January 12 and I'm already falling behind...

So I said this would happen at least once a week, so I guess I'm only a week behind. So let me tell you what I've been doing since the new year! Not so much with the pictures this time, unfortunately, because I haven't managed to finish anything yet this year.

On New Year's Day I started Seth by Anna Dalvi from the Ancient Egypt in Color and Lace  collection. I've had this gorgeous grey laceweight yarn with flecks of green and turquoise and purple  since last Christmas, and I've been dying for the right pattern for it. And I have to say, this is definitely the right pattern for it.

The colorway is called Sirens and the yarn is made from Merino, Cashmere, Angora and Silk. 

I also ordered some Lorna's Laces Honor in a color specially dyed for Stefanie Japel's Sharing Cowel:

In the colorway "Tresses" 

This is my easy-to-carry-around project, but I haven't had a lot of downtime for knitting at work lately, so it hasn't gone very far.

Finally, Mia Rinde (you remember my favorite shawl designer, right?) has another test right now, so I'm glad to be working on that as well.

Seth is almost finished, but I'm mostly focused on Mia's pattern right now. And, since it had been awhile, I'm using Sunrise Fiber Co. classic sock in Harvest Apple. The bright red is perfect for the hearts on Mia's pattern.

We're currently in inbetweentimes for Nerd Wars, but I'm planning on joining team TARDIS again for the fun. It's the 50th anniversary for the show, so we've got lots in store for the upcoming tournament! And I'll have lots to talk about so keeping my blogging resolution shouldn't be too hard.

Decisions, decisions...

Okay, I bought enough yarn for a sweater, had the pattern all picked out, then I got on Ravelry. I was just gonna check, you know? Make sure what I picked was the best choice...

Four hours later, I'd whittled my 30 pattern list down to 3 options for my dissertation in the upcoming Nerd Wars tournament. Seriously, I made a friggin spreadsheet for the patterns including columns such as pattern cost, what size I would make, yardage, mods, construction, needle size, gauge...it was pretty intense.

First, the yarn:

Eight skeins = 1200 yards. Apparently that was a little short for the intricately cabled sweaters I was drawn to; I had to eliminate a number because of insufficient yardage. Unless I wanted to make a sweater for my incredibly skinny, gorgeous sister, but as much as I love her, I'm not using Malabrio on her, mkay?

Okay, now for the contenders. I bought the yarn originally because I wanted to make this sweater (and because Craftsy was having a blowout sale and I really just spend way too much money on yarn when I don't need to):

In case you haven't noticed a trend yet, I'm really into cables for this project. Fall just equals cables to me. What can I say.

Contender number two:

This bad boy is the most expensive pattern of the bunch, and the least clear on the yardage. But, as this picture shows, I would modify the neck so it wasn't so turtlenecky like the original pattern. Also, I could do the sleeves last, two at a time, so I wouldn't run out of yarn. A thought.

And the final option:

I don't know how this would look in my raspberry, but I love the cable, it's a relatively cheap pattern, and it appears to give me more of a cushion regarding my yarn requirements.

So obviously I'm super torn right now. I want to start swatching so I can put together my dissertation proposal; plus I just want to play with my Malabrigo. Hopefully finding out which team I'm on tomorrow will help me decide!

Knit to self....

Knit more sweaters. I love my shawls, but I just saw this blog post on the Twist Collective Blog about jettshin, a knitter who makes incredibly gorgeous sweaters. I'm feeling inspired; maybe I'll un-relegate my sweater attempt from UFO status just in time for cooler weather. Plus I have a few pullovers and cardigans in my queue, and I just bought an ebook in Interweave Knits' sale yesterday about top-down sweater construction. Okay, now I'm sounding very ambitious, but perhaps a sweater pattern is in my future...hmmmm...

Anyway, as far as things I'm actually working on at the moment - my Shallow Waters is just about finished (ten or so rows to go) and the second clue for the Myrtle Mystery KAL has come out. I've finished the first chart repeat on that but still have quite a ways to go. No worries, however, I've had to place that at the bottom of my priorities because I have another test shawl that's kind of been languishing on the sidelines and I need to crank that out.

I've also been a bad girl, ordering yarn I can ill afford, but it was Lantern Moon, and it was on sale, and it was a gorgeous red color...what's a girl to do?

Seriously, how was I supposed to resist? Damn you, Craftsy, and your wonderful deals!

I've set it up with Grouchy Geisha by Marisa Hernandez (maidenbklyn), whose designs I've long admired but never knit. Currently there are six other patterns ahead of it in the queue, so there's no telling whether I'll decide to reapportion the yarn for another project between now and then. But as of now, that's the plan :)

And who knows, maybe a sweater will jump ahead in the queue, preventing my need to either return to Kentucky to get some fall clothes out of storage, or buying new sweaters here in St. Louis. Though a return to KY would also mean I could grab some more yarn out of storage...much to think about here chillins. And on that note, I bid you good day.

My Precioussss: A yarn petting story

So my favorite ever designer is also one of the nicest people on earth. Seriously, Mia Rinde, you're the best.

In related news, I got some yarn in the mail today. Now, enjoy the yarn pr0n.

Madelinetosh Tosh Lace in Filigree

For a shawl inspired by the Alchemilla plant

Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino in P866

For a sunset-inspired shawl

Madelinetosh Tosh Lace in Steam Age

For a snowflake shawl

Omm nom nom.

Also, I wanted to somewhat recant my harshness regarding Laura Nelkin's Mystery KAL. I'm having a case of the really nice designers lately, but Laura is a genuinely kind person, and I hope no one inferred otherwise from my comments. My problem was with a specific participant who got a little shirty with me, and when I have like 5 other projects going at the time, it was just really easy for me to drop that one. I hope once it comes out I can find time to sit and knit it at my own pace (which admittedly will probably be quicker than 6 weeks!).

I'm still working on my Shallow Waters test knit for Mia with Sunrise Fiber Co. sparkle lace in Viex Carré (I know you were wondering when I was going to bring up SFC!). I'm on the edging charts now, and this baby is gonna be pretty big. I'll post pictures when it's all presentable-like.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go lay down in a pile of yarn. Ahem.

Move to St. Louis, knitting galore!

Okay, another post, only one month later! That must be some kind of record or something. At the end of July, the bf and I moved from Lexington, KY back to his (parent's) homestead in St. Charles, a suburb of St. Louis. Now I'm a Kansas City girl, so the area is new to me, but I'm proud to announce that I've secured employment (go me!) at a craft store (double score!) and my knitting hasn't abated one bit in the intervening month. So let's do some catch up shall we?

When I left things last time, I was hinting at a new shawl made with that gorgeous yarn from Sunrise Fiber Co. in Patina. So here's what the finished object turned out to be:

As you'll soon see, this bench is one of my new favorite photography props. It's nice to live somewhere with an actual back yard with trees and some patio furniture to put things on. Outdoor pictures are da bomb yo!

Okay, so since I'm pretty much obsessed with shawls lately, here is one I've dubbed the "Bad Luck Luiza". I had a lot of problems with this baby. The finished product is pretty, but I nearly tore all my curls out making it. I love, love, loved the yarn I used for the major part of it, then did the bind-off in Knit Picks Stroll in black to coordinate.

You can check out the project page on Ravelry to see how much trouble I had with it. Grr.

I didn't have nearly as much trouble with my Sakura in the Sun project, my first submission for the 2012 Ravellenic Games. I used Sunrise Fiber Co. classic sock again - can you tell it's one of my favorite yarns? - this time in Cherry Blossom (hence the name). I really like how this colorway knit up in this pattern:

And I'm hoping to soon be in the land of cherry blossoms - Washington DC, not Japan, that is.

Okay, hoping you all still have viewing energy left, because I've been very busy the last month. Next up is another Ravellenics project, a reversible hat in Malabrigo Worsted - another brand that is moving up quickly in my favorite yarns. It's so soft and reasonably priced too. This hat will be a Christmas present for my sister (who fortunately doesn't read this blog!)

Woo, reversible! Woo, Christmas knitting in August!

Okay, last up for the finished objects is this gorgeous test knit I did for Mia Rinde, the same designer who did Mimosa Mimicry. This one is called "Hearts that Flourish" and the the repeated motif is, you guessed it, a heart pattern. I used Sunrise Fiber Co. again, with a gorgeous colorway she calls Lilac. It's a bright purple with hot pink undertones, and I've only worn it about a zillion times so far!

That bench is getting plenty of use from me, I swear.




Okay, so that wraps up (pun intended) the finished shawls for the month. But the fun doesn't stop there! I'm currently working on two shawl tests - another for Mia, and one for a first time designer named Sarah (fluffstuff on ravelry).


I'm also doing a mystery knit along from Laura Nelkin, though I'm slacking a bit on that one because of the less-than-welcome vibe I got from fellow KAL-ers. It's not fun to do a knit along if the people with whom you are knitting along aren't terribly kind. So I may get back to that pattern in time, but I'm kind of bummed I bought it and allocated two skeins of fingering weight yarn to it when I can't enjoy the mystery-KAL aspect of it. Plus, set up is never my favorite part of a project, and the first two clues of this one are Clue 1, follow these steps; clue 2, do the same thing in clue 1 two more times. Bleh.


On the horizon, however, is another MKAL - a stole with Mia Rinde (who is obviously becoming one of my favorite designers)! I have a great skein of laceweight set aside for it:

Which I got as a gift, so I can't link to the seller, unfortunately. But I can say, it looks even more gorgeous as a yarn cake than in the skein. The MKAL will start in four days, and I can't wait!

And you all probably think I'm crazy at this point, but I've also signed up for another KAL with Sunrise Fiber Co. (I wouldn't miss one for the world). This time we're using her Cloud DK base in custom KAL semi-solid colors. I'm making some colorwork sock boots with the Grape inspired colorway and her established color, sage. It'll be interesting to use a DK base for once; I've been using a lot of fingering- and lace-weight yarns recently!

Now that I'm actually employed and not as grumpy in general at the world, I'll try to blog more regularly about what I've been working on :) Though one benefit, I suppose, to me waiting so long is you get a nice, long, picture-heavy post of pretty fo's. But I'd really like to start writing more about my process and what I'm thinking as I knit a project, so consider this my mid-year resolution: to write at least one blog post per project I'm working on. So look forward to a wrap-up post coming soon for the current test knit for Mia, "Shallow Waters".

Just another Manic Monday

Ever since I ordered this Lustre Sock from Sunrise Fiber Co. in Bangles, I knew I wanted to make Mimosa Mimicry (available through Ravelry) with it. And really, can you blame me?

It's a wonderful bright orange color, with undertones of the yellow and pink which make it up. It's incredibly tonal and deep and I've been obsessed with it for a while now, obviously.

Plus, ever since Mimosa Mimicry designer Mia Rinde offered to let me test her gorgeous shawl for her and I had to refuse due to my own design testing going on at the time, I have been obsessed with this pattern. And desperate to try nupps.

The pattern was exquisitely designed and clearly explained, and after a quick Ravelry forum search on the best way to make nupps, I was tearing through it. In fact, the whole shawl took me only 5 days to knit! I love how it turned out:

Though, it was incredibly difficult to photograph the color and still ensure the nupps were visible. This will definitely be a task for my lovely photographer friend Kaytee to capture it true beauty, but for now, here's a couple more pictures.

I wanted to pay homage to both the pattern and the yarn in naming it, so I went with Manic Monday. That way I included the Bangles, but still got the M alliteration from the pattern's name. I'm pretty proud of it, can't you tell? :)

Coming soon: Luiza (I've actually been buying patterns lately, since I published my own first) just needs to be blocked. I've got some great, frustrated stories for that one. I also finished my Vortex shawl, which still needs to be blocked and maybe I'll add some edging. And I'm currently working on Clarus in another SFC colorway I love, Patina. Here's a little preview of the yarn to whet your appetite!

**Sunrise Fiber Co. yarn photos are Wren's own. I couldn't possible photograph her gorgeous, subtle colorways any better than she does.

Pallas Athene Shawl

UPDATE!! Kit is now listed here.

So, a lot has happened since my etsy store went live, chiefly that I've designed a new shawl pattern and it's going to be sold in a kit with some gorgeous laceweight tencel/merino yarn from Sunrise Fiber Co.

This is the first shawl pattern I've ever designed, and I'm rather proud of the results! I learned so much while I was doing this pattern, and I'm eager to try my hand at designing again. The turn around time for this was incredibly fast - I started the design in the first week of April and the kit will be released today, inshallah :)

I'm so grateful Wren from SFC asked me to take on this project, and I hope others will enjoy knitting the pattern with her incredibly beautiful yarn!