Monday, June 30, 2008

Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Whoa, Indigo Ripples Skirt is finished?!

Finished!!



Close-up of lace:

I am cool and rippley.

Specs:
Pattern: Indigo Ripples Skirt by Kat Coyle from Interweave Knits Spring 2007
Yarn: Elann Den-M-Knit denim yarn in color dark denim, 14 balls
Needles: Size 4 circulars. I think the pattern called for 6s or 5s. I'm not sure, but when I swatched (whoa!) I found that the resulting fabric was a little see-through on the larger needles. Not something that I am really interested in in a skirt. I was able to achieve a more densely knitted fabric with the smaller needles, and all was right in my knitting world.
Size: So, this was a little tricky. My waist measurements matched the large size and my hips, the extra-large. I cast on for the large, and increased (in a way that I do not remember because it was over a year ago) up to the number of stitches required for the hips of the extra-large size. It was a bit of a gamble, but it turned out pretty well. I also increased the lengths of both the solid panel and the lace panel for a longer skirt.

I am really happy with how this skirt turned out. And it only took me a couple years to make. The time flew by, really. I had been hitting the knitted denim skirt pretty hard since I finished my rotations, and I finally cast-off the final stitches during our drive out to LA. Let me say, finishing it was a total beast. The ruffle at the bottom of the skirt ate yarn like crazy, and to make it even more ruffle-y, you do this increase thing with the cast-off where you add a stitch for every one stitch you cast off. So, I ended up having to cast off 1200 stitches. It took some time. Overall, the pattern was excellent and very easy to follow.

Unfortunately, we no longer have a washing machine and dryer at our immediate disposal. We do, however, have coin-op laundry in our building, but no matter what temperature setting I choose, the washing machine always washes my clothes in scalding hot water. Not the best laundering conditions for handknits. I was finally able to wash the skirt during a visit to my mom's (sidenote - it's totally awesome being 30 years old, and still taking dirty laundry to mom's. really.) And it shrunk to the dimensions I was aiming. For those of you unfamiliar with cotton denim yarn, the knitted garment should shrink approximately 30% in length.

Also, I opted for some braided elastic in lieu of a drawstring because I am not a huge fan of drawstrings.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Absorba

We've just moved into a new apartment, and some hand knits were totally needed to spruce up the place. First up, bathmats! Raul's dreams have finally come true - we have two sinks in our bathroom. He may now brush his teeth without worry of knocking over any of the miscellany that I invariably leave lying all around the sink. Whew! We also now have two bathrooms - this is one more than we previously had, and in this new place we had a definite shortage of bathmats. Mason-Dixon knitting to the rescue!

The pattern calls for three strands of double worsted to be held together throughout. I found cones of worsted weight at Wal-Mart (yes, the evil empire, don't hate me.) I bought six cones - six strands worsted = 3 strands double worsted, right? It all worked out, and I have a ton of yarn. I made two of these bathmats for our bathroom, and I think I have enough yarn left over to make the Tailgate Rag Rug from the same book.

Here's a photo:

Hello. I am squishy and quite delightful to stand on. I am also somewhat camouflaged in this photo. Please click on picture should you want a more detailed viewing. Thank you.

Specs:
Pattern: Absorba from Mason Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Peaches and Cream worsted weight, 6 strands held together throughout, 3 strands ecru, 3 strands white
Needles: Size 15s
Comments: Super quick knit. And fun, too. I haven't yet washed them, and I am wondering if they'll shrink a little. Log cabin knitting is fun. Maybe I should start quilting in my spare time.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Butchart Gardens

We stopped in Victoria and visited a garden.

They were beautiful.


They were built on land that was mined for limestone. The 'Sunken Garden' lies in what was the former quarry.


Japanese Garden.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Ziplining

We also ziplined. This is possibly the most fun I have ever had. We highly recommend it.

Can you see me?


How about now?


We were about 130 feet up, zipping along the tops of the trees. So fun. We did about 8 zips total, and we walked across 3 suspension bridges.


All smiles.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Cruising Alaska

We are returned from our cruise. It was way fun.

We laughed.


We hiked.



We were told many a tale of salmon spawning in streams such as this:


We wore fancy clothes (note presence of handknits in photo.)


We (I) knitted.


We saw glaciers.


Alaska is beautiful.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Vegas Baby

Where can you see the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower and the Roman Colosseum all in one stop? Vegas, baby!



The dog and the cat liked it, too.


Chillin' in front of the Bellagio.


Does anyone make a cat carrier with a pillow-top mattress and high thread count linens?


Hilary won big at the slot machines and drove home in style!!!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Roadtripping

Post graduation, the cat, the dog, the Raul, the Shannon and the Hilary climbed into our car and set out west. We had a grand adventure. The first two days consisted of a combined total of 24 hours in the car. It was brutal. And then we arrived in Arizona.


Here are pictures of the fam on the rim of the Grand Canyon.

We went for a hike on the South Kaibib trail.

Hello. I have like nine million switchbacks.

The hike down was easy, and the scenery was phenomenal. We also crossed paths with many a mule train. When we stopped for lunch it began to hail. I quickly became completely soaked. The hike out was not leisurely (I think we made it out in less time than it took to go down), and I was cold.

Raul's view as he greeted us at the trailhead. Note snow on ground. In May.

All in all it was an excellent time, but the best was yet to come. A karaoke contest at the Museum Club - you really have to visit any establishment described by your guide book as a "taxidermy museum transmogrified into a country bar filled with hordes of dancing cowboys." Really. Does it get any better? I don't think so.
 
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