Yarn Pr0n!

Well I loved the idea of the yarn pr0n web ring, but I was sure I'd never be a member. I was sure I wouldn't be able to take good pr0n pictures, but then I tried and I think I did pretty well! So here it is, my first ever yarn pr0n staring Wool of the Andes in Amber.


Look at that color, and those little fuzzies!

There are many reasons you shouldn't leave your kitchen cabinets open. This is just one of them:



IHS Progress: I'm one twist a head of schedule! Which is good. I'm going home this weekend and its not exactly easy to work on your Dad's Christmas present when you're in the same house with him and expected to socialize.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nineteen days

I was feeling worried last night that I wouldn't be able to finish my Dad's scarf in time for Christmas, and consequently wouldn't even get my moms started! So I did some thinking. What if I did a little bit each day? Even on my most busy days I should be able to find time to do at least two twists. I did some measuring and calculations and discovered if I do two twists a day I can have the scarf finished in 19 days! I am such a dork.

Estimated finishing day for Dad's IHS: October 16th

How about some kittens? Here is a picture of Luigi snoozing on the couch:


He is such a cutie pie! It almost makes up for him being a humongous brat. Almost.

I recently bought a bunch of new toys at the pet store for the kittens after realizing that all their toys had mysteriously disappeared. Where do cat toys disappear too? They'd been amusing themselves with stolen water bottle tops. They chase them around, and hide them in things. One morning I found a collection of them floating in the water bowl like little toy boats. Today one of them was in my left shoe. I wonder what odd place I will find one next.

No boyfriend sweaters here - just an IHS progress report

I promised my boyfriend that I would never ever do this to him. He was very appreciative, I assure you.

Irish Hiking Scarf:
I finally got some work done on my Dad's Irish Hiking Scarf (IHS). The scarf is currently a little over 7 inches long and I'm a few rows past the sixth twist. I really love this scarf, every time I look at it I just can't help but feel amazed. It is such an awesome pattern.



So far I have really enjoyed knitting presents for other people, rather than for myself. It just feels good to make something for someone else. As much as I love this scarf, I feel no urge to keep it for myself. It will make me happy to give it to my dad, I hope he loves it as much as I do.

Stitch Counters

My mom bought me this cute little clear plastic zip bag that contains lots of little useful tools like stitch markers and needle point toppers. One tool it contained was a stitch counter.

I don't find the prospect of having to use a stitch counter enjoyable. They seem like a cumbersome thing to me. Make a stitch or two, stop, put down the needles and mark the stitch counter. How would you get a rhythm going if you have to constantly put down your needles? How is that enjoyable? Maybe if I do a complicated pattern one day I'll understand - but then if a pattern is so complicated that I need one I'd probably find the pattern just as unpleasant as a stitch counter.

I assumed my stitch counter would sit in the little plastic bag unused, until I had a brilliant idea: I can use it to count rows! Now that to me is useful, and because I'm already having to turn my work it doesn't create a break in my rhythm. It is certainly easier than tracking what row I'm on with a piece of paper and a pencil, which is what I was doing. Now tracking when the next twist will be done in my Irish Hiking Scarf is a cinch!

Irish Hiking Scarf progress: I haven't gotten much further than I was on my last post. I am now just a few rows past the third twist. School and social life keep getting in my way.

Began Irish Hiking Scarf

For my Fathers Christmas present I decided to make him an Irish Hiking Scarf. I showed my Mom the pattern to enlist her help in selecting a yarn color for him and she demanded that I make one for her as well. We picked out Amber in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, and it arrived in my mail box last week. The yarn is nice and soft, and the color is interesting.

I started the scarf tonight and I just love it! Cables are a bit awkward to do at first, but very easy over all. The pattern is easy to follow, and once you get started you don’t need it at all. You can tell exactly what you need to do just looking at the stitches – except for the first and last two which are always knit. All you have to keep track of is when to do the twist.

Progress: I am over halfway to the third twist. I made one mistake on my first twist row but after inspection I realized it was only visible from the wrong side. It took a lot of will power, but I didn’t go back and fix it. Why fix a mistake that’s not even visible?

Maybe I’ll join the Irish Hiking Scarf Knit-a-long

Characters Part 2: The Kittens

Oh yes the Kittens. My babies.

On September 24th 2005 I went to a Shamrock Foundation adoption day with the intention of adopting an adult cat.

When I got there the cat that I had been interested in originally wasn’t there, but there were plenty of cats needing a home so I looked around. There were many sweet cats, but none of them really seemed to be my perfect match. I kept skipping over two brothers who were about six months old because I only wanted one cat, and I really was planning on adopting an adult.

I finally gave in and picked up each brother one at a time. The first one was slightly larger and so snuggly he just purred and purred. The second one was very friendly but he wasn’t interested in snuggling. He kept wiggling around in my arms attempting to look at everything near by, he struck me as inquisitive and playful. I loved them both. They both came home with me that day.

They were born on April 5th, 2005 and originally named Myron and Melton. I couldn’t keep straight which one was suppose to be Myron and which one was suppose to be Melton, so I picked new names for them. In all my dorky glory I named the slightly larger one Mario and the other one Luigi.

To this day Mario and Luigi hold true to the personalities they showed when I picked them up. Mario is laid back and calm, and if you pick him up he’ll snuggle and purr. Luigi is much more active and inquisitive; if you pick him up he squirms around so he can see his world from this new vantage point. Together they make a great team, and they spend many hours playing together.

Mario is almost all white with a bit of orange/tan markings on his face, and one very small marking just under his shoulder blades.


Luigi has spots!


Their eyes match their markings in color, and both have tabby tails.

Characters Part 1: The knitter

In the past I have tried to learn to knit or crochet several times, only to give up after a few days of working at it. I found crochet to be fairly simple and relaxing, but it quickly hurt my wrists. Knitting was more complicated, I just couldn’t seem to grasp it. I could knit and purl, but I was always fighting with the yarn. Wrapping the yarn around the needle felt awkward, and trying to switch between knit and purl was even worse.

Then one day it all changed. I was browsing the internet and saw a link to Knitting Help, the site contained free videos. “Maybe videos will help me understand!” I thought to myself.

Those videos did more than help me understand, they opened up a whole new world to me. Continental knitting. In the past I had only found clear instructions for English knitting. Continental knitting was a perfect fit for me and suddenly all the awkwardness was gone. I knit away practicing my stitches on purple acrylic yarn. First just knits, then just purls, then stockinette, ribbing and seed stitch. I had a blast with it and decided it was time to buy yarn for my first scarf! Before I even got close to finishing that first scarf I started a second for my niece. My niece’s scarf is much closer to being done than mine. ;)