Trying out some new things...

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Koigu (in blue) pilfered from Kathy's yarn stash.

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock bought for cheaps on ebay.

Bunny's first portrait

Mr. Sleepy Head McCurltongue

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Dottie expands her circle

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Knitting did not bring us together, oh no, nor even our fondness for fruity drinks. It was the prospect of trying out Kathy's new DSLR that lured me out of my little cave, and I must say, Give it to me. Give it to me now. I need to do more research and a little soul-searching, but I'm definitely ready to upgrade and use the big guns. And hopefully with more time and practice my shots will not be so overexposed and will become uh, focused.

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Life is now complete

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

14 lbs of diced chiles from NM just arrived today! They're frozen solid, but even so I could smell their hot green goodness. Oh yeah LET'S PARTY!!!

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Blah

Monday, December 04, 2006

I've had no time to post. Or I've made no time to post. The car broke down AGAIN this weekend and had to be towed away. It happened in the tiny and cramped parking lot of an Asian grocery store in the city. By the time it was finally dragged away there was a 15-car long backup that snaked all the way out into the busy intersection outside of the lot. I was almost more stressed about causing shopping mayhem (it's chaotic there without a disabled vehicle to contend with), and whether the tow truck was going to be able to fit in the lot in the first place. It was a real nailbiter. Well now we get to throw more money into this car which one breakdown ago officially became a dinosaur. Ugh dude ugh. But again, like the other issues that occured before Santa Fe, and while in Santa Fe, we were lucky that they all happened while we were approaching a parking lot, and not during any of the many moments we were speeding crosscountry along the highway.

Still. Come on car. Get with it.

"I'm not wearing any underpants." - Dottie

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Mermaid Gloves

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Pattern: My own, inspired by Steph's Mermaid Gloves which were inspiried by Cookie's Pomatomus stitch pattern. For one of the gloves I flipped Chart A in order to get mirror-imaged scallops.
Yarn: Koigu KPM, 2 skein, and Sundara Yarn in Plum over Slate for the cuff.
Needles: US1 dpns

Couldn't be more pleased with these gloves. Well, maybe if they were in a different color, like the lovely bluish variety that Steph used. Those Koigu semi-solids are hard to come by. But no matter, I'm so glad I attempted them because they are just divine. And so easy to make! Really!

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I want these

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

1) 2 skeins of Five Spice from HelloYarn

2) One skein sock yarn from HelloYarn
AH! This colorway just sold out?!

3) "MiamiInk" Razr. I'm not a huge fan of the Razr and I hate the user interface on Motorolas, but these are SEXY.

4) Dye kit from HelloYarn

5) Socks that Rock in Amber

6) Yarntini self-striping in Pure Fall

7) A chateau in France (optional)

8) A bunny rabbit

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I have fingers!

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Two half-fingers that is.



There is a lot of faith involved knitting these gloves. I have faith that casting on stitches between fingers will work out even though its purpose is a mystery to me at the moment. I have faith that I will somehow be able to neatly close the huge gaps in between. Just as I had faith that the thumb gusset would work out. I have never been this religious in my life.

I miscalculated the numbers of stitches to use for the index finger - the fit is off on the left hand but luckily is fine on the right. Go figure. I think I know what I need to for the second glove, but at the end of the day I'm not sure if I can write a pattern for these. That would imply that my knitting world operates in an orderly fashion and it totally does not. It's all ad hoc baby, ad hoc all the way. But we'll see.



It's been awhile since I've posted a Dottie photo. So here she is on a warm Boston afternoon, posing on the Longfellow Bridge.

Off to a dinner date. After two weeks of being a total hermit, I'm ready to rejoin Boston society again.

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Probably shouldn't write any more patterns

Monday, November 13, 2006

Geez louise. Writing patterns is hard dude. You can fine-tooth comb what you write until the cows come home and then you'll hit PUBLISH! and then 6 comments too late you'll spot the glaring error that you missed over and over. Never again will I bitch and complain when I see errors in a pattern, even ones that I've paid for. Well no, maybe I will complain, because I mean money was invovled. But I just won't complain AS MUCH because damn. Writing patterns is hard.

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Zephyr Socks

Monday, November 13, 2006


ZEPHYR SOCKS

These socks are knit top-down with your standard slipped stitch heel flap and heel turn, standard gusset, and standard wedge toe.

The pattern is a 9-stitch, 16-row repeat.

MATERIALS
> Cherry Tree Hill Supersock yarn [420 yds], 1 skein.
> 1 set of 4 US2/2.75 mm dpn
> Tapestry needle

APPROXIMATE GAUGE
9 stitches in pattern = 1.125 inches (that's 1 inch plus half of a quarter inch), slightly stretched.
31.5 stitches = 4 inches in pattern stitch, slightly stretched.
Leg circumference is about 7 inches.

DIRECTIONS
I. CUFF

CO 54 stitches. Divide sts evenly onto 3 needles (18 sts on each needle). Join round.
Round 1: *k2, p1*
Repeat ribbing until cuff is about 1.5 inches

II. LEG
Pattern Chart
Note: The charts are mirror images, which actually isn't so obvious in the knitted sock. But just knowing I'm wearing symmetrical socks is enough for me! So you can knit mirror imaged socks, or just use one chart for both.

     

Work the 16 rounds of the Pattern Chart. Knit the Pattern Chart a total of 4 times, or to desired length. After last row is completed on Needle 3, turn work. Wrong side should be facing.

III. HEEL FLAP
Set up heel flap stitches as follows (WS): sl1, p17 from Needle 3, then p9 from Needle 2. Turn. (27 sts total on heel)
Move the remaining 27 instep stitches onto one needle.

Work heel stitches back and forth:
Row 1 (RS): *sl1, k1* to end
Row 2 (WS): sl1, p to end. Repeat these two rows for a TOTAL of 26 times. End with RS row and turn.

IV. HEEL TURN
Row 1 (WS): sl1, p14, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 2 (RS): sl1, k4, k2tog, k1, turn
Row 3: sl1, p to one st before the gap, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 4: sl1, k to one st before the gap, k2tog, k1, turn

Repeat Rows 3 & 4 until all stitches are worked. 16 sts remain.
Divide these stitches onto two needles, 8 sts on each. They are now designated as Needle 1 and Needle 3.

Stitch count before gusset:
Needle 1: 8 sts
Needle 2: 27 sts
Needle 3: 8 sts

V. GUSSET
Needle 1: Pick up and knit 15 stitches along side of heel = 23 sts
Needle 2: Knit in pattern* = 27 stitches
Needle 3: With empty needle pick and knit 15 stitches along other side of heel, then knit the 8 heel stitches = 23 stitches

Round 1: Knit even
Round 2: Needle 1 - knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k.
Needle 2 - knit in pattern**
Needle 3 - k1, ssk, k to end of needle

Repeat Rounds 1 & 2 until there are 12 stitches on both Needle 1 and 3 = 24 sole stitches.

** When knitting the instep, omit a starting YO or an ending YO in the row, and do not do its corresponding decrease. In other words, if you are at a row that begins with a YO, just knit the first 9 stitches straight. If you are at a row that ends with a YO, knit the last 9 stitches straight.

Continue in est. pattern until you reach base of toes. End with Row 8 or Row 16 of chart. On final row before toe, OMIT all YOs = 3 sts decreased = 24 stitches.

Stitch count before toe:
Needle 1: 12 sts
Needle 2: 24 sts
Needle 3: 12 sts

VI. TOE
Round 1: knit even
Round 2: Needle 1 - k, k2tog, k to end  k to 3 sts from end, k2tog, k
Needle 2 - k, ssk, k to 3 sts from end, k2tog, k
Needle 3 - k, ssk, k to to end

Repeat Rounds 1 & 2 until 16 stitches remain - 8 on sole and 8 on instep needles.

Slip sts from Needle 3 onto Needle 1. Graft to stitches on Needle 2. Weave in ends. Wear!

Pattern & Images © 2006 Li W.

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