Spinnin' Yarns

A poll was taken at dd's ice skating, and people voted for beads (vote also taken last night at knitting), and that I use #3's. I need to check gauge. I am ready for purl ridges, but don't know exactly how many beads I need and have all I already have pre-strung.

And I don't have a long enough #11 circ to start my moebius felted basket

And I need a #3 circ

And my swatch was close for my knitted/crocheted soy silk/wool sweater from IC, but when I cast on and knit 3 rows of ribbing, it was WAY different. Like I could gain 50 lbs different. Damn.

Blogging may slow since I'm nanoedmoing.

knit-crochet swatch:

lace swatch, #3 needle is in the middle. This is the magenta silk I dyed, the satanic knitted bodice is actually blue and the lace will be in the blue too, I didn't swatch with it because I fear running out...

Posted by tracy at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

YAY me!

Ok, so there are a couple of unplanned "design features" and I should have trusted my instincts to make the hood part bigger. She hasn't tried it on yet but I think the hood will be a bit tight. Not that she'll ever wear it that way anyhow.

But yay! Done! And, I picked up stitches TWICE and most of them don't suck!

Posted by tracy at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, so I am befuddled.

This is dd's hoodie. The pattern is lion brand homespun hooded sweater...

The instructions say, for the hood part,

HOOD
With RS facing and larger needles, pick up and k 38 sts around neck, starting at right side of neck and leaving center 10 sts free. Work in St st for 9½"; inc 8 sts evenly spaced across first row 46 sts around neck. Placing half of Hood sts on second needle, work 3-needle bind off across Hood top seam.

Facing edging With RS facing and smaller needle, pick up approximately 59 sts around front edge of Hood. Work in k1, p1 rib for 4 rows. Work in St st for 4 rows. Bind off loosely on last row with larger needle. Sew rib/roll Front at center neck, overlapping center fronts (left over right for male; right over left for female).

(I left the numbers only for the size I'm making in, to make it easier to read)

Ok, my first thought is HUH?

They say starting at the right side neck edge. So my ? is, the edge of the 10 free sts (which is what I did in the pic) or the seam where the back starts? It doesn't seem logical to do that, which is why I did what I did. Ok, then it says I should pick up 38 sts. That isn't very many to go all the way around the neck edge--I *can* pick up (evenly) about 14 sts from the front marker to the shoulder seam. That would mean that I have to pick up another 14 on the other side, and you can see my concern that I'm picking up waaay more stitches than they said to...

I have half a mind to just wing it.

But if you are so inclined to help, that would be most appreciated!

To top it off (and picking up sts is hard and one of the things I suck most at), I have to pick up sts AGAIN to make the hood facing. They hate me, they really really hate me...

Posted by tracy at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

well, the sleeves do, thanks to my freakin rolled shoulders

I just can't rip it out--yet.

Posted by tracy at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Knitpicks new cotlin line. Cheap! And purple! And soft! Hope the color doesn't fade easily. A knittyhead asked me to knit it up so I did a little non-beaded long-leaf lace... and it's looking spiffy. Maybe I'll frog and get some beads? I really must finish mom's first, it wouldn't be fair...

And knitty buds, please know this: I have ONE BRILLIANT SKEIN of shiny happy banana silk dh got me for Valentine's day (ok let's be realistic, he sent me shopping, but I love it! It fits! lol!) and instead of finding a funky ass belt to make from it, I knit purple lace.

Me likey.

Posted by tracy at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, here is a moment of truth... before and after in the same shirt. Mind you, I am still swollen and won't be at a regular size for probably a month or two, even. Which is good because right now I look lumpy.

before, obviously

and after

Posted by tracy at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

my kareoke bluezzzz wasn't bluey enough

So here ya go. Any variations in color are entirely the fault of the 6yo who helped paint the yarn and are considered design features. So there.


This is still wet, it dried bluer (and lighter) than that.

I'm depressed. I spent a year (not continuously, obviously) on a stupid *#*@#Y&@*& jacket. A boucle jacket. With a rose. And a tie. And fringed edges. And I fitted. And fitted. And fitted more. And tried not to overfit. And thought it was ok. But the sleeve caps were effed up and now I'm hosed because this stuff is hard to pull stitches out (not to mention that I freakin lined the whole freakin thing. And I hate it. And I wanted to love it. I don't even love to hate it. And it's all because of my stupid freakin twisted quasimodo shoulders. I'm a freak.

And it's not beautiful. If I can stop crying over it I'll post a pic.

And I still need to line the sleeves of my stupid so-called bolero bed jacket that I might not wear to bed.

And I didn't get dd's sweater sewn. I friggin hate mattress stitch.

Hating life. But at least I have tickets to Betzina's and Pletch's fitting seminars next week. Maybe I'll be happy then.

Posted by tracy at 12:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

All right, nobody loves those yarns. I get it. I donated them.

Posted by tracy at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You know what? I apparently knit very slowly. It took me the entire game to knit this 9 x 7 square. Of course I was following Vickie Howell's blog-knit-in, and switching to the knitty gritty marathon occasionally, and my kids interrupted a dozen times, but still.

Oh, and here is my newly dyed yarn, knitted up on 7's with some sc and dc up top, and blocked:

Posted by tracy at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm so excited!

I could never get into this shirt before surgery. Yay!

Posted by tracy at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check it out... just more evidence that dyeing is an exercise in creative trust. When I put the dyes on, I was sure it was going to come out in colors I hated, but as it turns out, nope! Yay!

colors look muted and icky here

cooking

awww, how cute, it's first bath.

See how bright it turned out? I like bright... I like blues and purples... and no, I am not yet certain what I'm going to knit with it ;-) I have some other yarns in similar colors and knitty's dragonfly is calling me...

Ooh, look, pretty little yarn cake...

Posted by tracy at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ok, maybe not that rich or famous, lol! We got to meet Vickie Howell, host of DIY's Knitty Gritty and get a book signed to my daughter... isn't she cute? Vickie too, of course! lol

We got to feel her new yarns too--much fondling, lol... milk fiber and cotton are YUMMY but my favorite is the bamboo/silk. The wool/hemp/soysilk is nice too. Wish I could afford some...

In other bloggy news, here's the simple stockinette instant-gratification type project I started up for dd, since the simple knitted bodice is actually the INSANELY TAKES FOREVER AND MAKES ME CRAZY knitted bodice. Good thing I love silk... and good thing I'm nearly to the lace and joining. It takes me an HOUR to do 1K row and 1P row. Agony on #4's. I thought briefly about doing the new thermal on knitty but it's on 2's and I will poke my eyeballs out with my knitting needles if I try that. So, no, for now.

and I hate how awful I look here. But here I am with Vickie, who is about exactly my height but weighs maybe half. :-) She's adorable and I LOVE her hair color...wish I could pull it off!

Posted by tracy at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok so I measured and we were trying to figure out what size I am, and it said 38A. Um, no, I don't think so. I am a 34-36 band size, and they definitely look not A to me... but I'd guess B or C. In any event, I don't think I'll have any idea until I am well enough to go to nordie's and have some lady man--er--woman-handle me.

The other option is that I am the same size I was, which is *definitely* not true. So, in other words, I have no idea.

Posted by tracy at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

with warning to my male friends, several people have requested to see the new "girls" so here they are.

and here is at xmas

Posted by tracy at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It kind of really annoyed me how people would look at me (in winter clothes) and say they didn't think I *needed* a BR.

I give you--3 extra pounds on your chest.

Anyone who wants to judge me, I swear you should really get 3 lbs of whatever sort you wish, and strap them to your chest. For 2 weeks. Once you have done so, you will understand what I went through. For nearly two decades.

34DDD or 34E, not for wimpy people.

Then, there was the "thank god I won't have to haul these around next thanksgiving" picture:

By the way, you don't really get a good idea of how ginormous your boobs are until someone little takes a picture of you from their world looking up. Frankly I'm surprised they could see my face.

Posted by tracy at 01:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)