Archives for posts with tag: lace
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International Posting

March 14, 2013 //
6

It’s been a while hasn’t it? I have been writing and rewriting this post in my head for the last few weeks, but haven’t bothered to type it all out. I don’t know why exactly, but I have an idea that it might be due to the fact that I’m still trying to process all my recent life choices lately. Nevermind the fact that I’m sitting in the Hong Kong airport right now waiting for my flight to Kathmandu. Ya, sorry to drop that bombshell on you; that was rather abrupt. I have been meaning to share this recent development, but I hope you understand that my silence was partly because I’ve been very busy these last few weeks, packing up my life in Seattle and planning my adventure (which means that I was consuming copious amounts of ice cream and beer), and mostly because I didn’t want to come off like I was bragging about this trip. Also, because I have no idea how to tie this all back to knitting. But mostly the bragging and the packing and my inability to process my emotions in a coherent manner.

Anyways, I feel like this has been a long time coming for me for various reasons and while I’m absolutely terrified to take this journey, I know that in the long-run I’m going to be so happy that I did. So job was quit, apartment packed up and stowed away, one-way ticket bought and here I am. My plan right now is to just get to Kathmandu and not have a nervous breakdown. I’m going to be doing some volunteer work for the first couple of weeks and then go off on a trek and find some yaks. After that, I’m just going to try to take it one day at a time. I really don’t want to put a lot of pressure on myself and am mostly going to just see what happens. Just like all the other 28 year old professionals undergoing their quarter-life crisis, I have no idea what I’m doing. But it’s worth a shot to try something crazy right? Right.

I did bring one project with me, just in case. It’s Distant Hours by Boo Knits and of course I’m knitting it in Madelinetosh Prairie. Because you know my craziness doesn’t end with buying one way tickets to foreign lands, I have to pack a lace weight project too. I should probably seek help regarding my affinity to knit things that frustrate me. I’ll address that later though.

Well, I hope you guys stick around through my journey, because I would love to share it all with you. And who knows, maybe I will learn something from all this. Something about self-preservation and autonomy and how to live life with zero regrets, and how to milk a yak. I doubt that last one will happen, but one can dream.

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Categories Life, Worldly Travels

lost in deep purple thoughts

November 5, 2012 //
14

So funny story… Remember that one time I said I’m not buying anymore yarn?  Hahaha, hohoho, hahah heehee…. ahem.

So, uh… ya.  Can we skip past the part where I apologize for not being a better person and knitter and stashbuster and can we also skip the part where I try to justify it?  Good!  I’m glad that’s settled and we can put that all behind us; I can tell that we’re going to be great friends.

Friends!  I want to show you something I just finished making with newly purchased yarn.

Tada!!

I give you Sabrina: an infinity scarf of my own devices.  Named so, because that’s whom I’m gifting it to and because I’m terrible at naming anything but plants (at least I think my plant names rock).  It’s a soft and lacy little number that you can easily wrap around twice (or even thrice, if you make it long enough, which I did).  I love combining lace motifs almost as much as I love twisted stitches.  Do you know about the magic and beauty of twisted stitches?  I might make a few mods for future iterations. Like maybe pick up stitches along the edge to add a border of sorts.  And I’d probably make it a little shorter since this cowl has a lot of stretch lengthwise when you wear it.  But otherwise, I love how it turned out.

Also, this is my first time knitting with Malabragio.  Whahahahahaaaaa?!?!  I know.  I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to jump on the Malabrigo band wagon.  Maybe because most of their colorways disturb me.  But this one.  This one is a gem.  And so nice to work with.  So nice that I didn’t want to stop knitting with it.

I would really love to write this pattern up and put it up on ravelry.  It’s kind of late and I’m in a rambling mood, so I’m just going to air my apprehensions and fears for a moment, so bear with me… I’m really nervous and afraid of venturing out there as a designer.  Am I good enough?  Are my patterns good enough?  Are my ideas different enough to stand out?  I have to admit that I’m pretty judgmental about other patterns.  What I would pay for which patterns and so on.  So I think that’s how other people are as well.  And being rejected is a terrible thought.  But I guess we’ll never know until I try, right?  I’d like to know what you think, as knitters and readers and craft lovers alike:  Could you see yourself knitting this?  Could you see yourself wearing this?  Would you think differently about it if it was a free versus a paid pattern?

Thanks for letting me air my thoughts.  And thanks for letting me get away with buying more yarn when I said I wouldn’t.  You guys are all amazing and I love you.

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Categories Freshy Knits!, Lace

FO: Argyle Lace Hat

August 10, 2012 //
1

Remember that day that I was boasting about all the FO’s I had in my back pocket?  You might be wondering where the last one is.  You might even be thinking that I was lying to you that day.  But I’m here to say that I wasn’t lying and I haven’t forgotten to show you this last one.  I’m just really good at procrastinating.

I’m so good at procrastinating, that when I tell you when exactly I finished knitting this hat, you will be shocked and amazed and probably scared, because you will have then realized just how good I am at not doing things in a prompt-like manner.  When I think about it, I’m also scared because I begin to wonder if all my projects will be like this.  The answer is most likely a definite yes.  I think that’s just the nature of procrastinators.

Ok, so here’s the ugly truth about this hat.  I finished it in May. GAAAAAAAAAAAASP!!!!  Here’s the funniest part: (are you ready?) I finished knitting this hat in two consecutive days.  DOUBLE GAAAAAAAAAASP!!!  Yes, I really finished this hat nearly 3 months ago.  I finished it so quickly that I didn’t even bother photographing my progress.  Plus, I think the guy sitting next to me on the airplane thought I was weird in the first place, so I didn’t want to add to the weird factor by busting out my camera and posing the hat all over my tray table.

I couldn’t believe how fast I made it.  I was impressed with myself.  I had every intention of adding the buttons and blogging about it the moment I got back home.  But then a terrible thing happened…. I bought more yarn and cast on for about 10 more projects.  Oops?  Then I was just making excuses that I hadn’t seen the recipient in a while and we were kind of having a sort of summer in Seattle and I had to find the right buttons, and isn’t this other project so pretty and soft and don’t you want to touch it?  It was quite pathetic.

Pattern Details:

Pattern: Argyle Lace Hat by Laura Irwin in Boutique Knits
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Fresco (60% wool, 30% baby alpaca, 10% angora) in Charcoal Black
Needles: US 4 [3.5mm] Circulars
Modifications: None, knit exactly to pattern instructions
Recommend to a friend: Yes! 
Notes: Pattern is fun and easy to knit, with enough details to keep you busy.  This yarn is also pretty amazing.  It shows off the stitch definition well and it really softened up after blocking and has great drape.  Perfect for a slouchy hat or a flowing scarf.
 

Maybe I just like deadlines.  Maybe I just like the self-imposed pressure of finishing everything before some big event.  I’m not really sure.  But then the recipient of the hat decided to up and move to Vegas.  Umm, will she still want a hat if she lives in Vegas?  An alpaca/wool blend hat?!  She did.  So I buckled down and found the perfect (in my opinion… and mostly because I was tired of looking) buttons.  Thus I finished the hat and she’s really happy she has a warm hat, even though she’s now living in Vegas and I let another 3 weeks pass by without blogging about it.

So there you have it.  The story about how I procrastinated….yet again.

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Categories Freshy Knits!, Lace

FO: aCute Angle Cowl

July 26, 2012 //
20

This is a story.  A story about the generosity of knitters….and how procrastination pays off.

About a month ago, I found myself attending a knitting retreat for the first time ever.  I was excited to meet people who, like myself, really love yarn.  I don’t usually participate in big group knit-a-longs and I don’t spend a lot of time on ravelry forums chatting with strangers, but when I signed up for the retreat, I did.  I wanted to meet and talk to the people that I would be interacting with for three whole days and I wanted to really get involved.  So when Steven suggested that we all do a KAL with Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn, I jumped on the opportunity.  And when I say I “jumped”, what I really mean is that after initially agreeing, I then proceeded to procrastinate with said purchase of yarn and pattern.  Because, procrastination really is the only thing that I do well….consistently.

A few days before I was all set to leave for the retreat, I order the yarn and pattern.  Of course, my yarn showed up on my doorstep the day after I left.  So there I was, at the Gourmet Retreat, yarn-less for the KAL.  We were all gathered together in the sun room, introducing ourselves whilst happily knitting away on our own projects (many were casting on for the KAL, I shamefully worked on some other lame project that I’ve probably frogged since).  The woman sitting next to me, Tamara, was working on her cowl and I mentioned that my yarn didn’t arrive in time.  Of course I left out the part where I procrastinated, because I wanted to make a good impression and whatever.  She just looks at me and without a second’s pause says, “Well, I have an extra skein.  I’ll go get it for you right now.”  She got up so swiftly that I didn’t even have time to register what had happened.  Did a complete stranger really offer to give me her skein of yarn?  Just like that?  What kind of weird alternate universe have I stepped into?  Did I really get rewarded with a free skein of 100% silk yarn because I procrastinated?!  Well, I guess that’s one way to instill bad habits.

Tamara asked for nothing in return.  We spent three glorious days together cooking, knitting, and dyeing.  I got to know her pretty well during this time, and I have to say, she is without a doubt, a most generous and kind person.  She didn’t even scold me for procrastinating.

I was able to participate in the KAL and finish knitting my cowl before the end of the retreat all because of the selflessness of a wonderful knitter.  So, this FO post is a shout out to you, Tamara.  Thanks for making my first knitting retreat a memorable one!

Why am I posting this FO a month after I finished knitting the cowl?  Didn’t you guys learn anything?  I’m a procrastinator, and honestly, Tamara really shouldn’t have rewarded me for my bad behavior.  But I’m sure glad she did!

Pattern Details

Pattern: aCute Angle by Samantha Roshak
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Luscious Silk in My Blue Heaven
Needles: US7 [4.5mm] circular
Modifications: Absolutely none
Recommend: Absolutely yes!
Notes: Silky smooth yarn, fun simple lace pattern that’s easy to remember…what’s not to like?
 

See what other (and most likely, non-procrastinating) knitters have made at Tami’s blog.

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Categories Freshy Knits!

Knitting Sweaters in the Summer

July 25, 2012 //
18

I can do this because I live in the Pacific Northwest and Summer doesn’t exist here.  Now that I said this, it’s not going to rain for the next month.  And because I said that it will.  And now it won’t.  Will.  I’m going to stop now.

In any case, I’ll knit a sweater any time of the year, especially if I’m knitting with MadelineTosh.  MmmmadelineTosh.  Have you encountered the Tosh yet?  If not, you really oughta.  The only thing you’ll regret is not buying more.  Yup, that’s exactly the line that I feed myself whenever I purchase it.  “Are you sure you only want 3 skeins?  It would be great to have that extra one just in case….”  I’m so smart.  There’s another line that I feed myself whenever I make bad decisions.

I actually started this sweater…um…well, so long ago in fact that I forgot when I started it.  Maybe a year ago?  But, from the beginning, I never liked the fit.  So I did what I do best when encountered with situations like this: I found a new project and put this one in the ignore pile.  But, as chance would have it, this weekend, I really wanted to play with some Tosh again.   So I bit the bullet, ripped it out and forgot to take pictures of my yarn ramen (sorry guys, I know how much you love those photos).  In case you didn’t know this, I want to tell you something important about frogging.  Always, always, wash your frogged yarn before reusing it again.  You want to smooth out and relax your yarn back to it’s original form, otherwise your knitting is going to by fugly and your tension uneven. You do have to wait for your yarn to dry completely, but trust me, it’s worth it.  Kind of like swatching.  It’s worth it, even if you hate doing it.  That being said, I did re-swatch with larger needles and found my gauge to be perfect!  Don’t you love when that happens?  I’m thinking this will be done by the end of the week.  That kind of unwaivering reassurance reminds me of something.  What was that?

And of course, what’s a knitter’s life without another one or two projects on the needles?  Here’s a couple of things that I’m also working on now:

A test knit shawl for Holly at SillyLittleLady.  Keep your eye out on her blog for news on this pattern!

This yarn is from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  It’s Socks That Rock in Grasshopper.  I love this color so much that one day I’ll marry it.  I’m making up some toe-up socks as I go.  I wanted to incorporate that same slipped cable stitch (as seen on the sweater above) on the side of this sock.  We’ll see how it turns out, but I won’t be surprised if I end up frogging this and using an established and respectable sock pattern.

What are you working on this summer’s day?  Do you like to knit in the summer even if it’s hot outside or do you have another crafty activity that you enjoy?  See what other people are up to over at Tami’s blog.

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Categories Freshy Knits!
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