A few things...

Life here in Superstarra-ville is hectic as usual. I'm becoming overwhelmed by my unfinished projects and by the need to cast on for yet another project. It's exhausting! I think I have a good handle on the holiday gifting and am working at a good pace to get quite a few gifts done in time for the 'C' word.

No, not that C-word.

But I digress...here are a few new and exciting things to share...

Flicker 2.0.
Right now I'm working on a second Flicker. V requested one after she saw and fell in love with mine, so here I am again. This one will be beadless as we couldn't seem to find a single bead store in LA that was open when we were out shopping. Amazing, I know. Especially when there is a huge fabric district Downtown with numerous, insanely stocked bead stores.

I'm using a yarn I've never used before, Filatura Di Crosa Zara, and I have to say, I'm really liking it. I'm having a little issue with splitting, but I think that's mostly due to the pointy needles, o' pointy-pointy, I'm using. It's coming along pretty quickly and I'm hoping to have it done asap...

I've also bought some yarn.
BAD!
BAD!
BAD!
I have a single ball of Malabrigo in purple that a received and it was so lonely, I thought I would buy it some purple friends to play with. Sadly, my ball didn't play nicely, so I exchanged those two hanks for burgundy instead. I have no idea what to do with it. I think a third burgundy friend would be a good idea and broaden my options.

Why not, right? You can't take it with you and it is Malabrigo, right?

And a single hank of Malabrigo. I've gone crazy, I know. Green is one of my favorite colors and this hank with it's drab green and streaks of pink really caught my eye. It's Malabrigo, there's no way it would pool ugly, right? Right? Well it won't really matter, since I"m planning on making the Crofter's Cowl with it. The lace will break up the colors and it will be beautiful. Because I said so.

Catching Up...

Here are a few of the projects I've recently finished...

Backstory

Pattern: wham bam thank you lamb! neckwarmer
Yarn: Lion Brand Thick & Quick
Needles: US13
Exposition: This neckwarmer took a bit less than skein. I was able to knit this up in one evening. I'm not too happy with the bulky seam, so I think I'll pull it out and graft those stitches instead.

Other than that, warm & cozy. I love the offset-ness of the edges and that you can fold and twist it around your neck...so many different ways to style!

Backstory

Pattern: Marian Cowl
Yarn: Not 100% sure. Did a burn test and am still not sure.
Needles: US13
Exposition: Another super quick, super easy project. My first mobius. I made a bit of a mistake, as I seem to have two twist, instead of one. Can't tell, really, but I'd like to try this again.

And seed stitch is so much less annoying on size 13s...

Backstory

Pattern: Claudia Beanie
Yarn: Patons Merino Wool
Needles: US 4 & 6
Exposition: I got this off the needles and was immediately taken with what a great looking hat this is.

I made a bit of a mistake on this one too. I did the ribbing on size 4s and immediately switched to 6s for the cable trellis section. Lo and behold the instructions say to switch needle sizes after the cable section. OOPS. Why can I never remember to read the freakin' instructions? ugh. Didn't make a big difference though...it's for a guy with a big noggin. I love this hat! You all must go forth and knit one.

And lastly...I'm sure you can guess what this single crochet beaning is going to become...

Fiber!

Yesterday I went down to Torrance for the So Cal Handweavers' Guild Weaving and Fiber Festival. I didn't really know what to expect, but thought it would be a fun adventure. The Fickle Knittress was going to be there, and that was reason enough to go, right? So I called my sister and asked her to meet me over there so I wouldn't be a total loser walking around by myself.

We walked around, checked out the booths, molested a lot of fiber, met Michelle, [who is waaaay cool] and spent practically no money! I didn't buy any yarn, if you can believe it. I think having close to 10 projects in progress was quite a deterrent. We talked to a lot of really nice people [and a few stinkers who didn't know 'excuse me' means move out of the way] and I thought I saw the lovely Natalie wandering around, but wasn't 100% sure, so I didn't say anything to that lady who looked like a fellow blogger. I'm lame, I know.

It was fun all around. I'm especially excited about the new patterns I have to knit up. I could really use an extra set of hands and a month of vacation time.

Every Way Wrap

Thank you so much for all the comments about my little neckwarmer. I'm just glad that it didn't unravel or spontaneously combust. It could happen. Although I have several projects that need seaming or stuffing or hemming, I decided to cast on for something new. Something that won't need seaming or stuffing or hemming! The Every Way Wrap from IK Fall 2009.

I had picked up two hanks of Eco Wool while we were in Seattle this summer. One hank was to be a tam for my cousin and I was planning on using the left over along with the second hank to make myself something. I started the hat - really I did - but realized that this yarn would be entirely too heavy for the hat I had in mind. So I frogged it and now it's mine! All mine! I am amazed by the size of this yarn ball, so I had to take a picture of it, with a tube of Kaiser Permanente Thrive lip balm for scale. HUGE! It will be so warm and cozy wrapped around me! I can't wait!

Of course, I may have to wait awhile, as I am still slogging through the ribbing. I need to take a mental health knitting day. Is there an allotment of days for that?

The Collette Neckwarmer

So, last week I mentioned that I knit a neck warmer without the aid of a pattern.

Yeah.
It actually happened.

As you know, if you've ever read my blog, I am not a big fan of knitting variegated yarn. I am, however, a big fan of buying it. There's something about all those beautiful colors here and there in the hank...so many pretty colors...all in one yarn! But alas, when knitted, I hate the pooling and the splotches of colors...it's all just...BLEH! That being said, I have been bothered by an orange and yellow hank of Elizabeth Austin Andes in my stash and I realized if I didn't knit it up soon, I never would.

I searched high and low for a pattern for my single hank. I knew it would have to be either something lace [bleh again] or something with a stitch pattern that would break up the colors and keep the ugly pooling monster at bay. I had limited yardage, so a neck warmer would be the best bet. I saw lots of patterns, but none of them seemed to gel with this yarn.

At wit's end, I pulled out my copy of Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book and started looking at stitch patterns. One seemed like the right stitch for the job. The Linen Stitch.

So I casted on a nice 124 stitches, knit a few moss stitch rows then started the Linen Stitch section. It broke up the yarn enough for a mottled look in some places and stripes in others. I would have loved it to be all mottled, but it's all good because the nasty pool monster was vanquished [for the most part]! The only problem I ran into is the moss stitch border wasn't really working out. It flared a bit too much, so I pulled out what I knit and replaced it with a 2x2 rib. Perfect!

It is still in need of a wash, a block, and a label but I didn't want to delay pictures as people were getting impatient. Geez. Ha ha. It fits nicely and the wool is nice and warm...perfect for a friend who must moved to San Francisco. I hope she likes yellow and orange.

I don't know if I would consider myself a designer just yet, but I do feel freed from the written pattern tether. And now I've got all sorts of ideas running around my head! Is this the slippery slope of designing that I've been trying to avoid?

Umm...

I think I just knit a neckwarmer without the aid of a pattern.

More to come.

Throwing Horseshoes

One step forward, two steps back...but it will all work out in the end, right?

Well, the Stash-to-Accessory Knit-a-thon is still in full effect. One of my goals, besides getting rid of onsie/twosie balls of yarn has been to try new techniques on a smaller, more manageable project. Well the Hanne Muff fit into that category as it incorporates a mock cable. I've never done a mock cable before, but I can do non-mock cables, so how hard could it be?

Next to impossible.

I don't know what the problem was, but I just couldn't get it right. So I totally ditched it [failing at one of my Stash-to Accessories Knit-a-thon goals] and decided to just use a real cable.

Ah, the horseshoe cable. I haven't had a lot of opportunity to use this cable so I thought, 'YIPPEE-KAI-YEA, little knitter!'

Ok, I didn't really think that, but I did give it a go and it's coming along nicely.

It's been slower than molasses in the winter, but I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere with this darn thing. Ever feel like your knitting fer a month'a Sundays and it doesn't seem to make a darn-tootin' difference? Only after a weekend's worth of knitting am I finally seein' that this here project is finishin' up. I really want it out of my hair! It's time fer rustlin' other knits up on them there needles!

Besides, the pom pom hat awaits!