Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Branching Out into Lace


I started my first lace project, Branching Out. I've got the yarn to make Elizabeth, from the Knitpicks pattern, but the yarn is so much thinner and the pattern seems more complicated. I want to start out with a simpler project first. So far Branching Out is not too complex, but I have to pay attention, especially to the yarn overs. My goal is to make a lace sweater, like this one from Knitpicks, or something like it. I think I would have to practice, though, before I could make something like that with no mistakes.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Exchange Bag

This pattern is from The Happy Hooker and is done with nylon cord. It's difficult to work with because it's so stiff, but I like the finished product. I had to restart this a couple of times, because it kept turning out wrong, but I found out that there was an error in the instructions. The number of stitches is supposed to be 95 on the rows of shells. Anyway, I was thinking of making a wallet to go along with it at some point.

Friday, March 24, 2006

New Projects, Failed Old Ones

This is the new yarn that I got. I will probably make a Branching Out scarf and a Shedir hat from the reddish yarn. Both of these are the nicest yarns I've worked with. I wish I could afford to only use expensive yarn. I finished Sesame, but it turned out too small. My gauge was right and the size was right, but it turned out to fit different than I thought it would. It's annoying that it didn't work out, but I think I might just redo it and try a different color scheme. I was thinking about dark blue and burnt sienna, so it would be more simple. I will probably work on smaller projects first, since it is really frustrating to go through a whole project and not have it fit.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Sesame Languishing

Here is my almost finished sweater that I started at the beginning of February. It would have been done sooner, but I ran out of the gray yarn for the thin stripes. It was the least amount of yarn, but I couldn't find it anywhere, and eventually had to unravel a camera case and mp3 player and use that. The sleeves have a part that folds over, so they took longer than usual, and it felt like I kept knitting and knitting and they stayed the same length. The whole thing is stockinette, which I do get sick of, but I like the pattern. Hopefully it will fit well, because of the set in sleeves. The yarn is Brown Sheep cotton fleece, which I like a lot. It seems perfect for my climate, where it's not all that cold, but not warm.

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Continuing Saga of the Exchange Bag

I am still working on this bag, after starting in three times now. The pattern isn't really that difficult, I think it's because the nylon is hard to work with. The first time, the shells didn't line up right, and I didn't have the same tension throughout. Then, I somehow increasing the number of stitches, so one side started going on a diagonal, and it would have looked strange. Hopefully it will work now, because I like the pattern, and the purse seems like it would be useful. It is frustrating to keep redoing the same pattern, but I think it will be worth it.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Another Crocheted Bag & The Evils of TV

I started the Exchange Bag, with nylon yarn. It is difficult to work with and I had to start it twice, actually. Once it gets going, it's easier, but I had a hard time not twisting the original chain. I'm using Coats and Clark yarn, which is really cheap. The whole thing might cost about $6. I like this bag, because it seems like one that would be really useful, because the yarn is so tough. A lot of stuff that I made feels delicate, so I end up not using it as much.
I realized that I haven't watched a TV show in months. I just got so sick of commercials, and the shows themselves are so mindless. I used to watch TV all the time, like an addict. It was strange because the more I watched, the more I would want to watch. It was like I couldn't think of anything else to do, because my mind had shut off. It's like a drug in so many ways. When you first start, you anticipate that it will be really fun, then it's not, so you keep watching, trying to feel that initial amount of excitement. The shows themselves are more cut with commercials too, compared ten years ago. I am glad that I finally stopped watching, because in the end, it's just depressing to sit there watching other people live their lives, or whatever.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Finished Overdue Artwork



Here are two drawings that I left unfinished for a long time. I loose the momentum while I'm doing something, so I just move onto something else. I used images from a magazine for the collage, then used colored pencils for the rest of it. The insect drawing is done with colored pencils. I haven't been working on artwork for a while. I want to spend more time just drawing, because I think it's my weakest area. It is more difficult, because I have to think of original ideas, and I have preconceived ideas on how it should turn out. It doesn't seem like there's enough time to do all the things I want to, and there's always some area that's being left out. I guess everyone feels like that, because we're expected to do so much, and there's only so much time in the day.

Friday, March 10, 2006

In Bloom Bag

I finished the In Bloom bag from the Happy Hooker. It was a really easy pattern, and went by quickly. I decided to add interfacing between the lining and the bag, so it would be stiffer. I used Patons Deep Olive and Peacock, for the flower. The flower was the hardest part, because it was hard to tell if I had enough stitches in the beginning. The only thing I might have done was to put a zipper on the lining, before I sewed it to the bag, so my stuff won't fall out.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

A Crocheted bag

I started a project from The Happy Hooker, a crocheted bag that I'm going to add flowers to later. I've never made crochet flowers, so it will be interesting. I might even add buttons, or embroidery, depending on how it looks. I wanted to do the granny squares bag, but all the yarn would make it more expensive. The crocheted bags seem more sturdy. I wanted to knit a bag for a while, but they seem too flimsy, and I don't like most felted bags. I think the texture looks better for bags too. Crochet seems more interesting right now, I guess because I just learned how to do it. A lot of the projects I want to do are crochet.
I'm glad that Knitpicks has added more yarns and more colors, because now I can do some projects that would have required more expensive yarn. I have some patterns for sweaters from Interweave Knits that call for worsted weight cotton, and I had a hard time finding it. But now, I'm going to look at some of those patterns again. Also, now I can do the Short and Sweet Shrug from The Happy Hooker. I don't know when I'll wear it, but I really like the laciness of the pattern.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Knitting into Oblivion

I finally finished the sleeves for Sesame. They are longer than usual, since they are meant to be folded up, so it felt like I kept knitting and knitting and they would never get finished. That seems to happen sometimes, especially with stockinette, like the knitting never changes. Now I have only one front to do, then the collar and button area until I finish. After this, I want to start another crochet project. Maybe the granny squares bag from the Stitch & Bitch Crochet book, or a scarf. I decided to put up a picture of my cat, just for fun, since there aren't enough pictures of cats on the internet.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

sidewalk chalk guy

sidewalk chalk guy

The pictures on this site are incredible. It really looks like the sidewalk is opening up or the objects are actually there. I wonder if the artist uses some kind of sealant on his paintings, or if they get washed away. That would be insane if they did.