In the summer of 2004, finished with college and finding the job market daunting, uninspiring, and altogether unfruitful, I learned to knit.
Taught myself from books and online tutorials, and started the long journey from scarves to hats to mittens and wraps and sweaters. I even made a little money. But knitting has come to play a much larger part in my life than just hobby & occasional source of income. I see patterns in the everyday. I can't buy clothes without first assuring myself that I can't replicate the garment on my own. Even my math is better. Actually, my math is *much* better. So now it's a part of who I am -- fiber obsessed and often seen scribbling gauge calculations on scratch pads and endless notebooks. And now I have a place to talk about all of it.
S A L E S
Most of the FO's [Finished Objects] and dyed yarns you'll see here will be for sale.
Unless it comes from a copyrighted pattern, I generally have no problem parting ways with something I knit.
There are exceptions of course, and they'll be noted, but by and large I'd rather my knitting go to a good home where it will be loved than sit here in my FO basket, languishing until its turn in my Winter Wear Rotation is up. If you see something you'd like to purchase, or you have an idea you'd like to run by me [I'm always open for creating special pieces], please contact me:
Anyway, yesterday Slod pointed out a little buttoned scarflet on someone else's site, and I said "I can name that tune in three notes!" And by that I mean, I actually said "I can totally knit that."
Friday night I was sitting near a pile of yarn waiting to be dyed, and I suddenly realized that I never work with light colors, really (What I just posted notwithstanding). So I knit up a cabled hat in the white, and it came out beautifully. I think it'll look great in the winter, especially for someone with dark hair.
CEPHALOPODS! THE MUSICAL! A series of knitting patterns for different "species" of stuffed squidlike animals. By: Stef
Part I We begin with Jules Verde, whose name you may change, of course, if you don't plan on knitting one that is green. May I suggest: Luis Rojo, Bella Azul, or Amarillo Slim? For the purposes of writing up this pattern, I'm knitting one up in hot pink. We'll figure out a name later. You can name yours whatever you want -- it doesn’t even have to be Spanish at all. It's your call. On to the pattern!
Knitting and felting purses is just not a fun activity for these summer weeks which so often broach the 100º mark on the thermometer. The load of double stranded wool sitting heavy on one's lap, the endless dipping in and out of a steaming washing machine, the hours spent over a hot iron creating the lining -- it's cold weather work.
This part of summer demands a light project. Enter these handwarmers, which knit up quick and are an excellent way to use up the leftover bits of yarn -- those insufficient for any "real" project, but way too much to just throw away. As far as garments go, they're also awesome for injecting a little bit of fun color into your wardrobe. A blue and white striped peacoat would be a little bizarre. Blue & white striped handwarmers peeking out from your cuffs are a bit of nautical whimsy. And, as everyone knows, that's the best kind of whimsy there is. More than one set means you can change 'em with your moods, and at fifteen bucks a pair, the price is right.
Here are the ones up at my etsy shop. Most (all but 1 pair, actually) were hand-dyed, including a few crafted from homemade self-striping yarn (an obsession of mine).
So, yes. Those are all for sale, at my etsy store (or just comment here or email me). These are pretty much my favorite accessory these days. I love that they work in harmony with my favorite season, fall, when the summer's still hanging on but the winter's coming up quickly. I love that they're good for working outside, or popping out for a smoke. I love that they help me use up yarn in a more efficient way. I love that they're not as ubiquitous as gloves, or as purposefully cutesy as mittens.
That said, I have a million partial-skeins of this yarn laying around. Chances are, if you want a color or color combination you don't see, I either have the yarn already or can easily dye up a small batch.
Rant first: Ya'll -- I like joann.com. They've got tons of stuff, some of which {like my magnetic closures} no one else really has. However, it took over a month to get my order, and this is counting the five or so times I got in touch with them to see what the hell was up. Customer Service lady 1 said - Oh, the expiration date on your card wasn't going through! I said, Ok -- you should really have contacted me with that information. A week later, Customer Service lady 2 said - Your address isn't going through. I said, Ok -- here's my address to verify, but -- you really should have contacted me with that information. A week later, and a week after that, Customer Service ladies 3 & 4 thanked me for my inquiry, said my order was fine, and that I'd get notification when it shipped. The day the order arrived at my house (one month and four days after it was ordered), I got the email notification that it had shipped.
And four sets of handles (the bulk of the order) were out of stock by the time it shipped, so I didn't even get them. They were in stock a month ago. When I ordered them. Jerks.
So! After that ridiculously long gap in production, I was thrilled to finally finish up two bags that have been languishing in bag-purgatory. Really thrilled. Embarrassingly so.
In my continued quest to conquer everything under the heading "Needle Arts" (except crochet. frak you, crochet), last night I pulled out the embroidery kit I got months ago.
So the experiment continues -- this time with a black felted tote for my mother. This one's bigger, with more (and cooler) hardware. It also took me about half the time to assemble than the first one. The jump in proficiency's not that surprising until I mention that I made the lining for bag #3 during House last night.
Felted bags. I have a long, painful history with felted bags where I find a pattern I love, follow it slavishly, and fail. Fail miserably, in fact. Mind you, there have been some successes (laptop bag from SNBN, I'm looking at you), but overall ... meh. So, after my third or fourth hideously misshapen Sophie (great pattern. no offense. i'm just cursed.), walking around the house going "frakking damn sophie stupid waste my YARN and grumble mumble grumble" -- I realized that the pattern wasn't my problem. My problem was that I was blindly following a pattern and expecting something from it it couldn't give. Therefore, I had to break away.
My new personal felted bag philosophy owes a lot to Sophie. The super obvious and helpful "knit a bottom piece, then pick up stitches for the bag body" thing is ... well. Super obvious, like I said, but absolutely essential and the sort of thing I just wouldn't have thought up (cursed and bright!). My mom also sketched out her general ideas for a bag she wanted, and together we discussed single strand vs. double, patons vs. cascade, knit handles vs. purchased, etc etc.
I decided a new round of experiments were in order. When that initial attempt was a success, I was thrilled. Further experiments are pending (I'm nearly done with a larger, black, tote-bag shaped one for my mom), but I wanted to show off the first point in what is hopefully an uptick in my dealings with felt.
Today's brief trip to the craft store for one yard of fabric to line mom's bag proved that "lack of space" isn't the only reason my sewing machine lives in storage and not the apartment.
Granted I only walked out of there with four yards of fabric (aaaaaand one skein of yarn and a card of buttons and some more interfacing and a pack of gum and a zipper), but the number only got so low after fifteen minutes of serious deliberation among bolts of fabric. I just loved ... all of it. The cool thing about using fabric primarily just as bag lining is that you can get by handily with buying just one yard, so it's inexpensive, and since it's going to be inside a bag (and since it's me we're talking about, the bag will most likely be a solid color), you can really pick crazy colors and patterns that might otherwise be impossible to use for a garment. Experimentation at a reasonable price. Color me happy.
[all pics will open in new window]
So, four fabrics. I'll admit, right up front, one was for me... Lime green, chocolate, and sky blue -- it's one of those color combinations that's like kryptonite for me (see also: pink & chocolate, red and teal, pink and teal, yellow & white). Normally, I won't buy something unless I have something specifc in mind for it, but ... I snagged this guy anyway.
As for the mom, I narrowed it down to two choices. There on the left we have the Hawaiin-esque print, aaaand on the right some truly dizzying paisley. That one's a great example of a pattern that would be hideous if given a whole garment, but if used as an accent makes for a little spark of interest. The lining of the bag -- especially a black bag like mom's -- is a perfect peek-a-boo way to show off a loud pattern. I like both of these, I really do. I kind of hope mom chooses paisley, though. My brain's working on an idea for the Aloha print, maybe something with that deeper orange color inside the flowers.
So that's two for mom, and one for me. Ok. I lied. There were two for me, but only because this last one caught my eye and I couldn't leave without it. It's this bizarre, classified-ad print with bits circled in red hearts ... honestly, it's just so bizarre that I needed to have it. [slodwick: especially when I saw this part]. I have no idea what I'm doing with this, but I don't care. I love it.
Tonight I'm finishing up a felted bag I've been working on. I spent most of the day making & sewing in the lining and figuring out how pockets and plastic handles work (what? there's a first time for everything) -- seriously, so much sewing by hand that my index finger is 5º hotter than the rest of me just from constantly pushing the needle through the thick felt & liner.
But anyway, I glued in the bottom piece [to help the bag keep its shape] and needed to weigh it down.
The bag now contains two cans of tuna, a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of tomato soup, a large rock shaped like a potato, and four hockey pucks -- they've all been pressed into my sartorial service.
I was just amused that those items were the answer to "Well, what do I have on hand that will work."
Pictures coming soon, when it's ... you know, daylight. And assuming mom doesn't sell the bag when she brings it to work tomorrow.
[Seriously, guys, this bag? I'm so excited about it. I love it. I love it. In fact, I love it so much I'm thinking of making one for myself.]
*** 1. nate, like kate, is made up entirely of small bits of yarn leftover from other projects. unlike kate, nate's stuffed with a shredded old sweater that belonged to my mom, my brother, and myself, and had been worn & loved so much it was rendered unwearable. we're all glad it gets a second chance at functionality via nate :)
2. i really love making these guys. so much cuteness.
Between knitting to fulfill orders & contracting the pulmonary death rattle* that signifies the vernal equinox 'round these parts, I've been working on a few things...
More to come -- there are some finished objects yet to be posted. I'll wait until they're received by their new owners before showin' 'em off.
* just a quick FYI -- all finished objects are washed thoroughly after completion; not even said lung-maracas-fun-time distracts from basic customer service :)
happy
sneezy
