That scarf

I was going to post this in a reply to an earlier post, but I figured that I may as well just make a new post out of it ^__^ I think I'll probably go with a pseudo-ribbed scarf. There's a pattern at that I might modify and use . It's 17 stitches done in K2, P1. I'm not going to use as gigantic needles as they call for (size 17!!), or do it with two strands of yarn together either. I think I'll just try knitting some of it up to see how it looks. If it looks like crap, I'll just frog it and try something else. I just don't have a good concept of what the mohair will look like in that pattern.

I'm also working on some wrist warmers for Jamie right now. They're the guys ones out of the "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" book. I've finished one already and am working on the second. When they're done, maybe I'll see if he'd be so kind as to model them for me! LOL!!! I still need to get yarn for those beer cozies I promised my friend Aaron. I haven't designed the lettering yet either. *sheepish grin* And this was supposed to be a Christmas present!

Crinkly Charlotte

Hooray, Charlotte is off the needles! Here is a picture of her in an unblocked state. I apologize for the crappy picture; my camera refuses to do her justice. She still needs a crochet edge, and possibly fringe (I haven't decided yet), not to mention a serious blocking. I wasn't too sure about the last colour on the bottom when I started incorporating it, I thought it might have been too harsh of a contrast with the pink (see the wierd stripey effect? It's much more pronounced in the picture than in real life, hm), but now I kinda like it. It's a really pretty colourway on its own, and it brings out the pink which is of course my favourite part. =)

This was actually a pretty simple project, and I already want to make another one. The koigu is totally addictive and such a pleasure to knit with, and I honestly think one could combine any random colourways and come out with something fantastic. Of course I have several projects waiting in the wings, so I couldn't cast on for another Charlotte for a while, but a girl can always keep her eyes peeled for pretty colourways, can't she? =P

More kitty fun...

Alright! As promised, I took a picture of my pink mohair kitty hat. While it's a terrible photo of me, it did manage to get both ears in.


Let me tell you, this mohair while soft and fuzzy when I wear it, is not all that great to knit with. All the extra fuzzies get kinda annoying after a while. But it does make fabulous pom poms. I think I'm going to take a break from this pink stuff though. Even though I was planning to make a scarf with it, I'm gonna move to some other project first. I owe my friend Aaron some beer cozies in the Winnipeg Jets colours.

Oh yeah...and let me tell you about the other misadventure I had with this hat. I put one of the ears in a totally horrible place, so I decided to take it off, and re-do it. While clipping the old ear off, I accidentally clipped a big hole into the hat portion. DOH! Stupid me. So, I had to fix that first, and then put the new ear on. And I also goofed on the i-cord a little. One of them is a touch longer than the other, but I can live with it.

Desperate for the Clap

I have wanted to make a Clapotis for my mother ever since the Fall 2004 Knitty came out, cuz I thought she would find it useful for keeping her warm around the house while watching tv/knitting/whatever else. But, the original yarn called for in the pattern was way too expensive, so I needed to find a suitable replacement yarn. Since my mother is a regular reader of this blog, I am now going to document the subsequent quest for said replacement yarn in exhaustive detail so she (and everyone else) can appreciate just how ridiculously anal and picky and undecisive I can be.

My yarn criteria:
1) Must be handpainted/dyed. If I am going to be knitting what is essentially a very large stockinette rectangle I should at least be able to enjoy the colours. Plus I think it'd make the finished product more interesting looking. I refuse to buy boring one-coloured yarn for this.
2) Must be soft. The original Lion & Lamb is very soft and drapey, I will not settle for icky scratchy crunchy yarn that won't drape well. Basically merino or silk or cashmere.
3) Must not totally break the bank. I was thinking a price range of $50-$60. Difficult to do with the above criteria!

Her yarn criteria:
1) Must not be too multicoloured or crazy-looking (damn, those are my favourite kind!).
2) Preferably just ONE colour (argh, no way!).
3) If there must be colour variations, they should be subtle (ok, fine).

Here are all the possibilities I seriously considered and rejected for various reasons:
1) Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb
2) Lorna's Laces Fisherman
3) Noro Cash Iroha
4) Manos del Uruguay
5) Cherry Tree Hill Silk & Merino DK
6) Fiesta Yarns La Luz
7) Artyarns Supermerino
8) various Fleece Artist yarns
9) Handpainted silk/merino yarn from Mystical Creation Yarns
10) Handpainted silk/merino yarn from eBay seller LotusBlossom
11) Handpainted yarn from Axelle
12) Yarn from Inspirations Yarn
13) Hand dyed yarn from eBay seller Sanfelipeysantiago

That's all I can remember right now. Anyway, today I finally found yarn that I think would be acceptable to the both of us, in Newbury Yarns. It is kettle-dyed merino from Malabrigo Yarns (colour 180, chocolate), and it is totally buttery soft. It is hand-dyed in subtle shades of pink, brown and a little bit of green, and while it is not ONE colour it is also not riotous and rainbow-y like I would have preferred. It is a lot like Manos yarn, except softer and cheaper per yard. I spent a very long time in the store trying to decide just which colour to get. I hope you like it, mother! If not, I will just keep the shawl for myself and you can make your own. =P

Charlotte update

As promised, here is Charlotte as of this morning:



The shawl is basically a series of 16-row repeats, where every 16 rows one either knits with one colourway only, or alternates between 2 colourways. I've finished the all-purple section, and now am moving on to the alternating-purple-and-pink section. I can't wait to knit with the pink! Currently there are about 180 or so stitches on the needles, and by the end there will be something like 300. It looks nothing like the finished product right now, hopefully after blocking the lace pattern will reveal itself. =)

So far it's been a fairly easy knit, the pattern isn't too complicated and stitch markers make things easy to keep track of.

In other news, I've broken my no-new-yarn-until-after-Charlotte (except for gift cashmere) promise. I couldn't help it, the Koigu is like crack. I went to Woolcott to buy some yummy white cashmere to make my godmother a Caryl's Kerchief (on the left), then I just had to go through the KPPPM stock and these 2 colourways just begged to be rescued (on the right, P107 and P117). Aren't they pretty? Argh, I have no willpower. I think maybe the solution is just to avoid yarn stores altogether, huh?

I need a scarf...

So, I'm working on my pink mohair kitty hat now. It's coming a long quite nicely, and I should have pictures of it soon. But now the question is what kind of scarf to make to go along with it. I talked to my friend Elaine, and she suggested something on the thin side, about 3.5 inches wide. And then we were wondering what kind of pattern to use. Perhaps a simple stocking stitch? Maybe a seed stitch border to the stocking stitch? And since the mohair is a bit on the heavy side, it probably wouldn't lend to any lace patterns very well, right? I'm thinking about the Embrace scarf from Knitty because while the stitch is simple (yay for stocking stitch), it's got a pretty unique construction. I might want it to be a bit longer, but in general I think the idea is pretty cool. I dunno though....what do you think? Elaine, if you're lurking out there, I wouldn't mind your take on this too.

More buttony fun!

Look ma, more buttons! OK, actually this is only one button, but in several different colours. That black leggy blob is supposed to be a kitty playing with yarn, which is the circular blob. I know the kitty has nothing to do with "Yarn for Brains" precisely, but we love kitties and we love yarn, so why the heck not?







OK, I think I'm done screwing around with Photoshop for the time being. I have just about reached the limits of my ability. =) Next post, Charlotte updates!

Button, button, who's got a button?

Look, I made us a button! I have no idea why we would even need a button, but I've always wanted to have a button. It's not exactly what I had in mind when I began this little experiment, but at least it's a start. Attempt #1, if you will. Yes, I am aware that it is very pink. Yes, I am aware that I am ridiculously obsessed with pink these days. I can make a blue version, or a green version....? Or a mix of colours? Or something else altogether? What do you think? Next step, figuring out where and how to insert it into the sidebar. =)

Adventures of the Indecisive

ARGHH!!! I totally suck... I seriously think I'm going to buy the bag that I was intending to imitate by making the bag from Folk Bags (click here to check it out). It's the right size and has lots of pockets (which I had forgotten were lacking from that black bag o_O). The only drawback is that it costs more to ship it over than to buy the bag (which is why I was asking about getting is shipped to you)! I don't know if sending it to you would be an advantage though...I have no idea how much it would cost for you to send it here. Maybe I should go bag hunting....Shopping trip!

So....my dilemma is....WHAT ABOUT THOSE 3 SKEINS OF MANOS?? *sigh* I'm so dumb....I guess I could just knit it into that 'black bag' anyway. How do you think it would look felted? That Messenger Bag pattern in S'nB Nation is looking ever more attractive. I wouldn't have to alter the size anymore, just account for the difference in gauge. Hopefully some simple math will allow me to do that. And that way I could learn how to felt...but I'm such a chicken about it!! I'm so scared that I'll wreck it, and then I'll have wasted those 3 skeins!!

See what I mean? I just go back and forth like this...especially when I'm supposed to be doing work!! As Mr. Seshadri used to say, "What to do?" Please help this poor, indecisive chump...

Out with the old, in with the new

Happy New Year! I haven't posted for a while, so here are photos of some 2004 FOs and a new project for 2005. I meant to take photos of people wearing their knitted gifts, but I'm a dork and forgot so maybe next year. First is a multidirectional scarf in Kureyon that I made for my sister:



And a hat made from Green Mountain Spinnery mountain mohair (with a stripe of random Lion Brand yarn for variety) for my dad:



I made my mom a feather-and-fan scarf out of Koigu Kersti but I forgot to take pictures of that one. Yes, I'm really on top of things, aren't I? =P
And the first project of 2005, Charlotte's web. I spent some time rearranging the skeins, but I think this is the order of colours I'm going to use. I'm not 100% sure yet though:



As for 2005 knitting resolutions, I really think I need to enforce a yarn budget. I don't even want to calculate how much money I dropped on yarn in 2004. I also need to get a better system for cataloguing projects. And, the stash needs to be depleted some before buying new stuff. For now, I'll say no new yarn until Charlotte is done, except for some cashmere I need for a gift. More on all this later.

Mitten Mission

I decided that I would finish those 'Sacred and Profane' mittens today come hell or high water. And so...

It's a pretty bad picture of me, but oh well...at least the mittens look good ^__^
Turns out I screwed up the button holes on the left hand pop-top a little, but it's not bad. Now I have to find buttons, and go through the pain of lining up the buttons and button holes. Good thing I have those new stitch markers... (>_>)

And a small stash update for those who might lurking around...

On December 31, Adrienne and I went to Lettuce Knit to pet and ogle all the yummy yarn. I originally went to return that extra ball of alpaca that I didn't need for my mom's cowl. And ended up buying 3 skeins of beautiful purple-ish Manos del Uraguay (colour 107, I believe), 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon (colourway 131, methinks), and a little bottle of wool wash. The stunning blue Koigu (2 skeins!!) in the photo comes to me courtesy of the lovely Adrienne. Oh, the dilemma of what to make with it begins...

Speaking of dilemmas, I'm having a crisis as to what bag to knit. That black bag from 'Folk Bags' is a little too small for me. I could alter the pattern to make it bigger...or, try the messenger/laptop bag from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. But the latter pattern would also need to be altered a substantial amount. For starters, the yarn is a totally different weight, neither the messenger nor laptop bag is the right size, plus it's meant to be felted, which I don't want to do. *sigh* I don't know what to do!!!

*scurries off to see how hard it would be to alter any of those patterns*