Leveling Up

Like all the other people in the world the New Year has brought a desire to change my life and my world. So new blog post after sooo long.

This year however I have only one resolution and its very simple I will not dull anyone sparkle!

I so though have for me personal sort of goal. I will be attempting to level up. I'm good at lots of things but I could always be better. I will attempt in 2015 learn more things, do more things and take the skills I have and love to the next level.

Here's to a sparkly new year!

Last minute ideas

So after about five minutes of thought I have decided to make a hat as a gift for my Mom. That’s the time it took me to wind the ball of yarn by the way.

The voice in my head has a few questions though… and my answers were:

What pattern are you going to us? None, I have some ideas though.

Well, when so you need it by? Not soon, just soonish.

It’s nice you want to make a hat for you Mom but how many things do you have on the needles now? Ahh let me think: 2 sets of hand warmers, 6 pairs of socks, 3 shawls and maybe a blanket. That is a lot of projects going.

12 actually but only if the blanket is imaginary.

Though I still grabbed my needles and cast on.

The eleven has turned into 9, so I have been knitting on my unfinished objects (UFO’s). The only problem is I have all these dream knits circling my brain wanting me to cast them on. I mean who knew there where Star Trek hand warmers how can I not want to make those?

The two that came off the needles though were both for my Mom: a cabled cowl and a sock yarn hat, which I love. With the sock yarn hats the yarn can do all the work for you. A long car ride or in a situation where I know I will be watching cartoons with kids who expect me to pay at least a little attention I pull out one of these, it’s a great project. So much so that I am no longer counting them in my UFO pile because I think I should always have one going.

They are so simple, for a sock hat you just:

*Using a 16 inch circular in a US size 2 or 3 depending on your yarn. You will need DPN’s to close the hat unless you would like to magic the top of the hat closed.

*I cast on 124 or 132 depending on how thin the yarn is. (I like a big hat I have lots of hair). You can always go down, just make sure you have a multiple of 4 for your ribbing.

* Then 1 inch of 2x2 rib.

*Next knit 6 inches from cast on edge.

*Now I like to do 5 decrease points every other row so I either go up or down until I have a multiple of 5. Then I divide the number of stitches in to five sections using makers so I don’t lose my place if I have to put my hat down for any reason. Then knit until two before the first marker and k2tog repeating this 4 more times. Knitting the next row plain.

* Keep up the decrease row and the knit row until your work becomes too small for the circular needles you’re knitting with. For me this will be around 50 stitches. Switch to your choice of ways to close the hat, DPN’s or a magic loop circ.

*Now do the decrease row every row until you have no more that 15 or less than 10 stitches on your needle(s). Pull out a 6 inch tail at least and then take a tapestry needle tread end and run through all unworked loops. Next push needle through center of the hat and weave in all ends.

* Your done!

You can get at least two adult hats out of 400 yards of sock yarn. So all that pretty patterned sock yarn I don’t want to put on you feet I can make a hat. Or the perfect color I have for the friend I really don’t want to spend lots of time knitting socks for make I can them a hat. I think this is so cool.
I know I’m a dork.

How did I do this..

How did this happen? I had a nice little rule of three! Three knitting projects at a time: one travel, one hard, one TV knitting and to my shame I know have 10 thats right 10 things on the needles. I'm not talking in my head Christmas crazy knitting plans these things are real and casted on.

Let's face it I know how it happend, cast on fever! What is a girl to do though? I could frog 7 and then I'd be at three casted on projects but which ones? I love them all. I casted on each one with the intent to knock it out quickly and it just never worked out that way.

I spent a good few hours updating my Ravelry account and getting some of my stash online too but that my friends is another post. With all my UFO out there for the world to see maybe I'll get my bottom in gear and finish some of them but then again I just got this great new book...

Too long

It’s been much too long but here I am to give an update. In the time that I’ve been gone I have been busy, well no that busy. Dyeing yarn, working like crazy and frogging every other thing that I’ve started. Let’s see I frogged toe-up Jaywalkers (cast on too many), my first sweater the Clover Cardi (did not fit at all) a pair of legwarmers I was designing (they were eating yarn and at 10 dollars plus a ball we’re talking 70 dollar legwarmers). I cast on a pair of socks in Eco wool and a pair of Fleece Artist socks and the Pom Pom is still on the needles I just need to do the decreasing.

Also with the change of season I’m going to actually try and garden this year but not just for the squirrels this time. We got few large containers to plant this season hopefully I can keep the squirrels away.

Last year I was seeing all these squirrels with these little green balls and I was like what so they have where are they getting those from and then I saw my tomato plants poor things with the stems all striped and one little tomato left. Not this year! It’s me vs the fuzzy tailed rats, wish me luck.

I have no idea

I have know idea what happened, I have so many projects on the needles. It’s like … I don’t even know lets count:
1. Headband
2. Porom hat
3. First socks (I lost them for about a year)
4. Toe-up jaywalkers
5. Clover Cardi
6. Aunt C’s hat
7. Armless hoodie (hold)
8. Legwarmers
Okay that’s eight and way to many considering that I need to work on my Holiday stuff:
M = Hat and fingerless gloves
S = Hat and fingerless gloves
M1 = Scarf
M2 = Jayne hat
Mom = Hat and scarf
CP = Handspun scarf
Oh and I’ve singed on for a color work class. I have gone insane or I will be very soon! What was I thinking?

On a side note I think I and a little done with the center pull balls because they keep exploding on me check this out (look up) it my very lovely Porom hat that has been sitting for about three weeks because the center pull ball sort of exploded and I just don’t want to deal.

The Box that wasn't there...

Alright my swap pal is the best not just because she sends great stuff but also because she sent a line saying when the package was coming and when I didn’t post anything about it she hit me up again and asked it I got it. After some checking (the post office, mom and then the very attractive but not too smart mailman) I found it to be sitting at the house of the next door neighbor who had plans of bringing it to me at some time I don’t know before the end of the year.

So here it is the box:

I love the stickers, the Post its and look at that yarn I’m thinking hat! It’s like she knows me! Thank you, so much and I’m sorry it to me so long to post but because of you I bought a brand new toy and FinePix s700 and I so love it. It seemed my last camera may have meet an Office Space kind of end when it didn’t load my pictures and then wouldn’t take the brand new 1 gig sd card I bought because it only likes sd cards 516mb or lower. They don’t even make those any more!