I’m really good at the rambling…

So Week 3 of the 30 day challenge I got totally wiped out by a cold.  No brainpower, no willpower, blah, blah, blah.  Finally feeling better and back on track to end this week.  My only goal is to lose a few more pounds by the end of the week!  Today’s food is another sauteed onion/spinach/feta frittata and a “pizza” made with whole wheat english muffing crust.  I found some turkey pepperoni and light salame.  I would have made those the whole day’s meal but the pepperoni and salame are really high in sodium.  I also fit in some Mexican Hot Chocolate from Moonstruck. Yum!  I need to make up a recipe to duplicate it (and lighten it up!)

For some eye candy… Thelonious by Cookie A. in Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn, color Cosmos.  These took me four months!  I did do some other socks in between becuase these were so hard.  I knit them on a smaller needle than it called for (I’m crazy) and did the medium size and it came out wonderfully.  They feel really good.  (I’m sure the silk in the yarn helps too).  If you’re a Cookie A. fan, she has a book coming out in April. Pre-Order on amazon… Sock Innovation: Knitting Techniques & Patterns for One-of-a-Kind Socks.  There’s a pdf preview here.  I’m drooling!!  Here’s some mediocre pictures of my Theloniouses

Thelonious

Thelonious with Shoes

2 things finished Wednesday night! Been lying on my back a lot hopped up on muscle relaxers.  Probably too much stress seized my back up. I can’t take any pain reliever but Tylenol, Friday’s endoscopy revealed a stomach ulcer.  Surprise!  

This is probably the first thing I’ve sewn since January.  For my boss on Boss’s Day (today).  Sewn by hand(!) out of some off-white velour.  The pattern is from the book Softies: Simple Instructions for 25 Plush Pals.  I present Tooth with Crown.  (I work with a lot of Dentists)  There’s probably a small industry in selling plush teeth to the dental industry if I make up my own pattern

Also finished these socks out of bamboo yarn.  Very unforgiving splitty yarn.  I had to force myself to finish them.  If they hadn’t of fit they’d be in the trash bin!  Back to wool yarn!

It has gotten below 50 in the morning this week, chilly on the way to work.  I’ve worn handknit wool socks twice this week.  Yay!  Today’s pair was these Hedera’s by Cookie A. I actually finished these in Feburary of 2007, but one got lost in the chasm of my apartment.  They were both found during apartment purging a few weeks ago and have now been blocked and photographed for posterity.  This was my third pair of finished socks.

I spent last weekend picking up parts for the light box this was photographed in. It consists of some PVC pipe and fittings, a cheap hack saw, cheap task lamps, 100W Daylight compact florecent bulbs, white poster board and some thin batiste white fabric. It was super fast to chop up the PVC pipe.  (The hard part was figuring out how to put 10 foot pieces of pvc in my car).  I need to take a picture when I actually get the fabric panels built. I just draped it over so I could take pictures immediately. My inspiration was this DIY Light Box.  And since nothing is glued, it breaks down!  Hopefully this will be usefull for phoographing small stuff, selling stuff on etsy/ebay and for yarn pictures

More quick fancy light box pictures: Knit Purl Sock Club September 2008:

And another sock started… (I need more commute time)

Rambling Friday afternoon post!

I started a sweater last Friday out of the Woobu from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  Lovely stuff. I will finally make a sweater!  I have some other stuff (some sekret!) on the needles as well and I’m switching between them all so my finger’s don’t get bored.  I think my New Year’s Resolution for 2009 will be to buy no yarn or fabric until I knit/sew/dispose of the stash.  (I wonder how long that one will last???)  Anyway, the sweater is the Tangled Yoke Cardigan from Interweave Knits Fall 2007.  Pictured at left.  I sure hope it fits.  If anything it will be too small, but that’s fine.  (I’ve lost 3.5 pounds this week alone!)

These are my favorites from Norah Gaughan, vol. 3. They scream FALL IS COMING!!!! KNIT ME!!!!  I of course promptly ordered the pamphlet (and vol. 1).  I really like the first one (Loppem) but at my current shape I don’t think it would be flattering.  I’ve seen some plus size ones on Ravelry and I’m not digging it with a big bust.  I think upside-down V shape the front makes accentuates the hips. The second one looks too big for the model, but I like the idea.  Probably too shapelss for my figure though.  The back is gathered to a yoke.

Just ran across this one today. It is called Indigo by Tonia Barry.  I’m not sure what hit me first, the color or the cables?  It is BRILLIANT!  I’ve seen a lot of cardigans with cables like this but they’ve all been hoodies.  Hoodies are fine and all but I think they’re a bit too casual for work (which is hilarious becuase I wear jeans a lot to work).

And oh dear, American Girl doll clothes!!! Someone might want these for gifts!  Lacy Bolero From Elaine Phillips and Very Easy Cardigan for American Girl or 18″ Doll by Ceci Riehl

Don’t even get me started on nordic stranded sweaters.

No, it is not me!  Miriam Tegels, who holds the Guinness Book of World Records record for the World’s Fastest Knitter (that is for 118 stitches in one minute) was sponsored by KnitPicks at the North Portland Library tonight.

I decided to be brave (I’ve never really been to NoPo, outside of Lloyd and Convetion Center areas) and took the bus from work up to the library. That took over an hour! I arrived about 5:45 and she was almost done talking. The room was packed and it was hard to hear. KnitPicks was taking lots of video so hopefully something will make it on their site. There was also someone going around videoing people’s hand’s knitting (maybe my hands will be famous some day!)

Sadly, I had messed up the settings on my camera and everything came out grainy. I fixed them up a bit in Photoshop.  I loved this building.  A lady I followed in said it was a Carnegie library.  I’d love to come in and do a photoshoot there.  The downstairs was packed with books and people and computers.

After the talk, she sat down and knitted and people could gather around and watch and talk with her. A pleasant evening, that ended with a raffle! I didn’t win (I was one number off) but Kaaren won a Renaissance Sampler!  (Kaaren and Dallas below)

More knitters:

And some grainy, sorta blurry videos.  Must remember to check camera settings next time!

Miriam Tegels Demonstartes Knit Stitch from akimbo on Vimeo.

Miriam Tegels Demonstrates Purling from akimbo on Vimeo.

These are my remaining Raven colorways was from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Yum. I have four skeins of Woobu, the rest I only have one.

1. Woobu in Thraven, 2. Luscious Single Silk – Thraven, 3. Socks that Rock mediumweight – Corbie, 4. Silkie Socks that Rock – Tlingit, 5. Socks that Rock heavyweight – Rook-y, 6. Socks That Rock Mediumweight Thraven

Started Monday night. They’re currently about 2 inches longer than this picture. The Spiraling Master Coriolis socks from Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One. Yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight Raven Clan color Haida. Yummy dark black and blue color, but stains my fingers. Washes off easily at least. Must remember to wash socks before wearing! I also joined the new Knit-Purl Sock Club. (Thank you economic stimulus check!)

Maybe this should be a photo blog, I never seem to have much to say!

I love me some magic loop.

A finished object! The “Boyfriend Socks” in size US 0 (SO TINY) that took me 4 months. They fit, I’m happy. These shoes fit my skinny feet better now too! The yarn is ShibuiKnits Sock in color Midnight purchased from Knit/Purl. The temperature is supposed to hit 70 today. Why not wear some wool socks?!

Uses for Orange yarn… Swatches! I had a migraine while knitting this. It is horrible all around. Yarn is KnitPicks Swish worsted (I think). Lace pattern from the Sun Ray Shawl on Elann. This is not an accurate swatch of the lace. I moved things around in my migraine befuddled knitting. I did discover how to not do SSKs, but not doing them at all! Just knit the two loops as normal on that row then do a SSP over those on the next row (the wrong side). I need to investigate other ways to SSKs because mine really, truly are ugly.

These swatches are for an afghan. I started it a long time ago in cables, but it is just too heavy. Need something with pattern that is not girly-lacy (more manly!).

Swach #2 in a really similar lace pattern. Taken from an Adirenne Vittadini pattern book. (Don’t remember off the top of my head). Ignore the horrible K1P1 ribbing at the top. I was too lazy to do it proper. (Also can’t make ribbing look right in my normal continental knitting style). I re-figured the chart to put the SSPs on the purl row, instead of SSKs. The middle section has the SSPs, the top and bottom sections have K2TOGs, which don’t look horrible, but aren’t quite as nice as the SSPs. Part of the problem is this yarn. KnitPicks Main Line, which is 75% cotton 25% wool. It probably would look better blocked. I hate the way my knitting looks in cotton yarn, but this isn’t as bad as 100% cotton yarn. The original cabled afghan started out in this. I need to get some pictures. I think I’m going to switch to KnitPicks Comfy, as it is machine washable. The Main Line can be used for a summer sweater or something! Hmm. I never have gotten around to making a ChicKnits Eyelet Cardi!

Next I’m going to try a swatch of the Voyager Lace Stole.  I love the way the lace makes the wavy edges.  I could basically just size up the stole pattern for an afghan, leaving off the picot edgings on each end.

Finally, a swatch from Annie Modesitt’s New Directions in Color class.  My first attempt ever at colorwork.  I thought it was more hideous in class, but it is not so horrible looking to me now.

I finally posted them in vimeo.  The first two are my favorites, and yes, that’s me “singing” along during the song   Other people were too, they just weren’t next to my camera!  I was sitting almost half way back and all I could get with the 12x optical zoom was her head, not that you could see the rest of her behind the podium.

Millie the Mouser from akimbo on Vimeo.

Yarn Harlot Serenade from akimbo on Vimeo.

Inexplicable from akimbo on Vimeo.