Big Damn Heroes swap

I got my package from Aranov!!! I was very happy when I got home yesterday to find a soaking wet box, which luckily kept everything inside of it dry.

I got two balls of Serenity Yarns in Yo-Saf-Bridge, which is totally closer to Kaylee’s parasol!
A pair of fingerless mitts in a cotton yarn that are really interesting, with ties up the side.
A tin with my favorite rebel-turned-smuggler instead of the smuggler-turned-rebel,
And a super awesome olive green bag with Kaylee’s bear patch, geisha lining and safety belt strap. I wore it last night to No Refund Theater's presentation of Little Shop Of Horrors and my friends loved it.

This was a non-secret swap, which was kind of difficult! How can you stalk someone and ask questions, if they know you're asking directly of them? In the end, I used a friend of hers that was also in the swap as my mole. I sent her:

A very cunning shrug, two dinosaurs, chocolate and some Shimmer.

[swap] Firefly

Drewbird finally got my package, so I am free to gloat! I made her a Mal inspired swap:

The most important part was the hip belt with the gun holster that flips open into a project bag that can be hung on your wrist. I also included the 355 yards of laceweight alpaca I spun (and Dory carded for me), some cascade eco duo, and several teas.

I also very much wanted to include a Knit Kit in the ammo pouch of the belt, but I didn't find out until too late that they cost $20 (and it's a $30 swap), so I put together a tin with scissors, tape measure, row counter and tapestry needle.

The last thing I added were a pair of strawberries I made while I waited at the dentist. I only had pink yarn, but I was very excited to try to dye it with kool aid. I used some off brand Cristal Lite, and it worked like a charm! Unfortunately, using the vacuum oven to dry them took out the strawberry smell, and I forgot my green yarn at home, so I couldn't put leaves on them. But I really wanted to get the package sent out on thursday, so meh.

[wip] Water Diamonds Headband

I've been reprimanded for being a bad blogger. Apparently I am supposed to update more frequently, and not just when I have works completed!

So this week I've been working on a new headband, since I've been using the quant so much. I wanted something pumpkiny and autumny, so I found this pattern on Ravelry, by Kristi Holaas. It' originally for a worsted weight scarf or cowl, but I liked the pattern, and it's working up nicely in Knitpicks Pallet - Massala, on I think #2 needles.

The edges are curling in a lot, so I'm going to have to block it when I'm done. I haven't blocked anything because I'm big on the L, but meh, it's only yarn. I was also informed last week by Phiala that I do my SSK and K2Togs backwards and that I should just exchange them when I read patterns, but I was three inches in to the headband when I realized that meh, maybe it would make a difference and look better if I did. I'll keep that in mind for my next project.

Oh yeah, I was also noted that the diamonds look like snatches. Meh.

[pattern] Doesn't play well with others

In honor of a friend getting her tubes tied, I decided to give her a pair of ovaries in a jar, with googley eyes. Because everybody knows that all body parts that make it into a jar need googley eyes!


Knitpicks Pallete in Blush
Fingering weight
231 yds/50 gr per ball
23.7154 yds/5.1332 gr used

2.5 mm crochet hook
5 cotton balls

3 1/2 hours
Ovaries are 1" around, with 3" tubes.

OVARY (make 2)
Work in spiral.
1. Sc 7 in magic ring.
2. (2 sc in next st) x 7. 14 sts.
3. Sc around.
4. (Sc into next st, 2 sc into next st) x 7. 21 sts.
5. (Sc into each of next 2 sts, 2 sc into next st) x 7. 28 sts.
6-11. Sc around.
Start decreasing rounds. Stuff before hole gets too small.
12. (Sc into each of next 2 sts, sc2tog) x 7. 21 sts.
13. (Sc into next st, sc2tog) x 7. 14 sts.
14. Sc around.
15. (Sc2tog) x 10. 4 sts.
It is now time to work on the tube.
Continue to work 4 sts in spiral until tube is about 3" long, or long enough to tie in a knot. Finish with 4 hcs. Tie knot, break off and hide yarn.

[review] Knitpicks Options Interchangeable Zephyr Circular Knitting Needles

found here.

So, with that whole knitting kick, I really wanted to take a sock project on the plane with me, but, oh noes! Metal DPNs are not allowed on an air plane. Or at least, I didn't want to risk it. So I ordered a set of Options Interchangeable Nickel Plated Circular Knitting Needles and a pair of acrylic tips.



Well, they weren't as terrible as I expected them to be... ok, yeah, they were. I bought a Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball CRAZY Sock Yarn ball at Mad About Ewes in Lewisburg, PA a couple of weeks ago, two ply, 75% Merino Wool and 25% Nylon.
(eta: holy shit, that's me freezing my ass off!)



Holy crap did it screech! If there is something that really ticks me off while knitting, it's screeching. Then again, I can't stand it when anything screeches, so I refuse to wear or buy anything that is fleece and synthetic. (Friends don't let friends knit Red Heart!)

So anyway.
- The needles made a lot of noise with the yarn.
- The torquing of the cord constantly made it unscrew, no matter how hard I tightened it before each row.
- The yarn would often catch between the acrylic and the metal.
- The damned needle broke two hours into my flight!

Yeah, that's the one that pisses me off the most. I mean, I know that I'm a tight knitter, but I was purposefully babying the needles for that same reason, and because I had just dropped $70 on them. I'm planning on calling them up next week and hoping they refund my money.

[FO] Quant!

This was a quick Knit-a-long that I had with my crafting group, the Centre County Crafting Bitches. It took me about a week to make while waiting for the bus. Probably a total of ten hours, including all the time spent on taking it out of the bag to do a row, and then stuffing it all back in.



I used . Knitpicks' Pallete in Tidepool Heather, and according to my wonderful lab scale, only 17.2703 g of it, so it cost me a whopping 69¢ to make!

The pattern was a free download from Knitty.



This was the first knit object that I have finished in probably a decade and a half, or so. The first actual memories that I have of knitting were with my grandmother in 1991, though I might have learned before, I can't remember :/ But for some reason, I would always try to make a scarf and get so damned bored with it, that I still have half of one that is a good seven years old. I've made several things in crochet since then, but all the knits just sink to the bottom of the list.

Until the knit-a-long. I am now addicted, and have spent something like $250 in the last month on sock yarns and circular needles -_-;; Which, by the way, I need to remember to return, but I'll hopefully remember to make a review post about them soon. So yeah, I used to be a hooker, and now I share needles...

I didn't encounter any problems with the pattern, but I'm known to jump head first into projects. It's so much easier to do things when you don't know that you don't know how, and when you don't know it's supposed to be "difficult"! I did hear, though, that there was a problem with picking up stitches for someone in the group.

Both ends of the quant are different, and it's rumored that there is a pattern mod out there to make them the same.