Friday, 9. May 2008
Spring for me, is a time for open toe shoes. This red pair is one of my favorites, purchased from Frye’s. I love it’s 2″ heel (tall enough for a little umph!, and short enough to walk comfortably), the little ankle strap detail, and most of all, the retro feel.
Every girl will at one time or another, face the dilemma of having a closet full of clothes and nothing to match their shoes. Enter my spring/summer knit – the Cherry Cardigan. I have chosen Elizabeth Lavold’s Hempathy for this knit, in my favorite blue/green color.
Hempathy is a combination of hemp, cotton and modal, and reminds me of knitting with Brown Sheep Cotton Fine, which is a Merino/Cotton blend. It’s a welcome reprieve from knitting with wool and sweaty palms in the warm temperature, and I am really enjoying this knit so far.
That’s right girls, I pick my projects to match my shoes.
Posted in Possessions, WIPs by winnie -
Sunday, 20. April 2008
Sometimes, it sucks when work usurps all your energy and leaves you way too brain dead to work on the more interesting things in life, like, your knitting. Such was the case this week. But let’s get on with the progress of my imitation biker jacket.
It’s still missing a pair of epaulets, the remaining sleeves (I’ve decided to go full length – only because I realized that I do have enough yarn), and the two front borders. Knitting without a pattern is liberating, but scary all at once. I based the measurements off one of my cropped cardigans, knit the pockets, and then decided that I did not want a cropped jacket. As a result, the pockets now sit right below my breasts, and there is no way I am ripping out all the sewing again. I am hoping, that with the magic of blocking (Shh. Don’t convince me otherwise), I can somewhat increase the distance between the pocket and my under boob a little. Other than the pocket mishap, things have been pretty smooth-sailing. Top down knitting is the bomb! No more worrying whether or not you can fit all your sleeve stitches into that armhole.
I’m playing with two ideas for a front band right now. Currently, I have plans to sew hidden snaps with decorative buttons on the front band, and reinforce the band with a ribbon facing to minimize wear-n-tear. But after studying Grumperina’s zipper installation tutorial, my absolutely-no-zipper resolution is wavering. I kept thinking to myself: “Hey, how hard can it be, right?”
We’ll sit on this for a few days while the rest of the sleeves are completed. Incidentally, I just realized that the color-combo seems very child-like. It must be my inner Peter-Pan.
In the mean time, two pairs of socks have been completed.
Do not be fooled by the aesthetics of this image. This pair of Koigu Aquaphobia Socks, made for Bobby G (he who feeds my Koigu fetish), was made without modifications to fit his ultra-wide feet. We must have taken over 20 photos to find the right one. He has requested that I be kind while describing his feet, so with much restraint on my part, let’s just say that his feet make him a good swimmer. (How am I doing with the kindness so far?)
Continuing with the blue-green kick that I’ve been on for a while, I also finished a pair of knee highs with Online Supersocke Yarn that I purchased in StitchDC last year. Nothing spectacular, just simple stockinette on Sz 0 and 1 needles.
(I like this shot better. Makes me legs look leaner)
Posted in FOs, Socks, Techniques, WIPs by winnie -
Friday, 11. April 2008
For the last few days, I’ve been obsessed with biker-style jackets. I searched the fashion forums and picked out two that I liked most.
(simple lines, hidden pockets, and epaulets)
What I happen to have is also 7 balls of chunky yarn that was originally purchased to make Tikru’s Greengable. Unfortunately, I realized it wasn’t enough. Since then, the yarn has been staring me in the face gnawing at me to make something out of it. So when the startitis bug hit, I gave in to the temptation of instantly casting on. I made a mental list of the qualities that I want from this jacket, and I realized that given the possibility of running out of yarn, the jacket should be:
- Knit top down, but with short-rows for shoulder shaping
- With top down set-in sleeves
- Have vertical slit pockets on both fronts, also top down
- High collar
- Sleeve, bottom and collar bands in contrast color, but keep front button bands in same color
- Epaulets! Wee….
Of course it was then that I realized that there is no pattern for all the things that I want to do, so what better time than to make my own? That’s right – my jacket is going to have ALL of those qualities. Barbara Walker, don’t let me down now. And this is what I have to show for it after 2 days.
(a big lump of chunky yarn)
Oh yea, and I’m also knitting a pair of Aquaphobia Socks on the side too. You can never have too many WIPs.
(jah…I is busy)
Posted in Patterns, WIPs by winnie -
Friday, 4. April 2008
Since I last finished the Phildar Pullover with the enormous batwings, I have been force feeding myself to gain the extra poundage to fit into the sweater. No, seriously. Okay, maybe not. But I’ve been working on importing the blogger posts to the new dig AND maybe collecting sock yarns at an alarming rate.
(all Koigu, all the time baby)
The thing with blogger is that when I receive comments from my readers and get all excited about writing them a response, I am greeted with a “noreply-comment@blogger.com”. You can see how this puts a damper on things. So after 3+ not-so-blissful relationship with blogger, I’ve decided to part ways. And oh, there’s a Pattern page now too. It’s looking a little skinny right now, hopefully I’ll come up with more things later on.
In the last few weeks, I’ve been working on smaller projects as I wait for the next wave of inspiration to smack me over the head. I’m usually not one for spring/summer projects, but I picked up three skeins of Euroflax Original Linen to play with. And if I am lucky, I’ll end up with a Perfect Fit Skirt.
See I tried this baby on, and it looks like I won’t be experiencing any muffin-top action. That’s good news in my book. Unfortunately though, it needs a half slip. Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never worn slips under skirts. Will it be way too hot? What’s the point of wearing a skirt if you can’t feel the breeze, right? The closest thing that I ever wore to a slip was a pair of spandex shorts under my school uniform, and that was in 9th grade! I didn’t understand why kids in school thought it was funny to go around lifting girls’ skirts back then, and I still can’t figure it out. Do they do that anymore?
Welcome to my new digs. Always under construction.
Posted in Patterns, WIPs, Yarn by winnie -
Monday, 11. February 2008
Alright, I’m a little late for a new year post, but better late than never right, guys? Let’s start with the end of year knits. First here, we have a pair of Lapland Mittens from Folk Mittens.
Project: Mittens from Lapland (Folk Mittens)
Materials: Leftover Baruffa Maratona (uber light pink and burgundy), and Knitpicks Merino Style (Pink), Sz 2 dpns
Notes: No mods to the pattern, and this was my first DPN project. I saw these short 6″ balene DPNs at the LYS and decided right then and there that I need to expand my horizons and move beyond the magic loop. Love the DPNs, surprisingly, and went out to purchase more sizes in the 5-6″ length for future mittens and socks. These mittens were a little tight on me, but they did keep my hands warm enough for my Mardi Gras trip to New Orleans two weeks ago. (Yes I saw breasts, and no they were not all pretty).
And because I didn’t want my friend to lose me in the madness on Bourbon St, I brought along my newly knitted Moss Stitch Beret in super bright yellow. It is Big Bird on Sesame St yellow. Little do I know that Bourbon St attendees would show me up with even brighter costumes that obscured my yellow noggin.
Project: Ken’s Moss Stitch Beret
Materials: Cascade 220 (used less than a skein), Sz 3 for the knitted hem, and Sz 7 for the rest of the beret
Notes: I loved the provisional cast-on knitted hem. Look! Lovely. The beret turned out a little slouchier than Ken’s, which is fine by me because I like my hats a little oversized. I may or may not have screwed up the decreases, but in the end my stitch count ended up just fine. Live and learn.
So what is with the cold weather and wanting to live in your blanket? I’ve had 6 skeins of pure merino from Uruguay burning a hole in my stash the last two years and couldn’t figure out what to do with them. Sure, a sweater would be nice, but this yarn pills too damn much. And then I found the perfect pattern.
Project: Pimlico Shrug from Knit2Together (Size S)
Materials: 5 skeins of 216 yd/skein pure merino wool from Uruguay, Sz 7 and 8 needles
Notes: Instead of 34″ of lace knitting, I shaved off some length and ended it at 27″. Since I CO provisionally, I just continued ribbing and joined the knitting in the round. No other mods to the pattern, and it is a dream to knit with this yarn.
We’ve seen some cold nights here in California, and I’ve loved every moment of it. Why? Because I now have an oversized blankie to keep me warm. It’s soft like buttah, and the perfect piece of clothing to keep me cozy while I knit.
So there we have it. And lest you think I’m taking a break.. you’d be wrong. Project on the needles right now… tadah!
It’s French, it’s pretty, and it’s….. one giant headache. Google translator to the rescue!
Posted in FOs, Hands, Hats, Patterns, Shrugs, WIPs by winnie -
