Cross Stitching. Forever.

I decided to stitch a picture that I really like of me and my mom.  It was taken in a photobooth at the Renegade Craft Fair in Los Angeles a couple years ago.  Hence the mustache on my mother.  Now I'm not really sure why I thought this would be a good idea.  I mean, it's cool and unique.  But it's about 100 times bigger than any of my other projects.

Current progress of portraits.  Will it ever end?

 The first stitches were those in the highlight of my mom's left cheek.  After completing that little blob of purple, I (foolishly) thought that it wouldn't take too long. 

Let's take a break here and talk about math.  There are 12,025 stitches in this pattern.  That little blob?  About 75.  Which is just 1/160th, or 0.6%, of the entire pattern.  I probably should have thought more about the time needed to complete this piece... it was supposed to be a Father's Day present.  Oops.

There are 7 colors of thread in this piece.  When I first went to pick out the colors, I had a list from the KG-Chart program's generated pattern.  After picking up all the colors, I noticed that I had some blues and some purples in my hand, all mixed together.  Not a smooth gradient!  So I used my Color Sense (thanks, Mom!) to pick out my own gradient.  Now I know that KG-Chart doesn't have super accurate colors.  Or that my computer monitor is extremely off.

Well, I'm going to go watch My Little Pony and stitch some more. (Don't knock it 'til you try it--it's a charming, funny show.)

First Manly Sock Completed

In just one week, I knit a whole sock! Considering that the last two pairs I made took 5 months and almost a year, this is great progress!

Really, though, knitting is all about momentum: if you put that project down for too long,  it probably will stay a WIP for a looooong time. (Maybe I should say "I"...some knitters are made of stronger stuff than I and can have tons of projects going at once and finish then all in a reasonable amount if time.)

Anyhoodle, tip for everyone: make sure to double check foot size of the person you are making socks for! I had to tear out the toe and add an inch to the foot because I was making the sock to fit my feet. And they aren't meant for me.

Neverending Scarves

Scarves are great!  I can actually wear them in mild California (all those people dealing with snow get to knit endless hats, mittens, gloves...there's only a few weeks out of the year that it is cold enough to wear those).

But.

They take forever.  I knit socks a lot, and they probably have the same amount of stitches, if not more.  Socks are interesting, though.  You've got the toe, the foot, the heel, and the ankle (I like my socks toe-up) and are always just a few inches from the next bit.  With a scarf, though, it's one thing.  Over and over.  With no end in sight!

At least that's how I'm feeling about this scarf...

It's about 3 feet long now, which means I want to try to double the size still.  The entrelac is looking really cool, at least!  I'm using Patons SWS in Natural Garden, and it's got some great colors in it.  I'm usually a cool-colors person (bring on the blue and purple!) but these browns and tans are a nice change.

This weekend, I am attempting to get at least another foot done.  Wish me luck!

Scyther Pokemon Cross Stitch WIP

Since finding the sprites for all video games in the depths of the Internet (Spriter's Resource, back atcha!) I started my own cross stitch sprite.  I played Pokemon on my fuchsia GameBoy Color when I was younger, had lots of the trading cards (which are still in my room somewhere in  a neatly organized binder), and even went to the Pokemon movie as soon as it came out.  Ah, childhood!

My first sprite is Scyther, the green bug-looking Pokemon with sharp blades for hands and wings.  It was the answer to "What is your favorite Pokemon?" asked of the DBF. 

Here it is so far!

 

It was in the making of this pattern that I realized KG-Chart colors aren't exactly like the DMC colors.  There are two types of green here, but they are almost exactly the same!  If you look on the right blade, the top is the "darker" green and the middle is the "light" green.  Unfortunately, outside of bright light, they look the same.  

I have also created patterns with Gengar, Mew, and some pokeballs.  They will be posted soon!

Ruby Socks -- WIP

Here's a picture of sock #1 from the pattern July Mystery Socks by Rebecca Hatcher.

I spent a ton of time sifting through the patterns on Ravelry to find a sock I wanted to knit.  I wanted it to be one color, with a simple design element.  Many socks had too much going on or were too complicated to knit.  See, I like to be able to knit without looking at a chart every row--especially for socks!  The main pattern has 2 cables running up the top of the foot, which I love.  The 4 row repeat meant that I didn't need the chart after a few rows.

Right now I am about 2 repeats into the second sock.  Gotta keep knitting past that Second Sock Syndrome! 

Knitting Needles

I organized my knitting needle stash the other day, since they were in about 3 places and just a mess.  Seriously, what are you supposed to do with circular needles?!

Wanna know something scary? 

...This isn't even all of them.  I have a whole 'nuther bag with all my straight needles in them.  In the bag above, I have my double-pointed needles, interchangeable needles, and circular needles.  Most of my straight needles are way too long for the bag, so I stored them in a knitting needle holder that I sewed.  When I sewed the holder, I never thought I'd need another storage option!

With my reorganization, I found a WIP from last December: rainbow felici and black diagonally-striped socks.  Stay tuned for pictures of my finished sock!

BONUS! Fluffy kitty with string picture!  This handsome cat is Midnight, who is usually very poised, but couldn't resist the yarn.