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!