Knit-Nerd-Rant

This pattern is for a fun, festive hat made with a couple different types of yarn that create very different effects.  It's simple enough, though the changes between needle sizes and weights of yarn can be a bit of exercise for your fingers.  Depending on how Kaiser Wilhelm-y you want it to be, you can do the tassel or leave it off. So, my mother asked for a hat for Christmas and sent me the following picture as a guide for what I should make for her, but she wanted it in red: Essentially, this would mean felting using variegated yarn with an eyelash yarn around the brim that wouldn't felt and would provide a different kind of fluffy-ness. 2 difficulties with this: 1 - local yarn shop didn't have any eyelash yarn and no access to big box craft shops that would carry it, 2 - I've never intentionally felted anything and the whole process scares me more than it should scare any rational, experienced knitter. When I went to my LYS ( Looped ), I was able to find ...

Inspired by one of my new favorite writers , I want to write a brief letter to 2013. Dear 2013, Bite me. You had some good moments, like a promotion and lots of positive feedback and travel for work. However, those times when you inflicted incredible harm to the people I love were not cool. I have spent too much time in hospitals for one year during your twelve months. Too many tears. Way too many tears.  It's not for nothing that my mother said this year "if what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, we must be like Godzilla by now." I want to burn you in effigy every day leading to your end. You have become dangerously unbalanced and unhealthy. I don't want to see any other years like this again. No pathetic late night drunk calls seeking reconciliation. No sad texts or emails. Just go. And take your pain and suffering with you. Sincerely and without affection of any kind, -E KnitNerdRant Dear 2014, You look cute. I'll see you on the 1st. I'll be t...

So I had to quickly think up some gifts for some of the in-laws-to-be. We went down to visit them for Thanksgiving, and will be up with my family for Christmas this year. So we decided we would bring down everyone's Christmas gifts while we were in town. Sister-in-law-to-be and her fiance are tough to buy for, so we got them a couple gift cards.  I felt really guilty about it, since it's not the first time and it always just feels like a cop-out.  So I decided to use some scrap yarn lying around to make something to put the card in - a gift card cozy. Shout out to my friends at Hudson Trail Outfitters , regional chain in the DC area, and their promotional gift card rebate deal that gave me one to use for demonstration purposes!  It's cute, takes very little time to knit up, and makes it feel less like a cop-out to give someone a gift card.  I made 2 of them on the 2 hour flight there, so definitely very quick! I used these supplies: Scrap yar...

For my friends, it's no surprise that I have a very dark sense of humor. This video HAD to be shared because it is quite possibly the most amazing thing to ever happen in a Thanksgiving Day parade. Barney gets shanked by a street light and is then destroyed by Lilliputians that look kinda like maggots. It really reminded me of those time-lapse videos of animal corpses decomposing in the woods. In other news, our Thanksgiving with the boyfriend's family was fun, lots of rest, lots of food, lots of opinionated conversation, some knitting, and some bonding.

Last night, I tried to see the rocket launch in Virginia, but managed to miss it. However, I had taken my camera with me and was going by the National Cathedral on the way back and decided to take advantage of the moment.  It's a really gorgeous building, and majestic at night. However, with the wrong settings on a DSLR camera, it can turn into a truly disconcerting, spooky experience. This one is my favorite: And then suddenly, I found the right settings. But it still quite spooky, or I was already in a fairly spooky mood. Plus, as an added bonus, a shot from near 30th Street Station in Philadelphia:

A friend posted on Facebook a link to a really interesting blog post about how the industrial age has changed the way that we create clothing - from fibers to construction to use - that really made me see my own sewing in a new light.  This friend has gotten into historical re-enactment in a big way (late medieval - early Renaissance, to be specific), and so has a particular skill with 16th century Italian women's wear. Anyway, the post was by an Australian woman known as Skud, titled " Why is it so difficult and expensive to make your own clothes (or have them made)? The discussion about pattern making particularly intrigues me.  Most, if not all, of the clothes that I make are essentially rectangles - many formed into modified tubes.  Skirts are tubes with added pockets, waistbands, zippers, and a few other fun bits added, and shaped with darts. The only black-tie formal dress that I own is made of a tube for the body, then another tube opened at the sides to create...

It's been a while since I posted because I kept intending that the next post would be the pattern for this new sweater... and things got in the way.  I designed it on the needles, as I often seem to do, and just haven't sat down and reverse-engineered it.  It's a super big and floppy neckline, which is just oh-so-cozy. It's a bit theatrical, and perhaps not for the faint of heart. Here goes! The yarn suggestion is a  little tricky.  I rescued some super scrumptious tan lambswool from a Gap sweater that I found at a rummage sale that was just an atrocious pattern (turtle neck sweater with ribbing from the neck to the shoulders, then stockinette, also known as turns fashion model figures into potatoes). It's a chunky yarn - thicker than worsted weight, but probably not a full "bulky" weight. Needle suggestions - I did this all on a pair of straight 10.5s, though, if you have a circular of the same gauge, I would suggest that for the neck. Unless yo...

Apologies for any regular readers who have come along, things have been crazy this summer, and that's really my best excuse.  I have a sweater pattern that I need to go back and write because the sweater is super-duper cozy and snuggly, and I've taken up cross-stitch, and have a couple nerd-tastic samples already mostly completed, so more on those once they are web-picture ready! So my inspiration for today's post was my reaction to seeing the amazing movie, Pacific Rim . (Don't worry, nothing here will reveal any spoilers beyond the basic premise of the movie. I hate spoilers, and refuse to add to them!) First, I had so much fun watching that movie. It was totally amazing and fun and hilarious.  I am constantly in awe of Guillermo del Toro's magnificently warped mind and the way that he can create such imaginative monsters.  While the kaiju are both traditional in their size and fierceness, the shapes they take and the faces (particularly the mouths) are ...

There is such a thing called PenisPans.com where someone has tried to see how many other uses can be made of a bachelorette party gift - a penis shaped cake pan. Hide any innocent eyes and go here to see the hilarity. And yes, they all still look like penises. This is the ultimate reason for the interwebs. My search is over.

[ Source ] from April 1 2013 People Magazine So, while waiting with family in a hospital room with now windows, I was flipping through a People Magazine and found the recipe here (which someone else decided to save as well to provide me with this lovely picture). With the recent online meltdowns involving certain bakeries that had had some interaction with Mr. Ramsay, it makes the timing even better. Anyway, since Lala the lavender came to my home, I've been hoping to find a way to make lavender shortbread cookies. It seemed perfectly natural! So, why not adjust this recipe for what I wanted to do. I didn't monkey too much with the ingredients, but had to make some adjustments. 2 1/2 cups flour (kept the same) 1/4 tsp fine sea salt (kept the same, luckily had some on hand) 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (reduced from original to make room for olive oil) 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (not in original at all) 2/3 cup superfine sugar (confectioner's worked for me)...

This seems to be a topic of the moment. While chatting with my sister, we started talking about body image and how things seem to be so skewed, and our own issues with our body shapes and our body image. The other day, I had a great experience with a woman at a dress shop. Then today, a friend posted a link to this blog post on Facebook, and it got me thinking. It feels like there's a lot of judgement out there, a lot of mean competition between women that only tears people down.  This benefits no one but the folks at Slim Fast and the successors to PhenPhen, the cosmetics industry, and Spanx. There's also a lot of counter-activisim in a few flavors. There are women who strike back with just reverse judgement, turning the prejudice on skinny women while glorifying the other end of the spectrum.  The perspective that I like best is what came out of the conversation with my sister.  It's that of the authors of Fatcast , a podcast that is looking to breakdown the idea t...

To celebrate the 4 year anniversary with the boyfriend (has it really been that long?!?!), we went up to Montreal. We had some help from a friend with an abundance of airline miles who was appreciative of help finding a job recently. The boyfriend had never been there, and it had been over 10 years since I had been, so we were in for a treat. We picked up a Fodor's guide and even had a paper AAA map on hand. I found the Hotel Ambrose on Hotels.com, and it was a pretty sweet deal for being located right in downtown (on the advice of a coworker who had lives there ages ago). Right by McGill, which was almost my undergrad alma mater, was an interesting neighborhood full of English-speaking students and tourists from all over.  then it was a question of trying to prepare my brain to start back up in French (though it's definitely possible to get around with just English, having the ability to do both makes things a lot easier, and some people a lot more friendly). Begi...

Posting ground to a halt because I wanted to post about an anniversary trip to Montreal with the boyfriend--and a family emergency that has kept me busy traveling to be with them most weekends (and I will not be posting about it here in the interest of privacy). Anyway,  the Montreal info will be up soon, as soon as I can do it justice. We found some really fun and great places to see and I want to spread the word and reward some kick-butt small businesses! I am also working on a new sweater made out of reclaimed yarn from possibly one of the most hideous sweaters ever to come out of an international retailer. And I'm so angry that I didn't take photos before I frogged that sucker. It was amazingly awful. But the yummy lambswool will soon be part of a sweater worthy of its buttery smoothness.

Keep in mind, that this was totally designed on the fly, and I'm going back and re-constructing what I did, so please forgive me for and alert me to any errors you see! Luckily, many years of experience sewing long before I even picked up my first knitting needles helped me confidently make my set-in sleeves.  They may not be the prettiest buttonholes, but dammit, that's who I figured it out. Translations: CO - cast on K - knit P - purl M1 - make one K2tog - knit 2 together P2tog - purl 2 together Equipment: 1 size 6 circular needle (24" long at the very least), 4 size 6 double-pointed needles, some scrap yarn, and a yarn needle for sewing in the loose ends. Making buttonholes: I totally stumbled on this method, so I don't know if it's got a name somewhere, but here is the way I did it Knit full length of body for the particular stage in the pattern, until the last 6 stitches K1, chain bind off next 3 stitches, leaving 2 remaining P2 This is the ...

A small shop near the hotel with an amazing Mardi Gras display So I just recently returned from a business trip to New Orleans, and I am officially a convert!  The city at the time was in the early throes of Mardi Gras, and also preparing itself for the upcoming Superbowl.  The French Quarter was covered with police, who justifiably expected a lot of crowd to control between Mardi Gras celebrants and Superbowl partiers.  It was a bit of a head trip.  Jackson Square and the river front area were covered with different stages where the CBS folks were filming interviews and talking heads.  Despite the growing insanity, I had an amazing time, and made sure to keep a food journal. It was such an amazing culinary adventure.  Some of the highlights include Crawfish etoufée Coconut custard bread pudding, chocolate bread pudding, and Mother's bread pudding Poboys: Sammy's - roast beef poboy Red Fish Grill - bbq fried oyster poboy Mother's - turkey, roas...

I'm happy to share a new pattern, it's pretty basic, and it's my first ever pair of toe-up socks. I've made them specifically for my boyfriend, making the pattern up as I went to fit his feet - haute couture socks :-) These instructions are the way that I think of them, so, as someone discovering toe-up and short-row heels, experts should feel free to skip some of the details. For yarn, I used yarn that I salvaged from an old sweater that had run into the end of its life. Lots and lots of yarn from that puppy! But I liked the color, figured lots of it still had good life left in it. It's green! (It's also cheap) I also was eager to take advantage of some techniques in my new copy of Stitch 'n Bitch: Superstar Knitting   (a Christmas present to myself). So, that's a good place to look up any details of techniques described in this pattern. Gear up: (I used the following for this project) 5 double-pointed needles, US size 4 1 stitch h...

So after an amazing and desperately needed vacation with the boyfriend's family in the Caribbean, we came back to DC for a quiet Christmas, just the two of us. Then, my parents decided to swing by for a small belated celebration with them, just as both myself and the boyfriend were coming down with a plain old awful cold. We have both been nearly bed ridden for a couple days. I discovered the joys of watching Robin Hood: Men in Tights while sick. It is awesome. Given our enfeebled states, "midnight" happened at 10 pm, and all was good. I have completed two of the delightfully cheesy jigsaw puzzles I got and all Christmas cookies have been consumed. Returning to reality may hurt.  With that in mind, I present one of the many pictures from the vacation in the tropics. Since then, it's been a pretty intense week and a half - work has been taking over a lot more of my time, but there is a possibility for promotion if things swing the right way... we shall see! ...