I saw these at a garage sale this morning and had an idea... the 5 in packages are new and were 0.10$ a piece. The three in the gold frames were a set for $1.00 and I actually want them just for the frames... and the kits mostly for the thread. I have an idea, and it might become a Christmas present, but I don't think it will be Christmas themed....
Cryptic, I know, but sometimes surprises are more fun when they are actually surprises!
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Christmas not Christmas
Saturday, September 7, 2013
faster than the speed of light
It's a bird, it's a plane.... no, it's my swappee's package!*
I sent it last Friday and she received it (in Europe, no less) on Tuesday!! She took much better pictures than I, so I'm posting them here to show you how well they fit:
I think the "will they fit" worry is even worse than the "will it get lost in transit" one... so hurray on both points!!
In other knitting news, I'm trying to make myself a colour-block style sweater... and by "trying to make" I mean "making it up as I go along". So we'll see how that works out. So far, it hasn't gotten a lot of attention:
but it is simple enough that I can work on it while I'm reading, etc, in my office (also pictured above).
*The sock swap is open again for sign-ups!! If you are interested or want more information, please come check us out on ravelry!!
Friday, August 30, 2013
monkeying around (again)
I'm baaaaaaaack. In the interim I've moved, started a new job, cracked/lost a filling and (therefore) gone to the dentist... twice. (I have a phobia of dentists, so that's huge for me. That's right, I'm anti-dentite.)
I also, somehow, finally finished knitting my socks for the sock swap. I'll be packing them up and sending them this morning!
Pattern is the irreplaceable monkeys by Cookie A, yarn is cascade heritage, and needles are US 1 DPNs. No mods, except that I did a partrige heel (I think that's right... where you slip one knit one on the right side?).
Monday, July 29, 2013
'cause it's just not finished without buttons
Although I finished knitting this sweater almost a month ago... and my mom's birthday was exactly a month ago.... I didn't get around to sewing the buttons on until today. In my defence, the sweater took an exorbitant amount of time to dry when blocking, and then I had to leave the country for a couple of weeks to help my DH finish packing up our old apartment... but still, it seems a little ridiculous.
In any case, the sweater is now *officially* finished! And, if you can't tell, it's definitely in a colour she likes (the bracelets and necklace were already on before I gave her the sweater to try on). And in good/bad news, it is currently cold enough to wear a alpaca/wool sweater. Apparently the weather/mother nature didn't realize that it is still the middle of summer.
In other knitting news, I also finished a baby hat a couple of weeks ago:
This one will go to my niece's soon to be cousin (to be born almost a year to the day that my niece was!).
Not a whole lot more knitting has been happening, since, as I mentioned, we've been packing up and preparing to move. Our stuff, in fact, has already been delivered to our new home and we will be on our way tomorrow. We're visiting family for a few days and gave our niece some early bday presents. I'm a little sad to miss her actual birthday next month, but I'm also excited (and a little terrified) to have a "real job"... hence the move.
Maybe I'll get a little knitting time in when I'm on the off-shift of driving? One can only hope!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
blocking is magic
Although it's a crappy picture (lighting is terrible today, plus the spot I usually block in is not really the best for photo ops), you can probably get a much better picture of how the vest I showed you the other day is turning out.
Moral of the story: block your knits, kids.
Friday, June 14, 2013
a brief and true report of the back of a vest
It's been a long time, I know. Insert usual excuses here + lots of travel/new job/moving related ones too.
Above you will (hopefully) see a picture of the back of a vest that I have been working on for far too long. I started it almost one month ago and this is as far as I've gotten. I haven't even made it to the arm-hole shaping yet. Again, I blame travel/new job/moving type things for my knit-inertia. Knitnertia?
One thing I did finish in this last month, however, is this:
So that's something, I guess?!
Expect more vest pics soon. I want to have it done in the next 2 weeks AND I have tons of babies to knit for. At least 3 that I know of will be born in the next month...
Saturday, May 18, 2013
3 day shawl
Started this on a Thursday, bound off on a Saturday... world record for fastest shawl?! Of course, I made the smaller size, and currently have nothing better to do... so at least I get something out of all my tv watching time!
Pattern is Ishbel.
Yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in logwood.
Needles: US 5
Mods: none, except that I blocked it wrong... there shouldn't be a point at the bottom, but rather two points on either side of the center, which seems counterintuitive to me. But for now I'm going to leave it as is.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
So many things...
It's been a busy week and the needles have been flying! I finished the first of the OppAtt Socks a few days ago and I am thrilled that they fit me. I was a bit concerned since the pattern really puckers in when not on, and makes the sock look really small. But it fits really really well, which makes me really really happy!
Here's another angle, for better pattern viewing: 
Also on (and then rapidly off) the needles this week were a couple of baby hats:
The first was of my own design, a little elfish-style number, that may go to my niece's soon-to-be cousin (no, not ME... my SIL's brother's wife is due in August).
And a scrappy gnome hat, which is going to a friend who has an up-and-coming photography business and wanted some props. There might be a few more of these in the future... there are lots of babies being born in my circle of family and friends and this was an awesome stash buster for all those bits and bobs of leftovers that I would never get around to using otherwise.
Monday, May 13, 2013
just in time... for summer?
yes, it did cool off here this weekend. no, it did not cool off that much!
I've been holding off on posting about this sweater for some time. I was hoping when I knit it (late Jan/early Feb, which probably makes more sense for the pictures, yes?) that I would find the time to write up the pattern and send it in somewhere for potential publication. Well, it's almost summer now, so I don't think that's going to happen. And since there has been a serious dearth of knitting around here lately, I figured it was as good a time as any to share it.
DH was extremely patient and a very good knit model, so I took a number of pictures from various angles:
the side...
the back...
And the quintessential knitwear model pose:
The pattern was my own, based on/adapted from a picture we saw online, from diesel I believe. The yarn was some dorset sheep's wool that I got last September at the WNY Fiber Festival, approximately 1155 yards. Raveled here.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
return of the mojo
I did a lot of traveling in April (more on that in the not-so-distant, but not today, future), which one would think would give me plenty of airport knitting time... which it did. But aside from airports, I really didn't knit much. Nor did I knit the above shawl. That happened over the course of the past 3 days. After more than a months hiatus (or at least semi-hiatus, but airport time never counts for anything, does it?) I knit a shawl in less than 3 days. Started Thursday AM and bound off just a short time ago. Obviously it will need some major blocking, but that's the easy part.
So what about those lost airport hours? Well, they yielded this:
And not even all of that. I meant to cast on for the shawl Wednesday night, but forgot to bring the pattern (which is Ysolda Teague's Ishbel by the way) with me to knit night. Instead, I kept plugging away at this sock that won't seem to ever end, the first of the OppAtt socks. I'm a little concerned (ok, a lot concerned) that the pattern is going to make for a tight fit... in which case these will be put away for someone's birthday or holiday gift, someone with skinnier ankles than I.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
swap package!!!
Squeeee! Just got my swap package from the 9th international sock swap! These socks flew to me all the way from New Zealand, and just in time! The pattern is the memorable Kai-Mei from Cookie A's first sock book. I had knit a pair of these for myself several years ago and just (as in less than a week ago) threw them out because a giant hole had formed in one of the toes and unraveled a large section of the underside of the foot. Irreparable. And somehow, my swap partner had the foresight to replace them for me!
The rest of the package was awesome too, as you will see:
100% NZ merino! And the colour! Swoon!
A project bag...
... filled with goodies!
And another, bigger bag, with a drawstring and a NZ pin!
Big thanks to my swap buddy! I love everything!
Want your OWN swap partner and goodies from anywhere in the world?! We are currently holding sign-ups for our next swaps, until May 31! You can check us out on ravelry!!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
pugiversary!
“We are all a little weird and life is a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." ~ Dr Seuss.
I am so lucky to have found someone who is compatibly weird with me. So much so that I knew he would enjoy getting a knit pug for our 2nd year anniversary, which everyone knows is the pug year. Since we can't have pets in our apt, I made him one out of cotton instead...
Pattern: Pug with Anorak
Yarn: Knitpicks Cotlin
Needles: US 5
Mods: Smaller yarn and needles than called for. Didn't make the jacket due to a lack of time and the wrong sorts of materials. Gave him a scarf instead (in part because his head was a little wobbly).
Monday, April 8, 2013
vanilla and cashmere
Sunday, March 31, 2013
a promise is a promise is a promise.
As promised, this post is not about socks! Instead, I spent a few days this week whipping up this adorable little bunny from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I made a few modifications, such as the yarn used (mostly a knitpicks cotton blend), being that it was worsted, I decided not to double it up. Also, the ears: instead of pinching the ends to sew them on, I sewed each on flat, to make them extra floppy. S/he really looks like they're going to take off when the ears are opened wide:
I also added the shawl, shown in the pattern on the elephant. The rabbit didn't have any accessories, which I thought was rather sad, and I wanted to cinch the neck in a bit too, so I thought a shawl would cover that up nicely.
Hoppy Easter!
Monday, March 25, 2013
one pair down...
I just wove in the ends on the sunshine socks I was making for the will work for yarn group.
These socks were surprisingly difficult for me... I couldn't quite memorize the pattern, which might have been due to the glaring errata. If you plan on making these socks, I would highly suggest checking the comments on ravelry which explain how the cables should be reversed on the leg and foot charts, not the set-up chart (as posted in the interweave errata).
In any case, they're done now, on to the next pair!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
And now for something completely different...
Yarn! Ok, ok, so you've seen yarn around here before... but this is worsted! not sock! (or socks...)
I've recently signed on to teach some knitting classes at Michaels! I'm really excited to get back into teaching knitting... it's a lot of fun and the students seem to like it too! Hopefully I'll be getting on the schedule for April... if anyone is interested, send a me message and I'll let you know the wheres, whats, etc. Probably just beginners for now, but potentially more advanced things as time goes on.
So, why the yarn? Well, Michaels is a rather large company, with stores all over Canada and the US, so they want to keep consistent. To that end, they use the Craft Yarn Council's Knitting Instructor Course (and crochet, of course) to certify their instructors. So, over the next few months, I will be working on that... which requires you to make a bunch of swatches, etc, and I needed some nice smooth wool that would show off my stitches. Hence the Class Wool Worsted!
Stay tuned for the thrilling updates as I complete my swatching!
Friday, March 22, 2013
ce n'est pas un sock
(but there is one below)
The bag you may have seen before... if not around here, then over at the MadridKnits blog... but the buttons are new. My mom picked them up for me, the sock one, because, well, if you've been around for any length of time you may have noticed that I knit socks... like, always... and the other, which is my fave, says "I do my own knitting stunts" and has some ominous blood dripping down the sides... she picked it up because of this incident. Ah, my mother is a witty woman... and a great artist, if you didn't know.
And, since this blog would barely be itself with a picture of a sock in progress, and we don't want to disappoint, voila:
One down, and a toe too!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Socks on a Sunday
Heel turned on my plain jane socks for the WWFY group!
Speaking of socks, I'm contemplating some changes to the sock swap... it will still be international, but I am thinking about making it into two swaps instead of one. For those who like the current format (socks + goodies up to 30$ US), no fears, that will remain the same. But I'd also like to introduce a smaller swap for those of us (myself included) who are trying to remain a little more frugal these days. This second group would just send socks and possibly one small goodie like stitch markers or a chocolate bar... Anyway, there is a poll and subsequent conversation here on ravelry. I'd love to hear from anyone who has participated, who has thought of participating, or who might consider participating in either of the options in the future!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
a change would do you good
shamelessly stealing blog post titles from song lyrics, I know, I know
I cast on for the second set of socks for the WWFY group this morning. Sure, sure, I haven't quite finished the first set...
ok, so "not quite finished" means I still have a toe and a whole sock still to do...
... but I just needed something new. I've been feeling that way about a lot of things in my life lately... I keep threatening to cut off my hair... I feel like I'm on the brink of a big professional change... all kinds of things.
And so this morning I finally took the plunge... and changed my ravelry name! I've been "gradskoolknitter" since my first year in my PhD program, but having defended almost a year ago, it was really starting to seem outdated. I haven't changed anything on the blog yet, as that would require a whole lot more work and planning, but the rav name change is rather easy (although you only get to do it 3 times... so you've got to make it count!).
If you've made it this far, I'm sure you're wondering what it is... I will henceforth be known (at least on ravelry) as arteconsobras! The name is not just a random stringing of letters, but Spanish for "art from leftovers". I've been thinking about it for some time, and the name comes from a comment on this blog, in fact. When I posted about my finished leftover sock yarn blanket an anonymous poster (who signed "Susana" and I think I know who it is from the MadridKnits group) wrote "No siempre la gente sabe hacer arte con sobras. Me parece preciosa." Roughly translated it means "Not everyone knows how to make art from the leftovers. It's beautiful". I loved that comment and I loved the idea of "art from the leftovers". So after much mulling, I finally took the complement on as my knitting identity.
I promise there will be lots of artistic uses of leftovers in the near future!
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