Hashtag Winning

Again with the radio silence!  This may make me a bad person.  It definitely makes me a bad blogger.  I got all distracted with the best visit ever from my parents and evenings filled with blanket squares...  but no matter, I'm back (for now)!

Remember this year's Knit and Crochet Blog Week?  (If not, I'll wait while you peruse these entries written by me.)  OK, so: that Friday, we were supposed to write about Something a Bit Different (all prompts here; my entry here!) and fellow blogger Stitched Together had such an awesome idea: knit a stripy shawl with color order chosen by the commentariat!  She used her very own free! design, the More Than A Triangle Shawl [Rav link], in a bunch of beautiful colorways of Shetland wool [Rav project page].
Bonus: a random commenter wins the fabulous finished fanciness.

So guess who won?...

me me me me me me!!!  So excited.  :)  Every single color coordinates with the totality of my wardrobe and I'm just pleased as punch.  The triangle construction makes it easy to wrap-and-go, and this garter stitch is so squishy and nice!  All the glory goes to Stitched Together for her superlative skill in both knitting and designing.

There are much better pictures of the process and finished shawl on Stitched Together's blog, so head over there to fully appreciate the AWESOMENESS that is this gorgeous wrap!

Finished measurements: 102in/259cm (8.5ft) wide; 26in/67cm deep

Thank you thank you thank you again to Stitched Together!

 

I am a gigantic dork and also possibly a vampyre.

Mot-less Monday: Yarn Redemption

 

 

bag courtesy of Ali at alirags

 

 

 

 

Mystery Solved!

Hi guys.  I've been busy with family visits -- yay! -- and blanket blerg, but this was too good not to share.  Do you remember the photo I posted of the hideous plastic scary thing at work a while back?  No?  OK, go look, I'll wait.  ...AWFUL, right?  So creepy.

I found a sign yesterday that explained everything:

The U.S. government buys terrifying werewolves coyote decoys to scare the visiting geese in the hopes that the birds will decide to poop elsewhere.  And then they buy warning signs so that someone like me doesn't pick up and move the frightening things into a chorus line outside the boss's office window.  Not that I'd ever do that.  Ahem.

More HP for May

HEY, it's June, it's summer -- want to look over your shoulder for a quick glance at the end of May? And now for your viewing pleasure, the rest of the month's projects for the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup...  SOAR RAVENCLAW!

* Herbology May 2012
For a project inspired by hedgehogs, I've chosen to go incognito; the sagebrush stitch pattern suggests spikes across my back, except these are super soft and not at all painful.

 

Sagebrush [Rav] by Hanna Breetz; knit with less than two balls of Frog Tree Merino Worsted in colorway 0012 Charcoal

The yarn is a worsted weight single of 100% merino -- super soft with a wicked halo.  The fabric is slightly fuzzy while keeping its stitch definition.  My only problem with it: it does not hold up well under my usual tinking-back-and-reknitting obstacle course.

* Muggle Studies May 2012
I had to craft something using a new-to-you technique... soooo crochet. All by itself.  Using absolutely no knitting needles.

a flower from Hippy Crochet Daisy Chain [Rav] by Danielle at A Stash Addict; crocheted with a tiny amount of Knit Picks Stroll Glimmer in colorway Carnation (discontinued)

 

That center yellow circle (ha, circle, yeah right) took me six tries and it's still not right.
And hey, what is that in the last picture?...

>> Quidditch: Knit Mini-sock Sprint! (May 18-May 28th)
Mini-socks are not socks, I've decided, and so I'm not a fibber.

Teeny Tiny Socks [Rav] by Victoria Magnus; knit with 10% of a skein of Knit Picks Stroll Glimmer in colorway Carnation (discontinued)

Quidditch is supposed to be "just for fun," but since house points are on the line, some people can get a little intense about it.  That wasn't going to be me UNTIL people started bringing up the competitive aspect of it and then it was over; I don't like to play sports because I have no discernible skills while getting really dangerously competitive (it's genetic and not at all fun; I HATE to lose), but... a knitting competition?  Sure, count me in.

** Ancient Runes Ordinary Wizarding Level Spring 2012 
I've now reached 50% in the shawl and have received my 50 midway points:

yarn is Knit Picks Swish Worsted in colorway Indigo Heather; 116 g, 255.2 yds

The first part absolutely flew by in two and a half weeks -- while all this other stuff was also happening -- but now it's slowed to a crawl (as shawls are wont to do).  I'm really glad I've given myself a reasonable deadline this time.  I'm still keeping the pattern to myself for now... but isn't it pretty?  :)

OK, time to do a whole mess of blanket squares for June...

LYS Trip: WoolWinders

We were dismissed early from work this Friday (squee!) and, as I've done in the past, I zipped straight to an unsuspecting LYS instead of heading home.

The Great Yarn Fast of 2011 is but a memory, but I still have a self-imposed yarn super diet for this year, so yeah, no going crazy at WoolWinders; luckily, their online list of yarn is helpful in terms of weight and fiber (if not pricing -- but that's what the rest of the internet is for, right?), so I was able to do some serious narrowing-down before I even set foot in the door.

I had a shawlette pattern in mind (it's for a gift, so I can't post specifics yet, but it has approx 430 yards of fingering weight needed, with a lot of stockinette in the body and a cool lace border) and a price limit of $20 (because, like I said, super diet).  These factors combined to pull my focus to the Cascade Heritage Silk Paints [Rav]; 85%/15% superwash merino and mulberry silk, 437 yards in a skein, really pretty colorways from which to choose, and priced at twenty bucks!

After a couple of minutes of being torn between the RED (9958, called Vino) and the BLUE (9996, called Deep Ocean), I made my choice and made a beeline for the register to keep myself from further temptation.  During the ringing-up process, I had a nice conversation with a staff member about her shawl-in-progress.

And then she said these magic words:

"Would you like me to wind this into a ball for you?"

UM YES.  With the laceweight debacle fresh in my mind (still in snarls, by the way), I gladly accepted, because let me tell you: if somebody offers to save you from your own impatience for zero dollars,
YOU TAKE IT.

So I took it.  And then I took it home.

Oh, and if you get tomorrow off (for Memorial Day or for Pentecost or for always-having-Mondays-off), I hope you enjoy the day!

Under Construction

I love knitting.  And while I love being finished with my knitting, I don't so much love the finishing itself.  Allow me to demonstrate the lengths I will go to in the interest of procrastination...

There's this blanket, right?  I'm stalling on it because each 4"x4" square requires weaving in ends and blocking.  There's a lace shrug I've been trying to get done before the end of May [Rav link]; it's just lying there now, glaring at me as I type this.  It only requires weaving in the join between skeins and grafting the underarm areas and picking up lotso stitches and making ribbed bands for the armholes and body openings... that's all.  Not high maintenance at all.  /sarcasm

Can you see them all giving me the collective stinkeye?  I can't work under these conditions!

I've been knitting off and on (mostly off) on a little Lambie toy since April 7, 2010 (for those playing at home, that was before my daughter was born.  You remember her, the little blonde girl who runs around and makes articulate verbal requests.).  I was awake until 2am last night, trying to get as far into finishing as was humanly possible:

At 9pm, I wasn't even finished knitting the face yet.

The pattern is free! from Lion Brand [Rav link] and I like it...  but it's an annoyingly neon reminder, flashing brightly at me:   

HELLO!  THIS is why you're a garment knitter!  

Toys are sooooo fussy.  The legs and body and face are all knit in one piece (THANK GOODNESS), but there's lots of seaming + ears + arms + attaching + sewing nose and eyes blah blah blah and now I'm whining.  You can't hear it, but I am.  I blame the exhaustion.

So between avoiding finishing work on garments and avoiding finishing work on toys, what's a knitting lady to do?  Find a completely useless, instant-gratification project with an inverse relationship of object size to number of needles used, you say? 

Enter the mini-sock.

Yep, that'll work.  And it uses up otherwise-disposable stash!
It's for Quidditch.  Stop smirking at me.

The Bloggess

First she was awesome enough to sign a book she didn't write!! 
And then she said she liked my dress!!!!

Yeah, that's me.  Lady in Red...

Okay, let me back up.

I went to see bestselling author Jenny Lawson, AKA The Bloggess, at the Gaithersburg Book Festival with my fabulous friends today.  I think she is amazing.  Her posts on mental illness are, as you may know, super meaningful to me (#silverribbons)
AND she's the funniest person on the internet. 
Oh, and she's on my computer desktop background.

I am not even close to being a stalker.  I am a fan.

We dropped in this afternoon (Judah Friedlander was around, and we listened to Steve Coll, too, which was enlightening) and whoa, there she was!:

She read a chapter from her book (this little gem was called "The Psychopath on the Other Side of the Bathroom Door") and then she answered questions, and a thoroughly wonderful time was had by all.  Even the uniformed police officer near me was having a good time.

There was a looooooong line for the book signing.  I have no pictures of this process, nor do I have any photographic evidence that I talked to her.  I do, however, have a signed copy of Wil Wheaton's Just a Geek...  because I had no physical copy of the book for her to sign, but also because they're friends, you guys, geez!

Afterward, home.  And ice cream.  YAY.

EDIT:  And then I saw this!!:

 

"Now we are so happy, we do the Dance of Joy!!!!"  What a fantastic day, you guys.  XD

on the wrist of Jill Factotum

Mot-less Monday, AKA gotta get a swift ...or some patience

HP FOs and a Fantastic Book

I haven't been able to knit the past couple of evenings, because I've been devouring Let's Pretend This Never Happened, the best-selling memoir by your favorite Bloggess and mine, Jenny Lawson.  The book is SO FUNNY, I can't even breathe.

I did get some knitting done earlier, for this term's Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup (RAVENCLAW!!) -- so here they are so far...

* Care of Magical Creatures May 2012
* Flying May 2012
The HPKCHC has rules about turning in blanket squares for class assignments -- minimum size 7.8"x7.8" -- so I used these as 1) an example of a project knit with worsted weight yarn; and 2) a representation of my claustrophobia.

more of Pathways Blanket [Rav] by Frankie Brown; knit in 4g Knit Picks Swish Worsted (colorway Squirrel Heather) and 4g Knit Picks Merino Style (colorway Dusk) per square

* History of Magic May 2012
My research into the Quibbler article regarding an alleged murder as Hogwarts headmaster proved very enlightening; I turned this armband pattern into a coffee cozy that demonstrated my findings.

Trust Snape Armband [Rav] by Slythwolf; knit in Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino in colorways 174 Spring Leaf and 141 Wild Berry

 

* Defense Against the Dark Arts May 2012
This sneaky striped bib is perfect for hiding one's sneakoscope in a kitchen drawer.

My Perfect Bib [Rav] by Jessi Crum; knit with Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in colorways 122 Taupe and 113 Cherry

 

** Ancient Runes Ordinary Wizarding Level Spring 2012
Students can submit proposals for OWL projects -- things that will take longer than the one-month class assignment timeframe, usually 6-8 weeks -- and I've had my OWL proposal accepted!!
All will be revealed in time...

Tower of Balls: 7 balls of Knit Picks Swish Worsted in colorway                  Indigo Heather; 339 grams, approx 746 yds

Does this whole post make zero sense?  Are you still intrigued?  Would you like to know more?  If you can, check out the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup Ravelry group!

Wool and Sheep! Sheep and Wool!

Did you know that the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival was this past weekend?  I was not aware that it was happening until, oh, Friday... when my husband suggested we go check it out.

Let me repeat.
My husband.  Had this idea.  To have all three of us go.  To MSWF.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was my Mothers Day present.  <3  

DAFI Alpacas make kids happy.

We went for the last hour or so on the last day, but there was still a lot to see.  There were sheep, naturally, and OH the wool.  Seeing all the fiber made me want to learn to spin; even Sammy got mesmerized by a spinning demonstration.  Punkin Q. Pie only had eyes for a loudly baaing BFL.

Walking around all the vendors was a bit daunting for me; there was a very large amount of beautiful stuff, but I still had the distinct feeling that I could take it or leave it.  There was some picking up of skeins and an equal amount of putting them back.  I had expected to feel, you know, "the power of yarn compels you!" or some such similar sensation.

Then I turned a corner and my eyes fell immediately on the Spirit Trail Fiberworks booth -- scads of deep rich colorways hanging beneath three or four heavenly shawls floating overhead.  No gasps, no stopping for pictures.  Just an immediate BEELINE.

So I can haz a yarn:

This is Nona, in a special colorway called Bacchus -- lots of grape-y purples and greens, soooo gorgeous.  Also, it's 50% Merino, 25% Cashmere, 25% Bombyx Silk; I couldn't stop petting it.  Also also, it's laceweight, so I've got like 640 yards of the stuff.

Then we went and got ice cream.  It was a wonderful afternoon.  :)

More Potter Nerdiness Awaits

It's May Day and what does that mean?  The start of term for the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup, and this time, I've been sorted!! into RAVENCLAW!!!  (You can't see my happy dance, but it's happening, trust me.)  Funny, I have more school spirit for Hogwarts than I do for any of my actual alma maters.

I've got several projects planned already, so you'll be seeing some extra special projects along the way, most of which will beg the question: "aaaand why did you make this again?"  Oh c'mon, it's fun. 

YAY HPKCHC!  SOAR RAVENCLAW!

Sticks, don't fail me now!

Off-Topic: Mental Illness Again

Just really quick, guys: best-selling author Jenny Lawson, the Bloggess, has another amazing post about mental illness...

go HERE for her video post...

then go HERE or HERE to print out free awareness bracelets.

Therapy saved my life.  SO if you find that you may need help:
go to therapy, talk to the people you love, avoid your triggers, take whatever legal drugs you need.  And as Jenny says, don't leave.  

Additional resources at Erasing the Distance.

3KCBWDAY7 - Crafting Balance

Are you a knitter or a crocheter, or are you a bit of both? If you are monogamous in your yarn-based crafting, is it because you do not enjoy the other craft or have you simply never given yourself the push to learn it? Is it because the items that you best enjoy crafting are more suited to the needles or the hook? Do you plan on ever trying to take up and fully learn the other craft? If you are equally comfortable knitting as you are crocheting, how do you balance both crafts?

Firstly, all thanks goes to the incomparable Eskimimi for organizing this fantastic intarwebz event again!!  I have loved reading the blogs of so many talented crafters, many I would never have found otherwise.  I've even come out of my usual lurking-shyly mode and posted some comments along the way.  Good times were had by all!  Next, thank you to all the awesome bloggers who stopped by, especially those who have left comments for me this week -- soooo exciting to get feedback, it's awesome.  Lastly, but never leastly: hiya to my parents; thank you for reading everything and for other things as well.  :)

...
... ...

Okay.  So.  I'm not going to write anything more for this entry.  Crochet patterns read like a foreign language to me and I've already spent my allotted blogging time on weighing yarn and knitting blanket squares. 
Also, I 'm going to hang out with my family right now. 
How's that for balance -- SKADOOSH.   XD



To read all about crafting balance from those taking part in Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, simply perform a Google search for the tag 3KCBWDAY7.

3KCBWDAY6 - Improving Your Skillset

How far down the road to learning your craft do you believe yourself to be? Are you comfortable with what you know or are you always striving to learn new skills and add to your knowledge base? Take a look at a few knitting or crochet books and have a look at some of the skills mentioned in the patterns. Can you start your amigurumi pieces with a magic circle, have you ever tried double knitting, how's your intarsia? If you are feeling brave, make a list of some of the skills which you have not yet tried but would like to have a go at, and perhaps even set yourself a deadline of when you'd like to have tried them by.

Last year around now-ish, I answered the Skill + 1UP prompt with a bevy of photos featuring my favorite themes from the preceding year.

...so guess what?  Again!  Again!

My Year in Yarn: a Journey in Photos
Chapter Two: Experiments with Lace

When we left off in March 2011...
Two-color stranded colorwork, knit in the round

Starstuff by Amy van de Laar

July 2011
Knitting with stuffing (toy-adjacent)

Miittens [Rav] by not an artist

Initial lace shawl attempt

Matter and Void by Julia Mueller

September-October 2011
Baby steps into lace

Victorian Lace Baby Shrug by Melanie Lok

Lacy Little Shrug [Rav] by Eileen Casey

Estonian-influenced lace shawlette with nupps!

Swallowtail Shawl [Rav] by Evelyn A. Clark

Lace baby blanket

Leafy Baby Blanket by Leyla Alieva

Improvised Halloween costume

the stuff of nightmares - I Jokerified my baby!

November 2011
honorable mention points: my first crocheted edging

Cozy [Rav] by Alison Williams

adult-sized lace cardigan, completed in a month

Oblique [Rav] by Veronik Avery

 
THE ONLY PAIR OF SOCKS I WILL EVER MAKE

Mr. Pitt's Socks (aka Dad Socks) [Rav] by Kaitlyn Wong

December 2011
Lace shawlette attempt 2 (Electric Boogaloo)

Spring Thaw Shawl by Cheri McEwen

Neckwear (cotton lace cowls, garter-stitch shallow shawl)

Canaletto Cowl [Rav] by Megan Goodacre

A Noble Cowl by Emily Kausalik

Pimpelliese [Rav] by Christine Ebers

January-February 2012
Two-color stranded cotton-blend colorwork, improvised, knit flat

Seamless hat with variable sizing, knit in the round

Regina [Rav] by Carina Spencer

March 2012
Lace shawl trifecta!

Girl's Best Friend by rosegil

EZ 100th Anniversary Hearts Half-Circle by Mwaa Knit

Ashton Shawlette by Dee O'Keefe

Current project: April 2012
Adult-sized cardigan with non-traditional construction

Spoke [Rav] by Lori Versaci

To read all about other learning experiences from those taking part in Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, simply perform a Google search for the tag 3KCBWDAY6.