Beyond Yarn

Well, it's been a long time since I rapped at ya! I thought I'd post some non-knitting needle work I did recently: I made some curtains for my bedroom. I'm often uninspired by curtains. They're too expensive, not very fun or creative, and they don't fit the window the way I want. I also want to start working with my sewing machine more, so I did and here is the result:

And here is the detail:


I found the sheer curtain at Target but it was too thin and boring, so I added the purple liner, with pink stitching!, and added a cute paisley edging to give it a little extra fun. I think I'm going to be adding panels of fabric to other things this summer (I have a cute shirt that's just a tad too short I'm going to try this with it next).
Also, my obligatory cat shots are getting way out of hand but that darn cat is a real ham!

Two little tops

There are two toddler girl birthdays coming up in the family so I took the opportunity to make my very first little kid garments. The yarn for both is super-soft Blue Sky Cotton - it would be a luxury yarn for me if I were making an adult-sized project, but since these tops use so little yarn, together they cost less than a kid's outfit from Old Navy!

This green wrap sweater is my first crochet project in a long time - years, even. It was so much fun to make, so fast and a nice change of pace. I love this color! The pattern is a free one from the Lion Brand website; the only modification I made was to use the ribbon ties instead of an inner snap and crochet chain tie for the closure. It took exactly 2 skeins (100 grams/150 yds).

This purple top is the Ballet T-shirt from Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop, the second project I've made from that book. There's an adult version of this top that I want to make for myself. The kid's version was so easy to make that it only took one afternoon & evening to finish, AND it only used a single 100 gram/150 yard skein! Actually, there was some yarn left over when I finished the pattern, so I just kept going to make it more of a tunic, and I added a single-crochet border around the neck to use up the whole skein. I think this will become a go-to pattern for gifts in the future.

Yellow bag

I (almost) finished the yellow wool bag...I'm editing this post because I decided to change the handle that's shown in this picture. A new one is in the works using the same leather in a different kind of braid.

The bag is loosely lined with fabric from an H&M cotton smock top that I didn't wear anymore.

Orange dress

Last week I bought the latest issue of Vogue Knitting and it's beautiful as always, with one project that really jumped out at me, so much that I literally put down the magazine, went to my stash trunk, and started working on it right away. It's the dress pictured on page 80, shown here with the first few inches:


The yarn is Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK - not something I'd usually use because it's expensive, and I try to buy easier-care fibers, but there was a bag of 11 balls on sale for half off at the yarn shop last fall, and I loved the color so much that I bought it and put it away until I found the right pattern. I'm a little worried I'll be cutting it close with the yardage...I guess we'll see!

And now for the action shot of my last project, the Giant Sweater!


It's extremely warm so I probably won't get much more wear out of it this season. It was pictured as a dress in the magazine but I like wearing it and other dresses over a pair of obscenely tight jeans I bought just for the purpose, so they don't add too much bulk where I don't want it :-)

Finished Project Round-up

Well, I have put off posting here for so long, I've decided to gather all my finished projects. First:

I blocked it a little too big, so I'm thinking of trying it again. I don't know if a sweater will shrink the second time around, but maybe I'll have to wash it in slightly warmer water. Over all, I'm pretty happy with it. The buttons were a lot of fun and when I'm not lazy, maybe I'll take a picture of them.

Project #2:

Yes! I finally finished my first pair of socks! They were really fast to knit when I finally got around to actually knitting them. I used this pattern for Moda Dea Sassy Stripes yarn but modified the heel and made my own instructions for a short-row heel based on these sock instructions. The short row heel was SO easy. For a long time I tried using a pattern that didn't wrap the short-row, but I would always mess up somwhere and never pick up that second sock but I'm sticking with a basic short row from here on out.

Project #3:

This is a baby sweater my mom wanted me to knit for a friend of my little sister (whew!). I used an interesting pattern from Knitty. I though it was interesting that the sleeves were knit separate from the body and then attached. A topdown raglan is so easy to knit (see project #1) so this was a nice change. I didn't have enough yarn (this was started before I published Knitting Lesson #1) so one sleeve is way off and this sweater suffers from a term I have coined as The Colorway Curse.

The Colorway Curse is defined as irregular or unflatterning patterns created from using colorway yarn, a particular pattern, gauge, and needle size. Notice the sleeve's odd pattern. I don't want to take credit for this, but the baby will probably wear it once before it outgrows it, so I'm not too stressed.

Give Peeps a Chance

This one goes out to my girl Rita:

Crocheted Peeps!

Giant Sweater

From the Fall 2006 issue of Knit.1, it's a giant V-neck sweater vest/dress, knit in quick, soft, cheap Homespun from Lion Brand. The pockets are my favorite part. And! Once and for all, a proper kitty shot.

Bacon & eggs

Hmmm...over at Monster Crochet there are crocheted fried eggs and a giant strip of bacon...plus other weird yarn creations. I'm not sure how I feel about these, but I felt somehow that I had to share.

I cheated!

So I'm not quite done with my sweater--I'm stalling on the buttons, but I really want to finish a baby sweater my mom commissioned me to make so I went to a long forgotten Ben Franklin in Monona today. They had supplies for crafts that went way out of style in the 70's (but I did find bags of latch-hook yarn so I'm going to finally make my long desired latch-hook wall hanging!) I also found the Sugar and Cream yarn I needed. They had every color imaginable so I impulsively decided to buy yarn for a washcloth/towel set...



The two green/yellow skeins are for the baby sweater, but the orange, yellow and rainbow are for my kitchen. I really wanted brown and orange but there wasn't a colorway skein with brown and orange; strange considering the rest of the out of date stuff they had!
I'm off to look for a great washcloth and towel pattern...and I'll accept any suggestions.

Lunchbox cozy

Hi! In a previous post I mentioned that I have an awesome new lunchbox that really rocks, but I didn't care much for the carrying case, so I made this knitted bag for it:

It's made out of Wool-Ease Thick, left over from a sweater I made for my husband, and stretches to fit the lunchbox & an ice pack...I can squeeze in a small orange, too. The handle is kind of a drawstring I-cord thing. I like this better than the case it came with, but I'm already envisioning improved future models, like a lighter cotton version for the warm months.


And although it's not knitting-related, here's what it looks like inside...hummus & tomatoes, carrots, a BabyBel cheese, pita, applesauce, two little chocolates, and some cute clearance valentine napkins from Target! I love this thing.

Rita's Rules of Knitting: Lesson 2

If you're going to modify a pattern or stop knitting in the middle of a pattern, even if it's only overnight, write down everything!

When beginning a project record needle size, gauge, color, dye lot of yarn and any modifications you're planning on making. If you stop knitting, make a note of where you left off. You never know when you'll pick the project up again.

Let's look at Exhibit B:

One of these sleeves is not like the other one, and it's not just the dye lot (which isn't the same, but I can't tell the difference!) I thought I counted rows correctly, but the second sleeve came out about an inch shorter than the first one and it was wider so I didn't decrease as much as the first one either. So I agonized overnight about tearing it out or not, but I ultimately decided I should because I want it to be as nice as possible. The sweater already looks nerdy enough as it is (and yet, it looks like something Rita would wear!) So here is the final outcome:

I promise to model it as soon as I have someone to take my picture. I haven't blocked it yet--but I can't wait because then it might not be so lumpy and uneven (at least that's what I'm telling myself!)

The pink sweater that never was

Well, it just wasn't meant to be...I finished the pink sweater and tried it on, and it was close, but just not close enough. The fit was just a little off, and I couldn't help thinking how much better the sweater looked in the space-dyed yarn used in the magazine I saw it in, so I'm sadly going to rip it out and reuse the yarn. I definitely want to remake the sweater in a new, yet to be determined yarn, and with some slight modifications to the sleeves.

:-|

Crocheted Atari!

I always wanted a Nintendo when I was growing up.

I guess these Mario mushrooms can be a suitable replacement. Now if I only knew how to crochet!

It looks like mental_floss found this on this website.

Wow, this website has an awesome post on felted fruit. I think the actual pattern is only in the magazine though. So here is a picture of the fruit:

Ongoing projects, etc.

My camera came out of its coma (faker!) so here are some progress photos of the yellow bag and pink sweater:

Top: The bag, still without handle. Middle: The inside of the bag, not lined yet. (Note kitty paws in upper left corner - my contribution in the "obligatory cat shot" category.) I sewed in strips of flexible plastic canvas to give the bag more shape and structure. I made a fair number of small changes here and there to the pattern, and I'm really happy with it so far. I just need the right fabric for the lining now. Bottom: The back of the pink sweater. The sleeves look funny - they are supposed to be slightly puffed cap sleeves but I'll believe it when I see it and will proceed cautiously with the front now.

In other news, I got the spring issues of both Knit.1 and Interweave Knits! Knit.1 is becoming less brash - trying (a little) less hard to be terribly hip, and the current issue probably has the greatest number of makeable/wearable pattterns yet. Interweave Knits is always great, but they've changed their layout and I'm not quite used to it but think it's an improvement. There are more photos of each project now, which I like.

And finally, is less knitting-related news (though there is a connection later), I want to tell you guys about my awesome new lunchbox! I've had it for 2 weeks now and it's so great - fun to use and saving me lots of money. My only complaint is that I'm not crazy about the carrying case, so I want to knit a new one, plus one for the small lunch jar thermos got to go with it. I'll be sure to post whatever I eventually come up with.
-Angela

Knitting Tunes & TV

Well, my digital camera is broken (wah!) so I can't post the progress photos of my yellow bag and pink sweater, but I still wanted to post something, so I thought I'd ask everyone what they usually have on the TV or stereo while they're knitting.

For me it's been LOTS of Arrested Development, mixed in with various other Netflixed TV series. I also *love* the News Hour with Jim Lehrer and PBS in general. I save my music listening for the subway, but at home I love to listen to public radio podcasts while I'm knitting. My favorite shows are Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Radio Lab, This American Life, Living on Earth, and To the Best of Our Knowledge. I've only recently discovered NPR/PRI podcasts and I love them because I so seldom remember to catch the shows I like at their regular broadcast times.

Anyway...

Rita's Rules of Knitting: Lesson 1

This is the inaugural posting of Rita's Rules of Knitting. In this posting, I will discuss the most important lesson a knitter should heed when beginning a project:

Always buy the amount of yarn called for in a pattern, plus 1 more skein!!! I cannot stress this enough.

Let's look at Exhibit A:


















I have about 30 more rounds on my last sleeve, but no more yarn. And I bought this yarn back in September, so I doubt I'll find the same dye lot if I go back to Lakeside Fibers.
On the bright side, while I was discovering this fatal error, I was watching a very good version of Jane Eyre on PBS, and my cat seems to like to sit on the sweater as it weeps unfinished on my kitchen floor. Maybe it can be a kitty rug....

Projects preview

Nice work, Rita! Those mittens are my favorite!

I recently finished my first sweater, actually for my husband, which was the Lace Leaf Pullover from Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop book...knitted without the lace panels and button closure at the neck to make it less girly. Anyway, I want to make one for myself now, and I chose the Cap Sleeve Vest from the Winter issue of KnitSimple. I also received some gorgeous yellow wool as a gift from my Mom, and I'm going to use it for the Star Bag by Ann Budd from Interweave Knits' Fall 2006 Give Me A Handbag! staff project. I plan to make a few changes to the handle and possibly the top edge of the bag, but I think it will look great in that amazing yellow.

So this picture shows sort of my current projects bag, with the yellow wool and the heathery pink Wool-Ease I'm going to use for my sweater:

...and just because, here's a picture of the trunk that holds my stash...just the top layer...it's about 4 or 5 layers deep underneath that:

Projects follow-up

It's been a little crazy in Rita's world lately but I thought I'd post some follow-up pictures to my Christmas knitting frenzy. Here are the mittens all felted:
















The trigger finger hole worked out ok--I guess we'll find out next fall when my dad tries the mittens out.

Here's the bag I knitted for my mom:

This is actually the Felted Stripe Tote from One Skein by Leigh Radford. It's not felted yet.

And here is the project I'm currently working on, my first sweater:

I've actually knitted all of the body and am currently working on the sleeves.
One of my New Year's goals is to not buy anymore yarn until I finish this sweater. It's looking kind of lame right now, but once I block it, maybe it'll turn into the totally cool sweater I dreamed about.

Inspiration for the New Year

Hello knitting friends!
Among my resolutions for 2007 (next to reading more, taking one professional development course, and generally being a kinder person) is to get *organized* with my knitting. This means:

-Fewer impulse yarn buys - more conscious stash management!
-Actually *finishing* more projects instead of ripping out 10 times before finally giving up
-Knit more of my own clothes and knit more gifts for others
-Doing some charity knitting

I also want to incorporate other crafts into my repertoire, too. I have been looking for inspiration in books, magazines, and on the web, and there are two publication that consistently deliver & I really want to share with you: knitty.com and CRAFT: Magazine.

Knitty is a quarterly web publication with so many fun patterns, I can't list all my favorites here. A highlight from the current issue is the binary scarf.

CRAFT: is a new magazine, only on its second issue, but it's so exciting and very different than anything else out there. In the current issue, there are articles on a crew of urban knitting taggers, an online museum of neuroscience needlecraft art, and some fabulous Star Wars Fair Isle pattern charts!!!

OK, that's enough sharing for today - I'd love to know what's getting you excited about knitting and creating in general!

Tippi

Knitting Frenzy!

Here are some pictures of the project I'm working on right now. They're felted hunting mittens for my dad. The right mitten has a little hole where the trigger finger can easily come out of the mitten (and I never thought I'd type a sentence like that in my life...). I'm using the Adult Mittens pattern from the Beverly Galeskas Felted Knits book, and modifying it a bit for the finger hole. I found this hunter orange colored yarn in Cascade 220, if anyone is interested. Here are the pictures. The first is of the mitten half done, and the second is the mitten all knitted, but not felted.

After finishing the mittens, I plan on making a felted bag for my mom. I'm going to use the "At-Odds Felted Purse" from the Theresa Gaffey Designs and use my favorite yarn, Cascade 220. I attemped to make a center-pull ball out of two of these skeins. We'll see if it worked, or if I'm going to have one giant tangled-yarn mess on my hands.