It's Bad When You Forget Your Own...

Happy Belated Blogiversary to...

ME!

4/18/07 - first post.

Random Last-Minute Belated Blogiversary/Earth Day Contest - Leave a comment on THIS POST including...

1. One change you have made in the past year to tread a little lighter on the Earth
2. Your favorite color(s)

by April 30 to win an "Organic Nettie Kit" (enough organic cotton yarn to make a Nettie bag). Open to US and Canadian residents. (I just don't trust the mails any farther than that!) Winner will be chosen at random on May 1.

FOto Friday - October 5, 2007

Undeserved Yarn, or, My Sock-Bot Loot:

Dyed by Debbi with acid dyes on Knit Picks base. She calls this color Sweet Tart - very appropriate! Looks like it will make some fun Monkeys if I ever attempt a pair. Seeing her neat little yarn cake makes me want a yarn winder soooooo baaaaaad. She sent along some awesome purple stitch markers by Mary! This photo is really dark, I'm sorry!


Seeing Debbi's pretty yarn and after wrestling with the kool-aid Every Single Time makes me think I need to step up to real acid dyes if I want to take this yarn dyeing thing seriously.

And did you know that many (if not all) fiber "acid" dyes are citric-acid based? So is Kool-Aid! I was thinking of something far more sinister, probably since a nasty dustup between myself and some sulphuric acid once resulted in a late-night trip to urgent care. Anyway, speaking of wrestling with Kool-Aid...

The Project Previously Knows As The Great Pumpkin, Now With More Autumn Leaves Effect!:

Overdyed in TONS of lemonade Kool-Aid (pale stuff, that), then spotted with Cherry. It looks good, so I'm sending it on to the very patient Robyn once it's dry (one photo with flash, one without):



If I tried this color effect again, I would dye it with four packs of lemonade FIRST, then hand-painted it in orange, red and maybe a touch of green. The contrast of the red and green in early autumn leaves is one of my favorite parts of autumn, yet I forgot all about it.

This also qualifies as a finished project for UFOctober, woohoo!

More UFOctober Progress:

Early Nettie Before:


Early Nettie After:


Sky Socks Before:


Sky Socks After:


In other progress: I've turned the heel on the 2nd Lily Pad sock. I'm enjoying this yarn again, so this seems to be my main project right now.

If you want to participate, leave me a note in the comments by Saturday night. (I was going to have everyone leave a comment on the original post, but that seems silly to me now, so just leave one here.) If you have already signed up, check the UFOctober 2007 link list to the right and make sure your name/blog appears there.

And don't forget to grab a button! (Please save to your own account, thx.)

Putting the "Blah" In Blog

Totally leapfrogging off of Wendy's post from Monday, I am trying to get back into the swing of posting regularly. Turns out that, with 2 out of 3 kids in school, I somehow have less time to post. Go figure.

So, as stated, there has been some Ball Band Madness:

Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream in Hot Purple and Soft Teal

This purple and green number is a gift for my sis-in-law, who has zero appreciation for knitting. We shall convert her yet! (My 11-year-old niece knits, so I am hoping that having an in-house knitter will help sway SIL.)

Oh, I made one change from the original pattern for this one - I cast on 47 stitches instead of 45. So the first "block" you knit 5, slip 1, k5, s1, etc, ending k5. The next "block" you k2, s1, *k5, s1* rpt to end, k2. I like how this works because when I follow the pattern, that second "block" doesn't seem as well-defined to me. Your mileage may vary.

Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream in Rosewood and Soft Teal

The pink/green/brown is a gift for mom-in-law, who delicately requested I knit her one. Actually, she saw me knitting the brown & aqua striped one and said, "So when are you going to make me one?" Um, nicely put. (Followed pattern as written.)

NETTIE!! Yes, Nettie II is done! She has been tested and found fit for use, making the rounds at the local farmer's market last Saturday. I was on a yes-tomatoes-no-plastic-bag-please quest and fully succeeded. Nettie even received a compliment from the local raw honey vendor. Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of Nettie chock full o' tomatoey goodness, but regular readers of this blog know they should be happy with the crappy photo I did take. (heh, sorry guys) And who knows, maybe I'll actually get around to posting the long-promised pattern. (Or have I posted it already? Click to find out!)

There may be one more ball-band washrag in my near future, a little experimental number with some self-striping yarn. I'll let ya know. The yarn may have already been purchased. But I'm not tellin'.

FOto Friday - August 17, 2007

Thanks for your patience during the recent hiatus and technical difficulties. Yesterday, I plugged my camera into the USB port and it loaded right up. My printer works now, too. So who knows. (Digital gremlins?) On to the FOtos!

Sockapalooza 4!!

The socks:

Note the excellent fit and stupendous stripiness. I love stripes. Not shown: the toasty warmness.

The treats:

Clockwise, from top left: Zen Party trail mix by Archer Farms. Envelope from cute enclosed card (oops, no photo). Supercute yarn-printed emery board from Knitters Mercantile in Columbus, Ohio. Three samples of Soak. Ohio State University coasters.

The coasters, hmm. Well, I live about 30 minutes from the University of Michigan, sworn enemy of Ohio State. We have a little saying:

Oh how I hate
Ohio State
Yes, we are nothing if not clever here in Michigan. However, in honor of fabulous knitter Lola, we used the Ohio State coasters until the kids decided they made excellent mass-onslaught mini-frisbees.

The amazing Zen Party matchiness:

I love that the socks and the snack mix matched! I don't know if that was planned or not. But I love it. (Did I mention the love? I did? Ok then.)


What I Did On My Summer Vacation, or, Two Things Michigan Should be Known for Besides Amazingly Clever Rhyming Couplets Disparaging Rival Universities:

This bridge (more impressive when clicked):


The Mackinac Bridge (say MAK-in-aw) connects Michigan's two penninsulas (penninsulae?). It is 5 miles long, and is the longest bridge in the Western Hemisphere, 3rd longest in the world. The road level at midspan is 200 feet above the surface of the water. The water depth at that point is 295 feet. (Something you don't really want to think about while you're driving over it within recent memory of the events in Minneapolis.) Happy 50th Anniversary, Mackinac Bridge!

Lighthouses:

This is the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, one of Michigan's many, MANY lighthouses. If you like lighthouses, this is the state for you. Very helpful when your landlocked sock pal loves lighthouses!


Ball Band Madness

Cocoa and Country Stripes. I like the purple one better, after all:


Used the leftovers from the first Nettie bag, plus the end of Country Stripes:


The top one, I was trying to be clever (you know us Michigan people and clever), so I held both yarns together while casting on and binding off. I hate it. I'll use it anyway. I made both of these in one week. For me, that's pretty fast.


Not So Fast

Ok, Nettie should not take this long to knit. I am stuck on the base garter stitch section. It's not hard, not at all. Just sloggy. A decent TV night should take care of it, if I just do it.


Sadly, I took this photo before I left, and it doesn't look much different now. Please don't tell Dreamy.

FOto Friday - 8/3/07

Mini Sock:
I wanted to try one, but couldn't find a free pattern. So I just used the Yarn Harlot's general sock rules* to make a bitty one. It's not great, but this went in my pal's Sockapalooza package, which is...

...sent!
We have the finished socks on DIY sock blockers, the sock pattern (which will be published here once I know she has her package), a mini calendar on a topic I know she likes, some of the extra yarn in case of "shortage" or future holes, and the mini sock. I added a bunch of Michigan postcards, and the socks are wrapped in mad caterpillar's lovely official Sockapalooza 4 sock band, which you can download in PDF form from her site.

Stripey Goodness:
This is a Ball-Band Warshrag from Mason-Dixon Knitting made from Lily Sugar 'n Cream Stripes in Country Stripes and original in Hot Purple. Once I got going, I was afraid this would look too Easter-y, but I like how it turned out. Then, I was afraid to use it (too purty), but when it is wet, the colors deepen and it is really beautiful. (The yarn is beautiful, not my knitting. In fact, there is a major mistake on the topmost slip-stitch section, which I left since it was for my use anyway. Click to make it bigger.) I originally wanted to use a chocolate brown instead of the purple, but couldn't find any at that store and couldn't wait to start until I did. I think it would have looked more sophisticated in brown. Maybe for another day...

In order to put my money where my mouth is with the Make-A-Bag-Along blog, I picked up the second Nettie again. I got a lot done last night (the mesh sections knit up SUPER fast), but forgot to take a picture today.

This coming week, I'll be working on finishing Nettie and some other WIPs. Boy1 has been quite patient with his slow-going toe-up socks, and I'd like to finish my Chevron Lace pair before I start something new.

*Support your local bookstore, kids!

Peace of Mind

I've made a decision about the Tour de France Knit Along.

I am not withdrawing from the race! Rather, I will change tactics and strive to finish my Sockapalooza socks during the tour. Remember their name from early on, even before I made the final-final FINAL decisions on color and pattern, was Grapevine. Well, grapes... wine... France... you know.

Anyway, not sure of the "rules" on this. The TdF mods seem pretty easygoing, so I hope it won't be a problem. But I'll email them to be sure.

I turned the heel on the second sock tonight, narrowly avoiding a major frogging disaster. I was knitting along on the heel flap, thinking about short-row heels (which I've never done) and how hard are they and what do they end up looking like, la di da, picked up the stitches along the side for the gusset, hmm hmm hmm, knit across the top in pattern, concentrate concentrate, picked up the other side, tra la la. Uh, I forgot to TURN THE HEEL.

Good thing I had only done one round when i caught it. Tinked back with no major issues. I gotta try it on purpose some time tho - I think that would make one crazy looking sock.

And does anyone else keep wanting to call it the "Tour de Force"?

P.S. I fully intend to post Nettie, but should I have some people test it first? Testers? Volunteers? Guinea pigs?

Knitters, Start Your Needles... Cyclists, Start Your, uh...

Bon jour, mes amis!!

Today is zee fabulous start of zee fabulous Tour de France. Zee race starts in London (London? London is not in France, mes petits, despite many efforts to zee contrary.)

Ok, I can't keep up the fake bad French accent for an entire post. But it's true - today (the prologue time trials) and tomorrow take place in England. And they say Americans are bad at geography.

The Tour starts at 3:00 p.m. London time, which works out to... right about now, I think. And therefore, the start of the Tour de France Knit Along!

I will be making a second Nettie for the KAL, since she falls rather neatly into the market bag category. I am scheduled to teach Nettie at our local LYS, so once that is done, I'll post the pattern here on the blog.

Nettie:

Here's a link to Tour coverage in English.

And en francais.

Promises Update * Meet Nettie * Houston, We Have Purple

Warning: Randomness ahead, but, hey! Pictures!

If you donated to Gleaners of Southeast Michigan, email Tracy at Tracy -at- gmail -dot- com (you know the drill) and let her know. She is giving away a GORGEOUS prize to one donor.

***

Meet Nettie...


Nettie II, she is done! Mwah! I am going to make the bag body a little longer and the handle a little shorter. (Note to self: cotton stretches. A lot.) I'll post the pattern once I'm done teaching the class. That just seems more fair to those who pay to take the class. Confession: I'm nervous that no one will sign up! In that case, I'll post the pattern here sooner.

Look how cute - she matches my ironing board cover!

Yarn: Lily Sugar 'n Cream in colors Hot Blue (solid) and Summer Splash (varigated)
Fiber: 100% cotton
Needles: Straight size 8 (US) and 15 (US)
Pattern: Mine! (proud mama) Will be posted here by August if not sooner.
Started: June 9 (ish)
Finished: June 16
Learned: How to make a pattern that makes sense (we hope).

***

Houston, We Have Purple Sock Yarn

I am out of my Sockapalooza denial and have dyed the yarn! It took way more time and Kool-Aid than I thought, but I'm sure that's due to lack of experience dyeing multicolored yarn. I used 6 packs of Grape, two packs of Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, one pack of Strawberry Lemonade, and one pack of Berry Blue. I can't even walk you through the process because it got pretty random by the end. The "planned" stage ended up WAY more red-purple than I wanted, so in the end I doused the whole thing with the two shades of blue and called it done. It's on the drying rack right now. If it's ugly, I'll keep it and use either my pretty Trekking or some Louet Gems for my pal. (Probably the Louet Gems. Probably sportweight.)


The dyed yarn - still damp. I think it will lighten up when it dries.


There's the Trekking on the upper right. I HAD to pull out the center as soon as it was officially mine. (It's an obsession.) The two brighter cottons are what I used for Nettie.

Overwhelmed

So, of course, the best thing to do when overwhelmed?

Catch up on the knitting blogs.

Lots going on here:

I heard from one of the jobs I recently applied for, and have an interview set up for next week. (One more step away from retail - I hope!)

I have to finish (start) a pattern for a net beach bag for the yarn store so I can teach the class I scheduled for July. It's in the thinking stages; time to sit down with some yarn and needles and get to it. Let's set the deadline at June 15, so the yarn store can see that, yes, I actually have a project to teach. (Although if I start tonight, and it works, I can show them something tomorrow when I go in for their Knit In Public Day Sale.)

Need to solidify the projects/schedule/materials lists, etc., etc., many details for the kids' knitting classes at LYS. Oh, and those start in July. eek.

I need to finish with the Kool-Aid dye experiments, already, and start dyeing my Sockapalooza yarn. Just under 8 weeks until the socks are to be mailed (August 2). (Oh, hey, lots of time there, lol!)

In addition, this summer I need to finish the recycled navy sweater for Girl, and make the long-promised Jimmy Neutron sweater for Boy1. He is a science nut and loves both Jimmy Neutron and Bill Nye the Science Guy. I guess I should be glad he didn't ask for a knitted lab coat.

Then it's on to dragon mittens and sweater for Boy2, plus some sort of cropped sweater for myself. I have about a bajillion patterns bookmarked, but just... can't... decide... And maybe somewhere in there, I can find the time to knit Hubs a pair of socks.

Tomorrow is Knit in Public Day. Go knit something! In public!

Nettie

If you're playing along at home, you might have noticed a new Work in Frogress over to the right there - Nettie the Grocery Bag. Recently, I looked at my overflowing stash of plastic grocery bags and decided I have had enough. Here are a few facts:

1) Each year, the US uses 12 MILLION barrels of oil just to make plastic bags.
2) It takes 1000 years for a plastic bag to break down in a landfill.
3) Paper bags are heavier and bulkier, and, therefore, use much more oil in transportation. (Plus, you know, trees. I personally enjoy breathing.)
4) Plastic bags are taking over my dark and seamy undersink cabinet space.

Good reasons to go bagless.

Right now, I am all talk and no action, as I keep forgetting to bring my own bags to the store. Still working on that "distracted mom of 3" problem.

Fortunately, a lot of the bags I get are #2 plastic and recyclable in my area. I recycle the extras whenever I can. I've been saving bread bags and other unavoidable plastic bags to reuse for those really icky jobs that reused plastic bags are great for.

As part of the knitting class gig, I offered to teach a class on knitting shopping bags. I have a couple good-looking patterns bookmarked, but I am still looking into whether I would be legally able to use those to teach a class. In the meantime, a few days ago, I started working on my own pattern for a knitted mesh bag - Nettie. Once iPhoto and I are on speaking terms again, I'll show you what I've got going so far.

In the meantime, if you are interested in making your own knitted mesh bag(s), here are some patterns to get you started:

Lion Brand Eco-Friendly Expandable Shopping Bag - Lion has an organic cotton that grows in four natural colors. Basic dishcloth cotton yarn would also work.

Knit Shopping Bags by Jean Lampe

Saturday Market Bag, by Jodie Danenberg

If you have links to other free patterns for mesh shopping bags, hit me in the comments. If you have or know of a pattern I could legally use to teach a class (this would be a class people are paying to take), I definitely want to hear from you!

Here's a great little video about using your own bags: Click Here

Lots of other fun greenie videos on that site. Check it out.