"Nice Knits"!

Another Noggin to Keep Warm

Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood from Brooklyntweed
Yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland Wool, color #726 
Fiber: 100% Wool
Amount: 2 skeins
Needles: US #8, US#7 Addi Turbos (knit on two circs) without a cable needle

This Habitat was made to replace the disaster of a ribbed hat I made him a few years ago. Little did I know that the lovely, soft merino wool I used for that one would stretch beyond control after being caught in a downpour of snow. This one is hardier, and in my opinion, better looking than the first. Another great Brooklyntween pattern, but you definitely want to know how to cable without a needle for this one.

Why is it my photo sessions with these three always descend into chaos?

An Orange Only A Mother Could Love

I am not a huge sock fan, but I knew that I wanted to get a copy of Wendy's sock book as soon as it was available. Most of the socks I have ever tried to knit have been either designs of hers or Cookie A's. My problem isn't really with getting a sock started and knowing what to do, but that I suffer from second-sock syndrome like most other knitters. I also have a hard time getting my socks to fit correctly, particularly when it comes to the heel section. I don't know how, but all of my Wendy socks have fit me just fine. I took a sneak peek of Wendy's book at a bookstore before I received my copy, and I couldn't believe how truly gorgeous it was inside. Most of the other books I have on socks are full of good instructions, but are not particularly beautiful to look at. This book made me WANT to knit socks...ALL of the socks in the book.

As far as sock yarn is concerned, I am a huge fan of semi-solid and heathered sock yarn. Some people fall for a sock yarn and then hunt around for a pattern to fit. I, on the other hand, am one of those that falls for the stitch pattern first. Unfortunately, I usually find that most handpaints won't really fit the bill for the patterns I like. The pattern above is the "Lacy Rib" pattern, and it will work well with handpaints or a solid yarn. The yarn is some Koigu KPPM that my Bean bought me years ago for Mother's Day. It is pretty vibrant in person, so you can understand the appeal it had at the time to a 4-yr-old. Since it is a pretty crazy yarn, I needed a pattern that wouldn't be obscured by the color switches in the yarn. The Lacy Rib was simple enough to allow the yarn to retain all of its glorious character, but it wasn't just boring stockinette or rib. I usually use the Figure-Eight toe as a cast on because I hate provisional cast-ons. I still always end up casting-on a few times before I get it right, so I thought this time I would try "Judy's Magic Cast-On" that Wendy mentions in the book. Bingo! If you haven't tried this cast-on before, go take a look and try it out. Makes toes a breeze to cast-on.

There is a KAL for the book on Ravelry, but I probably won't participate. The KAL requires you to knit a pair of socks a month, and I am just not that dedicated. I do plan to knit more than one pair of socks from this book before the year is out. And if I could add a few extra hours knitting time to my day, I would definitely knit them all.

Our Boy Baldwin

I am not sure why anyone would have wanted to get rid of him, but lucky for us he needed a new home. Yes, Baldwin will be staying. It is kind of hard to believe he hasn't been here all along.

Keeping Noggins Warm

Pattern: Dean Street Hat by Nina Machlin Dayton, free Ravelry download
Yarn: Noro Kureyon - can't remember the color number! 
Fiber: 100% Wool
Amount: 1 skein
Needles: US #8 Addi Turbos (knit on two circs) without a cable needle

I figured I should put up some finished objects since it is almost time to put the hats away. At least I HOPE it is almost time to retire them to the closet. The Bean wanted a pink hat to go with her winter coat, and I figured the Noro would give it some pizzazz. I was afraid the cables would get hidden among the color changes, but it came out ok. The only problem is that it came out a little on the small side. I might try blocking it again and trying to get some more stretch out of it. She likes it, so that's what matters any ways.

I found a great place to get actions for Photoshop, including the one shown above that can help you make collages for your blog. Visit mcpactions.com to see all of the great actions she has available. I LOVE me some Photoshop actions!

New Sewing Magazine

 "Stitch" is a new sewing magazine coming out November 11 from the people at Quilting Arts (both published by Interweave Press). It looks like a pretty decent magazine for the modern sewer. There are a few project pictures on their site, but it would have been nice to see more of this preview issue...similar to what they do for Interweave Knits. If you pre-order the issue from the Quilting Arts site, you can save 10%. I will most likely buy this issue, but will probably wait to get a good look at it first. I haven't really found a sewing magazine yet I've liked enough to purchase a subscription for, but this one looks promising.

Shadow Puppets Are Cool

A problem with going to the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair was that I couldn't afford to buy all of the cool things I wanted. But, I did make sure I collected business cards from everyone who I would have bought something from if I had brought a wagon-full of money with me to the fair. One of the vendors who was extremely tempting was Owly Shadow Puppets. Shadow puppets are basically heavy, paper puppets that are used to create shadows in front of a light source. Some are stationary, but some are moveable though the use of brass tacks used as joints. They are a very old artform dating back to the Han Dynesty of China. Here is the definition from Wikipedia:

Shadow play or shadow puppetry is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment using opaque, often articulated figures in front of an illuminate backdrop to create the illusion of moving images. It is popular in various cultures. At present, more than 20 countries are known to have shadow show troupes.

The Owly puppets are made by Andrea Everman. Her Etsy site lists a few that she has created. I was leaning towards either the mermaid or the toothfairy. She also had these really cool landscapes where you could store your puppet. The robot moonscape would be really cute in a little boy's room.

Here are some other shadow puppet artists I found on Etsy. Their creations are so beautiful, please be sure to take a look.

Isabella's Art - Etsy shop, Web site, blog

Orange Moon Toys - Esty shop, Web site

Crankbunny - Esty shop, Web site

FO: Ella...finally finished

My Ella is finally finished! I am ashamed to admit that except for being blocked, this shawl has actually been finished for months. I don't know what it is about blocking and sewing up my knits, but those activities prevent me from finishing many of my projects. They both just seem so tedious. On the other hand, what good is it to spend my time knitting items that I don't get to use, and others don't ever get to see!

Pattern: Ella from Fall 2005 Knitty

Yarn: Grace from Briar Rose Fibers

Fiber: 60% Superwash Merino, 30% Bamboo, 10% Nylon

Needles: #6 Addi Turbos (I think)

I am very happy with the way this turned out. I did not want a shawl as large as the one shown in the pattern, so using the thinner yarn without adjusting the pattern worked out well for me. What I originally liked about this pattern was how it reminded me of peacock feathers. Luckily, I was able to find a yarn in the perfect colorway to imitate the colors of a peacock. Please, please get yourself some yarn from Chris at Briar Rose Fibers. She is such a wonderful person to work with, and the yarn couldn't be nicer. I do plan to try another one of her yarn's in the future. My model-on-staff was also happy with the result. Of course when she mentioned that I should whip up another one for her in pink, I told her maybe when she graduates from college. If I start now, I should have it blocked in time.

What the Bean Bought

The Bean and I got up early today so we could get to the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair when it opened. She actually complained that it felt like a school day when I asked her for the fourth time to get her shoes on. I knew the festival was expecting a lot of people, so I wanted to make sure we got there as early as possible. It is hard to keep track of a short person when there are a lot of tall people around! Of course once she realized there were cool things to buy at the festival, it didn't quite feel like a school day after all. The loot was as follows:

Owl Dress from The Monkey and Me. It seems lately she has a thing for owls, so I just couldn't say no. At least now I know how these are made so I can make her some more.

 

Bacon and Egg Necklace from Inedible Jewelry. The last one they had in stock! Of all the cute little food jewelry on display, she totally gravitated toward the one with the bacon.

(above) My haul: Oliba soaps, Crafty Bastards tote, print from Jaime Zollars. The soap is absolutely incredible! The tent was packed with people, but the Bean and I pushed to the front so we could smell all the great soaps. All natural, organic, and vegan. We bought Pure Ocean, Ginger Pear, and Japanese Yuzu. I wished I had bought more, so as soon as we got home we bought all of her "sale" soaps from her site. The tote was given out to the first 5,000 people. Can always use another tote bag. Although, I am not sure it is a good idea for the Bean to use a tote with "Bastards" on it for the library. 

(above) print by Jamie Zollars. I really had no intention of purchasing anything at the fair except gifts. Though once I saw this print, I couldn't resist. All of her prints are fantastic, but I liked that this one reminded me of finding fireflies as a kid. There is another one I saw on her site I would love to have, but I could only find it as a notecard. I will have to contact her to see if it comes in a larger print. The Bean really liked the one with the owl, so I secretly bought it for her for Xmas from the Web site. Be sure to check out the blog as well.

Even though the weather was a little iffy (it rained four different times today with total sun in between), we had a great time today. We will definitely be back to the Bastard next year!

Knits in Red

I figured it was time to change the look of things around here. I am not totally satisfied yet, but the change is sitting well with me. I have a new girl up top, and I got rid of a lot of sidebar stuff that I figured no one probably looked at anyways. It was a little tricky trying to get TypePad do what I wanted without upgrading my account. I wasn't sure I could handle doing a template from scratch, so I just spent a HUGE amount of time in the TypePad knowledge database looking up HTML codes I could use with the editor I have access to now. Tomorrow I will go back and fix a few buttons in the sidebar and re-categorize some posts. The Bean, hubby and I had a great time tonight going back and looking at old posts like this, this, and this. Going back and looking through my archives made me realize how glad I am I took the time to write some of those things down. I need to start doing a better job so I can still remember these things when I am old and can't even remember what row I'm on. Wait..that happens now!

Debbie Bliss Mag...Who Knew?

I had no idea that Debbie Bliss had started her own magazine! I was ordering some Noro from the Yarnbow, and the magazine was listed as new on their site. I ordered a copy, so I'll give a review when it gets here in a few days. In the meantime, you can get more info from her Web site. It looks like her Web site has been totally redesigned as well. I really like the color combinations used on the site. I do think that as a designer she should have pictures on the site of all of the designs contained in each pattern booklet/book. I think the old site was set up that way, so it is a little disappointing to see that only a few designs are represented for each book.

(magazine cover from the Debbie Bliss Web site)