Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Pico's blanket completed

Mr. Pico's blanket is finished, but I'm not posting for fear that his two-legged owners might ruin the Christmas surprise. Okay, okay weak excuse, you're right! Truth is those loose ends are a bitch (pun intended) to get rid of. My needleholes are too small, so I have to struggle to squeeze the thick yarn in. I guess a larger needle would solve my problem...

Friday, November 17, 2006

Why I enjoy knitting dog blankets...

For those of you (yeah you) who think I mostly knit socks ( and I can see why you would think so), I also have been knitting dog blankets. Here's why I enjoy knitting them:

- Dogs get cold too!
- Dogs never criticize your choice of color or yarn.
- You'll never hear your dog say "Does this blanket make me look fat?"
- If you knit it, they'll use it. And if they wreck it, you get to knit a new one.
- You'll never hear your dog say they'll "save it for later".

Leaving you with this pic of Pico. I'm currently knitting a blanket for him.


Monday, November 13, 2006

Gift ideas for knitters

I don't have any new finished project to post about, even though I do have some finished projects. I've been too lazy to tuck in ends on completed socks, scarves, and it wouldn't look as nice on a photo if there was lots of loose ends showing. So instead of showing you pic of my projects, here are a few gift ideas you might want to pin onto your fridge, or message board as a subtle hint to friends and family.

Knit Stix: These knitting needles will free you from your measuring tape, and the colors remind me of the plastic knitting needles that we used in the eighties, not to date myself ( I still have a few of mines, but I'd love to put my hands on my mom's collection). http://www.knitstix.com/order.shtml

Flo: A nifty little purse-like bag to carry your current projects around in a very elegany way.
http://www.lexiebarnes.com/collection/KFLO.htm

Knitting books: One Skein by Leigh Radford
Vogue Knitting Stitchionary, Volume 1: Knit & Purl by Staff of Vogue Knitting
Vogue Knitting Stitchionary, Vol 2: Cables by Staff of Vogue Knitting
Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick
Domiknitrix: Whip Your Knitting into Shape by Jennifer Stafford

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Sock knitting machine update

So here it is, fully assembled, rust-free, and in proper working condition.... or so we ( Dad, my sister and I ) thought.

Our first challenge was to figure out how this machine casts on. After trying different ways, we discovered that the "figure 8" is what works. So we casted on ... and cranked the machine.

Unfortunately it didn't want to crank itself smoothly, so we had to oil it again.
And again.
And again.
What a mess!





Then we started having some slipped stitched.
Back to oiling it again....
And again.

And then we realized that there was this weight system that we hadn't used.

It turns out that the weights are there for a reason, and should be use, otherwise the yarn has a tendency to try to escape this scary torture device.









And finally, it was running smoothly enough to do a long, useless tube.
Next lesson: turn a heel.