Large Hadron Crocheter

For all you knitters out there, you must check out this great strip from Questionable Content.  The comic is not usually about knitting, so be warned before browsing the archives.

 

Craft Day #2

In order to use up my vacation by the end of the year, I am taking random days off here and there, just to hang out at home and get things done.  And this is exactly what happened on Tuesday.

1. sewed buttons on the lace baby sweater
2. sewed buttons on ponytail hat
3. fixed button on gray pants
4. fixed button on black pants
5. sewed shirt for Halloween
6. sewed Velcro onto DS case
7. knit hanging towel (2 are pictured, I only knit 1 on Tuesday)
8. fixed up the pockets of a dress so I can fit my pump in them

 

Craft Day #1

In order to churn out projects that have been waiting patiently to be finished/started, I held a craft day at my house.  We knit, we scrapbooked, we sewed, pretty much all day.  It was very productive.  Here’s everything I got done over the course of the day:

Sewed sleeve seams and wove in ends for February Baby Sweater.

Stenciled this Kirby shirt for RS.

Knit a cozy for my GPS.

My mom helped pin the darts for my shirt for my Halloween costume.

And finally, I put together this DS cozy.  It was my first intarsia and I’m pretty proud of it.

There’s even a matching game pouch which slips in right behind the DS.  I still need some velcro, but that a job for Craft Day #2!

 

Confession

I don’t like hand-knit socks.

There, I said it.  You know, I’ve really tried to like knit socks.  I’ve knit 3 pairs for myself and one for someone else.  And I just don’t like them.

1. I don’t like knitting them.  The yarn is too skinny.  The needles are too skinny.  They’re too fiddly.
2. I don’t like wearing them.  They rarely fit.  They slouch.  And you know what?  I absolutely HATE the texture of reverse stockinette on the soles of my feet.  It’s not comfortable AT ALL.

I don’t know why I keep tortureing myself to like knit socks.  I tried a basic little anklet.  I tried Jaywalkers, I tried nice yarn.  I tried everything.  And yet, I can’t stand to wear the sock for more than just long enough to take the picture.

So, to all you sock knitters out there:  I’m sorry.  I just can’t do it.

 

Moonlight Sonata shawl

I have been plugging away on this for a couple months now and finally finished it over the weekend.  It’s my first large-scale lace shawl and it went beautifully!  I can’t believe I made something so amazing!

Moonlight Sonata shawl

Pattern: Moonlight Sonata Shawl (elann) Moonlight Sonata Shawl (Ravelry)
Size: 29″ long x 68″ wide
Needles:  US6, KnitPicks Options (I had to use a super-long cable by the end!)
Yarn: Not sure, I unravelled a sweater from the thrift store.  75% wool, 25% nylon
Knitting Time: 14 June – 24 Aug 2008
Modifications: I added an extra pattern repeat
Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

The pattern was pretty easy to follow.  Each row had a memorizable repeat, so once you got started on the row, you could finish it with no problem.  I just had to consult the pattern at the beginning of each row and I was good to go.  No real tricky stitches or anything, yarn was nice, blocking was surprisingly easy.  I’m just not sure when/if I would ever wear this.  With a FO this beautiful, though, I’m sure I’ll think of something.  =)  More pictures on Ravelry!

 

Black sweater

Even though I haven’t posted since May, I really have been crafting along. 1) I don’t take the bus to work anymore, so I have less time to knit and 2) I’ve been working on larger projects, so FOs are few and far between.

My work is very cold, so I am almost always wearing a sweater over my work clothes. I have worn holes in the elbows of my 2 favorite store-bought sweaters, and I couldn’t find anything in the stores at this time of year (95 degrees outside!), so I knit my own. =)

Pattern: Oblique (Knitty), Oblique (Ravelry)
Size: XS
Needles: US 8, KnitPicks Options
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft, Black, 4 skeins
Knitting Time: June 22 – July 12 2008
Modifications: made the sleeves a little longer, which was probably a mistake
Rating: 5 stars out of 5. Would knit again!

I really liked this pattern. It was challenging enough, but still pretty easy to breeze through. I am not a big fan of seaming, but I decided to truck through anyway. I’m glad I did because it improved my seaming technique and made for a very sturdy garment. Also, I love the weight. It’s thick enough to keep me warm, but has enough holes to still be lightweight. View this project on Ravelry!

 

Giant afghan COMPLETE!

I FINALLY finished my Mom’s afghan. Just in time for Mother’s Day. As you can see here, I started this back in July. It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but it just took waaaay too long.

It’s 84″ square and has nearly 3 miles of yarn in it. I just hope Mom likes it and that the dogs don’t chew it up. =(

Pattern
Project on Ravelry

 

Birthday sock

For my birthday last week, I got some fun sock yarn from Timotab (who also knits). Now, I am not a huge fan of knitting socks, but I thought I’d give it another try. I picked out the Jaywalker pattern, which seemed both simple and interesting.

I’m only about 1/2 way through the second sock*, but it’s been pretty fun so far. Still not my favorite thing to knit, but I guess it’s not that bad.

* As you know, knitters often face Second Sock Syndrome wherein, after finishing the first sock, you lose motivation to knit the second sock. Timotab’s suggestion is to simply knit the second sock first. =)

 

Knit right pectoral muscle

I know I’ve mentioned that I knit organs for people whose are missing and/or broken.  As such, my friend SS requested that I knit him a right pectoral muscle.  Yyyyup, you heard that correctly.  I asked around on Ravelry for ideas, and ended up going with an increasing rib pattern.

I may have made it a bit too “buff” for SS, but it makes for a better plushie.  I think he likes it though.

 

Pink razor cami

This is one of my favorite quick projects.  Only 2 rows to memorize (and one of them is “knit around”) and no shaping.  Plus, it looks fantastic.

I made this for my sister for her birthday and I think she loves it.

Details

• Razor Cami
• US5 16″ circs
• KnitPicks Shine Sport in Orchid; used about 3 1/2 balls
• cast on 144 instead of 156
• knit 5 stich i-cord straps
• modified into halter instead of attaching straps
• took about a week to knit

Here’s a closeup of the pattern.  I think the color is pretty accurate here.

I would definitely knit this again for myself or either of my sisters.  A definite instant favorite.