before they get shipped out. (It’s actually kind of obsessive, cause I could totally clean myself into a coma if I didn’t specifically allocate my cleaning schedules, and I clean my floors/kitchen/bathroom with bleach. Yeah, I’ve got horrid cuticles cause I’m too lazy to put on gloves.)
Anyways, yeah, I think the earrings are pretty.
In other news, this super mega asshole at work who didn’t even return my ‘Good Morning!’ (extra cheery-like, as the fucker had shown up half an hour late and I’d had to show up early to accomodate his tardy ass), and then later made a phone call with his feet propped up on the credenza, and then snarked at Talea and then…well anyways, he had ordered catering (Oh shit, I totally forgot to order tomorrow’s catering. Oh well, I guess that’s what happens when you’re such an asshole.) This catering involved…yes, an egg salad sandwich. However, it was on pumpernickel bread, and my egg salad must be on pure (bleached….I know, I know) white wonderbread, so it was a total waste of the previous nights munchie fantasy fulfillment.
Asshole. Can’t even get a sandwich right.
17 Comments
September 9, 2008 at 2:27 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: batman, canuck, cooking, craft, crafty, egg salad, eggs, firecracker, fuzzy, instructional video, josh, knitting, love, project, scarf, scarves, sleep, tim horton
At least that’s what I call this little number. For any fellow Canucks out there, don’t be deceived by the fuzziness. It’s fuzzy, but it’s narrow, like the cool kids wear these days. Not the frigid kids. Frigid kids want that blue fuzzy thing I posted about recently. This is more for those nights when it’s cool enough that you can get away with wearing a rocking scarf as an accessory, but not yet cold enough that you end up getting frozen snot all over it.
On that pleasant note, what do you think?
If you want to be trendy AND warm, I could probably do up an extra thick and fuzzy one. Twice as much awesome!
Other fun facts:
– I’m watching Josh sleep right now, he’s extra cute.
– My office job is looking shittier and shittier. I want to sit indoors and make fun pretty things and talk to friends on the computer all day, cause I’m not a huge fan of ‘public.’ Does that make me a nerd?
– My evenings and ‘breaks’ revolve around two nightly episodes of the Simpsons.
– I’ve got a totally wicked craving for a fried egg right now. No, I’m not pregnant and craving weird shit. Got that 800 mile distance going on. I think it’s cause I saw a commercial for the Tim Horton’s BELT sandwhich (bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato for nonCanucks), and the egg part is the only thing that interests me. Oh, now I want egg salad. Oh! I will totally make a how-to video on egg salad (Have you tried relish? Have you?)
Stay tuned! Same bat night, same bat channel.
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