knitten ninja

bento salad

2010-10-04T12:00:00.001-04:00

i think this bento turned out rather pretty. but, unfortunately, apparently, not very filling. a little bit closer now. in the top box we've got a classic applebee's style asian salad. iceberg lettuce, mandarin orange slices, water chestnuts, topped with sesame seeds and carrot flowers. nestled around the sides are some steamed snow peas. the bottom box is lined with nori. on the right is sushi rice topped with furikake and carrot flowers. on the left are some baked chicken nuggets. i put some barbeque sauce for the nuggets in a plastic pig. this was a mistake. apparently those are only for non-viscous liquids like soy sauce and vinegar. also lettuce is not very filling. was it socrates or alanis morissette who said, "you live, you learn".

better bento

2010-10-03T12:00:00.001-04:00

so after a bit of a break i decided to start making more bento boxes. this was largely spurred on by some new toys. and here is the result: this one went over pretty well. enhance. on top we have a california roll, and in the grass is some wasabi and pickled ginger. The bottom bucket has an assortment of flower shaped carrots and pickled daikon over stem shaped(?) cucumbers. the dip in the cup is peanut butter, tahini, soy sauce, and sriracha sprinkled with sesame seeds. between the two are nestled a few edamame. filling and healthy.

intimates

2010-09-29T12:00:00.001-04:00

not so long ago a friend of mine sent an email that some might consider odd. he had purchased an awesome sweater. this sweater.

look at that detailing!

clearly this was machine made. the request in this email was to make a matching pair of panties for a lady friend of his. clearly i accepted the challenge. shortly thereafter someone was selling an appropriate book at a stoop sale for my building. i purchased it and the excitement began.

to find the appropriate yarn, i went to the fairly new lion brand yarn studio. i usually don't go in for acrylics, but they have some really nice stuff there. and it is an excellent place to match colors. i wound up using vanna's choice for the purple, and some thicker wool for the green. in the end, this is how things turned out.

the pattern had some lace embellishments and the same color for the crocheted seams, but that wasn't the direction i wanted to go in for this. also the pattern for the cherries was copied from the sweater.

now, i am never one to do things by halves, so clearly there must be an accompanying top.

what a happy pair they make.

and then with the sweater....

now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

bento day 3

2010-09-09T12:00:00.001-04:00

after the supercuteness of day 2 i slacked off a bit on day 3. here is a terrible picture of an unappetizing bento.

oops. only one pic today. on top the brownish mass is some golden curry, with rice on the sides and decorative (?) nori shoved in on the sides. the green swirls are wasabi. on the bottom we have sushi rolls of roasted beets with honey goat cheese. you will notice that the top three are gigantic. these were my first sushi rolls. the bottom there were a bit better. shoved between these rolls is some pickled ginger. snap peas on the side, and for some reason i put in a few baked chicken nuggets on the upper right.

for those who may think a bento box could not possibly fit a reasonably sized lunch, au contraire! this was too much food.

bento day 2

2010-09-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

my new hobby goes apace. or rather, went apace for three days and then i got distracted by some shiny object. regardless, here is the bento of day 2.

let's get a little closer, shall we?

on the top here we have four mini spring rolls nestled amongst some edamame. in the cup is a barbeque-like dipping sauce. on the bottom we have some sushi rice topped with furikake and a few clovers made from nori with this fancy device. to the left of the nori dividing strip are a few baked chicken nuggets.

delicious.

new hobby

2010-09-06T00:00:00.007-04:00

hello blogosphere. it has been a while. how are you doing? have you lost weight? i've been busy doing i have no idea what and apologize for my absence. however i have much to tell you! i have a new hobby. and it is bento.

this is a new hobby that may or may not last, but is super fun. a friend of mine defected from the states and is on a whirlwind tour of asia. during her travels she sent me a present by mail. after only 7 weeks of transit i received this:

it is a bento box. a tiny multi-layered plastic lunch box. little did i know there is an entire culture behind the creation of bento boxes. and i wanted in.

so, humble readers, i present to you, my very first bento box:

i admit that it is less fancy than some others, but you have to start somewhere. and this is what i had on hand. let's take a closer look.

enhance.

so this is what we've got. top box: lined with shredded carrot, ball of leftover rice coated in sesame seeds, five homemade tofu vegetable dumplings i had in the freezer, steamed and wrapped in bok choy leaves to prevent sticking. bottom box: sliced grilled chicken apple sausage over lettuce, bok choy sauteed in ginger, and carrots wrapped around capers on creepy face picks.

it is truly amazing how much fits into such a little box. i am awaiting news on whether this was an appropriately filling and/or delicious lunch.

amigurumi and friends

2008-06-14T00:00:00.003-04:00

a friend of mine was SO ESSITED by the prospect of creating an adorable creature out of yarn that she requested lessons. this knittenninja, of course, was willing to help out with such a thing. provided, of course, that there was a bottle of wine and a really bad movie. in this case, step up 2.

i have no idea what happened in the movie. NONE. however at the end of several hours of mind numbing music and entanglement in yarn, we came up with these little guys.

apparently they were inspired by the movie and got a litte rough. first my friend's pig stepped up.

then my one armed tree swung into action.

the movie was probably more exciting, but i had more fun with the yarn.

Afghan

2008-06-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

i've always irrationally disliked the word afghan. there is no particular reason for this, other than the fact that it refers to something that is clearly a blanket.

i found myself overcoming this prejudice because of some awesome yarn that i found at a dollar store. so i bought all i could carry and brought it home to figure out a pattern.

i wound up using:

row 1: k all
row 2: p all
row 3: * k2tog 3 times, * k1 yo six times, * k2tog 3 times, repeat to end of row
row 4: k all

essentially, this pattern involves one row of effort out of every four. and in that row, you make everything smaller 6 times, make it wider 6 times, later, rinse, and repeat until you run out of room. i would HIGHLY recomment using stitch markers to keep your sanity. my blanket involved casting on 144 stitches. so i placed a marker every 24 stitches, or every 4 groups of 6. this helps to catch mistakes early on.

it was super easy to do, but took forever. i left all the supplies at someone else's place and made it whenever we watched a movie together. a great long term project for when you're looking for something to keep your hands busy that you are in no rush to finish. now ok one last closeup.

now. . . for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

amigurumi

2008-05-03T12:00:00.002-04:00

so recently i was playing around on etsy and came across some adorable little crocheted bunnies. apparently there is a whole japanese art dedicated to the craft of crocheting adorable little creatures. so i took it upon myself to give it a shot.

like it?

more fishes

2008-03-09T00:00:00.003-05:00

remember the fish blanket i was making for a friend's yet to be born child? the child is here! and so, shortly after, is the blanket.

this blanket was SO MUCH FUN. the fish themselves took some attention. i tend not to be one for overly complicated (read: change every row) sort of patterns, but this one was totally worth it. mainly because it reminded me of that escher picture.

so the fish themselves weren't so bad. i mean, they took a while, but once you knew what they were supposed to look like following the pattern wasn't so hard. what was a challenge was stitching them together.

for some reason i have been irrationally against crochet. knitting, i convinced myself, is a man's art. but crochet is for sissies. i suppose it was something about using one needle instead of two.
anyways, i managed to overcome my fear of crochet for this blanket, because it was just that awesome.

and now. . . for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

sweater

2008-02-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

so as a christmas gift i was supposed to make a sweater. as these things tend to go, i didn't finish it in time.

trying to find a simple sweater pattern for a guy is really hard. they all have crazy cables or are weirdly shaped. it was tough. but after diligent searching i came across this online sweater pattern generator. there are a couple of different styles. i was most intrigued by the top-down NO SEAMS version.

i used knitpicks wool of the andes with size 8 needles. in general i followed the pattern, but made a few changes. the collar i knit straight, which gave it a roll neck. the waist was done the same way. also on the sleeves i stopped decreasing about 2/3 of the way down to leave a little bit more give. the waist flairs a little bit more than i would like. next time i might throw in a few ribs or make some darts via decreases to try to keep that a bit tighter. i suppose now i understand that this is why sweaters tend to be gathered at a ribbed waist, but i still do not love the look.

i particularly like how the raglan sleeves are made. they are done with four pairs of increases that do not physically connect two pieces of fabric, but make it look as if they do.

fishes

2008-01-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

so i decided to make a fish blanket for a friend's yet to be born child. here's a sample fish. i figured that i could make about three fish with one skein of worsted weight on size 8s.

braided christmas scarf

2007-12-25T12:00:00.002-05:00

last year for christmas i made my mother a scarf. but the yarn i used was too thick and the needles a bit too small. this resulted in a scarf that was a bit too thick to be worn practically. pretty, though.

so my mother let me know that she liked my dad's scarf way more. it was the cables i think that did it. so this year i decided to up the ante and make a braided scarf.

to avoid undue bulk on this one, i used worsted weight yarn with size 9 needles, where usually i would use a 7. it helped keep the stitches a little airier where the cabling would normally make the scarf denser. i can't find a link to the pattern, but it is basically two braids with a ladder stitch in the middle and a slip stitch rib separating them.

this one went over much better. :)

hat & warmers

2007-08-11T12:00:00.001-04:00

wristwarmers are all well and good. and i've made quite a few. but they are way more often with matching accessories. or, perhaps, as matching accessories? like this crazy seussian hat.

the hat is a simple 2x1 rib in wool yarn on size 10 needles. near the top there was not quite enough yarn for anything else, but too much to just throw out. so i decided to add a bit of whimsy. the bit at the top is a 4 stitch i-cord. keeping up the stripe was a bit complicated and took a bit of attention. i'm not quite sure how i did it, but rest assured that it is possible. oh, and that clearly had to be topped off with a tassel.

now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

warmers

2007-08-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

it's been a while, but i've still been knitting. it is slightly less fun dealing with wool when the weather is as sweat-inducing as it has been lately, but i keep on keepin' on. here are some wrist warmers that i finished up a ways back...

no ratings, just the pictures. thought i might be missed?

greenjock

2007-05-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

here is a lovely jockstrap in hunter green. i think i've got the pattern down pretty well at this point. and the recipients, they still love 'em. :)

another case in point

2007-04-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

i realized that i never took a picture of another case i made. for my glasses. it's a cute little cabled thing. i made it on size 7s holding two strands of cotton yarn together. i thought this would keep the wire frames from poking out. i was quite mistaken. but it's neat nonetheless.

i'll write up the pattern upon request, but for now sit happy knowing it is a lot of cabley goodness knit with cotton yarn, two strands held together, on size 7 needles.

itty bitty blue hat

2007-04-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

i liked the idea of the one cable hat. so i made another one. in blue. but i accidentally started decreasing at row 26 instead of 36. so it is very very tiny. oops!

but tiny is cute, right?

taggin'

2007-03-25T12:00:00.000-04:00

no, this isn't the coolness that is knit graffiti. it's little taggy things i made for a few things that may someday be sold? since there are a lot i made the pictures smaller. as always, click for a hugemongous version.

so very very warm

2007-03-24T00:00:00.001-04:00

if you've seen me in person over the past month you are probably aware that there has been interest in my warmers. commercial interest no less. this excited the ninja greatly. and with this impetus he set forth to make... a helluva lot of warmers.

the ones with the stripes are reversible, and the others aren't.

since there are a half dozen pairs in all, i won't post a separate entry for each one. except where noted, they are done on size 9 needles with mauch chunky yarn. they are 24 stitches in circumference and either a 1x1 or 2x1 rib.

these puppies aren't reversible, but have a lovely little cable effect going on. i think that makes them a tad on the classy side.

these guys are acrylic, done on size 10s. not reversible. but crazy furry.

and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

note: the high difficulty is due only to mass production. momma always said if i tried hard i could do anything. now i am my own slave labor.

warm extremities

2007-03-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

it's still a little chilly out, right? that means warm headgear.

for you and your basketball. this a roll brim done on size 9s, 72 stitches in circumference. there are 6 decreases done with evenly distributed k2togs starting on row 31.

now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

another birthday, another jockstrap

2007-03-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

this time in masculine pink.

and now one from the side.

it's been a little while, but i think i've still got the hang of it. :)

case in point

2007-02-26T22:35:00.000-05:00

my mother was complaining that she didn't have a case for her camera. and heard that i could make them. clearly it followed that she requested one. so one morning, before my dad and sister came into the city for chinese new year, i popped in hackers, broke out my needles, and made a little case. in just under two hours. here she is: size 7 needles, midweight cotton yarn. i cast 20 stitches onto two needles. i knit my way across once, leaving the other needle in the loops. (this is not fun.) then i knit back across the stationary needle, and worked in the round. three rows per color, until i reached the size of the camera. next i bound off one half (using both colors held together). on the other half, worked flat, i knit two together at the beginning of every third row to create a flap that can be tucked in. (the time crunch made figuring out a button a bit too challenging.) totally cute, right? and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

andes candes

2007-02-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

i always loved the holidays as a kid because we got to eat andes candies. now, they probably existed during other parts of the year, but i was never privvy to this knowledge. what i did know is that they are very very delicious. much like this hat.

a quick knit. maunch chunky yarn on size 10 needles. cast on 24 stitches to each of three needles. k20, p1, k2, p1. do this twice. switch colors. knit a total of 36 rows. the decreases are done between the ribs, starting with k2tog, k8, k2tog, k8, p1, 2, p1. three times. then k2tog, k7, k2tog, k7, p1, 2, p1. three times. and keep going until you have only two stitches between each rib. (6 on each needle). then k2tog, p1, k2tog, p1. draw the end through all open loops and tie off.

and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

green beanie

2007-02-24T00:00:00.001-05:00

i had some leftover yarn from the blanket. so i made a little green ribbed beanie. size 10 needles, acrylic/wool yarn.

72 stitches in diameter, 2x1 rib. i did 12 decreases with k2togs starting on the 30th row, and it just fits. no folding up the brim, though. i think that 6 decreases per row works out a bit better.

i think i will be able to find someone else this hat looks cuter on. is it you?

ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

funwarmers

2007-02-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

so the ninja may start knitting. (not so shocking) professionally. (shocking!!) apparently philadelphia is cold. and stylish. cold + need for style = need for knittenninja! so some wristwarmers were shipped out via a friend. said friend took some photos. and here they are... lovely, ain't they? i have been working on crazy amounts of hats and warmers to go out as well. i should hopefully have a goodly amount done shortly so that i can post 'em for ya. until then. take care. and remember...today's mistake is tomorrow's good story. or something.

brownie

2007-02-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

i needed a new hat to match my old scarf. i've started wearing brown more often. which is weird. but rather dashing?

this hat was knit on size 10 needles. cast on 23 stitches on each of three needles. knit 30 rows in the round. then k2tog, k21 three times. then k2tog, k10 six times. then k2tog k9 six times. you get the picture. keep going until you have 6 live stitches (two each on three needles). pull end through live stitches and bind off.

i made this puppy in one night. i was pleased as punch.

and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

grandma blanket

2007-02-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

i can't help but thinking that it is somewhat backwards for me to knit a blanket for my grandmother's birthday. but i did. and it is beautiful. i took the idea from the pinwheel baby blanket and just kept going until i ran out of time and/or yarn.

the finished product was about 5' in diameter.

to make this blanket as quickly as possible, i used size 15 needles. now, i was using lion brand wool ease chunky, which calls for size 10 1/2 needles. so i just held two strands together the whole way. this led to some pretty interesting colorways, i think.

sometimes i held two dark greens together, sometimes two light, sometimes one of each. also there was some brown and a variegated yarn that was my inspiration.

and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

sisterwarmers

2007-02-18T23:10:00.000-05:00

so you've seen the sisterhat. and the sisterscarf. clearly her hands would be either far too uncoordinated or cold for the ninja to rest peacefully. hence, the sisterwarmers.

my sister is a delicate thing of beauty. these are clearly not her paws. these are the agile extremities of the ninja. just to make that clear. now pay more attention to the warmers. please note...they turned around! the hands that once were violet are now black. severely awesome, eh?

the pattern:

cast on 32 stitches over size 7 needles. (i used two)
knit in the round in 2x2 rib for 16 rows in MC.
bind off 6 stitches.
knit around to where you bound off.
cast on 6 stitches.
knit around 3x more.
alternate 2 rows MC, two rows CC until you get bored.
knit 4 rows CC.
bind off 6 stitches.
knit around to where you bound off.
cast on 6 stitches.
knit 16 rows in CC.
bind off.
relish in the awesomeness of your warmers.

and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

a masculine pompom

2007-02-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

so i found some grey yarn and wanted to make a hat. it was a nice chunky one that seemed to have a nice blue/white shimmer to it. so i picked up my handy size 10s and went crazy. i wanted to make a plain hat with just one cable on it. for a little pizzazz.

CO: 69 st over three needles (23 each)
1: k23, k23, k19, p1, k2, p1
2: k23, k23, k19, p1, k2, p1
3: k23, k23, k19, p1, k2, p1
4: k23, k23, k19, p1, RTw, p1
repeat 1-4: 9 times (36 rows)
37: *k11, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
38: *k10, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
39: *k9, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
40: *k8, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, RTw, p1
41: *k7, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
42: *k6, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
43: *k5, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
44: *k4, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, RTw, p1
45: *k3, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
46: *k2, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2, p1
47: *k1, k2tog, (repeat from * 5 times)p1, k2tog, p1
close: thread tapestry needle and draw through all loops
finish: add ridiculous pompom

i was a little unsure of the pompom. they are always ridiculous. but i had planned on wearing this hat with my stripey scarf, and wanted it to match better. the best route to this goal seemed to be through whimsy. what do we think?

and now for the ratings:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

abbreviations:
RTw: K second st on left hand needle then K first st and slip both loops off together.

big red

2007-02-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

hello. my name is knitting ninja. and i'm a shopaholic. i shop all the time. but i am painfully cheap. which means i don't often buy all that much. except when it is a bargain. like at a dollar store. (god i love dollar stores). admittedly, i have never spent over twenty dollars at such an establishment. except this one time... dollar stores on long island are special. they're like supermarkets without price tags. gigantic centers of commerce with crap merchandise at a debatably reasonable price. it was on a pilgrimage to one such arena when i first encountered it. some search for the fountain of eternal youth. some for the philosopher's stone. some for a big-ass pile of discount yarn. i am a member of all of these groups. however as of yet i have only been sucessful in one regard. so i dove into the yarn. i had done my research on the internets and it retailed for over $6 a skein. and here it was for $1 each. so i bought all of it. and now i have SO MUCH YARN. maybe i'll make a blanket. i've been toying around with the idea of baby blue fuzzy pants. but that is neither here nor there. my point is that i've gotten started attacking the stash. and here she is: super fuzzy nifty yarn. i think it looks like i skinned a muppet. possibly because i did. size 15 needles. so the pattern on this puppy is kind of rad. i'm not sure if you can see it, but she's knit on an angle. an attempt at the pattern follows:

start

CO: 1
1: k1, ktbl
2: k2, ktbl
3: k3, ktbl
4: k4, ktbl
...: see the pattern?

middle

RS: k, ktbl, k to end
WS: k2tog, k to end
...: continue until it's really long

finishing

all: k2tog, k to end

lovely, ain't she? this would probably be super awesome with variegated yarn. if you're a noro lover and give it a shot, send me a pic. until then, the ratings.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

abbreviations:
ktbl: knit through back loop
k2tog: knit two together

go here for some great instructions on all sorts of increases and decreases.

hat

2007-01-31T11:24:00.001-05:00

i really like to make this london headhugger hat. it's super fast. and not too bulky when done with worsted weight yarn on size 7 needles.

please note the jaunty racing stripes. for the rib, i did two rows blue, two maroon, two blue, two maroon, two blue, and then the increases to start the dome. i used teh size where you cast on 81 stitches and work 30 rows after the rib before starting teh decrease.

sexy complimentary wristwarmers will follow (they still need thumbs).

back to the hat. the decreases make me particularly happy.

rating this pattern is getting tired. i've done it twice. thrice would be excessive, right?

please sir, can i have some more?

2007-01-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

i loved my first pair of knucks. dearly. which is why i was very distressed one weekend when i accidentally lost one. now, if you've ever lost a glove, you understand the upset. the annoyance. the cold hand. if you've ever made and lost a glove, you know the rage. however, i finally got up the courage to make another pair.

or, rather, i found this awesome twill yarn i wanted to use for something. i didn't have enough for a big project, hence the knucks.

i think they turned out pretty well. a bit on the tight side, but super warm. i used the middle pattern on knitty with a yarn probably meant for size 5 needles on size 3s. for the cuff 1x1 rib i decreased two stitches and used size 2s. now that impresses strangers. it's like knitting on toothpicks. let's take a last look.

and now for ratings...

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

dadscarf

2006-12-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

mad scarf rush 2006 entry the third: dadscarf.

i know, i know. i can hear your bleating. "you made this one already!" "the ninja is going senile!" "he thinks he can just go posting the same thing again and noone will notice!" this, my semi-loyal readers, is not the case. i did, in fact, make basically the same irish hiking scarf, in basically the same yarn, but it is different. as i have given both incarnations away i will find this rather difficult to prove, and therefore can't take a photo of both together, so you're going to have to trust me.

the first irish hiking scarf was knit on size 10 1/2 needles in a grey and white yarn. this, the second, was knit on size 10 needles in a brown and white yarn. see all the difference?

and now, the one for which you've all been waiting: the action shot.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

sisterscarf

2006-12-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

mad scarf rush 2006 entry the second: sisterscarf.

this is basically the horizontal texture stripe scarf, but when i switched sides for the stockinette sections, i also switched colors. this maintains the bouncy nature of the piece, while giving it proper stripes. all in all, the ninja is quite pleased.

this was knit with ye olde last-minute-gift-friendly bear creek yarn on size 15 needles. each stockinette strip is 4 rows, so that i could carry the contrasting color up the side.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

two things

2006-12-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

thing the first
i actually had a fight with a man at a bar last night regarding whether or not i had made a scarf that my friend was wearing. he was convinced that it was too nice to have been handmade. psh.

thing the second:
a friend sent me the following:

do you know what y is in the following equation?
y = {log [(KN) * (JD)] x (v *(NS))} / t

Where KN is Knitten Ninja
JD is Jack Daniels
V is speed
NS is the Needle Size
and t, obviously, is time?

It's the rate at which all the yarn in the world decreases.
You're not lazy. You're just multi-tasking too hard.

triangulation

2006-12-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

so mad scarf rush 2006 continues apace. mom's scarf is done.

for this i used the same brand of yarn as the texture striped scarf. the pattern is for the multidirectional scarf that everyone seems to like to make using noro yarn. it has beautiful colorways or something. personally, i just wanted to make a nice solid scarf with just a tinge of flair. something appropriate for a woman of a certain age, you know? basically, it is a series of triangles knit from one point (1 st) out to the long side (here 25 st) in short rows. when you finish the long side, turn it to the shorter edge, and start from 1st, picking up the other side as you go along. it's a lot of fun and confuses bystanders greatly.

i think it turned out rather well. and, of course, i had to try it on.

details: bear creek yarn in cherry on size 15 bamboo needles. (it's marked 17, but i am extremely anti-plastic needle knitting for no apparent reason and 15 were the largest bamboos i could find.) To finish, i used the second bind off method in the pattern, and i think it worked out rather nicely.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

who's got big balls?

2006-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

i think i have a problem. i really really love this bear creek yarn. not only does it knit up super fast, but it's so pretty. here are the balls i'll be using for a scarf to match my sister's hat. i'm planning on doing a texture stripe scarf that's properly striped as well.

i'm rather upper class high society
god's gift to ballroom notoriety
i always fill my ballroom
the event is never small
the social pages say i've got
the biggest balls of all

i've got big balls
i've got big balls
and they're such big balls
dirty big balls
and he's got big balls
and she's got big balls
but we've got the biggest balls of them all

nice sweater

2006-12-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

so a friend of mine made an interesting request for knitwear. she wanted wristwarmers (*yawn*) that were the length of opera gloves (*!*). that sounded like great fun. i figured something of this size would need to be somewhat fitted to the recipient. and as the recipient was of pixie height, measurements would be in order. so she flitted about her office looking for a tape measure or string. unfortunately i can only imaging this event, as i was not there. but i am fairly certain it would have been hysterical.

so measurements were taken and recorded. i used worsted weight wool on size 7 needles and knit from the fingers up. for the thumbs i cast on an additional 6 st, which made them a bit wider. this was then tapered back in towards the wrist, and slowly widened up the arm. increases were all made along the thumbline, and there was a simple cable every 8 rows to try to hide them. I wanted to make the part that would show from under a coat all black, so that the stripey excitement was only apparently when the coat was removed. at the very top of the gloves, the last 8 rows were knit back and forth in seed stitch, to make a non-ribbed top and a "v" on the side to make them a bit easier to put on. and here, the results!

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

what about the title, you ask? well, the lovely lady sporting the warmers was wearing them to get her hair did one day. the gentleman doing so complimented her sweater. "oh, it's not a sweater. they're wristwarmers." she replied. and then removed her jacket. to the apparent awe of the gentleman cutter. excellent.

that's haute

2006-12-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

so yesterday i was wearing the textured stripe scarf on the subway. it has always puzzled me how in winter inside areas are overheated. i mean, if it's very cold out, you'll most likely have a heavy coat, scarf, gloves, hat, etc. why on earth would you want to enter public transit where it was hotter than in summer? are you meant to take off all your layers? where will you put them? and aside from the heat and cumbersome apparel there is the oppressive artificial dryness. argh.
but this is neither here nor there.
so yesterday i was wearing the textured stripe scarf on the subway. i was also working on another scarf for my mother for christmas. after knitting for a good 20 minutes i got up and walked towards the door. a woman who had been staring at me in a manner i had previously deemed hostile turned to me and spoke. i removed the acid house kings' dulcet tones from my ear and asked her to repeat herself. "did you knit that one too?" "why yes, i did." "it's lovely."

it's been a while since someone talked to me randomly on the subway. it's something new yorkers don't do. you don't make eye contact on the street. you don't give money to the homeless if they're begging in a bar. you don't walk on the left. and you certainly don't talk to strangers on the subway.

unless, apparently, they're knitting.

textured stripe scarf

2006-12-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

so in one expedition to my local yarn store, i came across this beautiful yarn. it's called bear creek, and is 99% wool (the rest is apparently the thin wirelike thread keeping the yarn together). it's meant to be knit on size 17 needles. and as that is absurdly huge, i've been knitting it on 15s. and here are the results.

i worked on this in the car on a road trip to westchester for a wedding. i made it through an entire skein and about 4' of scarf on the way there. now, i am a fairly fast knitter, but still. hooray for chunky yarn!

the pattern was as follows:

and repeat. so it's 7 rows of stockinette in one direction, then 7 rows of stockinette in the other. i have some innate dislike for things that aren't symmetric and reversible, so this keeps the crazy in me happy. also, it bounces a bit when you walk. so that's pretty sweet.

the color i used is almond torte, and it was about 12 stitches wide. in future 2 skeins would happily make a 6' scarf that is about 20 stitches wide. so if you're going to give it a shot, that's what i'd recommend.

also, i just started a multidirectional scarf in the same yarn (different color) that is going crazy fast. i should have new pics for you kids soon. until then, we rate the torte.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

more headgear

2006-12-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

after making the black and violet hat, i realized how quickly one could knit up such a thing. as per usual, i decided to mass produce. the next entry was a green hat.

this one i made with 10 rows ribbing, 25 rows stockinette, and then the 18 rows decreasing. i should have done 30 rows, it's a tad short. i'll have to give it to a small headed person. which is actually rather convenient, as the person i made it for fits that description.

and here's me in the hat. a leetle on the tight side, no?

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

mad hatter

2006-11-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

a ways back my sister and i were at a concert with some friends of mine. a friend of mine mentioned that i had knit her a necklace. my sister turned to me and was all, "you knit??" and that is how i was outed to my family. as a knitter.

i fully expected shock. maybe some awe. intead she carefully examined the crowd and pointed to a twentysomething girl. "that. can you make me that hat?" yes, yes i can. yes, yes i did.

the pattern is for the london beanie. it seemed easy enough and not too heavy. beginning the first inch or so with ribbing and switching to stockinette seemed really weird, but makes for a nice simple hat that won't roll at the bottom or slide off your head.

this was knit with worsted weight wool in violet and black on size 7 double points in the round. and completed in about three days worth of subway rides. the stripes were done by switching colors every other row, and carrying the yarn. (i'm really anti-working in ends.)

i'm not sure whether to leave the ends dangling, make a braid, a pom pom, a tassel, or work them in. thoughts are welcome.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

a tisket a tasket

2006-11-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

a few months back i was on my way home from morningside heights on a sunday afternoon. i decided to take the bus down broadway. at the time i was working on the wedding blanket. there was a woman of a certain age knitting a lovely grey wool scarf. after about 20 blocks i built up the courage to say hello. so the ninja perches precariously on the ground next to her and asks about the scarf. apparently she was making it for charity. sailors. no, really. apparently they get cold necks out there on the open seas. or maybe proper accessorizing can scare off pirates. but this is neither here nor there.

so there i was on the bus chatting up the woman. she was more than happy to share the pattern for her scarf. she even tried to get me to join a knitting group that met on sunday afternoons at a church in harlem. what? i thanked her for the offer and declined. i did, however, keep the pattern for the scarf.

see, the name of this post is witty because it is a basket weave scarf.

i love this one. just knitting and purling, nothing complicated.
basic pattern:
row 1: k7, p5, k5, p5, k5, p5, k7
row 2: k2, p5, k5, p5, k5, p5, k5, p5, k2
continue for 7 rows
on row 8, go back to row 1, knitting your purls and purling your knits. this creates the next row of "checkers". then keep on going until you get bored or run out of yarn! the end two stitches on either end are in garter stitch and form a nice border for the scarf.

this was knit on size 7 double points (because i like them, not because they were necessary) with sugar 'n creme cotton yarn. (i had a bit left over from my pound of love)

and now, the ninjas:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

wiggin' out

2006-10-31T12:00:00.000-05:00

when i first started knitting i made a scarf. it was two feet long and about three inches thick. it -- to put it bluntly -- sucked like a hoover. a friend made fun of it and i stopped knitting for a while, utterly forsook.

but then i saw two patterns on knitty that intrigued me. one was the voodoo wristwarmers, and the other was the hallowig. both involved using either double pointed needles or a circular. at this juncture not only did i not own these implements, i did not know what they were. adding stitches in the round midway through a project was utterly terrifying. however now, returning to this pattern as a seasoned knitter, i was ready. and here are the results:

pink just isn't my color. perty, ain't she?

now let's rate 'er.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

why didn't you tell me?

2006-10-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

now, anyone who follows technology in the slightest should know full well that three megapixels is so four years ago, but alas i did not. i have just picked myself up a new six megapixel beauty and will soon be posting all the knit wonderment that i have made over the past month. don't you worry, it's not that i haven't been knitting, i've just been sans camera.

and so you know, my loss will be your gain. the new pics are way better than my old camera could have done. *looks around* i hope she can't hear me. anyway, i'll be backdating about half a dozen posts of scarves and hats and the like over the next few days based on when i finished them. enjoy!

i'm a loser baby

2006-10-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

i lost my camera. this makes me sad for several reasons. i mean, yeah, my elph was a relic from a bygone era. with it's paltry 3.2 megapixels and hulking 3.4"x2.2"x1.1" design. but we'd had some good times. and now she's gone. an offering to the hogs and heifers gods. well, we had a good run of it.

what has any of this got to do with knitting, you may ask.
nothing.
however, it has everything to do with blogging. i cannot post new digital pictures of the hats, gloves, and shoes...er...socks without a bit of electronic assistance. i plan to rectify this in the very near future.

*sniffle*

let's go hiking

2006-10-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

if there is a bandwagon i generally am about halfway to my destination before i realize that i've jumped on. such is the case with the irish hiking scarf. a friend of mine was always kind of confused about why i knit. and really confused about why i got excited by yarn. then i took him on his first yarn store outing. he was all, "ooh! what can you do with this?" he found a lovely skein of eco wool, and requested that i make him a scarf. a really long cabley one. since i both loved the yarn and have been wanting to make a cabley scarf, i gladly acceded to the request. and it only took about a week. yay thick yarn!

this was knit on size 10 1/2 needles. for the first time, i think ever, i actually followed the pattern. i am quite pleased with the results.

one more time? i think yes.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

is that from banana republic?

2006-10-21T12:00:00.000-04:00

so a few months back i went on a road trip to upstate new york. for those of you not from manhattan, urban new york is colloquially defined as "anywhere outside of manhattan that is not long island. and a few parts of the bronx." when embarking upon this trip i arrived with an overflowing coffee in hand, bright eyed and lightly packed, ready to face the hourlong trip ahead. then i heard it was five hours. oh. do i have to drive?

so the beginning of the trip was spent detangling a mass of yarn and balling it. this bit always irks me as it seems rather redundant if you're going to be knitting it into something else eventually anyway. this is probably why i wind up spending so much of my time unknotting things. but this is neither here nor there.

after unhappily detangling and happily knitting a basket weave scarf, i ran out of yarn. i nearly cried. what am i going to do? must. keep. moving. i managed a good day without knitting. or, rather, a day without knitting. then i got to hit up a small town yarn shoppe. with the "pe". there was a class outside with women hand dying their own yarns. i was thrilled. i sauntered in and perused their wares. after a bit the woman behind the counter asked the older woman with whom i was shopping if she could help her. "oh no, i don't knit. he's the one who wanted to come here and get yarn." after my blush settled i was guided to a corner with some lovely peruvian wool in charcoal grey and mint green. after picking up two of the former and one of the latter, the below scarf was made.

size 7 needles, 2x2 rib pattern with 1 extra stitch on each side which was sliped to make the edges look neat at the beginning of the row. 6 rows MC, 2 rows CC, 2 rows MC, repeat until you run out of yarn. very simple, it just required some patience. what allowed me to make such small striped was carrying the yarn up the side when switching colors instead of cutting and working in the ends. that would have been disasterous and possibly ended my knitting career prematurely. on the 2 row bits i just brought the new color around to the front. on the 6 row stretches, i brought the main color around behind the green, kind of trapping it between the first two stitches. it turned out about 6' long, and i'm pleased as punch.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

**note: a girl in a bar actually asked me the title question on friday. i promptly wet myself and then said thank you no, i made it. idle chitchat ensued. **

knucks

2006-10-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

i've been a big fan of fingerless gloves for ages and have been known to scour army navy stores in their pursuit. they are so practical! you can reach your keys. and use an outdoor atm. and knit. and polish your nunchucks at the busstop. all around wonderful creations, these fingerless gloves. and, contrary to popular belief, they do keep your hands warm.

so imagine my excite at seeing the pattern for knucks on knitty! i had some leftover sock yarn and a lot of enthusiasm. the result is here:

so the yarn was crochet cotton meant for size 7 needles. i used size 3, and the larger of the two patterns linked above (or here). at fisrt i screwed up the cuff. i did a 1x1 rib the same width as the hand bit, and it turned out like something liberace would think was too frilly. clearly this was no good. so i frogged back to the stockinette part, decreased two stitches, and switched to size 2 needles. that, i think, did the trick. no?

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

wedding blanket

2006-09-16T12:00:00.000-04:00

i finished it! and it has been presented! at long last the wedding blanket is done. this cabled beauty, knit with cotton yarn on size 8 needles in three panels, has been my pet project for...well...this year. as i'm sure you can tell from earlier posts this isn't all i've been working on, but it's been the constant project that i kept coming back to. she would up being about 5' square, and the small purple, blue, and pink flecks in the yarn really made it a lot more visually amusing than the flat ecru that had tempted me way back in my yarn-buying days. the blanket was presented at a bridal shower and went over quite well. there was hugging and "oh my god"ing and all sorts of merriment. there were even a few ladies who asked me to teach them to knit. :-D

as you can probably tell, i'm going to post a lot of photos. partly because cabling is apparently hard to capture on "film". mainly because this puppy took me ages and i'm damn proud of it.

i'll post the pattern in a bit, but i really should do a bit of homework. then i'll come back. until then, the ninjas:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

fairy tales can come true

2006-08-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

so remember that sock i made a while back that just turned out a totally weird size? no? i tried to block it out as well. but one day when the ninja had a bit o' the old moonshine in him and a friend over he decided to start showing off things he'd made. or perhaps i should rephrase...everything he'd ever made. ever. the reasons for this decision remain delightfully ill-defined.
so when rummaging through laundry bags overflowing with gauntily coloured acrylic our ninja came upon the lone sock. and frowned. and said something along the lines of, "i made a sock. but it's a weird size and i'm not sure if it will fit anyone. so i haven't had the heart to make a twin." then ninja's friend tried on the sock. it was like cinderella! but partially synthetic. and self-striping. and far more practical. i mean, could you imagine what horrors might transpire if cinderella put her foot down rather enthusiastically and her shoe broke? i'm sure she's have more than a few words for annie lennox regarding the comparatively saccharine lyrics of a relevant song.
impractical footwear aside, here are the socks.

not so bad, eh?

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

spring scarf

2006-08-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

the ninja is not one to acknowledge seasonality. given his druthers, he in fact would generally prefer to be dressed in jeans and a t-shirt year round. inclement weather rarely intrudes upon this practice, but the heat of the summer can. and this heat is precisely what the ninja was ignoring when he made the following:

a "spring scarf" had been requested by a friend about five years ago. (or five months, but who's counting?) so i finally got around to making one. too bad it was delivered in the middle of the august heat. oops?

this guy was fun to knit, though a little confusing to keep up with. size 7 needles, sock yarn meant for size 3s, width of 40st. this made for a scarf about 5" wide and very lightweight. definitely more of a fashion statement than an item meant to provide warmth. the pattern is a wavy sort of rib, much like the pattern below (v's are knits and -'s are purls):

vv--vv--vv--vv--
v--vv--vv--vv--v
--vv--vv--vv--vv
v--vv--vv--vv--v
vv--vv--vv--vv--

though fun, if you're going to try this pattern, don't use a patterned yarn. or a sock yarn. especially don't use a patterned sock yarn. it was incredibly hard to figure out which row i was on. but the result is rather dashing, no?

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

on a scale of "kinda stupid" to "are you kidding me"?...

2006-07-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

so i took a train ride recently and *gasp* finished my project mid-route. as at the time i was highly caffeinated and listening to rather enthusiastic music - probably the dresden doll's yes, virginia - i needed something with which to occupy my hands, but didn't want to start a new project as i was in the middle of about five million. so i made little wristicuffs.

now i know that you, gentle readers, will try to boost my ego and tell me these are adorable, but i know that, in fact, they are absurd. and now i have learned. not worth it. make something else instead. possibly little pouches? hmm.

sock yarn, size 7 needles. these were knit the short way, about 16 st, one entirely in stockinette, the other with every 4th row purled. that one is the one that looks super silly.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

skein & able

2006-07-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

so the world is currently undergoing another trend. knitting? yeah yeah. that's so 2003. now there's a new urban art form. slightly less permanent than graffitti, but slightly more awesome. so knitten ninja's gettin' in on it.

the related representation on myspace is skein and able. i'm merely a cog riding on the coattails of someone else's cool.

this is a bus stop on the east side of thompkins square park. a small beginning to be sure, but there is more awesome to come.

"i lost my camera case"

2006-06-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

sad friend + lost camera case + knitten ninja + bottle wine + MST3K marathon =

so this was the friend for whom i made a pair of tan/brown skullywarmers and matching cap. she came over for an evening of intense snacking and light boozing, and mentioned that she and her camera case had parted ways. knitten ninja, always one to pounce upon a problem (after two glasses of wine) found a solution!

please note the color scheme. it matches the aforementioned other goods. the orange bits were done with bernat velour on size 10 1/2 needles. this is crazy thick, so it went very quickly. being the sneaky ninja i am, the orange bits are pockets!

cast 10 st onto two needles so that each loop goes around both needles
knit along one side of the needles, pulling out one needle with each stitch. when you do this each stitch you knit will rest on the working needle, and one of the two stationary needles will remain holding the cast on stitches
turn the work and knit the same 10 stitches again, this time removing the other cast on needle. now you have two needles and can work your pocket in the round.
work about 4" in this manner.
do it again! when you get to 4", bind off on one side. knit two rows on the other side in stockinette stitch. k3, k2tog, ssk, k3. turn. p4 yo yo p4. continue until you have a flap of a length you like, forming another hole in the same fasion as listed above for the button.

for the sides, cast on 6 stitches cheap acrylic with two strands held together
knit about 4"
knit the width of the 10 orange stitches
knit another 4"

stitch together the orange pockets to the brown sides using tan acrylic. i went for a contrasting color so i could see what i was doing. plus, i am a sucker for top stitching.
use brown acrylic for around the buttonhole. this will help tighten the stitches around it so it will wear better.
stitch on the button
the first buttonhole was for the armstrap on the camera. you could stitch around this one in a similar manner, but i passed out. i mean, ran out of time.

designed and executed in about four hours. not so bad i think. :)

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

birthday season

2006-06-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

birthday season is jockstrap knitting time.

and this time it's in motion! though the model would like to remain anonymous, his crotch shall not.

please note the use of i-cord for buttstrap. i think we're nearing a decent pattern here, kids. it's a three stitch i-cord. which had intimidated me at first, but is crazy fun to make.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

fallopian what?

2006-06-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

not a knit model of the female reproductive organs. it is an undergarment for a male. this was knit on the downtown bus on the way to a friend's boss' bday party.

as anticipated, he put it on immediately and wore it for hours.

on this...er...fourth go at a jock strap, please not the introduction of the split buttstraps. this was a first, and worked out rather well. i think the recipient found it significantly more wearable than the previous one buttstrap version. also, the pink gives it that certain...je nais c'est que. or something. i took spanish.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

bullseye!

2006-05-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

at long last i have another knitting post! i have been remiss for ages, i know. there were finals and life was busy. but believe you me gentle readers, nary a day went by where i didn't pick up the old needles. the problem is i was working on two ginormous projects simultaneously. my supersecret project that i cannot post here, and this one:

i loves her so! i took the pattern for a round baby blanket and modified it slightly. that is, where it says to YO, i knit into the front and back of the stitch. this kept the overall form of the blanket exactly the same, but didn't make those decorative pinwheelie holes. the total size is about 4 or 5 feet in diameter. an odd size, but a nice lap blanket. i still need to work in the ends, but i thought you kids deserved a new post.

and now, the skinny. i found some voodoo yarn at a dollar store, so i picked up a ton and decided to make a fuzzy blanket. this is that blanket. i started out knitting on double points size 10 1/2, and moved to size 11 circs when i ran out of space. this project is a perfect excuse to pick up that interchangeable needle set that you've been dying to get. the yarn calls for size 13 needles, but i wanted a tighter knit. in retrospect i should've used 13s, but the blanket is still pretty awesome.

the stripes are done using numbers of skeins as a guideline instead of numbers of rows. with 60yd skeins, this is way easier than dealing with millions of ends. the pattern is:
10 rows red, 10 rows white
1 skein red, 1 skein white (+ remainder of first)
2 skeins red, 1 skein white
3 skeins red, 1 skein white
4 skeins red, 1 skein white
5 skeins red (last 10 rows are in garter stitch to prevent curling)

if you are going to make this, it's way fun. the one thing to keep in mind is that when knitting out from the center of a circle, it takes way longer with each row. by the time i reached the end an entire skein went around the diameter only one and a half times.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

sock (no, not socks)

2006-05-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

i finished my stripey sock.

i was so excited to bind off. i used the same pattern that i'd used on my other socks. basically a 52st circumference, 52 stitches between toe and heel decreases, then the same up the leg. on size 3s. i even went up to 56 for the foot. unfortunately, this yarn is apparently a lot smaller than the others. these socks are tiny. not good for my size 12 tootsies at all. more like a size 8. ah well. i've only made the one, and the twin may be made if i think of someone who they'd fit.

the self-striping yarn is pretty awesome though, eh?

on another note...binding off on toe up socks. very hard. i used size 10 1/2 needles (up from 3s) and that seemed to work. i did it with 7s and they were crazy tight. any other thoughts?

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:	-

subway knitten

2006-05-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

today i was knitting on the subway on my way down to work, as is my wont. the woman sitting next to me asked what i was doing. she was very excited about the whole thing. i was working on my square blanket (not the bullseye, which has become of mythical proportions as i continue to not work on it. but she should be done this weekend.) we proceeded to have a bit of a chat about the merits of continental knitting, and i had to admit i was not yet comfortable enough with the process. she looked at my cables and such and said, "oh, you wouldn't want to do that on that blanket anyway. it's way too complicated." she was impressed. and apparently used to design sweaters. so that was a compliment that i was very happy to receive.

is that aran knitting?

2006-05-25T12:05:00.000-04:00

knitting my square blanket on the crosstown bus. i was running late for work, so i didn't have my coffee yet. if you've ever met the ninja, he's a mite cranky when undercaffeinated. especially before noon.
this pleasant looking and rather zoftig woman was talking at me. i sighed, hopefully not audibly, and removed the earphone from my ear. "is that aran knitting you're doing there?" this, in and of itself, is nothing to put one in a particularly good mood. however, the thick irish brogue that she used was fantastic. i suddenly knew that for the next ten minutes that our paths of transit crossed we would be the best of friends. she liked my pattern and asked about the yarn, and was quite surprised it was cotton. she told me tails of when she used to knit and how she and her friends would make socks and the like. it was great to see her so excited.
she then asked me where she could pick up yarn and seemed very motivated to start knitting again. i love it when that happens.

yup. there are male knitters. more than i thought.

2006-03-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

on the subway on the way to work today i had out this blanket that i'm working on. full of cables and about 3' long. so it was slightly conspicuous. and rush hour.

so i'm happily listening to music and knitting when this rather large and agitated gentleman approaches me. he holds out his hand and says something. i fear for my life. and then i pull out my earphones.

KnittenNinja: "wha?"
RatherLargeStranger: "i do that too, man."
KnittenNinja: "awesome."

then i shake his hand. 'cuz it is awesome.

you and the duke of winchester

2006-03-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

[please read all OlderGentleman lines en voce michael caine]

OlderGentleman: you and the duke of winchester
KnittenNinja: what?
[pulls headphone out of ear]
OlderGentleman: you and the duke of winchester.

** apparently, the duke of winchester is a male knitter **

KnittenNinja: at least i'm in good company.
OlderGentleman: it really is wonderful what you're doing.

[time passes. the person next to ninja on the back of the bus leaves and the old man sits down next to me]

OlderGentleman: that really is wonderful, what you're doing.
KnittenNinja: i think so. i quite enjoy it. gives me something to do to pass the time in transit.
OlderGentleman: it's really a shame, in these days of machine processed things, that no one takes the time to make things anymore. and there's a difference you know.
KnittenNinja: indeed.
OlderGentleman: one can look at something and just know it was handmade.
KnittenNinja: quite true.
OlderGentleman: it's nice to see that anyone still does that these days.
KnittenNinja: knitting has actually had quite a resurgence in these past few years. there are quite a lot of us.
OlderGentleman: but still...it's nice to see...

i am still unsure of whether the gentleman in question was hitting on me, or thinking of when he was young and his mother used to knit, but i shall assume the latter.

there's more to life than acrylic

2006-03-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

i have heard these words, but not believed them. acrylic. so bright. so friendly. so soft. so cheap. but the time has come for this ninja to branch out. boutique yarn shops in manhattan tend to be hella expensive. sometimes, they don't even price their yarn. and that always means you can't afford it.

so i resorted to the interweb. i've ordered from herrschner's before, which is where i picked up a few cones of sugar 'n cream pound o' cotton cones. i've made scarves and wristwarmers out of it, and quite like it. sturdy, washable, natural fiber, easy to knit, and you'll never run out. ever.

so anyway, i ordered some self-striping sock yarn. it's awesome. i may even have a mid-project pic post, as i'm excited about how it turns out. here's a preview:

regia self-striping sport granite

it's amazing. i give it many ninjas of awesomeness.

oh, and i realized the cheapie yarn site is run by the herrschners folk. i support then wholeheartedly. shop there now.

headgear

2006-03-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

so a friend of mine wants a unicorn hat. i find this a surprisingly reasonable request. so i went off on my googling to see what was out there. came up with this: which is, obviously, absurd. the hat was requested to look like this: which is less so. so i'm happily knitting a hat in stockinette in the round. i've got the earflaps and about one inch of hat. however soon i must worry about eyes, ears, and horn. for the mane i was thinking of doing my decreases in the back every row so i could use the holes to tie in the ends. but the others. hmm... any thoughts?

wine bag

2006-03-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

i decided it was time to knit with something other than yarn. while on one of my semi-regular dollar store trips i came across a spool of jute. this, i thought, would be awesome. so i sat down with a 350ft ball and a set of size 10.5s and went to work. here's what happened:

nifty, huh? i thought the jute (like twine, by the way) would be stiffer. but in this stockinette stitch it's more like a rug than like cardboard.

side panel (three times):
cast on 14st
even rows: slip1, k13
odd rows: slip1, p13
46 (RS): slip1, k3, k2tog, k2, ssk, k4
47 (WS): slip1, p3, yo, p4, yo, p4
48 (WS): bind off
this makes little holes for the handles.

here she is in action. notice the nice 3-panel craftsmanship.

bottom: cast on 14st
all rows: slip 1, k2tog, knit to end
keep going until you can't anymore (due to either tension in jute or lack of stitches), then bind off.

i thought this was pretty neat. it would be neater if the sides were stiff, but such is life. maybe garter next time? seed stitch?

seams:
i used shoelaces, stitching up the large holes near the tops of the panels left by the slipped stitches. it looks kinda crappy so i might braid together a few lengths of black yarn instead.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

neckwear

2006-03-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

i made a necklace. the pattern was from knitty.com. well, basically it was. i decided a couple of things from the get go.

i did not want it to look like yarn

i wanted it to be black

i was impatient and wouldn't spend more than an hour on it

so this was the result: wanted lacy, got goth. i still think it's kinda sexy. here she is on a different background.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

claws 'n paws

2006-03-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

wristwarmer time once more. i know i said i'd kick the habit, but i lied.

these were a quick knit. like the candy warmers half a dozen posts back or so, these were made casting on 30 st on size 10s. knit short rows in tiger print for 16 rows. then knit in black for 13. join together leaving a hole for the thumb. do the second one in the opposite direction, so the same side faces out (that is, do the black bit first).

i fear they might look a little too halloweenie. but will settle for them being only kinda awesome.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

ah, public transit...

2006-02-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

so i was knitting a sock on the uptown bus today and this rather large woman came ambling down the aisle with a large translucent bag and sat down directly across from me. i removed my earphones and said, "did you get that at the shop over two blocks west?" and she was all, "hell no, they're way too expensive there. i order online." i agreed.
we then chatted about the blanket she was making. pink, purple, and white baby blanket. apparently for a ginormous baby. her coworkers are breeding like randy rabbits and she's trying to keep up. and she's knitting them all sweaters, hats, and blankets that match! i sat back in jealousy.
apparently she just learned to knit, but has been crocheting for years. though she prefers the look of the knit, she prefers the act of crocheting. i sheepishly admitted that i didn't know how to crochet, but it seemed like cheating since you only had one stick. then she pointed out the four i was holding and i had to admit that looked equally puzzling.
now, this conversation is not odd to knitters, but the bus, they were baffled! we chatted amiably using terms they did not know, from swatches to fiber content to ribbing and cabling patterns to sites on the interweb. ah the awe. it's luffly.

i am a boy who knits. large black women on the bus love me. loudly. i do not get this, but it seems to hold true. i love them too.

socks

2006-02-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

i made more socks. same pattern as last time, but these are in sexy red and dangerous black. i think socks may be the new wristwarmers. i've already started on yet another pair. hmmm...

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

two brains the size of a planet

2006-02-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

marvin caused such great feelings of jealousy that i made another one as a gift. ain't i nice? and, as i cannot possibly be trusted to leave well enough alone, i switched the pattern up a bit. which marvin do you like better?

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

brown hat

2006-01-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

i made a cute hat. it's a simple rib with some stripes.

it was made with acrylic yarn on size 7 needles. i cast on 88 st and knit in a 2x2 rib.

the rows are as follows:
20 brown
4 grey
6 brown
4 grey
6 brown
4 blue
6 brown
4 grey
6 brown*
4 grey
4 brown

decreases as follows, beginning with *'d row: row 1: k2tog, p2, k2, p2
row 2: k1, p2, k2, p2
row 3: k2tog, p1, k2, p2
row 4: k1, p1, k2, p2
row 5: k2tog, k2, p2
row 6: k3, p2
[switch to grey]
row 7: k2tog, k1, p2
row 8: k2, p2
row 9: k2tog, p2
row 10: k1, p2
[switch to brown]
row 11: k2tog, p1
row 12: k1, p1
row 13: k2tog
row 14: k all

this leaves you with 11 stitches. use a tapestry needle to draw tail through open stitches, tighten, and tie.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

last. warmers. ever.

2006-01-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

promise.

pattern is 2x2 rib, with mock cables as follows...

row 1,2: k2 p2 k2 p2 (4x) MC
row 3: k2(cross) p2 k2 p2 (4x) MC
row 4, 5: k2 p2 k2 p2 (4x) CC1

row 6,7: k2 p2 k2 p2 (4x) MC
row 8: k2 p2 k2(cross) p2 (4x) MC
row 9, 10: k2 p2 k2 p2 (4x) CC2

it's really a 5 row pattern repeated twice, you just switch the knit ribs that are being cabled. i think it would be sexier in a solid color.

eh, it made it more fun to knit.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

amelia earhart hat

2006-01-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

i made a cute new hat. i'm finally starting to get this wrapping at the end of short rows so as not to create holes. for some reason this hat has been named the "amelia earhart aviator cap". i, for one, don't get it. the hat was created using this pattern. it sounds very complicated, but is knit sideways, like the tychus, and is done with short rows. since i cannot leave well enough alone, i used size 8 needles and acrylic yarn. the sizing fits an average head. (hey, i fit it on my big ol' noggin) one last look...

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

knitwork in orange

2006-01-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

i had jury duty recently. and i decided that i was perfectly comfortable with the role of "that guy who is knitting". and so it was. this is a project from said labor. this scarf was knit using cheap acrylic yarn on size 10 needles. i used a big honkin' skein, and that was enough for the whole project. the pattern is k2 p2 k2 p2 k2 p2 k4 p2 k2 p2 k2 p2 k2 i cabled the knits in orange every 4th row, and the ones in brown every eighth, forming a nice cabley pattern. the added excitement is the pockets at the end! knit 32 rows in pattern in the round (with 28 st on each of two needles; basically two scarves back to back), and then bound off one needle. knit the live stitches for about another five feet. then cast on another 28 st, and repeat the 32 rows in the round. finally bind off both open ends. conceptually, this is two small hats with a scarf in the middle. i think it's pretty awesome.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

momwarmers

2006-01-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

more wristwarmers. soon i will become less boring, really. these were fun to make, as they are mad cabley. i cast on 32 stitches on size 7 needles, twisting every 12th row on all knit stitches. the last 4 rows were knit in red, and i added a little red detailing for the thumbhole. the most exciting part about these is that the thumbhole is hidden inside one of the cables. i knit until the cable round just before where i wanted the thumb. then i knit one more round afterwards. for the next 8 rows, i knit back and forth on either side of one of the cables (eg. k2 p4 k4 p4...p4 k2). then i knit one round, and cabled the next. the effect is fun, though i had to add some red detailing to the thumbhole so you can find it.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

so many wrists are warm because of me

2005-12-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

the newest warmers... these are 2x2 knit, acrylic yarn on size 10 needles. 10 rows each color block. one warmer is orange red orange red orange and the other is red orange red orange red

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

cable scarf, part 2

2005-12-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

i finished my cabley scarf. i think she turned out rather well. and now she can be rated...

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

sockin' it to ya

2005-12-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

clearly this needed to begin with a pun.
i made my first sock!

ain't she perty? my favorite socks are dying. have a hole in the heel and they are a bit too thin for me to even contemplate darning. not to mention that seems a rather daunting task. so i looked at a ton of patterns online to see if i could find them. no luck. so then i stared at them for a long time. their heel did'nt look like the patterns i'd seen. this whole knitting a square heel and turning it held no allure for me. i liked the neat look of angled decreases. after reading a gazillion patterns from about.com, i learned that this was done through decreasing in short rows. which i will explain at a later date when i can do it properly. at this point i did it poorly, but it worked. and it's a hot sock.

here you can see the short row heel. no squares for me.

i decreased the toe in a similar manner. pattern: i used crochet cotton yarn meant for size 7 needles on size 3s. and it fits my size 12 foot. CO 51 st (i used three double points with 18, 18, and 15 st) rows 1- 2: k1 p1 rows 3-50: k2 p1 rows 51-54: k all put 26 st on 1 needle, 25 on another switch to contrasting color working 26 st needle, decrease 1 st at end of each row, for 16 rows (down to 10) increase back to 26 st rearrange stitches on three needles switch to original color k all for 52 rows pick up 26 st on sole put 26 st on 1 needle, 25 on another switch to contrasting color working on 26 needle, decrease 1 st at end of each row, for 16 rows (down to 10) increase back to 26 st join with original color
please note that the high difficulty is only because i had no idea what i was doing. the twin is proving far easier. note that the toe and heel are actually done the same way.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

cabley hat

2005-12-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

cables are my new best friend. i never cared much for the look before i started knitting, now i just can't get enough. this hat was done with "mock cables". a one stitch twist that apparently does not count as a real cable since it does not require a needle. whatever, it is cute.

knit on size 10 needles with debbie bliss merino wool. took 3 balls. pattern here.

you may notice my straying into nice yarn here. uncharacteristic, eh? these three balls were the first i purchased when beginning my career as a knitter. i hid them from myself until i thought i could do them justice. this was the time.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

candy cane

2005-12-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

a ways back i made the tychus hat and it looked like a candy cane. very doofy, but it grows on you. i decided it needed matching wristwarmers. i did them vertically in short rows. cast 30 stitches on size 10 needles. two rows red, two rows white, until it totals 28 rows. sew up the seam and leave a hole for your thumb. a really quick knit.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

cablin'

2005-12-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

i just started my first cabling project. it's a scarf. it's quite fun. here she is: 4..3..4..3.. i've never been much for following patterns. most of what i make is in a 2x2 knit (cotton yarn on size 7s). this pattern takes a kkppkk, and cables the kk's, while leaving the pp's on the back side. i'm not quite sure how to describe what i'm doing, but it seems to work. what i'm most excited about is that it's two sided. 3..3..3..3.. not done, not rated.

brownie hat

2005-11-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

i made another hat. i think it's cute. looks like a new pattern, but it's not. it's the tychus. i used brown yarn throughout, and alternated the other rows with tan or white. size 10 needles, other than that in pattern. came out a bit tight on my head and not much room for folding. but it fit the recipient well. (she's beaming underneath the ninja. really.)

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

brain the size of a planet...

2005-11-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

what's better than a misanthropic android? a knit misanthropic android. bitter and huggable, all at once! ain't marvin cute? i followed the pattern here.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

yup i...did it again

2005-11-12T12:00:00.001-05:00

and again, and again, and again... people want them. and with the holidays fast approaching, who am i to deny their requests?

i would rate them, but i fear that is getting tiresome for these projects. more excitement to come...

fun with stripes

2005-11-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

for a while i've been meaning to make a scarf that played with varying stripe lengths. i started this puppy a while ago, and for some reason it has been my back project. well no more, it is done.
for this scarf, i cast 28 st on size 10 needles and worked in 2x2 rib. the pattern for the stripes was as follows:
2244226208181016121414121610188206224242
i thought it was kind of neat. it could stand to be a bit wider, but came out to be appropriate scarf length, about 6' long. one more time:

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

scarf del diablo

2005-11-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

i wanted to make a scarf as quickly as possible. i thought of three things that would help in this endeavor. thing the first: huge needles! i used size 13. thing the second: knit it the long way, so there is less turning of the needles. for the first time, i knit a little swatch and did massive calculations and came up with 40st/foot. so i CO 240 st. thing the third: all knit, all the time. no purling.
i wound up with the following:
the pattern for stripes was
###|#|##############|#|### (where "|" is white, and all colors were for one row)
i am not sure how i feel about this pattern, but i know how i feel about the length. bad. very bad. this was at least 8' long. which is WAY TOO LONG.
please note the 7" needle next to the scarf. the scarf is foled over eight times. it was ginormous.
also, i tied the ends together at the end of each row. so that it would not fall apart. i thought this was witty. it looked awful. i tried to fix it. it looked worse.

i know. disgusting. so i decided to chop off the ends and do some reconstructive surgery to fix the ends and shorten the scarf.

less bad. i am proud of the tassels. however i am still a bit unsure about whether i like the pattern.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

girly wristwarmers

2005-11-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

i am like a truck that cannot be stopped. wristwarmers are just too darn easy.

CO 36 st (makes 9 2x2 ribs) on two needles. thumb holes are 16 rows from edge, and 6 st so that they lie on ppkkpp when warmer is finished.

also note the fuzzy goodness. i figured out how to incorporate eyelash yarn into something. i tried using it on its own, but to no avail. some people apparently can manage it, but whether i used bamboo, metal, or plastic i have no luck. looks like it's holding the two together for me.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

red fraggle

2005-10-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

i love halloween. here are some pics of more knit accessories.

fraggle hat: this was knit in the round on size 10 needles. i cast on 88 stitches. starting with ten rows of orange and yellow held together. then 30 rows of red (one strand). next came the decreases. i went for two seams, so four decreases every round, on two sides. with stitch markers at the center, it looked like this: odd rounds: k2tog, *marker*, ssk even rounds: k2tog, k, *marker*, k ssk the little pipes supporting the pom poms were made by casting 10 stitches on size 10 needles of orange and yellow held together. knit 6 rows. break yarn leaving 1' tail. draw through open stitches. sew side seams together with yarn tail from casting on. attach to hat on seams, leaving drawstring bit facing out. pom poms were made by wrapping red yarn around a DVD case the long way 50 times (i find it best to lay a strand of yarn across the side before wrapping, otherwise it can be a bitch to keep the threads in a tassel even). this was attached to the hat through the pipes, and then the pipes were drawn tight and tied up.

fraggle tail: super easy. i cast about 60 stitches of orange and yellow yarn held together onto a size 13 needle. knit four rows. broke yarn, leaving a 2 yd tail. threaded a tapestry needle, and joined stitches still on needle to cast on edge. then wrapped red yard around the short side of a DVD case 50 times and snipped for the fuzzy bit at the end. the whole thing took less time than an episode of south park.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

here's waldo

2005-10-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

though some people say it's christmas, halloween is definitely the most wonderful time of the year. people get all dressed up, put on alternate personas, and get fa-schnickered. personally, i always get really excited about costume making. and this year, with knitting under my belt, i went a little crazy.
here we have the crazy. i made waldo. the vest was simple off a pattern for a WWII sweatervest. i was actually pretty good about following the pattern, aside from the obvious stripes. other than that, i only ribbed one inch at the bottom, and didn't sew up the bottom 2" of seam. (i hate gathered things). also, the 1" of ribbing at the sleeves was done in red on the white rows, for a ringer shirt type of feel. the hat was knit in the round in a 2x2 rib knit. Co 80 st, knit 35 rows red, 35 rows white, then decrease 6 st every other round. i decreased next to the ribs, and am not sure how i feel about the look. but it worked for the occasion. see how the center rib pops out a bit and the side ones branch off like...er...branches? i don't love it. and now for the rating...

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

guest crafting

2005-10-16T12:00:00.000-04:00

sometimes a webcomic will have a guest artist. sometimes a blog will have a guest writer. knitten ninja is having a guest crafting. for this entry, no needles were used. but it's still pretty crafty.
i was recently faced with the challenge of a birthday gift. as last year i presented the recipient with a knit jock strap, it was a tough thing to outdo. but sticking with the underwear theme was clearly necessary. so, here is the underwear.

please note the brand name, "4him". *chuckle* but all in all, fairly unassuming. so these undies were crafted as follows.
the first was bedazzled. from this pair we learn an important lesson. don't drink and bedazzle. the damn arrow looks like a lightning bolt.
the next pair fared much better. this involved iron-on letters.
amusing. but wait, it gets better...
now that, that's something of which i'm proud.
finally, another iron-on. i think these speak for themself. due to the non-knitty nature of this enterprise, no ninjas or stars will be used in the rating of this entry.

yarn on the cheap

2005-10-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

so i's po'. and i will proudly admit that i often get my yarn at the dollar store. cheap vibrantly bright and mildly itchy acrylic. i love it. i will not say which dollar store, otherwise one of y'all in the city is going to buy all the pink and leave me with nothing left to knit. and that would just be plain sad.

i was shopping at the dollar store the other day. now this is your standard run of the mill dollar store, except in one respect. it has decent knitting supplies. not good knitting supplies, mind you, but ones that don't suck to use. and these, oddly enough, are the only things in the store not a dollar. go figure. and because of this special high-value $1.99 status, they live behind the register.

so i stand at the register with a ginormous hank of fire engine red yarn, needing appropriate needles. "do you have size 8 needles?" i ask the woman at the register. she is probably about forty five, but has lived the kind of life that makes her look over fifty. and some sort of slavic. i'd guess ukranian. "what?" she takes down an 8mm needle. "no no no...size eight." this went on for a while, as she proceeded to pull down every set of needles they had. and a few crochet hooks. i debated her grasp on not only knitting, but the english language. "no...look...this size" and i pull out my hat. it's being knit in the round on size 7 needles, maybe halfway through. "oooh!!! you do yarning!" i admit that yes, yes i do. "how do you knit? like this?" and proceeds to demonstrate amazingly competent english and continental styles. i showed her how i knit. by this point i think the woman behind me could sense her excitement. oh, yeah, there's a woman behind me. That Woman who stands wAy Too close. so TWAT is butting up against me as i happily chat with my newfound doppleganger. upon realizing that i do yarning, she shows be the full bounty of her wares. stitch markers, needles, and the like. TWAT holds up the shampoo she would like to purchase, drops a dollar, and leaves. this, as you may notice, is not actually the correct price when tax is figured in. but my nordic kindred does not care. she also does not have size 8 needles, but we agree that size 9 will most likely suffice. she became particularly excited about stitchholders. (if you don't knit, trust me, they're awesome. a kind of hybrid between a bookmark and a safety pin.) i sadly admit that i am not yet that advanced. she frowns, and tells me they'll still be up there right on those hooks when i get that advanced.

she's right. and i can't wait.

[update: i used a stitch holder. they are as awesome as i had suspected.]

nothing ventured, etc.

2005-10-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

unfortunately, sometimes the contrapositive is true. actually, i am fairly certain that is not at all what i am trying to say. but i really love that word. point is, sometimes you try something new and fail miserably. case in point: after finishing up my skully wristwarmers i was on a creative high. i wanted to try new and dangerous things with my needles. so i tried another intarsia pattern. i think i chose unwisely.

in this photo, the wristwarmer clearly has a pattern. what that pattern may be is a bit hard to comprehend. one suggestion was a turkey. if it had taken me longer to knit this, i would have cried.

in this one, you can get more of an idea of what i was going for. i fear this warmer may not warrant a twin. *sigh* for size reference, these were knit with cheap acrylic on size 10 needles, co 36 st in a 2x2 knit.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

knitting is fine by me

2005-10-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

so if i've been chatting with you over the past few months, you know i have become an insane knitter. i simply cannot be stopped. to this end, i attended several knitting events today, those being "knit out" (a sort of festival for all knitters in union square), and a men's knitting night downtown (currently entitled "dicks with sticks"). this is all well and good, however the really amusing part happened on the way home. on the bus. to sidetrack here for a moment, i personally believe little people to be harbingers of good fortune. now, this has nothing to do with people of diminutive status per se, but i have noticed an extremely strong and perhaps mathematically provable correlation between my personal sightings of little people and bizarre events in my life. tonight i saw three. so i'm on the bus, and decide to continue knitting my current project. it's coming along nicely and i'm quite excited about it. and then some other people hop on the bus and sit down near me. BeerSwiller and his LadyFriend. in case the code names were not descriptive enough, BS has decided that budweiser (in cans) is the beverage of choice for busgoers. your humble narrator does not necessarily look down on such behavior. so, i'm happily knitting when BS and LF sit down next to me on the back bench. apparently LF had been having some foot troubles, and BS had to massage them. this was abhorrent, but i try to focus on my task at hand. BS has been sputtering nonsense since he's entered the bus, and was showing no signs of stopping, despite LF's apparently weariness. so then other people get on, and the back of the bus is becoming rather crowded. i continue with my craft. i notice that a young gentleman not too far away from me is beginning to look rather uncomfortable, and keeps looking in my direction. at this point, i find it advisable to remove one of my headphones. i hear BS concluding, "...fucked up the ass. i just want things to be alright for you and me." at this point, i realize he is most likely a ragining homophobe who may or may not tend towards violence. i banked on the latter, and removed my other earphone. then i stared at him. now i'm not one for confrontation. but i am not a tiny man. standing well over six foot and weighing in over 200 pounds (i'm actually quite thin, it's well spread out) i like to think that i pose a rather formidable persona. if you haven't met me, at least. so i decided since we were in the confines of a mobile public place i'd probably fare alright. and i stared some more. immediately, he flushed. then turned to continue prattling on at LF, "not that there's anything wrong with knitting. knitting is a great way to improve your coordination. and you can make some really nice things by knitting. not that i'll ever start knitting. but knitting is fine by me..." luckily the next stop was mine. so i turned and smiled before i disembarked. ah, to be a fly on the wall to find out where that conversation went when it continued. hopefully i'll never find out.

skully warmers

2005-10-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

after finishing the skullycap i was riding high on my newfound abilities with intarsia. so i embarked upon another version of the wristwarmers.

this is the same pattern used earlier, but near the top i added a black patch with the white skull pattern. now, what makes these super awesome, is that they are reversible. i added two thumbholes so the skull can be on either side.

the black patch is two purled columns, 11 knit columns, and two purled columns. i picked up an extra stitch in the middle because the pattern had an odd number of columns, and stitched it back in at the top. also, i carried the white stitched through when knitting the white stripes, and did a simpler intarsia bit on the black stripe. there is a mess of sloppy end tying, because i did not have the patience to figure out how to knit in all the end stitches.

yeah, that is kind of sloppy. which is why it is nice to have a wrong side on these guys. but it's worth it. let's get a closeup of the sexy skull.

DIFFICULTY:
AWESOMENESS:

skullycap

2005-10-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

i found a site with awesome patterns. particularly, i fell in love with this skull pattern. and wanted to use it on a hat. this was my first experience with intarsia, or slip knitting, or whatever you want to call it.

here is more or less how i made it. co 72 st with two strands cheap acrylic wool on size 10 needles. knit for 12 rows in black. knit 2 rows white knit 1 row black skull pattern (spaced 1 black column between each): the little one i carried the WS yarn around back, and tacked it in every 3-4 st to try to cut down on floats. knit 1 row black knit 2 rows white then i screwed up with the decreasing going down 12 st every other round. this makes it kind of a bucket hat. i think a 6 st decrease every other round would be more traditionally hatlike.

what technique is this?

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skullcap

2005-09-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

here's my first -- well, second...the first was created and lost in a matter of day -- attempt at a hat in the round. i used two strands of cheap acrylic yarn held together and co 72 st. it's 10 rows black, two white, two black, two white, 10 black, then decreases at 8 st per round. it's also a little too short for my taste.

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wristwarmers, round one

2005-09-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

These are the first set of wristwarmers i made using the pattern at knitty.com. i used cotton yarn and size 7 double point needles. i cast on 64 st and each stripe is 6 rows in a 2x2 rib knit.

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my first hat

2005-09-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

i saw a pattern for a hat that looked easy and kind of fun to do. it was both. so i made a couple. some may say obsessively. some may be right. it is the tychus hat from knitty.com. all knit, and can be done on two needles. i only used one strand instead of the recommended two, mainly because i was scared of having four strands of yarn flying at me simultaneously. also, i used size 10 needles. partly because i have them. mainly because i am lazy.

this one looks a little like a candy cane, but it grows on you.

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for this one i did not knit down to the smallest row as shown in the pattern (basically cutting out the four shortest vertical stripes). i think it fits me a little better that way.

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this is a girly hat. i do not think i will wear it. but the pom pom is beautifully absurd. i strayed from the pattern a bit too much (too short, too narrow). i do not think this is quite one of my best.

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