04 June 2009
19 April 2009
Deliciousness.
Friday, I went here...
And came home with these...
And came home with these...
Clockwise from top:mocha delight, cinnamon roll, what's up doc, your peanut butter's on my chocolate
I had a cafe au lait cupcake a couple weeks ago, when someone brought them in to the school where I am interning, and I have been wanting to go to the sugar + sunshine bakery ever since. It's a good thing I don't work in Plainsboro anymore.
29 March 2009
Time for an update
It's been a while since I have posted...
I have finished my asymmetrical cardigan:
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and have received many compliments on it. After wearing it once, where the buttons were sewn on got stretched out a little, so I moved them over another 2" or so toward the side, and it seems to be working out better.
I also finished the Hemlock Ring Throw for my friend's wedding, which was last weekend:
I had 4 blocking mats that I received as a set for Christmas, but someone seemed to think I would not need all 4 and I think he used one of them to lay on while he changed his car's oil outside...so I now have 3 blocking mats. Luckily, I'm not anticipating making another blanket that will require blocking anytime soon. It was a fun project, and I used all but ~30g of the 7th skein of the Cascade 220 Superwash. So close to 1500 yards! It's about 62" in diameter. It was still somewhat wavy after blocking, but I think that's ok.
I did a modified 3 row bind off, with only 3 stitches in each yarn over, instead of the 5 called for in the pattern. This used less yarn, and seemed to be much less time consuming than the original bind off.
I also recently started a garter yoke cardigan with 7 balls of plymouth tweed yarn. I finally tracked down the Knit.1 magazine in early February, which has the pattern in it. I bought the yarn around then too, but the blanket took priority for the past couple weeks.
The pattern is really well written. And I like the Plymouth Tweed, but one of my skeins had FIVE knotty joins in it. that's right, 5. When there are only 109 yards per ball, I expect FAR fewer knots. A little disappointed about that.
I started and restarted my Cotton Bamboo Smock top (Classic Elite pattern - Ravelry link here) using Cotton Bamboo in Toasted Almond.
It calls for US 3 and 5. I got gauge, but after knitting about 9" of the stockinette body on US5, it appeared to be stretching out a bit. So I ripped back to the bottom and restarted the stockinette with US4. And to make sure it's not too big, I'm doing the cabled part with US2 instead of US3.
Then.... from Flying Fingers Warehouse Wednesday a couple weeks ago, I picked up 5 - 200 yd skeins of Farmhouse Yarns Silk Spun Cotton yarn in grey (for only $2.50/each!!). It's a tweedy looking 60% cotton, 32% wool, 8% silk worsted yarn.
I'm debating using it to make a Sunrise Circle Jacket (and the ravelry link here)
I think it would work out to be a good substitute... the gauge is 5st/in on US 8, so I could probably get the called for 18st/4in with US9. I found a list of common substitutes here and people have used things like Rowan Summer Tweed which is a silk/cotton blend.
Meanwhile, I've been busy with my internship & grad assistantship & looking for a job for the fall. There seems to be a decent number of positions in the area, and the school budget vote hasn't even happened yet, so I'm hoping more become available in the next month. Not too many of my classmates are looking in this immediate area, so I'm optimistic about it. Wish me luck!
I have finished my asymmetrical cardigan:
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and have received many compliments on it. After wearing it once, where the buttons were sewn on got stretched out a little, so I moved them over another 2" or so toward the side, and it seems to be working out better.I also finished the Hemlock Ring Throw for my friend's wedding, which was last weekend:
I had 4 blocking mats that I received as a set for Christmas, but someone seemed to think I would not need all 4 and I think he used one of them to lay on while he changed his car's oil outside...so I now have 3 blocking mats. Luckily, I'm not anticipating making another blanket that will require blocking anytime soon. It was a fun project, and I used all but ~30g of the 7th skein of the Cascade 220 Superwash. So close to 1500 yards! It's about 62" in diameter. It was still somewhat wavy after blocking, but I think that's ok.I did a modified 3 row bind off, with only 3 stitches in each yarn over, instead of the 5 called for in the pattern. This used less yarn, and seemed to be much less time consuming than the original bind off.
I also recently started a garter yoke cardigan with 7 balls of plymouth tweed yarn. I finally tracked down the Knit.1 magazine in early February, which has the pattern in it. I bought the yarn around then too, but the blanket took priority for the past couple weeks.
mine:
(I've actually since knitted down to the waist shaping, but haven't taken a more recent picture)
(I've actually since knitted down to the waist shaping, but haven't taken a more recent picture)
from knitting school dropout's blog:
The pattern is really well written. And I like the Plymouth Tweed, but one of my skeins had FIVE knotty joins in it. that's right, 5. When there are only 109 yards per ball, I expect FAR fewer knots. A little disappointed about that.I started and restarted my Cotton Bamboo Smock top (Classic Elite pattern - Ravelry link here) using Cotton Bamboo in Toasted Almond.
mine:
It calls for US 3 and 5. I got gauge, but after knitting about 9" of the stockinette body on US5, it appeared to be stretching out a bit. So I ripped back to the bottom and restarted the stockinette with US4. And to make sure it's not too big, I'm doing the cabled part with US2 instead of US3.from Classic Elite:
Then.... from Flying Fingers Warehouse Wednesday a couple weeks ago, I picked up 5 - 200 yd skeins of Farmhouse Yarns Silk Spun Cotton yarn in grey (for only $2.50/each!!). It's a tweedy looking 60% cotton, 32% wool, 8% silk worsted yarn.
I'm debating using it to make a Sunrise Circle Jacket (and the ravelry link here)I think it would work out to be a good substitute... the gauge is 5st/in on US 8, so I could probably get the called for 18st/4in with US9. I found a list of common substitutes here and people have used things like Rowan Summer Tweed which is a silk/cotton blend.
This will be on the back burner since I want to finish some other more summer-y projects (and the garter yoke cardigan) and hopefully won't be needing long sleeved sweaters too much in a couple weeks.
from Interweave Knits:
from Interweave Knits:
Meanwhile, I've been busy with my internship & grad assistantship & looking for a job for the fall. There seems to be a decent number of positions in the area, and the school budget vote hasn't even happened yet, so I'm hoping more become available in the next month. Not too many of my classmates are looking in this immediate area, so I'm optimistic about it. Wish me luck!
21 February 2009
11 February 2009
Etsy Front Page 2/9/09 slidesideways
Just found out my little tan flower pin was featured on the FRONT PAGE of Etsy the other night! That explains all the views it had, and the reason it sold the other night. I'm very excited to have something featured on the front page for the first time :-)
07 February 2009
ugh!
...thought i was doing well with my Alpaca DROPS turtleneck sweater... I got down to 2" before the end of the sleeve and came to the sad realization that I will probably have to re-do it. I have a little pouchy thing in the armpit from maybe picking up too many stitches under the arm. (See below).
It may not be totally noticeable if you're not looking for it, but it will bother me, and I might as well do this right. So I will try the other arm differently to see if I can get rid of that before I rip this arm out. I had hopes of wearing the sweater on Monday or Tuesday before we left for Florida, but it will have to wait til mid-February now. Oh well!
In other news, I realized I was sent the wrong color from Fabulousyarn - for my Plymouth Homestead. So I brought it to their attention and they sent me the correct color (the darker one) and a prepaid label to return the lighter color. I'm a little bit torn now though, I hope the darker color isn't too dark to show off some of the cables on the assymetrical cardi, but I don't want to be annoying and send back the yarn I made a stink about to begin with. I think I like the darker color better anyway...
It may not be totally noticeable if you're not looking for it, but it will bother me, and I might as well do this right. So I will try the other arm differently to see if I can get rid of that before I rip this arm out. I had hopes of wearing the sweater on Monday or Tuesday before we left for Florida, but it will have to wait til mid-February now. Oh well!In other news, I realized I was sent the wrong color from Fabulousyarn - for my Plymouth Homestead. So I brought it to their attention and they sent me the correct color (the darker one) and a prepaid label to return the lighter color. I'm a little bit torn now though, I hope the darker color isn't too dark to show off some of the cables on the assymetrical cardi, but I don't want to be annoying and send back the yarn I made a stink about to begin with. I think I like the darker color better anyway...
01 February 2009
Airplane Knitting
We're going to Florida to visit my in-laws (it's weird to say that) Feb 10th - 15th.
I haven't yet decided what knitting project to bring with me!
I have a problem in that several of my current works-in-progress are not the most portable. Or they might take up my entire carry-on. For example my Hemlock Ring throw:
I have used 3 full skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash so far (4 more to go). I'm up to round 103 on the chart I think, so it's getting kind of big. Last time I measured I estimated I had over a 3' diameter, but I've done probably 10+ rows since that point. So anyway, that option is out.
My other project is the Alpaca DROPS pattern with the turtleneck, I only have the sleeves left, as I mentioned recently - and I'm hoping to finish those before we leave.
The Somewhat Cowl just needs the neck sewn on, so that's not enough to be worth bringing with me.
Another option:
I wanted to knit a little something for one of my friends whose birthday is coming up and I decided on a scarf. So I went to Pins and Needles the other day, and found this Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Sport on sale for 25% off! (Despite the name, it's DK weight).
I would have liked to have used the BSA Suri Merino I have previously mentioned, but can't really swing $32 for the 2 skeins I'd need for a scarf at the moment. So I was happy to find this stuff, which is almost as soft and it ended up coming to ~$12 for the 2 skeins (and then I had a $20 off coupon, which made those 2 skeins and a set of needles practically free!) Anyway, I think I decided on this pattern, the Diagonal Lace Scarf by Helena Frank.
I would have liked to have used the BSA Suri Merino I have previously mentioned, but can't really swing $32 for the 2 skeins I'd need for a scarf at the moment. So I was happy to find this stuff, which is almost as soft and it ended up coming to ~$12 for the 2 skeins (and then I had a $20 off coupon, which made those 2 skeins and a set of needles practically free!) Anyway, I think I decided on this pattern, the Diagonal Lace Scarf by Helena Frank. People on Ravelry seem to think this scarf can really roll though, so I might try a different edging, like the one on my Prismatic Scarf, where there's a knitted-in I-cord edging to prevent rolling instead of the garter stitch shown.
My only reservation is that her birthday is while we will be away, and I would have liked to give it to her before we leave, but I'll just have to give it to her a few days late when we get back.
This will definitely be portable, but I'm concerned I will finish it too fast and have nothing to knit on our way back Sunday night.
So, here's a project that wouldn't be tooo too big.
I came across this DROPS pattern the other day and I like it, "111-7 Drops jacket with raglan in silke-alpaca"
I was thinking since my second Anthro-inspired capelet has been sitting in a basket for approximately the last year (largely due to the fact that I knit past the bust and forgot to put any button holes along the way) - Maybe I could rip it out (It's Knit picks Shine Worsted in Black) and turn it into the DROPS pattern. 
Looks like I have enough yardage, I already know the gauge of the yarn, and it's seamless. I know wearable-items aren't necessarily the best for travel knitting, but I don't have any other scarves I need to make, and all the other items on my to-do list are larger.
Anyway, I think that's my plan for now.
29 January 2009
Next up...
So, I have found a new project for my Plymouth Homestead yarn I bought a month and a half ago...
The Assymetrical Cabled Cardi (ravelry link)
Here's a pic from the author's blog if you don't feel like opening the link to the pattern.
And here's another, from Ravelry user CelticCastOn. I think it turned out really well:
The only thing is, I'm trying to decide if I want the bulk of it to be reverse stockinette, as written, or stockinette. I'm not usually a huge fan of the purl-side of things, as I think it usually makes garments and myself look bulkier. Any thoughts?? Maybe I'll knit up a swatch and see if it helps make up my mind.
I'm really proud of myself for finding a yarn I already have that I can use for this project instead of buying something new.
Even though I was tempted to buy something super nice like Blue Sky Suri Merino which I am still in love with after knitting the textured shawl with it... but I'd need like 5 skeins of it... x $16 = way too much when I'm at an unpaid internship and a low paying hourly grad assistantship for 5 more months. I'll have to wait til I get a real job...
In other news,
Here's the DROPS sweater, I bound off the bottom. Now for the sleeves.
And I've done all but tack down the collar on my Somewhat Cowl:
The Assymetrical Cabled Cardi (ravelry link)Here's a pic from the author's blog if you don't feel like opening the link to the pattern.
And here's another, from Ravelry user CelticCastOn. I think it turned out really well:
The only thing is, I'm trying to decide if I want the bulk of it to be reverse stockinette, as written, or stockinette. I'm not usually a huge fan of the purl-side of things, as I think it usually makes garments and myself look bulkier. Any thoughts?? Maybe I'll knit up a swatch and see if it helps make up my mind.
I'm really proud of myself for finding a yarn I already have that I can use for this project instead of buying something new.
Even though I was tempted to buy something super nice like Blue Sky Suri Merino which I am still in love with after knitting the textured shawl with it... but I'd need like 5 skeins of it... x $16 = way too much when I'm at an unpaid internship and a low paying hourly grad assistantship for 5 more months. I'll have to wait til I get a real job...
In other news,
Here's the DROPS sweater, I bound off the bottom. Now for the sleeves.
And I've done all but tack down the collar on my Somewhat Cowl:
20 January 2009
My other projects
Here's my Drops turtleneck sweater in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light, color is buckwheat. I'm nearly to the bottom of the sweater, I have a little over 3" of ribbing at the bottom, and plan to do about 4.
Here's the picture from the Drops Website, picture should be linked to the pattern on the Garnstudio website.
Instead of making it in separate pieces as the pattern called for, I'm doing top-down, seamless. I started with the turtleneck, then placed markers for the sleeves and did raglan shaping, eventually put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn, then continued knitting the body. I'm not making it quite as long as shown in the picture. I'm trying to take decent notes as I knit it, maybe I will post them on here when I am finished if they are coherent enough.
I put my Somewhat Cowl aside to work on this - since the Somewhat Cowl will end up with short or 3/4 sleeves and will be a warmer-weather top. I want to get this Drops sweater done in time to wear it a few times this winter before it warms up.
My other recent project I've finished was the Textured Shawl courtsey of Ravelry user Orlane's Textured Shawl Recipe. I made this with 2 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino in dusk. Which was a fantastic yarn to knit with. In the 328 yards I knit with, there were NO knots, no weird lumpy joins. It was such a soft yarn to knit with. I'd love to make something else with this yarn in the future, but the yarn is a bit on the pricey side (but worth it!) and that will have to wait until I am out of grad school and have a real job (and income). I plan to wear the shawl to my friend's March wedding. Here's a picture of it blocking, sort of. I've only steamed it so far. I need to do a better job with the blocking and maybe get myself a nice little spray bottle.
Here's the picture from the Drops Website, picture should be linked to the pattern on the Garnstudio website.
Instead of making it in separate pieces as the pattern called for, I'm doing top-down, seamless. I started with the turtleneck, then placed markers for the sleeves and did raglan shaping, eventually put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn, then continued knitting the body. I'm not making it quite as long as shown in the picture. I'm trying to take decent notes as I knit it, maybe I will post them on here when I am finished if they are coherent enough.
I put my Somewhat Cowl aside to work on this - since the Somewhat Cowl will end up with short or 3/4 sleeves and will be a warmer-weather top. I want to get this Drops sweater done in time to wear it a few times this winter before it warms up.
My other recent project I've finished was the Textured Shawl courtsey of Ravelry user Orlane's Textured Shawl Recipe. I made this with 2 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino in dusk. Which was a fantastic yarn to knit with. In the 328 yards I knit with, there were NO knots, no weird lumpy joins. It was such a soft yarn to knit with. I'd love to make something else with this yarn in the future, but the yarn is a bit on the pricey side (but worth it!) and that will have to wait until I am out of grad school and have a real job (and income). I plan to wear the shawl to my friend's March wedding. Here's a picture of it blocking, sort of. I've only steamed it so far. I need to do a better job with the blocking and maybe get myself a nice little spray bottle.
19 January 2009
Drops Jacket
Ta Da! - Here it is. My Drops Jacket, finally finished. I sewed on the last four buttons tonight. I think if I were to do it again, I'd do a couple fewer button holes, but I'm very happy with it. It fits great, and it's so warm. I think I'll wear it tomorrow...
03 January 2009
A Nice Bag featured in Etsy Treasury!
Check it out, my felted bowls 
were featured on this Etsy Knitters"Treasury" today.
were featured on this Etsy Knitters"Treasury" today.
01 January 2009
Happy 2009!
It's been a couple weeks since I've posted.
A little belated, but Molly says: Merry Christmas!
Here's my progress on a couple projects since the last post:
I finished my Marvel Cowl:
I finished Danica for my Dad for Christmas (modeled by not-my-Dad):
I made the Prismatic Scarf with Malabrigo (colorway: Hongos) for my Internship Supervisor:
And the Vegas Sands cowl with Silky Malabrigo for my aunt for Christmas:
Also, a couple days ago I made my second Etsy sale! :-) Very exciting. It's actually the fourth bag down in my last post that sold.
-Still haven't finished the Somewhat Cowl...
-Picked out buttons for my Malabrigo Drops Jacket, but haven't sewn them on yet.
-And because I couldn't help myself, I started another another Drops pattern - the name is too long, it's ridiculous, but it's a long sleeved, turtle neck sweater which I started in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in Buckwheat. I am in the process of converting it from a bottom-up pattern into a top-down seamless pattern. I'm 2 skeins in.
My goal is to sew on the buttons for the Drops Jacket before the end of the weekend.
I also need to get back to working on the Hemlock Ring Throw, which I started in September but had put on hold, for my friend's wedding (March is now quickly approaching).
A little belated, but Molly says: Merry Christmas!
Here's my progress on a couple projects since the last post:I finished my Marvel Cowl:
I finished Danica for my Dad for Christmas (modeled by not-my-Dad):
I made the Prismatic Scarf with Malabrigo (colorway: Hongos) for my Internship Supervisor:
And the Vegas Sands cowl with Silky Malabrigo for my aunt for Christmas:
Also, a couple days ago I made my second Etsy sale! :-) Very exciting. It's actually the fourth bag down in my last post that sold.
-Still haven't finished the Somewhat Cowl...
-Picked out buttons for my Malabrigo Drops Jacket, but haven't sewn them on yet.
-And because I couldn't help myself, I started another another Drops pattern - the name is too long, it's ridiculous, but it's a long sleeved, turtle neck sweater which I started in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in Buckwheat. I am in the process of converting it from a bottom-up pattern into a top-down seamless pattern. I'm 2 skeins in.
My goal is to sew on the buttons for the Drops Jacket before the end of the weekend.
I also need to get back to working on the Hemlock Ring Throw, which I started in September but had put on hold, for my friend's wedding (March is now quickly approaching).
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