Random Awesomeness

Betty White is my role model on how to be 86.



The new Pixar film looks so good I want to see it right now!



And in case you still haven't seen it, Sarah Silverman on Kimmel.



And Kimmel's response.

Reverse Applique

Yikes. I just tried my first hand reverse appliqued block for Dear Jane. I realized way too late that I should have used a dark thread to match the brown fabric. Instead it looks a bit like Frankenstein's monster in the stitching department.



In real life, it doesn't look so bad. The flash really highlighted the crooked, ecru stitches.

From a distance it looks just fine.



See?

Looking for New Talent

"The Fiber Gallery has a part-time sales position for an experienced and enthusiastic knitter. We are committed to friendly, helpful customer service, so sales experience is strongly preferred. Crochet and needlepoint/cross-stitch skills would also be nice. You must be comfortable helping and teaching other knitters, and be able to lift boxes and stock shelves. Work schedule will include at least one weekday plus weekend hours. We offer a relaxed work environment and a generous yarn discount. To apply, please email fibergallery@comcast.net with your work history and information about your recent knitting projects."

Kureyon Sock Shawl

Pattern: My own.
Yarn: Kureyon Sock (just 1 skein)
Needles: US6 Addi Lace Needles
Notes: I made this shawl for a shop model and for a class. I wanted as simple a pattern as possible. I think I got it. The shawl starts at the center back neck like an Evelyn Clark shawl. It makes for great stripes. One skein made a petite shawl.

Gloves

Pattern: Class handout from Nancy Bush. A basic glove pattern with a two-strand double start cast on.
Yarn: Elemental Affects Shetland
Needles: US2 Crystal Palace circs and Brittany dpns
Notes: I managed to break three double points while knitting these. One needle got broken in two places. This pattern is pretty no-frills. One great feature are the mini gussets between all the fingers. By picking up lots of stitches between fingers then decreasing down the little holes, so annoying to glove knitters, are virtually eliminated.

Tulip, A Colorful Cardigan for Baby

Pattern: Tulip, A Colorful Cardigan for Baby by Lindsay Pekny
Yarn: Handspun from color and fiber blending class samples and llama/merino/tencel/silk for edging.
Needle: US7 and 5 Addi Turbos
Notes: I found it difficult to pick up an adequate number of stitches along the fronts with the slipped stitch edges. I might not slip the stitches if I knit this again. Otherwise it's a very fast pattern and easy to follow.

Joining the March

After seeing Brainylady's post and Nicole's follow up I feel inspired to get this load of nearly finished knitting out of my life this month.

1. My simple gloves have just three fingers left to knit.
2. I need to complete the yoke and edging on my Tangled Yoke.
3. The handspun baby cardigan just needs one more sleeve and some edging.

I finished the Noro shawl/scarf this morning. Why did it take me so long to knit 460 yards of simple, simple lace? I can't explain it. Then I overshot the finish last night and ran out of yarn while binding off. I ripped back a few rows and reknit the edging and bind off. It's on the blocking board. (Sadly my blocking wires are MIA. The edges aren't all that straight on this.)



I had this much yarn left.



No waste here. Makes my frugal heart feel good. I've already picked the baby cardigan back up. Just a little bit more and I can cross another item off my list. I love crossing things off lists.

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

Something you need to get off your back, dear?



Kind of the knitted version of "Don't tread on me." It begs the question, "what coat do you wear with that?"

Can't Put My Finger On It

I can't explain why but whenever I see this guy I just want to slap the shit out of him.

Taking the Long Way

I started the Tulips Cardigan as a quick diversion. It was a chance to use my handspun and knit a small, simple project. I ran out of yarn. So instead of finishing the sweater last night I had to make more yarn. I dug around a little bit in my office and came up with leftover Dazzle yarn and this merino/tencel that I spun up two years ago and have never had a clue what to do with. I took my newly acquired cabled yarn skill from Madrona and set to work. I added extra twist to the two finished yarns then plied them together. The result is not great. Dazzle was a little underspun and the merino/tencel is a little overspun. They don't hold together well as a cohesive yarn. Oh well, too bad! I used it anyway for the bottom edging.



I used a second class sample three-ply skein to start the first arm. The color works pretty well with the rest of the sweater but it's going to get a ugly by the second sleeve I fear when all those orange/reds start coming into play. Oh well, too bad!

Here, I'll distract you from my ugly sweater with a picture of my adorable, but now enormous, dog.

At Least I'm Consistent

I've been working pretty diligently on my Noro shawl. It's not done yet but I'm getting there.

I took a break and went to the Sewing Expo in Puyallup yesterday with Amanda. It was okay. There was a lot more machine embroidery and garment sewing than I had hoped. I bought a few fat quarters of 30s reproductions for my Shadow Star quilt. It got me thinking about my many languishing quilt projects. When I got home I got back to work on my Four Square.



I got it up on the "design wall" (aka large piece of cheap felt) and arranged all my squares. I'm in the middle of sewing on all the sashing. I bought my border fabrics a few weeks ago. I love them.



I love them.

Then I decided to wind some yarn for my Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan. It's next on my list as soon as I finish the shawl, and Tangles Yoke, and my gloves, and my baby sweater...



Completely matches my Four Square.

A Moment in the Sun

The sun it out! And I'm home! I can finally take some pictures!


This is my Tulip Cardigan. The pattern is from Dream in Color and the yarn is some of my handspun from class samples from Madrona last year.


My progress on the Noro shawl. I got the pattern written up and we had our first class today. I have two weeks until the next class to get it done.


I got this skein of Rare Gems Socks That Rock at Madrona. I was trying to pick a Raven colorway and couldn't decide. They were all so dark I couldn't picture knitting with them. This one of a kind skein caught my eye instead.


These indigo-dyed skeins of sock yarn are from Butternut Woolens. Incredibly pretty, rich color.


A hand-painted skein from Heidi at The Artful Ewe. So my colors.


A pile of beautiful spinning fiber from Judith's classes. This is yak/merino and Shetland.

And now it's raining. With hail??