FO and Spun Sugar

I am feeling highly accomplished this week as I finished the menacing all STST Bolero that I complained about in the last post. All 19 inches and some ribbing came to a close on Monday night. I don't have any pictures of the sweater in action but here she is just before the finish line.
I'd like to thank the ladies in the Malabrigo Junkies forum and Addi Turbos for this accomplishment. Anyway..I actually did do a Rockyesque run around the kitchen with my fists in the air while singing "Eye of the Tiger" after casting off the final stitch.

I am in love with the sweater. It is my first real FO. The yarn was not my favorite to begin with. I allowed myself to start a project with acrylic because it was my first. In the mean time I fell in love with "better" yarns, natural fibers and even worked in my LYS. But as I finished it I really began to take to it and the entire sweater. I love it more for the pride it allows me than the actual sweater. Isn't that why we do this?

Well now I have these empty needles. Pointless waist. (lols)What makes it worse is that I have nothing that matches. I have patterns but nothing inmy stash to start them or I have stash but the wrong size needles. I cannot really buy anything else because I just purchased yarn and needles to make this sweater from Vogue Knitting Fall 2008.
Now this is not a picture from Vogue but from this
site. I hope that's enough credit to use thier picture. Well I want to make that actually into this This is from
Chickdowntown. The link takes you to a video where you can see the sweater in action. I really like this site for fashion ideas. The items are a bit expensive. In fact, this sweater isn't even offered on the site so they are just forcing my hand. Well both of them and some sticks. And thats the problem, I have no sticks. I NEED 10.5 circs and they are on thier way from the land of wienerschnitzels as we speak. The yarn will be a yummy alpaca from my LYS that my mother actually chose. Her eye is so differnt from mine but never wrong. I was going for white but she insisted I use this Bug Baby instead.. So as I impatiently await my new needles I will spend more time spinning.Here is a pic of some BFL that I was playing with last night.














Just a pic as this post is getting way tooooooo long













What an improvement from this:

Sew Fun!

Returning to the Midwest has forced me to rethink my wardrobe. Actually I need to make clothes and knit sweaters and fast. Being a much faster sewer than a knitter I figured I would start with sewn items and the knitted items will manifest as I have time and need a break from the sewing machine.

Pattern Review always has a sewing contest going on. Right now there is a pattern stash contest. Basically you make as many items as possible from the patterns in your stash in two months time. Well there are three weeks left which will leave me time for about two items but I figure if I have a couple show stoppers I might have chance. Honestly, I am not terribly concerned about winning. I like the idea that I have a dead line and its just fun to get involved.

For the first item I am modifying the sheath dress of Vogue Pattern 8138 to a really hot number that I found online. I can't post it now of course but stay tuned. Here is the starting point

For the second item I may just make Built by Wendy #3964 In a black knit.

The STST bolero should be completed this week. The right sleeve is down to the final decreases. I can smell the ribbing now!

Where do I begin

Well I am crawling out of my emotional hole into the sunshine. During my brief emotional hibernation there was much time for knitting and sewing. I broke in new needles and dusted off the sewing machine.

As far as new needles while working at Knit/Purl I learned about Addi Turbos. (this site ships them for free*wink*).Of course I had heard of them but was never moved to try them. I was also curious about knitting on circulars since I had two projects where hundreds of stitches were bunched up on straight needles.

With my discount I purchased a 32in pair of 9s and 16in pair of 5s. Call it placebo effect or whathaveyou but my stitches look smoother and more uniform after using the new Turbos. These are what I would call performance needles. I learned to knit on something that someone gave me because she wanted to get rid of them. I was happy to learn on those but I am ecstatic to KNIT with my Turbos. I'm sold.

What was even more divine is that I received a booklet on Magic Loop from my partner in the Falling For Ewe Autumn Yarn swap. I got halfway through a sock and now have the hang of the loop and it use it for all things joined. Socks are another story. Lets just say I enjoy knitting socks about as much as tweezing my eyebrows.

The turbos are so wonderful they make finishing a bolero in ALL ST ST enjoyable.

I should actually take another picture. This is misleading because you cannot see that this thing is almost a wingspan worth of stockinette stitch save 4 inches of ribbing on the left sleeve. I am slowly and happily working my last 19inches to the right sleeve. I started this project about 8 months ago and once I admitted that it bored me to tears it went into the UFO pile. Well with new Turbos and a thread on Ravelry about finishing menacing sweaters I am closer to an FO.

While sewing I have designed two new bags that I am selling in my Etsy shop. Both are more practical than anything but I thought they were pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

The first is a project bag. Haven't thought of a cute name for it but it holds that entire sweater project that I am working on. The more I use it the more I need to make more for other projects. They are great for toting your project to meetups.



My second little project I call a Purling Pouch.

Its basically a U shape where one handle folds over the other. I love it because it ends up looking like a clutch. There are more pictures on Etsy

That's it for now. goodnight.

Catching Up

I have been spanked for not blogging but I have to admit that I have had alot going on that I am not particularly happy about. The big engagement that I had just did not work out so I have moved back to Chicago. I am happy to be home. I have missed the big city and all its culture for the past four years.

The west coast is beautiful but I guess I am a midwestern girl through and through.

Of course the first thing I look for in coming home were yarn and fabric shops. There are plenty of great fabric shops all over the place. I am especiall excited about Vogue Fabrics. There are plenty of yarn shops but I will miss Knit Purl. It was a great place to work for the short time that I was there. I will be doing alot of online ordering from there for sure.

Ok. Well I will def have more to post as I get situated at home. More projecs, more life, mo betta!

Peace

What is your favorite thing about Autumn?

All I can think of is that i get to wear some of the items I had been working on all summer. Scarves, hats and shawls can now surface and a new excuse to make a heavy sweater is on its way. Oh, the changing of the leaves are nice too I guess.

New Projects

Well I have finally found the scarf pattern I want to use for the beautiful Malabrigo Oceanos laceweight I received from Chimom on Ravelry. I have started on the Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery. I have completed one complete cycle of the pattern and it almost looks like it should. I am cutting myself some slack since this is my first lace. I am learning alot and that's all that matters. I am actually a knitter that almost likes mistakes in my work because they are mine. As I gain experience I am sure this will change.

I ran by the library a few days ago as I wanted to find a new knitting book to drool over. I picked up KnitKnit by Sabrina Gschwandtner. I fell in love with the Missing Piece Hobo Bag designed by Norah Gaughan. I then remembered that I had just seen that name on the shelf and found a copy of Knitting Nature.

As I read through Nora's book it made perfect sense that I was drawn to her. The book was borne from an idea to merge nature/science and knitting. She has patterns based on fractals, octagons, heaxagons and phyllotaxis. All found in nature. The patterns are just hot along with the back story. I have read it from cover to cover and now must have a copy of my own because there are about 10 patterns in the book I want to try.

Fall Yarn Swap Q & A

Another three months of swapping!!! I cannot wait to get my partner.

Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been at your craft? I do both. I really enjoy knitting but I am a much faster crocheter. I tend to make clothing when I knit and more craft items when I crochet.
Do you spin? What type of spinning do you do? I do some light spinning. I just haven't had the time lately. I have two spindles and some roving. No need to add anything at this time.
Are there any other crafts that you participate in? If someone figures out how to add about 8 to 10 hours to my day, sure.
What are your favorite yarns/fibers? I really enjoy colorful cottons. They are so practical.Sometimes, I like to receive colors I wouldn't normally use, . It really pushes me to find new patterns and work on projects I would have never tried. I tend to like 2 to 4 ply yarns. I haven't gotten used to single ply/lace weight stuff yet.
What are your LEAST favorite yarns/fibers? Anything rough and devoid of color.
Are there any types/brands of yarn that you are dying to work with but haven’t gotten a chance? I would love to work with some colorful silk or mohair. I have a fun pattern that I would like to use to make mohair sleeves from the One Skein book by Leigh Radford. There are so many cool patterns in here. It's going to be really tough to give that one back to the library.
What are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet? I like to knit things to wear and am more crafty with my crocheting (bags, amigurimi, etc)
What are you currently working on? Anything you plan to start this autumn? I am currently working on a shawl from Runway Knits, a shrug from Lion Brand that is all st st (soooo boring) and I will start some baby booties this week for a friends baby.
What is your favorite FO? (Please, post a picture if you would like.) So far it is an accessories pouch that I finished from the One Skein book that I mentioned earlier. I had some Cascade paints that I got from my Summer of Yarn partner that I was having the hardest time finding a pattern for. Well I crocheted the pouch for a swap and now I want to make ten more.
What is your oldest UFO? That stockinette stitch shrug. I get through 4 stitches and hate it all over again. It should be done by 2015 sometime.
Are their any knitting/crochet techniques that you would like to learn? I want to learn more about lace projects and cableing. I also need some small dpns(0s, 1s, 2s)eat sock yarn I got during the SOY swap.
Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Size 7.5, feel silly measuring my foot. Will I regret not doing it later?
Do you have a yarn winder and/or a swift?
Where/how to you keep you needles/hooks? I made myself a knitting needle roll.
Do you collect anything? Knitting needles, crochet needles, soft colorful yarns and fabric.
What is your favorite type of music? Are you MP3 ready? I like all music with a good beat and cannot live without my ipod.
Do you like sweets? What are your favorites? ALL. YES!! I am big into gummy items. Gummy bears, swedish fish. I also love butter cookies.
What is your living situation like? Any pets? Children? One fiance who came equipped with two children and an outdoor cat.
Are you allergic to anything? Cats
Do you have an online wish list (Amazon, Etsy, Loopy Ewe, etc.)? Please include links for your swap pal. http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/37MXGBPE47ULA
Are you having a birthday during this swap? No.
What is your Ravelry ID? britnlind