Weekend Update

I had a very busy crafting weekend! On Saturday morning, I took a trip out to Fabric Depot for their 30% off everything sale, hoping to find some yarn for the 19-skein turtleneck. To my delight, I found some Lion Brand Kool Wool, which is definitely less expensive than Goa, but just as nice. Like Goa, it is 50% Merino wool and 50% acrylic. The yardage is just about the same too, so I only had to buy a few extra skeins, for a total of 21. With the sale, all that yarn only cost $60! I started in on the sweater that evening and the fabric feels great.

I also bought a couple of Alexander Henry fabrics to make a couple of sundresses. The black and white fabric will be used for the simple shift pullover dress and the other fabric will be used for the strappy dress. I cut out the shift pattern last night while watching the Oscars. I think I've decided on the V-neck.

PS I also picked up the newest issue of knit.1 since I am turning into a big Lion Brand Yarn fan.

For Real?

Here's the next project I am contemplating, the white cabled turtleneck on the right from the latest Rebecca. [Sorry for the tiny picture.] However, after reading the instructions, I noticed something strange. For the smallest size, it requires 950 grams of GGH Goa! The two men's sweaters in the issue only require 750-900 grams of yarn. That means I would need 19 skeins of Goa. I think that this must be an error. I've emailed Rebecca, but have received no response thus far. What do you think?

In the Red

Alpha Female

I finished this cute little hat on Friday evening. I had started it at lunch earlier that day and it took just a little over an hour to complete. It's very cozy and warm. My sweater pieces were still blocking on Saturday, but they were ready to be seamed together on Sunday. It took most of the evening to get the seaming done. After that, I picked up stitches and knitted on the collar. Then came the time-consuming task of weaving in all the ends. That took a good couple hours. I was ready to go to bed, but I thought I would try to make the twisted cord since it was something I hadn't done before. I had to do it a few times before I got something that satisfied me. This morning I made the pompoms for the cord and also blocked the collar. I LOVE this sweater. Pictures to be posted tomorrow!

Around the Block

The sleeves of the sweater are now finished and blocking, along with the back and fronts. Once that's done I can start on the seaming and knitting up the collar. While I wait for the blocking to be done, I am going to use my extra skein of Ribbon Twist to knit up Alpha, a cute hat from the same pattern book.

PS Lint is having a sale this weekend...

Body Movin'

I finished the body of Honey last night. Once I got to the decreases, my needles started flying and the knitting went by quickly. The only adaptation I made to the pattern concerned the casting off of the back section. Both front sections call for the stitches to be put on holders while you are supposed to cast off the back section. It made sense to me to just put those stitches on a holder as well. I love how the decorative hem turned out. I will start the sleeves at lunchtime today!

Woohoo!

My Ribbon Twist finally came in the mail today! I am so excited to continue working on this project. As shown in the previous picture, the scalloped hem for the sweater is knit in one piece and then the left front, back, and right front are worked on separately. I am currently knitting up the right front with the stitches for the other parts on holders. It's knitting up very quickly. I think I could be on the sleeves by this weekend.

New Online Zine

Spun Magazine is out.

PS I was jonesing for some knit time this weekend, so I went and bought another skein of Ribbon Twist to tide me over until my order gets here.

And the Winner is...

Racy won over Riches. The boldness of the red was too much to ignore. I also just happened to find some Racy for sale on eBay for about $5 less a skein than the retail price. You can't beat that. However, there were only seven skeins for sale and I needed eight to complete the project. So, I went over to my LYS to buy one skein to swatch and get started. I really like how this pattern is knitting up, especially the scalloped hem with the yarnover eyelet detailing. It's pretty!

I Like My Vest

I am wearing my new vest at work today! I like how fluffy and warm it is. I also like that the front and back pieces are different. The ribbing on the front actually adds some shaping. The knitting of this project was a little boring, but I am really happy with how it turned out.

Knit Room

1950s period room knit top-to-bottom by seniors' home
The residents of an Australian old folks' home have knitted an entire woolen 1950s sitting-room, with cakes, biscuits, teacups, an Elvis album, and a vintage 1950s GE radio. [via Boing Boing]

Blocking Out

I finished the front of the vest on Friday night and was able to seam it up in the car on Saturday afternoon. We were en route to Long Beach, WA to dig for some razor clams. Later that evening, I added ribbing to the neckline and the armholes. The vest is now blocking in a rolled up towel. It should be ready for a photo session in a day or so!

Sweet Honey

I've finally decided on my next project and here it is! It's from Rowan's Ribbon Twist Collection. After reading the directions for this pattern, called Honey, it seemed like it had enough challenges that I wouldn't get bored. I love the pom poms too. It's knit on big needles, so it should go rather quickly. I am actually going to splurge and buy Rowan yarn. I'm trying to decide between Riches, the color that's used in the photo or Racy, the pretty flecked red. I think I'm leaning towards the red. What do you think?

Front and Center

I'm a little more than halfway through the front of the vest. As you can see, I did mostly ribbing and have now switched over to plain stockinette for the remainder of the top part. For some reason this project seems to be going slow, but maybe it's because I haven't had any major mistakes happen. I just keep plugging away. I think I need something more exciting for my next project. I can't wait to browse through the newest issues of Rebecca and Rowan!

Check it Out

The new issue of Crochet Me is up.

I've Been Tagged!

THE MUSIC MEME
1. Total amount of music files on your computer: 6.3 GB or 1,409 songs. I just got a new laptop, so my hard drive is substantially bigger and can hold way more music than before.

2. The last CD you bought was: Antics by Interpol

3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message? Rootie Tootie by Hank Williams. I was tranferring it to my iPod.

4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you: Here are the recent five that I often listen to...
All Luck Ran Out :: Sondre Lerche
Kissing the Lipless :: The Shins
Idioteque :: Radiohead
The District Sleeps Alone :: The Postal Service
Portions for Foxes :: Rilo Kiley