kemisicrafts

On My Way

2011-12-27T09:44:00.001-05:00

Well, I got started on the 19th and have about 5 inches done already. I find the pattern easy to follow so far. The construction is nice and keeps my interest. Being able to see the parts of the sweater so defined is very nice. I'm enjoying working on this sweater. My goal is to be done by the end of next month. Then I plan on making ” betty”. I love that sweater.

Casting on

2011-12-06T13:44:00.001-05:00

Really wanted to make the Betty sweater from the new interweave knits magazine, but ended up with yarn for the Briar Rose sweater. Will be casting on tonight, hopefully, for size 34 with size 6 & 8 needles. This should be an interesting knit. I will challenge myself to get it done by the end of the year. That way I can get started on my other one.

Hiatus over....

2011-11-28T19:16:00.001-05:00

Sorry for my absence. Last year was a mess...school, being called back to work,and trying to get married. Little to no crocheting or knitting was done. But, I am happy to say that is all over...I hope. I have been crocheting and knitting. I've also found a couple sweaters I want to make out of the new Interweave Knits magazine(Betty's sweater).

Anywho......I am so glad to be back blogging. Leaving you with pics of some projects that have been or will be finished.

Falling In Love

2010-09-20T23:15:00.008-04:00

With Lorna's Laces "Shepard's Worsted". I've worked with the chunky before, but never noticed the softness it has. At the time I was more focused on learning to do a cable than appreciating the yarn. The color is "Flames" and I chose this because it reminds me of my fraternity "Phi Delta Psi, Inc". The pattern is "Winter in Canada" and can be found here. I love how the colors are going. I just hope it looks nice when I finish it. I am doing the small version on sz. 8 needles. That is the only mod I have made. We will see how this plays out.

Seeing that winter is coming I have just been making new hats for myself. This is the "Valentin Cable" hat and can be found in the Fall 2009 Knitscene magazine. I loved it when I first saw it and had to have it. I used Cascade 220 in a light blue. This was a real easy pattern and can be done in a couple of hours.

Last but not least is my version of the "Vivonne Bay" hat. The pattern can be found here. I used what was left of the Cascade 220 light blue and added Shepard's Worsted in white for the decreasing of the crown and finished with the light blue for the last couple of rows. I think it worked out well.
Now, if I can only finish up some UFO's before the end of the year I'd be in business.

Surprise!

2010-08-18T00:29:00.003-04:00

I have finished "The Devil's Queen" by Jeanne Kalogridis and boy was it a fast read. Over four hundred pages of history, court intrigue, astrology, I couldn't put it down. For me not to know anything about Catherine De Medici I think I have a pretty good understanding of her after reading the book. What a powerful woman. What a determined woman. Wow! I highly recommend this book if you like historical fiction. If you haven't tried historical fiction....well your missing out.

Finally.....

2010-08-14T07:09:00.001-04:00

Done reading, "Sweater Quest". Let the party begin. I was so happy to finish the book....I jumped for joy. It was just that hard to finish. Now, I stand by my previous post....this book was boring for me. Others may find it enjoyable, but not I. There are a lot of technical things about knitting, about the knitting community, and about "SHE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED". I guess that is what made it boring. The process wasn't all that bad. If she just wrote about that I'd probably would have enjoyed it. But, I guess the technical stuff was necessary though. I did learn some things. That is a bright side.

Now, on to a historical fiction book, "The Devil's Queen" by Jeanne Kalogridis. So, far I am enjoying it immensely. There is something about historical fiction that is so soothing to me. The book is about Catherine De Medici. I have never really read about her. I have stayed with the Tudors up unitl now. I look forward to reading it every time I pick it up. So, I already know I am going to write a positive review on it. (Hopefully!)

Only a Couple of Months In

2010-07-05T16:33:00.004-04:00

Let me explain the headline....I have been reading "Sweater Quest" by Adrienne Martini and it is about her quest to finish "Mary Tudor". For me this is another slow read. I am only in July/August and I feel like its going to take the rest of this year for me to finish. For others this may be a great book...especially if you are into "She Who Must Not Be Named" designs. But, one look at that sweater made me want to vomit. I thought, "why would she want to knit that". The challenge. Cool, I'm all for a challenge. I took on socks and am now addicted after swearing they were too hard. I've knitted lace and made shawls....challenge is a good thing. But not this. It's not for me. I've told people it looked like someone drunk a faygo orange, grape, and red pop an threw up on the thing. Now, "She Who Must Not Be Named" has some other designs that I liked, but will not attempt even if SHE paid me because of her.

Seeing that I am still reading it (yes, I will not just put this down and concede defeat) I will put off actually giving a review. There are some good things in the book, but my picture of "She Who Must Not Be Named" makes it unlikely for me to put her in the class of EZ, Meg Swanson, Sally Melville, and the Yarn Harlot.

Moon Spinners

2010-06-06T21:09:00.000-04:00

This is the third book in Sally Goldenbaum's "Seaside Mystery" collection. The crew is back to solve a murder of one of their neighbor's. It's nothing like being back on the Endicott's deck enjoying one of Ben's famous drinks. Or being in Izzy's shop sampling the delicious collection of yarns and Purl's meowing. Okay....I wasn't there, but with the imagery Ms. Goldenbaum provides it sure feels like I was. Like her past books, I have enjoyed reading this and couldn't believe how it ended. When I thought I had the culprit pegged......bang......it was someone I least expected. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys a good mystery. (Whether you knit or not.) Now, on to Maggie Sefton and her eighth book, "Skein of the Crime". Look for that review soon.

2010-05-10T12:58:00.000-04:00

R.I.P MS. LENA HORNE

Casting Off to Cast On

2010-05-02T18:38:00.010-04:00

I just finished reading "Casting Off" by Nicole R. Dickson. At first I could not get into it. It wasn't the book.....I was just in a reading funk. After putting it down and getting back in the groove of things I pick it back up and boy am I happy I did. This is a very heart warming book. The way she describes Ireland and the people is beautiful. The storyline really teaches you about people and yourself. I cried towards the end. I am putting this on my favorites list and probably will re-read it soon. This is a must read f
or knitters who love to read and learn.

After you read the book you may want to make your own "gansey". I found the above "Inishturk" sweater patter at Lionbrand. It will be a challenge because I do not like seed stitch and this is double seed stitch, but I want an Irish gansey so I will bite the bullet and do it. I more than likely will use Vanna's Choice in Sapphire. I so love that color. The sweater would look gorgeous in that color.

Back to Reading

2010-04-28T13:50:00.002-04:00

About a week ago Mr. Patterson made the first 26 chapter of "The 9th Judgment" available to download on his website. This was a first I have ever heard of an author doing this. I immediately downloaded it and finally got a chance to read them Monday. After finishing the first 26 chapters I got my fix and decided to pre-order the book. The book finally came yesterday on its release date and I finished it late last night. I only put it down once. I really missed Lindsay, Yuki, Cindy, and Claire. I enjoyed the tv series before it was canceled after 1 season.

This book did not disappoint. It was definitely a page turner. Also a roller coaster ride of emotion. So if you are into the "Woman's Murder Club" or just into James Patterson....go get this book.

Yarn Harlot Weekend

2010-03-15T18:13:00.003-04:00

Yeah....I spent Saturday with the "Yarn Harlot" Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Well, sort of...I attended her book signing at the Detroit Main Library. It was very fun and soothing. You heard me right....soothing. I say that because this was the first event I ever went to where everyone in the audience was knitting. There is something to be said about a bunch of people gathered together to listen to an author talk about knitting while you knit.

At one point I looked over at the guard who escorted her into the auditorium and I thought, "gee, he must be bored". Then I thought, "he must think we're all nuts". What did they think we all were going to do....attack her when she made her appearance. Is that why they gave her protection? LOL! She even joked about it. Like she was some "real" celebrity. Well, in the knitting world she is. Its funny how non-crocheters and non-knitters don't get it when you talk about "our celebrities". Also, how we can't go past a yarn shop or a yarn isle without entering. Then we get in there and molest the yarn. With no intention to buy, but must touch the yarny goodness. The addiction is bad and we all refuse to go to rehab!

A plus of the signing was her showing off her sweater she finished during the Ravelympics. It was beautiful. It was amazing. She got it done in 2 wks. That's insane considering that it's some fair isle involved. She so rocks!

People came from all over. I sat with two ladies from NY, Kathy and Sandi. They both were working on socks. There was even a marketplace before the signing. I bought two skeins of sock yarn and one clipboard with legal pad. No regrets. Boy did I have fun.

Olympics Withdrawal!!!!

2010-03-01T19:15:00.005-05:00

After anxiously waiting for the Olympics to start and feverishly trolling Ravelry for projects to finish and start....the withdrawal has begun. I only finished 3 out of 4 planned projects. I decided late that it would be better for me to rip down the top of Justina and redo it to fit a bigger bust size. Also, I made a simpler pair of socks for mom than "Mermaid's Lagoon". It just wasn't possible for me to finish it in time. I rather play safe than be sorry. (She's gonna get them this Friday for her b-day!)

Below are the"Ragg Hiker's" I did for mom. They're from the 2 socks at a time book. I hope she likes them. I like mine. They were finished on the 28th of Feb. before the closing ceremonies started. I was so happy to be done with them.

Below is Mara....not a real good pic, but hey I had to get it posted on the Finish line thread. The ribbing is at least 2 inches short, but it works for me because I am short. I am very pleased with how it turned out though. Making another would involve a great deal of thought.

Victory Is Mine

2010-02-19T10:19:00.006-05:00

Here is my simple socks I did for the Ravelympics. I am so happy they are done. A little big in the instep, but thats okay. I am very happy with the striping of the yarn. I got the little boogers done in about 5 days. Next time I do these I will just cast on 52 stitches and that way they will fit perfectly.

And for my effort I received my recognition.......a badge of completion. Yay!

Projects for Ravelympics

2010-02-07T18:42:00.005-05:00

Above is Mara that I plan on finishing during the Winter Olympics. I'm basically at the end just have to finish one more skein and move on to the ruffle part. At least I will get some use out of it before the weather officially breaks. (Seeing that the damn groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter.)

Here are the socks I want to challenge myself with. The challenge is to do 2 socks on one circ. I have never done it before. I just finished my 1st pair of socks doing the magic loop. Above is "Mermaid's Lagoon" from Knitty.com. These will be for my mom. I have 1 skein of Cherry Tree Hill superwash hand dyed in a lovely purple. Purple is my mom's fav color. Must please mom. Below is just a simple sock I will be doing out of Maxime Print by Filatura Di Crosa. Gotta love self patterning yarn.
All in all I should be a very happy Olympian when I cross the finishline. At least I hope so.

Gearing Up!

2010-01-30T22:03:00.004-05:00

For the Ravelympics!!!!! I am so excited. The Winter Olympics start February 12th and I can't wait. I am participating in two events, WIP Dancing and Sock Hockey. I plan on finishing Mara and Justina by the end of the Olympics. My challenge is to do two socks on one circ. I have two socks I want to finish.....1 is for my mom and the other is just a simple sock pattern. I didn't want to overload myself.

Also, I am back in school. Luckily my classes aren't that involved where I will lose knitting/crochet time. This will allow my to get through the Olympics. I can't say that for this coming summer. I plan on taking math this summer and that is going to kill me. I hate math. I really suck at it. (Damn Algebra!)

My fiance gave me the great idea of planning a day cruise on the Detroit Princess this summer for the knit group I go to at City Knits and anyone else who would be interested. I've discussed it with some of the girls there and July would be a good month. Its still in the planning stages and I hope to give them the schedule and price list the lady provided me with from the ship. Hopefully, this thing gets up and rolling. It would be so much fun.

I so need to get some pics up of my recent projects. I hope to do this by next month. (I said "hope"....don't hold your breathe.)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T18:11:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas peeps!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. I've been quite busy learning how to spin yarn and knit my reception dress. Learning to spin was pretty fun. I am looking forward to getting either an Ashford or Lendrum spinning wheel. Real soon. The next thing for me to learn is to sew.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Blocking

2009-10-15T14:45:00.005-04:00

Here are the blocking mats I ordered from Knit Picks. I am so happy to finally have these. I have two shawls I know will need blocking. I already purchased a blocking kit that includes: yard ruler, t-pins, and wires at my LYS. Having the mats just put a cherry on top of everything. Now I can block to my hearts content. Or at least explore the whole blocking thing since I haven't done it before. This should prove interesting.

I have finished the Boneyard shawl for myself and started on a basic shawl for my mom. I also began Mara and finished Gabriel's Wings. Gabriel's Wings will need blocking. Seeing that Mara is all garter stitch its taking a while to finish. I probably will be making it a bit wider than the pattern says since I have more yarn. We'll see how that works out. I like big shawls anyway. Next will be a shawlette and "Eye's of Partridge". I can't wait to make the latter because its a new stitch to learn. How cool! Then after all of this I should be able to turn back to the Swallowtail shawl and finish it. Doing some basic shawls have prepared me to finish it. Now I know how a shawl is constructed and the importance of doing the increases before and after the center stitch. Yay! I feel more confidant now.

I hope to be able to post some picture's real soon of my shawls.

Knitting While Laid Off

2009-09-16T18:35:00.005-04:00

In my stash I have 2 balls of Peruvian Tweed yarn. It yields 600 yards each and I had no idea what to do with them. I've been on a shawl kick and I wanted to make a more basic one than the Swallowtail Shawl (which is on hiatus). While trolling ravelry I came across the above Boneyard shawl. Some people have already used the said yarn for this project so I casted on. Very basic and a brain dead project for me. The yarn feels delicious and makes it a pleasure to knit with. I love getting to the ridge part which gives me a break from the stockinette. I can't wait to finish it. I wonder if I really need to block it at the end?
While I was at it, I decided to make my mom a shawl as well. Seeing that I will be using the same yarn, I wanted a different pattern so they didn't look so much alike. So, I found this above shawl "Frostberries" and decided that this would work for her. Very basic and should be a brain dead project, too. I hope she likes it. I plan on casting on for this when I am finished with mine.
Lastly, I saw this in the new "Interweave: Weekend Knits" magazine and decided to use sugar and cream yarn. I am trying to use some of my stash yarn as much as I can. Yeah...I will be indulging in some "new yarn", but will think before making a purchase. (Must pay bills 1st.) I will be doing more than knitting and crocheting while I'm laid off. I have an internship and I am planning on going back to school this Spring. I had to take the Fall off because I wanted to focus on my pending nuptials. Little did I know I would be laid off. Its a blessing in disguise though. More time to crochet/knit and there is my internship.

MyTouch

2009-08-02T15:16:00.004-04:00

Here is my new MyTouch ph from T-Mobile. It is so thinner than my G1 and is totally touchscreen. Its basically like the G1, but with some cool apps: my account, sherpa, and video voicemail. The video voicemail is really cool. All in all I am happy I have the phone. I just need a new case for it and want to personalize it with my own skin. Hopefully, I will do that soon. I am still playing with it, though. I have to get used to not having the slide keypad and additional camera button on the side.

Oh, you gotta love the colors it comes in: Merlot, White, and Black. You guessed it...I got black. Not to big on the other colors even though they're hot, too.

Magic Loop, Plus a Baby Blanket

2009-06-21T00:37:00.005-04:00

Above is my second attempt at a sock. This time around I'm doing the "magic loop" method. It seemed hard to do at first, when I saw others doing it. Then someone at my Crochet/Knit group showed some of us and after a while I decided to make an attempt. After the first couple of rounds it got easier. I really like it. I doubt I do two socks on one circ though. I may mess things up. I'm just doing a basic 2x2 rib sock. Hopefully, it turns out ok.

This is a baby blanket from, "Cute Crochet for Tiny Tots" by Helen Ardley. I'm making it for My BFF's niece that came early. The baby shower is next Saturday and I hope to have this all finished by then. Looks like it is really meant to be a crib blanket.

Baby Blanket

2009-05-20T09:36:00.005-04:00

I'm currently working on a baby afghan for my best-friend's new niece. She is a premie and now I have to get the afghan finished by June 27th because thats when they are having the shower for her. I decided to do a star afghan I found on Ravelry. So far, so good....except I am a little stuck at Row 3. I'll figure it out and get this thing done by the due date.

My reception dress is still coming along. Slow, but surely. I am having a little fun making it though. I did decide not to take it to my Friday Night Knit group too often because I can't concentrate on it much. So, maybe I'll take Mr.'s Blanket there and try and finish it. (Yeah I haven't finished it yet, but I will.)

I'm back in school for the Summer Semester and taking my Field Placement II class and Group and Social Techniques II. I finished the Spring courses over a week ago and got 2 A's in Group and Social Skills II and Psychopathology. I am soooooo happy about my A's. I really thought I was gonna get a B or C. So, I am well on my way to completing my plan of actually finishing something and getting some form of a degree. Even if it is just an Associates degree.....at least I will have one. Then I'll focus on my next plan......my BSW.

Gadget Girl Strikes Again!

2009-04-28T08:48:00.004-04:00

Above is my latest purchase. The Nintendo DSI. Its very light like the DS lite, but with no space for Gameboy and Gameboy Advance games. its strickly for DS games. I love the camera. It takes very clear pics and the features to play with your picutres is so fun. I haven't tried the music function yet, but either me or my fiance will.

You know I had to get the matte blue. I just couldn't do the black this time around. The set up is pretty easy and doesn't take up too much time. While playing, "Animal Crossing" I noticed the color is more clearer on the DSI than my original DS. Yeah......I never got the DS Lite......I still had the original......big deal.

I decided to give my six year old niece my old DS because 1) she's 6 and 2) she was getting a tad jealous of others having one. My baby is so excited to have one. She was even quiet in the car on the ride home her mom said.

All in all its a wonderful toy for me. Can't wait for the finace to play with it.

Yay!!!!!!!

2009-04-18T18:54:00.004-04:00

Okay......I went to my Friday Night Knit Group and low and behold the Addi Clicks were there. I was looking at these things on the net for a month or so now and decided I had to have them. Hey, there Addi's, duh! I like the heart shape pen you get. You don't get that with any other interchangeable needle set. I am so gonna enjoy these. I think I am all set on cir's. I may look into getting additional cables later on. I would like a 16".

The set starts with sz. 4 and goes to sz 15. Cable lengths are 24, 32, and 40. Also, the cable is blue and more pliable than the old ones. Blue is such a plus for me.

So, if you love Addi's this is a good investment. Happy knitting!

Gadget Alert!!!!!

2009-04-02T22:33:00.003-04:00

I heard about this some how and thought it was a good idea. I ordered mines through "yarn market" and it came this past Monday. I am pretty happy about the product . The only draw back is its pink and white. I don't like pink, but I will deal with it. Below is a picture of the back which holds scissors, stitch markers, and point protectors.Here is the picture of the front with row counter on top, crochet hook on the left, thread cutter upper right, and tape measure lower left. The row counter has a lock button right up under it....that is real handy. The tape measure has a button to release it and draw it back in.
Its a pretty good gadget. So, all of you gadget freaks go get it.