I kinda want to buy this booklet for a laugh. From Leisure Arts.

1. star afghan, 2. cable lace skirt, 3. mitered malabrigo cardigan, 4. cute top
I’m a subscriber and most of the time, I laugh at their patterns. The most recent issue had its fair share of the fugly. But, I really like these four patterns. I think I will cast on for number 4 in some hemp from the stash instead of the called for Rowan Purelife. It’s a shockingly fashionable top for a Knitter’s pattern.

I posted this scan from Marie-Claire Idees, the stupendous French craft magazine about six months ago.

Today I was looking at the KnitSimple Fall Preview and spotted..the exact same tea cozy? Down to the crocheted leaves.

I wonder how it got there.

PS: I was putting off the update until I could get a picture of my Grandpa in the notting hill vest I just finished for his birthday. It is a gorgeously cabled FO, but I know I’m biased.

I’ve knit socks before. I’ve tried toe up, using the turkish cast-on method which seems very cool at first. I’ve tried joining the Socks that Rock club–so much fun to receive the packages, very dangerous to the stash. I’ve tried complicated patterns and simple ones.

But I didn’t get it. I didn’t really understand the obsession. I thought it was slightly stupid to wear handknits on your feet and step on them, the way some people think it’s pointless to make your own dishcloths. I don’t even enjoy wearing socks.

But I definately get it now. I’m about an inch away from starting the toe decreases on my rainbow socks. I first blogged them here, but that attempt  was quickly frogged. I started them over last week using the Charade pattern and closely following Melissa Morgan-Oake’s brilliant instructions in this book, which I think is a must for any sock knitter, aspiring or obessed.

So now I think I’m a sock knitter. The mixture of the perfect yarn, technique and pattern helped. So did the decision that my mom needs a handknit sock collection.

So I have a bad yarn buying habit. I don’t think this is a secret. But my love of knitting sweaters has really upped the ante. You need at least 1200 yards to knit most of the patterns I like, and that can really cause the skeins (and prices) to pile up.
When my LYS, Woolworks, closed, I  walked off with a sweater’s worth of Noro Kureyon, Noro Silk Garden Lite, Noro Cash Iroha and Berrocco Ultra Alpaca. I plan to make a Gathered Cable Pullover from Interweave Knits in the pale grey alpaca. The Cash Iroha is the most gorgeous leaf green, and 17 skeins leaves me plenty of freedom to do whatever I like with it. Lately I’ve been thinking about the February Lady Sweater from flintknits.

I went to Katonah Yarn with my mom on Friday, and walked out with two future sweaters [plus some Noro Kureyon Sock!]. I got Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes in Strawberry so I can make this free and cute Debbie Bliss design. I really fell in love with it because of the wide cables, and am still doubting the wearability of its short sleeves. I also purchased Berrocco Jasper and a copy of Rowan Studio 10 to make the cabled bolero pictured above. Here is a bad blackberry picture I took of its beginnings.

I’m really hoping my next purchase will be a DSLR camera though. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

I’ve heard  read? a lot of knitters online complaining about color pooling, especially with hand-dyed sock yarns. This was never something that particularly bothered me. Until now. Exhibit A: Dishcloth knit in Sugar ‘n Cream. A simple 4×6 basketweave stitch.

The little boxes of color turned on me, no? It just goes green, purple, blue. It’s basically done and yet I want to rip it out and find a better stitch pattern. I’m not even someone who likes to rip. This was supposed to be a basic, zone-out knit. Maybe the dishcloth realized it wasn’t going to get blogged about unless something drastic happened.

I decided in the past year that I am a sweater knitter. But this doesn’t really mean I wear and cherish my handknit sweaters the most. I’m actually more likely to wear a thin black cardigan than anything else–a black cashmere crewneck from J.Crew with a hole in the sleeve or this jersey one from American Apparel that serves me well all year round. It has a slouchy fit and deep v-neck so I can layer it with pretty much anything. But you know, it’s sort of boring. I bought these buttons from my favorite etsy shop, Vintage Necessities thinking that I couldn’t just pass up vintage rhinestones but once they arrived? I knew exactly where they’d end up.

I sewed them all on during today’s yankees game: the ultimate mindless DIY project. And now I can say that even my simple black cardigan has a little of the homemade love.

As the title implies, this is the simplest sweater I have ever knit for myself. It is the fifth completed sweater I’ve made myself [I’ve also made two baby sweaters]. The yarn is the discontinued Debbie Bliss Tweed Aran, and being a single-ply tweed in purple with orange/green specks, it is pretty much my idea of perfect. I haven’t managed to capture the color correctly with my blackberry phone but whatever. You can see a better picture in this post. It’s the second of Stefanie Japel’s patterns that I’ve made. Weirdly enough, the yarn I used for my other Glampyre design [Bulky Cable Sweater on Ravelry], Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Chunky is the bulky version of this yarn and comes in all the same colorways. I’ve also had issues with the necklines of both of these sweaters. But I think this one is acceptable.

Okay, so the purpose of this next picture is to show that it fits and not showcase my sister’s brilliant photography skills. In her defense, I inteurrupted her while she was studying for finals to announce that I finished a sweater and wove in the ends on the same day. To me, that is an event more special than exams because you can’t count on it happening on schedule.

The pattern is in Fitted Knits, and it’s the first sweater pattern I could ever see myself repeating with a different yarn. I’m sure in something else it would look entirely different, and the shape of it is very basic and flattering. I would definately recommend this pattern to anyone: if I didn’t have so many other WIP’s, I could have finished it in a week.

So I’ve been taking sewing lessons from Kate Perri for about a month now. I just finished my second sewing FO. But really, it’s a knitting FO. Long in the making. I knit this Counterpane Carpet Bag two years ago out of Noro Iro and let it sit unseamed knowing one day I would be able to knit it a proper lining. I kind of made a bag within a bag, using a teal poly on the outside, fusible fleece and a printed cotton for the inside lining.

And guess what?! I learned how to knit two socks at a time. They’re going to be rainbow jaywalkers like these. This yarn is the reason I first started corresponding with Veronique, actually. I’ve wanted to make these forever and I was able to buy four balls of the yarn at Knitty City earlier this week. Next time I won’t photograph them on the wrinkly couch.

So I turn 18 today. And I got the most perfect birthday cake for the occasion from Lulu Cake Boutique. It’s a ball of hot pink yarn! With needles. My mom got me a set of knit picks harmony interchangables and sock dpns, too. I know I’ll get more presents at my party tonight but I’m sure those are the only yarny-related ones. Not like I can complain! I’m super excited that I will get to eat this ball of yarn later. It’s yellow cake and chocolate fudge icing on the inside.