My Cool Ass Koolhaas Hat

I heart this hat! The pattern is awesome (and taught me how to cable without a cable needle), and the yarn is lovely. I used Colinette Iona, which is 70% wool, 15% mohair, and 15% silk. It's very squishy, and the color is stunning. I love uber rich colors. My only complaint was that the yarn's dye was not properly set, so I had blue hands every time I finished knitting for the night. I soaked the hat in vinegar and water, so hopefully it won't bleed on my forehead!



It matches my eyes almost perfectly, as you can see in this kinda creepy pic.

Then & Now.

I love the similarity between these shots.

June 2006:





October 2008:

2 skeins

I've spun up 2 skeins on my Julia since I got her. I am LOVING the wheel, I tell ya.

Here's the first:



Not bad for my first skein. It's a little less consistent than I would have liked, but what are ya gonna do? It's overdyed black BFL and is quite soft.

The second is more consistent with one or two exceptions. It's even softer than the first as it's an alpaca silk blend. Not as colorful as I'm used to, but MAN is it lovely.

Best Present EVER.

My in-laws gave me the best gift ever. A wheel!!! Yes, that's right, my in-laws are the kindest, most generous, and nicest people out there. Sorry everyone else, they're taken. :)

So here's my glorious wheel:

It's a Louet Julia. I had originally been thinking of either a Lendrum or a Sonata, but after trying all three, Julia simply called to me.



And here's a teensy bit of overdyed black BFL I spun up as soon as I got home.

Hoo Are You?

I finished this a couple weeks ago for my little man. So far he's flung it away from himself a few times and that's it. Of course, I'm making him another so he'll have 2 to ignore. :)

Baby Socks

Look! A post! And a finished project! Yes, it's small, I know. But look how cute they are!

Flickr meme

My creation
Originally uploaded by amandakenny

1. Ansiedade..., 2. sunday_pizza, 3. Yay!, 4. Up, 5. More Johnny Depp..., 6. wisconsin state drink, 7. Cliffs of Moher, Ireland, 8. Sticky Toffee Pudding, 9. World's Best Mom, 10. My son!, 11. crafty mini folder, 12. amandakenny


1. What is your first name?: Amanda

2. What is your favorite food?: goat cheese pizza

3. What high school did you go to?: LaFollette High School

4. What is your favorite color? Teal

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Johnny Depp

6. Favorite drink?: Brandy Old Fashion

7. Dream vacation?: Ireland

8. Favorite dessert: Sticky Toffee Pudding

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? World's best mom

10. What do you love most in life?: My son

11. One word to describe you: Crafty

12: Your flickr name: amandakenny

Eli's New Duds.

Yeah, I do still knit. But Eli kinda puts a hamper on it a bit. That's okay though. :) He's worth it. Plus, I get to make cute ass pants for him. These are his most recent.

Knitters vs. Crocheters

Someone brought this video to my attention, and I feel I MUST share it.

The Holiest of Shits

Holy shit I'm actually posting, and holy shit someone actually tagged me in a meme! So here goes:

Using the top 100 yarns on Ravelry (by number of projects):Bold the ones you’ve used and would use again;Cross out the ones you’ve used and would not use again; and Italicize the ones you’ve never tried, but would like to.
Add comments as desired, and then pass the meme along to 5 knitters/crocheters. Link back to this post and to the person who tagged you.

1. Cascade 220 Wool
2. Patons Classic Wool Merino
3. Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted
4. Noro Kureyon
5. ----Caron Simply Soft----
6. Lily Sugar’n Cream Solid
7. Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted
8. Red Heart Ltd. Super Saver Solids
9. ----Lion Brand Wool-Ease Solid----
10. Noro Silk Garden
11. Koigu Painter’s Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM)
12. Knit Picks Wool of the Andes
13. ----Lion Brand Homespun-----
14. Lion Brand Cotton-Ease
15. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Multi
16. Manos del Uruguay 100% Wool
17. Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky
18. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
19. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock - Lightweight
20. Plymouth Encore Worsted
21. Cascade 220 Heathers
22. Lily Sugar’n Cream Ombres & Prints
23. Zitron Trekking (XXL)
24. Patons SWS (Soy Wool Stripes)
25. Rowan Kidsilk Haze
26. Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino
27. Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing Co., Inc. Peaches & Creme Ombres
28. Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece
29. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock - Mediumweight
30. ----Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick----
31. Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing Co., Inc. Peaches & Creme Solids
32. Cascade 220 Superwash
33. Berroco Ultra Alpaca
34. Knit Picks Swish Superwash
35. Knit Picks Essential
36. Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice Solid
37. Colinette Jitterbug (in the stash)
38. ----Lion Brand Lion Wool Solid----
39. Knit Picks Shine Sport
40. Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Baby Ull
41. ----Lion Brand Microspun----
42. Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino (in the stash)
43. Knit Picks Palette
44. South West Trading Company TOFUtsies
45. Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool
46. Mission Falls 1824 Wool
47. Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK
48. Red Heart Ltd. Super Saver Multis/Ombres
49. Rowan Felted Tweed
50. Rowan Calmer
51. Lion Brand Wool-Ease Heather
52. Knit Picks Merino Style
53. Garnstudio Drops Alpaca
54. Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering
55. Knit Picks Andean Silk
56. Red Heart Ltd. Soft Yarn Solids
57. Elann Peruvian Highland Wool
58. Tahki Cotton Classic
59. Dream in Color Smooshy
60. Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton
61. Dream in Color Classy
62. Rowan Big Wool
63. Peace Fleece Worsted
64. Caron Simply Soft Brites
65. Plymouth Galway Worsted
66. Karabella Aurora 8
67. Rowan Wool Cotton
68. Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton
69. Knit Picks Shine Worsted
70. Brown Sheep Wildfoote Luxury Sock (in the stash)
71. ----Lion Brand Fun Fur Solid----
72. Misti International Misti Alpaca Chunky
73. Handmaiden Fine Yarn Sea Silk
74. Mountain Colors Bearfoot (in the stash)
75. Lion Brand Jiffy Solid
76. Knit Picks Shadow
77. Bernat Softee Chunky Solids & Marls
78. Austermann Step (in the stash)
79. Bernat Cottontots Solid
80. Cascade Ecological Wool
81. Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud
82. Patons Shetland Chunky
83. ----Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky----
84. Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted
85. Malabrigo Yarn Lace
86. Bernat Satin Solids
87. Lily Sugar’n Cream Stripes
88. Knit Picks Gloss
89. ----Lion Brand Magic Stripes----
90. Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk
91. Cascade 220 Quatro
92. Rowan All Seasons Cotton
93. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Solid
94. JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18
95. Novita 7 Veljestä
96. Rowan Kid Classic
97. Mission Falls 1824 Cotton
98. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted Multi
99. Cascade Fixation Spray Dyed/Effects
100. Patons Kroy Socks 4-Ply

I was tagged by my pal Incaknits. If you actually still read my blog, or try to, consider yourself tagged.

Wanna Win an Ergo?

I do. These are one of the best baby carriers out there and you can win one if you enter!

Win a Free Ergo Baby Carrier from Along for the Ride

I've been knitting too, I swear

But all I've been knitting has been shorties, so it's kinda boring until I post pics of Eekers wearing them.

But I embellished these diapers for Eekers to wear UNDER his shorties!

Kenny Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Eli's New Overalls

I finished little man's overalls. This was my second major sewing undertaking. It turned out okay. I had trouble sewing in the snap tape, so the inseam area is kinda messy. Ah well. It was only my first time using the zipper foot. I also made buttonholes for the first time. They were so easy!

PSA

I found this helpful message on one of my dollars this week and thought I'd share.



You've been advised.

Poor Todd, whoever he is.

Icy

We were in Madison this last weekend during an ice storm. Witness my in-laws' birch trees:







Whilst stuck inside, I worked on some longies/shorties.

I finished these:





Nearly finished these (still have to make a cord, kitchener the crotch, and weave in ends):



And started these:

Finished Mei Tai! And babylegs.

Thank you to my models for their assistance.

Mei Tai Half Done!!!

I finished the body of the mei tai today.



Next up are the ties, which criss-cross in the middle of the body of the carrier (on the inside). The ties will be dark brown to match the flowers. I should be done this weekend. Then I can carry Eli around in style.

Non-Knitting Weekend Endeavors

I did a bit of sewing this weekend. I made a reversible headband using the best band ever pattern, and an iphone cozy for Josh, using this pattern.



The best band ever, really is! I have a hard time finding headbands that both look good and fit my enormous skull. Usually even elastic ones don't work right, and I can't tie a scarf on worth a damn. I end up with hair in the knot and curses under my breath. But this one is awesome. It was a pain the the butt to reverse it and to sew in the elastic, but I'll definitely be doing it again.

Next up is a Mei Tai for me & Eli. I've gotta wait till I get a rotary cutter and matt though, because there's NO way I can cut a straight line for 90 inches, much less do it 3 times.

eek!

I used a different pattern for Eli's latest longies. I think I like the fit better. The construction was very different. They're knit from the bottom up. I also tried my hand at duplicate stitch for the first time. About halfway through I changed the way I was doing it and it looked better, but I'm not about to rip out the first half (half the second e through the first exclamation point). Probably should have read how exactly to do it, but whatevs. Instructions are for suckers.

Yes, it's Another Post Today...

But I HAVE to! I'm entering a blog contest to win the coolest baby wrap ever.






This would be great for little man. I heart me some baby-wearin'.

Shameless Non-Self Promotion

Josh started a blog a while ago. Go read it. It's funny.

Sewing Fool

I got a sewing machine! I sold a bunch of books on Amazon to help finance this purchase. Here she is:



And here's what I've been making:

Longies!




Both of these are made from felted sweater arms. I found a tutorial online and tried it out on some already too small sweaters. So cute!

I also made a few pairs of babylegs. The first pair is kinda embarassing, the the other pairs look pretty good, I think.





Yes, yes, they're all for my little man. He is spoiled. But how could he not be? Just look at him!





Too bad his mommy dresses him so funny, huh? Rainbow babylegs with a green and brown giraffe shirt. What was she thinking?!? I'll tell you what she was thinking. She was thinking, Oh Crap! His diaper leaked onto his brown pants, he needs leggings!

Longies and Shorties!

Longies for Eli, knit up in Malabrigo in the Charrua colorway. I think they turned out very nice.



I also knit up a pair of shorties for little man using some BFL. They are SO soft!