How to Train Your Dragon Knitwear

We took The Good Son and his friends to see "How to Train Your Dragon" last week. I spent most of the movie admiring Astrid's sweater, which appeared to be made out of sock yarn and wondered if I could knit it, the matching fingerless mitts, the belt o'skulls, and the fur boots all by Halloween. Cool costume!!

Oh! And it was a great movie too! ...not just for the knitwear....

Yes, it's an expensive habit

I shop at a local yarn store, All About Yarn. They have a Customer Appreciation Rewards. You receive 20% off of your entire next purchase when receipts total $300. I knew I was pretty close to that so I decided I should add up the receipts to see if I "need" to go shopping soon.

I've been saving all of my receipts since October 1, 2007, the birth of this monster I call a habit. I once scrapbooked and know that it sucked loads of my paycheck into a black hole. Altho I did scrap and have many photo albums to prove it, I also have an embarrassingly large amount of paper, stickers and embellishments to show for it. I was curious to see if something as simple as yarn and needles could also suck the life out of me.

Well, folks, it has. After adding up the total dollars spent on knitting since October 1, 2007, I have spent a total of $3,124.77. I've knit 65 projects since October 2007, which means that each project should be worth $48.07. And that includes the tiniest crochet flower.

'nuff said.

Merry Christmas

One of the first things I hear this morning was the glorious sound of "water spurts" as my new cat, Don Corleone, marked his territory on my basement stairway carpet. Nice. Maybe he was making sure that Santa knows this is his house? He offered no explanation when I asked him.

Christmas knitting exhaustion

It is 10:04 a.m. on Friday. I haven't slept more than 1.5 hours since Wednesday at 5 a.m. I've been knitting Christmas gifts. Namely teacher gifts. I spent 5 hours last night lining and putting handles and buttons on two purses. I am running on Caribou Ho Ho and Cheerios.

Here are my babies:




A smooshy scarf for my friend Jenni. Misti Alpaca is so soft and luxurious.



A purse for Garrett's math teacher.



A purse for Garrett's teacher.



Fingerless mittens for me cuz they turned out so crappy (see the flower embellishment to distract from the mistakes) that I didn't want to give them to anyone. Warm tho.


A smooshy scarf for Wendy. Seed stitch is my favorite.


Knit washcloths and homemade soap for Garrett's Sunday school teachers and Club 45 teachers.


Purse for surprise gift for Angela. Huge hit at the party and I was commissioned to make another on for another friend.

Baby hat (and matching leg warmers, not shown) for Peyton for Xmas.



Baby bunny blanket for Peyton for her 1st Birthday.

A bit overworked and overextended, but the results are so worth it!

Gift Tags

I got it in my head to make custom gift tags after seeing a comment on Ravelry Tips section. My boyfriend is a very talented graphic artist and photographer, but he is so busy working as the Creative Art Director on his latest film that I decided not to bother him with my frivolous whims. I set up my camera on timer and started snapping away. After about 200 failed shots, the winner emerged:

20 projects in 2 months

20 projects in about 2 months. That is more than all of the projects that I did in 1.5 years! The Christmas knitting projects are killing me, but I need the therapy more than I need the gift giving. Stress caused by my ex drives my knitting projects. I am also working double time thru June 1. I need the money, so I am not complaining.

My 2 socks on 1 circular are my latest challenging project. I haven't had time to upload photos, but I will make time soon. I hate the size 2 needles, and the stockingnet stitch is boring, but the concept is a lot of fun and I plan on using it to make sleeves, pant legs, etc.

I hope you all had a happy thanksgiving. My tummy is full of leftovers and I look forward to a brighter next year.

Where did all of this stash come from??!!!

As my Booty Skirt project slowly died, I realized that I need to start a new project. I have a few in mind, but I needed to organize my studio and find out exactly what stash I had. WOW!! I know that I bought a few skeins in NYC (etc), but geesh! they must be doing naughty things in that bin because I don't remember having THIS MUCH stash!! I always said that I would never get to the scrapcrapbooking level where I am embarrassed to show anyone the amount of stuff I own and will never, even if I live to be 2000 years old, get to the end of the supplies. Well, it appears that I am well on my way to that point. Granted, I did inherit a lot of stash from family and friends who attempted to knit and failed, but I know those handpainted yarns did not come from beginners. ;)

I am heading out to a knitting retreat held by All About Yarn soon. The stash has been logged and categorized and I am determined to diminish that pile.

After reading a few frustrating posts from the Lelah top, I've decided to knit the Inspired to Knit halter top, Ribbed Halter by Michele Rose Orne with that yarn instead. I am in love with halter tops right now. I also have enough yarn to knit the Knitty Shetland Shorty. I am excited to try, try again!

Flat Rat Cat Scarf

Well, I redeemed myself and gained back my knitting confidence. I am 99% complete with the Flat Rat Cat Scarf for Puddy, my bf's cat. I only need to attach a button so it stays on when he streaks across the studio floor to rid himself of the evil human clothing. I want to make sure it is loose enough so he can easily slip out of it if he wants to, but still able to keep it on in order to stay warm. The poor rat looks like road kill -- which was totally my goal. :)

Damn that Skirt

My tears have finally dried. I finished the knitting on the Booty Skirt - Intolerable Cruelty. It *is* cruel!! My decreases look more like bat wings on the side of my thighs. I am not sure what went wrong -- well, first of all I knitted a size Medium and I shoulda went with an XS. My guage was dead on, so not sure what happened. :( I need to talk to my mom, a recovering obsessed knitter. She might know if I can steek it. It is balled up in the corner of the living room, tear stained and full of dog hair. It is enough to make a girl wanna quit. But I won't the obsession must move forward. At least it is 99% complete. I only had to knit the loops for the ribbon and place the elastic. I will finish it, even if it isn't perfect

Knitting a Cat Scarf

My boyfriend and I were joking about growing old. I said I would become the crazy old lady, sitting in her rocking chair, knitting at all hours of the day and night, and watching the neighbors come and go out the window. He said, “Hey! I want you to knit a scarf for Puddy (his cat).” It gets cold in his studio during the winter. My personal belief is that his cat is way too cool to wear a human item, but now I am obsessed with thinking about knitting a cat scarf. I had a great idea to knit a mouse head on one end and a tail on the other. Ravelry has some good ideas to put to good use.

The UFO Olympics has really lit a fire under my behind. I am just a few inches away from knitting the ruffles on my Booty Skirt! Once I finished the decreases, then the stockingnet stitch went by lighting fast. Why is it that I am always in a rush to finish a project when I am swamped at work?! Oh yea...I am always swamped and on deadline at work, that’s why…

My co-addicted friend and I signed up for a knitting retreat in early September through All About Yarn. We are staying in a cabin in the woods!!! Three days of knitting and eating and drinking. Nice! It doesn’t get much better than that, my friends. I need to organize my projects so I have a lot of variety during the retreat—especially things that I can knit while tipsy. My A.D.D. will be tested to the limits if I don't have a lot of projects to work on.

I have two Stitch n Bitches planned at my house over the next week. A chance to visit with the girls and a reason to clean my house. We hope the weather will be nice to sit on my huge deck and enjoy the remainder of the summer.

Black Yarn Swap Package!

My camera died, so I was unable to upload my pictures until today. I received a WONDERFUL package from Morgan in Calgary. She sent 4 skeins of Euroflax black linen for the Corinne pattern. I can't wait to knit with this yarn. It looks great. She also gave me a skein of superwash handgefarbte sockenwolle. :) It sounds fun, huh? It is a beautiful fushia and black yarn. She also sent a Calgary mug, tea and chocolate which lasted about 5 seconds!! THANK YOU so much, Morgan. You ROCK!!

Other finished projects

I finally got around to taking some photos off of my camera. I had problems with my computer not acknowledging the camera for some reason. Finally got it to work. Here's a few more FOs.

Temptress

I'm posting a picture of the finished Key West Brooklyn Temptress sweater. I am very happy with it. The dye job on the yarn was horrible and I would not choose that brand again, altho I did enjoy knitting with the silk mixture. It did tend to stretch a bit after wearing so I may put it in the washer and dryer and see what happens....

Temptress is done!

Finally, a project complete! With spring here I've been so busy with other projects that I barely had time to finish Tempting. Other than the fact that the yarn was improperly dyed, I love the outcome!!! I will definitely make this sweater again. I saw someone decreased the shoulders and finished the edge using cables. How brilliant! I may do that. The fit is amazing and I am very happy with the length (I increased the length significantly).

I finished the project while on vacation in Vegas. I laid the UFO on the bed and went to lunch intending to finish it when I returned. When I came back into the room the maid had moved it to the table and all I could see were yards and yards of loose yarn!!!! I panicked because I hadn't set my project up for moving or storage. After closer inspection she must have dropped the ball and it rolled. The stitches were still on the needle. Whew!

Pictures to come soon. It was raining outside at the end of completion.

My sweater photo featured for pattern

I opened my email this morning and recieved quite a shock. I was asked to have my sweater featured on the pattern page for Knit Simple's cabled hoodie sweater on Ravelry! What an honor! The picture isn't the best of me, but it does show the sweater off quite well.

Please, please, hold the applause and have your people call my people for any public appearances. ;)

Spring Coffee Swap Gifts!

I received a Spring Coffee Swap gift package from Natalie T. She included two flavored coffees, gorgeous mushy gooshy yarns, wonderful homemade stitch markers (cute green leaves) that I've already used, and lots of girly stuff -- powder, perfumes, and lotions!!! I feel pampered and spoiled and wonderful. THANK YOU so much Natalie. You rock!

Shepherd's Harvest Festival

The good son and I went to the Shepherd's Harvest Festival this past weekend. It was a bit drizzly, but it didn't dampen our spirits as we weaved our way around llamas, alpacas, goats, sheep, and angora bunnies. He had a blast and I had a chance to use my useless animal science degree to explain where we get wool n stuff.

Spring Coffee Swap topic #6

I had so much fun creating the little chicken for beccalou for the Spring Fling Coffee Swap. I had seen a similar guy at the 3 Kittens yarn shop and I knew that I wanted to make him. I had some fuzzy maribou that was intended for the hood of the Simple Knit Cabled Hoodie, but I knew that the hood was too wackadoo for it to look good. It made perfect hair for him. I used some of the mistake felt from the first attempt at the Loopy Purse.

I am currently working on The Key West Tempting Sweater. I will do the three-needle sleeves this weekend. I picked up some silk/rayon at 3 Kittens. It is a varigated (yes, I am working with varigated yarn) in lime, pink, and purple. I think it was the combination of those 3 colors that swung me to the dark side. It is only a matter of time before I am knitting those darn stinking socks that everyone is doing.

I cast on using bamboo needles (acceptable TSA-approved non-weapons). I got three rows into it and was just about ready to stab myself in the jugular with them. I LOVE my Addi Turbos and the bamboos are just too sticky for me to enjoy. I swung into Knit Wits to pick up some Addis and I was on my way. Knit Wits was a very charming, clean shop with colorful yarns, but not much variety. They certainly saved me many hours of frustration on what was supposed to be a chill vacation. The staff was very pleasant and could not relate to my my hatred for the bamboo. :)

Since I also needed a single stitch marker, she pointed me next door to the bead store, Beads of Distinction. Altho the worker there assisted me in what I needed, she b**ched and moaned and complained the entire time. I thought to myself, "Lady, I am taking up 2 minutes of your time today, don't sweat the small stuff." I think I was taking time away from her personal beading fun and she couldn't be bothered with a $1.50 purchase.

Back from Key West and Topic #5

Hi all, I just returned from a 10 day both relaxing and insane vacation in Key West and South Beach. I wouldn't trade the memories for anything. I am 3/4 of the way through Tempting sweater. I love it! I am lax in posting knitting photos... To the left is my typical knitting position for 10 days!

Spring Coffee Swap Topic #5

You know with Spring the famous saying goes "April Showers, bring May flowers", please tell us what you like to do when those April Showers are pouring down on you. Do you like to curl up with your knitting, take in a movie or crawl back in bed?

I like to do all of those things, and sometimes walk in it. Spring showers in Minnesota definately mean warmer weather so they make me very happy, especially if combined with thunder. I love to sit and listen to the rain in the spring.

Scarf

I finished a Plymouth Baby Alpaca Chunky seed stitch scarf for a gift. It is soft and gooshy and so luxurious. I will post a picture after I block it.

Spring Coffee Swap Question #4

Let’s pretend for a minute we all live in the home of our dreams, have land, and don’t have to work so time is unlimited! It’s Spring planting season! What would you grow? A little veggie garden? A bed of bright spring blooms? Or is your thumb so far from green that the only thing you’d be planting is your tushy into a nice chair on the porch to get some knitting or crocheting done in the nice breeze?

My parents had a huge vegetable garden when I was a child. Altho I hated the weeding aspect of it, I really grew to appreciate fresh food. I used to have a large garden with tons of herbs and vegetables. I even canned my own tomatoes several times. I joined the local garden club and was just a test away from becoming a master gardener.

Since then I've had a child and I don't have the time to devote to the luxury of gardening. I now live in a townhome and miss the ability to plant perennials. My very large deck is my little oasis where I plant oodles of containers full of herbs and flowers and a few tomato plants. I just started knitting last October, so I really look forward to spending many hours sitting on my deck, knitting, and enjoying my plants.

Black Yarn Swap

1. Do you knit, crochet, or both? knit
2. What do you prefer to knit or crochet? (socks? sweaters? cables?) What would you like to try to knit or crochet? I knit anything that interests me, but mostly sweaters, skirts, or tops for myself. I also like to make gifts for friends. Since I am still a beginner knitter, I would like to learn how to substitute one size of yarn for a different size of yarn called for in a specific pattern.
3. What are your hobbies outside of knitting or crocheting? Music, traveling, dancing, eating, hanging out with friends, meeting new people.
4. Do you have any fiber allergies? Fiber preferances? No allergies, but get itchy with 100% wool. I’d like to try bamboo. I prefer natural fibers. Soft and smooshy is best.
5. Do you have any favourite books, music, or tv shows? If so, what are they? I read New York magazine and Buget Travel. I watch Ghost Hunters, Most Haunted, Top Chef, Project Runway. I am addicted to BBC Radio 1’s Chris Moyles. I love techno, electronic, Europop, World, New Age.
6. Do you have any pets? Nope. Just one 9-year-old son.
7. Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks? Buttered movie popcorn is the best. It’s hard for me to pass up pasta, bread, nuts, and fried food. I love chocolate candy bars, especially if it has caramel inside. I don't like cake, pie, or ice cream...
8. Do you prefer coffee or tea? Ground mocha java from Caribou.
9. Aside black, which colours do you like/dislike? I like turquoise, peach, terra cotta, purple, brown. Mostly dark, rich colors. I am not a fan of royal blue.
10. What is your favourite time of the year? (season-wise or holiday-wise) I love the fall colors, but living in Minnesota makes Spring my favorite time of year.
11. What is your favourite scent? Men. :) I love most scents—lavendar, coffee, food. I also like the smell of baking bread and puppy kisses. For perfume I wear Wicked Wahini, Angel, or Euphoria.
12. What do you collect? Memories!! I live life to the fullest. Other than having a ridiculously large shoe “collection”, I really don’t collect anything.
13. If there's anything else you'd like your swappee to know, list them here: I am a girly girl. I have a weakenss for big, flashy, gaudy, sparkly, size-adjustable costume jewelry rings. I am a sucker for an intelligent man with an accent who can dance. Pack one in the box if you can, ok? ;)

Progress made on skirt

I've been knitting as much as I can. I sat in the Hearings office for the City of Minneapolis, hoping to argue my speeding ticket--the result was a lot of progress on my skirt.

Spring Coffee Swap Topic #3

Tell us how you started drinking coffee. Were you in high school or college and making it through all nighters? Did you get it from a family member? What drives your love of the bean?

My Mom made homemade chocolate chip cookies on a weekly basis. My Dad would sit at the kitchen table, read the newspaper, and dip those cookies into a cup of black coffee. Once in a while he would let me have a bite. I think it started around 10 years old. That is the #1 way I enjoy my coffee and I started doing that on a regular basis in college. It quickly grew to a caffeine-need more than a cookie swimming hole, but there is no better way than that to savor a cup of coffee.

Coffee Swap Topic #2

Because I wasted an entire month working 100+ hours per week for The Man, I was unable to knit on my project. I am still working with Alpaca yarn on my Intolerable Cruelty skirt.

I did order some turquoise cotton yarn to make a Lelah Top. It was posted on knittingforboozehags.com/freebirds/lelah-top but the site appears to be down.

My "Look at My Booty" Skirt

I just buttoned up my work project and can actually start working on my Intolerable Cruelty Skirt again. I can't wait!! :)

First Sock

When I was dragging out the Easter decorations I found my first sock!! Actually, my only sock. I had one-sockitis. It isn't very comfortable, and I couldn't imagine wasting time knitting another one. I made this sock 14 years ago when I learned how to knit. I thought I had thrown it away. I am happy that I didn't.

I also made mittens, hat, and a headband, all of which were worn out and tossed out years ago.

Spring Fling Coffee Swap Topic #1

I found that Cetta enjoys drinking her coffee from a big travel mug and so do I! She just bought tickets to see Eddie Izzard, and she posted a the cutest darn YouTube video ever of her new puppy. Go watch it!

Overtime, Vacation Booked

It keeps snowing here in Minnesota and I've been working 100+ hours a week to meet a deadline, so knitting on my Intolerable Cruelty Skirt has been put aside for a while. I did book a vacation to South Beach and Key West, so my knitting will be the first thing to get packed, then the bathing suit goes in next, and then clothes--but only if there is room next to the knitting!! hee hee!

It's been a few years since I've been in Miami and I am really looking forward to it. I will stay at Eden House Inn in Key West and The Richmond Hotel in SoBe. I stayed at the Eden House before and it is so relaxing. The hammock area is calling me and I can't wait to take at least 3 naps a day in it! This will be my first time staying at The Richmond, but I've stayed a few doors down from there before and it is in a great location. It has a pool and it is on the beach, so how bad can it be?!