Vaycay!

Storm Coast Creations is on vacation. See you after Labor Day!

Shared: Do Not Do This

Normally I wouldn't post just to share a link to someone else's blog, but if you haven't read The Panopticon today, you should. Mr. Franklin shares some advice on what not to do in a coffee shop and. It. Is. Hilarious.

(However, it is rated, at the very least, PG-13.)

Stitch Markers

Blog, I don't know if you're ready for this. Remember how I changed the blog name, in case I ever became Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart and started doing stuff other than knitting?

Hah. I beaded.

I had a few extra dollars on me the other day and was looking at some homemade stitch markers at my LYS, since right now I'm using tied-up little pieces of yarn and they stink. These stitch markers went for almost $2 apiece! I was all like "aw nah, I have beading supplies, I can make some!" (True story, I was into beading before I got back into knitting in 2008. I had a bead stash before I had a yarn stash.)

But since I'm basically a crafting idiot, first I had to find a good tutorial. I wanted to use beading wire because I'm lazy and cheap and had some on hand. Cue PDXKnitterati and her tutorial on how to make stitch markers with bead wire. I probably shouldn't show you this link since I want everyone to think I'm a genius, but I am honest and credit should be given where it is due. Use this tutorial. You too will look like a genius.

I know some gals who are super-nice to me and I feel like I can never do anything in return for them, so I busted out the dusty bead stash and picked out some beads for their stitch markers. I did ten of each, since ten is a good number. If I was buying stitch markers, I'd want a lot so I could use them on most projects.



First there's Ms. S. She loves the color blue (can you tell?). She has been really nice to me, giving me fiber to spin with and letting me dye some of her fiber, or even just giving me a bag full of yarn to use for my crapghan. 10 little stitch markers doesn't even make a dent in the kindness she's shown me.



Then there's Ms. B. I also call her the "Tuesday Taxi" since she is often willing to come pick me up after work on Tuesday and take me to the yarn store to hang out. She taught me how to use my drop spindle and puts up with my endless questions. She's even offered to lend me her loom. Yowza.



Ah, Ms. K. (Well, one of many Ms. Ks, but you don't know the others.) She is bright and cheerful and has put up with my constant rescheduling on our hanging out. We'll do it someday! I did need to take one of these stitch markers back because it needs some maintenance. I'd used a size one crimp bead on the "different" marker and didn't realize that the millefiore bead hole is large enough that it can fall off. (See the bottommost bead on the left, the one without seed beads on the bottom? Yeah.) Whoops. Thankfully she brought this to my attention and I'll try again with a larger crimp bead.

Doing this basically cleaned me out of crimp beads, so I'm thinking of going to the store and picking up some more as soon as I can reconcile not spending that money on yarn. It's gonna be tough ... but I want some!




This post is featured on Little Andalucia's Creative Friday Features.

IWTMT: Knitted Stars

I love stars. Don't know why, but I do. This week's IWTMT is a pattern called Knitted Stars as found on the Knitting in Color blog. Oh my goodness, how cute are they? Super-quick, too. I can imagine knitting a few of these up in a sparkly yarn and hanging them from my ceiling.

My landlord might not be too happy about that, though.

The Sheepies

On Friday, hubs and I went to dinner at the house of our friends who own sheep. Theoretically I am going to get one of the fleeces off the girls, but our friends are learning all about washing and processing first so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed. I believe our guy friend said they were Shetland mixes, but he didn't know what else they were.

Please pardon the terrible pictures; I'd only brought my cell phone.



The girls sure were aloof! We tried tempting them with food but they weren't fooled. I hope to get one of Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky's fleeces -- they are the dark ones. Apparently they were named before it was discovered they were girls. At one point, all four of them filed past the fence in neat color order and stared at us. It was a little like being back in high school.



The boys were a lot more friendly, as you can see. They spent most of their time laying in my husband's lap, though I managed to tempt Poe (the dark one) away for a little while. Sorry I don't have a better shot of you, Oliver!



It was a great evening and a fun opportunity to meet some sheep in person. I would love to spin with their fleeces!

IWTMT: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret

I still have two lovely skeins of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran in my stash. I never did make the Darkside Cowl. Since I am trying very hard to be on a yarn diet, thus commences the Great Stash Knitdown. And if I don't make the Darkside Cowl, what am I gonna make?

My original plan for the yarn was "something with cables". I was thinking a hat. Oh, hey, Ravelry. You've found me an awesome Ravelry-only pattern for a slouchy hat with cables that I can make with two skeins of Alpaca Silk Aran? It's called Star Crossed Slouchy Beret? Why, thank you! You are so nice to me.

And for those of you not on Ravelry who want to see what this hat looks like, I guess I'll just have to randomly pick someone who blogged about it for some link love! I pick ... tentenknits! Ugh, she looks way too good in that hat. Not fair.

Finished Object: Seed Stitch Scarf

I was hesitant to put this up as a Finished Object post for two reasons. One, I haven't woven in the ends yet. Two, I'm supposed to tell my LYS what I think of the yarn.

I'm going to put it up anyway, for three reasons. One, I did block it, and that's close enough for me. Two, it's summer. I'll tell the store about it when I've worn the scarf. Three, I don't have anything else to post.



Pattern: No real pattern. I cast on a number of stitches, which escapes me now (but I'm sure it was an odd number), and knit in seed stitch until it looked like I was going to run out of yarn. Helpful, I know.
Yarn: 1 skein of Zealana Kia Ora Kauri Worsted Weight in colorway K11. The website calls this color Pink Roha.
Needles: US size whoops didn't write that down either. The ballband suggests a 7, so I probably used a 6.
Timeline: 5.11.10 - sometime later. Look, I did most of my work on this in moving vehicles. I didn't have time for notes. I think I finished the knitting in the car either on the way down to or on the way back from my sister's graduation, which puts the end knitting date either on May 20th or May 22nd.
Modifications: n/a

Opinion: Please keep in mind these are all strictly knitting-related, not wearing-related. I loved the saturation of the color, though it bled a lot in the Eucalan wash. It did keep a nice deep color though, and blocked very well. While knitting, the possum (?) hairs (the dark hairs) did seem a bit scratchy. I'll have to see how this feels while wearing.

IWTMT: In the Pink

Have you ever wanted to knit a galaxy? Yeah, me too.

Unbelievably, In the Pink is a free shawl pattern. Only catch is it's a Ravelry-only download. Not on Ravlery but you just need to see it? Check out the project on They Call Me Yarn.

You've heard of carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? Forget that. Give me the ethereal weightlessness of the universe.

Finished Object: Amazing Striped Scarf

Hey, look! It's a finished object post! Haven't had one of these in a while. (Please ignore my dirty bathroom mirror. I've cleaned it now.)



Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf as popularized by Jared Flood/Brooklyn Tweed
Yarn: 2 skeins of Lion Brand Amazing in colorway Olympia
Needles: US size 6 in my Boye interchangeable set
Timeline: 5.22.10 - 7.10.10
Modifications: I THINK I cast on 29 stitches.

Opinion: This is my fourth Noro Striped Scarf, so obviously I like the pattern and have a problem making other scarves. It's so classic!

Random Thoughts: I started this in the car on the way down to Pennsylvania to see my sister's graduation. This was also my "waiting for the bus to come" knitting. I was inspired to try a NSS with just one colorway by my friend Cindi and the "Gloaming Scarf" by jenna-b on Ravelry, who had also made the scarf in the Olympia colorway.

Many people commented on how I was making a scarf in the middle of the summer. Haha, now I have a scarf and you don't.

IWTMT: Sock Yarn Blanket

Hi, blog. I've been quiet lately because I started my Crazy Zauberball socks and it's just like knitting with Noro. I. Can't. Stop. Knitting. Which is good, because I'm working on size 1 needles and therefore it's taking forever.

Speaking of sock yarn and things that take forever (hey-o! what a transition), I am very glad I'm into making socks right now, because I have a lot of sock yarn. In fact, let me list it so I will be ashamed. I have:

1. Araucania Ranco Multy
2. Colinette Jitterbug
3. Crystal Palace Yarns Mini Mochi
4. Dream in Color Smooshy
5. Red Heart Heart & Sole
6. Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball

And that's just counting the yarns Ravelry classifies as "fingering". It's a little sick for someone who hasn't actually completed a sock yet. But since now I'm liking making socks, this means I might actually finish some. And when you finish things, sometimes you have leftovers.

With my worsted weight acrylic-blend leftovers, I'm making the Crapghan. What do you make with sock yarn leftovers? Why, you make the Sock Yarn Blankie, of course. It's a free pattern/tutorial from Shelly Kang. I'm enjoying learning new techniques with my projects lately, and mitered squares are something I haven't tackled yet.

Going through all the projects on Ravelry makes it clear my little sock yarn stash ain't nearly enough to make a blanket, but I can always get more yarn!