Kung Fu Knitting

I finished my second Celtic Cap today. This one is for my BF. He actually went with me to my LYS to pick out the yarn and decided on this pattern. So it's truly his hat. I'm modeling it in the pictures to the right. The only thing that bothers me about this pattern in this guage is that it's shorter than I would like it. If I make it again I think I will add in a cable repeat somewhere. Anyway, I am jazzed on cables and knots now. I really want to incorporate some into my next project. I went to kung fu and tai chi last night. In tai chi we learned some more of the seven mountain spirits form ( I have to write that down in my diary today) and did some application drills. I was paired with V and I think we went a little over board for tai chi because I have bruises on my hips. I was feeling really feisty in Kung Fu and was disappointed that we didn't do our 2 person combat drill. We did a ton of push ups (130) which I really struggled with because yesterday I worked my u...

I'll tell you. During the drive to and from NH last week I finished the pieces for the Knit1 cover cardigan. I just have to put it together and rib the front. I also recently purchased the Celtic Cap pattern from The Girl from Auntie web store. I am on my second hat already and am enjoying the pattern immensely. By the time you've finished the hat it seems like you've gone through most types of plain cabling minus twisted stitches. I've found the pattern to be very clear. Only once did I look up something in another book. ( I checked out Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore from the library which rocks!) The first hat was in Barlett Yarn 2ply. The cabling, especially at the top didn't turn out as nicely as I would want it to look. It's just not very distinct. I can't decide if it's my knitting ability or the yarn. Secretly I am blaming the yarn. Still it was very satisfying eventhough it felt as though this yarn was sticking to my bamboo needles. The second ...

And it was quite lovely. The forests there remind me a lot of the forests in Washington state where I grew up: faeryesque clearings lined with moss and smelling of decay. Some contain baby conifers that give a miniature feeling to these dark meadows. You can hear a creek burbling somewhere, but you can't see it. The sounds of the forest are soft. Anyway, perhaps some of the area that I hiked through was second growth forest. It seemed rather old, developed. The first day consisted of driving there and setting up camp. However, we found ourselves with a little time on our hands and so we went hiking. We decided to go to the tallest waterfall in NH (it's got nothing on the many falls in Ithaca). Our fearless leader said the trail was flat, so I wore flip-flops. It turns out, the trail was mostly through an old creek bed and gained an altitude of 1200 feet or so.....I had an uncomfortable climb to say the least. At the top we tested our kung fu bravery and balance skills on a litt...

I always wanted to know.... You are Shetland Wool.You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered. What kind of yarn are you? brought to you by Quizilla

I agreed to go camping this weekend quite a while ago never realizing (until yesterday) that Saturday was the release of the new Harry Potter. ARGH!!!! I am going to have to wait until Monday night to lay my hands on it. I really hope this turns out to be a good trip and that I don't accidentally find out who the half-blooded prince is. In Kung Fu tonight instead of doing the two person combat drill, I got to go at it using swords with another student. It was really cool, but difficult since I really don't know how to attack someone with a sword yet.

And these are the results. The Silk Garden and 220 sword bag felted okay. I think it shrunk a little more than a third in length: maybe 40 percent or so. I really like how the 220 looks. It's nice and soft with the Silk Garden, though. I was quite worried about it felting down to small, that it wouldn't be long enogh for the sword. Now I think that it's not wide enough. Oy, I feel stupid. It was going to be a gift. No I might use it for sticks instead. One thing I would like to add here is a laundry list of things that one should bring to the laundry mat to do their felting: 1. a bucket to hold your project if you want to take it out before the spin cycle etc. It will make a wet mess everywhere otherwise and you need to support all that wet stitchery. 2. a bunch of yarn scraps to use to fix any holes that may develop during felting. This seemed to happen more when I used lots of different colors in a work and with tweedy yarns. hmmmm.... 3. other laundry to do while feltin...

I am pretty sure that I am going to do a little bit of felting today. I have two items to transform. One is a vintage bubble bag from Pursenalities and the other is a sword bag. Well I hope that's what it turns into. Last night at kung fu class my forearms got really beat up. First we did conditioning which is just banging different parts of your arm against someone else's arm. Then we did two person drills where we were blocking a punch with the same part of our arms. We did variations of this drill for something like a half hour. My left arm is bruised and swollen today. Not a great picture, but you get the idea.

Hats Bags Sweaters and Shrugs Socks Scarves

Hopefully some completed sweaters to come!

More pics of older socks coming soon

Description: I bought the Patons Carment and had to use it for something because it is soooooo soft. It's amazing. It's also the devil to knit with and can only be realistically done with a strand of something less insane. Yarn: Patons Carmen and Galway worsted Pattern: My own. It's hard to tell but it's ribbed Gauge: ? Needles: US 17

Description: A child's scarf knit for a friend's little girl. My first use of "novelty yarn." Pattern: My own Yarn: Lion Brand Boucle in Gelato and Fun Fur in pink Needles: US 17

Description: I originally bought this yarn for a hat, but couldn't resist the felting bug. I'm really glad I did. I used this purse all summer. Blog entries here and here . Pattern: Pursenalities Used single strand of yarn throughout. Yarn: Lamb's Pride worsted in Brite Blue Needles: US 13 cirular 24 inch

Description: I made this as a gift for my sister-in-law. More in these entries here and here . Pattern: Pursentalities Yarn: Cascade 220 and Noro Silk Garden 87 Needles: US 13 and US 15 circulars 24 inch Comments: I made the flower with a modification of the flower pattern here . Before picture below.

Description: My first felted bag. For its story see this blog entry Pattern: My own Yarn: Lots of different stuff Needles: US 13 circular 24 inch Comment: see pictures below for its felting evolution

Description: Sorry this is kind of a sucky picture. I gave this bag to my mom for mother's day. She loved it. It's made from some of the first yarn that I ever bought! (I gave my first FO to my mom so I knew she would recognize the yarn) Pattern: Booga Bag from Black Sheep Bags with minor alterations. Yarn: Bartlett's 2 ply yarn from various times and places. I used it single stranded. Needle: US 13 circular, 24 inch Comment: I had a terrible time felting the peach and yellow colors. Green and blue were fine. See the prefelted version below. I wish I had taken measurements.

Description: This is the second version of this pattern that I knitted. The yarn I used this time was very well suited to the pattern. I knit it for my BF and he really liked it. See my blog entry Here Pattern: Girl From Auntie Celtic Cap Yarn: Jaeger Shetland Aran Gauge: 4.75 sts / inch Needle: US 7 Circular 16 inch