i was very bad today.

rowan cocoon in seascape.

i did go into the yarn shop with the best intentions. i came out having accomplished my mission: $23 on lamb's pride bulky for the shalom cardigan (found here). the snag came when i was half way home, and realized i'd never actually checked the yardage on the brown sheep. for some reason i'd assumed it was the same as the worsted, but no. i turned around to grab another skein of sage green lamb's pride. by the time i arrived back at the yarn shop i'd somehow justified exchanging it for rowan. as if the lovely ladies at the lys didn't already think i was crazy. i'm going to have to move soon.


i should finish green(pink) gable first (which by the way, i'm making), but shalom needs to accompany my adorable yellow ck sundress to a wedding next weekend. it's out of my hands, really.

tuesday at the beach

breffist?

crepes, anyone?



i couldn't resist. when i switched from the double points to the circular last night, the physics just didn't work the way they were supposed to. it took me a minute to realize the "problem" was that i had a pancake instead of a tube.


also, cobblestone: a full view. so pleased! (details here)

bzzzbzzz

i have been a busy bee, honestly. there was a jam jam, cupcakes, and a very ill kitty. i have managed to finish a couple things, and here are the half-baked photos to prove it.

anthropologie inspired caplet in plymouth baby alpaca grande:




the yarn is outrageous, and i want to swim in it. there's soft yarn, and then there's yarn you can't stop fondling. it was blocked, but doesn't seem to want to stay that way. the pattern is from peony kints (linked above). i modified the size by casting on 60sts, and dividing the raglan into sections as follows: 10/10/20/10/10. i added some length to the body and sleeves until i ran out of yarn (2 skeins). it took longer to block the peice than it did to knit. i would (as usual) highly recommend grumperina's bind-off.

and finally, finally cobblestone. i am so pleased with this sweater- i think it's the nicest thing i've knit to date. the pattern is beautifully written, and i didn't modify a thing. i even used the recommended yarn. i was hoping to get my dad to model it for you, but the best i could manage today was their carpet. maybe next time.



next up: french market bag, and beau.

loompa land

oh the little orange men who run our lives...

good thing they're cute. kim, erin, and i nearly had heart attacks these past two weeks. happily, they're all back in their homes and healthy.

hot chips

who knew "warm, summery, leafy-green" would be so hard to pin down? also, who knew deciding on a warm green would be stressful when you lean towards cool colors like a v8 commercial?

i haven't been knitting much- i got stuck on a super secret project, and bored of another. i have been taking out my energy in the kitchen:


artichokes stuffed with greek pilaf and topped with feta, a la moosewood

after eating this, i almost forgave whoever planted mint in the yard.

study in ganache: #3

cupcake #1

marsan watchcap 2.01

pattern: marsan watchcap
yarn: 1.3 skeins blue sky alpacas worsted, olive
needles: us 8
mods: c/o 97 stitches for a 24" head. be aware that this mod with this yarn makes a very large hat. the intended likes hats with full ear coverage.

i made this hat as a valentine's present last year. kind of. i promptly repossessed it when i realized he intended to wear it uncuffed. i had a hunch that 7's weren't going to work for the yarn... but who wants to buy a new set of needles, when you can just reknit the entire hat a year later? i do love this hat though, and she's done some revision to the pattern (such as including a gauge). not only is it gorgeous, it's super quick. it's a great pattern to have in your library around the holidays.

princess buttercup

princess buttercup. how do i despise thee? let me count the ways... a very cute idea, gone a muck. if erin hadn't finished this for me, it would've stayed in hibernation until the end of time. the pattern is from new knits on the block- mostly. they did not include all the shaping shown in the photo, so i had to improvise. i neglected to write down exactly what i did, but i matched the back to the front as closely as possible. unfortunately i don't have photos of it on the recipient yet, but i thought i'd post before i forgot about it entirely.

xsecretsantax

erin was kind enough to document the secret santa present i made for her. a little late on the blogging front- but that's how i do.



i used this pattern from hello yarn, and two obnoxious shades of cascade 220. it was actually my first colorwork and my first felting project. i think it came out pretty well. it evoked squeals, and a happy dance- what more can you ask?

my kingdom for a camera

blogging would be much easier if the only hour i spent at home during daylight wasn't bleary-eyed and pre-coffee. just sayin'. i apologize for the flashy, messy photos. i've been knitting my little fingers off, but i haven't found the time or energy to document it. i started my presents in august this year- i was going to be the first one done- the first one, i tell you... things happen. cobblestone is missing a sleeve and a yoke, but i haven't forgotten. there's just only so long you can have a project in the works before you really, desperately need to do something else.

enter something elses:





these two pairs of gloves are an abbreviated version of dashing. using 1 skein of cascade 220 wool- i'm guessing if you were frugal, you could get two short pairs out of one skein. i took 9 rows off the first 18, and another 9 off the 23 rows between the last cable twist and thumb hole. i tried the pattern at full length and at full length with fingers, but i wasn't happy with either. i think these are just about right, and i'm quite happy with them. i hope the recipients enjoy them. now this may be common knowledge, but i found this worked quite well: on the row after your cable twist, ktbl of the last stitch of the cable, before the purl. it pulls it just tight enough to avoid a big sloppy stitch on the edge of your cable.

there was also some holiday bling- but who needs a scarf when it's 60 degrees in the middle of january? it doesn't smell like spring. in fact, it smells weird and wrong- kind of like it would smell if it were 60 degrees in the middle of january... but that's not stopping me from having all the windows open!

more FOs to follow. eventually.

herringbone

so i thought i'd gotten obsessed with herringbone all on my own, but it turns out it's everywhere this fall. i just bought a pair of knee-socks at target. i tried on an adorable wrap dress at banana (when the website is back up i'll link it), but the shoulders didn't quite work. at any rate, i've got to make a herringbone something-or-other. it's calling to me. that's all i've got to report, really. i'm only about 1/5 into cobblestone. life cuts into your knitting time occasionally.

more?!

holiday knit #1 for the year:


the hooded capelet from loop-d-loop in rowan big wool. big yarn is neat. big circular needles are expensive! i almost want to make myself one to make the needles worth having. at any rate, the project took about the space of a movie. the yarn is so soft that i wasn't sure whether i should knit it, or name it and keep it as a new pet. i have about 1.5 skeins left over, so i think i will make some mittens to go along with it. a muff would work better as a set, but who wears a muff? not my mom, that's for sure.

mods: added a few inches by increasing 2 stitches on rows 14 and 16. used the k2, slip 2, k2tbl bind off.

also, i finished the suss sweater. it knit up very quickly, but finishing was a drag. i hate sewing pieces together- so i didn't for a while. eventually you just have to suck it up, and take it like a knitter.




i knit it mostly in the round, except the the first 16 rows. the pattern can be found in wedding knits, by suss cousins- although i used her twisted yarn rather than the snuggle. the yarn is soft and knits up with a cool popcorn look, but had quite a few knots. i'm so pleased with the way this turned out, i almost want it to get cold so i can wear it. almost.

in case you were wondering why i didn't bother to straighten the covers in that sweater shot:



sir goofsalot can't get enough of a freshly made bed.

next up: cobblestone. i've been dying to start this since i first saw the pattern. in fact, i'm going to go work on it right now.

what do you do with acrylic yarn?

a hot water bottle cozy, obviously. it's not so much tweed, as someone threw fuzzies at it and hoped they'd stick. i didn't bother to block it and the bind off looks sloppy (is there something between standard and k2,slip,k2tbl tension-wise?), but i think it'll do the trick anyway. i may make one or two for my ice packs- it's always a trick finding the dishtowel that's just the right thickness.

i've been a busy bee, but haven't had time to photograph. suss sweater is done with buttons, and so is the hooded capelette.

candy

meet candy, the razor cami. so named due to her color, and her penchant for gin and red lipstick. not a super photo- i was in a rush. you get the idea though. i used jenna's mods because hers looks fabulous, but the decreases weren't enough for my straps. she decreased like so:
* knit 2 rows in pattern
* front - knit 2" in pattern while decreasing 1 st at each side of every RS row, then knit 1" 3x1 rib.
* back - work 6 rows of 3x1 rib, while decreasing 1 st. at each side of every RS row.
where as i should have accounted for the fact i was making a larger size than she had, and decreased twice as much in front. i'll probably never wear it- but it's done, and that's the point. i think?

my suss sweater is coming together well- the sewing bit always takes longer than you think it will. or alternatively, 3 hours of sleep is not enough to function on because you're not in college anymore. i never understood how people could have insomnia- it seemed gratuitous. oh karma.

i was very bad yesterday. my favorite yarn shop moved to a much more accessible location, which also happens to be directly across from my hair dresser. i bought some beautiful farmhouse yarn to make my so called scarf. i don't need a scarf- i didn't even really want to make one, i just liked the stitch pattern. i also picked up some brown sheep wildfoote for dying. yeah, for dying- because i don't have enough to do right now.

summer knitting

i know i should be outside, but for some reason i can't put my needles down. in a few months i'll be moping about how cold it is, but for now i'm content to sit in the sun room with my bloody mary, and whip out a "sweater" on 10.5s. i say "sweater," because the thing is more like a bathing suit cover-up- but who wants function over form anyway?

suss patterns are quite silly. i would suggest to anyone attempting one, to use it as a guideline more than a pattern. who wants to knit miles of stockinette on straight needles? do it in the round. my mods so far:

*10.5 instead of 11s
*suss twisted cotton, natural instead of snuggle
*knit to 22 inches before binding off for shoulders. the pattern wants it to be 28 inches long? as kim said- that's a dress.

the yarn is fabulous- it makes the going more interesting when you don't know what the next stitch is going to look like. on a somewhat related note, i've noticed that i'm drawn to both intricate patterns, and intricate yarn. being somewhat of a stick-in-the-mud, i feel that the two shouldn't intermingle. i'm pretty sure i've decided that the answer, is tweed.

yummy

i've been taking yarn porn again- this time for ravelry. i am trying to make nice with boy's camera.



blue sky alpacas, worsted

yarn yarn yarn

i just got this in the mail, and i'm dying to start cobblestone from fall interweave.



i was going to be good and wait until i'd finished my suss sweater, but it's not all that excited after having started 3 times. also, chanukah is on december 4th all of a sudden? way to short change me a month, moon.


now i know it's a crime, but i'm looking to unload this skein of yarntini. it just doesn't go with my "wearing colors that look like mud" motif. it's sport weight, self striping, and from a non-smoking household. let me know if you have any questions.

bumps.

so i'm allergic to formaldehyde- who would've guessed? apparently certain clothes are treated with it to preserve the color, and now i'm covered in bumps. thankfully they are neither itchy, nor permanent. more information can be found here, and via your friendly neighborhood google. anyway, because of these bumps i will not be modeling my finished razor cami for you. i will take pictures after i've finished blocking it in the next few days.

in addition to bumps, i have contracted "can't put my needles down itus," leaving me little time for taking photos. i have started the suss all season sweater- twice, actually. i obtained gauge and got about 1/3 of the way through before noticing it was suspiciously wide. cotton is a strange beast. i'm dying to finish it and start the cobblestone sweater from the new interweave, and jarrett from rowan vintage, and and and...

presents!

firstly- erin, don't look. i know it's hard, but don't.







i wish i'd thought to take pictures before i ripped the package open, but who wouldn't get excited? even the cat smelled the yarn, and plopped himself nearby. what beautiful packaging! so now i know what all the yarntini hype is about- gorgeous!




this is not my first skein of yarntini, but this is my first time with the whole yarntini experience. it makes me want to knit socks- and i've never had a desire to knit socks! for this skein, the plan is kate's fabulous (redundant, i know) ms. oni opera gloves.