Monday, March 30, 2009

De-Stash De-Tox

Pink Orient is finished! I changed the name to Fan Girl, as it's for my fan girl. Here's a closeup of the border fabric. I just pulled it out of the stash and it seemed to have a place right there. Yay--no extra shopping!
Here's a closeup of the quilting: it's a color-change thread that I had a big spool of just hanging around, wanting nothing more than to be a part of something greater, much like the rest of us.
And the back. I just hosted a De-Stash party with some of the knitters I know. One was moving out of the country and wanted to clear stuff out. So I went through my yarn and separated it into the stuff that could go... ...and the stuff that wanted to stay.But not everything that I was willing to part with was ready to leave the house that night. I have to go through and decide what to reabsorb and what to send to charity.My Nonsense and Sensibility Socks got done: hoop-de-doo! I had to block the cuffs because they're lace. Worked just fine but looks a little creepy in process. Here they are, all done! Am I standing on a book, you ask? Um. Maybe.

Friday, March 13, 2009

A Real Buckeye!

So, Applecheeks got a request for a quilt for a fellah who's a real Buckeye fan. (That's the team from Ohio State University for them's that don't know) She found this panel on eBay and dug out some coordinating fabrics. Then I took over. It struck me that there is a quilt block called Buckeye Beauty. Here it is: It's gonna work great.
But what is a buckeye? I went to the web. According to wordnet.princeton.edu, the inedible nutlike seed of the horse chestnut. Really? Horse Chestnut?Really? A nut? One that you can't even eat? And they named the team after a nut? Huh. I mean, if it was up to me to name a team, I'd probaby pick something like a funnel cake. Yeah. The New Orleans Funnel Cakes. That'd get people to cheer.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Just About Perfect

The Dream Dancer is moving along, albeit at a snail's pace. But the shield is done (well, it looks done because I haven't sewn in the white yet, but let's just humor the nice blogger) and the outside of the cloak is done (really). I've decided that she needs a name. What do you think of Running Water?
And here's the back for Cowboy Christmas. I was going to piece it from stash fabrics because I didn't have enough of anything that would work nicely, but something wonderful happened: at Prayer Quilt Ministry, Applecheeks held up this cloth--3 yards! and said,
"This was donated to the ministry but we can't use it because* it's Christmassy
and it seems to be a shame to cut it up. Can anyone use it? Anyone? Really, I
was hoping someone would be able to put it to some use..."

Now go back and see where I put the *. It was at that point that I ran up and wrapped myself in the fabric, but she wouldn't let go and just kept talking and talking. Boy, that woman is strong!And here's a nice little close-up. I think it's just about perfect!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

The Rest of the Story

This was lunch today. Do not fear the Spam.
I had some fun yarn shopping yesterday and decided to get creative with the pictures, so, I present to you my new acquisitions:


Tiny wants arm warmers in Griffindor colors--that's gold and red to you non-Harry Potter fans--so I think these will do handily. (The worsted weight we picked up earlier was just too thick for the pattern.) Besides, the gold is shiny. Ooh, look, shiny!


Also, Tiny got seduced by these luscious glittery purples and wants a hat. I will comply.

Knit Pix is so cool! They have a very good return policy. While I was knitting the Sense sock, I experienced a horrible knitting-related accident: the end pulled off of the needle! Instead of calling the insurance company, I called the seller direct. They will replace my needles, no problem. As long as I wasn't skydiving or shark-baiting, they are very cool. And since they were sending needles, I ordered a book. This one.Because... there's a new baby coming! Yay! My cuz is all preggers. I started a new set of booties, too.
The Non-Sense & Sensibility Socks:
Sense is done. So glad to say I'm halfway there. As to the pattern: I've never done a triple decrease for a toe. It looks pretty, but we'll see how it feels under a shoe. On to Sensibility.
And now, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. (the beginning of the story is here.) I got an email back from my pet TV star: David H. Lawrence, XVII. Here's what the man himself had to say: "Yeah, that's the story of my life - a chick stalks me, and then is distracted by something shinier... than my head." He's got a point. It is shiny.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Is this a Bad Idea?

I've been twittering and decided to follow one of the actors from Heroes: David H. Lawrence XVII. Shortly after, I received this message:
Thanks for following me! Please let me know why u did at (insert email addy here) (and yes this is really me, not a bot)
So, here's what I'm sending him:
Okay. Why am I following you? Um. I'm not. I was just... going to the same Starbucks, Barnes and Noble and Gee, That Was a Really Expensive Gadget store as you. The tracking device on the right wheel-well of your car has nothing to do with it. (No, don't go looking for it.) It's just a weird co-inkidink that I happen to have enjoyed your interview on 10th Wonder and your views on popular culture, not to mention (except that I am) your bizarre sense of humor. I'm not following you. I'm just, um... ooh, look, shiny!
Um
He's smart. He'll know I'm kidding, right? Right?

Knittin' Sittin'

I'm not a slug. I'm not. Really. I have a good excuse for not blogging and it involves doctors (not mine) and beds (okay, mine). But I'm not tellin'. So there.
I will reiterate my blog commitment: I commit to bogging three times a week, with absolute forgiveness if I don't. So there. Again.
In the meantime, I've been getting a fair amount of knittin' sittin' time. I finished the Koolhaat, and Tiny loves it. Yay!
I got the yarn for the Griffindor arm warmers, but I'm still waiting on the pattern. (Boo.)
I've started on another pair of soy socks, since I LOVE them. I'm calling these Soy-Lent Green, seeing as they're soy, it's lent, and well, green. These are my TV watching project, although NonSense has been there for a while.
Speaking of which: Yay. Sock #1 is almost done! Almost toe-time!
And here's the weird one. It's a headband. It is too. Really. I started out following a pattern but was running out of yarn. Um. Trust me, it looks pretty good on. Okay, but it only took two days.
So, yes, knitting galore. But hospital light is too freaking dim for stitching. And they frown on setting up a sewing machine there. They get really upset when you start up with the iron and rotary cutter. (But doesn't it make sense to be in a hospital if you're going to burn and/or cut something off of yourself that you normally have attached?)