New Sweater

So S and I were looking for something for B's Birthday, and decided to get her some new patterns. One of them was the Rusted Root. I was not a huge fan of the pattern that runs down the front of the sweater, but thought the puff sleeve was very cute. I had some yarn that was going to use to make a baby sweater, but as S pointed out, yarn that needs to be hand washed is not the most practical for a baby sweater, so I used it here instead. The sweater was a quick knit, probably only took me about a week to make, I did have to stop to get 1 more ball of yarn, since the I didn't have enough. Also, I think I would put in some vertical darts to bring the waist in a bit for a better fit. Will work on that next.
-E

Pattern: Rusted Root (modified, to skip the leaf pattern)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donagel Luxury Tweed (5 balls in a light blue color)
Needles: size 6 cicular and a set of size 4 double points

Jaywalkers and Cheese doodles

As several individuals will attest to, I have been very dissatisfied with many of my most recent projects. I've started them, gotten halfway through them and frogged them or just being truly annoyed. I needed something more challenging.
I decided it was finally time to do some destashing...and learn a new skill. I swore that I would never knit socks. The fiscal responsibility in me screaming why would anyone pay $20 just for the yarn when I can get a perfectly acceptable pair of socks for considerably less, and I don't have to knit them. I'm beginning to see the error of my ways and I'm thinking some nice merino socks in the dead of winter might be the perfect thing for a cold midwestern day. So here is my first successful attempt at the toe-up sock. So far it is a toe-up Jaywalker by Grumperina with Claudia Hand-painted in the Hokie colorway. I have been frogging a lot of things lately, we'll see if this one makes it to full size before I frog it.



But here's where the cheese doodles come in, or lack there of. Apparently the yarn is pretty heavily saturated in paint...and is slowly painting my hands to be Hokie colors. I'm sure there's someone out there jumping up and down for my newly visible school spirit. So the last couple of nights, my hands are managing to look like I've been indulging in some fried processed cheese foods...okay maybe I have, but no cheese doodles were consumed in the process of knitting these socks...thus far.


I'm thinking these socks are going to need a very good soak to hopefully get some excess dye out of them before they're worn I'm going to end up with some very dyed feet.

-S

Handmade Nation::: Sneak Peek April, 2007

Here's the preview for Handmade Nation!

Handmade Nation

I recently came across another blog or post on Ravelry about Handmade Nation. It's a documentary film and book combo that will be released later this year (the book) and early next year (the film). The director, Faythe Levine has been traveling across the USA in an effort to interview many DIY crafters about the new craft movement. As a woman who loves to support other female artists and support female-run businesses, I couldn't help but order the t-shirts that Faythe is selling over on Etsy (she also has several different totes, which are prefect for a medium sized project or to use at the grocery store).

Each t-shirt or tote purchased supports the funding of the project. The t-shirt fit is great, as always with American Apparel-based shirts, and the design is fun and funky and will get people to ask about the project. I'm excited for Faythe and can't wait to see the final cut. So, help out if you can and order a shirt or stop by her blog and read about the process of making the film and book. She has a donate button on the blog if you want to support, but aren't into the shirt.

-B

Loving the quick knits

Another finished object...okay so the sudden number of finished objects is more due to the lack of a functioning camera for the last few months. The diamond scarf is finished, only took a few nights of quick knitting...and a few frogging of bad pattern picking (which seems somewhat consistent with all projects lately. I've tried a number of patters with the yarn...and wasn't a fan until I saw the diamond scarf.

Diamond Scarf

Needles: Clover Bamboo US19

Yarn: Twinkle, Chunky Soft, 100% wool.

Didn't get the pattern from Twinkle, just modified one of the stitch patterns from Vogue Stitchionary. Wasn't sure I would be thrilled with 100% wool. But it was soft as can be. We'll see what its like after it finishes blocking. I hadn't intended to block it necessarily, but the edges seemed to be rolling...I'm hoping blocking helps them a bit.

The scaves really are starting to pile up here...maybe I should start giving them away.

-S

Diamonds are a girls best friend

The lack of posts has related to my missing camera charger...so new charger and new camera have lead to some finished objects. And looking at my recent project choices, I seem to be subconciously obsessed with diamonds, not the gem kind, although those would be nice too. We'll start with the FOs.

Short Row Hat


This hat took a number of attempts. Dropped stitches, that were impossible to pick up accurately required several froggings. Too tight of a gauge reuired another frogging. So about five starts later, I have a finished hat, although it might be a little longer than I prefer....or my heads a littl shorter than I would prefer. It's currently drying after its washing. So we'll see how long it takes to dry. So final stats.


Needles: US 8 bamboo clovers
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, #252, about 1.5 skeins
Pattern: Short Row Hat
No changes to the the pattern. I'm hoping the Noro softens up after its washing...it was a little scratchy.

Lady Eleanor



Couldn't really see myself wearing a ful lady eleanor, so I modified it to three starting triangles. I was almost through a full skein using 4 triangles originally and decided the scarf was going to be too cumbersome for anyone to wear as a scarf, so I restarted. there seems to be a theme here. And the stats.
Needles: US8 clover bamboo
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden #252
Pattern: Lady Eleanor
And a WIP related to a girl's best friend.

Diamond Scarf




As I'm not typically a fan of chunky yarn for most knitting (for scarves I make an exception), I wasn't excitd to buy the book that went with the yarn I bought. So I finally put one of my Vogue Stitchionary books to use to find a similar pattern. And this is what I came up with...very similar to Twinkle's Big City Knits Diamond Scarf. It seems to be working up very quickly. So hopefully it'll be done here shortly.

Yarn: Twinkle Chunky
Needles: US19 Clover Bamboo straight

There are other WIPs, but those can wait for the time being.


-S

Rockin' Sock Club and Project Spectrum

I am so excited about some new knitting things in my life! First off, I signed up last year for the Rockin's Sock Club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I had finally gotten to see Socks that Rock last year at Rhinbeck and immediately fell in love with the colorways and the feel of this venerable favorite. When I first started listening to Lime n Violet and reading blogs, I didn't get why people would just buy and buy this yarn. I get it now though! I'm trying to Stashalong and use what I own, but man, the BMFA website sure makes it tough. My pledge is that I have to use at least 4 of the skeins that I have now before buying any new ones. Although, new ones will now be arriving every couple of months. We'll see how that all plays out.

I got my first shipment a week ago, and it was on my birthday! This month's colorway is Dragon Dance and the pattern that goes with it is called Serendipity. As you can see from the photo, we also got some swag this month. Two adorable pins that will definitely adorn one of my knitting project bags.




Now, I'm not a red person by any stretch of the imagination. You know how yesterday was Wear Red Day to support Women's Heart Health. Yeah, only one at work not wearing red. I don't own red. I have strawberry blonde hair, fair skin, and green eyes. I look a tad jaundice when I wear red. Hence, no red clothes. But, soon I will have red on my feet! Part of why I, and many others, have joined sock clubs is to get out of our "comfort zones." For me, I will be learning new techniques and exploring new colors. Luckily, the reds and pinks in this month's colorway also fit perfectly into Project Spectrum.

This year, Project Spectrum has been set up as such:

FEBRUARY / MARCH - FIRE - orange, red, pink

APRIL / MAY - EARTH - green, brown, metallics

JUNE / JULY - AIR - gray, white, yellow

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER - WATER - blue, black, purple

Lolly has encouraged folks to explore the Project through many venues. This month, I will be knitting my Dargon Dance socks and exploring the Project Spectrum diet that Bella Knitting posted about yesterday. I'll have to think through what my goals are in order to participate in this interpretation of Project Spectrum and post them later next week. I am anxious to see what people post on the Flickr group as well. It should be inspiring and enjoyable in all of its forms.