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I knit up the Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet the other week. It was really quick, took about 3-4 days at about 2-3 hours a day. I used a yarn from Joann's Bellezza Collection. Starts with a "D"... very thick and soft. I didn't really have anyone in mind for the capelet, I just wanted to prove to myself that I could knit an actual garment--something that wasn't a scarf, hat, or accessory. I had my friend Lora try it on the other day and it fit fairly well so she will be the recipient once I wash and block it.
I originally began knitting with wooden straight needles (my favorite) but they soon became too full to hold all the stitches, so, I switched to my next longer needles which were aluminum. These were just toooo slippery for the yarn and it made knitting a bit of a challenge, but, in the end it was a fairly easy project.
That's my Tenorikuma... his name is Latte. Obviously an attention whore. A friend was telling me about a new Sanrio character months ago who supposedly was related to coffee (knowing how hard of a coffee addict I am). I finally hit up Gurnee Mills and stopped into the Sanrio store and fond the Tenorikuma... who supposedly work in coffee shops. The "leader" is Latte... who has a heart in his ear to distinguish him from the rest. Of course, I had to buy him.
On the subject of purchases... I FINALLY bought an interchangeable needle set. I'm so stubborn. I always said to myself that I wouldn't buy one because I love my wooden needles AND I prefer straights over circulars... but, in order to knit my current WIP I needed a size 9 circular with a relatively short cable. Of course none of the 4 stores I went to had any so I binged and bought a Boye set.
I'm surprisingly REALLY happy with my purchase. They are unbelievably useful and I feel like I'll never have to buy needles again ... well, except for maybe completing a set of DPNs. The case is great too, very not-girly which many knitting related supplies tend to lean toward... and it's all small and compact and well organized. I love it. =)
My current WIP is Coachella from knitty.com. It's part of my growth towards a full-on sweater. I actually feel like I'm ready to knit one. Ouuuu, big step. Coachella has been a breeze, a VERY easy to follow pattern. I've been working on it for maybe 5 days now with Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I'll hopefully be finished knitting by tomorrow or the day after.
The Cotton-Ease is interesting to work with. The yarn itself is very firm and thick and it holds stitch definition quite well. The drape seems to be a bit on the stiff side for a top, but, I'd actually like to see the garment on a person and then judge the drape for real.
I had this hat from H&M that I LOVE and I've been wanting to try to knit it, but I've never been able to find the right yarn. This Cotton-Ease is the perfect match. =)
get out of the way!
That's how it's going. So, I still have to share my trip to the Folk and Fiber Arts Fair thingie from the other weekend and my collection of DS Lite cases. ^_^
Knit hard!
I managed to finish my Harry Potter scarf in time for the movie. I spent Monday and Tuesday frantically knitting, trying to surpass my one-stripe-a-day record. Tuesday night I passed out, exhausted with one and a half stripes remaining. I finished these on Wednesday morning, spent two hours weaving in ends o_O and tossed it in the washer.
I blocked it for a few hours and once I felt it was holding its shape I threw it in the dryer for a quick spin. I then began the surprisingly painful task of tassels. I pulled the last one through minutes before I had to leave for the movie, but, my scarf was done. It's seriously one of the best things I've knitted.
On a sad note, I ended up not wearing my scarf. The hardcore fans went at Tuesday, midnight... and none of the people in my packed theater were dressed in any HP garb. I felt a bit embarrassed. PLUS, my scarf is the older movie scarf... hahahaha. Oh well, I'll definitely be modeling it when it gets colder.
On the subject of FO's... I knit a Noro scarf a month or two ago. I saw brooklyntweed knit one and, as usual, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
The striping and color changing is seriously magic. It was awesome knitting it, but, since I bought the Noro on-line I didn't get a good feel for the colors and I'm not too fond of the different combinations. I definitely plan to try this one again.
Ahh, Noro. This was actually my first experience, and, what a great experience. Well, ... it was surprising how many little twigs and things I found caught in the yarn... and Noro is definitely NOT the softest yarn, but, the colors are phenomenal.
Recently, after being doubly inspired by knitensity (http://knitensity.blogspot.com/) I finished the Anthropologie Inspired wrap/shrug deal... my first ever garment. It was REALLY fast, took about 3 days. AND, yesterday I cast on for Coachella.
Being that I'm not a girl, I'm having difficulties deciding on sizes, but, I have a few friends in mind. =) Pictures to arrive soon. Soon I will conquer the vest and ultimately a sweater.
It has definitely been a while since I last posted. Summer has been extremely slow. The job hunt has been slow, knitting has been VERY slow, photography has been even slower, and the lack of any activity is now apparent in my blog. Sorry!
Hopefully things will start moving again.
I have much to share, but, for now I'll show you my current and most important WIP.
A Harry Potter scarf!
A few weeks ago I decided I'd knit a Gryffindor scarf for the opening of the new movie. On Saturday I had been working on the scarf for a week and a half and I was exactly half way done with my scarf. Pretty exciting. I checked my calendar and calculated that I had a bit less than a week left: 6 days to be exact to finish my scarf. I'd definitely have to up my pace, but, I figured I could do it.
While surfing the net I ran into an ad for the movie that said it opened on Wednesday the 11th. ... yeah... so, today being Sunday I'm left with only 3 more days to knit the second half, block, and add fringe. I'm a liiiiiitle scared.
I've decided to dedicate the rest of tonight towards knitting the scarf and hopefully I can get about 3-4 stripes done per day. I'd ideally like to finish the knitting by Tuesday so I can block overnight and add tassels on Wednesday before the movie. Hmm. I'll have to hope for the best.
In other news I was tagged for the weird things meme. Here's a quick list of mine:
1. This hasn't happened in a while, but, through most of HS and a few times in college I'll have a day where I have intense urges to make things on my body symmetrical. If I had an itch on my left ear and scratched it, I would have to scratch my right ear as well for balance. If I accidentally hit my left foot on a door frame I'd make sure to hit my right foot as well. It would just go on and on. During these days I'd also have a desire to touch certain points on the line of symmetry of my body. Mainly, the top, center of my head. The point between my nose and lips. My adam's apple. And somewhere near my xyzphoid process. o_O I'm glad those days are over, for the most part.
2. When I'm in bed I can fall asleep within 5-10 minutes. I've had this on-going "story"/"soap opera" in my head since my sophomore year of high school that i relive most nights before I knock out. It's my belief that I've subconsciously associated the fantasy with sleeping. 9 or so years later, all I have to do is pick up where I left off in the story the night before and a few minutes later I'll be asleep. Needless to say, the story doesn't get very far and I have a tendency to repeat part of the previous night's episode.
3. I like to shelter myself. I already know what I don't like and I'll do whatever I can to prevent myself from experiencing it. For example, I used to love getting scared watching horror movies in the theatre. But now, I know that not only will I be scared in the theatre--I'll be scared for at least the next five days. So I've stopped watching scary movies. I'll close my eyes and cover my ears if a preview for a horror film is on TV. If I'm reading a book and it is the least bit spooky I'll stop.
I also don't like to be sad or realize how twisted some people can be... to prevent myself from experiencing/realizing I don't watch the news.
Those are just two of many examples.
4. I don't mind doing things alone and in some cases I'd prefer it that way. I'm always eating alone in restaurants, watching movies alone, going shopping alone. Once in a while it would be nice to do those with someone, but, sometimes no one is available and I'm a big believer of indulging in your desires at the instant you have them. I hate grocery shopping with other people though. hahaha. Especially comparison shoppers. On my list of things I've done alone that actually made me feel lonely or self-conscious (meaning I'd rather not do them again) include going to great america alone AND riding rides, and going to the art institute alone.
5. When I'm nervous or uncomfortable I'll start finger spelling. Sign language, you know? Most of the time I don't even know what I'm spelling until I actually look at my hand or focus on what I'm doing. The word always comes from something I hear--maybe on the radio or in a passing conversation. I never spell words with double letters like "spoon" or "letters" or "moon" etc. unless it's an "L" like "hello". And it's mostly nouns or verbs but never proper nouns (aside from my name which I tend to finger spell even when I'm not nervous).
6. When I write in notebooks I never use the first two pages (sometimes even 3). This started originally from wanting to design a cover page and also form a table of contents after the notebook was filled. When I'm taking notes in a class, if any of the first 3 lines of the page looks messy or ugly or poorly written I'll restart my notes on a new page. If it gets messy further down in the page I ignore it.
7. If I'm eating something small that requires taking bites... like, a chicken nugget I have to finish what I start. If I take a bite out of a nugget put it down and it falls on the floor I have to pick it up and finish it. I freak out if someone else eats something I've taken a bite out of. With something big, like a burger, I can share... but I'd rather the person take a bite from an area that I had not previously taken a bite from. If I'm eating something smaller like, a potato chip, the chip that is in my hand moving towards my mouth must be eaten by me. If it falls in the mud I have to eat it. Crazy? Probably. I actually have an explanation for why I do this... but... explaining it would make me appear even more insane. Has a lot to do with un-fulfillment and mouth shapes.
So.. that's some randomness about me! I'll tag... whoever wants to share some of their craziness. ^_^ Now to my Harry Potter scarf.
It's been over a week since my last post. Not too many FO's. I finished one Dashing in Malabrigo. It's part of a set I'm knitting for my cousin.
dashing in velvet grapes
I LOVE Malabrigo. A friend of mine had a birthday party over the weekend. She really liked the pair of Dashing I had so instead of yet another pair I decided to try Fetching. I went to Wool & Co. to get some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, but, they didn't have any. They did, however, have an ample supply of Malabrigo, so, I bought some in Pink Frost and Verde Adriana. I ended up knitting Fetching in the Pink Frost colorway with a few changes--the main one being I made the gloves significantly longer. Sadly, I was weaving in the ends as we were driving to her house so no pictures. =(
It was really sunny yesterday so I decided to take pictures of yarn I've recently acquired.
I bought this from the JoAnn store near my house during their huge closing sale. It was 50% off. It's Sensations: Bellezza Collection. It's so soft and luscious. I thought it'd make a decent pair of Fetching, but, I'm not sure about the gauge. I only have two balls so I'm a bit limited in what I can create, but, it's wonderful yarn. Wool, nylon, and cotton.
This is Bearfoot sock yarn. I lost the label for it so I went online to look up its information. Turns out you need US 1 or 2 needles. o_O I have no idea what "inspired" me to pick up this yarn, but, I'm very afraid. Four is seriously the smallest size I've used and the smallest size I own. Hmmm. I'll definitely try it, though. I wouldn't want it to go to waste. ^_^
And finally, my Malabrigo. This is my current Malabrigo stash in its entirety. The Verde Adriana is all the way on the left, you can see the leftover Pink Frost in a sad little heap on the right. Slightly above the Pink Frost is Saphire Magenta Gold. SO beautiful. The moment I saw it I had to buy it. I love the really contrast-y variegated colorways. I believe the rest have been featured on my blog at one point or another. =) It's good stuff, that Malabrigo.
There are a few more pictures on my flickr. You can see close ups of Verde Adriana and the Saphire Magenta Gold among other things.
I actually have nothing on my needles right now, but, on my to do list is the other Dashing, and the other sock (it's been so long, I forgot what size needles I used x_X).
Knit hard!
I finally finished! I'm having the hardest time remembering when I started... I know I purchased the yarn on a Monday and started the same night... I just can't remember when that was. Maybe 3 weeks ago? Not too long I suppose. I probably could've made it in less time, but, I didn't really put huge amounts of effort into finishing it.
About finishing--I still need to weave in the ends and block it, so I guess technically I have about 10% left. ^_^
clapotis!
I've read that some people prefer the unblocked Clapotis. I was going to lean that way but my dropped stitch columns are all creased from originally being knitted. I'd rather have them completely straight. So, I will attempt my first blocking.
I bought a pack of glow in the dark straight pins yesterday. The Joann near my house is having a huge closing sale and these glow in the dark pins were the only pins they had left (aside from the safety variety). Their knitting section is pretty cleaned out. They're just left with really odd sized needles. They have many US 13 and 15 29inch circulars. o_O And a few US 35 and 50. All of the remaining yarn is fun fur and other novelty yarns.
Hmm, back to the pins. I decided to use them for the pictures and I found it surprisingly easy to pin the Clapotis to the carpet. I was always afraid that I'd have to buy one of those expensive blocking boards, but, the carpet works perfectly.
I'm considering knitting one for my mom for mother's day. I'm a little scared that I won't finish in time and I'm also afraid of Clapotis itself. Those straight rows really drive you insane. I originally loved dropping the stitches and unraveling them all the way down. But, it soon became very tedious. They didn't just drop, I had to separate them on each row. I guess I have a tendency to catch a few strands of a ply and knit into them. o_O There was a lot of breaking to be done to simply drop a stitch.
On the subject of Joann's closing. My cousins and I have been working on this scrapbook for our grandma. It's going to be her 80th birthday in 2 weeks. It's more of a family tree in scrapbook form. It's looking pretty good. We meet at Archiver's on Sundays to work on it and whenever I'm there I have a look around and I get so inspired to make a scrapbook of my own.
I bought a ton of supplies from Joann's. I've been there twice and I've easily spent $80 on close out sale items. Good deals. I spent another $25 on papers and things. So, I laid them all out yesterday (I had made a deal with myself: once I finish Clapotis then I can start scrap booking) and I realized that I have no pictures. I don't print any of the pictures I take. So, I ordered $50 worth through flickr.com and, now I'm waiting for them to arrive so I can finally start. ^_^
That's all for now. I'll hopefully find someone to model my completely blocked and finished Clapotis so that it doesn't look so throw-blanket-ish.
Knit hard!
It started snowing here last night. It made me a little angry, but, at the same time I realized my knitted scarves, hats, and hand warmers will get another week of use. We received about 3 inches out where I live. Three very slushy inches. And it's April.
If this pattern continues then Vanessa Williams will be right--sometimes the snow does come down in June. o_O Too cheesy? Sorry.
I remember a 4th of July as a kid. My cousins and I were running through the sprinkler in her front yard. It's hot and sunny, and, all of a sudden we get some cloud coverage and we hear thunder. It drizzles a little and we stay out only to be hit by hail 5 minutes later. They were about the size of throat lozenges. Good stuff.
Here are a few pictures of my Clapotis from last week. At this point in the pictures I think I dropped 5 stitches already; purposely of course. I think I'm finally happy with the choice of a solid color. The beautiful Clapoti (plural?) I've seen have been in really great variegated color ways and at first I felt like I might have made a bad choice, but, things are definitely looking better. Cascade 220 is some pretty good yarn.
I took the pictures while I was working on it at a local coffee place: Ravensheart.
nice and sunny. but freezing
It was one of those days where it looked beautiful outside but the temperature was actually like 20 degrees.
When I was working Section 2 of Clapotis I had to break out all my larger sized stitch markers (the project calls for 18 in total). I had my original set from Zero made from beautiful olive green and light turquoise freshwater pearls. They went perfectly with the Clapotis. Sadly, I only had 7. However, I also had my glass bead set from Charles, but I only had 6 of them. I had to bust out with the cheap, thick, plastic Boye set. I used to think they were perfect for knitting since they were large and fit many needle sizes, but, once you start using them for smaller yarn and needles they leave gaps in your work because they're so thick. Of course, I decided to order another set from Zero. I ended up getting markers made of iolite stone and freshwater pearls. On a whim I bought a set of turquoise markers in a smaller size. =)
charles' and zero's markers
Zero ships them out FAST. I received them in 3 days. ^_^
When I'm not working on Clapotis (which is rarely now 'cause I REALLY need to finish) I work on small quick projects. After making my original DS Lite case I decided I need a fancier one.Since the first was just plain stockinette I figured cables would be nice. I bought the Vogue Stitchionary Volume 1 (I LOVE IT) and I used the bamboo pattern from it to make the case. It was a really easy pattern to follow and I started changing it up a little to make the segments less uniform and brick like.
I knit it using Malabrigo in the Lettuce color. Cute? I like it, sadly, it's way too large. I was thinking of felting it just a little to shrink it down a little, but, I'm scared. I might just have to make another one in a smaller, tighter size.
Knit hard!
I was looking at my previous post and I realized that it was supposed to be about Calorimetry AND my first sock. Oops. =)
sockalicious!
I've had this half desire to learn to knit socks. I wanted a pair, but, I really wasn't ready to work with such thin yarn. The smallest needle size I've used so far is a 6... well, technically a 4, but it was just an inch of ribbing on Odessa. But, on a recent trip to my LYS I ended up buying sock yarn because they didn't have what I was looking for (Debbie Bliss Cashmerino for a Fetching).
I decided to use Silver's Sock Class because I have heard endless praise. And, it was SO easy.
without a partner
Sadly, I'm already suffering from SSS (second sock syndrome). It's been over two weeks since I knitted the first, and, I just have not had the desire to cast on for its brother. Hopefully once I finish Clapotis my second sock will come around.
Right before starting Clapotis I cast on for a second moss rib stitch scarf. It's looking okay so far. I havn't worked on it in a while, and, the color is pooling a little ... weird, but, it's Malabrigo and I love it.
mmmmMalabrigo
That's about all I have for now. I took pictures of my Clapotis the other day as well as another FO and I hope to upload them to my computer soon. I also hope Clapotis finishes soon. o_O
I decided to spend a straight 3 hours at a local coffee place and just knit. When I knit at home I usually do it in front of the computer or with a DVD playing, and, that definitely makes me slower, so, I decided I'd get some repeats for the straight row section finished. Maybe even just finish the whole 3rd section. After those 3 hours I only managed to complete 1 and a half repeats. x_X It's insane. I actually timed myself and found that it takes me a little less than 8 minutes to finish a whole row. There are technically only 107 stitches in a row... so, that's about 13 stitches/minute? wow, I'm slow. Well, there's definitely a lot of fussing... sometimes the stitches don't slide up the needle, and then my markers get tangled.. Hmm, I need to speed things up.
Knit hard!
