Today's Weather:: Partly Sunny!

Last night it was me, the couch, and my Sunshine sweater. What else was I to do after some mid-afternoon wine?
Sweater Parts:
body: check
left sleeve: check
right sleeve: soon
neck: after soon
lace panel: between soon and after



In other news - I forgot to put water in the cute little italian stove-top espresso maker this morning. Now our cute little espresso maker's plastic handle has melted off and I have no coffee! Looks like I'll have to make a stop at the kitchen store today. Between my caffeine-free run and my caffeine-fueled research session. I was too sad to take a picture of this destruction.

Retro Friday.

I finished the Retro Rib Socks from the IK book Favorite Socks. These are a birthday present for my pop and they turned out perfectly! Of course, I made a few changes to the pattern to suit my sock knitting needs:

-I knit them from the toe-up
-I used a short-row heel
-I added stiches as I knit up the foot (from toe to heel)
-Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Superwash (my pop likes a thick sock)

In the end, a snug and comfy sock!

Explanation of the additional stiches -- I realized that when knitting some socks toe-up, the heel can be a bit tight when trying to put the sock on. Particularly if knitting for a slender foot, my socks could use a little extra room in the heel. So, to solve the problem, after knitting about halfway up the foot, I added two stitches on the sole-side of the sock by doing this: K1, M1, knit to two stiches before end of sole, M1, K1 (since I'm using the magic loop method, the sole stitches are all on one needle). Then knit about 3/4 to 1 inch and repeat the increase round. I did this 4 times total (because for my socks it was just the number of stitches I needed to add one rib repeat to the pattern). The photo below shows the socks from the side and if you look closely, you can see the increases.


Finally, my mix of needles! Some brand new, some plastic, some metal, some bamboo, and some OLD! There's a fun flea market near my parents' house and last time I was home, I was able to score some old needles (the tall, skinny green ones, and some of the shorter white ones in the background - to point out a few).

Happy Retro Friday.

Glamour Shots --->

of my "goods"!

Yesterday there were blips of sun between the clouds, so I tried to take some pics of my work to post on etsy and another little website (soon to be announced!).

The cosmetic bags are felted wool. I don't follow a pattern, but follow the same general format. All the bags have some combination of colors, some have a planned stripe pattern, while others are more free-form == some big stripes some little. When I first started making them, I didn't line them. In fact, every day I carry around one of the first unlined bags that I made. It's still in amazingly great shape and works just fine without the lining. Although, this past Christmas I wanted to give some as gifts and I thought that opening the bag and seeing a surprise print inside would be fun. After I lined the first bag, I knew there was no going back. So now I'm always scouring my mom's fabric stash when I visit to look for good designs.


The cards in this next shot are my latest creation. The photography is all my own and I attach the pictures with rivets to the cardstock. Pictured below is my signature "Winter Foliage" set!

After the photo shoot, I did some studying at Sweet Finnish, where I snagged this great shot:

Blog header

Quick Updates!

1. Of course, I live in Boston and this happens: I want spring and instead get snow. At least the evidence from this quick storm was mostly gone by the time I woke up.


2. My first fingerless Dashing is coming along. It has an interesting thumb attachment that I've never done before and looks fun to do. I'll let you know how it goes.

3. Retro Rib socks for pop are closer to done. I just have to work on the leg. I did these toe-up rather than leg-down as the pattern is written (in Favorite Socks). I also did something new this time, I added some stitches as I worked up the foot. I really like the end result, I think it'll make for a comfier sock (particularly when pulling the sock on or off over the heel). I'll give more details when the socks are finished and I can take some proper picks of the modifications.

4. And the finished baby socks. They are so cute.

5. I did line some bags and make some stationary as my last post promised, but I don't have time to photograph it right now!

Now for coffee.

Look in the Mirror!

I was surfing my favorite blogs today looking for new posts and nothing! It must be a busy week for everyone because the new posts are slow coming, then I looked in the mirror. I haven't posted since last weekend, so here you go:

Unfortunately, I'm posting this from my school computer, so pictures will come later, but I'll give you some links for now.

This week I've been working on Dashing for a friend. I'm using a super soft alpaca.

My new charlies are a pair from the Interweave Knits book Favorite Socks. Grumperina gives a great review of this book in her March 2 post.

I've put the sunshine sweater on hold for this week. Going back and forth to school only left time for small projects. Maybe a good movie will give me some knitting time this weekend.

A few things on the horizon:
I have to line some cosmetic bags for an upcoming craft fair. I found some great material of my mom's to use for the liners.

I also have to work on some more stationary, and maybe post some on etsy. Look out.

In other news:
Check out this blog - noimpactman.com It could make for some fun and inspiring reading over the next year.

At the same time I love and am scared of the sleep eyes on these plush animals.

Check out Domesticat, she had a great idea for a knitterly pen-pal exchange! I might sign up but I'm going to be moving all around this spring and am worried that mail will get lost in transition:-\.

On the ReadyMade Blog, I thought this pin hole digital camera idea was cool.

I really like the Glee sweater and may try to make it without the pattern! I can do it!

oh - SPRING IS HERE!

The stuff that happens outside

Sometimes we're manipulating/changing/moving mother nature, sometimes we're playing on her, and sometimes we're just adoring her. Over the past couple of days, I did all three. pssst - I think I'm also trying to rush her along.

We had fun "cleaning up" the snow with the tractor.

Between shoveling and cross country skiing, I took some great winter foliage shots. These may be the last for the year. In fact, I'm hoping they're the last. I'm ready for spring! Ready to start riding my bike to school, to take some long outdoor runs, and to eat fresh, local veggies! I was craving a watermelon today. That must mean that my seasonal cycle is ready to leave winter and move into spring!


Before leaving, I stopped by to visit my knitting grandma. She had a great present for me - some binders full of knitting patterns and techniques. I'll take some pics later this week.

And finally, I had a great, relaxing ride back and captured this sunset in my mirror:

Go outside!

Snow Coat?

This is one house that LOVES snow days (what house doesn't?). We're enjoying the day inside, staying warm by the fire while it snows and snows!

Last night my sister's boyfriend brought over this CraZY crocheted coat and we took some 'Vogue model shots' this afternoon. Sarah had a great time posing and the snowy scene was the perfect background:


This shot is great but may not provide the best picture of the coat. The body of the coat is made from granny squares and the collar and cuffs are loops of black and gray yarn.

I don't know if any of us will have the courage to wear this as a serious garment (as opposed to our model photo shoots), but I want to mention that the coat is extremely well made! Someone put a lot of labor into, more labor than I'm ready to invest in knitting a coat!

This afternoon will be full of movies, some sledding, and of course some crafting! I'm going to work on the liners for some cosmetic bags and the sunshine sweater. I'll have an update shot of the sweater soon - it's coming along very well!!

Ahhhh Spring Break

On Tuesday the weather was beautiful and sunny. I took advantage of sunshine to take some pictures outside. The objects of my affection? Some of my pottery (made about 5 years ago) and other things...



Below is a picture of a "string canister" of my mom's. It has a hole in the top to let the end of the string, twine, or yarn come out. This is great because you can pull off a piece of string without have the ball roll around and unravel!


Yesterday, we tried to get in one last day of skiing before the season ended. We skiing in 60 degree weather! It was beautiful, then it rained. We had a great time all day and took some silly pics in the rain.

Needless to say, my spring break crafting has really slowed, but I'm hoping to work on a few things this evening (after some homework!).

The Deck is my Stage

I'm spending this spring break at my parents' house in PA! It's a relaxing week in the country, spent knitting, doing research, going for walks, etc. Luckily I planned ahead:


I had an order of knit picks yarn delivered right to their house. The package included yarn for the sunshine sweater:Since the picture was taken, the sweater has GROWN! An update will come later this week.

Yarn for some socks for my mom and pop and some new sock patterns:

Unfortunately the weather's been a bit overcast. I'm hoping for some sunny days to take some better pictures while I'm home.

On the bus.

I'm working on a new set of charlies. These are for a little girl that's coming along very soon. Just a simple pair of toe-up mini socks in Cherry Tree Hill yarn.
I was working on these puppies on the bus the other day and this happened:
-Nice lady next to me "Ooh, are those toe-up baby socks?"
-Me (excited that she was not only excited about my knitting, but also knew what was going on!), "Yes they are."
-Nice L., "They are so tiny!"
-Me, "Thanks!"

WAIT - who says thanks to that?

I was in automatic conversation mode! I didn't expect her to say "They are so TINY". I expected her to say "They are BEAUTIFUL or LOVELY or CUTE". I'm usually a good listener, but sometimes my mind is doing too many things and I go into auto-pilot for the conversations. oh well. Then I just felt a little silly sitting next to her, but I kept knitting my tiny AND beautiful charlies.

And here's something to challenge your mind: What am I doing in this picture? or What is the final product going to be?!

What's going on?

Let's see, what's gone on in the week since my last post?

I finished a knitted item:

What? You can't tell what it is? Well that's one of my surprises! Finished way ahead of time and now there are other projects to start.

Socks for my pop.

The Sunshine sweater by Auntie Amanda! She was the winner of the craftster knitting contest - woohoo! Now, I just have to decide what color sweater I want?!?!

I also visited the Boston Museum of Science today. I had a great time and it was nice to spend a few hours not thinking about research or homework.

And now - what's on the schedule for this week?
-a haircut!
-placing a Knit Picks order
-and research...