Another finished Knucks

Okay, so I finished another pair of knucks. They're really a pretty fun pattern, what can I say? These ones are a bad color for me, but they will look great on their intended recipient. A sad story, though, I tried to embroider retro blue and orange flowers with lazy daisy stitch, and it looked awful. So these knucks are plain.

In other news, I have now finished one of three projects Steve said I needed to do before I could order knitpicks yarn to make my Tubey. Andean silk, five colors is my plan.

Also, I think I've resigned myself to making a Clapotis out of my birthday yarn, silk garden #205. I found one on flickr made of the exact same yarn and colorway. So at least I know I like it.

I'm such a sellout, making a Clapotis. EVERYONE makes a Clapotis...!

Knitty's Knucks, a FO!

So, I finished Knitty's Knucks for Steve. Minus all the embroidery and faux-knuckle tattoos, obviously. They were just a good template for something I'd been meaning to make for Steve all along: fingerless gloves with finger holes.

They were a really fast knit. I think each of them took me about 2 1/2 hours to make, so I could make several more pairs before I get sick of them. I think I may make a set for an old friend for her birthday; I may end up embroidering them for her!

But maybe not. I'd hate to put something on them that she wouldn't like.

I feel talented!

So, this is only about 80% knitting-related, I'd say. As some of you might (and as many might not) know, I was the lucky recipient of a beautiful new sewing machine for my birthday. That thing can do everything. So, naturally, with my birthday money, I hit up the Joann clearance sale and scored 12 yards of fabric for $15, plus some more supplies and a couple of patterns.

For a long time, I'd been wanting a roll-up needle case. All this new fabric seemed like a good excuse, so thanks to the pattern on about.com and some of my own alterations, here are the fruits of my labor:



Not the best stitching job ever, but hey, I'm learning. Check out the inside:



All are heavy layers of fabric, and my sewing machine cut through somtimes six layers of the stuff as though it were nothing! The lighter purple is a heavy woven fabric, and the main fabric is a heavy printed woven fabric that's almost like denim. The slick black lining is that silky faux-Chinese fabric...

Although, let me tell you, I suck at working with fabric paint. Some of those numbers look like they were done by an eight year-old. Whoops.

I think I'll make a second one, changing around a few things, and give this one to my mom. She's a very talented knitter, and, like me, has all of her needles in a tupperware case in an incredible disarray. She won't mind the bad stitching job; she knows I'm just learning, and is probably really happy to see me stitching away on my new machine...

Magknits

Well, there's a new Magknits up for the month of July.

Things I like:

• Bakerloo, a set of sideways constructed socks done by Alice Bell. The piano keys are way awesome, but the construction makes my head spin. It's complex, but I think so worth it looking at the finished product.


• Ballet Camisole, a slinky sexy top with a gathered neck. Has the added bonus of being made out of knitpicks shine sport. That stuff is a dream... Although I wish it came in black and red, then I'd make a striped version. Hotness, no?


• Summer Nights, though I wish it had more shaping in the shoulders and wasn't done on Collinette. Collinette is always such a mess; I hate the stuff.

Things I don't like:

• Summer Shawlette, even though I suppose it's not all that bad. It's just kind of... blah, I've seen it before somewhere.

I've been concentrating on other endeavors as of late; what can I say, my birthday was yesterday and I got a sewing machine. I finished sewing a neat skirt that I'll post soon, even though it's not actually knitting. More knitting related, though, is the needle case I just found some fabric for. I went on a fabric stash-enrichment expedition (fabric SEX?) to Joann today; they were having a ridiculous sale. In all, I got 10 yards of fabric for $15. Totally flippin' awesome.

One knitted thing, one not.

So, on one of my favorite blogs, Slipped Stitch, the lovely Alice recently wrote up a tutorial on beaded i-cord jewelry, a concept that had not previously occurred to me, being a much less inventive knitter. I had some beads leftover from Grandma's scarf, so I decided to use those plus some newly acquired glass beads (Findings is an amazing store, by the way!) and a bit of leftover yarn got me this:



It's clunky, and funky, and I think I love it. The tutorial is here. I personally used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Rainbow and size 0 needles, which definitely complicated matters. It's just that those darn teeny gold beads won't go through anything much larger than sock weight, so I decided to just go with it. It's a first attempt, what can I say? I just need to go back to Findings and acquire a fastener, because in the photo I just tied the thing on. If I were better with beads, these things would make great gifts; especially with the awesome prices in Findings' orphan bin!

My other recent accomplishment is a cross-stitch! Now, cross-stitching is something I hadn't done since... well... About the age of 9? But it's very easy to pick up re-learn since there's truly nothing to it. I may never have picked it up again if it weren't for the book Subversive Cross Stitch. Here it is on amazon. It was cheap and deliciously funny and... yeah, well, couldn't resist, especially with my mild hatred of children:



It just seemed so ironic. It's not framed or anything yet, but I need to soon. It's going to be hanging in a prominent location... Next cross-stitch: "Bite Me."