Thursday, November 29, 2007
Long time, no post
Pues me canse de escribir tan seguido, despues de un rato se acaba la inspiracion. Asi que ahi le va el resumen:
Here's a recap:
We had a really nice thanksgiving. In Mexico Thanksgiving is not a Holiday, so for us, it would had been like any other day, thankfully, one of DH fellow resident took pity on us and invited us to dinner. Everything was delicious and we had a really good time.
Celebramos el Dia de Accion de Gracias con un compañero de Robe, se apiado de nosotros y nos invito a cenar a su casa. Su esposa cocino el pavo y toda la cosa. Cenamos riquisimo y la pasamos muy bien.
On Friday I went shopping. I bought some things that my sister asked me to and some things for me, pants and memory cards for the camera. It wasn't as crowed as I thought it would be.
El dia despues de Thanksgiving es famoso por sus ofertas. Yo acabe iendo a comprar unos encargos de mi hermana y unas cosas para mi. La verdad yo esperaba qeu hubiera mas gente, pero no, todo estuvo tranquilo.
Later on Friday we had some friends over. Remember Ambica and Mike? along with CL and Ed (from Illinois), visited us. It was so nice seeing them again! We had dinner at a Red Sea, which serves ethiopian food, a first for me. It was really good!. After that we had a beer at Town Hall Brewery, we sat near the fireplace and had a really good time. The Masala Mama was a little too bitter for me, but after a while you don't notice anymore ;-)
El mismo viernes por la noche vinieron a visitarnos unos amigos de Bloomington, bueno, los conocimos ahi, pero ya todos viven en otros lados. La pasamos muy bien, fuimos a cenar comida etiopie y a hecharnos unas cervezas. Eso es algo que me gusta de aqui, puedes encontrar un restaurante para todo tipo de comidas!
El sabado se regresaron y nos quedamos flojeando todo el domingo.
On saturday we had Indian food and went grocery shopping. We had a really good time, it was nice seeing them after so long.
Most of the "Usual suspects"
I'm still knitting, not necessarily what's on my list. I finished another koolhaas. It came out a little bit smaller, I used the same yarn as before (Lion Brand's Wool-Ease in Blue Mist) on smaller needles (my mistake). I like it, it's warm, fast and easy, while looking very-hard-to-knit.
Here's a picture (ignore the pajamas)
I'll keep knitting and counting my blessings.
Sigo tejiendo, no lo que deberia (me faltan todavia regalos), peor al menos sigo con la viada. Termine otro gorro Koolhaas, mismo estambre, mismo patron, diferentes agujas y por lo tanto mas chico, peor no importa. este patron me gusta porque es facil, pero se ve como que es muy complicado.
Por lo pronto seguire tejiendo y dando gracias a Dios por todas nuestras bendiciones.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Enjoy your turkey! Wobble, wobble.
Edited to ad: Ha, Ha, Ha! I guess my sister is right, it is goble goble! What was I thinking? LOL!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Lo prometido es deuda
Asi que voy a mostrarles alguans cosas que me gustaria tejer en un futuro inmediato y que ya tiene un buen rato circulando el internet.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Chase's Calendar of Events
When I worked as an Assistant Librarian, one of the things I liked doing was checking this book, to find out what was being celebrated on that day. Since I couldn't think of something more interesting to blog about, here's what I found out.
~ Mexico's Revolution day 1910( I knew that! No school, no work and a parade)
~ Name your PC day My sister's laptop has a name, Matilda. My husband decided to name ours "that's stupid"
~ Anniversary of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials 1945
~ The Sheik was released. I don't think I'm ever watching this movie.
~ Lucerne Piano Festival runs from Nov.20-25. My sister should go and have a look.
~ United Nations Universal Children's Day. In Mexico is celebrated on April 30. Schools have festivals on that day and it's really fun.
I promise, tomorrow I'll have some knitting done.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Random stuff
Como hoy no tengo nada nuevo que mostrar en cuanto a tejidos y se me estan acabando temas que escribir, he aqui algunos datso al azar acerca de mi.
1.- I'm reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the time of cholera in spanish. I decided to read it before watching the movie.
2.- I'm currently watching season 5 of Six-feet Under. I get the dvd's from the library and I love the fact that all the episodes are there. I only watch them while on the elliptical machine.
3.- I didn't watch my usual six-feet under episode today...you can guess why.
4.- I'm a Libra and a Rabbit.
5.- I'm afraid of going bald.
And now in Spanish (different of course!)
1.- Empece a ir a primero de primara a las 4 años porque no me gustaba el kinder.
2.- Si pudiera tener un perro, seria un perro pelon como este o este.
3.- Cuando era chiquita queria ser veterinaria.
4.-Termine siendo Medico
5.- No soy muy buena para tener plantas, tiendo a regarlas de mas. Ahorita tengo dos que estan sobreviviendo y eso me hace pensar que la de la culpa era mi hermana (no te creas jazy!)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Done!
I used Lion Brand's Wool-Ease, I figured it was a good yarn for a test knit and easy to care for if I give it as a gift...which hasn't been decided yet. He really liked it! I used 2 oz of a yarn in Forest Green Heather (about 132 yds).
Let's see, what else? It was knitted on 2 8US circulars. I forgot to change needle sizes for the ribbing and messed up the pattern, you can actually see it in the picture, but it looks as part of the hat. I did 4 pattern repeats and decided to decrease to 6 stitches before closing the top. Oh! and the best part? I didn't use a cable needle! I followed this tutorial.
I was planning on making one for DH in Misti Alpaca Suri/Silk that I got on sale, but now I'm not sure I got enough yarn. I'll definitely knit another one in a different yarn.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Koolhaas
Friday, November 16, 2007
Again
I'm still posting twice, just so I can say I posted 30 times in November, he he he.
Today, while waiting for DH, I started "test" knitting koolhaas. Test knitting, for me, is knitting something in a different yarn than stated in the pattern, just to see how it comes out and if I can stand the pattern, whatever the outcome, I'll find a recipient. But I have to say, so far so good. I'm doing cables without the cable needle and knitting it on 2 circular needles, oh! and I'm using Lion Brand's Wool-Ease. I'll post pictures later today.
Edited to say: OMG! It looks like I'm in a different time zone than blogger and it's still Nov 16 there! por un pelito de rana.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
A day late
Ayer fue mi Martes 13. Mientras teñia este estambre tuve un pequeño accidente.
I really like it! I think the blue makes all the difference, don't you? The stripes are much longer (1 yd each). I'll knit another swatch to see how it works.
El estambre me encanto como quedo, mucho mas que el anterior. Yo creo que el azul hace la diferencia, no? Estas rayas son mas gruesas. Me queman las manos por tejer una muestra para ver como quedan!
Anyways, as I was saying, I dyed this yarn with kool-aid in the microwave and this happened
Pues como les decia, tuve un accidente mientras teñia el estambre en el microondas
Thank god it was the last part I had to dye. It was all done in sections, one by one.
This is what my hands looked like... I swear, my husband is still alive!
Las manso me quedaron rojas. Ya casi se me quita, solo me quedan las uñas.
After that I had another accident, one that involved an FO and scissors, but more about that later, once I figure how or if I can fix it.
Despues de ese percance tuve otro. Despues les muestro lo que pasa cuando mezclas un tejido terminado con unas tijeras, ayayay! Espero poder componerlo.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Back to reality
One of the reasons that I haven't made that much progress is because instead of concentrating on the bigger gifts , I'm knitting the one pattern that is small and I already know, so it makes for wonderful mindless knitting, no checking or looking at a pattern. Today I'm going to start one big project and hope I can finish on time.
I was on ravelry, when I came across this website Knitmap.com As a knitter, I know that when you travel (or not) you want to have as much S.E.X (stash enhancement xcursion) as you can and this website is going to make a lot of traveling knitters happy. Look how many yarn stores are in my area!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Triscadecafobia
por si acaso
Monday, November 12, 2007
Knitting Meme
~ What is your all time favorite yarn to knit with?
I can't say I tried a lot of yarns. As long as it's soft, in a nice color and doesn't break my bank it'll be my favorite. Right now I have a thing for alpaca yarn, its' soo soft.
~ Your favorite needles?
I like using circular needles to knit everything! I have tried using DPNs, but I just don't get it, that's why I use 2 circulars to knit in the round.
~ The worst thing you've ever knit?
(sigh) So many things. The one that comes to my mind right now is a hat that I made for SIL. I used needles that were too small, so it ended up being too stiff and I ran out of yarn and it ended up being to small.
~ Your most favorite knitting pattern ( maybe you don't like wearing it, but was the most fun to knit)
I felt very accomplished when I made Clapotis. I'm happy with anything that turns out remotely similar to the original.
~ Most valuable knitting technique
I don't know, knitting continental? The last technique that I learned was color knitting. There are a ton that I want to learn! Double knitting, enterlac (and purling from the front), intrasia, Kitchener stitch, oh my!
~ Best knit book or magazine
I tend to buy VK and IK magazines. I like nice pictures, like the ones in Rowan, but that's too expensive. Book is another thing, I currently have an EZ craving. I'm starting to lean more towards books that teach you how to do it and improve it, rather than just give you a pattern. I haven't had a chance to use my Knitting from the top, but I'm glad I have it.
~ Your favorite knit-a-long?
Zimmermania, but just because it's the only one I'm a member of.
~ Your favorite knitblogs?
Lets see: Yarn Harlot, Knit and Tonic, Skrilla Knits (I usually visit most of her blog list), Buenas Puntadas ( I like reading about knitting in Spanish), Batty's, Bezzie's, I have to make my own blog roll.
~ Your favorite knitwear designer?
I would loooove to say ME, but, I haven't design anything...soon I hope. Right now EZ is my favorite, I would like to knit everything on her books.
~ The knit item you wear the most?
My first Clapotis. I don't knit for myself that much, actually it was one of my New Year's resolutions (it's in Spanish, but it's in there) and here I am, doing Locapalooza.
I'm tagging anyone who wants to do this. I would love to read your answers! leave a comment with your link.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Yarn Cafe
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Rainbow Brite
If Rainbow Brite was a member of my family, this is what she would get for Christmas:
Calorimetry made with self-dyed yarn . I liked how it turned out, I only wish I had added some blue or green to the mix to balance out the reds. I still have a lot (and I mean a lot) of yarn left. I'll try knitting something small, to see if I can get complete stripes. That would be nice.
Se acuerdan de las caricaturas de Rainbow Brite? Bueno pues si ella fuera parte de mi familia, este seria su regalo de navidad, un Calorimetry (si una mas!) hecha con el estambre reciclado que teñi yo misma con kool-aid. Quede contenta con el producto final. la proxima vez que tiña algo le voy a poner un poco de verde o azul para cortar tanto rojo. Despues de navidad les cuento a quien le toco este regalo.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Links
Here's a list of some of the pages I visit regularly
-My sister's blog
-Yarnharlot
-Ravelry
- Knitty
- NY Times daily sudoko
- Not Martha
- Craftster
- Zimmermania
- Craftzine
- Library
I do read a lot of blogs, but that will be another post ;-) gotta stretch the material!
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Killing acrylic
You have to look at the yarn very carefully, touch it, smell it, rub it together, sometimes (if they're not looking) burn it a little and try to identify if it's a animal, plant or a synthetic fiber. Sometimes you kinda know what it is and other times you have to decide if you like the yarn enough (because of its color, price, quantity) to not care what it is.
This particular yarn I bought thinking that it was wool. I liked the color, it came in a cone, it was $5-6 dlls, but (big but, just like mine) it's lace weight and If I had known it wasn't wool, I would had passed.
So what do you do with a cone of lace weight acrylic? Do you knit with multiple strands, thous making it DK or worsted, or do you knit lace and try to block it?
I went ahead and asked the very knowledgeable knitters at Knitty.com and someone suggested to knit a swatch and wet block it and another suggested "killing acrylic" which means using hot steam to block it.
I used Wisp's lace pattern to knit 2 swatches, here are the results:
First swatch before blocking
Swatch 1 & 2 during blocking. Can you see I lost 2 stitches on swatch #1?
Swatch #1 after wet blocking (completely dried). I'm not sure if I did it wrong or what. Maybe I could have pulled the swatch a little bit more? It's not as open as swatch #2, but it feels softer and I think has more texture, like it gives in a little.
Swatch #2 after blocking with steam a.k.a "killing it". It's flatter, lighter, it drapes and is a little bit less soft than swatch #1. It doesn't give, it doesn't stretch nearly as much as #1. (I'm still thinking that maybe I didn't block swatch #1 properly)
The "drape test" swatch #1 on the left and #2 on the right.
Conclusion: It depends what you're looking for in your FO. I would start with wet blocking and then if that didn't looked nice, serve acrylic one last meal, grant it a wish and then KILL IT.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Update
I'm currently swatching some lace weight acrylic yarn. When I bought this yarn, I thought it was wool :-(
By now you probably know that I like cheap yarns (as in $$ not quality) and this particular yarn I bought at a thrift store for a very low price, so It doesn't hurt as much that it didn't turned out to be wool, but more on that tomorrow.
Right now I want to show you one of the many reason why I like to shop thrift stores and garage sales
Six skeins of Berga 100% ren ull (that's wool, right?) for $5 dlls! The needles are still in the WIP, what more can you ask for?
Este post es de por mientras. Aun no hago una muestra con el estambre que teñi ayer, yo creo manana lo hago, la curiosidad me esta consumiendo!
Hoy teji unas muestras de calos (lace) con estambre acrilico, a ver como sale eso.
La foto muestra una de las tantas razones por las que me gusta comprar estambres en tiendas de baratijas y en ventas de garage: Una bolsa con 6 madejas de estambre 100% lana, aun con las agujas y por solo $5 dlls!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Rainbow yarn
These are the colors that I used. From left to right: Piña, naranja, fresa, cherry, black cherry, uva ( I used mexican kool-aid, same results much cheaper price!)
After dissolving the powder in a little water (turned out it was too much), I applied the color with a brush to each section.
This is what it looked like before I used steam to set the dye. You can already see that the black cherry looks a little brown and the uva (grape) looks gray. I think that I didn't wash the brush enough and that the colors got a little mixed.
While steaming. You can see how the yellow has fresa (strawberry) stains. I didn't think of putting plastic wrap on the bottom of the colander, the grape/black cherry colors dripped and ended up being much lighter.
Final product. Yellow doesn't look bad, it has some darker stains, but I like it. The grape looks grey-ish in some parts, I'm thinking that it might not look as bad once I knit a swatch. It didn't turned out as I had dreamed, but it might still work for some fake isle hats.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Old FO's
Aun estoy pintando el estambre reciclado, no esta saliendo muy bien, mañana se enteraran de lo mal que quedo :-(
Asi que hoy les voy a mostrar algunas coas que teji el año pasado, por angas o mangas nunca tuve oportunidad de mostrarlas. Algunos de estos tejidos estan todavia empacados, mas vale que los busque porque aca ya empezo el frio.
Moebius scarf following instructions in "A Treasury of Magical Knitting" , I've never used it. It's too short to wrap around twice, not wide enough to use as a shawl. I might frog it, we'll see after I unpack it and try it on again...maybe it just needs more blocking (?). Knitted in Andean Silk , I think the color is Chocolate.
Esta es una bufanda estilo Moebius que no tiene principio ni fin, un concepto muy interesante. El patron que use esta en en este libro. No quedo lo suficientemente larga o ancha, asi qeu a lo mejro la deshago para reciclar el estambre.
This is Craftster's Circular Shrug . I made it 10 lbs ago, so I'm not sure it still fits. I really liked it, it's soft and warm, but the malabrigo yarn pills a lot.
Este shrug lo hice siguiendo estas instrucciones. No estoy segura de que todavia me quede. El estambre usado fue Malabrigo.
My first Clapotis. I used Pingouin Mousse yarn that I got at (where else?) a thrift store. It's an Acrylic/Polymide mix that looks like mohair. I think I made it shorter. I like it and have worn it a lot.
Mi primera Clapotis. Este patron me encanta y ya voy en la segunda (luego pongo fotos). Use estambre que ya esta descontinuado y que compre en una tienda de baratijas. Yo creo que este patron se ve bien sin importar el tipo de estambre que uses.
Watchcap for my husband knitted in Cascade 220. I think I used the "Watch Cap" pattern on pg. 75 of Vogue Knitting Caps & Hats. It turns out DH is "sensitive" to wool, but he still wears it.
Un gorro que le hice a mi esposo. Es de lana y resulta que a el le hace reaccion la lana, pero de cualquier manera lo usa (pobre! solo por darme gusto)
I made this as goodbye gifts for some of the staff when I left my last job. For the tissue cozy I just knitted a rectangle and seamed up the sides (in different styles). The little bags were made using Meg Swansen's instructions for Turkish Cast-on and were filled with chocolate. I used Patons SWS, really soft and shiny.
Estos son unos regalitos que teji para algunos compañeros de trabajo. Los de arriba son para guardar los paquetitos de pañuelos desechables y las bolsitas de abajo estaban llenas de chocolates. La construccion de las bolsitas esta muy ingeniosa, aqui puedes encontrar las instrucciones.
I'm waiting for the yarn to dry. Tomorrow we'll se how it turned out, but it doesn't look like I imagined it.
Mañana les enseño como quedo el estambre que teñi.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Make up post
Ayer se me olvido escribir en el blog, asi que estoy tratando de revindicarme haciendolo dos veces hoy. Como la ven, funciono?
Aun sigo tejiendo los regalos de navidad. Complete uno, no les puedo mostrar una foto completa, pero aqui esta una probadita.
I'm still knitting away for Locapalooza!. I have finished one, of the many gifts that I have to knit. Here's a teaser.
I can't belive it
In my defense, I was busy all afternoon. We had guests for dinner and I was making this:
Chiles en Nogada with rice
and this
Pico de gallo with avocado
and this
Flan (I'll post a tutorial before the end of November...if I don't forget)
Buen Provecho!
Friday, November 02, 2007
Dia de Muertos
Por mas que busque, no pude encontrar donde ir a festejarlo aqui. A lo mejor el proximo año me entero de algun concurso de altares o algo asi.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
NaBloPoMo
National Blog Posting Month is happening in November. I know this is a very lame first post, but I decided to join at the last minute. Lets see if I can do this. Anyone up for the challange?
Le entre al reto! Noviembre es el Mes Nacional de Escribir en tu Blog, NaBloPoMo por sus siglas en Ingles (si alguien sabe de una mejor traduccion para el nombre diganme). Basicamente hay que "postear" en el blog todos los dias por el mes de Noviembre. A ver si aguanto!