Knitty Politti

2009-04-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

It. Just. Is.

Okay.

It has been brought to my attention by Deanna that I need to update this sorry excuse of a blog. It's been nearly a year.

One whole year.

Let's see, what's happened in that year?

Dad had a stent placed, now he can walk without chest pain. Mortality is rearing its ugly head, whether any of us wants it to or not. Can't beat it back with a stick or copious amounts of garlic. It. Just. Is.

Spent the summer behind the boat, feet strapped to my wakeboard, trying to hit a wake-to-wake. Chickened out every time. The DH? No problems - he's always been better at me in any athletic endeavor. It. Just. Is.

The girls spent their summer doing the same, hanging with friends, starting to unfurl their wings a bit more. The oldest squid has her drivers permit, and is realizing that she doesn't need to necessarily hug the right lane quite so close to the curb. Second season of color guard, with all the sturm und drang that only HS girls can muster. Got on the softball team she's wanted to be on for the past three seasons, finally playing with her peers, not a grade below her. Got a coach who reminds me of some old curmedgeon, his only advice to the girls is "We're here to have fun and maybe win a few games in the process. And kick Crush's ass every time we play those fake popular girls." I love him, can see why most of the girls on his team have played for him since second grade. Squid #2 is now 2" taller than me, and has the bod of an 18 year old with a 13 year old brain. She's doing fast pitch softball every night and loves it. Gave up swimming which is fine w/me - the other parents reminded me of hockey parents, except they smelled like chlorine, rather than pinning their lost opportunities for hockey greatness on their kids.

It. Just. Is.

Still work from home 3x/wk, doing nursey stuff. Don't miss the drive/cost of scrubs/management and staffing BS/union foolishness. Do miss talking to other adults all day though; the dog is wonderful but not much on meaningful discourse. But that's what Crackberrys are for, no?

It. Just. Is.

And my new 'little hobby', writing stories using fictional characters that someone else created, and reading other pieces of work from other writers who also share my 'little hobby'. Found a couple who put the original author to shame. But I love my new 'little hobby', lets me get out a lot of pent up creativeness that I've missed since college, plus get to use the Crackberry every day to discuss my 'little hobby' with someone else who has the same 'little hobby', and who keeps me sane and doesn't think that this is stupid or unreasonable. Who does it for a lot of the same reasons I do.

It. Just. Is.

Oh yeah, Kauai. Went back to Kauai. Learned to breath underwater. Weightless. Unreal. Love it. Breathing underwater, looking up and seeing the wave on the surface, and knowing that I'm part of something so much larger than me, I won't even begin to try to comprehend it, but appreciate that somebody thought enough to create it for me. For my family. For my friends.

It. Just. Is.

2008-05-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

Holy Cannoli!

Has it really been since last fall when I last updated this blog? Yeesh....

In the interim, I have become completely hooked on Ravelry. Which is like crack for knitters, or maybe Meth - it's pretty much a push. I've met some amazing people, like Angry Poodle, Rasch, AllyKat, Barbp and a host of others. And a few asshats/moonbats as well. But that's to be expected.

Speaking of Rasch, here she is, with yours truly, last week at River Colors in Lakewood Ohio.

As I expected, Rasch is super cool, and even brought Mini-Rasch with her, so I got my annual baby fix and walked around the shop, extolling the virtues of fine-quality sock yarn and Noro to her. I'm sure I sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher to her.

A few things I've finished is a sock and hat set for my new little cousin Zipporah in Brooklyn. The socks are the Little Sky pattern from Cat Bordhi, and the hat is a version of the Umbilical cap from the first Stick and Bitch book. Got an email from Casey (that would be her mom) who informed that they are their absolute favorite gift for the Zippster. How can I top that?

Oh yeah, how about a pullover and cardigan? In the works.

Have I mentioned I've got a socks jones that would put Motley Crue's drug habits to shame?

More later - I have a sock to finish!

2007-09-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

Since I left the tele unit last month, not only have I've been less stressed out (sleeping until 6 or 7am! Whoohoo!), and have been able to get caught up on a bunch of projects, among them:

A helmet liner, pattern courtesy of the folks at Helmetliner

It's knit in 100% wool, so it should help keep someone's noggin warm this winter in Afghanistan, Bosnia or someone else cold. Seeing as displaying this on the kitchen counter really didn't do it justice, I had Squid #2 model it. Her expression pretty much sums up her enthusiasm for my projects that don't involve knitting some sort of critter:

"Mom, I look like a terrorist"

On the homefront, I finished three squares for an afghan that will be pieced together by the girls at All About Yarn for the WarmUp America! project. I used Ella Rae Amity in a warm and toasty red.Next up are mittens in my favorite Noro Kureyon, another llama in some Cascade that I completely forgot about, and finally that sweater I've been meaning to knit for 2 years!

2007-08-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Since I've been working on the tele unit, I haven't had time I'd have liked to knit. But now that I've left the unit, I'll have that time to catch up on my projects. Lately I've been a sock fool, and am in the process of knitting another pair of socks using Cascade Fixation. Easy pattern and a quick way to make some comfy, stretchy socks.
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Unlike the socks I've attempted using Colinette Jitterbug, Found a great pattern on Knitty from Cookie A, Monkey, that I love. Attempted to knit using the Jitterbug, but they looked way too big, so I frogged it and will try again using smaller needles.

In the meantime, I've been revisiting my sewing skills by helping to create flags for the Champlin Park Marching Rebels Color Guard team. Yes, I can sew a straight stitch with the best of them.

2007-05-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

Away and Back Again....

I had no idea I hadn't updated this blog since late December; a lot has happened since then - I graduated from nursing school, went to Montana to ride my board for a week and then passed my boards, then I started on the Telemetry unit at Methodist Hospital.

So needless to say, I've been a bit busy...

But I have managed to get some knitting in. Knit yet another baby cardy for Isabelle, made out of 100% cotton, color #221 from Patagonia, used yet another wonderful Knitting Pure and Simple
pattern, #982, the Neck Down model. Didn't take any pictures of it, but it was in shades of blue and green, and just so soft.

I'm finally finishing up the Brenda's Blanket I started months ago, with Berroco Medley yarn I bought almost two years ago! It's perfect for our new couch in the den, which was a long-overdue purchase.

The other project I've been nursing along is a modified burp rag from Mason-Dixon Knittin g.
I bought several skeins of cotton yarn, and so far have managed to use most of one to knit the washcloth pattern from the book. Someday, I'll finish it for real!
Finally, we've been a bit busy around the house. I'm sitting here waiting for the carpet guys to show up to install the new carpeting. I personally ripped and hauled out the old stuff yesterday, and was very glad that I spend three or four days a week at Velocity. To celebrate the Overhaulin' of our main floor, I had my toes done today in as close a match as I could to our new orange wall!

2006-12-20T11:46:00.000-08:00

Busy Like A Bee

Considering that I was in the midst of finishing up nursing school, I did manage to get a pair of mittens and two scarves completed, just in time for Christmas!

The mittens are knit in Noro Kuryeon, and the pattern is from Annie's Woolens. Had to reknit the right mitten, since they original pair went to school with the oldest, and only one made it home...

I like how the thumbs came out in black and green, which pretty much sums up my gardening abilities - somewhere inbetween the two!

For my parents trip to New Zealand next month I knit them both scarves. My dad's is knit in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, and the pattern is a double cable one that I picked up at All About Yarn. Looks more complex than it was to knit, and looks so manly!
For my mom, I chose Alpaca with a Twist's Big Baby using a freebie baby cable pattern which doesn't use a cable needle at all! This is the second one I've knit using this pattern, and it came out much better using the chunkier yarn.

2006-11-18T07:48:00.000-08:00

Even though I'm nearing the end of nursing school, I've still be able to get a few projects started and actually finished. With our upcoming trip to Breckenridge I've been trying to knit mittens, hats and those mitten/hand/arm-warmer-things-without-fingers. So far I've managed to finish these mittens that were my first experience with working with a pattern that didn't go back-and-forth. It's super easy, from Shelly Kang.

I knit these in Noro Kureyon, and felted them - took about 4 trips through the washer, and the next time I'll knit them a size down, but overall I'm very pleased with them. Made a pair for Maddy in another Kureyon color, and she loves them as well, but didn't want them felted. Something about "I don't like that crazy felting stuff" or something...

Another baby, another sweater to knit - this on is for Miss Isabelle, who arrived this past Monday evening! I know this is waaay to big for her now, but Amy said that she's been getting a lot of 'new baby' clothes, and this will be something she can use in a year or two from now. It's from Knitting Pure and Simple.

The pattern number is 9730, and is knit with Plymouth Yarns Encore Colorspun, #7990, which I like since it's girly but not too girly.

I also managed to finish up the ballet sweater for Lainie from Lions Brand yarn, but I didn't use their yarn. Instead I used Plymouth Yarns Alpaca Boucle #19.
I had to buy four more skeins, and ended up using only two of them to finish it, so if you're interested, I have two skeins that I'll sell for $6.15 each.

At the Minnesota State Fair this past summer I picked up a skein of mohair/silk/wool handdyed and spun yarn from a local spinner who sells her yarn under the name of The Cat That Walks On Water. This scarf is a cable pattern made without a cable needle and knitted up very fast - it was my "Wednesday Night at Gymnastics Practice" project for about two weeks.

And finally, this monstrosity of a project. I saw a Rowan pattern book on eBay and bought it, along with the Biggy Print yarn to go with it. My gauge was right on, but this sweater came out HUGE, so its destined to be frogged and made in to a hat, scarf and another pair of mittens.

Yeesh.

2006-10-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

Update!

Since school started up again, I've been busy with getting through my last semester, but I have been able to start and finish some quick projects!

Once I get the battery recharged on the digital, I'll post pics of Lainie's ballerina sweater I finished last week. It was a freebie Lion Brand pattern, but I made it out of Plymouth's Alpaca Boucle, since I don't like the yarn that was suggested. It came out just beautifully, and once we get a button to sew on the one side, it will really be finished!

I used almost all of the leftover brown and turquoise yarn from Maddy's wrist warmers to knit up a matching hat - the pattern is from Last MInute Gifts, and has been a great basic pattern - I've made several hats from infant to adult sizes for the Dulaan Project, as well as my family.

Now I'm working on a shawl for my mom's 70th bday, and will finally, finally start knitting a sweater for moi!

2006-09-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

Never Ending Projects - Ended!

I spent the last two weeks of August finishing the baby blanket for the Hong Kong Baby. Unfortunately, the stork made it there before I finished the blanket (with the help of Lainie and Joyce), so here it is, in all its glory!
The original pattern was a freebie from Berroco, called Endora. I thought it would be a great way to learn cableing, but ended up frogging the center section when it became apparent that this wasn't the best way to learn how to cable (I think I had dropped or added some stiches, so that was a problem). I used Plymouth's Heaven for the multicolored side which knitted up so soft! The purple side is Crystal Palace's Shimmer. The two sides were crocheted together, and it made for one hefty blanket - more suitable for a floor blankie than anything else!

Maddy had been after me to knit her some wrist warmers "just like sissy's", so off we went to the yarn store for some Cascade. They knit up in a few hours, and with the left over yarn, I'm going to knit her a matching hat.

Cathy was working on the cotton washclothes from Mason/Dixon Knitting, and they looked so difficult, but really knit up quite easily. Here's a pic of the first one in progress - it came out great, and now occupies a place of honor at our cabin! I used Liily's Sugar n' Cream in a multicolored cotton.

Now I'm knitting the burp cloth in shades of white/blue/yellow for Hong Kong Tristan's mom and dad's shoulders, plus a ballerina-wrap style sweater in a maroon boucle for Lainie. And yes, the never-ending shrug continues to sit and wait its turn.....

2006-08-14T06:02:00.000-07:00

Summer Projects

I looked at my stash and realized that I had more yarn than I realized, which probably isn't that big of a problem. But I had enough left over Schaefer Wendy to knit Sassy Miss Sophie in Colorado a hooded cardigan, from the same pattern as the one I made Miss Petra in Hong Kong. This was the first time I made a hooded garment, and since it was the third time around with this pattern, it knit up much quicker than I expected!

My other projects have involved knitting a bear for the Mother Bear Project, which I discovered at the Twins Stitch n' Pitch event last month. MBP collects knitted bears that are then sent to Africa to help kids with AIDS/HIV. My lovely creation is below; the squids and I have volunteered to help pack next months shipment.

Nearly every Friday, the eldest squid and I have been hanging out at our local Dunn Brothers coffee shop (which makes perfect sense, since neither of us are Coffee Achievers), for our as-yet-unnamed knitting group. Kathy calls it Champlin Knitters since noone has come up with a better name!

2006-07-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

I started knitting about a year ago, and it has become an absolute obsession. I have yarn stashed in a large flat plastic container under our bed, in my knitting bag, and I think in the closet as well. I have more projects than I can count lined up, and everytime I visit either of the LYS I like here in the NW 'burbs of Minneapolis, I always find something else I just have to have!

Argh!

So far I've made scarves, hats, bags and baby sweaters - now I'm working on a scarf for the oldest squid, knit in Eve's Rib pattern. I also have a shrug that I've been working on since November, on and off, made out of Berroco Softwist, which is taking a lot longer than I'd anticipated. My goal is to get it finished by Thanksgiving!