Went downtown to the DC Knit-Out and Crochet with Jen today, and got to meet another Knittyboarder (Hi Sara!) It was fun, and we saw some really unusual stuff. First, there were the biggest circular needles EVER - apparently they are size 99:
Then, they were demoing Team Knitting - working on an afghan with 4 circular needles, with 4 people knitting at once:
As we walked around, I saw a woman sitting in the Crochet Practice tent, wearing this crocheted poncho. I spotted the Steeler logo on it, and as I looked further, I realized that the whole thing was Pittsburgh-related stuff. I asked her about it, and she said that it was a group effort she worked on with some friends. It was awesome. There was Mr. Rogers’s sweater, and Andy Warhol, and Kennywood, and Heinz Ketchup and Pickles. So amazing:
I got a lot of compliments on the red poncho, and several people asked me for the pattern. If any of you found your way here - hi! Leave a comment - let me know you were here.
And of course, after the trip downtown, we hit Stitch DC on the way home for a little yarn shopping. All in all, a good day.

I’m a dork. I freely admit it. I call myself a dork on a regular basis. I enthusiastically embrace my dorkitude.

A few months ago, Kris and I caught part of the VH1 countdown of the 100 Top One-Hit Wonders. I am a total sucker for those kinds of shows - I cannot turn them off. If I find one, I must watch it to the end, no matter what. This list caught my imagination, mostly because a frightening number of the songs are ones that I love. I was also pretty sure that I OWNED a lot of them. I was right. Between Kris’s and my cd collection, and the collections of a couple of my friends, I amassed a large portion of the list. However, I wasn’t done - it wasn’t complete. So I hit iTunes (Yes, I am such a dork that I actually PAY for my music. Such a novel concept in this day and age.), and picked up a bunch more of the songs. Tonight, I checked iTunes again on a lark and picked up 3 more songs. This means that as of tonight, I have on my darling iPod 94 of the 100 songs on the list. I am concerned though, because I am fairly sure that the last 6 songs are going to be real buggers to track down. So, my goal is now to find Gerardo’s “Rico Suave”, Terry Jacks’ “Seasons in the Sun”, The Heights’ “How Do You Talk to an Angel”, David Naughton’s “Makin’ It” (which I am fairly certain I owned on an LP when I was a kid), Jermaine Stewart’s “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off” (HOW is this not on any of my 80’s compilations?) and David Soul’s “Don’t Give Up on Us Baby”.

So, yes, I am a dork. An obsessive-compulsive, bad-music-loving dork.

Did I mention that I am listening to the playlist right now? =)

So, I finished the WebGourdKAL hat last night while watching a very good (but VERY depressing) episode of CSI. Then I cast on for the scarf. This pattern is, as Jen and I are fond of saying, fraught with peril.

This is the Brioche Rib Scarf from Melanie Falick’s Weekend Knitting. All in all, a lovely book with some reat patterns. This is the second hat I have made from the pattern, and I love it. Once you get past the cast-on, the brioche rib stitch really zooms along, and it’s nice and cushy and warm when it is done. This is the first time I have made the scarf, and I got very cranky with it last night.

The pattern calls for a provisional cast on of 3 stitches, followed by 27 rows of i-cord, alternating colors with each row, starting and ending with the light color. Then, you slip the last 3 stitches, pick up and knit (with the light color) in each row of the i-cord except the first and last dark rows, and pick up the 3 cast-on stitches, removing the waste yarn from the provisional cast-on. Sounds fine, right? Except that they tell you that you should have 31 stitches - 6 from the ends, and 25 across the i-cord. OK, one for each row…that’s 27 rows… minus the two at the ends…that’s 25… and the first and last dark rows… hey, that’s only 23! So, I pull out the picked up stitches, work two more rows of i-cord, and try again. 31 stitches - check. Next row - work with dark yarn in the set-up pattern. Slide stitches back to first end of needle (this is done on dpns), and work brioche stitch pattern in light yarn. One small problem - the light yarn is at the OTHER END OF THE NEEDLE FROM PICKING UP STITCHES. AAARGH! Finally, I ended up ripping it out (for the 4th time) and just picking up the loops of the i-cord, not knitting them with the light yarn. Finally, it worked - the light and dark yarns are at the same end of the row when the pattern says they should be. And yes, the pattern specifically says “pick up and knit using light yarn”, so it wasn’t me making an assumption, for once.

So, once I got that figured out, and the stitch counts fixed, I got cruising on the pattern:

Can I just say that I really like brioche rib? There was a pattern in the Winter 04 Interweave Knits for a sideways-knit brioche rib pullover that I have GOT to make for myself. As soon as I get through the million other projects I want to make, of course.

I’m trying to keep at least one project on my needles at any given time for me, and at least one for someone else. At the moment, I’ve got 3 and 3, so I’m doing ok. Kris asked me to make something for his grandmother, and we decided that I would do the Retro Throw from KnitPicks. We ordered the yarn the other night (Crayon in Blue, Light Blue, and Purple), so once that gets here, I’ll be casting on for another project. I’m hoping it will be ready for Christmas.

Also, when we were in Pittsburgh, Dad saw Kris’s Satchel, and hinted (none too subtly) that he would like one as well. So, I’ll be doing a second one of those. And ever-so creatively, he also wants a gray and black one. Dad, you wild man! He wants to be able to carry his wireless keyboard and mouse with his laptop, and his current laptop bag won’t hold them. It’s actually cool, because I haven’t knit anything for him yet, and I’m already working on the Clapotis for Mom.

Ok, off to work some more on the scarf.

ETA: I’ve been adding some links in the sidebar, so now there are pictures of my WIP’s and the yarn that I have for the Waiting in the Wings projects, as well as of my FO’s. There are also links to my three patterns, and the stash organization spreadsheet, which I plan to update at some point, since I have added a few things to mine since that one was posted.

While driving up to Pittsburgh visiting my folks, and Kris’s grandmother and great-aunt and -uncle, and Ed and Karin, I got some knitting done.

I’ve made some progress on the Felted Entrelac Bag:
I’m getting pretty comfortable with knitting backwards, so that I don’t have to turn every 12 stitches (Lazy, lazy me). I’ve got 4 more green squares to go on this row, and then I move on to the yellow - the last color I haven’t used.

I’ve done another repeat on the Kiri shawl - 9 down, 3 to go. Of course, with the shawl increasing in size on every repeat, this means I’m just under 2/3 of the way done, instead of the 3/4 you would think. *sigh* It also means I can’t stretch it out to size on my needles anymore, and unlike some other people (Monkee, I’m looking at you), I can’t get inspired to put it onto additional needles for photo purposes. At least, not at the moment.

I’ve made absolutely no progress on Lacey. I can’t figure out if I am not liking it in the yarn I am using (I have some sockweight I could dye and use, but I’m not sure I have enough), or if it is just the ribbing that is leaving me cold, and I’ll start cruising once I get to the lace.

Mom’s Clapotis has gone nowhere. Once I realized that I wasn’t going to get it done by the weekend trip, I lost interest for the time being. It seemed to fly while we were gaming with Jen and Drew the other weekend, so maybe I need to con Kris into more gaming sessions so I can make more progress (Yeah, ’cause he’d hate that…)

Kris’s socks? Yeah. Um… Did I mention I finished his sweater?

After the great Knittyboard Outage of ‘05 this weekend (which I missed, being in PA), it was suggested that we (the Knitty Folk) make hats, etc. as a “Thank you” to the tireless tech support folks at Vermont Web Hosting. Since I know what it is REALLY like for people who work in support (being married to one for 7-1/2 years now), I decided to pitch in. I was originally just going to make a hat, but when I decided to make the Brioche Rib hat from Weekend Knitting, I got inspired and wanted to make the matching scarf. I cast on for the hat last night, and while watching Lost and Law & Order, I got this much done:

I’m hoping to finish the hat tonight, and maybe start on the scarf. If all goes well, I should be able to get them in the mail next week sometime. Once I get past the set-up row, brioche stitch seems to fly for me, so I should be in good shape to make that goal.

You are a - Geek Sheep!
you’re one l33t g33|< 5|-|33p! No one understands a word you're saying, but you don't care. Bespectacled geek by day, fearsome DND warrior by night! Geek power ;)

Which flock do you follow?

this quiz was made by alanna

I had to post it, because the Geek Sheep picture is just too cute.

Ok, Muench Touch Me is officially the most amazingly soft (non-cashmere) yarn I have ever felt. I finished my re-working of the Vintage Velvet scarf from Scarf Style last night, and I am in love. I am sitting here at the computer in my pj’s, with the scarf around my neck. As soon as there is another human being in the house, I’ll get pictures (No, I will not still be in my pj’s at that point). And once I put it through the washer and dryer, I’ll be darned if it didn’t end up looking like crushed velvet, just like everyone says it will! See:
I picked up this yarn as part of the Birthday Yarn Extravaganza. I had wanted to make the Vintage Velvet scarf, but I just could not bring myself to buy 5 balls of the yarn. So, I bought 3. I figured I’d come up with something. I started making the scarf according to the pattern, figuring that if 5 balls equals a 5′ long scarf, 3 balls should equal a 3′ long scarf. As I started on ball #3, I realized that it was going to be shorter than 3′, and that just wasn’t going to work for me. So I frogged the entire thing, and reworked the pattern. The original pattern is two 8-stitch panels of broken rib stitch flanking a 12-stitch cable done in 1×1 ribbing, which is a brilliant idea, because it looks like a 6-stitch cable from either side. I cut the broken rib sections down to 6 stitches each, and made the cable only 8 stitches wide. I also crossed the cables every 8 rows instead of every 12. So, the finished scarf ended up about 4-1/2 inches wide and 5′ long. The perfect length for double-it-over-and-pull-the-ends-through-the-fold wearing.

Now, I’m off to clean up thie kitchen, and decide what new project to cast on now that my scarf is finished. What do you mean I have 5 WIPs already waiting? A girl needs choices, people!

Geek Chic Dice Pouch

Since hubby is a hard-core D&D geek, he has lots of dice. I decided that he needed a nifty bag to keep them in, so I made the red version. Then I decided I wanted it for my dice, and made the felted version for him. The smallest one was made for a set of 100 tiny 6-sided dice (4mm on a side) These would also work well in non-geek applications, and are great stashbusters – I didn’t use anywhere near a full skein for any of them. Gauge is not critical, but I have given mine as a reference.

Sizes: S, M, L (L is felted version)
Finished Measurements(across opening): 3”, 5”, 8”
Materials:
Small bag: Red Heart Luster Sheen (100% Acrylic; 335yds per 113g skein), color: Serenity, 28sts=4”
US size 2 dpns (set of 4) 3 stitch markers, yarn needle, approx. 1 yard scrap yarn or ribbon for drawstring.
Medium bag: TLC Lustre (100% Acrylic; 253yds per 143g skein), color: Claret, 18sts=4”
US size 5 dpns (set of 5) 4 stitch markers, yarn needle, approx. 1 yard scrap yarn or ribbon for drawstring.
Large bag: Patons Classic Merino Wool (100% Merino wool; 223yds per 100g skein), 16sts=4” post-felting
US size 10 dpns (set of 5) 12 stitch markers, yarn needle, approx. 2 yards scrap yarn or ribbon for drawstring, plus approx 18” scrap non-felting yarn

SKP = Slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over

Small bag:
CO 60 sts, divide evenly onto 3 needles. Join to beginning of round, being careful not to twist the work.
Rnds 1-4: K all sts
Rnd 5 (eyelet rnd): *K1, yo, SKP, K1* Repeat from * to * around.
Rnd 6: *K10, pm, K10* Repeat from * to * around (1 marker in center of each needle)
Rnd 7-18: K all sts
Rnd 19 (decreases): *K to 2 sts before marker, SKP, K to 2 sts before end of needle, SKP*. Repeat from * to * around (54 sts, 18 per needle)
Rnds 20-21: K all sts
Rnd 22: Repeat as for Rnd 19 (48 sts, 16 per needle)
Rnds 23-24: K all sts
Rnd 25: Repeat as for Rnd 19 (42 sts, 14 per needle)
Rnd 26: K all sts
Rnd 27-30: Repeat as for Rnd 25 and 26 (ending with 30 sts, 10 per needle)
Rnd 31 (ridge for bottom of bag): P all sts
Rnd 32-35: Repeat as for Rnd 19 (ending with 6 sts, 2 per needle). Remove markers after Rnd 35.
Rnd 36: SKP around – 3 sts. Break yarn and thread through remaining stitches. Pull tight, pulling end of yarn to inside of bag. Weave in ends.
Cut 2 pieces of yarn (or ribbon) 12” long. Thread through eyelets in top of bag so that the ends of the two pieces are on opposite sides of the bag. Knot ends of each piece of yarn together.

Medium Bag:
CO 80 sts, divide evenly onto 4 needles. Join to beginning of round, being careful not to twist the work.
Rnds 1-4: K all sts
Rnd 5 (eyelet rnd): *K1, yo, SKP, K1* Repeat from * to * around.
Rnd 6: *K10, pm, K10* Repeat from * to * around (1 marker in center of each needle)
Rnd 7-18: K all sts
Rnd 19 (decreases): *K to 2 sts before marker, SKP, K to 2 sts before end of needle, SKP*. Repeat from * to * around (72 sts, 18 per needle)
Rnds 20-21: K all sts
Rnd 22: Repeat as for Rnd 19 (64 sts, 16 per needle)
Rnds 23-24: K all sts
Rnd 25: Repeat as for Rnd 19 (56 sts, 14 per needle)
Rnd 26: K all sts
Rnd 27-30: Repeat as for Rnd 25 and 26 (ending with 40 sts, 10 per needle)
Rnd 31 (ridge for bottom of bag): P all sts
Rnd 32-35: Repeat as for Rnd 19 (ending with 8 sts, 2 per needle). Remove markers after Rnd 35.
Rnd 36: SKP around – 4 sts. Break yarn and thread through remaining stitches. Pull tight, pulling end of yarn to inside of bag. Weave in ends.
Cut 2 pieces of yarn (or ribbon) 18” long. Thread through eyelets in top of bag so that the ends of the two pieces are on opposite sides of the bag. Knot ends of each piece of yarn together.

Large (Felted) Bag:
CO 160 sts, divide evenly onto 4 needles. Join to beginning of round, being careful not to twist the work.
Rnds 1-8: K all sts
Rnd 9: (eyelet rnd): *K1, yo, SKP, K7* Repeat from * to * around.
Rnd 10: *(K10, pm) 3 times, K10 * Repeat from * to * around (3 markers on each needle)
Rnd 11-33: K all sts
Rnd 34 (decreases): *(K to 2 sts before marker, SKP) 3 times, K to 2 sts before end of needle, SKP*. Repeat from * to * around (144 sts, 36 per needle)
Rnds 35-36: K all sts
Rnd 37: Repeat as for Rnd 34 (128 sts, 32 per needle)
38-39: K all sts
Rnd 40: Repeat as for Rnd 34 (112 sts, 28 per needle)
Rnd 41: K all sts
Rnd 42-45: Repeat as for Rnd 40 and 41 (ending with 80 sts, 20 per needle)
Rnd 46-49: Repeat as for Rnd 34 (ending with 16 sts, 4 per needle). Remove markers as needed.
Rnd 50: SKP around – 8 sts.
Rnd 51: SKP around – 4 sts.
Break yarn and thread through remaining stitches. Pull tight, pulling end of yarn to inside of bag. Weave in ends.
To felt bag: thread scrap non-felting yarn through eyelets and knot together (This keeps the eyelets from felting closed. (Ask me how I know to do that) Put bag into pillowcase and run through wash cycle using hot water and lowest water level. You may need to add a pair or two of jeans for agitation. When the bag has reached the desired level of felting, remove from the washer (do not let it spin). Squeeze out water using towels, remove scrap yarn, and stretch bag over appropriate shaped item to dry (an upside-down mixing bowl works well for this).
When bag is dry, cut 2 pieces of yarn (or ribbon) 18-24” long. Thread through eyelets in top of bag so that the ends of the two pieces are on opposite sides of the bag. Knot ends of each piece of yarn together.

ETA: Pattern now in sidebar in a printer-friendly .pdf format!

Shopping Spree Poncho

So named because hubby and I ran around the yarn section of AC Moore grabbing every red yarn we liked until we found a combination that seemed perfect.(Adapted from Melanie Scoles’ “That Seventies Poncho” in Debbie Stoller’s Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation. Lace edging pattern from “Tricia’s Shawl” in Sally Melville’s The Knitting Experience Book 2:The Purl Stitch) The poncho begins at the neck, with increases on either side of the cable panels every other row. The turtleneck is picked up and added on afterward.

One Size
Finished Measurements: 27” long at center neck (including turtleneck and edging), 96” around bottom
Gauge: Because of the varied yarns, gauge will change from section to section, but I averaged about 14 sts/4”. If you do use different yarns than I did, the best way to avoid gauge problems is not to do too many consecutive rounds of any yarns that are much thicker or much thinner than the rest. To substitute yarns, make sure you have about 1200 yards total.
Materials:
A - TLC Amore (80% Acrylic, 20% Nylon; 290 yds per 170g skein), color: Red Velvet, 1 skein
B - TLC Lustre (100% Acrylic; 253 yds per 143g skein), color: Claret, 1 skein
C - Bernat Ping Pong (73% Acrylic, 27% Nylon; 58 yds per 50g skein), Color: Radiant Red, 2 skeins
D - Katia Grenada (64% Polyamide, 36% Polyester; 140 yds per 50g ball), Color: 11 – Dark Red, 1 ball (Note: This seems to be a discontinued yarn. It is a narrow (1mm) ribbon yarn and any narrow ribbon should work as a substitute)
E - Moda Dea Prima (60% Nylon, 40% Polyester; 77 yds per 50g skein), color: Burgundy, 1 skein
F - Caron Jewel Box (64% Acrylic, 20% Rayon, 16% Polyester; 100 yds per 71 g skein), color: Ruby, 1 skein
G - Lion Brand Color Waves (73 % Acrylic, 27% Polyester; 125 yds per 85 g skein), color: Sunset Red, 1 skein
H - Bernat Solo (72% Acrylic, 28% Polyester; 86 yds per 80g skein), color: Tomato, 1 skein
US Size 10 circular needle (interchangeable, or in 16”, 24”, and 36” lengths)
Cable needle
5 stitch markers, 1 of which is different to mark the beginning of the round.

I pretty much changed yarns whenever the mood struck me, but here is the color sequence as I worked it:
Body (top-down):
10 rows B, 2 rows H, 18 rows A, 2 rows E, 8 rows D, 2 rows G, 6 rows B, 6 rows C, 10 rows A, 6 rows F, 4 rows H, 3 rows G, 3 rows D, 4 rows C, 6 rows E
Turtleneck (bottom-up):
4 rows F, 4 rows C, 4 rows A, 4 rows G

pm = place marker
sm = slip marker

Poncho body:
Using color B and shortest needle, cast on 136 sts. Join, placing marker to indicate beginning of round.
Round 1: K48, pm, K10, pm, K58, pm, K10, pm, k10 (This puts the beginning of the round away from the front and back cable panels so that the color changes are not in the panels)
Round 2: *K to marker, yo, sm, p2, k6, p2, sm, yo*, repeat from * to *, k to end of round.
Round 3, 5, and 7: *K to marker, sm, p2, k6, p2, sm *, repeat from * to *, k to end of round.
Round 4: *K to marker, yo, p2, sl3 to cable needle, hold in front, k3, k3 from cable needle, p2, yo*, repeat from * to *, k to end of round.
Round 6: repeat row 2
Rounds 8-90: Repeat rows 2 through 7, changing colors as indicated above, 14 more times. Switch to longer needles as needed. Begin lace edging.

Lace Edging (worked flat in color B):
Set up row: With RS facing, cast on 6 stitches onto left needle.
Row 1 (RS): K5 , sl 1 (from poncho), psso (joins lace to poncho).
Row 2 (WS): K2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2 (7 sts)
Row 3: K6, sl1, k1 (from poncho), psso.
Row 4: K3, yo, k2tog, yo, k2. (8 sts)
Row 5: K7, sl1, k1 (from poncho), psso.
Row 6: K4, yo, k2tog, yo, k2 (9 sts)
Row 7: K8, sl1, k1 (from poncho), psso.
Row 8: K5, yo, k2tog, yo, k2 (10 sts)
Row 9: K9, sl1, k1 (from poncho), psso.
Row 10: K6, yo, k2tog, yo, k2 (11 sts)
Row 11: K10, sl1, k1 (from poncho), psso.
Row 12: K7, yo, k2tog, yo, k2 (12 sts)
Row 13: (RS) Bind off 6 at beginning of row (1 stitch left on right-hand needle), K4 (5 sts on right-hand needle), sl1, k1 (from poncho), psso.
Rows 2-13 repeat around bottom of poncho. It will look wonky where they meet back up, but fudge it as best you can. No one will notice.

Turtleneck:
Pick up 108sts around cast-on edge. Work 16 rows of K2, P2 ribbing, following color sequence. Bind off loosely in pattern. Weave in all ends.

ETA: Pattern now in sidebar in a printer-friendly .pdf format!

So, I got a very sweet message from merrymom today, asking about the pattern for my red poncho. I adapted it from “That Seventies Poncho” in Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation, adding the cables and the edging and the turtleneck. So, I have written it up, as well as the one for the dice bags I made for Kris and I, and as soon as I can figure out someplace to host them online, I will post the patterns for them.

Seeing as it is almost 1 AM and I have been playing with writing up those patterns since dinner, I should probably go to bed and re-read them in the morning before I put them out there for anyone else to see. At this point, they could be gibberish. =)

ETA:Ok, based on some advice I found on the Knittyboards, I have decided to put my patterns here as blog posts rather than finding somewhere to host the files, since GeoCities is being annoying. Links will be in the sidebar as soon as I get them done.

Saw this on tiggerr’s blog - How Old is Your Inner Child?

My inner child is one year old!

Everything is new to me. I like watching the world go by around me, and I don’t sweat the small stuff–or the large stuff, either. Just so long as I stay warm and safe and dry, life’s pretty good.

How Old is Your Inner Child?
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