The most beautiful hat in the world...

Is finished. I can't bring myself to take a picture of it since it's the middle of the night and I know that no picture taken inside in the middle of the night will do it justice. Hell, no picture will do this hat justice. It is truely amazing.

It was totally worth working on for 2 hours, then ripping it completely apart and starting over because I thought I was doing it wrong (I wasn't) and because I noticed that I had somehow

• Dropped one stitch on the edge (89 stitches)
• Picked up two stitches (91 stitches)

I still cannot figure out HOW I did that.

Mom put it on her head and asked me when I was making myself one. This means that I know exactly what she's getting for Christmas now. Not only a hat, but a matching scarf, and possibly mittens. In red.

Also, I cast on Patons Lace Top, which will hopefully be beautiful.

Last night, I fell asleep with my foot touching what I thought was the foot of a stuffed animal (I share my bed with two large white tigers) but, as it turns out, was a skein of yarn. Yes, I slept with yarn last night. No, I am not proud of that.

This morning, while getting ready to leave for a drive across the state, I spotted the missing ball of that Salt and Pepper yarn (the mice seem to enjoy returning things) and realized that the earlier I intend on leaving for something, the later I will actually leave. This morning, the intention was to leave at 9:30. At 10, we were leaving. The last time I was to leave my house at 8 am, my car battery died and I didn't leave until almost 9.

Ahhhhh

So, I've cast on the most beautiful hat in the world, and it is proving to be the most beautiful hat in the world.



















The detail is impossible to see, and I'll take pics with the camera of color doom tomorrow (this is from the camera of general doom, though the colors come out a little better) to see if I can get better detail. It's my first experience with cableing, and I've learned that knitting is so much more calming with a cable needle in your mouth... although probably not the best for my braces. (Yes, braces.)

Oh well. I get to spend 3 hours in a car tomorrow, so the most beautiful hat in the world will probably be done tomorrow evening.

Who called it?

Damn I'm good. Yesterday, I bought those size 4 needles.


Today, while entering my needle/yarn collection on Ravelry, I came across... the other size 4 needle. I now have two sets of size 4 needles and, as I discovered, 2 G hooks.

One of them is older than I am.

Guess who's a pain in my ass

Seriously, guess.



Give up? Maybe... MY BOYFRIEND? (henceforth known as boyface... everyone gets a pseudonym!) So, his birthday was Saturday. Woo! Celebration! Let's eat cake! ...oh wait, we did that. And I wish I'd taken pics to share. It was a giant cupcake, and it was DELICIOUS (red velvetttt), but I digress.

Part of his birthday gift was a stuffed dog from the dollar store. Now, for Valentines Day, I got him a similar stuffed animal, same body, same giant head, same dollar store, but it was a monkey, and I knitted him a sweater, just for shits and giggles. Little did I know that when I delivered the dog, he would have to be kept separate from the monkey because - pay attention, now - the dog doesn't have a sweater, and if he sees that the monkey has one, he'll get jealous.

THE STUFFED DOG IS JEALOUS OF THE STUFFED MONKEY BECAUSE THE STUFFED MONKEY HAS A SWEATER AND THE STUFFED DOG DOES NOT.

Oh, and he'll get cold (because that's SUCH a problem for stuffed animals in the middle of summer)

And of course, I gave in. I knitted the damn dog a sweater.


















And here it is, modeled by Mr. Elephant, who is of identical proportions.
























The colors are way off. I have no idea WHAT my camera is trying to pull. Those orangy stripes? Those are red. Like, ruby slippers red. Hopefully there will soon be a new, wonderful camera in my possession that doesn't make colors all dingy and nasty like this one. That has nothing to do with this sweater.

So what did I learn? 30 stitches on size 7 needles with worsted weight yarn is FAR too many for a 5.5" stuffed animal. The sweater is so bulky, it makes him look fat. This could also have something to do with the fact that I used Red Heart Super Saver and Bernat Super Value to accomplish all of this.


The real important thing about today? I bought things.

These things aren't just things, though. First, another pair of size 4 needles for a sweater thing that's cast on and has one row completed... and then I lost a needle. What? It could be in my car. It could be at boyface's house. It could be floating around my house, giggling at me. Personally, I think the mice took it. I bought Boye instead of Susan Bates this time, thinking the more masculine name might be a deterrant from the needle theiving bastards.

I seriously considered sock yarn, as I have never knitted socks before, but as I mentioned earlier, who in their right mind would pay $12 for a pair of socks?? So I bought this instead...


















Simple, purple, acrylic yarn, you say? Look closer, kids, and you'll see that it's not just purple, it's HEATHERED purple. Better yet, it is Plum Mist Heather (though Bruyere Prune Brume makes me giggle). I saw it and it TOOK MY BREATH AWAY. I nearly passed out dead in the aisle at Michaels. This is the most georgous yarn I've ever seen in my life and it is almost as soft as silk yarn. The dark green (that I didn't buy) is almost as beautiful as this yarn, though no photograph (especially with the camera of doom) will ever do the colors justice. I chose to make the cabled hat that's on the label. I will cast on... eventually.

Also, I have decided that neither Boyface, nor Brother 2 love me because they did not get excited about my yarn. They didn't even feign excitement. Brother 2 told me that he "sees yarn every day" (he works at Joann's) and "it's not exciting". Boyface didn't even respond to the text message.

In the mean time, here it is modeled by my wonderful new silver box that I discovered at the Salvation Army today


















Yes, that box was $3. Yes, it is tarnished to HELL, but I enjoy polishing silver, finding the sparkling jewel that's under all of the darkness.

More on the box later. First, cheap stashness

I bought these last weekend and Gibraltar Trade Center.


















Those two grey ones at the top? Those were $1 each. I am clearly not above knitting with acrylic yarn. I understand that wool, silk, bamboo, and cotton are all wonderful things to touch and craft with, but you need to understand that I am cheap and broke and not about to spend $6 for 1 ball of 50 grams of yarn.

The bottom 5 balls? 75 cents a piece. I bought 6 of them, and I couldn't even begin to tell you where the 6th one is. This could be blamed on my inability to keep order in ANY part of my life, but it could also be blamed on the mice, which I prefer.

So, I love this yarn, but what do I do with 330 yards of bulky weight, "salt and pepper" yarn? The label has a pattern for a scarf but... honestly, how many scarves does one person need? And the grey? Sorry, "taupe" (I SWEAR taupe is more tan than this yarn. It looks grey to me.)? What do I do with 620 yards of that??

I'm searching for a scarf pattern that has a hood. Maybe I'll use one of these for that if I ever find it.

As for the box...








































mmmmmmm... oxidization.......

Just something helpful

In case you're like me and can't afford anything that's not acrylic, nylon, or some other bastardization of yarn, or you're just starting this whole knitting thing, standard yarn weight is pretty helpful in figuring out what you need for projects that say "use sock yarn to..." and then jump into intricate patterns.

I, for the life of me, cannot figure out why anyone in their right mind would pay $10 a skein (at 2 skeins for 1 pair!) for a pair of SOCKS.

Someone please enlighten me...

Clearly, I am jealous. I want to make these socks, but can't find yarn. :(

To be rid of the evil blanket!

The blanket is finished!



















I SHOULD block it. I SHOULD have ripped out the edging for the third time and re-done it. I SHOULDN'T be so DAMN happy to get rid of this blanket, but I've never been one to be SO glad to be finished with something. 30 square inches of stockinette stitch? KILL ME.


















At least SOMEONE likes it...

The edge is one double crochet in every other stitch with one ch between every other one.
The yarn is Bernat Super Value in mint
The edging is Red Heart Super Saver in black

The Bernat is soft, the Red Heart is not. I have no idea why the damn yarn is so popular.

Oh well, I'm off to deliver the evil blanket to the Un-nephew. Wish me luck!

Unnamed Monster 1

Stuffed!



















I finally got stuffing! I'm almost finished with the blanket, and will post pictures as soon as I cast off and start the hood. I'm going to crochet a border.

I've also fallen in love with about a million projects...
http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/2007/04/free-pattern-grass/
http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/2007/06/free-pattern-bob/
http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/2007/09/woodins-pattern-in-knitty/
http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/2007/10/free-pattern-toilet-paper/
http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/2009/06/free-pattern-weeeds/
http://coffeebra.blogspot.com/2009/01/may-felt-be-with-you-felted-lightsaber.html
http://kat-knits.blogspot.com/2009/03/free-pattern-grumpasaurus.html
http://knituition.blogspot.com/2007/02/bright-baby-block.html
http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/PATTnorberta.html

Some people are getting these for Christmas.

Project 0 (and 1)

Project Zero

I can't seem to find the project name or pattern anymore but it's really not necessary. It's supposed to be a monster stuffed animal, but mostly it's my first attempt at knitting anything. Why project zero? Because he doesn't have eyes, a mouth, legs, or stuffing. I JUST mattress-stitched (about 3/4 of the way down the page under the sub-head "Finishing") him together two days ago. So, here he is in all his unfinished glory...

Unnamed monster 1 (glorious name, eh?)
























I need to crochet him some eyes. And hunt down my stuffing and shove it into him. And make him some i-cord (about 7/8 of the way down the page, after finishing) legs.




















Clearly, this was my first project. For some reason, I had NO idea how to tell when to knit and when to purl and I don't EVEN know what happened off to the left where I seemed to add a stitch? I also didn't know what a mattress stitch was (off to the left on the bottom, can you tell? LOL).

So, you may be wondering why I want to finish this little gem. You may be thinking this is a waste of yarn (oh yes, acrylic, worsted weight Red Heart). You may be just sitting in horror, staring at your computer screen, speechless! But know this, I love my imperfect little Unnamed Monster 1. He was my first project and will forever be my first project!

And now... (drum roll please)
Project 1

Just under one year after starting Unnamed Monster 1 (read: two weeks ago), my boyfriend's roommates had a baby (he will, from here on out be known as The Un-nephew).

I bought him that :D (It's a Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Soothe & Glow Seahorse) He's the cutest 2 week old EVER. He never had that wrinkled alien look.













He and the kitty (that's Coco) were very confused about each other at first. Also, cutest 1 week old ever.

ANYWAY, I fell madly in love with him from the moment I saw him and decided that I NEEDED to make him something. So I got Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss from the library, and I made him a hat, or, more specifically, Simple Hat on page 72 of Baby Knits for Beginners.

This is where I learned about the mattress stitch, and how wonderful it is.

The hat is knitted in stockinette stitch, with a gentle roll round the rim. I used I Love This Yarn (an acrylic yarn from Hobby Lobby that is SOOOOFT) in some shade of gray (the package disappeared literally TODAY)



















And here's my version. It turned out quite well! Except...



















IT'S HUGE! With a little stretch, it fits my (giant) head! And it comfortably fits my brother's average sized head!

























And the dog!

After that, I decided not to give it to the Un-nephew, and make something else instead. And thus, my current knitting obsession has begun.

My crafting history

I swear I've been crafting and doing artistic things since the day I was born. My mom used to knit, crochet, latch hook, make jewelery, paint pottery, needlepoint, cross stitch, decoupage, paper tole, and do just about every craft under the sun (other than needle felting, as she discovered today while yarn shopping at Joann's) until she had kids, that is. Then the little two-seater car was replaced by a minivan and her needle crafting and painting was replaced by diaper changes and frequent, repeated trips to the hospital (my oldest brother had leukemia until he was 9 or 10).

She's lived vicariously through my crafting for as long as I can remember. I think I was 8 when I was enrolled in 5 different crafting classes over the course of the summer at our local community center, doing everything from decoupage to painting a light up ceramic Christmas tree (a miniature of one she made when she was in her 20s). I adored the woman who taught the classes because she is one of the reasons why I still love crafting today. It's her fault.

I've always dabbled, and am therefore halfway decent at about half a million things. In middle school, I took up drawing, and did nothing BUT draw (and, ya know, ballet and tap and such) for about 6 months before I discovered the joys of writing. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many half empty sketch books and journals I've started and discarded because I became interested in something else. I then took up painting, went back to writing, did a little sewing, cross stitch, latch hook, and went back to writing.

When high school hit, I was in a writing phase, which I kept on until 10th grade when a horrible bitch of a teacher ruined my love of the English language. I ended up failing her class because she was so horrible(and, just bad teacher in general). Fortunately, in 11th grade, I had a wonderful English teacher who renewed my love of the language, and then in 12th, I had two teachers who were so encouraging and wonderful that my writing has thrived ever since. But, I digress. I didn't do a lot of crafting for the first two years of high school because I was living with my father, which is not and inspirational place for a young girl to be.

In 11th grade, I began photography classes, which is something I'd been excited about since my oldest brother took them when HE was in high school (10 years before). I loved my teacher, and found myself again inspired to craft by the artist in residence from the College for Creative Studies who I was fortunate enough to have in my school twice a week. An award winning competition piece that he helped me realize, is essentially paper tole!

My crafting gene was reactivated and I began to cross stitch again. This is also around the time that I learned to crochet. I only learned single crochet at first, which made my work slow-going and odd looking. Until I met a boy named Alyn. He could crochet and knit and fed me from his stash, let me borrow crochet hooks, and taught me the joys of double crochet. On and off, I would pick up a piece, put it down, pick it up, and put it down. I finally finished something when I went off to college 1 year ago (I took 2 years off after high school), which is a scarf in my school colors.

(In between all of this, I obsessively sewed for a very long time, and still pick it up from time to time.)

I love crochet, but nothing is as beautiful as knitting. I knew my mom knew how, but she hadn't knitted in so long, she could hardly remember, so I searched online and came across http://www.knittinghelp.com/. I learned how to cast on, knit, and purl, and found a free pattern for a weird monster stuffed animal at Joann's (aka Project 0), which I have yet to finish.

Since then, I've learned papertole and started a needlepoint project (also unfinished), but most recently I've gone back to knitting. I've collected all of the free patterns from Meijer, Joann's, and Michael's, as well as borrowed a book from the library and found MANY patterns online. I have a knitting book that I absolutely love, and would probably learn something from if I would actually READ it (I love reading and have SO many other things to read!), but you don't get mediocre at things by reading about them and practicing them!

Curious about all of my crafting experience? Here's the short version (in no particular order):

• Knitting
• Crochet
• Sewing
  
• Paper tole
• Decoupage
• Painting
• Photography
• Cross stitch
• Needlepoint
• Painting pottery
• Pottery making
• Drawing
• Writing (I consider it a craft)
• Scrapbooking
  
• Random paper-crafts
  
• And home decorating

I also collect bottle caps, wind-up toys, knives, books, banks, and dry-erase boards.

Mom is an elementary school librarian (feeding my book collection quite nicely with scholastic warehouse clearance sales) who is obsessed with facebook.