Craptina

Radical Baby

Please welcome into the world baby Diego!

My best friend recently had this beautiful baby boy. Here is Diego at three weeks old. As you can see from his huge eyes he's very curious about the world.... he also enjoys feeling warm in toasty in his Placket-Neck Pullover his Auntie Ginny, or Crazy Aunt Ginny, as Pony kept calling me the whole day. The little guy loves to curl up on a shoulder and sleep, as we had lots of cuddle time. The pattern is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts I love just about all the patterns in here! This sweater pattern comes with instructions for newborn to 8 years old! In the 6-8 hour gift section, I was able to whip this up in just a few days. Does that yarn look familiar? It's some more good-olde Brooks Farm, itching to get out of my stash. It's nore the best machine washable sweater for a baby, but I figure it'll stretch with him as he grows.

And in other knitting news, I completed a hat for one of Austin's friends, by request:

If you're thinking that this hat is really big,you're right. This guy has a 24.5" knocker, and he specifically asked for it to be kinda longer so it would "poof" on the end. And the pom pom? He personally requested that too. Now, this is just a basic hat, but I made a serious attempt to challege my skills one more step.....do you see it?
Wait- here's a close-up:


It's the teeniest bit of fair isle, no- I'll say color work, because it's not really very much at all, but I'm proud of myself for trying. I was knitting on the train and gave it a shot with no books or instructions. So with some contorted fingers and super twisted colors, I figured out how to strand the two on the wrong side. *smile* It's a small step in a new direction.

Tomorrow I'm going to see the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design. There's a field trip bound to happen with the spiders, but who says you can't see a knitting exhibit more than once? 

Show me your stash!

Voila! A Scarf!

Here is David, my sister's  roommate. David is the nicest guy you will ever meet. He recently moved here from Mexico and is totally shocked at how warm cold it is. He requested a scarf, so I quickly whipped up a k1,p1 special.

And the Sienna Cardigan is finally out of the dark ages! I am working the back and two fronts at the same time and boy it took forever to get out of the stockinette hole. It's finally onto some shoulder shaping which is a very nice change. Once that's finished, all that's left are the sleeves and the trim, which should be easy-peasy.


Maybe you have noticed that there's a new button on the sidebar: Knit from your Stash! Now I'm not a hoarder of  an overflowing amount of yarn, but I've got my share. And I'm not going to share a picture of it, because I tried that and it didn't turn out very good. Please don't make me haul it all out again.....trust me, there's a sweater or two, some cami's, a couple shawls, a log cabin blanket, and a ton of hats and mittens in that stash.

I think I could use a KAL like this to pair down on the yarn that I've been sitting on for, well, years. I buy yarn that has the best of intentions for projects, but seems to get lost in some plastic bag in the depths of our closets.* And as I get older I've learned how to live with less, so this seems like a good way to reduce the clutter with creativity.

Now, this KAL needs some modifications for my personal needs. Since I don't spin fiber I'm extending the get-out-of jail free card. I still have a free pass, but I am allowing myself one additional personal yarn purchase with the condition that this ticket can only be used if there is a kick-ass sale of at least 35% off.
Really, who can resist 35% off? I have weak knees for a good sale.

I shall leave you with Darla, who recently won our weird cat picture of the week.


*yeah, right. closets....I wish. 

6 weird things you don't want to know

Ok, I guess since everyone is doing it, I figured I would too. Therefore, without further ado, Six Weird Things You Probably Don't Know About Me:

1. I was a jazz enthusiast in junior high. I played the clarinet and I had a very modern Buddhist music teacher who would have me transpose Lester Young solos to clarinet. I was pretty good. In high school the music from the marching band was so awful I switched to the school orchestra. Apparently my guidance counselor wasn’t aware of the difference between the two, so I was the only woodwind in the orchestra. All the other kids played string instruments. Yep, it was kinda weird. The teacher was such a nut job-she was out sick for 4 months straight, and when she came back, it was just about playing a few measures and mostly talking about our teenage dilemmas.

2. I used to suck my thumb until I was 10 years old. Well, it wasn’t exactly only my thumb. It was my index finger and my thumb kind of twisted and pushed together. Anyway, I did this every day and night for so long that my right index finger is crooked.

3. Sometimes it takes me a moment to identify my right from left. I didn’t understand the difference as a child. Big A had this issue too. It’s part of what brings us together.

4. When I am very focused on something I bite on my tongue. It’s totally regressive, and I’m very embarrassed about it, but it’s one of those subconscious things that I don’t even know I’m doing.

5. I have an insane ability to remember phone numbers. I can remember the phone numbers of my friends growing up. If someone tells me their number, I can usually recall it shortly thereafter. I have no memory for names, movie directors, or shoe size. I will remember things like your favorite food, but then forget your birthday.

6. I am a pesto freak. I’ll make a batch, (the more garlickly the better), and put it on crackers, toast, or just eat it plain. Of course it goes on pasta, but I cannot get enough of the stuff.

It's been a very merry.

Does everyone know how much the Spiders kick ass? I hadn't posted about it, but they really made christmas come early with the most amazing birthday gift, shortly after the special day. I recently got to take a test drive on my brand new blocking board.

Lucy, Dizzle, and Darla couldn't resist checking it out. Thank you so much to all of you who helped give such a generous gift. And even those that couldn't put in, you guys rock too. Look at this thing!>?!@ I love my spiders :) Who could ask for a better group of women?

It has been awhile since my last post, and there has been so much crafting going on, but first let me share the awsome gift Big A got, without any hints from me: The KIPer Knitting Bag Set

This bag set is perfect for the crafter on the go. God that sounded dorky. But really, I can't even count how many pockets this thing has, and each craft bag has it's own detachable shoulder strap at different lengths! I've already switched bags and transferred the wallet- you can't imagine how thrilling it is.
((If you haven't noticed yet, my goal for 2007 is to include as many cat pictures as possible into this blog.))

And for the holiday Big A and I went to Long Island to be with his family and we had a great time. I got quite a bit of knitting done while I was out there, including another inch or two on the Sienna Cardigan. But since that is such a big project, I cast on for some split finger mittens, or shall I say smittens?  I hadn't tried my hand at mittens yet, but i figured it was time, and I think they came out nicely.
          
Pattern: Split Finger Mittens (I'm calling them smittens)
From: Vogue Knitting Mittens and Gloves, Knitting on the Go   a cute book with lots of interesting patterns.
Yarn: Leftover Brooksfarm from the Accidential Kinda Sweater, this stuff is so sweet.
Needles: Size 5 DPNs
Time: about two serious knitting days. 5-6 hrs per mitten?
Mods: I did the straight up ribbing, it called for twisted rib, but I don't like it as much. And the ribbbing is even, it's just shoddy in the picture.
For: My lovely roomate and friend Laura, who also happens so be a smoker, so she'll love 'em.

This pattern was so fun and quick  that I decided to do another pair for myself with some other Brooksfarm that I had lying around.
                                                                                        
Lastly, I cast on for a scarf for my sisters roomate who just moved here from Mexico. He's completely unprepared for the winter, and has requested a scarf. I'm working up some Lambs Pride bulky, so this baby should be done soon.

I hope you'll notice my new knitting bag and needles from The Sassy Stichess. I got these at the spider halloween party. She made that knitting bag herself. Check out some other things she's made at her Etsy shop.