i want this

 

 Sometime a while ago (November of 2007, apparently), I was browsing in The Gap and saw this cute cape/poncho thing.  I tried it on and asked my friend to take a picture.  I was thinking, "I could knit that!!"  And then I forgot about it until today, for some reason.  I'm so happy I still had the picture.  I think it's going to go into my queue for stuff to try to knit in 2010.  I wish I could remember more about the construction but I'm thinking maybe doing it top-down would work.  I'm not at all sure how to put the pocket on there but that shouldn't be too hard to figure out ... will it?  I do remember that it was knitted in a bulky/chunky yarn, and I think the Fair Isle section will be easy enough, even for an inexperienced Fair Isle knitter like me!

I'd be happy for any tips and tricks that anyone is willing to share, though :-)

Enjoy what's left of the weekend ...

~mz

scarf progress -- on hold

that's how the XOXO cabled scarf is turning out ... much better than the previous version.  i decided to combine elements of 2 different patterns to get the effect i wanted.  but as much fun as this pattern is, i need to put it on hold for 2 reasons.

1.  there's still quite a bit of holiday-related knitting to work on (dishcloths, socks).  but more importantly:
2.  I NEED THRUMMED MITTENS.

folks,  the temp right now is about 19F with a high of 21F and it is very windy ... yesterday i think we had winds up to 60mph.  a few weeks ago i knitted myself a pair of regular mittens and generally they are fine ... except when it's this cold and this windy.  so this morning i pawed through my stash to find some wool yarn and roving that i can use and decided on noro kureyon and the roving is not merino, maybe it's shetland, i don't remember.  and i don't really care, so long as i end up with some mittens that will keep my fingers warm.  perhaps if i'd knitted my mittens at a tighter gauge, and if they were more than 50% wool they'd be better.  they will do for now since it's all i have but i need something warmer.  PDQ. 

and i also need to go get lunch before my 1:30pm meeting.  ciao for now.  stay warm!!!

~mz

I have an FO!!!

Ok, well sort of.

You know those Treads socks that I've been knitting?  Well I finally finished the first one!!  WHEW!  I finished it over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and guess what else?  I immediately cast on for the second one.  Yup, no Second Sock Syndrome for me!!  The first sock fits great and I'm so excited.  There is a slim chance that the second sock will be finished in time for Christmas ... but I'm not holding my breath for that one.  Good thing my honey isn't totally dependent on me to keep his feet warm :-)

And I bought yarn this week.  LOTS of yarn. But I bought it for a specific reason.  I live in a big ol' farm house and it's been a bit chilly at home, even with the furnace on and the fireplace going.  We tend to keep the heat on the low side because who wants to spend an outrageous amount of money to heat the home when we could just put on an extra layer?  So the other night I asked Eric if he was cold. He says, "Nope, I'm wearing this wool sweater."  I'm like, well DUH.  I have enough wool sock yarn to knit maybe 40-50 pairs of socks but not enough heavier wool to knit a sweater!!  So ... I went to KnitPicks.com and bought 23 balls of their Wool of the Andes yarn (worsted weight) in a color called Black Cherry Heather (http://bit.ly/66uTy7).  I love it and think it will look good on me :-)

I should also say that this will be my first time knitting an adult size sweater.  I'm using the Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan Sweater pattern  and I hope to make it with a V-neck.   I'm pretty excited and a little nervous.  I hope you sweater knitters won't mind my asking a million questions as I go along.  The yarn has shipped and should arrive sometime next week.  Yay!

In other news, one of my best friends asked me to knit her a scarf with an XOXO pattern.  She asked for it to be knitted in red, and it turns out I have "plenty" of red (acrylic) yarn in my stash.  I'd like to knit it with something a little more luxurious than acrylic but I also have to be mindful of spending.  Oh, I'm using the pattern that's on the center of the Staghorn sweater, which is in a book called A Fine Fleece. I have finished nearly a full pattern repeat (just enough for the XOXO pattern to be established and it's turning out quite nicely!  I warned her that the last scarf I knitted in a similar pattern took me about 6 months to knit, so as long as she doesn't mind waiting, I don't mind knitting it for her. 

I would like to get back on the ball with my charity knitting as well.  I am thinking of knitting helmet liners for our troops  I know that lots of people are contributing to the effort and I want to join in!  It's my understanding that hats/helmet liners etc should be made with 100% wool, and that black, charcoal, brown, tan, olive drab are the only military-approved colors.  I found TONS of patterns on Ravelry for helmet liners (or balaclavas) ... so if you're interested in participating you can find lots of inspiration there.  Completed items can be mailed (year round!) to:

Citizen SAM
PO Box 10565
Peoria, IL 61612

I hope that you all will consider knitting even one hat for a soldier! I would like to find a local charity to knit for as well.  More details on that later. 

For now though ... Good night!

~mz

thinking ... just thinking ... about getting organized

so.

i have a yarn stash.  i know, you're like, well DUH.

but as you can imagine or might have seen, it is a fairly substantial stash.  not as huge as others i've seen, for sure, but i think i have enough yarn to comfortably knit for several years -- decades, maybe -- without buying a single ball, skein or hank more AND without spinning any additional yarn from the fiber that's in my stash.

at one point i tried, however half-heartedly, to photograph my yarn and post the photos and deets to my ravelry stash.  that was a pathetic attempt.  then i thought maybe it would work better if i photographed and posted the yarn as i used it.  neat idea but that didn't work too well either.  so what's a girl to do when she has a nice stash but not a good way to quickly know what's in it ... besides going in the craft room and pawing through all the bins?

so, i'm totally stealing this idea from cory and start a weekly "stash appreciation" day.  the idea is that every week on stash appreciation day, i will take a yarn from my stash, take a photo, post to rav and then blog about it.  so the goal here is not only to catalog what i own, but to be able to more easily "shop" from my own stash before considering buying more!  although i have to admit, i have over $300 worth of goodies on my knitpicks wishlist and i'm just DYING to buy it all.  it's not all yarn though; i need a swift (which is the most expensive single item on the list), some blocking mats and other tools (like split ring stitch markers and a darning egg).  the rest is yarn, though, and reflects my ongoing obsession with sock yarn and lace weight yarn :-)  seriously, i don't think i've knitted with anything heavier than sock yarn (and size 2 needles) all year long.  my current projects are both on size 0!!). 

unfortunately, none of this photographing can take place until i get my camera back.  i had to send it off to canon for servicing (the image sensor went bad -- again!) and hope to get it back soon.  meantime, i'll keep thinking about my stash organization, and of course i'll keep on knitting!

~mz
 

anyone want to test knit a pattern for me?

a couple years ago, i designed a neat scarf pattern (http://bit.ly/chained_hearts).  while i do like this stockinette version, it has an annoying tendency to curl, thus the pretty heart lace pattern doesn't show up very well.  i've been meaning to test knit a garter stitch version for, like, EVER and still haven't gotten 'round to it, so i thought i'd enlist some help from fellow knitters.  i recently revised the pattern and i am pretty sure that i did it right, but it would help me a lot to have another set of eyes (and needles) to test this out and let me know how it works.  if you're interested please leave me a comment, and i'll send you the pattern! of course you won't have to knit the whole thing ... just a few pattern repeats would be plenty.  and if you'd be kind enough to email me a photo, too, i will include it in the .pdf pattern that will be posted on ravelry.  how cool is that?

thanks so much for considering this request, even in the midst of preparing for the upcoming winter holidays.  i, like you, am busy making lists of gifts that i'd like to give to family and friends ... some will be knitted, some will be baked, some may be bought.  but all will be given with lots of love and that's what counts, right?

enjoy the rest of this beautiful mid-november weather!

~mz