Ishbel by Ysolde Teague

Geography

Big geo news for me.  On the plus side, I finished grad school and got a great new job.  On the minus side, new job required relocating to tiny bike-unfriendly apartment in single hipster gal on bike unfriendly South Central Pennsylvania.  On the plus side, great yarn shops and new knit-friends.  On the minus side, I miss SciFi Fri at Sifu - a lot and I missed Renegade.  On the plus side I'M GOING TO FREAKIN' RHINEBECK.  Pluses win, I guess I'll stay awhile.

Project thread coming soon.

Spin!

I'm borrowing a spinning wheel from a coworker until June. It came with a giant bag of roving and a rainbow of dyes. Here are my first few pathetic attempts at spinning. Dyeing seems to be more my speed, awesome color, in the microwave, nothing ruined. Success!

Renegade Recap

Since I missed the summer iteration, I was beyond thrilled to go to at Renegade Holiday Craft Fair. I zipped out there on Saturday for a few minutes before school, looked around, hung out with the CHIRP folks, bought some soaps for gifts.http://www.biggsandfeather.com/

Linda and I had a chance to go yesterday for real. I bought a really pretty distressed metal bracelet for myself, from these girls: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SparrowCollective.

Linda got a butterfly necklace that's also pretty.

I also bought a concert print from the 2010 St. Vincent show at Pitchfork with a house that looks a lot like my house. Plus good memories from a wacky summer skip day. The colors are perfect for my newly painted room - light orange and blue. Need to find a frame, great excuse to make a run to Michaels. Here's the link to that shop: http://heroandsound.com/

At these things, I generally tend towards the arts I can't do myself (painting, pottery, print making, metalwork, woodwork, soap, millinery, candles). Stepping anywhere near the needlecrafts either fills me with tons of new UFOs in the making or more likely makes me really pissed off at the state of modern handknitwear.

Renegade was no exception. A cowl is not a hat or a scarf. Bulky gage cowls aren't warm, don't wear well, and look stupid. Real gloves have fingers, people, or at least gussets, seriously! On top of that, most of them were buttoned, how freaking lazy can you get, trying to sell a swatch with buttonholes. There were very few "finished" knit pieces, none inspiring in pattern or construction. It's embarrassing as a knitter to see stuff from vogue and knitty rewrote into two-needle shoddy sewing pattern and passed off as original. Flat-out embarrassing. I didn't see anything that would have taken me more than 2 hours. Prices were extra high, but I do have to hand it to them on yarn, not too much acrylic. Cascade and Malabrigo Rasta from the look and feel. If you like knitting enough to buy the good stuff, learn how to use it, though. Based on other local craft fairs, I was also expecting local yarns or roving. No roving in sight. A few stands had yarn, one looked especially promising with single-spun and vivid color dyes. When I got closer, I realized it was Malabrigo at 2x the LYS price. A few other small-shop yarns, but nothing local to be seen. Not even Lorna's Laces which is factory, but from Chicago and good quality. Disappointing.

I vow here and now that I will be there next year with finished pieces and colorwork like they've never seen before.

Embroidery was selling for silly high prices too with some messy backwork, maybe it's time to pull out my kit.

Ideas garnered:

Icord braid jewelry

Patchwork accessories

Patchwork embellishment on existing clothes and bags

Embroidered small portraits in black hoops to decorate my room - t-rex, acorns, birds, robots

Knit ties for Etsy shop

Hairclips - crocheted flowers, patchworks

Lace.

Embroidered tea towels.

I really want to make a cashmere lacework sweater.

Buying custom-print fabric.

Add silk backing to close knitwear with awesome patterns

I MUST find a friend who does printmaking on cards.

I also seriously need to buy some Illinois pride items before I go.

Also here's a pretty rad cheetah:

Must find camera

End of summer updates:
+1 one pair of tadpole socks
+1 nifty retro noro had
+most of a cardi
+1 stripey green sock
+1 less stripey blue lollipop cabins sock - no pattern.
+1 grinch glove in debbie stoller

Must find camera, plan christmas, and attacking ufos in earnest.

Taming the Noro

So here it is: My attempt to tame the crazy colored Noro in hat/beret form. A little retro, but I like it.


Did I mention I'm loving the Alexis Winslow pattern? Really easy. Fewer than 200 stitches on the needles. The work above took about 2 hours. Not bad at all. Here's the hat (free pattern):


And here is the Knitpicks Cashmere cardi I started a few months ago. Currently stuck attaching collar,trim, etc. Pics of my cardi coming soon:

It's a New Year, it's a new you!

Just realized that was my first update in over a year. Many FO (finished objects) to post. Many new UFOs (unfinished objects). A new favorite LYS, plus my first and only Etsy sale.

In other news, I'm moving into a house with two awesome crafty roommates, one awesome crafty turtle, and 5! sewing machines.

Sweet sheep dreams and Noro nightmares

One of my coworkers retired this week, and while I'm sad to see her go, I'm ecstatic to reap the benefits. She left me her learn-to-knit attempt. Christmas in July!

-150g of Italian DK weight merino - black

1 pair #6 12-in Addis

1 pair #6 12-in Crystal Palace bamboo straights

1 vintage learn to knit books with a variety of family vest patterns

A delightful assortment of stitch markers, needles, crochet hooks, and needle keepers.

And so, my first pair of Addis. I've got to say I've been doing just fine with my KP Harmony circulars, and I do prefer the bamboo, but damn, the Addis practically don't even have joins.

To test things out, I cast-on Alexis Winslow's "Op Top" hat with Noro Silk Garden (a super-soft green and pink self-stripe) as the contrast color. This is my second Alexis Winslow attempt -- more on that later, but I'm in love with this pattern. Super-easy and symmetric. Finally an excuse to use that Noro.

Looking through recommended Noro patterns, I'm second-guessing my purchase. It seems like Noro's primary customer is the crazy cat lady and her less-than-appreciative relatives. The following Regretsy-worthy images are not in my queue.

It starts off innocent enough, the youthful Noro Scarf:

Then Steven West adds a little hip-hip-hipster twist.

I don't know if you have cats, Steven West, but I can imagine hundreds of little kitten tears dripping down your scarf. Why pick on such a dapper man? Because you've open the door to this:

And this:

And even this:

Proof of the evolution of Noro, a sweater so ugly it ate itself.

Wish me luck on my Noro journey. I may need it.

New Knitty!

Surprise new pre-Fall knitty today! Their site is slow, but I can't wait to start reading!

Crafting... The new generation

Much to update over the past week or so.
Skirt complete, though I never did figure out how to machine sew an invisible zipper. I put it in by hand and it looks pretty sturdy.
Also the craftiness has rubbed off on the younger generation. I helped my little sister to craft not one, but two awesome 4H projects....and both will be going to State Fair (one in competition and one in window display).

The Necessity of the Seam Ripper

For my birthday I bought myself a sewing machine from eBay. Of course, the feeder dogs were mis-aligned and it cost twice the purchase price to fix them. Still to celebrate, I decided to make a pretty, simple summer skirt. I bought this vintage-looking simple cotton print from the local Hancock Fabrics on super-sale, it's magenta with tiny white leaves. The printing pools a little, I wouldn't use it for a large flat design (a straight skirt, the back of a shirt) but in a pleated design, it's great.
I'm working off Simplicity 2698 Skirt H, Yoke B in size 12. I'm a 4 or 6 off-the rack. To give you an idea, the finished yoke will be about 27.5in. and sit at the waist (when I suck in my breath). The cutting, skirt sewing, even pockets & pleating are very straightforward and easy.

My headache came when I started to fit the waistband. After staring at the instructions for entirely too long, I realized it's a paper-bag waist, the kind where the pleated section fits in front of the waistband. EWWW. Not for cotton print. Not for work-wear. So I ripped out the zig-zag edging on the band, ripped out the basting, and the side seams and started reworking a band that would fit over the pleat lines. Mind you, I was using thread scissors and straighpins as I have yet to invest in a proper seamripper -- only people who make mistakes need seamrippers. So I hand-stitched my now separated waistband over the pleating with a blind hem stitch on top. It's a snug fit, but the stitching feels stiff and secure, so i'm lookin' good. Next time, I might try a frayed waistband, or adding a ribbon or embellishment at the waist.



Tonight I tackle my first invisible zipper. You see the unfinished floppy pocket area on my hip--that's where the zipper will live. Except you won't be able to see it, because it will be invisible.




There's also a lingering question of how to hem it. Regular blind-stitched straight hem would be classy. But a bubble-hem might minimize my pleated butt protruding in back. Hmm...


I'm off to buy a seamripper.

Baby Booties

My coworker is having a baby boy in a few weeks and I needed a quick-knit gift. My aim was to do Angora Baby Booties from Joelle Hoverson's Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. Unfortunately my LYS only had pink or gray angora, so I started using Luisa Harding Grace Silk & Wool instead The color is #18, a pale baby blue. It's a DK weight, so a little thick. It's soft, slightly fuzzy and really delightful to knit.

These are knit inside out using a double-knitting technique, which is a little tricky with the thicker yarn, but easy once you pick it up. Still I would not recommend this project to a first-time DPN or first-time sock knitter. As promised, bootie #1 took about 1.5 hours. I had trouble following the cuff instructions and reviews say they're a little big in the cuff, so I decreased by 2 stitches and kind of improvised. I started bootie #2 and if all goes as planned should be done in no-time.

You can see #1 is right-side out, and like magic, I'm knitting #2 double thickness on only 2 needles -- Take that kitchener stitch, I don't need you and your kind in here.
The lighting in my living room doesn't do this yarn justice.

Seascape. An experiment in lace and patience.

About two weeks ago I started knitting the Seascape pattern from Kieran Foley (as shown in Knitty Summer 2008). The plan is to make this shawl from my little sister, Murray. She's 17 and has a big year coming up. Prom, graduation, a ridiculous Beaux Arts debutante ball (affectionately known as the "Bozo Ball.") my parents insist upon. Plenty of occasions to need a lacy grown-up shawl.

I'm using bamboo #5 needles and Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Ghost (below photo courtesy of Rowan). It's a white super-soft kid mohair. Pretty much like knitting spiderwebs. They don't call it "cracksilk haze" for nothing. Just touching this stuff makes a girl feel pretty. It's beautifully spun to make a really tight strong yarn with gorgeous fluffy halo. When finished it sheds a little, but nothing too awful. I've knit it on plastic needles before, but it really is heavenly to slide around on bamboos. The only issue is that it's pretty much unfroggable. You get it knotted, you're pulling out the scissors.
















Needless to say, with a more complex lace, the project has been slow-going. I finished Chart A and I'm mid way through 2/7 repeats of Chart B. I didn't have much luck following Knitty's chart version of the pattern, so I'm following the step-by-step from Kieran's website. So far, so good. Every wrong-side row is straight purls, so that's a nice break. Here's what she looks like so far.



I can already tell it's going to be an adventure in blocking.

Links:
My project on ravelry
Kieran Foley's impeccable instructions

I'm a Crafty Critter!

Hi I'm JennaC, and I hope this blog will document my experiments in needlecraft - and maybe other crafts too, but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here. The goal is to post updates on current projects every few days and also give you reviews on some older completed projects - because there are only so many photos I can post of myself frogging a sock cuff repeatedly.

I am not an artist. I have no formal training in art or design. I draw horses that look like dogs and cars like wheeled submarines. I was nearly held back in pre-kindergarten because of my abysmal scissor skills. Once I took a pottery class. My mom decided the best place to display the special bowl I made for her was the very back top shelf of her closet.

But give me a set of needles and I'm a whorling dervish. Here are my current interests and skill levels:

Embroidery - expert
Knitting - intermediate
Quilting - intermediate
Hand sewing - intermediate
Applique - beginner
Crochet - beginner
Machine sewing - beginner

Here are some things I've never tried. Convince me it's worth it:
Macrame
Lace tatting
Rugmaking
Weaving
Spinning
Needlepoint
Draping-method garment construction

Also you can find me on ravelry.com my screenname is jennac3102. We can compare stashes or 'staches.