When You Can't Quilt...

I think I figured it out: don't use Molly (my big sewing machine) when I'm migraining. I think the constant noise is too much. So today, I knitted. Here's the dish towel. I love that the color name is Pink Panther. Too cute!And I baked. Although when I had all the rest of the ingredients ready to go, I realized that I had less than half of the right amount of yeast. So I gave it a lot of time to rise and an extra knead. It came out good, if a little short. And I knitted some more. The pattern is the Koolhaas Hat. (I'm calling it the Koolhaat.) The problem that I found is that the gauge is based on the lattice pattern knitted in the round. I've been trying to be a good little knitter and knit up a guage swatch to make sure I'm using the right needles, but (Rant Alert!) how can you get an accurate sample of this booger if you knit it flat? And how would you do that anyway since the chart is written in the round? Here's what I think: I think that any pattern with a guage specific to the pattern has a lazy designer! (Hmph!) I don't think it's possible to make a swatch for this despite the ingenious circular-to-flat method Katy showed me. It won't work because the pattern is written one way. (Well, maybe it would work for Katy.)

So I decided to skip it. I checked numerous projects based on this pattern on Ravelry and, from other knitters' notes, it seems that, if I knit according to the pattern, it should be fine. And I did a tiny bit of beadwork. After receiving some beaded stitch markers with my Sense and Sensibility yarn and examining 'em, I knew how to duplicate them. So I pulled out my wire and tools and beads and made two. Just two, though. Let's not get carried away.Didn't do much else, though.

Welcome to Sock World

I've--eee!--started the Sense and Sensibility socks. The pattern was tough to start but I got into the swing pretty quickly after the first two or three rows. There's a technique abbreviated as p2tog tbl. Supposedly it means purl two stitches together through back loop. What it actually means is: twist your knitting into a mobius shape, stretch your wrists in ways that the greater apes (man included) have long forgotten, force a camel through the eye of a needle, stick your tongue out and curse because you just dropped the stitch. Okay, maybe it's not that bad... And the edges are starting to scallop: back to happy!The Soy Toy socks (made of soy and something artificial) are officially finished! I sewed 'em closed on Tuesday and wore 'em. On Wednesday, I noted that I had dropped a stitch and was getting a nice little ladder going, so I had to use a crochet hook and some more yarn to fix that, but no big deal. They are now wearable and gorgeous. Okay, they're not exactly identical twins--they're fraternal!

And since I've finished two knitting projects...

I done went shopping! But only for projects I have in the planning stages. This green and pink soysilk (actually a by-product from the manufacture of tofu!) is going to be a lace scarf. (The shoes are just shoes.

And this wants to be a hat for Tiny.

And meet my new hand towel... I guess it still needs some work.

Look What Came!

Oh, yes! The first installment of the Jane Austen Yarn Club arrived. This is the Sense and Sensibility sock yarn. The picture makes it look a little orangey. It's more reds, yellows and a little pink. The pattern is a scalloped cuff sock and it looks so pretty! I can't wait to get started...

... And I don't have to wait, because I finished a project! Yes, the Albino Bat mask is pinned to the ironing board as I type this, blocking out. (That's what smart knitters do when they've finished a project. You get it wet and pin it into the shape you want and leave it alone. When it's dry, it should retain its shape.)

And here are my Chunky Churn Dash blocks set with hourglass blocks. I think I'll call this one Whisper. I'll try and sew 'em together today. We'll see.

Pouch Day

No, I am not celebrating marsupials, as Jello suggested, although I am partial to opossums. Today was my day to make zippered pouches!

I went from this:

To this! (Notice the leftovers from Cowboy Christmas!)I scheduled Pouch Day about a month ago. I've been wanting to make more pouches, but I knew that it wouldn't just magically happen. So I put it on the calendar. Then I got sick. But the slime monster has been tamed. Sort of.

Anyway, last night got me pulling out fabrics, especially leftover bits and pieces. I had six--count 'em, six! zippers floating around in my sewing basket so I made six zippered pouches! I kinda designed the sizes of the pouches based on the zippers.

Things I learned:

1. Don't trim the zippers. That extra fabric is there for a reason. (D'oh!)
   
2. While a pouch opening must conform to the zipper, the length of the pouch is only limited by good sense. Or not.
   
3. Vary the sizes.
   
4. Pins are pointy.
   
5. So are needles.
   
6. If you put it on the calendar, it's much more likely to happen.
   
7. There are lots of tutorials online. I used this one: twelve22.
   
8. Don't buy metal zippers. 'Nuff said.

The lining for this was from Leapfrog--which I never posted a picture of but it was cute. Trust me.

Three of 'em were leftovers from Kiwi Twist--the quilt fabric I purchased in New Zealand. It's all used up now--yay!I love the Maori designs...
Moo!

Stashbuster Alert! Total fabric used is 64" (measured by width of fabric)

And the Albino Bat is nearing completion. I didn't guess how long the strap had to be. Or how big my head was. Say nothing.

...but No Whining!

I've been invaded by a slime monster. It resides in my head so thinking has become a challenge. So I will write very little. But here's some pictures.

Arctic Anarchy close-ups.

Arctic Anarchy in full.

Cowboy Christmas top. Worked on it during the Superbowl.

Dream Dancer continues to improve. This shows the blue behind her head has grown. I've done more. Maybe the next post will show a ...ah, forget it. I'm going back to bed. The best part of being sick: not being expected to do anything!

Accountability--14 Letters of Expectation

I thought I'd better get another knitting project on the needles. I don't want to finish my socks and start a harder sock pattern without a nearly brainless knitting job. So here's the Albino Bat. It's really an eyeshade--here's the pdf for the free pattern. Keep in mind that you'll actually upload the pattern when you click the link... if I did it right. Too often the lights go on and off when I go to bed before the Man of the Place. This might work better than a bandana... or a banana, now that I come to think of it.

Getting it started and up to 8 rows during Battlestar Galactica has definitely lost me the title of World's Slowest Knitter. Ah, 2007 was my glory year. No one could knit as slowly as I did. Ah, well, time makes fools of us all...

Also, got a little progress on Dream Dancer. I decided to work specifically on the blue area behind her instead of that cape. Oh, my stars! That cape has got to be the biggest piece of chamois ever depicted in Western art. I had to not sew on it for a while.

And here's the big picture for those who like to get a better idea of what's going on:

Cuddles asked me how I ever get so much done. I suppose it's this blog and readers like her. I have some accountability. People know what I'm working on and ask about it. My mom or my Beloved Uncle Don will regularly drop me an email to ask about something. Or another blogger working on a similar project has a comment to make. Even without that, it's in my face with my Too Many Projects list at the right side of my blog. Accountability. Speaking of which, I've got to go tidy the kitchen.

A Wrinkle in Mine

The Polka Dot Garden has been finished--wa-hoo! The Man of the Place has been obsessed with watching the first season of Lost that a friend sent, so I've been able to sit by his side and sew down the binding first, and the label second. I even did a little embroidery on the label (no big deal, though).
Here's a close up of a block--you might be able to see a little of the quilting
And here's how the back turned out. You might noticed that I used up all the leftover scraps from the front--and that's how the Scrap Queen rolls!The only wrinkle was, um, a wrinkle. There was a long crease that got quilted into the back. And yes, I could have painstakingly pulled out the quilting and started over... if I was working for Martha Stewart or something... but I'm not. So.... wa-hoo! The Polka Dot Garden is finished!I also made a little progress on Sleep Baby Sleep. I still have no idea where it's going to wind up, seeing how the baby's room it was originally meant for is now (without changing tenants) home to a fourteen-year-old who prefers ninjas to bunnies.

Pink Orient

I showed Tiny these three fabrics and asked if she knew anyone who liked Asian prints, as she does, and pink. To my shock, she said that she did know someone: herself. I thought pink had fallen out of favor. But apparently it clawed its way back into her good graces. So I started work on it. For now I'm calling it Pink Orient. I'm just using a disappearing nine patch, as I'm so enamoured of making. Here's a link to my photo tutorial. (It's not as good as another one, but I couldn't find it tonight.)

Then I laid it out in the typical style and showed it to her, just to make sure it was really for her. "It's a little busy, don't you think, Mom?"

I looked at her from under my brows and gave the quick answer: "Have you ever seen the quilts I make?"

She grinned and nodded and that was the end of the exchange. But I gave it a little time and thought about it. I've decided I'll sash the blocks in black to help it settle down a little, like I did with the blue in Everything Groovy. That should do the trick.

Also on the quilting front, I've been working on the binding for Polka Dot Garden. It's moving along, but slowly. I like to hand-sew down the binding. It gives me a chance to fall in love with the quilt.

In knitting news:

I finished the embellishments and put in the interfacing for the Red Herring Purse. I've decided to add dowels into the handle for reinforcing, so I need to wait until I go to the lumber store. But at least it's moving forward. Glacially. Hey, glaciers move! They do. No, they really do. Like a foot. Every year. More with global warming...

And the second Soy Toy sock has turned the heel. Well, it's not automatic, like it knits itself or anything. I actually turned the heel. Wow, that would be cool if it just knit itself right along and I would find it in the morning all done. Like the Tailor of Gloucester in Beatrix Potter's book. Oh, wait, that turned out to be mice that did the work. Never mind.

On Monday, I went to see Kate Jacobs, author of The Friday Night Knitting Club. I really liked the novel and look forward to reading the sequel, Knit Two. She's very articulate and friendly and even acquiesced to my ridiculous request that she pose with my knitting. (I promise, I did try to remove the red-eye effect, but it looked creepy that way, so I just put 'em back to red.)

Good Things Come in Small Packages

Well, I finally got the last border on it and now I present... Blue Mountain Rhapsody! I'm going to hand it off this week for somebody else to make the border. I'm really pleased at how well it turned out. It's probably the most complicated top I've ever made, uh, make that completed. Moreover, Stashbuster Alert! I used 132"--that's almost 4 yards--from my stash!

And in the mail yesterday arrived a nice little package.

I looked at the return address (Mary Jane's Cross and Stitch) and had to zoom to my studio to open it. I thought you'd like to come along for the ride.

Hmm, packaging material...

Looks intriguing...

Ooh! Yes! It's my first installment in the Over-the-Top Series from Just Nan! Cute, huh? I can hardly wait to start. I just need to get past this finishitis first....

Speaking of which...

I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and knitted the i-cord (kind of a square strap for you non-knitters) for my iPod carrier while reading more of Sense and Sensibility. Then I took advantage of the fact I was using cotton yarn. Cotton yarn is plied loosely. I was able to separate 1 of the 4 plies and use it as a thread to sew up the sides of MiPod. It worked like a nice strong button thread. Now I don't need pockets to listen to a podcast! Hoop-de-do!