FO Friday -Nephew Care Package

On August 10, 2018August 10, 2018 By FogKnitsIn cross stitch, FO Friday, Hat, Toy14 Comments

My little nephew Marcus is 4 weeks old today! Wooo! He’s such a sweet little thing. It’ll be a while before I get to meet him so I’m sending him a long distance hug, in the form of yarn, naturally.

I’m so excited about everything in this pile. A dinosaur birth announcement. An ‘only in San Francisco’ onesie. I didn’t make it but I love the tripping hippie vibe. It’s the kind of thing you can only get from your crazy California aunt!

Then there’s the cat toy mushroom rattles, such fun! The pattern is from Purl Soho’s blog. A great little stash buster project with super results. (disclaimer: my yarn and gauge is completely different, so these are actually a heavily modified version of their pattern, if ya know what I mean.)

Then, there’s the hats. Even though it’s still August, I’m sending five hats. Might as well teach him young, this is what I do. I hope you like wearing hats, kid! I’m making them regardless.

These came from the knitting Olympics back in February. It’s such a fun collection. I’ll never stop making goofy hats but now is really my time. He won’t be wearing goofy hats forever!

And finally, Baby’s Second Blanket. He got the first one before he was born, a cotton blanket for summer. This is one is the wool blanket for cooler days. It’s the true pièce de résistance…

A Honeycomb blanket, complete with fringe.

I knit it as a tube, to avoid purling and then cut it open. Using the cut edges to create fringe, I avoided the dreaded end weaving. After that, I added an applied i-cord to the top and bottom edges. and POOF! An Heirloom was born!

I hope Marcus likes it. Obviously I made something I like but I thought about him a lot too. I picked colors with high contrast and textural interest so it can help his little eyes develop. The fringe is for a tactile experience, something for his little fingers to figure out.

It’s pretty amazing to see how much he’s changed already. I can’t wait for the all the developmental challenges to come. I totally appreciate being a casual observer to the miracle of life. Human bodies…wow!

..AND, I have plenty of yarn left for all those amazing occasions. 5 Skeins of Miss Babs Yowza is gonna get me a lot of coordinating accessories. The blanket put a dent in it, but just barely. It’s time for sweaters and an army of stuffies!!

Welcome to the world, little Marcus. You have a crazy knitting aunt (and that is the best kind!!)

Y’all Thready for This?

On August 1, 2018August 1, 2018 By FogKnitsIn cross stitch, Scarf, WIP6 Comments

As promised, I’ve got knitting pictures today! Woo!

I took a swing through Pacifica recently, hitting all my favorite spots. The Royal Bee yarn shop, the Tripp Distillery and a foggy beach, a perfect trifecta!

I did a bit of unnecessary yarn shopping. Those colors though! Irresistible! I’m calling this a nephew sweater. I’ve used that kid as an excuse for a lot of yarn shopping this year. He may get a sweater out of this yet. It’s Swans Island Sport, a new to me yarn…another justification.

Once my Pebble Beach scarf is finished, I’ll be ready for a new cast on! Assuming, of course, I win at yarn chicken. The pattern calls for a picot bind off and I suspect that needs to be modified. I just need to find some time to get out the scale. I’ll weigh my yarn, knit a bit, weigh the yarn again and then do some math to make a more educated guess about yarn chicken status. Current prediction: I’m losing.

I really want to get to the blocking stage phase of this project though. I also picked up a set of knit blockers at the Royal Bee.

They get universally good reviews, so I’m assuming I’ll love them too. I love them for looking like toothy little monsters. We’re off to a good start!

Also, as promised…I watched the premier episode of Making It! It’s a lot of fun. The makers are a fun group of crafters with lots of different interests…fiber, fabric, paper, wood. And Nick and Amy are great, of course. Not only did Nick demonstrate his ability identify different woods by smell, they had a great pun off! I definitely stole ‘Y’all thready for this?’ from them. So, check it out! It gets two needles up from me!

It was a perfect backdrop as I finished my Ron Swanson inspired phone case. LOL! I wish the old design hadn’t stained the plastic case. I washed, scrubbed and soaked it to no avail.

I’m hoping it’ll fade with use. If not, it’ll just linger as proof that I’m recycling my phone case and clearly not a rich woman :)

Making It

On July 31, 2018July 31, 2018 By FogKnitsIn cross stitch10 Comments

It’s finally July 31st! I’ve been waiting for today since March! That’s when I first shared the trailer with you, for Making It! The new craft competition show hosted by Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler. Tonight, Making It makes it’s debut! Woo! I have to wait until it’s streaming online but for you TV types, you can watch it tonight at 10 pm!

Just thinking about it, has got my creative juices flowing. Along with the looming threat of getting a job, it’s super motivating. I’m making progress in all sorts of crafty pursuits.

I’ve been watching Parks & Rec while I patiently wait for Making It. I’d never watched the show before. I love it. It’s comedy gold. Ron Swanson is just the best! (That’s Nick Offerman’s character, if you don’t know.) He’s inspired me to change the cross stitch design on my phone case. It used to say ‘don’t be a prick’, with a cactus. You can still see the outline a bit. I’m just gonna go right over it.

My new Ron Swanson themed phone case is going to say ‘clear alcohols are for rich women on diets’ :) I can’t upgrade my phone yet but I can definitely upgrade my case! It’s gonna be so fun!

In other cross stitch news (don’t worry, there’s knitting news too!), I’ve got an ode to the Violent Femmes’ Blister in the Sun nearly finished. From original concept to execution, you can see it changed a bit.

I really wanted to capture the blistering quality of the sun.

Ultimately though, I couldn’t get the colors right, so the oranges and reds got cut. It turned into a study in yellows. After a sunflower phase, two decades ago, I’ve got every shade of yellow embroidery floss imaginable. Good thing because I’m really happy with this result. Now to come up with some more sun song lyrics…Here Comes the Sun (Beatles), Sunshine Daydream (Grateful Dead) and millions more…feel free to remind me of your favorite sunny day lyrics. I’m bound to be missing lots…

The pop culture train continues with this next little project. I had a few scraps of aida cloth. Google told me people make bookmarks with their scraps. Easy enough.

Baby got book, alright! lolololol! Seriously, no one should laugh at themselves this much. I just can’t help it. This joke is getting serious mileage with me.

Anyone who knows Becky, can probably guess what comes next in the series…I like big books and I cannot lie! bwahahahahah. For those not in the know, it’s a play on the song Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot. Replace ‘book’ with ‘butt’ and you’ve got the original song. It’s the pun that just keeps on giving. I’ll definitely be turning my future scraps into more bookmarks!

I was going to share some actual knitting content today, but I think you’ll have to wait until tomorrow! All this crafty talk has my fingers itching to Make It! :) I’ll let you know how much I love the new show too!

5 Weeks

On July 23, 2018July 23, 2018 By FogKnitsIn cross stitch, WIP6 Comments

5 Weeks.

That’s how long it’s been since I’ve had finished knitting to share. There are just. so. many. summer. distractions.

Museums to see…

Knitting machines to pedal…

And whatever was going on here…

I really have been trying though. I’m dutifully carrying my Pebble Beach Scarf with me on all my adventures. It comes out of the bag a lot.

Man, those rows have gotten long though.

And then, of course, there’s the big news. My nephew has arrived! Everyone is happy and healthy. He’s adorable and perfect! It’ll be some time before I get to meet him but the baby knitting has ramped up again.

The blanket is getting very close.

I just need to come with a top & bottom border.

I’m working on turning some cat toys into baby rattles.

It’s a Purl Soho pattern, super fun! I can’t wait until the kid figures out how his hands work!

I couldn’t resist making him a cross stitch birth announcement.

And, oh yeah, a couple other cross stitches I’ve been working on. Despite all the crafty goings on, my poor knitting is definitely being neglected.

I think I’ll finish 3 or 4 projects this week though. Critical mass has been reached in so many places. Stick around, it’s bound to be exciting one of these days!

WIP Wednesday – All Cross Stitch Edition

On July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 By FogKnitsIn cross stitch, Uncategorized6 Comments

Happy Wednesday! It’s been a while. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer and staying cool. While much of the country has been having a heat wave, we’ve been enjoying really perfect weather here in San Francisco.

It’s pretty much always knitting weather here. There’s no summer break because it’s too hot to even think about wool. Despite that, I don’t have any progress to show. I am making progress though. It’s just that my WIPS have all grown to the point where progress is lost to the jumble of fabric crammed on the needles. Soon though, I’m sure to have a breakthrough and get something finished.

In the meantime, I’ve turned to cross stitch for my instant gratification fix. I love a project that only takes a couple hours. Song lyrics are perfect for that! From idea to execution to finishing in no time!

I’ve been watching the World Cup. Our regular knit night takes place in an English pub so when they opened for a 7 am game, I had to go. That was the inspiration for this piece…

and once I’ve got a taste of instant gratification, I want more. These two came in rapid succession, as well.

My lettuce looks more like a pea, but he’s happy about it so I can’t be mad at him. I’m contemplating an upgrade for him, though. In the meantime, I’ve got a jellyfish going on.

His shading is so perfect. I’ve finally found the ideal use for the variegated thread I’ve got. I love him so far! He’ll be joining his friends on the wall soon.

It’s getting crowded…definitely making it’s way to full quickly! I’ve still got a plenty of ideas left!

WIP Wednesday

On June 6, 2018June 6, 2018 By FogKnitsIn Casting On, cross stitch, WIP3 Comments

My funemployment craftcation is rolling along nicely. No chance of boredom setting in here.

I recently finished yet another cross stitch hoop and a little fob thingy, maybe it’ll be a luggage tag. I always feel weird about monograms. I did it anyhow. Sometimes you feel like a nut… I’m pleased with the results.

I’m quite chuffed with the latest bit of knitting as well. My textures are all playing nicely with my colors. One would almost think I planned it that way. Almost! It’s great advocacy for the planning department, actually.

I try to plan. It’s so boring though. Remember this?

I planned my “next” sweater, way back in March. I have the pattern. I picked out the yarn. The yarn the pattern calls for, no less. I decided on my colors. I was good to go.

That sweater is still not on the needles, though. No, instead, I’m staring this pile down.

The well-planned but never-executed Lopi sweater, the brioche shawl I want to frog and enough yarn for only 80% of a sweater I want to knit. Two hot messes or a plan that just needs basic execution. I still don’t wanna do it.

Following a plan sounds like torture. UGH.

I really want to get a sweater on the needles though. It’s a real quandary. I have a feeling I’m going to make a hot mess decision. I’ll keep you posted! :)

Rainbow Friday

On November 25, 2017November 25, 2017 By FogKnitsIn cross stitch, Shawl, Sweater, WIP3 Comments

Black Friday and it’s rampant consumerism make me crazy. I’m betting most of you reading this agree, or at least understand the value of handmade, so I’ll just limit my rant to that. And so, I celebrated Rainbow Friday…with progress on my Rainbow Shawls!

Even as on-the-go, back-up projects, they’ve made good progress. I appreciate that they’re both currently in green sections! Synchronicity confirms that everything is as it should be.

Then again, maybe I’m talking crazy talk. Bill Murray spent the day being ignored in the corner. I’m at the halfway point. Things seem good. I’m pleased with Bill’s progress so far. This means a knit-tastrophe is just around the corner, yes?

I’m doing my best to avoid that knit-tastrophe though. By starting a new cross stitch.

I was just going to pick out the colors but…well, you know how it goes.

I’m reeeeeeeealllllly going to avoid all these avoidances today though. Time to buckle down and get Bill out of the corner. Better to deal with any potential knit-tastrophe now. I’ve got 13 days and 10 hours until it’s Murray Time!!!