KCBW2 - Day One

I'm super excited to participate in the 2nd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog week! Today's theme is "A Tale of Two Yarns:"

Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

My two yarns today are both part of a mystery! For one the mystery is solved, and for the other the case file is still open.

Maybe I need to give a bit more back story.  My stash is pretty much all over the place, with yarns that I need to figure out a use for sitting out on the counter, or on my desk, or on the back of the toilet.  This yarn has been on my desk for the past eight months, since I got it at a festival:

I blogged about this gorgeous skein from Black Creek Farms on my old blog, here.  It the most beautiful, saintly yarn, but it only comes in 100 yards! And, I didn't want to make some doll or a baby item because... why would you use luxury alpaca for something like that? It just seems impractical to me.

Well, I got a great tip from someone on Rav - make a faux-lacey cowl.  Cast on with large needles, and just knit in garter stith until there's no more yarn.  What an awesome idea!! It will look great with the hat I just finished:

Which leads me to my next yarn... I thought I could make two tams out of this yarn (one for my mom and another for me) but it turns out I only have 36 g left... so, what to do!?

Hopefully I'll eventually be able to solve this mystery, too.  It's a worsted weight yarn, so I could always pair it with others in my stash and make some gloves, or incorporate it as color work into a future project...

NaKniLaMo?

In the middle of NaNoWriMo, I noticed a group had started on Ravelry dedicated to knitting lace during the month of March - NaKniLaMo.  I thought it was an awesome idea, joined, and cast on earlier this month to make my first shawlette.

I dunno about anyone else in the group, but I've been the only person to post in it. Regardless,  I finished the shawlette on Monday.  And I love it.  Really, truly, deeply. 

The pattern is Bitterroot by Romi Hill, from the Winter 2009 Knitty. I used yarn that Ash got me for Christmas in 2008, and I absolutely love it.  It's Knitpicks Kettle Dyed sock yarn, in a very bright yellow that just seems to brighten every outfit. They don't carry it anymore on their website :(

Anyway, even though I don't know of anyone else that knit lace in March, for the KAL, I thought it was super fun.  I'm really happy with the result and want to make more!

One thing that surprised me was how big the finished product was - here's a picture of it on the back of my couch.  Hard to believe that all those stitches fit on my 14'' circulars o_o;

My favorite part of the pattern?  The last four rows.  The lace between the leave motifs looks crocheted! when I took it to club, everyone was asking me how I made the edging.  I felt very smug and smart!

For my next lace shawl, I definitely will use some sort of wire (maybe armature wire or a coat hanger) because the pins were so painful to do! I hate pinning things, and if I were to use wires I could hang the shawl up on a wall and not have to worry about people stepping on it as it blocks on the carpet.

Now that I have my shiny shawl, my next question is - how do I store it?  When I'm in the shower or sleeping, I'm not wearing it, so do I hang it up on a hanger?  Fold it on a desk?  Right now, I've been draping it over my couch :)

Perpetuating a Stereotype

I like Charlotte Russe.  Really, I do.  Enough to get their emails every day, and, once in a while, look at their gorgeous clothes.  Today I found this.

Here's a picture:

And another picture:

Do you see what I see?

This "crocheted" wrap is obviously knit.  It's enough to make me write a strongly-worded email.  Crochet is not knitting.  Knitting is not crochet.  They are two.  Different.  Crafts.

What's worse is people just don't understand my angst. I understand, if you do neither it may not seem like a big deal. But to me, semantics is an incredibly important aspect of intelligence.  It just seems like an incredibly 'DERP' moment.

(Note: I do not own these images, nor am I claiming ownership in publishing them here.)

Lost, then Found

A while back I whined about losing my mitten - they were given to me by my mom two years ago, and I was so proud of not losing one... until earlier last quarter.

Good news, though! I found it in the parking lot by my apartment! You can tell that one has travelled a bit more than the other (that would be lefty) but I'm sure after a few more cycles through the wash you won't see a difference.

Just a little thing to brighten my rather irritating week.

Late > Never

So, I know it's a few days late, but can you blame me? I was away from my TUSAL jar, but now I'm back and ready to start a new quarter!

I have all those baby hats to thank for the influx of ORTs.

In Like a Lion...

Well, I missed my own goal to publish a pattern each month thanks to a horrible flu, exams, and starting a new job. But I promise, I have a very good one (and a cute one for March, too)

The sad but true story is I may not design at all anymore, because I will be starting this job in May and it is very demanding.  All I can say is - if you know someone who wants a career, they should definitely look into EHS because there are great jobs. :)  I've gotten quite a few job offers in the past few weeks, and this one is very exciting. 

So, it's not really an end.  Just putting my dreams of being a full time designer on the sidelines.  Maybe permanently, maybe not, because you never know. I will still blog (probably more often, since working takes considerably less time than school) just maybe more simple projects, maybe going back to one at a time.

But anyway, thanks all for your support - sorry I haven't really read or commented on any of my friends' blogs in over a week! Life has been strange and beautiful.

Glee-Inspired Knitting: Carousel Sweater

I'm going to admit something to you.  I love Glee.  I don't know if it's the music, the endearing characters... no, I do know.  It's the snark.  I love the witty comebacks and snide comments that just aren't in a lot of TV shows.  

Anyway, W and I make it a point to watch Glee on Hulu every week.  Alone.  In a locked room.  Where we know people won't judge us.

And during this week's episode, "Comeback," I laughed so much at the clothing drama.  I've always teased Rachel Berry, and seeing all of the girls in those carousel sweaters just made me laugh!

“I mean, my carousel horse sweater should make me look like an institutionalized toddler but no – I look hot and smart. I feel like Michelle Obama.”

So, I spent five minutes in Excel and made this.  It's a carousel sweater intarsia chart.  Feel free to either laugh at me, wonder why I'm not doing the mountain of homework I need to start, or thank me. 

For best results, plop it front and center in the middle of simple top-down raglan pullover.  If you hurry, maybe you can finish it before the joke is lost on anyone. 

The pattern is available as a free Ravelry Download, if you don't have a Ravelry account, click here to download the chart: download now

The Sun Sets on a Project

Tuesday, I sent W a text with this picture:

I finished his socks! Of course, he didn't come home until after I went to bed, and then yesterday, I didn't see him until late last night... But I managed to get his picture.

He's pretty busy working on finishing his 2-Quarter... and I should probably be working on the papers I have to write.  But, I've already started another pair of socks:

The yarn is On Your Toes, purchased at the Yarn Boutique in the city.  It's so gorgeous and soft! These are definitely going to be me socks :)

I've almost reached my limit on baby hats and kitty blankets.  After the Hooks and Needles party on Friday, I'm probably going to spend the rest of break knitting these socks for myself :)

And, check out the gorgeous sunset yesterday:

Lots and Lots of Wittle Hats

So, my go-to project this quarter has been these baby hats! I feel like I've knit more than anyone in club (and I have...)  Right now, the box is living at my house.



I just love them! I hope they all find good little heads to keep warm. They are so quick to make, I can finish one in an hour.



So, I've been doing one a day for a while.  My goal this quarter was to make one every club session, but that hasn't worked out - so I'm going for twenty.



I plan to release the pattern I use, since I improvised it. It's knit on size 8 needles, flat, then sewn up.



Looking at them possesses you.  You speak in babytalk! "Ohhh, look at the itty bitty pompoms! Squee!"

Easiest-Ever Nutella Mousse

Happy World Nutella Day Everyone!

For those unaware, Nutella is a super-delicious chocolate hazelnut spread.  World Nutella Day was started in 2007 by Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso

and has grown to be a huge event in the past few years. I'm excited to participate this year! 

In celebration I'm sharing my really easy, really tasty recipie for mousse.  It only has three ingredients, and doesn't require any boiling, whipping... etc, etc.  It took me longer to type this post out than it takes to make it - no lie! 

The full recipe is after the jump, and if you want to participate today, just follow the directions here!

February TUSAL Update

Ha, I'm such a spaz! I took the picture for this post yesterday, intending to post it, but then I got wrapped up in homework. (Insert a collective sigh.)  For those of you that have been wondering what I've been up to, it's pretty much that.  I have made little progress on anything, but that's the subject of another post entirely.  This post is about ORTs.

January has seen a lot of little scraps. The small, bright bits are scraps from the baby hats I've been working on.  They're so rewarding, they're the perfect stress knit - only an hour, so I don't feel guilty for squeezing one in here or there.   And some have pom poms, which is yarn scraps galore!

I also have some threads from my quilting/sewing binge.  Sadly, I haven't picked up the quilting since, but I'm due to do some cutting today after I finish a quiz, go to a student summit, cook dinner, clean Lotus's cage, write the rough draft of my term paper... URG. I'm going to stop now.

How To: Lacey Tea Towel

I feel kind of guilty tagging this as a "tutorial" because it was so quick and easy! My dad gave me some tea towels (because well, you really can't have too many tea towels) and I decided to give it a bit of girly flair.  I was inspired by towels that I saw at W's mom's house, and I thought "Wow, how easy would that be to make...!?"  Plus, it can cover up tears, stains, or scorch marks when you leave your tea towel under your electric kettle and nearly set the fire alarm off and have to run the towel outside and wave it around in the snow...

Oh, is that just me? Anyway, all you need is a towel, some lace (I bought a spool of lace for about a dollar at Wal*mart ages ago: no idea why.) and needle and thread or a sewing machine. 

Sew the lace in rows into the towel.  For best results, pin the rows a little less apart than the width of your lace.

I wish I had some ribbon to finish this off! I think it would also look good mixing different types of lace, or maybe just add a lace edging along the very edge?  So many possibilities! And I still have a whole spool of lace left! I wish I more tea towels.

Giving in to Temptation!

Today I woke up. I worked for two hours.  Then, I researched stuff so boring that it's not even fun to blog about.  Then I wrote a paper.  Then I went to class.  Then, more research and homework.  Then, class again.  Then dinner.

When W left to shoot his two-quarter, I told myself I would get a head start on the weekend's homework (Why do teachers like to make assignments due on the weekend? Do they think we don't have anything better to do?)... and as I sat down at my desk, my knees bumped against a box. 

It was the Singer Simple that I got for Christmas.  Why hadn't I opened it yet?  Oh, right, school.

I figured I had done a good job today. I should treat myself.

I unboxed the machine, ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the automatic threader, sewed some scraps of fabric, sewed up some seams I needed to mend, sewed up a little tutorial for tomorrow... and then...

Well, then I ran out of things to sew.  My eye lingered on my bag of quilting stuff. I HAD SAID that I wanted to cut all the pieces first, then sew, but did I really?

No, not at all.

So, there's four squares and the center of a flower done! I'm proud that I managed to line up the diamond pretty well, and proud that I remembered to iron (almost) all the seams flat, but I'm a little disappointed at the fabric choice.

You can't even see my seams! Hopefully it'll look more like a flower when the side petals are on!

But anyway, that was my evening - see you tomorrow for a sweet, quick tutorial.

P.S. - If you think I'm some sort of quilting prodigy, here's my four squares before I sewed them. Hopefully I'll get better at this whole "cutting pieces the same size" thing.

One Down, One to Go!

Last night I finished 50% of W's socks. I'm pretty proud to have finished one so quickly, especially with all the other WIPs I have going on right now. (So... Many...)

Anyway, for posterity, I feel like I should write down what I did.  I don't feel like anyone else will want to know my particular manly sock formula, but I need to know it, to make the second sock!

So, here's the knit code:

72 Stitches. Work in a 3x3 rib for 11 rounds.  Work half a round, then start heel flap over 50% of the stitches.  Heel flap is 23 rows long, with a slipped stitch edge. Heel is a half kercheif heel with 7 stitches in the middle.  Pick up 15 stitches from either side of the heel flap. Decrease 7 times on each side for the gusset. Should be back to 72 stitches. Work 12 cm, then decrease four stitches every other round until there are 26 stitches. Kitchner off.

Free Pattern: Slouchy Ridges Hat

It is finished! It, being me. I'm finished compiling data from my awesome testers, sifting through photos of my sorry mug, tweaking pixels on the PDF... and now, I present my first pattern of 2011.

Pattern Name: Slouchy Ridges Hat

Difficulty: Easy

Yardage: 200 yards

Techniques: Knitting in the round, Working stripes (if you want a multicolored hat), and another technique explained in the pattern.

My goal this year is to publish 11 patterns. The ones I self-publish will be free all year long, and on January first of 2012 they'll go up for sale, so download this one while you can!

What I like about this hat is that it's stockinette stitch in the round, making it a good zone-out project, but every so often there's the pick-up round, where you have to pay attention.  It's hard to find knitting projects that have that duality.

Anyway, I hope you like it, too! You can download your own free copy here: download now

Dumb Moves!

So, I mentioned in my last post that I'm making my brother a Jaques Cousteau hat. Here's a picture of what I have so far.

Notice anything off?

The hat pattern calls for a K3 P2 rib.

My hat? It's worked in a K3 P3 rib.  I have no idea why! How could I miss something so obvious!?

Anyway, I'm thinking of just rolling with it. I want to finish the hat before I go home next Friday, because then I can give it to him. 

But let me tell you, it was so hard to resist the urge to just tear it all out! 4 inches in, I think I just need to deal with it, haha!

Stritting

I have been stressed.  Let's not mince words, life has been on edge as of recently.  My new bank card hasn't come in the mail yet, so I'm forced to wait to cash back pay from last year and Christmas checks.  I had a test today, I've got a presentation tomorrow, and I still don't quite know how I'm going to bang out that term paper due in four weeks.  Homework for class A doesn't make any sense, I have to unload the dishwasher, and there's a pile of laundry in the corner of my room that won't wash itself.

So, my knitting has been blah.  I started this sock for W over the weekend, when the needles I was knitting Zucchi's sweater on broke:

The yarn is from the take and replace swap, just a simple stockinette sock with a kercheif heel.

And last night, I started a Jaques Cousteau Hat for my brother.

The pluses of these projects is that they're easy to do.  I can knit while I read, and in class, which helps me focus and worry less.  It's nice to have some easy projects once in a while, ones that I don't need a pattern for or whose pattern is just tres simple.