I feel like there are a lot of things to talk about, but at the same time nothing to talk about. I guess that’s what vacation is like. I survived the semester, survived Ten regenerating into Eleven, and have so far survived being around my family every day. I’ll spare you the school nonsense, and reserve my Doctor Who discussion for a separate post. For now, how about some knitting?

I’ve actually done quite a bit of knitting over the last few weeks. And I finally got around to uploading a few images.

First up, washcloths. I think I brought up before that I decided to make my aunties washcloths for Xmas. Well, I did. I ordered some nice soaps to give them, but they never showed up. So I didn’t take pictures. I just gave them all the Body Shop soaps I ordered for myself. I guess the fancy stuff will be for me! I did stumble upon a different pattern, though: the Mason Dixon washcloth.

Mason Dixon Washcloths

Pattern: Mason Dixon Washcloth from Mason Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Tahki Sky
Needles: addiTurbo US8 16″ circular needle; Susan Bates US8 double pointed needles
Thoughts: Love this pattern, love this yarn! This has to be the best cotton to knit with EVER. I want to knit every cotton thing ever with this yarn. Seriously.

A Hat Fit for a Ruth

Pattern: A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Stonechat
Needles: addiNatura US8 16″ circular needle; Clover bamboo US8 double pointed needles
Modifications/Thoughts: I changed the decrease rounds a bit so that the edges would be smoother. Basically I made every odd round (starting with round 3) a SSK rather than a K2TOG. I also knit 6.5″ before decreasing, which ended up being the perfect size for Nate (the recipient). Also, I LOVE these needles! The smooth joins and cord of addiTurbos with the warmth of bamboo. Totally awesome.

I’ve been putting thought into resolutions for the year—well, more like goals than resolutions—some knitting related, some not. When I decide what they are I may have to say something about it here. In the meantime, happy new year. Enjoy a bowl of ozoni … here’s to good health and good luck in 2010.

ek

The fenced in area, finally cleaned up!

They marked off the different plants with string, all professional-like.

Potted plants left behind by previous tennants were salvaged and put in the garden area as well.

The lawn furniture fit in perfectly, making it a lovely little place to retreat.

I had absolutely nothing to do with this garden; it was all the housemates. But they did an amazing job and I can’t wait to have homegrown veggies to cook with!

As long as I’m here I have quite a bit of knitting to report on.

1. I finished my Napoleon vest:

Napoleon

I never got around to taking a picture other than that one, late at night in my room just after I finished putting it together. I’ve worn it a few times and I always get nice compliments. The Hillside Linen ended up being a nice choice; it’s light and breathable, and after a quick tumble in the dryer it softened up wonderfully. It’s a bit on the warm side, but not too much.

2. Soft Linen Shawl:

Soft Linen Shawl

I really just wanted an excuse to knit this pattern, which I thought was gorgeous due to its simplicity. It knit up super quickly. I used the Classic Elite Soft Linen, which was amazing to knit with. This will be used as a birthday gift for a family member.

3. Grrr:

Grrr

Knitty’s Grrr, a pattern for a co-worker at the yarn shop that is having a baby at some point in December. We had a baby shower last week with the ladies at the shop. It was nice to get out and spend time with them outside of the store! I used Mission Falls 1824 cotton, which really looks fantastic for this pattern. The texture of the cotton adds a lot of interest to the loops that make the mane.

4–6. Turn a Square:
I decided to make one for my dad for his upcoming birthday, but my gauge is always a bit on the tight side so it ended up too small.

Turn a Square 1

It fits me perfectly but I think it’d be too snug for him. So I decided to keep it and make another one on bigger needles.

Turn a Square 2

I kind of fell in love with this one. The blues and greens are fantastic. Alas, it heads off to Dad later this week. After making two I thought, what the hell, I’ll make another one! These first two are both made with Cascade 220 and the same skein of Noro Silk Garden.

Turn a Square 3

For this last one I used Cascade 220 and some crappy acrylic stuff from JoAnn Fabrics. I actually kind of like it. The color changes are a bit too slow, though. I wish I would have made it back to the red at some point in the striping.

7. Quincy:

Quincy

This is a hat from Jared Flood’s pattern booklet through Classic Elite. I used some Araucania Azapa, which is a fantastic yarn. The hat stretched out a bit too much while blocking, though … mostly due to my cat Ronnie getting a hold of it and dragging it around the house. SIGH. Stupid cats. I’ll probably make another one of these soon. I really love the twist (which you can’t really see in the picture unfortunately).

8. Zoe:

Zoe

While I was test-knitting this pattern I made another version, half for the test-knitting and half to do some stash-busting. The yarn is a bit too busy for me, but I like the way the ruffle turned out this time around.

So there you have it. Lots of knitting and a pretty garden. Now if only school was as pleasant …
ek

p.s. Beatles Rockband is AMAZING.
p.p.s. Beatles Remastered Stereo Set is also amazing.
p.p.p.s. Futurama Complete Collection: i haz it. Nothing like a life-sized Bender head in my living room.

Trilobite!

As soon as I saw this pattern I knew I had to make it, and I had to make it for one person in particular. Here’s how the story goes:

As people close to me know, I have a fanatical devotion to all things Futurama. When I’m sitting and knitting I put on Futurama. When I’m reading for school or writing up something for a class I put Futurama on in the background. I always start from the first episode and work my way through the four DVDs, each time through alternating between watching with or without the audio commentary tracks. Not only do I know each episode by heart, but I know each audio commentary by heart. It’s pretty ridiculous.

The crew reverted to younger ages.

On the commentary track for “Teenage Mutant Leela’s Hurdles,” David (X.) Cohen talks about his love of trilobites and his trilobite rival, Nicholas Cage. The discussion was sparked by the character designs for Dr. Zoidberg in said episode; as he regresses through his larval stages one of them is much like a trilobite. Naturally, when I saw the Trilobite hat on the Summer 2009 edition of Knitty I immediately thought of David Cohen. Next thing I knew I cast on the hat and was working feverishly to finish it.

One of the trilobites

It only took two days to knit, maybe 6 or 7 hours. It probably would have gone a lot faster but there is a lot of cabling involved. I knit it up with Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool that I dyed with HEB’s housebrand koolaid. Isn’t that a great brown color? I seriously love this hat. (And don’t worry, I modeled it before I washed and blocked it, so it’ll be squeaky clean and nice before it hits the mail.) I’m going to cast on for another one for myself in the not-to-distant future. By the way, it was 96º outside when I put it on and went outside to take pictures. Sick.

Trilobites!

Inordinately Fond of Invertebrate

Arts and Crafts

I find myself now terribly fascinated by trilobites and other prehistoric invertebrates. Not that I wasn’t before, but I admit that when I knit something I go all out and do research into them. I have had a Nautilus in the works for some time now, but it’s sitting quietly in my WIP basket waiting for inspiration. I think it’s going to be one of my WIPs Wrestlemania projects. So I award this project, and by extension this pattern and further extension myself the Science Scouts badges for “Inordinately Fond of Invertebrates” and “Arts and Crafts.” You have to love scientific geekery through knitting. I know I also get some of it from the two biologists I live with.

So there you have it. As soon as this badboy is dry I’m shipping it off to David X. Cohen, c/o Twentieth Television in Los Angeles. I hope it gets to him, as his birthday is July 13th, and he definitely deserves awesome things. Especially now that new Futurama episodes are in the works and will be airing on Comedy Central in 2010! (The day I heard that news was one of the happiest days of my life. It’s all I could talk about for like three days. Not joking.)

ek

Rose Red

Rose Red

Why yes, I did make another Rose Red! It’s pretty much my favorite pattern of all time. I love Ysolda‘s stuff. I went back to Rowan Felted Tweed on this one. Holy crap do I love that yarn.

And here’s a sneak peak at my current endeavor:

lovely

On to knitting. I used up the hand dyed yellow yarn (hand dyed by me, no less) to make this little number:

Embroidered Sweet Pea Hat

Now that I’ve embroidered a few times I’m getting a lot better at it. The curves of the twiggy things aren’t quite right, but are close. I think it’s cute. The shape of the hat isn’t quite right for me, but it is pretty cute.

I dyed the yarn with a recipe from Nature’s Colors by Ida Grae, which was the standard natural dyeing book back in the 70s. (Thanks to my Plurkbud tigereye for sharing the recipe!) I found out that the Fine Arts Library has a copy of it, along with some other plant dye books and textile dyeing books. So sometime this week I’m heading over there to check a few out. I have about 965 yds of undyed yarn that is just begging to be messed around with!

Side Slip Cloche

This is the Side Slip Cloche from Boutique Knits. It was sort of a test-run, so I used some Knit Picks Wool of the Andes that I had laying around. I steam-blocked the brim and it got all floppy and weird … it’s still not quite right. I cast on for another one today using some of the yarn I dyed red. My housemate really liked the look of this one and wants one of her own.

Flapper Headband

And this is a not very flattering picture (not like the first one was either) of the Flapper Headband from Knit One, Embellish Too. I made it from SWTC Karaoke, which is a wool/soy blend. The yarn isn’t very stretchy, so I had to make the biggest size and block it. It’s a tad big but it has almost no give. This was my first experience embroidering on a knit object and I think it went well. Once again I thought I had that button centered but afterwards I realized that I was mistaken. I need to brush up on my sewing skills apparently.

I also re-dyed that yellow yarn, something I mentioned that I planned to do.

yellow hand dyed yarn

So much better! I used 5 teaspoons of turmeric and half a cup of vinegar. Viola! Yellow yarn. Washing out the turmeric has been a big pain, though, let me tell you. I’ve rinsed the yarn twice and it still smells like turmeric. I might wash it again. Or I might just knit it up and hope that blocking the finished product will take care of it. We’ll see!

Rose Red

Rose Red

A few thoughts:
1- This red is not NTSC safe. Really. It was impossible to get a good picture.
2- I am really flippin’ pale.
3- This yarn is great for showing off stitches and stitch definition, but doesn’t shape very well.
4- Knowing me, I’ll be making this again in a few months. I love this pattern.
5- I really need a haircut. My bangs are out of control.

Well, I’m off to read up on Matt Smith. Happy New Doctor Year!

The Eleventh Doctor