red

My first flower of the spring came out a few weeks ago. By now the cherry and magnolia trees have past their prime but the bright red Nasturtiums on my porch are still going strong.




I brought my camera to knitting last week to do some long overdue documenting of the oh-so-fabulous wallpaper at the Mel-o-dee. The bar was opened in 1969 or so and has clearly been untouched since. I found three different flocked filigree patterned wallpapers between the two rooms of the bar and the ladies restroom. My photography does not capture the atmosphere of the dimly lit establishment, but just imagine this wallpaper surrounding tufted vinyl built in benches and lounge tables.







Finally, after drooling over sweaters cut like jackets all winter I've decided to knit myself one (with a nice moss stitch front, pattern from DROPS in Ravelry). I ordered a bunch of bulky handspun from handpaintedyarn.com in a color called Caoba.



I wound up some skeins and started swatching last night. Hopefully I will finish before next winter!

busy busy

but not with crafty things... There has been a real sense of urgency around the office lately. It has good effects by motivating me to get work done but I don't enjoy the elevated stress level. I'm starting to feel a bit more relaxed now, at least enough to show off a few photos.

Spinning:



Merino dyed by Girl on the Rocks in colorway Europa. I navajo plied it and I've been pawing at the skein trying to decide what to make. It's soft and squishy and probably bulky weight. Any suggestions?




Yak! I spun yak! Locks were from A Verb for Keeping Warm.




Romney single-ply also dyed by Girl on the Rocks this one is called Apollo (after you know who). It is a pretty good match to his kitten years, but he is a bit browner now.

Knitting:



A hat! I knit a hat using my bruised handspun. I never did pick a pattern but I eventually figured out a size that would work and remembered to write it down (hooray!). I have enough yarn left over to knit two more hats (or something else). The hat is lovely and soft but it has already gotten too warm around here to need it. I guess I'll just have to wait until summer for those cold foggy nights.




I have also mostly completed a sweater. It's made from Debbie Bliss Alpaca-Silk (mmmmm soft) and has been in the works for at least a year now... I have a real problem following directions (or even choosing directions) and my pattern-less knitting projects always require some adjustments. This one is now seamed and awaiting a button band and collar. The neckline is a little funky and I might have to re-knit it but I guess thats what I deserve for trying to make a short row neck without even keeping track...

And I have new toys on the way too... A Beka rigid heddle loom and 30 yards of seatbelt webbing. Isn't that every girls dream?

hats etc.

spinning, spinning, spinning and a hat...


Ah, just like a fresh bruise.. I finished spinning some merino roving that Karrie helped me dye in late November. I really, really, really like the color... I just need to decide what weight yarn I actually made so I can pick a pattern to knit myself a new hat.





Cato is proudly modeling a hat I made quickly before xmas. I used most of 2 balls of Rowan Cashsoft DK from my stash (originally purchased at the Webs booth at Stitches West 2007) one light blue and the other in navy. The pattern is the Inga Hat and I found it on Ravelry. I knit the hat using size 6 needles instead of size 5 which resulted in a really big hat, but it fits the recipient well. Oh, and the yarn is yummy...

Beach Knitting Part 2

Im back from the beach and I got a good bit of knitting done. I didnt actually knit on the beach (too much sand and sunscreen) but I spent some quality time knitting on the deck looking out over the ocean which is almost the same, right?

Lisa Souza striped socks finished! More info on yarn etc. from my last post.


And a Noro scarf from birthday yarn! Its my first Noro and Im doing an entrelac scarf using the instructions from Knitty. Im on the third of 3 balls of Noro Kureyon (color 182).

Beach Knitting Part 1

Ive been doing a bit of knitting while sitting around at the beach.  

Im knitting striped socks with Lisa Souza Sock Yarn (from the heels and toes bin at Stitches West) using a general toe up approach.  I used the Knitty generic toe-up sock instructions and directions for "hole-free" shortrows from Nothin' but Knit.  They are going much quicker than my previous pair, but I owe part of that to the fact that I have knitted them only once...

One sock is finished and the other one is past the heel.  Hopefully I can post a proper picture of them finished when I get home! 

The beach (outer banks, NC) is pretty nice--its been hot and sunny most of the week--but the ocean here is just not as dynamic as it is on the West Coast.  Ive managed not to get too sunburned yet, but ive still got two days to survive!

that hat gets around

there it is again...

ack!

I wasnt expecting to see this...

My super bulky cabled hat looks so new!

Traveling Knitting

This weekend Nick and I finally went on our "New Years" camping trip in big sur (only a few weeks late). My knitting came too and this portrait of a sock in progress (superwash merino dyed by Karrie, 1x3 seed stitch ribbing) was taken from our super awesome cliff-side campsite in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. There were bunches (or perhaps, pods...) of Gray Whales hanging out just off the point and I even saw a tail!

More photos of the trip on my Flickr page.

I also noticed that a photo I took of Nick and I on Pfeiffer Beach looks just like one from our trip 3 years ago.... (im even wearing the same jacket and hat). I guess I dont change that quickly.

its almost like yarn!

I took a beginning spinning class with Carmen on Saturday at West Valley Aplacas and it was really fun. I even made a fiber product that is sort-of almost-like yarn! The class was so much fun that I have spent the rest of the weekend thinking about buying a spinning wheel. It really is a dangerous situation.


A couple that was also in the class brought some fiber from their angora goat Lucile and I tried spinning a bit of that. It went pretty well but then I tried to Navajo ply it and that was a bit of a disaster.... The fiber is really shiny though!

A while back I spun a silk hankie using a drop spindle my dad made for me. I found it slow and difficult but I guess in learned something in the process. I found spinning on the wheel SO much easier. It was actually enjoyable!


Oh, and spinning wheels... Man, they cost a lot. You could buy a ridiculous sewing machine for the cost of a spinning wheel. but yet....

I would want a smallish one and not *too* expensive. Folding would be nice but just for storage and not for carrying it around. Im pretty sure I want a double treadle but Im willing to be convinced otherwise. I used an Ashford Kiwi for most of the class and that went pretty well. At the end I tried the Joy (single treadle) which went ok with the Mohair until I tried to Navajo ply and then I had all kinds of trouble getting the wheel spinning the right way which resulted in lots of tangling. Most of the wheels out there are still sight unseen as Pat at West Valley Alpacas had only Ashford wheels and Karrie has a Lendrum but I am intrigued by the Majacraft Suzie. Maybe not $630 worth though... Hopefully I can either talk myself out of buying one at all or try a bunch out at Stitches West.

In other more productive news I have blocked and sewn pockets into my giant orange cardigan. Im about to order a zipper for it too. Yay!

a beast of a sweater

Many months ago Carmen scored a lot of superbulky yarn from the ebay branch of Handpaintedyarn.com/Malabrigo right as the website stopped carrying it (and the price was subsequently raised from $5 to $12). The yarn is really nice and Ive made several hats out of it (pattern for cabled hat). I decided to make a raglan cardigan but I wasnt sure 10 skeins was going to be enough. I have knit and re-knit most parts of this sweater several times because I apparently have no ability to plan out a project ahead of time and I keep changing my mind. I just decided I wanted pockets, but not patch pockets since I wont have much extra yarn, so I ripped out the whole body back to the top of the pockets. Its pretty quick knitting and this is the sort of sweater that should have been done in about a weekend but my indecision has drawn it out for months. It also weighs a ton. All I have to say is thank goodness for interchangeable needles!

Super Bulky Cabled Hat

DSCN2008.JPG, originally uploaded by abmatic.

**This blog has moved!** All updates to this pattern can be found at the new site


Its finally here!! The pattern is pasted below, pdf version may be available on email request... If you are looking for more pictures Carmen has made many of these hats in various colors such as these and these.

PATTERN DESCRIPTION
A simple cabled hat made from Super Bulky yarn that is quick but not boring. I think it makes a good first cable project as well. The pattern does a great job showing off the beautiful colors from handpaintedyarn.com although they have recently stopped carrying this yarn (Ive heard that their yarn store line Malabrigo recently picked it up) but I’m sure that similar bulky yarns will work well too. Square brackets indicate the cable section which is twisted on every 5th row. During the Decrease section I will not list the cable twists because it depends on long you want your hat to be. You may wish to continue with the cable into the decrease section and can just add the cable twist in the appropriate row.

MATERIALS
handpaintedyarn.com (or Malabrigo) Super Bulky [wool; 65 yd/ 59m per 100g skein]; color: Green Apple; 1 skein

1 pair US #13/9 mm needles
cable needle, tapestry needle

GAUGE
9 sts/15 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch

PATTERN
CO 48 stitches
Rows 1-4: K48
Row 5: K *K P2 [K4] P2* K2 (right side) repeat from * to *
Row 6: P *P K2 [P4] K2* P2 (wrong side) repeat from * to *
Row 7: same as Row 5
Row 8: same as Row 6
Row 9: K *K P2 [place 2 stitches on cable needle and hold behind work, K2, K2 from cable needle] P2* K2
Repeat rows 6-9 until work is between 6 and 7 inches in length (depending on how long a hat you would like) ending with a right side row.
Decrease Section:
Row D1: P *P K2tog [P4] K2tog* P2 (38 stitches)
Row D2: K *K P [K4] P* K2
Row D3: P *K2tog [P4] K* (4 repeats only!) K2tog [P4] K2tog P (32 stitches)
Row D4: P *P [K4] P* P
Row D5: *K2tog [P4]* K2tog (26 stitches)
Row D6: *P K2tog K2tog* P (16 stitches)
Row D7: *P2tog* (8 stitches)
Cut yarn and draw through remaining stitches and seam (mattress seam works well). You may wish to use a smaller diameter yarn for the seam. Weave in ends and enjoy!
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