Knitting For Dummies...

Okay, dummies is NOT the PC term. They are called mini mannequins, & I made their outfits. I knit up little hats, scarves, & even a muff. I also made the felt skirts & ultra hip mod abstract cape type tops. I flopped on the second skirt, the purple & white one, hate it. But the blue with the flowers... I want one in my size! Love it. WHY did I decide to clothe these little people? They are for a window display at work. The neighborhood is having a block contest between the stores for the best holiday window.
Mae, my super cool coworker (who used to be an architect & yes, I will be raiding her brain once drafting classes start) & myself were at the shop til 1:30 AM last night working on the window. It looks good. Really good. There are ice skating sheep & everything. I will take a photo once the window is complete.
**This photo is best viewed bigger.**

I'm still Alive!!

And YES, I am still knitting. School is plugging along. Finals are coming up, last day of school is the 16th. I don't think I like the quarter system. It's gone by WAYYYY too fast. I have learned a lot, but I wonder how much more I could have gotten out of it had there been more time. Right now I should be working on one of two projects that are due tomorrow, but I just don't feel like it!! Ugh
I finished the Chunky Print hat, it took me two & half episodes of Law & Order:SVU. It's too big, too loose. I have a big melon, so I usually have to up the size of hats for myself, usually just using a bigger needle. There was no pattern, I guesstimated a gauge & knit it up.... I was way off. Why didn't I try it on half way through, you may be asking? Because Law & Order + knitting transports me into another dimension where I am apparently just plain dense! I am debating felting it, or just ripping it out & starting over. What do you guys think? If I don't do SOMEthing sooner than later.... It will just wind up tossed in a corner & forgotten about, & it's much too cute for that!

I brought more yummy yarns home from work. This getting paid in store credit for knitting samples is genius! I really don't feel like I am spending any money! Can you see my sick obsession with tweed is still festering?! The watery-bluey-greeney Yorkshire Tweed Aran that I made the last kitty hat with went on sale, & there were only 2 balls left... I HAD to bring it home! & the Yorkshire Tweed dk in that specific green was the last one, HAD to bring it home too! No immediate plans for the blue tweed, the green dk I am thinking a small neck tie, cravat type of thing, maybe with a simple cable, or leafy design.

And then there is the Blue Sky Bulky... MMMMMMMMM! This stuff is so ridiculously soft, & the colors are spot on PERFECT!!! These guys have already begun the journey to their new life as a scarf knit lengthwise. It will be the worlds bestest scarf; blue+brown+creamy white+super soft+ super stripey+super warm!!!
Other Knit News... 3/4 of the way done w/ secret shop project. I actually did an entire shop sample & forgot to snap a picture. Two ther shop samples in the wings. & a few secret gifty things are brewing!

It's been awhile...

I am still kinda sick. Can you believe it?! I can't. I feel pretty okay most of the time, but my throat hurts all of the time still, & I have been loosing my voice. Monday was the worst, I woke up & couldn't talk at all.
But on to important things.... School & knitting.
Let's start with school. The big news is that I have officially decided to change my major. After thinking about it long & hard, & debating it for over a year, I have chosen Interior Design over Fashion Design. So I had to drop a couple of classes that won't transfer into ID. That means no more fashion sketching or Survey of Western Art. It will be drafting & architecture classes from here. I was really bummed because I was really enjoying those classes, but I am sure that I will LOVE my new classes even more! Dropping classes has given me more time to knit, work, & be sick. : )

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Knitting news... The laptop bag was done last week, I've been super lazy about getting photos posted.
I started the bag mid September, & finished it early last week. It was knit with a single strand, I usually double strand everything to be felted. It's all that cheapo KnitPicks yarn (mist, iron ore, & stream). That stuff felts so dammed nicely, and you cannot beat that price! Chris decided he did not want the handles cut into it, so you will have to imagine it with the cute handles. After seaming & before felting it measured 21" x 15 1/2". After felting it was 17" x 11". I was really happy with the colors, and the overall felting of the bag. I think if I were to do another one of these I would double strand for extra thickness. It is pretty thick, but you cannot have enough protection for your laptop. Chris tells me that it has been very popular with his fellow law students, they are calling it a "laptop condom". What professional lawyers to be!! It was about half way through knitting it when I realized the one major problem with the devil-may-care, caution-to-the-wind style of random striping that I am so fond of... The bottom of the bag is seamed & the stripes are SOOOO mismatched! I was surprised that it bugs me only a little bit. I want to make one of these for "my" laptop, but I don't know how soon I can face another long leg of boring knitting.
Other current knits... Three samples for the shop, one shop project, two secret projects, & ummm.... That cannot be it. I am sure that I am forgetting something else!
Now I am off to write a research paper for my Textile Sciences class. I chose gingham. That may sound boring to most of you, but I just love gingham. It's a comfort fabric for me. Gingham makes me think of picnics, apple pie, grandmothers, old flour sacks, & that famous golden brick road! I caught a few moments of The Wizard of Oz the other the night, right when Dorothy meets the scarecrow. The title of my research paper on gingham is "Somewhere over the Rainbow". I know.... I am a dork! : )

ACTUAL knitting news!!!

WHAT in the hell is she sitting on?!! Is she really just hovering there? How uncomfortable, not to mention unnecessary. And doesn't he know that pipe smoking will stunt his growth?! How old is that guy anyway?!

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ANYWAY... I am feeling mostly better... I think! I went to the gym today & nearly fell over. I kept getting dizzy & loosing my balance, & then my trainer sent me home. How pathetic! UGH
But the good news is that I am getting a lot of knitting done. In addition to working on the latest secret shop project, I have finished another sample for the shop. It's called Kid Slique from Prism Yarns, it's a strand of mohair & a shiny goldy strand of nylon/rayon. I didn't think I'd like it at all. I thought it would be a pain in the patootie to work with. It was a dream. So easy to work with, & it looks soooo pretty!
I started another sample for the shop, Rowan Spray & I don't understand why it's $16.75 a ball for a wool/acrylic blend yarn. And the bigger question is WHY is Rowan even doing a wool/acrylic yarn?! AND it even FEELS like cheap acrylic yarn!! You can feel the "spray paint" on the spongy yarn. Has anyone else come across this new Rowan yarn? Is it just me? And then I have finished a couple of projects that have been lingering at the bottom of my knitting basket for a very very long time. Remember the rust colored leaf stitch scarf? Think really far back... Yeah, I finished that one. Forgive the WIP photo. It looks just like that, but well... Finished. It's SUPER long, when I put it around my neck the ends hit way below my knee! Maybe I will snap a photo later.
And then I finally finished the worlds most boring project, the laptop bag. I have to seam it & felt it. It's sooooo HUGE! I swear I could have wrapped it around me as a skirt.
And I have been working on the Bubbles scarf. OH MY GOD! Talk about pain in the butt yarns!!! I just want to scream, I HATE knitting with this stuff! But I LOVE the way it looks! And these colors are so amazing together. It's so soft, and wow, I just cannot wait to wear this one!

When Knitwear Attacks!

Charlie's Angels battling the most dangerous case of them all.... BAD KNITWEAR!

Intermission.....

Things are bit crazy still.... I am still pretty sick, if anyone sees one of my lungs laying around please return it to it's rightful owner. I am having some major revelations with school. No folks I am not dropping out, & I am not failing out, I am doing very well actually. I will fill y'all in once I finalize the gritty details.
In the meantime... Please enjoy this fine advertisement for "South-of-the-Border Knitwear!!! AYE-CARUMBA!!

How I spent my Halloween...

This was the second project due in my color & design theory class. It was A TON of work. They gave us really crappy gouche paints to work with. The stuff was stiffer than a teenaged boy on prom night! The blue paint did NOT want to play with the white paint. The more water I added so the blue would spread like a teenaged girl on prom night, the more washed out the color became! I had to have 8 grades of blue fade into white. So that dark blue really had to come straight out of the jar with minimal water added. Next project... a complete color wheel. wooo hooo!

I haven't spoken much about it on here, but I have been coughing non stop for the past 3 weeks. Although I was sick with a yucky throat thing right before school started, I was pretty sure this was just allergies because last year at this very same time of year, I started coughing non stop. The doc thought I had asthma & put me on asthma meds which made it twice as bad. It was this time last year that we moved into the place we are at now. We finally came to the conclusion that it was likely the giant-pain-in-the-ass-constantly-dropping-a-shitload- of needles-pine tree in our front yard that was causing my pain & suffering. (& I do believe that is the technical name for that particular pine tree) Well this year it seems that the added stress from school has turned my innocent allergy into a very bad lung infection. I went to the doc on Monday, & now I am on antibiotics, UGH! I also went back to acupuncture! AHHHH! I LOVE acupuncture! My coughing seems to be slowing down already. My chest and throat still feel like the little alien dude is trying to claw his way out.... but I am spending more time meditating & DE-stressing, so I hope to be better soon.

Get Your Meme On!!!!

I am honored to have been tagged by the God-Mother of Kid Silk Haze, Kate!! Every time I am at work & am lovingly picking up the thousands of tiny balls of KSH that eternally slip out of their cozy cubby & fall to the cold floor below, I think of Kate.
I was wondering when one of these meme things would come my way. And here it is....
Also please keep in mind that I am on very limited time to type this up... i.e. Forgive the lack of whitty banter.

what is your all-time favorite yarn to knit with?
Top pick, I love that Proud Lamb, it just feels soooo good in my hands, & the colors are amazing! I am currently working with Malabrigo for the first time, & all I keep thinking is how I want to make myself a bed out of the stuff! The colors of Manos are to DYE for! And I am quickly becoming a Rowan snob.

your favorite needles?
Straights- the colorful vintage aluminums that I have begun to collect. I get extra excited when the color of the needles matches or compliments the project I am working on.
For dpns- definitely the shorty bryson bryflex. I will never use a long dpn again.
Circs-I have been converted to the pricey side, Addis.

the worst thing you've ever knit?
It's soooo embarrassing!!! Ugh! How about my Oscar the Grouch Scarf.... Ugh, shudder. What can I say, I was still working with Lion brand yarns, & I had only been knitting for a couple of weeks.

your most favorite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it, but it was the most fun to knit.)
I really had a lot of fun with the MSCS. Aside from that particular yarn being so much fun (I never knew what color was going to come streaming out the ball next), that stitch was a ton of fun. Unlike ribbing or even seed stitch, it never got boring. I would like to incorporate it into a hat or some other non scarfy thing. Someday, when knitting is on my daily radar again! : ( I also loved making socks, and of course my true faves are the felted bags!!

most valuable knitting technique?
no doubt about it, it's "unknitting", or "tinking". is that a technique?

best knit book or magazine?
Loop-de-Loop is the most beautiful, even though the models strongly resemble aliens.
the Fall issue of Interweave Knits was rockin!

your favorite knitblogs?
You know who you are!

your favorite knit-along?
I have never belonged to a knit-a-long. : ( & I don't have much time for one now. Maybe in 2 years, after school.

your favorite knitwear designer?
Kim Hargreaves has the keenest eye for what I will call bold femininity! I quite enjoy Teva Durham. And I've gotta give a shout out to my gals at work!! They are very creative & inspiring!

the knit item you wear the most? (how about a picture of it?)
You can "wear" a purse, so.... I would definitely say it's my big buttonhole bag. I LOVE those bags. I get tons of compliments, they are just the right size(s), & I made 'em!!

tag time!
hmmmmm.... how about...the knitting ultimate knitting Goddess, Janis. I miss her, & the Wednesday night crew! And the ever so sweet Whit. And then there is Beaky. Read how she got the name Beak, it is so sweet & funny!