I’ve decided to upgrade to my own domain and have relocated to byelin.com.
Please come and visit me there!
A package arrived for me last night, delivered by my next door neighbour who’d picked it up from the mailman for some reason.
It was from my secret pal and included lots of lovely things: a gorgeous (handmade?) card, a Lamb Chops stuffie, a cute sheep measuring tape, a “purl” badge, a knitting button, a cute sheep dish, a knitting mystery and some lovely handdyed sock yarn from Extreme Yarn. Thank you, secret pal! I love it all.
I’m particularly excited about the yarn. It’s absolutely beautiful and quite different from anything else in my stash. I’m excited to try it out, espcially since I seem to be completely sock crazy lately.
And now, back to cleaning! My mum’s coming to stay with me tomorrow and of course, like a good daughter, I want the apartment to be sparkling by then. Just the bathroom to go!
I love being on holiday. I’ve been getting up early, reading lots, knitting, crafting and baking.
Two socks finished, and they won’t be getting their mates any time soon. Charade of course, in the Knittery Merino Cashmere sock yar, and a toe-up stockinette sock with a picot cuff in my own hand-dyed yarn. I quite like how my yarn knitted up, even though the white bits pooled just a little bit. Still, since I didn’t really measure anything, just wrapped the yarn around the kitchen table, I’m very happy with it.
I mentioned I’ve been wanting to do other crafts lately. I’m still bent on getting myself a sewing machine, but for now, I’ve been making little pincushions. All the materials were things I had around the house already, and the black ribbon was the only one the right width, otherwise I would have probably used a few different colours. The fabric is all cute quilting cottons I picked up at Lincraft yesterday.
I also made some little shrinky dink pins using this tutorial and stencilled some fabric (totally ripped-off inspired by Ysolda).
Then I’ve been playing Super Paper Mario, which my geeky boyfriend bought on the first day it was released here in Australia. It’s a great game, just the kind of game I enjoy. I often joke that I three dimensions confuses me when I play video games (very rarely), and James likes to point out that I live in three dimensions. Two dimensions just make more sense to me on screen, however, and although there’s a three-dimensional element to this game, it’s very simple.
Finally, I wanted to share these needles with you, that arrived from the Yarn Pirate earlier during the week. They’re US 4 (3.5 mm) needles and I they’re without a doubt my favourite needles – I just have to think of something to knit with them now. While I love my Knit Picks set for just about everything, I’m drawn to wooden needles and I think I’ll be buying more wooden needles, albeit slowly. When the new wooden Knit Picks tips come to Australia I’ll definately get a couple of sets in the sizes I use most to complement my set, even if I prefer natural wood to the multi-coloured versions.
Anyway, the Yarn Pirate needles are smooth, light and absolutely gorgeous. They’re not too long and feel great to knit with. I don’t usually use straight needles because they feel unwieldy, but I’ll definatley be using these. In fact, the only other pair of straights I own, I hate. They’re the first needles I bought after deciding to get back into knitting, a pair of plastic US 13s I think – the next needles I bought were DPNs!
One of the things I love most about my apartment is the walls, which I’ve filled with an assortment of things that inspire me. Art posters, wrapping paper, postcards, music, movies, concert tickets and other memorablia. There’s a print-out of my highschool yearbook from when I was a layout head and a string of beads that I bought in Thailand, but are too big for me to wear. In this photo, there’s a drawing from my cousin, postcards from my mum and free postcards that caught my eye.
This weekend, I felt the biggest urges to get creative in ways other than knitting. Mostly, I wanted to sew, but I wasn’t desperate enough that I wanted to hand-sew (if only I had a sewing machine). I ended up spending alot of time in the kitchen, I made two kinds of cookies, I made a proper dinner every night despite being alone (usually I resort to toasted sandwiches and equally low-effort things). I even made pizza.
From scratch, as always, but James is much better at making the dough than me. I don’t really understand that because I love baking and cooking all sorts of things (and I like to think I’m pretty good at it), while pizza is the only real meal he makes from scratch. That and bbq, how manly. Since he does the dishes (I dry) and we share all the preparations (chopping vegetables, putting on the rice, etc), I don’t mind being the stereotypical woman and cooking most of our meals.
And just because I love it, my favourite tea and my favourite tea tin.
With two weeks of and not alot of study, I’ve been thinking alot about things I want to achieve these holidays. One of these is simple, I want to get into some good habits. Exercising, not staying in bed all morning just because I don’t have anything pressing to do, wasting less time online and getting on top of my readings again. Other things include learning to use my camera properly, cleaning out and organizing my computer and starting to put together a real photo album with pictures from the last few years. As much as I love spending the whole day in my pyjamas, sleeping till noon and doing nothing, I hate feeling lazy and am usually much happier when I’m productive.
Yester I handed in my last assignment before the holidays and after a quick trip into the city for supplies, I got crafty straight away. Taking advantage of Jamie having gone back to Geelong to celebrate his mum’s birthday, I did a couple of things I’ve never done before.
First of, I dyed yarn. I used food colouring and vinegar and this great tutorial. It’s a bit splotchy as you can see, but I’m quite pleased with my first attempt. I’ve been wanting to try this out for a while, but have been just too lazy about. It made a bit of a mess and stained my fingers because I didn’t have rubber gloves around. My fingers are pretty much clean by now though, and that’s mostly from normal activities like washing the dishes rather than standing around scrubbing them for ages.
Secondly, I felted. It was maybe 10 pm last night and I was bored and totally uninspired with all my projects. Browsing the new Knitty, I came across the Woodins and I thought there were just adorable. I realized I had some cream and brown wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills that I’d bought for the Deep V Argyle Vest before deciding it just wasn’t me.
I knit up these two really quickly. I didn’t really like the yarn on the skein, but it knit up pretty well. Since I don’t have a washing machine, I wasn’t really expecting to be able to felt these much, but I figured it didn’t matter too much since they don’t look too heavily felted in the pictures. I was wrong. I just filled the bathroom sink with a bit of hot water and set about scrubbing them. I don’t think it took even 10 minutes before they were felted to my tastes.
I didn’t have any stuffing on my hands, but I did what I’ve done before with the first time, cut up scraps of this very poufy thick-thin acrylic yarn I know I’m never going to use. For the second one, I thought I’d try filling it with rice to give it a bit of weight and I think I prefer it. I’ll probably do the same to the other one when I get around to it. Right now, I’m working on the log. It’s a darker brown than the original, which means that the pattern won’t be quite as visible, and I’m not going to use a lighter colour on the inside (simply because I don’t have one). Hopefully, it’ll turn out pretty good anyway.
Since my yarn is DK weight rather than worsted, my Woodins are smaller than the original, but I quite like it that way. The leaves are some leftover green DK weight scraps and I embroidered the eyes with leftover black sock yarn. For once, I was happy to have those partial skeins lying around.
I’ve also been working on this sock, that I started when Salina got too big and annoying to carry around with me. It’s Charade knit in The Knittery Merino Cashmere Sock in Moonlight. This yarn was actually a bit of a mistake. Purple’s not my colour and I was expecting something less purple from the photo on the website. I’ve tried knitting it up a couple of times, but have had huge problems with pooling. Charade was pretty much my last bet, and it seems to be behaving itself really well. There’s a bit of pooling on the cuff and heel, but I can handle that.
I’ve been ignoring the blog a little lately. Partly because I’ve been busy with uni, partly because I don’t have anything particularly exciting to show off. Mostly, I’ve been working on Salina, which is really just endless stockinette and doesn’t make for very exciting blog contents.
I’m knitting the body in the round and have just split for the armholes. It’s great study knitting and it should turn out pretty well. It seems to fit alright, but since I’ve made improvised changes to the shaping and am knitting some kind of small/medium hybrid, you never know.
Two more days of uni, then I’ve got two weeks off. I’m looking forward to lots of knitting, reading and general laziness. Two assignments to finish first though, most importantly Media Law due tomorrow. It’s worth 50% of the subject, so really that’s what I should be doing at the moment.
Pattern:Child’s First Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: The Knittery Merino Cashmere Sock (1 skein in Dark Reds)
Needles: Knitpicks 2.0 mm DPNS
Modifications: I started of doing the pattern exactly as it was in the book, but it was too big. So, I took out one horizontal repeat, doing the pattern over 56 stitches instead of 64 stitches. I also didn’t decrease before the heel because it made the ankle really saggy. Because I was doing the sock over 56 stitches, I could do the heel over 29 stitches without modifying any of the instructions for the instep or the rest of the heel. The socks are also significantly shorter than the originals. I think I did 3 repeats instead of 7 or something like that.
So, if you think the socks look different from when I last posted them, you would be right. The original attempt was frogged to make a smaller sock, and they’re still a bit loose. I’m tempted to think this has more to do with the yarn knitting at a too loose gauge (I admit it – I never swatch for socks) than anything wrong with the pattern. I still love these socks though, they’re super-cute, comfy and I’m quite fond of the shorter length.
Current projects? I’m working on Salina from Vintage Style in Rowanspun DK. It’s going pretty well, although I had to go down to 3.0 mm needles to get gauge! I’m also planning to join in knitting Ysolda’s Stripy – sans stripes. I’ve swatched and am impatiently waiting the next post. So many sweaters! Honestly, I’m not much tempted to knit anything else. My latest sock attempts have all ended up much too big, and although I’d love some lace, I don’t really have any a good yarn or pattern on hand. I have been drawn to alot of short-sleeved shrugs/boleros too and think I’ll try to get some cotton or cotton blends to make some once summer gets here for real.
I said I’d post socks this weekend, but since I finally sewed the last finishings on Serrano and got James to take pictures, I figured it was time for this instead.
Pattern: Serrano by Laura Chau from Knitty
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill (millend from Ebay)
Needles: 2.5 mm, 3.0 mm Knitpicks Options
Modifications: None.
I’ve been putting of finishing this for a while because I just wasn’t sure about it. It’s a beautiful cardigan, but I kept wishing I’d made it longer and I wasn’t sure it was paricularly flattering. I want to love it, and sometimes I really do, but then I’m not sure again.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the process of knitting this. It was an exciting patterns with lots of little details that really make the cardigan truly special. All the finishing really makes this cardigan what it is, so if you don’t like finishing, it’s probably not the pattern for you. The split sleeves? I love them. With a black skirt, this cardigan totally makes me feel like a flamenco dancer (sure, not at all accurate, but it’s the feeling I get).
The finished product fits great. I made 34-inch bust size and it’s quite fitted, but not overly-tight. I thought about adding length but I didn’t end up doing so, and I kind of wish I had. I’ve debating taking out the fastenings and trying to block it longer since I could easily have stretched it out more when blocking, but I’m afraid it’d just spring back to it’s original size straight away. Since the lace pattern stretches out to fit the bust, the cardigan gets pulled up a bit. Another inch of length and I think I’d be much more comfortable with it. I also couldn’t find hook and eye tape anywhere and ended up making my own from some ribbon and loose hooks and eyes. It works fine, but it’s not the best solution. I might see if I can find the proper stuff online.
Anyway, I’m going to call this a success. Embarking on a fingering weight lace cardigan as your second sweater project might not have been the wisest option. I also think I’m way too critical about my work , especially the way it fits because like many people, my eyes in drawn to my body hang-ups. And the headless pictures? Well, I think I’m horribly unphotogenic and I’ve got enough trouble worrying about getting good pictures of my knits without worrying about my face looking ridiculous. Just to show I actually have a face, here’s me looking horribly dorky, with wet hair straight from the shower, no make-up and my geeky glasses that I’m hoping to replace soon.
Just answering some questions for a Secret Pal contest. I’ve got a finished pair of socks to show of too, but I’ll leave those for the weekend.
1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?
Knitting accessories? That’s difficult. I don’t have that many accessories. I rarely use a row-counter, I usually use scrap yarn as stitch markers and stitch holders and I don’t even use a crochet hook to pic up dropped stitches. Maybe a tapestry needle? It’d be pretty impossible to finish projects without one. Or a needle gauge? None of my needles have the size on them and once I found myself having knit half a project with two different size Knit Picks Options tips screwed onto either side of the cable. Luckily, I had to frog that one anyway because I’d miscalculated the pattern.
2. If you’re heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If so, how much and what type of project?
Yes, definately. I think what I would bring what depend on where I was going and what kind of vacation it was. So far, I’ve only gone on one vacation while I’ve been knitting and since I was going back to Sweden to spend the summer and see my family, somewhere I’ve been many many times, I brought alot of knitting. I knew I wsan’t going to have much to do and that I’d get bored and I figured lots of knitting would be the best way to combat that. I brought sock yarn for several pairs of socks and enough for two tops. If I was going somewhere new where I’d be doing more vacation-y stuff and not have as much time to knit, I’d probably bring much less. Probably some socks because it doesn’t take much space. Maybe a bigger project if I was anticipating spending alot of time in a hotel room or travelling.
3. Where have you travelled to that you’d consider your favorite spot?
I’m very lucky in that I got to travel lots when I was growing up. My favorite place to travel is probably still going back to Sweden (even if it gets boring after a while). I love the change from my everyday life and just being able to relax and take it easy, see my family and have my mum spoil me. My parents have a house in the country that they bought when I was 8 years old and I’ve still got my tiny little room that looks pretty much the same as it did in 1994. I can take long walks down to the beach without seeing a single person. I can lie on out on the lawn in the summer with just a bra and shorts and nobody can see me. There’s no broadband to suck up all my free time and nothing to watch on TV. I’m definately a city girl, but I love these respites from my normal life and Swedish summers will always have a very special place in my heart.
4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?
I own a total of 4 knitting books and I’ve only ever looked through other knitting books in Borders or browsed patterns on Ravelry. Keeping this in mind, my favourite is probably Barbara Walker’s Treasury of Knitting Patterns. I’ve got the first volume and I love browsing it for inspiration.
5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)?
Yes! My favourite is definately Stash and Burn. I’ve listened to a few, but that’s the only one i actually listen to regularly. I love the balance between a well structured program and casual conversations. I wish I could find other podcasts I like as much but they’re either too formal or too un-structured and random.
6. If you could only knit with 1 color for the rest of your life, what color would that be?
That would be green. It’s my favourite colour and I love lots of different shades of it. Although I wear alot of boring colours like black and grey, it would be pretty boring to only knit with black!
7. If you were far into a project and then noticed a mistake near the beginning what would you do?
Maybe it’s a cop-out answer, but it would depend on what kind of mistake it was. I’d probably frog because I’m much too much of a perfectionist and if I’m going to spend that much time on a project, I want to be happy with it in the end. My mum was actually very impressed this summer because I calmed ripped out hours worth of knitting on several occasions (5 years ago I would probaly have burst into tears when I came across the mistakes – let’s just say I was a very hormonal teenager). Sometimes, if it’s not too obvious, I’ll just keep going. For example in one of my lace shawls I realized that the I’d purled the 3-stitch garter stitch border once near the beginning. This would have been a simple mistake to fix but I didn’t really feel like picking up however many rows of garter stitch in laceweight yarn. I left it as is and you’d never notice it in the finished product.
8. Where is the most unsual spot you’ve ever knit?
I don’t think I’ve knit in any places that are that unusual. I’ve knit on public transport, in lectures and the library and on airplanes. That’s as weird as it gets and I don’t think any of those are particularly unusual.
Pattern: Briar Rose by Ysolda
Yarn: Rowan All Seasons Cotton (4 skeins in Soul)
Needles: 4.5 mm Knit Picks Options
Modifications: I made the sleeves short-sleeved and slightly less puffy and my border is a few cm narrower (mostly because I got bored). I also made a size smaller than I usually would because I wanted a more fitted garment and it doesn’t actually have to go across the bust (size 32-34 for my 36 inch bust). I also have quite narrow shoulders and I figured that it’s most important that the shrug fits well at the shoulders and across the back, the smaller size seemed the best match. I knit it out of a cotton rather than some kind of wool blend and because in my limited experience, cotton always stretches, I knit it at a slightly tighter gauge.
My modifications all paid of well, the shrug fits perfectly. It’s loose and comfortable, but doesn’t fall of my shoulders, which I think comes down to knitting the smaller size. I also love the colour, which I think I chose after seeing Ysolda’s pink version. It’s not a colour that I usually wear, but it’s a nice accent to black and I’m trying to be a bit more adventurous in my colour choices.
This is a great pattern. I love the seamless construction, it makes finishing a breeze! It’s also surprisingly easy and intuitive and I think it makes a really well-thought-out garment in this case. Of course, my shrug is quite different from the original. The cotton makes a nice drape, not quite as drapey as the pink original which I fell in love with, but I’m happy with it. With the short sleeves and cotton, it also makes a great summer garment (it looks great with a black singlet and jeans). I’m tempted to remake this with the long sleeves and a diffferent yarn, however, I thought short sleeves would be much more wearable for me. I also didn’t have enough yarn for the longer sleeves and I thought this would look cute with shorter puffed sleeves. The one problem with the cotton is that it doesn’t really block and the lacy border looks pretty messy.I’m debating ripping it out and doing it the other way (Ysolda states in the pattern that you can knit the border from the inside or the outside for different effect) because I prefer the other side, but I’m not sure I can be bothered. The border actually look the longest time on this shrug and took up almost a whole skein of yarn.
Please excuse the less than great photos. I tried my hardest to get decent photos yesterday, but the self-timer just doesn’t co-operate with me (I may not be brooklyntweed, but I don’t want to post blurry out-of-focus pictures). These were taken this morning becasue James went to uni (whos also not a photographer, last week he asked me where the zoom was on my camera). The photo above is one of the better self-timer photos to show the front since none of this mornings photos were any good.
I love the shrug though. In fact, I love it so much I’ve already worn it out! On Monday James called me when I was climbing the stairs to my apartment after a long day at work and uni. The Brunettes were playing an in-store at Readings, and he’d only found out about it about 45 minutes before. Of course, we had to go, so I pretty much removed the blac mascara smudges from under my eyes, rolled on some deodorant and changed my shirt. This included cutting the ends of my newly blocked shrug and throwing that on as well. Luckily, spring seems to have arrived and I didn’t even have to wear a coat over it. The show was one of the weirdest I’ve ever attended, it was in a bookstore, with really only the guitar and two mics hooked up. It was very low-key and the crowd probably consisted of about 20 people. They played surpringly well for the bare bones set up, however, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
