9.25.2008

I've got Blog Awards coming out of my ears!

WOW! Thank you, thank you to everyone who sent me a Blog Award in the last couple of weeks! What a compliment!

This one was sent to me by Gabes from SweetPknits. I met her through Ravelry awhile back and she is so sweet! Thank you Gabes, for the award!


And this one was given to me by AngelKnits who I also met a while back through Ravelry. This knitter is awesome! She has a great sense of style and is always inspiring me! Thank you!

This award was given to me by Knittinwolf who is maybe the nicest person I have ever met. I met her over a year ago now at the shop I work at. She stops by occasionally when she is passing through town. Since then we've become internet pals and she comments on almost all of my posts! Thank you Dawn!

Ok now each of these awards has a seperate set of rules and instructions for how many blogs I now need to nominate and so forth....ahh that is too much to keep track of, so I'm just going to tell you some of my favorite blogs. If the people that I nominate would like to pass this along, you are supposed to post the picture of the award on your blog, (Choose which one you would like) and link back to me. Also you are also supposed to put a link to your favorite blogs and leave them a comment to let them know that they have recieved an award from you.
Thus, the Blog Awards will keep on going!
Some of my favorites:
Faith from FlashBangFibers. Ive been reading this blog for almost 2 years and Faith has been a major inspiration to me. She also has an awesome podcast "The Knitting Cook." Ive always appreciated both her blog and podcast because she is a mother of 3 little ones yet still manages to knit, spin and cook amazing things!
Domesticat from Domesticrafts. This blogger takes BEAUTIFUL photos. I also find myself laughing out loud at all of her blog posts. I love her style and sense of humor.
Strikker from ObsessiveKnitting. I just discovered this blog, and I really really like this blogger's knitting style. She's funny and her photos are also quite nice.
Steph from Craftoholic. She doesn't blog often but she has a great sense of style. Her pictures are professional and I love everything that she chooses to knit! I just wish that she would update more frequently because I want to see more!
There are so many more that I could mention because I have met so many awesome knitters through this blog and have made many friends. I appreciate all of you!

9.22.2008

Handspun


Something strange happened last night....

Inexplicably I sat down at my spinning wheel.

I haven't spun in about hmm... a million ..or so.. years now. But for some reason last night I really wanted to spin. I actually started this spinning project about a year ago and never really expected myself to finish it.

But hey, I did! Now I have about 250 more yards of laceweight to add to the ever growing, out-of-control yarn stash.


I have some patterns in mind. But I need your help. Should I make "Ice Queen" or "Abby"?
I like Ice Queen better because I think that the lace pattern is prettier, but since this is not a super duper consistent yarn <I haven't spun in like a year, remember?> perhaps Abby would be better suited... What do you think?

9.20.2008

Cap-Sleeved Eyelet Top





Today I took my new Cap-Sleeved Eyelet Top out on the town...






I just couldn't be happier about the finished product!

It fits perfectly and the yarn is so soft and warm.


To me this top just screams Fall.....



The style and texture paired with this color is so soo Autumn like.

I was so happy when I found this heathered red color nestled in with the other shades of Misti Alpaca. It was so warm and inviting. It reminded me of Tomatoes or like.... hmm...


...BRICKS...




"Hey, it is the color of bricks, isn't it?!"





I knit this top with 6 skeins of Misti Alpaca worsted and used size 6 and 7 US needles.


The only modification that I made was that I shortened the top a bit. I am only 5 foot 1 inch so I needed it to be a little less overwhelming for my frame.



Front








Back






I love this top! I will get so much use out of it this season!

9.16.2008

"Closely Knit" knits

Lately I have been spending more time podcasting than blogging and I've realized that some serious blog updating needed to take place...
Here are some pictures of 2 new projects I've just recently cast on. Both are from the same book "Closely Knit"

This is the Cap-Sleeved Eyelet Top and I'm almost done! Tonight I am going to work on finishing the back and sleeves. I should be able to get some modeled shots up by this weekend...
This project is moving along quite fast, it is worked mostly in the round and the pattern is easy to memorize and follow.
I am knitting it up with Misti Alpaca Worsted and its soo soft. AND I was so pleased to find a color in this yarn that I loved besides green. I always, always want to choose green and I already have 3 green handknit sweaters!

Fall is in the air and I know that this top will be a great versatile wardrobe piece. I can wear it with jeans or a skirt, over a tank or long sleeved tee... the possibilities are endless!
Also.... The Lace-Tipped Striped Scarf....

This pattern is worked up in stripes using a DK weight and lace weight yarn. I chose Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk in a pretty vintage gold colorway and also Rowan Kid Silk Haze in....what else.... green!
At least I can think of a sweater or two to wear it with :)
I almost didn't want to take a picture of this project in its current state. I think that the lace stitch portion on the bottom is going through an awkward stage at the moment but will grow up to be a beautiful stitch pattern when blocked out...



One change I've made so far to this pattern is that I used the lace weight yarn at the bottom instead of the DK weight like the pattern called for. I like the looks of this better, plus I have more lace weight than I do the Sublime Dk.
It should turn out to be quite pretty...

9.07.2008

Lovely Lacy Evening Stockings

I'm embarassed to report that this particular project has been on the needles for a long time now...



I started it like 6 weeks ago maybe..?

Bad, bad, blogger!




These are the Evening Stockings for a Young Lady ...yes that's the name of the pattern... from the book Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. I was inspired to knit these stockings after running across some fabulous versions on Ravelry.com. Such as this, this and this. I thought that they were beautiful and elegant enough to wear with a dressier outfit. Say with a really cute knee length skirt and a closed toe heel? I chose black for more versatility.


Since these pictures were taken, I have completed one stocking and I absolutely love it! I've enjoyed working the pattern so far as it is a simple to memorize 5 row repeat.



Apparently I have a thing for knitting black lacy objects as you can see from the above photo. The stocking does look strikingly similar to another recently completed project of mine....
the black Retro Redux Shrug.


Hmmm... maybe I'll wear them together?

9.02.2008

A New Knitted Friend

Here are some pictures of my daughter with her new knitted horse friend!



She loves him so much and has told me so every day since this day, the day I gave him to her and took pictures.


He is just the right size for her, big enough to be a soft squishy toy to love and hug.

The pattern for this horse is out of the book Dream Toys by Claire Garland. This is the second toy project I've knit by this designer. Earlier this year I knit up some of her Knitted Babes which are super cute as well.
This horse knit up relatively fast on size 5 needles and I used Sirdar Calico yarn which was a surprisingly soft springy yarn for only around $5 a skein! I like it so much that I would consider making some children's garments from it in the future. It's just your basic cotton/acrylic blend....machine washable....cheap....perfect.
I used Rowan Kid Silk Haze for the mane, and I love the look of it!


This little guy has just so much personality. His big knobby knees and felted embroidered face make him so loveable and unique!

Isn't it funny that I think that knitting is so easy, but embroidery totally freaks me out?
To me, that was the hardest part of this whole project.
Once I gave her that horse, she was so excited to take him with her on some adventures!



......She tried riding it, but that didn't work out so well.....




When she was tired of playing with her new horse, she tried to put him down for a nap.....



But he was so much more comfortable in her bed.....


9.01.2008

NeverNotKnitting Podcast : Episode 4 : Interview With Hannah Fettig

Podcast Apologies

I posted Episode 4 of the NeverNotKnitting podcast onto iTunes last night. I realize that it has probably been very difficult to download as it seems that the demand for the podcast has exceeded our expectations.
My husband is working on it right now, he is going to take the episode down and figure out a better host for the podcast. It should be up and downloadable shortly!
So sorry for the inconvenience. I will get the shownotes up as soon as we get this podcast thing sorted out! Thanks for your patience!