Getting ready for winter!

So I have been knitting but its seems like I haven't finished that much.
I'm still working on the never ending pink socks. I finished the first one a long time ago but I have a good amount of second one done. I want to get this done for winter because they are so dense the I think I'll be able to still wear my favorite shoes even in the snow with these socks. So we will see. I don't have a pic of the second sock but I have so many of the first one and they look just the same so I don't think I need any in progress shots of it. But I will have many whenever I get them finished!

I have also knit a new hat for myself this winter. Its from the movie the golden compass and its based on one of the hats that Lyra in the movie wears. This pic isn't very good its pretty yellow. I will take some new pics later for it.

I really love this hat and for most people it would have probably to many colors but for me its great. I love things that are multicolored that is why I used this yarn for the hat.

This hat had a long starting process. I started working on it before I even moved but I didn't like it. The hat is supposed to be knit with really big yarn so you can see the stitches and I did have they yarn all together so it would be at that point but I have learned that I do not like to knit with really big yarn. I have learn that from this project and the bathmat project I have been working on. So I scrapped that and unwound all the yarn from each other and balled it all up again separately 4 different strands. So then I just put 2 together and knit it in a smaller gauge.

For this hat I used Gedifra Fashion Trend Fino Stripe yarn in colorway 4666. I also used Knit Picks Swish DK in the storm color to add a whole color threw the hat. I turned out well because the blue worked well with all the other colors in the multi yarn.

I have also started a scarf. I want to have a new scarf when it get colder here so I started the

Shifting Sands Scarf by Grumperina and I am using Malabrigo Yarn in the worsted weight. The color is burgandy but just saying burgandy doesn't describe it very well. It is a deep rich red color. It is lovey, soft, and shiny like all Malabrigo is. So when this scarf is actually big enough to see I'll take some pics of that.


That is what I have been up to on the knitting front. I have been so busy with my photography class this semester that is really all I have been doing. On the plus side of that I enter an art show that we had on campus over parents weekend and my photography I put in won first place. Here is a picture of it with its lovey ribbon.

It is a photo of a pair of high heels set on fire. For my class we had to take pictures of things that are cliches but in a new way. So I gathered up a whole bunch of stuff and set it on fire. This idea turned out really well and I really love a lot of the pictures that I took for it and by the looks of it other people did it.


One last knitting note. Now that I have moved I have my own little place to keep my yarn stash that I feel is rather cute. Here is a photo of it when it was nice and orderly. It does not look like that now but oh well.

The shelf that it is in I painted myself about a year ago and when I moved it found a new home. Also I think it is a good use for my weird hallway in this apartment.

Lack of blogging

I haven't blogged for a long time. I've been really busy lately. I've moved and had a job for the last bit of the summer and now school is starting tomorrow so I have had to do all the things that go with that. I've been knitting but it doesn't seem like I have finished anything lately.
So maybe if I can get the knitting group back together on campus I will get somethings done.

Here is a pic of one thing I have finished and is
not up here. I made this really fast for a
co-worker of my mom who is having a baby.
I don't really know the lady but I haven't had a chance to knit something for a baby so I jumped on it. They knit up really fast so that was nice. It probably took longer to weave in all the ends than to knit them up.


Thats all for now.

Don't Knit and drink...Or don't drink and leave your sharp DPN's on the floor..

Last night I had a knitting and cocktail accident. It wasn’t oh I knit all these stitches wrong kinda accident though..

We were having some very strong cosmos last night and I was working on a sock while we talked, drank, and watched a movie. As the evening progressed I stopped knitting because I did not want to mess up my sock so it ended up on the floor on top of my purse. So later in the evening I was getting up to pet the dog and I musted have stepped down wrong and ended up with a sharp metal knitpicks DPN in the side of my foot threw my blue jeans. I think it went in somewhere between and half to an inch into my foot but I could be wrong everything was kinda fuzzy.

So I pulled it out and checked the wound and it bled a bit but not to bad. But it hurts today so we’ll see how it goes. Luckily I am up to date on my tetanus shots.

The Internet

The internet is like one big yarn store that is open 24 hours a day and is always taunting me and pulling me to it.

Even my paypal is against me. Yes my lovely paypal we have been friends for several years now making very carefully selected purchases. Never to much and never to frequent but now my paypal has gone an added a new feature to auto fill any website that asks you for your shipping and billing information.....So with just a click click click it is done and not just to those stores that are friends with paypal too but with any store my paypal will now work securely with. (I think my friend paypal getting around town quite a bit these days)

What is a poor yarn addict to do? I cannot buy every yarn that strikes my fancy. Especially since I want to buy a sweaters worth of yarn. I don't even know how much yarn is a sweaters worth for me because I have never made a sweater!! I am quite ridiculous I know but I cannot help it.
Does anyone know if there is a 12 step meeting I can go to for yarn addicts?

Knit Knit Knnniiittttttttttinggggg

So as I have been on grandma guard this week I still have been knitting a lot . My wrist is hurting a bit today from knitting so much. So its time to pull out the wrist brace for awhile. Its quite annoying but something I dealt with a lot.

So with my knitting I have finished on wip. I finished the Little Ruff that I have been working on.

I do like it I think I look rather silly when wearing it. But I think it will go better with a coat and hat and all the other things I wear in the winter so it will be put away untill then. But I am still not sure about the button I put on it. I love the button but I am not sure if it is for this or not. So I am going to think on that for awhile unless I come across another button that speaks to me.


















I also have been working on my Pink Socks. I have gotten some of the heel done but I need to take a break from it for awhile. I hope when I get my Knit Picks dpns that they are stronger than the metal ones I have now. Because one of them has gotten quite curved during the knitting. Its annoying but if I would have been using wooden ones they probably would have been broken by now.

But the sock is coming along but I probably wont knit more on it until my wrist feels a little better because I am knitting this so tightly that I will probably have more trouble with it than I already was.





Also because I need a break from the sock I cast on a new project. Its the Cherry Bomb Tank from Big Girl Knits book. I decided to do this tank because I felt it was time to step up my knitting game. One of my knitting goals is to eventually knit a sweater so I thought I would start with something a bit easier. I should be able to do this pattern because its basically stocking stitch and some basic shaping. So maybe I'll even be able to get it done before the summer so I can still wear it. But I was thinking that if it fits I probably could wear something under it when it gets cold and it could double as a vest and its wool so it will probably be warm. If it is to warm I will just save it and wear it like a vest instead of a tank.


Also today I got a surprise in the mail. Some amazing knitting needles I forgot I ordered. lol
But these just arnt any old knitting needles. They are light up knitting needles for knitting in the dark! I got these because I couldn't resisted the idea of light up needles! Plus they are pretty bight and I think they would work in the dark. So I could sit outside on my porch at night and knit without the light on. We get so many bugs when it gets warm it just ruins sitting outside at night. Which I love to do.

Doing my part to stimulate the economy.

What does that mean you ask??

Buying a bunch of stuff off of knit picks with my stimulus check that I got from the government.
I scored a bunch of great stuff and since I don't have kids or anything that important to spend the money on I thought why not.

Here is the swag I got.
The set of Options needles because I keep hearing that they are a-m-azing. I also ordered some extra cables for it. They also send you 2 cables with each one that is awesome! I also got the 2-at-a-time Socks book. Which I really want to learn because I know that I will have second sock syndrome if I ever finish this first one.
And I got a bunch of different yarns to try out because I have never used any of there yarns before and they are so cheap compared to most yarn. Especially the sock yarn and if you notice in the photo there are 2 skeins of sock yarn that I order the Gloss sock yarn and a skein of Essential sock yarn. But I did not order 2 skeins of either of these! I don't know what I was thinking but I will have to order so more and hope that I get the same dye lot. *fingers crossed*

Also got some yarn to make a pair of Mrs Beeton's. I got that red skein (Merino Style in Holly Berry) to go with that fluffy stuff (Suri Dream in Wildflowers) for it because it looked more red on the picture on the site but I think the purple stuff (Swish DK in Eggplant) will go with it better.

I think my favorite skein other than the fluffy stuff is the dark red skein. (Andean Treasure in Embers) I love it! It is so soft but it is baby alpaca so I guess it should be.

My other new recent treasure are a set of sock blockers! They are so pretty I love them. I got them on eBay from Chappy's Fiber Arts and Crafts.
They are really great and will put the cut out you want in them and they have a whole bunch to choose from. They also left me feedback really fast which is always nice.

The only thing is I think I got the wrong size. I ordered the size for my shoe size but I put the sock that I am currently knitting onto them and the sock is to big for it. So I guess I should have got the large instead of the medium. But they will look nice hanging on the wall even if I can't use them.


I still have been knitting my current 2 wips. Even though it may seem like I have just been shopping. Thats the bad part about the internet it so easy to spend a lot of money really fast. Just click click click done. Especially with paypal because you don't even have to get the card out to use it so there is nothing to slow you down.

Here is some sock progress. after this picture I have started working on the heel flap but I haven't got that far yet. I am hoping to get a good bit of it done this weekend because I will be in the car to 3 to 4 hours 2 days this weekend and I will not be the one driving so that is prime knitting time.
Also going to a graduation. Is it rude to knit at a graduation?? There will be a lot of people there that I don't know and have no idea who I am and will never see again so do I go for it? But will my dad get mad and give me that red faced look of anger?
I will probably just give it a go and see how it turns out. I'll take the sock if I can do it and still pay attention to the ceremony if not I can take the Little Ruff I am working on it is a pretty mindless pattern.

What I have learned from sock knitting so far with just this much done?? Don't use this yarn again for socks! The yarn splits a lot and I always loose one or 2 of the little strings. And you can see them poking out if you look at this picture close enough. But don't because that is my pasty foot.

This Summer is for KNITTING.

I have decided that this summer the summer of 2008 will be for knitting.
I really just started knitting this year before that I was loom knitting for a while but I really buckled down with a dvd and learned. Then I took a beginners class at my university.
Also because of that class the teacher of it and myself started a knitting group on campus. The name of it is ssk saluki student knitters. We choose that because our mascot is the Saluki dog.

So anyway knitting is going to be my main craft this summer. I really want to enhance my skills and do projects that evolve something new each time that I haven't done. I plan to make a tank top but I'm not sure if the yarn I have for it is right. I was just going to use Cascade 220 in lime heather but I'm wondering if it is to scratchy. I am going to have to think about it before I just jump in because I want to be able to wear it. But I would much rather just jump in but I don't want to do a bunch of work and then it is unwearable against my skin.

Since this is going to be the summer of knitting this is what I am currently working on.

My first project is a pair of socks. This is my first pair of adult sized socks and I was really excitied to start making them but I'm not sure if this one is going to work out. I some mistakes in it and I am only in the first few inches of the cuff and I think the needles I am using are to small so the fabric is really tight. Also I am not sure if it is going to fit or not. Because I've never made a sock before so I don't know if it is big enough for my big girl calves. I am using 2 patterns for this sock. I using the Basic Sock Recipe by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and the measurement stuff from the book Sensation Knitted Socks. Since this picture I have knitted like 2 more inches on it.


I had to add this second picture because I have a lot more done than the first one and I couldn't stand to leave it at that. Here is what I have done as of right now. Sorry for the crappy pic my camera is dead and I took this one with my phone.

I do have to admit that sock knitting is more daunting that I thought it would be. Its going to take a long time to knit these socks but I am going to keep plugging away.

The other wip I have is called Little Ruff and it is from the book One Skein Wonders. I am knitting it in a worsted green Malabrigo yarn. I love this yarn! This is the first nice yarn I ever purchased. I got it a couple of years ago at a lovely shop in Chicago called Nina. This was in the days before the area I live in had a yarn shop. Before then the only place to buy yarn was at box stores and most of it is crappy acrylic.

As you can see from the photos that this is going much faster than my current sock. Probably because I am using the right sized needles and I am using one of my lovely pairs of addi's.



This is all I have for today. Maybe tomorrow I'll post about some FOs that I have finished and the new sock blockers that I just got in the mail.
If a few days I will also have an order coming in from knit picks so stay tuned for that.

mosaic

mosaic
Originally uploaded by winter83

I made this in design 1 class. I cut my arm on piece of it and had to get 5 stitches.

atc

atc
Originally uploaded by winter83.

These are my first ever Artist Trading Cards. I think they turned out pretty good.

About Me For My Swap Partners.

I am a 23 year college student. I am currently majoring in welding but after I finish that I will be finishing my degree in Fine Arts. I do painting and photography a lot and am willing to swap art work.

I have one cat and one lazy beagle dog. I love animals of all kinds. I like panda bears a lot too.
I listen to all kinds of music. There is no type of music that I dont like a little of. I also love pepsi and pepsi memorabilia but its hard for me to find much.

I love movies! All kinds of movies

Likes
-Blues, purples, greens are my favs but I like all colors usually except orange and yellow

-Anything from India or looks like its from India (including men...lol) I love the fabrics used in there traditional clothing and all the sequins and color.

-elephants

-chandlier/dangliy earrings

-cameos

-Anne Rice books

-50's women with naughty sayings

-suhsi things like pillows, jewerly, and rapping paper

- old style tatoo flash

Dislikes/things I loath

-fake flower arrangements

-scrapbooking

-the scent of cucumber melon

-annoying people

Crafts I can do
-Jewerly: mostly things with beads but also some hemp jewerly too
-Mosiacs: I can put a mosiac on almost anything
-Loom Kitting:I am okay at I can make a hat or scarf with not problem lol
-Real knitting: just learn like yesterday for real
-Marble Magnets
-painting
-decopage
-stenciling/painting on clothing/shoes
-sewing
-stained glass
-Thats all I can think for right now.

To learn more about me as if you wanted to check me out here

http://winter83.deviantart.com/

and here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/winter83/

and here

http://wists.com/winter83

Jewerly

All these pieces are things that I made and sold in our Art Auction at school. I really should have paid attention to when they sold so that I would know but I was so busy it was crazy.

This is a necklace I made and it just made out of plastic beads.
The bracelet is made out of glass beads. They kinda match so I put them together.







This is a blue necklace I made out of glass beads and wire.









This is a bracelet I made out of camo pieces and blue glass beads.







These are two bracelets I made. One is blue oval beads and the other is purple oval beads.

These are just some of the things I donated to the art auction that we had.

I still have to find out how much money we made because we had a lot of art work. Like 250 pieces or more. I am going to call my teacher tomorrow and she if she knows yet how much we ended up with. There will be more pictures to come of things I donated once I unload my camera.

Purple and Gold earrings

Purple and Gold earrings
Originally uploaded by winter83.

This is a pair of earrings I made.

blog ring

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Zombie Baby

Zombie Baby
Originally uploaded by winter83.

This is a zombie baby that I made in ceramics class. Its a zombie baby. The weirder thing about this is that its a chocolate mold....So you can make chocolate creepy babys to eat. I need a side view of it to show the large head that it has.

greens

greens
Originally uploaded by winter83.

This is a painting that I painted lastnight. Its two shades of green and it is painted entirely with my fingers. I just can't blend paint with a brush like I can my fingers. Its acrylic on canvas. What do you think?

blues

blues
Originally uploaded by winter83.

This is a painting I did a few weeks ago. I didn't have anything in mind when I painted it just differnt blues. Its acrylic on canvas. Tell me what you think of it.

spool turned into mosaic table!

DSCI0213
Originally uploaded by winter83.

This once was a dirty spool that I dug out of the trash during pick up week here in town! Now is a beautiful end or coffee table. I used orange/white and blue stained glass and a big mirror on the top with black grout. The rest of the spool I painted black. I did have this paint that I though matched the blueish glass but it looked bad so black it became. I am pretty sure I am putting this into the Students for Student Auction at school. Its a art auction that the money goes for scholarships.

Freddy the lover.

Freddy the lover.
Originally uploaded by winter83.

This is my cat freddy who doesn't mind pictures. I thought I would start my blog off with him.