Saturday, June 25, 2005

ho! ho! ho! a knitter's christmas list ....

all i want for christmas is ....

1. a gift card from target

2. a set of 24" addi turbos from patternworks

3. BOOKS! i have an amazon wish list. i don't want all the books. if you read the details, each book has a *priority*. i covet some more than others :)

4. i like buying fabric from mary jo's in gastonia.

5. i LOVE lots of different yarn shops ... including great yarns, knit picks, WEBS, elann, patternworks, and knit happens!

6. i like to shop for beads at ornamentea.

Friday, June 24, 2005

crochet world

i did crochet another swirly gizmo for the carnival shawl, but this time with a silk yarn, vittadini's 'celia'. it was wonderfully scrunchy (i like the way silk sounds/feels when squeezed), but, it did not puff out and "relax" as the cotton yarn did. the silk remained flat and submissive. though, it would drape nicely, and be 1/2 the wt. of a wool or cotton blend, and has wonderful luster, i just did not like how flat the motif was.
so, i still needed to crochet. and in the midst of helping mr. crumbles with photo stuff, i managed to crochet another dishcloth (since, we only have 2). i think the yarn is 'sugar and cream' ....

pot scrubber and yarn

and here's a close up

crochet detail

and, i did NOT make it to knitting last night! (BIG booooo hoooo !) i was going to wear my smoking jacket in honor of it being 'martini' night. i'll have to find/create another occasion to wear it soon though. it's swanky!

smoking jacket

that's all the show-n-tell for today!

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

could it be?

could it be a one skein wonder? could it be a shrug? could it be agent scarlett has too much time on her hands?

agent scarlett

we played with yarn most of the day .... the joys of a yarn shop! you can see the same yarns daily, and each day, have a new fantasy as to what each ball screams to be. the rowan cotton 4ply wants to be an orangina. but, so does the jaeger siena. the goddess carmen wants to be crocheted into a swirly thing for the carnival shawl. i wore my green crochet 'coaster' pinned to my sundress all day. that's how it is when you have something new. wear it non-stop. note: my coaster got puffy. it "relaxed". when i first blocked it, it was super flat (thanks to the iron :) but now, it definitely puffs on the 'wrong' side. i prefer the 'wrong' side though. maybe this is what happens to cotton crochet in the south? (humidity!) (it doesn't ONLY make your hair curl)

puffy coaster

notice the printout of 'blogger help' my puffy coaster is resting on?

i had suspected that the beautiful cotton for the swatch was a discontinued rowan yarn, cotton "nice". that was confirmed last night when i found the one other ball i have, still with its label. vintage rowan. what a shame! how is it when a yarn is discontinued, impossible to ever find again, that it happens to be THE perfect yarn for a project? i think the only other yarn that could feel as good is silk. wouldn't that be a nice shawl?

oh, a big holler out to AGENT OLIVE LANDLORD! there's something to be said about a good alias :)

we are crazy girls! i LOVE my crazy girlfriends

Monday, June 20, 2005

swatch maker

i found something in the new rowan _classic holiday_ book i like --- a crochet shawl. it's been added to my 'want to make list'. i even swatched it today with some pretty green cotton by rowan -- i'm not sure if it's cotton glace or something discontinued, such as the 'nice' cotton. and, of course, it's a great color, that i probably will never find again. i only have one ball, so if anything, i at least have a pretty green coaster now.

unblocked wheel

blocked wheel

the first one is unblocked, the second is blocked.
this swatch aspires to be this someday!

(hey, look at ME! i created a linky dink!)

the finished shawl in the photo (link) has "ferengi" on its edges. i will not be adding ferengi --- it's a waste of yarn! and i sure as hell hope i don't eat those words later.

and now, just for the fun of it, here's my quilt. it took me 8 years to make it. i finished it a couple of years ago before a roadtrip. its finished size is 64" x 64" . large enough for me, but not large enough for a queen bed. i don't care though. it's lovely.

quilt

quilt front and back

that's all for tonight. i only knitted a few rows of my tartelette "bed jacket" tie. i hate knitting ribbing. lazy knitter.
good night!

Saturday, June 18, 2005

the garden

i do spend more time (lately) reading about knitting vs. actually doing it. i figure it's part of my process. sometimes i'm very interested in knitting, other times, i'd rather sew. and now, i have beads too, and there's always crochet, and i think about making soap and footstones.
my friend irene seamed together my little 'bed jacket'. i don't have a photo now, but will when it's finished. i hate finishing. all that's left is knitting a tie, which i knit onto the jacket when it's 18" long and continue around the neck, and then knit the last 18". i also have to just pick up stitches along the front edges and bind off, to neaten out the stitches and smooth out the curve. that's all! i started the tie yesterday. though it's not tiny knitting like the little 1x1 rib of the lucky clover cardi, it's still slow going because size 9 needles are awkward for me. they feel big and clumsy.
how far have i gotten with the orange albany? i cast on for the sleeve. i like to do sleeves first. that way, i invest less knitting time figuring out if my gauge has changed, i have problems with the pattern and shaping, etc. but, i'm having problems already because after 4 rows of rib, then the slip stitch pattern begins, and it's extra wonky because the slip stitches are every other stitch for a couple of inches of the sleeve, vs. the every 4th stitch of the swatch. i just need a knitting retreat to figure it out :)
oh, i did i mention i'm going on a retreat? sort of --- the vermont wool/sheep/goat/wine festival. i've never been to one of these events, and it's not until october, so that gives me plenty of time to plan my knitterly outfits! maybe i'll knit something super-cool by then! and then reward myself with 'fresh' handspun yarns ....
i took some pictures yesterday of some flowers. i reminded me of the garden shots on some others' blogs, so these are my 'garden shots'

the first is a recent purchase from a bead shop. the little flower is crochet with seed beads. but, i discovered yesterday that the beads on the petal edges is not crochet on the flower, but a string of beads whip stitched on the edge! scandal! but, it's very pretty, and i appreciate the work that went into this little jewel.

flower bracelet close

the next is a ring i bought at stitches east last year. i wasn't very impressed with the yarn selection in the market, but when i saw this ring, i kept going back to look at it, and the others, until i finally bought it. again, it's crochet, but with beautiful slightly variegated hand dyed yarns. the maker told me that if it gets stretched out of shape, or dirty, to just stuff it into a sock and send it through a cycle in the washer.

crochet ring

this little number is a crochet 'carol' flower. it just needs a pinback so i can wear it as a brooch.

carol flower

and lastly, my crazy loooong flower. this is made by the same woman who made the flower ring. she uses crochet and knitting, and when the piece is complete, it's fulled. this is super long, and i wear it around my neck. it's amazing how warm it can be too with just slightly fuzzy tendrils wrapped around my neck.

flower

flower close

see the little beaded ring inside the flower's center?

that's all. i just like posting photos ----- they're pretty, and it makes it look like i've been doing something, .... hence, the 'faux knitter' ;)

Thursday, June 16, 2005

procrastination behavior

i seem to be hopping from one project to another. that's not uncommon. the part that sucks is this time it's stressing me out. i don't like to associate stress with doing things i enjoy. as another act of procrastination behavoir, i decided to swatch some jaeger 'albany' yarn i bought in the spring to make a summer cardigan. i first started to swatch with the recommended size needles, but the fabric looked too wonky. i went down a size. i should block it though, before deciding if i'm using the correct needle size. i was going to measure the gauge, with the swatch balanced ontop of my lap, but .... i know. that's wrong. that's bad knitting.

albany swatch

the pattern is slip stitched -- i love how it looks in the photo, but not sure about how it looks in 'real life'. because of the slipped stitch, i can see a regular pattern of ridges on the purl sections, about every three rows apart. i haven't decided yet how much this bugs me. of course, you can't see that in the book's photo!

closeup swatch

it's not that i don't have other things to work on. it would be nice to have a summer sweater BEFORE the summer is over! i keep thinking i need a mindless project to work on. but, i don't like plain knitting. i think, oh, i'll do a sock! which yarn? what crazy complicated pattern? should it be toe up or cuff down? i've knitted another sweater with this same yarn, from this same jaeger book --- it's one of my favorites. the jaeger patterns seem to be very well written, even including separate instructions for shaping left and right sides, without saying "oh, just do it the same, but reverse shaping!"

albany sweater

LOVE the yarn!!!!

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

as promissed

i am doing something i said i'd do -- posting more pictures, about things i talked about. (i like visual aids)
i finally blocked the yellow tank-to-be. i'm still unsure of the fit, as i've been too lazy to slip if off onto waste yarn. when blocked, it measures slightly smaller than my bust measurement. i just wonder if because it's cotton, it'll get all stretched out larger when pulling on over my head, if i can yank it back into shape, or if the wt. of the cotton will keep it under control. part of me wants to go back to being a sock knitter --- socks fit no matter what.



so, here she is, laid out in the grass....



and here she is all up close and personal. the dots are purled. the pattern is adapted from a tank pattern from lana knits. i've knitted three of these in hemp, and i love them! the dots are from a past issue of interweave --- the dots were used for a sleeveless wrap sweater, knitted in cotton. i'm using cotton twist --- it's a pain to knit because i often split the yarn -- pulling out of shape the strand of rayon. but, i'm going to keep using this yarn because the end results are so nice -- i love the variation it adds to the cotton, ... so it's yellow, but two shades, one matte, one shiney. if all works out, it will look something like my hemp tank here.



i was also knitting a clapotis ... but after knitting almost an entire balls' worth of bamboo, i still felt uncommitted. so, i ripped. i haven't finished ripping because 250 yds. of yarn is a lot of ripping, and i am lazy. it was partially ripped when this photo was taken. agent scarlett was so kind to model for my fruitless knitting ....



i just didn't like the dropped stitches. i think this yarn would make an excellent tank top, like the one above, as it has wonderul drape, and would conform w/o shaping.

and lastly, i recovered my bucket of sock yarn :) it's been in safe keeping, and sometimes fondled i'm sure, in the home of agent scarlett. she kindly kept my yarn company as i hiked along the a.t. --- and now, i've pulled out a couple of balls to start some socks. girly socks. i pulled out the pink wildfoote, and the pinky-purple sparkle 'fortissima lame'. i'm going to my storage space later to dig out my sock and lace books.

Monday, June 13, 2005

maybe getting it right

i was "playing" last night, and tried to post from flickr, with the template for my photo being a larger photo --- and wham-o bam-o, my photo was so huge that the type on the right edge of my blog was sitting ontop of it. OOPS. so, i deleted it when i couldn't figure out how to make it smaller. i was trying to post this picture.

silk hanks
and if i'd taken the time, i'd post MORE pictures. but, i have to take the pictures first. :(
the knitting basket is filled with about 15 mini-hanks of rowan silk yarn. it's two loosely spun singles plied together. the yardage is not that bad, but does dictate that these will be used for small projects, like maybe flowers, or a purse, or some small accessory. i wound one into a ball, which took a ridiculous amout of time because either i had tangled an end into the loop or because the slinky yarn just kept sliding and tangling on itself. the finished ball only has a 1 3/4" diameter, so i kept dropping it on the floor, to have it unravel under a chair.
in other knitting news, i'm still knitting my clapotis. i am still uncommited to it though. i have knitted almost a full ball of the bamboo yarn, so it seems that 250 yards of knitting on size 6 needles would indicate a commitment? i'm not sure how i feel about the dropped stitches, and maybe it's just with that yarn. my yarn is variagated, but the color change is very subtle, and the 'purplexed' is on the darker side, .... so, with the dropped stitches, it looks like it's striped. i don't know, something about it just screams "cheap" gimmick knitting. the yarn also has a lot of drape, which i think i would appreciate more in a tank top, like one i've made three times before from hemp. (boy, i DO need to post more photos). you all know what i'm refering to, don't you? (well, i'm sure agent scarlett knows.) i also knitted some on my golden tank top, the one irene says is not going to fit. i just needed to work on something last night, fit or not .... though, i don't really know yet as i haven't slipped my knitting onto waste yarn, blocked and measured. by the numbers, it should fit. should. maybe i should change my blog name to the 'lazy knitter'. or the uncommited knitter. or the faux-knitter! oooh, i like that one :)

Friday, June 10, 2005

books



i got the last of my books i had ordered from amazon today. i ordered the sarah dallas book sight unseen. i had seen the knitted gifts book before, and plan to knit the hourglass sweater (someday).
i started the 'one-skein wonder' from glampyre.com last night. i finished it this afternoon. it took more yarn than my size indicated. the pattern knits at a gauge of 4 sts/inch. the yarn i used was a purchase from a.c. moore --- their 'luxury cashmere' --- it's a wool/microfiber/cashmere blend, in a shade of medium teal. the knitting was easy and speedy. maybe i'll try to add a photo of that at a later date.
i'm also in the process of making a mess of my clapotis (sp?). i had increased way beyond the instructions, so slipped my smallest needle about 6 rows below to rip back to. i did a bad job of running the needle through a single row, so, there's more fudging to do before i even begin to count my stitches. (see, this was SUPPOSE to be my mindless knitting project)

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

hmmm

this is a test to see if i can insert more than one picture in my chatter ..... la deee da deee da. or, maybe just a test to insert a photo? hmmm....

yippy!


ruffles scarf

hmmm.... i don't know how i made this work. i swear i clicked on the same things over and over, but for some reason ended up with a little window to post. don't ask. i don't know if i can do it again.
so, if this really works, you should know this is a picture of my ruffles scarf from the _scarf styles_ book. it's knitted with goddess yarn 'carmen'. it chokes me. it's so heavy, that after wearing a little while, the wt. of the cotton starts to pull around my neck. but, isn't it pretty? :)
now, does anyone know how i can post more than one photo per entry?

Friday, June 03, 2005

playing scarlett o'hara

too much info to read. my head is swimming. i feel like i need a little notebook to keep track of all these new "blog" things i want to learn. i wanted to post photos. i learned i have to find a site that's mac-friendly. and, then, i realized, i have to figure out how to get my photos from my camera to the (stupid) computer. hmmm ..... so, i will think about it tomorrow instead.

first posting

fresh blog :) i don't know what i'm doing. blogging or knitting. i've started five new projects in as many days. i thought one would be successful. but, irene looked at it last night, and said, "it's NOT going to fit!" shit. she might be right. i've used the pattern before, but with hemp. i'm knitting cotton. the gauge is the same, but the hemp drapes, the cotton stands rigid like roadkill. i'm going to slip the knitting off onto some waste yarn, block it, then measure, try on, etc. then, i will decide. if i need to make it smaller, i'll have to leave out a pattern repeat --- which, would remove 14 sts --- which, is A LOT. especially at 5sts/inch. or, i can alter the pattern repeat .... or, ditch another project. i don't know.
well, i hope i can figure out the blog thing here --- the template is suppose to be green. i looked for the address after creating the blog and couldn't find it online. maybe because i didn't have an entry? maybe because i am green?