More Ramblings

More ramblings on roomates, life, and knitting
I made some great chicken noodle soup then spilled a huge bowl on myself at the office pot luck. (can you say unwitting Exorcist costume!)

The Holly’s Red and Green Snowflake Socks are moving along; I received my Rowan book a couple of weeks ago, can’t wait to get started on some new projects; the sparkly Christmas stockings ! I bought three skeins of Heather’d Pink from KnitPicks and for the life of me can’t remember what I was going to do with it! I’m trying to finish the Holly Red and Green Snowflake Socks so the pattern can be posted. This time there will be a proper pattern, not just general guidelines. (Read – I want to remember how to make them again so will be very detailed. If you’d like to make some – please do!)

Seriously, perhaps the roomate should be on meds. Maybe he is, idk. Around 11:30 or so last night he was listening to 80s music VERY loudly (omg… 80s pop-lite?!??) and it was keeping my 18 year old up so…. she had her brother ask M*** to turn it down so she could get some sleep before early classes in the morning.  M*** turned it down, shut/slammed his door and muttered loudly ’they always say shut up,’ ‘why should I have to shut up,’ etc. for at least 20 minutes whilst banging things around.   He frequently mutters loudly and bangs things around but until last night we never asked him to quiet down in any way.  He also pops in and out of his room constantly if I’m on the computer late at night, sits and stares at the microwave for up to 15 minutes at a time,  and a lot of other odd behaviors.  The kids and I are not at all comfy with him for several reasons but it doesn’t seem to bother ex-hubby/landlord.   Odd is okay, different is okay, eccentricity is encouraged. Creeping people out? Not so okay.

Mind, the kids and I stay in our designated areas upstairs most of the time (lol NO, there are not designated areas, we just like our own spaces) but sometimes we enjoy watching tv or using the computer downstairs.  I often look at the treadmill down there and think about using it… but that’s another story.  Will converted the laundry room into his bedroom so he and M*** have the downstairs with the exception of the common family room.

Anyway – not sure what, if anything, Will is going to do about the situation.  It’s not horrible, just not at all comfortable.  And I wasn’t kidding about the meds.  I have a suspicion what the deal is but it’s not really my place to say much unless directly confronted or the situation gets out of hand.

Generally, everything else is going fairly well.  I’m still pretty tense about only being a temp.  I need full benefits fairly soon and haven’t had much response to the resumes/phone calls.   On the plus side, the car is registered even though the rear ball bearings could go at any time and the windshield has a couple of cracks, it still passed.  Woot!  David made cookies last weekend, 2 dozen or so Reese’s Pieces and a dozen White Chocolate Macadamia Nut.  WRT received a tub of Chocolate Chunk cookie dough for his bday along with some cozy slippers and a new Janis Joplin Greatest Hits cd since the old one has scratches and it’s a MUST on road trips.

And now an update of an entirely different sort.  As I was getting ready for dress-up at the office last Friday I came across a check Heidi (deceased sister, see earlier posts) had given my daughter a week or so before she died.  Out of no where I started crying uncontrollably.  I’m learning a great deal about grief and ‘the process’ but sometimes the emotionality eclipses the intellectual in ways that surprise me.

knitting away again

Work just hasn’t been that busy so knitting is making progress. On The Needles right now:

1) still working on Mom’s Not Pink Stole 2) Holly Red and Green Snowflakes

I’ll be writing up the free pattern for this pair shortly.  The ’snowflakes’ are pretty easy and can be placed wherever suits you on the leg portion.  The heel is your somewhat standard sl1 type heel and the turn will be fairly standard as well.  At the moment, I’m planning the instep and sole to be plain green and toe plain red but that is subject to change.

3) Blackrose Wristlets

The free pattern for these pretty wristlets is from Knitty 2008 by Knittyspin. I like the way these are working up in Knit Picks Imagination.

This afternoon I took Marci shoe/cosmetic shopping.  omg….  How does one spend that much money so fast?!  yikes.  But, she really does need the shoes.  One of her close friends is getting married next Friday (yep, day before Halloween) and Marci needs shoes to wear to the celebration.  I ended up getting her a pair of flats, pair of heels, a warm winter hat and some mittens (she DID ask if I could make some for her which of course, I all ready have started but she needs some this week so….)  I even bought myself a $6 pair of blue shoes with black heels and we decided $2.00 on vintage type clutchish handbags was a fantastic deal so got one red one and one nude/black lace one to share.

David needs new shoes too so…. going to have to get some next week along with a couple pairs of jeans.

Mint Green Fraternal Twin Socks

And finally here’s the Fraternal Twin Sock pics.  It’s been several months since they were finished but I just got around to photographing.  As you can see, I got bored and changed the foot design a bit on the second one. 

The heel is WAY too shallow but they fit fairly well anyway.  It’s my own fault, I was making up the design in my head as I went – oops.

I also did my own nails (as in acrylics) and toes.

Currently On The Needles

1. WRT’s second Summer Sock is ready for heel turn, not too much longer to go there
2. S4S has finally been found (temporarily ‘lost’ in yet another move) and is cast on
3. Mom’s ‘Not Pink’ Comfort Wrap
4. Carnival Top

I need to get WRT’s  socks finished so can keep moving along on the Socks for Soldier olive drab pair.  Mom’s wrap is coming along, it’s a little more plain than I’d like but she’s not really into tons of lace.  I may just knit her up a proper lace shawl one of these days though and bet she’d wear it!

The Carnival Top is from Knit ‘N Style, April 2009 (ravelry link) – comfy, fun, easy going.  I’m doing it in light lavendar Caron Simply Soft that I had sitting around for quite a while.  It’s been far too hot to wear recently so haven’t worked on it for a few weeks.  Guessing if I don’t get a j-o-b quickly after the lay-offs I’ll have plenty of time to work on pretty much anything I want to (that I have the yarn for, of course).

Felted Christmas Stocking Pattern

Felted Christmas Stocking

Here’s the pattern/guidelines:

Original guage was 8 st st = 1″    feel free to alter as you’re going to felt and may want a different size stocking.  After felting this stocking is 6″ (15 cm) from top of ruffle to bottom of heel and 6″ (15 cm) from back edge of heel to tip of toe.  Prior to felting it was a women’s large size.

Materials:
Needles – 1 pair straight sz 3 (3.25 mm); 4 (or 5 if you prefer) sz 3 (3.25 mm) double pointed needles

Yarn – Knit Picks Palette Fingering Weight, 1 skn Garnet Heather (main color), 1 skn Ivy (second color)  note – requires apx. 1/4 skein main color and a few dozen yards of second color.

Ruffle and Top:

• Using SC Cast on 300 stitches (yes, 300) on SINGLE points using fairly firm cast on of your choice.  I used loop cast on.
• Knit right sides, Purl wrong side or 4 rows (2 each k and p)
• On right side K2Tog every stitch (total of 150 stitches)
• Switch to double point needles arranging 50 stitches per needle (if using 4 needles total),  join being careful not to twist stitches.  The ruffle tends to curl so be extra cautious.
• Knit 3 rounds
• On right side K2Tog every stitch (total of 75 stitches)
• Knit 2 rounds
• Knit to last 3 stitches of 1st needle, K2Tog, K2, K2Tog, knit to last 3 stitches of next needle, K2Tog, K2, K2Tog, knit to last 3 of last needle, K2Tog
• K2Tog, knit to last 3 stitches of 1st needle, K2Tog, K2, K2Tog, knit to last 3 stitches of next needle, K2Tog, K2, K2Tog, knit to last 3 stitches of last needle, K2Tog
• Knit
• It helps stabilize the top if you add about 1/2 inch of K2P2 ribbing here, you can omit if you wish to and knit
• Change to MC and K 4 rows
• Knit decoration of your choice  – this one has an eyelet heart from Stariel’s Blackhearted.
• Knit another 4-6″ (again, depends on how long you want the stocking)

Heel:  (I did slip stitch, if you prefer a different one – go for it!)

• Arrange stitches so there are 32 on 1 dpn – this is your heel needle
• *Row 1: SL 1, K1 – repeat across
• Row 2: Sl1, Purl *
• Repeat 10 times
• Change to SC
• Repeat 10 times
• Change to MC
• Repeat 12 times (32 rows total)

Turn Heel:

• Change to SC
• K19, SSK, K1 turn
• Sl1, P7, P2Tog, P1, Turn
• *Sl1, knit to stitch before gap, SSK, K1, turn
• SL1, purl to stitch before gap, P2Tog, turn*
• Repeat * to * until all stitches are worked – DO NOT slip first stitch on your last purl row.
• Knit across

Pick up and work gusset:

• Change to MC
• Pick up 17 stitches along side on same needle
• Knit across instep needle
• Working on 3rd needle, pick up 17 stitch along side, knit across
• Arrange stitches so beginning of round is now in the middle of the heel (it should be there all ready, but just in case…)
• Knit around to 3 stitches before instep needle, K2Tog K1
• Knit Instep
• Knit 1, SSK, knit
• Knit until 16 stitches are on each of the two ‘heel’ needles

Work around until stocking is 4″ shorter than desired length

• If you want to add SC stripe or pattern here, go for it.  I did a K12 MC, K SC, K12 MC around then K10 MC, K3 SC, K10 MC around then K12 MC, KSC, K12 MC around stripish pattern (didn’t work out perfect but it was pretty close)
• Go back to MC
• Work until stocking is 2″ shorter than desired total length

Toe:

• Row 1: K1, SSK, knit to last 3 st on instep needle, K2Tog, K1. K1, SSK, knit to last 3 sts on sole needle(s), K2Tog, K1
• Row 2: Knit around
• Knit these two rows until 40 total stitches remain then do Row 1 five more times

Graft:

• I did Kitchener, do whatever grafting you’re comfy with though.

Felt:

• To semi-customize the felting I ran EXTREMELY hot water from the faucet and held the ruffle portion under it for about 30 seconds at a time until it was 3/4 of the size I wanted it to be (think it was 5 times).  Then I held the rest of stocking under the water for about 30 seconds per time three times.
• Then… threw it in the dryer with the darks and… out came the Christmas Stocking.

Still having holiday issues.  Maybe it’s because the tree is in a box by the side of my bed (er now 4B’s bed arghhhhh) with about 10 boxes on top of it.  idk. But…. my son is happy as the proverbial clam!!!!  He was gifted Slipknot tickets for their March 09 stop in Denver.  Thank you, B!!!!!!!!!!!