yarn as fun as cat toys

This is Kivrin


I've been having a lot of fun knitting cat toys for her so she will stop chewing on my needles, and she has had just as much fun chasing after the yarn I knit them with. This one is just a little ball with a string attached, but next I am thinking something something filled with catnip, maybe a model of the Black Death microbe, for her namesake. The house is feeling more like a home since this happy addition came in.

Knitting in a New Place

Riverside, California


I've just moved into my new place, which I decided deserved a post, especially since I haven't started classes yet so I have some extra time for knitting. Currently on the needles and in progress includes but is not limited to: Christmas stockings, cat toys, socks, Jayne hats, Alpaca scarves and .... (drum roll).... a Hoddie for my brother, my first attempt at a giant sweater project. Grad school may dictate how much of these things get finished at more than a snails pace, but I'll keep you posted.

His-Hers Fuzzy Slippers

For Julie and Rick


When I found out that my good friend Julie was engaged, I knew I had to make something for her and her man, and that it had to be as goofy as they are.

Easy pattern knit flat on 9s and sewn up the seams with ridiculously fluffy yarn. For your amusement and reference; they are Yarn Bee Frosting's "Cotton Candy" and "Hot Berries" respectfully.

I hope the recipients can appreciate the subtle irony and love with which they were knit.

Crookshank's Harry Potter

For Sirius and Remus, filled with love and catnip


When my friend Kara had kittens, and named them after two of my favorite characters from the wonderful series, I knew I had to make them something and I knew what it had to be. Thus was born Harry Potter yarn-style.

Knit on 3.4 with leftover scrap yarn, his sweater is a flat square knit up the back (CO 24) with gray yarn, arms and lets are knit in the round (CO 9 and 12 respectively) with black yarn and white for hands.
The head I picked up sts from the top of the sweater and joined in the round, knit 3 rows, *M1 every 3rd st, k1 row, rep from * 3 times, k 3 or 4 rows, then decreased by ssl and k2tog on either side of the face twice around, then 2tog every other all around, pull sts through tight.
His cloak is just a st st triangle. Hair and features are sewn on, and tie is a colored piece of cloth sewed on. He is then stuffed with cotton balls and a lot of organic catnip.

Long Live Harry Potter!!

the brea bag

For Mom


(I apologize for the excess of pictures, I was pretty excited about how this one turned out.)
Knit from the Brea Bag pattern located here:
http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/brea/brea.html

and I must say it is a fantastic pattern. Normally when you start by casting on 126 sts and cabling every other st it gets complicated, but as long as you stick with the pattern it's smooth sailing.


I wanted to make something for my mom for her birthday that she could actually use (I have been known to give scarfs and mittens for August birthdays, which always gets a curious look) But this pattern when I found it, I knew was perfect: elegant, and useful. One of my favorite features of the bag is of my own creation, and shown below:


The zipper! Because, as you might have thought at first, I did not go out and buy a zipper and go through all the pain and trouble of sewing a zipper myself. The solution is much easier.
I went to a thrift store and bought a brown child's jacket. Then I sewed the jacket inside out so that the zipper of the jacket becomes the zipper of the purse! And, the inside has a nice soft lining. I would recommend this method to everyone.

Also as a note of interest, I found the button (that I think matches so well) in a tin of buttons I inherited from my Great-Grandma. The strap was made from a belt (also bought at a thrift store) which I cut to the right length and attached by sewing the ends of the gusset through holes on either end. The result, I believe, is a beautifully functional and sentimental bag. Happy Birthday Mom!

the twiggy tweed

For Adrienne


Made from the Knitty pattern: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall06/PATTtwiggytweed.html
with some darker colors. This was a really fun bag to knit, especially the inside which is lined with an old t-shirt. I even sewed a sleeve on the inside so it has a pocket! And a magnetic clasp, for functionality.


I saw this pattern and immediately thought of my cousin Adrienne, who is right now doing Teach for America in Washington DC. I figure, if your running around a busy city looking after kids, what you need is a cute purse that's not bulky but holds all the stuff. I'm going to send it to her full of brownies for her upcoming birthday.

safety cone mouse

For Gambit


Fantastic cat toy pattern in "Stitch and Bitch Nation": knit on 3.5s with some of that orange yarn I happen to love. I was sending Fatty and Secret boyfriend a package full of knit goods, and I just couldn't leave their kitty out. So I stuffed this happy mouse full of catnip, and word around town is Gambit had a good time. oh yeah.

griffin gloves

for Tristian



These gloves were fun because I made up the pattern as I went. CO 30, rib for an inch, M6 evenly, work griffin pattern, BO 6 for thumb, work even, BO in turn for fingers. The mitten flap was worked separately and stitched on . The yarn is actually a fun story too: nice thick , soft brown yarn stuffed in a goodie bag with scraps of red mulch chunky for $2. Who would have thought they would work together so well?

Scarves with PhDs

Good news! I finally figured out how to log back into this account. It has been a long and painful process, and therefore I am glad to assure you that now I have lots of things to post. The first of which, is a scarf I sent to Dr. Eckhoff for all of his help getting me into grad school.



Knit on straight 6s with Lion yarn, weave pattern shown bellow. I think it turned out pretty fantastic.

Dr Bach Scarf

The quest to make thank you scarves for all of the doctors who wrote me recommendations and helped me get into grad school continues!!! This fall colored scarf is for Dr. Bach, who not only wrote me recs but gave me a job with kick as research experience, plus a published paper and 2 conferences. Well deserved thank you.

The secret to knitting with acrylic yarn is big needles and simple patterns. 2 stitch ribbing with 10.5 makes for a much softer and nicer scarf.

cleo booties

knitting for tiny people is so fun because they are finished fast and they look cute. these are for cleo, recently born to prof. rossmann of my thesis committee. hopefully they fit her. easy pattern on soft yarn with little bows, knit flat and sewn up front and back.

the o'keefe hat

My first good man hat. Seed stitch brim and earflaps with st stripes and manly poof. For John O'Keefe, modeled by Ben.

middle earth

For Arda, whose name means middle earth. simple pattern, soft yarn. anyone who doesn't have a hat in this weather needs me to make them one.

Rage before Beauty

Before and after I knit what everyone said was a horribly ugly hat. I should have documented the hat itself, but just imagine cables and stripes with these colors. These were thrown together in a $2 grab bag at the Nazareth yarn store. I thought the color contrast was awesome, and it would make a great hat. But as I was knitting I was constantly torn down for my color choice. It would have been one thing if the hat were for me, but as I was making it for someone else I couldn't just give them what everyone had decided was an ugly hat. Imagine my grief as I slowly pull it apart. And now the question becomes... what do I do with my wonderful ugly yarn?

Religous Scarf

Simple pattern for a beautiful yarn, k3 k2tog yo rep.
This is for Prof. Rossmann, who I believe will appreciate how wonderfuly soft and warm it is.

I am working on knitting scarves for my thesis committee, first of all because they have been so helpful and second of all because I need something to do in between aorta loading tests, or while hanging out at the slaughterhouse, or while I'm waiting for my finte element solution to converge. Holy scarf, bloody history.

new pig socks

when Kt returned from Europe, she brought me a pig, saying, "you like luck, and I like you. and for a lucky new year, you wish someone a new pig." becuase having a pig is a sign of prosperity. i was touched, and for some reason the pig wanted to be in the picture with these socks i am making. something about bright colors, i suppose, but to me it means joy and luck, so there are my new pig socks.

Link hat

Last semester, the Reeder house began a journey through the legands of Zelda. We were all caught up in it, fighting the demons and saving the princess. And in the end, we were all a little sad... because we had to go back to studying for finals. But the truth is that Link is the man, and somehow he manages to keep all his weapons, boots, armor, and odd creatures in his hat. I realized then that anyone on a adventure needed a good hat to store their creatures in. And this hat was born, on 13 circular with the biggest yarn in existance. I kept knitting until the yarn was gone. My head stays warm, and now my suit that lets me breathe underwater is so much handier.

Gloves for Ben

After refusing to wear any of the hats I made for him, Ben finally admitted to me that his hands were cold. These were personally sized about every three rounds, so they fit very well and he does indeed wear them.

which is why it is more fun to knit things with people in mind. something about the fact that it fits them, in more ways than one.

mexico socks

Slightly loved.

These are socks knit on mystery yarn I bought at a small yarn shop in my hometown colorado. and they turned out to be from mexcio! i was pretty excited. and now i wear them in the winter with sandals because I love them. i've already been wearing them for almost a year and they have held up pretty well. Here is a detail of the pattern:


somewhere in the whole of the universe there are many other socks given to others, but these will be the only ones i keep.

It's not peer pressure, it's just my turn.

Clarification of Blog title:

That which is knit, thereby entirely composed of, or knit of, that which is Awesome.
See also: Full of Awesome.

I have joined the bandwagon full of yarn. But I think its a good thing for several reasons:

1) I'm still not on Facebook
2) Knitting is way more fun when you get to show it off
3) I didn't want to do my thermo fluids lab anyway
4) I have awesome roomates.