A blog about my life, knitting, and other stuff.

May 31, 2011

Interweave Crochet Preview

It's up. What do you think? I see a few pretty pieces and I love that model's red hair.

May 29, 2011

Tale of Two Dyelots

A very long time ago I knit myself the Conwy socks from Knitting on the Road (still my very favorite sock pattern book). I had two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. They were two different dyelots. The color difference was always noticeable but I never really cared. Gradually though something happened. One sock began to shrink a bit every time I washed it (in the machine). The other stayed the same. Over the five plus years I've been wearing and washing the socks the difference has become *ahem* quite pronounced.



Perhaps you can detect the difference?

May 28, 2011

Lavaliere



Pattern: Lavaliere by Cecily Glowik MacDonald
Yarn: Road to China Light
Needles: US 5 Addi Turbos
Notes: I knit this exactly as written. The pattern is great and the yarn is sheer pleasure to knit and wear.

May 27, 2011

Sheldon



Pattern: Sheldon by Ruth Homrighaus
Yarn: Cotton Classic
Needles: US3
Notes: I started Sheldon in December of 2009. 2009! I stopped because I needed safety eyes. I stopped because I needed stuffing. I stopped because his nose came out funny. I stopped because it was fiddly. I stopped because it involved seaming. Last night I pulled a legless Sheldon from his project bag and finally finished him.

May 26, 2011

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

I've written many times on the subject of Big Ass Knits. But this week I've found...



GIANT ASS KNITS.



They are so giant they seem to repel all other clothes completely.

May 24, 2011

Green With Envy

Vogue "Early Fall" Preview

It's up. I see lots of huge, shapeless knits. I'm not excited. You?

May 19, 2011

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

I've gone to the New Shimmer well once before but sometimes these things come around again.



It's a cardigan!
It's a pup tent!
It's a cardigan and a pup tent!

May 15, 2011

May 12, 2011

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

It's always nice to have wardrobe options.

Like a crazy daytime look.



And then a more formal crazy look for evening.

May 10, 2011

Standing Revisited

So this standing desk thing is working very well. I don't stand in front of my computer for hours. It's not comfortable. So I do what I need then go do something else. That something may involve sitting. I'm okay with that. But it's such an improvement over planting myself in front of my computer the moment I walk into the house and staying there for hours. I recommend it to break the computer habit if nothing else.

Another Obesession Comes to a Close

I finished! I finished spinning and plying the filthy alpaca. I've washed it several times and I still think it's fairly dirty but it's improving.



That's 660 yards of sport-ish weight alpaca.

I also now seemed to be obsessed with sweaters. I've started Idylwylde with the Seattle Knitters Guild Hazel Knits colorway in Artisan Sock.



I'm chugging along on Lavaliere for the Purlygirls' Cecily Glowik MacDonald knitalong.*



I'm using Road to China Light and it is delicious. You know how you shop for yarn for a project and you find yourself thinking, "I could save $20 if I used this nice but fairly nondescript yarn." Well, I say, at least every once in a while, don't! This yarn is heavenly. It's soft, silky, fuzzy and lovely and the color is amazing. Treat yourself. You will be happy.

I snapped up a few yarns at the Fiber Gallery's annual sale before they were discontinued and gone forever.

This is Noro Retro in two shades of grey. I have a plan for a stripey, top-down sweater.



This is O-Wool Classic. It's still being made but this is the old put-up from Vermont Organics. It was a bargain and I've always wanted a sweater in it. And, you know, it's green.



*We do this a lot. We did a casual KAL for Aidez. We've done them for sock patterns. It's a lot of fun to see what everyone does.

May 6, 2011

Mitered Crosses





Pattern: Mitered Crosses by Kay Gardiner
Yarn: Rowan Yorkshire Aran Tweed (nearly 10 skeins)for background, handspun Merino for crosses
Needles: US6 and US8
Notes: This is a very entertaining knit. I used the US6 that was suggested in the pattern but went up to US8 for the i-cord edging as the 6 was pulling in. I made a point to knit in my ends as I went, trapping them as I knit so I mainly just had to snip off tails when I was done. I haven't washed and blocked it yet but I really wanted to show it off!

May 5, 2011

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

Today we will have a very brief lesson in Yiddish. Today's word is shmatte. It is defined by Leo Rosten as follows.
  1. A rag.
  2. Cheap; junk.
  3. A softy, a pushover, unworthy of respect.
  4. A woman of weak character, weark will, or wicked ways; a slattern.
  5. A fawner; a sycophant; a toady.
He uses the following example to illustrate.

Paris: A Boutique
Mrs. Slovkovitz: How much is cette chemise?
Proprietress: Cette Chemise? Four hundred francs.
Mrs. Slovkovitz: Four hundred francs?! Mais it is un shmatte.
Proprietress: Un shmatte, Madam? Quelle chutzpa!

Okay, this illustration works best if you understand both French and Yiddish. So instead I will illustrate it simply.

This is a shmatte.



May 2, 2011

Interweave Knits Preview

It's up but I'm not really feeling it. You?

Karaoke Hat




Pattern: Improvised (see notes)
Yarn: Madil Mix 100
Needle: US7
Notes: A fellow Purlygirl created a hat based on Lee Meredith's Game Knitting using the Doubleknit podcast. She explained her "rules" here. I decided to create a hat while doing karaoke. I started with 4 x 2 ribbing then I turned a cabled every time a) a new song started, b)the word "baby" was in the lyrics c) a girl in a bikini was in the karaoke video or d) a song started that I had never heard of. I think the resulting pattern is random but still orderly and therefore pleasing. This was lots of fun to do.