and knitting

New Project / Finished Project #44: Mock Brioche Neck Cosy

My bigger projects weren't been going so well, so I turned to something quick and easy. This sparkly pink handspun by Aisha Celia Designs has been in my stash for a couple of years. A neck cosy seemed like the perfect project for the amount of yarn. The soft and squishy mock brioche stitch showed off the yarn to its best advantage.

The buttons were purchased at my new favorite local yarn store, bella lana. It's a gorgeous, little shop lit with dozens of white paper lanterns. With its white painted walls, fixtures and floors, this gives everything a lovely glow.

It was a fun project, and knit up in a sitting or two, so I'll probably make another one soon.

The Project: Mock Brioche Neck Cosy
The Yarn: sparkly pink Aisha Celia Designs Handspun purchased at No Coast Craft-O-Rama
The Needles: 4.5mm
Started and Finished: December 2007

Various and Sundry Links - January 26 2008

- I've spent many a church service admiring the crafty worship banners. Here's an especially inspiring example made from a cheap Mona Lisa blanket.

- Hand made "bare skin rug" found in dumpster.

- It's Mickey Mouse's 80th birthday this year and, to celebrate it, his consort Minnie is finally getting a few new outfits. I'm partial to the grey knit ensembles.

- This thoroughly and completely grossed me out and now I'm going to share it with you!

Listen to the flowers, they will tell you sweet secrets. Project #43: ill fated Juliet

Happy New Year!

I obviously haven't been posting about it here, but I started and finished Juliet quite some time back. This is one of those cases where I really should have been paying more attention to the nagging voice in the back of my head that told me this pattern wasn't going to work for me. It also would have been smart to sit back for a bit and see how the pattern worked for other people. More than a few have mentioned that they had trouble with the sizing. I suffered the same, and that, along with the unflattering empire silhouette, made for a gigantic disaster of a knit. As you can see from the photo below, it's so large that I could use it as a tree skirt if I wanted to (I didn't).

Despite the bad finish, I did enjoy knitting Juliet. It reminded how much I really do enjoy knitting. Hopefully 2008 will bring more success knitting-wise!

p.s. I also want to apologize for neglecting my blog comments. I shuffled things around in my gmail and somehow lost track of the messages that were being forwarded to me.

The Project: Juliet from Zephyr Style
The Yarn: Laines Du Nord Korall purchased from pureknits
The Needles: 4.50mm Knit Picks Harmony Options (I'll have to review these in a separate post)
Started: October 2007
Finished and Rejected: November 2007

The heavens are right! Project #42: Diamond Scarf is finished

Look away, knitting purists, if you don't want to despoil your eyes with super bulky knitting...

It's been way too long, but thanks to some Ravelry-induced productivity, I finally have a finished knitting project. It feels a bit like you're knitting with broom handles, but size 35US needles and dangerously chunky yarn do make for a fast knit. You could finish this scarf in a sitting or two if you really wanted to. Me, I didn't enjoy the big ass needles that much, so it took me a couple of weeks.

This is the first, and perhaps only, project I'll knit from twinkle's big city knits. I really like the look of many of the patterns, but I know the super chunky look just isn't very wearable for me. The scarf will be a cozy addition to my winter wardrobe, once I give it a little steam blocking.

The Project: diamond scarf from twinkle's big city knits - also posted *free* on LA Times
The Yarn: twinkle handknits soft chunky in pink - purchased from Needlework Unlimited - two skeins
The Needles: 35US - 19mm
Started: July 2007
Finished: August 2007

Various and Sundry Links - August 25 2007

- It's Minnesota State Fair time again. This Great Minnesota Get Together has long been a favorite of mine, but it's been losing some of the interesting things that made it especially fun for me. Last year marked the closing of the Penny Arcade, and this year's crop art exhibition just won't be the same now that Lillian Colton has passed away. At least Ye Old Mill is still there, providing a dark haven for giggling kids and smooching lovers, as it has for almost 100 years.

- You likely remember the fake Disneyland in China (which happens to be the location where they shot one of my favorite youtube clips). However, did you know that Nara, Japan is also the home of a knock off of the Happiest Place on Earth? [via neatorama]

- Future Newspapers Written by Advertisers (1912) - "It will be written by advertisers, and it will contain nothing calculated to bring a blush to the cheek of the young person except cosmetics."

- I'm not a douche bag.

- Beer in space? - "One of the chief obstacles to consuming carbonated beverages in space, however, is the wet burp"

- The horror of blimps [via weapons of mass distraction]

- the butt biting bug song

New Project / Finished Project #40: Easy Peasy II

Happy New Year!

I'll spare you the excuses for why I've been so absent from this blog and from commenting on others.

At least I can start 2007 off right by posting a finished project.

They don't come much simpler than this. It's just a simple, garter stitch on the bias scarf, with a row or two or three of eyelets thrown in here and there. I had tried using this yarn for the Lost in Translation scarf from Mother of Purl. The yarn had a bit too much going on for that pattern and I decided to rip it out. The sparkle factor of the yarn was calling to me this Christmas season so I decided to go with a simple on the bias pattern I had used before. It's not the sort of knitting project that you can find much to post about, but I like how it turned out.

To make the project more interesting here are a few self propagated rumors about why I used the Self-Conscious Mysterious Face Finished Project Photo (shown above).

1. I am practicing to become a 14-year-old YouTube girl.
2. I have a lazy eye like Paris Hilton.
3. I am the Phantom of the Opera.
4. I am curious (yellow).
5. Blog absence was necessary due to Extreme Makeover gone awry.

The Project: Easy Peasy II
The Yarn: Karabella Gossamer in Olive with Copper purchased from KPixie
The Needles: US7 Brittany
Started: December ? 2006
Finished: January 2 2007

I finished the scarf this morning while watching the amazing documentary, Why We Fight. It was a somewhat disheartening way to start off the year, but I highly recommend watching this film. If you are so inclined, you can even view it right now via Google Video.

No various and sundry links today. I've been marking all of my bloglines subs as read for the past few weeks. I'm so behind that I might post a link to something shamefully 2006 and I can't have that!

Hello sailor! New Project / Finished Project #39: Watch Cap

I'm not so good at keeping secrets, so a Certain Special Someone has long known I was knitting him this project. He had feigned interest quite some time ago while I babbled about this Teflon coated yarn from Dale, so I decided to use it to knit him a cap.

Those clever Norwegians -- making wool even more sensible for outdoor gear! It's not the softest yarn in the world, but I wouldn't say it's disagreeably scratchy. I'm sure it will get even softer once I wash it. It seems like it will make a great cap to wear on a wet winter's day. Of course I don't think everyone was as enamored with this idea as I am, because I believe the yarn is now discontinued.

The pattern I used is a WWII-era pattern from the American Red Cross. I enjoyed knitting from a pattern that hundreds of women and men had used before. I changed it up a bit and added some decreases, because the first time I finished it, the pleated effect was more of a popover effect.

It turned out pretty well (better in real life than in the photo below). I hope my fella likes it!

The Project: Watch Cap (U.S. Navy) - WWII pattern from the American Red Cross (with some minor modifications)
The Yarn: Dalegarn Hauk Teflon Treated Yarn purchased from Spin Blessing
The Needles: US4 circular and DPNs
Started: ?
Finished: December 4 2006

Don't be a fool-ah, give him the ooh-la-la

This is what over seven feet of soft, fluffy, ruffled alpaca looks like draped around my neck. Yes, that silly last skein of yarn came in, and I was able to finish my ooh-la-la scarf.

The project has morphed a bit since I first started. It was originally going to have a rather subtle, undulating edge, sort of like this scarf by Twinkle. Then I saw all those fake Fendis on Craftster and knew I had to go with a ruffle.

It's a whole lot of scarf, but I love it!

The Project: Give Him The Ooh-La-La, Scarf
The Yarn: Fable Handknit Pure Baby Alpaca in ethereal blue purchased from pureknits
The Needles: Crystal Palace US6 Circular with as long a cord as I could find
Started: June 25 2006
Finished: November 20 2006

Cue "Fanfare for the Common Man", because project #33 is finished!

Cue "Fanfare for the Common Man"...

So, is there a prize for what surely must be last place in the Knitting Olympics? Yes, the so-called performance enhancing sweater is FINALLY FINISHED!!!

Despite the lengthy delay, I'm quite pleased with myself for taking this project on. It was a lot of fun to come up with a design and then execute it with the expert guidance of Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top.

Next time I do a top-down sweater, I'll go a little easier on the raglan increases. I was nervous about making it too small, so I ended up with a bit too much bulk under the arms. Despite this minor issue, the sweater is still cute (if I do say so myself), comfortable and very warm.

I'm not sure what else to say, other than WOO HOO!

The Project: Performance Enhancing Sweater for Team First Sweater - My own "design", using instructions in Knitting from the Top
The Yarn: Rowan Classic Cashsoft DK in black purchased from Cucumberpatch UK
The Needles: 2.75 and 3.75mm
Started: February 12 2006
Finished: November 2 2006

Sockudrama - Project #37 is finished!

I'm dipping my toe back into blogging with a wee finished project post.

I assure you there are two completed lichen ribbed socks in this photo. One is just obscured by that unstylish bit of footwear known as an Aircast. Unfortunately, I had a stupid accident and broke my foot two weeks ago. I unintentionally stayed with the soccer/football theme of this World Cup sock yarn and broke a bone also commonly fractured by football players (5th metatarsal). I'll guess have to save the Hand Knit Socks + Shoes photo for my next pair.

The lichen ribbed sock pattern was quite easy to knit, though next time around, I think I'll knit a different toe. Those p3togs were a nightmare! It's a good thing the sock knitting went well, because I have a feeling I'll be confined to sensible, sock requiring footwear for quite some time.

The Project: Blame it on the Bossa Nova Socks - Lichen Ribbed Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks
The Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Teamcolor purchased from Janette's Rare Yarns
The Needles: ChiaoGoo 2.25mm DPNs purchased from pureknits
Started: August 5 2006
Finished: October 1 2006

project #7: sweater with frills is finally finished!

Fetch your smelling salts -- it's been two years in the making, but the frilled Rebecca sweater is finally finished!*

It's more than a little difficult to come up with anything interesting to say about a project so long in the making. I'm really pleased to have finished it, though it's a bit anticlimactic because it's completely unwearable. All along I've been paranoid that it would be too small. Unfortunately, it's quite the opposite. Unless I can borrow Katie Holmes' stunt bump and also sign up for some boob jobbery, this will never fit me. There's just way too much roomy material in the bust and tummy.

This project was started only a couple of months after I started knitting and I just didn't know about the benefits of such wonderful things as negative ease. I guess I'll tuck it into the back of my dresser drawer and save it in case I should ever be great with child.

 

The Project: Pulli mit Rüsche aka Sweater with Frills - Rebecca #25 pattern #22 (also in their special kid mohair issue)
The Yarn: GGH Soft Kid purchased at Amazing Threads
The Needles: 5mm Clover bamboo
Started: April 6, 2004
Finished: April 15 2006

*This project definitely didn't need to take two years. It's an easy knit, but I just kept setting it aside to work on other things. It spent most of its life at the bottom of a knitting bag in the corner of my living room.

carousel begins

Some of you were clamoring for a photo of the Aspen Neck Cowl in action. For some reason, my lovely sister thought that she looked a bit haggish not her best in this photo and demanded that I blur out her face. The end result is rather creepy in a Logan's Run sort of way, but it should give you a better idea of how the cowl looks when worn.

In other knitting news, I had a bit of trauma with my performance enhancing sweater. At some point I accidentally knit a couple of inches with a rogue black yarn, which created an odd stripe. Of course I did not notice this until many inches later. It's now been ripped out and I started over from scratch. I probably should have just ripped back to the error, but I discovered it at 10 PM at night and tore the whole thing out in a fit of pique. It's now back on the needles. I'll post a photo update soon.

Various and Sundry Links - March 17 2006

- I've been reading about the strange reactions some people have to Ambien. Perhaps the knitting accident above can also be blamed on the wonder drug. Let the class action lawsuit begin! Failing a financial settlement, insomniacs should at least get their own hymn like the glaucoma people do (turn your volume up!) [via].

- So, $cientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun!

- Copycatfight [via]

The Council of Fashion Designers of America is meeting with members of Congress tomorrow to gather support for a bill to offer copyrightlike protection to clothing designs. While European Union law already contains similar provisions, the CFDA proposal would be a substantial change to the existing American framework. The proposed bill would, for the first time, prevent anyone from copying an original clothing design in the United States and give designers the exclusive right to make, import, distribute, and sell clothes based on their designs.

Seems idiotic to me, especially having read about The Fashion Piracy Paradox a few weeks back.

- When I was a kid, my garage sale fanatic mom bought me at least one of the Vicki Barr books by Helen Wells (also the author of the Cherry Ames books, another favorite of mine). I was pretty fascinated by the stewardesses, in part because of their gorgeous uniforms. However, I'm not a uniform freak like Cliff Muskiet. His site contains detailed photos of over 400 flight attendant outfits [via]. I love the hat on the Emirates airlines uniform (better photo on this flight attendant's LJ). The incredibly exhaustive collection even includes numerous photos of the amazing Braniff uniforms created by Pucci. More Braniff uniform photos here, including the Braniff Barbie that I highly covet.

- Carrie is so very vulgar, at least according to Manolo Blahnik.

- Harrison Ford is Steve Ballmer's evil twin, at least according to MyHeritage. When I play with the site using my photo I get an odd assortment of results: Sammi Cheng, Jessica Alba and Virginia Mayo. I don't think I resemble any of these people, but I'd trust the results more if the site didn't also identify the tile roof in the background behind me as Ole Bull and Margaret Thatcher.

- Take It Ease-Y - A good discussion in the post and comments on the whole concept of knitting and ease.