Tidesong's Journal

From this point forward, most entries of mine having any kind of substance will be friends-locked. It's something I've actually been doing subconsciously for a few months, and I suppose it's a good practice to keep.

New readers comment to be added at my discretion.

NOTE: As of 11/30/2007, I have set my journal options to the highest "adult" settings. I do not want the "thought police" to be able to delete my journal or seek action against me because of my journal content. Most of my journaling is PG-13 or well below that level, but I DO NOT support the new ability LJ has given people to "flag" posts based on whether they think content is appropriate or not. Read more about this here. (<---CLICK!) You can continue to read my posts by being on my friends list and changing your filters to accept "adult content," which is outlined in the post that you can click above. This doesn't mean you can expect to see more "naughty" things. I just don't want things being flagged with the stupid new "flagging" thing. Thank you.

(Warning: Strong language within) Today, I am grateful for my asshat ex-husband. For one reason, and one reason only: By being the asshole you were, and treating me with absolutely no respect and basically throwing me out on the street, you have allowed me to follow the shocking, overwhelming, and often traumatic path I've had to find to get to where I am now. Despite its own problems, it is one of the best places in life I have ever been. Thanks to you being the self-centered, egotistical jerk that was turning into your prick of a father; the coward who seriously thought you were upholding our marriage vows by sitting me down out of the blue and telling me you wanted a divorce when I had no clue, I have been able to find my beshert. I will be married to someone who actually cares about me. All of me, despite my faults. The man who I love more than I have ever loved in my life. So thank you, Reed, for causing the deepest, darkest periods of my life because of your selfishness. It is because of that swirling maelstrom of darkness that I am able to see the light that shines on me now. For everything else in life, you can buzz off. From this point forward, you no longer exist to me. So long!

Emergency kitten network activation! Western Michigan. Kitty will likely be taken to the Humane Society, where at age 4, she will likely be put down. No-kill shelters are at capacity. Please spread the word!

Details HERE.

Just finished the July 2010 KAL for Rachels' Knitting Room. It's a really neat pattern. I was always wondering how some blanket patterns made a wavy edge.... I think this would make a lovely scarf, maybe with one less pattern repeat widthwise....



( One more close-up after the cutCollapse )

Okay, so I'm going to start myself a blanket. A full-size one, so it's going to take me forever. But my question is this: the pattern says the finished size will be 45" x 60", so.. what size cables should I use on my interchangable needles to accommodate for this without being too much cable? Would 36" be enough? Too much? I really have no idea....

Oh, and what's the best cast on to use for a blanket??

(The pattern, if you're curious is Fabulous Felines Rajah's Blanket.)

This is the March 2010 Knit-A-Long from Rachel's Knitting Room. It was a tricky pattern at first. The first two attempts for me failed...I thought I'd been careful and was following stitches exactly, but obviously, I hadn't because I ended up with too many stitches.

Third time's the charm. Worked beautifully. I love this pattern....it's gorgeous! I'll get better pics after I block it....

Knitters:

I'm planning on starting a throw. It instructs to cast on 200 stitches. I have two questions:

1) What is the best cast-on method for a throw/blanket? I usually use the long-tail cast on...but the idea of trying to do that for 200 stitches is rather...daunting.

2) What's the best way of keeping track of the number of stitches you've cast on when you're doing so many?

If it makes a difference for the cast-on type, this is the one I want to do: Fabulous Felines Rajah's Blanket.

Thanks!

I'm so excited! I finished my first sock! *bounce* Kitchener stitch was something that scared me, and I don't know why, because it was really quite simple.

There are mistakes in this sock, and a couple areas I'll have to stitch closed with some thread, but all things considered, I think I did a pretty darn good job!





A bit ambitious on my part to go from dishcloths to sock, but I did it! :)

Activation of the EMERGENCY KITTEN NETWORK! DC/Baltimore/VA people, pass the word! She will drive up to 4 hours from Fredericksburg. Looks like a sweetie...

http://slave2tehtink.livejournal.com/580343.html

Hey, look! It's starting to look like a sock now!

Turned the heel, picked up the gusset (after some confusion on how to do it), and knit the foot. There are two steps left, according to the KAL leader. We get one step per week, on Fridays..so now I have to wait. *taps foot* :)

I'm proud of myself for getting this far. Some of it's been kind of confusing, but the woman "teaching" this, and the other gals on the list, have been very helpful. I still think when I go to make the second sock, I'll try the two circular method and see how it goes. I don't really like DPNs, though I must say I'm surprised at how comfortable I've become with using them....

Turned the heel on my sock today...tricky, but wasn't as bad as I thought it would be....

Madison Peeps: I have an extra ticket for Madison Opera's Turn of the Screw performance on Thursday, January 28, at 7:30pm. It's at the Overture Center in the Playhouse. Let me know if you're interested! I believe all performances are sold out.

Double-pointed needles are teh ebil. It hurts to work with them! I finally figured out how to join in the round, at least. But doing all the stitching is hurting my hands because I feel like I have to hold on to everything so tight just to manipulate the needles enough to make a stitch. Ugh. I think after the first sock is done, I'm going to investigate knitting in the round on 2 circulars, or even using the Magic Loop method....

Progress so far:

(Isn't Kiki cute?)

This latest project is a gift for my mother for her birthday (the big 6-0...omg). She's currently going through an owl fascination...seriously..I should take pictures of the fireplace mantle so you can see all the owls she has.... But I found this on Ravelry, and thought, "Hey, what the heck, why not." Even though I'm not sure she'll even like it because she's just picky that way. But I got it in addition to one owl book and one knitting book she wanted, so hopefully she'll at least like something!

This was my second attempt at cables (and again, without a needle). I think I'm getting the hang of it. Oh, and this was my first use of the set of blocking pads I'd ordered from KnitPicks. I love them! So much better than using a towel....

From jettcat:

This is an activation of the EMERGENCY KITTEN NETWORK!! San Jose / Santa Clara area: http://community.livejournal.com/note_to_cat/3203539.html

HALP!

Took me longer than I'd hoped to finish this set of dishcloths that I am giving to my friend as my holiday gift to her. I was hoping to have them done by Christmas, but tendinitis in my right hand made me slow way down, and even stop for a while. But, I'm done now!

This is four cloths in two different colorways of the Sugar'n Cream Naturals. There are two "Simple Knit Dishcloths" and two "Double Bump Dishcloths", one in each color. I really love these colorways, and I really love these two patterns. The "Simple Knit" is similar to the "Grandma's Favorite" but I like it better because it's easier to keep consistent as opposed to doing the YO increase. The "Double Bump" is just plain neat. The texture is wonderful, and it looks impressive.

This is part 2 of Raven's holiday gift; a dishcloth using the "Double Bump" pattern found on Ravelry.

I *love* this pattern, and I love this colorway. The only things I didn't like were 1) binding off in purl (just awkward), and 2) figuring out where the yarn had to be and which way it should be moved after the slipped stitches. But now I know!

Hey, wow! Who knew one could actually knit a piece of matzah? ;)

This is the first in a set of cloths I'm making for a friend as part of her holiday present. I do love this yarn! But I showed Mike the picture, and he reminded that Passover wasn't for another several months. :P This is just a simple pattern. I like it better than the Grandma's Favorite pattern, because the edging is easier to keep neat and more consistent than with the yarn over eyelet. I've also gotten the hang of knitting an i-cord for a hanging loop!



Took me a long time to do this one because I've been fighting some kind of tendinitis in my right hand.