Yarn Crawl

Silken Scabbard FO!

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! I got suckered into knitting a few gifts now as I saw McKenna (5) and Mia (4) and they told me again how much they love their stuff. How am I supposed to resist that?? I have to pick some patterns and yarn soon here as time's a tickin'. I have some turquoise Colinette Point 5 in my stash that I could repurpose for a cute sweater coat for McKenna, and Mia - I think as she loves skirts I will give her the variegated Bounce skirt I made earlier this year that I thought I'd be giving to McKenna.

McKenna's a bit of a tomboy and likes hoodies and sweater coats and Mia is like a little princess - totally girly. She looks exactly like a miniature Reese Witherspoon, with blonde hair, blue eyes and a pointy little chin. Yesterday she had on a black velvet dress with black/white "fur" (like a fake ermine) cuffs and collar, and she looked adorable. I should have got pictures of them yesterday. For Mia's twin brother, Noah, I'm going to buy toys as he doesn't want clothes. I have a tough time figuring out gifts for boys, but I got some ideas from his mom. I also may sew a few things for the girls, time permitting.

In other news, I finally wore Silken Scabbard the other day and had Jim take pictures.

Stats

Pattern: Silken Scabbard
Size: 33
Needles: size 4 and 3 Addis
Yarn: Joseph Galler alpaca from my SP12

The sleeves will be longer (full length) once I wash the whole thing. I had washed the body and it grew quite a bit in length but hadn't done so yet with the sleeves. I like it, it's warm and soft, but it's hard to find the right jeans or bottom to wear with it as it is pretty clingy (but not too tight, really.)

Here's a close-up of the shoulder cables:

and a goofily lighted one from when we were playing with the camera settings:

Conclusion: not my favorite, but I do like it and will wear it. It's actually less "off the shoulder" than I thought it might be, so I could wear it to work with a skirt, and I think I will try that next. It might be better that way than with jeans.

WIP Update Post!

Yesterday at lunch I wove in all the ends on Silken Scabbard, but I'll get modeled pics when I wear it. Jim and I will be going out tomorrow night (no MBA class that night and leaving work at 2 pm!!) and I think it's a going out sweater as opposed to a work sweater, so I'll wear it then. (BTW, speaking of work, no update. Meeting was rescheduled to today and no announcements yet.)

Anyway, I thought I'd show my WIPs. You saw Mirepoix yesterday, but here are my others with the exception of the Lace & Cable Cowl - I should be actually done with that one soon.

Ingenue - remember that one? I picked it up again last night. This could be cute for our work holiday party in a few weeks...

Big Thaw for Jim - body is done. It looks a little girly at this point but it won't when it has sleeves, a finished neck, and he's wearing it. I thought it would grow more lengthwise when washed, but it didn't, so I may be adding more to the length. It was knit top down so I can easily do that - I'd have to reknit the border at the bottom, but no big deal. It's on size 9 needles.

Baby Cables - I decided not to rip, despite everything and anything that has gone awry on this sweater. It still looks pretty good, I think. Here's the front and right sleeve:

and back and right sleeve:

I will NEVER waste my money on Lantern Moon circulars again. I've had two of them break while items were on the needles now.

Weekend Update

This was a busy weekend, but not from a crafting perspective. Friday night we went out later than we normally do, as we waited for one of our friends to come over to come out with us. We all had fun, but didn't get home til like 10, so I didn't do any knitting or sewing that night.

Saturday was weird - in the morning after working out, I went through my Ravelry account (almost all morning) and rephotographed/photographed/updated/added to my yarn list. You probably saw a LOT of yarn pictures if you are one of my Flickr friends. There were actually a lot of things missing, and I have even more than I thought, but that gives me a lot more options for the things I want to knit from stash!

So after I took a million pictures and had a quick deli lunch with Jim, we did a lot of running around and bought him some new clothes, using the Gap gift card I've had sitting in my wallet for ages (since last Christmas). He needed new long sleeve shirts, pants and jeans and we got some great deals as well as being able to use up that gift card. We also tried a new sushi restaurant and won't be back - service was horrendous and we sat in the "Japanese" section, yet the server told us that the chefs were too busy for us to get anything from the hibachi grill.

Finally, later on Saturday and most of the afternoon Sunday, I worked on Silken Scabbard and finished it, except for weaving in the ends. I plan to weave them in today at lunch so I can show this modeled soon. A preview - pre-multiple-end weaving (this tubular bindoff - and in general the entire pattern, truth be told - was a pain in my arse with all the starting and stopping - bind off the ribbing sections that way, bind off the cable sections the other way)

I also FINALLY pulled out Mirepoix and ripped the body back to the ribbing to make it longer. Originally I had shortened the bottom (no idea why, it was a year ago - this is my oldest UFO - now WIP) and also my gauge was too loose on the fair isle section. I ripped all the fair isle out and put the bottom section back on the needles. Once I get the bottom ribbing done (about 3" more) and do the fair isle section at the top, I'm done as the sleeves are complete. Just have to do the steeks.....

I'm expecting some work drama this week (despite it being a short holiday week - I'm out of here at 2 pm Wednesday) 1.) after we report back on our findings from last week's trip/cross-functional group meetings and 2.) once an announcement is made today or tomorrow. More to come. I plan to do a LOT of sewing this upcoming long weekend. I had absolutely no sewing mojo this weekend, and I still feel more like knitting for the moment.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I'm Back...

I was out of town for the last two days at a meeting in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so I haven't been able to blog!! I got a few emails from people checking on me as I hadn't blogged in a while, and that was nice. Baby Cables is cursed, I think, as the needle on my Lantern Moon circulars separated from the cord while working on it on the plane yesterday and a number of stitches fell off. I got them back on, but the splittiness of this yarn (that "cashmere" I bought from China) is making me quite dissatisfied with the project. Not sure what I'm going to do - it might bite the dust this weekend.

Speaking of weekend, I plan to see the Twilight movie at some point, and get Jim some new clothes. I was looking at this book on shirtmaking before I left and I may even attempt to perfect my skills in that regard for him. He has broad, square shoulders for his overall size so I think it could be fun to find a way to give him a more fitted look in the body of his shirts while fitting his shoulders, as I think he wears his shirts too loose usually in order to accommodate the shoulders and long torso that he has. Our legs are almost the same length - that's how long his body is compared to his legs. I do have long legs for a short person, but still, it's interesting that they could almost be the same as his. For now, we'll buy his clothes, but I'm thinking about delving into the whole menswear thing soon.

On my trip, I got to fly first class both ways, because our company rule is that you can fly first class if you're traveling with one of our top VPs. Well, I was originally supposed to be traveling with the VP but he ended up cancelling on the meeting, but my flights stayed as first class. I had flown business class a few times, but not first class, and I definitely think we're going to upgrade to it for our South America trip in March. It was sooooo nice. I wore my knit dresses both days of the trip, as they pack perfectly, no wrinkles anywhere in sight - and funny story - when I sat down next to my seatmate on the flight back yesterday, I was wearing my yellow, gray and black print dress (Simplicity 3775).

My seatmate said, "Oh, I noticed you walking across the airport because I LOVE your dress. It's so perfect and colorful!" I thanked her and told her I actually made it myself, to her surprise (My thought - "HA - betcha didn't expect someone in "First Class" to be making her own clothes! I like messing with their heads a little.") Then I noticed she was reading the first Twilight book and so I commented on that, (excitedly) saying" Oh, you're reading Twilight!". She said, "Yeah, I'm channeling my inner fifteen year old girl" and you could tell she was a little embarrassed. I said, "Oh, I LOVE it - I read all the books in the series and I can't wait to see the movie." Then the flight attendant came by and started saying how much she loves it, and how funny it is that we're all 30 and 40 something women, but loving the teen angst. We all had a lot of fun talking about it for a few minutes.

Flight story #2: On my flight down on Wednesday morning, I was attempting to start on Vivian with some yarn that I've since decided won't work for it, and the flight attendant exclaimed over how much she loved the pattern as she had just recently learned to knit, and that she and the pilot bring their knitting and knit together on layovers. Then Weenie Guy sitting next to me (I should have Kinneared him) decided to pipe up and say that he didn't think you were supposed to bring knitting needles on planes (UGH) so I had to get into that whole conversation with him. He looked more than a little frightened of my bamboo circular needles. I said, "Don't worry, I couldn't do much damage with this even if I wanted to." Then I let him think about that one for a while. At the end of the flight, flight attendant asked me to write down the twistcollective.com web site for her - and I also took the opportunity to evangelize for Ravelry and gave her that link and my ID on there to look me up. It was a really nice interaction and flight overall, with the exception of Weenie Guy.

So those are my goofy stories. My takeaway? Knitters and/or Twilight readers are taking over, and flight attendants are much nicer and cooler in first class.

Weekend Update

So...this was a huge knitting and fabric acquisition weekend, but not much of an actual sewing weekend.

First, I did go to the Vogue sale yesterday, and I actually only bought one of the sale items - the rest of the $100 I spent was on remnants in that crazy remnant room!

Here's what I got:

My sole sale item:

and on to the remnant finds:

This will be great for Mia or McKenna for a tunic/dress:

This will make a cute top or gored skirt:

This one looks like a tunic to me:

Some sparkly olive sweater knit - maybe another cowl dress:

A nice piece of olive/khaki rayon knit for a skirt:

This is sort of a cross between sweater knit and fleece and could be a kids' jacket or jumper, maybe:

A soft rayon knit - 1 yard, so probably a kid's item:

A wild animal print knit:

3 yards of light cocoa jersey - this one has dress, and probably wrap dress, written all over it:

This one would make a great summer/evening dress - for the cruise:

This one looks like a tunic:

All for $100, including 3 spools of serger thread!

I also worked on the Sweaterbabe lace & cable cowl and separated off the first sleeve (they direct you to work on each sleeve at a time, then continue with the body top-down after finishing each sleeve.) I'm about halfway done with the cable cuff on that first sleeve, so I got a lot done.

I also finished the first sleeve on Silken Scabbard, including the tubular bindoff (i.e., kitchener) - one more to go and I am DONE with this project at long last.

The body on Big Thaw Pullover is done and washed/blocked, and I'm ready to pick up for the sleeves next.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

OK, This is IT!!

I just bought this and I'm in LOVE with it. Definitely going to make it as soon as I get a few other things off the needles!

Baby Cables!

I made a little boo-boo after separating the sleeves (well, actually a couple of them) so I decided to rip back to just before that point. While I was at it, I decided to try it on. I'm liking it and decided to put it back on the needles after ripping (I was almost at the point of not. Although this yarn is beautiful and soft, it is also quite "splitty" - I really hate that word, but if the shoe fits - and it's been driving me a little nuts on the cables. It would be totally fine for stockinette.)

Here it is so far:

Yes, there's a mistake I decided to live with on the sleeve. I decided after I finished the cable that the rest of it working correctly made the mistake less noticeable. I'm really not very good at fixing cables that are messed up below my current row, no matter how many great tutorials I read by the Yarn Harlot. I tried on the body screw-up that was only two rows down and failed miserably - I think mainly because of this yarn's multi-ply properties. Grrr.

I also found more fabric stash I hadn't catalogued (it's physically in the closet, in a plastic box, but not on Flickr yet.) So I do have even more than I thought - but I still am going to at least check out the sale. Same rule will apply to any potential purchases as the RTW in my closet - if it's not a soul-stirrer, it's not coming home with me. (A good rule in general in many aspects of life, right??!)

NL 6429 - Done!

I wore my new NL 6429 dress to work yesterday and got Jim to take pictures between work and school. I had originally worn it with some brown suede shoes, but they were killing me by the end of the day so I had switched to boots, which are much more comfortable despite their higher heels.

I love this style and will definitely be making another one soon! I had originally made the size one down from my measurements (pattern size 12) but I ended up taking it in so much that I am going to start with the 10 next time. I'm *almost* reconsidering my decision to go to the Vogue Fabrics sale, because I was looking at my closet this morning and I am not liking any of my RTW clothes. I used to be satisfied with so little in terms of fit, and am not any longer now that I can sew things that I feel like a million bucks in all day when I'm wearing them. However, I do have enough knit fabric right now for 14 knit dresses and like 6 knit tops or tunics - although of the 14 knit dress fabrics, some are clearly for summer or evening - so I don't have 14 fabrics ready for "wear to work" or everyday type dresses. Also, I'm really thinking of donating most of my RTW in my closet, so as a result, I really might need more fabric. I'm not wearing that stuff anyway though. Pretty much I wear things I make every day, either things I sewed or knit. I only buy Lucky jeans (my weakness/addiction), underwear/nylons/tights, and shoes. Sounds like I'm talking myself into the sale!

Speaking of the closet "after" pictures - here are a few. This is for you, Annie!

Yarn side - full capacity! The boxes go from floor to 9 or 10' ceiling.

Fabric side - see all the empty space?? Although, to be fair, this doesn't capture the boxes below this with more knit fabric, or the box I have under my bed with summer knit fabrics.

I'll leave you with a gratuitous kitty pic. Jim snapped this when I was working on Baby Cables last week sometime and I just uploaded it today with the other pictures.

Gilda's a little heat-seeking cat, as she is always cold and either has to sit directly on top of me, or on top of a heating vent. She's always been small (6-7 pounds, depending on how many treats Jim has been giving her) and her fur is silky smooth, but not really thick, so she gets chilly. FatKat (PhatKat?) on the other hand is always warm as her fur is really thick and woolly, so she keeps a bit of a distance.

Decided to Resist!

You know that Vogue Fabrics sale I was talking about yesterday? The one that starts Sunday? Well, I decided that going to that sale and stashing more fabric would be a hindrance to me in fully exploring what's already in my closet, as well as taking time away from actually working on projects, so I am going to resist. Can you believe it?

And in other news, I decided on the wine color for the CPH - but I also bought Bonne Marie's Cassidy pattern after seeing Lara's version. Not sure which one I will make now! I also was looking at two books from my library last night - Inspired Cable Knits and Cables Untangled - and added some items to my queue from those. I think my knitting style has been evolving. I still want to focus very much on fit and minimization of seams, but I truly want to create a "knitting work of art" now, which really wasn't my goal before. I think Cable Down Raglan was the turning point because I really love its sculptural look AND perfect fit. So I think cables (and lace, though I haven't done anything with a lace pattern in a while) are my main interest right now. Speaking of cables, I worked on Baby Cables and Big Ones Too last night and am ready to separate off the sleeves. Yay!

SP 13 Questionnaire!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

My favorite yarns are merino wool and alpaca, but I also like bamboo. Specifics I like: anything by Brooks Farm, Tess Designer Yarns, Elann superwash merino, Knit Picks Andean Silk. I like worsted/aran weight yarn most, but also like DK weight. I’m almost exclusively a sweater knitter (like I might make one or two non-sweater projects a year, as compared to maybe 15-20 sweaters.)
I really don’t like knitting with cotton or acrylic very much.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

The Circular Solution for the needles, and a divided plastic box for the hooks. I only use circulars and have tons of them.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve been knitting since January 2005 and I’d say I’m probably advanced in that I’ve mastered the art of fitting myself and others, have made many different types of sweaters, and am not afraid to try new things.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yes, my Amazon wish list is under rmartin_cpa at hotmail dot com (an email address I don’t use except for spam type/solicitation lists.)

5. What's your favorite scent?

Lemon and other citrus scents are my favorite, as well as seaside/outdoorsy scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I do in fact have a sweet tooth. My favorites are milk chocolate and/or milk chocolate/caramel/peanut butter blends.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

Knitting and apparel sewing are my two passions. I've dabbled in crochet and have a lot of patterns I like for it, but have never finished a project. I don't spin or really have any interest in it.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I have an iPod and iTunes, so I should be able to play anything on there. I have very eclectic musical taste. If you look at my iPod, for example, it has Ingrid Michaelson, Frank Sinatra, classical music, 80s songs, 50s songs, and classic rock/metal. The only thing I really don’t like is most country music. I LOVE audiobooks and have an audible.com membership.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I like most colors – all shades of green (except mint), teal, red/orange, turquoise, plum, and chocolate brown are all colors I love. I tend to like warm and/or vibrant colors and dislike pale pastels.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have been married to the love of my life, Jim, since 2002 – as a point of trivia, our first date was on September 1 (1995) which is the same day in 1957 that my MIL and FIL were married. Clearly, it was meant to be! We have two sweet-sixteen-year old kitties, Gilda and FatKat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Scarves – yes; Hats – yes; Mittens – no, but I like fingerless gloves (Fetching was one of my faves); Ponchos – no. I do like shorter capelets and shrugs.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

It’s all about the sweaters, baby.

13. What are you knitting right now?

It changes from week to week – the best source is my Ravelry project list or my WIP list in my right-hand sidebar (although I’ve been slacking on updating that lately.) All caution has been thrown to the winds now that I’m knitting exclusively from stash, and I may have six or seven projects going at once.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Sure! I love handmade socks, mitts, or hats!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I only use circulars – I have every possible material and size already though. I use all kinds – addi turbos, bamboos, rosewood, ebony. About the only thing I don’t like is plastic. For crochet hooks, I only like aluminum and plastic – hate bamboo for those as they seem to stick in the yarn too much. I have every size of those too, though.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yep, I have both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Mirepoix, from Fall 2007 Interweave - it's been hibernating since around October 2007. I’m done with the sleeves, but now I need to rip back to the ribbing on the body and make that part longer, then reknit the fair isle section with a smaller needle as it was too big when I tried it on a few months ago.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?

My favorite part about holidays is the potential for long knitting and sewing weekends! Every holiday’s good. I celebrate Christmas.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Cat figurines from various countries and other U.S. states that I've visited.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Books are a great thing to get for me as I really, really appreciate them and I keep my Amazon wish list updated. I already have subscriptions to Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, Rowan International, Vogue Knitting, and Cast On. The only one I don’t have that I like is Rebecca – I have a lot of the back issues but would love a subscription.

This wasn't part of the question, but I guess it falls under the “yarns” category as it is also fiber-related: I adore fabric, particularly knit fabric from fabric.com or gorgeousfabrics.com.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I’ve learned a lot of techniques, but haven’t necessarily made garments with them yet. I haven’t made an intarsia garment or sweaters utilizing slip stitch or brioche. I'll be picking up the Mirepoix Bodice again so will be getting some practice on steeks. Maybe someday I’ll make and finish a crochet project.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I’m not. I would love to get a pair (especially a lace pattern) but don’t want to make them. My shoes range in size from 6 to 7 depending on the style, because my feet are a little wide across the toes. I have never taken measurements, though – just ask me if you’d like me to!

23. When is your birthday?

February 19.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

Yep. RobinM is my ID.