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Simple socks, long scarves, stash enrichment & shark hats

Posted on April 13, 2011

I’m still knitting. All the time, in fact! Also HEY LOOK, new design for the blog! Wanted something a bit more fun and edgy. Hope you like!

I scrapped the RPM sock for the time being, as it yet again DID NOT FIT MY FOOT. This sock curse is as maddening as my feet are.

I have a solution. To the left is a new sock in progress. It is a simple 3×1 rib sock that I am making out of simple and sophisticated KnitPicks Essential Shoreline Twist.

With this sock I will carefully work with my ridiculously shaped feet, and figure out my measurements and how they pertain to stitch counts. I will retain these records for further socks.

Oh, and no more short row heels. They’re the devil for my feet. Flap heels forever.

In other news, I’ve been pressing forward on the Doctor Who scarf, and decided to take measure and some photos. I was rather… blown away by my progress. Looking at my chart, I am over halfway done. The scarf is 5 feet unstretched, 8.7 feet stretched to blocking length. It’s trippy to think I’m halfway done, even though it’s taken me over two years to get to that point. Can I finish it in time for Halloween this year, and fulfill my Fourth Doctor costume? We’ll see.

Pics of the over-halfway progress:

I love looking at it. It’s all coming together!

I had a job interview yesterday and kicked it’s butt, so I celebrated with new yarn. Here, you may ogle it. It’s Biscotte & Cie – Felix in the Belle Gueule colorway. Self-striping superwash merino deliciousness.

Also!

Regarding the shark hat:

So many of you have stepped up offering test knitting support, kind words and encouragement, and you’ve all been more than patient waiting for the pattern. It will be ready for release very soon! My small but dedicated team of test knitters have been fabulous in helping me perfect this pattern so that it can be as error-free as I possibly can make it before release. At this point, it’s my own paranoia making me triple and quadruple check it. You’ve all been fabulous and I appreciate all the resounding support. :) Knitters are Good People.

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Anglers, stripes and washing.

Posted on April 20, 2010

by Ninja

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!

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Zoe

Posted on March 2, 2010

by Ninja

Knitting Olympics project.

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.

A fun knit! Now back to socks. :)

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Knitting Olympics Results

Posted on February 28, 2010

by Ninja

I FINISHED!

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

WOOOOO

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Mittens to Zoe

Posted on February 24, 2010

by Ninja

So, long story sideways, two days into the Olympics, I changed my Knitting Olympics project. The mittens will still happen, but not in that deadline. I have too many modifications to make.

I switched to something doable in the time left: Zoe. I used to wear scarves/bandannas this way all the time, and I’d love a spiffy one to wear while the last of the chill in the air fades away. I’m using Noro Kureyon Sock in colorway 164.

Progress moves well, and I’m loving the colours as they’re knit up.

The only issue? Zoom in here. Two accidental yarnovers. One I attempted to fix and wound up Doing It Wrong with a string of stockinette. It kept doing that no matter my method, so I just left the other yarnover the way it was.

Meh.

I like this section of colour best.

I’m loving being able to knit again. Stress relief supreme!

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Redundancy

Posted on March 4, 2008

by Ninja

For someone like me, knitting is currently a slump.

A ditch, if you will.

Mind-numbingly boring.

I’m consistently working on chain chomp hats, which are knit with acrylic yarn and are dumb-easy to work. Even so, I managed to screw up one by making it too short. Hurrr.

I always have them on the go, as there are some requests for them that I am filling personally. I’m happy to do these few requests, but after a while they get very boring.

I’m also on the foot section of my first Lighthouse Gansey sock. 3×1 rib and stockinette. Plain colour. I’m not used to this with socks. I adore the fit of the sock so far, and the yarn is still delicious to knit with, but it’s still a plain colour, and for the foot section, a very plain pattern. Yawn.

Project number three is repairing Matt’s Shark Hat. I’m putting knit teeth onto it to replace the felt ones, as the knit teeth are sturdier and he’s worn the felt teeth right out. I’m also adding some elastic on the inside of the hat and a fleece lining to keep it warmer. This is also boring, as the teeth are pretty much identical to the Chain Chomp hat. Ad Infinitum.

So, I ask you, readers, why the hell am I looking at prices for yarn to create a 9-foot long scarf in garter stitch stripes?

I’ve been researching my best bets for wool to make the Doctor Who scarf. Specifically, season 16. The pattern graphic is here (major kudos to Chris for making the Doctor Who Scarf website and going through all the grit to re-create all these fantastic scarf patterns!). Looking for a good yarn that is inexpensive to purchase. I’ll probably have to get this through friends in the states, by the looks of things. We’ll see!

Head-chinchillas help me sort things out.

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Computer woes

Posted on March 3, 2008

by Ninja

Um, there are pictures.

Just not on this computer.

Found out two days ago that no, Acer can not fix my computer because somehow, I fried the entire motherboard. And I’m not using the word “fried” because it sounds cool; there were literally burn marks on the panel. Oops. WTF?

The good news is, the hard drive’s data is easily recovered, as it didn’t suffer too much damage. I’ll be claiming my singed laptop, and using a friend’s casing to pull the data onto a portable HDD.

It certainly pisses me off, though. I still have a working computer, but it’s a monstrous mixture of pimp video card + processor, and shit power supply + RAM. With this news of my laptop, I think I’ll definitely invest the 100 bucks ro so to fix my PC up so it runs more smoothly.

But wait. People read this for knitting.

Tongiht I caved and bought my yarn for the Rogue hoodie. KnitPicks Wool of the Andes. Cheaper, with shipping and exchange, than buying the equal amount of Cascade 220 in stores locally. Win. I’m getting the Mist colorway. I’m considering this a birthday gift to myself, since it’s scheduled to arrive the week after my birthday sometime. yes. That excuses it entirely. Yes.

Also working on a scarf for Matt, and trying to resist temptation to make the Doctor Who scarf a summer project.

Hrrr.

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Legalities and work

Posted on January 24, 2008

by Ninja

Working on things that make me monetary gain has taken up a lot of my time. Mostly reviewing design work, and designing a few things for friends. I received news today that a local printing place has offered me an interview. This is really exciting, since I’d like to do pre-flight work full time. It’s something I’m good at, and what I’ve been trained to do. Here’s hoping!

The bad news of today: After emailing all the big legal kahoonas I could think of to find out about selling chain chomp hats, I found out some unfortunate-ness from the big guys at Nintendo themselves:

Chain chomps fall under the Super Mario Bros. registered trademark. This means that I cannot legally sell them. Because of this, I am choosing not to sell them.

I know a bunch of gamers who are watching my blog for news are smacking themselves over the head, and some may yell at me for not making the money that I could with this. But rules are rules. I’m not about to violate the rules of another country just to make a few bucks. Plus, I don’t think I’d really like to knit a million of these; I already have “orders” for gifts for trade with friends.

NO NOT FRET, however. There are options to getting your own Chain Chomp hat. I will present them here:

1) Learn to knit. And don’t give me the crap about “I don’t have the patience/time/drive”. I’m ADD, I fidget compulsively, I learned to knit when I was a full-time student with a part-time job and a pile of extra-curriculars, and I learned because I saw something that I really wanted to make. If you really want to make this, you can learn to knit. Knitting takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s easy to master all the basics, and there are a ton of free internet resources to help you on your way.

2) Find someone who knits, and beg them to make you one. You’d be surprised at how many people, girls and guys alike, knit. Ask around, you never know. Treat them to a nice dinner or buy them candy in exchange for a hat.

3) If you’re into crafty stuff, I am generally up for swaps! Swaps are where two crafters trade objects. They’re huge on sites like Craftster, and there’s often a theme involved. For instance, I would happily trade a Chain Chomp hat for something that is equally gaming-inspired that took approximately the same amount of time/effort as one of my hats. Email me, we can talk.

Due to the work I put into these hats, I will NOT give them away for free. Please do not ask.

Now, where was I?

Right, work.

This is what I knit when I procrastinate my work.

Part of a Jaywalker…

And a lot more of a Rowan scarf.

All over my keyboard. While I work.

Yup.

This is why, when I get a real job, I’ll have to try really hard to leave the knitting at home.

We’ll see how long that lasts.

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Mind concoctions

Posted on January 9, 2008

by Ninja

Jack’s blanket is sure to have arrived. I’ll need to call the sibling and find out.

In the meantime, knitting has been a bit slow, but on the uprise. Between beating illnesses and getting some profitable freelance work done, the time for knitting has been narrowed to movie-watching. Luckily, that was the Christmas gift of the year, so I had a lot of fodder.

I unearthed this gem for some nice mindless, but enjoyable knitting:

A simple basketweave scarf, knit in Rowan Felted Tweed in Whisper.

It’s a scarf I started a long while ago that sort of got buried. It would be nice to finish it in time to wear before winter is gone for good.

A few other things have found their way to the needles, too. The second Jaywalker is on its way…

I even achieved, without much effort at all, an identical cast-on.

The Jaywalker is the current “travelling” project.

The current “this takes up every fibre of my being” is sock designing.

It currently consists of using the leftover yarn from my Monkey socks to swatch up some lace designs, while I fill up graph paper with concepts and designs.

There was an offer from a lovely yarner for free yarn to make your pattern with, if the pattern gets posted on her website for sale (split profits). I figure it’s yet another awesome way to get my designer foot in the door, and an excuse to design really nice socks. Which I’ve been meaning to do for awhile. The process will probably take a while, since I want these to look really cool. I have a few sketched-out ideas, we’ll see what works out!

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Winding balls and contemplating projects

Posted on May 28, 2007

by Ninja

The past little while has been very busy! The time that I have had to knit has consisted of hauling an easy-to-multitask project in my bag, which has lately been the Rowan Felted Tweed scarf. Even then, I’ve not made enough progress on it to make a seemingly big difference.

I did, however, treat myself to a gift today, as it was on sale:

No, not the sock yarn (Regia Surprise Color), that was from my last yarn store trip. It was the first thing to be wound on my new ball winder! I then realized I got overexcited, and should wind things that I plan to use soonish.

I wound up (haha) winding all of this:

From left: Top is a grey wool skein I am making a friend a hat out of; the bottom two are the possum fur yarn. Middle is Tahki Cotton Classic, which I don’t PLAN on using soon except maybe for a babything, but the hank gets tangled SUPER easily so I figured it’d be safer in a ball. Fall colours on top are for the second jaywalker if/when I get around to it, and under that is the yarn I made my first socks out of (might be enough in there for a pair of ankle socks, maybe). Under those are the two skeins of merino I had that were loosening up and causing tangles, so again, safer in a ball. The two front balls are both Noro Silk Garden in different colorways. Perhaps an alternating striping scarf?

I plan to wind a few more second-balls for current projects tomorrow. But I very much like my investment.

Current projects that need to be worked on: Monkey sock, newest babything, and perhaps one of the scarves. I regret to mention that I have about 8 projects on needles right now. I need to clear some of those out, and wonder if I even want to work on a few of them, or if they were a spur-of-the-moment thought.

But to frog a project that’s going well? Augh!

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