FO: LMKG tea cozy

Posted on January 12, 2008 by barefootrooster

Last night, after a delicious bellyful of sushi (two words: garlic sashimi), I returned home to finish the tea cozy, and I am really pleased with how it turned out.

Here is a close-up of the top:

I listened to the most recent episode of the Knitpicks podcast while I worked, and Kelly Petkun was talking about a French press cozy. I could most certainly use one of those, as each morning I pour the first cup of coffee from my press into an insulated mug so that it will stay warm until I am ready for it.

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

logic board, schmogic board.

Posted on December 9, 2007 by barefootrooster

My MacBook has returned victoriously, though you wouldn’t know it by the look on my dog’s face:

Seriously? Seriously. This dog is a comedian. Because I am so thrilled to have my computer back, please allow me to share an excessive amount of pictures of my weekend with you. Knitting content below, I promise, but first, to demonstrate how much I trust y’all, a funny Saturday morning picture:

The answer is “No” to all of the questions you are asking. (“Are you a speed skater?” “What about a super hero?” “Did you actually buy those?” They were a gift.) I went for a run on Friday with the dog, and wore these under my shorts for added protection from the gusty winds in the bosque. Saturday morning, pre-sunrise, the dog was begging to go outside, and I was awake, so I pulled these on to keep me warm. Upon returning inside, I realized how ridiculous I looked, and snapped this photo. Feel free to laugh out loud. I share this with you in part because I settled in with a cup of coffee, episodes of CraftLit and Cast On and some knitting deserving of some attention: my Fleece Artist Tiger Socks.

See? Now you can enjoy my completed sock without being completely distracted by the glow of my electric blue spandex. Maybe I kept them on for the whole morning. I am really proud of this sock — the first of my second pair ever. There are still a few teeny mistakes here and there, but overall, the heel is solid, the stitches are tight and even, and I even kitchenered the toe! I was so excited about all of this that I immediately cast on for the second sock. I asked Mr. Claus for some long sock circs and a Magic Loop book, and I want to finish these before I hear those reindeer hoofs on my parents’ roof. (This is going to be a long post — I’ve only been blogging a short while, but I missed you this week.)

Onward to more knitting:

I finished another garter brim hat — a bit too big for my small head on purpose. Not sure who this will go to, but I love this. My Thanksgiving host called this my “watermelon” hat, and I like the name.

You may notice the style of this photo — consider it a tribute to cosy of cosymakes. The pattern is hers, and can be found on her blog for free here. I love the photos she takes of her hats, and thought that I would display the result of her scrap-happy celebration hat pattern in a similar way. Thanks, cosy! This hat is made of Cascade 220 and Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed scraps, and is destined to go to my brother — the brim yarn is leftover from the pair of Dashing I made for him.

Boh and I went for a hike in the rain this weekend — we were the only ones out wandering, and it was absolutely beautiful in that foggy, forlorn, expansive kind of way. The weather was the kind that makes you want to eat soup, and, inspired by this post by Amy at angry chicken, I modified a Moosewood recipe for curried spinach and pea soup to be a warm, soothing mixture featuring kale, potatoes and Thai chile paste.

That’s all for now. I did even more knitting than I ‘ve posted here this weekend, and perhaps in the morning light, I’ll be able to take a few more pictures to share.

P.S. I’m sure you all already know about how fantastic the CraftLit and Cast On podcasts are (links above), and that I’m just a little late to the party, but on the off chance that you haven’t given these a listen, go download an episode. You won’t be disappointed.

happy turkey day!

Posted on November 21, 2007 by barefootrooster

Thanksgiving may be my favorite holiday, and though I will not be heading East to spend it with my family, this year will be no exception. I am heading to a magical place (in fact, the place pictured in my blog header). There, we have ice cream in our coffee at breakfast, sit by the wood-burning stove and enjoy the company of folks willing to make the trek. Boh and I will hit the road tomorrow morning, windows down, enjoying mountain air and anticipating the smell (and for me, the taste) of the persimmon pie on the other end of the drive.

Still no modem — perhaps in Friday’s mail? Here’s what I’ve been doing…

The color is, predictably, in between these two representations. Also, I finished Dashing!

legwarmers and sugarplums

Posted on November 8, 2007 by barefootrooster

When I was a little girl, I took ballet lessons. I dreamed of Balanchine, of Coppelia, of tulle and tutus. I practiced A LOT. I danced en pointe; my toes bled; my body ached. I pulled on these legwarmers last night around midnight, having just woven in the ends, and felt the urge to “gran ron-de-jaum”, to “jete”, “gran pas-de-sha”; to waltz through the kitchen the way I used to do just before dinner time, forks and knives in my hands. (It was far more fun to set the table while waltzing.)

(Apologies for the dark, grainy picture. The urge to plie struck late last night. This was taken in the mirror.) These legwarmers are looooong. 26″ in length! I thought about binding off many times, but I am glad that I persevered: these are long enough to be scrunched and still reach up to my knees. They are incredibly soft, have a nice depth to the color, and are very warm. The nights are getting colder here, and I decided to wear them to bed last night. I woke up with the sun, about ten minutes before my alarm, with a cold nose and toasty calves.

I bow to the swatch gods…

Posted on November 3, 2007 by barefootrooster

because I don’t want to upset them!

The fingerless mitts turned out very nicely. I decided to end the second one a few rows early in order to use only one of my 2 skeins of this Artyarns Supermerino, but I estimated the gauge correctly and they fit very well. I bet I could get away with even fewer stitches just to eliminate the worry of running out of yarn. I will most certainly use these guidelines again — I love these mitts, particularly the way they show off the yarn.

I am planning to put them to good use today — the dog and some friends and I are off to play outside for the day. Coffee? Check. Thermos of tea for later? check. Bone for the dog in the car? Check. Warm clothes? Check. Camera? Check plus.

I am ready for some outside time. Hopefully I will have pictures to share when I return…

Be aggressive. B-E aggressive.

Posted on October 29, 2007 by barefootrooster

You know the rest. Right? (B-E-A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E, be aggressive!) Where am I going with this? Why, pom-poms, of course!

In anticipation of the giant yarn purchase that will be arriving this week, I’ve been feeling guilty about my WIPs, because I know the pile is about to double in size. I do not have a pom-pom maker (who knew such a thing existed!) and I’ve been putting off making my own out of scrap cardboard because I am lazy. I really have no other reason. Internet to the rescue: I found this tutorial for making pom-pom’s without a tool- Thank you, SkaMama! This was super easy and actually, quite a bit of fun. My pom poms are not entirely spherical, but there is an organic aspect to them that I really like. Ta-da! FOs abound. (Okay, there are two of them.) First up, the garter brim hat. I think I’m keeping this one.

This next photo was taken from above. I can’t believe my arms are long enough to make this work.

Here’s a side view, on top of the bowls and piles that currently cover my bright yellow 1960s table.

This hat is made out of one skein of Noro Kureyon, and I have to say, my fingers didn’t really enjoy this yarn as much as I was expecting them to. The colors are stunning, but the fabric is stiff. It is possible that I knit this too tightly (I think I used 9s) and that the yarn would’ve behaved a bit differently if I had used larger needles. Don’t worry, I’m not giving up on Kureyon yet. I made this over the summer, and it belongs to a friend who fell in love with it, and even offered to make her own pom-pom. I’m hoping she’s forgotten so that it will be a lovely surprise when it arrives in her mailbox.

Hooray for pom poms (and FOs) – Happy Monday!

FOs below!

Posted on October 28, 2007 by barefootrooster

I’m back in my own house now, and Boh is fast asleep. Nonstop playing is exhausting! I can’t help myself. Before I get to the results of my own playtime with yarn, I have to show you some doggy pictures:

Adorable. I love those dogs too, but I am glad to be back in my one-dog house. I managed to wrap up a few projects today, and I am really happy with the way they turned out. First up, the Baby Bib O’ Love from Mason Dixon Knitting. This was a super fast knit, and very enjoyable. This would’ve been done earlier, but Boh decided that he loved it too, and managed to chew through one whole stitch. I secured it with a fairly subtle knot (yikes, cardinal sin!) but it was still a bit obvious, so I decided to try my hand at some simplistic embroidery. Cosette, over at cosymakes, does some beautiful embroidery on the hats she makes, and her work inspired me to attempt to do something eye-catching to draw the viewer away from Boh’s teeth marks.

I know that pooling is generally frustrating, but in this case, I like how crazy this bib came out. I mean, I wear mostly neutral colors, but the 1-year old this is for seems to love bright colors (and, surprisingly, me!). Today is her birthday — Happy Birthday Ava!

I am excited to get this in the mail tomorrow.

I also finished the turquoise pair of Fetching, for a friend who is about as far away as you can get from where I am. (I used to be that far away too.) It is pretty hot there, but I think these will be a nice way to keep her hands warm while she rides her hot little Honda motorbike around town. (E –excuse the spoiler. I’m sharing now in case your package ends up in Nigeria. Oh, and boh mi ban ha, mi tan ha.)

While house-sitting, I managed to watch a lot of really bad television instead of crossing things off my list. I am learning that this is one of the dangers of knitting — because I am moving my hands and creating something, I can justify some seriously marginal activities, just because I can knit while doing them. Here’s my progress on the LMKG legwarmers. They are intended to be super long, which will allow for some serious scrunching. I love the combination of the Cascade 220 Heathers and the Madil Kid Seta. I’m about about 22 of 26 inches on the first one. Can’t wait to wear these!

Alright. Time to make a cup of tea and stop procrastinating.

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