knittybird

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T11:04:00.000-10:00

Cardigan Inspiration

2011-12-13T21:38:00.001-10:00

Alice and the Pirates

I've been having the hardest time looking for patterns for these styles. They seem so simple in style but the right shape for the collars have remained elusive. I am determined to make these, perhaps as a New Years resolution?

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T12:59:00.002-10:00

It is definitely my favorite holiday. I usually have to work but was fortunate to have the day off this year. So I'm off to see a showing of the silent film Nosferatu at a nearby theater. Hope everyone is having a fun Halloween!

She & Him

2010-03-09T18:03:00.002-10:00

To celebrate me starting a new internship today, here's the new She & Him video for In the Sun!

Winter Olympics 2010

2010-02-12T19:24:00.007-10:00

It's time for the Olympics and it's taking place in one of my favorite cities, Vancouver! I'm hunting for patterns for the mascots but looks like I'll have to figure it out myself. The growing list of sports I'll be tuning in: ski jumping, snowboard half-pipe, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, bobsled, and speed skating (long and short track). What events are you looking forward to?

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T22:47:00.002-10:00

Shouldn't we all be in flying cars by now? Last year's resolution worked out really well with a record of six dresses in one month. I'm still thinking about this year's resolution. The front-runner is creating one desktop wallpaper a month and posting it on the blog. I already have a couple of ideas written down. Another is to carry a camera around with me more often. I feel like my creativity is being stunted by working so much lately. Need to get cracking on that career. Hope everyone has a wonderful year!

Another Holiday Post

2009-11-26T23:35:00.003-10:00

I ended up making cornish game hens and a couscous salad with roasted red peppers. After dinner, we watched Stardust, which truly is one of my all time favorite films. So full right now...Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T22:11:00.004-10:00

I managed to get most of my costume done. Just didn't get a chance to finish adding the trim. Unfortunately, I was only able to wear it for a couple of hours at the first job today. The manager at the second one was rather anti-Halloween. We weren't even allowed to give out candy to the trick or treater's at the door. That is usually my favorite part of working on Halloween. The kids get so creative and the toddlers are adorable! The candy were "for customers only." So instead, we looked longingly out the door while the store was completely empty of customers. The kids did get their revenge when a group of them came by while I was on my break and grabbed handfuls of treats (cue diabolical laughter). The Dadster gave me a great idea to add on to the costume for next year. It can easily work as a Steampunk costume with an elaborate top hat and some fingerless gloves. Ooo, I can knit that! Sweet.
There are a lot of drunken revelers at the block party downstairs so I got to wait for the light next to Thing 1 and Thing 2 for Dr. Suess on the way home. Hope everyone else is having a wonderful Halloween!

Wenlan Chia Sewing Book

2009-10-03T18:35:00.002-10:00

Another Twinkle book! It's called Twinkle Sews: 25 Handmade Fashions from the Runway to Your Wardrobe.

I really like the top part the the dress on the cover. I haven't been able to find any preview pics online so that means a trip to the bookstore tomorrow.

Kawaii Craft Notions

2009-10-02T18:11:00.002-10:00

I walked into Shirokiya after work and discovered their craft section. Why didn't anybody tell me about this!? They had the cutest Little Red Riding Hood ribbon, lots of japanese print oilcloth and silly buttons. I must have spent half an hour looking at everything. The oilcloth would be perfect for a skirt guard for Carly (the bike). I just can't decide on what print to get. The price for the oilcloth is comparable to Reprodepot, too, about $14 for 1 & 1/4 yards. Everthing else was a little overpriced but sooo cuuute.

Pirate say what?

2009-09-19T22:18:00.001-10:00

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day. Savvy?

Armwarmer or a hat

2009-06-28T22:27:00.002-10:00

Alright, I finished one of the armwarmers and am on row eight of the second one when during the last knit meeting, Extragalactika told me about a hat pattern also based on Pomatomas. I really like the hat but I already knitted so long on the armwarmers. Aack! What to do now? Do I keep going and finish the armwarmers or do I frog it and make a hat?

The Sweater

2009-04-13T01:02:00.001-10:00

By Meryn Cadell

Are you a mod or a rocker?

2009-03-27T00:46:00.003-10:00

With the squirrel scarf almost done, I couldn't help starting a new project. I had recently won the giveaway from Acornbud and received this mod knitting bag and two skeins of Koigu Painter's Palette (thanks again!) The bag couldn't be more perfect with my obsession of all things mod.
I ended up casting on for the Nereid Fingerless Gloves. Coincidentally, Acornbud just finished Pomatomus, which the gloves were based on. Great minds thinks alike!
I have been teaching The Squirrel how to knit and we decided to meet at the tea place in the mall before work. While I was waiting, I ordered a tarimisu and lychee sorbet tea while reading the latest Elle.

The Squirrel and Her Fruit was running late so I made some progress while listening to She & Him and Kylie Minogue.

Videos I can't stop watching

2009-01-31T02:23:00.000-10:00

I used to act out scenes like this when I was a kid. And there's a scarf so this is still knit related!

This just makes me laugh.

O B A M A

2009-01-20T10:41:00.000-10:00

I love Daft Punk.

Daft Punk vs. Adam Freeland - "Aer OBAMA" from Gold Greendot on Vimeo.

Vintage Shopping

2009-01-19T00:49:00.002-10:00

Hope everyone is having a great new year! After getting some great resolutions advice from DeviousV, I'm giving last year's resolution another go. So this year, I plan to wear a dress once a month. Now for everyone who knows me, I wear pants and denim ALL the time. But I also love buying dresses. Sadly, they just stay in my closet until a special occasion arises. It's not really fair for all those pretty frocks. So I celebrated New Years Eve by watching Twilight with Acornbud and her son while wearing a dress. The movie was a little mushy and the special effects of the male lead running was a little ackward but I really like the baseball scene.
This Friday, I went vintage shopping with The Squirrel at an actual vintage clothing store. Yes, a vintage store. Cloth just opened up in Honolulu and I couldn't be more excited! The owner, Micah, is an avid vintage collector and her adorable shop is stocked with the cutest mod and hippie clothing for women and men. The Squirrel got an African print dress that look like it was made for her and I found this amazing silver mod dress. It was a little too big but fortunately, free alterations are included with the price. Cloth is located at 909 Kapi'olani Blvd.
In knitting news, I'm putting the finishing touches on a scarf for The Squirrel that has a mushroom on one end and a squirrel (of course!) on the other. Hopefully I can get her to model it when it's done.

Wishing You All A Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T19:13:00.000-10:00

wee little knits

2008-12-09T23:48:00.007-10:00

There's a new stop motion animated movie coming out called Coraline. If you go to the site and type in sweaterxxs, it will go to a video about how Althea Crome made the miniature costumes for the main character.

Here's the video:

Jay McCarroll sews with shrooms

2008-11-25T01:26:00.002-10:00

Just stumbled upon this at Craftzine, Jay McCarroll is coming out with a line of quilting fabric! I really like the tree stumps, the mushrooms, and the tripped out rabbits (probably from the shrooms). Depending on the dimensions of the prints, I think they would make really cute dresses or lining for a coat. Wait, I never wear my dresses.

It is so hot!

2008-09-02T22:54:00.004-10:00

It's September and it still feels like the middle of summer. I miss the fall weather from my childhood. I rode to and from work yesterday on the bike. It still looks like a rusted hunk of junk but I'll try to keep the original paint for as long as I can. The handlebars are functional but are horribly tarnished. Oh well, they work as a theft deterrent right? I'm still working on the fenders but have a scrounged rack in the back and the cutest basket ever. The rack is a little bit big so it slants down toward the front. I spent most of the trip with the basket against my back. I had to scoot forward but then the saddle was uncomfortable. Will have to get a new rack eventually. I rode in my usual jeans which was fine until I got to my destination. Then I started sweating buckets. Ugh.
I did get to explore some quiet streets on the way home. I didn't realized there is a street between Queen and Ala Moana. The road was practically deserted but seeing as I still haven't got a helmet (bad bird!) I rode really slow on the sidewalk.

Buddha & the Art of Bicycle Repair.

2008-07-06T21:15:00.005-10:00

As requested, here is the link to the Bike Co op: K-Vibe
They take donations of bikes that go back to the community. A very knowledgeable volunteer helped me get my temporary bike working. Oh yeah, picked up the Schwinn yesterday from Eki Cyclery (they are one of the sponsors of the co op). I was a little worried that the frame may not be the right size but after she adjusted the seat, it was perfect!
Doh! Forgot to bring the camera. The bike is currently at the co op. I need to stock up on steel wool to get the rust off the handlebars and fenders.
Yes, I am definitely still knitting. I'm doing a swap with a co-worker who does embroidery. I'm knitting her a scarf with peace signs and a Buddha. The background will shift from a heathered green to a cream color. The designs will be duplicate stitch. Tried doing intarsia but with the thin lines, it turned out to be a bad idea. Not much to photograph, just heathered green stockinette. I'm still thinking about what to request. Maybe something with owls...and headphones.

old bike

2008-07-02T00:22:00.003-10:00

So I called the bike shop and found out that my dream bike was delayed because of "fender problems". Darn it. So I decided to go to the bike co op to get a temporary beater until it comes in. While there, I also saw a rusty old Schwinn cruiser. They set it aside for me to restore but my only regret was that it didn't have hand brakes. It's always raining here so cruiser brakes just aren't safe enough. So i wheeled my beater bike to the bike shop to get a lock for it. As I was getting ready to pay for it, I asked the salesperson if they have any old 3 speeds. She said,"Just a minute", and walked to the back of the store. Next thing I know, I hear her rolling out a bike. Lo and behold, it was an ancestor of my dream bike, a vintage blue Schwinn Collegiate with hand brakes! It will need some restoring but not as much as the cruiser. I'm thinking of repainting it. That sound you hear is the sound of Schwinn collectors everywhere going,"Noooooooo......" I'm picking it up this Friday. Yes, yes, I know, pics.

Shibori Knit Books

2008-03-16T23:18:00.007-10:00

I attempted to create a knit shibori piece for the student show last year that ended up looking like a vest with three boobs. Images of a certain martian Arnold Schwarzenegger flick comes to mind. I stumbled upon these two books online today.

I really like the hat on this cover!

Here's the bike I might end up getting: The Schwinn Cream.

The bike shop I checked at won't be getting them in for another month which should give me enough time to save up. I found out Electra Bikes now sell skirt guards separately and they come in cream as well. The tire sizes are the same so they should fit.

School has been absolutely crazy as usual. I turned in my form for graduation this week so I guess it's official. Now if I can just get all my projects finished...

Hairy Badcasts

2008-02-29T01:01:00.003-10:00

Nooooo....... no more BeADesignCast's! I've been enjoying this design podcast for about a year now. Great tips for design students and funny interviews with top graphic designers. The show about how "getting a job in graphic design" is like dating is not to be missed. Luckily, a couple of the hosts are starting their own site and podcast at 39point. The Reflex Blue Show starts next month. Yay! More Dew!
I got the chance to finally see the rest of this week's Project Runway. Chris March....wah? He used human hair for his designs. I did like the way the hair caught the light on the runway and the use of safety pins for one of the skirts. Should human hair be regarded any different than any other animal fiber? I think I would feel kinda weird wearing a human hair sweater, though. I wonder how you would clean it. With shampoo? Would you have to use conditioner to keep the fibers from splitting? Kudos to Chris for presenting something so different and interesting on the show.

New DIY magazine

2008-02-14T23:35:00.002-10:00

Here's a new web magazine, DIY City. I love the illustrations and they have an overview of some great yarn shops in New York city.

Happy Valentines Day!

Here's to 2008!

2008-01-01T15:37:00.000-10:00

Wow, another new year. It really seems like the year just flew by. I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year's eve. On a belated note, we finally got a tree for christmas after more than a decade (yikes!).

Yes, it's hot pink.

From Acornbud, I got these cool skull stitchmarkers. I couldn't wait to use them and immediately put one on my wip. Still need to get a decent pic myself but she always take such amazing photos. Thank you Acornbud!
Thank you Akamai Knitter for the wonderful gift! I adore the Nekko stitchmarkers. Oooo, skulls!
One of my managers was running around picking out clothes at work. When I asked him why, he said you are supposed to wear new clothes for the the new year. That's the first time I ever heard about that. I say, forget new clothes, how about a new bike! During the school year, I like going to Kaimuki for lunch when I'm doing my homework at school. Waiting for the bus takes forever so it would be so cool to have a bike to get around. I've been wanting one ever since I saw an ad for the Electra Townie in ReadyMade magazine a couple months back. Loving the green!

I love the whole flat foot technology for their bikes. It just sounds a lot safer. I still have a scar on my elbow from a crash in the sixth grade on my first bike. When I looked at their site, I saw the Amsterdam Sport and fell in love.

I only wish that the women's one came in black. I know I can use the men's one, but the step through style is more Dutch. Bicyling magazine has a cool video review here.
Soon after, I found an article in the December 2007 issue of Vogue that had an article on bikes. That's where I found the jorg&olif scout.

Not only is it the coolest thing on two wheels, they also have beautifully designed website with gorgeous photos and typography. I know, I'm gushing. I just love the typeface they used for their logo. Must do some research to find out what it is.
So, new year's resolution...save up spare change to get new bike. I'll have plenty of time to decide which one it will be in the meantime.

Designerly

2007-12-21T00:10:00.000-10:00

According to one of my instructors, designerly is a word. So in honor of me finally getting a new laptop and all the necessary software to start my graphic design empire, I am going to include design topics in my posts. Yay! So now, as well as my knitting posts, you can read about my rants and ravings about type, pretty websites, and kick ass motion graphics. I have divided my links into crafting and design so they are easier to search.
In the meantime, I've just finished my busiest semester ever! I coded an HTML and Flash Site in three months with little sleep and completed my first internship. Sweet! Is it strange that I actually like homework? I'm going to get my sleepy deprived self to bed now so until next time.....no really!

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T23:43:00.000-10:00

I've been so busy this semester that I had resigned myself to not having a costume this Halloween. But then, inspiration! I had taken apart my ibook and replaced the hard drive last weekend so I decided to be...a Nerd Herder! A what? Go watch Chuck. I love the opening title sequence. One white shirt, a grey tie, and an hour with Photoshop later, I'm a member of the Nerd Herd. Nerds Unite!

Have a fun Halloween!

Don't say the Zed-word

2007-06-13T22:16:00.000-10:00

After hearing about attacks on other continents, the undead started showing up here. Good thing they're slow, so you can run around them. I had to work at the department store today and witnessed the aftermath of an attack in the men's section. All that was left was a shirt and pants strewned across the messy table. It took me a while to clean up the mess. When I got back to the retail store, the supervisor was looking a little pale. I saw the movie, but I'm not staying at the mall. As I was waiting for the bus, this guy snatched a girl's wallet. Too bad for him, she and her friends were zombies too. About five or six of them went after him. He got so scared, he dropped her wallet and his own bag. Now I'm holed up at home with plenty of canned goods and water.
Report in if you see any zed-word activity! Check here for more info.

Best Friend Cardigan

2007-05-24T15:32:00.000-10:00

First, thank you so much K, for the soysilk yarn!
On the needles....the Best Friend Cardigan from Twinkle Big City Knits! Since I still haven't bought the book yet I got the pattern here. I started off last week with a super soft Bay Alpaca Grande from Plymouth Yarn in a dark grey but the it wasn't bulky enough and it shed fibers everywhere. Also the dark grey was depressing me. So I went back to Isle Knits for something more cheerful and ended up with another Plymouth yarn.....trusty Encore in a lemon sorbet yellow! I'm knitting it with three strands held together to get the gauge. So far so good. I had a couple of false starts because the pattern isn't very clear. The main thing was that the buttonholes are made on the same row as the bobbles. Also, I didn't like how the yarn over buttonholes looked so I made cast-off decreases instead. I finished shaping the armholes and will be working on the collar at tonight's meeting. Oh yeah, photo!

Pretty pretty!

2007-02-07T21:02:00.000-10:00

Here are photos of finished garments from Wenlan Chia's Twinkle: Big City Knits. Patterns added to ever growing list:
Groovy Sweater Dress
Karate Sweater
Twinkle Hoodie
Shopping Tunic

I'm also thinking of knitting an art piece for a scholarship competition coming up. It will probably involve shibori and cables.

Wassup B!

2006-12-29T00:46:00.000-10:00

I hope everyone had a nice holiday! Gee, you think with school over, I would have time to post. Unfortunately, there is this thing called extended holiday hours. My only bright spot each day is my hour break when I could knit. What am I knitting anyway? My first sweater! It is the Lace Leaf Pullover by Teva Durham. I started in November and kept having to frog the lace leaf parts (there's three of them). Though pretty, lace is EVIL. I am almost finished with the last sleeve while I'm blogging and watching Goldfinger. (Can I multi-task or what!) It's knitted with Plymouth Encore doubled in a bright green than can only be described as looking like a certain japanese condiment. Just a couple more rows until I start decreasing for the shoulder, then I can start sewing it together.
For a first sweater, the pattern worked out well. I learned to do ssk decrease, knit f&b increase, and the kitchener stitch when I put it together. There is a break of stockinette after each lace panel which I really needed but it's not boring because of the shoulder shaping. My only complaints about the pattern is that it is written in paragraph form, making it hard to keep my place. I prefer patterns that are written row by row.
While on the topic of sweaters, here are my choices for my next sweater (all movie inspired):

The Prizoner of Azkaban

Love Actually

Bulletproof Monk

New Knitpicks yarn

2006-07-31T16:07:00.000-10:00

Knitpicks came out with some new yarn! I've been waiting for them to come out with a superwash yarn for a while. I have to try out the Swish Superwash. I see a lot of dark navy yarn in the near future.
I've knitted and frogged the hat three times now. The first one was too small and when I showed it to k at the meeting, I found out it's supposed to be knitted in one piece. Ooops. I really should have read the original pattern all the way through before starting. The second time, it was too big after switching to larger neadles and the third time the skull chart was too stretched out horizontally. Now I'm just freehanding the design, using the chart just for reference. I'm halfway through the skull, then its a whole lot of stockinette.

Pretty mutant sweater

2006-07-13T23:56:00.000-10:00

I'm currently working on the Lost in Translation scarf which, since it's lace, is driving me insane. I seem to have to rip it once or twice in every repeat. I've been working on it for three weeks and decided to take a break this week to rest my nerves. Sadly, I still have no photos. I can't wait until school starts next month so I have access to the digital cameras at school. There probably won't be many photos of my work until then.
At tonight's meeting I started on another hat. I showed a girl at work MK Carroll's version of the Birkin's Hat and after the requisite awww's and "it's soooo cuuuute!", it was decided that I should make a teenager sized one for her. Since she's a bit of a punk rocker, the hat will be black with a pink skull, inspired by the Kuromi character from Sanrio. I ended up doubling some worsted weight acrylic from my pathetic stash. I worked on the back during the meeting by winging it and just finished creating the chart for the skull using Illustrator and knitPro. The teenage punk rocker is having all four of her wisdom teeth removed over the weekend so hopefully this will cheer her up.
A member from the knitting group reminded me that a few meetings back, someone had mentioned that one of the characters from X-Men: The Last Stand was wearing a pretty sweater. Oddly , when I saw the movie a couple weeks back I didn't noticed the potential Movie-Must-Knit. So after the meeting, I spent the night trowling the internet until I found some good reference pics of the elusive sweater. As promised, I'm posting the them here. I love the cables but quake in fear of the lace. It would be totally at home in an issue of Interweave Knits.

Here's one with a good view of the lace down the sleeves:

Nooooo......!

2006-07-13T17:14:00.000-10:00

I took photos at the local Knit In Public event hoping to develop them over the weekend. One knitter brought her incredibly adorable and animated kids to the meeting and I managed to take half a roll of film of them. That weekend, after struggling to get the film onto the reel and into the developing tank, I accidentally opened the wrong part of the tank and exposed the undeveloped film to light. *sign*
So, many apologies to Mom and the kids. Hopefully I'll see you again when you move back here and I'll take new portraits for you at the next KIPP.

(edited for mistaking Acornbud for someone else.)

I Covet Twinkle

2006-05-25T22:12:00.000-10:00

Just got back from this week's SnB meeting. Nearly done with the main branch of the scarf, it's only six stitches wide now. I stopped by Borders before heading home and picked up the recent issue of Interweave Knits. There's an article in it on my favorite knitwear designer, Wenlan Chia. Her line, Twinkle, consists of whimsical chunky knits that fit really well. She's coming out with a book called twinkle's Big City Knits early next year that's calling my name!
I also picked up some cd's, best of bowie and Michael Buble. One of the workers at Job One is convinced Buble boosts sales. I'm just a sucker for singers with interesting voices.

Summer Plans

2006-05-12T21:53:00.000-10:00

School's finally out for the summer so I can get back to my knitting. Yep, I have my priorities down.
My Summer Plans:
I really want to take a photography class over the summer but I need to figure out how to get there. It is at another college rather far away by bus but it would enable me to print photos during the summer. I also plan to try out my dad's medium format camera. It takes square photos so the composition would be different from what I've been doing.
I've also started work on designing a website for one of my jobs. I've finished the site and page maps and the design itself would be fun but the tech guy left the company so now they expect me to code it, too. Ummm, I haven't learned that yet. There is a non-credit CSS coding class that I'm supposed to take over the summer but it wouldn't be for a while. In the meantime, I'll go through the tutorials at w3schools.
Oh, and of course, knitting! First is finishing a certain scarf, especially since I saw this. Another cherry blossom scarf! Eeeep!
I also just got an Ipod recently. I spent a couple of hours last night figuring out how to load some of my favorite knitting patterns on it. No more unlabeled scraps of paper with cryptic patterns on them! Woohoo!

Cue Peanuts Theme

2006-04-11T01:53:00.000-10:00

Yay! I got accepted! What a relief.
I just registered for the Fall semester and was able to get into the Intermediate Photography class. I have to remember to bring Dad's medium format camera to class so that the instructor can show me how to use it. I plan on trying it out during the summer. I still have a scholarship portfolio to finish and do some more sketches to show some school reps that are visiting. Hope it goes well, there are some really good schools coming.
Here's one yarn related update: I got some Cashmerino to knit the Bro a marsan watchcap once school lets out. He was asking for one ever since I learned to knit. It was also the reason I agreed to teach him, I figure he would make his own. He hasn't yet so this is a belated birthday suprise so, shhhhh!

Keep your fingers crossed

2006-03-06T18:38:00.000-10:00

Hope everyone had a happy new year, Valentines day, Mardi Gras, etc. I'm feverishly getting my portfolio ready for applying to the design program at my school. One more month! All I have left to do is a flash animation and develop some prints from my photography class so, of course, the monitor on my laptop had to die on me. *grumble* Now I have to figure out when I can be in the computer lab at school when I'm not working. Well, back to work! See you all in a couple of weeks.

Marooned?

2005-11-11T00:23:00.000-10:00

No, no, I'm not stuck on a deserted island with no computer access. Well, I sorta am but only that they film a certain show here. Just really busy with the two jobs. They hired more people at one of them so I have *gasp* Sunday off. Yay! So now, I won't be working seven days a week. I've also been volunteering at the gallery at school one day a week so I'm looking forward to some time off to catch up on my projects for school. I did do some non-knitting crafts in the meantime so I'll try to post photos of my Halloween fo's in a couple of days, but no promises.

Hey, what happened to October?

Ooooh....Shiny!

2005-10-04T23:19:00.000-10:00

For all you Firefly fans out there: Shiny Shirts. Now go watch Serenity cuz "Joss is Boss."

Rosemary's Baby Brother

2005-09-28T23:46:00.000-10:00

Ever since school started, I haven't found time to knit (gasp! horror!). Luckily, I have the night off tomorrow so I can actually make some progress on my projects. To get into the crafty mood again, I'm going to be watching Todd Oldam's Handmade Modern in a couple of minutes. Joan Jett is one of the guests today. The black vinyl ottoman she helps with looks like fun! The directions are for a corduroy ottoman. I'm a little annoyed that I missed the first two episodes due to work and Rosemary's Baby Brother (a.k.a. the Bro) messing with the VCR. Hopefully they will be rerunning the series.

Sgt. Pepper Scares Me

2005-08-21T23:35:00.000-10:00

I used to have a History teacher who was a huge Beatles fan. She had put up a couple of posters of them around the room so I ended up looking at Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for a whole school year. Maybe it was from bad memories of the Yellow Submarine movie (gave me nightmares) but the poster gave me the wiggins. So then why does this appeal to me?

Sooo tired.....

2005-07-09T01:22:00.000-10:00

I started my Intro to Design class this week so I get to wake up bright and early every morning. Yay. After class its off to work for the rest of the day. Double Yay. At least I get to listen to the French version of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking" while I'm working. (Eileen's "Ces Bottes sont Faites pour Marcher" for you francophiles)
Amazingly, I completed the back of the bolero, despite the mind numbing twenty-six rows of stockinette. Now I have to figure out how to knit the front. I'm using the armhole decreases from the knit.1 tank in the first issue of that magazine. But first, I have to finish my project for class...meticulously cutting out shapes and organizing them into a pattern. Of course, I had to design one with a bajillion little pieces.

Knitting for Dudes

2005-07-04T22:05:00.000-10:00

The man issue of Knitty is up! Have to show the bro. The cloud intarsia for Kumo is adorable.
I've finished the armhole decreases for the back of the bolero. Now is the boring part, twenty-six rows of stockinette. Zzzzzzzzzz......

Busy busy

2005-06-27T03:16:00.000-10:00

With nothing to show for it. Been working a lot the past two weeks because of a sale.
The yarn for the fiery bolero came in! It's 24 Karat by Plymouth Yarn. I'll try to get pics as soon as there's time and the light's good. I had a false start at the last Snb meeting I went to. I was so excited to finally work on it and the yarn had came on the same day that I ended up misreading the increases so I had to go kermit on it. I'm now up to the part where you're suppose to start the increases for the sleeves. Since I'm going to do cap sleeves instead, I started reading up on set in sleeves. Knitty has a nice article here.

Ziggy Scarf

2005-05-28T01:07:00.000-10:00

Well, the purple scarf is done! Only took about six hours. I followed the pattern for the Dropped-Stitch scarf from Teen Knitting Club. Aside from it being geared for teens, the book is one of the best beginner's book that I've read. It's also spiral bound so it lays flat. I wish more knitting books are made this way. I've bought and returned it previously because my other books already covered the same material but it turned out to be pretty useful. The library is our friend. The pics and the project I made really inspired me to try more novelty yarns.

The scarf was knitted on size 15 needles and I held together Plymouth Encore in purple and Sax in gold. The result looked like I accidentally smudged it with gold paint. A little glam, a little rock & roll, it would make Ziggy Stardust proud! Now to brainstorm how to gift wrap it.
Here's how far along the blossom scarf is.
I'm about half-way through and it will be a tad wider after it's blocked.
I've also picked up Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop today. It's great how she writes about what inspired her for each project. The photos are gorgeous! I loved her pattern for the Lace Leaf Pullover that was also featured in the Summer 2005 issue of Interweave Knits so I find myself looking at a lot of green yarn lately. Guess the pullover is the next project after the bolero.

How fast can I knit?

2005-05-25T01:44:00.000-10:00

Well, I'll find out this weekend! I have some friends that are moving and we're having a going away dinner this weekend. I want to make one of them a scarf but I only have a couple of days. Time to break out the size 13's. I'm thinking something purple and glittery.
The blossom scarf is going well but slowly. I'm about half-way through. For something so simple, it sure is taking a long time. Maybe that's the problem, it's not complicated enough. Why did I decide to knit it in two pieces? I could have been done by now.
The yarn for the fiery bolero had to be ordered so its probably another week or so before I can start. Oh well, gives me time to finish both scarves, right?
I'm finishing up another womb knitted with some horrible cotton, Fantasy Naturale by Plymouth Yarn in fushia. Fantasy my arse, more like nightmare. When I was winding it up, I found three knots. Grrrr Arrrgh! I am having fun knitting the womb though. I couldn't put it down until I got the main body done. I still need to work on the fallopian tubes and I have an idea for an embellishment.
How about some good news! Eartha Kitt will be judging Craft Corner Deathmatch again. Hey, its craft related. So there.

New Interweave Knits

2005-05-05T17:37:00.000-10:00

I just stopped in at Isle Knits and picked up the Summer Interweave Knits. I've been coveting the pattern for the fiery bolero but with some changes, of course!

I'll be knitting it up with cap sleeves instead like a knitted version of a crocheted sequined bolero I saw in a store. It was too hard to wash and was loose in the back, so, why not make my own.*
I had planned on using the gold Gatsby Katia but then I spied the prettiest ball of yarn just sitting there on the shop's work table. It reminds me of sari fabric with different shades of pink (yes, pink!) and bits of gold. I didn't write down the name but do know it had a lot of yardage, 187 yards, so I won't have to buy a lot of skeins. The most I've bought at one time is three. Its so strange though, I'm terrible at math, but I can remember numbers. Meh. We could only find one ball of it when I was there. The rest are buried under bags of other yummy yarn that just came in. So Sue, the owner, will call me in a couple of days when she excavates the rest of them. Gives me time to read the magazine cover to cover!

*Edited because I am not label-conscious. All hail the mighty edit button.

Fashion insight from my father

2005-05-04T23:55:00.000-10:00

The day before, I had read an article about how some well-to-do parents are dressing up their little ones in designer clothes and how it's justified because they're "age appropriate". I couldn't help rolling my eyes at the thought of three-year-olds in trendy velour track suits with a designer name emblazoned on their tushes. I ended up venting to my father about how ridiculous these parents are, buying their kids Prada flats and Chloe blouses when they would outgrow them in a matter of months and how, when I have children, I would never spoil them that way. My father replied that he hopes I stick with my convictions. Then he told me something that made me rethink the whole issue. He had bought pricey designer wear for my brother and I.
This comment brought my tirade to a halt. Neither of his kids act like spoiled brats (I hope!). I started recalling my dad telling me about the expensive toddler shoes he got for me when I was learning to walk. Then there was the beautiful red coat from kindergarten that sparked my passion for red outerwear. And what about the leather backpack from Japan that my godfather sent me in the fifth grade that I am planning on having restored. I realized that what bothered me wasn't that these children were wearing designer clothing, it was because they were learning to be label conscious.
What my father has taught us is how to appreciate good tailoring and craftsmanship. There's nothing wrong with learning how to look how a shirt is made to determine if it is a sound investment. It's worth it to save for several weeks to purchase one well cut dress that you could wear for years instead of five badly sewn dresses from some discount chain (and probably manufactured in a sweatshop). And its alright to buy cheap clothing, just not cheaply made ones.
I have learned to be aware of labels not because of status, but because of workmanship. Isn't what I'm doing now, with my knitting, striving for even stitches, the right drape, and the perfect yarn, a product of this upbringing? I came to the conclusion that spoiling your kids and teaching them to appreciate the finer things in life are two different things.

Knitted Depressed Android

2005-05-04T22:58:00.000-10:00

Someone from the Punk Rock Knitter's Journal created a pattern for a knitted Marvin the Robot from the movie, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I haven't seen the movie yet but recall reading the book in junior high. Don't remember a thing.

Lil' Womb will see you in D.C.

2005-04-25T19:33:00.000-10:00

WoW has been rescheduled for June but this lil' womb is getting an early start on her trip.

Where did you come from?

2005-04-22T00:20:00.000-10:00

I innocently decided to go to Isle Knits after my last post to pick up some pink yarn for the womb. I figured I might as well give it a go. I casted on at 8pm expecting to finish a week later. At 11pm, I found myself staring dumbfounded at a finished womb. Its a personal record for an FO. Spent the next several days terrorizing the bro with it. It might have been the fleshy pink color of the Reynolds Utopia acrylic. The SnB met twice for WoW so we could get a bunch mailed together. I managed to finish another womb to drop off for the second meeting...but not before a photoshoot in the downtown area. Felt a little like the main character from Blowup. The photos are developing now.
I did go back and bought a faux plum blossom branch from the candle store. It is currently wedged between my bed and a corner of my room so it looks like there's a tree growing in the room. It kind of reminds me of Odysseus. One of his bed posts was a living tree. Now, when I open my eyes every morning, I have a lovely reminder to hurry up and finish the scarf! I should change the name of it now because it looks more like a plum blossom branch.

Knitting Boy

2005-04-11T13:06:00.000-10:00

Lovely article in the paper today that mentions the SnB. The Bro is worried he may be known as the Guy Who Knits. I say right on! I'm contemplating knitting up a womb for Wombs on Washington. Looking through my stash, I find that I have no pink yarn. No pink. I find this very perplexing.

Grrrrrrrr....

2005-04-09T23:27:00.000-10:00

That's the sound my scarf makes when I'm frogging it. Yep, it was too wide. The increases and decreases worked out though. One of the members at the SnB meeting told me the pieces looked good curling up at the sides. I have to agree so know I'm knitting the two pieces about half as wide so that when I sew them together, the scarf would look more tubular (dude!). I got more inspiration today when I stopped by a candle shop during my break. It had some very realistic looking faux cherry and plum blossom branches for sale. They were so pretty! One of those branches would look so cool in my room. I'm going back soon to admire them again.

Eeep! Casted on

2005-04-03T20:52:00.000-10:00

The Marsan Watchcap is almost finished. Just need to weave in the ends. I'll post pics later. The branch for the scarf is coming along. I decided to knit it in two pieces and sew it up later. I'm almost to the point where I have to do the increases and decreases which is making me a little nervous (What if it doesn't work out? Should I have planned every row instead of doing it freeform? Eeek!) I did finally remember to get the white yarn for the berries and thread for the stamens on the blossoms so I'll be embroidering them soon.

Hello Kitty Stitch Markers

2005-03-13T00:10:00.000-10:00

My Hello Kitty cellphone mascots were getting lonely since I switched to a new mobile. Now they keep me company while I'm knitting the marsan watchcap.

The rings are jewelry findings from a bead shop. They have a smaller ring attached to the bottom of the main ring. I think they're used as part of a fastener for necklaces or bracelets.

Brown Yarn & Hummus

2005-03-10T23:04:00.000-10:00

Why am I doing the Snoopy Dance? The brown yarn came in! I never knew brown could be so beautiful.

Here it is with a blossom.

The bro was nice enough to take some photos so this post will be rather pic heavy:

The spiderweb capelet is missing some roses.

I've removed the roses on the capelet because the gold yarn is just too slippery (there's still one left on the bottom left). I'm going to try knitting up a couple of gold blossoms and using them to embellish it instead. I just really like how the gold contrasts with the blue.

Last are the blue and off-white yarn I ordered from Knitpicks and Elann. The center-pull ball is the Merino Style (Knitpicks) in dusk. As you can see, I've already started a new swatch in woven cables. Next to it is the misshapen skein of Admiral Blue Peruvian Collection Highland (Elann) after I frogged the lattice swatch. The scale of the lattices was too small so I'm staying with the woven cables. Also, I like the color and feel of the merino wool better. I'm going to have to start a mock-up of the robe soon so I can figure out how much yarn I'll need.

The beige skeins are from right to left, Ecru in the Peruvian and Vanilla in the Merino style. Again, I prefer the Merino Style. The color is the light cream I had in mind for the next film inspired project. I'm still testing stitches for it so nothing yet until I finish these WIP's.

M.K. made a mini version of Jay McCarroll's poncho! Its in the March 7th posts on her blog. Never thought I'd be jealous of a doll's wardrobe. Must finish WIP's.

I finally tried out a recipe for a bastardized version of hummus. The recipe for mashed chickpeas is from Jamie Oliver's Happy Days. I spent about fifteen minutes looking for canned chickpeas at the supermarket but found everything but. So I resigned myself to just getting premade hummus. Then I had the bright idea of looking at the ingredients of a couple of them. Turns out chickpeas and garbonzo beans are the same thing. Go figure. It was fast, easy, and really good. I even added some paprika on top so it looked like the hummus from the local Greek takeout. Loved it on spinach tortillas. I haven't been eating well lately because I've been too busy, which may be why I've been getting sick so much. After reading his newest book, Jamie's Family Dinners, it reminded me how important it is to eat more nutrient rich foods. I also made one of the pasta recipes from it tonight for dinner. It was a rigatoni, eggplant, and mozzeralla dish. Yum!

Blues

2005-02-24T13:16:00.000-10:00

What have I been up to? Well, I'm sick. Again. That's the third time this year, and it's only February. So, to go along with my mood, I'm stocking up on blue yarn. I just got a skien of Peruvian Collection Highland Wool from elann.com in Admiral Blue and ordered some Merino Style in Dusk from KnitPicks.com. One or the other will become the blue robe. I've also found the pattern for a lattice stitch that I'm testing out with the Highland Wool. I'll post pics when I'm done with the swatch.
The Cherry Blossom scarf is still on hold. I've decided to go back to my original plan of knitting the whole thing in cotton so I'm still waiting for the brown to come in. Maybe I'll check again before work.
The Spiderweb Capelet still needs a couple more gold roses. But the lattice stitch test swatch is really distracting me. I just need to set some time aside to work only on the capelet.
Speaking of capelets, here's another distraction (like I needed another one):

It's from the collection of my fave designer on Project Runway, Jay McCarroll. He so deserved to win! I really like this capelet but I think I'm going to make a shorter version. After my capelet and scarf are done, guess I'm going to learn to crochet. Until then, no new projects until I'm done with these two.

Great minds...

2005-02-07T01:51:00.000-10:00

Saw this at Borders the other day:

It's the current issue of Fiberarts magazine. I'm debating whether or not to get this issue. I do love the idea of wearable art.
I just started another job so now I have more yarn money. The bad news is that I that I haven't had time to buy yarn with said money. I still need some cashmerino for the branch of the cherry blossom scarf. At least I made some progress with the spiderweb capelet. The R2 inspired embroidery became embroidered roses instead. The lovely gold yarn proved to be a slippery little bugger when it kept coming out of eye on the yarn needle. Just a few more roses, then I'm done!

Been outta town

2005-01-22T01:00:00.000-10:00

I've been away the last couple of days because of a family emergency. I had to fly to North Carolina. While there, on Wednesday, it snowed! Strangely enough, snow is my only memory of the state up until now. My cousin said it hadn't snowed there for seven years so, yay! Downside was that we were stuck in traffic for more than four hours and my other cousin missed his flight.
My first day there, I did manage to get some yarn at this craft store called AC Moore. I was totally overwelmed by the aisles of yarn and tools. Then was dumbstruck by a wall of the stuff. Eventually, I ended up buying a skein of Chunky Araucania Nature Wool in a light violet and four balls of some low end "Cashmere Luxury" Aran. The content is similar to Debbie Bliss Cashmerino but the quality isn't as high. I got a ball each of navy and grey for a hat for the bro and two of purple. Also got some better stitch holders and more point protectors.
While on the plane to and from, I started another Marsan watchcap from redlipstick.net with some turquoise Cashmerino Aran I exchanged the extra Nature Wool for. The last watchcap I made was a little short so I'm going to knit a couple more rounds for the body.

The Saga Begins...

2005-01-15T23:58:00.000-10:00

I've started testing stitch patterns for the first movie-inspired knit project for this year, Padme's Naboo Nightgown Robe. Maggie has amazing research about the robe on her site, padawansguide.com. The original costume was done in velvet using a technique called lattice smocking. The plan is to knit it in wool with a shiny yarn held together to give it the right amount of sheen. There are several reasons I decided to knit it instead:

1. I'm actually going to use the garment for everyday so I didn't want to have to worry about crushing the velvet while wearing and storing.
2. Smocking shrinks the fabric. With knitting, if it ends up too small after a couple of rows, I could just frog it and start again.
3. The work would be portable so I can take it with me everywhere to work on.
4. Most importantly...any excuse to knit!

Below are some pics of the test swatch. I used some leftover Debbie Bliss Merino DK and followed a pattern for woven cables (8.6) from 220 Aran Stitches and Patterns. It was knitted up on size 7 needles and are 4.5X4.5 inches.

Charty Goodness

2005-01-12T23:22:00.000-10:00

Somebody at the Knitty Coffeeshop Forum posted about a free custom chart program, called knitPro, that converts any JPEG, GIF, or PNEG under 1 MB into a chart in PDF. Great program to play around with since I like intarsia so much and very useful for a sweater I'm planning.

Lace Done!

2005-01-11T23:13:00.000-10:00

Woohoo! Finished knitting the lace early this morning. The bro seemed pretty impressed when I showed it to him. When I was knitting it, the capelet looked like a tangled mess but it looks a lot better once its done. I still have half of the first skein left so I can exchange the second skein. The gold yarn was really expensive so it worked out great!
The capelet still needs to be blocked before I can start on the embroidery. I also have to decide whether to follow the pattern with the ties and pompoms or use ribbon. There's a stationary store near work that has a lot of pretty ribbons to choose from so I'll try to check it out tomorrow.
In other news, Lauren Kent has her pattern for Hermione's red mittens are up. These and the matching hat are on my list for this year. They'll be my portable projects to go along with the two other movie-inspired projects for this year. I'm still looking at yarns for those two so more on them later.

Lace...Part Deux

2005-01-10T02:38:00.000-10:00

Yep, I frogged it. Didn't have to work today so I spent the day reknitting the capelet. I'm a little more than halfway done and its looking much better, not to mention knitting up faster. I do keep getting an extra stitch on the rows 4 and 8 repeats but I can't find the mistake so I just knitted the last two stitches together. Can't wait to start the embroidery with the gold yarn. Got the idea from the autumn R2 magazine where they had this really cute pink pillow made with woven ribbon yarn that was stitched together to form flowers. Guess I'm on a flower kick lately.

Lace Hard...minutes later

2005-01-09T02:33:00.000-10:00

Aaaaak! Just went to craftster.org and found out that those aren't yarnovers in row 4. They're yarn forward and yarn back. I was creating 7 stitches instead of 4. *sigh* Ok, I don't want to frog it again, and the pattern looks rather nice. I just need to figure out a way to reduce the number of stitches. Or I could frog it again. I have to sleep on it.

Lace Hard

2005-01-09T01:57:00.000-10:00

With the cherry blossom scarf on hold, I decided to work on the Spiderweb capelet from Stitch 'N Bitch Nation. I went to my lys on Monday and got two skiens of Araucania Nature Wool in blue and some size 15 bamboo circs. The yarn is a nice variegated dark blue. I started working on it on Tuesday and I must say, I have a new found respect for lace knitters. I had to frog it twice because I kept losing my place on the purl one, drop one part. After getting to row 5, I decided to get some gold yarn to embellish the capelet when its done. Good thing I did! Turns out, I was knitting it wrong. Sue, the owner of the yarn shop noticed that I was dropping live stitches instead of the yarn overs. If it wasn't for her, I would have finished the project and then have it unravel on me. She also helped me pick out some really pretty gold yarn, Gatsby from Katia. Love the name! It has a nice subtle shimmer to it which was exactly what I was thinking of. I even picked it up when I first walked in the store.
After frogging the mess, I've now just finished row 8 and found I'm missing a stitch. Buggers! I decided to just knit the last two stitches. Hopefully it should work out.

First Post!

2005-01-02T20:25:00.000-10:00

Yay! I wanted to start this blog to help me keep track of my knitting. I keep getting inspired to create projects so here's a way to keep me organized.
Right now, I'm working on a cherry blossom scarf based on the Head Huggers pattern in Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. I got inspired by a trip I took a couple of years ago to Vancouver. We went during Spring break and the cherry blossom trees were blooming. It was so beautiful! When I saw the pics for the project online, I knew I had to make the scarf. I'm using Takhi cotton in hot pink with size 8 addi turbos. I had a happy accident when I misread the pattern, skipping rows 5 and 6. When I compared my mistake with a blossom made following the pattern, I really liked mine. The cotton made the stitches really defined and the extra stitches made a nice center for the blossom when I ran the ends through the remaining stitches twice. Now I just need brown for the branch and white for the berries...but...my lys was out of it last time I checked. So, this project is on hold until the yarn comes in.

Next, is my recently completed project, a baby Kittyville hat for my little cousin. I used Reynolds' Blossom in fushia and pink on size 8 dpns following the Lil' Devil baby hat pattern and adusting it. I really love how the ears turned out!

knittybird

Happy New Year!

Cardigan Inspiration

Happy Halloween!

She & Him

Winter Olympics 2010

Happy New Year!

Another Holiday Post

Happy Halloween

Wenlan Chia Sewing Book

Kawaii Craft Notions

Pirate say what?

Armwarmer or a hat

The Sweater

Are you a mod or a rocker?

Videos I can't stop watching

O B A M A

Vintage Shopping

Wishing You All A Merry Christmas!

wee little knits

Jay McCarroll sews with shrooms

It is so hot!

Buddha & the Art of Bicycle Repair.

old bike

Shibori Knit Books

Hairy Badcasts

New DIY magazine

Here's to 2008!

Designerly

Happy Halloween

Don't say the Zed-word

Best Friend Cardigan

Pretty pretty!

Wassup B!

New Knitpicks yarn

Pretty mutant sweater

Nooooo......!

I Covet Twinkle

Summer Plans

Cue Peanuts Theme

Keep your fingers crossed

Marooned?

Ooooh....Shiny!

Rosemary's Baby Brother

Sgt. Pepper Scares Me

Sooo tired.....

Knitting for Dudes

Busy busy

Ziggy Scarf

How fast can I knit?

More Reading Material

New Interweave Knits

Fashion insight from my father

Knitted Depressed Android

Lil' Womb will see you in D.C.

Where did you come from?

Knitting Boy

Grrrrrrrr....

Eeep! Casted on

Hello Kitty Stitch Markers

Brown Yarn & Hummus

Blues

Great minds...

Been outta town

The Saga Begins...

Charty Goodness

Lace Done!

Lace...Part Deux

Lace Hard...minutes later

Lace Hard

First Post!