Stop & Shop
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
I finally found a copy of Better Homes & Gardens Simply Creative Crochet. I don't even know why I wanted this issue, other than I wanted it and couldn't find it anywhere. I went to two different Barnes & Nobles and two different Borders. I looked in the magazine rack at the supermarket. I searched the magazine aisle at Target. I'd just about given up when I spied a copy at the Borders out by my mom's house on Long Island. Sheesh. I haven't even flipped through it yet so I can't tell you if it's worth the six bucks I shelled out for it, but it really burns me that I live in "the greatest city in the world" yet I couldn't find a stupid Better Homes and Gardens supplement in any store, anywhere. I also picked up two boxes of Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers at my mom's local Stop & Shop. I can't get those at my supermarket either. Stupid Associated.Labels: crochet, magazines
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Lively Up
Friday, December 01, 2006
This is the hat I made Kyle. He loves it and so do I. I already started making myself one, but then set it aside after he gave me my new DSLR for Christmas. So instead of knitting and crocheting, I've been snapping pictures. Most of them aren't as blurry as this one though. This is the only one Kyle approved for use on the internet.
This is the "Lively Up" hat from Get Your Crochet On!. The description says it's the designer's version of an old school Kangol hat. I made the version with the bill for Kyle, as per his request, but I'm making myself the one with the brim.
It looks really cute on him. I joked that all he needs was a Vespa to look perfect. It's got kind of that hip, mod, horse-racing-jockey vibe to it. I used that wretched Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky. Bleecch!! I can still feel the mohair clinging to my face.
Hopefully it will get cold enough for Kyle to actually wear the hat outside sometime soon. It's 66˚ in New York on the first of December.Labels: crochet, Get Your Crochet On, hat, Kyle
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Red!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
I got a couple of new knitting/crocheting books and quickly whipped up a hat from one of them. This is the "Soldier" hat from Get Your Crochet On! Hip Hats & Cool Caps. I think it came out well, considering I fudged with it a lot since I couldn't get the right gauge. All of the patterns in this book are cool, but the sizing is a mystery. Some hats are one size, others come in small, medium or large, but no measurements are given and I really don't feel like I should have to do the math to figure it out. I hate math.
I wore this hat today, paired with bright red lipstick and let me tell you, I was a sight. It's funny how a blazing red hat and matching lips will draw the bored gazes of fellow subway riders to you. It reminded me of that time I took the A train down to my coat check job. I was wearing a black crocheted newsboy hat from The Gap and vampy red lipstick. Some guy actually followed me off the train and gave me his business card. It said he was a photographer. An amateur photographer. Needless to say, I didn't call him.
Now I'm making another hat from Get Your Crochet On! for Kyle. It's called "Lively Up". He wants the one with the baseball bill on it, but I want to make myself the one with the brim. 'Tis way cool. The sizing is a bit wonky on this hat too. I used a J hook to get the large size gauge, but it fits me. I'm worried it's not going to fit Kyle's enormous head, although he tried it on this morning and said it fit fine. The only truly bad thing about this hat thus far is the yarn I chose. I'm using Lamb's Pride Bulky. I always forget how much I hate this yarn until I'm knitting while simultaneously trying to cough the mohair out of my throat.Labels: Angela, crochet, Get Your Crochet On, hat
posted at 6:23 PM .
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Lovecats
Saturday, November 11, 2006
I've been busily crocheting some stuffed animals. When I was a kid I had about forty-two thousand stuffed animals. Among my favorites was a little family of pink piggies my Aunt Nay crocheted for me. Now that I'm all grown up, I can crochet my own stuffed animals. Isn't life grand?
I finished the tweed cat with the spiffy red scarf the other night. I used some Red Heart Tweed I bought ages ago and knit five inches of a mistake rib scarf I then abandoned out of sheer boredom. I really hate knitting scarves. So, I had this skein of dark grey tweed and thought, "This would make a good cat," so I busted that sucker out of retirement and crocheted away. I gave him two different colored eyes, à la David Bowie, just because I thought it looked cool. The scarf is made of red Knitpicks Wool of the Andes. I have many random skeins of that stuff rolling around in my stash. It's good for felting and the colors are absolutely vibrant.
After I finished the little guy I moved on to a new project: a gigantic cat made of Lionbrand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick. I bought three or four skeins of it for a super chunky shrug I attempted when I first learned to crochet. That WIP also ended up in my stash drawer (I should say stash drawers, for I have several). Do you see a pattern here? I buy yarn, start a project, then it gets shelved (sometimes for years) until I figure out something else to make. It's all good as long as I use up the stash, right? Right.
This yarn is really thick. It looks like that fat yarn Cindy Brady tied in a bow at the end of her braids. I'm using a K-10.5/6.5mm hook. The head itself is five inches tall. This is going to be one enormous amigurumi. I wish I had a better color than Grass Green, but oh well. I'm thinking of getting a skein of orange or pink to make a shirt or something so he's not naked. They actually sell Lionbrand yarn at the Pratt store, so I could just walk over there tomorrow and get a skein. Oh yay, more yarn for my stash!Labels: amigurumi, cat, doll, softie, stuffie
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Dr. Suessian
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Thankfully my family knows nothing about this website or they'd find out what they're getting for Christmas -- mini mitten ornaments! I think they came out really cute. My favorites are the red and green (which Kyle thinks are very Dr. Suessian) and the ones with the embroidered stars. I'm not sure how many I actually need to make, but this is good for now; Christmas is still more than a month away. If I have any left over I will put one on our tree. One of our trees, I should say, since we need to buy another one this year because we have way too many ornaments. It's pretty funny, considering what bah-humbug Grinches we are.Labels: Christmas, gift, knit, mittens, Weekend Knitting
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Baby Bear
Monday, November 06, 2006
I made a bear last night. It's for my cousin's daughter, who now has a baby brother. I don't know why I care, but I always feel bad for the older kid who is no longer the only child and gets pushed out of the limelight by the newcomer. It's weird I should think like that, considering I, myself, am "the baby". I was the third child and the first girl of my generation in my family. I don't think my brother ever fully recovered.
So, in the box is the blanket for the new baby boy and the bear for the big sister. The bear was made using the pattern from Kids Crochet: Projects for Kids of All Ages. It's one of my favorite crochet books. The projects are simple, single crochet is the only stitch used throughout, but the photography and illustration make this book pleasing to look at and the projects are super cute. I want to make the snail pillow for my couch. I modified the bear pattern a little bit, because I can't follow directions to a T anyway. And you can see how the little pink nose is crooked. I can't embroider for shit. But is a two year old really going to care? Nope.Labels: amigurumi, bear, doll, gift, softie, stuffie
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Don't Forget Your Gauge Swatch!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
If you've ever made this face while knitting, you need this journal. This illustration is based on my extensive experience of knitting ill-fitting sweaters. It's a gentle reminder to knit a gauge swatch, something we knitters all need to do! I get happy whenever I look at that girl's face. Oh! The annoyance!! I shoulda known better! Argh!!Labels: illustration, journal, store
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Silly Me
Friday, October 27, 2006
Btw, did you notice how I considered the taupe mini mitten from this post as Fair Isle? I mean, come on Angela, it's only two rows of every-other-stitch. I'm such a retard.Labels: fair isle, gift, knit, mittens
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The Wait Is Over
Thursday, October 26, 2006
I finally got my copy of Vogue Knitting in the mail today. Why does it take so long to come? I hate when a magazine I subscribe to is in the book store two weeks before I get it. Argh!! I do like the purple dress on page 93, although purple isn't my color. I'm too yellow to wear purple successfully. I especially like the boots the model is wearing. I wonder where they got them.
I also dig the bulky Twinkle pullover on page 81, although it looks mighty hot. You gotta hope it's snowing the day you wear that one. I love patterns where the entire sweater can be made with four balls of yarn and the sleeve is nineteen stitches around. I can't wait until Twinkle's book comes out. I've already got it on my Amazon wish list. They finally have the yarns for sale at the Twinkle website. Maybe I should get some Cruise and make that Seaberry Shell again.Labels: magazines, Twinkle, Vogue Knitting
posted at 9:23 PM .
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Knitmas 2006
I'm making ornaments for Christmas gifts this year. I saw the new Anthropologie catalog at my aunt's house and they had all these cool crafty-looking ornaments, like little mittens and socks with buttons and tweedy plaid sewed on, so I thought, "I can make something like that!" Of course, I could be a lazy ass and just buy everyone a ready made Anthropologie ornament, but I'm afraid they'd assume I made them and I could never take credit for something didn't do myself. (Although I might buy myself the squirrel or mushroom ornament. So cute!)
So, I'm knitting a bunch of mini mittens. I made Kyle a pair of gigantic mittens from Weekend Knitting and they were so easy to knit (especially since I learned to Magic Loop!!!) I figured I could use the same pattern to make tiny mitten ornaments. The full-size mittens call for bulky weight yarn, so I used Lamb's Pride Bulky. I always forget how much I hate that yarn until I'm knitting with it and get all that freaking mohair on my face and stuck in my throat. Ugh. And the mohair makes it a bitch to unknit. You can't just rip away, the mohair gets tangled. Yuck. Anyway, Kyle's mittens are the largest size, for the mini mittens I used the smallest child size pattern with worsted weight yarn. I made one plain grey mitten as a test and it came out so well I made two other mittens, all in one evening! I'm going to embroider something on the grey mitten, a star or something. Maybe I will embroider "2006" on all of them. After making the boring grey mini mitten, I made a Fair Isle (my very first Fair Isle piece -- ever) and a blue and white striped. The mittens are so cute. Too cute. I have to make sure I have one left over for my tree. Sigh. I'm going to need a bigger tree.Labels: Christmas, gift, knit, mittens, Weekend Knitting
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JAWS: The Revenge
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
To prove my hands haven't been completely idle, I give you Lulu's Halloween costume. This year she's going as a shark. Very apropos, since she wants to bite everyone she sees anyway.
I saw the shark sweater in a bargain book I picked up at Barnes & Noble, The Cool Girls Guide to Knitting by Nicki Trench. I didn't really follow the pattern, since I'm basically lazy and would rather do what I already know how to do with my eyes closed, which is follow Wylie's sweater pattern at Red Lipstick. So you could say I used the pattern in the book as a visual reference, with out using the actual pattern. I do that a lot. If I can figure out an easier way to do something, I will do it.
To make the sweater more shark-like, I added side and tail fins. I think it came out well, although it's a little small. This is the first sweater I knit Lulu this year, so I was a little out of practice. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn. I like the sheen of Simply Soft. I thought it would look a little wet, like Lulushark jumped out of the ocean to chomp on a hapless seal or swimmer.Labels: dog, Halloween, knit, Lulu, sweater
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Off Topic
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
So, this has nothing to do with knitting, but I figured I'd put this TRIPPYswell post here as well.
A couple of years ago I illustrated two Smart Girls Guides for American Girl. The Smart Girls Guides were super fun to work on and I think the whole series is high quality reading for girls. It's good stuff.
Now I've been featured in their new book Art Starts: Every Page Illustrated by You!. To the left is my interview page. When I finally saw the book at Barnes & Noble I burst out laughing like a fool. I had forgotten which picture I'd sent them. Now Lulu is in print! She looks like such a psycho, but I had to find a picture where I looked "normal". I guess holding a psycho chihuahua dressed in a dinosaur sweater will have to pass for normal for me.
My brother is gonna want to kill me for sending them that picture. Oh well. It won't be the first time he's threatened my life. You just gotta love older brothers.
My other Smart Girls Guides: A Smart Girl's Guide to Starting Middle School A Smart Girls Guide to Friendship Troubles
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Baby Bonanza
Thursday, August 03, 2006
I've got two babies on the way, due in October. No, I'm not pregnant, but my cousin-in-law and a friend are, so I've been cranking out baby blankets. I'm crocheting them, mostly because it's faster than knitting. I started the Modern Log Cabin Baby Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting for my cousin's kid-to-be, but I got bored real fast. Of all knitting stitches, garter is the one I despise the most. I think it's because I'm a continental knitter and since it's a faster way to knit, it's also somewhat sloppier. My Aunt Nay, who is English all the way, does beautiful garter stitch. All her rows line up neatly without that occasional wide row that makes my garter stitch look like crap. It was also taking forever, so I gave up and started to make something on my knitting machine, but that was boring me too, so I decided crochet was my best bet. I based my blanket on pattern from Simple Crochet by Erika Knight. I really like the stitch used. It reminds me of seed or moss stitch, which are both faves of mine.
I finished the girl baby blanket (I love when people find out what sex their kid is going to be--it makes my life a lot easier) in shades of pink, camel, white and grey. It came out a little lopsided, since it was the first crochet blanket I ever made and at first I was crocheting really loose, but then I noticed I was tightening up considerably. I'm not too worried about it though, since I'm sure the blanket will get all stretched out once the new mom runs it through the wash a few times. I'm making the boy blanket a little larger, because I think the girl one came out too small. Anyway, I've got a lot of time to finish, since it's only August and the baby won't be here until Halloween.
Hmm...I should have made and orange and black Halloween blanket! Somehow, I don't think the parents would dig that.
posted at 2:51 PM .
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Helmet Head
Thursday, July 06, 2006
I've been crocheting up a storm. I'm really liking it, which is weird because I like the way most knitted fabric looks better than crochet, except in a few instances. I like crocheted hats, lace, and certain sturdy stitches used for purses and bags. I haven't seen that many crocheted garments I'd want to make, except lacy things like a camisole or an open stitch sweater, and since I'm not adept enough to attempt a sweater yet, I'm going to stick to bags and hats. They're quick to make and infinitely useful.
I just finished another hat last night. It's the Helmet Hat from Vogue Knitting on the Go: Crocheted Hats. I modified it a little by not adding the braided edging and earflap ties. If I'm bored later, I might add that stuff, but for now I like it simple. I used Bernat Satin, a no-dye lot acrylic I bought for amigurumi-making. It's a warm camel that I really like, although Kyle wanted to know why I made a hat the same color as my skin. Silly man, he can't tell the difference between camel and tan! Satin is a soft and shiny yarn and I really dig it, yarn snobs be damned.
Earflap helmets are a good style for me. They encase my head and tamp my curls down a bit. This style would have come in handy back in the days when I had a short flapper bob, which I used to blow-fry straight every day. After spending thirty minutes torturing my hair with a blow-drier and a round brush, I would pull on a tight winter hat (never mind if it was summer) and keep it on until it was time to leave the house. Ah, it feels so good not to have to deal with such nonsensical behavior any more! But this hat sure would have come in handy.
posted at 4:51 PM .
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Gatsby Girl
Sunday, July 02, 2006
I'm a hat girl. I love hats, especially the helmet-like cloches that epitomized the '20s. Though I no longer have the Louise Brooks bob to go along with the hats, I still want to wear them. One of my favorite cloches from college was a black crocheted number I got from I don't remember where. I still have it in my stash of winter hats, but it's so old and full of cat hair and it's kind of small, so it doesn't fit over my gigantic hair. Good thing I learned to crochet -- now I can make my own. My newest hat is the Gatsby Cloche from Stitch Diva Studios. The pattern comes with three hats: the Gatsby, The Downtown Cloche and a newsboy cap. Next time I want to make the Downtown Cloche, in the same kind of rich red used on the Stitch Diva website. Mmmm...
I also bought Vogue Knitting on the Go: Crocheted Hats which has several cloche and helmet hats for my crocheting pleasure.
Ah! So many hats, so little time. Luckily I have enough yarn.
posted at 9:54 PM .
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The Finished Product!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Well, here I am, modeling my Boobholder. I think it came out really well. It's been a long time since I knit a sweater that I actually want to wear. I should just give up knitting sweaters I have to sew together. It's much better to knit in the round or in one piece to see how the darn thing will fit. I want to make another one of these, maybe with long sleeves and a different kind of collar. Maybe I can omit the seed stitch and crochet some lacy stitches around the border. The possibilities are endless! Next time, though, I'm going to decrease a bit on each side of the body so it will be tighter.
I might try crocheting a sweater next. There is a sweater in SweaterBabe.com's Fabulous and Flirty Crochet that I like, but it's crocheted in pieces and then sewn together. I don't know if I'll have better luck crocheting flat pieces than knitting flat pieces. Oh well. Maybe I should make another amigurumi. It doesn't matter what size those are!
posted at 4:31 PM .
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One Done, One To Go!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Tonight I shall finish the other, dare I say? Yes, I dare.
posted at 3:39 PM .
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RIP
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Here is my Boobholder, thus far. It looks pretty good on, which is surprising, since most of the garments I knit look kind of stupid on me. I have to get cracking. I want it blocked and ready to go on the third. But first I have to rip the Seaberry Shell. It's going to be a pain in the ass, since I doubled the yarn. Now I have to rip and separate the yarn in order to harvest enough to make the Boob Holder's sleeves. When I find the right yarn, I'm going to make the Seaberry Shell again. I really like the chunky cable and bobbles. It's got fun proportions.
posted at 7:21 PM .
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Yummy Amigurummi
I've been working away at these little critters, I suppose because I have a fetish for cuteness. I got three Japanese amigurumi books off of eBay, none of which are in English. They do, however, have diagrams, so with a little fudging and a lot of scrutinizing I was able to whip up this chipmunk and my second chihuahua. I'm giving the chihuahua to my mom. She was so disappointed I didn't bring her granddogter to visit the last time I was out, I said I'd make her a little stuffed Lulu. Of course, it's not as cute as the real Lulu, but at least this one won't bite my step dad or pee on the rug.
The chipmunk was real simple to make, since it had less parts than the chi. The one in the book looks a little better because he's meant to be holding a little felt nut in his hands, but I didn't have any brown felt, so I kind of just ignored that part. I've since come to the realization that the nut makes the chipmunk. Oh well.
Enough with the pattern amigurumi--the last one I'm working on is my own pattern (not that I wrote it down or anything). It's an angry red cat. I wanted to make it a devil cat and I still might, if I figure out a good way to make some believable horns. I've crocheted most of the pieces (except for the tail), so it should be done soon, but I have a more pressing project to work on, one with an actual deadline.
It's Glampyre's Minisweater, aka the Boob Holder, and the clock is ticking. I'm trying to finish it in time for my cousin's wedding on the third of July. The body is done and I just started on the right sleeve. I really like the pattern, though I've couldn't get the guage for Glampyre's version, so I've mostly been working off Cosmicpluto's adaptation, The Cavern Cardi. I haven't decided if I want to make it long sleeved or not. The good thing about working top-down in the round is that you can try it on every few rounds. I'm knitting it in cranberry red Plymouth Fantasy Naturale that I bought years ago when I first started to knit. I unravelled the back of an unfinished cardigan to make the Minisweater. I had used the rest of the yarn to make the Seaberry Shell from Interweave Knits Summer 2006 issue. Now I am going to have to rip the Seaberry to make the arms. I made the Seaberry Shell a few weeks ago, but the collar looked all wonky, so I never seamed the sides. I want to make another one, but I can't find the Twinkle yarn specified in the pattern. If I get a chance, I'll take pictures of both the Seaberry Shell and the Minisweater.
posted at 12:09 AM .
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My New Favorite Pattern
Saturday, June 24, 2006
I'm not big on making the same thing twice. In fact, the only things I've made more than once were basics, like scarves and hats and the little bags I knit on my machine for Christmas presents...oh and Lulu sweaters. Okay, so I've made many things more than once, but the point I was unsuccessfully trying to make here was about my new favorite pattern: The Exchange Bag from Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. I made one a few weeks ago and it's come in so handy on short walks with the dog that I made another. This time, though, I went a little color happy. I used dark brown and pink (a favorite color combination of mine) and came up with a flirty little bag for summer. I made the strap longer so I can comfortably wear it across my body. The brown and pink bag came out a little smaller than the previous bag -- I crocheted it tighter to compensate for the stretching the other bag encountered after a few uses. The new bag hasn't stretched out yet, but I'm sure it will. I screwed up the pattern a bit on the middle part of the bag, but only a crocheter who knew what the bag was supposed to look like would notice. I brought the bag out to my mom's house last weekend and she liked it so much I offered to make her one, as a belated Mother's Day present. You know it's a good pattern if I agree to make one for someone! I'm a notoriously selfish knitter (or crocheter, in this instance). I'm going to make it in basic black. Now I just have to haul my ass to P&S to get the crochet nylon.
posted at 10:46 AM .
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Crochet Madness
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
I've tried my hand at amigurumi again, this time after tackling a couple of easy crochet projects as a warm up. Since I felt more comfortable about weilding the hook, I dug in and and crafted another chihuahua. Please don't ask where I got the pattern: I didn't use one. And I didn't write down what I was doing as I did it. I know, not very bright of me, but I think it adds to the one-of-a-kindness of my new chi baby. I tried to knit her a sweater, but her head is so large there was no way it was going to fit, so I made her a little pink cape instead. I made the doll in one day.
I also finished another crochet project yesterday. Can you believe I finished something? Trust me, I'm in shock myself. I spent the last week or so making the "Exchange Bag" from Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. I chose a sophisticated taupe nylon yarn. The result is handbag Kyle says looks like something an old lady would tote her bingo markers around in. Whatever. I like it. I need to get a snap for it today so it won't gape open. I have enough yarn left over to make another one--for my grandma perhaps. This bag was a good project to tackle, because it forced me to really look at the stitches I was making. I had to go back and rip out the middle part of the bag twice because I messed up the pattern. But it all worked well. Now I have yet another bag and I've sharpened my crocheting chops.
posted at 9:29 AM .
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Charohuahua
Thursday, May 18, 2006
I went to P&S on Wednesday and got some yarn for a baby blanket and four balls of sherbet colored Patons Grace to make the "Spring Spirals" scarf designed by Valentina Devine in the Spring 2006 Interweave Crochet. I'm not liking it so much for me, but I think my mom would get a kick out of it. Kyle took one look at it last night and said "It reminds me of something Charo would wear." I laughed and laughed, and then when I stopped laughing, I laughed some more. It also looks good on Charohuahua, don't you agree?
posted at 8:45 PM .
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The Problem With Knitting Socks
Monday, May 15, 2006
I've discovered the drawback to knitting socks: when you finish one, you're only half done. Or in my case, three-quarters done. I brought the second sock along with me on my trip to Italy, but I was too busy taking my mom to the 24 hour emergency dentist to knit much. Then I got home and put the sock on a shelf. I know, it's very sad to leave one sock in a drawer with out it's mate, but c'est la vie.
I've been crocheting a lot recently. I got Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker, and now crocheting makes more sense to me. Not as much sense as knitting, but Debbie Stoller has made it a little more comprehensible. My first finished project was the One Skein Scarf which I made in Peacock Classic Wool. I have a ton of Peacock Classic Wool in my stash. Years ago I bought many skeins for a sweater, but after that project became a lost cause I rolled it into balls which have taken up abode in my stash drawer (keeping the one sock company, I dare say).
Then I started making the green shrug from "Cutting Edge" magazine. It's a very easy pattern, but, of course, I finished half of it before I noticed a huge mistake I made right at the beginning. I hate patterns that don't include schematics. Not to mention I look like the swamp thing when I try it on. I should just stick to making non-garment projects.
Like the dishrag I just made from a pattern in Mason-Dixon Knitting. It's the right size. It's functional. I've already used it more than once. Plus, Kyle thinks I'm a genius. He wants more. More dishrags! Oh joy!
I'm also making granny squares galore. Perhaps this time I will make enough to sew together an afghan. I'm using various shades Patons Decor yarn from my prodigious stash. Kyle was pleased to learn that I hadn't bought any more yarn.
posted at 1:03 PM .
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One Down, One To Go
Friday, March 17, 2006
I finished one sock. I'm going to try to start the second one before I get on the plane. Kyle is very envious of my sock. He covets it. He wants his own pair, but he stipulated I use multi-colored yarn. I'll have to keep an eye out for some truly ugly sock yarn. That'll learn him!
This sock is way too thick to wear with shoes. I guess it's going to be a house sock, but I don't know how practical a 100% wool house sock is going to be. It's very slippery on my hardwood floors.
posted at 4:46 PM .
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My First Sock
Monday, March 13, 2006
I know, I know, it's been a dog's age since I last updated. I haven't been knitting much lately, since I've had a lot of freelance work. I never finished my Lulu amigurumi and I hadn't started any new things, but I'm going to Italy soon and I wanted a little project to do on the plane. I've never knit socks before, mostly because I hate working with dpns and I dread the kitchener stitch, so I searched for a toe-up sock and found this one by Denise Powell. It has very clear step-by-step instructions with lots of pictures and the sock is knit in worsted weight Paton's Classic Wool (which I always have extra balls of) so I've been plugging away on sock #1. You can see in the picture how I kind of screwed up the heel somewhat, but hey, it's my first try. I'm not gonna be too hard on myself. Hopefully I will finish this one up before I leave so I can start #2 before I board the plane.
Oh, and it's hilarious how thick the sock is, being that it's made with worsted weight wool. Maybe I will be able to wear them with my hiking boots. Maybe.
posted at 3:36 PM .
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What Rhymes with Amigurumi?
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
I'm a knitter. I like to knit. I like the way knitted fabric looks. It can be strong and stiff or silky and fluid. It can be striped, textured or lacy. Knitting comes naturally to me.
Crochet, however, doesn't. I don't know why, but I never really picked up on it. I get confused as to where I'm supposed to insert the hook. When you knit, you usually knit the next stitch on the left needle, when you crochet it's all up in the air. At least it seems like that to me. Besides, I don't really like the way crocheted fabric looks, other than lacy things or afghans. But then I started seeing these little crocheted dolls on the internet, they're called "amigurumi" which, I understand, means "crochet doll" (or something to that effect) in Japanese. I wanted to learn how to make one, so I pulled out the one crochet book I own and scrutinized the how-to diagrams, then scoured the internet for instructions on how to crochet a sphere. I then set about crocheting my very own amigurumi. After two days of painstaking hookwork, I ended up with a pink cat. It looks suspiciously like Katbot, without the antennae, of course. It's not perfect, and I can see about a hundred glaring mistakes, but I was pleased enough to embark on my next amigurumi, a chihuahua. Lulu can't wait to sink her pointy little teeth into it.
I also bought two amigurumi pattern booklets from Roxycraft. I haven't made any of them yet, but they're way cool. I especially like the Valentine's bunny.
The best thing about crocheting amigurumi: the only stitch I need to know is single crochet!
The other reason I want to learn how to crochet is because I saw a super cool shrug pattern in a new sewing magazine called "Cutting Edge". At first glance I thought it was knit, so I plunked down five bucks for the darn thing. Boy howdy was I mad when I realized it was crochet! Grrrr!!!
posted at 9:48 PM .
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