moucherons tricote

matinee coat

2011-08-02T20:12:00.003-04:00

My friend is having a little baby girl next month, so..

Matinee Coat
by Debbie Bliss
from Simply Baby

Baby Cashmerino in pale green
About 2 1/2 (or less) skeins

So cute!

Mr. Rabbit

2011-06-28T22:26:00.007-04:00

Look! I knitted something:

Taking a ride in the car.

It's a pattern from Barbara Prime. I used some Malabrigo merino which is deliciously soft and squishy.

This one is for a little baby boy. I want one for myself!

28

2011-06-27T20:38:00.003-04:00

My birthday was last week. It was full of chocolate, flowers, cards and lovely friends. Yeah. I'm really not into this whole getting older thing.

I had breakfast for some of those lovely friends on Sunday and made up this quiche recipe. Never made quiche before, just frittata, which is the same thing but without crust. Since some recipes called for tons of heavy cream and some for cream cheese, I decided to just put in what I thought would taste good (all the heavy cream was already reserved for the scones).

Homemade pie crust (I used Nigella's recipe, but it didn't have enough butter in it. Bittman next time I think.)
8 eggs
6 oz cream cheese
3/4 c half & half
about 1/4 c shredded parmesan
1/2-3/4 c shredded cheddar
1-1 1/2 c frozen spinach
4 chopped green onions
and i forgot to put pepper in it, but it's important!

Baked the crust for 15 min at 425, then turned it down to 325 and poured in the filling and baked that for about an hour. I'd put bacon in it next time (couldn't cos of feeding pregnant friend who isn't into meat too much lately).

8.8

We also had blueberry scones, made with this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. It's the best scone recipe. Seriously. I've made them with cranberries (yum x 1000), blueberries, chocolate chips, plain, and with brown sugar and chocolate chips (also yum x 1000). Always a treat.

renaissance

2011-03-28T00:28:00.002-04:00

Went to the Renaissance Festival in Tampa today with the boys. It was so much fun!

We got henna tattoos and walked around in the sun for hours. I tried throwing stars but I think I only got one to stick. There were hilarious people everywhere. And I got to drink mead.

I wanted to go to the free medieval combat lessons but I got there too late. Next time!

awesome

2011-02-15T21:45:00.000-05:00

After 3 years of waiting, hooray!

coconut

2011-02-14T20:35:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite made up recipes. I'm sure it's not original, but I've never followed any recipes for it. This time I put yellow sweet potatoes in it and it's sooo yummy.

Red Lentil Coconut Curry with Sweet Potatoes

2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp fresh grated turmeric
1 Thai chile or serrano pepper
1 Tbsp or so ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
some lemongrass
1 can of coconut milk
1/4 c grated coconut (i use dry)
1 c. red lentils
1 medium yellow sweet potato chopped into small cubes

Cook the onion in the oil for awhile and then throw in the garlic, ginger, turmeric, chile, lemongrass, cayenne and coriander. Cook for another couple minutes then add the coconut milk, grated coconut, lentils and potatoes. Add about a cup of water. Cook on low until the lentils disappear and the potatoes are soft. Add salt to taste.

It's vegan but not on purpose. The red lentils have more protein in them than other varieties and they completely melt into the sauce. Always makes me feel good when I eat this!

8.6

a list

2011-02-14T11:43:00.002-05:00

James Blake - James Blake
AFP - Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under
Bonobo - Black Sands
Cut Copy - Zonoscope

to be continued...

looks just like the sun

2011-02-14T00:00:00.002-05:00

Saw Broken Social Scene on Friday night at the Ritz. Such beautiful music!

plaid

2011-02-08T23:41:00.001-05:00

veg burgers

2011-02-06T13:29:00.004-05:00

These veggie burgers mostly just taste like vegetables. I just took whatever I thought would taste good together and it was pretty good! This was definitely a "use whatever's in your house" experiment. Four other people tried them and said they liked them so I have to record the recipe on the internets.

Lovely BlackBerry pic

1 c. split peas cooked
3/4 c. millet cooked
three carrots
two onions
three or four big stalks of celery
cooked spinach
few tablespoons lemonaise
tablespoon or so of sriracha
tablespoon or so of grainy mustard
little cayenne
1 tblsp Dill
1 tblsp fennel
1 tsp sage
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
lots of salt
chickpea flour

I grated the veggies, mixed it all and then added as much chickpea flour as it needed to soak up the extra water. The mixture was very wet, but that makes for not too dry burgers. Baked them at 375 for 20-30 minutes, turned them over and baked some more until they were kinda brown.

I had them on lavash with spinach and a little yogurt. Homemade street food. 9.7

sunday

2011-01-30T10:38:00.002-05:00

Coffee in my lovely new mug. It matches my shirt.

So since 2010 ended a month ago, here's my favorite albums of last year:

0. Beach House - Teen Dream
1. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
2. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
3. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
4. Four Tet - There is Love in You
5. Boy Eats Drum Machine - 20 Beats
6. Boy Eats Drum Machine - Hoop + Wire
7. Caribou - Swim
8. The Books - The Way Out
9. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
10. Twin Sister - Color Your Life
11. Thee Oh Sees - Warm Slime

it is happening again

2011-01-29T22:37:00.001-05:00

chemicals

2011-01-26T20:09:00.004-05:00

SINCE I HARDLY EVER KNIT ANYMORE...

This is going to become a blog about random crap. Because today I used new gel in my hair and I wanted to tell the internets about it, but I have nowhere to do that. So yeah.

It's Aubrey Organics B5 Design Gel. Trying to quit the silicone mousse! I liked what the B5 did to my hair today, but it always takes a few tries to really see if it works. I have fine wavy hair that gets huge when it's humid and is always kind of fuzzy. I've been trying to get off the sulfate/silicone dwindling spiral for awhile now, but haven't found a good replacement for that mousse.

Still haven't figured out how to stop washing my hair. I figure I have to stop putting silicone in it before I can stop putting soap in it. I've been reading No More Dirty Looks for inspiration. It has made me want to go to the next level of getting chemicals out of my life. Except I recently started wearing nail polish.

swiss chard

2010-11-22T22:38:00.006-05:00

Started knitting something new, but ripped it right away...still looking for a good lace project.

In the meantime, I wanted to record this recipe in history on the internets because it's so yummy.

Swiss Chard Tart

Loosely based on this recipe, though that is a sweet one, and this has garlic in it!

Millet Bread for the base, spread with butter
Filling:
Swiss Chard
1 Egg
Parmesan Cheese
Cheddar Cheese
Pine Nuts
2 Cloves Garlic
Salt & Pepper
Millet Breadcrumbs with butter for the topping

Bake at 350 for 30 min

8.9!

cheese + rice = yummies

2010-02-11T23:53:00.003-05:00

Rice with cheese and leeks:

I bought Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I love it! It's full of simple recipes with all kinds of variations and good ideas. I think I've changed every recipe I've made so far, but that's the point of the book.

This recipe is rice with cheese, and I added the leeks and red pepper flakes. So so yummy! This is fontina and asiago - creamy and sharp. The leeks blended into the background and the red pepper flakes contrasted against everything. I used sushi rice because I was starving, but I think this would be even tastier with brown rice.

I give it an 8.8.

beans!

2010-01-22T00:20:00.001-05:00

Oh man this thing has gone from knitting to beans. Crazy times.

They arrived!

14 lbs. of beans from Rancho Gordo. I cooked a cup of Good Mother Stallards last night in the slow cooker with some onions for 8 hours. They came out perfect! The skins didn't split and the insides were creamy and delicious. I had them with rice and some tomato chili sauce I made, and then used the leftovers for some nachos.

Yummy!

beans, part 1.5

2010-01-15T23:54:00.003-05:00

Black beans & Millet (7)

black beans, cooked
onions
garlic
cumin
paprika
chile pepper
cilantro
cayenne
organic ketchup (the thick kind, nothing like Heinz)

The millet cooks just like white rice, 20 minutes in a covered pot with 1 1/2 times as much water. Pretty tasty!

These were some black beans I bought long enough ago to forget when I got them. Most of them split and didn't get creamy, but they still did the job. More cayenne and fresh instead of dried cilantro would make these better!

beans, part 1

2010-01-13T23:10:00.004-05:00

Mushy beans (8.2)

1 c. minced onions
1 clove of garlic
1/4 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. chile powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne
black pepper
salt
1/2 c. pureed tomatoes
2 c. Anasazi beans

Cook onions and garlic in oil until soft, add spices and cook a few more minutes. Add tomatoes and beans, mash beans and stir well. Cook on low for about 10 minutes. I had them with brown rice, cheese and avocado. Sour cream and cilantro would be good, too.

Omgz this was so good! Kind of like sloppy joes, but with no meat and kinda mexican flavored.

Yeah, since I hardly knit anymore, this is gonna turn into a food blog. Probably a bean blog, since I just ordered 13 lbs. of beans from Rancho Gordo. Just not that interested in eating meat lately, so beans it is!

black bear

2010-01-11T23:44:00.002-05:00

After a year and a half, I finished the black bear. He started out as practice for the baby blue bear, and then I decided to finish him for my friend. And then over a year later he turned into her Christmas present. I ran out of the black yarn I was using, so I decided to make him look kinda scruffy. I think he's cute and my friend loves him!

Teddy Bear from Debbit Bliss' Simply Baby
I have no idea what yarn it was
size 4 addi turbos
started June 2008, finished December 17, 2009

Next I'm going to do a koala bear and a kangaroo. More babies!

2009

2010-01-01T02:05:00.005-05:00

In 2009, I:

Learned how to make:
Latkes
Split Pea Soup
Sushi
A good version of Butter Chicken
No-knead Bread
Tortillas
Homemade Lattes

Started loving Mushrooms!
Had The Best Meal Ever
Had Pork Fried Rice in Chinatown
Learned how to eat for less than $60 a week and stopped spending $150 a week on food
Stopped eating meat every day

Finally finished the melon shawl
Made a penguin with a hockey jersey that I failed to take pictures of
Finished the Black Bear

Watched a Devils game in Jersey!
Saw the Redskins lose to the 'boys

Wandered around Chinatown (NYC) in the snow early in the morning

Saw Amanda Fing Palmer (OMGZ!!)
Saw Bon Iver (lovely)
Saw Animal Collective (boring)
Saw Grizzly Bear (YAY!)

Saw Seinfeld live!!!!!!!!!!!! and laughed for 2 hours straight

Started listening to vinyl and started a vinyl collection
Changed my facebook profile picture twice
Got one hair cut
Experienced snow twice!
Parked over the line at Starbucks
Only went to NYC once
Finally painted my bedroom and bathroom
Decided to fix up my closet and then gave up after realizing needed space for 40+ shoes
Got stuck in Secaucus for 2 hours
Drank too many homemade cosmos one night

Hated the President more than I've ever hated a President before

Worked too much

Became addicted to CSI:NY
Became really addicted to Gossip Girl

Got a Blackberry and nearly figured out how to use it
Bought flowers for the house less than 5 times all year
Quit my PG Tips addiction
Started using cheapass mousse instead of fancy expensive gel
Bought some real plates!
Learned how to make pretty paper snowflakes

Made toffee at Christmas, but no truffles

Met a few new Good Friends
Lost a few Good Friends

Stood out in the rain with my best friend's best friends one lovely afternoon

Decided to go to England next year for Christmas (we'll see if that really happens)
Decided not to make any resolutions

Didn't eat sugar for two months
Squatted 195
Benched 35s
Put my gym membership on hold
Lost and gained and lost and gained the same 8lbs

Had Thanksgiving without my family

Did not get a sinus infection
Had my atlas adjusted and stopped having so many killer headaches

Drank Bailey's on Christmas Eve... as you do
Had a short fight with mom on Christmas day... as you do
Hated vacation

Took off one day of work all year, to stand around in the rain with my best friend's best friends

Went to the movies only a few times
Took some pictures, but not enough

Got to talk to a far away friend on the phone, twice!

Saw Luke more often than I've seen him since we were in school together over 10 years ago
Was not a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding... because it hasn't happened yet!

Barely listened to Radiohead
Actually made a top albums list for 2009
Had a tea party for my birthday
Had no dinner parties

Drove 100 mph over the Howard Frankland
Was quite close to a Very Famous Person and a Pretty Famous Person
Finally bought a pair of Campers
Spent very little on clothes

Did not read any books

Stopped wearing heels to work
Found out that Wild Turkey goes well with eggnog, but Captain Morgan goes even better
Saw an old old friend

Went line dancing a few times, but not many

What a boring year!

going backwards

2009-11-09T15:17:00.003-05:00

Ohhh ripping out lace is scary!!

After figuring out I was doing the corners wrong, I had to rip back six rows and redo them. The only way was to take it off the needles and pull. Luckily it's a lot of yo, K3tog, yo at this point, so it went back on the needles rather painlessly:

I've knitted a few rows since and it's all okay. I didn't understand the instructions for the corners, so was making two extra sections instead of one. Normally I would just drop the extra stitches and even it out in the blocking, but there were too many and some were twisted with each other.

Only 34 rows to go!

2:16 am

2009-10-21T02:16:00.000-04:00

Well, I can't sleep, so I took some more pictures of the growing blob. I'm on row 77 of 130, so maybe it will end up being big enough. Still not sure. It's also getting a little tight on my double points, but the #2 Addi is 3mm and these #2 Lantern Moons are 2.75mm. Just gotta be careful, I guess. Speaking of being careful, I broke another needle last weekend. Luckily I remembered that Lantern Moon sent me two spare #2s by accident, so there was no waiting for new needles to be sent. This is the third Lantern Moon I've broken, but I still love them.

I keep finding other patterns in this book that I want to make, but since they are for doilies and tablecloths, it's hard to tell what size they'll end up being. I guess I could always just do another round of pattern if they turn out too small.

Still have to block the melon. Even though it's gorgeous, there's something incredibly unexciting about that shawl. I hope mom loves it more than I do. Have to get it done soon, I'm going home for Halloween!

Last week I made some amazing food. First was chicken pot pie from the lovely Smitten Kitchen, though it's originally an Ina recipe. Absolutely delicious and I'm sure the massive amount of butter has something to do with that. Then I made butter chicken from this random recipe off the Food Network site that I picked because it had a 5-star rating. I used real ginger and garlic and added some cilantro. I gave it a 7.6 the first night but the rating went up to an 8.5 after a rest in the fridge overnight. So sad it's all gone.

It would be cool if I could fall asleep now. Oy vey.

sunday morning

2009-10-18T09:03:00.005-04:00

It's 54° here this morning! Supposed to stay under 70 today, which is lovely. This will only last one day, so I'm putting my patio chairs to use. The pretty lace has turned into a pretty blob:

Starting to wonder if it will be big enough. At this point I'm pretty sure it will be too small, but I bet I can block it within an inch of its life and maybe stretch it out enough. We'll see.

I've been looking around for some charcoal grey silk/wool to make my next lace with. I found something I liked, but it was the middle of the night and I forgot to save it. I think this stuff from Colourmart would be a nice option. I wish there was a huge yarn shop that sold every kind of yarn ever made...that would be awesome.

honey

2009-10-15T22:38:00.003-04:00

I can't wait to take a picture of this thing during the day, the bright red is a little hard to photograph. I love the honeycomb pattern - so pretty!

indian

2009-10-14T21:44:00.003-04:00

Still working on the lace, but there was a little bit of distraction tonight.

Butter chicken loosely based on this recipe. I used fresh ginger, fresh garlic and added cilantro. I give it a 7.6 out of 10 - have to work on my garam masala.

Here's some progress on the shawl:

day 2

2009-10-13T23:54:00.003-04:00

I love that once you start you can't stop feeling.

It's coming along, slower and slower as it grows. Those last few rows are gonna be killer. It's been so long since I've made anything, so this is a lot of fun. The yarn is nice and soft and lovely to knit with.

lace

2009-10-13T01:00:00.003-04:00

I bought a book of knitted tablecloth patterns called Knitted Lace Designs of Herbert Niebling. It's fantastic. So I started a tablecloth shawl:

This is Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb. I only have one skein, so we'll see how far it gets me.

edges

2009-08-09T21:20:00.002-04:00

It's almost done! Mom will finally get her shawl after three years!

It's pretty, but incredibly boring to make, I think that's why it's taken so long. I do love knitting borders on these things though.

gf meatballs

2009-07-06T21:34:00.003-04:00

Back to gluten free for now. I'm posting this mainly so I remember the recipe, cos of these are yummy!

Ground Turkey
An Egg
Cooked Rice
Parm Cheese
Parsley
Basil
Sage
Thyme
Salt
Red Pepper Flakes
A little bit of Milk

450 degrees for 10-12 minutes

sushi #5

2009-04-22T22:44:00.002-04:00

A few months ago I got some sushi at this place and they used rice paper instead of rice. The other night I was too lazy to make rice, so I thought I'd try it with rice paper. It was interesting...

Looks diseased, but those are sesame seeds between the rice paper and nori.

Yeah.

because we are your friends. you'll never be alone again.

2009-04-13T16:29:00.001-04:00

easter breakfast

2009-04-12T09:27:00.002-04:00

More things I am not supposed to eat!

Cinnamon honey challah french toast with strawberries. They were out of raisin challah and I was only slightly disappointed. I didn't expect much going the night before Easter though. That is honey all over, not syrup!

Goes well with french press:

black & white

2009-04-11T19:11:00.003-04:00

So I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen (♥). The cookies didn't turn out flat at all like the pictures, but I loved the massive amount of salt in them. Salt plus chocolate = awesome.

I have been making chocolate chip cookies since I was about 7, so I know the basic recipe by heart. Always feels weird changing things! For the chocolate white chocolate chip cookies, I just added some cocoa and big pieces of white chocolate instead of semi-sweet. So good. So so good.

N.B. These put me into a coma, so I won't be making them again anytime soon. They are so pretty though, I had to share.

eggs

2009-04-08T22:10:00.002-04:00

I had all these leeks I had to do something with. Ummmmmmm.

Leeks
Bacon
Gruyere
Salt
Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Eggs

Pretty tasty!

vegetables. amazing.

2009-04-08T00:24:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I came home on a Sunday morning after possibly too many homemade cosmopolitans the night before. You could say the world was not quite solid yet and I was not quite ready to eat pretty much anything. My good friend suggested a big bowl of veggies. It was perfect.

Leeks
Purple Onions
Bean Sprouts
Green Beans
Red Peppers
Rice Noodles
Fresh Ginger
Sesame Seeds

Before you get the wrong idea, I don't drink very often. This meal has become one of my recent favorites though and I've made it since. I am such a meat eater, I never thought I'd be able to just eat veggies and be full.

Amazing.

homemade sushi

2009-04-06T00:13:00.004-04:00

Raw tuna
Cream cheese with one chopped up little red chili and minced fresh ginger
Cucumber
Sesame Seeds

This was ridiculously spicy. So good!

Since I haven't knitted anything in forever, I'm gonna keep track of my favorite food on here. At least for a little while.

green, finished

2008-12-01T22:22:00.002-05:00

I love how it takes no time to make hats. Well it probably takes a little while, but not on rainy Sundays.

It's for a friend who has a rather large head. I know I said it last post, but hopefully it fits!

Prime Rib Watchcap #2
Debbie Bliss Maya in olivey green
Size 8 addi turbos, knit in the round - size 7 Latern Moons to finish the top
This site explains how to do it - the stitch is called Prime Rib OR Brioche Stitch

Next up is an emerald green hat in Karabella Aurora 4 for another friend. I need to find a pattern first!

green

2008-11-30T15:34:00.004-05:00

Started a new hat today. A gift for a friend - this is about one year late, but at least I'll have it done for this winter. I hope it fits!

It's a prime rib watchcap - Zimmermann style. Debbie Bliss Maya in green (I thought it was Manos - very similar. Can't even remember when or where I got it). I am doing it in the round instead of flat - thanks to The Brioche Stitch site. I tried to cast on using the Italian cast on she shows on that site, but I couldn't get it to stay straight on the circular needle. It looks okay as is, so I'm going to leave it.

It's a nice cloudy/rainy day, great for watching movies and knitting. Not as great for taking pictures, but that's okay. Looking forward to December!

2008-11-30T10:17:00.000-05:00

scarf with no. 20 edging

2008-11-17T23:03:00.003-05:00

It's finished!!

Scarf with No. 20 Edging
Victorian Lace today
Lacey Lamb in super brightest blue ever made
Size 3 needles

Started October 4(?), 2008
Finished November 17, 2008

This scarf traveled from Florida to Virginia, back to Florida, then to New York, back to Florida and now is on its way back to Virginia. Of course, hardly any progress was made on those trips, but I still like keeping track of where my knitting has gone.

I made this for my school's auction. The last two years I've made the same baby outfit for this because that baby outfit is really fast, and I never remember until the last minute. This time I remembered, but it still ended up being done at the last minute.

The strangest thing was trying to figure out a value for this. How do you value hand knits? The yarn is worth about $15, but the time...

so...close.

2008-11-16T12:16:00.004-05:00

Almost done. I can't wait to block this sucker.

holy

2008-11-08T00:15:00.003-05:00

Thank you pointy fence in Brooklyn!

It shall be fixed and cleaned and will look like new again.

♥

unfinished business

2008-10-06T10:36:00.003-04:00

1. Lead or Follow Scarf - This one is getting ripped. I just don't love it enough for all that work.

2. Melon Shawl - Definitely going to finish. I do love it, and it's not very much work at all. I've got 45 repeats out of 70 done and it's for my mom, so I've got to get it done before it gets too cold up there.

3. Rib & Cable Pullover - I still think I will finish this one day. I like it enough for all that work. It is quite a bit of work, but once I get going it's not too bad. Maybe I will finish it before I turn 30.

4. This brown sweater - Not much of anything yet and I think it should be ripped.

5. Dale Baby Cardigan #2 - Well, this was supposed to be for my godson and was going to be sized for a 1 year old. I started it when he was about three months old and he just turned 2, so it's definitely not going to be for him. I only have about one or two inches more done since that picture, so I might give up on it and use the wool for something else.

6. Jaywalkers, part 2 - I love love love this yarn, so I will finish these. I haven't touched them since that post, but I'll keep them for when I feel like doing some socks again.

7. Ruffles Scarf - I started this at least three years ago, probably more. It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but I never finished it. I will finish it one day and give it to someone, and probably not the person who it was originally intended for.

I think that's about all I have in progress at this point. Hopefully I'll be able to look at this post next year and some of these things will be finished.

4 1/2 hour odessa

2008-10-06T10:06:00.004-04:00

Yesterday morning I went to my closet and looked for something that would make a nice quick hat. I had a present to make and I didn't want to buy anything for it. I found this pretty purple merino that I bought in England three years ago. It was originally for socks for my mom, but it didn't go as far as I needed it to, so I ripped those out and the yarn cakes have been sitting in the stash ever since.

Odessa by Grumperina
Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK
50g = 137yds
Took just over one ball, but I bet if I had done one less round on the main pattern, I would have been able to do it with only one ball.
Size 4 needles for the ribbing and size 6 for the rest (I used my Lantern Moon dpns)
No beads this time, but I would like to try that one day.
Started & finished 5 October 2008

It's a really cute design and I hope this girl likes it.

lace

2008-10-05T16:47:00.003-04:00

I started knitting again. Maybe it's the cool weather (cool meaning high 70s), or maybe it's because it's near Christmas and I've started thinking about presents. Not really sure.

Anyway, the last two years I've made a baby jacket for my school's auction and this year I started early so I could make something way better. Since I love knitting lace, I started a scarf from Victorian Lace Today. I'm using Lacey Lamb, probably the thinnest yarn I've ever used. It's bright bright blue, and I love it.

I'm working on the melon shawl again, and hopefully will get it done before it gets too cold so my mom can actually use it this year. I think I'm near 50 of 70 repeats of the center, and then there will be edging to do - my favorite part of making lace shawls.

This morning I made an Odessa. It's still wet from blocking, so pictures will be taken tomorrow. It's for a birthday present for someone I don't know at all - hopefully she will like it. It's an easy pattern but so pretty at the end, more about that later.

Penguin

2008-09-15T00:31:00.003-04:00

Pasha from Knitty

He needs some eyes, but I have to figure that out.

baby blue bear

2008-07-10T00:13:00.003-04:00

Teddy Bear from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby
Sublime Yarn Aran (cashmere, silk & merino)
size 4 addi turbos
started June 29, finished July 3, 2008

A friend of mine's sister had a baby in the end of June and I found this cute little bear pattern to make for the baby. I hope he likes it.

This thing is knitted in pieces - one for the head, two for the body, two arms, two legs, two ears and a snout. The directions don't tell you to sew the sides of the ears together, but that's what you do. Also, the snout looks better if you lose the cast on row when you sew it on. I had to sew it on twice to get it in the right spot and make it straight. Everything else is pretty straightforward.

I have had a request for a penguin, so that might show up next on here...maybe in another 6 months!

baby blue

2008-07-01T19:10:00.002-04:00

déjà vu

2007-11-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been almost a year. I didn't knit a stitch the whole time. Funny, then that the next thing I made was a duplicate of a project from last year. Except last year it was green.

Here is another Christmas Baby Surprise Jacket:

Baby Surprise Jacket
Elizabeth Zimmermann
Lion Brand Thick & Quick Chenille
Buttons from JoAnne
Size 10.5 needles

This is a pretty fast project and it ends up being quite cute - though very christmassy.

I'm working on the Melon Shawl again, but not much more is done yet. I think I'll start posting more often again...

saltwater

2007-01-30T23:10:00.000-05:00

Since I haven't been knitting very much, here' s another picture from the beach. To answer the comments from yesterday's post, I live near Clearwater Beach in Florida. Gleek was sort of right - it's on the West Coast of Florida. I live about a mile away from the beach, but I hardly ever go there. I was spoiled by the beach in Cornwall a few years ago, so now nothing compares. The water here is actually the Gulf of Mexico, so it's usually really warm in the summer and it feels like you're taking a really big salt bath, so it's not that fun. I also like huge waves (like in Cornwall), and there are hardly any waves here. I am jealous of Kendra - she lives in such a beautiful place.

I'm from DC, and when I moved down here three years ago I tried to figure out what I could knit and then just gave up. You can't wear hats or scarves here really, but I finally figured out that I should just make sweaters. It's always cold inside with all the air conditioning, so I wear lots of sweaters. Last night at the beach my hands were going to freeze off and it was only about 45 degrees outside - not really cold at all. I think my blood has become too thin from all the heat down here.

That sweater from yesterday is going to be of my own design I guess. It's really a copy of what I saw in JCrew, and I hope it works out. Alice - it is on small needles, they're 3mm. I'm pretty sure it's going to take forever.

slowly starting out

2007-01-29T22:15:00.000-05:00

I finally started the Bearfoot sweater I've been thinking about since December. It's an odd choice of yarn for a sweater - wool, mohair and nylon sock yarn, but it's working. I couldn't bear to make a pair of socks that no one would see with this stuff. The colors are too beautiful to be hidden inside shoes. I'm sure that I could have similar colors in a different yarn of theirs, but nevermind. I am a little bit afraid of the mohair, after my brief encounter with KSH and the itchy nose situation, but so far it's going fine.

There was a sweater at JCrew with a beautiful big shawl collar (it was really a hood) that I loved, but it was made for those massively tall JCrew people, and was way too big for me. I forgot to save a picture of it from the website, and it is gone now. Anyway, I want to make a nice big shawl collar on this sweater. I don't think it will be hard at all (ha! We'll see about that one), at least it doesn't look like it will be hard.

It will have moss stitch edges and the collar will be in moss stitch, and the rest in plain stockinette. Hopefully it will look like it does in my head.

It's a nice break from the itsy bitsy cables. I do have to get going on the melon shawl for my mom, though. I was going to have it done by her birthday (today), but I gave up on that idea and haven't touched it since. She could have used it last week when it snowed.

Here's the sunset from earlier this evening. (I actually got my lazy self to the beach to take pictures instead of from my balcony :)

so jealous

2007-01-21T23:30:00.000-05:00

I wish I was there.

Why can't it be cold in the winter?! At least 50 degrees like last winter. My mom called me in the middle of the day today and told me it was snowing. It was sunny outside my window, and hot, like every Sunday - no wait, like every day. I'm sure a lot of people would love to be where I am right now, but oh how I miss the cold weather. Maybe it will snow when I go up there in two weeks. :)

This is supposed to be about knitting, right? Well, weather sort of has to do with knitting, sort of. There will be knitting tomorrow - something new!

2007-01-16T23:38:00.001-05:00

6944 stitches for 2 1/4 inches. What the hell am I thinking?

I'm certainly not complaining. I got myself into this, and for some reason it seems to be so much more work than the first little cardigan I made. Maybe I am just faster at lace than cables. Or maybe I just like lace better. I have no idea, and it really doesn't matter.

This is really just a poor excuse for a progress report. This is the only thing I've been working on, and I'm starting to think I should work on my melon shawl more instead - it seems to grow at a more rapid pace. I am afraid if I do that then I will never finish this little thing and the boy will be 10 years old and it will fit on his little sister's doll or something. (Of course he has no little sister right now, this is all made up, and I seriously doubt it will take me 9 1/2 years to finish a little baby sweater. So we hope.)

All I want to do right now is eat some chocolate - it has been two weeks since my last chocolate and I've got to last another two weeks. Some stupid thing my friends and I are doing - no sweets for all of January. But there is no prize at the end and no punishment for failing, so it is hard to explain why we are doing it. I think that my body is enjoying the break from all the torture it usually gets, as I am completely addicted to chocolate and sugar in general. I have been looking forward to oreos and ovaltine in February, definitely. :)

64 degrees

2007-01-08T18:10:00.000-05:00

It's getting colder. Yay!

88 degrees

2007-01-07T22:49:00.000-05:00

I got a new toy today:

I didn't have much to take pictures of before the sun went down, and the pictures of the sun going down were boring because it was mostly just cloudy and pretty much everything in the pictures were grey. Nevermind.

I've started a new sweater for Colin. It's from the same Dale pattern book as his first sweater, which apparently fit him soon after he was born, so I'm making his next sweater in the 12 month size. This means I have to finish it before September because he will be 12 months old then and it will probably be too small.

It will be a cardigan with cables - very preppy, which is sort of his style at this point (thanks to mommy). That's 224 stitches on size 0 needles. Yeah.

I used the Italian tubular cast on (thanks to Francesca) which is actually much easier and faster than the method that uses waste yarn and a provisional cast on. It did take a little while, but it was well worth it, as always. The yarn is Dale Baby Ull, just like before, so she can wash it. :-)

These little baby sweaters are supposed to be faster to make, but really it's just a trick. There are more stitches on this one than there were on my hybrid, and I've done about ten rows and it's not even an inch long yet. What the hell?

They do look cute in the end though.

I have been told that this is the warmest winter in Florida since the 1930s. It was 88 degrees yesterday, and at least 80 today. I was looking forward to some cool weather in January so I could wear my red sweater, but it's just too hot. I have the opposite problem than Kris - there is too much sun here. Maybe if this happens for a few more years they will call it global warming. We'll see.

I will end here with a funky cactus shot. I hope you enjoy it. :)

so this is the new year

2007-01-01T01:27:00.000-05:00

I am so glad that 2006 is over. Happy New Year!

why do i get bananas? they're only good for one day

2006-12-28T17:51:00.000-05:00

A little bit of progress has been made on the Melon shawl.

I can only knit so much at a time, and then I have to put it down. The colors are looking pretty interesting - I can't tell if I really like it or not. I think I do, though. My mom likes it so far, and that's what's most important.

I went to the yarn shop today and found the 4-ply cashmere on sale (again!), so I bought two skeins of black to use with my leftover red from the hybrid. I'm going to make it into a stripy sweater of some kind. I don't really like how much this yarn pills, but I love the yarn so much that I am willing to put up with it. (No pictures because everyone knows what black yarn looks like.)

I also bought some Manos for my friend for Christmas. She's a pretty new knitter and she wants to make a scarf like one she has already - a stockinette tube. I got her some addis, too, and I'm going to teach her magic loop. I really don't like knitting with the magic loop method, but it's worth learning, so she's going to learn it. I have no picture of the manos because I forgot to take one before it got dark. It's a pretty purply color - not exactly the shade she wanted, but it's close.

After today I have yarn waiting for four sweaters. Three of them I'm interested in making, the other one not so much. I'm not exactly sure what to do with that one, the front is nearly finished, but it is very time consuming and I don't like it very much. I guess it will just sit there with the rest of the yarn until I can be bothered with it again. I also want to make venezia right now, before the rest of them (look at this beautiful one, I'm so jealous). What to do?

happy festivus!

2006-12-25T19:59:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great day today!

very little knitting this christmas

2006-12-22T20:45:00.000-05:00

The first week of my two week vacation is nearly over (it didn't actually start until Tuesday afternoon), and I have about two inches of knitting done. I gave up trying to figure out which shawl/scarf to make for my mom, so I just handed her the Victorian Lace Today book and had her choose. She chose the Melon pattern and asked for it to be 24 inches wide instead of 17, and maybe shorter than 72 inches. I'll probably keep it 72 inches long - that extra length is always nice.

The pretty purple Jade cashmere is turning into a melon shawl. The variation in colors looks okay - I think I will like it better when it is bigger. Right now it sort of looks like the colors faded in certain parts. I'm sure it will turn out okay, though.

My Christmas present was a new camera. The ever popular D50 (thanks to Jared). I think in another life I took lots of photos, because I have always loved cameras and taking pictures. The last three days I have been trying to remember how to use an SLR, and I have remembered most of what I learned. When I was about 13 I used to take my parents' Pentax to school and take pictures of all my friends, and I sort of learned how to use it on my own, mostly thanks to the light meter. I really have no idea how or why the pictures came out, but they were always beautiful with that camera.

Here are a few shots from the last couple of days:

A flower, the cat, self-portrait (practicing with the wireless remote!), and a silly picture of my dad (that camera really brought out his blue eyes).

I also got an interesting shot of our Christmas tree. I haven't figured out how to take nice pictures in the dark yet, but I thought this one was pretty neat:

In all my 23 years I have never had a real tree, though my mom tells me we had one when I was 3, but I don't really believe her. We have always had a fake tree with lots of semi-tacky ornaments, some antique ornaments, and lots of colored lights. My dad conveniently threw away the fake tree while he was cleaning out the garage (it was about 18 years old, it needed to go), so mom and I had to go buy a new one. While we were driving around last night my mom suggests we get a real tree! I was so excited. This morning we found a pretty nice one and it was only $40. My mom picked it out (which is only funny to me because she's Jewish), and I think she did a great job. I decorated it tonight with lots of colored lights, old ornaments and candy canes. I think it's cute.

I have been reading a great book on photography, so hopefully my pictures will get better. Maybe we will have a little bit of sunlight tomorrow and I can get some more knitting shots.

I hope everyone is having nice holidays!

festivus (don't mind us)

2006-12-18T22:55:00.000-05:00

How annoying is this?

That Superyak is stupidly packaged, and oh it gets tangled so easily. I want to throw it in the trash, but I love the yarn so much, I am willing to spend half an hour fixing it. :-(

Please excuse the grumpiness tonight. I should probably not even post this, but I will because I want to remember how grumpy I actually am right now. See, I don't really like Christmas anymore and it is dangerously close to Christmas. I have been dreading this almost all year, and now that it's here I don't really know what to do with myself. It is all stupid, but grumpiness is always stupid. Maybe I should quit celebrating Christmas and start celebrating Festivus. I don't know if my family would go for that, though they might. I doubt it will help my grumpiness. I am looking forward to my Christmas present to myself. It's going to be good this year, and I'm getting it early, too - tomorrow. That will help with my grumpiness, for sure.

I just have to keep packing for my trip home and get the rest of my yarn in balls to take with me. How do you pack yarn for only a week and a half trip? I don't know what projects I'll feel like working on, so I am bringing a few options. The next post will have real knitting pictures, I promise. Something pretty I think. Definitely not anything in that black Superyak - there's been enough black around here lately.

Please don't mind us tonight, we'll be back to normal tomorrow.

sparkles

2006-12-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

We had our office Christmas party last night and Santa showed up with some really nice presents for all the girls.

(The boys got cash and cigars :-)

Every year we have a great big party in a tent outside my boss' house. Inside the tent are Christmas trees, lights all around and tables with gorgeous flowers (this year there were red roses and white orchids, cala lilies and tulips). We have a delicious dinner and she always has a dance floor and music for after dinner. As always, it was a great time, and the surprise diamonds made it even better.

baby it's cold outside

2006-12-09T22:40:00.000-05:00

Yak in Brioche stitch. Yak and Merino actually that looks just like oatmeal and feels like I don't know what - something nice and soft. It grew a lot after I washed it. This is before:

And after:

Prime Rib Watchcap by Elizabeth Zimmermann from Knitting Without Tears
Karabella Superyak - 50% Yak, 50% Merino in Oatmeal (I mean color #10150)
1 skein plus a little bit
Size 8 Addi Turbos
Took a couple of days - I really can't remember when I started or finished it actually. Sometime this week (yeah, this was a pretty crazy week).

This is really great yarn. It's very soft and knits up quite nicely. The lady at the yarn store here in Tampa knows how much I love cashmere, so she suggested I use the Superyak for some hats I wanted to make for my dad and brother. It is soft like cashmere, but it feels a bit tougher, and it's not as fuzzy (even though that top picture looks pretty fuzzy). I also like it for the men's hats because it has a manly look to it, but it's soft as butter and not at all itchy. It is supposed to be bulky weight and the sleeve says to use size 10. 5 needles. Elizabeth Zimmerman says to get the bulkiest yarn and fattest needles you can find to make the prime rib watchcap, so I thought this would be good. With size 10.5 needles the stitches were super loose and it was quite horrible. I went down to size 8 and it worked out well. I think size 10.5 needles would work well for stockinette stitch, or for something drapy like a scarf, but not for a hat. I wouldn't mind a sweater jacket out of this stuff, but it would be expensive. I'll stick to the hats for now.

This hat was knit flat on 60 stitches, but besides that I followed the directions. The prime rib stitch (also called brioche) is a nice open rib, and is more fun to make than regular ribbing. I could have gotten away with using only one skein, but I didn't know that it would grow so much after washing. I know that's why you're supposed to wash your swatches, but I always just rip them out and use that yarn to start knitting.

This one is for my dad, and I have some black Superyak for my brother. I'm still looking for a pattern to use for his hat and my hat. I was thinking of Odessa for me, or a modified version of it somehow. I still have no good ideas for my brother, besides a plain old hat in the round. I have some time to figure it out.

One more thing about the yarn - it comes in these weird hanks that don't fit on the swift. I had to hold it on my arm while I wound it, and made a little bit of a mess with the second go. I don't really understand why they make it this way, but at least it's not lace weight!

pretty lights on the tree

2006-12-05T19:58:00.000-05:00

The Christmas Hybrid by Natalie, thanks to Elizabeth Zimmermann

Seamless Hybrid by Elizabeth Zimmermann from Knitting Without Tears
Jade Sapphire 4-ply Cashmere, about 1200 yards
Size 4 Addi's for the body, size 3 for the edges
September 24 - November 26, 2006
Finished Size - 36"

Named Christmas Hybrid because the yarn was a "Christmas present" to myself, and because it's red. Not just red, crazy red. The Seamless Hybrid is a recipe, not a strict pattern, but I'm sure people already know about it, so I won't go on too much. It really is seamless, though there is some grafting involved, but I love to graft - I think it's great fun.

I had to re-knit the back saddle and get rid of a few stitches by knitting two of the body stitches with one saddle stitch (this probably makes no sense, sorry), because the back ended up sort of bubbly. A little steam from the iron helped to fix that as well. I didn't fully block this sweater, but just steamed it a bit, which was enough to relax it a bit and make the decrease seams around the top look better.

I added shaping in the waist to get rid of about 5 inches, so it fits me pretty well. I don't like the collar, but I will do something with that one day when I have the energy to rip it all out again. I would like it to be wider and rounder - right now it is quite square. This is the third sweater I've ever made, so I don't really have all the fit and finishing tricks down yet. They get better every time, though.

I have almost 3 balls of this yarn left. I can't decide if I want to buy another color and make a stripy sweater (I was thinking black and red), or use it for something else. It pills like crazy, but it makes up for that with its softness. I bought a sweater shaver just for this one. :)

victorian

2006-12-03T15:25:00.000-05:00

The Alpine Knit Scarf is complete:

Alpine Knit Scarf
Victorian Lace Today
Jade Sapphire 2-ply Cashmere, just over 800 yards
Size 4 addi turbos
60"x18" blocked
44"x18" before blocking
November 18 - December 3, 2006

The book says the pattern is from 1847, and was designed by a lady named Jane Gaugain. It is knitted as one piece, and the points on the edges are made during blocking. I made no modifications, but there is a tiny error on one of the charts. There is a knit square where there should be a purl square on the chart for the center, but it is very obvious. They call it a scarf, but I think it's really more like a stole. It's wide enough to wrap yourself in and keep your arms warm.

I used some leftover Koigu to help with the blocking. The pins weren't working on their own, so I tried the Yarn Harlot's method for the second time. It didn't work very well the first time I tried it, but this time it helped a bit. It makes me want some blocking wires for Christmas, or just to only make lace with all scalloped edges.

I can't believe I have to give this away -it is one of my favorite things I've ever made. The pattern is so pretty and the fabric drapes perfectly. I will have to make another and keep it for myself.

This is a Christmas present for my boss' wife, who is one of my favorite people in the world. Whenever I wear my Print o' the Wave, she always asks me to make her one. She has a very classic style, her clothes are all very simple, but when she decorates her house it is very opulent and rich, and she always likes things that look like they were from Victorian times. I think she'll like this piece, and it's black so she can wear it with nearly anything. We have a fancy dinner to go to next Saturday, so I'm going to give it to her early in case she wants to wear it to the dinner. They are going to London for Christmas, so hopefully she'll be able to use it there, too. She certainly won't get many opportunities to wear it here in Florida.

People (non-knitters) sometimes ask me how long it takes me to make things. I always sort of try to figure it out and say a few weeks, or a few months. One of my friends asked how many hours it took to make a pair of socks. I had no idea, because it takes me more than hours to do it, so I told him maybe ten or twelve hours, but I still have no idea. Because of this I tried to keep track of how many hours it took to make the scarf. I got to about 17 hours and then lost track, but I think I worked out it would take about 22 hours with the average time per repeat. So whenever people tell me I should sell my knitting, I just tell them it would be too expensive. I'm sure a lot of knitters have that conversation with people.

Here are some more pictures:

There are more on flickr, if you click on one of the pictures it will take you there. I don't think it's harder to knit black lace, but I think it's harder to photograph it.

I have too much to say and show for one day, so I will save the other things for tomorrow and then I can have two posts in one week instead of just one. :-D

yakety yak

2006-11-27T22:30:00.000-05:00

Made a little trip to the yarn store today. I definitely got myself into trouble this time.

More Jade Sapphire 2-ply cashmere. This is for some lace for my mom. Can you tell that this is my favorite yarn ever? This will be the fourth project I've made with it.

Pretty Road to China - Alpaca, Cashmere, Camel, Yak, Soya. All in that little skein. The colors are very beautiful, I wish it was daytime so I could get a better picture. This is for a hat for me, which I will get to wear at Christmas when I go somewhere cold. I picked that color because it makes my eyes sparkle nicely.

(See the eggnog? Yeah, I know it's still November, but I love eggnog and have been drinking it already for the last two weeks. I think that's what makes people fat at Christmas - it's not just one day, it's a whole month!)

Karabella Superyak, for two hats: black for Mikey and tan for Dad. Yak is really pretty soft - this yarn is 50% yak & 50% merino. Yummy. It is bulky weight, so it will make some nice warm hats.

Last, Moutain Colors Bearfoot in a lovely brown and copper color. This is sock yarn, but I'm going to make a sweater out of it. I couldn't resist the colors - they are sort of metallic and shiny, like really pretty hair. This yarn comes in so many pretty multicolors, so one day I'll have to get some to make socks out of.

Most of this is for Christmas presents, and I do need a new hat for Virginia. The hats I have are all out of style now, and my favorite hand knit hat is from 1995 and is a bit too scruffy for me to wear now. I just want to start everything right away, but I have to finish the Alpine. I have one more repeat of the inside pattern and then three of the diamonds for the end. It is only now starting to get boring, so I would say it's been great knitting. I should have some pictures of it done by the weekend.

mrs. jane gaugain

2006-11-23T23:09:00.000-05:00

May I present a sneak preview of the Alpine Knit Scarf:

This is an absolutely beautiful pattern. I noticed it when I first looked through Victorian Lace Today, but didn't like the garter stitch edging very much. The edging has definitely grown on me. I started the Myrtle Leaf Shawl (the picture in my previous post), but I think there is either an error in the pattern, or I just did something wrong. I tried it twice, but it didn't work out right - the leaves weren't forming properly. After seeing it knit up, I didn't like the pattern enough to figure out the mistake.

Then I started a new Print o' the Wave, but I wasn't excited about it in black - when I make another one of those I want it in a pretty Miami blue color. After looking through the book about five more times Sunday night, I settled on the Alpine. And then knit and knit and knit and it's nearly half done. There are 25 repeats of the diamonds by the time it's finished, and I have 11 1/2 done now. I like to keep track of things like that so I can see how much progress I am making. I also like to time how long it takes to finish a repeat of the pattern and see if I can do it faster each time. Right now it's about an hour and a half for each 16 rows. An hour and a half for only 16 rows! This makes me a little crazy, but it also helps me to keep pace and get the thing done on time. With all of the calculations, it's only 20 more hours of knitting. AH! :-) I have almost four weeks, though, so it will be no problem.

I was a little worried about time when I started, as the book says it's "experienced lace". It's not hard or anything, I think they just say that because the diamond border is patterned every row, so you have to pay more attention. I like it because it's making me more aware of how lace patterns are made, and why they have the yos on one side of the decrease sometimes and on the other side other times. There is an error in this pattern, too, but it's just slight. There is a k box where there should be a p box on the chart for the center pattern. (Sometimes I wonder if anyone proof reads these charts. I have heard Kathy talk about errors in patterns quite often, and if the patterns are test knit, then they should pick up the errors. They have all been knit because there are pictures of them in the book! I guess I just don't understand how that all works.)

Anywway, the red sweater is done, but I'm not thrilled about the neckline. I wore it today and it's better than I thought originally, but I'll probably end up fixing it during the Christmas break when I have time to think about it. It has quite a square shaped narrow neck after putting the edging on, and I think I would like it better if it was a bit wider. We'll see. By the way, does anyone know where to buy a sweater shaver?

PS Thanksgiving was pretty fun this year. I was an orphaned child and ate at my boss' house. I ate too much stuffing and could barely eat my turkey leg, and couldn't even get a bite of pumpkin pie in me. That stuffing was damn good, though. :)

sweater destruction

2006-11-17T23:50:00.000-05:00

José wanted to know how the red sweater is going. I loved it until I tried it on two nights ago.

You can see in this picture how as the back of the sweater (right side here) lays flat, the shirt yoke (left) lays bubbly. Somehow it didn't work, though I'm not completely sure why. There is too much fabric in the yoke compared to the body of the sweater, so I have rippped it all out and am starting over - just the yoke, not the whole thing. The picture above is just after I pulled out the kitchener join. I am going to tighten it up and possibly use smaller needles and see what happens. I want to have a finished shot of it by Sunday afternoon and be done with it already.

Some Christmas knitting ahead:

My favorite yarn to knit with - Jade Sapphire laceweight cashmere. I bought it at a real store last night where they make fresh cookies, coffee and tea, so it always smells yummy. I found a nice stole pattern from Victorian Lace Today, the book some people are talking about. The patterns in the book don't blow me away, but there are a lot of nice edge patterns and a section in the back that talks about designing your own lace.

I started last night, but at the end of the first repeat I had one too many stitches. The pattern lined up as it should have and it all seemed in order, but it was 12:30, so I gave up and went to bed. I'll sort it out after I finish my red sweater. I am still contemplating just making another Print o' the Wave instead, since I love it so much. The shawl above is nice, but it seems like it will be too boring to knit. I'll decide this weekend.

Oh - this is for my boss' wife. She's been asking for one since I made mine, so I figured it's time. They're going to be in London for Christmas, so I want to get it finished before they go so she can wear it over there. Then I have to make something like this for my mom! I should have started sooner.

thick & quick

2006-11-13T22:57:00.000-05:00

Mom calls Thursday - I have a great idea, can you make something for the auction? (The school I went to has an auction every year as a fundraiser.) Sure, mom, when is it? November 18th.

Yeah...

Thursday night is the late night for the yarn store here, so I went over there and looked and looked for about an hour. I wanted to make a shawl with dk weight wool, like this one, since it didn't take very long to make and it was really pretty. Anyway, the yarn store didn't have anything soft enough that wasn't $$, so somehow the owner of the shop convinced me that kidsilk haze would be perfect for what I wanted to do. I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed that it would be perfect, since it's laceweight, and the last laceweight project I made took about a month. On my way home, my nose wouldn't stop itching - I don't think I'll be making anything with that kidsilk haze. I think I'll be taking it back and exchanging for some cashmere for a Christmas present.

So, the next morning I woke up about an hour early trying to figure out what I was going to do and the brilliant idea came to me - a velvety baby outfit made out of that chenille you can get from Michael's. That cute baby surprise jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman and a little hat. I was thinking dark red, but I ended up with some lovely dark green and cream. Normally I find chenille to be quite tacky - too mid 90's for me, but somehow this works.

The baby surprise jacket is made in one piece and you decrease and increase in different places to create the shape. You end up with seams only on the top of the arms - it's pretty neat how it works. The pattern is written for yarn at 6 stitches per inch, and my chenille knits up about 2.5 stitches to the inch. So I just figured out that it's about 42% of the pattern, and made all of the numbers 42% of what she has in the book. It worked very well, which was fortunate, as I had no time for errors.

I got the measurements for the bonnet from a baby pattern book and then just sort of made something up. It only took about an hour to make, and I think it looks pretty cute.

I put an i-cord edge on every edge I could find, which makes it nice and pretty for the holidays. It's easy to get away with things like that when it's for a baby.

I found the cutest buttons to go with this - the ones on the left. This had to be for either a boy or a girl, so I had to ditch those pretty pearl buttons and go with the other ones. They still look good, but aren't nearly as cute. I'm going to have to find something else to make so I can use those pretty pearl buttons.

For my records:
Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket from Knitting Workshop, and made up bonnet pattern
Yarn: Lion Brand Thick & Quick Chenille
(I am such a snob, I still can't believe I used this yarn and it actually came out nice.)
Needles: Size 10.5 bamboo circulars
4 buttons instead of 5
Buttons from JoAnn (they had an exceptionally bad selection of buttons yesterday)
Time to make: About 8 hours total
Jacket Size: 20" around, 12" long
Bonnet: 13" around top, 5" deep

when there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire

2006-11-06T23:23:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is one of the most boring things I've ever done with my knitting. Unraveling 200 stitches of cast-on. It's working though, so it will be worth it when I'm finished. I am a little worried about the incredible amount of fuzz on this sweater. You can't tell from the pictures, but it is really fuzzy. It worries me because I'm pretty sure it will just get worse. I guess I will have to get a sweater shaver.

I ended up with some seed stitch cuffs on the sleeves, and I actually like them. There is a neat Elizabeth Zimmerman cast-off called casting-on casting-off, or sewn casting-off. I like calling it casting-on casting-off, it sounds better. You do it with a sewing needle and it makes a nice not too obvious cast-off. It takes longer, but it looks better than the standard cast-off.

I'm back in Florida, back to the heat where people make fun of me for wearing sweaters in November (it was about 80 degrees here today). I was inside all day, so I do have a valid excuse for the sweater. :) At least I can pretend that it's really fall right now.

what to do?

2006-10-31T22:24:00.000-05:00

The body is finished - but none of the edges are and it's starting to drive me a little crazy. The original plan was to do hems like this one, but when I made the first hem on the sleeve I hated it. It's too thick and it makes a weird line where it's connected to the sleeve. It looks cool on Jared's sweater, but not mine.

So, I tried 2x1 ribbing, an idea I got from a sweater I bought this weekend. I hated it. Then I tried a hem again, hated it, then 2x1 ribbing again tonight and remembered that I hated it. So, you can see the hem I tried again in this picture, the white, but it's just pretty awful. I don't know what to do with all of the edges now, and I think the sleeve I've been experimenting on is starting to look tortured. I don't like rolled edges, so I can't just leave it as it is and cast off. I like the edges on this sweater, but that means hems again, and I think this yarn is just too bulky for hems. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

For Alice:

Not complete, but at least it fits.

random bits about nothing

2006-10-29T23:47:00.000-05:00

I'm getting there. This picture is before about 3 hours more of knitting. The first saddle is done now and I'm working on the second one. It's a lot of fun, back and forth, back and forth, taking up one stitch for each row. It reminds me of knitting a border on a piece of lace, except it's all stockinette.

I got a haircut on Saturday morning, and feel compelled to share some pictures with the five people who read this. The curls are natural, though possibly enhanced a bit that day by the very fine Elie. He is the only person in 23 years who has given me a hair cut that I like. (Besides maybe when I was a baby - some of those hair cuts were super cute.) Also, apparently people fly from all over the country to see him.

The picture on the right was taken at 1 am, so I'm sorry for the bad lighting and tired eyes.

I came home on Monday from Florida and found my brother now has a beard. And it's red, which I don't understand and it creeps me out a little bit. He's still cute, though.

I love the fall.

the fun part

2006-10-25T23:43:00.000-04:00

I finally finished the sleeves to the red sweater. I kept wanting to wear them while I was knitting them, so sometimes it was hard to keep knitting.

The body and sleeves are all connected now:

I wish I had a better daytime photo, but it's 11:30 at night, so that's not going to happen anytime soon.

The weather is so nice up here (in Virginia). It's such a great change from 85 degrees and super humidity. My hair doesn't know what to do with itself, so it's just fallen down limp. Usually in Florida it's big and poufy all the time. :) I have been trying to get some good pictures of the trees, these are the best so far:

My favorite season. I got here right on time.

alexander, where are you?

2006-10-20T00:30:00.000-04:00

Hmm.. not so sure about this one. We'll see.

Tonight I found out that I can watch the recent episodes of Grey's Anatomy on abc.com. It's great because I am never home on Thursday nights to watch it. Well, some Thursday nights I'm home on time, but I'm not very good at keeping a TV watching schedule.

slow hands

2006-10-16T22:48:00.000-04:00

I have been super busy lately, home around 11 every night last week until last night, when I started the second sleeve:

I won't be done by next Sunday, but that's okay. Maybe I can finish this sleeve by then at least.

I was hoping to do some Christmas knitting, but I haven't figured any of that out yet, and it's almost November. Maybe some small gifts or something. I'm not really sure yet, but I know it's getting pretty late for it. If anything, I want to make something for my mom. She hasn't gotten anything knitted from me in a long time.

On Friday night, my friends suckered me into watching the stupidest movie ever made - Employee of the Month. They were all excited because it had Dane Cook in it and they told me he was really funny, etc. I didn't know what the movie was called until we got there. I just wish we saw The Departed instead. I'm making them go to that this Friday night, I can't wait!

nice day for a sulk

2006-10-08T14:17:00.000-04:00

The body of the sweater is done to the place where the arms are attached. So I started an arm:

This is the third try. First one was too small, then on the second one I realized that I didn't like the cast-on. So I ripped them both and started this one with a provisional cast-on. I'm going to make a hem, but I want the fabric to just fold in without different stitches on the edge, like this:

The cream cashmere will be in the inside of the hems. I can't wait to do that part, but I'm saving it for last. Once the sleeves are done, this sweater will be a lot more fun. I can't wait to make the shaping and saddles on the top. I have something I want to wear this to in two weeks, so that's my target finish date. We'll see if that really happens. Maybe in two weeks it might be cooler outside and I can actually wear this outside instead of only inside.

This morning I went for a walk to Starbucks and it was cool enough that I walked up the hill and didn't break a sweat. By the time I was walking back it was warming up and getting uncomfortable. I can't wait to go home to Virginia and see the fall and wear a sweater outside!

wander the halls

2006-10-03T23:12:00.000-04:00

13 inches - need three more and then I can start the arms. This is turning out to be a 34-inch sweater instead of 36 inches, with a 29-inch waist. It fit me quite well after dinner tonight, so I'm doing alright, but it probably won't look good with too many layers underneath. It looks extra fuzzy in the dark blurry photo (it's a light cashmere halo, ahh softness).

I went out for sushi tonight for the second time in the last few days. I have always thought that I didn't like it, but recently found out that it's pretty good. I can eat a lot of it and it doesn't make me tired at all. Most other food makes me very sleepy unless I only eat salad or fruit. Anyway, I have some new friends who are sushi chefs.

I think one of the only things I really like about Florida are the skies. They are always beautiful, especially the sunsets. This was the sky when I got home tonight:

miles of stockinette

2006-10-01T15:05:00.000-04:00

It's a beautiful Sunday again. Most Sundays here are beautiful days. Yahoo tricked me this morning - the weather said it was 68° outside and I was all excited until I realized that it was set to Virginia, not Florida. It's 86° today, as usual. The humidity isn't so bad, so that means it must be fall.

Some sweater progress:

I've got about 8 inches done so far, which is nearly halfway until I join body and sleeves. There are some decreases in there for waist shaping (that's what all the stitch markers are about). I've tried it on a few times so far and it seems to fit pretty well. EZ doesn't really give shaping instructions, so I made something up. I measured myself to find out where to start decreasing (my current favorite sweater doesn't have any waist shaping, so I didn't have anything to compare to), and it's working well so far. It's very stretchy, too!

This one is much nicer than the first sweater I made in the round. About five years ago I made a raglan sweater and it ended up quite stiff and very uncomfortable. I never wore it for more than fifteen minutes. It's in England somewhere, maybe in a landfill by now, I'm not really sure. I only have one picture of it and it's a really crappy webcam picture, so I won't put it up here.

I finished the knee-sock and really didn't like it at all. So I took the second skein and tried something out.

The colors are gorgeous and the way the stripes are coming out are really lovely. I like this much better than the stockinette tiger stripes. The two pictures are the two different sides. The purple runs throughout and the green and rust sort of pool on the different sides. The Jaywalker pattern is a really nice showcase for this colorway. It's been quite neglected since the red sweater started, though. I'll get these done someday.

fiery red

2006-09-29T00:19:00.000-04:00

Look at that lovely fuzzy cashmere. It feels like ... cashmere. There are no other words to describe it.

his name is colin

2006-09-25T23:09:00.000-04:00

The new baby was born on Wednesday! He was 6lbs 7oz and very tiny indeed. His sweater won't fit him for awhile, I'm sure. He is super cute, and his mommy has really taken to him. It is her first baby and a year ago she was sure she wouldn't be having any babies for a long time. She told me tonight that she already can't imagine not being a mommy.

They asked me to be his godmother! I am so excited about it - it is such an honor. Just having that job has made me feel much more attached to him - it's really neat. I love holding him, he's so aware and alive, but he's this little 7lb person. AH! I can't wait to help teach him to walk and read and drive a car (I'll be so old by then).

I have decided to make a baby blanket for him, and I have to somehow incorporate the Steelers logo (baby's mommy is a HUGE fan):

I have seen a baby blanket pattern that had star shapes similar to those in the pattern, so I'll probably do something like it. Of course I can't remember who's site I saw them on, but I think it was in one of the popular baby books. He's got plenty of blankets and toys for now, so I'll probably make this for Christmas.

The red sweater was started Sunday, but somehow my gauge was way off and it turned into a 44-inch sweater - way too big. So I re-measured and took it from 248 sts down to 200. This should technically produce a 36-inch sweater, so we'll see. In the sample stitch counts Elizabeth Zimmerman uses for the hybrid sweater, she uses 200 stitches, so it must be kismet.

I'll get some pictures taken after I have more than 1 1/2 rows done. :-)

flying in airplanes part 2

2006-09-21T23:12:00.000-04:00

I went back to Virginia last weekend and just got back to Florida today. What a crazy couple of weeks!

I'm going in a different direction altogether with the socks - when I get some sunshine I'll put a picture up. The picture explains it all.

I joined Zimmermania! It's madness. I was going to make a seamless hybrid out of my denim blue yorkshire felted tweed (which was originally intended for Salina, but nevermind for now). I was really looking forward to using it up since it has been sitting around here since February. I went into Knit Happens on Sunday to find a contrasting yarn to use for the hems, and some stripes. There is a pretty gold color sprinkled around in that denim yarn, and I thought that color would complement the blue nicely. They didn't have anything in the whole store that looked good with the denim yarn, except for some silk, but that wasn't going to work. Then I found the red cashmere. It looked so nice next to the denim felted tweed.

Then I thought about a whole sweater in red cashmere. Real gorgeous red. Then she tells me it's 40% off. I thought about it for about 20 minutes while the two sales ladies looked through two different pattern books with me.

:-D

This picture was the closest I could get to the right color. 1800 yards of yumminess.

So, now a seamless hybrid in red cashmere, but with waist shaping of course. I have been sorting out the measurements and shaping, so hopefully it will work out well. I have left over cream colored cashmere to use for the inside of the hems. I think it will be nice.

Sunday:

Mmmm, Virginia food. I have yet to find decent lox in Florida and I can't find babka anywhere. It was damn good food this week, that's for sure.

flying in airplanes

2006-09-12T23:53:00.000-04:00

There has been little knitting action around here for the last few weeks. It all feels very stale (which means it's time for something new, anything).

The sock is growing, with a new heel which I like much better.

Just a backwards heel flap heel. I sort of made up the short row heel turn numbers, but it worked out fine. The calf shaping worked out well, too, except I decreased about two inches too early, so I have to rip a few inches out and re-do it. The idea worked out fine though. I increased every few rows and then every other row and every row for a few and then every other row for a few more. When it seemed to be wide enough, I knit straight for awhile (though not long enough) and then started decreasing every other row, like you would for a gusset. I sort of wish I was using the magic loop method for this sock, though. Every time I want to try it on I have to transfer it to a circular needle and it's a bit of a pain. The size 1 Lantern Moons are 2.25 mm and the size 1 addis are 2.5, so it's too late to switch. When I do the ribbing at the top I will use size 0 addis. I always like dpns better, but next time I make toe-up knee socks I will definitely use magic loop.

This weekend I went home to visit my family. I got to see one of my oldest friends who has been away for years. He went to school in Oregon and then lived in LA for awhile, but now he's back home for a bit. It was great to see him again - we've always been really good friends.

I played pool with my brother and I beat him! That is amazing because he is killer at pool.

I am kind of sad that the Skins lost their first game of the season, but it was cool to see that Tom Cruise and Katie were at the game. Next week they play the Cowboys. Normally I would hope they beat the Cowboys (there is a huge rivalry), but though I feel like a traitor, I hope they lose. My boss is going to the game in Dallas with his brother and they are HUGE Cowboys fans and absolutely hate the Redskins, so I want the Cowboys to win so their trip is fun. We'll see what happens. I will be watching the game at a friend's condo upstairs in HD on the big screen. :)

At the office there is always talk about football. Always. I am not a very big football fan, but I decided that this year I am going to at least pay attention to what happens with the Skins.

One of my random pictures from home. That is one of the statues on the DC side of the Memorial Bridge. I've always had a fascination with those statues. This picture makes me want to go back (I haven't even been gone a day). It was cool outside and it wasn't humid and I needed a sweater. I miss seeing my family everyday, too. I am too old for this homesick stuff.

these are o.r. scrubs. oh, are they?

2006-08-28T23:01:00.001-04:00

Satin Coat, Versace, $2143. I should take my mom's advice and marry a doctor. There were a few comments about that coat - yes, it's way too expensive, and yes I love it. I would almost spend my savings for that coat, that's pretty bad. It's my favorite color, too.

Anyway, enough about that. I have been working on my forever unfinished sweater. I was a wondering if it was going to be the right size, and I couldn't tell if it was too big or too small, but it seems to be just right.

I am getting near the last repeat of the pattern. Then there are just a bunch of eyelets and ribbing to the collar. I hope that part of it goes faster. Knitting cables and ribbing on size 2 needles seems like it's taking forever. It looks pretty, though. It will be nice when it's finished.

I got a lot done while I watched Rusmore on Sunday afternoon. Rushmore is one of my favorite movies - it brings back lots of memories. When I was 15, I went to see it with all of my friends and they all hated it and I was in heaven because it's awesome. It also has Luke Wilson in it and he's pretty yummy.

The poor sock has been abandoned for now. It has been left to the size of my bed, waiting to be ripped. I figured out what I'm going to do about the heel - I'll do what Cara did here, make a regular heel flap, just backwards. It should make it a bit less plain and hopefully fit better. I think I'll leave the rest of the sock in plain stockinette, the colors make a nice enough pattern.

I haven't done much knitting this weekend. My mom's in town for the week, so I've spent a lot of time with her. It's so nice to see my mommy everyday, especially at night before bed. It makes me really happy. She's also been feeding me - I haven't had Cheerios once for dinner since she's been here. She bought me some sleepy vitamins to help me sleep better, too. I love my mommy.

Since this post is about all kinds of crap, there's one more thing. I bought Push Barman to Open Old Wounds by Belle & Sebastian. It's a collection of songs from different EPs they did. I have some of the EPs already, so disc 1 is pretty useless, but I don't have any of the songs from disc 2, so it's like getting a new B&S cd. It's very cool. I'm pretty sure that mostly no one that will read this will know what I'm talking about, but that's okay.

i love september

2006-08-25T23:45:00.000-04:00

Trees change color, leaves fall, lovely deep blue skies, Thanksgiving, cold air, sweaters, that smell... my favorite smell of fall.

And the new season comes out!

There were only three good magazines at the store last night, so that's all I got. I flipped through for about two seconds and found that bright blue coat. I want that coat. There is also an article in In Style about cabled knitted bags. I thought that was kind of cool. I have been planning on making a cabled purse for awhile now. Maybe this fall, since apparently it is in style.

This is one I found months ago, but I don't remember what the pattern was or what site I found it on. I saved the picture just for an idea - it looks pretty easy to figure out how they did that. It is really cute, so I might do something similar.

This is kind of sad. Poor Pluto, I always liked that planet. I guess there's some arguing over it though. I don't really know enough about the solar system to completely understand it. I guess I never paid enough attention.

I am having serious doubts about the knee-highs. I don't really like the short-row heel and I think they are a little too plain for me. Even if they had some arch shaping or something, it would be much better. I'm giving the sock a little time to grow on me before I rip it. I do like the colors a lot, so I'll have to figure something out.

colors

2006-08-24T07:53:00.000-04:00

Lately I've noticed that my inspiration comes from strange places. There was a dress in the window of Jessica McClintock in the mall this past weekend in a silky deep green and I thought that might be the color for my Frost Flowers and Leaves.

Then I went to Banana Republic and found the most gorgeous raspberry color sweater (of course I bought it), but thought that might be the right color.

I also found some gorgeous blues at JCrew and now I think my color choices are too bright and too deep for this shawl. If I could get the silk in deep green it would be perfect, but that won't happen.

So I will have to just keep my eye out for more inspiration. That teal wool looks a lot like the color I'm using for my rib & cable pullover (it is one of my favorite colors, but more like the shade of the dress). With all the time I'm going to spend making this thing, I want to have a color I will actually like in the end.

Later in the day - I've found this great shade of Zephyr called "Chanel". It's that last one of the pictures, the fuschia-ish color. Maybe that will be it, though it is approaching being a bit too tacky. I've also discovered Helen's Lace, but that may be out of my price range. Then there is this stuff, Grignasco MerinoSilk that looks nice. This is probably the most work I've ever done finding the right yarn for something - and I've hardly spent any time so far. I guess there's no rush. The hard part of all of this is possibly spending $100 on wool I can't see or feel before I buy it. I don't like that idea very much. I will just have to find out what other people like to use for lace.

hazey jane

2006-08-21T23:40:00.000-04:00

A new sock. Destined to be knee-high (if the 215 yards will make it so).

That is my first (second really, i ripped the first one) short-row heel. I haven't decided on it yet. I do like making heel flaps, picking up stitches and decreasing, and doing that in reverse for toe-up. The short-row heels are sort of low key, which is nice. It adds to the plainness of the stockinette.

This yarn has interesting pooling. I'm not sure it would be called pooling, but it's sort of got tiger stripes. They're kind of pretty I guess. I thought about doing a leaf lace pattern of some sort, but sometimes the lace gets lost in all that color, so I thought stockinette would do. It's doing alright for now, but I'll probably have to elastify the ribbing in the tops when they are done.

Maybe these socks will be a good excuse to buy a new skirt for fall. :) And maybe some new shoes, too!

say hello to the angels

2006-08-17T23:32:00.000-04:00

It came out very pretty! My favorite parts of triangular shawls are the very tips of the triangle. The yarn over patterns are so cool. It's also not too small:

Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark (from Fall 2006 Interweave)
Misti Alpaca Lace, 1 skein
Size 2 Addi Naturas
Finished size: 42x21"
August 12-16, 2006

I was concerned about the size when it was finished, but it blocked out large enough to wear. Since I used smaller needles (size 2 instead of 4), it came out smaller, but it's still okay. It actually warmed me up a bit while I was wearing it, which I found very strange because of how light it is. I am definitely going to make another black shawl - next time much bigger, though. Black is so elegant and really brings out the pattern in a way that sometimes colored yarn doesn't.

I want blocking wires! The whole string business still doesn't make a straight enough edge for me. It is better than just pins - I can't seem to get a straight edge at all with that method. Maybe I'll slip some in my next yarn purchase. :-)

Next on the list is Frost Flowers & Leaves from A Gathering of Lace. I would love to use the Jade Sapphire cashmere for it, but I need over 3000 yards. That would be over $300! AH. I will definitely have to find something else to use. I would love to use the same silk that Eunny used, but that would cost about $200. I was thinking of maybe Merino Oro, or I could use the yarn recommended by the pattern, Jamieson & Smith, though maybe in cobweb weight. That would fulfill my dream of making a proper huge shawl with shetland wool. I've wanted to do that since I was 17 and read about shetland lace from a big needlepoint book I got from the Texere mill in Bradford. I should have made one that summer - I had all the time in the world.

mini

2006-08-16T21:28:00.000-04:00

Hmm... it might be a little small.

If Bear can wear it as a large shawl, there could be a problem - he is only 15 inches tall. The unstretched measurements are 29x12, but it feels like it might stretch a lot when I block it. It's in the sink right now having a bath, so we'll see.

That unblocked black lace is damn ugly, that's for sure. Bear does makes it glamorous, though (even with his shredded feet).

the hazards of knitting

2006-08-14T23:20:00.000-04:00

eyeache headache armache eyeache fingerache eyeache dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy

106 rows done, two charts left - 28 rows to go. Of course, 28 growing rows including over 100 more p5togs, not as simple as it sounds.

But the p5togs are worth it. See the little round ball looking things near the bottom? They will be prettier when it's blocked, of course, but they are neat because they are flat discs, not raised like bobbles. I used a size 0 needle to help with the p5togs. If it were thicker yarn it wouldn't be as hard to do, but the thin splitty lace yarn doesn't make for easy p5togs.

Knitting usually doesn't give me a headache, but I think it's the fiddly lace with the fiddly pattern. It wasn't bad until I got to the "lily of the valley" part of the pattern. The spiders are easy to make and it was easy to memorize the pattern, so I could do a lot of it without looking.

José - i think it feels like tarantulas - soft, fuzzy and a little silky, almost like plush velvet. :)

little black spiders

2006-08-13T23:19:00.000-04:00

made in vietnam

2006-08-11T22:42:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, after the sadness, I was at the yarn shop trying to buy a set of rosewood size 1 Lantern Moon needles. I noticed that the rosewood ones that I have don't seem as fragile as the ebony ones. Especially since the two that broke were made of ebony. Since these needles cost about $20, I was very disappointed that they broke. I asked the lady at the yarn store if she knew if they replace needles, and she was so nice and helpful and called Latern Moon to ask. We found out that they do replace needles, which I was excited about.

While driving home (you are still allowed to drive and talk in Tampa, though not in DC), I called the number she gave me and talked to a really nice lady at Latern Moon. I told her that I had two broken needles and that it was my fault that one broke, but the second one was not my fault. I asked if I could pay for one of the needles - she said no, I'll just send you two new ones. I was amazed! I asked her if I could please pay for one of them, and she said no. Oh well.

About two weeks later I received a nice tube in the mail, my replacement Latern Moons! I got home and pulled them out to use them, and then saw they were size 2's, not 1's. :-(

I emailed to the email address on the invoice and asked if I should send them back and they said no - bonus, you can keep those size 2's and we'll send you new size 1's.

A few weeks later, another tube arrived - my size 1's!

What a happy day! I love these needles and I am very impressed with the company and quality of service.

On another note, I got a catalog in the mail and thought some of the clothes were quite pretty. I have never heard of it before - Peruvian Connection. There are definitely a lot of things I would never wear, but there are a few nice pieces, and a lot of alpaca!

violaceous

2006-08-09T20:52:00.000-04:00

I have to say, this is a very cool birthday present.

Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn Clark (Fiber Trends)
Misti Alpaca dk 4-ply 80% Baby Suri Alpaca, 20% Silk, color 1750 (PURPLE)
About 400 yards
Size 5 Addi Turbos
August 1 - August 8, 2006
I did 11 repeats of the main pattern
The only modification I made was I used a sl2, k1, psso double decrease instead of the sl1, k2tog, psso. I think it makes it look nicer.
Finished size: 49 inches across, 23 inches down

This yarn has a really nice drape, and makes a warm shawl. I like all the colors it comes in, too. We work in a really cold office, and my friend doesn't like to wear sweaters, so she's getting a pretty purple shawl for her birthday. She might not wear this in the office either, but I'm sure she'll like it.

Here are some more pictures:

This was the first triangular shaped shawl I've made. I like how it starts with only 2 stitches and grows on the bias. The Swallowtail Shawl from the new Interweave is similar (also by Evelyn Clark), and since I already happen to have a ball of misti alpaca lace yarn, I think I will start that one tonight. I started it last night, but the size 4 needles recommended by the pattern produce lace that is just too loose for me. Maybe it's me, maybe I knit too loose, though I don't think so.

I would like to figure out lace enough to make my own patterns, but it's not time for that yet. One of the next ones will be Frost Flowers & Leaves from A Gathering of Lace. It is just gorgeous.

whatever makes you happy

2006-08-08T19:29:00.000-04:00

Some things I love about Virginia:

Leo

My most favorite road - along with clouds!

We can't get caribou down here in Florida, and it makes us very sad. :-(

I also went to the yarn store and found some pretty sock yarn. I have to find a pattern for it, maybe these or these, though I'm probably going to find a different yarn to use for those second ones. They need a more solid colored yarn to show the holes better.

This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Purple Iris. I think that brown bit on the top left is supposed to represent the dead leaves or something, I'm not quite sure. It is still a pretty color combination. I found some light blue stuff that I wanted to get, but they only had one skein - such sadness.

The shawl is finished - this is a picture before I knit the edging. It doesn't seem to be as big as I wanted it to be, but I think it will grow quite a bit when I block it. It will also look like a shawl and not a gigantic purple egg carton.

beauty

2006-08-05T00:44:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love this jacket - It's Ralph Lauren Fall 2006. My old fashion mania has returned, and I'm so excited. I can't wait for September's two-inch thick magazines! :-)

he took all of my sins and he wrote a pocket novel called the state that I'm in

2006-08-02T18:39:00.000-04:00

José's is prettier than mine. Mine looks like it belongs to a boy. :-( I honestly don't understand this, or the point of it, but it's cool to watch it being made.

This is day #4 - home all day watching movies. I finished Firewall, and watched A Good Woman, because I like Scarlett. I snuck out to Blockbuster today because I was about to go crazy, and got that movie and the Pallbearer. I got the Pallbearer again (already watched it on Sunday), because I only saw the last half.

I made a discovery today, as well. After trying two different kinds of chicken soup, I decided to make my own. I got some chicken broth that is usually pretty bland, and simmered it with onions, bay leaves and salt and pepper and it made a really tasty broth. I put chicken in it as well, but the chicken was a bit of a disaster. It's a good start to soup if I can figure out how to make the chicken properly. :-)

I have 6 repeats done of the Flower Basket Shawl. With nothing else to do, knitting goes pretty fast. Here's a little progress shot:

I have used up just over 1 skein of yarn so far, and I bought 4, so I think it will make a pretty big shawl, which is what I want.

purple baby alpacas from peru

2006-08-01T23:10:00.000-04:00

Another day at home (3rd day in a row), feeling like crap (infected sinuses & ears, yuk), I decided to go out to the yarn store. I found exactly what I wanted.

80% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk 4-ply dk in PURPLE (though the picture makes it look blue)
To make this:

Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn Clark (Fiber Trends)

I did a few repeats of the pattern tonight. Since the yarn is so thick, it goes along pretty quickly. The pattern suggested size 10 (!) needles for dk weight yarn, but I'm using size 5. I tried it out with 8's, and it was too loose. 7's were too loose as well, so I just went down to 5's and it's turning out nicely. I agree with Eunny about using a smaller needle for the design to show better. I like the yarn overs in lace to make the holes, not the space inside individual stitches.

I also changed the double decreases in the pattern. They call for a sl1, k2tog, psso, which I did for the first two rows. You can see it in the picture above on the left on the stem - there are two twisted looking stitches. I decided to change it to the way the double decreases are done on the jaywalkers - sl2, k1, psso. It makes the decreases invisible, and makes the lines of the pattern flow better. This way the stems all flow into eachother, instead of looking sloppy.

This is for my friend for her birthday September 1st. Her favorite color is purple, which was a bit hard to find, but I am really happy with this yarn and pattern - it will be pretty.

I have watched a ton of movies the last couple of days. I won't mention one of them, because I didn't like it at all - though it won some awards, which I don't understand. Besides that, The Pallbearer, Miss Congeniality, 28 Days, Boiler Room, Bereft (boring, though it does remind me a bit of how I've been feeling the last 5 months), Annapolis, and I'm in the middle of Firewall. I also have Derailed to watch. I liked Annapolis - it reminded me a bit of a really nice day I had a few years ago (including the lead character's name). Sometimes I wish I was 17 again.

tasty jaywalkers

2006-07-30T20:45:00.000-04:00

Jaywalkers by Grumperina

Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock wool in Chocolate & Cranberry

Size 1 Ebony Lantern Moons, Size 0 Crystal Palace Bamboo dpns

July 19, 2006 - July 30, 2006

I made the cuffs with size 0 needles, because I found them to be too loose with size 1's (though I cast on with size 1's to keep the edge loose). I also made the legs a bit shorter (because I'm short!) and made the cuffs and heels solid brown.

These socks are awesome. They fit really well and look cool. They are also not at all boring to make, so it didn't take long to make them. This is my second pair of socks I've ever made for myself, and I'm so happy to have them.

I also found this pretty spiral scarf, and want to make one someday. I wish I could read what she says on her blog. :-(

I guess it's back to the scarf and sweater. It was nice having a project that I didn't have to stare at a chart for, so I might find something else to start. I have a birthday present to make soon - I haven't figured out what yet, but I have a few ideas. Maybe more socks!

obsessed

2006-07-25T23:59:00.000-04:00

I watched Man on Fire tonight - my boss' recommendation. I really liked it, it was one of those cool Denzel Washington action movies. I always see movies like that years after they are made. There's not much out now that I am interested in watching - I miss the old days when there was always a movie on that I wanted to see.

I spent some time with #2 tonight. Got to the top of the heel - 6 red stripes. Here's a nice dark night time picture:

I haven't received the new Lantern Moon needles I ordered a week and a half ago. So, I used some sandpaper to make my broken needle usable. I kind of like the stumpy end. I've been knitting with the stumpy short needle and the snapped in half needle that I glued back together. I have a box full of knitting needles and I'm using a super ghetto set to make these socks. They're the only size 1 double points I have. :-( I hope I get the replacement needles soon, so I can make my next pair of socks with 5 good needles.

jaywalking on sunday

2006-07-23T18:54:00.000-04:00

Today was a gorgeous day. 90 degrees, humid, breezy and blue! Somehow I've gotten used to the weather here. I can't believe it. This is my view from the sofa:

I spent most of the day on my jaywalker. I re-started it two nights ago and got to the heel last night. This morning I got up, got my starbucks, and sat and knit. And knit, and kept knitting. Here are some pictures.

leg

around the heel

finishing the toe

It fits perfectly! Not too small, not too big, the right length, etc. I wish I could have done a brown toe, but I wasn't sure I'd have enough for the second sock. If I do have enough, I'll re-do this toe to be all brown. I like the stripey toe, though, I might have to keep it. I like this pattern - I can see why so many people have knit them. It looks like most people used self-striping yarn, I would like to try that some time. For these I like having control over the stripes, and I like the heel and cuff to be solid. I also like breaking up the monotony with changing colors.

A side note - I wore my pomatomus today. Yes, mostly in the house, but I did manage to make it out to the store for food. I like how warm they kept my feet, especially in the freezing grocery store, but they are too big. The wool also made my leg a bit itchy. I don't think washing will help make them smaller, but it might make them softer. I like how they feel in shoes, they are nice and cozy. Next time I make ribby socks I will check the sizing better because these stretch out a lot.

i swear i'm not a copycat

2006-07-23T08:49:00.000-04:00

I just realized that my jaywalkers look a lot like one of Jared's hats. I guess they could be distant cousins. He used one of my favorite yarns for that hat - i bet it's lovely.

Some jaywalking pictures coming soon (later today). I love Sundays. :)

carnage

2006-07-20T22:26:00.000-04:00

The result of trying on the jaywalkers:

Yeah. I'll let that picture speak for itself.

First, I want to make the ribbing with size 0 needles, because it is just too loose compared to the rest of the sock. Basically, it was useless ribbing.

I made the larger size (84 sts/9 in), because I thought I had wide feet and ankles. Well, I measured my foot tonight and it's just a bit more than 8 inches. So it would be pretty stupid to knit a 9 inch sock, unless I was going for the now-in-style baggy look. That just doesn't work very well with socks, unless I want them to fall off while I'm wearing them. I read that the jaywalkers were a bit snug & narrow, but I didn't find that to be the case. I'm happy about one thing - my gauge was spot on. :)

So, I'm going to start over. Cast on with size 1's (because the edge is always too tight to get over the foot for some reason), then do the ribbing in 0's and the rest of the sock in the smaller size - 76 sts.

I'm glad I tried them on!