Flickr Knees Mosaic

You know it's a long week when I sit down to my computer and all the stuff I had from the night before is still sitting on my computer unsent!
Here are the links to the images in my mosaic. I kept up my motifs of rats, tattoos, and knitting, with an overarching theme of knees.
1. Untitled, 2. That Blue Dress., 3. Elephant tattoo, 4. Untitled, 5. Humphry having a sniff, 6. Knee, 7. On my knee, 8. Rat in mi kitchen, 9. bzzz, 10. Jonathan, knees, 11. 14/365, 12. knitting knees, 13. Cute Rat

giotto top new yarn

giotto top new yarn, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

This is the perfect match I found to complete my Giotto top. Even though I know I said it was finished, I hated the back. Now I can change it. The yarn is mission falls 1824 cotton.

Remember this?

It got worked on today. The back has been ripped out, and replaced with the lovely 1824 cotton. I was contemplating a lace panel, but I didn't like what I was seeing. The yarn didn't look like it matched as well with yarnovers. The last three rows of Giotto were knit with 2 strands of yarn together, and then the switch to just he cotton. The match really shows up well, and I expect to be finished tomorrow.

Twilight Market

Twilight Market, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

1. go team pittsburgh!, 2. farmer's market, 3. new clothing rack, 4. satisfied customer

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

The Twilight Market is a great time. The nice thing about farmer's markets is that they are open for the season. I got incredible vegetables for a great price, and they were so much nicer than the store's. This is the only thing as good as shopping at Wegman's.

I bought a bunch of dill, and used it to make pickles. Since I have 6 cucumber plants I have a lot of cucumbers. They are just regular ones. I will never need to buy cucumbers.

It's a great time. The farmers are there every week, and we get to be there on alternating weeks.

I'm planning to be there.

I sold 2 items, which was about 15% of what I brought, so I'm happy. I also have some great inspiration for new items to make for next time. I haven't solved my hanger problem, which is that I need some with clippies. My sewing room is almost finished after I moved it from the basement to the spare bedroom. Double inspiration is that I have some company coming.

The Bikini Experiment - Analysis of the Data

Bikini Top - First Go

My bikini top was completely finished. This shot shows the band being picked up. It was the perfect width. I knitted my casing, but when I drew the elastic through it, a stitch got snagged on the interior, requiring me to reknit. No worries there, because 6-8 rows go by so fast. I triumphantly tried on my creation, and immediately decided to reknit the whole top smaller, except for the total band length. That would have to stay the same.



If you are aware of this pattern, you can see that the sizing up and down results in the band length going up and down with it. So to solve around this, I made a spreadsheet. Excel has to be the best program in the world for doing knitting calculations. Decide on your formula and fill series for size options, do calculations for pattern repeats, and generally save yourself a lot of paper.

To resize this pattern, I set up my spreadsheet like this:

Row #	# vertical st	# side st	total stitches
1	=[# vertical st] -(rounddown[Row #]/4)	=roundup([# vertical st]/2)	=[# vertical st] + [# side st]
**	**	**	**

Then, I filled series down for about 30 rows. Since I knew how many stitches I wanted to have on my needle when you make the turn in the cup, I was able to select from the rows that provided the desired number of stitches. Note that some of these Excel terms might be spelled wrong, but Excel will give you the correct spelling if you search in the help menu. These are spelled to give you the understanding of what they do. Excel is powerful. Use it.

I just finished the second cup last night at D&D. I'm picking up the stitches for the band this weekend, and hope to have it finished by Monday.

The bottom is finished, including the elastic in the casing. I'm not satisfied with the shaping in the front, so I might rip that portion and reknit.

Yesterday was the prom

and this is the story of my dress.
Making the Bacon Dress
More photoes on flickr

1. I started with the legs off a pair of bell-bottoms which I had converted into a skirt.
1

2. Match the knees, which are the narrowest part on the bell-bottoms, and pin above the waist.
2

3. Sew down the front seam. Pin and fold the bustline and darts.
3

4. Sew the bustline darts. I used a contrast thread to sew each detail. On a darker denim, I would use an orange thread.
4

5. The back needs a panel, so I used vintage material. It is pleated and pinned, in several layers. The zipper is angled to one side to keep the panel in one piece.
5

6. The back is not fitted until after the zipper is sewn into the raw edge. 6

7. Match the back darts to the edge of the original seam allowance. No fabric has been cut away so far. Sew down the edge of your dart and again next to the zipper.
7

8. Another piece of the vintage fabric is folded down its center and sewn in at the bust.
8

9. Create a tube out of another strip of your fabric and press flat for the strap. Lace trim is used as the bacon fat.
9

10. After the strap is sewn to the front, it is fitted and pinned to the back for sewing.
10

11. The last step is to add a hem extension with more vintage fabric. Folding it in half and pinning underneath the denim prevents the need for additional hemming and cutting.
11

Fin. Then I put it on and went to the prom.
Fin

Since I'm not effective with shoes, I wore it with pink Chucks. The students didn't mind because they all looked great. Their theme was Oscar Night, and they all dressed the part. Super cute.

daffodil bracelet

daffodil bracelet, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

I gave this to a student. Surprisingly she wears it. I am surprised when my students like things I make. Generally we share no style.

Right after bacon I thought the next obvious choice was floral bracelets. The button can be hooked inside the flower. I have also made a zinnia, to be uploaded later. First I must finish my prom dress. Prom is tomorrow, and since I've been using a bacon theme for five weeks, in any class I can manage it, the dress was inspired by it. The reveal is tomorrow.

left sock

left sock, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

I'm starting the left sock in my toe-up socks. The right sock finished up nicely with a substantial cuff. Just by trying it on, I'm wondering how people like making their own socks. This is fairly thin yarn, knit on size 1 needles. It's still pretty thick on my foot. The tedium required to get socks as thin as those in stores would just be so much more trouble than it is worth. That was one of the benefits of the industrial revolution - we got to make much thinner knitwear.
I'm not even bothered by knitting the left sock now that the right one is finished. I just think my feet will look big.

Stuck Up

treasury stuck up, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

I'm in a treasury!

I love when people like my stuff enough to put it in a treasury.

Here it is!

sockheel

sockheel, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

This is the end of the decreasing short rows. The next step is to start working the back of the heel with increasing short rows.

I like how my first pair of socks is going. I just can't see myself following a pattern for future socks, though. It's just like sewing. I started doing that because I didn't like what was available to me, so I made my own clothes. They always fit better and required the same amount of work as alterations. I am not satisfied with the fit from most patterns or I don't have the yarn choice, so I usually don't finish patterns that I start. I more often than not end up designing my own thing to accommodate the yarn that I do have.
In the case of socks, most interesting patterns are top-down, which I just can't get behind. I prefer to knit toe-up. Once you make that switch, the rest of the pattern is pretty much a do-over. I also don't like the standard heel flap. Every time I see one, I think, "Why do people like that?" It's too triangular. It seems like it would be lots of fun to make, but I would never want to wear the sock. I would be too preoccupied with my triangle feet.

giotto top new yarn

giotto top new yarn, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

This is the perfect match I found to complete my Giotto top. Even though I know I said it was finished, I hated the back. Now I can change it. The yarn is mission falls 1824 cotton.

I don't know where my size 11 needles are . . .

ten sheep

tensheep
Originally uploaded by hairycarrot

I got my first Alchemy order on etsy, and it was great! A person wanted 10 sheep for Sunday school, and they all fit in one envelope.
This is the new version of the sheep, and I like them so much better than my original version. They have more detail and a definite pattern. These things are key for me liking a puppet I make. I want them all to be equally interesting.

luxe pink locks - wrapped for plying

luxe pink locks - wrapped for plying
Originally uploaded by hairycarrot

I plied my singles that I spun from locks. They came from luxe, and were totally wonderful. I wanted to Andean ply the whole thing, so to alleviate the strain on my hand, I held a piece of PVC pipe while I wrapped it. After a bunch was wrapped, I would drop the loop from the end of my finger, and wrap some more. When it was finished, I plied as normal. It resulted in a lot of yarn, which I later set the twist in.

head sitting

head sitting
Originally uploaded by hairycarrot

Jacques did get a new buddy. They are just getting used to each other, but it's working out. Jacques now endures many or the bizarre behaviors that he did to Arcanus. To begin with, Parsley sits on his head.
Parsley also destroys boxes even more intently than Jacques does. He demolishes each edge.

zelda hemline

zelda hemline
Originally uploaded by hairycarrot

I started zelda, from Naughty Needles. It seems like the perfect thing to use my SWTC Bamboo for. I completed the first pattern repeat. It goes fairly quickly, but I already know I'll be working on it in bunches at a time because I only have metal needles in that size.
I'm probably going to use a pattern from here for a bathing suit, also. The patterns are written the way I like to read them, so it's really satisfactory. An added bonus, all her finishing example photos are in a yarn that I have, but don't have the ball band for, so I might finally find out what it is.

yarn construction

I've spent this past week's evenings creating this self-striping yarn. It doesn't have a purpose, yet, but who cares? Eventually I'll come up with something to do with it. It's made from many varieties of wool and fiber from a http://luxe.etsy.com spinning kit. This one was named higgledy piggledy bits n' pieces.
Being the second one I made, the balance of the two plies was much closer than the last time. I'm also more satisfied with the coils. I haven't uploaded any pics of the finished yarn, but I'll do that today. There's still a pile of stuff left over from this kit, which I couldn't quite fit into this yarn. I'm going to combine it with the last kit's leftovers and make a third - probably a wrapped single.

Flickr Faves Valentine Mosaic

1. Toes - Truffles, 2. Cradling the ratty, 3. Maman bird & petit baby, 4. 005-b, 5. blossom, 6. bloo fuzzy handcarded, 7. #20, 8. Ramon seja bem vindo!!, 9. EEK! A RAT! loves eggs 2, 10. Rats Love Coy, 11. Mr Ray marking his territory!, 12. rattie, 13. Virkad blomstervas!, 14. Black female, 15. Another Little Lick, 16. going bald young

This is my submission for the Swap-bot Valentines Flickr Faves Mosaic. I hope everyone is enjoying Valentines Day with something they love!
There are so many things to love here! So many tiny toes, tiny noses, tiny eyes, fuzzy heads, and squishy yarny things to crawl into. There's a lot of love showing up here. I get all fuzzy from things that don't have too many pink hearts, just pink noses.

I Made It! Mine

I Made It! Mine was so popular that I didn't make the deadline cut. This show always has something new and exciting going on. There are so many quality artists in Pittsburgh.
I got to shop for myself. Cosy Knits Literally is totally awesome. Be sure to look over her really nice yarn which she takes beautiful pictures of. Her naming system is especially ingenious, too. It's like audience participation, but without having to go to the theatre.
It's nice to see the street team. We love working together. Our trunk show should be really fun in a couple months.

other people take great pictures

1. layers of earth, 2. 2005 01_07 15, 3. Totorowhite2, 4. Untitled, 5. DSC04758.JPG, 6. Lola, 7. Dragonfruit aka Pitaya, 8. It's contagious, 9. Reef detail3, 10. My girl., 11. Hålet. Hjärnan. (Virkat.), 12. King Kong (the cute version), 13. Shower Art that Looks like a cupcake, 14. Midnight - Roars, 15. Medusa: a study in sculptural crochet in a scientific context, 16. the sweetest nose

This is my submission for No-cost Swap: Flickr Faves Mosaic. As you can see I really like rats.
These images are all directly from my favorites. I simply reordered them for variety. Enjoy!

boy am I behind

I never think about his until I am no where near a way to update.
This month has been very busy. I had excellent sales from etsy, which is pretty good since I only have small items. Now that I'm past my December rush, I can focus on making other things which are fun. I want to make stuffed birds. My stuffed crochet animals are mostly only creepy looking. We'll see if that can change. My bunnies were so absurd that I labeled them zombies. I once sold a fairly ugly frog with button eyes. He was square. I guess if I made him nicer, I could sell more. He didn't have to be ugly, but the yarn was just disappointing.
I got my new spindle in the mail and spun up a little bit of yarn. I have to get on that fast because I have people I want to give it to soon. In fact, I wanted to give it to them in the past. Past due.
I found my crochet hooks! This made fulfilling my etsy orders much easier. I had listed some puppets I couldn't find from moving, but I won't specify which ones. I was surviving with an H, but didn't want to send out some of my products. Luckily, I found the rest and got to remake my dissapointments before shipping.
I have some new designs that are almost ready to go up. The unicorn was waiting for me to find the hooks, so it can be realised along with its breathren. This will not be the last.
I'm almost finished scribing some patterns. I have several finger puppets, and a sweater or two. Ravelry is pretty interesting. I'm not terribly into it yet, but I don't follow patterns that often. You won't find me making Clapotis, even though I have alpaca just for a scarf, or knitting Fetching, even though fingerless gloves are useful. When it comes time to use up my yarns, I'm just going to make things on the fly, like I usually do, and maybe write the directions down.
Knitty is a pretty impressive phenomenon. All these people are contributing patterns, which are destined to be available for free, and they are wildly popular. Ravelry makes this even more interesting. People have access to excellent patterns for free. Then you can go to Ravelry and see how many people report making it.
I pledged to do a handmade holiday this year. I'm number 6185. This way I got to shop tons on etsy and every time a package arrived, it was like Christmas.

zootreasury

zootreasury
Originally uploaded by hairycarrot

Here is the treasury screenshot. The link no longer works since it is expired. In one of their threads they said they archived all treasuries. I wish we could see the archives.