Jaax Crafts

I made something

2008-02-13T15:12:00.002-05:00

I am somehow involved with a felt food swap. I'm making 12 felt pizzas. Here is the first one.

The toppings come off so that the kidlets who get them can arrange their pizzas as they please.

Aside from 12 felt pizzas, I'm also working on new covers for cushions on an Ikea loveseat.

sometimes being sick can be a major motivator

2007-11-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

I am home sick. One runs out of things to do really darn fast. One of the things I love to do is watch movies, but my favorite moves are all on VHS tape, and my VCR wasn't set up. So I finally got around to setting up the VCR to run through the DVD player, which is also a recorder so I can watch the Princess Bride, and record it to a DVD at the same time.

I also wanted to knit. For the first time in ages, I wanted to knit. So I pulled out socks I started in summer 2006 and then completely neglected. Maybe I'll make some progress today.

Baby Quilt

2007-11-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

Good friends had their second baby recently. For the first baby, I knit a sweater, but I unfortunately don't have time for that, so I thought I'd do a quilt because it's a faster project. So, here is the completed baby quilt.

Why I Have Not Been Knitting

2007-05-30T20:52:00.000-04:00

I guess that title's a bit of a lie. Because I have been knitting a bit. A round here and there on some socks I've been working on for*ever*. But no real knitting. Having a house and a yard is a big job, man! I need to take photos... The side stairs are falling off the house, and have a hole in them (kind of dangerous for the milk man). The garden has had 10 years to get completely overtaken by weeds. The lawn keeps growing and needing to be cut. The wallpaper in this house is... special... and needs to be replaced. I'm thinking this blog might need to be changed from Jaax Crafts to Jaax Busts Her Ass Fixing Up Her House. Not so catchy.

Would Crayon make a good sweater?

2007-02-03T19:52:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking I want to knit myself a lightweight spring sweater out of the Knit Picks Crayon yarn. I've made small baby washcloths with it, and I've seen baby sweaters that people have made with it, but I'm wondering if it will work out ok on an adult sized item. Any input?

New Doggy!

2007-01-20T15:35:00.000-05:00

I'm back from Spain, and totally forgot to take my knitting with me, so I have absolutely no knitting progress to report. We did, however, adopt a dog yesterday! She's a five year old German shepherd mix, but much smaller than a shepherd. Black and tan coloring, and really sweet and friendly. She's not trained beyond sitting for treats, but we're going to get a trainer. She's staying at the shelter until Monday when she gets spayed, and then we'll introduce her to our cat. Keep your fingers crossed that they hit it off ok!

Is this January? For Real?

2007-01-06T14:20:00.000-05:00

It is January 6th, and I have my windows open because it is 70 degrees outside. In Boston!!! I actually saw poor, confused cherry trees blooming yesterday.

In actual knitting news, here's a picture of the beautiful yarn my mother brought back from Italy for me.

She got me four different skeins of two different variegated yarns. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them. They're a merino, acrylic, alpaca blend. Suggestions?

Pretty New MacBook

2007-01-04T22:02:00.000-05:00

Because I really need my own laptop for school (and blogging) I bought myself a pretty new MacBook. So pretty! I'd been having some weird trouble with posting pics from the PC, so hopefully I'll have better luck with the Mac. First, though, I need to figure out how to get my pictures from the PC onto the Mac. Hrm... Then I will post pictures of the beautiful yarn my mother bought me on a recent trip to Italy.

Happy 2007!

2007-01-01T14:40:00.000-05:00

One of my New Year's resolutions is to blog more. So, here it is! I went on a cruise this week, which was awesome. I did absolutely no knitting. I meant to, but left at home the socks I've been meaning to finish. So instead of knitting pics, I'll start the year with a picture from my trip, of the private island we went to, Castaway Cay.Hopefully my next post will give a good progress update on the socks I'm working on. I have one sock from two different pairs done, so I need to keep myself from falling into second sock syndrome. I'm playing the role of world traveler this month, so now that I'm back from the cruise, I'm heading to Spain for a week, so I'm hoping to get some good knitting done on the plane there and back. No more orphaned socks!

Yay Hanukkah!

2006-12-20T08:47:00.000-05:00

I got the new Knit Picks needle set for Hanukkah! I'm looking forward to using them. I'm going on a cruise next week, and I'm planning to bring nice lightweight yarn and the needles and knit in the sunshine. Ahhhh.

finished object brag

2006-10-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

Long, long ago, I knit a baby sweater for little Gus. It was a 9-12 month size, because he was born in January, and I wanted it to fit for the fall of this year. Well, the time has arrived, and little Gus is wearing the sweater! You can see him in all of his cuteness in the sweater here.

Who needs to finish the first pair?

2006-07-25T18:09:00.000-04:00

I haven't exactly finished my first pair of socks, but I'm starting a second pair in Camp Tapawingo colors for my beloved wife because she's volunteering at a program in August at her favorite place on earth (her childhood camp), and I'd love for her to be able to go up there with her own pair of hand knit socks to make everyone jealous. ;) Who needs to pack and move by Aug 14th? Pshaw. All of my spare time should be spent knitting, dontcaknow.

binding off socks

2006-07-01T18:28:00.000-04:00

I finished my first sock, and I love it.

I am dis-satisfied with the strange extra stitches at the toe, but I am not Minty, and not nearly anal enough to frog it. The only problem I had was that when I tried to bind it off, and I was doing it loosely, it was *so* tight around my leg. So I ripped it out and did a crochet edge where I added a crocheted stitch between each stitch while I was binding off. It gives it kind of a funny lettuce edge when it's off, but it's much better on.

How do others avoid the too-tight top on socks?

Catching up on knitting, starting some new

2006-06-13T17:03:00.000-04:00

I finally finished the pageboy cap from Stitch N Bitch nation that I'd been working on for ages. This is for my friend Meera who is a hat collector, this is to replace a knit, brimmed cap that she has that's dying.

I'm also starting a sock. I've been home sick, so lots of knitting time.

The Crib Blanket

2006-06-11T20:34:00.000-04:00

This is the crib blanket I made for Gus. The front is cotton pattern (little froggies - so cute!), the back is fleece. The initial is felt.

The Finished Sweater

2006-06-11T20:12:00.000-04:00

I realized that you all may not believe me that it was done if I didn't post the pictures. Here it is, the finished project!

Finished except for the buttons.

Finished with buttons on.

Button detail.

Collar detail.

House Buying

2006-06-04T18:28:00.000-04:00

There is a possibility that I will be buying a house in the next month or so. Which would mean selling my condo. Which would mean general madness. But the house is a good deal, and it's next to my parents' house, which means that future little-ones would be able to run over there whenever they wanted to. There are pictures of the house at my photo blog, www.jaaxphotos.blogspot.com.

Can it be? I'm done!

2006-05-31T22:44:00.000-04:00

I am back from several days away, wandering the mid-Atlantic. It was damn hot, but I knitted away. I did not meet my goal of finishing the sweater before I saw Gus. I had actually finished the knitting, but not the finishing, so back home to Boston it came. I just finished sewing on the buttons, and it is done, ready to go in the mail. I will post pictures once it's been received. I will also have pics of the blanket I made. Now I keep my fingers crossed that the sweater is not too big, and that he is in enough air conditioned spaces in the coming months to actually wear it. He's 5 months old, and I'm afraid he's already too big for the 9-12 mo sweater.

For future babies, I think I'll make things they don't wear, but can use, and not outgrow. Like toys or blankets.

Off to Reunion!

2006-05-23T09:23:00.000-04:00

I'm going to DC to visit friends and to Bryn Mawr for my 5-year reunion this weekend. I was knitting diligently, only a bit left of the baby jacket, and I left it at my parents' house. I may be knitting during the Red Sox game tonight (I'll be *at* the park, I don't know if I can really manage it). It will be done by Monday when I see Gus. It will. There is no other option. I will post pics at that time.

Mellow Yellow

2006-04-27T15:04:00.000-04:00

Long, unintentional hiatus

2006-04-27T14:34:00.000-04:00

Apologies for being so long between posts. I continue to make *very* slow progress on the baby jacket. Little Gus is now 4 months old, and the jacket is the 6-12 month size, but he's already in 6-month clothes, so I have got to finish it ASAP. I made him a little present in the meantime, but it has not been sent off to him and his moms yet, so I will post a pic of that when they get it.

In other news, I apparently was partaking in Project Spectrum without even knowing it. I was struck by the yellow things all around me a couple of weeks ago, so I took tons of pics one day on my walk home. I will do something with them in Flickr and post them here. Not knitting anything yellow or orange right now, though.

This week I am hoping to finish the second sleeve, and then I'll post a pic of the baby jacket parts, and then I piece. I don't know that I've ever really pieced something before. I don't like it already.

New Colors of Crayon

2006-03-26T17:40:00.000-05:00

Although I'm still working on the baby sweater (though I'm in the home stretch, just finishing the sleeves and then the finishing), I saw the new colors of Crayon and got very excited. Too bad, Minty, that they didn't have these colors when you were looking for yarn for the sophisticated baby. I think I may make the MagKnits Nothin' but a t-shirt with one of the more adult colors. Look for pics of the finished baby sweater soon, because I have to finish it! That baby's going to outgrow it!

Who needs to finish projects to start new ones?

2006-01-26T17:19:00.000-05:00

I currently have three unfinished knitting projects (one so unfinished that I can't even remember the last time I worked on it, but I *refuse* to consider it abandoned). I did not, however, allow this to prevent me from buying sock yarn from Knit Picks to make stripey mittens. I have The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and saw this Parade sock yarn and just had to make mittens from it (this color is Daffodil). Which reminds me that I still haven't started the socks using the kit that Minty gave me. Oh, dear. Well, maybe this year I'll really knit through the summer. Because most of these projects are not time-sensitive. Just the baby sweater I *still* haven't finished, and the hat for my friend that I'm sure is ready to disown me. Bad, Jaax, bad.

Poncho

2006-01-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on the sweater and the hat. I still haven't found the cord for my camera, so no pictures. Although, I did buy this fancy pants thing from Amazon that is a USB drive that has a slot for your SD card, and I'm waiting for that to come and then I don't have to worry about the cord because I can just use that. So that's exciting.

I'd been thinking for ages that I wanted a poncho, but they're kind of pricey, and I thought I should just knit one, but I saw a fun stripey one at Jasmine Sola's outlet today for only $20 so I bought it. So now I have a multicolor striped poncho. No knitting required. Woo hoo.

Back to being crafty

2006-01-06T16:15:00.000-05:00

The last month (or more, really) has been totally crazy with a class I'm taking, a chorus I sing in, the holidays, and a family illness. Things are coming around to normal, and I've got some projects going. I'm still working on the Newsboy Cap from Stitch n Bitch for a friend. Using Manos. I'm also waiting on the buttons for the baby sweater, and I need to finish that up ASAP, because the baby has arrived! And he is totally adorable. We're going to visit him and his mommies in February, so I'll bring the jacket then. I also am making a lamp for a friend, and am planning a bag for myself to replace one I love that is falling apart. So, I need to hold myself to these things! And I need to make myself those socks! I have lost the cord that connects my camera to the computer, so I've been spending time I should be looking for the cord trying to convince the camera to give the pictures to the computer in new and inventive ways (if anyone knows a good way to get pictures from a memory card from a palm, pictures that were not taken in the palm, that does not involve moving each individual picture to the memory of the palm, I would really appreciate the knowledge).

Newsboy Cap

2005-12-22T17:52:00.000-05:00

I've been taking a little break from serious knitting to be completely overwhelmed by the holidays, but I have started the Newboy Cap from Stitch 'N Bitch. Making it in Manos, in the Natural color. It's my first foray into magic loop, and so far so good. I even did a few of the cables without a cable needle but decided it meant I had to be more careful than I wanted to be, so i have been going with the cable needle again. I've finished the main height of the hat and am decreasing the crown. I need to find some of that plastic canvas for the bill, but I imagine this is going to be a pretty quick project. If I ever work on it.

the baby washcloths

2005-11-16T10:01:00.000-05:00

The basby washcloths for the first baby are done, unfortunately without pictures. There was a lot going on, I had to drive to MD for the shower, and they weren't exactly done until about an hour before hand. I was actually sitting in Starbucks right before the shower, finishing up the last one and weaving in ends. They were very soft and well received. I'm working on another set for a coworker who just had a baby, and I'll take a picture of them. Too bad it's not a touchable thing, this Crayon yarn is unbelievably soft.

On other projects, I'm still working on the little jacket for the first baby (now I'm aiming for before he/she is born, since I missed the shower). I bought beautiful little buttons this weekend on my trip, but unfortunately bought 6, and the pattern calls for 7. PITA. I might actually call the little shop in Philly to see if they could send me one more. Seems like a pain for a $.75 button. I really want them to be the buttons, though. They're little wooden buttons with a little cut pattern on the front.

Minty, we should discuss our sock knit along. I don't like the way the pattern is written with the strange partial round to start, and I was thinking I might play with it some. I need to focus on this baby jacket for the time being, though, seeing as this kid is supposed to join the world within a month, and I should get it out to the mommies.

soft as a ...crayon?

2005-11-08T12:12:00.000-05:00

I was ordering some needles from KnitPicks and took the opportunity to also order a whole rainbow of Crayon yarn. I have a few people having babies and figured that machine washable 100% cotton would be good yarn to have around, pluss it looked really soft and so colorful. I have been working on a little baby jacket for a friend who is due in the end of December, but the shower is this weekend. Since the jacket is not going to be ready in time (I was really thinking I had all this time), I'm making little washcloths for the baby out of the Crayon yarn. It is ridiculously soft. I think I'm going to find a pattern to make myself a hooded sweater out of it. I just want to rub it against my cheek all the time. I'll post pics from home.

So far behind

2005-11-03T15:51:00.000-05:00

I am not going to get to my meme until this weekend. When I'm also singing in a concert with my chorus (Boston area readers, check out www.voicesrising.org for details) and have a meeting for the alum club of my college. Oh, and I also have to find something quick and easy to knit for my boss' baby. I've only been working for her for 2 weeks and she's due next week, and I was totally shamed at a meeting when another coworker gave her a baby gift and I didn't have anything for her. So bad. I wound the sock yarn that Minty gave me. The colors are *awesome*. I ordered needles from Knitpicks and I'm so excited to get started on them ASAP.

A Meme? For Me?

2005-10-31T15:28:00.000-05:00

I have been tagged for a meme. My first one. I am at work and can't do it now, and it was passed to me like a week ago so I'm bad. I will do it soon though. Minty tagged me. She also gave me a great little gift from Stitches East - a toe-up sock kit in "Jaax Green." Ie the color I wear all the time. Whee! I'll have to post pics of the kit when I get home. More knit stuff to come.

What is a swift, anyhow?

2005-10-19T11:14:00.000-04:00

I should have covered this when I first started talking about buying a swift, since as of a few months ago, I was one of the many folks who didn't know what a swift was. When you buy a hank of yarn that you need to make into a ball, you can use a ball winder and swift to make them more easily than sitting there and wrapping and wrapping. You open up the hank into the large circle, and put it around the swift. Then you feed the end into the ball winder, and just wind away. The result is a wonderfully compact, center pull little "cake" of yarn. You can use the ball winder without the swift, but it's kind of hard to keep it all from getting twisted and knotted as it goes.

I balled some Manos recently, and you can see it here.

I am revered!

2005-10-13T16:26:00.000-04:00

You are Shetland Wool.
You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a
little on the harsh side. Though you look
delicate you are tough as nails and prone to
intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are
widely respected and even revered.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

The Time is Swift

2005-10-11T15:26:00.000-04:00

Woo Hoo! I just got a call from the front desk that a package has arrived for me. It is my swift! Oh, I wish I could go home and make pretty balls of yarn tonight.

The Big Clean / Flashing my Stash

2005-10-11T15:06:00.000-04:00

I should start at the beginning. Last year, when we moved from Philly to Boston, we downsized for the second time in a year. Going from a large 2-bedroom apt to a smaller 1-bedroom apt to a very small 1-bedroom apt, going from about 1200 sq ft to 575 sq ft. There was a lot of craft stuff and not so much room. For the past year we had the livingroom set up with the couch in the middle facing the tv, and my craft stuff shoved behind it with a table that was just not workable for crafting. This weekend, we began the big clean. I pulled all of the craft stuff out from behind the couch so we could push the couch against the wall. This is the pile of craft stuff:

Those are two different sewing machines in the front there. The one in the hard case is a beautiful Singer from 1965 with tons of pretty stitches, the other is a basic Brother that I bought a few years ago because the Singer is just too slow to try to use as a workhorse.

I sorted and sorted, and put together a new work table for myself. Here is the worktable:

Notice that it already has piles of stuff on it. I'm working on getting everything organized, which, like every other project in life, is taking longer than expected.

I was able to get all of my yarn together into a set of clear plastic drawers for yarn I use often, and a rubbermaid bin for kits I'm waiting to start and acrylic worsted that's waiting for some new knitter to want.

Here is all of the yarn in its contained form:

The drawers can roll into the corner under my desk. Where the bin will be stored is still in the works.

Here is what is inside of these:

(notice my pretty cat sniffing around)

There you have it. My yarn laid out for the world to see. Now that things are more organized I could probably even break it all down and say what each set of yarn was for, and whether there is really any chance in hell that it will get made. ;)

Not so swift

2005-10-07T14:14:00.000-04:00

Oh, I want my swift to come. I feel like I ordered it forever ago. I am having it delivered to my office because sometimes packages don't come to our apartment, instead we get a little piece of paper to pick it up at the post office. Only now it's Friday going into a long weekend and it's still not here. I suppose it's prbably for the best, as I'm supposed to be cleaning out my crafting area, setting up my new craft table and flashing my stash this weekend. I don't have time to play around with balls of yarn for non-current projects.

How did I not know this?

2005-10-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

Well, Minty, you have once again changed my life forever. Several years ago, I knew how to knit, but I had done very little of it, and didn't do it very often. And then we started meeting weekly to knit, you took me to Stitches East, you inspired me. Now, you've introduced me to the felted join. I will never knit with wool in the same way again. Ever. The sweater for myself that I've been working on in bits and peices for years, I want to frog it and start again so I don't have loose ends. Why is this not a standard practice? We should be shouting this from the rooftops. Not to mention that knittinghelp.com is damn cool. It's official, Minty is my idol. Even if she does want me to flash my stash, which I will do as soon as the stash is again accessible (hopefully this weekend).

Swiftly on!

2005-09-30T11:27:00.000-04:00

I ordered a swift from Joann using their monthly 40% off coupon. Yay! Now I can make all of the various skeins I have around into lovely little cakes of yarn.

I have not been knitting, which is bad, because I really want to, but so much ends up getting in the way in the evenings. This weekend, maybe. I really want to make the hat with the Manos, especially since I was just reading something on someone's blog (no idea who) about how great Manos is to work with.

I haven't decided what to do with the baby jacket yet. I think I'll finish it, and also make some smaller things, washcloths and such as suggested, and make my decision when the time comes.

I just found out about Spark Crafts in Davis Square in Somerville. I'm not sure how I didn't know about this place before, but now I must make a pilgrimage across the river. I am seeing visions of taking a pair of jeans that I love but are falling apart and making them into something that I can keep wearing with a lot of pizazz. What I really need to do is hem all of those pairs of pants that have been patiently waiting.

I think I'm being selfish

2005-09-28T16:00:00.000-04:00

The more I think about it, the more I worry that if I give the baby jacket to the friend for whom it is intended, I am setting myself up for lots of work. This is the first friend having a baby. I was inspired, I wanted to make a little jacket. True, it is much smaller than making something for an adult, but it's a lot of money, and still a good bit of time. Do I set myself up for this for each friend who has children? Or do I make something smaller for this friend, and save this jacket for a future niece or nephew, or even a future child of my own? And is that selfish? Given that this baby isn't due until the end of December, I should really stop obsessing about it and knit the hat with Manos for the dear friend whom I promised would have her hat for the fall. Oh, dear. I will knit while I watch ANTM this evening, but I just don't think I can knit through Lost. I may miss something, and that's not good in that show. I'm glad it's getting more fall like, it makes me more likely to actually work with the wool.

Organizational Behavior

2005-09-27T16:12:00.000-04:00

I may have been cursing the Container Store during the hours that we were there, stressing out, designing closets, searching out storage, and waiting for pickup. But now that we have done some of the instalation, I am amazed. I have not been knitting because I have been in total organization mode in my apartment. Which of course means that right now, it looks like a bomb went off. But the closets are amazing. I was realizing after it was all done that I should have taken before pictures, but I will definitely have to take after pictures when everything is loaded back in in an orderly, easily accessible manner. The only problem is that it is so airy and well organized that the cat is complaining that there are no dark hidden places in there for her to go hide in anymore. Well, that's what her kitty condo is for.

Now that we've gotten the closets finished, the next thing to attack is my craft corner. When you have two people living in a one bedroom apartment with only a living room, kitchen, bedroom and very small bathroom, it really does matter that the craft area has exploded to take over half of the room. We currently have the computer and tv and some bookshelves against one wall, the couch in the middle of the room facing the TV, and everything behind the couch is out of control craft mess. Well, the new "system" that I have should actually harness it. I have bins. I have a new craft table. I have drawers. I have shelves. I will be the most amazingly organized crafter in the world, for at least a day. :-P This I will b sure to take before and after pics of. Although I will be *so* embarrassed to actually post the before pictures on the internet.

Currently the baby jacket is stopped at the place where the pockets should be added (should pockets be added has yet to be decided). I have three pairs of pants that need to be hemmed for my lovely, yet very short, great aunt. They take priority over the knitting. And although I am loving the class I'm taking this semester, it is a participatory kind of class, so no knitting there. Ah, well. Sometime before next spring I will finish the hat I need to make, the baby jacket, and a tank for myself. And maybe even some other projects. Riiiiiight.

I want to like the Container Store

2005-09-18T22:00:00.000-04:00

I really want to like the Container Store. And for the most part I do. We got all kinds of good stuff, but their method for actually getting your order to you is really bad. We went to try to get some things to organize my craft corner. Which is really more than a corner. And it's out of control. Currently, I have what is really a buffet type side bar thing from Ikea as my sewing table. It doesn't work out because it is really shallow from front to back, so there's no real room to work. I also have all of my yarn and fabric and whatnot in big rubbermaid containers, so I end up digging through every time I need some supplies. I had gotten some wall mounted shelves to put craft supplies on, which worked for a little while, until they came crashing down. So I went to the Container Store. I bought some clear plastic drawer things. I got a little file box. We went back yesterday to try to find a little desktop for me, and maybe some stuff to organize our two horrible closets. Hours later, and way, way too much money later we'd bought all of these "systems" for the craft are and the two closets. Then we had to go back today to pay and pick the stuff up, and we had to wait again. Now we have boxes and rails and table tops and drawers in pieces all over my craft area, waiting for next weekend when we can actually put it all together. I'll be lucky if I can find my yarn and needles in the piles in the next week. Myabe next Sunday I'll go find the Knitsmiths in Brookline so there's someone to force me to knit. Not that I should need to be forced to knit!

why do babies need pockets anyhow?

2005-09-13T15:19:00.000-04:00

I am working on the front of the baby jacket, and I have gotten to the place where the pocket it to be placed. In very helpful Debbie Bliss style, the instructions say "Place Pocket" and then go merrily along telling you what to do after that. That's it. Place Pocket. No diagrams, of course. Um, huh? And now I'm thinking, it didn't take all that much yarn to make the little pocket liners, and why the hell would babies need mini-pockets anyway? I may just leave the pockets out. The moms will be none the wiser, I'm sure.

There's a chill in the air

2005-09-06T15:47:00.000-04:00

Today, for the first time in a while, I needed a light sweater to walk to work. Knitting season is coming back! I broke from my normal tradition and did knit through the summer this year, but it was so damn hot a few weeks ago, that while I was planning projects, I haven't been knitting. I wish I didn't have to go out tonight because I'd totally want to go home and work on my baby jacket. I need to find cute buttons that a baby won't choke on to use before I can knit up the side with the button holes. And I need to get some Addi turbo 8's and teach myself magic loop to start the pageboy hat with the manos yarn I got. Yay, fall knitting!

I work right near BU's campus, and the students are back today. I love fall. Although we do still technically have 2 more weeks of summer.

Balls of Yarn!!!

2005-08-28T17:38:00.001-04:00

I used my new ball winder the other day to make pretty balls of yarn. Yay!

Here is progress on the baby jacket. A pic of the whole back.

Here's a detail piece. Because my knitting and purling tensions are different, I'm getting this funny columns thing, where I get a deeper valley every other stitch. It's hard to describe.

Unfortunately, I don't think you can see it in this pic. Actually, fortunately, because maybe it's not as noticeable as I thought.

Fancy Blogger

2005-08-25T17:15:00.000-04:00

So, it seems that Blogger is trying to do something to prevent the spam comment thing. Now one has to type in a code, like when you buy tickets online, to verify that you are in fact a person. Fancy pants.

Crafty Cake

2005-08-25T11:59:00.000-04:00

I haven't had a picture in a little while, so I thought I'd post a picture of the wedding cake I helped decorate, since this is my crafty page. I mostly rolled the fondant, and the bride actually put it on the cake, but I played a part.

The miracle ball winder

2005-08-25T10:49:00.000-04:00

I had kind of a pissy evening last night. I left work in an ok mood, and arrived home in a foul mood, thanks to the "self" checkout line at the grocery store. The universe must have known, and balanced things out by having my ball winder sitting there waiting for me when I got home. I balled a skein without a swift, since I haven't ordered it yet (next Joann sale, baby). It was a pain in the ass. I wound a ball from a ball I'd wound. It was wonderful. So I rewound the ball I'd wound from the skein, and now it's wonderful. My balls got better with practice. Happiness is watching Lost and playing with a new ball winder. :-D

Oh Happy Day!

2005-08-23T15:24:00.000-04:00

So, thanks to Minty and the smart folks over at Knitty, I now know that when one is buying Debbie Bliss yarn, one needs to buy a good bit more than is called for. I wish that conversation had happened two months ago when I was buying the yarn, but what can you do. I went ahead and called the yarn store in Oregon, and not only do they have 4 balls of the same color, it's the same dye lot! I'm really happy, because I figured after two months, they'd be out of it, or not have the same dye lot left, or something. Whew. I am so, so glad. I bought all 4 balls, because damn it I'm not going to run out of yarn. If it's too much, I'll make booties, or look for another project. Yay Northwest Wools in Portland, OR!

baby jacket and hat

2005-08-22T16:36:00.000-04:00

The second skein of natural colored yarn for the hat has arrived. It seems to match well, but I'll knit up a little swatch with the two yarns to see if you can tell the difference. I'm lazy and want to wait for my ball winder to show up before I ball it.

I am making good progress on the baby jacket. I finished the back last night. I'm very worried that I won't have enough yarn. I'm going to call the yarn store (the same one in Oregon where I bought the yarn for the hat). I bought exactly as much as the pattern told me to. I didn't do a swatch (bad knitter), but my gauge is dead on. I don't understand. Making a Debbie Bliss pattern with Debbie Bliss yarn should be foolproof.

Anyone have extra Debbie Bliss DK Cotton in color 13007?

Pain in the butt

2005-08-20T13:00:00.000-04:00

When I was on my west coast trip, I promised my lovely friend Meera that I would knit her a hat, to add to her extensive collection. I knitted her a hat years ago, when we were in college, and she is more apprecciative of the knitted gift than anyone else I know. So, we went to a little shop, and she picked out yarn. I knew the style she wanted, the Cabled Newsboy Cap from Stich 'n Bitch Nation. I have the book at home, but didn't have it with me, and they were out of it at the shop, so we went to a bookstore to look at how much yarn we'd need, but we apparently missed something. I was reading how many grams per 100 yds, not how many skeins we'd need, so I bought 1 skein, and we needed two. Luckily, we bought Manos del Uruguay in Natural, and they don't have dye lots, so I was able to order some from the internet, and hope that the colors are close. I also need to buy more Addi Turbos in the right size. How do I not have Addis in an 8? A trip to my LYS is in order. Maybe tomorrow afternoon. And I'm writing down what I need for needles, and checking it twice.

Pictures of the ll-back ribbon tank

2005-08-17T21:56:00.000-04:00

Here are pictures of the tank top. Thanks to my lovely model. :-)

Front of the tank.

Back of the tank.

Done!

2005-08-16T11:03:00.000-04:00

I finally finished the ribbon tank. I just have to weave in a couple more ends. My "model" let me take some pics, which I'll put up as soon as I have a moment. It fits me, and it fits her, and we're shaped pretty differently, so I hope it will fit my friend. The parallel straps worked out ok, I think. Whew. Done.

I'm not excluding you

2005-08-15T18:57:00.000-04:00

I am sorry to say, because of bad, spam-like comments I was getting, I had to change my settings so that only people with Blogger accounts can post comments, which makes me sad, but I got 5 spam-type comments in 3 hours, and it was getting out of control. Hopefully something will change so that I can change the settings back. Blogger is great, if you want to get an account, and then you can post comments. I'm not sure how many people I have reading who aren't Bloggers anyhow. Too bad people suck. :(

The X-back will be a ll-back

2005-08-15T16:52:00.000-04:00

I was working on the straps last night, and I've decided to do parallel straps instead of crossed straps. I had a strange conversation, trying to be casual, asking my friend about whether she has an x-back strapless bra that she likes, and not surprisingly, she doesn't. I think that it will work out ok. She's a little smaller than I am, but I pinned the one strap I was working on and tried it on, and it doesn't pull funny, and it looks fine in the front. So tonight I'll finish up the straps, I hope. Oh, which reminds me I forgot to mail back my Netflix movies that I was watching while knitting last night! Bummer. Now I'll have to wait a whole extra day to get more movies, and for some reason Sex and the City season 4 only has 4 episodes per disk, and only 2 disks! Man, I want that job. I'm working late tonight, but hopefully will finish tonight. Not that I have woven in any of my edges yet...

And Minty let me know that Joann's coupon deal is running now, so I'm going to order the ball winder this month, and the swift next month. Yay!

If I ever finish the freaking tank, I can work on the billed cap from SnB for my Oregon friend, and work on the baby jacket as I have time. And I have to figure out what I'm going to do with 8 balls of Crystal Palace Party ribbon yarn. I was going to make an x-back but it's not the right gauge (and I am not going to the effort of adjusting for this pattern). I can't bring myself to return it, but I fear I may have to. Sniff, Sniff.

I don't wanna go to work

2005-08-10T14:04:00.000-04:00

I have stalled out on the tank. All I have to do is finish the straps and weave in the ends, and I have just run out of steam. My poor friend who doesn't even know about it will never even see it, I fear. I have been making some small progress on the baby jacket. I've never done anything in 100% cotton that I can remember, and I can't say I'm loving it. The yarn has no give, and it slows me down a lot, and I have to hold my finger higher, so I'm getting hand cramps. I'm glad I opted to do just the jacket, and not the booties too, becuase my fingers might fall off.

I'm totally dying to knit something with the fun yarns at KnitPicks. I wish I knitted for a living, instead of sitting at a desk.

How the hell is it August already?

2005-08-02T11:48:00.000-04:00

I have made a little progress on the baby jacket. I find that I'm knitting a lot more tightly with the cotton. Or maybe there's just less give in the yarn. I tempted the fates and didn't do a gauge swatch, but I figure that I'm knitting the 6mo size for a baby that has not yet been born. My gauge is consistent, whatever it is. The baby is going to fit in this jacket for a limited amount of time no matter what size it is. I think it will work out.

I have done all of the shaping for the front of the tank, and now just need to finish up the straps, but it is just not calling to me. I just need to do it, get it done, and give it to my friend. I am now agonizing over whether to make it an x-back, or to make the straps parallel. She is full chested, and I have found it difficult to find x-back bras that work well for larger chests. It is an impasse. Do I ask her which she prefers? She doesn't know I'm making this for her, it was to be a surprise. The agony of it all.

By the way, did I mention that I want someone else to have a baby so I can make this? I love the friends for whom I'm making the baby jacket, but I think it would have to be a relative or a really, really close friend for this blanket. Although, I could just start working on it now and then give it to whoever has the first baby. Though, does that set a precedent? ;-)

This just in

2005-07-22T14:51:00.000-04:00

It's too freaking hot to knit, and Harry Potter is way more interesting than that stupid tank, anyhow. By the time I finish it, it will be cold. And I don't care. I'm so glad I bought yarn to make a bunch of these! Not!

I am still loving the baby jacket pattern, however. If it would cool down enough to knit with cotton, even.

The return to the real world

2005-07-11T22:11:00.000-04:00

I didn't finish the x-back before I left for vacation because I thought a silly thing like packing was more important. So I left it behind so I didn't have to tote along a finished project for my whole trip. This is how it looked when I left, and how it still looks:

I did bring the yarn I bought months ago for making my own x-back.

This is where I made my first mistake. I brought along the yarn and the needles, thinking I'd make good progress on the plane, and I cast on the stitches and started knitting along, and lo and behold, I could see right through it. That would be a definite problem. I only had one set of needles, and no other yarn, and so I was SOL. No projects to knit. What would I do? Well, I went to a local yarn shop, North West Wool, and bought this:

I have a friend expecting a baby, so I bought a Debbie Bliss baby book, and beautiful Debbie Bliss cotton yarn to make a baby jacket, and the cream wool is to make a hat for the friend we were visiting in Oregon, who loves hats. I started the baby jacket.

Here's an up-close shot of the stitch:

So that's what I've been up to knit-wise, pictures and all. My plan is to finish the x-back this week, and really delve into the baby jacket. It's so tiny! It's so cute! I'm really looking forward to this project, and then I'll knit myself the x-back. Well, maybe I should do my x-back first, so I can wear it, as the baby's not due until December, and I'm knitting the 6 month size. I ordered the Katia yarn before the vacation, but it didn't come before I left, so here it is (it's the same as what Minty bought).

I also bought a set of addi turbos for the x-back project, and the Knitters Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, in which I will hopefully find a pattern to make my brother a sweater in the not too distant future. So, that's my last two weeks. Hopefully more knitting updates soon.

When will it end?

2005-06-23T10:42:00.000-04:00

I am starting to think I'll never finish the x-back. I got to the bind off for the arm holes and was happily binding off while watching TV, and when I went back to count (which I should have been more careful with in the first place) I'd only bound off 9 instead of 10 for the first armhole! So I had to go pull out the whole row back to the end of the first bind off, and then, I did the same thing on the second arm hole, so back again. Good god. Now I've worked the first 5 rows of the upper front, and realized I somehow ended up with 2 too few stitches. I'm going mad. No more decreasing and watching tv. It's too dangerous.

In better news, I bought 3 audio books for my iPod so I can listen to books while I knit, and I'll be happy to have them with me on the plane on my VACATION!!! Which I'm going on tomorrow! Yay! So I have an excuse for not posting for the next week and a half. Woo hoo.

Ribbon X-Back progress

2005-06-20T16:36:00.000-04:00

After not working on it for too many weeks (and being totally shamed by Minty), I have gotten to the desired length to begin the straps and shaping. Yay! I'm hoping to finish by the time I leave for Oregon on Friday morning, because I want to start another one. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the yarn and needles I bought get here this week. After working with my lion brand ribbon tape (which is quite nice, but a little scratchy), I was really jealous when I saw Minty's finished tank, because the yarn is so much nicer. So I followed her lead and got the Katia Ola (same blue and white stripe, #38, because the other colors aren't really worth buying). I'm also really tired of the crappy circular needles I've been using. So I broke down and bought Addi Turbos instead. Hopefully they will come by Thursday (fingers crossed), and I hope to post a finished pic of the first x-back by tomorrow or Wednesday!

no knitting

2005-05-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

Because I took the final exam for my biostatistcis class last night, I have had no time to do anything other than study. The last time I worked on the x-back was last week in the review session for the biostats class. Oh, I guess that's not true, I did a little work on it at the Vineyard, but not a ton. I'd say I have about 4 or 5 inches done so far. I've decided I don't love the yarn I'm using, but I like the colors a lot. I'm really looking forward to working up another one in the nice yarn I got at The Knitting Room. I am hoping to get a good amount of knitting done this weekend, what with a long car ride (and I don't plan to do all the driving this time). I'll put up pictures when there's anything worth seeing.

Knitting vs Biostatistics, the preview

2005-05-20T16:36:00.000-04:00

I am off to Martha's Vineyard for the weekend (my own personal version of heaven), and while I know I need to study for a blasted biostatistics final I need to take next Wednesday (Maryse, maybe you want to sit in for me on that one?), I will instead be working on my X-back. It is my desire to complete not one but two tanks by June 11. I think it may be overly ambitious, and I may need to pull the one I've started onto a holder to make the other one, but for now, I hold on to this desire.

X-Back success

2005-05-17T21:29:00.000-04:00

I started again with the number of stitches called for for the size I'm making, completely ignoring the swatch I made, and so far so good. I tried on the first few inches, and it looks like it will be ok, even through the bust. I had been hoping to give this one to a friend, because I'd wanted to practice on one with cheaper yarn before I start on one with the expensive yarn, but I'd been hoping to finish both of them by June 9, when I'm going to a wedding shower for a friend in MD. I don't think that's going to happen. I suppose it would be poor form to wear the one I am making for the friend? ;)

My First Frog

2005-05-12T21:11:00.000-04:00

After reading the knit-along for the x-back tank, I thought I'd try on my beginning to see if mine was having the same too-big issue that other people's were. Was it ever! I took it off the needles onto a really long pice of extra yarn, and when I tried to spread out the stitches, the yarn wasn't even long enough! I was making a large, and granted I'd knitted a 16 st to 4 in swatch, so I'd added a ton of stitches, but this thing was big enough to fit around me and a few friends. So I've pulled it out, and I'm starting over, with many fewer stitches. We'll see how attempt #2 goes.

The way-too-big beginning of my first try of the x-back tank.

Close-up of the now-frogged tank.

Stitch 'n' Bitch is older than them, damnit.

2005-05-10T17:06:00.000-04:00

It seems that Sew Fast Sew Easy is going after the Stitch 'n Bitch books and Stitch 'n Bitch groups for copyright infringement. This seems really mean. I heard about it on the Boston Stich 'n Bitch list serve, and then saw an article here. The moderator of www.stitchnbitch.org was notified that she is no longer allowed to sell items with Stitch n Bitch on them at cafe press becaus of legal action from Sew Fast Sew Easy. I think they stink.

X-Back Tank

2005-05-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

I started the x-back tank while I was on the bus down to New York and back this weekend. It was a cramped space, and I was trying to watch "The Terminal" on the monitor way at the front of the bus, so I didn't get a whole lot done, but I did get started, and I am starting to see how the colors will lay out. I'm doing one in Lion Brand Incredible ribbon yarn in Rainbow to see how it comes out before I go ahead with the very pretty yarn from The Knitting Room.

Boye Needlemaster Kit

2005-04-26T10:13:00.000-04:00

I don't have nearly a complete set of knitting needles. I have a variety of straight needles, and ciruclars in differenct sizes and lengths, but I do not have a comprehensive set of needles. Joann is having an online sale of 50% off one item. That would make the Boye Needlemaster set just $50, which is a good bit less than I've seen it for. I could also use the Michaels weekly 40% off coupon to buy them for almost the same price. Is it worth the money? I really lobe my Addi Turbos. I wonder if they have a similar kit. Although, it would probably be way more expensive. Anyone have positives or negatives to share?

More Ribbon Yarn

2005-04-25T16:52:00.000-04:00

I went to Michaels the other day to get supplies for a non-knitting project (I'm making a guest book for a friend's wedding), and I ended up buying some Lion Brand ribbon yarn in Rainbow because the colors were fun, and I thought maybe if I liked the knitty x-back tank, I'd want more than one. I figured since that yarn was cheaper than the original yarn I'd gotten for the prject, I'd knit up the first on in that, work out the bugs. So I knitted up the swatch, and my stitches were not meeting guage at all. It calls for a size 11 needle, which I'm using, but I'm getting 16 stitches to 4 inches instead of 12 stitches to 4 inches. So now I face the choice of getting bigger needles (which would make it too lacy, I think), or adjusting the pattern, which seems like a total PITA. I thikn the problem is that the yarn is narrower than the stuff they call for. I should try a swatch with the original yarn I got, I guess, to see how that guage works out.

I went to the SnB at Panera in Watertown last week and had a great time. I brought along Liz and Kate, and we had a great meal and then joined the group already in progress. I got kind of wrapped up in the chatting and lost track of my rows so I had to stop because I was supposed to do a cable on the next row, but I was on the wrong side, so I needed to wait until I had better light to figure out if I'd done one extra, or not enough. Luckily I figured out when I got home that I'd done one fewer than I'd counted, so I didn't have to rip back. This was on the land and sea fairisle.

Posting Comments

2005-04-20T23:06:00.000-04:00

Sorry to those who have tried to post comments to me. I had assumed anyone could post, but I apparently needed to change some settings. So if you want to comment, you should be able now. It is very exciting to get a referral on Bags 'n' Trash. :-D

Pictures! Finally!

2005-04-20T22:55:00.000-04:00

I think I finally have figured out the posting pictures thing for real. This is a square I made for a baby blanket. This is the first time I tried double knitting. It's not perfect, but it was a great way to work on the technique.

This is the red side of the square.

The white side of the square.

I am a big fat liar

2005-04-20T14:46:00.000-04:00

I didn't mean to be, but I said on Monday that I'd put up pictures, and I haven't. It is because I am lazy. And that is why the sweater I've been working on for 2 years is only now almost half a sweater. I will chalk it up to the pesky homework assignment I have due tonight. I would much rather have been knitting and setting up my pictures last night, but instead I was doing my biostatistics homework. The joy, the unending joy.

I am, however, going to drag Bellaliz with me tomomorrow night to the Stitch 'n' Bitch at the Watertown Panera. I love Panera, so this should just be great.

Posting Pictures

2005-04-18T14:47:00.000-04:00

I think I have figured out how to get the Hello thing to work, it was just acting funny last night. Thanks for the suggestions! Hopefully I'll have some pictures up tonight.

I get the anger Minty feels toward Blogger

2005-04-17T21:50:00.000-04:00

I can't for the life of me post pictures. I get to a screen that I think should let me see my blog, to post from Hello, yet I can't post. So frustrating. Some day, I'll actually have pictures of my knitting on this knitting blog. :(

At least last night I knit

2005-04-12T15:04:00.000-04:00

I did a few rows on a sweater I've been knitting for myself for almost two years. I am looking to knit while I'm watching TV instead of just sitting there like my body has been taken over by very lazy aliens. The sweater hasn't taken so long because it's tough, necessarily, mostly because I put it aside for loooong periods of time to work on other projects that knit up faster and are therefore more rewarding more quickly. This is the sweater. My mother gave me the kit for Christmas several years ago after I discovered the shop at Stitches East. They used to have a shop in Freeport, ME (another excuse to go, as if LL Bean weren't enough), but they are now only in New Brunswick. The yarn I'm using is a forest green and grey, two stands twisted together (it's one of the colors they offer - Spruce Green). I also have the wool and a pattern from them, beautiful navy blue yarn and matching wool fabric, to make a cardigan and a skirt, but I haven't even started that. Once I get new batteries in my digital camera, I'll post pics.

A Venture into Knitting Blogs

2005-04-11T11:27:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm starting a knitting blog. The project I'm about to start is the Knitty x-back tank from the spring knitty. I got the yarn yesterday at The Knitting Room in Arlington. I will post pictures soon.