Sidebar on the right has been updated…

I’m almost done with my Shapely Tank. Still no pictures. Darkness sneaks up on me now. I bound off both shoulders and I have a front and a back. Rob helped me pin it up to myself…and by-god I think it may fit! I backstitched one of the shoulders together (my first time). Once again, A Knitter’s Companion comes to the rescue. I’m super excited to finish and have to hold off until I can get someone to give me instructions on how to pick up stitches. I’m just no good until I see the tricks in person. Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids.

In other news.

The Knit Picks website used to have a “find your college, NFL & NHL colors” search option on their site. The Yarn was Superwash from Cascade. It’s not there anymore?! It was so fun. As you may be able to tell, this house is a Browns house. Orange and Brown together isn’t the prettiest combo…but it is the best.

Rob really wants a football helmet. I think that this pattern looks a bit like the old school leather helmets. I’d like to make it all one color with a few stripes from front to back. Colors? Duh? Brown and Orange! I haven’t tried anything with a second color introduced halfway through the row. It’s also a bit more complicated because of the shaping in the hat. Any suggestions?

I’m just about done with The Bone People and halfway through A Drink Before the War. It’s killing me, all of these half finished projects lying about. I’ll hopefully be able to finish at least one of these tomorrow.

Oh, as if I didn’t have enough to do – we’re having a Halloween Party. Yippy!

A finished gift!

Knit in Paton’s Divine in Richest Rose. It’s cheap and it looks cute. What fun! I cast on 22 stitches and knit until I got bored (approx. 67″). My gauge was approx 5 stitches/in on size 10 needles.

This is a birthday/thank you gift for my friend Jess. Her Birthday was last week…look I’m almost on time. A miracle I tell ya!

“Christianity is not about forgiveness to the point of insulting Jesus Christ.”

I had to attend and present at a community meeting for my work last night. The thing is I didn’t feel comfortable knitting while the other speakers were presenting. This frustrated me. I really wanted to spend that time well, pay attention and knit something in the process. Idle hands are the devil’s spawn. Is that how that goes? I had a few mental blocks: 1 – I didn’t want to appear as though I wasn’t paying attention, 2 – I was a little embarrassed.

What? Embarrassed? Okay, it comes partially from this innate need I have to not stand out. Pull out the needles and what do you do, stand out. I’m not afraid to do it on public transportation or in public for that matter. I think it was just the fact that I was part of an audience and didn’t want to detract from the main event. Am I so conceited to think that little old me would do that? I guess so.

When I was little I was always afraid of the question, “What do you like to do with your free-time,” or “What are your hobbies”. My hobbies and free-time activities centered around books. I read. A lot. It was fun for me. That was about it. Fascinating childhood, I know. It wasn’t until I was an “adult” (at least in theory) that I was proud and able to fess up to my utter dorky-ness. I like things that are considered dorky by most.

Someone told me a story about a person they met (I can’t remember who told me this) who was a knitter and a lesbian. This woman laughed and said that she was a closet knitter. She was out and proud about her sexuality but afraid to come out about her knitting. So funny. I guess I’m a bit like her. I wonder if there is a 12-step program to bring us out of the closet?

I just realized that only people with blogger accounts could leave comments. I have changed my settings so that *anyone* can comment away. Sorry about that.

I’ll blame the silence on this glitch.

Late nights at work all this week makes for few pictures. Husband Rob tried to capture the magic of Southwest Trading Company’s Beyond in my Shapely Tank but it was too damn dark. I decided I’m not going to let that stop me.

Introducing…The Shapely Tank (visualize a textured cotton tank in a Rose colored cotton, back done, front almost there).

I’ve really enjoyed knitting this. I started it as part of a knit-along (my first) at Circles. I was side tracked as the wedding approached and now I’m back on task. I have a few rows left before I begin increasing for the lovely ladies that reside on my chest. I like short rows. They’re fun. They’re used in this pattern at the bottom and at the bust. I’m not sure that they are all that necessary here. I think I’ll “get it” once I’ve got it on.

Learning how to pick up the short row stitches with the regular stitches was a challenge for me. The pattern doesn’t offer much in the way of direction. The front became the back after I tried 5 times without success. You could see the short row stitches. I hated it. I could get it to work on the knit side but not on the purl side (or was it vice-versa?). I had to go on without figuring it out because I was driving myself bonkers. A woman from my knit group, Kris, recommended The Knitters Companion. It saved my Shapely Tank! This was definitely the kind of thing I needed to see with a visual representation. The front has beautiful increases along the bottom. I’ll let you know how the increases up top look.

All of the trial and error obviously involved a lot of ripping. The Beyond is a bit splitty which made this a bit more difficult. I don’t mind ripping… it’s the picking up that drives me crazy. I found that a small crochet hook was the easiest way to get the wiley pesky stitches back on my needles. So far this is my only complaint with this yarn. Otherwise it’s fun to work with.

I made the tank in the smallest size (36″ Bust). However, because of my gauge I’m knitting the pattern at the 38″ Bust. I’m not sure how this is going to fit. I’m concerned that it’s going to be too big (again the gauge problem). However, I have confidence that what ever the end size of the pieces I can either seam them up so they fit (a la Bonne Marie) or try shrinking them (the beauty of cotton).

Hopefully pictures soon…

I found this site in the new Get Crafty book (the book isn’t all that great). Yarn money going to a great cause….

Also, a very happy birthday to Erin . Find your way over to her site and wish her a happy be-lated one (it was yesterday!).

I’ve updated some of the information on the right. Mostly added yarn and project information to current and future projects.

I’m teaching myself html. It’s fun, but man does it take a long time. I’m definitely using this blog as an opportunity to learn something new as well as share my passions. The learning curve is steep, which doesn’t leave much time for knitting. Bummer.

Good thing I’ve got the train ride to keep me occupied!

If anyone is looking for some great free code and lessons on how it all works I’ve found the Madarin Design Website to be particularly helpful. They ask that you steal their code.

I found this fun diversion at a link on their website…

Mr. Picasso Head

The new Knitty has arrived!

It’s introduction week here at The Bookish Girl. And who’s more important than the sweetest, most lickedy, energetic dog in the whole world?

Meet Rya….

Rya is five years old(!) and still a puppy at heart. I brought her home as a puppy and she came with me to graduate school soon after. As a stranger in a strange land (Athens, Georgia) Rya was the spark in my social life. Athens has a few pretty great off leash areas. It was her insatiable energy that required me to spend countless hours a week at the dog park. there that I made fabulous friends and met my future husband. The story is a lot cheesier than that but I’ll spare you. She has a thankless job, this dog of mine. I swore I’d never become one of those mushy animal people. That was before I had one of my own. Just wait until I have kids. Whew. I’m going to be out of control.