Inspiration

With a new-ish job (it's been a year already!) and a new baby I'm finding it difficult to be inspired. I feel like I don't have time to knit. I don't have time to sit down and think of designs and honestly, I haven't found another design that has motivated me to pick up my needles. I'm embarrassed to say how long it's been since I have knit a stitch. I miss the feeling it gave me. The sense of satisfaction as I watch beautiful yarn become beautiful fabric right from my own hands.

Every few weeks I get a urge to knit and I pull out a few skeins of yarn from my stash and lay them out. I ponder what they could become or what color would be best  for a project I have in mind. I stare at them for a few spare moments and then I'm swept up in my day again only to shove the yarn away a few hours later as I'm laying my son down for bed.

It saddens me that I don't have anything 'on the needles'. I miss my knitting like I miss a dear friend. So many large moments in my life are punctuated by whatever FO I was working on at the moment. And yet this past year, which has been so eventful for me, has seen so few knits (there was one for my son - I hope to share it with you soon)

Perhaps it's a good sign that I am logging into my blog again. Perhaps this means the knitting is not far behind

12 in 12

Yeah you are probably seeing a lot of variations of 12 in 12 around the knitting/crocheting/crafting interwebs but the one I committed to is an intimidating one at least by my standards

I plan to design and/or publish twelve knitting patterns in 2012.

That's right! 12 designs in 2012. 12. TWELVE!

what was I thinking you ask? That's something I've been asking my self the past couple days but this is how it went down

See I saw all my friends over in the Amiras group talking about stash-busting for the year 2012. This is something I am VERY familiar with. Some years I'm great at it (2010) some years I suck at it (2011) but this year I figure it's time to get back on the wagon and knit down some stash!

Joining in the fun I started a new thread in the group just to talk about stash reducing. We all started with where we are at and how we are going to stash down. My good friend Jocelyn talked about all the groups she has joined such as 12 shawls in 12 and there were socks and projects and more knitting that I could ever commit to! But it got me to thinking - What would I want to knit 12 of. Well I would like to knit 12 of my own patterns!

So I quietly whispered (which is hard to do in text) that I was thinking about designing 12 in 12. Well the outpouring of encouragement from my friends was amazing. They were telling me I could do it and volunteering to test patterns! Patterns that don't even exist yet!

I couldn't very well back down then could I? Nope! So here I am. Gearing up to design 12 patterns in 2012

Here are my self imposed ground rules:

• Any patterns in progress but not published yet are fair game - come on! It's 12 patterns in 12 months for the year 2012. I'm going to take a win where I can get one!
• The patterns can be of any type (hats, gloves, blankets, sweaters, etc), size, or difficulty. Whateves as long as I knit it and write a pattern for it
• All patterns will become available on Ravelry - some will be free some will not. That's just the way I roll.
• The patterns will be available to the Amiras for testing - so if you want in on that go join the group (it doesn't matter if haven't ever, don't now or don't plan to live in UAE we like everyone!)
• All patterns must be knit from stash. This is the whole point to the stash-down portion of the challenge
• Did I miss anything?

Now let's get this party started!

Find A Penny

I designed this shawl, Find A Penny, because we knitters all have that one skein of yarn in our stash that we couldn't resist buying but now don't know what to make with it. These beautiful skeins call for a pattern that will enhance and showcase their beauty not hide it. 

This skein of Seda DK by Grinning Gargoyle was just that skein for me. The color was so bright and rich and the fiber so shinny that it begged to be knit in something I could wrap around my neck on a crisp fall day in Chicago.

That the colorway of the yarn is called Shinny Penny makes it even more perfect. I felt like a little girl who happens upon a penny while walking down the street when I saw this yarn across the room. 

I hope you enjoy knitting Find A Penny with your special skein of yarn as much as I did

Ravelry page - Find A Penny

Yarn - Grinning Gargoyle Seda DK in Shiny Penny (225 yds) - 1 skein
Needles - US size 7 (4.5 mm) circulars
Gauge - 41 stitches and 39 rows = 4 inches in stockinette Stitch
Finished Size - 50 inch span and is 7.5 inches deep
Designer Notes  
This shawlett is constructed like most triangle shawls however I did it without the middle bit (standard cast on point) and started a few rows down to maximize the yardage while also giving it a more natural shape for around the neck. 


I have also provided two cast-off methods for Find A Penny the first being the standard rolled edge pictured above and the second being a picot edging which you can see pictured over here at Rambling Roses' blog.


The size of Find A Penny is easy to adjust for more or less yardage and I'm always happy to answer any questions!




Photos by Colid FitzGerald
www.ColinFitzGeraldPhotography.com
www.AtlasCaptures.com

FROGGED

Remember these knitted half-socks?

Where I talked about being stuck on the heel here?

Well it didn't end well

Nope. Not. At. All.

They weren't fitting right, there were too many mistakes and I was just plain mad at them.

So now they look like this again. 

Maybe next time they will remember who the boss is around here.

I'm Back!

I have been embarrassingly bad at posting lately…. I don't have much excuse except that I have been traveling loads and have had lots of exciting and fun weekends. I'm hoping to fill you in on all of my adventures over the next week or so now that it looks like I'll finally have some down time.


But for now I will show you something about my knitting that I found interesting. It's not normal for me to work on multiple projects at a time. I usually like to dedicate my self to one project at a time and either make progress or put it down/finish it. But lately for one reason or another I have found my self with LOADS of WIPs - But I'll get to all those stories


But the other day my main WIPs were sitting on the couch together and I noticed a theme. I'll admit that I get into ruts or themes or just seem to favor one style or color but it has never been so apparent as it was in this photo.

Do you see what I see?

That's right; it's all shades of yellow to orange. I'm really diggin' the warmer colors right now and the dark penny copper color is something special for me that will really brighten up the dear winter days! I almost can't wait for winter! wait! no. I did not just say that. Winter is far far away. It will not snow for a long long time. No winter. No snow. Nope. 

Anyhoo, two of these are finished now and the third is well on it's way to completion. Can't wait to show them too you!

Sock Saga

Or should I say heel saga.

I signed up with a bunch of my friends to try to knit six pairs of socks during the year 2011. So far I have completed one pair. Considering we are on almost half way through that year that means I should be nearing the end of my third pair!

Here is the state of my other two pairs. Sigh.

The tan ones (Nutkins) are cuff down (oh and should have been finished back in APRIL!!!)  The purple ones are toe up (Leyburns). Together they make a full pair of socks!

Absent the heels of course

I'm stuck on these dang heels. See, what happened is friends started saying they were having problems with the heels one the Nutkins. There were holes, it was too tight, etc. and I froze. Just sorta put the socks to the side and quietly worked on other things figuring (I guess, but really who knows!) that the heels would sort them selves out.

It wasn't long before it was time to cast on the third pair of socks, the Leyburns. I thought "oooh goody fresh start!" And got to knitting. It wasn't long before once again I heard back that the heels are too loose! So again there they sit, in a heap, right next to my Nutkins.

Obviously them sitting around isn't actually fixing the problem of how to knit the heels. I tried this theory thoroughly and let me tell you SO NOT WORKING!

And seeing these perfectly beautiful socks sitting half done has finally gotten to me. I must finish them! I must persevere through the heels!

Wish me luck!

Leni's 1st birthday!

My niece had her first birthday not long ago. You may remember my over joyed excitement when she arrived just one short year ago.

To celebrate her first year I knew that she would need something special.

Special like cashmere and ruffles. Hey, you don't turn 1 every day!

I decided to knit Baby Kina again. I'm not always such a fan of knitting patterns twice only because I would rather try something new but Baby Kina is just too cute. I could imagine it on my niece perfectly.

So now that I knew the pattern I went to Loopy and told them I was looking for something special. I was quickly shown to the back of the store. I felt like I was being let in on a secret. Maybe it is a secret!!! If so disregard this post. But when I got there I found the most amazing blend of DK yarn in the most gorgeous colors.

Azula Cricket MCN.

That's 80% merino (the bulk because it's durable, warm, soft make it's easy to care for) , 10% cashmere (plenty to feel the softness) and 10% Nylon (helps it keep it's shape)

For those of you thinking to your selves "Cashmere for a 1 year old?" Well let me tell you I don't knit for anyone - at any age (unless specifically requested) with yarn that is hand wash only. This yarn can handle the gentle cold cycle (80% merino) and then dry flat. Cool huh?

The depth of color in these yarns is just gorgeous and as soon as I saw them I wanted to pull them off the wall, put them in a huge pile and roll around in them (I pretty sure it's some basic instinct for yarnies).

I gazed at the colors, trying to decide which was best. The pattern I chose was already pretty girly and with buttons I could even up that a little so I wanted a color that was a little different. I went with orange. Persimmon to be exact.

It seemed to be insanely hard to capture the true beauty of this color (The color in the pics with Leni are very close) so you'll just have to trust me it's not too bright and it's not too creamy. Not too yellow and not too red. It's just right. In fact I recommend you just buy some to cuddle, drool over and of course get an accurate idea of the color.

It took all my will power (and a lack of needles and pattern) not to cast on on the train ride home but I managed to wait. When I did finally get home I cast on right away and this little sweater seemed to fly off the needles (except for the part where I forgot a crucial increase row and had to to start over. That may have been due to knitter error but I blame the intoxicating softness of the yarn).

When the little sweater was done I gazed at it and thought it's a good thing that 1. it's WAY too small to fit me and that 2. it was going to my niece, otherwise I don't think I could have parted with it.

And after seeing this photo I would gladly knit her a dozen more.

There's something about seeing my family wear my hand knits that warms me from the inside. I would knit miles of yarn (especially cashmere!) just to see them surrounded in my knits.

Pattern Details:

Pattern: Baby Kina by Muriel Agator

Yarn: Azula Cricket MCN in persimmon and incase you haven't heard it has cashmere in it! YUM!

Needles: US 5

Modifications: I added two extra buttons and button holes. The buttons are from Loopy as well.

But I can READ it!

A couple weeks ago I called the eye doctor to make an appointment for the hubbs. Everything was going great until the lady on the phone asked a life changing question: "Would you like an appointment too? (ok I'm a little dramatic... but still)

Me: Welllllll how often should one's eyes be checked? Mine seem to be working just fine.

Her: How long has it been?

Me: Let's see I was in high school so umm forever ago?

Her: I'll set you up right now. It can't hurt right?

That should have been tall tale sign right there.... It's like in a scary movie when they say "Stay here I'll be right back" You know they aren't coming back. It's all over. Their fate was signed with those six little words.

So we head to the office and the hubbs goes first. I figure I'll go in and the doctor will be all "Wow these are the most amazing eyes I have ever seen! You're vision is off the charts!"

But no. I went in and the doctor (Who was super great) was like "read this line.... which looks lens looks better..... I'm going to stare into your eyeball... yadda yadda yadda" (Direct quoting there)

Then when she finishes she says "How long to do you spend on your computer?"

I reply "Gotta sleep sometimes right?"

Then she says (and here's the kicker) "Do you spend a lot of time focusing on things up close rather than further away?"

The hours I had just spent knitting a project flashed through my mind.

I look around the room and mumble "Like knitting while surfing the internet and watching tv?"

(Come on I can't be the only one who does this right??)

She gets a small smile and says "Just like knitting while surfing the internet and watching tv."

"Well perhaps a couple hours a night" I may have been a bit conservative in my estimate.

She assesses (quite quickly I might add) and says "Yeah I think you need glasses. You can see great now (woot woot! -that was me not the Dr.) but your eyes are working too hard and let's try to keep you out of bifocals later" There was some more sciency doctor talk in there about how this was such a great idea and I wouldn't regret it but I was dizzy from the idea of glasses.

I perked up though when I went out into the waiting area and saw the walls of stylish glasses all waiting for me to try on and then pick my most favorite to take home! Shopping!

It took a while but after trying on about 40 different pairs I settled on these beauties. I love the colors and they are super light. The hubbs even says they make me look more astute

I guess I can get use to this after all

FO: A pair of pair of socks!

I have had a long standing deal with my family. You send me yarn and I'll knit it for you. It's the best way to ensure a few things. One it's the yarn they like in the colors they like and two I get to knit with lots of different yarns.

My sister took me up on this offer and sent me two skeins of Cascade Yarns Heritage Paints

Two skeins = Two pairs of socks and after two years (what? there was not timeline!) they were done!

It totally helped that I joined a sock knitting group as they got my tush in gear to get the second pair of socks started and finished in just a month. They also helped motivate me to get the first pair, which had been sitting in WIP land for quite some time, done and dusted.

So here I show you the first pair:

Pattern: Lace and Cable Socks by Wendy D. Johnson

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Heritage Paints

Needles: US 2's

Style: Toe up

and the second pair:

Pattern: Shur'tugal by Alice Yu

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Heritage Paints

Needles: US 1 1/2

Style: Cuff down

Here are two pairs of socks on two pairs of very happy feets

and the best part is that each pair of feets liked the pattern of their socks best...

...that makes me one happy knitter!

FO: Kina & Booties

A good friend of ours just announced the arrival of their little girl. And I've been itching to knit with pink. It's the perfect match

I couldn't resist the subtle ruffles around the yoke

It was a quick knit that was just begging to have matching shoes

And the Madelinetosh ToshDK really softened up after blocking... perfect for a little baby

Pattern Details

Cardi Pattern: Baby Kina by Muriel Agator

Booties Pattern: Mary Jane Booties by Lucie Sinkler

Needles: US 5

Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Molly Ringwald

Mods: I used the super stretchy bind off for the cardi and ended up really liking the detail it added around the edge

Early Spring

You have probably figured out there are a few knitters that I keep my eye on. I almost feel like a little sister in that I run around doing whatever knitterly (if it isn't a word yet it should be!) things I see them doing.

I love their yarn. I love their patterns. I love the yarn they use for their patterns.

As you have probably guessed Jocelyn is one of those knitters I like to copy... er umm... follow? yeah that's right. FOLLOW!

Well a few months ago I saw this post she wrote about Madelinetosh 80/10/10 in the Mansfeild's Garden Party colorway.

And even though I don't usually go for super colorful yarns this one was just too good. Ever since then I have had my eye on that colorway. Whenever I see an FO knit with the same yarn I stare at it and think "ooooooooohhhhhh pretty"

and when I found and INCREDIBLE deal on the last skein of Mandelinetosh Tosh Sock in the same colorway I knew I had to snag it.

And on this cold, sunless, dreary day these bright spring colors couldn't have arrived at a better time!

FO: button band hearts

I used my own pattern to knit some button band gloves with heart buttons.

Knowing that my friend would ADORE (pink hearts!) them, I sent them her way.

As a knitter I'm not sure it gets much better than someone calling to gush about how much they love something you knit for them. It makes all the work completely worth it.

Pattern details:

Pattern: Button Band Fingerless Gloves of my own design

Needles: US 7's

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in SFO Sky

Mods: I used super cute pink heart buttons and I omitted the stripes as the yarn is stripy enough.

2010 - where did it go?

What a year 2010 was. It brought me so many changes that sometimes I can't believe it all happened in the course of 12 months.

2010 brought me and my husband to the US and then to Chicago. Talk about a dramatic change from the deserts of UAE

The year over all was wonderful. We're healthy, we're happy and we're staying afloat - can't ask for much more.

I have made some new amazing friends who have instantly invited me into their knitting world as if I had always been there. When I think of how much has happened this last year I wouldn't change a thing (except for the nasty colds that seem to be following me around... but I digress) but the part that still brings me sadness and grief are all the wonderful amazing friends I left behind. Emails and online chatter just doesn't seem to convey how much I miss them. But I know one day we will be together again, knitting in a cafe for hours, showing off our newest yarn acquisitions and our latest WIPs and FOs.

The year has also brought me great changes in my knitting

I published my first pattern

And I also published my first "for sale" pattern

I managed to complete over 40 knitted FOs

But I didn't meet many of my other knitting goals for 2010

• I didn't knit with my own dyed yarn - but that's in the works for 2011 (more later)
• I definitely bought yarn before June - Hey I was back in the states and all my yarn was in transit... I'm strong but not THAT strong
• I didn't knit one stitch on that cabled purse. Not one
• I made NO sweaters for my self - but that's another thing in the works for 2011 (more later)

But I'm not too worried about my lack of accomplishments because, first, I have knit more than I ever have before and, second, I have let this craft take me in new directions that I hadn't foreseen

• I did colorwork! and I love it
• I started designing my own patterns - this amazes me mostly because I was always so intimidated to even modify a pattern I was working on but now that I have started I just can't stop!
• I knit for swaps! Loads of fun!

So here are my 2011 goals:

• Write up the patterns that are waiting patiently to be shared with the world (currently three!)
• Knit more socks. I love hand knit socks
• Knit more sweaters. I need more sweaters cause Chicago has loads of "sweater" weather (or deathly chill with a side of frostbite weather)
• NO YARN UNITL SOCK SUMMIT. Well, not counting next week. I'm going to the loopy ewe next week and I'm just not that strong. So after next week NO MORE YARN UNTIL SOCK SUMMIT!!!

But mostly I'm going to see where the year takes me. I hope it includes family, love and friends...

Oh and some red orange juice would be great if anyone knows how to get some.

Happy New Year Everyone! I hop this year is even better than the last...

The pictures are of some of my very favorite and most used FO's

Some FO's

I have a few FO's to report to you and no it's not cause I was waiting for the holiday to be over. In fact the only "holiday knitting" I did this year was the Winter Roses shawl. Nope I haven't reported these FO's to you purely because I have been lazy. Totally totally lazy. (I know, so out of character)

But these FO's deserve their day in the spotlight as do all my knits. That's why I have a blog after all

Fist up is a set I knit for the hubbs once the weather started to turn a tish colder. And by tish I mean BELOW freezing EVERY day!

The gloves are Knucks by Pamela Grossman

The hat is Turn A Square by Jared Flood

I love this set and my husband was pleasantly surprised with them. It was harder than I thought to try and hide something I'm working on from him but by the time I was working on the hat I was able to knit the whole thing in front of him with out him even noticing!

These have now become a staple in his daily outings. The hat is just long enough to cover the ears and the gloves leave your fingers free to check all necessary blackberry happenings.

I also knit this ADORABLE little barret/tam for my niece Lenni. It was a quick little knit that was so cute when it was done that it made me consider making one in my own size.

This is Baby Rollin' Beret by Woolly Wormhead

I used some Moda Dea Eclips yarn that has a subtle sheen to it. It knits up beautifully.

I was so worried that I would be too small for Lenni that I ended up making it too big (aak) but not to worry big sister Frieda is putting it to good use until Lenni grows into it.

Finally is a little knit just for me. I going to come out now and tell you that I heart Madelinetosh yarn. All of it. There is no bad tosh out there. The colors are just so vibrant and bold and the combinations are just right. So when I was wondering around my LYS trying to pick out some yarn for a super duper top secret project I noticed something oh so good and yet oh so bad. They started stocking tosh vintage.

After picking out my yarn for my super duper top secret project I noticed that I needed one skein fewer than I had planned. And clearly that is great! I'm saving money! Less yarn than I needed! So while I was smugly making my way to the check out I happened by the tosh. You know just to look. It's research really... That way I would know later when I needed some. Right? Well then I thought "WOW that blue is really gorgeous! I bet it would make a great hat.... and I did need one less skein of the other yarn..." and well I'm sure you know what happened from there.

So I give you crooked paths by Melissa LaBarre in Tosh Vintage in Norway Spruce - the pic of the yarn is pretty true to color. It's Ahh-MAZE-ing

I knit this hat in one night! I just didn't want to put it down. Between the pattern and the yarn it was a delight. This hat has also turned out to be one of my favorites and I wear it all the time.

There you go! See? Even though all I talk about around here seems to be cupcakes I'm still knitting. A lot. And I'll have some more FO's to report back to you soon!

Tosh Vintage

There's just so much to tell you about that I don't really know where to start so I guess we'll start with what's first

I got yarn.

And I feel this important to tell you because looking back there seems to be a lot of food talk going on around here. Not that anything is wrong with that we all love food (especially chocolate caramel cupcakes but I'll get to that later)

So back to the topic

I got yarn. This is a big deal because I have been limiting my yarn intake lately for a few reasons. One is money and two is space and three is guilt (am I the only knitter that feels guilty buying new yarn when I have perfectly good yarn sitting patiently, waiting it's turn to be knit up into something beautiful?)

But I justified this yarn because well it was on sale and I don't really have yarn in sweater quantities and my lovely friend Charmaine got me the pattern, Coraline by Ysolda Teague for my birthday that I have been itching to cast on.

So I splurged and got some Tosh Vintage by Madelinetosh in the Celadon colorway . I didn't expect the yarn to have as much of a green as it did but I was actually delighted that it did. This icy light green is one of the colors I am most obsessed with lately and I couldn't have picked a better color to knit Coraline in.

And the Tosh Vintage is just as yummy as everyone says it is. I have been drooling over this yarn ever since I heard the rave reviews from Jocelyn when she knit up this cute cardi . I really trust her opinions on yarn so if she says it's ohhh soo yummy then I'm hunting the interwebs for a good deal. As usual she didn't let me down... In fact it was yarn not to start purring and drooling all over the yarn as soon as it came out of the box.

I'll keep you posted on my cardi knitting. I can hardly wait!