Red and white and warm all over

Somehow, in between the cooking and the houseguests and the visiting of many Portlandy institutions* and the lots and lots of sleeping, I whacked these out over the long weekend and I looooooorve them.


(4 FOs in a week? Who is this knitter inhabiting my body, and can she stick around for the next, oh, 27 days?)

Ze Hat:
Pattern: Koolhaas, by Jared Flood, in IK Holiday Gifts 2007
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran, color #11, 2 balls
Needles: US6 and 8 metal dpns
Mods: I followed the directions for the Women's size, but only did 7 rounds of ribbing, and omitted round 7 of the crown shaping, both because of yardage fears and the lofty, almost bulky weight of this yarn though which made my gauge a bit bigger than the pattern gauge. It worked out just fine: the hat fits perfectly and I had less than a yard of yarn leftover.


This yarn is fuzzy, and so the traveling twisted stitches aren't as crisp in this hat as in most other versions I've seen, but the thickness of it means they still stand out well -- the little recessed diamonds are extra deep and shadowy. Plus, you can't beat this stuff for softness. (cough It's on closeout at WEBS cough)

Ze Meeetens:
Pattern: Herringbone Mittens (pdf), by Elli Stubenrauch (elliphantom.com)
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Hollyberry, 1 skein
and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Aran, less than 1/2 a skein.
Needles: US 4 and 6 bamboo dpns
Mods: None, except omitting the poms.


This pattern is awesome. Simple, well written, easy to memorize, and way, way cute. I see more mittens in my future. I found the yardage to be very generous -- I got away with half of what the pattern calls for. YMMV, though, because my colorwork tends to be extra tight. And for reference? The Hollyberry is almost exactly the same shade as the Alpaca Silk.


Also a nice complement to a Rhode Island Red, if you've got one around.




*Powell's, Armory Theater, Japanese Garden, Nicholas' Lebanese Restaurant, KnitPurl, The Lightbulb Lady, Amnesia Brewing, The Meadow, The Spare Room, Montage, Tin Shed. All highly recommended.

RIP Lambchop

Lambchop Nelson-Stem
April 2007-July 2007

We built a coop that was totally dog-proof, but just because it kept the dogs out didn't mean that it kept the chickens in, and lets face it: they're not the brightest of animals. I was just finishing Harry Potter when it happened, and somehow, the fact that real fictional humans were fighting and dying made it seem a tiny bit less sad by comparison. But now, a couple days later, I still feel awful.

Actual crafty content tomorrow. I just thought I'd let y'all know, since you've been following the chicken saga from day one.

WIP report: Transformation

Isabella:


Living Room:


Monkey:



I'm tired and sore and ecstatic. I love my house more every day, and I can hardly concentrate on anything else, but I'm managing to do some scheming about xmas knitting. I promise a real post very soon!

A Calorimetric Mother's Day

Ms. Frick's adorable calorimetry provided the last little push I needed to whip up one of these for my sister last week while we were lazing about at the coast. Apparently when my mom saw it her exact words were "I need three." Since I got this news on the day before Mother's Day, I couldn't help fulfilling one third of her request.

Warm ears and rhodies.

Mom actually isn't a lush, whatever this photo might imply.

I got both headwarmers out of one skein of Cascade Jewel, with a bit to spare. I cast on 100 stitches for Anna's (she has a big head like me), and 90 for Mom's (shoulda done 88 or 92, for a multiple of four, but it turned out fine), and did 10 repeats of row 5 for each. I used US 7s despite using a bulkier yarn than called for, and I like the denser gauge a lot. I'm going to need to make more of these.


And now, what will likely become a weekly "progress shot", until these ladies are full grown:

Starbuck is getting to be distinctly chicken-shaped.

Brawk.

I've been holding out on saying anything, because I didn't want to jinx it like last time, but... I think we bought a house! I'm not counting my chickens until the keys are in my hand, but we're done with negotiations, inspections, more negotiations, and now all we're waiting for is the appraisal, and we should be moving in less than a month.

We finally found something we loved and could afford by expanding our search to include larger houses where we could have two housemates, and thus more rental income. This one is an adorable 1924 bungalow with five (five!) bedrooms, meaning that The Lady and I will each have a small office/studio to ourselves. I have been waiting my entire adult life to say those words.

Despite being of exceedingly cute design and well laid out, it's dirty and full of incredibly tacky shit. Fake wood paneling, ugly linoleum, fir floors under two layers of vinyl, which is itself under shag carpet.... you name it, we've got it. The next few months of my life will include much ripping, scraping, sanding and painting, so the knitting will slow down a bit, but I'll be regaling you with crafts of the homeowner variety.

To wit: I wasn't being entirely truthful about not counting my chickens. Meet the newest members of the fold. (1, 2, 3.)

From left to right, Starbuck, Lambchop, and Isabella.

These ladies came home with us yesterday from Boring, and I am in love with them already. (Especially Lambchop, but don't tell.) I've been wanting chickens for years, and I can't wait to watch them grow into big, sweet, clucking egg machines.


Starbuck is a Buff Orpington, Lambchop a Silver Laced Wyandotte, and Isabella an Ameraucana (blue eggs!). We picked the breeds for friendliness, laying ability, and looks, and I certainly can't say I'm disappointed as to the latter so far. They're so cute I can hardly stay at work, knowing they're chittering away at home.