Kung Fu Knitting

On 3/3 I skated with the New York State All Starts against the Pennsylvania All Stars in Salamanca, NY. We lost but it was a great experience to skate with some top level skaters.

Pattern:  Bandana Cowl  from Purl Soho Yarn: Shetland Aran, Jaeger Needles: US 9 Mods: I cast on 87 stitches with one less decrease.

               Years ago I had a BF that really wanted a stocking cap to sleep in. Yes, sleep in. Isn't that odd? I couldn't find a pattern that I liked on the Internetz. They were all so long and I didn't want to get strangled while I was sleeping, so I went about experimenting. I came up with an easy and fast pattern that used up odds and ends of bulky yarn and made a fun hat. See picture for fun factor. After so long I'm writing this hat up for several reasons. One is that people always ask about it when I wear it. ".Where did I get that hat? ...  Oh, you made it?"  Then "Is there a pattern?" Now I can direct them here.  Another is that this is my tried and true winter hat. It's the hat I leave at school and wear during recess outside in Ithaca that keeps my ears from falling off (last winter that was nearly every day).  Another fantastic reason to share this pattern is that this hat fits on my head no matter what I do t...

I saw this  Bandana Cowl Pattern  On Ravelry and thought it would be an excellent accessory. At first glance it seems like it might be a boring knit, but there's a ton of short rows hidden in this cowl. I've been wanting to revisit this technique for ages. I dug into my stash to see if I could come up with a doable yarn. I've had two balls of  Cleckheaton Merino yarn for forever and I haven’t had any ideas what to do with it. I always thought it would make a nice hat,but I think this turned out better.  Yarn: Cleckheaton Merino Supreme (washable), 2 balls Needle: US 9 hat sized circular The short row tutorial linked in the pattern is awesome. I’ll never be confused over picking up a wrapped stitch again. :-) As I knit the fabric felt a little tight and I was worried that it wouldn't drape or fold.  Mods: I did short rows until there were 9 stitches left between the wrapped stitches. I’m trying to make sure I have enough yarn to complete. I ...

I in your basket you has no food.  (ha ha ha) (Do I has solo) (I is guilty) Welcome Prizners

 I love that the sweater my friend is wearing is the EXACT color as the cowl.

Gift for a friend. I bought the yarn ( Knit Picks Capra) a while ago with this person in mind. She loves yellow and she loves soft.  I've been looking for a pattern but nothing really inspired me until I saw a cowl made from the Wurm pattern . Visible on Ravelry here . The colorway of Frank Ochre is close to mine and I thought, "Wow, that looks warm and so very Yellow. D would love that!" Caston! Four days and 16 hours later (slow poke knitter that I am) it's done and just as warm and lovely as I thought it would be. Now to gift it and take a picture with the recipient! Yarn: Nearly 3 skeins of Knit Picks Capra in Honey Needles: US 7, bamboo circulars Caston: 200 st -  I didn't even think of doing something fancy, just a longtail here. Castoff: I Put a littile more thought into this and did a stretchy lace castoff. I knit 8 repeats of the pattern suggested by CatReading (5 Purl, 4 knit rounds beginning and ending with 3 round of garter.) Finished d...

Scrap! Vs. Philly Independence Dolls Empire Skate Showdown 2 MVP for the SufferJets!!!!                                                           ESS2 @ESS2 ESS 2: vs. Assault City ESS2: vs. Wall Street Traitors

Vs. Rideau Valley Vs. Roc City At RollerCon Vs. Buffalo Vs. Pittsburg Ithaca Festival Parade Vs. Wall Street Traitors Vs. CNYRD By Lauren Comley Vs. Les Sexpos Vs. Pioneer Valley

SufferJets vs. Utica Roller Girls: my birthday bout! Photos by Jennifer Hamm and Lauren Comly

Photos by Keith Thompson :-)

Photos by Keith Thompson

I was jamming during a scrimmage on 2/4 and got knocked down several times. I fell on the same place on my leg that I bruised before. It wasn't healed yet. The impact pretty much dead-legged. You can see the result. That night I woke up sobbing because any little thing that touched the area that surprisingly has no coloration made my skin burn and sting. It hurt so badly and was (is still) swollen about an inch puffier than the rest of my thigh. Luckily the next day that same area went numb. I still can't feel jack on that lump, but the rest is still tetchy.

My new skates slid out from under me when I was skating backwards and rolled onto my toe-stops. It hurt! Skating that night was so worth it though. I haven't scrimmaged since the bout in November. The last few times we have scrimmaged I haven't been able to because on X-mas eve I sprained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in my right knee. It had nothing to do with derby, but it got me down because tryouts for my team are coming up soon. I want to make sure I get rostered. In any case, my knee is healing well. I've been doing rigorous physical therapy beginning this week. I taped it up on Thursday and went for it. I felt scrappy. This is always how I like to feel when I skate derby. I skater better in this mind frame. It was just at the end of practice skating backwards for fun when I had my little accident.