Girl on the Rocks

Chit Chat at the knitting circle June 23, 2006

The only thing I really talked about at knitting this week was a neat little thing I read about on allie’s blog - Stretchy Circulars. They have a cord that is stretchy and i am guessing it is made out of something similar to the the drive band on my spinning wheel…. unfortunately they only come in size US2 and i like my socks on something a little smaller, but I am going to keep my eyes on their site.

Things i should have talked about:

The new Louet spinning wheel, Victoria. It is portable and an interesting alternative to the Ashford Joy.

The new needles over at Knitpicks. They have a new interchangeable set, as well as sock sized DPN’s and circulars that are CHEAP! They look like imitation addi turbos. Seriously, check out those circular needles.

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Two Finished Baby Items June 16, 2006

This past weekend I wanted to make a small, but staisfying project. The poppysocks have looked too daunting lately. So I decided to make pair of baby socks.

Pattern: from 50 Baby Bootees to Knit
Yarn: Schachenmayer Micro that i bought from Elann a long time ago.

But wait, it gets cuter….

Pattern: I didn’t use a pattern, but I was inspired by the bibs from Mason-Dixon Knitting that i have seen everyone making, so i just made up something similar. I made the strap button on the front so that it is a feature of the bib. i also tried my first crochet picot edging. i just made it up as I went along.
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in color 105

I got the buttons at the thrift store for 5 cents each. I will miss them when they are gone.

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Have I mentioned that I still go to knitting circle?

The tuesday night knitting circle at the Mel-O-Dee continues on… If you are in El Cerrito at 8 pm, stop by. Tuesday we talked about a lot of interesting things:

• A new knitter! Debbie did some successful recruiting at the Berkeley Knit in Public event.
• The cute little garter stitch kitty. It looks so good in leftover sock yarn
• we didn’t really talk about it, but I noticed that one of my fellow knitting circle members has her eye on a really cute pattern. Top down all the way, i say!
• Abby’s sock knitting tragedy which I feel partially responsible for… She has bounced back though. I saw her knitting a pair of baby socks just the other day.

Things i should have talked about

• Tepache- Apparently this is a fermented drink made from pineapple.. And you can make it yourself. At least the Crochet Dude did . Has anyone tried this? Is it good? This reminds of the Kombucha Tea that I read about on Flawed Maude.
• A fellow knitter reports that Emmet Otter is in the Smithsonian. I believe that I am one of the only people in the world that does not like Emmet and his poor little muppet family. I have seen too much of their feet that don’t really touch the ground or support any of their weight (=freaky).

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Altoid tins are the perfect home for everything. June 12, 2006

edit: If you are interested in purchasing a felt covered altoids tin, check my shop

Even though most of what goes on here is knitting (and occasionally spinning), I have an interest in all kinds of crafty things. i often sew specialized knitting needle cases for sock knitters, and zippered bags (sometimes embroidered). i enjoy sewing because if you have a design idea, it takes much less time to try out the finished product than with knitting. Lately I have also been making buttons and stitch markers.

Proabably my most favorite crafts that i have worked on lately are my felt-covered altoid tins. I just traced around the edges of the tin to make a template for myself and i cut out a background piece. then I sew on the cuteness. Some more stitching and some E6000 later, Viola!

They are perfect for holding stitch markers and other knitting/sewing notions. And you don’t sound like a gypsy when you carry them around in you bag, because the felt lining keeps everything nice and quiet.

They are also the perfect size for a chapstick and maybe even a few bucks.

By far my favorite is the frozen dinner

but the cute little owl is a close second.

So I will say that the tv-dinner tin is my entry in the whiplash competition this month.

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Ipods are nice June 8, 2006

I like mine quite a bit, even if it is an old 3G. I just had to have mine replaced (under my applecare warranty) because the battery was caput and the hard drive made a whirring sound. This makes the third one I have had, and when i got the first one replaced i transferred my wheel and screenprotectors over to the noew one. This time it didn’t go as smoothly. the “genius” at the apple store decided to try and peel them off for me while i signed papers. i looked up and he was all picky-scratchy at it with his nubby little bitten-off fingernails. so the edges got all chewed up, and his fingerprints got everywhere. not wanting to hate this “genius” every time i looked at the smudgy screen, i decided to order a new screen protector. I was happy to discover that the weird little place where i ordered the first one was still in business, still had ones for 3G models, and was having a sale (until June 30). If you have an ipod, head over to IpoDonut and get you some.

Updated to add an official review
The donut itself does an excellent job of covering the entire wheel and has a ton of glowing power. It is one of the better glow-in-the-dark stickers I have ever seen. The screen protector is durable, and not sticky around the edges. I can also verify that you can peel them off if you need to, and they don’t leave any residue behind.

for $3.95 i got a glow in the dark wheel protector, a screen protector, and shipping from japan (the protectors for the newer models are on sale for $6.95). The best part was following their instructions to install it.

• Please remove catching up and fingerprints from your ipod before installing iPoDonut. After that, pick up your iPoDonut like the picture under below. Peel the transparencie side film. (Do Not touch the adhesive side by your fingers.)
• Put on your iPoDonut on your ipod wheel and adapt the location
• Enjoy it!

and I am enjoying it!

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Knitting news wire… June 6, 2006

Today I had two people send me news about knitting… well, kinda.

The first is certainly about knitting. A group or germans are trying to make the world’s longest scarf. Thanks Thijs

The second isn’t exactly about knitting, but is interesting for wool lovers! it might be a way to get around that pesky “no dogs allowed” clause in your lease. Thanks Sarah

And a little news of my own - I sent my dye-o-rama package off to my dye-o-rama pal.

Yarn, bottlecap pincushion with shrinky pins, and stitch markers all made by me. If you want to buy some stitch markers, it is not too late! email me or check out my etsy shop.

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