Knitting Bee

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

I love socks!

This weekend was very busy. I got my income tax refund direct deposit & spent some money buying things that I've been really wanting. I got a wonderful 19" LCD monitor that I am loving so much. I also bought a few DVDs (Napoleon Dynamite, Here Come the ABCs, and Degrassi: The Next Generation first season box set), a CD (They Might Be Giants - Here Come the ABCs), and a book (Hip Knits). I haven't bought any yarn yet because I don't need any just yet... I haven't got any projects planned that I don't already have yarn for and for once I don't want to just buy yarn for the sake of having it.

I did get started on a sock this weekend. I'm using the Wildfoote yarn my Secret Pal sent me and size US 1 DPNs. Everything is teeny & it's a bit hard on my wrists, but I love how they are turning out!

I also bought a ridiculous amount of Kool-Aid and a gallon of vinegar so that I can finally dye some of my stash Fisherman's Wool I picked up for $5 a skein last year.

I've been watching back-to-back episodes of Degrassi & knitting away on my sock. Both things are completely addictive!

Posted at 10:39 pm by Sarah Bee
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Thursday, February 24, 2005

Secret Pal package!

Oooh! I'm so excited & happy! I grabbed the mail today and amongst a pile of bills & junk mail, there was a package addressed to me! I love getting packages and this one had me smiling from the moment I read the return address:

I showed my little sister & her friend (they didn't quite get it) and then I opened it up. Inside I saw this:

Gorgeous sock yarn! Brown Sheep Company's Wildfoote in Ragtime. And a really cool postcard with wasps on it. Want a closer look at that yarn?

The photo is a bit bright (the cloudy sky didn't provide enough light so I had to use the flash), but the colors are gorgeous & definitely have an autumnal feel. On the back of the postcard I got a lovely note from my Secret Pal and two cards of this:

Bee buttons! I have to figure out the perfect use for them. I love everything and now this snowy evening is going to be a lot more fun! Thank you so much!

On another note, memes:

I've seen this one going around and nobody passed it to me, but I like it and I want to do it anyway (dork much?):

1. How much space is left on your TiVo or Comcast box? I don't have TiVo. I download the majority of my tv anyway.

2. Have you ever bought a DVD of a TV series and, if so, which one? I adore TV DVD box sets! Adore! I've got: Alias seasons 1 & 2, Buffy seasons 1-7, Dawson's Creek season 4, Dead Like Me season 1, Freaks & Geeks complete series set, Gilmore Girls seasons 1 & 2, Kindred: The Embraced complete series set, My So-Called Life complete series set, Popular season 1, Punky Brewster season 1, and Quantum Leap seasons 1 & 2. There are many more that I want to get, but I can't afford them right now.

Even though I download my shows, I buy them on DVD, too. Buffy I had seasons 5-7 on my computer, but I bought the DVDs in a snap. I have all of the Gilmore Girls on my computer and most of Quantum Leap, too. I haven't bought any in a while (we're trying to save up for a new apartment) but I know that once I get my Refund check, some of that money will go for TV DVDs & yarnyarnyarn!

3. What was the last TV show you watched before reading this message? I watched Alias last night & felt all of the Sark love.

4. List five TV shows you won't miss: I miss most of my shows (until recently I didn't know when half of them were on) but I still watch every single episode. I download like mad, but only the stuff I love (and no movies!). The top five are: Alias, Gilmore Girls, Scrubs, The O.C., and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

5. Name three people -- pass the stick. It didn't get passed to me, so I don't feel right passing it on. Do it if you want to, it's fun!

Bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C / Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Posted at 05:28 pm by Sarah Bee
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almost finished!

I feel so productive! Last night I finished the second side to the fry-up bag and then today I knit up some egg and bacon. I attached them to the bag & sewed it together. I was undecided about lining the bag, but when I couldn't find my sewing needle, I decided against it for now.

I need to go to the store & get a zipper soon (oh how I wish I hadn't forgotten about it on Saturday) and I also need to figure out what sort of handle/strap I want. Does it feel like a handbag or a purse? Do I want two handles, one handle, or a long strap? Decisions, decisions!

Posted at 01:57 am by Sarah Bee
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Tuesday, February 22, 2005

success!

Last night I took that bag and went riiiiiiiiiip. I wound it into a ball and then did some math to calculate how many stitches to cast on & where to begin the decreases. This time, I got it right:

My altered pattern: (using double-stranded wool-ease & size 10 1/2 DPNs & 16-inch circ) cast on 89 stitches, join & knit four rows. *k2tog, k7, k2tog* repeat to end, k1. Knit three rows. *k2tog, k5, k2tog* repeat to end, k1. Knit three rows. *k2tog, k3, k2tog* repeat to end, k1. Knit three rows. *k2tog, k1, k2tog* repeat to end, k1. Knit three rows. K3tog around, k1. Knit one row. Cut yarn & bring through loops, secure.

The side is approximately 9" in diameter, the perfect size for me.

From the comments:

Casey: yes, I did get the needle back! It's buried in a pile of stuff, still in the envelope, but I got it a while ago, sorry I didn't mention that (I'm forgetful!). I was glad to be of help. :)

Mozemen & Nyxxie: blocking definitely would not have helped my misshapen bag-half. My mistake was that I didn't account for the "decreasing the amount of sts in brackets by two" part. I just thought "k2tog, k15, k2tog = 19 stitches" and subtracted 19 from 153 until I got approximatley 1/3 the amount: 96. Then I followed the pattern decreases. To achieve my altered pattern, I figured out that the decreases cause 16 stitches to be lost so I subtracted 16 from 153 four times to get 89. Then I remembered the decreases & accounted for them (four decrease rounds less than 15 is 7). I think I just made it more complicated than it was.

I've already got the second side cast on & I'm excited because they knit up very quickly & easily.

Oh and ps, did anyone else make the same stupid mistake over & over again that I did? Instead of *k2tog, kn, k2tog*, I was doing *k2tog, kn* which messed up my stitch count because I'd get to the end and I'd have less than n stitches, but not the one stitch I was supposed to have. I just all-around dislike the way this pattern is written. It took me way too long to grasp that I was supposed to have two k2togs next to each other.

Posted at 02:38 pm by Sarah Bee
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Monday, February 21, 2005

argh!

I was so pleased with myself for knitting & knitting & knitting today so that half of my fry-up bag would be finished. Pleased, that is, until I closed it up and saw the "bag" that I had made. I had cast on 96 stitches, joined them in the round, & then followed the pattern. I don't know if it's my lack of a seam or (more likely) my fewer stitches that is the culprit. But I have a hat-type-thing instead of a bag:

So it looks like tonight I'm going to be ripping & reworking this again.

Edit: I figured out my mistake and although it means ripping out ~~practically~~ the entire thing, it is going to work properly once I get it finished (again).

Posted at 06:15 pm by Sarah Bee
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riiiiiiip

OK, first of all, I love comments, but hate that I can't respond to them all quick & easy-like, so from now on I will make like Wendy and respond in my entry (if there is something to respond to).

And even though nobody asked, I thought I would clarify: my little sister is 8 years old (9 in June). She's very small for her age (she weighs a little over 40 lbs... for comparison JP is nearly 15 months old & weighs over 20lbs) and is often mistaken for a 6 year old, but she's really smart & sweet & cute. She really seems to enjoy knitting. She's very slow at it (I only cast on 5 stitches for her to practice with because it's like instant gratification & also it's easy for her to count the stitches after each row to be sure she didn't mess up).

The baby shower was today. I didn't take photos because I forgot my digicam, but my friend really liked the bunny ear hat. Everyone was amazed that I made it & then she pulled the blanket out & she was very happy & appreciative (totally why I love her). My little sister was right up front (making a ribbon hat) and she kept bragging about how I knit the blanket & hat and how she's learning to knit & it was so cute.

And now I get to my subject line. This fry-up bag is going absurdly slow on size 7 straights (the stitches are crammed!) and I think I messed up a few times, so I am going to rip rip rip this out and then double-up the yarn & knit it on chunkier circular needles. I'm going to size the bag down a bit, too, if I can manage.

Posted at 12:14 am by Sarah Bee
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Saturday, February 19, 2005

fo & knitting kidlet

Last night I decided to compromise with my mistake. I knit a bunny ear to decide if I liked it enough to unwrap the gift. I decided (after asking around the house) that I did like it, so today I made another one and I just finished carefully unwrapping the gift & attaching the ears to the hat*. Photographic evidence:

Pattern: I mixed a few different baby hat patterns to come up with this one. Ears were knit following the directions in Stitch 'N Bitch Nation by Debbie Stoller.
Yarn used: Patons Classic Wool in Natural Mix (1/2 skein) and remnants of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Rose Heather.
Date Started: February 17, 2005
Date Finished: February 19, 2005

I hope it will be well received.

Today was a rare Saturday for me. I did not work because Mike is up at Rensselaer for Alumni Weekend with his fraternity brothers (Delta Phi) so I spent the day with JP and my little sister Danny. We went to AC Moore together & I couldn't resist:

I also bought a Susan Bates "sock set" of DPNs: 5 needles of each size from US 000 to US 1. I've never knit with needles this tiny before, but I love knitting socks & I look forward to making a pair that isn't so thick I have to wear them as slippers.

While at AC Moore, I bought Danny the Lion Brand "kids" needles (with kittens or bunnies or whatever on top) and a skein of Wool-Ease Chunky in hot pink. She had tried to learn to knit before, but this time we've been much more successful:

Her friend Alex was over today, too, and she borrowed some needles & yarn from me so she could try and learn (Alex is a much sadder case than Danny: I couldn't even figure out what she was doing wrong half the time). I don't know if that will last, but I think Danny will keep it up.

In other news, I'm exhausted! JP dragged me out of bed at six am today (three hours earlier than usual!) so I think I will get myself some sleep now.

*Those ears were a bitch & a half to attach! If I ever feel the need to make another bunny-ear hat, I will find some way to pick up the stitches & knit directly to the hat, because they were terribly annoying to wrestle with (and I'm still not certain they are 100% secure).

Posted at 10:48 pm by Sarah Bee
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Friday, February 18, 2005

oops!

Yesterday I knit up this baby hat:

(modeled by JP because the baby it is for is not born yet... it's way too small on him which is good because it's meant for a newborn & not a 15-month-old)

I fully intended to knit up some bunny ears & attach them to it. I really did! But I just wrapped up all of the shower gifts, completely forgetting that the hat wasn't finished!

I'm torn between trying to (carefully!) unwrap the box to finish the hat and just letting it slide. What should I do?

Posted at 08:51 pm by Sarah Bee
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Wednesday, February 16, 2005

It's a fried egg!

I've been neglecting my fry-up bag for a while now, but since the BBBB is finished, I picked it back up again tonight. The bag is very boring (and crammed onto the needles) so I decided to go for instant gratification and knit one of the eggs.

I was going to make it green (green eggs & ham, anyone?) but the green yarn I have makes my eyes bleed, so I went for sunny yellow (my favorite color!). I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease (white) and Cotton-Ease (yellow). The bag itself (I'm only about an inch in) is Lion Brand Wool-Ease in "peacock". I'm working on the bag for a while more and then when I get bored I will do another egg or maybe some bacon.

It's incredibly hard to photograph a knit egg in the middle of the night (the flash kept washing out the color). Knitted food makes me hungry.

Posted at 12:14 am by Sarah Bee
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Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Finished!

I finished the Big Bad Baby Blanket while watching Gilmore Girls (and crying my eyes out) tonight.

Pattern: Big Bad Baby Blanket
From: Stitch 'N Bitch by Debbie Stoller
Yarn Called For: Koigu KPPPM
Yarn Used: Paton's Clasic Wool in Natural Mix - 5 skeins
Date Started: January 27, 2005
Date Finished: February 15, 2005

It's blocking now. Unblocked it measured 31" by 27" and blocked it looks like it will measure 32" by 30". The whole room smells like wet wool, but I don't mind; I'm just happy it's finished! Up next: a hat for the upcoming shower and then some socks for me.

Posted at 09:47 pm by Sarah Bee
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