Finished Objects 2008 Part Two

Here is a whole collection of things that I made as a set. It includes a hat (you already saw that), a scarf, three mittens and three boot cuffs. The photo only shows one each of the mittens and boot cuffs.

This finished poncho is now up in my Etsy shop.

And, of course, I finished the covers (back and front) plus the inside covers and two labels for the first volume of the Complete Steve Canyon on TV. You can see the inside cover art here.

I made a glow-in-the-dark Christmas stocking for my Harry Potter school house KAL.

The photo here shows some yarn and one mitt that's finished. I actually finished two more to make a complete set, plus two more out of the black yarn to go with John M's hood.

I know this isn't finished, but here's a glimpse of part of the Celtic sweater I've been working on. There are ends to darn in and blocking before I can sew on the buttons, but it's almost done.

And here is the first of the five stockings I'm doing for a commission (front and back views).

While we're on a Christmas theme, here's the Santa hat I made for myself, and which it turns out I like and have been wearing a lot. I made another one just like it in black for Robin (since that's his favorite color).

And here is the almost finished hood for John M. I neglected to take a photo of it when it was done, but I did finish it in time to give it to him on Christmas.


There are probably a bunch of miscellaneous things that I've knitted but neglected to photograph, too.

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I went to Michaels on the bus yesterday and got to do a lot of walking. Well, it's a lot of walking for me, anyway.

I found some better yarn for the beard and fur on the Christmas stockings, a calendar, and a punch to round corners on paper. Thanks, Malaia and John! But I lost track of time, and left Michaels about the time that I should have been at the bus stop. Since I still had a half mile walk to the bus stop, I didn't make it, and had to wait almost two hours between the two buses (there are far fewer buses on a Saturday). 

This actually turned out to be a good thing because I had time to stop in to Borders and get the Winter issue of Spin Off Magazine.

I left Michaels at 5:30, and got home at about 8:30. 

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I got home and got the news that Malaia had gotten a tattoo. Holly says she has (some of) the words to Amazing Grace tattooed in a spiral around her arm. She also got a rose and a butterfly. She said the rose was for me, and the butterfly was for her mom. I got on Facebook and demanded photos. She wrote back "Photos of what?"

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I hope you all had a chance to see Serenity on the SciFi Channel last night! I love Firefly!

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There is a new post up on the Steve Canyon on DVD blog! Check it out!

I hope you had a great weekend!

More Finished Knits!

Last night I stayed up late and finished all the stuff I made out of the Moda Dea Sassy Stripes (the color is Swish).

The reason for staying up so late is the edging I put on it. I've always wanted something with a whip stitched edge, but I knew it would be a lot of work. It's so much work that if I had stopped before finishing, I know I would never have finished it. I used some yarn from stash for the edging.

So, I found out two things about whip stitched edges. I really hate to do them. But I really love the result.

See? Isn't it pretty?

It works especially well with the cast-on and bind-off edges I used. The edge shows exactly where to insert the needle so that I get perfectly even whip stitches.

The total set includes: mitts, previously made in another almost matching yarn that's been discontinued, and are not shown here; a hat (with button loop on the top); mittens to go over the mitts, also with button loops at the cuffs; boot toppers for my navy Wellingtons; and, of course, a loooong scarf!

It was all made to go with this coat (which hasn't yet arrived):

and the Celtic sweater, which is my next project to finish.

You can't see it well in the photo, but the coat has a crochet slip stitch around the edges in an off white. That makes it look sort of hand stitched, and will go well with the scarf, etc.

All have a rich, expensive, hand-made feeling about them. I have a pair of Uggs boots in the same color as the coat, which I think will look smashing with it for times when the Wellies aren't appropriate, like when it's just cold. I suspect that I can use the boot toppers with them, too, if I want to.

So, the moment of truth comes for the sleeves for the Celtic sweater. When I was doing the cable for the shoulder straps, I originally planned to make drop shoulders. Then, for no reason I can explain at the moment, I actually made a fitted shoulder without thinking about the fact that it would mean I'd have to knit a sleeve cap. I'm actually going to have to write out the directions for that so that I'm sure the second one will be a duplicate of the first. Can't have miss-matched sleeves!

I've also been delaying working on the sleeves because I have no idea how I want the cuffs.

Do I want the set-in sleeves to act like normal set-in sleeves until the elbow (or just below) and then flare into bell sleeves? Probably. Sleeves that taper all the way to the cuff just don't seem like they'd look right with the rest of the sweater.

I'd actually like to do a knot like the one on the top of the hood on each sleeve and have it go into a braid like the hood does. But I'm stumped about how to do that.

Once I solve those problems, there are pocket linings to knit, and a few places where a couple of things need a sewn stitch or two. The braid goes right off the front of the sweater into button loops, but the loops want to twist. A stitch or two will make them lay flat and look professional (once they're blocked).

Then there's the blocking and the buttons and I'm ready to  wear it in public and impress people.

I need some new clothes to go with all that. Some of my winter shirts are so threadbare that you can almost see through them. They'll need replacing. Most of them are over 10 years old!

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In other news, you probably already heard this, but George Takei got married or partnered, or whatever they're calling it these days.

You can see Nichelle in the background, and almost see Walter, too. Read more about it here. There are lots of photos, too! I envy everyone at the wedding. Nichelle is such a good hugger!

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I wish I had some science fiction news, but I just read io9, and feel like I know nothing. If you're a SF fan, you should read it!

We have Lost to look forward to tomorrow night on SciFi of course. And Sarah Connor, of course, if you want to miss the recap of Heroes.

The really big news Monday evening is the season premier of Heroes, though. One of my favorite shows is back! 

My DVR runneth over!

Have a great weekend!

Hannah Came to Visit!

Yes, folks, hurricane Hannah is here. She's planning on leaving soon, though.

It was pouring down rain when I woke up, and it's still falling out of the sky.

There are flash flood warnings in my area.

Holly sent me a text message and asked if we could postpone going out.

Really, it's not so bad. A lot of rain is coming down, but I'd never guess it's a hurricane from the lack of wind. Yes, I saw the radar images on the weather channel, but this is more like a warm front rain.

Cold fronts bring storms. Warm fronts just bring rain that goes on and on.

Yesterday, I went shopping at Potomac Mills Mall. People are starting to speculate on whether we're into a recession or not. We've been in a recession for about five years (although the statisticians have played with the figures to try to prove we're not) and we're in a full-blown depression now. The mall is the proof.

This is the first year that I've gone shopping in September and could find almost nothing in the way of Fall and Winter shoes, clothes, etc. The mall was a very sad place yesterday. I was looking for Fall and Winter shoes, and they had lots of summer sandals on clearance, but not very much in the way of real shoes or boots. It was pathetic.

I found some Totes boots on clearance for $10, which I would have bought in an instant if they had been navy blue, but they only had black. I was thinking about going back and getting them, but I think (after a lot of consideration) that the navy rubber boots at TJ Maxx may be a better idea. They would be warm with heavy socks (if they're big enough) and waterproof for when the snow turns to slush. And tall enough that the snow isn't going to slosh in over the tops of the boots and treat my feet to a dose of frozen water. 

There may be something wrong with me. I've always wanted navy blue Wellingtons, and never had them. At 65, I may not have another chance. They'll look good with my new coat, and boots for under $20 has to be a good deal. What am I waiting for? I should just get them.

I'd like some dressy shoes and some sneakers, too. I was hoping to remedy that situation yesterday, but no luck.

I did knit almost half of a mitten on the bus and waiting for the bus, though.

At this point, I have three (ambidextrous) mittens and a hat finished, and have enough multicolored blue yarn left for a very long scarf. I keep thinking that there must be some small item that I'd like to use some of that yarn for. Maybe a tam? Will that go with my coat?

Time to dig out my copy of Homespun, Handknit. This is one of the knitting books I love most. A magazine (I think it was Spin-Off, but I'm not sure) had a contest for patterns for small projects using handspun yarn, and they published the winners in a book, and this is it. It's a great book to just sit and read. Even if you're a very experienced knitter, it's got so many tips and tricks hidden in the patterns that it's really a treasure. One of my all-time favorite knitting books!

Oh, the mittens are knitted, but the cuffs want to roll up, so they need a bit of blocking before they're ready for their close-up.

On the way to the mall, I stopped at JoAnn Fabrics and got some nifty things.

First, there are the glow-in-the-dark beads for my Harry Potter KAL charms class. That was good. The mittens and hat I just made all have button loops on them so I can park them on a button and not lose them while at the same time not filling up my pockets. The coat will probably need some extra buttons just for them, and I found some beautiful ones that I think will match (or at least go with) the buttons on the new coat. If not, they will match some buttons I already had for future projects. I love my button box!

I also got some things to go with the single Options needle that I've bought so far. They had some coiless safety pins in the bead department for 30% off. Others have pointed out to me that these are great to pin to your project to use rather than the little wire things that go with the needle or cable sets. The little wire things are just guaranteed to get lost, they're so small. But a pin fastened to your project is not going anywhere and is perfect for tightening the cables.

I also found some needle pullers. They're small pieces of a rubber-like material to grip a sewing needle that's stuck in some fabric and doesn't want to move. They're also great for gripping the Options needle tip so you can fasten on the cable.

Well, there were several things I planned on doing today, but they involve going out, and I don't happen to have an ark handy, so I'll probably do them tomorrow.

A rerun of Chuck is on tonight. And a new episode of Primeval on BBC in America.

Have a great weekend!

Exciting Day

I woke up this morning, and turned on the TV and sat and knit for a few minutes. I'm never really awake right at first, and usually do something fairly mindless for just a little bit rather than do something more complicated and mess it up.

So, I was sitting there watching TV and knitting, and I started to realize that there was a lot of NOISE.

I hit the mute button, and the sound from the TV went away, but there was still a lot of noise.

As I said, I'm not really awake when I first get up and walk around.

Checking out the window showed a hook-and-ladder fire truck. It had it's "feet" down and planted and looked like it meant business.

They raised the ladder, which was more of a cherry-picker, in this case, and swiveled it around, right past my window to stop next to the balcony next to my apartment, in front of my other window. The gentleman on the ladder had a conversation with somebody on the balcony.

Then they took the ladder away, packed up, and left. Another fire truck pulled up and unfurled it's ladder. They went to the same balcony, and then started to take it back to the truck.

Then they maneuvered to get next to my window.

As it turns out, they wanted to get in some practice using the gear, and decided to do it at my apartment place.

I don't like the way the mitts are turning out, and since I have mitts that almost match this yarn, I'm thinking that I might be happier with mittens to go over the existing mitts. So, I'm switching to mittens, and I'll frog the mitts if I like the mittens better. I'm thinking that I'll put a loop on each mitten (at the cuff, opposite the thumb) so that I can fasten them to a button on my coat when I take them off, and thereby not lose them.

So, now I have a scarf, hat, mitt and soon a mitten started and none finished. I think I'll have to finish the hat soon just to lessen the number of WIPs.

There's a new Eureka on the SciFi Channel tonight!

I hope you all got to see the Middleman last night. It was great!

Have a great day!

Quiet Sunday, and the End of the Month

I started the hat for the whole blue multi set. It seems that I'd rather add short (less than a whole ball) bits of yarn in the scarf rather than the mitts. I'm probably not going  to be able to avoid using more than a skein of yarn for the hat.

So, anyway, I want to do the mitts before I get too far into the scarf. So, naturally, I cast on the hat (my plain watch cap pattern from the sidebar), and have gotten the ribbed edging done and about 4.5 or 5 inches of the hat. There's not much more to go before it's done. Mitts are next.

I have 8 balls of yarn and I don't think that the hat and mitts are going to take more than 4 balls. Since I've knitted a whole ball into the scarf, I know that it makes about 22 inches of length for the scarf. If there's yarn left over from the had and mitts, I'll add it to the scarf for a really long one. 

I like really long scarves. I used to have a navy maxi coat, and Mom once said (looking at Tom Baker on TV) "No wonder you like Doctor Who. He dresses like you." Oh, and I like hats with big, floppy brims, too.

I have been goofing off on the form filling out, but I have been getting a steady stream of forms filled out and mailed. The big problem with this is that almost every time I pick up my mail, there's another form or two to fill out. So, I'm hoping to get all the current ones out in the mail later today.

And get my library books returned. And stop by Safeway to take advantage of one of their sales (if they have anything to buy). Usually, when they have a sale, there's a limited amount or selection available to get on sale. It's very frustrating.

What a quiet end of the month day.

Have fun this weekend!

Knitting and My Amazon Store

There's science fiction info at the end of this post, for you SF fans, skip to the end.

The yarn arrived yesterday, and here's what it looks like:

It's Moda Dea  Sassy Stripes and the color is Swish. You can see how it's working up into a scarf.

I thought it would make a good accent with the sweater, and I think it looks beautiful with it. I want to make mitts and a hat, too. I was hoping to make mitts and a scarf, but I may have enough for a hat, too.

I originally swatched this in stockinet stitch and ribs as well as garter stitch. The stockinet looks so neat and orderly, so precise. It looks like a beautifully knit fair isle pattern. But the garter stitch looks so much more random and disorderly that I like it much better for this. You'll get to see how it looks in ribs when I do the mitts and hat.

Oh, and I tried a new cast-on for this to get a bumpy, almost picot effect. This is also a good cast-on for places where you want an edge that stretches as well as being decorative.

Figure out how many stitches you need to cast on. Double that number, and add a stitch (or, if you are going to knit in the round, it should be an even number). Cast on the doubled number with a long tail cast-on. On the next row, K1 *Sl 1, K2tog, PSSO, K1* across. You'll wind up with something that looks like the edge of a picot hem, but there won't be a hem involved.

Now I have to figure out how to make a matching bind off.

I had a comment from a reader yesterday about yarn available (but not available) through my Amazon store. Here's what she (and you) need to know about that.

Things in the yarn section come and go quickly. Very quickly sometimes. Within the last two days, that yarn was available in my store. Now it's not. Tomorrow it may be available again. Or not available at all. Anywhere.

I leave certain things in my store, even though it says "Not available in this store" or even "currently unavailable" because even though I won't get a commission for it, it's something that CAN be bought, and I want you to be able to find certain difficult-to-find items and get them.

For example, there are a lot of the ball winders available with red trim. If I put one of those in my store and someone buys it, I'll get a commission. But, there are exposed gears on the underside, and the winder will eat your yarn. I had one, and it ate a lot of my yarn, although, at the time, it was the only ball winder available anywhere, and I loved it because it was the only one, and ball winders are awesome.

I don't want you to buy something like that, even if I get a commission for it. The ones with the blue trim are still available (new or used) even though if you click on it you get a page that says "currently unavailable." These have enclosed gears and will not chew up your yarn. 

By the way, everyone that used to carry them  is slowly selling out of them, and I suspect that they're no longer being made, so if you want one, grab it now. You may not get another chance.

So, if you want to wait a few days on the chance that I'll get a commission, fine. But in a few days, the yarn you're looking for may not be available at all. Anywhere.

If you want it, go buy it. Now!

And don't feel guilty, just tell others about my store.

One thing that people on Ravelry have been searching for is an item that Lily Chin talks about in her book, Knit and Crochet with Beads. She calls it an American Beadle, and uses it to place beads while knitting. 

I found an item that seems to fit her verbal description, and looks just like the item pictured in her book. This item is available in my store (although it went away for a day), and may be the answer for all those people who are going crazy looking for it. It's called a "Kantan Couture Bead Embroidery Tool" and it has a replacement hook so you don't have to replace the whole tool in case of accidents.

I have some various sized latch hook tools that I use all the time when knitting, and I love them. This looks like it may be a good size for fingering yarn for you sock knitters. I haven't tried it yet, so I can't really endorse it, but it looks like it would work well.

There are lots of unusual tools in the Fiberarts Needles and Tools section of the store.

For instance, there are some things (like socks and skeins of yarn) that I prefer to hand wash. I'd rather hand wash them even if I had a washer and dryer and didn't have to go out to do laundry. But I sure miss that spin dry at the end of the cycle. So, a salad spinner is the perfect answer. Don't leave it in your kitchen, though. I wouldn't want to use it to spin salad after I'd spun my socks dry in it.

For dyers, there are two scales, and a pH meter. The meter is inexpensive and far more long-lasting than pH paper. And it works even after you've added the dye. Paper doesn't.

And I use a rather unorthodox tool for dying and felting. Certain kinds of potato mashers are perfect for this. If you look at them in profile, they have a hook shape, so you can fish your skein out of a simmering pot safely. You can also provide needed agitation for wet felting with it. If you plan to provide really vigorous agitation for felting, try to find the kind with a rubber grip. It will help keep it from sliding if it gets wet, and provide a bit of cushioning for your hand while felting. I love mine. 

So, for the most part, items in my store are either things I've used and love, or things I've heard other artists praising. Recently, I tried to find some silk yarn to make rune bags from and had a hard time finding it. So, that's up in my store, even though I won't get a commission on it.

Now, on to the science fiction portion of the post.

Chuck is back in reruns on NBC at 8 pm, and will be available on DVD on the 16th of September. Adam Baldwin is wonderful in this!

Tomorrow, there  will be a Primeval marathon on BBC in America. They will be showing all the episodes that have been aired so far in order, in case you missed some.

Tomorrow, for all you fans of bad science fiction and fantasy, the SciFi Channel with be once again torturing us with Grendel. This is one of the all-time worst movies ever made. You have to understand that this is derived from an ancient Icelandic saga, which is so good it's practically eternal. To give you an idea about the quality of the movie, though, you should understand that they equipped Grendel with what some viewers have called "scud missiles." I've had numerous reports from others about how they fell off their sofas and nearly choked on their popcorn because of how unbelievably bad this movie is.

There's also a movie scheduled for tomorrow on SciFi that I haven't seen before. It has two of my favorite actors, Corin Nemec and Musetta Vander. It's called Mansquito, and according to the description in the digital TV guide, it has a lot of latitude to be a truly bad movie. I'm going to watch it to see Corin Nemec (who we wanted to get when I was still involved in Fade Out, and who starred for a while in Stargate SG-1), and Musetta Vander, who also appeared in a couple of episodes of SG-1, and Secret Agent, but whom I remember chiefly for her role in Oblivion, a campy movie that is a gem.

And for those fantasy fans, there will be a movie on Hallmark tomorrow that I would classify as PG--good to watch with the kids, but won't send you into a diabetic coma: The Good Witch.

As always, check your local listings. Times may vary.

And have a great Labor Day weekend!