my sister-in-law celebrated her birthday on Mexican Independance day, and i've made her a little sumpthin':  she and my brother have started to go mad for the wine drinking (and really, can you blame them?!?!?!) so i thought a wine cozy/coaster/trivety-thing set was in order.  plus, it gave me another chance to work with the DELICIOUS Malbrigio (this is the Purple Mystery colorway).  lordy, i love this stuff.  i would love a big ol' sloppy sweater out of it, were it not for the fact that it would look like utter shite in 2 seconds because of the pilling.  *le sigh*  but really, would it matter if i just wore it about the house, using it like a wearable secruity blankie?  i would like to add that this entire set took only about 3 hours to knit.  seems that, after knitting the skully vest--i do colorwork with the yarn in both hands--continental knitting finally "stuck."  which is awsome, since i've been attempting it off and on for, oh, a damned long time now. 

between knitting this gift, the slew of impending birthdays, fast approaching yule time, and a post over at Craftster, i got to thinking about gift knitting.  i guess it was really the Craftster post that started it all--i'll give you the gist of it.  a craftster was questioning making gifts for someone that you don't necessarily *like*.  my opinion?  you just don't do that.  to me, creating anything for a person, be it a meal, an intricate shawl, or a simple felted coaster, should be done with love in your heart.  i won't knit on a gift project (or cook, for that matter) if i am feeling down or unhappy about anything let alone the intended giftee.  i'm afraid that the negative energy will transfer to the recipiant in some way.  i dunno, do any of you have thought on the subject?

Pattern:  Eunny Jang's Deep V-neck vest
Yarn:  Knitpicks Merino Style; CC nutmeg (4 skiens), MC moss (5 skiens)
Needles:  3.5 mm addis
Start/Finish:  1 sept/ 10 sept 2006
Notes:  i added a skull motif to the pattern.  i'm wearing the vest  in the picture--one with the b-day girl to be added--mostly, i just hate when people post a FO that's just flat and not worn as it's intend to be.  makes it hard to visualize it for me.  any who, my measurements are different from the intended wearer--i have a bigger rack, and i'm a good 6" shorter than she is, so i think it's going to look alright on her.  if i make myself a vest, i have to figure out something different with the shoulder/arm area.  the shoulders are so wide and so arm holes are a bit floppy.  the vest is also a titch longer than i'd like it to be (i did some finagling to get it to look alright in the picture)
truth be told, meg (the recipiant) and i did a fitting yesterday.  i gave her the choice of trying it on in front of many people or just me and G.  i was a bit worried about the fit at the waist and hips as i'm a bit smaller than her in those areas and couldn't get an accurate idea of if it would fit her or not.  i'm going to block a bit more ease into the waist/hip region, and it's going to be fine.  incidently, she really really liked it--she gave me the best compliment ever "Kate, this looks better than store bought!"  i was tickled.

in other news, g and i ended up buy a new car yesterday!  we went to the dealer to check it out in person, and ended up taking it home!  (his name is clive--i name everything) he's really really red, and the nicest car that either of us has ever owned!

in closing, for you freaky check-out-the-innards-of-fair-isle people, a gratuitous, inside out shot of the vest!

Pattern:  Squirrel & Oak Mittens, Hello Yarn
Yarn:  Nature Spun Worsted, garland  and  roasted coffee; 1/2 sk ea
Needles:  3.5 mm bryspun double points
Start/Finish:  21 August/ 25 August 2006
Notes:  the pattern as written calls for a simple thumb that has no gore.  i didn't like the fit of it at all, so i added a gored thumb to mine.  other than that, i loved the pattern.

everyone had such nice things to say about Eris and the squirrel mitten!  thank you thank you thank you.  i made the executive decision to not put a zipper into Eris.  i decided to go with toggle buttons for two reasons--1) i was less than thrilled with the color selection on the zippers at all the stores i checked this weekend, and 2) i didn't like how the front of my Rouge cardi hung after i put the zipper in.  it got all wavy and wierd.  anywho, here's what Eris looks like with toggle buttons.  G picked out the buttons, and i think he did a great job!  i think that i like the toggle closures, but i don't have a full length mirror in my apartment, so any feed back would be greatly appreciated.

i got the toggles at Hancock Fabrics, and i also scored 3 balls of the Lion Brand Magic Stripes sock yarn for $1.70 a piece.  i generally like many of the Lion Brand yarns, but the Magic Stripes has the same fiber content as some of the more expensive self-stripping yarns (75% superwash wool, 25% nylon), and it's realatively cheap. 

i've ordered yarn from Knitpicks for a super secret project that i'll let you all in on as it developes--it a present (either birthday or christmas, depending on how long it takes to finish) for a friend of mine.  i've also started an alpaca hat for another friend's birthday (their birthdays are actually on the same day) and i must say, i forgot how sheddy the Alpaca from Elann is.  anywho, boring hat pics later!

she is DONE (well, 99.95% done--still needs a zipper or some type o' closure)
Pattern:  girl from auntie Eris, 40" size (for reference on fit, i've a 39" bust)
Yarn:  Knit Picks Main Line, Red Velvet Cake colorway; approx. 1394 yds. (acutally a bit less than this)
Needles: Addis; 4 mm for body, 3.25 mm for collar
Start/Finish:  1 August / 23 August 2006
Notes:  this pattern, like any other pattern of Jenna's i've knit, is beautifully written, and well worth the money.  i absolutly adore the front edges--it is the most beautiful and easy edge treatment i've used yet.  i am still curious as to why it calls for a worsted weight yarn when a DK would work just swell (imho).  if i knit this again, i'll use a DK weight wool, as the Main Line 1) killed my hands and 2) looks like it'll wear just about as well as tissue paper--the sweater already has that tired, fuzzed out look that cottons sometimes get, and that's just from carrying it about.  this baby needs some serious blocking, but i was too excited to wait!

i think i'll be starting the Chicknit's Cece next, although i do have a couple of friends with birthdays coming up.  if i were good i'd start their presants (i would have to place another Knitpicks order). 

i went ahead and tried a Squirrel mitten 2.0 with the worsted weight and 3.5mm needles--lookie lookie!  (my hand is actually in the mitten in this picture) it fits lovely, and i did a happy dance.  i added a gore to the thumb, and i'm thrilled with how it turned out.  the pattern match could be better, but i'm rather please for having just winged it. 

my 100th post--holy crap.  the 1 year Blogiversary came and went without fanfare, but somehow, the 100th post feels like a huge milestone.  in honor of it, this will be a GIGANTIC post.  yippee!!!!
this weekend involed running around to 3 different LYS.  mmmmm.  G and i finally got to check out Sheep Street Fibers.  It's a lovely shop, and i really wish that my wheel wasn't being a shithead, cause there was soooo many different spinning fibers there!  silk hankies, merino top dyed lovely jewel tones, cashmere, merino/silk blends...oh, it made me dizzy!  i resited temptation, listened to the reasonable voice in my head saying "um...your wheels all janky.  maybe you should just get some yarn..."  and i did that.  i picked up 2 skiens of Nature Spun Worsted in Coffee Bean and Garland for mittens (more on those in a second). 
then, we went to Stitches & Scones.  oh, i love that store.  we picked up one of their bags--and what a great bag it is--zipper pockets, big enough for a sweater in progress--that gives us a 10% discount every time we shop there.  how cool is that?  i also picked up a set of Bryspun DPN's (i love the Bryspun needles and their scoopy little tips) and a pair of 9 mm, 47" long Addis to use with mobius strip things.  i finally broke down and bought a skien of Malabrigo merino.  the colorway i picked at first confused me--it's not really of colors i normally would chose--then i looked at it all wound into a ball and it hit me:  it lookes exactly like autumn leaves!  autumn is my most favorite season, and i'm hard-core gunning for it to get here!  i think the yarn was my plea to mother nature to hurry it up!  i'm planning on making a felted bowl or bag or something with this.  it's really lovely yarn, and i sorta want to buy enough to make a little nest out of...*sigh*
i got some new beadworking tools, and i made up a few stitch markers on Sunday.  i love the subversive set on the bottom--they make me giggle so. 
i really needed a break from Eris, so i decided to make these awsome squirrel & oak mittens from Hello Yarn.  i got some Dale Falk at Mass Ave on Friday, cast on and finished mitten 1 in about 3.5 hours (whoot!) green and chocolate brown (their gonna be "thin minttnes" hahaha).  blocked it out and all that, and CRAP!!!  i don't make mittens, so i'm not terribly firmilar with the sizing and what not.  and, as small as i am, i have freakishly long fingers (i normally can't wear store bought gloves and such cause the fingers are always waaaayyy too short).  these factors combined to make a tiny weeny mitten that doesn't fit me at all!  and it looked so good!  i picked up some worsted weight yarn (above mentioned Nature Spun) and some 3.5 mm DPN's, and i think that that will make a mitten that i'll actually be able to wear.  i'm also going to change the pattern to make the thumb with a gore.
my Lace Swap pal let me know that my package is in the post!  it's coming from Australia!  how cool is that????  i'm super jazzed!

just for you, dear reader of my little slice o' blogland, a WIP pic of the Garden Shawl: 
yeah, and i appologize for taking a picture of lace on my insanly stripey sheets, but you get the idea.  and by the by, this thing is going to be huge.  this is just the pattern through round 55 (i think) and it's already about 16" across.  i think that it won't be so much a shawl on me as a really pretty blanket.

have you seen the new yarns at knitpicks?  they've added 9 that are shown.  they have also, however, added to their Dye-your-own line (now called "Bare").  they aren't easily found on the site though.  so, i made up a little chart that lists them all (with links) the yardage, weight, and prices.  and i thought that it might be nice to put it up here so others could buy buy buy with ease.

speaking of ease, a new Perdita for your viewing pleasure.  i used silver beads this time, and i sure do like how they look.  OH!  and the .50 three packs of the Pearl Cotton are not, i repeat, ARE NOT a myth!  if you have a Michael's near you, go and check it out.  not all the 3 pks are that cheap, some are $1 and a couple are $2.  but, wow!  i'm going to have yarn for 2227 of these babies!

oh dear god.  i have been initiated into the world of knitting with beads.  for so long, i had held out against the siren call of beads, glittery, sparkledy bits of happiness that they were.  sure, i picked up the odd bag of beads here in there, ya know, for making cutie stitch markers and the like, but it was all just innocent, i swear.  cause i knew what would happen if i gave in.  that brings me to the pattern that tempted me to the darkside--Perdita from the 06 summer Knitty.  oh, foul temptress.  i didn't succumb to any of the other beaded patterns i oohed over cause, well, they're all major investments of time and money.  but these cuffs are just the opposite.  cheap?  yeah, less than $3--and that's if i bought new beads every time.  quick?  i've completed 2 since yesterday, and i'm on my third.  and look what i picked up tonight: see all the Perle cotton?  i found it on clearance, 3 for $1.  and i've heard rumors that another big chain craft store has 'em for 50 cents. 
i've chosen beads in a smokey color and silver ones.  here are the two that i've finished so far:  i felt like a fancy Wonder Woman when i had them both on.  the steel colored one is the Blue bell pattern done in the called for thread/yarn, and it is now in the possesion of a dear friend.  the purple one is made out of Knitpicks Shadow in Vineyard (left over from the Lily stole) and it's the Lilac pattern.  it will also be going to a friend.   i love this pattern.  ah, lace--if you've ever read this blog, you know how i feel about lace. 
oh, this is a slippery slope, i can tell.  after i finished the first one, i chatted ceaselessly to the fellow for about 15 minutes about all the things i could do with beads in my knitting....save us all.

so, after almost a year, i have finished the Lily of the Valley Stole from Fiddlesticks knitting.  whoo freakin' hoo!!!  now some pictures

on the top is the stole before blocking.  the right is after a vigorous stretch-and-pin session.  i attempted to use the blocks on my bedspread to show the difference in size, but i don't know if it's helpful in the least. 

Here's a close-up shot so that you can see just what a difference blocking made in opening up the pattern.  i know that i've gone off about it many times previously, but i really adore the change that takes place when you block lace!
Details
Pattern:  Lily of the Valley Stole
Yarn:  Knitpicks Shadow, vineyard; 3.25 skiens
Needles:  Bryspun circs, 3.5mm
Start/Finish:  3 sept 2005/15 june 2006
Notes:  i will never make this stole again.  don't get me wrong--the pattern is fabulously written and i love the finished project, but it really almost killed me to finish this.  the pattern is not complicated enough to demand very much attention, but it can not be completely ignored either.  i would almost prefer miles of stockinette to this. 

i love knitting lace.  the process of having a icky-poo wad of yarn like this:
add some water, a little wool wash (cause really, who wants all that xavier fur wrapped about their shoulders?!?), some string and an metric tonne of pins and you end up with something that looks like this.  holy crap it's magically delicious! 

Details
Pattern: Flower Basket Shawl from IK fall 04 issue
Yarn:  Knitpicks Dye Your Own lace-weight Merino, dyed by moi
Needles:  Bryspun circs (love love love for lace), size 7
Start/Finish:  24 May/ 6 June 2006
Notes:  i added two repeats to the main pattern to make less of shawlette.  i also added a couple of rows of gater stitch to the edges instead of leaving it in stockinette.  i like the addition and will use it on future Flower Basket Shawls (and there will be more--this is such an easy-peasy pattern and it produces such a lovely shawl)

in WIP news, i started a second Via Diagonale bag.  dig the bright, happy colors.  aren't they great?  this is fun tv watching knitting (which is good because i think the fella and i are going to have to have a Lost marathon pretty soon).

i now own eight pairs of handknit socks.  what's a good goal number?  when should i start to worry?  14? 27?  huh...anywho, on to some pictures then!

oh, and for all you freaky fair isle inside checker outters (there has to be a better way to say that), a picture of my sock's innards.