Short Row Hat & Entrelac Scarf

Two finished objects to show you today!!

D, while working, was taken hostage as the model of my photoshoot

Let's start with the hat... a bit of a surprise, actually. One of those sudden urge knits. After finishing the scarf, I had about a ball and a half of the Mille Colori left so I thought I'd try the Short Row Hat by Veronik Avery, which had been on my to-knit list for a while, and...

Excuse the unwoven end poking out the top

Wow. The pattern is sooooo interesting. Awesome. Super addictive to knit. I literally couldn't put it down because I was so intrigued by how the colours were coming together and the way the hat was shaping itself. Although it looks like entrelac, the diamonds are actually cleverly done with short rows. And, the hat is neither knit top down or bottom up; it's sectional. Sooo cool. This must have been such a pain in the butt to design, but what a great pattern!

Hat Pattern: Short Row Hat by Veronik Avery

Scarf pattern: Entrelac Scarf by Allison LoCicero
Yarn: Lang Mille Colori, 3.5 skeins for scarf, 1.5 skein for hat
Needles: US8 circulars and dpns

This wins as the fastest project I have ever knit - I started on Friday afternoon and finished on Saturday evening, and I'm guessing it took about 7 hours from start to finish. Measured in other terms, this hat equaled 8 episodes of the first season of the West Wing.

Trying to photograph the top of the hat on myself.
Clearly, not such a successful idea.

I am really excited about wearing these now that the weather's getting chillier. I know they're not meant to be a set, but I kind of like them in combination, although it is a whole lotta squares. What do you think? Hat and scarf together are a little too much?

Entrelac, Socks and Mohair

Though it may not seem it, I've actually been knitting... from left to right:

1) Mohair Portrait Scarf by Veronik Avery in Kidsilk Haze (which, I confess, is some of the most expensive yarn I have ever splurged on...) I got a good chunk of the scarf done en route to Zarafa's wedding.
2) Entrelac Scarf by Allison LoCicero in Lang Mille Colori, which I bought THREE years ago in Chicago. Wow, that was a long time ago. I am loving knitting entrelac. I don't even know what that word means, but it's lovely. This thing is addictive to knit. It's hard to put it down.
3) Socks for Veronik by Mona Schmidt, from the Interweave Holiday Knits 2007 issue. I'm using some weird string-like variegated blue sock yarn I bought on sale a few years ago...can't wait to be done with it.

It feels like forever since I finished a knitted project! I've got all sorts of things piled up in corners around the house and I've been lazy about finishing them. Urgh. I wouldn't say I'm in a crafting rut, b/c I've always got lots of ideas for things I want to make, but I'm definitely in a 'get it done' kind of rut. To up our motivation, Devon convinced me that we should both post our progress shots every day we craft; accountability should theoretically result in some increase in productivity.

Well, this is totally not the craft I intended on doing today, but what the heck. Sewing can wait. I blocked the partly knitted entrelac to see how big it got, and boy did it grow in the water. It's a big one! I think I can bind off now...

Finished: Shetland Triangle II

D has taken the camera to Australia, so I am making do with the webcam this week. After much procrastination, I finally got around to blocking Shetland Triangle II. I don't know what took me so long - I have been wearing it all week!

Pattern: Shetland Triangle from Wrapstyle

Yarn: Alchemy Yarns Bamboo, 3 skeins

Needles: US6 circulars

I love the colour, drape and texture of this bamboo yarn. I had never knit with it before, but it suited this pattern well. It felt a little stiff between the fingers and I thought it might be splitty, but it behaved itself well. Again, the only mods made were adding 5 more pattern repeats (I attempted to use the shawl percentage calculator but failed miserably) and leaving out the last pattern row for the edging. During blocking I was a little worried when it released a fair amount of dye, but after drying it's still got a subtle sheen and the colour has remained quite vibrant. I think I'll be able to get a lot of use out of this knit - it will be good for wrapping around the shoulders on cool summer evenings, and will solve the problem of wearing sleeveless tops and then freezing to death in an overly-airconditioned room. And I'll probably be taking this with me to Paris, the land of fashionably-scarved women.

With this being our transition year, it made sense to do some traveling now, before moving and starting new jobs. We went to Paris a few years ago for our honeymoon, and have been wanting to go back ever since. The pastries, cafes, beautiful old monuments, museums, parks ... and of course, stylish scarves. Hence my scarf knitting. D and I will also be traveling to Opatija, Croatia and will likely spend a few days in another city close to the Croation border - perhaps Venice, Trieste, or even Vienna.

Finished: Shetland Triangle I

At last, a finished project to show you. Now that this has been gifted, I can post the pics. This was a great take-with-you project which I started on Feb 22 and finished March 9. It's knit in Ornaghi Filati Merino Oro (great yardage for the price!) - held double, on US6 circular needles. The only change I made was adding about 5 extra repeats than the pattern called for - I wanted it to drape over the shoulders. And as with many other knitters, I left off the last pattern row of the edging and bound off very loosely using US11 needles.

Before the wet block: nubbly little mountains

Pattern: Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style
Needles: US6 circulars
Yarn: Ornaghi Filat Merino Oro, 65 g (~ 852 yds)

It's soft, squishy and warm, and in a colour that can hopefully be worn with any number of things. I love this pattern. It's incredibly easy to remember the pattern as well, which means you can work on it anywhere, while watching TV, and not lose track of what you're doing. It was a struggle to send the shawl away (but for a dear friend I managed it) and to fill the void, I immediately cast on for another Shetland Triangle, this time in DK weight yellowy green bamboo yarn.

This is probably a major no-no, but I actually ironed the shawl a little. After drying, it still looked a little bit uneven so I placed an ironing cloth over it and used a light steam to get the rest of the kinks out.

As much as I love dark greys and other wintery colours, I am so ready for spring to arrive. Knitting the second Shetland has been cheery, and I am tempted to dig out my sewing machine to make some spring dresses. Hopefully I'll have another finished project to write about soon. Happy crafting all.

Weekend in Cleveland, the Under-rated City

Two weeks of part-time employment has been just so overwhelmingly exhausting that I was forced to take a vacation out of sheer restorative necessity...

Just kidding. We're back from a little weekend visit to Cleveland, Ohio. It all started with a Canadian band called Bedouin Soundclash, that has been a bit of a recent obsession for D. When I found out they were coming to Cleveland, I got tickets for D's birthday and had some fun planning a weekend around it. It seemed like a good time to fit in some tourism (particularly given how often we say, 'we should really check out Cleveland sometime'). And, given my recent obsession with Anthony Bourdain, who visited Cleveland on an episode of No Reservations, it was not surprising that our trip largely consisted of the places he visited on the show. What a nerd, I know.

Built in 1890, the Arcade was one of America's first indoor shopping malls

As far as smaller cities go, Cleveland was awesome. We really liked it, and both think that Cleveland is way, way under-rated (or perhaps it's just the people we've talked to). I had been given the impression that it was a really lame town where uncool tourists went to see dorky attractions and eat at the Hard Rock Cafe in a bland version of a city-chic vacation. Was I wrong! Yes, there's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and yes, there are probably lots of other theme museums, but... RnR was actually really cool and interesting. We only saw a tiny fraction of the attractions. And architecturally, Cleveland was kind of pretty with all the bridges criss-crossing over one another and beautiful historic buildings in the downtown district.

Cleveland Public Square

Friday we went to the Westside Market for breakfast and explored the aisles and aisles of fresh goodies. There was so much good-looking food it took me forever to choose something to eat. Finally, after I settled on a cheese pastry (D bought a massive apple turnover), as soon as I turned the corner, there was (of course) something even tastier looking. So, I went for a ham and cheese crepe...mmm... and saved the pastry for later.

Sharing my crepe Le Complet with D

From the market balcony

We looked around Tower City Center and the Erieview Galleria (which, shopping-wise, can't compete with those big lifestyle malls that are popping up in suburbs - but the architecture was beautiful) and in the evening went to nearby Coventry Village for the show (at the Grogg Shop). Coventry Village was basically one strip of shops and restaurants which reminded me much of the Annex in Toronto: cozy coffee shops, secondhand bookstores, pubs, family-style diners, trinket shops, etc. This probably contributed to my positive experience in Cleveland.

Tower City Center

Inside the Galleria at Erieview

Saturday, aside from the valet parking people losing our car keys (luckily we had an extra set), it was a pretty perfect day. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Marengo Spa Institute (if you go now they have some good promotions on),

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

and then dinner at Lola Bistro, which has received a lot of hype since Chef Michael Symon won The Next Iron Chef (and no, we didn't see him that night). Lola definitely lives up to the hype. The restaurant was packed. It was incredibly stylish and swanky - lit marble surfaces, paneled glass, high ceilings, a huge open kitchen. I felt like I had left Ohio for the next 3 hours and was somewhere in NYC. A man at the bar claimed that he had eaten the best shrimp appetizer of his life that night. Our dinner was delicious - between us, we ordered oysters on the half shell, beef-cheek pierogies, brook trout with butternut squash, smoked pork chop with cheesy polenta and barbequed onions, and ended the meal with 'beer and pretzels', a Guinness ice cream with chocolate-covered pretzel chunks and preserved cherries. I could have eaten anything on the menu, it all sounded so good. And the bill was incredibly reasonable - not a cheap meal, but far less than some of the swanky places we have been to in Toronto. It's definitely worth visiting.

And there you have it, my Cleveland review. What? Where are the crafts, you ask? I did start knitting the Shetland Triangle with the grey laceweight while in Cleveland...

My apologies for the lack of crafting news, but as far as new routines go, it takes me a little while to get back into the swing of things. So I blame the new job. That, and eating copious amounts of delicious food and watching too many episodes of Lost and Project Runway.

Weekend Recap

I know the weekend's not over yet, but I'm probably not doing much today so I feel safe going ahead with this post. I've already listed all the great things that have happened this week, but I left out a few others and also want to show off some of the neato gifts I received from some generous folks (dear friends and family, that's YOU!) I'll just show you one, from D, which is from a local store:

Cute Shinzi Katoh tote bag from Tigertree

And here is my something crafty to share before I ramble on about non-knitty things - the finished Peter Rabbit scarf using the Misty Garden pattern from Scarf Style:

It's exactly one skein of Fleece Artist Peter Rabbit using US 7 needles

The latest news: remember how I was talking about being 30 and unemployed, yada yada, and then I had my first interview on Friday? Under some very surprising circumstances (me thinking I had bombed the interview), I received a phone call at 5:00pm on Friday and was offered the job. How crazy is that? I can't believe I actually found a job before I turned 30 - with 7 hours to spare. It was certainly a wonderful surprise, and very validating. That said, there are significant pros and cons to this job, and I will have to weigh them out carefully. Compared to Toronto (and perhaps Canada), social service work is an extremely undervalued profession, and unbelievably poorly paid. To have a graduate degree and specialized training, and then be paid such a low wage is really depressing, and insulting (I could probably make more at Starbucks). Focusing on the advantages of the job (such as training I'll receive) barely combats the unjustness of the situation. I could rant for hours and hours about this, but I'll stop now since that's not what this blog is about.

We did have a lovely dinner on Friday night at Rosendales to celebrate birthdays and job offers (D was offered a great job in Pennsylvania - we will be traveling there to check things out. More on that if we decide to go). Rosendales was by far the best meal we have had in Columbus, and having read Restaurant Widow's review, I was even more excited to go (and predictably, "I don't feel like I'm in Columbus!" did come up several times). The food was absolutely delicious and the service was great too - our waiter helpfully offered us several wine choices after consulting with other staff (the chef or sommelier, maybe?). I had the Ahi tuna starter and 48-hour short ribs, and D had the seafood bisque and pork loin. Dessert was the prettiest part of the whole meal - lemon curd with ginger ice cream in a miniature parfait glass, piped with some sort of marshmallowy meringue that had been toasted somehow as not to melt the ice cream.

We had dinner at Akai Hana which was very good - I think the nicest sushi place I have visited in Columbus. Check out the sushi:


Then we went to Momo2 KTV for karaoke and sang (and shouted) our hearts out the rest of the night. I think a great time was had by all - even those who were initially a little shy were belting it out in no time. The group sang a lovely rendition of Sweet Caroline:

And being the birthday girl, I happily sang my share of cheesy classics: I proudly, and loudly, butchered my favourite, Total Eclipse of the Heart, with J and D.

Other side of my canvas tote!

Ene's Scarf, Finished!

At last, Ene's scarf is complete. Doesn't she look lovely?

Pattern: Ene's Scarf, from Scarf Style (borrowed from the library)

Yarn: 1.5 skeins Knitpicks Shadow in Oregon Coast, about 616 yards

Needles: US6

I started Ene in December and for one reason or another (perhaps short attention span), kept putting it down to work on other things. This week I felt this sudden determination to finish, so I plowed through the last chart during several re-runs of Project Runway (which, surprise surprise, was pulling me in the direction of sewing again).

I would have to say that Ene was a really enjoyable knit after I got through the first two chart repeats. It was my first time having to read charts, so I did learn something new. The way the scarf is constructed has you casting on 375 (!!) stitches which forms the two scalloped, longest edges, and then you decrease 4-6 stitches every other row, and toward the end it feels like you're really picking up some speed because there are fewer and fewer stitches left. The only complaint I have about knitting lace is that it's easy to lose track of how many stitches you have, particularly if you accidentally miss purling one of the many, many YOs on the WS row. At one point, still about 350 stitches in, I managed to lose about 10 stitches and had to carefully unknit all those stitches. No fun. But the pain was worth my time - the final product is beautiful. And I am very happy with the yarn - light and airy, but with warmth too.

Now for some process details. As I approached the cast off, I focused on what there was to look forward to - the exciting, transformational blocking process! Here is the finished scarf, looking all lumpy and nubbly, and generally very un-exciting:

The book recommended pinning Ene first, then placing a damp towel over top. I'd seen many people do the full on wet block, so I went for it too:

Soak up the excess water and then lay flat to pin, pulling out each point on the border (I managed to keep Gatsby from jumping all over this, his paws would not have been happy):

I forgot that lace would dry so quickly - after a couple of hours the blocking was done. And my, did Ene look more lovely afterward! All the details really came through in the smooth, even fabric.


I don't know what's going to be next in the knitting queue. I am currently frogging Skully, and may turn that into a chunky cardigan for me...

More crafts than I can handle

As far as crafting goes, it is nearly impossible for me to focus on one craft and actually finish a project from beginning to end. I flip flop usually between knitting, sewing and baking, and have been known to do some beading, scrapbooking, cardmaking, upholstering and pottery throwing. This fall has been my best record yet, sticking mostly with knitting, with the completion of several small items and even a sweater (though ugly, but whatever).

I don't know why I find arts and crafts so fascinating, or why I am drawn to many different crafts. If I had the time, I'd probably want to learn how to cobble my own shoes. I told D that he should do some sort of study on why people find things interesting. Part of it is the satisfaction of creating something with your own hands and taking pride in that. Sometimes it's because you don't want to spend $500 on a designer sweater that looks so easy reproduce. It could also be that it's difficult for you to find well-fitting, well-made clothing, so you sew it yourself. Or you want to have something unique that no one else has. As romantic as it sounds though, realistically, there just isn't enough time to make everything from scratch, it's just too stressful! (not even Martha could do it - but I do love her ideas).

Which is why I really like the concept behind Etsy, a sort of online one-of-a-kind craft show, where you can relieve your anxiety by purchasing all those lovely things you don't have the skill, time, or patience to make yourself. Plus, you are supporting independent artistry and the promotion of handmade goods. Everyone wins. Admittedly, I haven't shopped on the site yet, but have spent endless hours perusing the goods. I encourage you to visit this site as soon as possible. You can shop the old fashioned way by category (jewelry or papergoods), but it is even cooler that you can shop by colour (every shade imaginable) to find a match for that outfit you can never accessorize for.

Oh my. How did I get started on this again? Oh right, over Christmas I got some new crafty toys that I want to share. First, check out these awesome, super cute travel-themed cookie cutters given to me (and D) by Miss A (the mitten modeler). D's benefit in this gift will be eating the cookies.

D's new lunch box!

choo choo, put put...

I also got this crazy gum paste flower making kit from D's parents to supplement my cake decorating hobby. I've never worked with gum paste, but it is supposed to be easier to mold and cut than fondant. The flowers look so real and are very detailed - I will surely have hours of fun with this. And a flower garden in my living room.

Aside from the new crafts, I was really responsible over the holidays and did not buy any new yarn, fabric, or other supplies besides some bias tape from Fabricland (they had some wonderful winter coat wools that I had to drag myself away from).

And it was a relatively productive holiday for ongoing knitting projects. Ene is coming along - I worked chart 1 and 2, am on the second repeat of 2, and have managed not to lose any stitches. It's been a slow knit for me since I have to look very carefully for all the yarn-overs, which is kind of dizzying after a while. I haven't suffered any neck cramps though, fortunately.

I also made this bobbly beret in Deep River. It's the Trinity Stitch hat that's popular on Craftster and Ravelry right now. I followed Sticks and Tones modifications since I had the same needle sizes, and cast on 112 stitches. I started decreasing at 7" and did 4 decreases every 2 rows, and it still came out rounder on top, unlike the original pattern. My hat is a little slouchier. And it doesn't sit flat and circular like a beret, which is OK. At first it was annoying me that it wasn't more beret-like, but now that I've worn it a few times I am really liking it. This thing is so warm that your head starts sweating if the weather isn't below zero.

D acted as my photographer on our outing to the North Market today:

Pattern: Trinity Stitch Hat with mods (see link above)
Yarn: 2 skeins Patons Classic Merino, grey, held doubled
Needles: US8 for ribbing & US10 dpns

And would you believe that after the long cold spell, the pansies outside our building are STILL alive?? I took this photo this morning. This weather is crazy, I tell you...

Ene's Scarf

Or perhaps more like Gatsby's scarf.

Back in November, I was suddenly inspired to start knitting lace when I saw Ms. A's lovely bridesmaid wrap. Up until now I have only knitted a little lace here and there (Orangina, Rusted Root) but never a fine-lace pattern. Of course, these thoughts then actualized into excessive yarn-buying (total acquisition of 3600 yards of laceweight wool), and then the realization, what if I hate knitting lace?

I really, really hope I like knitting lace.

I went Ravelry to see what kind of lace scarves and wraps people are knitting, and settled on a few patterns: Ene's Scarf, Shetland Triangle, and Flowerbasket Shawl. Lucky for me, the library had a copy of Scarf Style so I went with Ene, a pretty triangular shawl that didn't look too complicated...

Good grief. Casting on has so far been the worst part. 375 stitches!! It took me the better part of an evening to do this without messing up. And then I had to recount it twice, just to make sure I was ready to start knitting. I didn't even bother with checking gauge at this point. So, when I was finally ready to begin knitting, I opened up the page to the first chart and...sigh. More bafflement. What are all these grey blocks that say "no stitch here"?. Not knowing if it was literally no stitch, or it you slip a stitch, or what, I patiently waited another day to start so that I could get some help on the Ravelry forums (again, I love LOVE this site - I just realized there is a huge queue to get an account, but sign up! It's so worth it!). Those delightful Ravelers responded to my post in 20 mintues and then I was set (turns out the grey blocks literally mean no stitch; the pattern is decreasing at that point and they are just representing a clear chart)

Anyhow, it has been going smoothly for the last 22 rows, with the occasional lost YO, but nothing I wasn't able to fix. And it's looking appropriately lacey with holes and things in all the right spots. This is getting ahead of things, but I'm totally excited to block this thing once it's done, as lace is supposed to undergo this amazing transformation from lumpy frumpiness to delicate gloriousness.

This week we head out to Toronto for the holidays - I can't wait! Wishing you all a happy Christmas and New year, and lots of relaxation (and crafting) in between. I'll write again soon. Have a great week!

Peter Rabbit's Misty Garden

For my birthday last year, I received a skein of wonderfully cuddly, soft angora yarn called Peter Rabbit by Fleece Artist - just enough for a luxurious little scarf. The bright yellows and blues seem to be pooling a bit, but it's also creating this crazy diagonal effect which I kind of like. I've read about people using different balls of the same yarn to prevent pooling but I haven't attempted that on any of my projects yet. The scarf is a basic lace pattern, a version of feather and fan, called Misty Garden from Scarf Style.


It started snowing this morning, finally! Downtown is covered by a blanket of snow and I'm feeling more festive already. I might have to play some Christmas music this morning while I craft. Have a good morning!