I've just been "winging it" with the mittens I'm making for the 2nd Camp Loopy project. The first one is nearly done, just one round of knits and Kitchner stitch the top of hand, then pick up for the thumb. I believe I'll be able to get the second one done a bit faster, which is good as I have a paying customer wanting me to make her some gloves. I feel another learning experience coming on...
She's got an idea to have gloves with removable tips on (all) the fingers, which sounds like way too much work to me. I'm going to show her Cigar from Knitty, and see if she'll accept tips on just those 3 fingers each hand.
***
Ok, ETA next day: I've finished the first mitten! Plaidman & I went to the eye doctor yesterday & had eye exams, my issues turned out to be severely dry eyes. I have a very expensive drop I have to use, plus I'm supposed to use artifical tears a lot. I'm also getting glasses just for working on the computer. Plaidman needs new glasses too; but the doctors we see aren't providers in our vision insurance, so we'll go elsewhere for the glasses. I think WalMart is a provider.
I got the fall IK in the mail yesterday! There are a couple of things in there that I'd like to have. OOO, and we bought a new printer for the computer; it scans & copies too. Looks like I can stop making copies of patterns at work! That's if we can get the thing installed....the installation is on a CD, and our hard drive's reader is borked :(. But there's a support thingy on the manufacturer's site, for folks without a CD reader--I came to the library to get on their site, and have copied the install program onto a thumbdrive. Sure hope this works!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Stitchmarkers galore
Here's some DiscoDame made with the lobster claw clasps, good for crocheters & for use in knitting as row markers:
And here she's modeling them as a chain filet:
Here's she's hard at work on some other markers:
I have such a slew of markers now.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
If I could turn back time...
Written 7/13/11 I'm down to the last three days to finish my first ever Camp Loopy project, which is driving me batty -- I think I'm just too anxious to "get 'er done", so anxious that I keep leaving off yarnovers! I have three more rows, which are of course the longest three rows in the history of the world, especially since I've knit the last several rows like, oh, four times!!! Talk about shooting yourself in the foot....but I'm determined to finish on time, even if I may "cheat" a little on the blocking: I'll put this on the ironing board & steam block it for the picture to send to Sheri @ The Loopy Ewe. Later, I'll give it a good wash & wet block it. I've got an entire hank of the Serenity Green sock yarn leftover. Guess I overestimated the amount I'd need. But I'm sure I'll find something to make with that one hank. For my second Camp Loopy project, I was thinking of making socks, but after reconsideration of the time (like, forever!) it takes me to knit socks, I'm selecting a mitten pattern (with cables) -- I've never knit mittens, so this should be interesting.
7/19/11 ETA: I did in fact finish my first ever Camp Loopy project #1 ON TIME!! I took some pics & my DH took some, on the 15th, of a lovely albeit small shawl -- which I'd spent most of the morning trying to steam block on the ironing board. It's cute, but if I were to work this pattern again (Wendy Johnson{Wendy Knits}, Seriously Simple Shawl - free on her website or possibly thru Ravelry), I would a)make it symmetrical and b) work another Chart B repeat to make it lots bigger. The yarn from the Loopy Ewe was fine, although I did notice that the blue (Ice) seemed thicker & fluffier than the green (Serenity Green). It was as if the green were more tightly twisted in plying. I should get a ruler & do a WPI for both colors; betcha I'd find a difference. Anyway, I started some mittens, which I'm "winging" without a pattern per se--I did look at some patterns, but just to get an idea of how many to cast on & how long the cuff should be made. I have one mitten all the way from the cuff to just past the first knuckles of my left hand, and it's pretty. BUT! dummy me put the thumb gusset on the wrong side, so I want to frog 'em & start over. Towards that end, I'm writing my own pattern for the #2 project for 2011 Camp Loopy! Di'ya suppose I'll get extra credit if I send the pattern in to the LOOPIES?
7/19/11 ETA: I did in fact finish my first ever Camp Loopy project #1 ON TIME!! I took some pics & my DH took some, on the 15th, of a lovely albeit small shawl -- which I'd spent most of the morning trying to steam block on the ironing board. It's cute, but if I were to work this pattern again (Wendy Johnson{Wendy Knits}, Seriously Simple Shawl - free on her website or possibly thru Ravelry), I would a)make it symmetrical and b) work another Chart B repeat to make it lots bigger. The yarn from the Loopy Ewe was fine, although I did notice that the blue (Ice) seemed thicker & fluffier than the green (Serenity Green). It was as if the green were more tightly twisted in plying. I should get a ruler & do a WPI for both colors; betcha I'd find a difference. Anyway, I started some mittens, which I'm "winging" without a pattern per se--I did look at some patterns, but just to get an idea of how many to cast on & how long the cuff should be made. I have one mitten all the way from the cuff to just past the first knuckles of my left hand, and it's pretty. BUT! dummy me put the thumb gusset on the wrong side, so I want to frog 'em & start over. Towards that end, I'm writing my own pattern for the #2 project for 2011 Camp Loopy! Di'ya suppose I'll get extra credit if I send the pattern in to the LOOPIES?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Oh why not
DiscoDame got busy again yesterday. When I got home she presented me with a set of 10 double-ended stitch markers, each with different sized rings at either end, and all with either charms, buttons, or both between the rings. AND all 10 have lobster claw clasps at one end too, so they can be used as removable row markers. I gave her a really nifty work lamp, with a magnifier lens in the middle of the circular light, that she can clip onto a work surface and bend around to suit herself. Disco was just about beside herself over that lamp! She's quite far-sighted, so close work isn't at all easy for her, but with the magnification & bright light she's finding it a lot easier. Anyway, I was playing with my (or possibly your?) new stitchmarkers, and linked them all together--around my neck! We'll have to get some pictures; I'm sure it's pretty funny. 
Didya see/hear about the prank played on Julia Roberts on the set of "Larry Crowne"? You know she's a knittah too. Anyway, Tom Hanks talked about half the crew into one part of the set, and had someone go fetch Julia. When she walked in, everyone in the room was knitting! Even the cameraman was knitting, & holding his work in front of the camera. How cute!
Here's a shot of the June giveaway handknit, made from 6 colors of Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe - read up on this yarn in Ravelry for care:
Didya see/hear about the prank played on Julia Roberts on the set of "Larry Crowne"? You know she's a knittah too. Anyway, Tom Hanks talked about half the crew into one part of the set, and had someone go fetch Julia. When she walked in, everyone in the room was knitting! Even the cameraman was knitting, & holding his work in front of the camera. How cute!
Here's a shot of the June giveaway handknit, made from 6 colors of Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe - read up on this yarn in Ravelry for care:
Monday, June 20, 2011
Faster & furious-er
Just a quickie, to let you know DiscoDame has been real busy lately. Have a photo or ten (just kidding! -- I think Blogger would explode if I put 10 photos on here!)
Ok, I gotta go get something off Ravelry, send a search party if I'm not back in a week.
Ok, I gotta go get something off Ravelry, send a search party if I'm not back in a week.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Giving it up
Seems like when the weather warms up (& we're NOT being flooded), I just lose all interest in snail-mail communications. I still haven't sent out the last round of blog giveaways--Mea Culpa!--which I must do this week! As God is my witness, etc, etc. Since I have this problem, I want to do this giveaway thing a little differently: I'm going to package, weigh & number each giftie before drawing the winners! That way, as soon as a name is drawn & I can get a shipping addy, I can just slap a label on & send them to the post office via the Plaidman. Honestly, as SMRT as I am you'd think I would have figured this out before now. I have something to show you:
Just a little background, this is my reply to a friend's asking how long this took:
"Let’s see, I guess I started the first one in January –Christmas knitting was done, so I started this for her birthday (February!). The first one was worked exactly per the designer’s pattern, and came out very tight around the brim (but still wearable) and the top part was more like a lace skullcap. Frogging ensued; back to the drawing board. Another one had just one [extra] repeat of the lace pattern around, worked on bigger needles, and stitches added to the brim. Still turned out to be a beanie rather than a beret! Back to the frog pond it went, maths reworked to add 2 more repeats of the lace without increasing the brim anymore, then I thought I’d run out of yarn (!)—so I got on Ravelry & found someone who’d sell me hers (couldn’t find this color in the stores here), & had to wait for her to send it. Once I got it, I couldn’t find my notes about the brim size….so made it too big, & had to frog again when the notes were found. It’s a good thing I like the process about as much as I like the product, ‘coz this one was all about the process! As far as actual knitting time for the pattern, it’s not that much—hats are fairly quick (Mwah-hah-hah! Famous last words….)"
Is that fine, or what? No, this isn't for a blog giveaway, although it is a gift for a special young lady. It's so lovely, that I've already started another one! And I'll likely make one more in blue or pink, for another special young gal. None of these will be finished this month, as I'm "attending" Camp Loopy this year. I have 3 hanks of Loopy's Solid series fingering yarn, 2 in Serenity Green & 1 in Ice, for Wendy Johnson's Seriously Simple Shawl -- in stripes! I'm also working on Sis's socks, which I should really put down for a little while. The first Camp project needs to be finished by July 15. But what will I give away this month? Maybe a nice cowl? I'll get back to that in a later post.
Just a little background, this is my reply to a friend's asking how long this took:
"Let’s see, I guess I started the first one in January –Christmas knitting was done, so I started this for her birthday (February!). The first one was worked exactly per the designer’s pattern, and came out very tight around the brim (but still wearable) and the top part was more like a lace skullcap. Frogging ensued; back to the drawing board. Another one had just one [extra] repeat of the lace pattern around, worked on bigger needles, and stitches added to the brim. Still turned out to be a beanie rather than a beret! Back to the frog pond it went, maths reworked to add 2 more repeats of the lace without increasing the brim anymore, then I thought I’d run out of yarn (!)—so I got on Ravelry & found someone who’d sell me hers (couldn’t find this color in the stores here), & had to wait for her to send it. Once I got it, I couldn’t find my notes about the brim size….so made it too big, & had to frog again when the notes were found. It’s a good thing I like the process about as much as I like the product, ‘coz this one was all about the process! As far as actual knitting time for the pattern, it’s not that much—hats are fairly quick (Mwah-hah-hah! Famous last words….)"
Is that fine, or what? No, this isn't for a blog giveaway, although it is a gift for a special young lady. It's so lovely, that I've already started another one! And I'll likely make one more in blue or pink, for another special young gal. None of these will be finished this month, as I'm "attending" Camp Loopy this year. I have 3 hanks of Loopy's Solid series fingering yarn, 2 in Serenity Green & 1 in Ice, for Wendy Johnson's Seriously Simple Shawl -- in stripes! I'm also working on Sis's socks, which I should really put down for a little while. The first Camp project needs to be finished by July 15. But what will I give away this month? Maybe a nice cowl? I'll get back to that in a later post.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Survivor, Roadtrip!
We made it back to town without killing each other. Actually, DiscoDame cracks me up whenever we go somewhere together. She's a much better traveling companion than the Plaidman. That may be a bit harsh; before he became 50% hearing-impaired, he was alright as a roadtrip buddy.
I frogged Sis' socks (again...), and was working on them a bit during our downtime at the hotel(s) in the evening(s). I have no idea why I bought this wild lookin' yarn, but Sis admired it so she can wear it.
Oh, yeah...you're curious about where 2/3 of the Plaid Patrol went! We drove up to Kentucky, hitting Paducah about 10 a.m. Thursday. We toured the National Quilt Museum, which is terrifically full of fabric Art (capital "A"!). Go see it sometime. After, we cruised along the Riverfront until our brains started to cook, then decided we'd better get indoors somewhere & cool off. We had a nice late lunch at Doe's Eats. I was getting pretty achy (sciatica strikes again), so we found ourselves a hotel room & just chilled--we'd brought some microwave dinners, and had the appliance in the room, so we didn't even bother to leave the room until the next morning. Free breakfast got us up & out the door by 8:30 a.m., and we found Hwy. 68-80 & the start of the 400-Mile Yardsale! Yes friends, we drove for a while, then plodded around in the sun for a while, then back to the car & do it all again--over & over & over. Lots of sunscreen saved our skin; but we were burning up from the heat. We did this for two whole days, getting another hotel room when we just got too tired & hot to go on. On Saturday, we made it to Bowling Green, with only a few stops along the way. At one rather large sale, we found some items for the Plaidman--he who so inconveniently has a birthday just before Father's Day! Those were my biggest purchases of the whole trip. Sunday, we skipped the free breakfast at the hotel, and went over to Bob Evans restaurant for a great breakfast. Disco said she was about yardsaled out, & could we do something else. Well, I figured the Corvette Museum would be a good diversion, but is it open on Sunday? (Yes) and could I find it again? We'd gone round in circles trying to get to any of the hotels near the museum, Saturday afternoon, so I wasn't looking forward to trying to find the museum again. So...I pretty much decided to just head on home early, and we'd see a movie Sunday evening. We saw THOR, which was kinda "meh", except for the lead's shirtless scene. Speaking of shirtless scenes...many years ago we saw the Conan movie (with AH-nold), the one with the big snakes controlled by the bad guy. Remember when Conan & his team were sneaking into the temple, and Conan wore a loincloth, a headband & some paint? I remember there was a collective intake of breath throughout the theater, followed at once by giggles. Very telling! Anyway, Thor wasn't quite in that league, but he's a lot cuter without than with a shirt. And could the costume/make-up folk not have come up with an actual beard for Thor? His "bad boy" look was laughable--he should have been clean or bearded, but not scruffy. Loki's beardless-ness is more or less explained by his ancestry, at least in this story. No spoiler, I won't say anymore about that!
I frogged Sis' socks (again...), and was working on them a bit during our downtime at the hotel(s) in the evening(s). I have no idea why I bought this wild lookin' yarn, but Sis admired it so she can wear it.
Oh, yeah...you're curious about where 2/3 of the Plaid Patrol went! We drove up to Kentucky, hitting Paducah about 10 a.m. Thursday. We toured the National Quilt Museum, which is terrifically full of fabric Art (capital "A"!). Go see it sometime. After, we cruised along the Riverfront until our brains started to cook, then decided we'd better get indoors somewhere & cool off. We had a nice late lunch at Doe's Eats. I was getting pretty achy (sciatica strikes again), so we found ourselves a hotel room & just chilled--we'd brought some microwave dinners, and had the appliance in the room, so we didn't even bother to leave the room until the next morning. Free breakfast got us up & out the door by 8:30 a.m., and we found Hwy. 68-80 & the start of the 400-Mile Yardsale! Yes friends, we drove for a while, then plodded around in the sun for a while, then back to the car & do it all again--over & over & over. Lots of sunscreen saved our skin; but we were burning up from the heat. We did this for two whole days, getting another hotel room when we just got too tired & hot to go on. On Saturday, we made it to Bowling Green, with only a few stops along the way. At one rather large sale, we found some items for the Plaidman--he who so inconveniently has a birthday just before Father's Day! Those were my biggest purchases of the whole trip. Sunday, we skipped the free breakfast at the hotel, and went over to Bob Evans restaurant for a great breakfast. Disco said she was about yardsaled out, & could we do something else. Well, I figured the Corvette Museum would be a good diversion, but is it open on Sunday? (Yes) and could I find it again? We'd gone round in circles trying to get to any of the hotels near the museum, Saturday afternoon, so I wasn't looking forward to trying to find the museum again. So...I pretty much decided to just head on home early, and we'd see a movie Sunday evening. We saw THOR, which was kinda "meh", except for the lead's shirtless scene. Speaking of shirtless scenes...many years ago we saw the Conan movie (with AH-nold), the one with the big snakes controlled by the bad guy. Remember when Conan & his team were sneaking into the temple, and Conan wore a loincloth, a headband & some paint? I remember there was a collective intake of breath throughout the theater, followed at once by giggles. Very telling! Anyway, Thor wasn't quite in that league, but he's a lot cuter without than with a shirt. And could the costume/make-up folk not have come up with an actual beard for Thor? His "bad boy" look was laughable--he should have been clean or bearded, but not scruffy. Loki's beardless-ness is more or less explained by his ancestry, at least in this story. No spoiler, I won't say anymore about that!
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