a very white Christmas

a very white Christmas, a photo by ktb83 on Flickr.

it was a lovely white Christmas here this morning.

15 days to go

There are 15 days left to Christmas. Which means I am in a slight (read AHHHH) panic about knitting all the things. I finished a gift! Which i will show you soon. And I will even tell you about my little oops on it (read, giant huge oops).
I still have 3 things to make by the 25th, and one thing by the 16th, which is gah, 6 days away.
Everything except one gift is on the needles and I'm knitting on them at every chance I get. Which do you do? do you cast on for all of them at once and knit as you can, or cast on for one gift and knit that till you finish it?
Last night, we put up the tree, and will decorate it tonight. I made a great dinner last night, Rosemary lemon garlic chicken over potatoes and onions, and then I quick whipped up a gravy to go with it. It turned out so well! While we ate, we listened to War of the Worlds. If you haven't heard it, you really need to. It's such a great thing and when it aired, it scared the ever loving crap out of everyone.

Let the Holiday Knitting Begin!

With the colder weather, the change of the leaves, comes something else. Holiday knitting.
Last week, I ordered the yarn for some gifts from Webs, and I already started on one gift

It's a shawl for my mother. All total, I have 6 projects to knit, two due before Christmas.
You would think I would be knitting like the wind, yes? And not looking at ALL the lizard ridge blankets. Because the other day I decided to make one. I also decided to start a sweater soon. Clearly, I have gone totally bonkers.
As for your holiday knitting?

Why yes, I am a nerd!

Sandy

Over a week later, and people are still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Sandy. We managed rather well, our power didn't even go out, which shocked me. We had lots of downed trees, flooded roads, and such high winds I thought the house was going to be picked up!
I watched Walking dead and Miss Marple on netflix, and I knit this during the hurricane

I found two skeins of Lion brand wool ease thick and quick in color citron at AC Moore the other week. It was on clearance for $4 a skein, so I grabbed them up. This color is weird, I don't know how to describe it. It's just this bright mustard yellow with a tinge of lime green. I love it tho.

the pattern, Marian, calls for 45 stitches on 19's. I read quite a few project notes on rav, and many people said it came out small. So what I did was this. I casted on 70 stitches on 17's bound off loosely and it came out amazing!

It's super warm, and I can easily double it. It's going to be a much loved thing this winter I believe.

Ravelry link!
As for now, I'm knitting a christmas gift(more on those soon! and when it did get to be holiday knitting time?!) and listening to this

Calm before the storm

Apparently, there is some storm heading towards the east coast. And I happen to live in the path. Tomorrow, I will be baking all the things, making sure nothing can blow away, and of course, getting my knitting in order.

It's hard to believe that In less the 24 hours, there will be a hurricane here. It was lovely today, a perfect fall day. I finished a calorimetry, and Asta and I sat outside for a bit.

If you live in the path of Sandy, stay safe!

Monday Monday

This is what some of my Monday looked like.
I woke up, and this was my view off my porch.

I did my nails, Sinful colors in Memorize.

This is the SO TOTALLY AWESOME shirt I was wearing today

I went to ac moore, and bought yarn. and needles, and a thing to learn hairpin lace on. Also, socks.
(the maroon yarn is for a shawl, mustard yarn is for cowl, grey for a hat, and the cotton for washcloths)

To end the day, my two new kittens sleeping on top of each other. Watson on the bottom, Mycroft on the top.

How to stay warm

By Asta
Step one, take you human's quilt off her bed.
Step two, get in the middle of it and dig and wiggle around until you have formed yourself a cave that covers you so well, that your human can't see you until she calls your name and you pop your head out. you will get lots of pets and scratches for that.
Step three, snore lightly and force your human to find another blanket

Oh the shame

OHAI THERE!! Guess what? I'm all moved in. And when I say moved in, I mean now live here, but all my stuff is still packed away and I somehow wound up buying two potato mashers and then found mine, so now I have three potato mashers. In the meantime, I am forcing my poor little Asta to model for me. She has such shame.

(pattern is simple things, on rav here)

#ravelympics

If you are on ravelry, then you know probably what the ravelympics are. It's basically this. During the Olympics, you watch athletes push themselves to do their best. And you push yourself to do your best in knitting/crocheting. You do something you never did before. You are cheered on by thousands of people also doing the best they can to make something amazing. To create something that you can look at years from then and say that you were in the ravelympics and made that! You learned from that project, you grew as a fiber artist, and because of joining all these other people who cheered with you, consoled you when you crossed your cables wrong, you are the knitter/crocheter you are now. It's more then a sense of community, it was friends helping each other out and having so much fun doing it.
The us olympic committee believes that you "denigrate" the olympics. you can read more about that here, but this is what pisses me off.
"We believe using the name "Ravelympics" for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country's finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work"
BITE ME. I've been trying to think of a better response, something that sounds more eloquent, but really, that's all I can do. I knit this for the last games



I had barely done any fair isle, and I was going to knit this HUGE fair isle bag. I did it, while watching the Olympics, caring about them for the first time EVER. It was fun. I was, and am, very proud of myself. In no way did I "denigrate" the Olympics. Not a single person in the ravelympics did. To say something that harsh and insulting to people who carry pointy sticks? BAD IDEA.
i was going to join the ravelympics again this year, and I was going to gather up all my old ufo's and finish them. But now? Now I'm going to watch buffy and angel instead of mens swimming. I will be boycotting the Olympics this year. Will you?

Sunshine on Acid

A few weeks ago, I got an idea in my head to make a bathmat for my new bathroom. It was pushed aside for more important issues, like "HOLY CRAP FLAIL MOVING PACK FLAIL OOH COOKIES!". But last week, I was in A.C. Moore, getting a crochet hook, since mine have all been stolen by gnomes, and I saw this giant ball of eye searing, happy inducing yellow cotton. I grabbed two skeins, dug out the first mason dixon book, (which was not packed), and cast on for Absorba.



I used three strands, and this was so much fun to knit. It got a bit cumbersome towards the end, with all the cotton, but I love it, and it looks great.



It even matches my hand towels, which I found on clearance for $.97 last week.
When I make another one, I would use four strands, just to up the squishyness of it.
As for the moving, it's getting there. My mom was rushed to the ER twice this weekend, which pretty much stopped all efforts to move. She'll be ok, but it wasn't fun. And to add to all the non-fun, I fell in the ER parking lot and really hurt my ankle. So I'm rather slow with all the moving (and I can't really bear any weight on it, so I can't take boxes out). But we'll get there. Hopefully in mostly one piece.

Big news!

I'M MOVING!!!! AAHHHH!!!! In april, an offer was made on the house that we couldn't refuse (it wasn't on the market, it was made by the company that lives all around us) and well, it was accepted. Last week, my parents bought a house. We have till the end of august to be moved out of this house.
It's just so bizarre. I've lived in this house for 17 years. Most of my life, all but 7 years of it. The new place is lovely, it's in Conestoga, pa. About an hour and half from here. The house is built into a hill, has solar panels, it's on 3.4 acres, overlooks a state game land, the kitchen is just amazing. Everything in the kitchen was custom built, from the extra wide counter tops, to the deep solid cherry wood cabinets (I might have a crush on the kitchen). And the best part? I have my own bathroom, with a Jacuzzi hot tub! I might have just finished knitting a bathmat for it..... Pics to come!
There is so much to do in the next few months! I need to paint the upstairs, pack everything in the house up (holy crap, ALL THE BOOKS!! i swear, more then half of the boxes will be books), find a bed (I'm looking for a queen bed with drawers underneath, any nice ones?) and generally freak out.
I'm going to miss this place, But I'm looking forward to drinking hot cocoa on my porch while watching the leaves change colours. And reading J.K rowlings new book!
I also keep saying this quote, which is so perfect. And right <3 c.s lewis

Two shawls

I finished these last year, but I just now got around to blocking them. What, me, procrastinate?! never;)
Viola. Named after Holden's sister in Catcher in the Rye, which I love, but some people hate.

I used Lime and violet in Loop riot. I loved it, it didn't pool, and really showed off the pattern. The whole thing makes me happy just looking at it.

I used US 6's. and if I remember correctly, I was worried about running out of yarn, so I only did three lace repeats.

Smashed Daffodils

From start to finish, I was head over heels with this project. The yarn, which was locally dyed, was so BRIGHT and happy, it really is this yellow and green. The pattern, my first from Stephan west, was a pleasure to make, and I plan to make another Pogana.

I love how it gets more green bits in it towards the end. After blocking, it sits so well on my shoulders.
Tomorrow is my mom's *mumblemuble* birthday, and I had to planned on knitting her a shawl (no where near done) and a pair of socks, which, sadly, were WAY too big. So I had to frog it, and I'm back knitting the toe. I'm (insanely stupidly) hoping to somehow finish them before tomorrow.

Spring Crack

I have, according to ravelry, made this pattern 3 times. I love everything about it, it's fun, easy, incredibly addictive, and looks wonderful in noro and handspun. I'm going to be making another one next week for a friend's birthday gift, and I can't wait.
Spring crack

I used Noro silk garden lite, 2 skeins, and a G hook. I Love this so much, and plan to wear it so often this spring.

Comfort knitting

Last week, I was recovering from the flu/plague/zombie virus, which left me so sick I could barely do anything. I couldn't focus on any patterns, yet I wanted to knit, so I cast on for a washcloth

Size 8 needles, cast on five stitches. Then, I cast on another one, this time using the moss stitch.

Same needles, and I don't know what amount of stitches I cast on.

Once I was feeling somewhat human, I made this

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a CUPCAKE MUSHROOM!!! (for the hat to stand up, I shoved yarn in it). size 8's for the ribbing, and then 11's for the shroomy bit. Yarn used is lion brand thick and quick, in whatever pink colour. Sadly, it's too warm to wear it now! We've had temps in the 70's since I finished this.
AS I type, I'm knitting something super seekrit, but hopefully I can share it with you soon!

A quick recap

These are some of the projects I've made in the past two months.
Square of Awesome

Stand up Straight

Sunny with a chance of snow

I have a lot more (I've made 13 things so far this year), but some of them (4!) are gifts.

I'm too out of it on muscle relaxers to think of a title

I have one thing to say to this year, You better be AWESOME. Or at least way better then last year. On New years Eve, I was driving with my mom over to the market to buy New years day dinner. I was in the lane to turn into the parking lot, when I got rear ended. I still don't know how, it's all a bit of a blur, but the guy who did it had to have gunned it, because he slammed into me. My car has minimal damage, but mom and I both got whiplash. Hers is mostly better now, but I still can't move my neck, I hurt so bad, and I seem to have a lump on my neck/shoulder.

I'm trying to take it easy, but it's hard to not do anything. I casted on for a calorimetry on the first, and it'll be finished today. I read a book (the help, VERY good), I watched Foyle's War, I'm watching Justified now, and drinking tea. I'm thinking that for the time being, till I'm not on heavy duty muscle relaxers, I should stick to easy knits. Because having to rip out a few rows on a calorimetry because you messed up kinda sucks.