Thank God!

It's finished! This is the hardest thing I've ever knit. It was really tricky and I had to rip back several times. Then when I was more than half way done, I didn't like the way it looked and started over with new yarn.
Many of the ladies in my SnB are having trouble with this pattern. Yet, I still recommend it for those who like a challenge. Once you "get it" it gets easier and addictive. It's even fun after a while, but it can be confusing. We think the abbreviations, because they are not standard, are what make it more confusing.

If you have not tried Brioche stitch, check out Nancy Merchant's patterns.


More pics on Ravelry!!

Windmill Beret

Ok, so my local SnB is doing a Knit-a-long, and we are making the Windmill Beret by Nancy Merchant. All is well and good, and even though the pattern threw me for a loop and confused the heck out of me at first, I "got it" and have been having fun knitting it. I've completed all the increases and am working straight Brioche stitch until I start to decrease. About half way there, I'd say.
The problem is, I can't seem to shake this irksome feeling about the colors and how they are turning out. I was thrilled with them at first, in the shop. It seemed like a real winning combo and othere people said so too. But now, it look odd to me. Sometimes I think it's fine and so I knit on, thinking it'll be great and it's not a problem. But then, once again, I start thinking of other choices. I finally realized that if it bugs me, even a little, it will keep on bugging me, and I might not end up liking the hat, much less wearing it. I don't want THAT to happen. Not after all the work that went into it, and all the fun our SnB had choosing colors and yipping and "barking" out frustrations at the SnB last night. I want to LOVE it.


So I dug through my stash, eliminating yarn I have saved for other projects, or yarn I have enough of to make a larger project out of, and stuck only with the random skeins I have lying around. I'm on a budget here and I can't justify going out and buying another skein of Cascade, or even something else for that matter.
So what I came up with is this: I have a skein of grey Patons wool and a rusty orange/pumpkin Patons wool. Not as nice as the Cascade, but it'll work. I think both match the Noro pretty well, but each one would have a different effect.
I'm having trouble deciding.



Any thoughts?

Yarn Harlot, Redo!

I finally met the Yarn Harlot! (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee!)

It was awesome. A bunch of us from the South Suburban Stitch and Bitch as well as several friends of Nana's Knitting Shop were hanging out at the shop, knitting and talking and coveting yarn, while waiting for Stephanie to arrive from Toronto for her book talk and signing scheduled for later that evening. I knew she was coming to the shop to hang out for a while, but when she walked in, it took me a moment to realize that it was her. She looked shorter and younger in person, and was very very cool. She was hilarious funny, laid back, and so relaxed. She just sat down, took out her knitting, and joined in like she had sat and knit with us many times before.

And boy does she KNIT!! Wow, the woman is a demon knitter. She knits so fast and so differently than anyone I have seen before. She doesn't ever seem to look at her knitting either. It was amazing to watch. I knew she was a fast knitter, and had seen the videos on her and Irish Knitting on the internet, but in person, it was way way more incredible.

And of course, she played with and held the babies. :D

At the talk, we were able to sit front row, to make the infamous traveling sock picture. She stood at the podium in her Berks and skirt and made us laugh and laugh. I love what she had to say about knitters, non-knitter, science, Buddhist monks, and the brain. (I won't go into details about what she said; I'd never do it justice). But one of my favorite lines was the one about how Knitters are people who are not satisfied with the world the way it is...or something like that. :P

I waited an hour for my book signing, took a pic holding the sock, and drove home happy.

Here are some pictures!!

Sitting and Knitting with the Harlot!


A Kinneared picture


Yarnorgy and Laurelena


The Gathering


Us in the front row: from left to right: MerryGentleman, Yarnorgy, SteffK (in 2nd row) KniftyRed, amlahe616, IknitUknit, Nancy, and Knitterary. Also present were Dreamsweaver, tzurriz (see her site for a great group shot with the Harlot!!), TamaLamaDingDong, Triciaknits, and Shopdaughter. I'm sure I've forgotten someone and sorry if I didn't know your user/blogname :(


The Harlot speaks


Holding the Sock


Oh, and while at the shop, several of us decided on a Knit-a-long. Like a sheep, I joined. We are all making the Windmill Beret. Each person chose a different set of colors for their hat. We will be working on this together at the Snb. Here is my progress so far!!


And yes, I'm wearing the (un)beaded camisole that I finished the night before. Modeled pictures to arrive as soon as my hair is dry and I can peel Eric away from the Playstation 3 to take the pictures :P

Sushi Roll Needle Case!

I'm so freaking happy!

Earlier this week, my new sewing machine arrived.
It's a basic model, but suits my amateur needs.


All week I was looking forward to starting a sewing project. I had been meaning to make a knitting needle case all year long. I spent all day today making it!

I first laid out all my knitting needles and crochet hooks, assessing how many pockets I would need and how big. I drew and sloppy schematic, and began to measure and cut my fabric.
I used some quarter bundles I bought at Jo-Ann's long ago, all with a sushi theme, or with black and red printed fabric.

It took me a while to figure out in which order I should sew the pieces, and how they should be orientated before I sewed them, but I figured it out.

I was very pleased at how straight I sewed the pockets! It's not perfect, but pretty good for someone who has not sewed with a machine since I was 8 years old!


It has a flap at the top. I also added a ribbon, attached at the back, for tying closed when the case is all rolled up.


It fits neatly into my knitting bag!

It rocks!

The Tag Meme

I was tagged by Knifty Red to play in a meme.

The rules: Are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I was in college studying at the University of California at Santa Cruz. I was living the life in an adorable cottage on the beach, surfing sometimes, and just generally enjoying the gorgeous views, natural eco-friendly lifestyle, and being in the company of some of the coolest people I'll ever know. I also was still in the worst relationship in my life, which was quite a contrast with the fantastic life I was otherwise leading.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today - not in any particular order? I don't think I even have five. 1. Knit 2. Work both jobs 3. Make dinner 4. Knit 5. Put away laundry.

3. Snacks I enjoy: Salt and Vinegar potato chips, Honey Roasted sunflower seeds (nuts and seeds of all kinds, really), Cheez-its (even though I hate cheese), chocolate covered Gummy Bears, Lemonheads, and Salt-Water Taffy (especially if it's from Santa Cruz, CA).

4. Places I've lived: Whittier, Ca (17 years); Santa Cruz, Ca (7 years); Mountain View, Ca (4 years); Lockport, Il (1 year).

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Pay off all my debts, and my family's debts; buy a wonderful old house with a wrap-around porch along some water, start a business that will involve all my artistic and creative skills, and travel travel travel.

The following people are tagged: (yes, I went ahead and tagged the celebs ;) )
Yarn Harlot
Grumperina
Ysolda
antreges
Adventures in Life and Knitting
hollythegreat1

Bored and Boring

I have not been posting much in a while. It takes everything I have not to continue writing about my misery. I think people are pretty much tired of hearing about it. But I do have to thank my friends at SnB. They've been very supportive and wonderful. Last Wednesday I drove home in tears, not from sadness, but because I was so moved and thankful for their friendship. As crappy as things seem most of the time, I have to remember how blessed I am to have friends. I don't know what I would do if I did not have SnB.
Thank you, ladies. From deep within my soul, I thank you.

On the knitting front, nothing much that's new. I should have posted about my Verity hat, but it's old news now. It's quite lovely and I wear it almost everyday. The buttons arrived from The Button Drawer, and the one I sewed on is quite lovely.
My Wicked sweater turned out a little bit on the loose side, but I like it nonetheless. It's very comfortable. I want to make another one, or two. Maybe in something other than Malabrigo
Speaking of Malabrigo, I clicked on an ad on Ravelry and discovered a new online yarn shop. It's called More Than Yarn and it has pretty good deals on Malabrigo. They have a lot of colors, though a limited number of skeins of each one, but at very good sale prices. Regular price was $10.40, but all were on sale for $9.95, plus they add had a code for a Ravelry discount of 10% off! That's the lowest price for Malabrigo I've seen, though it's not like I've searched a whole lot. I bought some Red Java and Velvet Grapes, a sweater's worth of each! They also had sale prices on a lot of other good yarns too.

I've also been working on some other side projects. I'm crocheting a case for my Zune, partly felted. This one is a prototype for a possible pattern. Eric has been wanting a case, but none of the patterns I've seen for ipods or Zunes meet all the criteria we are looking for. Once I work out all the specs and get something I'm happy with, I'll post a pattern. I also want a needle case and some little pouches for my notions, which I intend to make. I have some fabric I bought long ago for this purpose for parts of, if not all of, these cases. I didn't have a sewing machine though. I ended up buying one on Overstock.com. A basic one for about $60, refurbished. It will be useful if I ever have the courage to steek something :P

(I apologize for the boring, imageless post. I decided to post because Eric and his friend took over the living room to play video games, and I had wanted to lie down and watch some TV. I have nothing else to do and no where comfortable to knit. I guess I could exercise......)

Hats and Harlots

The Yarn Harlot did not make it. Bad weather and cancelled flights are to blame. She felt really bad, as anyone can read on her blog.
But we, the friends of Nana's and the SnB crew, had a grand time nonetheless. I went to Nana's early and met up with friends for some pre-event knitting (and I didn't even buy any yarn!). We ate at Millie's (great food) and worked up our excitement. We knew pretty early on that there would be a delay, but Stephanie was scheduled for another flight and all would be well.
Before the talk, we had some drinks at the bar, and met up with more friends at the hotel. Being friends with the Nana crew had its perks, and we got reserved seats in the front rows. The Harlot was to be mere feet away. I felt like I was about to meet a movie-star. But Stephanie is every bit a celebrity in the knitting world.
Everyone had such great knit-wear and it was cool to see what gifts and surprises people had for the Harlot. But Alas, Mother Nature had her way, and it was not to be. The storm was awful, and scary, and very very dangerous. But leave it to Knitters to not be discouraged or to let a good night go to waste. People had high spirits and pleasant attitudes. Our little group went out for Mexican food and had some good laughs. (Let's leave out the redonkulous driving adventure I had with Knifty Red on the way over :P)
All in all, the whole experience strengthened my faith in Knitters, in women, and in people in general. These are people with deep souls and good hearts. I thank my lucky stars to know them.

On to the projects. I finished Eric's new hat. It fits great and the color looks good on him. I wore it around town today, and have plenty of yarn left over to make another one for myself! Wee!!


Not that I need a hat. Since I'm making this out of Dream in Color in rich grassy greens called Happy Forest. It says Spring all over. As Eric and I drove around town today, and I saw all the bright colors of spring and the flowers blooming everywhere, I thought about how blessed I am. It was a good feeling, considering the deep depression I've been in lately.

Thank the Gods and Goddesses for good friends. And yarn. Yarn is always good.