March 31, 2006
Graft!
Here's my first bit of grafting I've ever attempted. Both sleeve/shoulders were done blocking so I layed them out on the kitchen counter next to my Vogue Knitting and grafted them together. Now, you can see the small moss stitch section which I grafted with the stockinette technique, but no matter. Y'all should know by now I'm no perfectionist. For some reason the beginning of the seam (bottom of the pic) looks better than the end.
Here are the sleeves joined and folded. This is the front view, so you can get an idea of what the sweater will look like.
This weekend I'll get started on picking up the stitches for the body. I will also finish up the pink Not Spring Yet hat because guess what...I lost the black one! I haven't seen it since I got back from Chicago, but I know it came home with me. Oh well.
Here are the sleeves joined and folded. This is the front view, so you can get an idea of what the sweater will look like.
This weekend I'll get started on picking up the stitches for the body. I will also finish up the pink Not Spring Yet hat because guess what...I lost the black one! I haven't seen it since I got back from Chicago, but I know it came home with me. Oh well.
March 26, 2006
Ready supply of shredded clothes
Here are some craft ideas for those of you with insane psycho dogs of destruction in your household. Don't know what to do with all those destroyed clothes? Don't throw them away! Make them into beautiful flowers!
This one is made from shredded and thrifted camisetas (t-shirts). Dobby was kind enough to choose for me which of my t-shirts was ready to be recycled. That would be the pink one--the striped one was thrifted. Just a button in the middle and a bar pin on the back. The next one I make will need a stabilizer backing and the bar pin placed higher to prevent the petals from flopping over. But it's a very cute accessory for 4 minutes of work and something that would have otherwise gone in the trash. It was sort of inspired by my t-shirt rug from Pier One (can't find a pic).
Craft Low Impact score:
100% YAY!
And here's another necktie pin. Talk about EASY. I had bought a new sweater--not the green one in the photo, an orange one--and wanted to wear it the next day. So I dug this tie out of my thrifted stash of ties, who doesn't have a bag full of old neckties, right? The button is also old. These are so fun to wear because you'll be talking to someone and they'll be all, "Oh you look cute tod...WAIT A MINUTE! Is that a TIE?!" Like they've never seen a recycle tie flowerpin before--you people need to get out more!
Craft Low Impact score:
100% Double YAY!
Any tech geeks out there? I just bought a jump drive, or flash stick, or whatever you want to call it. I've seen them before, I even bought one for my dad for Father's Day a couple years ago, but I've never used one. I didn't realize they held so much crap! These little dudes are awesome.
The shitty reason I had to buy one, though, is because myimgs.com sucks SO MUCH ASS. They have horrible customer service and their image hosting isn't much better. I even had to file a complaint with PayPal because myimgs was charging me incorrectly and wouldn't fix it! So I had to remove all my pics from my account there, put them on the jump drive and find a new home for them. Two years worth of blog pics and code I have to change! So if the pics around here are acting wonky for a little while, bear with me. Even better, tell me what image hosting you would recommend! < /rant>
This one is made from shredded and thrifted camisetas (t-shirts). Dobby was kind enough to choose for me which of my t-shirts was ready to be recycled. That would be the pink one--the striped one was thrifted. Just a button in the middle and a bar pin on the back. The next one I make will need a stabilizer backing and the bar pin placed higher to prevent the petals from flopping over. But it's a very cute accessory for 4 minutes of work and something that would have otherwise gone in the trash. It was sort of inspired by my t-shirt rug from Pier One (can't find a pic).
Craft Low Impact score:
100% YAY!
And here's another necktie pin. Talk about EASY. I had bought a new sweater--not the green one in the photo, an orange one--and wanted to wear it the next day. So I dug this tie out of my thrifted stash of ties, who doesn't have a bag full of old neckties, right? The button is also old. These are so fun to wear because you'll be talking to someone and they'll be all, "Oh you look cute tod...WAIT A MINUTE! Is that a TIE?!" Like they've never seen a recycle tie flowerpin before--you people need to get out more!
Craft Low Impact score:
100% Double YAY!
Any tech geeks out there? I just bought a jump drive, or flash stick, or whatever you want to call it. I've seen them before, I even bought one for my dad for Father's Day a couple years ago, but I've never used one. I didn't realize they held so much crap! These little dudes are awesome.
The shitty reason I had to buy one, though, is because myimgs.com sucks SO MUCH ASS. They have horrible customer service and their image hosting isn't much better. I even had to file a complaint with PayPal because myimgs was charging me incorrectly and wouldn't fix it! So I had to remove all my pics from my account there, put them on the jump drive and find a new home for them. Two years worth of blog pics and code I have to change! So if the pics around here are acting wonky for a little while, bear with me. Even better, tell me what image hosting you would recommend! < /rant>
March 25, 2006
Plan B
This has not been my week for pictures, so instead of complaining about it I'll just post about something else.
Toni and T have both asked me recently if I was going to put patterns of the designs I'm doing up for sale. Eventually I would love to write some patterns and sell them. The two I'm working on right now--the cabley sweater and the Not Spring Yet hat--and the one I need to write up for the Hoodling will be offered for free. These are my first attempts at writing knitting patterns and I'm not deluded enough to think they're worth money. But they are good practice and maybe someone will make them and give me feedback. Then I can improve and sell other designs.
To that end, I am making more Not Spring Yet hats with different sizes and options and am looking for a test knitter or two. I'll send you the yarn and you tell me if the pattern makes sense and then you keep the hat--after I photograph it. Email me if you'd like to try it.
Yesterday what was in my mailbox but the latest Springwater Fiber Workshop news bulletin. That place is great even though I've never had a chance to take one of their classes. Some that interest me this time around are the kumihimo, temari and needle felting ones. Here are two class descriptions I want you to read and ponder.
Stash Management
Come and join us in a round table discussion ofhow you manage your yarn stash. Are you a stacker, boxer, spooler or bagger? Do you have a running inventory in your computer of name, brand, volume by oz, yarn weight, material and color (be still my heart I wish), or an index card system, or no system at all? How do you store it for moth proofing, how do you find what you bought 20 years ago, and how do you use up those last 5 yards? These are all questions we will discuss. Those with less than 1 pound of fiber/yarn at home need not attend. This is for those who believe they could be buried with their fiber/yarn. It should be an evening of fun and adventure where we’ll share ideas and have a good time. Extra bonus session on how to get fiber into the house with out your significant other finding out!!
Prepare for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
Join fellow Springwater Associates, staff and instructors for an evening of anecdotes from past festivals. Plan strategies to enjoy the festival to the fullest and avoid fiber overload at what is arguably the largest fiber festival of its kind in the United States. Included in this discussion will be pointers on how to choose a fleece.
What does it say about us that we need a class on BOTH stash management and strategies for buying?
I do love the MDS&W and can't wait for this year. And I did have a strategy for last year but it was this--take my time and enjoy the day. I have the best BF ever and he walked around with me, we listened to a couple bands, ate some lamb (the irony!), watched the dog demonstrations and I bought three things--two of which were gifts. I think M might go with me this year and we will keep it low key again.
This morning I discovered Time2Knit Podcast and listened to all the previous episodes. Donny has a nice voice and is very laid back--fun to listen to. It's very entertaining to hear her stories of lessons learned with knitting.
Hopefully tomorrow there will be pics--because there are FO's!
Toni and T have both asked me recently if I was going to put patterns of the designs I'm doing up for sale. Eventually I would love to write some patterns and sell them. The two I'm working on right now--the cabley sweater and the Not Spring Yet hat--and the one I need to write up for the Hoodling will be offered for free. These are my first attempts at writing knitting patterns and I'm not deluded enough to think they're worth money. But they are good practice and maybe someone will make them and give me feedback. Then I can improve and sell other designs.
To that end, I am making more Not Spring Yet hats with different sizes and options and am looking for a test knitter or two. I'll send you the yarn and you tell me if the pattern makes sense and then you keep the hat--after I photograph it. Email me if you'd like to try it.
Yesterday what was in my mailbox but the latest Springwater Fiber Workshop news bulletin. That place is great even though I've never had a chance to take one of their classes. Some that interest me this time around are the kumihimo, temari and needle felting ones. Here are two class descriptions I want you to read and ponder.
Come and join us in a round table discussion ofhow you manage your yarn stash. Are you a stacker, boxer, spooler or bagger? Do you have a running inventory in your computer of name, brand, volume by oz, yarn weight, material and color (be still my heart I wish), or an index card system, or no system at all? How do you store it for moth proofing, how do you find what you bought 20 years ago, and how do you use up those last 5 yards? These are all questions we will discuss. Those with less than 1 pound of fiber/yarn at home need not attend. This is for those who believe they could be buried with their fiber/yarn. It should be an evening of fun and adventure where we’ll share ideas and have a good time. Extra bonus session on how to get fiber into the house with out your significant other finding out!!
Prepare for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
Join fellow Springwater Associates, staff and instructors for an evening of anecdotes from past festivals. Plan strategies to enjoy the festival to the fullest and avoid fiber overload at what is arguably the largest fiber festival of its kind in the United States. Included in this discussion will be pointers on how to choose a fleece.
What does it say about us that we need a class on BOTH stash management and strategies for buying?
I do love the MDS&W and can't wait for this year. And I did have a strategy for last year but it was this--take my time and enjoy the day. I have the best BF ever and he walked around with me, we listened to a couple bands, ate some lamb (the irony!), watched the dog demonstrations and I bought three things--two of which were gifts. I think M might go with me this year and we will keep it low key again.
This morning I discovered Time2Knit Podcast and listened to all the previous episodes. Donny has a nice voice and is very laid back--fun to listen to. It's very entertaining to hear her stories of lessons learned with knitting.
Hopefully tomorrow there will be pics--because there are FO's!
March 23, 2006
My Laboratory
Except you have to say it, "la-BORE-a-TREE" as if you were a mad, UK-educated scientist.
I recently recovered my papasan and finally got a shade for my lamp so I thought I'd show you where I knit and blog, etc. M wanted to see how the living room was looking and this sort of counts as that "where I knit" meme from ages ago. See knitting on the table? That is usually the spot for the wine. Here it is in action...
I don't generally dress like this to knit, but I had just got home. And my outfit kinda matches my knitting and chair.
This is what I've been knitting! A wee munchkin sweater that I'm designing as I go.
This is one sleeve/shoulder. The first one is already blocking. They will be grafted (I know! Wine will hold my hand) together in the center back. Then I'll pick up around the bottom edge and knit the body downward. Hard to picture, right? Stay tuned.
I recently recovered my papasan and finally got a shade for my lamp so I thought I'd show you where I knit and blog, etc. M wanted to see how the living room was looking and this sort of counts as that "where I knit" meme from ages ago. See knitting on the table? That is usually the spot for the wine. Here it is in action...
I don't generally dress like this to knit, but I had just got home. And my outfit kinda matches my knitting and chair.
This is what I've been knitting! A wee munchkin sweater that I'm designing as I go.
This is one sleeve/shoulder. The first one is already blocking. They will be grafted (I know! Wine will hold my hand) together in the center back. Then I'll pick up around the bottom edge and knit the body downward. Hard to picture, right? Stay tuned.
March 17, 2006
Mary
Happy St. Patrick's Day, all! I am knitting something green today--the baby sweater I'm designing as I go along. There should be something interesting to show you this weekend.
I think of my Grandmom Murphy a lot, today being no exception. She's the reason I taught myself to knit. An awesome lady who came to the U.S. when she was 20, raised a bunch of kids on her own, traveled the world and when she was 90 years old said she had no regrets.
Of course she was very crafty, as well. She wouldn't use the word crafty, though, she was "skilled in the arts of creating". I didn't know how to knit when she passed away and I felt like I shouldn't learn from anyone else, so I taught myself. Which is what she probably did. Here are two of the many afghans she made for me.
Both of these are well-loved, have been repeatedly machine washed and in need a wee bit of mending. But they don't look bad for being made 30 years ago, right? One bit of crafty wisdom that Grandmom passed to me was this. She always started a couple afghans in September. That way as they got larger into the winter, they would keep her lap warm as she worked on them. Simple, but brilliant.
What "purl" of wisdom was passed down to you?
I think of my Grandmom Murphy a lot, today being no exception. She's the reason I taught myself to knit. An awesome lady who came to the U.S. when she was 20, raised a bunch of kids on her own, traveled the world and when she was 90 years old said she had no regrets.
Of course she was very crafty, as well. She wouldn't use the word crafty, though, she was "skilled in the arts of creating". I didn't know how to knit when she passed away and I felt like I shouldn't learn from anyone else, so I taught myself. Which is what she probably did. Here are two of the many afghans she made for me.
Both of these are well-loved, have been repeatedly machine washed and in need a wee bit of mending. But they don't look bad for being made 30 years ago, right? One bit of crafty wisdom that Grandmom passed to me was this. She always started a couple afghans in September. That way as they got larger into the winter, they would keep her lap warm as she worked on them. Simple, but brilliant.
What "purl" of wisdom was passed down to you?
March 15, 2006
Attack of the 50 ft. hat brim
For everyone out there who is a fan of felt hats and B horror movies, I give you my latest creation. < ominous music >
I bet you didn't know I was 9 1/2 feet tall, huh? What is with this camera angle? That's what I get for asking the bf to stop what he was doing and take a picture of my hat. Here is a better pic with truer color.
Don't my eyes just say, "I hate this brim! It's going to eat me alive! Why can't I get it right?" I shipped this off to my mom Monday even though it was still damp. Hopefully she'll get to use it on her trip later this week.
Fiber Trends' "Felt Hat with brim variations", 1 1/3 skeins of Lopi, #11 needles.
Craft Low Impact score for this project:
0%
Nice, Laura. Make a hideous hat AND disregard the environment.
I bet you didn't know I was 9 1/2 feet tall, huh? What is with this camera angle? That's what I get for asking the bf to stop what he was doing and take a picture of my hat. Here is a better pic with truer color.
Don't my eyes just say, "I hate this brim! It's going to eat me alive! Why can't I get it right?" I shipped this off to my mom Monday even though it was still damp. Hopefully she'll get to use it on her trip later this week.
Fiber Trends' "Felt Hat with brim variations", 1 1/3 skeins of Lopi, #11 needles.
Craft Low Impact score for this project:
0%
Nice, Laura. Make a hideous hat AND disregard the environment.
March 14, 2006
Top Ten Fun Hats
Happy 300th post! See, I put all this pressure on myself to have a meaningful, entertaining milestone post and I got writer's block! haha. It does take a while to research and edit a Top Ten list, though. There are seriously hundreds of great hat patterns out there and narrowing it down was a feat. So I present my favorite "fun" hats. They may be fun to wear or fun to make. And these are certainly not all of them, but more of a notepad for myself on which ones I want to make in the future. Here they are in no particular order.
1.Nippertails by Jenn Jarvis. Available free at Magknits.com. Now that I'm growing my hair and wearing it in a ponytail I appreciate the inventive mind that decided there was a lack of 'tail accomodating hats.
2.Monaco Floppy Brim. Available for purchase at Stitchdiva.com. Sweety, darling. Fix Mummy and Pats a drink, sweety.
3.Crochet Newsboy. Available free on Puppy Yarn. This is the translation page I use. It does not do prickly. Shew, thank god.
4.Miss Dashwood by Heather Ramsay. Available free at Knitty.com. Someone please have a baby girl, dammit! I'm dying to make this hat and it would look totally ridiculous on me.
5.We Call Them Pirates by Adrian. Available free at Hello Yarn. Let's knit this as we impatiently wait for the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel.
6.Bucket Hat by Bonne Marie Burns. Available for sale at Chic Knits. In case you thought I was completely season-impaired--a great spring hat!
7.Simple Hat by Debbie Bliss. Available in Baby Knits for Beginners. Debbie must let her accountant name all her patterns. No matter, Bliss Beancounter was dead on with this one. Simple? Affirmative. Fun and easy? Credit. =SUM(hat 1, hat 2)
8.Fair Isle Sampler Hat by Mary Jane Mucklestone. Available in Interweave Knits Winter 2004. Fun, but I'll never make it. Maybe I'll totally cheat and sew one from a thrift sweater.
9.Flore Hat. Available for purchase at Knitwhits. See #4.
10.Short Row hat (pdf!) by Veronik Avery. Available for free at Interweave.com. Someone in blogland made this will color-changing yarn, not self-striping--more subtle. Ombred, I guess you'd call it.
Let me know if you've made any of these hats. Speaking of hats, I have a finished one to show you tomorrow!
1.Nippertails by Jenn Jarvis. Available free at Magknits.com. Now that I'm growing my hair and wearing it in a ponytail I appreciate the inventive mind that decided there was a lack of 'tail accomodating hats.
2.Monaco Floppy Brim. Available for purchase at Stitchdiva.com. Sweety, darling. Fix Mummy and Pats a drink, sweety.
3.Crochet Newsboy. Available free on Puppy Yarn. This is the translation page I use. It does not do prickly. Shew, thank god.
4.Miss Dashwood by Heather Ramsay. Available free at Knitty.com. Someone please have a baby girl, dammit! I'm dying to make this hat and it would look totally ridiculous on me.
5.We Call Them Pirates by Adrian. Available free at Hello Yarn. Let's knit this as we impatiently wait for the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel.
6.Bucket Hat by Bonne Marie Burns. Available for sale at Chic Knits. In case you thought I was completely season-impaired--a great spring hat!
7.Simple Hat by Debbie Bliss. Available in Baby Knits for Beginners. Debbie must let her accountant name all her patterns. No matter, Bliss Beancounter was dead on with this one. Simple? Affirmative. Fun and easy? Credit. =SUM(hat 1, hat 2)
8.Fair Isle Sampler Hat by Mary Jane Mucklestone. Available in Interweave Knits Winter 2004. Fun, but I'll never make it. Maybe I'll totally cheat and sew one from a thrift sweater.
9.Flore Hat. Available for purchase at Knitwhits. See #4.
10.Short Row hat (pdf!) by Veronik Avery. Available for free at Interweave.com. Someone in blogland made this will color-changing yarn, not self-striping--more subtle. Ombred, I guess you'd call it.
Let me know if you've made any of these hats. Speaking of hats, I have a finished one to show you tomorrow!
March 08, 2006
Hat time
My plane knitting was another felt hat for my mom. I enjoy the pattern, Fiber Trends' Felt Hats with brim variations. This is my third one of the flat brim version.
Here is the first one I made for my mom.
Then my grandmom saw mom's and of course wanted one.
Those two were made with Lamb's Pride (which I LOVE) but I'm using Lopi for the current one. Peeps, is there anything that will turn you off to Lopi quicker than getting used to Lamb's Pride? Dang! Lopi is so scritchy. But the color--a heathered teal--matches my mom's new coat (hopefully).
Pues, my next post will be the 300th post on this blog, so I feel like I should do something special. Good thing it's almost the weekend! (Oh yeah, I'm taking another clase de español so you'll see me sneaking in some words here and there.)
Here is the first one I made for my mom.
Then my grandmom saw mom's and of course wanted one.
Those two were made with Lamb's Pride (which I LOVE) but I'm using Lopi for the current one. Peeps, is there anything that will turn you off to Lopi quicker than getting used to Lamb's Pride? Dang! Lopi is so scritchy. But the color--a heathered teal--matches my mom's new coat (hopefully).
Pues, my next post will be the 300th post on this blog, so I feel like I should do something special. Good thing it's almost the weekend! (Oh yeah, I'm taking another clase de español so you'll see me sneaking in some words here and there.)
March 07, 2006
Spent!
So. exhausted.
I am spent from my trip to Chicago (I refer to my energy and my bank account). But I am also soooo excited and impatient and inspired and jazzed. Oh my god, you can tell I'm a year older, I just said "jazzed".
I know you're here for the yarn. Dig it--
It wasn't until this morning when I piled my spoils to take this picture did I notice that apparently I have a Serious Case of Spring. These were all purchased in different stores on different days, yet they make a gorgeous March-like pink and green still life. Sorry for the red background yet again--I was lucky to get out the door this morning so photo styling was out of the question.
From the top:
Kimono angora from the new Louisa Harding line.
Misti Alpaca Chunky Baby Alpaca. It's like clouds, your favorite pillow and baby bunnies spun together.
Allhemp3 from Hemp for Knitting.
Cotton/Wool/Silk blend from Farmhouse Yarns.
I bought the Farmhouse cotton at Loopy and it's going to be a springy One Skein Wonder. The angora and alpaca is from Knitter's Niche in Lakeview (no website). I picked up the angora to make wrist warmers and while I was searching for the name online just now I saw that they used this exact yarn and color for wrist warmers on the cover of the accessories book for the new line, A Gathering of Roses. The alpaca is going to be eaten, haha, I mean will be a neckwarmer. The hemp was purchased at Nina and will be a necklace, possibly beaded.
I'm so tired, but I'd love to do a review of the three shops mentioned above. And of course tell you all about my trip. Perhaps tomorrow. Until then, tell me about your favorite Chicago yarn shop. Cheers!
I am spent from my trip to Chicago (I refer to my energy and my bank account). But I am also soooo excited and impatient and inspired and jazzed. Oh my god, you can tell I'm a year older, I just said "jazzed".
I know you're here for the yarn. Dig it--
It wasn't until this morning when I piled my spoils to take this picture did I notice that apparently I have a Serious Case of Spring. These were all purchased in different stores on different days, yet they make a gorgeous March-like pink and green still life. Sorry for the red background yet again--I was lucky to get out the door this morning so photo styling was out of the question.
From the top:
Kimono angora from the new Louisa Harding line.
Misti Alpaca Chunky Baby Alpaca. It's like clouds, your favorite pillow and baby bunnies spun together.
Allhemp3 from Hemp for Knitting.
Cotton/Wool/Silk blend from Farmhouse Yarns.
I bought the Farmhouse cotton at Loopy and it's going to be a springy One Skein Wonder. The angora and alpaca is from Knitter's Niche in Lakeview (no website). I picked up the angora to make wrist warmers and while I was searching for the name online just now I saw that they used this exact yarn and color for wrist warmers on the cover of the accessories book for the new line, A Gathering of Roses. The alpaca is going to be eaten, haha, I mean will be a neckwarmer. The hemp was purchased at Nina and will be a necklace, possibly beaded.
I'm so tired, but I'd love to do a review of the three shops mentioned above. And of course tell you all about my trip. Perhaps tomorrow. Until then, tell me about your favorite Chicago yarn shop. Cheers!
March 01, 2006
Winter Mice
I grew up with mice in the house. Especially in the fall and winter. We had an old, old house in the middle of farmland and when they would cut the crops in the fields in the fall, the little brown mice would find their way into our house through various cracks and holes. They never really bothered me but my mother made it her mission to rid our house of rodents--30 years in vain. You cannot get rid of mice.
These little guys are made from Patons Classic Wool, Lopi and Plymouth Alpaca. They are stuffed with catnip and wool. Here is the super easy, quick pattern I used. They will be gifted to our host's cats this weekend while in Chicago.
My plane knitting will be my mom's next felt hat (because mice love to eat wool). I doubt I'll blog while I'm there, so see ya next Tuesday!
These little guys are made from Patons Classic Wool, Lopi and Plymouth Alpaca. They are stuffed with catnip and wool. Here is the super easy, quick pattern I used. They will be gifted to our host's cats this weekend while in Chicago.
My plane knitting will be my mom's next felt hat (because mice love to eat wool). I doubt I'll blog while I'm there, so see ya next Tuesday!
