Stitch 'N Bitch

Cross-posted at fandom_knits

I have this idea of making a doll or three. I need opinions on flesh tones for Severus and for Aurora Sinistra. I've always thought of Sinistra as looking like my icon. Those who are interested in helping out, give me recommendations of yarn colors using cascade 220, caron yarns, Bernat yarn or Berroco yarn.
I'm limiting the yarn types to ones that I either have on hand, or can easily find in my area.

I found I have a technical difficulty. I purchased a mixed color alpaca fleece and some kid mohair. Wanting a soft fluffy yarn, I sent it off to the mill to be professionally made into a roving for spinning.

I discovered I am allergic to mohair. We're talking hives type allergic. I now own 6 pounds of roving that I cannot use. I'm going to offer it for sale in my yarn shop. I need to come up with a fair price.

What have you seen this blend selling for? After a great deal of looking and thinking, I went with one of the more realistic prices. $2.50 an ounce. The roving can be seen at two dogs yarn shop

For those of you who do not receive Knitting Daily and like to knit socks:

Sock Summit 09

Due to the Cable Luxe Tunic being part of Lion's next KAL the pattern is available for free until November 27th. If you've wanted it, but didn't want to pay for a pattern that is pretty well known for having some issues (the cable crossing has been fixed as least), now is the time to grab it.

The Seaman's Church Institute sponsors an annual program called Christmas at Sea. Each year, crafts people knit or crochet hats, scarves, helmet liners, socks and gloves which are donated to this group in order to be passed out as holiday presents for seafarers/mariners around the world.

Participation Guidelines are under the link. You will find links to their patterns on that page. The patterns are pdf files. The items are easy to make.

They are way behind on donations this year. As a result, they've extended the deadline for items to arrive by the 26th of November. Please, if you have the time knit or crochet something for this or another charity. This is going to be a long cold winter, help keep someone warm.

( Videos behind cut )

Every year in mid-September, it's Heritage days week-end.

I live in a small provincial town in south-western France. We have a beautiful 14th Century cathedral, and the local abbot authorised the showing of some of the vestments of times past, when this was a rich Diocese instead of a small parish. The embroidery work is breathtaking.

( Read more... )

There are knitting and yarn oriented icons available at aristocons. You need to friend the asylum in order to view their icons. The yarn ones can be found here

I adore this blog. I just found it via the LJ knitting comm, and I'm adding some of those hats to my to-do list.

Do you have an account on ravelry?

So, I donated my services as part of Live Long and Marry*, and said I'd make a hat (or other project of that size) for the highest donator. As a result, I was asked to make a hat resembling Jayne Cobb's hat from the show Firefly.

( Picture beneath cut )

* An event run by fans to collect donations for charities to keep same-sex marriage legal in California.

ETA: Added the pattern. First attempt to write a pattern, so be warned.

I finished my Starbuck's Mandala Hat [only it's red and black for AC Milan] last night [photos hopefully forthcoming when the camera batteries recharge] and turned my thoughts to the Tepes hat that my boys want. Truth be told, I want one too, and so will be using mine as the guinea pig.

I am convinced that two sentences have given this hat its Strong Intermediate rating. Here they are: Provisional cast on 108 sts on the circular needle. Join in round, place marker.

Now, I know how to cast-on and then knit in the round and I also know how to provisionally cast on and work on a single needle. Combining the two is making my head go splody, or at least it was last night at 11 pm. So, in the spirit of knitters everywhere, I fell asleep whilst trying to mentally make this work in my head. I've a few things to try tonight [after I get my sad self caught up in other areas] and will either report success or find someone to bribe and have them cast-on for me. Or maybe something involving crochet hooks and normal cast-ons. Hm...

Knitters: what is your favorite stitch dictionary?

If you knit socks, do you prefer to work on DPNs or circular needles? I'm learning on circular needles, but I'm finding it a bit awkward.

I want to knit a decorative design to repair a baby blanket I was given. I think it's acrylic yarn, but I'm not sure. Is it ideal to use the same sort of yarn, or is that not necessary?

Name: mainichi
Which needlecraft do you practice?: Primarily knitting
For how long?: I dabbled for years, but only really got especially interested in January.
Current works in progress: Just some dishcloths. I haven't yet decided on my next project.
To do list/Wish list: Doll clothes, a shawl for myself

The community needed a post, or so I thought.

Name: Becca Stareyes
Which needlecraft do you practice?: I crochet, and do cross stitch and the occasional embroidery. I also do normal sewing.
For how long?: I've been doing it since elementary school, though I first learned machine sewing and embroidery in middle school. Since I am now in graduate school, I'd say upwards of 15 years.
Which needlecraft do you want to learn/try?: I am trying knitting. I have not gotten used to having to do things with my left hand.
Current works in progress: I am working on an afghan for my sister and brother-in-law. I would also like to do one for a friend form high school and her girlfriend-now-fianceé. Since they are planning the ceremony in 2009, I should have plenty of time. I should also start thinking about winter holiday gifts.
To do list/Wish list: I wish for more time, mostly. I'd also like to make something cross-stichty for my office -- maybe a table of formulae and constants done in a sampler style. Because I can.
Anything else you'd like to add? (within 5 sentences):
I'm a grad student in astronomy who studies Saturn's rings. I am a SF/Fantasy/anime geek, a gamer, a writer and an artist.

I also brought a picture of the baby blanket I made for my cousin's wife's baby, who will be due sometime in July.

( Picture cut! )

Taking a break from what I should be doing -- a combination of filling out job applications and working on my afghan experiment -- to tell everyone here what this experiment is exactly. For some unknown reason, I was able to sit through that movie without flinching even once and, while watching it, I managed to completely botch what could have been a lovely little clutch bag. Don't worry, I'll post pictures of that at some point.

Anyway, crocheting the clutch that shouldn't have been and I realized that I was absolutely in love with the overall color scheme of "Sweeney Todd" -- black, blue, green, red, brown, purple, all with a bit of a gray overcast to it. And of course, there are a few lighter moments with bits of white thrown in, but I was focusing primarily on the scenes between Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett -- not "By The Sea", obviously.

Thanks to a bit of a larger than expected paycheck this last go around, I found myself able to purchase a supplement to my little yarn stash. So what did I decide to do, instead of just buying random pretty things (which explains the half-skeins of wool yarn sitting under my bed)? I decided to purchase yarn that fits with the color scheme of the movie I just mentioned. Two of black, one each of a nice dark green, a dark grayish blue, light grey, white, and a gorgeous blood red. Unfortunately, they were out of the grayish purple that I wanted. Phooey.

I don't have pictures of the afghan as it sits right now, but I can tell you my basic plan. It's going to be a massive afghan in stripes made with rows of dc and hdc, interspersed with single rows of the blood red in sc and a little stitch that I'm not sure of the name. All I know is that I yo twice, draw up a loop in the next stitch so that I have four loops on the hook, and then draw through all four of the loops at once.

Could someone tell me what this is? I'd like to make a pattern for this afghan if it turns out alright. And don't worry, if there's anyone interested in seeing this piece. I will definitely post pictures of my progress when I can dig out my digital camera!

Greetings to everyone. I come bringing pic spam of finished objects and w.i.p's

hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the change of seasons.

Name: Libby
Which needlecraft do you practice?: Cross stitch and embroidery
For how long?: a couple months -- I'm pretty new to this!
Which needlecraft do you want to learn/try?: crochet or knitting
Current works in progress: A guitar strap with skulls, ravens, and a gravestone.
To do list/Wish list: 1) Something sweet and cute for my mom. 2) Some more pictoral works.
Anything else you'd like to add? (within 5 sentences): Not really...

( A couple of my first cross-stitching projects )