Rainbow Sweater

For some odd, unexplainable reason, much like the reasoning behind all the yelling that the children across the road at the local middle school do on a daily basis; I would like to knit a rainbow striped sweater or cardigan.

It might be because my wonderful husband bought me enough chroma yarn from knit picks to do so or the fact that I am reconsidering knitting up the entrelac marvel known as Rapunzel by Universal Yarns. Forgetting of course the sheer ridiculousness that someone encountered at a knitters convention trying to purchase said pattern only to be met with the phrase, "You'll get the pattern for free if you purchase the $80 worth of yarn it takes from our company to make it." Really?? How sad to be turning away potential customers. That being said, I waited 2-3 years before finding a place online that sold the pattern alone for a mere $5 which in my book is a far more reasonable price.

The chroma yarn I have isn't quite rainbow-esque, but a toned down version in the colorway (New England). Many of my other projects are coming to an end and I have finished my Central Park Hoodie so my needles are craving a sweater of some sort.

I suppose time will tell what the yarn wants to be. In other news, we are moving again :-/

Packing is going well since we really haven't fully unpacked from our first move almost a year ago. I am nervous, excited, and scared all at once. I hope this move will be easier than the last.

Wish me luck...

Impossible to Get

I have a major sock knitting bug going on, but those of you who know me know that i love knitting socks. I love all the wonderful variegated and solid sock yarns out there. The color combination and pattern possibilities are endless.

Now I have to admit; I am giving up on ever getting my hands on some Wollmeise sock yarn :( It seems a multitude of sock knitters out there can find some.... Except me. I'm not a big fan of shopping for overpriced Wollmeise on Ebay.

All the online shops I've looked at for the yarn (such as The Loopy Ewe and the Wollmeise website itself) are always sold out. Just makes me depressed. I've seen pictures of all the wonderful colors of sock yarns they have and I've gotta say that it'd be a dream for me to get a chance to knit with this yarn. Someday, I am hoping to get a skein of a brilliant blue or green Wollmeise yarn.

Don't get me wrong, I still love my richly intense Dream in Color (Smooshy), Claudia Hand Painted, Lorna's Laces, and Knit Picks sock yarns. But boy oh boy does that Wollmeise sock yarn look delicious.

Ok, sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest. Anyone know of any Wollmeise retailers aside from The Loopy Ewe, Ebay, or the Wollmeise website itself? Or maybe any tips on getting some before they get sold out or as to when they're ever in stock?

The Great Move

Arggh, so I guess I suck at keeping a current blog. It's been over a year since I've made a post. So much is happening in my life. I am getting married in October of this year and I am moving to a place rich in places to fish. I think I will be happy there. Well, of course I'll be happy; the love of my life will be there with me =P

I am currently working on the textured tunic from the book Fitted Knits.



I am also working on the knitting pattern 'Through The Woods' from Knitpicks.com.



I cannot wait to wear them come Winter time.

I still remain hopeful that I may find the time to keep my blog going if not just once a month. We still don't have internet service at the new house and it looks bleak for even a chance at getting service in October, but we are going to stay positive. All I can say is moving and planning a wedding at the same time is not a good idea... But I am doing alright, I think.

Wish me luck! =)

Moving On, Singing a Song, Knitting Along...

So I thought I'd be able to keep up with a blog..... Silly me; life got in the way. I would really like to keep this going though. I should invest in a nice digital camera so that I can take pictures of my knitted items as I finish them.

Since my last post, I have adopted two stray kitties (brother and sister). The male's name is Mozart for certain circular patterns he had as a kitten on his fur. The female's name was Blue, but my mom had issues with the name 'Blue' not being a girl's name. Her name has since been changed to Penny. Don't worry, I still give a big HMPH to having to change the name in the first place. And I have also been helping my fiance take care of three guinea pigs which I find utterly hillarious and cute. Their names are: Bolt, Lynn, and Kumi.

If all that wasn't enough, I am looking into nursing schools and taking exams for such schools. So, my plate is pretty full right now. But I digress..... I still have things to keep me entertained like little advertisements like this one my dad showed me:



All in all, I am still knitting and trying to survive these crazy times and I would like to thank all who read my blog and continue to be patient with me =)

Back For More

Wow, I knew I had been away from this blog for a while now, but I didn't know it had been that long. I really wanted to create a continuously updated blog since I first started posting, but I have to admit that I really didn't understand all of the functions on this website. I am hoping that this post will show up in the right place ^_^

I have been having loads of fun with my knitting and crochet. It has to be said, that I am moreso a knitter, but I do crochet as well. I am really hoping to keep everyone entertained with new pictures and whatnot of most of my FO's (finished Objects) or WIP's (Works in Progress).

That being said, I wanted to start things off fresh and offer up a cute little baby hat pattern I came up with after yet another night of suffering from insomnia.... I'd tell you it was the love child of about a gallon of pepsi and a need to knit something other than my mother's birthday socks, but that just sounds weird to even me O_O

Now, I have to admit that I'm not the best pattern writer yet and as far as I've seen, there hasn't been a pattern like this..... So, here goes:

Squirrel Surprise (AKA: Baby Acorn Hat)
By: Tara Koos

Materials:

- 1 Set of US size 7 dpns 1 16" US size 9 circular needle 1 Skein of Vanna's Choice
yarn color #130 - Honey (Color A) 1 Skein of Vanna's Choice yarn color #126 -
Chocolate (Color B)


Brim:

--Using smaller needles & color A, cast on 56 sts.

--Work in 2x2 rib for 10 rounds.


Main Body:

--Switching to larger needles and color B, knit 1
round.

--Next round, [k2,m1] across to the end of the round.

--K1 round--Next round, [k2,m1] across to the end of the round. *Note: Don't
worry about any extra sts at the end of the your rounds, just knit them
normally. The point here is to increase the size of the hat.

--Knit 13 rounds.

--Next round, [k2,k2tog] across to the end of the round. *Note: Again, don't worry
about any extra sts, just knit them normally.

--[k2,k2tog] across to the end of the round.

--*k1 round, next round: k2tog across to the end of the round* Repeat these two
rounds until you have 4 sts remaining. -Note: The remaining sts will form the
stem of the acorn. I found that if I had 4 sts left, I could acheive a curly stem.
But if you wish, you can decrease from the previous 2 rounds until you have 3
sts and make a straight stem.

--k3 rows for icord stem. If you are using 4 sts, k2tog, k2 on the next row. Then
knit your stem until it is the length you desire. If you are using 3 sts, continue
your icord normally from the beginning row until it is the length you desire.

--Bind off, weave in ends.

--Enjoy!

It should inevitably look something like this:

The Insanity of Knitting

So I've taken up knitting and crochet and it's literally driving me insane, but in a good way =) I am a creative person at heart and there are so many possibilities to create when you get the hang of all the different techniques.

Now this is quite a big thing for me as I taught myself how to knit and crochet. I'm not saying it was perfect, but I had a fair grasp of the concepts with all the 'how to' pictures out there. Although, from a beginners' point of view, I suggest someone show the steps between the usual pictures as you are often left sometimes wondering how the yarn got from one place to the other. And for the love of all that is holy people!!! If you're going to make a video to help people over the internet, use a different color yarn than the color of your outfit and the wall behind you. I'm just saying.... Also, learn how to use a zoom! Don't get me wrong, not all online help videos suck, just some of them and if you've ever gone online looking for them then you know what I mean.

Some advice I would like to give is to try the dvds out there produced by a company called Leisure Arts. I am particularly fond of the 'In Motion' series because it really helps you step by step and without the humiliation of asking a stupid question to other people.... and so on and so on. Although, I have to admit that the Knit Stitches in Motion dvd was very disappointing in the way that it doesn't show you all the basics that you need for knitting such as the different cast on techniques, decreasing, increasing, and creating button holes. Now they do actually show the button hole issue in The Art of Knitting & Crochet Vol. 2 dvd, but this is way in the middle of some veteran knitter's speal on different issues in knitting and not as a specific topic on the dvd.

I'm really interested in making sweaters, hats, and socks, but would like a nice resource for all of my questions and such. I mean I think I understand that you do all the pieces of a sweater separately....is that right?? and then sew them together with a tapestry needle?

I was at one point attempting to make my own sock (yes, I mean that in a singular way) and I even got down to the heel and managed to turn it using my own cockeyed method, but my point is - is that the dvds out there all show all this technical gibberish and don't even show close ups or talk normally. As much as I like to tell others, I haven't been knitting for that long and well I would rather enjoy lamen's terms.

I am proud of myself though; as I am working on a hat from the show Firefly and it is the first project where I changed colors with the yarn. The stitches were a little loose around that area, but nothing a tapestry needle couldn't fix. I've also started using some of the tools out there to help knitters and I've also begun to understand what some of them are for.

What really annoys me is that they have these machines or special kit crafts and insist that these are, shall we say... knitting... Insert fury here... I'm just saying that for as much work and effort I put in to learning the craft only to discover that there are cheat... I mean quick ways out, well, you can see my frustration. And maybe I'm being a little high strung, but I kinda like the process it takes me to create things and figure out my mistakes so when I get a project done, I can be proud and astonished that I really created something neat. Heck, I'm so inspired right now, I'm thinking of making some of my own patterns/ designs and trying to make them later on.

So while I'm not quite a veteran knitter....I've got at least 4 months under my belt; I'd like to share experiences and triumphs with other knitters and crochet-ers ^_^