knitting a poem

Can you believe that there's a group out there that's putting together a knitted poem? I came across it on the anticraft, and couldn't pass up the chance to check out the poem society's site, and then naturally contact them to see if I can contribute something.

We'll see what comes of it. :) Meantime, it's one more facebook group I can become a fan of. :D

Le Killer Bunny est fini!

Finally finished knitting the killer bunny for the husband! It's hard to tell that there are two bottom fangs, due to the camera angle in each picture, but they're there! Phew!

I've been published!

The new issue of the anticraft - the Samhain '08 issue - has just been put out today, and I'm in! Not once, but twice! Huesos Deliciousos and Calacas de Arcilla are my two contributions to this skullish issue.

There are a few other very cool things as well - a pasta recipe that I'll need to try, and there are a few surprises that'll appear over October that I can't wait to see!

this week has been one of those weeks.

I got around to my bat shawl today, I haven't touched it in a while. I was about 2/3's of the way through my third row of bats, and seriously botched the 1st bat in the pattern severely. I had actually botched it a bit for about 3 or 4 rows, but I was hoping that as I knit, I could fix it. I didn't, it just got worse. At this rate, I wonder if I'll have it done for Halloween?

Oh, but there is a fun thing though: Last saturday, DH and I went to see Spamalot at the Canon Theatre in Toronto, it was so funny and so much fun to watch! And hubby is - like many guys, I think - such a huge fan of Monty Python.

It has inspired me to knit him a killer bunny from theanticraft - goal is to have it done before Christmas, which is plenty of time. I hope. I already have the head and torso knit up and stuffed, so, yay!

~ My 200th Post! ~

I'm in the midst of knitting a wa-na-na-na-na-na-na-na bat shawl from the current issue of theanticraft; I've got a Halloween themed Buck n Doe to go to in 2 months, I hope to have it done by then! I just got my yarn in the mail a couple days ago, so I'm elated to get it started!
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I just finished the first bat chart though, as you can see, and have already found a very minor problem with it - I'm supposed to have 75 sts across at this point, but only have 73. I wasn't about to frog it, because I've already done it once before yesterday, and it's too tedious to undo.
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So, naturally, I adjusted the pattern slightly. For row 77, which is the row that follows the first bat pattern, I've added an extra yo + k2tog stitch over each point of the bat's wings. That way, the yo increase at each end of the shawl can still be made, and now I'm at 75 sts across w/o increasing the number of rows to the shawl.
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Since I have to pick up sts at the end to add a border, I can't risk having so many extra rows.
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Just goes to show you - once again, I can't avoid adjusting patterns. :P
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Oh, and I've had the brilliant idea of hanging a cloths pin to the end of my shawl, to weigh it down. I've noticed on a few shawl projects that, if it's worked from the bottom up, the bottom ends up curling up on me, which is frustrating while knitting. This way, it's held down w/o stretching the fabric!

bones indeed

There's something about Halloween I just love. Don't know why. But I've always thought Halloween to be my favourite time of the year. There's something fantastic about dressing up, collecting candy, staying up past your bedtime and getting a sugar high, and being scared out of your bones that's simly fantastic. It wasn't until I read up on becoming Wiccan at 17 that I found out that Halloween - or Samhain - is reveared as the main holiday since it's the Wiccan (and for the most part, Pagan) new year. Maybe that had something to do with why I was drawn to this holiday so much?

Today on the anticraft's blog, announced their Samhain theme: Broken Bones. Brilliant indeed. :) A few issues of the anticraft had recently been - I dunno - somewhat off the wall, although still tie in to an anti-craft theme, as in not what you'd normally think of making. But to have issues going back to the somewhat darker underground of the anticraft's roots is what I like best. A while back I submitted a craft pattern for some skeletons - I won't say made of what just yet - but I wonder if they'll be in this issue? I hope so!

My cousin and her fiancee are also planning on getting married this November, and are having their Buck & Doe party (instead of having separate bachelor and bachelorette parties) on October 24th, and it's a whole Halloween-dress-up-in-costumes sort of theme, which is brilliant. It's been a good long while since I've been to a costume party. I've that to look forward to as well!

small steps to major league publishing

I'm getting published! Well, not a whole book or anything, but a pattern I created is getting published in a book. Other people have submitted all sorts of crafting projects as well which will be published. My pattern, of course, is a knit one! The wonderful folks at www.theanticraft.com have had the opportunity to put together a book a while back, and a pattern I submitted has been included! The book is expected to be released November 30th, 2007. I just got an email yesterday letting me know that the book's on amazon.com available for pre-order! The link to the book on amazon is here, so feel free to check it out!