TwilightCafé

now presenting....

The first "normal" looking gnome. More to come!

I may give him mittens. We'll see.

gnomes!

Well, I am still sick (bleh) but have been occupying myself with knitting a gnome, among other things. I didn't go out and buy new yarn for this, so this first gnome is Pictish, with a woad blue head. Today maybe I'll get to his pointy hat and the arms and such. Here's a pic of our gnome so far. Note that he stands up on his own. Yes, he looks like a badminton birdie. Just you wait.

And here is a picture of the base, which I am particularly pleased with. I'll post some more pictures as I finish him up. The next one may be more traditionally colored. We'll see. This is also a great pattern for making little ghosties for Halloween. Fun!

And here is one with his hat on. The front seam should probably be in the back, but I wanted the hat to point backwards. Anyway, the seam is a little sloppy but for my first gnome I am fairly pleased. More to come as he gets facial features and a tunic and arms.

sitting knitty

Snowball asked the other day for me to post some knitting pics. I don't have many, but here goes.

My first non-scarf project was a catnip toy shaped like a won ton. I got the pattern from Knitty.com, but mine doesn't look quite the same. The cats don't seem to mind, though. I may have put too much catnip in here because it was all I could do to get the thing away from them. I feel sure I'll be sorry later. Probably while I am sleeping.

Here's a view from the other side. Yeah, doesn't look much like food, does it? I'll remember this pattern for V-Day next year and use potpourri instead of catnip.

Here is a picture of a scarf, midway finished, and the pixie hat I am just now starting on from KnitWit by Amy R. Singer, of Knitty.com fame. Here is what it is supposed to look like when I finish. We'll see.

There is another scarf I am working on from a deeper blue variegated yarn, but I can't seem to find it right now. That's disturbing. I wonder where it is. Anyway, guess I'll post a picture of it when I find it.

knitting circles, anyone?

I have been working on knitting a scarf and after that will be moving on to Christmas stockings. I have been assured by a very knowledgeable friend that says when I have worked my way through Christmas Stockings: 18 holiday treasures to knit, edited by Elaine Lipson, that I will have had a very thorough training in the art of knitting indeed. Not to mention, gifts for some of the fringe members of my family!

All this knitting and reading got me thinking, are there any of you out there who have a North Texas knitters group going already? Or are interested in having one? I have talked with a few of my friends about it already with good responses. Lemme know whatcha think.

I'd like a little social commentary with my knitting, please

Note that I have added two new quotes on the left, cribbed from Bohemian Mama, now added to the blogroll on the right. I can't believe I didn't find this site sooner, as she and I read a lot of the same blogs!

On the knitting front, I finished my dimsum cat toy (I made the won ton) and just need to stuff it. It turned out bigger than I would like, so the next one will be smaller. I'll take pictures soon.

that darned curling problem solved

I have learned from a dear friend that stockingette stitch curls more than other stitches, and she taught me how to remedy this problem. Here is what she said:

Tip: Stockinette stitch is notorious for curling. To prevent curled
scarves begin with ten rows of seed stitch, [this is for worsted weight
or finer yarn, less rows for huge stuff]. Then begin and end your scarf
with margins of seed stitch thus:

Beginning of each row: Slip one, purlwise, [k1,p1]3 times, add a yarn
slip stitch marker, then continue your scarf in the stitch of your
choice.

End of each row: Set yarn marker seven stitches from end of row.[p1,k1]
3 times, k1. [this means you do 2 k at the end, the second one becomes
the slipped stitch for the next row beginning.

End scarf with as many rows of seed stitch as you did at the beginning.

I am sure this will make more sense as I learn more. I understand what she is saying, but I have yet to execute it.

Gimme all your candy and no one gets hurt!

So yes, yes, I have been browsing knitting sites. But the scariest thing I found so far I found first at Standing Room Only, and followed the link to the instructions at Swapatorium.

I am waiting for the gritty crime drama where the crooks wear these. Brrrr.

Update: I found the Swapatorium website with all the ski masks shown. The rooster mask is just too much!