A sneak peak...

I'm so close...

Manly knitting

Although I could never top this project for sheer, legendary manliness, here are my latest attempts at knitting for men. On the left is another pair of Basic Socks from the Ann Budd book, in Wool-Ease Sportweight. They're for my Dad's birthday. On the right is the Seamless Hybrid from Knitting Without Tears. I'm using Cotton-Ease in Charcoal; it's really kind of like a faded black color, and my husband picked it out when I gave him some choices from my stash. I'm basing the measurements on his favorite Gap cotton sweater, but I'm still pretty nervous about how it will turn out in the end. I knit a sweater for him long ago when I was very inexperienced, and the result is only suitable for wearing while, I don't know, gutting fish maybe? He's really excited about this one based on the pictures in the book, so the pressure's on!

Inspiration!

I was hit with the design bug the other day. I just happened to be online window shopping at this store called Forever 21. I found 60% of the tops to be completely great (if not reeking of "Hi, I'm made in a sweatshop overseas"), but quickly realized that the name of the store, while sounding like it would be for anyone over 21 wishing to remain young and hip, is really one of those Seventeen magazine deals, where it's really appealing to 15 year olds wanting to look 21.

I forged on though because the tops were so cute.

Like this one:

And these...the yellow is so great. I think the one on the left is linen. If it had a wide collar-band, I'd really love it. I started sketching out pattern pieces instantly.





Then, I saw this shirt:...and fell in love! I knew it was well out of my design skills, but the nearest store is 3 hours away. Can I really drive there? Buying these clothes from the online store is just asking for a return hassle. But trying to make them could be even more soul crushing.

In any event, I think the whole point of this post is to show this video:

A Shirt Story

Because, this is what I'm afraid my sewing skills will result in! (Sorry, I wanted to embed the video but it was a no go)

The sweater that will end this long, long winter

I have knit the sweater that will end winter!

I knit this sweater for a one month old baby, and I made it a little bigger so he could wear it around 6 months. Well, it wasn't until I was finishing the seams that I stopped and though, "hmm, he'll be 6 months in July!". I didn't really think through the whole sweater situation. He is growing like a weed though so I reconsidered things, and in light of the never-ending winter, thought he might be able to wear it yet this winter/spring.

However, because I really want him to wear it, it makes perfect sense that winter will stop this very week! Temps are supposed get higher than the teens!


Here are the details on the sweater:

Yarn: The main color is Nashua Creative Focus Superwash. The trim is some scrap Cascade 220 I had. I once again broke my rule about buying more yarn than needed, and would have run out before finishing the trim so I improvised and I think it works. It beats having most of a another skein of yarn I don't want. It's not a Christmas sweater; it's a tomato sweater --whatever that means! :O)

Pattern: The Oz Vest from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding.

It was very nice to knit and finish a project so quickly!

Blankets for babies

Around Christmas last year the community service committee I belong to at work, and a group of fantastic crafty librarians, made a bunch of knit hats for a men's shelter. Blankets for Babies is the name of the newest project of the committee. We received a grant for the cost of materials and will start making the blankets soon. They will be simple flannel squares with an easy crocheted edging. Our goal is to make 50 blankets, which we will donate to a hospital's layette program for needy families. Today I made a sample/test blankie with an inexpensive store-bought receiving blanket and some donated yarn. Hemming the flannel and sewing a blanket-stitch edge took almost twice as long as the actual crocheting, which was super fast and satisfying to do. We were inspired to do both of these projects by my mom's prolific charitable crafting; I really can't wait until we have a big stack of cute blankies to give.

I knit the entire month of February and all I got was this stupid sleeve

Pestopotatopeafennelsausagepasta

No, this isn't a food blog, and clearly I'm no food photographer, but I'm so in love with this recipe that I'm sharing it anyway. I had spaghetti with potatoes, green beans, and pesto for lunch at an Italian place a few weeks ago and ever since I've been making some version of at home two or three times a week. Cheap, fast, so tasty.

It's just 1 large red potato, 1 large fennel bulb, and 2 Boca Italian sausages, all sliced 1/4 inch thick, sauteed with 2 cloves of garlic in butter and/or olive oil until potatoes are soft & everything is nice and brown around the edges. Add fresh or frozen green beans or peas at the end & continue to cook/toss until they're heated through. Salt, pepper, & crushed red pepper to taste, then toss it all with 1/2 pound cooked pasta & about 1/2 cup of pesto. Feta or parmesan cheese are both great on top of this. Best to have a glass of wine with this! Trust me, it's better than it looks in the photo. The potato-fennel-sausage-garlic combination is also fantastic on pizza.

Kaino

I guess you can tell what happened to the orange dress from long ago.... My stash of closeout Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK has finally found the right pattern - this is the Kaino vest from Norah Gaughan Vol.1, by Berroco. I used the yarn doubled up so the vest is so so warm. Very comfy too, and looks good over long or short sleeves (I can't wait to try it with a dress). Norah Gaughan is my hero; my Ravelry queue is mostly her stuff, and I'd make all of it tomorrow if I could. I *did* have to break my yarn-buying diet when I realized 2/3 of the way through that I'd run out of yarn. Luckily for me this yarn is discontinued but pretty readily available, so I was able to get some at a great discount. Still, I feel bad about breaking my resolution, so I'm adding another two weeks to the end of my diet - July 14 is the new end date.

Dino

Here is a nice little dinosaur from the book Knitted Toys by Zoe Mellor - such a great book. I used the same recycled yarn that I made the EZ baby sweater with, plus some of the remnants of the $2 wool (that one skein is still going!). He's going to live with a baby boy.

And just for fun, here's what I got at my public library branch's book sale a couple of weekends ago. A Brief History of Time (!), a film book for my husband, a fun historical costume book, a catalog of beautiful paintings by an artist I hadn't heard of before, and this cool kids' book about fibers of all kinds, even Kevlar! I gave that to a coworker for her kid. I do love my library.

Not really a refashion...

So I shouldn't be posting about this, but *did* use my sewing machine.
In my pursuit of this cute Gap dress, I found this shirt in the clearance section:


It was an XL and looked like a giant mumu on me, so I hemmed the side seams. I know it's not much of a refashion, but I am so excited that it worked. I'm a big fan of Wiksten Made, and while her designs are much better, I thought I did a pretty good job finding a similar design.

Now I just don't know if I should wear the dress or the shirt to work tomorrow!

Works in progress

With all the snow (and snow days!) I've had this week, I've been able to work on a couple things.
I started the first item a couple of weeks ago, but it's going to take me a while. Tippi may recognize it as a suggestion for a new knit-along, but I just couldn't wait! (Not to mention, knit-alongs shouldn't take months on end, so this wasn't a good choice anyway).



It's the Tangled Yolk Cardigan from the Interweave Knits, Fall 2007 issue. I'm using the yarn it called for, Rowan Felted Tweed in ginger. My gauge was way off so instead of knitting with marginally usable size 5 needles, I had to go down to a size 3 needle! It's taking a while and the gauge is still a little wonky but I'm fine with that since the new gauge will fit me better anyway. I'm just starting the second sleeve, but after that, I get to work on the actual cabling, and maybe I can wear it in the fall!




And the second item is the "Baby's First Ball"
pattern from Knitting For Baby. Who can resist felted balls in bright colors? I'm using scrap Paton's wool--I tend to stock up on that stuff. It's somewhat cheap and great for felting small little projects.

Slow Down

Note to self: Never make a resolution! I just never have anything to post anymore. Now that school has started again, my free time has evaporated...and I'm lazy :O)
So here are some socks I knit up a couple weeks ago for my mom's birthday.




They look kind of lame in the picture (my mom does not have monster feet). I used the "On-Your-Toes" Socks pattern by Ann Budd from the Interweave Knits Summer 2007 issue. I used Lang Yarns Aktion Jawoll. The yarn came with extra thread for the heel and toe, which was nice. I LOVE knitting from the toe up! I had no idea it would work so much faster. I struggled a little to finish the second one, but I finished--that's the key! I also really liked how the short row heel was worked; much thicker and stronger than the other pattern I've used in the past. This pattern also has directions for knee-highs, so I'm going to attempt that next!

Refashioned top

This is a bit of a stretch in terms of post worthiness, but here it goes anyway. I bought this top months ago at H&M - tried on one size, it was too small, so I bought the next size up without trying it on...and the sleeves were still too tight. So it sat in my closet until I finally cut off the sleeves and hemmed the armholes. I did the sewing by hand because the fabric is very light and I'm not confident enough with my sewing machine on delicate material. I still love this top, I'm excited to finally be able to wear it, and now I have these awesome sleeve pieces, which I think will make adorable pockets on some future project of undetermined nature.

Leg Warmers

I had a special request for leg warmers for a potty-training toddler who likes to wear dresses but whose mom hated the hassle of dealing with tights at potty time. I forgot to photograph the first pair I made; they were made with crazy bright yarn and were just 2x2 ribs tubes. For these, I used Berroco Comfort Yarn, which is very soft & machine washable, and made it up as I went along. I started at the bottom with 40 stitches, then gradually increased to 48. I used my forearm as a rough approximation of a toddler's leg. I didn't make them a perfect match because the request stated explicitly that the leg warmers should be "funky," and this was the only way I knew to make pastels funky.

Baby gear

Well, I think I already broke one of my New Year's resolutions by not posting all week. I guess crafting takes time. I have been busy crafting fun baby items lately. My pending auntiness didn't really kick in until a month ago, but now I just want to make baby things all time. My first project was a little hooded wrap. I knit this with Bernat organic cotton. Organic cotton is hard to come buy if you're not willing to order online, so I question how organic it really is. Hmm. I really liked how the little wrap knit up though.
Second, since the baby is going to be born in winter, I thought a little sweater and hat set was necessary. I used patterns from One Skein for both the hat and sweater. I thought I was getting the hang of seams, but this sweater was crap to sew up. I loved the yarn though. It's Classic Elite Yarns Lush, 50/50 wool/angora. It's super soft.
Finally, I made some baby bibs. I wasn't too sure if new babies use bibs but I've been assured that they do. They're so little that a little bit of fabric goes a long way. I really like the kitty/cat fabric. The more I look at fabric, the more I'm tempted to buy the super expensive stuff online. There are so many irresistible fabrics out there. I used the pattern from Chickpea Sewing Studio. They sewed up really fast, and they're so cute....

Babies are cute.

Warm things

Here are two quick warm things I've done - the first of the year! (So far I'm doing very well at not straying from my knitting plan. Which I'm proud of even though it's only weeks into the year.) Anyway, on the left is the Karn hat from Norah Gaughan vol.1 (can't wait to get vol.2 which just came out!). I used Lamb's Pride, of course. I love this hat. On the right is a pair of mittens for m husband, made with the famous $2 wool from Smiley's. I managed to get a hat & these mittens from one skein, with a little ball to spare - that's a lot of mileage for $2!

What a Surprise!

I spend my days opening mail for other people, so it was such a surprise to actually see something in the mail addressed to me today! And once I opened said package, I was floored to see what was inside!
Here is an action shot of me enjoying my new mittens Tippi knit for me! They are unbelievable (and with cute little squirrels-- and green trim that doesn't show on the picture). These mittens are amazing and so thoughtful a gift and I totally love them!

Beware the changing blog

For those who noticed, this little knitting site is going through some changes. It was time for a dusting off. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Christmas crafting round-up

I had great intentions of debuting all my crafting for the holidays slowly, but since it's practically mid-January, here ya go:

Item #1:
Here is the mysterious item I was hand felting. It is a big bag and it was a name-draw gift for Christmas. I was fairly pleased with the final product. I think it could have felted better in a machine but overall, I was able to keep the felting consistant. The handles were horrific to felt--I didn't think they would ever shrink! I will also confess to attaching the handles on wrong ends so I cut them and attached buttons for a cute little flair.






Item #2:
I decided that bags were going to be the gift of choice this year; they're always needed, super trendy, and customizable. So I made my mother and two sisters their own tote bags. I kind of winged it in terms of a pattern. I learned a lot about the process of adding a liner from the bags when I made the bags for my grandmothers, and I just adapted that pattern for new bags. I'm also starting to not forget to add pockets to the inside! I did, however, forget to make a bag for myself. I think they're so cute but I'm kind of burned out from sewing....maybe I'll make a couple when the outdoor farmer's market starts up again.


And for some non-present related Christmas crafting:

New Year's post

I don't think I really made a list of New Year's resolutions last year so I'll start with a clean slate this year.

First, I think my first new resolution should be to post more often! I always set out with the best intentions and something sidetracks me. I'm too busy creating and not documenting enough. One non-knitting goal I have for myself this year is to photograph the world around me more, and I'm sure my knitting will feature prominently in that endeavor.

Second, I will no longer buy yarn for imaginary projects, even charity baby items. I have a very small space to store yarn and most of it is taken up with bad yarn choices. I have reached a point where I need to bag all the yarn up and walk into a random knitting group, slip in beside someone else's chair, and walk away slowly. I have so many better creations to work on.

Third, I need to organize my queued projects and prioritize. I might work on Ravelry to make this happen, but at this point I'm not sure I want to fully jump into that community.

As for non-knitting resolutions...
I hope to dabble in embroidery a little this year.
I've made some progress with sewing and I want to keep that up. Limited time and space really are hard to work with though.

And finally (and I've been wishing for this for a while), I want a room of my own (but since I just renewed my crappy apartment lease, I don't think that'll happen this year).