I’m trying to figure out how this knitted Brain Bag was constructed. I don’t see how you could knit it in one piece, so I’m guessing it’s just several meters of stuffed knitted tube sewn to the outside of an existing bag. Right?
Category: Crafts
Craft projects of mine
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Ranco Sock Yarn
Sydney Sock Knitters: Remember that new sock yarn I told you about? It’s here. I just unpacked five huge boxes of it and, man, it was like THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER. I’m putting them on the website today, so they should be up soon.
Edited to Add: They’re heeeeere! Ranco Solid and Ranco Multi. Unfortunately the colour cards we have don’t do the yarn justice at all, so you really need to see them in person to fully appreciate how pretty they are!
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Velcro
Now there’s a new one. An otherwise normal-looking customer just approached me with a packet of Velcro and asked in all seriousness, “What is this used for?” What do you say to that? Embarrassingly, I stammered something about “shoes” and mimed tearing it apart. “You know, rip!?” I can’t figure out who was the bigger idiot.
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Socks and Monsters
I’m happy to report some Finished Objects for October. First up are my Whitby Socks, which I started on the way home from knitting camp at the beginning of the month. I had to frog and restart once, as the number of stitches suggested just wasn’t working for me. (I actually went up to 67 from the 51 suggested.) It was an easily memorized pattern and the cables were fun without being bothersome. I also tried out an eye of partridge heel for the first time. The original pattern is from Knitting on the Road and the yarn is the last of my Colinette Jitterbug. I love the colours, but I don’t think I’ll be getting any more. (My Vinnlands are already starting to pill and felt from a single wear.) I knitted these at the same time on 2.75mm needles using the two-circulars method. I’ll be cross-posting these at the Southern Summer of Socks as well. I think a goal of one pair per month is pretty do-able…
The other fun things I’ve been making are these toys from Jean Greenhowe’s Jiffyknits. I bought the book a few years ago for the Halloween stuff but somehow never remembered to make them before our party. So far I’ve made two pumpkins, a scary ghost, and Frankenstein’s monster. The patterns themselves are *extremely* simple. It’s literally just garter stitch strips with no shaping whatsoever. (You don’t even have to know how to purl to make these toys.) Construction isn’t quite as fiddly as I feared, though sometimes you have to cut circles of cardboard to reinforce the round shapes. And I’m not sure the whole “knit a boulder and sew Frankenstein’s legs to it to prop him up” worked very well. He’s kinda wobbly. I do love joggle eyes though…
AND – I’m happy to report that by posting these toys to Ravelry, I’ve now jumped to #4 on the list of people with Halloween projects. (You can see it on the “People” tab.) Next year I’m aiming for #1!
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Olives
Knitted, felted olives. Those are adorable.
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Attention Sydney Sock Knitters
I have seen the future, and it is Araucania. Specifically, Araucania Ranco Solid and Ranco Multi. Both are 75% wool, 25% nylon. Both have over 340m per 100g skein (compared to a miserly 267 on Jitterbug). And both were in my hands this afternoon in the shop. I actually GASPED when Albert pulled them out of the bag. They’re beautiful. I told him they’re going to be a massive hit, so he should get a couple packets of every colour. Get ready!
Oh, and also coming: the breathtaking Mirasol Hacho (a 100% merino 8ply) and Mirasol Cotanani (a 60% cotton, 40% wool 8ply). Yes, you read that correctly. A wool/cotton blend READILY AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA. I swooned.
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Thanks
Thanks to everybody for all their kind words and commiseration. I feel kinda like I did a few years ago when I had several interviews at Kazaa and then they didn’t hire me. I rated that as my biggest disappointment of 2003. (Of course, they got raided by the copyright police a few months later, which helped to take the sting out.) A lot of people have been telling me today that this is some sort of sign, that I wasn’t meant to be at Google right now, that something better is on the horizon. And much as I’d like to believe that, in the harsh light of day I don’t really think there are any greater forces at work. It just didn’t happen. They didn’t need/want me right now. And that’s disappointing, yeah… but I also find myself being grateful for all the stuff I do have. We are buying an amazing house (I still have to tell you guys that whole story). I’m still working with people I care about in a business I want to succeed. I’ve got a great partner who supports me no matter what. I’m just going to try to remember these things.
Oh, and I did get a completely unexpected pick-me-up. I was idly trawling the Ravelry forums last night searching for mentions of the shop when i came across the following exchange from about a month ago. (“LYS” means “local yarn store.”)
palopinto: It makes me sad to see so many people who have had so many bad experiences in their LYS – I just wanted to share the love for my favorite shop.
I live in Brisbane, and our choices are extremely limited here. I don’t like buying yarn online, unfondled, because I like to feel stuff before I decide if it’s right for me.
Every time I travel to Sydney, I go to a particular yarn store in the city which has always, ALWAYS been amazing. The selection is great, the ambience is great, the staff are wonderful, and I love it there. They also sell online, which is awesome for needles and the WhatNot(tm) that every knitter needs.
I was in there yesterday, looking for yarn to make the mitred-squares shawl, and the chick in the shop (who had amazing hair and, strangely enough, was a fellow North American), was so helpful and friendly. She recognised my clappy, we chatted, I purchased, and it was all gold.
Camee: I think you’re talking Tapestry Craft, and I have a strange feeling the chick in the shop is also on ravelry 😉 . Was she blonde?
palopinto: You’re right about the store – how great is that place! The girl had brownish hair with pink and lavender-looking foils through it – so awesome 😉
HOW NICE IS THAT? It’s not often you get to overhear complete strangers saying that A) you’re good at your job and B) your hair looks “amazing.” That cheered me right up! 🙂
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Craft Rooms
From Flickr: Craft Rooms. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, now that I’ll have a whole room to organise all my crafty stuff in!
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Sock Yarn for Sale
Thanks to the ever-fabulous kylie gusset, five skeins of the Knittery’s “Warm Pinks” Merino Cashmere sock yarn are winging their way to me from Melbourne. Not only is this a lovely yarn, but $5 from each skein is being donated towards breast cancer research. Two of the skeins are already claimed (by me and Hannah) but the other three are up for grabs if anyone’s interested. Because kylie got them at a discount for her bulk order and consolidated one Sydney shipment to me to save postage, each skein is $24.00 (lower than what you’d get on your own). Let me know if you’re interested!