Auggiesaurus (or I Don't Own The Dogosaurus Rex Pattern)

I decided, for some crazy reason, to knit Auggie's Halloween costume this year. After much poking around, I decided on a dinosaur, because the Paton's Dogosaurus Rex pattern was supercute! Unfortunately it was also not-free and an older pattern, so I couldn't find the pattern book.
So I had to make it up as I went. I decided all I really needed was a sweater base, and then to knit some spikes... then put it all together, and voila!! DINOSAUR!

I started to use a free pattern for a dog sweater, but it was kind of frustrating. I also had been to the library in search of The Happy Hooker (I want to begin crocheting so I can make amigurumi, and I thought, hey, that book should help me!!) which was sadly checked out, and I went home with Stitch 'n Bitch Nation instead, because I was thinking of making the cable newsboy cap out of it. But oh! Look! Inside of Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, there is a dog sweater pattern!!


I still had to sort of make it up as I went. Auggie is a bizarre size, and even after I knitted the sweater something between a medium and a large (which, seriously, Auggie is 13.5 inches at the shoulder and weighs 15 pounds - he's not large, and to call him medium is even pushing it!) it doesn't exactly fit him right. It seems too tight around his chest, even though I made it long in the chest and knitted the arm holes to the biggest pattern size to make sure he had room to move. I'm not sure if I can fix that now or not... I still have some (a fistful, really) of the green yarn left over. I could knit up a belly piece to put in the middle, I guess? Hm.

Well, anyway, without further ado...











I took this to work with me today so I could finish it. The sweater base was done and I'd started the spikes - I just needed to do a few more and stitch the two sides together on most of them. I therefore planned to complete the last couple of spikes at work, and MAYBE work sleeves off the armholes if I had time. Well, I had plenty of time... so I decided to go ahead and work the sleeves, because the more I looked at the sweater the more the gaping armholes looked bad.
So, knowing that I MIGHT have done the sleeves, I had brought with me my little plastic bag that holds my one, lone circular needle, and initially I wanted to do the sleeves in magic loop on the circ. This bag also holds my set of DPNs, because I don't have anywhere else to put them. My Knitpicks needle case doesn't really have a spot small enough to slide in DPNs and hold them without having them rattle around and clatter out of their sleeve - so they reside in the bag with my circ.
I have to confess to you, my dearest crafting blog... I got so frustrated with my circular needles and working in magic loop that I actuallly (oh, my sock-knitting friends will probably be so proud) decided it would be MUCH LESS ANNOYING to use the DPNs.
Did you hear that, crafting blog? That's right... I said that I found my DPNs the LESS ANNOYING solution.

Maybe our love-hate relationship is improving. I did, after all, buy two more sets of DPNs in two different sizes because they were on clearance at Hobby Lobby. Less than $2 for a set of DPNs? Even if I hate them, how can I say no?? I even considered buying two sets so I could have five needles, but decided that was a little overkill when I still pretty much hate DPNs.

I Only Knit Scarves

Today I dragged my armwarmers to work to knit on while I was doing nothing. (It's the Friday before a holiday, NOBODY is here, nobody is calling... dead. At least I can be productive, even if it's not-work-productive.)
I sat and knit. I should note that this is the first project I've ever done on DPNs - it's the first project I've ever done on them because I HATE working with DPNs. Before, I started something, got irritated, frogged it, and devised a way to knit the same thing on straight needles instead. Well, this is also the first time I've ever done cables, and I don't know enough about them to feel confident that if I converted the pattern and worked on straights instead that the effect would be 100% the same. (At this point, I'm pretty sure it would have been, but whatever.)

So, here I sit, DPNs in hand, cable needle at my side, armwarmers growing in length as I knit away. Okay - granted, with the DPNs, it looks intimidating, like it's maybe really hard. Co-workers kept coming up and going "Ohhh, are you knitting? *I* knit! Well, I only knit scarves..." Another says "I can only knit scarves... oh! And washcloths!"


Now, wait a minute here. Before I learned how to knit I couldn't even make a scarf. I was really proud of myself when I finally learned how to knit. And, well, admittedly... I learned to knit because I wanted to knit scarves. Yarn is, generally, cheaper than buying a scarf in the store (not counting when Old Navy has their big end of season clearance, in which I can pick up a huge garter knit scarf that would have driven me to insanity if I knit it myself for $2.) And, as I've learned a little bit more here and there, I've really had fun designing some quirky little things into my scarves. No, I don't just make garter knit or ribbed scarves, but when you get right down to it, a scarf is still a scarf.

My calorimetry, the last armwarmers I made (on straights, then seamed) and this pair of armwarmers (which I am indeed knitting on DPNs) aside...
I proclaim it, and I proclaim it loud and proud.
I only knit scarves.


Nobody who has learned how to knit should ever put themselves down - even if "all" they do is knit scarves. Because learning to knit can be really frustrating and hard. I know it was for me... probably even more frustrating was that, once I was done, it was SO EASY that I couldn't believe how hard it was to figure out!
So I have nothing but respect for every single person that has ever learned to knit. I just wish that they respected themselves and their talent, too.

SI scarf - Progress Again

Today's Tom Sawyer he gets high on you
And the space he invades he gets by on you

The SI scarf at 50%:






The length of the scarf at 50% was half pattern, half striped. Now I'm on my way back down the other side! There are 28 stripes per side for a total of 56. Still agonizing over the stripes, but at the 50% mark, I counted my stripes, then put that number on my knitting counter (one of those that you change the numbers on by turning a dial.) and started to count DOWN as I knit the same number of stripes on the other side. It's easier this way... now I know what I'm working towards. Before it was just a length goal, not a number of rows or anything. With a concrete number in front of me, it is WAY easier to go "Okay, I'm knitting from 28 to 20 now" and to actually make that goal! Hopefully now I will be able to rip through the rest of the stripes, then get back to the pattern, and... and... FINALLY... finish this thing.



Right now, my only other WIP that's on needles is the Pinky Scarf, which is boring boring BORING garter stitch. I'd like to finish it just to say it's finished... not because I'm particularly excited about the FO. I guess that's kind of a bad thing... but what can you do? I hope to eventually put little flowers on it, like those in Knitty's Nagano Sakura. I'm sure once it's done, I will love it, but it's not an exciting project as is...
And why mess with garter stitch when there are so many other fun, enticing projects in my head?

Space Invaders scarf progress

Some progress pics of the Space Invaders scarf:






I've since gotten even further... the middle of the scarf is just two-row tall alternating stripes, and I'm maybe 20% of the way through the stripes. It's awful work - knit, switch yarns to front, purl, switch yarns to back, knit, switch yarns to front, purl... and every two rows I have to remember to switch colours entirely. That is, if I've been knitting black and purling green, I have to knit green and purl black.
AUGH.
Knitting the chart is far easier than this... and also keeps my interest better.

Two WIPs down

Knocked out two WIPs I had on the knitting needles this week. My Mom had a hysterectomy and was in the hospital for three nights, so I took knitting to work on while sitting in the room with her. The first night, I finished my armwarmers:




After that, I realized I should probably work on the knitting project I have FOR my mom... which is a 2x2 ribbed scarf that I started two winters ago, pretty much right after I learned to knit. Er, whoops. Well, she has it now! Before this next winter, even!



Mom's scarf was on my 10's, which I have now moved back to my Pinky Scarf... an ink pen was previously holding the stitches for that scarf.
I also got my magnetic knitting chart holder in today, so I can work more on the Space Invaders scarf! I was starting to get confused following the pattern (I hate crossing out or highlighting lines on a pattern, because I sometimes screw up and have to rip back or unknit rows and the highlighting messes me up) so this will hopefully help a lot.