BUTTONS

Thank you to Angela from Enchanted Daffodils Crafty Corner for donating our first button!! Feel free to grab it and put it on your blog!

My punkest ever...

OK. I'm going to have to name drop all over the place here. The "punkest" thing I ever knitted was a pair of fingerless gloves, in black and red. We've already come to the consensus that fingerless gloves are punk, but what makes them really punk for me is that I knit them for Duanne Peters of the US Bombs http://www.alive-totalenergy.com/USBombs.html. I knit the letters S T A Y and A W A Y on the knuckles, to match his tattoos. (this is long before the KNitty "Knucks" pattern came out, by the way) He is a friend of a friend and used to live close to me.
I don't have any pictures, but I will try to get in touch with him and see if I can get some.

If I can use more than one item I would also like to mention the elbow length fingerless gloves I made for a friend in dusty pink with pi cable up the arm(twisting at the numbers of pi 3.14159....)
Again, no pictures now... To me these are way more punk.

The punkest thing....

I chose this for my entry because it is the thing that I have knit that makes me feel the punkest! It is my r2 sweater. I love this sweater - it is the first sweater I ever knit without any help that did not have mismatched sleeves and end up as rags and it was the first thing I ever felted. I loved the yarn, the book that the sweater came out of is very cool - which made me feel more punk as I was knitting this monstrosity in black. But mostly that the sweater was made to wear with my skinny jeans... flash back to younger days of punk. Finally, I love that it is kind of funky sheer asymetrical with ribbon and panels kinda here and there. I have since deleted all the photos of this sweater so you will have to go to my old blog and check it out. Especially, since I am too lazy to have my husband help me take another (possibly better) photo of it!

Let me just say, as part of what punk is to me. Now to me, punk is about keeping your originality and your values in the face of a world that is being taken over by big box stores and people who have not thought enough about life to realize that you can take a stand everyday in the things that you purchase, use, don't use/purchase, and the life that you live - you may not change the world, but you will make a difference in a small way. Punk is about being connected and creative and expressing those things freely. There is definately a lot of green (eco not cash) and a little hippy in my punk. I think that everyone here in the exchange is punk - everyone has chosen to set themselves apart, think creatively and do something a little different. It no longer means purple hair - although I have had that in the last three months - and a mosh pit, more that you want to look at things from a different angle and re-write the rules - or the pattern. So please, when you look at the contest, don't say I have never knit anything punk, look at what you have knit and modified the pattern of, or what makes you feel a little different or what you are so proud of because it is the coolest thing that you have ever produced with your own hands. We are all punk!

Punkest thing I've knitted

What is Punk?
Here's one of the many definitions I found from Dictionary.com
-a style or movement characterized by the adoption of aggressively unconventional and often bizarre or shocking clothing, hairstyles, makeup, etc., and the defiance of social norms of behavior, usually associated with punk rock musicians and fans.

So with that definition in mind....
The most punk thing I've knitted is my Pizza Slut Bag. The Mudflap girl pattern was from Stitch'n Bitch Nation but I added the pizza box. The bag itself I made up the pattern.

I found and altered to my bag the letters from some website that had simple letter graphs. A part of me is in this bag!!!
I decided to make it when I got my part time job at pizza hut as a delivery driver and my black pants did not have pockets. I got tired of using a crown bag to hold my cash etc.

Punk in Pink :)

The most punk thing I've ever knit (sorry, no pictures - stupid camera!) is actually still in progress. I'm making a white-background baby blanket for no one in particular, with the skull pattern from here done in alternating pink and purple stripes. It's all in horribly fuzzy Baby Clouds yarn, but it looks effing awesome! :)

Punkest knit?

hmmm, I don't think I ever really knit anything that would be punk, fingerless gloves would be the closest I can think of, but I have no pic, this was before I had the camera and they were a gift, this is fun seeing what everyone else has done :)

Punk knits? Denied. :-(

Hello everyone! I think I'm the only guy participating in this exchange, so just thought I should try to represent. ^^ I must admit that I have not knit many punk items. This is partly because I'm a fairly new knitter (just over a year) and partly because I've been knitting for everybody else (who aren't really into punkesque things). I finally started knitting for myself this past January but have only managed this hat, which I like but don't find very punk. I also knitted my boyf a willie warmer last fall, but that is just subversive and not necessarily punk, especially with the variegated white/blue yarn I used. I do want to knit myself a pair of fingerless gloves, which seems to be something that a lot of people consider "automatically" punk, but since I want them to match my hat, I wouldn't consider this particular pair to be punk... I really like this design from the anticraft but am not really into arm warmers... perhaps it'd be good for a scarf?

So, a random, not-very-punk-but-perhaps-something-you-never-thought-of-but-may-find-kind-of-interesting sort of question. Do you say "knit" or "knitted" for the past tense of "to knit"? I notice that I use both, with no clear distinction between the two...

How's this for punk!

Just a little background... I'm a type 1 diabetic, and I use a nifty device called an insulin pump. The pump itself is external, and there's parts that need to be changed every few days. One of these parts is the tubing that runs from the insulin cartridge to the infusion site (where the little catheter goes under my skin, which gets changed as well). Occasionally I'll need to replace the infusion site without changing the tubing, so I end up with a drawer of tubing no longer concidered sterile. I've always wondered how well this could knit up and gave it a try.

It's about 43 inches knit into an I cord that's now about 3 inches in length. I'd love to get my hands on some tubing without the little connection ends and in a much longer length. Maybe some IV type tubing to make this.

P.S. Please pardon the hideous orange background. That's one of my kitchen counters, and they're horribly outdated...

I'm just a hanger on from the first time round!! In the late 1977, we had the Queens Jubilee and Sex Pistols! Cord trousers or jeans & lots of tartan. I was 15 years old. It was such a great time. I had a great t-shirt dress diagonally cut purple on the top & hot pink on the bottom! I guess I'm just a sad old Brit! My 22 year old daughter is a Goth, presumably some folks here fit that description.
My punkest items are fingerless gloves (obviously!) mohair sweaters and stash sweaters for my brother when he was on the road travelling in the mid 80's and a black & red striped sweater for my ex-husband in the early 80's. Recently I knit the alien scarf for my youngest son.
Sadly my new husband was never allowed to wear anything but shirt & trousers, never dyed his hair, got piercings or even had a whacky haircut! I count that as child abuse myself!!

Willy warmer any one

I have to add that I have made a few Willy warmer/peter heaters/cock socks. One that I had knitted was in my bag at work and fell on the floor. I was in hysterics laughing and saying to my mate Steve beside me "I'm sorry it just popped out of the bag. It must have a mind of its own." I will have to try and knit another one to photograph and post fo you all to see. I may even be able to play the gag on Steve again when I see him next. I think they are fun things to knit and people have more fun buying them as a gift for those special male birthdays and in their favorite football team too.

BUTTONS

Thanks to Kitty for reminding me to ask for buttons. I know some of you girls are super creative - if anyone would like to submit buttons for the exchange, please do!! Writing html and creating buttons/logos are something that I cannot do. Hopefully, we will have buttons for all soon!!
Thanks!!

Punkest thing I ever knit...

Well, the punkest thing I ever knit was a mohawk hat for my husband. He always says he is going to get his hair cut into a mohawk, so I made him this hat. It was a surprise for him to open on an Everglades trip that he was leading-- he said it was a hit!


In reply to comments about the pattern--- I used the pattern from the Domiknitrix book.

punk-est thing is always made with beer and music (for me at least) :)

of course it was made while listening to music and drinking beer ( probably a cheap 40 oz of olde english) whoo hoo!! it was one of the first hats i ever knitted. it was on straight needles. i have circular and dpns now whoo hoo! much nicer. it was for my bf. he still wears it. even tho it wasnt the best, he still loves it.

i dont know what to say punk is anymore, but i do have to say that i love guys and girls with mohawks. i love funky colored hair. i luv "punk" music. i have always loved my punk friends. i luv the outfits classified as punk, i luv boots, i love eyeliner, i love goin to a show where everyone in the crowd might not look like u but were all there for the same reason, i luv happinesse, i luv freedom. i luv sitting next to my computer as the music is up and im knitting away on something and reading a blog. its the little things in life that can really make me happy. i dont know what punk has been labeled, but as far as my experience is, we luv each other, we luv to have a good time, we love to express our ways in a manner that we find fit for ourselves. we luv to make people happy, and luv to be happy. (but i dont like those mean lookin punks who think they are better than anyone else, after all, we are better than no one and no one is better than us. )

Punk as Eff

Okay, first off, can I just say that Blogger sucks? Typepad all the way, y'all. Maybe it's just because I'm on a Mac, but oh wait, that's far superior as well. Except for maybe Linux, but this is a punk gift exchange, not a geek one. My b.

NOW, since I cannot properly post my pictures as I would have liked to, here are links to my two most conventionally(!) "punk" projects: Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers and Cleaves. Fingerless gloves are punk, right? Even if they're not a la Lavigne striped in black and pink? Whew, glad I'm safe on that one. And Cleaves is a bit o' pirate chic, and they were of course, the original punks, except for maybe the Mowhawk tribe, they had the whole thing down eons ago.

What I'm trying to say in way too many words (as I usually do) is that I'm not what one would consider a typical "punk" by today's "standards" (And yes, those get quotations because who sets the standards for punkdom these days, anyways? Is the mainstreaming of a formerly underground movement making it redundant and the antithesis to everything it stood for before, or is it bringing the same message to the masses as it always has, just slicker, shinier, and more expensive?)--I do have multiple peircings and a tattoo and black plastic-framed glasses and crazy unruly hair and my favorite colors are the admittedly cliche duo of black and pink (and sometimes red), but I'm not a fan of skulls with bows or gun tattoos on hipbones or toothpick boys with girl hair and more eyeliner than me singing sad songs about how I broke their wimpy little hearts. I have a salaried job, I watch an inordinate amount of network television, I like my men manly but not douchey, I wear blouses with self-ties and poofy sleeves, and I love Christina Aguilera (among many, many other not-so-punk artists).

Does that make me less punk than others here? Maybe. But I think that by flying below the radar, keeping my head above the mindless flow of the mainstream, doing my best to dismantle the patriarchy one piece at a time, and not caring one iota what other people might think of me in terms of both "scene points" and the corporate ladder, well, I guess that makes me punk. I've always labeled myself as more "indie" than "punk" when forced to label myself, but I don't like doing that anyway.

So I guess my overall point that I'm trying to get at but can't because I am so ridiculously long-winded is that not claiming myself as a "punk" in the current parameters by which our society defines them does indeed make me a punk.

But mainly I just wanted to post in this contest so I could win that sweet prize...

Punkest Thing I Ever Knit?

Hm, this is actually pretty tough. Glad we're not choosing this by a vote of what really is the punkest thing. I'd so lose. I've done two Kitty hats, one was purple and pink Cheshire cat themed. The other was black and I put two of my old CBRs (from the days when my belly button was pierced) in the ear. It's pretty hot, now if only I could find it.

But I guess the real candidate for this would be the Converse Booties I knit for my baby. I modified the pattern from one I found on craftster. Ah, there's a whole post on it on my blog. Eventually I added little blue stars inside the white circles, I was just very unsure of my ability to create a decent looking star. lol The first day he actually fit into them was on my birthday, it was very exciting.

Punk Knitting

OK so far the first think that comes to mind is this pair of Fetchings I knit for my DS, just finished them...I find them spooky and punk, but he loves them....

They are made to match his rather punk WCTP Hat...

Let the games begin!!

Hello Punks,
It is now March 1st - Let the games begin!! If you have not already received your pal, please drop me an e-mail. They have all been sent out! I had some help getting them all out last night - so if something is mispelled, you can't find a blog or your e-mail bounced back let me know that too! Now its time for you to contact your pals and start to get to know them. A few guidelines - treat your pal like you would like to be treated, answer e-mails in a timely fashion and be nice - it may get you better gifties!!

CONTEST
So, the first contest.... Here are the rules.... Everyone who posts for this contest will be eligable for the prize, it will be drawn out of a hat on the 17th of March by mr.sunneshine. All entries have to be in by March 15th. You do not have to do the contest if you don't feel like it, its just an extra little fun feature to set this exchange apart from other exchanges and maybe win some free loot!!

The contest is -- What is the PUNK-EST thing that you have every knit or crochet? Explain what makes it the punk-est thing that you have ever knit/crochet and if possible, show us the item (the photo part is encouraged but not required). Be as creative as you'd like.... I am so excited to see what everyone has to say and show and what punk means to you all..... And the best part is that there are no wrong answers....

The prize is -- In the spirit of my entry and that this the punk rock gift exchange, four balls of Rowan R2 rag in black, a black and white tote bag with a skull and crossbones in studs across the front and a set of 6 stitch markers with skulls on them from my etsy store (shameless plug). You can see it all together in the not so great photograph.

Go, be good to your pals, if you have questions/problems let me know sooner rather then later, and lets see what all you punks are made of!

SIGN UPS ARE CLOSED, BLOG IS OPEN!

HELLO!!
Oh, inside voice.... Sign ups for the PRGE are now officially closed!! You will receive your pairing tonight, if you don't please let me know!! I am away from my computer all day tomorrow but will get back with you first thing friday!

Please remember that this is a SECRET GIFT EXCHANGE for the first two months. So please, contact your pal with your secret e-mail address and try not to give away who you are before they open their second box.

The first box needs to be received by your pal on or before the 1st of April. Please, please, please send it with delivery confirmation - if your box doesn't arrive on time and you can show that your box truely is taking a long time in transit, you won't be in trouble - otherwise, you will be. I don't want anyone listed under DEADBEATS, and I really don't want someone listed there who shouldn't be there. So please, mail your box on time (international pals need to think about this - longer postage times), and send it with a tracking number. The box value needs to be at least $15 a month, not including postage.

Finally, the BLOG IS OPEN! Feel free to post anything anytime (except negative remarks about other PRGEers). Anything that strikes you as punk or of interest to the other exchangers is welcome here! Please, if you enter the contests post your entry or a link to your entry on this blog. Also, when you receive your boxes from your pals, either post them here or post a link to where they are on your blog. We ended up with 32 PUNKS, so that is too many blogs to just search for everything!! But what a cool and diverse group we've got!!

ENOUGH RULES! I feel like my mom!
Lets have fun! Be creative! And be good to each other!

THE QUESTIONAIRE

Here it is....THE QUESTIONAIRE....its long and involved. Take your time, cut and paste it with your answers, on your blog on or before March 4th, please! The better your answers are to the questions, the easier it is for your pal to send you a great box. It is the best way for your pal to get to know you in the short time before that first box arrived on your doorstep - April 1st....

1. How long have you been knitting/crocheting/spinning?

2. Do you consider yourself a beginner, novice or experienced yarn artist?

3. What fibers (materials) have you knit/crochet with?

4. What are your favorite yarns?

5. What fibers are you dying to try?

6. Do you prefer solid, self striping, or handpainted yarns?

7. What fibers do you dislike?

8. What are your favorite colors?

9. What are your least favorite colors?

10. How did you learn to knit/crochet/spin?

11. What projects are you currently working on?

12. How old is your oldest UFO? What is it? Will it ever be finished?

13. What is the most heartbreaking project that you ever frogged?

14. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

15. Do you own a swift and/or a winder?

16. Where do you keep your needles?

17. Do you enjoy helpful hints about your knitting or does it just piss you off?

18. What techniques are you still a virgin in (lace, cables, ect.) and are you interested in trying them?

19. What knitting magazines do you subscribe to?

20. Are there any books, needles, yarn, patterns that you are dying to get your hands on?

21. Do you enjoy knitting socks? How big are your feet?

22. Do you have a wish list?

23. What are your non-knitting, crochet, spinning hobbies?

24. How do you feel about sports?

25. What is your favorite season? Least favorite season? Why?

26. What is your favorite holiday?

27. Do you like handmade gifts?

28. Do you wear jewelry that isn't real?

29. What are your favorite foods? Scents that you love?

30. What is your family situation? Do you live alone?

31. Do you have any pets?

32. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3's?

33. What are your favorite movies? TV shows? Actors?

34. What do you collect?

35. What do you do in real life -- besides knit and blog?

36. When is your birthday? Is it a national holiday or just another day?

37. Do you have any allergies, medical conditions or disorders that your pal should be aware of (ie. diabetes, food/pet allergies, ect.)?

38. Are there any scents, phobias, or sensory thing (ie, the way certain objects feel) that your pal should be aware of?

39. What is the most difficult thing that you have ever knit/crochet?

40. What is your personal style? Is there a time period/fashion movement that you take your cues from?

41. Anything else that you would like to say?


note - this questionaire is derived (read as shamelessly stolen and updated) from Che and Rachel hostesses of the first Punk Rock Gift Exchange. I would like to thank them once again and give credit where credit is due! Have fun!!

Invites are out.....

Hello!! I sent out the invites to become a blog author today! If you didn't get one, please let me know and I will try again -- I may have spelled your e-mail wrong....... I am trying to keep this blog un-cluttered till the blog starts, so anyone else who is interested can find the rules and whatnot easily. So please hold off authoring posts till March 1st.....

I am asking everyone to become a blog author so that you can post your gifts on the blog -- or at least post a link from this blog to yours so that everyone can see what you got - and your gifter gets a bit of glory (and a THANK YOU) for such a great gift!! Same thing with contests, post your entry on this blog or link this blog with yours so that all can see your creativity.

Also, there may be punk/rock/or gift related things that you would like to share with all..... And that is what we are here for, FUN!!

PRGE Questionaire will be posted by next friday - please have it up on your blog by March 4th! Questions, problems, comments, suggestions - leave them here or e-mail me!