Knitted Monsters

While the Monkeys and I have been out sick for a few days, we were on a monster-knitting kick.  I knit one up for Monkey2 and Monkey1 & I shared knitting duties on hers.

Gabby the Garden Monster and Irving the Icebox Monster from Rebecca Danger's Big Book of Knitted Monsters are the first 2 we've completed and we've got at least 2 more in the queue.

For Gabby:
yarn: Stitch Nation Washable Ewe in Strawberry
needles: size 6 circulars
mods:
- Monkey2 didn't want a white mouth, so we settled on brown which was the only other felt color I had in my stash aside from red.
- size 6 mm safety eyes since Joann's were out of size 9 mm's.  They're not in there well, so I may have to replace them with embroidered eyes soon.

For Irving:
yarns: Cascade Greenland for the main color & leftover Plymouth Encore Worsted purple from Monkey1's 'doll' poncho. 
needles: size 6 circs

Monkey1 knit the body & sewed all the pieces together. The cockeyed ear was by her design. I knit up all the appendages.  Her other mods were to leave off the belly button and the mouth.Our one unintentional mod was to forget to stuff to the arms, but since Monkey1 was fine with it, we're leaving them as is.

Also done with the knitting and assembly is a second Benji & Friends doll. It's only been a year since I knit the first. :p I just need to felt it when we're up at the cabin with the old school (non-high efficiency) washer or by "hand" in basin.  However, that'll have to wait until my lungs are functioning better.  This cold's not quite at flu level, but it's a miserable one.

In the meantime I've finally cast on for my RSC Jan 2009 kit, the Queen of Beads.  I had temporarily lost the beads and lovely Sockateer Tammy send me a little replacement bag.  Of course, some corollary to Murphy's Law kicked in and I found my original packet of beads after I received Tammy's replacement.

Once I finish the "leg" portion of the sock, I'll decide if I'm going to convert them into fingerless mitts or gloves or finish it as a sock.  I guess we'll see.

Stitches West 2012

I like to sample and test knit, so when our friend, Purlswannahavefun asked us to help knit a few hats for The Knitting Ranch's booth (320-322) at Stitches West, I said sure.  Hats are quick and easy. Unfortunately I forgot to take modelled pics of the blocked hats, so I only have unblocked hat pics. For the blocked hats, make sure to stop by The Knitting Ranch's booth.

Pattern: Porom by Jared Flood aka Brooklyn Tweed
Yarn: Lana Grossa Evento
Needles: Size US 7 & 9

The yarn, a cotton/wool blend was rather interesting.  It felt like the core yarn was cotton and the fuzzy stuff was the wool.

The second hat knit up was:
Pattern: Regina (free on Ravelry) by Carina Spencer
Yarn: Lana Grossa Alta Moda Cashmere
needles: Size US 10 & 10.5

The hat had a really fun construction and I'll definitely be knitting up my own.  The free pattern is one of those "gaugeless" hat patterns where you don't really need to swatch first.

This year I finally took a class at Stitches West, Anne Kuo Lukito's Turn Socks into Gloves. She's the designer of Crafty Diversions.  It was a nice short (3 hrs only) fun class.  So instead of going on Friday and Saturday, I did Thursday and Friday. My test glove from the class is that partial mutant blue thing by the t-shirt in my Stitches haul pic.  I was a good girl and didn't buy very much.  Believe it or not, the only purchases I made were the project bags and some buttons for a pair of fingerless mitts in my knitting queue.  The Malabrigo Dos was from the Malabrigo booth, The gorgeous skein of blue fingering yarn from The Knitted Wit was "payment" for helping her dismantle her Interweave Lab booth and the beautiful Handmaiden Yarn Camel Spin was my payment for the 2 Knitting Ranch sample hats.

There are still 2 days left for Stitches West, so if you can make it, go and say hi to all my friends at the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth (Irishgirlieknits, tapmouseknits2, hizKNITS, Leianne and Sockateer Cockeye).

A Trio of Irish Girlie Knits Patterns

I swear I knit more than just Irishgirlieknit sock patterns, but it just so happens that I can blog about a couple of them now.

First up is a pattern that she's released before, but she's been updating her patterns to her newer format. I knit this sample pair last month for her.

Pattern: Burst
Yarn Provided: Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering in French Twist
needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) circular needles
pattern size: medium IIRC or to fit her mom's feet

Next up is her pattern from the Sock Knitters Anonymous January Mystery KAL on Ravelry. I actually did this one for me for fun.  No sample or test knitting here.

Pattern: Blathnat
Yarn: Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Pixie from the now closed Yarn for Socks online store
needles: US 2 (2.75 mm) and 1.5 (2.50 mm) dpns
pattern size: medium
mod: carried the "flowery" lace pattern down the foot an extra repeat, causing the "stem" pattern to be a little short.  I had been debating with myself if I wanted a long stem or not, but I figure if I knit this pattern again, I'll do the pattern as written w/the longer "stem" on the foot.

In between Blathnat clues, I decided to cast on another one of Irishgirlieknit's patterns, this time the free Honey Badger pattern.  The pattern is quick since the sock is mostly in stockinette stitch. I'm done with the first sock and steadily progressing on the send.

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock lightweight in Crabby McCrabbypants
needles: size US 1.5 (2.50 mm) dpns
pattern size: medium

I still do crochet, by the way.  I'm slowly working on a lap blanket that I started when I had been called in for jury duty last fall.  I usually work on it during the monkeys' dance classes only, so I'm finally past the halfway point.   

Pattern: Over the Rainbow baby blanket
Yarn: Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe  in Twilight, Mermaid & Beach Glass - Not machine washable! So I'm calling it a lap blanket for me & not a gift for the next baby in my circle of friends & family
Hook size: K

Just a FYI

From an organizational stand point, I've decided to move my make up posts over to my new make up blog.  (Link also on the side bar to the right along with my Mary Kay site.) At some point I'll delete the ones without knitting content from this blog.

Mary Kay vs MAC eyeshadows

I've been looking online and there are hardly any comparison swatches of Mary Kay's (MK) mineral eyeshadows with their supposed MAC eyeshadow duplicates except for one youtube video for certain. So I decided to swatch what I have to see what I would get.  All pics taken without flash next to a window.  All the rectangular pans are Mary Kay, all circular pans & pots are MAC .

First up, MK Amber Glaze vs MAC Amber Lights.  Of all the MK vs MAC shadows I've swatched, these two were the closest match and I would say they're pretty dead on.

MAC All That Glitters vs MK Honey Spice with MAC Naked Lunch thrown in for comparison.  I've seen mentions online that MK Honey Spice is a dupe for MAC All That Glitters and I have to politely disagree.  They're close, but not exact.  I threw in Naked Lunch to see if I can find another MAC eyeshadow that MK Honey Spice would be a dupe of, but Naked Lunch is a little pinker and sheerer. It's possible that there's a limited edition MAC eyeshadow that MK Honey Spice is a dupe of, but I don't own it.

MK Midnight Star vs MAC Deep Truth - swatched just for the heck of it.  Close, but MAC Deep Truth goes on blacker/darker.

MAC Rice Paper vs MK Moonstone vs MAC Shroom -The Moonstone/Rice Paper comparison has been made online, but again I disagree with this one. Rice Paper has always been on the subtle side of shimmer and is less yellow gold than Moonstone. Shroom is a little closer to Moonstone, but I was surprised Moonstone is frostier and less sheer.

MAC Satin Taupe vs MK Granite vs MAC Smoke & Diamonds (limited edition).  MK Granite is a little lighter, grayer & beiger ("greige") than MAC Satin Taupe.  MAC Satin Taupe has a definite plum undertone to it that Granite doesn't have.

MK Sweet Plum vs MAC Sketch - Again, this comparison has been made online and again I disagree.  Sketch is much more intense/darker than Sweet Plum. Both are great shades, though Sketch requires a light hand and many layers with much blending for it to not be too much for me.  YMMV, of course.

MAC Wedge vs MK Hazelnut with MAC Kid (now dc'd) and MAC Rich Flesh (limited edition) thrown in for comparison.  Hazelnut is similar to Wedge and Kid, with it being closer to Kid, but not dead on.

Price Comparison (Prices in US dollars pulled from both websites as of the date of this post):
Mary Kay mineral eyeshadow pan (0.05 oz) - $6.50
Mary Kay compacts (mini, regular, pro) - $16, $18, $35
MAC eyeshadow pan (1.5 g/0.05 oz) - $11.50
MAC eyeshadow pot (1.5 g/0.05 oz) - $15
MAC eyeshadow palettes (2-pan, 4-pan, 15-pan) - $7, $7, $16


Product Disclaimer:
All MAC eyeshadows purchased in full retail with my own money over the course of several years.  All Mary Kay eyeshadows except Moonstone were purchased with my own money at my Mary Kay Consultant discount rate.  Moonstone was purchased in full retail with my own money prior to becoming an independent consultant for Mary Kay.

Random Knits

The last of my post-holiday gift knitting is done for awhile:

pattern: Phydeaux Embraceable Cowl/Scarf
yarn: Bernat Roving in Rice Paper
needles: size 17

pattern: Phydeaux Asterisque Cowl
yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Grey Marble
needles: size 19

A friend of mine just had twins so I knit up a quick pair of baby hats.  The green & white to represent the University of Hawaii colors and the pink & white because my friend loves pink.

pattern: Magic Coffee Baby Hat
yarns: Knit Picks Comfy worsted in Jalapeno, Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Snow & Berry
needles: size 6
mod: only one stripe

I'm doing a little selfish knitting at the moment.  Irishgirlieknits is the designer for this month's Sock Knitters Anonymous mystery KAL & we're currently on clue 3.  I'll be sharing a pic when we're done. Join us for the fun!

Corella Tam & then some

While I've been off a week with the Monkeys, I've been busy with knitting and a few other things.

 unblocked tam

I finally finished my Wooly Wormhead Mystery KAL for at least one of the hats.  This is my second shot at this since my row gauge on my first one was too long and I errantly decided to go up instead of down a size. Evidently I'm not as big-headed as I sometimes think I am. LOL!

Monkey2 was not in a cooperative mood

Pattern: Corella tam
Yarn: A Verb for Keeping Warm Alpaca Silk in Hyacinth
needles: size 2 & 3 KP circs
pattern size: med

pattern option: Alternate Cabled Cast On.  I like!
mod: 1 extra half repeat in the body

Being in a contrarian mood with my gift knitting, I decided to start a few bulky & super bulky cowls & scarves after the Christmas holiday. I figure they will be an early start for next Christmas or late gifts for those we didn't get to see by Christmas. One is completely done, but the other 2 need to be washed/blocked and buttons sewn on.

Super Bulky Cowl pattern 1: Phydeaux Designs Twist Cowl - Ravelry link
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Fisherman
Needles: Size 19's straights - Stitch & Pitch freebie from 2-3 years back
no mods

Like Monkey2, Monkey1 is too busy playing to model her stole. So all I've got for now is a pic of the stole starting to be laid out for blocking.

At the beginning of 2011, Monkey1 saw a Fashion Knit store sample and wanted to knit it so we bought the yarn & needles.  The pattern is simply to CO 50 sts on size 17 needles & knit until the 2 balls of Karabella Gossamer yarn are used up. Monkey1 started this, but soon found the needle size too cumbersome and the yarn too fiddly to knit. I didn't want this to languish as a UFO, so I've been picking it up off and on throughout the year and finally finished this as well.

Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season.  Happy New Year!