Skrilla Knits!

skrillaknits @ 2005-10-21T20:35:00

2005-10-22T00:41:17Z

I have the same birthday as Glampyre!

2005-09-27T02:47:16Z

I'm stuck on a sweater for the store, it's just endless stockinette. I always think I'm in the home stretch, but then it just dr-aaa--gs on.

Nice buttons, eh? Can't wait to have this puppy done so I can "buy" (store credit from the knitting) another Lexie Barnes bag. They're the best, and my skull print is limited edition. I think my bag addiction stems from always wanting to cart around lots of books and things I deem necessary. It's just comforting to have all your accouterments with you. I jokingly said that it's a good investment because it'd make a good diaper bag (it's huge and waterproof) and all the ladies at work are now convinced I'm coming down with baby flu. Not so! Some day, but hopefully YEARS from now.

I knit a panta recently, you can read more about them at Craftster.

Wine isn't normally on my vanity, by the way, I was celebrating a birthday and anniversary, and of course, a finished object!

I've been messing about with some Noro #95, I know the edges look incredibly uneven, but I'm double-knitting inside out to get a stockinette tube. The yarn is so uneven in spots I'm really not worried about it having a slubby look. I just love the colors!

Lastly, I highly recommend this product that I once ridiculed: a Yarntainer. Even when you have a fancy knitting bag, your yarn falls apart, gets caught in your hairbrush, gets lip gloss or lint, or marshmallow Fluff on it, and these handy things totally prevent those occurences. (Infomercial voice) I love mine!

<3,

Cirilia

P.S. Guess who knit on a mountain top this weekend?

skrillaknits @ 2005-09-09T00:53:00

2005-09-09T04:58:17Z

The new Knitty rules. Like I needed them, there are at least four patterns I'd love to knit. It seems like the men's issue JUST came out, doesn't it? I was feeling sort of jaded today, and not liking the momentum that knitting has been gathering. It just seems to be getting a little out of hand, but that could be a skewed perception, I mean I DO work in a yarn store full time =) This issue has me really excited though, especially because so many of the designers are people I've "known" in blogland for awhile. I'm especially excited for the lovely Jen who is sure to become another yarn and needles rockstar. Congrats all of you!

CR

A draught, then three entries in rapid succession!

2005-09-08T12:00:51Z

Happy Birthday to me!

This is the pink scarf I mentioned a few entries back. It was knit by a BOY, a boy who looks like Gaston from 'Beauty and the Beast' and it is perfect! I've never been given anything handknit! It's great! This is Malibrigo in Cactus Flower, and he knit this so fast that I am kind of sick with jealousy. If you order from Webs, it's likely that your order will be packed by the same hands that knit this piece of loveliness.

I was really sick this weekend and still looked kinda pale when I returned to work yesterday, but this made me look like I'd been off at a day spa. I love black as much as the next girl, but every now and then I have a jones to be pretty in pink.

Thanks Beavis (when he isn't reminding me of Gaston, he's reminding me of Beavis),

CR =)

skrillaknits @ 2005-09-04T10:57:00

2005-09-04T15:16:49Z

Note the crazed gleam in only one eye. Don't know what that is all about...I really don't care for large guage fair isle at ALL. It makes me look like and amateur...sigh.

Meet Quinn named after our cutest toddler customer. This is a Blue Sky Alpaca pattern, and Blue Sky organic cotton. His scarf is Lettuce Malibrigo and a sparkly yarn, knit by Jenni, another Webs maven.

A small bit of the store...

Heaven! My favorite stock room, it houses the sock yarns, Cascade, Classic Elite, the ever-popular BROWN SHEEP:

AND, drumroll...all the Noro:

Just one aisle of the warehouse:

And lastly, Freddy, the store cat:

Freddy is such a loverboy:

I have guests and I'm being very antisocial. Time for brunch plan making.

CR

WIPs Part One

2005-09-02T01:09:20Z

So I was feeling bad because all I do is post yarn, and because I haven't finished anything for a long time. But it occurred to me that I actually have a whole lot of work in progress, and that I finished a few things that never made it to the blog. I'm taking the camera to work tomorrow to remedy that, but here are a few progress pics in the meantime.

My store sweater in Cascade Eco+ and a hat for a co-worker made out of Berroco Vibe. It's a bit of a joke between us, he loves the Vibe, which is a really odd yarn. It's this single roving plied with a bit of stretchy black Suede. It comes in mostly neon colors, but this white is actually kind of cool. He's knitting me a pink Malibrigo garter stitch scarf. Details on that when I get it!

Hot Lava sleeve. I have a sleeve and a half done. Can't wait to have it done. The Misti Alpaca is so, so, SO fantastic.

.

The back, which is curling.

My Weasley! I'm in Alison's second Weasley-along, which I'm so excited about. This is my second intarsia project, after my first sweater, Skully, and it's much, much better thanks to my co-worker Pixie, who taught the Stitches I course I took this summer. I used to try all sorts of fancy (read: made-up) twists and carries to avoid cutting yarn. She made me realize that you just have to suck it up and cut EVERY time you change colors. Check it out:

End weaving hell! And I've already started weaving some in! Oh well, I think it'll be worth it. I love the Silkroad Tweed.

LASTLY, my new winter boots:

Everyone in my life was urging me to get more supportive footwear, to alleviate some health problems I've been having. It seems to be working so far. These are courtesy of Dad, don't they look like Fair Isle!? I love them, and wore them in 80 degree heat a couple days ago. I think I'm getting the Mary Janes too...

More later, kids =)

CR

Yarn collecting.

2005-08-18T12:45:14Z

FIRST--I learned Magic Loop last night. It's really neat, and I'll probably teach it in the Knit Differently class I'm co-teaching at Webs this fall. I'm teaching two classes and also hosting and promoting College Knitting Drop-in, which I'm told is called Drinkin' Drop-in by one of my superiors...probably because I once tried to move my Stitch and Bitch group to the Tunnel Bar.

I learned Magic Loop to do this wonderful shrug. It's cleverly constructed, and the perfect way for me to use the luscious Misti Alpaca chunky that we've all been burying our faces in at work. The stuff is like warm, fuzzy silk, and it smells like roses. It's manna for knitters. I have the perfect button ready and waiting, a big wooden flower.

I've finished three things since last posting, the sweater for Stitches and a Baby Bobbi Brown Bear (it's my perogative), a Blue Sky Alpaca pattern that makes good use of alliteration. It's cute, it has a huge lumpy head and he's definitely on the chubby side, which he's a little sensitive about. No pictures of those, but I'll take the camera to work soon and get some.

I DO have pictures of my ballet tee!

This was such a fun knit. I really want to try it with the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, which would mean NO ENDS. This sweater is stretchy and ends pop through on occasion. What a well-written pattern though. Can't wait to knit more for Loop-d-Loop.

All this knitting for the store=lots of store credit. Here's what I've collected:

Enough of this wonderful new Kureyon color to make a Rosedale without the intarsia block.

Some of this LOVELY hand-dyed yarn from Great Adirondack, which will probably be a wide feather and fan or ostrich plume scarf/shawl:

Some stuff for a felted bag or two. This isn't all of it, there are some deep plum skeins of Lopi and also a few discontinued Noro colors. The fabric is from Valley Fabrics and it's GORGEOUS and perfect for what I'm making. The best part is the creepy girl who is drawn in black behind the floral pattern. It's right out of "The Virgin Suicides".

Random Noro, some awesome boot sock yarn destined to be Mrs. Bucket fingerless gloves and a book by my hero, the hilarious Maggie Righetti. Please, read her. Even two pages will help your knitting.

My special order from Brown Sheep! I got some sport weight Nature Spun to make these fair isle mittens. Very excited. I also got a lot of the fingering weight to make a fair isle cardigan from Rowan Vintage style. It didn't photograph well, so it's not here. It's nice stuff, GREAT colors and it's soft but not overly so. It's definitely wool, which I want for this project. It was also DIRT CHEAP. For the yardage and quality, it was ridiculous.

Lastly, I received some lace-weight yarn from Handpaintedyarn.com. Not as soft as the Malibrigo, but dyed the same way...I was expecting more variegation to be honest. These are very solid colors. Which is probably good, but I love the variegation of Malibrigo. The orange (Rhodesian) is going to be an Elizabeth Zimmerman shawl and the pink (Damask Rose) might be something from a Gathering of Lace, the Rose is a Rose shawl. This won't be happening ANY time soon, mind you...

I'm knitting another store sample garment, out of Cascade Eco+, a lovely grape color, #3479. It's a Yankee Knitter pattern, a really cute one. Easy easy pattern, which is good, because I try to study for the GREs while I knit this.

It's kind of chilly out, and I'm really, really excited about this. I've always loved fall and winter, but knitters REALLY love cold weather.

I know it's kind of boring to just see pictures of yarn. I hope to post more FOs soon. Now that I know I can knit a sweater in a day (the ballet tee) procrastination seems silly.

Time to go to the World of Yarn! That's what the owner's son thinks the store should be called, and I'm all for it.

CR

Viele worter.

2005-08-08T14:10:06Z

So I'm enjoying a day off, after a 7 straight day run at Webs. I worked 6, and took a class on the 7th. Good times! It wasn't difficult, but by the end of it I was dying to

a) Sleep in 'late' (about 9:00)

b) Bum around town, esp. Jones Library and Raos, my second favorite coffeeshop that I haven't been to almost all summer. It's perfect for studying, and the art on the walls is the only thing better than the people watching. Work keeps trumping the tasks I had for myself this year, and that isn't good. I need to stop knitting round the clock and start studying for the GREs more intensively, working on my application, and focusing on a research area. It's my biggest UFO!

c) Knit my own stuff! I've been doing swatches for the store, surprise gifts for people and that cardigan for Stitches Midwest and Stitches East. I haven't even been keeping track of things on this journal because Eric's camera is broken. Apologies to my tiny readership!

The cardigan came out okaaaaaay...the yarn is lovely, it looks like Lopi but is infinitely softer and better to work with. It's an easy pattern, that's for sure. BUT--the finishing riled me. Weaving in bulky yarn ends was just too much for me...I threw it across the room a couple of times, I'm not going to lie. They showed through or looked awful almost every time. And it was fair isle, so there were MANY. The pressure to make it look perfect was really intense, but I finally had to just leave it at work, because it was giving me major knitter's anxiety. If any of you are going to Stitches, look out for my Neapolitan ice cream sweater!

What else? I made a wombat for Ben Lee, who is the musician I adore most. I knit it throughout the show, but stopped when I got to the ears, because I was a little tipsy and also because the music was getting really good.

I made a Steek Vest from Loop-D-Loop, but it's too sexy and not in a good way. In a naked way. You can't really wear anything underneath without ruining the steek effect, so I'm reknitting into the Webs team uniform, the Ballet Tee. EVERYONE is making one, and with our store discount, it's about 10 dollars worth of Cotton Fleece, so I'll probably make a couple if it comes out nicely.

There is more, I'm swimming in yarn and projects. I got some lace yarn from Handpaintedyarn.com which is essentially Malibrigo. It's not as soft, but I'm looking forward to making some lace shawls this winter. I'll probably start with the Elizabeth Zimmerman Pi shawl, the one that looks like a sunflower.

Lately I've been planning a few felted bags, I'm excited about those. Details on those later.

OH, one MORE thing. I saw "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and while the only actual needlework done on camera was crochet, the Bucket house was FILLED with grubby knitted objects...which, if you washed them, would look a lot like items from the new Rowan magazine, which I think I'll have to plunk down $19.95 for, because it's fabulously art directed. The Craftsters have noticed, too! That's one of fantasy careers, art direction. I'd love to be the person who decides that Helena Bonham Carter should wear holey fingerless gloves.

This is way too much text, I'm exhausted! I'm planning to take a little yarn inventory soon and that's going to be a little daunting, and it's sure to induce a little guilt, so I'm just going to knit my way through it.

Needles poised...

Ready, set, knit!

CR

Extreme Knitting!

2005-07-21T23:21:55Z

OHHHH man...

So get this--there was a minor crisis at work this week and we suddenly need about 8 items to be shown at upcoming Stitches conventions (Stitches East in Atlantic City and Stitches West in Illinois). This morning myself and two coworkers were assembled in a little knitting think-tank team and we frantically found patterns to knit that fit the following criteria:

1. It had to be knit with one of the new Valley Yarns.(which are gorgeous and ALL UNDER 5 bucks a ball!)

2. It had to be knittable, meaning not overly ornate. We cater to beginners.

3. It had to be attractive, and wearable.

4. It had to be a pattern that isn't affiliated with/written for a specific yarn.

5. We like to knit from single patterns or books that people won't mind buying or are likely to already own (Stitch and Bitch, Ann Budd's Handy Sweater Pattern book, etc.)

Anyhow, we settled on patterns, yarns, colors, and divvied up the work, and most of us cast on right then and there! I will take pictures of the madness as it happens--we're working under a two week deadline. This is insanity, but also fun.

Okay, I have to use this typing energy to KNIT!

CR

LATE-NIGHT UPDATE!!

I banged out a sleeve! Easy!

I guess this lovely little number will have to wait...sigh...I'm really liking the yarn (Tahki Capri, a cotton tape yarn). It's a bright summer color that I never really wear. It's melonish. Oh, and it's the Steek Vest from Loop-d-Loop.

Lastly...my wonderful employers gave this bag to me as a pre-thank you for some work I'll be doing this fall. She pointed out (correctly) that she knew I wouldn't buy this for myself. I LOVE it, it's by a woman named Lexie Barnes who is local. I've become an unofficial spokeswoman for this line. And look, this print matches my new shoes!

So tired. Tomorrow is another Stitch and Bitch at Haymarket, should be fun again.

CR

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

2005-07-03T02:56:04Z

That's me this week, I've been on a knitter's high! I was feeling really out of it at work, sort of sick but trying to tough it out. The Ladies are just too much fun. Their generosity and patience is just amazing, it really reminds me of my days waiting tables with the all-lady staff at the fabulous Acton Jazz Cafe. I leave everyday with a big smile.

This was the week of FREE STUFF! Free leftovers from yarn reps, wonderful gifts from a hand-dyer coworker, treasures from the library, store assignments, GIFTS FROM MY SECRET PAL!...it goes on and on and on! I really hate to get so jazzed about materialistic stuff, but this is truly special stuff, from the beautiful and thoughful gifts to the invaluable information to the outright glee that comes from FREE YARN.

This picture contains my library haul, an original Elizabeth Zimmerman and a huge Principles of Knitting, by J.H. Hiatt. It's out of print and a co-worker told me that is sells on eBay for $400...and I can kind of see why. It's a massive tome with every technical factoid you'd ever need. But it discourages Continental, which I disagree with. Still, I'll probably be renewing that one a billion times.

Also shown: Erika Knight's Knitting for Two. Yeah, it's maternity, but whatever, a lot of the patterns can be worn whether with child or not. And the baby patterns are really, really cute. Little papoose sacks and Peruvian style hats, stuff like that. I have a new little boy cousin on the way who could use some special duds.

There is a pattern on the right that is a two dimensional kimono, knit in one flat piece. I'm taking a design workshop this summer and you can't create anything that requires traditional sweater construction. I'm not too into the poncho, so I'm hoping to adapt this pattern to include a flower eyelet lace pattern (instead of the horizontal rib). I think shawl collars will be so nice in the fall and winter, and I've been drooling over this sweater that Summer wore on the O.C. which actually turned out to be something they scored at Urban Outfitters for very little money. The real one is acrylic, I think I'll be using Cascade Ecological Wool in white.

Most exciting--MY LATEST SECRET PAL HAUL! She sent me some Blue Sky Alpaca's Knitter's Balm, which has a great clean herbal scent that I love, and it's really greaseless, just like it says! Perfect for knitters, and people who like moisturized hands but not goop. ALSO, she sent a Jane Ellison collection, for Noro yarn! I love it, I've coveted it forever! These patterns will work for so many yarns, I am so so excited about this, thanks a million Secret Pal. She (or he?) is really throwing me off, this package came from Minnesota (if I remember correctly) and the last one was from Washington.

On the way home from work I picked up some strawberries from a (get this) drive-through farm stand. I love Western Mass. Eric found a mutant one:

I started a sauce, some brown sugar, red wine and butter. Mmm. I know the butter sounds weird, but it was just a little.

On with the yarn parade. This is Air from Berroco, a neat wool-nylon blend that has a metallic core. Looks very futuristic, I'm thinking of making Libby Baker's Crosshatch Cloche with it. 1920s fashion rules, I decided. It was from the yarn rep, and free free free!

Next is some beautiful hand-dyed yarn from my coworker Gail Callahan. She calls herself the Kangaroo Dyer, and she is so talented. She is hilarious, generous and kind and she has an amazing eye for color. She brought in some stuff she didn't want, and I pounced on it. It's alpaca with a little nylon, and it's simply gorgeous. It's slightly shiny, a complex grey with red, blue and charcoal running through it. It reminds me of a storm. I have SO much, I'm thinking a scarf for the Boy and maybe this shawl:

She also brought me a hank of Malabridgo, because she gave one to my coworker Huelo a few weeks ago and didn't want me to feel left out. This is a thoughtful, thoughtful woman. This looks like a sunset!

Moving on...I've been working on a Gryffindor scarf because an amazing batch of Malabrigo Sunset (the real one, not Gail's version) came in, it's a super saturated yellow. I hpaired it with burgundy to get this Harry Potter dork scarf. I'm double-knitting inside out, but the reverse stockinette looks so good I might make more this way and just not turn them inside out.

It's totally camoflauge with my couch covering:

Okay, drumroll please--Jill Montgomery, who is in charge of classes at Webs asked me to teach a class! It's going to be part of a series on quick gifts, this will be an afghan. She took me to a room with three boxes teeming full of the new Valley Yarns, our store brand. They are FANTASTIC. Look at them! I chose mostly greens, because I love them, and thought it needed something more. I thought a pink, but Jill added this coral red, and it's perfect. This sample is evocative of a long-stemmed rose. I have to put together a little curriculum as well as an afghan pattern. I can't believe the level of responsibility they give us younger knitters, it's really nice. I can't wait to teach this!

What else? Yeah, there is more! I've been swatching up a storm, it earns store credit and it's fun. Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Tweed was a pleasant surprise. I'm knitting a Branching Out scarf out of Karabella Cashmere for the store...I'm not too into this cashmere to be honest. It just isn't alive the way some other yarns are, it feels overly processed...sort of like my hair right now =/

Last but not least, the first meeting of Happy Hour Knitting is this coming Friday, 6:00 p.m. at the Tunnel Bar in Northampton. There are huge leather chairs and huge glasses of wine. Hope to see lots of local faces who are looking for a laidback knitting group and some laughs.

<3

Cirilia

Photoshoot, ja!

2005-06-23T01:10:42Z

Would you like to see some yarn?

This is what I took to the Unofficial Christian Bale Film Fest last weekend ('Batman Begins' and 'Howl's Moving Castle'). It's for mein vater, a late Father's Day present. The bottle opener is totally silly and he'll LOVE it because it plays the winning play from the World Series everytime you open a cold one! The Lopi is making such nice stripes, don't you think? I'll post more pictures post-felting.

This beautiful yarn:

is becoming a cool little wrap:

I think it looks like a sari right now, but once it's done it seems like you can play around with it quite a bit to get different looks. It is dancerly and covers the embarrassing tattoo, both big pros for me.

I splurged on a Jo Sharp pattern book today. Most of the patterns are totally unnecessary, almost insulting (a garter stitch scarf, gee thanks). I bought it for the beautiful crochet shawl pattern and for this little wrap, called the Cosmopolitan. I think I could knit this in a million yarns, but it's supposed to be in Rare Comfort mohair. We just got Frog Tree alpaca, and I took home two colors of the DK weight to play with.

THIS is 1/2 a pound of Jaggerspun Zephyr, a BEAUTIFUL and fine silk wool blend. It will be used to make this hilarious and cute multi-personality tube thing from Magknits.com, it can be found as a PDF here:

http://www.magknits.com/warm04/patterns/sheer.pdf. It's funny, this is the very yarn that led me to Webs about a year ago. I didn't get it then because it was too rich for my blood, but today I used a discount and store credit I earned from doing extra work, which my co-worker Huelo calls "fake money". It is VERY easy (and totally guilt-free) to spend fake money! The color is Basil, which I can't find in any stores anywhere (I NEED PESTO!) so I'm growing and now knitting my own. To me it looks like an old glass soda bottle, I love it. I will have a lot left over, and this is good.

Eric is good, he requested some handwarmers, so I bought some Jo Sharp Silkroad Tweed (top contender for favorite yarn ever) for him in Russet.

However--the fool makes fun of my comfy summer undies, which are totally Hanes HER Way (picture NOT posed), but he is convinced they're 'mundies', or 'man undies'. I call them 'manties'. And I don't care.

That's all for now kids!

I've been considering enrolling in a program to become a Master Knitter, as I've mentioned before. Well, I signed up for a class on multi-color knitting techniques that counts towards it, so it's getting more official, as well as a Two-Dimensional design class that might count as an elective. Good times!

Love,

CR

!!!

2005-06-19T13:51:40Z

Yesterday at work someone recognized me from my blog and Glampyre's reader gallery! Am I a dork for feeling totally famous!? I was feeling ashamed about the quality of my blog, and telling a co-worker just an hour before this happened. Hi to Jenna if you're reading! She looked exactly like Gabi Hoffman with a faux-hawk and has great taste in yarn, she scored some Big Kureyon, some green lace-weight Schafer and some soft grey angora. Have fun with it.

I still love the job. Lately I've been getting knitting homework, swatches, baby booties, and a Fair Isle cardigan out of the very Cascade yarn I'd been raving about. Can't tell you how great it is to have this be my JOB. Hanging out with other knitting-o-holics is just the very very best.

I will most likely add some FO pictures to this in the next day or two. I'm making a very quick shoulder warmer out of this LUCIOUS yarn:

In color 105, which has amazing depth because of the slightly differently colored plies. It's going to be my anti-AC summer sweater.

<3

CR

P.S. My dancing just made the record skip! Awesome.

skrillaknits @ 2005-06-10T22:36:00

2005-06-11T03:10:18Z

It is so hot. Massachusetts is really, really humid these days. And yet what accompanies me on my morning commute? Bulky Lopi, scratchy, hot Icelandic wool. It's a Father's Day gift, I can't say what it is yet, but there will be pictures! It's varigated and it's striping, maybe because I'm knitting it in the round and the repeats are pretty long. It looks great!

My Secret Pal is GREAT! She is from Seattle, I think, and I just got my first package today. It contained some delicious smelling mango tea, a beautiful card, a really cute piggy measuring tape (you pull the curly tail to measure things) and some Lorna's Laces sock yarn in the limited edition Knit Happens colorway! My mom lives down in VA and this spring I trekked to the Knit Happens boutique in Old Town. It's really special yarn, and the socks will bring back good memories! Thank you Secret Pal!

My job is really perfect. Talking about knitting all the live long day is just a really fun thing. I was spending a large portion of my last semester of college thinking and talking about knitting, and now it doesn't feel like it was wasted time. My coworkers are really sweet and talented. There are a lot of ladies who are older than me, and I like to hear what they have to say about life. It's easy to get entrenched in your own generation, and the young are especially guilty of being egocentric.

I have to rave about a yarn. It's Cascade Ecological Wool and Eco+, it is $15.00 and $18.00 respectively and it is---drumroll please---478 yards a skein. It's not even itchy and it knits up to 3.5 stitches on a 9 or 10 needle. I was reeling at the (affordable!) possibilities for this yarn. Check it out, post haste.

Okay, boyfriend is pestering me for the computer. But! Boyfriend is also roommate now, which means digital camera access all the time, and he recently requested (!!) fingerless gloves, which makes me love him more.

Over and out,

Cirilia

skrillaknits @ 2005-05-29T08:46:00

2005-05-29T13:40:21Z

SO. Much news. This was my first week at Webs! And I recently discovered that a really awesome person I met at UMass will be starting next week. Really looking forward to getting some new knitting buddies, since Bonnie and her hambag (my bosom buddy used to carry around her knitting in an old cloth bag that was for cured ham) are very far away.

The anniversary sale was a huge justification for me to spend a good amount on yarn, which I expected. I'm spending the first weeks pay on a work wardrobe anyway, I decided. My shabby jeans just ain't cutting it anymore. I took out my lip ring yesterday, but that went right back in when Eric didn't notice after 5 minutes of forced staring. I reallized that the older ladies probably don't notice it either!

It is really fun to play knitting guru all day, let me tell you. I feel helpful and creative. I'm also always designing, and getting inspiration. My co-workers are really nice and the day goes quickly, with plenty of yarn fondling. We order from delicious Northampton eateries. It's family owned.

These are the pros. So far the only cons have been a few ageist (sp?) remarks from customers and realizing the true depth of the novelty yarn craze. It's absolutely obscene. The ladies I work with say it's "our bread and butter" but to me it looks like a cartoon character's innards! Blech! The ageism thing really galled me. This woman dragged me all over the store and had me doing crazy knitting math, crazy fast and then I said, 'oh yeah, I love to knit blah blah yarn' and she turns to me and says, 'oh--you knit??' in the nastiest voice, as though anyone under 50 couldn't POSSIBLY handle two sticks and some wool. Whatever! (I'm reclaiming 'Clueless' slang!)

So you're probably wanting to peek into my yarn bag. I stocked up on a lot, but it was all deeply discounted.

I got some navy blue Cascade 220 for a tube top called Lelah that a Craftster designed. My favorite version is this one by the amazing Winnie.

I plan to use a pale pink ribbon, most likely a velvet one like this knitter did. The pattern is on Boozehags main site.

I got some deep eggplant purple Lopi for this hobo bag from Knitty, which I may or may not felt. I like the shape and my big denim tote is just too easy to pack full of stuff, which ends up being quite heavy and I'm a intermodal commuter who doesn't need all that extra weight! P.S. for knitters in need of bags that aren't emblazoned with neon kitty cats, nothing against kitties: this designer came into Webs with some samples that totally RULE. I helped her pick out knitterly supplies for a photoshoot, and we'll be carrying her bags, hopefully really soon. Her name is Lexie and one bag had a black and white floral print, but when you looked closely you could see SKULLS in the center of the flowers! That's my kind of knitting bag, and an homage to my first sweater, Skully. Also, Old Navy constantly puts out these slim totes that are discounted to about 3 dollars after a few weeks. They're perfect for knitting storage. Scored these yesterday:

I got some yarn for this bolero from Interweave which everyone says is Amelie-esque, but I think they're just swayed by the Audrey Tatou look-alike model. I got Classic Elite Premiere, which is cotton and tencel and very soft. I didn't know tencel comes from wood, but it does. I think this will be an okay Cathay replacement, it's certainly less pricey, but maybe not as springy as there is no microfibre in this one. Oh well! I picked black because this is something I think I will wear ALL the time. I don't have a dressy jacket and I'm always shy about wearing tanktops in public, so this might solve both problems. I have a lot of huge tattoos that I'm not crazy about showing off, and this covers them.

Lastly I pick up some Berroco Denim Silk for a tank that I can hopefully wear this summer.

Also picked up some assorted scraps for free (hello job perk!) that I'll make into some wristlets or something. AND, lastly, two balls of Cascade Fixation stretchy yarn for socks. I got it in--wait for it--varigated green.

NOW, to knit all of that! I'm more busy than ever, but I also have a great big commute every day, so we'll see...

CR

skrillaknits @ 2005-05-23T12:59:00

2005-05-23T17:05:43Z

Secret Pal 5 is starting soon! We all have to fill out surveys so that when the parcels arrive we're all happy. This sort of gift giving is great, I find it really hard to buy gifts for people and love having a little help. Since I love to talk about knitting, I was really thorough, I hope this doesn't scare my pal ; )

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

I like a bargain, and I don't think it's wise to knit in super luxury fibers. I'd say Brown Sheep is my staple brand, it's high quality and all natural and affordable enough to not cause anxiety while I'm wearing it. My splurge yarns are Noro, Jo Sharp, Manos...I do love those =) I have high hopes for Knitpicks yarn, but I haven't tried them yet.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I don't spin yet, and I have basic crochet skills. Right now I do a lot of crochet edgings and I'm hoping to put my 200 Crochet Blocks book to good use and make a big blanket.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

None of those.

4. How long have you been knitting?

Since I was a child. I had a long break for adolecence, though. I'd say I learned around 7 and picked it up again in high school, but the latter half of college is when it really took hold.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I just threw one together, I'll email it to my pal if they want it.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I tend toward the vanilla/foodie ones. I also like clean/citrus/herbal ones. Nothing too berry or floral.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Heh...uhh, yes. A lot. If I end up with a secret buddy in Germany, I would LOVE some authentic gummis. Specially Haribo Cola Krachers, these things are like crack to me. Other than that, I've been trying to cut down, but I can make an exception for gift candy I guess. I'm not too huge on chocolate, but I like it best when paired with MINT!

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

I really prefer knitting over almost everything. I like to cook and I do a little bit of beading but nothing fancy.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Yes. I like mostly music of the indie rock variety. Bjork, Mates of State, Rilo Kiley, Mirah, Bloc Party, Death Cab for Cutie, The Killers, etc. Anything that would show up on a Wes Anderson soundtrack, including The Rolling Stones, Cat Stevens, David Bowie, Nico, AND anything sung in Portuguese. I also LOVE Indian music, especially bhangra and Bollywood soundtracks. I also like somewhat vanilla stuff like John Hiatt and stuff that could be heard during sappy moments of WB family dramas, or some uplifting girl power movie.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I find it really hard to pick a favorite color because each of them has so many variations. Generally I stick with earthy colors, I just love olive green, brown, rusty oranges, etc. But I also love reds, anything from dusty pink to deep wine. And green---green and I are like two 10th graders with their braces stuck together. If you look at my version of Glampyre's Minisweater, which I made out of green scraps I have, you'll see the level of the obsession.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I am shacking up post-graduation with a grown-up Boy Scout and we'd really love a cat or two but our landlords disagree.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

I'm really hoping to be an academic in the field of cultural studies. Learning about personal finance is an ongoing pursuit of mine. I'd like a family but I don't see that in the near future. I just want to be happy and healthy. I've lived abroad and want to explore even more of the world, especially India, Japan, Canada, Iceland, Austria, Norway, Sweden, etc...

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I have loved blends of wool, silk, microfiber and/or cashmere, in any order or amount. I love merino, and just plain old wool. I totally love Jo Sharp Silkroad Tweeds, DK or Aran. They're beautiful and produce a really natural, slightly slubby, soft and springy fabric. Holy alliteration, Batman. I love most tweeds, and this one is tops in my book. I totally adore anything that has a little bit of silk in it--like Noro Cash Iroha. The subdued shine of silk is a thing of beauty.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I don't care for most novelty yarns. They're too busy, I think they obscure the beauty of the knit stitch. I've touched very soft synthetics, so I can't say I hate those. I get a little irritated when working with Lopi or something really heavy/scratchy. Beyond that, I just like things that are beautiful AND hard-wearing. I may like angora, cashmere, alpaca, etc. but you won't see me knitting with those too often. I like luxury I can take to the grocery store like the 15% mohair in Brown Sheep.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

As far as design, I like simple classic shapes. I like wit, like puffed sleeves or high collars, anything that looks like it's taken from another era. I love the mini-sweaters and shrugs, I think they're flattering and very unique. I'm getting into lace details, developing my sock skills and this winter I hope to delve into fair isle. This is dorky and Virgo of me, but I'm also concerned with my technique. I've been sloppy in the past and invented methods for doing things, but I'd like to learn the 'proper' ways, and also slow down so that my finished products are nicer.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

It used to be scarves, but I have way too many and imposed a casual ban on knitting those. I like making garments, and I'm liking the minisweater/shrug craze a lot. I don't usually like knitting 'crazes' but I have alway loved abbreviated pieces like that. Beyond that, I like sweaters and socks.

17. What are you knitting right now? On the needles: Under the Hoodie from Stitch and Bitch that I've been working on FOREVER, Branching Out lace scarf from Knitty and a pair of Regia socks. Coming up next is a felted bag, maybe a Teva Durham tank, a Weasley sweater, a self-designed cardigan...and on and on! I knit too many things at once!

18. What do you think about ponchos?

In the words of an old Molly Shannon SNL character, "Do NOT get me STARTED". If that's too vauge...I don't like them.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

It all depends. Usually circular, but sometimes I don't mind straights, in fact sometimes I kind of crave it, if the project seems to like them.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I thought bamboo was where it was at...until I tried Addis. I thought they looked cold and robotic at first, but they really do increase speed. I was knitting up a camisole on some bamboos recently and everything was sticking. I stopped by Northampton Wools (one of my LYSs) and told the lady about my recent Addi ephiphany and the sticking nonsense. She said that once you reach a certain level, bamboo holds you back and you're going to need metal. I still think it depends on the yarn, Brown Sheep just begs to be knit on bamboo or wood, in my opinion.

21. Are you a sock knitter?

Yes! I recently learned and I love love love all the Regia and Regia-type yarns. I would love to learn new methods.

22. How did you learn to knit?

My grandmother taught the basics, but the rest was all me and my library card.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

I started and Under the Hoodie in September of last year and haven't finished it yet, but I've very close!

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

I love monkeys of all sorts. And pug dogs. And uh...Meatwad from Aquateen Hunger Force. And the mean Power Puff Girl who dresses in green.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

I really like Thanksgiving. I love autumn, I love food and ever since I entered cultural studies, I've found Thanksgiving to be one holiday that isn't riddled with consumer obligation, or religious overtones. I know religion is there, and that there are doubts about how brotherly our ancestors really were, but today I like that it's just about enjoying conversation and food.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

You mean besides yarn? Not really, I am always trying to pare down the level of stuff I own and collecting seems to be counter-intuitive. But I guess tea? I like to keep a wide variety in the cupboard because I often use tea to relax, settle stomachs, headaches, cold symptoms, etc. It's my all-purpose medicine!

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

None, but I usually get them at the newsstand. Usually Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting and Vogue K1. Sometimes I get Family Circle Easy Knitting.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?

Anything Elizabeth Zimmerman! This Noro book. The Tweed Collection by Debbie Bliss, Vintage Style from Rowan, really anything from Rowan. Back issues of Rebecca.

Here are two more finished knits. These were finished and photographed awhile ago, but with the graduation and moving duties, I haven't had a chance to post until now. I give you, My Dinorific Minisweater:

I totally love this knit, Glampyre rules. It's the funniest looking thing I've ever knit and kind of my favorite. I love all of these green yarns and now they're together forever! I did do the spikes, but only on the neck and they need a blocking to be more pointed. I did a crochet edge on the sleeves to make a teensy ruffle. I love crochet edges!

This is Simply Marilyn from Interweave, they've made the pattern free on their website since it was so popular. It was supposed to be in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky...softest yarn on Earth. I did it in a Norweigan wool from elann.com, Gjestal Naturgarn. It's light but kind of scratchy...I think this will be a house sweater, because a large bulky sweater worn off the shoulder just looks kind of funny outside the pages of artfully styled knitting magazine. I should've listened to Maggie Rhigetti and Elizabeth Zimmerman, they both tell us to not be swayed by stuff like lilacs, puppies and soft focus lenses!

The contrast is really high because the cables weren't showing up.

The wool is so stiff that Eric observed that when the collar is up I look like Bjork in her 'Who Is It?' video.

Lastly, this is my Branching Out scarf from Knitty (can't really see the leafy lace) and two balls of German yarn that I picked up for a few dollars at Webs, turquoise and chocolate brown. The label says, auf Deutsch, "The volume, without the weight". I have three in each color I'm hoping I can make a striped funnel neck tank out of it. I don't know why, but I love leaf patterns in cables, fair isle and lace. Maybe it's fitting since I'm also obsessed with green...

That's all for now kids! I start at Webs tomorrow, woot!

Over and out,

CR

CR

Klaralund

2005-05-16T04:58:07Z

This has been done since spring break, I just never had the chance to photograph it. I have several pictures of other finished and semi-finished things, I'll be adding them soon.

This was in Noro 84, one of the most beautiful Silk Garden shades ever. I didn't use a pattern, I just looked at all of the Klara's online, and figured it out...everyone kept saying "I can't believe there is NO shaping at all!" So I guess I kind of cheated...apologies to Miss Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton. I knit two rectangles for sleeves and then using a 24" circular Addi, I picked up stitches and knit a tube downwards to form the body. So easy.

Funny story about this sweater...I was knitting it on a road trip down to Georgia, to meet the Boy's parents for the first time. As we neared their house, I was binding off furiously, asking him every few seconds, "HOW MUCH LONGER??" We were less than a minute away and I still had several inches to take care of, so he pulled into a parking lot and let me finish it. I put it on, instantly declared it lumpy, and prompted decided to wear something else.

Silly? Yeah, but I told this story and showed this sweater during my job interview at Webs and I think it had something to do with me getting hired, because it really impressed the boss. She took it and showed it off around the office. They're getting Silk Garden in, so maybe I'll knit up a store model for them in 34, the purple/green shade that I adore...

<3

Remember the book "Flat Stanley"?

2005-05-07T23:19:50Z

Meet Flat Cami. Since I have no means of taking photos, I scan my knits. This is almost done. My work is a little sloppy, so it might become my beach cover-up; it matches my blue batik bikini perfectly. The light blue is Paton's Brilliance, the dark blue is an obscure Italian one that is identical to the GGH Mystik the pattern calls for. I like this knit, even though my technique is deplorable. It's a logical pattern, it's portable and it seems really flattering on everyone who knits it. Which I kind of need right now, since I finished Simply Marilyn in my bulky wool and...I don't want talk about it.

This weekend I tried to purchase a bicycle I'd been stalking for two weeks online. I "accidently" slept late that Saturday morning, mainly to prolong a dream that involved me hanging out in a castle with Prince Harry (Prince William was mostly absent, which surprised me). Nothing unholy, just me being friends with princes! Anyhow, I went to the place and my bike had been SOLD! Heartbreak followed. The bike was gorgeous, and from England:

I was so mad I went to WEBS, my future place of employment. They are having a massive sale, and I didn't want to miss it. Yes, I engaged in a little retail therapy, albeit EXTREMELY DISCOUNTED retail therapy.

I got some golden Reynolds Lopi to make a present for the bicycle I will eventually have:

AREN'T THEY NEAT? They are called panniers, which is also a favorite Indian food of mine (well, pann-EER). There were so many colors of Lopi, I can't believe I picked the one used in the photo. And it's yellow. Un-me, but fun.

I scored a bag of Jo Sharp Desert Garden cotton for a very low price. Sucky yardage though. I love Jo Sharp's yarns and designs, but didn't have anything in mind for this, but it was seriously cheap. It's a lovely green. I have no idea what to use it for, maybe a longer version of Grace from Knitty, with a leaf design worked in to keep it from getting boring? It's an aran weight cotton is blended with microfibre, people compare it to Rowan's Calmer or All Season's Cotton.

Everything I like is for heavier or lighter yarns, like Cable Eight from Interweave:

I can't really see doubling this yarn up, it'd be unweildy, and it is really crappy yardage as it is (60 yards/50 grams).

I picked up just ONE skein (that's all it takes!) of Silky Wool for Branching Out a really nice summer scarf. I started it while watching the depressing but beautiful film "Virgin Suicides" and ripped it out a billion times. I wasn't planning to start it for real, I just felt like trying it. Today was so leafy and green, it seemed apros pros.

I got a few balls of German super bulky merino, which is actually really light, in brown and turquoise. It is very space age. This will probably grow up to be a clunky tank top, maybe with some colorwork, something based on Teva Durham's work, which is wonderful and full of wit.

Her new book features some overly sullen looking people modeling some seriously clever designs. The leaf sweater shown in Interweave is gorgeous, but I have too many big sacky sweaters as it is...her tanks are great though. Especially the ballet inspired one with cap sleeves and this:

Which I love love love. It's ventilated!

Oh, and I know that all this yarn buying action seems to fly in the face of the "I'm broke" refrain I've been crying all...well, since forever. I have to stress how very cheap it all was, after the sales and my rocking discount. And it is my one splurge, it does wonders for my attitude.

Phew. Time for knitting.

Oh, and a big HI to my mom, who recently entered the fiberous world of stitchin' and bitchin'! She is already making up sweater designs!

Cirilia

skrillaknits @ 2005-04-25T09:21:00

2005-04-25T13:32:58Z

Knitting news? It's looking to be rainy in the next few days, which means I can probably manage to finish my Simply Marilyn, which by the way, is turning out much softer than I thought it would be. The wool is also extremely light, I'm loving it ('it' is Norwiegan Naturngarn from Elann).

I didn't get a digi-cam this weekend like I thought I would, and I have yet to find someone to pester for one. Maybe when my dad comes up for graduation, I can finagle a wooly photoshoot...

OH, but I DID get the job at WEBS. Couldn't be more excited. I had to bring work for them to look at, like it was a call back for an audition or something! It was fun, and I had a very hard time deciding what to bring. I ended up bringing my modified Klaralund (modified because I never bought the pattern, I just made it up, big thank you to everyone who stressed that there was no shaping at all), two mice I made from Stitch and Bitch Nation, my unfinished sock for Mr. Man and my Honeymoon cami in progress. The sock looks really damn good, it's on 0s and my tension is machine like. I frogged them (I had made one too long and risked running out of the Regia) and I really want to remake these soon. The mice showed off lots of skills (finishing: seams, embroidery, weaving in lots of ends and also i-cord, increasing and decreasing) and they are darn cute. Those are in the mail to Mrs. Marklein today. The Klaralund was taken away and showed off around the office by Kathy, my new boss. They're carrying Silk Garden now, so I'm hoping to wear it and inspire lots of imitators this summer!

I hope to god I can post some pictures soon!! I might gather my knits and take them to the black and white photobooth in Northampton!

And in a completely unrelated note, the Yarn Harlot had some

Let me give you some tips

Note to everyone who lives in this house. You are driving me insane. I don't know who you think is going to perform all the manual labour in this house when you finally put me over the edge. In order to prevent the men with the huggy coats picking me up for being a few grapes short of a fruit cocktail, it is important that you read the following.

1. You should clean up a hairball on the carpet if you see one. Do not lie to me and tell me that you did not see it, I know you are lying because you warned me not to step in it. We are not wild animals, we do not simply "work around" disgusting messes until Mum comes home from the guild meeting and cleans it up. I do not feel cherished when you save it for me.

2. Do not, I repeat, do not make the decision to re-lace both of your stupid sneakers while I stand there telling you that you are late for school. This is not a mature decision, and since it is possible to walk to school with your laces laced in a less than perfect manner and instead re-lace them later when no-one is waiting on you, I feel that I must also tell you that as far as attempts to drive me insane go....this one is pretty infuriatingly transparent.

3. Do not use up the last of the toilet paper and tell no-one. This should be obvious.

4. Do not be late and then insist to me that you are not only not late (which you SO ARE) but insist with belligerent indignation that you have never been late in your whole life. You are often late. Everyone knows this about you. We talk about it. We are thinking about starting a victims association. We will have tee-shirts. You are late.

5. Immediately cease and desist with fights so stupid that they would make a United Nations negotiator want to snatch you bald. I cannot possibly hear anything more about who is crowding who on the chesterfield, who is looking out who's window or who took who's lip gloss. I do not care that she was in your room. It matters nothing to me that she took your bookmark out of your book. Stop. It.
(NB. Your sister did not steal your lip gloss. You left it in your pocket where it exploded in the dryer and stained an entire load of laundry.)

6. Put the *&^%$#@@#$% MILK IN THE FRIDGE. Not "by" the fridge, not "near" the fridge. PUT. IT. IN. For the love of wool, I could train monkeys to do this.

7. Do you think, that I...as a woman, a mother and the person intelligent enough to keep a whole family alive and functioning for 16 consecutive years is really so easily tricked that you can lead me to believe that you have changed the hamster cage when I can smell it from the kitchen?

8. I don't want to talk about "the wrong kind of toothpaste" anymore. You're lucky I buy you toothpaste. I have bigger fish to fry than discussing (again) exactly how it is that I have completely ruined your life by getting the wrong toothpaste.

9. Despite having conceived, gestated, nursed and cared for you, I assure you that it is not my fault that your bangs won't curl under.

10. The recycling bins are on the porch. I can tell that up until now you didn't know that, since you have put nothing in them. I trust that sharing their location with you will resolve this issue.

things to say to her housemates/children.

<3

CR

skrillaknits @ 2005-04-21T15:49:00

2005-04-21T19:50:40Z

!!!

WEBS called back, they're "very interested" and want to see knitting samples.

!!!

If I get this job, it's going to be an amazing year off.

Grumble.

2005-04-19T04:37:03Z

Stegosaurus sweater and I are in a fight. I basically finished it, but it's trying my patience. SO MANY ENDS. My fault for wanting it to be so stripe-y...it's also a tiny bit too big. The whole point of knitting a top down sweater in the round is that there is no finishing...not so with this thing.

This was a really experimental piece, I'm not too fond of how rough-hewn it looks, but then again, I guess that's part of the aesthetic.

The minute I put it on I decided I want to make a slinky black version, something you'd see on a ballerina. This is probably going to become a house costume, just like my Monkey Thinking Cap and my child's XL size Abercrombie Academy short-shorts. It's a great design though, and a really fun knit. I'm probably getting a camera this weekend, I'll post pics then, when all the ends are weaved in. It's currently sitting in the time out corner.

I read Maggie Rhigetti's knitting handbook again while I was on duty. It made me care a lot more about technique. I'm so quick to just invent methods of doing things, when there is already a neater one out there. I have to learn to slow down and do things correctly instead of just faking it.

The interview at WEBS went really well, I think. Found out that if hired I can take the classes for free...including a prep course of TKGA Master Knitter certification. Silly, but secretly I think it'd be really rad to be a certified knitting expert.

Anyhow.

CR

Dino Sweater Update

2005-04-14T17:34:40Z

Just kidding, here is the real deal:

My dinosaur Minisweater is coming along. I added spikes along the collar, but as many have said, I think there is a better edging method out there. I love the points but there are far to many ends to weave in, and since I'm striping so many yarns, I have enough of those already. And it really breaks my heart to leave six inch tails of Noro Cash Iroha, which I hear, horror of horrors, is being discontinued! This is the most gorgeous yarn...you have to see it in person to believe it. The shine is not in-your-face or glittery, it's more like a gleam, or a patina...amazing. And it's really soft and amazing to knit with. There is a crispness to it (probably from the silk)...it's SO GOOD.

Anyhow, the Stegosaurus is getting to be a clunky knit. I love the look, but it's also rather sloppy. I had to slow down, my tension was getting really tight as I rush through the ever increasing stiches. My red one and any other future versions are going to be sleeker. I will explain specific problems when I have pictures to show.

And since I'm the most ADD knitter alive, I'm already thinking ahead to the tanks I want to knit after this boobholder is done. (DO NOT ask me if socks or sweaters that I started in winter are done...Boyfriend, this means you!)

I really love the Chevron Rib Tank which is a free pattern on the Interweave press site.

I have 7 balls of this yarn in the Hope colorway...I'm thinking it might be a good summer color. It's very deep raspberry pink with that ugly rust color that I love, very Seventies.

And of course, there are the cotton/viscose (in my mind, it looks like silk) camis. Those are so bare, I'll need more Pilates and higher temps before I'm thinking about sporting those in public.

Oh, and even though I've sworn off scarves, this lace eyelet shawl caught my eye when I was translating an old Rebecca for some extra credit in German. It looks just like Birch, or Backyard Leaves from Scarf Style, I have a think for leaves I guess. More sturdy looking than most lace patterns. It's supposed to be in Soft Kid, the merino/mohair which I'm sure is divine, but maybe Frog Tree Alpaca?

So many knits, so little time...

CR

skrillaknits @ 2005-04-10T16:52:00

2005-04-10T20:53:50Z

I finished my Klaralund, it's very cute. I'm wearing it right now with only a tank underneath and the Silk Garden isn't unbearably itchy. I never stitched the back up because it features by spine tattoo perfectly. I have to admit, I can't wait for someone to say, "ooh nice sweater" so I can scream "THANKS, I MADE IT".

My two very heavy woolen winter sweaters (a Simply Marilyn in army green Norwiegan Naturgarn and a very special version of Under the Hoodie from Stitch and Bitch) are still plodding along. The Under the Hoodie is not a fast knit for me at all, but Marilyn is. I simply can't knit more than about 20 rows on either without getting really hot and bored though. I force myself though because I'm not leaving them unfinished all summer long. It's close.

I made a pair of thank-you mouse toys from Stitch and Bitch Nation for Eric's mother (well, his mother's cat...). They are SO fun, and wicked fast. I'm offering to make them for everyone I know now.

I still love sock knitting, even more so since I finished a pair.

It's really weird, but when it's 'knittin' time' I always put something on to watch, so that my time is doubly relaxing and fun. I do this with housework too, so I feel like I'm kind of multi-tasking. For instance:

Mouse one: Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Mouse two: Pretty in Pink
Bonnie's second sock: Deep Throat w/ Linda Lovelace(yeah, yeah, I was curious for cultural studies purposes, and to check out the soundtrack, which was really hilarious. Mostly the film just reminded me of a Clockwork Orange, especially the orgasm scenes with all the quick cuts of cliche orgasm imagery. Decent to knit by, and I'm sure Bonnie loves that I was watching porn while making her footwear).

The sweaters usually get episodes of The O.C., Sex and the City or Strangers with Candy.

I've joined a Knit-Along, my first. I believe in the power of peer pressure, and I also really want to bust through my stash before I move in a couple months. The sweater is called a Boobholder, or a minisweater and it is from Glampyre.com.

I'm making it in all of my scraps of lovely green yarn, WITH the puffed sleeves and border that everyone seems to skip over. The border totally looks like dino-spikes! I am so excited. This designer is my hero. She's gorgeous, a scientist, lives in Deutschland and her designs and approach to knitting are just the coolest most organic thing in the world. Her work really eliminates the dogged 'must stick to the pattern' feeling. It's really freeing and creative to work her way. This I'm saying just from having read her patterns and her blog, I'm sure knitting it will be a whole new thing to love.

After that there is a Honeymoon Cami knit-along I'd like to get in on.

I have exactly enough yarn to knit two cami's, or one cami and the Soleil tank from the new Knitty.

What is so strange is that this yarn I got was in the sale bin because it had been discontinued. It's a brand I've never really heard of, but I inspected the ball bands and lo and behold, the content, yarnage and gauge matches the yarn specified in the pattern. This is awesome and weird, and makes me think they might be the same yarn labeled and sold as two separate brands. They're both 54% cotton/46% viscose blends, both 120 yards...it's just weird. And good for me because the yarn is obscure. It's called Lane Borgosesia Oceano, it's Italian, and most importantly, already in my stash. I think these tops will be super sexy, and fast and fun to knit.

The Uxbridge tweed will most likely become a cardigan based on her Ubernatural pattern. I love those yarnovers at the raglan sleeves, it's like ventilation! I'm imagining that this cardigan will be very fitted and have really long sleeves, sort of like a ballet leotard?

This is dumb, but I'm already looking towards next winter and knitting Jen from Oxford's Nimbus jacket. I would probably do it in red with brown fur trim, because Laura Ingalls Wilder had a coat like that once and said it made her feel like a pretty little robin.

SO MANY WORDS, I know, I'm sorry. This is basically a notebook for me at this point, but as soon as I get a digital I'll keep this site full of WIP pictures.

I applied for a job at WEBS, aka www.yarn.com. I would really really love to land that. I'm sure it's a high demand position, but it'd be SO PERFECT. PLUS, the discount is scandalous...

This will be my first summer as a rather hardcore knitter (meaning I don't want to quit just because it's warm the way I have in past years) so it'll be fun to find projects that are practical.

Annnnd scene,

Cirilia

skrillaknits @ 2005-01-20T12:46:00

2005-01-20T17:55:49Z

I def. don't need any more knitting projects but this yarn is too dirt cheap to ignore. I like these two schemes, but the question I have is---one cardigan, or two vests? Stripes or fair isle? I gotta limit myself SOMEHOW.

Based on Noro Silk Garden #34:

Brown and Red, two favorites:

BTW this yarn is:

Peruvian Collection Highland Wool

@ www.elann.com

Fibre Content: 100% Highland Wool
Made In: Peru
Care: Hand Wash/ Dry Flat
Gauge: 19 st/4 inches 4.5 mm (US 7)
Yardage: 100 m (109 yards)
Size: 50g (1.75 oz) ball
Price: $2.25 USD

Sigh. I'm working on a billion projects, finished object pics soon (hopefully).

CR

Scarf-maniac

2005-01-01T00:55:13Z

SO I kind of like scarves.

It's the Clapotis! Just thought I'd show how nicely it drapes. This is half width, only 6 increase rows worked, but 9 straight rows worked. I was just halving everything, but 6 straight rows was kind of puny. I love lengthy scarves and would've done all 12 straight rows but Noro Cash Iroha is $$$.

I'm not to down with shawls, I love the idea of them but don't know how they factor into my tom-boyish wardrobe...well, here is how:

Next up is Ruffles from the Pam Allen/Interweave Press book Scarf Style.

Lovely, but it kind of reminds me of a labia. There was a boob scarf at Knitty for their breast cancer awareness supplement so I'm down with this. If I weren't so squeamish I'd kind of like to go into women's health, OBGYN stuff. But last night on Newlywed's Jessica Simpson had Lasik surgery on her eye and I almost hurled.

Cashmerino is amazing, it really makes me knit very slowly and calmly, not at all the way I usually knit. It's shiny too, gorgeous. This scarf looks like a boa. Everyone on the blogs says that it's a slow knit, but this is one skein and it whipped right along. Maybe because I'm using size 7s instead of 6. It involves short rows which are so much easier than I thought.

This also involved short rows, but it turned wavy after about 3 triangles. It's frogged, and becoming another Clapotis!

I'm off to a KNIT-IN for New Year's! Yeah, that's right, my LYS is hosting the event, it's going to be rad.

Cirilia

Some F.O.s

2004-12-27T19:44:27Z

Hi all,

Some finished objects:

A somewhat goofy hat out of the wonderfully soft Reynolds Andean alpaca in a nice camel color.

It was too small, and I had been trying to use this Lion's Brand Landscape yarn for weeks, so I picked up stitches and knit down for a fold-up brim. It looks good, but I'm not crazy about it for some reason.

The inside is lined with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, for extra warmth.

After battling with a few hats, and odd, made-up decrease methods, I finally consulted the books and found a favorite. Knit 7, knit two together, next two rounds even, then knit 6, knit two together, two rounds even, and so on and so on. It's a nice spiral that way.

And the Clap, or more specifically, the Clapotis (clap-oh-tee) scarf/wrap from Knitty.com. Beautiful, it's French for "little waves", and it really does move that way. It sort of curls around itself and forms a little tube, but it can also unwrap and make a dramatic stole thing. This is pre-blocking so my stiches look really uneven, but that's also because the yarn, Noro Cash Iroha (silk/wool/cashmere blend, it's HEAVENLY) is almost a thick and thin. It's worsted weight but it's very slubby. The colors though, and the way they shine...amazing.

Next up is a Clap for my mom in that lavender Cashmerino, and maybe a full-sized Noro Silk Garden version for moi. I have some really hefty Norwegian wool coming from Elann to make Simply Marilyn, the off the shoulder cabled sweater from Interweave Knits. It's going to be loden green, I almost got sage but the darker army green will be worn more than the soft light green.

Happy Holidays everybody,

Cirilia