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Kittens in a Handbasket
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| The question was posed on the recession swap board about your favorite cold weather recipe. I wish my mind could get more wrapped around that! The cold weather isn't really starting to sink in here. It's gotten cool, but certainly nothing that inspires me to put on the warm and woolies! I certainly miss living somewhere that Autumn actually sank into...
As for my favorite cold weather recipe? If you've ever been over for a day I make stew, you already know the answer! My favorite cold weather recipe is beef stew, of course!
I use my own recipe that's nothing fancy. It's so unique that it's rarely the same recipe twice! It's kind of a "throw everything in the pot, boil it down, then throw more stuff in" kind of deal. There's no exact science to it, nor is there any restrictions on what goes in the pot. It's just whatever sounds good at the time.
Usually the stew has the same general base. There's beef, of course, and usually potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic. I just keep throwing in meat and veggies until the pot is pretty full, then I top it off with water and a little bit of flower to help the base thicken up. Spices are thrown in by a chaotic factor. I dig through the spices and pull out whatever looks good at the time. Sometimes additional veggies are chopped up and thrown in, like leeks or celery. Sometimes I use beef broth or gravy in the mix. I'm sure there's tons of options I haven't even tried yet! It all gets boiled down and stirred throughout the day.
At the end of the day we usually serve some up for dinner. It's not really "done" yet, but it clears up some space in the pot for round two. It's usually thick. The veggies are pretty soft. The meat is so tender it's practically falling apart. For your average stew recipe, this is perfect. It's just the right mix of thickness, tenderness, and solid bits. However, for my designs, it's far from done!
The next day the pot gets refilled to the top. More beef always goes in. Usually we add the rest of the vegetables. Generally more water, spices, and a bit more flour are added, though the broth is rather thick. You could eat this stuff with a fork by the time day two is done! A second full day is spent on cooking the stew. By the end of this day, the stew is done. It's so thick you could eat it off a plate with a fork! It's incredibly filling, and there's always leftovers!
What I love about this recipe is the potential it has. If you eat half the potful and think you'll want more in a day or two, just throw some more veggies in and cook it down. It's the same way they used to do things years and years ago before they became conscious of refrigeration and germs. Because of the constant addition of heat, any germs that might have gotten in it are killed. The constant rotating of foods being added and taken out ensures that nothing is really left in the pot for long. If you ate it and refilled it every day there would likely be nothing of the original stew mix left by the end of the week! If there was, it would be so diluted that it wouldn't effect your system much if it wasn't perfectly fresh. If you get sick of the flavor, you can always add some new veggies or meats, or serve it differently, like over bread or potatoes. For my household, it's really the perfect meal. | comments: Leave a comment   |
| It's gotten down to the need to knit baby things. I've got swap stuff that I should be putting together, but I'm not quite yet motivated. I'm having issues with this whole motivation for swaps thing. I know I need to do it, but I've got plenty of time right now. I really feel like the baby stuff needs to take precedence, at least for a little while. I have virtually nothing ready for the baby. I still need to go through all the old baby clothes to see what we have and what we might need. I want to get or make some cloth diapers. I've ordered yarn for a pair of longies as well as a sweater, hat and booties to match. I feel like I'm making progress there. I'm even getting yarn to make longies for my friend Krystal. Now it's just a matter of getting it all done. I have to wait for the yarn from Knit Picks, which seems like it's taking an eternity, so in the mean time I picked up some Cotton Tots yarn and decided to try to make this sweater, bonnet, and booties. I couldn't find any other yarn I actually liked since Hobby Lobby and Micheal's have such abysmal selections for all natural yarns. It's either pay a small fortune or buy something that's almost entirely acrylic.
Anyhow, I started on the sweater. Originally I looked at it and thought "Five hour sweater? Right...we'll see about that..." There was no way, at least not in my mind, I could figure a sweater could be made so quickly. Yes, it's only a baby pattern, but things simply don't work up that quickly. However, I've been working on this sweater for decidedly less than five hours and it's pretty much done. My only complaint is that the gauge seems like it should be tighter. I just prefer a tighter fabric. I think I'd do a few things differently on that one. I also think the designer made an error in calculating yardage. She said it could be done in 300 yards of yarn, yet I'm almost finished and I still have leftover yarn from a 150 yard ball. It should have taken two of them, but I guess the yardage must have been significantly off. Maybe she didn't really calculate yardage so much as used a ball that's 300 yards and listed that instead of figuring how much is left. It's also possible that she worked with a double strand of yarn and didn't note it in the pattern, as that should equate to the correct yardage and make the fabric tighter, but that doesn't seem to match the picture. I'm not complaining. Extra yarn means I have some left over to make other things. Maybe I'll have enough yarn left over after I finish the booties and bonnet to make another sweater with a hood or something. Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with the pattern.
Now if only I could afford enough yarn to keep cranking out baby knits! I won't need to buy any more newborn clothes at that rate! I'd be able to have plenty of pants, sweaters, hats, booties, and socks done in knits to keep the baby in supply! Then all I'd need is a handful of shirts and some cloth diapers and I'll be all set. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| The recession swap has put out it's second bi-weekly question. This one, however, will have a short answer from me.
Are you attending any Fiber Festivals this autumn? If so, which ones and why?
Nope, none for me this year... I don't think there ARE any fiber festivals around here, never mind one this fall. I'm definitely limiting my radius of travel this fall too, otherwise I would have been tempted to register for the CogKnitive Fiber Retreat/Alternate Sock Summit. That sounds right about my speed! Unfortunately, with a baby on the way, there not only isn't the money for that kind of travel, but I'm in my third trimester. There's only ten weeks and two days to my due date. It's right around the corner, sneaking right up on me. I don't think flying to California in October is all that bright of an idea when I'm that far along. Too many risks something could happen. So that means I'm stuck, here in Texas. It's probably better this way. I've got enough money going out to crafts right now...
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| Okay, I just have to say, I love my spoiler! Whoever you are, you are simply made of awesome! I couldn't have asked for anything better!
So, here's a glimpse at the goodies!
Let me tell you, this is JUST what I needed to brighten up my day! First of all, the postcard was lovely! I think I'm going to pin that up to my refrigerator! It's just so nice to feel loved! The DVD is Shiva Rea's Prenatal Yoga. I've wanted that DVD since I was pregnant with my son! It will be great for getting back into yoga (I've been slacking!) and a slower, relaxing alternative to bellydance for prenatal fitness! Squee! The washcloths are so soft and the colors are perfect! They're so bright and cheery! They're really soft too! I think these are the first hand knit washcloths I've ever had for me! I'm always making them for everyone else and keep forgetting myself! The soaps are scented with vanilla bean (one of my favorite scents since I was my daughter's age!) and I have no idea how she found it, but nag champa! I love the name of the company too, "Epically Epic Soap Co."! Personally, I'm amused because we just watched fight club the other night and now I'm getting soap! And, saving the best for last, the yarn! First off, the picture does it absolutely no justice! It's so beautifully bright and colorful. It's got these beautiful shades of pink, blue, purple, and aqua. The points where the colors blend have this beautiful quality where the colors twist together instead of blending. It's hard to stop looking at it and put it down long enough to describe it! It's this soft, beautiful 100% bamboo in a single ply, hand-spun and hand-dyed. I have absolutely no idea what I could make that would do this lovely yarn justice! I think if I didn't have to be at the birth center for class, I'd be sitting here, contemplating the possibilities for hours!
Spoiler, whoever you are, thank you! Not only was your package perfect, but you somehow managed perfect timing! Yesterday was one of those days where it seemed like everything went wrong. Today was looking no better, until the package arrived, the perfect thing to pick me up and brighten my mood!
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| Today is going to be a long day, just when I thought it would surely quiet down... Now there's nail polish on the floor, and all over a poor, traumatized Beekee. I've had to clean up glass, nail polish, a full bowl of cereal, and listen do a day's worth of screaming, all crammed into one condensed little morning. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to have the weather let up long enough to send the kids outside to run off some steam...
It all started Friday. We took the car in to have it's breaks done. Turns out the estimates were wrong on how long the breaks would last. The left rotor now has a groove in it and needs to be replaced. It also took them significantly longer to do the work than it should have. I've never known replacing break pads to take an hour and a half! However, the car has new breaks, an oil change, and new rotors and pads for all four wheels in the mail. At least that's taken care of.
Saturday is filled with the usual craziness. I had to pick up some yarn for the swap. We had to pick up some much-needed stuff for the house. Then I had to run off to class, scour the earth for hair pins. It seems like no one sells hair pins anymore. Sorry, but when I've got buns in my hair, those dink little bobby pins just don't do the trick! It seemed like there would never be an end to the running around. Between all of that and picking up the babysitter, it was a long night.
The Shisha Lounge was in line for that night. I was running later than I wanted to be as a result of our desperate search for hair pins. I got home feeling exhausted and really didn't want to do what I needed to do to get ready. I did my nail polish, but, of course, it wouldn't stay. It ended up peeling off for some odd reason. Then I had to get dressed, ready, and in make-up. Somehow in all of this I forgot mascara. I think with how dark my make-up turned out, it didn't really matter. Sneaky got shoved in a box, which he was not happy about in the least, and we were on our way, later than intended. I should have had just enough time to run into the back, make sure Sneaky was ready to go, get everything set up, all just before I had to dance. The timing was flawless.
Well, things don't always go as planned. I got there and the other dancer STILL hadn't danced. They were running late. I was no big deal, but I wasn't looking forward to having to pay the sitter to stay even later. I told her I'd be home by 11:30, and by the looks of that, I would be lucky if that were to be the case. 10:30 came and went, my scheduled time to dance, and not only had I not danced yet, but neither had the other dancer. I tried to relax and not worry, but it was a bit nerve wracking. I wasn't sure if more time would give Sneaky more of a chance to settle in or if it would only make him more annoyed about his captivity. There was also a photographer there from a new local magazine, so it was more than a little nerve wracking, to say the least! Sneaky's debut performance and it was going to be caught on camera! This would either be really good or really bad.
Thankfully, it went really well. I felt bad doing a kind of "all the bells and whistles" set. I hate dancers who use as many props as possible to hide their lacking in dance skills. While it wasn't a lack of dance skills I was hiding, it kind of felt like it. I've slowed down a lot and haven't been able to do nearly as much high paced, high energy dancing, which was part of the reason I was asked to dance there in the first place. I bring a high-energy, lively show and the audience is usually very responsive. The slow and pretty stuff really just doesn't sell there, so I'm trying to jazz up the less audience inspiring stuff with a little bit of something flashy. I balanced my basket, danced a high energy drum piece (not a drum solo...because I don't frequently do those), did a big drama piece where I called some real attention to the box I had carried out in the beginning draped in a veil, did a big reveal with the veil and danced with that for a bit, then opened the box, pausing for dramatic effect as a new, very slow song started and out came Sneaky for his debut! I think for a street fair or a renn faire, this would definitely be an ideal kind of a set up. Between balancing, the higher energy piece, the veil, and the snake, that's got a lot of wow factor. However, it also did really well to make my slow set something that was still an audience pleaser. The reaction was priceless! I got the biggest applause I've ever gotten! I had at least a dozen people come to the back where I was getting ready to put the snake back in his box and my cover-up back on to ask me questions, compliment me, or just to talk.
I think the greatest moment of the night was when one guy said (in a voice that kind of carried), "Watch, she's going to pull out a rabbit!" when I opened up the box, followed by murmurs of surprise and delight when the "rabbit" turned out to be a snake! However, now I'm wondering if I could incorporate a rabbit into belly dance. That would be funny! Everyone's expecting Sneaky and out comes a white rabbit.
Yesterday was filled with getting food for Sneaky (he worked hard for his meal!), poi practice, grocery shopping, and in general trying to get everything done, which ended up taking all day. It seemed like I couldn't just sit back and enjoy myself. It was a whole weekend of running around! I'm just glad I wasn't in the mood to splurge because I would have come home with two baby corn snakes that looked like they were either albino or candy corn in coloring! It's probably a good thing we didn't make it out to C.U. Circus or PNO! It would have been 3am by the time we got everything done!
Next weekend is going to involve a Girl Scout meeting that's going to be used to clean up and improve the Girl Scout Hut. From there I go to dance class and down to Georgetown to dance with Desert Passion. I can't wait! I love dancing with them. Then I'll hopefully have a chance to unwind on Sunday. This was now the second weekend in a row where we felt like we were running non-stop. A day off would be wonderful. Now all I need to do is convince myself, no more snakes! Sneaky might get jealous! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| So the swap I'm doing on Ravelry has a bi-weekly blog question. I don't think it's required or anything, but why not, right? Good chance to get to know a bit more about me.
If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?
The thought of somehow landing with a great inheritance or something has always been on my mind, not that it's at all possible. Still, it would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about money, and who doesn't have a fantasy dream like that? It would certainly solve a lot of problems for me and my family.
First on the list? Buy a house, or at least land and build a house, with enough land to build a home-studio. While I'm at it (since this is a big expensive dream anyways) I'd convert the entire place to produce it's own energy so I can be off the grid. I'd take a portion of the land for drum circles and the like. Of course, that doesn't take much. Then I'd also start a small organic garden. While we're at it, we'd get new furniture instead of just a mish-mash of whatever we've been able to pick up. It doesn't need to be expensive, but just enough so that every room can have everything it needs.
Hmm...and...? A new car! Preferable a hybrid or something, large enough for the whole family. Maybe two new cars so Oz can get back and forth to work and I can still get out and run errands...
Next on the list? New belly dance costumes. I'd get myself a couple new skirts, another bra top or two, a few nice belts for variety, and a couple cholis and pantaloons. I'd get some actual quality jewelry too. To top it off, more flowers to make hair gardens! Okay, maybe not just costumes. Add in some new music and maybe some snakes. Ooo...and new fire fans, definitely! Maybe poi...
Then, advertising. If I'm going to have a home studio I'll have to spend some money in advertising and marketing. I'll likely have to get professional photos done, some new business cards with my studio information, and all of that. It would be a great chance to take my dance career to a higher level.
I would finally take the General Skills workshop with Fat Chance Belly Dance! On top of that, I'd take some of the money to go to other workshops and classes to improve my skills.
Yarn would be on the list. I'll need something to do in my down time from dance and I don't think I'll ever quit knitting. I don't need a huge new stash, just enough to last me a while. I know! It seems wrong to be at the bottom of the list, but buying a house is future financial security and the dance stuff is just allowing me to get my business off the ground that much sooner.
I'm sure a number of things would be bought for my family. Corde would get new clothes, so would Beekee. The baby will get an actual bedroom set for his or her room. Oz would get some more fire spinning stuff, like a collapsible staff that will fit in the car. He'd probably want more Magic cards. Hey, there are worse addictions!
Whatever was left over (if there was any left over. I don't know how much the lottery is...or would be), it would be divided up equally between future retirement savings, college funds for the kids, and donating to charity.
Yes, I want a lot out of life, but I think setting myself up to live comfortably while still being able to take the time and energy to care for my kids and give back to the community is valuable. Besides, in this tight economy, the prospect of knowing you've got a little bit of security with your life does the soul well, not just the mind.
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| I agreed to dance in Austin tonight. I'll be performing at the Desert Passion Middle Eastern Dance show! I love it there. The people are great. I always have a lot of fun. I've really been looking forward to the show in October. I think it will be a nice break from the local community. It's not that there's anything bad with the local community, but there's been a lot of pressure to change the way I run my business to suit the opinions of someone else. That's taken a lot of the fun out of dancing. I've put a lot of time and research into establishing my rates between finding out the going rate for other local entertainment and getting oodles of advice on Tribe. I've taken time to research marketing techniques, to put together a really good promotional packet, and to develop a website (that will hopefully be undergoing a total overhaul soon), and in developing a collection of professional looking costumes. Unfortunately for me, she's got a bigger budget for advertisement than I do, apparently. I'm going to have to up the bar if I want to stay competitive.
However, I'm feeling nervous about tonight. I just don't feel ready! I've got music I'm familiar with. I've danced to both songs before at the Shisha Lounge. I'm going to be wearing a costume I've been dying to have an excuse to wear. It's got a very renn faire look. I'm feeling a little uncomfortable with the big mama belly, so I really like this costume because it both covers the belly and manages to make the belly look bigger at the same time. As much as that may sound funny as I'm so paranoid about the mama belly, it's more that I want to be sure I look pregnant and not just pudgy. Were it a local show, I would care a lot less, but this is Austin! I'll save the belly baring for next month when I'm likely going to look huge! It will be all of two months from my due date, so I'm sure I'll look pregnant by then.
Even so, as ready as I am, performing in Austin is still a big deal for me. There will be other dancers there, where local shows are mostly filled with people who know nothing about bellydance. This will also be the first time I've ever performed without a friend or family member at the show with me. I won't know anyone there. That's really intimidating. A part of me wants to contact M'lilah and tell her I've changed my mind. I'm just too chicken to go! I won't. I really do want to be there, but I'm definitely nervous.
I swear, I must have lost my mind when I agreed to do this. It'll be a good experience, and I could use some stress and drama-free dance time. I know I'll have a great time in the end. However, for now, I'm kind of stressing about the whole thing! Eek! | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| This has become my recent obsession in tribal costuming! I'm loving the hair gardens and the belts with all the big puffy tassels, the more the better! I know some people may think it's going over the top with the floral stuff, but I personally love it. I think it's wonderful. So here are some pictures of the hair garden that broke, got repaired, and is now sitting in a box, waiting to be busted out again.
( The Pictures )
Maybe some day I'll do up my hair with the other floral garden and take some pictures of that. I'll definitely have to put some pictures up of the Gothic one when that's complete! It'll be dark with a lot of black. The flowers are black with pink and silver glitter. There's going to be some black goose biots as accent. Then I'm brightening it up with black and purple elven eyelash yarn falls. It's so exciting!
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| Okay, so...I decided I was going to knit this pattern for a slouchy hat. It looked cute, light, and summery. I have this deep olive green yarn that's just been screaming for something to be done with it. I hate acrylic, but I've got to do something with it. It's Caron Simply Soft Eco, so part of it's made out of recycled bottles. How cool is that? Well, I learned my lesson.
So, just some basic math, what is 68 divided by 6? Well, I'll make the knitter's math easy. It's 11 with two extra stitches, not a number that's easy to work with when you've got a 6 stitch repeating pattern! I think it was a small oversight on the designer's part because it doesn't appear to be a problem on her hat. She simply must have miscalculated how many stitches she really cast on. It's okay. It happens. However, I was the dumb one to see that you cast on 68 stitches and the pattern repeats are only six stitches! Anyone who knows basic multiplication would know that the closest number to the cast on amount that's divisible by 6 is 66 stitches, which would yield 11 repeats perfectly. Why didn't I think of that? Because I was casting on at 4am, that's why! Unfortunately, this project is going to take a lot more math than I signed on for.
The second repeat of the pattern calls for knit two, yarn over for the entire round. This is where the math gets hazy. If you follow the instructions for the first round, you end up with a perfect 17 repeats of the stitch pattern all the way around. If you go with 66 stitches, you end up with 16.5 repeats. However, if you round that up to 72 stitches (12 repeats around) then you end up with a final number of 18 repeats, which isn't too bad. Of course, the decrease rows are a little wonky no matter how you cut it. I think I'm just going to do that my own way or something.
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| Do you knit or crochet, or both? How long have you been at the craft? A little of both. I've been knitting for almost three years now and only crocheting for a few months. I 'm not very good with crochet. Do you spin? I'm learning. What yarns/fibers are your favorites? I love anything with bamboo or silk! It's so soft! What yarns/fibers do you not like? Anything scratchy or acrylic What yarns/fibers would you like to try but haven’t? There are so many! I've pretty much been restricted to craft store yarns for a lack of an LYS, though I think I may explore Knit Picks soon... What are your favorite colors? Colors that you don’t like? I love teal, purple, and indigo. I also love earth tones and pretty fall colors. I don't like day-glow colors, anything neon and bright. What are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet? Right now I'm on a sock kick, but I also like shawls and berets What are you currently working on? I'm working on the Fountain Foxglove socks by Cat Bordhi and I'm starting a pair of baby leg warmers. What is your favorite FO? (Please post a picture if you have one.) My Meret Beret, but I don't have a picture yet. Are there any techniques that you want to learn? Colorwork and lace knitting. I'd also love to learn how to do more than single and double crochet and make caps to make Waldorf doll wigs! Do you have a yarn winder and/or swift? Not yet...maybe soon. How do you store your needles/hooks? In one of the clear interchangeable bags from Knit Picks. My straight needles are all in my knitting box since I don't use those much. They don't work for most of my current projects. Do you collect anything? Bottle caps! I'm going to be using them as jingles on a dance costume eventually. I'm trying to find interesting caps from local soda companies and the like. Currently it's only twist-off caps because they're in the best condition after opening. Do you like sweets? Yes, but I can only have them in small amounts. What are your favorite scents? Vanilla and nag champa, but I've also had a thing with pumpkin spice, evergreen and other seasonal scents. Are you having a birthday during this swap? Nope. Do you have any online wish lists? (Amazon, Loopy Ewe, etc.) Please include a link for your pal.
 Yes, there's two. The first is my general wish list. The second is specifically knitting stuff, but no one really buys anything from those lists but me! What is your living situation (Are you married? Do you have kids, pets, or both?) I'm living with my boyfriend currently. I've got a six year old daughter, two year old son, and another baby due in December. We've got a big Alaskan Malamute, two white kitties, and three goldfish. Are you allergic to anything? Wool, anything less than 50% wool I can wear. However, I can knit with higher percentages of wool. I just give the finished product to one of my loved ones that can wear it instead! Is there anything else that you would like your pal to know? Hmm...what is there to know about me? I'm a belly dancer. I'm really earthy-crunchy. I can't think of anything else! | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| Beekee actually used the potty today! Day three of potty training has been a success! Technically it's day four, but we took yesterday off due to Oz's incredible hangover. All I can say is I think Oz learned his lesson after that one!
The first couple days were rough. I sat Beekee up on the potty. He cried. He didn't want to be there! He didn't like it! Only after a good long while of clapping and cheering him on for being a big boy and sitting on the potty did he finally calm down and stop crying. He still looked like someone had just killed his best friend, but at least he wasn't crying. We had accomplished phase one. He was actually on the potty.
This morning I walked in to see my naked boy again. As usual his diaper had been chucked over the railing of his playpen. He looked at me with a smile, then pointed at his diaper and said something I didn't understand. This was as good a time as any! I picked him up, put his seat on top of the toilet, and sat him down. To my surprise, he didn't even cry! He had a toy dog in his hand and he was telling the dog "on the potty!" He was so proud of himself. Much to my surprise, he actually went pee on the potty! We cheered for him. We busted into the bag of jelly beans, a tactic that never worked for my daughter but I hope will work for Aris. We cheered him on. It was a good day.
Of course, this is just one small step. Once in a day isn't going to be enough to get him to use the potty all the time, but it's a start! Once shows him that he can do it and it's okay! Now we just need to keep working on it from there! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I got the hair pieces done (though I have a burn blister on my hand for dripping hot glue on myself...)! I got the belt mostly finished. Well, I got the two tiers done. I sewed the first tier on. The second one was pinned into place. I've finally gotten all but the last one sewn into place today. I'm already making plans to add at least a couple more tiers. I'm either going to go down to four or five tiers and go for a square panel all the way down, or I'm going to go for six tiers in a triangle shape. In the end it all depends on how insanely long it will end up being when I'm done. All in all, I don't have much further to go. I just don't like the way the tassels are currently dangling to the bottom of my rump. Butt ruffle, anyone?
( The Pictures of the Results )
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| Why is it I always have to wait until last minute to get things done? It's as though without pressure bearing down on me, I'm unable to make things happen. I need that last minute thrill, that flurry of activity. I need to be driving myself mad!
Today's challenge? The dance costume...once again... Is anyone surprised by this? I can't see as how anyone would be. With all of my other dance costumes I've been working until the early AM the night before or attaching that one little piece on my way to the show. I can never have anything completely done in time if I'm making it myself. It's always got to be down to the wire.
I'm performing tonight. It's a special show since it's Oz's birthday. They're debuting another dancer, so I want to look my finest. It's not so much a competition thing, but the other dancers are cabaret and I'm well...tribal. Because I'm different, I tend to get lost with the sparkles and sequins. My costumes are dark. I tend to disappear. I've determined that I'll be debuting new costume pieces. I've got a bright, sparkly bra and belt set. I've got a headdress and necklace to match. I've got some bright new flowers with white, pink, and turqoise. They're still kind of muted and a little dark, but they're brighter than my older blue and purple. There's a little dark purple and some blue in the mix to tie in all the costume elements. I'm adding tassels to my belt. It was plain and simple before, but now it really pops with turqoise, pink, and white tassels with a little purple thrown in for accent.
But wouldn't you know it? I'm gluing the flowered hair pieces this morning. They're coming together pretty quick, but it's so much work! I forgot how much time it takes to put together those big flowered hair pieces that the tribal dancers wear. Of course, mine tend to be a bit more over-the-top than most of the tribal floral pieces I've seen, so that probably has something to do with it. Many tribal dancers just wear one or two little flowers in their hair. Mine are all out floral arrangements for my head, I swear! But everyone seems to like them, so I guess I must be doing okay.
Then there's the tassels. I STILL have to make one tassel. I need to finish one tassel. Then I need to pin and sew them all onto the belt in their appropriate places. Thankfully the longest part of that whole process will be making the one remaining tassel. They sew on pretty quick and I'll be securing them each with a safety pin, just in case. That should work up fairly quick.
There's one modification to my bra left. I need to sew on the center dangle. Thankfully I can live without that piece. The bra looks finished enough without it. I can get by without doing a thing to it, so I may just leave that for tonight.
Why is it I always wait to do these things until last minute? Why can't I ever be ready with something new before the show even starts? Maybe I should just wear something that is completed the day of in the future and make myself wait on my spiffy new costumes until I've finished them well in advance of the show...
Oh well...off to finish what I've started... | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I'm doing a swap on Ravelry! Squee! It's not a sock swap or anything, so given my recent sock obsession, this will be a nice break. I'm looking forward to getting involved in some swaps over the coming year. They sound like a lot of fun. While I'm not much in the habit of giving away my knit goods, it's something I have to break. I can't have attachment to everything I make or I'll never get rid of things I can't use anymore! Besides, giving away stuff will result in getting spiffy new stuff from new places! It's exciting!
So right now I'm just waiting. They'll be announcing the swap partners soon enough. Then I can start working on putting together my package. The first package needs to be recieved by October 1st, so I won't be able to pick up anything from the spiffy new yarn store that's opening up, but I will be able to for the next two packages! Three packages and the swap is done. It's kind of sad, but I'm kind of glad, in a way. It's a short duration, so if I hate it, I don't have to worry about doing it again.
However, I just passed my information on for a swap in 2010. This one is going to be international. It's four boxes for the four quarters of the year. I'm all for that one! One box in every season with the big one to go out for Christmas/Yule after you've had a full year to get to know your swap partner. I'm very excited about that one. I'm hoping to get someone outside the US, which I don't think will be a problem given that many of the people in the swap seem to be from outside the US already. Of course, I don't care where my swap partner lives, it will still be a lot of fun. They're doing themes for Easter, Midsummer, Halloween, and Christmas, so I think that will be wonderful! I can't wait.
I'm bursting with excitement! I can't wait to see what these swaps have to hold. It's like little mini Christmas surprises scattered throughout the year! I just can't wait! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Wow, has it already been a month? Things got crazy there for a while. I've been focusing on knitting and new costuming stuff. A lot of time has been spent driving Oz back and forth to work. The kids have had all sorts of crazy time to play with their friends. It's been busy!
In that time I've made a pair of socks for Corde (I don't know if I'd mentioned that). They're the Cat Bordhi Jeweled Step socks. I made a pair of plain Riverbed for Oz. Now I'm working on a pair of Fountain Foxgloves for myself. I have to say, I'm IN LOVE with the Cat Bordhi patterns! I could probably knit up every pattern in the entire book! I think I just may by the end of the year at the rate I'm going!
I made a decision a few days ago. I wanted to make some Fireside Boots to wear at the birth center. They looked so warm and cozy. The yarn I chose is a fingering weight, but I don't see any reason to make heavy winter boot socks out of two strands held together of a worsted weight yarn. That would just be too warm to be practical in Texas! Well, I got this wild idea in my head yesterday while shopping at Hobby Lobby. If I could stash enough of this yarn, I could make these boots for the whole family! I'm sure Corde and Aris would find it really special to have the same kind of slipper boots as Mommy, Oz, and the new baby! I must be insane. I normally tire of patterns after the first pair I make. Getting through that second sock can sometimes be trouble unless I cast on right away. Now I'm going to make five pairs of identical socks in five different sizes? I MUST be insane! I think I'll have to start with socks for Oz. He's got the biggest feet so it will be the most to slog through. If I get this done before the baby's born, it will be a miracle. Of course, I'm sure Hobby Lobby's greatful! I'm stocking up on all the Serenity Sock Weight in Citrine that I can find!
In other knitting news, I got a new book on Wednesday! It's Sock Innovations by Cookie A. I'm already in love! The complex patterns seem like they'll be a lot of fun to knit. She's got a lot of details about designing your own socks too. That should be a wonderful resource. I think between Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters and this new book, I'll be able to accomplish anything in the sock related world!
I decided when I was in Boston to dedicate this year to sock knitting. I was going to learn as much as possible about knitting socks. The goal was to have 52 pairs of socks for the calendar year, similar to the 52 pair plunge. Well, that was a total fail. However, just because I don't have 52 pairs of socks to show for this calendar year doesn't mean I didn't get benefit out of my sock knitting focus. When I started this year I had decided that socks were boring. There were too many patterns I didn't like or wouldn't wear. Plain vanilla socks were too easy. Socks with complicated patterns were both too challenging and I couldn't find yarns that would feature the patterns well. Besides, what did it matter if I was just going to wear shoes over them so no one could see!
However, I was listening to the Knit Picks Podcast. The podcaster (who's name I don't remember because I no longer listen) was talking about spending a year to knit the patterns in Elizabeth Zimmerman's year of knitting, or whatever it was called. She had one pattern for every month, from baby knits to mittens to socks to a beautiful pie shawl that I would love to make some day. She spoke of how it moved her to spend a year focusing on the techniques one knitter put forth. It was a study that really advanced her knitting and made her think about things in a different way.
Me? I didn't feel inspired by any of Elizabeth Zimmerman's patterns. I didn't see the point in knitting mittens and long-johns in Texas. The baby stuff was cute, but who would I give it too? Now that I think about it, that one's kind of ironic. I would love to do a pie shawl, but I didn't feel I was ready for such an ambitious project. The hat she included was something I wasn't particularly fond of. Perhaps some day I will conquor all of those patterns and learn the lessons it holds, but today is not that day. This year was not that year. There were clearly other things I had to think about. I had to be thinking practical things that I could accomplish, realistic goals. After all, what sense would it make spending a fortune on yarn to make a sweater if all I did was give it away because I would never wear it?
Socks, however, are insanely useful. I had three pairs of feet to knit for. Two kids have growing feet, so that would mean there would be plenty of need for socks this winter as we moved out of the sandal-wearing days of summer. The kids' feet would surely be big enough that I'd be investing money into socks from Walmart anyway, so wouldn't it be better to knit them socks? Wouldn't it be better to knit me socks instead of trying to round up and assess all the socks from last winter and hope that I had enough pairs? I don't know what it is around here, but non-hand-knit socks tend to go missing. There is so much that can be learned from socks! They come in toe-up, cuff down, and an assundry of different odd ways. There's unique designs that eliminate the need for picking up stitches like those modeled in New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Then there's Cat Bordhi's Houdini Socks that are a foot print opened up to attach a leg. There are short row heels and heel flaps, re-enforced heels and garter stitch heels. There are dozens of ways to finish or begin with a toe, and just as many options for cuffs. They can be done with illusion/shadow knitting, as my Cheshire Cat socks were done, with lace, with cables, or colorwork. It's a wonderful small project to learn about patterns and experiment with new techniques. After all, they're a small project. It's a smaller surface to try something new rather than taking it to the grand scale on something like a shawl or sweater. They're perfect little samplers to learn a whole world of new techniques! On top of it all, socks require discipline and dedication. With the dreaded second sock syndrome, you've got to keep on track or you'll have a single sock forever! Where's the fun in that? (unless you particularly enjoy wearing mis-matched socks!) There are so many things that can be learned from the simple format of sock knitting.
I chose the challenge of 52 pairs, in part because of the 52 pair plunge, but also because I know I can knit at least a pair of socks a week, especially if I make some of them children's socks. Those go together in no time! I've got a lot of free time and a lot of stress, so that would help me balance the two to figure out what I could do in my life. It would also be a good excuse to push myself and make new patterns that I never would have tried before. There are only so many times I can make a plain vanilla sock. I need something better, more complicated, more challenging. Even if I made a handful of vanilla socks in there, I could mix it up a bit with new, challenging techniques and interesting sock construction. There was so much to learn, and setting a steep challenge for myself was the best way I knew to do it.
Well, I fell off that horse. It took me a good, long while to get back on. While I admit, I'm not trying to dive in head-first like I did originally, I'm still trying to push myself, set challenging goals, and stick with them. I'm not so insane to say I expect to have 52 pairs done by the end of the caledar year (a little bit of overconfidence...or insanity...would be needed to even think about that one!) or even by one calledar year from my earlier sock-knitting adventures. Instead, I'm hoping to finish as many socks as I can, do as much as I can by the end of the year.
What will next year's challenge be? Perhaps I'll pick up the idea of knitting shawls again. Maybe I'll move on to sweaters. Perhaps the challenge will be in learning from baby knits, since we'll have a new one in the house. I may even pick up that Elizabeth Zimmerman book to face that challenge. Only time will tell. Either way, I've learned many things from my socks, and I hope to learn many more before the year is out. There's plenty of time yet! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| The Jewel Step socks have been frogged! Why? They were too long! That was a start, and too narrow. Something about the increases for the heel made it appear the heel may be too wide as well. I think I'm going to go with a standard children's shoe size. It may not be perfect, but it's something. If nothing else, they may not be perfect for the Corde feet, but at least I know they'll go together right. I'm sure it also doesn't help that I'm modifying the sock from an adult size to a children's size! I might be okay if only use rounds 4 and 6 of the increases and skip out on the plain knit round 5. I may just cut the length of the foot to a smaller amount. Either way, I think this pattern requires a little more figuring out on my part. It's a good thing I've got the patience for it!
This has gotten me thinking about my knitting. I'm finding that I'm actually a more advanced knittter than I thought! Okay, maybe I can't do fancy lace. Maybe I'm not doing anything flashy. I'm definitely not an expert. However, it no longer hurts when I look at a project, figure out where it went wrong, and frog back to correct the problems. Instead of feeling defeatest, I'm starting to feel that maybe with a little more work, I'll figure it out. I think perhaps this time I'll go with the normal architecture base pattern and simply add the "jewel steps" in on the base. After all, I think that's pretty much what the lovely Cat Bordhi did when she designed it. I feel like I'm actually making progress on doing my own socks instead of just the socks other people cook up a recipe for. Next thing you know, I'll be designing my own!
I just hope Corde really appreciates these socks. With the figure eight cast on and the whirlpool toe again, I'm a little bit nervous about having to start over. It wasn't so incredibly painful that I'd never do it again, but it certainly wasn't easy either! I'm just glad I have a bit of a better sense of what I'm doing. Who knows? Maybe after a few pairs of socks for smalls, I'll be good enough at this that I'll be modifying just about every pair of socks I make! Wouldn't that be wonderful? Socks designed for real feet instead of socks cooked up from some recipe meant to fit feet of all shapes and sizes! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I just can't bring myself to make the second Little Coriolis right now. I had problems with the cast on. Then I had problems with pattern. As if that wasn't enough, there were problems with the bind-off too! I was doing a sewn bind off, which I've done twice before. I followed the directions. Unfortunately, I somehow ended with not enough yarn! I hastily squeezed it all through and tied it off in a neat little knot. I'm sure no one will notice, especially since I'm probably going to give them to Beekee as slippers.
So I've decided to move on to the next project. I pulled out the scrap yarn from making Gina's socks, then I looked through the patterns for a sock for Corde. Since it's all pattern recipes, effectively, I was easily able to put together a sock she could wear. At first I had the stupid problem with figuring out the gauge. Somehow the gauge for 4" just won't work to figure out the number of stitches per inch, imagine that! You need to break it down by four. Once I figured that, the recipe was mostly made and I was well on my way. Now all I had to do was find the specific pattern.
As I paged through, I pointed out the ones for Corde that I could try. There were all these lovely patterns for things. I had tried to convince her to go with a coriolis, given that the slight striping to the sock would look so interesting with a coriolis pattern, but she declined. Instead she picked Jeweled Steps with the Sidestream architecture, something I have yet to try out. This is going to be interesting, but I'm not too worried about it. I'm sure I'll get through it just fine. I've already got the first one started and I'm pretty decently onto the foot. Now I just need to figure out how many rows until I get to the heel! In case you haven't guessed, it's a toe-up.
Toe-up toes, oh how I loathe thee! Though I prefer the toe-up socks for many reasons, most of which being the ease with which I can determine the sock length when I'm working with two balls, I'm finding that I hate doing the toes. Once again, this sock recommended the figure eight cast-on with the whirlpool toe. Yes, I could have easily changed my mind on this sock and created it with a different toe! I could have given it something simpler, or that required a different cast-on. However, I've come to the conclusion that I need to make peace with the figure eight cast-on. If I never practice it, I will always be afraid of it, and who wants to live in fear? Especially when that fear is over something as simplistic as the cast-on for a toe-up sock! I decided to be bold and do it anyways, even though I struggled with the whirlpool toe on the last sock. I would claim my victory!
Wouldn't it figure? I actually had an easier time with this cast-on this time around. Once again, I re-read the directions. I found out part of my challenge was in tryign to do it wrong! Is that surprising? Once again, it was a case of THINKING I was following the directions only to find out I wasbeing totally dumb and racing off half cocked. I'll be honest, it wasn't much easier going with the instructions the way they were meant to be done, but it was certainly better than impossible. I think I'll be considering using that cast-on in the future should I decide to do anymore whirlpool toes. They look so pretty! I think it would almost be a shame not to, especially if I can find a good yarn to really show it off! It's something to think about for the future.
I've also noticed that Corde's feet are all kinds of mixed up sizes for her shoe size. Her foot is a quarter of an inch long for her size (probably a sign she'll need new shoes for the school year), but her mid-foot measurement is three quarters of an inch smaller. In other words, she has a narrow foot for her shoe size. I'm not surprised. I have narrow feet too. However, her heel to arch measurement is spot on for her shoe size. That means the girl has high arches, just like her mama. It just means that making custom socks for her is kind of a must. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I had a serious case of dumb when knitting the Little Coriolis socks. First, let me tell you, I absolutely love the pattern! The increases for the arch expansion are cleverly disguised by a spiraling band across the top of the foot and around the leg! This spiral is reversed on the other foot, so you have two matching, but opposite socks. It looks stunning. If you happen to be on Ravelry, search for the pattern Little Coriolis Sock by Cat Bordhi, or find the link to the pattern from my projects page. I'm listed as Sarasyn if you don't have me on your Ravelry yet!
Unfortunately, it didn't start out that nice. Until I figured where my mistake was last night, I hated this pair of socks. First of all, it uses a figure eight cast on, which I despise. For whatever reason, I can never get the yarn to stay loose enough to make it easy to work with. I find myself forcing the needles through the hole in any way I can manage, trying to force the yarn through. Undoubtedly, I drop the whole thing and all the stitches come flying off before I'm done with the cast on. This happens at least three times. Then when I get all the stitches on and ready, I hear that now I've got to do increases into that first row! Not front and back increases, no... We're talking LRincs. Now, normally this isn't so bad. LLinc and LRinc are pretty easy, at least for me. However, doing them in that first incredibly tight row was painful. Somehow, though I'm not quite sure how, there's a tiny hole in the toe of the sock. It's no matter, though. I'm sure no one will notice.
After those first two rows, things went smoothly. I'm finding I actually like the whirlpool toe. It turned out a little boxy, but it's not bad at all. The foot was basic knitting for eight rounds. It was a total cake walk. Simple as ever. I thought thankfully as I knit how glad I was to be past the hardest part. For me, that figure eight cast on is harder than any heel turn could ever be! Little did I know what I was in for!
I have to be fair. The next part wasn't due to the pattern being particularly complex. It wasn't poorly written. It wasn't unusually difficult. In reality, it was all my own stupidity. I should have read the instructions more carefully, but I didn't. By the time I finished the last row of the arch expansion, I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong! I was supposed to have five stitches between the first marker and seven after the second with twelve between the two markers and twelve for the sole. The twelve for the sole wasn't a problem. Those had been marked aside from the start. The five before the marker had also been the same thing. The seven after the marker posed a problem. I counted twelve stitches to add the marker, but there was only one left after the second marker before entering the sole. Clearly something was wrong! I had half the expansions! The directions must be wrong. I searched online to see if anyone else had problems with this pattern. There was one person, but there was no explaination to her problem and the answer was aparently solved elsewhere because she simply stated it was cleared up with no explaination on how. As a final resort, I began tinking back while trying to figure out where I went wrong. I considered changing the directions so the increases would be done every row instead of a matching increase and decrease every other row. Unfortunately, that would change the architecture of the sock. It wouldn't create that pretty spiraling stripe the right way. Then, as I was looking at the picture and the directions, it hit me. There it was the whole time! I was knitting rounds one and two. I was supposed to be knitting rounds one, two, and three! I had failed to notice because it listed "Round 1" on the first line and "Round 2 and 3" for the second one. I somehow missed it when it said "Repeat Arch Companion Rounds 1-3 another 5 times." Somehow I just read it as "Repeat Arch Companion Rounds another 5 times". That will teach me to read directions!
Thankfully this is just a small sock. I was able to tink back rather than having to frog. I hate frogging. Unless I'm tearing it all the way out, it's impossible to pick up where you left off when working in a round. I'm already dreading having to do a second sock because of that figure eight cast on. Thankfully, I've got the technique down and am all the way to the heel turn now. Thankfully the heel has been blisfully easy thus far. Thankfully, I'm almost done with the first small sock and will soon be on to the dreaded second where I've got to figure out reversing the pattern.
The only thing I can say about this sock is it seems much more a toddler sock than a baby sock. I think my son could wear it by the length of the sole. They use the same exact gauge as the first sock, so one would think it would turn out the same size, but no. I'm not complaining. They're still a really cute pair of socks, and I think they may be the first socks I make in an adult size! I really lik them. After all the troubles I've had, I've come to terms with the pattern. These were just samples, so I never knit up a gauge swatch for either of them, but it leads me to wonder if the patterns will have the same problem on regular sized feet and a pattern made to size. It's something I look forward to finding out in the future!
So what life lesson came out of all of this? I've learned that as much as I may think I know what I'm doing, it never hurts to go back and read the directions! In the end, that second look will make sure I know what I'm doing and I'll save time in the long run!
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| I finished the Cheshire Cat socks! They're finally done after months of waiting. It's all my fault, of course. I should have completed them months ago. However, they're done now, and I'm finally successful. Second sock syndrome has been overcome!
Now the question on everyone's mind (or at least mine) is, "What will be next?" I've found some wonderful patterns. Springtime in Paris is lovely. There's a fair isle sock called Isla Buena that I would love to conquer. I've got enough yarn for two socks just sitting there in wait, ready to use. Unfortunately, I don't have the right size needles! Doesn't it figure that my smallest are a two and they're requesting a size one? I guess that means both are on hold for a while at least. I can't get a new set of needles any time soon, and the Isla Buena socks will require more yarn in a handful of colors (this is where I wish I'd gotten up a decent stash to start with!) so I'll have to wait. I need my new bank card to come in first.
In the time being, I think I'm going to start on some of the wonderful patterns by Cat Bordhi. She has two wonderful patterns for sample socks that are done in a worsted weight yarn. I've got plenty of worsted weight that I simply don't use. While I don't think I have the size needles she calls for, they're only sampler socks, so I'm not going to cry if they're not perfect. It will give me something to do for a couple of days. By the end of all that, I'll be able to buy some more yarn and size one needles, so I should be set for a while. It will give me an opportunity to work on the Sockdown, and when I'm done I'll have the needles and the yarn I need to work on the Springtime in Paris socks. Victory is mine! And in the process, I get to try some challenging new sock techniques! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Wow, so this is what happens when I decide to search Ravelry for sock knitting groups. I find tons, and some that look like they'll be a lot of fun. I can't wait to get started!
Originally I was looking to sign up for the latest 52 pair plunge. Unfortunately, I'm about a month late. Their cut-off date for entry was June 21st. I was looking forward to the challenge of making 52 pairs of socks in a year! However, it's probably for the best. There's no reason I can't do it on my own, but I think I'll be looking for some more interesting things to do in the knitting world. My latest obsession is the easy take-along project of socks. I love doing big and complex projects, but right about now I'm kind of looking for instant gratification. I know, I know... Socks aren't instant gratification. They do take time and dedication to knit. It's difficult to get past the second sock syndrome thing. Once you've done the first, the second is no longer challenging and therefore not as fun. However, they're one of the quickest projects I've knit up and there's the dual gratification of finishing the first sock, and then again when you're binding off the second. The first is a wonderful feeling of having completed an interesting pattern, in my case, I'm sticking to ones I've never done before. The second is the joy of finally having a pair of wearable socks. No, knitting the second wasn't as fun because I'd done it before, but until I meet someone with one foot, I've really got no reason for knitting a single sock, and only pairs really count as complete.
After the disappointment of missing the cut-off for the 52 pair plunge, I found another interesting group. It's called Sock Knitters Anonymous. It's a cute group that has twelve steps listed at the beginning, to help each member come to grips with their sock knitting addiction. It's really funny. They seem like a great group of people too. On top of it all, they hold this thing called "The Sockdown". I saw this and I just knew I had to become a part of this group. The fun and challenge of it were irresistible
"What is the Sockdown and why is it so great?" you may be asking yourself. Well, the Sockdown is a monthly competition. Each month they offer a challenge. In some months it's knitting a pattern by a particular designer. In other months it's a particular technique that's being featured. Each month there's a list that comes up for the Sockdown knitters to post on. You need to have your cast-on date by the last day of the month. You've got until the end of the following month to complete the pair of socks. Then you've got to post a picture of the finished pair by the end of the second month. For each month of the Sockdown, those who complete the challenge are entered into a drawing for the prizes available that month.
This month's Sockdown challenge is fair isle knitting or intarsia. There is also an option to go with a "homegrown" sock pattern, in other words, a pattern designed by one of the members of the group. There's also a mystery sock knit-along that features the same technique as featured for the month on all odd months, and, go Figure, July is one of those months! Personally, from the teaser pictures, I don't think I'll be doing it, but it's an interesting idea. I think I've got another pattern in mind. I know I probably won't win anything. With at least a few hundred, if not over a thousand people working on this Sockdown, my chances of actually winning anything are pretty slim. Even with that in mind, a little hope that I could get something wonderful out of it is incentive to work towards the goal. It's now not just a challenge to make the socks, but to have them done on time so I can contend for the prize. I've never won anything in my life. Perhaps now will be my chance!
I've also become a part of the Six Sock Knit Along. I found out about this group from Heather Ordover's podcast, "CraftLit: A Podcast for Crafters Who Like Books". Apparently she at least was a part of this knit-along a while back. She was talking about some of the socks she was knitting with the group. Without knowing it, one of the sock patterns I had been admiring from afar happened to be an exclusive release for that group. The only way to get that pattern is to be a part of that group! So I signed up and now have all of their old patterns that I like saved onto my computer for easy reference. This month's pattern is called Isla Buena. It's a beautiful fair isle sock that looks like it's got some very Nordic inspired patterns on it! Isn't that convenient? Not only do I get to work on the June/July knit-along project, but I also get to enter it in the Sockdown challenge for the month!
Isn't it funny how some things in life all come together? Here I was, looking for a way to expand my sock knitting experience. I wanted to do some new things and connect with other sock kniters. What happens? Thanks to Ravelry and the lovely podcaster, Heather, I've managed to find just that! I'm finding community and getting an opportunity to knit new things.
Here's the real twist in all of this. I didn't want to knit the Isla Buena socks! I liked them well enough, but I never thought I'd wear them. I wasn't brave enough to do colorwork. It's always been something big and scary to me. In the case of socks, if I run the lines behind the work too tight I'll risk making the sock too small. What good is a sock if it can't fit your feet? However, the combination of the challenge set forth in the Sockdown and the convenient pattern for the Six Socks Knit Along, I'm starting to feel like this is a sign. This is my time. I need to start a colorwork project, and I'm ready to handle the task.
June 2009 Sockdown, here I come! | | comments: Leave a comment |
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Kittens in a Handbasket
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