Chia Madagascar Marty :: Day 4, 5, 6, 7

Chia Madagascar Marty is doing just fine!  I noticed the Chia seeds beginning to sprout on Day 4 - mostly towards the bottom.  Seems like the seeds on the top do not get as much water (yes, it's been watered daily).  I think we're gonna pick up a spray bottle to mist those seeds.  In interim, I'm dripping water on them.  The design of the pottery is mainly the reason why the top Chia seeds are not getting water.

Day 4 (January 26, 2010)

 

  

  

  

 

Day 5 (January 27, 2010)

 

 

Check out Sepia Chia Madagascar Marty!

I just got back home from seeing Halestorm and Theory of a Deadman at Crocodile Rock Cafe ... I was exhausted and did not realize Sepia was set for the camera on my Droid. 

Day 6 (January 28, 2010)

 

  

Sepia ... still left on from the night before :-)

Day 7 (January 29, 2010)

 

Turned off the Sepia!

 

Chia Madagascar Marty :: Day 3

Yay!!!  Chia Madagascar Marty has made it to Day 3!  Geez, did he leak a lot today.  I nearly had to fill the pottery 1/2 way tonight when I got home.  I also dumped the convenient plastic drip tray half full of water (and lots of Chia seeds) right before the refill.

The seeds are set.  I guess the only thing to do is make sure there's plenty of water

Day 3

 

 

Chia Madagascar Marty :: Day 2

Well, Chia Madagascar Marty has made it to day two without being knocked over by Zoe the dog, Tommy the cat or Evan.

I noticed last night that some the Chia seed paste we liberally applied to the pottery slid down into the convenient plastic drip tray.  I tried my best to reapply for more sprouts.  Also, it slowly leaks.  Good thing we have the convenient plastic drip tray!

Day 2

 

 

 

Chia Madagascar Marty :: Day 1

Evan is the proud owner of a Chia Madagascar Marty he got from Santa this past Christmas.  Today, we soaked and painted the Chia seeds over Marty.

Instructions were easy enough.  All you hafta do is soak the pottery in water for an hour according to one set of instructions which came in the box.  The other set of instructions said to soak the pottery for 24 hours.  Since we wanted to start it today, we decided to go with an hour soak time :-)  While the pottery soaks, you mix 2 teaspoons of Chia seeds with 1/4 cup water.  In hind sight, that is too much.  We have plenty of leftover seeds for another round or two of Chia plant mane for Madagascar Marty after this one is removed (about 4-6 weeks).  Next time, I think we'll use only 1 teaspoon of Chia seeds and 1/8 cup of water.

After an hour, the Chia seed and water mixture gets gooey enough to slather on the pottery.  Kinda messy, but easy to wipe up.  Evan wasn't too fond of it when it would get on his hands.  We used a spoon first and knife second.

Day 1

 

Penny's Santa Hat ... Finished

Yay!  All done!

 

 

Penny's Santa Hat ... Almost

Yes, once again, I've managed to come only a few rows away to completing a project.  Ugggghhhhh.  I guess Jimmy Beans Wool will be getting another order from me.  Hopefully, I will get the color close - if not the same - as what I used in the knit.

Homework

Once again ... I brought homework home.  It's on my phone and all I should hafta do is finish up the user interface and then can plug in the rest on Monday.  Small problem ... I am going to a funeral on Monday :-(.  I'll figure it out, I'm sure.

I did pick up my framed needle punched projects from Home Spun this evening.  I'll post pictures :-)  Kay did a wonderful job of framing my work.  Thank you!!

P.S. to the lady at WaWa that sold me the wrong cigarettes this morning ... thanks for making me make an extra stop on the way home ... the sandwich was cold, too - ewwww.

Penny's Santa Hat ... Not

Apparently, I can't follow the author's instructions for knitting this masterpiece Penny wore on The Big Bang Theory in December (check it out here).  I waited so long to create this using just the right yarn and just the right needles and ... I goofed it up.  Yeah well.  I'll see what it looks like continuing my oopsy and perhaps try again - the right way - if I have enuff red yarn left over.

Here's how I'm knitting it to now ...

Begin with white yarn

CO 74 over 3 dpns

Rnds 1-7: k1p1 ribbing

Rnd 8: k

Switch to red yarn

Rnd 9: k

Rnds 10-12: k14, p1, k6, p1, k18, p1, k6, p1, k26

Rnd 13: k14, p1, c6b, p1, k18, p1, c6f, p1, k26

Repeat rnds 10-13 9x

Penny's Santa Hat

Okay, I know Christmas is over, but I've been wanting to have this Christmas hat I saw Penny wear on Big Bang Theory.  It's awesome.  I wasn't able to find it to buy anywhere ... so I decided to knit it.  I found the pattern on the 'net and chose the yarn a couple weeks ago.  I had to wait a bit for the yarn to arrive and actually finished two projects before starting on this hat last night.

I posted the pattern on Ravelry and merged with the author's later.  Thanks again for sharing.  My version should be done in a couple days (I hope).  Then, I'm sure I'll pack it right away for next year.

I've already modified the pattern for my project on Ravelry.  I didn't like the way the first row of red wasn't more seamless so I decided to k the first row of red and begin the main pattern after wards.  I figure one row of k would make it look more smooth transitioning from the white to the red anyway.  We'll see, but I'm sure it'll be kewl.

I'm thinking about adding one more dpn to the mix ... it's getting quite crowded on only three as the author suggests.  Maybe even switching to a circular.

Just finished another knitting project.  For those Ravelers ... you can check it out here.  Thanks to Kirsten Kapur for the lovely pattern.  This one was instant gratification being it only took me a couple hours.

 

Evan's Hobo Mittens

by Jamie Marie Binkley

These convertible mittens were made as requested for my son, Evan. He named them "hobo" mittens after he was asked to try them on mid-knit.

Abbreviations

inc :: increase

st(s) :: stitch(es)

k :: knit

p :: purl

k2tog :: knit two together
k3tog :: knit three together

ssk :: slip, slip, knit sts together
sssk :: slip, slip, slip, knit sts together

pm :: place marker

sm :: slip marker

m1 :: make one

m1r :: make one right

m1l :: make one left

rnd(s) :: round(s)

ws :: wrong side

Specifications

Yarn :: 1 Skein Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes (50% Royal Alpaca / 50% Merino)

Needles :: 4.5 mm (US 7) Double Pointed Needles

Gauge :: 4 sts and 6 rows = 1" in circular stockinette

Notions :: Stitch Markers and Stitch Holder (or waste yarn) for Thumb Gusset; Yarn Needle for Elizabeth Zimmermann's Sewn Bind Off and threading "lifeline"; waste yarn for threading "lifeline" and provisional cast on; Tapestry Needle for weaving in ends

Size :: 6.5" long, 2.5" cuff width, 3" hand width, 2" thumb length

Pattern

Cuff and Hand

CO 24 sts and join being careful not to twist.

Rnds 1-10: k1p1 ribbing

Rnd 11: k

Rnd 12 (inc): m1, k12, m1, k12 (26 sts)

Rnds 13, 14, 15: k

Rnd 16 (inc): k12, pm, m1r, k1, m1l, pm (sts between markers are gusset sts), k to end (3 gusset sts, 28 sts)

Rnd 17: k

Rnd 18 (inc): k to marker, sm, m1r, k to marker, m1l, sm, k to end (5 gusset sts, 30 sts)

Rnd 19: k

Rnd 20 (inc): k to marker, sm, m1r, k to marker, m1l, sm, k to end (7 gusset sts, 32 sts)

Rnd 21: k

Rnd 22 (inc): k to marker, sm, m1r, k to marker, m1l, sm, k to end (9 gusset sts, 34 sts)

Rnd 23: k

Rnd 24: k to marker, place 9 gusset sts on stitch holder or waste yarn, k to end (25 sts)

Rnds 25 and 26: k

Rnd 27: k while threading lifeline

Rnds 28 and 29: k

Rnd 30 (dec): k2tog, p1, k1p1 to end (24 sts)

Rnds 31 and 32: k1p1

Bind off on ws using Elizabeth Zimmermann's Sewn Bind Off

Thumb

Place 9 gusset sts on 3 dpns evenly

Rnd 1 (inc): k to end, pu and cross 2 sts, join in the round (11 sts)

Rnds 2-5: k

Rnd 6 (dec): k2tog to last st (5x), move last st to beginning of next rnd (6 sts)

Rnd 7 (dec): k2tog to end (3x) (3 sts)

Weave in remaining 3 sts

Cap

Provisional CO 13 on dpn
Pick up 13 sts from lifeline on back of hand side on dpn leaving a long tail to  later bind off with.
Rnd 1: k13 picked up sts, p1, k1p1 to end of provisional CO sts, join (26 sts)

Rnds 2 and 3: k13, p1, k1p1 to end

Rnds 4-8: k

Rnd 9 (dec): ssk, k9, k2tog, ssk, k9, k2tog (22 sts)
Rnd 10 (dec): ssk, k7, k2tog, ssk, k7, k2tog (18 sts)

Rnd 11 (dec): ssk, k5, k2tog, ssk, k5, k2tog (14 sts)

Rnd 12 (dec): sssk, k1, k3tog, sssk, k1, k3tog (6 sts)

Graft last sts using Kitchener stitch - tutorial

Remove provisional cast on and bind off using Elizabeth Zimmermann's Sewn Bind Off

Remove lifeline and weave in all ends

Make 2