Incredibox

Have you seen this? You can basically create your own a capella beatboxing group. I had a lot of fun playing around with the different effects. Let me know what compositions you guys come up with!

Peppermint Princess

Glaubst du an den lieben Gott oder an Guevara
ich glaube an die Deutsche Bank denn die zahlt aus in bar au
Liebling lass uns tanzen hast du noch ‘nen Pfefferminz ‘nen Pfefferminz
so und nun gib mir ‘nen Kuss mit Pfefferminz bin ich dein Prinz

- “Mit Pfefferminz bin ich dein Prinz” by Marius Müller-Westernhagen

You know how you sometimes just fall in love with a skein of yarn due to its name? Yes? No? Well, that was the case with me. When I’d just discovered Wollmeise yarn, I was looking at colors on the Wollmeise website, trying to figure out what colors I’d like. That was before I discovered how challenging it is to order Wollmeise yarn, and that you won’t easily find the color you like in stock. No, you just have to hope that the color you want will be available at that update, and you’ll have to hope no one snaps it up before you can checkout with it.

Pfefferminz Prinz above, Tiefer See below

Well, I was looking at the blue-green color family, and I immediately fell in love with two colors: “Tiefer See” which is the blue-green as ‘the blue and green of a deep mountain lake,’ and “Pfefferminz Prinz,” which must be inspired by the song above that is titled “With peppermint I’m your prince.” Well, I like that song, so I just had to like the color. The skein is lighter than the Tiefer See colorway – a very pretty turquoise and light green.

Thankfully I managed to score a skein of Pfefferminz Prinz thanks to a fellow Raveler. And when you finally get ahold of a yarn color that you’ve been hoping for, oh, forever, you of course have to find a project that will show off the colors.

One of the most frequently knit patterns using Wollmeise is the ubiquitous Clapotis scarf/shawl, second only behind the Hitchhiker pattern. I wanted more of a skinny scarf that would be light enough to wear during the summer, so I modified the pattern into a narrow scarf. It’s super easy to modify the pattern to the desired width and length. So many Ravelers have already done that, there are many many helpful project notes out there. In fact, there is an entire group dedicated to knitting your own Clapotis.

The best suggestion is to weight your yarn skein(s) before casting on, to then weight it again after the increase section, before knitting the straight part. Then you know how much yarn you can use for the straight section, and not run out of yarn. The scarf itself is knit on a bias, and stitches are dropped at regular intervals to created the lacy effects. You have to get used to dropping the stitches – normally I’m so super careful not to drop any. It’s a really fun scarf, and I understand why many people knit multiple Clapotis scarves – but that endless straight section is somewhat mindless. I’m not a huge fan of projects that are endless. I’ll be knitting a bunch of other scarves, but I can see myself knitting another Clapotis again sometime in the future.

Nom!

Do you have to dig around your bag for your earphones? Or do you wrap them around music player? For the most part, I stick my earphones into my bag – into one of those little side pockets, where they tangle with keys, hand sanitizer, lip gloss and so on. When I then grab them out of my bag, I first have to detangle the headphones from all that other stuff, and then I need to untangle them from whatever form they have twisted into. After a while it was just too messy for me.

You’ll find all kind of cases for iPhones, cell phones, iPads, even laptops. But there aren’t as many earphone cases out there. Thankfully I found this whale earphone case pattern on Ravelry. I liked that idea way better than one of those cases where you try to wind them into. Plus, as a knitter, I’m obliged to like knit versions better

Nom! The finished whale

This is a pretty simple knit. I used Techknitter’s casting on from the middle method, which looks cleaner then just a regular cast-on, followed by magic loop. I mean, you could use the yarn tail to close any holes, but with Techknitter’s version, you avoid any holes. It does take a bit til you get the hang of it, but once you’ve got it, it’s a useful skill. It’s great for hats knit top-down, and Ysolda Teague uses that method in the pattern for her knit softie animals Elijah, Otto and Sophie.

The pattern also recommends using Ysolda’s sewn button loop method, which is really ingenious. You basically create plain button loops that are the right size for your buttons. Then you wrap your yarn around those loops, reinforcing them while also making the buttonloop snug enough that it’ll close nicely around the button without being too loose. And that way the button loops are sturdy enough to survive regular opening and closing. I picked little eye-like buttons, and voila! You have an earphone whale.

Your little whale can hold all kinds of cables, not just earphones. It’s also easy to modify the size of the whale – you could just use a heavier yarn weight and larger needles, or you could just add extra repeats and make the whale bigger that way. Btw, this pattern is a great last-minute gift – and I’ve already received requests for more whales. Have fun!

via Doghouse Diaries

Wednesday, Wednesday

The book I’m currently reading is not so much my reading but my nephew’s reading – it’s his good night story. You might have recognized Curious George from the bookcover – and the book itself is called ‘Curious George Storybook Collection.’ This version is very much so based on the TV series, with the same kind of graphics, and really big pictures. It’s quite cute but just doesn’t have the charm of the original stories. I wish they’d stayed consistent with the beginning of the original stories, you know, where it says: “George was a good monkey but always very curious.” Oh, and btw, have you ever wondered what the man with the yellow hat does for a living? Well, I wonder – and given that many of George’s adventures result in big, expensive messes, I wonder if he’s on an unlimited budget. For example, the donut delivery story in this Storybook Collection volume. George buys 100 dozen donuts instead of one dozen donuts. One dozen Krispy Kreme donuts is approximately $6 (dependent on your location), that would mean, that George bought $600 worth of groceries. And the man with the yellow hat accepts that without blinking an eye. Sheesh.

And in the meanwhile, I’ve made some progress, over the past week, and the end is in sight on my Indian Red scarf. Very exciting. It’ll still take me a while to finish it, but I can see how this pattern design is going to work out. I’m concerned that the scarf will be to small, so I’ll probably have to steam block it aggressively, or wet block it. The problem with wet blocking is that it is hard to find a space where I can leave something to dry. Plus, wet blocking doesn’t have that instant gratification effect that you get from steam blocking. I’m going to double check my gauge, and maybe I can add a bit more length in section H… Time to check out the modifications people have made to the scarf. I really really love Ravelry – it makes it so much easier to find that kind of information.
And now, since I’m probably responsible for getting the “Monday, Monday” song stuck in your head, here’s a video of the original song:

That’s it for this Wednesday. I’m participating in this week’s Yarn Along – there are links to other great Yarn Along posts there, with information on how to participate yourself. You can also find a link to this post through Tami’s Amis, through Ambassador Crochet’s Wip Wednesday and Frontier Dreams’ Keep Calm and Craft on (KCCO) series.

crack that w(h)ip

Well hello! It’s Wednesday wip time. And, as Devo said, it’s time to “Whip it! Whip it good.” Oh 80s, sometimes I miss you. Not the fashion, for the most part, more the music. Remember that hair? The perms? The scrunchies. Yikes. Unless you’re out to have extra fun with it – like with an 80s tribute band. Meet the Legwarmers, who are exactly that. I went to their New Year’s Show, and another time for my birthday. Definitely one of the best parties I’ve been to. Just check out their promo video below, and there are more images on their website. It’s a pretty much a requirement to dress up for the concert, so you almost get an 80s overdose there I think it’s the best fun you can have with the 80s without actually bringing the 80s back. Imagine if people dressed like that all the time…

So, let’s look at my knitting (and reading). Well, would you look at that! I’ve actually managed to make some progress on my Erin Go Bragh shawl! I’m almost done with the last part of my Color Affection shawl. It has lingered and lingered around here. Which is kind of weird since it’s a fun project. By now the project has taken on dimensions that make it difficult to take it along. It’s no longer a “on-the-go” project. And I have other projects going on that have been getting knitting time, both my Indian Red and my steel sings scarves. But I’ve been trying to finish up my Color Affection, and I’m almost there!

I think I’ll finish this one today since I’m participating in Cheryl Marie’s Knitting Marathon. That’s 26.2 hours of knitting, May 23-24. I won’t be able to only knit in that time. Obviously I have to sleep. And then there’ll be lots of other things going on like eating, blogging, household stuff and so on. (I love that blogging comes second – although I’m scheduling my Wednesday and Thursday posts). But I should definitely make some inroads with my knitting. I think my Erin Go Bragh will be finished, and I’m hoping that I’ll maybe even finish my Indian Red scarf. Want to join in too? Shall we see how much knitting we can get done? I’m sure you can start later and then correspondingly finish later.

And the read, that’s a comfort read of mine. I read Tamora Pierce‘s Alanna series as a teen, and I loved it. A girl that wants to become a knight, and despite all the challenges, having to hide that she’s a girl from almost everyone, and so on, she succeeds and forges her own path. Who hasn’t dreamt of being a knight? I loved that series, and I still have my books. This series is a set in the same universe as the Alanna quartet and tells you the story of Keladry of Mindelan, the second girl to try for knighthood. She does it publicly, without having to hide her gender like Alanna, and the book talks about the different set of challenges she faces, the prejudices, but also her successes. I’m currently on book 4 in the quartet, Lady Knight, and I still have aways to go. I like rereading books – good books, that is – you know what is coming but you don’t remember all the details, and it’s like saying hello to an old friend.

Now for the blog hop part: I’m linking up with this week’s Yarn Along, this week’s Tami’s Amis WIP Wednesday, through Ambassador Crochet’s Wip Wednesday and Frontier Dreams’ Keep Calm and Craft on (KCCO) blog-a-long. Check out some of the other awesome wip posts.

9 degrees Fahrenheit/minus 13 degrees Celsius

It’s freezing. Really really freezing. At least it’s sunny, and we don’t have to deal with tons of snow too (apparently it would be even colder with snow). So this is a good time as any to put up a post about winter wear.

I made this lovely pair of gloves 2 winters ago, for my friend Ulrike. It took a bit to figure out what pattern, and what color; ultimately she decided on this lovely burgundy shade of Wollmeise called Merlot. This was the first time I was knitting gloves, and the project moved along pretty quickly until I had to do all those fingers. And yes, there were quite a few ends to weave in. Nothing like those kinds of projects to scare you away from part II. But I plugged along, since I wanted to finish the gloves while it was actually cold enough to wear them.

So, gloves finished. Yay! Enough fiddling around with fingers, and making sure everything fits. And then I made the mistake of showing the finished project to my sister. And of course the comment was “I want a pair too!” In the same colorway. Well, thanks to the generous yardage of the Wollmeise skeins, I had enough to make pair #2. My sister’s hands are smaller, so I knit the second pair with smaller needles, otherwise everything is the same.

The pattern is called Knotty Gloves, and it’s one of the bazillion glove/mitten designs by Laris Designs (ok, not bazillion, but she has 20-30 different glove designs out there). It’s a really good starting place for a newbie glove knitter – and it’s pretty easy to fit properly. The only issue is that the knotty pattern makes the gloves somewhat bunchy on top. Oh well. Ultimately, they look pretty, and keep your fingers warm.

Oh, and btw, this season makes me think of the “I’m freezing” children’s song from Music Together: Sticks. Music Together is this really lovely children’s music education series, and the songs and rhymes are really cute. Plus it’s music that’s bearable for adults too (I would not be able to listen to Barney over and over, but this, this I can do). Anyway, here’s a really cute version enacted by this little girl (no idea who she is, but she’s doing a lovely job

Sweet dreams…

A nightmare about grad school loans is not how I wanted to start my day. Ugh.

I do love the Sweet Dreams video (and song) though:

http://youtu.be/NFJhRgZLyWM

RIP Etta James

Satchmo

Today, 110 years ago, Louis Daniel Armstrong was born in New Orleans. His childhood was rough – he grew up in poverty, and his father deserted the family early on for another woman.  Despite living in poverty, and occasionally getting into trouble, he also drew inspiration from the bands and artist he saw perform. Over time, he started performing in and around New Orleans, and after finally moving to Chicago, his career took off.

Over the course of the career he didn’t just perform with bands, on stage, he also performed on the radio and in movies. He played the cornet and trumpet, and he sang. He helped shape jazz and was an amazing improviser. He bridged the gap between black and white – white audiences loved him, and even though he didn’t take a public stand, he was supportive of the civil rights movement. His nickname, Satchmo, was an abbreviation of Satchelmouth, because of the size of his mouth.

You can’t help but think of his amazing performances, with that gravelly voice. When I think of him, I also think of that great smile of his that transformed his entire face. He had an incredible expressive face – many an actor could take lessons from him. (Especially Bollywood actors whose facial expressions are so overdramatic). He was a person who could spread joy with his singing and playing. So here are two of my favorite songs of his: “As time goes by” (Play it again, Sam) and of course, “What a wonderful world.”