Getting to know you

Here's the second part of my homework for week 1 of HSKS12. It was a lot of fun getting to know everyone and discovered some amazing projects in the works (I'm talking about you, Genevra Dreamy) and that other people agree that soft and squishy yarn is all that matters!

1. Someone with the same craft as you (either those listed above or another one): Angelina Frysia is a fellow quilter :-)
2. Someone who was born in the same month as you: November babies unite! Gryphon the Great
3. Someone from a different country: Emma Wigworthy is from the UK and is an amazing designer! I'm totally drooling over her seriously cool Slytherin socks
4. A new HSKS Family member: Hey, look - a newbie like me! Delantrophy Griey
5. Someone who has been in 3 or more HSKS swaps: Megaera Black
6. Someone who has a bigger stash than you!: Of course this is just going by the posted rav stash. I still need to finish cataloging my stash. Oy. Rowena Bladvak
7. Someone who both knits and crochets: There's a bunch of bistitual crafters in this group including Genevra Dreamy
8. Someone who has the same favorite color as you: Amethyst Aurag didn't really list a specific favorite color, but she likes bright clear colors like me and that's what counts :-)
9. Someone who has the same favorite season/holiday as you: Bella Shacklebolt gotta love the holidays!
10. Someone who has the same favorite fiber as you: Ambyr Phoenixfyre is a fellow lover of soft and squishy yarn.

Getting to know me

The first week's assignment for HSKS12 is to get to know each other, so this is my "all about me" post. I'll come back and update it over time to keep likes and dislikes current so it can be used for lots of other swaps too. Well, that's the plan anyway, let's see if I can stick to it ;-)

Crafts: Crochet, knit, dyeing yarn, stitch markers, jewelry, quilt, cross stitch, attempting spinning,  lots of other stuff too...
Fibers: Anything soft and squishy especially an undying love for sock yarn and Malabrigo. Hate scratchy yarns. Even Red Heart has a place in my stash - perfect for amigurumi.
Food: Pasta and ice cream. Love chocolate (reeses, snickers), kiwi, lime, vanilla, cookies (oreos), crackers (cheezits, wheat thins, goldfish), cashews
Drinks: Hot chocolate (with peppermint!), Earl Grey tea. Hate coffee that tastes like coffee, but I'm a Starbucks addict when it comes to caramel macchiatos, pumpkin spice lattes, and eggnog lattes.
Colors: Tropical blue and lime green. I love bright happy colors that don't require sunglasses if you want to look directly at them. Love 'em paired with black. This includes bright pink and purple too, orange and yellow only if it's for something non-wearable. Best wearable colors for me have a blue undertone. Not a fan of earth tones, especially olive green and rust.
Hooks and Needles: Love Boye crochet hooks and I probably have enough to last me a lifetime. Love love love my Knit Picks nickel plated interchangeables and can always use more points and cables :-)
Yarn Projects: My go-to are quick projects like amigurumi and fingerless gloves. I've recently discovered a love for shawls and one of these days I'm going to attempt socks. I freaking love cables.
Favorite Season: Fall. Really it's Halloween to Christmas since it covers my fave holidays. Halloween is my fave fun holiday, but it's tied with Christmas because I love the energy and the giving that goes along with it (so not into the religious scene, but I believe in Santa!). My birthday (Nov 12) is a close second (yes birthdays are holidays) and I try to use it as an excuse to travel every year. In third is Thanksgiving for the food and family.
Wish Lists: Amazon, Knit Picks

For the most part I'm an open book. Feel free to ask if there's anything I left out :-)

Learning Something New

After my frustration with the After Hours shawl, I decided to take a break from knitting for a couple of days. I've finished several more rows in Dragonflies and I think the end is finally in sight. I still have 75 more shells to do (and the dragonfly gusset), but there shouldn't be any problem getting this shipped off to my swap partner by the end of the month. Yippie!

The break from the needles didn't last too long though, and soon enough I was back to working on the Ggester at lunch. This hat is crazy huge, but I don't think it'll be too much of a problem for wearing. It's just a silly hat, so who cares if it's a bit loose. I know I said that I was only going to work on it at lunch, but this morning I just wanted something mindless and soothing to work on so I started and finished the first of the 3 "happy points." Unfortunately I was a bit too mindless while working on it and ended up screwing up the placement of the seam and decreases. The decreases are on the outside instead of the inside of the point which means it's not going to hang how it's supposed to. Also means that if I fix my mistake with the other points then they won't hang naturally from my head. I think I've figured out how to fix it, but I'm really not looking forward to the other 2 points.

The yarn finally came on Thursday for BFF's Seahawks Mitts! I don't remember if I've said this or not, but I decided on Transition Gloves for the pattern and this means I finally have to learn color work. This isn't a traditional Fair Isle pattern, but the same techniques are used for adding color. The ribbing is done only in green on tiny Size 1 needles, then it's time to switch to Size 3 and start adding the blue. So far I think I'm doing ok. My tension was off for the first couple of rows, but I think I've solved that problem by holding the green working yarn in one hand, and the blue in the other. It's really strange getting used to using both hands for adding yarn, but I think I've started to get the hang of it. Finished row 12 last night. Only a bajillion more to go. Oh, and for added fun, I'm doing them 2 at a time on 1 needle. It's how I've done the past sets of gloves and didn't expect any problems. That was before it occurred to me that I have 4 balls of working yarn hanging from my needles. Obviously not the brightest decision I've ever made, but after the first night and a tangled mess, I think I've got a rhythm down to prevent massive tangling. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I can't believe I forgot to post this with last weekend's pictures, but I've started on Swatch #3 - Seed Stitch. It was fun and relaxing for the first couple of rows (and I don't seem to be having any problems with it), but now I find it to be downright boring. I've been avoiding finishing it all week, but I should really get back to it so I can finish it and move on to something more interesting!

In other news, I've signed up for the Hogwarts Super Kit Swap 12 (HSKS12) and received my spoiler and spoilee information tonight! The term actually starts on Monday (I think) and since this is my first round with HSKS I'm super excited to get started. Unlike my usual swaps I know who my upstream contact is and my downstream knows who I am so it looks like I'll be making some new HP friends. This group really seems to focus on getting to know each other and creating really awesome and special swap boxes for the spoilees. This swap is based on book 7 (timing with the new movie) so our theme is horcruxes and instead of being sorted into houses, we were sorted into families. I'm part of Ron's Muddle-Headed Mates. Sounds about right, dontcha think? Instead of my usual Slytherin silver and green, we get new colors too: Maroon and Orange. This scares me more than a little, but it still has potential. Can't wait to see if and what my spoilee does with it!


Day 12, Triangle 2: 21 shells = 2 hours 20 min
Average: 6.6 minutes per shell (this was at Wednesday night craft group)
Day 13, Triangle 2: 12 shells = 60 min
Average: 5 minutes per shell
Total: 231 shells = 18 hours