Blog Archives

I’ll Just Keep Movin’ On

The Shark Hat is ready for test knitting. I’ll be starting to send it to potential test knitters tonight. If you don’t get an email by this weekend, please send me a message on Ravelry or here, and I’ll get it sent out to you.

Two other hats have also been made recently, both for myself. I love hats.

First is Capucine. Love this pattern.

Knit with Manos Del Uruguay wool that I’ve had sitting around for far too long.

The ponytail in the back is cute without being too silly.

It’s a really nice hat to wear out on the town with my hair down.

I also knit a more functional hat. But for the sake of silly, I added little ears.

Knit from Cascade 200 heather in a nice plum, and edged with leftover Noro.

It’s served me well for long days/nights of shovelling. Insulating and cozy without being too thick.

Also, KniCroBloWeek is coming up soon!

I’m excited. Last year was quite fun. Link me your blog if you’re doing it this year! I love reading different answers and it’s a great way to find new blogpals.

Now off to prepare the pattern and email it off. Cheers for your patience, test knitters!

Lucky 7 & Squares

I have had the sick.

Just some sort of seasonal flu/cold bug, but it really knocked me on my knickers for a few days.

So, I knit.

While I was stocking up on some small skeins of dishcloth cotton at Wal Mart a little while back, I found Bernat Mosaic. I had not seen it before, but it resembled Noro Kureyon and was $2. I had to have it.

I decided to use the Lucky 7 pattern to knit a quick n’ cute hat to test out the yarn. The yarn knits very nicely. Breaks easily if I pull too hard, but so does Noro (and most other single plys). For an acrylic, it knits and feels very much like a wool. It’s amazing what they can do with acrylics nowadays.

The hat knit up in two evenings. Easy, fun knit. Here it is, modeled by a very sick me. Mind the face.

As you can see, the colours don’t knit up quite as gradient-like as Noro, but they still give nice subtle striping. I wasn’t a big fan of the orange in this colourway, but knit up in the hat I rather like it.

The hat is very nice, but contrary to appearances it does NOT fit me. It’s extremely snug on my head and gave me a headache just wearing it for photos. It is very soft and very warm, knit with love, has been washed, and is up for giveaway! I will be making a post regarding this very soon.

I’m not complaining, for a $2 hat that gave me something simple to knit on during a high fever. I would happily use this yarn again, especially for baby projects or other things that should be machine-washed. I recommend it as an acrylic, inespensive Kureyon variant.

Also, there is another illness being passed through this house.

If n0ot contained soon, this could become a pandemic of blanket-proportions.

Send aid.

Now I Am A True Ninja.

Because I have a ninja mask! Balaclava is complete.

Knit with Drunken Pennsic yarn, and reminded me of why I hate knitting long tubes of ribbing. It did knit up lovely though, and it is deliciously warm and soft. It will be a welcome outdoor companion.

Adventures in crochet to follow soon. Yes, you heard me.

Timey Wimey Socks

So, many moons later, the socks are complete.

Wibbly Wobbly.

I took a significant knitting hiatus over the summer, and came back with a vengeance.

Timey Wimey.

I tried very hard to make them symmetrical, but the dye was uneven, so no fault of my own. I still love them.

...stuff.

Stripey socks are cool.

Anglers, stripes and washing.

It’s been quiet on the homefront!

I’ve been very busy with managing my home businesses. It’s extremely rewarding, but certainly doesn’t leave me with much personal time. The personal time I do get HAS been spent knitting, and the stress relief is incredible.

First off, some standard washcloths.

Knitting these for some friends who have recently had children, and a few new ones for me. I have way too much wash cotton sitting around, it’s time to use some!

Next, we’re up to 2 feet, unstretched, on the Doctor Who Season 15 scarf.

I’ve been knitting this between other projects. When I get tired of garter stitch, I move on to something else for awhile. It will eventually get done this way, no idea when! I like how it’s coming along.

Finally, I knit an anglerfish for the boyfriend.

He bought me the book Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh, and in exchange he asked for an anglerfish from the book. Happily obliged, and knit in his favorite colour, green.

More pics below, showing the bioluminescence along the back and other angles. The lure is bendable.

Next on my pattern list is a new pair of socks, a new summer hat, and possibly a hermit crab. Stay tuned!

Zoe

Knitting Olympics project.

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Zoe by Emily Kausalik. Knit with Noro Kureyon Sock S164. Cast on three days into the Olympics, cast off as closing ceremonies ended. A bit past the torch extinguish.

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A fun knit! Now back to socks. :)

Knitting Olympics Results

I FINISHED!

Pics tomorrow when there’s natural light, or maybe the next day since I plan on blocking it.

WOOOOO

Ferret Sweater Pattern

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I come bearing patterns. A pattern for a cute little ferret sweater. :D

Palom, my adorable, huge boy in the photos, was kind enough to model the sweater for me. In fact, he’s still wearing the Noro one. And napping. He loves his sweater.

I made two, a blue stripey one and one from leftover Noro sock. If you’ve got ferrets, it’s a great stash buster for leftover sock yarn!

Palom got a treat for being so photogenic, and to beg forgiveness for scruffing him for an underside shot in the second photo. Sorry, little man. Enjoy your peanut butter chew.

Pattern will be in my pattern list to the right momentarily! (Decided to do the post, first.)

I have the blues

I’ve been hit with a bug. A bad cold bug.

I’m pretty positive it happened when everyone visited for Winterlude. My body has a tendency to incubate viruses for a long period of time, generally three weeks or so. Given that, this one’s right on the money. It also is no coincidence that the Pirate has it too. At least I have someone to commiserate with.

The housemates (Matt, the darling boyfriend, and Joel, our new roomie and pal from Scouts) are busy downstairs, playing Halo 3 with friends and otherwise being nerds. I came upstairs to get some of my freelance work done, and to have time alone with my DVD player and my blues.

…all that blue.

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And the tissues, cannot forget the tissues. But seriously. It’s common knowledge that I have a general fascination for all things blue. I try to vary that as much as I can in my knitting, especially because when it comes to knitting, I -adore- a rainbow of colours. Still, though… I often fall back to at least some bit of blue.

Those are the projects-of-the-current-moment. But before that, I finished my Jaywalkers.

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They were a fast, fun knit, and I would totally use Regia Canyon Color for another pair. Gorgeous yarn, gorgeous, simple colours. And, being such vividly-striped yarn, makes for GREAT Jaywalkers.

As soon as the second sock was cast off and the socks were put on my feet,  I cast on for the new pair of socks.

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The first of a pair of Lighthouse Gansey socks, in the newest Knitty issue. I’ve waited for a basic, nicely-designed sock to use the Reynolds Soft Sea Wool I bought in Pittsburgh, and this sock fits the bill. Plus, Soft Sea Wool, Lighthouse Gansey… it all seems to fit well. In this case, the blue seems to be a good choice.

I should also mention that this yarn is so absolutely delicious to knit with. It’s extremely soft, has a beautiful amount of stretch, and, well, I adore it.  These will definitely be an enjoyable knit.

And yes, I -am- truly that pale. My skin white-contrasts right out of every closeup photo. I want to harness it as a talent, but have no idea how.

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I made a small KnitPicks order last week, to get some Crayon for some toys I’m making. I decided to also pick up a skein of Wool of the Andes in the Mist colorway to swatch it for Rogue.

Rogue is going to be my first sweater attempt.  I’m nervous, because I’m fully aware that it’s not the easiest sweater to take on. However, I have done intricate cabling, and I have loved this hoodie ever since I first saw it. This yarn swatched up well for the in-the-round swatch, and I’m now knitting a flat swatch.

I also have to give mad love to Leanne for selling me an inexpensive set of Denise Interchangeables. I’ve been using them nonstop. They’re so comfortable and warm up really easily. <3  I’ve been using them to swatch for Rogue, as you can see.

I have the blues. But not entirely in a bad way.

Have an obligatory chinchilla.

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ARF ARF

Any gamer worth two cents has played at least ONE of the Mario games. Thusly, nearly every gamer knows of the mighty Chain Chomp.

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An enemy in the Mario Bros. franchise, they first appeared in Mario Bros. 3, as a black ball with eyes and teeth, attached by a chain to a block. The chain would lunge itself at Mario, teeth a-chomping, if Mario was within its range.

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In later games, the chomps could appear on a loose chain, trailing after Mario and friends. They also adapted their own sound effect, a doglike, rumbling ARF ARF. In the latest release in the franchise, Super Mario Galaxy, Chomps are seen chainless, rolling around happily in their natural habitats. They have long been one of the many instantly-recognizable entities in the Mario world.

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I designed this hat on a whim, inspired by discussions with my geeky friends awhile ago, about how relatively simple it would be to design. In the last few days, I drew it up and knit it on the fly, taking notes as I went. The result is a Chomp that has happily broken free of its chain, only to latch itself onto an unsuspecting gamer’s head.

Pattern is available on the sidebar! More photos accompany the pattern.

Enjoy! I sure enjoyed designing this. :)