Tag Archive for ‘the lys’ at adam knits!

Tag Archive for 'the lys'

Yarn + Dogs = Less Yarn 26 Jun 07

I’ve been meaning to get this post up for a while now, but it seems I just haven’t found the time until now…isn’t that how it goes? It’s not really for lack of time, it’s just that I’ve been doing other fun things that have kept my free hours occupied. Like blitzing through the first 4 Harry Potter books in 4 days! Obsessed much? Yeah, I definitely am. I wanted to read them all again in preparation for the new movie and book in a month, but I just got a bit carried away. And I’m already making headway on Book 5, so I’m pretty much unstoppable at this point. Oh well, at least I’m getting some fun reading in…that doesn’t happen often when you’re in grad school!

In addition to reading my brains out, I’ve done a bit of knitting and yarn purchasing in the last few days. Village Wools is having a big closeout sale on Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Wool (only $4 a skein!), so I picked up a few of those, since they look perfect for stranded knitting. I got some great colors to make a Red Light Special for myself, in Gray, Yellow and 2 shades of Brown. I was inspired by Knitting Philistine’s new Fiberlicious! Flickr Group, and had a late night photo shoot involving bananas, yarn and peanut butter. I think yarn as food is my favorite new art form!

a banana w/ peanut butter and some milk…my favorite snack!

Unfortunately, Dallas went on a bit of a stash rampage when I wasn’t paying attention, and chewed up a gray and a brown skein, plus 4 balls of Felted Tweed I got from Fricknits! I wasn’t too happy, but it was my fault for not closing the office door, so I suppose that’s a lesson learned. (Combined with the previous lesson of not leaving freshly dyed yarn on the table, maybe I’ll be able to prevent future yarn tragedies!) I guess I’ll just have to go pick up more of that Jamieson & Smith yarn…what a shame.

I also picked up some Dale of Norway yarns, in black and white, for a secret gift project. I’m working on it now (and loving it!), but I’m afraid I won’t be able to give too many details until it’s gifted. It’s my first major project with stranded colorwork, and it’s quite interesting so far. It requires a lot of brain power to manipulate my left hand into holding one of the colors continental style, but I seem to be getting better at it. If anyone has any tips or tricks for stranded knitting, I’d love to hear them!

Then I spotted this fun swag at the checkout counter…“where my stitches at?” I’m not sure who got the buttons and dropped them off at Village Wools (Scout?), but I was sure happy to score one. Ravelry is an awesome site, and now I have a cool button to show it off!

You know what’s even cooler? Casey quit his day job so that he could work on Ravelry full time, because he and Jess feel that strongly about building an awesome site for us fiber lovers. That also means that development speed will pick up, so those of you still on the waiting list, don’t despair, because I promise they’re getting close!

Finally, in bike commuting news, my goal is to ride all 5 days this week, and so far I’m meeting that, having ridden today and yesterday. I’m getting lots more confident and really enjoying myself, so I’m determined to keep at it. The shrinking gas bill is definitely good motivation. Wish me luck on the last 3 days!

Published

Adam

in biking, dallas, exercise, hats, knitting, ravelry, the lys, the stash and works in progress

I Heart Yarn 19 May 07

16 Comments

All this free time is making me go knitting crazy! I love it! I actually got to go the LYS yesterday, for the first time in who knows how long. It’s been a few months at least. It was a wonderful experience just to browse, fondling many of the yarns and thumbing through the books. Sometimes I think I’m around yarn so much with all the dyeing, that I forget how much I really like this stuff.

I did pick up a few things at Village Wools yesterday, including this Debbie Blish Cashmerino Chunky in a deep red color. It’s super nice stuff, and I’m planning to knit up an undisclosed baby item as a gift for some friends who are expecting. (Past due now actually!) You guys know who you are! ;) I think it will look pretty sweet, and I’m looking forward to working with this yarn, because it’s so unbelievably soft and buttery. Yes, buttery.

I also got a copy of the fabled book, Knitting Without Tears, by the knitting legend herself, Elizabeth Zimmerman. I’m planning to make a Seamless Hybrid Sweater (much like this one by the talented Julie Frick) over the summer, and I figured I should get the instructions first!

Oh, and somehow 6 skeins of Cascade 220 wandered into my shopping cart the other day and are now on their way to me. It all happened so fast, I don’t really remember it, but I’m pretty sure I gave into the bad angel on that one. (But at only $4.89 a skein, I just couldn’t say no.) I place all the blame on Jared, with all his gorgeous sweaters, how could I not be tempted to learn sweaters for myself?

Then to top all the yarny goodness off, my Tree Scum Handspun from Anne arrived today. It totally makes me weak in the knees. Just to look at it and know that it was spun from roving blows my mind. It’s a beautifully spun yarn, with very even singles and plying, and the colors are phenomenal. I’m super excited to cast on my for first handspun experience, I think it’ll be a good one.

my first handspun (well I didn't spin it...)!

Now the hardest thing I have to decide is which project to cast on for first! (Oh and don’t worry Mom, I’ve actually gotten 5 rounds done on the Garden Shawl in the last few days, so I’m not neglecting it entirely!)

And what would a Saturday afternoon be without a sky picture? Today’s picture was taken just moments before hail started pelting my street in a torrential downpour. This is only 5 minutes after there were no clouds in the sky. New Mexico weather is weird stuff…

I did manage to have a little panic attack when it started hailing, since hail and I don’t have a very good history. (Google the 2004 Socorro Hailstorm if you don’t already know what happened). But all is well, because I have a garage now, and was able to get my car into safety in mere moments. Then it promptly stopped hailing. Yeesh!

I’ll leave you with some shots of the kids dogs, since I think it’s been a while since I’ve had obligatory dog pictures on the blog. I got them some new collars today, aren’t they sweet? (You know you’re living in the fast lane when you get excited over new dog collars). I had to bribe Emma with her chew bone to get her to take a picture…she’s such a diva. And Dallas? Well give him a toy and he’s pretty much oblivious to everything around him.

the only time she lets me take her picture...

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make a pile with all my new yarn and roll around in it.

PS: All the Ravelry invites are spoken for, sorry if you didn’t receive any love from the random number generator! Just be patient a little longer ;)

Published

Adam

in albuquerque, dallas, emma, knitting, patterns, schnauzers, sweaters, the lys, the stash and works in progress

Grumpy Dogs and Yarn 08 Nov 06

9 Comments

I figured it was high time for a knitting update since the last few posts have been about other things. This is still a knitting blog right? Ok, sweet, that’s good to know.

Anyway, I’m working on a Backyard Leaves Scarf as a gift, using Cascade 220 in a lovely green shade. I really can’t express how much I love Cascade 220, it’s my new basic worsted choice for everything. It felts great, knits up nicely, feels very soft, and it’s very affordable. Plus you don’t get all that mohair up your nose like when you use Lambs Pride.

Cascade 220 is totally the new Lambs Pride!

Ok, enough subliminal (well maybe not so much subliminal as blatant) advertising for Cascade. Onto the knitting!

Here’s the first half of the Backyard Leaves Scarf, being shown off by a very grumpy model. It’s really hard to find good models these days, they’re so demanding. I got this pattern from the Interweave Knits Holiday Day Issue, but it’s originally from the book Scarf Style. I really like this pattern, it’s easy enough to work and the results are beautiful. It’s worked in two identical halves that are then blocked and seamed together. I really love how the scarf splits and ends on two separate leaves at the bind off edge too.

“I’m not being paid enough for this humiliation!”

We also have some more Cascade 220, in a nice brown color, that will be used to make another gift scarf. I’m not quite sure of what pattern to use, and this is where you come in. It’s going to be gifted to a guy, and I’m looking for a simple pattern that will pair nicely with this lovely yarn. Something that knits quickly would be a plus as well.

dallas resisting the urge to eat some yarn

“Please Dad, just one bite?”

The standout in my mind is Hello Yarn’s Irish Hiking Scarf. I also love Grumperina’s new Shifting Sands pattern, but I think I would like to make that one for myself ;) What other guys scarf patterns do you know of? Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Lastly, I have a few more pieces of new stuff to show off. I just bought a GoKnit Pouch from Scout’s Swag and I love it! It’s the perfect little pouch to stick my knitting in to take on the go. My knitting currently resides in the front pocket of my backpack, where it routinely tangles with pencils, erasers, etc. It’ll be nice to have a separate bag to keep the knitting organized. And the pouch is built so nicely! If you don’t have one, you should seriously get one, they’re awesome.

There’s also a copy of Yarnplay, which I’m sure you’ve already heard of. It’s such a great book and has tons of neat and refreshing patterns. I especially love the Men’s sweater and the Copperhead Scarf. I contemplated the Copperhead pattern for the previously mentioned gift scarf, but I think the pattern is a bit too much for this particular person. That doesn’t take away from how great this book is though, seriously, get a copy!

Multivariable Calculus and Physics are trying to steal the spotlight…

That’s about it for me, see you next time!

Published

Adam

in knitting, the lys, works in progress and yarn nerd

Revenge of the Oily Wool 13 Oct 06

5 Comments

Ok, so the bad news first I suppose. I knit a few rounds on the oily project last night, and even though the stain isn’t visible anymore, well the oil is still there. My hands got all greasy and I just couldn’t do it, so with a big sigh I ripped it out. I’m going to be putting a whole lot of time and effort into this project, and I just want it to be as perfect as possible. And I wasn’t that far into the project, so I’m coping fairly well. I’m definitely going by Village Wools today to pick up some Bryspun DPNs, because I can’t stand those blasted bamboo ones I have, they just grip too much. Oh well, I had to learn the hard lesson that wool and food don’t mix well at some point eh?

Now in honor of today being both Yarn Pr0n Friday and Friday the 13th, I present “Attack of the Crinkly Wool Blob!”. The poor dogs were terrorized by this blob of wool all night, it was pretty scary.

(I really tried hard to get them to have looks of sheer terror on their faces, but really all their looks are the same. Kinda like Blue Steel.)

But you know what? I’m not that sad about ripping out the oily wool? Why you ask? Well because it’s Socktoberfest, and I finished a sock! This sock will go into the “Christmas 2006″ drawer…now only 80,000 socks to go. This yarn is my 2400 MHz Merino Superwash, in a colorway that Carole helped name: Steelcut Oats. I dyed this skein a while ago, and decided to keep it for myself, party because I’m selfish, and because I wanted to actually knit something with my yarn to see how it came out. Well here it is!

oatmeal with added fiber

just imagine them cooked up with brown sugar

the colors go better if you imagine the oats cooked up with some brown sugar…mmmm

I’m planning to cast on for this sock’s twin during tonight’s Battlestar Galactica, although I may be way too absorbed in the TV to do any knitting…last week was seriously the best 2 hours of TV I’ve ever watched (at least since the golden days of Alias, before it started sucking…)

Alright, I’m going to sign off now, but I’ll leave you with some more fibery goodness for Yarn Pr0n Friday. These 2 skeins were just dyed last weekend and are up in the shop now, both are 2400 MHz Merino Twist. Barber Pole and Finger Paint. Better hurry up and buy this before I hoard it all for myself!

Published

Adam

in dyeing, finished objects, frogging, knitting, shop, socks, socktoberfest, the lys and yarn-pr0n

A Quickie 14 Aug 06

2 Comments

Just a quick post today…

This weekend was filled with lots of dyeing at my parent’s house, and some of the yarn that resulted is pretty cool. The plan is to see if we can sell it at the craft fair, but if it doesn’t sell I won’t be too broken up to keep it! Pictures coming sometime soon…but for a teaser the colorways dyed so far are called Tie-Dye, New Mexico Sunset and Easter Eggs. I’m working up one more colorway which I’m pretty excited about too, that one should get dyed sometime this week.

The craft fair looms close, and the knitting kicks into overdrive as I whip out hats, scarves and whatever else I can manage to fit in! And you know what happens after the craft fair??? The Village Wools moving sale! 15% off everything in the store! My wallet is running away as I type…

That’s about it, I just wanted to put out a teaser about the cool yarn pictures coming soon…

P.S. You may have noticed the little chat thing in the top of the sidebar, and wondered “what the heck???”. If it says “webguru4god is online”, that means I’m available to chat, in real time! Just type in the box and talk to me, it’s pretty sweet! So give it a try :) And if you want to change the nickname from “meeboguestxxxxxx” to something more personal, just click the nickname at the bottom. What do you think? Is this weird, creepy or cool?

Published

Adam

in Uncategorized, dyeing, knitting, the lys, works in progress and yarn nerd