Old School and New School

Now, I know this concept of Old School, New School, the Next Generation, the Classics, etc etc has been around forever and it applies to all situations, but I’m going to focus specifically on the knitting situation.

For instance, my mom is an Old School knitter and I am a New School knitter, can you guess which of the following Christmas presents was given to each of us just this past holiday?

Eenie, Meanie, Miney...Mo!

Both very obviously pertain to knitting, but each appeals to a different breed of knitter (and you thought breeds only pertained to Merino, Alpaca and Blue Faced Leicester didn’t you?).

And where do you draw the line anyway?  What’s old and what’s knew?

Who knows.

I don’t think that Old or New School knitting have anything to do with age or gender or any demographic information like that.  Its all about the attitude.  The attitude controls what kinds of yarns a knitter chooses to use, the projects and outcomes, the way one approaches the art and craft of sticks and string.  Old School knitting might be a bit more traditional than New School and New School might be a bit less conventional.

But that’s just my theory, please share yours in the comments 🙂

A Quick WIP

Ok, so this will be a quick post as I must get back to a paper I’m writing for one of my Psychology classes.

I’ve only got one leetle WIP right now:

everything is leetle: leetle needles, leetle yarn, leetle progress

see? I told you it was leetle.  This guy and what’s left of the skein will become a pair of knucks for a fly fishing friend of mine.  The colors were chosen to represent his favorite kind of trout and I do hope he likes it 🙂

See more WIPs over on Tami’s blog!

A Lack of Posting

I know I haven’t been the best blogger the past week or so, things have gotten really busy with school and I’ve also picked up a new hobby.

That's not me, but I did take the picture 🙂

Rock climbing.  Rock climbing is all well and good except that it takes up the time that I normally use for blogging so I need to strike a better balance with all that.  But in the mean time, I just wanted to let you all know that by the time you read this, I’ll be in the dentists’ chair again, having the second session of my minor oral surgery.  This time: gum graft.

I should be back on Wednesday with a WIP and hopefully Friday with some FOs, but other than that, I’ll be sucking down ice cream and terrible mouthwash.

Knick Knack Knucks

I don’t have a WIP today, but I do have a new pattern!

The Knick Knack Knucks pattern has finally been published 😀  You can find it on Ravelry or in my Etsy Shop.

Perfect for Scootin'

Pattern Deets:

Mittens are warmer than gloves because your fingers can intermingle and share their warmth with each other, but they aren’t exactly practical when it comes to doing things that involve your fingers.  These convertible knucks give you the best of both worlds: the warmth of mittens with the functionality of gloves in the form of a removable mitten flap.

These would be a great project to use up that single* skein of sock yarn you have in your stash as well as a quick gift knit for a friend or relative (*please note that some knitters do need two skeins for the smaller size, so you might want two just to be safe).  Just another simple layer to add to your wardrobe, these knucks will become a fast favorite and you’ll be hard pressed to adventure into the cold without them.

Sizes: S/M (L/XL)

Finished Measurements: to fit hands with a palm circumference S/M (6 to 7.5-inch), L/XL (7.5 to 9-inch) (the ribbing around the wrist helps it to fit a variety of wrist sizes)

Materials

Size 4 dpns

1 (2) Skeins Patons Kroy Socks FX (166 yds, 75% washable wool, 25% nylon)

Stitch markers

Darning needle or crochet hook (to weave in ends and secure mitten flap to gloves)

2 small buttons

Gauge: 7 sts x 8 rows = 1 inch in stockinette stitch on size 4 needles

Pattern Glossary

K – knit

P – purl

PM – place marker

Kfb – knit into the front and back of the next stitch

p/u – pick up a stitch between the one you just knit and the next stitch on the needle*

Skp – slip 1 stitch knitwise, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over

K2tog – knit 2 stitches together

BO – bind off

Simple and Functional

 

FO Friday: Two Weeks’ Worth

Welcome back to another FO Friday!  I didn’t get a chance to share last week because of Snowpocalypse, so this week I’m sharing those projects and the one(s) from this week too.

I made a shift knob cover for a friend’s car:

Kinda looks like a hot air balloon

Since its been so cold down here, my friend was complaining about how cold his shift knob was when we went to drive to work in the morning and asked if I could make him a cover for it to match the colors of his car.  I’m quite pleased with the way it turned out, it only took me an hour or so to make and I totally winged the pattern with only how the shift knob felt in my hand for sizing reference.

I finished that replacement beanie:

capturing the true color was hard, but I think this photo is pretty close

Another project I’m quite pleased with.  I picked up some needles to finish the hat while I was in Albuquerque couch-hopping this past weekend and finished the hat in no time.  Finally my head is graced with the warmth and softness of baby alpaca once again.

I finished a pair of knucks for myself:

I promise better pictures for the actual pattern!

I don’t know if you all know this, but riding a scooter to school makes your hands very cold, and my old gloves just weren’t cutting it.  I made a pair of these for my friend for Christmas, wrote up the pattern and made these for myself.  Pattern coming soon 😀 Promise!

And I finished a hat for my Aunt:

Again, hard to capture the actual color...

This took me…maybe….3 or 4 hours.  Not long at all, and it will be on its way to her shortly.  I hope she loves it!

Wanna share your own FOs?  Skip on over to Tami’s blog to share you’re projects!

WIP Wednesday: Knick Knack Knucks

Welcome back for another WIP Wednesday!  Want to join in?  Head on over to Tami’s blog to share your own projects.

This week, I’m in the middle of making myself a pair of Knucks, following my  currently-being-test-knit pattern.  The first set I made went to a friend for Christmas and my hands are just so cold and I had enough of the yarn left over to make some for myself.

Comin' along, slowly but surely

I really hope to have this pattern released in the next few weeks, just as soon as I find the time to make the edits that were suggested by one of my fabulous test knitters, MrsMouse.

What are you knitting this week?

Dentists: The New Jedis

As you know from my post yesterday, I spent Monday morning at the Dentist’s office.  A cleaning and minor oral surgery is great way to start off the week, no?

So what exactly is a frenectomy anyways?

Well, let me tell you.  You know that little thing that attaches your lip to your gums?  You have a few of them, but the main ones are in the front, on the top and the bottom.  Evidently, (this is what they tell me, at least) mine was quite a bit stronger than necessary and everytime I used my mouth for my entire life, its been slowly pulling my gum down and down and down, away from my tooth.

A few weeks ago it started to feel like I had a scratch on my gum, and it turns out that the gum had started to pull away from the muscle too.  Not good.  I could lose my tooth.

But alas!  The Dentist Jedi Council intervened on my behalf, took a tiny little laser lightsaber and cut away my little body builder sith lord of a frenulum.

Is this battle over?  Heck no, of course not.  I’ve gotta go back in two weeks to have a graft too.  Then a week after that to remove the stitches.  Then again to make sure its all healing properly.

Until then, I’m channeling my inner Marlon Brando and stuffing gobs of gauze in my jowls to look like an Italian mafia don, think I can pull it off?

Snowpocalypse

Sorry for being gone the last half of last week, Snowpocalypse hit New Mexico and we were declared in a state of emergency because much of the state was without natural gas and/or electricity.  With temperatures in the negatives and a lack of heat, I decided to leave my apartment in Socorro and spend the weekend with friends in Albuquerque who had warmth and power.

So pretty, so cold

As you read this, I’m in the dentist’s office having a frenectomy to help fix some receding gums I have on one of my bottom teeth.  I don’t know how I’ll feel afterward, but I do hope to share some FOs with you this week since I didn’t have time to on Friday.

Fun in the snow!

Stay warm and safe everyone!

WIP Wednesday: Replacement Hat

A few years ago I participated in a swap.  And in that swap I received beautiful red baby alpaca yarn.  With that yarn, I made myself a hat.

sorry for the shoddy photo, it was taken in dim light a few years ago

This hat was also in my purse on the night it was stolen from my car and so now, I don’t actually have a hat of my own.  My WIP today is a replacement version.  I’m using the same pattern and similar yarn, but this time its green with little bits of sparkle.

Looking out at the snow, yes, snow

Instead of using 6s and 8s like the pattern calls for, I used 5s and 9s but just last night as I was knitting along, I noticed that the cable on the 9s is starting to tear away from the needle and I have to put it into hibernation until I can get another pair of 9s to finish the replacement hat off with, which makes me kind of sad.

In other news, Socorro got snow!  Enough snow that classes are canceled today 🙂  That means knitting time (as long as I find another project to cast on, which I must because I have a knitting lunch-date with a friend) and playing outside when it warms up beyond 4 degrees.

I've never seen so much snow here, and its only about 6 inches!

Want to participate in WIP Wednesday?  Head on over to Tami’s blog to join the fun!

Be Jealous. Be Very Jealous.

You might have noticed a fluctuating Stash Count over on my sidebar, and from the talk about how many skeins I’m using up with these felted bags, only be down about ten skeins doesn’t make much sense does it?  I did have to buy two more skeins of the yarn for the sweater I introduced Friday, so that made the count go up some.

But only two skeins?  What about the rest?  Why is the number still so high?

Well, I’ll tell you.  I got a gift.  A Yarn Gift.

70% cashmere, 30% silk

The most luxurious yarn that has ever graced my stash.  Filatura Di Crosa Superior.

I got this as a delayed Christmas present from my friend Megan (I have yet to give her her present, I’m a bad friend).  I haven’t a clue what to make with it yet, something smooshy that will touch my skin….I’m thinking a leotard or a onesie…but I’ll settle for a big cowl or scarf too 🙂