my new favorite color: grellow

*(all pictures from various sites on etsy.  click on the pictures for a link.)

bmfa barn sale

missing the forest for the trees

most favorite-est

do you know natalie dee?  she is a hilarious lady who draws comics that are on-line.

(c) natalie dee

she is also a crafty-needle-arts-type as well, so obviously we love her.

although my jobby-job happens to get in the way of my crafty endeavors and my on-line extracurriculars, i do read natalie dee quite often.  and every once in a while she has a knitting-related gem amongst all of her other gems.

(c) natalie dee

(c) natalie dee

and every once in a while she even has a little unicorn-love.  have i ever mentioned how much i love unicorns?  probably not, because it is a bit of a weird thing.  

(c) natalie dee

free hat pattern!

Here is a pattern for a little baby hat, I call it Zenith.

I used one ball of Filatura di Crosa Aiko from my stash.

Materials:  Approximately 65 yards of worsted weight yarn, stitch marker, 4 or 5 double-pointed needles, size US 4.
Gauge:  16 sts = 4in.
Size: 14 in' circumference

Directions:
CO 56 sts using the knitted cast on method.  do not join (yet).  turn work to WS and knit 1 round flat.

Join for working in the round, and place a marker to indicate beginning of the round.

Knit in stockinette stitch (knit every row) until the hat measures 4 in. from the cast-on edge.

Next round - *k5, k2tog* repeat between * until end of round (48 sts remain)
knit 6 rounds

Next round - *k4, k2tog* repeat between * until end of round (40 sts remain)

knit 6 rounds

Next round - *k3, k2tog* repeat between * until end of round (32 sts remain)

knit 6 rounds

Next round - *k2, k2tog* repeat between * until end of round (24 sts remain)

knit 5 rounds

Next round - *k1, k2tog* repeat between * until end of round (16 sts remain)

knit 5 rounds

Next round - *k2tog* repeat between * until end of round (8 sts remain)

knit 5 rounds

Next round - *k2tog* repeat between * until end of round (4 sts remain)

k2tog twice (2 sts remain)

k2tog (1 st remains).

Pull yarn through the last stitch.  Thread yarn through the tip of the hat, weave in ends.  Block if desired!

knitty + malabrigo = love

i remember when the very first issue of knitty was released. since then, this is the magazine i most consistently come back to for lovely, and generally pretty user-friendly patterns. my latest knitty creation is the lovely citron shawl, made out of malabrigo lace in "frost grey" (i think).

this is a very easy pattern, but a bit slow since its knit in lace-weight.  and, of course, the malabrigo is soft and lovely as always.

more quick knits

this lovely bib took only a brief morning to knit

this is the baby bib o' love from mason dixon knitting + my experimental embroidery, which was generally unplanned, but turned out just around "okay".  

i am now planning to keep making these to have as back-ups for baby showers (since i tend to be caught the night before such events without any present in mind).  

quick knits

my 2010 knitting "resolution" was to take a break from knitting sweaters (due to a severe case of second sleeve syndrome).  instead, i've been knitting a lot of smaller projects, including some baby stuff, which is always fast and always results in an adorable finished object, like this one:

this is the twist hat by stick chick knits, knit out of stitchjones supersocks 100% superwash merino.  the colorway is called "andes mint", which, in my opinion, is exactly what this looks like: delicious!

lionhearted

i may have mentioned once or twice that i have a problem casting on several projects at once.  a direct result of this phenomena is that i often have projects that languish in my knitting bag for quite a long time.  after many, many, months, i just finished one such project, and this one is extra-super-special:

my gryffindor scarf!!

and in plenty of time to wear to see the deathly hallows, part 1!  that's right.  don't judge me.

wednesday's poems

words by anne sexton

Be careful of words,
even the miraculous ones.
For the miraculous ones we do our best,
sometimes they swarm like insects
and leave not a sting but a kiss.
They can be good as fingers.
They can be trusty as the rock
you stick your bottom on.
But they can be both daisies and bruises.

Yet I am in love with words.
They are doves falling out of the ceiling.
They are six holy oranges sitting in my lap.
They are the trees, the legs of summer,
and the sun, its passionate face.

Yet often they fail me.
I have so much I want to say,
so many stories, images, proverbs, etc.
But the words aren't good enough,
the wrong ones kiss me.
Sometimes I fly like an eagle
but with the wings of a wren.

But I try to take care
and be gentle to them.
Words and eggs must be handled with care.
Once broken they are impossible
things to repair.

knitting socks east and west - pair # 2

last weekend i finished my second pair of socks from my current favorite knitting book, knitting socks east and west. these are the geisha lounge socks.

i once again have to recommend knitting a pair of socks with heavier yarn and larger needles. not too big - these were knit on addi lace size 2 needles, with debbie bliss baby cashmerino, which is kind of a heavy sport weight / light dk weight. Because the cuff is so short, and the heel turn comes up after only a couple inches, i knit the cuffs and heels 1 at a time on 2 circulars, and then finished off the gussets, feet, and toes 2 at a time on 2 circulars.

the cashmere in this blend is absolutely lovely. i really could put these socks on and not get off the couch all day (okay, so, that's not really a challenge for me on any day, but adding the cashmere socks to the mix makes it really, especially relaxing).

not an expert at all

well, i've been trying to rearrange some things here on the blog, and i am clearly not an expert at all.  actually, way back when, as an inexperienced and idealistic undergrad, i knew how to design a website, i even knew how to code!  well, well, well, not any more.  not even close.  so, hopefully things won't look too crazy as i try to figure this out.

wednesday's poems

here yet be dragons by lucille clifton

so many languages have fallen
off of the edge of the world
into the dragon's mouth.  some

where there be monsters whose teeth
are sharp and sparkle with lost

people.  lost poems.  who
among us can imagine ourselves
unimagined?  who

among us can speak with so fragile
tongue and remain proud?

new project(s): knitting socks east and west

i don't think i've ever met a knitting book i didn't like.  most books contain at least one pattern i'd like to knit.  even without that single purchase-worthy pattern, some books are so inspiring to look at that i can't pass them up, even when it is unlikely that i'll actually ever knit any of the patterns.  and then there is that rare, but joyous occasion when i find a book that is filled to the brim with patterns i want to knit.  

this is one of those books: Knitted Socks East and West: 30 Designs Inspired by Japanese Stitch Patterns

i recently finished knitting my first pair of socks from this book, the pattern is called inro.

the other thing that makes this project a rare knitting phenomenon for me is that i knitted it with precisely the yarn called for by the pattern.  even the same colorway.  

i highly recommend taking a break from knitting socks with fingering or sport weight yarn and giving worsted weight yarn a try.  of course, the practical use for the socks is limited (sitting around in all your free time, in front of a fire in a log-cabin-type scenario?)  BUT BUT but, they go SO FAST!  It is quite amazing and gratifying, and aren't they lovely?

which leads me, at long last, to my point!  i am undertaking the project of knitting all (not really all, the majority) of the socks in this book.  at this point, the ones i know i am excluding are the anti-socks.  ("anti-socks" def. = socks without toes; socks without heels; socks with some weird toe configuration, e.g., a split down the middle to encourage wearing socks with flip flops, which i am, fundamentally and morally against.)