Onwards, ever onwards

I spent the vast majority of this morning's commute removing a rather large callous from my right index finger. Both knitting and crochet give me callouses, throw into the mix the nitrile gloves I wear all the time at work, and well, just don't be looking at my cuticles, OK?

But the peely finger is testament to progress! Hurrah!

The crocheted log cabin has been growing at an increasingly slow pace and now measures, um, something by something that's fairly big. I'm trying to incorporate a spiral of neutrals to balance out all the brights and I think so far it's working out OK. However, the pieces are now so huge that they take up the best part of a skein each so I'm getting limited as to what colours are available from the garbage-stash. I think I can eke out another complete round and then will edge in either beige or purple as these are the colours I have the most of. Ha ha! I like it when I make things up as I go along and it totally looks like I know what I'm doing!

Secondly, I decided to make up a sock knitting rule so that I have an excuse for my actions. New Rule: As long as you have cast on for the second sock of a pair, it's totally fine to start a new pair because the yarn is pretty.

The second Child's French Sock is about, ahem, half an inch into the ribbing and despite the fact that the pattern is lovely and the yarn is beautiful... I'm fickle. This will be the Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush in Regia Sock Yarn. It's cute and I like it. Please don't judge me.

The armhole decreases for the sweater are complete and now I just need to knit up to the top, do the neck and armhole edges and I'll be done. Woot!

I'm spinning around

Either I have the world's longest hangover or my stomach is being it's usually pissy self. Hence a crappy, lack luster post which wont do the weekend's activities enough justice.

I learned to spin! Spin Out was a lot of fun, even despite the constant threat of basket balls (that's me in the purple). Everyone I met was so friendly and willing to teach my fingers-and-thumbs self how to spin on a CD drop spindle that I couldn't help but enjoy myself. And really could I have had any better instructors than Christine and Marie (who gave me the purdy autumnal roving up on that there spindle)? I'm not sure I'll be taking up spinning as a new hobby, despite it's highly addictive qualities but it was a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Then I went out and got rip-roaring drunk. Not such a smart move.

Sunday was spent sleeping and groaning and headaching on my friend's couch. Not the most productive I've ever been. Ugh. I need a lie down.

Measuring the Marigolds

My sister and I used to sing a silly little song about inch worms, and for the past few days it's being sarcastically playing in my head as I've attempted to make headway in my ever growing pile of unfinished objects. I'm sure it's just retribution for the ultra-successful day last week, or it could just be life catching up with me (you don't want to know how much I have to get done before I quit work in three short weeks!!).

The log-cabin continues to grow at an increasingly slow pace as the number of stitches per row grows by 20 each time. I managed to add five whole rows to the back of my sweater during the sock monkey workshop at the shelter last night. Incidentally attendance to the workshop has drastically decreased. I'm hoping this means people have found permanent housing elsewheres and not that they've just lost interest. You should have seen the faces falling as we told women last night we were there not to run bingo but to make sock monkeys. *sigh* Everyone's suffering from ennui. However, Yvonne and Nancy were pleased to see us so that makes up for something.

And, this weekend is Spin Out 2006! And although I do not spin and don't intend to start spinning, the fun that was International Knit in Public Day has inspired me to hang out in Central Park with my yarn a little more often. So I will be there with bells on (a phrase that has inspired another craft project in the works....)

You were expecting a sweater?

For some unknown reason, the knitting needles held no allure for me this weekend, and yet I was completely hooked on crochet. Hooked! Get it? Hahahaha, sometimes I'm just so damned funny...

Anyway, much inspired by Sue I tracked down Beth's Little Star Afghan pattern and set to with some of the baby nasty yarn from the basement. It's looking a little more like a star fish than I anticipated but once the temperature drops below 5hundredmillion degrees, I'll attack it with the steam iron. Steaming incidentally takes away some of the roughness of the yarn, maybe because I'm melting it? I dunno, I'm not really that invested in the health of my acrylic.

Then since I ran out of cutesy baby yarn to add the the starfish blankie, I decided to try my hand at making a log-cabin-esque crocheted thing from all the scraps also found in the garbage. It's a little wobbly but again I'm sure the steam will sort that out.
So there you have it, my weekend adventures in petroleum based products and the reason why my back is yet again killing me. Crochet and I do not mix well. It's like a drug, just one more row then I can change colours...

Ms. Fahrenheit

Don't stop me now.

Have you ever had one of those nights where you just cannot for the life of you sit still? It could have been the two glasses of red I drank before leaving work, or maybe it was the half litre of diet Wild Cherry Pepsi I guzzled during the course of the evening. Whatever it was, there was just no stopping me.

For example, I finished the toe and kitchenered up my first Child's French Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks. Pretty, no? Now I just need to make a start on the second one as I currently do not have a single lone sock on my needles. GASP! I am totally in love with this yarn. Every now and again there's a little streak that looks exactly like blackberry juice squished between the toes which, for some reason, makes me feel all squee inside. The pattern is also lovely, the repeating lace motif is just so dainty even on my ungainly plates o' meat.

So then I decided to cast on for the back of a v-neck sleeveless sweater I started making on the sly. Did I mention how much I am in love with this yarn? It's Patons Classic 100% merino in Evergreen. Love, love, love, love, love! I'm hoping I like the sweater as much when it's done, which given my current rate of pulling things off the needles, will probably be Monday :)

Finally, I forgot to mention that during a rare laundry escapade yesterday, I found yet another garbage bag of acrylic yarn in my basement. I swear, that place is like Alladin's cave! And so at 11pm when I still could not sleep and was convinced there were ants running through the veins in my feet, I picked up my crochet hook, opened up the bible and went to town on this; A 12" square(ish) puff-stitch, um, square, in nasty, icky Carron's Easy Care 1-million-% acrylic.

I also seamed a second stripey purse which will actually be given away instead of being purloined for my own sock knitting devices. No wonder I'm sleepy today...

Revenge of the Sith Monkey

Ah ha! The big reveal! Darth and I are hanging out in lab until dinner tonight where he will take a new padawan, The Reverend. He may laugh at Lord Vader's tail, but he will be sorry, oh yes he will... Welcome to The Dark Side.

Fresh off the needles

... and onto my not so clean feet! These are definitely fraternal socks, one spun on the ankle and pooled on the instep while the other did the exact opposite despite the number of stitches and rows being exactly the same. I think with a colour scheme this crazy I can get away it though ;)

Pattern: Modified Basic Ribbed Socks from Spun Magazine. I ended up casting on *gasp* 72 stitches, which in retrospect was, ahem, a few too many. However my ankles appear to be larger than average and the yarn is elastic so it all worked out in the end.

Needles: Bendybendybendy unknown origin 2.5mm dpns from the thrift store.

Yarn: Knit Picks Dancing in Swing, 2 balls made three socks with a little to spare. Yes three socks, I really am still a beginner at this :)

Comments: I MADE SOCKS!!!! Phew. A little too excited, perhaps?

Even the sock monkey can't believe it

I swear I wasn't being lazy, I was just waiting for, um... sunshine. Yeah that's it! Everyone knows you can't block and seam in the dark you totally have to leave your finished sweater in bits until the weather improves. Yeah...

So here she is the Karabella Shawl Collar sweater, knitted in about two weeks, left languishing on a book shelf for at least two months, seamed and blocked this morning and modeled before I even washed my hair. It's funny how I wont leave the house without showering and yet I'm completely happy to publish pictures to the web of my unwashed terribleness :)Pattern: Karabella KK409, Marble Shawl-Collar Sweater
Needles: Um, inherited vintage size 9, Susan Bates size 9 16" circulars for neck
Yarn: NuMei Vermont Spun (acrylic/polyester/wool) 11 balls
Gauge & Size: 18 st and 22 rows 4", size small
Comments: I definitely misjudged the ratio of ick to ahh in this yarn. There is way more synthetic than wool and I'm not exactly best pleased. However I shouldn't have expected any more from such extraordinarily cheap yarn (in fact that was probably the first clue I ignored). The pattern itself was very easy to follow and fits reasonably well but there is a slight bat-wing in the armpit post-blocking. However, I was a little disappointed that there was no instruction as to how many stitches to pick up for the neck and since I'm a relative newbie, I think I picked up too many and may now have to tack the collar in place. But basically any gripes I have with this sweater are totally of my own creation, and since we all live and learn, I can live with it :)

Did you spot the monkey?

Note to self:

Don't spend the two hours between the end of the work day and the women's shelter sock monkey workshop knitting at your desk at work because when the proverbial brown stuff hits the fan at 6.30pm, you'll be the only one around to catch it. Then you'll spend the entire night fretting about your place of employment exploding and that said kabooey will be all your fault. Just sayin' it'd be a good thing to remember not to do next week.

That being said the workshop was actually a lot of fun this week. One of the ladies, Elaine, has made a married couple of monkeydunks, while others have started to put the finishing touches of personalities on their little simians. I'm hoping to get some pictures of their creations before the workshop ends in two weeks because they are the funniest, cutest things I ever did see. They knock Miss Perfectionist over here right off her perch and that can only be a good thing :)

Monkeys by Request

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's orange tie-die parachuting monkey!!

I'm thinking of branching out into custom made monkeys. This little guy was created at the request of a fellow Etsy-er for her adrenaline loving, skydiving brother's birthday. He was a blast to make and I hope it's what she wanted! I also recently made another themed (and totally awesome) monkey for the Reverend's birthday next week and I think this is something I could run with.

If you could have a monkey designed after you, would you do it?

Mustn't garbage pick, mustn't garbage pick

Um, how did this happen? I seem to have inherited a stash...

And it's all 100% acrylic baby! Woot! (or maybe not so woot...)

Since this all cost me nothing, I repeat nothing I'd be happy to give it all away. Does anyone know of charities that want sport weight and worsted weight acrylic in the colours shown above? I hope so because otherwise this little huge lot is going up on freecycle!

Updated to Add: Well, wouldn't you know it, two days later a lady posted a wanted sign on Freecycle asking for acrylic yarn to make squares for Squares for Survivors, Project Rest Assured and Bev's Country Cottage. Very serendipitous and maybe just a little bit freaky in an out there kind of way if you think about it long enough....