A Little Color In Rochester

First off, the theme for the Design Along is Garden! So, get on down to this thread and post a photo for the mood board by next Sunday if you want to contribute - it should be a lot of fun.



And speaking of fun (and gardens) - the Lilac festival is in full bloom (excuse the pun) and yesterday W and I braved the rain to go on a triple date and see some of the gorgeous flowers.  Last year, the festival was kind of a downer because warm weather had brought the flowers weeks before, so all we got to view were the remnants of flowers! But this year, some of the blooms had only just begun to open.  If we can overcome this gloomy, rainy weather then things will be gorgeous - of course, I will have moved out by then :(

But here are some photos anyway :)

Design-a-long!

A while back I had this super cool idea - to have something like a knit-a-long (KAL) but based around design! I started a thread in the Budding Designers Group on Ravelry, and the DAL - Design-A-Long was born!

Here's the premise:  Four times a year, I'll post a theme up here and on Ravelry.  If you want to participate, you sign up here or on Ravelry, and post a picture that is related to the theme that inspires you.  After one week, the pictures are compiled and I'll post up a mood board - from that mood board, participants each design and knit an original piece.

The ultimate goal of this is to give new designers a body of work and get used to the design process, and to flex the creativity of established designers.  Unlike other challenges out there, the timeline is a longer one, which means that your work can be as big as you want.

Anyway, if you're interested, drop me a line and check out the group on Ravelry! I'm trying to figure out how to make a button do-hickey thing... and writing the rules.

Also, you can vote for the upcoming theme in this thread.

I'm going to compile a list of participants and try to figure out prizes, graphics, etc.  If anyone wants to donate prizes let me know!

My latest FO! Yay?

I finished my psuedo-mystery project last night, but I'm not very happy with him.  In fact, I'm kind of creeped out.



Is that the point, you may ask?  Uh, well, I guess.  It's supposed to be Pedobear.  I'm thinking of burning him - it's better than having him stare at me all day.  W has offered to take him (like he takes all of my misfit toys.)



Just goes to show what bad embroidery can do, I guess.

May TUSAL

Whoops.  I forgot to post April's post! No prizes for me - oh well.  Maybe extenuating circumstances will allow me to not count that new moon, since I was pretty sick.

I expect my jar to grow quite a bit this month, since I want to finish a few projects but I'm also cleaning out my apartment before the move, and will doubtless find lots of little ORTs to plop in the jar.

The Clock is Winding Down...

I'm a little freaked out that I have a little more than two weeks before I'm outta here, and trying to find an apartment in my new temporary home.  It's very crazy, and I've got a lot of things on my checklist before I move out... besides the regular, school stuff I'm trying to finish up all the food we have in the pantry, and of course, knitting goals.

Number one is the moose puppet for W.  I have a sinking feeling if this isn't done... it will never get done! It will be hard to work together when we're so far apart!

Second is to write up and compile my notes for the Cat Bus.  I barely have them all in one place, and I feel like they're another project that won't survive the move - something will get shuffled around, or misplaced, or accidentally thrown out.

In the spirit of all that makes sense, I've simultaneously cast on two new projects.  One is a doll that's lying in pieces on my counter - It'll be a free pattern, and I'm a little nervous about releasing it.  Well, you'll see.

And the other is an Estonian lace shawl... ette? I haven't decided yet.  I saw a gorgeous pattern on the internet, and decided I wanted half of one.  So this project was conceived... not sure how well it will go, especially considering there's a crochet edging *gulp*.  I'm sure I can design it out.

Anyway, that's what I'm up to... how about you?

Now THIS is Weather!

Today was balmy, warm, and gorgeous.  I spent my break between classes sitting on a comfy couch and eating crummy Mexican food, then I finished this...

... and started this. 

Does anyone else hate that time in between socks? I always try to cast on for the next sock when I finish the first... if I'm not doing two-at-a-time to avoid this madness all together.

Oh, and what's that? Can you see it!?!

Flowers! Horray!

This nice weather lasted for the day... right now, it's pouring and we have a tornado watch.  Yesterday? Rain.  Tomorrow? Rain. I love listening to the sound of rain come through the open window, while I snuggle in a quilt and drink cocoa :)

Hope You Had a Great Easter!

And, if you don't do that sort of thing, a good weekend in general.

W and I spent most of Easter hunting for our eggs on his sister's property this year - thankfully, it was only about an hour and 45 minutes in the cold rain and mud.  Who started this tradition, anyway!?

We also got to meet Booker T, the cutest puppy ever.  I never thought I could like a dog, but I love Pugs.

Speaking of cute, we got to see our nephew! He's the recipient of the sweater I made a while back, though it's still a little small.

On a knitting note, I decided that my punishment for going a month without releasing a design was that I had to submit to a call on Ravelry.  So, today I did! I hope it gets accepted, but if not, the pattern is pretty much written - all I need is yarn support, so I could easily submit it somewhere else, or, spend the thirty bucks on yarn and self publish it.

New Free Pattern: Blueberry Chocolate Wrist Warmers

This weekend, I just felt like making something easy! So, I took a few minutes and whipped up this.

I used some leftover yarn from different projects, and I only ended up using about 75 yards total - and that's a conservative estimate.  They're very snug fitting, and can be easily modified by adding stitches two at a time!

I'm going to try to find someone to wear them, because my curse set in with this - the cuff is too tight, and the whole thing stretches just enough to irritate my perfectionism.  Who has wrists smaller than me?

Anyway, I think I may be on a roll again! 11 Designs in 2011? I might be able to do that.

As always, this is a free download from Ravelry, but please don't pass of my work as your own, and don't sell my work as if it's your own!

Just click the link below to download it!

download now

Keep breathing - HA!

It's kind of surreal: in about five weeks, I'm going to be living 6 hours away. Not that I have time to pack, I'm inundated with schoolwork, paid work, and sleeping. 

I frogged back my interlocking leaves socks and started on a Pomatomus socks - I love the pattern, but I've been struck by an unforeseen hitch in my work.

My needle snapped.  I tried to tape it, but it's bamboo, and it just won't stick together.  *dramatic sigh*

Work on my moose has been halted for a while, now.  W wants to fill the frame out with foam, which annoys me a little. It would be so much easier to have the frame first, and then knit to that shape - and, after I leave for New Hampshire, how am I going to finish this?  I can't.

Plus, I'd like to have the needles back to do other toys!

Anyway, knitting progress has gone very slow, and I haven't really done any cooking or crafting that is otherwise impressive. I haven't even planted any seeds - I figure it would be cruel bringing them into the world when I don't know if they'll have a balcony or windowsill to rest on.  My mint hasn't come up, either.

Urgh.

Things have not been going my way.  I have been stressed out, sleepless, sick, and I just found out that I owe the government $2,500 because my father claimed me as a dependent.

So, yeah, things are a bit down at camp Alyssa.  I went through the pantry today to figure out how long we can go without buying food (you know you have it bad when...).

2CKBWDAY5 - And now for something completely different

(Sorry I was gone yesterday - I started antibiotics on Weds. and it really hit me hard.  I'm feeling much better now, though.)

2KCBWDAY3 - Stash Organization

 How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry.

Living in a small space, I don't have the luxury of the awesome crafting studios and cupboards I've seen today from other bloggers.  Nope.  My stash is in a tupperware in my closet.



There are a few skeins around the house, but unless it's on the needles, it's probably in this box.  I like to keep things neat.  A few years ago, I heard horror stories about moths, and a girl at club had a bedbug infestation and we lost all of our charity yarn - so, now, I keep all my "nice" yarn sealed up in ziploc bags.  Yarn for specific projects is tied up in plastic bags. Cheap charity yarn/acrylic goes in a shopping bag all in a jumble.

To organize projects, I mostly use Ravelry and this blog to keep things sane.  I don't normally work on more than two or three projects at a time, so that kind of stuff isn't that hard.  I really love the queue and the stash organizer on Rav - I use them obsessively to plan out projects, see if I have enough yarn, etc. 

Oh, and another thing.  I have a secret stash of yarn.





Hehe.  Don't tell W!

2KCBWDAY2 - Gettin' Skillz

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

I have been knitting half my life.  Yes, that's totally strange to me! I haven't done anything as much as I've knit - except maybe eat, sleep, breathe, or read.  I'm at the point where I'm really happy with my skills, but there are a few milestones that I see that I've met looking back last year.

• My first published, for-sale pattern
• My first lace shawl
• My first FO for myself!

That third one is the best one! As far as knitting skills, there's nothing I really want to master - I've done pretty much everything.  Entrelac? Socks? Lace? I feel like I'm on a high mountain of knitting mastery.  And the things I haven't mastered like spinning and crochet, I don't really want to learn!

For the next year, I think I'll try to fit in a lace shawlette with cobweb lace, and maybe some dyeing - but no hurry.  I just want to enjoy the ride and knit what I feel like.  If I need to learn a new technique, by George, I'll just do it.

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