Dainty Kitty

Django's Guitar

And Dad loved the guitar(which shows in this photo, I think)!  When I finished the knitted part I wasn't sure how I was going to like the finished product but I'm really really happy with how it turned out.   Details and a close up photo here in my Ravelry notebook.   

For Mother's Day/my mom's birthday I'm going to sew up a house from this tutorial this afternoon and work on the embroidery at Sunday Knit Night tonight. 

Django's Guitar Deconstructed

Tonight I will attempt to make this:

Look as much like this as possible while still trying to keep in my head that it's a silly knitted toy and I need not get too crazy about it:

I even crocheted a little fret board (I think that's what it's called) and looked up how to string a guitar.   I am a total geek.   

I'll take a photo of the finished product tomorrow night and post the details this weekend.  :-)

Judge & Jury

Please help me.  My friend offered to look at photos of my sock and let me know whether or not she thought I should start the wheat pattern.  Then I thought, Heck why not just post them because I could use as many opinions as possible.  After taking the photos and really looking at the sock in the light I think I'm going ot rip it out and start over but a little feedback would still be helpful, I think.  I'm also thinking I might just forgo the whole non-eyelet friendly pattern using the tedious (p1 k1 p1 k1 p1) into one stitch stitch and just use the yarn overs. 

Anyway.  Exhibit A.  The pattern on larger needles with worsted weight yarn.  Note there are indeed holes (hence the crappy back lit photo):

Now for Exhibit B - one of the better of the four repeats of the wheat pattern.  It's holey but a little less so than Exhibit A.

And finally...Exhibit C which really should be Exhibit M for Messy.  Lots of holes and general loose knitting.  Looking at it, though, I'm wondering what would happen if I knit it in the middle of the needle rather than the beginning.  That might be worth a try although, really, the knots aren't that pretty up close. 

Yuck.  When I compare B and C here, though, I don't see as much difference as I do in real life. 

So what do you think? 

A.) Start over and try the pattern in the middle of each needle?
B.) Give up on the reverse Irish knots and use the yo pattern?
C.) Keep going (gasp)?

THANK YOU!

Apartments, Decorating, Yadda Yadda Yadda

Sock update: the embossed barley corn pattern = a pain in the ass.  I'm going to have to try it on straight needles with regular yarn because as it is, I'm ending up with giant holes and am now in the midst of backing up four rows because it just looks terrible.  Grrr.   At least my  second attempt at the heel turned out much better.

Tonight I also baked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from this recipe by Pink of Perfection and highly recommend it.   They were perfectly tasty...although I'm going to add more chocolate chips next time.  I like a bit of chocolate in every bite.

I'm going to eat one more and take my grumpy ass to bed with Water for Elephants which I just picked up today....

And I couldn't take another post without a photo so here's some graffiti from Charleston, SC.    

Cleaning and Knitting

Holy cow, you can see the floor of my craft room!  I just spent about two hours getting it in good enough shape to leave the door open.  There's still stuff to organize and find places for but the stacks look neat enough for now.

I have a lot of stuff/junk.

I got just past the heel on my first Oktoberfest sock but, on my third row of the leg pattern, a stitch slipped off and - poof - there went one of Reverse Irish Knots from the first row.  I ripped it back to the beginning but I'm thinking I might go back further and redo the heel.  One side turned out perfect but I think I blanked out on one purl row or something because the other side looks a little funny.  The socks are going quick enough that I think I have time to really make them look good.  Not that I'm looking forward to tearing out an entire heel...yuck.

I'm going to go reward my cleaning with leftover chicken soft tacos and American Gangster.  Hope every one had a lovely weekend! 

Short Row Toe - Second Attempt

Thanks to my friend Mary, who recommended this tutorial, I was able to conquer the short row toe!  Well, maybe not conquer it exactly but get around it.  The tutorial shows you how to make it without wraps which is a-ok by me.  No wraps = no stress.  And no holes!

And now I have some mindless knitting to do this weekend.  Although, a lot of Saturday is going to be dedicated to housekeeping (and maybe Sunday, too, because I've got to get that craft room back in order...at least that's what I keep telling myself).  I borrowed Mom and Dad's carpet cleaner and have started to clean the couch but have only finished one side of the three cushions.  It's hard work!

Short Row Toe - First Attempt

I cast on the Oktoberfest Socks, um, two or three times yesterday.  Thanks to a couple of tutorials I found online (misocrafty, knitty and cosmicpluto), I've gotten the hang of the wrapping part of the short row toe and I think I get how to pick up one wrap but picking up two has me a bit fumble fingered.  Tonight I'm going to use a tip I found on Ravelry and practice with regular worsted weight yarn and larger needles.  Luckily, I just figured out that my parents are actually going to be on vacay on Dad's birthday so that gives me a couple of extra days.  So now I have three weeks to figure this out and finish them....

Cuteness:  this button flower pin tutorial found via Craftzine.  Very cute. 

Scarves & Socks & Sinus Infections

My hangover was not a hangover after all but the beginnings of a bug of some sort that's had me down and out for a couple of days.  It's blossomed into a sinus infection now but I have prescriptions and hope to feel better in a day or two.  It did give me time to get a few repeats of the Leaf Lace Scarf done - including having to back up a couple of times due two too many knits here or a - poof! - completely missing stitch.  It's so pretty and light but wow, time consuming...maybe I'll have it finished by next spring.

I picked up size one dpns on my way back from the doctor this morning so, since the kit arrived earlier this week, tonight or this weekend I'll get to cast on for the Oktoberfest Socks.  It reads like a difficult pattern but I hope it makes more sense when I have the yarn and needles in my hands.   And - hooray - it comes with an non-eyelet wheat pattern for those who aren't eyelet friendly.  Or, as I read it, for the more masculine sock.   

Gah, I'm tired and am looking forward to coming home to a lot of couch time and at least the beginning of a movie.  I really don't see myself making it through to the end but that's okay.  And thank goodness tomorrow is Friday already. 

I Want a Hippopotamus for Easter

Kinder Happy Hippo Biscuits!

And I finished the Dream Watch Head Wrap.

Meh, my allergies are killing me and I have a pretty terrible wine hangover - what a way to start the week....

Tuesday This and That

The Pub. I tried The Pub at the Greene (not to be confused with the Dublin Pub) Friday night for the first time.  It was good but the portions are giant: I had FISH and chips.  Seriously, it was the biggest piece of fish I'd ever seen.  I'm not fond of heavy meals and giant portions.  I liked the Tavern Crisps, though - homemade potato chips covered in cheese and bacon with a BBQ dipping sauce. 

So, yeah, I thought it was okay.  Beer is a bit steep, too - $6 for a pint. I had two pints and a Knob Creek while we were waiting for our table and our bar bill was a ridiculous $19. 

Aha!  Another portion of my list complete!  Number 41. Try four new restaurants in Dayton - two down, two to go. 

Friends. The best part of the night, though, happened as I was walking in.  A close friend from college that I had lost touch with was walking out.  Nikki was always kind of tough - after college she became a cop - so it was kind of funny to find out that now she's a stay at home mom with three kids and and MA in Literature.  Anyway, we exchanged phone numbers but I'd be kind of surprised if we actually get together.  Still, it was really nice to see her again. 

Saturday night I went to Craig and Lisa's for a St. Patrick's Day party.  It's been over a year since I'd been to one of their parties and it was so wonderful to connect with everyone again and feel that kind of...well, love.  And who knew Skky Vodka and a green Hawaiian Punch could be so good....

Knitting. The yarn I ordered to make the Leaf Lace Scarf shipped today.  I like to search Ravelry for info on online yarn websites that I'm thinking about using and I read nothing but good stuff about Eat.Sleep.Knit which I'd have to agree with since I just placed my order yesterday afternoon.  Hooray for speedy delivery and a good chance that I'll have a new project to work on this weekend.  I didn't notice until after I'd ordered it that I'd bought the exact shade they use in the pattern - I do love green.  This'll be my first lace project and my first charted project as well but I've read that this is a good starter pattern.  It looks easy enough. 

I also started the Dream Swatch Head Scarf last week with some gifted Socks That Rock (thanks again, Bertha!) and am a little over halfway done.  It would be a nice beach vacation project, too - lightweight and easy to carry but still kind of fun to work on. 

Veganomicon.  I heart the book Veganomicon and I'm far from a vegan.  I picked it up at the library late last week after reading a review in Bust and have already checked to see if Books & Co. has it (they do) because I've already decided to purchase it.  Heck, that was before I'd made anything from it.  Last night I made a potato and greens soup that was wonderful and there's a tomato bisque a few pages away that looks good, too.  Oh, and blueberry brownies...mmm.  It's well written and a little funny and I think it will also help me explore the herb and spice world as well as open me up to new vegetables (if I can find them).  It even has a few basics that would be handy to have as a reference as well. 

Oh, and in the world of cooking - my parents bought a KitchenAid mixer (sigh, I'm so jealous) this past weekend and had to get rid of a few things in order to make it fit in the cabinet so I own a fairly nice steamer now. 

The doll house.  Sorry everyone was disappointed in the lack of a bathroom.  :-)  I'll admit that tiny tubs and sinks and itsy bitsy rolls of toilet paper are cute but it just didn't work with the layout.  Plus I can make most of the craft room bits with things I have on hand - the idea of purchasing a lot more is a bit daunting right now (seriously, that wood was stupid expensive).  I think I'm going to pick up some pinstriping tape and a little more trim wood tonight to start working on the windows.  My biggest conundrum is the roof.  I'm not sure if I should paint it or use the shingles I already have from the cheap kit I abandoned.  And if I did use the shingles I'm not sure what color I would paint them either...or if I'd just use stain.  Any suggestions?

Yikes!  Holy long post, Batman!