knittingstar

Progress

2010-02-14T11:32:00.004-06:00

I've made some progress on the Olympic Sweater. It's about the length of my Mac Mighty Mouse.

Needles: Knit Picks Zepher Acrylic Size US 7
Yarn: Briggs and Little Regal Color Brown Heather
Cast on 180 stitches knit 6 bumps of garter stitch - joined in round increased to 200 stitches stockinette.

Waiting...

2010-02-12T21:58:00.001-06:00

Have Yarn, Have needles, Have pattern, Have desire.

When will the fire come? Awesome opening ceremonies, I am enjoying them with bated breath. 180 stitches waiting to be cast on when that torch is freshly ablaze!

Knitting Olympics

2010-02-11T17:36:00.005-06:00

The Yarn Harlot announced Knitting Olympics. I will be signing up officially and tracking progress here (prolly crappy mac pics because this is about quantity of knitting time, not quality of blog).

I hope is that this will be an exercise in not only knitting a sweater, but as seeing this blog as what it is: a place for me to document stuff I do for my own future reference.

I'm going to make Elizabeth Zimmerman's Seamless Yoke Sweater following the instructions on the Knitting Workshop DVD my parents got me for Christmas.

The yarn is Briggs and Little "Regal" in a lovely heather brown. The color looks like bright red, magenta, and blue streaks.

New, but kinda lame

2009-02-18T23:01:00.002-06:00

So, I do have new knitting -- but don't have pictures. That is the lame part.

New: Paul and I spent a really fun valentines day with a couple friend of ours. A highschool friend of his, along with his fiance, went to the Mall Of America and mini golfed (planned to ride some rides at the amusement park, but the crowds were horrendus). While we were there I saw, then remembered, that there was a knitting/crocheting event going on Knit Out Crochet Too '09 . It was kinda cool to see some fiber going on at MOA (I was there forCrazy Aunt Purl...but I digress).

Some other new: I am going to school at Dakota County Technical College, DCTC, for Graphic Design. It is so fun! I have a photography course, a color theory course, and an intro to the program course. Right now I am really digging the painting and photo developing experiences. I go three times a week and have a 45 minute (each way) commute, which is awesome in our new car! (that doesn't want to be linked to right now, 2005 Mazda 3 hatchback)

Done, Done, and Still So Much to Do!

2008-10-31T17:46:00.004-05:00

It's Official! (not according to any government agency yet... but that will come soon enough) I AM EMILY TRANDEM!!

The wedding was FANTASTIC couldn't have gone better (aside from not getting a chance to talk with practically anyone - seems to be a normal complaint from newlyweds though) The weather was sunny, the ceremony was quick and fun, the view from our hotel room was spectacular!

Toronto was AMAZING the city is so alive and clean and surprisingly easy to navigate. We lived it up - really tasty dinners every night, took Lincoln and Cadillac car services to and from the airport and the concert Friday night which was by the airport. Went on a day trip to Niagra falls (it's a little like High School -- everyone should do it at least once) and were cold and wet. We saw some local music at a hole in the wall bar (Paul played - that was cool to see). We saw some non-local music when we went to the Rock Band II concert and saw Panic! at the Disco and Dashboard Confessional (sadly, we got there late and missed Plain White T's and the Cab). It was a pretty fun time.

Our wedding photos are up on the AWESOME photographer's blog lingfoto.com/blog I won't post the direct-to-us link here, because I think all her work is beautiful and worth seeing -- but if you don't want to wade through a bunch of people you don't know -- she has a search bar near the top of the page. The engagement photos are there too -- as well as pictures of my new Brother and Sister in law (Jon and Jenna).

Now all that is left is cleaning the wedding vomit (figurative, of course -- but just as overwhelming) out of the house and garage, changing my last name officially, staging this house and picking out a new one and moving ---- any volunteers ;)

Knitting content will commence when knitting happens.

Toronto!!!!!!

2008-08-21T23:50:00.001-05:00

Just booked our honeymoon trip to Toronto! It will not only be our first trip as a married pair, but our first vacation together :D

We are very jump up and down excited!

distract yourself

2008-08-08T14:34:00.002-05:00

I just found a new distraction...

Totally Looks Like dot Com

see more famous faces look-a-likes

Celtic Star

2008-07-08T15:31:00.000-05:00

Real Amazing Stuff

2008-06-13T12:22:00.001-05:00

You read correctly! RAS! You've no doubt heard of RAS - perhaps you believed up to now that that combination of letters was only the beginning to words like: raspberry, rasta, rash, rase, rashers, and about 10 others. Real Amazing Stuff is in fact a phenomenon discovered by the egoist Randall Ashbury Shereton (ironically, not an heir to the hotel family) who would have been called Rand by his friends if he'd had any. Randall, who preferred (post discovery of RAS) to call himself RAS was born in a small, Kentucky mining town to illiterate Pacific islander immigrants.

RAS's parents only spoke a rare dialect of PacIslandish understood by 50 people, none of whom lived in Kentucky. RAS's childhood was a quiet one, mostly due to his absolute denial to learn PacIslandish and the only English he heard was Kentucky dialect which nobody outside Kentucky can understand anyway. Randall made up his own language, you guessed it - Organtish. He scribed and spoke Organtish so well that he received multiple awards in literacy and elocution from the Official Organtish Office headquartered in Randal Ashbury Shereton's bedroom.

His story goes on from there through childhood and awkward teenage years when Randall finally learned English and got a big head from braging so much about Organtish. In his third semester of junior college, Randal met a girl on the internet and fell in love - her name was Rashida Ashley Sleep-Inn (also, ironically not an heir to the hotel line). Randall thought this was all amazing stuff, and it was real so he coined the phrase Real Amazing Stuff.

His thrill lasted for 6 months at which time he remembered that he had created Rahsida Ashley Sleep-Inn on a discussion board about creating your dream girl. Nobody has seen or heard from Randall (or Rashida for that matter), but his discovery of RAS is still celebrated.

End of the world?

2008-06-13T08:58:00.003-05:00

A co-worker informed us that today is "Blog like it's the end of the world" in honor of Friday the 13th. http://community.livejournal.com/bliteotw stay tuned...

Guess what I got back!

2008-06-09T20:36:00.004-05:00

Pictures are locked and loaded, and virus checked. All clear! This is such fantastic news because I have much to share. I give you in no particular order...

The engagement ring atop the engagement gift from me to Paul. Bailey modeling the chest of the fitted sweater I knit for her odd body.

K2 P2 ad nauseum completed (with a few cold days left to be useful -- thank you El Nina weather pattern). A couple of my favorite shots from the session I had with my stash. First is Malbrigo worsted colorway: Sapphire Magenta; second KnitPicks Pallete color: Blush.

Wedding is approaching faster each day (duh, huh - the Gregorian calendar has been part of my whole life and yet - I am still shocked that every 24hours equals one day closer to whatever is due... Homework, Job Applications, Projects, Wedding dates).

Messin around

2008-06-09T16:43:00.002-05:00

I have been learning how to use the Fireworks program in my spare time at work... today I completed my first "work of art"
I present to you... Pink Sphere of Happiness!

Computer on the mend

2008-06-01T16:49:00.002-05:00

I found the recovery disk for my laptop and have started rebuilding everything.

Weeks

2008-05-14T12:01:00.003-05:00

22 weeks until our wedding

22 weeks to knit the stole I will wear. I am 2 pattern repeats in - undetermined number to go. I am liking how it is turning out so far. Really simple, really beautiful. I will show pictures when I get around to repairing my computer from a virus it caught.

for now, I will distract you with some pictures I have at work...

Green

2008-04-03T11:40:00.007-05:00

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you.
Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible.
While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks.
Your warm personality nicely counteracts any strange habits you may have.

What Color Green Are You?

Betsy Ross, I Presume...

2008-03-16T16:01:00.004-05:00

Pattern: Lilly Hat by Larissa Brown (link to the pattern on Ravelry - if you haven't been Ravelled this is the place you can see it)

Made for an expected Niece (Fiance's sister is pregnant, not mine). Due April 9th. The pattern was well written, went fast and looks pretty darned cute. I fought the yarn (Lily Sugar'n Cream Cotton) most of the way, so the gauge is a little inconsistant. It fits the dog if nothing else :P

Why yes, those are new floors...

2008-03-16T14:53:00.006-05:00

I call this one "The Purple Crown affair" it is a play on the intended name of an expected girl, due on April 9th. When I marry her uncle in October, she will officially be my niece.

The pattern is the "Sunny Side Up Hoodie" from a Michaels pull off pamphlet in the yarn section. The pattern can be found , with some signing up, here (I didn't sign up, so don't know how much they spam). If you are really interested in the pattern, I googled it and found it all written out without having to sign up at Lions Brand.

This is my first sweater and it was easy - the pattern is written well, but I ended up ripping back a few times because I wasn’t measuring correctly (I wondered if at all once I laid out what I had done :P )I didn’t use the suggested yarn for this pattern because it contains Acrylic and I would rather use natural fibers for baby clothes.

Modifications:
I didn’t make the hood
added a stripe and some embroidery with Lily Sugar’n Cream.

Notes:

—-still needs buttons

Just when you think...

2008-02-21T16:38:00.002-06:00

I don't have a huge desire to update here all the time or have some fan base that I feed - but I would like to document my projects and have my own pretty pictured to reset my brain at work. (I am a pretty creative person who likes color and variety in a pretty non-creative job - so I "reset" throughout the day; I look at other knitblogs, Ravelry, browse Flikr...)

Anyway - I will update soon, I have lots to show!

Thank you :)

2007-11-21T15:20:00.000-06:00

When I went to see Crazy Aunt Purl (CAP) last month I sat by a lovely lady who told me about her new sock knitting machine, showed me how to tat (it was really amazing and completely different than what I had imagined:

She also told me about a Yarn Shop in Circle Pines, MN Double Ewe . She had been asked to write an article for the shop's newsletter and said she thought she would write about going to see CAP. I never caught her name.

Today I was ravelring (if one can "be googling" certainly, we can be ravelring) and I found the group for the DoubleEwe, went to check out the shop owner's blog and found a link to the newsletter, where I read the article by the Lovely Lady (Ann).

So thank you, Ann, for the company and the publicity. Hope you are enjoying crankin out the socks on your new machine.

Snippet

2007-11-06T13:29:00.000-06:00

I have been sucked away by life, you will forgive me...right?

Life happened, knitting happened. When the house is clean[er] and the pictures taken there will be a big celebratory post.

Highlights since the last post -- to be elaborated on later:

Kim's purse is ready to be gifted
The sock is, miraculously, a sock
My boyfriend is now my Fiance
Went to see CrazyAuntPurl read at MOA
I got my Ravelry invite (I'm KnittingStar there too)
Over halfway done with K2P2K2P2 ad nauseum
Oven Mits cast on
Stash additions to introduce

That's all I have time for now, hope to have a clean house to blog from soon.

And now for some Knitting

2007-09-26T19:00:00.000-05:00

The Purse /*

Clockwise: 1- Kim's purse strap on the blocking stretcher 2- Strap with stabilizing ribbon on the blocks 3- Close up of the beads that will add weight to the flap (in lieu of buttons or other closure) 4- what the purse may look like when it is all sewn together.

*******Mom, does it look like a purse now? ;) don't be shy... click on the link near the bottom of the post that says 0(1 2 3...) Stitches and leave a comment**********

I haven't worked on this for a while. The knitting part is long done; I have been stuck on how best to sew the ribbon (I envision this will add stability and prevent this becoming an ankle-length bag) to the strap. They are pinned together, but I don't have a sewing machine and am left with the task of holding the work taut while hand-stitching slick yarn to ribbon...maybe I will wait until I have access to a sewing machine...

_____________________________
The Scarf ***

K2P2K2P2K2P2K2P2 ... until sanity is lost, regained, then ripped so far from reach it may only come back as a 3rd cousin -- twice removed.

I jest. K2P2 ribbing is relaxing, can't really be messed up and lets me work on purling.

I picked out the yarn (Cascade 220) during my very first trip to an actual yarn store. I think I may finish it before MN winter shows up. Paul will have a neck warmed with love-infused wool. The pattern is a collaboration between Paul, the yarn and the knitter - we all are pleased with the progress

____________________________________________

The Sock???

I cast on 62 stitches on two circs - following what I remembered from watching Cat Bordi on YouTube, demonstrating circular knitting on two circs. The yarn is "Blue Jeans Delight" purchased from http://www.extremeyarn.etsy.com/ . It is really pretty, and completely gratifying to see a recognizable garment.

__________________________________________________

And that is what I have been doing.

Celebrity Spotting

2007-09-25T15:17:00.000-05:00

Pssssst...

Crazy Aunt Purl read my blog...and commented!

I seriously thought my mom and a kind lady who left a comment about her lingustic profile were the only readers.

ChChChChanges

2007-09-24T20:17:00.000-05:00

KnittingStar will be undergoing some cosmetic changes. Paul has been designing me some really cool vector graphics.

In other news... the camera batteries are charging and there will be much prettiness to view soon. I have been knitting a lot. There will be updates on Kim's purse (yes Mom, it actually resembles a purse now); a first view of a 2x2 ribbed scarf I am making for Paul; and a peek at my first sock (no idea how I am going to turn the heel or do any of that fancy jazz...but in the words of Stephanie Pearl McPhee "I can do that -- it's only knitting") plus, I have read enough about knitting socks that I can totally figure it out.

Next step - getting gauge on something. Gauge is an animal that is an important part of the knitting world and since I have yet to follow a pattern, I haven't had to make gauge to turn out some pretty cool and functional pieces. Oh darn, I might need more needles...

Anticipation

2007-09-09T15:02:00.000-05:00

I placed my first order with Knitpicks and am really looking forward to it's arrival. The package will contain my first US 2 and US 3 circulars. I am going to try to learn how to knit 2 socks on two circs.

I have accepted that I do not finish things well so if I make both at the same time, I won't suffer from the dreaded second sock syndrome.

Random

2007-09-01T16:44:00.000-05:00

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English

20% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Midwestern

0% Dixie

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Thanks Mom and Dad!

2007-09-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

I recently earned a promotion at work. Spiffy new title, nice chunk-a-raise, and best of all - pride and ownership of my work. Just as I was going to HR to sign the paperwork and make it all official - I was paged. This being my first time paged at this company, I wasn't sure what to expect. The conversation went like this:

Receptionist: Hello

Me: Hi, this is Emily, I was paged

Receptionist: Oh Hi! You have a delivery

Me: Um.....I didn't order anything

Receptionist: The post office dropped it off, and it has your name on it - It's ok, it isn't a bomb or anything. (I found this a little odd, thinking 'how does she know it isn't a bomb, did she send it?')

Me: Ok, uh...I'll be there in a minute

Receptionist: See you then!

I went to the front desk and said who I was. She got this silly, happy little grin on her face and handed me these:

Then she giggled "Hope I didn't scare you, I don't like telling people they have flowers...it is much more fun to see their faces. Congratulations!"

The card said "Emily, Congrats on the promotion! We're so proud of you. Love you muchly, Mom and Dad"

With some advice from my favorite photography hobbiest, I had a little Photoshoot with the adorable flowers. They were a patient subject and I am proud of the results.

In which I show off some priceless art

2007-08-20T22:22:00.000-05:00

Rarely does a completed project look how I believed it might in concept. This purse for Kim is no deviation. I haven't taken time yet to learn how to read patterns, although I look at a lot of them, so I have just been casting on and refining my technique. Again, this purse is no different. I am pleased so far with the results and will be proud to give it to my tie-dyed friend soon.

As I held the full skeins of bright fuzziness, I thought they were whispering "Messenger bag, rectangular messenger bag." Apparently, there was a shift in the Yarniverse, resulting in something other than a rectangular messenger bag when all was bound off and stiched together.

This is what I thought it might look like (I know, I have awesome Paint skills).

To Be Continued...

She Knits!

2007-08-16T18:57:00.000-05:00

I saw this yarn and it reminded me of my friend Kim, who has a personality like tie-dye. She is always doing kind acts for others. I think she will enjoy having a bit more tie-dye.

Yarn: Moda-Dea Swirl: Happy
57% Nylon, 27% Wool, 16% Acrylic
Needles: US 10.5 Circs - stockinette body of bag
US 8 Circs - garter stich base
Pattern: (base) Cast on 40sts, garter til it looks about right, BO
(body) Cast on to fill most of 29" Circ, knit til tube looks about right to hold stuff
add flap, maybe garter, maybe stockinette --- who knows, yarn hasn't told me yet
Button closure?

You all knew I knit, and now there is proof!

Guess that breed

2007-08-09T14:26:00.000-05:00

I think about this blog the most while I am at work, not knitting, not near my camera. Since I am driven to post pictures here, I will show off the puppy. Can anyone guess the breeds responsible for this adorable face? Because my boyfriend and I are really curious about what others see in her. We have our own ideas - but would like yours too!

She is 21lbs, brindle coat, LOTS of energy.

Appreciation

2007-07-31T21:58:00.000-05:00

When I started knitting, I bought my yarn at Michael's and Wal-mart. I knew that I didn't like the way most of the yarn felt - I just didn't realize yet why it stuck to my needles (does anyone else often mis-type that as kneedles?) and squeaked as it was worked.

Then I started listening to Lime and Violet. I delighted in their Squeeing, yarn porn, and exuberant enthusiasm for all things fibery and...natural.

I promptly went to buy some 100% wool yarn, it was scratchier at first than the Caron Simply Soft acrylic I had been using. After a few rounds with it my fingers were calmed, my hands felt refreshed and soft, and I was grateful to have found wool before I could even purl.

I have learned much from the online knitting community. My favorites include but aren't limited to: Brenda Dayne (Cast-on, Fling); Lime and Violet; Franklin Habit (The Panopticon); Wendy (Wendy Knits); knittinghelp.com ; and the countless rabbit holes I have fallen into, always cleverly disguised as links to their inspiration.

So I would like to say Thank you to all the above as well as those I will never remember the names of because of fevered linking and following.

I really do knit and promise pictures soon.

Obligatory

2007-07-30T15:39:00.000-05:00

Since I have recently become possessed by the evils of knitting, the villainous online knitting community, and the most evil of evils - knitting podcasts, I am obligated to set up an "obligatory knitblog".

I have set up blogs in other corners of the Internet but can't settle on what to write about. I am not a journal writer. At all. I don't want to share my life story or rant about my job, boyfriend, family and friends; I do however want to share my enthusiasm for the fabric created with sticks and string (or pencils and available flexible material - I accept all kinds here).

Let's start with some introductions. My name is Emily, I knit, I like stars, I write... Who are you?