MmmSushi and other Malabrigo goodness

I love sushi. Alas, it's been a while since we've been able to go out to a Japanese restaurant to enjoy it (buying take-out sushi from Whole Foods, while yummy, doesn't count).

When I was working on my Mr. Greenjeans (it's done, a photo is included at the bottom of this post) I was contemplating things to do with the leftover yarn, should there be any. It happened that there was around 1/2 of a skein left, so first, I made a hat for Chris (The Boy Hat, which is a simple ribbed hat with awesome decreases).



And then I had probably around 20 yards of yarn left, which isn't really enough to do much with, except possibly seaweed, which it was the perfect color for. So with that and other yarns from my stash (white Cascade 20, as white, two different pinks and green; Lion Wool, as red; and Elsebeth Lavold Cable Cotton in Straw for the chopsticks), the knitted sushi was born. I still have a bit of the Vaa left, so I may make a few more pieces, but I am out of pink Kool-Aid since I only dyed a little bit of the white yarn as needed, so if I do make more it will have to be once I restock my Kool-Aid for more fishy goodness.

And since I said I'd post the Mr. VaaJeans photo, here it is, with a photo that I am not entirely happy with but it suffices for now...



And it's button, a beautiful sea glass piece I got on Etsy...

Happy Easter!

We are not a family of traditionalists. We don't really celebrate Easter or Christmas, though both myself and my husband grew up in families that did. We've tried to raise our children to be accepting of all faiths, and we do our best to celebrate the more traditional Pagan holidays, though they do still get Christmas gifts from the grandparents and aunts and uncles, etc.

Anyway, they got baskets (knitted and felted by me in the last two days, using up 4 skeins of yarn from my stash that had otherwise been in there for eternity since I could not otherwise find a use for them - two were from the Spin to Knit swap last year, one was leftover from my first felted bag, the last, some Cascade 220 Heathers that I got in a swap ages ago). One basket didn't make the cut, there just wasn't enough yarn and I should have modified my "pattern" (in quotes because I was making it up as I went) but didn't, and it came out horridly floppy, though a second felting did help it some, but it is still way too small.

But I didn't start this post intending for it to be about the baskets, but rather, one lucky winner of a blanket. And the winner is... Knit-R-Done! Thanks to everyone who commented, I wish I had more blankets to give away!

And on a closing note, the pre-felting photo from the first two baskets...

Random photo and a give-away!

I picked up a huge lot of straight needles yesterday while out, and I loved this photo of them all scattered about.

Anyway, this post just happens to be number 100 in my blog! Woo! I mentioned a few posts back that I'd be doing a contest of sorts, but it's more of just a random give-away, since I suck at thinking of unique ideas for contests. To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post before March 22nd at 11:59PM eastern daylight time (so just before midnight on the day before Easter). If you want to get creative with your reply, feel free, but it won't earn you a better chance at winning something. ;)

So... what am I giving away, you ask? Well, that's a mighty fine question. After months of hesitation, I finished the log cabin baby blanket that I had previously posted about here, but I changed my mind about who the recipient was to be, since it (to me) came out looking rather girly. It's very springy, though, and really could work for either a boy or a girl, but you can be the judge of that...



Isn't it lovely? And it can be all yours! It's somewhere around 25" by 26", so not quite square, made with Lion Brand Cotton-Ease (a cotton/acrylic blend), so it's soft and snuggly, and machine washable too! So if you are an expectant mom or a new mom, or know someone who is, and you'd like this for yourself or your friend, just comment on this post and I'll pick a winner on Easter Sunday. Make sure you comment in such a way that I can get in touch with you, whether you leave an email address or link to your blog or your ravelry username.

Favorite Color Swap Questionnaire

I was going to have my next post be progress from my Mr. VaaJeans, but then I forgot about the Favorite Color Swap, so instead it's questionnaire time...

1. What are your top three favorite colors?
Right now (and for the past 5-6 years or so, so it's unlikely to change anytime soon) my favorite colors are olive green, deep burgundy (almost blood red) and deep rich plum. If I had to list five instead of three the other two added to the list would be black and silver.

2. What crafts do you really enjoy?
I knit, I sew, I take photographs, I dabble a little in other things too... I've painted, though not recently (and most likely all of my paints are dried up, but they are inaccessible at the present time), and recently attempted wire-wrapping (though not very successfully - I need more practice on that I think).

3. What products do you really covet?
Other than Malabrigo, and a remote for my camera, I've been coveting assorted watch parts (gears and the like) to try my hand at some SteamPunk inspired items. For the most part though I don't covet much... usually if I want something, I get it.

4. What other activities do you enjoy besides your favorite crafty things?
Watching dvds - we don't have cable and seldom watch tv, so we have a fairly large dvd collection. I also enjoy thrift store shopping, because you never know what you find when you browse a thrift store.

5. Is there anything you collect?
I have a wonderful vintage camera collection, though I've not seen most of it in a good 6 years due to it being packed away in boxes. I also collect vintage darkroom supplies - amber bottles, glass funnels, etc., though not nearly to the extent of the cameras. I love old skeleton keys and unusual silver spoons too.

6. What is your zodiac sign and/or Chinese zodiac symbol?
I am a Leo, as well as a water rat. I don't feel like a typical Leo in most senses, I tend to be fairly introverted and timid.

7.What are your favorite…

…scents/smells?
Coconut, vanilla, and lavender would have to be high on this list, though artificial scents almost always bother my sinuses, so anything scented has to be done so with natural essential oils.

…types of music and/or bands?
I love Nine Inch Nails, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Johnny Cash, Melissa Etheridge, Sinead O'Connor, Reverend Horton Heat, Social Distortion, and Minsitry. I've most likely forgotten another 50 bands/musicians that I really like as well, and my tastes are wildly varied, as long as it's not hip-hop, rap, country or pop I usually at least like it.

…authors?
Neil Gaiman and Poppy Z. Brite are my two favorite authors, and I've read almost everything they have both written. I do like a lot of the teen fantasy type books that have become popular in recent years, though I don't read nearly as much as I used to.

…animals?
Cats. I do not really have a list of favorite animals, but I do like animals of all sorts.

…places to shop?
Other than thrift stores? I love Joseph Beth bookstores, REI, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, our local food co-op, and to some extent Target. For yarny goodness, Natural Stitches in Pittsburgh is awesome.

…season?
Autumn. When the leaves are first starting to change, yet it is still warm with only a slight chill in the air.

…yarn/fabric/paper/other craft supplies?
I already mentioned Malabrigo in my covets, I love the Merino Worsted yarn in the kettle-dyed colors. I also really like Louet Gems Pearl and the indie dyers who use it as a base yarn. I have enough fabric to mast me a decade or more, but I love funky skully printed cottons. I don't do much with paper crafting, and I don't expect anyone to buy me any accessories for my Nikon D40x, so that covers my craft favorites.

…candies or goodies?
The Swiss milk chocolate from Trader Joe's is wonderful, but I really love milk chocolate Wilbur Buds (google it if you've never had the pleasure of living in Lancaster County, PA where they are made). Good creamy smooth milk chocolate from almost anywhere always makes me happy, as do yummy fruity hard candies. I've become addicted to the Nori Maki rice crackers from Trader Joe's too. I am fairly open to all sorts of candies and foodie items as long as they are free of high fructose corn syrup.

8. Do you have any wish lists?
Yep, I've got a few on Amazon. This is the main one, though I do have several others, which are hopefully linked as well on the left sidebar.

9. Are you allergic to anything?
Other than the already mentioned artificial fragrances, which isn't an allergy so much as a severe sensitivity, and the high fructose corn syrup, I have no allergies.

10. Do you have any pets? What are they?
We currently have one older (or should I just say old since he's close to 17 years old?) black cat named Shadow, we recently had to have our guinea pig put to sleep due to a tumor, and our girls want a dog. Personally, I'd prefer cats only, though.

11. Please include anything else you would like your secret pal to know about you- anything that would be helpful in finding you little gifts that you will really enjoy. Also, if you have a Ravelry ID, please include it here.

I am blackrayne on Ravelry, and I cannot currently think of anything else to add to this last bit, though I will update it if I do.

Editing because I just remembered that I also wanted to mention that I have a public favorites list on etsy, my username there is also blackrayne ... I have favorite items and sellers there, though I've yet to buy much of anything there for myself, most of my prior purchases have been stitch markers for other swaps and I'd love to finally get some of my favorite ones for myself.

Are you pondering what I am pondering...

It's been a while since I did any self-portraits - I have become horridly self-conscious about how I look in photos, and I find that 99% of the photos of me I dislike were not taken by me. Coincidence? I think not.

Of course, you can't see much of me in the above photo, but you can see the important part, and that is my gloves. I *finally* have fingerless gloves. When the weather is starting to turn more spring-like.

Pattern - Marnie MacLean's Hooray for Me Gloves
Yarn - Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, Cedar, less than one skein (as a rough estimate, approx. 175 yards of the skein were used)
Needles - KnitPicks nickle plated DPNs, US2.0 for the cast on, US1.5 for everything else
Modifications - my gauge is tighter than the pattern's listed, and my hands are most likely bigger than Marnie's, so I cast on a total of 66 stitches per glove and modified the number of stitches per finger to suit my needs. The pinky was done first and then I added extra rows to the other three fingers to fit my hand shape. I did a purl bind off to prevent rolling and to give them a nice finished look at the fingers.

I still have one full skein plus the remaining bit from this skein left of this yarn, I am going to be working on toe-up socks for me to use up the rest of it since this is part of my stash knit down (even though this yarn has only been in my stash a short time since I had swapped some other sock yarns for it and a bunch of Cascade 220).

Next post - progress on my Mr. VaaJeans continues nicely.