Month: July 2007

Posted in Completed Projects

Ravelry, The Weekend, and Mention of an FO

Posted on by mslindz

There’s so much that I like about Ravelry.  I have seen more patterns than I have since I started knitting.  I try and keep up with what’s out there, but it’s difficult since there isn’t any real resource out there to find all these things.  Now that Ravelry is here, I’ve found a lot more patterns I want to make.  This is, of course, good and bad.  Bad because there’s a ton more stuff I want to make now, good because I probably wouldn’t have found most of these otherwise.  For me, I could see a pattern in a book a hundred time and it just won’t do it for me… I won’t want to make it.  Put it in a different yarn or color and suddenly I have to have it!  I love how I can look up a pattern and see different people who have completed it.  It can totally change my mind about a pattern I didn’t like before.  I looked up "lace" today and came up with all kinds of good stuff.  I have more patterns that I want to make now, but it’s okay.  I’m still looking for the right scarf pattern for the lovely Evolution yarn I purchased at Knitter’s Connection, but I think a stitch dictionary should take care of that.  What I was looking for is a good use for the Kid Silk Haze I have left over from the Mrs. Beaton’s I made last year.  I may end up coming up with something on my own, but we’ll see.

This weekend was good.  Dinner was great on Friday and I had a lot of fun.  The yarn shop hop on Saturday was fun.  I got to visit a shop I hadn’t been to before and I really would love to go to again sometime.  Plus now I know about more shops that I haven’t been to yet.  Must plan another yarn shop hop again, soon.  I was so good and didn’t even buy anything.  I almost came home with a pattern for a Noni bag, but decided to wait on it for now.  I knew if I got the pattern, the yarn would have to come home with me, too, and right now I don’t even have a washing machine at home to felt anything, so holding off is a much better idea at the moment.  I’d be bummed if I knit the whole thing then had to wait a long time to felt it.  After the shop hop, I went to The Beach waterpark with my mom and sister.  Despite the earlier not-so-great weather (it was very overcast and looking like it would rain), it was sunny by the time we got there.  I went on some water rides and had fun floating in the Lazy River.  The first ride I flipped over backwards on and swear I thought I would die, but I didn’t.  I did get a headache for a while because I think water went up my nose when I flipped over.  The movie they played after the park closed was "Flushed Away" which I thought was both cute and funny.  While it was playing, I knit some on the Prayer Shawl I’m working on.  I’ve used up 4 of the 10 skeins of yarn I purchased.  I think I’m nearly half way done now.  It’s taking no time at all!

Today, I completed the Shedir hat I was working on.  As of right now it’s not going to anyone, but there’s a small chance it might.  We’ll see.  I have more than enough yarn for a second one and I’m really thinking about making another just to use up the rest of the yarn.  I may be able to get some photos up of it today if it’s still light enough when I get home tonight.  It’ll be about 8:30, though, so I doubt it.  Tomorrow, then, if it’s sunny.  This really does need some natural light to really get the right photo of the color.

Well, I really must be getting back to working.  I just needed a little break for a bit!  This day has been dragging by and I’m ready to go home and knit a while.

Posted in Current Projects

Clue One is DONE

Posted on by mslindz

I’ll start with the exciting news: I’ve completed Clue 1 of Mystery Stole 3!  YAY!!  I completed it last night and I’m now a few rows in to Clue 2.  Of course this means that photos of what it’s looking like so far should be shown, so here they are:

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Tonight I’m going over to Crafty Mands house for dinner and I will be bring it with me and we will have our own little knit-along going.

Yesterday, along with making it past Clue 1 of MS3, I went to Jo Ann’s to use my 50% off coupon.  I managed to get some US 3 DPN’s (mine went missing – completely GONE) for $4 with use of the coupon.  They had Simplicity patterns on sale for $1.99, so I got one that I had my eye on.  It’s a simple shirt pattern.  Now I just need some fabric.  I haven’t decided what I want to use yet, but I do know that I want to make at least one white shirt with the pattern.

The DPN’s are for another Shedir hat that I’m working on.  I could be DONE already, but without DPN’s that won’t happen.  Now I have no excuse but to finish it up.  Here’s what it currently looks like:

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Don’t worry, it’s not really that bright in real life.  I’m still going to have yarn left over and I’m not sure what I’ll do with it.  Maybe a lace scarf?  I’m sure I’ll have enough for something.  We’ll see once I’m done.  One thing that is certain is that I’ll be glad to be able to get one thing off my WIP list!  It still needs a recipient, though.  I’m not really a hat person and I doubt I’ll ever wear it.

This weekend should be fun.  Tomorrow some gals from my knitting group and I are going to do a yarn shop hop.  I’m looking forward to seeing some shops that I haven’t been to before.  After, I’m going to The Beach Waterpark with my mom and youngest sister to their Saturday night Dive-In Movie.  They’re playing "Flushed Away" which none of us have seen before.  Should be fun and it’s only $10 admission after 4 pm instead of their regular $35 admission.  Sunday I don’t have any plans and Nick is working, as per the usual.  I’ll probably do laundry and work on MS3.

Well, that’s all for now.  Have a good weekend!

Posted in Knit Ramblings

Knittng Lace with a Tired Brain

Posted on by mslindz

I have decided that on Monday nights after my 12 hour work day, I should not, under any circumstances, knit lace.  Especially not MS3.  Last night I thought it would be a good idea to work on MS3 for a while before bed.  This was a bad idea.  I knit three rows and something went horribly wrong.  I tried to tink back to fix it, but at the time didn’t know what I had done wrong.  In my tinking back, I made the problem worse.  I had to rip back.  But wait.  THERE WAS NO LIFELINE.  Either I’m brave or crazy (probably the latter at 10 pm on Monday night), but I took the whole thing OFF THE NEEDLES and frogged 3 rows back to where I started.  I picked up stitches on a right side row.  For those not familiar with MS3, only the right sight is patterned.  This meant picking up yarn overs.  Amazingly, I think I did it and knit a wrong side row before giving up for the night.  Never again on a Monday night, my friends.  NEVER AGAIN. 

Posted in Completed Projects

Sockapalooza 4 Socks – Completed

Posted on by mslindz

They’re done!  Here they are… my Sockapalooza 4 socks.

Pattern: Little Child’s Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Started: June 24, 2007
Finished: July 22, 2007
Yarn: Sansdes Garn Lanett in purple
Needle Size: US 1 bamboo DPN’s
Notes: No real notes on this one.  I did everything according to the pattern for a change!  I did like the pattern and they have a heel and toe I hadn’t worked before.  I like the sock patterns with calf shaping.  Now I just hope that my pal likes them and they fit her well!  They’re taller than I expected them to come out, so hopefully that’s okay with my pal.  In all but the last photo, the color is pretty accurate.

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PS to my pal – don’t worry they’re being washed as I write this!

Posted in Life

Non-knitting Content (aka Shopping Deals)

Posted on by mslindz

I mostly write about knitting here, but I’ll change it up a bit because I want to talk about the great deals I got today.

I shop at the Gap Outlet from time to time and usually get some pretty good deals.  Target is another place I like to get clothing on clearance.  Today I went to both and managed to only spend $10, but I got 2 pairs of pants, 4 tank tops, and a skirt.  The pants and tank tops were purchased at the Gap Outlet and the skirt from Target.

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I’m not big on these sort of tank tops, but the were 25 cents each, how could I pass that up?  They’re great for wearing to bed or around the house and good for layering in the winter, too.  The pants are great for weekend/non-work wearing.  They’re cargo type pants, which I rarely buy, but they fit great and only $1.99 each, so I bought 2 pairs.  The skirt fits great, I can wear it to work, AND it only comes to my knees!  I know it sounds silly, but it’s so hard for me to find skirts that only come to my knees.  When they’re longer, they tend to make me look like I’m even shorter than I already am.

I went to The Village Discount Outlet hoping to find some things, but came up empty.  Things were either too big or too small, but that’s the way thrift shopping usually goes for me.  No worries.  I have enough nice stuff to wear to work and though it’d be nice to have more for variety, I’m not going to break the bank for it!  I think I’m going to be going through my clothes soon and getting rid of things that I either don’t wear or don’t like the way they fit (I don’t like tight clothing at all).  I am finally going to give up a lot of my shoes, too.  Mostly the shoes that I can’t really wear (anything that’s not flat or a low heel).

Anyhow, I just wanted to share the good deals I got today because it made my day a little better.  It’s been quite a while since I bought clothes, especially at such a great deal :o)

Posted in Completed Projects

Knitting, but little progress

Posted on by mslindz

I’ve been knitting a lot lately, but on different projects so it doesn’t seem like there’s really much progress overall. I did manage to knit a dishcloth this week in a few hours in front of the TV. Nothing fancy, just a garter stitch square knit from corner to corner.

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I’m getting close to being done with my Scokapalooza 4 socks.  I turned the heel yesterday and I am now working on the foot.  I’m still behind on MS3 – not done with the first clue still!  After these socks are done, though, I can work more on it finally.  These socks have to go out the first week of August, so I’m trying to get them done as soon as I can so I don’t have to worry about it.  I’ve started the shawl for the Prayer Shawl Swap and I think it will end up being a quick knit.  I’m using US 10.5’s, which is very uncommon for me, so even though I just started it, there’s a lot done.  I won’t tell much about the pattern or yarn right now, but here’s a sneak peak photo of it:

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I know a lot of people out there are taking breaks from blogging to read the new Harry Potter book.  I did get my book at midnight, but I’m not stopping the world to read it.  I certainly don’t want spoilers, though.  I’m staying away from the places on the web that are talking about it and only one other person I know is reading it, so I think I’m safe from spoliers.  It’ll take me a while to read it.  I’m working on reading book 6 over before I start on the new one, but that shouldn’t take too long.

Have fun knitting and reading (to those reading the new HP book).  More project updates soon!

Posted in Knit Ramblings

Start-itus

Posted on by mslindz

I’ve had a very bad case of start-itus lately.  I cast on for yet another project last night because this Lana Gatto Summer yarn had been calling me for days!  Finally I found a pattern that it would work for, swatched and my gauge was spot on.  How could I resist?  Now the number of WIPs have gone up to 9.  I should work on getting that down a little bit, I suppose.  Well, at least work on my Sockapalooza 4 socks.  I know that if I actually worked on them instead of other things, they’d be done in no time, but they just aren’t calling me at the moment. 

Ravelry is taking up a lot of my time on the internet these days and yesterday I signed up to be a volunteer editor  I’ve been editing some of the yarns that I come across that need more information.  I’ve heard about other people doing this (volunteer editing), but until yesterday I couldn’t figure out HOW they were doing it.  I even read the Ravelry Wiki about it and know more about how it all works now and what to do to help.

Even though Ravelry is taking up lots of my time, I still knit, but there’s not much progress on anything that’s really worth showing.  I’ve been working on a little bit of each project and a few rows here and there isn’t much to show.  I am designing a cabled bag based on this bag from Drops.  I knit that whole entire bag and didn’t like it, so I ripped it all out.  I wanted to add a strip of bottom to the bag, but it wasn’t working out and it was just too floppy to be a good bag which was probably a combination of the pattern and the yarn.  I decided it need to be knit on smaller needles (thus making it tighter and more sturdy) and it needed a flat bottom and two straps instead of one.  There’s so many modifications I’ve made to it that it’s really no longer that bag anymore.  The only thing that is the same is the six stitch cable (and not even the chart is what I’m working off of, just that the cable has six stitches still).  I suppose when it’s done the resemblance will be there, but even that will be minimal.  At least I found a use for that yarn!

Well I’ve got to get ready to take my sister to the dentist and I’m going to a cookout later on.  Stuff to do and people to see!

Posted in Knit Ramblings

Work-in-progress Found and Photo Hosting

Posted on by mslindz

I was going through my stash and I found something:

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It’s the Icarus Shawl that I started sometime last year. I forgot all about it! I even found the pattern, noting where I left of (well, sort of – still have a little figuring out to do). I’ve got a lot of WIPs right now. Only one is on a deadline and the rest will be done whenever they get done. I’m done with the first chart of the Mystery Stole, but not with the first clue. Looks like I’m a little behind, but I’m not too concerned – I’d much rather enjoy it, than rush through it.

On another note….

Anyone use Flickr much? I have a basic account so I can use it in conjunction to Ravelry and I’ve thought about using it over Photobucket, just so everything is in one place. A long time ago, I went with Photobucket’s upgrade option and I have been using it ever since. I still don’t care much for Flickr and since I compose all my posts in html, I like to have the direct link to the photo I’m using. Photobucket provides this, so there is very little work on my part. With Flickr, it’s more difficult or I am lame and can’t figure it out – I will never claim to be a pro at computer and internet type things, I know what I need to know to do what I want to do. I know I can upload them directly to TypePad (my current blog host) or even with Blogger, but I’ve never liked to do that. It’s been my experience that it’s more pain than it’s worth.

At any rate, Flickr only allows you to see the 200 most recent photos that you’ve uploaded. While it still lets you keep the ones you’ve linked visible, you don’t have access to them any longer. At first this made me really mad because I’d have to pay $25 for an upgrade to Pro to access those photos in my album. I think for now, I’ll skip it since Ravelry still lets the photos show even though I can’t link to them any longer if I create a new project or anything like that. If there comes a time where I need to do anything like that, then I’ll consider it, but I’m kind of miffed that they don’t allow you to see more than 200 photos that you’ve uploaded. Kind of a small amount, if you ask me. I have let my upgraded Photobucket account expire and I still have access to EVERY photo I’ve uploaded, which is well over 200… I’d even guess well over 1,000 (maybe even 2,000?).

Does anyone use Flickr Pro? Is it worth the money?

Posted in Knit Ramblings

Back

Posted on by mslindz

I’m back and things went okay. Not as good as they could have, but certainly not as bad as they could have either.

I knit a lot. I nearly completed an entire bag that I’m not sure I’m thrilled with and may be completely pulled out and re-knit tighter. I have a good chunk of another Shedir done. I didn’t get to do any of the knitting for the personal swap I’m doing, which I feel kind of bad about. Fetching just required too much thinking for me (the other two are simple, and Shedir I’ve done twice already so I don’t even have to look at the charts). I also needed scrap yarn and DPN’s and the yarn I’m using is black… well the whole combination wasn’t working for me since I was pretty darn stressed out already. Now that things have calmed some, I’ll be working on them this weekend.

Because of all this stress thrust upon me, I was rewarded with a trip to a very nice yarn shop in Yorktown, Virginia – Coordinated Colors. We were actually on our way out of town yesterday and I was rather disappointed that all the yarn shops I knew of because of my yarn-store book were closed Wednesday or were already closed for the day on Thursday, and I spotted it. Big letters that said "YARN SHOP" and a neon Open sign. We stopped, of course. I found some absolutely beautiful lace weight yarn I could NOT live without: Ornaghi Filati Merino Oro in color 060, teal. The color is deep and rich and the price very reasonable. Plus it will make an entire shawl. I already have a plan for it. I’d been scouting out yarn online for the Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl pattern I was sent in the Lace swap, but hadn’t found the right yarn yet. Now I need to get my hands on some Addi Lace needles. The shop was very nice, the people were very friendly, and the selection was excellent. One of those unique yarn shops that has something for every knitter or crocheter. I also got a new book to read – What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman. It’s pretty interesting so far.

I’ve started MS3, but haven’t gotten very far. I’m still working on the first clue. I need to get some projects off the needles so I can work on it more! So many projects, so little time ;o)

Posted in Knit Ramblings

Hmmm…..

Posted on by mslindz

I’ve added all completed projects and current WIPs to Ravelry.  I have SEVEN WIPs!!  Yikes.

The socks should be completed soon.  Maybe this week.  The sweater and THREE blankets are going to take quite a bit longer and I wanted something a little more portable that wasn’t socks, so I cast on for another Shedir hat today.  Then there’s the MS3 project.  I also have two more small projects that I need to work on (and hopefully finish) this week.  I suppose it’s really okay that I have so many WIPs but it just seems a little scary to see them all in front of you like that. 

Anyhow…

Yesterday was fun at the Boot Camp for Socks event at Knit-On.  I finally got my sister, Caitlin, to knit.  I taught her while we were there!  So far she’s been doing really well.  I started her with a simple garter stitch scarf and she hasn’t made any mistakes so far!  She must take after me ;o)

~~~~~

This week should be…. interesting.  We have to go to Virginia for Nick for some matters I won’t discuss here for various reasons and it will be a pretty stress filled week.  I will be bringing knitting with me and hopefully that will help a little bit until it’s all over with.  The only nice thing is that I have a week off from work after Monday, which is always a welcome thing!

I don’t know if I’ll have internet access while I’m away (we’re leaving very, very early on Tuesday, July 3rd), so if not, I’ll see you all when I get back.  Have a fun and safe 4th of July!