synestheticknits

hello 2012.

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:15:00 +0000

getting back into the swing of things.

started some socks from my ravelry queue (added in 2009!).. my new years socks of kindness. using my hand-dyed, done in august of 2008 per my ravelry records. does everyone let their stash marinate for 3 1/2 years before using or is this only me?

also: i just made these chocolate stout cupcakes and they are as amazing as they sound.

the kitties

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:24:00 +0000

hey. so, remember the kitten i talked about last time? here she is!

her name is daphne, and she needed her eye removed. aside from that, she is totally healthy and a lunatic, as you can see. here she is tussling with the kitty wonton i made for her older brother.

rufus! have to be fair and all.

sigh.

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:23:00 +0000

hey peoples.. i had wanted to post another knitting pattern that i'm working on for so-called "pullip week" but i'm just not happy with it yet. also (you may already know if we are twitter friends.. wanna be twitter friends?), we have unexpectedly taken in a homeless kitty who needed surgery. soo, things have been slightly more hectic than usual.

as consolation, have a peek at some of my favorite dolly pics on my doll pinterest board! please suggest more if you have them. (:

and of course, kitten pics to follow.

pullip week!

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:44:00 +0000

so i have decided it's going to be pullip week, around here anyway. to start off, i'll continue with my profile series-of-sorts (which i started in may 2010.. oops) with my rovam, graham!

..who i have apparently not photographed as much as i thought. poor graham. i first found out about pullips right around the time that rovam was announced, and i knew she was the one. (erm, one of several apparently.. paja would have been my second choice. sadly, that did not happen and i still have yet to find a paja of my own. sigh!) lucy, my chicca came first as i found a good price on the "pre-loved" market. but, i am lucky enough to have a fantastic boyfriend who knew i wanted a rovam and surprised me with her for christmas!

graham has always seemed to be quite the tomboy to me. she wears a lot of brown and black & white stripes, but is willing to humor me with some girly-ish outfits for photos from time to time.

anyway, rovam is awesome and i'm glad i got hold of her before she shot up in price. graham definitely needs to go out for some pictures of her own very soon.

savers round-up

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:47:00 +0000

yes, another savers trip.. so my intentions were to pick up a replacement lid for my dyeing crockpot (which i did not find). somehow i ended up coming home with...

* another stitch by stitch book! i think i need to collect all of these. so much fiber-y fabulousness, especially considering they were put out in the 80s. (we all know the golden age of the craft book was the 1970s.)

* a cheap frame for me to paint red for the awesome print that the boy got me from craftland.

* and a munny! complete with box and accessories. he has a big scuff on his head, but all the more reason to give him a new paint job. (like i need more projects?) and he was $3.99!

well. anyone know where i can find a crockpot lid?

a new friend

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Thu, 05 May 2011 05:47:00 +0000

have you met growing sally?

i've actually had her for some time, but have never really photographed her. she was made by remco in the 60s. i just have her dress, no wig, but i like her this way.

(the vintage toy encyclopedia)

recipe roundup

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:13:00 +0000

i seem to collect recipes. (i have a bookmarks folder.. with subfolders. yes.) some stuff we will be trying soon:

canterbury potato leek soup. the boy is a big fan of leeks (of all things), so i will have to give this a try.

pesto bucati with chicken and artichokes. i would put pesto on anything. almost.

mattar paneer. so tasty, but i might sub for tofu.

cool chinese vermicelli. i've never made a cold pasta dish before, and this sounds interesting...

israeli moroccan couscous. we had a bunch of weird-ish canned goods passed on to us by my sister, including many cans of sweet potatoes. i've been looking for something to use them up with.

parmesan roasted potatoes. potatoes and cheese, dude. nom.

cauli-bean tacos. looks like a good way to hide vegetables. also a how-to for making tortillas. yay!

salt and vinegar roasted chickpeas. mmm chickpeas.

homemade oreos. and cookies of course. (i have a bit of a problem with cookies.)

savers!

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:52:00 +0000

savers is one of my favorite places ever. when i visit a new place i usually check out their savers, just to see what they have. (in fact, when i was in montreal i absolutely had to track down the village des valeurs.) some recent finds:

some cds.. tori amos's little earthquakes, which i did not have in my library for some reason. dude, i forgot how good it is. also a david sedaris cd, which will have to wait until christmas, but that's okay.

an interesting skein of mystery yarn. it's tweedy and self-striping in a noro sort of way. (anyone recognize it?)

a stitch by stitch book of crafty stuff. really cute things in this one, no photos yet.. but smocking! and sewing tutorials! (i do need sewing help.)

there was another... special find this time.

yes, we bought this. we couldn't not. yes, it may appear to be just a burned copy of an alice in chains album. but the car..? and the disc itself:

the muscle dude? fdawg? what does disc one look like? what is really on this disc? alas, as it was made in 1999 (the year i graduated high school!), it is now unreadable and the mystery will remain unsolved. sigh.

wordless wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:22:00 +0000

happy spring

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:18:00 +0000

love, story. (:

noro noro noro

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:58:00 +0000

so i bought yarn. it's been a while, okay? ahem.

so the main impetus was to finish this mitten project that has been hanging around for six years or so, waiting for me to find another skein of kureyon in 92. finally i discovered the problem: it has been discontinued. gah! on to plan b: buy a totally different color and stripe it.

first mitten down! i wasn't so sure i liked the way the red and green fell together, but okay. mitten number 2: ugggghh.

mud. now on third attempt. let's think of happier things, hm? like more noro:

two skeins of silk garden for a special project to be named later..

and one more skein of kureyon for, well.. i don't know, i was distracted by the pretty colors. colorrrrs... but, pattern suggestions? i like the top of this hat, but i'm open to other ideas.

this week...

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 06:39:00 +0000

mostly full of this sort of thing.

so done with this crap.

but i did get to finish my lovely malabrigo beret in record time (undeterred by the little gray stripey menace that chewed through the yarn.. not the malabrigo, dude!). and the biggest news of all.. i am done with job #2! i am now at single-job status. it's almost strange having extra time.. but that means knitting time! there is some mini-fairisle experimentation going on right now.

in other news, please click over to see this yarn-filled heart-shaped box at craftzine. and then make one for me.

felty cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:57:00 +0000

hello peoples. unsurprisingly, i am unprepared for christmas even at this late date. ah well, i thought i would share this little thing that i worked on until the wee hours this morning. first off, supplies... i ordered some tasty wool felt from tadaa studio felt on etsy. such lovely colors:

and fast shipping as well, so they get my recommendation!

so my best friend had her baby a bit early. their sort of "theme" for her room is pink and brown and cupcakes. soo, i put together a little "baby's first christmas ornament" kind of thing. it is far from perfect and i probably should have done a little practice one first, but it's five days from christmas right now. so, no. (sigh.)

i sketched out my cupcake shape on paper, cut it out...

and traced it onto the felt. i left a bit around the edges for stitching. in the future, i think it'll be easier to cut out the two shapes (frosting and cake) separately. i did a bit of free hand embroidery and...

yay! it's sort of cute. for the back, i very very lightly sketched an "a" with pencil, and embroidered over that. (why yes, i do like chain stitch.. it's not that i haven't learned any others or anything silly like that)

i stitched the bottom parts together around the edges, then around the bottom of the frosting. i added a small bit of batting in the middle, but you could probably do a couple pieces of felt instead. stitch stitch all around, don't forget the ribbon, and done. (i just added it in as i sewed around and it seems to be holding well.) hope they like it...

hello again.

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:51:00 +0000

such blog silence lately! my apologies. much of my knitting time has been spent on the two new babies-to-be in my life. (not mine!) a couple new autumn-y dolly things...

(in the shop)

(not yet in the shop)

nextly, new yarns!

closeups to come.

things will be changing for the better after the end of the year. this includes more knitting time! oh 2011...

tiny things

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 02:14:00 +0000

i finally got the sweet bookshelf i've been hemming and hawing over. the dolls now have a shelf in the new place! this could only mean.. time to play with miniatures!

this month's issue of craft leftovers is all about miniature crafting. so yes, this was the issue that got me to order. yay! excited about the little chair pattern.

i also love this teeny camera that embellishyourself blogged about a couple days ago. oh my god need this. love it.

also, a good idea on blythelife for making your own little dolly foods.

now just need to arrange the girls' setup... maybe snap some pictures!

on twittering

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:04:00 +0000

(my new twitter background, which i made up--or colored in, really--on colourlovers.

so... yeah. i finally went ahead and joined twitter. hello hello!

maybe it was havi of the fluent self's description of it as "the twitter bar", or the fact that i've been following more and more twitter feeds through my rss reader.. it turned out to be fun! besides, with the way my schedule's been lately (and looks to be until the end of the year), 140 characters is a bit more manageable than this ol' blog thing sometimes.

in other news... working on some dolly things for fall (bit by bit). pink and black seem to be the theme.

babyknits

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:56:00 +0000

so as it turns out, my best friend and sister are both knocked up at the same time. oh heavens. now that we know it will be a girl and boy, respectively, all baby knitting options are open!

stripey waves blanket, on ravelry

the blanket i started for my sister's last month at the beach (i don't really swim). just stripes, based on a a stitch pattern in 400 knitting stitches, (which i'm really liking, by the way.. and it was 40% off at knitpicks!). the other stuff is still in planning mode. under consideration:

* baby surprise jacket, of course! handspun for it in the works soon. this may be a little overambitious of me.

* the chicken viking hat, which i've been wanting to make forever

* baby tart, which i kind of want to make for myself

* sheldon the turtle, for my sister's little one.

* offset wraplan, a very cute asymmetrical sweater.

* boheme, a lovely girly lacy top. unfortunately, the pattern seems to be down for the time being.

and of course i am open to suggestions! this whole baby-knitting this is a bit new to me.

dolly blogs

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:33:00 +0000

some doll-related blogs that i subscribe to...

we play with dolls: read and be updated on blythe, pullip, and bjd news. also tutorials on customization and such. and this is how i discovered pika and mika. sigh!

latidah: companion blog for the latidah flickr group for lati yellows. not updated very often, but love seeing lati pictures!

feltland: a bilingual personal blog with awesome photos of miniatures. lots of dollies as well!

requiemart, of course: great photos, tutorials, reviews and more.

there have to be more out there... recommendations, anyone?

summer knits

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:30:00 +0000

for blythe...

(in the shop)

for me...

(on ravelry)

for my swiffer...

(on ravelry)

queuing..

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:41:00 +0000

i've been thinking about my knitting projects to be. the thing is, i need to start things in a more organized manner. at this moment i have 14 unfinished objects amongst my ravelry projects. (these are just the ones listed in ravelry. oh, there are others. plus spinning ufos...) yet the urge to cast on more is always there. my queue stands at 92. ninety-two! some things have been on the list since 2007.

so here's my idea: start at #1 and go down until i find something that i know i have the yarn in stash for. this brings us tooo.. #19, the sock with no name, by cookie a. well, sort of. i have sock yarn, yes. but i keep thinking that pattern would be so much better in a semi-solid.. moving on.

(damn so many sweaters)
(and so little solid-colored sock yarn in my stash)

okay i think i got it! #62. leyburn socks. love the little sort-of slipped stitch pops of color. i have it narrowed down to two: araucania ranco multy in color 309 (in my rav stash) or my hand-dyed knitpicks bare (rav). thoughts, anyone? i have time.

what i've been into lately...

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:15:00 +0000

1. flattr 2. my new leggings 3. pullip knitting 4. altador cup 5. little twin stars re-ment 6. farmville 7. the golden girls 8. souzoucreations 9. treasury east on etsy

now my true nerdiness will show...

1) flattr.com. lee of leethal wrote a super-awesome post about this recently, and i really hope it catches on! this would be great for people who offer free patterns and tutorials. i think i need to request an invite right now.

2) my lovely legwarmers, pattern by tiny owl knits. love love love her patterns. also loving my diy hackle, but i need another table clamp for it. why are these so hard to come by?

3) dolly knitting again! i'm finally getting back into the swing of things. working on a little summer top right now. also working on putting my hat pattern up on ravelry (still...).

4) yeahhh.... neopets. it's altador cup time! lost desert, baby! come on, i can't be the only one...

5) little twin stars are my absolute favorite sanrio characters. thus, this re-ment set must be had. i finally tracked down a couple places that have it for preorder. yes!

6) so yeah, farmville too. i know i'm not the only one on this one. (anyone wanna be neighbors?)

7) the golden girls is one of my favorite shows of all time, ever. (rue... ): ) i've always thought that my best friend and i got along so well because i 'm a cross between dorothy and sophia and she's a cross between rose and blanche. now you can see every episode on youtube! i miss when they had the fancy cook.

8)souzoucreations's little bunny and kitty rings. ohhh want. they are all in smaller sizes, though... i may have to give in and do some stretching.

9) treasury east! digging it. i kind of wish they would keep the old treasuries as well.. there was a certain excitement in snagging one. ah well. i have a doll couture spring collection up and thinking on one for summer too.

phew. all linked out.

my first pullip

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:23:00 +0000

i first got into pullips sometime around when paja was released (sigh..), and my first was lucy.

she's a chicca that i adopted from someone on ebay; her name came with her. of course the most obvious thing to do was start knitting for her. (and get her some friends, of course..)

to me, she's sort of shy and child-like.. and loves bright colors, naturally. she has a cousin named kandajha, who you may have seen around here previously. lucy has been with me almost five years now, i believe! she's done pretty well, aside from one temporary loss of her left hand. a few days ago i noticed her first signs of aging:

awful yellow streaks. ): my mr. clean eraser has been no help. crap. looks like this is going to require more intensive treatment. from what i've heard, blythe people use whitening toothpaste for this sort of thing. a success story to follow, i hope!

oh hello 2010.

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:16:00 +0000

there have been all kinds of new things going on. in december i started a new job, and in january we moved! (still settling in, actually...) i've been working on my backlog of photos to share. one of my main projects is my little studio area in the corner of the bedroom. i picked up a fairly nice wooden chair at the sally, painted butter yellow. however, the grey-ish vinyl seat cover left something to be desired..

chairy has now been reupholstered, no pictures yet though. it wasn't until afterward that i realized i made no effort to match chair and table and they look odd together. sigh.

i also got my free etsy moo cards in! they really are nice-looking, i really like the full photo back.

(apparently i take a lot of papin pictures...) so, now to focus on the shop again so i can start sending them to people!

this year in handspun

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:44:00 +0000

and how much of it has actually been knit with? erm.. two. 2010?

my christmas gift guide

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:06:00 +0000

christmas shopping already.. *sigh* i know better (this year) than to wait until the last minute when ordering online. i would love to get more gifts from etsy people this year! some things i've been thinking about:

for my best friend:

hammered circle pendant, by bddesigns. so many quotes i could think of to personalize it, hehe..

nutmeg and almond biscotti soap, by savor. i need to show her that there is life beyond bath & body works. this is it.

iced pumpkin handmade bar soap, by abreathoffrenchair. and this. she is a fan of pumpkin everything.

poo softie, by shelikescute. what can i say. we can be immature.

for my sister:

dreamy, half-pint zip pouch, by friedokra. i want some of these for myself, sigh...

sinful chocolate cake lip balm, by lavemesoapco. nom. a great etsy seller who will be retiring at the end of this year, so we may need to stock up over here.

tea and condiment wallet, by flossieblossoms. she is an obsessive tea drinker, so i know she would get good use out of one of these.

for the boyfriend:

custom silver guitar pick, by silversparrowdesigns. i think he has only ever used plastic picks, so i thought this would be a nice change. (i really like the "papa was a rodeo" one...) though he is forever losing them, so...

20 hand cut upcycled guitar picks by cattitudecreations. yeah.

coffee bean hand dyed superwash sock yarn by knittindiva. now this would not be for him directly, but i have been meaning to knit him socks for some time now. it would also be a way of celebrating his coffee love (to put it mildly).

for my mom:

vintage bluebird planter by jbirdhome. she collects bluebird stuff, so i've been on the hunt for some vintage figurines and things.

pyrex bluebird casserole dish by birdfruit. i am trying really hard not to want this too.

a bliss of bluebird, by songandbranch. lovely hand-sculpted sets of birds.

simple silver birds, by indiecreations. she recently had her ears re-pierced, so some simple delicate earrings would be nice too...