Christmas donations

One of my friends has designated me as the "Hat Queen" since I've done so many. Well, now that my church is collecting hats, scarves, mitts, gloves for Christmas, I guess I'll be knitting more. :D

We're also collecting for the church's charitable organization, so if you'd like to help us buy some buffalo, please stop by here: http://outreach-international.org/ and designate Kirkwood congregation.

Sadness

I'm very sad today, because one of my favorite knitting buddies passed away a couple of days ago. She was a very nice Aussie woman who moved here after WWII as a war bride. She and her daughter are in my knitting guild, and she also knit with me at my library group.

She will be missed.

Shawls

Looks like I'm a pink freak, but I'm not!

The first one is plain pink sock yarn that I bought to do some pink ribbon socks, but never got around to doing.

Next one is a simple feather and fan pattern using Lion Brand microspun.

Last one is Lion Brand Organic Cotton, pattern from the Lion Brand website called Edith Shawl. It was very easy as well. I made mine longer and wider by adding 2 more balls of yarn, and one more repeat in the width. It needs to be blocked!

Even more hats!

These are for charity. My library group does a lot of knitting and crocheting for charity, and these went to the child services group that collects at Christmas time.

The beige fleck one at the top is a mock cable, the rest are all stockinette. All of the yarn is Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn." I do like that yarn, but am disappointed that it seems to go up in price every time I'm in the store.

Hats!

You all know how I love making hats! This is a really easy pattern using chunky yarn. You CO 68 stitches on 11s, do 2x2 rib for about 1 1/2", then increase to 77 stitches, knit all around on 13s. Knit until you have about 6 inches or so, then start decreasing until you have to use DPNs, then finish off.

The yarns, from top left, clockwise, are Sensations Angel Hair Red multi from Jo-Ann, some hand-dyed I bought on Etsy, and Nikki by Cascade-http://www.cascadeyarns.com/cascade-Nikki.asp

Christmas socks-2

These are for Christmas presents-my SIL, me! and brother. You've already seen the ones for my Mom.

I'm not sure how I feel about the hot pink background, but I was getting tired of the off white afghan I usually use. I'm also not sure how I feel about the middle ones, because they sort of remind me of Red Hat colors. lol Sure, I'm mature enough to join, but don't really fancy being in the group. I hate that yarn, though. I've bitched about it before. It's from Mary Maxim, and while it's nice enough to use, I had to rewind one of the balls to make sure the stripes would match! Yes, they were wound in opposite directions. Actually, 3 of the pairs I bought had to be rewound.

some finished items-part one

Wow-what a catchy title! But seriously, it's exciting enough when one finishes something, so that should be sufficient. :)

Scarves were knit for either a shop owner friend or charity. I haven't had a chance to price them yet, so if she doesn't want them, I'll either give them away to the kids' group or maybe put them on Etsy.

Christmas socks

No, they aren't really Christmas socks, but they are socks for Christmas-a gift for my mom! They are Berrocco Sox Metallic. The cuff is mock cable rib-pretty easy. I knitted them on size 0, 47" circ. I started them for myself, but decided to make them for my mom instead. I have some more of this yarn in the lime green colorway for my SIL.



I have finished a few things lately, but haven't had a chance to upload photos. I've finished a couple of shawls, a baby blanket, a baby hat, some charity hats and squares. I'm always knitting on socks as well.

Nothing much new around here! LOL

Next project?

Sheesh, where have I been lately? Things have been kind of blah lately.

Well, I broke my foot. No excuse for not posting, but I haven't really finished anything lately, either. I'm still working on my pink lace shawl, and the pink short sleeved cardi, and some socks.

I think this might be a fun project to work on. It looks pretty easy, at least compared to the Zims I made a couple of years ago!

http://www.knitting-bee.com/free-knitting-patterns/amigurumi/bender-amigurumi

News of the Weird 13 June 2010

WEIRDNUZ.M166 (News of the Weird, June 13, 2010)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2010 by Chuck Shepherd.  All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* It's clear, based on a May Time magazine dispatch, that Norway's
felons and miscreants are of a superior class than America's.  When
Norway's brand-new Halden prison opened in April, the country's
King Harald V headlined a glitzy gala that celebrated what has been
called the world's "most humane" lockup.  Among the facilities:  a
sound studio, jogging trails, a guest house for inmates' visitors, and
a scrumptious-smelling "kitchen laboratory" where murderers and
bandits can learn to cook.  Guards are unarmed (half are women)
and intermingle with the rapists, drug dealers, and others, dining
with them and joining them in intramural sports.  The recidivist rate
for Norwegian prisoners in general is only 20 percent (versus 50-60
percent in the United States), but it is still early to tell whether
Halden's prisoners will find life behind bars so pleasant that they
don't mind risking another stretch there by returning to crime.
[Time, 5-10-10]

Leading Economic Indicators

* Cutting-Edge Products:  (1) A Portland, Ore., inventor recently
began offering a colorful patch designed to cover the area just below
a dog's tail.  The "Rear Gear" is featured on the handmade-crafts'
site, Etsy.com.  (2) Tyrone Henry and Fermin Esson, of Opa Locka,
Fla., near Miami, told reporters they were recently granted a patent
for "saggy pants" that they say will satisfy young men's street-
fashion sense yet not run afoul of municipal laws around the country
banning exposed underwear. [Portland Mercury, 3-29-10] [WCBS-
TV-WFOR-TV (Miami), 2-1-10]

* Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission, On Edge:
Last November, the government of North Korea made an ultimately
disastrous decision to radically devalue its currency, overnight
making 100 North Korean won worth 1 North Korean won, and the
country's citizens (as well as, reportedly, the Dear Leader himself)
were not pleased.  Three months later, without much fanfare, came
the official announcement that the government's (i.e., the Workers'
Party's) chief finance minister, Pak Nam-gi, had been executed by
firing squad. [The Guardian (London), 3-18-10]

* In May, the German manufacturer Ex Oriente Lux AG set up its
"Gold To Go" vending machine in the lobby of Abu Dhabi's
Emirates Palace Hotel, offering gold coins and one-, five-, and ten-
gram bars of gold, based on the current world price at the time of
the transaction. [Agence France-Presse, 5-13-10]

Transcendent Science

* Intelligent Design:  Among the new species first reported this year
are a "nose" leech, a "Dracula" fish, a "psychedelic" frogfish, and a
"bombardier" worm, according to scientists at the University of
Arizona and medical school researchers Lima, Peru.  The Peru-
based leech, which is fanged and probably has been around since
the time of dinosaurs, prefers nasal mucus as a habitat.  The
"Dracula" fish of Myanmar, with "canine-like fangs," has an
extraordinarily flexible mouth.  The multi-colored frogfish has
apparently adapted to live among the colorful, venomous coral off
Bali, Indonesia.  The "bombardier" worm, found in California's
Monterey Bay, releases glow-in-the-dark projectiles when
threatened. [Discovery Channel-MSNBC, 4-15-10;
LiveScience.com, 5-23-10]

* Until recently, researchers were certain that at least one ability
separated humans from higher-functioning apes:  the creation and
use of tools for sex.  However, primatologists writing in a recent
issue of Science described a male chimpanzee's repetitive use of a
dried leaf in the same way that a male human of a certain class
might employ a fast car.  In the presence of a female chimp, the
male carefully crinkles the leaf until she--seemingly accustomed to
such leaf-crinkling--notices the male, along with his generous
erection, and may then choose to join him. [New York Times, 5-4-
10]

* Too Much Information:  British and Australian researchers,
writing in a journal article in March, concluded that the world's
strongest insect (relative to body weight) is the male dung beetle,
which can lift more than 1,100 times its weight (equivalent for an
average male human:  80 tons).  Since the beetles mate inside dung
patties, their every move is a struggle against the resistance posed
by the feces. (On the other hand, the researchers also found weaker
dung beetles that mated just fine--helped not by their strength but by
unusually large testicles.)  [Agence France-Presse, 3-24-10]

* Sounds Like a Joke:  University of Michigan computer engineer
Wei Lu revealed in April that he and colleagues were working on a
new supercomputer design that is a radical departure from current
computer architecture.  Wei Lu's design breakthrough (which has
piqued the interest of the Pentagon's DARPA think-tankers) is to
model the operating system like the brain of a cat, he said, even
though his supercomputer could never actually outperform the cat's
brain.  [New York Daily News, 4-19-10]

The Aristocrats!

* Last September, James Jones, 33, and a friend were issued
disorderly-conduct citations by police after witnesses reported that
the pair, inebriated, had placed their genitals on a vegetables'
weighing scale in a supermarket in Edinburgh, Scotland.  (They
were acquitted in April 2010 when the only witness admitted that
she only saw the men zipping up after claiming to have weighed
themselves.) [STV News (Edinburgh), 4-22-10]

* Fluids Festivals:  (1) A 44-year-old man was charged with battery
in Crestview, Fla., in April as a result of a fight with his girlfriend,
during which he pinched off one of his nostrils and blew mucus and
blood out of the other (with contents landing on her "face, chest,
arms, and pants").  (2) Madison, Wis., neighbors Nina Bell, 56, and
Arnessa Battles, 38, were cited for disorderly conduct in March in a
dispute over Battles's dog's winter-long output of droppings that had
just been revealed by melting snow.  According to the police report,
by the time an officer arrived on the scene, both of the women had
smeared each other's cars with large quantities of dog poop.
[Northwest Florida Daily News, 4-23-10] [Wisconsin State Journal,
3-9-10]

People Different From Us

* World-class sword-swallower Chayne Hultgre, 32, is a veteran of
such exhibitions as Scotland's Kamikaze Freakshow, as well as this
year's Psycho Sideshow in Australia, and he holds the Guinness
Book record by downing 18 swords simultaneously.  Part of his
skill, he told Sydney's Daily Telegraph in April, is learning to relax
his body, but he also credited his five-inch-longer-than-normal
stomach and his decision to implant a row of magnets along his
breastbone that he says ever-so-slightly diverts the metal swords
away from vital organs.  Reminiscing, Hultgren noted that once,
during a show's run in Belgium, an average of seven spectators a
night were fainting (known in the trade as "falling ovations").  What
does Hultgre's future hold?  "I've never had another job." [Daily
Telegraph (Sydney), 4-3-10]

Least Competent Criminals

* Not Ready for Prime-Time Crime:  (1) Jacob Collins, 28, was
arrested in April and charged with burglary of Matlack's Hometown
Pharmacy in Landisville, N.J., despite the fact that the medicine he
stole was probably by mistake.  Police said they were almost certain
Collins was after the painkiller "Oxycontin" but instead swiped a
supply of "Oxybutynin," which treats overactive bladder.  (2) On the
other hand, Sean Almond, 43, was charged on the same day as
Collins for allegedly robbing the Kangaroo Mart on Wilroy Road in
Suffolk, Va., and could have used some Oxybutynin.  Almond was
caught immediately after the robbery because his getaway was
delayed.  He was spotted in a nearby alley, where he had been
overcome by a sudden urge to relieve himself. [Press of Atlantic
City, 4-22-10] [Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk), 4-23-10]

A News of the Weird Classic (April 1995)

* In March [1995], after the president of the Puerto Rico House of
Representatives accused him of illegal drug use, Sen. Freddie
Valentin denied the charge and led reporters into a restroom in the
Capitol building in San Juan, where he yielded a urine sample that
he later submitted to the Senate leadership.  A TV cameraman shot
over Valentin's shoulder, and journalist Sonia Salgado's play-by-
play radio report ended, "I have just transmitted, for the first time
ever, a senator taking a pee before the media." [Austin American-
Statesman-AP, 3-18-95] .378

    Thanks This Week to Matt Rushing, Gerald Sacks, Sandy
Pearlman, Jim Kane, and Jon Doughtie, and to the News of the
Weird Senior Advisors and Board of Editorial Advisors.

Posted via email from Fab's posterous

Scarves

Some new projects

Hmmm where have I been....

Well, lots of places, I guess. We went to NY and Canada earlier this spring for a couple of weeks. We helped the boy move last week. He's still in IA City, but moved from one dorm/apt to the graduate student apts-Hawkeye CT, can you beat it? LOL

I've been pretty busy with knitting, as usual. I need to upload some pics of finished items and UFOs. But as I'm on the laptop now, and the photos are on the other computer, who knows when I'll get them posted? They'll just show up in a flurry of photos, I guess. :P

Happy Memorial Day weekend, and remember those who have served, and are serving now. Enjoy your personal freedoms.

KAL Flatfeet version

This is the same Little Shell stitch pattern for the March/April EasySocks group KAL, but done in Flatfeet sock yarn instead of worsted weight yarn in the previous entry.

Easy Socks group KAL May/June

Greetings, sock fans! :)

This KAL is a variation of the previous KAL from Sept/Oct 2009. The sock is constructed in a similar way, except the cuff/leg will have a different pattern stitch. See this entry for basic sock instructions, as well as a link to good instructions for a short row heel. Not trying to be lazy, but why reinvent the wheel? :P
http://fabjacuzzi.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

The pattern is called "Little Shell," and a good picture of the stitch itself can be found here: http://www.knittingonthenet.com/stitches/littleshell.htm However, those instructions are for a flat piece with 2 extra edge/selvage stitches. Since you'll be knitting in the round, you will eliminate those extra 2 stitches.

The pattern is worked over a multiple of 7 stitches-42, 49, 56, 63, 70-depending on the weight of the yarn you've chosen. My example is made from Jeanne cotton/nylon worsted weight. I CO 42 stitches on size 4 DPNs. You can also use two circular needles or one long circular needle for the Magic Loop method.

CO 42 stitches, divide evenly over 3 or 4 DPNs, join in round, being careful not to twist stitches. You may knit about an inch of 1x1 or 2x2 ribbing as I did in the example, or go right into your pattern as I have done on the FlatFeet pair I'm working on now.

R1) Knit
R2) Knit
R3-Pattern Round) *K2, yo, P1, P3tog, P1, yo* repeat to end of round
R4) Knit

Repeat these 4 rounds for pattern until you have the length you prefer. You may continue the pattern on the top of the foot, but sometimes a plain stockinette stitch is more comfortable in the shoe, especially with a thicker yarn like this. You'll knit plain about an inch before starting your heel. As you may remember, I prefer a short row heel. It's very easy to remember, and it fits me well. You may prefer to do a heel flap or a different type of heel. The fun part about sock knitting is that there are so many different variations and ways to construct a sock.

Once you've turned your heel, you will begin the plain knitting for the foot. If you worked a heel flap, you will need to decrease for your gusset. If you've done a short row heel, you will already be at the required number of stitches, and won't need to include a gusset. Continue until you are about 1 1/2" short of the finished length, then begin the decreases for the toe. Decrease until you have 8 total stitches left, cut yarn, and thread through the stitches, and weave in the ends.

Make another sock exactly like this one, and you'll be stylin' in no time!

Regia Lace

I finished these in June 2009, but didn't share for some odd reason. :P At least, as far as I can tell, these socks aren't on the blog. Well....hehe, they are now, right?

Speaking of disappointing sock yarn....

I've ordered a few times from Mary Maxim and Knitpiks, and have been generally pleased with the products I've ordered. However......

The last 6 skeins (2 of each color) of sock yarn I've ordered from MM have all had to be rewound. Well, one of the two has had to be rewound because they were wound opposite of each other! For those of you that don't knit, this means that if you pull from the center of the ball/skein, the stripes will come out backward. I was disappointed, to say the least. The sandstone colorway I just finished was okay. But naturally, the ones with the really long stripe repeats weren't!

I've always been pretty happy with what I've ordered from Knitpiks as well, until this last couple of skeins of sock yarn. It's the purple/pink/green colorway, and even though they are the same dye lot, they are totally different! I'm only hoping that nobody gets close enough to my feet to actually notice. It's disheartening to put in so much time in something, only to have it not quite match. If I were using this in a sweater or a larger item, I would have had to send them back. I'm very nervous about the other color I ordered.

Austermann Step.....I've made 4 or 5 pair of this yarn and it's always been great.....until this last skein I started for Ned. Those skeins are large enough so that you only need one for a pair. The stripes match up pretty well until about the 3rd repeat, then it's totally off! (I almost felt like it was Noro or something. :P) Where there should be a wide light/medium blue stripe, there is a very short dark blue stripe. The only thing I can think of is that the yarn got stuck in the roller as the dye was being sprayed on it, and it got all the blue dye in one little section that was meant for a much longer section. Dunno....

Well, that's my rant for the evening-I guess I'll go back to finishing some more socks. LOL

More socks for the DH

Seems like that's all I do is knit socks.... :P
These are Mary Maxim's "Sandstone" and they turned out quite nice! Although, as I look through my photos, I notice that there is another pair for Ned that is very similar. Thankfully he loves them all. :D

KAL finished!

I finished these socks for the EasySocks group over a week ago, but am just now getting around to uploading the photo.

The group had been pretty slow, which isn't too surprising since it was Christmas, so the owner started a "Resurgence KAL" to get everyone back in the swing of things. The rules were simple- the project had to be socks (duh), had to be started after her announcement, we had to post a photo of them in progress, and they have to be finished by the 28th of Feb.

Mine are Magic Stripes Denim colorway for ME! :D It's probably my fave sock pattern-simple 2x2 rib on cuff and st st foot.

I'm only posting the finished socks here-the others are on the yahoogroup site.