Monday, September 24

Toilet plunger + elongated egg beater + timelord = must-knit scarf

My dad's birthday is November 19, and he will be 50 this year. Clearly this would be a good year to knit him something special and meaningful. So I cast on for a Dr Who Scarf yesterday. When I was younger, we would watch Dr. Who every Friday night on Iowa Public Television. (Preceded by Jack Horkheimer's Star Hustler, too!) So I thought something a little Who-related would be nice. If I have time, I may try to do a knitted Dalek as well. (With a toilet plunger in one hand and an elongated egg beater in the other, Daleks are some of the deadliest cyborgs in the galaxy.ThinkGeek)

I'm going for the season 16 colors, but not nearly as long. In season 16, the scarf ends both reach the ground, and have a knee-length loop. That's a 15-foot scarf, I'm thinking. And that's a walking hazard. My dad's not always the most graceful of folks, so I'm going to give him less of a chance of tripping himself and knit it to only (!) ten feet or so. So far, I've done six bars of color, or 96 rows. Did I mention that this scarf is entirely garter stitch? Talk about mindless knitting.

And yesterday, my geekdom surpassed itself. I was knitting the Dr. Who scarf, at 42* stitches wide, while watching Firefly. Maybe I'll knit it to The X-Files next.

Also, I've been working on a wedding present for a couple of my friends. They're getting married October 20. I'm doing a little something-something that, like the Dr. Who scarf, involves garter stitch. (Really, a fancified garter stitch was the only texture I was pleased with. Lace was too big, and the other was just too fiddly.) Size 3 needles, 59 stitches, Elann Canapone 100% hemp yarn. It will be a pair of items, probably around 24 inches long.

I have no photos. My camera's still lost in No Man's Land.

Oh, and I forgot to say that I got a very interesting book, Mark Dunn's Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable because I'm a bit of a nerd.

*That's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy speaking. 42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything.

Thursday, September 20

Okay, one more.

I'm going to make this quick. I've got a wedding to attend in a month and a gift to knit before then. And then a month after that my dad turns 50. I gots to get knitting on those Dr. Who knits I've been planning.

So here's a quick vid to keep you happy. This one goes out to Dustro.

Wednesday, September 19

Just vids for you to enjoy

Here's a throwback from high school Spanish class, mateys.




And on the eighth day, god created pirates.


Anyhow, that's all I have today.

Tuesday, September 18

What I do for fashion

I forgot to mention that I went to the Renaissance Faire one last time Sunday with my parents. My dad called me up at 2:30 Sunday afternoon and said, "Want to go?" I said, "Um, where?" He, as if talking about visiting an old friend we've all known for years, said, "Ren." Silly dad, Trix are for kids.

And another comment that concerns the Ren Faire: pickles. I want to talk about vikings peddling their pickles. Yes, you read that right. Picture a man in fur and a viking helmet, wandering up and down the lane with a bucket in hand, shouting, "Try my juicy pickle!" Dirty, dirty. But toward the end of the Faire, I started to think, Wow, a pickle sure would quench the thirst right now. And they're crunchy! And the vikings walked by again. "Try my juicy pickle!" About thirty seconds later, I saw a little girl — couldn't have been more than 12 years old or so — chomping down on a large pickle.

I couldn't do it.





I had a marathon crafting session last night. No knitting was involved. Instead, I broke out the beads. After having read an article on DIY Life praising The AntiCraft for having a "cheeky attitude." Having read The AntiCraft for quite a while (hence the link in the sidebar), I already knew this and loved Renée and Zabet for it.

The article mentioned this necklace: Henry VIII's Wedding Gift. As it was from 2006, I didn't remember it at all. (Work-induced short-term memory.) I clicked on it and thought, Eh, that doesn't look to hard. I could probably crank that out in a night. Because when I start on beading projects, it's best to get them done in one sitting; the second sitting rarely ever happens.

I got back from my parents' house at 10:30 after screwing around and having helped bathe the dog. I popped in a movie I'd never heard of — Bell, Book and Candle (made in 1958, it's an interesting little movie about witches) — and got to work. I finished the first, "set-up" tier a little while before the movie ended and decided that, since there were only two more rows to the entire necklace, I could probably get it done in no time.

Ha. Only. Those two more rows and the accompanying weaving in of ends (four of them) took me until about 3:20 a.m. I'm bloody exhausted and my brain hurts, but I'm wearing a hot necklace today.

Monday, September 17

Of knits and pirates

I woke up yesterday morning and thought to myself, Brr! It's cold in here! There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere! After I realized I was crazy, I picked up the knitting I'd started the night before (which happened to be lying next to me in bed. Fall asleep knitting? You better believe it). I got a few rows done, actually. The project? Horcrux Socks (link is to a PDF).

I'm using up some miscellaneous acrylic worsted, because I have a lot of that. Size 4 circs, two socks at once. I'm pretty sure that's the only way I get socks done, doing them two at once. I'm kind of surprised that I'm using US 4 needles with worsted yarn, though. I have a very loose gauge, lately.

I feel like I've been obsessing over what to knit next, lately. I've added a few more things to my Ravelry queue: the Lucy Bag, Spooky Cabled Armwarmers, Arch-Shaped Socks and the Shetland Triangle shawl come to mind. (I saw one rather delightful Lucy Bag that had needle felted paisley on it, and I love it and want it.)

But then I was thinking yesterday, as I spaced off in bed knitting the Horcrux Socks, how much fun teaching a knitting class at the Art Center would be. I really just need to sit down and plan something out, make a few million swatches to share, and maybe make a list for a mini knitting kit. So that's still rolling around in my head, too.

Other than that, I just remembered that Wednesday is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. (It's also a friend's birthday. Huzzah!) Ye best be celebratin' with yer finest grog, mates!

Wednesday, September 12

At the Faire

Saturday was great fun, let me tell you. No, better. Let me show you. (These pictures aren't actually mine; they belong to Mistress Saucy Dish and the Dread Pirate Joyfully.)


The Fab Four at the Faire.
In the back are Mistress Saucy Dish and the Dread Pirate Joyfully.
I'm in the front, next to the Medic of Wonder.



Mistress Saucy Dish at the Stupid Stump.


The Dread Pirate Joyfully and the Dorian Pirate Queen pause for their adoring fans.


Never mess with a troll ... even a local one.



That's really all I've got for today. Got to finish knitting that slightly secret project. I should only have a few more rows before I hit the ending ribbing ... then photos, if I can find a camera. (Mine's gone missing. I miss it and my 1GB flash card dreadfully.)

Wednesday, September 5

She turned me into a newt!

If I had access to my mom's camera right now, I'd share a picture from my trip to the DM Renaissance Faire on Saturday. I was nearly strangled by a troll — a local one, at that. (He's from my community and used to own our internet service provider.) We only got to spend a few hours at the Faire Saturday, but I'm planning on going back this Saturday with a group of friends. I'd like to stay for both the opening and closing gate ceremonies, as they're rumored to be quite entertaining. (I just noticed that the troll is posted on the DMRF website today. Excellent.)

Also, I'm working on my pirate costume. I decided to wear skirts (yes, plural) and become a wenchy sort of pirate. I still love my dreads wig, so that's continuing to be a part of the costume. The tricorn, I decided, needs a better shape. It looks a little weird.


In knitting news today ... I've been working on a project. (In fact, the paper was so late today that I got quite a lot of new stitches made before I had to start actual work.) I don't want to say too much about it yet, lest I stop working on it. I'll just say that what I'm working on has black and white stripes, and shaping.

Oh! I was cruising through my feeds today and I ran across something I have to share. Go have a look at what The ADD Knitter did. I'll wait.


Back? Isn't that shawl gorgeous? Did you see the part where she said, I am new to the whole lace shawl game, so it was with much trepidation that I cast on for the Shetland Triangle. Dear Jebus. That does not look like work from a "new to lace" knitter. It's jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

The best part of the whole experience? I discovered, through my public library's website that they actually have Wrap Style, the book with the Shetland Triangle pattern. (This was very surprising to me, as they have about five knitting books, one of which I own and two of which are somewhat dated. And Suss Cousins' Home Knits , which is delightful beyond comparison.) All of this to say that I'll be making a library pit stop on the way home.