Bean Counter's Knitting & Stuff

Bean Counting Knitter

February 28, 2009

Komet ~ back to one at a time on DPNs


Komet
Originally uploaded by bean counting knitter
OK so it seems that I am very fickle with my sock knitting these days. I can't make up my mind. Today I am back to knitting one at a time on DPN's Here is one of the Komet socks on my foot. Yeah I have big feet. From heel to the tip of my big toe is 11 inches.

Rough morning at the vet

Poo's Feline Diabetes is out of whack again. We are back to square one trying to get him regulated. He has either been way to high or way to low. Say some kitty prayers for our baby boy.

February 27, 2009

Ease - what the hell is it anyway?

What the hell is Ease? I have embarked on a journey to discover just exactly it is. I have found some wonderful resources too that I wish to share below.

Ease ~ think of your skin as the neutral ease. If you try to put on an item of clothing and the sides rip out of it because it is too small you can say there is negative ease for your body verses the garment. On the opposite side if you put on a garment and it falls to the floor because three of you could fit in it that would be said to have positive ease. While these are extreme examples it helps me to think of it in terms I will remember. I am a black and white thinking by nature folks! Please don't hold it against me. :-)

So it makes sense that ease is an important consideration when knitting a garment. I have to admit I haven't paid too much attention to ease in my earlier knitting projects. Going forward I will have to be more aware so that I produce better fitting pieces for my body. IE be sure there is enough fabric to cover the girls rather than smash the girls.

Standards & Guidelines For Crochet & Knitting

Knitty Article

I am a wimpy after dark driver....

I would like to thank Kristie for this lovely kitty tea bag holder. We met for dinner before heading to knit group last night. I haven't been to knitting group in so long because I hate driving after dark. I decided to be a "big girl" and drive home after dark from across town last night. You know what? I made it home in one piece without killing or hurting anyone. :-)

It was great to knit with the ladies as well as see the new location. It is a great meeting place. Thanks again Julane for making it happen! Kristie passed around piles of goodies acquired from her knitting camp weekend. I asked her if she had her merchandise tagged in case one of us got a case of sticky fingers. Oh the stuff was so yummy!

February 25, 2009

Donation Blanket Update


P1000482
Originally uploaded by bean counting knitter
The donation blanket is making great progress. It is a nice breakaway project from itty bitty sock needle knitting. I have decided this blanket will be donated rather than the change of plans I was considering. I am searching for a Columbus/Dublin Ohio shelter for domestic violence victims to donate it to.

February 24, 2009

Thank You Tami & Rich

Tami & Rich went to the Sticks and Stitch event at the Columbus Blue Jackets over the weekend. Each attendee received one of these Namaste lovelies. Well Rich isn't a pink bag kind of guy so Tami "ended up" with two of these bags. On Sunday she presented me with one. OMG it is amazing. The pockets are drool worthy.


It did not take me long to fill it up with lots of knitting and yarn.


Thanks again Tami and Rich! :-)

February 23, 2009

Number 9


Number 9
Originally uploaded by bean counting knitter
Poo helped me knit another flower for Molly's Knitted Flower Project. He is such an awesome helper!

Not ready yet.....


P1000456
Originally uploaded by bean counting knitter
As we speak the blocked Suzie is drying on the bed in the spare room. I was a bit impatient this morning and tested to see if it was dry. I really wanted to wear it today. I am having dinner with a knitting friend and I soooooooo wanted to show it off. Oh well it was still damp. Perhaps tomorrow!

February 19, 2009

Komet ~ second sock casted on

The first sock is knit to just past the gusset row decreases and slipped on to a 47" circular. I cast on the second cuff and will knit it to the same spot. I am going to knit the feet together at the same on the circular.

February 18, 2009

Kreativ Blogger Awards


So Ria of Short Attention Span Theater has given me a Kreative Blogger Award Nomination which is a nice surprise. Thank you Ria. You can read about it here.

Now it is my turn to give out some Kreative Blogger Award Nominations. (BTW These nominations are in no particular order other than the random scrolling down my blog roll.)

1. Molly of Mollylouhoo ~ Molly gives me lots of inspiration and I enjoy watching her projects come to life. I love that her blog is honest and refreshing. The kitty pictures and stories are the best!

2. Julane of Courses and Wales ~ I am so enjoying watching Julane create something from nothing. Watching the Diamond Brocade birth was amazingly inspiring. I enjoyed the birthing of all the Sheldon's for Christmas gifts last year and am looking forward to the Hedgies.

3. Krisie of Fiber Funktastic ~ Knitting, knitting and more knitting. I get excited when Kristie's blog pops up to the top of my blog roll because I know that more than likely she will be enabling me for something else. I look up to Kristie's knitting because she is fearless. She isn't afraid to modify and go with it and this is a huge confidence booster for me.

4. Amanda of Mayfly ~ Like her amazing mom, Amanda, is such a beautiful soul. Her posts are thought provoking for me. I read her Smoke on the Water posting and about three weeks later heard the Deep Purple song. The song triggered my brain back to her posting with the connection.

5.Heather of Dizzy Spinster ~ Heather is a very well traveled lady. I love that her knitting and many of her projects are defined by where they have traveled too. I love reading about the many travels and looking at the pictures.

6. Rachel of Living [Abundantly] in the Present ~ Rachel is one spacial young lady. She recently graduated from high school and is spending something like 8 months over in Amsterdam. I think her official task while there is to nanny for some lovely children. Reading her blog is very inspiring to me on a spiritual level. She is much wiser than her young years on this earth. I can't wait until she gets back to C-bus so we can see her at Nazzy's.

7. Jimmy of What is all the ranting about ~ OK so I know he is my husband but he is also very inspiring for me. He is my counterbalance in this life. Keeps me grounded. I love you honey.

These nominations are in no particular order other than the random scrolling down my blog roll.

Official Rules:
Here are the official rules:
1. Copy the award to your site
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers
4. Link to those on your blog
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

Komet update....

I have turned the heel on the first Komet. This cable/lace pattern is so fun and the sock is flying.

February 16, 2009

Komet Casting On......

Molly and I were finally able to cast on our Komet. I talked about the project in this earlier posting here. Here is Molly casting on her stitches for the first sock.


This is my cast on first sock.

Since this pattern originated in German and has been translated to English, I have put Molly on stand-by for stupid questions.

Dirty Secret

I have a dirty secret. I like watching car races because of the possibility for wrecks. The wrecks are a thrill for me. This must be along the same lines of why I will tolerate hockey... for the fights of course.

Should I seek help immediately?

Woodsmoke working 2 feet

As promised here is an updated picture!

February 15, 2009

Seed time again.... :-)

It is that time of year again. I received my herb and veggie seed order from Harris Seed last week. This year I am going to attempt to sprout tomato plant seedlings rather than buy the seedlings at the garden store. I have offered to start some seedlings for a friend of ours too. I will have a bunch of seeds left over so if there is anyone interested in starting some seedlings let me know and I will send you some of the leftover seeds to try yourself. :-)


I plan to grow the old standards again this year. Basil, Catnip, Parsley, Oregano, and Cilantro. For Christmas, Tami gave Poo and Kiki some Catnip seeds sent from Jasmine's GrandPaw so I will be planting those too.


This is the pile of Mission Falls I have acquired that will be used towards the bed blanket project. I can't wait to get this started.

Below were the amazing chocolates Jimmy picked up while we were at Katzinger's on V-Day. They were so good.















This was over the weekend of my foot in the first Woodsmoke. I will take a picture over lunch today since I have both socks back on the circular and working the foot on both together. Major progress made on these socks over the weekend.

February 14, 2009

Poo is famous.....

Happy Valentines Day to you!

Last night Jimmy and I met up with Kristie for dinner and shopping at Easton. We dined at On the Boarder. I had a spicy beef chimichanga which was very good. Oh and a margarita on the rocks. MMMM

I have been bitten by the tea bug. Jimmy tells me I could open my own tea shop and that I am obsessed. Anyway I had recently heard about Teavana from our other friend Julane so Kristie and I headed over there where I found this teapot. Kristie knew I was looking for a warming tea light stand to keep a teapot warm and found one on clearance during the week. Thanks again Kristie! I think they look perfect together. I also picked up some Earl Grey Cream tea. Oh my is it lovely. :-)






















This morning Jimmy and I were out of the house early and headed to Staufs for breakfast. He wanted to get his hair cut at the Barber next door to Staufs and they open at 7 AM but we didn't get out of the house that early.

While he was getting his hair cut I stopped into Heavenly Creations to find some 2.25 MM metal DPN's to replace my wooden needles I am using in the Woodsmoke socks. I am very hard on my needles and I just know I am going to snap one late at night and not be able to run out then to purchase metal. Anyway they didn't have what I was looking for but they did have Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas. So without his knowledge Jimmy purchased my Valentines Day gift. Thank you Jimmy!

While checking out the clerk, Amy, asked me if I was on Ravelry. I said yep. She said, "are you beancounter"? I was shocked! She then said she reads all about Poo on my blog. See Poo really is famous. :-)

After the hair cut and Heavenly Creations we decided we weren't ready to head home so we went to another coffee house, Mojo Lounge, on the Cap. We hung out there until lunch time when we decided to visit Katzinger's for lunch. OMG if you have never had one of there 100+ deli sandwiches you are truly missing out my friend.

From there we decided to stop over at The Yarn Shop to see if they had the metal needles I wanted and sure enough they did. Well the needles were only 6 bucks so I HAD to find enough other things to get my purchase over $25 so that I could get another punch in my card (10 punches and you get $25 bucks in free stuff in the store). So I picked up some green reinforcing thread for some green sock yarn I plan to knit up sometime soon. I also picked up three more balls of Mission Falls for the bed blanket project.






















Below is an updated pic of my Woodsmoke sock. The heel is turned and the gusset decreases are finished on the first sock. I am having a debate in my head if I should bring the second sock to this same point and then reacquaint them to the circular needle to finish the socks together. I am leaning towards do this. HUMMMM

February 12, 2009

Combination knitting - my version

I am using a combination of two socks on one circular and dpns for this pair of socks. I am currently working the heel flap on sock one with dpns. I love this pattern and yarn still.

February 11, 2009

It is love.....


I am so in love with this pair of socks and I haven't even turned the heel yet. Actually I am about 6 rows from starting the heel section.

February 10, 2009

Woodsmoke Do Over Please


I recast on using Knitpicks Essentials Kettle Dyed and am totally in love with this patter and yarn match. Much better than the tweedy yarn I tried the first go around. I am knitting two at a time but this picture shows the the detail so nicely. I am 3 rows from the end of the first repeat in this picture.

February 8, 2009

Proofed?

I finished two knitted objects last week. I finished the Suzie Hoodie. I don't have FO pictures to share with you right now. I deliberately knit this jacket down a size from my current size. So now the HARD work is to begin of loosing a size so that I can enjoy this knit. I may take some pictures of it hanging so you can see how awesome this knit is. I am tickled with the cable and construction of this garment. Stay tuned....

I also finished these socks. I cast these socks on to kill two birds with one stone. I wanted to be reacquainted with 2 socks at a time on one circular and to knit something for a gift. I think they will be nice and toasty once they are blocked to the feet of the recipient.


Heather and Kristie came by Saturday for knitting and movies.



Kiki decided Heather's project made a comfy bed to rest in while Poo stood guard.


Poo at the vet. He had already had his blood drawn and was ready to get out of dodge. His glucose levels are lower than the vet would like so they called me this morning and reduced his dose. YEAH!

So Jimmy and I went to Hooters for lunch the other day. I ordered a Killian's and got proofed. HAHAHAHA

February 7, 2009

Poo at vet


Poo @ vet
Originally uploaded by bean counting knitter
We took Poo to the vet this morning to have a blood test checkup for diabetes. He was down under 100! YEAH.... The meds are working and he has gained some weight back. His hair is growing back too. He was ready to go home in this picture. Isn't he cute?

February 6, 2009

What Kind of Sweater Are You?





You Are an Argyle Sweater



You are contemplative, brainy, and serious.

You don't take much lightly - life is too important for that.

You are a very determined person. You don't let anything stand in your way.

You think out your actions and act deliberately. You don't waste time, money, or resources.

What Kind of Sweater Are You?


Thanks to Short Attention Span for starting this thread on her blog..... :-)

Article About Wonderknits - Columbus Alive

Window Shopping
Welcome to the Crafts District
Thursday, January 8, 2009 5:28 AM
Will Shilling photo
Will Shilling photo
Will Shilling photo

Wonder Knit

3165 N. High St., Clintonville

614-261-9276

Web: wonderknit.com

A reminder of the time Libby Bruce spent living in Washington, D.C. is displayed in a store window on High Street, for all to see.

It's people sitting on couches and chairs - laughing, chatting, knitting, relaxing.

It's much like the shop where Bruce once worked in the nation's capital, and now she's given the knitting community in Columbus a place to call home.

A couch, chairs and a coffee table are positioned in front of Wonder Knit's wide Clintonville window, but there's more to the knitting headquarters than that.

Co-owners Bruce and Karen Brackbill have been friends since fourth grade; they learned how to knit in college, and Bruce advanced her skills while living in D.C., where she worked at a knitting shop.

"I really just got into the whole community. And when I came back, I wanted to do a teaching business. Karen and I ended up going to the trade show in Columbus [in June], and while we were there, we just kept hearing people saying, 'Open a store. We need a new store in Columbus.'

"And we thought, 'Well ... all right,'" Bruce said, laughing.

The store opened in December, giving Bruce and Brackbill enough time to line one wall with the cubby-like shelves that are now full of yarn skeins, set up a table for knitting classes and display all sorts of knitting needles by the cash register.

Wonder Knit's colorful, twisted ropes of yarn aim to add variety to the options already available in Columbus. While most chain craft stores carry acrylic yarn, Wonder Knit steers toward cotton, wool and alpaca fibers, many from small companies.

Organic and eco-friendly yarns are doing well, Bruce said, and they're looking for local spinners. One yarn is even designed exclusively for the store, by Bruce's friend from D.C.

They've already kicked off classes in basic kitting and making hats, mittens and baby blankets. Private lessons for any skill level are available by the hour. Crochet and spinning - spinning yarn, that is - are also planned.

Wonder Knit joins a pair of shops selling handmade and new-use pieces on the block: indie-arts store Wholly Craft and kids' consignment shop Red Rover. Brackbill and Bruce are more than pleased with the location, which they're calling the Clintonville Crafts District.

"We wanted to provide a space that was really welcoming and friendly and a place where people could just come and hang out," Bruce said.

Heels Turned & Gusset Stitches Picked Up

These socks are flying off the needles. I am about 5 rows beyond the decrease rows following the picking up of gusset stitches. Now for the many rounds of foot fabric!

February 5, 2009

Heel Flaps and Heel Cups

I finished heel flaps for sock A and B and heel cup on sock B before work this morning.

This isn't the greatest picture but the heel cup is very easy to see. :-)

February 4, 2009

Socks


Socks
Originally uploaded by bean counting knitter
It is lunch time and I am knitting on these socks I started early this morning. I am using this project to brush up on knitting two socks at once on a 47" circular needle. Molly and I are going to be casting on the Komet socks next Monday and I want to be refreshed with this method. What are you working on today?

February 1, 2009

Adventures and 25% off sock yarn? GASP! What a day....

So mid week I received an email from Knitters Merc notifying of a glorious 25% off sock yarn sale this weekend. Yoza.... Kristie and I modified our Saturday plans to include a trip to The Merc, as it is affectionately known around these parts. I picked up some Regia Silk in a very subtle grey and some reinforcing thread for the heals and toes.

I am going to be doing a knit-along with Molly in which we will knit the Komet socks together. I plan to knit mine two at a time on a 47" circular needle. I am going to cheat a little. I am going to knit the cuffs separately on DPN's and then slide them to the long circular to knit the rest of the sock body.


After The Merc we were going to head to Zen-Cha for tea and dumplings, gab, and knit. While in route we decided to ditch her car and ride down High Street together but then we realized there was another yarn shop between us and Zen-Cha. In we went to fondle more yarn. I scored more sock yarn ~ Frog Tree in oooooooooooh so soft Alpaca. Ok so this picture is really bad. It is a green yarn but for the life of me I can't get a good picture of it. This picture was the best. I took 25+ pictures of this yarn in different areas of my house at different times of day and this is all I have folks.



Zen-Cha was serving brunch and we couldn't get dumplings until 2 by which time were were long gone on the next stop of our adventure. BUT check out these Maui pancakes I ordered. OMG these were heavenly. There was fresh pineapple, mango, papaya and kiwi with this amazing mango syrup. Kristie will be sharing pictures of her lovely waffles so check out her blog soon. My tea is over on the right with a tealight burning under the pot to keep it toasty warm. It was a black tea with slices of oranges and honey. AMAZINGLY good! I highly recommend Zen-Cha.

Kristie and I left Zen-Cha and headed to World Market where we bought tea, coffee and other wonderful things. We decided we hadn't had enough knitting and gabbing so we went to Cup-o-Joe where Audra met us for a bit to knit and gab. By then Jimmy was sending out S.O.S. messages so we met up with him later to have dinner at Hunan House which was another amazing meal! Yesterday was pretty amazing.

Other news.... I realized early January, actually I think I was in denial prior to January, that I hadn't had my hair cut since the second week of January 2008. So I went a week or so ago and got the mop cut. Here is a very fuzzy picture of the new hairdo.


I am on the final phase, the hood, of my Susie Hoodie. I can't wait to finish this and I think it will be sometime this week when I should be in the soak and block phase. Yippie!



So today is the final day of the Pro Football season. Very sad! Go Cardinals.......

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