Reckless Glue

knitting & technology

2012-02-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

Sooo, I meant to post this ages ago, but never got around to it. Better late than never? (Especially since there's not much "new" knitting to speak of right now, heh)

I knit this for my sister for Christmas...

And in case you were unsure, it's an ipad sleeve! I knit it in some lionbrand cottonease I had in the stash...and it's a free pattern from Emily Nimz.

My only gaffe was in "pattern assumption"...I had basically finished knitting it in it's entirety before I realized the pattern called for a special cast-on that would have allowed for a seamless bottom. D'oh! But I wasn't about to tear back and just seamed it up instead. That's what I get for just plunging in and casting on my usual way.

I was trying to hold out for pictures of it with the ipad inside, but it completely slipped my mind on Xmas day and I just never got around to it again. Ah well, she assures me it fits!

I like to tease my sister about her intense ipad addiction, but it seems that I too have now joined the iphone revolution...

All that to say... if you'd like to follow me on instagram my handle is: recklessglue. You can be my like 5th friend (sad, I know haha).

I mean let's get real, instagram was the main reason I even bought an iphone in the first place! But if you have suggestions for any fun apps send 'em my way (I have already kind of gone app-crazy...I think in the first week alone I loaded about 15 different camera apps) but are there any good knitting ones? I almost loaded a stitch/row counter but then thought better of it. (When was the last time I even counted rows?). I need like a lazy-knitter app or something. Or maybe one that will just do.the.knitting.for.me.

And I'm sure I'm kind of late to this party but I'm also on Pinterest now too. BOY HOWDY do I love being able to pin knitting patterns and various inspirations. Easy Peasy...

See you somewhere on the internets!

Peter Pan Collars

2012-01-29T06:51:00.000-08:00

hmmmm, that looks like a V-neck to me, but what the hell do I know.

As a long time thrifter and lover of mod-fashion many was the day I would while away the hours on ebay using the search term "peter pan collar" in vain hopes of finding a sixties gem.

These days, the Peter Pan collar is back baby, and you can find them all over the place. Which I suppose is good news for those of that like to buy cheap dresses on Modcloth! (though part of my New Year's resolution was no more online clothing shopping--the duty and shipping fees to Canada were killing me)

So with that in mind I decided to spruce up a few collar-less items in my own closet. I hunted around on Ravelry but couldn't really find a pattern that fit the bill so I improvised this wee design in garter stitch. Within a couple of days I had cranked out a few of them in different sizes so I thought I'd post this "recipe" for you too in case you wanted one of your own.

There is nothing fancy here--you basically just wear it like a necklace (or a BIB!). The yarns I've used are heavy enough to keep it from sliding around, but you could always secure it a bit better to your top to keep it from moving at all.

This would be so cute in a super-fuzzy angora!

I hate it when patterns "over-explain" things, but that is exactly what I am about to do here!

Peter Pan Collar

needles: 4.5mm (U.S #7)
yarn: Aran or Worsted weight ---yarns pictured here: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk (pink), Lang Silk Dream (taupe) and the cream one is Misti Alpaca Worsted. As far as yardage goes, I have no idea, it was all scrap yarn from the stash--definitely less than half to a quarter of a ball of anything.
gauge...not so important. You can petty much make these any size you want, just use a needle size that is appropriate for your yarn. You can adjust the size up and down based on how many stitches you cast on and the length you knit your straps.

N.B: I've knit these in garter stitch, but seed stitch would be nice as well. Basically anything that is the same front/back will lay flat and keep the edges from curling. Stockinette stitch would look fab, but you would definitely need to block it to keep it laying flat.

(lapels --you will make 2)
CO 12 sts
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K1, M1, K to end (13 sts)
Rows 3-11: Repeat row 2 until you have 22 sts
Rows 12-20: Knit

Cut yarn. Leave these stitches live. It is up to you if you want to take them off and place them on a stitch holder or some waste yarn. I just left mine on my needles and pushed them out of the way (I knit on circulars) before knitting the second one. Just make sure when you have to line up your two lapels again for joining that they are both facing the same way.

CO 12 sts again and repeat rows 1-20, but don't cut your yarn this time. You will then have two of these "lapels". Line them up side by side on your needles.

Knit all the way across joining your lapels together as you go.
Next Row: Knit
Next row: K8, BO 32 center sts, K8

You will now work the straps separately.

(right strap)
Next row: Knit
Next row: K1, SL1, PSSO, K to end (You are decreasing 1 stitch at the neck edge on alternate rows)
Repeat these last two rows until 4 sts remain.

Knit 13 rows
Next row: (make button hole) K1, BO 1 st, K2
Next row: K2, CO 1 st, K1
Next row: Knit
BO all sts

Now, I should probably say here that you don't have to put in a button hole if you don't want to...you could leave both straps flat and attach with velcro, or slide in a ribbon so you can tie a pretty bow at the back of your neck, whatever works for you.

ALSO, I have knit my straps quite short because I wanted my collar tight to my neck to wear with high-neck shirts. If you have a specific top or dress you want to wear this with try it on for length to see where the collar will fall, and knit your length accordingly. If you knit it short like mine you may find yourself with a big gap of skin showing before your top starts!

(left strap)
Re-join yarn at the neck edge
Knit 2 rows
Begin neck decreases as per right strap until 4 sts remain
Knit to desired length and bind off (no button hole this side)

Weave in ends, lightly block if desired (all of the collars pictured here are not blocked)
Sew on your button, wear with girlie pride.

Some ideas for yarn modification...

As I said you can pretty much knit this in any size---for example, using a bulky yarn you might want to CO 8 sts instead of 12. You would then do your row 2 increase until you had 18 sts instead of 22. The rest of the pattern would pretty much stay the same, but you would have to adjust the width of your straps accordingly and the number of center stitches you would be binding off. Same goes for a smaller/finer gauge yarn with more stitches being cast on. You would bind off more center stitches and have more stitches in the width of your straps (which would also mean more decreases at the neck edge until you got the strap how you wanted it.

I'll see if I can set up a pattern page for this right on Ravelry--would love to see if anyone else knits this!

xo Cara

HAWT pink

2012-01-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

yes...hot pink-a colour I'm surprised I even had in my stash!

I always think I'm such a "neutrals" girl but yesterday as I was looking at my Ravelry projects page I was struck by how colourful everything was. I'm not sure if that's just "how I take a picture" --I tend to like fairly saturated images--or if it's actually that everything in my life is more colourful than I give it credit for (It is slightly ironic that I am a vintage lover but do not like this current trend of post-processing all photos to have a vintage feel to them).

Maybe I've just been saying "I'm a neutrals girl" for so long that it's become part of my daily lexicon, true or not. I'm sure all of the colourful tights in my wardrobe would have something to say about this.

Still, I'm hard-pressed to generally wear anything THIS brain-metingly PINK on a regular basis:

And honestly I had to cool these photos down so it wouldn't sear your retinas out of your head the second you loaded this page.

These were a little project that I started MONTHS ago in an effort to simply get-this-pink-outta-my-stash and after seeing a similar pair knit by Crispianna on Ravelry. (And how much do I love those boots she's wearing...me want!).

Seriously I think I started these back in September expecting to wear them all fall with tights and dresses, but the tiny needles started to rub my fingers the wrong way and I just dropped the project altogether right when I was in the home stretch. They languished with about an inch to go until I finally just did.it.to.get.it.done. Now they become my "first official project of 2012". ( I am obviously easing into the New Year...)

So what would you call these? Boot toppers? Footless socks? Miniature legwarmers? (I am not embarrassed to admit that I have always been a "legwarmers" girl--even when they went horribly out of fashion, so this is not a stretch for me).

Also note: I am not likely to wear them as I have them pictured. I have been tucking them into boots more like socks if I'm wearing them with jeans, so they are usually hidden. With tights I am wearing them more like legwarmers, so they are definitely visible then, if that helps.

Size-wise this is a far cry from all the blankets and rugs I've been knitting lately, and I am definitely OK with that.

yarn: Rowan lightweight DK in pink (about 1.5 skeins)
needles: 3.25 mm

pattern: CO 48 sts, join in round, K2 P1 rib for as long as you like (mine are probably around 9 or 10 inches). BO loosely, weave in your ends.

Wear & enjoy warm ankles.

2011 re-cap

2012-01-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, well I will spare you my drawn out 2012 "knitolutions" (I do have some regular resolutions that mostly include "NO MORE INTERNET SHOPPING" but that's another story) and 2011 re-cap apart from getting my feet wet for 2012 with this mosaic:

Click the mosaic to be taken to links of all these items
(sorry it's teeny tiny, you can also see it much larger on flickr)

Did you think I had disappeared for the month of December?

You'd be just about right given that most knitting came to a standstill (TG I was on the ball with earlier Xmas knits this year) and I only managed to crank out a couple of wee items in the last month or so (mostly due to taking a knitting "break" in an effort to heal some repetitive strain) --so I will attempt to post about those little items soon.

For now I leave you with that mosaic of 2011 knits. I already can't wait to see what my 2012 mosaic will look like!

Smell ya later 2011!

hey girl, I know this is old news but has everyone seen these?

Naturally I think all of the knitting ones are hilarious, but some other crafty favourites include:

"Hey Girl, Don't stress about me stepping on that pin. It's my fault for walking barefoot through the dining room" and "Hey girl, I"m sorry only 12 people entered your blog giveaway".

heh. Oh breaker high, how far you've come.

Enjoy...I loves me an adorable meme.

'Tis (almost) the season

2011-11-29T07:56:00.000-08:00

This photo might lead you to believe that my Christmas decorations are up already, but you would be mistaken...

pattern: Christmas Rudolph Reindeer by Loly Fuertes
yarn: Patons Classic Wool in Taupe (plus miscellaneous worsteds in white & red)
needles: 2.75 mm
misc: button eyes and a ribbon around his neck

Well, what can I say? It's RUDOLPH, and y'all know I have a fawn collection right? (well, I tend to bust those fawns out over the holidays more for some reason...) but still. I simply could.not.resist this knit and he turned out super adorable.

I know I always say "I'm not a toy knitter" but a couple of them manage to find their way into the queue every year for one reason or another it seems. And when I started this little guy a couple weeks back it was one of those gray November Sundays where I refused to change out of my P.Js for the entire day (and subsequently managed to finish him in one day as well).

It always seems to be the little knits that languish in my queue for like 2 or 3 years and then when I finally get around to it and bust it out in one day I wonder why I put it off for so long.

You can check out my project page on Ravelry for more notes on this little dude, but suffice to say the pattern is at times a bit vague. I think something is possibly lost in the translation, it's another of those patterns that uses the word "knit" in a very general way..."knit this"-- apparently interchangeable with "make this"...not unlike an Amy Sedaris sweater pattern wherein the "pattern" simply states: "Instructions: knit a sweater" (heh).

Still I fear the process of focusing on this one fiddly little thing for such a concentrated period of time has put me down for the count for the forseeable future as I have not knit a stitch since. In fact I think something about those small needles rubbing up against the sides of my fingers has given me some fresh new hell of repetitive strain (no doubt exacerbated by the fact that I am on a computer all day long...) so I am having to force myself to take a bit of a break and let my fingers re-coup. (Yes this seems unbelieveable with Xmas less than a month away, but for the most part all of that knitting is done at least).

But if nothing else this unexpected knitting sabbatical has allowed me time to turn my attention toward my latest obsession: Papercraft!

And to that I can only say "where the hell have I been???" There are SO many cute FREE downloadable/printable PDFs out there that allow you to make the most awesome stuff!

Case in point:

This Calendar of the month club from Curiosity Group.

People, there's a record player! A RECORD PALYER!

Now granted, these are all from a 2011 calendar, but one can assume there will be some more good ones coming for 2012 as well. right? right.

Perhaps something more festive?

fawn from Strumpets Crumpets

Santa from Ataque Mutante

And lots more of these on the Canon website.

Or if wasting tons of coloured ink in your printer is not really your bag, you can use some colour copy paper instead...

I made a handful of these last night...they look great hanging on your tree, you can do up the giant one and turn it into a ceiling lamp, or just pile them all in a bowl like I did, super cute and super fun.

Who knew?! (Not me, obviously) The world of paper craft is massive it seems and you can find that ball pattern at How About Orange. In fact that's a great blog to get you started because she links to all sorts of fun paper crafts elsewhere in addition to her own.

I could post a million pictures of all the super cute papercraft patterns I've been looking at lately, but that might be overkill. Just go sharpen your scissors and fire up the printer!

But make sure you don't abandon you knitting altogether...

giant knit alert

2011-11-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

At last...

pattern: Kiki Mariko rug from Mason Dixon Knitting: Outside the lines
yarn: Cascade 220 and Patons Classic Wool (many, many different colours...)
needles: 10mm

Done, and totally a fun knit!

I made this bigger than the pattern called for, casting on 154 stitches, and knit with both those yarns double-stranded.

This started out as a stash-busting project (yes, I know I am ALL ABOUT those lately) --I promise to stop saying the words "stash-busting" quite as much from here on in. (You should just assume that is pretty much always happening). I will alert the media if I ever use it all up. I started out with all those random colours I had leftover from the Missoni-inspired blanket but that plan quickly fell through when I pretty much ran out of all of them and had to go out and buy more anyway.

Honestly, why did I think I would have enough? I was doing a giant felted rug that I was making bigger than the pattern called for in the first place! Hmmm, I believe we call that knitting on a wing and a prayer or something.

Soooo, had I been smart enough to actually realize this I probably would have started with some completely different colours from the get-go, but I wasn't and I didn't. I plunged ahead without a care for colour placement. If one purple ran out I'd just start a different one, or maybe a pink. Things actually start to look a little more cohesive by the second half of the rug because that is when I actually bought new yarn and managed to keep things more consistent. Even still, I wasn't about to tear back. If things turned out kind of crazy-looking, I was okay with that.

In the end I had an enormous, crazy-coloured, knit tube:

and when you flipped it over --- this crazy checkerboard strip that was to become my first steeks:

and then into a hot bath it went:

I felted it once, then cut my steek (I realized later that I didn’t cut in a very straight line…so when all was said and done I wound up trimming off more of the steeks on either side again to make it more even) then pulled it out to see how it looked.

I was happy with the size, but attempted to just felt the ends a bit more to try and get that “ruffly” edge shrunk up a bit more. I did this as suggested by someone else--I folded it in half and then dangled the edges into the washing machine (I had to cram my pinky into the door mechanism in order to get the machine to agitate with the lid up) but then finally I just got tired of standing there the entire time and threw the whole thing in for the final rinse cycle again. So really it got felted twice when all was said and done.

I pinned it out and let it dry for about 48 hours, then blanket-stitched the edge (double-stranded) instead of whip-stitching cuz I thought it looked a little tidier. I combed it with a sweater comb to get the fuzz off and it’s nice and soft under-foot now.

And there you have it. Final measurements gave me a rug that was about 4X3 feet.

And then after all my recently H-U-G-E knits the idea of doing some sweaters is starting to seem small and jiffy-quick, so a couple of those may be on the sticks very soon.

But nothing was a jiffy quick as these:

Dishcloths!

I am feeling very on top of gift-knitting this year (for once)...

There are about 6 different dishcloth patterns in that pile, so have a look on Ravelry if you'd like to know which patterns I used.

xo Cara

Swallowtail shawl

2011-10-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

So I have finally managed to get on the Swallowtail bus (seriously over 9000 people on Ravelry have now knit this thing) and I must say, I've got the bug!

pattern: Swallowtail shawl by Evelyn Clark
yarn: Elizabeth Lavold's Hempathy --just over three balls (but I had so many ends from frogging a project for the yarn that I think you could do it in three if you were starting fresh)
needles: 4.5mm

the mister said it looks like I'm wearing a "spiderweb", just in time for Halloween I suppose.

It's been a while since I did a lace project like this....lace is fun (or at least this project was) but also frustrating. There were several bouts of "unknitting" at times when I wasn't paying attention. Though I *was* smart enough to put in some lifelines for once, but I think too lazy to do it often enough to be of any real help.

As usual with any lace project, the beauty comes when it is finally pinned out:

Husband woke up in the morning to find it pinned to the floor and was quite surprised I think..."this is what you've been swearing about?" realization now dawning as to why I wasn't able to knit and watch a movie without a million expletives.

Still it went up fast and I can totally see myself making another.

My only issue came on the last row (TG for youtube knitting tutorials) because I must have re-read that line ten times and still couldn't figure out what it was asking me to do. I re-wrote it in my own Cara-speak though (you can see my ravelry details if you are interested in that) and then it all made sense.

I frogged the yarn from this shrug (plus the remainder of one ball still in my stash) for it. Naturally I RAN OUT OF YARN with two rows left to go…grrrrrrr. So off I went to buy one more ball (three years after buying the original yarn with no hope of even knowing what my dye lot was) and will now have virtually a whole ball of the same yarn left in my stash again, thus making my stash exactly the same as when I began this project.

Still, the shawl in this yarn/colour is gorgeous and will get a lot more wear than it ever did in it’s previous incarnation as a shrug. Surely everyone knows by now how much I love MUSTARD. And fortunately for me it's actually on trend this year!

My gigantic, enormous Kiki Mariko rug is also nearing the finish line. Can't wait to see how that turns out once all the felting is done. Could be amazing, could be crap.

And on another note I have taken the Pinterest plunge, so follow me there if you have want to do so.

Pinterest seriously appeals to my lazy (and easily distracted) internet nerd within!

Phildar love...

2011-10-11T08:25:00.001-07:00

been a while since I've done a Phildar post (and please note, in no way am I compensated for gushing about their patterns --though I would definitely not be adverse to that if I'm being completely honest and if it were to happen!) free patterns? God yes. But I do like to peridoically check in with them and see what's new. Can't beat the French for subtle styling tips...

One of their newer pattern books has a whole Mad Men theme happening:
(and N.B the following images are all from the same book, Fall #59, sorry French only so far for this one)

There are lots of fabulous reto-styled patterns like the one pictured above.

And while I am definitely a vintage lover pre-Mad Men *and* a lover of Mad Men itself (seriously it must be one of the most well-written shows on TV to date). I find myself even more enamoured of some of the other knits in the same book:

LOVE:

LOVE,

LOVE!

(always a sucker for hearts...it's like a sickness I have) and bows. and ruffles. Could that admission be any girlier?

Now before anyone emails me asking me to make.copies.of.all.these.patterns for them (seriously this happens a lot) I need to be clear that I do not own this book. (yet). I am debating on waiting to see if they are coming out with an English version of it. Phildar often does this though it's kind of hit and miss. I will likely order it in French (once it goes on sale heh).

Also that said, please don't email me wanting me to translate a pattern for you. I have done this once or twice but will likely never do it again.

Geez, was that way too crabby? While we're on the topic, what are everyone's thoughts on pattern-sharing?

I don't usually have an issue with it if I deem it is a pattern this is not readily available. For example, if you are emailing me asking me to scan you a copy of a Vogue Knitting pattern that is still available on newstands, I will probably take issue with that. I mean, are you just too lazy to walk to the corner store? If your excuse is that you "can't afford it" then you likely can't afford the yarn for it either so why bother? (but I am clearly being overly-judgemental here to make my point, I suppose you could easily have lots of free yarn in your stash as well!).

You would also be surprised what knitting books (and magazines) you can find at your local library, and as a result I have pretty much stopped purchasing said knitting books. Is that legit? I hope so, cuz the idea of spending 40 bucks on a book that I will only knit one pattern out of makes me feel even more overwhelmed by the amount of already useless crap on my bookshelves.

But if it's something old or out of print that I have at my disposal I will usually be happy to do it (I hope I haven't made anyone afraid to email me now!). I find there is a fine line between knowing when that is ok or not, and the more you get entrenched in the online knitting community, the more some of these people become your friends that you want to look out for, so if it's a PDF that is readily available, please spend the three bucks (or whatever) and help that knittah out.

Just sayin'.

And while I am now completely off the rails in terms of topic, can I also just add that I have gotten several requests from people asking me to knit them the Missoni-inspired blanket. I am somewhat speechless about that (tho flattered)--clearly these people are not knitters which I can appreciate, but huh? What would I even charge for my time on something that size? I am obviously not going to do this (tho have often thought about selling knits via etsy at some point) but that blanket? I am tempted to ask 2 grand for it and see if anyone goes for it (if they do I will definitely knit it for them! ;) Still waiting to see if anyone pays 31 grand for those rubber boots on ebay that I bought for myself for 30 bucks (disclaimer: *I* did not post those boots for 31 grand, I just have the same ones...) people are obviously still Missoni CRAZY.

But by far the thing that I probably get emailed about the most is the Twinkle Biker vest. Seriously I knit that thing almost 4 years ago when I was a relatively new knitter and had a heinous time of it. I scrawled a few notes about it and then bam! I feel like every person who has ever attempted that pattern has contacted me about it. Aye yi yi. Sisters, I feel your pain on that one, but I definitely no longer remember the finer nuances of how it even got knit!

So anyway, after that looooong digression (as usual) time to get back to our regularly scheduled Phildar cuteness:

OOH LA LA!

C'est si bon!

C'est super-fantastique!

and a little something for you to put on in the background while you peruse the Phildar website...
Brigitte Bardot singing Harley Davidson, a long time fave.
(I wish I was smart enough to know how to directly embed that video)

Stash Monster

2011-10-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

People of earth: I have not abandonned you for Tumbler, I promise. Upon further reflection I decided that Tumblr was the lazy-man's way out and have chosen to renew my commitment to this here tried-and-true blog. I mean who am I kidding, I can ramble on about nothing with the best of folk. Just photos?! But then who would hear about all my pithy knitting-related musings? Oh right, just my husband and he DOES NOT want that... (seriously I think I need to find some real-life friends that are knitters, my bench is not very deep as they say).

Blogging about knitting would obviously be a lot less overwhelming for me if I didn't let the F.O's pile up to the point that they become a daunting Tsunami of things to talk about. (I know I know, better an F.O than a U.F.O at least--whoa knitter-speak whaaa?), so with that in mind I am going to do something I haven't done in a while and post about some current projects.

If you've been here before you know I am always talking about stash-busting, but the reality is that compared to most knitters, my stash is pretty small. At this point I can fit it all into one large rubbermaid container. Just one! That's pretty good I'd venture, but I have this dream about having NONE. I want to have none.

Does that make me weird? I know that this is likely an impossibility. There will always be scraps kicking around, and I am definitely someone who has been known to throw out yarn that I am just plain sick of looking at. (gasp!). But I still envision it all being gone one day and then being able to buy only new (or new-to-me) (and glorious) yarns for projects as they arise on a need-to-knit-asap basis.

I think I fell into that "new knitter" trap several years ago...where you are just buying yarn wherever/whenever you can in a desperate attempt to have.a.stash. And as such, that very stash is what I still appear to be left with to this day...mostly workhorse yarns or one-off skeins that I bought that I couldn't afford in "whole-sweater" amounts. You find yourself wanting a piece of the glory, but then you are stuck with a stash full of random incompleteness.

There has been the odd new-yarn here or there, but new yarn is only bought with an immediate project in mind, so it generally gets used up right away.

And I may have stumbled upon my most epic stash-eater to date: the Kiki-Mariko felted rug.

I cast-on additional stitches (I think it calls for maybe 118 and I did 154?) and off I went.

In no time I had blown through all of the remaining Cascade 220 I had leftover from the Missoni-Inspired blanket as well as most of the Patons Classic I had in my stash and I wasn't even half done!

I tried desperately not to care about my colour flow and pressed on grabbing whatever random colours I had available (it is more difficult to make "old gold" work with other colours than you would think --why did I buy 5 balls of that?! oh right--because it was discontinued that's why, and my love of seventies mustard colours is totally irrational). But then I stopped to actually take a look at what I was doing and knew I couldn't go any further.

I like to think I am somebody who can "just let it go" if there's a boo-boo or something I don't like, but the sad reality is: I am not that person. My colour combos looked like ass together. (those are conveniently not pictured here)

So I tore back and then yesterday went out and bought.more.yarn. Not only that, but more workhorse yarns (i.e the Cascade and Patons that I was TRYING TO PURGE IN THE FIRST PLACE). And in the same colours that I also would have never chosen in the first place if I was starting this project "new". GAH.

So, that in a nutshell is my current saga.

But I refuse to lose sight of my ultimate de-stashing goal, even though I am clearly the problem in this whole situation.

Another example of this: I knit a project and don't like the finished result. Instead of just donating the offensive garment to someone else that might actually appreciate it, back into the stash it goes. I need to learn to just get rid of these things and be done with them, regardless of whether I have additional amounts of leftover yarn to go with it.

and that is SO NOT what I did here:

(yes, more mustard --but I can't be faulted for knitting with mustard in the FALL right? right?!). Still I am actually excited about this knit, it's been a while since I've tried my hand at a lace project, and 9000 other knitters can't be wrong about the Swallowtail shawl so it's time I joined that club anyway.

Also from the DEPTHS of my stash:

Why yes that is the hottest-retina-melting-pink that you have ever seen.
Honestly, was this a thing I was into for a while? HOT pink? I think this was another situation where Rowan-yarn-was-being-discontinued-at-my-lys-so-I'd-better-buy-(only)two-balls-for-some-stupid-reason!

Guess it's a good thing neon has kind of come around again.

Also from deep stash:

I bought all that grey DK merino when Knit 2 together was a revolutionary new book from Tracey Ullman and I just had-to-have that shrug in there stat!

Now here we are 6 years later and you pretty much couldn't PAY me to knit anything in that book yet I still have all the original yarn to show for it. But wait a minute, those are some too-harsh words...it's actually a great book, just you know, much like the yarn presently in my stash-- I am totally bored with it.

So I'm thinking about using up said yarn for this November sweater. Yes, even though I know I VERY RECENTLY OPINED: "no more sweaters".

What can I say, I'm an enigma.
(and also apparently, a liar)

go small and stay home?

2011-09-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

Soooooo, after the magnitude that was my Missoni-inspired blanket and the madness that was Missoni-for-Target...----wait, whaaaaa? you hadn't heard about this? Alex does a great re-cap about the shopping meldown that happened at Target this past week: HERE, so I won't re-hash it all for you, other than to say that "why yes I did get my butt across the border to my nearest Target" and managed to pick myself up a few of said pieces.

And while there were definitely some jerk-y lookin' dudes there filling their carts with items that they clearly planned to immediately flood ebay with, I at least didn't have to say, wrestle Bethenny Frankel for a pillow or anything. Phew! small wonders...in some ways I wish I had bought more stuff, but in reality I am sure I have more.than.enough. zig-zags in my life right now.

My love of obnoxious sixties fashions aside, it was simply fortuitous timing that I even made that blanket, and all week I have been watching the "favourites" of that knit sky-rocket on my raverly page. Cascade 220 in "lime"...who knew?

And indeed after such a giant knit, I found myself needing to make smaller knits, STAT!

and they don't get a lot smaller than this cute 'lil dude:

totes adorbs, yes?

pattern: here

Also small and satisfying,

definitely in love with this hat and the YARN:

The colour just seemed to work up so gorgeous. The yarn is Madeline Tosh Vintage, and the colourway was called "Thunderstorm". I dunno, maybe I am just starved for some nice/new yarns. It really was the first "new" yarn I had purchased in some time (and I don't count "work-horse-type yarns" like Patons Classic or Cascade 220 that I always seem to fall back on for one project or another). This past year I have been hell-bent on stash busting so I think I am just SO tired of looking at the same old stuff (not to mention the same colours I always seem to be drawn to...)

Speaking of "same old yarns":

these are the Daisy stitch handwarmers from the Purl Bee.

Can I just say, I am in looooooooove with these. I don't think I've ever knit myself a pair of gloves/mitts etc. that fit so well. And these will be perfect now that the temperature is starting to cool off around here.

And finally, and ok maybe this isn't actually a small knit since it took about 6 balls of Sublime cashmere/merino/silk DK to make, but it was at least mindless and enjoyable.

The iconic Clapotis.

And yes, I do think the Clapotis has more than attained it's due of "icon status" in the kitting world. Has there ever been an item knit more than this in the modern knitting realm? I think this is my third one. If you haven't knit one before, I think you should, and if you've never heard of this pattern, I can only assume you just fell out of some vortex from another dimension and found this blog post by mistake.

So there you have it, maybe if I updated more often I wouldn't be trying to cram so many knits into one post? I am actually toying with the idea of scrapping this blog and moving over to something like tumbler which will be a little more photo-intensive and less of me rambling on and on.

Oh wait, here's four more small knits that I forgot about:

Details on Ravelry HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Geez, I guess that was "my summer in knits"? I managed to cram a vacation in there somewhere too.
xo

Go big or go home

2011-07-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

uh oh--I am almost three months to the day since my last post...and I wish I could give you an amazing reason as to why (but alas, you know how THAT goes!).

So to make it up to you I have come back in a big way.

A big BLANKET-Y way (no I am not talkin' about M.J's kid)

pattern: Missoni inspired blanket by Kelly Kingston
yarn: Cascade 220 (check ravelry for the list of all the colours I used)
needles: 4mm

this picture is a bit of an optical illusion...it was actually laying smooth and flat on the floor when I took it

So, I guess the moral of this story is don't ever let them tell you bigger isn't better? Just kidding. I think. It's definitely more impressive when it's bigger because the reality is this was an easy knit. Straight stockinette that dare I say actually went up FAST. Though I think that has something to do with the mental game you play with yourself when you are switching colours: "ok, just two rows of this black, I'll finish those before I take a break...." "Fours rows of orange? lemme just finish those before I start dinner". And then suddenly it's done.

And also kind of timely because I am pretty amped up about the fact that Missoni is also the next designer line that's been announced for Target this fall. (Almost as excited as I was to hear that Target is finally coming to Canada--tho not until 2014) so looks like I will still be trudging my way to New York state as usual to get my target designer line fix---save me some stuff ok people?

This is definitely the biggest thing I have knit to date (and is kind of making me feel somewhat accomplished after so many previous sweater FAILs). The only real anguish involved was agonizing over the colours. It's definitely a lot louder than something I'd normally knit, and if I had to do it again would probably still tweak some of the more neon-ish colours in it (like that lime or the lilac) for something less obnoxious. Still, I think as a whole it all works, and I will be more than proud to drape it on my bed or couch this winter.

What didn't feel fast to knit (but was smaller and probably even easier to knit) ---this baby blanket:

pattern: Basketweave blanket by Classic Elite
yarn: Bamboo Ewe in "Mercury" (4.5 skeins)
needles: 4mm I think?
mods: 160 stitches, seed stitch border instead of garter

Well go figure...endless solid grey-- knit 4, purl 4. Man I was SO glad to finally see the back of this one!

But I must say, I was very happy with how it turned out. The yarn is soft but substantive and easy-care and I didn't want to make it overtly scream "BABY" (even though it was in fact a baby gift). It just seemed a little more versatile in a neutral colour like this in case they wanted to use it as a throw instead.

So for me, blanket appears to be the new black. I am heartily tempted to knit the Missoni one again. The colour combinations and permutations are endless and would probably go a long way towards wiping out some of the colours in my stash that I am less fond of and don't know what the hell to do with. Though god knows I have a long history of saying "I am definitely knitting this again!" and then never following through (there's just too many new things out there to catch my fancy!)

Maybe some matching pillows though? I need to do something with all that leftover lime & lilac!

little things

2011-04-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

hoooooo doggie, it is hot and humid today. This time last week I was wearing a hat and mitts--whatever happened to Spring? Why do we need to go from Winter directly to Summer?

I've finished off a few little things lately (that I guess I should just immediately pack away?) cause I don't think there will be much call for them for another 5 or 6 months...

Further to my last post about the owlie mitts comes the Stem & Leaf cowl from the same designer, Betsy Farquhar.

I love this pattern...it's really very reminiscent of one of my favourite designers, Orla Kiely, though uh slightly more in my snack bracket as they say.

That said, I'm not sure how wearable this cowl actually is. Having the full impact of the pattern kind of requires it to stand up rigidly (which it sort of does on it's own) but the second it gets scrunched down, the inside floats are all visible. It's not horrible, it still definitely works, but I dunno...I likely should have chosen some bolder colours. This might get gifted off to someone else.

Also fabulous and from one of my all time favourite knitter/designers, Michele Wang:

Tortillon!

This really is not my usual style of hat, but I have to say it might be time for me to get away from the floppy beret/snood. There definitely is no danger of this one slipping right off my head, in fact I'm not sure I've ever had a hat fit so well! I knit it in it's prescribed Lana Grossa Chiara which again is also not something I'd normally choose given that it's about 80% synthetic (and 20% kid mohair). There seems to be this whole new breed of "fancy" synthetic yarns out there that I know nothing about, and even this stuff is about 17 bucks a ball around these parts. Fortunately it used less than one ball and was decidely worth it. Cushy cushy cushy! This might be the most comfortable hat ever.

It just pains me that it won't see the light of day for many moons again.

And then I got stoked about wearing something like this for cross-country sking:

but we promptly ran out of snow.

Ah well. This is Endless Braid. You can see my Ravelry projects pages for more details about it because I really had to jimmy it to get it to work with one ball of Koigu KPPPM. This is the "winter" version of the pattern, though it's really somewhere in between sizes I'd say, since I knit the strands to different lengths/widths, and the pattern calls for a worsted yarn, not a sock yarn. And lets not forget my pea sized head.

I just really really wanted to knit this from stash and I really also wanted to knit it in a varigated (I apparently own like zero varigated yarns--even this lowly ball of koigu has been in my stash for years...)

And then, the Urban Turban:

I know turbans have been a bit of a fashion craze the last year or two, and this was yet another situation where I decided to knit from stash in a completely different weight of yarn. In this case a DK instead of a lace weight, and it worked though might not be quite as deep as I need this hat to be.

This is a Patons pattern, but I haven't been able to find it to link to it yet --will definitely fix that as soon as it becomes available! I knit it in some leftover baby alpaca --Fable Handknits.

If I was smart I would have dragged these knits out into individual posts with lots of detail for you, but pfft, that's what Ravelry's for I guess. Plus these days I find by the time I'm talking about these projects I am mentally done.with.them. and ready to move on to bigger and better.

And bigger and better is definitely my next course of action...I've never knit a blanket before but now find myself with not one but TWO in the works. And a "mini" sweater. Am I crazy? Will I be knitting with a wool blanket on my lap all summer long?!

Yes, yes I will.

intarsia mania (fair isle mania?)

2011-03-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Figured I should finally post about my latest white whale (sorry the English major in me finds it difficult to stop referencing books that I never really liked...)

But what I do like--

THESE:

pattern: Owlie Owl mittens by Betsy Farquhar
yarn: Fortissima Socka
needles: US #0
mods: I omitted a couple rows in the chart (see my ravelry project page for more specifics)

Soooo, I've never been a sock knitter, but for some reason I find the task of knitting mittens to be somehow less onerus. I did however still suffer from second-sock-syndome when it came time to knit mitt number two, and it wasn't until I was about halfway through the second one in fact when I realized I'd forgotten to change needle sizes after the cuff. Ugh, size zeros the whole way up.

The good news? A mitten knit entirely on tiny needles meant a perfect fit for me and my child-sized hands! Could I live with one that was smaller than the other?

Ummmm, maybe not:

The difference in size was pretty dramatic. If you look closely in the photo too you'll notice a giant boo boo in the bigger mitt, so that kind of closed that deal, it HAD to be torn out.

The difference is probably more obvious here, where I appear to have given my owl wings in the first mitt:

Regardless, it got torn out and knit properly on my smallest needles, and now they are a perfect fit. Dare I say probably one of the more impressive things I've knit to date.

Fair Isle does seem to elevate a project to "difficult looking" doesn't it? I mean the reality is that it's not and it's simply straight knitting, so I would definitely encourage anyone afraid of trying it to give it a go. There are lots of smaller colour-work patterns out there that you can start off with.

I liked these mitts so much that I've already cast-on for a second of Betsy's patterns, and shocker, it's a cowl:

She has some very cute patterns that you can get on her etsy page: Good egg.

Dude Cowls

2011-02-16T12:32:00.000-08:00

Time for my favourite topic: cowls!

Only this time the cowls in question are not for me, but for my significant other...

No pattern to speak of...I think I cast on 100 stitches, started and ended in a 1X1 rib that sandwiched the rest of the cowl in stockinette. I increased a bit in the stockinette for a little more floppiness, but then decreased again for the last bit of ribbing. I ran out of the darker grey, otherwise I probably would have made sure to end on the same coloured striping.

I love this simplicity of this, and have a feeling I will likely be getting more wear out of it than the hubby. The yarn's beautiful and has been in my stash for ages... Fable handknit's pure baby alpaca.

It's funny, Nathaniel is not really what I consider to be a "flashy guy", he really is a very conservative dresser, despite being in a number of garage/punk/stoner rock sorta bands...but I'd say his overall aesthetic is a bit more uh undertones:

(sweaters, collared shirts, argyle... all things non threatening in the power pop persuasion I guess) as oppossed to you know, this:

(which as far as punk rock goes is a pretty non threatening look as well I'd venture, sorry Dee Dee)

But whatever, my point being that he finds the above cowl "TOO FLASHY" (yes, it is simply grey with stripes and totally boring) but nevertheless I will likely be the only one wearing it...

Which is why (yes I am coming to a point here) I was further baffled when he chose another cowl pattern for himself out of Cowlgirls. Possibly the girliest, flashiest collection of cowl patterns available, and more baffling still, chose the girliest one in the book!

Truly I have to give him credit for managing to see past all the shiny yarns and accompanying beaded necklace! But really...it's still lace. It doesn't exactly scream "macho".

Still he's makin' it work:

(seriously it was almost 40 BELOW when I took that picture)

I used a Cascade 220 superwash to make it (and obviously omitted the beaded "necklace"). I had to knit about 5 more sections of the final pattern repeat to make it long enough for him.

I think he likes it because it's a bit of an barbell shape that is looser on the bottom...it will stay tight up around his face and keep him warm without falling down and the benefit of the lace is that he can keep it on his nose but still breathe through the "holes" as he calls them.

Kind of a smart choice in the end--Who'd a thunk it? (not me, clearly).

old yarns, new F.O's

2011-02-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

Geez looks like I'm averaging about a post a month these days...that can't be good.

What is good though? This scarf:

free pattern: Bertie scarf by Kate Blackburn
yarn: 3 balls of Rowan Tapestry (70% wool/30% soy) in "antique" (I think it's discontinued now)
needles: 4.5mm
mods: no beads, knit to about 70 inches

I'm kind of obsessed with this F.O right now. I think it's one of the nicest things I've knit in a while, and it's been so long since I've made anything with a bit of colour (muted colour, granted) let alone "varigated" for myself.

The yarn's been in my stash for a long time, in fact it was one of the first decent yarns I bought when I first started knitting so I'm sure it's been in my stash for at least 5 or 6 years now. It is actually somewhat of a relief to have finally used it up. (Though full disclosure: I still have another 5 balls of it in a different colour that I also need to find something to do with!)

Years ago I made a half-clapotis out of it, but found it too small so I never really wore it and subsequently gifted it shortly thereafter.

The Bertie scarf has kind of a similar aesthetic to the Clapotis (but no dropped stitches) and I was hell-bent on using up every ounce of it which brought this bad boy to a whopping 70 inches.

I tried to block it out as wide as possible, othewise it might have been a lot longer still. It really did block out gorgeously, and I now have a real sense of stash-busting satisfaction!

In other knit-news, I know that I repeatedly seem to be saying "I am not a toy knitter", but for some reason one always manages to squeak it's way out.

(Though this one was actually for a grown-ass 40-something Scottish dude, so I'm not sure what possessed me...)

pattern: Loch Ness Monster by Hansi Singh
yarn: more stash-busted patons classic in "Dark Olive" and some other kind of green for her tummy
needles: 4.5mm?

(I think I may have over-stuffed her a bit!)

The Scottish dude in question is my co-worker Roddy who had a big Inventory project coming up that I decided he needed a wee mascot for. Hence, Inventory-Nessie was born! She lives comfortably at his desk now so I can still visit her whenever I want to.

I am chomping at the bit right now to start on a few smaller projects but am holding off until this monkey is off my back (or owlie is off my back I guess..)

It is probably not immediately obvious in these pictures, but there is actually a giant booboo I've made that I didn't notice until I was about halfway done mitt #2. But no matter, it is an excuse for me to re-knit mitt #1 about two sizes down, and I know I will be much much happier with the end result when all is said and done.

For whatever reason I feel grudgingly devoted to it (even though I appear to be only averaging about three rows a day) and incapable of starting anything new while this one is still on the go.

But, I do have MORE cowls to talk about later.

Cowls are always the exception.

Favourite gift knits

2011-01-11T11:18:00.001-08:00

Soooo, I didn't do a lot of gift knitting this year. In fact substanially less than I had planned to do. (Though isn't that always the way?)

But I thought I'd take a minute to comment on all my "last-minute" Xmas knitting and what I consider to be solid/go-to gift patterns.

Quite literally I finished knitting this hat for my sister-in-law on Christmas eve. I managed to snap a couple quick pictures of it before adding it to her gift on Xmas day...

pattern: Star Crossed slouchy beret by Natalie Larson

For starters, this pattern is gloriously FREE...and it looks like almost 7000 people on ravelry have knit it. Surely 7000 people can't be wrong!

I've knit it once before in Malabrigo with great results (though it was a little on the large size) and this latest one I knit in Patons Classic, and the size was pretty much bang on how I wanted it to be.

It goes up fast on larger needles, has enough subtle cables that keep it interesting looking (as well as keeping the knitting itself interesting) and as far as I can tell looks totally cute on everyone! Why I haven't knit one of these for myself yet I simply do not understand. I will have to rectify that soon!

And another go-to hat pattern that I seem to knit a lot:

The Seaman's cap from needlebeetle. (Also knit here in Patons Classic)

This was one of the first "real" things I ever knit (and by that I mean something other than a scarf...knitting in the round and decreasing seemed so complicated at the time, I remember having my mom help me with the whole "DPN" issue) She was the one that actually came across this pattern (it's free as well), and no joke I think she's probably knit HUNDREDS of them at this point.

She does a lot of charity knitting and I remember one year she had---seriously-- a garbage bag full of these hats that she was donating. She loves this pattern, and I have to say, I agree with her. It looks good on both men and women, and is just a great basic & classic design.

Also on my hot list for gift-giving (and again, a freebie)

is the textured shawl recipe

I knit this last year for my gran-in-law and the second I mailed it out knew I wanted one for myself, so knit this one a couple months back in Sublime's cashmere merino silk DK.

I wasn't quite as jazzed with how this one turned out versus the first one I knit, so I might actually try it again in another yarn.

There is just something about this pattern that makes you feel like it's knitting up fast. Maybe that's true of all shawls (when you start at the smallest point and go up from there I guess that's a given). It's not really until the last few rows that it starts to feel like a slog, but by then you're almost done and the end is in sight so you seem to just be automatically propelling yourself forward to completion.

Though likely maybe the same's not true if you were knitting a more complicated lace-weight shawl? Maybe I should try that some time and see.

Last week for the first time in a long time I had to consult knittinghelp.com. There was an abbreviation in a pattern I'm working on that I haven't come across before (yes this still happens!) and it dawned on me how much I owe to that particular website.

Apart from the fundamentals of knitting that I gleaned from my mother many many years ago (and promptly forgot/lost interest in I might add), I really attribute most of my beginner learnings about knitting to that website. It really is insane how there's a tutorial for virtually anything you might want online, and if you are a beginning knitter I would encourage you to check it out.

Even if you're not a new knitter you might be surprised about a tidbit here or there that you might pick up on that site. It dawned on me while I was on there that as "experienced" I am now as a knitter, I kind of feel like I've stalled out a bit...I haven't really learned anything "new" in some time. I don't know if that's because I wimp out or I play it safe and only stick to what I know (though I never let anything complicated stop me, I just knit what I'm interested in regardless of what it is, so maybe that's not it).

I'm not somebody who really has a lot of friends that knit (there are definitely some co-workers that do, but we don't knit together per se) nor do I attend any kind of SnB (I have yet to find one that really works for my schedule) so I'm feeling a bit like I'm not on a continuous learning track with knitting like I should be --or maybe I am and I just don't know it.

Whatever the case, sometimes the most obvious little tidbits seem to allude me and then when I do come across them they just blow me away in the why-the-hell-didn't-I-think-of-this-myself? manner.

I recently had one of those "knitting tip" type moments that I'd like to share.

At this point I can't even remember whose blog or where I found this tip so apologies for that.

I knit a lot of things in the round --cowls, hats etc. as a lot of you do. You cast on, you join your stitches and you follow the pattern from there. My "join" has always been fine, but I was always mindful of tightening or fixing it on the next row/round, or being sure to fix it up at the end when I was weaving in loose ends etc. I never really worried about it, but definitely when I first started knitting I hated how that looked.

The tip I gleaned for knitting in the round was this: Cast on one extra stitch than the pattern calls for. When you finish casting on and are about to join in the round, move that last stitch over to your left needle first and then knit your first two stitches together with the right needle as usual (English style knitting I mean...). Essentially your last stitch becomes your first and you have a PERFECT join with the right amount of cast on stitches again.

I'm sure this is an elemental "no duh" moment for a lot of you, but man this tip blew my mind and has essentially become a given for me ever since.

Ok, I will stop talking now.

requisite 2010 retrospective

2011-01-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

(click on the mosaic for links to all of these items)

You know...I actually thought I hadn't really knit that much last year. But I guess the mosaic doesn't lie. Still, it's not exactly epic.

And I've actually got three or four things from 2010 that I still need to post about. Ugh, Hopefully I can get to that this week!

Knitting aside, it was a hell of a year for me...major ups and downs, so I'm hoping 2011 will be a much more relaxed year (knocks wood).

Seems I was smart enough last year not to make any knitting-related resolutions--though I still have yet to learn how to crochet. And while I've made some serious advances in de-stashing there's a long way to go (not to mention the joy of yarn shopping being sucked out of that whole process).

I do however think as I look at that mosaic that my days of sweater knitting for myself are on the wane. I really just do not wear any of them. Still I would never rule it out...a must knit will no doubt catch my eye eventually.

I'm also struck by the colour palate I chose. I think of myself as always knitting in a sea of neutrals--and there's definitely a lot of that there, but there's a lot of colour too. It's kind of making me feel less guilty about my usual neutralness--apparently I accessorize in colour!

So there you have it: my 2010 in knits!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

Well, here's to me squeezing in one more post before Xmas and taking a stab at making it somewhat festive!

I needed a last minute ornament for a tree decorating party and stumbled upon this pattern from beewee.

SO cute/fun/fast and before I knew it I had five of them knit...a couple for my tree and a couple extras to give away!.

I basically just used scrap yarn...The white is Patons Classic Wool, and the red is Rowan Kid Classic. I cut the little white spots out of felt and just fabric glued them on. They would be even cuter with needle-felted roving I'm sure.

The great thing about this pattern is that it's knit all in one piece and you just sort of stuff it as you go. Pull the yarn through the top down to the bottom, tie it in a knot and cram in inside so you don't really have to worry about any seaming and it's done lickety split with super cute results.

I also used the same yarn combo for another fun ornament:

pattern: Cherry brooch by Amanda Berry from Fluff and Fuzz.

You should check her out on ravelry, she really has some of THE cutest knit toy patterns available (though this one is gloriously free) and very well-written.

Not really sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I will probably make some much smaller ones in future as brooches. (Perhaps something a little less testicle sized next time eh?).

And just so you're not thinking it's only been miniature knits coming off the needles these days, my Treeline Striped cardigan is finally done!

And I really like it (though have to say I don't think it's the most flattering thing --horizontal stripes, go figure...).

I knit the sleeves for this sweater probably about ten months ago (you may remember I had some issues with the sleeves), and then FINALLY picked it back up to finish off the rest last month.

I know a lot of people like to knit the sleeves first for sweaters but I've never really understood that, always preferring to get the biggest piece out of the way before anything else (i.e usually the back) but I have to say, because the pattern called for it that way, I knit the sleeves first and psychologically it did really seem to make a difference. (Or maybe it was my ten month lapse that made the difference?) cause once I got into the body of this sweater it just seemed to fly off the needles.

Now that said...this pattern was RIDDLED with errors. Too many to even get into here, so if you're thinking about knitting it I've written quite a few notes about it on my ravelry page for this F.O. You can find that HERE, hopefully it will help someone out. God knows I was ready to tear my hair out at a couple of points, but once you muddle through it all works out in the end.

I knit this using (once again...) Patons Classic Merino wool (in black and grey). I have a lot of Patons in the stash right now that I'm trying to get through. Don't get me wrong, I like it, (the price and yardage can't be beat) but I'm definitely getting tired of knitting with it lately. I'm craving something fancy again (but am TRYING to resist...)

Also knit with more black Patons:

The Olive Hat from the Patons "Fall in Love" booklet.

I was planning to gift this to my sister in law, but have subsequently moved on to something else instead. When I first saw the picture of it:

I was convinced it was cabled. Turns out it's a sea of eyelets, so not exactly the warmest hat to gift to someone.

It's also knit flat which I found a bit weird. I'm not sure I've ever knit a hat flat before. The seam up the back is pretty invisible, but I still know it's there and it bugs me. I would definitely opt to knit this in the round the next time.

Nevertheless it's kind of become my go-to hat lately, so I shouldn't complain!

So there you have it --can't believe I managed to cram so much into one post on Xmas eve!

I hope everyone has an amazing Holiday season--all the best to you and yours!
xo Cara

Roo

2010-12-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

This is my friend Marnie's 3 year old daughter, Stevie:

(thank you Marnie for taking these pictures for me!)

pattern: Roo by Kate Gilbert (I find Stevie even kind of looks like the girl in the pattern photos!)
yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Old Gold (this was discontinued and all went on sale a while back so I bought a boatload of it!)
needles: 4.5 mm
size: 22"

She's a cutie --of that there is no doubt! But she's three...in retrospect I likely should have made her the 24" size, cuz it looks like it just fits her. (I guess it's a good thing wool is so stretchy, and sometimes around that age they start to stretch and lose their little kid bellies, so who knows she may still get some wear out of it next year). But then what the hell do I know about kids?--how to knit for them, but that's pretty much it...

I love all of Kate Gilbert's patterns, they seem to be very well written, but are easy to follow even though the finished results often look complicated (Sunrise Circle jacket anyone? Clapotis?) She seems to have a serious brain for designing interesting knits.

This one is no exception. I love the finished results--it has a sophistication you don't often see in kids patterns.

Looking at the pattern and it's 5 or 6 different charts is a bit daunting at first, halfway through I was questionning my sanity in putting that much effort into a kid's knit. I think in future I would definitely have to opt for something with a lot less seaming. Back/front/front/sleeves(both knit flat)/hood...it was a lot of seaming for such a wee thing, but the finished result is worth it I'd say.

Also a pain in the ass? The toggles:

In the pattern she kind of suggests "gluing" the leather triangles to it, but I was leery of doing that. Instead I bought leather shoelaces and hammered holes through the ends so that I could sew them on, and then I also had to hole-punch the leather triangles in order to sew them on as well. The result looked good and is super sturdy, but again possibly more effort than it should have meritted. I would likely just opt for regular button holes/buttons were I to do it again.

And because I've been going a bit "Patons crazy" lately, MORE felted sliippers:

though actually those ones were knit using cascade 220 I think

But I did another pair in Old Gold, and these teal-y ones,

I used some puffy paint in an effort to make a bit of a non-stick bottom on them, but it didn't really work. It looks cute but they are just as slippy I'd say, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Such a great stash-busting pattern (and fast gift) that I know I will be going back to it again and again. You can find the pattern for the French press felted slippers HERE.

In which a bunch of hats got knit...

2010-12-07T12:32:00.000-08:00

Apologies for my long absence! There's been a few hats lately:

Both of those hats are the same pattern --the Noro Spiral one skein hat in the same yarn, Noro Kureyon, but in two different colourways (#128 & #51 respectively).

It's amazing how two different colourways can produce such different results!

Personally I'm not much of a Noro fan...I find it all kind of scratchy, and those crazy colours are just not for me (I know, I know, I'm sure there is something in their repertoire I'd die for, but nothing that I've come across locally so far). When I first started getting into this whole knitting/blogging about knitting thang it really seemed like everywhere I looked people were all "Noro this, Noro that", so it was one of the first yarns I purchased and *had to* try, but in the end I learned pretty quickly that I'd probably never buy it again.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and a friend who said "I have some yarn, you want it?" and the rest is history...Noro in my possesion once again. (She also gave me one sock and the rest of it's yarn, so I completed the second sock for her --the difference in gauge between the two was nothing short of hilarious).

So, if you're like me and you have a random ball of Noro kicking around (or insert other varigated yarn from the stash here)this just might be the perfect pattern for it--simple, fast and a great way to show off those changing colours. I gifted the first one back to her and she seems pretty pleased with it.

The other one however remains in my "gift box" anticipating someone who might like it. I like it too, but the colours are much more masculine and sometimes the problem with Noro (especially in a one-ball situation) is which end to start at. I kind of feel like I might have liked the colours here going in the opposite direction (with the grey on top...)

No matter, it's all good (and free!) so I can't complain---if I really cared I would be less lazy and actually start over and knit it in the opposite direction.

Another totes adorbs hat pattern:

pattern: From Norway with love hat from Pickles
yarn: Rowan Cashsoft DK (again this is yarn that has been in my stash for about 5 years now so I am glad to finally get to use it --and it's beautiful)--though I'm actually not sure if it's a colour that even exists anymore. I also used some leftover Misti Alpaca Worsted for the hearts.
needles: 4.5mm?

You can see more details about this on my ravelry projects page, but essentially I knit one less row of hearts because I decided to add an extra row between each row of hearts, was using larger needles and yarn all in an effort to get a somewhat slouchier hat....not sure if I'm totally pleased with the results (it's still too big but will be gifted to someone with a bigger head!) and definitely plan to knit it again.

I think next go-round I will probably go for something a little more colourful (at least in the hearts...) and I would maybe cast on less ribbing. Try as I might I think my intarsia skills are still a little tighter than I'd like them to be (though this hat is unblocked, don't know if that would make the difference).

I've cast on for a couple other hats as well for Xmas presents, so I feel like there's lots of little bits of knitting happening right now. It always kind of feels that way right before the holidays though. But I feel vaguely less guilty about spending my evenings off knitting when there seems to be so much more holiday socializing already under way.

Let the December bloat begin!

and speaking of fringe...

2010-11-02T05:56:00.000-07:00

Super dupes cute scarf pattern from Twinkle:

pattern: Boysenberry scarf from Twinkle's weekend knits
yarn: Patons Classic Roving in "Natural" (I think...)
needles: US #17
mods: aditional garter stich rows were knit -- another 30 rows

For a while there I was koo-koo for all things Twinkle, but I quickly grew to realize that an uber chunky knit was maybe not the best for my body type (still I will probably be first in line again when she comes out with a new book!). I kept at it though...big needles and big yarn and cranking out an uber fast sweater is pretty freakin' satisfying. Better to stick with accesories here I think though then go out of my way to look like a linebacker every day if I can avoid it.

The yarn was a gift from super fabulous Miss Muffy last Christmas and it's first incarnation: the Mobius cowl was a bit of a fail, so I'm happy to have found a pattern it's really working with.

It's a smaller yarn than the Twinkle soft chunky so I knit about another 30 or so rows to the length, and left the width as is. In retrospect I could have easily knit an additional 60 rows---I'd probably like it to be a bit longer still and may even tear back to do so. The Patons roving has no doubt made for a lighter/airier version of this scarf, which is probably a good thing given it's overall size.

gotta love those "warts"!

Anyway I'm pretty happy with this on all points --it looks good, feels good, and even better was a super fast knit (a couple hours maybe?) the most time consuming was probably tying on the fringe at the end.

And it's neutral colour probably means it will see a lot of wear!

Phildar love

2010-10-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

I was just snooping around on the Phildar website and thought I'd share some cute numbers that caught my eye...

I've always been a bit of a fringe person (as in "I like fringe" not "I am on the fringe"), and just when I thought my love of fringe was on the wane I spotted these two:

Though I think those would both be easy enough to adapt, so I might have to re-visit some fringe patterns already in my possesion.

Also in love with:

Which I suppose could be considered vaguely fringe-y as well. And note: This is the only pattern of these here that has an English translation avaliable on their website right now.

And I've always had a soft spot for anything miltary or nautical-inspired...lots of patterns for that kind of stuff on Phildar right now too.

Also presently salivating over this:

and this:

I'm contemplating the dainty-ness of this next one, because I know it would probably be easy enough to bang out. I think it's time I veered away from cowls for a little while and into shawl territory again. There's a lot of really nice non-grandma-y patterns out these days.

That's it! I am well behind on taking pictures of things lately and have already been waylaid by Christmas knitting. In the past few weeks I've managed to crank out three cowls, three pairs of slippers AND a pair of socks for a co-worker...most of which has just felt like a slog (and I'm no where near done), so I am looking forward to getting back to more knitting of the personal/selfish variety!

Let's Neck!

2010-10-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to fall...

pattern: Burberry inspired cowl (I think I only did the four repeats that this pattern calls for)
yarn: Mirasol Sulka in "Cinnamon" (4 skeins)
needles: US 10.5

I love it when knitters come up with their own patterns for 800$ designer items...us common folk like style too dammit! God knows I don't anticiptate owning anything purchased full price from Burberry in my lifetime.

I love this Mirasol Sulka, and it has seen several incarnations of me looking for just the right pattern for it. My husband bought it for me all on his lonesome a couple Xmases ago --just walked into a yarn store and picked out one he liked. (I thought that was pretty good for a dude who knows next to nothing about knitting or yarn...) There was this cowl that never really worked out, but this hat that did. And I still thought I had several skeins of it left when I started knitting the burberry-inspired cowl last month.

Turns out I was wrong on that score, and given that it was about two years ago that he got that yarn in the first place I figured there was no way I'd get the same dye lot again...but I did! (maybe no one else was buying it?) I didn't even bother looking for the same dye lot, I was just thankful they hadn't discontinued the colour-- so I grabbed two more, brought 'em home and low and behold --the yarn gods smiled on me!

The same LYS had one of my other favourite yarns on sale as well-- Italian made Lang Silk Dream. So I bought oodles of it (well, oodles for me). This is good news and bad...good news: half price! bad news: probably because it's discontinued :( . Ah well, it's probably time for me to branch out and try something new anyway.

That said (and with favourite on sale yarn in hand), I also knit another Eternity scarf...

pattern: Eternity Scarf by Michele Wang
needles: 5.5mm
yarn: Lang Silk Dream (grey) 3 balls I think?

I was kind of bemoaning the last version I knit of this...

...because I had knit it in a DK weight yarn and I felt like it really wasn't thick enough and wanted to do it over again in an Aran.

Turns out I am slightly on the fence about it...I may still like the first one better. I think the Silk Dream is possibly just a bit too stretchy, I can't really wear it in it's "long" format without feeling like it'll be at my knees at the end of the day.

I haven't really decided yet if I will tear it out and start over with another yarn or just continue to wear it "doubled-up".

Which is pretty much exclusively how I wear the first of the first of those that I knit anyway (and I do get a lot of wear out of it), because as you know: I am koo-koo for cowls.

In fact my sickness for cowls is starting to get out of hand. So even though I loooove knitting them, I've decided I need to put a hold on any more of them for greedy little me and start busting out a few as Christmas presents for co-workers. (I will keep you posted on whether that gets accomplished--I probably need to do about 5 of them).

I think I will be abandoning a lot of personal knitting the next couple months as I scramble to get Christmas presents done ahead of time for once ---I don't want to be having hand cramps as I'm trying to stuff down all that Turkey. Though I do have a couple completed things that I still need to get around to taking pictures of (and posting about) so more to come.

I'm so happy it's fall and the need to knit is upon me again --it's a therapy I need right now!

Easing back into it...

2010-10-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

I've had a trying couple of months. I won't go into all the gory details, but the short story is that our furry beast Poncho is no longer with us.

He deserves a mention here though because he's always figured prominently in a lot of my knitting photos. I will miss him like crazy. It hasn't been that long since we said goodbye to Archie and we find ourselves in an empty house that as far as I'm concerned is now devoid of it's soul.

We are very sad, but it has been a far less shocking situation for us than the loss of our last cat. Poncho was old and lived a full life and in the end we knew he was suffering, so it was at least a decision that we were able to make.

We love you P-man.

Neck Fail

2010-09-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well, a partial neck fail at any rate...

THIS beast:

pattern: Mobius Cowl --you might have to sign up to get at these free patterns, but it's supposed to look like this:

yarn: Patons Classic Wool Roving in "Natural" (well, I think...the yarn was given to me sans labels so I'm not totally sure--there's the possibility this could also be Bernat Roving)
needles: 9mm

I suppose it actually seems vaguely passable in that top photo. But the reality is that "getting my head through it" does not a wearable cowl make.

You know, for all the times that I've mistakenly twisted my stitches while knitting in the round (and subsequently mistakenly knit a moebius) I could not for the life of me get my head around twisting the stitches on purpose.

I must have watched half a dozen youtube tutorials on how to knit a Moebius (as well as read some non video tutorials) --and believe me, the instructions are different everywhere. I mean the instructions on this pattern simply state "twist the stitches" but it's pretty easy to over-think something so simple I'd say. "Twist it all the way around?", "Loop my needle backwards?" etc. I finally just kind of pushed them up a bit and then plunged ahead, but really it's amazing how you find yourself "compensating" for a twisted stitch without even realizing it. I think it is just ingrained in me now to at least TRY not to make a mistake.

Content that I had finally done right it really wasn't until I was casting off that I reflected "wait a minute..." and realized I'd twisted the stitches twice. Ugh (blissfully this was a fast knit at least).

Laid flat it looks more like diaper than a cowl!:

D'OH! Still, as you can tell in the first picture I was able to at least put it on and get a feel for how it would look if I'd managed to do it right. And that was basically enough for me to realize that I won't bother knitting it again. I'm just too short for a cowl this size I'd venture and it totally swallowed me up.

Plus, I have already re-appropriated said yarn for a scarf that I am much happier with (but I have yet to take photos of it so that will have to wait).

I had forgotten all about the satisfying joy of knitting with big yarn and needles...nothing like a chunky knit to make you feel more accomplished.

And speaking of fast knits, I also had one ball of Twinkle soft chunky languishing in the stash. It has seen several incarnations --a couple different hats if memory serves, but I finally just pulled it all apart and whipped up a simple seed stitch cowl.

I knit this ages ago but loathed the colour of it.

yes, a leeetle too bright for me!

But I finally got around to tweaking the colour a bit and am much happier with it now.

I didn't put too much thought into it, but happened to have some Grey dye kicking around the house, so that's what I went with. It was just enough to take the edge off that harsh raspberry.

Love it, though I think it's destined for the gift box...

As I type this I have two MORE cowls in the works.

I loves me a good cowl!

Oh Hai!

2010-09-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

I did the unthinkable and actually knit another toy--

With lederhosen and hat!

Every time I do knit a toy (and believe me it's not often) I am once again instilled with renewed resolve to learn how to crochet. Though I must also point out that has yet to happen...

Because as anyone who's ever knit a toy before likely knows, it's not the knitting, it's all the fiddly embellishing and piecing together after the fact that is so exhausting. The knitting itself seemed to take about two seconds. The stuffing, the embroidering, the sewing...well that's another story.

This 'lil bunneh is a pattern from Barbara Prime found here: the well dressed bunny and the lederhosen can be found in a seperate pattern of hers, also here: Clothing Bundle 3.

But regardless of the time spent in the details (the details are always what make it and a necessary evil unfortunately...) this guy is one cutie patootie. And you get a lot for the price of admission--the bunny pattern comes with three outfits you can also knit --but because I was so obsessed with doing the lederhosen I bought the seperate clothing bundle as well. So now I've got a million outfits I can make for my (eventual) army of bunnies and lambies.

I had originally set out to make this for my friend's daughter, but now I'm thinking the lederhosen outfit is probably a bit too fiddly for her (she's two) --the hat doesn't really stay on (it's kind of just "placed" there) and maybe I should just knit up a bunch of girlie clothes to go with him as well and then she can decide if he's a boy or a girl (or maybe I should just do a girl in a dirndle to go with?(gah! decisions decisions...).

Regardless I think the button eyes probably have to go in favour of some embroidered ones (and I suck at embroidery). She's likely too old for me to worry about her swallowing buttons, but better safe than sorry.

If you're wondering, I just used scrap yarn for this project, mostly Patons Classic (which I seem to have a lot of!). More details on Ravelry.

Minimalist cardigan

2010-08-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

pattern: Minimlaist cardigan by Ruthie Nussbaum size 35 1/2
yarn: Patons Classic Wool in "evergreen mix" (I think about 4.5 balls?)
needles: 4.5mm
no mods

So, you may remember in my last post I was saying that half-way through knitting the back of this sweater I decided it was too big and just commenced knitting the next size down? Well, I'm happy to tell you that I was a good girl and just tore the whole thing out and knit that next size from scratch again. I'm glad I did too because I think the seaming would have been brutal on my first attempt, my decreases were so wonky.

So, that said...my thoughts on this sweater.

Well first of all, I think it's still too big, and probably way too shapeless and boxy for my 5 foot 4'ed-ness. I don't know that even knitting the smallest size would have helped. I think I might just be too busty for a sweater like this?

Because really I am kind of surprised that I'm not head-over-heels in love with it...I am all about the "grandpa" cardigans lately, I generally tend to go for the most basic of knits, and really the drabbest of colours. I know I like a lot of bright sixties mod and patterned things and loud blouses (and kitsch, kitsch, kitsch!--what can I say, it's a sickness), but when it comes to sweaters/cardigans, I am usually neutral, neutral, neutral all the way.

So I feel stumped. I don't hate it. In fact I loved knitting it, and I think the pattern itself is wonderful, it's just...gah I don't know.

For starters all these photos were taken on a hot day... it's about 40 degrees celcius here this week. I wandered around the house in it looking for sunny spots to take pictures in. I was definitely sweaty. Maybe in the fall I'll feel differently about this sweater? I definitely anticipate grabbing it to throw on when the house is freezing.

The other thing kind of bugging me about it is the arms. Way too balloony for my liking I'd say. And normally I think I fancy a puffy sleeve so I'm not sure again why this isn't working for me.

I am debating seaming them up so they're a lot more narrow, so that could really impact the overall shape of this, but whether I'll ever get around to that I just don't know.

I think the key to making this work is to keep it cropped and much more stream-lined, like the model is wearing (also she has no boobs which I am insanely jealous about):

Looking at that picture now I definitely see the difference in the sleeves and am suddenly feeling inspired to fix them.

OR I could just move on to something else...yeah, that's the ticket (that's right, I'm bring THAT expression back). I may just pat myself on the back for completing a sweater in the dead of summer and be done with it.

Also, never thought I'd say this, but I may be ready to splash out on some NICE yarn for my next sweater project. (She says as she realizes there is another patons classic wool cardigan half completed in the living room somewhere...). I am generally pretty frugal about nice yarn when it comes to knitting sweaters (no doubt because I never end up wearing most of my sweaters and hence can't part with all that cash...) and usually reserve the nicer stuff for things like cowls and scarves, the stuff I KNOW I'll wear. "Glamour" items I like to call these haha.

But again, maybe it's just all this knitting with basic wool in the hot summer heat that has me saying this. The reality is that I should not be spending any money on new yarn anyway. There comes a point though when you just get tired of staring at your same old boring stash all the time...regardless of what's in it.

If you're skipping ahead, I think the abbreviated version of this entire post would just be: I am so fucking ready for fall now.

In which I admit to being a lazy knitter...

2010-08-08T09:47:00.001-07:00

I guess it is not that big of an admission...I tend to just generally get lazy in the summer about knitting stuff. It is usually too hot around these parts to truly devote yourself to it.

But you know, there's lazy, and then there's what I really am, and that's: HALF-ASSED.

example #1:

Interweave's Minimalist cardigan. (Previous blog entries about whisper cardigans and ruffled Patons sweaters--you can just forget 'em, they are dead to me now)

And at the very least when it comes to sweaters, I'm not quite so half-assed that I wouldn't do a gauge swatch. I *did* do one (in truth I usually do about half a full swatch, before unravelling it to begin...so technically still half-assed I'd venture!) but an attempt at a swatch nonetheless--and off I went.

I knit about 8 inches before I decided "hmmm, I think I'll do the next size down instead".

An intelligent person would probably start over at this point, not just start randomly.decreasing.wherever.they wanted.until.the.whole.back.was.finished.

YARGH...How's that for some subtle decreasing!? Seriously, what was I thinking? Now that the sweater is almost done (I've got about half a sleeve left) I've decided that I can't live with it and have promised myself that I will completely start the back over again.

Example #2:

This gorgeous Cables and Lace beret from Michele Wang.

Sure, it looks cute here, and it really is a gorgeous hat and pattern...

But I had MAJOR gauge-fail issues! I should preface by saying that it was my intention to make this hat for someone with a "big" head (I often kid my friend Suanne that they based this Seinfeld episode on her)--and I knew I was taking a chance using a DK weight yarn on a pattern that called for lace weight.

If not for the ribbed band being way too big (in the photos it's just kind of "placed" on my head) it actually would have worked I think. The body of the beret has the perfect amount of slouch, and using a larger yarn meant I didn't have to repeat the 24-row lace pattern a second time, so that was a serious time-saver!

Note the vast difference in overall size between it and another slouchy hat I finished off last week (the other hat is Le Slouch by Wendy Bernard by the way, and all my yarn details etc. for it can be found on Ravelry)

I'd say that's a pretty big difference in the ribbed opening... (she says as one hat literally swallows the other...)

I probably could have gotten away with it all if I had just cast on less for the ribbing (and then increased accordingly for the pattern), and I am still debating whether it will be at all salvageable if I just tightened up the ribbing by weaving some elastic thread through it.

Though you'd think If I learned anything from all of this it would to just tear back and start over the minute I realized there was an issue--instead of mindlessly thinking I'd somehow fix it all later. Really, you will save yourself what will inevitably be extra work, and subsequent attempts will be far superior to your original.

Sage advice that I already knew but for some reason couldn't bring myself to follow. I know it seems a shame to tear back on hours of work but just DO IT. You'll be much happier in the end.

xo

yes.

2010-07-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

There's a SALE going on at Phildar right now.

Don't be scared, many of you often ask me about these French patterns, but the truth is that most of them come in English now (usually they include an English insert with the French patterns) so have NO FEAR (in fact you should get yourself one of those no fear bumper stickers while you're at it, just to prove how phildar-fearless you've become). And really, even if they were still ONLY available in French, and you had absolutely no grasp of the language, you'd probably still find the patterns easier to decipher than say Wenlan Chia's first book. (ZING!) God love her, the errattas and sizing weren't as big a deal in subsequent books at least...

So have gander at some of these cuties that need to make their way into your queue:

LOVE!

Love!

Love!

(though YES, I can appreciate that I've pretty much already knit this sweater in the form of the Raglan Wrap)

MUST make:

Ok, this one I have actually been eyeing for some time, so I think I need to at least buy the book. I get that it's basically a weird vest-belt (a velt? a best?) but I'm still totally drawn to it...

and also, this:

This would no doubt look like ASS on me but whatevs, I can picture myself falling asleep in a snowbank with it on it looks so darn snuggly.

And there are plenty more that I could link to that I love, but you get the idea. Phildar must have a team of knitters working around the clock to crank out all these awesome knits.

I always find that with the Phildar books I do have, I go back to them again and again....long after I've lost interest in Interweave (or even Vogue knitting for that fact). When I go back to older Phildar catalogues I re-discover new things that I want to knit that I missed the first time through. And when they're out of print and I didn't BUY myself a copy? Wahhhh! I always regret it, so I find they're worth picking up. And eventually they almost always go on sale, so it's worth it to be on their mailing list (though at this point , what mailing lists am I NOT on?)

My LYS has also started to carry some Phildar catalogues, but it's a bit of a crap shoot as to what she has in stock. But enough talk, where did I put my credit card?!

I-cord rules

2010-07-05T13:47:00.001-07:00

Ok, why am I not smart enough to knit something like this and then sell it for $375 myself???

These Matt lamps were made by Berlin designer Ilot Ilov --aren't they cool?

I feel vaguely as though if I were to create something like this I'd be starting fires all over the place. --No doubt why I dropped the industrial design program before I even began it and got an English degree instead...(math, pffft who needs it!)

As I knit and breathe

2010-06-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

The longer one is away from their blog, the more daunting the task of returning it seems...

So to that end, simple proof that I still exist!

Ok, so I won't pretend that this recently flew off the sticks or anything. I actually knit this in April to go with my wedding dress (yes black, I know but I was toying with a B&W (&red) theme-- white dress, black sash etc. etc.). And most of you who already read here know that I've been working on about a million of these shrugs in different colours before finally settling on black. I did a white one, an ivory one, a dark grey, a dark brown, a mustard one....(I know I'm missing a couple there), but in the end, this was "the one".

Except that it WASN'T "the one", and about two weeks before the wedding I went with a completely different dress that required no shrug. Seen here if you're interested. At any rate, I pretty much have a shrug for every dress I own now!

Now, let us never speak of said wedding again.

But speaking of the wedding... HAHA fooled you! --there's been very little knitting since. Virtually everything I started after Christmas has subsequently been abandonned.

Now that could just be a summer-time thing. I'm not as inclined to knit as much in the summer. Or it could just be a ME thing...every year I seem to crank out less and less (quality, not quantity, right??)

But recently I am back on that train baby! (and starting small so as to feel progress being made more quickly)...

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!

Though this last one has kind of made me question my sanity a bit...definitely the smallest yarn I've ever knit with. And the STATE of said yarn (constant breakage) has finally driven home to me the fact that I have a MOTH problem.

Not sure why it has taken me so long to realize this (I've never had moths before so killing the odd one didn't seem like a very big deal) but after a favourite cashmere sweater this past winter suddenly turned up with tiny holes, and virtually every night now I see or kill a little moth dude on my bedroom wall, I obviously have a bigger problem than I realized. I think it's officially time to deal with this.

Perusing the internet today for information has only served to depress me further...seems they never really go away and I might be dealing with this 4-evah. (Not to mention how itchy I've been all day just having had to think about them). If there's one thing I CANNOT ABIDE, it's bugs. (Also why I am prone to being half-assed when it comes to gardening...I just can't handle the creepy-crawlies).

My one saving grace is my stash. I really don't have anything I can't live without if it all disintegrated tomorrow (ok well maybe there are a few things I couldn't live without), but I'm not really a hoarder of insanely good yarn, and don't really have that much of a stash compared to most knitters.

So there you have it: Some small things being knit, and some yarn getting eaten.

I'm b-a-a-a-a-a-a-c-k

2010-05-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

hmmmm, I feel like I say "I'm back" a lot lately. You'd think I actually went places (well this time I did, but mostly it's just me having zero content and being absent from this blog...)

Remember the days when I would buy one random ball of yarn and then do an entire blog post about it? or do a book report on every knitting book or magazine I ever bought? (I recently canned my photobucket account which meant A LOT of older photos that I completely forgot were associated to this blog suddenly went "poof, bah-bye" (or the more garish IMAGE NOT FOUND tiled all over the freakin' place) but rather than fix things I just deleted a lot of old posts instead--and even that seemed to take hours). Otherwise I would probably have linked to said old-posts-about-random-balls-of-yarn as proof of how painful my blog posts used to be. --And by no means am I implying that they aren't a tad painful now...I know it sometimes takes me 5 paragraphs with ten seperate asides just to get to the point... and wait, what what was my point again?

Ok my point is that things HAVE CHANGED. These days I don't like to waste anyone's time (including my own...) and like to post when I actually have something visually worthwhile to show you (or really, if I'm bored--haha gotchya!) Also changed: I try not to buy random balls of yarn anymore---usually I try to purchase with an actual project in mind cause otherwise you know what happens? A fucking stash full of random balls of yarn, that's what. Yarn with no purpose, and no direction apart from clogging up the stash! (uh oh now I'm swearing --sorry mom!). Also changed: I seldom buy knitting books anymore...not unless there's something I really REALLY want to knit in there. Magazines yes, PDFs, yes...books, not so much.

Also changed?

ME, I'm an old married hag now! ok, I haven't really changed...and being married is no different for me than it was pre-marriage, there's just more jewelry now.

And really, I won't inundate you with wedding pics here apart from some of these because, surprise: they are knitting themed!

This was all our photographer's idea...once she found out I was a knitter she was ALL OVER IT. And at first I wasn't so sure about it (mostly because I didn't know how much Nathaniel wanted to take part in a knitting shoot) but in the end he was a good sport about it and now I'm SO glad we did it this way (plus we sort of did two-shoots-in-one and there will be plenty of NON knitting pictures too).

The knitting pics were all taken at Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada by our fabulous photographer Chelsea Nicole. I've stolen all these pictures off her blog actually because so far that's all we have access to. The seperate shoot was done in downtown Vegas and I am dying to see those too. Can't wait --Chelsea rules!

Some of my favourites are of me reading "Knitting for Dummies" (yes I lugged this all the way from Ottawa in my suitcase---in addition to lots of yarn and a few knitting projects and a vintage knitting bag, most of which didn't get used---good thing it's all so squishy cause I had A LOT of shopping to bring back with me too!) and Nat reading his usual Ugly Things. (don't ask...if you're a record nerd like he is, you will know what that is).

I think I was kind of trying to imply that Nathaniel was the dummy I was knitting for with these ;)

(sorry most of these photos get cut off on the side due to blogger's weirdness, so just click on them to see the full pic)

Anyway, you get the idea...the knit heart tattoo I have obviously blogged about before,

and I also whipped up a fast "skinny" tie (you can find the link to that one via Ravelry) for my betrothed to wear in the shoot,

In addition to a few other knitting-projects-as-props, but more on those later...

Some of you may be wondering "Where is the effing SHRUG you've been working on for months???" cause uh, I knit like ten of them (in different colours) to go with my wedding dress, and I promise I will post about that later, but have to tell you that about two weeks before the wedding I found a dress with sleeves that I liked and basically went with that in the final hour and said bye bye to a fussy shrug and matching sash and giant red crinoline and blah blah blah. SO not me, and now I'm glad I did. Honestly it doesn't pay to be organized a year in advance, I tell ya. especially for someone like me who will tweak things into the ground if time provides. (Organizational skills are simultaneously a gift and a curse).

So that's the update for now...honestly I have not knit a stitch in WEEKS, but still probably have a backlog of things that I can talk about. Everything in Vegas went off without a hitch, and I'm glad to be back and back to the business of living life and (more importantly) starting new projects!

Some trip pictures can be seen here if anyone's interested. I look forward to getting caught up on what everyone else has been up to!

the Urban Snuggie

2010-04-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

As I wrote that title I couldn't help but think of that Seinfeld episode where Elaine has to write up a product description on the "Urban Sombrero" for the catalogue she works for..."a hat that combines the spirit of old Mexico with a little big city panache". Except in my case it's more "a poncho that provides the couch potato comfort of a snuggie or a slanket with the urban manouverability akin to wearing your pajamas to the grocery store". Everything about this thing makes me crave a siesta.

You can tell that I am less than thrilled with having to present this beast (but in my defence it's just so darn comfy it made me incapable of garnering the energy needed to get back to this blog!)

pattern: cape Nebuleuse from Phildar (Fall #472)
yarn: 7 balls of patons Shetland Chunky in "charcoal" for the smallest size

I know, I know...my first clue should have been that the 6-foot tall model for it is just barely making it work (and I am now suspicious about the "action" shot they've chosen to use--if she had been standing still she probably would have looked like a triangle on toothpicks):

and well, 5 foot 4 inch (and er,uh D-cupped) ME...maybe not so much. I made sure to go easy on the blocking, because it's practically hitting me mid-thigh in the smallest size as it is.

But I think I get an "A+" for effort, not to mention frugality (the yarn for this came to about 33$ in the end...) and BOY it truly is comfortable. There are days when you just feel like hiding under a blanket with a trashy novel anyway!

I know my posting has been kind of non-existant of late (and for that I apologize!), but I promise you once this wedding and all it's endless planning and family-related parties are over with, regular life and regular knitting can resume. That said, you likely won't see another post from me until after we're back (and somewhat recupperated) from Vegas.

I simply cannot wait for it to be over (I am officially the worst bride ever...)

Cowl explosion

2010-02-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

(you like how that rhymes with bowel explosion? you're welcome.)
If there's one thing I never seem to get tired of, it's cowls. (Though you my faithful readers are no doubt SICK of hearing about 'em!)

pattern: Cabled Cowl from Vogue Knitting Holiday 2009
yarn: 3.5 balls of Lang SilkDream (50% silk, 50% merino)
needles: 5.5mm and 6mm

When I saw this pictured originally in the holiday issue of Vogue Knitting I really didn't give it a second glance (it's modelled in a pastel pink, go figure...) and it wasn't until I saw the myriad of gorgeous versions of it on Ravelry that I decided I had to give it another look.

I'm glad I did. This little number really has become one of my go-to favourites.

I'd also been dying to knit something in Silk Dream again and this was a perfect fit. One of the first "real" things I ever knit was my humoungous Clapotis in a cranberry Silk Dream, and I still wear it a lot (yesterday in fact!). It really is one of my favourite yarns, and not one that people seem to mention much. It has just the right amount of silky sheen and comes in some gorgeously rich colours. Soft, like buttah!

Actually that said, I've been thinking lately that it is time I knit another Clapotis. I mean there's a reason thousands of people have knit it (or does anyone have a suggestion for something similarly awesome?)

In case you're wondering where I house all of these cowls and scarves, I literally have several baskets that I pull from almost every day (though in truth there's really only about 4 items that I seem to rotate through the most...) and I've been thinking lately that it's time for another purge, or at least a frogging of the unworn.

And I promise you there are more substantial knits in the works.

The knitting for this is DONE:

Hold your applause because it's all pieces sitting in a pile in my living room that taunt me every time I walk past. Why does a blanket with a neck hole need to be in 7 pieces you ask? Good question. I am really loathing putting it together for some reason.

I am also one sleeve deep into the Treeline Striped cardigan from the Purl Bee:

I actually feel like I wasted most of my weekend on that one sleeve and I'm still not happy with it. A one-row stripe apparently equals a "negligible" jog.

For those of you new to knitting stripes in-the-round, this basically just means that the stripes don't quite line up perfectly at the end of every row...knitting stripes in a circle is more like knitting a "coil" since the stripes don't "stack".

And while this negligible jog is sort of true because the stripes aren't very wide, it's also meant that my yarn seems to be blobbing-weird-all-over-the-place with every increase. I tore the whole thing out THREE times and have finally gone with some instructions for a seamless jog (I did this almost halfway through my fourth try so the first half of sleeve one is still really bugging me and I may still rip back a fourth time). Using a seamless jog is also changing my tension on the seam since I keep having to pull up stitches from the previous row to make it look nice. yay me!

All that to say, things are not bodding well for this cardigan and it may be a long slog. The Purl Bee is always really great about tons of close-up photos and tutorials, and links to other helpful sites and lots of detail but I find I can sometimes get mired in all of the "extra" instructions. Or I zoom past important details in my "yeah, yeah, I get it, what's next?!" frame of mind and totally screw up something elemental. Right now the opposite is true though. I find I am reading and re-reading the same line over and over again and it seems to make less and less sense every time I do.

Am I over-thinking this?:

Final Round (with Color 1): Knit to end of round, remove marker, K 3(4).

(seems simple, right? I knit a round in colour 1. check. Knit 3 (presumably of the next round?!) check. Wait, is that still in colour 1 cuz technically the next stripe is colour 2)

Place previous 6(8) stitches on a holder. Uh, okay, so I go back to the last row and put those six stitches in front of the three I just knit on a holder. Fine, check.

Break yarn, leaving a tail.. Ummmm, what about those three stitches I just knit? and what about the other 44 stitches still on the needle?

GAHHHH. I am no doubt being a real dummy about the simplest of instructions. In the end I just put it all on a holder and will worry about it when it comes time to attach the stinking things.

Alright...all of that: TMI. Sorry.
How 'bout them Olympics?

Man

2010-02-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

Maybe I really SHOULD learn how to crochet...

Mega Doily by Ladies & Gentlemen

I heart u

2010-02-12T06:24:00.000-08:00

In honour of Valentine's day...some knits that are heart-shaped!

pattern: Winged Heart tattoo from Anny Purls.
yarn: mostly Patons classic...Red for the heart, Aran for the felted wings. For the yellow banner I used Mirasol contanani, and the "embroidery" yarn is Patons Grace in black.
needles: 4mm I think

This little guy has been in my queue for EVAH. And what better time to knit it I suppose...

My only issue are my "wings" which as you can tell from the photos are near-invisible they are so small. I know they are optional, but I think they kind of "make" it, so I am probably going to do them again. I sent them through the wash twice to felt them...the stitches were too visible still for my liking on my first round of felting, which is why I sent it through again. Technically it's the right size (the template she provides for the wings is what I used to cut out the felt) but I've obviously made my heart big enough to obscure them (yeah I know, I did not check my gauge and I am definitely a loose knitter). Details, details!

Why does one even knit something like this you ask? why for FUN, of course! I suppose it qualifies as a toy. Ideally I should make a HUMUNGOUS version of this and use it as an actual pillow!

thank-you Nathaniel for grudingly "modelling" these for me!

I contemplated doing the "mom" embroidery for my mother for Valentine's day, but in the end went with "love". I'm actually thinking that I may incorporate his little knitting into our official wedding photos somehow (but that's another story). So I gave my mom some other heart-shaped knits instead:

Heart-shaped dishcloths!
needles: 5.5mm
yarn: mostly stash-busted lionbrand cottonease

Not much to say about these apart from "Much Cuteness"(and a fast knit!)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
xoxo

She of the warm neck

2010-02-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

ok I hate to go all Heidi Montag on everyone but looking at this picture as I post it is making me contemplate some kind of ear-related-plastic-surgery.

I kid!

pattern: Drawstring cabled cowl from Michele Wang
yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand dyes in "Chocolate" (2 skeins). Expensive, but awesome.
needles: US #9

I know I've said it before but I love miss Mischi2x and all of her fab cowl patterns! And she has also seriously inspired me to knit with a more neutral palette lately. I've always been a bit of a "neutrals" girl to begin with (my main exception here being my rampant affection for all things sixties-mod) but in knitting tended to go for some bolder colours. (I think I always felt like I should be accesorizing "brightly" to make up for my overall drab) but no more I say! Lately I'm really starting to get into all the taupes/beiges and caramels this world has to offer (really those are the cowls and scarves I alway reach for anyway, but now I'm finally beginning to own it.

And the added bonus?

POM-POMS! (testicles of the knitting world!)

Actually they're not quite so sad looking anymore, I've since torn them out and made them bigger/fluffier (that's what she said)--ok that joke didn't quite work but I still felt it HAD to be used here. Actually, in the interest of full disclosure, what really happened was: yours truly fell asleep on the sofa unwittingly laying on said cowl, and woke up to discover bits of yarn all over herself (yeah, I had destroyed the pom-poms, oopsy). So they were re-built bigger and better.

And more on the full-disclosure front: I also tore out the side slip cloche to re-use the yarn for it. Never one to bow to peer pressure this move has flown in the face of many knitters out there recommending I leave the hat as it was. Sorry Ravelry friends!

I have lots of new things on the sticks lately too, as well as a couple more completed "shrugs". I'm sick of talking about those stinking shrugs though. I keep tweaking little things on them trying to get the pattern "just so", or not loving the colours I've chosen etc...this was the latest:

Knit in Patons Silk Bamboo, I even threw a flower in my hair to make it look more "wedding-y" for you...

Nothing like a flower and some lace to dress up any T-shirt! At this point I'd be happy to just get married in jeans. I seriously am the worst bride evah. Aye yi yi, where is my suicide machine? As I type this there is another white one blocking upstairs in a cotton/bamboo blend. I don't think I can even bring myself to take pictures of it. Even as I was castiing off I was thinking "maybe I should dye this yellow?"...honestly, why do I obsess over these things?

All part of the self-effacing magic-that-is-me I guess!

Hot Mess

2010-02-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

There's been lots of knitting happening chez nous since the New Year began...I think my slump is finally over! Though that said, it's been lots of "little" things knit for the most part, and I find myself immediately backlogged when it comes to updatting this 'ol blog about them.

For starters,

The Colonnade shawl from Knitty.

yarn: Manos Del Uruguay Wool Classico (in Emerald, I think?)
needles: 6mm

This shawl technically was finished in 2009, but it took me so long to block it out and take some pictures that I finally just decided to count it as my first knit of 2010.

Now I know I've mentionned this particular yarn before...I've knit THREE other things with it (and subsequently frogged them ALL). You can see those three items here. This shawl marks my FOURTH attempt to use it. If that isn't due dilligence, I don't know what is.

It's even the prescribed yarn for this pattern. And to be blunt: I hate it. Though that's not the pattern's fault---it's just this horrible yarn that has been trying to mess with me and wear me down. It may have finally won, because I'm also counting this shawl as a frog-worthy failure.

Even if I hadn't made a big hideous boo-boo in it (a boo-boo I didn't notice somehow until this beast was essentially done and I refused to then turn back...):

Ugh, what was I thinking?

Even if I hadn't made the mistake, I still wouldn't be happy with it. It is simply too thick/lumpy/bumpy/itching/bulky and oddly-shaped to ever sucessfully be worn. Now that it's done I'm really not even sure what to do with it. I refuse to rip back and fix the mistake, plus I know it's one of those non-noticeble mistakes to anyone but me...so for now, I will put it in the "gift box" until I decide what to do with it. In truth I'm not sure if I could even bring myself to gift it to someone knowing there was such an error in it. Ideally I will just frog it all again, and then gift the four possessed/cursed/mean-spirited skeins to a more accomodating knitter than I. It will seriously be a miracle at this point if I decide to attempt a FIFTH project in it.

I tell ya, the tail-end of 2009 (for more reasons than I will admit to you here) was not looking so hot for me. And it seemed to show in my knitting.

free pattern: Destroyed Cowl
needles: 5mm
yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in "Emerald Blue" (about 1 skein)

Sure it looks purty in the photos, but I was really more "meh" about it in actuality.

Honestly what IS my problem? Two revered yarns...Manos and Malabrigo, and yours truly can't make 'em work??? Gah.

Though in defense of the Malabrigo, the yarn itself is squishy and gorgeous...it's just the colour that's not me. I used the same yarn making this hat, and knew then that it didn't really suit me, so I've subsequently found a home for it in this newest incarnation as well. (See, already I'm doing better than last year in the gift-giving department!)

That one was also pretty much a 2009 knit as well. I was starting to feel thoroughly depressed that things for 2010 weren't boding well, but then as my French cousins say "le trois fait le mois..." (though that's more a weather-related expression), and now here it is FEBRUARY already and 2010's gone off with a knitting bang, and I've got lots of new knits to post about.

So, speaking of thick and crazy-ass-warm (and a hot mess, really --though a hot mess that kind of worked out for me...)

pattern: French Press felted slippers
yarn: Hand-me-down-20-year-old Lopi from the stash, in several colours...raspberry, cranberry, coral, black...
mods: Double-stranded knitting for the soles, single-stranded on top
needles: 10mm
size: smallest (I'm a 6.5 shoe size)
buttons: From my stash...likely just from Fabricland.

Quite simply: these rule!

I literally just began by grabbing Lopi from the stash cause I wanted to get rid of it. I really never thought they'd turn out even remotely wearable, so it was kind of an unexpected surprise that they did! And not only that, our house is so freaking cold that I've been wearing them non-stop ever since...and there's not a lot of knits I can say that about.

They knit up VERY fast...probably within a couple of hours. The downside: they took equally as long (nay longer) to seam together. And frig, I hate seaming small things together, which is why I'm not so keen on knitting toys. I really thought at first that these would make excellent gifts and that I'd start cranking out a lot of them, but I think all the seaming has made me change my mind on that score.

Also I would caution you not to use Lopi. I felted them in the washing machine twice to get them down to my size, but really felting with Lopi is another hot mess (literally) ..it is super fuzzy and leaves crap everywhere (but I knew this going in and went for it anyway!). My next pair of these will definitely be made with Patons Wool. And finally: they are wipe-out-central. Definitely put some glue dots on the bottom (I meant to but still haven't gotten around to that). I've wiped out about three times now on our hard wood floors.

But regardless of those issues, they are totally adorable, and those are all pretty easy fixes.

Okay, I need to stop typing now...I've probably lost you at this point anyway.

every year less knitting...

2010-01-08T11:42:00.000-08:00

I figure I'm still ahead of the game managing to do a "look back at 2009" while still in the month of January.

click on the image for the full 5X5:

seeing all these grouped together I am inwardly cringing at some of my facial expressions...

My immediate observations for 2009:

- a lot fewer knit items than in previous years: 29 F.Os in 2009 vs. 45 in 2008 and 54 items in 2007! (blogged/recorded knits at any rate...). Really, that's almost half as many as two years ago. I'm hoping that's it simply quality these days versus quantity. I've definitely had a much busier year in 2009 personally speaking, so I'd hate to think that I was losing interest in knitting. If those stats are any indication of a trend, I'll be lucky to crank out 15 knits next year!

-hardly any sweaters! Apart from a few shrugs, I only really knit two sweaters. In previous years it's been more like 4 or 5 a year in addition to all these smaller things. Being a more competent knitter now you'd think I'd have more interest in garments these days, but the opposite seems to hold true. Also the reality that I hardly ever wear any of the sweaters may have finally sunk in. I know I'm my own worst critic, but a lot of this stuff simply does not look good on me.
I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I'm really jazzed by a new sweater pattern, so for now I'm not going to worry about it.

-very little gift knitting. And THAT is something I really want to change for 2010.

I'd add that last one to my list of 2010 New Year's knitting resolutions, but you know I think I'm just not going to do any this year.

And with that segue, here's last year's knit-o-lutions:

-Learn to crochet.
Embarrassingly this one has been a carry over for TWO years now. I did make a half-hearted attempt a couple of weeks ago, so there was some semblance of effort -but that really doesn't count.

-Some form of colour work.
Big check-mark here! I'm patting myself on the back for my sucessful attempts at both intarsia and fair isle. Go me! By no means an expert at either of these things now I am at least no longer afraid to attempt them in the future. Bring it on.

-De-stash.
Again, always ongoing. I've actually made some strides here. Mostly in the realm of not adding to the stash. I never buy for the sake of buying anymore because that's how I end up with too many one-off balls of things (pretty tho they may be...). These days the only time I buy yarn is for a specific project I plan on starting immediately, and I have to say that's really working for me right now. Also I've adopted a much more frugal approach to my yarn purchases. "Glamour" yarns are usually purchased only for smaller items like hats and cowls. (Of course, I say all this NOW -- I could just explode and go yarn crazy at any point --that's always just simmering beneath the surface...)

So I will leave it at that for now, I think it's MORE than enough.

And because I always like to have all these hotlinks ready to go for my sidebar at right this is everything from 2009. Let's leave it all behind us and ring in the New Year right: I wish you ALL endless Cashmere and ne'er an unwanted dropped stitch!

Fat Mouse Mat
City Mouse knit toy
Patons Fair Isle tam
Le Slouch beret
Eternity scarf
My kind of cowl
Textured shawl
Bella's mitts #2
Lace shrug #2
Seed stitch scarf
Birthday cowl
Prairie boots
Alpaca Silk bow scarf
Robin's egg blue hat
Bella's mittens
Tw-tone ribbed shrug
Lace shug
Owls sweater
Mustard scarf
Rochefort chapeau
Julia beret
Lace Ribbon scarf
Raglan wrap sweater
Chunky ribbed cowl
Sideways Grande cloche
Side slip cloche
Grey owl mittens
Gold owl mittens

der kleine maus in das kleine haus?

2010-01-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

...or something like that? My German is not the best. Unless you want to hear me tell you that it's very cold outside. My Norwegian is marginally better. I can a) tell you that I have to pee b) tell you to turn up the music and c) tell you that you have beautiful eyes, and that I want you SO much. Yes ladies and gentlemen I will be going far in life with these tucked away in the no man's land that is my frontal cortex.

But on to der Kleine Maus:

I finally gave him a face and shipped him off to his intended recipient (she for whom I'd previously knit (in the same yarn...) this pinafore:

He is a free pattern (and a fast and easy knit) from Lion Brand. My mom actually knit him quite awhile ago and I fell so in love with his divine squishy-ness that I made one of my own.

He really is just too cute for words. I made him back in October but agonized over the face (as always). The face always seems to make or break a knit toy, no matter how simple it appears. I actually looked up a bunch of "french-knot" tutorials online just to get the eyes right. Honestly, what did we do before video tutorials on Youtube? You can learn how to do ANYTHING (and everything) on there! The internet has definitely made me the knitter I am today.

(I just knit him using leftover cottonease that was in the stash, and 3.5mm needles)

Also in the land of doe-eyed toys...

BAM! (and her name is Austina...) Though I can't take ANY credit for her.

(here she is surrounded by her new brethren)

Isn't she freakin' adorable? Bet your heart skipped a beat when you thought I'd suddenly mastered the art of crochet, didn't it? Wrong again. This was gifted to me by the awesome Miss Muffy who I sadly did not get to see this Christmas as I normally would have. I'm sure she'll be posting all about it at some point and will have pattern details for you over there.

So enthralled was I that I paused to think "maybe I DO want to learn how to crochet after all!". God knows it would make knitting toys a heck of a lot easier. So I picked up my copy of the Happy Hooker and went to town. That first Stitch 'n Bitch book was somewhat of a bible to me when I was a beginner knitter. I referred to it a lot and figure her crochet book is likely to be a comparable source.

So I knit (er sorry crochetted) myself a chain stitch. Lots of fumbling but maybe with practice it will get easier? Then I got to the next part which is more of a "cast-on" I guess? That went badly. I ripped and started over. Badly again. Started over again. Badly again. And then finally once more before I launched the whole thing across the room in mass frustration.

Learning how to crochet was on my 2009 "knit-o-lutions" list. I was kidding myself to think I'd somehow be able to squeak that in a few days before the New Year, but hey a valliant effort on my part, right? I'll just bump that over to 2010 (again) and force myself to take a course or something.

So back to what I know a little bit better --KNITTING, and currently/apparently: MICE.

Mouse Mat pattern from: Pet Projects a very cute book I got from my fabulous sister for Christmas
needles: US #11 (sorry I like to use my old style Denise interchangeables for most projects and they never have the mm equivalents written on them, so I can never remember the equivalent Can./UK sizing)
yarn: leftover Sirdar Tweedie Chunky in "Cedar"

I just used some black Patons merino for the embellishments and some black buttons from the stash.

Again, the face --slightly all consuming. I must have re-shifted the positioning of eyes and ears at least three times.

My only mods were to make it "fatter" and longer. Maybe two stitches on each side (of the body) and another dozen rows. Really I should have probably done an additional 20 rows for my big 'ol beast, but he's easy to please so it's all good.

He currently sleeps all over this hideous navaho-type blanket that's folded up on the ground for him (yes there are other more cat friendly options, but he seems to love that thing...) Honestly I think I just dropped it on the ground ages ago and he's claimed it ever since...they are funny creatures. But rather than get rid of it I've just tried to camouflage it with the mouse mat. He seems to love them both, so it's a win win.

I have to count both those as 2009 knits...I know, I know I am sooooooo behind right now! (Happy New Year nonetheless)
xxxooo

Merry New Year?

2009-12-30T08:25:00.001-08:00

Oh man, I am painfully slow on the uptake this year... I hope everyone's having a great holiday season!

I did virtually zero Christmas knitting this year. I started out with the best of intentions (as always) and began cranking out random hats. There's 8 other people on my team at work that I was thinking I'd make them for. And then apathy (and some illness) struck me and those plans flew out the window. In the end I came through with approximately 1.5 hats. (I think I've officially banished the .5 in that equation as well).

I had a massage appointment on december 18th, so mostly by virtue of the date (and her general awesomeness) that's who the hat in question went to: my RMT! She has the misfortune of seeing me naked on an almost monthly basis so I suppose it's the least I could do!

pattern: le Slouch by Wendy Bernard (I've knit this several times now...it's the perfect "slouchy" beret I'd say...)
yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky in "wine"
needles: 4mm
mods: I only knit to it's shortest slouch specified. It's more than slouchy enough...

My creepy headform "Sam" makes another appearance, as this picture was really all the energy I could muster in terms of taking a photo of myself wearing it.

I figured this whole exercize would be a great excuse for me to stash-bust. Here's what I've discovered about my ability to stash bust: it's pathetic. This is how things generally go: "I know, I'll knit a hat with that 3/4 ball of Shetland chunky I have left!" knit. knit. knit. "Hmmmmm, I've run out of yarn." drive. to. store. buy. new. ball. knit. knit. knit. Finish hat. (with different dye-lot on top). Put remaining 3/4 of NEW ball of Shetland chunky back in the stash. Stash remains exactly the same."

blargh.

There's also two newer things on the sticks (also being knit-from-stash, so here's hoping I don't run into the exact same issue...)

The Colonnade shawl from Knitty,

and the Destroyed cowl which will be some nice mindless knitting for me.

Listening to my Stash and Burn podcast recently they were talking about having a knitting "gift box" for all those items you knit and basically have no use for the second they're done (in my case, a SEA of hats) and I thought "Man what a GREAT idea!" So I definitely plan to put that plan into action for 2010. Maybe by Xmas next year I'll just be able to pull from the box for any last minute knit gifts.

I was also gifted some yarn for this for my birthday as well (yes, I'm a Christmas baby...)

Cape Nebuleuse from Phildar.com

I know I'm taking a chance here --how attractive can one look in a blanket with a neck hole? (Y'all know none of us look ggod in our snuggies!) And knitting a cape also flies in the face of my hatred for ponchos. Cape. Poncho. I'm walking a fine line. I've convinced myself that it's the difference between chic and say, covered in mud at Woodstock.

At any rate I have yet to cast on for it...that's likely to happen in the next couple of days. And hopefully I'll be able to get my act together enough for my usual New Year's Knitolutions post and a look back at 2009.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cowl Nation

2009-12-03T12:12:00.000-08:00

sweet bejebus I am so behind on posting about things!

See I'm still a redhead here:

You know, I think I actually finished knitting this at least a month ago now. (And it's already gotten LOTS of wear...)

yarn: Sublime Cash Merino Silk DK (about 2 and a half balls?)
needles: 5mm circs
pattern: Eternity Scarf from Michele Wang

Now, Michele is one of those people whom I've never actually met in "real life" but who I feel a definite affinity for. Hers was one of the first blogs I came across when I first started knitting and getting into this whole blogging/online knitting community dealio. Really I'm not even sure how I found her way back then, but I'm glad I did. She has great taste, and just recently has started to come out with a few patterns. (And currently so many cowls! and you KNOW I can't resist a good cowl!)

This one is no exception...and I am already planning a second one in a slightly more appropriate yarn. The Sublime yarn I used here was a serious splurge for me originally and was left over from the Raglan Wrap sweater I finished earlier this year. But then horror! I still didn't have enough and a trip to my LYS to replenish was met with mad disappointment (I think this colour is discontinued?! why?!) Undeterred I then tore out the Birthday Cowl in order to finish it off. I mean, I liked that one too but meh, it can be knit again.

Seriously I feel like that's my M.O lately. I have been really, REALLY good about buying NO new yarn...unless it is for a specific project that is to begin upon purchase of said yarn. As a result though I seem to either be tearing out previous knits (possibly boring for you as a reader having to see the same yarn over and over again?) OR knitting from stash projects that I can't possibly hope to complete with the amount of yarn actually IN said stash (resulting in secondary trips to my LYS to "finish things off" --often in a different dye lot). Dare I say that I think it's time to just start THROWING.OUT incomplete balls of yarn. I'm hanging on to this odd assortment of blobs of angora and stuff, I mean really, what will I ever do with it??? Still, the fear of purging it remains.

Anyhoozle, my side-track rant about my yarn woes aside, the Sublime did make for gorgeous stitch definition:

I love how that cartridge rib turned out!

But I don't know that I'd use a DK like this again (I find I am wearing it doubled-up more than anything, it's quite stretchy) or if I was smarter I would have cast on probably 20 or 30 less stitches with it. Something to think about at any rate if you're planning to knit this in something similar.

The same week I knit another cowl in Twinkle soft chunky. (Let's get real...that stuff is so huge it took me like 20 minutes). It has since been frogged and is awaiting another incarnation...it never even made it to the photo stage.

But this beast did:

(greetings to the new brunette)

And, yeah you can tell by my non-woven-in ends the fate that this chunky cowl is also about to meet.

That is the My kind of cowl from ttwcreative. It calls for one skein of Cascade Magnum (which is what that is...) but I didn't have quite one skein, and that really made all the difference. It's knit flat and seamed, so if you don't knit it long enough, the cowl will never be "wide" enough. Exactly my problem here. Just a few more inches and it would have been perfect, ah well. It's still wearable (and I am still in love with this awesome purple...), but I can't really pull it down onto my shoulders. Which makes for a little bit of "neck claustrophia".

I tell yah though, there's nothing warmer than this bad boy. Sometimes I'd just throw it on when I was cold and sittin' on the sofa watching a movie, but it's like narcolepsy in a cowl --impossible to stay conscious for the duration of any movie while wearing it. You slip it on and immediately fall into a deep coma! At present my cat is currently using it as a bed when he's cold too.

Hmmm, would it kill us to turn the HEAT up? Um, Apparently.

First Fair-Isle!

2009-11-25T06:08:00.000-08:00

So lately I've been missing me some Julia time. I know, I know, I will probably see her at Christmas, but her blog's been pretty quiet lately (I am also guilty of this...) and then I remembered "Duh!" she's been doing some stuff over on the Patons blog, so off I went...

And what did I discover, but a KAL in progress!

Now, first let me say that I'm not really much of a "joiner". I'm more of an organizer I'd say, so while for a split second I thought "maybe I should join this kal?", a dose of reality got the better of me and I remembered "oh yeah, it's all I can do to update my OWN blog let alone add to another". Plus I'm kind of bad at progress pictures lately...and by the time I get around to posting about the process, said item is usually DONE and I'm anxious to skip that step and just post my completed F.O. (naturally sweaters are a different story!)

Secondly I need to point out that this was their chosen project:

The Patons Fair Isle Tam.

(this image borrowed from FiberFervor from the KAL's flickr group...)

Yes, it's beautiful, and yes it's Fair Isle, so it looks appropriately intricate.

That said...Fair Isle? I'm really not a fan. Maybe I'm supposed to be because I'm a knitter? I think I don't like it because it sort of goes against my general fashion sense, which for the most part is a wardrobe full of basics and neutrals with pops of colour. I'm a Plain-Jane for the most part. Garish patterns and bright colours all over the place send me screaming for the hills.

Yet still, I was intrigued. I've always wanted to take a stab at knitting some fair isle, and what better than a fast, non-committal hat to get me started?

Done. It was decided. But I refused to agonize over colours and whatnot, so I ran up to my stash to see what Patons wool was there. I had about 6 colours in the stash (all neutrals, naturally!). I needed five. Even the process of deciding which colour to omit was pain-staking, so I cannot image the anguish I would endure if I had given myself all and any options. If you go over to the blog you'll notice people have charted out all their colours - -clearly the way to go-- but not something I would ever have the patience for. As it was I didn't even draw mine out on graph paper --I just sat there cursing the chart I was looking at that had nothing to do with the colours I was actually knitting. Every stitch was "ok, the chart says green, that's my dark grey" I didn't even write it down, I just went from memory (it's a miracle that I didn't screw that up).

And now here it is in all it's glory:

AND, I absolutely love it. I think the fact that I chose so many neutral colours has actually made this a very wearable hat for me. I've worn it a few times already and gotten many compliments. Several folks have asked me if it's "store bought", which I presume is a non-knitter's compliment haha.

My one issue though is my grey on grey combination. It does kind of make for a nearly invisible "star" pattern on the top and kind of belies the intricacy of the pattern. You'd sort of never really know to look at it at first glance that I used as many colours as I did. The gold winds up drawing the eye more than anything else and looking like a sunflower on top. If I did it again, I'd swap out one of those greys for something a tad brighter so that the outer star shape would pop a bit more. And I'm actually thinking that I may still knit this hat another time. I'm not sure what I was so afraid of, but it really only took me a couple evenings of TV-watching-knitting to get it done.

It's definitely given me the confidence to move on to a bigger fair-isle project if I so choose (though I don't really see that in my future), and I'd seriously recommend it as a first stab at fair isle if you were looking for one.

I also haven't blocked the hat. I'm really not into making it all "tam" style but prefer a slouchier beret, which I think is evident in these pictures. Blocking it may have made the pattern pop a little more.

For those interested I used 4mm needles, and just some Patons Classic Merino wool from my stash, but my colours were: Black, Olive, Mercury, Old Gold and Grey (sorry the actually name of this grey escapes me...)

I had a picture of the inside of the hat that I must have deleted, but I was pretty proud of my "floats" as well, particularly for a first try. All that "extra" carried-over yarn in there will make for a warm winter hat!

Don't mind my vaccuous robot face...really not sure what I'm smirking at here--pleased that I'd conquered fair isle perhaps??

And desperate for some new "winter" hair I have gone back to my roots (pun intended) and am officially a brunette again. Bye-bye red (for now...)!

let the giftin' begin!

2009-11-21T15:30:00.000-08:00

I saw this shawl recipe a while back all over Ravelry and immediately queued it. Of course at the time I also queued several others that were kinda similar too. I think I was itching to make a non-lacy, non granny-ish, basic, neutral shawl.

Shawls to me are in some ways just scarves with more options. Plus it seemed like everyone on ravelry who had knit this managed to crank out a winner, so in the end this one came out on top.

free pattern: textured shawl recipe from Orlane
needles: 5mm
yarn: 5 balls Mirasol Contanani (60% cotton, 40% merino)in colour # 401 (gray)

Shawls. Not just for Grandma anymore.

Ummm, except this one--it actually is for Nathaniel's 90 year old gran. I know she likely won't be able to make it to our wedding so I wanted to send her a little something (she's in a retirement home in Toronto) to let her know we're thinking of her. We've also just learned that she recently suffered a bout of pneumonia so hopefully this will warm her up a little bit as well. (ok, I know it doesn't really work that way...) and I'm still on the hunt for a shiny brooch to include with it.

This really is a shawl "recipe" as stated. If you're on Ravelry you'll notice everyone listing their own version of the recipe, so I would be remiss if I didn't also include mine here I think.

I was super-excited when I found this yarn half price because it really is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I was thinking I'd do an all wool shawl for her, but the blend of cotton and merino was just too smooth and perfect to pass up. Anyone I've shown it to has asked me if it's machine knit, every stitch just seems to lay so flat and perfect. I used up my whole 5 balls, but I think I'd probably go for 6 the next time. My final rounds of garter stitch weren't as much as I'd hoped:

So, my recipe: 16 rows of stockinette; 16 rows textured knitting; 16 st; 16 text; 16 st; 16 text; 10 st; 4 text; then about 20 rows of garter stitch.

I absolutely, positively, definitely will be making another one of these shawls for myself.

Also in the realm of gift giving (and grey...SO much grey I'm knitting lately!)

My second pair of Bella's mittens. Though in truth, they're not a gift from me. I knit them for a co-worker , and he gifted them to his wife to wear to the premiere of New Moon. If you don't know what that is, you've likely just beamed in from Mars, but she's a serious Twi-hard, and the mitts were very well received.

Knit in Patons Classic (2 balls of "mercury" double-stranded) on 5.5mm needles

You can see the first pair I knit here. This second pair were much bigger. I also discovered another free pattern for Bella's mitts on Ravelry, that are slightly more accurate to the ones worn in the movie (if you care about that sort of thing...)--the main difference being a textured palm. I'm still keen on this pattern though, and they no doubt go up a lot faster (these really only took me two or three evenings of tv-watching knitting) another reason they are such a great knit!

I am way behind on blogging and picture-taking these days...I'm not even a redhead anymore! This past week I knit two hats for another co-worker that I couldn't even be bothered to take pictures of (black Seaman's hats that are a major go-to pattern for my mother--she's probably knit a hundred of them by now). But it's a pattern that I would seriously recommend. It's flattering on everyone, a fast knit, and a great basic hat pattern for gift giving. I've knit a lot of them myself, and I think virtually all of my friends have one by now. Sooo, if you're in the market for another hat pattern, give that one a whirl.

And still more new things on the sticks:

At this point I'm not even sure if any Xmas knitting will make it onto the pile this year.

And one more thing (if I haven't lost you already...)-- The latest issue of Vogue Knitting had a little blurb on this crazy big yarn from BagSmith, and I find myself very intrigued by it. It knits up to 3 stitches per FOUR INCHES!!!!!!!! Size 25 needles. I'm tempted to buy enough for a rug (though broom stick sized needles may be murder to my child-sized hands)--anyone out there tried it? uh oh, hold the phone...website says 110$ a ball. Strike that (unless that gets me a whole rug, which I doubt). Yeesh. I mean I get it, but I still feel like you have to be a millionaire to be a knitter these days...

Maybe I'll just buy the book and stare at all the pretty pictures instead.

this wedding may be the death of me

2009-11-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

I think this might be my third(?) attempt at a shrug for my wedding...

yarn: 1.5 balls of Butterfly Super 10 in charcoal
needles: 4 & 4.5mm
pattern: to come...but see here to get you started

So, you may recognize it as I've attempted it once before in green (see the "pattern" link above). This time I've added the ribbed collar all the way around in an effort to sort of "fancy-it-up" a bit more. For some reason I had it in my head that a big 'ol collar would make it seem somehow more "wedding-y" or "regal". Uh yeah --maybe that's cause Prince Charles and Camilla are in town today and I got all confused about my place in the monarchy. Yeah, that's it.

I've had some interest from a few folks on Ravelry, so I plan to write this pattern up for y'all at some point if anyone was interested in making it. Right about now I'm wishing I had WRITTEN SOME NOTES as I was doing it. But no matter, as I've already cast on for a third in some slightly more wedding-appropriate yarn and colourway so it would have happened anyway.

Contrary to what I'd originally hoped, a collar does not in fact make a shrug "fancier". In fact it seems to have toned this little lace number down somewhat (no doubt the grey aids in that too) and given it a much more casual vibe.

I'm really not a shrug person to begin with, but I think it would be great with jeans this way. However, for my more formal needs, I'm scrapping the collar altogether. You've likely noticed that I haven't woven in the ends, and that's why. Also if you have boobs, and I most assuredly do, you will need to make the collar several inches longer than I've done, otherwise it just curls away. A couple more inches would no doubt rectify that (or a stiffer yarn).

Lots of smaller projects on the go lately,

berets, berets, berets!

my kind of cowl

another pair of bella's mittens

toys!

and so on...

There's a couple of fabulous F.O's I plan to post about soon as well--

Fall knitting fever has officially taken me over!

in which I ramble...

2009-10-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

There's been lots of knitting going on behind the scenes, I promise! I've just been so swamped lately --fall seems like a crazy time for everyone, and things are really ramping up for me at work lately (and socially if I'm being honest...) though I can finally see the light at the end of this particular tunnel. We also had a liitle rescue on our hands who sucked up A LOT of my spare time:

This is Gary. Yes, he is as adorable as he seems. We found him abandonned in a field near our house on (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend. More pics/details can be seen on my flickr, but the short story is that we've adopted him out to some friends of ours now, even though I really REALLY wanted to keep him. The timing's not right for us, and truthfully I'm still just not over this guy's passing.

If nothing else though it's shown me that there's likely to be more kittens in my future (maybe after Poncho's gone) and I look forward to that day with less anguish than before.

So in lieu of any knitting of my own to share right now, I thought I'd post a few fibre-related items I'm drooling over right now.

I know I've mentionned before how much I love that Kate Spade's doing a clothing line now. I was never much for her purses but her clothing is mod and fabulous --totally my thing, and she has the funnest accessories and knitwear:

um, is it wrong for me to say that I totally plan to knock these off for myself?

and this fabulous Fox pullover from Brit designer Peter Jensen:

Of course Gravity Pope wants $400 for it so I'm thinking it's not likely to ever be in my future, short of charting it out myself (which let's face it, i'll have lost interest by the time I EVER get around to that!)

and finally, howz this for some Holiday stash busting ideas?

These adorable yarn wreaths are from Agnes Blum at Knockknocing.

Think about all those yarn bits you have languishning in your stash that you'll never actually knit with!

Or you could just go buy one here.

I actually kind of went a little crazy buying patterns online the other day, mostly silly things it seems, but I've been dying to knit this little guy for ages, and finally caved and bought the pattern:

What can I say? I spent 5 years in Germany, and growing up an army brat who WORE A DIRNDL (oh yes, I did...) it's kind of left me with (if nothing else) a penchant for all.things.kitsch.from.the.Black.Forest. I'm not lying, it's kind of a problem I have...have you seen my cuckoo clock wall?

Anyway, kind of an old picture, but you get the idea (and as usual I totally just got derailed from what I was talking about originally...)

The Bunny patterns and all the clothes are by Barbara Prime, and she has some seriously adorable knits for sale. I tend to leave all the "toy" knitting to my mother, since that is definitely her passion, but for freakin' lederhosen I simply have to make an exception...

Happy Halloween everyone!

back to basics (again and again)

2009-10-01T05:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I really thought I'd at least be able to squeeze out another post still in the month of September, but well you know how that goes...how is it October already???

Today marked the first morning I've actually had to wear MITTS in the car on my drive in to work (ok they were fingerless, but still that steering wheel was FRIGID), and I know that it's unseasonably cold around these parts right now, but today is definitely a day for snuggling under my big down comforter with a mug of tea in hand and a good book.

And casting off on some cozy alpaca just in time.

There's not a lot I can say about this scarf, apart from the fact that it's very simple, and gorgeously soft and will no doubt get tons of wear. It's taken me a while to knit simply because it's been my "at work" knitting. I'd bust out a couple rows every lunch hour or so on 3.25mm needles. Many times at work I would hear "you're STILL knitting that?!" Really, where do the non-knitters get off criticizing? But now that it's done I'm back to crosswords until I come up with something similar to taunt me at my desk every day.

The yarn is from Bonne Mines, a local Alpaca farm in Quebec, and was a gift from my sister. I think I cast on 40 sts and the border is about 7 sts of seed stitch both sides. I used up the full two hanks.

Now, that said I am definitely allergic to it. But like all animals (my own pets included) you learn to live with what you love. And you learn to live with what you love stealing your scarves from you as well:

Now, in cowl news...y'all KNOW how much I love a good cowl. It's the one thing I've consistently knit and worn over and over since the beginning of my knitting career. As knitters we've long been doing the cowl thing. Have you noticed this year that they appear to be everywhere in fashion?

I meant to scan a few pics from the last Vogue (but as with most things lately never got around to it) as there are quite a few awesome chunky cowls from designers in there. And really, why pay $500 when you can just knit your own? Granted, things seem to be taking on larger, more "snood-esque" proportions this year. In fact miss knit lit just posted about this very thing as well. (head on over there and check her out if you haven't already, her eye for fashion is amazing!)

Though I am currently digging the über-simplicity of this cowl spotted on Mila Jovovich at a Louis Vuitton show:

That would definitely go up likety split. I do find the bind-off a bit strange though --would it not have looked nicer to bind it off "in pattern?", but then I guess I'm no designer and that's why I'm not smart enough to get rich off these things.

Rodarte Fall 2009

via doucement le matin

Dries Van Noten Fall 2009

Anyway, you get the idea. Cowls aside it seems like the chunky knits are everywhere for designers this year.

And if you ARE looking for a cowl of your own to knit but would rather have an amazing pattern already thought out, allow me to plug this amazing 'lil number from my friend Michele over at knitting is kneat-o.

Only 4 bucks on etsy for this gorgeous snood! I'm headin' there now myself...

There's a lot of cute knitwear out there this season (yet I don't seem to be doing much knitting myself these days--what's up with that?) but I think that all deserves another post of it's own. We'll all be gearing up for some Christmas knitting soon and I for one know that I could use as many fresh new ideas as possible!

meow

2009-09-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

Indulge me in some pictures of my fluffy beast, will you? They are sort of knitting related...he recently discovered the comfort of laying in my WIP basket.

Though I likely won't let it happen again.

In ACTUAL knitting news, this cowl:

free pattern: birthday cowl
yarn: 1.5 balls of Sublime Cash Merino Silk DK in "Ink" (leftover from the Raglan Wrap sweater
needles: 4mm

LOVE it. I really love a good cowl.

that is all.

"not everything is flat on the Prairies"...

2009-08-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

...I used to have a t-shirt with that very slogan that went right across my chest. Yeah, that's right, I'm a classy lassy. (Though in my defence I never really wore it out in public).

Bet you thought you'd NEVER see these done:

They've been sitting over there on my toolbar under "hibernating" for about a year and a half now. One boot completely done, the other just the sole. And there they sat all this time until I finally just got so SICK of looking at it and cranked out it's mate.

And cranked I did. I seriously feel like it took about two seconds to knit so I'm all the more confounded as to why I put it off for so long.

pattern: Prairie Boots from Coco Knits
yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Olive (knit double-stranded) and some random Lopi (single-stranded) for the soles
needles: US #10
buttons: random. I really just wanted to get these done so I couldn't bring myself to go out and buy new and matching ones.

When I first bought this pattern I think I really fancied myself a pair of those "knit-style" uggs that were in all the stores at the time. Like these, but I didn't fancy the $150 price tag. I know, I know --Uggs?! uggs, you say?! It's a love/hate thing for sure. For the record, I've never owned a pair of Uggs. I did however have a cheap knock off set and Sweet Marie they were THE BEST. 40 below outside and need to warm up the car in ten feet of snow? No laces? Awesome. I am not ashamed. Fortunately the bloom fell off the rose before I forked out any money and I decided to knit myself the nearest facsimile.

The main problem with waiting a year and a half to finish a second boot: apparently my gauge is much MUCH different now. Boot number two is about two sizes bigger than the first. That sucks a little bit since boot #1 is pretty much a perfect fit! But no matter --they will pretty much just be worn as slouchy/warm/around the house booties anyway. (Though note to self: glue dots for the bottom of these as I'm wiping out LARGE on the hardwood floors).

Also on the sticks right now is a cabled pillow. After two sad attempts at using this Manos,

sad attempt #1:

sad attempt #2:

I'm going for a third and already fearing a lack of yarn. And I really, really don't want to buy more of it.

This is a free Drops pattern btw--already mine is looking nothing like the original (seen here PO-005), and I basically had to re-write it before I could even get going on it. It's been a while since I've knit from a pattern in "British" English (I'm Canadian --aren't we speaking the same language? or is this a Norwegian translation?) But I forgot how much more general or "assumed" things are. i.e K1 in the pattern --simple --"knit one" right? wrong. Knit seems to be used in a much more general way. Like "go" "make this sweater". Aye yi yi. But once I got into the mind of it again, all was right with the world. NOW I get it: purl means knit, knit means garter, up is down and hamburgers eat PEOPLE. got it!

I may just need to accept that this lumpy-ass yarn is quite possibly, cursed. Or really, scrap this pillow in favour of another.

bow-nanza!

2009-08-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, I think I am juuuuuust about caught up on everyone's blogs and officially ready to get back into the knit-swing of things again.

I am rested, back to work, and more importantly: back to knitting baby! My wrist pains appear to have subsided. (knock wood)

And in honour of that small miracle I hunkered down and finally finished off the BEHEMOTH that is Laura Irwin's Alpaca Silk Bow scarf.

not sure what this expression is saying...

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk (50% silk/50% Alpaca). About 5.5 balls of the "Chestnut" brown, and less than one of the "Mandarin".
needles: 3.75 mm

This is even the yarn that the pattern calls for so it was a real splurge for me. It is seriously beautiful and gorgeously soft and silky.

Scarf-y here also marks the fourth item that I've knit from this book --the others being the Raglan Wrap sweater; and both the sideways grande and side slip cloches. ALL fabulous, well-written and "sure-are-purty" patterns from Laura Irwin.

So, even though this is the yarn the pattern called for, I'm not sure if it was necessarily the best choice. It is just SO drapey that it really makes weaving in the ends a pain in the butt (though possibly I am seriously bad at this task and it's just me...), the silkyness equals ends-that-pop-out-just-when-you-think-they're-woven-in-perfectly.

For a normal scarf the prospect of a couple of yarn ends sticking out here and there might be all well and good, but this was intarsia. My FIRST attempt at intarsia. Sure-- intarsia, as it turns out, is easy. But it is also totally maddening. Every six inches look like this:

My one consolation here is that I was smart enough to weave the ends in as I went. Had I left them all until the end, this scarf would still be incomplete. Permanently.

And indeed so floppy that any hopes of a bow like this...

...are immediately dashed.
hahahahahahahaha.

See!? It's a BOW.

Oh, who am I kidding, I am literally never going to wear it that way anyway. I will likely just wear it in the usual "drape-it-around-my-neck-way" that most of us just wear our scarves anyway.

Though, knowing this NOW does not really help me.

(And might I add I kind of feel like this particular project was what was really keeping me from knitting anything else --I didn't really want to be working on it, but at the same time didn't really want to stray too far from it either--which essentially amounts to: hardly ever knitting it OR anything else). Had I known months ago when I started this scarf that I wouldn't wear it in "bow-format" I would have made the following changes:

a) ALL ribbing. There are two sections of it that are knit in stockinette, you can kind of see those changes in this photo:

The stockinette is the flat part that allows the bow to be more, uh "bow-tastic". Again, it's also so drapey that I don't think it matters that much. Plus if you did it all in ribbing it wouldn't look quite so odd when you did just decide to wear it a more "normal" way.

b) Sweet Jesus I would have made it shorter. A LOT shorter. Not sure if the photos really divulge how many times this thing is wrapped around my neck (while still having ends that hang below my hips). I think even about three feet shorter would still mean substantial length and a decent bow. But again, perhaps this is just down to my own gauge (which I know is loose, even though I repeatedly check it). Plus there are just so many ends that tearing it out to salvage the yarn for other things is just pointless.

Perhaps you need some empirical evidence of it's length...some perspective maybe?

BAM!

(N.B---this was before I blocked it even...I tried to block it out a bit wider/shorter, but it's still groooooowwwwiiiing)

It's meant to be 9 feet, it's definitely longer than that and by the time I get home it may have eaten my cat and anyone I ever cared about.

But all ribbing aside (yeah, pun intended), it really is a beautiful thing to behold. It felt like a major undertaking for me, and the fact that only one other person on ravelry appears to have knit it should have been my first clue. People often say to me "how can you knit so many scarves?" --I know they are virtually like knitting a sweater sometimes, but this is really the first time I was feeling like "yeah this scarf is taking forever, I may need to take a take a break from these".

Now that it's done I can laguish in its gorgeous-ness, as the memory of all it's hard work floats away.

And you know, cuz I can never have enough crap around my neck it seems, I've started another cowl.

Perhaps someone would like to buy me this $1300 Nylon "knitting bag" from Dolce & Gabbana to carry it around in?

cute knit overload dot com

2009-08-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I am presently M.I.A.

And this post: purely fluff, I'm warning you now. Just popping in to say: "I haven't died, I'm on vacation, I'm lazy, new knitting is coming, please forgive me".

By way of apology, please enjoy these adorable animals in knitwear:

(this guinea pig is enough to make me change my mind about crochet...er, yeah.)

All images courtesy of cuteoverload.com, naturally. If you've never been on that site something is seriously wrong with you. I am pretty much obsessively there on a weekly basis. (Maybe the problem is mine?...I also subscribe to Maru's blog). Ok, confession time: lately my cuteness obsession has extended to "favouriting" cute bunny photos on flickr. I am obviously a softie at heart.

like this:

(flickr i.d: Little Bay Poo)

and this:

But then that would be me getting away from knitting...

If nothing else I can stop agonizing over what to knit as these sites have provided me with the perfect wedding shrug pattern:

kitteh shrug! (image also courtesy of cute overload)

Tommorrow I am off to soak up some cottage-style rays with my knitter-in-crime Julia. Par for the course we will likely obligingly pull out the knitting for 5 minutes before abandoning it all for beer, board games and charred veggie dogs.

Can't wait!

Sweet Marie, she knit something!

2009-07-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

in an effort to try and get some of my knitting mojo BACK, I busted out a quick hat.

free pattern: Robin's egg blue hat from Rachel Lufer
yarn: leftover Patons Shetland Chunky in "wine" (less that 1 ball?)
needles: 5mm
vintage button from an antique sale.

At this point in my knitting career I have ENTIRELY too many hats. It's time to do a serious purge.

This one's very cute and is a great well-written pattern (and did I mention free?!), though kinda not really my style. I think it'll make an excellent gift, and I will likely stash-bust out a few more as prezzies. I've had a moratorium on all yarn purchases lately, due to some very recent (and questionable) spending on my part, so it's time I re-visisted the possible surprises in my stash anyway!

It's July? are you sure? My sister bought me that shirt at Giant Tiger for 4 bucks--I kind of feel a bit like I'm channeling Flight of the Conchords in it, but she bought it more as an homage to this (if you have some time and want a laugh, read the reviews on amazon.)

Ironic t-shirts aside, I wish I could chalk my non-attempts at knitting up to summer-time frolicking (in truth this is partly true) but mostly it is that my dreaded Carpel Tunnel has reared it's ugly head again. I'm hoping it'll all just heal up on it's own before it gets to the point that I need surgery or something.

I've really only started one new thing...

...and the times that I do pick it up are fleeting at best. It's another attempt at a wedding shrug, not unlike this one, so that's not very exciting.

I'm pretty much just countin' down the days until my summer vay-cay at this point.

knitwear designers/artists

2009-07-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

So, some of you know that I'm a bit of a design junkie. Usually this is within the confines of the mid-century realm, and that does extend into lots of things...furniture, architecture, art, fonts, you name it. And as you likely also know, that while I'm "into" fashion, for the most part it's nothing that I take too seriously (also there's that whole not-being-able-to-afford-most-of-it thing I've got going on). Oh yeah, and also: I'm a slob.

Very rarely do I make a truly expensive "designer" purchase (though I won't lie and say it hasn't happened on occasion ahem). It is often a discussion with the man of the house that I will turn my nose up at something if it costs more than three dollars (that is the thrift/junk/curbside re-appropriation/dirty picker in me!), and then turn around and buy a $300 (or worse but we won't go there) item in the same breath. What can I say, I'm an enigma.

But I am ALSO: queen of the knock off. If I can make it myself, I generally will. As knitters we are no strangers to the adaptation of patterns, or the desire to knit it yourself if you've seen it in a store. Seriously, since I've started knitting, when was the last time I purchased an actual "knit" sweater? Honestly, I can't remember.

So to that end I offer you: things we can't afford, but can probably make ourselves.

First up, from Kate Spade:

Ok, I am absolutely in love with these, and will definitely be attempting the Taxi ones, if not both pairs. Kate spade...hmmm, kinda not usually my thing--though I do think she does mod well when she does do it. Normally I might rant about the price of these basic mittens simply because "she's a designer" but apparently the sale of these mitts went towards the support of the women in Bosnia and Herzogovina who made them. Then I had an attack of conscience and felt really bad about even thinking about making my own pair.

In the end, they were sold out so I couldn't buy them anyway.

Also within the same hilarious/adorable/crafty realm from Jack Spade, these moustache gloves:

Fabulous. (and currently on sale...)

Or for the more adventurous, how 'bout you take some knitting inspiration from UK designer Lauren Jennings:

wow.

And if I wasn't already knitter, this amazing textile art from Aurelie Mathigot would still have caught my eye:

(found via Wool and the Gang --also newish knitwear designers (with their own line of yarn and knit kits you've probably seen by now) you should all check them out---they are even making me want a (gasp!) poncho)

And still one more non-sequitor for you (but still within the knit realm...) Phildar is having a SALE right now! I just bought three patterns books (in English for those of you concerned about that...) for about 15 euros (including shipping). Exchange rate or not, that's still a smokin' deal. You can buy yours HERE. The older the catalogue, the cheaper it is, so if there were some previous patterns you were drooling over, now may be your opportunity to get 'em for a song.

happy knitting! (oh and happy belated Canada Day and early 4th of July!)

free pattern alert!

2009-06-17T05:18:00.000-07:00

I always love coming across free knitting patterns that I never knew existed. Actually maybe I should amend that to free modern knitting patterns (why is it only ever patterns from the nineties I seem to stumble upon?) And, I'm hurting for some inspiration these days so this couldn't have come at a better time.

Found this one via my friends over at Desire to Inspire.

The Puff Daddy knitted stool from Pickles.

Have any of you ever been on this site before? It appears to be Norwegian. Though like most Norwegians, there is some flawless English spoken there too. Personally I know how to say about three things in Norwegian (apart from hello of course):

1) turn up the music
2) I have to pee
3) you have beautiful eyes and I want you SO much

So, at least I have the fundamentals covered, but that still wouldn't really help me if I had to read an actual knitting pattern in said language.

This stool also appeals to me, as some of you might remember this post from awhile back about these poufs:

but at $1600 apiece, I think i'll just take Pickles' free pattern instead, thanks.

Other cute things from pickles:

and lots and lots of adorable kids' things:

Head on over and check Pickles out if you haven't already...I think there's something for all--craft tutorials, crochet patterns, sewing patterns (there is an adorable pattern for a bike seat cover I'm eyeing...) and oh yeah: CUPCAKES.

Sweet Marie I wish I was devouring about a half-dozen of those right now.

help m-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e

2009-06-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

I think I am beyond help on this one. But here's my latest white whale.

Much like the aforementionned Moby Dick's white whale, this scarf is virtually all I'm capable of focusing on right now. Though unlike Ishmael, I'm going after this thing in a really half-assed way.

Ok I will stop now with the Moby Dick symbolism. I've never actually read that book (it's the former Literature-major in me...I am prone to sudden bouts of bullshitting my way through essay-type questions). It took me many years to learn how to self edit and I'm sure it's just a matter of time before you start seeing my blog posts in point form.

I mean, this is typically the point where handmade scarves CEASE to be knit. It's SIX FEET long already.

So uh, yeah. Six feet long already and I'm not half-way done yet??? Something is seriously wrong here. I know it's supposed to go to 9 feet, but it'll be more like 12 at this rate. I may have to seriously shorten the center section if ths thing is to be at all wearable in the end.

It's a bit of a conundrum for me right now. I have zero interest in starting anything new until it's done, yet I also have zero interest in knitting this thing too. I pick it up every evening and knit about a centimetre in length. What's wrong with me? I know I've been busy lately, and it's summer now but still...I seem to find myself either reading books or flipping through magazines in the evenings when I'm home. Anything to avoid this beast.

Even the S.O commented last night "you've lost interest in knitting?". Is he right? Or is this just a phase? I'm one of those knitters that never suffers from "startitis". More like "finish-itis". Even when I know something is horrible (and don't get me wrong ---this scarf isn't). I am still compelled to see things through to the end. I am incapable of abandonning any kind of project until it is completely done (then I usually forget about it forever). I am very obedient. I always do what I am told, and this scarf is no exception. See---I told you I needed a magazine rack for all of my issues....

So to that end, I think I need to spend some quality time trolling new patterns that will inspire me to actually pick up the needles again.
Though preferably small, fast and satisfying projects.

Cara's mittens

2009-05-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

My dirty secret: I am a closet Twilight fan. There, I said it...let us never speak of this again.

What can I say, it speaks to the repressed 13 year old girl still buried deep within. If I was still 11 Edward would be my new John Taylor from Duran Duran.

But regardless of whether I've read all 4 books, including the Edward-only-perspective-version of the first book online, and on-demand-ed the movie the day it went to DVD (right...TMI) I would still have wanted to knit these super sweet mitts.

free pattern: Bella's mittens from subliminalrabbit --a thousand thank-yous for making this super cute pattern FREE!!
yarn: stash-busted Patons Classic Merino (100% wool) not quite two balls (knit double-stranded) in "chestnut brown"
needles: 4mm
mods: I knit to a tighter gauge to make the mitts smaller for my child-sized hands.

I am not actually as obsessed as I sound...there is no question that that movie was lame. I do not even remember seeing those mitts in the film (though I do remember there being a barage of gortex jackets, which given that movie's location shoot of my former home of Vancouver, is no surprise) Gortex is in essence, fashion suicide. Sure, it keeps you dry I guess.

But I am definitely not in a position to make fun of any Twi-hards out there. Particularly NOT given the ever-so-relentlessly-sliding-me-to-insanity scale of crap TV, pop culture, cheesy books, bad groupie bios and underground comics that yours truly likes to consume with regularity and without impunity. I'm Cara, and I have NO SHAME. Consider yourselves my support group.

I was excited to use up some stash yarn for this project. As with most of my stash-busting knitting, I ran out of yarn about half-way through the second mitt. (Sigh). So after putting it down for a few days trying to decide whether I would actually BUY more or abandon them forever, I hopped on my bike and sped off to my mom's house to route through HER stash. And SUCCESS, I came up with a couple small balls of leftover Chestnut Brown classic. Jackpot! I biked home and finished up the mitts. Then I biked BACK to give her what was leftover of that yarn, as I refused to keep it in MY own stash (anal much?). Suffice it to say that there are at least three different lot numbers of yarn in these mitts. I guess the fact that I was knitting them double-stranded probably accounted for why it all seemed to blend together pretty perfectly.

My only hiccup came about three-quarters of the way through the second mitt when I glanced down to dicover that I had somehow twisted one of the cables the wrong way. Grrrr. I had to rip back down past the wrist. But no matter, they went up pretty quickly in the end.

It was only after I'd FINISHED them and was about to block that I discovered that in ripping back I had apparently begun knitting again at a different spot. All this essentially means is that one mitt has one less cable repeat. When I tried them on, one was about an inch and a half shorter than the other. BLOCKING to the rescue! Now they are both the same length, regardless of the number of cable repeats.

Other than that there hasn't been much knitting around these parts (still inching along on that brown and orange scarf...). Mostly "gardening", but I won't bore you with those details. We're in a row townhouse, so it's not much of a backyard. It's more of a ditch, really. And by "gardening" I actually mean about three weeks worth of hauling off dirt (our backyard is apparently made of ROCKS)under cover of darkness and replacing it all with topsoil. A month later we are finally at a stage where we can actually begin planting things, though I am possibly now too sore and exhausted to do so.

C'est la vie. Hopefully soon we'll actually be able to enjoy the space back there a bit more.

Meanwhile, one MONTH later...

2009-05-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

I'm back and all healed-up thank you very much! My wrist issues kind of went away on their own over time (and well a bit of massage therapy and icing thrown in there too...er, not cake icing though I imagine I've eaten my fill of that this last month to boot), but it quite literally took the better part of the month to come round for me.

Proof positive that I am officially back in the zone:

A finished knit!

AND might I add, a fab new camera so's I can dazzle ya'll with (for the most part...)some non-blurry images for once.

Head/hair flip notwithstanding, at least the shrug is in focus! I haven't entirely figured out how the stinking thing works yet I must say...and when I think back to all the SLR photography courses I took in college NONE of those seem relevant now.

But I digress, this has been wedding shrug experiment numero deux...

the deets:

yarn: about 2.5 balls worth of Elsebeth Lavold's Hempathy in "Sunflower" (I think? somewhere else this colour appears to be listed as "citrine" hmmmm) 41% cotton, 34% hemp, 25% modal.
needles: 4mm and 4.5mm
pattern: Two-tone ribbed shrug from Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits 16 inch size
mods: smaller yarn, slightly smaller needles and shorter sleeves.

I was looking for an excuse to knit with Hempathy. Why did I need an excuse? um, I guess cuz I never really knit with summer-weight yarns, and I've definitely never knit with Hemp before. Anything knit, reagrdless of what it's made of is going to be hot as far as I'm concerned. Around these parts there is simply no relief from a 50 degree humidex, so what's the point? Well, Vegas may be a different story. It's hot there, but it's not sauna hot. A girl can cover up a tattoo in a place like Vegas...

Hempathy is predicatably scratchy. But also, it's not. There is a roughness to it that is not unpleasing. Never fear, there are no dreadlocks in my future... Plus, it likely softens up with a good blocking (which I didn't bother with --maybe later).

And this pattern...straight forward and well-written. It went up like a charm. This was actually the first thing I've knit out of this book. When I first bought it a couple years ago I felt like there were many patterns in it that I was drawn to, but in the end, not so much. Maybe my knitting tastes have changed? Maybe I got tired of looking at that weird waist-band included in every sweater? Who knows, but the bloom was defintely off THAT rose for me. When I went though it again though it seemed like there was a lot I'd over-looked.

Was this the best yarn choice for it? Again, not sure. (The pattern calls for worsted weight) so I was pretty much just knitting a bigger size on only slightly smaller needles. It came out fine, I love the colour, the airy-ness etc. but the collar definitely does not stand up the same way it should with a thicker yarn. And I feel like all my woven-in yarn ends are highly visible (they likely are not but I'm definitely aware of them).

In the end a cute shrug, but far too casual for a wedding I think (also tattoo pretty much visible through it...) in that plain stockinette. The drama factor I was hoping for with the collar didn't really pan out in the somewhat drapier yarn.

I think I might have to stick to a lace pattern if I am indeed going to go the shrug-route. But for now I'm going to hold off a bit.

Plus it's almost SUMMER...I have more relevant things to knit like uh, mittens:

(why I suddenly became obsessed with having to knit these I have no idea, but I'm glad I did and they are WAY cute)

and scarves...

Just when I thought I was getting somewhere on this last one I got to the middle section in the pattern that states: "now carry on in this ribbing for 47 inches". SAY WHAT???? 47 inches before I can even begin the final 3 feet???? I thought it HAD to be a type-o.

Nope. I went back and checked out the final measurements. You are supposed to knit this scarf for NINE FEET. Presumably so that there is lots of length to tie it into a bow, but come on. Ugh this is going to be a long-ass slog. See you in September.

Just kidding. All this scarf knitting is peripherary as far as I'm concerned. I'm currently debating on what sweater project to sink my teeth into. And some hats.

Essentially I plan to ignore the fact the summer's coming and continue to knit like it's still winter. Suck on that one mother nature.

new shrug city

2009-04-21T05:35:00.000-07:00

I promise you people --NO wedding talk. Especially given that this thing is a year away...how sick of me would you be?
Ummm except I have to mention the wedding where it pertains to knitting, right?

My quest to find a dress with some kind of cute, sassy sleeve (i.e flutter sleeve, or shorter "puff" sleeve NOT wrist-length mormon-esque LACE sleeve ugh ugh ugh!) is apparently tantamount to finding the HOLY GRAIL in a mall. I don't want to knit a shrug to go with a sleeveless dress...I don't really even like shrugs.

Yet, here I am --in full-on "just in case" mode.

So to wit, shrug experiment #1:

note excellent tattoo coverage!

but quoiiii? (not sure if you could tell but I couldn't even be bothered to weave in the ends). Also note, that is *not* my wedding dress. I'm still hunting. I do have a green dress as a back-up (I am not so into white...) and this was one of THREE I bought from J.Crew. It arrived that day, I tried it on with the shrug, took those pics, boxed it up and sent it back. It was too big (note major bra-less boob gappage). And also, there is not a strapless bra in the world that will help me with a strapless dress I don't think. Anyway, TBD. Ummm, am I talking about my boobs a lot lately?

I figure at the very least I'll be able to shove it in my purse and have it on hand when trying on other sleeveless dresses --reagrdless of whether it's even close to what I need or want.

Here's how I did it. I knit and blocked a lace scarf comme ça:

ok, maybe kinda too short to function as a true scarf for me...

yarn: 1 skein of Butterfly 100% mercerized cotton Super 10 (colour #3727)
needles: 4 & 4.5mm

The pattern was simply stolen bits from here and there. Let's call her Frankenstein, shall we?

I Cast on 56 stitches and knit 4 rows in garter stitch (on the smaller needles).
I then switched to the larger needles and knit using the lace pattern found HERE..."Convertible" from knitty.com (also adding K2 at the beginning and end of each row). Though I will still spell it out for you here:

lace pattern:
Row 1 [RS]: K2 [K2, skp, k4, k2tog, k2, yo, k1, yo] to last 2 sts, K2.
Even-numbered Rows 2-12 [WS]: P all sts.
Row 3 [RS]: K2 [Yo, k2, skp, k2, k2tog, k2, yo, k3] to last 2 sts, K2.
Row 5 [RS]: K2 [K1, yo, k2, skp, k2tog, k2, yo, k4] to last 2 sts, K2.
Row 7 [RS]: K2 [Yo, k1, yo, k2, skp, k4, k2tog, k2] to last 2 sts, K2.
Row 9 [RS]: K2 [K3, yo, k2, skp, k2, k2tog, k2, yo] to last 2 sts, K2.
Row 11 [RS]: K2 [K4, yo, k2, skp, k2tog, k2, yo, k1] to last 2 sts, K2.
Repeat these 12 rows for Lace Pattern.
(from Vogue Knitting, 1989 edition)

I essentially just repeated the lace pattern until it was as long as I wanted it (around 25 inches maybe?) and then knit another 4 rows in garter stitch (on smaller needles again)and bound off. You can then just seam the arms up as high as you need/want and weave in your ends.

Now, I wish I could say this was all MY genius idea, but the reality is that I was inspired by someone else on Ravelry who clearly has the same wedding/tattoo dilemmas as I do:

ravelry username: kellyrelish

And uh, look how FREAKIN' gorgeous she (and shrug) turned out on her wedding day! She gave me hope that this could be done.

So, I mean regardless of whether I even end up going with a pattern like this (right now I'm saying likely not...) it's still spurring me on with the potential possibilities.

So much so that I've cast on for another shrug, and we'll see how that one goes.

(note Starbucks "knit" mugs I picked up for Mother's Day...clearance-- woot!)

In more annoying news though: I am on a knitting hiatus right now. I'm not sure what I've done to my right wrist (please God not carpel tunnel!) but I'm in pain. I'm hoping that knitting is not the cause, just the aggravation and that a proper rest will cure it. Even typing this right now is sending my arm into spasm.

As such it might be a while before I can crank out any new knits for the blog (hopefully not, but you never know..). I might have to actually pick up a BOOK for once. (Since I began knitting a couple of years ago my voracious appetite for reading has been seriously quelled, and I seem to be limiting myself solely to the half-hour in bed prior to passing out cold!)

Why must we suffer for our art? ;)

Hooters sweater

2009-04-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

Yup it's a Hooters sweater. Because of the owls? I suppose...but more because it makes my bazooms look gigantic.

(I promise you, in real life they are more distracting --um, in this sweater that is)

And I'm a d-cup as it is, so I definitely do not need them looking any bigger...I'm really more of a "play them down" type than a sweater-girl type. When I wear V-neck sweaters I often worry that I am "busting out". Boobs are a serious pain in the ass to me.

I will stop talking about my boobs now and give you the deets:
pattern: Owls by Katie Davies
yarn: Sirdar Tweedie Chunky in "Cedar" (6 balls? maybe a bit more...) --I knit the s/m (3rd size in)
needles: 6.5mm

So I mean what can I say...the pattern is free and "owls" have been the new black in the indie craft world for years now I would venture. Really, aren't they done? Owls are the new fawns? Owls are the old Octopii? I dunno. Cute animals...who can get enough, really? About 800 people on ravelry have knit this sweater.

Check out this version:

(adorable! from EricaG on ravelry)

Fortunately it was a fun and fast knit, with very little finishing. Sort of. Sewing on the thirty six button eyes was an entire evening's work. I despise sewing on even ONE button, so this was not a task I enjoyed.

In the end though, still a cute sweater...just incredibly unflattering on me --the curse of the chunky yarn (when will I learn?). I couldn't be bothered to block it, which may have helped in that regard, and the dark green tweed was difficult to photograph with any real success in the details. Still, there are so many of them knit on ravelry that there is no shortage to look at.

I tried to go for a green button that would essentially blend--I pretty much do this with all buttons/sweaters...after all that knitting I never want the buttons to somehow beome a focal point!

Knitting a sweater top up really limits your ability to try it on as well. I added an extra inch in the length of the body. Not a good idea in the end. My sweater is virtually a crotch-covering tunic. Even the arms wound up being longer than anticipated, even though I was endlessly trying them on as I went.

Now the question remains: to frog or not to frog? I think it may still be a banging around the house go-to sweater. However now that it's done, I definitely know that I don't have enough yarn leftover to complete this:

and really, given the unflattering nature of the yarn itself, could I even be bothered to put that yarn towards ANY other sweater? le sigh.

I think whatever's left of that wool is destined to become hats and mitts...

Julia probably has the right idea: use a thinner yarn and knit a larger size. I am presently trying to employ this principle in a winter shrug I am attempting to "summer-ify". Shrug experiment number 2 that is. But more on that to come.

m-m-m-m-mustard

2009-04-02T05:42:00.000-07:00

I am in love with the colour of this yarn.

I had bought it a couple years ago knowing that I wanted to knit it into some sort of cowl, or have it up around my face somehow, but at the time knit it into a hideous-too-thick-unwearable-monster-cowl. Monster cowl formerly seen here.

I finally tore apart the monster cowl(and it was knit triple-stranded, so trying to "de-ply" it was a frustrating two-person job...), and off I went on the Mustard scarf.

pattern: Mustard Scarf by Jane Richmond which is available on Ravelry as a free download...not sure if it is elsewhere on the internet or not.
yarn: Cascade 220 handpaints/hand-dyed, less than one skein --colourway (uh? not sure)
needles: 10mm
button: vintage

The abalone button I got last fall at the twice yearly Ottawa Antique sale. The Antique sale in general was a bit of a bust for me (not my usual kitschy flea market fare and too TOO rich for my blood) but I did manage to get a handful of big vintage buttons, which at the time for two and three dollars a pop seemed steep to me. I went back once more last week when the event rolled into town again hoping for more, but that same seller wasn't back this time. Big vintage buttons are always good for those one off hats and cowls that require large, singular notions. I plan to keep my eyes peeled for more from here on in.

Though that said the loosey-goosey nature of this lacey thing made sewing the button on a bit annoying. I still feel like it's not very secure, but for now it'll do.

I also have tons of this yarn leftover so I may do more. This pattern may be the perfect Xmas knit. It's not a very long scarf and I think it went up in a couple of evenings only. It's going to be a great stash buster for single skeins in the stash next fall.

apparently there is a real art to taking pictures of yourself that I have yet to master...

As the owl sweater nears completion I find I'm now starved for smaller projects again. I am even considering something I swore up and down I would never do: a wedding shrug that will hide tattoos. Sigh.

speaking of which: anyone have the pattern for the "little silk shrug" from lace style that they'd be willing to throw my way? (I would happily exchange for something in my library...). Bah. I suppose I am not above buying the book or winging it though. I'm starting to run out of room on my bookshelf.

the end.

Nautical Disaster

2009-03-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

actually no, no disaster, I just really wanted to say that. It is somewhat of an inside joke.

I think I finshed knitting this hat about three weeks ago. Just an example of how behind/lazy I am in the blogging realm these days.

Even my hair is much shorter now (finally).

I knit this hot on the heels of finishing off the Raglan Wrap with those anchor buttons --I was in the zooooooone of all things Navy and White and Nautical. And suffice to say, like most of my obsessions: fleeting. (yes, I just made a nautical pun there too.)

I love the teeny little tassle on it. Not sure why really as I'm generally anti- tassle. Yes, bet you didn't know there was an anti-tassle movement, did you?

Sooooo, I don't know what it is about this hat exactly--it seems to sit a little weird on my head. I guess I'm used to more of a beret shape?

free pattern: Rochefort Chapeau from the purl bee
yarn: Mission Falls 136 Merino Superwash DK --less than one ball each in White and Navy
needles: 3.75mm
mods: none. I got my A & B colours mixed up, so I kind of went the reverse of what the pattern called for (though I think I prefer a Navy band to a white one anyway?)

I did not even make an attempt at a seamless jog/join or anything like that. For whatever reason the join is barely off at all and the striping is really consistent. I'm not sure if that's down to me being a loose knitter, or this yarn, or what. It was kind of a happy surprise. For the most part ANYTHING that I knit in the round always winds up with some kind of ladder at the join regardless of how tight I'm cinching it. Possibly this is just my knitting cross to bear... but I have accepted this as my knit-lot in life.

Also, this yarn? Smooth and fabulous. Pointe finale. I plan to make it a definite go-to yarn for my next DK-weight sweater, it is JUST that nice. I liked it way better than any of the other Mission Falls yarns I've tried so far. Putting this hat on feels really nice. There is something comforting about it.

Though, that said...not sure if i'll wear it. It may well wind up on the gift pile. I plan to do the same yarn/striping in more of a floppy beret, but for now i'll leave it as it stands. That particular hat had been in my queue for a really, really long time. It went up fast too so I'm not sure why I'd put it off for so long. Also, why am I ever surprised when hats "go up fast"?

Also, speaking of Navy and White(ish) --ok grey I am pushing it... New Phildar eye candy anyone?

This first one is positively SCREAMING my name.

These are all new to me, so I'm not sure exactly how "new" these patterns actually are. I'm finding the whole neutral colour palette they are using and these long basic/baggy/boxy/eighties-style tunics so soothing, I want to knit them all! (or at least wear them all)

enjoy!

more bandwagonning!

2009-03-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

bandwagonning...surely (not) a word?

Regardless, prepare to get SICK of this yarn. Let me preface that by saying I bought about 14 (13?) balls of this for the Nati sweater from "dimanche chez moi" (I was planning to knit with that yarn double-stranded).

Then a dose of sanity leaked into my brain and I denied myself another chunky bat-winged sweater. Honestly what am I thinking? This is why my closet has about TEN BLACK CARDIGANS. I am forever searching for the perfect one. No doubt this also applies to me forever knitting (essentially) the same sweater over and over again.

Return the yarn you say? NEVAHHHHH. Instead I decided to play "which-free-pattern-already-in-my-possession-can-I-use-it-for?"

And here is what I've come up with. The aforementionned "bandwagon" sweater:

Yes, more owls.

And seriously, that one is going up lickety-split, so it's already pretty satisfying.

And a Phildar cowl neck sweater from their Winter 06/07 Tendances catalogue:

Will I have enough yarn for both? hmmmm. Won't it be ironic (and entirely probable) when I have to go and purchase MORE of this yarn that I'm desperate to get rid of?

What if I also try to squeeze out a hat too?

pattern: Julia beret
yarn: my overkill Sirdar Tweedie Chunky in "Cedar" (less than one ball)
needles: 6 and 6.5mm
deets: I knit the small for my pea-sized head and then added one extra row in the repeats section for a 'lil more slouch.

would it have killed me to wipe down the table before taking pictures?

This yarn is actually green with yellow and blue flecks running through it, not sure if that's showin' up in those pics. It's a blend. It's been a while since I've knit with anything that was about 40% synthetic (the rest is wool and alpaca). I hate to be a snob, but I was hating it at first. Now I guess I'm used to it. So.sickeningly.used to.this.yarn.

Though I must say that I am SO feeling the Tweed right now. Dare I say that I wish it was fall again? (Don't kill me). But whatever, 'round these parts I likely have another few weeks wear of some wool hats anyway. Even saying that has likely just queued a 40+ humidex for me. Ah well.

Regardless, another cute hat pattern from my friend and yours Miss Muffy!

I am WAY behind on my blogging of late. I've actually got a couple smaller knits I am long overdue in posting about. Still it'll have to wait. Because much like all that yarn, I have now also grown weary of typing.

knittin' on the bandwagon

2009-03-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

Because I don't have enough scarves in my life...

pattern: Lace Ribbon scarf from Knitty Spring 2008
yarn: 4 balls of Patons Silk Bamboo (20% silk, 80% bamboo) in "Stone"
needles: 3.25mm

Though I guess a girl can't own enough scarves right? RIGHT? ugh, time to pare down some of the older ones I think...

I just checked on Ravelry to see how many people on there had actually knit this scarf. Three thousand, one hundred & sixteen! And now that I've knit it I can see why it's so popular. It is HIGHLY wearable and is already in heavy rotation in my wardrobe. In less humid climates I could see this being a regular summertime accessory as well. So many people seem to have knit it in fact that I was about to declare it the new Clapotis (two of which I have already knit for myself and I am STILL now contemplating a third...), so off to Ravelry I went again to check out those particular stats. How many peeps have knit the clapotis you ask? (on ravelry alone that is...) 10,400!!!! Sweet, merciful crap! How is this possible???

Blocking the lace ribbon scarf though I would say, a definite necessity. It completely brought it to life.

The pattern came alive, it came out smooth, beautiful and virtually perfect. Anyone I've shown this scarf too can't believe that it's hand knit (is that a compliment or not? is it a dig that everything else I knit looks too "handmade/craptacular"? haha).

And this yarn? fabulous. Leave it to Patons to create another reliable yarn...silk and bamboo for less than 5 bucks a ball with decent yardage. It didn't split and I think in four balls I encountered maybe one knot. My one complaint here might be the weight of it overall. Though I'm not sure if that's down to the fact that there is 80 inches of scarf here, but it is not heavy by any means...I feel more like it is a thing of substance. Which is great for me, but someone looking for something slightly more airy might want to use just straight bamboo.

I'd like to be able to say that I was done with scarves for a bit (especially now that Spring is rolling in) but I've actually just finished another and two more are on the sticks. huh? Yeah, that's right.

So if you were ever thinking of knitting this one, and judging from the 5000plus people who have it in their queue I could very well be talking to YOU, all I can say is DO IT. You won't be disappointed. And as lace patterns go, this is an easy enough one to commit to memory.

Wranglin' the wrap

2009-03-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

Finally, something to post about --and a newsflash for you: Seaming sucks. Especially when you screw it up as often as I did knitting this baby:

pattern: Raglan Wrap from Laura Irwin's Boutique Knits
yarn: 9 balls of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK in "ink" for the size M.
needles: 3.75mm
buttons: bought on ebay --Vintage anchor (peacoat) buttons
mods: buttons sewn through both front pieces with the exception of at the neck and waistband (still used the snaps there), and I blocked it out a little longer than called for to try to get a little more length in the body.

um, ok --I think I might be in love with this sweater. I am DEFINITELY in love with the yarn. Though I bought too much. The pattern specified 8 balls for the small, and then 13 (????????) balls for the medium. Ok, it wasn't worded quite like that but that's what the medium instructions essentially amounted to: you will need 9 to 13 balls. Uhhhh, what do you do in that situation--shoot for a mid-point? I erred on the side of caution and bought all 13. I now have 4 leftover. Or, I WOULD have if I hadn't had to tear it out (twice) to keep re-seaming it. I used 9 balls exactly. Then when I had to seam it up for the final time I had to dip into the tenth ball for that reason alone. So now I suppose I could return the three remaining for something else, but enh? It's beautiful yarn. There may be a cowl (or two) in my (and someone else's)future.

I will spare you the long story about my seaming issues other than to say that originally I seamed the sleeves all the way up to the armpits (seen in my previous post). I had woven everything in before changing my mind. At one point I even mistakenly CUT THROUGH (gasp!) knit stitches thinking that they were the seaming yarn. (Cursed dark yarn), but in the end it all came together beautifully --and I think I may have finally mastered the mattress stitch. It is definitely my best seam-job to date. Why does that sound dirty?

And before anyone asks --it is meant to be reverse stockinette --I haven't inadvertently seamed this sweater together inside out. Though with my track record, would it really be a surprise if I did? I grappled with whether I even liked the reverse ST stitch, but I think the border is "fancy" enough that it actually kind of works here.

In short, this sweater might actually get some wear. Though after some great advice from miss Puffin, I think that I am OFFICIALLY done with anything remotely resembling a batwing. Yes, you now have that in writing, and any previous plans to knit Nati are now dead in the water.

Though now the question remains: "what the hell am I going to do with all that yarn for it???"

I had the world's laziest weekend, spent mostly thrifting and walkin' around in our sudden Spring-like temperatures around these parts (though as I type this it is now snowing again...) so our knitting "photoshoot" on Saturday deteriorated into some serious silliness, and as such subsequent photos of the sweater itself were not the best and look more like this:

Ah well. Consider it the sweater in action.

winter doldrums

2009-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Anyone else see this?

Twinkle's contribution to the Barbie 50th anniversary fashion show during New York fashion week. I guess this might be old news, but I only just saw that picture (and being touted for fall '09?)

I was thinking the other day that a chunky/speedy knit might be in order for me soon and that I should re-visit those Twinkle books again. Then I saw that picture and thought "ok if the Barbie-esque model is making that thing marginal, what hope do I have?" Still, I can't help but be drawn to her stuff over and over again.

It is nice to see something a bit "sunny" in terms of knitting right now, especially in the midst of this sea of navy of mine (fortunately drawing to a close...)

(this pic is pretty washed out...)

It dawned on me as I was attempting to sew this together the other night that I could not see a FREAKING thing I was doing. A combination of dark yarn and a poorly lit living room begat an impromptu trip to Ikea in the hopes of finding some kind of knitting specific wall sconce so that I could actually knit every evening without somehow relying on "intuition" or "the force". I am not too proud to tell you that I strapped a headlamp to my head just to get started on the seaming. Who knew those things could be as useful for fiberarts as they are for "spelunking". (yeah, I just busted out that word pffft.)

And still more blah-coloured knitting:

At this point I am already itching to start something new.

Did you miss me?

2009-02-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have NO knitting to speak of after my last couple week's absence. A few photos from my trip can be found HERE if you're interested. After my five hour drive from San Diego to Las Vegas it dawned on me as we were pulling into our hotel that "what the --I didn't knit ANYTHING on the drive!!!" (and I wasn't the one driving) so that left me a bit befuddled. I had it all organized and rarin' to go too. harumph. I just completely forgot.

I did however make up for it on the drive back to San Diego, subsequent drives from S.D to L.A, and then my plane ride back to Chicago. You really never do get as much knitting done on a trip as you think you will, do you? Plus I was severly thwarted by a "change to larger needles" pattern direction when I realized I had no such needles in my carry-on. drat. I just always think it's a miracle that my needles don't get confiscated at customs in the first place. Now THAT would be brutal (for the love of god mister/miss customs officer pleeeeeaaassssse don't break up my interchangeable set!)

So all that to say I got far less knitting done than I'd hoped, and the second my plane landed on home turf I was immediately thrown down for the count with a cold and have been basically good for nothing for several days now.

I am still blindly sloggng away at the raglan wrap,

The pieces are blocking as I type this, but I have a feeling that the piecing together may be a bit of a nightmare so it could very well be a while still before it sees the light of day. Not to mention buttons --though I took the easy road and just ordered some vintage peacoat anchor buttons on ebay. Hopefully they will do the trick.

So in lieu of any new knitting of my own to post, how 'bout some new Phildar? (no doubt you've seen these already) but here are my faves:

I am really digging all the big droopy cowl-neck sweaters (I know, that's a shocker..).

And YES this particular book of patterns is available in English, though I must say...still a vastly superior selection on the French sie of things...

one last thing

2009-02-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

Just a wee cowl before I head off on vacation...well ok, a wee chunky cowl:

I used up the last of my Mirasol Sulka for this cowl, probably about 2.5 skeins worth... maybe not even that much.

Really not much to say here...I think I cast on 62 stitches on 6.5mm needles, joined and knit in the round in a 1x1 rib for about 12 inches. I like the sort of stiff (yet soft) turtle-neckish collar look of it, but am thinking I may tear it out anyway in favour of either a looser cowl or knit lit Kate's oh so fabulous Anthropologie inspired scarflette:

I really love it and I think the Sulka will be a perfect fit for that particular pattern. It definitely needs to be whipped up into something at least a bit drapier.

I'm trying whole-heartedly not to over-pack knitting projects for this trip, yet am still hoping to at least have a couple of things completed when all is said and done. My six hour drive both to and from San Diego to Las Vegas should probably take care of the bulk of that (it'll be nice to be a passenger for once!). Unfortunately so far the weather forecast is looking like rain, rain and more rain.

I'm hoping to apply my 2009 mantra "I'd rather light a candle than curse the darkness" to life's pettier trials too, like the weather.

See you all in a couple of weeks!

cloche-fest 2009!

2009-01-27T05:33:00.000-08:00

It is definitely time for me to get back to the business of knitting...

Both of these are from Laura Irwin's Boutique Knits.

The Sideways Grande Cloche,

yarn: 1.5 skeins of Mirasol Sulka (60% wool, 20% alpaca, 20% silk). A fabulous chunky weight yarn that is super warm and super soft, and just enough silk to make it "fancy". Simply gorgeous. (This is the yarn the BF picked out all on his lonesome...) You can read all about the Mirasol project and their fabulous yarns HERE. Colour #214 (cinnamon)

needles: this pattern calls for 4 different sizes (US# 7, 8, 9 & 10 I think) and I basically had to go down a size for each one.
Mods: the only mods I made were to account for the heavier yarn...I cast on 30 sts --I think the pattern calls for 42.

baby it's c-c-c-cold outside!

It's quite an ingenious pattern actually, and the finished product is definitely a keeper as far as I'm concerned. It's knit flat and seamed with the stitches picked up for the crown (hmmm not unlike a certain Jenny Cloche which I've also knit in the same yarn!). But the really neat part is the fake cable at the side...it's just a couple of ribbed strips twisted together. Simple and genius!

And then there was the "Side Slip cloche":

yarn: Blue Sky alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes (about 1.5 skeins) in "Chocolate" (ironic given that in person this yarn simply looks grey).
needles: 3.75mm --I pretty much went down as far as I could in order to get gauge. Clearly all worsteds are not created equal.

Is it cute? gah...I dunno. On ravelry I threatened to tear it all apart but several people emailed me begging me not to which I thought was kind of funny! The BF refered to this as my "conductor's hat" (jerk.) presumably due to the puffiness on top. So now I'm not so sure. It is simultaneously too big *and* a perfect fit.

More annoying is the fact that I had to send away for a second ball of this stuff from Purl Soho to even complete this hat, so the fact that I don't really like it is an extra twist of the knife. One ball of blue sky alpacas plus exchange rate and shipping to Canada borders on thirty five bucks (honestly why do I ever buy ONE of anything in the first place?).

Anyway, I think the pattern is entirely too "precious" for my taste. And the poof on top adds a certain little-house-on-the-prairie-ness too it that is just not me. AND the yarn is too nice not to be re-used into something that I will actually wear. So, those are my excuses three. Though I am thinking I may give it a bit of a blocking first before I officially commit to its final demise.

It's nice to be back on the knitting train again. It's been hard having an Archie-less lap while I'm knitting, but I'm getting used to it. Plus I have my other big 'ol beast who is now getting (and needing) extra attention these days. Don't know what I'd do without him (oh yeah I do...I'd be forced to get a house full of kittens!)

lookit that menacing fang!

thank you

2009-01-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

I really want to thank all of you for you amazing, incredible, supportive and understanding comments on my last post about the untimely passing of my cat Archie.

Your words meant more to me than you will ever know, and those of you who shared your stories about the loss of your own furry friends really, REALLY helped me through this, and for that I will be eternally thankful. It is all the more meaningful to me because I know that's not why most of you come here, and that those of you who do read here are likely knitters, so the fact that you took that time is really humbling for me. We are all connected in so many fundamental ways.

As I begin to come out of the haze of this last week I am trying to move forward with a new perspective on (many) things, and am endeavouring not to dwell on it (particularly here) as a total Debbie Downer. I just really did not want you to go unacknowledged in all of this...A thousand hugs and a thousand heartfelt thank-yous!!!!

The art of getting back to "business as usual" is a bit of a process for me, as I know it should be. If nothing else this kitty business has proven to me that I could never. have. kids (!) And suffice to say I have not knit a stitch all week (nor really slept or eaten, but it's all slowly starting to get better). I had some new WIPS started before this all went down, so for lack of any real description, maybe i'll post the pretty, happy pictures here for you:

a chunky ribbed cowl

sideways grande cloche

the Raglan Wrap cardi

the Nati sweater

Anyway, there is lots for me to eventually get back around to. I'm also heading off to California and Las Vegas in a couple of weeks so have some serious travel knitting ahead of me.

I'm excited that Patons has come out with this silk bamboo...and see myself knitting it into Knitty's lace ribbons scarf somewhere on my road trip through the desert...

This trip could basically not have come at a better time.
XXXXXXXOOOOOOO

Archie

2009-01-14T11:46:00.000-08:00

2004-2009

I can barely type this but am hoping that forcing myself to do so will help me deal with all of this.

We lost our beloved Archie in the middle of the night, taken from us too too soon.

Archie had a heart condition, which I always knew we would be dealing with eventually but all yearly check-ups pointed to many, many years down the road from now. We awoke to Archie coughing up blood and thrashing and beginning to seize early this morning and all my attempts to resucitate him and administer cpr failed as he died in my arms somewhere before 1am. Just moments earlier he had been pressed up against my feet purring at the foot of the bed.

The shock of all of this is still so raw and I feel like I don't know what I'm saying or doing. It was all over so horribly, excrutiatingly fast that I still kept expecting him to just shake it off and snap out of it.

People who aren't rampant animal lovers as I am may never understand that Archie was essentially my baby boy and at times the only thing that would make me smile on any given day. I would rush home from work knowing that every day like clockwork he would run down to the door to greet me and purr in my arms for ten minutes before I was finally able to take my coat off.

I've never had a cat as sweet tempered and lovingly dispositioned as Archie. He was quiet and loving and when he dolled out affection you felt like you were the only person in the world. He will be sorely missed.

I am hurting so much right now and absolutely everything in this house and everywhere I look reminds me of him. I take solace in knowing that he led a life full of fun and love and that he had us with him at the end. As agonizing as that may have been I would have hated to have not been there and forever wondering what happened and what I could have done, instead of what I'm left with: "could I have done more?" It is all so painful and the scenes keep replaying over and over in my head in slow motion.

Archie, I love you and will think about you every day for the rest of my life. You were my special little guy and there will never be another one like you.

T-weet T-weet T-woooooooo

2009-01-08T06:05:00.000-08:00

or was that to-wit-to-wit to-wooooo? I seem to remember having an old Tweenie (pre-Brownie, now "Sparks") chant to that effect. And for some reason these mitts totally bring me back to Brownie/Girl Guide camp days. (Maybe it's the gold? --it's definitely the owls....) all they need is perching on a toadtool.

Stitch definition on the gold pair,

vastly superior to the grey ones:

Maybe it's the fleck in the grey?

Anyway, the deets:

Pattern: Give a Hoot mittens from Kelbourne Woolens
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in old gold (mustard-y) and Belle Vallée 2ply in Md. Nat Grey. About half a ball for each pair.
needles: 4.5mm & 5mm

I knit the gold pair first and they went up lickety-split. I started with 3.75mm needles for my small hands, but in the end went with 4.5mm. They are a perfect fit. They also went up so quickly off and on within a couple of days that I immediately cast on for a second pair for a friend. (I am now officially sick of knitting mittens...)

That grey yarn was one of those one-off things you buy at a farmer's market because he's-right-there-and-everyone-else-is-buying-vegetables-and-I'm-a-knitter-and-I-should-support-him type scenarios. It was VERY coarse and twiggy stuff from a local farmer. I actually didn't think I'd ever use it, but I wanted to make a bigger pair so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

It was not unlike knitting right off the sheep itself---kind of like that Sylvester & Tweety cartoon where grandma knits the fur right off of him when he's hiding in her knitting basket...anyone know what I'm talkin' about? I tried to youtube it but then just gave up. As I was knitting with it I could feel the sheep's lanolin oiling up my fingers, and when I blocked it ---Pee-eww--that beast came alive. Serious wet wool/sheep smell.

Fortunately not so stinky after they dried,

(channelling Mary Catherine Gallagher here --minus the smelling of armpits) Also, what is going ON with my bangs????

I am seriously jazzed right now about a number of projects. Yes, yes, who was that girl that a couple of months ago was all "phooey, there's nothing I want to knit, boo hoo...", but am currently thwarted due to endless snowstorms around these parts. I'm hoping tomorrow wiill be my magic day as I've actually got a list raring to go for my two fave LYS'.

Also thwarted right now, is this hat until the rest of my yarn for it arrives in the mail. "Running-out-of-yarn" appears to be my middle name these days, not nearly so charming as "dances-with-wolves", but what can you do?

All to say that I am somewhat in limbo until I can get cracking on some of this stuff.

2009 knit-o-lutions!

2009-01-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

...and a look back at 2008. I like to do these lists once a year ---mostly just to keep my sidebar at right nice n' tidy (have I recently mentionned my passion for organization?) so just wing through to the bottom if yer not interested, it's a surprisingly long list.

Moss Stitch scarf
Grey Classic Mitts
Brown Classic Mitts
Angora Floppy toque
Interwoven Cable hat
Wallis sweater
Knit bangles
double-breasted coat
Gretel beret #2
Lace rib cowl
Star crossed slouchy beret
Elisa‘s Nest tote
Just like a peasant cap
Cocoon cowl
Iceland sweater
Foxy angora beret
Emerald string bag
Calyx handtote
Phiaro scarf
Quant
Purl beret #2
Grrr washcloth
Swiss Cheese scarf
Tulip Doll
Jenny Cloche #3
Twinkle biker vest
Counterpane carpet bag
Cashmere cowl #3
Jenny Cloche
Jenny Cloche #2
Vintage shoulderette
Giant cowl #2
Herringbone neckwarmer
One day beret
Spiral scarf
Mercy beret #2
Borealis sweater
Sunrise Circle jacket
Twinkle Urchin beret
Fake-a-gamo purse
XO UO cowl
Mercy beret
Pilot hat
Aspen hat #2
Calorimetry

In the end the little Owl mittens (sorry for not posting the pattern link last week!) didn't make the cut, though technically I *did* finish knitting them in 2008. I was knitting the button eyes onto them on January 1st though so I figured I shouldn't cheat and will move them to my list of 2009 F.O's. At the very least that way I will start the year "psychologically" having already completed something. But more on those to come. They were such a fast knit that I've already completed a second pair for a friend of mine.

As far as last year's knit-o-lutions went....erm. How does 50% completed sound?

I suppose it might sound ok if I hadn't chosen some embarrassingly easy resolutions in the first place. As it is I could have likely learned ALL of these things in one afternoon but STILL did not. So here you go:

-Learn to crochet. Yeah, that didn't happen. I mean, if forced I can muddle through the odd chain stitch, but that's about it. Still planning to take a beginners crochet course with my mother, so maybe i'll move this onto my 2009 knitting resolutions list again. I'm starting to get all weird and anti-crochet for no reason other than my own apathy. I'm starting to physically resent those patterns that call for both knitting and crochet work.

-Some form of colour work. Also, not done. Though given that I don't really like anything "multi-coloured" for the most part, I guess it's no surprise. Still I plan to start working on something within the realm of this soon, so onto the 2009 list it also goes.

-Magic loop. Big check mark here. I took a course on magic-loop and "knitting two socks at once on circs" earlier in the year. I have not practiced this method even once since then. But it's still freakin' done, so there. Again, I don't knit a lot of socks (try none) so I suppose it's no surprise this fell into dis-use for me. Though I guess the sheer number of mittens I've cranked out lately should have justified my picking it up again. Oopsy.

-De-stash. Well, this is ongoing though I must say I have been really, really good about it. Anything I've bought in the last year was pretty much bought for immediate use and used-so accordingly, so the stash hasn't grown at all, and if anything it's actually shrunk. I've been going out of my way to use up even yarn that I can no longer stand the sight of. The last sweater I knit was even yarn torn from another sweater. Really I could keep making more and more sweaters out of the five I've knit in my closet that I don't wear. Hell, I'm already thinking about frogging Iceland from mere months ago simply because the yarn is too nice and I never want to have to spend $300 on sweater supplies again!

Now, as far as NEW knit-o-lutions go?

Ugh. How 'bout I just leave it at that for now? Don't want to get toooooo ambitious now, do I? (baby steps, baby steps). Plus it seems like when a deadline looms I have a tendancy to dig in my heels and practice all my best avoidance skills.

It wasn't much of a knitterly Christmas for me this year either. (I mean what do I really need?) though the hubby did surprise me with some gorgeous yarn that he picked out all.on.his.lonesome. Shocking.

He did not in fact even know what he was looking for. I've made a hat in this gorgeous yarn once before and commented that I would "like to pick up some more". He went into my LYS and simply spotted it. Not knowing the name, just remembering the hat. That, my friends is some serious knitter's osmosis right there. Why can't I learn to play the guitar that way?

And my sister also gifted me Laura Irwin's Boutique Knits. Not since LMKG have I been able to see myself casting on for so many things from ONE book.

And I'm starting with the Side Slip Cloche,

In some gorgeous yarn that I am so paranoid I will run out of. Still I press on.

Other things I'm mosdef putting into the queue from this book:

Yowzers. Though fortunately most of those are relatively small projects and should kill a couple of those resolutions for me at the same time.

And now this post is officially crazy long, but that's Xmas and New Year's in a nutshell for you. This year I plan to not wax on so much about how much I love all your blogs and about how much the online knitting community has meant to me these last couple of years, so just KNOW IT. You guys are the best --have a Happy 2009!

back to basics volume II

2008-12-30T07:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! ok, I'm a little late on that score, but I'm still on time to wish you all a Happy New Year :)

The ONE measly item of Christmas knitting that I had to do this year did not even get finished. Well, it was kind of a two-fer...matching scarf and mitts. The scarf got done,

oh that handsome devil...

I know, what a boring scarf (but highly wearable I must say) particularly for someone on the less uh flashy side of fashion.

The matching mitts though, did not turn out as planned...

(I should have made him do a thumbs-down here instead...)

meh. I just took a basic mitt pattern and altered it with a moss stitch.

To say that I am sick of knitting mitts right now would be pretty accurate --though I must say that I think it's mostly psychological. That one moss stitch mitt sat on my coffee table staring at me for about two weeks while I decided what was to become of it. It was also a psychological barrier for me in that I refused to cast on anything new until I could at least get those done. And the more I told myself that, the less I wanted to knit anything.

They worked out ok, but it was a bit too matchy matchy, so I tore 'em out in favour of the all-too basic mitts once again:

Now that they're done I feel the weight of them lifted and I can finally turn towards newer projects..

Why then did I decide to cast on for ANOTHER pair of mitts last night?!

Well, they were just too darn cute not to...

Can't wait to add the little button eyes!

With any luck I'll manage to squeak these in as my last knit of 2008. I can't believe another year of knitting has come and gone.

I have some knitting on the horizon for 2009 that I'm excited to get started on and I'm planning to do my usual look back at the previous year's knitting and 2008 knit-o-lutions like so many of you as well (spoiler: 2008 knit-o-lutions NOT completed--surprise, surprise) so I will likely have to tack those onto this year's list as well...oopsy.

Hopefully my energy will return after I've consumed the last of the Christmas chocolates in the house and can get back to yoga (among other healthier pursuits) after a two week absence. Ok wait, I still have a New year's eve bloat to get through as well.

ugh it never ends...
have a great New Year!