Friday, November 10, 2006



I'm done! I'm FINALLY done with Shedir! I had to frog this hat 3 1/2 times, but I refused to give up. It definitely was the most intense thing I've knit in my short little knitting career, but I'm glad I did it. I am waiting on a few more hats and plan to be dropping them all off probably next week. I think I'm going to pick up my mother's scarf again, which was originally going to go to a friend, but my mother really deserves it. So yes ladies, you'll see me with the straight needles again for a little while at SnB night.

Sunday, October 15, 2006


My Haul

Today was my birthday and this is my haul: Debbie Bliss Casmerino to finish a scarf, green and white Mercerised Cotton to make Drew a Green Lantern cap, and PLYMOUTH YARN INTERCHANGABLE NEEDLES!!! The needles are from size 5 to 10 with 4 cord lengths: 18", 24", 32", and 40". They are bamboo and the base screws into the cord. I am so very excited to have this set. I rationalized it to Drew by pointing out how much I'd have to spend on each circular needle to have all the various sizes and lengths and he agreed with me. I also got the new Killers CD and some stuff for school, mainly some charts to help me out with French.
My Rowan Calmer came in this week from merry ol' England, so I began my Shedir cap. It is such an involved hat, oh my gosh! But it will all be worth it. I will post pics of it as it progresses because it doesn't look like much right now. I was able to recruit (or bamboozle, depends on how you look at it) 8 people total including myself. Some of the women have said they will make 2 hats, which I think is very generous.
Well, I should get back to work on my hat, so happy knitting to all!

Saturday, October 07, 2006




I LOVE the way alpaca feels. I wanted to find out more about the animal from which the fibre comes from and this is what I learned:
1. It is an ungulate, meaning that the mammal uses the tips of its toes to maintain its entire body weight.
2. Alpacas are not used as burden bearers like llamas, but are raised primarily for their fibre.
3. They (ahem) poo in neat little dung piles kept far from their grazing area.
4. They can be domesticated and are kept indoors like one would a dog or cat.
5. If they feel threatened, they will kick and spit.
6. They don't like their heads to be touched.
7. Female alpacas do not ovulate on a regular basis, rather, ovulation is induced after mating and with the presence of sperm.
8. Females are pregnant for 11-11.5 months.
9. As with most things, Alpacas have been succesfully cross-bred with llamas.
10. Their life span is a little over 20 years.

For more info on Alpacas, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Chemo Caps

(image borrowed from http://www.girlfromauntie.com/journal/index.php?p=24 because I haven't knit my Shedir cap yet.)

So I'm trying to rally up some people to knit and/or crochet chemo caps in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. We will then be donating them to the Straub Oncology Clinic here in Honolulu, HI. There are no restrictions on yarn color or pattern for the caps because 1. everyone is at different levels in their knitting/crocheting skills and 2. Cancer does not discriminate, so caps for women, children, and men are welcome. Please keep the hats appropiate, by that I mean do not submit the "Fuck Cancer" hat that Sharon Osborne wore during her chemotherapy. While I'm sure someone would like it, I don't want to take the chance on offending anyone. There are "restrictions" on the yarn: please use soft materials such as cotton, chenille, microfibre, cashmere, etc. 100% wool is not recommended because it can irritate the skin, as well as allergies. I've heard mixed feelings on wool blends, so cashmerino like Debbie Bliss' would be appropiate. Name and address must be submitted with every hat because the clinic wants to send out thank you cards and has to keep track of donations. Also, include material content and washing instructions with your hat(s) when you turn them in; I don't think we should launder them beforehand because certain soaps can irritate the already sensitive patient's skin. For further information, you can respond to this post or email me with "Chemo Cap" in the message title.
Here are some links to hat patterns:

http://www.knitty.com/issuefall04/knittyF04surp.pdf#search=%22chemo%20cap%2Bknitty%22
http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/patterns.htm
http://www.knitty.com/archive.html
http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/hats.php

Sunday, October 01, 2006



So I made this hat and had a lot of fun doing so. I got approached at the cafe that I knit at by a gentleman who works in the print gallery next to it who asked me to make one for his grandson that is due this week. It was the first time I've ever made anything for profit and it felt good.