Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Spring knitting...

So... It's getting warmer, and more so than in previous years, I feel like I need to knit in cotton right now. So for the time being, I've put aside all my wool and I'm concentrating on warm weather work.

I've made a steering wheel cover for my sister, using the pattern that I came up with for my own.

I'm finishing up some cotton pocketbook slippers.

I'm going to start on a Spring Beret as soon as I'm finished with the slippers.

And I'm plotting my next endeavor. I think I'm going to make a few summer dresses in different sizes for my niece. I haven't decided on a pattern yet. I'm looking at Summerlin, The Two Summer Sundress (get on Ravelry if you want to see it), or the Babydoll dress from Knitty. I want to make something she can wear now and this summer and something that she'll be able to wear next summer maybe. The Two Summer Sundress has the advantage of doing this all on its own. It's made to grow with the child and be worn during two consecutive summers. *nods* It's also made out of Peaches & Cream or Sugar n' Cream, both of which I have on hand in many colors.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Simple Steering Wheel Cover

I decided after years of using a steering wheel cover I bought in desperation at Walmart that I really should get rid of that thing and make one myself. I searched and searched for a steering wheel cover pattern that I liked and couldn't find one. So I made one up! :D





This is designed to fit a steering wheel with a circumference of 46 inches. If your steering wheel has a different circumference, measure it and knit according to the pattern for 60% of that measurement. With that said, onward to the pattern itself...

*******

Yarn:
2 balls of Peaches & Cream Worsted Weight 100% Cotton Yarn in your choice of colors.
Needles:
Size US 10

Pattern:

Holding two strands together, CO 12 sts.

Knit in garter until long enough to stretch tightly around the steering wheel. (In this case, 28 inches.)

BO.

Sew BO edge to CO edge, being careful that it doesn’t twist.

Sew onto the steering wheel. It will be very tight, and should not require anything else to prevent slipping.

*******

Now, it's true that this is not so easy as some to remove to wash. But if you use a constrasting color yarn to sew it on to your wheel, or you're just really careful, you can cut the string you use to sew it into place and then un-sew it, wash it, and then put it back with a yarn needle and either the same string or a new one. It works for me anyway...

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

It's Spring-time already?

The Spring issue of Knitty went live today! YAY!

The Shipwreck Shawl... Um. YES! I was trying to design something like this myself... A little less like a shawl than this and more like a piece of fish-netting that was found on the beach and used by a selki, but the idea behind it is kinda similar.

Also - I love Aeolian So pretty! I want make it... with handspun... but I don't spin that consistantly and thin yet.

Reverie is likewise kinda awesome. I'm really loving all the berets and slouches that are being designed right now. I finished the February beret not that long ago, but I want to make myself many more...

If i make myself a sweater from this, it will be the green version of Decimal.

I really like the subtle texture of Andy.

I love the swirls of the cables in Absinthe, and I just love Cachoeira in general.

I love the airiness of Flit + Float. That is a scarf I would actually wear, I think.

I adore the historic pattern for the baby hood. How cool is that? (I also bought the new Piecework magazine this afternoon because there's a pattern for a sontag as well as several other historical pieces in it.)

On to the Features...

The Intentional Spinner looks like a really good book to have.

Saturday, March 07, 2009

*cough, cough*

Well, I feel as if I dropped off the face of the earth of late. I can't sit here too long, but I want to write something so I'll be brief.

I have the flu. I missed three days of work this week, but I should be able to go Monday. I'm getting better, but slowly. I also think I might have bursitis and/or tendinitis possibly in several location in my right hip (based on quite a lot of research this week while I've had little else to do). I went to the doctor last weekend about it, but the doctor wasn't in, so I had to see a NP. No offense to those out there who have taken that path in life, but NPs are and always have been utterly useless to me in private practice. They always tell me I have something I don't have and invariably misdiagnose me and then it has to be correctly diagnosed by the doctor at a later date. This time, it was no different. I won't go in to all of it because it makes me far too angry and I really want to scream at the woman what an idiot she is. Just one of the many things she did wrong, was that she gave me a prescription for the same GERD meds I've been taking over the counter that aren't working for me, but she didn't tell me that's what she had done because they have a different name by prescription. The only real difference is that they charge about 10 times as much for it. This after I explained to her what I had been taking and that it didn't work and I needed something else. Can we say, why do you have a job? I think we can. The NPs who work at CVS though, what gems they are. Always very knowledgable, polite and helpful. So as soon as I have a day free from working, I have to make an appointment with an actual doctor and go back to find out what's really wrong with my hip, as well as this stomach pain that my doctor has previously told me is scar tissue in my duodenum... Only problem is that the duodenum is higher up. The location is classic for the start of chronic appendicitis. I think I might have to demand some actual tests rather than just relying on his guesses. An ultrasound. Some blood tests. Something. Or maybe I should find a new doctor. That's a possibility too. *sighs*

As far as the flu goes, I'm mostly just coughing and sniffling now, but I don't want to get sick again so I'm taking it easy this weekend until I'm sure it's well and truly going away...

My hip is why I can't sit here for long. It hurts to sit at the computer. I don't know if it's the height of the desk, the chair or what, but I just can't do it. I also wonder if I originally hurt my hip by spinning too long and too vigorously. I wonder if others have had similar injury. Because the NP didn't believe me and looked at me like I was the stupidiest person ever to come in to her exam room. Hey, just because I don't get my repetitive motion injuries by typing, ballet dancing or running marathons, doesn't mean they aren't real, lady.

In other news, I have only the toe of the first of Jensen's socks to do. I'm waiting on pictures of his feet. ... Yeah, pictures of his feet. I want to know wheather he has particularly broad toes or not. I also got the handcards I ordered. Can't remember if I mentioned that or not. They're nice. I've been blending some of the alpaca Ilana sent me with some lambswool that wasn't carded to my liking and was difficult to spin on its own. It's fluffy and beautiful.

The garden is doing very well. With the flu, I haven't been able to be out in it at all since last Sunday, but it's doing all right. My dad's been watering for me, and that's really all it's needed. There's a lot that should be done, but nothing that absolutely must be done for at least another week, which should give me enough time to finish getting over this flu.

The new issue of MaryJane's Farm came in the mail today. It is beautious and filled with gardening stuff and recipes. *my eyes are all aglitter* Especially interesting to me is the article on people who are turning their front yards into vegetable gardens. What a fantastic idea that is for those who have soil in that location that will work for them. Us... all our good soil is in the back. Oh, sure, we could always amend the soil in the front to get it up to snuff too, and we are for the flower beds that are already established, but our front yard is the size of most people's back yards, so a full-scale effort there is not going to happen any time soon. Still, I had my friend Joe help me out today by putting down new top soil in one of the beds and planting it with the summer and winter squash seedlings that I never found room for out back. Now there are some of all varieties in both locations. :D