Friday, July 25, 2008

Wordle!!

Ok this is such a cool toy! Go check it out and be sure to drop me a link so I can look at yours. :)


Monday, July 21, 2008

Having Fun


I'm really enjoying the Drawstring Raglan, both the pattern and the yarn are really lovely.
Just had to share some shots. I'm trying to do as Jared Flood aka Brooklyn Tweed recommends in the interview on Sticks and String Podcast. Shoot in natural light but do it inside via a window. This gives the light directionality and makes the shot more interesting. I agree but the problem is the way my windows are built, they are double hung but each pane is made of 2 smaller panes, for a total of 4 panes...hence the lovely shadows! Oh well work in progress, right? :)

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Getting to Know you Contest Questionnaire

From http://knittyotter.typepad.com/ for a great prize! And becuase it's fun. :)

1.) How long have you been knitting?

I learned to knit in Jan 04, the month my daughter Valerie was born. I got a bee in my bonnet and said I want to knit, bought the Stitch and Bitch book and cast on. Then my needles were pretty much retired until she was 1! Learning to knit with an infant around, forget it. ;) It's been non-stop since 2005!

2.) How long have you been knitting socks?

I took my first sock class December 05 and finished them in January. I took a 2 on 1 class and didn't like it but finished. The next pair I used DPNs and there has been NO looking back since!!

3.) What do you do with a problem like Maria?

Teach her to knit so she'll stay out of trouble.

4.) What is your all time favorite sock yarn?

That's actually not too tough for me. Blue Moon Fiberarts Socks That Rock. I learned to knit from a wonderful lady, Karen, and she was making the Fair Isle Bobble Sock and I was absolutely gobsmacked. It was so gorgeous, so intricate. I had to have it!! I went to my first Stitches West in 2006 and ran, seriously no walking to The Fold's booth and bought the kit. I'd NEVER spent that much money for a pair of socks. I think it was 60 bucks all said and done. But I had the most amazing time knitting them. I love them with the bottom of my little heart. :D

5.) Toe Up or Cuff Down?

I'm a cuff down, gusset kinda girl through and through. Nothing like a little Partridge Eye pattern on a heel flap!

6.) What's your favorite color (this week or for all time)? Do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

Color. I love it all. I seem to go through Seasonal phases. I am leaning more towards subdued colorways now. Hmm color though! Gotta have it.

7.) Do you have a pet(s)?

Loki my Panamanian Kitty. I adopted him when I was living in Panama City Panama. This cat has gone from Panama to Miami to Denver to Milwaukee with me. He's my first baby.

8.) Babies: Oven Roasted or Barbecued?

Um..ya I pass.

9.) Besides socks what is your favorite type of thing to knit?
I'm really digging the whole dishrag thing. Very fun, loud colors and portable knitting..sounds alot like socks, yes?

10.) What's your favorite scent?

I like fall smells..spices, pumpkin etc.

11.) What music are you really loving right now? Like a song or a band?

Music. I think I'm lovin Endless Summer by the Beach Boys. It IS the summer album. I downloaded it from iTunes and it's become the official 4th generation for our family; 8 track, cassette, CD, MP3. :)

12.) How many pairs of socks have you hand knit?

Urp..I'm supposed to know this? Hmm...10 or so.

13.) What's your favorite treat? Salty or Sweet?

Both. Everytime I get on a sweet kick I have to top it off with something salty and vice versa!

14.) What was the most interesting thing you smelled yesterday. Not good or bad necessarily, just the thing that stuck out most so that you actually took notice of it.

Green Bamboo tart from Yankee Candle. It was amazing.

15.) Needles - DPN's: Wooden, metal or plastic?

Hmm I like both. I like metal when it's a fast easy pattern. For wood, I love Crystal Palace Bamboos. They are firmer than Clovers and I don't end up warping them.

16.) What is your favorite sock pattern that you've knit? What do you recommend?

Hmm.. Monkey or Embossed Leaves... I think I'd recomment Monkey for newer knitters and Embossed leaves for those who've done a few patterned sock.

17.) The last Question: If you were stuck on a deserted island who would you want with you, what knitting would you want with you and would you ever want to leave?

Cat, my friend and fellow knitter. We could talk about knitting, like we do all the time.. I'd want a huge pile of sock yarn, patterns and needles. If I had comfortable accomodations and my laptop with connectivity, I'd be golden. I could sit around and watch on demand Netflix movies and order new yarn online!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Moving On


Yay, I have an FO. :)

Specs:
Pattern:
Monkey - Cookie A.
Yarn: Shibui Sock in Orchid. GREAT yarn.
Needles: size 2
Started: June 25, 2008
Finished: July 10, 2008

This is a bit more true to color. It's very vibrant and fun. The lime ended up swirling all up the sock.

I have all my yarn from Ravelry now, so I cast on for the Drawstring Raglan. Should I tell you how much freaking trouble I had getting this thing started? You cast on 307 for the size I'm doing, that alone is a bear. Then on the fourth row you do the stitch pattern, simple yo and k2togs kinda thing. No problem, right? Ya, right. I screwed it up FOUR times. And you can't tink back that much, you have to frog and pretty much it's better to just rip it all out and start over. Oi. I guess I just couldn't pay enough attention to what the heck I was doing...it was little things like missing a yo and do an extra stitch. A total pain for me!

It's going now and looking lovely. I knew if I could just get the pattern set I'd be golden because I could read my knitting to ensure that I was on track. But seriously, casting on over 1200 stitches in 2 days. Um that sucked!

The colors are lovely. I have 4 Silky Tweed and one Silky Wool. It really shouldn't make too much of a difference. The dark brown is the Silky Wool and I use it the least in the pattern.

I'm on the third color now and it's going along quickly. I hope this will fit well, because it's going to be cute!

Last but no least, my Options Tank has stalled for a bit. I had put in a request for the Knitting on the Edge book to pick a pattern. It finally came in today, so now I can hopefully finish that up.

Hope all is going well with you and your knitting!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Meme


I've been meaning to do this Flickr meme. I think it's so fun to see everyone else's.
the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php

the questions:
1. What is your first name? Lynn
2. What is your favorite food? Sushi
3. What high school did you go to? Western High School
4. What is your favorite color? Green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Hugh Jackman
6. Favorite drink? Diet Coke
7. Dream vacation? England...again
8. Favorite dessert? Sugar cookies
9. What you wanted to be when you grow up? Mammology Professor
10. What do you love most in life? My Children
11. One Word to describe you? Opinionated
12. Your flickr name? Knitty_Lynn

This was so much fun. :)

1. Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, 2. Sushi-Sashimi Combo, 3. Vertigo Dreamscape, 4. ♫ YO Yo yo, there's no place like a green penthouse... so i told the genie i wanted to be well hung. ^o^ ♫ nah... wildlife from singapore♫, 5. OUT17292538, 6. Macro Mondays - my drink, 7. Arched people, 8. Princess Sugar Cookies, 9. Wall Of Skulls, 10. Children, 11. Opinionated, 12. Knitty Lynn

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Startiitis!!

I want to cast on a gajillion projects! It's driving me crazy, I'm normally such a monogamist with the knitting!

Right now I have three things on the needles, which for me is unheard of.
First the Options Tank made from Rowan Linen Print. I scored this yarn when I went to the Cedarburg Strawberry Festival. Seriously, you know you are a knitter when you sniff out a yarn deal at the .Strawberry. Fest! It was a quilt/knit store that was phasing out the Knit side so they had a basket of 75% off yarn. The Linen Print was originally 9.50 a ball and I scored it for 1.30 !


I'm making it as a normal tank, not a racer back or halter. I have Knitting on the Edge requested at my library, so as soon as I get my hands on that I'll finish this up. It should be cute and it will have only cost 13 dollars. Yay!


I really like the way it's knitting up. Soft with great drape.
They also had some Dalegarn Falk yarn that I'd looked at so I ended up going back and buying this pile of lovelies...


for less than 20 dollars! It was 19.74 or somesuch. I couldn't walk away. There is a very cute zippered cardigan in the pattern book plus the cover hat is adorable.


Here is my Shibui sock in the Orchid colorway knit up in Monkey. I have finished the first sock and am on the heel flap of the second.

The third item is the Berliner sock. I plan on finishing up the second one after the Monkeys are done. Plus there are a few fun dishrag patterns I want to try out..and a Baby Surprise Jacket and and! Oi! :)

I almost have all the yarn to start the Drawstring Raglan. I'm hoping I can cast on this coming week or so. Yay.

Hope all is well on the knitting front with you!