Knotty Mouse

(hopefully this gallery will show up in bloglines.. but there ARE pictures here and you might have to go to the actual website to see them.)

In between cleaning the filth left by the previous tenants (*shakes head*) and attempting to unpack the house a bit I’ve been working on a few knitting projects. I finally finished the socks that I had started at Yarn Harlot last September - though I had to remove the picot edge on one because I decided that I didn’t like it. I really love these colors together and the sock yarn is very soft and squishy. Unfortunately I won’t be wearing these socks until it gets MUCH cooler– around September.  I used Magic Loop, short row - no hole heel, Turkish cast on for the toe, and 60 stitches on size 1 Addi’s ( all project info can be found on my Rav page)

Due to utter confusion when we moved (understatement of the year, that one) all of our boxes ended up spread around the house and I was left to poke around the contents of unlabeled bins looking for my knitting supplies. I found my container of straight needles and my small bin of kitchen cotton and got started on some wash cloths for end of school teacher gifts. Even though I’ve never really been into knitting cotton or dishcloths I really liked the pattern I was using (from the book “Mindful Knitting”) and ended up making about 5 cloths before the novelty wore off. I gifted the rest to my MIL for her birthday and used the end of the cotton to make glass cozies for myself.

I really wanted to thank everyone for the comments and good thoughts during our move - it really means a lot to have folks sending good vibes during hard times.  I should be caught back up with returning comments & emails but I do know that there is a good chance that things got lost in my inbox(es) so if you emailed and needed a response to something and I’ve ‘ignored’ you.. please email again.

Oh, for those of you on blog-readers I’ve redone the header bar for the blog with a photo I took here at the new house.. they are the well worn prayer flags that are hanging from the deck roof.  The photo makes me happy - and it reflects the sort of feeling I want in the house itself and on this blog.

(new WP ‘gallery’ feature inserted here.. not sure if the feed reader will pick it up or not)

• Molly’s Headband- from  IK Summer 2006 free PDF
• Elsebeth Lavold Cable Cotton - not quite one skein
• size 4 US needles
• Mods: I knit the lace section first and added the i-cord ties later to make sure I had enough yarn. I also screwed up the lace pattern because I didn’t read the symbols correctly - next time I won’t print the chart in draft mode to save ink. lol.
• I really love this headband and have the yarn for 2 more.. its great for flattening out my crazy hair.

Feeling a void inside? I know what you’ve been missing… headless blogger photos!  I hacked my head off of this one thanks to a really really bad hair day.. and fighting with the self-timer function on the camera.  There is no pattern to this scarf.. I simply cast on 10 or 12 stitches and knit garter stitch using size 17us needles until I ran out of both balls of yarn.  The yarn was Gedifra Tagliato that I got for my birthday when I was in PA a few years ago…  I just could never figure out what to make with it or get the gauge right.  Its a huge, chunky, fuzzy scarf that ended up not really being entirely warm.  *sigh*

Other than this scarf.. I haven’t knit anything in quite a while. My hand and wrist has been giving me problems again and I’m not willing to do any more damage to it.. and seeing a doctor is pretty much out of the question. (insert rant about the US’s lack of gov’t health care here)

I have been hoping that I would suddenly be smacked upside the head by the “spirit of the holidays” and get to decorating the house (there are TWENTY DAYS until Christmas.. eep!) but so far.. no luck.  Usually I’ve at least considered putting up the tree by now.. but this year I couldn’t care less about any of it.  Hubby will be camping this weekend and I’ll be home with Munchkin for 2 days.. so I thought about putting some Christmas music  (we have those satellite music channels on the tv… I assume ONE of them is holiday music) on, lighting a fire in the fireplace, making hot chocolate, and getting my butt in gear with some help from the Munchkin.  Yes people, I’m FORCING myself to be festive… its a new low.  Anyone want to come over and help me staple antlers onto the cat? **

** Its a reference to the movie Scrooged- I’m not really going to staple the cat’s head.

I’ve been determined lately to get most of the UFO’s I have off of the needles so that I can start on a sweater for winter… and the next thing on my list to complete was my handspun half- clapotis. The roving itself was a Christmas gift from Ms. Jane and it was spun up in February (by me) while I was in Athens watching Sandy teach  Jodi how to spin on her borrowed wheel. I started the scarf shortly after that (looking back on the blog.. it was in March) but it languished in my knitting basket all summer.. mostly getting dragged around as car knitting. I finally got it out and finished it a few days ago.. and Munchkin took some photos for me today after he got home from school before my camera died (need more batteries). I apologize for the headless blogger shots once again, but this wasn’t my editing job! Yes, my son managed to lop my head off of nearly every shot… except for the one where I was clearly telling him “Push the button down” because my mouth is hanging open and I’m pointing at the camera. (and no, you can’t see that shot)

Pattern Stats: Clapotis - using the directions for a scarf sized version found at KPixie.
Yarn: Handspun Corriedale Pencil Roving from Crown Mountain Farms. approx. 6 ounces of bulky handspun
needles: addi turbo size 10 circs
finished size: 8.5 x 67 before fringe (about 80 inches after..)

I love this scarf! From the time that I learned how to spin I’ve wanted to knit a handspun clapotis-style scarf/wrap.. and I’m very happy with the results of this project. Its gotten cool enough here in GA for the last 2 days so I’m looking forward to wearing the scarf soon. I’ll leave you with the full length shot of the scarf while blocking so that you can see the different color changes in the yarn. (as usual.. click to embiggen)

If you click the link it will take you to a great description of what the button means. I saw this on a blog earlier today and it rang so true that I went over and got the code to put up here.

I do feel like I should apologize for not responding to comments left in the last two weeks… everything is crazy around here. My husband has been away more than he’s been home this month and being a “single parent”- even for a span of 2 weeks- is a lot more work than one (still rather ill) Mouse can deal with at once. (*insert whining here*)

I know that its still rather early in the month but its nearly definite very possible that I won’t be attending SAFF this year (again) which would have made a really cool “Big 3-0″ birthday gift of a trip. Admittedly I’m sad that I might not get to meet the long list of Southern bloggers who are going to be there but I also realize that there is little chance we can afford the trip at this point.

If it doesn’t work out.. I’m pondering instead a trip to the mountains (hiking, photography & antique shopping) or a trip to Athens,GA for the day (shopping, food, yarn & a visit to my favorite tattoo artist for a consultation on a later tattoo) and a nice dinner.

I do have a finished object which went so quickly that it managed to slip under the radar of my side WIP progress bars. I found an openwork crocheted snood pattern online and pulled out a size e hook and some black crochet cotton (fingering weight) and went to town. I’m pretty happy with it but I may add another few rounds to make it hang more because I have a lot of hair. I also threaded some black elastic into the snood so that it would stay on my head without pins.. though I need to buy some thinner elastic or crochet an edge to hide the elastic from view. I’m sorry for the sucktacular photo but its hard to take pictures of your own head. I will get hubby to take some better photos this weekend when he returns home!

After writing the “feline blocking unit” post I forgot to actually post the finished object that she helped to block. This is the
‘Lochshal Scarf’ that I made after finding the German pattern link on Ravelry. You can find an English translation and a better chart here at BavGirl’s blog.

I ended up making the scarf too short because I’m not very good with charts and kept messing up the pattern and I didn’t like the yarn I was using (Wool-Ease Worsted- wheat ’sprinkle’ with the bits in it) or the way the edges folded back. I would definitely do this pattern again with more garter stitches on the edges and in a yarn without pieces in it.

Proper blocking of a lacey knitted object requires water, pins, an appropriate sized blocking area, and a feline blocking unit (FBU). The FBU’s main purpose is to weight down the knitted object and provide warmth to stimulate the fibers to open and thus allowing the lace pattern to be better viewed. The Feline Blocking Unit also adds textural elements to your finished item. This function of the FBU depends greatly on the color of your knitted item and the color of your Feline Blocking Unit.. but most FBU’s can sense that the item is of an appropriate color to properly receive ‘textural element deposits’ and will roll and stretch to cover as much surface area as possible. You will never have to worry about over-blocking with an FBU, as the unit has an “automatic shut-off” feature - when your item is finished being blocked.. the FBU will simply turn its nose up at the knitted item and wander away. It will return to its docking station (see figure below) and proceed to recharge for its next use.

I’ve been working on these footies on and off for the last few weeks but I was waiting on a second skein of yarn to come in to make them larger. In the end I decided that I really could use some hand knit footie socks for my mary janes and kept them short. These were knit on two separate needles but at the same time. I really like having a completed pair finished at once but I don’t think I have the commitment to do full sized socks this way.
I’ve already started a pair of footies out of the Rainforest “Schlange” colorway that I made Munchkin’s birthday socks out of in July and I’ve been looking at sweaters that I could make with my stash yarn. I really do want to knit something to wear to SAFF but I’m already bored to tears with the Lady Eleanor stole that I started.

Project stats:
Pattern: toe up socks, short row heel, k2p2 ribbing
Needles: addi US size 1 circular (magic loop all the way baby!)
yarn: Lorna’s Laces sock- Vera colorway- 1 skein

In between sweating off about 8 pounds and battling ants in my kitchen I managed to finish the STR Broadripple cuffed socks that have been hanging around on my needles since June. The first sock went rather quickly but the second was afflicted with SSS and spent most of its life stuffed in the bottom of my knitting bag.. especially when the cuff started to pool differently than the first.

Pattern: Turkish cast on, MisoCrafty’s short-row heel, Broadripple cuff.
Yarn: Socks that Rock Medium Weight in Gypsum bought at MSW during our raid on The Fold’s booth. We had a battle plan people, it was serious.
Needles: magic loop - Addi 2.5 mm
I loved knitting with the Socks that Rock yarn.. it was very soft, well spun, and didn’t have any knots. The colors are rich and gorgeous but pooling on the other hand.. tests the tiny handful of sanity I have left. While the price of the yarn is too rich for my blood at the moment, I’m hoping to get some of the semi-solid colourways in the future.

What’s next on the sock needles? I’d really like to try some of the Lorna’s Laces that I have in the stash to see what sort of color pooling madness happens - I’ll figure out the pattern for the cuff after I turn the heel.  Anyone who is on Ravelry knows that I’ve sort of gone batshit in regards to the pattern queue - I think I’ve got around 90 projects in my personal queue and that was only from some quick browsing.

Thanks for the well wishes about my stupid hand.. it seems to hurt way less to knit with large needles than to type or use the computer mouse.. so I’m working on some projects. I think the worst thing at the moment is not being able to do things like pick up the milk jug or write with a pencil. (not to mention not being able to type for more than 5 minutes at a time without wanting to saw my own limb off..) Because of the weird way I knit (continental but odd.. ) I’m still able to prop up the needles (straights..which also limit my choices of projects) and relieve some boredom.. so I did manage to finish a languishing project.
This “f’ed oh” is the Noro Kureyon entrelac scarf I started all the way back in November 2006.. which was also “Noro-Vember” (and yes I do think that 10 months is a fine amount of time to knit a scarf.. It seems to be the norm around Chez Mousie). I love to wear scarves but I get really bored with them and tend to have to stick them away for a while.. even though the entrelac and color changes of the yarn seemed to keep me pretty entertained.

Pattern stats: Danica from Knitty
size: about 60 inches
Needles : size 8 US bamboo straight needles
Yarn: Noro Kureyon - 3 1/2 skeins
Mods: I only used one yarn instead of the three called for in the pattern and didn’t break the yarn. Hooray for no ends to weave in!

I really really love this scarf.. and I think it will probably be one of the things that I end up wearing most this fall/winter. It is a bit scratchy but I’m wondering if a wash would help with that.. if I find that I can’t take the Kureyon against my skin I’m going to get some soft fabric and back the scarf.

I know, I know.. Two posts in one day! While watching tv today with Munchkin I finished up his snake socks for his upcoming birthday.. and he loves them! Unfortunately I’m not quite happy with the heel portion because I forgot that I have to add an inch of stockinette before I do the ribbing to stop them from sagging on the backs of his heels. He doesn’t care about the fit and I’m sure he’ll either outgrow or wear them out before I have a chance to make a second pair. He’s been wearing them since I finished them and has been running around the house like a crazy guy since Daddy isn’t downstairs (hubby’s office is under the dining room/playroom) to tell him to stop bouncing around.

Sock Stats: Opal Rainforest Schlange/Snake (32 grams used out of a 100g skein)
needle: size 1 Addi circ / magic loop
pattern: a mishmosh of the Universal Toe up pattern. I tried the Turkish Cast On found online instead of my usual figure-8 and found it much easier and the stitches were way neater.

So.. what’s next on the needles? I really need to finish my STR socks and I’d like to finish one of the scarves I’ve got going before I cast on for a sweater for the fall. I’ve also ordered a cool new pattern that was supposed to be emailed to me but I fear that my order may have gotten eaten by the internet. I didn’t really need it in a hurry as I’m going to be spinning up the yarn for the project myself and it calls for around 360 yds of dk weight..

I’m off to enjoy the silence before the fireworks start up and I have to pull the cat off the ceiling and the kid out from under the bed. Happy 4th!

EDITED TO ADD: ps. Does anyone have a link for some of those WIP bars that I can stick on my blog? I’ve done a web search for them and I can’t actually locate what I want. Thanks!

With a good portion of my internet friends out of town I’ve had a lot of knitting time on my hands and have actually managed to finish one of my STR socks. I had a lot of problems with finding a pattern that would work with the pooling and finally settled on Broadripple from Knitty. The pooling worked up awesome and I really loved how easy the stitch pattern is to memorize and follow. I’ve yet to cast on for the second sock but I’m already worried that it won’t match its mate. The only good thing with the second sock is thanks to my handy kitchen scale I know that I have more than enough yarn to make another sock of this size.

Tomorrow night is Munchkin’s first sleep over with his grandmother (MIL) and he’s thrilled. I however.. am a basketcase. I have to finish up some laundry and pack his bag and blankets in the morning but I still want to be sick over the thought of him not being here at night. I’m sure he’ll do fine.. and I’ll be up all night pacing the floors.

Surprisingly these socks took me less than 2 months to complete and I even finished another full pair of socks in between! I do believe that the combination of toe up and magic loop is the secret to making sock mojo work in my favor. This pair was technically the first toe-up sock I did and I’m pretty happy with the way they turned out. I did end up doing ’sock surgery’ on the toe of the first sock that was very pointy because I cast on too small of a number of stitches..

pattern: Universal Toe Up
yarn: 2 skeins gifted Koigu KPPPM (with quite a bit left over)
needles: size 1 Addi circs (magic loop)
Started: March 27,2007 finished:May 17,2007
Shoes: Keen Seattle maryjanes ( I love these shoes..)

I was a little unhappy with how splitty the yarn was in one of the skeins.. you’d think for how expensive the stuff is that there wouldn’t be as many issues with it. I was very concerned with the pooling on the socks when I started because I really like my socks to be ‘matchy matchy’ and these weren’t. Pooling usually makes me neurotic but I was able to just let go and accept that its what this yarn does. Other than the problems with the one skein, Koigu KPPM is a very nice yarn to knit with.

In between finishing these socks while watching CSI: Miami - I’ve been working on more stitch markers (polymer clay and beaded) for the shop and some hair scarves as well. Getting the pattern correct involved ‘the maths’ and I had to drag the hubby into the design process because the Mouse hates the maths. After explaining to the hubby that I really don’t give a crap HOW he came up with the numbers and that I just “wanted it to work so that I could go back to sewing” - we seem to have managed to make it all work out. I think. Honestly I’m not really sure right now considering I seem to have contracted a case of “Squirrel Pox” (aka. strep throat.. again) from the lovely children in Munchkin’s class.

I’ve promised to donate a set of polymer stitch markers to Sheepie because she’s running a charity race.. so I’ve got some “Run Sheepie, Run!” stitch markers on the trays ready to bake. There is a certain sneaker that I have a collection of that I managed to reproduce in miniature….. hee hee.

Hubby took me out to Big Box Crafts yesterday so that I could get some sewing & jewelry findings (I probably have 5 bags of crimp-beads hidden in my craft room by this point) and I found this gorgeous yarn to make my sister-in-law a Calorimetry headband for the box of goodies I’m sending with the family to Hell,Ga. The yarn is Paton’s Shetland Chunky (70/20 ack/wool blend) in Highland Plains variegated colourway.. and I’m so sorry that I can’t keep it. Thankfully the pattern takes so little yarn that I still have over half a ball (my trusty scale says the ball still weighs in at 70g out of 100g) to make my own for next winter.

The stats on the project are as follows: Paton’s Shetland Chunky in the Highland Plains variegated colourway. I used approx 30g from the 100g skein. Size 4.5mm/ 7US knitting needles (addi circs) and a 84 stitch cast on. I knit until it was half as wide as I wanted it and then started the decrease rows.. its 4 inches wide at the center point. I finished it off with a ‘vintage’ button from my stash of thrifted/estate sale/stolen from my mom/yard sale buttons. I started this last night during an episode of CSI: Miami and finished it earlier today.. these take only a few hours of knitting to complete.

Now.. lets see if I can finish my brother-in-law’s cabled hat before tomorrow at noon when my MIL comes over to take us to the mall. I’ve got a movie from Netflix that has been collecting dust.. so I’m hoping that I can knit and watch ‘The Prestige’ at the same time.

I actually finished a pair of socks! These are my first pair of toe-up socks AND my first short row heel.. and I’m pretty happy with them. As you can see, the heel is a bit wonky but I don’t really expect that many people to be staring at it when I wear the socks. When I first finished them (Tuesday night) and put them on to look in the mirror.. I was struck with how absolutely ugly they were. I’m actually quite amused with them now… they’re so ugly that they’re cool, I think. The stats on the socks are as follows:

• Wendy’s “Figure 8″ Cast on
• measurements from the Universal Toe Up pattern
• size 2 US dpns for the foot and 32″ size 2 US circular for the cuff (magic loop)
• Regia Crazy Colors 4ply (from Jane’s destash sale sometime last year) in the “I seem to have misplaced the ballband” colorway. I do remember that the name had something to do with fruit.. “Tutti Fruitti” or something.
• completion time: shockingly.. I think these only took a week.

I’ve knit about 2 pairs of socks (plus numerous ’strays’) using the standard ‘top down’ technique.. and I have to say that for me personally.. I prefer the toe-up method. I feel like they go faster because there isn’t all of that increasing and decreasing for the toe and the gusset - I could just knit without really thinking about what row I was on.. or which way the increases needed to lean.. etc. I also prefer the short-row heel to the heel flap because it doesn’t require a lot of steps.. when you’ve run out of wrapped stitches (unless you’ve screwed up royally) you’re back at the number you started with and you can just pop the instep stitches back on needles and continue to knit.

I’ve just turned the heel on the pointy Koigu sock which is not so pointy anymore after its emergency toe-up surgery..  and I’m about to start a patterned cuff. Watch out.. not only am I now knitting socks.. but I’m knitting “girly lacy” socks too. I’ve crossed over to the dark side people..

Now that I’m able to sit in an upright position without my head spinning round - I thought I’d catch up on some photos that needed posting here on the blog. After much complaining from the Munchkin about how unfair it is that he’s not allowed to wear skulls to school - I broke out the freezer paper and exacto knives and went to work creating a pirate shirt that was ’school safe’. Add a bright orange shirt on clearance from Target to some textile painted swords and you’ve got a happy Munchkin! The whole “freezer paper stencil” thing was way easier than I had anticipated - the hardest part was remembering what on earth I did with my iron and ancient ironing board. I used Jacquard brand textile paints and stencil brushes on cotton teeshirts and made sure they were dry (hit them with a hair dryer..) before removing the stencils for crisp edges.

Of course after seeing Munchkin’s shirt my husband decided that he HAD to have another pirate shirt as well. I had to do a bit of re-styling to the skull and swords because of the size and details but I think it really turned out well. I did heat set the designs as marked on the bottles of paint.. but am still worried about washing the designs at the moment. You can’t tell from the photo but this design goes across the entire chest of a mens medium teeshirt.

Since I clearly can’t leave well enough alone with the Llama,Llama, Duck thing.. and created a bag with the critters on it as well. You can’t tell from the photo because the flash went off.. but the critters are done with silver paint. I’m considering selling this bag in the yet unnamed Etsy shop but I’m not sure how many of these I want to cut out. I am rather happy with the results though and have many other ideas for bag and shirt designs.

Just like everyone else in blogland.. I had to have a fuzzy headband. Yes folks, its another Calorimetry from Knitty! I’m a little unsure about my cast on amount but I’m going to say its about 100 stitches - and I believe that I did the increase portion for about 5 repeats. The yarn is Plymouth Encore worsted weight that I bought ages ago at Genuine Purl in Chattanooga TN.. and I used a size 7US circular needle to get the job done. Basically I cast on enough stitches that it would go around my head, then I knit the increase rows until it looked half as wide as I would want the finished piece. I’m very scientific.. if you haven’t noticed. Its a little wider than I had in mind, but I’m really happy with it. I also finished it just in time for it to be 65 degrees for the entire week here in Georgia.. not that I’m complaining about the weather. I’ve spent a lot of time out on my (completely falling apart..) back deck in the last few days with the cat, just soaking up some sun. Clearly from my glaring white complexion you can tell I don’t get out in the sun much.. lol.
I took a second picture of it off my head so you could see the cool button that I stuck on the back. I’m really happy that the yarn didn’t pool or do anything ugly.. and its pretty soft for a wool/ack blend. I’ve actually completed TWO of these- the other was in a strange ack yarn with eyelashes and fuzzy chenille stuff for a friends young daughter. These headbands are seriously a quick knit.. I cast on for the one in the photo during the second half of “Kull the Conqueror” (I can’t help it.. I watch it every time its on tv. Its so bad that its good.. really.) and cast off after I watched 2 episodes of Naruto.

Pattern: Fetching from Knitty
Yarn: Wool-Ease
Needles: size 6 dpns
changes: got rid of the picot bind off and used garter stitch instead. If I make these for myself I’ll go down a needle size because they are a bit too big for my hands but they fit Munchkin’s bus driver perfectly.

I still check the stats on my old blog.. and it seems I’ve been getting some interesting hits..

• Live Miniature Cows
• Keep On Trucking Mice
• Winona Ryder Haircut
• Sick Mouse photos

um.. yeah.  Not much going on around here at Chez Mousie.. mostly knitting and tv watching. I don’t watch much tv but I’ve suddenly gotten addicted to “CSI: Miami” and have been watching it every night.. basically trading one idiot box (computer) for the other (tv).  The only thing it DOES do is give me more knitting time.. since I’ve yet to come up with a way to type and knit at the same time.  So between CSI and the Magic Loop method - I present.. A FINISHED OBJECT! (crowd goes wild!) Unfortunately its NOT my NoroVember project.. but instead its the soul sucking Harry Potter - POA scarf! This baby is HUGE as you can see from the first photo.. but I am really glad that I kept knitting on it because its absolutely perfect in length. Its also unbelievably warm since it was knit in the round with WoolEase yarn on size 7’s.. but I’m sure I’ll need it in the morning for the bus. 

Pattern: Harry Potter POA scarf -

Yarn/Needles: Size 7 US / WoolEase Cranberry & Gold

Modifications: I made the scarf dramatically more narrow than the pattern calls for - since I live in Georgia where it doesn’t get cold enough to warrant a 9 inch wide double knit scarf. This one is about 5 inches wide and is about 6 feet tall.

I’ll NEVER knit this scarf again.. mostly because it took entirely too long and started sucking my will to live at about the two foot mark.  I would however do this on my knitting machine.. since it would be done in mere hours vs. the YEAR that it took me to handknit it.  I’m pretty sure that it would still be sitting around in my knitting basket if it weren’t for how quickly I can knit with Magic Loop.

After asking a million times for the photos from my birthday dinner that my husband took.. I gave up and took these myself of the merino scarf that I knit. Its actually an “old” finished object because I finished it up in time to wear it to my birthday dinner on the 26th of October.. but I just gave up and did bathroom mirror shots for the blog. Its rather ugly and overcast here in Georgia today.. so no Saturday Sky from me. We actually had a ‘lazy day’ - stayed in bed until 11 and went out for breakfast at Waffle House around lunch time. JoAnns Fabrics was having a HUGE sale (found this out when I walked in and the line was around the store..)and I was able to pick up a bunch of things I had been needing at a discount. (yay discounts!) Pattern: Harlot Scarf

Needles: size 8 US

Yarn: handspun merino singles (fiber from Distaff Day at Peachtree Handspinners Guild)

The scarf is about 60 inches long and about 3.5 inches wide.. just the right length for wrapping around the neck a few times. Its soft and squishy… and I’m betting it will see a lot of wear.