The Death Hat Knocks

Can you hear the Death Hat knocking???

I mailed my "Fibonacci Frequency" Death Hat bright and early this past Saturday morning. I took a few pictures of it, and I must say it is very cozy and comfortable. My death hat is set to kill "redhead1968" on the warrior list for HAT ATTACK 2. I've given fair warning of the impending death to Red Head, and she's happily replied "Bring it On". As a bonus, I got a USPS notification this afternoon letting me know they successfully delivered the package to Red Head, and now I can't wait to see her death on the scoreboards!

Although my bloody victory might fall short, as my own assassin has forewarned me of my impending death, which is in the mail as I type! I must say that I actually did enjoy knitting this hat, more than any other competition I've been in thus far. I know originally I had wanted to drop out, but just couldn't bring myself to do that because I'm just a huge competitor at heart, and now I'm very glad I didn't. The pattern really was a very pretty one, of which I know I'll knit again.

Here go the glamor shots!!

Side View


Front View


Back View


Me, tired looking, but sporting a lovely hat... did I mention I hate this photo???



And now the LOWDOWN:

Pattern:
Fibonacci Frequency
Skill:
Knitting
For:
HAT ATTACK 2 '2008', Target "redhead1968"
Started:
9/17/08
Finished:
9/19/08
Tools:
1 US 6 24'inch Addi Turbo Circular, 1 Hello Kitty Stitch Marker
LYS Shout Out:
Yarn purchased at Green Planet Yarn in Campbell, CA.
Yarn:
1 skein of O'Wool Organic Balance Yarn in Slate 2215 (green tweedish), 1 skein of O'Wool Organic Worsted Weight Yarn in Graphite 9118 (Grey Tweed).
Yarn Specs:
50 / 50% certified organic merino / certified organic cotton
weight: approx. 1.75 ounces /50 grams
length: approx. 130 yards / 120 meters
needles: 5-7 US / 3.75 - 4.5 mm
MODS:
None, in the heat of battle, the Oracle won't allow any MODS.
To Knit or Not Knit again???
YES! I will knit this pattern again, including using this yarn again.
NOTES:
While I like the pattern, I think the initial Cast on of 100 stitches is a bit much, at least for teeny hides like mines, so I would probably drop it down to 80. Plus, I wouldn't make the length as long as required for the competition, which was 9' full inches of pattern repeats then decreases which added about 2 more inches, in total about 11 inches long. (approximate). The hat is meant to be rolled up, so the longer length fits but for me, I would probably make it a total of 9 inches, including decreases. Did I mention this yarn was green friendly? O~Wool hand knitting yarns are spun from 100% certified organic fibers and processed in accordance with the Organic Trade Association’s Fiber Processing Standards. O~Wool uses no harsh chemicals in processing making it durable, long lasting and a well-wearing fiber.




knock_knock

A Good Weekend...Part UNO 8)

I hope everyone enjoyed this past Labor Day weekend. It was a very nice one for me, and very productive I might say! I have so much to share and can't fit it in just 1 Lil'O post, so I'll be splitting this baby into 2, the 2nd to follow shortly...

My weekend started with a BANG! I got off at a little before 4 p.m. on Friday, all day all I could think of was... "Is it 4 yet? I wonder if I'll enjoy the game? I wonder if my kids will?"

What game you ask? Well, the last pre-season game for the San Francisco 49ers vs the San Diego Chargers. Woohoo! My husband and I bought 4 tickets a few weeks ago to take the kids and let them experience a real NFL game. We left San Jose about 5 p.m. and headed North towards San Francisco. We were all geared up, I had on my white 49ers tank top with lace trim, and I was wearing this lovely "Moss Ribbed Scarf" in Scout's custom dyed "49ers" colorway...




I'm thinking I might add another 10 inches to it, cause it fits more like a cowl than a scarf, but boy did it come in handy.

Now us (me'family and I) being San Jose natives, left the hot San Jose weather wearing our normal summer clothes to go to San Francisco. You would think that we would know what to wear to S.F., considering we go there all the time, but no sir'ee'bob. I was the only one who brought any kind of warm gear, my scarf a.k.a faux cowl *) and my beige sweater jacket, but nobody else brought anything warm to wear?

So we had nose bleed seats (which I love!) and up there at night in Candlestick, it can get windy & chilly, and it didn't fail to deliver this last Friday as we watched the game. My hubby & kids were all rattling their jaws, curling up, and trying to enjoy themselves. We ended up buying a S.F. blanket for a whopping $55.00 bucks! We've learned our lesson, and we'll gear up next time, but the blanket will come in handy this winter, so I guess it's a positive.

There was also this "49er Elvis", so cute! You gotta see this pic....



You see him striking the signature "Elvis" pose? Look at the back of his shirt.. I love it! "Viva Las Niners"!!!



I always thought "nose bleed" seats were the worst, but now that I know how the view looks, I'm going to pick these seats more often. Check out this view:



Another cool thing, which I swear was a wish granted to me, cause as I was attentively watching the game, still cold under my sweater, I wished silently "If only they had a stand vendor who could serve you hot chocolate right at your seat"... I totally swear I wished this, and then next thing you know... BAM....



I couldn't believe my eyes! I quickly bought a $4.00 cup of hot chocolate..I was just in ahh of it. If only I had wished for $$$, wonder if that would've come true??? Oh yah as soon as I got the hot choco, I took a big gulp and I burned my lips. Guess all that ooh & ahh just took the common sense right out of me 8) Friday's done PERIOD

Begin Saturday... I started off with cleaning, I'm a good knitter, I clean my house before I knit so as not to feel guilty. I can't stand to have guilty thoughts and I really hate the voices in my head sometimes, I'm just totally neurotic, I'm always thinking about something or everything. Thinking of dinner, what to knit next, knitting patterns to devise, colors to dye yarn with, meals to write down, job stuff (I really hate when job stuff creeps in), bills (ahh!), upcoming appt.'s, on and on I go in my head. Is everyone neurotic or is it just me? Are you? I have the hardest time going to sleep, I just can't get my mind blank.

After my cleaning I was just pooped. I decided to finally catch up with my Secret of the Stole III KAL, which I'm so behind because I kept debating over what beads to use, and decided to go and buy some to match my lovely lace yarn. After some lazying around, I just didn't feel like driving down to the bead store. I had some beads I bought from the Knitting Arts going out of business, and decided to go with those. There green, and the lace I have has shades of green in it. I was a little skeptical as I started my SofSIII Hint 1, but I'm really liking how it turned out. I think the beads turned out pretty darn good, in fact I think they give the yarn that special *something*. This is the completed SofSIII Hint 1 portion:



Yarn is Schaefer Yarn Company Andrea lace weight, it is so so soft and silky. I remember when I bought it from GPY, I was just in love with it the moment I saw it and felt the silkyness.

Besides my SofSIII I continued knitting on my Elm Row scarf, this is one of the newer patterns published by the marvelous Ann Hanson from Knitspot, this pattern is so pretty, but I have to say, you do need attention to detail for it. The stitches are your basic increases, decreases & such, but I'm finding I need to pay attention as I'm knitting because the pattern consists of a 10 row repeat, each row has a different combination of stitches. For me, I tend to make mistakes because I have this type of built in memorization I do. I played the Memory game alot when I was a kid, maybe that's where I get it from? You know the game Memory? It's where you have a bunch of cards, each has 1 pair of identical pictures, and you mix them all up, face down, and slowly try to match up the pairs by memorizing where you saw the previous picture cards position? I played this so much as a kid, and it has helped in my adult life, I memorize everything, from numbers, to phrases, etc. For knitting this is good because I can remember entire patterns I knit, and because I memorize stitch sequences, I'll start knitting ahead knowing the next sequence, but with the Elm Row the pattern changes so frequently that I find myself knitting a sequence that is not next in order, so I TINK TINK TINK away!
Anywho, I'm making good headway on my scarf, and I just can't wait to finish it and block it. My little yarn cake is diminishing rapidly. The yarn is the beautiful "Peach Pit" from Scout, one of her debut colorways back in late July 2008. I'm going to custom order more of this color, I love this colorway.





To end this post, I did also get another "TO DO" done, I knitted up a Square from the "Barn Raising Quilt" pattern in the "Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together" book. Stacey from "Sheep in the City" (great blog!) posted awhile back regarding volunteers to knit a square for Father. I love my Father, and from one kind thoughtful knitter to another, I was more than happy to volunteer my knitting time. I knitted up this square using the softest yarn, I don't have the label on me right now to give you the yarn specs, but I can tell you it is soft, velvety, rich and vibrant. I just love how this *star* pattern evolves as you knit the square. This went out in the mail to Stacey this morning 8)





Okie Dokie folks, I'll post Part DOS later, stay tuned 8)!

Current Events (**Malabrigo Alert**)

Woolgirl Sock Club "August 08"


Originally uploaded by RockyMoreno

What can I say, I heart WOOLGIRL!



Saturday I received my August installment from the Woolgirl Sock Club, and it's just wonderful! Check out the big bag! This is perfect for large WIP's or just many smaller WIPs. See that baggy of goodies? It has the cutest rubber erasers shaped like sandals! I so will not use these, I'll have to place them on my shelf in my office to display. I just love the clever packaging, the way the skein of yarn was stored in the cute orange water bottle. The yarn is just refreshing and pretty, it isn't a colorway I would choose, but it is one that I like alot, which is a perk of joining a yarn club, I think it allows you to broaden your yarn color choices.





Plus.... SQUEE!!!!..... I got an email from Jenn letting me know that I won the "Georgia O'Keefe" Contest from the Woolgirl Sock Club. Not only did I win, I won 1st place! That's 3 skeins of the soft Mama Llama sock yarn of my choice coming my way. Getting my club package, and then finding this out, was just too good; it was kind of like a late bday present.



For the "Georgia O'Keefe" contest, we had to write a post of our favorite Georgia painting. She has such a beautiful collection of art, I just couldn't settle on just one painting, so I did one post with a few different paintings, with a quote of why I like each one. Here is the one that scored me the 1st prize.



My quote for this was:
"Jack in the Pulpit IV"
Rich dark petals bring a feeling of comfort & security...soft blue center of fire reminds me that my sole is strong.
~Yo me siento vivo/I feel alive~

To see my full post, click here.

For my Mama Llama Sock Yarn, I choose these colorways:
Fall Leaves

Venice

Forest



And now onto other events, when I was GPY the other week, I found out from Beth (GPY owner) that they were to start a "Tech Square Afghan" Knit Along, starting 8/17/08. I quickly signed up, because the knit along is not like any other knit along. The Tech Square Afghan really is a unique experience. In this Afghan alone, you'll learn almost every technique under the sun. Techniques are: Entrelac, Intrasia, Provisional Cast-Ons, Seaming, Cabling, Increasing, Decreasing, Half-Hitch Increases, Double Decreases, Mattress Stitch, Circular Knitting, Knitted Cord, Traveling Stitches, Sewing, Waste Yarn Opening, Pockets, Embellishments, Steeking, Hemming, Duplicate Stitch, and much more. It really is a great project. I'll take some pictures of my WIP to show where I'm at in the Afghan, here's a look at the completed Afghan from the book.


**Malabrigo Alert**
I came across a thread on Ravelry, and the wonderful Gonzo, gave a link to a shop in Germany that is well stocked with the coveted Malabrigo Sock Yarn!!! YES ITS TRUE! All you need to do is choose your colors, send an email to bestellungATjuergenweidnerDOTde, they'll process the order for you via PayPal. The online store is Juergenweidner...it's all in German, to translate, use the Free Translation website.

Last, but not least are both the Ravelympics and Yarnsmackdown Events I'm in. I'm sorry to say but I'm just falling behind on my Ravelympics. I'm so upset. Yarnsmackdown has just eaten up my time. And Sock Wars III is still on, but now it's just getting old to me. I've been in this competition for months, killed 4 so far, just received a cake of Mountain Colors sock yarn from my previous target, but really have no desire to cast on another pair of Sock Wars Detonation socks. I've knit so many socks, not just for Sock Wars, that I'm just UGHHH! about it now. I've now decided that both Sock Wars & Yarnsmackdown are going to the bottom of my list, and from today on I'll be focusing on the Ravelympics, the Tech Square Afghan and Secret of the Stole III. I will say that I managed to score some points in Yarnsmackdown, killing with 2 Diamond Lace bookmarks, 1 pair of Starry Starry Nights socks, 1 Avocado w/Dollup of Sour Cream Toast, and 1 set of Diamond Lace Dishcloths = 10 points!

Yarnsmackdown 08' Diamond Lace Dishcloths

I finished all my events in Yarnsmackdown successfully, without getting killed beforehand...whew!
I was taking my sweet time with knitting up these Diamond Lace Dishcloths, until I got stalked and magic linked on Raverly from Yarncandie, informing me that she sent me my dishcloths.



As soon as I read that post, I immediately cast on for these, and in 2 hours, I whipped these out. The pattern was so easy, and the yarn knit up fast, once I got comfortable with it.



Do you ever feel that way with different types of yarn? I bought blue, because my target's favorite color is blue, I bought cotton, because what better to knit a dishcloth with. I visited Green Planet Yarn on Monday, and found that they have this wonderful Blue Sky Alpaca 100% Organic Cotton. It is very soft, and easy to knit, it can tend to split a little, but I think that's because I wasn't using the Addi Turbo lace needles.



I really need to stock up on the Lace needles, they are just so much better than knitting with the dull ends.



So here's an interesting little tidbit, Sandy, (she teaches at GPY), and I were talking for bit after one of the classes, and she said that her friend happened to be at a retreat, or some class or show, can't remember which, and the lady from Addi Turbo's was there, and her friend told her how great the needles were, but only had one complaint, there too blunt. So, voila, a year later Addi Turbo Lace needles were born. If only I knew Sandy's friend, I'd send her some goodies to thank her for giving that suggestion. Who knows, would we have had the Lace needles without it? I don't know the dates or anything, but I thought it was an interesting little tidbit.



Anywho, I sent these dishcloths off the other day with some of my signature goodies, some kisses & tea 8-)



In other news, Purlescence Yarns is having a spinning class this coming weekend! I signed up on Friday the 8th. If you can make, I'd love to see you there! It's only $50 smackeroos too! Great deal!