~ [Shadkitty Knitty] ~

Feb 27, 2007

Darn Southern Weather

I hate North Carolina and it's bipolar weather. You can be driving down the road on a sunny day and actually see the rain before you drive into it. Yesterday it was high 40s - low 50s outside. Not freezing, but not warm either.

While I should have been mopping the kitchen floor or folding laundry, I watched Heroes and knit on my Wicked Slouchy hat. I love it. It's awesome. And I was SO excited to wear it today...except it was 70 degrees! What?! Ugh. I wore the hat anyway. It's still cute. *mutters under breath*

I posted the pattern over on craftster. It actually matches the shirt I'm wearing today.

Labels: finished object, rambling, slouchy hat, Wicked

15:26 | |

Feb 21, 2007

A Couple of Couches, Sleep on the Loveseat*

Yeah, I made my hubby sleep on the couch so that I could block Wicked. lol I had it pinned down to his side of the bed. hehe It was SO worth it though. Although I was really worried that I might give the sweater too much width, I didn't. I could actually wear it without the shirt underneath, it just looks better that way I think. Not to mention it's very Project Spectrum-y. Don't mind the picture, I threw all of that on specifically for this photo shoot and then took it ALL back off. I did leave my hair up though.

So, yesterday we were dealing with some technical difficulties.

Mainly our wireless internet wasn't working. Now, don't ask me why I didn't think of just...plugging it in. At any rate, I was without internet all day yesterday. Which gave me plenty of time to knit. I swatched for the sweater I'll be knitting for my LYS, I turned the heel and completed the gusset decreases on the I Dreamed of Africa socks, and made one of the foot thongs for my best friend. Can I just say that I got gauge the first time? This is only the second time EVER that this has happened.

Now, I altered the pattern a bit, picking up stitches, using a lighter weight yarn, and I didn't do the I-cord for the tie. The reason for that though was because I couldn't (for some reason) get a 2 stitch I-cord to work right for me. For now I just have two pieces of yarn twisted together. When I modelled it I also tied it up

differently because it was a bit too big for my foot. Admittedly, I'm kinda smitten with this thing. It's ultra-cute. Too bad it's entirely impractical for me. My best friend is a lifegaurd, who lives in Florida...by the beach. I never get to the beach, hate things around my toes (still can't stand flip flops), and rarely wear sandals. Oh yeah, do yourself a favor and get OTHER people to take pictures like this. We're not even gonna get into what I had to go through to get this picture. lol This was super simple to make though, I did the entire thing (including frogging several times to acheive my desired effect) while watching The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Maybe I'll make a pair for myself with the leftovers...or maybe some bookmarks. Way more practical for me.

*Anyone ever notice that I like to use lyrics for my post titles? I'm just sayin....

Labels: foot thong, happiness, knitting, LYS, progress, project spectrum, Wicked

17:56 | |

Feb 19, 2007

Doo Wha Diddy

I don't know what that's about. Generally I'm feeling pretty ill. Not sure if I've got something or if I just had too much fun over the weekend. Went out to a club with a couple of my friends and had a BLAST! Though I felt really awful that my one friend paid for everything.

Mostly I've been plugging away on Wicked. I can see the finish line and can't wait to have it ready for wearing! Last night I attached the pocket, bound off the sweater, wove in any ends that I had (which were few due to the use of the spit splice!), and started the right sleeve. The sleeve proved to be a real pain, first I picked up 6 sts, which would have been great for the ribbing pattern, but I wanted to decrease a few out. After decreasing to the original number (54) I realized, hmm, 54 is NOT divisible by 4, go figure. So, I tinked and just knit around instead of the doing the extra decrease. There's not going to be enough leftovers to do much with, that's what I get for knitting a couple of extra inches. Oh well, not a hugely big deal.

The socks have made a tiny bit of progress, not as much as I would like, I really need to turn the heel. They should still get done before February is over though. Even if it is a ridiculously short month. The mitts are still waiting on replacement needles. Until then I've been toying with the idea of casting on something ultra simple, like the fulled belt I was going to do. It doesn't get much easier than that.

My LYS got in a BUNCH of new yarn this weekend. I was SO excited. The owner gave me the yarn and pattern for the project she wants me to do. It's about $125 worth of

yarn, so she said that 25 of that is for paying off my spinning class, which leaves me $100 to play with. Do you have any idea what I could do with $100 in a yarn shop?! Gee I'm happy I decided to ditch that Knit-from-your-stash idea. lol There were also a couple of free patterns that were going to be coming in! I really hope she gets this in, excuse the camera phone pic, I didn't think to bring in my camera. One of her fellow Red Hat members also brought in a couple of vintage pattern books. Mostly it was just funny and interesting to see. But there were a couple of patterns that actually caught my eye. My absolute favorite was a simple ribbed cardigan, the thing about it is they have the zipper placed just slightly off center. It amazes me how something so simple can look so cute. It very much appeals to my "slightly off center" fashion sense. lol I'm hoping she'll make a copy of it

for me. I'm thinking simple black, it will go with everything. That's for later though. Right now I have to concentrate on the patterns I'm doing, and the knitting I'll be doing for my LYS owner.

I think I can show pics of that on here...I mean it's not a new pattern or anything. She just wants to showcase a new yarn. It's bulky weight yarn, so hopefully it'll knit up fairly fast. I was hoping to get back to my grey raglan before April, that's probably not going to happen though. Well, I bought a couple skeins of Project Spectrum worthy yarns. Some Cascade 220 in a linen grey-ish color that I will use to supplement/match my own pink/white/brown handspun. It matches up

pretty well. Still no real goal or idea for that though. I still say it's a bit scratchy for armwarmers. The white is Saucy Sport yarn for some cute little beach foot thongs that I want to make for my best friend before she comes up. Which is near the end of March. She has offered to let me and Justin use her apartment for a week while she watches the kids so we can kinda...get away for a bit. We've never had any time alone with each other.

Alright, that's enough (more than) for one post don't you think?

Labels: gratitude, ideas, knitting, life, LYS, planning, progress, project spectrum, purchases, Wicked

13:28 | |

Feb 15, 2007

Reasons to Smile

Alright, I think I'm done whining. I'll just email Brittany and have them send me more replacements. I just feel bad needing replacements again so soon. It's a different size and all...maybe I'm just weird? Until then, the first pair of

Endpaper mitts will be put aside. They'll still be done well within the blue/white/grey months. Although I might not finish in time for Fair Isle February. That's been a really great KAL, everyone is friendly and they've done some beautiful colorwork!

Anyways, to cheer myself up, I bought a swift! Yay! Actually, my dad told me he'd pay for it, since he didn't feel like making one. lol We got paid last night, so I also paid for my IK subscription, I can't wait to get the spring issue. :)

Even better than buying things for myself, check out what came in the mail for me today!! A gift from my friend Ann-marie,

the one who wrote the I Dreamed of Africa sock pattern. She sent me a great package with a lavendar sachet, some wildflower seeds, and (best of all) some yarn that she hand dyed! Isn't it pretty? Normally I don't like pink, but I love the way this looks. Maybe it's the brown in it that calls to me. Now I just have to figure out what to make with it.... Maybe something simple? haha That would be so out of the ordinary for me. How about Knitty's straight laced socks?

I think I'm a bit burnt out on knitting. Or I was. I'm going to try to knit on Wicked tonight until I reach the end of my second ball of yarn, which really isn't

all that far away. Speaking of Wicked, I took some photos of the progress for you all. I realized that I hadn't taken a picture of it for inches. lol It's like 10.5 or 11" by now. Which is when I'm supposed to start the ribbing, except I have a longish torso (can't you tell in the picture?) and plan to knit an extra inch or two. Definitely doing this pattern again, maybe with a different stitch pattern on the collar and sleeves? Or some stripes? Fair-isle? Intarsia? The possibilities are endless. I do want to see if I can find a way to make the neck wider, maybe it's just me but I like open necklines on sweaters.

Labels: gratitude, happiness, knitting, progress, project spectrum, purchases, Wicked, yarn

16:28 | |

Feb 14, 2007

Let's Celebrate...

Valentine's Day with gratuitous Johnny Depp love! Okay, well, actually, it's just a t-shirt. But it's my favorite, the fit is fantastic, plus I like the way the neckline is a bit wide, making it almost off-shoulder. Not quite though. So I did a mini photo shoot with the shirt on. (talk about boredom) Oh, and I'm so in love.

Actually, I don't feel much like knitting right now. I was so excited about my projects and all, then I suddenly hit a knitting rut. There is something wrong (okay, it's probably just me) with every project! Here are the problems I'm dealing with, please help convince me that this is all in my head (or not a big deal)!

Endpaper Mitts - I started the second mitt, got 1 rep of the pattern done, and then broke two needles! Not actually sure how they got broken, anyway, I replaced the broken needles with two of my Addi 2.5mm DPNs...now the mitt isn't snug enough! The Addis are just slightly larger than my Brittanys. It's ridiculous. Crazy I tell you.
Wicked - There are several uneven stitches, which I guess aren't really noticeable to non-knitters, especially on the right side. To me though, I see these HUGE gaping holes and obviously larger stitches. Please...explain to me how silly that is. Especially since I'm so far.
I Dreamed of Africa socks - I have no clue what my hold up is here. Except maybe it's a bit tough to tug them on...and the stupid bowknot stitch makes me want to scream every time I can't pull it off properly. Which is at least twice each time.

Ahem.... Oh yeah! I got the yarn for my second pair of Endpaper mitts in yesterday

(or the day before). It's awesome, I really like Knitpicks Palette and the colors are beautiful. Obviously, my slight current disappointment isn't at all quashing my general love for this pattern. I'll just have to get some more needles. lol I think I might go down another needle size though, since Palette tends to be a bit fatter than regular sock yarns. It was the yarn I used for my Hederas and I used 2.25mms for those. The picture of this yarn came out beautifully, I was really excited. The colors match one of my hoodies too. So what do you guys think? Which color should be the main color? Or should I make reverse mittys like I had wanted to originally?

Yeah, that's all for now. Think I'll go work on those socks...or Wicked. I don't know.

Labels: blah, disappointment, endpaper mitts, hesitation, project spectrum, socks, Wicked

19:00 | |

Feb 7, 2007

Can't Stay Away

Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to NOT post?! Seriously. And I had so much to post about last night! Not as much as I had on Monday, but still, it's something. Apparently contests are a good way to encourage comments. lol

First and foremost, we have my halfway FO!! Yep! I finished my first Endpaper Mitt,

and can I just say how much I love it? Seriously, when I finished it I sat around typing wearing just the one mitt. If you don't believe me, ask my best friend, I made her watch me on webcam. lol Mitten porn? Maybe. ;) And, I ordered some KP Palette in yellow and green (Project Spectrum much?), these will be brighter. The question now is, which one will be the main color? Or should I make these ones like reverse images? Wait, am I getting ahead of myself? Yes, probably. Anyways, one mitten down, the cuff for the second is OTN! These will be finished way before I had originally planned. Apparently the free yarn I got was acrylic, so I can't block the mitt (darn!), which is why I got 100% wool for the second pair. The pic actually links to a better one, I just thought that one fit in better.

Wicked is about 4" into the body and I finally tried it on. The cord wasn't allowing me to at first, it wouldn't go over my shoulders. So I attached an extra bit of cord (gotta love those Denise interchangeables!) and got a picture. Of course, I'd been wearing one of Justin's old sweaters, so I just kind of...um took it off and tried Wicked on with only my sports bra on. lol Who says knitting isn't sexy? I'm so putting this up as my Myspace profile pic. haha I'm thinking of adding a bit of extra length to this top though, because I have a long-ish torso and all.

In the middle of cleaning last night, I found my bag full of fleece and my drop spindle...yeah I spent an HOUR playing with the drop spindle and some leftover pink pencil roving. No clue what I'll do with it yet, I don't think I'll ply it, or maybe I will. Who knows. Or if she has the white, maybe I'll use that to make some Endpaper mitts for my best friend. I keep showing them to her, probably because I'm in love with them (I had a dream about them last night folks...come on) and she is like "Yeah, I can't lie, they are really cute." So yea...that's all for now, I'm off to work on my Endpaper Mitts some more and further the romance. :)

Labels: endpaper mitts, happiness, knitting, planning, project spectrum, spinning, Wicked

17:37 | |

Jan 31, 2007

Motivation

It's strange, the things that motivate us. I made a pair of socks in seven days, and all because they were purple and didn't fit in with Project Spectrum's first color group. Today, I finished those slipper socks I started awhile back for my Aunt Marcie. All I had to do was sew the suede bottoms onto the second sock et voila! They're done and ready to be mailed off. Yet, I procrastinated, until I made a deal with myself that I couldn't work on Wicked at all today unless I finished them. Now look, we have a completed pair of socks and a WIP ready for my itching fingers.

Wicked has made more progress since I took these pictures, but that's okay. The colors just didn't come through no matter how many different times/ways I took these pictures. Don't worry, you'll be seeing it again. I'm using Cascade 220 "The Heathers" in color 2448. Every time I walked into my LYS I would see this particular color and think "This is so beautiful, I have to do something with it at some point, but what?". Yesterday I had an epiphany while drooling over the hundredth version of Wicked I'd seen. I was thinking to myself "Yeah, but what color would I use? It'd look great in a dark blue..." *ding* (that was the sound of my proverbial light coming on) At that point, I could not get the pattern out of my mind, I knew that I had to have it and the yarn. So, I bought the pattern, picked up the coveted yarn on my way home from Heather's daycare, and cast-on.

No, I didn't swatch. In my defense, I have used this yarn several times and actually still have my first gauge swatch, done on size 7 needles. Usually I don't BO my swatches, I'm cheap and will save yarn whenever possible.

You know that feeling you get when you a yarn is just perfect for a particular pattern? It's almost like they were meant for each other. Yep, that's me right now. And I think I'm going to get back to my knitting now!

Labels: happiness, knitting, progress, project spectrum, socks, Wicked

16:11 | |