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Showing posts from 2007

Marley was dead...

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Before I began this blog, I began planning to knit the Marley's Ghost Scarves from Knitty.com for my fellow Quartet members in A Christmas Carol. As you can see from the photo above, I did knit them! They've been hibernating for months now in my closet, waiting for closing night (our traditional night for gift-giving.) They were a hit, I think - and when I was having our photo taken (I'm wearing the chain I made for my daughter after she fell in love with the chains I was making,) our actor playing Marley jumped in with us. All those chained actors should stick together, eh? Today was our closing matinee and here they are in all their glory! Barbara, our Soprano, chains herself and her little mink "friends" with her soft pink chain. Me - hot stuff in my hot pink chain. Our tenor, Tim, struck a pose immediately upon opening his chain. Robin, my partner and our booming Bass in his gray chain, which fashionably matches his top hat.

FO - Fingerless Lace Gloves

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They are finished! I think they turned out pretty well. At first, when I finished the first glove and had our Soprano try it on, I was unhappy because the fingers seemed too long. She was fine with it, but it irked me. So Saturday morning before heading to th e final preview matinee & opening night, I ripped all the fingers back by about 3 rows and bound off again. I'm glad I did it - I think they look much more suited to her hands this way. Am very happy they are done and that I finished them in time for our final preview and opening night! Our costume manager has offered to pay me something for them - am not sure what to ask. I'll have to find out what my materials cost was and I'll probably just ask him for reimbursement for that and maybe $10 for my labor. It was, after all, not done for the money. Specs: Pattern : Vanalinn Lace Gloves by Nancy Bush from the book A Gathering of Lace Yarn : DMC Cebelia Cotton size 10 Needles : Size 0 Modifications : I added one m

A Christmas Carol and a Nifty Cast On!

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I am still plugging away, trying to finish those lace gloves in time for opening night. Technically - we open on Saturday night. However, we have audiences starting Thursday and will do 4 performances in front of full houses before we are officially open. I'd like her to have the gloves before we have audiences, but that may not happen. She still has her tattered gloves from last year, so her hands won't be naked. *whew* But still -- I really would have liked her to have them before the first dress rehearsal. My bad. I'm a naughty procrastinating knitter! I've finished both up to the fingers. I've finished 3 fingers on one glove and 1 finger on the other. I did 2 fingers tonight during our tech rehearsal - but I won't have that much down time tomorrow. I shall have to try and squeeze some knitting time in tomorrow during the day. If only my daughter still napped during the day, darn her! What's she thinking... growing up like that? Grf. One good thing about

Still here...

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... and still knitting. I'm rushing to finish a pair of lace gloves knit in cotton thread for the Soprano who sings with me in A Christmas Carol. I thought I'd have time to knit during rehearsal -- sort of forgetting that I'm on stage most of the time, and we only rehearse for about 9 days. Oops! I'm doing okay, though - I think. I've got the first glove knit up to the pinky. So I need to do the other 3 fingers and the thumb. The 2nd glove is knit 1/2 way up the thumb gusset. I think I'll make it by our first audience preview. *gulp* Sadly, it means I had to put aside the red pullover I was knitting for myself (Elizabeth I from Alice Starmore's "Tudor Roses" book,) which I was starting to become obsessed with. So, it looks like I won't be wearing that on Christmas Eve, as I was hoping. Maybe... but I don't see how. That's okay. It will get finish, I have confidence. I think. That is, if I don't get distracted by more socks. So, the

FO - Summer of Love Lace Socks

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I've finally knit up the Summer of Love Lace socks from Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Rockin' Sock Club". I seem to have a compulsion to knit them IN ORDER. The patterns, anyway - using the yarn in order doesn't seem to bother me. I still have my skein of Walkin' on the Wild Tide that I've not found the perfect pattern for yet. I got the October shipment - a gorgeous black and red yarn from the new Raven series. The pattern is amazingly well-written and is by our own beloved Yarn Harlot. Both pattern and yarn are called "Lenore" and the pattern is gothic and beautiful. I could hardly wait to knit it! It was truly the inspiration for me to just go ahead and knit up the second Solstice Slip sock. Almost as soon as I finished those I grabbed my yarn for the Summer of Love socks and cast on. I didn't use the Sock Club yarn. I confess to trading it on Ravelry -- I just could not make myself like the colorway. (I did keep my keychain of "emergency ya

Store closure...

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Tuscany Yarn, in my town, finally opened its doors one last time for two days of shopping mayhem. The owner passed away from breast cancer in the Spring, I believe. Since then, her husband closed the shop and it has just sat there. I drove by it on my way to my husband's work and would gaze in at all the yarn and wonder what he was going to do with it all. He did a really wonderful thing. He opened the doors for two days - advertised only in our tiny, free local newspaper with a lovely ad that showed a picture of his wife and family. He said he wanted to give back to the community with the sale. So, instead of collecting money for himself, we shoppers wrote our checks directly to one of 3 charities. I went on Saturday morning and there was a small, not overwhelming, line in front of the shop. It got crowded quickly, though! Several friends showed up and I couldn't even chat with them much because of the small space and all the yarn-seekers. I bought a gorgeous tote bag with lov

PodCast cleanup

I've been exploring new Knitting podcasts and discarding others. Shall we chat Podcasts? If you have suggestions on casts I may have overlooked -- please comment & let me know! These are listed in the order in which I started listening to them. Cast-On: Always and forever my hands-down favorite. KnitCast: I'm still subbed. Why not? But she never makes episodes anymore. :( Sticks & String: The accent was charming, but frankly? I got bored with it. When I found I was letting the episodes pile up and always choosing to listen to something else, I unsubscribed. Lime & Violet: Okay, this one may get me in some trouble. I listened to L&V for quite a long time and just recently unsubscribed. I enjoy them and their banter. I don't mind the wandering off-topic or the off-color humor. Even the dog farts don't offend me. But they crossed the line for me when they started ripping apart an ex-boyfriend of Lime's. When they started making jokes about the size

Solstice Slip - a FO at last!

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I've been working on these for what seems like forever. I wasn't very happy with the pattern stitch or the way the color worked out with them. My mistake, really -- I did the first sock working from both ends of the skein because I wanted to minimize pooling. It was a huge pain largely because of the way the yarn twists while I knit. I hated it! My daughter got very sick while I worked on sock #1 and so it was a consolation to knit on it, but it wasn't a consolation to knit on something I wasn't loving. But I finished the sock finally. And decided to go ahead and start on sock #2. I just couldn't bear to rip it out and the socks were comfortable enough. And I still do love the "Lucy" colorway. Anyway, blah blah blah -- I finished the 2nd. They don't match. I even accidentally did the tubular bind off preparation rows differently and so the cuffs don't look the same. And I don't care. They're done. And I am moving on to new patterns and new

8 hour Tinkerbell Costume

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DH was supposed to be making a Butterfly costume for my daughter this year, so I was resting easy thinking I was off the hook for Hallowe'en! Woo hoo! But things kept getting put off. Which worried me. 2 days before Hallowe'en, I brought home a pair of white wings I'd found at the thrift store for $2 -- thinking DH could use them to build the costume instead of starting from scratch with the straight wires he bought. Just to save time, since it was getting so close. But he rejected this idea, (with no little scorn,) and DD saw the wings and declared them fairy wings and started wearing them. 1 day before Hallowe'en, DH started work on the costume and it became clear after hours of his labor that it wasn't going to work out the way he had intended. The wire turned the fabric into a tangled mess and trying to repair it became hopeless. Luckily, we still had the fairy wings and DD was content to be a fairy. But she wanted to be Tinkerbell . What to do?? Last month, sh

Alas, Poor Yorick

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R.I.P. Yorick... So, I found this kicky pattern for a felted crochet skull (a free pattern from Lion brand yarns,) and made it for Mike to take to our friends' Hallowe'en party last week. He wore his Renaissance Faire costume and went as "Hamlet" holding the felted skull. It was a big hit. Well, as Mike was getting ready to go to the Hallowe'en party for his work o n Wednesday morning, we went to find poor Yorick and he was nowhere to be found. We searched high and low. Finally, we asked Rosaline and she confessed to disliking him. She told us that she threw him over the back fence and onto the sidewalk yesterday. I don't know for sure that she really did it, but it wouldn't surprise me. I turned the house upside down after Mike left hoping to drive it over to him before his party if we could find it. No such luck. Alas, poor Yorick -- I hope those that passed on the street and adopted you give you a good home. Stats: Pattern: free Lion Brand Yarns pat

FO - Ariel Seashells

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My daughter is obsessed with Ariel and the Little Mermaid. A friend is sewing her a green mermaid tail, and I found this great pattern for scallop shells from a 1983 pamphlet called "Crochet by the Sea" by Annie's Attic. At my knitting group on Wednesday, I crocheted the shells and then yesterday my daughter and I sat on the floor and I improvised and crocheted the ties and straps to fit her 3 year old body. I think it came out quite well! I've always wanted to be a mermaid, too -- I guess having a mermaid for a daughter is the next best thing.

FO - Huckleberry Ascot from Interweave Holiday 2007

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First off -- all of my yarn has been baked and sealed into its own private little zip-lock freezer bag. It took two and a half days. I shudder to see my gas bill for this month. But I saw NO more evidence of moth infestation in anything and it should all be well protected now. Zowie, what a nightmare. On to more fun things! I got my Interweave Knits Holiday issue at the bookstore last week and fell in love with the Huckleberry Scarf. I fell more in love when I realized that I needed 2 skeins of worsted weight Alpaca and that I actually HAD that in my stash -- a gift from juliepersons . So I happily cast on and knit on it. 2 days later -- ta da! I had to go up a needle size to get gauge -- but if I could do it over again, I would knit with the smaller needles and be slightly under gauge. The problem is that the weight of the heavier ends with the bobbles stretch things out quite a bit - much more so than your gauge swatch will do! So, this is - I think - a bit bigger than the pattern i

What's Cookin'?

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In which I come clean about what I found in my stash... hint: flutter flutter flutter. OH yes. *shiver* Moths. Happily, I found the source right away and was able to discard it and clean up the area really well. But I still had exposed yarn that needed to be saved. After scouring the internet for advice (much of which is conflicting.) I discovered the following things: Cedar: Don't bother. It has to be refreshed every year to be any kind of deterrent. How many of us do that or even know how to do that? And it's just that -- a deterrent. And just like any deterrent, when the little critters are hungry enough they cannot BE deterred. This goes for bay leaves, citronella, lemongrass and all other sachet-like methods of moth-repelling. Freezing: Well... there are moths in Antarctica, did you know? First of all, you have to have a DEEP freeze. Like none of us have in our kitchens. And it has to be set lower than you would use a deep freeze for if you were using it for, as most

Ain't they purdy?

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My package from Knit Picks came the other day. My full set of Harmony needles, plus some fixed circulars in small sizes. Aren't they gorgeous?? The colors in photos and the catalogue make them look a little garish - like the colors are flat. But they aren't -- they have depth and a little bit of opalescence that is just stunning! And because they're lacquered wood, they're much slicker than other wood or bamboo needles I've used. So, I won't be getting rid of my Addi Naturas - but I am thrilled!! Oh, and anyone looking for good, strong wooden dpns -- look no farther! One of the reasons Knit Picks went with the lacquered wood (and it's lacquered in layers because of the different colors,) is for strengh in the sharp tips they wanted to use.

The World's Ugliest Scarf?

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No, just the world's ugliest swatch. After entering all my yarn in the Ravelry database, I decided that I really needed to know which of my recycled yarns are feltable. Hence, the Ugly Swatch. Let's see shall we? The dark black didn't really felt well. It has a high twist to it and is kind of sproingy, so I'm not too surprised. The pinks were identical sweaters other than color, and they felted pretty much the same, though the lighter color didn't lose stitch definition as well. The red and the blue felted very well - the blue is quite furry. The gray and white felted similarly. But what amazes me is the different in the width of the ones that had almost identical widths in the first swatch. The pinks really pulled in horizontally. The red and the blue didn't change much in width. The gray more than the white, but less than the pink. Fascinting. So, most of them felt -- but I must use extreme caution in mixing them up in any project. Which is kind of limiting. H

Victorian Bell Gauge

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I have entered every single speck of my stash into Ravelry. It hurt, but I did it. And I have 2 big bags of yarn to give away, and a bunch of yarns in my "to sell or trade" section in Ravelry. And my craft room is a little more organized as well! (And no, you can't see a picture of it.) A couple of weeks ago I participated in a very small bidding war (I think I was working against one other knitter,) to get a vintage Bell Gauge. I've wanted one of these puppies for a long time, because vintage patterns (1920 and earlier,) have a very different needle sizing system and I kept seeing conflicting information about it on the 'net. When I started a knitting pattern from 1848 that specifically mentioned a needle size "in Bell gauge," I went eBay hunting and found this adorable little thing from a seller in Australia! Made in England, the gauge fits easily in the palm of my hand and I completely adore it for its history, its usefulness (I now know that a modern

Coming to terms with my Stash

Ah, Ravelry. How I love the... And yet... You've forced my stash out of the closet. I am being faced with the fact that I now have more stashed yarns on Ravelry than I have finished projects. This is not good, folks!! Granted, a portion of it is recycled yarn that I've harvested from thrift store sweaters. A portion of it. But I have been amazed by how much commercial yarn I have. Some of it, again - bought at thrift stores. But not all. OH no. Much of it isn't. So... I am going on a yarn diet. Truly, I have enough yarn and projects planned to get me through a year and that's what I'm going to try to do. I realize that there was a huge knit-from-your-stash movement this year, but I didn't really participate. So, I'm missing the boat here a bit. But I think it will help me stay focused if it's just something I am doing for me, because I need to. So. No more yarn buying for me unless (yes, there are always exceptions: 1. Stitches West. If I go to Stitches

Toying with a Knit Blog

I've had a combined life/knit blog for awhile now. And I'm finally tired of combining them and decided to set forth alone into the wilds of knit-blogdom and confess that I really do have enough content for a knitting blog. Albeit a somewhat reserved one. Maybe. After all, I just found out (thanks to Ravelry,) that I have more stash than I have completed projects. And that's NOT including all my recycled yarn. Eeek! (I'm Beanmama on Ravelry. Come say hi!)