Lady Purl Designs

Business!

2012-01-27T21:23:00.000-08:00

So I'm trying to get this business up and running, but of course there are plenty of things to distract me. LIKE GORGEOUS YARN and a sock book willed with delicious patterns. Also, making a plaster cast of my foot so I can model my socks without trying/failing to take pictures of my own feet (it's harder than it sounds!). Here's one of them and a few new skeins I've made and put up on my Etsy.

"Luv2Knit" by Alice Yu, published in "Soctopus." Yarn: Jitterbug.

"Sunnydale Pride"

"Crest of the Pendragon"

"221B Baker St."

"Emerald City"

"The Man They Called Jayne"

"The Revenge Society"

DYE & NYE

2012-01-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I'm celebrating the new year by getting my yarn making business up and running. That's right, Lady Purl is soon to be a business of it's own. Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I got my very first Etsy sale yesterday and I almost peed my pants! My little Firefly skein is going to a good home!

I made these 2 this week to satisfy my geek fetish. My "Time And Relative Dimensions In Space" and "Sherlock." I hope they find good homes soon too :}Every time I make a new skein I immediately want to start knitting with it, hehe, it takes all my will power to just put it away. They look so amazing in person. I need to find some better ways to take better pictures of them.

Mona Lisa

2011-12-10T15:37:00.001-08:00

The enigmatic smile that became da Vinci's, and undoubtedly one of the world's, most famous paintings. I went on a study abroad trip a few years ago to France and got to see this beauty at the Louvre in person. I was struck by how small it actually was and how huge the crowd was circled around her. Her image is ingrained in the minds of millions, and I wanted to emulate it in yarn form.

Can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LadyPurl

Inspirations

2011-11-30T19:22:00.001-08:00

These are a few of the paintings I plan to recreate into skeins of yarn in my "Inspired" line of yarn (which will all be on my Etsy account, hopefully by the end of the year! >> http://www.etsy.com/shop/LadyPurl

DNA sweater vest (LAST ONE!)

2011-11-29T20:58:00.001-08:00

This is my little sister. I knit her this sweater in green last year, but it was too big. This new smaller version was my wedding present to her. I switched from size 7 needles to size 2 and it took FOREVER! Luckily it's the very last time I'll ever knit it, hehe. The pattern in very nice, but those tiny stitches!

Close up of the DNA cable and lace work.

The back was all lace, I love it.

Staghorn Scarf Pattern

2011-11-26T14:08:00.001-08:00

Staghorn

The yarn you use and needle size probably doesn't make a lick of a difference. I used Vanna White's line of yarn because I loved the color, it was super soft, and cheap. It took 1 1/2 balls of yarn. I used size 10 1/2 needles (6.5 mm).

Abbreviations:

k: knit

p: purl

sl1kw: slip 1st stitch knit-wise

sl1pw: slip 1st stitch purl-wise

BC: place 2sts on a cable needle in the back, k2, k2 from cable needle

FC: place 2sts on a cable needle in the front, k2, k2 from cable needle

Cast on 30 stitches.

Row 1 (WS and all other wrong side rows): sl1pw, k2, p2, k2, p16, k2, p2, k2, p1.

Row 2: sl1kw, p2, k2, p2, k4, BC, FC, k4, p2, k2, p2, k1.

Row 4: sl1kw, p2, k2, p2, k2, BC, k4, FC, k2, p2, k2, p2, k1.

Row 6: sl1kw, p2, k2, p2, BC, k8, FC, p2, k2, p2, k1.

Repeat rows 1-6 until desired length.* Cast off while following the WS of the pattern, it looked most natural casting off after Row 2.

*My favorite rule of thumb for knitting scarves is to knit the scarf as tall as you are (or whoever will receive the scarf). That made mine about 65 inches long, but knit it as long as you feel like. It's such a fast knit and makes a very cute slinky skinny scarf so if you have the yarn just keep on going! ^_^

Fringe: I cut 12" lengths of yarn, 6 per fringe section, and 5 on each edge. That's 60 in total. I folded the yarn length sections in half (6 pieces), stuck them through the scarf at the cast on and cast off edges (just make a hole and squeeze it through or use a crochet hook), pulling half way through, making a loop then pulled the loose ends (that are hanging out the other side) through the loop and pulled tight. I hope that makes sense, but it's essentially just knotting the fringe onto the bottom. It's the easiest way to attach fringe, one can even call it the cheater's method it's so simple :-P

Hope you have fun with it! I'm putting the pattern up on Ravelry, and if you knit one up I'd love to see your pictures!

Starry Night Results

2011-11-14T17:31:00.001-08:00

Here's how the yarn turned out.

Not sure how well I did, but either way the yarn felt and looked awesome. The blue came out a lot deeper than I expected and the purple really pops. I wanted yellow, but it came out more gold, slightly orange. I think it should be very interesting to knit with.

Vincent

2011-11-13T18:30:00.001-08:00

I had a dream about the "Vincent and the Doctor" episode of Doctor Who last night. I thought, I must do something to celebrate my love for not only that episode, which is thee best Doctor Who episode, beating "Lady in the Fireplace" by a hair, but also my adoration and obsession with Vincent Van Gogh.

So I'm going to do what I do best. Knit something.

I wasn't just about to go out and buy the yarn for this. It had to be special. So I hand dyed it in a way that I've never tried before. I separated the dyes by placing them in individual jars, filling them half full with a dash of vinegar and a teaspoon-ish of dye in each jar.

I separated how much yarn I wanted of each color and slowly stuffed the yarn in the jars, using a dowel to stir and yarn.

I'll post more pictures tomorrow once it dries. I'm super psyched to see how it turns out.

I also need to find a pattern, or make one, that really encapsulates Starry Night. Something wiggly and wobbley, me thinks. Something with cables, perhaps. Probably socks. Can't go wrong with a nice pair of socks :}

Designing, writing, and stitching

2011-11-10T10:57:00.001-08:00

I've been designing patterns and coming up with ideas a lot lately for a pattern book I want to put together. I'm still weighing the pros and cons about selling each pattern individually myself, or through a publisher like knitty.com, or on Ravelry for like $5 a pattern, OR putting them all together and publishing a book myself... Or sending that finished book out to publishers and have someone else sell it... Uhg, I don't know. I think I should probably get some patterns published first on sites like Knitty just to get my name out there. Then when I'm knitty-famous I'll have the street cred to publish a whole book. Either way I can't really publish pictures or notes on what I'm working on :{.

I do have one thing though!

This is a scarf I whipped up for a friend of mine who just designed a new logo for me. It's still in the works, but I'll be revamping my whole site and "Lady Purl" soon enough. The cable is called "Staghorn" and it was super easy to do. If anyone would like the pattern, I'd write it up!

Star Socks

2011-09-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I never posted this, but a LONG while back I got a sock blank from KnitPicks and dyed it all pretty with a bunch of Jacquard dyes and Kool-Aid. These were my results:

I wanted to paint a design, but at the same time keep it simple. Stars worked well.

The lightest blue was Blue Raspberry Kool-Aid.

Then I used Jacquard Dye color Peacock.

And then ended it with Jacquard Dye color black.

These are the finished socks after knitting them up with the pattern Anastasia Socks. The color faded slightly in the steaming of the blank process, and the red and purple stars just came up as random stripes, but their pretty awesome socks in person.

I want to do it again!

Ooooodles of new projects!

2011-09-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

I've made so many new things that I think I'll just let the pictures do the talking :}

I. Am. A. Geek.

Cross Stitching, it's my new thing

2011-07-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't posted in forever and a day. I would open up my site thoughtfully, look back at things I did months ago and think about all the crafts I've done since then and think, "I should update this," then I remember other stuff I have going on and think, "I'm too busy," and mosey on.

IT"S TIME TO UPDATE!

Anyway, I've been cross stitching a lot lately. I love it. Here's some of my newest stuffs:

Work in progress and the finished piece. The Aztec Tomb!

G.O.B. is my boyfriend!

Actually this is a gift for my boyfriend for his birthday. He's a huge Arrested Development fam and quotes it daily, sometimes hourly.

Tarquin for Trixie

2011-03-23T20:13:00.001-07:00

So here's Tarquin's story.

Tarquin was created for my friend Trixie. Shortly after being born off the needles he had to explore. Little baby Tarquin is a very curious little octopus.

The first thing he had to do was meet Mr. Squid. I thought Mr. Squid took a liking to Tarquin right off the bat, but it turned out that his "sweet and innocent hug" was really a ploy to eat poor lil' Tarkie. So I quickly rescued him.

Mr. Squid has yet to comment about his actions, but I can only assumed he's ashamed of himself.

Tarquin, getting a taste for danger, decided to take a walk on the wild side. Here's a picture I snapped of him just as he was stealing my monies.

He then ventured into my roommate's art project and decided to recite some Shakespeare.

He quickly realized that he was in fact an octopus and having just been born had not yet learned Shakespeare. This saddened him.

"Wherefore art... where the hell am I? Is this stage made of styrofoam?!"

Resigned to his fate of never being able to learn and recite Shakespeare on a real stage, Tarquin turned to drinking. I found him in my wine glass by the end of the night. All of my Riesling had vanished.

He'll be going to his new mommy, Trixie, this weekend. I hope she has as much fun with him as I did.

Random Awesome

2011-03-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

I've been busy of late, which often prevents me from posting on here, but usually doesn't prevent me from knitting. Because if knitting is good for anything, it's to procrastinate another project or responsibility. I'm even doing it right now!

The story behind this dog sweater is that his owners, my former professors, and their son named him Jean-Luc Piccard Colbert (lol, I can't make this up). So... I could not resist.

Jean-Luc and his owners were very pleased with the results :D.

This morning my friend and I had a "dying party" in which we dyed a bunch of yarn. I had made a yarn order that I had planned to use today, but it hasn't come in yet. Next post though (!) I will be dying. :}

This was a little mini skien to practice on. We wanted to see the effects of kool-aid and some of the dye that she had. I used Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool-Aid, Peacock dye, and Jade Green dye. The Kool-Aid ended up really light blue, but I liked that variation. I thought the Peacock would be more purple, but it was dark teal, and the green was green. I let it dry for a few minutes then wound it and made the most adorable mini yarn ball ever.

I think I'm going to make a mini octopus out of it. I think a friend of mine needs a mini octopus :D. WHO DOESN'T?

And here's an update of where my zombie octopus of December of last year ended up. I knit the little hat too. :} I love strange little things.

Birthday Socks!

2011-03-05T21:20:00.001-08:00

I had a really fun birthday this week. Got my hair did, had some margaritas, got some fun gifts, and hung out with some wonderful people. It was a great time all around.

I bought this yarn as a early birthday present for myself and was able to finish these socks in a little over a week, just in time for my big day. They're "Express Lane" on Ravelry and super easy. I memorized the pattern after one repeat.

*Damn it's hard to take a picture of your socks by yourself :P

Free pattern after way too long an absence!

2011-02-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

It's been far too long. I keep thinking, I'll post as soon as I'm knitting something I can publish... then I start designing another project that I want to send out. Rules for publications are generally that you can't pre-publish/self-publish any of your work, not the pattern, not any pictures, and I really didn't even want to post stash shots in case it would get me in trouble, lol. So, I have been knitting, it's just... work related, and therefore confidential until publication. I'm sending one pattern out in April, and should hear back from them shortly after if I get into their Fall Issue. It's exciting but makes for meager post material :D

ANYWAY.

Something I can give you folks, as a consolation prize, is a FREE PATTERN to my Tassel Ta-Tas. A friend asked me to write this up, and I had a few to make to donate to a raffle, so I noted my process. Hope you enjoy!

Tassel Ta-Tas

Needles: 4 DPNS Size #5.

Yarn: MC= Flesh Colored Yarn, I used Simply Soft (nice and cheap :}) in the color "peach" which worked perfectly. CC= any waste yarn, you'll need at the very most a yard.

Fringe: you can buy fringe by the yarn in any Wal-Mart fabric section, but if you'd like to make your own tassels their are plenty of tutorials out there. You only need about 2 inches of fringe.

-CO 60 stitches in MC (20 sts on each needle), join.

RNDS 1-10) Knit in the round.

11) *K 8, k2tog* rep to end.

12) K all.

13)*K 7, k2tog* rep to end.

14) K all.

15)*K 6, k2tog* rep to end.

16) K all.

17)*K 5, k2tog* rep to end.

18) K all.

19)*K 4, k2tog* rep to end.

20) Cut yarn, Change to CC. K all stitches continuing in CC.

21)*K 3, k2tog* rep to end.

22)*K 2, k2tog* rep to end.

23)*K 1, k2tog* rep to end.

24)*K2tog* rep to end.

-Cut thread with 4" tail and pull through remaining stitches. Pull into inside, knot and weave in end.

Bottom:

-Cut circle of felt using ta-ta for size reference. Pin felt piece to ta-ta with right sides facing (it will be inside out). Sew a straight line along edge leaving a 2" gap. Turn inside out, fill with stuffing, sew gap with mattress stitch.

-Cut 2" of fringe. Roll length of fringe tight and run a needle and thread through the roll several times in different directions. Use the excess thread to sew the tassel to the ta-ta itself.

-Embellishments that would rock include: rhinestones, sequins, and glitter.

And there you have it:

(Alternative Version: Want smaller boobies? Use a smaller needle. For the ones below I used size 3 needles. I also started the pastie portion much too soon, which created big dinner-plate pasties- something I didn't care for on such ittie bitties. I also touched these with some fabric glue then dusted them with glitter. It worked best on cotton yarn [the blue and green], it made a mess with acrylic [the yellow and white].)

HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR TA-TAS!

Autumn Shrug and Winter Hat

2010-11-25T19:23:00.001-08:00

Apologies for the crappy iphone pictures, but I misplaced the battery charger for my camera, so it's not in working order at the moment. I will post actions shots of this beauty soon to come though. ^_^

This is my Autumn Hew Shrug, to keep me warm in my super cold office. Kind of missed the mark on the whole autumn thing as it's about to snow any second, but whatever, it's gorgeous.

The original pattern is here: HEW, but I added some obvious changes. I used contrasting colors for the body of the shrug and the collar, and I made the collar this pretty lacy leaf pattern. It's also sparkely, but the pictures don't do it justice.

Here's a close up of the leaf pattern:

I also just finished this little baby from Debbie Stoller's new book Superstar Knitting.

I didn't use nearly as fabulous yarn, but I love the way it turned out. It's pretty intense with all the cable work when you look at the back of it.

Curse be damned!

2010-11-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

My it was my boy's birthday this week. We went out to one of the greatest restaurants in Milwaukee, County Clare, my treat of course. He got the bangers and mash and I got the chicken pot pie. They were both de-licious. ^_^

I knit him a sweater for his birthday. It's the Retropolitian Cardigan from the "Son of a Stitch 'n Bitch" book. It was super easy and a fast knit. Took less than 2 weeks, but I had to wait to post this until the boy's birthday :D.

Bread pudding with whiskey, creme, and cranberry sauce! @.@ OMG YUMTASM.

Hat Sandwich

2010-10-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

This is what 20 hats looks like. I wish I had all 40 of them to stack on top of one another like this, but I already sold the first 20 (and didn't take pictures of like 10 of them! GOOD ONES ARGG!).

Here's what they look like separately:

And as one big mass lump of yarn.

Each hat was a different pattern, slightly different in size, most were different colors, and all were made up as I went. It was fun, but I don't want to knit another hat for quite some time.

ACTION shots! ;D

2010-09-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

Polly Amour, performing at Stonefly Brewery in Milwaukee, to "White Rabbit" by Jefferson's Airplane. (Note the skirt from this post)

That's all that you get if you didn't make it to the show ^_^. And if you still want to see Polly in all her awesomeness, her next show is October 30th at The Times Theatre. Come to support and maybe you'll get some sugar ;}. And by that I mean I'll give you some trick or treat candy, duh.

Gettin' Shit Done! (NSFW material)

2010-09-16T16:54:00.001-07:00

Now that we've got that out of the way, look what I just finished!

I also spray painted my dress form, but I need to figure out a way to fill it with something that won't make it heavy as all hell. I don't have enough fabric scraps to fill it all the way, and even half full was crazy heavy. I wish I had some of that foam insulation stuff that expands to fill an enclosed place and then hardens... but I don't, so I've been working with it as is, and that's unacceptable.

Here's the skirt, I think finished. As finished as I can make it I think :P

I'll probably post an action shot of me wearing this when I have the whole thing put together.

Dress Form!

2010-09-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

So I need to alter my Red Queen skirt that I reconstructed from the bridesmaid dress, but I couldn't very well do it with I was wearing it, and I was afraid I'd screw it up if I just tried to cut it and put in a zipper while it was off. So this happened.

I bought a roll of paper tape, which I used all of, to make a dress form. . . It looks like I'm naked. Or one of those wooden pose-able art dolls. :P

After my boyfriend cut it off me I reinforced it with more tape. I still need to spray paint it, fill it with something, and get a stand for it.

It still works though. ^_^ More pictures when I finish.

Reconstructed Bridesmaid Dress!

2010-09-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

HOLY CRAP:

First, let me say: This is the sewing machine and stuff I got to work with.

Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed by all the little contraptions that came along. I have no idea what any of them do and I was freaking out because I couldn't figure out where the regular straight stitch foot thing was. I eventually found it, and after reading through the entire sewing machine manual, I felt comfortable with getting on with my project.

PROJECT:

I totally had this idea before they did it on Project Runway.

I got this bridesmaid dress about 1-2 years ago. Anyway, it was at an out of business sale, so it was like $5. I used it as a Halloween costume last year, but it doesn't actually fit (it fit when I bought it, damnit >.<) *sigh* so I thought what's the best thing to do with a too small gaudy bridesmaid dress? Make an awesome skirt for my next bombshell performance, of course!

So I essentially had no pattern to work from, and only a few online tutorials to help me understand what it is to make the fabirc look all scrunchy and old-timey. I'm not finished, but this is how it worked.

So it looked like this, and I pined the front and back of the dress's fabric together and just started cutting. And by "just started" I mean I hemmed and hawed for about 40 minutes thinking, "Oh crap, I'm going to f*&# it up. Oh no... I can't do this. Ohgawd." Then I started cutting.

IT WAS SCARY.
Luckily it already had ironed down seams on the inside, and I just sewed those down to make little channels for cord to go through. The hardest part was actually pushing this big blunt needle through those channels and bringing them all the way up them. When I finished that though, I just scrunched the fabric up the cord and tied the ends of the cord.

Made it look like this. ^

Apollo approved. :D

A hat a day keeps the...

2010-09-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Social life at bay? ...Yeah, that works. I've actually been very busy the past week, but despite all that I have been knitting one hat a day (or very close to it).

Why, you ask? Because a restaurant in Racine called "The Soup" is owned by an awesome lady that wants her employees to look top-notch in knitted goodness. And she came to meeeeeeeeee. ^_^ She's buying all of these (she wants 40 by opening, which is in a few weeks [yikes]) so I'm going to do what I can. Some of these I've knit a while ago and don't wear myself, so I decided to give them up for hat adoption. She already has a number of them that I had lying about. Here's some of my old ones mixed in with my 5 new ones.

This was one of the first hats I ever knit, but I think it looks like something you wear under one of those helmets of chain mail. :P

Hat #1.
Hat #2: Turn-a-square hat.

Hat #3: Green Lace Slouchy Hat. Made it up as I went and I love it.

Older hat from the yarn I got at Sheep and Wool last year. I like it, but not never wear it.

Another one of my first ever hats, which I believe I gave as a gift to someone and it turned back up in my apt. So it goes :P.
Hat #4: Bobbles! I've never done them before and I added them to this basic cabled hat. They're so weird and neat.

Hat #5: Heart Hat. Tried to do little purl hearts at the bottom, but I don't know if they're noticeable. I think they are more in person.

Hooray for new business ventures!

I'm not dead, promise.

2010-08-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since I posted anything, but it's not as if I haven't been knitting. I've actually been doing quite a bit.

I knit this awesome cardigan from Interweave knits, called Amrosia. I knit it with KnitPicks Comfy Worsted yarn, named "October." So I named it my "Charming October" Cardigan.

There are little clasps in the front, which I kind of like. They were a pain to sew though.

Then there's this little guy who is in the works. It will be a hat that has the British flag on it. And ear-flaps. And a yarn mo-hawk... Yep. It's what my friend asked for, and she said she will wear it with pride at her Brit hubby's side :D so more power to her.

I also went to "Stitches" the knitting/yarn vendor convention. 800+ yarn vendors! It was amazing. I didn't buy much, but I'm sure that is for the best, because I'm poor.

I got this nice sock yarn and spent days searching for the perfect pair of socks to knit with it. It is, as the tag line says, after all, "A Great Yarn for Socks."

Then I decided to knit a hat. :P It doesn't look like much now, but it will be a very cute hat when I'm done. (Action shots for both of these hats are coming soon-- STAY TUNED!)

I also bought these size 0000 needles. Yes, that is 4 zeros. 4 sizes smaller than my size zero needles that were crazy to work with. You might be asking yourself, "Why on Earth, Lady, would you want these, and what on Earth do you plan on making?" Well, adorably itty bitty toys of course. Like holding on to the end of a pen cap small. And curl around your finger adorable. (Again-- coming soon :D)

I also bought this knitting pattern. I almost never buy knitting patterns, but I couldn't resist. I found out this week that I will be joining the Brewcity Bombshells, Milwaukee's burlesque troupe. I auditioned last week, and I thought I did really well and made a good impression. Most people like me when they meet me, after all :} but it's so hard to gauge how well you did a performance when it's only in front of 2 people. A crowd of 50 hollering dudes, I think I would know if I was doing a good job. ^_^ Anyway, I was rather nervous, but apparently I am Bombshell worthy.

I got this pattern in celebration. Going to knit up some stockings... maybe an entirely knit outfit :D Maybe something to unravel... Oh, the ideas!

And here's the last thing on my to-do list at the moment. It's a bunch of lace weight yarn ( took me 2 HOURS to wind that ball of yarn by the way, only to have a girl give me her extra ball winder at my knitting group a week later :\ ) I'm knitting it up so that I can dye it like a sock blank. It's taking forever though. It'll be my "when-I'm-in-between-projects-and-super-bored" project. Then I'll dye it and make something awesome from it... One day.

Hadley Mobile

2010-08-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

The baby mobile is finished! My friend Heather was delighted. I hope her baby Hadley (which means "fields of Heather" awwwwww) has fun with it. ^_^

I used 2 plastic hangers for the top. I broke the top off of one and stuck it inside of the other then wrapped them with a bunch of yarn (which took forever).

I then attached them with some blue thread. Was going to use fishing line because I thought that would be cute, but I didn't want to go out and buy fishing line only for this project. And I don't know anyone that fishes, heh.

Heather modeling the Hadley Mobile. (Yep, that's a name tag on her belly that says, "Hello, my name is Hadley." :})

5 More Minutes

2010-07-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

*Whisper*: Only difference from this video and the last = hair and make-up :D Enjoy!

Just 5 Minutes

2010-07-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

So this has an explanation behind it. I saw a post by a fellow crafter named Penny Nickels doing 5 minutes of cross stitching. Like you are probably reacting at this moment about my 5 minutes I though, "Why on earth? How boring." Which, as I found, was kind of the point.

These videos are dedicated to the folks that don't have it in them to learn a craft but want other people to do it for them. I don't mind making gifts for friends, but I have had complete strangers demanded knitted items before. They just think knitwear rolls off my hands like running water.

It's also for those people that complain about how much crafters are asking for payment for their craft, this is 5 minutes worth of knitting. And I didn't even get to finish my row. Knitting, and crafting in general, takes time, patience, and hard determination filled work. Some projects take hundreds of hours of work. Then adding the cost of materials and the hours that it took to learn said trade. . . It can be a job in and of itself.

So there you go. Just 5 minutes, but could you do it?

*Apologies for bad webcam quality and general crappy-lookingness of myself. This was early in a Lazy Sunday Morning. Maybe I'll do another one later all dolled up and awesome looking!

Babies!

2010-07-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not pregnant, you freak. Though, on a side note totally unrelated to this knit-related post I was taking about baby names with my partner and he said his two choice names would be Shamus for a boy and Eleanore for a girl. So, FYI-- not have babies with him. Like, wtf, right? With his shortness and my chubbiness this kid would already be doomed, but Shamus? Holy christ, that would be like child neglect or something.

But ANYWAY, BABIES! These are the babies I have been working on for months to build an all sea creature baby mobile for my friend. They're all knit on size 0 needles (so tiny!) so they were rather cumbersome to knit, but well worth the effort. I love them all so much that I don't want to give them away, but I know her and her new daughter will love and appreciate them.

Here's Baby Nessie.

Miss Lil' Stary.

Octobaby.
Baby Jelly.
And my favorite, Baby of Doom.

And that's what's kept me busy all this time that I have not been posting. Sorry about that, but knitting came first! And because I CAN NOT STOP, cuddlefish* are coming soon!

*Someone did bring it to my attention that the animal is not called a "cuddlefish" (which is what I have been saying all this time) but a "cuttlefish." But MINE is all cuddley, and therefore I will not correct myself, because my name is more correct.

Cool Way To Dye

2010-06-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

I got it in my head that I needed to dye my own sock yarn. I have some yarn dye from KnitPicks.com that my friend gave me for Christmas. Instead of buying a sock blank like a chump, I decided to knit my own. I got 2 balls of white wool and knit away. A sock blank is essentially a white scarf, knit up until you're out of yarn, with 2 strands at a time.

My roommate stole some handy dandy plastic gloves from Subway, i had a few mini shampoo bottles, and a big plastic bag to table protection.

First I started with some green stripes in Emerald dye. But that wasn't enough.

Next came diamonds in sapphire blue and one random line down the middle. Then some Chestnut brown in all the spots that I hadn't dyed yet. This is how it turned out:

I'm actually more finished than this, but I'm lazy and don't want to take more pictures until they're done (which is momentarily). Because of the colors and the mixture of brown I'm calling them my Honey Lagoon Socks. The pattern is called Leyburn Socks, and is a simple lattice stitch pattern that doesn't distract too much from the pretty color changes.

The bottoms are patternless so you can see the color changes.

Finished actions shots to come!

Random Acts of Knitness

2010-06-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

So, I was recently introduced to formspring.me, which is site where users can answer questions of whoever stumbles upon their page. The account user can decide to answer or not, I suppose, but it's a fun and quirky site with a lot of fun Q&As. ANYWAY, I stumbled across a page via a blog I really enjoy following and asked her if she wanted me to knit her anything. Mostly because I just wanted something new to do because I am sick to death of my current doomed project, and secondly because I didn't think she'd actually answer me.

She did with: Knit me one of those INSANE scarves that wrap around you neck three times and still almost trail on the floor. Happy, happy bunny :)

Then I asked what color(s) and she said: White/Cream:):) I really hope I'm not being duped here, I want a scarf made with love in every stitch:) Well, hate could be in every stitch, I don't care, I like freebies :):)

So that sealed the deal. I had recently acquired a bunch of soft whiteish cream yarn from a friend that was moving, so I had everything I needed. I knit it length-wise: 300 STITCHES, and about 15 rows up. It was super scrunched on the needles, but it only took 3 days to knit up. This was the result all rolled up:

And this is it in all it's epic, glorious length. ^_^

New crafts and a New me

2010-05-27T10:42:00.001-07:00

So I've been getting really into cross stitch after discovering this gem of a woman. I love her and her work, and after each time I laughed at a new funny subversive stitch all I could think was, "I NEED TO DO THIS." So I did. That's how I roll.

But FIRST. Here's Apollo, being hot. It's finally getting less Wisconsin-y up in this state, and he's not dealing with it well. He stays either here or in the sink about 80% of the day.

Here's cross stitch pattern #1. It's all off-kilter and weird looking because it's not only the first pattern I've done, but I also designed it myself. Recipe for disaster, anyone? But whatever, I still love it :D.

Here's the second one I stitched up. Much better, but still a work in progress. The last line is up a smidge too much, also I used really light colors. I might outline them in a darker color with a back-stitch, though it's easier to see in person.

And here's the new me! Right out of the shower and sans make-up, so my apologies, but still, fun bangs that don't poke me in the eye!

Working Hard AND Hardly Working

2010-04-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

I got a new job in February and I can knit at it. If you're a knitter, you understand that this is pretty epic. Anyway, as such, I have been a knitting fiend lately.

My sister, a biology major, wanted a DNA sweater vest for her birthday. That was Valentines Day :P. I started on this last week. But better late than never. Needless to say, she liked it.

Yep, that's a robot behind her. Because, you know... SCIENCE. We were actually out front of my favorite Milwaukee business The Tool Shed. They host a monthly knitting group called Femiknits that I never miss.

Close up of the DNA cable and the lace back. I'm not usually one for lace, but it knits up super fast with all those holes. I was surprised how quickly I got this out.

Also, I bought THESE at the Tool Shed. Knitty/Crafty socks! When I saw them I was all "Ohmanohmanohman!" And then I bought them. ^__^

My next project is a baby mobile for my friend Heather that's due in October. I've got plenty of time, but I'm too excited about it to wait. It's going to be composed of sea creatures because I don't know if she's having a boy or a girl. Aqua-life aren't gendered :P. I'm doing all of them in size 0 needles so they'll be tiny.

Here's my little sea star. Above is the underside and below is the top.

And here's Nessie the Loch Ness monster. I ran out of yarn so she unfortunately doesn't have horns, but I think her quizzical tilted head says it all. She's all like, "Do I exist? Shuddup, you don't know me."

I'm three tentacles into a cute little baby octopus. More pictures to come. :}

A little ink :}

2010-04-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share the tattoo I just got :D It's the symbol for infinite love. I wanted it to look like a continuous rope, but just for the sake of this blog, let's say it's a piece of yarn ^__^. My infinite love of yarn.

Anti-Hipster Scarf - FREE PATTERN

2010-04-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

Hooray, my first pattern. I thought because this was my first one, I'd give it to all y'all for free. Yeah, I'm cool like that. Plus... I've never bought a knitting pattern before, so why should I expect anyone else to? Soooo, here it be!

Anti-Hipster Scarf

Gauge: 6 sts = 1", 6 Rows= 1"

Needle Size: 5

Yarn: Main Color (MC)- Poems 100% Wool Yarn in Pink/Purple/Gray/Gold (Poems has a great selection of self striping yarn, so really any of the color-ways would look nice in this pattern)

Contrasting Color (CC)- Cascade 100% Wool in Black

-- Cast on 30 sts.

Row 1, 3, & 5: (K1 MC, K1 CC) 3 times, K6 in CC, (K1 MC, K1 CC) 3 times, K6 in CC, then (K1 MC, K1 CC) 3 times.

Row 2, 4, & 6: (P1 MC, P1 CC) 3 times, P6 in CC, (P1 MC, P1 CC) 3 times, P6 in CC, then (P1 MC, P1 CC) 3 times.

Row 7, 9, & 11: K6 in MC, (K1 MC, K1 CC) 3 times, K6 in MC, (K1 MC, K1 CC) 3 times, then K6 in MC.

Row 8, 10, & 12: P6 in MC, (P1 MC, P1 CC) 3 times, P6 in MC, (P1 MC, P1 CC) 3 times, then P6 in MC

Repeat Rows 1-12 until desired length. For me it was was 2 skeins of Poems yarn worth and 1 of the Cascade. With the curling the scarf does on the sides naturally, I would suggest blocking or if you think wool is too itchy for your sensitive neck skin (like me) sewing some black fleece on the back side would be perfect. That's what I plan to do... come scarf weather. :D

Hope you guys like it! If you do make one up I would LOVE to see it. Link it in the comments or on Ravelry.

How to waste $28 worth of yarn.

2010-04-01T12:29:00.001-07:00

1. Don't gauge a damn thing.

2. Just wing the entire pattern like an idiot.

3. Throw it in the washer to give it a "light felt" for 5-10 minutes, but then proceed to forget about it for an hour.

4. Shrink it so it's so small nothing fits in it... >.<

IN OTHER NEWS.

I got my first non-mom haircut ever, and my first one in 12 years!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I <3>

Under the Black Light Socks ^_^

2010-03-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

In between numerous projects I popped these socks out in 3 days. Yes, 3 Day Socks. The pattern is supper simple, so it knit up fast, and now with this new job I can knit at work. It is truly splendid.

I "stole" these from a pattern where I just saw the picture and said, "I know exactly how that's made," and then knit it myself. Is that wrong? I don't think so. They were originally called Elizabeth socks and although I didn't purchase the pattern or book, I did use Knit Picks yarn, so... Yeah. I'm going to call them "Under the Black Light" Socks (after a favorite CD/Song of mine).

A Bad Day and A Birthday

2010-03-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

I had a pretty rough week. My older sister passed away and it was my birthday. Those weren't a great combination, but I got through it. My sister had a hard life and I know she is at peace now. She had two children 7 and 11, and that was the hardest part for me. Her son is already in his father's custody and her daughter will be placed with my mother. It's a horrible thing for anyone to go though, but I'm trying to stay as strong as I can.

Despite the badness that was Monday, March 1st, my birthday was very pleasant this Wednesday. I went out to eat at my favorite sushi place with all my friends and they really cheered me up.

My friend Mary left a present for me in my room while I was away that included candy, a signed copy of one of my favorite books "Invisible Monsters" by Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club and also known as my writing-idol), as well as a HUGE pot of curry (my fave) left in my fridge. I was so pleased with her gifts that I gave her my "Blue Moon" shrug that was to small for anyone else. It fit her perfectly, and that made me happy.

So Cute ^_^

And the corset didn't quite "felt" all the way, but it definitely shrunk and got firmer. Any smaller and I wouldn't have been able to wear it, so it stays like it is :P.

Here are the pictures as well as an image of the beautiful flowers my friend Ashe and my roommate Amy got me.

Shannon's Peacock Gloves

2010-02-28T08:54:00.000-08:00

This is all I have for you at the moment. I've been knitting a lot, because I found a job that I can knit at (!) (still reeling over that discovery, btw). The pattern I'm doing now, a sweater vest for my boyfriend, is an amazing pattern I designed myself, so I'm going to try to possibly send it out to places when I'm done. Not totally sure if that means I'm aloud to publish pictures and whatnot beforehand. I'll look into it. Needless to say, it rocks.

Going to start a late birthday present for my scientist little sister, a DNA cable sweater vest. She already bought me the yarn for it (for cause I am broke) and I'll be starting that soon while simultaneously knitting Boone's. I'm hardcore like that.

"Felt-Up" Corset

2010-02-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

I'm taking part in knitting up some clothing and accessories for a knitted photoshoot. This first project is a corset, knit sideways, then felted. I knit it with all white wool, three strands at once to get the gauge right.

It started off in all these pieces like this picture, then I seamed them all together.

Next came the dyeing process, which was fun but kind of smelly. Like making easter eggs.

It was crazy hot, so I had to let it dry out in the sink for a while before I went on to the next step.

When it was cool enough to handle, I used waste cotton yarn around all the eyelets to make sure all the holes would stay open when felting. I then tried to felt the corset by hand in the sink with extremely hot water and dish soap then ice cold water, but it didn't work.

The corset was still all holey. When felted the knit should turn into fabric and not be as stretchy. I think I will just have to follow the instructions in the book and do it in my washer and dryer, it just freaks me out :P.

I like the way the color turned out though, even though I didn't dye the yarn first. If I were to make it again, I would dye the yarn first, but I had no idea how much yarn I would use up. OR, even better I would buy yarn in the right size (extra bulky) that is already colored. That would have saved a lot of time :D. Also, this whole thing only took 2 days to knit. It was SUPER FAST.
Will maybe post action shots when I get the chance. It's very pretty at the moment, but not stiff like a corset, just kind of loose like a knitted top. Lamers.

Color of the dye was "Sapphire Blue" I'm loving it.

ACTION SHOTS!

2010-02-14T19:39:00.001-08:00

The pretty English Lady herself in her dashing new sweater.

PUPPY SWEATER (oh, and some puppies ^_^)

2010-02-07T14:27:00.001-08:00

Babies!!!

OH MY GOODNESS LOOKIT THAT FACE!!!

These little bundles of adorable are for sale if anyone in the Wisconsin area is interested. They're 10 weeks old and my mom's. Her lovely purebred boxer Buffy had them a while back and my mom needs to find good, loving homes for them. She had them all sold but 4 people backed out last minute. I think she has 2 boys and 2 girls left, though I'm not sure. Anyway, they are so freaking cute it makes my fingers twitch. I JUST WANT TO PET THEM TO DEATH! Anyway...

Apollo was not pleased to be my model. You can tell by that permanent scowl on his face. I mean... he kind of always has that scowl, but he's definitely a little more annoyed than usual here. I finished my Lady Victoria sweater last night, and will be compensated generously :}. I shall write up the pattern eventually... maybe. According to the people in my knitting group, I should. We'll see. I didn't take too many notes toward the end but... I might be able to fudge it.

This is the lower part. There's a loop and button closure. I just hope it fits the big lady.

Zombie Octie's New Home

2010-01-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

This is his new home. Forever murdering Christ. I knew it would be like this.

On the Needles and in the Works

2010-01-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

Contrary to the popular belief that when someone graduates but doesn't have a full-time job they becomes a total bum, I have been doing many things of late. Mostly... knitting.

First on the block, and about 25% done is my pretty dog sweater. I'm calling it my Lady Victoria Sweater because it's made for an English Bulldog, and obviously a lady one at that. Therefore: fancy lady name. According to the owner she hasn't been able to find a suitable sweater for the pub because she happens to be 29" around... which is actually one inch larger than my boyfriend's waist, so yeah, she's a big gal ^_^.

I've designed the pattern myself, so I really hope it fits the little lady. Here's Apollo, my roommate's cat, checking it out. I think he approved, but then he tried to destroy it, so maybe not.

Here he is again, gazing at it lovingly... or hungrily. Not quite certain.

Here's my other project, in the works: Toad Hat. It's for my friend who likens herself to a toad. It still needs eyes yet, and I'm also thinking about ear flaps that look like frog legs, but I have yet to design those. Model: Apollo McLain, grudgingly.

And the next project up on the block is going to be an argyle sweater vest for Boone. I have been assured by fellow knitters that the boyfriend curse does not work for vests. It's the sleeves that really get you, after all. I bought all this beautiful "Country" and "Spa" yarn at Michael's and it feels so nice. If Boone doesn't wear this thing, I certainly will. I'm thinking about doing the Mangyle pattern off Knitty, but I'm not sure.

So pretty.

Gift Giraffe Hat

2010-01-05T20:01:00.000-08:00

I made this hat for a child of a woman I only know through Ravelry. She's swapping me this hat for some beautiful Japanese silk (I think I got the better end of the deal, lol - but she doesn't want it, so whatevs). I made the pattern up as I went, but if anyone would like it, I could write it up. It was really quick and easy. I used pipe cleaners to keep the nubs and ears up and some left over Cotton Ease of a friends :P.

PRESENTS! (and happy new year...)

2010-01-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

This year I didn't knit too many gifts because I knew they'd take longer, wouldn't be appreciated, and/or be more work than just grabbing something at the store. These two gifts were special because they weren't Christmas gifts, they were wedding gifts for two good friends of mine. For the woman I made fingerless gloves with convertible mitten-flap that her now-hubby assured me she wanted. He had to persuade her not to buy some on her own through this bitter winter, so she was very thankful she has something for her poor cold hands now ^_^.

The pattern is a modified version of “Hooray for Me” gloves. Longer, mock cabled cuff, and I added the convertible flap to change it into mittens.

I'm calling them my “Dainty Rogue Gloves” as an illusion to one of my favorite George Meridith quotes, “She’s a dainty rogue in porcelain,” from his novel “The Egoist.” It means she’s a rebel posing as an upright lady, and that’s totally the girl I made these for ^_^. These gloves are lovely and pretty, but slightly deceiving. When worn as a mitten, the cable runs up the middle almost like the wearer is flipping the bird :D

And then for the hubby I made a Zombie Octopus! BEHOLD:

I modified the Common Octopus by Hansi Singh (which I've made numerous times before) into my own creepy, murderous, undead version.

I'm calling him the Zombie Octie. Not quite an octo-pus anymore due to a number of his limbs being half eaten off, also there seems to be some kind of brain matter or guts coming out of his head. He holds in his nubs his lunch, also known as a human brain.

What does he want?! BRAINS!
When does he want it?! BRAAAAAAAINS!

Zombie Octie then decided yarn-brains were not sufficient and decided to attack me... That makes me a zombie now too, I guess... Damnit.

A Very Knitty Christmas ^_^

2009-12-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

I've waited so long to post this, because I had to wait until AFTER I gave it to my boyfriend for Christmas :P. Here's the video, apologies for the side-waysedness, but watch and enjoy:

It's a Jayne Hat!!!

Also 2 T-Shirts that say "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" and "BIG DAMN HERO." All Firefly references, which if you didn't get 1) go freaking watch all of Firefly gorahm it, and 2) be ashamed of yourself.

And here's a picture of cutie Bruce sleeping during all the festivities. He was not amused with 0ur shenanigans.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-18T13:21:00.001-08:00

Seasons Greetings from me to you!
(Click here to see what I made, just for you!)

I confess that in 2009 I have:

2009-12-16T20:59:00.000-08:00

( ) stayed single for the whole year
(x) made out in/on a car
(x) kissed in the snow
(x) celebrated Halloween
(x) kissed in the rain
(x) had your heart broken
( ) broke someone else’s heart
( ) had a stalker
( ) went over the minutes on your cell phone
(x) had a good relationship with someone
(x) someone questioned your sexual orientation
( ) gotten pregnant
( ) had an abortion
(x) have a relationship with someone you’ll never forget
( ) done something you’ve regretted
(/) lost faith in love
( ) kissed under a mistletoe

OTHER
( ) painted a picture
( ) wrote a poem
(x) ran a mile
( ) shopped at Hollister or Abercrombie and Fitch
(x) posted a blog
(x) listened to music you couldn’t stand
( ) went to a sleepover
(x) went camping
( ) threw a surprise party
(x) laughed till you cried
( ) laughed till you peed in your pants
( ) visited a foreign country
( ) cut in a line of waiting people
(x) told someone you were busy when you weren’t
( ) partied to celebrate the new year
(x) cooked a disastrous meal
( ) lost something/someone important to you

In 2009 I…
( ) broke a promise
( ) lied
(x) went behind your parents back
(x) cried over a broken heart
(x) disappointed someone close
(x) hid a secret
(x) pretended to be happy
(x) slept under the stars
( ) kept your new years resolution
(x) forgot your new years resolution
( /) met someone who changed your life
( ) met one of your idols
( ) changed your outlook on life
(x) sat home all day doing nothing
(x) pretended to be sick
( ) left the country
( ) almost died
( ) given up something important to you
( ) lost something expensive
(x) learned something new about yourself
( ) tried something you normally wouldn’t try and liked it
(x) made a change in your life
(x) found out who your true friends were
(x) met great people
( ) stayed up til sunrise
(x) cried over the silliest thing
(x) was never home on weekends
( ) got into a car accident
(x) had friends who were drifting away from you
( ) had someone close to you die
( ) had a high cell phone bill
(x) spent most of your money on food
( ) had a fist fight
(x) went to the beach with your best friend
( ) saw a celebrity
(x) gotten sick
(x) liked more than 5 people at the same time
(x) became closer with a lot of people

A FINISHED PAIR!

2009-12-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

I love socks.

They're so cute.

OMG, lookit thems!

Not quite...

2009-12-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

It's the first, and I didn't quite make 60,000... in fact I think I only hit half that, but whatevs. 30,000 stitches is still a pretty sizable accomplishment considering I'm graduating in 2 weeks (or so) and I've been busy with finishing all my classes up. Only 6 papers left! At the moment I'm knitting up a Christmas present, so I can't post pix until after they get it.

A friend does want a pair of mittens for his wife and himself though, so I'll be starting those soon. 'Til then!

Another pair :} and THANKSGIVING

2009-11-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

I made fingerless gloves, and I lovies them. ^_^ They're the "Hooray for me gloves" pattern, but I kind of screwed up on the thumb and only figured it out when I was making the 2nd glove... and by then it was too late and I had to make the 2nd one screwed up too so they would match :P.

See how pretty? :} And below is my layered jello! I made it with tones of red this time, black cherry, cherry, raspberry and peach! It was delicious!

This is our family Thanksgiving (not blood-family, just boyfriends and friends kind of thing).

CHEESE, thanks to Rob and Rachel.

And here's Rachel's (N- not roommate Rachel) cheesecake which astounded us all. She's an amazing cake decorator. And it was yumtastic to boot!

20,500 Stitches

2009-11-15T09:20:00.000-08:00

Here's my latest edition, the matching hat. I thought it was going to be huge, so I did a really quick decreasing method on the top and it made it a little bit small :P. Way to go paranoia. So instead of a big slouchy hat, I have a beanie. Oh wells, still cute.

I still have a bunch of that yarn left, so I think next up I'll make some really pretty toys with it for the kiddies I know. I'm thinking a hermit crab and a spider... but I'm not sure yet. I will start them today, so pictures are soon to come. ^_^

Knitting Olympics

2009-11-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

This is a status update, which I plan to do regularly (with or without pix) of my NaNoKnitMo, or more correctly, Knitting Olympics projects. According to the official (though really non-official :P) Knitting Olympics rules, I have to knit 60,000 stitches in one month. That's insano pants, you're probably saying. Well, yes, but doable.

I calculated my total so far and it's approximately 10,000 stitches, and I'm only on day 9, so I think I'm doing pretty well. The mittens were about 4,900 stitches each, give or take some rounding down, and now I'm starting to knit a matching hat because I have a lot of yarn left over from the mitts. I'm only on the headband part now, but it's 162 stitches around (because my needles are so ungodly small [size 2, and dear lord why did I do that to myself?]) I'm about 4 rows up so that's about 640 stitches.

So ...current status, let's say: 10,650 stitches!

(hehe, math is fun ^_^)

NaNoKnitMo-- MITTENS!

2009-11-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend is doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in which he plans to write one novel (approximately 50,000 words) in one month. As a writer, I should be doing this myself, but, alas *sigh*, school is too much of a hassle and I just can't see myself managing it. Maybe next year... Anyway, what I want to do instead is finish as many projects in the month of November as I can (knit-wise)! I'm calling is NaNoKnitMo, but it doesn't actually make sense, since that would be national novel knitting month... but Rachel's doing NaNoPaintMo and that doesn't make much sense either, so just go with it. Here's project numero uno.

MITTENS! I am done, and they knit up super fast. These pictures are taken with Boone's iPhone, so they're pretty craptastic, but I'm sure I'll get better ones up here eventually. The ones below have more light, so they're nicer.

This is what the "after-thought thumb" looked like. I essentially knit normally up to the part where the thumb would go, knit into some waster yarn for 8 stitches, then kept going like normal. At the very end I took the waste yarn out, picked up the stitches, and knit up some damn nice thumbs.

This picture was taken while at a bar, by the way. Yes, I knit at the bar with my Bloody Mary. I think it happens to be quite classy, thankyouverymuch.

My Halloweens

2009-11-02T17:16:00.000-08:00

This weekend was the one holiday I actually give a damn about: Halloween. It truly is a crafter's most important day of the year.

I went to my own party as the Queen of Hearts, complete with coffee-filter cuffs and collar, card belt, felt rose in hair, and heart lips, and out to work and a bar on Halloween night as Wednesday Addams and her unborn spawn.

The Hookers of Halloween were out en mass. This was a hooker dressed up as a racecar driver.

This was a hooker dressed as a naughty housewife and another hooker dressed up like a pirate. Can you find Waldo?
There he is again!

Boone went as a SIM character. This is him being a happy SIM.

Talking about his favorite sport.

Jack and Sally Skelinton (aka. Jessica Phelan and Randy Frye)

John's friend AJ as a killer furry and John as... a thug?

I have tons more pictures, I think I'll put them on Facebook. ^_^ We had a good time.

The Mittens Of Amazing Awesometown

2009-10-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is what I'm eating:

Jealous? ^_________^
And these are the mittens I'm knitting from the tip down, TWO AT A TIME! OMG.

Beautiful yarn :}

ONE DOWN!

2009-10-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

LOOK AT THIS SLICE OF FRIED GOLD:

Yes, I have finally finished one of my socks. I think I should wait for action shots for when I finish the other one :P. Who knows when that will be. I have a few things on my plate at the moment, like quickly knitting up mittens becuase my hands are freezing, uhm, finals, graduating, finding a better job, things like that, before I think I could take another one of these socks. Sooooo, we shall see.

OMG OMG OMG

2009-10-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

One sock is finished!

My camera's battery is dead, so I will post pictures tomorrow!

Progress...

2009-10-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many pictures I can take of this sock before it will annoy the hell out of my readers, but just wanted to show you my progress. They are, of course, taking absolutely forever, but I'm working on them bit by bit. A row here, a section there. I have an allotted time each week at my knitting group to work on it, but I've actually been teaching 3 different people to knit simultaneously every meeting for the past couple months :S. It's awesome that they're learning and all, but I can't get anything done myself. They had better appreciate my sacrifice :P.

(Don't tell my determined former self this, but I may take a break in between these socks to make mittens for myself. It's getting crazy ass cold, and I've got nothing to cover up these talent filled digits! Plus I need something easy and new to stare at. This pattern is crushing my soul.... )

Sheep and Wool Fest

2009-09-21T16:53:00.001-07:00

OMG:

I attended the Sheep and Wool festival a week or so back and took a bunch of pictures, but in the meantime, my computer crashed into oblivion never to return. Luckily the pictures were on my camera not only the computer (like hundred and hundreds of others were >.<) but anyway... SHEEP... and WOOL! Glory in my half a million pictures and drool over the delicious looking yarn.

I LOVE YARN.

What's New and Happening.

2009-08-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

I start school in about 30 hours, so I've been a tad bit on the distracted side when it comes to knitting and posting. I have been up to things though. PLUS, I just bought a new camera, so I don't have to wait to use one of my roommate's cameras to post!

The progress of the Garden Gate socks are slow and tedious. I find myself carting it around and doing a row or two at a time, then forgetting about it and starting something new, then coming back to it for another row or two. It's currently my default project if I get bored with another project. At this rate I should be done... maybe Christmas of 2010? Maybe. Here's how "far" I've gotten:

At least there's a heel now, right? (which, I might add, I did wrong because the pattern directions were worded very weird and I had to guess at what she was trying to say. Hence the little holes up the side of the heel. *shrug*)

They are looking rather cute though. I just know, even if I do finish this one... who's to say the curse of the one sock won't take over and I'll never get to the other one? I can feel these things.

In other knit news, I made up a hat pattern (much like pretty much every other cabled hat I've knit) and just finished that project this morning. I'm calling it my Autumn Tweed Hat. I'm thinking I need ear flaps.

Yay or nay to ear flaps, folks?

*Apologies for the clear lack of make-up :P I had just gotten back from the doctor, and come on now, who wears make-up to the doctor?*

And then there's this little guy, who I made for Rachel's birthday gift. His name is apparently Posie, which is a girl's name, so apparently he's a girl.

And there you have it. What I've been up to the past month or so. More to come soon when I make the inevitable ear flaps for my autumn tweed hat and matching fingerless mitts. (!)

A long work in progress...

2009-08-09T17:28:00.000-07:00

I got the yarn in for the Garden Gate socks from Knitty.com, which I've previously raved about. Drool over them here.

I started, then of course got distracted by not one, but 3 new projects :P. So I'm back on them now. These pictures are from a while ago, I've gotten a little farther, but still, it's taking QUITE a while.

This is the first toe-up sock I've ever knit. I think it's really awesome, and you get to see the way they look as you go. The cast on wasn't nearly as hard as I've heard it can be, which rocked.

And here's a little actions shot with my little piggies.

I'll be posting on this project, I'm sure, for the next couple posts to keep you guys updated :}.

The Whole Little Sea Family

2009-08-09T14:05:00.001-07:00

Finished up on all the presents. They turned out well, so I decided they all needed to take some family portraits before they were sent off.

Mr. Squid and Mr. Jelly were pretty sad to part with their newly made brothers and sisters, well except for Mr. Ugly Fish. They didn't really care too much about him leaving. They're going to have to find another means of night lighting, but they aren't that broken up about it.

They'll really miss Miss Octopus and Miss Stary Fish. They were cuties. And the only ladies in the house.I'm going to have to make some more female toys to balance out the current sausage fest of toys.

Packed up and away they went.

BYE! Hope your new home finds you well, no doggies get ahold of your precious limbs, and that you make three little kids very happy. ^__^

SEA CREATURES

2009-08-02T20:04:00.001-07:00

This post has to be rather fast because it's very late, my eyes are burning from so many tiny stitches and I need sleep.

Anyway, these are the creations I finished today. The Sea Star and the Ugly Fish, as I call him, also known as the Anglerfish.

Here's Mr. Starfish, ain't he cute? I made him for my newborn niece. My sister has 3 kids and they're all getting a sea creature.

And here's Mr. Ugly. He's going to my nephew.

After finishing the body I did the lure with a little something special...

An actual little light so that when you press it, it lights up!!! I know. I rock.

I'm just starting on a girly octopus for her other daughter Raven. It will be beautiful.

In Waiting... Yoga Socks

2009-07-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

While excitedly awaiting my knitpicks package to come in the mail, I decided to get into the sock-knitting mood by knitting up these quick babies.

Yoga socks! They're essentially socks without the heel or the toe (so... like the sock pattern for a sock-retard, i.e. myself). Only took me 2 days, and I worked one of them. So easy.

You're heels and the balls of your feet/toe area remain naked so they can grip the yoga mat better, but the rest of your foot stays warm.

Plan to use them while yogaing (can I make that a verb?... whatevs, just did) tomorrow. YAY.

SOCKS!!!

2009-07-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

LOOKIT HOW PURDY!

Ok, so I saw these amazing socks on Knitty and fell in love with them. Recently I attended a knitting group in which only I and the girl that invited me weren't knitting socks. I looked on in amazement as these women knitted with size 1 needles and didn't flinch when they said that they've been making "this pair since last Christmas." Even so, I envied them. I wanted to wear socks I had knit myself! I decided I had to get in on this action.

First up on the block was a good pair of needles:
Bought these for $6 at knitpicks.com, only to notice that they had yarns as well. Why not look, I thought. Famous last words.

Then came the yarn: Tidepool Heather and Cocoa Brown. YUM. I want to eat these colors.

Together they'll make the bestest Garden Gate socks in the world!

The Anit- Hipster Scarf, in progress

2009-07-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

I saw this scarf at Kohls a couple weeks ago and it was $22. I was like "F*?& that S%!t" Amirightladies? After minutes of inspection and studying this thing, I had it down, and it really is quite simple. My motto, "I can make that," came in full force and I decided I wasn't just going to say it, I was going to make it, damn it.

In came Poems Yarn (again) and some black wool.

These are in-progress shots, I'm only about half way done at the moment, and it curls at the sides unmercifully. So I must find some soft fleece or something to line the back with so it stops that nonsense.

I call it the "Anti-Hipster Scarf" because I see little hipster peeps wearing these types of scarves all the time, and I am not a little hipster peep, so this is my version. It will not be worn with ironic old lady glasses, skinny jeans, or on a fixed gear bike.

**Pattern may show up once I get the chance to write it down. It's a lot easier than it looks.

Even more amigurumi! Mr. Squid! ^_^

2009-07-05T14:06:00.001-07:00

Mr. Squid! As you can tell from the above picture, he is too cool for school. He loves long walks on the beach, attacking small swimming children, playing in plastic bags, tanning, and clubbing. He has dark blue eyes, weights about 5 oz., and has wavy long tentacles (the better to cuddle you to death with! lol. No really...)

More amigurumi! Mr. Jelly ^_^

2009-07-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here is Mr. Jelly, for lack of a better name.

Amigurumi!!!

2009-06-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

OMG.

Just bought this book of patterns of cute things on Thursday and I already have one project done and two more on the needles!

This is Mr. Octopus. He has a new home now, but I foresee a bunch of baby octopi on the way. (!__!)

And here he is trying to eat my hand...

And here he is trying to eat my head...

And here he's trying to devour Meow. She was not pleased. ^__^

KNIT GRAFFITI!

2009-06-07T16:44:00.001-07:00

** DISCLAIMER: Lady Purl is not affiliated with nasty graffiti criminals in any way. This is not Lady Purl and Lady Purl can not be held accountable for the damages or expenses caused by yarn.

The Shop Is Up And Running!

2009-05-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

YAY!
^Click here to check out my new shop in all it's 4 item glory :P.

Sad Shrug :,{

2009-05-28T18:25:00.001-07:00

I made this shrug with the best intentions, great yarn, and damnnit, not the right gauge. >.< It's frustrating to make something so nice only for it to turn out 2 sizes (at least) too small. It's even tight on my roommie Rachel, and she's a lot smaller than I am.

....grumble....

But anyway, I guess I'll just sell it then make another later. Now that I know, I won't be a 'tard about it the next go-about.

"Noro" Scarf-- but really my Poem Scarf

2009-05-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

I've been in love with Brooklyn Tweed's Noro Scarf forever CHECKITOUTHERE.

I can't afford Noro yarn, nor do I even like (too scratchy) but I absolutely love the colors. This yarn was the next best thing. It's called Poems Yarn and it's softer, just as purdy, and self-striping. WOOT.

I used 2 skeins of different- but close looking- colorways and striped them every 2 rows with a 1x1 rib.

At one point both yarns kind of became the same shade of pink and blue, so it looks like it stops striping and becomes solid chunks. I really wish that hadn't happened, but if you look closely you can tell what's going on.

PUUUUURDY!

Trying my hand at sewing

2009-05-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

The Under-Bust Corset:

Found this corset pattern on craftster.com, and I had tried to make one before but used very wrong fabric for it, then tried once again. I'll get some action shots of me in it soon, but I'm so very white right now... well take it from me, you don't want to see that.

It is technically reversible, but the red side doesn't look as good. I may model both sides, just to see, but it's made for the black to be on the outside.

This is my experiment with the sewing machine. I think it's a success, but I definitely have to tweak my process. Maybe I'll make a couple more of these. ^_^

Bike Sweater!

2009-04-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

I saw Bike Sweaters on craftster, I think and just had to make th em. The first two pictures are of John's bike, the last two are of mine.

Hey kids!

2009-04-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

New article written, if I get the most hits on the site I win $200, so pass it along to your friends if you can ^_^ THANKS!
CLICK HERE!

New Stuffs

2009-04-09T17:25:00.001-07:00

I made this mask a long time ago, but I never got a picture of it on the guy. He just recently made it his Facebook pic, so not I have one. It's a knitted version of a Mexican wrestler's mask- I know, ridiculous, but whatever, he loved it ^_^.

And now I'm going to begin working on a bike messenger bag made entirely of recycled plastic bags. I knit up a little swtach, shown here: (this is the before picture)

The after picture, below, if after I ironed the plastic making it ultra-durable and super sturdy. :}

And now I've started casting on to make the actual bag. I think I'm going to use the swatch as a pocket or something so it doesn't go to waste. It's knitting up fairly quickly, I'll keep posting pictures of it updated, because this is a big project it may take a while to finish and after it's all done I might paint or spraypaint it- not sure yet, and I also have another project that I need to start soon that I'm bartering for tattoo art (I know, how hardcore am I??? :D)

What I've been up to...

2009-03-25T15:39:00.001-07:00

My sister Erin is having a baby and I wanted to do something to mark the occasion. I received this nice - amazingly soft - yarn from Ashe for my birthday. I couldn't for the life of me think of something I could make for myself with this green color though. I'm rarely a green kind of person. So I thought and thought then remembered that my sister was like popping out a baby at that very moment and started a'knittin'.

I came up with a baby blanket and a little pushy kitty cat. The blanket has a hood for the baby's head, which I think is so cute, and the plushy has no arms or legs to get in the way of massive cuddles! Here's Meow checking out the new kitty (if you're very observant she's actually in every picture so far ^_^). She was mildly suspicious:

I also knit a hat for an old Professor of mine and when taking a picture of it I realized my life in a nutshell was shown in the picture with me.

Upcycled Sweater! (*Finally, something other than a hat :D)

2009-01-31T20:00:00.000-08:00

I bought this mediocre looking sweater from Goodwill a while back with the intention of unraveling it for it's neato-looking yarn.

It's unraveled body made two large skeins of yarn, one as big as my head.

Out of this neato yarn, I started to knit this hat. Turns out that my gauge was waaaaaaay off and it ended up way too big to be a hat... Sooo, I made it a bag and just kept on knitting. It looks like this:

I put a button on the top of the bag and on the top of the strap where the sides meet. I like the effect it made.

Action shot!:

Gwen Slouchy Beret

2009-01-10T17:42:00.000-08:00

I bought some beautiful yarn the other day, two skeins of this amazing multi-colored stuff called Marble. I got one brown and tealish skein and one pink-red rainbowey kind of yarn. It's really hard to explain, but the pictures of this project and the following with the brown will show you. Plus it's pretty cheap yarn, so go out and nab some for yourself. I'm thinking about going back to the store I got it from and getting each of the other colors.

The pattern is The Gwen Slouchy Beret, which I found off of Ravelry (God, I love that site).

See the small subtle color changes? It's better in real life and with better light :\ But whatevs. I want to make awesome spiral socks with the other color, so we'll see how that goes...

New Projects from Winterbreak Boredom

2009-01-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

I love hats. So much.

These hats are what I like to call "24-hour hats" for obvious reasons. They're mindless knitting hats, just an inch and a half of ribbing, then stockinette all the way to the top, and take at most a day. I added buttons on to the stripey one to make it look less boring.

Watching Family Guy in the background. Priceless. :P

And then over winter break I decided in addition to a hat I would make a matching scarf. I knit it length-wise, not sure how it would come out. It was 400 stitches across and about 24 rows long- worked all in garter stitch, if that makes sense. I didn't know how long it would actually be until I cast off. It's crazy long. Like Dr. Who long. I wrapped it around my neck twice and it still almost touches the floor. :S But I think it rocks anyway, and after all that I still had enough yarn for the hat. The hat is my favorite "slouchy tam" pattern from craftster. I officially have way too many of these now.

I'm past due with posting

2008-12-30T18:45:00.000-08:00

Haven't updated in forever and a day.

Here's some pictures. :P

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Early Christmas Presents

2008-11-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

So I one of my boys, J., decided he's going to ride his bike through the winter.

A Wisconsin winter, yes. :\ Don't ask me why.

He's doing it to prove some macho-ism-hardcorness-factor, I guess. Anyway, in doing so, I realized he's going to need a good warm hat and scarf something serious. So, upon consulting him, and him loving the idea, I set into plan creating him a matching scarf and hat set with a skull theme. This is what I got:
He greatly enjoyed them ^_^.

Angoraphobia: My Fear of Sweaters

2008-08-29T17:11:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned in previous posts: I have a very short knittention span. I can knit things for up to about two weeks before I have to start a new project. Accordingly, big projects like sweaters, long scarves, shirts (anything with sleeves really), blankets, etc. are very hard to keep my concentration on. I try to focus my attention, or knittention rather, usually on a one skein wonder that doesn't take longer than a few days or so.

Somehow, I have been able to dish out a few sweaters in the past. Few, and there are still a few stuck on needles that I desperately wish they were free from because I wanna use them for new projects I ultimately won't finish for a couple years (!). Well.. "sweaters," I don't make sleeves, so... sweater tanks at least.

This first one was very important to me, as it was my first sweater, and it incorporated lace, cables, and genetics! The main cable going down the center panel is a strain of DNA! How rocking geeky is that?!

This second one was inspired by an episode of "The Sarah Silverman Program," in which she was wearing a blue sweater tank over a white blouse and she looked adorable as usual, but I noticed it had cute butterfly shaped holes all over it in a neat lace pattern. Off I went to find a butterfly lace pattern and away I went to creating my own pattern. I like it, and wear it occasionally, but I think I need to rework the straps, I just have them buttoned to the back and they look kind of lame.

Hats, scarves, and more hats!

2008-08-29T16:28:00.001-07:00

I love hats. They're just so easy to knit up, half the time they take less than a weekend. I love that finished feeling too. I start sweaters that never get finished and they're sitting in a corner of my room screaming at me, "I want to be done too, damn you!" And the guilt is killing me inside. So I start up a little hat and finish it the next day and sleep easy, knowing that little fella is going to get worn like twice and then shoved in a corner too because I don't really wear hats :P.

Scarves on the other hand, I cannot go without. I've been known to wear two at a time in this blistery Wisconsin weather. Last winter was absolutely horrible, and I would invariably put on a hat then wrap this big scarf I have around my face, then ears, and then around my neck (Muslim style, yo), then put a hooded jacket on over that. I looked retarded, but so did the cold people walking past me. ^_^ I need more big scarves, but scarves are another project that seem endless to me. They're tooooooo long.

Sexy Nintendo Controller Box

2008-08-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, Nintendo isn't really all that sexy... I mean it kind of is, in the right context, like when a really hot girl catches her boyfriend playing video games and he shamefully stammers, "Uh, I just play it time to time, it's just a hobby... don't think I'm a nerd please," and she responds with, "Holy shit man! Is that Duck Hunt!!! Ohmigawd, do you have Mrs. Pac Man? She's the shit!" ... That would be pretty hot. :D Anyway, this was made with the intention of being a purse and that didn't work out, so it turned into a box... just a holding box, and incidentally it turned into a holder for condoms and various items in my room :}. Henceforth it be called the Sexy Nintendo Controller Box.In the beginning it was really floppy and lame. I did not approve. I set it aside for numerous months then after buying some of that hard mesh material and waiting another couple months I put it all together. And I lovies it now!

Hobo Bag & Tank

2008-08-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the generous patterns given on Delicious Stitches site:
http://deliciousstitches.blogspot.com/2006/07/cabled-hobo-bag-pattern.html
I was able to make this adorable Hobo bag and this really nice take top that I wear pretty regularly. The patterns were super easy to read and inspired me to make some alterations and write some patterns of my own. ^_^ Gotta love when knit happens.

And here's the tank, which she called "Pretty in Pink Tank Top" but I used Simply Soft's Shadow Yarn instead. I didn't heed the gauge or really listen to the needle size, hehe, but it came out pretty good and was incredibly easy to knit up, I think it took me only a weekend or so. If I made it again and used the same yarn I'd make it smaller as since I've washed it it seems to have gotten baggier... that might also have something to do with the lack of blocking I do :P.