oops, i forgot to mention...

... i finished smelly's birthday knit last sunday.

not in time for her party sad to say, i bit off a little more than i could chew

with her cake and other party preparations.

but it's hers now and she loves it!

here are a few squirmy,

i don't want my photo taken i want to get back to playing dress-up with delaney

photos. better photos and pattern info to come.

  

{click images to view larger}




i also knit a rug and it's my new most favorite ever rug!

i started with a vintage bed sheet, cut it into a *trillion strips, connected the strips & made a

giant ball of torn fabric "yarn"

  

then i followed this pattern.
it was quick and simple. my only complaint is that i had to take a break after each section
because my wee hands would start to ache and cramp from the weight of the fabric and size of the needles.
all that is forgotten now that i have my most favorite ever rug!

*i'm sure it wasn't actually a trillion strips, but it was a lot!

happy earth day.

a birthday knit & a little crochet.

tomorrow smelly will be 6 and this will be her birthday sweater.

(it's actually a cap-sleeve tunic)

i'll share more photos and pattern details once it's finished.

oh, and last week i crocheted this tiny baby gnome hat for a very special

little man who is going to be terribly spoiled and smothered with love.

choices.

i've got a birthday sweater to knit for my favorite almost 6 year old squirrel...

... and i need to choose a color.

they look so pretty together, perhaps something stripy?

thoughts??

swatch

this is recycled silk/wool that has been stashed away for years, waiting for me

to knit it into the perfect sweater. i am equal parts excited and nervous to be using it.

i have always been an impulsive, experimental, impatient knitter. not terribly good at following detailed instructions (this applies to my life in general, not just knitting). not terribly good at reading everything there is to read and knowing everything there is to know about knitting. not terribly good at sticking with one thing until it's done, before starting another and another. and not terribly good at knitting test swatches (you could see how these pretty much go against my whole knitter personality, right?!).

so here you can see, i have knit a test swatch. it's not the actual first-ever swatch, but close. and i knit the swatch because this sweater i'm about to begin (as well as many other things in my life as of late) has me feeling all different sorts of indecisive and hesitant and completely thrown off my game. it's rather frustrating in fact. and what's worse is it's really not helping me get things back on track.

p.s. i thought/said the word "swatch" enough times during the construction of this post that i began to question whether or not it was a real word. i looked it up in the dictionary and i googled it in relation to knitting, just to make sure.

last week i knit...

... two lovely recycled cotton dish cloths.

i used this pattern, but made mine a few inches smaller
because i find large cloths a bit cumbersome.

these are a gift, so i've bundled them up quite prettily
and will send them off today. 

the third time's a charm...

... i have something blocking.

it has been far too long since i've said that!

things don't always come together like you plan,

you might let them sit on a shelf for a while,

and perhaps they take much longer to complete than intended,

and you have to try more than once or even twice to get it right,

{and that might be because you were way too into a show while you were knitting}

{both times}

but then, finally it comes together...

... and it's worth it!

something old, something new...

i used to make jewelry.

now i knit.

recently, i've combined the two...

...and i like it.

what do you think?

{hand-knit with wet spun linen, lobster claw closure, some have metal beads and some do not}

falling in love all over again...

... with knitting {something new, coming along slowly but quite nicely}

and this show {you can stream the series on netflix if you're a netflix-er}

sunny sunday afternoon

hanging out with jesse while the nephews run through the sprinklers.knitting something I'm very excited to finish.enjoying one of my favorite beers.soaking in all the vitamin d I can.missing two someones.wishing some things were different.so glad it's summer.

oh the rain...

... it got the better of me today (it's 6 pm and i'm still in ma jammies).

 BUT i got the better of the yarn. so at least there's that.

take that tiny tangle inducing tornado. 

why does all of my yarn look like this...

it's like a tiny tornado blasted through my stash.

the yarn is too good to throw out.

i have yet to come up with some brilliant and clever way to utilize piles of tangled yarn...
... perhaps some sort of abstract mixed-media art piece...

... no, i will defeat the knotty heaps of yarn. just you wait and see!!

these are a few of my favorite things...

... and all in one place!

Knitting, teal superwash wool, laughing planet, fresh steamed veggies and dinosaurs.

i still knit with grey's...

... anyone else?

i recently found season 2 and 3 of grey's anatomy at blockbuster video, previously viewed and on sale for $4 each. $4 for an entire season!! so here i am, knitting with grey's once again, nearly every night before i fall asleep. apart from the fact that they WAY over play songs by the fray in season two (this makes me want to cut my ears off) i'm really enjoying re-watching. 

tonight

missing my girls, i love you's, rosemary shoestring fries and knitting in bed... 3 out of 4 isn't too bad. time for sleep.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

have you met, mary jane?

this pattern was published in the winter 2008 issue of twist collective. perhaps you saw it there, perhaps you're seeing it now for the very first time. mary jane is now available at zephyr style, YAY!!

sizes:

xs (s, m, l) [xl, 2xl, 3xl]

28-31” (32-35”, 36-39”, 40-43”) [44-47”, 48-51”, 52-55”] bust.

materials:

•600 (720, 720, 840) [840, 960, 1080] yds. of DK weight yarn.

Yarn photographed is Cashmere Canapa by Hemp for knitting.

• 1 US 5 (3.75 mm) 32” (or longer) circular needle

• 1 US 3 (3.25 mm) 32” (or longer) circular needle

• For knitting sleeves, you may need a second circular or dpn’s depending on your preference.

• 4 stitch markers

• Tapestry needle (for weaving in ends)

gauge:

22 sts & 34 rows in St st = 4” on size US 5 (3.75 mm) needles.

i do like buttons...

i do not like sewing them on to things :(

clapotis redux

i knit my first clapotis when the pattern came out in knitty and everyone was knitting it. i hadn't done a lot of knitting from a pattern at that point, it wasn't something i was used to or very good at. but i really wanted to knit it. so i powered through and ended up with what has continued to be my very favorite scarf and a promise to never ever knit it again!

i'm usually a promise keeper... BUT this fall i was teaching a knitting class at sweet d's school and there was a lot of interest in having our first major project be that scarf. i was hesitant at first, remembering how many times i had to frog, how long it took me, how frustrating it was as a beginner... but then we started shopping for yarn. at one of my very favorite places to shop for yarn. and i walked away with 3 hanks of dream in color worsted in the most amazing color and a new found excitement to knit clapotis. we knit it. and it was good. we breezed right through it and now i have to split my time between my 2 most favorite scarves.

who's got em???

Kinda can't stop thinking about the new addi clicks... so if you've got em, let us know what you think, and maybe how they compare to other interchangeable needles sets... they seem kind of perfect!

it just so happens that a number of my needles from a different interchangeable set are falling apart right now, i may actually need them!

ringing in the new year...

... with a new pattern!

Dexter

sizes:

xs (s, m, l, xl, 2xl, 3xl)

28-31” (32-35”, 36-39”, 40-43”, 44-47”, 48-51”, 52-55”) bust.

materials:

•MC: 800 (800, 900, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200) yds. worsted weight yarn.

•CC1: 200 (200, 300, 300, 400, 400, 500) yds. worsted weight yarn.

•CC2: 100 (100, 200, 200, 200, 300, 400) yds. worsted weight yarn.

Yarn photographed is Karabella, Aurora 8 colors 250, 22, 40.

•1 US 7 (4.5 mm) 32” (or longer) circular needle (For knitting sleeves,

you may need a second circular or dpn’s depending on your preference)

•10 - 20 stitch markers, depending on size (see “finishing body”)

• 6-10 buttons (depending on your size the number will vary)

• Needle and thread to match your yarn

•Tapestry needle (for weaving in ends)

gauge:

20 sts & 26 rows in St st = 4” on size US 7 (4.5 mm) needles.

2008 wrap-up!

we had an interesting last few weeks of 2008, here in portland. we had some birthdays, a flood, more snow than oregon has seen in 30+ years and as a result - two weeks of being snowed in (but we were all together and we watched lots of really good movies and some duds too), lots of brewing beer & more holiday gift knitting than we've done in the last three years combined.

we're excited about 2009, we've got plans and ideas and new patterns... stay tuned, more details to come! happy new year!!!