Yay! I just bought a swift and a ball winder from eBay, for winding those pesky hanks of yarn into usable center pull balls. Sweet....

One more!

After I posted all that, I finished the Kittyville hat (well, except for the pompoms on the strings). It's made out of cheap-ass Red Heart acrylic yarn, and I think I made the hat part a bit long:

Pictures!

Yes, finally, the promised pictures. I was a big dork and didn't feel like modeling stuff myself, so I hired my trusty teddy bear, who didn't complain one bit.


The completed Booga Bag from the knit-along. Noro Kureyon #124.


A full view of the scarf you've only seen detail of previously.


One of my Maineiac hats for next season. Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick Denim Print. Cast on, knit in the round, decrease, and end. Easiest. Hat. Ever.


Same pattern as above, but pastels. Plymouth Yarn Yukon Print.


Another Kitschy Kerchief. I couldn't get this to look right on the bear, so I (reluctantly) modeled it. I was too lazy to tie it though. Lion Brand Polarspun. I am never using this stuff again.


Flash is bad, mmmkay? If I had more AA batteries, I'd retake the picture, but it'll have to wait. This is Knitaly 100% wool in red speckled and black. The Windy City keyhole scarf from SnB.

All right, loyal readers...

Well, loyal reader.

What I need you to do is simply this. If I ever mention making another Coney Island Fireworks Scarf again, I need you to go to Joann's and buy a pair of size 35 needles.

Then beat me with them until I change my mind.

I am about ready to strangle myself with the eyelash yarn. That is, if it wasn't tangled into a knot that precludes the aforementioned strangulation. *cries*

However, I did make another chunky roll-brimmed hat tonight, the Homespun sweater is going quite well, and I'm slowly working myself up to conquering the Beast Known As Double Pointed Needles. (It's getting to be about that time when I wear sandals, but my toes are still cold, so it's time to look geeky in handmade cool socks.)

I still have ears to make on the Kittyville hat and ends to weave in on a few things. (Why-oh-why do I hate the end-weaving?) In fact, I should go weave the ends now and start in on a picture-post. Yeah.

Fireworks scarf: still annoying me. Not only is it boring, but now the eyelash yarn is irreparably tangled, despite keeping the ball in a baggie.

Kittyville hat: needs ears, pom-poms, and end-weaving (why is it that weaving in the ends is the part of the project I hate the most?)

Booga bag: DONE! It's hanging from my coat rack as we speak.

Kool-Aid yarn: tried some last night. I have a aqua/lavender hank that didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, and a red/pink/purple one that looks pretty cool. Next time I'm going orange/yellow/red. Maybe tonight as a matter of fact!

Tonight I'll probably start the homespun sweater or the cat bed and weave ends into other projects while I watch more hockey. And try to figure out a good way to store my double-point and circular needles. Then, a photo post should be forthcoming.

So here's my progress log for right now.

Almost done:
Windy City Scarf (weave in ends)
Blue/white Kitschy Kerchief (sew ties on, weave in ends)
Booga bag (finish felting, block/dry, attach straps)

On the needles:
Coney Island Fireworks Scarf (which I'm ignoring b/c I'm bored with garter stitch)
Official Kittyville Hat (in some really scary cheap-ass Red Heart yarn...looks fairly cool, but needs some mega-softening--this one should end up being finished tonight)

Next up:
Homespun hooded sweater
Princess Snowball Cat Bed (from SnB)
And maybe, if I feel really daring...socks. I'm scared of double point needles, but I want to learn to make socks, b/c, I mean, look at all the really cool self-striping sock yarn out there.

Knitting related quizzes

What color of sock yarn do you prefer?
brought to you by Quizilla

Blue is good.


You are a masterful knitter! I don't know how you
got this result, but what the hell... Enjoy
your title, and try selling some of your
"unvented" patterns- you may make
enough for that bundle of qiviut you've been
drooling over...


Are you a knitter?
brought to you by Quizilla

OMG, not a chance...I just started knitting just before spring break. Though I used to make all these swatches of lacy patterns in dishcloth cotton I found in my mom's cedar chest when I was a kid. So I know how to do all that stuff...I just never actually MADE anything before spring break.


You are interchangeable.
Fun, free, and into everything, you've got every
eventuality covered and every opportunity just
has to be taken. Every fiber is wonderful, and
every day is a new beginning. You are good at
so many things, it's amazing, but you can
easily lose your place and forget to show up.
They have row counters for people like you!


What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Well, I have been wanting to try those...but I have too many sets of regular needles to justify the cost.

Project update

So I'm almost done with the Booga Bag...all I have to do is felt it and string the handles through, and it's done. I might get impatient and do it in the washers downstairs, even though it'll use valuable quarters. Today I started the Coney Island Fireworks Scarf from SnB and got crazy bored after about 4 inches. I mean, it's just garter stitch. (The only reason I decided to start it was I organized my stash, and the Trendsetter Metal yarn ball was unraveling, so I figured I'd better knit it up so I don't have to store it anymore.) Now I'm whipping together another Kitschy Kerchief with Lion Brand Polarspun. The last time I tried, I used needles that were too small and ended up breaking the yarn numerous times, so now I'm using bigger needles and hoping it works out. It feels nice.

20 more rows to go on the Booga Bag. Haven't worked on it at all today...work, then hockey game. Though I might pick it up during the UMass-UNH game, as I'm not as excited about that...whoever wins, it'll be a good opponent for Maine tomorrow.

Got my yarn for Kool-Aid dyeing in the mail today. I'll have to wind the hanks later if I need something mindless to do.

What should I start for a project after I'm done with the bag?

Booga Bag knitalong....begun!

The Booga bag knitalong began today. Good timing, as I needed a new project. I was going to start the Kittyville hat from SnB, but this works instead. While Kelly was over, I got 6 rows of the bottom done (could have gotten more done if I wasn't putzing online), and (yes, I realize it's 1am) I'm hoping to get a good portion of the bottom done before I go to bed so I can pick up the stitches tomorrow. As I knit more with the Kureyon, I'm liking it more and more. I like the subtle gradations of the colorway, so different from the typical few inches it takes for most to completely change color. Must get more Kureyon.

I think I should also have something mindless and easy on the needles at the same time, so I think I might cast on my other Splash scarf or the Coney Island scarf (again, from SnB...god, I love that book!) Garter stitch, knit until the yarn runs out. What could be easier?

I'm still on the lookout for a sweater pattern for myself that I'm really liking. I want to get through a sweater for myself before I start Kelly's. (I have plenty of time, I promised it for her for Christmas.) I just don't want a gift sweater to be the first one I ever make...I want to muddle through one that doesn't really matter first. Make sense?

BTW, started and finished the roll-brim hat last night. I feel like I knit wrong with circs...is the nylon wire supposed to face you, or the gap between the needles? I suppose it really doesn't matter, since everyone knits differently. The hat turned out well. Very quick knit (well, for me). Next up: weave the ends of the Windy City scarf and sew up the mouse I made. (Knit a quick and dirty mouse out of some leftover wool last night. I'm going to knit more for the Boy's mom's cats.)

Busy busy busy. The more I knit, the more I enjoy it.

I might do this

I found a website for a group that makes hats for cancer patients. I think I might put my needles to work for that....my academic advisor has cancer, so the idea kinda hits home for me.

Random tidbits

I'm nearly finished with the Windy City scarf from Stitch N Bitch...38 rows to go. I should be able to finish it this evening. Next up is my first foray into circular knitting...a simple roll-brim hat in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick Denim Twist. It's a strand of slate blue and a strand of navy twisted together. I'm going to be knitting a lot of blue accessories between now and the beginning of next hockey season. That way I'll be the girl in the spirit section wearing a different handknit hat or scarf each home game. Yes, I'm a nerd.

I'm also participating in a Booga bag knitalong starting...soon? I'm using this yarn for the bag:

It's Noro Kureyon #124. Yummy.

Also, stay tuned for Kool-Aid dying, socks, catnip mice, and a whole bunch of other stuff in the near future!

What I did during spring break

This scarf is the first thing I have EVER finished. (I've known how to knit since forever, but really started doing it seriously recently during a bout with depression.) It's in the process of being blocked, here's detail of it pinned out. It's chestnut heather Lion Brand Wool-Ease worsted, the pattern is the faggot lace scarf from Knitting for Dummies.



This hat, modeled by yours truly, is made of the same yarn as the previous scarf. The pattern is "Most Basic Hat" from Hip to Knit.



This basic garter stitch scarf is of Crystal Palace Yarns Splash. I fell in love with the color scheme and like the way it knit up. It took me only an afternoon of off-and-on work. I plan to make at least 10 more *grin*.



And this is the Kitschy Kerchief from Stitch N Bitch, made out of some completely random sport weight yarn with a German name that I can't remember. (It's a tweed of a dark rose, dark grey, and either black or navy blue, I can't tell, it seems to change in the light.) I'm going to make a solid colored one in seed stitch at some point.



(xposted to )

On my wishlist right now

A nice, big blocking table/board/SOMETHING. I'm blocking a scarf on my ironing board right now, which sucks for two reasons:

1. The pins aren't staying too well, since the foam is a total of maybe 1/16" thick.


2. The board isn't nearly long enough for the scarf, so I have one end of it doubled over. It's a mostly acrylic blend, so it should dry fairly quickly anyway.

So a blocking table would be wonderful. I might have to put my head together with the Boy and design one to build up in his dad's shop one weekend.