Light Bulb Lace!

I randomly generated three lace patterns here, and then swatched them between last night and today. The first one was pretty cool looking, and I could have just settled then and there, but my OCD insisted I swatch all three, and I'm glad I did. I feel a little silly though, I tried to avoid having double yarn overs, but it turns out the one I love is the one with a double yarn over. Go figure! They kind of look like little light bulbs though, don't they?

So the plan for the tank is as follows: At 6 sts per inch, I'm going to have a circumference of 40 inches, so that's 240 around. It's going to be worked from the top down, starting with the front (120 sts), which will be worked in halves (60 sts each). After each side is hemmed, they will then be joined and worked flat down to the bottom of the under arm.... then the back will be cast on, hemmed, and worked flat for the same length as the front, only the lace panel (50 stitches wide, 35 plain stockinette on each side) will begin a row or two after the hem. At the bottom of the under arm, the pieces will be joined and worked in the round until the end. I still haven't decided whether I want to use ribbing or hemming for the bottom, but I've got plenty of time to decide. My main issue at the moment is plying the yarn I'm going to use. At the moment, it's a very very thin cotton ribbon- what you see up above is the same yarn, navajo plied. It's got the most wonderful crisp texture to it, and it dries very quick, making it an awesome choice for a tank top. I just have to get to work on that, after I finish the other thing I'm doing with my drop spindle. I should probably get myself another drop spindle soon.

Gonna go spin now in anticipation of dinner. Fucking porterhouse steaks tonight, with corn and potatoes. The iron boost will come in handy, since I've been a crampy, headachey mess all day. I still think it's unfair that those of us who will never have kids have to deal with this anyway! RAWR!

Knitterly Musings

Generally, in the summer I tend to knit less, because it's hot and I don't even want to think about having a pile of fiber in my lap or whatever. But since I won a huuuuuge yarn stash a few weeks ago, I've been thinking about knitting a sweet little tank top out of some of the cotton I've got. My inspiration is here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summertime-tunic

Basically, my pattern would be the same- ribbon straps, keyhole, and the same basic shape. BUT! I'd work it from the top down- knitting the front and the back separately, using a basic knit in hem for the ribbon casing as shown here: http://www.studiomarlowe.com/2011/02/tutorials-making-a-basic-knit-in-hem/
I would then work them down to where I'd want to bottom of the armhole to be, and then I'd join them in the round. I am thinking of having the back of the tank be an all over lace pattern, perhaps a horseshoe pattern? Not sure yet, but I would also skip the "blouson" effect created by the ribbing in the middle- SO not attractive on a heavier chick. I'd just make it straight stockinette on the front, until I got to (almost) the desired length... and then I'd either finish it off with a few inches of ribbing, or perhaps a hem with more ribbon pulled through it, or perhaps even a decorative edging. Or maybe even a picot hem... or maybe even the top will be a picot hem! SO MANY PRETTY POSSIBILITIES!

In other news, my Kickstarter is complete, after much work and a bit of frustration (why do they use Amazon payments and not Paypal, wtf) it is waiting to be reviewed. I will know on Monday or Tuesday if I'm good to go, and if so, it's cha cha time. CHA CHA TIME I TELL YOU! Money from the Kickstarter will fund a new camera, so I can have color accurate photos, nail polish making supplies, and a few other things I need for dyeing, like soda ash and a tarp. And gloves. But, since I don't wanna count my chickens before they hatch, and it's an all (or more) or nothing sort of deal, I'm not even gonna let myself make a real list until I know I've got a fighting chance.

I'm gonna whomp up some mojo soon, too. I know I'm gonna need it. But, even if the Kickstarter doesn't work out, I'm still determined to make it happen. And so it shall be :-)

kiiiiiiick it.

I've decided to make a kickstarter for my newest venture. I've learned so much from the last one, that I feel very, very confident moving forward in this one. I know my strengths and weaknesses better, and how to harness them. Plus, this time around I think it'll be a LOT more fun. No more knitting fucking stuffed animals, argh!

MONEY MONEY MONEY, COME TO ME!

Dreams I Had Last Night

I'm a firm believer that dreams are your brain's way of trying to tell you shit. Sometimes it's shit you already know, sometimes it's entertainment, sometimes it's shit you kind of know but don't want to acknowledge, and very rarely, sometimes your dreams will warn you of plights or pleasures to come. Super rarely, I'll have a dream that doesn't feel like a dream- such as a few weeks ago, I dreamt of my friend Suzi. It felt like we actually met on some astral plane, and as I was sending the dream to her, I thought that I wouldn't be surprised if she had the same dream. WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, SHE DID. But that's a story for another day.

Anyhow, last night's dreams were... well, kind of neutral on the good/bad spectrum I guess, except for the first dream where OMG SENTENCED WAS PLAYING! They're not even a band anymore, but I think I was in Finland when I saw them. This I think stems from yesterday's lusting after Finland's snow in summer- a friend of mine lives in Southern Finland, and posted a picture of the snow, and of the temp- 5 degrees Celsius! I need to at least have a summer home there some day. How fucking glorious, to not need air conditioning?! I'm sure the heating bills make up for it, but whatevs. I'd knit a thousand sweaters just to be able to live there in summer. I DO NOT LIKE THE HEAT, SAM I AM.

The second dream, I think I was actually in Law and Order: SVU because I remember talking to Amaro and I remember we were quite good friends. I think he was moving somewhere. It wasn't terribly interesting, though, although I remember it being a party type setting.

The THIRD dream though, that's where shit got weird. Me and my friend Kelley were out jogging (yeah, because I do that) around my neighborhood, only it was a weird part of my neighborhood that only exists in dream land. We wound up checking out some hipster thing going on... I think it was wedding pictures or something, there was some bizarre vintage piece of kitchen equipment or something behind the people. (Sue me, I was browsing Etsy before bed). I'm not quite sure how or why, but I wound up inside the house while everyone was gone, looking for my yarn. Um, why my yarn was in there, I don't know... how I got in, I don't know. But my shoes were off, and my things were scattered, and I remember thinking I needed to hurry to get everything together before these people came home. Just as I get everything together... they show up. So there I am, opening the door for this chick and she's all like, "Don't you know how to knock?!" and she walks past in a huff. So I go out front, where her fiance or husband or whoever is, and sit down with the group, and I'm trying to explain how some guys stole my yarn and put it in the house. (I'm pretty sure that was a lie in the dream.) And the guy totally starts ignoring me! I asked if anyone was listening, and this drunk guy with a beard said, "I am!" and sat facing me, but I just brushed him off and went to the train. And for some reason, I had to take the A to Broadway Junction, so I guess I wasn't really in my neighborhood anymore.

I think it was a pretty self explanatory dream, that last one: GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER. And don't make excuses.

So here I am up in Harlem again... and I think I'll do just that!

OH OH OH but one more thing!

:-D ok, so I've been wanting a spinning wheel for a while, to ply yarn on because it's a fuck ton faster than a drop spindle. Hours of work on a drop spindle is about 20 minutes on a wheel...but jeeeeezus, wheels are fucking EXPENSIVE. I'd done so much research, I was even about to delve into making my own crude one for ~$20, but then wasn't sure I could pull it off because I don't really have the tools. (I think the crude model is called a DODEC, because the wheel isn't really round, it's a dodecahedron.) Fast forward to yesterday, my soul sister's mom (who is always posting things on her page for "your knitting friend") puts a pictures of a bunch of knitting needles, crochet hooks, and various knitting accessories on her page, all for $50, and asks if I'd be interested. As they were all straight needles, and I've got MORE than enough of those, I politely declined, but then noticed she had originally posted it in a group called Fiber Processing Tools For Sale. Oh hai, you're relevant to mai interests! So I mentioned that I'd joined the group because I'd be in the market for a spinning wheel soon, and my soul sister immediately says, "Oh sweet- hey mom, keep a look out for a reasonably priced wheel, I've decided Tina should have one & I'm gonna get it for her, but don't tell her, it's a secret!" Awww, isn't that sweeet,  but I told her they're all too expensive and I couldn't let her do that unless she won the lottery. AND THEN HER OWN MOTHER mentions she's got TWO wheels she's looking to sell, WITH PICTURES! holy shit, my heart stopped, & Sooja was all like, "pick one, I'm wheely serious!" I WEPT LIKE A FUCKING BABY. I went for the smaller one, (which still needs a few parts) because of apartment living and all, and I just can't even. I AM SO EXCITE! 

Help, I'm a Rock!

No, I'm not really. I am however, impatiently awaiting the day I'm ALL MOVED OUT of Harlem. Fuck's sake, I know I need to make more of an effort, but I usually don't even know where to start when I'm there, so I just wind up taking stuff with me without throwing out stuff or organizing other stuff. I really need to not be paying rent there right now. It's draining me of money that I could be putting into the Etsy shop I'm launching soon... I'll be selling yarn I've recycled from thrift store sweaters, re-dyed, and re-plied on my drop spindle, along with complementing, one of a kind nail polish. I AM SO EXCITED, but I'm chomping at the bit. I need to spend more time up there, which I'm sure my fella will (grudgingly) understand. I might need someone with a car to help me at some point, which will be easily enough arranged. I just need to be out of there ASAP because this going back and forth thing is killing me.

Ok, I'm going to go play with some yarn. It'll make me feel better. The end.