Vintage Cardigan - front finished.

Vintage Cardigan - Right Front Panel.

Vintage knitting patterns.

There's a lot of math with this one and the pattern is lean on signposts, but it's fun to see it come to life. As I knit, I see things I'd do differently next time - like the change the placement of increases and decreases and maybe do a ribbed border vs a garter stitch border.

I just hope it fits.

The Death Shawl.

In early August, I went to Sea Ranch on the Sonoma Coast. We rented a house up there for a week and it was heaven. I could've used another 3 weeks of peace & quiet.

I decided to try knitting a shawl with some lacework. It was a lot of fun with the exception of the first 4 rows of the feather and fan border which nearly drove me insane, which is why everyone nicknamed it "The Death Shawl".



It still needs to be blocked, but life is moving very fast for me these days and frankly it was either block the shawl or take the photos.

There was no cell service at all up at Sea Ranch, which was great. When we got back into town a week later & my phone started going off with the buzzing & the ringing I wanted to throw it out the window. Instead, I changed all my ring tones so nothing sounds the same as it did before I went to Sea Ranch. It's the best I could do.

just in time.

i finished the niece's slippers this weekend. i've made 3 pairs of these things now & i think it's safe to say i'm done with making slippers, probably forever.

i'm really digging the polymer clay buttons i found on Etsy (Polymer Clay Creations).

misc #17

it's ass cold out there at night, so i knitted a headband to keep things warm up top when i'm powerwalking. i prefer a headband to a beanie, because it regulates the heat a little better.

i chose regal purple (jon!) for the niece's christmas present (felted slippers). someone on ravelry said they knitted a narrow by leaving out 2 stitches on the sole pieces so i followed that advice. i'm working on the finishing details now, including puffy paint for non-slip soles. the paint is taking forever to dry (it is going to dry, right?) but after that it gets some steam from an iron to puff it up.



although i don't have 4-5 hours of uninterrupted time for sewing right now, i've been dedicating 15 minutes here and there to taking the trousers apart with my seam ripper & redrawing the pattern pieces.



Zappos now carries the vintage Martens in oxblood, still made in England, so i finally replaced my old, old pair. here's to another 20 years of wearing these shoes!

when was the last time you had a piece of applesauce snack cake?

it's been awhile?

well, here you go-

Taz's Turtleneck.

Dennis the Menace & I met in LA and spent the weekend with our best friends. We miss our friends (not to mention each other) so much.

I knit this contrast turtleneck for Taz, our friends' dog. It knit up in a flash. Much faster than it took to sew the pieces together. I didn't have a yarn needle with me, so I used a bent bobby pin. Slow going, but it worked.

The sweater fits around his body perfectly, but I think it needs to be a little longer because the turtleneck is pulling at the neck. The next one will be knit in a size medium (12" along the back) and that should be perfect.

Taz was very curious about what I was knitting and he kept coming over to watch my progress. He stood completely still when we put it on him and although I can't be sure, I think he really likes his new green sweater.

I can tell you one thing- the new sweater certainly hasn't hindered play time in his favorite dirt patch.

the knitted muslin.

my niece is a size 7 narrow, so i did a quick pattern test for size using yarn repurposed from an unfinished project dating back to the time when i was into red. i've since moved onto green, but that's neither here nor there.

overall, this is a great pattern & a fast & easy knit. however, the invisible seaming was a pain. i chose the Mattress Stitch which isn't hard, but you have to be able to see the ladder rungs to pick them up. the combo of double- and triple-stranded knitting, with Manos handspun yarn thrown in, really did a number on my edges & it was hard to locate the rungs. i'll be knitting the final in lamb's pride worsted, so the seaming should be a little easier.

i think size Medium (7-8) is fine lengthwise, but i'm not sure about the width. i felted the crap out of these (felting wool at the laundromat. good times.) & although they fit my wide foot fine, they should probably be a little more narrow for the niece. i seamed the right slipper 1 row inside the outer edge & it is definitely more narrow than the left, but that created a heavier seam & a slight ridge after felting. as soon as these are completely dry, i'll wear them around the house & see if the ridge causes any irritation.

lastly, the straps are too fat for my tastes, so i'm going to take at least 1 row out.

the only thing left to do is make the soles non slip with puff paint.

pick a purple.

slipper pattern by French Press Knits at Etsy

i'm making my niece a pair of these for christmas. her room is lavender, cream, pale yellow & pink. i'm going to use lamb's pride yarn because i like it best for felting & these are my purple options:

yarn images: Paradise Fibers

in the dark.

i misunderstood why steeking is so stressful. i assumed it was cutting the individual stitches at the end (& hoping you're cutting the right ones) & i guess that's part of it, but the real stress comes in the crochet prep which needs to be done exactly right or you'll end up with a worthless mess.

basically, you're grabbing 1/2 of a knit stitch in 1 row & 1/2 of a knit stitch in the adjacent row & then you're crocheting them together. the crochet is done with contrasting yarn to help distinguish between where you came from & where you're going & you can't be wrong about which stitches you're picking up.

the problem is that it's easy to get confused when you're peering into the depths of jet black yarn. it's a dizzying exercise in claustrophobia, or it's maybe not that bad, but i wandered off into no man's land a few times & that was not a comforting thought.

so i threaded a lifeline up 1 of the rows to keep me from straying.

& came up with a plan b to machine stitch the edges of the facings if i screw up.

time to steek.

i'm not sure i have the energy for this.

x-ref: Argyle Progress

orange neckwarmer completed.

yarn: Brown Sheep Burly Spun in Orange You Glad
needles: #13
pattern: Fourteen by John Brinegar at Yarn Ball Boogie
vintage buttons from Etsy

neckwarmer progress.

this came together really fast. i'm considering making oversized sculpey buttons for it similar to these



from the plain white cardigan project, but not as floppy. i've reached the buttonhole row so i guess i better make a decision on size & color soon.

yes southwest airlines can be a cattle call, but i love their staff. a flight attendant was also a fellow knitter. she saw me doing cables on a double point instead of a cable needle (i don't have one) & told me she uses their cocktail stirrers to hold the cable stitches. it worked like a charm!

i'll say it is.

i'm going to chicago next week to hook up with my family, and then we're heading to Culver to see the niece & nephew at camp.

i can't travel without a knitting project in my bag. i am (let's just say) "impatient" in airports & on planes. there's only so much reading i can do & besides, i can't stand the thought of producing nothing for 6 or 7 hours.

i was going to take the argyle vest & finish it, but there's not enough knitting left to last 2 airports & planes, & the finishing involves steeking which is probably not something i want to address (for the first time ever) on an airplane.

so i'm taking some #13s & the burly spun with me & whipping up one or two of these.

the inspiration for this project is a neckwarmer in a store window down the street. the shop features some of my favorite japanese designers & their window styling always gets my attention. i keep meaning to snap some photos of their windows but i'm always in too much of a hurry in my neighborhood for strolling with a camera. i can only stroll in someone else's neighborhood, usually in another state.

anyway, the skeins are huge. i see cramming.

little red dress.

source: designboom

knitting exhibition
Dritto Rovescio
Triennale Museum
Milan

the fall 2009 fashion weeks.

New York.
London.
Milan.*****
_______________

Paris is still up, but Milan is what's inspiring me this go around.

layers of beautiful colors & details at Marni.





a coatdress by Prada



Burberry Prorsum's black, charcoal grey & silver palette looks like the skies over san francisco for the last 3 weeks, minus the negative effect.





love (love) these shoes at burberry prorsum.



no shot of the heels, but if they're anything like these-



whoa.

& for knitwear-

i am in awe of the Iceberg coatdress (designer: Paolo Gerani)



& (visions of tripping & scarves dragging through urban puddles of the-less-you-know-the-better aside) the Missoni knits

argyle progress.

life got in the way & i didn't meet the February 28 finishing deadline for my argyle vest.

however, i'm totally fascinated with how this vest is constructed. i've learned more about shaping & construction from this 1 pattern (& having to painstakingly rip out rows & redo them) than i have from any other pattern.

i'm really having a good time with this one.

here's the V-neck shaping.



the steek is a row of stitches in the middle of the V that, after a bit of crochet work, will be cut down the middle to form facings.

i see argyles everywhere.

Koi Suwannagate
Fall 2009
source: style.com


Whippee Ripple Strawberry Cake
by Dolce-Danielle at allrecipes

now that flower weekend is over, i'm back to working on the february vest project. i've got 2.5 argyles done, which means i've got 3.5 argyles left to go. i've also started to set the neck steeks. the pattern takes a lot of concentration, with increases every 4th row, decreases every 5th row, plus the argyling.

& there are only 8 days left in february? oy.

misc. #12.

i'm wearing the vest today & so far it hasn't unravelled on my person.

i like it a little more today than i did yesterday.

holiday knitting project '08.

phew.

the machine-sewn side seams helped to give it a snug fit, but i'm not at all happy with the shaping in the front. it's really "flat" and the V-neck is too high but i think it's just the wrong shape for my body type. i need a deeper v-neck.

i'm ambivalent about this vest right now. i'm glad it's done. it's warm, it fits, it's just not a great fit.

i feel like this is the kind of garment that could grow on me.

or it's the kind of garment that i will grow to hate.




pattern design: Leftovers by Alison Hansel