Monday, May 28, 2007
The quickest knitting I've ever done.
Rick left for Alaska last week, and his team started their climb of Mt. McKinley on Friday. He may or may not regain cell phone reception in about a week, or I might not hear from him until I'm actually in Alaska myself. And yes, I'm on the verge of crazy. The longest I've gone without hearing from Rick on one of his mountaineering trips has been two days.
But anyway, this was supposed to be a post about knitting. I swear! About a week before Rick left, he asked if I could knit a hat for his trip. You see, Rick's head is kind of on the small side (small like he usually buys boys' hats instead of men's hats) and the hat he had purchased for the climb had extra material that bunched up at the top under his climbing helmet.
That boy is so lucky he married a knitter. After the predictable, "What? You're telling me this NOW?", I found a suitable pattern, made a trip to Gourmet Yarn, and Rick had his hat within forty-eight hours.
Pattern: free pattern at Kis*Knit
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino
Needles: Knit Picks Options size 6, used as circular and magic loop
Modifications: Though Rick's head is small, I needed to add two more repeats of 10 stitches for a total of 100 stitches cast on. It fits under his helmet perfectly, as you can see in the requisite "I am a mountain climber" shot (which by the way, should totally be submitted to Petzl as an advertisment for helmets, don't you think?).
Friday, May 18, 2007
Random MeMe Time
I've been tagged by Emma to divulge seven random facts about myself. Woohoo! A free post idea! Just what a lazy bloggah needs!
And since you're supposed to post the rules of the meme, let me get started. The first rule about Fight Club is....okay, ha ha. Here are the actual rules:
Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.
Let's get started, shall we?
1. I was a high school valedictorian. My GPA after my freshman year of college: ONE POINT SEVEN.
2. I like girly drinks. Cape Cods and Mudslides and such. But I'll drink beer if I'm already drunk (which may help explain number one up there).
3. I can't seem to remember to wash my belly-button when I shower. So if you ever meet me in person, chances are my belly-button will be at least slightly dirty.
4. If you've read this blog for awhile, you may remember that a year and a half ago, I stopped being a vegetarian and started eating fish. Well, I forgot to tell y'all, but I couldn't hack it as a carnivore. I went veggie again after only a few months.
5. I got my first (all right, my only) tattoo when I was seventeen. It was in a housing addition between Mustang and Yukon, Oklahoma. Totally illegal. And my mom was with me.
6. I can say, "You're a little shit," in Croatian.
7. When I asked Rick to think of a random fact about me, the first thing he said was, "Your boobs didn't start growing until you were in your twenties." Which, yeah. Is pretty much true. THANKS, HONEY.
So there you have it! Now for my tag list....Well, it appears that just about every knitblogger I read has done this meme, so I think I'm going to break the rules and just tag one blogger. Nanda, go forth and be random.
And since you're supposed to post the rules of the meme, let me get started. The first rule about Fight Club is....okay, ha ha. Here are the actual rules:
Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.
Let's get started, shall we?
1. I was a high school valedictorian. My GPA after my freshman year of college: ONE POINT SEVEN.
2. I like girly drinks. Cape Cods and Mudslides and such. But I'll drink beer if I'm already drunk (which may help explain number one up there).
3. I can't seem to remember to wash my belly-button when I shower. So if you ever meet me in person, chances are my belly-button will be at least slightly dirty.
4. If you've read this blog for awhile, you may remember that a year and a half ago, I stopped being a vegetarian and started eating fish. Well, I forgot to tell y'all, but I couldn't hack it as a carnivore. I went veggie again after only a few months.
5. I got my first (all right, my only) tattoo when I was seventeen. It was in a housing addition between Mustang and Yukon, Oklahoma. Totally illegal. And my mom was with me.
6. I can say, "You're a little shit," in Croatian.
7. When I asked Rick to think of a random fact about me, the first thing he said was, "Your boobs didn't start growing until you were in your twenties." Which, yeah. Is pretty much true. THANKS, HONEY.
So there you have it! Now for my tag list....Well, it appears that just about every knitblogger I read has done this meme, so I think I'm going to break the rules and just tag one blogger. Nanda, go forth and be random.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Kitty Stuff
My proclamation of Loki's love for her new kitty bed may have been premature. She likes the kitty pi. But not so much for sleeping or for proper sitting. Nope. The kitty pi bed has become more of a wadded-up kitty pillow.
I would knit Shiva her own kitty bed, but unfortunately, she is distrustful of anything that is remotely soft. Don't set her on a blanket or a pillow, or for Pete's sake, that terribly plush and expensive store-bought kitty bed. Shiva prefers a good, sturdy box to sleep in. 
I would knit Shiva her own kitty bed, but unfortunately, she is distrustful of anything that is remotely soft. Don't set her on a blanket or a pillow, or for Pete's sake, that terribly plush and expensive store-bought kitty bed. Shiva prefers a good, sturdy box to sleep in. I think I will try to block the kitty pi a little more extensively and see if that helps it keep its shape a little better. Not that there's anything wrong with knitting kitty pillows...
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Word to the Muthas
Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas out there! I read a lot of blogs by women with children, and everyone seems to do such a good job at parenting. I just think that's awesome. I don't know how y'all do it (because, hi! My cats play with Exacto knives!), but good job, ladies! Enjoy your day.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
If you want to destroy my sweater...
Do y'all remember that last year, I tried to knit a vest out of leftover yarn. In fact, the pattern was the Leftovers Vest from Knitty. When I was about three-quarters of the way done with it, I tried the vest on, only to find that it was at least fourteen times too big for me. There was no problem with the pattern whatsoever--the error consisted of my inability to accurately judge my own size. Have you ever seen where they give anorexic girls a marker and have them draw a life-size picture of themselves on paper, of how they see themselves, and the picture is about the size of an elephant? Apparently, I am like these girls, but without the anorexia part.
Lots of kinky, kinky yarn that took over my dining room table, until I dunked all those individual strands into water and allowed them to dry like this:
Then I wound the strands into many baby balls of yarn, which were not photographed because what I thought would be an afternoon project took THREE DAYS and I was no longer in the mood to photo-journalize. From this stash, I decided to make the kitties a Kitty Pi, that fabulous pattern that was so popular a couple years ago (and why is that so many knitters have cats?). Lots of knitting and spit-splicing later, voila!
After felting, on my mom's kitchen table:
Pattern: Kitty Pi by Wendy Johnson
Needles: Knit Picks Options, US size 11, 24" cable, used to magic loop and as regular circular needles
Yarn: Cascade 220, double stranded
Comments: This was my first felting project. It was so scary putting my precious knitting into the washing machine! To agitate! I imagined the kitty bed coming out the size of a postage stamp. As it is, it took me three cycles on heavy, and there is still more stitch definition than I wanted. Rick built a mold to dry it/shape it, because I was too cheap to buy the Tupperware pie carrier that's suggested in the pattern (Hello, that's yarn money. Can I get a witness?)
Rick is awesome. And also, now you see why my knitting was anywhere near a table saw. And at least one kitty has taken to the bed so far. My Loki sure loves her some pi!
Anyway. I never frogged that partially knit vest. Couldn't bring myself to do it, I hate frogging so much. Two weeks ago, the vest still looked like this:
And then I took the plunge. I turned the vest into this:
Lots of kinky, kinky yarn that took over my dining room table, until I dunked all those individual strands into water and allowed them to dry like this:Then I wound the strands into many baby balls of yarn, which were not photographed because what I thought would be an afternoon project took THREE DAYS and I was no longer in the mood to photo-journalize. From this stash, I decided to make the kitties a Kitty Pi, that fabulous pattern that was so popular a couple years ago (and why is that so many knitters have cats?). Lots of knitting and spit-splicing later, voila!
Before felting, modeling on my husband's table saw:
After felting, on my mom's kitchen table:Pattern: Kitty Pi by Wendy JohnsonNeedles: Knit Picks Options, US size 11, 24" cable, used to magic loop and as regular circular needles
Yarn: Cascade 220, double stranded
Comments: This was my first felting project. It was so scary putting my precious knitting into the washing machine! To agitate! I imagined the kitty bed coming out the size of a postage stamp. As it is, it took me three cycles on heavy, and there is still more stitch definition than I wanted. Rick built a mold to dry it/shape it, because I was too cheap to buy the Tupperware pie carrier that's suggested in the pattern (Hello, that's yarn money. Can I get a witness?)
Rick is awesome. And also, now you see why my knitting was anywhere near a table saw. And at least one kitty has taken to the bed so far. My Loki sure loves her some pi!
