Say Cheese!

My skein and balling hell:

Tabloid headline aside, in order to transform a skein from Mystical Creation Yarns you need:

1. An infinitely adjustable swift and/or


2. Nerves of steel and/or


3. No sense of danger.

I didn’t have 1, but I did have 2 and 3.

So, after four days of much swearing and untangling I have this:



The colour moves from copper, to yellow, peach and khaki green. I love it!

The name for balls I made is "cheeses" - hence the title.

EDITED for Lou: It's a cotton/rayon mix from Mysical Creation Yarns in "Copper Desert" colourway (or rather colorway, since it's American!)

Lava Flow/Sockapal2za socks:


I think “slowly but surely” would be a good truism to attach to these socks. I like the pattern and I love the fact that I’m knitting them for someone I’ve never met, but there’s no shaping, no yarn overs, no cabling, just a “slip one purlwise” every five stitches.




Thanks go to Bagpuss for ably modelling the socks! Just in case you think I'm completely mad (you didn't already?) he is a pyjama case as well as being cute! Plus - no claws to dig into my knitwear!

I'm now just one and a half inches off starting the toe, so I should be finished in time. Good news for my sock pal!

Rogue:

I’ve had the pattern for ages (and the yarn for even longer) and I hope that this will be the year I’ll finally cast on!

The yarn I have is the discontinued Rowan Magpie Tweed in the colourway Jewel. It’s purple with little flecks of red, green and brown in.


My first cardigan:

OK, not really my first cardigan, but it will be the first cardigan I’ve designed wholly from scratch. I’m using Knitting from the Top for the instruction part of it and the Harmony Guide for Aran Stitches for the cables. It will be a saddle-shoulder, round neck cardigan for my mum in a cotton/acrylic yarn from Elann.

Essays galore!

I've got a 3000 word infectious disease essay to do this week and then my final, final, ever assignment next week. After that, I'll collapse in a jibbering heap for two day before starting on my revision. Oh joy.

See you the other side of leishmaniasis!

Hats off to ya!

Any pattern purchased between the 14th of July to the 21st of July 2006, will be delivered after the 21st. Thank you for your understanding.

Price: £ 1 (Funded PayPal with debit card or bank transfer) or £ 1.25 (PayPal with credit card)
Harry: a top-down hat knit-to-fit your measurements in any yarn you choose.

Funded PayPal

Credit Card PayPal

Since this hat is my most successful self-designed thing ever (I didn't have to rip back, everything went to plan, it fitted the recipient and he loved it), I've decided to offer it for sale.

It's knit from the top down using double-pointed needles or two circular needles and it's knit to fit your measurements.

The hat shown above used just 76m/84 yds of a yarn that worked up at 9 sts over 4"/10 cm. I used 2 balls of Patons Funky Chunky yarn (38 m/42 yds per 50g/2oz), for the model to fit my adult brother's head. A larger (or smaller) hat will need more (or less) yarn than that stated. If you use a thinner yarn, you will also need a greater amount of yardage.



The hat shown above is for a premature/preemie baby and is knit in a DK (double knit) weight yarn on US7/4 mm needles. It took me a little under three hours to knit this.

The pattern costs just £1 (that's around US$1.80). Everything money-wise is dealt with by PayPal, but the actual pattern delivery (by email) will be done by me becuase I don't know how to do the whole secure website thing. It will be delivered electronically in PDF format. If you want a hard copy, or have problems viewing PDFs, contact me and I see if I can work something out (no promises though!).

Please bear in mind any time difference and that when you order I may be asleep! If you don't hear anything within 48 hours, please email me using the link in my sidebar, just to check I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth!


NOTE: the model is my "Cabbage Patch" style doll. He doesn't complain when you need to keep taking pictures and he sits still!

One lotus blossom flower, two lotus blossom flower ...

I've been knitty.com RAKed:

Look what I got!



Edit: I completely frelled up. Someone else had said that they would send me some Kool-aid and I assumed that this was it. NEVER assume anything. So, thank a thousand fold zknitter, from the knittyboard, and I am soooooooo sorry for the mix up.

On Mariposa:

I’m still undecided on whether I like her enough to keep her – useful, aren’t I? Constructive criticism will be welcomed (as long as it’s not of the “God, you’re so fat, that’s why it doesn’t suit you” variety – as a certain relative of mine might say). I wore her today and I'm warming to keeping her.


All things bloggy:

I've fixed the problem with the display in Internet Explorer and re-jigged a few things like the Google search box in the sidebar (you can use it to search the blog or the internet). If you want to search for a project I did sometime in the past, use the search box on the blog, or the one on my home page. I'm working on installing a search box on all the pages on my web site, to make things a bit easier to find. All of this is not too bad for someone who learnt her HTML in the dark days of the internet before there were images (yes, all those stories you were told are true!).

Oh, and how's this font? Better or worse?


Amble:



I’ve done one repeat on the first sock and, despite a few fluff-ups due to not concentrating hard enough, it’s going well.

Commenting on comments:

I got a comment from Margene about my Mariposa. As in the Margene. As in Utah, Zeneedle, Margene. It's not right that I should be this excited, is it?


Lava Flow socks:

I’ve really got into the rhythm of these socks now, and they are going fast because I’m only working the patterning on the top side of the sock. The reason for this is twofold; firstly, I think it would be a bit uncomfortable to walk on a slip stitch pattern and secondly, the diameter of my pal’s feet is fractionally larger than their ankle diameter, so that should help it fit better.


My ring:

No, nothing with diamonds! It's for all us "Knitting Amys", since there are quite a few of us around.
I've set up a blog and to join click here.


Lotus Blossom Shawl.

Ahh, yes. I was sitting shivering the other day wrapped in my super-cheap viscose "pashmina" and I suddenly remembered my merino wool shawl was lying there all unloved.




I'm increasing four stitches every other row so, obviously, each row gets longer and longer. I've just got one more repeat of the "blossom" part of the shawl and then I've got the bobble bind-off to do. Wish me luck!

Yarn acquisition:

This lurvly yarn arrived the other day:

Without flash:



With flash (to show the sheen from the rayon):



It's Cotton Rayon Sport from Mystical Creation Yarns in the States. I got it via the Yarn Co-op on Yahoo Groups. The colourway is called "Copper Desert".

I'm thinking of a 3-to-2 Any Gauge Sweater, working the diagonal bit to my shoulder-to-shoulder measurements and adding side panels so it fits more like a set-in sleeve than a drop shoulder top. I already have the pattern, so a quick tension square will tell me what the yarn wants to be!

Problems with this blog in IE - FIXED

Turns out there was one image in one post that was pushing everthing out of kilter. It's all good now.

Carry on!


I've just notice that my blog isn't displaying properly in Internet Explorer (v. 6) - the sidebar content in pushed to the bottom of the page instead of being displayed inline.

I've emailed Blogger, but in the meantime if anyone who knows HTML wants to look over my code and see if there is anything obviously wrong, feel free. Alternatively, use Firefox - it's free and my blog displays fine in it!

Introducing Ms. Mariposa

Finally, she is complete.








I'm not overly thrilled with it (to do with me, not the pattern) and her future looks uncertain! It can't be good that I'm thumbing through some past issues of Rowan magazines I bought for inspiration!

All the information (and more) is detailed over on it's own little project page.

Random:

Apparently, in Portuguese "Dyed in the Wool" translates as Tingido nas las. Thanks to the Brazilian looking for a progress picture of mohair mittens. It gets cold there, then?

New plans:

I'm really looking forward to doing some "Knitting from the Top" - primarily Cathode and Tivoli T, but ultimately I'd like to have enough confidence to design something myself. I own this book:



and I've used it to knit my Dad a jumper, but never anything for myself.

Firstly, I have some socks and masses of lace to knit before I think of starting anything else. I'd love to have nothing in my projects progress thing in the sidebar, so that I can focus everything on the saddle-shoulder cardigan I'm planning for my mum.

I do.

I've finished the first half of it and really does benefit from a good blocking. I went with a thorough misting of water and pinned it out on a towel, on top of a folded duvet.





The petal pattern isn't as pronounced in my DK yarn as it is in the pattern, but I still like it.

Sockapal2za/Lava Flow socks.

I've done the short row garter stitch heel (reasons forthcoming after I've sent them, just in case therecipientt reads this blog) and you can see it beingablyymodeledd here by a tennis ball:

Side one:



Side two:



Back view:



Both side-by-side:



I tried really hard to get the stripes to match, but I pulled out what seemed to be half the ball and still couldn't find a matching piece. I gave up and started anyway. I am so weak.

Amble-ing along

Mariposa:





You are kidding, right? How long does it take to knit a couple of straight straps for a tank top?

Apparently, the answer is "Longer than you'd think". I seem to have lost my motivation (if you find it can you post it back to me) and I can't seem to finish this stinking thing. I'm trying. I really am.


Sockapal2za:



And because all knitters love to see the inside of stuff:



A couple more rounds of the pattern and I'll be ready for the heels. These may become my "Lost" socks (thank you Channel 4!)

Cotton Angora vs. Tempting:



And showing the mock in-the-round how-to:



The yarn won and the garment lost. Absolutely no stretch what-so-ever. Rethink ahoy! My thought's go along the following lines: Tivoli (from Grumperina), Laverne (Berroco) or Shapely Tank (Whiteliesdesigns). The theme? Simple, stocking stitch tops with shaping, that I can wear a proper bra under.

Toys:

I took delivery of a Jean Greenhowe book this morning. I am truly a girl now. I plan to knit the Tospy-Turvy doll to show happy & well/unhappy & ill, just to give everyone a fair duck-and-cover warning!





Random:

White Stripes - best thing since the Beatles or a case of the Emporer's New Clothes: discuss.


I do/I don't:



Ahh, Ha! Thought I'd forgotten about this, didn't ya! I'm now just a few repeats off finishing the first sleeve. It needs a serious blocking. Any advice for blocking a cotton/acrylic mix?


And finally:

Amble (Six Sox KAL):

This pattern is definately not TV knitting. I have to actually concentrate on these. I'm finding the Left Twist difficult, but since they are for my mum, I'm carrying on bravely!



By the way, this yarn is like knitting with cream. It is so incredibly soft. Mmmmmm......

EDIT: Doh! It helps if you actually mention the yarn that knits like cream: Regia Silk that I got from Opitec UK.

The one without the finished Mariposa

Can you tell that I've been watching re-runs of Friends recently?

I've been really ill lately, so Mariposa isn't quite finished. And I'm not too sure about it either.... Well, I'll do the straps and see what I feel about it then.


I'm a pattern tester:

I signed up to Stefanie Japel's test lab, not expecting anything really. She sent out an appeal to test one of her "Pennywise" projects, which I duly signed up for and was accepted. Yay! I worked up a scarf in Gedifra's "Dandy" and OzYarn sock wool (both discontinued).









I see it more like jewellery than anything to keep me warm!


Six Soxs KAL:

So, what did I say in my last post about my wishes for the next sock?

I'm now just waiting for the next 6 Sox pattern to come on the 1st of August and see if I like that any better (I'm hoping for a simple k/p pattern or lace).

And what did I get? A really nice knit/purl patterned sock.



WooHoo! (Amy dances around room. She looks up and realises that the neighbours are looking at her funny. She sits down and pretends that nothing happened.)
I'm doing these for my mum in Regia Silk in what is endearingly called "Sand" - much better than beige. I promised her that I'd randomly present her with socks throughout the year because getting seventeen pairs of socks for Christmas ain't fun!

Criticism:

I've been reading with interest Annie Modesitt's comments about criticism and critique. I do reviews of the magazines I get (when I can be bothered) from a personal stand point. For example, I don't like fun fur ponchos or teeny-tiny cropped tops or knitted trousers or crocheted bikinis. And I'll say so. However, where there is a design that it not quite me, I try to explain what I don't like and how I would change it to suit me. I hope I have never/will never descend into personal attacks on the designers themselves. After all, these designs did make it into the magazine, so someone must like them! I've decided that, unless paid vast amounts of money or subjected to flattery, I'll only say what I do like. I don't really "do" negativity in my real life, so it wont start in my virtual life either.

New stuff:

I've added a search tool to my side bar. I've also included one on my homepage, to make it easier to find the projects I've finished. Please bear in mind that if you choose to search "the web" I'm not responsible for what comes up, so be careful!

How cool is this?



Brought to you be the same people who give you knitty.com. I submitted a design to this book (which wasn't accepted) but I've still been looking forward to it for a while now. It's out in April, but you can pre-order it now.

Oh, yes and I :cough, cough: accidentally bought some of this from here. Well, it was in the sale, I had a voucher and there was free P&P. And it will become Tempting. Approprate, really!

Next time:

Hopefully my health will have picked up enough to be able to finish Mariposa and have some real progress to show on my Sockapal2za socks.