WIP: Kouki Cardigan

Just a sneak peek at something grand I've been working on!

Black and Orange, you say?

So many things to say.

But you'll have to wait!

One more picture before I go? Sure, why not.

Uh oh, that doesn't look right...

Whoops!

Lots more to do.

New Yarns!

Thanks to WEBS year-end sale and my unbearable weakness for endangered yarns, I have a new batch of yarn to drool over!

And here is what I'm planning for at least a portion of it:
Purl Bee Chevron Baby Blanket

But back into the bin for now. Too many other things on queue.

Inmate Knitting

Gotta love any story that involves men knitting!

One day it was Ryan Gosling, the next it's prison inmates.

Check out the video my cuz sent:

Watch More News Videos at ABC | Technology News | Celebrity News


I'm thinking the next logical step is the President. 

Who would you love to see knitting? 

November Sweater: An Epilogue

SO! When we last left our heroic effort at NaKniSweMo, I had seriously botched the collar.

Sad collar scrunches cardigan sadly

It took a few more tries, but I finally got the right number of stitches to accomodate the size.

Proud collar stands proudly!

Although I can't remember the actual number of stitches I ended up adding, it was WAY more than the pattern called for. I think I was generous with the length when knitting the body, which would account for some of the extra real estate - but even if I did the pattern again exactly as written, I think I would end up adding extra stitches to the collar anyway.

And I still got to do my cool cast off! Which went really well with the buttons.

All in all I am SUPER happy with this, and luckily so was the recipient! (At least so she says.) ;) Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this being worn - but I tried it on before sending it off and it was pretty cozy. Hopefully I'll get some soon though! *winkwink*

Yarn Storage

Always ever looking for a better way, I had an epiphany the other day.

Under-bed shoe storage?

(I got mine here)

Or PERFECT tool to organize and store yarn?


You tell me.

On the Other (Sandpaper) Hand

I just talked about loving the Burts Bee's Hand Salve (and love it I do!) but I have to update because it turns out that there is a lotion that is also amazing.

Vaseline Intensive Rescue healing hand cream *fragrance free*

I completely forgot we had this...my husband pulled it out of the cabinet a few days ago and would probably be smearing it all over his body right now if we had a bigger tube.

Anyway, if you are not a fan of salves or don't enjoy sitting and rubbing your hands together for 5 minutes like I do then this is a great alternate. It is definitely less of a time commitment to apply, so it's great if you need to quench quickly or  lack the attention span (as does Reed). Since it's water based there is none of that oily feeling (I find this to be true of pretty much all of Vaseline's lotions - they're my go-to, which is why this was in our bathroom to begin with) and this one actually has a nice talc-y smell and feel to it after you put it on.

This is how I know 2013 is going to be awesome

Just came across this while looking at Knithacker and HAD to share:

Toddler Stardust

Can it get any more awesome!?

Since the post coincides with Bowie's birthday and the AWESOME announcement of his new, unexpected album, I think the answer is "no."

Knitting with sandpaper hands

Winter time in the desert means dry, dry, dry skin. Ouch!

Despite running a humidifier and drinking tons of water, it's been especially bad this year. I've taken to using gloves while I was dishes and washing my hands with cold water instead of hot, but I'm still struggling with cracking and splitting and catching on all fabrics - a nightmare for knitting.

I did discover an amazing hand salve, though, that has been pretty great: Burt's Bees Hand Salve.

 Lotion always makes my hands feel yuck and of course I don't want to get any grease on the yarn I'm working with... but this salve has been GREAT. This is the only thing I've ever used that didn't make my feel like I had to wash my hands afterwards - and I feel safe knitting after using it. I also dig that it is all natural - which makes sense considering there is no leftover residue on my hands. I got a small tin as a gift then bought a bigger one at the baby store with a coupon. You can also get it on Amazon.

What do you use to help prevent sandpaper hands?

Market bags, continued

One more bag for gifting - this time I tried to get clever with color.

Initially I didn't love it. But after some time (and a few high compliments from friends over for dinner) I realized it's not too shabby.

The yarn tails from the dual colored strap were killing me, until I got the idea to put a crochet flower on the seam.

Perfect! Hides the stark transition and gave me a way to inconspicuously weave in the ends.

In another serendipitous moment I realized this will be perfect for M, because this bag was made with leftover yarn from her twin daughters' twinkie jackets:

Hope she likes it!