Grey Cat Knits

Survey for Secret Pal 10

2007-03-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I like anything that is soft and drapey- merino, alpaca, and silk blends are great. The best yarn I've ever worked with was Blue Sky Alpaca organic cotton, and I long to make something with Debbie Bliss alpaca silk or cashmerino. I don't like synthetics generally or anything scratchy, and I have a very hard time with mohair since it's not forgiving of mistakes.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Nothing, sadly. They float loose about my house, and I often lose or break smaller needles.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I've been knitting about 4 years. I learned from friends in college during my senior year but stuck with garter stitch rectangles for about a year and a half. Since I've been out on my own with gainful employment, I've learned to do some more interesting stuff and would now consider myself an intermediate knitter. I have done basic lace and double knitting but have been thwarted thus far by hats, socks, and sweaters. I think I'm ready to try again.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes. I keep an Amazon wishlist under Molly Knudsen which I keep up-to-date, and I don't add things unless I'm fairly sure I really want them. I actually have two, but one is for my academic interests, Latin and history.

5. What's your favorite scent? I like old fashioned, girly florals like rose and lilac and food scents like vanilla and chocolate.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Oh, I have a huge sweet tooth! My favorite candies are Junior Mints, Reese's Pieces, and Cadbury Cream Eggs.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I like to fiddle with jewelry making and modeling clay, but nothing serious. I do not spin but I do like to hand dye.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I have an ipod and a Mac, so yes. My favorite music is rock (Nine Inch Nails, old Metallica, Evanesence) and Celtic music, but I like most music that sounds like dancing.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? My favorite color is purple. I also like blue, red, pink, and foresty colors like green and chocolate brown. I am not fond of yellow or orange or anything really bright.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married to a lovely girl and have two silly cats, both rescued.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves and hats sometimes, but it doesn't get cold enough here for mittens and I like shawls and afghans, but not ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I like blankets and I'm in a big shawl phase right now. I really want to try knitting toys.

13. What are you knitting right now? Two lace shawls are on the needles with a few other things waiting.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Of course! (But if you are thinking of anything that needs to fit, I don't recommend it. I need about a 2-3x in sweaters and have a big head, big feet, and big hands.)

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I love circulars. The best thing I ever learned about knitting was that I never had to use straights unless I wanted to. I like wood needles for the most part (treated myself to some Lantern Moon rosewood circulars and I love them) but I also like metal for "sticky" yarn.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes, we have both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? About four years. I started a special scarf when I was in the Vagina Monologues in college.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Yule. I love the lights and snow and, of course, the presents!

19. Is there anything that you collect? Not avidly. I am a huge bibliophile and purchase books just for the joy of owning them.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I'm really excited to learn about knitting toys right now. I like lace shawls. My yarn lust is currently focused on Debbie Bliss, either alpaca silk or cashmerino, and Rowan Kidsilk Night MacBeth.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I'd like to make a pair of socks and try using the circular method, since trying it with dpns was like wrestling a cranky porcupine. I'd also like to try some easy Fair Isle to see if I like it.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Not yet? My feet are a US womens 10.5-11 and I have fairly large calves and ankles.

23. When is your birthday? July 10, 1982. I'm a Cancer.

2006-09-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

I've really been having a hard time with knitting lately. I'm at that blah point in my Hoover blanket that I just want the thing done and off my needles, and I can't quite bear to start a new project right now. It just never seems to get any longer and I'm tired of it. Also, nothing good on TV. I blame the TV. Not sure what I'll do, except hopefully trudge on and hope for some inspiration for Sock Wars and on my upcoming vacation.

Yarn Sale!!

2006-09-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

On Friday, the lovely payday, I headed out to the yarn store. It was pouring rain thanks to Ernesto, but when I got there I found that they were having a big sidewalk sale. Indoors. Of course, out came the plastic gold, and charge!

I didn't actually buy that much. Just six balls of Merino Frappe, $3.50 a ball instead of $9. Check it out:
http://www.straw.com/cpy/yarns/merino_frappecard.html
Three balls are black, three a pretty silver grey. I'm going to make something for my father with it. Would it be inexcusably dorky to make my mother and father the same hat in different colors?

Also picked up some fabulous apple green sock yarn, but that was not on sale. Score!

2006-09-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

OK, I am pleased to present the results of my first foray into dying fiber. This is blue-faced leicester wool, spun by my lovely wife, dyed in Kool-Aid. I still want some real acid dyes, but Kool-Aid offers several advantages at this point: it's cheap, it's safe, and it won't ruin my pots for preparing food. I experimented a bit with resist dying, tying off sections so that some of the fiber was still undyed after the first bath in the grape. Once it was rinsed and cooled, I cut the ties and put it back in a different bath, black cherry this time.

After the first bath:

And here it is with the black cherry added:

These pictures are taken in the kitchen, on my kitchen island. In case you were wondering, as I did, yes, hot, wet wool and fruity drink mix does smell really weird, like a sheep colored with a purple Mr Sketch marker. The other thing I discovered, which I had heard but didn't really believe, is that while the dye bath starts out almost black from all the grape mix, the water at the end is almost clear, only slightly tinged with blue. Here is the final result:

I like how the red over purple came out, and is sort of varigated. I have no idea what I will make from it. I think I will call this dye lot "Red Hat", as it is red and purple, though of course suggestions are welcome.

For my knitting!

2006-08-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

So, now I also have my very own knitting blog, though I reserve the right to talk about other things if I wish. Thank you to Megan for making me the silver Maine Coon picture above. My parents have a silver Coon, named Emmit, who is a sad little clown and complains all the time, and that about sums up my knitting experience.

So, on the needles right now:
never-ending Hoover baby blanket for my little cousin
cursed ripple afghan for my grandmother

In the near future:
lace shawl for my mother
felty wine bag for my childless cousin

And here I am with little inclination to knit. Probably because my afghan is messed up yet again and the baby blanket never seems to get any closer to being finished.

What I really want to be able to do is dye, but I can't afford all the stuff for it right now. I could get the set of dyes for not too much, but I need a whole new set of kitchen utensils and a really big pot. So, not for now. Maybe soon, though. Megan cruelly cranks out all this lovely buff handspun which cries out for color, and I have no dye.

Ta-da!

2006-08-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

It's a brand new knitting blog for Molly!