Not pron, I swear!

Well, it depends on your definition of pron. If it revolves around yummy fibers and handmade goodness, that yes(!), there is tons of that. If it is more the stuff that, say, politicians like to dabble in, then no.

Well, maybe a little*. ;)

Or maybe not.

No way to know unless you go check it out.

Howdy again. While I have been on crafty overdrive the last couple of weeks or so, I, once again, don't have anything to really show for it here. I found out a little while ago that I've been accepted to the Indie Craft Experience (more details on all that a little later) so I've been busy trying to figure out the logistics of it all.

Anyhoo, some bullet points for the time being:

• All of the felt squares for Trip Around The Wool blanket have been cut up and put into little Ziplock bag and are ready to be sewn. Now it's just a matter of me doing it.
• Secret knitting has still been taking up the majority of my time thus my (still) lack of real blogging
• Muxtape is my new favoritest thing in the world. Here's my mix (I especially love Self's cover of "What a Fool Believes." It was all done on toy instruments, don't you know. Oh! and of course, Cyanotype AKA Leah's significant other.) If you already have one of your own and end up making one, let me know! I'd love to take a listen.
• Say hello to my little friend. . .

My really cheap (yet lovely just the same) wool *blend* felt arrived earlier this week along with my brand spanking new rotary cutter*. I've already cut up about five sheets into 4-inch squares and let me tell you, rotary cutters are phun! Whee!

But yeah, I digress. So while I do adore the color combination of the felt you see up in the picture now, I have to say, it wasn't what I was expecting. I'm sure a good portion of you have experienced this. That beautiful, creamy, subtle peach sock yarn you bought at your favorite online yarn store turns out to be a tad too HOT ELECTRIC PINK!!!!!! for your liking when you finally arrives at your doorstep.

Dang computer monitors. There has to be a way to develop some sort of technology where colors will look exactly the same on everyone's computer screen. How else is a gal supposed to buy fabric, yarn, anything with any sort of confidence otherwise? Gawd. The things I have to put up with. Life is so cruel to me.

Anyhoo, have a lovely weekend, everyone. I'll be trying to muster up the will to keep on going myself. ;)

*I highly recommend this shop. They have a great selection of quilting supplies for super barginz!

ETA: Oh btw, thanks for everyone's input on my little shoe dilemma. I made my decision and the shoes are on their way! I'll let you guys know what I chose when I get them.

So yay, Spring! Flowers and picnics and dresses and baseball and driving around with the windows down! And also, cute shoes!

But the question is:

White or. . .

Yella

Now before you leave me a comment along the lines of "What are you, a dummy? YELLOW!" here me out. The only reason I'm hesitant about getting them is because I already own a pair of yellow shoes. And I also think while not as loud, I guess, the white are really cute in their own right.

But I'm being silly, right? Cuz "yellow" is the new "red." So one can't own too many pairs of yellow shoes now.

Right?

Oh, Spring, where art thou? I grow weary of stepping out of the house and having to pull up my collar and brace myself for the cold. Argh.

Anyways, while I have been absent from the blogging world for a bit now, my hands haven't been completely idle. There's just been a lot of secret gift knitting. I'd-tell-you-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you type stuff. You know how it is. ;)

I haven't been completely unselfish, tho. I've been taking mini-breaks from the gift knitting to make little tchotchkes, like my little friend you see up there. Cuz frankly, I don't have much use for things that have a use. My room is just full of tchotchkes (Future Post Idea: subject readers to my Ugly Snowglobes of the World collection). It's the complete impracticality of little knick-knacks that give them their charm, I think. I just love how the only purpose this bunny serves is for you to just hold it in your giant hand and go "awwwww!"

I highly suggest you check out The Cute Book yourself. It is chock full of patterns for all sorts of itty bitty palmfuls of cuteness. Easy to follow directions, really adorable descriptions and almost all of the wee plushes in the book will take you, like, an hour to make (with the majority of the time going into cutting out the felt). Srsly.

Oh, and btw, on a total impulse, I ordered a boatload of felt to make this. I just loved this blanket so much, I just had to. While I would have just LOVED to have bought up some Mary Flanagan Wool Felt, my wallet would have been pretty damn POed at me. But I think I got a pretty good substitute. I'll show you guys when I get it so I can get your two cents on the colorway.

Till next time, same bunny time. Same bunny channel.

My gosh, Emily, Leah, Sarah, and Donyale were sweet enough to all give me a "You Make My Day" award meme thingy that had been making its way through the blogosphere the last month or so. I think all of these gals would have reconsidered if they knew it was going to take me *this* long to thank them and pass this good karma along. Eek, not cool.

OK, so now I'm gonna pass some of this love to some blogs that put an extra spring in my step when I see their site highlighted on my Google Reader. I'm also gonna stick to blogs that I think haven't seen mentioned for this before.

1) I could seriously be his long lost twin. You know, if I were a dood. And not Asian. I love his taste in, like, everything.

2) Dear Birthday is back and better than ever! I like to live through Valerie vicariously through her blog. And do make sure to check out her brand new etsy shop as well. I just picked up a pair of her new Liberty of London undies earlier today. They're too sweet.

3) Bre Pettis runs around keeps everyone on top of all thingy DIY and techy we I don't have to. He's a new addition to the Etsy staff and I really like his quite informative yet fun how-to videos and Newscasts. Not to mention his relatively new picture-taking project called Photogamer, a game where you are assigned a theme every day and take a pic accordingly. You then upload your pic over to the Photogamer group pool and see what everyone else has done.

4) I adore Modish, Jena Coray's blog dedicated to "celebrating handmade goods, the people who create them and the shoppers that buy them." I get quite excited to see what sort of little handmade lovelies she's picked out to highlight and her interviews with various inspiring crafters everyday on her simple but very pretty blog.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

BTW, totally off-topic but I thought I'd take the time to mention there is now a mailing list for my etsy shop now. Sign up and get access to the latest news, sneak peaks, exclusive discounts and heads up on sales and stuff. (See sidebar and scroll up a bit ---->)

That is if you want to. If you don't then, fine, be that way . . .

You know something?

The 90's rocked. Hard.

I miss it.

Spacehog - "In The Meantime"

Green Day - "When I Come Around"

Oasis - "Wonderwall"

Collective Soul - "The World I Know"

The New Radicals = "You Get What You Give"

Pavement - "Range Life"

Radiohead - "Creep"

Ace of Base - "The Sign"

Beck - "Where It's At"

Garbage - "Special"

Pattern: The Amanda Hat (pdf) by Gina House (Queue it over at Ravelry here)

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Merino in "Stonechat"

Needles: US 8 16" circulars

Cuuuuuute and cozy hat, if I do say so myself. Fabulous, easy pattern. And it is just PERFECT for variegated yarns. It shows off their colors quite well.

With that said, I will admit I am a *bit* more partial to this pattern here.

Pattern: Stella's Hat by Knitting School Dropout (Queue it here)

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Merino in "Frost Gray"

Needles: US 8 16" circulars

Mods: Added an inch more than what the pattern recommended before I started the decreases for the crown. That's all.

Best. Hat. Ever.

No pattern this easy should yield results this cute yet super warm. You usually have to sacrifice one for the other, ya know? It just ain't right. I suppose Melissa has gotten in enough practice making hats, tho, to know what's best. ;)

I often have a difficult time finding cute hat patterns for my bulbous head. [Exhibit A] So I feel I really lucked out with these two winning patterns. Go forth in good faith, my fellow fat-headed knitter, and knit one (or both) of these hats, toot sweet!

So anyways, this year's festivities included a single sock swap. I was paired up with Kaitlyn and knew I wanted to make an extra nice sock for her. However, with all the drama I had encountered in knitting Heather's birthday sock (see previous post), I was left with a less than a week to get this done. It didn't take too long to decide on the Twisted Flowers sock by Cookie A. (Ravelry link).

Pattern: Twisted Flowers by Cookie A

Yarn: Two skeins of Louet Gems in "Caribbean Blue"

Needles US 1 32' circulars (Knitpicks)

It was just what the doctor ordered. It yields a lovely intricate sock that is, in actuality, easier that it looks. Once you get a feel for the pattern it all goes by relatively quickly.

On the receiving end, I had the fortunate luck to have had the one and only Schrodinger assigned to me. And looky at what she made me:

Wowee. This is a mighty impressive sock. I had always admired this pattern from afar but never had the nerve to even consider casting on for them. But now, since half of the work has already been done for me, it just takes a lot of the stress away and I'm now very much looking forward to knitting its mate up.

But for now, a mini-break from socks. Just a mini one. I have been very much inspired by Melissa's hat kick as of late so I've been taking it easy knitting up a couple of hats of my own.

*I'd rank this right below "Time after Time" for Worst Song Ever. *shudder*

Pattern: Basic stockinette socks with unintentional calf shaping (more on that a little further down)

Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn in colorway #184 that I picked up from Knitch during Christmas

Needles: US 2 32" circular needles (knitpicks)

For: Heather

Well, this new Noro Kureyon sock yarn is pretty much the same as its thicker counterpart. It's rough, has inconsistent gauge, has the requisite knot that will screw up the color sequence, and really, really loves getting tangled.

I utterly adore this yarn. The colors are just that pretty.

So I actually cast on for Heather's socks at the start of the new year. I figured I had p-l-e-n-t-y of time to get her socks done by her b-day (Valentine's Day, actually). I first cast on for a pair of Charades in Koigu that just went to hell. The gauge for the first sock was 87983749837x looser than the second one even tho I used the same exactly needles and yarn. After some hemming and hawing, I knew I couldn't in my right mind gift someone those socks.

Only I can get totally duped by my own pattern.

So then I cast on for a pair of Roza's Socks in some Trekking and right when I was about to turn the heel on the second sock, I *lost* it's already knit-up mate. It must have fell out of my bag while I was out and about. Why, Lord? WHY?!?!

By then with a little more than a week to go, I knew that stockinette was basically my only option. So I needed the yarn to be extra special to make up for its otherwise oatmeal-blandness.

I cast on 58 stitches on US 2's knit and knit and knit some more. But after a good four inches I could tell the sock were going to be too big. I decided to just decrease a stitch at the start and at the end of the next round so I would be left with 56 stitches cuz honestly, there was no way I was going to be able to start *another* pair of socks and retain my sanity. After a couple of inches in at 56 stitches, I could still see they were the teeniest bit too big and so then proceeded to decrease two more stitches. So hence, my unintentional calf shaping. Ta da.

Once I got into a knitting groove, I had a lot of fun knitting these socks. And it went by very quickly. I enjoyed seeing the different colors start to emerge. It just never gets old with Noro for some reason. I managed to finish these socks the Sunday before Valentine's Day and send them on its way. And as luck would have it, the recipient got her socks right smack on her b-day. Woohoo! All in all, a complete success!

The End.

ETA: As for the results of my recent poll, a good 60% of you guys aren't Type-A personalities and prefer fraternally striped socks over identical. Me too. :) Although I do have an immense appreciation for perfection, I have neither the time, energy, nor mental stability for such an effort regularly.

In the next episode of Knitting Under Pressure!, see how this blog's heroine manages to finish this sock in precisely six days and NOT kill anyone in the process.

MP3: Just Because - Lunchbox

MP3: The Most Beautiful Girl In The Room (live) - Flight of the Conchords

MP3: Silly Girl - Bunnygrunt

Or not to match. . .

That is the question.

But I won't. It's all too dull for words.

And I also suppose I can proclaim my great comeback into the blogosphere right here and now. What perfect timing with the start of the new year and all. To deem 2008 the year I blog at least once a week, vow to knit 20 socks, be on top of everyone's blogs, and to lose those 10 pounds.

But I'm not going to do that, either. I'm just setting myself up for a whole lotta hurtin' not too far down the road, I know it.

I will say this, tho. I'm not so burnt out anymore. I've acquired some new knitting books. I have picked up the needles and cast on for a couple of new projects. And it feels good, real good.

For instance, I picked up Sensual Knits while I was down in Atlanta, and it was so amazing to see such inspiring work from fellow knitters and bloggers I know for reals (I'm talking to you, V, Connie, Leah, Rangsiwan, Olga, Illanna, and Yahaira). So inspiring that I immediately cast on for the Loop Shawl (Ravelry link) as soon as I went out and bought the book and yarn for the project (with its designer right by my side through the whole process, might I add.) Let me tell you, I highly recommend befriending knitware designers and dragging them along to yarn shops to make sure you pick out the correct yarn substitutions for their patterns. It's a real time saver.

Loop Shawl knit up in Plymouth Baby Alpaca DK (another Ravelry link)

To conclude, I'd like to show off one of my favorite gifts I received this Christmas: a gorgeous ceramic pendant from Alyssa Ettinger's etsy shop.

Thank so much, Heather! I love it to bits.

Thanks for taking part in my very unscientific poll. It was fun keeping track of the results. I'm definitely gonna put up similar polls like this in the near future. Last time I checked there were close to 720 votes. Wow! Who are all of you creepy lurkers, anyways? ;)

But what's more surprising was that English knitters (the "throwers") overwhelmingly outnumber Continental knitters ("pickers"). For some reason, I thought it was the other way around, didn't you? As an English knitter myself, I've constantly heard that English knitting was just so slow, so inefficient, all that wasted movement, blah, blah, blah, and that I should switch. Immediately. And yet, look at all of us stubborn throwers.

Umm however, with that said, tho, I have to confess that I'm, uh,. . .going over to The Dark Side. Hear me out before you boo me. My right wrist has gone to poop the last couple of years and I find the strain of ribbing (moving the yarn back and forth, back and forth, back and forth [my wrist hurts just thinking about it]. . .)getting to be too much. I've slowly been making the transition over and let me tell you. . .

English knitting is just sooooo slow, soooooo inefficient, all that wasted movement, my god. All of you English knitters should switch. Immediately.

Hee.

Awww, don't be mad. Here's some music to make it up to ya.

MP3: Cansei De Ser Sexy - Music is My Hot, Hot Sex

MP3: Feist - 1234

MP3: Orba Squara - Perfect Timing (This Morning)

*Don't get my wrong, I love, love, *love* the Craftacular to bits, but I can't take the crowds anymore. Either stretch this thing out to two days, cut the vendors there by half, or rent out the Javitts Center. I'm claustrophobic and don't handle being squished very well. . . :/