FO: Gathered Pullover

I love perfume. I don't wear it often, but these are some of my all-time favorites: Chanel No. 5, Chanel No. 19, Gucci Eau de Parfum, Editions de Parfum Frederic Malle's En Passant and Lys Mediterranee.

Yes, I like the old-fashioned ones. The woody scent of sandalwood, however, might be at the very top of the list for me.

Sandalwood Gathered Pullover
Pattern: Gathered Pullover by Hana Jason
Yarn: Louet MerLin Tristan, a bit less than 3 skeins
Needles: US 8 Addi Naturas
Modifications: Knit the body longer before starting knot, knit full-length sleeves. Started sleeves with XS measurements, increased to S measurements at cap.

This sweater is making me so happy and so sad all at the same time. Happy because it fits beautifully and feels all wonderful and yummy. Sad because it is too darn hot to wear it right now. The Louet MerLin is stupendous yarn. Stupendous, I tell you. I steamed it to block and it just softened the linen part of it to give it elegant drape. I decided to make the XS size (even though I am not extra small) because everything I read implied that the sweater stretched a bit due to the loose gauge. Halfway through, I was nervous...but it ended up being a perfect fit. Hooray for Ravelry's pattern pages! I stuck with the S numbers for the sleeve caps because my upper arms are...uh...not quite toned.

Also, I knit this--with modified full-length sleeves and a lengthened torso--out of 750 yards of yarn. 750! That's remarkable! I love it so much that I'm considering buying up some Euroflax and making a summer tank dress from the pattern. I don't think I'd need more than 3 skeins considering there would be no sleeves and just additional length. We shall see.

On to book reviews, both knitting and not:

Of all the knitting books with men's patterns, this one is by far my favorite. It's full of classic silhouettes that have been updated with modern color palettes and I can actually see my friends and family members actually wearing this stuff.

Case in point:

A manly shawl-collared chunky-knit sweater. This one needs to be made before August. One of my friends, Clint, is moving to Chicago to start a lengthy M.A.-Ph.D. program in film studies. A month ago, he was deciding between programs in Santa Barbara and Chicago. He liked Chicago, but was scared of how cold it would be. To allay his fears, I promised to knit him a "professor" sweater. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have the winning pattern.

I also finished this short li'l book:

It's been translated from Korean and it's an odd story. Basically, the narrator is a man who searches for "clients" but doesn't tell you what he does for his clients until halfway through. And no, he does not offer sexual services. The story also involves several searingly lonely women and a pair of estranged brothers. It's terribly sad and bleak, but it also manages to be lyrical and beautiful. It's a quick, short read and I highly recommend it.

In other knitting news, I've started the border on my diamonds and triangle stole. I'm kind of afraid this is going to be gigantic.

Lace is All Around Us

I once sat next to a girl in grade school and saw her write down in the margin of her notebook, "I want a dimen necklace." I couldn't find that word in the dictionary and it took me two weeks to realize that it was just the most unusual spelling error I'd ever seen (up until that point). I seriously thought for those two weeks that maybe a "dimen" was some kind of obscure gem that I hadn't heard of.

Speaking of dimens, my Irish Cream diamonds are expanding...


I'm pretty sure this lusciously soft shawl will go to my mother. If she chooses to be unselfish, she can give it to one of her sisters since they all complain that my mom is the only one who got a daughter who knits.

I was unsure of the match between variegated yarn and lace, but I like this project a whole heaping bunch.

Besides a lot of swatches and lonely single socks, I've also got a non-variegated lace project on the needles.

It's the North Sea Shawl from Folk Shawls. It's going pretty quickly and it's for a friend's mom who has been kind to me. The yarn is Jaggerspun Zephyr and it's also my first time working with this stuff. It's a great weight and feels just beautiful. I think I'll skip the middle panel and just use this stitch pattern for the whole bit. The color is actually a maroon and I am not good enough with Photoshop to alter colors yet. Durn. But at least I'm reacquainting myself with lace, which bodes well for the hot summer days ahead.

And some belated thick house socks for Mum:

The main yarn is Artyarns Ultramerino 8 with Karabella Merino Superwash for the toes, heels, and cuffs. I was supposed to make my dad a pair as well, but I need more yarn. But the Artyarns Ultramerino is so squishy that now I'm lusting after a sweater in it.

Earthiness

So Project Spectrum is all about Earth. I am visiting mis padres for the weekend in NJ and scoured the house for green, brown, and metallics.

Here are some that are green:

The top two are pretty self-explanatory. I loved them when I read them as a child and I will love them until I die. Henry Green is such an under-read writer and Loving is excellent at portraying the daily goings-on of a "family" of servants. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is one of my all-time favorite books. Yukio Mishima was deeply disturbed (as evidenced by his rabid obsession with weightlifting and eventual death by ritual suicide), but his books are intense and moving and ask big questions about how violence intertwines with beauty and sexuality.

Here are some that are brown:

Again, several are self-explanatory. As much as I get annoyed sometimes at Sylvia Plath's "I have it so hard because no one understands what it is to be beautiful and talented" tone, I still think The Bell Jar and much of her poetry demonstrate that she was one of the strongest women's voices in literature, ever. The Talented Mr. Ripley was turned into a pretty good movie, but the book is far more intense. I heart Patricia Highsmith. The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction is a fascinating history book about what happened to a group of Irish Catholic orphans around the turn of the century. In New York, where the Irish were looked upon with disdain, no "white" families wanted Irish orphans so they were sent to Mexican Catholic families in Arizona. In Arizona, however, where Mexicans were looked upon with disdain, the white families took away the "white" children from the Mexicans and threatened to lynch the local priest. It's an incredibly crazy look at how relative our definitions of race really are.

Here are some other earthy things:

A tiny potted cactus.

Moss growing in a pot my mother left out on the deck all winter.

Eight silver pear-shaped salt and pepper shakers. Can't figure out why my mother has eight.

Our faithful upright piano. He's been with us since I was in middle school.

A whorled knot in our deck.

Earth-inspired knitting:

I bought some Great Adirondack Sirino the other day because I am in loooooove with this color. It's Irish Cream. I want to buy some Bailey's so I can engage in some tipsy knitting. I'm going to turn this into "Diamonds and Triangles" from Victorian Lace Today.

Also, here is an ancient FO:

This was basically my first serious knitting project. Clapotis. In 2006, I bought 7 balls of Rowan Tapestry from a yarn store that I have since stopped patronizing because of meanness. It cost about $60 and I had a minor heart attack because I was spending that much money on yarn. Ha. If only I had known it was the beginning of a downward spiral of yarn spending. I made this and gave it to my mother, but only used 5 of the 7 balls. It's not as wide or long as I had planned, but the yarn has worn surprisingly well. My mom loves it, but she deserves one that she can wear more comfortably without pulling. I'm going to buy some more Tapestry and make her another one.

In closing, I realized I have just been tagged by both KnitWit and Vorare for blog awards. I am really bad with computers and it took me this long to notice what was going on. Thank you both for the kudos!

Here's my list of blogs that make me happy/blogs that are excellent:

Ask a Korean! - This guy is hysterical. I'm Korean and it's always wonderful to have someone explain it all so that others can figure out the difference between what's culture and what's stereotype. I also love people who are unapologetic about referring to themselves in the third person.

Domesticrafts - Her cats are the cutest I have ever seen. The cutest. She provides drink recipes. Me like. I am jealous of her beautiful house.

Elliphantom - I love the photos and their captions on this site. It was one of the first ones I started reading and it makes me feel nostalgic for when I thought I could never knit the "hard" things.

Fluffbuff - Francesca's knitting is beautiful, but I also love that she's following her heart and starting up a whole 'nother blog about cooking and culinary school. I'll be reading and wishing I could be eating.

HeyOkay - This site is just funny. Weird, hysterical photos. There's also one in the archives of a rastafari crocheting something large on the subway while wearing an entire crocheted outfit. Crazy.

Knitting on Impulse - This site is pretty and I love her jewelry designs.

LollyKnitting Around - Lolly is also one of the first blogs I started reading. I love her photos, her nature walks, and Project Spectrum.

NiñaBomba - This is the cutest website and her knitting is fabulous. I also love that it's in both English and Spanish so I can practice reading Spanish and keep myself from getting too rusty.

Sixoneseven - Again, gorgeous photos. Before I knew that knitters and knitbloggers were mostly friendly people, I wrote her an email to ask her a question about a certain yarn. I was scared b/c I'm pretty shy and didn't think she'd respond to li'l ol' me. But she did and was so nice that I realized I was being a scaredy cat for no reason. Her knitting and recipes are wonderful.

Tiennie Knits - Tiennie is the sweetest. Her children are wonderful sock models. Her knitting is gorgeous. I love reading her blog.