12/09/2010
Another blog move…
Moving to another blog. Why? I’m just a weirdo. 🙂
It’s time to shed this layer of blogness and begin another journey. I hope to see you down the road.
New Blog
03/31/2010
Decisions
It’s about 3am, I have to be up in 3 hours to get to work.What am I doing up? Freaking deciding if I should get a Kindle or not. I’m planning a trip and I thought this would be a good time to get an e-reader. I’ve been wanting one for what feels like forever now. I was pretty set on getting a nook but then realized that the books cost more and as a B&N member, my membership discounts don’t apply. Soooo that really sucks. Anywho, back to my mental battle of should I buy it? Yeah just put it in the cart and check out. Just do it!! Must get sleep…
03/19/2010
Marching on
Yay! A new pair 🙂
Hobby Lobby’s yarn bee brand yarn. It’s ok. Get it for cheaper and use the 40% off coupon. It’s not worth paying full price for. It feels dryer than other 75/25 workhorse sock yarns. It’s nice to have a matched up pair. I don’t mind fraternals but every now and again, it’s nice to know almost exactly where to knit.
Still working on the March Mystery socks but as I do this KAL I realize that if I have to wait, I kind of lose steam for the project. The 3rd clue was posted this past Sunday but I have yet to tackle it. It’s not a boring knit, I guess it’s because I started other projects and the mystery sock’s shininess has worn off. Hopefully by the time I get the 4th clue, maybe I can get some more speed.
Current Obsession:
- Hiya Hiya stainless steel needles. I have a funky reaction to Knit Picks nickel plated ones and the Addi brass. They end up tarnished like crazy after knitting 12 rounds or so. KP’s Harmony needles were what I settled on, but I want to be speedy and see my needle when using dark yarns. So yay! for hiya hiya. I’ve been accumulating the longer ones lately so I could knit my pairs at the same time. 47″ and 60″ circs work really well for me. I like the extra room. Although 60″ may be a bit too roomy.
- I’ve been eyeing their new interchangeable set. I keep telling myself I already have  the Harmony set, so I don’t “need” it. But gosh darn it, I WANT it!
Non-knitting News
Audiobook:
- Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister ehh, maybe I just didn’t get into it. It felt draggy until maybe a bit past the middle. Then in got better. The ending (epilogue) was pretty deep, don’t know how I feel about the final thought(s).
- Next up:Â Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Book 1)
I could read it, but…well, I tried and it just wasn’t working. At least this way I can listen, knit and enjoy the reader’s amazing skill with all the character voices.
Physical book:
- Instead of finishing up my current reads (I think I’m supposidly working through 5), I decided to start another book (The Lovely Bones
). It’s been hard because I want to read and knit but can only do one at a time. One day, I really hope I can do both at once.
03/05/2010
Hello March!
As I contemplate this post, a thought hits me. “It’s freaking March!” What goes on in March?!? St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, 2010). And what’s the typical color of this day? Green!!! My favorite color. I need to knit something green. Do I need an excuse to knit something green? No, but having a plan is always good 😉
A few things to catch you up on:
- Started a new project with my iphone. Just me, my iphone camera, and what I can “capture”. Therefore I dubb thee “icapture”. Almost exactly like the 365 project except no”me” photos. But I don’t know if I can do one a day. I would like to take random and not so random pictures. I don’t want to be boxed in and have this dreaded feeling of “oh I have to post something e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y….eekkk.” Anywho, here’s one for ya. Main goal with this project–>no editing, what the iphone gives me is what I present to you.
- I’m not really a good poster/active participant in anything but the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry has a really great KAL going on this March. The March 2010 Mystery sock by Kristi Geraci is really pretty and I had to join.
And the mystery begins…- Yarn: Rio de la Plata Multicolor sock yarn
- 437yd/3.53oz (400m/100g)
- Fingering weight.
- Sadly they yarn has been discontinued 😦
- Needles: 2.25mm Hiya Hiya circular
- Thoughts: it’s fuzzy. Reminds me of Schaefer Anne.
- Currently reading:Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah’s Book Club)
. An interesting read 1/3 the way through, don’t really have the “urge” to quickly finish. I pick it up when I don’t feel like knitting or am not on the net (which is rare in both cases). But it’s not a bad read where I eventually let it slip under my bed 😉
- Currently listening to: The City of Ember (Book of Ember)
. Just found out this is book 1 of a series and so far I think I may get the rest. I know it’s a teen book but it’s actually very good and reader Wendy Dillon does a really good job with the character voices. This audiobook has sound effects pulling you into the story even more.
(End of a long day, driving home after a day of rain. Storm clouds can be very pretty and seductive.)
***Heads up, I’m very prone to all aspects of nature so there will be quite a lot of those images.
02/24/2010
February
Yay for finished pairs!
Some kind of rib pattern? I really don’t remember. I know the stitch pattern came from either book 1 or 2 of the Barbara Walker stitch dictionaries. I know, I suck 😦
It’s crazy but this is the first time I’m knitting up Socks that rock. They totally rock! I love the stitch definition I get from this yarn. The color is Marbles.
Details:
CO: 56sts
Needle: 2.50mm (US1.5) Inox circular
Method: magic loop
New singles make a pair. I really wear my socks, and I throw them in the washer and sometimes accidentally into the dryer. These kureyon socks really lasted. They are at least 1 old and I wear them almost every week. I originally thought I would make my socks 2-at-a-time for the first time and used 2 different skeins of of kureyon sock and then do their mates. It never happened and I just wore them as a pair. Now the mates are done and well, they’ll be my new go to pair.
You’ve probably notice me playing around with photoshop. I thought it was time to really get to know how to re-use this program since it’s now in its bagillionth revamp vs it’s puny beginnings when I was in high school. eeggaadds.
Acorns. yup.
A stitch pattern from Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Sock Book
I wanted to try toe-up socks again since the last time I knit toe-up was Yarnissima’s Firestarters (My socks).
Details:
Fleece Artist Merino
Color: Fruit Punch
-I had a fiddly start with the Judy’s magic cast on making my toe stitches a bit smooshed and tight. Next time I may need to use bigger needles. Total stitch count 64.
-I wanted a heel flap and after almost on the verge of ripping both socks, I stopped trying to think things through and followed Wendy’s instructions for her toe up socks. Success!!
-The final big new technique was using Jeny’s suprisingly stretchy bind off. Here’s a great Cat Bordhi video show the steps. I think it may be too stretchy for me. Maybe use smaller needles the next time around.
Simple footies. Knit with Patons Kroy sock FX
Reminds me of trekking XXL. Knits and feels a wee big larger than fingering. These were a super quick knit and only required 1 skein for my size US-5 feet. I have an extra ball, if you click the picture it’ll take you to my flickr account and there I’m giving away the ball to anyone who wants to try it out.
Detail:
Knit picks 5inch DPN size 2.5mm (I know right?!?. DPNs? I haven’t used DPNs in such a long time. It has been magic loop for over 2 years now. Weird. But, the KP needles are too cute and I really needed an excuse to buy them. My reason…I will knit mittens. Ummm yeah, that hasn’t happened yet…we’ll see.
And looking towards the future…may I introduce my new little buddies, LuLu and Simon. They will be helping me knit up “The Stash”. I already have quite a bit wound up and ready to jump onto the needles, only problem, which to use first?
01/24/2010
Pretend
Let’s pretend that nothing’s changed. That we are all still great friends and that I haven’t been missing for almost a year. That my blog is still up and running and we’ve celebrated 2009 together. Let’s make believe.
Since I haven’t been an avid blogger, I thought it would be a good idea to come back to good-ole free wordpress.com. Back to where it all started.
Web hosting is a chunk of money I could put to use somewhere else. I could always use more yarn and definitely all the fun tools that have been coming out.
Anywho, I’ve been up to socks, more socks, and scarves. I finally knit up some Socks That Rock, color –>Marbles. This yarn is super nice, great stitch definition and the color combos are fab!
I thought I had a finished sock but the toe or more so the length of the sock just wasn’t doing it for me. I don’t like it when the heel flap folds over beyond the heel, so I need to make the sock longer. Picking up stitches to frog back…
That’s that for now, see you soon.
02/24/2009
Bloggin' on the fly
Just wanted to pop in and say a hello. What’s been going on? Not really much. I’ve just seem to have lost some steam in blogging and even a bit in the knitting realm. I still knit here and there but it seems as though I’ve been leaving my projects a wee bit unfinished. I only have a bit to knit and then I abandon the project and move on to the next to be abandoned piece. Hopefully I’ll get my act together and be a finisher and actually post more. But until I get over my slump this wont be much of a blog. Apologies all around.
See you soon! 😎
01/20/2009
SSS anyone?
Well, this isn’t such a SSS since it’s my latest and I’ve already cast on its mate. I wanted to create something special for my friend. And if you haven’t guessed, her name is Jeannette. These will be a belated b-day present for her.
12/25/2008
New Colorways
I wish I had some knits to show for but until then, some prØn. I’m still working on figuring out which yarn bases I like so here are a few of my test dyes.Â
Suzie
Lou
Megan
Sasha
Sofia
12/21/2008
Whew!
Howdy everyone! I’m sooo sorry for not posting before I left for vacation. It was nice long 7 day cruise with the family down in the Caribbean. heheh fun? (eehhhh to a certain extent) Photos to come when I get things cleaned up and settled. Plus I have plenty of blogs to catch up on. Can I just say I soooo miss ya’ll and am soooo glad to be home. It’s so weird being away from my computer for so long.
Esoteric Knitter 