Quikie Cowl

Finally finished my Quickie Cowl, thanks for the free pattern f.pea (http://fpea.blogspot.com/)! I love how it looks and it was truley a "quickie". I used Alpaca (loved it, hated it...kept shedding as I moved along. ) Although soft to the touch, once on felt a little itchy. So perhaps I'll make my next one with something artificial, or maybe with cotten. Who knows, but here it is!

The ever enthusiastic model (Taylar) was quite sleepy and ready for bed.

Can also be pulled up and used as an ear warmer...multi-functional, my favorite!

early thursday morning, semi drunk brain buffet

oh how i wish arial narrow was an option. meh. hi there! tom here, hopelessly barely drunk and anxious for more knitting. for starters, gotta thank my partner in blog knittyrin for making all this possible. it seems like only a couple months ago ( because it was ) we were hanging out at a little bar discussing god knows what when knitting came up. "sweet crackers!", i thought, "here's my chance!" and she totally helped me out getting started. so here we are, several months later, contributers to a blog that noone is reading and i couldn't be more excited. my brain swells in glorious anticipation of the endless array of knitted gold that could spring forth from a simple pair of needles. so many ideas, and oh yes, i have plenty of free time. some people want to own nice cars and houses, families and puppies...i just want to knit all those things and sell them at outrageous prices. or give them away at charity auctions for the spleen impaired. i would even consider an exchange for sexual favors from supermodels ;P regardless of where it leads, i WILL continue on this fantastic voyage, purl be damned! there is still so much to learn and though it may take years of practice, like the old song says...time is on my side...

domo beanie, knitted in the round, duplicate stitch eyes
the first of many(?) pop culture inspired projects from yours truly

Stash

Here it is...
my stash.

Unfortunatly, this isn't all of it.

in the first universe there was a planet encompassed by three suns, comprised mainly of freshwater

you might think the cosmic radiation from three suns would have detremental effects on the meager inhabitants. maybe that with all that water ( over 90% of the surface area ) the planet would boil under immense heat? no, things work differently in the first universe. so the denizens of the only geographical land mass above sea level, newtofair isle, lived in quiet prosperity. located throughout three main tribes across the isle, these peoples suffered a drastically shorter lifespan of around 20 years before giving birth to a new generation and subsequently withering away to a dry husk which was cast into the raging sea by their offspring as a rite of passage. one afternoon in the middle of the 19 year summer, winter being birthing season, the land dwellers were visited by a giant gray cyclops who strolled up out of the water.

...and he peered down at them...

his massive frame caught the rising sun and cast a shadow on the sky in the light of the setting sun. never before had anyone encountered such a enormous menace and terror shot through their heart sacs. and they ran. shrieks of mortal danger muffled by dense foliage trailed off into the distance as the giant ambled up the shore to the treeline. bending and positioning his hands firmly on his knees he then expelled a river from his lung cavity which cut a wide berth into the ground, eventually pooling into lake in the middle of the isle. he stopped and looked at what he had done and with an expression of subtle contentment slowly turned and sat and stared off into the sea. news of the arrival of this daunting behemoth had spread quickly and the people spent the next several days huddled away in low class jungle hovels. too stupid to pray, yet too smart to pray, they waited and shook with fear and slight anticipation. upon emerging they converged on the lake in the middle of their homeland and wept. "for all of eternity we have been surrounded by the water, now we surround it!" they cried, and it was truly a day to be celebrated. over the following years the people would make pilgrimages to the place where the giant cyclops sat and watched out over the sea and they would praise him for his actions, but to no response. he would sit and stare, unflinching, unyielding in his gaze out over the water. so the years passed and winter approached and suddenly the giant stirred as his eyeball spotted a gleam in the water. he began to stand but it was too late as a mysterious acrylic serpent shot out from the waves and coiled around his gigantic head. he tumbled before regaining his footing and in a fit of panic began to crash through the trees. the serpent hung on despite the wild flailing and as they cut through the wind the serpent fibers began to dry, constricting his choke hold. upon hearing the impending commotion the people gathered to the lake shore as the giant came barreling through into the clearing on the opposite side, head shrouded in an ever tightening grip.

...and he peered down at them, only now his eye was closed...

it was then that the giant lost consciousness and collapsed across the river, his head landing only several yards away from his adoring people and pinning his captor to the ground. the audience, horrified at what they saw, grabbed up spears and rocks to assault the beast but in that instant it was too late for either of the great beings. the giant took one last great gasp as the serpent writhed in agony, crushed under the head weight of his old nemesis. the following day winter came and the people retreated to their customs, and they wrote of the great giant so their ancestors would know of his gift of the lake and how he later met his end sprawled across it. over the cruel winter his corpse would decay and his bones turn to dust until by the following spring all that remained was a tremendous kidney stone peeking out of the middle of the lake. and from the giant's final remains sprung forth a great tree which bathed the lake in glorious shade and produced a sweet pear like fruit which upon consumption gave the isle dwellers a lifespan ten times that which they had endured for so many centuries. so once again they lived in quiet prosperity...until the pirate zombies came in their warships, but that's a story for another day.

...my first attempt at fair isle knitting, in the round no less! 3 X 3 offset ribbing gives it a weird look up close...

such wonderful musings of a childhood past...playing marbles in the courtyard, dancing with the squirrels, lying for hours in a field of untended crabgrass, but most of all weaving intricate baskets with old man pepop down by the creek. oh the stories he would tell, fevered ramblings of his life as a pharaoh or the time he was bested in a gumbo eating contest with teddy roosevelt. the minutes would slip into hours as we worked, fingers adorned with willow splinters under the light of the moon. and such wonderful baskets we fabricated, only to be sold for a nickel a piece in market the next day. money, however, was of little consequence and over the years of toil a certain rapport developed between us, an unspoken bond as tight as the weave in our finest creel. in the wisdom of youth i thought it would last forever but i was wrong. it was on tuesday that he left me sitting by the rushes, slowly standing and peering at the sky with withered eyes he said to me "yarn my boy, yarn is the future..." before walking off into the ether. at the time i thought he was crazy. but then, i had some growing up to do...

basket weave beanie | 2 X 2 ribbing for about an inch | K5, P5 X 5 rows | decreased with this

36 oz. epilogue

9 more hours and then thrust back into the harsh december. the cold is a burden, unforgiving of my earlobes, and hotboxing is generally not my style. alas...winter is upon us all. the commercialization of holiday cheer makes me queasy but i still find myself digging at my hat pocket for change for the needy. the army drone cocks his head slightly in confusion and then a smile emerges as my quarter falls in the bucket. "merry christmas" he says, and i can only wonder how many other generous souls receive the same banal quote uttered through some strange pavlovian response to the sounds of mingling change. "merry knitting" i thought to myself, now that would have been worth a dollar...

3 beanies with 3 X 3 ribbing and a giant dishcloth posing as a baby blanket...funny how odd lighting can make things seems dirty :/

McKenzie

These cute wrist warmers where made for little hands, but can equally accommodate adult hands with the addition of a few more stitches. This is a beginner pattern, so no worries if you're just learning. The only change I would make would be the type of yarn I used, though soft and warm, it proved to be uncooperative when weaved in on the ends. It kept sliding out and mocking me with it's frayed ends every time the wrist warmer was put on. Other than that I have no complaints!

Size 8 straight needles
2 skeins medium weight yarn (1 for color A 1 for color B)(I used Bernat Satin in Crimson and Forest Heather Mist)

Tapestry needle to weave in the ends and sew the seam

Row counter

CO 30 with color A
*Entire pattern is worked in the 2x2 ribbing.

Row 1-4: With A work in a 2x2 ribbing (k2 p2)

Row 5-6: Change to B at beginning of row 5

Row 7-10: Change to A at beginning of row 7

Row 11-12: Change to B at beginning of row 11

Row 13-16: Change to A at beginning of row 13

Row 17-18: Change to B at beginning of row 17

Row 19-36: Change to A at beginning of row 19

Row 37-38: Change to B at beginning of row 37

Row 39-42: Change to A at beginning of row 39

Row 43-44: Change to B at beginning of row 43

Row 45-47: Change to A at beginning of row 45

Row 48: Bind off

Weave in all ends and sew up seam (I used the mattress stitch http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring04/mattress.html )leaving a hole for the thumb. Start on your next wrist warmer!

Newbie

This is the Newbie, appropriately called so since it's the first time I've EVER cabled. As soon as I have the Newbie pattern all cleaned up and ready I'll post it. Taylar was an eager model for the cap, so I gave it to her for being a good sport. For now here are some pics. Enjoy!

Check out my skills yo ....

Oh purple floppy hat, how I love you. I will wear you EVERYWHERE. Well, atleast till I make another equally awesome floppy hat...

I finished my own very own purple floppy hat...yeah man! Thanks Knittybird for finding this pattern and encouraging me finally use the dpn's I've been stashing my needle case.

Only took 3 hours, worked on circulars and finally worked on the dpn's to finish off. Now...the possibilities are endless!

On to my cabled wrist warmers!

Little Doggie Sweaters!

Yes...this is my little dog in her little sweaters.

Laugh all you want. You know who you are (samoht).

Hat adventures!!!!

I am currently in a hat frenzy I have made two in the last three days and I'm getting ready to start a third. This is the first time I have knitted in a round!!! It was scary at first but once I got past the initial shock it was all gravy baby!! The first hat I knit was a floppy hat from a pattern on presents knits. The second one I completely revamped and made my own!! Making up a pattern as you go along is quite exhilarating. Here is a picture of my new hat and the pattern if anyone would like to make one!! Let me know how yours turns out!!!

What you will need:

Size 13 circular needles, Thicker yarn of your choice, Double pointed needles, and a yarn needle to tuck in the ends

CO 48 - be sure to cast on kind of tight, and do the ribbing tight, this makes the rim of the hat stretchy!!

Join in round

rows 1-8- K2, P2 repeat

row 9 - k4, m1 repeat

row 10- knit

row 11- k3, m1 repeat

row 12- knit

row 13- k2, m1 repeat

row 14-20 -knit

row 21- k4, k2 tog repeat

row 22- knit

row 23- k3, k2 tog repeat

row 24- knit
row 25- k2, k2 tog repeat ( I started using the dpns on this row )
row 26- knit
rows 27-29- k2 tog repeat

cut off the yarn leaving about six inches weave through last stiches using a yarn needle following your knittting needles pull together through the inside of hat tighten and tie off

note: m1 is make one in this pattern i personally used the method in the video make one away

http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/increases
I like this because it shows for both styles of knitting!!