Buzz Buzz

I've been a busy little bee. Not having a job means I have a lot of time on my hands. I'm trying to clean a lot, and knit a lot, and sadly I have ample time to do both. Ideally, I would only have time to knit so the cleaning could wait, but such is life.

Projects!

Crotched Scarf, courtesy of Lion Brand.

This project was fun. It was my project while watching the prisoner and during the brief period I had yarn and no needles. I kind of did my own thing on the ends because I didn't want to puzzle through the directions.

Kindle Cover 2!

I like my first kindle cover. I like it a lot, but I wanted something that was a little bit more snug. I used US4 with a double strand of caron simply soft and it turned out thick and a little stiff, but I like it. I still need to close the top with a zipper or some other fastener. It will probably end up being a zipper, but I might get creative one of these days and do something more fun.

Crotcheted potted plant, also courtesy of Lion Brand.

This project was fun and a pain at the same time. Crotcheting 18 little flowers then sewing them on after wasn't really a good time. It didn't help that my flowers turned out small so I had to crotchet even more. It also doesn't help that I like a lot of leaves so I made significantly more leaves. It turned out all right and I survived with the help of a little Fringe.

Internetz again!

Hurray! Except for a few small things I am moved! The big excitement is now I have internets again! The comcast guy came this morning and gave us our borrowed modem and now I am happy. I have ravelry access again, as well as the whimsy to look up exciting new recipes and try them on a whim. Plus the whole job hunting thing, but that seems secondary right now.

I also have some sad news. It was bound to happen, I know, but I didn't think it would set in this soon. While moving in yet another container full of yarn, my SO loudly announced that I wasn't allowed to buy any more yarn until I lessened my stash a bit. :( I protested, of course, and pleaded to have my yarn privileges reinstated, but he was solid as a rock. I got nowhere. Now I have to find a bunch of projects that are fast and use up a bunch of yarn. On the bright side it means I get to spend more time on ravelry :)

I did finish my scalloped scarf, as well as an adorable octopus from Amigurami Knits! I have started another kindle cover as well as a sweater (crosses fingers).

I've realized I don't knit as many sweaters because the annoyance of the gauge swatch is nearly too much for me to handle. I knit one swatch, sure that I know myself and my knitting tendencies well enough, only to find its not correct. Then I take it out and knit another swatch, usually with smaller needles, and it still isn't correct. After several repeats of the swatch at numerous needle sizes, I usually either give up and decided the project isn't worth my time or I give up and randomly choose a needle size I think was closest. I think this is a good indication that I need to learn patience.

Been a while

So much has been going on it makes my head hurt. I finished a bunch of projects and am really happy but am probably never going to get good pictures of them. Sadness. A good part of the problem is that I'm moving! Sterling/Rock Falls, here I come!

This has been a huge thing on my mind lately. My wonderful boyfriend asked me last month if I would move in with him. I haven't been dating him for very long, so naturally I was worried, but we looked at apartments together and we picked one out! Now he's stuck with me for at least a year. I'm terribly worried because all the other times I've had roommates I've wanted to kill them with a couple months, so I really hope that doesn't happen. I'm definately going to do my best not to let it.

I have also discovered something very important. Well, two things actually.

1. Home is where the stash is.

If you move half your yarn, then wait a couple weeks to move the second half, you feel a little lost. It's sad really.

2. If you're only going to move half of your yarn, MAKE SURE YOU BRING NEEDLES!

I completely forgot to pack extra needle so when I forgot the yarn for my current project I could find something else to start. I ended up wandering around my new apartment for a few hours doing small chores until I decided to go to wal-mart and buy cheap needles.

I started this cool new scarf from Lion Brand, too. Its crotcheted which is a little weird for me (but crotchet needles are cheaper than knitting needles and wal-mart doesn't carry the size circs that I want), but it's coming along nicely. I watched the miniseries The Prisoner (good show by the way) while I started it and I almost finished it! It's a little short, but something this pretty isn't really meant to be super functional, I don't think. Pics to come later!

Discovering slipped stitches: A beginning

So I have decided that some knitting techniques are just overlooked. For example, the slipped stitch. I like slipped stitches. They create texture and interest and they're kind of fun to do.

Since I will most likely be jobless at the end of the month, I have decided that in between job searching and stressing, I will be knitting, probably a great deal. Instead of starting new projects, I think I want to explore the world of slipped stitches, and how to manipulate them and create interesting textures. I feel that the slipped stitch is almost forgotten, used only in some stitch patterns, and I want to make it interesting again!

I have no idea if it will work. I have no idea what my knitting foray will discover, but I think it will be fun to explore this technique that I really haven't used. I think it will be interesting to pair it with reverse stockinette and see the textures emerge and discover how they drape together.

Hopefully I don't get bored and ignore this project after I've started. I'm hoping at the start that the swatches will be small enough that I can take them anywhere with me, which is good for me.

Well I'm off to job hunt before starting my project. :)

A series of unfortunate events

So my last post referred to the printer being broken at my job. Unfortunately, the part that needs replaced is $19,000 to fix. Bummer. Combine that with the fact that the last manager was not only incompetent but also dishonest, and then you find out that the owners decide to close the store. Major bummer.

I can't really say I blame them, but I also am sad that I will no longer have a job. Now I could go on and on about how my job really isn't that great, but since come march 31st I won't have it anymore, the point is moot anyway.

On a brighter side, I did finally finish my last sock. It is very interesting and the ribbing gives it a great texture, but i think they will end up as house socks when it gets cold again. I think if I had knit them out of scrumptious sock yarn they would have turned out much better. Pictures to come.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my future. The problem is that everyone seems to think they know what is best for me and is pushing to do it. My mom wants me to go back to school and get my nursing bachelors. The problem with that is I don't really know if I want to become a nurse.

One of my friends wants me to get a part time job and collect unemployment. This would be great and I could concentrate on knitting. The problem with that is I don't want to get tired of knitting and I get stir crazy if I'm not doing something. I think I would like working part time, but if I don't work enough I'm going to go mad. I need something to keep occupied.

Another of my friends wants me to quit cameraland all together before the end of the month and get a part time job just for the summer to hold me over until i get another job. I don't really want to have a job for a month then say, "So long!" the instant I find something else. I think that's kind of rude.

The way I see things right now, I will only go back to school if I'm guaranteed a job afterwards. Nursing will do this. Teaching will do this. I already know I do not want to jump through the bullshit hoops to become a teacher, even though I think I would enjoy the profession. I really just want to start paying off my student loans and have a savings account.

On a lighter note, in a weak moment I bought Amigurami knits this past weekend and I love it. The cute little knitted critters have stolen my heart. I started the starfish last night and aside from finding a mistake, I love it. I can't wait to knit a whole host of cute little stuffies!

The Butterfly Trellis Scarf

The Butterfly Trellis Scarf

Designed around a herringbone fagoting, this scarf includes lacy trellises and playful butterflies. This pattern incorporates a lot of techniques including picking up and knitting on the edging as well as a variety of knitting techniques.

The file is formatted as a PDF and comes with charts for easy knitting, but written instructions are available on request.

Download here:
download now

Pictures!

FO MANIA!!

Well, maybe not mania. I did finish my southwestern shawl which really hadn't been a UFO for long. I got it blocked because I finally got a new vaccuum and could sweep then pin it out on the floor! Pics of that to come. After that, I decided I would work on my second glove. Yeah....

So I've been knitting on it all weekend. Today at work, the printer broke so there's nothing to do. So I've been knitting. I finished my second glove. Unfortunately, its enormous. How enormous? Well my boyfriend's hands are probably 3 times the size of mine. I think it would fit him quite well. Don't believe me? Proof:






























The right hand I did first. It fits well. It's nice. The left hand I started last week. Its enormous. That's what I get for waiting a couple years in between each.