a little inspiration

Oh, the story of this one... I started the Cottage Cardigan at the end of July and didn't finish until mid-September.  This is a very long time for me.  The pattern is simple and elegantly written.  The yarn was lovely once I got to know it.  It's Brooklyn Tweed Loft.  But my hands! When we got back from Spain my hands and wrists were really bothering me.  But it started much earlier.  In March of this year, I was on a dig site for the weekend and strained my wrists.  I didn't think about it then and just kept knitting... Then weeks went by and they were still sore.  So I took a break.  Not knitting is hard for me.  I do it in class, while watching tv in the evening with the family, waiting for kids in pick-up lines, and at events.  Pretty much always.  But now, my wrists were sore, my pinky and ring finger were often numb.  It's bi-lateral.  A nightmare in the making. It got better.  I tried to avoid holdi...

 I made this one over the summer.  When I ordered the pale pink I wasn't sure. Am I a pale pink kind of woman?  Apparently. This pattern calls for the front and back to be the same but lots of makers on Ravelry  mentioned changing it.  I did raise the back neck.  I did not take notes.  I hadn't used Caidree patterns before and found the instructions clear. The silk from Knitting for Olive is a dream.  So delightful to work with and even more wonderful to wear.  It has no bloom and so it is a little sheer.  I like the slightly sexy vibe of a loose silk blouse with the hint of a bra and tattoos underneath.  I don't have much to say about this one.  It speaks for itself.

  Lace, lace, baby!   This was a fun knit, even if it required a lot of attention.  Nothing about it is hard, you just have to focus a bit and you end up with this beautiful lace. I've been trying to stay away from anything too complicated after the Robinia but I had already bought this pattern when it came out and couldn't help it.  The sample was made in white but I had purchased this lovely Noro without a plan and this seemed like just the thing.  The little cap sleeves on this are knitting perfection.  I wore it in Spain to grab some pictures but the silk was too warm the days we were there. Here's my Ravelry link if you want the details on the yarn and pattern.  Last time I was in Spain I was working on a different pattern from this same designer, so maybe it'll be a tradition.

 Becky and I set out to make a couple of Robinia sweaters in mid-March, which took two months to complete.  Just yesterday, I wove in the ends and wore it.  I'm afraid to block it.   Specs: The Robinia has been making the rounds.  I couldn't see buying the tons of yarn it would take to create the three-strand yarn the designer used, but Becky found this chainette cotton blend, Cantata , that seemed perfect. I've recently realized that making the exact color combination that I liked in the first place is not a bad thing.  It means I get the garment I really loved in the first place. Mods: I made a size XS/S even though I could have made the M according to the designer but everything I knit comes out bigger than expected, even when I gauge swatch right on target.  (I think the blocked weight of the garment just is so much more than the swatch is what causes this, but it's just a theory.)  I didn't wrap any of my floats and it remains to b...

I made this with scraps left over from other projects.  I knew if I just went ahead and started a Winter hat, Spring would show up. I love the shadows created by cables and it blows my mind that it is so simple to make them.  Warm, squishy and mysterious. The second picture shows the truer colors.

I'm still here.  I've been busy. And sick. And parenting. And overwhelmed.  I am trying to figure out how to use this space with the time I have.  I'm trying to figure out how to live more graciously.  I'm trying to find solutions for solution-less problems.  How could it be that there are so many of those? I'm hoping to use this to catalogue completed projects this year. Less words, more images.  I've been using instagram a lot.  But this would be neater, easier to look back and possibly (?) have details I'd like to remember.

I'm a little knitting obsessed right now.  I just don't seem to be able to stop.  This morning I finished another Barley for John and already I've started a Clayoquot for Anjali.   Today is slightly cool and over cast.  I have several hours of work to do while the apartment is empty.  And, of course, I had to start a new project?  Clearly, there is something just a little bit wrong with me. Before either of those hats there was a sweater for Anjali completed.  I really love the patterns from Tin Can Knits (could you tell?) Even as a total novice knitter I feel empowered to start color work and pick up stitches and use DPN's like I know what I am doing.  This sweater didn't come out perfect (nothing has yet! :) but it is perfectly wearable and fits her great.  Cute as a button if I do say so myself. I made her the 2-4 year old size with shorted sleeves.  I'm hoping she'll be able to wear it next year with the sleeves at 3/4 ...

A funny thing happens at the end of July or the beginning of August each year .  Suddenly I have trouble thinking of anything but sweaters.  You'd think it'd be too hot to pick up a crochet hook or knitting needles and handle wool but somehow it isn't.  I start thinking of how the little people in my house will be cold in the mornings soon.  In need of an extra layer on round bellies and and little arms.  How their heads should be covered, their ears kept warm. It makes sense, really.  A sweater does not make itself over night.  And now that I am knitting as well, who knows if the project will come out at all?  Who knows who it will fit?  (okay- I'll admit I am swatching today.) E received the first thing this year.  Using the left over yarn from his baby blanket (which was one of the first things I crocheted !) I used the Barley pattern from the Tin Can Knits Simple collection . (I have both of the sweaters on my list to ...

I finished the arm warmer a few days ago.  It looks lovely, no glaring errors.  Except it is about the right size for Emerson...  Whoops.  I didn't check my gauge.  I didn't check it because with crochet I have never had an issue.  And also, because I am lazy.  And also it really didn't cross my mind that I could get that far off with the right sized needles for it to matter.  So anyway, apparently I hold too much tension on the yarn.  I can't imagine where it comes from... Hmmff! So, I've started something a little more forgiving in terms of gauge with a larger sized needle than recommended and making a big effort to hold the yarn loosely.  It is this beauty .  I'm excited that I decided to look up the crazy stitch abbreviation because the whole thing is super simple to to even though it looked intimidating to me.  Hopefully it will fit over my head in the end. ;)

People.  I am actually knitting.  And it is fun!  And going well. I decided that 2014 will be the year I actually get the hang of knitting.  I've tried a number of times and it always ends in boredom or tears.  I think this time it will be different.  I've even already finished a project! I got this book because I saw the review on Amy Karol's blog and I loved all the images of the patterns it offers.  I have to say I am glad that I already knew the basics of knitting though and I've been grateful for knittinghelp.com.  Unless it is just that I am unable to focus any longer due to the influence of children, I would say that it'd be pretty hard to figure out how to knit for the first time just from this book.  But the patterns?  Still gorgeous and I am hoping do-able with a little internet and in person tutelage.   I made a hat from it for Emerson.  I didn't have the right sized yarn or needles (you need a lot ...

Thursday came and went.  I'm still waiting for that post for you all so when it gets here I will put it up. In the mean time things have been fast and fun here.  Readjusting.  Learning new skills.  Finding our rhythm again. He has discovered scissors.  And gotten more interested in drawing.  Look at those papers.  Multiple colors and lots of lines.  This is very new.  Before it was one or two lines and then eat the crayon or marker.  The scissors are his favorite.  It seems to be going around right now.  Soulemama and Meg from Sew Liberated are also posting these kinds of images.  He tells me, "I need cut." and "Trimmy, trimmy, I need trimmy." And of course, stickers.  He is able to take them off the sheet and place them all by himself now.  It is quite amazing really.  When you watch someone trying this for the first time and you see just how hard it really is.  Amazing these things we do ever...