Rippit Rippit

Posted on May 12, 2013 by knitaddict

Went frogging this week. :) The Aquarium Rocks just really wasn’t speaking to me, so it jumped in the pond and the yarn went back to stash. I’ll probably use it eventually for a simple top down raglan cardigan.

I did start (SURPRISE!!!) something else.

Speaking of starting, Tour de Sock starts up again June 1. I’ve got five sponsor yarns ready to go.

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Plus if a rumor is true, I’ve also got most of this to choose from.

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That’s the Socks That Rock. A few of those are medium weight, so not all of it would be eligible. There’s also one pattern that suggests either self striping or a long color repeat. I’ve got several of those in the stash, but none of them are from the sponsor. I figure that will be OK.

So what did I start? The Meridien, just like I threatened to. It’s a bit of an alternate construction, with the base piece a nice swoopy skirt.

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I absolutely LOVE the color and how it’s knitting up. The picture above is truest to ow it looks IRL. This is a closer look at the various stitch patterns.

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And my pictures of the tattoo were really crappy last week. Jim took one for me today that’s much better.

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The shiny spots are places it hasn’t finished peeling yet. The itchies are almost gone (yay!!) and I’m not so worried about disturbing it now.

Knit In at Gourmet Yarn was great last night. Yesterday was pretty busy (work, hair cut, and Knit In) so I didn’t take any food this time. But we had a great time and I’m looking forward to next month. Hopefully the electrical work on the Center will be done in time for me to go. They’re saying it’s going to be a “longer” outage, but haven’t clarified what that means yet.

 

Posted in Aquarium Rocks | Tagged | 1 Comment

Monogawhatsis?

Posted on May 5, 2013 by knitaddict

Well. Monogamy is dead. Dead! Hooray!

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That is a finished Nuvem. The section that looks like a different color is actually just a different stitch pattern to break things up a bit.

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I had forgotten how much I  love the finished fabric from Malabrigo Lace yarn. It’s so light, airy, soft and yet warm that it just makes me happy. I hope Mom likes it.

So since I can, I’ve knit on a couple of other things since yesterday. One is the plain old socks out of Opal.

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And I started a new project. The Knit Girllls are having a KAL and I decided I’d be honest and not just pick up a project I’d already started even though it’s not very far along. This sweater is from a 2011 issue of Knitter’s Magazine using Ty Dy cotton yarn. I really love wearing this yarn and the pattern is pretty.

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Interestingly enough, the lace pattern at the top is K3P1 on the right side with the actual lace work done on the purl side of the fabric. The Hiya Hiya Sharps are working really well for the P3tog in a worsted cotton yarn.

So the trouble I hinted at a couple of weeks ago? I followed through.

But first a gratuitous cat picture just because they’re adorable.

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And for another cat picture, I present my right forearm.

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It’s bigger than I was thinking for a first tattoo, but it needed to be to get the level of detail it needed.

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I got it from Renee Little, who was guesting at Atomic Lotus in OKC. I felt really out of place when I walked in, because everyone on the staff had lots of ink and piercings. They made me feel welcome immediately, and by the time we were through I was totally comfortable. I was really impressed by that. Renee worked on the design based on pictures I sent her (hence the photo shoot of the cats) and did an absolutely amazing job. The blurriness of the photo is totally on me. It’s still a little bit itchy and is peeling, but the healing process has been simple. Other than the dark lines on the fillagree work (I missed it in the picture) and when she went back and added the color it really didn’t hurt.

See you next week!

Posted in Aquarium Rocks, Cats, Finished Objects, Gifts, Nuvem, Socks | 4 Comments

Still. Really.

Posted on April 28, 2013 by knitaddict

I think this may be the longest I’ve EVER been monogamous to a single WIP. But the end is finally thankfully in sight.

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That top edge? It’s bound off. I’m almost across the first of the long edges.

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I started binding it off at 5 rows of seed with a K1P1K1 attached Icord, but wasn’t happy with the results. So I did four more rows of seed and changed to a straight 3-stitch applied and it’s much better. I am still changing my rate of bind off as I go, but I think I’m good now with a needle that’s .25mm bigger than the original and doing 3 rounds with a bind off and one round free. If it’s not perfect? I’m not doing it over. If Mom hates it she can give it back.

We took a bunch of pictures of the boys this week. These are two of my favorites.

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And I did do a little bit of stash enhancement. BMFA had a Rare Gems sale and I got three water

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and three earth.

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I really need to stop collecting the stuff and start knitting with it.

But look what else jumped into my cart while I was there?

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That my friends is eight ounces of 50% merino 50% yak. Yes, you read that right. Yak. It’s roll-around-on-the-floor soft. Going to be awesome to spin up.

I’ve got a very full week coming up, but I think it’s going to be very good. Talk to you next Sunday!

Posted in Cats, Nuvem, Stash Enhancement | 1 Comment

My One And Only

Posted on April 21, 2013 by knitaddict

Last week I talked about wanting to knit the Meridien out of some Malabrigo Sock in my stash. Then I was looking at my recent acquisitions and realized this lovely Zeal of Zebras from Alisha Goes Around was the right weight.

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One problem – I don’t have enough. But I do have a friend who just happens to be vending at the same show as Alisha this week. She’s grabbing me two more, and if they match well enough I’m knitting it out of this. I love this color. Absolutely love it.

Remember the Summer Solstice I knit a few months ago that I was worried about being too bright? This one?

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I did actually wear it once. I felt about as conspicuous as a circus tent, so once was it. But I love the design, love the fabric, and didn’t want it to go to waste. So Monday night I stopped by the grocery store on the way home and grabbed some good old Rit dye. Then I made a mess. But when I was done? I had a wearable sweater.

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I kind of wished I had left it in the dye bath a little longer, but I was tired of stirring. If I really want it darker I’ll just do it again for longer next time.

Zero spinning this week. I’ve been disgustingly monogamous. Well, technically I did touch a pair of socks last night in the car going to Norman and back, but all the knitting Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday-today? Monogamous. It’s killing me.

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But as you can see I’m almost done with the third hank of yarn on the Nuvem. I’ve decided I’m going to do a few rounds of seed stitch with the next one – enough to stop the roll – then bind this sucker off. Of course the bind off will take forever because I’m going to do applied i-cord. Figuring I’m going to have to do about every third round free to get enough stretch. But it’s almost done.

Mom made her reservations last week for Riley’s graduation. I’ve got a few weeks, but I don’t want to put off finishing any more. Speaking of graduation, I got the announcement last week and found myself choking up. Hard to believe my niece is about to graduate from high school. I also got a second thank you card for the baby blanket I knit a couple of months ago. It’s always nice to know when a gift is appreciated. :)

Posted in Nuvem, Stash Enhancement, Summer Solstice | 1 Comment

Choosing Your Battles

Posted on April 14, 2013 by knitaddict

Sometimes you just have to choose. Whether it’s to keep going no matter how hard it is, to give in and let something wash over you or perhaps follow your heart, or to do something in between. We’ll come back to the topic later.

I finished the Baktus (4th KAL for SSK) this morning. BUT – I almost had to redo half the knitting. Remember the wine glass from last week? It saved my ass this week. This little lovely

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was singles left over after I plied the alpaca/silk blend I used in the scarf. I used it to practice n-plying, then tossed it in the glass. Which was a good thing, because I was down to 8 stitches (on the way to 4) when I ran out of handspun in the ball I was working from. Four lousy short little ridges before the end. But since I had this little sample I was able to finish the scarf and the extent of the damage was two extra ends to weave in. Whew!

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One battle we’ve chosen not to fight is keeping this from happening:

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There used to be about 8 eagle figurines on that mantle. Various media, most of them quite breakable. Including the porcelain Lennox one that took a nose dive onto the hearth and shattered into a thousand pieces. We gave up and cleared the mantle and just let the boys have it. We’re still fighting the dining room table battle.

I’ve made some progress with the spinning this week, but not as much as I expected to. The above cat is the reason – every time I’d sit down to spin when I got home from work he’d come lay down in my lap. And we can’t move a cat, can we? So I’ve made more progress, but didn’t ply this weekend like I expected to.

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You haven’t seen my Bootiful Brandi for a while, so here’s a gratuitous gnawing shot. Her little face is almost entirely white now, she’s not quite as muscular as she used to be, but she can still run me ragged when she gets going.

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Some progress has been made on the Nuvem, but I’ve been concentrating most of the week on the Baktus. Since the Nuvem grows by 12 stitches every other round it takes quite a while to get around any more. I did work on it last night at Knit In.

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Knit In was awesome. Saw Jennifer, which I knew I was going to. Also had a great surprise and got to spend some time with Sarah. I hadn’t seen her in a year or better, and she looked amazing. I miss her, she’s a great person. Jenn and I discovered we’ve both been considering doing something, and decided we might go together. Sarah doesn’t want to play but is willing to go along and hold our hands. More details as we cook them up….

So that whole battle thing? This will be no big surprise to anyone, but I’m just dying to start something else. It’s the Meridien sweater by Joji Locatelli. I have a couple of prospective yarns in my stash, but decided on some Malabrigo Sock I got in 2011 for a different sweater. I’ve changed my mind, it wants to be this.

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The picture doesn’t really do the color justice. It’s a shaded solid, closest in color to the unwound hank showing center top.

I went with the middle of the road for this particular temptation and wound the yarn so it’s ready to go when I finish a couple of other things. In the end, I’m very happy with the way my choices have turned out.

Posted in Cats, Dogs, Finished Objects, Nuvem, Spinning, SSK | 1 Comment