Anxiety Knits

Photo of the day: neck bits

2011-07-22T13:47:00.001-04:00

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Photo of the day: Tiny Bird

2011-07-20T15:47:00.001-04:00

First time climbing a tree...

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Location:Front Yard of emergency Glenwood

Photo of the day: Lizzy

2011-07-18T14:50:00.001-04:00

She likes to get comfortable...

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Location:Work

Vegan ice cream, no such thing!

2011-07-10T17:16:00.001-04:00

I love cake, and birthdays are the best times for special cakes. Keeping this in mind I wanted to make an extra special vegan cake for B for her birthday. Only an ice cream cake would do. "But wait",you say to yourself, "vegan ice cream cake doesn't exist!". It does according to The Gluttonous Vegan

I followed her directions as best as I could...

I couldn't get B out of the house long enough to bake the cake part, so I ordered three round vegan cake layers from Simple Kneads Bakery. They even stored them in the fridge for me!

My prepared cake box and rice ice creams...

Step 1: Bottom layer of cake

Step 2: Spread vanilla layer of ice cream

Step 3: Layer two of cake

Step 4: Strawberry ice cream layer

Step 5: Top layer of cake, freeze, and hide.

Step 6: Put icing on the cake (I did this part with an access card in the front seat of a car in the dark, because Kate and I lost the knife. I wanted the cake to be a surprise, so I made it in the yarn store and then left B's party to spring it on her. I left the icing to the last min, hence the car icing fiasco.)

Step 7: Eat! (There are not any photos of the finished cake because people ate it, but believe you me it was fantastic!)

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Sometimes not following the directions can work out alright too.

2011-06-29T16:55:00.001-04:00

Here is a monster print box bag that I just finished sewing up for B. It is a soft fleece printed with monsters eating cars. This hilarious fabric was a birthday gift from my fantastic friend Kate, and I have been waiting for the perfect project for it. I even have some left so that I can make one for myself too.

I used a bright orange zipper and an inner fabric that is variegated shades of purple with glitter and black stars.

It is a good sized project bag, with lots of room inside for yarn or notions.

To make this bag I first used the tutorial on Make It Modern, and created this...

Ok, I know it's not a box. I cut the corners the wrong way, because I didn't follow the directions. There was another one that I made, but I messed it up and it was an undesirable shape. So while I was making the aforementioned box, I wanted to change the construction a bit. The tutorial has the selvage (the folded over bits that make the seam) exposed inside the bag. So with some experimentation and the help of some other tutorials, I figured out how to make the inside flawless too. New ones to be posted later, I have been busy.

Finished object: for the love of squids and babies.

2011-06-27T15:23:00.001-04:00

The baby squii hat is finished! This was an easy knit, except that the critiques I have heard about the pattern were true. I had read that the pattern is written in a way that is confusing, but using some common sense should be followable. The am going to deduce that I believe this pattern was not written by a person who had written a pattern before. And that is fine, everybody has to start someplace. Either way the hat is a success, and will be adorning the head of a baby soon enough . I would love to make an adult version of this hat, but I would leave out the hat shaped lining on the inside of the hat, and make it more of a slouchy squid beanie.

The original squid hat!

My version of the squii hat!

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Life lessons

2011-05-22T15:23:00.001-04:00

This morning I learned some important lessons. 1. If a coworker tells you that you will understand in twenty years when you stare at them blankly at their horror and confusion when you bring a turtle you found in the road to your pet friendly job, you should most likely stop trusting them. 2. Try not to make promises to turtles. You can always tell they are really disappointed in you. 3. Do not trust the taste of a person whom drinks diet mountain dew on a daily basis. 4. People who do not try food because of "texture" are whimps (really i was already aware of this lesson, but I thought I would remind everybody).

As my birthday year draws to a close (birthday years, much like fiscal years, do not finish at the calendar end of the year for me) I have been thinking deep thoughts and plucking white hairs. I regularly look at other people in my age bracket and think they look like an adult, while I do not. I compare my visual age to theirs and almost always I fall short. The first lesson of my day brought this into question for me. I am an adult, I own a car and pay my bills. I own a very small business. I have both an IRA and Roth IRA. But if looking like an adult means not saving turtles out of the road or playing with toys or looking for the enchanted, whimsical, and silly in life, then fuck it. I don't need it.

When I visited my favorite bench on my lunch break today, this is what I found.

I think it is a sign from God. That or some little kid was raptured from this very bench.

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Jurassic Park hoof style

2011-05-19T19:00:00.000-04:00

We have been having very exciting days and nights recently. First off B graduated from college. I did not understand this when I graduated, but when you do pass from the path of active education into mental stillness (full time adult work world), lots of people feel as if your diploma is partially theirs too. The people that help you through that time deserve mini diplomas to complement the big one you get.

Anyway, B was given too big parties, lots of food, and a fancy IPhone. With all of her new time off we have been playing a lot.

We visited the Lazy 5 Ranch near Mooresville the other day. In B's words, "Why would anybody bring kids here, this is terrifying.". It is a lot like Jurassic Park, where they chain the goat next to the fence so that the T-Rex will come and eat it. Except that the dinosaurs are hoof stock, and the goat is a bucket of food you hold out your car window. My car now has a few hoof scratches on it and some mud inside now. But it did make for a very fun and interesting day.

YouTube Video

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I am serious, do not ask me to knit for your dog.

2011-05-06T14:51:00.001-04:00

Nothing makes me happier than when a couple is expecting, and they request a silly baby knit. I mean not just any baby, a baby I would have already been knitting for anyway. Not just some soon to be parent people who find out I am a knitter and just assume that I would love to knit for their soon to be bundle of joy. And then suggest to me WHAT I should knit for the spawn. Even though I just met them. Because I have nothing else to do with my time. Because of course I am bored and lonely if I am a knitter. Did I mention I really hate that?

Anyway if I know you and I like you a reasonable amount, I will most likely knit for your fetus, if you ever get one. I will not knit for your dog though, so just because some people consider their pets to be their children does not mean I will be giving them the same attention. Sorry, anyway, some friends with an embryo requested a silly baby hat for their soon to be. I have been waiting for a perfect excuse to knit this .

Mind you, the reviews of the squid hat proclaimed that this pattern is written in a way that involves constant diligence by the knitter. Turns out they were telling the truth. That's ok, because the photos I will take later of the Squid hat eating the head of the newborn will be more than worth it. Too bad we all have to wait a couple of months for that. Soon friends, soon.

My version of the squid hat, which I call the Squii hat is made from stash yarn from the left overs of the Southwest Baby Sweater. This is more of a desert squid than the one pictured above, ready to pounce on you from sand dunes, or sand castles if it is on vacation. I would avoid sand in general, at least until it has had it's infant feast.

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One day I will wake up and all the righteous people in the world will have been raptured and I will get to stay here and play with all their stuff.

2011-04-30T15:50:00.001-04:00

For those of you that may be on the fence on the whole concept of global warming, take a moment to consider the recent outbreak of severe storm systems. In North Carolina we encounter a strong tradition of dangerous thunderstorms from mid april to late October or early November. In the summer the only relief from the constant elevated humidity is your afternoon thunderstorm.

Photo from http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climate/tornadoes.html

While these storms are occasionally dangerous and could include hail, people do not normally die from them. Once every few years we will have a tornado that will do a little damage, but nothing like this spring. Anybody can believe what ever they want about the science about global warming. All I know is that we used to have a spring before it became full blown summer, and that over a hundred people are dead from a series of storms we would not normally be hit with. I'm just saying, maybe reconsider this whole environment thing. That or prepare for the end of days. Was there a tornado section in the bible?

On a happy note, I love this dog...

I work with Coco's owner and every time I walk past her she cocks her head to the side and is happy to see me. This dog likes me more than my own dogs do. Jerks.

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You can't eat merino. (I mean you can but I don't think your gastroenterologist would like that very much)

2011-04-25T18:32:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter blog friends. Business has been booming, and I have been a busy bee. I have been working on a huge order for Gate City Yarns for some weeks now. I realize more and more that the difference between a real life full size business and my home industry is a lot of extra hands and way more equipment than I can fit into our unventilated kitchen. I found myself motivated to purchase BRAND NEW 12 quart dye pots, and I mean really brand new not just brand new to me. I have been working with them for a few weeks now but I am not sure if they are working out for me. I am developing blotching issues with some of the merino I have been dyeing. I have been working my way through a whole list of possible causes: ph balance, too small of pots, restricted water movement, and foaming among other things. Every time I think I have it figured out and fixed, the next batch will look like I space dyed it. When you make food for a living, if you mess a dish up you just eat it, put what do you do with a bunch of busted wool?

I have also been doing a lot of sewing recently too. I tried to make a super cute box bag like the one I saw on the Cast On blog, but I cut the corners the wrong direction. So now I have a super cute bag that is just strangely shaped. I also made a cozy for my iPad.

While I have been working on one knitting pattern only for the last few months (this is not my style, normally I have three or four patterns I am working on at the same time) I decided to start a pair of boot socks out of some Liberty Wool I have been hiding in the back of the yarn store closet. Liberty Wool is really popular right now, so much so that we have trouble keeping it in the shop. I love the greens in this yarn and have been using guilt to keep myself from knitting it before now. But life is all about moments of weakness and learning to embrace them. I live without a single yarn regret.

Here is a bonus photo of our sad puppy after a bath:

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Yarn Porn

2011-04-19T15:20:00.001-04:00

Today I bring you a collection of photos of my purchases from the yarn sale on Saturday.

This is all the yarn I added to the stash for under twenty bucks.

Lots of sock yarn for U-Socks.

This is my favorite buy, it is a tiny Opal sample ball with tiny matching ball band.

Did I mention the eight skeins of 100% silk La Luz by Fiesta Yarns? 880 yards of silk for $8.00. I can not wait to knit a summer shell or sleeveless top out of this stuff.

Bonus:

And the bonus picture... Little Liza our puppy was clothed by a four year old. I find this hysterical, not to mention the image on the front of the tiny shirt is a kitten wearing bunny ears. Liza is not a fan of graphic T's.

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Yarn sale day = stash blowout

2011-04-17T12:51:00.001-04:00

Yesterday at my local yarn haunt they had a yard sale type yarn sale. People brought their yarn that they could part with and marked it with prices they would sell it for. They Tina opened the flood gates and let the yarn crazed masses in. Anything you sold of your yarn stash was then given back to you in a gift certificate to the store. What a a genius idea. I unfortunately had to work my other job yesterday, but I did get first crack at all the lovely discount yarns. I have been working slowly over the past year to trim the fat from my yarn stash. I have donated and chosen projects based on what I have on hand. Yes I am am still tempted by yarns here and there and a few of them had filled the spaces I created. All of this aside, it only took $13.75 to reinflate my stash once again to an almost disgraceful level. At least some of it is business yarn. Still no comments on my raccoon problem. I need solutions people, please help.

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Dear John Letter

2011-04-15T07:57:00.001-04:00

As with every post that occurs more than a few days after my last one, so much has happened. Our chickens are having ups and downs. Last week they went out into the rolling pen in our yard. This pen is just a fenced in court with a nest box that sits on top for the birds to roost in at night. Then I put wheels on the rear of the thing so that when you want to move it you just lift the front end and roll it to a new spot. I built it for under $50, and yes it is a rickety ass P.O.S. but it gets the job done. Well this week we had a visit from the boogyman himself. Turns out we have a raccoon problem. This is not like the raccoon problem that one of our friends has, where the bastard keeps crapping on his roof (this same friend likens his raccoon to a huge pooping dog with wings). No, our raccoon came by and ate three of my chicken friends, halving our populous in a single night. Bastard. B saw it at some point slinking through our neighborhood looking sketchy. So I am publicly announcing it now,

Dear Mister Raccoon,
Do not fuck with me.

Love,
A.

P.S. Do not force me to wear you as a hat.

I think enough said there. Anyway, as the three remaining chickens are back out in the coop after some serious storms and lots of therapy. They are eating bugs and grass and enjoy clucking in the sun. I think they think that the risk is worth it.

Later...

I wrote the first part of this blog and then went outside to take a photo of my happy chickens, only to find one dead and two missing. It seems that I wrote my dear raccoon letter to late. This causes so many problems, besides the very sad passing of my flock. Raccoons are persistent, and once they decide they want something they do not stop. Nothing caged will be safe in our yard. Also we have three (now) dogs, and they sleep inside but what if this jerk raccoon decided to get himself all rabied up and take a stroll through our yard in the middle of the afternoon? The raccoon must go. I will admit I am having fantasies of hunting down that little masked rat, but I do not think I could kill something with thumbs. I also am not sure if it is right to kill something to pay for the lives it has taken. Racky is just being a raccoon, doing hood rat things with his friends. Some man who was visiting work instructed me on how to catch Racky, and by catch he meant use a trap and they set the trap in a river to drown him. Then this man and I discussed if Racky had a soul, which I found myself surprised by since I do not think of myself as a religious person but I was adamant that Racky had rights and a soul. What do you think I should do readers? Should I avenge the loss of my chicks or do I attempt to relocate the bastard? Do I protect my home or do I protect Racky's rights?

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So much time, so little time...

2011-03-27T23:09:00.009-04:00

I can not believe that the last time I blogs the puppies were little wiggly worms, and now they are tiny dogs. When did this happen?

In the weeks since they have joined us, B and I have been very busy creating. We had a table at the first ever Hand-to-Hand Market in Greensboro NC. We had a very successful day, and by we I mean I was at work and B was manning the table. Take a look at some of the things we had on the table.

I also have come in possession of an old school knitting machine. I am a little bit in love. It slices, it dices, it knits stuff really, really fast. So I have been coming up with new products I can make on it. The new big thing for me is the U-Sock. I want to make 100 of them to protect the paint jobs of every bike in town.

I Built That got a big shout out here. Congrats baby, do it big!

We have been adding to the family. If you live within a 5 mile radius of me, I may be forcing eggs on you real soon.

Sheep Lights!

2011-02-22T07:58:00.002-05:00

I really need you to watch this...

Sheep Lights Video.

And Discuss...

Because its really hard to type when you are covered in sleeping puppies.

2011-02-16T22:23:00.005-05:00

These are our three two week old foster puppies.

They have to be bottle fed every 2-4 hours.

My life as I know it revolves around puppies 24/7 now.

But look how cute...

Sheep Shearing 2011!

2011-02-15T00:08:00.006-05:00

Every year I try to make an effort to travel the short distance from our city to visit Rising Meadow Farm in Liberty NC. Every spring the owners of this vast rolling farm open their barns and home to visitors from all over North Carolina for the yearly shearing of their flock of sheep. This is one of my favorite events of the year, and I took off special from work to attend with my friend Kate. All of the buildings on Rising Meadow are rustic and artfully made. Here is a view of the barn they use each year for the shearing.

The shearers use the traditional hand shears, which look like really big scissors, instead of the more modern electric shears. The shearer sits the sheep up on its rump which has a calming affect on the animal.

Here, Kate is skirting the freshly shorn fleece. Skirting a fleece involves removing the locks of the fleece that are very short, or have vegetable or fecal matter in them.

This ewe was not feeling very well today.

Two 10 day old lambs.

Just waiting for her turn.

After a long afternoon of skirting fleeces and talking shop, it was time to relax a little on pounds and pounds of freshly shorn wool in the sun.

The Mystical, Magical Exploding Cowl!!!

2011-01-30T00:09:00.010-05:00

More green, plenty more green. Once again it seems I can only work in greens.

One morning I woke and thought, "I need a cowl". This thought stuck with me for quite awhile before I finally broke down and set about knitting my cowl. But any old cowl would not do. I wanted a cowl with a very soft hand, serious texture, and the ability to cover most of my face. It seems that the harder it is to see face of the wearer, then the more desirable the cowl. I wanted a neck covering so hip that it would impede my ability drive. So I began by spinning 8oz of single ply bulky thick and thin merino yarn. Being that the yarn was mostly thick, this did not take very long on my spinning wheel. Then I kettle dyed the newly spun yarn in a bright mossy green sort of color. After processing the wool in the dye-bath at 170 degrees, I brought it out to cool. I had decided I wanted some color varieation in the yarn, so I took the mostly cooled, still wet yarn and streaked it with a dark grey dye, and then squeezed it around a bunch to create the variation I was looking for. Then I wrapped it in plastic wrap and processed it in the oven for 45 min.
Tada!!!!! I knitted this up on size 10 1/2 needles in the round in simple seed stitch till I ran out of yarn.

I must say, I screwed my math up on this project. I did a gauge sample so that I could count how many stitches I would have to the inch, and then cast on and started knitting. Then I ripped it back out, us knitters call this frogging, and started over on a smaller size needle, but instead of doing a new sample I worked out some crazy proportion which made the cowl much to big. Oh well. I like it anyway. Photos of me in my cowl were taken by my cubicule wall mate on our one brake a week that is at the same it. Thanks Blair!

Extra work; neon dreams

2011-01-29T23:11:00.009-05:00

Merino on Bubble Wrap

Sometimes I get special orders from clients for things I do not normally produce. In this case my client requested a sheet of felt in my lime green merino wool. Wet felting flat pieces of wool is a fun and exhausting process. I started by using 8oz of presoaked merino to match the neon green sample i was given. I tweaked the dye bath little by little until my merino matched the tiny twist I was given to work from. After removing the wool from the dye bath I washed it out with warm water. Normally I wait for the wool to cool in the dye Rolling with my Homies

bath before washing it out with cold water. Since I was just making felt anyway, I washed the excess dye out with warm water. I cut myself a big piece of bubble wrap that I have been saving. Then I lay merino fibers across the half of the bubble wrap all in one direction. The I laid fibers all going the other direction. Then lots of hot water, geranium scented dish soap, and good old elbow grease. I fold over the bubble wrap and roll the whole lot around a yard stick over and over again. And over and over again. I keep it hot by re Just Beat It

freshing the soap water, and then beat the hell of it with a wooden pasta spoon. And I really mean beat the hell out of it. Then a delicate wash out and a round through the spin cycle. I was left with a thick felt pad of bright neon green, and I think my client was pleased. I packed it with the leftover dyed merino and tied it with a silver bow.The finished felt pad

All dressed up

A sort of pinkish colored life explosion

2011-01-29T22:28:00.010-05:00

I have had my thumb in many a pie these past few days. I have posted two new rovings to my Etsy site this week. The first is a very springy colorway that has been on the blog before. I call it Spring Awakening - Easter Flags. If your looking for a brightly colored easter gift for your favorite crafter, here it is.

The other roving I have put together is my Secret Valentine - Heart's Content Roving. This was created using a technique called Snow Dying used by quilters to dye pieces of fabric. You put your dyeable medium in a container, pack a ton of snow on top and then you pour dye over the snow. I dyed this merino while the little snow we accumulated remained on our trampoline. I poured Red Hot, Super dark Pumpkin Orange, Maroon, and Or-ange (a bright orange) all over the snow, then stuck the whole pot in the oven on the warm setting for about two hours. This turned out very different than I thought it would. So now I have this pink monster on Etsy waiting to go to the person you love.

While working at Gate City Yarns this week I was given the privilege of decorating the windows for Valentines Day. In the process I broke the stores stapler, shouted at a friend on the street who didn't look in the window, attracted the attention of some strange men, and sort of threw up a little in my mouth from the amount of pink I was exposed to. All in all I think the windows are pretty, and I am proud of them. You should stop by and see them if your in the area. That would be nice of you.

Finished Objects!!

2011-01-19T22:07:00.002-05:00

So the Monkey socks are finished. On the evening of our snow night I attempted to graft the toe, but I got a little too inebriated so I couldn't concentrate on the stitches. Luckily, the next day I could keep it together enough to finish the grafting without screwing up the stitch pattern. For those of you who are not knitters I will explain. When knitting to the end of a sock, when you get to the toe you have to bring the live stitches together to tie them off so your piece doesn't unravel. This very much makes me think of that Weezer song about unraveling his sweater. I do not what that to happen, so I use a needle and the end of my yarn to make false knit stitches to tie the live stitches together to keep them from escaping. This is a technique that scares lots of knitters, but even beginner knitters can accomplish this and make it look really good if they follow simple directions.

I have been knitting for 20 plus years and I still look at the directions when I graft my stitches. They fit fantastically on my feet, and I love this yarn. This pattern looks really complicated but it is a fairly straightforward 16 stitch repeat. In the leg of the pattern I decreased the pattern by one repeat because my calves get really big, really fast. To make sure they would not slouch I just made the leg part shorter. This means I have a lot of yarn left over. I am thinking a little pair of baby socks, but I won't get to that for awhile.

As an attempt to stash bust I am developing my next knitting project from yarn from the bottom of the yarn bin. This yarn I mentioned in my last blog but I will fill you in again. I had some yarn samples, different fiber content mixtures and all just a couple of yards long. A few months ago I dropped the whole little collection of samples into a acid dye bath that was a dark scarlet color. Because the yarn bits are made of different fibers, they all accepted the dye in different ways. I am coupling them with a charcoal grey Lamb's Pride worsted weight yarn that is many years old. I have no idea where I got this grey skein from, but I was made before Brown Sheep (the company that makes Lamb's Pride) started adding more mohair to their yarn. I am planning a child's cardigan, so I am going to need more than one skein to complete it. I snuck into Gate City Yarns last night after closing ( I work there and have keys. You would be surprised how often employees go into the store after hours to pick up supplies for our own projects and the projects of our loved ones. I have solved many a yarn-emergency in the middle of the night this way.) and we don't have any of this color left. So I had to find something similar to work in with the grey. I was a little discouraged but I did find a grey Marks & Kattens Ecoull that is very very close to my Lamb's Pride. I am alternating the original grey with this new yarn so that you don't notice as much that I am using different colored yarns. I am planning a yoke with the little red yarn bits to highlight how different they look from the same pot. I'm thinking a simple colorwork in the yoke will do just the trick.

2011-01-13T17:00:00.002-05:00

As the days pass from the last time I posted, I have been looking for time in my daily life to make room for blogging. The whirl of life seems to get louder the more time passes. It is hard to keep my eyes on the prize when everything keeps spinning. I read the blogs of artists and crafters that make things for a living, and I wonder how they manage to make a living and blog and enjoy their lives. I have been thinking on it a lot and I think that I figured out the key to being able to make a living of making things. The secret is not sleeping. No sleep for the busy. I think if I stopped sleeping I could probably rule the world, except that I would be crazy from sleep deprivation. And sleep deprivation makes me dangerous. Mostly to myself. But I have been sleeping, and I have been working. I dyed a lovely 8oz roving for my Etsy site.

Before the oven...

I chose a variety of greens, Ooze, Kelly Green and Lime Juice, Teal, Midnight Blue and Satsuma Purple. I rolled the roving up in a pot and poured the colors onto the white merino. Then I just stuck the whole pot in my oven to process and set the dye. Thirty minuets @ 300 degrees and my roving was taken out to cool.

After the oven!

This is a new processing technique that I have not used before, and have mutated from a collection of other processes. I like it, I think I might try it again. I have also noticed I have been working mostly in oceany colors as of late. I really need to push myself to try other colors instead of just blues and greens. I like lots of colors, and a few years ago all that spoke to me were combinations of grays, black, red, and lime green. I like the way that sounds. I know that I promised sneak peeks of the new thing i'm working on for my Etsy site, but I broke a drill bit and have not finished the prerequisite leg work to fill you in on the big new thing. In the mean time, here is a photo of the socks that I am knitting. They are Monkey by Cookie A. made with Lorna's Laces sock yarn. The color way is Amys Vintage Office and it is the colorway made my Knitty. I guess it is fitting that I knitting a pattern from Knitty for this yarn. I'm so close...

Snow Day!!!!

2011-01-11T16:10:00.009-05:00

Sock and a half!

Today we are having a snow day!!!! Here in the Piedmont of the Northern of the Carolinas we received less snow and ice then the areas around us but who cares. In the south even a quarter of a inch of snow can drive people to prepare for the second coming. I used the forthcoming storm to leave work early yesterday, and by early I mean to say 4:45pm instead of 9pm. A nice early ending to my Friday work day. So now its our snow day, B and I are very busy. I have been dying merino for my felting packs, and colors for B's needle felting projects. My lady has been doing a lot of needle felting recently, and now she is making color demands.

Up close and personal...

So I am spending my day over the pot on the stove. As my Monkey socks are coming to a close I need to think about a new knitting project. I had a pack of yarn samples from Henry's Attic that it had been saving for something, but i was not sure what. So a couple of months ago I took the whole pack of different samples and dyed them all together in the same scarlett acid dye bath. There were several different fiber contents in the samples, so I got lots of different variations of the dye color. I am thinking of coupling them with a gray skein of Lamb's Pride and doing some color work as some sort of sample piece. I'm still thinking on it, but I need to go check my blue.

I got the sock stuck!!

The begining of the begining

2011-01-05T20:51:00.004-05:00

Brenda Dayne stated in her podcast "Cast On" Episode 59, "Start as you mean to go on". This has been repeating in my head for a couple of days now as I have been thinking about the new year and what I want to do with it. Therefore I am trying to harness the full potential and appeal of this blog and by the powers that be I am going to give it a fighting chance. I mean to start as I mean to go on. Really. Really really.

Recently I have been working on a few small projects for Christmas gifts and for fun. One of those projects was a square from the Great American Aran Afghan, and it is a gift for the mother of my girl. I choose the beach scene since it seems appropriate to be the one from me, being that I grew up near the ocean and still have deep feelings for it. Really I wanted to knit that one because of that connection, but now as I'm writing this it makes sense that I would pick that one simply because of its applique. Plus it has a crab on it. Who could say no? I chose a dusty sanguine tweedy color for the square, which is constructed of a garter edging with one half of the block in seed stitch to look like sand, and the other side a wavy back and forth cable to look like waves. Then some fish with tiny cable tails and a crab with cable claws are knit and sewn to the prospective habitats on the block. My girl has chosen a palate of dusty neutrals for the afghan and plans on knitting a few blocks a year until completion. I mean its only 25 blocks in all, how long could it take.
I recently was listening to NPR and some advisers on something were talking about Jon Stewart and the rallies that he has been involved with recently. Suddenly I had a huge realization and I am mentioning it now so that later, if it does happen I can rub it in. Jon Stewart is going to run for president. I'm not saying its going to be this up and coming race, but I'm saying I feel it coming. It makes sense right?

The next blog is going to have some sneak peaks on what I have been doing for my etsy store. I am branching out my stock in new directions and I want to include you in the process.

Lame ( not lame' ) blogger

2007-12-12T02:13:00.000-05:00

I not blog this week. I did go home, and to the funeral of my cousin. This provided me with plenty of time to almost finish the front panels of the Central Park Hoodie. I am knitting both

cardi fronts at the same time on a circular needle. This means that if I follow the decreases correctly, which can be tricky doing both at the same time, when I am finished with one front panel I am finished with both panels. Fantastic, if I can manage to keep the yarn from twisting up and knotting on its self. Make a note: If you plan on doing this knitting both at the same time trick, save yourself

some trouble and breakdown and use two balls instead of one. I didn't think about that before I started. Anyway I hope I can finish the fronts this week.

Let me show you some pictures of the Sheep Farm while i'm here

Worst knitter on earth = ME

2007-11-27T17:52:00.000-05:00

It has been over a year my friends and I'm a very bad blogger. What i mean is, "Hey how have you been"? If anyone read this it is very unlikely that you read my blog when i first started it, unless your Kate. So, um it's been a while and i have been busy.

If you look at my former posts you may recognize this sweater but in a purple colorway. That's right it's the Purple Crush sweater by Elanor Lynn from Cozy Knits for Cuddly Babies, and I heart it. This is my cousin Shania, and i knit this blue colorway for her last Christmas. She is two now so I'm thinking this year a ballet style wrap sweater, Maybe in some pink Mexican wave.

Here is a wrap i knit for a very close friend of mine who was in a awful car wreck. She loves purple so I combined lots of purple yarn for this striped, warm piece of comfort. So the picture is lame but it was a fantastic project.

I also did the felted Alpaca by Bev Galeskas. I made her out of gray Alpaca and a tan mohair. I wanted to teach a three session class on felted stuffed animals but i didn't get much response.

Maybe I am the only one who loves stuffed animals and would felt them all the time if it would pay the bills.

So i knit this super cute hat for my friend Matt because he gave me a queen sized mattress. I used the Fibonacci String to work the stripe sequence. If you are not familiar with The Fibonacci String you need to learn about it. Anyway I used Sky Tweed as the yarn and it worked up well.

As of late i knit the Sherwood sweater by Angela Hahn form Knitty.com for my friend Alanna's new daughter Sara. It's a little big for her right now but I think she will grow into it.

I really wanted to start rewriting in my blog because Ravelry got me all motivated. If you haven't signed up yet get on the list, Ravelry.com makes my day.

Two FO's in one post

2006-03-01T17:56:00.000-05:00

Well 1 and 1/2 FO's. The lace for the skirt is complete, but unblocked. It is a whole lot of lace, I tell you what. It ended up taking one whole ball, and a tiny bit of a second ball of rowan kidsilk night. I have yet to find a pair of pants i feel is suitible, but when i do you will be the first to know. Here it is, a whole bunch of lace...

Second on the FO list is this Purple Crush sweater from Cozy Knits for Cuddly Babies. I used Encore worsted and Marble DK (i know mixing weights is sacrilige) instead of the yarn it called for. It is much bigger than i exspected, but whatever the kid and grow into it. Here it is for you, the Purple Crush...

So yesterday i got a huge suprise in the mail. Nickerjac sent me a package. And it had yarn in it. Beautiful purple yarns that match. One is a little boucle that is a brown and two shades of purple. The other is a thick and thin with lots of suff in it, like cloth and eyelash. I have no idea what to make with them. Suggestions??? Thank you so much Nic!!!

It was a warm day today, so instead of knitting (i know i'm bad) I laid in the sun. It was amazing. This weekend i will be making the long trip back to wear i came from. I will return in about a week. Hopefully in the expanse of free time i will have i can finish something else.

I leave you with this from the cage fighter.

Oh Gringa

2006-02-21T15:54:00.000-05:00

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Gringa!

If a snake is born with two heads, the heads will fight over who gets Gringa.
Marie Antoinette never said 'let them eat cake' - this is a mistranslation of 'let them eat Gringa'.
Every day in the UK, four people die putting Gringa on.
It takes 17 muscles to smile, and 43 to frown at Gringa.
Gringa is 1500 years older than the pyramids.
In Japan it is considered rude to talk with Gringa in your mouth.
Gringa is the sacred animal of Thailand.
The Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter is made entirely of Gringa!
Gringa can fly at an average speed of fifteen kilometres an hour!
Gringa is the only bird that can swim but not fly!

I know, I suck

2006-02-16T09:19:00.000-05:00

i am a horrible bad poster i know. No excuses but i'm sick, and have been major busy. Happy Valentines Day to you all. I have to get back in bed now.

Fiber Friendly Environment

2006-01-27T00:15:00.000-05:00

This has been a long week. Not for any particular reason but i have been tired the whole time. Yet i did finish the second small lace piece for the skirt, and finished the dyeing for the still unnamed project. I think i may call it the puppy project since it has been a year of working on it. When i talk about it i say i made a commitment close to buying a puppy... I have been reading a lot about communes as of late. I feel like there should be a textile/fiber commune, where everyone tends the wool bearing animals, help out with lambing and such, spin and weave and do it all. We could live off our land and support the yarn/fiber industry as well as having a place to live with like minded people. We could have festivals and teach classes. We could have a big garden and make our own soap. We could raise our children in a fiber friendly environment. We could hold retreats. Now all we need is a land grant and a cool name. And some money.

Let me digress, as of late i have been craving a community of my own. While i work at a yarn store with like minded people, i am the only person my age around with a few exceptions. With this in mind i turned to the online community. While it is dear to my heart i still long for a circle of people like myself. Where do these 20something yarn freaks hang out, i ask you.

Anyway, the Rising Meadow Farm annual shearing day is on the 18th of February. I am excited because Kevin Ford the master blade shearer will be there. This guy uses the old fashioned blades, and he is quick. He can naked two sheep in the time someone does one on the electric ones. It is always a good time. They have lunch and a skirting party.

I have been listening to podcasts all week. I nice new one that has come out is Cast On. She is a woman living in Wales who talks about lots of things knit related. Plus she includes music in the cast. Her shows tend to be long, close to an hour. Fiber cast is way cool. They discuss all things fiber. I love these podcasts. Sometimes i want to knit but not watch TV while I'm doing it. This gives me something to listen to and think about while I'm working. I like it. Last but not least is Secret Knitting. This one is great because she gives you a pattern in the cast without a photo. That's why it's secret. I really like this one, it's fun.

anyway, I'm so tired. I will try to be better this week about posting, with pics too.

Let me feel the love

I am serious about the commune thing...

Lost knitting=stolen heart

2006-01-18T12:58:00.000-05:00

I have been frantic for days because i misplaced my purse. I was frantic because my knitting was inside, oh and my checkbook (not that that is important). Right before I wrote this entry I located it and retreved it. The knitting is intact. But which article of knitting is it? My newest project the "Jeans Skirt with knitted ruffle" from the fall/winter 2005 issue of knit.1. Since that name sucks i will call it: The (k)night sky ruffle skirt. That is because i'm knitting it in kidsilk haze night. i'm glad to have it back. I have been busy the last two days. Yesterday i dyed two pots of the mulbery for the yet to be unnamed cardi. I purchased 3.3 pounds of fleece from a horit named Porsha last march. My goal is to process the wool completely myself and then knit it into the unnamed cardi. I would like suggestions for the name and if i like your suggestion i will pass on some goodness. The colors of the wool are a bright grass green, mulberry, a dying grass green-brown, and a brown called "mummy brown" which is a brown-red. Help me name my masterpiece!!! Unfortanly i have to dye each color in four lots since my pot is not big enough to dye it all at the same time. Today i dyed ALL FOUR of the green-brown pots. I am the master, but my batheroom has turned into the drying center. I also took some kicking pics of mushrooms and kale, vegies from the local campus organic co-op that my roommate works with. I might do the photos for their website.

I bought a great hat from the Carolina Thrift. It's a monkey hat and now i have to make others from the design as different animals.

Oh and just for strange little mama, my list of seven songs that i'm really into right now:

Andy, You're a star-The Killers
Hey Mister-Custom
Volcano-Damien Rice
Digital Bath-Deftones
Carry Me, Carrie-Dr. Hook
All the Young Dudes-Mott the Hopple
Wetsuit-Veruca Salt

Consider yourself tagged

The swiftist...#33

2006-01-12T23:40:00.000-05:00

Chewie

2004-2006

Unfortantly i bring both good and bad tidings. The night that i returned to school, my dearest pet hamster Chewie passed away from cancer complications. She was a good little bear of a pet and i loved her.

On a better note i can disclose the christmas gifts that i made for my trio of best girl friends. I present the forty cozy... It keeps your forty from chilling you hand and your hand from warming your forty. I made three color options for the lettering. They say "fourtyounce" in script both rightside up and upside down. The photo does not do them justice. I adjusted the Winecozy from Knitty winter 04 by Jennifer Carter. I added my own hand designed text, which my dad helped me with. If you need to buy motocycle parts check him out here.

Also while i was away i finally got the yarn for the one button cardi. Nice. And we added two new members to our family. Two baby birds born and breed in our home. 1 demore female and a robusk male.

Jolly and Holly, respectively

Their feathers were comming in when i shot this. They look kind of like strange dinosaurs. I got a beloved demel tool for christmas which i glass etched a bottle for my spinning wheel oil with. Way cool.

I also got my hair cut. i dig it. so i need to know what everyone would knit if they had no boundries. I'm doing a research project... I need feedback.

So to you all: I wish you a fan-freakin-tastic new year. Stay strong. I wish you all steady hands...

2005-12-28T13:08:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone's christmas or other winter holiday was nice. The grades are in, while i did not pass the class i really needed to i did get a B in my chaucer class that i had to write the paper for. I guess my professor liked it. Besides that things are slow here. Netflixs has been keeping me company along with my needles. For the holiday i recevied a dremel tool, which is what i really wanted. today i just might try to turn part of a tree branch into a pretty star. we will see how it goes. While i have skipped out on the tiny sweaters project, the other gift project that i cannot mention is going along fine, besides the issue that i cannot spell... Tomarrow is the display date for the red sweaters project. Please check it out. The yarn for the one button cardi finally made it through the mail so as soon as the last gift project is completed the sleves will be worked on. Soon regular programing will return, i promise!

http://www.knitcast.com/

the new one is with debbie bliss, how cool...
i also want to hear what everyone is knitting from the new knitty...!

Relocation...

2005-12-19T11:28:00.000-05:00

I know i have not updated in a little while. I am at my parent's house for break so updating is hard to fit in. I have pretty much given up on the tiny sweaters gifts since i will not get them finished in time. But i am working on three christmas gifts for some girls who are very close to me, and read this blog so i can't tell you what it is. But it involves color work... My trip here (MD) was icky. In the wee hours of the morning before i left it rained and froze on every car in the lot. I had to kick the dorr to get it open, and use a flat head screwdriver as an ice scraper. At least i got a much needed mocha latte from Sheetz before i hit the road. it rained the whole way but atleast nothing really bad happened this trip. Things are really quiet here so if anyone is from MD and needs some fiber or knitting company let me know. Scout, i took pictures of my knitting place before i left but did not get i chance to post them, i owe you one...

Baaa

2005-12-07T10:58:00.000-05:00

Which flock do you follow?

this quiz was made by alanna

I love sheep... If you take the test comment on how you did.

Self Portrait Tuesday, So so busy

2005-12-06T21:15:00.000-05:00

In the bath...

This week is a hard one for me, finals suck. I'm on page 9 of my 10 page paper. Plus i finished 2 prints for my photo final. This means little knitting on my half. Yet i have finished most of a small gift for my uncle. I will show it to all of you when it is finished. Unfortantly i have done neither working on the ribbing of the one button cardi, nor have i gotten drunk. But i think Sat i might since the work party for the yarn store is then. ok

Self Portrait Thursday???

2005-12-01T02:49:00.000-05:00

I feel no explanation is needed...

The results are in...

What should i do? Should i follow the directions...??

Get drunk-66.7%

Get crazy and skip ahead to the ribbing-33.3%

Follow the directions, wait for the yarn and knit the sleeves-0%

Wait, don't you have school work to do??-0%
total votes: 3

one button cardi

2005-11-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

So i finished the front and back of the one button cardi. My problem is that i ran out of yarn. The yarn for the sleeves is in the mail but i'm not sure if i should move on to the ribbing instead. So help me help myself...

Self Portrait Tuesday

2005-11-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

You can't tell but i'm nuzzeling my face into the one button cardi

I promise as soon as i finish eating turky i will update you. Happy Tuesday and Thanksgiving.

My Thanks-giving list:

Sheep

My family

Lorazapam

Spinning Wheels

Chewie

Mom

Dad

College

Music

The Aspen

Photography

This list could go on and on...

Self Portrait Tuesday, New Project

2005-11-16T22:13:00.000-05:00

If I were a hungry lime I would look like this...

I started a new project, the one button cardi from the second issue of knit.1. I'm not real big on these magazines but a woman i work with in the yarn store made this out of a multicolored alpaca Boucle. She hated working with it but i love the way it looks. The yarn was really cheap at Jo-Ann fabric. Now i know i should not settle but the yarn was perfect and $7.99 for 853 yards. That is enough for the whole project (I'm double stranding it) and i got 30% off because it was the last one of this color and was tangled. I am more that happy to untangle yarn if it means i end up spending about $5 for a whole project. Pushing back my Christmas gifts, i have about half of the back finished.

This week two of my portraits were put in the student art show. This is a cool thing. At the opening people kept pointing at me. My photography is racy at best, so i cause lots of turmoil. Fun. I also wanted slugs with week. I want to do a photo thing with slugs so i have to find big live slugs. I called a biological supply company, they want $7.95 for a three pack of live slugs. I was sure i could find slugs for free. I called the botanical garden in our area hoping that they would have some slugs around. They didn't but one if the grounds keepers has a slug problem at his house. I called this man about catching me some slugs. He's working on it. That was, in the least, a very strange call to make.

There is a really cool southeast Asian mask exhibit in the library that i took pictures of... As for that interview last week, I'm in the program. Now i just have to send them an ass load of paperwork and then they will find me a job. Me teaching children. It's scary. Speaking of children, my cousin's baby's mama just popped out a chillin'. Congrads on that.

Self Portrait Tuesday

2005-11-03T20:27:00.000-05:00

Pearls are hot...!!! I had a job interview this morning

Yes i had a job interview this morning with a recruting agency for charter school teachers. How scary is the thought of me teaching the future leaders of the world. Holy crap. I'm sorry we haven't had a chance to talk lately, anatomy has a grip on me. I have done little knitting, but i'm now getting back into the grove of it.

The fantastic wooly stripes neck warmer with skull button details

I adapted this pattern fromVogue knitting knit.1 issue one. The pattern is "Ribbed Collar", and i think it is much hotter than the one in the mag.

I also finished another sweater for Red Sweaters.Org. I'm not really happy with it but i don't have to be... I also completed my first exciting christmas knitting project. Because i do not have the time to knit all of my relatives sweaters, i am knitting them tiny interpertations of the sweaters i would knit them if i had the time. The first one is the sailor sweater for my grandfather. It is too freakin' cute...

Now some great links:

want to see knitted zombies
http://www.flickr.com/photos/electricbiscuit/tags/dawnofthedead/

how about interesting crafts
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=57563.0

self portrait tuesday, but late

2005-10-26T16:35:00.000-04:00

I swear once this week is over i will post again

Amanda needs...

2005-10-21T18:20:00.000-04:00

I saw this funny mem on Sheep in the city's blog on Oct 13th. You just type your name with with word needs after it in, and the whole thing in quotations. Then you pick the five best ones...

1. Amanda needs to read Barbara Bush's speech to Wellesley graduates given in 1990.
2. Amanda needs to get help busting skulls, not new friends.
3. Amanda needs some Oil of Olay, Visine, Botox, and a bigger hat.
4. Amanda needs to fight in a pool of jello.
5. Amanda needs to keep her snatch out of it

I will update with a vacation entry real quick like.

Huge Paper Crane

2005-10-13T11:31:00.000-04:00

This is one huge paper crane...

Bread Fairy Strikes Urban Neighborhood

2005-10-10T23:59:00.000-04:00

Julie has my old job, she works at Simple Kneads, a fantastic bakery in Greensboro. I worked there over the summer and loved it, but when school started I gave my employment up to Julie, who is my good friend. Saturday afternoon I was lounging in the two person chair at cedar St. (this is a huge house where a large portion of my friends live, 9 of them to be exact) when Julie bursts in holding a massive amount of bread. So much bread... Of course from here there is mischief.
Emily is showing It's a bread baby...Oh... After a span of time playing with the bread, Julie decided to deliver bread to their unsuspecting neighbors.

And then a random guy on the street...

On Saturday night G and I made tiny red sweaters for Red Sweaters.org I designed a claw cable sweater and G did a lace pattern. They are so cute, I have decided to make tiny sweaters for all my family members for xmas, hand designed and knitted by me. Each design says something about the receiver. I'm excited... I knitted a whole bunch more of my nemesis sleeve, but still not enough. It is midterm week so things are a little slow. It rained all day so I sayed inside and dyed wool for the cardi that i have been preparing for for six months. I bought the wool at a sheep shearing at Rising Meadow Farm in March. I have washed all 3.5 pounds and have stared the dyeing process. The wool will be a mix of bright green, mummy brown, mulberry, and a yellow. After all that i have to spin it and then knit it. This project is like buying a dog... Anyway i used Cushing's acid dye, which i just love.

Safety Buddha wants a tiny red sweater of his own...

All the cool birds are doing it...

2005-10-07T19:13:00.000-04:00

I have started the sleeve to my nemesis sweater. I am very excited as you can tell. Why you ask? Because I don't follow directions and I am knitting them in the round. That's right folks, no seam. I still can not understand why people still knit them flat. Different strokes for different folks. Anyway I am plowing along with my circular needle that is too long... Not to big of a hurdle.

Yesterday I got my first photography assignment back for this year. I am a photo minor and am

taking my last photo class. I got an A-, rock on!!Sleeves in the round are better!! Also our assignment for the class right now is to prepare for an art show in Durham that is being juryed by Judy Chicago. I have made my decision to enter instead of just get ready for it. I bought my frames for $4 for the set. That is freaking cheap.

Also yesterday I saw this huge mushroom living at least 15 feet up in a tree. I walk past this tree everyday and I never took the time to look up and notice it. I wish I had a ladder...

Huge tree mushroom

Today I was in A.C. Moore, for unyarn related purposes, and when I left all these tiny birds were hanging out where they stash the carts. I pulled up next to them and told them hello. They flew away in fear. I expected that. I work tomorrow so I'm sure I will have some great yarn stories. Enjoy your Friday night...!!!!!

Too cool for trees!!!

Sorbet Carnival Goodness...?

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

Let's recap, overall it was a pretty good weekend... Friday I was sick as all get up. I woke up at like 5am on friday with the outside of neck hurting. I prayed it wasn't strep. Just two short weeks ago I was sick for the first time... To busy, to soon. So after working my shift at the yarn store (For those of you not yet informed, I work in this fantastic yarn store in Greensboro NC that everyone should visit some time) I passed out for hours and hours. I would have slept the whole night but lo and behold someone called me and woke me up. Fun. Skip to Saturday. Saturday was the Tate Street Festival, which is a local shindig with vendors and live music. If that wasn't enough Saturday was the beginning of National Spinning and Weaving Week (which is this week) as well as the sidewalk sale in the area of the yarn store. G and I started at the yarn store. G is my best friend and has become a fantastic knitter as of late. I felt it was my duty to teach her to spin, but really she wanted to learn. We go to the yarn store a bunch of spinners and knitters are there... As is Elaine who taught me to spin before she moved to Arizona. She had recently broken her leg... Her toe cover is so cute...! I taught G how to use the drop spindle, She picked up on it right away making pretty, even yarn. A natural... I bought her some wool and then we headed off to the Festival. We ran around and saw lots of strange people, especially a woman with a dog she dresses up. (I seriously think people that do that dress up your pet all the time thing need to be in hospitals)

We came home and then kool aid dyed G's new white wool to black cherry and white. I bought some merino at the store to make socks, I kool aid dyed it and it looks like sorbet carnival goodness. Sunday was a nice lazy day. I took a nap in the sun while G complained about a article she had to read for a class about White Supremacy. Last night I finished knitting the front of the nemesis sweater (I have been working on this sweater for 2 years, it is covered in popcorn stitch and is tunic length. It hates me.) All is left is the sleeves and I have short arms. ok...

um??

2005-09-28T17:21:00.000-04:00

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?

In the beginning

2005-09-18T18:49:00.000-04:00

And in the beginning there was...
Knitting.

Anxiety Knits

Photo of the day: neck bits

Photo of the day: Tiny Bird

Photo of the day: Lizzy

Vegan ice cream, no such thing!

Sometimes not following the directions can work out alright too.

Finished object: for the love of squids and babies.

Life lessons

Jurassic Park hoof style

I am serious, do not ask me to knit for your dog.

One day I will wake up and all the righteous people in the world will have been raptured and I will get to stay here and play with all their stuff.

You can't eat merino. (I mean you can but I don't think your gastroenterologist would like that very much)

Yarn Porn

Yarn sale day = stash blowout

Dear John Letter

So much time, so little time...

Sheep Lights!

Because its really hard to type when you are covered in sleeping puppies.

Sheep Shearing 2011!

The Mystical, Magical Exploding Cowl!!!

Extra work; neon dreams

A sort of pinkish colored life explosion

Finished Objects!!

Snow Day!!!!

The begining of the begining

Lame ( not lame' ) blogger

Worst knitter on earth = ME

Two FO's in one post

Oh Gringa

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Gringa!

I know, I suck

Fiber Friendly Environment

Lost knitting=stolen heart

The swiftist...#33

Relocation...

Baaa

Self Portrait Tuesday, So so busy

Self Portrait Thursday???

one button cardi

Self Portrait Tuesday

Self Portrait Tuesday, *New Project*

Self Portrait Tuesday

self portrait tuesday, but late

Amanda needs...

Huge Paper Crane

Bread Fairy Strikes Urban Neighborhood

All the cool birds are doing it...

Sorbet Carnival Goodness...?

um??

In the beginning

Self Portrait Tuesday, New Project