oh yeah...

this is what it's like to be home. No real time to myself, feelings of guilt if I'm out for too long, and messing up on my knitting when possible. Welcome to Miami!

ok It isn't that bad, but still, it's completely different then just hanging at my own place as in the BF doesn't care if I'm totally ignoring him with my knitting and whatnot. It's definately different here than when I used to be a full time resident of chez parents. Here are a few things I noticed:

The rents have totally taken over both mine and my brother's rooms. I'm a guest in my own place.
No one cooks anymore. There's food in the kitchen, but I've yet to see anyone cook it or eat it.
They seem to be a little more annoying than one I used to live here. Just a smidge I swear.
The Mother is not that impressed with my knitting ("have you ever made anything big?" yes I tell you!) but yet constantly asks me to knit her stuff (then it turns out to be crochet).
I'm constantly asked why I don't crochet, "it's better than knitting" she says. Gasp!
The Mother's bird hates me. It does, really.
The Father sorta stays out of everything, he kinda just lives here.

A few things I have noticed about myself:

I hate birds.
I hate heat and humidity.
I'm extremely forgetful: I forgot my flat iron!
I hate humidity!
I can make gourmet meals at home, but not here! I can't even make oatmeal for crying out loud!
I like to be alone.
I like to knit in groups.
Sometimes I'm a bad friend.

Let me expand on those last few here. I kinda new I was coming home for a while, I just wasn't exact on the date. I could have stopped by my friend's house on the way down, but I didn't even tell her. I haven't even told the few friends that are still around that I'm in town. I can easily call them and say "hey, I'm here!" but I just don't. Yet somehow I'm willing, or is it rather, to hang out with people I don't know to drink coffee and knit. I was invited to a SnB last night in South Beach. I definately would have gone if I would have had the energy. Instead, I'm going to my old lys to see what's going on there tomorrow, meeting with someone from the SoBe group tomorrow night, and probably going to a new (to me) yarn store for some more group knitting. I tell you, I'm going crazy. Not Tom Cruise crazy, but still there has to be something wrong with me that makes me not want to call anyone I know so that I can see them. I think it's because in the back of my mind I know that I won't get any knitting done if I hang with them. Yep, I'm a bad friend with problems. (I'll probably just call them in five minutes)

ok that was a long rant. Knitting news, umm let's see. I finished knitting the shrug, not I have to graft the two pieces together.

The Mother wants me to knit this hat for her. She's been asking for it for over a year, though she'll tell you it's been just a few months. I finally found a pic of it last night. I swear the pic I have is better than this, but I'm trying out the blogger picture thing. (I think I'll stick with flickr) Looks easy enough, but does anyone have any suggestions? I think what's confusing me is that little flap under the hat. Is it pinned on?

This is a hat I want to knit up for myself. I need to find a better pic of it. You would think the Chanel site would be some help, but nope. In case you want to know, yep that's Ashley Olsen in this month's Bazaar.

oh and one last thing, I want one of these! I saw them over at uglyagnes and they are available here. Now I have to decide if I want it as a brooch or as a hair pin. Unfortunately, this pink and brown one is sold out. There's a cool yellow and gray one still available, so that may be the one I get.

I am insanely tired

And after a long boring drive, with rain and traffic jams, I'm glad to be home! It got so boring at some points, that I was listening to the Price is Right on the radio! I didn't feel like listening to my iPod and there were just no good stations at that little section.

I'm so tired that I don't even remember what I was going to write here. Well, that and my mother keeps distracting me. Hopefully it will come to me in the morning and then I can write a more exciting post. I had started typing around a 8:45, where the hell did all the time go?

Just wanted to let you guys know I'm alive and I made it home alright.

Hopefully, in the next few days I'll get to meet some Miami knitters/bloggers. If you are down here drop me a line, I would love to meet up.

How I Feel Right Now

I just realized that I didn't bring any toothpaste with me, my back sorta hurts, I need some expresso, and I miss the bf terribly.

I'll post again when I make it home, which should be in the next 7 hours.

On the road again...

This is a historic moment, are you ready? I'm blogging from a hotel room in wet, humid Savannah! Fine, it isn't that "historic", but you have to admit it's sorta funny. I specifically looked for a hotel with wifi, just so I could reach out to my friends out in cyber space.

What is that you say? Why am I in Savannah? Yes, that's right, Georgia! I'm driving down to my parents' house in Miami and I didn't really plan very well. I swear this morning I still didn't know if I was going today or tomorrow. I started driving extremely bright and early....at ten in the morning. Yeah, I don't buy that early bird crap. I took my time in getting down here, and actually I was going to drive for another hour or two, but then I thought it would be nice to get online and relax. So I checked into a Holiday Inn Express all by my lonesome about an hour ago. The bf had to stay behind because he has this thing called "work" that apparently pays for the roof over my head and the yarn in my stash. I can't imagine that life.

Anyway, during my 12 hours of meditation I realized that there are a few conspiracy theories that I actually believe in. No, I don't believe in Area 51 or any JFK ones, but I do believe that stores change the posted original price on "sale items", that highway "work areas" are speed traps, and that they are put up during the holidays to slow drivers down. Why do I think this? Because I was stuck in traffic for no apparent reason. Someone just kept leaving random orange cones everywhere and closing lanes for fun. Somehow, everytime I thought "oh I'll stop at the next stop though I have to pee to the extreme", there was some sort of traffic jam that I thought I was going to explode in. I also figured out that I trully hate other drivers. What about my car says, "please get right in front of me very slowly for no apparent reason?" Did someone put a bumper sticker on my car that asks drivers of huge SUV's to get right on top of me, especially when it's pouring? I'll have to check tomorrow morning before I leave.

Oh, weird fact, some Burger King's in South Carolina have live music acts at night. I stopped at the first exit in S.C. for dinner (ex 193 maybe) and walked into BK and wondered why they were pumping their music so loudly. As I was ordering my food I saw the sign that read "live music Tues June 28 630 pm". I turned around and there he was, an old man with a keyboard and mic. This BK must be some sort of hangout for senior citizens or something, because there were no young people in there (other than the workers that is). I felt like I was in the twilight zone, when did BK become the cool coffee house in SC? One more thing, if you live in SC or got to the University of South Carolina, can you please not call it USC? USC = University of Southern California! Please just stop. I won't fall for it.

After driving for 12 hours, you can't blame me for not having any knitting news, but I sorta do. I finally payed for my place in the Teva Durham workshop at Rosie's (I'm so excited!). Lisa told me what I needed to bring: two skeins of worsted weight yarn, some needles to go with them, one skein of chunky yarn, and 16" circs to go with it. Now I need to decide what to bring from my stash (stashbusting, you have to love it). Oh crap, I just remembered that I left my yarn for orangina at home! I wanted to start that this week. Well, I brought the shrug to finally finish it, the mesh tank to get started on, and some yarn to retry the back of the bias tank so I'll be busy enough.

For your viewing pleasure, proof that I am in a hotel:

How long

does it take to get your interweave knits? I looked at my subscription page and it said the fall issue was mailed on the 14th....umm it's the 27th so where is it? Has anybody else gotten their copy? I bet now that I said something I'll get it in the mail tomorrow (let's hope)

Insanely Jealous

I've been loving looking through everybody's blogs and seeing the hauls they scored at the Renegade Craft Fair. I should have given someone money so they could have picked up something for me. Oh well, there will be other fairs and other things to buy.

What did I do instead? I did shopping of a different sort. A couple of us went to South Street to shop and eat and I found some great deals. I'm happy to say the sandals have been replaced with fabulous shoes (did I just say fabulous?! wth). I went to the back of Benjamin Lovell, the craziest sale section of any shoes store I've been to, and searched and dug through piles of shoes. I usually hate being in a messy store, but there weren't any exciting shoes in the regular section. I'm glad I plowed through. First up some pink shoes!


Sorry the color is a little off, but it's really cloudy today and I think I forgot to change my camera setting back. But anyway, these are super comfortable Nike's, which is a big departure for me (I'm usually a puma girl for hanging out shoes). I liked these so much that I went back and looked for some more:


a different version in teal. I'm happy, the bf is happy, everyone is happy!

We finally went to the new adiddas store, which was surreal. It was all white, with the shoes on white tables or hanging from white boards, and a constant video of people dancing in the back. The employees were ultra hip, it almost seemed like they moved them here straight from Harajuka. I didn't buy anything because adiddas just don't fit me right and the shoe I wanted my friend to get wasn't available in his size. It was so freaking hot that we eventually decided to come back home. Our schedule was so off that we didn't have dinner till 11! So after dinner and two glasses of wine I passed out around 1230am.

Sunday was fun. I met my new friend Lauren (hey Lauren!) at Sophie's to look around for inspiration and then knit somewhere. She scored a ton of sale yarn, but I was good and only got myself a pattern book that I've been lusting forever:



everything was 15% off so you can't blame me here for finally getting this. We also got to place our names in a raffle at the antique row food festival. I, of course, put two of my tickets in the Sophie basket and then one in a big booze basket. Who knows if anyone is going to win, but wish us luck!

Again, it was super hot! So we seeked some shelter over at the Mean Bean, where we knitted for hours and felt like we were on Cheers or some other show. There were just so many characters that walked in and sucked us into their lives for a few minutes. I'm finally half way through the second sleeve of the neverending bias shrug. So who knows, maybe I'll have a FO by tonight or at least by tomorrow. I know you are all holding your breath! Don't pretend like you aren't. Oh, Craig, if you are reading this...Ed says hi! We saw him at the Mean Bean, so weird how eventually you can be connected to so many people.

A little bit about my onion..

because, apparently, it counts.

Yeah I said I was going to post yesterday, but somehow I didn't. Well, I know how. The bf is hooked on 24 and has been watching all of season one for the past two weeks. Last night I think he made me watch three or four episodes in a row! I just go along with it, don't get me wrong I like the show as well it's just that I don't like sitting for that many hours straight in a row. Anyway, I got some knitting done while Jack Bauer got captured, escaped, and captured again. I finished the "body" of the tulle bag (is it really a body when its just one long rectangle?). It was dreadfully boring to knit and for some reason took forever. At least I get to the fun part now of lining and decorating. It will have to wait a bit though since I want to finish my shrug. I'm working on the second sleeve now and I'm halfway through the first half (so I guess I could have said I' m a quarter of the way done). I also picked up my "24" scarf last night so I should be done with that soon. Sorry I'm not posting any pics today, but it would be dreadfully boring. (ie here's a black square, here's an unfinished sleeve).


Everyone that's going to the renegade fair this weekend, have fun for me!!

Thanks :)

Just wanted to get a quick post in to thank you guys for answering my q's. I do have another one in the comments of the last post, I'll wait....

oh So I'm going to time myself this weekend to see if this would be worth it and figure out how much I would charge. My friend's store is mid to high end (you know 200 dollar jeans and 100 dollar skirts that sell like hotcakes) so that will also have to go into consideration. I'll be heading there now to get suggestions.

I'll post later this afternoon.

The BF does good

You can tell the BF and I have been together for over five years, how else do you explain this yarn?! 200 yds of yummy goodness; handyed cashmere in pinks and greys. I think this will be a scarf, since I don't have a hat pattern that I want to make with this. Wristlets/arm warmers are my other choice. I'll have to check out my patterns for gauge and yardage.

Weird fact of the day: knit fix is actually a company for knitting bags and needle holders. So if I wanted to get my own site I would need a new name. I think I need a new name anyway because my friend wants me to knit scarves for her boutique. I'm pretty happy about this since I've been looking for a new job and I figure I could do this for the fall and winter. Any reasons I shouldn't do it? I've already looked for some web addresses to see if they are available and nope a lot of them aren't (a lot of nonexistent sites are taken). The winners right now are pureknits (or pure knit), kniter, and knitterati (though I'm not sure how I feel about that one). Any suggestions? I figure whatever I pick I can make it a store/blog site.

You've talked me into it!

I knew in the back of my mind that it would be fine, but I needed to hear it from other knitters. I'll be signing up for the Teva Workshop! And no I won't be making that in Fair Isle (hate it!), though I don't even know if that's what you make in the class. It says designing with short rows, so who knows.

I've been working away on the tulle bag, which is slow going since I'm knitting with tulle! That was kind of obvious, huh? It's a monotonous knit, the only thing that keeps it interesting is the material, so it only gets my attention while I'm watching tv or I'm procrastinating on something else. I'm half way done with the bag part, then I'll have to make the lining and decorations. I also started the second sleeve for the IK shrug so hopefully I'll have another FO some time soon.

Nothing else really to report, just looking for some new shoes (the bf threw my sandals away*), got a haircut today (I had stalled for three months because I didn't know what I wanted), and I got some yarn from the bf today (I don't know if he's making up for the sandals or the yarn he threw away by mistake a few months ago). It's one skein of hand dyed cashmere! I'll post a yummy pic tomorrow, but you have to believe me when I say that it's so soft to the touch. It's so cute as well. There's 200 yds in the skein he gave me, so I don't know if I'll make a yummy skinny scarf with it or a hat (what else can you do with 200 yds of sport weight yarn?). If it was worsted, then you know I would be making an OSW!

*Now, before anyway thinks the BF is the biggest bastard in the world, he was doing it to save me from myself. Let me explain. As you know, we were down at the shore this weekend, which in Jersey means walking up and down the boardwalk. Well, I only took two pairs of sandals with me (brown and black) and really just wore the black ones, since they matched what I was wearing. umm, yeah so these sandals were already falling apart when I took them there (they are meant to, since they warn you they won't last forever and they come with "bandaids" for the sandals), but I didn't care. Until we stopped walking somewhere and my feet were in extreme pain. I looked at my feet and there were huge blisters on the bottom of my right foot! The plastic that covers the foam had rubbed on my feet as it was peeling away. Right there I got the "why do you wear sandals, why not regular shoes like everyone else?!" speech. I've heard it before, so I ignored it. I didn't expect him to throw them away when we got back to our friend's house, but he did. Now he owes me shoes. He wants me to get running shoes, but why would I wear running shoes when I'm clearly not running or working out? He so doesn't get it. oh well, hopefully I'll be getting shoes sometime this week. The funny thing is, I have a ton of pumas and diesel's under my dresser. Sneaker stash anyone?

What knitter am I?

Ok, this may seem like a dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway. What level knitter am I? I've been knitting for three years, but I've never done short rows or fair isle. Am I considered a beginner still? When do you cross that threshold?

Why am I asking? Rosie's finally put up some info on the Teva Durham workshops on their blog and apparently there are two classes. I don't really want to go for the ballet top, but do I go for the short row one? Or how about I don't go to either and just show up with my book? Nah, I want to take a class.

What do you guys think?

ps how dumb is blogger spell check? it doesn't know the word "blog"!

The tell-tale tank

"TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

It is impossible to say how first the yarn entered my stash; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Finished object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the patterns."

Ok I'm being overdramatic as usual, but I do hear the tank! It's in the basket and I can hear it calling me, tempting me. I've ignored it since the betrayal (otherwise known as my knitting mistake), not knowing when I will go back. Soon I say, but instead I start new things that will take up my time, otherwise reserved for the tank. I stuffed all the pieces in the bottom of the basket, underneath needles and yarn to muffle the sound. But I know it's there, I'm the only one that hears it's thumping, and I must get back to it.

What have I been doing instead? Oh, dear reader, let me share with you my denial:



This is the first half of the "good bias" shrug waiting patiently for its mate on a stitch holder. It's been fun knitting this up (so fun I took it to the shore with me), but I have also noticed how impatient I am with lace.




I started the tulle purse (instead of finishing the shrug you see) that's inspired by the one from Simple Knits With a Twist. I've found that I really enjoy knitting with unusual yarns (not novelty!). I'm already thinking up other projects with this yarn if I have enough leftover. Here's a closeup of the yarn:



Yep, that's tulle. It's not some yarn called "tulle" but made up of something else. It's black tulle with some sort of white rayon in the middle.




Last but not least, this is the never ending scarf that has become the bf's nightmare. Why you ask? Because I just won't finish it! I keep restarting it (and I think I will again) and asking for his opinion, which is basically to finish it. I'll finish it soon enough, when I damn well please.

no title

Yeah, I'm still in the middle of the after dinner comma so I can't promise this post will be any good. I guess it will mostly be updates. I'm going away for the weekend so there won't be any posts till Sunday night. Where am I going you ask? To the beach to hang out with a friend so we can eat, drink, and be merry. I'm not sure what knitting will be going, I haven't decided what to bring down. Do I take something I'm already working on or do I start something new? oh, the decisions we must make in life.

I've finally gotten some work on the good bias shrug, I'm almost done with the first half (sleeve/back combo) and then I get to restart it all over again for the second half. woohoo! umm yeah, so I also tried to pick a needle for the mystery stole and can I say I feel like an idiot trying to knit with yarn this thin?! It feels like I'm trying to knit with air, my hands just can't get used to it. I tried knitting up a swatch with 3's which turned out to be a pathetic attempt. I'll try again with 5's, but I see myself knitting with 8's or something, since my knitting was so tight on the 3's.

Other than that, not much is going on. I tried to buy size 17's circs today but neither Michael's or AC Moore had them. I didn't feel like driving to my lys today, so maybe I'll buy some Addi's tomorrow at the yarn store at the beach. I'm always up for checking out a new store, though I'm not sure what the bf will think about that. Too bad for him, I say!

So what should I take with me?

Oh! Before I forget, I wanted to either do a trade or maybe I'll make it into a contest. I have two flickr pro accounts to give away and I may end up with some yarn as well. Some GGH Aspen, possibly some mission falls cotton, and eventually some rowan 4ply. The yarn is a maybe, but the flickr accounts are a definate. Let me know if you are interested.

being paranoid

Maybe I am, but just to be safe. I don't know if I stressed this enough, but the powder dye is not something you want to breathe in. I was fine, no dust was up in the air but years of mixing photochemicals helped this. The amounts I suggested won't be a huge deal, but safety first! Use common sense, don't throw this stuff into your bottle or bucket...gently place it. Maybe put a little warm water in your bottle first then the dye to create your paste?

Why am posting this now (eventhough I know I wrote it in the tutorial)? Because someone on craftster decided to point this out and it was their first post! So somehow I moved them to finally post on craftster. Maybe they thought I was an idiot or something, trust me I'm not, or they were just being helpful (that's more likely). Or maybe I'm just in a crabby mood :) It seems controversy follows me! (more on that later)
oh the weird part is that everyone on HGTV is using dyeing with this stuff today...spooky!

In knitting news, I haven't actually gotten much knitting this week. I started a little stash busting scarf for when I watch 24 with the bf; I'll post pics later today. I'm trudging along on the good bias shrug which has been nice to knit. I should be finally getting to the back of the first sleeve later today, phew! I'm also going to try out different needles with the bamboo yarn to see what I like for the mystery stole. I still can't believe that Illanna talked me into this! I'm hoping to cast on this weekend, but before that I have to practice a provisional cast on. Did I mention that I hate crochet hooks? Just thought I'd remind you all of that.

ok I'll post again later today with pics or rants :)

Soda what?

I knew there was something I was forgetting about, the soda ash. It's basically a bag of pure sodium carbonate, as oppossed to sodium bicarbonate = baking soda. I bought my bag at AC Moore in the same aisle as the dyes and fabric paints. At my AC Moore, it was hidden next to some wax thing under the PMX Dye. I took a pic of it just in case that helps. I think it was two dollars for a pound of the stuff.




Thanks for the compliments and I can't wait to see what you guys come up with. I'll post more pictures when I get around to dyeing the thicker bamboo I bought.

As I Stand Dyeing..

Cheesy title aside, I hope this mini tutorial helps the rest of you out there that are trying to dye some boring cotton or bamboo yarn that's sitting in your stash. Non-wool knitters, don't feel left out from all that kool-aid dyeing going on out there! My lord, there's a lot. I tried to find out how others did this, but all I could find was kool-aid or cake frosting dyeing. I decided to just go for it, fail, and then finally succeed. So here's what not to do first:

Food-coloring dye. (I'm not going to write any of my measurements out for this part since it was a failure)
Somewhere I heard this worked, so quickly I bought a small set of food dyes at my supermarket. I made up three colors and six little test strips. Why six? Well, if any of you remember, the girl at Habu suggested I let the yarn soak in milk first, let dry, and then dye. I think she said this was for natural dyeing, but more on that later.










aww don't they look cute and virginal!
Three of those little guys went into the soymilk and the rest went directly into the food-dyes and vinegar. I was so excited when I got sorta a color I liked, though they were too pastely for me. I figured I could work with it. I did notice a difference with the milk, it helped soak in a lot more of the color, making for a deeper dye. But alas, once water got on the strips the color washed off. This stuff just acts like a stain on cellulose fibers, so we must move on. But first I'll show you the color differences.










The one on the left is the dry test, the one on the right is the soymilk soaked yarn (noticed the washed one in the middle it used to be green).

After this, I went back on google but all I could find was the cake stuff and then I found people tie-dyeing. hmm, that could work! I headed straight out to AC Moore and walked to their fabric paints section. Under all the tie-dye kits and puffy fabric paints they had Procion MX Dye in a bunch of different colors. This stuff was right next to the RIT, but I don't suggest you use that stuff since it's a lot more toxic and staining (it requires a lot more bleach to get it off). This powder looked good to me, so I bought one in deep purple and one in fire engine red (they were unfortunately out of fuschia). I wondered if I should buy black, but figured that for now this was ok. I also picked up two squeeze bottles, two mini bottles, and soda ash (sodium carbonate) which acts as our color fixer. Now we get to the actual tutorial, so I hope I haven't bored you. I'll give the numbers I used, but after I started all of this I found this tutorial. (I still have no clue why that page never came up before) Depending on how much you are dyeing that one may help you.

You will need:
Procion MX Dye, the color of your choice (I have 050 and 030)
Some sort of bucket (if you are doing a lot of yarn) or tray (get a cat litter tray, I did, they are cheap and deep enough)
Soda ash
Salt
Squeeze bottles (needs to be at least 2 cups big)
Gloves
Turkey Baster (not dire)
Yarn! (cotton, bamboo, silk, etc, just not wool!)

1. Get your yarn into a hank, maybe around a chair or niddy noddy or a person, who knows. Tie evenly in a few places (I did 4 ties) Let your yarn soak for a while. I soaked mine in some soymilk for 20 minutes, but you could just use water.

2. Now, my recipe is for 1 oz of yarn. Weigh your yarn if you can (or look at your ball band) to figure out how you change this. Though really it will work a lot more yarn, since I had a lot left over. Put 1/4 tsp of dye into your squeeze bottle and add a bit of warm water (a little at a time) and stir into a paste. I used a chopstick for this.

3. Add 2 cups of hot (hot! from the tap) water into your bottle (with the paste) and stir.

4. Add 2 tbsp of salt into your dye mixture and stir to dissolve (this is what helps your yarn soak up the dye, add more salt for a deep color like black)






5. Using gloves, pour dye liquid on yarn, making sure apply it evenly and under your little ties. This is the fun part, cause you get to make up where the colors go if you are doing more than one, or you control how deep or light they are. Before I dyed the yarn though, I placed a cookie tray/rack/cooler thing under my hank so that the color wouldn't pool and muddle since I was using more than one color)






To play with the colors, I made one "strip" full strength purple, but then watered down with some water I poured on it with a turkey baster, another with both bottles of red and purple to make a mix, and then a super strength deep purple (where I added less water to the mix), and a light pinkey red (where I added less red powder to the mix and poured water on it with the turkey baster.

6. Let the yarn sit for 10 minutes, but make sure that the dye is even throughout. I squished mine and spread the yarn a bit every few minutes to make sure of this. After ten minutes you want to pour on the soda ash to set in your color. You need to dissolve 2 tbsp of the soda in 2 cups of warm water (remember to stir). I used my trusty turkey baster for this part as well. Wearing my gloves, I made sure that I poured the ash mix evenly onto the yarn.

7. Depending on your color(s), you may want to pour some more dye on the yarn if you feel the ash mix took some off, but this isn't a must.

8. Let your yarn sit for 20-30 minutes for light to medium colors and 60 minutes for deeper colors. I had to compromise with the times since mine was a mix. I let mine sit for 45 minutes, which kept my deep colors deep while the lighter ones went a little darker.

9. Wash your yarn until the water runs clear, I used a mild shampoo for this part.

10. Let dry. Now there seems to be some differing views on how to do this (as in sun or no sun). I let mine hang for a few hours in indirect sun, but then brought it back in partly because of the sun and partly because it's so damn humid outside. My colors didn't fade, so I think this is ok.






Doesn't it look a little noro-esque?

11. After your yarn is fully dry, wind it back into a skein and love it!




Notes:

• I have more pics on my flickr, with a link to the set on the left under gallery.
• If you are going to dye more than one skein, I would do the mixing of the dyes and water in a bucket and drop all your yarn in so you can get the same color lot. Though you can still do it this way just as easily (just make sure to mix up enough dye)
• You can pre-mix color combos, by mixing enough powder from each color into one bottle (it will still be a total of 1/4 tsp for 1 oz of yarn)
• Keep the amount of salt and soda the same, no matter if you reduce the amount of dye powder
• Feel free to ask me any questions, I'm sure I didn't cover something on here.
• This doesn't work for any animal fibers, except for silk.
• Be careful breathing this stuff, don't inhale it! And try to do this in a well ventilated area or at least, like me, in a bathroom with the fan on. You don't realize the smell when you do the test strips, but when it's the whole thing you do.
• For the best results, do your test and your final the same day in the same conditions. I did mine in two different days (the dye mix can be saved) and had to change a few things so I didn't get one of the colors I was expecting.

Here's my yarn all wound up finally:

Teaser!

Just wanted to post a little teaser pic of my handdyed yarn. I'll be posting my little tutorial later today (after I do a little food shopping and house cleaning). Hope you guys find this at all interesting.

me? i'm meme

I've been tagged by Vy so here goes..

1. Total number of books I own?
Don't know an exact number since my library has been split up between here and the 'rent's house. I'm sure it's in the hundreds though counting cookbooks, craftbooks, novels, and textbooks. At least 200 if you need a number.

2. The last book I bought?
The Wonder Spot and Never Let Me Go about two weeks ago.

3. The last book I read?
For some reason this is really fuzzy. I read Pamela Anderson's Star and I started a Proust (which I haven't picked back up). Star was a pretty lame book; an overexposed life under the veil of crappy fiction.

4. Five books that mean a lot to me?
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man first novel that really hit a chord with me, so vivid that to this day I can picture some of the scenes still. this is what a novel should be.
As I Lay Dying another one of those early novels, this one affected my senses more than anything
The Corrections great story, but what really got me here was the father with parkinson's (my mom has this)
Nickel and Dimed shows you what most of the country is going through
Yarn Girl's Guide
the first sweater pattern I ever attempted was from this book, though I never finished it (wool+summer=no!) I still think of it highly

5. Tag five people and have them fill this out in their blogs.
Illanna, Melissa, Craig, Kate and Tara
Im adding Atouria, cause I thought she had already been tagged!

BRB

I wont be posting any knitting news today because I'm working on dyeing some yarn. I'll let you know what I figure out by posting a mini tutorial.

Back in the Saddle Again

I finally have time to post again, well the bf is ignoring me while playing some video game so I figured it was time to post. And I have a lot to post about. :)

Yesterday was KIP day and somehow I saw no one knitting, other than Illanna. She doesn't count though cause I went to NYC to go knit and shop with her (so you see it was assumed we would knit, hence why she doesnt count).

It was her turn to take me on a yarn tour, and she took me to some great places. Im surprised we didn't melt walking around the city. It was so freaking hot and humid! At least I got a tan. Anywho, I finally got to see Purl, which was cute but I have Loop! I got some needles there and found out that they are having a Loop-d-Loop trunk show at the end of the month. Then we trekked up to Downtown yarns, where they had some (as in two or three) local yarns hidden between your bread and butter yarns. After this, we both realized that it's tough to find a unique yarn store that doesn't carry all of Manos, Blue Sky, Rowan, and Debbie Bliss. We went to School House products immediately after and at least we found some out there yarns. They have good prices on cashmere and wool, but if you don't have a specific project in mind you could be doomed. I ended up getting two skeins of black and white tulle that will quickly become a bag ( I think I got around 400-500 yds for less than ten bucks). I was extremely happy going to Habu, which is down the street, and looking at their menu-wall of yarn. Great prices on some things, but again, you have to have specific projects in mind to know excactly what you are getting. It can be overwhelming. I knew I wanted bamboo and some laceweight yarn, so somehow I ended up getting laceweight bamboo (was this a mistake?), over 4000 yds of it for less than 10 bucks. I wanted one ounce, which equals 1500 yds, but they only had a cone that weighed 3.6 ounces. So I can make three or four mystery stoles! (yeah right) I also got some of their heavier bamboo (this is why Im wondering if I should have gotten laceweight wool instead). Don't try to ask what gauge any of the yarn is, I learned this the hard way. I asked if the yarn was sport weight and all I got was stares and then some explanation that sounded like they had no clue what I was talking about. But now that Im thinking about it, I think I got worsted weight instead of sport. I'll have to check the wpi later on. All the yarn I bought was undyed, and the girl helping me said that I should soak the bamboo in milk or soymilk and dry it before dyeing it. Have any of you heard of this before? Do I rinse it before I let it dry? I was trying to get it out of her, but I failed. I also failed to figure out how to dye it, all she said was treat it like cotton. I bought some food coloring today so I may try that. If not, I guess Ill buy some RIT. But, when I use food dyes, is it anything like using kool aid? As in, do I heat the water or do I heat the yarn up after dying? I would love any clues. I think I will dye the laceweight stuff first so that I can cast on for the Mystery Stole (and I have so much of it, that I won't feel bad playing around with it). I must have been in some environmentally friendly mood, because after Habu and a sushi dinner, I bought some SWTC Phoenix (soy silk) at The Point. This is for the mesh tank (along with sport weight bamboo), which apparently is going to become an anti-acrylic statement of sorts.

Illanna and I knitted at the Point for a while, a las no pics, and then headed over to a Starbucks and knitted a while longer before I had to leave. I started work on a new shrug, the good bias from IK spring 05. I needed a break from the bias tank and this was a nice project to pick. The lace makes it interesting and it was refreshing to use non splitty yarn! No more evil Lion Brand for me!





Oh, that leaving part almost never happened! The train we took ended up going from local to express, or something else happened, but whatever it never stopped where we wanted to get off. We ended up in Brooklyn! Of course there were no cabs when we got out of the stop. I was sure I was going to miss my bus. A few minutes later we ran across the street to catch a cab and basically challenged him to get us on East Broadway in under ten minutes. I'm glad to say he was very proud of his accomplishment ('see eight minutes, no?! under ten yes!"). I think I had two minutes to spare!

Illanna and I may meet up again in two weeks to hang out at the renegade craft fair, so Im looking forward to that. I love meeting and becoming friends with crafty bloggers! I'm telling you, if you want to go to stitches east or just meet up let me know. Today I just relaxed with the bf and only got a few rows of knitting done. I'll probably knit some more tonight and then figure out what to do with the bias tank.

I quit

That's it! I'm done knitting. Maybe I'll become one of those people that only makes fancy scarves. Why am I being my usual overdramatic self? Here you take a look:



No, not the dirty carpet. What's on the floor, the two differing pieces of cloth that taunt me. I was so happy too! I thought, cool I'm done knitting, now all I have to do is seam it and we can wear this biatch. But in the back of my mind I was wondering why it seemed to be heavier on the needles or curling a lot more. Being that close to the end must have clouded my judgement, because I ignored myself and kept on going. So now I have these two pieces that have at least a 2 inch difference, not only in width but in length. Now, if I was sewing, I would just cut the fabric or, if I had done the seam, cut the extra fabric. What do I do with this? Please gentle reader, don't ask me to rip it out and knit it again. I can't even tell what mistake I made. Did I do too many increases without noticing or do I just not know how to keep gauge? I think this is someone telling me that I should have done the back and front consecutively instead of doing all those little straps in between.

Alright, tell me what to do. My fate is in your hands.

Here is what it's suppossed to look like:

You've got mail...

or rather I do! Just wanted to get in a quick post and send a shout out to my secret pal! I got my first package today and it's a beaut. Want to see? ok:



I love everything in it. I must've not realized how many times I've mentioned things about Japan or how I make sushi, but my sp did. Or maybe she has some crazy telepathic power that no one knows about. Anywho, time for to gloat a bit on here before I email her. Let's see I got a sushi mat, which will make things go a lot quicker around here, and a couple of chop sticks (always appreciated!). Some yummy miso that I may have tonight (she must also know that we haven't gone food shopping in ages over here). A couple of super-cute tea cups and a tea ball (which Ive been meaning to get) and some awesome sounding tea. The loose tea must've been made for me since it's organic! I've never had African tea so I'm definately looking forward to making some chai with it. I especially love that, with every purchase, the company gives money to an AIDS charity in Kenya. The tea is grown by Kenyan family farmers so they get some money too. Can you tell I love this gift? I can't wait till next month to see what my sp comes up with. I hope the gifts that I sent out are appreciated this much. Oh, and how cute is that little note card?

I'll post later on in the day the progress I've made with the tank.

Some progress finally!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I'm knitting the back of the infamous bias tank. I'm almost done with the increasing and then it's smooth sailing through the decreases. How did I finally get some work on it done? Apparently, that Allegra I took takes you to the extreme of non-drowsy. I was congested and wide awake till four in the morning last night. I took that time to finally read the discussion on k1r2 and then do some knitting. I did some more knitting today, in between cleaning and organizing. Hopefully I'll be done with this piece by tomorrow so I can take my time in seaming hell. I'll have to email Teva Durham for help, since the awesome "knitting mag with an attitude" decided to omit how I seam all ten pieces of this biatch together.

I thought I was going to cast on for another project today, but I've noticed that I never let myself. I'm a one project at a time kind of girl, a serial monogamist if you will. Sure, I can flirt and I've been known to have side quickies some of the times. But really, once I start on a project I'm in it for the long haul. I look in wonder when I see the long list of "projects on the needles" from other blogs, sometimes with a bit of jealousy in my eyes. I imagine what fun it must be and what satisfaction one gets from constantly having finished objects. I just can't do it though. All I can do is fantasize about the next one, while working on the current one.

little women sick

This post may make no sense today because I'm not in my usual state of mind. Somehow, for some reason, my body decided to get a cold in the summer. Now who the hell gets a cold or the flu in the summer?! I can't stand having a constant runny nose, you know the kind that has a will of it's own. Yep that's me. Genious me thought, "hey why don't I take an allegra for my congestion? it's just sitting there...take it damnit!" Considering I don't have allergies, I have no clue what this pill is doing. So all day I was doing my best in filling in the part of Beth from "little women". It was like the eighteen hundred's in here; me in bed not able to breathe, looking longingly out the window, and attempting to knit while wondering "why me?!". It was quiet the throw back. It took me forever to knit, since I had to constantly blow my nose and wash my hands. Please don't attempt to pick up stitches when you can't keep looking down, for fear that your snot will end up everywhere. Promise?



Pattern: One Skein Wonder
Yarn: Sugar n cream in red and Tahki Cotton Classic in Black
Needles: US 5 and 8 Addi Turbos
Date Started: 6.05.05
Date Finished: 6.07.05

Can you tell I'm obsessed with this pattern? If Stefanie had been the designer for Rowan's R2, Rowan would have had a gold mine.

This one should be called the "emily the strange shrug". If I only had an emily pin! I thought I was over my Emily obsession, but I guess it's still there somewhere, though I won't but any more of the stuff. It came out cute, even in the cheapest yarn in the world. It was so funny to feel the difference between the two cottons. The red stuff is so cheamically feeling. Makes me wonder how they treat or if it's cotton at all.

The pattern went smoothly yet again. I would have been done a day earlier if it wasn't for the water works. I used the sugar stuff as a single strand, but the Tahki is single in the sleeves but double in the ribbing. I didn't feel like I was getting gauge when I switched to the black hence the doubling. I did find a mistake, other than that yarn I didn't weave in for some reason. In my Beth state, I forgot to bind off the ribbing using the 8's! yeah so ummm it's a little tight.

Will I keep it? I don't know since I can't really wear it comfortably. I might knit it again, later!, with Blue Sky cotton that I've been dreaming about. I felt it at loop and it was so incredibly soft. If anyone is an Emily fan and wants a shrug let me know in the comments, I can pass this one of to you. (ps this is the size 17)



I'm hoping the bf makes dinner when he gets home. I should clean or do something around this house, it's getting bad. I did con my mailman to send out something to my secret pal for me. I didn't want to drive to the post office, so I gave him the package and money and was like "please sir, help me contact the outside world, hurry!" Tomorrow he should be coming back with change. I'm sure she doesn't read this blog so I'm not worried about her finding out. Today I sent her some patterns and a postcard and yesterday my order from loop was shipped off to her. I hope she isn't freaked out since it has the bf's name instead of mine. If anything it should throw her off right? Well, I'm off to my polio ward. I may pick up the bias tank and finish that biatch once and for all (which reminds me I have to figure out the seaming) or I may start another project. hmmm

Cleaning up and organizing

Is it a bad sign when you spend your time organizing your yarn instead of cleaning up your house? This place could use some attention, but instead I figured out how much yarn I have and some projects for each one. There's still a ton that I have nothing attached to, don't ask me why! I think I just have to figure out what patterns I have and what yarns match up in quantity and gauge. I get so disappointed when I loop up a pattern with a yarn in mind and I'm totally off. This requires a lot more organization, but I am afraid that I won't be able to even walk around my house soon. It's getting that bad.

I did decide to get rid of the yarns that are either leftovers or I just plain don't want. If anyone wants them, then let me know and I'll give them to you. If not I guess I'll donate them somewhere. Where exactly do you donate yarn? I'm picturing a shelter full of poor people with balls of yarns, some posh some not. Are homeless people yarn snobs? ok I got sidetracked there. Anyway let me see what I have:

Lion Brand Landscapes
Brown Sheep Bulky
Lion Brand Glitterspun
Sugar n Cream

I may throw in some GGH Aspen, GGH Goa, and I havent decided on the Tahki Cotton Classic yet. I also have some leftover Blue Sky Alpaca that I have no idea why I would save. If you are into that magic ball knitting this would perfect for you (I think). Like I said let me know if anyone wants leftover stuff.

What do the rest of you do with your leftover yarn?

Sunday was great!

phew! Sunday was insane...in a good way. I'm already anxiously waiting for Saturday. Wait! Let me tell you about Sunday first.

Illanna came down for the day, and when I say the day I mean it! We were together from noon till 11p, it all went so quickly though that I can't believe it. We met in China Town and went straight to Sophie's. We were in awe of the yarn as we bagan our knitting high. We walked out of there with a few things.



I walked out with a ton of patterns all for a dollar! I also found the first issue of knit.1 (finally right?!) and they even gave me that R2 yarn for free (they were happy to get rid of it apparently). They also printed out a free pattern for us to make wrist warmers. Definately a good start...

But OMG! We went to the lovely Loop and we were both in awe. It's so beautiful, the store design and the all the yummy yarns! I definately know where I'm headed when I get off this yarn diet. I would feel like I was cheating if I bought yarn anywhere else. That is how good this store is! Of course I didn't walk out empty handed -so I cheated on my diet a little :P Take a gander at the store and my score:



Three skeins of Nature Wool on sale dahling!




even the cash register is beautiful


That's Craig on the right, as in "craig, I own this awesome store and you can be jealous of me!" Well ok, he doesnt call himself that, but it's my blog and I can make it up!! They were all real sweet and I hope he starts a knitting group there soon. If not, then I'll just have to start going there uninvited.

Unfortunately, my window pics just have too much glare. But if you want just go to flickr to see them, Ill wait. I did get a pic of Illanna outside, they must have thought we were tourists or something:




We left Loop just in time to head over to Stephanie's book reading. It was in the top floor of the Temple on 18th and Spruce. Apparently knitters don't need air conditioning, because it was only cool on the ground floor. Maybe they figured that if we all knit really fast then we could build up enough of a wind? Who knows! But it was great to be there (scorching sahara heat and all). It was basically a big knitting meetup in the guise of a book reading. There were over twenty people there, all knitting and all blogging. (I'll post links to the other blogs I find and or remember on my sidebar) I quickly joined in, I worked on my second "one skein wonder" while Stephanie spoke. Illanna was working on some socks with yarn she dyed (she's definately crafty). Stephanie is a great speaker and so funny. Here she is with her travelling sock:



There are more pics of the other knitters on my flickr. After the reading we walked over to Rosie's for cookies and the signing. Of course, I was the idiot that forgot my book, so I have nothing signed and no other proof that I met her other than these pics. So you better enjoy these! Rosie's was cramped, but fun. Did I mention it was cramped?! Want proof?



I think that is when some roving came out and everyone went crazy! And here's proof that Rosie's is wall to wall yarn.




The rest of the day, Illanna and I just hung out. We hadn't realized how hungry or thirsty we were until we hit Marathon Grill for dinner. It tasted like the greatest meal I have ever had! We then headed over for some knitting at the square ( a preview of KIP day) and then to Cosi for coffee, more water, and more knitting. It was 500 degrees in there and we ended up getting our drinks for free (always cool).

It was such a great day and Illanna is definately a keeper. :P There was never any of that uncomfortable silence, it was as if we had known each other for years. We are doing it all over again this Saturday, except she gets to lead me around. (should I be worried?!) I can hardly wait! Hopefully I can get enough knitting this week so that I can start some new projects for next weekend and get any moral support if I need it.

Today is the day!

Illanna comes down from NYC today and the two of us get to meet the Yarn Harlot. I didn't make it to last night's outing unfortunately cause I hate driving into downtown by myself or taking the train at night. Oh well :)

Today should be fun, I'll be dragging miss I to Sophie's, Rosie's, and Loop for some yarn porn. We will probably also hit some vintage or funky stores along the way.

I was thinking of bringing a small knitting project, so we could knit on our downtime (maybe while eating or just sitting at the park), but I hate what I started. Correction, I don't hate what I started but I do hate the yarn! I want a one skein wonder in red and cotton....hey I have that leftover red sugar'n'cream....wow this stuff sucks! I've only knitted a few rows and it feels nasty and looks wonky. Would it be terrible to throw this yarn away, instead of forcing myself to use it cause it's in my stash? I would gladly give it away if anyone wants it (just let me know). I have 2.5 skeins of it. I don't want to be wasteful, but I don't want to knit something I'm going to hate wearing or knitting! What do you think?

Well, I'm off to get ready for today's walk-a-thon.

I'll post pics tomorrow!

Driving lost

Almost five summers ago, the bf and I were driving to Disney to meet his parents for dinner. Actually Downtown Disney. We were living at the time in Melbourne, Fl for the summer, so I wasn't too sure how to get there. I, the genious, went on the Disney site and then plugged in the address on yahoo maps. So happy we were driving we directions in hand and my feign recollection on how to get there. Eventually though that started to wane as things stopped looking familiar. Continue on we did because how could yahoo be wrong! Eventually, when we were in the middle of some random Orlando town, I told the bf that we were lost and totally in the wrong place. But he really believed in the directions, ignoring the whole time that we were in some sort of ghetto! Well we followed the directions to the end, when we finally ended up in a cul de sac with a tiny house. The address was 1000 buena vista! Later we asked for directions and made it to dinner and hour or two late.

Why am I rambling on? Cause I'm scared this is happening again, but with my knitting. More precisely knitting the knit.1 bias tank. I have all the straps and waistabands done as well as the front. All I have to do is knit the back and seam the whole thing up. But you know when you have that sinking feeling? I just don't want to end up at the little house again. I have this fear that nothing is going to be the right size or be seamed up correctly (since knit.1 fails to tell you how to seam it). The front piece looks so wonky, that I can't imagine how it's going to match up with it's eventual mate or how it's going to lay right. So what do I do instead? I knit something else up of course!

I wanted something quick and easy, so I present to you the iPod Armband!




Pattern: knit.1 spring/summer issue pattern #18
Yarn: Lion Brand Glitterspun in Silver
Needles: US 7
Date Started: 6.04.2005
Date Finished: 6.04.2005

I had the dreaded Lion Brand yarn one day before heading up to work, thinking I would have time to knit at my lunchtime (I never do for one reason or another). So I thought, hey it would be cool to make an armband for my iPod. It's a pretty boring pattern since it's basically a stockinette scarf for your arm. Apparently though, knit.1 must think that everyone has tiny arms since the finished size is 8". umm yeah I needed to add a couple of inches there! I made the pocket a little longer than the pattern states since I was too scared to trust a little piece of yarn to hold my iPod. It's basically done, except for velcro that I have to stitch on (again they dont tell me how). But Im not in love with it, so I don't even know if I will finish it. It's kinda like when you eat bread or candy when you are hungry, but you still need more after that. I need to finish that tank top I know it! Does anyone know if they make velcro tape, where I don't have to sew it? (I don't want to hand sew or use a sewing machine) Or better yet, does anyone want an armband and the leftover yarn? I'll give it to you as a gift!

finally have time...

I love weekends, when I can sit around in my pjs, read blogs, knit, and eat. This week I had a weird work schedule and I decided that I need a new job asap. I would love it if it had anything to do with crafting; imagine me working at a yarn store! A dream job would be to be the person that designs the colors for yarn (like Poppy King who makes the colors for prescriptives every year, ps she's been my idol for years!) or maybe working at a knitting magazine (maybe making my own?!). Who knows, but I definately need something new in my life.

This week I should be able to get more knitting done than I was able to do this week (one day is nothing!). And this weekend I finally get to hangout with someone that appreciates knitting, I cant wait. Tonight I may get to meet the yarn harlot for drinks in center city, then tomorrow I get to meet Illanna. I'm going to take her on a knitting tour of sorts before and after we get to see the yarn harlot at her book reading. If we have time, and if I figure out what bus or train to take, I may drag her to the Art Star Craft Bazaar. Next Saturday is KIP Day, so I think Illanna and I are going to find a place to knit in NYC. This one is quickly becoming a flickr event as well.

I love it when there's so much going on. Oh I almost forgot about the Renegade Craft Fair up in Brooklyn, Ill have to find my way up there somehow. I believe that is on June 25 + 26.

I hope I get to meet more of my fellow crafting bloggers soon, especially you yarnaholics! Maybe we can celebrate cutting down our stash by going to stitches east in September.

I'll post pics of everything as it comes up.

new glam!

Stefanie, the knitting goddess, Jarpel just keeps cranking out patterns. I like how the new tank-shirt-top looks on her, but would it look good on me? I'm not sure.

Any suggestions?

of course, I can buy it and then gift it to someone...


also I found a place that I can get the first issue of knit.1. Ive never seen the patterns for this one (other than the green sweater I liked), is there anywhere I can look at it or can you tell me if it's worth buying?

new template...

I really want a new background or look for this blog, but so far I've had no luck. Everything I find is cute but too small...as in you would have to scroll just to read this post. That is just too tiny for me. So where oh where can I find a cool template? I've gone to blogskins, but they have a million to look through and all are tiny!

ps Im not suppossed to be home right now, but my car battery decided that it didn't want to go to work today. So I have to wait till they call me when it's ready.

Harlot at Rosie's

Like I said yesterday Illanna and I are going to meet the Yarn Harlot (aka Stephanie Pearl-McPhee)! Well I finally found some info on it at Rosie's blog. She'll be here from 2p - 4p, but she get's here Saturday and I believe she's free! So you see what I'm thinking...

Four skein wonder...

Sorry for the boob shot!

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca sport in color 50 (lilac) 4 hanks
Needles: Addi Turbos US 8's and 5's
Pattern: One Skein Wonder
Date Started: 5.28.2005
Date Finished: 6.01.2005

So here is what I've been cheating on the bias tank with. It was suppossed to be a quick, one time only trist, but it took longer than I expected (isn't that always the way?) and I think I'm gonna come back for more. Hopefully miss bias will take me back soon, though I don't have time for her right now. I'm going to bask in the afterglow of my little affair for a while...oh you want details? Aren't you dirty!

I didn't really change anything in the pattern (is that considered a perfect pattern then?!), the only thing that surprised me was when I got my back measured I was a 17", who knew! (I thought I was going to be bigger) I got this lovely alpaca as a gift and I quickly cast on for this project. I double stranded it to get gauge (hence the four hanks) and it feels so yummy. How come no one ever told me?! I figured it would be nice and warm at the cold studio I work at and for the fall, when it starts to cool down. I'll have to make another one in cotton to get more use out of it since it's already summer (when did that happen?) But that may have to wait until miss bias and I break up. This was all Stefanie's fault!

I have some more pics for your viewing pleasure; you really are dirty!

I missed you so much!

I feel like I was away forever, when really it was just for a weekend. It was too long! I feel like I missed out on so much - the blog world continued without me.

ok take a breath....

so let's catch up so then we can pretend nothing happened.

I didn't do too much on my bias top except for the waistband. I'll hopefully start on the back sometime today, if not it will have to wait till the weekend (I have a weird work schedule this week). So what knitting did I do? My bf's mom got me some yarn and what did she get me?! Four hanks of Blue Sky Alpaca Sport Weight. I was like holy crap! Does this affect my status at Y.U? Then I was like holy crap thanks!! lol So I started to knit it up right away into Glampyre's One Skein Wonder. I love the color and the feel of the yarn, this is the first time I knit up alpaca. I'll be done with the shrug today so I should post a pic later on in the day-I'm hoping it turns out right since this is the first time I pick up stitches (hated it!).

My lovely hopefully future mil also gave me some cotton so I'll be knitting up a shrug (a good bias...do we see a theme here?) from the Spring IK. Of course I still want to knit up the boobholder so I still have to decide on what I can start. I don't know what other yarn I could use for the boobholder that is currently in my stash, sigh. Speaking of IW, what do you all think of Wrap Style (I think I'm going to love it) and this new knit scape mag (do you think it's going to try too hard?)

oh I found out who I get to spoil for SP5 and that someone is going to spoil me soon!! Hi SP!! lol
I'll be making a little package soon I hope.

Hopefully I'll be meeting Illanna, she of tank top fame, this weekend in Philly. We are going to try to go to the Yarn Harlot book signing. I hope we get to do some knitting as well, I'm so looking forward to this. Of course I'm going to badger Illanna for info on my hero Ms. Teva, who she gets to meet! I'm incredibly jealous...but in a good way.

vysews came up with some great project and yarn organizers that I will be using soon. And don't worry I didn't forget about you....I'm taking that cicco yarn for the paris loop. I'll send you a message soon.

keridiana keeps impressing me with her craft powers, I can't wait to see her new site and her project for the new SNB.

oh one question before I go and finish the shrug....should I change my template? Apparently everyone else has, but I don't know how to get a new one that isn't your generic blogger template. Any help?

also where can I get Phildar? I'm in love with this pattern (at least I think I am) but I have no clue where to buy it.


ok I'm off for now!