Fact: Beer Gloves are finito

They're finally done! I finished them last night. The yarn is Di.ve's Autunno in a maroon/black blend that my mom got for me at Rebelle in Lexington. It is a bit "fuzzy" for my taste, (although I'm probably just not used to using 100% merino wool) as they keep pilling a bit. But! I wore them out last night and they are crazy warm. And beautiful. Check it out:

I modified the pattern a bit, as they are meant for men's hands, and I have small hands even according to average women's standards. I decreased the size from thumb hole to where the fingers start by 1", roughly. It worked out! Here are the seed-stitched palms:

My hands have been really cold in the below 20 degree weather that we've been having, so I'm really glad I found time to finally finish them. They'll probably be the last thing I make for myself for awhile, actually, as I really need to get the lead out on my brother's Lucha Libre mask. It's going to be so cute. I'm using cotton-ease in a charcoal for the main part of the mask, and some Vanna's choice green acrylic for the area around the eyes and mouth. I think he'll get a kick out of it.

So music-wise, I'm obsessed with this band called Angels of Light. They are so damn good. And right now Blake is playing a song by Okkervil River (from their new album) that reminds me of John Hughes' movies. In a really good way.

Question: do you all love The Office as much as me? I can't stop watching it. I'm going to marry Jim Halpert. Mm.

50 ways to leave your lover

So, in lieu of knitting due to insane-last-semester-school-stress, I haven't had much to post about in this blog. However, I'm going to extend this blog to other activities and things that I like to do, but of course keep my eye on the prize.

I went to Borders today and finally bought Palahniuk's "Haunted" and read a few pages. I really want "Rant" as well, as it is supposed to be amazing, but they didn't have it. And although I haven't gotten to it yet, I'm intrigued by the notorious "Guts" story. It is apparently so vulgar that it has made people faint, as I heard when it came out. I really can't imagine fainting over it, but if I do, I'll be pretty damn impressed. As a preparatory caution, I will buy Blake some smelling salts at the ye olde apothecary down the road.

I have made some progress on the beer gloves, although I will wait until they are completely done to post pictures. However! Blake and I walked into Knit Nook last Thursday, and they were having their weekly stitch n bitch. I talked to a bunch of people there, one guy was even working on the same gloves as myself! So I think I'll start going on Thursdays, when I can. It seems really relaxed and fun.

I saw a book today called "101 Things to do with an Old T-Shirt" (or something like that), and it amazed me. I kind of want it. I found it! Here it is:


On a continuing note, I watched the rest of the Miyazaki movies that I wanted to see and they are truly amazing. I love them. I've also started watching all the seasons of The Office (US) in order, and I love it.

Thank you guys for checking out this blog! There will be much more knitting news to come, when I have just a bit more time between the hundreds of pages of reading and my final design project. In the meantime, buy me yarn for my birthday and keep on (or start) knitting!

Howl's Moving Castle

So, in these last couple of days before school starts back up, Blake suggested we have a Hayao Miyazaki marathon last night. I fell asleep before we got to it, but when I woke up, rather early, I watched Howl's Moving Castle all the way through for the first time. It's a beautiful movie. I had seen Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke previously, but it's been awhile, so I'd like to see them again. I downloaded about 6 Miyazaki movies, and I'm excited to see My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Nausicaa, Valley of the Wind. I think that even if one doesn't dig Anime/Manga, they will still appreciate the uniqueness and beauty of these movies.

In relation to knitting, there's a group on Ravelry that I belong to for fans of Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki films/art, and there is some cute ass shit that people have created.

Check out Totoro and his cute ass acorns! I love it. I need to make it asap. Maybe I can purchase the pattern from the poster of this image.

Beer Gloves progress! I'm getting through them, although I am feeling rather guilty for knitting something for myself when I still haven't finished Dashing for my brother's christmas gift, although I'm starting to reconsider my gift. I'm thinking he would appreciate a Lucha Libre mask from Son of Stitch N Bitch more, as he actually did ask me for a ski mask, and he has a good sense of humor. Hmm. Maybe I'll start on that today. Anyway, here are my beer gloves in all their woolly beauty:

The color in this photo is far more accurate to what the yarn actually looks like. I love them. Even on my small and chubby little boy hands.

Just as a side note, the needle I have sworn my unding love to since mid summer are the Denise Interchangeables. I wish they were available in smaller sizes, but I don't mind buying a couple of extra circs from KnitPicks in case I want to tackle something like socks. I highly recommend them. Blake got them for me as a gift and they are the most handy things ever. Especially if you are an avid user of the Magic Loop method of knitting (like myself). Seriously.

I am such an animal nerd. The Eukanuba dog show is on, an although I have some reservations on pure bred dog breeding and the like, I really love the dog shows. You see? I'll be a tweedy old lady in no time! Wurrrd.

Bueno

Hey all. So, after much consideration, I have decided to create a new blog, primarily to satiate my kneed to blog about knitting. And to (cleverly) make grandma crafting word puns (see above^). Here are the awesome things in my life right now:
I have 3 cats, as pictured. I know that a knitter with cats is a HUGE surprise, but I'm on my way to old lady ville, so it was a prerequisite. They are awesome. I won't indulge myself too much with incessant blogging about cats, but here they are. At the top is Myoshi, then Jolie in the middle, and lastly, Violet (she's a bitch. but I love her). Ok, enough of that. Onto knitting!





So, if you're on Ravelry.com, please add me! My name is bitterbuffalo25. I have a couple of WIPs, but right now I am focusing on Beer Gloves from Son of Stitch N' Bitch.
I'm just now starting on the second glove, and the pattern is pretty easy to read, although it took me a sec to decipher the palm and back of the hand sides as a single round. For some reason, the author made them separate in the pattern. The yarn I'm using is amazing. My mother got it for me for Xmas, and it's Autunno by Di.Ve in a maroonish-blackish colorway. It was the first skein on fine merino wool I ever got! I mostly use wool, alpaca, cotton, or acrylic blends; most of them from knitpicks due to my poor college student status.


I am now totally spoiled when it comes to yarn. The skeins of Red Heart SS now feel so rough on my hands, and I've vowed to try and use natural fibers. Blake, mah boo, took me to Michaels for our anniversary (dating for 3 years!)/Christmas gift and bought me a ton of cotton/wool blends that were on sale. It really doesn't cost that much to get better yarn, thanks to Lion Brand and KnitPicks. My current favorite is Cotton-Ease! I'm so into yarn, I could look at it all day. So, in case you're wondering what to get me for my birthday, now you know. mmm

Despite being an avid knitter for a few years, I'm still a small project knitter. Mostly because I only knit in large amounts when school lets out. However, I'm graduating in May, so I'm thinking of starting my first sweater as soon as I get some money to buy all the yarn needed. There's a few on Knitty that I've been eyeing. We'll see.

More to come...I'm going to post pictures of my finished Beer Gloves when they're done, and Blake really wants me to knit him a white mage hat or pair of gloves. Like from Final Fantasy, old school style. We're huge game nerds. I just have to add some intarsia triangles to an existing pattern, but when I do, I'll post it! Holla