stitch marker

fo

Finally something finished, however small. I was beginning to feel like all I could do was start stuff.



I actually really like this little thing. It's a multidirectional scarf knit on size 3 needles in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (the Vera colorway). It's for my petite mother-in-law, who at 98 pounds was unable to help me weed my garden because her weight was insufficient to leverage the roots out. My MIL who has to share a sandwich with my FIL, because even the daintiest sandwich is too big. You get the idea that she is physically so different from me that I can barely comprehend it. So this tiny, delicate scarf will be great for her. :-) And it was great practice for me on short rows and shaping, and a fun swatch for my first try at Lorna's Laces yarns.

Here is a pdf to the pattern, and here (in her 2/25 post) is an alternative way of finishing the scarf, thanks to purl girl. Then there's this link to my new gallery of finished things! I really love the typepad galleries, and I finally made mine.

BTW, Monday is Cozy of the Week day!

knitting porn



I was even going to gauze it up with photoshop, but then I realized that with knitting porn - unlike, I'd imagine, with sex porn - detail enhances desire.

i am applying myself

To the seaming of morticia.

I've already ripped three shoulder seams out. Give me strength. This site called helloknitty, which I've never seen before, has been helpful. Here (it's a pdf) are the instructions for different kinds of seams. While I was there I also had to buy a pattern for a cute tank top. Had to. Focus schmocus.



UPDATE 7:33 PM: I did it! I seamed. We have shoulders. We have set-in sleeves. Wow. They're not invisible like Claudia's (known for her invisible seams) but they are mine and done. I used backstitch to make a nice curved line around the armholes. I don't know why I was hung up on treating these as individual stitches, when what I really needed to do was treat this like fabric and a sewing project. So here they are! Goodnight.

which scenario...

would you rather be involved in?

A.


B.


Yeah, I tend to like B myself. Scrappy sweater and tuaca, on the way to Kim's house to sit and knit late into the night. And now I vow to not use any more animated or cartoonified things on my knitting blog for at least 6 months. I myself don't even like them.

This week, besides doing some very boring knitting, I visited the new knitting cafe in Portland, called Mabel's. They are having a grand opening, spinning demos, sale, etc, I think on the 25th & 26th.

This is an idea I've been into for a while. Kim & I wanted to start a Craft Cafe called "Cozy" but I figured it was just a dream so I'm glad someone did it. I like the eclectic assortment of yarn they have; they mix Red Heart and TLC with gorgeous handspun and other expensive stuff. I like how that presentation says "No yarn is right or wrong" in a very physical way. It opened me up to considering some yarns I otherwise wouldn't have. They also serve quite possibly the best coffee on earth.

My first impression of things I'd do differently are better/warmer lighting, and I'd like it to be more, well, cozy. It's kind of light and airy and has only one comfy piece of furniture. Maybe that will change with the fall and winter, and as more people gather there. I'm excited to see how it goes and to visit the grand opening! Maybe I'll see some of you there...

the hundred

Yesterday I began - with more than a little trepidation - the seaming of morticia. That's what I'm now calling my soft alpaca sweater. Here, to show you why I've made this name change, is the one sleeve I've got seamed. (It's damn hard to take a picture of your own arm, but I guess most of you know that already).



The reason I'm so scared of seaming is because I'm not all that practiced at it, and I really like this sweater. I designed it, the pieces came out just perfect, it fits, it's fabulous, and I love it. But it is soft, stretchy, and see-through (so that all mistakes and fudges of the finishing process will show). Even on this sleeve, which went swimmingly, you see the seam (just visible along the bottom of my arm). I don't want to mess this baby up. I've considered taking (another) finishing class just for this sweater, but I want it now! So I'm going slowly. One sleeve down.

Beyond morticia...

After a crisis of art, knitting, work, everything--and money--I am moving my studio into a much bigger and much cheaper space whose only drawback is that it's in a basement. But it's in a fantastic neighborhood in a historic Victorian house. I'm going to make a wonderful studio out of it and it has enough space to combine my sculpture work and knitting in one place. I can further blur that line, working on knit designs, columns, cozy of the week, and book ideas in the same place as my art. And we are going to save $215 a month! Other +s: I get to use the kitchen. I get to use the DSL. I get to use the dumpster. And my landlord is one of my best friends, who has a lingerie shop upstairs and who serves champagne on the porch practically every night.



So we move in a couple weeks. Two days ago I painted a wall in the new studio (the rest will stay white). Here it is with some online evita yarn for show. I think from now on I'm going to collect cake plates and only store my yarn in cake plates. Why not get a head start on being a crazy old lady?



And I've somehow gotten interested in this project Kay is doing called the Psychedelic Squares Afghan. I made my first square yesterday, and it is truly addicting (like most knitting is, but seriously these squares are fun). Mine is in black Cotton Ease and some old green tahki cotton whose name is long lost.



(I only got one square done yesterday, because I also did a 47-mile bike ride up into the Blast Zone of Mt. St. Helens with Martin.)

These squares would make a great scrapalong project, for those who are interested but haven't yet jumped into the pool. Or you could do a gorgeous scrap sweater like Christine, or a yummy blanket like Sharlyn, or frothy poncho like Marie.

Finally, I have joined the lace-along at moth heaven and needles on fire. I'm doing the Gibson Girl pullover from IK in koigu. There is no one, no one on the face of the earth, who can sell me the koigu I want and accept PayPal for payment. Jeez. I am now waiting for my yarn account to transfer over into my normal bank account so I can buy with a debit card. So in about 4 days I'll be able to order my lace yarn. I'm going to focus, people. Just 3 projects at a time. Yeah, right.

kyoto, rest in peace



It's over for me and kyoto. I sold the yarn on ebay. All I have left is half a sleeve and a back, ready for ripping. They will make fine dishcloths or afghan squares. Shall we call the kyoto knitalong quits? It seems so many people have had bittersweet relationships with this pattern, the beauty, the boredom, the shape, the shapelessness. Maybe I'll make the knitalong list a nice place in the well-intentioned section of my archives.

I'm almost done with my soft alpaca sweater. SOOO close. But I'm afraid to seam it up. It's so beautiful, and I just know I'm gonna f* up the neckline.

In other news, I cast on for the Ripped Top from Rebecca 25 (on the right) in some silk garden color 38 that I got from an ebay win. Unfortunately, Ripped Top is NOT just a charming glitch in the translation. I have cast on one two three four times for this top.

The first time I had swatched, changed the gauge, etc. Was knitting the size 34/36". I'm a 36, and I was getting that sneaking, then sinking, feeling like jeez this is looking small for someone like me. I measured. OK, it's a gauge of 4.5 sts/inch (slightly stretched) and they have you cast on 74. That's 32" around the hem, for a size 36 chick. Not gonna happen. Even far more than slightly stretched. My hips are BIGGER than my chest, baby. And even with this worn up high on the waist there's still a whole lotta slope to deal with. After casting on again and again and hating the way the colors were falling, I've decided to do a fifth cast-on when I have the stamina to face it one more time. Maybe lucky 5's the one. Ripped silk. Ugh.

So long kyoto...


blue=finished

Allison
Ann
Anne
Becky
Betsy
Danielle
Gretchen
Heidi
Jeanne
Jenni
Jerylin
Katie
Laurin
Larissa
Marcela
Marta
Tracey

What would I do without Smiling Tiger?

Uh, work billable hours?

Here's M & I as cyber portraits, and here's our real picture below for comparison. The real one is kind of old, so our hair is almost exactly like the cyber hair now. I've always wanted a job with a headset (I almost trained to be an aerobics instructor for this sole reason). Now I have one! And M looks like he's set for a "totally 80s" weekend. Hee hee.





Knitting content to come later tonight, because there's a lot and I need to take photos...

cozies

I've launched a new blog that I hope you'll all visit a lot. It's called cozy of the week, and it marks my first foray into typepad, and, more importantly my move toward writing about knitted art, crocheted art, and stitched art. Please let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas! And please link to the site if you find you like it.

Now will one of you generous, kind geniuses who make buttons help me out with this one? I'd be in your debt.

p.s. We have a fabulous first finish in the Scrapalong -- Marie's fantastic stole (see her June 13 post). Way to go Marie!

little finishes are oh so sweet

Yesterday I finally finished a test of a substitute for the yarn in bonbon - the bath puff pattern in knitty. When I first designed this, Gedifra Clou was available cheap on elann. Damn, I should have invested in a bunch of it. A lot of just 8 skeins was going for about $80 on eBay this week! My success as a yarn speculator took a big hit on this one.

In any case, here's the substitution, Crystal Palace Big Net.



I worked 24 stitches across, with the Big Net *doubled*, on size 15 needles. The bonbon is a bit more compact this way but has a really nice texture. I like this yarn better than the Clou, and it suds up a lot in comparison. Though I don't work for any of these places, you can get Big Net here, here and here. I hope this helps some more bonbons come into being!

My other little finish was a square for the afghanalong, using some gorgeous, baby soft yarn I got from the GSRP Aran Box. It's all coming together now...



So with all this satisfaction afloat, can someone tell me what the *#$@ this is? I tried to rip out 2 rows of my finished lime tee, so I could lengthen it. And I end up with not one string coming out, with which I'll now knit some more. No, not one. And not two. Three pieces of yarn coming out. HUH? Let me know if you understand this.

for carrie, I like the cut of your jib *



* I'm quoting this from a a novel by a famous writer, by the way. You might not know that since you're just little. ;-)

raw cake

I love these cocktail recipes over at JenLa! Licorice WIP is hilarious. And I know my friend Kim will LOVE the Pink Purl.

I have only ever invented one drink, which I call Raw Cake. But maybe I need to give it a knitting name... hmm... any ideas? It's 1 shot of tuaca and 1 shot (or more to taste) of stoli vanil, shaken together with ice and strained into a martini glass, served with a maraschino cherry in the bottom. If you really like sweet you can do a sugar rim.

On to the woolly stuff. Here's my scraptastic sweater coming along:



And a close up of some of the rows:



After thinking about it for just a second, I'm sure I don't want any cocktail that's related to this beauty. It reminds me of something bad that might happen somewhere between arriving at the dorm party and waking up with the two gay guys on the airbed. (This hasn't happened to me since 1990, I swear).

p.s. Support my nasty habits, if you need random yarn or craft supplies see my auctions.

scrap challenged?

Thinking of joining the Scrapalong, but lacking in scraps? Check this out!

a stunner

Okay, I was REALLY bored by all that stockinette alpaca. Really. And I've never even had any koigu in my life, ever. It was only fair that I buy Just One Skein. So here's my swatch for the gibson girl pullover from IK in koigu KPPM "solid" brown. (I mean, come on, I am SO not doing all that knitting for a droopy cotton sweater that grows down to my knees every time I wear it.)

The camera can't actually capture this yarn. Believe me I took a dozen shots and can't get a single one to show even a fraction of the brilliance of this yarn. The camera is literally stunned.



Now, where can I get my hands on 80 bucks?

p.s. All weekend I'll be stage managing a major opening for a new store owned by one of my very best friends. It's called oh baby, and it sells sexy lingerie "and more." (I got to test all the batteries for the more). If you're in Portland, come by 1320 NE Broadway tomorrow or Sunday for a free par-tay and lots of panties.

The Portland paper, The Oregonian, has a columnist Jonathan Nicholas who had this to say:

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

UNDERCOVER OPERATION

The sensible, cotton-clad wives of Irvington were outraged. All through the neighborhood, phones rang off the hook. What the heck, they wanted to know, were their husbands doing on the mailing list of a neighborhood store selling "dazzling lingerie."

Turns out that "Oh Baby," just opened at 1320 N.E. Broadway, had bought a 10,000-name mailing list that addressed, almost exclusively, the man of the house.

Store founder Laura Fitzpatrick plans to target "women that have a lust for life." And an eye, apparently, for the mailbox. LIONS AND TIGERS, OH, MY.

and now for something completely similar



Stockinette goes on forever. How exciting when you finally get to "bind off 2 at beginning of next row." How amazing that you can make the interest in those two little bind offs last for several rows. And what a let down when you realize that their fascination was brief, and that you are still knitting.

In any case, I got the very strong feeling that if I didn't do some significant work on "soft," my alpaca lace sweater from last fall, that it would fade away into unfinished obscurity. I really didn't want that to happen. So despite the sun and the first truly hot days of the year here, I am working on a very warm, very black, alpaca pullover. Here is the body (done in the round, so it's double the amount finished you see here), and here is the lacy edge. The sleeves were done ages ago, so there's really not that much left. ("There's not that much left. There's not that much left.")



Once finished, I'll post the pattern in case anyone else wants to do a lot of stockinette stitch. I have to say, the indescribable softness of this yarn in this gauge keeps me going. It makes it very tolerable to keep knitting. And in the meantime, I dream of koigu.

Oh, and in between all this stockinette I finished an entire FO that I can't show you because it's a prototype for possible inclusion in SnBII. I don't know how this all works, but I do know this. There are other people with blogs who are included in SnBII, who have received yarn support, and who are finished with their SnB projects and have even already written their patterns. On the other hand, the editor asked me to make a prototype without any commitment. So I bought my own yarn and did all the knitting, have emailed my photos, and haven't heard back. Maybe this is normal. As I said, I really don't know how this works. But I'm hoping for the best. :-)

a thousand flamingoes

They can bring peace into your life just as well as cranes, right? And they surely inspired this incredible poncho that was knit JUST FOR ME by my friend Kim in gorgeous yarns that are totally my color! I know she used 2 skeins of Brown Sheep Bulky, 1 of Berocco Optik, and some powerfully soft eyelash yarn for around the arms. Here it is at work and play. Click on the stitch-shot for an even closer view.



I've never received a hand-knitted gift before. It's so wonderful. Thank you Kim!