the Akamai Knitter

Things have been a bit crazy around here and I’ve gotten a little bit behind on things. I forgot to post about the bracelet I made during a Wire Play Day studio at The Bead Gallery that I took about two weeks ago.

It’s called Donuts and Danishes and it’s designed by Jamie Yoshida.

I wanted to antique the bracelet, but my mother stole it from me. It looks like I’ll have to make another for myself. I’ll definitely antique the second one, because I think it looks beautiful that way. You can see Jamie’s antiqued version here.

Now if I could just get the wire mojo going so I can actually make the thing.

My mojo has been seriously impaired, you see. The vog has been thick and nasty the past few days and it looks like it won’t be going away anytime soon. It could be worse, but it’s also been humid and hot.

Here’s a photo of what it was like yesterday.

All that haze is playing havoc with my sinuses and I had a screaming headache last night. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t come back.

There hasn’t been much knitting going on.  Neither has there been much spinning. One thing that I have been doing is a lot of seed bead work. Those little things are addictive.

It’s a good thing I have a ginormous stash of them. But, just like any other stash, I seem to always find myself missing one or two or three colors that I absolutely must have. Since I started up again with this hobby to use up what I have, all these new acquisitions are seriously defeating the purpose.

My coffee machine broke this morning. I had a Pepsi instead. Really not the same thing. At least I don’t have a caffeine headache.

So I think I need to try and keep a low profile today and hold back my cranky self from the rest of the world.

My plans are to play with more beads, turn up the air conditioning, watch my favorite serial killer, and snorgle the cuddly Sammy.

Happy Wednesday, folks.

Remember when I said I was occupied with a new obsession? Well I finally have something to show for it.

I finished the main bodies of the bracelets ages ago, but what I needed to do was finish off each end so I could put a clasp on them.  Since I was taking a class at TBG yesterday, I had a chance to also learn how to fix these babies up.

I put a button and a simple loop closure on this Spiral Rope Chain bracelet.

Then TBG-Michelle helped me find bead caps to fit onto the ends of this Twisted Herringbone* bracelet. After that we ran a wire through it and added the toggle. The toggle with the fancy bead caps make me really happy.

In case you’re wondering, my class last night was on how to do a Dutch Spiral*. I had a few false starts due to Crappy Bead Syndrome, but that was easy to remedy with a little bit of shopping. Who am I to say no to new beads?

Now I’m swimming along, happy as a clam, thoroughly addicted. Pictures to come when the piece is finished and not one minute before.

Is everyone ready for the long weekend? I know I am. I’m looking forward to getting a makeover at the Bare Escentuals counter with a couple of friends, then lunch at the Nordstram cafe. There’ll also be some shopping.  It’ll be a great girl’s day out.

Then I might even get my hair cut. This is a big deal for me, because I haven’t had my hair touched by a stranger in over a year. I’m a little freaked out. :-S

I also plan on tormenting Sammy with snorgles. He’s excited about the prospect. Really excited.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

*These aren’t the exact insturctions for the pieces I’m using, but I thought that perhaps someone might be interested in the links anyway. ;-)

Remember how I was going to knit a pair of socks a month along with a few friends? Yeah. That hasn’t been working out so well.

I started a pair in February, but they’ve been tossed into the frog pond. Recently I did finish a pair of socks, but I can’t count those as part of the club since the yarn didn’t come out of one of the twelve paper bags.

Maybe what I need is a new beginning.

I’m very happy with the yarn that emerged from the random and ominous paper bag. Trekking is one of my all-time favorite sock  yarns. I was a little afraid that somehow all my sock yarn had changed into something hideous while they were in the bags.

O.o

I still had a hard time casting on. I didn’t feel the sock love because I didn’t want to tear myself away from the shawls. Only I do like a portable project to take with me when I’m out and about, and socks are so convenient. So cast on I did and away I went.

I’m not so sure how much love I have for this pattern with this yarn, but there’s no way I’m frogging this baby. I do think it looks a lot better on then scrunched up the way it is.

I really doubt I’ll have this pair finished by June, but that’s okay. Megan and I gave each other a two month rule with this sock club. I think I can manage a pair of socks in two months.

That is if I can tear myself away from the shawls and the wire and the spinning fiber and the seed beads.

Yeah.

Although he cried all the way there,  all the while we were in the waiting room, and all the way home, Scheyer survived the visit to the vet.  Despite some gingivitis and a warning to look out for premature arthritis, he’s a healthy little guy. That reassurance makes the bruising of my eardrums worth it.

It’s the American Idol finale tonight! For all you fans out there, who do you want to win? Adam or Kris? I’m an Adam fan. Go Lambert!

Happy Wednesday!

The shawl love goes on as I continue to plug away on the Lyra. The 16″ circulars arrived in an extremely timely fashion and I just have to give a shout out to the online site I bought them from. The Addi Needle Shop has all the Addi needles you could ask for at the same prices as the competition and free shipping. Who could ask for more?

I wasn’t sure when to transfer the shawl from the 16″ to the 32″ circs, so I just kept knitting and knitting. I ended up with something that made me want to plop on the head of a cat.

I finally took the chance and transferred the shawl onto a 32″ circular. It looks much better now and I was able to get a few shots of the emerging pattern.

Closer.

Since the Lyra is rather intensive and challenging and makes my brain hurt after awhile, I decided to start another shawl that’s less taxing.

The pattern I chose is the Boxleaf Triangle by Anne Hanson. The yarn is a mystery, but it’s also a delight to knit.

While I was knitting yesterday, I finally watched Caprica. Has anyone else seen it? I’d love to know what you think. I think I need to watch it again. I keep going back and forth on how I feel about it.

Today I have the joyful task of taking my dear Scheyer to the vet. This promises to be an adventure as he’s sleek, all muscle, and skittish as all hell. Making him extremely hard to capture. He’s not called the Tripod Terrorist for nothin’.

Do you think he has any idea of what’s to come?

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Wish me luck!

Remember how I said I was blocking another shawl? Well it finally dried (living in a climate with high humidity sucks) and I finally got off my lazy ass to take pictures of the thing.

Pattern: Shetland Triangle Shawl (Ravelry link) from Wrap Style

Yarn: Fearless Fibers Lightweight Superwash Sock Merino Wool in Lust

Needles: size 4US/3.5mm

Started: May 7, 2009

Finished: May 13, 2009

I so enjoyed this pattern. It’s so easy to memorize and yet it’s not boring to do. In fact it was just blissful and I would make another in a heartbeat. Since this one is for my mother, I might just make one for myself and maybe  a few more for any innocent bystanders that may fall my way.

I’m so in love with this yarn. It blocked beautifully and it’s incredibly soft. I had zero problems knitting with it. There were no issues with it splitting or any other such nonsense. And the colors? Oh so heavenly.

I’m already lusting for more. (No pun intended.)

While I was out yesterday, I caught a rainbow on the way home. All I had was my phone so the picture isn’t the best. That’ll teach me to leave the house without my camera.

Hopefully you can still enjoy it! It makes for a much more interesting sky then the last one.

Happy Monday, folks! I just might block another shawl today. Shocking, isn’t it?