I won! I took third place in the "A Butterfly and a _____" contest. How exciting! Now I've got another package to anticipate -- elephant stitch markers. Wanna see?
(Stitch Markers made by FishBabeez on Etsy)Thursday, August 14, 2008
Contest Results
(Stitch Markers made by FishBabeez on Etsy)
Friday, August 8, 2008
A Butterfly and a __________
So, what is it? The butterfly is obvious, but even though I know it's an eye and some really dark lashes, it always looks like a caterpillar to me. A fuzzy little caterpillar just seems to belong better with the butterfly than an eyeball. Plus my own eyes are really twitchy, and I don't like to think of an eye just sitting there in an avatar, vulnerable to anything on the internet that wants to stab it. Add to that the fact that this avatar (Ravatar) is used at Ravelry, home of all kinds of knitting needles and crochet hooks, and someone with a too-vivid imagination could have a really hard time looking at it at all.
I really wish I could see the elephant trunk though. That sounds cool.
This blog entry is for a contest on Ravelry, in case any of my regular readers -- oh, who am I kidding? In case Wiz is confused, since she's the only one reading right now anyway. Hi Wiz!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Swap!
My spoilee got her package yesterday, and she liked it! Whew! I'd been kind of worried since it's my first swap. And since I'm, you know, me. I come from a long line of worriers. I've cut down a lot, but haven't been able to kick the habit yet. Is there a patch or anything?
Anyway, here's what I sent:
Yarn: Manos Silk Blend (very yummy)
and Knit Picks Bare (undyed) worsted
Three Ball Band Washcloths -- one for each of her kids
Two Mason-Dixon Washcloths for tdeane (Ravelry ID) herself. Or one for her and one for her SO, if she has one. They're tied up around bars of soap, with brown ribbon since that's her favorite color.
One of the M-D Washcloths spread out.
One of the soaps. This is handmade soap from the Gitchee Gumee Soap Company, located in Ashland, Wisconsin. Which is just south of Bayfield, home of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, the Seagull Bay Motel, and the future moot that I'm hosting, whenever I can pull it off. Yes, everyone will most likely be getting GG soaps in the Moot Bags that year. The scents are really great. This one smells like the shore, and there's one that really smells like the deep woods parts of an old forest. (Not the edges of the forest. You'd have to hike at least half a mile in to find the right scent.
It was suggested that we include something from our home area with our swap package, but there's nothing from around here that really speaks to me. However, the Wisconsin Northwoods are the home of my heart, so I decided that they count.
In case anyone's interested, this was Swap on a Budget, a Ravelry group. The moderators are great. There are angel plans if someone drops out, although I haven't heard of that happening yet this time around. (The official end date is August 29, and at least half of the people have received their packages already.) There are already plans for another round of swapping sometime this winter. Also, I like the budget part. I can manage $20 for one package. A lot of other swaps are beyond my means at the moment.
Anyway, here's what I sent:
Yarn: Manos Silk Blend (very yummy)and Knit Picks Bare (undyed) worsted
Three Ball Band Washcloths -- one for each of her kids
Two Mason-Dixon Washcloths for tdeane (Ravelry ID) herself. Or one for her and one for her SO, if she has one. They're tied up around bars of soap, with brown ribbon since that's her favorite color.
One of the M-D Washcloths spread out.
One of the soaps. This is handmade soap from the Gitchee Gumee Soap Company, located in Ashland, Wisconsin. Which is just south of Bayfield, home of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, the Seagull Bay Motel, and the future moot that I'm hosting, whenever I can pull it off. Yes, everyone will most likely be getting GG soaps in the Moot Bags that year. The scents are really great. This one smells like the shore, and there's one that really smells like the deep woods parts of an old forest. (Not the edges of the forest. You'd have to hike at least half a mile in to find the right scent.It was suggested that we include something from our home area with our swap package, but there's nothing from around here that really speaks to me. However, the Wisconsin Northwoods are the home of my heart, so I decided that they count.
In case anyone's interested, this was Swap on a Budget, a Ravelry group. The moderators are great. There are angel plans if someone drops out, although I haven't heard of that happening yet this time around. (The official end date is August 29, and at least half of the people have received their packages already.) There are already plans for another round of swapping sometime this winter. Also, I like the budget part. I can manage $20 for one package. A lot of other swaps are beyond my means at the moment.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Knitting, Knitting, All the Time
I've made a bit of progress on the Pink Ribbon socks. I'd begun the ribbing, and that was dragging on forever. I'm not entirely sure which project got started, displacing the socks from their "main project" position, but displaced they were.
However, now they're back, and I'm very excited about them. I didn't bother doing a swatch, thinking that if they were too big (according to the pattern) that I'd just keep them for myself. As swollen as my legs and feet are these days, they're well off the sock charts. And yes, they are big. Perhaps even big enough to fit me. I think they might be. (I must be the loosest knitter in the world or something.) I'm shortening the leg significantly, both for comfort and to (hopefully) leave me enough yarn for both feet. Just over half of the ribbing that's called for in the pattern, and I'm only going to do 2 repeats of the ribbon pattern, instead of 4.
And I can always buy more yarn if I have to. It's a cotton/nylon/spandex blend (came in a kit), and I'm not exactly in love with it. I'm constantly afraid that I'll end up leaving this too loose or pull it too tightly. I'm using my new KnitPicks dpns though, and I love them.
However, now they're back, and I'm very excited about them. I didn't bother doing a swatch, thinking that if they were too big (according to the pattern) that I'd just keep them for myself. As swollen as my legs and feet are these days, they're well off the sock charts. And yes, they are big. Perhaps even big enough to fit me. I think they might be. (I must be the loosest knitter in the world or something.) I'm shortening the leg significantly, both for comfort and to (hopefully) leave me enough yarn for both feet. Just over half of the ribbing that's called for in the pattern, and I'm only going to do 2 repeats of the ribbon pattern, instead of 4.
And I can always buy more yarn if I have to. It's a cotton/nylon/spandex blend (came in a kit), and I'm not exactly in love with it. I'm constantly afraid that I'll end up leaving this too loose or pull it too tightly. I'm using my new KnitPicks dpns though, and I love them.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Hat!
It seems like I've been knitting along for weeks with nothing to show for it, but tonight I finished something that is Not for my Spoilee for the Swap. Without further ado, let me present the Coronet Hat from Knitty.
not quite done yet 
The finished product:
Mickey Mouse modeling
It was wide enough for his ears to fit, but unfortunately it caused him to go blind.
and on an (allegedly) actual human 
not quite done yet 
The finished product:
Mickey Mouse modeling
It was wide enough for his ears to fit, but unfortunately it caused him to go blind.
and on an (allegedly) actual human 
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Something New, Lots of Blue
I'm participating in my first swap, as I mentioned last post. And I got my package! Woohoo!
Wanna see?
Everything: yarn, candle, stitch markers, card, signed mystery, crochet hook / DPN / pencil case, and a "ring light" (a light to be worn on your finger -- adjustable via velcro, and with strobe option)
The yarn, close-up. Sock yarn! My first for-me socks!
The small stuff -- with and without a lovely blue effect from the LED light.
Close-up of the stitch markers.
Yay Yay Yay!
Also, if you want some stitch markers of your own, check out her Etsy shop. She also makes and sells jewelry.
Wanna see?
Everything: yarn, candle, stitch markers, card, signed mystery, crochet hook / DPN / pencil case, and a "ring light" (a light to be worn on your finger -- adjustable via velcro, and with strobe option)
The yarn, close-up. Sock yarn! My first for-me socks!
The small stuff -- with and without a lovely blue effect from the LED light.
Close-up of the stitch markers.
Yay Yay Yay!
Also, if you want some stitch markers of your own, check out her Etsy shop. She also makes and sells jewelry.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Blah. Again.
Still nothing much going on in my life. Same old job -- never heard anything after that interview. Same old school, albeit I don't have to go to the campus very often this summer. Same housing situation. Same medical crap. Blah.
I've joined a new (to me) group on Ravelry -- Swap on a Budget. The limit is $20, not the $60 or so that I've seen for other swaps, so this is doable for me. I bought my spoilee's yarn today, though I'm not telling what it is, just in case she's reading this. I know that a couple of people in the swap are working hard on finding out who has their name. Wouldn't want to make it easy for them to eliminate me from their potential spoiler list(s). It's beautiful stuff though, and so soft. Definitely petable. I've got the other stuff that I'm sending, too. All that's left is to finish the handmade item(s), currently about 60% completed.
I've been playing around a little with my camera, trying to get a good picture of Lilac, perhaps to post here. Unfortunately, she hasn't been cooperating, or the camera hates her, or the lights in the house hate all of us, or something, because she inevitably looks possessed or like a cardboard cutout in the pictures. I'll keep working on it though. I don't like not having access to any snapshots of her. (My mom does have some, but they're stored in the great Somewhere.)
Off to knit another traveling scarf now. This yarn isn't quite as squishy, but it's still nice, and it matches Every. Single. Yarn. that's already in the scarf. I didn't think that was going to be possible.
I've joined a new (to me) group on Ravelry -- Swap on a Budget. The limit is $20, not the $60 or so that I've seen for other swaps, so this is doable for me. I bought my spoilee's yarn today, though I'm not telling what it is, just in case she's reading this. I know that a couple of people in the swap are working hard on finding out who has their name. Wouldn't want to make it easy for them to eliminate me from their potential spoiler list(s). It's beautiful stuff though, and so soft. Definitely petable. I've got the other stuff that I'm sending, too. All that's left is to finish the handmade item(s), currently about 60% completed.
I've been playing around a little with my camera, trying to get a good picture of Lilac, perhaps to post here. Unfortunately, she hasn't been cooperating, or the camera hates her, or the lights in the house hate all of us, or something, because she inevitably looks possessed or like a cardboard cutout in the pictures. I'll keep working on it though. I don't like not having access to any snapshots of her. (My mom does have some, but they're stored in the great Somewhere.)
Off to knit another traveling scarf now. This yarn isn't quite as squishy, but it's still nice, and it matches Every. Single. Yarn. that's already in the scarf. I didn't think that was going to be possible.
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