I had a pair at my old office so I could type while I wore them. Not a perfect solution, but it keeps your hands warmer than not wearing anything.
I like them because I still get to use my fingers without any loss of dexterity, and still get some warmth. There are ones that have are convertibles, that you can stick a mitten like thing over the fingers, that is a decent compromise. Though those models tend to cover up the thumb completely, which always annoys me.
Shoes suck, I'm still tempted to buy those kevlar finger socks, or those Vibrams that are made out of moccasin.
Well, yeah. And when there's a danger of frostbite, you wear gloves. I live in an area where that's not a problem.
You want to talk about gloves that are a serious detriment to doing your job? Cut resistant gloves. They seriously hinder your grip (and in many cases are slippery when wet), seriously reduce sensory perception and they add an incredibly false sense of security. The biggest problem, though, is that they are neither cut resistant nor will they even protect against the lightest of chops, especially from a well sharpened blade. They are a band-aid solution to a "problem" that should be addressed through training, but often either is not or they are required anyway due to idiotic bureaucrats who have never stepped foot in a kitchen thinking it will keep their WC premiums low. The best chefs all have battle scars - among them probably a nipped fingertip or two. You don't do the latter past a first or second time, and if you do, you have no fucking place in a kitchen, cut gloves or no. (I guess this should go in nerd rage, but it goes equally well here.)
A loved one is moving up to just south of the Arctic Circle for a while, so I am going to knit ALL THE THINGS. It's a good excuse to pick up my needles again...
You kind of make me want to take up knitting, although my cat's tendency to get in my lap and paw at whatever I'm doing might be a hindrance.
I finished two hats tonight: For my MIL And for my niece that looks like this one (made with the same yarn, but the pic didn't come out) I also learned yesterday how Canadians pronounce "toque", and I am still giggling over it. Tuuk!!!
I have been a knitting fiend. I don't even have pictures of everything I finished lately. First, I've been trying to crack the code of the perfectly fitting ankle socks. These are from two different pairs: the one on the left is pretty good, the one on the right is too big. Then, I drew my brother in law in the family secret santa. I thought it would be nice to take his mind off the NHL lockout. The crown of the hat looks a little wonky here but it straightened out and looks better once I washed it. I did a ton of duplicate stitch for the logo (sorry, knitter jargon, it's basically embroidering with yarn), and I like how it came out. Then, when my grandma died, she left this hat on the needles. It's intended for my cousin. I had to reknit all the stripes, it was kind of a mess, but I was really pleased to finish it on my grandma's behalf.
I found THE BEST worsted-weight yarn. ("Worsted" is a thickness of yarn.) It's self-striping, and superwash (machine-washable) wool. It's called Odin, from Viking of Norway. I made this with it. It is the softest, warmest, loveliest hat I've ever knit, and I want to make moooooorrrrre.
My jaw just hit the floor. A lot of knit and crochet designers get free yarn, because people making the designers' patterns will often use the same yarn as the designer did (purchased from the company that gave the free yarn to the designer, of course). Some designers don't think about the cost of that yarn to John Q. Public, which is why this afghan would cost $1,131.00 in yarn at retail price. (AND it's ugly!) Good lord. That's somebody's rent. For an afghan? Noooooo.
Up. I like to make things ... up. When I used to watch Martha Stewart with my mom on Sundays my least favorite part was always her telling stories to go along with her stupid decorating advice. "When I was a young girl in Chicopee Falls my favorite part of autumn was always playing in the crisp, cool fall air, watching my breath turn to fog as my cousins and I would dive into piles of leaves and chase eachother across our lawn, then return to the house for a hot mug of my mother's homemade mulled cider. Which is why you should put some shit on a pinecone and stick it on your counter." So, uh, that blog. Really hitting that annoying habit from all sides.
I saw that thing about the afghan. On the one hand, I was scandalized by the price, until I remembered that I am also knitting a king size blanket out of wool, so I know folly when I see it. (Although my wool is less expensive than theirs, but still.) Anyway. I'm very proud of this scarf.
Thank you! It didn't take me too too long but I got pretty sick of it by the end. But it was worth it because I loooove how it came out.
I'm going to pick up crochet again, because I need a real hobby to talk about outside of video games. This is pretty much my favorite book ever, though I seem to have lost mine. Whoops. It taught me enough to be able to look at a hat I saw and liked at a store once and re-create it from memory. Proud moment! I was even able to modify the pattern enough to suit my needs, which was to add a ponytail hole. Mr. A likes beanies but he hates when they don't fit around his ponytail. This is apparently the only photo I have of it. Boo. Anywho, I intend to make another one, since I'm pretty sure it's lost or has died. It was also a smidge too big and Mr. A complained that it was drafty, so I need to figure out a better stitch to use.
I have the knitting version of that afghan book! I made this with it: This is my favorite square from it: Nicest thing I ever made. I've still got it, too. I'd given it to my father, at his request, but a couple of years later he gave it back because he was afraid his psycho wife might destroy it.
You know how there are cooking books for nerds and such? If someone does a knitting for nerds book this would be a fantastic title.
After a sudden influx of suitable glass jars (thank you pudding makers) and an ever growing pile of beeswax I had a go at making some candles. For an initial attempt I think they're pretty good. I double wicked them and they inevitably used far more wax per candle than I anticipated but they seem to work fine.
Nellie , I don't know if you have any sheets of honeycombed wax, but my ex-husbands parents (who were/are beekepers) used to make rolled honeycomb wax candles, they're really neat! Beeswax candles are the best candles IMO.
It's called foundation 'in the trade'. It's relatively expensive in comparison, and I generally use it in the hive frames to give the bees a guide for drawing comb, but its the quickest and easiest way to make candles and they do look nice. You can trade wax in for foundation, but financially, it makes more sense to sell wax directly or turn it into candles. I reuse honeycomb wax back into my hives but the candles I made from the darker wax that comes from the frames the bees raise their brood in. I'm going to have a go at making some furniture polish in the new year too.
Some of our friends and one of my aunts came up and stayed over Christmas, so I decided to make some gift boxes. We filled them with locally made gifts: soaps, scented candles, wines, glassware and even a snail on a rock. The recipients were guinea pigs in a way, as it was a test to see how well they were received before making more for next year's medieval fair. Each one was different and they loved them. My aunt even got teary when she unwrapped hers. There were five in total, three with working gears and two with aluminium filled scroll-work. I forgot to take a photo of one, but it is similar to the second photo. The box in the middle has aluminium inside the cut-outs of the gears. Just before Christmas, the engraver finally finished the build-plate for the Clockwork Box so I made up the inner detail surround for it to sit in. I also finished up the drawer unit for it to sit on and added trunk styled straps to the back. Since the photos were taken, I have secured the top edges and smoothed out all of the aluminium pieces. After New Years it will be lent to a local store for display along with a chest of drawers and if all goes well, it will then head over to Sydney where they will be put on display in a gallery. I'm about to start on an odd piece for a client. A Lotus Super 7 themed storage box for their steering wheel. It will be done in the same style, but the lid will resemble the grill of the car complete with emblem. I normally won't do commissioned pieces but this one piqued my interest.
So I decided I needed a hobby that was relaxing, creative, and didn't have a whole lot of setup or cleanup. I have settled on knitting. Today I purchased a copy of Knitting for Dummies. Tomorrow, I will buy a ball of wool yarn and pack of knitting needles. Beyond that, I have no earthly idea what I'm doing. Any tips?
Get a smooth and flexible yarn in a light color. I suggest Lion Brand Wool-Ease if you're goin to someplace like Joanns or Michaels for supplies. The ball band will tell you what size needles to use. It's usually a range, like 7-9. I suggest getting the largest size listed, because new knitters tend to knit too tightly. To use the skein, reach into the center and pull out the end that's tucked in the middle. Yes you will actually get a clump instead of the end. That's okay. If you use the outer end of the skein it'll roll all over the place and that sucks. Look on YouTube or someplace like knitting help (I think it's knitting-help.com but I can't swear it, and I'm on my iPhone.). For videos. First you want a simple cast on video, then one for the knit stitch. Um... That's all I can think if for the moment...
STEAMPUNK KNITTING PATTERNS I don't care that Amazon won't let you preview the inside. I put it on my wishlist immediately.
