Knit Picky: February 2005

"properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit...
and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either."
~elizabeth zimmerman

Monday, February 28, 2005
3 comments

Nothin' But (Stocki)Net

Here are some pics to distract you from the fact that my Sitcom Chic is just inches and inches of stockinette.

First the Sitcom Chic:

To answer a couple of questions that I've gotten, Vicki: the Kacha Kacha counter is the red thing there above the knitting. You just click the button on the top to help keep track of your rows. Lynette: the yarn is Cotton-Ease in Sugarplum, such a pretty purple. This picture is kind of dark, but pretty true to color. I'm about 13.5" in. I need 1" more before the armhole shaping.

The design of this sweater is pretty darn cool, since there are no front and back pieces to seam. The sides are knit in one piece with the back.

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Here is a picture of my (bio)Dad showing off his scarf (Just Peacey). Looking at him, you can no doubt see why this was the perfect scarf for him.

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And now for some adorable shots of The Beast:

What a happy cat. He probably wouldn't be so happy if he understood that I'm home due to unemployment, and unemployment could eventually cut into his pricey kitty food budget.

And now for a close-up. I tried to get one where he wasn't blinking. The Boy said that I was going to blind him (The Beast) if I kept snapping pics.

Awwwwwwww.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005
2 comments

Nothing Much

I've been working on my Sitcom Chic. I'd show you a picture, but it'd be pretty boring right now, just a few inches of stockinette on 24" circulars. It's quite nice, and the Cotton-Ease is really soft. My first increase row is a little wonky, with little gaps that had me worried. I showed it to Midge (teacher at my LYS), and she said I was doing the M1 right, but I was pulling too much and stretching the yarn a bit. My second increase row looks great.

I also got something yesterday that I've been wanting to get for awhile. A Kacha Kacha row counter. I love the name. At the end of every row I can't help myself, I have to call out "Kacha KaCHA." Hee.

Thursday, February 17, 2005
2 comments

My Friend Flick'r

Heh. I love lame titles.

Well, in light of the fact that it's been AGES since I've posted any images, and the fact that I've spent 6 hours on the 'net and only found two new jobs to apply for (read: my head hurts and my brain is numb), I'm going to do a looong, photo-intensive post. Hope ya don't mind.

First up is the commissioned project that I'm working on. As anybody who has done commissioned work knows, you NEVER get back anything close to what you put into it, but I like the thought of my handiwork becoming part of a baby's stable of must-wear attire for a couple months. :)

I made one of these sets for my sister's best friend when she had her gorgeous baby boy, Alex. My sister keeps promising me a pick to post here of Alex duded up in his blue version of these pieces (yeah, yeah, I engage in gender profiling with yarn colors -- sue me). A friend of the woman I gave them to fell in love with the set and asked my sister if I might be willing to make a set for her little girl. I got carte blanche with the yarn, so long as it was girly. I found this pretty little Jiffy yarn at Michael's (yes, it's 100% acrylic, but look how pretty!).

The color is called Daytona. I love how the colors started out pooling (I know, I'm one of the few who seems to like pooling colors), but with the addition of the eyelets formed these little jags. You can't really see them because of the I-cord tie, but they are cool. This is an adjustable baby hat that I found on Frugal Knitting Haus and have used three times now. For this baby (since she's older, like 8 or 9 months) I added quite a few stitches around so she should be able to wear it for a little while. I have one bootie to go. I'm making the exchange on Sunday.

Item #2 is my tubular cast on. This isn't a great picture, but trust me when I tell you that the agony of six tries and two days of effort is so worth it. This is an awesome, stretchy cast on for 1x1 ribbing. I've seen it recommended on a bunch of blogs, so looked it up in the trusty Vogue Ultimate Knitting Book (seriously, BUY THIS BOOK. I use it all. the. time.)

Here's another picture.

I took it without flash to show you a little more detail and unfortunately it's a bit blurry. You can just make out, though, that once you remove the contrasting yarn, you have this neat, loopy edge that is surprisingly sturdy. I am so proud.

I'm just starting into my acres of stockinette, but I'm already getting really excited about embarking on my first 'real' project (i.e.: a bit more complex than a scarf or hat).

Lastly, my little sister Nikki is turning 8 this weekend (I wish she would stop growing up so fast!). Here's her birthday giftie from me and The Boy. Hmm, just a sec:

NICOLE KAYLEE, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AT THE NEXT PICTURE. YOU WILL SPOIL THE SURPRISE ON SUNDAY!

Okay, then. Here's Nikki's present, again staged on the laptop.

I found this adorable how-to-knit book for preteen girls. She wants to learn how to knit soooo badly, and I tried to show her a couple weeks ago when I was at their house, so I think this might be a good supplement to what I'm saying. There are really clear, basic instructions for everything from casting on to making a vest. I hope it helps her! In the picture you can also see some Lion Brand needles in US 13 -- yes, they're big, but I think big needles are a good "learning" needle since you can really see your stitches on them. And I've also inluded a honking big skein of Wool-Ease Chunky in Tinsel. You can't really tell in the picture, but the white yarn is flecked with silvery strands of, well, Tinsel. Nikki is a diva if ever there was one, so this is so perfect for her. :)

Whew! That sure was a lot to post! Happy knitting, all.

Wednesday, February 16, 2005
1 comments

Lame, lame, lame

I fear that I am grossly incompetent. Grrr. It took me SIX tries to get the tubular cast on down. I read the directions wrong FOUR times and proceeded to do every step wrong. Then I read them correctly, but STILL managed to make a mistake on try #5. So far six looks good (fingers crossed). I mean, geesh, it's only, like 6 rows, but when you're looking at 190 stitches, it takes time!

Oh yeah, this is all in regards to Sitcom Chic. I think I forgot to mention that I was doing this, huh? Or, TRYING TO do this. :) I had purple cotton-ease, and when I saw that I could do this with only 7 skeins, it seemed awfully attractive. Particularly since I plan to someday again lose all this excess weight that I've gained back since November (oh Weight Watchers, how I betrayed thee!). As a result, I don't want to make anything that's necessarily very fitted. For THOSE I want to have lost at least some of the weight. But Sitcom Chic is a nice, open cardigan, so in theory I should be able to wear it now and after losing some weight.

I'll take a picture of my itsy bitsy progress today and post it tomorrow. So long as all goes well...

Oh, and the job hunt is on. Thanks for the kind words! I've had two phone interviews and one in-person interview. It sounds from the second phone interview as though I may have another interview in the next couple of days. I have submitted for 24 jobs so far, so hopefully we'll see some good progress soon! :)

Thursday, February 10, 2005
2 comments

Sadly

Yep, I was laid off. They were very cool about the whole thing. I'll be looking...and knitting, I guess!

Tuesday, February 08, 2005
1 comments

Hey

I'm not too chipper, so I'm sorry this will be a totally sucky post.

Last night I started a commissioned baby hat/booties set that I've made for a couple other lucky babies. It's in a pretty color of Lion's Jiffy yarn called Daytona. It's quite pretty. I took a picture, but forgot the camera. D'oh! So I'll post it tomorrow. The colors are pooling in a really cool way and I love the way it's turning out.

We still don't know much about the fate of our company. Word is, it'll be Thursday before we find out anything. Urgh. Business limbo is no fun! It's not looking good for yours truly, though. Nothing personal, it's just that Marketing is generally expendable in the business world. Suckage. [sigh]

Wow, I'm so not interesting right now. Sorry about that.

Monday, February 07, 2005
2 comments

So Much For The Good Mood

Let me present it in this way:

1) I was all set to publish some feel-good stuff because I realized that today is my one-year anniversary of learning to knit. I was going to try to list out all the many hats, scarves, and other goodies that I've knit.

2) Then I was going to show you an FO--the scarf I made my dad that I'm calling Just Peacey. It's pictured below, but I'm not going into too much detail 'cause I want to get to #3.

Navy yarn=Plymouth Encore & Lion Wool-Ease; light blue=Sirdar Denim Chunky. I'm not sure how long it is, probably around 6'.

3) I just got some really sad news about my company being sold; if y'all could keep me and my co-workers in your thoughts...we probably won't know anything till Thursday.

Thanks.

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