Monday, December 31, 2012

Year in Review

I thought I'd be like everyone else and show everything I knitted this year. Prepare yourself for lots of pictures!


The 2nd Howlcat for Stacy and Dan

Redundancy Hat

Soda Shoppe Hoodlet

Holla Back Tank

Black Swan 1

Black Swan 2

Scallop of the Sea

Wallpaper Cowl

Xia 2

Delores Park Cowl


Striped Tee

Delancy Cardigan
Happy New Year, everyone!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

My first KAL, complete!

Even with all my procrastination, I managed to complete my first KAL (again, that's a knit-a-long for the non-knitters).  As shown in an earlier post, we knitted the lovely Delancey Cardigan by Alexis Winslow.

See?  Lovely.
Pattern: Delancey Cardigan by Alexis Winslow
Yarn:  Knit Picks Merino Style
Needles: US 7

From the back with my new short hair.
Obviously I made some changes to the pattern.  Mine has short sleeves and a more simple collar/button band.  I thought it would be more suitable for the very mild weather here in Charleston.

Also, it looks OK open.

I'm happy to be finished with this cardigan.  It was fun to knit, but there are TONS of patterns out there I want to get started on.

Red pole love!




Friday, March 23, 2012

My kind of jewelry

As soon as I saw this brooch I knew I had to knit it as soon as possible.  It is just so stinkin' cute.  I quickly procured the necessary yarn and knit it up earlier this week.

I know you're jealous of the awesomeness.

Pattern: Panda Pin by Stafanie Fail
Yarn:  Knit Picks Wool of the Andes
Needles: US 6

The cuteness is almost too much!

I basically used the pattern as a guideline.  The pattern involved both stranded colorwork and intarsia.  I'm basically not down with anything more complicated than stripes.  Instead I just knit all the head in white and used duplicate stitches for the face.  I then picked up stitches for each of the ears.  Then things got messy.

Those with OCD should look away!

I decided to add felt to the back for tidiness and stability.  I am such a sloppy sewer (maybe sewist is better).  I really try to do a good job, but things always end up a mess.  I suppose the important thing is that the felt is on there and it is never coming off.

Let's not even mention the crooked brooch pin.  Here's a cat to distract you.

Bosley might just be the most handsome cat ever.



Monday, March 19, 2012

Out with the Old

Welcome to the new blog.  I thought it was time for a change around here.  Basically, I decided to switch to Blogger from Wordpress and dump my GoDaddy hosting.  This is the result.  I hope everyone likes the new look.  I still may tweak a bit here and there.  We'll see.

What else is new?  I finished my Big Snowy Owl.  Here he is.
Cute, right?
Speaking of cuteness.  Here's the newest member of the Simper Kingdom, Ripley.

She's even smaller than Moxie. 

Lewis caught her sleeping.  


Thursday, February 9, 2012

Delancey KAL Week 1

On Monday, the knit-a-long officially started for the Delancey Cardigan. If you want more info, visit Allyson's blog.

I quickly jumped right in and got to knitting.  This is my first of two triangles.  It was completed on Monday night.  In fact, I got the first done so fast I decided to wait a few days to start the second.  Once that second was complete yesterday, I realized a sad, sad fact.  My first triangle was smaller than it should be.  That tends to happen when you forget two whole rows.


That, my friends, is why you count your rows properly.  Above you see my counting method for this pattern.  I would usually use lines to count rows, but for this one I'm writing the actual row numbers down as I do them to make extra sure I get things right.
The most frustrating thing about fixing the first triangle was the fact that I had cut both colors of yarn when I finished it.  All I had was little tails left.  Not nearly what I needed to add two rows.  That's where the beautiful spit splicing comes in.


You take your tail and the start of a new ball of yarn.  Trim half the plies off the last couple of inches of each end, add spit... I know, gross!  I actually use water.  I put a few drops in my hand, then position the overlapping ends of yarn on my wet palm.  Next you rub your hands together over the overlapping yarn.  Wetness and friction cause natural animal fibers to felt together like above.  Now you don't have to weave in extra ends.  Sadly it doesn't work well with superwash wool which is one of the main reasons I don't use superwash.


As you can see from above, I finally got all my errors fixed and joined my two triangles together.  That completes this week's goals.  Stay tuned to see what happens next week.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Fail Big or Go Home

I will soon join a KAL (that's a Knitalong) for the lovely Delancey Cardigan.  It was love at first sight with this particular cardigan.  When the design first came out I immediately bought it and found some stash yarn and started knitting.  It wasn't until I finished the body that I realized it might be too big.
Before the sleeves it wasn't too bad.
Here's what I've determined as my problem.  Gauge, of course.  I knit a swatch like a good knitter.  I did not wash and block the swatch, but I did knit one.  That has to count for something.
To break things down: 
     My swatch was 17.25 sts x 24 rows = 4 x 4 inches in Stockinette stitch
     The required gauge was 18 sts x 26.5 rows = 4 x 4 inches in Stockinette stitch

The truth is I almost never come close to Row Gauge no matter what I do so I ignore it.  In most patterns this is not a problem.  In this pattern, IT MATTERS!!!
With sleeves, it is obviously HUGE!
Once I started picking up for the first sleeve, I realized I couldn't pick up the amount for the size I was knitting (36, btw).  I had to pick up the number for the next size up because my armhole was much larger than it should be.  I still managed to fool myself into thinking everything would be ok so I kept on knitting.  At some point I tried it on again and realized this thing made me look 50 lbs heavier than I am and it was unacceptable.
I think I could get about 5 arms in that sleeve.
This is my worst failure as a knitter so let's hope my second take on this cardigan will be more successful.


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Purple fever!

I've been knitting tons of purple stuff lately.  I guess that's what happens when I decide I need to take a break from greens and blues.  My latest purple item is a cute, summery tank.

Ignore the crazy eyes.  I was cold.
Ignore the crazy eyes. I was cold.


Pattern: Loop Entrelac Tank by Allyson Dykhuizen

Yarn: Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport

Needles: US 4 and 6

More details… here (ravelry link)

What?  I'm just trying to show you the neckline detail.
What? I'm just trying to show you the neckline detail.

This was fun to knit.  The construction is really neat and keeps things interesting.  I wore it out tonight (with a jacket, of course) and it was very comfy.  I have yet to actually wash and block it.  I think I'll try to make it a bit more roomy around the waist when I get around to blocking it.

Gotta go now.  I've got more knitting to finish before the week's out.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Can you say curly?

My new shawl/scarf is very, very curly.  I decided that's ok though.  It is colorful and the back is as cute as the front so all is well.

I'm happier about this scarf than I look.
I'm happier about this scarf than I look.

Pattern: Speedline by Alexandra Tinsley

Yarn: Berroco Vintage and Cascade 220

Needles: US 9

More details… here (ravelry link)

Look at that masterful knitting!
Look at that masterful knitting!

The pattern was super easy and great football knitting.  The only change I made was to cast on less stitches (40 less, I think.) because I was using up stash yarn.  The pattern calls for DK weight yarn, but I used a worsted weight instead.

Just so you don't think I was too serious today.
Just so you don't think I was too serious today.
Now for a little known fact about me (until  now).  Although I don't get the whole fake mustache craze, I am a bit obsessed with making mustaches out of random things.  My favorite is the kitty tail mustache, but I will use a vine or scarf  in a pinch.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

I'll have ten, please.

It seems it is time for finished projects to start rolling in again.  I have two so far this week.  One is a gift that I won't blog about, but have posted pics to Google+ so most of you have probably seen it.  The other is a top I've been dying to make since the preview of the pattern came out months ago.  As soon as the pattern was released, I purchased it.  Since I had purchased the yarn for it the month before I was ready to start right away.

Behold the loveliness (of the top)!
Behold the loveliness (of the top)!

Pattern: Xia by Kessa Tay Anlin

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Sport

Needles: US 3 and 6

More details… here (ravelry link)

Look at that crocheted edging!
Look at that crocheted edging!

I actually made it too small, but I think it's cute as a more fitted top.  Also, I got to crochet for the first time.  I think I did pretty good for a beginner.  As for the pattern, it was pretty straight forward.  The only thing that wasn't really obvious was the lace chart and how things repeated while doing waist increases.  It was easy enough to figure out as the the lace pattern is obvious, but a beginner might be thrown off for a second.  Also, I should've listened to other knitters, the armholes are snug.  For my fitted top, they are fine, but when I make another larger one, it might look a bit funny with pit-hugger sleeves.  I will definitely make them about an inch bigger.

Outside is so dirty!
Outside is so dirty!

Monday, September 12, 2011

A Difference of Opinion

That's what Loops and I have right now.  A difference of opinion about what is considered to be too many shoes.  I told him I would create a post to document how many shoes I actually have.  He thinks it will make me realize how I have tons of shoes.  I think it will cause people to come to my defense and point out that my shoe collection is in no way out of control.  We'll see.

First off, my "dress" shoes.  I didn't take any time to photograph these in detail.  I would've had to dust them since they get worn only rarely.  All are very inexpensive.  I'd say under $30.

The not-so-fancy fancy shoes.
The not-so-fancy fancy shoes.

Next, we have sneakers.  I went through a phase of buying these so I have a nice little collection.  Out of the 10.5 pictured (the .5 are my actual exercise shoes so we can ignore them), my favorites are the bottom left.  They are Rocket Dogs and, with the black, blue, purple, and pink action, they go with about 75% of my wardrobe.

It's like a rainbow up in my closet!
It's like a rainbow up in my closet!

Next up are the shoes worn more than any others, the house shoes.  Most people think it's odd, but I wear shoes almost all the time.  I don't sleep or shower in them, but any other time there will be shoes on my feet.  Right now I alternate between a lovely pair of Born Mary Janes (I <3 Born!) and my very cute Minnetonka Moccasins.

House shoes in the house!
House shoes in the house!

Now we get on to the serious stuff.  I'm not going to lie about it.  I love me some boots.  I've divided them into categories.

First, we have the cheap boots, which I consider anything under $50.  I'd say most of these were between $25 and $40.

The Brown Collection.  It's small and I'd say these are my least worn.

Look at that poly-fur!
Look at that poly-fur!

The Black Collection.  I really like all these.  Both Rocket Dogs (the two pair in back) are made of some weird material that is much nicer to wear than fake leather.

They may be cheap, but I love them.
They may be cheap, but I love them."

The Gray Collection.  I wear the Sketchers all the time.  Gray is my favorite color so I always reach for these since I don't have an expensive gray pair.  The other pair is Not Rated Official.  I picked these up for less than $30 at the end of March which means end of boot season here in Charleston so I have yet to wear these.  Hopefully it will cool off soon so I can try them out.

Gray is Awesome.
Gray is Awesome.
This post is getting long, isn't it? ;)

Next up are the expensive boots.  Anything over $100 is expensive to me.

First we have the boots that started my love for boots.  The Frye boots (on the left) are possibly my favorite boots, look-wise.  I recently had to have the heels adjusted though because I couldn't wear them for very long without some serious foot pain.  Hopefully, I can wear them more now.  The boots on the right are my newest acquisition.  They are Dr. Martens.  I actually have worn these.  I ignored the temps and wore them a couple of weeks ago.  They are pretty comfy.

Can anyone tell I favor lace-up boots?
Can anyone tell I favor lace-up boots?

Last, my pride and joy.  My Born boots.  Did I mention I <3 Born?!?  I love both pairs.  I would like 10 more pairs, but I guess that's not happening.  While the ones on the left are the lookers, the others are my favorite boots to wear.  In fact, these boots tromped all over Paris and Belgium last year.  Although, I did hurt my foot on a cobble in Brugge, I do not hold it against the boots.  It could have happened in any shoe.

Born sure knows how to make a nice boot.
Born sure knows how to make a nice boot.

So, there we go.  My whole collection.  Ok.  There is one more pair.  I forgot about my Sperry rain shoes that are under Loops Chest of Drawers.  See, I'm all about the honesty here.  I'm not taking a picture of them though.  Let's not forget that I'm lazy.

If you're tired of looking at shoes, this last picture is for you.

Dottie <3 Loops, who took this picture.
Dottie <3 Loops, who took this picture.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Picture Post FTW

I'm lazy.  We all know it.  I just wanted to show you what I'm knitting for Dan and Stacy.

The yarn I'm using (and Stacy's hat started)
The yarn I'm using (and Stacy's hat started)

Blues, Greens, and Very Trendy Grellow!
Blues, Greens, and Very Trendy Grellow!

I didn't think Stacy would want to see her hat on someone else's head.
I didn't think Stacy would want to see her hat on someone else's head.

For anyone interested, the pattern  is Howlcat by Alex Tinsley.

I'll talk more about things once I've completed both hats.