Feb 22, 2008

You Just Wanna Rip It Out

Comparison


Your mistakes I mean, not your hair. At first, I wasn't going to rip back to fixSomewhat Cowl 008 this one, it seemed silly. Then I realized I had made the increases too soon anyways. What you are seeing are two sides of the Somewhat Cowl, one that I did correctly, and the other (on the right side) where I made a mistake. Just increased a stitch before I should have. Ugh. Good thing I had to frog it, it would have bothered me later. So, I ripped back using a lifeline, and have to knit like 5 inches of boooooring stockinette. Actually, I think I only have like 3 left. And although I am loving this sweater, I suddenly feel the urge to toss it aside! Because I just got in the most SCRUMPTIOUS yarn ever! Actually, I just bought three sweaters worth of yarn, some Knit One Crochet Too Angora Soft (10 balls for $12.50!) and 7 balls of Lang Yarns Venezia from Webs. I had a gift certificate.

Swatching for ButtonyWhat I am talking about though, is some destash yarn I got from Mouse. OMG. It is yummy. It's Filatura Di Crosa Luna, 10 whole balls. I just want to cast it on right now. After squeezing it, and smelling it, I had to swatch it. Then I did some math, I am going to make the Buttony Sweater, which is hardly a pattern to begin with. There is no gauge, no real measurements or stitch counts. I used one of my favorite shirts as a guide, taking the tip from Knitting Daily. As a bonus, it has raglan style sleeves.

Anyways, here are some fun pictures of a sock bag I bought and the other yarns.

Sock Bag 02 Angora Soft 01 Lang Venezia 02

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Feb 17, 2008

Something Like That

Go here, just do it, don't ask questions. Okay fine, a few questions. It's totally work safe, that link will take you to the homepage for our dear friend Krystofer who is participating in the Aids LifeCycle this year. He needs our help in the form of donations. Anything you can give will be appreciated. Also, I know he is going to put names into a drawing for every FIVE dollars you donate (seriously? can you tell me you can't spare $5?_. There will be lots of lovely handknit goodies to win! That is, if you feel you need a reason to donate to such an outstanding cause. :)

Somewhat Cowl 006I don't even know what I talked about in my last post. The Somewhat Cowl is making some serious progress, which you all know is unusual for me. Normally, stockinette sends me into a boredom induced coma. The second Serpentine Mitt has been cast on...I got about two inches into it. Actually, Brandy was confused and impressed when I was knitting on it Friday evening. When she asked me about it (Is that knitting??), I got started on a whole thing where I showed her different projects. She also asked about the tags, so I showed her the Buggerloo hat for Heather and she just thought it was great. It's always fun to show off all of the things one can do with knitting. People really do seem to think it's all about New Shoes 005frumpy sweaters and baby blankets.

Valentine's Day was boring, I don't really want to talk about it, so don't ask. Kyran's birthday was not as much fun as I would have liked, we went to Chuck E. Cheese. Oh well, the kids enjoyed themselves. Ky is really digging his new three year-old class.

Have any of you seen that Suave commercial? The "89% of moms admit they've let themselves go" one? I hate that commercial. What about dads? Don't any of them notice that they look awful? Really...? Sorry. Momentary rant. I am seriously stressed right now. There are only a few more months to go. Then I get to readjust to living with my husband again, and right about the time when I get comfortable, he'll probably have to go somewhere else. Ugh.

I love me


I have four WIPs right now, and 5 UFOs. The question is what to do to get that all finished up. Yarnissima contacted me about my problems with La Digitessa, so I know how to fix that. Two of my UFOs are very near completion...I really just need to finish them. The baby hat in the Amazonas might just end up being frogged. What do you guys think? I mean, clearly I'm not concerned with finishing it.

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Feb 9, 2008

Not Dead Yet

birthday mayhem 004Yeah. No. My computer's AC adapter broke, and since my battery is basically useless...I was without the internet briefly. If nearly three weeks can be considered brief. Actually, can I admit to somewhat enjoying it? It was nice to get in some actual knitting time as opposed to just reading about it on Ravelry! Not that I don't love Ravelry, it really would have come in handy when I realized that somehow my Digitessa and the charts/pattern were not syncing up. :( More about that in a second. Basic life update first. In the time I was gone, I've been going to the gym three days a week, knitting, and getting together with my friend Brandy every Friday night. It's really helpful to have a friend who truly understands what I am going through. Heather is five now, I missed doing a birthday post for her since the computer was out of commission. Kyran will be three on Monday. Expect one for him. And Nolan got his very first haircut! He looks older, or so everyone says. He still looks like little Nolie Bird to me. This is gonna be a long post guys. So, settle in.

Before and After shots of Nolan:

birthday mayhem 010 first haircut 003

Alright, what else is there to tell? Well, let's get to the knitting stuff first. I Tree Jacket finished 001finished one of the Serpentine Mitts, and finally finished Tree Jacket. Come on, you guys knew I'd be knitting in my "time off" from the internet. When Tree Jacket was finished, I thought my Denise needles looked bored, so I cast on for the Somewhat Cowl. The Berroco Ultra Alpaca is really nice to work with. It doesn't feel as soft against my face as it does on my hands though. Which is strange. I'm really thinking I will like this sweater a lot. Tree Jacket is great, it fits perfectly, and my best friend said it makes my boobs look big. lol That's always a plus. Right now most of my projects are simple, mindless TV type projects. Unfortunately, those are the type of projects I tend to stall on. However, I needed something either simple, or that I had a pattern for once my computer died. As I didn't have a lot of patterns printed out. Oh, and I had a slight problem with my one complex and interesting pattern.

S-Cowl 002


La Digitessa and I are not in agreement right now. I should probably take a picture, but for now let me try to explain. Chart 6 has the cable pattern on the front of the leg as starting (row 33) on what would be row 10 of Chart 4. However, my sock has row 33 of Chart 6 being comparable to row 2 of Chart 4. Anyone? Should I just go about knitting using Chart 4 and trying to incorporate it into Chart 6 somehow? I posted about my dilemma on the Yarnissima group on Ravelry, nobody has given me any ideas yet. So, I might just start privately messaging people on Ravelry who have completed the socks. I am just concerned I did something wrong, and wouldn't even know how to begin to fix it! Argh. As soon as I can, I will get a picture to kind of show where I am at on the sock. It's just so aggravating. Anyways, after that, I started a modified version of the Charade socks. All I did was change the knit stitches in between the "slip, YO, k1, psso" type part into purls. Which my stitch dictionary calls a "rolled rib". Whatever, it is just something to do. Probably going to take them to the gym with me.

While I was Gone


And now a meme, as I don't feel like posting anymore:

Rules and whatnot

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. (which I don't feel like doing, so I won't)
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

These are the facts:

1. I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 about...4 years ago. I refuse to take medication for it, and I don't have the time to see a therapist/counselor. Though it is free. Instead, I track my "symptoms" and try to adjust accordingly. Luckily, it's not as bad as it once was. Some days are still worse than others. (this might explain some things about me)

2. I still can't decided if I hate doing dishes or laundry more. It's always the putting away/folding/loading parts of these chores I have the hardest time with.

3. Driving still scares me. After rolling our Explorer several years back, I can only drive about 2 solid hours at a time. Anything after that, I start white-knuckling it!

4. Feet are gross. I don't like them, except baby feet. I have an absurd fondness for baby feet. The reason I love socks so much is because they cover up my totally abnormal looking feet. I hate pedicures.

5. My best friend is my polar opposite. She loves feet, pedicures, water, swimming, the beach. When my hair was long, hers was short, now that mine is short...hers is long. Her favorite colors are pink, green, and white. Mine are purple, blue, and black. Seriously? The plus side is: we've never been attracted to the same guy at the same time, can't even conceive of it. We balance each other.

6. The penguin thing, if I haven't already explained it, came about rather simply. Whenever I was pregnant, Mr. Shad would tease me about the way I waddled. He said I looked like a penguin. And the nickname stuck. I am still his penguin. Penguins are fascinating, and cute. So, why not?

7. I want to learn how to do some pole tricks. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you probably don't want to. I love to dance, and I think it's just a neat thing to be able to do. Eh, what do you want? I'm weird. :)

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Kitty's Story


Vintage 008

First, I must confess my name isn't Kitty, or anything even close. It just comes from an affinity for cats. Second, I love to craft, create, and imagine. I can draw a bit, knit a lot, and sew just enough to get by. My world revolves around the loves of my life; my three children. Anything more you want to know about me is on Ravelry or check me out on FB!

Crystal Shadrick

Create Your Badge

*Disclaimer!* I'm totally crazy. The patterns I offer are often variations of other patterns, things I have reverse engineered. I don't claim to be wonderful and smart and an all-knowing designer. So enjoy them!.

LINK ME!
Vintage 005

Vintage 006
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On My
Nightstand:

The Drawing of the Three - Stephen King


Radio:

Hello Fascination - Breathe Carolina


Television:

Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay


Needles:


Wheel:
0824101450-00
Rumpelstiltskin - FatCat Merino


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8 in 2007/0 in 2008



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FOs

Book Strap
Purple Pod Protector
Fidget on Fire
Helios Scarf
Make Like a Tree
Knitter Project/Serpentine Mitts
Mosey on Over
Black Tie Affair
Red Stars
Garden of Eden


FOs 2006
FOs 2007


UFOs

Skating Sweater
99%
Harlequin Entrelac socks
85%
Über-cropped raglan
30%
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