Too Much Homework!

I've reached the point in my school semester where I've gotten really tired of going to school, and really just want it to be over. I had five essays to write for my Physical Anthropology class last weekend (it's a really interesting class, btw), two tests to study for, a speech to write, and all this while starting a new job (which is always stressful). Sigh. Anyway, somehow through the madness of the last month I have managed to get some knitting done. I finished Thermal, which was a great knit, even though it felt like it took five hundred years. Much of this was due to stupidity, probably induced by distraction by other aspects of my life. For example, I was about halfway through my second sleeve when I realized that I had somehow cast on four stitches less than for the first sleeve, which created a good half-inch of difference. Of course, I HAD to tear it back - it would have driven me crazy. And for some reason, I decided not to do the edges on the sleeve caps in plain knit, preferring to work them in pattern instead. I afterwards realized just how much nicer they would have looked if I had followed directions, but of course not until after I had sewn both the sleeves in. It was that kind of a sweater for me. But I love the finished product! Pattern: Thermal from Knitty.com by Laura Chau
Yarn: Knitpicks Gloss in Cocoa, six hanks (One hank less than the pattern specified!)
Needles: Size 2 (2.75mm)


After this sweater, I really just wanted something easy to focus on. I had bought some merino to knit the Puffed-Sleeve Feminine Cardigan from Fitted Knits, and afterwards found the perfect buttons for it - little yellow flower-shaped buttons. I've been wanting to knit it ever since, and knew this would be the perfect project right now. It was a breeze to knit - top-down sweaters are so awesome to make! I increased a lot less in the yoke, which led to a more fitted sweater than the one most people have made. I decided not to do the puff-sleeves, since I felt they would look out of place with the more fitted sweater I made, and also didn't do the lace peplum, since most of the versions that have inspired me most on Ravelry haven't had the lace peplum (and it was easier with my changed numbers).
I used GGH Samson on size 6 needles, which is a worsted-weight superwash merino that is absolutely HEAVENLY! Luckily, I have more of this yarn just waiting to be made into something scrumptious. I love the color of this one - I feel so happy when I wear it.
Now I'm working on Cherry from My Fashionable Life in a gorgeous red-violet mercerized cotton. I can't wait to post pictures of it - I've already got one of the sleeves done. I think it's going to be a really enjoyable knit. Anyway, I guess I should finish writing this book report I've been putting off for the last three weeks. Cheers!

Fancy things

I love elegant, fancy clothing. Even though I really don't have much of an opportunity to wear it in my own life, I love to knit it - hence a project I finished about two weeks ago - Eunny Jang's "Ladylike Gloves".I knitted these on size one needles with Alpaca with a Twist Fino, an alpaca/silk blend. The silk in the yarn gives it such a gorgeous sheen, making the gloves look as if they were knitted out a fine silver thread. The pattern itself was very interesting to knit - I got to try out a lot of different techniques I'd never tried before, like an I-cord edging around the bottoms of the gloves. It was also somewhat of a challenge - it was very difficult to work with laceweight on dpns without feeling frustrated at times. I'm very pleased with the results, however, and have enjoyed wearing these on cool spring nights.

I've been working on the sweater Thermal (from Knitty.com) for the last month, and was needing a fresh project, so I decided I'd try knitting a beret. These are my favorite kind of knitted hat - so much more elegant and perky than regular caps. I fell in love with "Belle" by Ysolda Teague, discovered I had two balls of Rowan Wool Cotton in a basic black in my stash and enough purple ribbon for the bow, and two days later I had a hat.

(Sorry the pictures are sideways, guys - I didn't notice until now, and now I'm too lazy to do anything about it). Anyway, this was a pretty interesting pattern, too - it's almost entirely made up of dropped stitches! I'd never done dropped stitches before, so this was a good chance for me to try them out. I tried using bamboo circulars on this, but switched over to Addis after one repeat because the dropped stitches proved almost impossible to pass over the join on the Clover bamboos. I LOVE this hat!

Spring is here!

The weather is warming up here. While there's still a bit of a chill in the air, spring has definitely arrived! I love March! I can honestly say it's my favorite month of the year. I love seeing all the flowers bloom.
I feel like I'm walking in an Alice in Wonderland garden. Another reason I have for loving March is because it's my birthday month! My birthday was on March 1st. I had a party/art show. All of my closest friends contributed something. I, of course, knitted mine.
I saw the wall hangings that Mary Walker Philips did in the book "Knitting America", and thought they were so beautiful I wanted to do one of my own. She made hers out of linen, so I thought that would be the best fiber for mine. One of the things I love about knitted lace is the contrast between open space (blanks) and the fullness of the plain knit segments. I thought I would showcase all this in my art piece. I used black because I felt that would be the best color to highlight the graphic quality of lace knitting.
Yarn: Louet Euroflax Linen Sport (275 yds.) - 1 ball
Needles: size 2 1/2(3mm) addis
Pattern: my own
I called my piece "Blanks, Transports, the Dark", after a chapter from "The Western Canon" by Harold Bloom on the poet Emily Dickinson. I felt like the title really fitted the art piece well , with its blanks (the yarnover eyelets), transports (the way the lace pattern squiggles up the piece) and dark (the darkness of the stockinette portions).

This art piece made my birthday an extra special one this year!

FO: Boatneck Bluebell

I love red. It's probably the color that I most relate to. I've been wanting to create some kind of homage to this color for a long time, and I think I've finally found a fitting way to pay tribute.


Pattern: Boatneck Bluebell from Fitted Knits


Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Col. no. 893, 6 balls


Needles: Size 6 (4mm) Addis for body and size 5s for edgings


Obviously, this is a Boatneck Bluebell in spirit only. I loved the design, and knew I had found the perfect yarn and color for it, but I didn't like certain elements of the design, specifically the bell sleeves. I think the cropped, fitted sleeves that my version has makes it look more Marilyn Monroe-ish. I had to add more rows to all the individual sections to make it fit my body, especially the bottom, flared-out part. I also did all the edgings in garter stitch instead of the reverse stockinette welts the original has at the bottom of the sweater and sleeves. I thought they added way too much bulk in areas that I really don't need bulk at. I did all the edgings in garter st instead, and used smaller needles for them, since on the same size as the body, the edgings looked huge and floppy. (I actually ended up taking out the yoke and starting over the first time I tried this sweater because of that.)
This pattern was really fun and relaxing to do. All those knit-purl patterns were exactly what I need right now. This is the first top-down sweater that I've tried, and I really enjoyed it. They're so much easier to fit to your body! I also love wearing this sweater, more importantly. It projects such wonderful energy! It's the perfect thing to wear on a beautiful day like today was!

A hat and some gloves

I've been feeling a little under the weather the last two weeks. I got the cold that it seems like everyone in San Diego has, and everything's starting to bloom here again, which means I've also been struggling with my yearly onslaught of allergies. What that means for my knitting life is that I've been forced to stay home a lot, and have been getting a lot of knitting done.
Since all the flowers and trees are beginning to bloom, I've become a little nostalgic now for the other end of the spectrum, for autumn's beautiful colors and feel. So, what better to knit than Foliage?
Pattern: Foliage by Emilee Mooney for Knitty.com
Yarn: Cascade Dolce (55% alpaca, 23% silk, 22% wool) in col# 934
2 balls at 109 yds. each
Needles: Size 7 ChiaoGoo bamboo dpns, Size 7 16" Clover circs for
body and size 5 16" circs for ribbing
This was a very enjoyable hat to make! I can see why so many people have been making this pattern. I've pretty much been wearing it non-stop since I made it. I think it's something about the color . . . it just makes me so happy! It was an interesting experience starting at the top for a hat - I usually start at the bottom. I like pushing myself to make things in different ways. I also have to say something about this yarn - it's pretty nice! It has the well-defined stitch definition of wool, mixed with the softness and fuzziness of alpaca, and the beautiful shimmer of silk. It's a nice yarn to pick for when you want something a little special at an affordable price.

And then there's my new fingerless gloves. Someone gave me about ten balls of different colors of Jamieson & Smith's Jumperweight Shetland. She bought them to make two different projects without realizing how hairy and rough shetland wool is. She has very sensitive skin and couldn't even work with it, much less wear it. So, she gave it to somebody who she knew would appreciate them - me! Thus, my version of Little Gems Mitts was created.

Pattern: Little Gems Mitts by Donna Schabes for IK Holiday Gifts 2007 (also available as PDF thru their website)

Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Jumperweight Shetland, 2 balls of main color and little bits of all the others

Needles: Empress size 0 dpns

I had to go down to size 0s to make them fit my hand (I have little child hands). I also started the fingers earlier than the pattern specified for the same reason. Otherwise, I followed the pattern as written and had a lot of fun with it, I must say! The shetland wool bloomed beautifully after washing, and while it's not as soft as merino, I have to admit I really like wearing them! It makes me feel kind of rustic and rural.

Anyway, I've been working hard on my latest sweater project, Boatneck Bluebell from Fitted Knits, and should have it done by the end of the week. I'll keep you posted!

Welcome!

I am so excited about having a blog! Reading other people's blogs brings such joy to my life - I hope to be able to bring joy to other people's lives as well. We had a surprisingly wet and cold winter here in San Diego, which pushed me to knit a lot. Anyway, here's my first FO of the year:

Puffed Wheat Pullover by Kate Gilbert for IK winter '07

Yarn: 10 balls of GGH Samson, 100% superwash merino color # 16

Needles: size 8 Addis for the body and size 6 Addis for the ribbing.

Can I just say that I LOVE this sweater?! The pattern was very fun to knit - I didn't have to make any modifications and it fit me perfectly. This yarn is absolutely wonderful to knit with and wear, and I love the color. It's such a soft, thoughtful shade of gray, with a hint of purple in it. And, I got to make cables! It seems like all the patterns I've been choosing recently have been lace, or colorwork - I really missed cabling. All in all, this made for a very pleasant knitting and wearing experience.

I loved the pleats in the sleeve cap - I just had to show it to you guys.

Anyway, shortly after I finished the Puffed Wheat pullover, I finished a pair of socks.

Gentlemen's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks

Yarn: Louet Gems Pearl in Indigo, 2 skeins, and Cherry Red, 1 skein

Needles: size 1 (2.25 mm) Clover bamboo dpns

I saw the pair Terhi of Mustaa Villaa made and instantly fell in love. It's really hard getting excited about the patterns from the pictures in the book - you really need to be able to see socks on feet to get a good idea about what they look like. I pretty much knitted these the way they were in the book, except that I added the contrast-color heel and ribbing at the top like Terhi. It was a really fun sock to make - but, then again. Nancy Bush's socks always are. Anyway, next time I post I should have a new FO for you guys, so stay tuned!