granted, my main priority right now is holiday knitting. but it doesn’t mean that i’m not still peripherally aware of the massive destash that i promise will happen…after christmas. still, for the moment, it may be helpful to some of us to learn from the wisdom and experience of others. so:
from twist collective: ask the problem ladies: jostled by stash. no “stash only” yarn diets – i love this advice!
and a few projects that actually really make me want to dig deep into my suitcase of yarn:
this knit banana. of course. also, this womb.
as discussed at a knitting night a few weeks ago, this hot water bottle cozy is kind of amazing. i do not actually own a hot water bottle, but this pattern makes me want to. a hot water bottle and knit cozy would also make a really nice winter holiday present, just sayin’.
i am also considering making some of these little hearts to attach to my christmas present wrapping. (um if i haven’t mentioned that i LOVE christmas, consider yourself warned. i love it so much. it’s my favorite time of year. i will talk about it nonstop until january first.) you might suggest to me that these are more appropriate for valentine’s day, but i say nonsense. or, i say that i will use them for both.
french press cozy. i have a french press. so why not?
and these are called bunny nuggets. i think the word ‘nuggets’ is a little sick, and that alone makes me weirdly want to knit these. also, they are cute.
you might be noticing that these are all sort of ‘novelty knits.’ here is my logic: when i think about things that i am going to wear, even one-skein projects like a hat or cowl, this is when i get excited about buying new and exciting yarn. it is not a time when i get psyched about the idea of using a leftover half skein of wool-ease. a french press cozy and a banana are knits that i don’t really want to invest money in, and therefore make a lot more sense for stashbusting.
enjoy your monday! be good!
sunday was rainy and gross from start to finish. so basically, it was perfect for digging into my christmas knitting without feeling guilty for not being outside enjoying awesome fall weather. this year i am being perhaps overly ambitious in my gift-giving. so overly ambitious that i cannot even reveal my full list to you at this point, because i am afraid of feeling ashamed if i can’t do it. so you will learn about my christmas projects only when i have substantial progress or finished objects to share.
and since it’s going to be more than a little while before i have actual finished objects to share, for now i will just revel in something i finished last march.
colder weather means that i finally get to wear this sweater again. and i realized that i’d never shared pictures of it after sewing the eyes on, and i really think the beads made it look a lot more finished. everything about this sweater makes me happy. i love the yarn (cascade ecological wool), the fit is pretty much perfect, and it’s covered in little owls. remembering that i knit this in a mere four days also serves as good gift knitting inspiration.
goodbye for now! my yarn is purchased, my netflix queue is ready, my apartment is well-stocked with coffee and soy milk. if you need me, come and see me. this will be occupying most of my evenings and weekends from this point on. maybe i’m acting like i don’t love the stress of this kind of challenge. that’s a lot of crap. i kind of thrive on this kind of pressure. i kind of love this in a sick, sick way.
add to that list of projects to-do: one baby kimono for the new baby cousin i will have as of thanksgiving this year.
at least baby knitting is tiny!
but fortunately this will also count as destash, as just left of the center of this disgustingly large suitcase full of yarn, there happens to be some light aqua baby yarn. why do i even own that? all signs point to having a serious problem.
today is the birthday of two of my favorite people back in pittsburgh. i hope they’re having a really excellent day. in providence, it’s drizzling and cold and exactly the kind of day i prefer knitting in bed with felane to biking half an hour in said drizzle to get to work, but that is what i did. i was, however, rewarded with a seasonal treat at my office. pumpkin scones! just a little reminder that i love this time of year, regardless of drizzly commutes.
fall is always most productive for me in terms of knitting. i’ve been bundling up in the living room with the windows open so i can enjoy the fall air, drinking hot apple cider (sometimes adult hot apple cider), marathoning tv shows on netflix instant queue (so far: 30 rock, this american life and weeds), and crafting my little heart out. my progress: i finished one of the halloween costumes i was commissioned to help out with, and i’m halfway through the pair of socks that i mentioned in my last post. i’m starting to feel tempted to take a break from everything to knit myself some new gloves now that it’s cooling off, but that might just be my knitting add kicking in.
over the weekend nicole and i went to the mermaid’s purl in wickford. i had never been to wickford before, and it was really charming. the mermaid’s purl was packed with very tempting yarn treats, but i actually was really responsible and only bought the yarn i needed for my little sister’s christmas sweater. i ended up buying this:
it’s berroco ultra alpaca, which i think will make for a super cozy and soft sweater. and i think the color is perfect for the banana tree pattern, and it’s a color my sister will actually wear. she’s just like i was at eleven, which is to say, extremely particular about things. even though she picked out the sweater pattern, and i’m using one of her favorite colors, i’m still terrified that something about the finished product will be ever so slightly off and she won’t like it. does anyone else have this problem with knitting for preteens? i’m scared!
other than tackling my list, worrying about my sister’s tastes, and drinking so much hot apple cider, i’ve been playing around with my spinning wheel a bit. i spun up a quick skein of singles with the batts i bought at craftland this summer. there’s a lot of amazingly glittery angelina in this, so it was hard to get a picture where the color was totally accurate. but this is pretty close:
it ranges from very skinny to maybe worsted weight, and for the most part there’s almost no overtwist. the colors are really pretty, but i have to say i’m still not 100% psyched on the end result. i think because it’s one of those skeins that looks nice as a skein but i just can’t imagine what it will look like knit. only one way to find out though.
agh. current priorities: purple socks, brown/green hat, squid suit, gloves. expect some serious FO posts soon. enjoy your octobers, everyone!
i know i have talked about my yarn stash before. i know i have talked about it almost obsessively. i have taken pictures of smaller fractions of it. (never of the huge suitcase full of yarn in my closet. even i have a point at which it becomes too embarrassing to own up to.) but i’m going to continue talking about it. and look, here’s another one of those suggestive photos:
but i promise you this time i am really trying to tackle my stash problem head-on. i am going to get this under control. i have been organizing my yarn, winding it into neat, stackable cakes when possible, and trying to actually think about what i can realistically knit with it. i am also considering photographing each yarn and adding it to my stash on ravelry. here is a question: do any of you find that to be helpful in making sure all that yarn gets used up? i’m wondering if i add the yarns to my online stash, will it a) publicly shame me into using up said yarn, b) remind me about my yarn situation while i’m browsing patterns, thus motivating me to choose patterns that will use up the yarn i already own, or c) at the very least, satisfy my weird compulsive organizing tendencies?
here is my current crafting situation: i have just used up most of a skein of sheep shop company’s sheep one to make a pair of mittens. these will be photographed and put on etsy soon. stashbusting! i am also using two skeins of sock yarn from my stash to knit myself these legwarmers. i also just received an etsy order for a pair of socks and a hat from a dear friend from high school. i am also helping two people with the sewing of their halloween costumes, and still knitting my own halloween squid suit. this sounds like a lot, huh? it kind of is, but i’m staying pretty well on top of it.
and of course, even as i type this, i am planning to go yarn shopping not once but twice in the next two days. this is because i am knitting this sweater for my brother and this sweater for my sister. christmas knitting! but of course, i do not already have the appropriate yarns for these sweaters, and i cannot let my siblings down, so i really HAVE to buy more yarn. but then i am really committing myself to the elimination of so much of my yarn. really really really. this is so out of control that it can’t wait to be a new year’s resolution, and will have to be an october 8 resolution instead. feel free to make an october 8 resolution for yourself as well. after all, it’s almost the weekend, and almost a three-day weekend (if you get columbus day off, which i do), so i can’t really think of a better time to get started on a new resolution.
i like these days when i feel about two steps away from taking over the world. good good things.
quickly before i go to sleep (i mean, it’s after 11 pm, so it’s past my bedtime) i want to let crafty friends, especially crafty friends in rhode island know that i’m going to be helping out and running the stitch and bitch on thursday nights from 6 to 9 at waste not want not in providence.
you can bring whatever projects you like – knitting, embroidery, alterations, anything. there is a $3-$6 donation for use of the space and supplies (you can root through scrap fabrics, etc to use in your work). come craft, enjoy some tea or baked goods, maybe do some shopping, whatev. if you don’t knit already but would like to learn, i’m also happy to help out with that. i’ll be there weekly, and it’s really nice to meet new people, and also to see people i already know and love, so come hang out!
the other really important piece of knitting news i have is that i have (finally) started my halloween costume.
it’s a squid. you can tell, right? i just started this week and obviously i’m making this up as i go, due to a surprising lack of squid suit patterns out there, but i think i can pull this off. i’m starting with the body and working down through the tentacles. then i’ll pick up stitches and knit the hood/headpiece last. i’m using the caron pound of wool, and while the color is good i think, the feeling of this yarn isn’t so much. but i think it’ll do the job, and if i end up wrestling any whales on halloween, i won’t be damaging fancy wool. anyway, expect some more interesting squid suit updates as i get to the more exciting parts of the costume construction. and keep your fingers crossed for me!
i finished up this cardigan over the weekend while i was visiting my family in pennsylvania. i’m seriously psyched on the finished product. i had a few issues with sizing early on because i was knitting in a smaller gauge than the pattern called for. i couldn’t tell if i should move up to the large or stick with the medium. in the end, i knit the medium and i think it turned out perfectly, although for the life of me i could not take a picture today that didn’t feature backlighting worthy of either jesus or bret michaels. regardless, here it is:
i mentioned before that i made a few mods to the pattern. i changed the hem, neck and cuffs to 1×1 ribbing, and added a few rows of seed stitch in the middle of the lace chart. a few other knitters on ravelry did this, and their versions were really the ones that sold me on this pattern. anyway, i’m happy with the end result.
my brother and sister and my brother’s girlfriend went out with me to buy buttons. we decided on really plain ones; the lace on the sweater is really pretty and i kind of wanted to let that be the most noticeable part. ravelry details are here if you want ‘em. i have two skeins of this cascade 220 heathers left over and i’m already brainstorming good uses for it. i’m so into this color.
also, probably no one really cares about my new shoes, but i love them, so now you get to look at them:
i’m so happy to finally have chilly fall weather. it’s nice to be able to wear sweaters and drink hot toddies comfortably. lots of projects coming up. and this is the year that i really start my christmas knitting early. as in now. because both of my siblings want sweaters, and i’m over the last-minute holiday frenzy.
be good!
as predicted, the end of my sock-knitting project left me with a void. a void that can only be filled by knitting things for myself. therefore:
i am knitting myself a sweater. sweaters can be complicated, for me at least. i need a sweater that is fun to knit, but that is also very wearable. i happen to like wearing things that are fairly plain. this translates to: lots of stockinette. i know that a lot of knitters dread this, but i will say that i find stockinette if not enjoyable, then at least benign.
(more enjoyable for me if it’s in the round – i hate purling! hate!)
i enjoy a basic fitted raglan or cardigan with a stockinette bod (yes, bod) and a more elaborate yoke pattern. i don’t mean that this is the only kind of sweater that i like, but i think that for me it’s incredibly wearable, but not incredibly boring to make. the stockinette can be kind of meditative, and the yoke patterns give me something fun to think about. the owls sweater i knit in february or march is a perfect example, and definitely my favorite sweater that i’ve knit so far.
keeping this in mind, i decided to cast on this drops design cardigan to use up the gold cascade 220 heathered yarn i’d bought on sale at webs a while back. i’m making a few changes to the pattern. my gauge is smaller, for one. i’m using worst weight yarn instead of aran, and size 6 needles instead of size 7. i’m also doing what a few other ravelers have done and knitting a 1×1 ribbed border instead of the moss and garter stitch suggested. my end result is hopefully also going to be less a jacket and more a fitted cardigan. let’s see how it goes – i’m about 2/3 done with the body, and then i’ll knit the sleeves two-at-a-time using magic loop (who knew i would love the magic loop so much?!) and then it’s on to the lace chart. i’m ready!
this is my first time knitting a drops design, and i have to say, i’m kind of into some of their other patterns. i’ve passed over them on ravelry plenty of times without paying much attention, but once i scanned through some of the project galleries, i realized that what may be turning me off is the a-line or bulky shaping that a lot of them have. but with a little modification, the patterns are actually right up my alley. a few more that i’m definitely interested in knitting: the 88-17 cardigan and the 116-1 cardigan and socks. you should probably just go browse their designs on ravelry. 63 PAGES of patterns. all so nordic and wintry. it’s pretty irresistible and kind of makes me forget that it is currently late august and 84 degrees outside.
i did it! i finished the last pair of socks i was knitting for amber, wove in all the ends, blocked every pair, and bundled them up to mail out this morning. i feel amazing! and i think they look and feel so nice. here’s a little peek:
crucial info:
i used knit picks essential kettle-dyed and solid sock yarn. i guess this yarn is now called ’stroll’ instead of ‘essential,’ but the yarn is apparently exactly the same, just going by a new name. i used a long circular needle to knit these two-at-a-time, which was a lifesaver. i don’t think i could have done each sock individually – it would have seemed like a much larger undertaking.
these came out super nice and soft after blocking, and i feel pretty happy with the way the colors worked out. i hope amber is as happy with them as i am! you should go check out her blog and etsy shop too. she’s a great girl who makes great things! i’ll have more to say about socks when she receives ‘em and gives me feedback!
take care everyone!
still running around a lot. staying so busy. almost done with socks, which is exciting although it makes me feel a little weird – they’ve been my main project for so long that i’m not really sure what i’ll do when they’re gone. i mean, i’ll figure it out. but it’s going to be like some kind of weird postpartum depression for a sec.
otherwise, i have been living on a pretty steady diet of beer and homemade burritos. i’m not ever going to complain about that.
also lots of biking around with beers in my bag and enjoying them at various locations. on i think friday, gary and i went to buy a six pack of pbr at tropical liquors, and when we got there, we realized we’d forgotten our ids. we got so annoyed about being carded that when we got back to the store, we bought two six packs and each drank one ourselves. that’ll show ‘em.
it was nice. also nice: i took some clothes down to barter at waste not want not last wednesday night, and i found a pair of black jeans to replace the ones that uh…shrunk over the last year or so. i got to clean out my closet a little, and then it was like getting a pair of pants for free. i love trading. it’s so much more useful to me than buying.
started trying to draw. i’ve never really done this regularly or been very good at it, but i always kind of wanted to. even though my drawings are a little butt, it’s been fun. maybe i’ll stick with it. lately i’m trying to do more things that i don’t feel good at. there’s not point in only doing the things you already know you can do i guess.
walking down newbury street in boston, i realized i hadn’t looked up any local yarn shops, which is weird because that’s usually the first thing i do in a new city. and just as i said that, i saw the sign for newbury yarns. the shop was so cute and packed with fun things, and the women working there were so nice. i bought myself a tiny treat of course.
and even though i’m not currently working on this blanket, i wanted to share the uglyprogress. it’s only going to get more gnarly from here on out. maybe when i’m done with socks i’ll work on this for a tiny bit. i’ve started a few blankets but never ever finished one. i don’t want to drop the ball this time too.
oh, and remember when i saw willie nelson for free? there was a no camera rule, but fortunately it is not hard to find pictures of willie nelson on the internet, and that is what i did for your viewing pleasure here. i love him so much. it was total luck that i got to see this for free. i’m grateful to sweet friends who like to share what they’ve got. hannah and meghan and gary and i had a really fun night. you seriously can’t understand a word bob dylan says anymore, but still, amazing. oh and also john cougar mellencamp. but seriously. willlie nelson. it was in no way disappointing. my life is really fun and good most of the time.
