[crafts] Seashell curio tray #2

I made a seashell curio tray as a gift last year. I liked how it turned out so much, I wanted to make another for me. (I'm trying to simultaneously work on non-knitting crafts because all the knitting I'm doing is super secret.) I dumped out all my shells:

After much picking/sorting/separating/fiddling, I had a layout that I liked:

Just have to hot glue everything down and then it's ready to hang. We've got so, so, so many pictures and items to hang on the walls- I think we're going to have a "hanging party" soon. But we might have to call it something else or at least preface it with "picture-".

[knitting] Slater Mill 8th Annual Knitting Weekend

Back from a nice, long weekend in Pawtucket, RI to hangout with a friend and attend Slater Mill's Knitting Weekend. Not many pictures from the weekend but it was great. Met some great instructors and fellow students. I loved both my classes. Saturday morning was Design 101 with Julia Farwell-Clay. Sunday was Tips and Tricks with Ellen Mason. Here's my swatch from the design class:

The original idea was to make a tessellation(ish) design that nested white rabbits with orange foxes. You can see on upper left-hand side of the graph paper- I kind of got it to work vertically but couldn't sort out how to stagger the motif and repeat the column. For the sake of time, I just knit a couple rows of fox heads. The idea is worth going back to someday.

Sunday's Tips and Tricks was great. We all received a print out of 50+ tips and everyone in the class had something to contribute. A couple days ago I posted how I make cord for my drawstring bags- there was a great tip on how to use a ball winder to quickly introduce twist into a strand of yarn. I was all AAGGGHHH MY MIND- IT IS BLOWN.

The Mill was fantastic- everyone working there was so friendly and knowledgeable and really invested in the historic site. The event was well organized- wine and cheese reception Friday night, catered lunch Saturday, mid-morning coffee/pastries break. The marketplace had great vendors- I did pick up a few things. And the Berroco swag bag that the students received had a couple skeins of Fiora yarn and a lovely (LOVELY) laser-etched gold ornament of Slater Mill. 

I hung out with my friend and her new puppy. Ate some good food. Watched the Patriots win on Saturday. Came back on Sunday and still had a day off on Monday. Best weekend in a long time. 

[knitting] Ball winding

Having a ball winding party. I got a sack of nearly 50 skeins of yarn this past fall from Craigslist. The yarn is a discontinued cotton/llama blend from Plymouth Yarns. I wound 8 skeins for a project using my usual ball winder.

Then I took out my massive ball winder to handle three 8oz skeins of a bulky boucle cotton. You can see how much larger it is than my regular blue one.

Winding:

After all three skeins (1.5 lbs of yarn!) have been wound. Penny inspects my work.

I knit little swatches and machine washed/dried all the newly wound yarn, to make sure that it would work for the projects that I have in mind. 

I don't use the extra-larger winder much and it was pricey but I'm glad to have it. It's used rarely- and once I do bring it out, I'm so temped to wind every single skein I have larger than 4 oz- but it's worth it for time saved. I can wind 8oz in 5 minutes, rather than winding a ball by hand, which would be at least 30 min (to an hour- because tangles, they happen).

I'm traveling to Pawtucket, RI this weekend for a knitting retreat at Slater Mill. Looking forward to the classes and some (light... I hope) shopping. I come back on Sunday and since Monday is a fed holiday, I still get to have a bit of a weekend at home. I just need to sort out travel knitting and class supplies to bring.

[knitting] Niagara Drawstring Bag

Simple drawstring bag using all the leftover yarn from the Niagara Mittens:

The pattern is "Draw String Bag" by Meg Swansen and it's from the September 2005 issue of Vogue Knitting. I've been making this pattern since it was first printed. The article was more about a Turkish Cast-on technique (with pictures) that creates a seamless, two-sided fabric. I added the pattern page to Ravelry and literally half of the projects are by me. I love the pattern and it's perfect for using up leftover yarn.

This bag is larger than most I've made in the past- about 6 in x 6 in. It is 80 stitches around. For the string cords, I usually cut a long length of yarn (twice the length I want it to be) and put one end under a table leg to hold it down. Then, holding the other end, I roll it (across my pant leg or across the seat/back of a couch) in the same direction as the twist. When it's reeeeeealy taut, I put my finger at the midway point and then bring the ends together. The yarn wraps around itself and I just run my hand down the length of the cord a couple times to smooth it out. Then I knot the loose end. If I'm making two cords (for the drawstring bags) I count the number of rolls that I did for the first cord and do the same for the second.

[knitting] Karisma socks

Three new pairs of socks for Dollar:

All were knit with Drops Karisma Superwash. I placed an order at NordicMart last year, during Sock Madness, to try out some new sock yarns.

I usually knit Dollar's socks with superwash worsted yarn but these socks knit up just as fast. I knit continental style with DPNS and the socks just seemed to finish themselves.

The yarn was good- I used under three balls per pair and the yarn is so ridiculously cheap, all three pairs were only about $26 total in material. I encountered no knots. 10/10; would order again.

[misc] Murderface Monday

Had some fun with a stuffed tiger that a niece accidentally left at our house. I put the tiger at the top of the stairs and waited for the cats to approach. Santana wouldn't come up- she just sat and glowered at it. Murderface was a little more brave:

"Hello, Sir. Sir? Hello?"

"Santana, you dummy! It's not real! You can come up!"

"Hmmm, I have an idea..."

"Grrrr- I changed my mind. You can't come up. Stay down there or else!

It was a quality stuffed animal. I so wanted to keep it but alas, we had to return it. We brought it to her in one of our cat carriers. It was so cute.

I'm going to have to start taking pictures of things other than knitting/crochet. I think I'm knitting myself into rotator cuff tendonitis (can you get that from knitting?) so I should probably slow down. Or at least take more breaks and stretch more.

[knitting] Antler Cat Hat

A quick little holiday hat for the cats:

I know Penny looks terrifically unhappy in that picture but I promise that she only wears the hats that I make for a couple minutes and she purrs the whole time. This is yet another pattern from the Cats in Hats book. The antlers are simply i-cord knit over a pipe cleaner. They're a little wobbly- my only recommendation would be to start the base of the antler a little larger so that it can be sewed down more securely.

[crochet] Black Bear Bottlecap Body Bag

This is probably my most favorite gift that I made for Christmas:

I bought the iron bear head in Quebec City last summer- it's meant to be mounted on a wall and you pop open your bottle in the bear's mouth. I decided to make an empty sack that you can hang under it, to catch the caps. 

I crocheted, from the bottom up, an empty "body" and made a button hole at the back of the neck. When you mount the iron head, there's a button tab to secure under the head. Then you button the body on and once the body is full of caps, you simply unbutton and dump all the caps into the trash. 

I tried to make cute little arms and legs- but I was running out of yarn and ended up adding what looks like flippers rather than proper limbs. Oh well, it's still adorable. And functional!

[knitting] Niagara Mittens

A new pair of long mittens that fit me like a glove mitten:

I was going to make a simple pair of arm warmers (just 40 stitch stockinette tubes) but changed my mind and decided on mittens once I was four or five inches in. Hence the loooong cuffs.

The yarn is my handspun. I purchased the fiber at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario a couple years ago:

And spun it into two chain-plied skeins:

I had enough yarn leftover to knit a quick little drawstring pouch- need to do a little finishing on that before taking a picture.

For Christmas I received a set of acrylic Knitter's Pride Marblz double-pointed needles and made these mittens on the US 5 set. I've never knit with acrylic needles before and I really, really like these needles. Smooth, pointy and slightly flexible- easy to work with. And the needles are so pretty. I think I need to take pictures and do a post on them.

[knitting] 100 mitered squares of disappointment

After all my holiday knitting was done, I finished up the mitered infinity scarf that I started in early December.

One side:

The other side:

What the shit. The colors are so irregular- this is supposed to be one colorway.

The original fiber was 8oz of corriedale pencil roving from Crown Mountain Farm in 'Dance of the Dervish':

I spun it as a heavy fingering-weight single ply:

Obviously daytime/nighttime, natural light vs. artificial light will affect how the colors look in the pictures but it doesn't really explain why half of the yarn is literally a different colorway from the other half.

It started out with nice deep eggplant and orange but it eventually just turned to a washed out purple and greenish-yellow. With a random square here and there of all orange or brown. This is really disappointing and weird and ugly. I'm just going to be real and say it's a shitty dye job. There was no way to tell it would turn out like this while it was still in the skein. If I had known, I would have made this yarn a two-ply to blend things up.

I'll still use the cowl for myself- it's warm and plush- but I would not give it as a gift or enter it into the fair. It just looks so... junky.

It also makes me a little worried for another 8 oz of single ply from Crown Mountain Farm that I have in the stash:

I guess I won't be doing mitered squares with it.

[misc] Murderface Monday

Back to work after two entire weeks off. It was so nice. The first week was spent knitting Christmas gifts non-stop but it was still relaxing to get up, make some coffee and work on projects with the cats chilling around me.

We went to the movies to see Star Wars (twice!), I finally took care of all registration stuff for the snowmobiles (ready to hit the VAST trails), knit knit knit my little heart out... We just chilled and did whatever we wanted all day. It was awesome. 

I think the cats were happy to see us go this morning, so they can get back to their sleep-all-day routine.

[crochet] Sophie's Universe: Part 8

The Sophie's Universe afghan through part 8.

Started introducing some super bright colors and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I did get a lot more yarn in Ravelry trades and now that I have so many more options, I don't know what colors to do next. Take it back to neutral colors? Keep on with the brights? I don't know, I don't know.

I will get back to this during my vacation- right now I'm frantically knitting things for gifts. 

[misc] Oh Christmas Tree

Went out last Saturday to get a Christmas tree. It was sunny and 55 degrees.

I found a nice little tree for $45. I always want to barter but I'm not sure how to do it. "Hm, I'm interested in this one but... I don't know, the bottom is kind of messed up. Tell you what- I'll give you $40." I really only wanted to pay $40 was I was too worried about insulting them. So I didn't say anything and paid $45. 

At home, in the stand:

And after all the decorating:

The cats aren't too interested in it- Rocky has been messing with it more. He's knocked down a low-hanging ornament and nibbled a bit on it here and there. This is out first Christmas with the rabbit and as I saw him chewing, I thought, "Yeeeaahh I should probably Google whether or not fir trees are lethal to bunnies." Turns out they're fine as long as they haven't been sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals. 

Time to start wrapping gifts to put under the tree. I guess I need to start making them, then.

[crafts] Paint your own pottery

Went to paint pottery last week at Tip Top Pottery:

It was nice and relaxing- plus, you can bring wine!

I might go back this week to make a couple more pieces.

[knitting] Mitered Cowl

Working on a mitered cowl with my handspun:

[knitting] Bosnian Slippers

Made a new pair of house slippers to add to the guest basket:

Yes, they do look like platform hightop sneakers. I would have preferred the sole to be purple as well,but I ran out of the dark color and didn't want to introduce a new one.

The pattern is worked back and forth, one color at a time. The increases only happen every 4th row and are a little fiddly to work (making 6 new stitches out of 1) but results in the pretty, frilly design along the top of the foot. There was a fair bit of sewing to do at end, to close each slipper up from the top of the leg to the tip of the toe. 

Pattern is free on Ravelry. My recommendation would be to use a long (longer than 16") circular needle to make these slippers. I used single pointed needles it was a little difficult- the rapid increases create a natural curve to the fabric where the toe is. A flexible cable accommodates this better.

Not a bad pattern- would make again. I saw one modified version on Rav that looks more like a lady's slipper- to sit lower on the foot (less like hightop sneakers). Would require less yarn, as well.

[knitting] Newfoundland Mittens - Finished.

Pattern: Chunky Newfoundland Mittens (rav link)

Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky, gray. Handspun Grafton Fiber batt, orange.

Needles: US 8

Notes: No major modifications. Did the tip of the hand in purl, rather than knit. I love how these mittens turned out- they fit really well. Will definitely make another pair.

[misc] Murderface Monday

Another weekend gone. Had the winter tires put on and the car serviced at 8 am Saturday. Got home, puttered around the house a bit and then took a way-too-long nap in the afternoon with Murderface.

My first mistake was getting back into bed. Murderface will inevitably climb onto my chest and settle down for a nap. I think, "Well, I can't move him now... that would be mean. Maybe I'll just... close my eyes for a... ZZzzzZZZzzz". 

Murderface is feeling much better. He's not wheezy/sneezy anymore. He was sleeping so much, it's nice to see him up and about and causing trouble.

Who? Me? Cause trouble? ... You know it ;)

Sunday I made a trip down to H-Mart with my mom for some Korean food supplies. Looking forward to eating strictly Korean for a while.

[misc] TGIF

After MF's drama last week (and we've been pilling him since), Thanksgiving, travel to DC and back earlier this week- I am so happy it's Friday. I'm getting a new phone this afternoon and then I'm just going to chillax at home.

Penny was pretty chillax last night in her tub of hot, straight-from-the-dryer towels:

That's pretty much my goal for the weekend.

[misc] Murderface Thursday

Well, it has been a while since my last post. Thanksgiving has come and gone and it's December already. Murderface came down with something at the beginning of last week- hadn't eaten in a couple days, fever, dehydrated- which resulted in us bringing him to the vet for an emergency visit one night and then back to the vet in the morning when he still wasn't eating and still had a temperature. 

He's feeling much better now:

"Stop taking pictures of mittens and give me more food!

He's on antibiotics for some mystery infection. It appears (to me) to be respiratory because he's a little wheezy and very snotty since starting the pills. He's been sneezing and clearing out his nose nonstop. I assume this is just the virus working it's way out of his system. He only has two days left of pills (hurray! we'll ALL be relieved when it's done!). He's eating/drinking as normal. 

During this ordeal, we received some new information on Murderface. He had an x-ray done, to make sure there was nothing foreign inside of him, and we learned of a couple past injuries. His right hip isn't even in the joint and his has a fractured back:

I've never had him x-rayed before- there wasn't ever a need. He's been living with us since early 2008. There's nothing to be done about the injuries now- they are very old and his bones have healed/fused how they have and that's that. This information pretty much broke our hearts. I think he must have been hit by a car before he came to live with us, when he was still an outdoor cat. When Santana was having asthma issues a few years ago, I had her x-rayed and the vet at that time saw some indicators that she may have been hit by a car as well. Both of these are pretty good cases for keeping cats indoors-only.

MF is a normal, healthy, active kitty- running and jumping around the house- but now I'm aware that he could be living with chronic pain. He's still extremely affectionate and friendly- he doesn't hide when people come over. This is something the we need to be more aware of to give him a comfortable and appropriate quality of life. I added some stairs along our bed to help him get up some years go- but I attributed that to encroaching old age. Someone in the Rav cat group recommended a heating pad for him to lay on- to help with joint pain. I actually already had one that he uses and now I realize that he goes to it when the weather drops to ease any aches/pains.

Anyway... It's sad but good to know. Murderface has known all this time and never gave overt indicators (that I've picked up on). I think now we've got to be more diligent about giving him food and treats for joint/hip health. And look for signs of arthritis in future visits to the vet.