have you all read this?
i can't believe how stupid that bank is. long story short: lots of people signed up for the blue moon fibre arts rockin' sock club. So many that blue moon's bank decided that it couldn't be true. surely there are not that many people interested in knitting socks? so they froze blue moon's account and refunded everyone's money. boggling. you can see how such an action would throw a small business into total financial turmoil. idiots!
anyway, blue moon has a new bank now, and is rebuilding their website to incorporate the new bank system. they are magnanimously not revealing the name of evil bank (but if they do, you can be sure i'll post it here so that any small business shopping around for a bank shall be forewarned). but once they're up and running again, i will definitely be buying some yarn from them as a show of support. also because their yarn is lovely.
not joining the sock club, though. i already have enough sock yarn and single completed socks to outfit an army of lepers and amputees. i think i'll get this!
12.1.07
11.1.07
now that's just silly
still busy getting ready for baby - a task that will inevitably fill the amount of time available. why is everything like that? it's just always easy to find another thing that "needs" doing... right now, i'm making a new mattress pad and bumpers for the moses basket. just because it is always more fun to start a new project than it is to finish an old one! which is also why i built a wee table/stool for the bathroom before finishing the sewing table. priorities? what are those?
meanwhile, thought y'all might enjoy this pattern for a hat that looks like a giant glove. tres stylish!
meanwhile, thought y'all might enjoy this pattern for a hat that looks like a giant glove. tres stylish!
8.1.07
more progress!
okay, i am determined to get a mitre box today and finish this sucker, but in the meantime, i thought i'd post a terrifying before picture and a look-how-far-we've-come picture.
before:
yikes!!!
but look at it now:
so much better! i can see where everything is! whee!
and not only that, but being able to find things makes it easier to do things. i was able to find my button stash and slipper bottoms, so i finally finished the slippers that i started months ago:
i started out with the plain jane pattern from kinda grape, but made them stockinette instead of garter, and a lot smaller (i was halfway through the kinda grape pattern when i realised they were huge! and i wear a size ten! i swear i checked my tension!), and made the toes less square. i am quite pleased with how they turned out!
before:
yikes!!!
but look at it now:
so much better! i can see where everything is! whee!
and not only that, but being able to find things makes it easier to do things. i was able to find my button stash and slipper bottoms, so i finally finished the slippers that i started months ago:
i started out with the plain jane pattern from kinda grape, but made them stockinette instead of garter, and a lot smaller (i was halfway through the kinda grape pattern when i realised they were huge! and i wear a size ten! i swear i checked my tension!), and made the toes less square. i am quite pleased with how they turned out!
3.1.07
progress
okay, i have spent the day cutting and drilling and painting, and the sewing table is very nearly done. i'm even feeling ready to think about posting progress pics soon! when all there was was "before" it was kind of demoralising, but now that i've got some stuff done, i'm feeling quite confident that the rest is doable.
what i'd really like are some proper sawhorses. using a circular saw isn't half the fun when you have to waste time trying to sort out where to put your 96" x 28" piece of wood before you start cutting. and, to make matters more irritating, i was nearly done my final cut when the not-properly-supported-by-sawhorses plywood gave way a bit, resulting in a nasty-looking chunk taken out of one end (on the good side, of course). so then i had to waste even more time repairing it (25 minutes of clamping while the glue was setting). grr. but, after a quick bit of sanding, you couldn't tell that anything untoward had happened. yay!
what i'd really like are some proper sawhorses. using a circular saw isn't half the fun when you have to waste time trying to sort out where to put your 96" x 28" piece of wood before you start cutting. and, to make matters more irritating, i was nearly done my final cut when the not-properly-supported-by-sawhorses plywood gave way a bit, resulting in a nasty-looking chunk taken out of one end (on the good side, of course). so then i had to waste even more time repairing it (25 minutes of clamping while the glue was setting). grr. but, after a quick bit of sanding, you couldn't tell that anything untoward had happened. yay!
30.12.06
oh joyous season!
the season of sleeping in! i have now been off work for two whole weeks, and it is nice! sleeping willy nilly, time to do stuff. so far, that has mainly meant cooking and baking and cleaning (well not so much cleaning, really) and hosting and shopping. but the house has almost recovered from the holiday influx, so it is just about time to get back into project mode. currently on the go: the sewing table project. the base is assembled (and i've already started piling crap on the shelves) - next step is to attach the top, and then all that's left are the gatelegs, hinges, and edging. speaking of which, i need a mitre box. just when i think i have all the hardware i need, something else pops up...
next: finish painting the room, and refinish/reupholster the comfy chair. i can do all of that in two weeks, right? right?!?
next: finish painting the room, and refinish/reupholster the comfy chair. i can do all of that in two weeks, right? right?!?
17.12.06
free knitting patterns webring
since i have *two* whole free knitting patterns up here now, i thought i'd add filmcraft to the free knitting patterns webring.
check out the rest of the ring for more free patterns!
This site in the Free Knitting Patterns Netring
is owned by filmcraft.
[Previous | Next | Random Site | List Sites ]
check out the rest of the ring for more free patterns!
This site in the Free Knitting Patterns Netring
is owned by filmcraft.
[Previous | Next | Random Site | List Sites ]
2.12.06
double-knitting explained
okay, here's my attempt at explaining the double-knit tubes technique i used to make the kodama dolls.
basically, what you do is cast on an even number of stitches, in this case 6.
carefully slip it off your needle,
fold it in half,
and then slide it back on to your needle, alternating stitches from each half. so, your original six stitches get picked up in this order: st 1, st 6, st 2, st 5, st 3, st 4.
to make the kodama dolls, you start by knitting both legs at once, each with a separate ball of yarn. so, repeat the steps above so that you have two sets of stitches - one for each leg.
now, the tricky part.
when you start knitting, you keep the two halves separate by knitting one stitch, bringing the yarn to front,
slipping one purlwise,
bringing the yarn to the back,
knitting one stitch,
bringing the yarn to front, slipping one purlwise, bringing the yarn to the back. keeping the above example, you’d knit st 1, slip st 6, knit st 2, slip st 5, knit st 3, slip st 4, then turn, and knit st 4, slip st 3, knit st 5, slip st 2, knit st 6, and slip st 1. it takes a bit of practice to keep the two halves separate – it’s easy to get the stitches caught around one another – so take it slow.
once you've done a few rows, it's a little clearer to see how what you're knitting looks like a tube - whether you look at it from front or back, it will look like a strip of stockinette three stitches wide, even though you have six stitches on the needle.
and this is important to remember – you're only knitting half a row at a time! what feels like knitting two rows is actually only knitting one row, since you’re only working half the stitches. so when you’re knitting this pattern, remember this if you’re counting rows as you knit them – and count the rows up from the bottom to double-check your progress.
there’s a really great description of how to use double-knitting to knit two socks at once at knitty. it also has better pictures - not blurry like mine!
basically, what you do is cast on an even number of stitches, in this case 6.
carefully slip it off your needle,
fold it in half,
and then slide it back on to your needle, alternating stitches from each half. so, your original six stitches get picked up in this order: st 1, st 6, st 2, st 5, st 3, st 4.
to make the kodama dolls, you start by knitting both legs at once, each with a separate ball of yarn. so, repeat the steps above so that you have two sets of stitches - one for each leg.
now, the tricky part.
when you start knitting, you keep the two halves separate by knitting one stitch, bringing the yarn to front,
slipping one purlwise,
bringing the yarn to the back,
knitting one stitch,
bringing the yarn to front, slipping one purlwise, bringing the yarn to the back. keeping the above example, you’d knit st 1, slip st 6, knit st 2, slip st 5, knit st 3, slip st 4, then turn, and knit st 4, slip st 3, knit st 5, slip st 2, knit st 6, and slip st 1. it takes a bit of practice to keep the two halves separate – it’s easy to get the stitches caught around one another – so take it slow.
once you've done a few rows, it's a little clearer to see how what you're knitting looks like a tube - whether you look at it from front or back, it will look like a strip of stockinette three stitches wide, even though you have six stitches on the needle.
and this is important to remember – you're only knitting half a row at a time! what feels like knitting two rows is actually only knitting one row, since you’re only working half the stitches. so when you’re knitting this pattern, remember this if you’re counting rows as you knit them – and count the rows up from the bottom to double-check your progress.
there’s a really great description of how to use double-knitting to knit two socks at once at knitty. it also has better pictures - not blurry like mine!
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