Prelapsaria.

WWKIPD!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:57:00 +0000

So I'm definitely in the naughty knitter's corner as far as updating my blog goes lately, but here's a little photo-dump of what I've been up to.

Last weekend we celebrated World Wide Knit In Public Day in my neck of the woods up at Frontier Park in Graham. Finally some lovely weather, and a chance to sit and knit in the sun! I only got a few early on shots, because I had to leave early to head to a friend's bridal shower. But I think I at least captured some of the spirit of the day! Lots of gorgeous knitters with gorgeous projects in hand in these photos. ;D

Liberty also brought out baskets and buckets full of her yarns and soaps, which I think we all descended upon like a pack of feral yarn-crazed kittens!

We had to scoot around a bit to alternately avoid/bask in the sun, but it turned out to be a great location for some social knitting. What a great day! Here's hoping for many, many more WWKIPDs to come.

Adventures With Kool Aid!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:04:00 +0000

Okay, guys. Seriously. Check. This. Out.

Last night (or rather, this morning) I made my very first ever foray into Kool Aid dyeing, and oh my gosh I can't believe the completely awesome and amazing avenues my experimenting has led me down! I just have to blather all about it.

Well, so the story goes, I received TWO surprising and lovely "windfalls" of sock yarns in the last week. Last Saturday, my knitting group pal, Jen, from the East Pierce group, de-stashed a painted sock blank that she had won on this year's STP Yarn Train into my (notably eclectic) hands. Granted, I'm not usually one for bright, BRIGHT, pinks and peaches, but I actually kind of thought the colors of the blank were pretty interesting! I wasn't sure what I was going to do with something so -again, BRIGHT, BRIGHT PINK- far outside of my typical working color palette, but I never can pass up the opportunity for experimentation. ;) Pretty shortly after that, I also happened to receive my package from my Psych Group (yes, the tv show forum, on Rav!) MBOY swap partner, hybridgirl, AKA Becky in Indiana. Super fun package; what a great collection of goodies she put together for me! Included in the middle of the magic ball was a big shmooshy skein of Poems Sock yarn, in a very lovely purpley, pink, and baby green colorway. Which.... again, was probably not a color set I would have immediately gravitated to on my own, but it really was SO pretty, and had so much potential. I suddenly had so much yarn, and no idea what to do with any of it!

I put the sock blank and the Poems skein side by side, and stared at them both long enough to go a little cross-eyed. Neither skein would really total a whole garment on their own, but I kept thinking, if I could just somehow COMBINE the two....... I could probably get something pretty darned interesting out of the process! But bright-BRIGHT pink, and purple-pink-pastel green??? That's just crazy talk and shenanigans. And really, I knew there was no sensible way that these two colors of yarn were ever going to coexist harmoniously in their natural state. But what could I do? Certainly just going out and buying more yarn was always an easy option, right?

Enter Jieun, and her magical stash of KOOLAID! And books. And niddy-noddy. And INSPIRATION!

A while ago, Jieun had run into a sale batch of CASHMERE(!!) in a reportedly horrific shade of pepto-bismol pink. Her solution (rather than pass up cashmere yarn ON SALE, naturally!) was to bring the lot of it home and dye it to a more usable color herself. She just used some Kool Aid, and her dishwasher. After finally getting to see the finished result first hand last night (a pair of totally romantic fingerless mitts in a gorgeous deep rose), I was completely sold. Jieun sent me home with a loan of two very helpful books, a spare niddy noddy, and her stock-pile of leftover Kool Aid to meet my fate or folly in the world of kitchen-dyeing!

Several hours of insomnio-maniacal slaving over a hot oven, and several (dozen?? it seemed like a zillion!) packets of Kool Aid later, here's what I got.

The pink sock blank, with liberal application of Black Cherry, Grape, Fruit Punch and Lemon-Lime, turned into this:

It's really got a much deeper brick red character to it in person, but the brightness and color saturation of the photo are pretty accurate. Since I was over-dyeing the painted blank, there was already some really pretty and subtle color variation on the underlying yarn, which shows through in a REALLY interesting and textural way! Totally amazing.

The purple-pink-green Poems yarn I over-dyed with a little of pretty much EVERY COLOR of Kool Aid Jieun gave me. I unfortunately didn't get a very good shot of the yarn unskeined to show the original color, but the photo above at least shows a pretty good cross section of the color variation. It sadly tended to list much more on the pale mixed-pastel side than that picture shows, though. Which is why I am so, so blown away by the final result:

IT LOOKS LIKE SARI SILK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry I just can't get over how cool the final result was. I first dip-dyed the hank twisted in the Black Cherry, which left some patches of the original pastel colors showing through, and then dyed the bare patches with the Strawberry-Watermelon & the Lemon-Lime to smooth the color transitions, and used diluted Fruit Punch to warm everything up to the right tone. The original muted purples of the yarn are now these great big KA-POWS! of color, and I was amazed at how much red the rest of the yarn actually picked up. I love the places where the original green still comes through; it's subtle, but the overall effect is almost... Himalayan!

I hope Jen and Becky aren't terribly disappointed that I subjected their lovely gifts to such torturous experimentation, but hopefully they'll be gratified to see the results? I've already got a TERRIFIC idea in mind for what I want to make! And now that their two skeins of yarn are actually occupying the same general region of the color wheel, I think I'll be able to combine them into something truly spectacular and unique! And I owe this whole sudden burst of inspiration to Jen, Becky, AND Jieun... who have all contributed to feeding my craft-hungry soul today! ;D

WIP Overload! And how Liberty is overtaking my project page.

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:16:00 +0000

So I finally kicked that crafting funk I was in... to the tune of four completely new knitting WIPs, and an accumulation of more yarn and supplies for at least four MORE projects waiting in the wings! Not to mention all the fabric etc I already had waiting for sewing projects of their own. Oh dear. But I suppose that's just back to business as usual for me; so many ideas and never enough time.

I had to jump in on Liberty's recent yarn sale a little while back, and stocked up on a few skeins of her fantastic BFL (Bluetopia). As it always seems to happen for me with her yarns, her COLORS really end up dictating what I'm going to make. I snagged a bright delicious greeny-yellow that reminds me of pickled green tomatoes, and that yarn has been sitting in the bin screaming, "Rapunzel Stockings!!" at me for two weeks. The other colorway I got is a warm and lush multi, Basque, which reminds me simultaneously of chai tea and indigo, with some lightning shots of yellow. I really couldn't wait to see how that color would knit up, so I've already cast on a shawl that is coming along surprisingly quick! Though I always hate getting to the point on a shawl where it looks like a big loopy lumpy blob, and you can hardly imagine that the final blocked product will ever resemble the sample images from the pattern. Erf.

In pawing through the rest of my assorted stash, I realized that I had completely forgotten another skein of Liberty's Jabbersocky that I had bought at Sock Summit last year! Don't you just love finding *lost* yarn? It's like discovering a $20 bill in the pocket of a coat you haven't worn in a while. ;D Since I got to go down to San Fran to see my sister and family over Christmas, I finally got to see my baby niece wearing the sweater I knit for her first hand. And I was so completely thrilled to see something I made toddling around on the most adorable 14-month-old knitwear model in the world, that I came home positively itching to start on another baby-sized piece for her next birthday. Queue another Liberty-color-dictated project, because the Roselyn Jabbersocky I rediscovered is definitely going to be going to good use! I even managed to source a second skein of the color out of a gal's stash in Ohio (yay, the magic of Ravelry), so I'm expecting to have enough yarn to get at least a complete garment done. It's really just the matter of getting up the motivation to knit another sweater (even a baby-sized one!) out of sock yarn that's daunting.

I also picked up some Elann yarns for yet more projects. Their prices on some yarns are just too insane to pass up when it comes to real sizable projects. I decided (in a fit of uncommon ambition) to do just ONE more men's sweater before DH gets back, so he'll have something else waiting for him that he can wear as the weather gets nice again. I've been calling it my Sixteen Day Sweater, because my original goal was to knit through about a skein a day (estimating it would take roughly 16 to finish the whole thing) and have it completed in plenty of time for the happy homecoming. I was doing pretty well, too! Up until I got to the sleeves around day 6... Sleeves just seem to sap all the speedy mojo right out of me! And I've found the Elann Callista (a viscose/ cotton/ linen blend) to be surprisingly drying and tough on my hands, so it necessitated taking more and more breaks to allow myself time to rest. Which is basically where the Basque shawl came in. ;) So now the sweater is definitely turning into something more like a 20 Day Sweater... but that's still a doable timeframe for me!

I've also got numerous older WIPs bumming around on my needles, including the *secret squirrel DH sweater* which I STILL have yet to finish weaving in ends on. Eeeeerrgh! And I got myself into more trouble on Saturday after knitting group, because I went by Pacific Fabrics to pick up a zipper for that sweater... and came out with the makings of yet another dress! >_< My excuse is that I've been manhandling so much yarn the past week and a half that my hands were in desperate need of a change-up! I saw this fabric lying on top of a pile of remnants at the back of the store... and it made me positively rabid for sunshine and sand and water. I simply had to have it. I got home and immediately started sewing away, and here's what I have to show for it!

Pretty neat what you can get out of a bargain-pile remnant, right?? And again, talk about instant gratification! Although this particular dress was a little fiddly for me, because the nature of the fabric necessitated a TON of hand-sewing to secure the draping and ruching. It has a sweetly bubbled hem, and I gathered the bottom so that the raw edge of the fabric peeks out like a faux tulle petticoat. I'm pretty happy with the result, though I've still got some finishing to do. The BEST part about this dress? Almost ZERO CUTTING!!! The lake effect fabric is two solid yards, uncut, creatively draped for shaping. And the lining is made of a doubled over tube of knit poly with an elastic band tacked in! And, as usual, it's not from a pattern. Just a product of my own trial and error. What do you think? Something about the fabric to me just sings of warm tropical nights, dancing away to an ocean-side sunset, Mojitos in hand. I think it may come in handy for a certain upcoming trip to La Paz... ;D

And one more shot with my dubious looking craft-helper (she most often helps by opportunistically laying down directly on top of whatever scrap of fabric I happen to need next):

Updated layout!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:38:00 +0000

Still deciding if it'll stick, but it's something temporary & quickie I whipped up to make up for the broken image hosting. Dumdedum...

Uh oh, issues?!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:55:00 +0000

My image hoster seems to be having issues, so my blog is in funky mode! I guess that means it really is time to freshen things up around here! ;) Hopefully we'll have a solution in the next day or so.

Brrrrr!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:56:00 +0000

Wow, again, another barren stretch in my craft-blogging! My apologies.

The unfortunate truth is that I haven't been feeling very motivated to work on anything lately! I don't know what that's all about. Winter is PRIME knitting season, but I can't seem to get going on any new projects.

I have been knitting sporadically on my Plum Betty lace stockings, but unfortunately as of Monday I've frogged them all the way back down to the heel, so I can re-turn it for a better fit. :( :( :( Pretty disappointed, but I'd already knit them all the way up to knee-height before realizing that the fit was just NOT GOING TO WORK! Too uncomfortably tight around the ankles, and they weren't stretching width-wise as much as I was expecting. Definitely going to need to make some bigtime pattern alterations. I am apparently turning out not to be a very successful Toe-Up sock knitter.

In other news, my BIRTHDAY was about a week and a half ago! I forgot to make a birthday post for posterity. It's creeping me out a little to be 26, if only because it can legitimately be said that I'm in my "Late Twenties" now........ And there is just no end to the weirdness of that for me. Can we just say that 26 is the new 22? Hehe. So, here's a pic I snapped on the day of, in thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes!

I received a lot of terrific gifts for my birthday, including my very first ever professional DRESS FORM!!! Yaaaay! I really do have the best DH ever. Unfortunately it's a Uniquely You dress form, the main design point of which is that it comes with a slip cover that you must fit exactly to your own body, and then compress the actual foam form into to get the shape that you want. I can't pin the cover in the necessary places while wearing it (i.e. the back??) to sew it up myself. So.... I won't be able to use this until I can wrangle someone to come over and pin me into it, and put up with me running around in my underwear while I sew all the necessary bits for about 4 hrs. Oye. Good thing DH will be home in another 3 months! But I am super, super excited anyway. ;)
(Shot of the dress form with DH's still unfinished *Secret Squirrel* Sweater on it! ;) Soo many ends left to weave in. Yuck.)

I also got all the car manuals I had on my wishlist (yes, yes, my VW obsession rearing its ugly, greasy head ;D), and a few terrific gift cards for B&N (which I've already spent! On another car manual.. hehe) and Michael's. We got DH online on Skype so that he could see me opening presents, and enjoy some Birthday Pie and ice cream with us. Yummmm Strawberry Rhubarb!

I suppose it may just be the stacking on of holiday/celebratory events that have prevented me from settling in for some craft time. Halloween, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas just around the corner... There's hardly time to breathe! (Clearly there's too much eating to do! Hehe.)

I am really glad that there are so many regular knitting meetups for me to attend right in my area; I'm counting on all the lovely inspirational knitters around me to move me to greatness! I've got a few projects I just need a push to cast on, a few others languishing on needles at the bottom of my bag, a few skirts and dresses I already have the materials to make, and I am even planning to launch my new line of Stitch Markers on Etsy come January, if not sooner! Much, much to do; I should have no complaints!

New Muzac Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:12:00 +0000

Hello, my dear friends, lovers, and lovers-of-each-other-yet-to-be!

Finally a new installment of New Muzac Friday; the Playlist at the bottom of my blog has been updated with fresh tunes for your enjoyment. Today's selection is a bit eclectic, mostly reflecting some nostalgia, some momentum and change, and almost a somewhat productive state of mind. As always I can only apologize for the selection being a reflection of where I want to be, and -in some minute instances- of where I actually am.

Also, beg your pardon in advance for the SUPER CRAZY LONG version of Lonely Night in Georgia; that was seriously the shortest version with the best sound quality. I realize not everyone is into the 3 minute acoustic interlude. *lol*

1. Skipping Stone - Amos Lee
2. Carry Me - Tim Easton
3. The Calculation - Regina Spektor
4. The Guy That Says Goodbye to You - Griffin House
5. One Day - Matisyahu
6. Coyote - Jason Mraz
7. Lonely Night in Georgia - Marc Broussard
8. Friend of the Devil - Lyle Lovett
9. The Lucky One - Alison Krauss
10. Lucky - Jason Mraz & Colbie Callait
11. Fall - Brandi Carlile
12. Body and Soul - Billie Holiday

ETA: I had to drop the pop-out player from the post, but look for these songs in iTunes or Amazon.mp3 if you want to find them - and you should!!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back.

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:39:00 +0000

Sorry for the dearth in blog updates!

October was quite a crafty month for me, despite not really getting much of anything actually finished. I got the sweater for my niece sent off for her birthday, and my sister reports that she'll be sending along pictures of my nephew in his space invaders sweater as soon as the California fall/winter begins to set in.

I got a little too sidetracked with everything else going on, esp with DH's birthday at the end of the month, to complete my ultimate goal of helping to make 10 wooly pulleys for the TAPs knitting ladies!! I'm a little disappointed I couldn't manage it, but it all just got buried. :( I did however finish all the knitting for DH's secret Christmas gift sweater, although I still need to buy a zipper to set into it, and finish up weaving in all the ends. It is SO incredibly awesome looking!! I can't wait to see him in it, though I think I'll ask one of my friends to model it for me in the meantime so I can get some pictures. Plus I think it'd help me visualize how well the sweater will actually fit him if I can see it on someone of approximately the same size; if I need to make adjustments I'd rather do it now, before I completely lose all motivation for the project!

In other news, I got FORTY-THREE trick-or-treaters at my door this Halloween! Amazing. And yet I STILL managed to have about 2-3lbs of candy left over, which is terrible. Hehe. There were quite a few amazingly creative costumed kids, and quite a few completely shameless UNCOSTUMED teenagers who were just showing up to snatch candy! What happened to the dignity of the Trick-Or-Treat experience? I of course ended up making my own Halloween costume this year, and it was definitely a big hit! I'll censor myself a bit in the description, but here's a couple of pictures of the finished product. Basically I was a "bear". Well, I was actually a *Specific Bear, but the specificity may or may not be entirely appropriate for viewers of all ages. Hehe! It was a little bit of an inside joke for the folks at the Halloween party I went to.

*And a pic of the actual complete costume...
Click to show & hide at your own amusement!

The whole thing is made out of fun-fur, and is COMPLETELY fleece lined. So warm and comfy, and fluffy! I made it like a little jumper, with velcro straps. I honestly expect to be wearing this thing around the house all winter long. The bear-face can actually be flipped up so that it just looks like a really furry ushanka (the Russian hats you always see) with bear ears! Again, completely fleece lined. I still have tons of fun fur and fleece left over, and I think I'll re-make the bear-mittens into actual wearable furry mittens, that have a flip top so I can wear them while knitting! I'm definitely one of those crazy mitten-people; if I could I would honestly wear them all the time.

I've still got my Plum Betties (lace stockings) in progress, and I keep adding more and more beautiful things to my poor queue. I also still have all the Kettle-Dyed Wool of the Andes, and more Shine Sport from Knit Picks sitting in my yarn basket waiting for projects of their own! I'm excited that the cooler Fall weather is getting me back into turbo-knitting mode again, but there's suddenly so much I want to make! My birthday is coming up this month, and I've got Joann's, WEBS, and Knit Picks gift cards high on my wish list this year. I'm really hoping that'll help keep me from making too big a yarn-shaped dent in the bank account these coming months! Hehe.

And lastly I've FINALLY gotten back to work on my long-resting City Tweed project. Still not much in the way of progress there, but I did need to basically start over after some setbacks with computer issues, and gauge AND sizing issues! I feel like I'm scrabbling a bit for inspiration, because I'm seeing SO MANY great fall looks all of a sudden, and yet it seems harder than ever to get my own idea across without it looking contrived! Sad. But I hope to start knitting on it in earnest in the next week or so.

Soo... that's that, I guess! I'll post back with pictures of DH's finished sweater when I get it polished up, and hopefully I'll have more to report on my City Tweed project sooner than later.

Wake me up when September ends...

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:05:00 +0000

I can not get over the fact that it's already the first of October. I have to say I'm a little bitter to be bidding farewell in earnest to the warm days, and starry summer nights, which I never seem to be able to take full advantage of. Did I really manage to miss another summer?

I've been trying to turn an eye towards fall crafts, but somehow this year it's harder than ever for me get excited about crafting layerable wearables. Perhaps, for me, this season will be all about finishing gifts BEFORE the holidays for the huge collection of friends and family I've amassed! That's my wishful thinking, anyway. ;)

Earlier today I went to JoAnns and picked up some yarn (ugh, my THIRD trip this week, because I was exchanging for a different color for the second time), and some fabric for my Oktoberfest costume! I'm heading out to Leavenworth this weekend (our local faux-Bavarian drinking and sauerkraut eating destination) for an annual Volkswagen drive. Not to say that it's a costumed event; I'm just a big sucker for a good theme! I've finished the whole outfit tonight, and I am totally in love with it. It's turned out much better than the version I attempted for the summer drive, and I credit heavy-weight interfacing and a much better idea of how to craft an actual circle skirt with my new-found success. I even managed to make the outfit so that I can stay reasonably warm (58 degrees on Saturday!) without having to compromise on the cuteness. I think tomorrow I will venture out to see if I can find some wooly legwarmers to finish the whole look.

For now I've got quite a few projects on the needles, though I'm also still working through my stash of fabrics and have a few more dresses to throw together for fall. I'm working on a pair of the Betty stockings from Spring09 Interweave Kits, using Liberty's Bluetopia that I bought at Sock Summit. And I finished the sweater and hat for my niece out of a couple of skeins of Liberty's Jabbersocky! I actually still have quite a bit of yarn left over, and I'm debating if I should attempt to knit up a tiny pair of socks/booties to complete the set. It's ADORABLE! The colorway (Sundae) was truly perfect for this kind of project. I found some yummy strawberry buttons at JoAnns to finish the sweater, and added a couple of coordinating leaves to the hat. Still no pictures unfortunately, as I have yet to get a replacement for the camera we lost in Maui. :(

I also have a certain *secret squirrel* gift on the needles, which I am woefully behind on. The unfortunate thing is that it requires yards and yards of stockinette, which is so hard to be excited about! On top of that I've decided to help the gals I met from the TAP knitting group (they came to join us last Saturday in Graham), with their goal of knitting 106 "Wooly Pulleys" by the end of the month! I can actually crank out about one a day -two if I'm feeling REALLY ambitious- so hopefully I can help them chip away a bit at that total.

I suppose the theme here is that I'm feeling impatient to finish things, though I'm probably over-eager to START things, too. Largely that's why I like being able to put down the yarn for a while to get back to sewing. It's nice to be able to have a FINISHED PROJECT within a single day! Hehe, consider me the hallmark of the instant gratification generation. I'll try to snap a few photos tomorrow to have something to show for all of my crafty hermitage.

BIG SIGH. Nature is a beastly beauty.

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:23:00 +0000

I am sooo exhausterpated. This long-winded and unfortunately picture-less post may reflect that.

I'm loving that we got another day of sunshine (though the promise of rain on the horizon is a bit deflating). I wish I had managed to enjoy a little bit of today's weather outdoors, but I actually ended up sleeping most of the day. I think I'm trying to shake off some allergy fatigue, on top of a general degree of the weary blahs.

I think if I can manage it I REALLY need to get outside and trim our mulberry bushes tomorrow, and scoop up all the fallen pears from the lawn. OH! DID I MENTION THAT? We have pears!!! If the state of my lawn weren't indication enough, I pretty much haven't spent any time in the front yard in about.. oh.. 5 months. Imagine my surprise to discover an ENTIRE TREE FULL OF PEARS! And they are truly fabulous. I'm frankly blown away. There are three trees in the front yard, and last fall we had quite a prolific crop of apples from the 2 apple trees, which I hardly knew what to do with. But I think we had moved in right at the end of the pear fruiting season, and there hadn't been any fruit at all on the one pear tree. Of course in the intervening time I had completely forgotten that we even HAD a pear tree, and more or less assumed that all three trees were apple. I did peek occasionally at the two outward-most trees this summer to see if there were any apples coming in, but here were so few this year I didn't really bother trying to pick any. So I didn't bother to look at the inner-most tree, either, UNTIL last weekend. When I suddenly realized those huge bright green things in amongst the leaves were actually quite distinctly PEAR SHAPED! I picked a bag full for Renee, and there are still quite a few big juicy ones higher up out of immediate reach. Unfortunately since I was so late jumping on the pear-picking wagon, a whole bunch have already fallen and are starting to get gross on the lawn, so I'm going to have to do a bit of damage control before it gets crazy. How exciting to have fruit trees that actually give fruit. I remember having pear and plum trees at my house in Maple Valley growing up, and it took us three years to get one single asian pear out of a twig of an over-pruned tree. Hehe. Now to find some yummy pear inspired recipes!

I am still unfortunately engaged in all-out war with the morning glories that are starting to devour our whole property. While picking pears I discovered some evil, evil vines beginning to come around to the FRONT of the house. I had an all-out foot-stomping fit on the front lawn, raised fists cursing the heavens. DAMNABLE DEVIL PLANT. I am really, really not a gardener, and I am completely confounded and daunted by the words of master gardeners entreating me to "paint weed killer on individual leaves to kill the plant, which could take years." EXCUSE ME, WAT?! Oh my good lord. When I say this stuff is taking over, I literally mean that I expect any day now to wake up to a full on Invasion of the Body Snatchers scene reenacting itself in my bedroom, with nightmares of the vines somehow winding their way in through the ductwork and trying to crawl up my nostrils. I don't even know where to begin to find the beginning of the mess. I have never been so emotionally disturbed over a plant.

But aside from the horrors associated with the general upkeep, I'm finding it completely refreshing and inspiring to see things going from garden to table this season. I'm still working my way through bags of garden tomatoes from Renee, and I was utterly in awe of the potted cornucopia Jess (the chef-ly one) is cultivating in her back patio. I love the idea of seeing a great big stalk of corn growing out of a giant ceramic pot! I like to imagine that if I weren't so generally terrified of all things green and growing, and/or all activities related to steaming and roasting, I'd really get a kick out of all the yummy things that I could put into and then pull out of the ground. Alas, I am equally cultivationaly and culinarily useless, and I am fully at peace with my limitations. For now. ;)

As for the crafty side of Fall, I suppose I'm back to craving color! The new Knitty is up, and the newest KnitPicks and WEBS catalogs have both appeared in my mailbox. I haven't yet felt the itch to go hunting for fall-inspired yarns to pack my stash basket with, but I think that may be because my brain is still a little bit knitting-fried. I'm seeing lots of terrific fall sweaters and cardigans and coats, but I still haven't found anything that screams KNIT ME. And unfortunately I'm not even particularly inspired by my own patterns in-progress, either! I'm currently working on a baby sweater for my niece Iggy, and another *surprise* sweater... and after seven months I've finally picked up my Puprle Norwegian socks again! Although my drive to finish the socks is really more about my wanting those size 1 circulars freed up so I can start up the lace stockings I saw in the Spring IK. The socks themselves are pretty singularly unspectacular at this point. Hehe! Oye.

I think I need to do some meditating on where I want my crafting to go as we jump into Fall, and hopefully I'll be able to at least finish ONE of my multitude of to-dos before I go completely stir crazy. Or get eaten by the morning glories.

Quick-Pic tutorial on Silk Cocoon Stitch!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:45:00 +0000

I'm back from Maui! And to get back in touch a little bit with my Ravelers (since I've been pretty severely MIA, here's a pictoral response to a question someone had on my version of the Silk Cocoon Cardigan, regarding the "cocoon stitch". Hopefully this is okay, I'm not really giving away any specifics OF the pattern; but if Connie or IK finds this disagreeable I'll gladly remove.

The cocoon stitch portion includes a special stitch referred to as Make 5 (M5), which gives an increase of 4 stitches. Here is what this kind of stitch basically looks like, in context of its surrounding stitches:

Click to show and hide tutorial!

Call this the Front of the work (RS)

So this is the Back (WS)

Starting on Row 9, here I've done the first few stitches of the row as written: [p1(selvege)], p1, *p5tog...

... p1, and here is where you are going to lift the strand between the needles from front to back (the strand you're lifting is circled)

knit into this strand as if it were a loop

I'll call this a Make 1 (M1), because that's basically what you're doing

So what you have so far is a (p selvege), P1, *p5tog, p1, m1... ; and the next stitch on the left hand needle coming up. You've increased 1 stitch so far.

You'll k1, p1, k1 all into the ONE stitch, meaning you increase TWO stitches in the next stitch. (3 stitches total increased so far). The next M1 is coming up; again the strand you're lifting and knitting is circled.

Insert needle from front to back...

Knit (m1), equals 4 stitches total increased across the span where there was previously only ONE stitch.

And what you have so far looks like:

Here with the stitches labeled:

In the last picture, the (m1, k1, p1, k1, m1) portion is 5 stitches (M5), where there was only 1 actual stitch in the previous row. Continue in pattern as described!

(Back to top.)

I hope this made at least a little sense; I'm still a little wonky from the 5 hr plane ride. Hehe. :) Feel free to ask for further clarification of this seriously makes no sense. And sorry the pics are so blurry! It's impossible to get a webcam to take decent macro shots. Ughk.

FO: Silk Cocoon Cardigan!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:59:00 +0000

So I finished my sister's birthday gift sweater!! And I even managed to mail it off the same day. Unfortunatey though it won't be arriving until today, and her birthday was yesterday. BUT the FACT IS I totally finished under the deadline. ;D I also sent off my nephew's space invaders sweater, which I finished in the spring, but kept putting off sending. I am so relieved. I didn't realize it but the whole knitting to a deadline thing must have really been stressing me out. *lol* Now that I'm done with it I hardly know what to do with myself. I'm actually feeling pretty reluctant to start a whole knew knitting project, so I think that's probably my brain telling me to give my knitterly nerve-clusters a rest! But I have SO MUCH I want to MAKE!

But I've decided to take a big pointy stick hiatus, and trade down for some small, pointy, mechanized needle crafts. I have SCADS of fabric I bought from JoAnns last weekend just begging to be sewn, and I'm really excited about all the cute skirts & dresses I'll get to wear this fall! I'll try to get around to taking some pictures of what I've been working on this weekend.

Sandy's Silk Cocoon Cardigan

Sandy's Silk Cocoon pt. 4

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:22:00 +0000

Seaming, seaming, seaming.....

I can not express how much I wish I had knit this sweater in the round. Uuuuugggh. What a mistake. I know I probably sound a bit hyper-critical at this point, but I'm really disappointed with the way the finished panels are coming together. It's probably not as big a deal as it seems. It's just that the actual SEAMS really show how poorly matched the colors are! It's pretty discouraging.

But, C'EST LA VIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm seaming up all the bits now, and it's kind of a nice break from actual knitting. Hehe. I don't mind the meticulous work, and I feel like I'm really on the home stretch. Finally. I've still got to knit up some ties, but that should be the end of it! I'll have it finished tonight!! Though I may have to think about giving it a bit of a steam, because one of the side seams is looking rather rebelliously poochy. Grr.

I've been featured!!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Many thanks to Julie & Jen from TeamKnit for featuring my Estonian Lace Dress on the Modification Monday portion of their blog!

See the post HERE; and you'll definitely want to check out all the other beautiful projects on their blog as well!!

A Crafty Saturday.

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:16:00 +0000

So I actually made it to the Graham Knitting Meetup today. What a terrific group we had; I would guess about a dozen or so? Maybe even more! Lots of knitting and chatting going on; I got to talk to a couple of ladies I hadn't met before, and of course it was great to see a some of the transplant gals from the East Pierce meetup, too. I ultimately only got a few rows done on my cardigan sleeves, but the coffee & company was all definitely worthwhile.

BaaBonnyBelle and I finally found some time after the meetup for our interview for her podcast! I was of course way more nervous/self-conscious than I had any reason to be, so she's probably got about 5 minutes of me giggling out of a 10 minute interview. Oh dear. But it was really fun, and it's always just nice chatting with her anyway!

After Meetup I stopped by JoAnns, thinking I would browse a little and get some ideas for things I want to make for fall. That was probably a mistake, because I ended up leaving with enough fabrics and notions for about two season's worth of projects! AHHH! I just couldn't help myself! They had some spectacular cotton prints that I found in the clearance section, and this adorable red gingham & strawberry homespun that I just HAD. TO. HAVE. My head was literally swimming with all the adorable dress and skirt possibilities, and the next thing I knew I was juggling 6 bolts of fabric, my bag, and a basket trying to get up to the cutting counter! I am SO incredibly excited. I may need an intervention.

The problem is I reeeaaaally do need to finish this sweater for my sister first. I'm going to have to crack my own little crafter whip, and find the discipline NOT to start cutting and sewing tonight. OOhh, but I'm so tempted. Eeek! My heart is literally all palpitaty, and my fingers are totally itching to sew!

There really ought to be more hours in a day.

EDIT:

DANG IT! I was at JoAnns and I completely forgot to pick up more Sugar&Creme for my long-fought, un-finished Star Rug! GRAAAAH!!

Sock Summit '09 Recap!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:24:00 +0000

Oh, boy. I don't even know where to start. I guess a mini-photo-talk-through is in order? All pics expand on clicking! ;)

So the morning started out bright and early with our meetup at a local coffee shop. Anyone who knows me will be AMAZED to learn that I actually arrived at 7AM ON THE BUTTON. Painful as that is on a Saturday. Hehe! BaaBonnyBelle (of Belle of the Ball Podcast fame), Knittyorganist (another fantastic local knitter from a group I attend), and I headed out with coffees in hand, and arrived in Portland almost EXACTLY two hours later; what a quick trip! Of course, time really does fly when in great company...
We arrived at the convention center and wandered a bit to find the right part of the building. At first things did seem a little quiet, but once we found our way into the actual Marketplace it was like... well... three knitters in a yarn bazaar! The size of the vendor pool was unbelievable. There was an amazing quantity of sights to see, people to talk to, and yarns to molest!

The three of us decided on a methodical journey through the aisles, from one end of the marketplace to the other, just to make sure we didn't miss a single thing! We started off at Liberty's booth for a quick chat & visit, using her as kind of a home base; but it wasn't until SIX hours later that we managed to double back around for a few moments knitting at her booth! And of course we made sure to visit Brian, knitting his seven days' worth of socks on one enormously long Skacel circular needle. What I loved most about his whole endeavor is that he's got an individual sock-philosophy for each sock, and each day of the week! I loved it. :D

There were so many examples of truly beautiful and inspiring knitting by people all over the market. It's such a joy to see such a wide variety of hand-made items being modeled by so many crafty creative people. Knittyorganist and I also received a lot of very sweet compliments on our own hand-made pieces!

No, your eyes do not deceive you, this gal really had a fully KNIT set of covers. For her crutches! Talk about creativity borne from misfortune. But what a way to pass the time when you can't be up and about!

And this lovely gal surely had to put up with being photographed all weekend long, because these thigh-high rainbow stockings were SPECTACULAR to see in person. So adorable. Methinks thigh-high knit stockings will definitely be making a resurgence this winter! Which is a bonus to me, because I love the IDEA of skirts, but I similarly hate the idea of being cold underneath. Stockings are a win/win!

We also managed to catch up with the KnitmoreGirls duo!! They were giving out swag bags, and we each got our photos taken with them. They were SO sweet in person! I think we can call this Celeb-knitty status.

I managed not to spend much money on our first-pass through all the booths. I did however have to jump on an enormous ONE POUND (1000 YARDS) of lace-weight bamboo from the Newton's booth, for HALF PRICE!! I carried that skein around like my very own precious yarn-baby. Hehe! But after some lunch the gals and I made a second foray into the wild, cash in hand.

BaaBonneyBelle and Knittyorganist bought lots of delicious looking roving from Crown Mountain Farms, which has really got me thinking I'm feeling more and more tempted to learn how to spin! Some day. ;)

All I can say is... well.. my wallet may have been sorry, but I was much too happy and yarn-drunk to care.

Funnily enough the only yarn I ended up buying (aside from my 1000yd Yarn Baby) was from Liberty. I can't help it, I just love her colors too much. And her prices were terrific! And hey, I couldn't NOT support a home-town fiber artist. ;) I bought two skeins of her Bluetopia for a pair of lace stockings of my own, and two more skeins of Jabbersocky that I hope will inspire me to new socky heights as the weather cools down. As you can see I also had to buy a commemorative Sock Summit pint glass. And I found this AWESOME wooden needle gauge with a skull and cross-bones on it. Too cute/hilarious to pass up, especially since I really did need one. The only thing not pictured is a really cool.. well.. yarn ball caddy. It's a free-spinning wire frame that you can stick a skein of wound yarn onto, and hang from your arm (or any convenient armature) to knit on the go. It's pretty handy! And it's not pictured because I've already got it put to good use on my Silk Cocoon sweater. Hehe. I picked up all sorts of business cards and brochures from great companies that I want to look back into; I think I may need to start a scrapbook.

All in all it was a terrific time. I really do hope they do it again next year, and make it an annual event that showcases just how crazy we knitters can really be. It's fascinating to see how knitting spans the divides of age, culture, and -dare I say- craft fandom. It's nice to feel connected to something that inspires (and feeds off the inspirations of) so many people!

Sandy's Silk Cocoon Cardigan pt. 3

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:04:00 +0000

Back and both front pieces are finished and blocked, although it looks like I am going to need to block a second time to adjust the fit of the pieces together.

I'm working on the sleeves now, but I'm running into a slight logistical problem with knitting both sleeves at the same time. I've been getting more and more irked with trying to get the color changes between skeins coordinated; i.e. part of the front right piece looks a COMPLETELY different color than the front left piece, and both pieces look a different color at the bottom than they do at the top... and so forth. I'm starting to REALLY wish I'd knit the body in the round, so the color changes wouldn't looks so schizophrenic. As for the sleeves, well I'd definitely prefer them to actually match, so I'm knitting both at the same time from the same skein. However, the skein I started with is beginning to show some pretty serious stripey-ness! Which is cool by itself.. but there is absolutely no stripey-ness anywhere else on the whole sweater! Luckily I've only done the cuffs, which are knit in cocoon stitch from the pattern... but I don't think I can use this same skein for the stockinette of the sleeve without it all looking completely haywire.

I am about to separately wind two balls from another skein, with the hope that there's less striping going on in this one. URGH this would be going so much faster if I didn't have to worry so much about getting the yarn colors to play nice! Lesson learned about kettle-dyed Malabrigo. *sigh*

New Muzac Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:28:00 +0000

Added a couple of new songs to my playlist (scroll down to the bottom of the page to fire it up!). Still haven't gotten entirely sick of all of the old songs yet, although I'll probably be rotating a few of those out soon. I'm suddenly on a Tim Easton kick, so there's a couple of new tracks there. I've exercised considerable restraint in NOT adding a bunch of country songs, because, let me be honest, something about summer really gets me FULLY into country mode.. Hehe. And I just went to the Kenny Chesney concert last weekend which did nothing but exacerbate my problem. SO I'm trying not to inundate you all with songs about tractors. *lol* But no promises on my willpower.

FO's! Ready to wrap!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:27:00 +0000

So I got the elastic into the band of Tay's hat, and now I definitely feel like it's pretty darned near PERFECT. I am so excited to give it to her tomorrow! And the scarf! And the Wicked tickets!

I really love birthdays, as long as they're not my own. ;D I'm one of those crazy people that REALLY gets a happy out of giving gifts to people, especially if they're hand-made gifts. Hehe. I also tend to go a little overboard with gift wrapping as an art form. *lol* Here's a few pics of the Hat and Scarf in question, now that I'm about to wrap and give them away!

Sandy's Silk Cocoon pt. 2? And Sock Summit 09!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:53:00 +0000

The back piece is finished! It felt like the 3" Cocoon stitch portion took longer than the whole 19" of the back in stockinette did. Ugghhh. *lol* I have it soaking in the sink now, ready for blocking. I was thinking I'd block all at once when I'd completely finished knitting, but I am just SOOO eager to get this cardigan done. I can't even describe how antsy it's making me. Hehe. So, I'm blocking as I go; I feel like that will at least give me the illusion of continuous productivity. Hopefully the other pieces will fly by in similar fashion.

In other news, I am super excited for Sock Summit this weekend! S* from one of the knitting groups I attend was super sweet and invited me, along with J*, another one of our knitting compatriots, to go with her. I'm unbelievably thrilled! I kept seeing all the talk and excitement over the convention, but I really hadn't seriously considered going myself because I felt a little silly going down to wander around Portland all alone. I'm relatively new to the sock knitting phenomenon, but I really can't wait to get a look at all the wares in the marketplace, and to revel a little in the general craziness of a huge mass of fellow knitters. ;)

Oops, on a somewhat grander scale.

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:47:00 +0000

Well, some of the math on the Silk Cocoon Cardigan wasn't adding up for me, so I took a few moments to go back to the beginning and work out the basic arithmetic. Turns out I was COMPLETELY turned around, and now that I've actually done all the math by hand, I'm seeing much more clearly where it all went wrong. Now I've got to frog back about 2 inches to start back where I need to be. OYE!!!! So scratch that about adding an additional 8 rows + decreases, because I think this will actually work out better without the addition now. Hehe.

Oops, Also!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:48:00 +0000

I finished the hat for my niece! It was a pretty quick knit, attributed largely to the fact that I ended up with a DK 100% Organic Cotton from Blue Sky Alpacas, rather than a fingering/sock weight yarn as I was anticipating. I paid a visit to Renaissance Yarns as I had mentioned, but I didn't see any light-weight yarns in the color I was looking for! Unfortunately the knitting world is still all about the yummy summery colors (as it should be, I'm not complaining!), so a good solid brown was a little hard to find in a pinch. And I figured since I had trekked out all that way, it seemed a shame not to buy something. Not to mention I was really itching to start the hat ASAP! So I somewhat settled for the Blue Sky. However I have to say it may be THE nicest 100% cotton yarn I've knit with yet. It just plain FEELS good. But being 100% cotton, it's not great for stretchiness. The 1x1 ribbed band is definitely too super floppy, and I'll have to get a bit of elastic to insert so it will stay snug. Ultimately the hat is a great deal chunkier than the one she sent me a picture of...... but I was able to fabricate a pattern that I think could be a pretty solid match for the picture (considering it was from a cell phone, and not close-up at all *lol*). And it really wasn't a tough knit, so I'm willing to try again after hunting for a more appropriate yarn if she's not happy with the result.

Sandy's Silk Cocoon pt. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Finally cast on Connie Chinchio's Silk Cocoon Cardigan last night after washing/blocking a couple of different swatch attempts! They really weren't kidding, Malabrigo is a DREAM to knit with. The yarn feels so lush and cushy under the fingers! Of course, however, it being a silk wool blend (this is the Silky Merino variety I'm working with), it is getting pretty warm on the hands as I work it. But perhaps I can comfort myself with the idea that it's just heat buildup from the SPEED at which I'm knitting this thing? Maybe? ;) Well, one can dream. I started thinking about it and I am going to be CRAMMING with my knitting to be able to get this cardigan finished, AND finish my City Tweed project before the 1st of September. But I'm still somewhat optimistic. I've gotten 7 inches done on the back now... which is just about a third of the whole back piece, I think. So that certainly seems like respectable progress. Not that it's much to look at so far. ;)

I'm loving the stitch definition of the Malabrigo, which I was initially a little nervous about. The color is lovely, although I'm at the point where I'm rotating in a second ball of a different dye lot (there were a few stragglers in the 8 skeins I bought), and the difference seems pretty significant. It's not too painful, because the ball rotation and natural variegation of the kettle-dyeing is making the transition reasonably smooth, but I'm feeling like I can see that the colors of one skein are brighter than the other. This is sad, particularly because the "brighter" skein is one of the stragglers, which means the majority of the rest of my yarn is of the darker color set. Hrm. But I'm still only a dozen or so rows into the new skein, so I'm willing to reserve judgment until I get more of it knit out.

So far the only pattern adjustment I've needed to make is to add an additional 8 rows + dec 2 sts for waist shaping, to get to the right width/length as indicated in the diagram. I realize I could have attempted to adjust for this with blocking, but the swatch that I washed and blocked seemed to indicate that this yarn doesn't like being blocked vertically; so I think I'm in better shape if I try to match my vertical measurements with the pattern, and block as needed for width.

This project has really gotten me thinking about gauge, and tension, and how much these things must vary amongst knitters around the world. I think I had tended to think of gauge as a fairly simple concept: x sized needles + y weight yarn should equal z stitches/inch. BUT, my god, what a difference a pair of hands can make! *lol* For example, this pattern from Interweave Knits is written for a DK (8-ply, 11-wpi) weight yarn, knit on size 4 (3.5mm) needles. Granted I'm using a different yarn entirely, but the Malabrigo Silky Merino is ALSO a DK (8-ply, 11-wpi) yarn, and I had to go down to size 2/2.5 needles in order to obtain the gauge that Connie used! I don't know how much of that I can attribute to the texture/density of the Malabrigo, but it does seem rather counter-intuitive. And as for having to add an additional 8 rows to find myself at the right length.. well that definitely surprises me more than it should!

I had always considered myself a fairly tight knitter. I do knit Continental, and when working stockinette stitch, rather than turn the piece and purl, I keep the piece facing me the entire time and knit Continental left-handed across. I was under the general impression that this would probably lend to my having tighter tension than English knitters... so I try to figure that in when following patterns. But really, I mean, assuming it's not just a peculiarity of the yarn I'm working with, I have to deduce that Connie knits with much, MUCH tighter tension, to be able to get 25.5 sts/inch on size 4 needles! But then the matter of the length of the piece really highlights how great a difference the loft of the yarn itself must make. For a yarn that seems to give so much flex in the width of the knit fabric, it surprises me that the lengthwise dimension is so unaccommodating. To be a whole inch shy of the desired length in-pattern is pretty alarming, and I am definitely glad that it occurred to me to measure as I knit (I'm usually much too scatter-brained/oblivious to think about it! Hehe.)

So, that's all a bit of long-winded meandering into my thoughts on the subject. I learned to knit when I was six, and apparently it only took me 19 years to really begin to perceive the nuances of the matter. ;) Go me.

What's next?

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:21:00 +0000

Cupcake Scarf, Redux is finished! What a relief. I'll get some photos when the sun's a little higher, but to my sleep-deprived eyes it looks really cute! And it's totally something that I could be seen wearing. But I'm a little less conservative in most respects, I think, than a high schooler these days. I don't have to worry about what my peers think, and it's far too late for me to attempt to salvage any self-styled sense of dignity anyway. Hehe. ;)

But with that in mind, I've decided I'll also whip up a more conservative hat that she might actually want to wear in public, just in case, to round out her birthday gift. I think I'll make a trip out to Renaissance Yarns today to hunt for a suitable hat yarn (my stash, believe it or not, is nearly exhausted!). I also want to stop by the nearby library to root around a little, so the trip kills two birds with one stone. Yay! I'm thinking a likely candidate for a hat pattern is the Pomatomus Hat by Kristy Pedersen. The birthday girl actually asked me to reproduce a hat from a store that she saw a long while ago, but I've been hunting in vain for a patterned approximation of the picture she showed me. I think now that the pomatomus is a decent jumping off point, and with a little modification I think I'll actually be able to get something pretty close! Plus a hat should be a quick enough project to knock out in the next week.

Of course, I ALSO can't wait to start knitting with my newly received Malabrigo. Oooh it's yummy. But I feel like I need to get into the right mental place to start that project, so I'm using the hat as a transition from totally kooky eclectic piece knitting to sophisticated, measured, garment making. Hehe.

Malabrigo, Ahoy!

noreply@blogger.com (Prelapsaria) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:45:00 +0000

My order of Malabrigo Silky Merino arrived today! I got 8 skeins of the Plum Blossom colorway from Eat.Sleep.Knit. I have to say it's quite yummy! Although I think the silk fiber makes the hanks feel a little stiff to the hand at the moment... I expect it'll soften up nicely when it's knit into fabric. The color is SO dreamy and delicious, although I think I was hoping for a little less of the actual kettle-dyed looking variegation. Hopefully it won't look too tie-dyed when it's knit up... because I don't personally mind that look, but again I get so nervous trying to style things for my sister. Hummm. ;) Now I just need to string my cupcakes together and finish this scarf, so I can start on the Malabrigo sweater!

Oh... and I REALLY do need to get back on track with my City Tweed project. UUUGHK, how am I already running out of summer??