Thank goodness that's over!

This weekend there was quite a bit of finishing going on. There was button math, and weaving in ends, and crocheted borders and more weaving in ends.

But, it's done. And I now present to you my first finished sweater (I mean, it doesn't have any sleeves or anything, so really it's the easy way out for my first top, but hey that's me--kind of lazy!).

The Combo Corset T: The Yarn: ArtYarns Ultra Merino 6 in color 115. I used four skeins. The pattern called for three and then a skein of ribbon yarn for the edging, but I didn't think I would like the ribbon stuff that much and just did all the crocheting with the Merino. I think it was the right decision.

The Buttons: I bought them at Joann Fabrics. I think they are perfect. Now, the button on the bottom needs a little adjusting, and I will get to it this week. Just not now.

The Pros: This is one very soft tank top. And, it is in a color that I love.
The Cons: While the shirt certainly is big enough, I am getting some gapping in between buttons (it has some slight gap issues even then it is not on). I have some ideas on how to fix this, we will see how it goes.
Uh, yes the Christmas lights are still on the balcony. What?

So what now? I am still working on some socks that I am writing the pattern for. Hopefully I will have some time this week to finish those up. They are some very nice socks. I have also worked a few rows of my first real lace project--the Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl. Perhaps a picture in the next day or two!

Now, I must leave the computer and enjoy this weather. I mean, seriously 74 degrees in Chicago on March 25 at almost seven o'clock at night? You can't beat that!

The Wee Tiny Sock Has Arrived!

Today was one of the best mail days ever. You know, usually it's bills, ads, bills, bills, ads, ball of sock yarn, bills, bills, bills. Today, however, there were no bills for me. Only a letter with "Hand Cancel Only" written on the envelope. It was my Wee Tiny Sock. It came from Daryl in New York (no blog was mentioned in the card, so I think she may be blogless). What a lovely sock! And, as if the sock was not enough--there were stitch/row markers!!! How wonderfully spring-like! Thanks, Daryl! In other knitting news, my combo corset-t is in the last couple inches of knitting. Hopefully this weekend it will be on to the crocheted button holes and what not. I bought my crochet hook and buttons at Joann's last night. I have also been working on a sock--one from my own pattern I am trying to write (trying to write is the key phrase here). So, if all goes well with that, perhaps I will have a free sock pattern for all to enjoy next week!

And, back to knitting!

Hey! Quit Jaywalking!

I did it. I finished the Lucy Jaywalkers over the weekend. I am definitely going to wear these babies tomorrow. They are the greatest socks ever. I may never make a more wonderful pair--oh yarn which came out non-pooled and lovely! Oh, the pattern, which is so easy you can memorize it in about two minutes! Oh the eye of the partridge heel, that which is so easy but looks quite impressive!

Hmm, have I mentioned that I love these socks?

And, moving on. . . .

Last night I dyed some more yarn with Kool-Aid. Some of it is super secret yarn, which can not be put on the blog and some, of course, is for me. I mixed some different colors together and at first it looked almost brownish red and not nice, but now that it is starting to dry, I clearly am in love!

Uh, it's awesome. The thing I like about dyeing my own yarn is that even if it did turn out nasty brownish red (like the carpet in my parents old house, for those who have seen it), it would still be totally unique yarn that no one else will ever knit with. I really like that idea.

Kay commented in one of the previous posts wondering if this was hard or messy. I have to say the first time was a little frustrating. The kitchen is small, there's yarn everywhere, it was a bit messy. But, last night there was little Kool-Aid on the counter and the process went much much smoother. If you are looking for some good directions on how to dye yarn with Kool-Aid, take a look here. The nice thing about the Kool-Aid is since it is meant to be consumed, you can use all the bowl and pans and stuff from your kitchen. You don't have to worry about killing yourself with something toxic the next time you make spaghetti! :)

Eric, my Wee Tiny Sock Pal received his sock today. I can't believe that. It got mailed from the suburbs of Chicago on a Friday afternoon and made it to Tulsa today. Man, that post office is good.

More sock knitting tonight. Must. watch. Dancing. with. the. Stars.

**Added 3/20/07 at 8:00am. I used 2 packets of black cherry, one packet of grape and one packet of strawberry on my Kool-Aid dyed yarn above. Like I said before it looked bad when I was dyeing, but it looks nice and pink now!**

A Tiny Sock and Some Thin Mints?

Ok, I am going to try to stop eating the Thin Mints (I heart Girl Scout cookies!) long enough for this sock-related post. I have finished knitting my sock for the Wee Tiny Sock Swap. Tonight I will be heading over to Walgreens to buy a card and tomorrow I will be sending it off to my match. Hooray for Tiny Socks. I knit this one with leftover BMFA in Scottish Highlands. I love the striping!
I, of course, needed to knit my own tiny sock (even though I will be getting one in the mail, hopefully) I put it on a keyring and hung it on my knitting bag. I used some leftover Koigu from my Feather and Fan socks.Then, even though I have not quite finished the Jaywalker socks in Lucy (I swear they will be done in 2-3 days), I started knitting with my Kool-Aid dyed yarn. Um, it's awesome!

I have a feeling even though this weekend is going to be very very busy I am going to try to find some time to dye some more yarn.

And, back to knitting.

Attention: The Knitting Slump Has Ended!

Well, I was in that knitting slump for a couple of weeks. Really, I just wanted to sit on the couch, stare at bad MTV for hours upon hours on end and have someone bring me food and drink. But, the weather is slowly improving, and it was light out until seven or something tonight, so all is right in the world again. The slump magically ended this weekend! Now I have so much knitting I want to do! I am even considering casting on for second pair of socks, even though the Lucy Jaywalkers are not yet done, but in home stretch (I am on the foot, and once I get to the foot, I consider that almost done. I don't know why, seeing that I have a gigantic man-foot, so that part always takes a long time, but I digress).

Anywho, here is what is going on in the land of Jen's knitting. . . .

First, my sister and I made an attempt to dye some yarn. Initially, I thought it turned out horribly. But, now that I have some dry, nicely wound yarn and all the Kool-Aid stains are off the counter, I want to do it again. I love it! We started with a bunch of Kool-Aid. . . . Then, we got some yarn and some syringes and latex gloves and stuff, along with the directions for dyeing yarn in Socks, Socks, Socks. . . .
And off we went. My sister dyed the worsted weight (below, on the left) and I dyed some fingering weight (below, on the right). As you can clearly see, I had a slight problem with the Kool-Aid getting down into all of the yarn. At first I was sad, defeated even, but then, when I wound it up, I realized it was awesome. There is a lot of white left, sure, but it has all those other colors mixed in there pretty well. I don't have a ton of white with no color to break it up. I think it might actually knit up into a fantastic pair of socks!


Well, this weekend brought a trip to Green Bay for Ryan's birthday. It was a very good time. Today Alex was super nice and drove home, which gave me lots of time to work on my Jaywalker. Hmm, that picture didn't turn out that well, but you get the idea. I am looking forward to these socks being done because I so want to wear them!

Finally, we got home much earlier than I thought we would today and realized that I had time to make it to I'd Rather Be Knitting for the semi-annual sale before they closed. I knew I shouldn't go and buy a bunch of yarn for myself, but I did get my SP10 match, so I thought why not get yarn at a discount. Only means more yarn for him/her later. However, when in a yarn shop I am weak. The yarn, it calls my name. So, I made a deal with myself that when I went in I could buy some yarn to make one pair of socks for me. It was a tough decision but I came home with this:

It's Mountain Colors in Wildflower. That is beautiful yarn! I was a beacon of power at the yarn shop. That has never happened before, I will tell you.

Other than all that I am just working on getting some ideas together for SP10 Swap and finishing up my Wee Tiny Sock for a Wee Tiny Sock Swap. Ridiculous. I already knit one tiny sock for myself and it is so cute and silly at the same time...I love it!

Ok, back to knitting!

i thought i could be more exciting. . . .

I took this quiz awhile ago on my old blog, but I saw it out there again, and thought: Hey maybe I can get something better than dishcloth cotton this time! Not the case. . . .

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Dishcloth Cotton.You are a very hard worker, most at home when you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain Jane, but you are too practical to notice.
Take this quiz!








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So that's all I've got for now. I am torn between laying on the couch and knitting and laying on the couch and napping. I have a feeling a combination of those thigns is about to ensue!

Have a nice day!

look who's not knitting!

Ok, so I have hit the winter knitting slump. I don't think I am the only one. I read lots of blogs. Many are going through the same thing. I mean, I have been knitting, but not in the all the time even while watching American Idol sort of way. So I have not that much knitting to show for, but I did want to post, so here we go. . . .

First, last week Alex called to say there was a surprise package waiting for me in the leasing office awaiting pick-up. I went over there, picked up my box and when I opened it I found this. . . .

Oh, hell yeah, that's a Dwight Shrute Bobblehead. I love it. Then yesterday I came home from work to find a box in front of the apartment door. Confused, I picked it up and read the return label. It was Crafter's something-or-other, and I thought how strange to have this package before me. So, I opened it, and there was some yarn that I ordered and I forgot that I ordered. Hmm, do you think you have a yarn buying problem when you get yarn in the mail that you had forgotten about? Yes, yes I think you do.
It's some KnitPicks Bare. That's four hanks of 100% Peruvian Wool worsted weight and four hanks of 100% Merino Wool in fingering weight. I have been dying to dye (pun intended) my own yarn with some Kool-Aid for awhile. So, I bought a bunch and my sister and I will be having a dye party soon.

And onto what I have been knitting. . . . .

Here is my Jaywalker sock in STR Lucy. I am almost done with sock number one and I will immediately be casting on for sock number two. Even though I have not been in a sock knitting mood, I do really really want these socks!

Then there is the Combo Corset-T. I am chugging right along in the world of K2, P2 rib. It's a boring world, but I still really love this piece. Like the socks, I have not been in the mood to knit it, but I really want to wear it, so everytime I actually become motivated to knit, I try to pick this up!
Then there is the non-knitting crafty project. . . .

Now, you may be thinking why the hell would this girl have a chemistry-related pillow on her bed? Well, I will tell you. Back in my college days at Loyola, I was a member of the American Chemical Society chapter there. In fact, I was the secretary. I got this bright idea that we should have a faculty vs. student softball game. Great idea in theory, but try asking a bunch of chemistry professors to go outside and play softball. It did not go over well. So, it was a grad student vs. undergrad softball game. Now as undergrads, we knew we not only had to play well, but look good too. So, we got some t-shirts, some fabric markers and our team together and made shirts. Rather than having numbers on the back we, of course, were elements. I was tungsten. I don't know why, but it's my favorite element. We put weird chemistry things on our shirts (like "Oh no! I'm delocalized," which my friends and I had a dance called delocalizing, we are dorks, but I digress) and then wore them for our game. I have no idea who won, but I remember it was a very good day. So, I never got rid of the t-shirt (well, it's not that old, only four and a half years) and I wanted to do something cool with it. So, I made it into a pillow. It's awesome, my friends will make fun of me, but really, they are jealous of my chemistry pillow!

Ok, that is all I have for now. Stay out of a snow drift!