Eye Candy - Stash update

Hiya! I'm back in the states and ready to do some serious knitting. To help expedite the matter, I decided to get organized. Take a look at these bad boys!


Those are my most recently purchased stash all photographed and cataloged on Ravelry. As you can see, one of those photos made the cut as a new blog header; it's a handpainted, handspun yarn gifted by my wonderful sister-in-law (thank you Keri!). The change isn't too drastic, I just needed a little change of scenery to keep up with things around here--Whee!

That stash ought to keep me busy for a while, eh? More [actual] knitting updates to come soon (I promise).

An update!

If you're wondering why there has been a severe lack of communication on my part over the past 42 days it's because...well...

a) I'm in Scotland!
b) I'm exploring things (in Scotland).
c) I'm meeting people (in Scotland).
d) I'm taking 6 credits (in Scotland).
e) I'm having a wonderful time (in Scotland).
f) And lastly, I'm exhausted (in Scotland).

Though my blog has fallen by the wayside temporarily, I have not forsaken all internet related communication. To prove it, have a look at some photos from the past 41 days!

See! Visual proof that I am actually out doing things. Admittedly, Project 365 has temporarily taken the place of a "blog" since school ended. If you're interested in following my antics over the next few weeks (until I get back to blogging regularly again), you can do that here!

"Ummm...I'm adorable."

I promise I'll get back on a normal schedule sometime in August, but until then, take care & happy knitting!

Guess what!

It's true.

My mom is one of the most important influences in my life-- I don't know where (or who) I'd be without her.

As for the heart, it was [REALLY] quick and simple!

Pattern: Hearts
Needles: US #5 Addi Turbos
Yarn: di.Ve' Autunno (This pattern would be great for scraps!)
Time to knit: 15 minutes undisturbed (or a medium length Skype convo in my case.)
Level of love: I <3 style="font-style: italic;"> (Get it?)

That's all for now...

I love you, mom--very much. Happy Mother's Day!

Proof

Hey look, a WIP!
Photographic evidence that I am still, in fact, a knitter. The project above is (an almost completed!) Springtime Bandit shawl. It's made with 5 skeins of the sproingiest yarn I've ever worked with (Artyarns Supermerino).

"OOOoooo.... Ahhhhhhhhh"

Updates on this project and others to come soon--Whee!

Oh dear...

My poor, neglected little blog...how I miss you so! I have no excuses for you, other than... ummm...these:

• College
  
• A promotion (yay!)
• flickr 365 (probably the guiltiest of the 3!)

To be quite truthful (as a result of the list above), I really haven't been knitting much lately. It pains me to admit that, but hopefully I'll regain steam sometime soon and start stash-busting like mad!

Despite not having knitting to show you, I do have an update to share!

ohai! I'm excited!

That is the expression of one happy girl who has (in her possession) the flight arrangements for studying overseas in Scotland this summer! I'll be studying both photography and history while living 15 minutes outside of Edinburgh-- I can't even begin to tell you how much I'm looking forward to this trip! The one that begins exactly ONE MONTH from today! Gah!

Apologies again for neglecting this neck of the woods for so long--I will do my best to remedy the absence!

When yarn speaks, I listen

Though this isn't a FO post, it is a rather exciting one for you fiber addicts out there! This past Friday, my mom and I did some serious mother/daughter retail bonding at our favorite yarn shop--it was fantastic.

One of the highlights is the yarn pictured - it is [10 skeins of] Rowan Felted Tweed and it's going to be made into a longerish-length Minimalist Cardigan. Have you ever just had yarn speak to you? Well, this yarn said:

"rachel, please knit me into a wonderfully tweedy grandpa sweater"

So I listened.

More finished goodies to come soon!

Meet Ishbel

Welcome to round two of my belated project sharing! This one is a little on the larger side. With that said, let me introduce you to Ishbel:

Hello, I'm a gigantic lace project!

The details:

Pattern: Ishbel
Designer: Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Lace 2 ply
Needles: US #7 Addi Turbos
Time to knit: 6 days(...?!)
Made for: Mrs. P
Level of love: Total adoration (and exhaustion)

A closeup of the vine detail.

In short, Ishbel was a deadline project knit for a close friend's mother. She initially asked if I'd be able to complete this shawl back in July explaining that it would be needed for an event on February 20th. "February?", I thought--that's AGES away, of COURSE I'll have time by then! Well, leave it to me and my knack for procrastination to wait until the absolute last possible moment to start this project. It was begun on Sunday, February 8th and completed late Saturday, Februarh 14th. Yikes. Over 40 hours of knitting was put into making this wonder, and I must say, it gave me quite the sense of accomplishment. My roommate verified that it was the most she'd ever seen me knitting in a 6 day span of time. That's a lot of knitting.

I had never worked with Misti Alpaca Lace before, but I had heard lots of swooning over it by other knitters (always a good sign). The project was requested in a neutral color-- Ivory, grey, or black. Since I'd already completed an ivory shawl, black won hands down. Until this project, fingering weight yarn was the lightest yarn I'd used, and I couldn't really imagine knitting with anything any lighter. Right. At many times I had to adjust my tension due to fear of breaking the yarn mid stitch (that never happened) -- a tad on the nervewracking side.

Looking back, I'm certainly glad I have the experience of 2 ply under my belt, but boy did it slow things down! The end fabric was absolutely to die for--one of the softest materials I've ever felt. How so much warmth can come from something so lightweight and dainty, I'll never fully understand.

Ysolda's pattern, as per usual, was absolutely fantastic and easy to follow-- I will definitely be making this again (but maybe in the smaller size). That said, however, I will NOT be doing any more crazy marathon knitting in the near future. As a knowledgeable fellow knitter said to me:

"A stopwatch is for athletes; not knitters".

Well spoken.

Straun: Too much rock for one state

Well hello! By now I'd imagine my absence for over month is [unfortunately] seen as nothing out of the ordinary. Though no excuse is a good excuse, I can say that I've been so wrapped up in the new semester and Project 365 that my poor blog has gone by the wayside.

On the positive side? It means I have quite a bit share! These next few posts might be slightly out of order as far as finishing dates go, but I promise they all happened within the last month. First up? Straun:

Pattern: Straun
Designer: Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Worsted - Blue graphite (.8 skeins)
Needles: US #5 Addi Turbos
Time to knit: 1/26 - 2/5
Made for: Darren aka Darius Twin
Level of love: total BAMFness

I had been itching to cast on for this hat for quite a while, but (as is often the case with knitting projects) just because I see something I love doesn't mean I'll then have a use for it upon its completion. Luckily, I was able to find an open and willing recipient who possessed the "cool factor" necessary to pull this hat off (unlike me pictured below...*ahem*).

Technique-wise, this project has added a few to the belt. First of all, the invisible loop cast on method. It was a tad on the tricky side initially, but lent itself well to the final product (plus the links in the pattern were very helpful). Because the hat was knit from the top down, it ended with the hemming of the brim portion. Mind you, that process involved grafting 105 live stitches up inside a hat that needed to be kept even vertically while also minding the hem length & brim tension. FUN!

All things considered, however, I really love how this hat turned out and am very (very) pleased with the final product. I'm not 100% certain, but from the looks of it, it would appear the recipient is too!

(Photos & artistry below are a product of Darren Pearson!)

Glad you like it Darren, you rock.

And what's to come? Looks to me like a hat, a pair of mittens, and *gasp* a lace shawl-- Hooooo boy!

A hat for Sam

Just a quick post to share a [very] quick project. I seem to be developing a trend...

Pattern: Well...it's more of a recipe, really
Gauge: 5.5 sts per 2"
Needles: US #10 Addi Turbos
Yarn: 2 half skeins of Cascade 220 Heathers held double
Made for: Sam
Time to knit: 2 discs of Arrested Development (Season 2)
Level of love: easy, peasy, & awesome

Hi, I'm Sam.

This hat was so fast and enjoyable it makes me smile. It was made to recreate a hat that he currently has in black & white and wears all the time. I took a gauge, some length measurements, did some swatching and went to town. I really am pleased with the finished product (and I'd like to think he is too)!

Hey look, a label!

Sigh. All in all, these little projects are basically all I have time for these days--I'm in the middle of taking a very condensed (and intensive) interim accounting course which leaves little to no brain power for knitting. I do have a several more challenging projects lined up for when I'm not spending every waking moment dealing with debits, credits and posting to T accounts. That day can't come soon enough...really.

It's official

Okay, this really isn't knitting related (well... maybe a little), but definitely exciting enough for me to share! Today I stopped by the Office of International Education to get the application needed to study abroad this summer...

...in Scotland.


(that's one VERY happy college knitter.)

Wham bam

First project of the new year is completed! Let me tell you folks, it was a quickie. (And I said I was going to challenge myself this year? Hah! It's a garter stitch rectangle-- doesn't get much simpler than that!)

Pattern: Wham Bam Thank you Lamb (ravelry)
Designer: Insaknitty
Yarn: 75 yards of handspun, handpainted (in my favorite colors) merino wool gifted by my [wonderful] sister in law, Keri!
Needles: US #13 Addi Turbos
Time to Knit: 2 hours? really? are we serious?
Level of Love: Well considering I haven't removed it since these photos were taken, I'd say unreasonably high.

Talk about instant gratification, this project was great. Not only was it quick and easy, but it was a great piece for showcasing the beautiful yarn too. And yes, I've gone a little bit from hat happy to cowl happy, but (in my defense) I didn't actually get to keep the last two. Anyway, this pattern comes highly recommended--I'm sure I'll be making it again!


**Oh! Also, I've decided to start Project 365 on Flickr for 2009--who thinks I can do it?

2008 - A year of Knitting in Review

The obligatory FO photo mosaic:


I managed to pack in 20 finished projects for 2008. They included:

• 1 sweater
• 2 cowls
• 2 lace shawls
• 1 pair of mittens
• 3 pieces of miscellanea
  
• and, of course, the 11 hats

I'm feeling very good about what I was able to produce over the course of the year. In 2009, I plan to challenge myself with my knitting, test my hand at designing, and make time to knit every day (even in the depths of my semesters). I think these three things are certainly both reasonable and achievable. I'm also in the process of building myself a brand new website (a holiday present I purchased for myself this year!). The launch of that site will be seen sometime within the next year--I will obviously be keeping everyone posted!

Lastly, special thank yous and well wishes to the wonderful support of all the fabulous knitters, crafters, and passerbyers that have stopped by in 2008. In my opinion, the knit-blogging community is one of the most friendly and supportive groups out there; thank you for making me feel a part of it. Looks like that's a wrap for this year, I'll be back soon in the new year!

Good Luck

Hello! I just had to sneak one last project in before the new year quickly approaches. This piece was "commissioned" by a good friend as a gift for his mother [who is fantastic]. I finished it a little later than originally planned (sorry Nick!), but I'm pleased with the final product. I will say this though, it was considerably more difficult to get decent pictures of this one as opposed to the Chickadee cowl which stood at attention without me even touching it. Detail time!

Pattern: Good Luck Cowl (ravelry)
Designer: Christianne Gerstner
Yarn: 1.3 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas, Alpaca Silk - teal
Needles: US #5 Addi Turbos
Made for: Mrs. P
Level of Love: reasonably happy camper


Modifications: I omitted one pattern repeat (for sanity's sake) and used a 2x2 ribbed edging instead of the original purled border. I like that it gave the piece a cleaner edge that wouldn't scallop.


I did enjoy this project, but admittedly got bored working on it for long periods of time (which is probably the why it took longer than expected). The lace pattern is fun, but it's extremely similar to the one done in the Bousta Beret which I completed not too long ago. Though I thoroughly enjoy the finished product here (and I've received word that the recipient does too), I'm not entirely sure I'd knit this again--there are just too many patterns out there to make, right?

That's all for now--travel safely for the remainder of the holiday season and have a fun-filled (and happily knit) New Year!

Christmas Chickadee

Hello everyone--Merry Christmas to those celebrating today! I wanted to drop in to show you one of the items getting delivered for holiday gifting later this afternoon. Here it is:


Pattern: Chickadee Cowl (Ravelry Link)
Designer: Kirsten Kapur
Made for: Ms. A
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky - Velvet grapes (yum)
Needles: US #10 Addi Turbos
Dates:12/19 - 12/23
Level of Love: lots and lots

I really enjoyed this project. It was quick, it was fun, it was mindless, and the final product is very pretty. The pattern uses a linen stitch which is especially beautiful with variegated yarns (plus it breaks up pooling too!). With the linen stitch on the outside it creates something along the line of seed stitch on steroids on the inside (shown above). The final product is a very dense (yet surprisingly flexible) fabric that is capable of standing on its own, which will effectively block out pesky winter wind. Success.

That's all for now--take care and have a wonderful holiday (tonight is night #5 here)!

Guess what?

It's Hanukkah! It officially started at sundown this evening. Now, I definitely understand that I'm a bit of a minority here, but for the Jewish folk out there, our holiday festivities began tonight (and will continue for the next 7!). I just wanted to share a few photos I took earlier tonight-- a glimpse into my family:

Aren't they pretty? Every year we hang Hanukkah ornaments from the chandelier in our dining room . Some of them get pretty creative...

Like this one for example! I made it in 2nd grade. It took a little extra work (and some arm twisting) to not have to use the Christmas tree patterns the rest of my classmates used...but it was totally worth it.

Hey look! It's Judah Maccabee! (made out of clothespins, felt, pipe cleaners, and cotton balls. Classy guy.)

Childhood artwork by yours truly. (*ahem*...age 19 months!)

One candle down, seven more to come! Wishing you all a safe & happy holiday season!

Star Crossed

Hello again, I'll keep the rambling brief today! I'm busily finishing up a few pieces of holiday knitting, and I'll do my best to keep the site updated as I do so. (Often my flickr side panel is a project or two ahead of my posting...I'm trying to diminish the lag!). That said, here is a quick (we're talking 2 discs of Arrested Development quick) beret that has already been gifted and sent off to to it's happy recipient. Here are details!


Pattern: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (rav link)
Designer: Natalie Larson
Made for: Jamie (pictured)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted - Amber Gold (less than one skein)
Needles: US #10 & #$ Addi Turbos
Dates: 12/14-12/15 (blocking included)
Level of love: *swooooon*

If you haven't picked up on it by now, I'm a hat girl. To me, they include the majority of the rewards associated with hand knitting. They are the perfect length to avoid boredom, come in an endless sea of beautiful patterns, and the slouchy kind rarely smoosh curly hair. Yes; I certainly love my hats. The 2nd grader side of me chimes in "If you love them so much, maybe you should MARRY them!"

Well? Maybe I should.

She speaks!

Hello again! As promised, more photos of the mystery cliffhanger sweater. I figured I owed everyone (the sweater included) some decent online recognition. Careful followers will note that this is my first wearable sweater. True, I made a vest that was gifted and a sweater that makes my skin crawl, but this is my first piece of clothing that I can actually wear. Three cheers to that!

Lets get to the goods, shall we?

Pattern: Juliet (rav link)
Designer: Zephyr Gals: Sarah & Rachel
Yarn: 4 skeins Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (held double) in Provincial Rose
Needles: US #10 Addi Turbos
Dates: 8/1- 9/17 (yes...3 months ago)
Level of love: are we serious?

Mods: The largest modification I made was choosing a different lace pattern for the bodice. The pattern I went with was borrowed from the Vintage Shoulderette pattern. Other than that, I decided to do a single faux button front closure instead of the two separated ones as directed. Originally when I started finishing, the button was going to be functional-- good thing I'm flexible.

(Click to enlarge)

I enjoy this top very much; its got this A-line Trapezey thing going on. I have already worn it out several times which I believe makes it feel loved and happy. Often I wonder if I'm the only one that imagines knit items having feelings. Yeah...? Just me? *sigh*. I just feel that knit items that are shoved into drawers would naturally be sad, and conversely happy if worn frequently. Okay enough of that, I yield. More finished goodness to come soon!

**Special thanks to my fantastic photographer friend that agreed to take the time to shoot [and edit] these photos just because he's awesome. Won't you pay him a visit?

***Also, can anyone spy the yellow flowers from the picture anywhere else? Gosh I love them.

Foliage Beret-a-fied

Okay, I know what you're thinking: "Two posts in the same week?! Not possible. Somebody obviously hacked into her account and is posting for her--that's the only explanation". Now (admittedly), I deserve that reaction. Really, I do. In the past two months, my time has been spent on classes, studies, work and extra currics--any little time I did have was devoted to knitting. Unfortunately posting took the hit. Watching my blog slowly wither away was making me me sad, so I'm going to make a conscious effort to pop in on a more regularly.

On a more humorous note, the other reason I'm posting twice in the same week is that it occurred to me that if someone had never visited this blog until 4 days ago, their first impression would be of a comical (yet terrifying) staged photo of me. To be quite honest, I get a little creeped out when I look at it--but at least now I know what I'd look like if I actually did go over to the dark side...terrifying thought. Now, lets have a look at some knitting, shall we?

It occurred to me (and has been pointed out by countless others) that lately the only hats I'm interested in wearing are of the slouchy persuasion. Most of the hats I've knit of late fit that bill, but there is one that did not. Re-meet Foliage:
Now again, there was nothing wrong with the pattern or the fit of the hat as it was designed--it just wasn't "me" and therefore wasn't getting worn. In my opinion, no handknit hat deserves to live in a drawer unloved.

So last night, I had an epiphany: "My hat is made of wool...wool blocks well....I have an abundance of clean dinner plates...I'm going to fix my hat!". After the process was complete, it looked like this:

and once it was dry, it looked like this:


Which made me look like this:
Overall the transformation was a success and I now have a cuddly, functional hat that I will most definitely wear more often. Other than my hat re-shapage, I have five projects that are near completion that I will be sharing with you over the neck few weeks. In the mean time, how about a little sneak peak?


Don't you just hate cliffhangers? More photos to come soon!

Feeling the Force

Sooooooo...If your friend [jokingly?] referred to you as the Sith Lord of Knitting, wouldn't that prompt you to hold an emergency photo session?

Good. Because I would too.

I might have been hiding lately...

...But I'm still here!