Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Socky socks

So I love Lorna's Laces. I really do. And I love Purl and their online store (I've never had the opportunity to visit the actual store in Soho). So when I saw that Purl has Lorna's Laces sock yarn dyed specially for them, and I actually saw the hanks, I was very excited.





So I bought two hanks in colorway Manzanita and set to work on Interweave Knit's Spring 2005 Cable Rib Socks by Erica Alexander. I don't know how I feel about the sock so far.



I mean, I think the reddish color is pretty, and I kinda like the weird spiral white stripe... but I guess I expected the stripes to be more than just one row each. They kind of give me a headache now. I don't know if I think that this sock yarn just sucks, period, or if it needs to be in stockinette to not hypnotize me/give me seizures/make me ralph. From far away it doesn't look so bad though. I really like the cable detail (there are only two cable panels on the sock), but I think the crazy striping kinda makes the cables invisible.



The first four inches are worked on size two needles, then the rest of the sock is worked on size ones (ugh). I just switched, about three rows ago, to the ones, so it'll be interesting to see the difference in the striping (and that random diagonal white stripe) when I get a bit further. Stand by.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Body Bags!

Peep these, yo. And snaps to anyone who can guess what is in the bags (there are two bags, not two pictures of one bag).




No, actually, there are no bodies in the bags, though I guess they look like they could hide a not-so-small child in them, don't they? I had four things to full and I remembered that I had destroyed my only zippered bag the last time I fulled something. So I hoofed it (okay, you're right, I drove) over to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy some new ones. I had a bag to full, and since it was kinda huge pre-fulling, I thought I'd just buy a bigger zippered pillowcase. Um, so yeah, king-sized bed things are ginormous. In fact, they look like body bags. Okay, now for the unveiling of the post-fulling items (please excuse the towels and plastic bags that are being used to shape them as they dry:



This is a stash bag loosely based on Leigh Radford's Alterknits stash bag. I used bulky yarns instead of worsted weight yarns. I actually really like this bag, even though it is lumpy, because I can point to almost every stripe and remember what the yarn in it originally was from. Like the green bottom is from the hat that I knit for my friend Tyler, and the purple stripe (the thin one) is from the wavy scarf in Melanie Falick's Weekend Knitting that I knit for my friend Beast even though I knit it out of Lite Lopi and it is way way too itchy to wear (the lady at the yarn store told me conditioner would make it softer. She lied.), the blue is from a hat I knit for my boyfriend, three of the stripes are from scarves I've knit for they boy, and the grey is from a scarf I knit. Now, let's talk about this grey stripe. i think this is what is making the top of the bag wonky. That grey stripe is a little stripe of alpaca yarn that felts like mad in comparison to its wool friends in the bag. So that stripe is HARD because it is so felted. I think that shrunk more than its share and it is drawing the bag in like a badly cinched waistline on some hippie shirt. Oh well, I love it because it tells a story.



This beauty is from Leigh Radford's One Skein. I followed the pattern exactly (I think the pattern is called something like "The Clutch You'll Never Give Up" or something) but I used Misti Alpaca Yarns' Misti Alpaca Chunky in VR1380 Sage. Will I ever use this? Maybe not. Do I love it, nonetheless? Yes, most definately. I have yet to add buttons, maybe I'll add them and then post another picture.





These bowls are also from One Skein. They both came out a lot bigger than I thought they would, even though the alpaca yarn shrinks like mad. The green one is from the same yarn as the clutch and the black one is from Brown Sheep's Burley Spun in BS05 Black. I may try and felt the black one again, we'll see.

Okay, that's all for now, folks! Oh and I also found out that the merc carries Lorna's Laces Sheperd Worsted, albeit only in variegated and solid black. I bought a berry-toned variegated anyway, because I loved making the One Skein Socklettes so much, half because of the awesome yarn. Weeeeeeeeeee!

I also finished the hemp scarf and added fringe and everything. Glad to be done with that. I finally finished knitting my friend Bek (Beast's sister) her two-weeks-belated birthday scarf though I forgot to take a picture of it. It was a herringbone stitch scarf knit in Plymouth Yarn's Baby Alpaca Grande (100% alpaca) and I stupidly forgot to take a picture. Bek, if you're reading, please take a picture of you wearing the scarf (you can chop your head out if you want) and send it to me to post!

Ok I'm really gone this time.

P.S. Happy Birthday to me on Thursday! YIPPEE! Quarter century!

Monday, June 12, 2006

I am Shetland Wool







What kind of yarn are you?




You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.
Take this quiz!








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Monday, June 05, 2006

I heart Whole Foods

I went to Whole Foods for the first time today. This store has been around for, I want to say, maybe six months? And I had heard it was fantastic and why hadn't I gone and blah blah blah. But I also know it is more expensive and I freaking hate Sawmill Road and avoid it like the plague. Well, I had to go up there today and thought I'd check it out. And even though it is on Sawmill and a good twenty minutes away I will be doing the bulk of my shopping there now. Forget Wild Oats, Trader Joes, and especially forget Kroger's. My god this place is amazing. I bought these strawberries and they look and taste like g.d. berries from a fancy restaurant or a movie or a commercial, where the food all looks fake but tastes amazing. I bit into one as soon as I got to the car and it was L-O-V-E. So anyhoo, that's my story for today. P.S. I hate Tubey. I'm on my third try on this sweater and I knit the back shrug part too short and now the front all rides up. I am stupid. I think I can fix it though. I'm going to try to block just the back part and pick up less than 3.75" worth of stitches in from the armpit. I think that might do it. ::sigh::

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Captain Jenni Kidd



My pirate name is:


Captain Jenni Kidd



Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.