what are you making?

[Vlad!]

Nice. Is that modeled off the neo-retro look of the new movie?

[enemy anemone]

fandom + humor + diy = made of win!

[spacebrat311]

Nice. Is that modeled off the neo-retro look of the new movie?

It was inspired by the fact that the new movie was going to include uniforms similar to the old, but i started work before the new uniforms were revealed, so the look is entirely based on the old show.

[enemy anemone]

finally focused on this project:


and turned it into this:



and then this:

 

which will become something else but I'm not sure what yet. it's not really suitable for the socks I had originally planned.

[Ian]

Took all semester, but I just finished this:

[enemy anemone]

I'm making over-the-knee socks. they will be very warm and, I think, Pippi-fab.

[bethany]

So cozy! I love all your knitting projects. I wish you could come teach me and help me take my knitting to the next level - past the basic scarves and so forth.

I actually tried to teach some people to knit last night...it went all right, but I think they were a little frustrated. It takes a bit to get the hang of it. It didn't help that of the 3 people there who know how to knit, we all 3 cast on and do the knit stitch in 3 different ways. 

[enemy anemone]

aw, thanks! 

yay for teaching people to knit! I've only tried to teach one person to knit. it seems that teaching is a lot more complicated than actually knitting.  my learning style is to teach myself from books, but the person I was teaching learns by having someone show her. I had no idea how to teach casting on by showing. "this yarn end goes here and then here and then you do this and...um, no, that's a tangle. here, look at this book I bought you...oh wait, that's a different method...how does that even work?"  eventually she got the hang of it and showed someone else how to knit, so that was pretty cool.

the other day I found the goofy-looking booklet (first published in the 60s) that I used to learn to knit.


if you and/or your knitting friends aren't on Ravelry, you should check it out! =D

[who me?]

*wishes she could knit too*

Srsly.

[bethany]

You should take it up. There are tons and tons of instructional videos online, if you don't know anyone who knows how or don't have a book to teach you.

[enemy anemone]

what she said.

oh and check your library for knitting books. there are a lot of very nice ones out that I would have loved to have had access to instead of the silly booklet.

[bethany]

Schil - I want to make a flopsy beret type hat for my sister for Christmas. Do you think something like this would be way too advanced? http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2008/03/hand_knit_beret.php  Or possibly this: http://www.knitandtonic.typepad.com/leslouchrev.pdf?

I haven't ever knit on circular needles before, but I know how to do ribbing and I've knit hats flat before, so I know how to decrease and all that stuff.

[enemy anemone]

I think either pattern would be great.  knitting with circular or double-pointed needles only seems more complicated than it actually is, and I think it's the perfect next-step to take. (I like Crazy Aunt Purl's detailed (and chatty) tutorial here.) if you choose LeSlouch, I recommend the stockinette version to start with. stockinette is smooth sailing in the round--all knit, no purl.

[bethany]

Yes, if I did Le Slouch I think it'd do stockinette, as I like how it looks better anyway for the beret project.

Thanks for the vote of confidence! Now I just have to go buy some supplies.

[enemy anemone]

  you're very welcome! have fun!

I have wanted to knit a beret for years and always look at patterns for them but have never made one. I don't think they suit my head/hair. recently I found that a cloche looks okay--apparently what I need is a smallish brim--so I might try that next.

[who me?]

I did get out a knitting for beginners book once that had the basic stitches and some cool projects in it, but couldn't make much sense of it. My mum can knit, but she never learned to cast on or off (not helpful), and my sister can knit but SHE never learned to cast on or off either (also not helpful).

It might be easier if I actually get some supplies though 

[enemy anemone]

supplies are helpful. I'd lend you some of mine if I could. I have a craptonne of stuff that rarely gets used. =\

that reminds me, I used to joke about sending items through the computer's cd drive. 

after you get supplies, knittinghelp.com's video for the long-tail cast on looks very good, if you learn better that way than from a book.

[who me?]

Hmm.. I'll keep an eye out for some cheapish needles and old wool. No sense spending a lot until I'm vaguely competent. And I'll trey that.

Thanks ^_^

[enemy anemone]

anytime. I wish I could do more, like give you some starter needles I have. I've heard that knitting needles and yarn can be found at thrift stores sometimes. good luck!

I recently stitched up this little stuffed heart. Jack the Mischievous Mouse is toting it around for the time being. he's trying to work on his image.



(he actually needs someone to watch his back.)



I don't know about that mouse. 

[who me?]

I'll find something somewhere. Would fatter needles be better to start with? It seems to me that'd be slightly less fiddly, though I like really little stitches better.

[enemy anemone]

I think most beginner needles are US 8, 9, or 10 (5, 5.5, or 6 mm, respectively). (I looked up the metric just for you. ) if the needles are too big, like broomstick-big, they're too hard to manage. these sizes also work well with worsted weight yarn, the most commonly found type.

[Vlad!]

I want to see someone knitting with broomsticks.

[enemy anemone]

edited to add what she made:

[enemy anemone]

also, casting on with needles thinner than toothpicks is not recommended.   

[Vlad!]

Iiiiiinteresting. I should have known that this is the internet and someone has attempted it for whatever value of "it" you plan on using.

I made some "lemon bars" last night. However, I like pastry more than I like gelatinous sugary goo, so I inverted it...the "crust" was poofy and the lemon was more like a thin glaze. It probably would have tasted better if my lemon juice wasn't from the Carter administration (now that I stopped making my own lemonade with it I use it so seldom that it has ample time to go bad), but even so they were a hit and tasted fairly acceptable.

My next experiment is to see how well muffin batter tolerates being frozen for a week, thawed, and then baked (I was considering baking it immediately after removing it from the freezer, but I don't want my nice muffin tins to shatter ).

[bethany]

You could freeze your batter in the tins (long enough so that they're pretty frozen - a few hours or whatever), then pop them out of the tins, and throw them all in a Ziplock bag together. They won't stick together that way, you'll save room in your freezer, and when you want to bake them, you won't have to thaw - just stick them into your room temp muffin pans and put them in the oven.

[Vlad!]

You could freeze your batter in the tins (long enough so that they're pretty frozen - a few hours or whatever), then pop them out of the tins, and throw them all in a Ziplock bag together. They won't stick together that way, you'll save room in your freezer, and when you want to bake them, you won't have to thaw - just stick them into your room temp muffin pans and put them in the oven.

Hmm, good thinking. I'm a little concerned that they will ice together due to temperature fluctuations in the freezer (my ice does this sometimes; I pull it out and the cubes are all glommed together...I don't know if this is because I have a crappy freezer or what). I'll give it a try though.

[enemy anemone]

Iiiiiinteresting.

...he said in his best soothing tone as he slowly backed away from the scary people wielding pointy sticks.

:hesitant:

one last "you knit with what?" picture.



I like the idea of freezing muffin pucks for baking later. except I think I would be tempted to lob them at passersby. I don't know why; I am not in the habit of throwing frozen things at people. do they pop out of metal muffin pans easily or do you use the pop-outy silicone ones? (edited to add: I see you did say "tins" so that sounds like the metal ones. the metal ice cube trays I've used have not been very pop-outy though so that's why I wondered.)

[Vlad!]

Hmm..that is in fact pretty cool.

If I have trouble extracting them then I'll just hope that the pan grease stuff thaws before the muffins do...

[bethany]

I haven't actually tried it with muffins, though I've flash frozen lots of other things (usually just on metal baking sheets). Silicone ones probably would be easier. Or you could line the tins with something to make it easier (muffin wrappers or tin foil) to pull them out. Running the bottom of the tin under hot water for a few seconds would probably work well, too (and be less fussy).

[Vlad!]

Turns out that the little guys just pop right out. Stick a butter knife down one side of the tin and with a bit of lee-vrage it just works.

My biggest problem was that they thaw quickly, so by the time muffin #12 was out, muffin #1 was looking a little sticky.

[enemy anemone]

*shuffles muffin puck through fingers*

verrry interesting...

[who me?]

HAha. Verrry nice. Actually the broomstick scarf was very cool.

Yeah, by fat sticks I meant kind of middle-sized ones. I'll ask my Mummy, now that she's home.

[Vlad!]

Apparently those poofy knit sheep things are really expensive; I saw that they're between $4k and $10k! I'm sure they're very luxurious to sit on, but if they're that price I think I'll stick with bean bag chairs

[enemy anemone]

which poofy knit sheep things do you mean? *confused*

[Vlad!]

http://www.bookofjoe.com/2008/12/flocks-pouf-by.html

[enemy anemone]

ah, interesting. the use of the word sheep threw me off; the creepy/funny sheephead chair came to mind but that was another thread, plus I didn't think you found it very appealing.

<knitpicky> the description calls the stitch the chain stitch. that is wrong. the chain stitch is crochet. that is garter stitch. </knitpicky>

if an artist/knitter can make that kind of money, well, good. I'm glad.

if I wanted something like that I would get a beanbag chair and "upholster" it for a fraction of the cost. I didn't see any photos of people actually sitting on the poufs so I'm not convinced that they're all that cozy. it seems like sitting on one would be like sitting on a knobby footstool.  the more I think about it, the more I like my upholstered beanbag chair idea. it could still be knitted with huge yarn--or unspun roving, rather--and big needles, just not quite that huge. some very nice, posh fiber could be purchased for less than a couple hundred dollars I am sure.

*filing this idea away for when I have a couple hundred dollars to spend on a beanbag chair and knitted cover and then pretend I saved thousands of dollars*

in the meantime, I think this scrubbie I made could be used by one of my stuffies as a poorman's pouf. 


I made cookies.
 
there is a reason oatmeal cookie recipes don't usually call for cocoa. if I make these again I'll try the criss-cross thing with a fork for a less cow ploppish look. they are tasty though. the snickerdoodley cookies are also yum. the recipe was just called cinnamon cookies...but that's what snickerdoodles are, right? I substituted pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon in the dough since I have way more pumpkin pie spice than I will ever use in pumpkin pies. I did use cinnamon for the cinnamon sugar though.

[who me?]

I bought a knitting book from 1979 at the flea market today. It goes right through casting on and off, different stitches, increasing and decreasing, circular knitting, ribbing and cable stitching. Some of the projects in there are a bit 'WHAT were they THINKING' though 

[enemy anemone]

are they as bad as these?

 

anyway, I'm glad you found a book!

[who me?]

Uhh.. no, no, they weren't nightmarish just weird. Most of them were just like the pictures around the edges of the page, and a few of them were truly ugly, but no nightmare material in there