happy (desert) holidays

winter in the desert. next up: the world famous crochet museum.

surreptitious (in the light of day)

so lately, i've been engaged in knitting of a... different sort. and i had no idea swatches could cause such an adrenaline rush!

under the cover of night...

YARN BOMB!

thanks to the lovely ladies of the urban craft center for organizing such a delicious escapade. did you know that there are ZERO parking meter cozy patterns on ravelry? it's true. i might have to rectify that.

(and yes. it's still all up:)

truly outrageous

i don't know what came over me. on a whim friday night, i stopped by a pumpkin stand on my way home from work and picked up two beauts, destined for the knife.


i basically spent all afternoon sunday with various cutlery in-hand and this american life in-ear. on a bout of inspiration from some crafty blog or another (CRAFT? Instructables? Instructables via CRAFT?) i got out the good old speedball linoleum cutter (seriously, speedball: where would i be without you?) and ed roth's amazing book 'o acrylic stencils and had at it.




this one goes out to you, mom - lino cutter included!


(oh. and yes. jem.) (and no, both of those beers aren't mine. just one. someone had to take the photo!)

wild thing

it took me a year and five days, but wild thing is finally done!


really, all i needed to do was attach the second ear. all year long this little one-eared hood stared back at me from my desk, and i just couldn't bring myself to settle down and take out needle and thread.


cole, this is my halloween salute to you, little bunny buddy. still missing you tons.



any guesses what i'll be this year?

what's the fun in that?

thank you thank you thank you everyone for all of the kind congratulations! we're excited to throw one smashing party with our family and friends come spring - and expect a few DIY projects along the way!

but we've got a few months to go so today, instead, let's look at how to make goodale 100% seamless - because if you've got a top-down raglan, why any seams at all? pattern instructions tell you to tack down and sew the bottom pockets together when all's said and done, but i say why not, dear readers, graft as you go?

here's what you'll need to do it the marri way:


-copious amounts of stitch markers
-an extra circ or two of the same needle size or a bit smaller
-a measuring tape
-ipod and headphones with the return of cast on loaded and ready to go!


we're starting just before the seven rows of 1x1 rib, just about to work the next row on the RS. first, measure off your 2" or so up at the collar and fold it over as the pattern instructs. pin it down, baby!



next, measure off your 5.25" on the bottom, and place a stitch marker where it ends - this will be your fold line. count the number of stitches from the beginning of your work to the stitch marker (for me, it was 30). then place a second marker that number of stitches away from the first. (if your ribbing tends to be tight, you might want to measure off an extra inch or so to make up for the gathering that will occur. i'm going to do twisted rib so it didn't much matter here for me.)


take all the stitches between the beginning of your work and the first marker and transfer them over to one of your spare circulars. fold your sweater over at the junction between your two circs, so that the beginning of the work matches up to the second marker like above with your "pocket" on top. re-measure and make sure your pocket is the size you want! and go ahead and do all of the above on the other end of your work, because you'll want two pockets, right?


now the scary part:


cut your tail. go ahead and do it. it's not the end of the world. just be sure to leave a good 6" or so to secure and weave in later.



that fold line is now the beginning of your work and there should be not one but two needles peeking out, one from each circ. go ahead and pick 'em up in your left hand. go ahead and pick the other end of your main circ up in your right hand. and then go ahead and knit those two first stitches - one from the front needle, and one from the back - together, starting with the front stitch. if you're like me and hate 1x1 ribbing but love 1x1 twisted rib, knit them together through the back loop instead.



next stitch? purl the front and back stitch together, inserting your needle into the back stitch first, and then the front.



keep a'goin - k1, p1 (or k1tbl, p1) - until you get to the next marker. simply go back to the top of these instructions and repeat for the second pocket.



look, a pocket!

then just finish up the last six rows of ribbing and you're done! you could graft on the bind-off row instead of your first row of ribbing if you'd like the pockets to extend all the way to the bottom of your sweater, but because i was going with the twisted ribbing and am lazy - i didn't want to do the "through the back loop" thing for every stitch - i chose to do it this way. to each his or her own - that's what i love about this crazy knitting thing!

now on to the sleeves and collar!


(this mid-weekday post brought to you by the fact that i'm home with some sort of mean stomach bug which no amount of mint tea or kitten purrs can kick.)

blushing

i'm so ashamed of myself... here i am, one month later, with nary a post. apologies, guys - if anyone's even still reading!

even though i've been MIA, there's been (mainly weekend) knitting:


i'm working up goodale by cecily glowik macdonald. (wow, i almost forgot how to adjust some of that html coding there. must. write. more.) i'm using berroco ultra alpaca in a lovely yellowy green that b's family gifted me one christmas, and it's a perfect project to knit with this little troublemaker in my life -


yep, she's growing... but not out of her kittenish ways. earlier this week, she caught her claws in one of my scarves and managed to pull down my entire closet. so - stockinette is about all we can manage right now - easy enough to tink back or ladder down if some little paw swipes at my knitting!

and oh yeah.


did i mention? we're getting married.

back in the saddle

thank you, everyone, for your kind words. life has been trying of late, and i know i've been neglectful of far too much this summer. but consider this me, back in the saddle.


more soon.

good-bye

we will miss you so much sweet, silly boy. thank you for holding on as long as you did.

fo: coraline

right; okay. she's been finished for about a month now but i hadn't gotten around to the photography bit. the verdict? love. love love love. i can see myself wearing this over a cute dress in the fall, or like i am here with jeans and a tank on a cooler evening. it's versatile. and it's so soft!

i love the vintage-inspired smocking around the yoke, although i did not love knitting it - a bit fiddly and sometimes difficult on my fingers, but oh so worth the effect. i love the puckered cuffs. i love all the i-cord details. i love the hem. and i love the yarn (frog tree meriboo) - super-soft and drapey, although it's too warm to wear in a socal summer and i've yet to see how it'll hold up.

pattern: coraline by ysolda teague

yarn: frog tree meriboo (dk weight)

needles: US #2 & #4

mods: i lengthened quite a bit. i've come to realize that i'm long-waisted, and i need a couple of extra inches in the arms and body. i thought this would mean i'd need quite a bit more yarn, but no; now i have an extra couple of balls left - any ideas?

and now i'll leave you with -


- gratuitous kitten photo of the day! (and messy workspace; whoops.)

just a quick note -

y'all know how much i love ysolda's designs; always brilliant construction for a fun knit that's super-cute and wearable. well, it's her 25th birthday and to celebrate, she's offering all of her designs at a 25% discount on ravelry today. so go go go! may i recommend coraline? FO photos soon!

an eclipse of a different sort

why, hello there! can i tell you how difficult it is to blog with a kitten in the house? or how difficult it is to sit quietly and do anything with a kitten in the house? near impossible, i tell you! but so worth it. exhibits a through d:








yep, she's pretty much taken over our lives. shhh, don't tell anyone but i haven't knit anything in the past few weeks. i can barely read without a covert kitten sneak attack on my book (all the corners? nibbled to death) so forget yarn.

i'm okay with the short break, because i've found a new obsession: collecting mid-century scandinavian housewares. specifically, cathrineholm lotus enamel bowls by grete prytz kittelsen, a norwegian designer. this stuff is gorgeous:


someone somewhere in blogland described this line as "the gateway drug for many enamel cookware collectors" and it's true. it's gorgeous and i must have it. i've found myself compulsively checking ebay all day long (thank you iphone apps!) and scouring my local thrift and antique stores. the antique mall closest to me? they know to call me when anything cathrineholm shows up. and they have. how's that for customer relations?

happy eclipse day y'all! anyone else going tonight?

p.s. - this is what most of my photos look like these days -


totally serious when i say she's taken over our lives! also? the passage is AWESOME.

good golly miss molly

okay, i've been holding off a new post forever to be able to introduce her properly, but forget it. i can't wait any longer. meet molly:




isn't she unbelievably adorable? we decided a few months back that it would be good to find maeve a friend; she becomes so bored during the day, and can't quite figure out how to interact with the rabbits. and then a few weeks ago, my yoga teacher mentioned that she fosters for the city shelter and had five kittens just about ready for adoption. fate? absolutely. we went over to her house and molly promptly settled in my lap. now we're just waiting for her to hit the 2 lb mark so she can be spayed and come home with us. (thanks to keri for the photos to help tide us over!)

in the meantime, we've been preparing for her arrival:




maeve and the bunnies both thoroughly approve of this awesome 70s-inspired hut/scratching post/feather toy amazingness. it was kind of a pain to put together but totally worth it!




inspired by some felt cat toys i saw at the modern dog, i also picked up organic catnip, recycled felt, and jingle bells. there really is a dearth of stylish cat toys out there, so i took matters into my own hands. and if you might remember, a few years back i decided i'd attempt embroidery? that didn't last long, but at least now i'm starting to use up some of the floss!


maeve approves.


also? there's been knitting. expect FO photos soon!

happy memorial day!

(what should i knit next?)