Knitography

Almost There

2009-10-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Monday afternoon I finally got myself out to the store to buy buttons for my long-neglected .http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif With buttons in hand I was able to decide how many buttons the cardigan needed, and where they should go. That all-important decision made, it was a short day's work (more or less) to finish the button band and sew up the remaining seams. The ends are woven in and

Detour

2009-10-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I acquired a skein of Malabrigo Sock in the colour 'tiziano red'; it was one of those things where I fell in love with the colour and had to have it, immediately. My intention was to turn it into socks, but the more I fondled it (and it's very soft, so I probably did that more than is normal or healthy), the more I realized it would make a rather short-lived pair of socks. It

A Chill In The Air

2009-10-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Today is a holiday in Canada; we've stuffed ourselves full of turkey, mashed potatoes and roasted veg, and now it's time to relax on the couch with some knitting. Introducing the Druid Mittens from Vogue Knitting Fall 2008. This is a fantastic pattern; the cables are intuitive, the texture is so satisfying, and it contains the kind of clever little details that make knitting your own mittens so

King of Insight

2009-10-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ideally, this would be the post where I triumphantly unveil my completed Forestry sweater. The weather's getting nippy, and frankly I could use another sweater. However, about 1/3 of the way into the button band, I decided I couldn't proceed any further until I decided how many buttons I was going to have, and how big they'd be. Kind of crucial details, wouldn't you say? So Forestry is on

The Boring Bits

2009-08-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

This summer hasn't been very productive for me, knitting-wise. I've been a little more interested in sitting in the hammock with a good book than in knitting, but I have been nibbling away at a variety of projects. A little bit of sweater, a little bit of shawl, a few rounds on a scarf that might never end. Fall is creeping up on us though - I can tell by the way the evenings are tolerable

Instant Gratification

2009-08-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not all that into babies. Toddlers I like - we tend to get along like gangbusters (I choose not to read into that, vis a vis my maturity), and I can usually find some level on which to relate to young kids. Babies though? Meh. Baby knits, on the other hand, I like very much. Plus, babies become toddlers which become young kids, right?Some good friends of mine are about 2 weeks away from

Too Hot

2009-07-27T17:40:00.001-07:00

Summer has truly arrived in the Lower Mainland (i.e. Vancouver and its surrounding cities), and it is hot. HOT. I feel bad for complaining, because blue skies and sunshine are a nice change from gloom and rain. But it's a little hot for my liking. Apparently, I am the Goldilocks of weather; if the world was room temperature (or slightly warmer) all the time and it only rained at night, I'd

Done and Done

2009-07-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

For the past several months, I've had 6 or 7 things on the needles (if you include socks and a scarf I may not finish until 2012, but those don't count, right?) at all times. This has been great for preventing boredom, but not so great for finishing things. As much as I like the process of knitting, I enjoy getting a finished object out of it even more, so I really needed to getting cracking.So

Proof I Still Knit

2009-06-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Despite evidence to the contrary, I am still a knitter, and this is still primarily a knitting blog. Lately though, it hasn't been the kind of knitting blog that features finished objects. Allow me to correct that.Some dear friends of mine are preparing for the birth of their second baby, which, as I'm sure you know, is an exciting time in the life of a knitter. I understand that second babies

Perfect Sunday: A Recipe

2009-06-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

It's very simple: a hammock, some knitting, a good book and a beer. Canine companionship optional but appreciated.

This Is My Yarn

2009-05-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

So I met my goal of plying up my first batch of Tempted Yarn singles this past weekend, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.This is approximately 132 yards of 3-ply 50% wool/50% soysilk, spun from Tempted Yarns top in the colour "Eclipse". It's 17 wraps per inch, which means I also met my goal of spinning a fingering weight yarn.I love the process of finishing handspun yarn. The

Long Weekends Are For Spinning

2009-05-19T18:03:00.001-07:00

This weekend was a long one in Canada. Most of us may not have much use for the Queen, but we appreciate the opportunity to celebrate her birthday by going camping, gardening, firing up the BBQ, or in my case, spinning.This is Enchanted Knoll 50% wool/50% soysilk top in "Eclipse", and I'm enjoying spinning it so far. It's really easy to draft, and I'm getting a nice, fine single on my True

Plus ça change

2009-05-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

The earth's rotation is bringing us back to the sunny side of life. It's warm enough now not only to BBQ (let's face it, we can do that all year round on the West Coast), but to enjoy being outside while you're at it.Colour is returning to a world that was drab and grey for far too long.Oddly, my yarn related activities aren't following the trend.

The Honeymoon Phase

2009-05-01T08:15:00.001-07:00

Ah, the innocent joy that comes with the first few repeats of a new lace pattern. You smooth it out every few rows to see how it's coming along, feel terribly clever to be creating something so intricate and so beautiful, and imagine how the completed shawl will look with various items from your wardrobe (it would look fabulous of course, and make you more fabulous by association).The quantity

Love, Hate

2009-04-26T13:56:00.001-07:00

Corrugated ribbing: I hate doing it, but love the results. Stripes!This is the first in what will eventually become a pair of Galileo Mittens. For reasons having to do with my own incompetence, I had to knit the first 5 rows three times, but I've since gotten my act together and am now thoroughly enjoying the pattern. The yarn is Malabrigo Sock, and not only is it deliciously soft, but Cote

Transformation

2009-04-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

I may have a new obsession, but I'm still actively pursuing my other yarn related hobby; my most recent finished object is a shawl for my mother, for Mother's Day.I love the texture of unblocked lace - this reminds me of an upside-down egg carton. I normally consider blocking a bit of a chore, but lace undergoes such a profound alteration when blocked that it's actually enjoyable.Pattern:

New Obsession

2009-04-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

In the past, I've been pretty firmly against the idea of learning to spin. For the most part, this is largely because I didn't want to end up with a bunch of single skeins of yarn - particularly mediocre skeins of yarn. As much as I love the process of knitting, there is a part of me that feels it's pointless if I don't get a usable item out of it, and I'm rarely drawn to projects that involve

Birds!

2008-10-14T20:05:00.001-07:00

Now that I'm done with the ribbing, knitting this sweater has become so much more fun! It's like a completely different project. I'm almost done the first body chart, which means I'll be moving on to the sleeves shortly.

Three Little Birds

2008-10-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

Three Little Birds by Bob Marley is the song I inevitably get stuck in my head when working on my Little Birds sweater - even though at this point the sweater has no birds at all, and will eventually have quite a few more than three. Still, as ear worms go you can do a lot worse than Bob Marley.I'm about two weeks into this project and I'd like to be able to say that I'm loving it, but the truth

Spoiled Feet

2008-10-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

As promised last week, I gathered all my Project Spectrum socks together this weekend for a picture.I have to admit to feeling a certain sense of accomplishment when I saw them all together in one place. It's great to see my collection of hand knit socks growing, especially as we wind our way towards winter. This knitters feet are going to be warm, cozy, and dry!I can't decide which ones are my

Project Spectrum Wrap Up

2008-10-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

Project Spectrum has come to an end for another year, and as with any long term project, the end is a good time to do a little review.Looking back, I'm pretty happy with the results of my efforts, both knitting and photography. Things did start coming off the rails towards the end, and I didn't finish nearly as many blue/purple/black projects (or take many photos) as I intended. I'm going to

Bring On The Cold

2008-09-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

Summer has slipped into Autumn, and while there has been a little nip in the air these past few days, true cold is yet to come. When it arrives, I will be ready! Six months after casting on, the Fiddlehead Mittens are finally done.This project wasn't abandoned because of issues with either the yarn or the pattern - I love them both. Rather, this project fell victim to seasonal impracticality.

Feelin' the Love

2008-09-12T08:12:00.001-07:00

One of the fun things about blogging is that it increases your opportunities to interact with other knitters. It's a warm community, and I'm certainly feeling the love today after being given an "I love your blog" award yesterday by Knitgeekery. I haven't been reading her blog for long, but I love how she ties her knitting commentary in to so many other interesting topics (plus she posts

Fall is for Finishing

2008-09-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been feeling the urge to clean up my (admittedly small) pile of WIPs. It's gotten to the point where I don't even have the urge to start anything new, even though the yarn for Little Birds is waiting patiently in my stash. Partly I think this is due to my recent move; sorting and packing and unpacking all take it's toll on a person's energy! Partly I think it's just my personality

Garter Stitch Mitts

2008-09-04T07:56:00.001-07:00

I love projects that can be finished in one afternoon. Is there anything better than casting on a new project and having a completed knit a scant few hours later? I moved this past weekend, and when all the dust had settled I felt like a simple, mindless knit that could be finished in a short amount of time to give me a sense of accomplishment. Enter the Garter Stitch Mitts.Pattern: Garter