Monday, June 29, 2009

Ravelry links 'o terror and cardie progress report

I wonder why nearly every pattern for monkey toys I can find to knit ends up being terrifying.

I'm quietly relieved that this pattern is no longer available for download, as the one on the right has...well...apparently Lovecraft designed that monkey. Monkey faces should not resemble lady bits quite so closely.

This isn't too bad, though the finished objects that people posted pictures looked NOTHING like this.

This appears to be a monkey/pig crossbreed. At least it isn't nightmare inducing.

Apparently this monkey is also a vampire, judging by that widow's peak.

This has potential, but only if you apparently figure out some short row deal on the face. The third monkey isn't too bad, but the one with the hat on it seems to be posed like it's trying to be sexy, which is disturbing to me.

DEAD MONKEYS! They'd be cute, if their little eyes weren't x's.

And just because it came up in searching for "toy monkey free" on Ravelry, I present the Useless Knit Object of the Day.

I found a dog pattern in a book that I think could be converted relatively easily. It'll be a gift, so I'm not really aiming for that kind of mental scarring.

Oh, and as an update on the blue cardigan; I'm up to nearly the top of the yoke, and will be working on the shoulders soon. I love this sweater, for it requires no seaming up. The body is knit in one bit to a point, you knit the sleeves, then join the whole shebang together and continue on up. Admittedly, it now weighs approximately a ton of wool/alpaca blend, but I think the stitch definition and drape is going to be quite lovely. It will be perfect for cold days. I'm debating if I should make the hood or not...I'll probably try it on and figure out once I've finished the shoulders. This thing knit up stupidly fast, considering I cast on less than a month ago. Ah, the joys of projects!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

I live!

I've got two different sock patterns on the needles, (this and this) and really just want to knit another pair of these. (I've knit two pairs. I'm in love with this pattern.) It's not anything against these two patterns; it simply is the fact that neither of them are blind knitting, and that's what I need. That leads me to...

I splurged and bought some of this (in the quenko sky colour; the actual colour is darker than the photo) for this. Now, you know how sometimes projects just flow from one's fingers as smooth and easily as breathing? This didn't start out that way. Not even a little bit. I had to tear back twice due to inability to read the chart, and I still had to fudge it a bit after I figured out that I still couldn't read, but no longer gave a darn. Once I got the pattern established, it knits up like nobody's business. It has been a long darn time since I've knit with chunky weight yarn; it is so satisfyingly zippy!

After sitting down and forcing myself to spin a yarn that is somewhere between aran and chunky (and really not enjoying it very much, but there was a lot of wool and I wanted to BE DONE with it), I've returned to spinning nice and fine. I'm spinning up some of my hand-dyed rambouillet, which, when properly rinsed out, is glorious. It requires quite a bit of twist, as it's a very sproingy fibre, but I should be getting a decent amount of yardage out of the 100g I have. I split it into 50g hanks so I can ply it against itself. (OMG! 2 ply! Not Navajo! Will wonders never cease?!) As much as I love Navajo plying, I want a finer finished product, so 2 ply is the way to go.

I bet you have missed these posts, haven't you? :p

Enough with the Fibre! On to the Wonder! To liven things up, I'll tell you a few horrifying Things Wot Have Happened To Me at Ren Faire This Season.

In the "Oh dear, I'm going to go crawl into a hole and die now" Category: I was tying a woman into a corset, and had just finished doing up the busk. Now, there's a lot of Nature in our tent. Lots of wiggly Nature. Sometimes that wiggly Nature gets to where it shouldn't be. As I look down to inspect my work, I'm horrified to observe that it appears that this lovely lady has a bit of Nature that is in her cleavage. I make a non-committal "Ah, my dear, I think you've got a..." and gesture towards her chest. "No. That's a mole." Oh. Oh dear. I've just tried to pluck a mole off of a woman. *facepalm*

In the "Let's horrify the customers" Category: Speaking with another woman about the glories of our corsets vs. other corsets, and the following phrase comes from my lips. "Ah, you see, our corsets are different! Our corsets are...COVERED IN SPIDERS!" *brushed spider off of hand, unfortunately directly at the woman, who screeched and backed away* (It was a Daddy Longlegs, we've got an army of them, and are nearly immune to their constant creepy crawliness.)

There was also a woman with a certain...let's just say "aura" around her. It was nearly palpable. An impression that is not soon forgotten. She was...interesting. *twitch*

Let's just say is quickly now: ThankgodsforFebreeze.

2 more weekends to go! I've had a lot of fun so far, and even if some days I'd rather be knitting, at least I still get to play with string *somehow*. :)