FO: 1 Shawl, 4 Mittens, and a Facehugger

More FOs!

First off...mmmmmmalabrigo.

Rusty Aestlight
Pattern: Aestlight by Gudrun Johnston (Rav link)
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock Yarn, 1 skein in Botticelli Red
Needles: US 6 circ
Modifications: Just that I bound off the garter triangle before moving along with the borders.

Um...ohmygodthisisthebestyarnever. It was SO SOFT! SO SQUISHY! SO DRAPEY! I get so many compliments when I wear this. I made the smaller size b/c I only had one skein and I wear it like a kerchief with the point in front. My friends keep telling me it looks like something I purchased b/c the bird's-eye lace is so unique and the colors are so rich. I want maybe 700 more of these. Plus, the pattern is pretty fun to knit up.

Next up, we have some fluorescent mittens...

Blinding Birds in Hand
Pattern: Bird in Hand Mittens by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Zara, 2 skeins each in 1727 and 1783
Needles: US 2 circs
Modifications: None

Holy cow are these awesome. I tried to make these with some Mountain Colors yarn I had last year, but it was really hard on my hands to knit worsted weight yarn on such small needles and with stranding, no less. I finally cast on for them again with sport/dk yarn and it worked out so much easier this time. I did mix up the left/right cuff charts, so I just switched to the mirror image on the second mitten. I'm going to make these again for a friend of mine, but I'll make sure to use a provisional cast-on b/c I'd like to get the picot hem out of the way right off the bat.

Little birds! I embroidered them with some leftover Cascade 220 in yellow and Drops Alpaca in black. Don't ask me exactly how...I really suck at embroidery and I was lucky that these stitches didn't migrate.

I also finished these little things in August:

Sapphiras
Pattern: Bella's Mittens by Marielle Henault
Yarn: Laines du Nord Dolly Maxi, 2 skeins
Needles: US 8 dpns
Mods: None

Sigh. This is an example of me being an idiot. I totally didn't even think about what kind of yarn the original yarn was and just went on gauge...so my worsted weight yarn is not knit tightly enough to provide serious insulation. Alas, these are merely decorative. I'll have to knit them again in bulky weight yarn b/c these mittens are pretty fabulous. I haven't even read or seen Twilight and I still love them.

Last, but not least:

Alien Facehugger
Pattern: Alien Face Hugger by Meghan Munro
Needles: US 9 dpns
Mods: None, except I held yarn double and used bigger needles.

My buddy Carys wanted to be Ripley from Alien for Halloween. She was concerned that people wouldn't really get it b/c A) she's blonde and hates wigs and wasn't going to wear a brown curly wig and B) her "flight suit" could refer to anything from Top Gun to Independence Day. So I told her I'd make her a Facehugger so that she wouldn't have to explain her costume all night. Thankfully, someone else had already done the work of making a pattern. I just bought some cheap acrylic yarn and went to town. I cut up some hardware wire and threaded it through the legs, but we ended up taking it out b/c it was poking through and exposed sharp wires + people imbibing at a Halloween party = no good. But she'll eventually get pipe cleaners and make it moldable and safe.

FOs: Socks and Shawl

Wowee....it's been super long since I posted. I'm wondering if I'm just a terrible blogger or if I just had the summer from Crazyland.

First off, I subletted my place for the summer so that I could stay with my parents in the 'burbs without distraction so that I could finish my novel. Check. Sort of. I have a very rough draft that is all kinds of messy and it's not even ready to send to friends for feedback, but there are 380 pages of something written down on the page.

I also wanted to finish my final revision of my screenplay. Check. No more adjustments will be made to it in the immediate future.

I wanted to get healthy. Check. Lost five pounds and cut sugar substitutes and soda out of my diet. Sort of. I cheat with Diet Coke. I'm sorry, nutrition gods, but Diet Coke is my crack. Mostly I now try to limit my intake to a gargantuan cup of it when I go to the movies.

Wanted to get my mother to enjoy knitting. Check. She made two pairs of socks, a scarf for my dad, and a garter stitch shawl for herself. Now she wants to make a Clapotis. I think I created a monster...especially b/c she just wants to steal my yarn.

Wanted to post about my continued love affair with knitting. Um, not check. I did plenty of knitting, but I forgot (?) to update my blog with my goings-on. But it's always better late than never, no?

Here's the first round of a veritable FO parade:

Fireworks Socks
Pattern: Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn Clark
Yarn: Jojoland Melody, 2 balls
Needles: US 1.5 circular

I. Love. This. Pattern. This pair went by so quickly. I had one and a half socks finished when 4th of July came around. My family and I went up to Tanglewood to see Diana Krall sing (and to drink wine on lawn chairs, of course) and it got very, very chilly as the night went on. I forgot about those pesky Berkshires.

Anyway, my mother put on one of the socks and begged me to hurry up with the other one so that her feet could be warm. I ended up letting her wear a 90% completed sock with a stitch holder around the toe. It was too dark to knit by then anyway.

And this, my friends, is Marlene:

Sea Blue Marlene Socks
Pattern: Marlene Socks by Cookie A.
Yarn: Shibui Sock Yarn, 2 skeins
Needles: US 1.5 circular
Mods: Did one less repeat of pattern on leg

Another lovely, lovely pattern that creates a really elegant sock. I want to make another pair in something richer. Maybe red. Like femme fatale lipstick. But for my feet.

And finally, this is Ishbel:

My cousin is sick in the hospital in Korea. He's lived here since he was little and he was about to head into grad school in New York this fall. Unfortunately, his limbs suddenly swelled and went numb and tingly a few months ago and his parents packed him off to our uncle's clinic in Korea. (A swell example of what lengths people have to go through without universal health care.) Since then, he's been confined to bed and dealing with the unbelievable diagnosis of dermatomyositis, an autoimmune disorder I had never heard of that affects the joints and connective tissue of the body. It's treatable, but incurable. So as my cousin goes through his healing process, my aunt is at his bedside while my uncle runs their restaurant by himself. She needed a shawl. Ishbel was just the ticket.

...and the FO parade shall continue in the next installment.

FO: Plummy North Roe Shawl

Another shawl! This one will go along with my purple Ene to drape over the shoulders of my friend C's mum and auntie in England.

Plummy North Roe Shawl
Pattern: North Roe Shawl
Yarn: Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace
Needles: US 6 Addi Bamboo Circs
Mods: None

This lace yarn is some yummy, yummy stuff. I originally bought two skeins of it for a Hanami, but I started to have misgivings about the sides of that pattern. Most of the center of the stole (I was planning on making both sides from the falling blossoms pattern) would be stockinette and I find blocking rectangular stoles much harder than blocking triangles. I've seen versions of the North Roe all over Ravelry and it's pretty much ALWAYS pretty. So I decided to opt for this as a present instead. It's super economical, too: The whole project must have cost me less than $25.

The open leaf shapes just make my heart go thumpity-thump.

And while I was trying to take photographs of this pretty little thing, there was the craziest ruckus coming from the patios behind my building. It sounded like two cats on uppers and steroids duking it out for cat-wrestling champion of the world. I leaned out the window and caught them staring each other down:

Seriously, I had no idea cats could make that much noise. I'm guessing this cat didn't know, either, b/c she came out to investigate what the frack was making so much noise, too:

I feel like I documented an important aspect of urban cat life.

More Kor Knits

I trekked through K-town yesterday, just because I was craving some particularly delicious and ultra-spicy takeout. While I was waiting for them to get my order ready, I popped into the K-bookstore across the street. I had no intention of buying anything, but I walked out with this...

Loosely translated, the title reads: "Hand Knit and Crochet Patterns That You Covet from Movies."

The designer apparently enjoys romantic comedies. Among the movies/knits featured:

Elizabethtown
Kirsten Dunst's red knit cap

Love, Actually
Keira Knightley's Cable Collar Sweater

The Holiday
Cameron Diaz's White Cabled Cardi

The Edge of Love
Sienna Miller's Mustard Leaf Cardi

And then, just for kicks, some patterns that have nothing to do with the movies but that I covet regardless.

Lime-Green Mohair Poncho

Crocheted Wrap Coat

I am back to knitting again, but it's mostly all shawls, all the time. This li'l thing below is Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace in a beautiful plummy color. The pattern is North Roe and we'll see what happens with it as I progress.

FO: Ocean Blue Pangea

I'm baaaaaaaaack.

I'm sorry I am such a bad blogger. But if it makes anyone feel any better, in my time away I finished the following: A short story, a script, a friendship, a freelance project, another year of my life.

And, of course, this lovely little thing:

Ocean Blue Pangea Shawl
Pattern: Pangea Shawl by Sarah-Hope Parmeter (Rav link)
Yarn: Tilli Tomas Demi Plie in Moroccan Blue, 3 skeins
Needles: US 5 Lantern Moon circs
Mods: Left off the last four rows of Chart I

This is a fabulous pattern and a fabulous yarn. If I had the budget, I would only be making shawls with silk.

The best part of this pattern is how you start of with little clover-ish shapes:

And then you move onto these odd, foamy little figure eights that look perfect in true blue:

Which eventually lead into steady little arches and gentle scallops:

Shawls are making me incredibly happy right now. I'm still hoping to finish that damn cabled coat, but my sweater-knitting is going mucho slowly at the moment. Doesn't help that the weather shows signs of warming up.

BTW, you know the best thing about making a shawl? Blocking the bottom of into such precise little points.

FO: Tweedy Ene

Ene is one fiiiiiiiiine lady...

Tweedy Ene
Pattern: Ene's Scarf from Scarf Style
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in Sigh, 4 or 4.5 balls
Needles: US 8

I only say 4 or 4.5 balls because most of this Felted Tweed was ripped from the back and front of a sweater that I abandoned two years ago. I have no idea how many actual balls I used, but I estimate it at about 4 or 4.5.

Other than using a bigger needle (to account for thicker yarn), I made no mods. This is a wonderfully clear, well-written pattern. It's super. Casting on a gazillion stitches in the beginning it actually not as bad as I'd feared.

It is, however, a ginormous shawl:

I think the wingspan of the shawl is 80+ inches. Didn't actually measure, but I know I could have blocked it bigger if I'd wanted.

It's nice and cozy (especially in air-conditioning) but I think I'll be able to let go of it and give it to my friend to give to her mum. I'm sure I'll make another Ene at some point and how many shawls does a gal need, anyway?

I also finished Clint's Ph.D sweater, but neglected to get a photo of him wearing it. Sigh. I was too busy being sad he was leaving. But he loves the sweater and promised to wear it to death and get a photo of it in blustery Chicago weather. Speaking of blustery, don't I have more sweaters to knit?

FO: North Sea Stole

North Sea Stole
Pattern: North Sea Stole from Folk Shawls
Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr Lace in Mahogany, 1.2 balls
Needles: US 5
Modifications: Did not make two halves for grafting; I just returned to the first pattern and knitted in the same direction.

This yarn is deliciously yummy. The recipient, my friend M's mother, travels a lot and always brings back little trinkets for me so I thought it was about time to return the favor. I gifted it to her over the weekend and she loved it.

I ain't a newbie to lace or blocking it anymore, but the transformation from crumpled lace to blocked lace continues to amaze me. I now understand that I need to get me some blocking wires b/c I have had it with the pins. I had to pin this thing out a hundred times (yes, I exaggerate) and then gave up and threaded cotton through the sides to hold it out evenly.

I only had time for a few quick timer shots on the camera and this was the best of the lot. Fuzzy and overexposed, but you get the drift.