Foliage

I've noticed that everyone has a preference for knitting certain things. You have your sock knitters, sweater knitters, toy knitters, etc. Well, I think that I may be a hat knitter. Yes, another hat! Pattern: Foliage from Knitty

Yarn: Cascade Yarns, baby alpaca in white, less than one skein

Needles: US #10 Dpns and circular.
Modifications: I don't really do any major modifications to anything yet. But, I added two extra rows of ribbing for the band.

This hat fits well but I would like it to be a bit baggier. I plan on doing the bind off over and using a sewn off method so the ribbing stretches more. Hopefully that will take care of it.

8 Random Things

Well, my camera should be fixed by early next week. I haven't really posted since it broke because I am a very visual blogger. When I browse other blogs, I'll be honest, unless something really catches my eye, I'm just looking at the pictures. I assume that is how everyone else is and I see no point in posting text about knitting without even one picture.

But...Amanda tagged me for the '8 random things' list and it is a good excuse to get back in there.

The Rules: once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I am a crazy cat lady. We have five cats; it was an accident, I promise. We have three black, boy, litter mates and another boy and a girl. The girl, Tabitha, hates the three brothers and we now are constantly fighting a loosing battle to get the cats to at least co-exist in our house.

2. Despite being a vegetarian for about ten years, I looooove to fish. This past summer I caught my biggest fish yet; a 3.1 lb large mouth bass. I fish at a lake that my uncle and four of his friends own and whenever we go there, I just can't get enough 'fishing time with Dad' in.

3. I would rather watch DVDs of TV shows that I have seen a million times than try to pick a movie to watch. My favorites are currently The West Wing and Scrubs.

4. I grew up in a small town and moved to Chicago when I was 18. I love it here but I often fantasize about moving to some small town in the middle of nowhere to live in an old house with a huge yard.

5. My favorite wall color is green. Our kitchen is green, I love it!

6. I am very messy but always come up with some grand scheme to re-organize my life. I pull everything out of a closet, put things into piles, but then get tired before it is all over and end up with a bigger mess than I started with. (Jim doesn't really like this about me)

7. My parents were high school sweethearts, got married when they were 18 and 19, and are still happily married 34 years later. I love this about my family and hope that I am so lucky when I grow up.

8. I would much rather live in a place that was winter all year long than live somewhere that was always hot and humid. I will not be moving to Florida when I retire.

That was exciting, wasn't it?

Do I have to tag knitters? Ok, I will tag Keri, Jen, Charlene, and just to see if he does it, Jim.

Ravelry!!!!

Oh my good God! I was invited to Ravelry today. I am KnittingChicago if anyone wants to know. Not sure how it all works yet but I think it is going to be awesome!

In other news, I finished Jim's garter stitch, Malabrigo scarf a couple days ago. I'll post pictures when I get my camera fixed.

Stripey Socks make me happy.

I finished a pair of socks! Unfortunately you only get to see one of the pair due to camera lens error E18. (I found out my camera is still under warranty and I think I should be fixing it within the week) Anyways, I used Knit Picks Felici yarn in Hummingbird. It is 75% Superwash Merino Wool and 25% Nylon. I didn't really use a pattern but followed along with the Sock Knitter's Companion that I found a link to from Twisted Knitter. Using size 1 dpns, I cast on 68 stitches and started a 3 X 1 rib. After a inch or so, I switched to stockinette and just followed the pattern.

I am really pleased with how well these turned out, I am excited to try an interesting pattern with cables or something now that I am confident I can finish a pair. The new socks had their premiere at work yesterday which is perfect because I almost always wear Danskos to work and they slide off easily. Perfect for showing off newly finished, striped, happy socks. After you wear a pair of socks that were made to fit your foot exactly, how do you ever want to wear normal socks again?

Fad Classic

So I said that I had FO's and I really do. Here is my Fad Classic. I wish I had made it longer and maybe I will one day. This is my first finished garment. Woo-hoo! My boyfriend seemed impressed and the day I wore it work everyone was surprised. I think that they hear me talk about knitting but all they see is the same sock that I only knit during my lunch break. (Which will be the FO for another day. I can't post them all at once, that would be silly)
Hopefully things will slow down a bit here. One of my good friends got married this weekend and I think (I hope) that her wedding was the last of summer responsibilities. I'll have to try to remember to post pictures of her wedding, it was beautiful.
Oh.. and if I don't have new pictures to show, it is because my camera is broken. When I turn it on, the lens comes about halfway out then beeps and the display window reads, "lens error, restart camera.' I will cry if my camera is broken. It isn't yet a year old and I am almost positive it is still under warranty. Besides, it is a Canon and I've heard that they are pretty good with stuff like this.

Coral Garden

Has everyone seen this? I think it is absolutely gorgeous. If I ever get to the point where I can create something as beautiful as this...well, I'll cry, or something.

If you haven't go to the artist's site and check it out. http://hellejorgensen.typepad.com/gooseflesh/

$60 Felt Piece-O-Junk

Yesterday was the first day that I have really been shopping since Fall stuff has been out. I wandered around store after store annoying my non-knitting friend with, "$48!! I could knit that! Those are just *insert pattern* with a 2 X 2 rib at the bottom."

One particularly irritating moment for my friend was when I saw a sweater on sale for $60 dollars that was hand knit. It was knit with really chunky yarn, would only take about 5 hours to knit due to the very holey pattern, and seemed to be knit out of some alpaca blend. Ok, so alpaca yarn is super expensive anywhere I have seen it and $60 doesn't seem to steep. My problem? There were no washing instructions anywhere on the sweater. It had about five tags and not one of them said what kind of yarn was used or instructions for care of the garment. Now you know someone bought that sweater, took it home, then... threw it in the washing machine! $60 isn't expensive for an alpaca hand knit but I do think it is a little pricey for a felted doll sweater. If I had the time or energy yesterday I could have asked the salesperson about the information that was left off the tags. Who knows, maybe when you buy the sweater they give you a little pamphlet entitled, "how to care for your hand knits." I wonder if after you get home and felt your beautiful sweater, does the store give you a refund?

In knitting news...I have not been posting lately because I have been knitting. I have FO's to post about and I promise I will try to post them today or tommorrow... I just had to share my story.