Sunday, October 31, 2010

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

YAY! It's my second wedding anniversary! I'm still just as in love and happy with my husband as I was the day I married him.

Last night we threw a party for our friends here at my house, and I had a very good turnout. I spent most of the evening drunk, but it was a damn good evening! Everyone told me that they had a good time, and they all liked the food we served. My costume was a huge success, which is kind of normal for me. Everyone gets amazed when you make your own costume.

Unfortunately, I did not get enough time to finish my socks, so you're going to have to wait a few more days to see them. But in the meantime, check out my FANTASTIC costume:






I might be a fatty, but I'm a damn cute one!

I made the red top, the brown skirt, the yellow sash/overskirt, and the necklaces myself. The corset I've had for years now, the wig I got off of eBay, and the headscarf I borrowed from my mother-in-law. The cute little shrug I'm wearing was crocheted by my friend Laurel. She had made it for herself, but it ended up being too big for her, so she handed it off to me. Let this be a lesson, sometimes (only sometimes) gauge DOES matter. She ended up making another one for herself, but followed the directions for a smaller size. I actually did not plan on using the shrug, but as I was cleaning the house yesterday, I saw it and thought, 'That would look so good,' and it did! 

I hope everyone has a good Halloween!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

I Make Socks!

So here is a rundown of all the socks I have made:

My first pair of socks were done following Silver's Sock Class using Plymouth Yarn's Happy Feet (the colorway was not named, it just had a number). The sock class is perfect for someone just learning to do socks. She takes you step by step through the process, complete with pictures for every step. I made mine ankle socks, and they came out like this:


My second pair were done by following a pattern in Wendy D Johnson's book, Socks From The Toe Up. I used the pattern, On-Hold Socks, and again made them ankle socks. The yarn used was Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in the colorway Space Dust, which is currently retired from their website. I absolutely LOVE Blue Moon, and if anyone was ever so inclined to buy me yarn, I'd totally want it from this place. The dyer, Tina, is a genius. Her color combination and colorway names are just amazing. And now on to the picture!






My third pair of socks were done with Knit Picks Felici Sport Self Striping Sock yarn in the Colorway Picnic.  The thing about the Felici yarn that is so exciting is that once a colorway is sold out, it's gone forever. Which makes the more awesome colorways highly sought after. I got a GIANT order of the newest color ways for my birthday back in May. Most of the colors I got are no longer available.  On this sock, I did them toe up, but did not follow any real pattern. I made them go as far up my leg as I had the yarn for, and managed to get both socks to stripe almost exactly in the same way (you can not tell from this picture, but the stripes are just slightly off. It's a nit-picky thing, feel free to praise me anyway.)





My most recently completed pair of socks was done for the Third Quarter Knit-Along on the Ravelry group Socks That Rawk, which is a group for Blue Moon fans. The pattern chosen for that Quarter was Charybdis by Fiona Lucas of Glass of Fashion. The Knit-Alongs in this particular group require that you use Blue Moon's Socks That Rock in one of the three available weights, so I used the colorway Blue Brick Wall in Lightweight.


So there you have it. My name is Rachel, and I can knit socks.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Not A Halloween Themed Post

OH NOES!

I swear I have other interests than Halloween. Especially when it comes to my knitting. I actually have four projects on the needles currently.

My main big giant project of DOOM is my Traveling Woman Shawl designed by Liz Abinante of Feministy.com.  I'm using the colorway Stonechat in Malabrigo Sock.  So far so good, I haven't messed up the pattern yet.  I'm still working in stockinette though, and I haven't gotten to the pretty lacey part of the design. I guess I really have no excuse to mess up at this point, so I'm definitely glad it's going well.

Right now it looks like this:



I love the colors! Stonechat is my absolute favorite Malabrigo colorway. It just calls to me... and it's so soft. I love petting it. So currently it's at shawlette size, and I want it to be huge. Because I'm huge, and I actually want to be able to use this when it gets cooler. (Not cold, I live in Texas. Cold rarely happens here.)  I think I have another 20 rows or so of the boring yet safe stockinette left before I start the scary lace prettiness. It's currently my biggest knitting project to date, so I'm a little apprehensive about the whole thing.

But I used to be nervous about doing socks, and I rock those pretty well if I do say so myself. Tomorrow I think I'll do a sock montage of the ones I've completed. It's only four pairs so far, but they look pretty spiffy.

Speaking of socks, the Halloween ones are going fairly well. I have another three inches left on the first sock before I start decreasing for the toe, and then it's on to sock number two. Since I have no real plans today other than working on projects, I think I should be well into sock two before I hit the hay.

Well it's time to get my day started, I have a costume and socks to finish! Go Go Go!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

This Week Is Not Long Enough!

AHHHHH!!!!

So much to do before Saturday! I'm currently in the middle of making my Halloween costume and knitting a pair of Halloween socks, both of which need to be finished by Saturday.

Here are a few teaser picks of  the gypsy costume and the socks::



Nice, huh? The socks are going to look very cool, just please forgive my fat ankles when I get pictures of the full sock posted. I won't post any progress pics of either, so you'll have to wait with baited breathe until I finish both projects before you can see either.

Ugh, back to work for me...

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I Love October And Halloween

I absolutely adore Halloween. So much so that I got married on Halloween, in Zombie costume no less.

So it's no surprise to any of my friends that my first written crochet pattern was for a pumpkin. I designed the amigurumi pumpkin in Oct of 2009.

Also, this year during our local yarn crawl, I picked up some Halloween Themed yarn! Super cute merino superwash sock yarn in black and orange from Etsy seller The Craft's Meow. I got her merino/nylon blend, Ice Cream Sundae in the colorway Punkin Twist, bought at a local yarn store (LYS) The Tinsmith's Wife.

Here's a cute picture of the window basket at the store that I found the yarn in.

Punkin twist is there on the left. All of the yarn in this basket was dyed by the Craft's Meow. She's very wonderful!

I always make my own costumes. I find store bought costumes to look cheap (my own personal taste, not one I hold others to), and they just lack the creativity that comes with designing and making your own costume.  Last year I was Red Riding Hood, complete with a cute little basket. I won the mini costume contest that my knitting group held at our monthly potluck.  The year before was my wedding, and I was a Zombie Bride with black roses in my hair and in my bouquet.

This year I'm going to be a gypsy. I'm very pleased with the design I've chosen and the colors that I've picked out.


So in the hopes of getting comments, why don't you tell me what you plan to be for Halloween this year? If you're a knitter or crocheter, are you planning on or have you already crafted any Halloween themed items this year? Please share links with pictures!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Amigurumi Pumpkin Pattern

You will Need:

US G/6 4.25MM hook
Worsted weight yarn in your choice of color

Optional (for face):
Safety Eyes
Felt
Embroidery thread

Pumpkin body:

R1: Ch 2, 8 Sc in second chain from hook (8)
R2: Sc 2 in each Sc around (16)
R3: *Sc 1, 2 Sc in next Sc* repeat 8 times (24)
R4: *Sc 2, 2 Sc in next Sc* repeat 8 times (32)
R5: *Sc 3, 2 Sc in next Sc* repeat 8 times (40)
R6: *Sc 4, 2 Sc in next Sc* repeat 8 times (46)
R7-R14: Sc 46
R15: *Sc 4, dec 1* repeat 8 times (40)
R16: *Sc 3, dec 1* repeat 8 times (32)
R17: *Sc 2, dec 1* repeat 8 times (24)
If you want to add a face to your pumpkin, Now would be the best time to do so.
R18: *Sc 1, dec 1* repeat 8 times (16)
Stuff firmly
R19: Dec 8 times (8)
R20: Sc 8 times (8)

Fasten off and leave an extremely long tail for sewing. Sew hole closed. Thread through bottom of pumpkin to the top and pull tightly.

*You do not have to do this next step if you'd prefer to have a more cartoon like pumpkin rather than a realistic one.*

Wrap thread around the side of the pumpkin and back through the bottom to the top 6 times evenly spaced to give the pumpkin a proper shape. The tighter you pull the more defined the pumpkin will be.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Stem:

R1: Ch 2, 6 Sc in second chain from hook (6)
R2:*Sc 1, 2 Sc in next Sc* repeat 3 times (9)
R3: Through back loops only, Sc 9
R4&5: Sc 9.
Fasten off, stuff, and sew to top of pumpkin.

And there you have a lovely little pumpkin!