Undergarments on your head

At the beginning of knitting Quant when it was still looking like a little triangle with a long string attached to it, my roommate walked in and said "Whatchya knittin?" I held it up for him and he said "a thong?"


Imagine you can see the i-cord string, and just a few inches of enterlac.
I started to explain what it was when I stopped and really looked at it, he was right. At that point it did look like you could make a cute little thong out if, that is if wooly undergarments are your thing. He suggested wool was much too absorbent and that licorice would be a much better choice for a thong.

I'm not much into thongs, wooly or otherwise, so I continued on with the project as planned. And I must say I think it makes a much cuter ear warmer than it would have thong.



Project details:
Pattern: Quant by Star Athena
Yarn: Taos by Crystal Palace, color number: 17
Needles: US 8, knit picks options
Mods: In the beginning when expanding the i-cord so you can do the set up triangles the increases just say "make 1", for which knitty gives the directions for "make 1 right". I used "make 1 right" and "make 1 left" at the appropriate times. I doubt it made much of a difference, but it made me happy.
New Techniques: I-cord and enterlac



Pattern review: I loved making this pattern. It was simple, well written, and worked up very quickly. I also think enterlac is a really fun and interesting technique. The one thing I'm displeased with is how the ends don't match up.



This would not be difficult to fix, I'm sure someone has already written up directions on how to do so. I was watching prison break, so I didn't notice how badly mismatched the ends were until I had started the i-cord already. This particular yarn doesn't frog well, so I decided it wasn't worth going back to fix. It doesn't show when it's on, but little details like that matter to me. If I ever make the pattern again, I will be sure to make the needed adjustments.

If I were to make it again, I would also make it just a little bit shorter to allow for the patterns natural stretch. It isn't too big as it is, but I would prefer it just a bit shorter.


Luigi was extra special helpful with the picture taking.
Yarn thoughts: I really enjoyed this yarn for the most part. The colors are lovely, and the color repeats are long which lends its self well to this pattern. The yarn is very soft and losely plied, and a little fluffy. This does make splitting an issue, though not a major one. Frogging and lots of tinking are difficult in this yarn. I had to frog once and it was a mess of tangles and snags. The yarn also was a lot fuzzier after being frogged.

I think this is a nice yarn, once you are aware of its downsides. It created a very soft and comfy knitted fabric. I'm going to love wearing this thing next winter!

A sort of FO

I finished my first hat!



I think the cabled pattern is really cute. I also enjoy the colors of the yarn I used, despite the pooling. My problem with this hat is the size.



It is a little tight. Nothing a good washing and blocking couldn't fix. The big problem is that it is way too short. I'm debating between adding another repeat and adding ribbing to the bottom. My plan is to let the hat rest for a bit until I can decide. Until then, it is finished!

Pattern: An Unoriginal Hat by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky. Color: Storm dyed over with cherry kool-aid.
Needles: 10.5 dpns
Mods: None
New Techniques: Helix stripes as described by Grumperina. I used this method to work from both ends of the yarn ball. You can still see the pooling easily, but it is a little more gentle. Had I felt like messing with it I think working with 3 or 4strands would have fully fixed the pooling problems.

FO count: 4

Bibs O’Green

Daniel has a manager that is very pregnant and on Tuesday night he asked if I could knit something small for her. We talked about it a little bit and agreed that he would find out the gender the next time he worked and then we would pick out a pattern together.

On Wednesday I was heading to class and the only item I had to work on was the misbehaving glove. I grabbed a ball of Peaches and Creme and my Mason Dixon Knitting book and headed out the door.

Over the course of the day I finished the first bib.


I had so much fun making the first one that on Thursday I started the second one, and it was a good thing too. Thursday Daniel learned that the baby was a boy and that the manager’s last day was Friday! We ran off to Jo-Ann's and picked out buttons and a patch. I finished all the knitting that night, and did the finishing work on Friday afternoon.



Pattern: Bibs O'Love, from Mason Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Peaches and Creme 100% cotton, 1 ball each "Baby Green" and "Shades of Green"
Needles: knit pick options size 6
Mods: None
New Skills: This was my first button hole. I also learned how to properly sew on a button.



I really enjoyed making these bibs. I especially love the way the bib with the patch turned out. I sewed it down, and then ironed it on for extra security.

That brings me to three FO’s! Dad’s socks, and two bibs.

Spring Time

Yesterday was the perfect first day of spring. The sun was shining and the temperature was comfortable. In the late afternoon I decided to celebrate by going for a walk and bringing my camera. My goal was to find some sings of spring and take a picture of them.

The first thing I saw right outside my door were green shoots coming up.


Next I saw a flower had already bloomed

Sadly I had to prop this flower up to take it's picture. The stem was broken, most likely from the storm we had the other night. Regardless of it's ill fate it is still the first flower to fully bloom in our yard this season.

How about this little guy who hangs out on the side of our house?

Isn't it neat how the water collects in the leaves? I thought the water droplets looked like little jewels nestled inside the plant.

Someone else’s yard had a bunch of pretty flowers

I hope we have some soon! We might need to do some planting.

I'll have an FO to show you tomorrow! :)

Quick Trip Recap

The trip to New Jersey and New York was fun, we kept really busy while there. Going out and exploring during the day and visiting with my parents in the evening. I wish we'd had more time, but that’s the way it goes.

Here are a few snap shots from the trip:


We had Korean food for the first time.

We went to The Chocolate Haven several times to have yummy hot chocolate and peek in the windows so we could watch chocolate being made.

We visited the Bronx Zoo and saw baby gorillas! A lot of the animals were no where to be seen because it was chilly out, but the baby gorillas totally made up for it. They were cute, playful and constantly on the move.

I didn't get nearly as much knitting done on the trip as I thought I would. I did finish one of Danny's gloves. It fits him perfectly and we are both very excited about it. The second one is in time out until the thumb gusset I forgot to do magically appears on its own, or until I decide to frog it. Whichever comes first.

Happy First Day of Spring!

"This is doomed to be awesome"

What do you do when you have a cancelled flight, several inches of snow, one sled, and no idea where good sledding hills might be found? Go sledding with 7 other people of course! I mean come on, isn't that the most brilliant idea ever?

What about this for brilliant? On top of our one real sled we had a few Rubbermaid type container lids, and several pillows wrapped in plastic bags. The Rubbermaid lids didn't work. The pillows wrapped in plastic bags had varying degrees of success. They worked pretty well if you used one pillow under your chest, and one under your knees. We suspect that body pillows would really awesome.

If you have one good sled, and two OK pretend sleds, the "best" thing to do is to go down in a train.
Step 1: Person1 gets in the real sled facing forward, that way if you are about to run into a tree, you know.
Step 2: Person2 gets in the real sled behind person number 1 and faces backwards.
Step 3: Person3 lays down on a pillow and holds person2's hands.
Step 4(optional): Person4 lays down on a pillow and holds onto person3's legs.
Step 5: Someone who is insane enough to help you, but not insane enough to join the train helps you get started down the hill.

It was awesome. Awesome enough we did it multiple times. One of the pillow people would always end up separated from the train half way down and spinning around in circles.

The day was finished off with homemade hot chocolate and hot wings, naps, pizza and beer, and games on the wii.

No pictures were taken. I was too busy playing.

I wore my hand knit socks, and got some knitting done.

My Surprise Contest

We have snow coming down now and it reminded me of the last bit of nasty weather we had. It was a little ice storm and I was shocked when I stepped out my door and almost walked face first into these branches. The weatherman is suggesting anywhere from 4 to 10 inches of snow. I am really hoping they are wrong, because I have a plane to catch tomorrow morning! Cross your fingers for me, will you?

As far as knitting goes I've realized that I have an absurd number of projects on the needles. My mind flashed to the Christmas knitting wars and the competition to finish the most projects. From there I remembered that I have been bouncing around the idea of having a contest.



1. SOTSii hint 1, 2. rpm sock, 3. dad's sock, 4. Boy Gloves, 5. unoriginal hat, 6. fetching, 7. sheldon, 8. clapotis

I have 8 projects on the needles. Your job is to guess how many projects I will finish in a month. The month will start today, and end on April 7th. I will do my best to concentrate on projects already in progress. I reserve the right to cast on new projects, and if I finish them they will count in the FO total.

Guesses are due by March 13th. The person with the closest guess wins. If multiple people are equally close then the winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be announced on April 8th.

The prize will be a surprise. :) The prize might be big or small, but I will do my best to make it something fun and enjoyable for the winner. The prize will be sent out sometime in April.

WIP Wednesday

What have I been up to? I've not been posting much. I fell off the wagon with my picture project, been busy, been sick, and my current knitting projects are a bit boring to look at.

I'm almost finished with dad's socks:

I have about two more inches to knit before I start the toe decreases.

I started a pair of gloves for Daniel

I hope they go quickly so he can get some use out of them before the cold weather disappears.

Between brown socks and black gloves I have been feeling a desperate need for color. My ball of cherry kool-aid yarn has been sitting on the coffee table mocking me. Begging me to make it into a hat.

I love the colors. I don't love how they are pooling. I'm going to rip this and fiddle around with it to see if I can break it up.