Round One, and subsequently October is now over. I've made some changes in my personal life which has limited my knitting time. Sadly I only completed two and a half challenges. So knitting news first.
As I stated in my previous post, October is the anniversary of Nerd Wars for me. It has involuntarily become a tradition for me to celebrate this fact by making a pot holder each October. It was my first ever submission to Nerd Wars, two years ago and these crazy pot holders keep popping up. So my first project this round was a pot holder:
I used left over cotton scraps from dishcloths. I have a little basket I put these leftovers in, once it gets full, I make one of these pot holders. The pattern is: Double Thick Potholder. I've used the pattern many times. Its very simple and make a very thick and durable pot holder. I submitted this one to the Zoo challenge. The orange and blue looked like the markings that some lizards have.
The next projects I completed were some WIPs. I finished Jeweled Cowl II. I ran out of yarn, so its shorter than the pattern states.
I was able to complete 46 beaded rows. The yarn is Malabrigo Lace in the color Bobby Blue. I used 8/0 seed beads from Fire Mountain Gems. I love the beads, they are silver lined Delicas. They all fit on my crochet hook and I only found one broken one out of the three vials I had. I still have some left over. My cast on edge was too tight so it doesn't roll like it should. I'm hoping Kelly wont notice it. I haven't been able to give it to her yet, she is still out of work. Her recovery is having more complications. She is still in immense pain. I decided to make an attempt at finishing up some more projects that were just hanging out.
I finished the larger pair of Baby Sandal Socks, although I don't know if they fit or not. Raelynn has been under the weather lately. The finishing took me less than a half hour so I had to find something to add to that to meet the two hour requirement. So I whipped up a quick dishcloth:
Dishcloths usually take me 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the pattern. So those three projects went into the WIP challenge. I used the cowl to answer the challenge and that one was also my Unity Project. In honor of Halloween being in October we decided to pay homage to a scary or creepy element of Stargate. The cowl is approximately the same color that John Sheppard's skin turns when he starts to mutate into an Iratus bug like creature.
John is on the left, he has some great creepy mutations going on here.
My last project was for the LARPing challenge and sadly I was only able to get it half done. I am however very proud of what I did accomplish. I finally knit up the knuck pattern I had started the prelim on exactly a year ago.
The first one fits the Hubbs! I'm sort of using the pattern: Koigu Fingerless Gloves. I'm modifying this pattern so much though, that my plan is to write up what I've done in a pattern of my own. I did this first one based only on measurements I made and the swatch I did with the yarn. I've never made fingers on gloves before so that was totally winged. I'm still so amazed they fit. These are a birthday gift for the Hubbs, now I just have to finish the second one, based off my notes. The yarn I'm using is Cascade 220 Fingering. Its got a nice hand to it, and it should be warmish. I sort of wish now I had gotten something that is machine washable, but oh well. So that was it for submissions. I did have a project all picked out for the atmosphere challenge but I ran out of time.
I also acquired some stash last month. Some was for a commission, that I still need to start and the rest is for me and Christmas presents, maybe, if I ever get to it.
This yarn is for a commission for two baby hats. The white skein will be dyed pink. I practically stole these. I'm not sure if they got rung up incorrectly or if the sign was wrong, but I sort of feel bad. The were less than $3 a piece. They're Queensland Collection Super Aussie, 100% superwash Merino. It works out good for me since I quoted the commission before I bought the yarn, which I don't like to do, but the money was being handed to me so I made my best guess. I haven't used this yarn before, but I've used other Queensland Collection and I was happy with it. More to come on these two projects. I can even fit these hats into one of the Round Two challenges.
I also bought:
this and
this. The first is Shibui Knits Silk Cloud in Ash, the second is Island Yarns Papyrus in Blue Lagoon. The Shibui was going to be a scarf for the Atmosphere challenge. It's still going to be that scarf at some point. The yarn is so soft its crazy, I cant wait to work with it. The Island Yarn is going to be my Cassis Shawlette. I need to get matching beads for it. I've never worked with either of these yarns so reviews shall follow.
So on to my personal life change. Its not that dramatic or anything. I've been watching my weight slowly clime by a few pounds each year so I decided to do something about it before I become overweight or start to have medical problems. I did some research and I have started Paleo. Its been about two weeks and I've felt so much better. I did go off it this past weekend, since I went home to the farm and took a friend with me. I don't expect my parents or my friends to adhere to my diet plan. I'm finding it difficult to eat out at restaurants. Paleo is grain free, potato and legume free. It is super hard to find something at a restaurant without either bread or potatoes. I am doing a lot more cooking and it takes me longer to eat on my break at work, all that chewing adds up. But I feel so much better on Paleo, its worth it. I've found some good websites that have recipes and encouragement. I've even lost a few pounds already. I recommend this plan to anyone who is having digestive issues, it has alleviated most of mine already and Paleo is gluten free. After just two weeks I can now tell if I get some gluten in my diet, it makes me cramp right up. So despite my fall off the wagon this weekend I will be going right back on, and keeping up with this one as best I can. All the fresh vegetables and fruits cost more than crappy food, which is just not right in my opinion, so getting used to the financial side of this change is sort of throwing the Hubbs off, at this point. I'm hoping he'll embrace it and join me. (He needs to do something...). More to follow in this for sure. I need to go make my dinner for tonight actually. I also need to pick out a project since I'm at an impasse on my current one. Do I get more yarn or frog what I have and go to plan B?
Until later, Happy Crafting!
-Q
As I stated in my previous post, October is the anniversary of Nerd Wars for me. It has involuntarily become a tradition for me to celebrate this fact by making a pot holder each October. It was my first ever submission to Nerd Wars, two years ago and these crazy pot holders keep popping up. So my first project this round was a pot holder:
The next projects I completed were some WIPs. I finished Jeweled Cowl II. I ran out of yarn, so its shorter than the pattern states.
My last project was for the LARPing challenge and sadly I was only able to get it half done. I am however very proud of what I did accomplish. I finally knit up the knuck pattern I had started the prelim on exactly a year ago.
The first one fits the Hubbs! I'm sort of using the pattern: Koigu Fingerless Gloves. I'm modifying this pattern so much though, that my plan is to write up what I've done in a pattern of my own. I did this first one based only on measurements I made and the swatch I did with the yarn. I've never made fingers on gloves before so that was totally winged. I'm still so amazed they fit. These are a birthday gift for the Hubbs, now I just have to finish the second one, based off my notes. The yarn I'm using is Cascade 220 Fingering. Its got a nice hand to it, and it should be warmish. I sort of wish now I had gotten something that is machine washable, but oh well. So that was it for submissions. I did have a project all picked out for the atmosphere challenge but I ran out of time.
I also acquired some stash last month. Some was for a commission, that I still need to start and the rest is for me and Christmas presents, maybe, if I ever get to it.
I also bought:
So on to my personal life change. Its not that dramatic or anything. I've been watching my weight slowly clime by a few pounds each year so I decided to do something about it before I become overweight or start to have medical problems. I did some research and I have started Paleo. Its been about two weeks and I've felt so much better. I did go off it this past weekend, since I went home to the farm and took a friend with me. I don't expect my parents or my friends to adhere to my diet plan. I'm finding it difficult to eat out at restaurants. Paleo is grain free, potato and legume free. It is super hard to find something at a restaurant without either bread or potatoes. I am doing a lot more cooking and it takes me longer to eat on my break at work, all that chewing adds up. But I feel so much better on Paleo, its worth it. I've found some good websites that have recipes and encouragement. I've even lost a few pounds already. I recommend this plan to anyone who is having digestive issues, it has alleviated most of mine already and Paleo is gluten free. After just two weeks I can now tell if I get some gluten in my diet, it makes me cramp right up. So despite my fall off the wagon this weekend I will be going right back on, and keeping up with this one as best I can. All the fresh vegetables and fruits cost more than crappy food, which is just not right in my opinion, so getting used to the financial side of this change is sort of throwing the Hubbs off, at this point. I'm hoping he'll embrace it and join me. (He needs to do something...). More to follow in this for sure. I need to go make my dinner for tonight actually. I also need to pick out a project since I'm at an impasse on my current one. Do I get more yarn or frog what I have and go to plan B?
Until later, Happy Crafting!
-Q
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