Knitting like a crack monkey!

So I have been able to knit...

I knit a lot on my trip from San Diego to Atlanta. I started and finished a Dalek washcloth. Yes, I was selfish, but as SOON as I saw this pattern I KNEW I had to make one ASAP, it was a knitting emergency. Here is the pattern It is so fabulous and from the same woman responsible for the knitted stuffed dalek. I will now be knitting daleks on EVERYTHING...just so you know.

I got a lot done on J_'s wrist warmers. They look so much better now, and I feel better about them.

I have spent most of my time working on the toys for my niece and nephew. I finished my nephew's surfer koala with surf board this morning. I am now focusing my knitting energies on finishing my niece's hedgehog. I hit a road bump, but I was visiting with the two ladies who got me started into knitting on Monday, so we got that issue all cleared up.

Nearly had a crafting melt down when my mom and I went to Michael's and they had no pop on eye balls. Then we went to Jo Ann's and the woman told us she didn't think they had any either. Thankfully, they had some eyes and noses still on the rack. Perfect for the koala and hedgehog.

I also started another head scarf for my mom and I think that is about it.

I didn't bring my camera, so pictures will be coming after Christmas when I get a CD of the pictures mom and I have taken over the Christmas holidays.

DAILY DAVID

*Sigh*

Well, I have been finished with my classes for a week now, but I did do my first counseling sessions with real clients this week! It went so much better than I expected and I feel really energized about seeing clients in the future. So finals and counseling is my excuse for not getting a lot of knitting done this month.

I have almost completed the koala for my nephew. I completed all the pieces of bear and started to make the shorts and realized, to my horror, that I knit the koala on the smaller size needles intended for the shorts. (insert eye roll here) So that means the koala is smaller than it really should be. By initial reaction was to to start the whole thing over on the right sized needles, but my mom and knitting buds convinced me to finish him the way he is. I only have one more leg of his shorts to finish. I am trying to save room in my luggage, so the koala will make the trip in pieces in my bag and I will stitch and stuff him at home.

I bought the yarn for my niece's hedgehog this weekend. I have a mind blowing 4 rows of stitches done on that one...SHUT UP and STOP LAUGHING.

I did finish two pot holders for my sister-in-law, made out of burgundy and black chenille. Those look good...and mom's gift is packed.

I finished the blue/purple/teal arm warmers, commissioned by a friend of a friend...YEAH

I was making another pair of Rose's wrist warmers for one of my Doctor Who buddies. I was all the way to the thumb gusset and I just could not continue. It is knit in the round, and because of where the design was on the needle it was making a huge "ladder" in the front of the design. I could not give that to a friend...I ripped it out yesterday and repositioned the design on the needles...I am know halfway done with the original wrist warmer. If you are reading this, sorry J_, I know you'd love to have them right now, but I couldn't give it to you the way it was.

I don't know what is up with me and knitting. I find myself sitting and watching TV for hours and farting around on the computer, with no knitting being done. I don't know why this is happening. I don't know if this is caused by grad school or what?

I am hoping to get my knitting jig ON while I am at home for Christmas, I think I have about 4 knitting projects tucked away in my bag...and mean, really, who need clothes when you have knitting?

DAILY DAVID

Checkin' my list!

Been finishing off a lot of knitting this week, since I have been slacking with my school work, why not?

Finished the two Adipose (check)

Here is the whole knitted Doctor Who family before they went in the box for their trip across the pond for Christmas.



Also got some things felted when I went to L_'s house for Thanksgiving...thank you L_. So the yellow/blue skull fauxhawk was felted and given to it's owner on Thanksgiving day (no picture, I forgot), and my mom's Christmas gift (no WAY you're going to see it, mom)...COMPLETED. (check & check)

I started the surfer koala for my nephew last Friday. The parts have been very quick and easy to knit up, I have both his legs, his tummy and his back done. I have a feeling it is REALLY not going to be fun to sew him together, but such is life...the knitting is the fun part, all us knitters know that. AND, thanks to the ladies at the yarn shop, I now know how I am going to make him a little surf board. I am going to cut one out of those foam sheets you can buy at craft stores and then probably put some stickers on it.

I have two pairs of wrist warmers going on at the same time, one with a due date of December 10th.

Then I still have to start the hedgehog and get some dishcloths done, but I do have that glorious time between my last final (Dec 1o) and Christmas to do that!

I think I might just be able to pull this off!

DAILY DAVID

Overwhelmed

I am overwhelmed by the amount of knitting I have commited myself to do before the Christmas Holidays. I am not going to go into detail, just listing:

2 Adipose stuffed toys
1 surfer koala stuffed toy
1 hedgehog stuffed toy
2 pairs of wrist warmers
1 present for mom
1+ dish cloths for my sister-in-law

When I get under this kind of knitting pressure, it makes it not fun anymore...know what I mean? I just look over at my knitting basket and feel so overwhelmed I don't want to work on anything.

I did do about 70% of one Adipose today and mom's gift is almost done. I need to be finished both Adipose by the end of the week and be working on both pairs of arm warmers. I will have almost 2 weeks between the end of class and CHristmas to finish the other stuff.

I *think* I can get it all done. I will be quite disappointed in myself if I can't.

Knitting should NOT equal stress...this is fun, damn it!

DAILY DAVID:

Stuff I'm making!

So I finally got off my butt and took some pictures of what I have been knitting.

Here is the nearly finished waffle ribbed scarf.



I don't know who it is for or what I will do with it, but I wanted to try that pattern, use that gifted yarn and knit something while I was hurting.

I also don't think I ever showed off my finished circle sock. I have begun the second sock, but it is way down on the finish list.



I Have also nearly completed my mom's Christmas gift. Sorry NO pictures until after Christmas...unless you have access to Ravelry.com and can see it posted on my account.

I have started a pair of wristwarmers for one of my internet buds. She even went out and bought the yarn for me Jaeger Extra Fine Merino. It is a nice yarn and it is really knitting up well.



I still have to start my niece and nephew's Christmas gifts. Here are pictures of what I am making them...

For my nephew I am making this surfer koala


For my niece I am making a brightly colored hedgehog, like this, just different colors:


I am SO glad to be able to knit without pain. I have been trying to be gentle with the left hand and L_ has shown me some of her PT exercises she got for her wrist. I am also still sleeping in the brace. Keep your fingers crossed, because I can NOT burn out my wrist again before Christmas.

DAILY DAVID

YEA!

Thursday was the last day I had to wear my brace full time and my wrist/hand has been doing well! I have totally been able to knit without pain! HOORAY! Let the knitting commence!

I have been working on that Waffle Rib scarf. I really need to get a picture of it.

Been working on my mom's Christmas gift.

I have a commission to make some more of the Rose's wrist warmers.

I still have daleks and ADipose to knit.

I have christmas gifts for my niece and nephew

I hope there are enough days before Christmas!

DAILY DAVID

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

So this is how I felt last night when I heard the news that David Tennant (of Daily David fame, seen on this blog) is leaving the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who after the 5 specials that will run in 2009.

In the light of a new day, I am doing better...as I have told most of my Who friends, it isn't so much that he is leaving the role of the Doctor it is my irrational fear that I will never see the man act again because he will be on stage exclusively in the UK.

As for knitting, you know, the reason I started this journal...I have done NONE since I left the shop last Friday. But I am going to the Friday morning group tomorrow, so I hope to knit some more then.

I have lots of knitted gifties in mind for the holidays so I hope I will be all healed up so I can knit like the wind!

DAILY DAVID

Crippled and slow

So by Friday morning I had discovered a way to successfully knit, putting the needle between my index and middle fingers of my left hand! It ain't very fast, but it gets the job done.

I went through my stash and found some yarn that D_ gave me and I was going to make a scarf out of and went with that. Nice simple project.

There are two projects I am dying to work on. One is the cardigan for myself, the other is my mom's Christmas gift. I think I am going to have to wait until my hand is 100% to work on those. I am going to have to stick with scarves and dishcloths until I get back to normal...

Hey mom, how is your dishcloth stash?!

Oh, AND I e-mailed my doctor and he said I only have to wear the brace for 2 weeks solid and then we will see how it goes. Hooray!

So there is the dirt...

DAILY DAVID

Knitting can be dangerous

Yes folks, everyone thinks that knitting, as a sport, would be as exciting as watching paint dry. Non-violent, healthy and relaxing. Well, I am here to tell you, you can get injured due to knitting.

I hadn't told most of my knitting buds or other friends, but my left thumb has been hurting me for a couple of weeks. I thought maybe I strained something, like putting my backpack on for school or, whatever. But the pain just wasn't going away and I became fearful that I was developing arthritis. After talking to my friend M_, she suggested it might be tendonitis.

Well, I went to the doctor today and yes, it is tendonitis and I now have an EXTREMELY sexy wrist/thumb brace I need to wear for about three weeks (I actually can't remember the exact time, I am going to e-mail the doctor tonight). This means...NO KNITTING while I have the brace...unless L_ can teach me her wrist brace knitting technique she has developed.

So yeah, this blog may be a bit empty for awhile.

DAILY DAVID

Pictures

Here are some pictures, finally...

Here is a picture of the finished pink dalek I made for a little girl. I think she is very pretty.



Here is my progress on the entrelac afghan:



Here is the finished baby sweater vest...remember a lot of this is due to C_ helping me finish this!





Here is a little camera bag I made our of left over cotton yarn:



See, I do still knit some!

DAILY DAVID:

Very little knitting

I seem to vaguely remember this hobby that I used to have...I think it is called knitting. Something you do with yarn and two pointy sticks?! I don't know, I seem to remember enjoing doing it and finding it so relaxing. Now I live with readings and papers hovering over me. I feel guilty when I take the time to knit.

I am serious when I say that the only time I knit is when I knit at the yarn store. It is the only time I don't feel guilty.

I finished two things this past week at the yarn store. I finished the baby vest ONLY with the help of C_ and the Diva. C_ showed me how to pick up the stitched to make the ribbed collar and she showed how to do the mattress stitch, despite the fact that I sucked at it and ended up giving her the sweater vest to finish, in complete defeat. THANK SO MUCH C_. I couldn't have done it with out you!

I used the gift certificates I got for my birthday to buy yarn to make this UBER fab cardigan. My local yarn store just got this new yarn that was perfect for the project. I am excited about it, but I feel guilty even thinking about working on it

I also finished the yellow/blue fauxhawk...maybe I'll get a picture from L_ of the finished felted object so I can share it here. I am going to take a picture of sweater vest tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Friday, my day of knitting guilt free at the store. I am bringing the baby booties I need to finish and I am not sure what else. We shall see.

Pictures next entry?

DAILY DAVID

Update!

It has been pointed out to me, by more than one source, that I have not been updating my knitting blog. Sadly, I haven't been doing that much knitting...school comes first.

Speaking of school, got my first major grade back today...an A...95! HOORAY! I think I am getting a handle on this school thing...

I am almost finished with the little baby sweater vest, I just have to sew up the sides and knit the ribbing on the arm holes. I *think* I did pretty well with the ribbing on the collar, we shall see. It is my goal to bring a finished sweater to the yarn store on Friday.

I started another dalek while I was reading my articles for class, when was that...Sunday? (Yes I can read and knit at the same time)

My entrelac afghan is continuing to grow, although I haven't worked on it since my friends came to visit from out of town the other weekend.

I am hoping my Thursday and Friday can be full of knitting this week...aka not a lot of homework.

Oh yes, I need to finish the blue and yellow fauxhawk hat. I wrote the directions on how to make the fauxhawk part on my excel spreadsheet and I don't seem to be able to open Excel files on my computer right now, so I will have to figure out the number from scratch again.

No pictures this time, I am too lazy to grab the camera...maybe this weekend?

DAILY DAVID


I want to get my hands in that hair!

Knitting?

What is this thing called knitting? OK, so it wasn't quite that bad, but I think I actually did NO knitting for an entire WEEK...that is like an addict going cold turkey. At one point I actually fanatsized about knitting while I was reading for class. Yeah, it was that bad!

The first week of classes and orientations left me with little time to study let alone knit. I HAD to put the needles aside to get my homework done. Hey, even I have priorities! But after that first wave of homework things have settled down considerably. I CAN KNIT.

So I have been working on a few things...

I finished the back of the baby sweater I am knitting and began the front. I finished the knitting on the blue/yellow skull fauxhawk and have made a start on the fauxhawk part.

I have also been working on the the entrelac afghan. Here is how it looks now:



I love's it.

I have also managed to make a new pair of armwarmers for myself. I have been wearing my Rose's wristwarmers in class because I have been cold. Here are the Rose's wristwarmers.



THey are great, and I love them, but they are a little short, leaving a good 2 to 3 inches of arm below my elbow, nekkid...exposed...cold. So I decided to make some longer wristwarmers. I used the pattern I used for B_'s armwarmers, added a thumb and they they were.



Done in a weekend so I can wear them in class today. I won't lie, I knit them WHILE I was reading for class. Yeah, I can read and knit at the same time...especially when the pattern is a simple stockinette stitch in the round. I used the Cascade 220 Superwash wool leftover from David Tennant's dalek! They should be nice and warm.

SOme people have asked. David's dalek went into the mail the week before I started school. We shall see how long it will take to get a response!

DAILY DAVID:

A Girl and Her Fauxhawk

I have pictures of the first finished skull fauxhawk hat and its new owner.





Great, huh? I absolutely LOVE it!

Got a decent amount of knitting done this Labor Day weekend...

I FINISHED the Clapotis shawl...loverly! I will probably take a picture of it and post it here before I block it.

I also finished the shell and appendages of the pink dalek. Now I have to start stuffing and complete the base. I will add a picture later.

I have helped my friend, J_ start a new knitting project. Now that she is married she can finally knit her man something. Her husband is a HUGE Pittsburgh Steelers fan, so I got her started on a yellow and black hat for him to wear. She is the tighest knitter I have EVER come across...and I don't know how to help her make it better...sigh...

Today is the orientation for my major at the University of San Diego. Yeah, I SEARCHED for a backpack that had two large pockets so I could bring my knitting with me to school. I can't imagine being without it. I have packed the second skull fauxhawk for today.

Wish me luck!

DAILY DAVID

So many projects...

So few hands!

I finished all my projects for the Ravelympics before the Closing Ceremony on Sunday. The final project was the drop stitch scarf. Here it is all finished:



Right now I have A LOT of projects all going at the same time, so I decided to take pictures of them...

The first is the blue/yellow/white skull fauxhawk hat. I am almost done knitting the second half and that means cutting and tying on the hawk part is in my near future. Here is a picture of the finished side:



Here is what I have done on the baby sweater vest. The Baby Bamboo yarn is a DREAM to work with, the pattern is easy to understand and it has been easier than I thought to do...I think I might do more clothing items!



Let's not forget the crack like effects of knitting the Clapotis. Still loving that, I am just over halfway done with that:



I have also started two other NEW projects, cause I don't have enough...

I FINALLY decided what to do with all the WONDERFUL Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky yarn I have been gifted by my knitting buddies. I am going to make an entrelac afghan out of it. Nothing like a nice warm and heavy wool and mohair afghan when it is over 90 outside. This is what I have done so far:



Finally, there is yet ANOTHER dalek. This one is for a little girl and I can't remember if I was just told to make it girlie or told to use pink, but I am making a pink on pink dalek. I basically just cast on today. I love this one already. It reminds me of that Frankenberry cereal, do they still make that?




We absolutely CAN NOT forget THE Shawl. Miss C_ personally came over to my apartment on Monday to show me how to block it. She helped me SO much...thank you, C_. Not only did she show me how, but I think she did like 3/4s of it. But now that I know how, I will be able to block the clapotis all by myself! Here is THE shawl, blocked and drying...



DAILY DAVID

Clapotis is CRACK!

Done a LOT of knitting this weekend.

I finished another Adipose for a friend of mine. I think they are getting cuter and cuter as I make them.



I felted the red/black/white skull fauxhawk and was there to see when the girl got it. Yeah, she loved it, it was awesome and it fit her head great! Pictures of her wearing her new fauxhawk should be on their way shortly.

I have done a lot of work on my third Ravelympics project, the Drop stitch scarf. I have probably completed 60 to 70 % of the scarf. This is what it looked like in the beginning.



I finished one side of the blue/yellow/white skull fauxhawk. I was almost finished with the second side when I realized I had made a horrible mistake, about a quarter of the way into the thing, I ended up ripping out the whole second side. VERY discouraging and I admit, I haven't picked it back up.

I did however begin knitting THE Clapotis. It is a pattern that has been VERY popular in the knitting world. It is basically a shawl/scarf kinda thing with a lovely, simple pattern. I am making it from yarn donated from one of my friends. When I told her she laughed ahs said that the Clapotis is what she bought the yarn for.

Knitting the Clapotis is HIGHLY addictive. It is a fairly easy pattern to get into the rythm of and it is one of the those "just-one-more-row-and-I'll-stop" kinda things. Crack, it is knitting crack!

Have I mentioned I have been commissioned to make a baby sweater vest? It will be a first of MANY, first clothing item and first baby clothing item. We shall see...the yarn is gorgeous and the sweater is cute as a button! I hope to start it this week!

SO now I want to go...and knit on my Clapotis...

DAILY DAVID

Second Olympic item finished

I finished my second WIP Wrestling project for the Ravelympics. I FINALLY finished my Doctor Who inspired Rose's wrist warmers. I have had one done for months, but I finally finished the second one today.



I also finished the first skull fauxhawk hat...now it just needs to be felted.



I finished my Davros toy weeks? ago and I don't think I ever posted pictures of him finished. I think he looks great...and I love him...more cuddly evil in my house!



I will probably start the second skull fauxhawk at my knitting group tomorrow. I also have one more project to finish for the Ravelympics and I am knitting an Adipose for someone. Let's not forget, I have to finish that other baby converse bootie. Then I have a number of other projects waiting in the wings.

DAILY DAVID

Go Team TARDIS!

You are reading the blog of an OFFICIAL Ravelympics participant...aren't you excited?
More like confused, huh? The HUGE online knitting community, Ravelry has their own Olympics games! No Joke! And I am participating in some of the events.

OK, it is basically an excuse to knit, shocking, yes? So starting with the the OPening ceremonies of the Bejing olympics, the knittin begins. The knitting ends at the end of the Closing Ceremonies. There are all kinds of events like the Sock Put, Hat Dash, felting freestyle...etc. I have put three projects in the Work In Progress Wrestling, which means I am trying to finish three projects I had started before the Olympics.

Anyway, I am knitting for Team TARDIS, the Doctor Who fan team and I finished my first project today. I finished "Malabrigoness"...do you all remember this scarf? I had started doing the pattern wrong, ripped it out and started over again? I have it as being started in January. Here is the finished product...



I am also almost done with my first kids skull fauxhawk.



ALl that is left is the cutting and tying on the fauxhawk part, yeah...zzzzz, I will probably do that tomorrow, I am so not feeling it today.

And yes I said FIRST kids skull fauxhawk hat. I already have the yarn (blue, gold, white) to make a second kids skull fauxhawk.

I also finished and mailed out my friend, B_'s armwarmers. I sure hope they will be able to fit over her removable arm cast so she can walk around Seattle without feeling like a dork!



I think that is it?

DAILY DAVID