I'm attempting to have a contest. I don't know if it will work since there really isn't all that much traffic on my blog. Who cares, I have some stuff I want to give away. So here goes. This is meant mostly for people involved in the Hogwart's Sock Kit Swap but anyone else is welcome to join in on the fun.
How do you enter?
Well, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post by 6pm EST Tuesday September 4 saying what knitting related items you would love to receive in a secret pal type swap. In other words, if someone were to randomly send you a little something, what would make you squeal with delight.
What's the prize?
I have a few sets of stitch markers I made in Gryffindor colors. I don't want to post a picture since my pal is Gryffindor and I made a pair for her. They can be passed along to your Gryffindor pal if you involved in the HSKS or just kept them for yourself.
Good luck, I'll pick a few winners randomly (if I even have 3 people enter!)
01 September 2007
How to fix a messed up cable
I already answered most of these questions for my Hogwart's sock kit swap partner, but I thought I'd post them as well in case any other swap partners or future gift givers might get ideas from it.
Now onto my knitting adventures for the past few days. I already mentioned my major cabling catastrophe last post. You can see the devastation for yourself:
That last cable was supposed to cross behind not in front! I went and scoured the shelves of Books-a-million for the book Knit Fix. After about 20 minutes of looking through every title I resigned myself to asking for help. A 5 second computer search showed that they do not carry the book. Now, let me say, in general I am not a fan of Books-a-million. It's just a messy disorganized store (the knitting books were mixed in with crochet, quilting, scrap booking, and origami!!) But I have little options for local book stores at the moment since our Barnes and Noble closed a few months ago when they decided to rebuild the mall it was attached to. I miss my Barnes and Noble! So, back to the story. I drive to the Barnes and Noble that is about 30 minutes away in the next town over and I find the book in about 5 minutes (including the time to find the craft section of the store). I was a little distracted by all the pretty books and accidentally also bought Simply Baby. No, I'm not pregnant!!! But I hope to be shortly after my husband gets a job. I would make just about everything in this book (with the exception of one of the baby blankets and a coat.) I also plan on putting this book to good use before I would ever need it. I'm going to make either the cabled yoke jacket or the cabled sweater for my neighbor's son who will be 1 year old in October (the one I babysat for this week). Again I digress, back to the wrong direction cable. I get home and decide to wait until later that night when I can give the project my full attention. I took the jump and dropped the stitches to before the cross. So, the directions said to put the two cables on different holders. Done. I'll refer to them as the right cable and the center cable. The right cable is supposed to cross behind the center cable. Then work the left stitch from the center cable up to the left needle. Done. Repeat with last 2 stitches on center cable then knit them onto the right needle. Done. Seems pretty easy so far. Cross the right cable and work up to the left needle. This may require tugging on the fabric. Ummmm. Yeah. Well, this is the one part that could have used a whole lot more explanation! The loose ladder that you work the stitches up is on the right of the center cable and I needed to work the next cable up the left of the center cable. After tugging at the fabric for a while but not really knowing what way to tug, I whipped out the crochet hook again and slowly worked each loose ladder rung across the stitches from the center cable until I had all the loose ladder rungs on the left then proceeded to work each stitch of the left cable up to the left needle and continued knitting like nothing ever happened! At the end the book was worth it cause I didn't have to frog. And there are tons of other helpful tips in there. But right at the most stressful part I felt like I was left all alone, tugging at my knitted sleeve in desperation. But it's done now and I know how to fix it in the future. . . and now so do you!
On a less stressful note, Fawkes:
Well, just sock number one. But I was able to make tons of progress in sock #2 and I'm 4/5's of the way through the leg. I know you can't see the pattern very well. It's supposed to look like fire. Which it does and which you would be able to see if I knew how to take a decent picture with my camera. I'm going to take some pictures outside this weekend since it's gorgeous out right now and hopefully you'll be able to see the pattern then.
These started out as Super Secret Project #1 and were going to be a present for my sister for Christmas (yeah like it's a big surprise that everyone is getting socks this year, you just won't know what socks and what yarn until Christmas day!). If you were following Super Secret Project #1 then you are aware of the problems I had. First off I got gauge on size US0 which seemed weird to me. Then at the end of the 4 repeats for the leg it was only about 4 inches long and didn't fit over my heel. FROG FROG FROG!!! I started over using US2 even though the gauge was way off. I had to do 5 repeats of the pattern to get it to a decent length. I'm not all that happy with the heel. It doesn't fit nearly as well as the striped socks heel or the river rapids heel. They are all heel flap construction, but there's something different about this one. When I wear it it's pretty damn comfy though and it looks fabulous but I'm glad it's not being gifted cause I just have bad feeling about it and it's no fun to give gifts you don't like all that much.
Oh, and just cause I said everyone is getting socks for Christmas, you probably won't be. I PLAN on everyone getting socks for Christmas, but most likely I'll finish one or 2 pairs and then go out and buy presents for everyone else. Especially with Super Secret Project #2 underway. Geesh, that's a tough project!
So, I am anxiously waiting for my sisters and parents to return from a trip to NH. They are making a stop at Webs (America's Yarn Store) and they know I want sock yarn and I can't wait to see what they get me! Have you heard of Webs. I've never been there. My sister has been once. But I listen to their podcast all the time. OK, I really have to go enjoy the day and this post is ginormous!!
1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?
2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars?
My favorite is by far the knit picks metal dpns. I think they're 6" and I usually use a size US2.
3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?
4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?
The movie (blue and silver). I'm not a huge fan of gold, although it can work well with other colors sometimes. But in terms of jewelry and such I NEVER wear gold, always silver.
5. Do you have any allergies?
Now onto my knitting adventures for the past few days. I already mentioned my major cabling catastrophe last post. You can see the devastation for yourself:
That last cable was supposed to cross behind not in front! I went and scoured the shelves of Books-a-million for the book Knit Fix. After about 20 minutes of looking through every title I resigned myself to asking for help. A 5 second computer search showed that they do not carry the book. Now, let me say, in general I am not a fan of Books-a-million. It's just a messy disorganized store (the knitting books were mixed in with crochet, quilting, scrap booking, and origami!!) But I have little options for local book stores at the moment since our Barnes and Noble closed a few months ago when they decided to rebuild the mall it was attached to. I miss my Barnes and Noble! So, back to the story. I drive to the Barnes and Noble that is about 30 minutes away in the next town over and I find the book in about 5 minutes (including the time to find the craft section of the store). I was a little distracted by all the pretty books and accidentally also bought Simply Baby. No, I'm not pregnant!!! But I hope to be shortly after my husband gets a job. I would make just about everything in this book (with the exception of one of the baby blankets and a coat.) I also plan on putting this book to good use before I would ever need it. I'm going to make either the cabled yoke jacket or the cabled sweater for my neighbor's son who will be 1 year old in October (the one I babysat for this week). Again I digress, back to the wrong direction cable. I get home and decide to wait until later that night when I can give the project my full attention. I took the jump and dropped the stitches to before the cross. So, the directions said to put the two cables on different holders. Done. I'll refer to them as the right cable and the center cable. The right cable is supposed to cross behind the center cable. Then work the left stitch from the center cable up to the left needle. Done. Repeat with last 2 stitches on center cable then knit them onto the right needle. Done. Seems pretty easy so far. Cross the right cable and work up to the left needle. This may require tugging on the fabric. Ummmm. Yeah. Well, this is the one part that could have used a whole lot more explanation! The loose ladder that you work the stitches up is on the right of the center cable and I needed to work the next cable up the left of the center cable. After tugging at the fabric for a while but not really knowing what way to tug, I whipped out the crochet hook again and slowly worked each loose ladder rung across the stitches from the center cable until I had all the loose ladder rungs on the left then proceeded to work each stitch of the left cable up to the left needle and continued knitting like nothing ever happened! At the end the book was worth it cause I didn't have to frog. And there are tons of other helpful tips in there. But right at the most stressful part I felt like I was left all alone, tugging at my knitted sleeve in desperation. But it's done now and I know how to fix it in the future. . . and now so do you!On a less stressful note, Fawkes:
Well, just sock number one. But I was able to make tons of progress in sock #2 and I'm 4/5's of the way through the leg. I know you can't see the pattern very well. It's supposed to look like fire. Which it does and which you would be able to see if I knew how to take a decent picture with my camera. I'm going to take some pictures outside this weekend since it's gorgeous out right now and hopefully you'll be able to see the pattern then. 
These started out as Super Secret Project #1 and were going to be a present for my sister for Christmas (yeah like it's a big surprise that everyone is getting socks this year, you just won't know what socks and what yarn until Christmas day!). If you were following Super Secret Project #1 then you are aware of the problems I had. First off I got gauge on size US0 which seemed weird to me. Then at the end of the 4 repeats for the leg it was only about 4 inches long and didn't fit over my heel. FROG FROG FROG!!! I started over using US2 even though the gauge was way off. I had to do 5 repeats of the pattern to get it to a decent length. I'm not all that happy with the heel. It doesn't fit nearly as well as the striped socks heel or the river rapids heel. They are all heel flap construction, but there's something different about this one. When I wear it it's pretty damn comfy though and it looks fabulous but I'm glad it's not being gifted cause I just have bad feeling about it and it's no fun to give gifts you don't like all that much. Oh, and just cause I said everyone is getting socks for Christmas, you probably won't be. I PLAN on everyone getting socks for Christmas, but most likely I'll finish one or 2 pairs and then go out and buy presents for everyone else. Especially with Super Secret Project #2 underway. Geesh, that's a tough project!
So, I am anxiously waiting for my sisters and parents to return from a trip to NH. They are making a stop at Webs (America's Yarn Store) and they know I want sock yarn and I can't wait to see what they get me! Have you heard of Webs. I've never been there. My sister has been once. But I listen to their podcast all the time. OK, I really have to go enjoy the day and this post is ginormous!!
30 August 2007
Some dreams do come true
Unfortunately it was my knitting nightmare! I went to my knitting group last night and was somehow distracted enough that I worked a cable in the wrong direction. Now, I have been listening to podcasts a lot lately and they have been interviewing the author of Knit Fix or reviewing the book (maybe these are old podcasts, I don't know how long ago the book came out and I'm listening to new and year old podcasts right now). Anyway, the author uses as her example of something in her book if you work a cable the wrong direction and need to fix it. Well, I could not believe that anyone would work a cable the wrong way and not notice it for so long that you have to drop stitches instead of tinking. Little did I know how easy that was to do! I managed to work the cable the wrong way and didn't notice it until it was time to work the next cable, which is 4 rows away with some increases in those 4 rows. I think a trip to the bookstore is necessary and I'll be the proud owner of Knit Fix before the weekend!
29 August 2007
Lots, and yet nothing, going on
We got an offer on our house yesterday! Woohoo! In theory it's good news. In reality we have no jobs and no idea where we're moving yet. Hopefully we'll have some good news soon on the job hunt for my husband and then we'll have a location and I can start looking for a job. But until then we're just sitting around stressing out about the fact that we may be jobless and homeless in 2 months. In the meantime, I'm knitting and babysitting for a neighbor to keep my mind off things.
So, knitting-wise. I'm working on the Fawkes socks, the Socktopia August mystery sock, my husband's sweater, some washcloths, and super secret project #2. Super secret project #1 has been momentarily put on hold. I need to get some of these projects finished so I can concentrate a little better. I've got knitting ADHD right now. I pick up one project, do 3 or 4 rows, and move on to the next one. I think that I'm going to make the Fawkes socks a priority right now since I kinda hate working on them so I should just get them finished and out of my knitting bag.
Time to leave for my knitting group!
So, knitting-wise. I'm working on the Fawkes socks, the Socktopia August mystery sock, my husband's sweater, some washcloths, and super secret project #2. Super secret project #1 has been momentarily put on hold. I need to get some of these projects finished so I can concentrate a little better. I've got knitting ADHD right now. I pick up one project, do 3 or 4 rows, and move on to the next one. I think that I'm going to make the Fawkes socks a priority right now since I kinda hate working on them so I should just get them finished and out of my knitting bag.
Time to leave for my knitting group!
27 August 2007
Ridiculous # of Posts
Can you tell by the amount of posts lately that I am jobless with nothing to do but knit? Well, there are 2 other things that keep me busy:
Cooper (the laid back pup):
and Trapper (he requires much more attention):
Other than them, there's not much to do but knit. Today I got the very lovely call from my LYS that yarn I had ordered came in today. Of course I had to leave right away to pick it up. The yarn I ordered is Encore Plymouth that will be used for Super Secret Project #2. I felt like really treating myself, for absolutely no reason, and bought myself some Lattern Moon needles for that project. 
As you can see I also bought some other stuff. Some yarn for my secret pal and a one skein book that I just had to have because Stash and Burn is having a one skein contest and I have been dying to use up some of my single skeins. When I was finished there and thought 'Wow I just spent a whole bunch of money and I have no job!' I went to the quilt store next door to the knitting store. I really thought I wasn't going to buy anything but then I saw:
I have no immediate plans for it but I just had to have it. A definite Vera Bradley knock off, but I think it will make a nice needle case or something one day. I really don't have the ability to think about designing a needle case right now. I am going to be dusting off my sewing machine soon for a project for my secret pal so maybe inspiration will strike then.
Cooper (the laid back pup):
and Trapper (he requires much more attention):
Other than them, there's not much to do but knit. Today I got the very lovely call from my LYS that yarn I had ordered came in today. Of course I had to leave right away to pick it up. The yarn I ordered is Encore Plymouth that will be used for Super Secret Project #2. I felt like really treating myself, for absolutely no reason, and bought myself some Lattern Moon needles for that project. 
As you can see I also bought some other stuff. Some yarn for my secret pal and a one skein book that I just had to have because Stash and Burn is having a one skein contest and I have been dying to use up some of my single skeins. When I was finished there and thought 'Wow I just spent a whole bunch of money and I have no job!' I went to the quilt store next door to the knitting store. I really thought I wasn't going to buy anything but then I saw:
I have no immediate plans for it but I just had to have it. A definite Vera Bradley knock off, but I think it will make a nice needle case or something one day. I really don't have the ability to think about designing a needle case right now. I am going to be dusting off my sewing machine soon for a project for my secret pal so maybe inspiration will strike then.
For my secret pal
Hey there secret pal! Sorry there are e-mail problems. Could you help me out and let me know what the error message says? The SP11 host had the same problem and I want to ask gmail what's going on. You can get in touch with me at my other e-mail address
juli (at) vims (dot) edu
The Fawkes pattern is from socktopia. Here the link.
juli (at) vims (dot) edu
The Fawkes pattern is from socktopia. Here the link.
26 August 2007
A little bit better
Ok, so I managed to fix some things but I'm not quite there yet. I still need to get a few more things done. Unfortunately I seem to have lost my progress bars and don't know how to get them back. Oh well, you'll just have to read my posts to see how far along I am. Off to figure out how to put up my wishlist link on the page. How do you like the new layout and colors?
AHHHH!
I had to upgrade my template with blogger and I lost all my sidebar stuff. It will take me a little while to try to get it back to normal, but I'll work on it today and hopefully it will be better by sometime today.
25 August 2007
The knitting invasion
Knitting has officially taken over my life. I actually had a knitting nightmare. I had an enourmous tube of knitting, about as tall and wide as me. I realized a mistake about 2 inches from the cast on edge and since I don't know how to ladder down to a mistake, I had to frog the whole thing. Luckily I woke up about halfway through the frogging cause it was pretty upsetting! I think this might be a wake up call to learn how to ladder down to mistakes and fix them.
Later I'll post some pictures of my Fawkes socks. I don't think I've blogged about them yet, I'm having trouble getting decent pictures so I think I'll just post a picture where the colors look horrible. So, hopefully more later, if not then definitely tomorrow since my husband will be gone all day tomorrow and I'll have nothing better to do then blog and knit!
Later I'll post some pictures of my Fawkes socks. I don't think I've blogged about them yet, I'm having trouble getting decent pictures so I think I'll just post a picture where the colors look horrible. So, hopefully more later, if not then definitely tomorrow since my husband will be gone all day tomorrow and I'll have nothing better to do then blog and knit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
