tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31037946435058185172024-03-13T20:05:37.638-04:00KnotsTangled adventures in knitting and lifeJyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-76086742593908454502016-07-17T17:40:00.000-04:002016-07-17T17:40:43.432-04:00It has arrived!Just as the title indicates, the beast has arrived! <br />
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The portable case is AMAZING. Look at that burled wood pattern! I have a feeling that the wood sewing machine cases used to be actual wood, instead of just wallpaper on a substrate, but who knows? I did see this type of case in a YouTube video about the sewing machine, so mine is not a one-off thing!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wood paper is coming off - I think I may find something from work to use instead.</td></tr>
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Now about the sewing machine itself. It definitely is a child of its time (if I could figure out what time that was). I've read that "Dressmaker" only made sewing machines in the 50's/60's/70's, so this machine is at least 40 years old. Also, based on the controls, and the belts and motor being on the OUTSIDE of the machine, I think it may be even older. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The color is definitely of 40-50 years ago. Bleh.</td></tr>
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The machine itself is a "Dressmaker Deluxe Zig Zag 133", and it was made in Japan. I have not been able to find this machine on the Internet. I learned that back then, a lot of machines were made in Japan, sent over here, and then a manufacturer would stamp their name on it. I did find this machine also under the "Universal" brand name. Since the machine didn't come with a book, I scoured the internet and found the book for the "Deluxe Zig-Zag Sewing Machine", with no manufacturer's tag on it. It looks like the machine I have, so I've been following those directions.<br />
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The machine only has straight and zig zag stitch, and two controls are required to set the zig zag: you turn the control to the width you want, then you lock it in place with the other knob! The machine also has a button on the front to control the feed dogs - the settings are "normal", "silk", and "embroidery". That's definitely new to me, and something to play with! Also interesting about the machine is the needle and the base plate. The needle is on the left side of the foot (not centered in the middle), and it threads from left to right. Also, the plate has no seam allowance markings on it, so I guess I will have to make my own!! I wonder if I could perhaps find a plate for it that does have the allowances. Close to my apartment we do have a sewing machine and vacuum repair shop, so I'm thinking of heading up there one day to ask some questions and perhaps get it cleaned up. I also want to get some re-wiring done on the machine - the coating is a bit thin in some places. I'd rather figure out how to do it myself, but we'll see if I actually do that.<br />
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I do have some projects I want to get started with on this machine. First, dinner napkins. I know, I know, super simple - but I want to figure out stitches and if I can do a straight line and if the tension is correct! I also would like to make another ditty bag, as well as pillowcases for our existing pillows. Check out our two fabric options:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We love foxes in this house!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Please note giant zucchini in the background. Approximately the size of a human baby.</td></tr>
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They are exceptionally different from one another, so I've pinned them up and put them in the living room to see how we like them. I'm leaning towards the non-foxy one. It's blue, not black, but I think it's not too garish for our space. It'll take me a while to get to it, I don't even have any zippers yet!<br />
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In knitting news, I did a couple of rows on my Honey Cowl, so it looks about the same. I've also been asked to make some coasters for a friend, so I need to get on that since she's leaving in a few weeks.<br />
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That's about it for this week, see you next time!JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-34334766493878789472016-07-10T17:22:00.001-04:002016-07-10T17:22:31.373-04:00The answer to last time's post is "no"I'm baaack! For today! Who knows how long this will last! Hopefully more than once every six months. I do have some exciting news - I finished my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/braid-scarf-3" target="_blank">Braid Shawl!</a> yayyyy! My mom really liked it, but, uh, a wool shawl in Houston - not my best idea. Hopefully she can use it once a year. I think if I make her something again, I'll go with silk or cotton.<br />
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The shawl itself is a non-complicated knit, but I did get distracted periodically and not decrease at the right time, or I'd forget which row i was on in the pattern, so there are a few errors, probably only noticeable by me. I think I would make the shawl taller next time, to wrap just a little bit more of the body. I think I made it too long as well. Plus, this is the first time I've blocked anything so big, so it was pretty hilarious. I do love the color, and the Sweet Georgia yarn is great to work with. The yarn was really even and consistent in quality. The color variations were subtle and there were no drastic color changes once the shawl was completed. <br />
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Since then, I have started working on a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/honey-cowl" target="_blank">Honey Cowl,</a> in this beautiful super-variagated yarn from the Mineville Wool Project. This yarn is sooo soft, and such a rich color, I had to use it in something that showed it off! I think I cast on 150 stitches, because I wanted the color pattern to be continuous all the way around. I am using size 7 Karbonz circulars, and a 20" cord (maybe?). I am a little concerned about the project tho - won't it just curl at the top and bottom because it's all stockinette there? Mine is definitely curling right now!<br />
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In other news - I've started a new hobby - sewing. Woo! I have taken two classes and made something last time I went home. In the sewing classes, I made a small ditty bag (that I use every day to hold my phone, keys, and Smartcard as I walk to work), and some pajama shorts (also worn everyday). The shorts are out of a non-stretchy cotton, and had a super high waist, so as they were first completed, I had to do a beautiful wiggle to get into the shorts. Once I went home, I cut the top of the shorts off, and now they are too small in the back. I need to learn how human body shapes work, lol. <br />
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The final project is a lunchbag I made at home with some fabric found in the house and a reusable grocery bag my BF got from his insurance company. It was supposed to be the <a href="http://www.purlsoho.com/create/2014/09/14/button-lunch-bags/" target="_blank">Purl Soho Button Lunch Bag</a>, but since I was using two layers of fabric, and one layer was a plastic, it got too thick for me, and I ended up making it really simple. I haven't yet added a closure method. Either velcro or a snap-button I think. The lunchbag fits my lunch perfectly - a 2-cup glass pyrex bowl, an apple, a boiled egg, and a Babybel cheese. Pretty much what I eat every single day.<br />
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I can't sew right now, as I don't have a sewing machine, and I don't want to buy one of the new plastic ones. However, talking about your dilemma sometimes brings solutions! I will be getting a sewing machine today! My boyfriend's parents are giving me their old Dressmaker. I've not heard of the company (we have a Kenmore in my family). Apparently it is a 40lb behemoth, and it has an amazing box with a whorled wood pattern. Oh yeah, gotta love the 70s!<br />
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I'm also loving reading new-to-me sewing blogs: <a href="http://closetcasefiles.com/" target="_blank">Closet Case Files </a>(a great small business story, plus she always writes about other cool projects on the web on Sundays), <a href="https://lladybird.com/" target="_blank">lladybird </a>(so many projects, with entertaining descriptions), <a href="http://whileshenaps.com/" target="_blank">While She Naps</a> (really liking this for it's small business and blogging information! She also has a podcast that I listen to on my commute), <a href="https://missmaddysews.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Miss Maddy Sews </a>(also many projects, even though she's young and in medial school! I feel so unaccomplished), and a few others. I've been reducing my screen time recently, so I'm mostly emptying the sewing book shelves at my local library instead.<br />
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Alright, for not writing for months, I think this post is a pretty good one. Hopefully I will write more often and show prettier pictures of finished objects!JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-89122125701236202602016-03-20T21:35:00.001-04:002016-03-20T21:35:15.679-04:00Will I ever get consistent with this?Sorry friends, for the long absence. It's been busy at work and extracurricular activities, but slow in the knitting world for me! I am still working on my not-so-secret shawl. I'm not yet halfway done, and I have 3 weeks to go. ooof. Luckily, I do have the pattern memorized, so I don't have to worry about looking and remembering where I am. I don't have photos at the moment, so let's talk about other things, shall we?<br />
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Project Knitwell - Well, I went to the introductory session and a training, and now I am waiting to start the background process to volunteer at the the Children's Hospital! The Ronald MacDonald House was also another opportunity. However, they were only available Wednesday evenings, and supposedly that's a climbing/ yoga day. We've been failing terribly at this climbing thing tho, so we'll see when that starts up again!<br />
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Plants - oh my, I seem to have accrued a rather large collection of orchids! We had our <a href="https://www.usbg.gov/us-botanic-garden-production-facility" target="_blank">Production Facility Open House</a> the other week:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Desert House! Just because it's an arid environment, doesn't mean it isn't full of amazing variety!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The High Bay area. This is where our Garden Court trees are located, as well as our Titan Arums. No arums are stinky right now, but the citruses smell divine!</td></tr>
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I spent time in the Carnivorous House and the Desert. Neither of those rooms have anything to do with orchids, but we do have a "Pot-an-Orchid" station during the Open House. We had two stations this year, and for some reason, two types of orchids! And BF and I each get one plant. So my current role call of orchids is the following:<br />
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Iwanagara Apple Blossom "Carmela" (4 plants?)<br />
Wilsonara Aloha Sparks "Halloween" (2 plants)<br />
Oncidium Twinkle "Pink Profusion" (2 plants - from last year)<br />
Phalaenopsis pulcherrima var. champorensis (1 plant - from last year)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not quite decorative with these guys yet. Still working on it. But check out the height on the Wilsonara! I also think these are supposed to be separated to prevent disease...maybe?</td></tr>
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One of the Twinkles did bloom last year, in November:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These blooms held on for a while too! I have another spike slowly making its way out. It's taking a realllly long time. Maybe I should fertilize?</td></tr>
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But everything else remains a mystery to me. I did some research today, because I do want to repot last year's plants, and properly plant this years. I need to purchase fine-to-medium fir bark, sphagnum moss, and perhaps a humidity tray. It's hard to keep it humid in my apartment in the winter, or even warm! Also, turns out sphagnum decomposes within a year or two, so I think it's time to repot the Twinkle and Phal. I also would like to get a Wardian case, but those are stupid expensive, so I'll probably find some other cheaper terrarium. I also think I know what kind of cactus I have: Gymocalycium denudatum. I plan to repot this guy too, because poor thing looks terrible. Luckily I have a friend with both pearlite and vermaculite, so I should be good with this guy once I get the bark and moss.<br />
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Just as a shout-out, it's the <a href="https://www.usbg.gov/OrchidsinFocus" target="_blank">Orchid Festival at the USBG</a>! Stop by before April 17 to see an amazing display of orchids!! Some look so amazing you'd think they were fake! Also in the west gallery is some amazing artwork of the <a href="https://www.usbg.gov/floraofthenationalparks" target="_blank">flora in our National Parks</a>! Some amazing artwork to be seen! That is up until October 2, so you've got some time.<br />
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Alright, I think that's about it today. Very little knitting, much more plant activity! Also, yesterday we went on a 10-mile hike in Susquehanna State Park, with the <a href="http://www.capitalhikingclub.org/home.aspx" target="_blank">Capital Hiking Club</a>. What a great group! Also, convenient. Love the convenience. Take a gander below of the end of our hike. Have a great week!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Susquehanna River!</td></tr>
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<br />JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-25491770249994769202016-02-29T23:14:00.001-05:002016-02-29T23:14:08.305-05:00Woo Lucky Extra Day!Hi Friends!<br />
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I totally didn't blog this month, except for at the beginning. Yay for the Leap Year! I can squeeeeeze in that extra post. Unfortunately, I have very little time until it's time for bed. I've started this habit I call, "go to bed in a timely fashion and wake up in a timely fashion and try not to stay late at work as you do so." I'm still struggling on that last bit. Since I've started getting to work on time and not 30 minutes late, I've managed to be swamped with work and staying later. This is working entirely as I didn't want it to. sigh.<br />
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Anyway, on to knitting news. I knit another hat! This one is for my childhood best friend's new baby. It's knit with the same Dream in Color Classy I used on my dad's hat, it's such a nice yarn. And machine washable (supposedly, that's what the label says!).<br />
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I even sent it along with one of my tags, tied on with an orange ribbon! Look at me, doing something purdy! The pattern is Tin Can Knits <a href="http://tincanknits.com/pattern-SC-barley.html" target="_blank">Barley Hat</a>. A nice simple knit, that makes a lovely pattern. Although there were a few moments when I wasn't paying attention and lost the garter stitch pattern and had to tink back. Whoops.<br />
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In other news of messing up patterns - I had to restart my giant shawl! wooooooooo! I realized 90 rows in, I was reading the chart wrong! I was reading it right to left for ALL rows, instead of only right-side rows. Yea, I'm totally an architect, totally into details..... um. So yea, this second go-through is going MUCH smoother, as the pattern actually makes sense on the wrong side rows! who'da thunk it? People writing patterns actually KNOW what they're doing! Sigh.<br />
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I leave you with a pondering Mr Fox. Hurrah for March!<br />
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<br />JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-38160572963404378132016-02-07T22:51:00.000-05:002016-02-07T22:51:40.637-05:00Swatches and TamsHello friends!<br />
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Sending along a quick update on two projects I'm currently working on... one is now super secret, so all you get are the swatches:<br />
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These swatches are knit with Sweet Georgia superwash sport, that I had blogged about previously. It's a lovely yarn to knit with. Very smooth and the color variegation is so subtle. When I washed the swatches to pin, I think the color got a little bit darker. The pattern I am using is also a good pattern. It is fully charted, which is causing a bit of cross-eye, but it's a repetitive pattern, so a little bit easy to memorize. I am enjoying knitting it! We are taking a trip to Jim Thorpe, PA this weekend, so I am excited to get quite a bit of knitting done!<br />
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The other project I am working on is a long overdue pattern. It is a tam-o-shanter for Mr Fox, a stuffed animal my BF gave me years ago. He's taken on quite the personality, so he's getting his own Scottish hat.<br />
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Currently it looks like nothing, or as Elizabeth Zimmerman says, "it'll look like a bag". I can't wait to be finished so I can block it and it actually looks like something! I followed the directions from Zimmerman's <u>Knitting Without Tears</u>, except at an obviously much smaller scale. The yarn I am using is my self-dyed KnitPicks Bare yarn! I dyed it several years ago, for this very purpose, and I am just now getting to it! sigh. See below for a reminder of what inspired the color:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RAWR. My hands are too short to actually knit! </td></tr>
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I'll make sure to take a photo when it's all complete!<br />
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That's all for now, just the quickie! See ya!JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-49696398744001780942016-01-31T23:34:00.002-05:002016-01-31T23:34:50.632-05:00Conversations with knitters and a double knitting adventure!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Top of BF's hat. I haven't taken any others yet.</td></tr>
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Today I volunteered at the US Botanic Garden, and I met a lovely mother and daughter who knit! I had been talking earlier that morning with Lani (our wonderful visitor's service desk person....I don't know her exact position, she's my friend who works at the front desk!) about knitting my hat, and one for the BF, and one for my dad, and I had mentioned the BF had a really itchy hat and that's why he wanted a new one. Well, these ladies came in, with cute <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baa-ble-hat" target="_blank">Baa-ble hats</a> on, so Lani noticed and remarked to them that I also knit, and hats are itchy, and oh, they should come find me in the Garden. I was giving a tour, which meant I was a moving target, so we didn't actually meet up in the greenhouses. However, we did meet up at the front desk, and we chatted for a good ten minutes - just about different yarns and patterns, how hats are itchy, and that when we make hats, everyone else seems to want one too! They had had to knit new hats for other people as well! It was nice to talk to another knitter - we knew a little bit about yarns, patterns, Ravelry, it was so great to share information!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Lovely bromeliad from the Garden today!</td></tr>
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I really do need to go to a knit night or something. But I'm so shy when approaching groups of people. I don't do small talk really well, so going up to a group of strangers, who all seem to know each other since they've been doing this for a while, it's so fear-inducing! I just need to follow Steve's advice, and <a href="http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/02/25/the-20-second-challenge/" target="_blank">build up 20 seconds of courage</a>! It's not like anyone's going to laugh at me, which is mostly what I fear the most. They'll probably just say hey, ask a few questions, then continue knitting. And I can join in the conversation when I want to. It's silly how shy I am when I write it like that!! When I finally get another project on the needles (I just finished one, see below), I'll stop by one Thursday!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Gotta be brave like this chilling lion - coated in snow from the big storm!</td></tr>
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I do have one group I really do want to participate in. It's called <a href="http://projectknitwell.org/" target="_blank">Project Knitwell</a>. It's based in DC, and it provides knitting instructions for wellness and stress-relief to patients, doctors, and those who have to wait in the waiting room! It's really intriguing, and it's another way I can make someone's day. They also have started working with <a href="http://some.org/" target="_blank">SOME (So Others Might Eat)</a>, which has put a notion in my head that maybe we could also organize to work with <a href="https://miriamskitchen.org/" target="_blank">Miriam's Kitchen</a>, where I also volunteer. They already have art therapy / Miriam's craft studio, and they have knitting notions, so it would be good for a group to go in and help teach! I've contacted the group to see when I can do a volunteer training and what sort of samples they need knit up. They do have a training on February 22, but that's a Monday, and the training is over in Falls Church or something, so I'm checking to see if they have anything more local for me. I'll report back when I hear a response!<br />
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Onto project news - I made a double knit dishcloth! Check it out!<br />
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It wasn't meant to be a face, but I was just playing with switching colors, and that's how it ended up! I'm really impressed with it, plus look how cool it is - reverse images! wooo! I used this <a href="https://youtu.be/bZg4DckTMxc" target="_blank">tutorial</a> from Very Pink Knits to learn how to do double knitting.<br />
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I then got frustrated with the speed of the knitting and the yarn getting all tangled in my hands, so I decided to learn how to knit continental style, so I could hold the yarn with both hands. I mostly used <a href="https://youtu.be/XuRLFl36tDY" target="_blank">this video </a>from Craft Sanity to learn how to knit continental. End result? See below for my hands knitting both English and continental! And no, I'm not slowing down to demonstrate, I really do knit that slow. This is why I need to do more knitting - practice means I'll get faster!! My tension is also waaay different in Continental. Super loose.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Purling in Continental</span><br />
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Apparently now YouTube does moving previews to the next video? Instead of still images? That's not distracting at all!<br />
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Have a wonderful week - I'll leave you with this:<br />
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-5386107138070556812016-01-22T17:03:00.000-05:002016-01-22T17:03:14.077-05:00Get out your old Weezer albums!Greetings at the start of Winter Storm "My Name Is" Jonas! It's blustery outside, and the city has decided to shut down. What does that mean? Well, it means I got to leave the office at 2pm today! YAYYYYYY!<br />
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<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/excited-stephen-colbert-the-report-g50nWTqSaXbby">via GIPHY</a><br />
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I decided to spend my newfound free time providing a quick update on the blog, since I missed this past weekend. I had a very good reason for missing this weekend - tasty homemade dinner with some friends, and then a rousing game of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic_(board_game)" target="_blank">PANDEMIC</a>. It's a game where the whole point is to work together to save the world! HOW AWESOME IS THAT? We unfortunately didn't succeed, but next time... we got this.<br />
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In actual knitting news, the hat has been mailed to my dad, so here's hoping he receives it soon! I lost the receipt, so I hope it doesn't get lost in the mail!<br />
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I went to <a href="http://www.fibrespace.com/" target="_blank">Fibre Space</a> in Alexandria last week as well, because they said they had Sweet Georgia yarn. Lo and behold, they did! And I bought a lot:<br />
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Well I mostly just bought a lot per my usual standard. This is for my mom's shawl, and since I'm not sure what exactly I am making yet, I decided to err on the side of caution. And it's pretty, so I'll find other uses for whatever is leftover. And yes, I did wind that one cake with the winder dad made me. Worked just as well the second time!</div>
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I enjoyed walking through Fibre Space. It's much roomier than <a href="http://www.loopedyarnworks.com/" target="_blank">Looped Yarn Works</a> (but LYW is in Dupont and an old townhome and has the same amount of variety, so you can't really fault the size). I looked at the samples they had there, looked at the difference between fingering and lace, and decided to stick with fingering. I may end up selecting a lace weight pattern, but I wanted to knit something a little bit heavier. I hope she likes the color... she wanted more of a navy, but I didn't see anything I liked, so I went with a more modern blue-grey. But the yarn is super smooshy and I love it!</div>
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I also have decided I want to learn how to knit Continental, because I am working on a double knit dishcloth, and it is taking FOREVER. It takes almost 10 minutes to do one row! And it's only 60 stitches! So I'm hoping learning Continental will help the speed factor. Maybe it will also just help the general gracefulness of my left hand. It's pretty clunky.</div>
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Alright, I think today is a short post. Will write more later, as I am snowed in this weekend. </div>
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Jyoti</div>
JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-9734374841777852112016-01-10T19:53:00.000-05:002016-01-10T19:53:03.739-05:00Hat's Off!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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Hello Friends! I'm punny! haha. Yup, the hat is off the needles, yayyy! I finished knitting my <a href="http://tincanknits.com/pattern-TCK-gather.html" target="_blank">Gather</a> hat, and all I have left to do is weave in the cast-on end and block it! Like I said previously, the pattern was simple, I did have some recalculation to do since my dad's head is so big, but nothing basic hat-making couldn't solve! I used <a href="http://www.dreamincoloryarn.com/yarn/worsted/classy/" target="_blank">Dream in Color Classy</a> yarn, and my fingers turned slightly green while I was knitting, so I'm going to rinse and block it to get rid of any bleed. Check out some photos below! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THUG LIFE</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It even looks good inside out!</td></tr>
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<br />On another note, I said it once already, but I need to switch my blogging platform. I don't know if it's user error, but it took me WAY too long to get those photos in. I was trying to get them all in one row, but it won't let me. If it do it, each photo becomes the other's caption and they can't move independently. ARGH.<div>
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In other news, my sister gave me a <a href="http://www.michaels.com/star-wars-crochet/10415718.html" target="_blank">Star Wars crochet kit</a>. I don't really crochet that much, but it looks like a lot of fun, and you make a really cute tiny Yoda and Stormtrooper! My first goal right now is to get my mom's shawl started. I stopped by my LYS recently to touch yarn, I found a few that are nice, including <a href="https://www.dragonflyfibers.com/" target="_blank">Dragonfly Fibers </a>and <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/KnittedWit?ref=em" target="_blank">Knitted Wit</a>. There's also the ever-nice <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/WanderingWool?ref=shopsection_shophome_leftnav" target="_blank">Wandering Wool, Udaipur Fingering. </a> I may also go to the yarn store in Alexandria one day. They have <a href="http://sweetfiberyarns.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Fiber yarn</a>, and that seems very very nice! I read about it somewhere recently.... can't remember where, sorry.</div>
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Non-knitting things:</div>
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P90X is mostly halted, as rock climbing has started again! woo hoo! We're pitiful! Yay! Haha. We are back struggling on 5.7/5.8's. It's hilarious. Part of it is exhaustion, part of it is we have weak-sauce muscles, and part of it is we have forgotten how to climb! wooo! Also, I have toes. Toes HURT when you put them in tiny shoes and step on your tip-toes on tiny holds! ouch. It's a pain that is terrible. One amusing anecdote. There was a 12-yr old (maybe, i have no idea) girl who we were chatting with, and she ended her statement with "I love it [climbing], but I hate it too!" And I realized I can never escape Tony Horton. Sigh.</div>
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I think that concludes today's blog post. I was thinking about updating my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/jyopatknots" target="_blank">Ravelry profile</a> and get some of my new Knit Picks yarns in there!</div>
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Have a great week!</div>
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-58035369751641199572016-01-03T21:33:00.000-05:002016-01-03T21:33:12.473-05:00Happy New Year!Hello Friends!<br />
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Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season with friends, family and tasty tasty noms! Just wanted to send a quick update for now, but my New Year's Resolution is at least 2 posts a month! Let's hope it happens this time! Sigh. There needs to be some sort of repercussion if I don't actually do it, but I'm not sure where that would actually come from. Or maybe I only get to bake chocolate chip cookies if I actually do my two posts. We'll see!<br />
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Speaking of baking, I baked an apple crumble for our New Year's Eve party! I got the book <u>How to Cook Everything</u> by Mark Bittman and used the recipes in there. It's a great book, I am so excited about it! We also made the quick-cook bok choy on another day - FANTASTIC.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yea1pRR3pD0/VonVQ1EFB-I/AAAAAAAADG4/0ZemBPkTrp4/s1600/20151231_191223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yea1pRR3pD0/VonVQ1EFB-I/AAAAAAAADG4/0ZemBPkTrp4/s320/20151231_191223.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was our appetizer spread, with hand-tagged cheeses</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple crumble/streusel tastiness!</td></tr>
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<br />Over the holiday, I went home to H-town. I was attempting to knit a hat for my dad for Christmas. However, as I had the sneaky suspicion his head is way bigger than mine, I had only completed the brim by the time I got home. Which was lucky, because his head is a full 1.5" bigger in circumference than mine! As you can imagine, in a 4-day trip with lots of time out of the house with friends and beer, I didn't quite finish the hat. It currently looks like this:<div>
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It is <a href="http://tincanknits.com/pattern-TCK-gather.html" target="_blank">Tin Can Knits Gather hat,</a> which they had offered for free over their "12 Days of Christmas" giveaway! This pattern is well-written and easy to follow, plus it doesn't require so much focus that I can't watch the X-files while knitting it! Success!</div>
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Another awesome thing about going home - there's a garage, with tools. AND an old man who likes tinkering around with said tools. Meet my new yarn swift:</div>
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The yarn swift is made out of 1/2" PVC pipe (left over from my sister's project), 2x4 lumber (from somewhere in the garage), a fan motor that my dad had at his old deli, carriage bolts as pegs, with wingnuts for securing in place. The arms can be taken off and stored separately from the box below. All we spent was $7 for the new bolts and nuts. It's pretty sweet. Runs really smooth and gives my boyfriend a reprieve from holding the yarn while I wind.</div>
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Alright, that's all for my quick update. Next time, I hope to have some swatches completed for another project!</div>
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-35812527034445808692015-12-19T13:52:00.003-05:002015-12-19T13:52:48.732-05:00Update!Sorry, sorry, the holidays got away from me! Thanks for sticking around! Apparently my blog got 17 views on December 12! 17! That's so many! I shall reward you with this amazing color wheel of mine:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0HDdO3Tkfbw/VnWl2_PatBI/AAAAAAAAC60/_YP5d5wiUeQ/s1600/Color%2BWheel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0HDdO3Tkfbw/VnWl2_PatBI/AAAAAAAAC60/_YP5d5wiUeQ/s320/Color%2BWheel.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had to add in the yellow hat or I would have nothing in yellow!!</td></tr>
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Oh yeah, did I mention, I finished my yellow hat! Check it out!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2-RVkw6PeBM/VnWmW5g6vuI/AAAAAAAAC78/kXEa8w9OpzE/s1600/IMG_20151122_233420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2-RVkw6PeBM/VnWmW5g6vuI/AAAAAAAAC78/kXEa8w9OpzE/s320/IMG_20151122_233420.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself!</td></tr>
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I did have to do some modifying after this (I got too excited and stopped too early!), but now, I have a lovely yellow hat to wear! Maybe, one day it will get cold enough to do so. For those in the northeast, it is definitely not cold enough to be almost Christmas.<br />
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This is quick post, just to show I still exist, and I'm <i>trying</i> to make this blog thing work. I will leave you with a monochromatic gradient of yarns. I was having way too much fun this morning.<br />
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Have a great day!JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-36693494322970455402015-11-19T22:22:00.006-05:002015-11-19T22:23:53.210-05:00Golden Woods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello friends! (this probably will be centered again. Blogger is terrible)</div>
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We spent the weekend in Jim Thorpe, and we discovered that there are a lot of yarn shops within 45mins of town! There is also one lovely shop in town, called Hooked on Yarn, and the owner, Diane, is a fantastic lady. I didn't buy any yarn, but we talked to her about her life, Jim Thorpe, and our lives for almost an hour! It was the best way to spend time in a small town, just hanging with the locals. I also loved the weekend because we didn't really have anything planned. We knew we wanted to go to the yarn store, go hiking, eat a nice meal, that was it. We did all of those things, and the next day went to a couple of wineries! Wineries! In Pennsylvania! Who'd a thunk it? We went to <a href="http://www.mountainviewvineyard.com/" target="_blank">Mountain View Winery</a> (amazing logo, right?) and <a href="http://www.cherryvalleyvineyards.com/" target="_blank">Sorrenti</a>. Mountain View was better. They exaplined their wines, had a distillery "tour" - it was mostly the owner standing in front of the still and explaining how to make moonshine - and they make tasty chocolate truffles imbued with one of their dessert wines! It was great. </div>
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I also made a lot of progress on my yellow hat. I do knit slower than I thought I did, though. I've finished the brim and 1.5 repeats of the pattern. It's taken me quite some time to do just this little amount! I'm still worried about how much yarn I have though. I hope I have enough to finish! If not, I'm making a trip to Purl Soho this Thanksgiving to get some more! It might not match, but I may just have to make it a completely different color!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQuz4-K0t8E/Vk6MkuTYgaI/AAAAAAAAC2U/-qxvPtq3Dfs/s1600/20151119_215607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQuz4-K0t8E/Vk6MkuTYgaI/AAAAAAAAC2U/-qxvPtq3Dfs/s320/20151119_215607.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cascading leaves pattern. The pattern repeats three times around the hat.</td></tr>
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So what else is happening? I mentioned a few project ideas last week. Let's talk about number 4: <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"> "Unknown custom pattern for mom, in Unknown yarn, in either dark blue or wine color". My momma is hitting a big milestone in her life in April - she's turning 70! She has asked me a couple of times to knit her something, and I just haven't. I started on some <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/jw3qz" target="_blank">socks</a>, but they failed and stressed me out, so those got frogged. Last time she was in town, I showed her my shawls, and she requested one, in either dark blue or dark red/wine. I've decided to make this happen. However, it can't just be any pattern. It must be large enough to wrap, and have nice decorative elements - some lacework, and some stockinette or garter stitch. I found this <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pretty-as-a-peacock-shawl" target="_blank">peacock shawl</a>, which is gorgeous, and mom does love peacocks, but I want to do some more research before I buy a pattern, especially a $10 pattern! It does deserve the $10 though. Also, based on how slow I'm going on this hat, I may need a long long time to make it!!! I don't want to try something super crazy and only have 6" ready for the birthday!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">As for yarn, I really need to start researching some yarn. Knitpicks is having their sale now, but all of the yarn I've bought from them I've been rather "meh" about. I like the yarn, but I don't think the colors are as vivid as I would like them to be. I will probably buy some of their yarn to try some more socks and maybe bulkier hats. <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/WanderingWool" target="_blank">Wandering Wool</a> always has lovely yarns, and I've never knit with <a href="http://madelinetosh.com/" target="_blank">Madeline Tosh</a> but EVERYONE loves it. I'll take a look at the stores, see what I can find. I need to purchase by EOY I think.</span></div>
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I leave you with this lovely remixed Mr Rogers. It's all about learning who you are and feeling good about what you are doing. It's also a nice tune.</div>
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<br />JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-86815051631818218652015-11-09T22:54:00.001-05:002015-11-09T22:54:26.650-05:00Hat UpdateIt's going to take me a while to be consistent with this "blogging" thing again, but I've got to start somewhere!<br />
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Hat Update:<br />
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Look! The brim of a hat! Unjoined, but will be joined in the next round! Woo!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BiAVg4iZ44k/VkFasy8G2TI/AAAAAAAACpc/iPR6t7S4XPY/s1600/20151109_213937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BiAVg4iZ44k/VkFasy8G2TI/AAAAAAAACpc/iPR6t7S4XPY/s320/20151109_213937.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ignore potato quality yellow light. It gets dark here early!</td></tr>
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<br />But let's start at the beginning, shall we? In our last episode, I was deciding between NINE (9) different stitch patterns for my hat. I ended up selecting this one, called Cascading Leaves:<div>
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It knits up very nicely. How do I know this? Well, I knit a swatch! I knit it in the "round", with a 24 stitch cast on. The cast on itself was different for me, as it was a tubular cast on. I followed <a href="http://ysolda.com/tutorial/tubular-cast-on/" target="_blank">this </a>video by Ysolda Teague. Once you get the hang of it, it's very rhythmic. However, if you stop paying attention, you start getting the knits and purls confused!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front of swatch</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back of swatch</td></tr>
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As you can see, I didn't do a full swatch in the round, I did one row, then loosely held the yarn and went to the next row. However, I didn't cut the back to lay it flat. I'm concerned about how much yarn I have, since this is only 160yds total, and I don't yet understand how much yarn is used up by each type of stitch. I then pinned out my swatch, loosely, to see what measurements I got. Turns out my pattern width is approximately 3". </div>
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Based on that 3" measurement (which is 14 stitches), my cast on for the full brim of my hat is 96 stitches! I cast on the first three rows using the instructions from the tubular video on size 8 straight needles. The next row, I put the knitting onto the size 7 circulars on a 20" cable, and I re-organized the stitches into a k2, p2 pattern. My next row, I will join the brim in the round and begin the real knitting in earnest! I'm excited! :)</div>
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Other Knit Items:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even modular men need mittens!</td></tr>
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I wanted to do a quick knit, so I made some tiny mittens. I'm thinking they may be cute gift tags, ornaments or keychains to give as gifts! If I make them smaller, they could totally be earrings! <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/7tltv" target="_blank">Rav link here</a>.</div>
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Future Projects:</div>
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I'm heading to Vegas for a week-long conference, right after Thanksgiving (Oh, and I'm also going to be in a car for at least 8 hrs driving on the way to Thanksgiving), and I'm optimistic this hat will be done or almost done before then. I've started thinking about other projects I want to do, that I could work on in all of this travel time. Below is a quick list, that I will extrapolate on in another post.</div>
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1) <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tutu-4" target="_blank">Tutu,</a> in KnitPicks Duchess Heather</div>
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2) <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/kai-mei" target="_blank">Kai Mei by Cookie A</a>, in Copper Corgi Midnight</div>
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3) Unknown custom pattern for me, in <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/5z0ec" target="_blank">Wandering Wool, Udaipur Fingering, Cranberry Bog</a></div>
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4) Unknown custom pattern for mom, in Unknown yarn, in either dark blue or wine color</div>
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Other News:</div>
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I'm doing pretty well on my P90x endeavors (I say this as I skipped today, and only did Ab RipperX yesterday). I'm impressed that I've kept up with it, and I actually enjoy parts of it. Enjoy it enough to WANT to do it! It's so weird, especially for my lazy, slow-moving butt. ha!</div>
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I've started reading a book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Element-Finding-Passion-Everything/dp/0143116738" target="_blank">The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything</a>. I struggle a lot with enjoying what I do for a living. I don't have many goals, never really had many in life, other than to be happy and comfortable. I'm understanding that <i>may </i>not have been the best of goals, and now I am starting to look into what do I really enjoy, enough to make a career out of it. I know I have many interests, and many places I would rather be than at work, I just need to prioritize and figure out which of my many interests I could pursue more. It's rather confusing, as I've never really been one for solving problems. I'm good at pointing them out, but solving them, that's a whole other story! I can definitely talk to other people when they have concerns. It's much easier to work out a solution when it's not your own! There are too many thoughts in my brain, so making sense of them really does take quite a bit of effort! I think I'm going to spend some time with that book now, before I head to bed.</div>
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Thanks for reading!</div>
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-48470844827575840632015-10-25T21:44:00.002-04:002015-10-25T21:45:02.491-04:00Long Time No SeeHullo Friends!<br />
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It's been ages. Brief summary of my life over the last almost two years: got my license, moved my apartment, changed my job AGAIN, traveled to amazing countries and parts of the US, bought lots of pretty yarn. I have updated my yarn stash on ravelry (rav id: jyopatknots) with all of my yarns and which city they are a souvenir from. I haven't actually knitted that much though. I knit Jo Jo Bear a smoking jacket made from <a href="http://blog.tincanknits.com/2013/12/24/lets-knit-a-cardigan/" target="_blank">Tin Can Knits</a> tutorial:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't he look stylish? He has a bit of a fascination with the 10th Doctor, too.</td></tr>
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I also made myself a couple of shawls, <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/uoszi" target="_blank">Glitz at the Ritz</a>, and <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/jlw5z" target="_blank">Nurmilintu</a>. I have no idea where the photos went for Glitz at the Ritz. I'll need to fix that.</div>
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Now I want to use up some of this yarn I've bought! I bought some nice yellow worsted from Purl Soho, which I have decided to turn into a hat. I am making my own pattern, and I've also never made a hat, so we'll see how this goes! I am following the basic directions from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1580178340/yarnharlot-20" target="_blank">Knitting Rules!</a> by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (also, that reminds me, I won some yarn through Karmic Rebalancing! It was very exciting! and it's a beautiful silk blend yarn). I will have approximately 2" of ribbed brim, and then one of these NINE (9, count 'em) patterns I haven't decided which one yet, or if I'll only use one, or anything. I just have a thought to maybe take some of the ribbing up all the way to the crown, to separate the cable or lace pattern I end up using. Hmm. Anyway, see below for stitches that are interesting me today, sideways and all (all of them come from <a href="http://www.biblio.com/book/harmony-guide-knitting-techniques-stitches-debra/d/653309290?aid=frg&utm_source=google&utm_medium=product&utm_campaign=feed-details&gclid=Cj0KEQjw-7GxBRCL_Kq6mZSHvdsBEiQA7r8VhD077a9mgU_TJtfJcXVR4tIw-Pt0Ss__s8oUDd_6frYaAjHQ8P8HAQ" target="_blank">The Harmony Guide to Knitting</a>, a book I purchased at Half Price Books in Sugar Land.)</div>
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Based on how incredibly difficult it was for me to upload those photos, and I can't rotate them, I may be looking for a new blog host here shortly. this is such a antiquated program!</div>
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Anyway, off to swatch! Hopefully I'll have progress once a week on this blog as well! :)</div>
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-28655097098953367922014-04-13T17:00:00.003-04:002014-04-13T17:00:43.471-04:00So it's been awhile...Hi folks! Just wanted to write a short update since my last one in, uh, February...eep.<br />
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Well, I took an exam (PASS!), quit my job and started a new one, and knit one whole thing! Check it out:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GdHnLjLX7B4/U0r5Ioh4AcI/AAAAAAAABh4/KV3-G4w8SWU/s1600/market+bag+finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GdHnLjLX7B4/U0r5Ioh4AcI/AAAAAAAABh4/KV3-G4w8SWU/s1600/market+bag+finish.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bulbous!</td></tr>
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Woo hoo! I finished my <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/yxwdc" target="_blank">market bag</a>! It took me way longer than it should have, but I managed to do most of it on the plane between here and Puerto Rico and back. Oh, did I mention I went to Puerto Rico too? yup, it was beautiful. Pretty flowers, but I was expecting less fried food. The beach was gorgeous tho, for sure! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">oooo, so pretty! Forest right until the beach!</td></tr>
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<br />Other than that, <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/jw3qz" target="_blank">mom's socks </a>are hibernating. Turning the heel confused me too much, so I think I might just make her some normal ones with fun color-changing yarn or something. <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/4sdyp" target="_blank">Boneyard shawl</a> is also hibernating. I just got really bored with all of that stockinette stitch. Especially because i don't know if I would ever wear something like that anyway. I hope when I actually work on a sweater or something I don't get bored!!! There are way more stitches on those!! <div>
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Alright, spring has sprung in DC, and I'm off to enjoy more beautiful weather. Have a nice day!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-60227048246790624842014-02-24T19:54:00.001-05:002014-02-24T19:54:18.890-05:00So about that "posting" thingSorry folks, too much studying to do. Also, finishing old job, lots to close out, it's very stressful!<br />
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Will post next week for sure! I take my test on Tuesday!! :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tV_ZZAnW2PQ/Uwvpd1904AI/AAAAAAAABBA/ZFotj4589ro/s1600/dinosaur+sweater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tV_ZZAnW2PQ/Uwvpd1904AI/AAAAAAAABBA/ZFotj4589ro/s1600/dinosaur+sweater.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I leave you with a tiny dinosaur in a tiny hand knit sweater. Doesn't he look warm? :)</td></tr>
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<br />JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-84190507326307431132014-01-20T20:53:00.000-05:002014-01-20T20:53:27.449-05:00WHAT HAVE I DONE?I have decided to finish ALL of my exams this year. This is after multiple years of saying I'm not going to do them and fighting their existence (I was having an existential crisis, what can I say?). I am going to take 5 exams this year. 5. And I've already taken the one easy one, so I don't even get a break. I feel my knitting will suffer, but I owe my mom and pair of socks, a small baby a bib, and myself something awesome. Also, I really want to finish something for the KAL. Because I signed up. So I should do it. On that note, behold, the beginning of a project:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ohTFpQ9Fzhg/Ut3RMiai6AI/AAAAAAAABAM/m4XKZshkjtY/s1600/lazy+lace+start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ohTFpQ9Fzhg/Ut3RMiai6AI/AAAAAAAABAM/m4XKZshkjtY/s1600/lazy+lace+start.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's a sock started there, I promise.</td></tr>
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I have started the <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/jw3qz" target="_blank">Lazy Lace Socks</a> for my mom. Stompy has taken a keen interest. Actually, I stopped where I did because my fingers started tingling. It was very upsetting! hopefully I can knit a row here or there during study breaks or something. This is the project I want to finish for the KAL. This also means I will finish it probably right around when I take my first exam - I am planning to take that by March 6. I'm going to Puerto Rico on March 7 or 8! Yayy destination weddings! Vacations in pretty places woo woo! <br />
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Alright, this was my study break, just a quick hello and project update. The boneyard shawl is getting bigger slowly. Maybe that can be study knitting since it's so boring? but that's after I finish taking notes while reading. I need to invest in a desk lamp and a task chair.<br />
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Goodnite!JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-4321503121005300152014-01-14T21:18:00.001-05:002014-01-14T21:18:27.946-05:00Haha, so much for MondaysWhoops, missed my Monday post - but there was foodstuffs to be made! nom nom fajitas! :)<br />
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Other than that, I had started an awesome post about redlining my knitting, but unfortunately I haven't finished it, and I have a lot to do, so I won't be able to post it tonite. I'm also really tired for some reason.<br />
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Here's status updates about what I have on my needles (there are only two):<br />
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1) <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/4sdyp" target="_blank">Boneyard shawl</a> - I finished the first skein, and am now working on the second. oof, this takes a long time! I'm thinking maybe I'll add some sort of pattern during one of the repeats to spice it up. I'm getting bored. Plus, alpaca might be too itchy for me... oops. The colors are at least super pretty! I really like the deep blue on here. I think I may overdye that <a href="http://jyopatknots.blogspot.com/2013/10/ah-sorry-sorry.html" target="_blank">other knitpicks yarn</a> I got with blue and see what happens. I really like blue right now. (wait, I just realize I was at 50%! woo hoo! yea, I'm slow...)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HUCPjvO_ims/UtXvD7fzSSI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/BSdrVX7atEQ/s1600/boneyard+50%25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HUCPjvO_ims/UtXvD7fzSSI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/BSdrVX7atEQ/s1600/boneyard+50%25.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using an actual scaling device for scale - no bananas here!</td></tr>
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2) <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/bjsh8" target="_blank">Bike helmet earwarmers </a>- hey look, buttons! yayyy! makes them look like anteaters or elephants or something else cute. :) I'm going to make the button loop tonite and give them back this week. Yay! One 2013 WIP complete! :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fry0sEFwOQs/UtXvDxgCauI/AAAAAAAAA_U/0oDYrEQWiCM/s1600/bike+earwarmers+buttons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fry0sEFwOQs/UtXvDxgCauI/AAAAAAAAA_U/0oDYrEQWiCM/s1600/bike+earwarmers+buttons.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">look like aliens... do do do do do dooooooooo ("x-files")</td></tr>
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I hope to start my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lazy-lace-socks" target="_blank">mom's socks</a> this weekend. I officially joined the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/mysistersknitter-kal-cal" target="_blank">My Sister's Knitter KAL</a>, so I want to finish at least those! (I'll be really off my new year's goals if that's all I finish by then, though. So I probably should have at least two done by March 15!)<br />
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Have a nice night!<br />
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<br />JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-81507357319652757642014-01-06T21:26:00.001-05:002014-01-06T22:28:09.940-05:00The New Year PostIt's that time of year everybody - when we review what we've done and make goals to do it better this time! I'm not going to lie, keeping goals is really hard for me, because I don't actually make them. If I do, I don't remember them. Whoops. I wonder if I can add a gadget to this blog to keep track of my knitting goals on the side of the page? I'll have to research.<br />
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Anyway, back to my review. What did I knit in 2013?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IgIKSND1itA/Ustj4w0xBwI/AAAAAAAAA-8/9EFILzfhHi8/s1600/2013-wrap-up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IgIKSND1itA/Ustj4w0xBwI/AAAAAAAAA-8/9EFILzfhHi8/s1600/2013-wrap-up.jpg" height="306" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left to right: <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/3mnr2" target="_blank">Easy Leaves Scarf,</a> <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/zp40a" target="_blank">Morning Walk Headwarmer,</a> <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/r2jv5" target="_blank">Purple Socks</a>, <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/ua9t8" target="_blank">Mile-a-Minute Scarf</a>, <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/j5cdb" target="_blank">Christmas Tree Pin</a>, <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/bjsh8" target="_blank">Bike Helmet Ear Warmers</a>, <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/38hhj" target="_blank">Simplicity Cowl</a>, <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/47cp0" target="_blank">Fingerless Mitts</a>, and <a href="http://ravel.me/jyopatknots/j5cdb" target="_blank">Christmas Tree Ornament</a> (currently Flava-Fox's bling - yes, still working on a name for him!)</td></tr>
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Oof, that is a tiny amount of things. Also, most of them are tiny! So my goal next year: KNIT MORE. Yea, like I said, not a goal setter. Well, let me take a cue from Nerd Fitness on <a href="http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/01/03/how-to-not-suck-at-goal-setting/" target="_blank">goal setting</a>: I would like to knit one more project than I knit this year, but more involved/complicated. So, 10 larger projects. Here are the for sure objects I would like to knit:<br />
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<li>A sweater</li>
<li>A large, lacy shawl - because who doesn't need something awesome at work to cut the dreariness?</li>
<li>A pair of socks - and not just the ones I didn't make my mom for Christmas</li>
<li>A market bag - I bought cotton yarn, needs to be used up</li>
<li>Hat(s) for charity - because I don't really wear toques myself</li>
<li>Another object where the pattern is my own (intentional - not like the socks). Not sure what this is yet, but it'll happen. </li>
<li>An object where the yarn is dyed by me. Maybe that Bermuda color scheme will be my large lacy shawl?</li>
<li>Other amazing objects. Probably gifts, because I just realized everything up there is for me! Oops. Selfish knitter here! haha.</li>
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Now, I realize these goals are pretty big. The sweater will probably take me all year. So will the shawl. But, I would like some wearable objects that make people go, "WOAH you made that?" Plus, who knows, maybe it could lead to something bigger and brighter. To keep me on my toes, I've decided to join the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/mysistersknitter-kal-cal" target="_blank">My Sister's Knitter KAL</a>. A "KAL" is a knit-a-long, where you knit along with others - and post onto the Ravelry forum as you finish. Sometimes you knit the same thing as everyone else, and sometimes, like this one, you make personal knitting goals and try to meet them while cheering on everyone else's personal knitting goals. The forum explains it better than I do. Anyway, if you haven't checked out <a href="http://mysistersknitter.typepad.com/my-blog/" target="_blank">My Sister's Knitter,</a> it's a great blog, with great knitting ideas, tasty looking tea, and lovely photographs! The author seems very sweet too. I think you should check it out! I've added it to my sidebar too. Plus, another thing I've liked about the blog, is she is constantly recommending other fun blogs to read - I get very distracted!! :)</div>
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But back on topic - I have other goals for this year:</div>
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<li>Try to update this blog at least once a week. I was really bad at this for these first few months. But I realize, no one's going to read a blog if you post every two weeks. No one's even going to remember you have a blog! I'll set a schedule for every Monday (I'm always pooped on Sunday from climbing, then groceries, then the weekend), then hopefully add Thursday - the rest of my week I'm not home at a computer!</li>
<li>Get my sleep schedule into some schedule format. It's hard when some nights you don't get home til 11:30, but maybe those nights I just need to hit the shower then head straight to bed! Trust me, that's harder than it seems - even tho I've been climbing and chatting for the evening, I need to sit and wind down and do nothing for a while before I go to bed. Doesn't matter how tired I am on the train - I get home, and I stay awake. I'm not going to aim high, but at least be in bed by 12:30, if not earlier. On non-climbing days, aim for 12:00. I think trying for 11:30 may confuse me too much. Move the times earlier if it works.</li>
<li>Update the blog format. By February, I need a nicer format. Although I love the bright green of Iceland and my sheep friend, it's not a pretty background. I need to clean it up. See what it looks like on other machines too.</li>
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OK - My goals seem huge. I hope they don't overwhelm me. They might, because these are only my knitting goals. My life goals are pretty time-consuming as well. Seriously, if I didn't have to work, I would have so much time! Geez. BF needs to make more money! :) hee hee, just kidding (kind of).</div>
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What are your goals? Are they specific? Will you keep them? DUN DUN DUN.</div>
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Have a great 2014! See you next Monday!</div>
JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-35555778888505921142014-01-02T22:06:00.002-05:002014-01-02T22:06:54.787-05:00The Christmas AftermathI hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas full of family and friends! I just got back from my vacation home, and I had a great time! The gifts I gave were well received, those bought, those computer designed, and those knitted! However, I need to work on my graphics for my knitting! It wasn't clear enough that the card came with the gift, and that it indicated a hand-knit. I've brought home some light cotton/linen cloth to try and make actual tags for my knits, I'll have to see what I can come up with!<br />
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The rest of my time at home was fabulous - I got to hang out with my good friends, try out a bunch of new bars, and eat some tasty home-cooked meals! I also got to try my hand (again) at screen printing. We did the easy way this time - no burning the image onto the screen, just using plastic sheet stencils. Check out my bibs!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Z-vORwOTu8/UsYjiW-B-gI/AAAAAAAAA8E/f9e9p58V-3E/s1600/butterfly+print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Z-vORwOTu8/UsYjiW-B-gI/AAAAAAAAA8E/f9e9p58V-3E/s1600/butterfly+print.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterflies!</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8InuvzXBkXA/UsYjiqwBHkI/AAAAAAAAA8M/32c841__p5U/s1600/flower+print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8InuvzXBkXA/UsYjiqwBHkI/AAAAAAAAA8M/32c841__p5U/s1600/flower+print.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Flowers!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5XKjvnSLUs/UsYjkKdPTuI/AAAAAAAAA8o/0sQoAjosOwg/s1600/sofie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5XKjvnSLUs/UsYjkKdPTuI/AAAAAAAAA8o/0sQoAjosOwg/s1600/sofie.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My screen printing partner - not as useful as you would think!</td></tr>
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I need to work on my screen print photography - those are terrible, eep.<br />
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ALSO - I did, in fact, FINALLY finish the Simplicity Cowl! Drumroll please:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mus1AFTaUKM/UsYjjk6sHYI/AAAAAAAAA8g/JSEiJ2K5Ax0/s1600/simplicity+complete!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mus1AFTaUKM/UsYjjk6sHYI/AAAAAAAAA8g/JSEiJ2K5Ax0/s1600/simplicity+complete!.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TA-DA! Looks good, don't it?<br />
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Completed before I even made it home! OH YEAH. I think it looks pretty snazzy, here's hoping it gets good use! </div>
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The fingerless mitts however, were not completed without a mad knitting session at the airport, on the airplane, and at 11pm on Christmas Eve. But they were done before Christmas, and that's all that matters! I did not take a photo, however, because I am a genius. Oops. I'll have to ask the sister for that as well. She and her husband both liked them, I'll see what I can do for him. It'll probably be next Christmas. I'm not really what anyone would call, "Speedy".</div>
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In other hometown adventures, I took the parents to the Science Museum (since I bought them a membership last year and all). I think this is some amazing wayfinding signage:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-beDabtn-WTo/UsYjjbZActI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/FI_AA6yrQUc/s1600/mural-museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-beDabtn-WTo/UsYjjbZActI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/FI_AA6yrQUc/s1600/mural-museum.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's really well-balanced and instructional! You can see the passage of time and the variety of the species on the planet, and it's a pretty graphic! I love it!</td></tr>
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While at the museum, we saw some re-created panels from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux" target="_blank">Lascaux Cave</a>s:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VicF6HQfTpI/UsYmaWBAukI/AAAAAAAAA9A/aFYoHYwCQgQ/s1600/Lascaux.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VicF6HQfTpI/UsYmaWBAukI/AAAAAAAAA9A/aFYoHYwCQgQ/s1600/Lascaux.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="http://lascaux.fieldmuseum.org/explore/photo-galleries/gallery2" target="_blank">Panel of the Great Black Cow,</a> in the Nave of the caves</td></tr>
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The newly renovated Hall of Egyptology:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-shnmI2Zh7rk/UsYjiY1DaPI/AAAAAAAAA8I/_qd3bsW9GpY/s1600/coffin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-shnmI2Zh7rk/UsYjiY1DaPI/AAAAAAAAA8I/_qd3bsW9GpY/s1600/coffin.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This gave me some color ideas - should I ever start doing something colorful!</td></tr>
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And some gems. Lots and lots of shiny gems. It was a little overwhelming, those gems. I'm not as much of a fan as I feel I should be. Oh well. It was a good time anyway, and the parents got out of the house!</div>
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How was everyone else's Christmas? Any awesome adventures or gifts? Amazing food perhaps? hmmm, food..... :)</div>
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I'm going to coordinate my thoughts for my New Year's post and get that up as soon as possible. Until then, I leave you with Glitter Dancer and Friends:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GmbV71vIaFc/UsYjjHVfq-I/AAAAAAAAA80/nMFvN9tbo-8/s1600/glitter+dancer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GmbV71vIaFc/UsYjjHVfq-I/AAAAAAAAA80/nMFvN9tbo-8/s1600/glitter+dancer.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet Stompy the Parapalegic Trike, Glitter Dancer, and as-yet-unnamed Mr Fox. They only came together this year to form my supporting crew. :)</td></tr>
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Have a great night!</div>
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-90047586059156621002013-12-22T17:53:00.004-05:002013-12-22T17:53:36.034-05:00Eek! Almost Christmas!!I was just re-reading my last post...I had almost forgotten about the snow! This weekend it has been 70 degrees, because, you know, Christmas. It's been a little peculiar to say the least (plus very difficult trying to get dressed. T-shirt? Jacket? Shorts? WHAT DO I DOOOOO? Haha.)<br />
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In knitting news, I had a whole post written out last week in my notebook, talking about my progress on the fingerless mitts,</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yu8-F1Vg7k4/UrdnZMommyI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/yyPMkZQhP2M/s640/blogger-image--809278935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yu8-F1Vg7k4/UrdnZMommyI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/yyPMkZQhP2M/s320/blogger-image--809278935.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Took me 8 hours to get this far, while watching <a href="http://youtu.be/4Vr2sdru0w0" target="_blank">Good Eats</a>, Carl Sagan's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Personal_Voyage" target="_blank">Cosmos</a> (which I can no longer find), and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spearhead_from_Space" target="_blank">Doctor Who's Spearhead from Space</a>. Imagine what would happen if I just worked without distraction???</td></tr>
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The gifts I needed to finish,</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bike-helmet-ear-warmers" target="_blank">Bike Helmet Ear Warmers</a> for the BF</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/jyopatknots/oh-christmas-tree" target="_blank">Christmas tree pin </a>for a friend</td></tr>
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And some other random things, but look! They're all done now (and I totally forgot to post it. whomp whomp)! The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.294118);">bike helmet ear warmers were very well received, but we discussed adding a button to each to actually keep them in the correct location. They're a little dorky, but no dorkier than wearing a hat underneath your helmet (and way more comfy!). The Christmas tree pin will be given tomorrow, I think she'll totally dig it, but I'll let you know how it goes! I also made some cute tags/business cards for each gift, using the sheep photo from Iceland. It needs a little work, but a good start! I can't wait to make more! :-) </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">he <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/jyopatknots/mitt-envy" target="_blank">fingerless mitts</a> are still just "mitt", and remember that <a href="http://jyopatknots.blogspot.com/2013/10/ah-sorry-sorry.html" target="_blank">Simplicity Cowl</a>? Yea, still haven't seamed that up. At least I wove in the ends where I broke the yarn and had to do some joining. But not yet seamed. I didn't know about the <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/FEATfall05TT.html" target="_blank">provisional cast-on</a> when I started, so that cowl will definitely not be as cool as it should be. <i>Almost</i> totally awesome, but not quite.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">Alright, 2 more nights til I fly home, need to make my fingers fly through the yarn! Happy knitting! Have a great Christmas!</span></div>
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PS - haha, I was reading my posts from the beginning. I made absolutely NOTHING on my original Christmas gift list! They say if you post your goals, or at least announce them to others, you're more likely to stick to them.... bwahahahahaha. Not true. All lies. Hahaha. But everyone gets something anyway. Except for my mom. She gets a ball of yarn and a pattern. The she can tell me, "no, I don't like that, make me this instead". I feel that's a much more appropriate use of my knitting time (plus it's been very difficult thinking of something she'd really like.) Ok, off i go!</div>
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-36940417138383580172013-12-08T14:58:00.000-05:002013-12-08T14:58:09.842-05:00Update!Hey hey!<br />
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Looks my schedule is more like two weeks per post, but at least <a href="http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/04/14/do-something-do-anything/" target="_blank">I'm still on it</a>! AND - I have quite a few updates! YAY, go me!<br />
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First - it's quite the winter wonderland outside. Check out the view from my window:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jaRkSjBwViA/UqTKnOGRTEI/AAAAAAAAA54/CENuuir-fZ4/s1600/Ssnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jaRkSjBwViA/UqTKnOGRTEI/AAAAAAAAA54/CENuuir-fZ4/s1600/Ssnow.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not quite Snowmaggedon, but it's pretty!</td></tr>
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I don't think we've had real snow in a few years, so it's pretty nice. Although, I'm so wary about Metro that I'm not going climbing today, since they might shut down for no reason! Oh well. It's nice and warm in my apartment, so I'm cozy enough to do this:<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m_yyey1YH-4/UqTKn7aLUtI/AAAAAAAAA6A/X6_TbcMw7eQ/s1600/boneyard1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m_yyey1YH-4/UqTKn7aLUtI/AAAAAAAAA6A/X6_TbcMw7eQ/s1600/boneyard1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boneyard Shawl in KnitPicks Imagination Loch Ness</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-om8m5rZrjRk/UqTKnB_ZynI/AAAAAAAAA58/7IIlRR9oNW0/s1600/boneyard+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-om8m5rZrjRk/UqTKnB_ZynI/AAAAAAAAA58/7IIlRR9oNW0/s1600/boneyard+detail.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the pretty colors!</td></tr>
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I didn't think I'd be making a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/boneyard-shawl" target="_blank">Boneyard Shawl</a> with this yarn, but I wanted something relatively easy to work on, plus it's cold in my office so I need something to warm me up! It's knitting up pretty fast which is nice, and it's mindless knitting so I've been watching some random TV and documentaries as I knit.</div>
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I also started on this bib for my bf's niece. I started it in the car on the way to Thanksgiving, and realized I had cast on WAY too many stitches. It's big enough to be a bib for me! It's a picot cast-on with a traveling stitch made with a left twist. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Qi2WqhasBE/UqTKm9bpINI/AAAAAAAAA50/bQgHF_8iBJw/s1600/bib1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Qi2WqhasBE/UqTKm9bpINI/AAAAAAAAA50/bQgHF_8iBJw/s1600/bib1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's sort of on hold right now, as I try to finish this before Christmas:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FV2pDpzKQHQ/UqTM_6CpWwI/AAAAAAAAA6w/WUVy7oGQfcY/s1600/fingerless1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FV2pDpzKQHQ/UqTM_6CpWwI/AAAAAAAAA6w/WUVy7oGQfcY/s1600/fingerless1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see, I am oh-so-far on the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mitt-envy" target="_blank">Mitt Envy</a> fingerless gloves I've started. I hoping they don't take toooo long, or at least I can get one done before Christmas. If not, hey, I'll have a pair of fingerless gloves...in July. haha. This is yarn from <a href="http://www.catskill-merino.com/" target="_blank">Catskill Merino Sheep Farms</a>. I went to New York for Thanksgiving and stopped in their tent at Union Square and couldn't resist! It's variegated black/grey, but still so beautiful. And super soft!! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TCoAGxJAL-I/UqTKn_TQpUI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/5NTaiHdiIj0/s1600/catskill_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TCoAGxJAL-I/UqTKn_TQpUI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/5NTaiHdiIj0/s1600/catskill_blog.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm really bad at getting the right color in photos</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MTcQeOp3msw/UqTOj7ARWbI/AAAAAAAAA68/n62wh-kdadI/s1600/Catskill_booth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MTcQeOp3msw/UqTOj7ARWbI/AAAAAAAAA68/n62wh-kdadI/s1600/Catskill_booth.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the pretty!!!!</td></tr>
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That's all I've got for today. Happy Knitting!</div>
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-76799882334496236362013-11-24T19:22:00.002-05:002013-11-24T19:23:52.353-05:00My, it has been a whileSorry for the long span between posts, been a little busy with job things, then there was some camping,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gnfk6Po1Sw/UpKXkHqmPDI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/8635l1ztJEQ/s1600/tuckahoe+fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gnfk6Po1Sw/UpKXkHqmPDI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/8635l1ztJEQ/s1600/tuckahoe+fire.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The right honorable Earl Harold Higgenbottom the Tenth, Esquire.<br />
Tuckahoe, MD</td></tr>
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and then general laziness/ i'm going to play on the internet instead of write in a blog. Whoops.<br />
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Also, seeing as how I haven't done much knitting, it's a little silly to post in a knitting blog. I did make one thing, the "Mile-a-Minute" scarf, turned it into a cowl, and it took very little time. Now that it's super freezing outside, I might use it (although it's pretty open, so may only be helpful a few minutes at a time).</div>
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Other than that, I've been a little lazy with the knitting, altho I have tons of ideas in my head and want to make ALL THE THINGS!!! the problem is starting on anything. oof.</div>
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Alright, this is a pretty sad update, but it's all I have for now. I'll try to finish something over thanksgiving....</div>
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JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-78251106129275866672013-11-04T11:57:00.001-05:002013-11-04T11:57:28.168-05:00Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Batman!<br />
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That's all I have this week, no knitting updates, too many awesome Halloween adventures! </div>
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-J</div>
JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-71490477728267021702013-10-27T21:48:00.003-04:002013-10-27T21:49:44.130-04:00Ah, sorry sorry!Hey! Look, two weeks passed just like that...whooops.....alright, here's the quick download (of everything I've thought the past two weeks apparently)<br />
1) Simplicity Cowl almost complete! Length is finished and blocked, now I need to seam it together! FINALLY. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i33MNmGhW88/Um3BrCWEcfI/AAAAAAAAA4M/pEyjLWK8OGM/s1600/Simplicity+unseamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i33MNmGhW88/Um3BrCWEcfI/AAAAAAAAA4M/pEyjLWK8OGM/s1600/Simplicity+unseamed.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's pinned where the seam would be.</td></tr>
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2) Here's my new yarn from KnitPicks in all its yummy glory!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4gDyBYCiHZk/Um2-CxiMdKI/AAAAAAAAA3g/UzlQKv6RIk4/s1600/P1150959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4gDyBYCiHZk/Um2-CxiMdKI/AAAAAAAAA3g/UzlQKv6RIk4/s1600/P1150959.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dishie Multi in Wave - I've already made a few coasters for the bf's apartment. Also so I wouldn't have to watch <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119081/" target="_blank">Event Horizon</a> with no distractions. I need distractions during scary movies. Good, but confusing. It's on Netflix. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a1tLL_IRQHg/Um2-C3NQboI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/eN8e4PIbBwI/s1600/P1150961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a1tLL_IRQHg/Um2-C3NQboI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/eN8e4PIbBwI/s1600/P1150961.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imagination sock yarn, Enchanted Lake. I thought it would be a little more graceful, but it feels more childish than I care for. It's in my "will trade or sell" pile on Ravelry, unless I find something to use it for.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNGNqWbQPo8/Um2-C8YaqoI/AAAAAAAAA3c/5bjig9QnRbU/s1600/P1150963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNGNqWbQPo8/Um2-C8YaqoI/AAAAAAAAA3c/5bjig9QnRbU/s1600/P1150963.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imagination sock yarn, Loch Ness. I like these colors, mostly because I love the woods and the water. Not nearly as saturated as I thought it would be though. Quite lovely, might make a simple shawl from it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wE2Y03yvSYs/Um2-Emlh4QI/AAAAAAAAA3w/ze2LmV988fs/s1600/P1150967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wE2Y03yvSYs/Um2-Emlh4QI/AAAAAAAAA3w/ze2LmV988fs/s1600/P1150967.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full Circle Wool, colors Latte and Mocha. I'll probably make a scarf with these. Also, not as saturated as I anticipated. We'll see how they swatch up. </td></tr>
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3) I've been flipping though <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Treasury-Knitting-Patterns-Barbara-Walker/dp/0942018168" target="_blank">Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns</a>. And by "flipping through, " I mean looking at every pattern and putting a sticky note next to it so that I can use it somewhere. hah. It's an amazing book, apparently there are three of them??<br />
4) I'm in cast-on purgatory. I have Christmas presents to make, but I can't figure out which pattern I want, or which yarn to use, or even what kind of item I want to make (is it a cowl, a hat, an <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/owl-coffee-cup-cozie" target="_blank">owl mug cozy</a>?). I really want to do something fast, but my indecision is telling me that is a lie. Is this what they call "start-itis"? <br />
5) My birthday's coming up, yay! I'll be 30. With no idea what I want to do with my life. It's awesome. In a really not awesome sort of way. boo.<br />
6) Climbing buddy and I bouldered a V2 without completely tiring ourselves out, woo! Only took maybe 4-6 tries, I can't really remember. Who'd a'thunk it? We're getting better!<br />
7) Hallowe'en is this week! I'm gonna be Batman! And I'm climbing! My harness will be my bat utility belt. It'll be amazing, woo woo!<br />
8) Christmas show at the <a href="http://www.usbg.gov/" target="_blank">USBG</a> is coming up! OMG. It's already almost Christmas?!?!?!!<br />
9) I watched a movie with Leslie Nielsen that wasn't a comedy. I give you, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049223/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3" target="_blank">Forbidden Planet</a>. Pay no attention the cover, it has characters from the movie, but no actual scene like that occurs. I'm not sure if I would recommend this movie other than it's from the 50s and it's got some cute antiquated gender roles and thoughts on the future. Also, we have a lot of catching up to do in our colonization of the rest of the solar system. We're supposed have completely colonized the moon by 2015, if I remember correctly.<br />
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::takes a deep breath::<br />
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Alright, I've gotten some of the thoughts out of my head.<br />
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Have a good nite and great week!JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3103794643505818517.post-46980785515823651092013-10-14T22:11:00.000-04:002013-10-14T22:11:31.063-04:00A slow weekThis week was pretty slow with the knitting, but I did three fun things:<br />
1) Undid the bind-off on the Simplicity Cowl. It was actually easy. I used <a href="http://youtu.be/fBMb6h-4AmQ" target="_blank">this tutorial </a>. She made it really easy to understand, and even though I had a 'suspended' bind off, I still managed to understand I only interacted with the same stitches she was. I was very proud of myself, but no pictures, sorry. Maybe I'll do a tutorial just for that, but how do I get the camera to only look at my hands? Do I need a tripod?<br />
2) I bought new yarn. And LOTS of it! Lots for me, at least! I knew I was getting ready to cast-on for another project, so I went to my LYS, <a href="http://www.loopedyarnworks.com/" target="_blank">Looped Yarn Works</a>, and pet every yarn in sight! Haha. I forget how expensive yarn can be, and my naturally frugal (miserly? nah, I don't think I'm that bad, I have some shiny things) nature won over, so I bought <a href="http://www.berroco.com/yarns/berroco-ultra-alpaca-fine" target="_blank">Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine</a> in the Cobalt Mix colorway. Still not the cheapest, but isn't it so pretty?<br />
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And then, on Friday, this popped up on my Facebook:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">haha! Frugality FTW!</td></tr>
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ooooo, KnitPicks clearance?? I must investigate! And investigate I did. I ended up with several skeins of their Imagination hand-painted (socks for me and mom), two skeins of wool of the andes for the bf's scarf, and a couple of Bare skeins to try out some food color/kool-aid dyeing! I'm so excited to get them! I'll post more about them with photos when I receive!</div>
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I have never bought so much yarn, and it cost so little with the Knit Picks sale! I'm really excited to try new patterns and techniques, plus using new yarns and needles (I still haven't used my circulars)! Yay!</div>
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3) I was out in Pittsburgh this weekend for my bf's friend's wedding. It was so much fun, and the food was super delicious - the bride's dad is a chef! <a href="http://youtu.be/Cqz9ZXUoUcE" target="_blank">Omnomnomnom</a>. Not to mention, site-seeing in Pittsburgh involves seeing this:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks like Mr Rodgers trolley!</td></tr>
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and this:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GACGRD6tP8A/Ulyizwhp5lI/AAAAAAAAA24/X8JghvpLUgg/s1600/P1150852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GACGRD6tP8A/Ulyizwhp5lI/AAAAAAAAA24/X8JghvpLUgg/s1600/P1150852.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rubber duckie, you're the one...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CeS7twYYUY/UlyjQZIoP5I/AAAAAAAAA3I/cHwhNLNoSyc/s1600/P1150853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CeS7twYYUY/UlyjQZIoP5I/AAAAAAAAA3I/cHwhNLNoSyc/s1600/P1150853.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...plotting to take over the world! Muahahahaha! ::ahem:: 'scuse me.</td></tr>
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All-in-all, a super fantastic weekend! Unfortunately, it left very little time for knitting, and my cowl is still not finished. Time to get cracking, have a great week!</div>
<br />JyoPathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488238628720725905noreply@blogger.com0