Psychomom'S pace: Hobbies

Yucca Bells

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:10:23 GMT

I Love Lilies

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 04:28:26 GMT

I Knit, therefore I am

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 19:25:13 GMT

Happy Birthday Crazy Aunt Purl!!! You have been a great inspiration and a nice addition to my life. It has been such a joy and pleasure reading your life adventure and sharing painful moments and then watching your sucess explode onto the world. You deserve only the best life has to offer!

Cheers to you today and everyday!

My Crazy Aunt Purl Shirt which reads:

I knit, Therefore I Am always armed with two really sharp sticks, sturdy yarn and scissors so do not fuck with me.

Bees Gone Wild

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 03:05:30 GMT

This bee knows what he likes.

Scarf and Headband

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 03:05:44 GMT

I finished my scarf and although it is a little short I think it is kind of cute. I added little braids at the ends to match the braids on the hat. The weather has started to warm so it probably won't get a whole lot of use this winter, oh well, I'll be ready next year.

I've been reading and looking a beautiful photos at a new blog, Scout's Swag is a local gal who dyes gorgeous yarn and teaches dye classes. I'm planning on going to one of her classes (as a birthday gift to myself) in April so I can learn and use the yarns to knit or weave. She has a lot of great stuff for sale online but I haven't bought anything (yet). I'm just learning to knit so I don't usually spend too much money on my yarn but when I get better I'm sure I will, it has become another addiction for me but I don't think it is something I need to attend AA for. Anyway, she had pictures of a headband that she made and I had some leftover yarn so I decided to see if I could copy it. It wasn't too hard to make once I got it started and I finished in a couple of days. Jacob helped by modeling it for me, silly boy.

I made it to the craft store Sunday and bought some very small circular and double pointed needles and some grey, red and camo colored yarn for socks. I really want to learn and am taking them to the stitch and bitch so I can beg for help. I start a real long tube using some scrap yarn and a set of the double pointed needles to try them out and to make a holder for my other knitting needles. I just keep finding new things I can create and I don't care if they are lame and cheesy. I made them and it makes me feel good.

DC Comes Home

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:51:33 GMT

My Digitial Camera (DC) arrived home yesterday all fixed up, Yeah! It looks like they fixed what was wrong and sent it back muy pronto and because there was no school yesterday, someone was home to recieve it and they didn't have to take it back to the main UPS center.

I did a little knitting last night on the scarf I've been working for a while now. I had taken a break from it the other day to knit up a case for my new phone. I made the handle/cover so it can be held on a belt loop or by your hand or closed up completely. The boys razzed me about it saying it was lame but I like it because it protects my phone and I don't have to buy the boring ones like everybody elese owns. Mine is unique just like me.

Sock it to Me

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 03:52:58 GMT

I love visiting Crazy Aunt Purl and her sweet kitties, her readers are also a great bunch, very supportive and helpful. Today I asked for some help for links and needles and I got some great advice. I'm saving this info for my next project because I have a scarf I need to finish and some yarn and needles to buy before I can get started. Actually it's all this research that is going to take some time to sink into my head. I think I can, I think I can....

Kathy wrote:

Psychomom – check out SOCKS 101 in knitty & Terry’s SOCKS 101:

http://www.knitty.com/issuespring05/FEATsocks101.html

http://www.royea.net/sockdemo1.html

I learned to knit socks using both of these articles. I used the training sock pattern in the knitty article and I followed Terry’s instructions. It took a few tries but eventually I *got* it.

Third Base Line wrote:

psychomom: Best sock knitting book I've run across is "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch. (She's also got some excellent, easy stitch patterns in there that I've lifted for everything from scarves to gloves.) Also check out "Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles" by Cat Bordhi.

MonicaPDX wrote:

Psychomom re socks (hope you don't mind the highjack, Laurie [g]) - excellent suggestions earlier re Cat Bordhi's book and Charlene Schurch's. (Btw, I'm a newbie sock knitter, who's loving it. Dpns hate me and run away, so I use the 2-circular method.) I don't have Bordhi's book, but did buy Schurch's and it's fantastic. It has instructions for using dpn's or two circulars for *every* pattern, and tons of patterns, in all sorts of gauges/sizes - w/stitch patterns both charted and written; plus socks knit toe-up as well as cuff-down, and different styles of toes and heels.
Errata for book at: http://tinyurl.com/y5fnyj

Needle size depends on how tight you knit. I'm a loose knitter; with fingering wt. I need to use #1's or #0's on yarns that are suggesting #3's or #2's on the ball band. ;) Knowing whether you usually go up or down needle sizes to get gauge is your best help to decide on size. I suggest getting your first needles in two sizes that bracket your best guess - like #0 and #1, or #1 and #2. See which gives you a fabric you like better. (Socks should be knit at a tighter gauge than sweaters, so they don't wear out too fast.) If you like socks, you'll end up with different sizes anyway, for different yarns, so you'll almost certainly use both sizes. If those sizes sound too scary at first, you can also start with socks in sport, DK or worsted - plenty of plain patterns for those on the web.

Links for some great sites to get you started:

Sockknitters Home Page
http://www.socknitters.com/directory.htm#links
Lots of tips, patterns, etc.

The Arachne Sock Calculator
http://www.panix.com/~ilaine/socks.html
(Haven't tried it myself, but most online pattern calculators tend to work.)

Tutorial on knitting socks w/2 circulars, with good pix:

http://www.az.com/%7Eandrade/knit/socks.html
(lots of other handy info on this site too.)

Kristin's Knitting Socks Online Class
http://www.cometosilver.com/socks/SockClass_Intro.htm
This is the intro page - scroll down to dload whole thing as PDF, or get it on a print-friendly web page. (For the latter, just save the sucker as a complete page to your HD, then you don't worry about losing the printout or the web pages disappearing some day.) Lots of pix, instructions for making the socks with fingering, sport or worsted wt. yarns. These are done on double-points, but even if you end up going with the 2 circs method, this page can help you out at a lot of spots. It did me. [g] The pictures in particular - *really* step by step.

The last two sites not only take you all the way through, but if you knit along with, you'll end up with a pair of socks. As to other basic sock patterns, if you can't find enough with these links or at sites like Knitty.com, just Google for free sock patterns. You'll find tons. Really - and remember, this is from another sock newbie - once you've made one plain stockinette sock, you've also learned how to adjust it infinitely. All you need from then on is a person's foot/leg measurements and your gauge. Even a math ninny like me can do it. ;) After you get 'em down in stockinette, then you can find patterned socks. I repeat, tons of free sock patterns online.

A Black Hat

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 20:45:10 GMT

I finished Jacob's earflap hat last night and started a scarf to match my grey earflap hat. I've frogged it once already and don't know exactly what design I'm doing but it is in work and it will have pointed ends like the ear flaps.

Aliens

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 22:58:32 GMT

Friday night when I was working on the hat one of my stitch markers disappeared. I looked and looked for it every where but could not find it. It was as though it disappeared off the face of the earth. Have you ever had that happen to you? It is just gone and you know it has to be somewhere near, things just don't disappear. At first I thought Jacob was playing head games with me then I just gave up looking and found a substitute, an alien ring, I thought it was appropriate considering my lost one had been abducted.

Any way I finished my earflap hat last night and Jacob took possession of it. He says he is keeping it until I finish making one for him. I had some black striping yarn (Carons, Opal Twist) left over from the first hat I made so I started making another one for him last night. I have both earflaps made and I am joining them together and ready to put it on the round needles. I think the first one turned out pretty good so I am using basically the same pattern. Here are picture of the finished grey hat and the alien who helped mark my stitches. Oh, I found the lost marker in my bag, it must have rolled in there or the aliens put it back in its home after they finished with their experiments.

Knitting Hats

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 01:31:37 GMT

Earflap hat currently in work

A blue hat matches a blue scarf

Knitting warms a cold heart

Soothes my soul

In Work

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 00:48:40 GMT

Lucas' friend Matt was wearing a cool hat Saturday when they went sledding. It was a grey wool knitted cap with ear flaps that had braided yarn on each end. I asked to see it and quickly drew it up and took some measurements. I started one ear flap that day and finished another one yesterday. Tonight while watching Top Chef I hope to join them together and get the cap part going. I'm using Caron Simply Soft Shadows in Mardi Grey and am going to make it all stockinette on size 10 round needles. It self stripes and is 100% acrylic which means I can throw it in the washer. I hope it turns out.

Knitting Around

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:08:20 GMT

I did it! I finally knitted my first round project and I am so proud of myself. I had started knitting another scarf with the same yarn as my last scarf but I really wanted a hat so I ripped out the four inches I had on the regular needles and made the move to the round needles. It took me a while to figure out how to join the ends but once the first couple of rows were on it became much easier. I cast on 80 stitches on size 10 needles and started with several knit rows so it would curl up for a nice rolled brim. I then sort of used the same pattern as the scarf, which is a take-off of a pattern from a pair of socks I own. Row 1-4: K3, P2, Row 5 P3, K2, repeat. The scarf was done on size 11 needles and both K and P were done in pairs of 2. When I started the hat I wanted multiples of 5 hence the K3, P2 and I only have size 10 round needles so size 10 it was. After knitting about 5-6 inches I knitted two together at each end of a quartered section (20 stitches to start, then 18, 16, 14, etc.) to join the top. I probably should have tapered the top a little slower but it looks fine and I finished it in a couple of days. Now I have a scarf and hat set! Could socks and gloves be possible?