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Archive for May, 2004

Well, we all make mistakes.

May 29th, 2004 16 comments

Me: “Look at this hat! It’s too much. It’s awful.”
Mr. Tvini: “No, no! It’s good! Some stoner will love it!”
Me: “Hm. $30!”
Mr. Tvini: “Well, no stoner is going to pay 30 bucks worth of good pot money for it. But they’ll gladly steal it from the table when you’re not looking!”
Me: “$20.”
Then I force Mr. Tvini to try it on so I can see.
Me: “Well, maybe $15.”

I’ve never knitted a hat on straight needles instead of circular before, and I have to say I’m not fond of it. The seam seems obvious and the bottom doesn’t match cleanly (Note bulge over the right ear).

Bearing in mind that I have the rhino-thick hide of a GM, what say you? Keep it, or rip it out and do something else with the yarn?

ETA: My cousin stopped by and modeled the hat. As God is my witness he does not do drugs, but if you wanted an example of what a stoner would look like in this hat, you will never find a better visual.

So whatcha think, maybe use it as a band in another hip-hop pope hat, maybe picking up the pink or the blue?

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Craziest. Scarf. Ever.

May 27th, 2004 8 comments

Take one ball of Mosaic FX in Fellini Mix (given by Tessima the Great), one ball of Trendsetter Coconut in Blaze. Cast on between 150 and 190 stitches on #15 needles, knit four or five rows, knit one row in drop-stitch, knit a few more, then bind off.

Voila! The Drunken Parrot! Here’s a close-up to appreciate its hallucinatory glory.

Why the Drunken Parrot? Dartenian had one on his shoulder at tonight’s premium meeting, and I wanted something as insane on mine. The scarf qualifies.

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Felt bag – this time, done right!

May 25th, 2004 No comments

You may remember the pink felted bag I made, to which I had incorrectly affixed the handles. It was for a little girl named Brianna, and she had already seen the unfelted version, so I really did have to make another one correctly.

Well, it’s finished!

She said she wanted her name, so I put that on there, and she wanted some flowers. Flowers didn’t seem to look quite right with the name also on there, so needle-felted some spirally doo-dads instead.

This is the Fiber Trends “Flowers On-The-Go” tote. The pattern has been corrected since I made it the first time, but there’s still an error in the closure flap. Frankly, three errors in one pattern doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in me to buy their other patterns, but I may give it a go. On the other hand, I feel like I’ve learned enough since I made the first one that I could probably wing it and make my own patterns. Here’s hoping Brianna enjoys it. Her younger sister has already put in a request for a blue bag, but this one with a pocket on it! Whee!

Categories: Family, knitting Tags: ,

Warmest. Scarf. Ever.

May 24th, 2004 2 comments

I finished up another ball of the Berroco Hip-Hop, leaving me with two half balls out of the original four full skeins and forwarding my stash reduction project. So here’s the result!

I made this scarf to match the hip-hop pope hat (tm Khaman). Unfortunately, my arms aren’t long enough to take a picture of myself wearing both, so instead, here is the Bear in the Big Blue Scarf. If this baby doesn’t sell at Simu (and it may not, what with it being summer) then I’m definitely keeping it. Heck, I may keep it anyway.

___________________________________

*Begin knitter geek section*
The pattern is very simple, and I’ve used it for scarves before. It makes an incredibly warm scarf because it’s really two layers knitted at the same time. Even though it lies in a flat rectangle, it’s really a big tube! Plus it has the advantage of looking like stockinette on both sides, meaning there’s no ‘wrong side’ to worry about showing. Cast on an even number of stitches, then slip 1 purlwise, knit 1, bring your yarn forward, slip 1 purlwise, bring the yarn to the back again and knit 1, yarn forward, slip 1 purlwise, knit 1… etc. to the end of the row. You should wind up with the last stitch being ‘k1’. That’s written out as sl1p, k1, *yf, sl1p, k1* to end of row. Look at the Roxanne pattern on Berroco’s website to see the pattern written out.
*End knitter geek section*

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Packrat.

May 23rd, 2004 4 comments

Some people asked what was in the storage room visible through the window in my quarters, which were open for the holidays last year. Well, that’s where I keep stuff that couples have asked for for their weddings, and which I think we might possibly use again someday or which have sentimental value.

(Edited slightly)

>look
[ Tvini’s Longterm Wedding Storage]
This room is piled floor to ceiling with all manner of junk and treasure. You also see a mammoth calf who is lying down, a well-built cabana boy, a playful wolf pup, a large ice sculpture of a playful penguin with a stream of ale pouring from its beak, a troll cabana girl, a net-sided crate, a wild jackal, a pack of feral dogs, a large stone fireplace, a wooly white sheep, a silky black short-haired cat, a black wolf, a festive litter draped with tiny bells and seashells, a proud centaur, a maid of honor coffer, a wrought-iron screen decorated with a pattern of musical notes, a gentle nightingale, a wedding cake in the shape of a sleeping drake curled around a magnum of champagne, a nonalcoholic bar with some stuff on it, a gem-encrusted wedding chest, a Rakash and Prydaen type food basket, a giant white piglet, a dragon dancer, a wide wood basin, a large wooden crate, six brawny Rakash, a highbacked chair gently draped with black linen with a portrait on it, (an unclaimed hope-chest), a rattan litter decorated with multicolored ribbons, a festive litter decked with gold and blood-red streamers, a sleek panther, a golden-maned lion, (another unclaimed hope-chest), a bevy of Prydaen beauties, a glossy black shrike, a broken rattan pole held up by two wooden supports, a traditional Rissan drum choir, a four-tiered wedding cake designed to resemble an eclipse, a golden ball and chain, a small mottled turtle, a huge stone hearth, a large phoenix, a heart traced in the sand, an empty high-backed chair surrounded by velvet ropes, a low silverwillow table with some stuff on it, a cloth-covered wooden crate, a cloth-covered wooden crate, an arrow-shaped sign, a chestnut centaur, a mischievous welkin, (yet another unclaimed hope-chest), a white unicorn, a sleek panther, a wooden cutout shaped like a Human man, a wrought-iron screen decorated with a pattern of musical notes, and a formal honor guard.
Obvious exits: none.

And the thing is, that’s still not the whole story. There are layers on layers. For instance:

>look in chest
In the wedding chest you see some rose petals and a tiny Gnome.
>look gnome
The tiny Gnome looks just like you’d expect a tiny Gnome to look – except for the singed eyebrows.

I have the coolest place. 🙂

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Must scrub brain.

May 22nd, 2004 16 comments

Tonight’s wedding couple had invited some nobles to their wedding, which led to this discussion.

[NewerGM] Out of curosity, has anyone ever invited Kssarh to a wedding?
[Silvyrfrost] Silvy doesn’t have an escort to the wedding, though, (Koromas). Wanna escort her and watch everyone freak?
[Tvini] Hehehe.
[Silvyrfrost] He’d be no fun. Guy could use a couple drinks and a woman to loosen up.
[Tvini] No one’s invited Kssarh. Cloudspire Keep’s too high up to survive being thrown out the window.
[Koromas] I believe (Vaschon) has passed out on us so Vorcalf will be a no show.
[Tvini] Well, he deserves a night off.
[Jzara] (Vaschon) needs a vacation in a room with four padded walls…
[Tribanin(in the Fallen)] Kssarh has been to a few weddings. He’s just not always the cheeriest person in attendance, mainly because everyone is so mean to him, poor guy.
[NewerGM] But, but, he’s such a nice man.
[Koromas] Tell the truth now (Tribanin)…Kssarh is just a big old queen with a bad attitude isnt he?
[Tribanin(in the Fallen)] He’s got a heart of gold…. plated cold-forged iron…
[Tribanin(in the Fallen)] Kssarh a queen? He leaves that to Mortom
[Silvyrfrost] Yeah. Yeesh.
[Tribanin(in the Fallen)] Though I bet Kssarh’s real disposition is because he’s been wearing the same silk thong for years, and it’s starting to ride up a bit.
[Tvini] If they put a laundry in the tower, he could get that washed.
[Silvyrfrost] There’s a mental image we didn’t need.
[Tvini] Heh.
[Silvyrfrost] You need to get out of TF more often.
[NewerGM] Mortom looks deep within the mirrors to see into something so horrifing yet enthralling that the blackest of magic can not compete. Unfortunately, no one ever told him his apprenticed switched out his scrying mirror for a real one.
[Silvyrfrost] Aaaaaaaaaanyone LJing this?
[Tribanin(in the Fallen)] Now now – Mortom is a true leader – you’d never see Kssarh handing out grooming tips.
[Tvini] I’m gonna LJ that whole conversation about Kssarh’s thong.
[Tribanin(in the Fallen)] I can see everyone laying offerings of thongs at Kssarh’s feet once they read it.
[Tvini] Ew. Kssarh groupies.
[Silvyrfrost] Scary thing is, they can do it over there.

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Craftin’ fool.

May 21st, 2004 4 comments

So even though I’m knitting like a maniac, I still took time to make three sets of earrings for my kid’s preschool teachers as a ‘thank you’ for dealing with my charming but challenging little girl. By the time I got home, there was a message on the machine asking if I could make another couple of pairs for the director and her daughter, who would gladly pay for them.

Too… many… projects!

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Exhaustion + needles = insanity.

May 17th, 2004 12 comments

I made a kid’s scarf out of some Noro Iro the other day, and had enough left over to make part of a hat, but not an entire one. So I got some Sirdar Donegal Tweed in purple and just kind of… started knitting. It became clear at about 10pm last night that it had gone nuts enough that it needed something to just put it over the top, so I just kind of… kept going.

Here’s the hat. Because my husband keeps saying “Toing! Toing! Toing!” when he sees it, I’m calling it the Three Toing hat. A nice silly hat and scarf for a kid. I think in different colors, larger, with a few modifications, that actually would make a nice silly hat for a grownup, too.

And future note to self: At 1am, stop knitting, because who knows what you’ll end up with?

ETA: Lest anyone think I am going crazy, let me tell you, it could be worse.

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Tossing off a quickie.

May 13th, 2004 No comments

But not in a smutty way. Ahem.

Aaanyway, I whipped out another scarf, this one I call Coconut Streamers. Here’s a close-up so you can see the glitziness of it a little better.

Why Coconut Streamers? Well, it’s one strand of Trendsetter Coconut, the longest eyelash yarn on the market with little hairs about 2 1/2 inches long, and one strand of Ironstone Streamers, a ribbon yarn with a little glitzy runner beside a larger matte ribbon. Plus I’m starving and in no shape to think of more witty names. I think it looks a little rainbow fishy, but I’m sticking with Coconut Streamers, dammit!

This was 95 stitches, cast onto a 32″ circular #15 needle. When you’re doing scarves lengthwise, a loose cast on and bind off is absolutely crucial, so this was a cable cast on, knit for 13 or 14 rows, then a suspended bind off. That type of cast on and bind off gives a more elastic edge.

I may do another version of this scarf using Eros or Mosaix FX instead of Streamers for even more glitz. I figure that’ll catch some party girl’s eye at Simucon. 🙂

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Tossing off a quickie.

May 13th, 2004 No comments

But not in a smutty way. Ahem.

Aaanyway, I whipped out another scarf, this one I call Coconut Streamers. Here’s a close-up so you can see the glitziness of it a little better.

Why Coconut Streamers? Well, it’s one strand of Trendsetter Coconut, the longest eyelash yarn on the market with little hairs about 2 1/2 inches long, and one strand of Ironstone Streamers, a ribbon yarn with a little glitzy runner beside a larger matte ribbon. Plus I’m starving and in no shape to think of more witty names. I think it looks a little rainbow fishy, but I’m sticking with Coconut Streamers, dammit!

This was 95 stitches, cast onto a 32″ circular #15 needle. When you’re doing scarves lengthwise, a loose cast on and bind off is absolutely crucial, so this was a cable cast on, knit for 13 or 14 rows, then a suspended bind off. That type of cast on and bind off gives a more elastic edge.

I may do another version of this scarf using Eros or Mosaix FX instead of Streamers for even more glitz. I figure that’ll catch some party girl’s eye at Simucon. 🙂

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