Zombie!

I like small projects. They eat up yarn, and they are useful. This one just flew off the needles, and I didn't even bother to block it. I managed to get a pair of Fetchings and this headband out of one skein of Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted! No leftovers. I'm taking this stash reduction thing very seriously.


Details:
Pattern: Cabled Headband from The Knitter's Book of Yarn
Needles: US #4
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted, color: frosted fuchsia
Comments: Fun, quick pattern. It'll come in handy when my hair falls into my face.

There has also been some spinning. Instead of plying the yarn I finished the other day, I got inspired. Here it is... my first art yarn! The inspiration: 28 Days Later, a surprisingly cerebral zombie flick. I recommend it. And the Shadowrun xbox game. I used to play the Shadowrun RPG. Somehow, the futuristic feel of the game and the bright green box it came in gelled into an idea for yarn (yeah, that's weird). And the roving is called Zombie Glow. So... how could I not?

I have plans for this stuff. I want to ply it into a bulky weight with slubs, tufts, and bits sticking out every which way. Then, I want to knit a hat. It'll be my Radioactive Zombie Apocalypse Hat. Did I mention this stuff glows in the dark?

Fluffy Activity

It's been a couple of days, but there's lots of stuff to see here. Gather round while I share my knitting progress and new spinning toy!

As you may remember, I'm on a yarn diet. This time, I'm taking it very seriously. This is the Cabled Headband from The Knitter's Book of Yarn, and I'm using the leftovers from the Fetchings I made for a friend. My leftovers were beginning to turn into a stash all their own. No more! I only hope I don't run out of yarn...


One of the entrelac socks is done. Except for the afterthought heel, but I want to knit both when the rest of the socks is done. I don't think these will be ready by the end of January so they won't count for the December Sock Knitters Anonymous challenge, though.


Finally, I've been spinning. These are 4 oz of merino in blacks and grays, which I received during an SP round on knitty a while ago. I need to wind off the singles from the spindle, and then I can start plying. And I have just the right tool for that.


Look! New Tabachek spindle! 1.5 ounces, perfect for plying. Merlin thinks it's a cat toy, but for once, I have to contradict him.


The idea is to take the little balls of singles, put them in mugs, wrap yarn around handles once for tension, then 3-ply. We'll see how that goes. I may change my mind and only ply 2 singles together. We'll see.

Selfish Knitting

I have several projects going. A pair of socks for my sister, a (very late) birthday knit for my sister, a nearly-finished headband for myself. So what do I do? I pick up the latest issue of Knitscene, Take one look at the Geodesic Cardigan, and start winding yarn.

In all fairness, this is part of my stash reduction project. I have two of these large hanks of Morehouse Merino laceweight. I bought them years ago, when they still had a brick-and-mortar store in Red Hook, NY.


And here it is, all wound up. I had some yarn breakage, hence the two balls, but I'll use the little one to swatch. The colors are closer to the real thing in the top picture. But I wanted to show off those balls. I wound them by hand. 880 yards of laceweight. Took over an hour. Now the swatching. I love this pattern!


In other news, my mother send us a box from Germany. No food, per my request (it's wintertime, and all I want to do is eat, eat, eat). Some sweaters for me, a nice sweater for Mr. Batty... and this box. The cat loves this box.


German box, with flap. Perfect size for a cat. It has been claimed.

On a roll!

Dude, I'm on a roll! I signed up for the Sole Mates sock club... the patterns only option! New patterns to help me knit up the sock yarn I already have. Patting myself on the back here, because clicking on the pattern-and-yarn option sure was tempting.

Thank you!

I just wanted to say thank you for your input on my knitterly moral dilemma. I am going to search my stash for suitable black Fetching yarn, I seem to remember some leftover Aurora8 after I finished Mr. Batty's hat. If there isn't enough, or if I really can't find it... I'm getting a ball of black Lamb's Pride Superwash. I think it's my new favorite superwash worsted weight. Lovely stuff.

And... to follow up a question with a question: When you undo a provisional caston, which side do you start on? The side with the knot, which is essentially the beginning of a long-tail caston, or the side with the leftover yarn and the working yarn? I know I've done this successfully in the past, but the last time around, I fouled it up. I don't want to frog again!

Yarn Diet Ethics

We all know I'm on a yarn diet. No yarn for a year. And I've been doing well. Granted, it's only been 13 days of new year, but still...

Fast forward to yesterday. A co-worker has seen the Fetchings and asked me to make some for her daughter. She's in her college's marching band, her hands get cold, and the Fetchings would have to be black to blend in with her uniform.
I think I have the yarn to make them, but I'm not sure. I'll turn my stash upside down. But... if I don't... do you think it really counts as buying yarn? She said she'd pay for it (which I don't want her to do). And I wouldn't use this as an excuse to start buying yarn because of a 'failed resolution.'

So... what should I do? Buy the yarn if I don't have it? I don't want to say no.

Fetchings

First FO of the new year! I started and finished this pair of Fetchings in about a week. One of my work friends lost all of her fingerless gloves, so I made her some. Here's the right Fetching:


And here's the left Fetching.


Boring Details:
Pattern: Fetching
Needles: US #4
Yarn: Lambs Pride Superwash Worsted -- my favorite of their yarns so far!
Color: Frosted Fuchsia
Comments: I added a row of cables both at the wrist and at the finger section for a more covered look. Bound off in pattern, not in picots, but didn't block to get a similar rolly effect.

Coming up: Batty tries to spin thicker-than-usual yarn. Who'd have thought spinning thick yarn could be difficult? My first attempt with a spindle certainly didn't point in that direction.

Frog Hair

Have you seen fleegle's hilarious post about frog hair yarn? No? Go check it out, it's really funny. And... I have some! It doesn't have a lable, but I'm convinced that this is the genuine article, straight off the back of the notorious Psychedelic Frog. Proximity to this yarn has mind-altering effects on humans. Want proof? I think it's a great idea to knit socks out of the yarn on the right and finish the cuff with some of the yarn on the left.


No, I don't know why. It's one of those urges.
For something a bit tamer, a picture of a Fetching. I'm almost done with the second one, and they are going to a friend from work who has misplaced all of her fingerless gloves. It's cold at the office. These should help.


As soon as the Fetchings are done, I'm either going to knit a headband with the leftover yarn or, if there isn't enough, I'm casting on the Shipwreck Shawl. Maybe by then, the effects of the frog hair yarn will have worn off...

Cupcakes etc.

Wow. I knew that, collectively, knitters knew everything! Thank you for the cupcake frosting advice, I'll be on the lookout for a large nozzle.
The vegan cupcake and buttercream recipes are from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World (amazon link). Check out the book if you're vegan. Check out the book if you're not vegan. The cupcakes are very yummy, and so is the buttercream. I use almond milk instead of soy milk because the thicker, fattier, nuttier texture of almond milk is closer to soy milk than thinner alternatives like rice milk. The results are fabulous, and even people who do the moo will happily eat these.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, the train had switching problems, I just finished prepping tomorrow's dinner, and the laundry is going... I'm beat.

Sugar Buzz

Weeee!
I've baked cupcakes two days in a row, and we just got back from Mr. Batty's co-worker's house... I'm high on sugar. I brought cupcakes, and they had several kinds of cake. Bounce, bounce, bounce!

Ahem. Look, entrelac! I like how this sock is coming along. Except for the in-between-stripe stripes, which are pooling and turning into undefined blobs in the entrelac pattern. A straightforward self-striping yarn would have been better. But this isn't bad enough to rip. Overall, I think these socks will be OK. I'm almost down to the toe. The heel is an afterthought heel, so no heel yet.


As I said, cupcakes. I made some, with chocolate buttercream frosting. Except it's not butter, they're vegan. But they're very good.


I had some... swirling difficulties. They make it look so easy on TV! Me, I end up with turd-shaped swirly brown blobs. I guess I don't have a bright future in cake decorating ahead of me. Oh, well.