A Daily Dose of Fiber

The Noro Shawl

2009-10-23T12:29:00.001-07:00

It's getting there. I have to go write a paper...... can't knit more on it for right now. =)

Something that isn't socks.

2009-10-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is a whole lot of Noro. That is going to become this. The Stolen Moments Wrap. I really really really want a shawl or wrap, and I figured I'd have to knit it myself if I was going to get it done. Not that I didn't check out Etsy to see if I could buy one. I did. But the really great ones are at least as expensive as the $60+ of Noro pictured above. So I find myself casting on with the biggest knitting needles I've ever worked with. And they are straights to boot! Go figure!

More downtime

2009-10-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

A new hat for Jonas, although that is Milo wearing it. Just an easy 2x2 rib that was fun to do with yarn I had on hand. I needed something easy to knit on my week off from school, while I was getting caught up on Grey's Anatomy.

And arm warmers that Quinn has wanted me to knit all summer. Go figure. They are not really as crooked and ratty as the picture makes it look. But they have been well loved already in the last week. That's it for now......sshhhhhhh. I'm not supposed to be knitting anymore. For the next 10 weeks. =)

All done!!!

2009-09-21T05:39:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just me, but socks laid out without sock blockers just look unbelievably long and grotesque. Trust me, these are the right size and shape.

Forgive the cell phone pics, it's all I've got right now. They don't really do the color changes in the Dream In Color Smooshy justice. The Punky Magenta really isn't a true pink, it has lovely purples in it too. I finished and blocked the 2nd sock of these yesterday..... and they are for me!!! I get to keep them!

Ha! I'm still alive!!!

2009-09-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

I am almost too busy to knit, and certainly too busy to blog about it much....but here's the 2nd Noro sock on it's way to completion......

Progress...

2009-06-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. Not sure what to do at this point. The yarn isn't stretchy enough to accomodate my wide foot. So this is either a gift sock. or I need to take the heel out and re-do from that point on..

Noro Kureyon, ribbed cuff. I wish the color changes had stopped after the first three. I love the red, black, and teal together. I will be on the lookout for some other indie dyed yarn in that colorway... this is beautiful, but just not for me. Gift socks!!

Road Trip!

2009-05-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

So SabbathD and I went on a little roadtrip and here's what I brought back......

Easy Hat

2009-05-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

Just an easy stockinette cotton hat, made for a doula client's baby. Cute and easy....

Green Envy

2009-05-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

Green Envy Socks are done! I really like the sewn edge cast off. And apparently I only block socks on blue towels....

Lace Edged Woman's Hat

2009-05-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

Modeled by Quinn. =) I knit it in a size large, it doesn't seem all that large though. It is supposed to be very fitted, and designed for a bald head...I'll knit up another in a larger gauge if this one doesn't fit.... really liked this yarn though. Especially after the casting on and getting the first 2 rounds knit. It was less splitty on the needles after that. The first round of the pattern calls for purling, not my favorite thing to join and do in the round, but I'm learning!

My lovelies....

2009-05-09T07:02:00.001-07:00

Here's one more sock. Big surprise! I had to actually unknit it all the way back and re-do the heel because I had made it too big for the intended recipient. =) I need to work on my sizing for smaller feet.

Still working on this one, I pick it up occasionally while watching Heroes on my laptop. I love the colors in this one so much, I think I'll have to keep it for myself.

My fabulous new birthday present project bag from The Jello Flinger. It's GINORMOUS!! I can fit darn near all my WIP's in it. And it's Alexander Henry which I LOVE!!!!

This is the needle case she also made me out of one of my antique flour sacks from the 1930's. It looks like a reprint it's in such good condition.

Here's the inside with all the sundries in it. I can't wait to travel with it and show it off. Thank you again for my lovely gifts!! (I also updated my Ravelry stash with all my new yarn.)

Chemo Cap

2009-05-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

Went today and picked this yarn out to make a chemo cap for my DH's Aunt. I am using this pattern, hoping to shelve some socks-in-progress and cast on for this today. (Here's the blog link for non-Raveler's.... http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/kpatt18.htm )

Gauge? What's gauge?

2009-04-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

First off, let me say that I did not knit these. Those who know me know that I am not too fond of the gauge swatch. So far I prefer to knit things that have a certain flexibility in their sizing. =)
I bought these longies off of Mothering Dot Community a few years back before I knew too much about either knitting or proper sizing of wool soakers. Shortly after these arrived in the mail they were dubbed "The Clown Pants." They are just so wrong on so many levels.

They measure 17 inches. Everywhere. No matter where you are measuring. The rise? 17 inches. Legs? 17 inches. Width across? You guessed it....17 inches. They are HUGE!!! Like ginormous. Like you could fit TWO 4 year olds in these at the same time. It made me a little bit sad today when I found them while cleaning out my sewing room. Obviously whoever knit these had knitting skill. They used short rows in the seat, nicely done cuffs on the bottom, no dropped or missed stitches anywhere, and an I-cord for the drawstring. I'm not sure why they didn't notice the SIZE. So I decided to unravel them to at least save the yarn. I love the colors, from orange to teal and purple, and back again. (Not too fond of the pooling, but maybe a different pattern or project would knit up differently.)

I am wrapping it around one of my widest quilting rulers for right now. The colors really are very pleasing. Kind of reminds me of goldfish for some reason...

Spinning Wheel

2009-04-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here it is. My new Ashford Traditional. I have looked a few times on Craigslist, but never managed to find anything before it was already sold. I got a call on Saturday from a friend who said she had been at a moving sale and saw it there. She wasn't in the market for one, but wanted to make sure her friends knew about it. So I went and looked at it on Sunday (with Sabbath along as my expert!) and I bought it on the spot for a heckuva deal! Now I have to learn how to spin...

I also got this box of extras-- spools, flyer, repair/tool kit, etc.

And this Lazy Kate. That I don't know how to use. Yet. Can you say roving???

Blocked Sock

2009-04-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here's sock #1of Los Monos Locos laying out blocked. I think it would block up much nicer with sock blockers. Maybe I'll buy myself some for Mother's Day.

Here's a 32 stitch toe waiting for a pattern. I've been through 5 pages of Ravelry and haven't found a pattern yet that is calling out to me...

Knitting Night

2009-04-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

A sugar cookie crust fruit pizza....

A sock in progress...

Some wine...

Winding up a new yarn cake.... It was a good knitting night.

Toe-Up!!!!

2009-04-20T05:12:00.001-07:00

My first toe-up! Using the Turkish cast-on. Which was chosen after spending way too much time on the internet, but do I feel is the EASIEST one out there. Maybe Sabbath or Liberty can explain the "provisional cast-on using waste yarn" to me. Why??? Sounds tedious and unecessary... This pattern is Los Monos Locos which are the "no-purl" Monkey's. I have a pair already from Sabbath and LOVE THEM! I am knitting these in Dream In Color Smooshy Punky Fuschia that was a gift from my friend Jen. Which, at the time she gave me the yarn, I was barely knitting dishcloths. =) So I had to get my game on pretty quickly so I could deserve this beautiful colorway! I cast these on (alright I actually knit the toe 3 times obsessing over perfection on Saturday and plan to be down to the heel after knitting night tonight. It knits up super fast! It's got an 8 row lace pattern repeat that is knit only on one of your circulars, easy enough to keep track of even with kids jabbering at you!

Here's an updated picture on my Sock of Kindness. I stopped when I got down to where I need to start the heel. Which is why I cast on for another sock project. =)

Socks of Kindness

2009-04-13T07:47:00.001-07:00

So, here is Queen Mab again. I had to tear out the last pattern I was trying because I couldn't make it work. Even Sabbath couldn't make it work. Which tells me there might be a technical or mathematical error in the pattern as it was written. Since I can barely follow a pattern at this point, I wasn't feeling up to re-writing it. I do love this new pattern I'm knitting though. Socks of Kindness is really easy, the pattern shows up early (for those impatient folks among us) and as long as you have a row counter you can stop and start fairly easily. This picture shows two repeats of the finished 12 rows. Zipping right along....

Queen Mab

2009-04-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

Here is my next work in progress. (Don't worry I'm still doing the 2nd blue sock right now too!) This is Queen Mab from Liberty's Yarn. Not sure yet what pattern I'm going with, I have 2 or 3 picked out. We'll see what I feel like after I have the ribbed cuff done. I went up a needle size too because I knit tightly (which is awesome for a sock knitter!) but would like a little bit of a looser feel to my socks. This is a size 3 with fingering weight. Patterns in the running so far are: Monkey, Nauset, and Twisted Waffles. (If those links don't work for you, that's a sure sign that you need a Ravelry account!)

Spring Socks

2009-04-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here's my new Stripey Spring Socks. Finished last Saturday morning at 7:30 just in time to wear to the Natural Living Expo. Which had been my goal for completion all week. This yarn knit up super fast. I am glad I got another colorway in it too. This was the 1st pair of socks I knit to completion for myself. And they are darn near perfect, If I do say so....

How I do a Heel Flap

2009-03-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

So I have noticed that I have been blogging a lot lately about all things knitting. Perhaps enough to move them over here to their own blog. So this is "A Daily Dose of Fiber"; and while I do certainly knit on an almost daily basis, I don't know that I will be blogging about it quite so often. But I will be posting various links, projects, and tutorials here. Things that made me go, "A-HA!!!" Maybe they will do the same for you! Lisa H. this post is for you!

So I've done some socks now. Getting better each pair, although I haven't truly turned out a major disaster yet. Probably due to my willingness to rip..rip...rip. However, there is a spot on each heel flap pattern where I keep getting stuck. I turn it this way, and that way, and curse at it, and go, "BUT I"VE DONE THIS BEFORE!!! WTF!!!!" It seems like every time I get done turning the heel and need to pick up my side stitches to do the gusset....my needles would be facing the wrong way. Huh? How is that even physically possible? I'm honestly not sure, but my friend Jenn P. had a solution for me anyway.

When I have my 18 stitches left on the needle, she told me to knit back across them once...

Like this. And you know what? It's genius! Then I am ready to pick up my side stitches easily with the needles faced the right way.

Here. Truly this is magic for me. I don't know why it seems my needles aren't facing the correct way for what the pattern tells me to do.... but this seems to correct it for me! Much faster sock knitting for me. Less cursing = faster knitting. Win/Win situation.