Styles

Everyone knits a different way. This has been well established. There are people who knit the conventional way, the english way, the backwards english way and who knows what else. Which always makes for interesting times when trying to help someone else out. But somewhere along the way I have developed a way to knit that's different than everyone else....makes it hard to compare notes at times. Most commonly kniters have to turn there work at the end of each row, so long scarfs get twisted and yarn gets tangled (at least it did when I tried this). As the good engineer that I am I sat there and said "this is dumb" and found the way to do it without turning anything. The conciquence of this is having to change the way I read charts and patterns, and of course, most other knitters can't phathom how I do things and refuse to help at times. But I'm happy in my uniqueness, and I love the way I do things, and that's all that matters. The only downside is of course the wonderful "so when you purl this stitch... - I don't purl anything with that stitch...- huh?" but I just have to be quick on my feet and realize what they are talking about, and answer the question correctly after that. :)

Berry Bryce

Baby Bryce is healthy, home, happy and sporting a lovely berry hat, made by yours truely. Now he can be warm in the cold winter air : )

Orange Stocking!

Well, its finished. A little stubbier than I wanted, but hey, irs orange, its homemade, and it will have goodies inside, who could ask for anything more? Now the next challenge is what should I do next? Gloves or a hat? Anything other than that and I'll have to wait til I get home. I have some projects that need finishing and starting at home, but that's less important to me right now, since I have a few more days around in Seattle and not too much else to do besides knit and talk with people. Once home I have cleaning and other things to do but here its more relaxing. But this is a nice end to the christmas season :)

Holiday Travels + Knitting

I was going to post pictures of my latest stocking collection, took them, started to write about them, then got reminded that one if not both of the recipients read this! So that will have to wait for a hung-over new years kinda post instead of a pre Christmas. Instead I’ll show you my traveling knitted adventures. I’m heading home to Seattle, so there’s knitting to be done at the airport, on the plane, and of course when me and the family are just sitting around talking about life. So I’m bringing 2-3 projects. (Not sure about the yardage required for one, so it might only be 2) plus I’m only there for a week so there’s not a ton of time but last year we got snowed in and there was lots of time. I’ve started a rustic orange Christmas stocking (the last for this year) being made for the king of orange, Brandon. Next year I’ll make one for baby Bryce and it will be a full family collection. If this doesn’t eat up all the yarn I bought, I’m gonna make me a “Mark Hat” out of it. Mark (one of my friends at work) has a sense of style all his own, and he has a great collection of hats that he sometimes wears while sitting at his desk working, well as the winter has hit, and things have gotten incredibly cold, I realized that my previously knitted hat needs help. It’s a warm hat…but its for Seattle weathers, not for the heat required to stay warm in the single digits. So a new one needs to get made, and I’m even thinking ear flaps. This yarn is wool, its warm, its got a great color combination to it, it will remind Brandon all winter about his stocking, and most importantly, allow me to go to work in the winter without freezing my ears off. The last project I have is some gloves. Fingerless (or maybe full finger) gloves to wear around the office or wear outside, havent’ decided the usage, but I want to try and make them.

The last thing worth mentioning is a compliment I got at a friends Christmas party a few nights ago. I made a little shirt/sweater for their baby to keep her warm, and I gave it to them at the baby shower. One of the ladies was so impressed by the fact that I knitted it, so impressed by the fact that it didn’t give off that “oooh…you made this…how..um…sweet” feeling that you get when you get some ugly handmade thing. I was pleased that she remembered, that she liked it so much and that it didn’t look like an ugly gift. Sometimes people don’t understand why I am so hard on my self about being able to make things better. Its because I don’t want to give the ugly sweater gift, or the really looks homespun kinda thing. I know that handmade makes it nice, but really good quality, pretty, would pay for it hand made makes me really proud. Sometimes I just get down on what I produce and that’s why. Other times I get really excited over little things, because they turned out so wonderful (like Angie’s hats  ) Hopefully I’ll have some internet access over the next week and I’ll update with any finished projects, Until then, I have a collection of WIP, lots of stories to swap with friends and family, and two airplane rides to get things done. If I don’t get a chance, Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Visions of Code..oh wait...Sugar Plums..

I still have to post about my christmas stocking adventure, as well as the little turkey...but alas my little camera's batteries were dead and between wrapping presents and trying not to wrap the cat, I was exhausted last night and didn't feel up to it.

But, I give you the cutest thing ever. The nerdling and his blanket, keeping him warm. Apparently he sleeps with it every night, and I'm sure he'll learn his 1's and 0's before any words or letters. Might learn sign language first, but still. So long as he eventually learns to program in some language I'll be proud (I'm sure his parents will be proud regardless, but I get to be picky)

T-1Day til Turkey time!

The hours are counting down til the big day, and for the first time ever, I'm not going home. There were several factors surrounding this dicission. Part of me is kicking myself for not going, but it's too late now. So last weekend, I knit a turkey (pictures to follow) and got a wonderful (and yet stupid) idea. I am not one of those people who knits people gifts for christmas. Mainly because of the same problem I had with all the babies... hard and fast deadlines. It makes knitting more stressful. But for some reason this year I am feeling artistic. A friend of mine is getting a painted Bar sign, and now I've come to the idea of personalized christmas stockings. This isn't just putting someones name on the stocking. That's a bit boring. I'm talking about doing something thats more unique. One friend is getting a black and gold CU stocking. Snowflake on one side, CU on the other. Another is gonna get something along the lines of a stocking with the doctor who tardis on one side. There's an orange one in my head too, and a Charlie Brown one that's made from recycled silk and looks a bit rough. There is no way I can finish all of these. I'm hoping to finish two of them (plus the painted bar sign) before christmas (or since I'm going home for christmas, before I get back and throw a holiday party) Hopefully all will go well and smooth. Plus it gives me something to do while I watch other people cook thanksgiving dinner, I can just sit back, smell the goodness, chat about whatever, and knit away.

Pink....so not me

So when I was buying some yarn and other art/craft projects, I saw this cute baby blanket, puffy yarn, and orange. There was only one color option, so unisex orange made sense. I thought it might be a cool addition to the baby basket for Brandon and Angie (especially since Brandon has an orange obession)... well it arrived, and it's pink. So I'm trying to make it work. The blanket can go to my boss because he's having a girl... but, well the baby is going to come early, and the yarn is hard to work with... so I'm stepping away from the pink. Who knows, maybe one day I will get back to doing something that's so puffy and so pink.

For now I think I am going to work on finishing up my skirt, then maybe move on to something christmasy, or even my couch blanket. But for now...the baby stuff is going to rest for a while.

The nerdling has a blanket!

So I'm watching the snow fall, trying to get everything together in my carry on and my suitcase, hoping that I can get out to the airport and takeoff. But this vacation has more fun things in store beyond just getting to travel. I'm going to a wedding in Seattle, I get to see friends, family, and give one of my friends his baby blanket. I started this a long long time ago. Was going to be finished for the due date (July 7th) but things kept getting in the way. My cousin's baby shower (thing 1 and thing 2) and Angie's baby shower (Fruit basket) and of course the normal wear and tears of life. Work, friends, illness. But I finally finished it. We decided that a warm blanket for July isn't that fitting, so I'm bringing it for halloween. :)

Since he was the first one to announce that there would be an addition to the family, I took on a larger project. A baby blanket, which is big and warm to wrap both baby and mother together. The one side (yes there are two sides) is knit in Cadet blue, with white lettering that says "My daddy is a nerd and I love him" in binary. Because the father...is a huge nerd, a very huge nerd, and I love him for it and so will his little boy. Everyone who knows him loves him for that reason. I chose to do two sides because I didn't want to deal with trying to hide the wrong side. So the otherside is done in Teaberry red...I wish it was a darker red but oh well.

The otherside says "My mommy is a knitter and I love her" because the mother is also a knitter. This should be a double thrill. The love of knitting is universal, so I hope she loves getting a knitted item instead of just loving making one. Now that the baby blanket is done, I have no more baby projects (except for one remote one) so I'm not sure what to do for my flight. I think I have settled on doing a shawl using a wonderfully multicolored fall colors. It should keep me occupied on the flight as well as keep me warm at work once its finished. Hurray!

Pretty colors eh? This yarn always reminds me of a jaw breaker :)

The glorious finish!

Thats right, the baby shower happened on Oct. 17th and everything was finished in glorious style! The pumpkin hat went quick, much like the other hats, though I forgot to do my ribbed plan to get the bumpy nature of the pumpkin, but everyone got the idea that it was a pumpkin. I'll make a note to try and remember to do it next time. So with the hats all done...what did I do? I made my own version of a diaper cake. For those who are unaware about what a diaper cake is, here's a brief description: Take diapers, roll them up (securing with rubberbands or string) put them in a circle standing up, basically creating a sheet cake. From there you make several 'cakes' and stick baby items in them. Wrapping blankets around them, sticking in toys, pacifiers, spoons, whatever you want to give.

Well I wanted to make a fruit basket. So I used the rolled diapers to fill the basket, prop up the hats and hold everything together. Additionally I took a bundle of socks and converted them into sock flowers! (In reality I couldn't make the sock roses or sock ribbons, so I had to figure out something else to make, but I think they look good). In the end the basket all came together. A handful of socks, knitted fruit and veggie hats along with a warm and wonderful little sweater. Then of course the non-artsy stuff: bottles, pacifiers, recieving blankets, rockie's onesies, and a Daddy's little wing man shirt. Angie loved them all so mission accomplished! I even have a few people who want their own, so there are now talks of opening a knitting store. Selling hats, small baby items, and maybe even hand warmers or something. The idea is either just baby items or expanding to doing many knitted items as well. Who knows....

Its warm, its blue, its Done!

The finishing touches have been added and everything is looking wonderful. When I asked Angie what she wanted as a knitting present, she answered "Hat" because babies loose heat from thier heads and her little boy is a winter baby. Which is great, and hence created the series of veggie hats. But I love coats and I decided to make her baby the "Baby Einstien Coat" and its finally finished. Starting off with just a few balls of yarn, I ended up with:

Doesn't Really look like a jacket does it? Well its bascially the back, front, sleves all knitted together. This actually hasn't gone through any finishing. Everything was done with a "pickup and knit" which isnt my favorite, but with the slipped stich edging it went easy. So now...then fun part, make it come together and look like an actual jacket! Add the little blue bear buttons and I'm all done! Now ready to finish the pumpkin hat and then Angie's gift is complete.

Confusing

I have entered the world of multiple challenges. This Baby Einstien pattern is a little confusing, and not knowing what typical baby sizes are, or for that matter how big they are when they are how old, means that I am almost completely blind and just following the pattern. My guage is close, kinda depends on if the finished piece is stretched or not, I'm getting the right number of stitches/rows. Its just...I have no idea if it even looks right. Oh well. I guess I'll see when its finished, and either way, it will fit the baby at some point in his life. It just might not fit the intended size. Hrm

Why couldn't it be Saturday

Aside from needing to finish 3 baby items quickly, I feel crappy today. I feel tired and run down. This is the kind of day that calls for soup to be bubbling on the stove, tea sitting on the table next to me, and knitting in hand. Alas, I am at work. No knitting to be had. The nice thing is my current task is going well, although much slower than the knitted hats. Its the baby Einstien coat, in 2 different shades of blue (with little sparkles in them)

This coat is a little weird. The bottom piece is not knit top-down or bottom-up like most sweaters, instead you knit a scarf like object, turn it 90 degrees and that becomes the main sides of the coat. Weird. The really interesting part is that this patten comes in 3 forms: Baby coat, a light adult coat, and a heavy thick adult coat. All are basically the same pattern so if I love the finished project I can make one for myself!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor day weekend this year wasn't filled with camping or BBQing or the normal stuff. It was filled with sitting around. My kitty, Lilu, has some medical issues and was confined to my room for 2 weeks, Labor day weekend was her first weekend out, so I spent it watching her and hoping that nothing would happen... and of course knitting. What this means is that I finished almost all of my hats during this weekend.

So I now have (from left to right) a purple berry hat (newbornish), a little pea (newbornish), a tomato (little bigger), and an eggplant (toddler). I fell deeply in love with the purple of the eggplant, I may have to get a lot more of that and make something of it. But for the moment I'm satisified with what I made. I have a pumpkin and blue jacket to make next before I go back to knitting other things.

Almost done with this baby boom. Only a handful of projects to finish before I can go back to knitting some of my other projects. My skirt, blanket, jacket, and shawl that have been on my to-do list for a long time. Oh well... babies have firmer deadlines. :)

Taste of Colorado

At the taste of colorado I saw two things of knitting note. A knitting booth where you could buy knitted items (sweaters, dresses, jackets, some really huge things that I bet were being sold for a high price) and a booth with some jackets, sweaters and other clothing items. My thought through this whole event: Why do knitters knit such ugly things?! You have the freedom to choose the color, the pattern, the material, why would you do something that looks so horrible? I just don't know.

On the plus side, I finished several hats, I'll post about them soon. I need to download pictures :)

Little Pea Sprout

Viva Starbucks!

From Knitting

So between needing to clean my apartment, make dinner, and relax after a long day at work, I know that things come in the way of me knitting when I get home. I can be dedicated, leave other projects untouched but sometimes that's just not possible. So in an effort to complete my fruit basket on time I have started taking my knitting to work. Now unlike checking out sport scores, updating fantasy football or watching you tube, my hobby isn't something I can hide and do at work. Which is expected, I don't need to get paid to knit, though that would be awesome. But when 5 rolls around and I need to babysit a process, then instead of watching it with one eye and writing a report with the other, I watch it with one eye and K1P1 with the other. The bigger aspect however is: Lunchtime at starbucks.

I'm not a big eater at lunch though I love lunch food, so I go to Starbucks, listen to one of my books on my iPod (right now its "The Fallen"  very weird but interesting detective story) and knit away with some tea. Then I grab a bagel or sandwich and go back to work an hour later. Almost all of the little Pea Sprout was done at starbucks, only the crown and cast-on where done at home. Now its on to the Berry Hat!

Fruit and Vegtable Basket

So a friend of mine is in agreement, pastel colors for babies...ich. Yeah, pastel colors are nice, easy to deal with, but so boring. Not every mother wants a thousand light blue baby shirts. Therefore I have gone a different direction: bright colors, interesting patterns, small sizes.

Introducing the fruit basket. If complete it will have:

Green Pea Hat
Berry Hat
Tomato Hat
Eggplant Hat
Pumpkin Hat

and perhaps a little baby coat.  Each hat will be in increasing sizes, or at least slightly, to go with the size of the fruit and the growing child. They all have leaves or stems on the top and should all be knit quickly...at least I hope so. I have until Sept. 26th to complete this gift, and include the other little items I was hoping to purchase (thankfully these have no knitting involved at all, your normal baby gifts)

Ready... Set... Knit!

Baby Boom

It seems to me that all of my friends are having kids right now: my cousin (twin girls), a friend in Seattle (boy), a friend here in CO (boy), and a co-worker (girl). Not to mention other co-workers that I'm not close to, or friends of those people who are also having kids. Its wild! But it means I am knitting like crazy to make homemade personal gifts to give to them. Some haven't made it on time, and some..well I still have a little time to get everything done. Here's the to-do list (I'll post photos soon):

Cousin: Alycee
So she was having twins, hates pink (which I agree with) and wanted some bright colors. I wanted to do something that was twin oriented, so I made little shirts in Dr. Seuss fashion. Thing 1 and Thing 2. It took me FOREVER to get the colorwork done on the front. I keep pulling the carry overs too tight and puckering the front. (It seems that everytime I do multiple colors this happens, need more practice I think) Finally I got something that I liked, finished them and mailed them off. I didn't make the deadline for the baby shower, or for the birth for that matter. But they are warm and I beat winter. Here's a photo of the pattern, I need to harass the mother more for a photo of the girls, they have tons to do without worrying about me right now.

From Knitting

Seattle - Matt
This project was probably the first baby project, the problem with that was I got a little ambitious in terms of size. He's getting a two sided baby blanket. On the one side (which is complete) it says "My daddy is a nerd and I love him" on the other side (incomplete so far) it says "My mommy is a knitter and I love her". His wife knits and should love it. Its soft and pretty, I'll be warm. But other babies keep getting in the way. Right now I have it almost done, just have to grind through the 8 inches of solid color and finish it. The finishing is going to be challenging. Still not sure how I am going to do it, just have to wait and see.

Colorado - Angie
I like to be ambitious and with time constraints it seems. The baby shower is at the end of September and I have ideas. She wants a hat for her baby boy, to keep him warm (due in December). So I found a cute hat that is a main color with green leaves ontop. Which gave me an idea.. a series of fruit/vegtable hats of different sizes. One green pea, one eggplant, one tomato, and one pumpkin. And maybe a little coat to go along with it all. (I know, slap me now) This would be combined with a basket of baby odds and ends: bottles, binkies, sippy cups and whatever else I can find. I just hope I can get it all done. I was going to go to the store and get yarn, but the stores close when I get off work or the closer one isn't open today.. alas I must wait another day.

Co-worker - Steven
I've never met his wife, but he's my lead, therefore he's getting a gift. But I have until December (no baby showers to come early) and its going to be something simple, a hat or coat. Nothing too fancy, and I haven't decided yet... more on this later.

In the Beginning

Alright...well its not exactly the begining. I've been knitting for over 5 years now, and I've finally decided that I need a blog for it all. I find that I want to write about frustrations or joys about knitting, but I don't need to have it along side my other posts about family vacations or how the weather is outside. So here's the place for my work, stories, trials and tribulations. For those who read it, enjoy, comment, ask questions. I'll do my best to answer them. But above all, keep being inspired, keep knitting, and keep showing the world that this isn't just about knitting with scratch wool making gifts no one wants!