I made a lulz.

moar funny pictures

Ick.

I'm sick. I hate being sick (but doesn't everyone?). The only good thing about it is that I have a good excuse to sit on my big soft leather couch, wrapped up in sweaters and blankets, sipping Cup-A-Soup, and knitting all day. Finished a hat yesterday, a scarf today (will post later) and am working on a beautiful merino baby dress. At least I have enough to knit.

Little Red Riding Hood

See, the cool babies know what it's all about - accessories, accessories, accessories. And ok, it's more of a raspberry color than real red. But I definitely wouldn't call it pink. Doesn't it just beg for a cute little matching cabled cape?


The pattern is Sweater Babe's adorable (and free) crochet pixie hat. The yarn is Schoeller + Stahl WonderWool Tweed (51% virgin wool, 43% acrylic, 6% viscose). And the baby (mine) is just the cutest thing out there, hat or no hat. The only unfortunate thing about the hat is that it covers her golden blonde fluff.

It was wonderfully quick to make, though - I did the whole thing while she napped this morning. Nothing beats a quick and satisfactory project like that to perk you up when you're tearing out almost an entire sweater vest.

It really does want a matching knitted cape... I'll have to see if my local yarn shop still has enough left of it.

Frustration.

I've nearly finished a sweater vest, only to discover my gauge is off by just enough to make it too small for the wearer's tastes. It's about 2 inches smaller around than intended; while this could be remedied by substantial blocking, the wearer would have to repeat the process every time she washed it, and nobody wants to have to do that.

Tearing it out now, and starting over tomorrow. I'll add 1 stitch to my 4"x4" gauge and that will remedy the problem. Very frustrating. I'll soothe myself with a pleasant diversion for the rest of the day - perhaps that 1940's purse pattern I'm making for my sister-in-law for Christmas. I have so been itching to start on it.

On The Needles: week of 9.17.08

Awesome quote
Kaffe Fassett: "Why limit yourself to just one shade of red when you can use seventeen?"

Fiber Of The Week
DROPS Kid-silk. 75% super kid mohair, 25% silk. VERY moderately priced (much less than the comparable Rowan Kidsilk), extremely soft, and so delicate. Comes in beautiful soft colors that bring to mind the impressionist paintings of Claude Monet. I'm pretty sure I'll need to buy a couple more balls for the intended project, but that's ok.

Totally Cool Pattern Of The Week
A modular hexagon, knitted circularly from the outside in. I couldn't find a pattern for one ANYWHERE online, so I noodled this one out. Most of the patterns are knitted in an odd way, in kind of a spiral. Since I wanted to be able to pick up stitches from the sides of previously knitted pieces to attach them, instead of having to sew a hundred or more together, I devised this version. Click the image for a larger view. Yes, it's hand drawn on graph paper and then photographed. So fancy.



Vintage Patterns
I'm really in to vintage knitting and crochet patterns lately. The Victoria & Albert has got some really cool free 1940's patterns on their site. If you've got a hankering for old patterns, you can also check out freevintagecrochet.com - they have an fantastic selection of patterns broken down by category, including gorgeous shawls, sweaters, and accessories (with some bags you wouldn't believe). Some of the patterns are crap but still have something to inspire you. Celt's Vintage Crochet has some amazing thread crochet edgings you should try. If knitting suits you better, freevintageknitting.com has got some great vintage knits to try.

A trade?

If anyone living in the UK who has been coveting that new flowered scarf design wanted to trade me something for said scarf, this would be an acceptable form of barter.

Visit me on Ravelry!

A little diversion

WARNING: this has little to do with knitting.

As I'm knitting my new iPhone case, I find myself compelled to extol the virtues of what I consider one of the best pieces of portable technology mankind has thus far created. I just got the iPhone 3G a few days ago, and every day I find myself amazed by the wondrous things I can do with it. Most of these features have been written about in one blog/site/review or another, but I wanted to put together my own reaction based on my own creative, tech-loving, expat lifestyle and the unique combination of features I use. Everything I currently use on my iPhone is free - I have yet to pay for a single application or feature.

The phone already comes with good built-in notes, email, real web browser, and calendar applications to keep you organized and in touch right out of the box. Then, with a WiFi connection and the App Store that comes with your phone, you can download all kinds of amazing stuff. I have the complete works of Shakespeare; audio phrasebooks in the major European and Asian languages (so far I have German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, plus Jim Breen's wwwJDic (Japanese dictionary)); Wikipedia's iPhone formatted version, 'Wikipanion'; three days at a time of current New York Times headlines; Evernote, which allows you to create text, photo, or audio notes; a small on-screen ruler for quick measurments in metric or standard (perfect for knitting gauges); local and international weather, etc. The possibilities are endless. Then, of course, you have an iPod built in with music, podcasts, and video. There are thousands of great podcasts out there; for little kids, Sesame Street even has some free video specials you can download through iTunes.

Then there's the sudden availability of English-language reading material. eReader, available throught he App Store, gives you access to a great selection of paid books, as well as the complete Project Gutenberg collection, all of which are free and downloadable in eReader format from manybooks.net. ManyBooks is even so kind as to offer up an iPhone-formatted catalog (certain features of their regular site are incompatible with eReader's browser). Project Gutenberg books include titles by Jane Austen, Mark Twain, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carrol, Henry David Thoreau, and many more. They have, I believe, around 15,000 free titles to choose from, and in many languages. I now have dozens of books, all in one convenient device that's barely bigger than the palm of my hand.

No iPhone review would be complete without mentioning the hundreds of fun gadgets you can get your hands on - Othello, Tetris, a virtual cowbell to play along with your iPod music (the application opens with Chrstopher Walken saying "I gotta have more cowbell!"), bubble wrap that you touch to pop, sudoku, Mastermind, a magic 8-ball, and even a flashlight. I have an application that tells me the London tube status (closures, delays, work, etc). I can upload photos to Flickr with one application, post to Twitter with another, chat and IM, control movies and music on my PC wirelessly like a regular remote control, doodle, make digital flipbooks, and even update and check my MySpace page and messages.

And let's not forget SodaSnap! Let's say you're in Paris for the weekend, and you want to send your sucker friends back in the States a postcard to make them jealous. Just open SodaSnap, click a picture with your phone's camera, and enter an email address and some text to go with it. Your iPhone's built-in GPS will stamp the postcard with your current location, in the form of a Google Maps link with a little pin showing where you are.

The absolute coolest thing I downloaded: an old-fashioned labyrinth game. Remember that old game that had a steel ball in a wooden labyrinth, and you had to tilt it around to guide the ball to the end of the maze? They've got one for iPhone. The phone has what they call an 'accelerometer' in it, which is just an odd way of saying it responds to shaking and movement and whatever angle it's held at. For example, if you're browsing the web with your phone held upright, you can turn it onto its side and your browser will automatically rotate with it. With Labyrinth, you hold the phone flat and tilt it to move the little ball, just like the old wooden box (the game also responds well to how much you tip it - the ball will speed up or slow down in a very realistic way depending on the angle of tilt).

Finally, the all-important criteria: can it keep small children entertained on long trips? Absolutely. Movies, music, games, and more will keep even the pickiest hyperactive kid busy for hours.

Overall rating: 9 out of 10
Price: 80 euros for the 8GB model at Dutch T-Mobile stores, with a contract - not bad at all

Now, back to my knitting.

Major revamp

Layout, sidebar items, etc. Any features you'd like to see? Comment them.

On The Needles: week of 9.10.08

New weekly feature: On The Needles. I started writing this one yesterday, so I'll make it a Wednesday thing from now on. On The Needles covers some of what's going on in the knitting universe, both from my own studio and elsewhere in the world.

Fiber Of The Week
This week most of my knitting time has been spent with Dalegarn Baby Ull. It's really a pleasure to work with - soft, versatile, and so fine. I like small stitches. It works well on a range of needles, from 2 - 2.75mm. For me, 2.75 produces a light, soft, and somewhat drapey fabric that is perfect for light garments like tanks or dresses. 2mm produces a tight, firm fabric that's great for bags, cases, and anything else that you want to be really sturdy and hole-free. Everything in between, you can figure out. I have yet to try felting it, but I'm sure I will soon, and would love to hear from anyone who's already tried it.

Shiny New Toys
I got an iPhone 3G Tuesday night, and I wanted to make a spectacularly unique knitted case for it. After spending hours yesterday charting a fair isle version of an old French wallpaper design, I completely changed my mind and decided to go with these intarsia squares for my new iPhone case instead. I like them. They're simple-looking, annoying to knit, and they make you want to tear your hair out. Every 8 rows I have to stop, cut everything, weave in all the rows, and start all over again. But they're cute and bright, and I like them. This is the front cover so far. The back, sides and inside will be in a solid camel color. I'm thinking of chocolate brown overstitching on the outside. Anyway, at this point I think I have about 4 more rows of blocks to go for the front. It's only 24 stitches across which, despite the amount of work involved, still makes it a quick and pleasant knit. Those are 2mm needles there, by the way. The case will open book-style and include a hole for the headphones and speakers. I'm undecided yet as to whether I want to leave an opening for the screen, so you can use the phone in its case.

Design to Watch For
I was inspired yesterday (by both an exquisite Estonian lace shawl and a less attractive knit cable-and-lace kimono) to create delicate and sheer lacy kimono top out of that Kid-Silk that's still begging to be knit. I've made some sketches and have a pretty good idea of how I want it to go. I will probably have to buy an extra ball or two, which means I'll be heading to Leiden this weekend to seek out my lost yarn shop, aided by the GPS on my new toy. This thing is going to be awesome, I think, and best yet it will fit me both now and in the spring when I've reached my Weight Watchers goal. Baby weight sucks, but this kimono will look fabulous for years to come, no matter my shape or size (no, it will not be one of those plus-size tent creations). Now, the real dilemma - modular knit, or straight lace?


KNITTING NEWS FROM OUTSIDE MY STUDIO

Great Free Patterns, People!
Knitty has a fastastic fall issue this year. I'm just plain in love with some of those designs. The 8 zillion sock patterns I can do without - but still, it's a wonderful issue. Hooray for Knitty!

God Save The Queen ...
... because in one month I'm headed to London for the Knitting and Stitching Show! I need to check into getting a stall there in a year or two (how long would it take me to build up a decent inventory, I wonder?). This year, though, I'm just a spectator. The trip is a late birthday present from my mum, who lives a little way outside of London. Can't wait! I'll be blogging from there that weekend for sure. If I really get cracking, I could have the new kimono done by then to wear ...

I found it, I found it!

Woool in Den Haag sells Vogue Knitting magazine! Yay!

It's enough to make you want to crochet again.

Move over, granny squares - the folks at Mypicot have the most amazing and beautiful crochet patterns I've ever seen. I have a longstanding hatred (or at least dislike) of crochet - in my very strong opinion, it's for people who think variegated Red Heart yarn is the best thing since sliced Wonder Bread and/or are too lazy to learn the subtleties and delicacies of knitting. I'm a yarn snob, and more importantly I'm a craft snob, and I am simply too good for crochet. But this changes everything.

I had stumbled on - or perhaps tripped over - the above Lion Brand afghan made up of dozens of crocheted flower motifs that I was mildly interested in cloning, and decided to look around for some interesting (read: better) crochet motifs to do an afghan out of for my four year-old. My mother crocheted me an afghan when I was a kid and I thought it was the most special and beautiful thing in the world. It was a giant granny square in zillions of different colours, and I loved it (and still would, mom, if I had it). Anyway, I found Mypicot through Crochet Pattern Central through Google, and was absolutely breathless browsing through their patterns (the edgings especially!).

Now I know what I want to do with that plum-colored Kid-Silk I've got stashed away, and more importantly, I have the perfect butterfly garden throw in mind for my sneaky little blanket thief. She's going to love this. I get rid of all those odd balls of extra yarn, and she gets a beautiful blankie to cuddle up on the couch with. I think we can even expect some metallic dragonflies to make an appearance.

'alles om te breien'

That's the slogan of my favorite knitting shop. 'Everything for knitting.' They really do have a lot. A diverse selection of quality yarn in a good range of prices, good needles (Addi!), cheap shipping, and Hanne Falkenberg knitting kits. Ooh, I want one of those! My last order from them consisted of some Katia Nepal, Dalegarn Baby Ull, and a couple more Addi circulars to add to my collection. I can't get enough of those needles. They're just perfect.

Anyway, this Baby Ull is the best yarn I've ever knit. It's unbelievably soft, comes in somewhere around 40 colors (or is it more?), and is machine washable. Yes - machine washable, 100% merino. I bought some for a baby dress, and a few assorted skeins for various accessories. It's perfect for anything you could want to knit. Lightweight and soft, it's great on delicate baby skin. A grown-up fair isle sweater a la Debbie Bliss would be gorgeous. I can totally picture delicate lacy summer tops in it. It would make the most amazing socks that you'd never want to take off. You could knit the softest, lightest winter accessories (gloves! Must knit gloves!). On and on the list goes. I never want to knit anything else. Oh yes, the other awesome part - the price. Under 4 euros a skein. Unreal. I spent less than 20 euros for the yarn for this little dress. Can't wait to get started on it - knitting a gauge swatch right now.

inside-out

I found this pattern in Katia childrens' pattern book no. 39. It's knit in Katia's Nepal, which is a great bulky wool-acrylic blend (machine washable, very important for kids' clothing), with just a touch of texture to it. For a 6 year size it only took three balls, which means you can knit it for under 25 euros. Normally I'm not big on bulky yarn, but I make a few exceptions.

The sweater is actually supposed to be knit in reverse stockinette, with a p2/k1 rib at the bottom and cuffs and the rib at the yoke starting with p6/k1. I knit it that way (not that it makes much difference), changing the neck slightly - garter stitch instead of reverse stockinette - but then when I got it done and turned it inside out to sew the sleeve seams, I realized I liked it much better that way. The way it was supposed to be knit, it looked more like one of those cheap third-world sweaters you'd pick up at a market in Mexico or something. Cute, but really not the way I want my handknits to look. Turned 'inside-out' it looked more like a beautiful handmade sweater that somebody knit with love. I love that the sleeves are different colors, and I love the great stripes it makes. It also knit up really quickly, being bulky and knit on 7mm needles (slightly bigger than a 10 1/2 US, but not as big as an 11) - the yarn arrived, ordered from my favorite yarn store in Leiden, on Monday just before dinner, and the sweater was done Wednesday night (aside from sleeve sewing).

Anyway, my four year-old loves it, too. She also loves picking up and playing with all the scrap yarn that somehow ends up scattered all over our living room. I made it a size bigger, so hopefully she can get an extra year out of it. Kids outgrow stuff so quickly! At least I have another girl, now almost 5 months old, that I can pass all of the older one's handknits down to. Their birthdays are just three days apart, so they should be about the same sizes at about the same time of year (just four years apart). I'm a bit reluctant to knit for the baby much, as she'll outgrow it in just a couple of months - but I am knitting her a beautiful merino dress, which will probably be the next thing that shows up here.