I love my cat. I love my cat so much sometimes it hurts. I love her fluffy little head. I love that she feels the need to sleep directly between my knees on cold nights thus keeping me immobilized and herself warm. I love that she has taken a keen interest in my knitting.

What I don’t love is when she decides I don’t need to see my pattern and/or chart that I’m working form.

Exhibit A:

As you can see she is very serious about the fact that I should not be looking at that silly braided cable chart. Judging from her intent expression my guess is I should be petting her.

Exhibit B:

Nermal decides to monche on the pattern and subsequently lay across my working yarn. Well played catface, you have won this battle. I put away the Braided Pullover from Interweave Knits and loved on the cat. She seems appeased. At least temporarily.

I have made some progress on the sweater since picking it back up last week.

This is is being pinned to the incredibly tiny mannequin at the yarn shop. (This mannequin is usually used to model size 6 or smaller items. Not my ample size 12-14 sweaters.)

I’ve made even more progress since that picture was taken a few days ago. I’ve split for the v-neck, and now I’m working on the right front panel alone, having set aside the rest of the stitches on scrap yarn to be worked later. I’m really pushing to have this baby done by mid January so I can wear it at least once before it’s way to warm in Vegas for merino sweaters. The yarn is Karabella Aurora 8 and it is delish! That wine color is so pretty, and I really hope the damn thing fits. I’ve been losing a little weight, (not a whole lot) but I’m worried that the already loose fitting sweater style might be a smidge too big. Oh well, worse case scenario I plump up on cake and cookies so I can wear it properly.  I can always get bigger, it’s getting smaller that’s the problem.

Obviously, they’re all for sale in my Etsy Shop. They’re somewhere between heavy worsted and chunky weight. I think they’re closer to worsted,  but regardless they’re beautiful. Want a great idea for what to knit with one hank of this stuff? I recommend Thorpe. Not in love with hats? How about a great little scarflette, Fidget works with this weight and requires less than a hank and would look especially beautiful in the ‘Tsunami’ colorway in my opinion. Gets me thinking…perhaps it’ll disappear from the shop in short order if it doesn’t sell.

I’ve also been experimenting with jewelry making as well. A few pieces that I currently have available in the shop along with the knitwear, stitch markers and yarn.

This is a reworked bracelet. I’ve had the original for several years, but never wore it. So I took it apart, rebeaded it and put it back together again. I quite like it now.

These are really pretty earrings, I call them “Golden Apple” because I think the beads look like little golden apples.

I’ve got a few more yarns drying in the spare bathtub as I type this, they’re all kettle dyed semi-solids.

Like a wooly rainbow!

I made a pair of really nice hand knit slippers. They were the super classy looking Malabrigo Loafers in a very manly maroon and dark gray Berroco Peruvia. I worked diligently to knit them to fit my father in laws extremely large feet. The pattern didn’t go up to his size so I adjusted the needle size and knit them using one of his shoe stretchers as a reference. I cast aside my own knitting projects, for went some knit for hire projects and put off knitting other people gifts because I really wanted to give my father in law something nice and hand made for Christmas this year. They were beautiful, extremely well made and full of love and attention.

They are still sitting in the box I wrapped them in, with the top just slightly ajar next to his chair in the living room. All the other gifts have been at least put away and given some kind of vague nod towards to the person who gave them. My slippers? My lonely gorgeous ‘if you bought them in the store they’re cost you a butt load of cash’ slippers? Left. Abandoned. Like a granny square coaster set in squeaky acrylic pastels. The shame. The horror.

My father in law is off the list. He no longer gets hand made anything from me EVER. Even if he should for some bizarre reason ask for something hand knit he’s out of luck. He has offended me in the worst possible way you can offend a knitter. Not only did he not squeal with joy at my hand knit gift, he completely disregarded it and has offered not a single thank you or indication that he at least appreciates the time I put into them.

OFF THE LIST.

Luckily for the rest of my family who received hand knit items they have responded accordingly. My grandma was wearing her house socks immediately after opening the box, and then the next morning while fixing us Christmas breakfast. My aunt coo-ed over her beaded key chain and earrings and remarked on how professional they looked and she thought I bought them. My mother in law has worn her feather and fan scarf every day since she received it as well. All appropriate ways to appease the knitter in your life. Show some bit of appreciation, that’s all we ask.

Who’s off your list? And why? I want to feel like I’m not the only who got knit wear rejection.

If those loafers are still in that box untouched tomorrow I’m going to put them in the washing machine and “accidentally” felt them until they fit me.

I’m doing a little poll about which sub theme should be first in my upcoming ‘Rock Your Socks Off’ sock club. It’s embedded on the static page for the club, but it’s here below as well. Even if you don’t plan to sign up for the club, please take a moment to give me some feedback on which one you would like to see in theory. I like them all, I need help choosing. There’s also a place to add other suggestions.

In the next few days I’ll have some pictures of some jewelry and more stitch markers I’ve done. I’ve been doing a lot more beading/jewelry making lately. I’m getting better at it I think.

More to come! Thanks.

I’m nearly finished with holiday knitting. Or rather, I’m finished with the stuff that absolutely has to be done by Christmas.

Scarf for my mother in law, Carolyn. It’s a simple feather and fan pattern from Jo Sharp that I modified slightly to be used with this great handspun yarn I picked up from Stash Enhancement which is a handspun from Whirlwind Handspun. I love love love the yarn. One ball did the whole scarf, it’s not a super long scarf for long enough for a great little tuck-in scarf and perfect for a woman who lives in Las Vegas.

The Malabrigo Loafer pattern works up super quick and makes very handsome looking slippers. These ones are for my father in law Bruce, and they’re made from Berroco Peruvia in grey and maroon. They’re super warm, and even this largest size only took a ball of each color (with plenty left over from the CC ball.)

I’m also knitting a pair of these for my honey Mike (luckily we wear the same size shoe so they’ll probably be used by me too.)

These ones are made from Berroco Ultra Alpaca (which is ultra smooshy and wonderful.) and some New Zealand Merino I got in a swap last year.

For myself I made a pair of mitts and a scarf from some great Pagewood Farms Handspun – Basic that my ‘other’ Mom Cheryl bought me for my birthday last year.

The scarf isn’t blocked yet and looks like a big pile of nothing right now. So no picture until I get a chance to block it.

I have also made myself some crafting related New Years Resolutions:

1. Learn to spin. I own half of a wheel (there’s a whole wheel, I just own it with my boss Christine.) and I own a spindle and I recently bought a whole bag of really nice roving. There is no reason I shouldn’t be making yarn.
2. Have a knitting schedule. I have a whole bunch of things I know I want/need to make. I’d like to have some kind of schedule where I plan out those things accordingly. Sweaters in the summer, summer stuff in the winter.
3. Have a goal for the dying and the sock club. I’d like to have at least 15 people for the first installment of the club, and go up from there each 3 month period. I’d like to at least make back the cost of the supplies each month for the stuff for sale in my Etsy Shop
4. Branch out. Weaving, beading, crochet, hairpin lace, etc.
5. Get published. Somewhere. Anywhere.

There we go. We’ll see if I can accomplish those things.

I’ve changed the theme on the blog so that more than one blog post shows up at a time. For right now, the last years worth of blog posts are formatted for the last theme so all the pictures are wonky. That last theme was pretty in theory but a horrible pain in the butt to get to work with pattern pages, the shop or even just simply writing a blog post with pictures in it. I will go back and reformat the old posts later, and there will be a new theme coming soon once tech support (read: Mike) is finished creating it. But for now we’re reverting to old school Danido.com because I at least know how to work this theme format.

Also, in fiber related news: be sure to check out the details for my upcoming sock yarn club “Rock Your Socks Off” that link will take you to the information I have for it so far, and there is a form in the left hand sidebar that will let you sign up for the newsletter so that when I have pricing and exact date information I will send out an email to everyone interested. It’s going to be fun. Also, there’s a poll on that page about which sub-theme you’d like to see featured first. Be sure to take the poll.

As for my recent musings on where to brain dump; the answer was staring me in the face the whole time. That right there is exactly why we created Loud and Mouthy , so look for rants about politics, music, movies and my girl crush on Rachel Maddow coming soon there. Right now there is a brilliant ode to the Back Street Boys written by dear friend Laura Marie.

So, this is danido.com. It’s mostly a knitting blog, as we can probably all tell. But it started as simply a Dani blog.

First let me explain the name itself; for a long time my mother has referred to me as Dani Do. (as in Dani do the dishes, Dani do the laundry…) so naturally when I was looking for a blog name at 2 a.m. after not sleeping and simply needing a place to brain dump “Dani do” just jumped to mind.

Initially I had grand plans for this blog. This was when I was just crocheting a little bit every once in awhile. So I thought I’d put the occasional crochet project up, I thought I’d review concerts I went to and books I read. (Which I did do at one point.)

Then I fell in love with knitting. I fell hard. It took over my entire life. I quit my ‘real’ job to knit full time. I worked for a designer, and I wrote patterns, and then I started teaching knitting at a yarn shop, and then I started just working at the yarn shop. Then there was the selling stuff in an online shop, and then naturally I came to dying and stitch marker crafting. This all happened over the last 2 years.

Grand plans aside, this became a knitting blog.

The problem is this; because this has become a knitting blog and not anything else, I have no place else to talk about all the other stuff that happens that moves me, or makes me angry, or makes me sad, or happy or just sort of tilt my head and look puzzled.

There are a lot of other things that make my world spin. Gay rights, music, penguins, animals in general, my boyfriend who is a wonderful human being, my family, feminism, politics, Subarus, being anti-corporation (ask me how I feel about Starbucks or Wal-Mart sometime. Make sure you have a few hours.)

I have nowhere to talk about those things because I feel that it’d be weird to talk about how frustrating it is that Prop 8 passed in California last month, or how I’m worried about the polar bears running out of food in the Arctic, when I know you came here to read about yarn/yarn related things.

So what to do? Do I create a category on this blog? Or do I just create a whole new blog? I have some intense shit to talk about, but where do I put it?

Knit bloggers of the world: do you have more than one blog? Or do you  only blog about knitting and call it good? Do you just throw it all in the same pot and hope you don’t alienate people from wanting to knit your pattens simply because you’re a bleeding heart liberal who has a big straight girl crush on Rachel Maddow and wants Keith Oberman to officiate their wedding?  I want to talk about how much I love the new Jenny Lewis album, but how it took me almost two weeks of solid listening to get into it. I want to talk about having to break up with Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins after their lackluster performance at the Pearl last year. WHERE DO I PUT THAT STUFF! My brain is full, and twitter only gives me 140 characters to work with.

What do I do?

Two days ago I posted a picture of the pathetic snow in Las Vegas. And remember how I had to label where the snow was?

No longer need to point to where it is.

Snow on palm trees = FREAKING WEIRD.

They might call a snow day tomorrow. Which is awesome for two reasons: 1) I don’t want to drive in this crap, with the million or so other Vegas folk who have no idea how to deal with rain let alone snow. 2) I’m subbing this week and getting up at 6 a.m. is sucking my will to live.

That’s all for now. Snow storm in Las Vegas. Ridiculous.

It’s snowing. In Las Vegas. It’s weird. Compared to the real snow I’m used to from growing up in Alaska it’s not real snow. More like rain that’s a fluffier, but it’s still snow. And the sky looks like snow, and the air smells like snow. And while I’m glad that at the end of this ’snow storm’ I won’t have to dig out my car or scrape my windows I love how snow smells in the air.

Sadly, because I live in Las Vegas now and not Alaska where people know how to deal with weather, I don’t leave the house when it snows and/or rains here. Not because I or my trusty Subaru Impreza aren’t capable of navigating the oh-so-dangerous damp streets, but because the million or so other idiots on the road can’t.

So today is all about my favorite things: loose leaf tea (great Winter Blend tea from Eclectic Diana), dark chocolate (chipped from a giant chocolate Santa) and working in bed.

Last night I whipped up a new soap sack design, that I am going to develop an entire spa kit set to go with. Today I’m working on more coffee mug wraps with different textures and designs on them to be sold in my shop in the coming week.

There she be. A little more complicated pattern than my basic soap sacks. This one features a figure 8 cast on and what I think is a pretty easy lace pattern. It’s a little more sophisticated looking, I think.

Other things on the agenda for today: continuing working on the spa set patterns and test knits. As well as the mug wraps. Print and address the Cortez-Willoughby Family Newsletter to be sent  out tomorrow. Also, iron some teacher clothes for the upcoming substitute gig I took for the rest of this week.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their day. I find this slightly snowy Monday quite lovely.

So, I’ve mentioned that I’m participating in the Phat Fiber Sample Box, well the gal who does the boxes does this really awesome thing on her blog where she features a different participant every few days to show off their goods before the boxes go out in mid January.

Well I’m featured currently, and I also donated a hank of my super bright yarn for her to give away on her blog. So if you want a free hank of Dyed by DaniDo I would head on over to the Phat Fiber blog and check it out post haste. Jessie will pick a winner on Sunday.

Also, in other DaniDo Crafty news, I’m working on snag free stitch markers. They’re stitch markers that have no coil at the top so there is no way for it to snag on the yarn. The coil is at the bottom of the marker and usually pushed inside a bead. I’m still trying to perfect them, so look for those in the shop shortly.