They're done!

Mom's socks
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Yay! I'll wash em and maybe block 'em (does one block machine washable knitted items?) and tommorrow they'll be on they're way to Mom. I really like them. The yarn is Regia Silk and its muy delicioso! In this picture, the socks are posing next to the rather large pile of unfolded laundry. Priorities, right?

More Yarn (hemp!)

kpixie order
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

There's never too much yarn. I ordered this for the Sexy Knitter's Club Orangina along from Kpixie.com. Lovely online store and look at the little treasure that came in the mail! Its Hemp for knitting Hemp/cotton blend at a fingering weight. On second thought though, I think this is a finer fingering weight than the 4ply cotton called for in the pattern. I may have jumped the gun a little, but I have wanted to order Hemp for Knitting for a while now. The yarn is AWESOME and soon I'll have to work up a gauge swatch. The KAL officially begins on Apr 1st so I should be ready by then. I'm kinda excited because I sat out on the Club's first KAL. I've noticed a lot of the other sexy knitters are using Knit picks Shine for their yarn choice but I just can't....I don't really like ANY of the Shine colors. I mean, I like bright colors and it is spring and all, but I don't wear very many bright colors. This basic undyed yarn is about as bright and neutral as I like to get.

Anyhoo...
I've been working on Mom's socks and will finish them this morning then I can ship them off. I hope she likes them. I do. The leg cuff isn't as long as I usually like but they are so soft and warm...
My only consolation is the new skeins I bought at the sale for myself. I think I'm going to try Wendy's basic toe up pattern. That way I can knit till the yarn runs out and have a long cuff. But first things first! I have to finish Mom's socks, work on the back of the teen/swim/beach top and then get my gauge swatch worked out for the Orangina. I'm thinking that will take a while. The last couple of projects I started took lots of swatching work. :(
I hate that.

YARN SALE!!!!!

yarn sale
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

I was SOOO excited when the LYS sent out emails for the sale. Of course I had a print out of the sale items and a plan. That went all to hell them moment I walked in. I know, I know. This isn't much of a haul for a end-of-season yarn sale. The only thing that was actually on sale in this picture was the Inca Alpaca. I bought four skeins (2 of each color) I'm going to knit together for a scarf. There is the glorious Regia Silk ( I LOVE that stuff) that I couldn't pass up. Then the 3 balls Cascade fixation and 6 balls of Knit 1, Crochet Too's Wick. I saw this the previous trip to the store and thought it looked soo interesting. Then the night before the sale, after my trillionth swatch for the damned beach/suit top I was so depressed that I told myself I wouldn't even go to the sale. (I guess I was thinking my knitting skills were so in the toilet that I didn't deserve discounted wool) When I saw Wick at the store I decided to go ahead and buy enough to make the top. Brave I know. Nothing I bought that day is refundable.
I cast on the gauge swatch right when I got home and lo and behold: The correct gauge!!! YEAH!!!! I've been working on only that and in my other spare moments I've been looking at this. It gives me the palpitations (in a good way).

front of "teen top"

front of "teen top"
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

It only took me about 3 days to finish this front piece. I really had no idea where the pattern was taking me for about the first 10". The yarn is SOOOOOO pretty. I don't really have anything blue in my wardrobe and these hues are magnificent. The yarn is spongey and a little stretchy and soft. The only thing that concerns me is the fact that I had blue swirls on my finger from where it was wrapped around as I knit. When I blocked my swatch there was no bleeding though. The label says machine wash and dryable, but after the wash it was almost dry so I let it air dry.
I haven't cast on for the back yet because I've started Mom's socks (again). There are looking pretty good 3.5" in. I think she'll really like them.
Also, I've just ordered some yarn from Kpixie for Orangina. The Sexy Knitters Club has voted for this and the Somewhat Cowl to be the next KAL. Too bad I don't have more of a chest. I fear the Somewhat Cowl won't look so hip on such a small chest. Sigh. Oh well. I liked Orangina best anyway and it shouldn't be a long knit.

roxie

roxie
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Roxie is excited for me to finish this top for the beach.

Summer dreams

For the last 2 days I've been working gauge swatches for some ideas for a bathing suit. I was never a bikini type girl, but I no longer find any one-pieces that I like. Throw in the stretch marks and I've got problems. Its difficult for me to buy something I LIKE let alone something I'm unsure I'll look good in. The idea I have in my head actually began when I first learned how to knit. I'm starting with some boy short bottoms. I don't like showing my butt cheeks off and frankly, bikini waxes frighten me. The top will have to come down and completely cover my stomach. For this, I have my eye on some tops from SR Kertzer. Melding these 2 ideas into one matching ensemble is my goal. I have some Sock it to Me from Elann that I think will work gauge wise, but I doubt there is enough. Should I try for the top first? Or the shorts? There is a company beach party at the end of April. Thats my deadline.

Finally!

Minisweater!
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

There was a lot of fiber arts success in our house this weekend. It took me 3.75 skeins of Peruvian Highland wool to make this baby on size 11's. The needles were so big, I really had to pay attention to the length as I knit it. I only got about 1/2 way through the raglan inc before I had to stop and seperate the sleeves from the body. Then I had to subtract some ST rows from the sleeves so they wouldn't be too long. It came out good, but the sleeve puffiness is a bit too much for me and I don't think it looks as good on me as some of the other pictures I've seen because my chest is so small. It needs to be blocked and buttoned and then we'll see about wearing it out.

Flat bottom bag

Flat bottom bag
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

This was fun to make and I finished it in 2 days. I went all the way to the Joann's to get the right size hook and, not only did I buy the wrong size, but I already had one that size! So now I have 2 size F hooks and I needed a size I. I ended up using a size H hook (shoulda jumped up to J) for this bag and the end result was a bit smaller than I liked. I'll most likely end up making another one in a dark brown. I just need more handles. I used one skein of Paton's Classic Merino. The fabric is soft but not saggy (like knit would be) with the the crocheted stitches.

Lists and new books

projects
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

I couldn't wait. I had to go buy the "Happy Hooker". Since going to El Paso, I've wanted to crochet something but haven't found anything besides amiguri. This book was exactly what I needed. It has all the how to and finishing stuff I lack in crochet. There are a few projects I'm really interested in making in here. I was honestly surprised that I liked so many of them. I find myself turning down crochet projects a lot because I just don't like the way the sts look. Lots of the patterns in here have changed my opinion.
Beside the book is my knitting list. I decided I had to sit down and make one because there were so many freaking projects swirling around in my head and I didn't want to lose any of them. There are 2 columns: Started and In Mind
There are 7 and 12 respectively. Hmmmmmmm. 3 of the "in mind" category are from the Happy Hooker. Go figure.

minisweater day one

minisweater day one
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

So I got some yarn from Elann. I bought the Highland Wool Chunky in what I thought was a red. To my delight, it seems much more like a rust color which is exactly what I was originally looking for.
Third times the charm? I hope so. I haven't yet frogged my second minisweater attempt. This one does seem to be going better, but its much easier to make inc with one strand than with 2 and this is the 3rd go round. I love this little sweater design and I'm hoping I can finish it this weekend at the latest!

Another finished tubey picture

IM001486
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Finally, here is a picture of my finished Tubey ON (I swear I don't always stand at attention). I really like this sweater, but I'm not sure when I'm going to get to wear it! I got some yarn in the mail on Friday from Theresa at Little Turtle Knits. The colorway was pretty cool even though those aren't colors I would usually go for. I really like the wool; it's soft and springy and strong. I made a pair of retarded baby booties which I'm too embarrased to post pictures of, so instead I cast on for yet another go at the Boobholder/Minisweater. I'm using a nice oatmeal color of Patons classic Merino. We'll see how this one turns out. If it doesn't I'll probably try some lamb's pride in another month or so.
Oh! There's new yarns at Knit Picks!
Gotta Go!

Inspiration and sad, sad knitting.

minisweater?
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

It is a testament to the power of yarn that I am still knitting like a mad woman. I am the first one to admit that I am a lazy person. It is (what I consider to be) my biggest character flaw. Don't get me wrong, I don't live in a pile of crap and I do my best at everything I do, but I fight off the urge to sit and veg and take the easy route A LOT. The fact that I am (and still want to) knitting like crazy like the knitting olympics have not ended stands as a frightening, er inspirational example of how much I LOVE this thing called knitting. It requires patience, attention to detail and most of all, stick-to-itiveness. Even more so when all your current WIP's are turning into projects from hell! AH! This isn't stopping me.
I began this friggin' minisweater with the only yarn possibility in the house: Patons classic Merino (double stranded to acheive gauge, HA!). It all went downhill from there. I got about 1/4 of the way through it before I realized I'd messed up the border garter st. Easy to fix! Right? Drop down and fix the sts, they're on the end, how hard could that be? That border mistake ended in me frogging the whole thing after I further crapped on the border with my inexperienced attempts at dropping down and fixing skills wherein I tangled the yarn and made the whole thing unmanageable.
No problem. I'll start over. I've got plenty of yarn and it's a quick knit. Everythings gone fine so far with this one as long as you overlook the fact that a double strand of ww merino is thick the fabric is heavy. Too thick and too heavy to wear outside in Florida.
Sigh.
I'll shed my crocodile tear as it visits the frog pond and then we are off to buy yarn.

baby sock
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Do newborns have almost 5" long feet? This is the total sum of my knitting yesterday. This is how it went:

Morning
Me: Hmm, Afghans for Afghans sent me an email. They need newborn size booties/socks and hats. No problem! I have lots of yarn perfect for this.

I walk over to get my Almanac baby sweater and proceed to frog it so I can make as many socks and hats as I can out of 2 skeins Cascade 220 as possible. I think this angered the yarn.

Afternoon:
finally picked up the house enough so I didn't suffer guilt about knitting. I cast on and knit an entire baby sock in about 45 minutes (allowing for story telling with Maya throughout). The thing is, well, it looked like the picture. I sigh and spend another hour surfing for more free patterns for infant socks.

Evening:
I cast on again while making dinner (dangerous multi-tasking I know. Yarn + food preparation= disaster) and knit without feeding myself, stopping only when I realize that I've been so intent on finishing I forgot the heel-turning part. Hmmmm. So eventually I finish and this is what I get. An exact replica of what I knitted before. Granted, I used the same size needle, but it IS the right gauge and they were different needles (dpn's vs circular addi's).
I plan on trying booties later. Tonight maybe. Maybe.