The Classy People House

The Knitter’s Life List: To Do – To Know – To Explore – To Make A Review

2011-10-04T18:38:00.001-04:00

The Knitters Life List.

The Knitter’s Life List: To Do – To Know – To Explore – ToMake

Gwen W. Steege

Storey Publishing, 2011

The Knitter’s Life List is a unique knitting book. It is not a book of patterns or a book aboutknitting skills or techniques. It is abook about the craft of knitting and all that it encompasses. It is a book of lists, articles, biographiesof designers and important knitters, technique notes, and observations aboutknitting. The book is divided intochapters which are based on topics and broad subject areas such as yarns,sweaters, socks, fiber etc. In eachchapter you will find articles, photos, stories, and the lists. The book is filled with short well writtenarticles about the history of knitting, the role of knitting in society and funentertaining pop culture facts about yarn and knitting but it is so much morethan a compilation of articles. Thelists and articles are designed to motivate and inspire you as a knitter totake your craft to the next level. Itencourages you to learn more, push your self and be brave enough to try newthings. The book is meant to be an inspirationalstarting point for knitters of all levels. A beginner can get excited about knitting and learn new skills while anexperienced knitter can use the lists to delve deeper into techniques and movetheir craft to the next level. I can seea book like this being popular with knitting groups or with people hoping toconnect to other knitters of all levels. I also think that the lists in this book are great for people who arefeeling a little unenthusiastic about knitting. Face it we all go into a knitting slump sometimes. This book will get you excited to trysomething and sometimes that is all you need to get motivated again.

The lists are into sections such as meet, discover, do/try,and learn, go, experience, extra credit and a place to create my lists. The items on the lists vary depending on thechapter but encourage one to take the subject to a different level. You are encouraged to learn more, try newthings and think about knitting in a new way. These lists are fun and will get you excited about your craft. They are not designed to be a check list ofthings you need to do to be a master knitter. Your creativity, curiosity, or your competitiveness can be sparked bythe lists or you can get a sense of accomplishment by what you alreadyknow. The book itself is lovely. It is full color and chock full of beautifulphotos. It has a casual modern layoutstyle that makes it easy to flip through or to browse as a coffee table book. I liked the historical information,especially sections about traditional styles of knitting and the depth ofinformation about different fibers. Thehistorical photos are fun to look at. OverallI found the book to be interesting and fun to read. I kept picking it up and reading sections anddrooling over the photos. The onlythings I thought it lacked as book about knitting as a culture was that it hadvery little about Ravelry which is such a big component of the knitting communitythese days. As a librarian I have to sayI loved the reading lists at the end. Itwas a nice touch. I liked the book andthink you will too. Gwen W. Steege has alove of knitting that shows in her enthusiasm and in the depth of herknowledge. Well done.

So if you are looking to be inspired, want to move yourcraft to the next level or want to learn more about fiber, techniques, or thehistory of knitting this book would be perfect for you. I think this book would make a great gift fora knitter of any skill level.

To makethings even better Storey publishing has generously offered to give one bookaway to any reader of this review. Allyou need to do is leave me a comment and at the end of the month one readerwill be selected to get a brand new copy of the book! Also Storey is having a contest called theKnitter’s Life List Sweepstakes. Checkout www.storey.com for details.

Vintage Crochet for your Home - A book review

2010-09-26T14:51:00.000-04:00

The cover of the book.

Vintage Crochet for your Home: Best Loved Patterns for Afghans, Rugs and More.

From the Coats & Clark Company 2010

Coats & Clark are celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Red Heart Yarn line this year by releasing this new book. The book has an interesting concept. It takes vintage patterns designed and published by the company from 1920-1959 and redesigns them for the modern crocheters. The patterns are written using modern terms and crocheted using readily available yarns from the Red Heart line in modern fresh colors. The book fully takes advantage of the resurgence of interest in the mid-century modern aesthetic and the rising trend of vintage modern styling. Crafters are very interested in vintage patterns but are often put off on using the patterns because of the way they are written the lack of charts and the difficulty in finding or even understanding the yarn weights in older patterns. This book takes a nice selection of vintage patterns for the home and transforms them into fresh and modern patterns with a vintage flair.

Love these mitered clothes and the hooks

The book consists of four main chapters with over 30 patterns, a brief history of the company and a how to crochet basics information section. The patterns are broken into three sections Beginner (1 pattern), Easy (24 patterns) and Intermediate (5 patterns) so the patterns are attainable for nearly everyone. The patterns are well written and have a good layout and all the patterns include colored charts which make it easy to follow along when working the projects. The book is filled with great colored photos of all the projects and in some cases has the original photos from the pattern along side the new redesigned project.

Chapter 1 Kitchen Aids consists of dishcloths, potholders, and shopping bags. I love the mitered dishcloths and think they would be adorable in any kitchen or as a house warming gift. Retro dishcloths are so hot right now and these cloths have a 50ish vibe that would be great in any style kitchen. I know that the mitered dishcloth is a mini trend on Ravelry and this will let crocheters in on the trend. The color combinations are endless and this pattern makes good use of variegated cottons which can become overwhelming in a full project. The potholders and the shopping bags are also very nice all are small projects that would make great gifts.

Covered bottle caps the variations are endless.

Chapter 2 Entertaining Tables has a selection of placemats, doilies, and a hot pad. The placemats are lovely but I am fascinated by the Pineapple Hot Plate mat. This pattern takes metal bottle caps crochets them into a cover and then the covered caps are sewn into the shape of a pineapple which is then used as a hot pad. How clever is that? The pattern is interesting but what I love how the technique can be applied to other projects. I am imagining plastic water bottle caps sewn into circles for table runners, rugs, and coasters. It really is a clever idea and I can see it being used as an eco friendly project repurposing all kinds of lids and caps and different kinds of yarns.

Chapter 3 Bed & Bath Décor has rugs, edgings and an appliqué. What is it with crochet books that they always add some type of crochet edging? I think they are a bit fussy on bath towels but could be nice on other things. I guess I just am not the decorative towel kinda gal! I love the water lily appliqués but see them on other things than towels. I think they would look cool on a bag or a rug. The rugs are nice. I like the circular rug which uses a puff stitch. I can see how the choice of yarn and colors could suit this rug to any décor from modern to traditional.

Love the pillows and the styling

Chapter 4 Cozy Rooms is the longest chapter with them most patterns. It has the afghan patterns (with matching pillows) this section has the best styling of afghans I have seen in a while. I love the mid century feel of the styling. I guess Coats has had over 75 years of experience making afghans look appealing. I also like the modern and vintage photos which show you how modern color choices and yarns can reinvent a classic design. My favorite is the Checkmate Afghan & Pillow. It is a nice take on the buffalo plaid trend that is very popular right now. It has a 50’s bachelor vibe which is also popular right now. My college age son would love this afghan for his dorm. I like the use of a solid and a variegated yarn. It makes it look more complex than it really is. I also like the Tweedy Square pattern. It uses 2 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver which makes it economical as a housewarming gift. With the color choices and the variety of buttons you can find the pillow has endless variations.

Overall I like the book. The styling is lovely, the color photos well done and the variety of patterns is nice for a home book. I like the fact that the patterns are things people would want to use in their house no magnets or cozies (ok just one cup cozy but it matches the placemat and it’s actually more of a coaster with a lip) I like it when vintage doesn’t pander to kitsch, not that I don’t love kitsch. The only thing I didn’t like about the book is that some of the styling on the placemats obscured the project. Not a major problem since the instructions and charts are clear and some projects have multiple photos. Oh wouldn’t it be nice if Coats did a vintage home knitting book as a companion? Check out this book and of course decide for yourself I personally found it to be a nice well done book with great patterns and an interesting premise.

Vintage Crochet For Your Home: Best-Loved Patterns for Afghans, Rugs and More for sale on Amazon.com.

Squirrel friend where you been?

2010-09-13T20:12:00.002-04:00

Ok I should be ashamed of myself. I feel like I should be brought up before the yarn council for dereliction of duty. I can not believe that I haven't posted a blog post since June! This summer has been super crazy and I have to admit that sending Nate off to college really looped me more than I thought it would. I have been busy knitting and reading but I haven't had the heart to do much else. Let's never speak of this again.

What have I been doing with all my free time? Knitting and reading. I am working steadily on my Top 100 list I swear. I took a mid summer break to read Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy Bundle: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest which are all
awesome. I also watched the movie in Swedish (how classy) I also caught up on the

Bones book series by Kathy Reich and the Dexter series including the newest book Dexter Is Delicious
(not for the faint of heart I must say but wow what a page turner) I love the series but the books are my favorite!
I have been knitting but not like crazy. I finished a few small projects and did a shawl
for a swap. Right now I am avoiding starting my christmas knitting and working sporatically on the Bountiful Bohus from More Big Girl Knits in a nice blue color. I broke my Boye Needlemaster size 7 on it and had to get a new needle. I went with a fixed circular this time and it is working fine. I don't know what it is about cardigans in the round that make my needles go pop. I can't decide if it is a combo of weight and the number of stitches or both!

I promise to post more regularly. I have some awesome projects, hot book reviews and some fun cat photos to share if you stick with me! Here is a sneak preview:

Tasha snuggling with the Oscillope Shawl

Luna with the Oscillope Shawl

I call Luna the squirrel friend. I heard a little girl on the bus say to her sister "Squirrel Friend you're nuts" I thought it was super funny so now Jazzy and say it all the time!

Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful Book Review.

2010-06-27T11:42:00.000-04:00

Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful

By Narumi Ogawa
Illustrated by Dylan Haley
Published by: North Light Books, 2007
Website http://misterfunky.com/index.html

Mr. Funky’s Super Crochet Wonderful is a pretty cute crochet pattern book. It has patterns for both amigurmi animals and small fashion accessories. The book has full patterns with charts for nine animals with variations and sixteen patterns for accessories. Some have multiple parts such as a hat and scarf set. The patterns are fun and easy to follow and allows for an endless variations. Switching up ears, tails, clothes, and eyes can lead to a numerous different types of animals. For example the book has a pattern for a cat that could be a dog, a bear or even a person with some mods. I especially like the bear bottle cover. The pattern is written for a plastic water bottle but can easily be made to fit a baby bottle, or a thin tall reusable plastic or metal bottle.

I like the simple shape of the animals and the uncomplicated construction. I think the design of the animals is accessible to younger crafter who want to make amigurmi but may be nervous about some of the other more articulated styles found on the internet or in other books. It is a good staring point for making animals.

The accessories are basic accessories made more fashion forward with the use of creative yarns. The book has hats, scarves, a bag, some pins and a pair of mittens. All are good basic shaped patterns that can be customized with unique yarn choices or add ons. I think the mitten pattern is especially nice and can be customized in endless ways. I don’t often see crocheted mittens. This book could be a good resource for basic go to patterns in a variety of yarn sizes.

I liked this book it is so cute. It has adorable illustrations, the color and layout of the book is young and fresh and geared towards modern crocheters without being cloying. The pattern style is fresh, easy to follow and well laid out. I think it would be great for younger crocheters who have mastered the basics of the craft. The illustrator has taken the photographs of the finished projects and drew backgrounds and accessories around the photos. Also the accessories are modeled by animals instead of people so cute. My niece thought it was the” cutest ever.’

None of the patterns are overly complex so I would rate it an intermediate level book. However be warned the book doesn’t have a how to crochet section so you should know how to crochet before you start. I also like the fact that it has both charts and written instructions. The charts are big and easy to read and come with a symbol guide. It does have a tip section at the back with some basic assembly information. I learned a tip from the book, use a one size smaller hook to do your decreases. This makes a smaller gap and keeps the stuffing from popping out! Nifty.

I was disappointed to see that it did not have a basic stitch guide in it but it is not a deal breaker. I also found that some of the patterns such as the mittens had illustrations drawn on top of the project photos. The mittens had snow drawn on the tips of the mittens and thumb, very distracting since that is something you want to see when you are working on the project. Even though the animal models are super cute I wonder about the fit of the hats on real people I guess that is what Ravelry is for.

Overall this is a very fun book with good patterns. I am planning on making the Bunny in a Dress pattern and the On the go Water bottle cozy for Christmas gifts so look for those in the future. I would recommend this book for teens and fashion forward crocheters looking for something fun and fast to work on.

Meet Natasha

2010-06-16T19:23:00.002-04:00

Luna has a sister ! Meet Natasha.

So the boss thought that Luna needed a sister. He thought she seemed lonely. So we went to the Bucks County SPCA last Sunday to see if we could find a male 1yr fixed cat to be a companion for Luna. As soon as we got in room this little show off started to put on the charm and won the heart of the boss and the decision was made.

Luna had a hard time on Sunday but progress was made on Monday. I was able to broker a tentative peace agreement using half a bag of kitty crackers and a blanket covered with the scent of the new kitten. Now I see signs of them getting closer. Less hissing and more physical contact. I saw Luna lick the kitten's face this morning. Of course when she saw me watching she hissed and ran away.

Natasha or Tasha is full of energy and so curious. She already destroyed two of our plants and has staked a claim in Luna's favorite sleeping space. She has the boss wrapped around her cute mitten paws.

Summer Breezes make me feel fine.

2010-06-06T08:54:00.001-04:00

This photo is how I broke my camera.
Apparently pugs don't like to wear cowls!

I am really going to try to be more regular with my posting. I don’t know why I wait and wait to post anymore half the time I have a blog post written and ready to go. Something happens to me when I sit down to my computer after work, ok what happens is Facebook. I spend way too much time on Facebook stalking my family and playing Café World. Ok I admit it so let’s just move on; unless of course you are on Facebook and play Café World then we need to talk about being neighbors!

This week I am still working my way through the FO pile. I was given a wonderful cowl pattern from Hanna over at Ever Green Knits. It is called the Manzanita Cowl. It has everything I love about knitting lace. The pattern is semi open and has bobbles how can you go wrong with that? You really can’t the pattern is well written and complex enough to be interesting. It fits well and has a nice slouch without being too floppy. I really like my cowls to be more like neck warmers and less like eighties cowl sweaters and hang over and down. I used Red Heart Eco-Ways in the Cinnabar color. I had two skeins left over from my Ditto. The cowl used less than a half of skein so you could get two out of one skein making it great for gift giving. The only thing I would change in the next one is that I would do the bobbles on both ends I just like the finished feeling of the end with the bobbles. Right now one end has a plain edge that rolls a little. I know why Hanna did that and it makes perfect sense but I get itchy when things don’t match.

I had this idea that Luna needed a mat to sleep on, she didn't!

Work continues on Citron. I just finished a section of the ruching that was over 600 stitches! Realistically I am not going to go much bigger on this one it is getting too boring. I will finish this band and go with only 7 bands and then the ruffle. I don’t have a time issue but I can only do so much lace weight purling and my wooden needles are starting to get dull and having trouble on some of the purl side rows. Yuck. I am also working on the body of my top down cardigan which is going fast on size 8 needles definitely perfect for movie watching knitting. I am searching for the perfect knitting project for my Red Heart Summer Swap partner. If she is
reading this I haven’t found the perfect pattern yet but I am having fun searching. I really need to do a stash inventory. I have been working almost exclusively from the stash and my little cheat sheet is out of date so I don’t know what I have in there anymore I doubt I have any sweater’s worth of yarn stashed away anymore but who knows what a little digging will uncover!

The cowl is lovely. It is soft and squishy and very warm.

I found a great new podcast that I want to share. It is called The Savvy Girls and is by two sisters Melanie and Deborah. I love the repertoire these two sisters have with each other. The podcast is funny and intelligent. I recommend it. I was listening to one of the back episodes on the bus and I actually laughed out loud!

Links

Manzanita Cowl (rav link)

Savvy Girls

Facebook (friend me)

Tight as Owls

2010-05-26T21:38:00.000-04:00

You can see how light and airy the shawl is.

I read the title in my book today and thought it sounded funny, two soliders were on leave in France during WWI and they went out drinking and got “tight as owls” I think it is the best way to describe being drunk that I have heard in a long time.

I am not getting as tight as an owl because I am working on the additional rows of the Citron. I am on repeat six which has 294 stitches after the first increase row. I am still on my first ball of yarn. I was hoping to do seven repeats and a longer ruffles but I just might die of boredom before then. I also haven’t finished Luna’s kitty blanket and during a moment of weakness I cast on for a top down raglan using the yarn my mom brought me back from Ireland. I am still working on the yoke of that one but I have to strand two colors in a striping pattern to make sure I have enough yarn which makes things go slower since they are constantly getting tangled or attacked by rogue cats. I am so trying to be good and only use stash yarn but I have to say I am hitting rock bottom. I was actually thinking of what to make from a lone skein of homespun someone gave to me a few years ago.

I love the haze of the yarn and the subtle ruffling.

A while back I bought two bags of Lion Brand Midnight Mohair at the JC Penney outlet. Each bag had (4) balls of yarn in it. I love the color and thought it would be similar to the pink mohair blend I made my Shetland Triangle out of but it’s not. It is at two strand blend and not quite as soft as the pink stuff. So I was looking around for something to make with the yarn and found a pattern called the Storm Cloud Shawelette by Hanna Breetz from Ever Green Knits. She also designed the Manzanita cowl which I also knit recently.

My blue color way called Glacier Bay reminded me of cloudy skies so I cast on. The Shawelette is pretty neat. It is a half circle with a drop garter stitch pattern. It works up super fast and looks amazing. It really showcases the yarn. The only problem and it is solely mine own is that I didn’t have quite enough yarn. I was so sure I had enough to cast off on my ruffle but I didn’t. I was too lazy to rip back and put hundreds of stitches back on to cast off that I started to scavenge every scrap of yarn I had to cast off. I wove in all the ends and clip the yarn. I split it in half and put it together but no luck I still needed yarn for about four more inches of binding. I checked my entire stash, all my scraps and tried to find something that matched no luck. I finally found blue colored mohair that matched sort of and used that for the last few inches. It doesn’t match exactly but I don’t mind. I love the way this shawl wraps around and stay put and the ruffle is super girly. I still have one more bag of the yarn and so I can make a second if want to.

A healthy sized half circle shawl.

Reading will be pretty slow for the next few months. I am working on John Dos Passo’s U.S.A which is a trilogy. I reserved it for the summer but found it so interesting I started reading it early. I am also still working on Nostromo by Joseph Conrad and Appointment in Samarra by John O’Hara. I have been working on a project list for the summer. I want to get in some sewing time and I have about 30 squares sewn that I want to put together to make a few sit upons for the summer. We go to festivals and spend time in the park and having small pads for sitting on is so much easier than big blankets.

We are getting ready for Nate’s graduation and party and I am starting to realize that sending a kid off to college is a full time endeavor. We have forms to fill out, physicals, tests, shopping lists, and driving lessons to keep him busy for the next three months. The boss has been teaching Luna to fetch a piece of crumpled up paper. She thinks it a ball. Luke my 4 year old nephew says that Luna is a “dog with cat parts”. Hilarious!

Links
Storm Cloud Shawelette by Hanna (Ever Green Knits) This pattern is free and awesome!

Back from the windy city

2010-05-12T19:40:00.002-04:00

Kitty likes knitting!

Wow it has been a long time! I can barely remember what I have been up to since the last post. I promised myself I would post more but things get away from me so fast. I did spend a week in Chicago for a library conference which was amazing. Chicago is a beautiful city, amazing buildings and great food. We spent a day sight seeing around downtown and at the Art Institute. I saw one of my favorite painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. His style is so delicate. You cannot see a single brushstroke on the surface of the painting but it has such a depth of color. I saw it across the room and it took my breath away.

The cables have strong definition

This post is supposed to highlight my Valkyrie Vest. I knit this for the Ravelympics as part of Team Redheart. Those crafters are great. They are funny, supportive and so loyal to RH. No yarn snobs in that group. I have to say that the RH group is my favorite Ravelry group. They make everyone feel welcome.

The vest is made from the staple RHSS. I used 2 skeins in Real Teal to knit up the 36 bust size. The pattern is from Interweave and I believe a free download. The vest in knit in two pieces. The cables start at the bottom and spread across the back and front splitting into a v neck. I love the way the cables move across the vest and it knits up so fast since you are always eager to do one row of cabling to see it move across. The pattern charts are easy to follow but this is not a beginner pattern at all. Fit wise I like it. It was written as a plus size pattern and has a nice rounded shaped that doesn’t make me feel like a sausage in it like other vests do. I plan on wearing it with short sleeves or a tank. I am pretty happy with the way this one turned out. It makes me want to tackle a cabled cardigan. I keep mulling it over but I want to do a cardigan for Nate before he heads off to school.

In progress shot. I love the back center cable.

Right now I am working on the front bands of my top down raglan I had to stop carrying it around in my backpack it is just too big. I love the fit of it and want to finish it so it can become my at work summer sweater for the air conditioning. I am also zipping along with the Citron. The only bad thing about it is that it gets bigger after each section so progress slows as you work but I love the ruching and the yarn is very nice. I am finally using the Knitpicks Shadow in Redwood I bought when I finished my undergrad degree in 2006. It took me so long to figure out what to make out of it!

Quickly, quickly. I finished reading Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellows (very funny and sad), Kim by Rudyard Kipling and A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. This one was so good but the ending got pretty weird with the whole religious episode but it was well written not my favorite Forster but well worth the read. I am working on the U.S.A. trilogy by John Dos Passo and Nostromo by Joseph Conrad.

I just emptied the litter box get cleaning human.

Luna is doing well we are still getting used to each other. She is a digger and will empty out her litter box if she gets mad. We are trying to figure out a solution to that since she refused to go inside anything so we can’t get her a box with a lid. Right now we have the tallest dishpan we can find that she still get into but she just sees it as a challenge! Cats are sooooo different than dogs! It is a good thing she is so cute!

Luna needs her beauty sleep.

Valkeryie Vest (rav link) It is a free pattern from Knitting Daily but you need to register

Citron from Knitty

Nate’s sweater? Smokin' by Jared Flood.

Nighthawks

And the winner is...

2010-04-12T18:42:00.000-04:00

Close up!

Oh wow it seems like I fell off the face of the earth. I am so sorry I said I would post the winner of the Stitch Nation booklet on the 9th but I totally flaked out. I have been spending the last few months waffling between anxiety and hysteria about Nate getting ready for college but enough about that I am sure we will all hear much more about that in the coming months. Let’s get to the good stuff. The winner of the booklet is Mercy or midwifemom on Ravelry she was the 8 poster. Enjoy the booklet I think you will.

Nate has been accepted into and has accepted the offer he got from Arcadia University. It seems like such a good fit. It is close to home but far enough away for him. It has a great English and Film Studies program and it is a gorgeous campus. We went to visit for a family day on Saturday and everyone liked it. Jazzy was stoked about the possibility of living in a castle. I am just happy that he is going to have a great college experience. He will be living in the dorms, staying on campus and traveling abroad. I already decided I wanted to knit him a sweater for school!

One done with no thumb.

On the knitting front I have been in a slight funk. I have a backlog of smallish projects to talk about but haven’t had the mojo to get started on a big project. I did start a short sleeved top down raglan for the summer months. I also am planning on doing Citron for my conference knitting. I am off to a library conference on Saturday I get to spend a week in Chicago so that should be pretty cool.

These mittens were knit way back in January using all the wool yarn scraps I had on hand. I made them for Nate well because he asked and I was anxious about the college applications. The pattern is from one of my favorite knitting books Andean Folk Knits by Marcia Lewandowski. They are the Mitones Ivenos pattern. I think they turned out pretty nice and he seems to like them. He needed them with all the snow we had this winter. The gray is Wool Ease and the other colors are a mix of Cascade 220 and the new Stitch Nation yarn I had around. I always take it as a good sign when his friends say they want a pair too. Of course Nate will not let me make them for them since he wants to be the only one with them.

I have been reading like crazy. I finished Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Native Son by Richard Wright, and Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. Right now I am working on Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellows, A Passage to India by E. M. Forster and Kim by Rudyard Kipling. The last two are both about England and India so they complement each other in a weird way. So far I have 47 out of 100 books read. Boy I have been busy.

Luna is doing great she is fitting right in and has stolen the boss’ heart away. They are so cute together snuggling on the floor watching the Phillies. That man is a soft touch but don’t let him hear that! We also have a new cat cousin in the family. My sister has a new cat named Freddy who was adopted from the shelter two weeks ago. Welcome to the family Freddy. He is too sexy for his collar for sure!

All done just in time for the snow.

Wish me luck at the conference last year we went to CA and they had an earthquake! The boss tells me it is not tornado season.

Mittens from Ivo (rav link)

Citron (rav link) from Knitty

Top down Raglan from Lion Brand

Stitch Nation Collection Booklet Review (and giveaway)

2010-03-26T13:09:00.001-04:00

How lovely is this styling?

I was very lucky to get a copy of Stitch Nation By Debbie Stoller Collection 1 in the mail to review from Coats & Clark. This full color booklet has 13 patterns (14 if you count the flower corsage that goes with the capelet) in it all using the Stitch Nation Yarn. You will find 10 knit and 3 crochet patterns. The breakdown is 3 neck patterns (scarf, shawl and a capelet) 2 hat patterns, 2 blankets, 1 bag, 1 pair of mittens and 5 sweaters. Of the 13 patterns only 1 of them is an easy pattern. This book is definitely for the intermediate or confident beginners. Just like most yarn specific booklet it doesn’t have a “learn to” section. Let’s start out by saying this is a very attractive booklet. The styling is very nice the pattern layout is great and the instructions are clear and full. Charts and schematics are clear and easy to understand. If you are looking for a booklet that is in the same vein as the Stoller books you won’t find it here. The photos are well done and the booklet layout is attractive it just doesn’t have the feel of the books and it doesn’t pretend to.

This hat is so cool and slouchy

To me the patterns are very safe and mostly conservative. When I think of the Debbie Stoller and her books I think of trendier, avant-garde and fashion forward knitting designs. These patterns seem pretty basic and straightforward. You won’t find weird stitches, techniques or innovative cables. The stitch patterns and cables are pretty traditional and come straight from a stitch dictionary. The booklet does have a good range of small and large projects.

I liked the variety in the patterns from hats to sweaters it is a nice mix. My favorite pattern is the Flying Colors Hat. I made this hat for a test knit and I loved the blister stitch. The hat has a Bohus feel to me and the back of the pattern is very slouchy. You can’t see it in the pictures but the back of the hat is purled giving the hat cool texture which balances the color work in the front. I thought the mittens looked huge on the models hands. The booklet has a lot of color but for the most part the most of the projects are either one color or a small blend of colors. I feel that the Stitch Nation yarn color palette screams color work to me. The Over the Rainbow blanket and the Gardening at Night Bag have nice color work but I wanted some Fair Isle or Intarsia in a young and fresh way.

I want this in a heather brown

I also was disappointed that the projects did not list the designer. In the SNB books I really liked the designer bios. It should be known that Heather Dixon designed some of the patterns. She is listed as the designer on Ravelry for about half of the patterns with Debbie listed as the designer for the rest. The Cable Car Coat is nice and would make a great go to sweater for the fall sweater. The photo for the Morning Frost Wrap is so lovely and romantic it is a super simple wrap that would feel great around the neck especially if you did it in the Bamboo as suggest. Basically the booklet is nice; the patterns have a good variety range and a good vehicle for the yarn. I realize that Coats is trying to reach a broad audience and this does that very well. Don’t forget you can also find some great free patterns on the Stitch Nation website.

So now the fun stuff! Coats& Clark has given me a fresh new copy of the booklet to give away. If you want to try to win a copy then just leave me a comment. Put your Ravelry name in the comment so I can contact you. If you don’t use Ravelry than just leave a comment and check back in two weeks (April 9th) to see if you won.

Full o Sheep Review
Alpaca Love Review
Bamboo Ewe Review

Meet Luna!

2010-03-21T21:28:00.000-04:00

We just adopted a wonderful new cat today. We went to the Bucks County SPCA and fell in love with this face. So we took her home and promptly named her Luna. She is all black with a white tip on her tail. I think she fit right in. This afternoon she was laying on the couch with the boss watching the Phillies. Jazzy told me that knitters need cats and I think she is right.

Yarn on the run

2010-03-17T19:14:00.002-04:00

Today I started a pretty crazy knitting in public event on my regular morning bus. I was knitting along on a hat on the bus when this woman that I see everyday starts yelling and laughing hysterically. I turn off my mp3 player and try to figure out why she is gesturing frantically to me. Apparently my small golf ball sized ball of yarn that I thought was in my bag had popped out and rolled to the front of the bus. It had gotten tangled all over the place and was twisted around a sleeping mans leg! She was trying to catch the yarn ball but the yarn was so slippery and the bus was moving. A couple of people helped me chase down the ball and wind it back up we all laughed. I told the woman I would give her the hat when I finished it! I guess a lot of people will be hearing a story about a crazy lady on the bus lost her ball of yarn!

January was NaKniMitMo10 or National Knit Mittens Month 2010 since I love to knit mittens I decided I would participate again. Last year I busted out four pairs of mittens for the event. This year I did two. I did the Latvian Inspired Mittens and the flip tops for Jazzy that I wrote about earlier. I decided that I wanted to make my sister a pair of color work mittens for her birthday which is in late January. She tries to make me give her my Lapland mittens and I always say no. So I found this great pattern on free Ravelry and dug out some RHSS from the stash in some girl colors. I wanted to make sure the mittens were machine washable and didn’t itch! The pattern is pretty straight forward and it looks beautiful. I chose purples and gray for the mittens. So I went like gang busters on the first and then was easily distracted on the second. I let it languish until the very end of the month. I knit like crazy wove in all the ends and left the thumbs until the last Saturday of the month. I had to measure my sister’s thumbs. In the past my mittens had thumbs that were too small and it really hinders movement. Well long story short she loves the mittens. She wears them when she drives which is weird but she hates cold hands. They washed up nice and soft and haven’t fallen apart I guess that is a win - win in my book!

In other news I am still working through my Modern Library 100 Best Book list. Since last check in I finished I, Claudius by Robert Graves, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, and the Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett. I am working on Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. I have to say the To the Lighthouse was wonderful and Mrs. Ramsay is a knitter. In the story she spends a summer at the seashore working on a brown sock. Much of the story develops around the act of her knitting. It was fascinating to see how knitting was used to convey the mood of Mrs. Ramsay and how her husband sees her. I would love to find an audio book of this title to listen to while I knit.

At last count I have six projects that I have yet to blog about. I will get to those in the coming weeks. Right now I am working on a hat from the new Stitch Nation Booklet and thinking about an afghan for Nate to take away to college. Oh wait if he ever finds out which college he is going to. You rush and rush to get everything ready and then you wait! I bought two new color work books. The New Stranded Colorwork by Mary Scot Huff and Color by Kristen by Kristen Nicholsas both of which are drool worthy. I want to make the Southwest-Style Sleeved Wrap from Kristen Knits and the Being Koi vest from Huff’s book. Maybe when I am the empty nester my sister keeps telling me I will be soon!

My mother finished an amazing crocheted fisherman inspired afghan for a fundraiser. It is amazing. I am awed by how fast she can crochet. She mixes and matches the stitches in panels so each blanket is unique and she always does them in the creamy aran color. I have to jump on the band wagon and say I did the fringing. She hates fringe but people love it. She sold raffles for the blanket and made over 150.00 for her charity. Mom, please make me an afghan and don’t tell me to bid on the next one or make my own!

Links:

Latvian Insprired Mittens by Jennifer Little (rav link) Free pattern

Color by Kristen by Kristen Nicholas

The New Stranded Colorwork by Mary Scott Huff

Alpaca Love - A review

2010-03-07T18:37:00.001-05:00

The third and final skein of yarn I received in my press kit is Alpaca Love. This yarn is a worsted weight yarn that is comprised of 80% wool and 20% alpaca. It is a plied yarn that comes in 131 yard center pull machine wound skeins. It comes in eight pretty nice colors I like the Espresso brown and the Peacock Feather teal colors. My sample was the green color Fern. The website says that the yarn adds a “touch of luxury” to any project. I decided to test out this yarn by creating a one skein project. I decided that I wanted to try to make a pair of socks. The yardage is a little small to make a full size adult pair of socks so I went with a child’s size hoping to make a pair of inside or house socks. I know that my niece likes to wear socks to bed and around the house because of the hardwood floors are cold in the mornings.

So I wound the skein in advance and despite a small yarn barf it was very consistent with no knots, joins, slubs, or fuzz balls. I used the 5 Stitch per Inch Socks by Ann Budd from Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd to knit the socks on size 7 bamboo dpns. The knitting went very quickly and I was happy with the way the ribbing and stockinette came out. Both were smooth and consistent which is nice, the ribbing has a nice stretch but sprang back to without stretching. The socks had very little fuzz and the yarn was pretty soft. It is not as soft as the bamboo but not as stiff as full wool.

When my socks were done I washed them. I didn’t see any dye in the water but I did notice a wet dog smell from the socks which were gone when the socks dried. It wasn’t overwhelming but it was there. The socks seemed to take a long time to dry which I am not sure whether this was the yarn or the weather but it wasn’t a major issue. I gave Jazzy the socks to try on after I washed them so that I could take a picture of them. She liked the way they felt she said that was soft and smooth but she thought the color was for boys! I don’t know how well alpaca kid’s socks will wear but they sure looked and felt pretty good. I could see this yarn being used for winter outer wear such as warm snuggly cowl and slouchy berets. Just like Bamboo Ewe and Full O’ Sheep Alpaca Love a nice yarn at a good price in great modern colors. I have to say my favorite of the three was the Full O’ Sheep. I would love to make a Fair Isle yoke sweater out of it. (Hey Coats kick me the yarn.)

The only thing I would have to say about the yarn line is that it annoys me that it is only available at Joann’s which is not technically a yarn or even a craft store. I would have liked to seen this yarn at some other places such as craft stores or the major online yarn stores. I think it should be more widely available. Next time I check in with Stitch Nation I want to take a look at the pattern support.

Links

Stitch Nation Yarns

5 Stitch Socks (rav link)

With scarves of red tied around their throats

2010-02-24T19:21:00.002-05:00

Wow time flies. I can’t believe that the Ravelypics has been going on for 10 days. It seems like everyone else in my team (Team Redheart) is banging out projects left and right but not me. I am making progress every day but I think I should have started with a smaller project first. On Saturday I finished the back of my vest and started the front which I hope to have done by Sunday. That should give me time to finish it before the closing ceremonies. To distract you from my lack of knitting progress let’s talk about something I finished! Here she is my favorite winter scarf to date Saroyan.

I love the show Bones. It is my favorite of the fake science slash crime solving shows. I think I like it because I worked in a natural history museum and the fake Jeffersonian reminds me of that. Of course we didn’t have a hunky FBI agent or high tech forensic tools. I even belong to the Bones Group on Ravelry. In December I found out that you can get great patterns that Liz Abinante designed based on the characters on Bones. I fell in love with the Saroyan Shawl and decided that I would use the gifted Manos Clasica in Poppy that I got a few months ago. The pattern is named after the director of the lab, a strong, independent, intelligent woman how could you go wrong?

I had two skeins in a great tonal cherry red color so I decided that I would make do with that alone. The pattern is very well written, free and lovely and is easily modified to fit the yardage you have. It forms a curved almost like a parenthesis shape with a garter stitch border on one edge and leaf edge on the other side. It is knit in one piece including the borders. I knit one skein and then started my decreases ending with a full 18 leaves.

The yarn is hand spun and dyed. It has thick and thin areas and light tonal changes in the dyeing. It is quite lovely and washed up soft. Some of the thin areas made me nervous the yarn goes from worsted to DK in a few inches. I was worried about the integrity of the knitting but only time will tell how it will last. I didn’t hate this yarn but since it is out of my price range I won’t pine for it. I do love the color and it looks wonderful peeking out of my black pea coat on a cold winter morning. It reminds me of the Fleet Foxes song White Winter Hymnal which mentions a red scarf. I ended up with a tiny ball of yarn left over which I saved for some purpose in the future.

What else is popping? I finished I, Claudius by Robert Graves which I loved. It is a Roman soap opera, juicy and exciting. I also finished The Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett. It is the story of two sisters in England in the late 1800’s one stays home and runs the family business the other runs away to Paris very entertaining. I started To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad.

We are all finished the college applications and the financial aid forms now we wait! I don’t mind the wait since it makes it seem like things aren’t going to change fast and furious over the next few months. I did decide that I want to make him a buffalo plaid throw for his dorm room when we find out what school he will end up at. I found a Better Homes and Gardens Afghan Book from the 80’s at the thrift shop with a cool pattern in it. Plaid is so popular with suburban fops and dudes!

Up next I decide to make some Alpaca kids socks. Yeah it sounds like such a good idea.

Links

Manos

Saroyan (rav link) free pattern

Fleet foxes

Bones

Winter Olympics and Knitting!

2010-02-12T19:25:00.000-05:00

Today is the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics and also the start of the 2010 Ravelympics. As you all know I am co-captaining Team Redheart for the Ravelympics. We have 55 awesome team members working to show that Red Heart yarn is a great yarn. We have some great prizes donated by the Coats Company and we have team spirit. Let's go Team Redheart and Let's go USA.

Everyone else just try your best. How cute are the Olympic Mascots. I am in love with the Yeti his name is Quatchi. I can't believe how excited I am about the Winter Olympics when I can't even stand to look at the snow at all after the snow bomb we got dumped with here in Philly this week.

Let's go watch the opening ceremonies and cast on! My project is the Valkeryie Vest from Interweave Knits and my Monedera de Señora Paceña purse from Andean Folk Knits.

Winter Olympics
Ravelympics and Team Redheart
Valkyrie Vest by Lisa Shroyer (rav link) This is a knitting daily free pattern
Monedera de Señora Paceña (rav link)

Bamboo Ewe - A Review

2010-02-06T07:34:00.000-05:00

In my press kit I got a skein of Bamboo Ewe in a lovely dusty teal color called mermaid. The color reminds me of the 1940’s. The yarn itself is 55% viscose from Bamboo and 45% wool. It comes in a 177 yard skein which is enough for a one skein project. Right now it has 10 colors including a nice gray. I decided to try it out by making a cowl. It was billed as being soft enough to wear next to the skin. I was envisioning a floppy soft cowl that would be beautiful peeking out of a winter coat without being itchy on the chin and neck. I started by winding up my skein. I hand wind my yarn before I start I don’t have a ball winder. So I start by pulling out the inner end and tug, out comes a small yarn barf, nothing major they happen all the time in machine skeins. The yarn is very soft and the barf just fell apart with no knots. The rest of the yarn wound beautifully with no knots, joins or slubs. I love the consistency of machine spun yarns! So I cast on for the Candle Flame Cowl (a great free pattern from Ralry) on my 16 inch interchangeable Boyle aluminum tips in a size 7. The yarn flowed smoothly and was not splitty. The pattern does give the yarn a workout and I was concerned that it would look over worked but it did not. The bamboo gives it a nice sheen which is nice because it adds a dimension to the texture of the candle flames. The entire cowl took most of the skein. I could have done an additional repeat but I didn’t want the cowl to be too tall. I did the garter border instead of the tubular cast as a personal preference I am still a novice at the tubular cast on and it still looks homemade to me!

So I washed the cowl up and I did notice some dye in the bathwater not at a lot and it rinsed clear after a second rinse so I didn’t need to break out the vinegar. Also no wet dog smell. I did a light block no pinning and set it out to dry. It was raining when I blocked it so it took a little longer to dry. When it dried it was even softer with a slight bloom of the wool giving it a very mild halo. I have to say that I like this yarn, I liked knitting with it, and it washed up well. The colors are nice some are muted others bright. I offered the cowl to a co-worker. I told her to take it and try it with her coat, if it wasn’t soft enough around her neck to put it back on the file cabinet in my office and not to feel bad about it. I was testing the yarn and would not take it personally. So it has been a week and I haven’t seen the cowl yet! I love the stitch pattern. In the pattern she mentions as shawl. I loved the oval shapes in my Shetland Triangle and in this cowl so I may look for that. Overall a good quality workhorse yarn that doesn’t price people out of the market for Bamboo. I have one more yarn from the kit the Alpaca Love which I will write more about soon.

Links

Bamboo Ewe - Stitch Nation Yarn

Candle Flame Cowl - Rav link Free pattern
Candle Flame Shawl Rav Link Free pattern

Flip it!

2010-01-31T21:24:00.001-05:00

So I was working on Amelia’s fingerless mitts a few Saturdays past at my moms. Saturday is laundry day. I take my laundry over to moms and spend the day with my sister, her two kids, my parents and Nate. Jazzy was trying on Amelia’s mitts and she said she wanted a pair. My sister said she was too young to have fingerless mitts outside; Amelia was older and wanted the mitts for fashion. I told Jazzy I would make her some mitts when she was older. During lunch we were looking through the 101 Designer One Skein Wonders book I was using and Jazzy said she found something she wanted me to knit her and her mom would like it too. She wanted a pair of convertible mittens that way she could have the fingerless mitts and the mittens she needed to wear during recess. Since it is Naknmimo and I was competing I decided I would make her the mittens.

I used Bernat’s Softee Baby in a pastel variegated. I had a skein left over from when I did the Girlfriend shrug a few years ago. The yarn is a DK weight acrylic you get 333 yards per skein which can make two pairs of mittens easily. It is pretty soft and machine washable which is good for things that you knit for littler kids. They knit up pretty dense on a size three but not too bulky. The pattern is pretty fussy when you get to the point where you start to add the flip top. It seemed to work better when I held the stitches on yarn and instead of a stitch holder. I liked the fact that the flap is knit on not sewn on it makes it sturdier and warmer. The fingers are one opening with a full thumb which makes it easy for kids to put on themselves. I used some flexible rubber type buttons that had penguins on them. The penguin was wearing a hat, scarf and mittens which was endlessly funny to Jazzy. The flexibleness makes them easy for little fingers to manipulate. She is able to flip and button them herself while on. I think if I make them again I would consider using magnetic snaps that would be the easiest and you wouldn’t have a look on the top when the mitten is closed. If you have a mitten sucker like Nate was it could get pretty gross!

Overall a quick knit that resulted in a pair of mittens that made a little girl feel more like a big girl without resulting in cold fingers!

In other news I finished Under the Volcano By Malcom Lowry. It was 11 on the list. I started I, Claudius by Robert Graves this weekend and am enjoying it so far. Under the Volcano was tense and emotionally draining it is very dramatic but worth the read.

Links

Flip top mittens (rav link)

Full O' Sheep Review

2010-01-21T18:40:00.000-05:00

So when I got my press kit I decided that instead of swatching up the samples and evaluating them I decided that I would do a small single skein project for each yarn and then give my impressions of the yarns. Please note that I am not a reviewer by nature. I hate to influence people either way, I totally believe in free will and making decisions for one’s self. With that in mind here is a brief summary of my experiences working with Full O’ Sheep from the Stitch Nation Collection by Debbie Stoller.

First the basics: Full O’ Sheep is 100% Peruvian Wool. It is a single ply and comes in 3.5oz – 100g. – 155yd per skein priced at around 5.00 or less per skein. This makes it cheaper than what I though of as the closest I could compare it to Lamb’s Pride worsted. It comes in a traditional center pull skein. RHSS lovers know what I mean. I always wind my yarn into balls no matter where it comes from, that’s just how I roll, I hate yarn barfs when I am in the middle of a project. So on winding it I noticed a few things. Since it is one ply it has a nice soft twist and is super uniform. No thick and thin parts that you find with something like Manos. You can tell that this is a machine yarn and not handspun. It is mid grade wool soft and has a soft sheen. It wound up with no snags, blobs or knots. It did have two small fuzz balls during winding nothing major. The colors are super intense and saturated, very modern. I got a great purple color called Passionfruit which was a strong bold magenta color. The color range is nice I liked the blues especially the Mediterranean and the Aquamarine. I noticed that they didn’t have a gray but that is not a major issue for me. I liked the soft sheen and the very low fuzz factor.

So I decided to make the Green Wristlets from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders for my tweenie niece who loves the 80’s. These mitts and the color of the yarn gave me an 80’s vibe. I knit them on size 7 bamboo DPNs. The yarn was good, no snagging or splitting. I saw great stitch definition and a smooth flat look to the stockinette. Both mitts were done in few days. I washed and blocked them and pinned them out on Sunday. I noticed that they did not have a wet dog smell after they were wet which is nice! I have a smallish size ball left over I could make a third mitt but definitely not two pairs from the skein. I would say a full pair of mittens per skein or a cabled hat which is nice. They blocked up nice and soft with no wooly smell and not a lot of growth. The ridges in the wrist did loosen up and lay flat when they were washed but not significant growth. I don’t know how long it would stretch in a sweater but for small thing it is seems perfect. So in my opinion it is a nice wool workhorse yarn at a good price. I think it is great that you can get a great wool yarn at a good price. I would knit more with wool if I could afford it, right now I buy what I can afford and this line has the potential to bring natural fibers to more people.

So I never got a snap of Amelia wearing her mitts she took them right home and wore them to school on 80's day. I guess that is good sign if a tweenie actually goes out side in public wearing something you made.

Backward revolved the luminous wheel

2010-01-17T12:19:00.003-05:00

The first FO of the New Year is here! It is Nimbus a free pattern from Berroco.com. I love the free sweaters they do and of course they have one of my favorite designers on staff, Norah Gaughn. This pattern was so fast to knit. I actually started it on the first day of my Christmas vacation and finished it on New Years Eve. It languished until Sunday when I finally went out and bought a button for it. I made it from Bernat Soft Boucle in the gray color way I used two and half skeins of the yarn so I have a skein and half left over for something else. This yarn seems to grow in the skein; according to the yardage on the pattern I should have needed four skeins but whatever. I still love it the fuzziness does obscure the stitch definition some but it is a great swingy warm sweater. I wore it to work today and am very happy with it. My New Years Resolution for knitting was to wear what I make in public, I am working on it.

My knitting resolutions:

Wear what I make or find homes for them
Use up projects worth of yarn I have in the stash
Make my Fair Isle sweater
My crochet resolution:
Make a crochet quilt

Other knitting news include a pair of fingerless mitts, a new deluxe scarf and some flip top mittens for Jazzy all coming soon.

Team Redheart is ramping up! As you can see from the photo the team is red hot. Brad from the group whipped up a pillow in response to a thread about having a k or c AL! We have over 30 team members at this point and have some awesome prizes donated by Coats and Clark for people competing in the Ravelympics on Team Redheart. One of the team members is working on a cool ravatar for the group and everyone seems excited. This is the first time I organized anything on Ravelry and I have to say I really am having fun with it. I am meeting some great knitters and crocheters and I feel like we are forming a great community. It looks to be an exciting competition. I have decided to do the Valkeryie Vest by Lisa Shroyer in a great teal color for the competition. I bought the yarn on Saturday and printed out the pattern so I am set.

On the Modern Library 100 list front I started out the New Year by finishing up An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. So far I have finished 34 books on the list. Right now I am reading Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry and listening to The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Both seem interesting at this point and completely different but both filled with beautiful and sad imagery. I find the research about the books and the authors to be just as much fun as reading the books but that may be the librarian in me coming out. The title of this post is a quote from Under the Volcano.

Next week more on Stitch Nation and another FO!

Link List

Nimbus (rav link)

Fingerless mitts (rav link) from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders

Saroyan (rav link)

Flip top mitts (rav link) from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders

Crochet quilt patterns all the patterns are free!

Team Redheart

Modern Library top 100 list

Stitch Nation - A Hot New Yarn!

2010-01-03T19:57:00.001-05:00

When I picked up knitting again in 2005 my friend and co-worker Jackie had copies of Stitch ‘N Bitch and Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation. When I first learned how to knit in the late 80’s I was in high school and the patterns I had exposure to were either the free ones you got when you bought yarn from the major yarn companies or my mom’s craft books from the 70’s. They really didn’t appeal to me and I never went beyond making scarves.

I am sure that so many people can say that Debbie Stoller got them interested and excited about knitting. I know that it got me eager to get back to knitting. We poured over those books at lunch time and I read them through including the patterns. Recently I was asked by the Coats & Clark Company if I wanted to receive a press kit about a new yarn line they were creating for early January. All they told me was that it was developed in part with a “famous designer”, was going to be all natural and they would send me some samples. I said yes of course.

Imagine my surprise when I got my package in the mail and opened it up and saw a white box with a giant cowgirl swinging around a ball of red yarn. OMG the new yarn is called Stitch Nation and was developed by Debbie Stoller! So in my press kit (my first press kit) was the following:

3 skeins of yarn from the new line (one wool, one bamboo, and one alpaca)
3 paint sticks with samples of all the colors available
1 cd with promo pics of the pattern and yarn
1 press hand out with all the details about the lines
2 patterns both crochet and knit
1 a brochure with all the colors, yarns and photos of the pattern projects
1 post card with a “letter” from Debbie Stoller who wants to give me free yarn.

I have been petting the yarn for a week, looking at the colors in all kinds of lights and thinking about what to do with my samples. I was so enthralled by the press kit I didn’t try the yarn out yet but I will. So here is a sneak peek of the kit and the yarn the next Stitch Nation post will be about the yarn. I promise, until then enjoy some exciting photos of the press kit!

Winter break It's time to recharge.

2009-12-28T12:02:00.001-05:00

I haven’t be AWOL, I have been on vacation. I usually take the last two weeks off for a winter break. I started doing it when Nate was little and he needed me to be home for him during the break. Now I just veg out and relax. Not really doing much of anything. The boss and I went to see Avatar in 3D which was weird and cool.

Here is my to do list for the vacation
1. Watch lots of T.V. I finished the latest seasons of Dexter and Weeds.
2. Sew tons of patchwork coasters and foist them on my family
3. Spend time with Nate playing video games. We brought out the N64 for some Pokemon Snap

4. Spend way too much time on Ravelry and Facebook

5. Work on a project for myself!

6. Finish up The House of Mirth and An American Tragedy.

7. Watch all my Netflix’s as soon as they arrive.

After three last minute Christmas projects I started my winter break project. I am working on Berroco’s Nimbus. I am using up the Bernat Soft Boucle that I got a while back. And it is super quick on size 11 needles. Up next my knitting new year resolutions and some things I want to work on.

Inga Hat (rav link)

Button Hat (rav link)

Nimbus (rav link) Berroco link (it’s a freebie)

Photos: Close up of the Inga Hat, Birds roosting during the big storm, and Kitty chilling near my project bag. I sewed it out of a fabric called Kittens with Mittens. Have a good New Year's Eve.

I crack the codes, you end the war.

2009-12-04T12:26:00.002-05:00

I work in Philadelphia and I commute to work on the bus and then the el. The el is the elevated train. I guess it is like a subway but up high not underground. I does go underground but that is not relevant for this bon mot. So anyway when you get off the el at the end of the line Bridge and Pratt in the northeast you go down these steep steps or an escalator. Kinda like Washington D.C. but not as steep. I remember one time I guess it was last spring I was walking down the steps behind this guy who had a on a full matching track outfit made of blue and white nylon and a white fanny pack in the front. It was the kind with the snaps down the legs which I thought was weird. So anyway when we get to the bottom and we go to thru the turnstill he stops and rips off his pants. Under the pants he has these short nylon jogging pants and then he starts running out of the terminal and jogging home with his pants stuffed in his fanny pack. About ten minutes later I am looking out the window on my bus and I see him jogging by. I guess it doesn't really relate to anything but it makes me like Philly a little more.

Things are slowly returning to normal here at the classy people house. Some knitting, some sewing. Lots of reading and general malaise. The boss has a head cold and the kid is getting ready to crack down and get those college essays done. I am standing by the door wringing my hands!

I finished both The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton and Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm since I last posted. I am still working on An American Tragedy and have started The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton both of which are very good. I wanted to especially point out that the audio book version of The Age of Innocence on Lirivox is read by Brenda Dayne host of the awesome podcast Cast on. If you haven't heard her podcast go now!

I am planning my 2010 knitting. I have two great projects lined up to start I even have the yarn. They are Matthew Shepard's Seaman scarf for the bus and Valkeryie vest for home. Links below. Here are are some photos of one of the frogs I finished for my co-worker's kids. They are super cute and have tennis ball bellys.

Links

Cast on with Brenda Dayne

Ribbit by Susan B. Anderson (rav link) Spud & Chloe blog

Matthew Shepard Seaman's Scarf by Myrna A.I. Stahman (rav link)

Valkyrie Vest by Lisa Shroyer (rav link)

Andrew Bird - wow I love him! talk about a man who looks good in knitwear the title of the post is from his song not a robot, but a ghost.

A good ten years!

2009-11-27T13:49:00.000-05:00

I had a whole long post written last week about my knitting and what I was planning to knit for the upcoming year and then J.R. started to get sick. He was getting older and was starting to develop some medical issues. He was unsteady on his feet and had some lumps on his lymph nodes. We weren't sure if he had an infection or cancer so we had him on some antibiotics. Things started to go down hill pretty fast and we realized that the antibiotics weren't helping him. I wanted to think they were but he got worse fast. By the middle of the week he started to go blind and stopped eating his dry food. The boss switched him to wet food and we made him comfortable. It was hard to watch but he was still going strong. Then yesterday he woke me up at 6am. He wasn't able to jump on the bed anymore so I went down on the floor and snuggled with him. He was breathing labored but still wagging his tail. So I walked him and he was so tired I had to carry him home. He refused his food and laid down with the boss. Finally when we were watching a movie and having lunch he just laid down and went to sleep. He was a good dog and a fine knitwear model.

An Eeyore kind of knitting week

2009-11-01T18:04:00.001-05:00

What a weird knitting week. I seemed to have been struck with a weird knitting malaise. After knitting over twenty Christmas gifts I was unable to knit anything of quality for the last week. I finished the leg warmers. On Sunday afternoon I realized that I didn’t have anything to knit and for the first time in a long time I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to knit. So I half heartedly started the Apple pear pattern to knit an apple cozy for a gift. The cotton yarn I had was either too thin or too fat and the thing turned out awful. I then decided to take the thinner yarn a bright pink mercerized cotton finger weight yarn and turn it into a neckerchief which turned out horrible I made a mistake in the yarn overs and I lost heart in it when I realized I didn’t have enough yarn. I had this passing idea of using two colors and I decided that I wouldn’t like that idea so it was abandoned. I really need to clean out my knitting bag, get rid of the leftover balls and put away my needles and recharge myself with a fresh new clean bag of knitting!

This fall has gotten to me. I feel like all I do is work and do chores. I am so tired of driving around, doing housework and finishing up things. I haven’t been knitting much and can only eek out a half hour or so a couple times a week for sewing. This afternoon I spent 8 hours doing stuff around the house I sat down to sew and for some reason my machine ate my needle. I got so frustrated that I just abandoned it. Things look like they may be picking up though. I feel in love with the ribit pattern and want to make some frogs for a co-worker’s children for Christmas. I also scored some sweet Irish yarn this week. Mom went to Ireland with her sisters and brought me back yarn! I got 20 balls of a mohair blend for two shawls and 400 grams of very raw, sheepy smelling wonderful Aran yarn. I have been smelling it all day and dreaming about what to make. More on that later….

The problem with legwarmers is that they really need to be modeled. I have decided to spare you Nate’s hairy man legs in the legwarmers you will thank me for it. They turned out well and I am sure she will love them. I promise to be in a better mood next week and have some knitting to talk about.

On the reading front I finished The Golden Bowl this week. I started The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. This is a nice change from the recent subject matter. No love affairs in this one! I am almost finished The Good Solider, I have about 20 pages left and hope to crank it out after dinner. The boss man is working late.

Ribbit (Rav Link) (Spud Says Blog)

2009-10-14T19:32:00.000-04:00

Boy I think I should do bullet points for this post. I don’t know where the time went this month!

First Knitting:

For the holiday knitting I finished the reversible cabled scarf last week. I know I mentioned that it felt smooshed because of the reversible nature of the cables. I don’t know if I would use the pattern again. It does look nice but it has very little knitting fun in it.

I also finished a present for my older brother. Since I started knitting I have been making him hats. He really appreciates the hats and has a weird sense of humor so I can make crazy hats like the watermelon and the candy corn hats. This year I made him a Voyageur or Liberty Hat. It is the hat that the French Canadian fur trappers wore in the 1700 and 1800’s, I made it in a bright red with gray accents. I know he will love it. He is a history buff and fan of weird hats. The man wears a captain hat when he takes the kids out so this is right up his alley. Made splendid in RHSS!

I started a pair of legwarmers for my co-worker. I guess if I was 25 stick thin and fashion forward I would want some legwarmers too. I remember the 80’s so I think for myself I would pass. It is sad when the fashion of your teen years is now retro!

Speaking of RHSS we have resuscitated Team Redheart for the Ravelympics 2010. I am going to co-captain the team this year. So if you are a fan of Red Heart yarns, on Ravelry and want to join us keep an eye out for more info as the Olympics draw near.

College Shopping:
We are continuing to look for colleges for Nate. We have been to Elizabethtown, Haverford and Franklin and Marshall. He likes Haverford College the best so far. I am secretly thrilled but remain objective. We have seven more to go until the tours end along with two college fairs. If the boy can’t find a college by then I don’t know what to do!

Not Knitting:
I have been sewing. I created a little sewing area in the bedroom where I set up my machine and my supplies. I have been working on Velcro snack packs and knitting pouches. I got a huge stack of cast offs from my sister. Her new diet has been a boon to my Morsbag sewing. I plan to do about ten more before Christmas. I have this crazy idea of making bags for everyone instead of using wrapping paper but we shall see!

Quickly: I am reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, (love it) listening to The Golden Bowl by Henry James (what is with this guy and affairs?) and slowly working through The Good Solider by Ford Madox Ford at lunch times only (obviously influenced by James and his affair storylines!)

This is Nate wearing my brother's hat. Tell me doesn't he look like a man? I remember when he wore spider man pj's to bed. Oh wait he still does. I bought him new pajama pants and he wanted Super Mario and the Justice League!

Cabled scarf pattern (rav link, Lionbrand link)

Voyaguer hat pattern (rav link)

Legwarmers (rav link)

Repot depot snack bags

Ravelympics 2010 - Coming soon!

These are not my beautiful hats

2009-09-28T17:28:00.001-04:00

Guess what? This week's project isn't a hat. In fact it isn't even knitted. I made three super cute crochet cacti. My boss at work loves the southwest and is fascinated by cacti. Unfortunately she can't seem to keep them alive in pots in her office. She does have a huge patch in her back garden but can't keep them in her office. So as a small joke present I made her a cute cactus to sit on her desk. All are made from RHSS. I have such a phobia of making one thing and it turning out weird that I always make two or three of anything. Nate loves the two cake baking habit. .If one cake turns out ugly we keep it home and send the nicer one out to parties so he always has a cake to eat when he gets home.

Look at Jazzy's hands from playing with the chalk. She loves it when the chalk is a little wet she says the colors are better. I agree it does give the chalk a texture like oil painting.

I am also working on a reversible cable scarf for a christmas gift. I thought I would really like not having a wrong side to a cabled scarf but the cables looks schrunched up and weird. I am hoping they relax during washing. No big projects on the horizon except for Jackie's b day sweater which I hope to start next week.

Oh wait I am totally in love. I bought a copy of Alice Starmore's book of Fair Isle Knitting and decided I must have a cardigan. That will be my christmas gift to myself and my January project. I have been dreaming of complex Fair Isle sweaters and gorgeous color combos. I can't wait to get started but I have to finish my christmas knits first.

On the reading side of things I finished The Wings of the Dove by Henry James and Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler which was a well written thought provoking book especially in the political climate today. I am now working on Sister Carrie (which is much more exciting) by Theodore Drieser and hoping to start The Good Solider by Ford Madox Ford I am jumping around a bit but I got a free copy so I am going to give it a whirl.

Crochet Cacti (rav link)
The Art of Fair Isle by Alice Starmore
Heberian Yarns Hubba hubba I am in love with these kits.

Suprise another hat!

2009-09-13T11:59:00.001-04:00

This is the Opus Spicatum beret by Kelbourne Woolens. I love that the designer is local and the hat is super cute. I did their Give A Hoot Mittens a few months ago. I only wish I could afford the recommended yarn. I made this hat for Jackie who rides her bike to work in the winter and needs a warm yet bright hat so that the dilberts driving and half paying attention see her on the road. I love the way the pattern works up. It is very fast, easy to memorize and makes for a dense yet pliable fabric. I am working on a second one is light blue and white. I highly recommend this pattern. I of course used RHSS for two reasons. One I am classy like that and two machine wash and dry!

Onward! I am still working my way through the modern library list. Wendy you are so right some of the books are boring. Life is too short to read boring books. I am enjoying Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler and am getting more interested in The Wings of the Dove. I am pattern shopping for a waistcoat pattern. Mom is heading to Ireland in the fall and is going to bring me back some wool. Oh boy I can't wait. I want something very classic or traditional so I am drooling over all my aran pattern books I collected when I first started to knit. I think I am ready to dive into those again.

Oh and Kitty who was called Marley but is now called Kitty loves to assist in blocking of hats, especially the all wool ones. Next time I promise no hats. I am starting a crochet project for a friend at work!

Opus Spicatum (rav link)
Kelbourne Woolens (check out the other patterns, I love the vest)

Now an even classier Classy People House

2009-09-04T13:52:00.001-04:00

So today is my birthday. Nate being a great son and a computer whiz has made me a new banner for my blog. This one features the offical Classy People model J.R. and is my favorite color green. If you are a cph fan and read it in a reader bust out and check out the banner. Of course adding a banner has led to an overall desire to spruce the joint up so I did some tweaking on the colors and side bar background. Thanks Nate. I hope you don't think your act of being a good son will spare you the humilation of modeling hats ands scarves for me. I am just glad I raised you to be comfortable with yourself because I have a whole slew of ladies hats that need modeling!

Speaking of hats....
Here are a few more hats done in the never ending wool ease gray left over from mom's Tree of Life Aran. I swear that I only had four skeins left over but it seems to go on forever. I did two pairs of mittens and at this time four hats from it and still have one skein left!

The first hat is the Sneaky Snakes slouchy beret I did for Becky. I made the cabled beret for her mom. I think it is fun to make matching hats but a mom and teen age daughter don't always (ok never) like the same thing. The Sneaky Snakes is nice and floppy and looks good perched on the top of the head. The cabled beret is more classic and grown up. I think my aunt will appreciate the tradtional irish cables and the neutral color. A perfect set for a rock on girl and her exasperated mom!

I also did the Valentine's cable hat for my cousin's step daughters. Both have long straight hair which looks good in a beanie style hat. I love the cabling on this one it, is girly without being in your face.

In other news I am still reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and listening to The Wings of the Dove by Henry James. Oh boy what a snooze fest! I have friend who studied victorian literature in college and even he things James is boring! I nodded off on the bus with my knitting in hand listening to this drone.

That crazy guy at the beginning of the post is an acorn squirrel with a moustache that Jazzy I made during her sleepover. It is supposed to be Nate if he was a squirrel. I can totally see it.

Cabled Beret (rav link) free from Caron

Valentine Cabled Hat (rav link) from the new Knitscene

Sneaky Snakes (rav link)

August is for hats!

2009-08-26T18:06:00.000-04:00

Let's see what I have been up to lately.

Knitting hats, lots of hats. So far this month I have knit five hats and am half way done a sixth. Hats are super fast and easy to knit. Oh I conquered my fear of the tubular cast on thanks to some good directions over at Knitty. I like it but not as much as the long tail cast on.

Planning a birthday sweater. Some one is turning 30 this year and despite what she is hoping for is not getting a moo-moo for her birthday. I have been virtual yarn and pattern shopping and loving it. I really like that itch you get when you set your mind to starting a big project. We have decided on the Fairly Easy Fair Isle from the Stitch and Bitch Nation book by Debbie Stoller. I fell in love with that book when I was a new knitter and still have a soft spot for it.

College shopping. Nate is getting ready to start his senior year of high school. I know don't get me started on that. So we are looking at schools and I am making spreadsheets and asking everyone I know what schools they like. We went from 80 to 30 to 15 to 10 which we hope to visit in September and October before he decides what he wants.

Watching Project Runway! Love it but it made me realize how awful the Fashion Show was. At the time I was deluded into thinking it was ok but compared to PR it sucks. Sorry Isaac nothing personal. I don't even mind that it is on Lifetime all though all those lady specific commericals and ads for Army Wives gets to be a bit much.

Reading and listening to audio books. Since last time I finished reading The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner and The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler. I am reading Catch-22 (which is kick ass funny) and listening to Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (which is a nice collection of interconnected short stories) I also scored a copy of Darkness at Noon. So after two months I have a very respectable 8 out of 10 on the list so far.

Here is the best hat of the bunch. I made this chullo for my 4 year old nephew Luke. He loves bright colors and hoarding things. This should fit the bill. I made hidden pockets in the earflaps for him to hid his candy and cars and stuff that boys like. I made it out of RHSS so it can be washed and dried all winter long.

PSA ladies Lion Brand has made all of the patterns on their website free so go crazy!

Luke's hat: Cozy Canuck Chullo (rav link)

Fairly Easy Fair Isle (rav link) Possible yarn choice Bernat Alpaca

Knitty directions for the Tubular Cast On and other great cast ons

Project Runway and Project Rungay now called Tom & Lorenzo still snarky!

Lion Brand Yarn website get those free patterns

A brief update

2009-08-16T20:53:00.000-04:00

I have been knitting hats this month. I already finished 2 droplet hats from Knitting Nature, a Toque for Nate and a Marsan Watchcap for Andrew. Things are clipping along on a Chullo for Mr. Luke. I am decreasing for the top and should be finished by the end of the week. I am planning on two slouchy berets to round out the end of the month.

I have also been reading and listening like crazy. I finished Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man this week and started The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler. I am also still working on The Sound and the Fury which is really good but I got bummed out by the chapters narrated by the brother Quentin. So I have completed the first five titles in the Modern Library list. Onward to the rest of the 95.

On a happy family time note we had family movie day today. The ladies (myself, sister and Jazzy) went to see Ponyo and the boys went to see District 9. I remember when family movie day meant we went to the same movie but that is what happens when you have teenagers. The movie was very good and well done but what do you expect from a Hayao Miyazaki's film? We then went to the buffet and had some sushi and watermelon! Boy is it crazy hot in the city right now. Poor J.R. is drooling and panting like crazy. I gave him a haircut last week with the boss man's clipper and he looks great.

Here are some snaps of Nate wearing his Toque. He really likes the hat. I made it from bulky black wool blend that I had in the stash. I think it was left over from when I did the cabled purses a few years ago.
I made the two droplet hats from the handspun I won during the Mitten Month thing on Ravelry. I got two hats one full size and one slightly smaller from the two skeins I had. One will go to Amelia and the other to her mother for christmas.

Ponyo Trailer
Laire Toque (rav link)
Droplet Hat from Knitting Nature (rav link)

Molly Bloom is a knitter!

2009-08-06T21:27:00.008-04:00

Wow today I finished Ulysses by James Joyce. What a roller coaster. I have to say that I really enjoyed reading it. I guess I was in the right place to be able to devote the time to get to know the novel and delve into it. Some parts were rough to digest but I dug in and kept reading. I have to say thanks to the internet I found some great analysis of the book and it did'nt hurt that I listened to the audio version and read the book at the same time. I was able to get more out of the book. Oh and Molly Bloom is a knitter she mentions knitting three times in the book. So let's take a look at the list and see where we are:

1. ULYSSES by James Joyce (done)
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald (done)
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce (reading right now)
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov (done)
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley (done)
6.THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner (reading right now)
7. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller (bought a copy)
8. DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler (looking for a copy)
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence (done)
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck (done)

So I am reading The Sound and The Fury right now and I am loving it. It is such a fascinating book. I also got a audio copy of Portrait of the artist and will do the same thing I did with Ulysses.

Here is a finished object from the WIP Wrestlemania event. I did this for my big brother for his birthday. He digs weird hats! Nate is modeling it for me!

Luche Libre (rav link) It's from Son of Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller.

Modern Library's 100 best novels

LibrVox (free audio books)

I'm on Facebook! No J.R. is not on there yet.

Ditto

2009-08-02T15:47:00.003-04:00

Meet Ditto! I finished this today. Overall I am pretty happy with the way the pattern knit up. The only issue I have is the fact that it is too small for me. The last two Norah Gaughn patterns I knit the Ram's Horn and the Origami Cardi came out too big so I decided to make a size smaller. Now it is too small. Anyway I love it. The yarn is Red Heart Eco-Ways in Cinnabar. It is a recycled yarn that is very soft and smooth. I would recommend it.

Ditto from Berroco

Eco-Ways Yarn from Red Heart

I can rock I really can.

2009-07-26T12:13:00.003-04:00

Nate and I went to the XPN music festival on Saturday. We go every year and have a great time. This year was no exception. We saw some great bands both local and big name and ate some great festival food. Here is a small selection of what we saw in no particular order:
First we saw the Bacon Brothers. I guess Kevin and his slightly less popular brother have a band. It is mediocre bar rock so I went and got a falafel when they played but I took a snap to show the Boss I saw him.

The Hold Steady was the last band and they rocked. Does this body match the voice? They got rained out towards the end but they are awesome live. The guys behind us at the ferry were talking about how they had seen The Hold Steady for the last five nights. Apparently they drove down from Boston. Total HS fans for sure.

We went to see They Might Be Giants. Nate loves them and I can understand Birdhouse in your soul was his baby song. We sang it to him when he was cranky. When they setting up and they brought out the accordian I told him not to faint. He told me later when he picked up the accordian to play Particle Man he got really excited but did not faint. What a geek.

Ah Pete Yorn he is so dreamy with his awesome hair and singer songwriter love song writingness!

Here we are cooked in the sun. Nate says he is not a music snob he just hates bad music and feels to the need to point it out and ridicule it. Boy he is just like his dad.

Here is my favorite part of the day. This is B-O-N-G-O and his friend. I love the fact that he has his own tie dyed shirt. Nate's comment: Does the monkey have flashbacks?

Oh what about knitting? I did start a hat for a christmas gift and got the brim done I think I need Pete Yorn to come to my house and play his guitar while I knit.

100th post

2009-07-23T09:38:00.001-04:00

This post features the most wonderful Tiger's Eye Scarf. I knit this one in the second skein of yarn I got from Three Fates Yarn (link in the last post) The colors are so lovely pinks and purples very girly but not too girly. The pattern was fun to knit and a little scary. At one point you do a four yo to create the large holes for the eyes that is both scary and fun. I haven't blocked either one of the scarves but they look great so far. A few early christmas gifts done in advance. Things are pretty quiet here at the classy people house. I have been knitting on my Ditto and am almost finished. I have 3 1/2 inches more of the yoke and the button bands to go. I even bought buttons in advance. I guess I am avoiding my last and final WIP for the Wrestlemania event. The dog bag from Andean Folk Knits. I started the thing like seven times and cannot get the thing right. I feel like I should finish it. I put the pattern on Ravelry no one else knit it yet. If I quit it what does that say about me?

Tiger's Eye Scarf (rav link)
Ditto by Berroco - I saw Norah wearing it!

Cockcarracarra

2009-07-20T16:53:00.005-04:00

This week I am on vacation. I just needed some time at home. Work has been crazy and probably will be for a while. Budget and staff cuts are hard to deal with. So I am having a mini mental health vacation. Today I worked on my knitting, watched ANTM and spent the day relaxing with J.R. Both the men were working today so it was quiet and nice.

I have been knitting like crazy, mostly because of the Ravelry WIP Wrestelmania event which is still going strong. I finished this scarf called Liesel, my Tiger's Eye scarf and a ski mask for my brother so far. I am also more than half way finished my Ditto sweater. I am up to the yoke with the body and sleeves done. Now it is very heavy and pops the needle tips off all the time. I love the color and how fast it is knitting up.

This Liesel is a great scarf. I fell in love with the pattern when I first learned how to knit but had so many problems with it as a new knitter. I put it aside and when I was trolling Ravelry I found it again. The yarn is so nice. I got it in the Earth day swap when my partner punked out and never sent my package. Moirae who was the mod sent me two skeins of her hand dyed yarn she sells on Etsy. This color way reminds me so much of Monet's Waterlillies.

Work continues on Ulysses. I am enjoying it more than I thought. I did have to go back and refresh myself on the Odyssesy but after that smooth sailing (ha ha) I am at chapter 14 which from what I read is the the most difficult chapter in the book. I plan on tackling it in small chunks. I do love the way Joyce makes up his own words as a writer I guess it kinda was his job.

I have also become obsessed with Cowichan or Salish sweaters. I want to make one so badly. I have been emailing with a woman on Ravelry who made the most beautiful Cowichan with a buffalo on the back which I am envious of. I have been trying to track down the pattern book and may have had some success. I will keep everyone posted.

Tomorrow's plan is to finish my last wip a dog bag from Andean Folk Knits, work on my sewing and maybe get some water ice. It is fun to have the day wide open.

Monet's Water Lilies

Three Fates Knitting

Liesel (rav link)

Cowichan Sweaters or this blog has some awesome photos (Nate loves The Dude)

Done and undone

2009-07-06T18:24:00.004-04:00

Meet the Hep Cat. My most complex crochet project to date! Boy is he cute. I made him for Ashley. She share custody of Kitty with her ex and sometimes gets lonely for him. The cat not the boyfriend. I was showing her the book and she said make me a Hep Cat. So I started in April worked like crazy, gave him a time out and he fell asleep. I woke him up for the WIP Wrestlemania event on Ravelry. He competed in the Slingshot event which was any toy. I made him out of RHSS because I am just that classy. Enjoy his awesome bells and cool beret. Do not I repeat do not point out the fact that his eyes are not level. Instead note the awesome cute toes.

On to other things. I have decided after listening to the Gives Good Knit podcast to look up the Modern Library's 100 greatest novels of the last 100 years and start to read the ones that I didn't read yet. Number one was Ulysses by James Joyce. Ahhh my bookiest arch nemesis! I have been trying to read this book for ok I will say it 20 years. Nate's dad bought me a copy of the book when we were dating and I never got past chapter 4. So I decided to download an audio copy from Libravox. I find it easy to listen to and follow along with a print copy. It also helps to read some of the analysis of the book to better understand the stream of consciousnes thing he has going on. I am not going to say I will work my way through the list but I am starting out with good intentions. James Joyce is my undone but I will crush that book's skull if I have to go back and get a master's in english to do it!

Modern Library's 100 Best Novels (1-5)
1. ULYSSES by James Joyce
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley
I've read 2,4,5 I am working on 1, and 2.

Hep Cat from Amigurumi Super Happy Crochet Cute by Beth Doherty (rav link)

Modern Library 100 Best Novels List

Gives Good Knit podcast

Libravox audio books

Also check out Wendy's blog she posted a top 100 book list in March of this year and is currently working on a project in which she is trying to read a book about each state.

http://itsjustme-wendy.blogspot.com/

Let's get ready to rumble

2009-06-30T18:32:00.003-04:00

Do you remember the big wrestling craze of the 80's? My younger brother was obsessed with wrestling. He love Hillbilly Jim and Rowdy Roddy Piper. He had these action figures that my older brother called dolls to get him all worked up. He had my dad take him to the car show so he could meet wrestlers. Why is Andrea talking about wrestling? I joined the WIP Wrestlemanina 2009 event on Ravelry. I have four unfinished objects that I want to finish before I start some new sweaters. So what we do is we tag our UFOs with wrestling themed tags and spend the entire month of July working on UFOs exclusively. I am competing with Team Redheart again. We kicked but during the Ravelympics so we reformed to bring our acrylic based smack down to the people!

I have my hep cat, tiger eye scarf, dog bag, and the lucadore mask for Mike to work on this month so I hope to busy.

Speaking of RHSS smackdowns I made two pairs of arm covers for my cousin and her co-workers work chairs. I knit two rectangles using a basketweave pattern and wove a pull string through the edges. She just put them on the chair pulled the string underneath and created a very classy chair cozy. I guess you get to a point as a knitter that people think you can make anything. Oh wait I guess I can. Here is the red set. I also did a black set for her co-worker.

I also finished Liesel scarf but haven't blocked it yet so no photos. I have been knitting but don't have much to share. I also have been sewing. I did 5 totes for Morsbags, and 6 drawstrings. I made them out of recycled scrub tops I got from my sister and cousin. They turned out cool, I kept the pockets on the totes so they have front pockets which is handy.

I made a few coffee cakes, some herb and fruit infused waters and spent some time stalking the blue jays out back. I made orange-basil, lemon-basil, lemon-rosemary, and lemon-mint. We have a mating pair with one baby. He is so cute with his white head! He looks like a freak and I like that!

WIP Wrestlemania 2009 (rav link)

Liesel Scarf (rav link)
Morsbags my pod is called eco-friendly bensalem

No more Swallowtail

2009-06-22T18:52:00.004-04:00

When I went to California about a month ago I started the Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave. I was feeling very confident. I had just finished the Shetland triangle and I had some great merino lace weight in a beautiful brown heathered color from Knit picks. I knit so carefully on the body of the shawl and ended up perfect. Like golden, enough stitches and not too many issues. I started the first chart of the edging and things went wonky. I ripped back and started again. I got to the third row and the first half was fine. I did the first set of nupps and did the ungodly p5 on the reverse. But the second half did not line up. I ripped back and counted no go. I gave it a weeklong time out in the knitting cabinet and tried again yesterday. No go. the nupps were not diagonal they were on top of each other again. I put it in the bag and decided to give it a go this morning on the bus. I pulled it out this morning and sighed. I realized I hated the dang shawl. I decided then and there that I would rip it out and abandon it.

So I did. I even deleted it on my projects page on Ravelry. It is gone a distant memory. Life is too short to knit bad lace! Nupps you kicked my ass but I will be back someday. This photo of J.R. really sums up how I feel. Knitting you have defeated me today.

Swallowtail Shawl (rav link)

Check these puppies out!

2009-06-02T18:56:00.005-04:00

So I had this great idea. I would try to knit a pair of socks during my eight hours flying to CA. I had a lay over in Houston dot dot dot. So I got out the only sock yarn in my stash. It is Lorna's Laces I was gifted during the Yoga Swap. It is in a wonderful teal color varigated with light blue and grays. I love the yarn and was hording it. I tried socks last summer and made the practice socks in Ann Budd's sock book but I hated the whole flapping heel and picking up stitches thing. I felt like it was too out of control for me. But I have been pattern stalking some awesome sock patterns on Ravelry and decided to try my hand at socks. So I did a search for the yarn and the Jaywalkers by Grumperina were suggested as an easy pattern. So I took the plunge and I made some socks. On tiny size one bamboo needles that made me feel ham handed but I did it anyway.

Here is my finished sock along with it's fledgling mate at Valley Forge on Memorial Day.

Two socks how awesome! They turned out great I had one small hole on the second sock where I picked up stitches but I did a small repair and you can't even tell.

Here is a snap I made the boss take of my first sock. I was sure I wasn't going to finish the second and I wanted proof that I made at least one sock. How weird are my feet? In yoga class they call them monkey toes. Our instructor said I had awesome toes for yoga. Sister would be so grossed out by my foot on the internet for sure!

HEY JACKIE I MADE A PAIR OF SOCKS!

Pattern Link (ravelry) Jaywalkers by Grumperina

Ok so things are much different in CA!

2009-05-18T14:55:00.003-04:00

Ok so most people know that I am traveling this week. My colleague (aka my boss) and I are at the Innovative Users Group Annual Conference in Anaheim California. We flew in on Saturday and spent the weekend sight seeing and getting acclimated to the time change. Today was the first day of the conference and I am on a lunch break. Last night we were relaxing and watching tv in the room after spending all day at the Getty Center in LA. So around 8:30 we were laying around and the room started to rumble. The window starting to make crackling sounds and it felt like things were swaying on the 8th floor of the Hilton. Ok so it turns out we had an earthquake. How nutty is that? So I freaked out and was like oh did we just have an earthquake? E was totally unfazed and was like “Welcome to California”

Turns out earthquakes are not a big deal in this area. No emergency broadcasts, evacuations or anything. The lights didn’t even go out. How crazy is that?

On a knitting note I am working diligently on my Jaywalker and have turned the heel and am working on the first foot. I have to say that I am not loving sock knitting. It seems so messy and things are hanging open and looking like the sock is made for monster feet but I will trust in the instructions and the power of blocking. Plus if they suck I will give them to my sister! (Ha I know your reading this week).

Here are some snaps I took at the Mission San Juan Capistrano on Saturday. More snaps to come for sure. Check it out Mom I am a holy roller. I got a present for you and it is not a crow on a cross from the 1700s.

Hyper what?

2009-05-11T19:49:00.007-04:00

How could I forget about the hyperbolic crochet event two weeks ago? I actually got to craft on company time? We have a science museum where I work. For the first friday of every month we have a event where the museum is open late. This year they are doing a hands on science theme and two weeks ago it was hyperbolic crochet. I knit a few samples for the event and we spent a few hours teaching people to crochet and talking up crafting. I met some great people both knitters and crocheter and had a great time crafting on company time.

I made two samples both varigated. The first was a purple ruffled hyperbolic and the second which I didn't photograph was a blue tie dyed sample that I gave to Andy. He said he wanted a toupee! I wish I had a photo of him wearing it.
The action shots are from Clare who works at CHF. Thanks Clare! The other photos are mine I took them at work so you can see my workspace. How fun? The first one is in my window. That is my pine cone that I got in California a few years back. I was on a library trip to see a donor and his wife gave me this pinecone from a giant pine tree in her garden. They lived in Redwood City how fitting?

See Andy in the left hand corner? He stayed for the event but didn't crochet.

Here is Audra teaching Ashley who works with me in the library to crochet. I am just running my mouth. I met a woman who spun her dog's hair into yarn. I was fascinated.

Here I am teaching and of course running my mouth again. The couple I am talking to are mathmaticans. She knits he doesn't. He was a good sport.

Here is Sarah. She works at Chf and is a fantastic crocheter. I hope she doesn't mind me showing her photo but I wanted to show and action shot of my purple hyperbolic. All the yarn was either RHSS or Vanna's Choice.

Seven Sins of Greenwashing

2009-05-06T19:00:00.005-04:00

Green∙wash (grēn’wŏsh’, -wôsh’) - verb: the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.”

How terrible is greenwashing? I can't stop reading about it. Check out this page, It is a great source of info and the graphics really drive the point home about how companies are scamming people who are trying to do something good for mother earth.

The Greenwashing Index will reveal the worst offenders to you. Check them out.

Why am I talking about green washing? Well I care about the earth of course, really it is not a distraction technique to keep you from realizing she has no knitting to share! The snap is a close up of the boss' african violet. He actually has three and they are massive. I have been practicing with my macro lens.

Come Sail Away Indeed

2009-05-04T12:37:00.005-04:00

First thing first. Here is a snap of my cactus at work. This is second year that it bloomed. This year it had multiple blooms at once. Last year it had only one at a time. How lovely is that?

I just finished a wonderful baby blanket for our neighbor. She is having a boy and did the baby's room in blue tones and a ocean slash fish theme. I found the pattern on Ravelry . It is a great free pattern called Come Sail Away Baby Blanket by Suzanne Veta. I would highly recommend the pattern. It is easy to knit and well written. I used RHSS a great choice for a baby blankie. You can machine wash and dry the blanket and it won't fall apart. I was so embarresed when Jazzy's baby blanket fell apart in the wash. Now I will not knit a baby blanket in pieces or with open work on it. I spent a fortune on the yarn and the thing did not last one washing. No more fancy baby yarn for blankets. I just isn't practical and that is wasteful. J.R. really enjoyed the blankie as well. Of course he gets to test it out before it gets washed!

Happy Earth Day Martha!

2009-04-22T16:07:00.006-04:00

Just so you know where you are at!

The waiting room. It was nice they gave us bottled water (Evian classy) and magazines. I got the most recent Living and an older Blueprint.

We got to watch clips of the show and use the bathroom. It wasn't really that fancy inside the building just black and white and very industrial.

A blurry shot of Joey telling jokes and teaching us how to clap for Martha.

The set is awesome. It is so much bigger than it looks on tv. You can see the kitchen, the main area, the craft area and the potting shed. The fancy people sat on the floor. We were in the second to the top row. I was nicer our view wasn't blocked by the cameras.

Boy this is a horrible picture but we had to hurry up and take the photo. We weren't supposed to leave our seats but my mom is a rebel and took the photo.

For some reason this really excited me. I saw Martha's blue mixer. I see it on the show all the time and it was really crazy to see it. I was stoked about the show and kept saying oh and I saw Martha's mixer.

Martha taking questions from the audience. She looked great and was very professional. She had the directors from Disney Earth, Robert Kennedy Jr. and the chick from Green the Ghetto. Here hair was sticking up because she gave her an apron and she took it off during the break. The lipgloss and lint roller girl miss it I guess.

My cousin took this shot for me using the zoom. Overall it was so much fun to see the show and see Martha. I didn't get my book signed but I did get some good earth day goodies. Martha you rock! All in all a super awesome earth day!

Deep thoughts for earth day

2009-04-19T15:08:00.002-04:00

I am really happy that people are spending more time thinking about the environment and preserving our natural resources. I am also happy that people are thinking about living more simply, saving money and using less. All little steps that can make a big difference in your own life and the life of the planet. I know I try to be more aware of what I do and the impact it makes in my world and yours. When I was little we were taught to try to leave things a little better than the way we found it. I still try to live this way. When we go to the park we pick up some trash small stuff like that. I like to think that it makes a difference.

In 2008 I decided that I would stop making a personal new years resolution and make one to improve my life and the earth at the same time. My resolution that year was to reduce the use of paper and plastic products for lunch. I took a set of silverware, a new cup, and my own placemat and cloth napkin to work. I also tried to reduce my use of plastic wrap by reusing as much as I could. I still do that at work and encourage others to do the same. In 2009 I decided to go plastic bag free. N8 bought me three reusable rip stop nylon bags that fold into small pouches. I am proud of all my plastic bag free shopping trips. I also try to give out totes and pouches to people when I give them stuff so that they can reuse them. The thing is do what you can no matter how small to improve your life and the others. It is common courtesy and will clean up the earth and spread some good karma and really aren’t both things wonderful?

Check out how much the princess loves her bunny nugget and a squirrel snapped from the new second story porch!

Oh and one thing that make recycling fun is my hands free recycling bin. Thanks Mom.

Leftovers - Almost like recycling

2009-04-14T20:14:00.003-04:00

So here is the neglected and unloved Leftovers Vest from Knitty. I made this from all the scraps of RHSS that I had in my suitcase. I started it in a fit of being frugal and getting rid of stuff before buying new yarn. I worked on it like crazy and then fizzled out in October. It sat and stewed until last month. I realized I only needed to do the front v neck and the arm and neck bands. Oh and weaving in about six trillion ends. The end result was an ok vest that makes me look frugal to the boss and that is all that matters. I have two secrets to acquiring new yarn guilt free.

First I piggy back new yarn on a pre approved boss project. For example I decided to make a baby blanket for our neighbor. Cha Ching. Yarn for the project and for me! Second I score some free yarn. Free yarn means saving money. If you run out you have to get more to finish and a little something more. These two techniques work better than the hissy fit plan which never, ever works.

Hey Ladies!

2009-04-10T19:23:00.004-04:00

I finished my February Lady and I love it. I am so happy with this sweater. I actually wore this sweater to work this week and actually kept it on all day. When people commented on it I said thank you and did not point out any of the things I thought were wrong with it. I actually wore a sweater that I knit for myself! The pattern is so easy to follow and I love the results. I even like the color.

I spent the week knitting and sewing bunny nuggets for easter gifts. The pattern is fun and I was able to stash dive for all the weird odd ball leftovers to make bunnies. Photos to follow for sure. But for now oogle my sweater. Totally unrelated but I decided my new signature curse word will now be "For Fucks Sake" I heard it when I watched Happy Go Lucky with the boss. He doesn't like it but I do so I say for fucks sake boss its my new signature curse word at least for this week.

Pssst. Still here? Gotta tell you this; sister (and cousin) and I got tickets for the Martha show! When you ask oh only on earth day how crazy is that?

Vote Earth!

2009-03-23T17:56:00.004-04:00

Let's all take one hour and think about what we can do to make the planet a better place. Turn off your lights for 1 short hour on Saturday March 28, 2009 at 8:30 and do something good for the planet. Learn more by clicking on the link below. We could use up all those candles we got for gifts this christmas, Just don't knit anything with acrylic in it near your candle.

Facts are useful in emergencies

2009-03-15T19:52:00.004-04:00

Progress is being made on the February Lady Sweater and I am loving it. The lace setup rows gave me a hard time as usual. The first three repeats of any lace pattern drives me nuts but this was worse because I had to rip back over 300 stitches three times. Funny when I need to concentrate I have to work on the bus in the mornings I can't fully focus at home or work too many distractions. But on the rush hour bus listening to a podcast I can focus fully.

Moving plans continue. I have been taking things to the thrift shop, recycling and trashing junk like crazy but I still can't muster any excitement for the damn move. It just makes me angry and I don't want to do it but I will. Enough of this let's talk about knitting. The first two photos are of the lady in progress. The third is the tote I sewed myself that she travels in. Nothing is too good for my lady!

Bolsa De Perro Bag

2009-03-08T18:56:00.004-04:00

I almost forgot about this one! Another awesome project from Andean Folk Knits by Marcia Lewandowski. I am obsessed with this book I love it so much! I also finally finished up the last of the Cascade 220 I bought at Rosies last year. I made the big Ivy, the Anatolian mittens, the Lapland mittens and finally this bag with the nine skeins I bought. What a great value.

Work continues on the February Lady and my Earth Day Swap presents. Everything else is the same and that is not a bad thing.

Snow Day!

2009-03-02T10:52:00.004-05:00

Today we got dumped with about a foot of snow. The schools were closed and I have no snow boots so I got to take a snow day. I took some snaps this morning when I was walking J.R. I also got some awesome snaps of the birds at the feeder. I got my blue jay. N8 left to go sledding and the boss is out shoveling so I am home alone today chilling. I finished my dog purse and started on my Februrary Lady Sweater. Oh I love it!

Oh look it is the boss wearing his Marsan Watch Cap!

J.R. in the snow!

Chubby birdy!

Holy shit is that my blue jay?

I know I usually call them bitches.

2009-02-22T17:30:00.005-05:00

Let's start this post by saying this turned out better than I thought it would. I am talking about both the shawl and the posting. Every time I post I get so frustrated with blogger and how the images show up. I write up my post and add the images. They end up at the top instead of the bottom with all this extra spacing. It is annoying and I always say I will do something about it and I don't. This time I added the photos first. So far so good. I guess I need to figure out something more long term.

I finished my shetland triangle and love it! I used Paton's Lacette which is an acrylic and mohair blend. I had my doubts about the blocking but it seems to turn out lovely. Before blocking the shawl had a puckered look and now it is fuzzy and flat oh boy! So I used one and one third balls of yarn which brings my grand total for the shawl to 1.50! Hurray for dollar store yarn. The only thing it is hit or miss on the quality and colors. I was lucky I guess. So to sum it up I know that i usually call my big projects bitches but this one was easy. I expect double trouble on the next one! I have no idea whath the big project will be yet. I have some ideas but nothing is screaming at me. So for now I am going to do some preemptive knitting for my earth day swap on Ravelry.

Sister and I have decided to take the kids to Disney (yes I said it) for Jazzy's 6th birthday. We booked a trip for Novemeber so I am on a self imposed stash only knitting diet. I did score a sweaters worth of yellow worsted yarn from mom and have some good stuff in the mix so it really isn't a punishment. I have no intention of telling the boss that though. Let him think I am sacrificing for the sake of the kids!

Shetland Lace Triangle I was wrong you were not destined to be the new Big Ivy. You are lovely and thrifty!

Spliting necks and calling it dichotomy

2009-02-10T18:19:00.008-05:00

Oh boy things have been crazy at work. Let us just say that the economic downturn has been just as bad for non-profits. This is not a how crappy is work blog so enough of that. I have plenty of things to be grateful. I am totally in love with Los Campesinos hence the title of this post and have found Craftsanity podcast.

I finished my Lapland Mittens. I actually washed and blocked them and they look awesome. Can I just say that Cascade 220 is such a nice reliable yarn. It is easy to knit and blocks so nicely and it lasts forever!

I also got some wonderful handspun yarn in the mail this week. I won two awesome skeins of yarn from the NaKniMitMo group on Ravelry. I am so stoked. This is my first handspun. The color is an muted varigated plum and pink. I got two skeins of worsted weight about 220 yards, enough for something great. Right now I just fondle it.

Shetland Triangle are you the new Big Ivy? I did six repeats and got hopelessly messed up. I tried to frog back and got so twisted I had to scrap and redo. On sunday I restarted and have done 4 repeats so far. I need to realize that I need to pay attention to lace!

A woodpecker and a single mit

2009-02-01T18:29:00.006-05:00

I have been on a mitten kick. I finished most of a pair of Lapland Mittens from Folk Mittens. Things have been very stressful at work so I have been knitting like crazy. I had two days off from work last week so I blasted through one mitten and picked up the Leftover Vest as well. I have the left front and the armhole and neck edging to finished. Oh yeah and about six hundred ends to weave it. Stripes oh what a great idea in theory.

I also went through my stash and pulled out all the project worthy yarns I have and assigned them to projects. Now I feel like I have a plan to work with and won't go and buy random yarns or use my good yarns on crappy projects. I have less yarn than I thought but enough to do a few good projects. I have enough to do a Hey Teach, a Shetland Triangle and a three quarter length cropped cardi and a pair of mittens so I am in good shape for a few months. I have also been thinking about doing a ribbed striped scarf using up my RHSS scraps. I think N8 would like something like that. I also have 900 yards of merino laceweight and two balls of Lornas Laces that I am currently hording.

Today the boss saw a red headed woodpecker in the tree and was able to get a snap of it. Pretty good photo from so far away.

Ta Da!

2009-01-26T09:15:00.005-05:00

It is a wonder what a cold can do for your knitting time! I have been nursing a really yucky head cold. I was totally laid up yesterday and called out from work today. However it did give me the laying around time I needed to finish my Anatolian mittens from Folk Mittens. I must be sick and bored if I can finish a knitting project, photograph it, photoshop and flickr it in the same day!

For my next project I am hoping to work on the Lapland Mittens from the same book. I am thinking of starting a sweater in February. I have been thinking about the Origami Cardi from IK. I knit it a few years ago and it turned out to be too big for me. I think I have the right yarn, the right needles and a more realistic view of my sizing.

Work continues on the sewing front. I finished two tote bags but had a mini hissy fit over my lunch bags. In my defense I wasn't feeling well and the thread kept sticking on the little cutout on the top of the spool and breaking.

Anatolian mittens

2009-01-18T15:28:00.004-05:00

This is a work in progress shot of second naknimitmo09 project the Anatolian Mittens from Folk Mittens. Not the best photos. I rushed them to get something up in Ravelry.

I am using the left overs from the Big Ivy Scarf I finished a while back. Speaking of Big Ivy I need to bust that monster out. It is freezing here in Philly!

I have been sewing like crazy every night I finished 5 morsbags for my sister's birthday tomorrow. I got some great Eagles fabric at Joann's for 50% off. Thanks nice old lady who shared her coupons with me. I appreciate it. I cut out two shopping bags, three lunch bags and four drawstrings for tomorrow. We have the day off for MLK day.

naknimitmo 2009 and a sassy leftover

2009-01-11T15:30:00.005-05:00

I love mittens and I cannot lie. I joined naknimitmo on Ravelry. Everyone has committed to knit at least one pair of something that goes on your hands. Great for a cold January. I decided I wanted to knit Ashley a pair of mittens for her birthday and this seemed like a logical tie in. I decided to do the Give a Hoot Mittens by Jocelyn Tunney. The pattern has a cable that looks like an owl. She had buttons for eyes but I used some green wooden beads I repurposed from the Nudge's bracelet making kit. I love the look of the eyes. The first pair was a little tiny so I uped the needle size to 7 and whipped out the second pair on the bus this week. They are so sweet and cute I just love them.

I also gifted Amelia's hat and scarf so I can share this last remaining FO from 2008. She wanted a hat that looked like an acorn and had a stem. So I decided to make her the Sunflower Tam from Knitting Nature. She wanted turquoise so I busted out some of the old reliable RHSS from the Walmart. This is a good choice for Amelia she is both a sloppy pre-teen and a swimmer who doesn't dry her hair. She loves it so mission accomplished.

Check out Morsbags.com if you like to sew, use recycled totes or care about marine mammals. I started a pod called Eco-friendly Bensalem, join me and help marine mammals.

Mittens first than Tam. Enjoy!

Tree of Life Aran

2009-01-04T09:07:00.004-05:00

As everyone who has seen me knitting since November knows I decided to knit my mom an aran for christmas. I chose the Tree of Life Aran from the first american publication of Classic British Knits by Madeline Weston. (librarian rant starts here: She published three books and they are either variants of the same book or a book consisting of most of the same patterns, a cataloging nightmare end rant)

I knit the pattern like a crazy woman and still wasn't finished before I started my christmas vacation. I had to redo half of the front left because the arm holes did not match. I knit for eight hours a day for the four days that led up to christmas and busted the entire thing out including blocking and sewing on christmas eve before the party.

The knit is challenging and looks like dog food before blocking but when it blocks oh wow. It looks awesome. Mom loved the sweater, I loved the sweater and her sister's were jealous. A job well done. I avoided my knitting bag for three days and then started three new small projects. I also take a small pride in being the only person on Ravelry crazy enough to knit this cardigan! The first photo is mom the second is me trying on the sweate and contemplating the idea of saying that is was ruined and keeping it for myself.

Recycling is not trashpicking!

2008-11-30T14:55:00.002-05:00

I have been recycling like crazy this week. I took our old computers to the recycling center along with some old wires, video cameras and assorted computer pieces that we no longer needed. I found a great place in Philly called Elemental that does recycling of computers. I also started saving our papers for the fundraiser at N8's old elementary school. They use a service called the Paper Retriever to raise money and recycle. I even have Jazzy looking around for paper. She was so excited when she realized she could recycle her movie ticket from Bolt!

Work continues half heartedly on the Tree of Life Aran for mom. It just takes so long to make progress. I did do a naughty and take on two side projects. I did a scarf for my cousin and a replacement We call them Pirates hat for my baby. Other than that completely monogamous I swear.

I also finished the christmas shopping and spent an enormous amount of time watching the holiday movies on Hallmark Channel. Oh how addicting. Back to work on monday and to bus knitting the Tree of Life.

Classy House Home Improvements

2008-11-16T13:55:00.004-05:00

Here is a fine handpainted scarf rack painted by Jazzy. She painted the shelf to look like J.R. Look at the fine details. That is his tongue and the multicolored patterned grass. Fine american craftsmanship for sure!

On other fronts work continues on the Tree of Aran (second front side nearly done), N8 got his drivers permit on Saturday. I cried at the DMV but that is to be expected and shock of all shocks 100% percent baby alpaca is not the best yarn choice for a hat meant to be worn by a teenage boy.

The We call them pirates hat got a huge wear hole in it which cannot be repaired so a second hat is in the works starting today. Enjoy the rack and the photo of the real J.R.

nakniswemo08!

2008-11-03T18:10:00.002-05:00

Today is the day! I had to rip back my left front of the Tree of Life Aran. I had some issues with the pattern. I was too sloppy and loose. Also being lazy and believed Lion Brand I decided not to ball up the center pull skein. I had a huge yarn barf and ended up with a huge tangle of yarn. I had to ravel out inches to finish the rows which fucked up my tension so this morning I decided to rip it.

Did you ever have a moment where you you were thinking I should rip and then miliseconds later the needles were out and the ball was rolling? I was ripping out my knitting standing up on the el during rush hour! I couldn't stand it one more minute. I realized afterwards that I didn't have my size 5s for the ribbing so the entire day was wasted. However I feel like it was a good knitting day. Ripping is a release.

Rules on naming things

2008-10-30T18:13:00.005-04:00

On Saturday Jazzy and I were walking back to my mother's house after going to the dollar store. She got two cheap plastic fairy dolls to play with while I did the laundry. I asked her what she was going to name her new dolls she said squiggle and sack. I said those were not good names for fairies she said they were fine because Lolly always says Sack. (He is a teenage boy who constantly talks about his "nutsacks")

The poor girl has a problem with naming things. She has ten plastic dogs named coco and princess kitty along with dollhouse people with weird names. She also accusses me of always suggesting she name her things after the dog or colors. So we decided that we would have some guidelines for naming things like dolls, animals and knitted things. So here they are

People should have people names.

They can have one or two names but shouldn't have more than three.

One of the names cannot be pants and even though it is ok the name is more annoying if the names rhyme.

Animals can have people names or names of objects, colors, or foods. Jackie has a cat named Meatball and that is ok. Meatball is not an acceptable name for people though.

Names that sound the same are perfectly acceptable for sibling. Nancy and Dancy can be sisters that is fine, Nathaniel and Pathaniel is a little weird but still ok.

People named after real pets are funny and vice versa.

We also agreed to not name all the animals the same. It's pretty confusing to play doggie daycare when all the dogs are named coco, snowball, puggie and J.R.

FYI we both agree that Princess Sparkle is a good name for a kitten not so good for babies. (also if you want to have a baby it's easy you just ask grandmom first and if she says it is ok than you go to the hospital and get one.)

Oh who would have thought that naming things was so difficult!

Day Off!

2008-10-24T15:43:00.004-04:00

Today I had a day off from work. I had a parent teacher meeting at noon so I took a full day. This morning I went grocery shopping with the boss. I got caramels! Then I went to my meeting had wendy's for lunch and watched Walk Hard. I think those types of movies are funny. Then I made some pumpkin bread for my sister and brushed the doggie. After some much needed internet time I am going to start mom's tree of life aran. I got some nice wool ease in a gray heather. She didn't want a wool sweater but I wanted to make her something really nice and somehow RHSS seemed too cheap. I know that is shocking coming from a classy bitch as myself.

We went to the pumpkin patch slash apple orchard on Sunday and had a great time. Here are some snaps from the patch and the market!

Hats!

2008-10-19T09:23:00.004-04:00

Boy I have fallen in love with making hats. This week was a bumper crop of hats. I even started a new bulky yarn beret on Saturday and cranked it out by the end of the day. I can't stop wearing it around the house. Pictures to come soon. Until then enjoy the hats I finished last week. Not a new hat but a new photo. I finally got a snap of Amelia in her Bulls Eye hat from Kristen Knits. I also did the fingerless gloves but left off the flowers I think it was a bit much. Also of note: N8 did some photoshop magic and got rid of her red eyes. He is a whiz at photoshop.

Here is Alex modeling my brothers Watermelon hat from this summer. I made this up using a roll brim hat pattern. Those seeds are intarsia and a pain in the butt.

Here is mike wearing his birthday hat. An awesome candy corn! He got it early because he is a big baby. Also much cuter is Luke rocking the hat.

Finally we have Alex's Chullo in Eagles colors. This pattern is from Andean Folk Knits. A nice book but not as popular as the folk mittens book she did. You can always count on Amelia for a goofy ass face.

My camera is fixed!

2008-10-10T13:26:00.002-04:00

Back in May my camera broke at graduation. Since then I have been procrastinating on getting it fixed. I finally got scared that the warranty would expire and we would have to pay for the repair so I sent it out quickly at beginning of the month. Despite all my fear about the cost of repair it was free and only took five days to repair and ship it back. Thanks Samsung your customer service acutally rocks. So thanks to Samsung you can see a cavaclade of finished objects:
Check out the Striped Illusion, Big Ivy and Ribbed Keyhole all finished.

Knitting Sweatshop?

2008-10-07T18:21:00.004-04:00

This weekend I was talking with my mom about some things I wanted to knit. I wanted to make my big brother a candy corn hat for his birthday at the end of the month. She said oh that sounds good you should make one for Luke (my nephew) Everytime I make something or say I want to make something she immediately suggests I make more of them for other people or she tells people I will knit them something. She want an Aran sweater something very complex of course then she goes and tells my aunt that I will make her one as well. This person needs a hat, this person is having a baby dot dot dot. She drives me crazy especially since she only crochets when the mood strikes her. She says she won't make blankets for people when they ask because they are meant to be gifts. Each blanket is meant to be for a specific person and is special. Great special gifts hand made with love I get it. Why then does she try to work me like a knitting sweatshop.

So this week I finished a pair of mittens, the candy corn hat and weaving in my Big Ivy but I did not cast on a second hat for Luke or for anyone else. I cast on a chulo for my Alex. I am knitting for love. My love may be taller than me, wear size 13 sneakers, listen to classic rock, go to high school on the bus by himself, and burp on command but he is still my baby. Here he is being all outdoorsy.

Just checking in

2008-09-28T20:24:00.004-04:00

Not too much to report over at the Classy People House. Work is steady on the Big Ivy and the Striped Illusion. I am pretty stoked to start a new sweater for my mom. I think it might actually be my NaKniSweMo KAL project. I just ordered a copy of Classic British Knits by Madeline Weston. I fell in love with the fair isle vests and women's gansey cardigans in this book but put the idea out of my mind while I was in grad school. My mom asked me to make her a cardi and since I kinda like her I want to make her something awesome. Sister will consult on style and color and I will pick the yarn. I need to make sure it is something she will like the feel of not just something I want to knit with.

I really need to get some of my UFO's done. I still have Amelia's hat and fingerless mits, Jazzy's left mitten and scarf and a hat for Luke to get done. On more exciting news I am working on a new pattern. If you love mittens and who doesn't stay tuned!

Another Classy People House Success

2008-09-24T18:28:00.003-04:00

Today I happily present to you a very classy idea! The bottle cozy. I made two of these wonders for my cousin. She is such an old lady that she wraps her water bottle with a paper towel to keep her hand and purse dry. I found a great pattern called Bier Hugguz on Ravelry (yeah free patterns!) and with some scrap peaches n creme I whipped up two of these babies while I was away at my training. These things are great! CPH highly recommends creating cozies for everything in the world.

Where am I this week?

2008-09-15T15:03:00.003-04:00

For people who care about Authority work as much as I do (and I know everyone does) I am at the Library of Congress doing my Naco training this week. Ah the LC gotta love a library that has it's own police force with uniforms and patches and everything else. How awesome is that? I feel guilty slacking off in the very swanky John Adams building so less knitting is getting done than at any other training session but some is getting done. I am working hard on my striped illusion, my sister's purple fluff and a water bottle cozy for my cousin. She refuses to admit that wrapping a paper towel around a bottle and securing it with a rubber band is a very old lady thing to do. Well it is. This is J.R.'s reaction when I tried to speak with him about the entire situation.

Question: Isn't this one the cutest dog ever? Answer: Yes!

Totally punked out

2008-09-07T19:51:00.002-04:00

Couldn't do it. Too many UFOs driving me crazy. Had to finish something. Knitting five scarves at one time and very very happy. To distract you from my shame meet Leona who started life out as Leon. He was a plain ole male lion paper bag lion but he longed for more. Apparently in certain pre-k class it is not ok to doll yourself up and have eyelashes. Eyelashes are very important for ladies (a four year old told me so) So Leon came home from school and with the help of the ever stylish Jazzy he was transformed into his true self a girl lion named Leona. Nothing wrong with that! Oh and yes those are nipples.

September Scarves Day 4

2008-09-05T19:15:00.003-04:00

What am I learning about my knitting after only four days of my self imposed knitting project? That I don't like too many UFOs. Four is a little too many for me. And I really don't like starting something new every single day. I just want to finish something! I think I will take the five project over to mom's on saturday and work one each of them and start a new project on Sunday. Maybe a hat, so modification of the project part two. A scarf a day on the weekdays, catchup day on Saturday and then a hat started on Sunday or maybe jus a new scarf on Sunday.

Also blogging every day is hard and most likely boring. So without further ado I present the Ribbed Keyhole Scarf! Knit in RHSS maroon and the neverending ball of blue yarn from the Origami Cardi. I was going for a collegiate look. I was thinking that the rib pattern reminds me of those old style seventies tube socks. I want to knit Sister an Eagles themed scarf that looks like a green and white tube sock. Retro and sporty. Maybe next week. Hmmmm.

Oh look what I can see from my window! The boss said he had them put that up for my birthday. Also note the strategic placement of Season 2 of Dexter in my WIP picture!

Day Four

Ribbed Keyhole Scarf by Alison Hansel Ravlink

Red Heart Super Saver in Windsor Blue and Claret

Size 7 Good ole needlemaster

September Scarves Day 3

2008-09-04T19:09:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to me! Today was a good day. I got a crazy birthday card, dark pink roses and Season 2 of Dexter! It was Yoga day and we went out to dinner. But enough about me lets talk about purple fluffy yarn and sister scarves. This yarn is fuzzy enough in the ball but when you knit up and wait and hour it blooms. Also if you have any static cling it leans over to the static.

This scarf is a super fluffy, super soft and your chemical heritage at work. I got this super deluxe yarn at the Dollar store! I acutally like it. My sister is super girly, super feminine with a fondness for purple. The scarf is done in my favorite one line pattern Garter Lace!

Day 3
Purple Fluff
Paton's Glittallic in Purple Lame (can you believe it?) 3 balls
Size 10 metal needles

September Scarves Day 2

2008-09-03T18:54:00.003-04:00

This scarf is weird. It is really nice to look at and is interesting to knit. I was suprised at how complicated knitting it actually is. First the entire pattern is charted at over 200 lines the chart is two pages. And even though it looks like garter it actually switches from knit to purl and changes colors on each side.

A pattern you need to concentrate on for sure. I got 42 rows done on day one. I like this pattern and want to knit more on it that's a good sign. How about them colors? I should so have a lifestyle where I only knit with twenty dollar a skein yarns instead of bargin bin and mill ends.

Tommorrow is a real treat a fluffy purple confection perfect for the Sister.

Day Two

Striped Illusion Scarf

From Knitting New Scarves By Lynn Barr

Shibui Knits Merino two skeins one orange, one teal

Size 5 bamboos

September Scarves Day one

2008-09-02T19:21:00.003-04:00

On September 1, 2008 I had every intention of getting up early and spending my day off putting a major dent into my Striped Illusion to kick off the month in style. Oh the best laid plans. First I had to spend the morning at the Lowe's looking for a coat rack that was wider than the old one to cover up the six inch wide holes I made trying to hang my new hooks. Long story summed up plastic molly bolts do not work. Then I bought a shelf for the kitchen to store food. The boss likes to buy in bulk but we don't have any place to store things. So that took the entire morning. Then I went to Aunt Kathy's for a barbeque so no progress was done on the new scarf.

So one day into my self created project I change the rules. Day one was spent working on the Big Ivy scarf poolside. Oh and my aunt's little rat terrier loves the scarf he was sleeping in when it was under the table. I made some good progress on that one. It was renamed the tube worm by my family. The Striped Illusion will be Day two's scarf I swear I have been working on it. Posting will be one day behind.

Day One

Big Ivy Scarf

Cascade 220 in brown, hot pink, white and teal

size 8 needles

About 70% done

We call them teenagers

2008-08-31T21:18:00.002-04:00

Today was back to school shopping. N8 and I spent the entire day shopping for clothes, shoes and school supplies. I remember when all he needed was his Dragon ball Z lunch box to be happy to go back to school. Now he wants things and has preferences that I don't even know about. When did he stop wearing jeans or only write with black pens? He also doesn't wear things with skulls on them unless they are ironic and doesn't mind have purple folders.

Here is a hat I made for him from Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in a green and orange. These skulls are cool because it looks like a Norwegian fisherman's hat and is not in goth colors. Oh my baby I remember when he went off to first grade in his explorer shorts and dinosaur backpack. Back to school is weird to me this year. It is the first time since 2004 that I am not taking a class. Oh I guess that leaves me more time to knit hats that have ironic skulls on them.

September Scarves or do I even have enough needles?

2008-08-27T18:01:00.004-04:00

Ok so I have a nutty idea.
I am having trouble deciding what to knit next. I knit like crazy to finish my Ravelympics but still didn’t finish my Big Ivy which is depressing. Yesterday I started a very simple eyelet lace scarf using the sari yarn I bought at the XPN music festival which I knocked out today on the bus.
Scarf knitting is super easy to start and you see progress right away. That got me thinking about scarves. I love to knit scarves at least half a scarf. I usually get bored half way through and put it down for a week, month or year. So I got this great idea to start a new scarf every day. I will try to start a new scarf every day and work on it all day then snap it, blog it, label it and put it away till the weekend. Whatever doesn’t get finished in September gets picked back up in October on the day it was started.
Thirty one scarves in two months that should stave off boredom. That should get me a lot of presents for the holidays.
To start off this experiment I will begin with something from Knitting New Scarves! On Septemeber 1 I will start my September Scarf Project by knitting Striped Illusions with my super precious Shi Bui Knits Merino Kid in teal and orange I bought with my graduation gift cart at Rosies last month!

Heres the unoffical rules
Cast on a new scarf every day
Knit it all day long
Blog about it
Put it away
Pick it up again in October
Rinse and Repeat, repeat, repeat

So this weekend I will plot a rough plan, pull out some yarn and figure out if I have enough needles for the project. Off to ravelry to queue up some scarves! Wish me luck.

Ravelympics Gold Metal!

2008-08-24T19:58:00.008-04:00

Go Team RedHeart!

Here is my Ravelympic project for 2008. It is the Nordic Lights Caplet from Wrap Style. Knit in RHSS using scraps from many finished blankies. I wanted something small that matched all my winter clothes for work. It also needed to be washable and something tha t could be stuffed in my tote bag. This is a quick and fun knit but it does have tons of ends to weave in. Enjoy!

Bus transfers indicate adultness

2008-08-20T08:35:00.006-04:00

When people talk about their children they always say I can tell they are growing up so fast. How can they tell? Recently I realized (I may have been the last to notice) that my boy is growing up. No it wasn't the shaving or the first job or even the fact that he is getting his driving permit it was his bus transfer. When he was little and we would take the bus into town he was so afraid of losing his tranfer he wanted me to hold it. Last week he came into town to go to the comic book store and to meet me for lunch. So he come in town on the bus and el alone, comes to work gets called mister by a temp receptionist, decides he wants sushi for lunch and disappears until closing time. When he comes back to commute home together he gets his transfer and puts it in his pocket. I have my hand out and he says oh come on I'm like sixteen. Fine remember that when you win the pulitzer and I tell everyone how you refused to get dressed unless you had your spiderman undies on.

Photo is some christmas knitting I am getting a jump on. All three items from Kristen Knits. For the ladies.

White Winter Hymnal

2008-08-17T13:54:00.007-04:00

I am totally in love with the new Fleet Foxes album. The one song is called White Winter Hymnal and it mentions red scarves. I want to knit a red scarf but I can't since I am scorching the earth with my lightening fast speed knitting for the Ravelympics. I am working on two projects.

The first is 90 percent finished and is the Nordic Lights wraps slash poncho slash caplet slash who knows from Wrap style. We will have to wait and see on that one. The second is driving me bonkers because it is so simple yet I can't get the hang of it. It is the Big Ivy Scarf from the cover of Knitscene. Why are you tormenting me? Did I not spend 40 bucks on Cascade 220 to knit you instead of cheap ole acrylic?

To continue with my staycation FO marathon I present three new scarves. The Quivit Scarf from IK, The Elven Scarf from my brain and a rainbow triangle scarf knit with my recycled sari yarn from the XPN festival!

The Quivit Scarf is a nice lace scarf I made with a merino lace weight from Knitpicks, it was fun but got boring in the middle. Blocking really brings out the snazzy ness of the border.

The Elven scarf is knit using the Elven Lace stitch in the awesome citrus inspired Jackie hand dye! Love it and in a weird way it is almost like we did a project together. The triangle is a simple garter triangle with YO increases. I like this yarn Sister says it looks hippie-ish so that means I love it.

Enjoy!

Things fall apart it's scientific

2008-08-10T09:48:00.002-04:00

Well things have been crazy at the classy people house. Some personal things have been going on and I really haven’t felt like blogging. I am even ashamed to admit that I haven’t even been that excited about Ravelry. How terrible is that? I have been knitting. I finished a laundry list of mini project and one awesome sweater.

I finished blocking and sewing my Frontier Blues Sweater! This was such a nice and easy knit. I was also my first sweater knit in the round and I love it. How easy is it when you’re finishing is two small seams under the arms? I did the sleeves on my 16 inch circs so the thing whipped along so fast. I plan on doing a toggle button on the front but need to sew it on.
This yarn is the mill end yarn I bought a few weeks ago at AC Moore. It is actually Paton’s Classic Wool in Harvest. I got a whole pound of it for 5 bucks. How cool is that? It looks like it has a gap in the dye saturation. You can see small areas of white or light colors but it doesn’t bother me at all. I had some leftover. I made some felted mittens and have enough for a hat for a going a way present for someone at work. I still have a full ball left. I’m thinking felted Iphone holder for a friend who totally got a G3 and is working it.

Krueger Metal Chair Redone!

2008-05-04T09:13:00.003-04:00

I have finally finished the cushion to go with the chair that the boss man painted for me. It was a hot purple mess when we got it from my bro. The boss sanded, primed and painted it from top to bottom and now we have an awesome brown and gold chair. To fit with the recycle theme it also has a re-purposed yarn cushion.

I knit the cushion using the frogged yarn from my first attempt at a sweater. It is Brown Sheep Company bulky in Jade. The pattern is very simple.

1. Create a template of the seat using a brown paper bag.
2. Select the stitch pattern. I used a coin cable from a stitch dictionary.
3. Using your yarn figure out how many stitches per inch you need for the cast on.
4. Cast on and work straight until you need to start curving the sides in. I figured it is like the top of sleeve. I did matching decreases on each side and following the curve of my template.
4. The bottom is the same I did stockinette for the bottom.
5. I bought some squares of foam from Walmart. I stacked two on top and cut the foam to match my template.
6. I created a strip slightly smaller than the thickness and made it long enough to go around the cushion.
7. I then seamed the top to the top of the strip and put the foam in the middle and seamed the bottom. After some wiggling it fit perfectly.
8. I had the intention to do an i cord seam but it didn't work out for me. I may go ahead and added it later since I have some yarn left over.

Enjoy!

Strawberries

2008-04-20T18:31:00.003-04:00

I can't take credit for this one. This is my mom's crocheted baby blanket. Ok it took her two hours to do the whole thing and it looks like strawberries and cream. Show off.

Yum!

Baby suit

2008-04-20T18:26:00.002-04:00

I am really not thrilled with this one so I am burying it in a rare double post. I wanted to make a baby shower gift. I found a pattern in a free e book from Wowio and made this sweater and pants set. I like the color and it was an easy knit.

Steppin out

2008-04-06T15:31:00.007-04:00

On Friday the boss and I went to see Joe Jackson perform a free at noon concert at the World Cafe. I love xpn! Fun time he sounded great. We then went down to Triumph Brewery for a classy people lunch. That my friends is a lunch with dessert.

On Saturday I spent the day with the ladies of the family going to Rice's flea market and Peddlers Village. Both classy places for sure. I got some awesome handmade soap and some new yoga pants. So have no fear I will not be splitting my pants at class this week. We saw these guys on the way.

On Sunday we are chilling and watching the Phils. Who are losing. This means the boss will get grouchy.

I am starting the cushion for the chair the boss and I finished refinishing. How nutty. I am planning on a seperate post for the entire project. Right now enjoy the Yoga Bag!

This bag was a challenge. I had so much trouble getting the lace pattern to stick. I had to change needle sizes two times and count the stitches on every purl row. I kept forgetting the YOs.

Now it is done and fits perfectly. I took the photos at work that is where my mat lives. As for yoga I am totally digging it. I pratice every day and it seems to be going well. I like it and now I actually have a legitimate reason to wear yoga pants how sweet is that?

Thrifty indeed

2008-03-31T18:33:00.002-04:00

I finished my thrift store recon. I found a knitted hat at the thrift shop with some cool yarn for a buck. I frogged it, washed the yarn, and reknit it into a cool new garter stitch scarf. I used some gray wool to border the edge. It has a cool wavy look to it. A one buck stashbuster. Throw it on the pile, some lucky person is getting this baby for xmas.

Not this one, she's taken she is my best friend!

Tired and wired we ruin too easy

2008-03-09T20:03:00.008-04:00

Ram's Horn you're lovely and you're done! I shortened the sleeves and extended the collar. I reblocked it and after three days of drying it is done. I need a new shawl pin for sure but I love it. Norah you may have needed a better technical editor on this pattern but it wonderful. I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Blueberry. It took 14 skeins but may have been closer to 13 since I took so much off the sleeves. I totally love the hems! I am currently working on a shawl for my Aunt Rita. It finally got too big to be a carry around project so I am starting on the Yoga Mat Bag from IK Summer 07.

On another front I finished my final exams and my final paper so I have only 1 more week of school and then I am done! MLIS thats me!

Yeah we slow hands *

2008-02-22T17:40:00.005-05:00

Two super quick FO's. Gosh I really love my Sugar N Cream. The first is a desk mat I made for my co-worker. She eats her lunch at her desk when the weather is naughty (like today). The books in the library are so dirty, especially the donations so this is to keep her lunch and the books nice and fresh!

I made a stockinette block and added bands on all the edges. I blocked it to flair out the sides. Her favorite color is purple (the color is called Jewel). I actually made it as demo for an idea I am cooking for a organic cotton lunch bag and mat.

The second is a dischloth I made for Larissa over at Stitch marker. She is working on an art project. This cloth is made with cream Sugar N Cream. It uses my old friend the Little Shells pattern. Remember Amelia's secret pocket scarf?

Little Shells is my new favorite stitch when my beloved garter stitch lace is out of town. Sorry Trinity stitch. I had to break up with you after that unfortunate incident with the trinity stitch neckerchief. It's not you it's me. I just should have known that cotton yarn + bamboo needles + trinity stitch + road trip to Raritian Valley NJ would equal heart break.

Oh no! Garter Stitch Lace your here! You are my favorite thing kinda like Interpol this week!

Oh Ram' s Horn Jacket you are a real bitch.

2008-02-10T16:41:00.000-05:00

Ok I had high hopes for you. You are so lovely in the book. (But why are you wearing bikini on the beach?) I made you exactly as written and re written with many extensive erratas. I scoured ravelry for help with your insidious but cute collar (and found it!) I ordered more yarn and squealed when the dye lots matched. I blocked and blocked your for three straight days, on the bed and on the table. You were so nice and smooth with great expanses of stockinette. Why do you do these things to me when I love you so much? Your a fickle and ever growing bitch.

My god how big can you get? The sleeves are freaking huge. They look like kimono sleeves and they are about six inches too long! Crap I probably didn't even need the extra yarn.

I seamed the beast and tried it on. Holy crap the thing is huge. This is just like the Oragami Cardi. So now I need to rip back the sleeves and reknit the hem. Oh to make matters worse the collar is about six inches too short! This thing is a big ole beast. I love Norah for making real sized patterns, but apparently I can't knit them. This beast goes into the closet for Sunday work only.

That means I don't love your any more Ram's Horn Jacket.

Mystery Purple Yarn Scarf

2008-02-05T19:04:00.000-05:00

Mystery Yarn Before:

I got this neato yarn for my birthday. After puzzling over how to unravel this skein I finally put my sister to the task of unraveling it. We thought the yarn was many strands loosely plyed. We were suprised to find it was one long thread with the yarns being tied onto each other at random intervals. It had thin mohair, novelty yarns, threads and a nifty thick and thin bobble yarn. I saved that nugget for a wristband it was so nice.

So first I tried to knit it as is. It had a multiple color eyelash band right in the middle of two thin sections which looked too novelty for me. I decided to cut out the novelty and ribbon sections and use them for decoration and the fringe. I knit the thinner yarns into a garter stitch lace and wove the ribbon into the holes. I used the novelty yarn for the fringe. Overall it was fun to figure out and decide how to best showcase the yarn. It turned out to be a fun fashion scarf.

Mystery Yarn Post treatment:

Thanks Ashley!

Secret Decoder Ring Knitters!

2008-02-04T18:32:00.000-05:00

Oh I am in! Psssst I think this is awesome! Is it weird that this is almost as exciting to me as getting into grad school?

Leaf Lace Scarf

2008-01-20T18:53:00.000-05:00

I was off on Friday so I finally had time to block my Leaf Lace Scarf. I love this scarf. The yarn is a blue green color with nice flects. It is classy people yarn for sure. The pattern is from Ravelry by Janet D. Russell. You can find the scarf on her blog go get it.

I ended up using three balls of the Rowan Scottish Tweed that I bought at Rosie's. I got to a point where I felt it was long enough. Blocking was fun. It was my first time blocking lace. (I didn't block my feather and fan scarf) Enjoy the photos.

Oh what a hunk J.R. is. He is so confident in his masculinity he will rock a tweedy lace scarf.

No matter the mess you are your mine

2008-01-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

Oh boy what a weekend. This weekend I managed to set fire to my mother’s house. Actually we had a small dryer fire. The lint trap and the vent tube were clogged up with lint and it caught fire. I was putting clothes in the washer and whoosh it went up in flames. Fire shot out of the back of the dryer and up the wall burning all the lint that had gathered there. I started screaming and my dad came running. By the time I got the fire extinguisher from under the sink the fire had put itself out. According to my dad dryer lint is mostly wool and cotton and it burns then extinguishes itself. I don’t know about that but I freaked myself out something fierce. I was so skittish after the fire I went to the laundry mat with J to dry the clothes. Being four she thinks the laundry mat is great fun. I was so scared and nervous thinking about how bad a fire could be we were lucky.

Now I have to live with the relentless teasing of my sister for almost burning down my mom’s house. When I left on Saturday she yelled from the porch “Thanks for not burning down my house.”

School starts today and the classes look really good this quarter and I will be graduating so that is cool. The title of this post comes from the New Pornographers new album. I can’t tell you how much I love this album.

Knitting stuff: Working hard on my sleeves for the Ram’s Horn Jacket. I am knitting both sleeves at once which is working out slowly but progressing. I have decided that three balls is enough for the Leaf Lace Scarf. I am getting sick of it. Pictures later this week!

No christmas knitting

2007-12-30T08:12:00.000-05:00

Well I have been slacking off this week. I am off from work and school a very rare event. I am working steadily on my Ram's Horn Cardi from Knitting Nature. Did I tell you that Norah herself answered my question about it on Ravelry? How cool is that? For me very cool. I am finished the back and left side. The right side is about 6 inches long and moving fast. It is definetely a bus project with all that SS it gets a bit much.

I did no christmast knitting. I did however create this wonder. It is a bacon chesseburger for our pirate pollyanna. It came with a gift card to wendy's. It was big hit. I crocheted it using my fave wt yarn Red heart Super Saver and to class it up I sewed on little beads for sesame seeds.

School starts on January 7th. This is my last quarter so I am happy and sad. I realize how much time it takes up and I don't know what I will do when I am done. I am taking Academic Libraries and Research collection development. I am hoping these classes will help me find a new job. Did I tell you I am looking for a new job?

Happy new year. I have made two resolutions this year. One be more ecologically friendly. We have been working on this but I want to kick it up a notch and spread the word around. And two to learn some new knitting techniques. I want to master short rows, enterlac, and try a top down raglan. I want to make some color work mittens, and work on a plan to create a christmas stockpile of little presents we shall see. Oh and I am thinking about writing a book. So things should be fun this year.

Merry Christmas and holy crap!

2007-12-25T19:17:00.001-05:00

Ok so I am having a good christmas. The boys are off playing with their toys. Charlie is getting some quality time with LOTR online and his new light up keyboard. N8 is rocking out with his new socks and big ole pile of booty including a toy pirate. I got a new camera that says I am ten mega pixels and you don't know how to use me.

So any way for the holy crap part. Mom gave me a knitting a day calendar from Accord Publishing. I was leafing through the patterns getting a sneak peek when lo and behold I flip to August 9-10 and I see my own damn pattern. I submitted a pattern way back in January and did not hear anything. At first I thought that someone made the same thing as me and then I saw my name. I started to cry. I am a huge cornball. I called my mother and she said if I hadn't bought that calendar you wouldn't have seen your first published pattern.

Ok she is right and holy crap my first published pattern. I know I know how nutty.

My Gnomies oh yeah they rock!

2007-12-07T18:58:00.000-05:00

Check out my super awesome chart! Chronicle Books is going to publish my gnome themed chart. How awesome is that? Pretty dang awesome.

Chronicle Book Blog

Marsan Watch Caps

2007-12-05T20:35:00.000-05:00

Since I learned how to knit my beloved has asked me to knit him a cap. I put him off for two years. Recently I went to a mitten class and learned how to use dpns. I decided that I would conquer the hat fear and try to make him his watch cap. I found this great pattern on the internet for the Marsan Cap over at redlipstick.net. It's a great pattern. I love the swirlled decreases.

I actually made two caps. I made the first exactly like the pattern. The second cap for my brother is smaller. He likes a shorter hat with a thinner brim. He likes to think he is Mel from Alice. Nice knit. I used RHSS in black so the men could stink them up and then wash them. Tonight it snowed in Philadelphia. The hat made a maiden voyage and was deemed Ok. That my friends is a high compliment from a man of very few words.

Doesn't J.R. look stunning?