Black Thumb Be Gone!

I think this is it.  I think this is the year I'm finally going to change my thumb from black to green.  Those that know Kevin and me, know that this is the beginning of the second year living in his Grandpa's house.  Grandpa has graciously given us free range of the yard since he never goes out there or uses it at all. Last year we got settled and dreamed about digging around in the back yard. We walked around the perimeter.  We tried to pay attention to where the light falls throughout the year.  We were even surprised with a bounty of volunteer hardneck garlic! (The scapes were delicious!)

This year, we've still got those big dreams, but now we sort of have a haphazard plan to get a modest harvest and our fingers crossed to start prettying up the place a bit.

I can't lie.  I've been collecting seed packets all year long.  They tempt me so readily.  Seeds are surprisingly cheap and at the end of the season the price plummets even more.  According to the various books I've been reading, they'll still be viable for a couple more years if I store them properly. 

Ignore the prices in the corner.  Everything in this picture I got for 20 cents a pack or less at the end of last season.  Sure, some of the seeds will die, but when has anyone ever gotten every single seed from a packet to sprout?  On top of that, what home gardener could ever have use for as many plants that would grow from the hundreds of seeds that are in a single packet?  I for one don't anticipate needing 200 brussel sprout plants this season or even in my whole lifetime.

I know it's way to early to start planting veggies outside, but thanks to a lovely Christmas gift, I've got a windowsill full of herbs. 

That's Cilantro on the left.  Dill is still seeds under the plastic bag, and little bit of chives in the center.

If you're wondering why my hopes are so high, let me just say this.  That little bonsai tree second from the right almost died while Kevin and I were away on our honeymoon.  I took a pair of scissors, cut off a bunch of dead bits, watered thoroughly, and miraculously it sprang back to life!  It just needed a little attention. 

And speaking of our honeymoon, that bulb being forced on the far right was a wedding present from my Aunt and Uncle Liz and Terry.  I've never forced a bulb before and I had no idea how it was done.  I just saw a picture of a bulb at the top of a bottle in a magazine.  I found the milk bottle at a thrift store for a dollar, pulled the bulb from the crisper drawer of the fridge (I didn't have time to plant them last fall before the snow started falling), and set it at the top.  A few days later, the spike appeared!  I got so excited I might have gone a little overboard with my other seed starting.

What can I say? Cabin fever washed over me at the sight of the herbs and tulip bulb! At the top left to right is basil, curly parsley, sweet marjoram, jalapenos, and sweet peppers.  At the bottom is cosmos flowers, kohlrabi, broccoli, and cauliflower.  I've read that those last three are cool weather crops which can stand a light freeze.  With a little protection in the form of some garden cloches, I'm feeling confident that I can get those little guys out in the dirt.  Of course I'll have to start hardening them off starting today.  I hope they make it.  They're probably my three favorite vegetables.

I've also got some beefsteak and cherry tomatoes in a big clear plastic tub in another room. They might survive if I pot them up.  (Note to self: Buy potting mix.)

Oh! And I also started a garden diary.  I've been keeping track of how long it takes for each seed to germinate, the temperatures everyday (and I might even end up making a year in temperatures scarf since I'll have the data), and wrote in important dates ahead of time including the predicted first and last frost dates of the year and about when I should be able to harvest that garlic I planted last year.

I don't anticipate being able to feed us off of the little backyard garden.  Our soil isn't so good yet, nor do I have the kind of experience for that, but I know I'll have a good time getting outdoors and enjoying nature this year. If I should pluck a tomato or cut a broccoli head, so much the better.

D52 - Week 50 - Tangled

Kevyn Rider
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Aww, I'm not as interested in writing about a movie I actually like a lot! Usually I latch onto the flaws, but...I'm not sure exactly what's wrong with ...OH! I remember now. There is one thing that really bugs me about this movie. But I'll save it for the end.
Last week I talked about how "Princess & the Frog" seemed to embrace the old-and-even-older school style of Disney Princess movies. "Tangled" does a good job at retaining everything that makes those films enjoyable - such as the storytelling, vivid animation, catchy music, and engaging characters - and takes everything a step further by updating the sense of humor. Thankfully they're not updated in the annoying way (AFRO CIRCUS! BANA-NA! BANA-NANA! AFRO CIRCUS!). And the main characters equally have interesting and believable motivations and feelings. Flynn is humble enough to not come across as a complete Joey Tribbiani type, but yet cocky enough that he's not a bland Dave Seville/Prince Eric type. Rapunzel is a strong female figure and (wants to be) independent, but has perfectly understandable hesitations and doubts. Mother Gothel is a bit of a tricky one though. Has she, as a result of raising her, come to genuinely love Rapunzel after the fact of her manipulation? She may have evil motivations for keeping Rapunzel in the tower, but she's not evil to the point of beating her or starving her or depriving her of entertainment and nice things, and it's not like she has to be nice to her faux-daughter for magic reverse-aging's sake. I'm not saying any of this excuses what she's done, but it makes the idea of her character worth dissecting.When Gothel treats Rapunzel to her favorite hazelnut soup, is it really her favorite or has she just convinced her it's her favorite? If not for the kidnapping, inprisonment, lying, manipulation, and later on stabbing and such, could Mother Gothel have been the good guy? Maybe in an alternate fantasy where she doesn't steal Rapunzel away, she's just the best royal caretaker ever.
So yeah. Great music, great art and animation, great characters, great story (for one involving magic, at least), all packaged together quite nicely. So then what was it that I don't like about this movie? That one thing that bothered me enough that I drew a comic a year ago to address my complaint? Ideally my point came across well enough in it that I can just show you:

Favorite character: Max is best pony. Horse. Whatever.
Least necessary character: I didn't need old in-his-skivvies dude. I'm going with my "A character isn't funny just because he's wearing nothing but his underwear" stance here. I would've been okay with Mother Gothel having gotten the necessary information from, oh, anyone else, so that he wouldn't have to exist.
DVD Bonus: Part of what inspired this D52 project was the 50 Animated Features count-up on the Tangled DVD, which helped me realize, "wow, there really have been over 50, haven't there?" It's especially neat now to watch "the whole year" summed up in only a couple of minutes, and yet again notice how quickly the 80s come up.
Overall: If I were to nominate a best Disney Princess movie, this would quite possibly be it. It's a worthy contender with Beauty & the Beast, anyway.

As for my favorite D52 movie of all...well, we only have two left. Could there possibly be one I like even more of those two? Guess we'll just have to see, tee-hee!


Amanda Knows Best
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 Yay! Number 50!  I'm so glad that the landmark 50th film in the Disney Animated Feature line-up is such a good one.  But Kevin's right.  Taking a good movie and explaining why it's good is an awful lot harder than taking a bad one or even just a flawed one and picking it apart. 

Tangled offers an excellent opportunity to analyze what makes animation good to a layperson.  Sure, the commentary tracks are always telling you what's hard technically (Hair, Fire, Water, Hair in Water, Explosions, Fabric, that sort of thing), but what about artistically?  To my mind, it's taking an image and clearly expressing emotion and motivation.  Here, it's best demonstrated by four nearly silent characters. Max and Pascal represent the very active and cartoonish end of the spectrum and the King and Queen are the most subtle end of the line.  Both are acted brilliantly and for different reasons.  The cartoonish animals dance a tricky dance between offering nothing but comic relief with their antics, and yet when they emote sincerely, it's still easy to relate.  Contrarily the King and Queen are animated so subtly that I'd say they spend more time being nearly still than they do moving at all.  The solemn stillness of their stance is enough to express one of the most complex emotions of the entire year.  Fear of disappointment and renewed grief mixed with disbelief, relief, and joy. 

As for the rest of the film, well, I've always been a fan of the Broadway Musical and this film would fit in with the best of them.  The theatrics are staged as if it were live action, the lighting is dramatic and flourishy, and the music is as catchy as Menken has ever written.  (In fact, this is the most memorable sing-along-able in nearly a decade for my taste.)

Favorite Character:  Bruiser knits and so does Rapunzel... need I say more?
Least Necessary character:  I hate to copycat, but Cupid thug could have been pretty much anybody else.
Overall: I LIKED IT.  I really really liked it!

Cleaning House

Many Americans are familiar with the idea of Spring Cleaning. Spring is a time for new growth and new ideas and fresh activity. However, New Year's is a time for resolution and it is my opinion that Spring Cleaning ought to have a New Year's sister cleaning as well.

While it's true that in the northern hemisphere, it's an inconvenient time to have a garage sale, it still is a convenient time to set up for a garage sale. Search out the tchotchkes and have them ready when the last flake finally melts.

For me, it's less about getting rid of junk (we live in a very small apartment after all so efficiency is the name of the game) but about finishing what we started and reorganizing what we have.

Among my 2012 goals is the resolution to finish or frog all my UnFinished Objects and Works In Progress. To start this, I really do need to figure out what they are, where they are, and where I stopped. Here's one:

I just started this project a few days ago. I'm quite positive I can finish this shawlette this month as it's going faster than I could have hoped for. I'm really thrilled to be working with this yarn from BlackSheep Dyeworks. It's amazingly soft, but it has so much stitch definition (clearly not evidenced by my whack photography skills) and I have yet to split the yarn even once. The pattern is Pleiades and is quite well written so far.

Now let's move on to, oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. This was supposed to be finished back in 2010. Can you really blame me though? Look at all those ends! It's a nightmare! What was I thinking? I hate weaving in ends and seaming. This one will be a chore, but even though the little girl is a little bit bigger, I still think it's large enough and will eventually be nice enough that she'll still get some joy from it.
And this? I don't even know WHAT it was originally supposed to be! It's pointy at one end, and it's clearly some sort of stuffed item. A mouse's head? A rotten turnip? An armadillo? I don't think it was originally supposed to be an acorn, but I think the shape and color fits, so that's what I intend to finish it into.
What other sad lonely little projects will I find while tidying up?

Day 365 AND THE END

I made it I made it I MADE IT I MADE IT!!

The final scarf of the year. All posted and made and shared with anyone who happens by. This one took me longer than any other scarf. I used the smallest needles that I've used on any scarf. I did tiny cables and by a long shot there were more cable crossings than any of my other cables scarves put together. It only seems right that the final scarf should be the biggest effort as a way of finishing my year with a bang.

This one is a free pattern available on Ravelry called the Celtic Cable Scarf. The pattern was very well written, but it was all written and no chart, so be ready to either chart it out yourself or just pay close attention on the first repeat so you can refer to the scarf itself for the rest of the scarf instead.

If I'm being totally honest with myself, instead of being excited for completing my challenge, I'm actually disappointed that it's over. It feels a little bit like a gradation. I feel very accomplished, but on the other hand I feel like I've come to an end.

When it all comes down to it, I think the positives outweigh the postpartum depression. I'm very happy that I made my goal. I'm very happy that I had so many scarves to give as gifts for Christmas and still have many more to give to someone who needs them. I certainly did devastate my stash (though it remains quite overwhelming). I even managed to learn a few new techniques and new ways to use old techniques. I learned a little bit more about most people's likes and dislikes when it comes to outerwear. Finally I think the most important thing I learned was quite a lot about time management! I'll never be late for another gift giving situation and I recognize the importance of planning ahead. If I can use these lessons to my advantage in the future, I'll have used this year to great advantage.

It's been a great year and I'm looking forward to 2012!! Be on the lookout for more posts from Kevin. He has a blogging project about Disney feature length animated movies. Watch for me and my hopefully many finished objects. Most of all have a safe and Happy New Year.

Day 327 and Antique

When one is working on a project, there is hardly a despair so intense as the realization that you haven't purchased enough of the same dye lot. The rage might set in in you're working with either black or white where the color difference is more obvious than in some other colors.

I went to an extreme here and deliberately choose whites that didn't match. The result is a faux antique. I'm strongly reminded of the gradually changing and very splotching colors of a very old lace table cloth such as would be passed down from earlier generations.

This is a fairly new pattern on ravelry called "Cloudburst shawl." The designer is quite new, but I found the pattern easy enough to understand.

Day 291 and Mirror Lake

So pretty! This is a free pattern that can be found not only in ravelry's library but also on Caron's pattern pages. I found this to take a lot more time than expected and I think it's because I rarely make crochet that's so darn big! I used panda cotton here and it's amazingly drapey. I think that's saying a lot because crochet is notorious for being stiff. It's all in the gauge and the material though.

Day 270 and Dad

This is some serious crochet cabling! It's not hard and I highly recommend the method.

Here's the gist of it. Short stitches make up the background. Long stitches are made around the posts of the stitches 2 rows below and stand above the surface. You can stitch around posts further to the left or to the right to get angled cables and even cross the cables. It's completely a different technique than knitting but the look is just as detailed.

Here's the pattern from the ravelry database: Crochet Cables Scarf
and here's my own project page.

Day 268 and Rainbow Mosaic

I've done traditional garter stitch mosaic knitting before with Treaty and yesterday I did something very simple with Linkies. I've been working on this one for a while and I don't think I could be more thrilled with the results.

What's special about this scarf is the way a solid background makes a colored foreground come to life. Any solid would work as long as it has high contrast with EVERY color in the changing yarn. I've found that if the colors come too close together at any point it tends to muddle the entire pattern so make choosing colors a very deliberate time in your own design.

This pattern is on Ravelry as mosaic scarf and you can see the details of my own color choices on my project page here.

Day 261 and Kermit

A little triangular edging reminds me of a favorite fictional character! This one came from ravelry and it's a free download so feel free to make one of your own.
I abbreviated mine for lack of yardage but I think it looks just as sweet.
Little Elf Cowl

Had Kevin the Fiance take the photo today. He choose the more daring angle look. Rather exciting, no?

Day 192 and Shy Lace

You can't even tell, but this is a one row lace pattern. Every single row has yarn overs and decreases, but they overlap in such a way as to create a thick hollow fabric with lots of air pockets to keep you very very warm in the winter. The Super Fast Ultra Cozy scarf is available on the sage yarn blog.

I think it's important to read around. I can't always comment either because I feel awkward commenting on a 2 year old post or because I'm pressed for time or don't have an account on the blog site, but I sure do appreciate everyone else out there in the creative community. As a whole, we keep each other going.

Day 184 and Incognitowl

Inspired of course by the very popular pattern available on ravelry called Owls, I as well as many others have seen fit to use the single owl motif as a fun insert pattern! It's so amazing that a certain arrangement of cables can have so much personality.

Day 181 and Fake

This very easy and fast pattern is by another ravelry amateur designer and can be found over yonder. Her idea was to make pretend fringe without ever having to do any fringing. Definitely a suitable project for a beginner with only one row of increase and one row of decrease to fill out the fake fringe.

Day 163 and Hearties

Or.. Pacmans? Pacmen. Now that I see how my tension looks with this particular stitch patter, I really really wish I had used black and yellow for this design. Maybe I still will! Who knows?? In any case, let's put up a link there to the stitch pattern.

Day 147 and the Bow

This was so fast and so easy and when worn I was blown away with how much prettier it ended up than in my imagination. It's nothing but rectangles so even a complete beginner can make this Bow Cowl.

1 ball Caron Simply Soft
size 15 needles
Tapestry needle

Cast on 20.
Row 1: K1, P1 to the end of the row.
Row 2: P1, K1 to the end of the row.
When you've knitted 22 inches worth, bind off and sew to the beginning seam. You might also choose to graft this part.

Cast on 10.
Every row: K1, P1 to the end of the row.
When you've knitted 10 inches worth, bind off and sew to the beginning seam trapping the first bit of fabric inside the loop. Again, you might also choose to graft this part.

Arrange the fabric so the seams are hidden and enjoy! :D If you scale this down a tiny bit it would also make a very lovely headband earwarmer.

Day 146 and the Furkerchief

If the Boy scouts of America were a little more fabulous and a little less outdoorsy, I think this would be the kerchief that they would wear :D.

SO easy and a great way to use up some of that wicked boa yarn that every knitter has grabbed or been gifted at some point after the love has faded.

Furkercheif
1 ball bernat Boa
Size 15 needles
tapestry needle

Yarn is held double throughout
Gauge is not important, but the resulting fabric should not be delicate or flimsy.
Around 3 stitches per inch.

Cast on 4 stitches leaving a 12 inch tail.

(Increase section)
Odd numbered rows: Knit
Even numbered rows: Knit into the front and back of the first stitch, Knit across the remainder of the row.
Complete these 2 rows until you have 12 stitches.

(Even section)
Knit every row. Do this until your piece measures 15 inches from the cast on edge.

(Decrease section)
Pay attention to the way your fabric is angled at the beginning section. Make sure that the straight edge is on your right and the angled edge is on your left when you begin decreasing.
Odd numbered rows: Knit to the last 2 stitches, K2tog
Even numbered rows: Knit
Complete these 2 rows until only 4 stitches remain. Bind off leaving a 12 inch tail.

(Ties)
From the remaining yarn cut 4- 24 inch strands. Thread 2 strands through each point of the fabric and center them. Using the cast on and bind off tails and the new strands, make a braid 8 inches long. Tie a knot and cut the excess.

Day 144 and PUFFS

Kevin's scarf turned out to be terrific practice on the puff stitch which is the star and main... well ONLY attraction and complete headliner in this cowl! This was an easy and very fast pattern and it's on ravelry, so check it out for yourself. I used an entire ball of Bernat Boucle (5 oz) and it ended up being the perfect amount for 6 rows of this pattern. I enjoyed making it very much!

Day 142 and Treasure

It's very common for a fitted cowl to have buttons. It lends character and structure to the knitwear. In this case, I thought I could do a little bit more. This button flap is completely functional and hides a pocket that could be used for emergency cash or hiding a love note until just the right moment.

Treasure Cowl

2 balls Lion Brand Superwash Cashmere Merino
Size 9 needles
Tapestry needle
2- 5/8 inch buttons
You may find it helpful to use a stitch marker to designate the center stitch.

Less Common Abbreviations
wyif/wyib - With yarn in front, with yarn in back
ssk- slip, slip, knit

Cast on 41 stitches
Rows 1,3,5,7,9: K20, Sl1 wyib, K20.
Rows 2,4,6,8: Purl every stitch.
Row 10: (P1, K19) twice, P1.

Repeat this pattern 12 more times or until the cowl is the desired length. Keep in mind that it will be grafted so must be able to stretch over the head.

Begin button flap.
Row 1, 3: wyif, slip the first stitch purlwise, (k1, p1) 9 times, K1. Place remaining stitches on a holder to be grafted later.
Row 2, 4: wyif, slip the first stitch purlwise, (p1, k1) 9 times, K1.
Row 5 (begin buttonhole): wyif, slip the first stitch purlwise, (k1, p1) twice, k2tog, YO, YO, ssk
K1, P1, K1, k2tog, YO, YO, ssk, (P1, K1) twice.
Row 6 (return buttonhole): wyif, slip the first stitch purlwise, (p1, k1) twice, Purl and Knit into the double yarn over, (p1, k1) twice, p1, Knit and Purl into the double yarn over, (k1, p1) twice, k1.
Row 7, 8, 9 (begin decreases): wyif, slip the first stitch purlwise, K2tog, (p1, k1) to the last 3 stitches, ssk, K1.
Bind off in knit on the wrong side (right side should look like purl bumps.)

Graft the held stitches to the cast on row. Fold the entire cowl in half using the slipped center stitches as the crease. The first and last stitch of every row is to be used as a selvage for seaming. 2 panels away from both sides of the opening using the purl bumps as a guide, sew the front part of the cowl to the back part to create a pocket. The flap will then be in the center of 4 panels worth of pocket. This yarn is a 3 ply so I separated the plies and used just one to sew the buttons in place. You might alternately choose to use sewing thread.

This is so far the most complicated pattern I've tried to write out after having improvised the original. Please let me know in comments if I made any mistakes and I'll do my best to fix them!

Day 135 and Back on the Wagon

Way back when I started I admitted that sometimes I have to use patterns because I'm either out of time, have a slight mental block, or just because I like the pattern!

This one is a free Ravelry download called Roda Scarf. It's a short and very fast pattern and I think it's a very cute and attractive use of crochet.

Day 131 and Treaty

What the? This scarf's title has nothing to do with it's construction... and I'm totally okkay with that. I'm nut much for color knitting. I don't have an eye for it and I have pretty poor control over the tension since I never practice, so mosaic knitting is perfect for me.

In mosaic knitting, only one strand of yarn is used at a time and it is used for two rows. Then a second yarn is picked up and worked for two rows. With carefully placed slipped stitches, the two yarns can appear to be sharing space in a single row, but it's all an illusion. It's also a very fast technique. If you can knit either garter stitch or stockinette than this will be a cinch if you follow the pattern carefully.

This is the Toba Cowl on ravelry. It's a free download and only one page. I recommend following the written instructions before the chart unless you're already a fluent mosaic knitter. After one repeat, you'll be able to see how the chart is set up and it really makes a lot more sense then.