Hurricane "aftermath"

How to knit through a hurricane in Three Easy Steps.

1. First, the last thing you should do right before the rain starts is get some yarn. The quantity is up to you, but it should, more or less, match the amount of storm you're expecting.


2. Then, knit it up during the storm. It helps if there's some sort of cool pattern... er...


... um, okay, some sort of cool VISIBLE pattern in it. It also helps if it is....


3. Wearable in more than one way. Here, we have a lovely neckwarmer, or ...


... headscarf!


And yes, I only knitted during Irene, which (for us) wasn't very long, but I only had 93 yards of bamboo. I think I called it just about right!

Yarn on Thursday: Little Cotton Sweatbands...?

This week, instead of photos, it's all about Links for a change (and because various computer components are making photos difficult this morning). This was going to be a bedsock pattern, but I realized that the photos & drawings I have don't look terribly good, and if I make it All Spiffy^(tm), then I can actually put it out on Ravelry as a free download. (Plus, there's that whole "can't upload 'em right now anyway.) So, a wee bit of waiting on that. Instead, it's going to be about...

Knitted Sweatbands.
Yes, you read that right. Having knitted my husband a scarf, a hat, and a pair of bedsocks, he decided that I knit him things, and what he really needs is a bunch of sweatbands for working out, since he keeps losing his, or they disintegrate in the wash. Terrycloth pleases him not. So, after a brief shout-out on Twitter, the answer came back - "Cotton." This got me thinking - didn't CAT & Eric do a "which cotton holds up best and is most absorbent for dishcloth-making" episode over at LetsKnit2gether? They sure did, the Discloth Face-Off! (It's not on YouTube yet, or I'd just embed it here. Totally worth watching, though!)

So, I watched the episode again. The yarns carefully tested for absorbency and durability were Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn, Herrschner's Village Yarn Craft Cotton, Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille, Knit Picks Shine Worsted, Peaches and Creme, and Lion Cotton. All these yarns are easy for me to obtain, and are the ones I'd be most likely to pick up.

There was a clear winner!!
So, having decided on the yarn based on their recommendation and test (no, I'm not telling you, watch the episode, it's fun!), it was a case of coming up with a pattern that wasn't too floofy. Ravelry to the rescue! First up, The Reformed Pirate's offering - skulls & checkerboard. Not floofy at all! Another designer Synnoves (Finland, I think...) has a Pirate Headband, too. Happy Yellow House has a basic crocheted ribbed band, which is a definite must to try - one of the models on Ravelry is out of camo-yarn. That's not floofy! Sandy Montag's Simple Double-Knit Headband (Ravelry link) is a definite go, since it would work great with Sport Team Colors. So, lots of possibilities for a sweatband-type thing for my husband.

Of course, while I was looking, I also spotted some things I'd like to try - this Nordic headband by Heidi; this Argyle headband by Lady Spankington; Mollie's Radical Headband (I must track down some Dalegren Falk Neon yarn!) - although this would work for me or my spouse, depending on which neon colors were employed; Michele's Entrelac Ski Band would also work for either of us.

Have fun clicking through the links, and hopefully, the photography option will be restored by tomorrow!!

Y'see, it's like this: they muliply like rabbits.

Yeah... the UFO numbers just aren't going down, are they? *Sigh.* It's been that sort of a week. Here's the alleged "progress" - which, you'll note, somehow includes three new UFOs.

Clapotis:


Yeah, that's the same photo from last week.
TKGA:


Um... I've had a Masters Program-free week, by accident.
Here's the link to their website - clicky on the banner and go check it out!
Knotty or Knice Socks:


They have heels. Yay?
Dream Width Head Scarf:

... see yesterday's entry; I didn't get to knit at lunch.
Bridget Scarf:


Um. Here's some of my Broncos stuff that the scarf will go with?
Phoenix:


Finally got it into my floorstand, to save my shoulder.
... And picture another fifty things out here, none of which have been touched (or possibly even seen) for at least six months. The UFO Count is not going down right now.

Children require space, I'm told.

For those who envy my computer room *and* craft room... we're able to have these luxuries by not having any children that need space. (From what I've heard, children require space 'of their own' and things like food, clothing, playthings and other not-yarn items.) If we suddenly developed "children", my craft room would be history. (We'd need the computer at home to keep me sane.)

Back to yarn: About that headscarf... yeah, the one I accidentally started during last Thursday's "Yarn on Thursday" bamboo-fest. Here it is last week, with George:


I was a bit distressed, after my glowing review last Thursday, to discover that, after about 1/3 of a scarf (I think, it might be less), the tips of my lovely bamboo needles have been dyed blue. This is distressing mostly because (a) this isn't the way I want to turn my hair blue and (b) these are the needles I use to knit up my TKGA class stuff. Needless (or needleless) to say, I was a mite miffed. Wendy Johnson thought Murphy's Oil Soap might remove the dye, so I'm going to try that once the headscarf is done. When I block it (yep, we're gonna find out if bamboo blocks at all!), There will be a light layer of toweling betwixt the scarf and my little makeshift blocking board - because that has to survive for more TKGA class stuff, as well.


There's the scarf as of Monday - and you can see the blue stain on the needles pretty clearly. *Sigh*

On the other hand, I'm totally loving the way the pattern is working out, and it will be available as soon as I get the Final Pretty Pictures up and running. (I'm flirting with the idea of a free Ravelry download. Just for cred. Thankfully, the pattern is easy enough that I'm pretty sure I can write it correctly right out of the gate.)

/span>

More yarn, more gadgets, more projects on the needles

So, there I was, minding my own business, and I discovered a Horrible Needle error.

Okay, okay, fine, I was bored, so I started playing with yarn candy again. This happens. Today's ball-o-yarn is cotton of some sort; it's got great drape, but it's a bit splitty. I tried it on size 1 needles - too tight. I tried it on size 9s - too loose. It looked like size 4s were going to be right on target.

I actually know where a pair of size 4 needles lives. In my Hello Kitty camera bag (hey, it was $6, and it's the right size with a long enough strap for convenient small project toting).

Sadly, these needles are already knitting my LabCat Lace Scarf. Do I let that stop me? Heck No! We've all heard of knitting two socks on circular needles, right? And these are two small flat projects: the LabCat Lace Scarf, and another yarn candy headband. Same basic principles of "don't tangle your balls" and "knit all the way across both items before turning back to avoid confusion/lopsided projects" should apply. Ergo, Two Projects on One Circular Needle:


And look, I actually finished one of them!

Turns out this was a good thing because I finally got out to Nature's Yarns on Saturday. It was dead, dead, dead in the store because of Sheep and Wool, which left me lots of time to rummage around the 50% off bin (can you say deep pumpkin merino laceweight in vast enough quantities to make the Peacock Feathers Shawl (which is henceforth renamed the Phoenix Feathers Shawl)?), discover the stash of Tofutsies, and delight in the notion that DPN Tubes come in two-packs. Photos of the haul from the GOOD camera tomorrow. And the already half-finished pair of socks. Not, please note, a half finished sock. A half finished PAIR of socks. WoOt!!

And how was your weekend?