Deadlines be damned!

When the call comes in we knitters MUST take action:

Two 11 year old girls desperately need (asked me to knit) wool (cashmere) hats for camp. They leave tomorrow.... What else could I do?


Hats are blocking. They just need pompoms and ties. Phwew!


Habu top v.2 The Nightmare:



Sure looks like a christening dress to me! Back to the dress form. Please watch for v.3.

Back to the Dress Form

Version 2.0

Bigger needle for the first 9". Ribbing at the bottom added. More stitches (26 to be exact). Much larger circumference.



3 needle sizes down for the next 6"....Circumference still good.




Pretty sure (almost positive based on blocked swatch!) bubble butt will flatten out after blocking.



Waiting to here comments...tick.....tick.....tick....

YAY! YIPPEE! YEEHA!!

My Chair was delivered! I love it. It's still super comfy and the perfect size. Plus it matches my ottomans perfectly...Bonus!!




I didn't have a project picked out for my sewing class today. I thought I was going to make a slipcover but I just wasn't up to the task. I rummaged around in my ever growing fabric stash and found these two things. The fabric I bought at Cath Kidston going back to England sale and the pattern was from the P&S moving sale. Here come some buttonholes!

yo, k2tog

Ahh, the most basic of lace stitches. One increase (yo) immediately followed by it's paired decrease (k2tog). So simple yet so beautiful when executed properly. I have used this lovely stitch pattern (k1, *yo, k2tog*, to last k1) so many times. I really love it's beauty and simplicity. I find that it works best on a stiff-ish yarn say mohair, silk, linen, cotton, etc. Not so great on squishy alpaca type yarns.

Well, here I am making up a lovely little number for spring 08. I've added a bit of yo, k2tog to the back. I am, of course, knitting this in the round. (A very important note)

Notice the lower few rows of my yo, k2tog and then the upper rows. See a difference?


That's right, when yo, k2tog is worked in the round it only makes ladders not pretty little x's. A few rounds into this I took a look and saw ladders. Hitting myself on the head and wondering Really, when will I not make a mistake.?

One must work round 1 as yo, k2tog and round 2 as k2tog, yo in order to get the pretty x's.


D U H.

The good news and it is in fact very good news based on yesterdays post is that my gauge was EXACTLY as I anticipated. Wooo - hooooo.

When Will I learn?

So here is a top that I made over the weekend.
It's suppposed to be:
1. drapey,
2. looser at the bottom than at the top
3. able to fit over someones armpit




As you can see it is none of the above. I did in fact use 4 different needle sizes on this masterpiece. But you'd never know it - maybe at the top.




Uh, loose? drapey? Back to the drawing board! However, I do like this. The yarn is AMAZING stuff from Habu. It's cotton but feels like paper-y string. Not so soft but great looking. Plus it's hand dyed and gorgeous. Oh well




I have sewing tomorrow. I don't know what to make. I'm thinking a slipcover for one of my chairs using this fabric from Beckensteins (that I got for 5 bucks a yard). But I'm not sure yet.





My mom came and went. It was way to short of a visit. Plus it totally blew that I had to work the entire time that she was here. We did manage to go to Moma on Saturday where I proceeded to knit the entire time we were walking around. It was no bother to me but maybe to those around me?? Not sure, I didn't really notice them but I guess I got some strange stares! She let herself out early Sunday morning and that was that. Way too short.

Stop Horsing Around!

Stash pullover in progress.



This was going to be a vest but I have since changed my mind. It's now going to be a sweater. I'll use up more yarn! I was just messing around with the eyelets. They are interesting. I don't need to use them again right away. The back is finished up to the armhole bind off. When possible, I always knit in one piece. The yarn is pretty sweet. Super light. Easy to work with. Pretty color. You might notice the lack of shaping. Ahem, I decided right after I decided not to make the vest that this would be more of a grab and go summer sweater. Nothing fancy. Nothing too too. Just easy to throw on in the movie theater, restaurant, subway, bar, etc. I think the neck is going to be funnel like. And the sleeves will just be rolled basic sleeves.


Oh, I finished this dress yesterday. Well I have to hem it but it's complete. I don't have a proper photo yet but here it is patiently waiting for a needle and thread.



But check this out!!!! I snagged this heavy weight cotton at a going out of biz. sale. Isn't it AWESOME! I think I bought 4 yards. I might make a window treatment for my kitchen which is the yellow in the flower. Cute, huh?


I also bought this. It's a lighter cotton...skirt, dress, I dunno yet.


But as my dad used to say, "Stop horsing around!" I need to work on the samples for T.S. for spring. In my defense I wanted to get to a good stopping place on the pink sweater. And I wanted to finish my dress. And, And, And,......But now I'm ready to go. I'm working all week so I should have some good knitting time there.

My mom comes tomorrow! (maybe I should stop all of this nonsense and clean my apartment!)

Projects

Finished stash cardigan after blocking and buttons:



The new project:
Suss Perle Cotton in pink

Blocking

The stash cardi is finished. I'll take a better photo when it's dry. Everything went accordingly. I used up most of the orange yarn...which was the goal. Bought buttons at M&J yesterday.



I bought a chair yesterday on my way to work. I had about 15 minutes to spare so I stopped into Crate and Barrel. I sat in every chair and ended up buying the Briarwood chair. It should be here on the 26th! I can't wait. I know it seems impulsive but I knew what I wanted and they had a well made chair that worked. Period.

I have my next stash project picked out. I was having lunch a few months ago at Bread, a lovely eatery in Nolita. This girl walked in with the cutest vest on (which is what I'm going to make). She had the vest over a white short puffy sleeved, tight cuffed button front shirt. It may have had an Eaton collar. She had on tight jeans and riding boots. Super Cute. I sketched it. Now I'm going to make it. I'm either going to use some Suss Perle Cotton in ballet pink or some black Aurora 4. I'm swatching the pink but think the merino might be a better choice. Now I'm thinking the pink might be sweet with a lace bottom/st. st. body cardi or maybe a lace pullover????? hmmmmmmm.

A Study In Orange

Work was a little busy last night so I couldn't get everything done that I wanted to.... swatches, T.S. Sweater, orange cardi.

I decided to focus on the orange cardi. The one piece that I don't need to be knitting right now, of course!!

I've finished the body and one sleeve. I knit the body in one piece up to the armholes...my preferred method. I have 2 skeins of light orange left. Each sleeve is one skein. So it looks like I'll have an extra skein leftover. However, I'll be ripping back the sleeve cap of this sleeve because for some reason I thought arms were like 16" long. Hello, how many sleeves have I knit? What ev, it takes about 20 minutes to knit the cap. But it will use up more yarn. No biggie. I'm going to knit the seconnd sleeve to get the exact measurement before I rip. I'm beginning to think about the collar. I guess it'll be something simple. I also think I'll have enough dark orange for a button band which I'm happy about. I'm thinking like 2 -3" wide in a 2x2 rib.

Here it is...the wheel has not been reinvented. However, a simple cotton cardi using up the stash... it works. Blocking will work wonders for this yarn.

Catching Up

First up: Yarns that I'm swatching for T.S. Spring/Summer '08. The two tall cones are from Habu! The white one is hand dyed and totally gorgeous. They are a bit stiff but really awesome when knit up. The smaller cone is an organic cotton. I've used it before and it's lovely. I can't wait to get started...




4 pieces delivered Monday to T.S. for fall. They are blocking in this photo. Very professional!




I worked on my dress yesterday. It should be finished but when we did a fitting it was a bit too big. So yesterday was spend altering. All I have to do is put in the zipper and hem.



I was knitting on the lace when all I could think about last night was the orange cotton in the stash. Strange, I know. I don't think that I have enough yarn for a sweater but I'm going to give it a shot. I actually swatched stripes but decided against them. I'm going to do the cuffs and collar in the darker orange and the body and sleeves in the lighter orange. If I run out of the light orange I'll make short puffy sleeves with a big ribbed band. Sounds cute, right? Anyway, I went through two skeins and here I am....I NEED to be knitting a T.S. sweater but I'm rebelling at the moment. I'm going to bring his stuff to work with me tonight. I'll have no choice but to work on it.





Oh, cute....This is a skirt made from the bottoms of a pair of pants. It needs a zipper and just some finishing at the waist. I love it!



That's it for now. I need to get some good knitting under my belt over the next few days.

I'm finding that my neck is killing me and I think it's because of where I sit when I knit. Creepy. I'm now on a serious hunt for the perfect knitting chair. Any suggestions? (A rocking chair is OUT of the question!!!)

No Charger, No Photos : (

I have photos but no charger. I can't find it anywhere....

Here's the update:
Saturday night was a nightmare. It felt like I was working in a swamp. Something was wrong with the ac and it was only blowing warm-ish air. SUPER GROSS. Imagine being in a really dark place where a whole lot of people are drinking and dancing and it's about 90 degress and very humid. Plus, someone totally messed up the sound system so only one speaker was working the entire night. It was a total nightmare. The other bartender left early and so did the cocktail waitress. There I was all by myself not having a good time! I'm glad it's over.

I'm delivering 4 pieces to Tom Scott this morning and having a meeting about spring/summer 08. It should be fun. I wanted to have 4 sweaters for him also but I didn't get the last one finished. So when I deliver the Spring stuff I'll bring the sweaters and whatever else I have finished....

I'm still working on Hanami. It's sad when you make a mistake on lace. It can really set you back. It can really be deflating. But I'm back. I've only worked two repeats of the first pattern. 5 to go. I think I have to put it down for now and do some designing but I like it. It's easy. And it's pretty nice looking. I like the Misti Alpaca too.

I realized yesterday that when I bought a pattern a few weeks ago at P&S that it was for PLUS sizes. I'm not exactly sure how that happened but it was super annoying to find out right as I had everything ready to go. P&S moved across the street and I don't know if the patterns are set up yet. They weren't as of last week. Maybe I'll check it out today when I'm out.

I found out yesterday that my mom is coming for a visit!!!! I'm super happy about it. I have to work the entire time that she's here but at least we'll have the days together. She arrives on a Thursday and leaves on Sunday. Yay. It will be so nice to see her. She's been travelling around the east coast hitting all of the graduations. She's so funny. Anyway, it will be great to have her here. I hope the weather is nice.

And finally, today is the 2nd anniversary of my father's death. It's still weird. I miss him. I was having a conversation last night and a question came up that no one knew the answer to. He would have known. I realized about a month ago that I have been mildly (and sometimes more than mildly) depressed since before he died. But time has a way of softening the blows of life and I'm feeling better. I know it's been hard for my mom. And my sister. And probably my brothers though I don't know about them for sure. We all deal with death and loss in our own way. I prefer the isolation and massive quantities of work route myself. It's where I'm most comfortable. It's where I think I'm most productive. Though, with some reflection that could be misguided thinking.

It's already a gorgeous day today. I'm going to go outside and enjoy life and think about my dad. Feel free to do the same!

Wow, That Was Easy!

Yesterday during sewing class I spent my time laying out the pattern and cutting out the pieces. A very efficient waste of time and money. This easily could have been done ahead of time but I just never got around to it. So this is where I was at the end of class. I had only pinned the skirt together. I never even got my sewing machine out...



This is where I am today! I've sewn the bodice and bodice lining together. I've sewn the straps to the bodice. I'm just waiting on fitting them before they get sewn down (in the back) and I've sewn the skirt pieces all together - except the side seams. I'll be putting in the zipper on Tuesday along with some ribbon that separates the bodice from the body.

I'm going to get yellow ribbon BECAUSE...



Check out the perfect shoes that I had in my closet. I just realized that they were sitting in there waiting for the perfect outfit....I've never worn them. I bought them a few years back and YIPPEE!!!! So the yellow ribbon will be this color (center of the daisy!)




Anyway, I've done a teeny bit more on this. I'm now on the second repeat of the first pattern. The pattern is starting to emerge and it looks pretty good. I think I made a small error waaaaay back on row 5 or 7 in one of the 16 st sections but I'm going to leave it. It won't really be noticeable. I thought about ripping but it's just not worth it. Like I said this is just a test to see how much I like this pattern.

I Am A Shoe Snob

Unfortunately, it's true. I don't judge your shoes. But I won't wear them either!

If they're not Manolo, Christian, Jimmy, Chanel, etc. I'm not interested! PERIOD. I have one of the most beautiful shoe collections I have ever seen. I would literally put my shoes up against any number of celebrities' shoes. I love beautiful, expensive, well-made shoes. I can't help it. I love, love, love them. Generally I will only shop for shoes either at Bergdorf Goodman or Jeffery's or the specific store that makes the shoe (chanel, prada, jimmy choo, etc). That's why what I am about to show you is so spectacular.

Looky look.....What do we have here??




Who is this designer XHILARATION?



I've never seen him/her at B.G. How is this possible?


Funny, right? $22.00 at TARGET! I LOVE THEM!!!!

OK, on to some knitting:




I'm on row 21 of the first pattern. I must say that I am quite lame at knitting this right now. I mean really how many times can one NOT pass the slipped stitch over? I'm still counting how many because like every other row I'm forgetting to do it. Eeeee Gaaaaads. What a dork!



The good news is that this is just a test to see if I like the way that it turns out. Plus it's a diversion from that other knightmare knitting called PRODUCTION KNITTING. So it's really no big deal if I'm a total D O R K. However, it does sort of deflate the ego a bit. (which might actually be a very good thing!)

Hanami

I've decide to make Hanami by Pink Lemon Twist. I think it's one of the prettiest shawls out there. I'm hopefully going to pick up some beads at Beads of Paradise later today - if it ever stops raining! And cast on tonight. I'm using up some Misti Alpaca Lace weight (some more yarn from the stash!)

I don't have any knitting news. I finished up another T.S. scarf. I never met with him last week. I kind of lost a week. So hopefully I'll be back on track this time out.

I konked out last night at 9:00. Yikes. I missed the Sopranos and Entourage. I can't believe it! My sleeping is all over the place. But I feel pretty good today. And now I get to watch the shows and knit. Yay.

I've been getting more and more disappointed in Whole Foods. I've actuallys started Not shopping there. I'm currently into Citarella. The one by me isn't huge but the selection is incredible and their fish is the freshest in town. The one in East Hampton is awesome too. I just picked up some 100% fresh watermelon juice. Yes it would be amazing in a martini but I've just been putting a splash in some sparkling water with lime and mint. YUM! Everyone should try it!! lo cal, refreshing, beautiful to look at and a definite crowd pleaser.

After watching some of the Sunday news shows I'm wondering if Michael Bloomberg is actually going to throw his hat into the 2008 ring? hmm.

New Look #6589

Sorry for the bad photo. I'm hoping to cut this pattern out today. There's a 50% chance of that happening. It's early and I have big plans for today...


This is the fabric. Cotton. Polka Dots. Summery.


Unfortunately I didn't get enough sleep last night. I went to be at 11 and woke up at.....4AM. Oy. And I'm working tonight. So I might just have to go back to sleep a little later in the day (when I would be cutting out this pattern)

If I can find the mojo, I'm going to buy the ribbon necessary for this pattern today. I'm not sure if P&S moved across the street yet. So I'd be better off going to M&J.

I'm thinking about the bikini...