fly in my soup - fo

Gift Knitting

noreply@blogspirit.com (kt) — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 05:25:04 -0400

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?

DONE and DONE

noreply@blogspirit.com (kt) — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:46:18 -0400

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!

mitteny goodness

noreply@blogspirit.com (kt) — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 19:57:08 -0400

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!