I Knit. September 26, 2006
Posted by Laura in FO.add a comment
I bet you all almost forgot that this is supposed to be a fiber blog. I know I almost did. Well surprise, yes I do, and yes this is…no shit. And furthermore? I have knit stuff today. Inconceivable, I know! Well, stranger things have happened. Off the top of my head I can’t really think of what, but I’m sure somehow, somewhere they have.
Yes, I admit, I have been remiss. But seriously, how many of you want to see pictures of a still-not-done Peacock Feathers Shawl, or how about my In-Time-Out Seraphim? Bleh…Boring! Instead, I’ve Effed an Oh, wanna see?
Yup, socks.
Pattern: Lizzie’s Lacy Rib Socks by Pumpkin’s person, FKD, cuff-down, with modified heel and toe to suit my lazy ass.
Yarn:2 balls of KP’s Palette in Blue (trying to use up my stash of that crap. Unfortunately I have enough left over for a couple pairs of baby booties. Will I NEVER be rid of this shit?)
Gauge: Whatever on US Size 1 DPNs.
I liked this pattern. The clear instructions were very easy to follow and a lot less boring than some. Of course, this was my first time doing sock lace knitting, but still, since I did these both at the same time, they seemed to practically fly.
At first I did the heel as written, but when I got done, the heel looked WAAAY disporportionate to the rest of the sock. Now, it could have been because this was the first time I ever did a short row YO heel, or it could have been that I misunderstood the instructions (definitely would NOT be the first time), but the extra rows before, and the gusset afterwards made the heel look much bigger and deeper than I thought it should be. Besides, the person for whom I’m knitting these socks has an extremely narrow heel. So I ripped and did a plain short row YO heel, which looked much better. I also replaced the Special K toe with a French Toe….because I don’t LIKE doing Special K, that’s why.
All in all, they turned out beautiful. I highly recommend the pattern
God, I love texture!
Name Change for Knitpicks September 7, 2006
Posted by Laura in Dyeing.add a comment
In honor of 
, Knitpicks shall hereafter shall be referred to as ASSpicks or even better SHITpicks.
I used to LOVE their stuff. I would order their Fingering Weight Peruvian Wool by the buttload, dyeing it to my heart’s desire. But only ASSpicks could turn this…
…beautifully Moze-colored, hand-painted skein
into this:
…muddled-up, color-running-all-over-the-effin-place piece of fiber excrement. Bleh!
At that moment I vowed I would never buy from them again! Thank WOOL I have a lovely alternative. And CK really knows how to take care of her clients! Seriously, if you like hand-dyeing/painting/whatever, YOU MUST GET THIS YARN!
So, I’ve been pretty secure in my decision to boycott ASSpicks. I’ve read that their circular needles are proving to be less than desireable, the cables constantly breaking. And unlike the wonderfully self-contained and moderately-priced system that is my beloved Denise Interchangeables, their Options (Italics for sarcastic emphasis) requires major investment for something comparable.
Then, 2 days later I get an email announcing that they now carry Jacquard dyes. Bitches!! I’ve heard so many good things about jacquard dies, I was sore tempted, because, you know, I MUST try them. It’s a moral imperative! Besides, the ProChem dyes I’ve been using are pretty good, but they have so many colors, it sometimes boggles the mind just to choose only what you need, tricky aren’t they? Then I’m reminded that my all-time favey source for dyeing yarn now carries the dyes as well, see? And they’re priced right! (You really should go check them out) Ha! Whew!
NOW, as if they just knew, like they have this evil mind-reading ability, I get their catalog in the mail. A sensible woman after TWICE vowing to never purchase from them again would have just thrown it away, muttering under her breath about how another tree was sacrificed so that they could peddle their swill, but not me. No. Nuh-uh. I open it, and what did I see? Only two of the handiest, dandiest knit gadgets in Knitopia today. BASTARDS!
Man, I’m SO screwed
Tuesday Quicky September 5, 2006
Posted by Laura in Dyeing, Pets.add a comment
Unfortunately I don’t have a surplus of time today. I’m taking a mini-vacation at the end of the week (giving myself a 4-day weekend), to go play with my family in Laughlin, NV, and celebrate my dad’s 80th birthday, so I’ve got some getting-ahead to get done.
But I can’t help but sit here in awe at the things we do for those we really, truly love. Love got me doing the “C” word. No not THAT C-word! Man, you all are bad! No, the other C-word; the C-word I swore never in my life to do because it was lame and tedious with all the cutting and glueing and cropping and the little fiddly bits of stuff getting everywhere. Yup, you guessed it: CRAPbooking. Unfortunately for me, all the other women in my family crapbook, so they got this brilliant effing idea to put one together for my dad, asking everyone to contribute pages, to commemorate this milestone birthday. I did 4 pages, and I’m rather proud of them. Hell I even included a sappy little poem I wrote him. Even so, that’s all we’re ever going to say about this subject. Let’s never mention it again…
Instead, let’s talk about dyeing, a subject I am MUCH more fond of, and one that doesn’t make the vein in my head pop out, and make me sit there muttering buh-buh-buh-buh. Yes this weekend I indulged in color therapy to help wipe the bad taste out of my mouth left by all those bits of paper I had to pick up after the above mentioned, never to mention again LABOR of love.
First, I dyed some yarn to match two of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in nature. Using craptasticular (but that’s a story better saved for a Thursday) Shitpicks Bare – Peruvian Fingering Weight, Prochemical Washfast Acid Dyes and RIT dye, I finally dyed my yarn for 2 pairs of Jen’s Cat Face Lace Socks (link to follow shortly).
The Yarn:
The Inspiration:
The Yarn:
The Inspiration:
I guess I went a little crazy with the pink. I’m calling it Moze a la Chanel, but on second glance, maybe I should just call it Good ‘n Plenty, chuck it in the “contest yarn bin” and try again! Third time’s a charm! Again, a tale best left for a Thursday post…
Last, I have a knitterly/bloggerly friend who has a birthday coming up so I tried playing with color and the best-ever to-DYE-for-yarn, Henry’s Attic Kona Superwash. My recommendation? Never EVER settle for anything less! The results:
Isn’t it cool what a difference in appearance reskanking makes?
Tuesday Quickie… September 5, 2006
Posted by Laura in Dyeing, Other Crafty Pursuits, Pets.add a comment
Unfortunately I don’t have a surplus of time today. I’m taking a mini-vacation at the end of the week (giving myself a 4-day weekend), to go play with my family in Laughlin, NV, and celebrate my dad’s 80th birthday, so I’ve got some getting-ahead to get done.
But I can’t help but sit here in awe at the things we do for those we really, truly love. Love got Jen to knit cotton until her fingers bled and her shoulderblades popped out of her back, and it got me doing the “C” word. No not THAT C-word! Man, you all are bad! No, the other C-word; the C-word I swore never in my life to do because it was lame and tedious with all the cutting and glueing and cropping and the little fiddly bits of stuff getting everywhere. Yup, you guessed it: CRAPbooking. Unfortunately for me, all the other women in my family crapbook, so they got this brilliant effing idea to put one together for my dad, asking everyone to contribute pages, to commemorate this milestone birthday. I did 4 pages, and I’m rather proud of them. Hell I even included a sappy little poem I wrote him. Even so, that’s all we’re ever going to say about this subject. Let’s never mention it again…
Instead, let’s talk about dyeing, a subject I am MUCH more fond of, and one that doesn’t make the vein in my head pop out, and make me sit there muttering buh-buh-buh-buh. Yes this weekend I indulged in color therapy to help wipe the bad taste out of my mouth left by all those bits of paper I had to pick up after the above mentioned, never to mention again LABOR of love.
First, I dyed some yarn to match two of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in nature. Using craptasticular (but that’s a story better saved for a Thursday) Knitpicks Bare – Peruvian Fingering Weight, Prochemical Washfast Acid Dyes and RIT dye, I finally dyed my yarn for 2 pairs of Jen’s Cat Face Lace Socks (link to follow shortly).
The Yarn:
The Inspiration:
The Yarn:
The Inspiration:
I guess I went a little crazy with the pink. I’m calling it Moze a la Chanel, but on second glance, maybe I should just call it Good ‘n Plenty, chuck it in the “contest yarn bin” and try again! Third time’s a charm! Again, a tale best left for a Thursday post…
Last, I have a knitterly/bloggerly friend who has a birthday coming up so I tried playing with color and the best-ever to-DYE-for-yarn, Henry’s Attic Kona Superwash. My recommendation? Never EVER settle for anything less!
The results:
Isn’t it cool what a difference in appearance reskanking makes?
What should I call it? Any ideas?
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