Shannon Knits

Weird thoughts

2010-11-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

My brain conjures up strange thoughts in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep. Usually morbid ones. Like, if you touched molten, melted glass (on accident, I assume, unless you’re just that stupid), would it melt/sizzle your fingertip off? Or would it harden immediately, then take a chunk of your flesh off if you tried to get it off? Would you be stuck with a glass fingertip for the rest of your life? It would be an interesting conversation piece. “Oh that? That’s just my decorative glass fingertip. I’m fancy like that.” I would be sad if it just moulted off after a few days.

Seeing as it’s nearly 3am, I’m going to try to get my brain to shut the hell up with the weird questions so I can sleep. I have no point here, I think I'm just trying to spew the thoughts to a general audience so my brain will SHUT THE HELL UP. Go to goddamn sleep, brain.

Disgruntled

2010-07-08T20:14:00.001-07:00

Dear Bank Employee Who Called Me At Work,

I didn’t answer my cell, because I didn’t recognize your number. Your urgent, “Ms. Shannon, please return my call as soon as possible, I have something very important to discuss with you” voicemail did put the fear of God into me, though. Had I somehow managed to spend all my money without even realizing it? Was I sleep-spending hundreds of dollars online? My sleeping pills do make me groggy, these things could happen! Maybe someone suspicious was trying to access my account, or someone had stolen my credit card number and had surpassed my limit!

So I’m sure you understood my panicked call to your secretary, and my even-more panicked feelings when she told me you were helping another customer, and I would have to hang up and wait for your call back. So I sat at my desk worrying my ass off, visions of slimy identity thieves spending my hard-earned money plaguing my every thought. When my cell finally rang 15 minutes later, I snatched it up and blurted out a panicked, “HELLO THIS IS SHANNON”, my anxiety reaching its pinnacle.

Imagine my surprise when you greeted me with a cheery, “Ms. Shannon, you have a VERY important decision to make about protection from overdraft fees!” In case you couldn’t tell, those seconds of silence on my end were due to my overwhelming urge to reach through the phone and strangle you. I managed to control my irritation through your whole gratingly cheery spiel: “OMG LIFE WITH OUR OVERDRAFT PROGRAM IS AWESOME!! IT IS MADE OF RAINBOWS AND GLITTERY UNICORN FARTS OMG!” I will admit, I took vicious satisfaction in the disappointment in your voice when I turned down your omg-super-awesome (but not so awesome for me, thank you very much) plan. Next time, don’t put me on the defensive before I even call you back, k?

No love, from your grumpy, slightly disgruntled customer,
Shannon

Temporarily defeated

2010-07-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

I have been knitting for years. I have tackled everything from lace shawls to cabled items to color-work to socks. I happily tackle new techniques and usually do very well at it. But sometimes, even the simplest things bring me to my knees.

I have been working on the Central Park Hoodie for ages now. I blew through the back and fronts with no problem at all, all three pieces turned out gorgeous. But the sleeves… I have knit and frogged, knit and frogged, knit and frogged TWENTY FIVE MILLION TIMES. Because even though I’m a fully-functioning adult and, I like to think, a relatively clever knitter, I’m apparently unable to count to 8 and differentiate between right and left at the same time. So what were supposed to be simple but beautiful cables marching up the sleeves of my sweater, turned into a clump of mis-crossed nonsense that looks like I might possibly have had a seizure while knitting. So I spent 10 minutes frogging half the sleeves, blurting out obscenities with each row ripped out. “*Tug* goddamit. *Tug* Shit! *Tug* SHITDAMNSHIT!” (This is why I don’t go to knit nights in public, they tend to frown on sailor language). So the offending sweater has been stuffed into the closet, because who in their right mind works on a woolen sweater in this kind of heat anyway? I haven’t been defeated by a non-sentient pile of wool, I’m just being practical. Yeah, that’s it. Practical.

You may be cocky now, CPH, but you will get yours. I will make you my bitch.

(This is the only picture I have right now, which is the beginning of the back of the sweater. I need to get some updated shots to keep track.)

Helloooo (echo)

2010-07-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

Why yes, it has been a long time since I've updated this, thanks for noticing. So I will remedy that now (I will try to keep this updated, promise). I will begin with tales from last night.

Over the years of having a fucked-up subconscious that produces horrifyingly realistic dreams, I’ve learned that upon waking, a startled, sleep-addled brain can lead one to do a multiple of odd things (hauling ass across the room to sit in the closet and hide before I regained my wits being an example of this). Having sleeping pills that keep my brain fuzzy and half-dead for a good chunk of time after waking exacerbates this issue. Last night was another prime example.

Before waking, I was trapped in a dream where I was stranded in my home (which had grown the size of a mansion, apparently) in an alternative universe, where crazy people splattered with blood tried to chase me around, into areas of the house that had fireballs floating about them. I assume these were evil death-by-fire chambers. Also, I was inexplicably without my pants, wearing only a shirt and underpants, as one does while trapped in an alternative universe, apparently.

As I was racing about trying to escape, I was rudely jerked out of sleep, I assume by one of the exploding firecrackers that have been going off ALL NIGHT OMFG. I jerked up in bed, face covered in drool, and still trapped in a dream state. My brain went, “evil people chasing! Flee!” and then “OMG HUNGRY.” My brain assessed the situation and came back with the solution of, “you in danger, bitch. Haul your ass out to get sustenance, then hurry the fuck back” (my brain has terrible language). So putting aside my previous fight-or-flight instinct of “get the hell out of here”, I scurried into the kitchen to procure vittles, while still encompassed in an adrenaline-fueled sleep haze. Seeing as how I was absolutely starving for some reason, I grabbed whatever my grubby little paws touched, and hauled ass back to the perceived safety of my locked bedroom.

As I sat on my bed munching away at my pilfered bounty, with the DVD I had fallen asleep to quietly replaying in the background, I assessed what I had grabbed to apparently refuel for my daring escape of the alternative universe. Already my brain was starting to come back to earth, and I had the wherewithal to be amused by my quickly-grabbed treasure: a plastic picnic cup I had dumped some tortilla chips into, the homemade spinach dip I had made earlier the previous day, and a sourdough bread round to scoop the dip up with. The entire bread round; I hadn’t taken the time to slice it or anything (what part of “being chased by blood-thirsty crazies while in my underpants” are you not grasping? Time is of the essence). Now that my brain was fully awake and aware and my gnawing hunger was satisfied, I stashed the evidence of my late night snack on my bedside table, and passed out asleep again. I woke later to an unhappy, churning stomach and a mouth that tasted of onions and death.

Having a fucked-up-dream-producing subconscious and sleeping pills that leave me slow to return to full consciousness never fails to be entertaining.

Daisy in the snow

2008-12-18T15:09:00.001-08:00

It very rarely snows here, and when it does, it usually doesn't stick. But for the past few days it has just been *dumping* snow, and it's sticking! So I put Daisy's sweater on and took her out, to see how she would react. She wasn't a very happy camper:

Catching snowflakes.

"Eating snow? Who, me?"

"K, now I'm irritated. Let me inside."

"What if I look sad and pathetic, will you let me in then?"

"Fine, no more cooperating. This is the only view you get till you let me inside."

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

Candy cookies

2008-12-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

I swear, these are some of the tastiest cookies I've made, and they're so easy! I originally saw them on the Pioneer Woman's blog, and ran out to get stuff to make them right away.

You take your favorite refrigerated cookie dough roll (I used Pillsbury peanut butter and sugar cookie doughs), cut them in thick slices, and then cut each slice into quarters. Put each quarter into a greased mini muffin tin, and bake for about 7 minutes at 350*. Don't overbake them! I prefer them to be just on the edge of doughy. While you're waiting for them to cook, unwrap one piece of candy for each cookie (I used mini peanut butter cups and Hershey kisses), and as soon as you take the cookies out, pop a candy on top of each one. Then you'll have these:

I think the peanut butter cookies with the Hershey kisses were by far the best! They were all gone within a day. They're best to eat within a few hours, before the chocolate has a chance to really firm back up. I made them in the late afternoon, and when I got up in the middle of the night and wanted a snack, they were still perfect. By the next day, they had firmed up all the way, and while they're still really good, there's just something about squishy gooey chocolate that makes them oh-so good!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

I love my hat

2008-11-23T18:38:00.001-08:00

I finished this a while ago, but took forever to take pictures. I have yarn ready to go for another one, I wear it everywhere! Only problem is, if I get too warm while wearing it, it's sweaty head city (which also leads to the oh-so-attractive hat-head).

(Eek, no makeup!)

I used two skeins of Cascade 220 in the 9412 colorway (I hate it when yarn companies use numbers for colorways!), size 10.5 needles for the main part of the hat, and size 6 for the strap. It's weird-looking when you aren't wearing it, since it's so long to create the bunched area in the back. It kind of looks like Marge Simpson's hair. The pattern is the Just Like a Peasant Cap, and it was quick and really easy.

I feel like a pirate when I wear it.

A knitting update

2008-11-14T22:40:00.000-08:00

After frogging Lizard Ridge, because I just didn't like the way it was turning out, I've been chugging away on my Paintbox Kureyon blanket. Here are a few squares (I've done 7 so far, I think, and all are unblocked, hence the wonkiness):

I also completed an Old Shale Smoke Ring (and don't really care for it. It's pretty, but not on me)

I also finished a peasant cap, which I absolutely love, but haven't gotten a picture of yet. Soon though!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

Non-Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

I have been so bad at updating, but I have a bunch of baking and knitting things to update, so I'll have a few more blog entries up soon. Promise!

Worldless Wednesday

2008-10-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Bread

2008-10-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

So, tis the season for pumpkin. Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cupcakes, and finally, pumpkin bread. I used the Downeast Maine recipe from Allrecipes.com, and holy cow it was awesome. I modified it just a bit, using 2 cups of white sugar and one cup brown sugar (instead of three cups white sugar), and I made a glaze to dump on top right after it came out of the oven. It made three loaves, and I froze two, thinking it would last a while. Within three or four days, all loaves had been defrosted and consumed. I'd say we have a winning recipe!

I wish I could have gotten better pictures, I'm going to go back to borrowing my dad's nice camera from now on for baking pictures.

(Who, me, sample a slice before taking a picture? Well I never!)

So moist and fabulous.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Football cupcakes

2008-10-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago (yeah, I'm late with blogging, like usual!) my family decided to get one of those big sub sandwiches from Subway, and watch a bunch of football. Personally, I am not a fan of football, but it gave me an excuse to make themed cupcakes, so I did!

I'm a messy, cluttered baker.

I still have trouble with piping frosting; I used a grass tip here, but couldn't get it to look right. So I just kind of went crazy with it and hoped people got the idea.

The cupcakes were plain old chocolate cake mix, with a surprise Hershey kiss nestled inside each one. The frosting is cream cheese frosting dyed green, and the little footballs were these foul little candies that were supposed to be maple but tasted like dirty feet. They were the closest I could find to candy that looked somewhat like footballs though. And the football stitches were just piped on in white frosting. They were very tasty, and went over much better than the banana muffins I had made the morning before, which I'll post eventually.

Shame, shame

2008-10-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not updating as much as I should, for shame. Last weekend I made pumpkin cupcakes using a boxed yellow cake mix with canned pumpkin. I think they turned out nice-looking, but they tasted so-so. Not something I would make again. I love cake mix, but pumpkin cupcakes are apparently something that should be made from scratch.

Regular-sized cupcakes.

Minis! I liked these the best.

I searched through three different stores at least, trying to find a bag of Brach's pumkins. They're one of my favorite Fall candies, and I wanted them for the cupcakes. I couldn't find them anywhere, and had to settle for a bag of Autumn Mix candies, which came with pumpkins, candy corn, and chocolate candy corn. The inventor of the chocolate candy corn must have been a sick person playing a mean trick, because that stuff is AWFUL. We tossed it out because no one was eating it.Blech.

This weekend I plan to make banana cupcakes/muffins. I'm either going to go the cupcake route, and top them with cream cheese frosting, or go the muffin route, and top them with an oat and brown sugar crumble. I haven't decided yet.

Cupcake plans

2008-09-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

I am being unoriginal and making pumpkin cupcakes again this weekend. They were just so good last time! I'm going to make bright orange cream cheese frosting, and stick a candy pumpkin or a candy corn on top of each one. This is granted I can hold off from stuffing them in my face long enough to get the candy on top.

Stitch & Pitch socks

2008-09-24T20:26:00.001-07:00

I made these using the yarn I bought at the year's Stitch & Pitch. I love them, and I love this yarn. I bought a skein of different shades of pink last weekend too. Unfortunately, there aren't many colors that I like in the Duet yarns. I also am having a little shopping spree at the Blue Moon Fiber Arts website, for some Socks That Rock. I forgot how much I liked the yarn until I was looking through Ravelry's STR yarn sections and remembered just how awesome it was. So I went stash diving and found a skein of STR Lightweight in Space Dust, and cast on a toe-up two-at-once pair of sock in 3x1 ribbing.

Here are the Duet socks I finished:

Pumpkin cupcakes

2008-09-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

Since it's just starting into Fall (my very favorite season), I've been getting the hankering for Fall food. So this weekend, I decided to make pumpkin cupcakes. The thing is, the recipe calls for canned pumpkin, but specifically states that canned pumpkin pie filling will not work. I knew I had seen a can of what I thought was canned pumpkin the the cupboards, so I just went about getting the rest of the batter ready. When the recipe called for the pumpkin, I pulled out the can to come to the unhappy realization that it was indeed pumpkin pie filling. This is what I get for not getting all my ingredients out before I start. But I decided to wing it anyway. They baked up just fine, and I set them aside to cool while I made the cream cheese frosting. I also pulled aside 1/4 cup of frosting that I would eventually use to make spiderwebs on the cupcakes. I frosted the cupcakes, and started to add cinnamon to the remaining frosting to make it a darker color. The recipe made it sound like you would only need a few teaspoons to get the frosting dark enough, but it took me at least two tablespoons. It was a wee bit strong, but since it was only going to be spider webs, it would just be a small amount on the cupcake. Even with the pumpkin booboo, these were AMAZING cupcakes. I will be making them again very soon.

The problem here is, I went too deep with my toothpick when I was dragging the webs out, so there are lines all the way down to the cupcake. Next time I will use a lot less pressure.

Clapotis

2008-09-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

It's finally done and photographed! I started it at the end of July, and finished it the first week of September; I was also working on other projects at the time, so it wasn't a project I solely concentrated on. It's final length is 7'2", which is much longer than I expected, but I like the extra length.

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes

2008-09-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

More cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor book! These ones were amazing, the whole family liked them. My only complaint is that, instead of the cheesecake filling sinking to the middle of the cupcake, it stayed on top and spread out. I think this might have been because I used a butter-recipe cupcake mix, and it was really thick. I had trouble getting it into the paper cups, usually batter is thin enough to pour, but this was like wet cement. Sure tasted good though!

Before the cherries were added.

Ready for a dusting of powdered sugar.

Mmmmmmmm.

A lone cupcake.

I will definitely make these again, they were wonderful!

Chocolate cupcake cones

2008-09-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

These were the first cupcakes I made this weekend, the cupcake cones from Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor. They were made with a butter-recipe chocolate cake mix, and topped with homemade chocolate buttercream frosting (also from the Cake Doctor book). I made half a batch of cones, and half a batch of regular cupcakes, because I ran out of cones!

All nekkid and awaiting their frosting.

Oooh, ahhhh. There were more cones, but they didn't turn out as pretty. This was my first try at piping frosting, so some came out a little wonky.

Om nom nom. I love the little fall leaves sprinkles too.

Then I had the plain old cupcakes too:

Ooh, it looks like...dog poo. Great.

Overall, the cake part itself was great, and the frosting was fantastic! The cone parts were pretty ick though. Very stale and chewy.

Cupcakes!

2008-09-03T18:18:00.001-07:00

So, besides knitting, one of the hobbies I have been sucked into is cupcake making. I fell in love with the Hello, Cupcake book after seeing all the irresistibly cute cupcakes inside. I have made a few so far, including these bad boys:
They were the first decorated cupcakes I ever made, so they are a little shaky, and I should have taken pictures of them on something other than my horrible cookie sheet (I will next time, promise!). I discovered that canned frosting is very hit-or-miss; I didn't like this chocolate frosting at all (however, I love rainbow chip canned frosting enough to eat it plain with a spoon). Next cupcakes I make will be using frosting made from scratch.

Today I went to Barnes and Noble and bought Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrne, as well as Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans and Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella. I've already found a ton of recipes I want to try, but this weekend I've picked out two. I am going to make chocolate cupcakes baked in ice cream cones with chocolate buttercream frosting, as well as cherry cheesecake cupcakes. I was just going to make the ice cream cone ones, until my dad saw the cherry ones, and wanted those. So it will be a cupcake weekend! I'll have pictures then, as well as pictures of my Clapotis, which is all blocked and ready to go.

CLAPOTIS IS DONE!!

2008-09-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry, all-caps was required. I'm so excited I could just pee. I finished it today, and it's blocking right now. It's huge, giant even. I will have pictures soon. I don't think I've actually finished a project in ages.

I FINALLY FINISHED SOMETHING, WOOHOO!

Sigh

2008-08-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

So, I made myself promise that I would not start a new project until I finished at least one of my shawls. I have two that are close, my Clap and my plain Jane rectangle. Both are very near completion. So I figured it wouldn't be too difficult to hold off knitting anything else until then. And yet, what did I do today? Cast on for a blanket. A BLANKET. Not a small little simple project, a big horking blanket. It is a lap blanket though, it's not like it's going to be huge, but still. I have no will power.

So far, I have knit 18 repeats of the straight section of the Clap, out of the 20 I think I'm planning on doing. I honestly have no idea how the pattern as written (with 13 repeats) produces something long enough to become a shawl. But whatever tickles your pickle.

I have made progress since this picture, but it's pretty close:

And this is an older picture of my rectangular shawl, I've made a ton of progress since then:
It's about 5 feet right now. I really only work on this during my lunch hour at work, but I'm chugging away.

What a life

2008-08-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

"Go away, this is my chair. You'll just have to knit later."

"See, I'm too pathetic to push off, right? Now scram."

"BONE!! Om nom nom."

She's got it good, I wish I could sleep and eat all day. She likes to take control of my knitting chair when I get up, and then look all sad and pathetic when I get back, so I feel guilty pushing her off. She usually puts up with getting down long enough for me to sit down, then she'll jump back up and cram herself between me and the arm of the chair.

Stitch n Pitch!

2008-08-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry, this is a bit late. But Stitch n Pitch was a blast, and we won! Though we left a little early to get to the buses on time, and missed the winning home run! That was such a bummer. But still, I had fun and picked up some pretty new sock yarn.

I bought pretty sock yarn:

And, the next day I got my Ravelry tote in the mail!:

Stitch & Pitch tomorrow!

2008-08-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from last year, I'm brining my camera along again this year. I'm going to bring my Clap to work on, since it's the prettiest project at the moment. Hey, it's a giant group of other knitters, you have to show off, you know?

Score!

2008-08-05T00:30:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Little Knits, one more skein of this will be winging its way to me sometime next week:

Now I don't have to worry about running out of yarn, and I can add a few more middle repeats, which is good, because otherwise it would end up too short for my liking. Go Little Knits! They're a lifesaver.

Clapotis

2008-08-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

I decided I like the anticipation of coming up to, and dropping, one stitch per repeat. It makes the repeats more enjoyable, like a little prize mid-way through! Here's what I have finished so far:

I've finished 9 out of 13 straight section repeats, and I'm starting to feel like it won't be long enough. And there's a chance I don't have enough yarn, so I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this yet. I'll see how it looks once I finish all 13 repeats, and if I think I'll have enough yarn, I'll add a few more.

Bath time for Daisy

2008-08-03T15:30:00.001-07:00

"This is what I think of you and your stupid baths!"

"Can I come out now?"

There, don't you feel better Daisy?

Adventurous

2008-07-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

I have decided to be adventurous and use a fellow knitter's technique of just saying to heck with it, and dropping every single stitch at once, rather than doing one every 12 rows. I'll be doing that tomorrow, and I'll post pictures of the results. There may be a lot of foul language involved, but I'm hoping it will turn out the way I want it too.

I'm ashamed...

2008-07-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

It certainly has been a while, a lot has been going on. But, I thought I would keep you up to date on my current knitting adventures. I have shafted the poor Lizard Ridge into the corner of the closet, for no apparent reason. I fixed a huge mistake regarding length which ended with picking apart cast on and cast off edges, and grafting length to the blanket. I actually am ready to get going now, so I'll have to break it out. I'll bring it out this weekend, and have pictures then.

Knitty's Clapotis

Yarn: Kauni Effektgarn in the EQ colorway
I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! I already have plans for another.

Knitty's Juno Regina

Yarn: Eldebeth Lavold Silky wool, not sure of the color, I'll need to find the ball band

I also have a simple rectangular wrap going, as well as a pair of simple socks. Soon I am going to have a hat for Seattle's Cancer Care Alliance going. I just need to find the right yarn. I'll get more caught up later, but for now, this just does a quick intro into what I've got on the needles.

A passing

2008-01-24T20:16:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to let people know that Bailey passed away last week. He has been pictured a few times on the blog (the Christmas pictures most recently) and I know a lot of people here on Blogger (and other blog sites) were keeping him in their thoughts while we were trying to get him better. On Wednesday of last week, we were originally going to take him to a vet to see if there was anything they could do, since he just wasn't able to do much of anything anymore. He could barely stand long enough to pee, he was having a very hard time breathing, and his legs kept giving out. When we went to pick him up to get him ready to go, he was in a comatose state, and wouldn't even lift his head. My parents and brother took him, and I stayed behind. I've never been able to do this kind of thing, I have to have my breakdown privately. They euthanized him and sent his body off for cremation. We go this weekend to pick up his ashes.

But I wanted to say thanks for the encouraging words and positive thoughts for my Bailey.

Fuzzy Feet, take 3

2008-01-15T22:23:00.001-08:00

Before felting:

After felting:

Pattern: Knitty's Fuzzy Feet
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Palais
Needles: size 10.5 Options Circulars

This is my third pair of these slippers! The first pair had to be retired because they got to the point where I couldn't even patch them anymore. I couldn't bear to throw them away, so they are stowed away in my closet. The second pair I made just got their first holes, so I'll be patching them soon. This newest pair took me one weekend to do! I think that's pretty darn good. I'm ordering some yarn from Knitpicks to try out for more of these slippers. My feet are always freezing, so I could use a big stash of Fuzzy Feet.

Up next post: The wicked awesome stuff I received from my CPaA swapner. I'll have to do that when I'm not so sleepy though, I'll be amazed if this post makes it out spelling-error free, my poor brain is ready for bed.

Fire on the Mountain

2008-01-15T22:19:00.001-08:00

Yarn: Socks That Rock Lightweight in Fire on the Mountain
Pattern: 3x1 rib, continued through the heel and foot
Needles: Size 1 Options Circulars

I like these colors so much! My only complaint is the ribbing digs into the tops of my feet if I wear the wrong shoes.

More ugh

2008-01-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

That bout of illness lasted an unbelievably long time. I'm still feeling a little wonky but I'm doing better. I'll hopefully get a lot of knitting time in this weekend, I want to finish my sock. Speaking of socks, my favorite LYS Renaissance Yarns has the Noro sock yarn! I thought I'd have to resort to buying it online, without even being able to touch and look at it. I'm going to try to go by this weekend to get some. I want to go by the Lamb's Ear Farm too, they have a pretty good sock yarn collection. I have this uncontrollable urge to buy sock yarn right now, I'll just have to appease it by buying some!

My other projects have gotten a little work. I did a few rows on my green Elann Flower Petal Shawl, and a few rows into one of the squares for an afghan. I need to get Lizard Ridge up and going again.

Blargh

2007-12-28T23:02:00.000-08:00

I haven't got much knitting done, I've been so sick the past two weeks. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things by trying to finish my December Sockdown sock. I really like the way the sock is turning out, I just feel too crappy to work on it. After this sock, I'm going back to my plain vanilla self-striping socks for a while, so I can concentrate on the two afghans I'm making, and well as my other shawls. These Socks That Rock socks hypnotized me to only work on them! Neglecting the rest of the projects. But, I'm at the heel of the second sock, I would be done soon.

Merry Christmas from the pugs

2007-12-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

I tried to take Christmas pictures this year, but the lighting in our living room is bad and makes it difficult, but here are the better pictures of the batch:

Rocktober Socks

2007-12-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

Yarn: Socks That Rock, in Rocktober
Needles: Size 1 circulars
Pattern: Just a simple 3x1 ribbing, continued down into the heel and top of the foot.

I love this yarn so much! I've already started another sock, using the same basic pattern, and Socks That Rock in Fire on the Mountain.

Rocktober socks

2007-12-07T23:28:00.000-08:00

They are finished, and I will have pictures tomorrow after I get them out into natural light to take pictures.

Lizard Ridge

2007-12-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

I have finished and seamed two strips, sort of. I need to figure out how to sew two of my extra squares onto the bottom of each strip, so they will be 5 "squares" long each. I'm starting to think I didn't really think this whole, "oh, I'll just sew one of these extra squares on at the end, wouldn't want to waste them! It'll look fine." thing though. (I made four individual squares before I decided to do strips instead). I'm trying to find the most invisible seam possible for attaching the squares to the strips. Everything I've tried so far has look shabby. But, here are the strips so far, sans squares, out in out first snow of the year! It's already almost completely melted away though, how sad.

This last one isn't crooked, it's stretched out weird over the snow.

Lizard Ridge again

2007-11-27T21:26:00.000-08:00

This seaming is going to kill me. I'm seaming it up as I go, and thank goodness for that, because it's going to take forever! I've never done the mattress stitch before, I think I've just whip-stitched anything I've needed to seam (which isn't much, I can't think of anything recently that's needed seams). But it's tedious, and I'm having trouble getting the blanket ridges to match up and look even. But, it will be worth it since the seam looks really nice, much better than whip-stitching it. I want to go to JoAnns to check out their flannel selection, to see what I'm going to want for the back. I can either go solid, or go wild with the whole thing and choose a printed fabric. I'm leaning towards wild, I love JoAnns flannel selection.

I also need to get Christmas decorations at JoAnns, it's decorating time! I'm going out to do my Christmas shopping either Thursday or Friday, so I'll go to JoAnns then.

Update

2007-11-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

No pictures though, sorry.

I'm getting close to finishing another pair of socks, my Socks That Rock Rocktober ribbed socks. I finished the heel (a heel flap, which I kind of despise, but it looked nicer with this pattern), and now I just have to decrease back down and get the foot going.

And finally, an update on Lizard Ridge. After sitting in my WIP bag for months, I pulled it out and got to work. I've decided I'm going to go for 5 squares by 5 squares (instead of 4 squared by 6 squares), and make a square lap blanker rather than a rectangular blanket. I may change my mind, I'm just playing it by ear. But I have two strips of five finished, and I have two repeats of the next strip done. Yay!

Slipper Socks

2007-11-05T14:12:00.001-08:00

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton, Willow (0.75 skein) and Tomato (0.25 skein)
Needles: Knitpicks Options, size 8
I didn't use a pattern, I just fudged the numbers. I cast on too many for the first sock, and instead of frogging and casting on again, I just decreased a bit. So the top is a little bigger on one. I must have decreased down to too few stitches at the toes, because they are pointy and pinchy. But they are very comfy, and very soft, but I don't think I'll be walking around too much in them, they feel like they'd wear out quick. I usually just need warm socks when watching tv, or sitting at my desk doing schoolwork, so I can wear them then.

Fall socks

2007-10-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

Yarn: Opal Rainforest in the Snake colorway; about 3/4 a skein.
Needles: Size 1 Addis.
Notes: I was fully prepared for these socks to be fraternal. I'm kind of weird about having my socks match up just right, but I decided to put my weird obsessiveness behind me, and just start the second sock from where I left off in the skein with the first one. And they came out perfectly matching. That rocks so hard.

Daisy!

2007-10-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

Daisy made it onto Pug-a-Day! I'm such a proud pug mama.

http://www.pugaday.com/pug-of-the-day/10-19-2007/417/

Baby Bobbi Bear

2007-10-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Blue Sky Alpacas Baby Bobbi Bear
Yarn: Blue Sky Organic Cotton in Sage, 1.5 skeins
Needles: Size 9 circulars
Notes: This is the softest cotton I have ever used. I tend to avoid cotton yarn because it hurts my hands and wrists to knit with, but this yarn didn't, and it is deliciously soft. It does shed like crazy though, I don't know if I'd use it to knit something I was going to wear. The pattern was so confusingly written, I didn't really know what part I was working on until I was pretty much finished. It all comes out right in the end though.

Fiber Trends Huggable Hedgehog

2007-10-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

I bought this pattern because the display Hedgehog at my LYS was just too cute. It sat in my pattern notebook for a few weeks, until I found the perfect wool for it, while digging through my stash. Then I found the furry yarn on sale, so I took it as a sign to start right away. It took me a whole two days from start to finish!

Details:
Yarn 1: Patons Classic Merino in Natural Marl, about half a skein
Yarn 2: JoAnn's Sensations Cello in Mink, 1.25 skeins
Pattern: Fiber Trends Huggable Hedgehog
Note: I used smaller needles, which made a smaller hedgehog. Next time I make one, I'll use the proper needles, and make a regular sized one. I just couldn't fine my size 11s, and being eager to start, grabbed the next closest ones I had (9's and 10's). Overall, I really like the result, he's such a cutie!

Maybe I changed my mind already...

2007-10-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

I'm very indecisive, I think. For now, I'll post pictures and details of my completed project, maybe with a little backstory and all that. I just never have the gumption to write longer entries, which is why this blog slowed down.

Woosh...Tumbleweeds

2007-10-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

I basically have moved all my knitting "blogging" to Ravelry. It's much easier to keep up, and the layout is fantastic. I'll keep my blog here, just in case though.

I'm Shannonknits over at Ravelry, if you're a member there you can see my stuff (and friend me, I love having new Ravelry buddies).

I know, I know...

2007-08-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

I've been really horrible about updating. I'll go hang my head in shame now. Let's get on to updates:

1. Stitch 'n' Pitch:

Awesome. Totally freaking awesome. I don't even care for baseball, but this was so much fun. It was so neat seeing all these knitters lining the seats of a chunk of the stadium, and there were some great booths selling yarn. I get my fist skein of Socks That Rock! (In the "Fire on the Mountain" colorway).

(That's my new Monkey! I've finished three out of the five leg repeats by now). The rest of the pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonknits/sets/72157601033996091/

2. Socks.

I've got so many socks going now. I have the second sock in my Felici Firefighter socks going. I have the second sock in some sock yarn I bought ages ago (Meilenweight? Something that sounds like that; I lost the label a long time ago) going. I have another Monkey started. I just started Pomatomas, and I kind of don't like it already. The pattern is beautiful, but the k tbl kills me, since I'm such a tight knitter. My finger tips are sore and bruised, and I just started the sock today!

Here is the first finished Felici Firefighter sock:

3. Other projects:

I'm plugging away on my shawls. The Comfort Shawl has been frogged and started over, now following the pattern exactly (the changes I tried to make just didn't look right). The Flower Petal Shawl gets worked on every now and then. The Baltic Sea Stole, while lovely, gets the least work, since it's the most complicated. I've only finished one repeat of the pattern (out of something like 12). Lizard Ridge is still on hold, it's been too warm to work on a heavy wool blanket. The weather is starting to get cooler though, so I'll have to break it out soon/

4. Ravelry Summer Camp Swap:

I got my bunkmate, and have found the perfect yarn and book for her. Now I just need to go out and find some fun goodies to inculde. It's supposed to be like packing a care gift to someone at camp, so I want some random fun things to go in. I'm also way excited to receive my package!

5. Randomness:

After being sucked into the Firefly world (long after all the other fans, as usual), I have decided I must knit a Jayne hat. Everyone and their mother has knit one, and I love them! I must make one.

6. Random finished projects:

Baby booties:

And, since I'm rereading the Harry Potter series, here is my official bookmark:

Set for the weekend

2007-07-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

On a finishing streak!

2007-07-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

Apparently I'm motivated to get stuff done now! I finished my Monkeys (still need to block the second) as well as a Tomato Baby Beanie for my aunt's friend's baby. The beanie pattern is here (http://acechick.typepad.com/knitchicks_patterns/) but I don't suggest it, I think it's written poorly. But, it turned out pretty cute!

Too much stuff

2007-07-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

I need to finish up some things before starting any more new projects. Nothing seems to be progressing because I'm just working on too many things. A few socks, 3 wraps/stoles, a baby hat, Lizard Ridge, and a few random things. I haven't actually finished anything in over a month, I don't think. So I can't start anything new for a while.

The dreaded black hole

2007-07-06T23:14:00.000-07:00

So I've been knitting and knitting and knitting, and you would think that with all that knitting, I'd have some progress to show, right? Wrong. Nothing looks any bigger! I do almost have one full repeat of the Baltic Sea Stole done (loving it!), but I still have 12 to go. I've gotten some rows in on the Flower Petal Shawl, but it's still to tiny to even resemble a shawl. The comfort shawl is just a few rows in, and I think I've already screwed up, since I've been trying to fudge parts of the pattern to make it look the way I want it to. The Monkey socks are coming along, I'm partway through the foot of the second sock. I almost have a pair! Maybe having a new pair will motivate me to finish one of the many singles I have left. I decided to frog the Lorna's Laces Bumblebee sock, the yarn looks crappy in a ribbed leg. I think it would look pretty in plain old stockinette, or maybe a simple YO lace pattern. The $1.50 cardigan I posted about a while back is long gone, with the yarn pushed off onto my mom. I guess the pattern made me tense and annoyed, because my gauge was so tight it was nearly impossible to work with. I will most likely end up with a new wrap on the needles soon, because I just bought the Wrap Style book, and have found a few patterns I want to try. I really do need to get one of my current ones done before that though.

Randomness

2007-07-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

I have finished the cuff, heel, and one out of six repeats before the toe of my second Monkey sock. I will actually have another pair, instead of a million singles laying around. Speaking of, I made myself a little wall hanging to constantly remind me which socks need a mate.

I can still think of one other sock that needs to be up there as soon as I find it. The first three socks are in the process of having mates knit. I'm not very far along on the Harry Potter sock or Tofutsies, but the Monkey is getting there.

Then I cleaned out a bookshelf for yarn storage. It has to share with my Bath and Body Works stuff, and my DVDs, but it will do.

And randomness since I just bought a new dog for my collection (actually it's a bulldog, but it can pretend and hide among the pugs). She's hiding in the bee costume.

Celebration yarn

2007-06-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my birthday, I went out and spent a lot of money on yarn, and a frequent buyer's membership to Renaissance Yarns. It will be worth it, I spend so much money there.

All Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn for Monkey socks (I'm addicted!):

I also finished one monkey sock (it's going to be so hard to cast on the second one when all I want to do is cast on with some of my new yarn!):

Happiness!

2007-06-18T23:17:00.000-07:00

1. I started the ever-popular Monkey socks, and I love them!! I can see how this pattern is addicting, I've got plans for at least two maore pairs in Lorna's Laces.

2. I bought my Stitch n Pitch ticket! My mom (who also knits) and I get to go this year, how exciting!

Shawl attack!

2007-06-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

I am in a shawl knitting mood, I think. I've cast on for the Baltic Sea Stole in Knitpicks Swish Superwash in the Capri colorway. I've also cast on for another Flower Petal Shawl, and this time I'm doing the five-panel version in Knitpicks Swish Superwash in Dublin. I'm going to buy the yarn for the Comfort Shawl pattern soon too. The thing with the Comfort Shawl is I don't care for the way the double yarn overs at the top narrow down to single yarn overs towards the middle, so I'm going to fiddle around with the pattern and change that.

Links to the shawl patterns:

Baltic Sea Stole: http://www.fibertrends.com/viewer/patterns/AC50.html

Flower Petal Shawl: http://www.elann.com/ShowFreePattern.asp?Id=107024

Comfort Shawl: http://www.knittingdaily.com/freepatterns/shawls_stoles/Comfort_Shawl_Faroese_Island85-1.html

I also finished my Multidirectional Scarf, in Noro Silk Garden color 225. I love it, but I finished it just in time for summer...

1/4 down!

2007-06-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

I finished one strip of my Lizard Ridge! It's nice and long, but I'm slighly concerned that it won't be wide enough. The pictures suck, but I'll have to wait to get better ones until it gets sunny again, since my camera doesn't photograph well without a bunch of natural light.

The strip:

And two of the squares:

Noro Scarf

2007-06-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

I bought a skein of Silk Garden to use in my Lizard Ridge, but then didn't like the way it looked with the other yarn. So I bought one more skein, and am making the Multidirectional Scarf. I don't know if two skeins will be enough yet, but I'll have to see when I get close to the end of the second skein. I may buy one more.

Itty bitty baby stuff!

2007-05-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

I love knitting baby things, but I never get to since I don't know anyone with babies. But my aunt's friend will be having a baby girl this summer, so I've been asked to knit presents! I've finished a baby kimono, and have so much yarn left over that I am going to knit baby socks and maybe a baby hat. My mom is knitting a blanket as well. The woman wanted things in lavendar, so that's what I used, one skein of Lion Brand Baby Soft in Lavendar. The pattern was a free one off the Lion Brand site. It still needs i-cord ties, and I'm debating whether to do a crocheted border to help with the curling on the edges.

Modeled by the horrible baby doll from hell that I inherited after the death of some distant relative. There are about ten other scary looking dolls that came with it. They sit in my closet now. I hate them, but I would feel so guilty giving them away; they are wating to be taken to storage. But hey, this one obviously served a purpose.

Picture Post

2007-05-24T19:50:00.001-07:00

A random picture update:

Colinette Jitterbug sock. I like the way it turned out after going up a needle size and reducing the number of stitches by four. The color still didn't turn out like I thought it would, but it's still pretty.

A Lizard Ridge Strip. A girl on Craftster had the idea of doing this in strips, instead of squares, which I thought was brilliant. So this is almost three squares long, I have about 6 more rows before I'm finished with the pink/yellow/orange block. I need more Noro though, I only have one skein plus leftovers bits left. I'm going tomorrow to buy more.

More sewing! I bought a bunch of flannel since JoAnns was having a sale. I've made a few pillowcases and a few pillow slip covers. I haven't figured out how to do much more than that yet. But this is my goldfish slipcover.

Showing slip cover detail.

A sheep slipcover.

My first quilt! I found a seller on eBay who has great deals on pre-cut flannel. I got 144 6" flannel squares for $25. Not only is that a fantastic deal, but I don't have to worry about cutting squares! I can't cut in a straight line to save my life.

Detail on the fabric.

The layout. I only have a few of one pattern of squares, hence the random diagonal stripe of the white squares with purple things on it. I swear my room isn't as junky as this picture makes it look. I just still have stuff around from repaiting, and have yet to replace the baseboards. And apparently I've knocked over some video tapes.

And my wall of pugs. Most of my stuffed pugs I've collected, a cute pug picture, and pug calendar.

Pugapalooza

2007-05-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

I went to Pugapalooza in Seattle today! I finished Daisy's sweater, of course at the last minute. Last night I knit the second sleeve, and crocheted a border around the edge (instead of picking up a million stitches and doing ribbing). I used the Casey's Coat pattern from Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation, and used Caron Simply Soft. I didn't take into account that the sweater may fit weird, since pugs are shaped weird. They are very barrel chested, with no neck to speak of, so the top is really stretched out. Thank goodness for ribbing.

I didn't think to make an opening for her leash to hook on to her harness, so I caught it between the weave of the sweater)

(It's really slipped down a lot here, it sits up higher than that normally). Here are the other pictures I took at Pugapalooza: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonknits/sets/72157600208404397/

Anniversary Sale

2007-05-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

Just a quick entry to show what I bought at my LYS's one-year anniversary sale.

A tote bag with the LYS's logo, Duet Sock yarn in their official colors (the maroon is for the main part of the sock, and the gold is used on the toes and heels), and another skein of Tofutsies. I also bought some more size 2 needles, which aren't in the picture because I cast on for a pair of socks with them as soon as I got home. I think I was very restrained. Probably more due to the fact that I only had a small amount of money in my bank account. Had I had more, I think I would have gone a little nuts. But all together it was fun, lots of people, lots of sales, I ate too much fancy cheese and crackers. No wine though, the whole "underage and allergic to something in alcohol" kinda got in the way of that (don't know what it is I'm allergic to, but something in most kinds of alcohol makes me break out in hives and makes me feel so horrible, even if I only drink a tiny bit).

Socks and a cardigan

2007-05-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to taking a few pictures of the socks I'm working on, and the $1.50 cardigan.

The first lace repeat and part of the stockinette of the $1.50 cardigan (it called for reverse stockinette, but I don't care much for the look of it, so I used plain stockinette instead). The lace looks small and tight to me, not open like in the picture. I went up a few needles sizes, but it still looks a little off. I'm hoping a good stern blocking will help.

Proving it's tough to get a picture of your own foot. This is just at the beginning of the heel of the Dublin Bay sock. It's so soft!

A better view of the lace-work.

And the Tofutsies sock. I thought it would be perfect for summer-y anklets. So far I like the yarn. I didn't care for the texture at first, but I'm actually really starting to like it.

Renaissance Yarns (my LYS) is having their one year anniversary this weekend, so I'm going to go check it out. They're having good sales and door prizes and all sorts of stuff. I think I may get more Tofutsies.

Dublin Bay Socks

2007-04-30T22:42:00.000-07:00

I finally picked a pattern for the Knitpicks sock yarn: Dublin Bay socks (http://www.nwkniterati.com/movabletype/archives/MossyCottage/DublinBay4.pdf). I'm working on the heel of the first one, I'll get pictures up in the next day or two. The yarn is so amazingly soft! I actully just ordered more, in the Rocky Mountain Dusk colorway (different shades of purples and a little blue).

I also went to a LYS that I don't usually get to, because it's a long drive and located in a not-so-nice area that I tend to avoid (actually, the area the yarn shop is in is fine, it's what you have to drive through to get there that's a little scary). While I was there, I bought Colinette Jitterbug in the Jewel colorway. I was so, so excited to get home and start knitting because the mix of colors is just stunning, but once I did, I was really disappointed with the results. The colors pool in a really ugly pattern. All blue on one half of the sock, and purples, pinks, and yellows on the other half. If they would all blend together, they would be beautiful, but when the colors seperate, it's kind of ugly. I may knit something totally different, maybe the Monkey sock pattern from knitty. Anything that will make the colors blend better than what I was previously doing.

Sock Woes

2007-04-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

I tried to like the Lion Bran Magic Stripes sock (the traveling sock), I really did. But I just can't. That is the itchiest, scratchiest, nastiest sock yarn I've ever used. Maybe if I had used bigger needles it wouldn't feel as bad. I'm not even bothering with the second sock, I know I'll never wear them. I'll just keep it as a traveling souvenier.

In other news, I'm trying to find a sock pattern to use with my Knitpicks memories sock yarn in Redwood Forest, which, unlike previously mentioned yarn, is soft and wonderful and beautful and all around gorgeous. I need to buy a whole big bundle of size 1 needles so I can do all my socks at once. I have the second traveling sock on the needles (Cascade Sassy Stripes, in Harry Potter colors!), then I want to cast on with the Knitpicks yarn, and I want to try the Tofuties. This is why I only ever finish one sock per pair, there are just too many different sock yarns to try!

Random

2007-04-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

The $1.5o sweater and I aren't on speaking terms right now due to my own stupid mistake, which screwed up a big chunk of lace pattern that I finished before realizing I was off. So I'm not going near that one for a while. But I have other pictures:

Tofuties for socks after I finish the second Harry Potter sock.

The Flower Petal Shawl, finished ages ago. It's doesn't get worn much because I haven't found a good shawl fastener for it. I love it though.

Felted soap! I figured I would try my hand at it. I don't know if it really turned out well, since I'm not exactly sure what the final product should feel like. But they sure smell good, and lather really nicely.

I'm back!

2007-04-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

I've been swamped studying for a test for this week (I missed all the lectures for the material while I was gone), but really quick, here is a link to my Traveling Socks flickr set, all with individual comments:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonknits/sets/72157600081321403/

Preview:

Bryce Canyon

Snooty Showgirl

Cactus Sock

Out of town

2007-04-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon on a little roadtrip to the Grand Canyon, and will be gone through the 14th. Hopefully when I get back I'll have new knitting pictures, since I plan to knit through the long car drive.

Loads o' Stuff

2007-04-03T23:49:00.000-07:00

I took pictures!

A rice pack for heating up in the microwave. It's hard to see, but it has ridges sewn down the whole thing, to keep the rice better dispersed. It also has dried lavendar in it, so it smells so good when warm.

Trekking socks. I want to be finished with the second by Thursday evening when we leave on our road trip. I think I may so kindly rip off the Yarn Harlot's idea and make myself a travelling sock. I love her sock pictures, and want some of my own. So I am going to start the next sock as soon as we get in the car. I will use this yarn:

Lion Brand Magic Stripe in Country. I think it looks very cheery, but in a country way. I like it! Since we are going to Vegas, I am going to see if I can get the people in theme costume all around the hotels to hold my sock. They may think I'm odd, but I'm sure they've seen worse, and besides, I'll never see them again. Why worry about looking like a doofus?

Current Lizard Ridge Square in process.

Square that was in process until I bought the yarn above and had to cast on that one right away, thus sending this one to a holding chord.

The yarn for the next two squares.

Yarn for a cardigan I am going to bring with me to work on in the car.

You can't really see the cardigan here, but it's cute.

Daisy's sweater with a lonely one arm. I still have to do the other arm, then pick up a bajillion stitches around the edge to do a ribbed border. I need to figure out how to fashion wings too.

New books to drool over!

New projects

2007-04-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

As if I didn't have enough stuff to work on, I've fallen in love with the "dollar and a half" cardigan from Interweave Knits:

(The pictures in the magazine shows it fully, I couldn't find many good ones in a quick image search). But there's the cable on one side of the front, and the lace/reverse stockinette pattern on the other side, as well as on the back and sleeves. At first I didn't like the fact that the two fronts didn't match, but the more I look at it the more I absolutely love it. So I'll be ordering the yarn for it soon. I'm thinking Wool of the Andes in Maple Syrup. It calls for a linen/acrylic blend that I can't afford, and I've seen a lot of people saying they are knitting it in Knitpicks' cotton/linen blend, but I absolutely despise the feel of cotton knits, so I'm going with wool.

I also am starting a much more simple cardigan out of Wool-Ease, I think I tore it out of Knitting, or Simply Knitting. It's a plain stockinette cardigan with garter ridges. I want something simple I can pull on during work or classes, and I think this is pretty perfect. I'm leaving on a family road trip on Thursday, so I'm buying the yarn for this cardigan to start in the car.

Lonely Socks

2007-03-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

Here are a few lonely socks lacking mates:

Meilenweit Mega Boot Stretch yarn, toe-up, ankle length.

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Bumble Bee. Toe-up, 2x2 ribbing on the leg.

Online Sierra (color 894). Toe-up, 3x1 ribbed cuff.

Knitpicks Gloss, Victorial Lace Diamond pattern from Knitpicks.

My current work. Trekking, not sure of the color name. I did these top down, and as much as I used to profess intense dislike for top down, these feel like they are going so much faster than the others. Look, I already have a few inches on sock #2!

Those other socks will eventually have mates. But not before I make the Lion Brand sock yarn I bought. It was too cute to pass up!

Finally!

2007-03-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got a few pictures taken, and it even stopped raining long enough to get a few outside!

Bumble Bee sock #1.

On the blocker.

Three finished Lizard Ridge squares.

Knitty's Satchel, large size, with owl embroidery.

Close up of owl.

Pockets!

Finals

2007-03-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

No updates lately because studying for finals has kicked my butt. I'm done now though, I just have to wait for grades to be posted before I can relax completely.

I have about 1/2 inch to go on my first bumble bee sock. I also just have one sleeve to go on Daisy's sweater, and then I have to pick up a ton of stitches around the edge to do a ribbed border. I HATE picking up stitches. But I think it looks cute so far.

As soon as I get those two done, I'll put pictures up. I also have to get a picture of my latest Lizard Ridge square. I'm not sick of it yet, I'm surprised. I thought I'd get tired of doing the same pattern by square 3. I'm working on my fourth right now.

Embroidery and sewing!

2007-03-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't updated enough recently, but I don't seem to be getting far on any of my knitting projects. I've gotten quite a bit of Daisy's sweater done, and I finished the heel and am now on the leg of my bumble bee sock, but they don't look as good when I take pictures of them in-progress. I will certainly put up pictures when they are finished though! I've also been sucked in to sewing and embroidery, as if I needed another crafting addiction.

A pillowcase, my first sewing project. I love this fabric so much! I have some more like it, but in blue with hamburgers and fries and the like, instead of candy, that I am going to make another pillowcase out of.

This is just a sampler thing on a tea towel. I wanted to get the hang of doing embroidery before I tried to do a 'real' project.

A Quickie

2007-03-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

I haven't been knitting much due to being sick and busy, but here is the second Lizard Ridge square:

And my Bailey just because he is cute:

Works in Progress

2007-03-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

Since I have pretty much a four-day weekend (no classes on Thursdays and Fridays, and work didn't need me this week), I figured I'd sit down and see what all I have on the needles that needed finishing; basically my current works in progress.

My List:

Three finished socks that need partners.
Bumle Bee socks (first one on the needles, halfway to the heel).
2 out of 24 Lizard Ridge blankets finished, the third is 1/4 done.
The Very Harlot Poncho (my third one, the first I made for myself and have worn so often it's looking very tattered, and the second was for my mom).
Make pockets for my finished felted messenger bag, and find a suitable strap.
1 Fetching (4 rows into it).
2 Fuzzy Feet (the first is halfway finished).
The Lace Leaf Shawl.
Daisy's Bumble Bee sweater.

Obviously I'm not one of those knitters who can work on only one project till it's finished. I have to have many different options.

Lizard Ridge #1

2007-02-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

I finished one square, and am done with 3 out of 4 repeats on my second square. I really like the way the colors are coming out, although I am slightly dissappointed that on square one, the really bright colors didn't show up till the very end, and by that point I was almost finished and they didn't take up much of the square. But I will be using my leftover bits of yarn to make other squares, since one square takes less than one skein, so they will show up somewhere in the blanket.

Some of these colors are beasts to photograph. The blue is more teal than it shows up here, and the purple more...purple, not as navy as it looks here.

More Noro

2007-02-24T16:52:00.000-08:00

I've started my first Lizard Ridge square, but I'm going to wait until I finish it and block it before posting a picture, it doesn't look like much after only one repeat of the pattern. I did buy another skein of Noro for it, which brings me up to 4. I need to cool it until my next pay-day though, I had originally planned on only buying 2 skeins per paycheck. I just got a little over-excited.

The skein I bought today; I made a super cheap light box to try out, to see if I like it before paying a couple more bucks for supplies for a home-made one. I think I like the way the pictures look better, I just need to get the lighting placement down.

When I get the supplies to make a lightbox, it will have a less obvious 'glued down printer paper' look about it. But these are the three colors I have waiting for my blanket, the other is on the needles.

Booga Bag

2007-02-19T21:52:00.000-08:00

I finished it! I'm so excited I'm done and ready to use it tomorrow. Right now it's drying, but it should be fine by the time I leave for class tomorrow.

Before felting, with a DVD case that would have been for shrinkage reference, but I forgot to put the case in the felted picture. The colors are truest here, but the green is a little more subtle than it is in the picture.

After felting. The color here is so off, the wall next to the door is actually a really pretty tropical blue, but it looks like putty here. I'm not sure what I did, but I think I changed the settings on my camera.

Noro pt. 2

2007-02-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

I'm in love. I have been knitting less than one day with Noro, and I'm addicted. I've been searching around for a pattern that will show off the yarn, but not be something I have to wear against my skin (as gorgeous as that yarn is, it is so scratchy). I've decided on Lizard Ridge from Knitty:

(picture is from the Knitty website)

I want to do each square in a different colorway of Kureyon, to end up with a patchwork type blanket like above. I figure if I buy one or two skeins each time I get paid, the price won't seem so overwhelming (the yarn all together will cost around $190-$200).

Noro

2007-02-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

A Noro virgin no more! I went to Renaissance Yarns and picked up three skeins of Noro Kureyon in color 159 for a Booga Bag. I have finished the bottom and picked up the stitches for the sides. It just seems a little small so far; but the colors are gorgeous. I'll get a picture of the bag when I'm further along, right now it doesn't look like much. But here is the yarn I'm using:

A bumble pug in the making

2007-02-16T22:13:00.000-08:00

I am going to Seattle's Pugapalooza this May, and will be entering Daisy, one of my pugs, into the custom-made costume contest. I'm knitting her a bee-striped sweater, and will fashion wings and feelers. I'm using Casey's Coat from Stitch & Bitch Nation, and Simply Soft yarn (she has some skin issues we are trying to get cleared up, so I want something that will be soft and not itchy, as well as easily washable). I don't have a picture of the sweater (I have about 2.5 inches of the color done), but here is my Daisy who will be modeling it:

And the whole group, so no one feels left out:

Bumble Bee Sock

2007-02-12T22:41:00.002-08:00

I have had a few people come up to me while I was knitting to tell me my sock was cute! That makes me happy. The sock itself though is making me a little peeved. I had noticed, while doing the short-row toes that they seemed a little off. Like they were loose and flappy. But I finished the short rows and knit a row or two longer before going, "OK, something really is not right here." And then noticed I had picked up the wrong sized needles. I was using 2's instead of 1's, and I'm amazed at the difference in the fabric between one needle size and the other. Not wanting to re-do the short row toe (I hate doing short rows, but I do them because I think they look 100 times better than other heel or toe techniques), I just switched over to my size 1's. They started looking better immediately, the toe just looks a little funky.

Fetching

2007-02-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

I managed to finish one of Knitty's Fetching in just a day! I did it while watching two Dirty Jobs episodes, the movie Open Season, and most of The Mummy. I really, really like the way the yarn looks knit up, although it was a monster to work with. It was so loosely spun and split all over the place, and just pulled completely apart in some spots. But, I think the finished result is worth it, although it was pretty much impossible to get a picture that looks decent. The colors don't want to show up. I'll get a better picture once I finish both Fetching, but until then, here is a blurry, bad picture to give you an idea of what it looks like:

And a better view of the stitches:

Armwarmers!

2007-02-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

I found the yarn I want to make my armwarmers with! I had been digging around my stash trying to find something that would work, but I wasn't really liking anything I had for armwarmers. But I went to a yarn shop in Gig Harbor today, which is a bit of a drive away so I don't get to go very often, and as soon as I saw this yarn I had to buy it. It's so bright and happy!

Trendsetter Yarns Tonalita in Rio.

It is 52% wool and 48% acrylic, and is so soft! I just need to find a pattern now. I was thinking Knitty's Fetching, just without the cables. I don't think this yarn would show off cables very well.

And then here is me working on my Bumble Bee sock, wearing my Very Harlot Poncho, which is my all-time favorite knit thing to wear.

Shame on me

2007-02-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

I promised myself I would not start a new pair of socks until I had made the match to at least one of the three lone socks I have waiting for their partners. Then I went to Renaissance Yarns, and decided to buy some Lorna's Laces. Just buy it, or course, I wouldn't knit with it until I had finished another pair of socks. But then I got it home and wanted to see what it looked like rolled into a ball. And then I cast on. Shame on me! Presenting the beginning of the Bumble Bee Socks:

And I finally finished the body of the felted bag I have been working on forever. I stuffed it in the bottom of my knitting bag after I started the flap because purling with such large needles hurt my wrists. But I finally dragged it out and finished the flap and felted it. Now I need to finish the strap and pockets.

I'm a little disappointed with how short the flap came out, but the bag itself is the perfect size for what I was shooting for.

What I learned today

2007-02-06T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here is what I learned today:

*My photography skills suck hardcore, even after two semesters of photography class (ok, highschool photography, both taken online, no teaching whatsoever. Gotta give myself a little credit).

*I still have no idea what all the fancy options on my new camera do.

*I can't figure out how to make my camera take smaller pictures.

*Even with anti-shake technology on said new camera, my hands are so unsteady everything comes out blurry.

*I was still too lazy to drag out my tripod for a proper FO shoot.

But here you go, one Victorian Diamond Top Sock, much blurrier in photo than in real life:

On the sock blocker (cheap metal hanger)

On my foot

Trying to get the detail to show up a little better

No pictures today

2007-02-05T22:26:00.000-08:00

I finished one of the Diamond socks, and it has finished blocking. I just bought a new camera, so once I get it all figured out, I'll post pictures.

I didn't make it to the Noro Tasting at Renessaince Yarns, which is unfortunate, but we took my mom out to Azteca for her birthday instead. That food is well worth missing a yarn fondling trip. I'll play with the Noro yarns next time I'm in the store. I can't knit it up there, but I may buy a skein just to play with (although, it's kind of pricy to buy one just to play; maybe I'll just grope the yarn in the store).

I am trying to find an armwarmer pattern to start. My hands are always cold while I'm waiting for the bus or in class. I want to keep my fingers free so I can use a pencil or knit or read. I'm considering Knitty's Fetching, which it seems that everyone else has tried and loved. I'll look around a little more, but I may stick with that.

I should have pictures of my sock tomorrow, and maybe one or two of my current projects.

Victorian Diamond Top Sock

2007-02-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

I have gotten a lot done on my sock for not knitting much lately. My shoulders and wrists have been bothering me (I think it's from hauling around the really heavy Anatomy and Physiology books I have this quarter when I walk to the bus stop), so I have tried to limit how much I use them. But I have been doing a little knitting (and a ton of sudoku; that is how I spend my spare time, knitting and sudoku. Nerd, why yes I am), and here is the progress on the Victorian Diamond Top Sock (it is going to need some serious blocking to open up the yarn overs):

Finished with the gusset decreases

Also, Friday through Sunday my favorite yarn shop, Renaissance Yarns, is having a Noro Yarn Tasting. The idea is to come in and play with Noro yarn to see if you like the way it knits up, how it feels, etc. I have never knit with Noro before, although I do find most of their yarns very scratchy in the skeins, but I'm going to go tomorrow to see how I like knitting with it. And all Noro yarns are 10% off if you do decide to buy some, so that's a good deal. Plus, they have some new yarns and a new sock book I want to check out.

A new blog!

2007-01-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

I have been posting every so often over at Livejournal, but I decided I like the set-up here better. So, I plan to start updating this journal. I may only update once a week or so, but I will try for more.

Right now, I have a few projects I've been working on. I have Knitty's fuzzy feet (my third pair) which I just started, Knitty's satchel (the larger version) which I've finished the body of and am now working on the flap, Knitpicks Victorian Diamond Top socks which I'm about 3 inches into the cuff of the first sock, and the Lace Leaf shawl.

Diamond Top Sock

Lace Leaf Shawl

Shannon Knits

Weird thoughts

Disgruntled

Temporarily defeated

Helloooo (echo)

Daisy in the snow

Wordless Wednesday

Candy cookies

Wordless Wednesday

I love my hat

A knitting update

Wordless Wednesday

Non-Wordless Wednesday

Worldless Wednesday

Pumpkin Bread

Wordless Wednesday

Football cupcakes

Shame, shame

Cupcake plans

Stitch & Pitch socks

Pumpkin cupcakes

Clapotis

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcake cones

Cupcakes!

CLAPOTIS IS DONE!!

*Sigh*

What a life

Stitch n Pitch!

Stitch & Pitch tomorrow!

Score!

Clapotis

Bath time for Daisy

Adventurous

I'm ashamed...

A passing

Fuzzy Feet, take 3

Fire on the Mountain

More ugh

Blargh

Merry Christmas from the pugs

Rocktober Socks

Rocktober socks

Lizard Ridge

Lizard Ridge again

Update

Slipper Socks

Fall socks

Daisy!

Baby Bobbi Bear

Fiber Trends Huggable Hedgehog

Maybe I changed my mind already...

Woosh...Tumbleweeds

I know, I know...

Set for the weekend

On a finishing streak!

Too much stuff

The dreaded black hole

Randomness

Celebration yarn

Happiness!

Shawl attack!

1/4 down!

Noro Scarf

Itty bitty baby stuff!

Picture Post

Pugapalooza

Anniversary Sale

Socks and a cardigan

Dublin Bay Socks

Sock Woes

Random

I'm back!

Out of town

Loads o' Stuff

New projects

Lonely Socks

Finally!

Finals

Embroidery and sewing!

Sigh