One Crazy Fiber Lady » Knitting – Kids

That’s My Boy

Risa — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:27:26 +0000

Look who asked me for a refresher course in knitting on Sunday night…

He’s doing very well at it and has already managed to figure out how to increase stitches ! He managed to increase from 20 to 35 in two rows! After school yesterday, he sat with Mom to knit for a while. After dinner and homework, he got ready for bed and then we sat and knitted until bedtime. It was sweet. He’s picked it up rather well. He wants to make my mom a scarf for her birthday. No idea what year he’s targeting

Craft on!

Wednesday Words

Risa — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:44:30 +0000

I know it has been a long time since my last post. And no, my prolonged silence does not indicate that I’ve been job hunting again! I am quite happy at my new job. While I won’t go into all the reasons why I could be lured into interviewing by the recruiter in this very public of fora, if you should really want to know, email me or leave a comment. Suffice it to say, the things I didn’t like are no longer a problem. I hit the one month mark today. Yay! I’m still loving it.

However, the learning a new company and new gig has me somewhat, well quite exhausted by the end of the day. When the kids go to sleep, I’m ready to call it a day, which is why you haven’t seen a post from me in a bit. It also means that the development work that I had started on the iOS port of KnitCounter is once again on hold. I’m still plodding through the books, but not writing anything yet. Soon. Be patient grasshopper.

I am knitting though! And I have lots to show progress-wise since my last posting. Right before leaving the last job, I needed a bus project. Enter another pair of basic socks. This is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock that I got from Deb when we went to visit her towards the end of October.

I had even made some decent progress before ending that job. I vaguely recall finishing the first sock and then the knitting sat and sat in my bag untouched. I’ve been reading on the train/path (yes shorter commute!) and had other portable projects steal this one’s thunder.

Having finished the boy’s DriveThru, it was time to make the girl one. Since she kvetched that the last one made from 220 was itchy, it also meant a trip to the yarn store for something “softer” for my princess. She picked ack-rylic. Decent ack-rylic, but still ack-rylic all the same. It was Patons Canadiana at least, and not something terrible. Glad I took her to a real yarn store and not a big-box. Goodness only knows what she’d pick there! Anyway, here’s her finished DriveThru:

Drive Thru

Size: 10
Yarn: Patons Canadiana
Needles: US7 & 8
Started: November 12 2011
Completed: December 4 2011

The kid is happy. And mommy is happy that the kid wish list is now complete! I can go back to knitting for me

I have a couple more that are finished in name only. One is waiting on a picture of the finished item:

The yarn is some Jade Sapphire 2ply Cashmere lace weight that I tried to knit a number of items out of but the original color just made me ill working with it. It was a clown-barf inspired bright pinks and greens. Don’t know what I was thinking when I bought it but it was cashmere in the 50% bin at the yarn store. Leann was awesome enough to overdye it and make it useable and gorgeous! It is now a finished cowl that I’ve been wearing daily since the weather got cold. Thanks Leann!

The other is waiting for a trip to the washing machine to felt. I’ll give the project deets when all is done.

It will end life as a felted hat for Alexander’s teacher.

Finally, I just need to show this! It made me smile when I saw the request to follow my twitter feed…

So say we all!

Craft on

How I spent my time off

Risa — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:42:49 +0000

I think, for a change, I made some productive use of my couple of days off between jobs. As I start the new job tomorrow, the time for getting things done is quickly dwindling to an end. While one of the options for the last couple of days was to work on the iPhone app, I decided to take a vacation from the computer. So beyond checking email and doing a little online shopping (new shoes from Zappos are on their way!), I stayed away. I spent my time in a decidedly fiberlicious way.

I spun:

Fiber: Forbidden Woolery - Falkland
Colorway: Tabula Rasa
Yardage: 438 yds / 4oz
Spun/Plied on the Matchless – 2 ply

Fiber: Forbidden Woolery – BFL
Colorway: Werewolf
Yardage: 192 yds/ 4oz
Spun on Sidekick – 2 ply / Plied on Matchless

It wasn’t all finished yarn around here. I started a new project on a wheel that you’ll probably see more of again. I forgot how much I loved this wheel: The Vermont Wheel! Not sure how that happened, but there you have it. I brought her back upstairs to my room a few weeks ago and have gotten back into using it. I’ve finally gotten around to trying a fiber that’s been marinating for a little while.

Cupcake Fibers – SW Merino/ Nylon in Garden Series II. It is a delight to spin! I have both greens and light pinks done. Just have the third color to finish up. On the Vermonter, this is spinning up very fine. I’ll have a nice 3ply sock at the end of this.>

Friday night I finished Alexander’s 2011 DriveThru.

Pattern: DriveThru
Yarn: Valley Yarns Colrain
Needles: US7
Size: 10
Started: 10/30/11
Finished: 11/11/11

I had Kat try on Alex’s sweater. While it was large on her (she probably needs the size 8), she wants me to make the larger size. We had picked stash yarn to knit this for her in shades of Cascade 220. Maybe that means she’ll wear it longer She stopped wearing the last one because it was itchy. Sadly that version was also 220 and if I made the new one from the same yarn, it would be just as itchy. So off we went to Yarn Diva on Saturday to pick out a new yarn. Of all the nice wools in the store, what did the monster pick? Patons Canadiana. Acrylic. Ugh. At least its a decent acrylic. Glad I took her to a yarn store and not someplace like AC Moore I cast on and am 2″ short of the armpits now. Why yes, I have been lazy, sitting around knitting and spinning!

Which I’m going back to doing now Turning in early as I have to be at the Flatiron Building tomorrow morning by 8:45AM for ORIENTATION! And yes, this will be a much better commute. I’m returning to the train to Hoboken, followed by the PATH. The office is a 2 block walk from the PATH station. Will be nice to return to Manhattan from that exile in the ~~hinterlands~~ Brooklyn.
Craft on!

Knitted Goods

Risa — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:19:19 +0000

I’m late in giving details and finished photos of projects that I’ve been working on recently. Its time to rectify that little oversight. First up:

Mommy Socks

Yarn: Forbidden Woolery Quattro – Poisoned Apple
Needles: US0
Pattern: Hedera on the cuff
Started: 9.16.11
Finished: 10.8.11

These socks were primarily knit on the bus.

Alex’s Hat

Yarn: Forbidden Woolery Footloose – Eastwick
Needles: US1
Pattern: Sabeanie
Started: 10.8.11
Finished: 10.16.11

Kat’s Hat

Yarn: Forbidden Woolery fiber – Jack n Jill
Needles: US5
Pattern: the knitter’s handy book of patterns
Started: 10.16.11
Finished: 10.17.11

And now so as to avoid having the next project make its blog debut as a finished item, here’s this year’s first DriveThru sweater for boy.

The yarn is Valley Yarns Colrain. I bought the blue off someone on Ravelry and the rest from Webs. I knit both the body and one sleeve twice. I had that brain fart where I was intending to make one size due to the gauge I was getting and totally muffed the cast on count. Sweater would have been huge on the boy. Then for the sleeve I followed the directions as written but that makes for a really tight sleeve. Boy wanted something loser so after the cuff, I increased half the finished width stitches on the first plain row and then followed the pattern to the full width. I finished the bulk during a Star Trek movie marathon today on MAX.

I found these wood buttons in stash and I think they go great with the sweater. I’ll probably do the bands tomorrow, work in ends and sew these bad boys on shortly. I’ll probably start Kat’s sweater tomorrow on the bus. This is no longer travel friendly.

Speaking of which: TWO MORE DAYS!!!

Craft on!

Wordy Wednesday

Risa — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:37:35 +0000

Two days in a row? I know, amazing I’ve had some photos sitting on my phone for a while and finally got them onto a computer where I can type words at a significant clip rather than the hunt n peck method with just a single fingertip on the phone. Aren’t you lucky?

A couple of weeks ago, I took the kids to the Garden State Sheep Breeders show (NJ Sheep & Wool). I picked up a few things including THE PERFECT BUTTONS for my Kauni 2. The monkeys had fun playing in Leann’s display…

They have a natural affinity for fiber And some pretty good taste. They both demanded something from her booth, Alex picked yarn while Kat opted for fiber. Training them well!

As I promised yesterday, here’s the finished socks.

Yarn: Forbidden Woolery Lush in Gillyweed
Needles: US0 Blackthorns
Pattern: own over 48 st – toe up
Started: 9/4/11
Finished: 9/15/11

The boy is quite pleased with his socks, as am I. I found I can actually fit into them. Sweet. So any further socks for him are not for naught with how fast his feet are now growing. I’ll be able to wear them when he outgrows them Not to mention how quickly I was able to blow through this pair.

Taking the bus to work has been most helpful on the sock knitting front. My bus ride is about an hour, give or take, depending on traffic. I’ve moved to the bus because the three legged train to PATH to subway was sapping the life from me. The bus is a longer commute timewise, but I don’t have as many connections to make, and I get to sit and relax for a longer stretch on both the bus and then the subway. I always seemed to be waiting for the next conveyance, getting on and then getting off. Exhausting I tell you! So while the bus to subway is an hour and 45 minutes its more restful. And it will be coming to an end. Office move is tentative for mid-November.

I’m taking a break from the monkey demand knitting and working on a pair of socks for myself. I’ll start in on the hats next, and then the sweaters. Alex picked another Drive-Thru as the sweater he wants. Checking back in my FO collection, apparently, I knit that sweater for him every two years. Guess how long it has been since the last one? You got it. Two years. Kat wants a hoodie. Need to find a good pattern for that… though I’d be surprised if I don’t already have one somewhere.

Speaking of the bus, those of you who have never traveled via the bus lane to the Lincoln Tunnel don’t know how unnerving and disconcerting that express route can be. Get a load of this:

Yes, we are on the same side of the road as the traffic moving AWAY from the tunnel. The normal traffic heading to the tunnel is on the OTHER side of the concrete divider. Takes a bit getting used to this view. And yup, whenever possible I do try to sit in the very front of the bus. Finds that it counters any natural tendency towards motion sickness. Though that’s becoming less of a problem (as I hoped it would) as I was able to read on the bus last night and I was sitting way way back. I was happy for a seat though. The terminal was a mess last night.

Anyway, time to get back to the job.

Craft on!

Two sides

Risa — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 22:14:13 +0000

There are pros and cons to traveling to work by bus. Which is something that I’ve been experimenting with recently. The three legged train to path to subway has been getting to me. So the only two legged option is the bus to the Port Atrocity Bus Terminal followed by the subway. There is another bus I could take to the GWB but that’s an icky ride on both the bus and subsequent long assed subway ride. So two legs is good. But the bad is something I didn’t have to deal with on the train: traffic. Ugh. Stuck in it now actually trying to get to the tunnel. But it does offer up superb knitting time.

Alex’s second sock after only two commutes by bus.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:9th Ave,,United States

Moving along

Risa — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:37:51 +0000

I finished the first items on the knitting request list. Kat now has a new pair of socks.

Kat Socks

Yarn: Footloose in Electric Youth
Needles: US0 – Blackthorn
Toe up over 48 st. (cast on 12)
Started: 8/30/11
Finished: 9/4/11

She’s pleased as punch with them. Nearly killed herself running through the kitchen with these things on. The tile is insanely slippery. You either need to wear shoes or walk barefoot on it. I cast on for Alex’s sock but haven’t gotten very far.

I’ve been working on my Kauni sweater, but I think that work deserves its own posting. I’ll put that one up tomorrow. Instead, here are more sights of my commute.

The knit bombing was chained to a street sign under the Brooklyn Bridge. From the datestamp, yes, I have been sitting on this for a bit. Shortly after I took this picture, the bicycle disappeared. I’m glad I was able to capture it when I did.

Leann requested a picture of the progress at One World Trade Center (aka Freedom Tower). I took this one a couple of weeks ago just before I entered the WTC PATH station.

You can see it pretty well from across the East River as well…

Hope everyone who celebrates had a good Labor Day. Ours was quiet. Kat had a playdate. I knitted. We did the boat thing Sat/Sun. All in all, a nice weekend. Back to everything tomorrow.

Craft on!

This and That

Risa — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:00:50 +0000

This will be a post with lots of randomness to it. First, the last finished project.

Spunky Neapolitan Socks

Yarn: Spunky Eclectic
Colorway: Neapolitan
Needles: US1
Pattern: Basic over 52 st
Started: 08/03/11
Finished: 08/27/11

They aren’t quite so dark, but the poor iPhone camera was terribly fooled by the awful lighting conditions in my room.

Next up:

I had to restart Kat’s sock. I started with too few stitches yesterday and wound up with a really really pointed toe. This time, instead of six(12), I cast on 12(24) using that awesome method I linked a while ago. I’m much further along as of my morning commute, however, I learned a very important lesson: you can’t take a decent picture of knitware on your lap while on a moving subway train I would have waited but next stop was mine. Better picture tomorrow.

The kids have me dizzy. For quite a while they not only refused to wear my handknit items, they actually pointedly asked me to buy them something instead. Okay. Fair enough. I respected their wishes, and really, redirected the knitting energy on ME. I am a selfish knitter after all. So now? They’ve both put in a request list: socks, hats and sweaters! Wow.

This has me scratching my head a bit. All over the city, they are removing cobblestones and/or paving over them. What’s going on out here in the boondocks known as DUMBO?

They’re actually putting down cobblestones! I’m not a huge fan of the pretty bricks. Chalk it up to my foot size and/or my terrible ankles, but I have a heck of a time walking on these things. They are a broken ankle waiting to happen if you ask me!

Pet peeve: listening to people chew. Totally squicks me out. Sadly, two days a week I have to hear it at work. I have a co-worker who blessedly works from home most of the week. I saw blessedly as when she’s here she nibbles on ice. ALL. DAY. LONG. She sits in my bionic hearing rang. I hope after the move that my desk is across as it is getting old having to sit with the headphones in all day. I think I’m beyond the point where I can gently ask her to knock it off in a nice way. UGH.

I’ve discovered that this blog is good for more than figuring out when I knit something or bought this or that item. I found a true practical usage. Last week I suffered through a terrible headache for the better part of it. Like always, I initially wrote it off to stress, weather, not sleeping so well, for staring at a monitor all day long… all of the above. All good excuses for a headache, but nothing out of the ordinary that should be causing misery for that long. Then I had a vague memory of another weeklong misery period that I remembered blogging. I couldn’t remember when it had fallen so I did a little reading of the archives. I found it had been in the early fall of Sept 2008 for well over a week. I smell a pattern Batman. I pointed it out to mom. She went: Hay fever. Awesome. I think she’s right. I went back to taking regular allergy meds, adopted a Neti Pot and now the headache is gone. thanks to 2008 CFL for recording this info for her future self.

Finally, we all know that I’m a bit of a collector of things: yarn, fiber, wheels, electronics, purses. I don’t need all the stuff I have and well, some of it needs to find new homes periodically. I’m considering putting up a small ‘store’ on the blog, an online garage sale if you will, to find new homes for all the excess stuff. I’d list things like the once loved by now replaced electronics, commercial and handspun yarns, fiber, and like new Coach bags. Good idea? Bad idea? Feedback would be much appreciated..

Aftermath

Risa — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:58:35 +0000

We survived Irene with nothing more than a small puddle in the basement, which in itself is not unusual. We get puddles down there with any sustained rain storm. Same thing goes for the small lake that forms in the backyard. There’s a low spot that formed when the tree stump that had buried back there when the pool was put in, rotted away. Well now water congregates there during heavy storms and we have our own pond. Its gone now, along with all the droppings the mighty oak in the middle of the yard decided to part with during the windy parts of the storm. The kids would probably tell you that the worst part was the 8 or so hours without electricity. I knitted and read an actual paper book during that time as I’d let my Kindle battery die before the storm and hadn’t added the current book to the iPad (and it wasn’t a book I’d purchased online) but was still sitting on my powerless desktop computer. On the up side, I had the nice version of the book which stayed open by itself, which allowed me to knit while I read.

So with the train being out (yesterday) and requiring patience (today), I’ve been working from home. I tell you, I do so like working this way. I fixed all my assigned bugs yesterday while the kids had a Godzilla movie marathon. Today, I’m reading documentation and reverse engineering a previous implementation. I can do that AND knit as well.

Both Kat and Alex have requested hand knit socks. Last weekend when Leann was here for a little spinning, she brought along some of her gorgeous yarns. I let the kids each pick their own yarn for the socks. Since I finished the last pair of socks on Saturday (will post final project details shortly), I cast on for Kat’s this morning after spending some time with her bare foot and a tape measure. Buggers have gotten much larger since her last pair! Still cute though I’m enjoying the weather, sitting outside on the patio with my laptop….

Yarn: Footloose in Electric Youth
Needles: US0 – Blackthorn
Toe up over 48 st. (cast on 12)
Started: 8/30/11

Munchkins are off at the park with PopPop as I sit here and toil. Okay, gotta get back to researching which is the better approach. Boss let me know that they will be relying on my recommendation as to whether we use the new SDK or not. I haven’t a clue at present.

Craft on!

Still here

Risa — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 12:18:37 +0000

Wow. Been busy as usual, but what else is new? I’m waiting for the train so I figured that this would be a good time for an update.

As you know, the kids started school two weeks ago now. I guess it really has been a while since I posted last! School is going well. The monkeys are enjoying being in different classes. I get a regular email update from Kat’s teacher. Last week I attended my first PTA meeting. I might even go back for another one.

This past weekend the monkeys and I went to the GSSB where. Its the only festival I’ll bring them to right now. Its small enough. No way are they going to Rhinebeck. Speaking of Rhinebeck, Tina invited me to join her Sheep to Shawl team. I accepted. Now to figure out which wheel to use

I’ve really come to love my Droid. The battery is far superior to the Incredible that it replaced and/or the antenna is better requiring less juice overall. Whichever it is I am happy I’ve decided what the first app will be: a knitting counter. There are excellent ones available for the i, but no really good one for the android platform. So that’s what on going to write. After that I might start a ravelry app, will need to see where Casey is in the API process.

Oh yeah, I still knit too. I started boy ‘s fall sweater. Details to be added to ravelry soon

Craft on!