Testy

Lost but not forgotten...

2012-01-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

This scarf in progress was lost to me when I moved from California to Texas in 2009 and I was nearly prepared to chalk it off as a win for the chaos of the universe, until I found it in November. It was a nice low brain power project for the holidays while transfixed by the magic of Showtime original series. (The whole family needed to get caught up on Dexter and was transfixed by Homeland.) I was glad to have rescued and finished this project and am thrilled every time the recipient wears it while interpreting well logs.

Warped

2012-01-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Le sigh.

After the minimum 2 weeks my schedule required to complete loom assembly, create the warp, and dress the loom in between work and other tasks like the hunting and gathering of food, I sat down last night to weave. If you have limited experience with this particular branch of fiber-y goodness, like myself, it may not be readily apparent that there is something seriously awry with the project illustrated above. This lovely 32" Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom has been warped backwards.

If you look closely at the business end where I have started to weave a little bit, you will see a beam that is totally in the way. When you try to beat the yarn in place... you cannot. This is when I looked back at the plans and discovered my folly. The heddle blocks are also backwards in this configuration, but I could have worked around that. I'm not sure what to do. I have to somehow unspool the 15ft of warp threads from the "back" beam (actually the front beam), flip the heddle,and spool them on the "front" beam (actually the back beam). I think this is possible. I would hate to chuck all that yarn and start over.

Winter Mystery Shawl

2012-01-07T13:55:00.000-08:00

I'm working on my second ever mystery shawl knit-a-long, the Winter Mystery Shawl by Marina Fitch at the Swift Stitch in Santa Cruz, CA. I must say that this mystery knit-a-long is going much better than the last.

The pattern is complicated enough to keep my interest and clue #2 was actually a surprise! That's the fun part! Here is my work through clue #1: (the picture isn't great, but it's not blocked either...)

I'm not sure if I'll make it through clue #2 this week because I pulled jury duty and was horrified to learn that knitting needles are prohibited at the Harris County Courthouse. After briefly considering the repercussions of contraband smuggling, I have decided to start a crochet project for my day in court.

By the Way...

2012-01-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

Dookie loves his new sweater!

Oldies but Goodies

2011-12-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

When I go on vacation, I really go on vacation. There has been lots of activity yarn-wise, but on this New Year's Eve I thought it would be fun to look at some sweaters I made a long, long time ago. I purchased a Bond Incredible Sweater Machine from QVC at some point in the early 90's. It was totally random, I have never called them before or since, but I just had to have this thing. It was loads of fun and I eventually bought a second one and bolted them together to form a super-Bond ISM, with an approximate capacity of 200 stitches per row. I whipped out afghans in a day and sweaters in a weekend. While home over Christmas, my lovely mother volunteered to model some of these fiber artifacts for posterity. Here they are in all of their acrylic glory.

Chubby Chirps

2011-12-03T05:37:00.001-08:00

After careful review of the evolving yarn selection available at Knitting in the Loop in Houston, TX, I have deemed it "Heather friendly". They have added more basic wool yarns in useful colors, and appear to be slowing down with the novelty yarns. As such, they are now on my good list and when I was called to action to knit Chubby Chirps for a fundraiser at the Houston Zoo... I got cracking. Proceeds from the sale of these guys will go to help the NZ oil-fouled penguins. I knitted one at the store, these 3 at home with handspun.

Malocchio

2011-11-27T13:35:00.001-08:00

I made lots of things over this delightfully long 4-day weekend. My favorite is the evil-eye themed yarn seen above. I hand carded the wool into rolags (which as it turns out, work infinitely better for long draw than pseudo-rolags.) The lighter single was equal amounts of the blue merino wool blended with undyed coopworth. Beads were strung onto the blue single which was more even in diameter, and both were plied. I am a little worried about the larger beads weakening the overall strength of the yarn, so it will be an interesting experiment while I knit it up.

Brainzzzzzzzzzzzz...

2011-11-17T19:57:00.001-08:00

Yes, I made a brain hat. Somebody at work is taking a leave of absence to finish their thesis and I decided they needed a good thinkin' cap. I saw one on regretsy at some point and it just stuck in my craw as a "need to make someday" kind of project. It was a lot of work, but I'm happy with how it turned out. No, I will not make one for you.

Coronary

2011-11-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

I picked up the 2011 Interweave Holiday Gifts Edition and dove headfirst into some stranded color work. These are called "Chivalry Mitts" and have been worked in knitpicks chroma fingering. They're a bit twee for me and will be given to a co-worker.

All Aboard!

2011-10-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

This ship-load of bunnies is steaming out of port! The latest batch of 24 has deployed in my final weeks at work before I change assignments. They are finding themselves into offices bidden or not all over the floor. Leftovers are assuming posts in nooks and crannies to be discovered in the future. I just can't help myself.

Viking Hat #2

2011-10-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

You have got to be exceedingly careful when knitting something cool. It is only a matter of time before everybody wants one. That's exactly what happened with the viking hat. I tend to be very strong on my stance of "I can't knit one for everybody" and "I'll gladly teach you how to knit one yourself." But... I relented to the entreaties of one coworker due to health and safety concerns. They're Swedish and planning to go home for Christmas. The child (3 to 4 years old) resists hats at all costs except for a plastic souvenir viking helmet a relative mailed him for kicks. This isn't usually a problem in Texas, but it will be a bit nippy in Sweden in December. This hat is medically necessary. It is being modeled by my pet sheep Lord Bitey of Cornwall.

On another note, I didn't have to buy back my handcrafted items from the United Way auction this year. The yarn went for 21$ and the baby blanket for 42$. I was pleased.

Tiger Coils

2011-10-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

While looking for a quasi active spinning group on Ravelry I have fallen in with the Novelty and Art Yarn Spinners. They're a fun crowd and have lots of ideas for new things to try. I signed up for a wee mini-swap that includes knitting a hexipuff which incorporates a hand spun art yarn. The hexipuffs are knit with sock yarn, so I experimented with this teeny tiny coil yarn spun with singles left over from my tiger themed charity skein. It looks OK, now to do something with it...

Concordia

2011-10-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

This is some fluffy (but a wee bit scratchy) yarn I've been spinning up with roving from Bartlett Yarns. Their roving is 7.00$ for half a pound, and this stuff is like potato chips so there was stopping with one. I have 1 pound of wool with equal quantities of Thistle and Mountain Laurel. The roving smells wonderfully sheepy and has a very short staple. I was caught by surprise by the latter feature and had little luck with my preferred short draw. This wool wants to be spun long draw only with no need for rolags. I strip the roving in half and we are ready to go. I may have crossed the line to fiber "artist" because I feel like a sculptor who listens to the stone. So far I have one skein with 170 yards, but have barely made a dent in the massive lumps of wool.

Elmer Fudd Nugget

2011-09-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

In furtherance of my goal to insert adorable knits into the offices of curmudgeonly manly men at work, I present "nugget with tiny shotgun." Lovingly crafted out of wool yarn dyed to hunter safe blaze orange, this little guy is the most militant member of my endearing junta to date.

Spinning for Charity

2011-09-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

Every year at work there is an e-bay style auction on the intranet to raise money for the United Way. People are encouraged to get creative and donate unique goods and services, so I spun some yarn.

This is 75% superwash merino/ 25% nylon bare stroll roving from knitpicks. In the end there are 260 yards with a wpi of 10 (yes, I checked!!). I was going for a tiger theme (one of our company's mascots), which is also fitting for fall crafting. The original pre spinning dye-job looked like cat vomit and I was so tragically disheartened I almost chucked it. Luckily, it is nicer spun up and I dyed it again post ply so there will be stripes of black superimposed over the barberpole striping in the orange sections. It was kind of a stripes within stripes Inception-y thing.

I hope people appreciate my offering. In the past I have ended up buying back my donated items.

Black Gold

2011-09-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

The problem with knitting bunny nuggets to overthrow my office building in a fuzzy bloodless coup is that people have all kinds of ideas for things that would be cool to knit. "Knit me an oil rig!" Hmmm, let me think about that one. OK, got it.

The base is a recycled chunk of styrofoam from a package I received at some point covered with oddments of yarn for "stratigraphy" in the subsurface and "grass" on top. I wanted it to be a successful well, so I added some nice black crude at the base, knit from petroleum based acrylic yarn for that added touch of poetic justice. The derrick is i-cord threaded onto some armature wire with tied on criss-crossing lengths of yarn. The recipient was quite pleased.

Doggie!

2011-09-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

This is a border collie. That is all.

Mystery Knitalong (KAL)

2011-08-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

I had never done one before, and probably won't again. This was a painfully boring knit. I might wear it on St. Paddy's Day.

Works in Progress

2011-08-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have a bunch of irons in the stove right now, but no actual finished products. Here's a sneak peek at something that will be coming down the line at some point. I am deliberately vague on that ETA because the pattern has gotten a bit boring and I have to take a break. So far I am ~450 yards into this project, the Ostrich Plumes Stole, from the book Knitting 24/7. The concept for all projects is to keep them simple enough to pick up and put down while you carry on with your life. A good idea it is, but a project this large needs something more to make it interesting. You may remember this yarn from a previous post, it is my handspun "Kentucky Bluegrass."

Got my Mojo Working

2011-08-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

After that pain in the ass yarn I worried that I had lost my touch. Not so. Here is 240 yards of BFL/silk, sport weight, 2ply mojo.

Socks for Bev

2011-07-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

I have quite a bit of trouble with second sock syndrome (SSS), the inability to soldier on and complete the mate once sock number one has been knitted. Only very special people receive two sock gifts from me. Bev* is the current record holder, with two pair.

*Bev is my mom.

Pain in the Butt Yarn

2011-07-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

I like to experiment with new skills, in spinning as in life. This trait caused me to try spinning with a woolen/long draw from pseudo rolags. I had seen several descriptions, on the cover of Spin Off magazine and at my friend Brandi's blog. I took apart my niddy noddy and used the center dowel to roll up literally hundreds of rolags assembly line style with an efficiency that would have made old man Ford jealous.

Then I started to spin. I got the hang of the long draw after watching some youtube videos and lots of practice. I am used to the short draw with small hand movements and this method made my arm hurt. I am also used to changing to a different project after a week or so, but I had two massive bags of fiber to get through and fatigue set in. When I realized I was no longer having fun, I declared it time to ply and move on. This is 430 yards of a rather chunky 2 ply yarn (at least Aran, probably bigger) spun from wool/alpaca mill ends from Brown Sheep. The woolen draw definitely lowered the grist and produced a softer, fluffier product, but I'm going back to worsted/short draw.

Bunny Nuggets

2011-07-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

No blog posts for a month?!!? Work was extremely busy for a few weeks, in a pretty stressful yet productive kind of way. That left me at the end of the day with little energy and absolutely no brain power. But I must still knit. As a result, I have been obsessively and compulsively knitting bunny nuggets. Find the pattern here and start your own descent into madness today. They are quick (about an hour) and easy. I have the pattern memorized. Scrap yarn works like a dream.

Strangely enough, I only photographed this first one. The rest have been going with me to work and finding their way into the offices of my colleagues. No need to share online if they are making the rounds IRL, right? (Plus they were all born at night under sub-optimal photographic conditions.) I estimate at least 45 have infiltrated my floor at this point. Only the most grizzled old oil men have been able to resist so far...

More Wearable

2011-05-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

Except now it's back to >90 degree weather on a daily basis...

Unwearable

2011-05-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well, unwearable where I work anyway. Bright orange with crazy green beads... too much fun. I have restarted without the beads and I like it better anyway. The simple pattern really showcases the hand dyed/spun yarn without distractions.

Baby Clothes

2011-05-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

They are small and easy in theory, but what if you forget the buttonholes?
(This is the famous EZ February baby sweater on two needles. It does not mention buttonholes until you are past the yoke. I guess you're supposed to read the whole pattern before you start. Whatever. Afterthought buttonholes do not meet my standards.)
Start over.

Life is stressful

2011-05-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Life is stressful, make yarn. I didn't even think I liked pink, but this stuff cheered me right up. In between Helicopter Underwater Egress Training and fit testing for my self contained H2S respirator, pink fluffy kettle dyed corriedale roving plied with shiny rayon thread gives me 472 yards of calm. Thank you Mr. Sheep.

Knitting Experiments

2011-04-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

The same basic pattern and a different yarn produces a unique solution. Here is a scarf knitted again with the vine lace motif from Barbara Walker, but this time with some worsted weight superwash I spun and proportionally smaller needles. The result is a far less drapey, almost herringbone texture. And the experiment is over because I am sick to death of that pattern.

Finished Object

2011-04-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to see how I balance spinning on my wheel and knitting throughout the course of a week. When I get home from work, I'm drained. I leave it all on the field and have to lay down for an hour or two before I can move. I am mentally and physically exhausted, not to mention stressed out.

The perfect remedy for this is spinning. Spinning is utterly mindless and meditative. The only moment in time that exists is the current one. This moment, this draft. At the same time though, it does require some physical activity and can add additional fatigue if I'm not very careful in limiting myself. Then I knit. Knitting can be a bit more "thinky" and to be perfectly honest, the repetition of plain garter or stockinette fills my chest with a palpable sense of ennui and frustration. I need patterns that aren't too boring, but not so complex I'll have to rip back every other row. The scarf above became a little boring after awhile, but I plowed through, knitting with sheer will rather than hands. The yarn is my handspun "chocolate covered cherry" from a few posts back.

Nobody Gets Hurt

2011-04-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

Step right up and get in line to view the ultra-laceweight yarn perfect for knitting the latest and greatest in high visibility hunting season accessories. I call the colorway OSHA orange and think it would be equally fabulous for knitting the most delicate of dainties on an offshore rig surrounded by roughnecks. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

If a unicorn farts in the forest and there's nobody there to smell it...

2011-04-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

I had a rough day, so you get some super saccharine fun yarn I made on a good day last week. I got this chunk of roving free with purchase from CCSmile2006's Etsy shoppe and I could not force myself not to whip out my turkish drop spindle and play with the pastel rainbow of wooly fluff. (I should have taken a picture, but I was enjoying the moment.) It was just so easter-y, rainbow-y, and fun. Have a great day!

Stats: 57yds, 9g

Chocolate Covered Cherry

2011-04-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

This skein I'm calling chocolate covered cherry. It's 350 yards of a red merino wool single plied with brown #10 crochet cotton. I would call it DK weight, but again I can't be bothered with wpi. I pre-strung red beads on the cotton strand and slid one up to get tangled in place at semi-random intervals. The key takeaway from my experience on this one was to re wind the cotton thread on a bobbin before plying instead of working off the spool. It was a pain in the arse trying to yank off lengths while the spool flailed wildly about.

Stockpile

2011-03-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

With the wheel I'm spinning way faster than I can comfortably blog, so my stockpile of projects to share is building up. Today's skein is superwash wool spun from part of a grab bag of brown sheep mill end roving I bought at DBNY. There's 240 yards of worsted-ish blueness. (I still haven't bothered with wpi...) It was my second attempt at navajo plying and produced a near commercial quality yarn... now if only any of these babies I need to knit for were boys!

March Madness

2011-03-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

I spun up some scarlet and gray buckeye yarn for good luck in the NCAA tournament! O-H-I-O!

Pinky and the Brain

2011-03-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

I ordered several kilos of undyed wool online, so I suggest you get accustomed to many pictures of hand dyed roving. This is 90g of corriedale dyed as is my habit with Jacquard acid dyes. After an epic quest for powdered citric acid yesterday I gave up and bought a big jug of vinegar at Kroger. I'll have to just buy the good stuff online.

First Skein!

2011-03-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is the first skein from my Ashford Joy. It's a 70% merino, 30% silk blend roving from KnitPicks that I dyed. (see earlier posts...) It's 300 yards of fingering weight yarn. WPI - meh, I haven't gotten that far.

Ode to Joy

2011-03-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

I finally got my spinning wheel. It was my planned big purchase for when I got a "real job". I've had the job for awhile now, but it took me that long to find a store/instruction locally. Sure, I could have randomly chosen a wheel on the internet and ordered one, but which one? And what if I get the thing and can't figure it out.

Upstairs Studio to the rescue! It's a great place in La Porte, TX, not too far away from Houston. They specialize in yarn, spinning, and weaving; and have classes to learn any fiber related arts. I had a great instructor named Lizzie who got me started on the wheel and helped my explore my preferences. By the end of our three hours session I had spun and plied a wee skein of yarn and decided on a wheel.

I picked up the wheel yesterday and have already been making some great strides in yarnery. I can't wait to see what kind of trouble me and my new friend Joy whip up!

Jayne Hat

2011-03-05T21:40:00.000-08:00

My cousin wanted a Jayne hat. I harbor a strange discomfort with the concept of knitting such a thing. Why? I'm not entirely sure, but it might have something to do with my stubborn yet frequently yielding resistance to viral knitting trends. Everybody has knitted a clapotis, a koolhaas, and a Jayne hat, therefore I feel the need to be the one person who hasn't. I know deep down that the contrived bucking of fads is just as sheeplike, but the ego that generates my sense of personal special-ness wins every time. It's totally idiotic, I know. I end up making a lot of those projects anyway because there was reason they became so popular. Either they're cool, or easy to knit, or generally awesome. So I sucked it up and knit the Jayne hat.

* Hi Mom - Firefly is a sci fi TV show that came out in 2002, made by the same people as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It has quite the cult following and is now returning to TV on the Science Channel. One of the characters named Jayne received a hat just like this and wore it on the show. I suspect the re-airing is what triggered Scott's sudden hat lust.

* Hi Fellow Nerds - yes, I am aware the pom pom color distribution is wrong. I redid it but didn't take pictures of the final headwear.

A Shawl for Bev

2011-02-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

These photos have been closely guarded until I was able to conquer the inconvenience that is the USPS. *
This is the delightful Chinook Shawl Pattern that I purchased as a kit from KnitPicks a year or so ago. It was a simple lace pattern pattern to execute, even though it had pattern to work on both the knit and purl rows. I would recommend it to novice and experienced lace workers alike.

* The shawl was knitted (a few weeks) blocked (2 days) and packed to mail on a Saturday afternoon (1 day). We lose Sunday (1 day), and then the box is carted around all day Monday until I make it to a post office. Presidents' day! The post office automated kiosk is still open though, so I get all stamped up only to find the big box that takes the packages is locked shut. I could have put it through a slot for "stamped mail", but there was a sign warning that if the package was over 13oz it would be treated as hostile and returned to sender (1 day). I took it with me to work again on Tuesday and threw it in the outgoing tray to see what would happen with a post it explaining the situation. It arrived 3 days later in Columbus, Ohio with the bright pink post it still attached, which amused Bev and I both.

Orange Fingers This Week!

2011-02-20T10:03:00.001-08:00

Kettle-dying (aka I only ended up with a few blue fingers)

2011-02-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

I kettle-dyed some roving last night, 100grams of a 70% merino 30% silk blend from my beloved knitpicks. I had never dyed plain old fluffy roving in a vat of water and was terrified that it would felt, nep, or sprout legs and run away dripping dye EVERYWHERE while trying to force the door knob open with soggy, slippery bits of wet sheep and worm poop. Since that didn't happen, I was quite less disappointed when I didn't get exactly what I expected. I can't wait to get back to spinning once I finish a Valentine Day shawl for Bev.

By the way...

2011-02-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

As I knit forward on other projects and begin to hoard indecent amounts of roving, I really should make an effort to post everything else. This is how my "snowy pastures" hand spun knit up in cowl form. I tried a few different stitch patterns, but the end result looked like yarn gak. I settled on the plain stockinette to best showcase to yarn.

Bike Helmet Ear Warmers

2011-01-29T20:56:00.000-08:00

It doesn't get very cold out here in Houston more than once or twice a year. That being said, folks around these parts aren't used to it. Even those originally from normal places with snow and sleet find their blood thins after a short period of time. I decided that justified knitting up some bicycle helmet ear-warmers for an avid cyclist at work. It was pretty quick, but I recommend anybody planning to knit them, just do so in the round. Sew the things up was the least fun bit.

The Spinster Chronicles

2011-01-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

Yes my friends, I am now officially a spinster. (and I'm loving every minute of it!) Santa Claus brought me a learn to spin kit from KnitPicks with a convertible Turkish drop spindle and 100 grams of Peruvian wool roving. It took a while to figure out what I was doing, and I made lots of noob errors, but the yarn I produced makes me so happy.

It's definitely not a consistent weight throughout, but thick and thin art yarn is totally in vogue nowadays. (I think.) I predrafted the roving for the singles and then plied it with a lace-weight wool/mohair blend in green. I'm calling it "snowy pastures". There are about 85 yards and I haven't decided what to knit with it yet. Have another look with fingers for scale.

Skunk Hat

2011-01-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

It's done. It's adorable. I'm keeping it.

Moose Hat

2011-01-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus brought me a hat kit from knitpicks! The moose is done, skunk is in prep.

This is going to be a good year

2011-01-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

just the hats 'mam.

2010-12-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

I managed not to photograph the commissioned yarmulke for my uncle which was delivered over thanksgiving. (Sounds normal enough, except for the fact that he and nobody he knows up in Ohio's Amish Country is Jewish. I think he wanted a hat just small enough to cover his bald spot to be worn underneath a larger external hat.) The next request was, of course, for a larger external hat. These are those hats.
I used stash yarn and the omnipresent Jared Flood Turn a Square pattern.

edited to add: Actually he plans to wear 3 hats at once in the following order:

1.yarmulke - no picture

2.beanie

3.lumberjack hat

Sparkly Blocked

2010-11-28T10:44:00.000-08:00

Here is my sparkly shawl blocked. The sparkly bits don't photograph well, you'll have to take my word for it.

Another Shawl in the Bag

2010-11-23T17:49:00.001-08:00

P1010110, originally uploaded by trifarina.

I am officially obsessed with knitting big flat things right now, especially if they're lacy. I just dropped this guy off the needles, made from sparkly Noro Aurora I purchased several years ago. I will block it once I get it back from Dookie.

Mini-Shawl

2010-11-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

This guy is a rare pink addition to my collection of FOs, a mini shawl for my administrative assistant. I did not realize you couldn't put "printer safe" transparencies in our copiers. She had to peel melty plastic off of the fuser. Sorry.

Extermiknit!

2010-11-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

This might be the coolest thing I have ever knit.
It was also painfully tedious, so don't ask me to knit you one.
You can do it yourself with the pattern Extermiknit.

Bonus Shawl

2010-10-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

I made another one of these Flourish shawls for a coworker because they are so fast and easy. I also broke my long standing goal of using yarn only from my stash when I purchased 2 skeins of Mirasol Yarns Nuna for the job. I wanted to do it in purple and I just didn't have enough to make this happen. It was fun to go to the yarn store instead of just back and forth between my apartment, work, and the grocery.

Unfortunately, I may have to switch yarn store allegiances. It would appear that the one by my house has decided to stop carrying good, dependable, nice yarns in sensible weights. They no longer carry any Brown Sheep and all of the Malabrigo was this funky bulky/roving mess they had to hang up on the wall. When I enter a yarn shop I should have voices screaming in my head advocating for the purchase of every bright and fluffy skein. This time I took almost 30 minutes to find one I was merely "OK" with.

Christmas List - 3/3

2010-10-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

I win! I finished my absolute Christmas knitting goal; 3 lace shawls! I guess I underestimated myself and lowballed my speed estimates. This shawl was knitted from the monter skein of October third and the pattern is called Flourish (on Ravelry). It calls for worsted or aran weight yarn instead of weensy lace or sock yarn, which doesn't hurt my new land speed record. Until December I'll be randomly adding other projects to my mental fiber queue. I need to make at least one dalek for somebody at work and there are a few other ideas bumping around in my head.

Christmas List - 2/3

2010-10-16T13:10:00.001-07:00

Chugging along...

Christmas List - 1/3

2010-10-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

I plan to knit three shawls for Christmas presents. One down, two to go.

Monster Skein

2010-10-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have recently discovered a cool place to get reused and recycled craft and art supplies in Houston, the Texas Art Asylum. It's kind of a cross between a thrift store, an antique shop, and a craft supply depot. On my visit I picked up a variety of picture frames to use for an upcoming project and two skeins of undyed worsted wool from the 70's. (um, yeah... and a bunch of other stuff, but you don't really need to know about the grocery bag full of severed doll limbs.)

This monster skein (hammer for scale) are those wee skeins dyed together. I went with a tonal cornflower blue assemblage with a relatively long color repeat. The lessons of this dye session have led to two new proclamations.

1. There shall be no more super long color repeats that require looping the yarn around the length of my apartment. It's simply too difficult to keep the yarn from snarling into one giant entanglement, both while in the dyebath and later when trying to make a monster skein.

2. There shall be no more large scale dyeing until I have facilities like a yard and a hose. I was responsibly doing the dyeing in a large rubbermaid type bin, but had no choice other than dumping it out in the bathtub for disposal due to the mass and density of water. This resulted in a navy blue bathtub and panicked trip out for bleach. (Which incidentally did the trick and the landlord will never know, but I could do without the extra stress.)

Knitting in the Rain

2010-09-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

I wasn't actually out knitting in the rain, but I did wait for the torrential downpour to take pictures. Smart. I jumped back inside off my balcony when the super charged thunder started. Now I'm just trying to post this before the power goes out. This is my current progress on the first of two Christmas shawls, one for each Grandma. This one is for Grandma Brown. High-larious, am I not?

Lightly Blocking

2010-09-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

I have finished the Citron. It was so boring and painful to knit. It was just row after row of stockinette with intermittent ruffle sections containing an exponentially larger number of stitches to slog through. Blech. Never again. So say we all.

Not so fast... sneers the Tromfast

2010-08-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have been dreaming of a dedicated yarn containment unit for a good long time. Yesterday as I prepared for an epic IKEA run I decided that this would be the day. Along with several Billy bookshelves and a giant bag of carefully planned items for the kitchen and bathroom, I selected the Tromfast. I opted for assembly of this piece first, it was the smallest item. After several hours worth of questing for the damned allan wrench I was able to proceed. I laughed demonically in the face of Tromfast and declared myself the champion. But, as you can see from the picture, Tromfast had the last laugh when it was revealed that I had purchased shockingly too few bins/drawers. Damn you Tromfast!

Citron in Purple

2010-08-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

My evil plan to increase handmade accessories for work continues to progress. I'm currently slogging through Citron from Knitty WI 09. I needed something with very little stitch detail in order to showcase this lovely hand paint baby alpaca laceweight. Unfortunately, stockinette stitch with tiny yarn for gillions of stitches gets boring. How did I forget?

Possum Peddler's Shawl

2010-08-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine brought me this yarn back from her post-doc in glamorous New Zealand. It's a delightful Possum/Merino blend in vivid cranberry. This yarn was so coveted and so prized, it took me well over a year and several attempts to find the perfect project.

I recently got my sticky mitts on Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle and found the perfect project. The Wool Peddler's Shawl looked like a simple lace I could easily accomplish without too much frogging and frustration, with the added bonus of a historical fun fact I can tell anybody who notices my shawl. During the reign of good old Queen Victoria, wool peddlers would wear to market bright red shawls so they stood out from the crowd and were easily identifiable. Cool.

Thanks Dr. Katie!

Dying Cotton

2010-08-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

It's a huge pain in the buttockal region if one tries to do it properly. It involves more chemistry than microzapping some wool steeped in kool-aid. I'm not doing it again for a long long time.

The Shawl from Hell

2010-07-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

It sneaks up behind you in dark corners and dares you to finish it. You see a cute shawl in the new issue of Knitty, but you can't cast on a new one until you cast off another. With every pattern repeat the centerline becomes increasingly erratic and non-linear. There is no way to fix it without ripping out the whole thing. I have committed to only wearing this folded and wrapped and what not. I showed it to several muggles who didn't notice the hideousness, but I know it's there.

DN-easy Ipad Cozy

2010-07-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is more like it. A quick, easy, and satisfying project that will fly off the needles in a night or two. The double helix cable is easy peasy to work up and I have been told is surprisingly accurate. (I prefer my science dead, with all DNA bits rotten away...)

Knee warmers or volleyball/carpet laying accesories?

2010-06-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

These damn knee warmers have been a bane and a pox on both my houses for over a year now, probably even longer if I cared enough at this point to do the math. The concept seemed simple enough, but without a pattern I found myself doing more pondering than knitting. You may recall the last time you saw these bad boys they consisted of little more than a straight ribbed tube. I added an afterthought heel for the patellar covering, but perhaps the 90 degree angle is too severe.

Tough cookies pal, they're done now and would be nigh on impossible to rip out and redo. Why? Because I thrummed them pretty good, that's why. The tufts of roving felted to a certain degree almost instantaneously while working. Here's a peek at the inside.

I attended a social event.

2010-06-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

There's even photographic proof.

My palynologically minded friend and I attended the Etsy Houston Craft Party at Sew Crafty in the Heights. The event was pretty well attended and featured free snacks, beverages, and project ideas. The lovely item you see modeled here is a delightful fabric covered bulletin board that now resides in my entryway/kitchen/living room. One of the other cool areas focused on fusing plastic bags from the grocery and whatnot to make new, sturdy items. I may have to get an iron.

Speed Post!

2010-06-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

Cupric Cryptozoology

2010-06-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

I introduce to you the brachiolope, a mysterious hybrid of... a brachiosaurus and an antelope? I guess?

Well, if you like ellipses, vertebrates, or science, I encourage you to check out the podcast Science Sort Of... It's the reason I finally broke down and bought a replacement for my runaway ipod.

Having Friends is Neat

2010-06-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who brought me some yarn from WALES! How cool is that?! I'm working on some wrist warmers to wear at work.

(Yes, I live and work in Houston. Yes it is hot outside. Yes I do actually need them because I work in a dark meatlocker.)

Knee Warmers

2010-05-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

Procrastination must end and UFO's (unfinished objects) are no longer allowed in my house. OK, a few are fine, but I have decided to cull the herd and make the pile a little shorter. First off, we have the intermediate phase of a UFC (unfinished concept.). Pictured above are a pair of kneewarmers in prep. for my uncle the deerslayer. Apparently his knees get really cold while laying in wait for a nice rack to mosey on by, and he asked for something like this. It has been more than a year for sure, maybe even two since the original description was passed down to me. I think I was dragging my feet because I didn't have a pattern and I didn't want them to be crappy. The concept is a tube made up of 1x1 ribbing for maximum elasticity, with an afterthought heel for the knee bend. I'm also going to try thrumming in the heel/knee. Stay tuned.

Tubercle-d!

2010-05-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

I found this glass bauble at the big box craft store for 3 bucks. It reminded me of an ammonite with tubercles on its keel and I had to bring it home with me. With the new ornament I also found a perfect excuse to make my first attempt at chain maille jewelry. The pattern is called barrel weave and it was tricky at first, but OK for a beginner.

The Scratchiest Blanket Ever

2010-05-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

I trafficked my ~12 year old super Bond knitting machine to Texas (two regular ones bolted together) after x-mas for the express purpose of making this blanket. I found a new friend who loves scratchy blankets. She has a favorite that was crocheted eons ago and is starting to literally disintegrate. Her mother made her 5-6 new ones to replace it, but they were too bulky. It seemed to me a knitted one would be more lightweight. There was no way I was going to hand knit a giant blanket with red heart specially selected by touch test for maximum irritation at the nearest Michaels. It is done, and it is scratchy…

The in progress shot above might be a little too revealing, but I decided to share it anyway. You see that while I may be messy and cluttered, it is only superficially "dirty" as evidenced by a plethora of hand and dish cleaning agents as well as Lysol wipes. My dietary staples of velveeta shells and cheese overshadow a bag of clementines that have been pushed to the side. And of course I have a tin of pickle shaped band-aids perched expectantly near my Invasion of the Monster Women lunch/tool box.

Metalsmithery

2010-05-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

I'm trying some new things, like welding metal together. I'm not very good at it yet and need extensive supervision at this point, but it's just so cool. This is a radiolarian pendant I'm working on. After I cut out the shape in copper, I proceeded to file the edges down in preparation for the next step. I didn't realize until I after I fashioned the death star that I accidentally filed each side of the points at a perfect 45 degree angle. So cute, so deadly. (I filed those down yet, I'm far too clumsy to be walking around town with WMDs.)

Yes, Blocking Works Wonders

2010-04-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

The scarf now passes my test for giftworthiness, I want to keep it. This lacy, girly, useless scarf will be sent off to a lady soldier in Afghanistan as soon as I get my act together.

I'm feeling a bit druzy...

2010-04-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is the last of my March Madness jewelry making binge, and one of my favorites too. The chain is pretty long so it makes for a dramatic touch and the heavy quartz blob could be used for self defense in a pinch.

Scarf In Progress

2010-04-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

This bad boy is currently weighing in at 1.5 balls of Rowan Damask. I'm a bit concerned about the finished product because the yarn loops that are intended to look graceful and lacy keep catching on my fingers and other ungainly protuberances, resulting in a pulled out, shaggy looking mess. Maybe with blocking... we shal see.

Just Beads

2010-04-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a bad geologist

2010-03-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

I had to google "peacock stone" to try and figure out what this stuff was. Michael's crafts isn't so good at labeling with the chemical formula. I should consider myself lucky for getting "peacock stone". One questionable internet source suggested it was also known as bomite, but that looks like an alias for chalcopyrite, which this is not. (though chalcopyrite is sometimes referred to as "peacock ore.") The circular bodies do look a bit like oncolites, but I don't get a particularly sedimentary vibe from these guys, and they would have had to have been replaced by silica. Unfortunately, I'm still not sure. I can't find my mineralogy textbook anywhere either.

One for me, one for you

2010-03-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

And then this similarly citrine laced combo goes to a friend at work.

Bear with me

2010-03-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

All you fellow fiber fiends are going to have to bear with a few more jewelry posts. My newly computer intensive job leaves my hands a bit sensitive at the end of the day, and so the dusky knitting habits have been subjected to a level of self restraint unknown since the broken thumb incident of last year. In lieu of fast paced knitting and permanent neuro-muscular damage, jewelry is being made in the evenings. (there is still yarn being used, I just have no FO's...)

This set is for me. I'm a real square.

And still there was more...

2010-03-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

Garnets and ammonites, how can you go wrong?

More Jewelry

2010-03-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

I went to the craft store for two things, but all the beads were half off. What was I supposed to do?

Bourgeoisie Cross Stitch

2010-03-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

It physically pained me to embroider a happy polka dotted kitty cat on this baby blanket. I would have rather given it themes such "avenging dalek", "Timmy the trilobite survives predation", or try out some oil industry play on words with a derrick shooting out babies ("baby oil"). But I realize not everybody shares my sense of humor, so happy polka dotted kitty cat it is.

I made a pretty

2010-03-07T11:55:00.001-08:00

It's a necklace. I made it. Glass beads and the pendant is colonial rugose coral.

Baby Straightjacket

2010-02-28T19:33:00.001-08:00

003, originally uploaded by trifarina.

This did not turn out anything like I expected. I bought the yarn, Plymouth bear hugs, packaged like a kit in a ball, simply too gimmicky for me to resist. The pattern and buttons for the baby sweater were cozily tucked inside.

Well, I didn't read the pattern right and went with all garter stitch. I also lost the bear buttons. The finished cloth is heavy; almost too heavy for any garment let alone one for an infant. Oh well.

I'm weaving things.

2010-02-22T19:44:00.001-08:00

007, originally uploaded by trifarina.

I don't know what to do with all of them, but I can't stop. These are just dishcloth cotton and you get 5 or so cloths per ball. A little too small for a washcloth or dishcloth, but it's so much fun. (I'm also working on squares for an afghan.)

February is American Heart Month

2010-02-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

Did you know that February was American Heart Month? Well, somebody must have, as they took the opportunity to decorate lots of signs and art at the Texas Heart Institute with some rather festive crocheted hearts, on Valentine's Day no less! Good thing I happened to be in the neighborhood to snap some pics.

Weave On!

2010-01-31T12:30:00.000-08:00

I'm working on about 100 things at once right now. I don't have enough free time for all of my creativity to work itself out over the weekends between doing laundry and emptying the dishwasher; so when I take a second to play with the yarn, things have a tendency to get out of control. I don't have any finished projects to show you (other than a highly classified one that you'll have to wait for). But, I did recently acquire some lap weaving looms from Hazel Rose Looms. Here's a taste.

Progress Report

2010-01-17T18:32:00.000-08:00

Progress: fair to good
Momentum: waning
Alternate projects with hotter deadlines: imminent

In other words, take a good look now, she's going on hiatus.

Stashing...

2010-01-06T14:36:00.001-08:00

004, originally uploaded by trifarina.

I also picked up a few too many skeins of Elisabeth Lavold's Silky Wool. I love the stuff.

Uncle!

2010-01-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

This yarn makes my heart sing. It is a 2-ply fingering weight wool that brushed my hand on its way to the pinnacle of tweedy perfection. The complexity of colors that blend together in this colorway (almond) is remarkable and the slightly rough feel adds an understated twinge of authenticity. I bought five skeins of this Isager Strik Højlandsgarn (Highland Yarn) at the Knitters Mercantile with intentions of crafting an incredibly complicated shetland lace shawl from the book Knits from the North Sea. After attempting several shawls from different books, I was forced to cry uncle and decided to set the bar for myself a touch lower. This quick and enjoyable knit is Ene's Scarf by Nancy Bush from Scarf Style.

Converts

2009-12-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

Is there anything on this earth superior to learning new things? I say no; however, watching someone else develop new skills that you yourself treasure is a close second.

My brother was initially confused when he ripped open a package of yarn under the tree and handed it over to me, assuming that Santa had mixed up the gifts. Nope. It was a learn to knit hat and scarf kit from the holy KnitPicks. I showed him a few things and he was off! Surprising to me, he has turned out to be a British knitter, whereas I am Continental. Talk about throwing a whole new level of complexity into the eons old nature vs nurture debate. You may not be able to tell from the picture, but these are the most consistent stitches a beginner has ever produced.

You know what really made my day though? We were going to see a movie and when I told him it was time to leave, he said, "OK, just let me finish this row." Awesome.

Yarn Pile!

2009-12-26T12:04:00.001-08:00

005, originally uploaded by trifarina.

Santa brought me a kit from Knitpicks, the East Meets West Satchel. Along with the weighty tome they refer to as a pattern, comes a veritable Mount Everest of yarn. I am at once thrilled, concerned, and inspired...

Emergency Knitting!

2009-12-19T16:20:00.001-08:00

002, originally uploaded by trifarina.

This year I self-gifted a marginal necessity, the Amazon Kindle. (OK, it was mostly the result of peer pressure from my Mom and brother...)

I realized last night that my inaugural Kindle flight would be risky without something to keep away the scratches. I have it on good authority that an official kindle cover will be waiting under the tree, but obviously, I had to fly to get TO the tree. What a conundrum.
The result is a surprisingly satisfying, quickly knitted tube sweater (with a hole in the bottom for the charging cord). Yea!

Yellow Three Ways

2009-12-13T12:09:00.001-08:00

001, originally uploaded by trifarina.

What you see in front of you is the octopus from last week, felted fail hat, and passable baby hat with felted starburst ornamentation. The fail doesn't look quite as ridiculous in this photo, but I assure you it's still too itchy for baby head applications. Now I have an x-mas present for my Mom's cat.

The passable hat is made of a new yarn I found at Yarns 2 Ewe, Plymouth Yarn Baby Boutique. It's very soft and touchable, but unfortunately, like almost every other microfiber yarn I've worked with it is splitty beyond imagination.

Good Morning!

2009-12-08T20:49:00.001-08:00

006, originally uploaded by trifarina.

Or whatever time it happens to be where you are! Based on my ravelry statistics, this guy makes octopus number 9. I finally perfected the mantle to tentacle grafting, and I think this might be the best one yet. The yarn is Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool that I colored with Jaquard acid dye. He's going to a baby and I made a matching hat that did not turn out so well. I need to do some thinking about that one... maybe socks instead?

The Family Jewels

2009-12-06T12:28:00.001-08:00

ammonite, originally uploaded by trifarina.

I recently received a surprise gift in the mail from a friend who made me a necklace. It was quite nice and reminded me of a time when I made jewelry myself...

Fast forward to last night, the madness has begun. Sitting on my sofa surrounded by beads flying in the air and wee tiny pliers crimping everything in sight. The first few attempts were awful. I will be "frogging" them and using the beads for decidedly more tasteful objects in the future.

But this one, this one I like. It has an ammonite pendant I purchased for cheap on the ebay, and is strung with chips of smokey quartz and beads. (The strand is curled up here, it's actually about 52 cm in length.)

Something in the Water...

2009-11-22T15:06:00.001-08:00

003, originally uploaded by trifarina.

Really, there is almost certainly something in the water out here. My baby knitting continues with this simple crocheted blanket in Lion Brand Recycled Cotton. It turned out almost too heavy, I guess they could use it as a rug...

Gnome baby

2009-11-18T17:04:00.001-08:00

004, originally uploaded by trifarina.

This is a rather successful attempt at felting the infamous Crystal Palace baby pixie hat. Yes, I do think I'm special.