Knitting 2011

So I am not a very good blogger. Terrible, really. But I wanted to show that although I haven't been blogging I have been knitting! At least a little.

Meet Edgar Rhombus

Meet Edgar Rhombus

Rhombus: A parallelogram with four equal sides; an oblique-angled equilateral parallelogram. A diamond.

…and this is how Edgar Rhombus was born, as a diamond. This rhombus shaped scarf was a fun quick project. A variegated yarn with multi-color is a must. You need to be able to see each color form as you go. I use a left over piece of Lion’s Brand Amazing yarn. I did not have a complete skein, so I knitted until I could not knit anymore. The end result a short scarf-ette or long neck warmer with pretty colors.

And now for something completely different……………………………….

I Heart Seaweed

SEAWEED……the mere mention of the word brings images of bright green alien like floating tentacles happily greeting passersby at dim sum. Mmmm, it makes me hungry just thinking about it.

I instantly became fond of The Seaweed Scarf pattern by the simple nature of its organic name…seaweed and the patterns lovely flowing ruffles. I had this pattern on my list of things I would like to knit for over a year, just waiting for the right moment. I needed inspiration and to pony up the whopping $7.00 for the pattern. Then like a chocolate bon bon with an unexpected wonderful creamy coconut center, VOILA! I received THE yarn.


A beauty of skein of Malabrigo yarn in colorway hummingbird. The color is a blend of different shades of both green and purple. Knitted up, it looks like a crazy mix of seaweed, I just love it. This lovely yarn found me by way of my Ravelry friend Anniepurl who sent it to me as part of a Halloween swap in 2010.

The Seaweed scarf/shawlette pattern turned out to be a very enjoyable project. I couldn’t put it down. It knitted up much faster than I expected, which added to my satisfaction. The pattern itself is fairly simple little triangular shawl, but the beautiful little ruffle detail is awesome. The best part was that I learned a new bind off method. The bind off was something new and exciting that I had never done before and once finished it gave the Seaweed scarf/shawlette the beautiful finished detail.

Things I would modify
I would love to make the scarf/shawlette bigger, into an actual full size shawl. For this project I just didn’t have enough yarn to play with, otherwise I would have made it much bigger. I even thought about making the ruffle longer but did not want to risk running out of yarn due to miscalculations or ruining the ruffled pattern finish.

All in all Seaweed is fun to eat and create!

My Quest for Fingerless Mittens

Fingerless mittens……ah, something I always wanted to make but felt so intimated by the use of DPN’s, thus why I have yet to make socks. This winter I finally pushed myself and made a set of fingerless mittens and guess what? It wasn’t so bad after all.

The pattern: Alice’s Mitts by Emily Nimz (Free download on Ravelry)
The needles: US 8 DPN’s
The Yarn: About 100 to 120 yards of worsted weight yarn. In my case I used a leftover yarn from a previous project, Patons Classic Wool in Leaf Green.

This was an easy pattern, which I picked on purpose. I was not going to allow my first attempt at fingerless mitten to kill my ego by adding beautiful and sometimes complicated cables and lace patterns. No, instead this turned out to be wonderful mindless knitting in front of the teletube, this I did like.

The original pattern had a slit for the thumb opening. I wasn’t too keen on the slit, so I did a little homework and made some changes.

What I did Change:
So, instead of a thumb slit. I added an actual thumb hole.
I placed 4 sts on st holder and CO 4 additional sts using backward loop method continued knitting the pattern as indicated.
• Returned to the 4 sts.
• Picked up an additional 8 sts around the hole.
• Knitted for about 1 inch (I kept trying it on).
• The BO.

This modification was very easy and the result, was a lovely thumb hole.

Now completed, I love it. One thing I did notice is that one size does not fit all. I apparently have very skinny little hands.

What I would Change
For the ribbing I would use a smaller size needle to obtain a tighter fit around my wrist and fingers.

Creepy Creatures

Since I can remember, the day after Labor has always been the first sign that summer is officially over. Although in Southern California heat waves can continue well into the first week of October, deep down you know summer is gone. Nevertheless, its always been a marker for the beginning of a new season. Yesterday morning was the perfect beginning to autumn. The grey cloudy sky was a silent friend greeting me at my door as I left home to go to work today. This is the best kind of weather for me. A little gloomy weather without the madness of rain and listening to NPR. It was a great day.



Halloween is creeping upon us. The weather is a changing. The weather is a little crispier, the trees and other foliage are changing color, and the wind is picking up every so slightly bringing with it a ting of mystery. I love it. This is my most favorite time of year. It lends itself to knit/crochet, sew, craft and of course baking. Ah, baking that which bring in wonderful smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to ones home. This being my muse, I was inspired to make a few little additions to our household.



Amigurumi is the Japanese art of crocheting cute little creations made of a little yarn, felt, plastic doll eyes, stuffing and a whole lot of love. Amigurumis are usually super cute little bunnies, cuddly bears and adorable kittens. I, however, am particularly inclined to make out of the ordinary little creatures. It is for this reason that I love the book by designer Christen Haden, “Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots and more”. This book is full of fun and unique amigurumis. Who said the Grim Reaper wasn’t cute. The thing I love about these little creature creations is that you can use up a lot of odds and ends making them.



Since purchasing the book last year I have made a few of these creepy adorable amigurumis. Permanent residents in my home are the Grim Reaper, The Devil (AKA Mr. D), and The Day of the Dead girl. I enjoyed making them, for the sheer instant self gratification. They only take about a day or two to create.

This past weekend we added two additional members to the creepy amigurumis. I made the notorious vampire, Nosferatu and the scary mythological creature, Medusa. Norferatu has a ginormous head but with a big fangy smile. Medusa, is not the color I would have preferred, but then again I was using bits of yarn I had laying around. In addition, for Medusa I use for the first time, plastic eyes. First let me say plastic eyes are inexpensive and give a nice look to the amigurumi. Totally worth the 99cent I spent on a package of six.



I think they turned out fantastic, but most importantly the kids love them and in the end that is what counts.

Ah, Autumn

Since I can remember, the day after Labor has always been the first sign that summer is officially over. Although in Southern California heat waves can continue well into the first week of October, deep down you know summer is gone. Nevertheless, its always been a marker for the beginning of a new season. Yesterday morning was the perfect beginning to autumn. The grey cloudy sky was a silent friend greeting me at my door as I left home to go to work today. This is the best kind of weather for me. A little gloomy weather without the madness of rain and listening to NPR. It was a great day.

Amity Caplet - from The Adventures of Miss Flitt

The Adventures of Miss Flitt - The Strange Case of the Magician's Cabinet http://www.missflitt.com/ is a lovely story with beautifully painted watercolors and knitting patterns that compliment the story. This, Amity Caplet, is just one of several patterns in the book. It took me several attempts to actually complete this pretty little caplet. Not because of the difficulty of the pattern, but it seemed each time I made an attempt (three attempts to be exact), and something would go wrong. Each time I had to rip it out and start again.

My first attempt began using a Rio de Plata yarn in a white/grey color. The yarns thick and thin texture and color variation did not compliment the pattern. Half way through the pattern I frogged it. After finding a different yarn better suited for this pattern I made my second attempt. But after dropping stitch after stitch, after stitch, I ripped it out and through it in the closet. And in the closet is stayed for months and months and months.

This month after completing two other projects I finally felt motivated to try and give this pattern another go, with great results. I finally realized that an easy way for me to keep track of the pattern repeats is to place a marker at the beginning of each repeat. This was my salvation and my reward was a completed caplet.

I found the lace pattern fun. The caplet is more like a cape then caplet, its on the small size. I would have preferred an additional two repeats of the lace pattern so the caplet would actually go around my shoulders better. But perhaps its made for a smaller back. That said, however, I like how it looks on me.

Tight "Fitted" Red Sweater

I have finally completed my sweater. After working on this project for over an agonizing year it finally has come to an end. UFO - WIP is no longer. Stephanie Japel's pattern "Short Sleeve Cardigan with Ribbing" from her book "Fitted Knits." The pattern is just that, a very fitted knit. I enjoyed knitted the pattern for the level of quick satisfaction because its made in bulky yarn and is easy, but not boring and the ribbing provides nice shaping, if you have a shape. I need a better waist.

The yarn I used, Cascade Jewel Hand Dyed in red was nice enough to knit. It is a thin and thick wool yarn with a beautiful variation in color that adds to the beauty of any project.

This pattern is originally made in a short sleeve style. I modified it by lengthening the sleeves and placing the ribbing design at the end of each sleeve.

If I am inclined to make this sweater again I would add an additional two buttons to the button band. This may not be a factor if the person intent on wearing it is skinny, but for someone a little more fluffy like myself, an extra button or two would prevent the sweater from puckering when buttoned up.

Traveling Gnomes

We had a nice visit from a couple of traveling gnomes. They have been traveling the world since March. This friendly little gnome is from Georgia, yes a southern boy with good manners and a lovely sense of humor. First he was off to a European vacation, making stops in Norway, Sweden and England. Delighting all who crossed paths with him. After a few weeks of wonderful adventures in Europe he made his way back to the US. First stop was Virginia, were he sampled delicious crepes and a good glass of beer. Feeling a little lonely, went back to Georgia picked up the girl of his dreams and took her along for an amazing road trip. In Wisconsin, sparks flew, they both fell madly in love with each other, a true love, a love like no other. The kind of love only found in fairy tales. It was here they were both married in a private ceremony. Then they were off to Minnesota, Canada, Oregon then to us in California. Sadly our visit ended and we had to send him off to more adventures. There first stop, a homestead in Alaska, then who knows where else they will find themselves............Oh by the way they just love doughnuts.

Queen Anne's Scarf

Yummy Yummy Yummy Noro garden silk!!!

I finally found a great pattern that truly compliments the lovely colors of Noro, and it was easy to make too!

I found the Queen Anne's Scarf a nice pattern for a quick and fun scarf. I crocheted this scarf up in no less than a few hours.

This pattern lends itself that you can use any weight of yarn, any length. As a result, its a great way to use up bits of odds and ends of left over pieces of yarn. Each motif could easily be made a different color, size, and texture.

Making up for lost time

I need to make up for lost time, three months sure does fly by quick. I have been so busy. So busy that I had not found the time to blog or chat or stop and smell the flowers. Life has been hectic but I have still managed to knit, sew, and travel a little bit.

Finished:
· All four of my niece’s shrugs in time for Christmas.
· Completed all four dresses that accompanied the knitted shrugs.
· I designed and sewed my very first Christmas stocking.
· Knitted a cable scarf for a friend for Christmas.
· Knitted my darling husband a WWII pattern beanie.
· Knitted the Nati Nati Sweater in super bulky yarn (what was I thinking!).
· Completed my first möbius pattern, a caplet/wrap.

WIP
· Amity Caplet
· Short-Sleeve Cardigan
· Mom’s Summer End Cardigan
· Clementine Shawlette
· Inigo Montoya’s Ishbel shawl


Family and I took a Halloween trip to Northern California to visit my brother and his family. We all had a great time. I ate the best biscuits and gravy I have every had in my life in a little town called Hollister, CA at the Cozy Cup. Highly recommend. Made the mandatory stop at Casa de Fruta.

Thanksgiving was quite, pleasant and nice.

My youngest turned 2 in December and we had a little party for him. Had a great turn out. We also managed to take the kids to Disneyland with additional family members. Fun, but never again will I go to Disneyland the day before Christmas Eve. Too exhausting.…….Phew!

Will post pictures of my finished items and of my works in progress. I may even sneak in a few family pic’s from our adventures.

Tiny Little Shrug

In a matter of three days, evenings really, I completed this cute tiny little shrug. This shrug will be one of many that will find itself in Christmas wrapping for the holidays. I used Stephanie Japel's One Skein Wonder pattern. The pattern is in adult sizes, but I decided I would try and altered the size to fit my 2 year old niece.

I used Plymouth Encore Colorspun worsted weight wool/acrylic yarn that would be easy to care for - wash and wear, in a variegated purple. I knitted the smallest size on the pattern and used smaller needles, US 5 for the body and US 3 for the edging. The result a quick and easy tiny little shrug.

I hope to make 3 more for my other nieces before Santa comes to town.

UFO's of the Worst Kind

The summer was slow with very little progress on my spring projects. My two spring projects, the February Lady Sweater for my Mom and the Short Sleeve Cardi have become UFO’s of the WORST kind. They are desperate to become FO’s and I have not been very kind and helpful to them. As a result, they haunt me day and night with eyes of resentment and bitterness. I can sometimes swear the dpn’s hanging off the Sleeve’s from the Short Sleeve Cardi’s points in my direction purposefully.

February Lady Sweater
I am making my Mom a February Lady Sweater in a rich scarlet ruby red wool – Cascade Superwash. When I first embarked on this project I felt very intimidated by the pattern. The pattern itself presented a bit of confusion in its directions for me because it made assumptions of the level of the knitter. I having a pea for brains could not get my head around the eyelet directions. My head was spinning faster then Linda Blair’s on the Excerist. Because of this reason my February Lady Sweater evolved into a very nasty UFO for months and months.

Last week, my brain grew from pea size to a walnut, with a little help from my knitting group. A few gals in my knitting group where able decipher the eyelet directions and thus progress on the sweater began.

…and my February Lady Sweater lived happily ever after, for now…???

My Short Sleeve Cardi
This is one project that started with the yarn first. I am knitting with Cascade Peruvian Jewel yarn, 100% wool. It's a thick and thin, slightly variegated monochromatic yarn .

The color variation and the thick and thin texture add an additional level of interest on a simple pattern "Short Sleeve Cardigan with Ribbing" from Stephanie Japel's book Fitted Knits. I am knitting this sweater for myself, but if my Mom likes it then I will easily sacrifice it for her.

And what better excuse to buy more yarn then “…..Oh husband, I have to buy more yarn to make another sweater for myself because I gave my Mom that sweater….wink…wink….”

The bulky yarn has provided a fast knit. It is for this very eason that this cardi is bitter. In theory it should not take months and months to complete this sweater. I have not been kind to my sweater. But I am now working on making this UFO become a full fledged FO. No more bitterness cardi, it can’t be good for your wool.

I began my reckless knitting journey by misreading the pattern from the get go. This raglan pattern called for knitting 15 rows for the yoke, instead I knitted 84 rows because I misread the pattern. The 84 were actually the number of stitches I should have on my needles. I made this discovery at around row 63, after looking at my sweater and wondering when I would be separating the stitches for my sleeves. To my dismay I had to rip back all 63 stitches back to the collar. After two days of un-knitting backwards, I was back on track. However, I must admit after this set back I was almost ready to drop the whole project.

At this point the body is complete, and one sleeve is almost done. I am extending the sleeves from short ¾ lengths to a full length sleeve. Ten more rows should complete the right sleeve. I need to start the left sleeve and the edging for the buttons. OH BUTTONS!! Yikes, I need to find buttons.

I have set myself a goal for October 31st as a deadline to complete this project, but I think November is more realistic. So little cardi hold no longer this bitterness, lets look forward to a sweet winter in which you will keep someone if not me warm.

Ode To My Blog

Oh kind and faithful blog, forgive me for neglecting you. It’s been four months since our last rendezvous and I miss you so. Neglecting you is neglecting me. My life over the course of the last four months has been nothing less than hectic, emotional and exhausting.

I wish I could say that I am exhausted from all of the knitting or crafting or even traveling, but sadly no. Life altering events prevented me from blogging. Life as I have come to know it will never be the same again. As I rode the emotional train of life, over the last few months, it took me places I had never been and I do not wish to return to for a very long, long, long time. However, I look at the road ahead as one of new direction and adjustments. Each day is a blessing not to be taken for granted.

So, dear and loyal blog may we once again conquer the world of food, crafting, travel and family life, as we have so often done. Let us once again rejoice when I say knit 1, purl 2, bake, paste, cut, and make reservations to knit to the end of time.

My Luscious Lace Scarf

I finished my very first lace knitting pattern, the Luscious Lace Scarf (pattern is available free on Ravelry). This pattern was an ego booster. I had been trying lace patterns for some time now with no success. I figured out how to follow a lace pattern and read a chart, but lord help me it never failed after a few rows I would drop a yarn over or skip a SSK and off to the lily pond I go to rip it, rip it, rip it. If I was motivated enough I would start it over, but I never got very far in completing any lace projects until now.

The Luscious Lace Scarf pattern had a resting row or purl side. This was great! I never knew to look for patterns with a resting row. Of course, the beautiful lace pattern is only one sided but who cares when it looks so good. The pattern calls is writen for a lace weight yarn, but that was not going to happening, at least not for now. Baby steps for me. So I opted to use a DK weight. I modified the pattern because of the yarn and only casted on 40 sts and I knitted 3 repeat patterns instead of the 5 the pattern suggested.

I knitted this pattern using DK yarn Fable Handknit Baby Alpaca in colorway suede. It's 100% Baby Alpaca, 145 yards, I used two entire skeins. I am smittened with this yarn. In addition to being ultra soft it has a soft look to it. The yarn gives the scarf a nice texture that unfortunately I was unable to capture in the photo above. My only complaint is their limited color shades. They have several different colors but the shades are pale, muted-pastel-y, the colors of Easter eggs. I would buy more of this yarn in maybe mist, pear, or chocolate colorways.

I made this scarf for my husband's co-worker. She is a beautiful, sweet and thoughtful person who spoils my kids rotten for their birthdays, Christmas, and pretty much any other holiday possible. It turned out to be a belated birthday gift, about 6 weeks late, but I wanted to make her something special that would give her a warm hug every time she wore it.

My Dentist is Going to Hate Me

Last week I was showered with a magical envelope of chocolate goodies from twinsmama, as she is known in the Ravelry world.

Actually it was a small box, but it was suppose to be an envelope for our groups 4/4 food swap, so for all case and purposes we shall call this a magical envelope as twinsmama, my swap parnter put it so eloquently.

The parcel traveled a long distance coming from across the Atlantic pond. One wonderful detail was how each item was individually wrap with such care it was like opening a gazillion little prizes. I admit I delighted in opening each and every one of them.

In my magical evelope I found 10 hot chocolate sachets, a packet of Angel Delight - a w hip up chocolate milk - sounds delicious!, a Chocolate orange bar, a Crunchie bar (ate it soon after my parcel arrive, they are one of my fav's), a chocolate picnic bar, a chocolate hazelnut Topic bar, two toffee crisps (First thing gone, as soon as we opened it), two Boost chocolate bars, a toffee & hammer package, a four pack of chocolate shaped and flavored lip gloss - too cute, an old fashion candy stick from Bournemouth Pier Rock and a box of note cards that say “a hug is a great gift one size fits all”

Twinsmama thank you so much for my magical envelope it was a great fun to open.

My family and I are going to enjoy tasting all the wonderful treats but my dentist is going to hate me.

Norway Capelet Inspiration - The Finale

I finally finished my Chanson En Crochet Capelet, well actually I finished it well over a week ago, but only now am I posting pics. Here it is in all it's wonderful crocheting glory. I completed it in a little over two weeks, but in reality it took about 8 to 1o hours of work, maybe less because I am terrible with estimating time.

I just love the pattern for the simple fact that it was a true self gratifying piece of work. And frankly I needed something I could finish in less than a month and be proud of. It's my first crocheted wearable project. Something I never thought I could do because I can be so dense when it comes to reading crochet pattern.

It is a great pattern for any basic crocheter who would like to make a wearable project. Almost every row was different and easy to follow. It was very gratifying watching the flower clusters form in such a simple manner. I modified the trim on the edges only slightly to get a more solid look. I also find that crochet is very forgiving, unlike it's cousin, knitting where mistakes can often be more noticable.

The yarn I used was Aslan Trends Artesanal (40% Cotton / 30% Alpaca / 30% Polyamide) in midnight black. It has a tweed look to it and is very very soft, from the combination alpaca and cotton. Initially I was not completely convinced I loved the yarn when I first bought it. An impulsive buy decided upon strictly by the color of the yarn.

I disliked the polyamide fibers that occasionally stuck out like a sore thumb and I found myself picking them out every time I came across one. Frankly they looked like hair from places where the sun doesn't shine. But then like fungus (and I do enjoy mushrooms very much) it grew on me. It is really great yarn. The texture it nice. The yarn drapes well, particularly in this pattern. I am thinking about going back and buying a few additional skeins in another color for another project. What project? More on that later.

Hope

My family is my life. I am a piece of my parents as my children are a piece of me. My family is my cultural traditions, values, crazy chaotic holidays with lots of food. Lots of food.

So it's no surprise when we are in crisis we come together to support one another. Yesterday I had a real conversation with my cousin. His mom, my lovely aunt passed away last year. We talked about his Mom and my Dad. My cousin reminded me not to give up hope. It's difficult sometimes to remember that hope is still out there, especially when you see your own mothers hope fade over time. My cousin made me realize that hope is always there no matter what. I need to be the one to keep hope for my Dad and remind my Mom of it whenever she forgets.

Whatever lies ahead, a far distance ahead I plan to keep a space in my heart for hope.

Swedish Delight

I received a great swap package for the April Tea Swap from Kariola (as she is known in the Ravelry world). The envelope was stuffed to the gills filled with goodies from Sweden. In my package I found a beautiful knitted coaster made of my first ever Noro skein and the colors are just lovely, smokey black with blues, violets and grays. Two skeins of svarta yarn in cream and black, three handcrafted hair scrunchies by Kariola, a Gisha milk chocolate and hazelnut bar, knitting needles, a recipe for chocolate muffins, a pattern for the posie tea cozy, a pattern for the skull keychains, ballerina cookies (husband has eatten half the package already - had to hide the rest), a gecko strawberry air freshener, Kobbs Himlagott Lingenberry flavored tea , and Swedish fish and other gummies - the kids and I have polished off half the bag already - they are delicious.

I just love receiving regional items such as the Swedish tea, Swedish chocolate, Swedish cookies and most importantly the Swedish fish. A big treat for me and my family, we love trying new things.

Kariola is a very warm and sweet person. I say this not just because she sent me such an amazing package, but because I have had the pleasure of getting to know her. She has also been very supportive during these difficult times. For that, I cannot thank her enough.

Norway Capelet Inspiration

Last week I received a lovely parcel as part of my 3 of 4 swap on Ravelry. The lovely Heddas sent me the Chanson en Crochet Capelet pattern, a bamboo crochet hook in the required size (6.00mm)for the pattern and a postcard. This pattern as been on my list of queue for several months, it had been on the top of my list. Receiving this pattern was a sign. So I took this sign and ran to my LYS earlier this week and bought some delicious cotton/alpaca/polyamide blend yarn - Aslan Trends Artesanal in midnight black tweed. It's too yummy for words.

So I began my capelet.
So far I am loving this pattern. I have been working on this for two days and already I am about a 1/3 into it and am moving very quickly through the pattern. Great pattern because each row is easy and fun..........more to come in the days that follow.