Hip Chick Knits

The Other One

2012-02-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

Remember how I just wrote about not being into knitting blankets? Well, here's the other blanket I'm working on. A co-worker is having a baby boy and for once I decided that I would knit a blanket. This sucker goes pretty quickly, though. It's the Purl Bee's Chevron Baby Blanket in Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton. Held double! Hooray! On size 11 needles! Hooray, again! I can knit a full stripe in about two hours and that's the equivalent of almost a full skein of yarn. I've only got three more stripes to go but that darn mitered crosses blanket keeps calling my name. Good thing the baby's not due until June.

The Little Red Plane

2012-02-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

Little A and I just got back from a viewing of short films at the Northwest Film Forum. This one was the first and I love all the different textures of knitting. Enjoy!

February already?

2012-02-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

My apologies for the very sparse posting in January. I had a lot of things on my plate (as usual) and was getting settled into the Winter quarter of classes. Chaucer and Shakespeare turn out to be quite enjoyable, who knew?

I've never been a process knitter. I knit for the finished item and while I enjoy the process it isn't necessarily the zen experience I hear other knitters talk about. Relaxing, sure. Usually calming, yep. But I've never been a proponent of blanket knitting since that is a whoooole lot of, to me, mind-numbing sameness that removes the pleasure of knitting. But behold! Mitered crosses! I purchased this pattern and some yarn last year and in my annual stash reorganization I pulled it out and cast on. The goal is one square per week and I'm enjoying the knitting mightily. It may have something to do with the craziness that is my life right now but garter stitch and little squares sure feel good.

Turbine

2012-01-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Hello! So things are crazy around here again which is not really a surprise. I started class last Wednesday and rather than having it be a horrible ordeal (Shakespeare & Chaucer) I'm enjoying it immensely. What? I'm a nerd and I totally embrace that about myself. I should even have a little more time to knit this quarter since my work load isn't so excruciatingly heavy. I did manage to get some knitting done over the holidays, including Turbine. This is attempt number two as the first one, knit in November and frogged right away, was too small. Waaaay too small. N's dad loves the finished hat.

Pattern: Turbine by Woolly Wormhead from Twisted Woolly Toppers
Yarn: Tosh Vintage in Grove
Needles: US #8 Addi Turbo
Mods: Went up a needle size and knit the largest size in order to get a man-head size hat. I also used the Old Norwegian (aka Twisted German) cast on for added stretch around the brim since there's no ribbing to keep it snug, yet stretchy. If you don't know that cast on you can find it here *- I learned it in a class from Evelyn Clark and it's fantastically elastic. It's also a great cast on for lace since it allows for maximum blocking.

*The video is fairly long so you can skip to the 2min 50sec mark to see the cast on itself.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

So there went the holidays. I can' believe 2011 is already over but I'm happy that it is. I had a bad year. Don't get me wrong, good things did happen but the good things definitely did not outweigh the bad things and 2011 just left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

In the knitting goals category I think that I started out well participating in Stash & Burn's sock yarn stash knitdown but about half way through the year I petered out. That's also about the time I went back to work 7 days a week. Yikes. However, I did finish quite a few things and am really happy with my Chadwick and my Acer Cardigan with my Fair Isle Yoke Cardigan coming in close behind. What were your favorite knits of 2011?

In any case, here's one of my final FO's from 2011. It's Turbine by Woolly Wormhead knit in Tosh Vintage in the Grove color. I knit the largest size and used a size 8 needle to get gauge. My father in-law loves it and the color looks great on him.

Quick to Knit

2011-12-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

As I'm sitting here knitting away on the second-to-last Christmas gift (phew!) I'm thinking about all the great, fast knits there are out there for people like me who have very little time to knit but like to make handmade gifts. Here's a list of 10 things that are easy and fast to knit but covet-worthy.

1) Gaptastic Cowl
2)Super Cupcake Cowl (and hat)
3)Shawl Collared Cowl
4)Treads
5)Hand/Wrist Warmers
6)Chunky Toddler Mitts
7)Elefante
8)Fish Hat [Dead or Alive]
9)Turn a Square
10)Thorpe

I know that Christmas is this Sunday but if you're determined to knit at least one gift, or forgot to purchase a gift and are just now realizing that fact, then I think you could do any one of these patterns in the time allotted. I knit the toddler mitts in one evening out of 49 yards (!!!) of Chunky Mochi. The shawl collared cowl was about an evening or so and the gaptastic cowl took about two days of knitting in the evening and during my lunch breaks. Even if you're a fine-gauge knitter now is the time to bust out some of that chunky yarn and get cracking! Happy knitting!

Countdown

2011-12-13T22:09:00.000-08:00

I've got one - ONE! - paper to write by Friday and then I'm done for the quarter. If I had been a smart girl I would have taken myself to a coffee shop on Sunday to get started on it but instead I ran many many errands and then promptly fell asleep for an hour in the afternoon. Now it's crunch time and I've got a timeline set up for myself in order to get my 5-7 pages written, edited, and edited again for Friday's deadline. Don't you wish there was some kind of app for ordering your thoughts into a cohesive paper outline? It would be fab. Oh, yeah, there is one! It's called my brain! Unfortunately it's on the fritz from staring at this damn computer screen for three hours. Time to call it a night.

Knitting coming soon! I've got to take pictures sometime before 4pm when it starts getting dark.

Finish Line

2011-12-04T11:37:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note to say that I'm still here, still working like crazy, and trying to sneak in a little knitting time as I'm wrapping up the final few weeks of the quarter. I've got two papers and a final in the works with what feels like precious little time. Did that stop me from going out last weekend and last night? Um, no. Last weekend I hit Gainsbourg with a couple of knitting friends where we exchanged our Malabrigo hat swap items. Jen knit Ripley for me in some pretty Malabrigo Twist in the grapes color. Love it! I ate some yummy cheese and bread and ended up with poutine - it was an epic starch frenzy with the pleasant accompaniment of booze. Hooray! Last night I headed over to iknityouknot's place to eat more bread, cheese, nuts, and fruit and booze it up with some dark & dry cider while watching fairly crappy tv and knitting. It was exactly what I needed to blow off a little steam before hunkering down for paper writing. I've also been working on this pretty thing:

It's Clockwork by Stephen West in tosh merino light Flash Dance and Steam Age. It's pretty perfect for knitting in class since the pattern is easily memorized and knit in plain old garter stitch with some slipped stitches for interest. I'm really looking forward to the finished piece which I plan to finish some time over the winter break.

Petunia

2011-11-25T19:09:00.001-08:00

Monster #2 of the birthday party craziness happening in Little A's preschool. Stash yarn for the win!

Pattern: Petunia by Rebecca Danger
Yarn: Samoa GGH (partial balls!)
Needles: US #6 Addi Turbo
Mods: I shortened the body by a couple of inches since I was running out of purple yarn. Buttons from my sewing box for eyes. This little monster is super cute but my favorite thing about it is that I was able to rid my stash of two partial balls of yarn. Hooray!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:13:00.001-08:00

I made a kick-ass apple pie and brought a vegetarian entree over to my in-laws for dinner and we all ate ourselves into a food coma. I even managed to get some knitting time in before we all sat down at table. Unfortunately, the item I'm knitting is a Christmas gift so I can't share it with you but I can tell you that it is knit from Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in one of her rogue colorways. That's happy knitting for my hands and the colors are waaay easy on the eye. Love that stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and may you find time in your busy day and weekend to get some knitting done.

Baldwin

2011-11-18T23:17:00.001-08:00

Ever since Little A started pre-school she's been a social butterfly and attending birthday parties like nobody's business. I knit this little guy up for the first party and I have to say that it was mighty fun. Also, mighty cheap since the yarn came straight out of stash along with buttons, stuffing, and felt.

Pattern: Baldwin the Bathroom Monster from the Big Book of Knitted Monsters by Rebecca Danger

Yarn: Spud & Chloe Sweater in Splash & Firecracker

Needle: US #6 Addi Turbo

Mods: I used magic loop for the whole shebang and regular old buttons since it was late at night and I didn't have any safety eyes to hand.

Winning!

2011-11-15T17:35:00.001-08:00

Thanks for all of the kind comments on my new hat pattern. Mary and strickdoktor - I'm sending you each a pattern! I can't wait to see how your hats turn out. It's been pretty well received on Ravelry and I'm eagerly awaiting some finished object photos. That's it! I'll contact you through Ravelry and send you the patterns asap.

Turning

2011-11-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

As soon as the weather starts to take a drastic turn toward chilly I have the urge to knit all kinds of warm, bright things to keep the cold at bay. I also have the urge to buy waaaay more yarn than I could ever reasonably knit in one cold season. Don't we all? I saw this color of Noro Silk Garden (#349) and knew that I needed to knit a hat out of it. But not just any hat, a hat with simple texture that would show off the awesome color changes of Noro. Voila, Turning. To knit this hat you'll need two balls of Noro Silk Garden and US #5 and US #8 needles. And the pattern, of course! I'll give away one pattern on this here blog (you'll need to be on Ravelry for me to gift it to you) to the reader who comments on what color of silk garden (or alternate yarn) that you'll make your hat out of. Deadline for the giveaway is, hmmm, next Sunday, November 13th.

If you can't wait until then the pattern is available in my Ravelry shop for $3.00.

Big thanks to iknityouknot for helping with test knitting and picture taking. You're the best!

Tiiiiiiired

2011-11-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a 12 hour work day to kill any good intentions I had about starting my next writing assignment. It's midterm week and I'm tiiiiiiiiired. Tired. Very tired. Barring caffeine (I drank the equivalent of 6 shots of espresso today) and heavy doses of amphetamines does anyone have any suggestions for getting my huge to-do list done? An extra day in the week would be nice - can we have that instead of daylight savings?

I've got knitting to share with y'all and as soon as I find myself at home during the day and with daylight (Sunday perhaps?) I'll update pictures and share. It sounds like a great way to waste some time in lieu of writing a paper that I'm not all that jazzed about. However, I did just finish a paper that basically equated Hester Prynne with Ted Kaczynski. It was an unintentional parallel but after having N read it for feedback that's what he said. Bosh. You try to puzzle out that cause I don't follow. Maybe more coffee...

Stripes

2011-10-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

Let me tell ya folks, I've had it rough the last couple of weeks. I was really really sick for just under a week - so sick that I called in sick three days in a row and I never ever do that. Ick. I've also accumulated quite the laundry list of homework and Little A starts preschool next week so I've been getting all of that stuff together. You'd think I wouldn't have time to knit, huh? Well, I've got some time and have figured out a way to do my reading for school and knit at the same time and that is the best kind of multi-tasking. Anywho, while recuperating from the plague I dug out some nice little skeins of Silk & Ivory needlepoint yarn and cast on for a hat for Little A. I picked the yarn up a couple of months ago and had the idea for the hat rolling around in my head. This thing just flowed from the needles and I had one itty bitty ball of cream colored yarn left, super satisfying.

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Silk & Ivory Needlepoint Yarn
Needles: Addi Turbo #1 & #3 needles

This yarn comes in skeins just under 30 yards and is basically a heavy-ish fingering weight in a 50/50 merino silk blend. I used 5 skeins total - 2 for the brim/first stripe and one each for the rest of the stripes.

Happy Birthday!

2011-10-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

I don't plan on mine being as destructive as this but I can get a lot accomplished in one day off of work. Hmmm....

Huh?

2011-09-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

So somebody flipped a switch and it's Fall. Just like that *snaps fingers* and I'm already planning oodles of hand knits. Oodles, I tell ya. I've got a sweater in the works - the Bailey Cardigan by Amy Christoffers. This baby is knit in Berroco Ultra Alpaca and I have to tell you, the yarn is so smooshably soft that it doesn't even bother me that I have to knit 16 inches before splitting off the fronts and backs. It's that good. I have pictures to share but not enough time to do it tonight, but soon, I promise!

My mom is coming to visit this weekend and I have an actual full weekend to hang out and be with my family. Hurray! Can you believe that? Two. Full. Days. Someone bring me my smelling salts! I feel a fit of the vapors coming on.

My first night of class is tomorrow. I got my dates all mixed up and thought the first day of class was Thursday but, no, it's Wednesday. My emotional readiness is lacking but it's only one night so I can deal.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback on the new Fall cornucopia of patterns. I can't wait to get started on some of them. And Chris? Thanks for saying that you love a certain designer's work so much you want to punch him. It made me laugh out loud and feel glad that I'm not the only one that has such a, ahem, violent reaction to awesome knitwear.

More Fall Goodness

2011-09-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

That guy Jared knows how to put together a lovely Fall collection. There's quite a nice variety of sweaters and accessories although I'm surprised that only one of the sweaters is for men. What do you think?

As for Knitty Deep Fall I like the variety of projects and queued a fair share in my usual this-is-new-must-queue-now style but will likely cull the herd after the shiny new phase wears off. I thought Tenney Park was a lovely use of entrelac, which I hate knitting but like the look of, but I may have queued it because of the lovely eggplant color used in the main body of the sweater. I also like the ambroso mittens and apis dorsata.

What's your favorite new Fall pattern?

Deep Fall

2011-09-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

Knitty Deep Fall is up.

Dipped Infinity Scarf

2011-09-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

Did I tell you about the crazy amount of yarn I purchased at Sock Summit in July? Well, I still think it was a huge addition to my stash but it will be well worth it if all of my projects end up as lovely as this one. This was my first purchase of the weekend and it's totally squee-able. Totally. I can't wait for it to get cool enough to require scarves just so I can show it off.

Pattern: Dipped Infinity Scarf by Laura Chau
Yarn: Dirty Water Dyeworks Merino Tencel
Needles: US #9 Addi Turbo Lace
Mods: None! Bought as a kit and knit just as written.

Super Crazy Busy Time

2011-09-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hello! Please pardon the lack of posting - it is indeed super crazy busy time. Summer is ending and school is starting and I've got a to-do list about as long as I am tall. That's pretty long, people. Besides working a ton I've been trying to get all of my school things in order. Registration. Books. Parking permits. Bus passes. You know, stuff. It feels as if every time one thing gets marked off the list about three things get added and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the inability to GET THINGS DONE and having them stay that way. Down, things, down. Good things. Treat for you.

One thing I have gotten done is the baby sweater for my friend, Rebecca, who is having a little girl. I know she likes girly things but also has a taste for the modern so I thought the Playful Stripes Cardigan would be perfect. It's girly but not froufrou and it gave me a chance to bust out my leftover balls of Baby Cashmerino.

What a day will bring...

2011-08-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today brought 11 hours of work, stinky people on the bus, finishing a baby sweater, and some ridiculous commentary from a new, 19 year old co-worker. Bad, bad, good, bad. I can't share the baby sweater since it's for a fellow knitting group attendee and expectant mom but it's super cute and got many accolades by the ladies at my LYS knit night group. I feel a little befuddled with days of the week and times of the day since I'm working so much right now. Do you know that time quickens and slows depending on what you're doing and how you feel about it? Day job lasts a billionty hours but free time at home? About 2 seconds. Yep.

The picture is bad - do you know that reds and purples are pretty much impossible to photograph accurately? They are to me. Anywho, it's another Cecily pattern that I've had in the queue for ages but finally knit up a couple of weeks ago and blocked some time last week.

Pattern: Catherine by Cecily Glowik MacDonald
Yarn: Tosh DK in Tart
Needles: US #4 & US #6 Addi Turbo
Mods: None. I think I have enough yarn left for some short and sweet fingerless mitts. This pattern was absolutely perfect for watching foreign films and Mad Men. There's a good portion of stockinette for really juicy bits of films and the occasional purling and cable crossing for brief boring interludes.

Tea Time For Edgar

2011-08-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

After a rough almost week I feel like things are back on track. Still haven't found a Tues/Thurs solution to the childcare problem but I've got my optimist hat on today so I know it'll work out just fine. I finally took some pics of finished projects before Little A got dropped off from her day-long trip over to Bainbridge with her grandparents.

I finished these socks while at Sock Summit and I have no idea why they took so long to knit up. I feel like I've got knitting scatterbrain lately. Could it be the 7 day work week? Perhaps.

Pattern: Tea Time by Das Bollwerk & Frau Mascha
Yarn: Kitchen Sink Dyeworks Merino Fine in "Edgar"
Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm)
Mods: I modified the cuff ribbing to flow seamlessly into the cable panels and continued the heel cable down into the heel flap with a reinforced heel on the remainder of the flap stitches. Regular old wedge toe. I could have knit these on a #1.5 needle as they're very dense but I went with the #1 since there's no nylon in this particular yarn base. They're handsome socks that I think would be well suited for a man's sock.

Erase Today

2011-08-09T19:31:00.001-07:00

I had the worst day today. I mean bad. I mean really really bad. My Tuesday/Thursday daycare person is divorcing her husband and moving back East at the end of the month and Little A's last day there is Thursday of next week. I've got that much time to find someone new and then go through the whole adjustment period with A again. Blar. The scanner at work was not working properly. I forgot my iPod at home. N has a cold. Little A had a screaming fit in the backseat while I was trying to drive home and proceeded to have a complete meltdown once at home. I bit the side of my tongue really hard while eating dinner. Whine. Whimper. Sigh.

But now the house is quiet and I've got some pistachio gelato melting to scoopableness and time to watch a movie and knit while I regroup for tomorrow. Whine over. Thanks for listening.

Yr mom goes to college

2011-08-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

She does, too. UW in fact. I got accepted to UW last Monday and will be starting Fall Quarter as long as my financial aid comes through (there were some hiccups). Hellllllooooo education. I can't wait to start making some actual headway toward my goals even though I'll be dang busy. 'Cause you know that two jobs just was not adequately filling my time. Har.

Here's some actual knitting just to get your knitting motors running.

Pattern: Rondeur by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark
Yarn: Ella Rae Bamboo Silk
Needles: US #3 & US #6 Addi Turbo
Mods: My yarn was a true worsted weight so I knit it at a tighter gauge to help keep the yarn from growing with wear and washing. I knit a flat hem rather than the rounded hem and moved the waist shaping to the sides.

Sock Summit

2011-08-05T17:59:00.001-07:00

A small portion of my...ahem...hoard from Sock Summit. I didn't intend to purchase as much as I did but lots of people had deals on the last day and I'm a sucker for a good deal. Plus, you know, it's pretty. Last SS I ended up with lots of muted colors on the gray and violet end of the spectrum so I went in with a mind to expand my color palette. I think I did a pretty dang good job. Besides shopping I met a lot of podcast listeners and blog readers (hi Sarah!) and hung out with my friends and ate a ton of great food. All in all it was a great weekend with a good mix of relaxation and social stuff going on.

Top to bottom: StrickenSmitten Shimmer Glimmer DK in Blackberry Diamond, Becoming Art Agave Fingering in Perfect Mango, Plucky Knitter 4-ply cashmere in Roasted Pumpkin, Sincere Sheep Agleam in Neblina, Fiber Optic Foot Notes in Ripple.

Sock Summit

2011-07-29T07:41:00.001-07:00

I'm off to Sock Summit this morning with Jessica to spend three glorious days reveling in yarny goodness. There are no classes on the agenda but plenty of relaxing, shopping, and eating...I hope. I've made a little list of possible projects for yarn purchasing and have a couple of items I'm charged to buy for other people but other than that there is no schedule. It's just what I need to unwind from my three weeks straight of work, work, work. Stay tuned for post-Sock Summit goodness.

Cuteness for Boys

2011-07-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

Knitting patterns for baby girls abound. There's a whole lot of lace and smocking and tiny mary janes out there to knit but what does a person do when confronted with knitting for baby boys? Research. Ravelry has made it pretty easy to advanced search for just about anything but I went to my queue to search and found the perfect thing. There aren't any baby boys coming into my corner of the world but I felt like knitting something decidedly boyish and found that perfect balance between pattern and (stash)yarn.

Pattern: Candy Cardigan from Pickles
Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull in nondescript beige & Sundara Sock Yarn in Bronzed Sienna
Needles: US #5 & US #6 Addi Turbo
Mods: I knit the body on the smaller needle since the slip stitch pattern of the yoke pulls in a bit. I added stripes of the contrast color to the edgings for a bit more color and bound off on a smaller needle to help the garter stitch edges from flaring out.

Designer

2011-07-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

Do you remember this? Eons ago I had a passing thought to add it to Ravelry as a free pattern. Guess what? I finally got around to it! GSZ Cowl is now available as a free Ravelry download so you can knit your very own. I knit mine in a few hours and just under one skein of yarn. If you haven't knit with Malabrigo Rasta I highly recommend it. Using a US 15 needle makes a lovely, squishy fabric and really lets the loftiness of the yarn come through. Enjoy!

Progress

2011-07-13T22:09:00.000-07:00

I've got tons of things on and off the needles but have to wait for a perfect storm of free time and daylight to snap photos of them all. Maybe this weekend? I finished a baby sweater, started another, and have to update pics of all my other WIPs and FOs. Full-time work really puts a damper on the knitting time and I'm on the bus for such a short amount of time after dropping Little A off in the a.m. that it hardly seems worth it to pull out the knitting. On a happy note, there is at least one knitter at my new job who is incredibly excited that I knit at the lunch break on my first day.

On the school front, I submitted my UW application this evening. That pesky personal statement totally drove me batty! But now the whole thing is done and turned in several days before the deadline and I just have to wait to hear about my acceptance. Think good thoughts for me!

Ch-Ch-Changes

2011-07-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

This week has flown by! I've had so much to do it doesn't feel like it can possibly be Friday but here we are. I start a temporary full-time job on Monday that will run for the next six months to year so I've had to coordinate childcare, really work on my UW application, and do all the things I've been meaning to do for the past few months in the space of a couple of weeks. I've managed to cram in some knitting in the evenings while I make mental t0-do lists and rest up for the craziness that is to come. I'm looking forward to the extra income but dreading the 6am wake-up call. Ouch. Just thinking about the alarm going off makes me crave coffee, vast buzz-inducing cups of coffee. I'm anticipating a difficult transition time leading to a stable, if hectic, regularity of schedule. Quite a change from stay-at-home, part-time school, part-time work mode.

Angee

2011-06-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I decided to organize my socks. While they looked very pretty all lined up I realized that I had a problem. A green sock problem. At the time I counted four pair but here's number five! Really?! Five? How many green socks does a girl need? Well, five I guess. I dug through my stash today and I have at least one more skein of green sock yarn but for heaven's sake I'll not make it into socks. Hmm...

Pattern: Angee by Cookie A
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in Bronzed Forest
Needle: US 1 (2.25 mm) Addi turbo
No mods!

Frogging

2011-06-27T11:12:00.001-07:00

Last week I pulled out a long-suffering sock project in order to work on it. It sat. I tried the finished sock on. It sat. I tried it on again. This went on for days and I finally decided yesterday to rip the sucker out!!! I unpicked the bind off threw the yarn on the ballwinder and pulled the sock out in about 2 minutes. I felt a sense of elation at the prospect of not having to knit the second sock and an ease of knitting burden in ripping it out. Yes, the yarn is back in my stash but I'll choose a pattern that I actually enjoy knitting rather than forcing myself to knit something I hate. Yay!

How about you? Do you feel burdened by a long-suffering project? Do you shove it at the bottom of the WIP box to finish at an unidentified later date or frog? How do you decide?

Wayfarer

2011-06-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

I finished my Wayfarer scarf a couple of weeks ago and finally washed and blocked the sucker out. Apparently I'm going through an orange phase and I like it. This scarf took me a little longer to knit as it was my going-to-a-bar knitting project and, let's face it, once you hit a certain point in the evening there's not a whole lot of knitting going on. Well, not any knitting that won't get ripped out the next day.

Pattern: Wayfarer by Jared Flood
Yarn: Shelter in Embers
Needle: US #8 Clover
Mods: None. Knit it just as written which left me with a very tiny amount of yarn left over. This yarn is definitely a knitter's yarn. It smells wonderfully of clean sheep and the outdoors and knits into an incredibly lofty and warm fabric. My hands like knitting with it and the color palette is right up my alley. And what's wrong with North American raised and milled wool? Not a damn thing.

Drifting

2011-06-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

I finished a lovely lightweight cardigan for Summer (if it ever really gets here) on Sunday. It's yet another great pattern by Cecily Glowik MacDonald.

Pattern: Drifting
Yarn: Dye Dreams Luster Sox in Olive (2 skeins)
Needles: US #5 & US #6 Addi Turbo
Mods: Knit the body half an inch longer. Dye Dreams is no longer in business but one of the ladies has gone on to dye under the name Dirty Water DyeWorks. The Luster Sox yarn base is BFL which lends great drape to my finished cardi. I think the Paula base for DWD is the same as my Luster Sox. In any case I'll be putting DWD on my "must visit" list for Sock Summit to see it in person and possibly purchase.

Rick (Steves)

2011-06-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been completely nutso around here. We're having a bit of family drama which only serves to elevate my frustration/anger level and which, I think, won't be easily done away with. In fact, this will probably be my only mention of it and now I'm moving on. Whew.

I took my final for Spanish 3 last night and flew through it in about 35 minutes. I'm always anxious that a quickly completed test means that I don't actually know anything and every answer is wrong. But I celebrated my release from 8 hours of homework per week by downing a couple of German beers and eating a veggie burger. YUM!

In knitting news, I've been steadily working away on projects. Most are in sock yarn and while they take a little more time to finish I'm happy with the decreased sock yarn stash. When my mom came to visit in February she asked me for a pair of socks so I dug out all of my sock books and let her choose. She picked out Rick from Cookie A's Sock Innovation and requested green. I dug through my stash for all my green sock yarn and she liked my skein of Hazel Knits in Cascade Canopy. Have I said how much I love this yarn? It's smooth and round and has great stitch definition and blocks beautifully. The socks came out so well that I'm a little sad to see them go.

Pattern: Rick from Sock Innovation by Cookie A
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Cascade Canopy
Needles: US #1 addi turbo
Mods: None

Knitting for the Dude

2011-05-29T08:36:00.001-07:00

A while back I was browsing through the plethora of patterns on Ravelry when I came across a sweater just like the Dude's from the Big Lebowski. The pattern is free and I've got a hankering to knit it for N.

Me: Would you wear this sweater if I knit it for you?
N: Umm...that looks different than the Dude's sweater. Isn't the collar different?
Me: Yeah, I could make it more like a shawl collar. But would you wear it?
N: I don't want you to knit something for me just so I can wear it and you can laugh at me.
Me: I won't laugh at you, it's an awesome sweater. Would you wear it?
N: grumble grumble grumble

I'm taking that as a no. Is that going to stop me? Probably not. The only problem right now is the vast quantity of eco wool that the pattern calls for and the fact that I've got other knitting obligations. Maybe this Fall?

Lintilla

2011-05-21T08:49:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday I dug through my stash and pulled out a fairly old skein of sock yarn. This skein has been rolling around in my stash for almost as long as I've been knitting - 5 years! It's Fearless Fibers and comes in a whopping 550 yard skein. She's changed her base and put up in the years since I purchased my skein but the colorway is still available (Inner Sanctum). This is all in pursuit of Lintilla which is strangely satisfying to knit considering it's only garter and short-rows. I love how each garter short-row section flows into the rest of the knitting.

In other news, I'm off to the shop to work the Annual LYS Tour which is fun and crazy and exhausting. I always dread/love this weekend since it's so incredibly tiring but really fun to see new people in the store and excited about yarn! Our shop project is a hat with a sideways cable knit in Malabrigo Rios. Yum. I plan on sporting my new Fair Isle Yoke Sweater since Seattle weather is changeable and it's raining today. I guess that's a boo/yay situation.

Just in time

2011-05-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

As soon as warm weather hits I finish a sweater that I want to wear! I purchased yarn for this sweater on my 30th birthday trip to Port Townsend and decided it was finally time to knit it up. After taking Janine Bajus' class at Madrona in February I finally felt ready to knit my very own Fair Isle Yoke Seamless Pullover a la Elizabeth Zimmermann. It was a welcome challenge and I love the result.

Pattern: Fair Isle Yoke Seamless Pullover by Elizabeth Zimmermann (from Knitting Around)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Sport
Needles: US #5 & US #6
Mods/Notes: I worked this at a sport weight gauge (6 sts/inch) on the larger needles. I added some gentle waist shaping and short rows at 5, 10, and 15 inches. My sleeves are 17 inches but could be a tad longer but I always shove long sleeves up to my elbows so it works. I knit the yoke to just under 4 inches before starting the Fair Isle since I like a shallower yoke. Short rows at the back of the neck and 6 rows of ribbing on the smaller needle before a loose bind off. Love!

BTW, 220 sport does not have 220 yards but 164. However, it retails at about 4 dollars per skein so I think it's still a great deal! I used just over 7 skeins of the main color for my 44" bust and small amounts of the other 4 colors for the yoke.

Darn it!

2011-05-10T20:20:00.001-07:00

I tried my hand at darning socks today. I would say the results are mediocre but that has more to do with a lack of finesse in my technique than anything. I found a great video on how to do it and pulled out my holey socks.

The sock on the left had an actual hole in the heel and I darned it according to the video instructions. I have a small darning mushroom that I received as a gift that I got to use for the first time. If the hole had been any bigger I think an actual darning egg would have been a better choice.

The sock on the right was just threadbare in the heel and about to explode. Instead of waiting for a sock emergency I duplicate stitched over the patch that looked ready to fall apart. I like the look of it better than the darning and if I notice a sock ready to give out I think I'd rather implement the duplicate stitch method of sock-saving. I'm glad I was able to repair these socks, learn a new technique, and add some knitwear back into my rotation.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Mine was good. Breakfast. Work. Dinner. But all I could think about was the relationship between Lucille and Buster and how damn funny Arrested Development was and how much I miss it. Sadly, youtube doesn't have any clips for the motherboy episode so I had to make do.

Handspun Treads

2011-05-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

While thinking about my next big knitting project I decided to cast on for a small, fast project. I purchased this yarn at Madrona in February and, copying fellow Purlygirl Meagan, decided to knit Treads. They're quick and satisfying and as soon as I started getting bored knitting one stitch it was time to switch to another.

Pattern: Treads (free Rav pattern)
Yarn: Spincycle Yarns Handspun BFL in Greed
Needles: US #5 Addi Turbos
Mods: I was pretty sure that I would run out of yarn if I knit the individual fingers so after the last braid I knit one row and then worked four rows in 1x1 rib before binding off. I had about three yards left from the skein.

Candelia

2011-05-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

I knocked out my Candelia in a little under two weeks and I've already worn it several times. If only the weather in Seattle would stay consistently warm I might be able to sport my new sweater with a skirt!

Pattern: Candelia by Cecily Glowik MacDonald
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Chocoberry
Needle: US #6 Addi Turbo
Mods: Practically no mods - I only knit the body an inch longer before beginning the ribbing.

Blah!!!

2011-04-25T16:42:00.001-07:00

Tonight is my first Spanish test of the quarter. I've been studying all day, did about three hours of homework last night, and studied Thursday and Friday. Why don't I feel ready? Why wouldn't Little A simmer the hell down and take a nap? What the heck is going on?

Sorry. Ranty. I've been struck with a bad case of Monday Blues and the only thing that's going to help is to get the dang test over with.

Back with a new sweater very soon!

Julee Cruise - Rockin' Back Inside My Heart

2011-04-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

I've been watching Twin Peaks on Netflix Watch Instantly the past couple of weeks. Ever since I watched the episode that features this song I've had it stuck in my head. Yes, another ear worm. I find myself humming it at the oddest moments, which is a bit Lynch-y I guess.

WIP

2011-04-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I cast on for Candelia (thanks for the input) and am flying right along. I just finished the last of the waist decreases and am feeling the urge to keep on. The initial trying-on after splitting the sleeves looked good so I'm golden as far as fit goes. The yarn is awesome- Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Chocoberry. Think raspberry/chocolate sundae and you've got it. If today is any indicator, I prefer to ignore Seattle's incredibly changeable weather, then Spring is on it's way.

Sonic Youth doing Superstar by the Carpenters

2011-04-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

I've had a bit of an obsession with this song for, let's say, the past six weeks. I've listened to it at least once every day since I woke up with it in my head. Love love love love it. Ear worm - direct from my head to yours! Enjoy!

Kalajoki

2011-04-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

More socks! I'm down to two projects on the needles right now and am trying to figure out what I'm going to cast on next. Either Candelia or Brooklet. Hmmm....suggestions?

Pattern: Kalajoki (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR Mediumweight in Falcon's Eye
Needles: 2.75 mm Addi Turbo
Notes: Knit using the magic loop method - I finished the first one in approximately 10 hours! I knit the shaped toes but did extra decreases at the bottom of the foot so I could kitchener the last few stitches together. I don't trust the "pull through remaining stitches" method to hold up to in-the-shoe wear and prefer grafting. This was the first skein of STR that I ever purchased and am happy that it has a new life as socks.

Ellie Goulding- Starry-Eyed

2011-04-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

Went to Ellie Goulding last night and had a little too good a time. I agree with my friend, Amanda, that she's the next Florence & the Machine. Sold out show on a Monday night says it all.

She was also wearing a Damned t-shirt. Woot!!!

What I learn in Spanish class...

2011-04-06T22:40:00.000-07:00

Twist Collective

2011-04-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

The new Twist Collective is up for Spring. There are some pretty things but it's not the usual frenzy I feel to knit everything like the Fall issue. Better than most Spring issues, though.

In other news, I'm off to Fort Worden in Port Townsend for a retreat with my knitting group. There is no wi-fi in the place we're staying at and people are freaking. Holy cow, it'll be like living ten years ago. So I'll be radio silent until next week sometime when Spring quarter starts up again.

Red Fish, Blue Fish

2011-03-31T17:21:00.000-07:00

I wanted a quick knit and boy did I get one! Cast this on Monday at knitting and finished Tuesday morning. Little A is a fan and declared it "Soft" and "gorgeous" - where the heck does she get that stuff from?

Pattern: Chloe by Alana Dakos
Yarn: Spud & Chloe Sweater (in Barn, Grass, Waterslide)
Needles: US #8 Clover bamboo
Mods: None. However, I think I'll do an applied i-cord edging around the fronts and neck to keep the edges from rolling and do built-in i-cord buttonholes. I'm pretty sure I have enough leftover yarn to knit another one.

Aidez

2011-03-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

I ran into a few problems with this one, as you can see. While I was knitting the back I spread it out to admire my work and noticed that I had started crossing one of the cables the wrong way about 1/3 of the way down the back. A few hours later I was back on track after dropping down and re-crossing those dang cables. I'm middlingly pleased with the finished sweater but not completely thrilled and I'm not quite sure why. Fits pretty well and looks pretty good but....meh.

Pattern: Aidez by Cirilia Rose for Berroco
Yarn: Eco+ by Cascade Yarns; color 4171
Needles: US #10 1/2 Harmony
Mods: Knit the sleeves in the round and tried on as I went. I ended up knitting the next size up but they're still pretty tight. I'm sure they'll loosen with wearing and when I finally get around to washing it. Did a three needle bind off for the back neck. I think that's it. Eco+ is definitely not as plump as Peruvia Quick so my fabric is quite drapey and the cables don't pop as much as they should. I'm okay with that since it only took two (!!!) skeins to knit the whole thing with about 20 yards to spare.

Wrapping it up

2011-03-23T22:21:00.001-07:00

I've been a little lackadaisical about posting recently but I feel like the past couple of weeks have flown by. There has been lots of knitting as my stress level has risen with the last couple weeks of the quarter and I'll post that stuff soon. A couple of weeks ago I had evening social engagements for five nights in a row and tonight marked the end of my second quarter of Spanish. Woohoo!! Spring break! I celebrated with a trip to the bar to drink German beer and eat far more than is good for me. Tuesday I have an appointment for a massage and facial - I've never had a facial done and I'm excited. The following weekend I'm going away for the first ever Purlygirls knitting retreat at Fort Worden near Port Townsend, WA. If you read my birthday post from last year you'll know that there will be a lot of beer drinking on my part and eating of poutine. Oh, and knitting, too!

Really, there will be more knitting posted soon. I've finished a sweater and a shawl and started another sweater since my last post.

Swappy Swap

2011-03-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

After work this evening my co-workers and I ran next door to Oliver's Twist to have cocktails and trade hats. At the end of February we decided to to do a slouchy hat swap using any of the MadelineTosh yarns. Hannah was my recipient and I knew exactly what I wanted to make - Ripple by Wendy Bernard. I knit this pattern back in December for my MIL out of Cascade Pure Alpaca and had it in the back of my mind to knit again. The pattern is simple and I really wanted to see it in a fingering weight yarn.

Pattern: Ripple
Needle: US #3 Addi Turbo
Yarn: MadelineTosh Merino Light in Well Water
Mods: Knit as written. I can't say enough good things about the yarn - it feels amazingly silky and has a wonderful sheen.

My Vampire Boyfriend

2011-03-09T14:09:00.000-08:00

I've been asking myself exactly who I would choose as my vampire boyfriend. All of Edward's talk about his soul is quite the turn off, Angel is a little too tortured with that whole "one moment of happiness" thing, Bill is a bit too old fashioned, and Dracula has that whole turning into bat thing going on. I guess that leaves Spike? I'm not really attracted to blondes although his bad boy attitude and taste in booze and music is appealing. I guess I'll just stick with the sock version - blood red and keeps my feet warm.

Pattern: My Vampire Boyfriend
Yarn: Hazel Knits in Jubilee (sock club color)
Needles: US #1 1/2 Harmony wood
Mods: My yarn is lighter weight than Colinette so I used the needle listed in the pattern and knit the large size. They're a bit tight over the heel but fit nicely other than that. I also fiddled with the pattern at the toe so I could use kitchener stitch instead of pulling the yarn through the final stitches. Cast on using the Old Norwegian cast on which is nice and stretchy.

Miscellany

2011-03-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

What has happened to the last few weeks? They seriously flew by in a whirlwind and I just now caught my breath. Whew. Let's see....I knit a sweater. It's Hollyhock by Cecily Glowik MacDonald in Imperial Stock Ranch Columbia 2-ply. I had to mess with the sizing since my gauge was bigger and now that it's done I really like it. In order to love it I'm going to have to rip it back to the yoke and remove some stitches from the sleeves and make the yoke slightly shorter. The giant cowl neck is really lovely and the yarn lends itself well to the simple design. I'm already thinking about what else I can make with it - maybe a cardigan.

I also attended Madrona at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma. I took a class with Janine Bajus who is a really great instructor and very knowledgeable about the EPS and Fair Isle. Everything I learned is still percolating but I'm thinking that an EPS Fair Isle Yoke sweater is in my near future. Homework for class entailed knitting the body and sleeves of a mini sweater and then joining it in the round and knitting the color work portion in class. I still need to finish the last motif and complete the weaving in and grafting. I would love to attend one of Janine's workshops and immerse myself in Fair Isle and color theory for a whole weekend. Dreamy.

What else? I finished up a pair of socks and a hat and need to get cracking on my Cassidy. I was sick for four days and lost my voice for two of them. Try wrangling a toddler with no voice - it's incredibly ineffectual. My mid-term went horribly due to Husband who locked himself outside the house with the Toddler inside and I had to leave class to let Husband in and make sure Toddler was not traumatized. I returned to class after the test had started and was so frazzled and pissed off at said Husband that I completely forgot all of the preterite goodness I had studied all day long. Extra credit is now necessary. But. The quarter is almost over and I have a knitting retreat to attend and a small break from class.

On Point

2011-02-22T12:45:00.001-08:00

I just finished listening to the On Point with Tom Ashbrook podcast called the Resurgence of Knitting. Franklin Habit and Susan Strawn are both interviewed and I found it quite fascinating. You can find it on iTunes or here.

New Stash

2011-02-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

I spent all day Friday at Madrona Fiber Festival soaking in as much information about Fair Isle Yoke Sweaters as humanly possible, for me anyway. After class I headed over to the marketplace and did a small amount of shopping. This year I took cash with me and had no plan except to not go over my cash budget. It worked! I'm happy with my small pile of purchases and plotting what to make with them. My favorite new thing is handspun from Spincycle up in Bellingham. I always look at their stuff but have never purchased any. I picked up a skein of chunky weight Polworth in Rusted Rainbow. I also snagged a skein of worsted weight BFL in Greed that is far more acidly yellow than my camera accounts for and very soft. My friend, Ariel, went to the market on Thursday and picked up a skein (by request) of GothSocks in a red/black colorway called Imma Bitch. Fun! I heard that the booth was swamped on Thursday at market opening and I'm glad I put in a request since she had practically nothing left by Friday afternoon. Last but not least, I won a door prize for a Fly Designs gift certificate and spent it on a skein of Cashmara in Blood Red. Cashmara is a super soft sock weight yarn in a 80 superwash merino/10 cashmere/10 nylon blend. I believe it's going to be the Gambit scarf from One Skein Sock
Yarn Wonders.

Final Stretch

2011-02-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

If you've read much of my blog at all you know that I'm an avid fan of knit designer Cecily Glowik MacDonald. A few weeks ago she added a project to Ravelry called 'My Big Cowled Friend' and I began to pattern stalk. Last week sometime she added the pattern to Ravelry and I bought the pattern, picked out some yarn, and cast on. The pattern is Hollyhock and I am in loooove. It's a top-down sweater that starts with an enormous cowl. My Imperial Stock Ranch Columbia 2-ply is ultra squishy and sheepy and is a pleasure to knit with for the last long stretch of stockinette body. I'm hoping to finish this weekend with photos shortly thereafter.

Leoponails

2011-02-05T23:28:00.000-08:00

My new favorite blog about fashion has a cool post on leopard print nails or "leoponails". They look completely awesome!

She also mentions: knit hot pants, bow ties, harem pants, top knots, and print mixing.

Oh, and fashion that looks like lady parts. I am not the only one with a mind like a pervy twelve year old boy.

Chadwick

2011-02-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

My new favorite shawl, Chadwick, has been my constant companion the last few days. The colors are cheerful and the mix of stockinette, stripes, and garter make it fun to wear.

Pattern: Chadwick by Stephen West from West Knits Book 1 (also available as a single pattern pdf download in Ravelry)
Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy Sock Yarn in Pewter Monochrome & Sundara Sock Yarn in Toasted Orange over Pistachio
Needles: US #5 Addi Turbo Lace
Mods: None. Knit just as written and blocked to measurements.

Between the two skeins I may have enough yarn left to knit a pair of socks.

Thump a thump

2011-01-31T10:09:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend I took a look at the Spring Haute Couture lines. Most were beautiful and interesting but the Christian Dior line had my heart racing and skipping beats. Take a look for yourself - it's very New Look and I just love the color palette and draping and petticoats. Oh, lordy, those tiny little waists with all that fabric. I can just imagine the swooshy swooshy as they walk.

Fail!

2011-01-27T11:47:00.001-08:00

I did a big load of hand wash today and felt very proud of myself. That is, until I pulled out my Castlegar Cardigan. Those awesome vintage glass buttons are completely ruined. I nearly cried (there have been other frustrations today and this tipped the scale) while patting out my sweater on the towels. There was no agitation, no twisting, nothing that would cause damage except for maybe the nice long soak? All I know is that the white background of the button which allowed the crows to stand out in relief is almost completely rubbed off on some buttons and totally gone on others. I still love the sweater itself but now have to hunt down other buttons to sew on since the glass is too shiny on it's own. If there wasn't a crazy toddler and a sick husband in the house I'd be off the bar to eat some really bad-for-me food and cry into a gin & tonic. Blar.

I was pleased to read that you all share my love of cuff-down socks since I'm really struggling with gathering motivation to finish the first Cleopatra Stocking. Short rows are awkward, the wraps never look very good, and I don't like having to page through the 10+ page pattern. I guess they look nice, though.

Toe-Up

2011-01-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

I've been working my sock yarn stash pretty hard lately. You know, digging down into deep stash and pulling old, forgotten skeins out to use in shiny new projects. It feels good to finally use yarn that has been languishing - like my yarn shipments from the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club. Flipping through my pattern binder I randomly grabbed Cleopatra's Stockings and the matching yarn and cast on. Cuff-down socks are my go-to for sock knitting since the heel flap and gusset construction fits my foot really well but this pattern is written toe-up with a provisional cast on and short rows which eliminate a seam at the front of the toe. It was interesting to knit but I'm not sure I actually liked it. It's new and different and that's about all I can say about it. We'll see how the rest of the sock goes.

How about you? Cuff-down or toe-up?

Acer

2011-01-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

I've been keeping silent due to a major cold that sapped my strength, impaired my hearing, and made me an all around grouch. Fun. I woke up this morning able to hear out of both ears and breath through my nose - victory!

Yesterday I sewed the buttons on my Acer Cardigan and wore it all day long. It's lovely and I can't believe how little yarn it took.

Pattern: Acer Cardigan by Amy Christoffers
Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool Solids in color 16
Needles: US #6 Addi Turbo, US #6 Clover Bamboo
Mods/Notes: This took just over 4 skeins of yarn including a little extra length added to the body. The numbers for the sleeve cap were a little wonky and I ended up with a larger number of stitches than the pattern listed which is fine since the sleeves are really fitted. I blocked my pieces before setting in the sleeve to see how much width I would gain which turned out to be quite a bit. The pattern doesn't explicitly say when to use the smaller needle so I ended up using it only for the buttonbands and collar. I didn't pick up as many stitches around the neck edge but picked up more for the button bands but that's how I roll. The sweater works fine over a t-shirt but if you wanted to wear it over a long sleeve shirt or anything thicker than a t-shirt I would knit the next size up or do the math to add some extra ease.

Giraffe

2010-12-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is one of Little A's Christmas gifts that I didn't get finished up until yesterday. She's been dragging it around the house already and giving it all the love a two year old has to offer. Yeah, it's a little rough but it's looove. I'm not a huge fan of knitting toys since I hate sewing all those little pieces together but this one isn't bad and the outcome is worth it.

Pattern: Giraffe from Itty Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Daffodil & Orange
Needles: US #5 Clover
Mods: I knit all the pieces on a long circular using the magic loop method. After knitting the body and the head I sewed them together and then picked up stitches from the body and knit the legs down so I wouldn't have to sew them on. It worked pretty well but the lower legs are a bit splayed. All other pieces I knit as written. I used a 1 & 5/8 clover pom pom maker for the mane, horns, and tail. After sewing all the pieces onto the head I went back and reinforced the neck seam for added strength since the extra weight on top was making him a little floppy. The spots are definitely worth the added time to knit separately and applique.

Two!

2010-12-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

Little A's birthday just happens to be Christmas Eve. I've found Christmas the last couple of years to be a lot less interesting now that I have a little one's birthday to celebrate the day before. This year we had balloons, a taco bar, and a tasty cake with ice cream. It's no small feat to come up with something everyone can eat - vegetarians, the lactose intolerant, and the gluten-free. Tacos just happen to be A's favorite so we had corn tortillas, beans, rice, and a myriad of taco toppings and fillings. Delish.

She got a lot of good presents. Good as in the day after the party she's still playing with them and having a great time.
I knit the sweater, Prudence, from Rowan Miniature Classics for her second birthday and while I'm very proud of it she's a bit reluctant to wear it. I managed to wrangle her into it for about 10 minutes on Christmas so I could snap some photos. Let me tell you, wrangling a toddler for pictures is not the easiest thing to do when there are people and presents and food around. Happy Birthday, Little A!

Prep

2010-12-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

Just a little knitting before I launch into my latest debacle. It involves baking.

I knit this slouchy hat for my Mother in Law for Christmas. She's allergic to wool but may possibly be able to wear alpaca so I dug out a skein of Cascade Pure Alpaca in a nice red and cast on. The pattern is Ripple by Wendy Bernard and I loved knitting it! This is the worsted weight version but the pattern also includes a sock weight version which I'm contemplating for myself.

So. Baking. Little A's birthday is tomorrow so I attempted a birthday cake. I am NOT a bad baker, in fact, I have a pretty good track record with the oven. My problem is egg whites. They hate me. I do research and follow tips and treat them as I would a fragile work of art and... they fail. Every. Single. Time. Granted, I was working with a Martha Stewart recipe (usually these work great for me) which I found to be over complicated. You know, extra steps and hard to find ingredients where regular ole grocery store ingredients would do and stuff like that. But really, the cake just did not rise more than 1/4 inch and was far too sweet and and and I should have known when I saw the batter that resulted from following the recipe. No good. In steps google and I found a super easy and fast recipe that turned out as batter-y as a cake batter should be and not too sweet and just came out of the oven deliciously golden and birthday cake smelling.

There you have it. Two cakes in a little under three hours and I need to pick up more vanilla for the strawberry frosting. Phew.

Final

2010-12-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

I'm finding it hard to concentrate on studying for my final that is scheduled for this evening. Little One has been in her bed but NOT sleeping for the last couple of hours. She won't sleep but she also doesn't want out and how is a girl to study with all the noise going on in the other room? I counted on this afternoon for a good solid few hours of refresher/studying before I head off to class and it's just not happening. Reflexive verbs what? Conjugate who? It's just not sticking today and that is a bad bad thing.

Vespergyle Mittens

2010-12-09T22:44:00.000-08:00

Take that corrugated ribbing! You don't got nothing on me! I started these mittens way back in July and finally pulled them out again to finish them up. Corrugated ribbing is my mortal enemy so it's not really surprising that I was about 2/3 of the way through it when I called it quits - sometimes you just have to say ENOUGH and chuck a project in time out for a while. It only took a few days get things all smoothed out and ready to wear. They still need a good blocking but in the meantime they're actually getting worn.

Pattern: Vespergyle Mittens (free!)
Yarn: KnitPicks Palette in gray & sky blue
Needles: US #1 1/2 bamboo
Mods: I knit these on a larger needle than stated in the pattern and did a shorter decrease section with a more squared-off tip.

Failed

2010-12-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

After trying all of the tricks on the Apple website to get my computer to boot up I tried the installation disc. Yep, my computer ate it. Off I went to the Apple store Genius Bar where they booted up my computer and ran diagnostics. Hard drive - FAILED - in big yellow scary letters. Well, it was nice to see something on the monitor besides a gray screen. The computer is not totally shot but I left it at the store to get a new hard drive (an improved one since the one I had isn't even made anymore)and the good news is that they'll have it fixed between one and three days so I should get it back Monday at the latest. I love/hate technology.

Broke Down

2010-12-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

My lovely Mac is trying to commit suicide and I'm trying to talk it down. Things will be a bit quiet around here until I can solve the problem or buy a new computer. Eek. Not the best thing to happen around the Holidays but there is hope that the computer is salvageable and all my stuff is recoverable. We shall see.

It's hard living without a way to watch movies and keep connected and it's only been ONE DAY.

Snow Daze

2010-11-26T13:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it happened. It snowed in Seattle the Monday before Thanksgiving but I have to say that I'm not nearly as inconvenienced by that as I thought I would be. Little One and I ventured out to run errands during the day before the temperature dropped and it got icy and then came home to start some homemade soup. We stayed in and enjoyed our toasty apartment (the house of mold was forever freezing cold) and I got some Holiday knitting done.

A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving I knit Poppy for my younger niece in some Rustic Wool DK I've had sitting around in my stash. This is a great pattern and free on Ravelry. You can use several different yarn weights and the construction is interesting - you knit back and forth using short rows to create wedges and then pick up and knit the ribbing at the bottom. Fun!

I also knit Habitat by Jared Flood. I've knit this pattern before and enjoyed it the second time around. I always forget how much impact cables have on a knitted item and this one, well, it's really cabley. This version is knit in Rialto Aran so it has great stitch definition and is really super soft and machine washable. Rialto Aran, to me, is definitely on the luxury end of the yarn spectrum. It's only 88 yards and retails for around 9 dollars a ball. For a small project like this it's definitely worth the price since knitting with it is heavenly but I'd have to contemplate long and hard about knitting a sweater with it.

And, finally, some snow. We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving this year with perfect nap times for the Little One and a later meal start time. Everyone got along in the kitchen and it was far and above one of the better Thanksgivings I've had in Seattle. We have little in the way of leftovers since we don't have a ginormous spread but I'll trade that for sanity during my holiday.

The One Woman Sweatshop

2010-11-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

I made a decision at the end of October to knit all of my Christmas gifts. Usually I try to stagger my gift knitting throughout the year so I don't have a huge push in November and December to get everything done. My sofa has become a one woman sweatshop where I spend every possible free moment churning out gifts. Luckily I chose hats for almost everyone on my gift list and I can knit those in a couple of days. The most recent WIP is the Bee Hive Beret knit in Frog Tree Merino Worsted. This yarn is incredibly soft and warm but does not stand up to un-knitting very well. I also ran out of yarn and had to get up to the shop to grab another skein - this is not a pattern error since I went up a needle size I should have accounted for more yardage. If I had stuck with the needle size I could have knit this with ONE SKEIN of yarn which would be a whopping $6.50. Not bad for a handmade gift, huh?

Fish Hat, Dead

2010-11-16T16:42:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I knit this fish hat for a Christmas gift. The recipient is a 4 year old boy and I think he'll like it a lot.

Pattern: Fish Hat (Dead) from Knitty
Yarns: Stash scraps - Classy in Blue Lagoon, Lorna's Worsted, and Silk Garden
Needle: US #7 Addi Turbo
Mods: None. Knit just as written with stripes as the mood struck.

Winter Twist Collective

2010-11-15T11:58:00.001-08:00

It's up and it's pretty. Plus, there are capey things.

Today

2010-11-10T16:22:00.000-08:00

Today I want to run screaming from my home. Little One refused a nap and is now trying to decimate my last shred of sanity with her random mood swings.

It's probably uncool to dose her with sedatives, right?

Castlegar Cardigan

2010-11-08T17:27:00.000-08:00

My Castlegar Cardigan is finally done and I love it! After all of my complaining about how long it was taking to knit I totally love the final sweater. In fact, I put it on and said "I want another one!"

Pattern: Castlegar Cardigan by Laura Chau
Yarn: Miss Babs Baby Bamboo/Merino Sock
Needle: 2.75 mm (!!!)
Mods: Slightly shorter sleeves cause that's how I roll.

November? Already?

2010-11-01T17:11:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that it's already November. Time passes so quickly these days - registration for next quarter of my Spanish class is next Monday. Huh? Didn't we just start class? The Little One continues to be crazy/adorable/smart and keeps me on my toes every single dang day. I turned the calendar page over to November today and realized that the Holidays are fast approaching (in knit time) and I need to get some gift knitting done. Last Monday I started the Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays and pushed through the first one in about a day and a half. These will be for my mom's boyfriend who is an enthusiastic knit gift receiver. They are really quick, just knit them on #7 needles and Ecological Wool and you'll have a pair of gift slipper socks in no time. That is, if you don't fall prey to second sock syndrome.

Hazel Knits

2010-10-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

Wendy of Hazel Knits had a trunk show at the Fiber Gallery last weekend. I wound up my birthday week by buying even more yarn.

Top to bottom: Merino Soy sock in Pacific, Artisan Sock in Strawberry Lemonade, and Artisan Sock in Chocoberry.

Aimee

2010-10-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Did I ever tell you about my recurring cape-knitting dream? Yes, recurring. The most I can ever remember is that I'm knitting a capelet out of one of my Japanese knitting books in blue worsted weight yarn. This dream sparked a conversation at my knitting group about all of the other capelets that people want to knit and that we should do an informal KAL. Before embarking on the capelet of my dreams I decided to knit a simpler pattern to see how I felt about sporting a capelet/ponchette thingy-ma-bob. The outcome is Aimee by Kim Hargreaves - one of my all time favorite designers.

Pattern: Aimee by Kim Hargreaves from Thrown Together
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers color #9489 & GGH Kid Melange #012 held together
Needles: US #9 Addi Turbo
Mods: Converted to work in the round and knit to 55 cm tall rather than 59 cm tall. Yarn is held together for super fluffiness.

Keeping On

2010-10-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

Castlegar, she is growing! I'm just about to hit the 8 inch mark and just keep slogging through a little bit every day. Once I get the sleeves joined and the first set of decreases done I'll be a happy girl.

Scare Isle

2010-10-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

When the new Deep Fall Knitty came out I knew that I needed to knit this tam in time for Halloween. Every year Greenwood businesses host a trick or treat so I'll be working at the yarn store and handing out candy to hundreds of kids. Why not do it in Halloween style? The pattern is Scare Isle knit in odds and ends of crazily bright fingering weight yarn from my stash (why did I have those eye-searing colors? dunno.) and some black spindrift that I purchased. I had a few problems:

1. I ran out of black yarn
2. the 1x1 rib stretched out a ton
3.we didn't have a plate large enough to block this to tam formation so it's more of a slouchy hat

I still like it even after my, uh, pitfalls and I think it's the only really seasonal or Holiday piece of knitwear I own. The yarn came mostly out of stash and it was fun to knit a Fair Isle pattern in crazy colors.

The Big 3-0

2010-10-19T14:11:00.001-07:00

This weekend marked my thirtieth birthday so I got the heck out of Seattle with my sister and my friend and went over to Port Townsend for a couple of days. As usual, I packed far too much knitwear. The weather was beautiful, although slightly chilly, and I was able to provide warm things enough for us all to wear. I bought lots of yarn, ate lots of yummy food, and knit knit knit to my heart's content.

Top 5 favorite things this birthday (in no particular order):
1. Vegetarian Poutine
2. Knitting with friends
3. Being on my own schedule
4. New yarn
5. Drinking beer in the afternoon

This birthday went exactly how I wanted it to go, relaxing and easy-going. Thanks to everyone for the awesome gifts - you rock!!! A girl couldn't have much better friends!

Good Goes

2010-10-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

I was recently paging through a knitting magazine and found a tiny little blurb about Good Goes, a program organized by Save the Children that provides medical treatment and other support for newborns and children in needy countries. They're asking for donations of knitted or crocheted newborn caps to distribute. This coincides with a lot of recent thought about my small balls of leftover sock yarn and this would be a great way to use them up and give to a good cause. If you are interested in learning more you can do so here, there is a downloadable pdf with shipping information and a free worsted cap pattern here.

Castlegar, Castlegar

2010-10-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

I started this sweater with the best of intentions. You know, intending to knit it mostly monogamously so I could have a shiny new sweater to wear this Fall. I am moving along but it feels quite slow and not as gratifying as I feel it should be. It's the Castlegar Cardigan by Laura Chau and I really really want to wear it but I don't really really want to knit it. On sock yarn. On 2.75 mm needles. I purchased this yarn in my buying frenzy at Stitches West this Spring and it is lovely to work with and I'm not getting any pooling or flashing or anything but wonderful softness and sheen from the merino/bamboo blend. Miss Babs, you do me right. If the glass is half full I've already got the two sleeves done if the glass is half empty I haven't even cast on the body (almost 300 stitches) and that, my friends, is a setback indeed. Instead I knit a baby sweater and a headband and bought yarn for a Super Cupcake Cowl and am doing anything but casting on those stitches. Kick me, please, and just tell me to cast on and knit the damn thing.

Single Skeins and Stuff

2010-09-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

Before I went on vacation I knit a handful of single skein projects for Stash & Burn's annual Single Skein September. It's kind of a KAL but mostly just a chance to look at all the single skeins in stash and use them up in some type of manner. I like quick and easy projects so I dug out a single skein of Manos del Uruguay Clasica in color X, also known as topaz. This is Elizabethtown from the MdU booklet Adirondack Accessories. I knit mine up in a little over an evening on size 10 needles. It's knit from the bottom up with cable decreases and then a ribbed split neck to fold over a jacket collar. There's also a buttonhole to fasten the split neck securely but I don't use mine.

As for the other stuff, last week was my four year wedding anniversary and we had a tasty tasty dinner at ToulousePetit in Lower Queen Anne.

We also took the Little One to her first fair where she enjoyed her first corn dog with lots and lots of yellow mustard, giggled at the baby chicks, and cried when a rooster crowed right in front of her.

My best friend is now in the Ukraine starting her stint in the PeaceCorps. Check out her blog and make a donation to help finance her Eastern European experience. Really, she doesn't even know if she'll have hot running water in her abode and the PeaceCorps living stipend is, shall we say, frugal.

Milkweed

2010-09-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

My newest little piece of loveliness - the Milkweed Shawl by Laura Chau.
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in Bronzed Sienna
Needle: US #4 Addi Turbo Lace
Mods: None! I knit it just as written and blocked the heck out of it.

Vacation

2010-09-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is what vacation looks like! Bright, I know. I took my camera along but failed to take any pictures whatsoever. There was a lot of relaxation, knitting on the back patio, basking in the lovely weather, yarn buying (eep), and general awesomeness. We made our way down to San Francisco to have lunch with Nicole from Stash & Burn and to buy yarn at Imagiknit. Yes. A whole side trip just to buy yarn. Yeah, like you haven't done it before! I came away with a bag FULL of Madelinetosh loveliness and on top of that we dyed yarn with kool-aid a couple of days later. We used Lamb's Pride Superwash Sport and the pic is what I came away with - a skein of bright blue (8 or 10 packets of blue raspberry, presoaked in 6 packets of green tea) and a skein of shockingly bright orange (4 packets of orange and 4 packets of pink lemonade postsoaked in black tea). They look like goldfish mittens to me! If you haven't dyed yarn before I think this is a great way to start, plus your yarn will smell slightly fruity for a while. Other than the SF expedition and yarn dyeing not much happened except for hilarity with my sister and my BFF.

Quick

2010-09-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

I leave for California tomorrow to visit for a whole week. It's just me and the Little One hanging out with my very good friend and my family. I've been knitting a whole lot of little projects for Stash & Burn's Single Skein September. It feels good to do some small, fast, satisfying, and scrappy little projects. Of course, I'm knitting them faster than I'm taking pictures so I won't have anything to share for at least a week. I'm eager to see exactly how much single skein knitting I can get done this month since I think I managed only two or three last year.

See you in a week!

On. Off.

2010-08-30T13:07:00.001-07:00

Last week I realized that the end of August was fast approaching so I buckled down and got back to the business of knitting. My Central Park Hoodie had been languishing a bit due to smaller, more portable projects. This weekend I knit up to the hood and am now about half-way through. Go me! Hoods are almost as bad as sleeves for knitting, knitting, knitting and making almost no progress until you've magically knit past the point where X is supposed to happen. Once the hood is all knit up I have one more sleeve, a little bit of seaming, and buttonbands left to go. I'm hoping to have it done before I leave on vacation next week.

One of the small and portable projects is off the needles. The Playful Stripes Cardigan knit up quickly and I'm glad there are larger sizes available in the pattern because I'm pretty sure I'll want to knit another one in a couple of years for my larger size girl. The Little One seems pretty happy in it and has already christened it with apple juice (a special treat for her) since she refused to take it off. It fits great and has a little room to grow so she should be able to wear it through this Fall and Winter. Well, one can hope it'll last that long.

Little Knitting

2010-08-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling a bit, um, underwhelmed by a couple of the projects I've got on the needles. They're not bad projects and I know that I'll finish them eventually but they didn't exactly inspire me to knit. What I have been wanting to knit are baby and toddler clothes. My stash has been a nice source of creativity since the big re-organization so I dug in and found some baby cashmerino I bought to knit the Little One a cardigan so I cast on and am loving it. It's the Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting (she also has a podcast) and it's the perfect blend of simple and fun. The baby cashmerino is incredibly soft and springy and I'm progressing quickly enough that my interest isn't lost.

Special thanks to Rose who gifted me the pattern; it's exactly what I need to get inspired again!

Aphrodite (Shawl #7)

2010-08-12T15:57:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I finished up my Aphrodite shawl. This thing was totally time consuming and I knew that if I didn't focus and finish then it would be a long-hibernating WIP. I'm totally pleased with the result. My yarn was definitely on the cobweb side which was a bit of a pain but the blend was wonderful and the final result is quite pretty.

Pattern: Aphrodite by Sivia Harding
Yarn: Colorful Yarns Heavenly Lace in Turquoise
Needle: US #3 Addi Lace & size 12 crochet hook
Beads: size 8/0 silver lined transparent dark aquamarine, approx. 13 grams
Mods: My yarn was tiny enough that I followed the instructions for the large size and got a medium-ish size shawl with about 540 yards (the skein I bought was 600 yards).

It Continues....

2010-08-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Startitis continues to plague me despite the great stash reorganization. Sunday night I came home, dug out my bag of Malabrigo Twist, and cast on for the Central Park Hoodie. The CPH is 3600+ strong on Ravelry and I'm eager to add mine to the number. I've told myself the real reason for starting this is that everything else I've got on the needles is sock weight yarn but really it was just a whim; a sudden, undeniable urge to knit with one of the softest and squishiest yarns I've ever encountered. I've already got one sleeve done and it is a thing of squooshy yarn beauty. At least the yarn was easy to find after that organizing stint of last week.

Stash Attack

2010-08-07T08:53:00.001-07:00

This week I decided to reorganize my stash. I pulled it out. All of it. Every little bag and box and bin got emptied out on my living room floor and with the "help" of the Little One it got sorted and restashed. Little One helped by climbing into an empty bin and reading her books for a while. I, on the other hand, spent a great deal of time figuring out what was actually in Ravelry and trying to catalog what wasn't in Ravelry. Tiring. Miracle of miracles the stash still fits in it's designated space(s) which consists of a cedar chest and a space bag under my bed. The picture is the sock yarn portion of my stash which is also the bulk of my stash. Whoever said that sock yarn doesn't count was lying because it takes up the same dang space as other yarn. My strategy for reorganizing is this: gather it all together, dump it all out, sort by size, detangle, destash, restash. Granted, my stash is smallish for a 5-year knitter and yarn shop pusher but I like it at about this size. Next up on the agenda is the Great Needle Inventory. Eek.

Fall Twist Collective

2010-08-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

The Fall Twist Collective is so freaking amazing! It made my heart skip a beat and then pound away like I'd run a seven-minute mile. Amazing! I've been starting things like crazy in order to stave off a fear of losing my knitting mojo and seeing this issue really inspired me to a) finish the things on my needles so I can b) start something(s) new from this issue. But what? What would you cast on first?

Vespergyle

2010-07-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

My startitis continues in the form of mittens. I dug into my stash and came up with some Knit Picks Palette from ages and ages ago and cast on these mittens, er, this mitten. I'm just about ready to start the decreases at the top of the hand. The pattern (Vespergyle Mittens) looks great but takes quite a bit of concentration and I can't seem to hit a rhythm between the pattern reading and the knitting. This is a free pattern and has been languishing in my queue for maybe two years? Since I declared a self-imposed yarn buying hiatus I've been really digging into my stash and my Ravelry queue and working up "old" projects. It makes me feel good about my stash and my awesome taste in patterns! Really! Maybe it just took a few years of honest stash acquirement to have a nice selection to match with my patterns. Maybe. But it really is fun to dig in there and use some of what I have with patterns that got passed up for newer, more exciting projects.

Smoking Needles

2010-07-18T20:09:00.001-07:00

Things have been flying on and off my knitting needles at such a rapid pace I need some kind of cool Western cowgirl name. You know, quick on the draw like Sharon Stone in The Quick and the Dead.(did you know Sam Raimi directed that?!) Three finished projects this week have me feeling quite smug. Knitmeter tells me that I'm inching close to 16k yards knit this year. Boy howdy! That is a lot of knitting.

I pulled out the first Japanese knitting book I ever bought - Favorite Aran Knits - and whipped up a couple of hats. Top left is #5 cap knit in Dream in Color Classy in Blue Lagoon. This was a
partial skein left over from the Little One's February Baby Sweater. I still have 69 yards left of the skein. After digging through the stash a little I found an almost full skein of Malabrigo Worsted in Azul Profundo which is my very very favorite Malabrigo color. I cast on #1 Cap and knit away. I don't know why I don't knit with Malabrigo more often since it's like butter in my hands. It's incredibly soft and has great stitch definition. Those cables just POP on the reverse stockinette background.

I also finished up my Brandywine Shawl. This is shawl #6 for me this year. It's a pretty little thing and it was fun and easy to knit. All of the action happens up front with the first chart and then
it's just the border with acres of garter stitch in between. This thing practically flew off my size 6 lace needles. Really. As in 4 days flew off my needles. I finally cast on a more complicated project that has beads and multiple lace charts and even GASP counting! Oh my.

E is for Emergency

2010-07-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

This week marked our first run to Urgent Care regarding the Little One. After a day in which she was cantankerous and refused to nap I had a lay-down when the Man came home from work. 15 minutes later there was a muffled, "I need help!" I sprung out of bed to see Little One bleeding from her head (quite profusely) and the Man with a soaked paper towel. I grabbed a clean towel from the cupboard pinned her down and we stopped the bleeding. Apparently she had somehow wrangled the food processor blade* out of the kitchen cabinet and fallen on it leaving a one inch gash in the center of her forehead near the hairline. I called the nurse hotline and was told to bring Little One over just in case stitches were needed. Somehow these things always happen during rush hour so we finally finally arrived at urgent care, got admitted, and a couple hours and a popsicle later the Little One had her wound cleaned and glued back together. On the whole scale of first-time emergency visits this one is not too bad.

*All bladey-type kitchen implements are now far removed from little hands. All I can think of is that after we moved we forgot to baby-proof a couple of cabinets in our haste to unpack.