What is this you ask? This, my friends, is the fabric I'd found last year (yes, last year) for my Fellowship cloak. As you can see, it's textured and see-through. Couldn't be more perfect.

This slightly lopsided picture is of two sweaters I got at Salvation Army yesterday to recycle the yarn from. The light purple one is a thick-thin soft acrylic (not much fun to frog, since it's fuzzy and tangled itself to an extent - but completely made of good seams so the ENTIRE sweater is salvaged). The other is made of 100% wool, it feels like Lopi. Probably got some Lovikka mittens in the works here, or perhaps some felted bags or something. This one is much easier to frog, although I'm at a loss as to whether I should skein it in the stripes (since the person who knit it tied their colours together) or by colour. I think I'll go by colour.

Here's some Old Shale lace that was going to become Tellie's scarf (see below) but I decided to make the hug (umm - see below again) instead. This is quite pretty though, in Wool-Ease Lamb's Pride. Maybe I'll finish it sometime!

Tellie's Scarf

This picture is really dark, I know. But it's the only way I could get the detail of the heart to pop out. This is a scarf for my singing teacher, Tellie ("TUH-lee" she's Finnish). She's been so helpful and patient with ill lil' me. It's about 1/2 done right now, I'm going to pick up and purl the stitches around the keyhole I think, to neaten it up. I'm also going to make the scarf a little narrower on the other end where it will go through the keyhole. It will, of course be finished with a heart. I'll post the pattern once I have an FTP program. I'm also going to post my dying/spinning info as a separate page along with a gallery.

Look! They're sockapalooza socks! Thanks Lindsay! My socks are going out tomorrow.

Books I got from the library, very exciting. After a review I'm going to have to buy "Folk Mittens" because I want every single mitten!

Koolaid Thrummed Mittens

Finished thrum mitten. Just need to do the other! Cute, huh?

*Edited much later to add: I finished the other mitten in fall 2006 and gave them to Becky*

See this absolutely adorable hat? I made it for my cousin Olivia (it may be too small, although it DOES fit on my head, it just doesn't even come down to my ears. If it were longer it would though.) It's really simple, I'll write out the pattern since it's just a basic flat-tassle hat.

Pigtail Hat

Here's the hat laid out flat on a Monet placemat. It looks like it has pigtails!

More! More I say!

Why do I keep posting these? Partially because this is a blog of "me", not just my knitting and other things. Not in a selfish sort of manner ("it's all about me!") but because I like to find things out about myself. Although some of this is complete bunk, I'm startled by how accurate some of it is.


Karlie, you are Balanced-brained

That means you are able to draw on the strengths of both the right and left hemispheres of your brain, depending upon a given situation.

When you need to explain a complicated process to someone, or plan a detailed vacation, the left hemisphere of your brain, which is responsible for your ability to solve problems logically, might kick in. But if you were critiquing an art opening or coming up with an original way to file papers, the right side of your brain, which is responsible for noticing subtle details in things, might take over.

While many people have clearly dominant left- or right-brained tendencies, you are able to draw on skills from both hemispheres of your brain. This rare combination makes you a very creative and flexible thinker.

The down side to being balanced-brained is that you may sometimes feel paralyzed by indecision when the two hemispheres of your brain are competing to solve a problem in their own unique ways.



I say, amen to that.

One one more...

Score again for me! These are all from tickle.com by the way, this is the brainteaser test.

Karlie, you answered 28 out of 30 questions correctly!

Congratulations! Your score is in the 99th percentile. This means that if one hundred people took the test with you, your score would rank higher than 98 of them on average.

When we analyzed your test, we also discovered that when it comes to linguistic-mathematical ability, you measure in the 100th percentile. This score indicates you have unusually strong abilities when it comes to understanding numerical representation in words or "word problems." You're highly proficient at translating words into numbers. This can be very useful when solving a problem in real life. When people are discussing a vague problem that needs a specific solution, you're able to cut through the extraneous information to a clear answer.

One more...

This one boosted my confidence very much :)


Karlie, you're Smart 'n' Sexy

Your intellect puts you in a class above the rest, and it creates a sexual aura that's untouchable by people who possess nothing more than a pretty face. You have people and intellectual smarts and are able to juggle them accordingly. Your sense of the world at large and your world around you draws people to your mind, and what a beautiful mind it is.

Whether you look the part in horn-rimmed glasses and a finely pressed suit or dress simply in a T-shirt and jeans, your style really takes off when you flaunt your intellectual prowess. You're probably happier volunteering for a good cause, like tutoring kids, than spending all night partying with friends — well, at least some of the time. You've read the classics, or at least know what they are, and get the greatest rush when you can fully connect with people — both mind and body. While you may have the looks as well, it's your brains that turn up the heat wherever you go.

BAM! Now that's what I call a pick-me-up! (Um, in the raise-my-self-confidence meaning...)

What's your flavour?

Mmm ... blueberry! Tangy and sweet, you're as fresh as a mountain sunrise and as natural as homemade jam. If you were a Broadway musical, you'd be The Sound of music — we can just picture you twirling for joy in an Alpine meadow. Best with breakfast cereal and pancakes, you're simple and refreshing, with just a touch of tartness to give you an edge. Always a favorite, people can't get enough of your spontaneous nature and easy-going approach to life. Who wouldn't be attracted to your sporty, summery flavor? Fun-loving and genuine, you're a truly tasty treat.

*Sigh* Yes. I cast on another project. Sue me. This is a thrummed mitten (on my Monet placemat). I love the colour of the thrums. I was having trouble with the thickness of the thrums, they were WAY too wide but I think I've got it now. The wool is white Wool-Ease from Lion's Brand, and the thrums are dyed with Kool-Aid, the roving from Egli's Sheep Farm.

Another view of the saber.

There's a weird reflection going on, but here's my lightsaber for my Mara Jade costume. I'm going to the opening of Star Wars this May in costume. It's some brass tacks, a sink pipe, some O-rings, screws, and the vacuum feeder from my Dad's old office equipment (he was a dentist).

Spinning 101 - Karlie Style

Below my left hand you can see yarn I've already spun. You can think of this as your leader yarn as well, if you've just started with the beginning of the roving twisted onto your leader. You can see the roving going over the back of my hand and dropping to the floor. The spindle right now is parked between my knees. ALWAYS PARK YOUR SPINDLE!

Above the left hand is loose roving. You never want your twist to travel above your left hand, because you'll get big thick sections in your yarn.

Just after spinning some fibre. You bring the right hand up to the left, to hold the twist. During this time the spindle is caught between your knees so it won't untwist.

Drafting the fibre. The right hand draws some fibre down through the left, making sure you don't have large clumps and they're evenly drawn. Then release the right hand and get ready to...

Spinning the wool. My left hand is holding the top of the draft, and the right is spinning the spindle clockwise. Give it a good spin, then catch the spindle between your knees so that it doesn't untwist counter-clockwise.

Winding the finished wool onto the spindle at the base. Then you just hook it back through the top again and keep going!

Monsters, both real and knitted (and cute!)

This here is my sister's hamster, Frodo. Why do I have a picture of him? Well first, he's pretty darned cute. Look at those little paws! He's also very well hand-trained and cuddly. Honest!

The second reason is that he's also darned smart. Tonight I was sitting here plugging in my laptop, and Becky gives this little gasp. There, on the carpet beside the computer stand, is Frodo. He's apparently figured out how to get in and out of his cage. Not only did he get out, he also found her little open bag of yoghurt treats, and we discovered a stockpile of them in his "secret" cage corner. He must have spent at least 10 minutes going back and forth between his open cage door and the bag, dragging them in a few at a time.

Monster Slippers

Look, they're felted monster slippers! They came out a little strange, I think because I used a different kind of wool. I ended up with WAY too many stitches along the sides and back of the heel, so the raised edge ripples instead of making a nice lip. Oh well.

Here's the slippers with my foot for comparison. Don't you love the socks? I do. Bright blue and green argyle knee highs. Score! Actually, it's because I don't wear longjohns unless I have to, since I have a very short rise. This means that the longjohns come up to my ribs and show above my jeans. Hence I wear knee-highs for warmth, unless it's below -30. Then I wear longjohns. I'm only so brave.

Shout out from Dryden

Hello out there! I haven't posted in a bit because I'm at home for my sister's birthday, she's turning 15 tomorrow. Any way, to answer a few questions.

*sigh* Andrea I'm trying so hard not to give up on that sweater :) The problem is that a) it's going to be too long for me (I have a very short torso) and b) there's mistakes. So I've put it aside for now, in hopes that I'll either eventually be seized to finish it, or be brave enough to rip it out and start over! Rogue will occur in the meantime.

And I promised that I'd put up instructions for making a drop spindle. Here they are!

For a bottom-whorl (easiest to learn on):

1 wooden car wheel, 2" to 3" in diametre
1 dowel that will fit snugly into axle-hole of wheel - 9" to 12" in length
1 small cup hook

Simply put the dowel through the wheel, it should fit tight enough you won't need glue. Have the wheel about 2-3" from the bottom of the dowel. At the top of the dowel, screw your cup hook into the centre. For really awesome instructions on how to spin using a drop-spindle, check out Joy of Handspinning. They have videos and everything!

WIP Documentation

Here's all my current works in progress, some more likely than others.

Here's my Heather Aran sweater. You can see a few mistakes in the cables, particularly on the left (bottom on picture) cable. I'm discouraged with this sweater because I think it's going to turn out really long, so I haven't worked on it since December.

Hatmione take two - unfortunately, this one is too small. I'm still waiting for Lauren to give me a hand in changing the pattern size. My problem is that if I go straight by the instructions it's way too long and sits about 3" above the top of my head.

This is my afghan - also known as my second project, and the endless afghan. I don't know if it'll ever be finished. I get bored with it because the pattern is so repetitive. The bottom stripe is actually purple, not blue.

This is my third spinning, you can see how fine and consistent this yarn is (woohoo!). I'm not sure what to do with it yet, but it makes me happy that I'm getting good at spinning. I still have my favourite roving left to spin (out of the ones I dyed on Reading Week).

This is the very start of Rogue, but the colour is not even remotely accurate *sigh*. I tried to take it in different lights but it didn't work.

Calf-laced Slippers

This is my first knitting project ever. They are lace-up slippers, that are knit as a flat rectangle, then gathered at the bottom end.

Here's the hat I finished tonight. It's pretty cute but it looks decidedly phallic on me, so it'll be going to my cousins since I still really like it. It's made of Patons Classic Merino (the navy) and Cascade 220 (the red). The pattern is from Alison under free patterns, and it's the "Knitting Class in a hat". I think if I were to make it for me I'd need to use bigger needles, this one is a little sort and tight.

"Paramedic" Hat

Here's the hat, being displayed by my bear, Anne. She's from the Build-A-Bear Workshop, and she's named after the middle name of one of my best friends, Elizabeth. We made bears on the same day at West Ed.

Just to show Anne with her little face showing. I love this bear!

This is my second spinning of yarn, you can see the beautiful colour variation that's goin' on. You can see I'm getting a little more accomplished at spinning, this roving is at least somewhat more consistent and considerably finer than my first attempt! I'm not sure what to do with it yet. I might buy and dye some more rovings. I've got very little yarn there, probably not even enough for one mitten. Any ideas?

Relations

This is the only picture in my album of my cousins, the tall one is Sean-Patrick, and Chris has the curly hair (I'm the little blonde). Aaron wasn't born yet, since this picture is from about 1984-85

*Edit* We do have more pictures of me and my sister with our cousins, this is just the only one I have in MY album.

Life is weird sometimes. I hadn't once run into my cousins since I moved to Thunder Bay, and today I ran into Chris in the hall, and Aaron on the bus! Aaron and I had a nice conversation, although it was hard to hear each other over the road noise.

I know this picture is excessively blurry (I don't think the flash went off) but that's my sister in the lift, they're practicing. This is much less scary than the heel stretch she does (she's only one one leg, with it directly beneath her, and the other leg is extended up to the side, being grasped by one hand, with the other arm directly out to the side). Her stunt group is fantastic though, and they're always perfectly in line and on time to catch her - although I never saw her unbalance.

Here is the team, rehearsing their stunt routine (without the lifts and throws). My sister is almost dead centre, the shortest with blonde hair. She's a flyer.

Snow

Holy Schmokes. They weren't kidding when they said we were going to get snow today. There's a LOT of snow, ice, drifts, wind, and slush out there. They've closed some of the highways, although they are not all closed yet. It's bad enough out there I could feasibly see them closing the University, or at least stopping bus traffic. In fact, I haven't seen a bus go by in two hours and I live on the main street for three routes, both directions. If there's no bus there's no school for me, 'cause I ain't walkin' up the very large hill when there's that much snow on it. I did get to see some of my sister's cheerleading competition (NWOSSA) today, and I was so unbelievable impressed by how well her team did, considering they haven't had a proper coach for two months, and the squad is comprised almost entirely of Grade 9's. I used my digital camera to make a movie of their stunt routine (with my sister being chucked unbelieveably high in the hair, and doing wonderfully), and I have a few stills as well I'm going to post. I wish I could put up the movie, but I haven't figured out how to use my Shaw webspace for stuff like that. If anyone knows how to do that, please drop me a line so I can put it up! I wouldn't even have to worry about privacy legislation because it's fuzzy enough that the faces are only recognizable if you know the people.

What is this delightful confection? It's called a Peach, and I got it at the Italian pastry shop near my house called "La Dolce Vita". The sides are a sort of cake flavoured with strawberry, and it's filled with vanilla pastry cream (the sides are partially hollow). Boy, I tell you, it was tasty.

Ooooh it's my roving. And it's SPUN! On my spindle! It's about as thick as a pencil....I'm having trouble drafting the fibre. I think I need to find someone who can show me in person.

Presents from Angela

Ooooh Angela you can't imagine how happy it made me to find that lovely package in my mailbox.

She sent me a get well card with a nice loooong letter (yay!), two Purdy's chocolate bars (double yay!), and the cutest slipper notepad and butterfly rings (triple yay!) Wow, I love those rings so much! Wherever did you get them Ang?

I have pictures, but my internet here is s-o s-l-o-w that my photo loading program hasn't been working. I have pictures of the Angela presents, along with the yarn I've spun. I've gotten quite good at it, it's much finer (like sport weight, even fingering weight) so I might have to learn how to ply.

Ang, a package may be making its way toward you soon ;)

I also got a wedding invitation to my friend Jen's wedding, so Laura and I will be heading out to Calgary at the end of April. We booked our flights today. And last, but not least, I discovered that the Harri Bakery by my house is the most wonderful Scanda-Finn place ever with an absolutely delightful owner, a young Finn man.

Hey thanks Norma! I'm glad you like my purse, I like it too! I'm having trouble deciding how I want to do the handles though. (I do a lot of beading, so I'm comfortable making my own beaded handles). Should they be white? Coloured? Many colours? One colour? Metallic? I'm at a complete loss! I also don't know if I should line it with fabric and a zipper closure or not. I don't think I'd use it a lot if it didn't close well.

Oh I want to make this soooooooooo much. I just need a baby to knit it for. Any readers out there got a new baby? Or a lead on a new baby? ;)

Hi! First some answers to comments, then the meme from Norma.

Amelia, I just finished felting my monster slippers, and I will include a picture soon :) I left them at my parents house so I'll have to get them to take a pic and send it to me. They didn't turn out like I thought they would, they felted a little weird. I'll elaborate more once I have the picture up!

Andrea, I have thought about it and I don't think I'll switch. I've been knitting (sporadically up until this summer) for almost 4 years, so I don't think I'll switch. And I did decide to use the DK for Rogue! Hopefully it works well :D

Violet, oh boy yes it is a lot of snow! But this is our normal amount, the kind I remember getting as a kid. And to speak of the devil, we just got more here. MORE!

Da Meme
Do you knit using the English or Continental Method?
English. I've debated switching but so far, decided against it.

How long ago did you learn to knit?
My Grandmothers both tried to teach me a few times, but I was really bad for adding stitches everywhere. My "scarf" was shaped like a bowl. Then in my first year of University my boyfriend and I had just broken up and I went to visit my Aunt Jean for Easter. She taught me, and this time it caught! I've been knitting since then, but only "seriously" since this summer - I've had lots of time because I've been ill a lot in the past year.

Who taught you how?
Um, see above. A combination of my Grandmothers and Aunt Jean.

What was your first FO?
Slippers - they're laced, and come up to my mid-calf.

Favorite yarn?
I really like the Sirdar I've worked with, but I like anything in bright colours, even some of the TLC acrylics!

Favorite pattern you’ve knit so far?
Thrummed mittens were fun, but I really like the fuzzy feet from knitty.com

Favorite pattern source?
The internet! And the library :)

Favorite needles?
I really like working with aluminum ones....but no favourite brand.

Nicest thing you’ve ever knit
The fuzzy feet and Gryffindor scarf turned out wonderfully, so did my sockapalooza socks:)

Most hated project
I don't really hate any of my projects, but the Hatmione and Monster Slippers didn't turn out well.

This is my front yard right now. That little black spot in the foreground is a ball of Sirdar Country Style DK (see below). In other words, that's a lot of snow. That's like almost 3 feet of snow. I'm 153 cm (about 5'3") and the snow comes up to my hips. According to The Weather Network there's about 50cm of snow on the ground, but that's at the airport where things blow around and compact more. I'm pretty sure there's more than that in my front yard. The snow pile in the background is what my parents have taken off the driveway this year. Instead of making banks you have to lift the snow on, they use snow scoops and drag it over to the edge of the yard and dump it. Those snow piles are about as tall as I am.

These are some drop spindles my Dad and I made today. He brought me some new roving from Egli's and I went and got some paste food colouring in red, yellow, and blue, so tonight I'm going to dye it all up and tomorrow I'm going to make my first attempt at spinning! *Gasp*

Oooh look! Stash enhancement! This is 10 balls of Sirdar Country Style DK in 506 - Bilberry to make "Rogue". I think this wool might be a little fine, so I might have to work my needle sizes around a bit. But the picture (nor the link) does not do this colour justice. It's actually a million shades of plum-grape-blueberry-sapphire. I love it, love it, love it. And since it was 50% off, this sweater will have cost me $26.00 CDN (not including the pattern and possibly needles). Very nice indeed!

LOTS of pictures and a few questions.

Look, it's sock wool! That's been tinted blue by the twilight coming through the front windows! Oh well. It was on sale, 50% off, so these two together cost me $6.28 CDN. I may be going back to get yarn for my Rogue sweater, they have a lovely purple yarn. It's acrylic, but I think I'd like that because I have no way to really hand-wash a sweater. Some questions, if anyone can please answer them in comments.

1) Will these wools stripe? Or are they not meant to?
2) Will DK weight wool work for Rogue? It seemed to be about the same weight as the aran-weight wool sample in the store, but being the half-experienced part-beginner that I am I have no idea.
3) At the moment I knit normally. Would it be worth my while to attempt to switch to Continental? Is the speed increase worth the blood, sweat, and tears it would take?

Sophie Purse

Here's the felted Norma-Sophie purse, which has now been christened "Sherbet" by my sister, because it looks like sherbet, sort of. I kind of liked "Sweet Tart" but she disagreed. We shall see. At any rate it still needs grommets, handles, lining, and a zipper. So it's not really DONE.

Here's my Norma-Sophie purse, unfelted, on my bed. This is the hand-painted wool, just one skein with a fair amount left. I ripped my mittens back out (I may post a picture of the ill-fated mittens later. They were not only too small, but the yarn was flashing. Of course this one is pooling a little, but what can you do. I prefer pooling to flashing.)

Here's my unfelted Monster Slippers from Stitch n' Bitch Nation. Once they're felted - and I can find the ball wraps - I'll let you know what kind of wool it is. As you can see, they are huge. Huger than huge. That's my little foot -size 6- (wearing Grandma's hand-knit socks) in the middle for comparison. Incidentally, that's my parent's coffee table, it's teak and slate, very lovely. Also I'd like to say that these jeans are NOT tapered, they are bootcut, but the slight flare has fallen to the back because my foot is up on the coffee table. I'm not a fashionista by any means but I also to not wear tapered jeans. Just sayin'.

Sockapalooza Again

I just got a comment from Alison on my sockapalooza socks, so here's my reply:

Thanks! I did enjoy making these! I ripped the second sock back a few times before completing it because I tried adding first a cable, then some heart lace down the instep, but this wool didn't lend itself well to that so I ripped it back. I also ended up picking out the ribbing on BOTH sock because it was too loose, then I re-knit it on US 2's (the socks were done on 3's). I had to fix my BO edge THREE TIMES on the first sock because I kept doing it so tight that I couldn't get the socks on my feet! Ah well, practice.

In other news my Norma-Sophie bag is going well, I'm at row 30 and I'll be doing a total of 42 or 49 (depending on where my hand-painted runs out). I'm not sure what to call it, because it's so varigated. I'll put up a picture pre- and post-felting soon.

The pneumonia still has its heels dug in, I feel like I've just run a marathon every day. Hopefully it will be gone soon!

Sorry about the lack of posts, they may be missing for awhile. I managed to get myself pneumonia, again, so I've been sick and my wonderful Mummy has been here doing my dishes and fetching me hot water.

Aussi, j'ai découvert que mon Français est très mauvaise, mais j'ai aussi découvert un petit blog qui s'appelle Pure Laine, et je vais le lire dans un effort pour améliorez mon Français. J'aime sa projets aussi!

This is kind of a knitting post, you can see the little purple sweater off to the left of the picture. I knit that sweater to go with the doll she's playing with (which I also made). And as for the post below, unless you're from HOL Creature Feature ignore it, because it's for our Task 1 logic problem.

Here's the grid I used, you can see what I've done so far :)

The long-awaited hand-painted...

An experiment in hand-painting! Here are some instructions:

1) Wind the yarn into hanks, if it isn't already. Then loosely tie them at the top and bottom (helps stop everything from tangling).

2) Soak the yarn (like the above picture) in lukewarm water at least 10 minutes, to help the dye take.

3) Mix up your kool-aid. Use 1 cup of water per packet of unsweetened kool-aid. I used grape, blue moon berry, lemon-lime, and solar strawberry starfruit.

4) Use the turkey baster to put colours wherever you like (with the yarn laying flat and spread out on plastic bags or saran wrap). As a note, don't put too much on at first! After every spray of colour, take a plastic bag (or wear gloves) and press down on top of the stripe to disperse the colour all the way through the yarn, and to prevent bleeding and mixing from hank to hank or stripe to stripe.

5) After letting the hanks sit for a few minutes, place them in a microwaveable dish, cover with pierced saran wrap. Nuke for anywhere from 2 to 8 minutes on high, until water in dish is clear.

6) Let hank cool in bathtub completely. Once cool, rinse gently in lukewarm water, and hang to dry.

Ta da!

I'm using a turkey baster to paint the yarn with the kool-aid. After a few slops, I learned to tilt the baster upside down as I took it out of the bowl, and to tilt it back slowly as put the kool-aid on. Otherwise you end up with splashes and dots, like the purple ones on the lower green stripe.

Here's two hanks, dyed up. This is harder to do than it looks!

The yarn drying in my shower (yes, it's clean, but it's old and stained because the building was built in 1910, and the last time they updated the bathroom was no more recently than 1970). The hank in front is being suspended over the tub by a string, which is why it looks funny.

Mmmm cotton candy. It'd be hairy though, you wouldn't want to be eating that stuff.

The finished product! Ooooh so pretty looking. Those rovings look like cotton candy, don't they?

FTP Servers

Man, no matter what I did I couldn't make my blog publish to my ftp server. But I DID change the template, I really like this one. It looks so nice and clean! Pictures of hand-painted yarn are forthcoming I swear.

Hand-painted

So this will be a very short post, but tomorrow there will be a long picture-filled one to make up. I am in the midst of finishing up the hand-painteds I did this evening, with kool-aid. I'm not sure how they'll knit up yet, because I'm not the world's best. But it was fun! I dyed my roving from Egli's Sheep Farm which is a great place right near my house. 120 grams of roving for 3 bucks! Pretty good, since I don't spin (yet) I just like to make thrummed mittens :