Things are going pretty "meh" right now

I usually try not to post unless I think I have something worthwhile to say, but I'm the kind of person that tend to keep things to myself. I'm not big on, you know, sharing things. Even though that's partially what a blog is about, sharing things with the internet.

Stressful Times

I've been going through a lot lately. A close friend of mine broke his leg, and another close friend of mine has been in and out of the hospital. They're like family to me, so I've been really overextending myself trying to help out and it's finally getting to me. Plus, the hospital my friend is at is a long-term facility, and they have a bunch of rules that are really stupid, and make no sense, but he really does seem to be getting better, so at least it's working, though because of or despite their policies seems to be the real debate there. >.>

It's not all bad, though.

Summer Stripes

This summer tube top is the perfect way to use u leftovers from a big projects, and it's super cute, too! The instructions are for a size 36/38C chest, but after the instructions, I provide the formula I used to create it, so you can customize it to any size you need, theoretically from child to all sizes of adult.

This pattern makes use of short rows, and if you're unfamiliar with them, Knitty has a pretty good tutorial, though any other method or tutorial that you're comfortable using will do the trick, this isn't a very picky pattern, and doesn't require a specific method.

Cuppycake Potholder

Cuppycake Potholder

This is a very simple pattern, and very open to adaptation. The following is to produce a potholder identical to mine, but feel free to adjust this pattern to suit your neds, or to use the chart for something else entirely.
This pattern makes use of double knitting, which creates a reversable fabric with the added benefit of being twice as thick, to protect your hands from the heat. For safety, you MUST use a flame-resistant fiber if you intend to use this as a potholder. If you’ve ever done a burn test, you’ll know that synthetic fibers like (acrylic or nylon) or a plant fiber (like cotton or linen) will melt and burn, respectively. This is true even in a blend. I recommend 100% wool, but feel free to stash bust some other, more luxurious fibers, if you wish.

Body Comentary

I had my wisdom teeth out (all 4 at once!) on Thursday, and it... wasn't that bad. I had expected it to be a horrible, traumatic experience (thanks family) but it ended up being pretty okay. I'm cutting here, because there's surgery details below the cut.

Living in Poor America

The title of this entry was started by my musing about my current living situation. But mostly because a police helicoptor kept me awake until past 2 in the morning.

Valentine Hearts

Valentine Hearts

Edit: I'm sorry this was so unreadable before. I didn't realize that the font for the header had continued into the main text. It should be easier to read now. I apologize.

This pattern is for three different sized hearts. The smallest really needs no stuffing, though it is possible to do if you like it to have a more full appearance. The smallest ones, I designed to be part of a garland, but of course, you can do whatever you want with them.

These hearts are easy to make, easy to customize, and easy to love! Perfect for beginners who want t practice increasing and decreasing, they'll fly off your needle in no time. This is also a good proect for beginners, because tension is relatively unimportant, so you can take whatever yarn and needles you have, and start right away. The only guideline I'd offer is to use a relatively tight tension, to prevent the stuffing from showing through or leaking out; this is especially important if you're giving this as a gift for a small child, as the stuffing can be a choking hazard.

Tampa Hat

I have a friend who lives in Tampa for college, and the weather has been a bit chilly for Florida, so she asked for a hat and scarf. This is the hat. 

New Pattern - Lacey Kerchief

From time to time, I have a pattern to post. This is one of them:

This is the second part of a mulit-part series of kerchiefs I plan to

make. I love making lace, and I love having things to wear
over my hair on chilly or windy days, and these are perfect
for both those times.

The lace for the center panel is from a stitch dictionary,
and it reminds me of cables because of its strong vertical
lines and the sinuous twisting of the diamonds. The
written pattern for the kerchief makes it look much more
complicated than it really is. It's very intuitive, so this
should be flying off your needles in no time!

What I've been up to lately

So, I started a blog and then left it, which we all know is basically cardinally sin number one for blogging. When your targert audience probably has internet around the clock - home, phone, hot spots at the McDonalds, you know how it is - so you know, so you have to keep up content all the time, or you're a fail. So here we go.