Scarf Pattern for the New Year

SO I just worked this up on the train today its easy enough but looks cute, at least I think so lol

Ingredients:
1 ball of your fav sock yarn (2 for a nice long scarf)
1 set of size 6 needles

CO: 50

rows 1-10 Knit even
row 11 bind off 15 stitches knit to end of row
row 12 bind off 15 stitches, knit to end of row, cast on 15 stitches
row 13 knit to end of row cast on 15 stitches

repeat  till your scarf is as long as you want it...

now it just needs a snappy name hmmm...
ENJOY!

UPDATE:

 Scarf Name....Off The Rails

names people names...

So I put the call out for yarn and scarves to help keep some warm the necks of needy people and the responce is AWESOME but sadly most dont have their ravelry screen names on them so i have NO IDEA who to properly thank....

but to all of you that are helping or that will help THANK YOU!

But I handed out the first batch today and they were all well recieved. I cant wait to head to the nursing home and give out the shawls and lap blankets SQUUEE...

What can I say... I'm a giver!

Think of the Chil'ren and Prayer Shawls

So I volunteer at a Non-Profit named Bay Area Young Positives (Bay Poz for short) and  I put a call out for some fellow knitters to help make some scarves for some clients for the new year. WE have had a horrible cold snap in The City the past month and since alot of our members are between homes right now I thought a scarf drive would be nice....everyone deserves a warm scarf right? well today the first of what I'm hoping around 30 scarves have come in...I'm so excited I could just spit...

And I think I found a place to donate these shawls I have been knitting up. A friend Kim is the Activities Director for a local elderly home, so I figured I would join up with her to hand them out...Shawls and lap blankets these are my current projects, so far its going rather nicely I'm enjoying it...hopefully both of these end well. I will keep you all updated on my progress. If you wanna make anything for either project just let me know and I'll hook you up with the mailing address :-)

Later Pandas!

For the Love of Entralac

So here I am knitting my holiday gifts up and I'm making not 1 but three Entralac projects for diffrent people. One Stile and 2 scarves...the sad thing is I want something too so I'm probably going to be casting on a forth one here soon if I dont go crazy first *sigh* But other than that life is going okay. Jsut been trying to get these gifts done so I can send them back home to Indiana. I will say that the one thing that is really starting to piss me off is this weather that we are having inThe City as of lately...I don't mind cold, or rain, or wind but I am not a fan of cold, windy and wet days...Tho it's probably a good this that way Im staying inside and working on projects that I need to get done.

 

Speaking of I just wanted to give you a quick update...now I'm going back to my knitting and hopefully will update here soon...

 

~Krystofer~

--

~ I'm the Knitter your Grandmother warned you about...

~ Damn straight I knit like a Rockstar!

My New Pretty Pretties....

Lookie Lookie what I made ;-)

elbow lenght sweaterless sleeves, basicly they are long fingerless glovess...they are for my friend Tod, they came out awesome I have to make a pair for myself.....it was a fun 2 day project...hmmm...these would make a fun fast Holiday knitting project don't you think ;-)

Simple Gifts

Today I woke up thinking my toes were going to fall off because they were so cold. When I checked the temp outside it read....25 degrees....That's right, 25. now I know what most of you are thinking, "Turn on the fucking heat, why didn't you turn it on before you went to bed?" and your are right But I live in San Francisco, this is the coldest its been in a VERY long time. Lets just say when I was getting my morning coffee I was talking to a girl in line who's lived here for ten years, longer than my 3 which means she has more knowledge on these things, and she said that she's never seen it this bad in the years she's been here. Returning to my knitting I stopped and thought about it, days like this back home meant staying in doors with family, born into or chosen, and enjoying their company.

I remember when I was younger and we would have our wood stove on and be sitting in the family room watching my mother with her cross stitch, my sister with her dolls, and I would be reading yet another book. Nothing fancy just enjoying the day off from school.

Picking up my knitting I realized that through my knitting I have taken a part of that feeling with me. You don't have to knit huge lace pieces or sweaters, but by finding joy in the feeling of fiber running through your fingers and watching your needles twist it into the corresponding knit or purl stitch and knowing that the thing your making is going to keep a loved one warm or go to someone that needs the comfort of knowing that someone is thinking about them, even if they have no idea who made it.

It's not just knitting but any crafting that takes you away and silences your mind for a few minutes and lets you just be. Spinning, crafting. crochet, or what ever your craft is remember to enjoy it. I have been knitting for some charity projects lately and the enjoyment I'm getting out of it has more to do with the families that are going to be receiving my craft more than the knitting itself. If you are on Ravelry then I'm sure you might have seen a quick call out for scrap yarn from KnitsWithBalls...That's me...I'm making baby sweaters. Baby Surprise Jackets to be precise. I wanted to knit them up and give them to a local hospital here in The City so mothers would have something warm to take their babies home in...that baby sweater is something I can make in two nights and gives a world of warmth to a family that is having hard times....

So guys please find the simple things this season and enjoy the company you keep and know that even if you are alone I'll be thinking of you...:-)

Holiday Knitting...

So after years of only knitting for one person, Ihave branched out and am actually knitting for a few people this holiday season. I won't post their names here but if you have ever gotten a peice of knitting from me while I have been living in The City then your name could beon the list...So brace yourself Effie you could be one of the special ones.

So far I have made Swallowtail in a worsted weight so its HUGE! I love it I might have to make a few more as gifts since its so much quicker and it looks GREAT!

I'm just starting a Smoke Ring in a awesome Crimson red... I almost wanna keep if for myself but that defeats the porpuse of holiday knitting doesnt it lol

and I have a few pairs of socks I wanna make...So this might be the year I really get to know what its like to knit for others...

WISH ME LUCK!

A Letter (revisited)

Dear Non-Knitter;
Before you say anything about the handcrafted gift I just presented to you, please keep a few things in mind. Yes, I could have gone to a store and wrestled between getting you this or that a few days before now, but instead I started weeks/months/years ago by selecting a delightfully mild-mannered ewe which produced the softest wool. I washed, carded, and spun the fibres into the ideal yarn I required. I dyed it the precise shade that would compliment your skin/eyes/hair; then stitched countless swatches of various stitch patterns and piecing them together, arranging, adding and dropping a few -- finally coming up with the design I would use to handcraft your gift.
Now that I have all this figured out, I have to determine your measurements without your knowledge. Now this is a very clever trick which I will not go into detail in this letter, for it will unravel many a knitting secret. Having your measurements, I have to put those into an algebraic equation and using the stitches I chose to use, I have to do a bit of math -- that's right, I said math. I have to calculate out how many stitches to cast-on so that your gift isn't too small or too big for you.
With all this preparatory work, I can FINALLY cast-on and actually start making your gift. This could be anywhere from ten to several hundred stitches. Now here is where the fun begins. Sitting in my comfy chair/bus seat/plane/doctors office I knit. And knit. And knit, all the while thinking to myself how great this will look on you. For these aren't just stitches I'm making with these needles and yarn, I am softly saying a little prayer for you, whispering “I love you” into each stitch. All 502,839 of them...yes, I really did count them.
Once I have all the pieces made (and trust me I probably had to knit some pieces more than once so that they would have the same gauge as the rest of the pieces), I sewed them together in the right order and position -- this might take a few tries to get right since sewing isn't my greatest skill. But I push through knowing that this gift is for you.
Now I have everything together: the color is beautiful, the stitching is impeccable and the garment is washed, blocked, dried, boxed and ready to be gifted to you.
All of that time I spent just to give you a scarf/sweater/blanket/those socks. Each stitch made with love for you from me. So when ever you feel that you are alone or life gets hard, go find this gift of love and pull it around tight and know that someone loves you and that they spent the time to actually make this for you. Sharing a handicraft item is done out of love -- there is no monetary value that can cover the time that goes into it each piece. So if you are ever lucky enough to receive one of these precious items please treasure it and understand that it is a work of art in itself made specifically for you.
Now doesn't that make this gift a bit better than that Gift Certificate to Where Ever-Mart... so don’t go f*** it up by throwing it in the washer and dryer and ruining it!
With Love,
A Knitter

Letter To a Non-Knitter

Dear Non-Knitter;
Before you say anything about the handcrafted gift I just presented you please keep a few things in mind. Yes, I could have gone to a store and wrestled between getting you this or that a few days before now, but instead started weeks/months/years ago by picking out the perfect shade of yarn to go with your skin/eyes/hair, then stitched countless swatches of different stitch patters and piecing them together, moving them around, adding and dropping a few finally coming up with the pattern i would use to make your gift.

Now that WE have that I have all this figured out I have to figure out your measurements without your knowledge...Now this a very clever trick witch i will not expose in this letter, for it will unravel many a knitting secrets. Now that I have your measurements I have to put those into a equation using the stitches I chose to use and I have to do a bit of math...that's right I said math. I have to figure out how many stitches to cast on so that your gift isn't to small of big for you.
After I have don't this I can FINALLY cast on to actually make your gift. This could be anywhere from tens to over a hundred stitches. Now here where the fun begins. Sitting in my comfy chair, bus seat, plane,doctors office I knit. And knit. And knit, all the while thinking to myself how much this will look good on you. for these aren't just stitches I'm making with these needles and yarn, I am softly saying a little prayer for you, whispering I love you into each stitch. All 500,8395 of them...Yes, I really did count them...

After I have all the pieces made, and trust me I probably had to knit some pieces more than once so that they would have the same gauge as the rest of the pieces, I have to sew them together in the right order and place, this might a few tries to get right since sewing isn't my greatest gift. But I push through knowing that this gift is for you.

Now I have everything together, the color is beautiful and the garment is blocked, dried, and ready to be gifted to you.

All that time I spent just to give you a scarf, a sweater, a blanket, or those socks. Each stitch made with love for you from me. So when ever you feel that your alone or life gets hard go find this gift of love and pull it around tight and know that someone loves you and that they spent the time to actually make this for you...
Sharing a handicraft is done out of love. Their is no monetary cost that can cover the time that goes into it each piece. So if you are ever lucky enough to receive one of these precious items, please treasure it and understand that it is a piece of art in itself made specifically for you.

Now doesn't that make this gift a bit better than that Gift Certificate to Where Ever-Mart...

With Love,
A Knitter

GREAT NEWS....

I made a scarf. I I know what your thinking...a scarf?!?!?! You seen me knit crazy lacy awesome socks and out there fair isle...so why the hell am I excited about a scarf. well its my first FO in around 3-4 months.... I know right. No matter what I started I couldnt finish it. I couldnt sit down and make someone else's project...so I fianlly frogged the Vogue socks I was workign on and casted on a simple X and O cabled scarf and it turned out GREAT. I held together a strand of purple Cherry Tree Hill and Lime Green Malibrigo sock weights and its FAN-DAMN-TASTIC lol I will be weaing the ends in here ina few min when i find my darning needles and blocking it but its a fun simple scarf and im VERY excited about it.

Knitters block is something I always hear about but I never really had it untill now. I'm SO glad to be over it and designing and knitting again. I was getting so frustrated, pick a project, cast on, knit a few inches, frog it...and repeat. No matter what I wanted to make it just didnt turn out. But now I have a new scarf, at the usual 8-10 feet with enough yarn left to make me some matching wrist warmers....

hmmm...

maybe some End Paper Mitts....;-)

madea is holding her peace

can I get a AMEN!

Global village

If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

The village would have 60 Asians, 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 Latin Americans, 5 from the USA and Canada, and 1 from the South Pacific

51 would be male, 49 would be female

82 would be non-white; 18 white

67 would be non-Christian; 33 would be Christian

80 would live in substandard housing

67 would be unable to read

50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation

33 would be without access to a safe water supply

39 would lack access to improved sanitation

24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76 that do
have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)

7 people would have access to the Internet

1 would have a college education

1 would have HIV

2 would be near birth; 1 near death

5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth; all 5 would be US citizens

33 would be receiving --and attempting to live on-- only 3% of the income of “the village”

Boychick on a Mission

So after dating a this cute Jewish guy (I flat out asked him if he was and he said yes) for a few months, and trying to get him to come to Seder with me...
With no avail, it came to light that no in fact he wasn't Jewish and lied because he wanted to date me. Now, I only date Jewish guys but if I ask you if you are please don't lie to me. I guess he gets asked that allot, so this time he just went with it.

In desperation I broke down and signed up for JDate.com. If you don't know what that is, think of it as Match.com for Jews. And let me tell you I'm very surprised with the gay Jewish boys on my area. I think I might have to start going to temple more often.

In knitting news I have started a merino and silk scarf that I'm hoping will look great felted down. I found a hat pattern in a book Shibori Knits. It looks great no so im hoping the felting would look even better.


But really Its been a very mellow few weeks. Just working on make up some more of my designs. And I'm really getting into seeing my own ideas coming off my needles. Who knows I could be the next Eunny Yang, and you all can say you read me when lol

But I have to get off here my breakfast/knitting is waiting on me. I promise to update soon!

And I leave you with Art...I love this video!

Raffle for FANTASTIC prizes

I'm giving away 2 balls of Black Malabrigo lace, one ball of lacey lamb in Lime green, one skien of Lace-a-licious, and 4 balls ( 2 per person) of Cashmere/Silk from Jade Sapphire as a prize to someone that donates to Aids Lifecycle :-)

Think of the scarves you can make with that!

You can donate HERE

If you would rather donate Via paypal my email is Theimpossibleprincess AT gmail DOT com. I know that in the past few years a few people wanted to give thru paypal.

If you don't know Aids Life Cycle is a 545 mile bike ride from San Francisco to L.A to raise money to help fight HIV/AIDS and for related services. This will be my 5th year riding.

I personally have been living with HIV since I was 21, 5 years now, and luckily I havnt needed help. But MANY people have to choose between meds or food... and thats not right.

On top of the yarn EVERYONE that donates gets my Simple Elegance pattern... So a few of you will have a nice little knitting kit...Yarn and a pattern to go with it

Clips from Life cycle 6


Clips from last years ride


Every bike you see with an Orange flag is a biker that has HIV, I'm proud to say that I ride with a flag every year...

Thank you for all our help guys

Loving This Scarf...

A friend of mine made this scarf for a friend and I LOVE IT.



I have been wanting to knit another lengthwise scarf for a while now, I love the scarf I made with the Frizza yarn...

I love the slipped stitches it makes the scarf almost look woven.

The pattern can be found here

Scrappy Scarf

I might have to knit a few of these up with all these scraps of sock yarn I have laying around.

How you Doin' 101

Shhh

Just got my package from knitpicks containing the new hush hush colorway that I will be knitting into my simple elegance pattern for them....score!

good news part II

So I opened up my email today and found this...

Just when I thought you couldn’t get
any more awesome, I discover you’re a
Slytherin . . .

That was from Miss Sharon Riggs Assistant Editor of Interweave and Knitscene. Apparently she seen that I was participating in the Harry Potter House Cup over on Ravelry.

You could have knocked me over with a feather...

I was also told (not invited but told) that I was going to be submitting a design for the 2010 holiday issue of Interweave...

Well I guess my my goal for designing more is really taking off LoL

I'm a Indie Designer

And I Quote:

Hi Krystofer,

Thanks so much for your submission – our Review Board met & would love to have your lovely stole in our program.

That means one of my knitting patterns is going to be sold exclusively on Knitpicks.com

If you haven't heard about there indie designer program



I'm rather excited about this...:-) I'm using a new color they haven't launched yet in Lace weight. FREE YARN!

Now I ned to finish these W.I.P so I can spend all my time on knitting this up!

MY new Bling...

So two nights ago Jose, Mercy and I were jumping into the car to pick up pie crusts for the Dutch apples we were just slicing to make into tastey pie...MMMMM PIE....

WE were driving and between a mixture of rain, Joses Meds, and it being dark, we slammed hard into the back of a parked car going around 25 miles per hour. I suffered side, chest, back, and leg pain. Jose was just ruffled a bit, and Mercy had stomach and breat pain. Most of your injuries were from the seat belt snapping up back.

The poilice, fire dept, and ambulances showed up on the scene rather quickly. they pulled me and Mercy out of the car. Placed us on back boards and took all of us to UCSF.

After being strapped down on those damn boards for 3 hours I was finally put in a real bed were I was taken for X-rays. Nothing is broken, It's just muscle pain from my body being thrown around.

After 5 hours in the hospital I was able to leave with mercy. Our Scripts in hand and our way to buy a bottle of wine to relax. Now for the next week I'm popping Hydrocodin and Ibuprofen when I wake up and when it starts to act up during the day...and he also game me a anti-anxiety incase I cant sleep...

But on a lighter not... Mercy and I did get new bling!

Busy needles for a good cause

MY goodness my needles are on FIRE! so far I have knitted up:

Kumo


Neck Ring



Posh Mitts



not bad for the first few weeks of the new year.

*puts them on the pile of raffle prizes for Lifecycle*

What am I going to make next...*hmmm*

2010 No Pants Subway ride

What can I say...it was a really good book...

Depression sucks

I'm laying here in bed trying to will myself up but all I can do is lay here and watch movies, it sucks ass...I can't even get to the laptop, I'm sitting here typing out thus entry on an iPod touch.

So far this week I made a silk shawl and now I'm moving on to a merino cowl, I'm hoping the knitting will help me get over this feeling, it's a bit to early yet to see ifits working

If this keeps up I'm going to run out of stash!

Going back to my knitting and watching Philadelphia.....

Kisses for Krysmas

thanks its it I'm tired of it...I'm moving to Paris!



On a lighter note I made the Slytherin house for the Harry Potter Knitting Crocheting Cup...Oy yea, get down with our naughty selves!


Salazar Slytherin, the house's founder.

"You could be great, you know, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that."
—The Sorting Hat to Harry Potter

Slytherins tend to be ambitious, cunning, and achievement-oriented. They also have highly developed senses of self-preservation. This means that Slytherins tend to hesitate before acting, so as to weigh all possible outcomes of a decision (and how these outcomes would personally impact them), unlike Gryffindors, whose chivalrous natures would likely lead them to react immediately and instinctively.
According to Albus Dumbledore, the qualities which Salazar valued in the students he chose included cleverness, resourcefulness, determination, and "a certain disregard for the rules."

Haunted Hotel Tour 2010

So I have decided that I want to have my own Haunted Hotel Tour. I want to check out these places I always read/hear about all over the country.

I want to try and hit one hotel a month...

My first hotel I want to visit is the Provincial Hotel down in good New Orleans



Not only is it a beautiful hotel but its also it is in heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans...And that is totally on my places to travel list. So why not get two birds with one stone!

Anyone wanna cone with?

Goals for 2010

Happy New Year everyone.

I don't do resolutions, I feel goals are better to work with. And that being said these are a few of my goals for 2010:

1. Design more: I want to knit and make more of my own things instead of hunting down patterns for what I want to make.

2. Travel more: I want to travel around thew country more, there are awesome places around this country I want to visit.

3. Take better care of myself: I want to spend more time in the gym. I don't want a crazy awesome body but I do want loose a bit more.

Those are my goals, nothing great, but something workable.

I hope everyone has a great New Year.