Wee Update

The Knitticrafty household is seeing some big changes this year. First a house...

...and now Gatsby is getting a sibling!

I've been sitting on our happy news for a while, and now seems as good a time as any to share it. We'll get to meet the wee one in February, and in the meantime I've got lots of little baby projects in mind to keep me busy. I figure that once baby arrives, my crafting life will be put on hold indefinitely. Must fit in as much as possible between now and then!

Today was a good finishing morning - I finally sewed in loose ends, kitchener-stitched toes together, and blocked. Here is my first FO for baby, the placket neck pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I know, I've already made it four other times, but it's just so cute. And you can't beat the minimal seaming - it's all knit in the round! The yarn is Kraemer Tatamy Tweed DK, an acrylic cotton blend that should be easy to machine wash. It's made right here in Nazareth, PA too!

Yarn: Kraemer Tatamy Tweed DK in Birch
Needles: US 7 dpns and circulars
Pattern: Placket Neck Pullover (Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Hoverson)

Next up, my mom's socks are done!! Yippee! I don't think she'll mind the fact that one is slightly taller than the other - can you tell in the photo? I guess I over-enthusiastically added half a pattern repeat. Not sure how that happened since I was trying to follow the chart...

Yarn: 2 skeins of Plymouth Happy Feet (from Conversational Threads in Emmaus),
with enough leftover for a pair of baby socks
Needles: US2 dpns
Pattern: Pomotamus Socks

Amelia is coming along as well...I've got the sleeves pretty much done, minus a couple more increases on one arm, and I've got about 4 inches to go on the body. Sadly, this cardigan is not going to fit around the girth of my ever-expanding middle - I should be able to button it up at the top for now. I've made a few mods so far: cast on for size 34" sleeves, but for the body I cast on 191 stitches to get approximately a 36" size (the pattern jumps from 34" to 38") and I played around with the positioning of the stitch markers to get more or less the right ribbing placement. I'm a little worried about washing this yarn...I touched it with a wet hand a few weeks ago and ended up with deep teal streaks across my palm. There's probably something I can wash it with to help set the colour or remove the excess dye.



Have a great week! I'm off to knit night tonight for a piece of chocolate cake...mmm.

More socks and a blanket

Seems I have been very eager about casting on for new knitting projects! I've been working away on all of them, but it's getting to that point where nothing seems to be getting closer to being done. Once again, I'm making the Pomatomus socks (my fourth pair), which I'm giving to my mom. I love how it looks in solid yarns! I honestly tried to pick a different pattern, but it just didn't look as good.

The pinwheel blanket is for one of many babies I know that are due early next year. The baby rush is still going strong!

Other news: I was officially chosen to be on the board of directors for my volunteer gig. Pretty exciting! Sounds important, doesn't it? First meeting is at the beginning of next month. It's nice to have a 'real' position to make up for not being able to work just yet.

Honeycomb Socks

If I were out in the wild hunting some deer or game, then these socks would totally complete the outfit.

Unfortunately, I have no intention of taking up hunting.

Needles: US2 dpns
Pattern: honeycomb stitch
Yarn: Sorry, I threw out the label! 50/50 acrylic wool

What do you think? You can't really tell that the colours are much more mottled than the picture shows, but they're a blend of gray-brown-cream. When I bought this yarn, I was hoping it would give me more of a subtle striping effect, but instead it gave me this hunter's camouflage effect. I can't say I love them, but they're fine....at least the yarn is really soft.

Hmm, come to think of it, they match Gatsby's fur surprisingly well. Maybe I can get them on his little paws.

Finished Pomotamus Socks III

It's show and tell time! Here's my third pair of the-greatest-sock-pattern-of-all-time, Pomotamus!! I bought this cozy Fleece Artist sock yarn in Halifax around this time last year, intending for it to be a nice fall/winter knit, but instead I finished it just in time for a full week of 90 degree heat. Yep, it takes me at least a year to use my stash. I could wear them just long enough to take a few photos, and then these guys went into the winterwear drawer.

I'm still not sure I'm much of a sock knitter, although I do get a lot of satisfaction in knitting a whole sock on tiny little needles, especially when it's a pretty pattern like this one. I have knit enough socks now to know that I like the cuff-down method, along with a gusseted heel. Even though it makes more sense to start toe-up to get the most out of your yarn, I haven't had any problems with running out of wool yet, and I just use the leftovers to make baby socks.

Now that these are done, it's time to choose another project. What's next on the needles? It has to be something from my stash. Maybe another shawl, or something small like mittens. I have another project to show you soon, but I need to get some buttons for it to finish it up first.

Plans for this weekend: making cream cheese frosting, going to a wedding dress fitting, craft store oggling, cleaning and working. Some flattering news: apparently people have been coming up to the bakery counter especially to remark that the buckeyes look great on the days I make them, and not other days. Ha! Now there's talent.

Stay cool and happy crafting!

One of those Progress Posts

Since returning from our vacation, I have more or less been a woman of leisure, meaning I'm not scheduled to go into any workplace, although I don't knock being a homemaker - it's lot of work - like making D's lunch every day (he's so spoiled). The bakery didn't need me the last couple of weeks, and there was only one weekend where I helped decorate my first wedding cake! I'll have to ask first before I post any photos. Aside from that, I've gotten back into crafting full swing. One Pomatomus sock nearly finished:

Some secret blue knitting with a little intarsia going on:

My best glaze job yet: glazed coil jar with lid (unfortunately it was fused together while firing). I painted white slip dots before bisque firing, and dipped the whole thing in blue after that.

D's ultra-blue pitcher that weighs about 8 lbs. To get it nice and bright, he painted it during leather hard stage with blue slip, and then post-bisquing, he glazed it with aquamarine. He is proud of the glaze job, though somewhat displeased with the child-like quality of the craftsmenship (heehee):

D's tulip vase he made by joining two pinch pots into a ball, then paddling the sides, finishing with a few incisions on top to get the little petal edges. The pot was first dipped in black satin, then overlapped with opalescent glaze. Very nice indeed.

We're still attending pottery classes, although it's been quite a while since I posted anything about our wheel-throwing progress. That is because we are still throwing pieces of poo. Neither of us have thrown a 10-inch cylinder (although we've come close a few times). I was ready to throw the clay across the room last week I was so frustrated. Instead, I exercised self-control and decided to practice throwing smaller lumps of clay, which actually helped a lot - when there is too much clay, I end up crumpling it before I've even had a chance to pull up a decent wall. Last class I was able to get an evenly-thick wall, which was pretty damn exciting. D is a little better than I am, so I think he'll be on his cylinders sooner than I. Maybe I'll try to convince the teacher to let me make tiny little bowls...

In other exciting news, D and I have finally rejoined the world of bicycle commuting! Check out my shiny new blue bike!

After being sans bike for over a year (mine fell victim to tire theft, D's was an old clunker with no gears) and with the summer weather, we'd been wanting to replace our bikes for a while. After shopping around a little, we bought them from Handy Bikes USA, a fantastic little shop with lots of comfort bikes on 5th Ave in Grandview. I'd highly recommend them. Apparently they've sold over 2000 bikes this summer, up from the 1500 they usually sell - probably because of the soaring gas prices.

This morning we took them out on their first ride. Don't worry, we were wearing helmets. Even though it made us look silly. We're responsible like that. Good for the muffin tops, good for the environment, and good for the wallet. I feel so environmentally urban chic. I'm thinking of getting some accessories for it, like a basket. Happy riding!

I've been knitting...

I know it's been a while since yarn appeared here, but I have been knitting! With this past weekend being Comfest (our first one, and yes, it lived up to the hype), I fit in a little bit of knitting time in the park.

This is my third pair of Pomatomus socks, in Fleece Artist Nova sock yarn, which you have seen before (I have been ultra indecisive about what pattern to knit and kept ripping it out - it's been a few inches of Monkeys, Jaywalkers...) Finally, it was Pomatomus again..I just love this pattern! It's so fun to and interesting to knit. It looks complicated, but it's actually fairly easy to memorize big chunks of the pattern so you can keep knitting without referring back to the chart all the time. Hmm. Now that I think of it, I probably chose this pattern unconsciously to prove to myself that I wasn't really chart-dumb.

Let me tell you about Elspeth. She is a pretty little shrug by Rowan, and would have looked lovely worn with summer dresses, and so...a perfect vacation project. Little did I know what a beast of a knit this was. Turns out, I couldn't even get past the third row, and row 1 & 2 were just stockinette! I was always a stitch short, no matter how many times I cast on and carefully counted. I had to abandon it, glaring at it a few times a week, knowing that it was just sitting there in my suitcase. When I returned, a google search revealed that zillions of other knitters have also had major problems with Elspeth. Hah! Not so dumb after all. But, most people seem to have gotten at least past row 3. So, until I feel motivated enough to conquer this little monster, it's going to go back to the stash.

Aside from Comfesting this past weekend, I went craft shopping with Z.Knits and picked up some cute quilting fabric for a secret project, and some keychain rings for doodads I'm making in jewelry class. We did a little shopping at Trader Joe's and bought these pretty pink peonies. Then, just for fun, we re-arranged the whole living room. I like it better than the old set up, and have been spending more time sitting by the window. Gatsby is now fighting me for the best spot in the room.

Today I spent most of the afternoon standing by the stove, poaching these little gnocchi guys. I've been cooking quite a bit this week - roast chicken, stock-making, gnocchi-making. Originally, I borrowed the Thomas Keller Bouchon cookbook from the library just to admire the pretty pictures, but decided I felt brave enough to try cooking a few things from it. The simple roast chicken (very, very good) was made with just salt, pepper, and oil. Then today I made the herbed gnocchi recipe, which resulted in a shocking 320 pieces (that's 180 pieces more than the recipe stated - something clearly went wrong) of fluffy gnocchi that will probably be feeding us into the winter. They were very tasty, especially after you brown them in butter and serve them with fresh herbs and sauteed veggies.

What's in store this week: Watching more Michael Palin. Making keychains. Doing pottery. Helping with my first wedding cake. Cooking out of the Bouchon cookbook. And celebrating my first fourth of July.

Pomatomus Socks!

I'm about to head out in a bit to enjoy the sunshine on a patio, so this will be a quick little post. These are my favourite socks ever (you can find the free pattern here), and were actually the very first pair I ever made.

Yarn: 2 skeins Regia (I forget what kind)

Needles: US2 dpns

You might wonder why a sock novice would choose a seemingly difficult-looking pattern. Yes, it took me at no less than a half dozen attempts and endless ripping out and cursing, but it was worth it. Given the number of teeny weeny stitches required to make a whole sock, I couldn't be bothered to make a practice pair of socks using an easy pattern and then start all over again for Pomatomus! These have gone through the wash tons of time and are holding up well. They're warm and woolly, but not itchy. There's something fun about having a secret crazy colour party going on under your winter boots - a little knitting nerd thrill. You know what I mean.

The Big News of today: I quit my private practice job!! I'm so relieved. I gave tons of notice - my last day is May 14. Up until this point I have tried not to complain about it incessantly on my blog, but after starting the bakery job it became very clear to me that I was really wasting my time there. It's no fun to go backwards in your career unless it's going to benefit you in some way, such as helping you make connections, gain experience in something new, great pay, good social networking. This job was none of these things. It was just me, the phone, and the computer. And a micro-managing nit-picky elderly man with hoarding tendencies, control issues, and an unhealthy affinity for pencils and paperclips.

This job is a good example of the kind of decision you make when you've recently been transplanted to a new city, don't have any connections, desparate for something to do, feeling guilty and bored about staying at home, and saying "it's just a job" in an effort to feel better about the whole thing. I know that people need to work to support themselves, and I am aware that we're lucky to have D's income to support us (although a 50% cut in household income sucks), but being patient has its rewards. That, and not settling unless you absolutely have to. So, if you're in a similar situation, please choose something that will allow you to maintain your psychological well-being. You will enjoy your new city so much more if you like what you're doing or at least the people you meet there. It was a valuable lesson for me, anyway.

OK, enough of my advice spouting. Go out and enjoy the sunny warm weather!

Orchid Forest

Over the weekend, D and I visited the highly-recommended Franklin Park Conservatory to see the Orchid Forest exhibit (which is on until late February). If you haven't already been, it is really an amazing place and definitely worth going. I wish we'd thought of taking our friends there when they visited. The Orchid Forest exhibit was absolutely stunning, and HUGE!

There were so many varieties of orchids I had never seen before (not that I am an orchid expert in any way - I was just really impressed, is all). There was a beautiful glass sculpture in the centre of the exhibit that looked incredibly familiar...then we realized we had seen the artist's (Dale Chihuly's) work in Toronto, at the Sandra Ainsley Gallery.

Chihuly and his team create the most complicated looking, intricate, delicate structures... amazing sculptures. They have videos showing how they work with ladles of molten glass, spinning and swirling the lava like substances. I think it must be dangerous though...Chihuly wears an eye patch over one eye. Anyhow, check out his site. We had a great time at the Conservatory and afterward had a coffee in the main atrium, which was surprisingly light on a grey gloomy day.

Being in a festive kind of mood, I started the Sweetheart socks from Interweave Holiday knits. The heart-shaped cables are look cute and I like how they really pop out - I'm trying a new (cheap) sock yarn by Berroco that feels really soft. Too bad the yarn is so splitty, it makes it hard to cable without a needle. Plus my needles are so small the whole thing is kind of hard to see. This is the kind of knitting that gives me neck cramps...

Striped Sock

With the leftovers growing quickly again, this week I was feeling the need for some more striped objects - one day I may think of something else to do with these bits, but it's going to be stripes and more stripes for now. Here's one sock, in a rather ugly-cute kind of colour scheme (rugbyish?), that I knitted toe-up (using the ever-popular Wendy's toe-up pattern) so as to make sure I didn't run out of yarn. Although this is my second pair of short-row heel socks, I completely forgot how to do the wrapping and turning thing, so I looked at this handy tutorial from Cosmicpluto.

My happy news is that this Friday, I will be rejoining the working world. That's right, I finally found a job, and one that will allow me to continue in my craftiness at that! I am oh-so-pleased. Starting February 1st, I'll be working part-time at a private practice doing officey work in a beautiful old house that looks like it was torn from the pages of a chic decorating magazine featuring Elegant Bed & Breakfasts. My employers seem like lovely people too. This is a happy compromise given the difficulty I've had in finding relevant work - at least I'll be doing something sort of in my field. It even (sadly) pays a bit better than the other This-will-be-the-end-of-me job I turned down. And it doesn't involve driving an hour away and dealing with poo on the walls.

I've been doing lots of stuff this week, but nothing that was really photo-worthy, so unfortunately all I've got for you is a sock. My week: I baked a loaf of bread (some type of batter bread) that actually rose for once, made seafood and sausage gumbo, packed lunch for D and drove him to school, started researching travels to Europe, read more Anthony Bourdain, wrote a reference letter, watched Project Runway, looked up housing in Bethlehem, surfed Ravelry daily, claimed missing Aeroplan points, paid bills online, vacuumed, laundried and much, much more. Oh, my life is so exciting. To think I used to do all these things *while* holding a full time job. Now, it literally fills my week. Wow, I can't wait for this job to start!

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year!!

It's been a while since my last entry. Hopefully you've all had a restful and enjoyable break, and are ready to face work/school (or in my case, a very messy craft room and the joy of starting job hunting). We had a really good visit filled with delicious food (as usual), skating, movies, drinks, dinners, crafts and boxing day shopping. And this time I even lugged home two huge baguettes from Fred's Bread (I know, I know, I said Ace Bakery was the best, but sometimes you just have to make do with what's nearby and available). And luckily the border crossing officials didn't look in my trunk, although I think bread is fine. They probably would have confiscated them just seeing how delicious they looked.

Now that the holidays are over, I can finally do my Christmas recap. And tomorrow, if the light is good, I'll show you the new toys I received as well as progress on some projects.

The Christmas giveaways:

Pattern: Various internet readings, stitch dictionaries & Stitch n' Bitch Nation

Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted

Needles: US 8 dpns

Basic Cabled Socks for H - I was obsessed with making labels

Four coaster sets to give away, more labels

I tried not to look ridiculous taking photos of everything I ate and drank, but here's one from Christmas day - brandy champagne cocktails. It kind of captures the bulk of how we spent the holidays. We were in a perma-celebration mode.

And here is D's mum's Christmas cake, looking very pretty and cheery (and deliciously boozy - Christmas cake has definately grown on me over the years). The flowers are made with royal icing, I think, and the flower stamens were dipped in yellow food colour. The hearts were piped onto parchment paper, dried, and the attached with thinner royal icing.

And here is my friend A, the recipient of some Knitticrafty mittens, proudly modeling them on a freezing Yorkville morning. And (so far) the only person I know to explicitly state her desire to be featured on my blog. Done! I'm not one to prevent someone from reaching their goals.

More to come!

Crocus Spindle Socks

The weather in Columbus is still warm, so warm in fact, that the big planters you see on city streets are still full with thriving flowers. The pansies are looking prettier than ever. But this weekend will probably be the end of them...everyone says the temperature is going to drop like crazy by Friday. Which suits me fine, because I'd like it to start feeling more like December with Holiday Cheer. Plus, I want to get some good wear out of my new, wintery Spindle socks. That's two pairs in a month, which is a record for me. Usually, I knit one sock, and it sits in the corner looking all sad and mateless for another few months. Not this time!

Pattern: Spindle Socks by Anna Bell of My Fashionable Life
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style in Crocus, 2 skeins
Needles: US4 dpns

You wouldn't believe how fast a knit this was. I finished the pair over 2 days. And I very nearly ran out of wool in trying to squeeze out an entire sock with one skein, but given that the Vanilla Cable Socks used only a tiny bit of the 3rd skein, I thought I could make it work. I think the weight on each skein must refer to how much it weighs including the label, because when I put it on my kitchen scale it usually ranged between 47-48 g when it claimed to be 50 g. Which means it must be a littler less in yardage than indicated, right? Anyhow, I still have a whole skein left which I can now use for some other socks!

We're going to a birthday party tonight, another birthday party on Friday, and then we're having a little holiday shindig at our place on the weekend - let the celebrating begin!

And...today was also a cake day, which there will be some cake pictures coming soon.

Basic Cabled Socks

Pattern: Basic Cabled Socks from Vogue Knitting: Accessorize
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino in Vanilla, just over 2 skeins
Needles: US4 dpns

Winter snuggly socks! This was my go-to project whenever I was tired of making coasters. I used Knit Picks merino style for the first time, and I must say, I really liked it. It has a soft, smooth feel without being too shiny or excessively sproingy, but doesn't split and shows off cables nicely. Plus it's really affordable. I probably could have done this in two skeins, but I knit them from the cuff down, so I wasn't sure if there was a way to judge yardage that way.

The cable pattern was easy to memorize which made for good mindless TV knitting (although this week's Grey's had me gasping and verging on heart attack status so many times I only managed to squeeze in a few rounds) and I was able to finish them in about two days.

Some more DK weight projects coming up. I've developed this habit of buying single balls of yarn without any project in mind, thinking I can probably turn it into a hat or mittens, only to find out that usually you need at last two balls to do much. So, it's mix and match time and I'm trying to find a two-colour pattern for DK wool, which means endless hours of Ravelry surfing. I love that site. If you haven't gotten on it yet, sign up! It is the ultimate knitting resource. Be careful though, it's very very addictive.

Cotton Baby Raglan Cardigan

Pattern: Baby cardigan with fully-fashioned raglan shaping

Source: Debbie Bliss Beginner Baby Knits

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease in light grey

Yardage: Just over 1 skein

A quick easy knit, baby stuff is always fun to make because you end up with a finished little sweater quickly. If I make this again I will do it in the round - too much finishing to do at the end. I'm making a little hat to go with this since I've got yarn leftover.

And some bitty baby socks made of leftover Fleece Artist:

...and another Koolhaas Hat, this time knit in the larger size. A better fit for sure. I've been productive, haven't I? This week I'm going to start on some sewing, really...

Knitting away...

It's been a beautiful weekend here in Columbus. I love that it's perfect sweater weather right now. Fall is my favourite for colours too - you can wear more grey, black, browns and dark blue without being accused of being depressing.

D and I have been enjoying the local arts scene - we heard the Columbus Symphony perform Beethoven's 9th symphony (chorale) on Friday night. I haven't been to all that many symphonies, but I thought it was amazing. The conductor was so enthusiastic I thought he would fall off his podium at several points. The Ohio Theatre itself is a gorgeous old venue that's really worth a visit. Afterward, we went to the Elevator Brewery & Restaurant for drinks - also a great spot to check out. It's huge inside - you'd never guess looking in from the street.

Saturday was shopping day, which I always enjoy because of the new observations to be made about food products and how they're different from Toronto (e.g. enormous selection of instant potato products - including instant mashed sweet potatoes - as well as an entire aisle of frozen french fries and pizza). D enjoyed browsing the wine aisle and found a bottle of Ruffino Chianto for $7, which is usually sold for about $14 in Toronto. Yes, alcohol is cheap here. Good for hosting parties.

Inbetween all our socializing and errand running, I have managed to make progress on the khaki jacket. The back and right front piece are done, and I'm just staring the left front panel. I'm a bit worried about the amount of flare at the bottom - hopefully it won't be too floppy once it's seamed up. The other problem I noticed is that the double moss stitches seemed to be a tighter gauge than the stockinette portion (I was probably pulling too much) but maybe it will even out after blocking. I have seen some really nice versions out there like this one and this one - seeing theirs is a good kick in motivating me to hurry up on mine.

I also started another pair of socks...they will be more Monkeys:

Monkey Toes

Pattern: Monkey
Yarn: Fleece Artist Sea Wool
Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm)

Hello! Not much crafting news to post about since the birthday cake, besides starting the left front panel of the khaki jacket. So, today I am sharing a sock project I finished earlier this year.

This is the now famous Monkey pattern by Cookie A. knit with Fleece Artist Sea Wool. Last time I was on Ravelry, about 1800 people had made these socks! I can see why - these were a fun and fast knit, and I loved loved loved knitting with this yarn. Fleece Artist makes the most beautiful handpainted yarns ever - rich gorgeous colours to oggle over. yum. I would buy a skein in every colour if I could. And they're Canadian (based in Nova Scotia) which makes them even better!