Out of Hibernation

Like many of you, I have been hibernating, thus the long absence.



My knitting mojo returned during the winter, and I whipped up these adorable mocassins for an old friend's new little girl. Aren't they darling? They're by Whit Van Ness for The Purl Bee.



I started and finished the Dijon Sweater by our friends at Fairmount Fibers. It's with Manos del Uruguay, which is the yarn that Fairmount Fibers distributes, which is handmade in Uruguay on a women's collective. Gorgeous yarn, great cause...it's a win for all.



Over a brunch with my knitting gals, we decided I needed to redo the top. I'm glad I did it, so that the end result is much nicer, and the inside looks just as pretty as the outside. Before you think I became too classy, please note that I posed wearing this unfinished sweater flashing my armpit holes.



I'm so proud of myself for this sweater. It's my third one, but it actually fits very well and looks better than I anticipated. Not too shabby for this lady.



I also wanted to share the gorgeous crocheted afghan my dear friend recently Clara made us for our wedding. She picked colors that were in our wedding, and it's such a special gift. Thank you Clara! You will be receiving a heartfelt, severely overdue letter!



Happy March!

Never Knitting @#$% Socks - Socks

The last pair of socks I knitted took me a year. Not because they were hard, but because I felt that they were sucking the life out of me for sheer boredom. I even wrote extensive notes to myself on my Ravelry page lest I make the poor decision to think I'd like knitting socks again. You can see me get more insane and melodramatic as the time passes.

See below:

9/2008: I was inspired to finally make these socks for Mike with this yarn after he called to tell me he had “extra time” before work and had removed a large bolt from my truck tire and changed the tire for me. What a keeper.

10/2008: The pattern is pretty, quite easy, but this yarn is just not my favorite color. Girls, I ain’t subtle when it comes to color. But I do love that boy, so he’ll get some socks and love the color.

10/27/2008: SOCKS = B-O-R-I-N-G

1/22/2009: So boring I can’t even have it listed as a WIP (work in progress).

2/2/2009: Goal for 2009, finish these %&#^#$^$ socks!!!! for the LOVE of GOD!!

2/7/09: I’m giving these f#$%ers another chance. Maybe they’re not so bad.

2/18: I told Mike that his socks were finally almost done. I said, “Are you even excited about these stupid socks?” He surprised me and said, “Yes! I can’t wait to put them on my feet!” That’s making me work a bit quicker to finish. Awww.

2/26: DOOOOOOONE!!! I am so excited, you don’t even understand. We’re calling these the betrothal socks. Mike bought me a gorgeous ring, and I put love and lots of cursing into these #$%#$% socks. He loves them, put them on right away. Well, I’ll admit, I joked around, went down on one knee, and asked him to marry me with the socks and put them on his feet. We cracked up, since we’re nerds.

So after all that, and proclaiming to a woman at knitting circle, "I'll NEVER knit socks again!" I turned around, felt the squishiest pretty socks, while still trying, "Socks are NOT for ME! I hate them, ugh....OOOOH! Pretty socks!"

Bought. Paid. Cast on. And totally enjoying.

The secret is bigger needles for this pain in the @#$#!

Foreign Correspondent's Scarf

I may as well make something else, since I whipped up the last scarf so quickly. Next up, using up two skeins of pewter Lorna's Laces to make the Foreign Correspondent's Scarf. Easy and pretty project, bring it on!



I'm finding that I'm more likely to want to knit things that I want to wear these days, as opposed to process items. I'm also toning it down with some of my colors (knitting wise). I'm enjoying gray, cream...cream for God's sake! That's usually not in my color vocabulary, but I'm jonesing to use colors that I generally overlook. There is something magical about colors that edge their way into your heart, rather than forcing themselves on you (cinnabar).



It's not just me though, my color twin, Jen, is also enjoying the neutrals.



So far, I'm digging this scarf. Herringbone type patterns are always admired in my eyes, followed closely by the sometimes underestimated but glorious seed stitch.

Pink + Purple Endless Knitting

My fingers have been itching to knit something mindless, without having to deal with a pattern or much gauge. I saw Jenny Gordy's adorable hat and scarf set on Wiksten-Made, and was inspired to make my own continuous scarf.



It was the perfect excuse to use a gorgeous skein of Socks that Rock. from Kate that I somehow managed to keep during an intense holiday yarn steal and exchange at Rosie's last year. I wanted to something with it, but didn't have the right inspiration. The 2 x 2 rib helps to break up the pools of color, and I like the zig zag effect.



Quick, easy and fun to wear. Wow, I've finally finished a project this year!

Pom-Pom Rug + Blue Jeans Mojo

I always seem to meet such cool people through my pal Aimee. MB is no exception. I've only hung out with her a few times, but she's so down to earth, charismatic and full of life, you can't help but totally dig her at first meeting. Oh yeah, and she's travelled the world doing what she loves...producing television. It would be hard to like this lady if she didn't work her tuchus off and wasn't so darn nice! (wink)

Since we're both knitters, she let me know that her company, Junkdrawer Media, recently produced some Two Minute Inspiration videos for Lion Brand Yarn. I think these would be perfect for beginning knitters who may need a little extra encouragement or to help find ways to connect the dots between knitting a square and turning it into a gift.

Here's one of them below. Of course I had to link the one on pom-poms and embellishments.

They also have other videos on knitting and crochet that I didn't know about. I'm definitely interested in their crochet videos, since no matter how many times a friend shows me, I still cannot master a granny square. Videos can't get annoyed with me for needing to repeat the steps over and over!

In the video above, there is an actual rug made out of pom-poms. I think that my living room needs one of those pronto.

Congrats on a nice job, MB! I'm so glad that I scored one of your pairs of jeans at that clothing swap, so that some of your awesome mojo will rub off on me. (Insert scheming fake-evil laughter)

Illustration for Knit-Knac

My friend Andrea at Knit-Knac wanted an illustration for her knitting blog, to reflect her love of sewing and knitting. She's also a very talented budding designer, in my biased opinion! The one we came up with is influenced by another bust I did awhile back.

We have her works in progress on her lovely headless model.



We wanted to showcase a chaotic medley of sewing and knitting supplies, as this is a multi-talented lady.



And lastly, the final result.



I really enjoyed creating this for my friend. She's a wonderful lady who makes me laugh so hard my sides hurt sometimes. I can't wait to see what she does with my drawing.

Alright, I'm expected in Brooklyn and better get going! Have a great weekend everyone.

Manos del Uruguay Illustrations

I had the opportunity to do illustrations for Fairmount Fibers last fall. They included some of the drawings in their new Manos del Uruguay pattern book. The new book includes patterns for seven blankets that highlight their Cotton Stria yarn. You can pick up a copy at Rosie's Yarn Cellar.

There is a lovely blanket that features Concentric Squares. It would be an adorable baby blanket.



My favorite one to draw would have to be this colorful Log Cabin type blanket. It must be the rainbow colors!



There is a cozy double blanket in a sophisticated color palette of dark brown and a subtle blue.



If people want to challenge themselves with new patterns, there are three color variations of a blanket that features twelve different stitch patterns.



There is a lovely Hexagon blanet, that I've heard are completely addicting to knit.



The last two blankets include one that features a Quilted Lattice stitch with a unique edging, and a sweet blanket with a hood that will swaddle a wee one. Pom poms or tassels may be added, and you know that I sure hope they are!



This was such a wonderful commission, and I loved drawing and painting one of my favorite hobbies. Thank you for the opportunity, ladies!

100,000 Stitches +/-

My hardcore knitting friends know that I'm not the most dedicated of knitters. So you can imagine my surprise when I finally cast off (well twice technically, since I did it the first time, almost ruined and burned the whole thing) my Pi-Shawl. I did a quick tally, since it's based on Pi (3.1416....) and it comes out to approximately 100,000 stitches.



You heard me. One hundred thousand stitches. Not to mention the three times that I knit the garter edging which may bring my count up another 50,000? I washed it and blocked it last night, but was "glowing" too much from my workout and bike ride home tonight to model this for you guys. We don't want to ruin that cashmere. All shall be revealed soon, I promise.



After all that accomplishment, I thought I deserved a little treat! Don't you think? (Purchased for one Washington at a tag sale down the street).

The Final Countdown

It's the finish line that I hope I have enough yarn for. I restrained myself and placed minimal beads (for me) on the garter edging. This is my first time knitting with beads, and now that I know how easy it is, I'm predicting many more in the future. If you ever find yourself knitting with beads, I recommend the crochet hook method.



This edging is garter stitched side to side perpendicularly to the edge of the circular shawl, demonstrated below. This is why I ran out of yarn eighteen times, Mom.



I spent Saturday with the Degenerate Knitters starting the edging, worked through the weekend and am almost done. Fingers crossed!

Neverending Pi Shawl

My Pi Shawl will not die! After reknitting the edging twice, running out of yarn once, and semi-stalking a girl on Ravelry for two months, I was done caring about this project.

But then the girl I was semi-stalking insisted on selling her unused skein of yarn to me. It was hard not to get back into it when I finally received this squishy little skein.



I unravelled, unknotted, tinked back and started knitting again. I couldn't knit too much though, for fear I run out of yarn again. At Sheep and Wool, I realized that I should have gone up a needle size to make the edging stretchy. I had to rip it out a third time. There were more knots and snags and messes.



In the midst of all of this mess, I found these beads. Coincidentally, I found them at the same place that had sold me my 2 original skeins of cashmere 3 years prior. It also marked the third anniversary of attending Sheep and Wool. So I guess it's only fitting that I rip and re-knit 3 times too.



I had intended on putting beads on the shawl originally. I guess that the Heavens will not let me bind off until this shawl reaches nirvana.

Silk Kerchief

I'm lucky to attend a weekly knitting circle at Rosie's Yarn Cellar, with a fabulous group of gals right near Square. Sometimes, I get to drool over the newest creation that Kate has whipped up if I get there early enough. To gush for a moment, that girl has got killer style.



In the case of her Silk Kerchief, the instant I saw it, I craved my own. Unlike my usual inclinations, I didn't want to alter it colorwise. I just wanted to recreate a bit of her magic. Those aren't even my colors. Where's the purple? The pink? The horror! But there I was last Wednesday asking Lisa for advice on what skeins of Noro were similar to what Kate had used.

Note I said "similar". Even my "neutrals" shown below have some vibrant variations...



I love that it's a simple pattern that makes sense. The stripes of natural whites and creams with whatever new color is appearing from the variegated skein, create a striking herringbone effect. I would not have thought to do that, which is why I'm glad that this talented lady thought it up for me.



But do you want to know my favorite part of the pattern? The skill level is rated "wicked easy".

What a sassy New Englander.

Maryland Sheep + Wool Round-up

This Saturday marks my third anniversary of waking up at 6am, driving 1-1/2 hours to Maryland Sheep and Wool, tromping through fairgrounds and giggling over the enormous size of male sheep bits. The Degenerate Knitters returned with a vengeance this year.

Once again, Regina wore a t-shirt ("Likes to knit, while slightly lit") that prompted 27 strangers to comment their approval. I said that I did not want ribbon fries, but chastised Lisa for not adding chives, helped eat half the plate and accidentally dumped the remaining cheesy fries on Andrea, which she promptly licked off her arm.

Oh, was there ever a classier bunch than this group from Philly? It was one of those times that I was damn proud to be from Philadelphia. Yet, we did not key anyone's car (though they may have deserved it), nor did we cut in line to look at yarn. We just made complete strangers guffaw because we are such a crazy bunch. I have proof.

I had goals this year, friends. They were:

Goal One: Visit Heartburn City, but to engage in fried foods with caution. For example, I split a funnel cake, forsaked the cotton candy, shared a lemonade, and pretended not to eat any ribbon fries. (Lisa, sour cream! Add the sour cream!)



Goal Two: Visit cute animals. Sometimes alpaca are shy, but this adorable little fella was a flirt. I think he tried to bite my butt. He's a baby though, he doesn't know any better!



Goal Three: Meet some cool people. I finally attended the a Ravelry meet-up in a barn, and we got to see whom I call our Knitting Royalty. Jess and Casey really are the nicest people, and the entire knitting community wants them to succeed! Which they are completely doing, in a humble, moral and conscientious way. I did end up speaking to Jess' mother for a few minutes (by the funnel cake booth) and told her what a wonderful daughter she had.



Goal Four: Only purchase something if it was something I really would treasure and use. This shot below is something that I did not buy, but this little booth will get it's own post this week. I did ask Lisa if this was something I could register for. Kidding!



Goal Five: Don't buy any yarn unless it's really unique. My one skein is in the middle. Regina bought 2 skeins of yarn, and hadn't even pulled it out of the clear bag by the time we were running towards the booth. It's from a new vendor called Creatively Dyed Yarns which is run by a charming ex-computer programmer / yarn store owner from Trinidad and Tobago.



Lastly, I'll leave you with this photograph of hand knitted caps from Peruvian artisans. In the caps below, they create is this wonderful pliant, supple texture that has just the right amount of weightiness. Two of the Peruvian women were at the fair and demonstrating their knitting.



Summary: When is next May? I'll bring the Tums.

Purple Cables

We had a cold spell in February. After the tenth time walking to work freezing my head off in a thinly knit hat (Rowan Felted Tweed), I attempted to rectify this situation.

This purple chunky yarn was meant to be a purse a long time ago. One of those cute baguette clutches with huge cables and some type of velvet/sequin/tulle/extranneous embellishment that yours truly would have rigged up. It had been sitting in my sewing basket 85% completed for about four years now. I pulled it out (which was harder than it sounds, since I hadn't yet learned to seam correctly, and had knotted the bejesus out of it...) and whipped up this slouchy hat for myself.

Ahhhh. Warmth. Cozy. And huge!

I think I love it. (Wink wink)

In non-knitting news, I read The Soloist yesterday. I visited the Philadelphia Free Library to pick up books and kill time since I misplaced my housekeys (hopefully inside!) and had to wait for Mike to get home. The Soloist happens to be the book that they've selected for One Book, One Philadelphia this year. I had been meaning to read it, but had an extra incentive since the author is visiting next Wednesday for a discussion and concert with the Black Pearl Orchestra. The book was quick and the true story touched my heart. I found myself finishing it in one sitting (instead of finishing my taxes I might add...) It also reminded me how lucky I am.

If anyone wants to go to to the concert and discussion next week, just let me know!

One more...

One more. I can't get enough of these hats.



This one is off to a friend's mom in Atlanta.



Turqoise stretchy cotton (Rowan Calmer) for a sassy lady.

I cinched the top because it was just looking like something made for a Conehead.

Hope you're all staying warm on this chilly Monday! (here at least)

Stitched With Love

There are some problems you can't fix. Not yourself anyway. You have to sit back, understand that you cannot possibly understand how someone may feel, and only offer thoughts and prayers. It's humbling, not knowing how to help a loved one, but just trying your best to do the right thing. I think we've all been there, and will inevitably be there often over our lives.

In this case, when I felt like I couldn't do anything, I did know at least I could knit something. And stitch as much love and healing thoughts as possible. Just so that someone knows that they're loved by an extra person out there. Every bit helps.

The nice things about hats, is that they're small enough that you can afford to splurge on the quality yarns. I wanted something that was extremely soft, squishy, warm and gorgeous. A color that would also bring out someone's pretty blue eyes. The Fiber Company's Road to China yarn certainly fit the bill. It's a blend of baby alpaca, cashmere, soya fiber, camel and yak. The colors are nearly irridescent, with a lovely depth to them. It doesn't hurt that the lovely gals who distribute the yarn are also local friends.

I made a Pi Topper Cap for another friend last year, and she loved it. She said it was extremely comfortable, and looked good on as well. The pattern is quick and easy, so I made one more.

I had to make a hang tag, which is probably my favorite part about homemade gifts.

The button tab (sewn on, no button hole needed) really accents this cap nicely. I love the final result. It's adorable, cozy, and super soft. I hope my friend will think of it as a big hug.