my cookies taste like bricks

I don't have a camera, and the house one is busted so that's why I haven't updated at all this year. I have also gotten heavily addicted to Ravelry where I get the same feed back as a blog, and the same info as from other blogs with 90% less effort. However I will try to update more this upcoming holiday season. I have to sign off now- my horrendous cookie experiment hads just failed and I need to attend to it.


more animals

Bug off! you little buggers!

I had a not so pleasant surprise while cleaning my room today, my wool stash had little larva in it!! eww! I freaked out and scoured the internet for advice. most blogs advise freezing the stash in ziplock bags, which sounds alright, but I was more interested in prevention. There are several herbs and spices that bugs are known to avoid, so I went through the kitchen an gathered as many as I could. I also needed something to put them in, but I don't have any lace or mesh material at hand, so instead I invented Stash Tea.

Stash Tea
for keeping bugs out of your wool, and making it smell nice.

materials:
Coffee filters
sewing machine
ribbon(optional)
markers, crayons ect.

herbs and spices:
sage
rosemary
cinnamon
basil
nutmeg
cayenne
lavender
rue
wormwood
ceder chips

If you don't have all of the herbs listed, don't worry. Just use what you have on hand, or whats available in your super market. Also be sure to check for allergies.

Mix about a table spoon of H&S into your coffee filter, adjusting for supply (IE. if you have a lot of basil and just a bit of sage, use more basil)

sew the top of the coffee filter shut with a skinny zig-zag stitch.

fold the rest of the packet in to interesting shapes and sew the ceases, or cut off the extra paper.

decorate with ribon and markers, or whatever else is at hand, and your done!

Eta: the cameras have been absconded by my mother, so there's no pictures for at least a week :(

Dogs Can't Look Up.

'lo everyone- all three of you- and welcome back to another sporattic addition of my blog. I'm currently digesting a large bowl of cereal, and eying the cheesecake-cupcake in front of me. I wish that I had a camera so that you could wish that you were having what I'm having. mmm.... blackberry and strawberry topping....

Anyway if you haven't been to the Shoppe yet your missing out, cupcakes, coffee, cereal, boardgames, cartoons on a flat screen, and cute Japanese toys- what more could you want(other than a bigger stomach and infinitely fast metabolism)?

yes people I am still knitting, if I remember, I'll take pictures when I get home, current projects are Rouge Hoodie(1/2done), b-day socks(3months late 3/4done), green giant strip-afghan just begun, and a stack of roveing that needs to be spun(it's not stash, it's pre-stash!) I also have to put one more thumb on my thrummed mittens, and restart that goddamm dragon shawl.

mmm.... cheesecake...

I also have a half finished pair of refurbished Converse shoes that I'm working on, but I need oil for the machine, because it's slowing down badly, and that's the only thing I can think to fix it.

While searching for The Shoppe today I found a new Comic book store that had a much better feel to it than Mile-high, it's more skeezy and homey at the same time.

anyway that's all I can think of for now, please remember to send me $$$ for no reason, and if you really love me you'll get me a puppy/angora rabbit/kitten/all of the above.

BSG for all!

If at first you don't succeed, try something completely different

Woot! I’ve just cast on, on my favorite sizes of needles, (5+7), in my favorite weight of yarn! Although it’s not in my favorite colour, it’s still an awesome colour (I’m sometimes afraid of knitting only in green). Above you can see that I have everything I need ready!! Uh.... why am I bogging an not knitting?

Incredible One-try Longtail Cast-on

I have figured out the Incredible, One-try Longtail Cast-on! That's right folks, I got 176st on to the needles in one try how did I manage this incredible trick? It's simple! Just follow the steps below:
First you need your tail, I like shorter tails, but for safety's sake you should make the tail a little longer than you normaly would. It's no fun to get to the last 6 stitches and realize that your going to be short, or that your tail is only 2cm long. This happens a lot when people stretch the yarn out while measuring, so be careful.
In this case the tail is about 8in, although I normally prefer a 4in or 5in tail (it was a good thing I pulled it long too, if you look at my finished cast on the tail is about 2.5 in.)
Tie a slipknot at the top of your tail, and put something in it to keep it from slipping out (scrap yarn , toothpicks, and sporks work well). Next, wrap the yarn LOOSELY around the bodypart, object, whatever, 3 times, OR just once, and then double the yarn back on itself twice (like an "N"). You need 3times the Circumference of the Object to cast on, so if my hand 7in around, I'm going to need 21in of yarn to cast-on, plus tail.

(O*C)+t=perfect cast-on

At the top of your perfectly measured out long-tail, tie a slipknot onto your needle, and cast-on with the longtail cast on. It's amazing how much time and frogging you save yourself!

There must be some kind of way out of here; said the joker to the thief

So until I get a my own camera to match my new computer, the posts are gonna be picture-less for awhile.

My current project is a HAT ATTACK hat. HAT ATTACK is a knitting game where I knit a hat, send it to someone and they DIE(but not really). At the same time, someone else is knitting a hat to kill me, and someone is trying to kill them, and so on and so forth.

I got up at 6:20 on Saturday, to get the pattern as soon as it came out, and now I'm wishing that I'd just slept in. My rarely apparent perfectionist side has clashed with my dyslexia, and now I'm on my fourth version of the hat. I need to finish before tomorrow or else I'm hosed.

In other news, school has taken over my life and I'm lucky if I can finish a few stitches on a sampler, let alone a hat, or socks with really freaking small yarn. I can't believe how out of control all of my craft stuff is. Just looking at the SE conner of my room makes me cringe. It's just one huge pile of sewing, and kitting and spinning that are taunting me. And I can't get rid of any of it because I might need it someday. stupid pack rat tendencies

What I really want to do is knit and felt a bag for my laptop. I have the most awesome pattern picked out too, but I swore I wasn't going to buy any yarn until I had finished what I have (except HAT ATTACK). Right now that means one HAT ATTACK, one pair of socks on freakishly small needles with a retarded lace pattern, one pair ofalmost done mittens, and the DRAGON SHAWL, which I had to restart. I think that I can do it if I just finish the hat and mitts, restart the sock and work them in STST in class, and set aside a half hour everyday for the shawl....and when at least 2 things get done I'll start the laptop bag as a reward, and when three things get done, I'll justify getting the KnitPicks Interchangeable needles.

uhhh... ya. that's all fokes.
(ps, Sarah Connor Chronicles ROCK!!!!!)

No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!

Quick little post here, I meant to have all of this up after Chrifmas, but got distracted. Anyway I've just turned twenty one this week, and I have lots of fabulous new yarn, and a new spindle. in the spirit of a new year, I made a new bed-buddy cover that matches my current room rather than the one I had 10years ago. (a bed-buddy is a pillow filled with rice that you heat up in the microwave, and then chuck under your covers)
I felted a Polar Bear, just for kicks.....

And here are some mittens I'm knitting, from from yarn I hand spun. They're all fuzzy on the inside because they're thrummed.