Like a Glove prt2

well, the first glove is finished. made out of knitpicks and on size 1 needles, it fits...well, rather like a glove except for the fingertips, but that's to be expected. it'll look so much better after a heavy-duty washing/blocking. I kind of Frankensteined this pattern together, the cuff was from one mitten, the hand pattern from another mitten and then I turned it into a glove. no patterned fingers this time, its actually my first glove.
meanwhile, I'll try to finish up the second moth hankie and trace out another pattern onto another blank hankie.

in other news, I discovered my smoke alarm is very sensitive. and is very loud. how did I come to learn this? thank my crappy frying pan and some turkey bacon. it wasn't even all that burnt, but the pan gets really hot, really fast and I guess there was enough smoke, but thankfully between the open window and a decent hood vent over the stove, no damage was done and no one came to yell at me.
but you know, when the smoke alarm goes off, dinner's ready!

beer beer beer

I don't drink alot. but making beer and wine, and the sheer number of things you can ferment, it amazes me!
I think one day, when I have a place that has room to store and let aging or what have you happen out of the way, I would definitely try to experiment. make fig wine, dandelion wine, beer, all sorts of beers with flavorings and spices... just because I can, not that I care about drinking it all that much.
making things sometimes is way more fun then the finished product, which is why I'm including it in this blog. its a science (getting the yeasties to grow) and an art (getting it to taste like something other then horse urine) and somewhat faster then growing bonsai trees (another dream of mine) and you can always have an awesome beer-tasting party with everyone dressed up in Victorian garb.
my friends would do it.
(and I just realized it looks like I have a joint next to my beer. sorry, it's just a tag I cut out of a shirt. )

charged with graph

I bought an engineering graph book today.
its not terribly pretty, its actually bright orange, but that's not what mattered, considering all the nice graph books were 15 bucks (seriously, ppl, its graph paper!)
but here's the thing. I like going to the library, browsing books... stealing patterns... you see, there are lots of things that graphed patterns are good for! knitting, cross stitch, weaving, and I decided that I needed something to use as a quick ref, esp if I'm in class (taking a weaving class this semester)
and so, the bright orange book becomes my secret helper. :3 it already has a few ideas in it... (sadly they are drawn very very crappily by me)

Like a Glove

I love two color knitting.
I truly do.
these mittens are way too huge for me, even after washing and scrubbing them in hot water and soap.
but I don't really mind... they were fun to make and someday there will be a guy with warm hands and awesome red mittens.
selbuvotter is a pretty good book for this sort of thing, even coming from someone who owns at least three books with mitten/glove patterns. some of the graphs are a little confusing, but eh.
meanwhile, I'm working on knitting the fingers for a purple on white glove, and then I might knit some thick mittens and embroider them. then maybe a hat. we'll see.
we should also see if beer and embroidery go together. :3

Stop! sweater time.

I've been knitting for about 5 years now? and I have one hand knit sweater.
I love yarn. and I'm not adverse to large projects, I have about 4 crocheted blankets I've done. but lets face it. soft, cuddly yarns are expensive. you have to fiddle with gauge, they are hard to drag around, esp if you knit alot in the car or between classes...

which is why I own about 30 pairs of hand knitted socks.
at least my feet aren't cold.

Tam and Tam again.

ah, the joys of the library. few of you may know, I'm in school again, trying to catch up for an MFA in textiles. this will mostly involve weaving, but lets get back to the library. there's nothing like it. in the library of congress, knitting and crafts falls under the subject letters of TS and TT. here, it's on the fourth floor, I took the elevator and breathed a huge sigh of relief. back to the old habits of studying for fun.
I really should have remembered to bring graph paper or a notebook. or put money on my card for the copier, but I'd still have to shelp it all downstairs.

next time.

anyway, knitting wise, I'm having a love affair with shetland yarns. so many colors, fine weight, its all squishy when you knit it up... I love doing color work too. the photo is of a tam I did before I moved a week ago. the band for the head is too big, I need to sew in something soft to bring it in tighter. I'll make more, they are fun and easy, but first I need some gloves. of course, out of shetland. the only thing better would be something with a bit of lanolin in it....

Opening volley

I'm always in search of something new, always trying a new craft or a new technique. recently something struck me, and I have a new obsession with hankies.
I dunno why, it just hit me. I searched thru the french sewing books that were on hand, examined a theadbare one that I had from an antique clothing shop, whipped some up from batiste I had, and then examined the old ones from my great-grandmother and the other women in my family who had a thing for hankies too (maybe its genetic.)
I used tatting thread and a 12 steel crochet hook and mimiced an edging they did to finish the edges of their hankies, embroidered what I had, got a 13 pack of mens hankies and started on them.
I don't even quite know what to do with them, the lace one I had gotten with the antique kimono I bought usually worked as a nice lace veil for one of my dolls.
but hey, I'm getting better at embroidery.