Sweater Update

Good news. I think the sweater is not going to be too small. There is a chance it may be a tad too big, but I'll have to wait and see. Too bad beats too small, any day, any way.

Here's a really bad "in the mirror" photo, with me making sure it stays shut so nobody sees my boobies. Thankfully, the flash obscures my make-up-less face and unwashed hair. I'm wearing a push-up bra, and it seems to fit around that, so that's not a bad thing. The waist band might give it a "blouse" effect, which it doesn't have in the picture in the magazine. No surprise. It was probably pinned back so it fit the model more snugly, plus she was probably corseted within an inch of her life. Judging from the way it fit today, I will not have to wear a corset whenever I wear this sweater (I was prepared to!).


I also hung it up on my dress form. I draped it on there, as you can see, but just left it hanging. The buttonholes are NOT of equal distance apart. I did some math and figured that if I put each buttonhole about 3 inches apart, I would be fine with the 6 buttons. I just wrote some checks and balanced my checkbook, and realized that, much like Mike sometimes tells me, my math is suspect. I think I may have gotten a "lazy brain" from years of taking the easy way out and using a calculator. I need to always do my own math now, and THEN double-check (maybe with a calculator), so my brain doesn't turn to mush. But as for the buttonholes . . . I'm not sure what I should do with these. I forgot to make the holes on one row, so I finished that row, purled the next, then made them on the next row. I need to reinforce them anyway, because they do look a little sucky. I figured I would tighten them in the direction they should go, i.e., if one b-hole is a little higher than it should have been (and one is, as I mentioned above), I should tighten it pointing downwards. The same with the ones that are a little low. That way, it may give an illusion of being even (I call this my David Copperfield Finishing Techniques. I was able to work these when one armpit of my Hopeful sweater was lower than the other. You can almost not tell.). I can also use buttons that will not stand out much -- the yarn is so gorgeous anyway; I wouldn't want buttons to detract from it. Or I could Do It Right and frog down to the row the buttonhole should be on, put it there, and finish it up. That won't help that the very top button is only about 1.5 inches from the one below it. Me and my shoddy math.

I started one sleeve yesterday. We were 1/2 way to NJ when I realized I did not have my #4s with me, meaning that once I finished the front (which I did within 10 rows of realizing I didn't have my #4s), I had nothing else to do in the hour+ ride. A quick trip to a Wal-Mart in CT killed two birds: it got us lunch (they had an in-store Subway), and I got a pair of Boyd's Aluminum #4s for $1.89 (or, Mike did . . . thank you, Mike. Have I mentioned that I love you more than everything???). Sometime after about four rows of k1p1 about 42 stitches on #4 needles, I decided to eat my Sour Cream and Onion Baked Lay's (Mike was eating his, and the smell made me hungrier), and didn't pick up my knitting again. So I have an extra pair of needles.

CUTE CAT ALERT!!!!
This morning, Mike gave the cats some catnip. Zelia was too lazy to indulge, so as usual Solvie bogarted it. I grabbed the camera, set it on the floor in front of her, and started snapping away. Here are the two best shots:


Yes, it is the infamous felt sperm from Woolerina! It got washed accidentally, and therefore lost a little of its catnip scent, so Zelia isn't quite so protective of it (she still plays with it though). Notice the catnip all over Solvie's belly! I love how her nose scrunches up when she bites things (even when it is my hand she is biting).

Knitting Pattern-a-Day Week 4 Review!

Here's the Week 4 Review of the Knitting Pattern-a-Day Calendar patterns. I'm a couple of days late, because I wanted to bring the patterns home to scan pictures (I also got sidetracked by going to the Chiller Theatre convention, but that's another story). I hope that it's not illegal for me to do this -- it's only pictures, not the patterns. If it is illegal, someone please let me know and I'll remove the pictures!


Monday, January 23 -- Felted Bag. -- I don't know if I can get enough of felted bags! I experienced a lot of joy in making a pattern three times in three different brands of yarn, and anticipating different results for each one. This is made with wool yarn and mohair, with the option of sparkly, novelty yarn to be added to the mohair. This is one I may try to make as a gift. It is mind-bogglingly (is that a word?) easy, and can probably be knitted in a day. I'm going to put this on my "to make for Xmas for SOMEBODY" list.

Tuesday, January 24 -- Eric's Super-warm Dog Walking Hat. "This hat is knitted flat, then joined into a long tube, and then closed at the ends." This has a couple of things working against it for me. One, I've made four hats -- two were knit flat, and two were knit in the round. The seams on the knit-flat ones look craptastic. The knit in the round ones look great. Two, I like hats that fit close to the head. This one stands up a few inches above the head. I think people look like tools when they wear these hats.

Wednesday, January 25 -- Bavarian Strolling Socks (Spaziergang Socke). This sock uses an eyelet cable rib stitch and two-color twined knitting. I can't even figure out the eyelet cable pattern (what the heck do 811 and P880 mean?), but these are so cool looking (pale grey and dark green), that I may be up to the challenge one of these days. They look really warm too. The twined knitting on the heel (also referred to as a "salt-and-pepper" stitch) is supposed to wear very well, which is good news to me, because I am more brutal on my socks than I am on my shoes!
With the help of my co-worker Eileen (another knitter!), I think I have figured out that these are typos. "811" may be "Sl1" and "P880" may be "Psso", and "88K" may be "SSK". Danielle from the SnB Boston Yahoo Group pointed out to me that there is an errata sheet posted online for these (http://www.accordpublishing.com/knitting/knitcorr06.htm), which showed that Eileen and I were right!!! Whew!

Thursday, January 26 -- Bavarian Strolling Socks (Spaziergang Socke) continued. . .Yes, it intimidates me that this is a two-day pattern. Yes, I still think I want to make them one of these days. Yes, I think I will cuss often while making them. Yes, once they are done I will wear them until they fall off my feet!

Friday, January 27 -- Tommy's Tartan Vest. Meh. It's okay. I'm not a big fan of vests, and I think I have better tartan charts at home. Pass.


Saturday/Sunday, January 28 & 29 -- Easy Elegant Moebius Scarf. I've made moebius strips accidentally while knitting. The picture of this isn't the best; it's hanging on a wooden peg (or something). I trust patterns more when I see them on a real, living person. That's one fault I am seeing in this calendar -- lack of real-people pictures. I have no idea how this would fit. It just looks like a holey rag hanging on a peg right now.


That's it for this week's review! Feel free to leave comments, whether you agree or disagree with me. As long as I'm not told I can't do it, I'm going to post pictures with my reviews going forward. I think a review is more interesting to read with some visuals attached, and I think I can get more feedback that way.

Courtesy Tips for Riding the T

There's been an increasing lack of courtesy in Boston lately, and most of it happens on the T.
Here are some of the unwritten (until now) rules of common courtesy:

1. If you have a backpack or a large shoulder bag, please place it on the floor between your feet. It will create more space on the T, and you will also avoid hitting shorter people or seated people in the face.

2. Please do not yell "excuse me" and push past the people who are also trying to get on/off the T. I do not wish to be pushed down the stairs.

3. Please move all the way into the car. You will have time to get off the train at your stop.

4. Please give up your seat to a temporary or permanent disabled person, a pregnant woman, an elderly person, or anyone that you think could use it more than you.

5. If you must insist on sitting on the outer seat of a double seat, at least please offer to let someone in to the empty inner seat. Please do not set your bags on the other seat, preventing anyone from sitting there.

6. Please do not put your wet umbrellas on the seat.

7. Please let people off the train before you board. Once we are off, you will have room to get on.

Feel free to add any that I may have forgotten!

An (Almost) Finished Object! A Needle Case of me Very Own!

I made myself a needle case, using the instructions from the Stitch n Bitch book by Debbie Stoller:

I used some grey vintage fabric that had very minor fading to it (probably was in a store window, or something), and some cool beige-and-orange fabric Brenda had given me.

It's a REALLY simple pattern. The instructions just say to make one piece this size x this size, next piece this size x this size, etc. The pattern does suggest using upholstery fabric because it is stiffer. I used cotton fabric with a couple of layers of interfacing between, and boy was that a mofo to sew! I think I am going to send my trusty sewing machine, Betty (named such because her brand is WHITE -- get it?) on a Carribean cruise to make up for all I put her through in the past day. Or at least give her a nice cleaning and oiling.


Here's a nice picture of my needles, chilling in their new home. The top flap came out about an inch short on either side -- I was lax about measuring things "exact" with this, as opposed to measuring things for a garment, where things have to be exact.

The only thing that is left to do on this is to make a tie for it. The pattern suggests using a ribbon, hand-sewing it on and wrapping it around there as you roll, then tying. I'll have to go to Windsor Button to see about a ribbon, or I might make an i-cord to use to tie. Opinions?

Karmellah gave me a lot of knitting needles; I think they were her Mom's. I already had most of the sizes, but it's really nice to have duplicates (or quinticates -- is that a word? -- in the case of size 10s!!!). When I got those, I realized that I HAD to organize my needles somehow, because my poor knitting basket is already overflowing with Malabrigo yarn, and the needles were taking up more room. I only have one of each size (plus a few dpn's) in the needle case; I have the rest in a bag in my craft room. If Karm decides she would like to take up knitting again, she has a stash of needles here!

On a closing note before I go to eat some lentil dahl and watch The Invisible Man, here's a pic of my needle case rolled up and hanging with the Crypt Keeper. Greetings, fright fans!!!

New Post! With Pictures!!!

Yeah, too tired to think up a catchy title.

Yesterday I finished a skirt that I had first started back in September. Yes, it got put aside by the advancing winter, but I didn't have much more work to do on it. I used a red and navy houndstooth lightweight corduroy that I got at a thrift store about 5 years ago, and lined it with a red taffeta-like fabric to give it a little bit of body.

Sorry that the rug is a little smutsig*; Solvie's scratching box is nearby and there's always little bits of cardboard on the rug, no matter how much we (meaning: Mike) vacuum.

I forgot to get a pic last night -- I wore the skirt, with some red suede boots and a red vintage Givency sweater (thrift store find for a couple bucks!) to see Muck and the Mires (favorite local band!!)** and Mooney Suzuki (I was on the fence about them until last night, but they put on a fabulous show). Back when I was sewing more often, I loved to "debut" an outfit at a show and the loved accompanying "oohs" and "aahs" and "you made that?!?" comments from people. I miss that!! Malibu Lou and Lisa were impressed by my skirt; they were the only ones who were told that I made it. I've got to start plugging myself a bit more, especially if I'd like to start making stuff to sell.

I have a small amount (3/4 of a yard, perhaps) of this fabric left, and I'm not sure if I am going to make a small, 60s-style beanie (I've got a pattern from the 60s of about 6 different styles of hat), or a small purse. I'm leaning more towards the hat because I have too many purses already! HOWEVER, if I want to sell purses, it pays to be your own advertisement, doesn't it?

Sweater Update!

I'm almost done with the left front side of my cardigan, which means I have only the right side and the two sleeves, and the neckline to do! Okay, maybe "only" isn't the correct term, but I'm almost halfway there! I took a picture of the progress, in a nice bright 12:20 p.m.-on-a-Sunday light. Notice my geniusness of using a little tropical canister that I got from Bath and Body Works to hold my yarn while I knit. I wind it myself; I have a yarn winder but I don't have a swift. I use my dress form as a swift and very carefully wind the yarn. It's not as efficient as a swift, and I'm not that good at winding yarn. That canister keeps my yarn from rolling about, and it's big enough for my yarn, needles, row counter, and work-in-progress.

I just re-read this paragraph and realize that I REALLY need to get out of the house more often.

What's up today: Subway for lunch, Karm's coming over and we'll watch . . . something. We have three of her movies, Pirates of the Carribean (my vote!), School of Rock, and Signs, so we'll probably watch one of those three.

* Note that I used the Swedish term for "dirty". I used to always use "schmutzy", which I think is Yiddish (correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds Yiddish), until I was learning Swedish and came across smutsig. I wonder which derived from which?

** I'm very happy to note that the new Muck and the Mires CD will be out in March, and that "I Never Got Over You" WILL be on it! I woke up with that song in my head, and have been flipping between that and "Don't Let Her Get Away" all morning (or, the two-and-a-half hours I've been awake.)

Knitting Pattern-A-Day Week 3 Review

Here's the Week 3 Review of the Knitting Pattern-a-Day Calendar patterns. I was going to scan some pics (but not the patterns, natch) from the calendar, but forgot to check to see what the copyright info said.

Monday, January 16 -- Opal Child's Poncho continued. . . -- I call gyp! I realize it is a long weekend, but c'mon! I'm sure they get enough submissions to include a new pattern for today!

Tuesday, January 17 -- Jasper Socks. The more sock patterns I see, the more socks intrigue me. That is probably because I have not successfully made a pair of socks yet. This is a pattern knitted from the toe up, which I may try. I love the idea of hand-knit socks, and I know Mike would love a pair of nice, warm, snuggly socks. I really need to get my ass in gear.

Wednesday, January 18 -- Bev's Baby Ribs Hat. Okay, go and tug on my heart strings again! The description of this starts with the following sentence: "Hospitals all over the USA and Canada need hand-knitted preemie hats." This is a really easy, worked-flat then seamed up, 2x2 rib knit hat knit on size 3 needles. It's pretty darn cute.

Thursday, January 19 -- Alison's Scarf. Again with the neutral colors (wheat)! This is pretty nice, though. . . "Extended braided cable and matching diagonal lattice lace combine beautifully in this seaman's-style scarf. Quick to knit in chunky weight yarn." I still haven't worked with charts at all, and all the little dashes, dots, and vees make my eyes cross, but it's pretty nice and would make an impressive gift. The light color shows off the pattern well, so the neutral wheat color isn't such a bad idea.

Friday, January 20 -- A Warmer World Wristers. I used to think wrist warmers were useless, because my fingers get so cold. I realized last week that the backs of my hands get really cold at work, so maybe I'll try making wrist warmers! These look like a plain version of the "Hurry Up Spring" wrist warmers from Stitch n Bitch (I think the HUS ones are cabled, right? Well, these aren't.) They're knitted flat and sewn up, making for a really easy knit. I may just have to try them.

Saturday/Sunday, January 21 & 22 -- Fluff Cowl Pullover. This looks really comfy! It's knit in reverse stockinette stitch (which nobody but us knitters would notice!) with Crystal Palace Merino Frappe yarn. It's just hanging on a stand in the picture, but I'd love to see it on an actual person -- it looks as though it may be a little short & boxy. If anyone makes this, please let me know how it turns out!

That's it for this week's review! Feel free to leave comments, whether you agree or disagree with me!

Knitting With Dolemite!

Okay, not really, but I got your attention, didn't I?

My friend Carolyn was visiting from Amsterdam, and we had made plans to meet up at the Middle East bar in Cambridge. She called me back immediately:

"I need a knitting refresher. Can you please bring some needles and yarn?"

I related her request to my husband, who said, "Do you have any yarn?"

Funny guy, that Mike o'mine.

So, I gave Ca a knitting refresher course at the Middle East. 'Twas fun, and the bartender was intrigued. He told us his girlfriend knits (if you're out there, out yourself, chica!).



I only gave the crash course on casting on, knitting, and binding off. It's a little difficult to teach a right-handed person knitting from a left-handed perspective. Or maybe it's just hard for me to teach, and I am masking my shortcomings with my lefthandedness.

Here's a pic of us not being confused by yarn and pointed sticks:

Oh, yeah, that's nice, right? BTW, the scarves are both handmade acrylic knits by the respective wearer.

Later, Mike and I went to the Coolidge Corner to see a special screening of "Dolemite: The Human Tornado" presented by Rudy Ray Moore. Mike took this gem of a pic, where I appear to be pushing RRM's glasses into his head. It was fun, we got him to sign our copy of "The Human Tornado", plus another autographed pic of him. He's incredible soft-spoken and chill when he's not behind a microphone talking about p*ssy.

If you haven't seen "Dolemite: The Human Tornado", you must. It is absolutely mind-boggling. Please keep in mind: it was meant to be a comedy. His stand-up is puerile, but I never did claim to be high-brow. I don't even know what would count as high-brow comedy; probably something I'm not smart enough to "get".

I'm going to take this opportunity to plug the Coolidge Corner Theatre. It's really the best theatre in the Boston area, and Clinton (who works there and is behind the getting of all these great midnight movies, as well as the 3-D fest last summer) does a fantastic job getting these crazed films. If only he would keep up on his Boston Cult Movies list on Yahoogroups!

Mingala Grapes and Lost Row Counters, or My Day Has Started Out Poorly

My lunch spilled inside my bag today. Luckily I had my lunch inside a plastic bag (that had no huge gaping holes in it), so I only had to clean my grapes, carrots, and orange, and I did not get Mingala dumplings all over my Malabrigo.

I have to plug this place though, if you are ever in the East Village -- Mingala Burmese, 21 E. 7th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Aves). I get some sort of dumpling dish with a brown basil sauce ($9.50). It's awesome. I should be smelling it for a while.

I also lost my row counter, probably on E. 6th Street, where we parked. Or maybe whatever rest stop we stopped in before getting to NYC. It was on my lap, and I recall thinking that I needed to get it off my lap before I got out of the car, because then it would fall off my lap and be gone forever. And that is exactly what happened. Unless it is under the seat, but it is about 7 degrees outside and I wasn't about to look.

Yeah, it's 7 degrees out. I got to work and cranked all the thermostats up as much as possible, but it's still about 64 in here and I haven't warmed up yet.

Happy Monday!

Oops, some yarn fell into my shopping basket!!!!

Today I brought my friend Linda to Windsor Button to introduce her to the wonderful world of knitting. Oops, some yarn fell into my basket! I'll post pics later if I get the chance. It's Crystal Palace "Fling" yarn in various shades of pink ribbon hanging off it and some gold lurex thread in it. I also got a skein of Lion Brand Thick n Quick in white. I've had a vision in my head for about a year of a "flamingo" scarf but have never found the right yarn for it until now. It may be a Christmas present for someone next year.

Here's the Week 2 Review of the Knitting Pattern-a-Day Calendar patterns:

Monday, January 9 -- Georgia's Bandanna -- It's a neck kerchief for a 60 lb. Black lab! This is cute and the picture of the black lab in a red neck kerchief with a tassel on the end is pretty adorable. Of course, I am all for dogs in bandannas and sweaters (in Massachusetts, most dogs need sweaters). There's instructions for small-dog bandannas too, so I may be able to make some for my sister Nancy's poodles, but I don't know what size Dianne's fat pug Daisy's neck would be. I'd maybe make this.

Tuesday, January 10 -- Toesties Garter/Rib Slippers. The 70s knitting magazines I inherited from my Aunt Ruthie have DOZENS of patterns just like these. It doesn't make these any less adorable. This is like old-school knitting, yo. I have only a couple of issues with slippers with a knitted sole: (1) they can be slippery; I would hate to make these for someone and have that person fall down the stairs; (2) I made a pair of knit booties for Mike and me -- his (done in Wool-Ease, 80% acrylic, 20% wool, I think) have held up well whereas mine (done in JoAnn's Sensations thick-n-thin 100% wool) have worn out on the foot. Moral of the story: get some faux-suede for the soles, and do not use 100% wool!

Wednesday, January 11 -- Julia's Stole. The picture depicts a stole in neutral colors, which I think I'm allergic to. I find the instructions a little confusing as well (it mentions silk in the pattern sequence but does not mention silk in the materials). I wonder if there is an errata website for these patterns? The more I look at this, the more I think it would be a lovely gift for somebody, perhaps my MIL -- if I could figure out the pattern, and had nice colors that would go together.

Thursday, January 12 -- Nona's Baby Jacket with Hood. I'll be honest. Unlike many other women my age, I am not baby-crazy. They're cute (at least most of them are), but I hit the snooze button on my biological clock years ago and must've shut the thing off in the process, because I have no desire to have a child. So, knitting things for babies hasn't crossed my mind (the nieces and nephew are too old). That being said, this is a pretty cute little jacket for a one-year-old. I may pass this one along to a co-worker who knits for her grandkids.

Friday, January 13 -- Felted Coasters, Hot Pads, Beverage Jackets. These rule. I know, it's the little things, isn't it? I have a near-fetish for bar stuff and used to impulsively buy every bar item I found at a thrift store, flea market, or yard sale, resulting in a lot of weird stuff (ex: I have a light up "Schlitz" globe lamp!). These coasters will use up the ends of skeins left over from Sophie bags (I made three of these -- see http://www.magknits.com/warm04/patterns/sophie.htm for the pattern), and I'm sure I will use these as an excuse to buy large amounts of Cascade 220 (hey, felted coasters would make a GREAT housewarming gift!). I'm not as keen on the beverage jackets (cozies), because what if it felts too much and is too small??? What do you do with it then?? The hot pad is a good idea too, but a hot pad isn't a coaster. I love coasters!

Saturday/Sunday, January 14 & 15 -- Opal Child's Poncho. This looks a little like "That 70's Poncho" from Stitch n Bitch Nation, except it has a hood and is for a child. I think I have already made it clear what I think about adult ponchos (DON'T. DO. IT.), but I think this is cute for a kid. The colors are nice too (two tones of pink with blue). I may pass it along to that nice lady in my office who knits for her grandchildren.

That's it for this week's review! Feel free to leave comments, whether you agree or disagree with me!

Pet Peeve

You know what burns me? When you show someone pictures and they touch them all over, getting their damn fingerprints all over them! Handle them by the borders, folks! Jeez!

Mittens and Malabrigo, Apes and Blue Demon! Oh My!

I did finish my mittens this Wednesday, and just realized that I haven't woven in all of the ends on one of them. But here they are, in all of their acrylic glory!

They are not warm enough for most January-in-Boston days, but it was unseasonably warm this week (meaning above 35 degrees), therefore I was able to wear my cute matching set. People in work were duly impressed. I still have lots of the light pink and grenadine-pink Red Heart yarn left over; I may combine it with some pine green Red Heart Supersaver I have into some cute preppy-colors accessories.

I also made a swatch of the Malabrigo that Mike gave me for Christmas. The color is "Holly Hock", and the below swatch is 20 stitches x 20 rows on US 9 needles:

I started a sweater last night with this, since I made the gauge requirements with the #9s. It's a sweater from a Spinnerin magazine from 1962. The sweater starts with a k1 p1 ribbed bottom done on #4 needles, which seemed to take forever (2 inches worth of knitting). Now that I am on the #9s it is going a little bit faster. I ended up making one size bigger than I would have on a modern pattern, simply because a 36 bust in the early 60s usually had a 24- to 26-inch waist to go with it, not to mention the teeny tiny shoulders woman seemed to have. So I had to up to a 38 bust to be certain it would fit, and I'm still a little worried. I may try to add a couple more stitches to accommodate my shoulders, plus my rib cage seems to be too wide for dresses that are fitted in the waist area (both vintage and modern, the difference being that in modern dresses the shoulders are often too big). I'm going to take the plunge and go with it, and hope it turns out for the best. If not, I can always frog it and redo it.

Oh, yeah -- so in order to go to the bigger size, I needed to buy another skein of the yarn. Lucky for me, Windsor Button had just gotten in their order of Malabrigo, and Susan was able to find the Hollyhock in about 20 seconds. The dye lot is not the same, obviously, but I bought it anyway. There is a big difference in the new dye lot and the 4 skeins I already had from the old dye lot. So, the new skein is for the waist ribbing, sleeve cuffs, and collar, and, at Susan's suggestion, I am going to switch between my other 4 skeins about every 20 rows in case there is difference in the color on those. So I have to be off soon, and wind 3 more skeins of yarn -- joy. I don't have a swift, but my dress form makes a good makeshift swift; I just put the hank of yarn over the shoulders and can get going at a good clip. It's still not my favorite thing to do.

This morning's breakfast (and knitting) viewing was the first episode of "The Planet of the Apes" TV show from 1974. I don't have vivid memories of it on television (I was 5 years old when it aired), but Mike used to watch it back-to-back on Friday nights with "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" (something else we've been enjoying on DVD). If the first episode is any indication, I'll be eating the PotA show up like candy. It may help that Roddy McDowell was in it, and I just LOVE him. Even if his cuteness is hidden by the ape costume (you can still see his big brown eyes, though, and he is good at manipulating the make up and getting some facial expressions through). After we went to the Mall to get pictures and have some lunch, we came back and watched a Luche Libra movie. It was "Blue Demon vs. the Satanic Power". It was completely in Spanish, although Mike has a decent synopsis of it from Santo Street and we were able to follow it. I didn't pay 100% attention to it (I was knitting!), but it was pretty good and was from 1964 (I think), so there was lots of big bouffant hairdos and some cool musical interludes. A magician comes back 50 years after his "death", seduces a bunch of young women, then incinerates them. Blue Demon wrestles Lobo Negro, El Nazi (or did Santo wrestle El Nazi? I forget). The magician tries to hypnotize Blue Demon to get him to jump off a building, but his powers wear out and Blue Demon snaps out of it. There is a chase, and the magician ends up aging, dying and drying up in to a mummified corpse. I never said the movie made sense. I'm sure we missed a lot by not understanding most of the dialogue, but I think that by seducing the women the magician was staying young. What this all had to do with Blue Demon, I don't know. We decided the magician was going to seduce Blue Demon next.

Pattern-A-Day Calendar -- Week One Review

I bought the 2006 Pattern-A-Day Calendar, 1/2 price at Barnes & Noble. Hopefully it will all in all by worth the $6.99 I spent on it. One plus: I can just throw or give away the patterns I don't want, the keep the ones I do, which should take up less space that a book holding 365 patterns (actually, it's less, because there appears to be only one pattern per weekend, but I don't feel like doing the math).

I'm going to try to review a week's worth of patterns every week. Here's the first:

12/31-1/1 -- Swirl Hat and Muffler. This is cute; it's a diagonal garter stitch hat and scarf, done on size 19 US needles so it is probably a quick knit. The recommended yarn (Tahki Baby) is really expensive, but I would knit this with a cheap sub, if one of my relatives wanted a set like this. I don't know if I would make it for myself though.

1/2 -- Twisted Rib Crazy Socks. I'd love to see the twisted rib part in a close-up. It's done in Regia Crazy Sock yarn, the colors are really fun, but I don't think it's much different than any other sock yarn. When I finally get down to knitting socks, maybe I'd try this out.

1/3 -- Deco-Stardust and Whisper Poncho. I don't do ponchos, and I consider this one especially haggard.

1/4 -- Slanted Eyelet Scarf. Love, love, love! I already have yarn for this project -- cashmere yarn I received for Xmas from my hubby in "moss green". It will look lovely with my mustard colored leather jacket.

1/5 -- Diamond Loop Bracelet. The combination of size 0000 US needles, silk thread, and knitting with seed beads both intimidates and fascinates me at the same time. This may go into my "to-do-when-I'm-feeling-daring" file.

1/6 -- Woven Adult Pullover. The hand-painted looking yarn for this (Pine Tree Yarns Texas www.pinetreeyarns.com), looks lovely, especially done in a basketweave stitch contrasting with black. The sleeves, however, look as though they are done in a garter stitch for a few rows in the colored yarn, the a stockinette in the black yarn for a couple of rows, and look like some kind of weird robot-spring arms to me. I would maybe do this with plain stockinette stitch black sleeves, but as-is, I think it's fug.

1/7-1/8 -- Waterproof Mittens. "New technology creates a wool yarn that is waterproof!". The mitten looks pretty straightforward, and the star of this pattern is the yarn. Dale Hauk 100% wool, Teflon coated. I may have to look this up and price it, I'm sure my dad would appreciate this when he shovels!

All in all, I think this calendar is done up in order for the submitters to advertise their yarns! I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I'm not sorry I bought it; as I said, I will get a few patterns out of it (that Slanted Eyelet Scarf is worth it!), and it gives me something to blog about.

Please, feel free to comment and discuss!!

Crafty New Year!!!!

This is my cable-knit hat that I made this weekend. I was confused at first on to how to make cables (see my earlier post), so the actual cables don't start until about 6 rows after they are supposed to. Instead I have a really wide rib.

The pom-pom was a lot of fun to make. Mike made the "donuts" out of cardboard for me (sweet hubby!) and was amazed with the way pom-poms are made.

The scarf was my first project, although I finished Mike's "Rosa" scarf before I finished it. Her name is Natalie. My knitting has improved since I made her (over a year ago), but I still love her. I may put white fringe on the ends, however, to add the white and tie the colors together.

Last night I started mittens to match. I'm on a crafting frenzy!!!!

Oh, yeah, I made the sweater too. I blogged about it on Craftster a while ago: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=59122.0

It was cold today when we walked to the mall, and even though the sweater is a loose knit, it's pretty darn warm, especially with a long-sleeve t-shirt underneath.

Just to prove I'm not only a knitter . . .

Last week, Mike was cleaning his t-shirt drawer and was about to throw out a bearded dragon t-shirt that was stained. I told him I would take it, to wear to bed and whatnot. What Mike didn't know is that the crafty wheels in my head were turning:

As soon as he left for Stop n Shop yesterday, I ran upstairs and started work, cutting up this t-shirt, sewing it together, stuffing it, and the grand finale, the incredibly saccharine lavender bow:

Mike had a bearded dragon (Velcro) for over 9 years, and he was a really special buddy of ours. He died a little over a year ago. He would not have tolerated us putting a lavender bow on him (although I believe Karm used to put bonnets on him). That is exactly why I put the lavender bow on this bearded dragon, to push this craft over the edge from cool into incredibly retarded.

Do you know anyone who has a bearded dragon stuffie with a lavender bow on it????