Wednesday, June 13, 2007

NEW HOME

LINK FIXED LMAO... thanks red

YET AGAIN lol.

http://blog.nicomara.net

yes, i have my own url...again lol

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

birthday update

from the roommate, i got the yarn meter (so i removed it from my wish list) ... eca can dye now... when she gets a break
from the red, eca got these lovely hand spun and hand dyed sock yarn (pics to come) and these skien of noro





from the roommate's dad i got 3 skiens of 50/50 merino/silk (i think it's tussah silk) which i made simple toe up semi-footie socks ... well i only made one






and a skien of red worsted something...which i have to take pics of....

and for those of you who haven't seen a recent update of eca...she's got long hair now...
she takes really shitty pictures so be nice

OMFG

ALL HAIL AND REJOICE!!!

NO ONLY DID I JUST GET MY "Simply Socks" by Anna Zilboorg...

wrapped in ziplock AND bubble wrap....

IT"S SIGNED BY HER!!!!!!!!

YES IT IS SIGNED BY ANNA ZILBOORG HERSELF!

pics to come

--- update ---

okay b/c i probably have one of the very very few books signed by her left... in pretty much 99.9% brand new condition... i found another book on amazon.com (yes cheaper than the $200 we've all seen)... so THAT book, when i get it, will be the book i use. in the mean time, i'm going to ask the roommate about archival wrapping. i just can NOT use this signed book... i can't.

omg have you seen the new knitty?!?!?!

okay is this not the cutest little girl you have ever seen?

and red, we have another person to put out on our hitlist... well maybe just mine, but damn.... this girl is hot...and fuck, she's (around) my age! (and not that this matters, but she lives in the area). maybe i should go to the gym so i can get all pretty and what not... (ps. in the 3rd picture she actually looks like a slightly meatier calista flockhart) oh - here's her blog http://olgajazzzy.blogspot.com and yes, i'll probably be visiting this too lol

anyway...enough of the beautiful people...

i will be adding these patterns to my book of "must knits"

coachella - racerback, droop front tank
coupling - lace socks
sweat pea - less lace type of socks

okay...must do homework now...

Thursday, June 07, 2007

call me "the sock wh*re"

okay rather than make ANOTHER posts about socks... i just added a bunch of patterns i like under wish list...

so i guess this was sort of another post, but i modified and old one b/c eca's crafty like that ;)

--- original post---
okay don't do that but still...maybe red was right about eca's sock obession?

Why you ask?
it all started with me stumbling across this picture from this site


to which eca found
site 1
site 2
and site 3

and fell in love with these pictures from site 3




after much scouring of the internet, eca discovered she can't read german and had the roommate's exroomate read sites for her ... bc he's german and can read and speak german...and read and speak english too

so anyway...eca scours internet to find this book is out of print...AND used copies are running anywhere from 200-400 DOLLARS ... yes...

eca put a bid on ebay...but we shall see how much eca is willing to pay for such book...socks are pretty aren't they?

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

about that birthday...

so the roommate comes home with ice cream cake and says "they ran out of wiis... so you get to choose what you want...a wii or that pink camera you keep playing with."

yes yes i know ... utterly no tact, but that's what's is lovable about roommate in a "i want to strangle you" sort of way...

so anyway, i just don't see really using a wii anytime soon (still in school and must do without distractions)

so i requested the following
package a:
down and up lace sock pattern



gothic spire




twisted flower sock pattern



soak aquae wash (b/c eca loves that clean fresh smell)

or

package b:
the yarn meter on the side bar

with either package i'd be happy...so we'll see what he gets.

yes red, eca and the socks. now hush!
marin gets a cookie for being nice to the eca =)

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

wow....



thanks shei

i thought this was really cool so i posted it. i wish they would've paused longer between changes.

heaven help me

okay...so here i am at work...killing time while waiting for the printer and i check out ravelry.

so i go looking, start reading about the very upset knitter and decide to take a look at the screen shots. i must say i'm very impressed.

me, being the obsessive person that i am...started looking at the names of all the patterns. needless to say i ended up with 3 new sock patterns, and again, have fallen in love with "a step above." here it is on ravelry here it is on the knitting universe website.

so yes, i bought the back ordered issue. unfortunately, there wasn't much else that was good in this issue...but hey sock patterns normally cost around $5-8 bucks...so a whole magazine at $7.50 with free shipping wasn't bad.

ps. if you're going to buy the magazine, DO NOT use firefox.

pps. (or is it pss???) i'm going to be using the lorna's laces bucks bar i bought a while ago =)

Monday, June 04, 2007

because i grew up in a bi-lingual household...maybe??

okay so roommate always makes fun of me for getting sayings wrong...

and i was thinking of posting something like
"operation 'go behind the red's back' is successful" and then realized that "go behind so and so's back" is a bad thing. so the story on that is...the anti m (see the sidebar for link) and i got red (see the side bar please) a birthday present. yes, we went all incognito like and came up with plans on what to get the red.

we ended up getting her a swift and merion/silk roving.

now mistake #2...
i was knitting the worsted weight green yarn for the roommate and decided i would call the colorway "barely penetrated green" and realized that "penetrated" could (and probably does) have some bad/naughty connotations. but the word is very descriptive. the yarn wasn't colored all the way through because i didn't use enough die for the weight. 1/4 teaspoon measurements are good for fingering weight yarn, but not worsted! even though i did do my non-patented "add more dye during the dyeing process" moves.

but in both cases...oh well. the green isn't to my liking, but the roommate likes it. reminds him of moss or something???

but hey...my wrists hurt from marathon knitting.

i finished the embossed leaves pattern, but the socks are 1/2" too short b/c i made 6 pattern repeats instead of 7.

ps. links to come b/c i'm just lazy. can you blame me???
ps. pictures to come

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Dye Session 04: Blues and Greens

sorry this took so long to post...but here's the finished blue. my house actually looks a little like this color =) so that's exciting b/c i actually intended to try to mimic it.

i love the skein rolled up. it's so pretty. and there are SUBTLE VARIATIONS /me claps proudly


and here it is all laid out. i cut the ties on this one while it dried.


now i wanted to make the roomie socks. i actually don't need 2 full skeins of worsted weight yarn, but i figured i could make myself some or make him an extra sock should he ruin one...

this was dyed with the same dye (lots put into one jar and each pour measured precisely by measuring cup) and 2 different crock pots.


there's a bit more white in these than i'd like, but damn was this hard. i did my whole add more dye after 30-60 minutes right after you move the ties but it seems to exhaust quickly. maybe it's the vinegar?


and here they are side by side...purposefully messed up sides showing. notice in the skein on the bottom there's a bit of blue.


overall, i'm very happy with what i've done =)

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

memorial day

okay...

i usually DO NOT post anything personal other than knitting...to be completely honest ...i've been trying to avoid thinking about it...because, i just don't want it to be real.

but...

Joshua James Frazier may you please, please be resting in peace.

thank you for everything.

i miss you
i love you
i wish i had more time with you

-from the memorial video-
"If I Ever Leave This World Alive"

If I ever leave this world alive
I'll thank for all the things you did in my life
If I ever leave this world alive
I'll come back down and sit beside your
feet tonight
Wherever I am you'll always be
More than just a memory

If I ever leave this world alive

If I ever leave this world alive
I'll take on all the sadness
That I left behind
If I ever leave this world alive
The madness that you feel will soon subside
So in a word don't shed a tear
I'll be here when it all gets weird
If I ever leave this world alive

So when in doubt just call my name
Just before you go insane
If I ever leave this world
Hey I may never leave this world
But if I ever leave this world alive

She says I'm okay; I'm alright,
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would,
Now everything should be all right

She says I'm okay; I'm alright,
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would,
Now everything should be all right
Yeah should be alright

Friday, May 25, 2007

Dye Session 03: Blues

So, I decided that the green went so well, that i'd try making blue.

Well the first batch I did some bright blue with a smidge of black. Just a little bit of both because I wanted a nice soft blueish grey looking color.

After 30 minutes the water was almost clear and WHITE SPOTS GALORE! /me sheds tears

So, I did what I did with the green... rotated all the ties (burning my hands in the process), lifted the yarn, added only a bit of blue (powder directly to crockpot), some vinegar, let the dripping mix...

realized that the blue was not mixing well...so I used my chop stick (burning my hand some more) to mix it...when it was all just water and no powder clumps, I put the yarn back in.

30 minutes later the blue was taking, but STILL WHITE SPOTS
so this time i fliped the yarn inside out (so, if you held the yarn by one looped end, the parts that were touching now became the parts that were not touching...) hoping this would even out the color some.

put the yarn back in the water... cry over my burned hands (damn those crockpots get water hot)
30 mintues later, moved the top of the yarn to the bottom
30 minutes later, STILL WHITE SPOTS so I swished the yarn around to mix things up a bit... i really DO NOT want to add any more color (i wanted light blue...but now it's at a blue i'm comfortable with so I don't want to mess with it)

then remembered that the magenta + blue = purple skien was actually boiling...so i resolved to just let it sit for 60 minutes...in 30 i'll just probably look into the glass and see if i see bubbles along the edges...

but... if worse comes to worse, i can just dye it again tomorrow... with a darker blue and just cry...

but we'll see...maybe i'll be pleased with the results later.

---update 01---

okay so i went to look 60 mintues later and i CAN NOT understand why nothing is taking to the light blue/white-ish spots.

so, yes, i went to the dark blue and added a smidge to the water... now it's dark blue, blue grey, and white...

EHHHHHHHHH

waiting 30 minutes before i burn the whole thing.

---update 02---
well i gave up. did the "white spoon test" and the water was crystal clear. so i unplugged the sucker, cracked the lid... and decided to take some picutres.

it was very hard to catch the tones of the blues, so i'm putting up two pictures to show the depth. first up is the "light blues" ... which, in my opinion, right now...dominate the yarn


and here we have the "dark blues"


i'll post pics of it while hanging to dry and then pictures again once dry.

---update 03---
woke up this morning and rinsed... SURPRISINGLY the water was clear on first rinse. but since i used eucalan and there were suds everywhere, i rinsed a second time for good measure.

after rolling it (with a rolling pin) in a towel to get out the excess water, it was pretty close to dry. hopefully this means that it will be dry sometime tonight??? oh and this time i took out the ties while drying (b/c it makes dents if you don't).

so here we are hanging on the drying rack.


because it's so early in the morning, i went ahead and took pictures of my dry and ready to use new yarns.
this is the magenta which i redyed in blue...and it came out a raspberry color with blue highlights. so here's it in the skien ready to "go"


and here it is undone so you can see the color changes


now i'm beginning to realize that yellow is a very hard color to capture. this picture looks like the yarn is all one subtle (very) solid...but it's not... it's got yellow tones in it.

i actually went outside with a white towel and turned my flash off, used micro, and did a fast shutter speed in hopes to get true color...but damn is anything yellow hard...


my feeble attempt to show the color changes... i promise you, it's gorgeous.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Dye Session 02: Picture Essay continued

That's right... this is a continuation... so read Dye Session 01 first =)

Okay...so I was itching to make green...and itching to dye something right... so I started over again. This time, I left the ties tight, but tied in 6 places instead of 4. And, I got smarter with the soaking. I added a glass and put a loop around it so I know where I can grab the yarn without tangling it.


I followed all the same procedures except
1. i used less dye powder in total (even though i mixed to get the green)
2. i used 1/3 - 1/2 cup of vinegar
3. i used warmer water for both the bath and the crock pot
4. this time i went to check and move the ties =)... but after 30 minutes and not 2-3 hours LOL


I thought it was looking pretty...but maybe a bit bright... so
1. I made more mix, but in lesser quantities than what I originally had
2. added 1/4 cup of vinegar.

now when i lifted the yarn (this is why I burned) i just let it drip into the crock pot. with the other hand, i added the new dye and vinegar bath. the dripping, in my mind, did the mixing.

i moved the ties (all 6 of them on HOT WET yarn) and relaid them in there - i went back to check after 30 minutes and was pleased with the color


so then i went to check on the magenta-ish abomination that I did yesterday. and yes...


there were white spots.


so i took a jar, some blue, some hot water and made another dye bath with a crock pot i just bought that day (which was yesterday LOL...yes, i went on craigs list and bought a crock pot while at work... picked it up during lunch too). anyways, after 30 minutes, it was distinctly BLUE and RED...which kinda had me panicing.


so i went to check on the lovely green again and felt better =)


so after 3 hours of cooking, 7-8 hours of cooling over night, 30 minutes of rinsing...here are the picutres of both yarns...

i love the green...maybe not as subtle solid as i hoped (a bit on the solid side) but that's okay... it still has to dry


this will definately be a subtle solid, but damn did it get dark! it went from magenta to a deep burgundy color - you can see some blue highlights in it...which i think will be cool once it's dried. i would like to see what this looks like on a much lighter scale... it's summer time and all so i wanna see some happy colors...


all that remains is
1. what color to dye next
2. what color to dye the worsted weight yarn for the roomie
3. should i keep dying or actually knit it first LOL.

=)

---end---

Dye Session 01: Picture essay

So... I got an itch to dye yarn...and immediately went NUTS and bought a bunch of supplies





Target: Crock pot, plastic measuring spoons, wooden spoon, and basin
Safeway: Vinegar
Knit Picks: Jacquard Dye Starter set and yarn (3 skeins fingering, 2 worsted)
Already had: empty jars, aloe lined laytex gloves, packaging paper, Eucalan wool wash and printed instructions

So I redid the ties on the skein because I thought they were too tight...


this turned out to be a big mistake because i put it to soak and realized i was going to have a tangled mess


But I went ahead and did the following while it soaked
1. put room temp water in crock pot
2. put on gloves and mask
3. get the jar and put in some dye powder
4. added some hot water to swish (i don't like stirring to get out clumps and really didn't want to use ANOTHER utensil that i would never be able to use again)
5. added the rest of the warm water from the tea pot into the crock pot
6. added 3/4 vinegar to the crock pot
7. added dye solution to crock pot
8. grabbed yarn, squeezed it some
9. stuck it in and let it cook.... because i wanted a subtle solid i refused to move it...



it was looking so pretty until i started talking to red and realized that there are going to be white spots! so i ran to check...but alas, it was too late. the dye was almost completely exhausted and there was white spots galore.



---end---

don't laugh at me

so...i'm a hayao miyazaki fan. my first movie of his i saw was spirited away. very very beautiful. although, i did want to stab the little girl for her lack of tone because she just seemed to scream throughout the whole thing.

my next movies of his i saw on a miyazaki marathon on cartoon network...but the roommate bought me howl's moving castle.

this is definately one of miyazaki's more mature films (if you can even say that)but i've watched it ... non stop ... since what? monday? and i'm still going LOL.

anyway, i love the art work, i love the colors, i love the voices. (christian bale is hot...in general)

so anyway...goober me who is a fan's type of fan (yes i've knitted a harry potter slytherin scarf - as a gift - that my friend wore to the opening and had people accost her for)

man am i tangential or what today?

anyway, being a goober fan fan ... i want to knit the toys on howl's bed. i'm leaning more towards the hippo with the stupidly long tail. yes, i will attempt to knit it big (life size)... and i figure it's easier than knitting wobbly spots on a cow ... with green ears (too cute)

but yeah... i figured knitting the toys would be easier than knitting a howl, calcifer, etc.

i am thinking of dying up some deep navy blue yarn and knitting some feathery lace socks...but that would require research and effort...but it is much less effort than trying to knit a howl...

maybe someone should just find me christian bale so i can make him socks...and our dogs can play together... /me starts dreaming...

so yeah... hippo with stupid long tail anyone?

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

my finger hurts

okay so i've had a two day dying adventure =)

i'm actually writing everything up in word and will include pictures AFTER i'm done with everything...

but let me tell you i'm pretty excited =D

i'll have some nice happy green socks. by "happy" green i mean something slightly yellowish, light, and happy. hopefully it's a subtle solid

oh - just found this >> http://theknittery.com/c/120995/1/8ply-dk-silk-merino.html look at the "barley grass" and that's pretty close to the color i have =)

i'll also have some varigated (or subtle solid) purple socks....they started off as magenta, but i missed spots (damn yarn ties) so i redyed it in a little bit of blue...got a bit worried b/c it was actually looking like blue, pink, and purple...but after 3 hours the water stopped being blue, pink water remained (assuming dye has been exhausted since the color's been completely mixed) and the yarn is purpleish... DARK purple...so we'll see.

definately LOVING dying =) feels so satisfying.

definately going to the knittery (see side bar under shopping) for some sock yarn =) cashmere sock yarn with nylon...

/me drools

can't wait to show you guys pictures

i'm also thinking of sending people some yarn i dyed just for the hell...but we'll see =)

---end---

ps. added Anti M to the side bar...say hello and take a peak!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

happy birthday to me

okay, so it's like...super super early for my birthday...but...instead of the spa i bought dying stuff.

so... here it is
1. jacquard acid dye starter set that has Vermillion, Fire Red, Sky Blue, Sapphire Blue, Yellow Sun, and Jet Black. this means i'm going to have to think about how to make green lol.

2. three (3) skiens of superwash/nylon fingering weight yarn @ 462 yards each (to test subtle solid dying)

3. two (2) skiens of superwash/nylon worsted weight yarn @ 220 yards each (for aaron's socks that i still haven't done)

i need to get
1. a crockpot (going to target)
2. masks
3. white vinegar
4. gloves (i think i have some at home)
5. a wash basin (i think i want a specifc one for washing)
6. these instructions printed out before it suddenly disappears off the internet ()

but i do have to report the following good stuff
1. the cable ribbed socks have been done =) i need to wash them
2. finished ONE jaywalker sock today @ bf's basketball game
3. camisa is done being knitted. just need to block and seam =)
4. i got fitted knits (i know i'm horrible)
5. i got knitting on the road (dude you have no idea how quickly this book is disappearing!)
6. i got the cashmere yarn from red =) very excited....

but yes... i must go now...

---end---

Monday, April 30, 2007

update on the crack

so i bought last minute knitted gifts...and i read the pattern and they say use 10 skiens of 100 years of noro AKA 1000 yards

well i have 14 skiens of 67 yards which is only 938. so i had red reserve me another skien (yes 15 now) for a total of 1005 yards.

and while i'd like it to look like elliphantom's sweater

and get this... i'm MORE thank likely going to make it a 3/4 sleeve as seen here

we will see... because the yarn is sooo squishy i odn't know if the folded over hem will work /me thinks...but what do i know lol???

Saturday, April 28, 2007

i love you red



see this...

meet cashsilk, 676, from laines du nord. it is 50% extra fine merino, 25% silk, 25% cashmere.

yes, my red told me about the sale and is going to be my long distance supplier. /me sighs

so she calls me to chat, tells me there's a sale going on - you get more of a discount if you buy 10 items...i got 14...damn you red, i probably could've gotten away with 12...but she convinced me that the extra balls i could make a cute hat or something

so what am i going to use it for? last minute knitted gift's hourglass sweater.

i went on a search looking for a sample sweater. sweet georgia uses 9 skiens of about 96/99yards but the knit picks says 11 skiens of about 99 yards... and i'm getting 14 of 67yards... so i'll end up between the two.

/me crosses fingers that enough yarn was purchased.

oh well. i'm excited. i love top down sweaters and i'm sure i'll figure out some use for it!

oh and red says it's squishy =)


*references:
company website: http://www.novayarn.com/nv/Shade/982.html
picture from: http://www.pureknits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=352
store: http://www.poshayarnboutique.com/
sample: http://sweetgeorgia.planetfishdesign.com/archives/knitting/knit_hourglass_sweater/
sample: http://knitpicks.com/Hourglass+Pullover_PD30579223.html

Thursday, April 26, 2007

back in the saddle

so i unravelled the branching out and the bayscheir (sp?). i actually did not get rid of as much as i thought i did lol.

i bought the "favorite socks" book by interweave press and have knitted a sock from it. i need to try it on to know when i should begin the toe, but all in all, i'm pretty pleased considering it's been forever since i actually knitted.

my next step will be to NOT start anything new until i finish what i have left to do.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

haitus

okay - so i haven't been on in forever...

aaron's brother, joshua frazier... sgt joshua frazier, was killed in iraq feb 6. 2007.

i have not been able to do much since then, but today was definitely a better day than it has been in forever.

so i'm going on an even longer hiatus until i feel ready to continue things as they used to be.

for stories and news clips of josh, please google "joshua frazier marine"
he's been featured in numerous places including television broadcasts of abc, nbc, cbs, fox (oliver north's show) as well as npr, cnn, washington post.

the very first story was through the free lance star (fredricksburg.com) which includes the original story, obituary, and funeral articles.

*e

Saturday, January 06, 2007

way to start off the new year

my camisa is not done... my jaywalkers are not done... my mom's tulip is not done...

oh and my computer crashed... yeah i'm on a loner computer. doesn't that suck?

until next time my dears...

---end---