Too good to be true.

I knit a project in one day. That's right folks, it can be done. And I'm not talking about some cat toy either. A felted bag. And not just any one day, but a new year's day. Now granted I was on the couch for about eleven hours, nursing a hangover and listening to various football games and movies, but still. How truly amazing. I used up some stash yarn and just whipped it out. Intended for my mom, but now that I know I can make it in one frickin' day, I could knit one for everyone I know and then some and still be done by St. Patrick's day. HOWEVER, here's where the title of this post starts to make sense: I overly felted it. Blast! I didn't think it was even possible, considering my last foray into felting produced some not-so-felted booties. Of course now I have a practically new washing machine, so I should've taken that into account. And the directions did say "check often". But see we just got a subscription to the New York Times and I was engrossed in the dining section and before I knew it I had something that resembled a baby yeti. Frick! I mean, if you get within two feet of this thing the hairs will stick to you like white on rice. I know, you're looking at the picture thinking it looks good, but trust me people. I'm thinking, turn it upside down and use it for a halloween costume hat. But then I'll have a bazzillion red, blue, and black hairs imbedded in my scalp. Hmm. . . Could I relax it? I mean, I have experience with hair so perhaps I could maneuver a skills-crossover. Hair spray? Duct tape? We'll see. Let's just say I wouldn't give this to my arch nemesis let alone my mom. Eh bien! At least it only took one day. (-:

Out with the old, in with the new.

Hola amigos. I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya. The Tone's been busy. You know, craftin' and shit. God it's hard to keep up a blob, uh, that's blog, when you actually deeply despise looking at a computer screen. But soon enough I'll be in school and this blog will most likely fall to the wayside of the ether. My knitting stamina is already slacking. (gasp!) Well I've been sewing and cooking and reading and talking and eating. But I suppose I'll show you what I'm truly proud of. First, the stockings. Very professional I know. I even freehanded Ollie's. She never knew! (Oh and the bloody tampon is a huge hit).

And the dinos! Bronty 1 and Bronty 2 are keeping us comfy and warm at night.

The best Christmas present I got was a jigsaw! No it's not a puzzle and it's not an Irish dance dvd. It's a power tool and it's fuckin' hot. So I've got an idea for my first project, but it cannot grace this page as the recipient will surely be a'reading. But first I need to come up with a crafty way to work with my power tool. Lacking a shed, this could get interesting. First things first, tho, I'm off to the hardware store for some protective eyewear (I don't eat all those carrots for nothing) and a clamp/vise thingy. And no I won't use the word thingy at True Value. Oh and some blades. So look out wood! Saratone's plugged in. Hasta amigos.

A Toy Only A Dyke Could Love

Hello cat lovers! Check out my bloody tampon cat toy. The idea for this came from my Octopus, Inky, who I knit a year ago. I made one of his tentacles too long so I stuffed it with cat nip, and, well, the resemblance was just too much. This one I knit for my kitty friends Lady, Sebastian, and Stinky. I'm working on a mouse right now but at this point it resembles a stingray.

Bwa Ha Ha!

So here's what I figured out: Blogger only lets me have three photos per post. I can deal.
Well it wouldn't be SaratonecraftS if I didn't brag about something I'm knitting. So let me unveil one of my favorite color and stitch patterns ever to come from my hands. I want to make an entire wardrobe and accessories collection with this. But first it is to become Josh's scarf. Let me just say that I've discovered Lamb's Pride Bulky! Who knew? Screw the worsted. Bulky's fast. And I have a feeling it'll felt like a lamb in a hurricane. Peace out.

"Hooray for Everything!"

If you know what that quote is from, you rock!

Okay I know I said something about sewing, but really what I should've said was washing, ironing, cutting, pinning, cutting, ironing, pinning, taking a break. Because that's really what sewing is all about: the pre-sew. And that is why I'm a knitter. But lets divulge from the fiber arts, shall we? Sarah and Kristin have had a splendiferous week, starting with the obtainment of our xmas tree, sawed down by yours truly. It was a sunny, muddy, Oregon day. The sawing was tougher than one might think, as you can see from my strained countenance. The 6 foot Noble fir gave up it's ghost for us at last, to become that pagan ritual we all know and love, the xmas tree. Digging out the orn'ments, I remembered that our xmas decorations leave a little to be desired. A little as in a lot. Last year we made ornaments out of salt dough, somthing I highly recommend if you have bored wards (kids), or you just want a fun, easy project when you're stoned. But what we didn't do last year was paint them, so we had ten dough-colored ornaments to hang on the tree. What is this, a Charlie Brown Christmas? I think not. I had an hour to kill before work so I whipped out the acrylic paint and set to paintin'. Martha would be proud.


This is where I'm from and this is my kitty Ollie!

High Holidays Part II

F-U Blogger. I'm not giving up. The world needs my photos. Ha!

High Holidays for Crafters is Upon Us --Dun Dun Dun!!

Well it's been two weeks, I know, so I promise to thoroughly satiate you with my makings and doings of late. Last week was spent happily in the presence of the woman who made me, my mom. (Hi mom!) Although I had grand plans of whipping up the entire T-Day feast all on my own, whilst mom ate bon-bons and watched the Macy's parade, that, alas, did not come to pass. I believe the extent of my duties were: order and pick up turkey, purchase groceries, clean brocolli. Perhaps it was the slippery flesh, the giblets (of which I'll spare you the photo), or just the fact that I didn't know what the hell I was doing. In any case, thirty years of making turkeys definately qualifies you as a pro, so I let mom handle the fixin's.







---TaDa! It was absolutely delicious. 15 and one half pounds of "happy" turkey, as mom would say.



The leftovers, of course, seemed endless, and so I got out the Joy of Cooking, a tome both antiquated and timeless, if such a thing is possible. So now in my freezer sit turkey pot pie and turkey tetrazini (yeah 2nd grade!). Turkey tortilla soup is on the burner for tonight. Just think --all this from a recently reformed vegetarian!

And now onto the non-edibles. I've almost finished the most challenging project to date: handy and stylish convertible mittens for my little bro. It took three tries just to get past the cuff (don't ask), then I finished one, lined it with fleece, and decided it was too small. Arg! Fortunately I can knit faster than your granny so I didn't lose too much time. C'est masculin, non? What, can't see the photo? Well fuckin' a --if I haven't just spent the last 15 minutes trying to figure out how to make the photos look good on here, and now it won't even upload. I give up.

Well I've just wasted another hour typing away and getting frustrated with blogger, so I'll leave you all to your crafts. For those of you sick of my knitting, next week will be a change of pace with: Sewing!

Thursday is my new favorite day.

Why, you ask? Because it's the day I get to knit, drink, and have stimualting conversation with four other people all at the same time! Um, well that's knit, drink and talk at the same time. Whatever.

To post or not to post, xmas presents that is. I'm gonna go with post, at least for those who do not yet know of the existance of this blog. Here's Fio's present, fingerless wrist warmers, made from Peruvian yarn for my Peruvian sister. Anybody who's ever picked up a knitting needle and clicked a mouse should recognize these babies from knitty.com. I have a feeling there's like 50,000 of these being knit right now. Cozy, soft, fast, basically the perfect gift.

More presents under way. Going to start some 'pop-top' gloves for my bro. Last night I decided to design them myself, snowflake and all, but in the light of day came to my senses. I found a good pattern at the Knit Shop, the most unironically named knitting store, which I can appreciate. Other presents will have to wait to make their appearance until after xmas.
Ciao for now.

Well Ruffle My Feathers!

Hooray! The sun came out today and I finished my skirt, aka, the coolest thing I've made yet. The skirt is just a simple tube, with a ribbed border on top, yarnovers that create the belt holes, a belt made from an I-cord, and a rrrrruffle that purrs. The striping I made up, increasing one round each stripe so they get progressively bigger; perhaps that's not accentuated enough. Perhaps I'll have to make another one (sly smile spreads across my lips). I cannot stress enough how easy this skirt was, just a little time consuming, but if you're a thin little thing, it shouldn't take too long.
Pattern: design by Esther Yun-Mancini, printed in Filatura Di Crosa, Fall/Winter 2006

----ruffle made by increading one stitch at each marker every round. Who knew?!