Apr
24
Knitting Gold
Filed Under Knitting | 2 Comments
Look was waiting for me in the mailbox last night!
Two whole skeins of this gorgeous wool/nylon blend, worsted weight yarn by DyeFi. It’s got this sheen to it, which makes it look like spun precious metals, and it absolutely sparkles. The colors in this photo really pop, and as I was winding it into a center pull cake, it seemed very bright and very definitive in color changes. But I couldn’t stand it, I had to see it knitted up. The stripes are very wide – much wider than I anticipated when winding it up – but they sort of melt into each other.
So, as we speak it is being knit into the Baby Bolero pattern from OneSkein by Leigh Radford. The model in the book is done in cotton (ugh) and so the whole project just looks sort of bulky and flat. Have you ever noticed how the yarn makes the pattern? Anyhow, something told me it would be so cute in stripes. I think it will actually be very gender neutral despite all the sparkle.
I was also pleased to have a non-splitty yarn for the next project. Lately every yarn I’ve knat is extremely splitty. When I first saw it, I thought it was really strange that it has a little nylon net around a wool core. (How do you suppose they get the wool IN there anyway? Do they have a tiny sausage machine for wool?) And I wondered how it would knit up. I’m a big fan of fuzzy sweaters, and I was afraid it might be too smooth. But the fabric is really very light and airy. I hope that when I block it, it does expand a little. The pattern calls for size 8 needles and worsted weight yarn, and my gauge is spot on, but it seems a bit loose. In any case it should be perfect for a November baby in Austin.
And there will probably be a good deal left over even after I pick through it to make the stripes match up. Maybe I should get on that toy that Susan suggested. I think this might look nice in a dinosaur.
Apr
8
I don’t know what my problem is, I’ve had this adorable pair of socks and baby sacque done for weeks and I couldn’t get it posted. The pattern is Knitting at Knoon’s Sweet Pea (what is my problem? I consistently type “Sweat Pea”…), and the yarn is the suggested Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.
As cute as it is, and as perfect a baby gift it will make, I don’t think I will ever do this pattern again. Can you say “boring”? I’m talking about stockinette stitch. On size 3′s. For miles. I thought it would never end, and just when I thought I was done with it, and could do (whee!) reverse stockinette, that is, when I reached the end of the decreases – which were themselves like 15 rows apart – I double checked the pattern and see that now I’m supposed to continue for another four inches. Yeah, I put the knitting down and walked away.
So now I’m on the hunt for something a little less traditional. But still cute! It must be cuuuuute. And I’m flat out rejecting anything that has even a few rows of stockinette. I think I’ve met this year’s quota. Bleh.
I’m scouring Ravelry, but it seems like every FO or pattern on there is from the same three patterns. I’m thinking some sort of rainbow variegated yarn would be nice. This mommy has a completely different style… think, Grateful Dead meets Paul McCartney and Bobs Dylan and Marley. And throw in just a touch of Mary Poppins. She’s also my oldest friend. So it has to be perfect whatever it is.
Anyone got any bright ideas?
Mar
17
What the hell is ‘Plarn’?
Filed Under Crafting, Knitting, Quilting, Sewing | 3 Comments
Susan asked me that last night, which disolved us both into giggles.
Somewhere I got this weird wild hair and decided to make this. Yes… I have lost my mind – again. So here you are… 56 grocery sacks worth of plastic yarn. Roughly the size of a basketball. And it only took me 2 hours to cut them up and string them together. ONLY.
Someone please tell me why can never get rid of all my works in progress… oh! yeah! because I keep starting new shit! I never used to do that, I was strictly a one project gal. Somewhere along the lines, I became corrupted. Right now I have the plarn bag, two quilts partially quilted, a baby hat, 3 shirts, 2 chickens, 3 elefelts, and 2 giraffes started. Oh, and 2 bunnies, which I’m not even sure will work out…
On the other hand, I did finish two projects this weekend. And the floor in the sewing room is once again cleared. I don’t say clean, because it is still covered in little bits of wool fuzz from the last batch of sweaters I felted. I should really learn how that vacuum cleaner works.
Feb
29
Yep, I know, it’s about time! I redid the sewing room um, well I forgot how long ago. And here, for your enjoyment (or amusement) are the photos.
Most of my ideas for changing the room were inspired by a book: Creating Your Perfect Quilting Space by Lois Hallock. Not that I’m much of a quilter. I mean, sure a few here and there. But not really… I needed more of a multi-purpose crafty space. And I’m super anal about neat and tidy shelves.
One of the best suggestions from the book was about drawing your room and it’s furniture to scale and playing with the pieces until you found a furniture arrangement you could live with. When I did this, I realized that the daybed had to go. It was taking up too much room. So it was off to craigslist. It lasted all of about 4 hours on craigslist before it sold. With the “profit” from the sale of the daybed I managed to buy the Murphy bed you see in the above photo. So now my mother-in-law (who I love dearly, really) has a place to sleep, that isn’t too comfortable, and I have floor space to spread out all those quilts I’m supposed to be making.
Underneath the daybed there were boxes. LOTS of boxes. Most of them filled with fabric. First order of business, empty the boxes and get rid of anything that I wouldn’t buy off the shelf today. That was most of it. You can see all that remained on the two top left shelves of the bookcase. The book also gave great instructions for how to fold all that “quilting” fabric uniformly so that it stacks neatly. So neatly that I felt I could stand to have it out on an open shelf. Which actually works out well, because now I can see what I have without crawling under the dust ruffle and pulling out six other boxes to get to the box with the fabric that I think I want.
One thing that I wanted to do that actually got done, was moving the Bose iPod dock thingy into my room. Woo hoo! Tunes while I work. Trust me, it’s better than my whistling.
I love that my serger and sewing machine are just an arm’s reach away. And all my thread is stored either on the keyboard tray of the desk or in that drawer you can see. And I love the new lamp from Ikea that lights the machines as I work. I wonder how I ever worked without it. That little appliance bulb in the sewing machine puts out about as much light as a firefly.
The closet. Which here looks over stuffed and unorganized. Really, it looks much better in real life, but perhaps I should consider some curtains. You can’t even see my most ingenious idea which involves Ikea pants hangers and yards and yards of fabric. All of my Etsy inventory is stored on these shelves. Most of it in the two red baskets on the bottom.
And you get a glimpse of the big fabric covered board on the wall. This is one of those pin boards that everyone seems to be making these days. Not even one of the tutorials on these things mentions what a pain in the butt it is to find homasote. We had to drive clear to Georgetown to even find a piece. And on the way back, with the damn thing flapping on the roof, I had to sit there and pull DOWN on the string going through the cabin of the car to keep us from literally sailing off the highway.
There is the rest of it, with the one lone pinwheel block leftover from the quilt on the back of the chair. Cool thing was, the blocks stick to the linen covering the board, and I laid out the entire quilt on the wall. No more crawling around like Gollum on the floor rearranging block after block until I get a “random” look. Yeah, I know I need help.
And you can see my easel. With a really roughed in sketch of my friend, Sarah. I haven’t touched it in at least 6 weeks. Maybe this weekend. If I can get enough crap done at work. The easel is great though. It’s beautiful on it’s own, and as an added bonus, I can lower the “shelf” enough to sit on the floor and work. I don’t know about you, but sitting on the floor is usually more comfortable than a chair in my experience.
You can see the little tiny part of my magnet board which holds a few pieces of inspiration cut from magazines. What isn’t showing is my medal from last year’s danskin.
I absolutely love this new room. I love the color on the walls (it used to be YELLOW… like really really yellow). I love my new furniture. I love all the storage. But most of all, I love that it is my room where I can go and hide out. And THAT is why there are no plans for another baby anytime soon.
Feb
28
The weekend’s spoils.
I know when I started liking pink and pale green/turquoise together. When I was about 12, my gymnastics team got new uniforms. Previously we’d been wearing all lime green leotards with two diagonal stripes. One gold, one white. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much say in the design of the new uniforms, and they ended up being a dark green, a minty blue green and pink. I was sure they would be hideous, and they were, but most leotards (or leos as we called them) were pretty hideous in the mid-eighties. Still, the colors bring back good memories.
But, I digress. I spent the weekend making this new needle roll because my first one was already falling apart. That, and it really wasn’t well designed anyway. I actually sat down this time and measured everything I wanted to fit, and planned and drew sketches to scale and finally cut and sewed this sucker from 2 1/2 fat quarters. And I’ll tell you, all that’s left of the blue floral is the selvage edge. I managed somehow to squeak out all the pieces I needed. Which is actually a miracle in itself as I really didn’t plan the cuts.
I love that everything I need fits neatly inside, and I don’t have to go running down the stairs juggling a ball of yarn and knitting on the needles in order to fetch a crotchet hook to pick up a dropped stitch. I love the little zip pocket that holds those end caps and size tags perfectly. And all of my needle tips and DPNs fit, with room to grow. I also added a couple of strips near the top for hanging stitch holders and stitch markers (on binder rings – Target has the coolest colored ones!)
So, it’s not the really cool needle book idea I had planned out before. I’ve been working on that, but I might give it up as it is kinda cumbersome, even if it is really neat. But it works, and I like just looking at it all rolled up. Maggie Righetti, who taught me to knit through her book Knitting in Plain English, says to always take time to stop and admire your work, because it will give you satisfaction, and encourage a job well done. And there really is nothing more satisfying than seeing something completed.