. . .and some knitting content!

I've also been knitting. First, a pair of poor, neglected socks. Mom got me this yarn to make socks for Jeff. I think she gave it to me back in September?

yeah, Poor guys got started in Michigan over break, knitted there, knitted all the way home, and then got dumped like a dork on prom night as soon as I decided to make Jeff those Kilt Hose.


Then I didn't even have the decency to call them and let them know I'd found someone else. I fell in love with some yarn on sale. . . and bought 8 skeins of alpaca love to make Cherie Amour



She's beautiful, she's perfection, and she's all mine. I'll take the socks with me tomorrow when I go to the dentist. They've been so patient, waiting for my attentions, not minding that I just bought nearly 70 times their weight in roving.

Satisfaction

To me, satisfaction is when something great and worthwhile is accomplished. For the month of January, my goal (other than surviving "warrior month" at the dojo) was to spin sock weight yarn. Not light worsted that will do for socks. I'm talking sock yarn. So, inspired by the Yarn Harlot, I took some black, blue and white roving, split it, weighed it and spun it into singles, which were then plied.

It is lovely


And thin.



Mission accomplished

Congratulations, Phil and Jamie!

Our friends, Phil and Jamie got married yesterday. It was a very lovely ceremony and reception. I got an action shot of the kilt hose,


The bride's dress was lovely from the front and behind



The attendants were a very happy family( with matching shoes)


and the cake had duckies on it!



For the record, I think Phil's family is really neat. Heck his mom knits! We may need to get together with his mom and knit, just for the fun of it and to freak Phil out!

The box.

Oh, how it strained, its precious contents threatening to burst against its unyielding cage.



With deft hand, the treasures therein released!


It breathed a sigh and yielded to my touch, swelling until it burst the confines of its cage.


But what prizes lay in store?

My eyes fell upon the smooth, crimson outlines. I reached my hand out and found it as smooth as it was glistening. I found that as much as I liked to feel it, it did not like to felt.


Next was a shy and demure, but colorful package.

I gently turned it over to reveal all its beauty


Next I caressed the silky smooth hair found at the very top of the package.


The large bulk remained, with colors of natural hues. But what will be contained when delving deeper into its mysteries? Do I see crimson? Green? navy? Oh, what spinning pleasures have I wrought for myself? Time will tell. . .

Tee Hee

Boobies!




Yes, I am twelve.

Ravelry Bars!

I have to say I love those little bars you see at the left. They are a great update for how far I am on my projects. As you can see, the kilt hose are off, the boobie hat is done, and I've cast on for a sweater for myself (finally). I realized I'd only ever made a couple of sweaters for myself, but grossly underestimated either gauge, or the matching of different dyelots. The former I've decided to steek and add fabric under the arms, where it's wayy too tight. The other is sitting in time-out until I either completely overdye it with RIT or frog it and make washcloths. I haven't decided which.

The boobie hat is awesome. I have to take a picture of it, then give it to the recipient (a certain breastfeed young man I know) and then it'll be off the bars. Hopefully I'll have the energy after karate to drag out the camera and do all the loading and stuff necessary to enact that plan.

I bought the yarn for making Mom Kass a felted vest like mine. I wanted to try my hand at doing most of the stockinette on the knitting machine, then finishing it by hand. I think it will work out well, so long as I can match gauge. It'll take some swatching, but with the knitting machine that's not too bad! I remember the hardest part about that vest was keeping my interest doing the 106 rows of stockinette. Everything else was interesting and fun. I may even be able to do some of the shaping with the Bond. . . we'll see.

Karate is really tearing me down. We even skipped Saturday class because we were too tired and sore from Thursday. I felt guilty, but we also had guests over, so I kinda had an exceuse. The weather was supposed to be icy as well. I'm looking forward to the payoff from this, in that we'll be extremely strong, coming off the January high at our belt test on Feb 23.

Ta-da!

Success is mine! With more than a week to spare!


I may still do a little decorative edge at the top, if I feel like it, but they're done and wearable.

Now on to spinning!

100th post!

I had kinda hoped that my 100th post would feature the kilt hose completed, but alas, they are not. They may be by the end of the day, though. . . .

As of today, the heel has been made and turned, and the gusset has been gusseting down. Jeff loves them and so do I! I think I really do need to make another pair, but a little bigger. That way I get these, and Jeff gets a pair that's just a little larger. They'll work fantastically for the wedding, though.

And with that, I"ll leave you with a picture of a dog with a baby.


And a scotsman with a bearmonster shirt on his head.

Real Progress!

I wasn't able to get a picture last night, we were simply exhausted by the time we got home, but I made progress last night on the way to karate and tonight both at Jeff's school and on the way to karate.



Total length : 9 inches

Decrease rows remaining: 8!!!

Length remaining before heel: 5"

Days remaining: 16

I can totally do this!


mmm, sexy leg

A little less progress. . .

Here's how much I got done on the kilt hose last night, after karate:

Two more sets of decreases, and a total of 7 rows. Decreases remaining: 13

I didn't have a chance to measure it. Why, you ask?




Callay decided she wanted to cuddle.

Sexy decreases!

Sexy decreases required: 18

Sexy decreases completed:3

Total length: 5 1/2"

Length remaining (minus heel and foot): 9 1/2"

Days remaining: 19

A little math - Gauge is 7 rows /inch. For a rough estimate of total length, Jeff's leg and foot measure 17 linear inches. So that means 189 rows. I have approximately 40 rows done so far, plus the cuff at the top (which took a long time, probably a good 10% of the work just by itself).

Kilt Hose Progress!

I got a lot done on these over the weekend! Cuffs are done, the ribbed garter is done, and I"m about 1/2" away from starting the sexy decreases down the leg.

By my calculations, I need a total of 16" before starting the heel tab. So if I make a goal of 1" per night until the decreases are done (at which point I make a goal of 2" per night), I should be looking good to have them done in plenty of time for the wedding!

Love is. . .

Making a pair of kilt hose for a man with a 14 1/2" calf.

Progress so far: 5" of cuff.



Time to complete: January 26.

I can do this!

Spinning Every Day

A challenge set forth on the Knitty Board was to spin every day in January.

I like a challenge.

Oh, and what did I get for Christmas this year from my in-laws?

And what did I assemble on New Year's Day? (While not DMing)


Oh, and did you notice the nearly full bobbin?

I'm off to a good start.

I also got a yarn swift for Christmas from my brother and SIL, which will be incredibly useful in winding off those mammoth skeins of yarn which will be plied on the jumbo flyer.

I will also at some point probably delve into the creation of silly yarns, but for now I really just wanted it for the massive plying capability.

I also need something to measure the length of the skein. There is no way I'm counting that much all at once! I need to find a tackle place around here.

Happy New Year!

It was definitely worth it leaving MI on New Years Eve. We got up at 2:30, were on the road by 3:30 and got in at around 3:30. It really wasn't a bad trip, Jeff drove the entire way, despite my offers to drive. I kept Jeff awake with converstaion.

The reason why we would drive 12 hours on New Year's eve? Ana and Eric were having their housewarming/baby naming/new year's party. I wore my leather dress again, and we finally got to meet Alfie in person. He's just adorable. And quiet! He's surprisinly quiet for someone only 12 days old. It was a great time, and we realised that in the 7 years we've lived here, we've never been in the state for New Year's.

We spent New Year's Day gaming with our friends, which of course included Alfie. He was a very good little gamer. He even knew when to let out a very juicy poop when I was DMing and called for initiative. Oh yes, and I was holding him at the time. Truly he will be a fantastic gamer!

Jeff held him for a bit while gaming. He didn't poop on him, but we did get him to hold a d20 in his hand for a bit.

29

Just a few highlights from my 29th birthday.

I got to spend most of the day in my jammies, knitting.

We got all dressed up and went to a very nice Italian restaurant with my in-laws. The food was good, and I got one waiter to make a double-take at my dress. Always a good feeling.


In all, an excellent birthday.