My Workspace

It's a little blue-ish, but this is a picture I took to celebrate having a temporary work space! I have had a desk for a while, but it's sort of languishing in our spare bedroom... then when my husband received a desk for his birthday, we were too tired to rearrange the livingroom (we planned on keeping it down here so he would have a place to study), so it was pushed in front of the front window. So far we haven't been able to get the room rearranged, but we're sharing the desk for the time being. It's nice to have a place to keep a few books out and be able to sit and have a pattern laid out flat in front of you! I already feel like it's helped me to be more productive :)

My First (Dog) Sweater

This week I finally finished a small sweater project I've had in the works for a couple of months now: a dog sweater for Bailey, the precious pooch of my friend Eva. Eva and Bailey come into my workplace every week and have tea and sit and read for a bit (well, Bailey doesn't drink tea, but if you know of a dog that does... leave a comment, that's pretty remarkable!). And I thought Bailey would look darling in a sweater! So we took measurements, and we found the perfect yarn, and I swatched away. I didn't follow an exact pattern, but I did use Kristi Porter's "Knitting For Dogs" as a reference.

I had to put the pieces up against Bailey and make notes where to place the front leg-holes, but other than that the construction was super-easy. The top piece (the back of the sweater) is slightly longer and wider, and the bottom piece (the "front") is skinner and not as long (...you have to make sure the pup in question can't piddle on her/his sweater!). To straighten out the edges I used garter stitch. The difficult part for me was seaming - I'm sort of a novice at mattress stitch, though I've practiced and hope to get better - I suppose I could have left more selvage on parts of it, but overall I'm happy with how it turned out. It was also a perfect fit, and Bailey wasn't bothered at all by wearing it! Here's some pics of her in her brand new sweater, and some pictures of the yarn up close & personal. (It's kind of nubbly - it's easy to get your needles caught in the "bits", but it knits up beautifully and feels gorgeously soft.)

Click to enlarge the pics :)

To-Do Lists, Tiny Huffs of Luxury Fibres, and Me

So yesterday I went to the old LYS with my friend Anna - we were there to pick out yarn for her convertible mitts/fingerless gloves that were supposed to be her Christmas present last year... ahem. We looked around and oohed and aahed over various fibres (if you've never touched Kashmir Baby, I highly suggest that you do) and finally asked one of the knowledgeable proprietors what she would suggest for our project. I'm looking at a combination of Broadstreet and Knucks (I like the top-down construction of Knucks - I found it pretty easy to figure out the instructions when I tried it out about a year or so ago). So we looked up the Broadstreet pattern and found out how much yarn in what kind of weight, and landed on Jitterbug by Colinette, a lovely sock yarn in a variety of colourways. Anna chose "Salty Dog" - it's a rich, jewel-toned teal-sapphire-navy blend, and looks absolutely amazing in the sunlight. I've started swatching, but I think I need to go up a needle size just to make sure I get the right texture.

I also got a hank of Lush - my first Classic Elite Yarns purchase ever, which is remarkable considering how much advertising I see for them every time I purchase a new knitting magazine! It is so soft and pretty. I want to use it to make Foliage. One might think that using a halo-prone yarn with a lace/leaf pattern would be counterproductive (stitch definition is greatly reduced), but I made my first Foliage with Elsebeth Lavold Angora, and it was the warmet, softest hat I have ever worn. Unfortunately, it went missing last winter. Chances are good I might have dropped it by my car or in the store where I work... or that someone nicked it. Le sigh. Anyhow, I bought a nice sort of cherry red colour and it is so, so lovely. Can't wait to make the hat - should be a nice weekend project before it gets quite cold and I really need it!

In other news, Anna and I are going to put our heads together and try to design the ultimate knitting bag. Sure, we have lots of competition - Lexi Barnes, Namaste, Lantern Moon - but who knows? Perhaps with my knitting needs and her sewing know-how, we might create the next big thing. Stay tuned!

Day-off/Weekend To-Do List:

- front pieces for the kimono cardigan
- dog sweater for Bailey
- finish test hat
- swatch for/modify patterns for Anna's glove-mittens
- drink hot chocolate and eat a couple of bon-bons

Knitting To-Do

In the interest in staying on top of all of my various projects, here's a to-do I'm setting myself for the weekend:

- work on the "Bibbity Bobbity" hat
- swatch for the "Kimono Classic" cardigan out of "Simple Style"
- finish green "Laila" scarf for Etsy store
- finish cowl for same
- doggie sweater for Bailey (friend's dog)

...and perhaps map out what I'm going to do with recent stash acquisitions, including the lace/cable beret I'm trying to chart.

I'm hoping the Kimono Classic will turn out fine despite having to sub in cheaper yarn - I'm making it for a work friend. We went shopping for the yarn today, and I think that we got enough yardage (there will be a few adjustments for measurement, and I want to make sure we keep the loose, boxy shape... it's what she liked about the pattern in the first place). I swatched on size 8 needles, but I think my gauge is a little tight. I'll see what washing and drying does to it, but I'll probably do a couple more swatches before I settle in for the long haul.

Ok. Let's see if I can get some of this stuff done. Goooooooooooooooo knitting!

Oh, and before I forget:

My newest knitting read is Knit the Hell Out. Cassy's sweet blog includes lots of knitting, adventures, and even a brush with the swine flu... this gal has it all! I should also mention that I'm test-knitting a cool hat from a pattern she authored. Go read!

Hey, where did September go?

I'm sure it was in there somewhere. Maybe it's in the cupboard, or hidden in one of my yarn stashes? Oh, well.

So, obviously, still knitting! I also found my USB cord for my camera, so expect photographic updates... if you'd like to know where it was, it was actually in the basket I had out especially for camera peripherals and related junk. A place for everything and everything in its place, yeah? Well, that only applies to me, apparently, if I can see it. If there's a plastic bag on it, it might as well have disappeared off the face of the earth.

Working on a lace beret pattern - trying to come up with my own original spin on the design. I love lace, I love cables, I love beret shaping... but I just can't seem to make it happen.

In the meantime, here's a link to my etsy shop: Sleep Knitting (the store!). I finally have an item up: a chunky, slouchy green beret dubbed "Miss Urchin". She's sassy! She's warm! And she can be yours for the low, low price of fifteen bucks! Makes a great gift... and more on the way in even more colours! ;)

And here's a picture of my adorbs kitty, Dog, putting the mister in a corner:

P.S.: Bonus Useful Link O' The Day

While I was writing down notes for the aforementioned project (needle size, yarn brand/type, etc.) I decided to also write down the WPI or wraps per inch, just in case I wanted to sub yarn later on (I made it in a nice-quality acrylic, but I think it's a design that could benefit from wool or other animal fibre in the winter months). I googled WPI so I could get an idea of how to better use that information later on, and found this page about estimating needed yarn yardage based on WPI. It's a very useful reference and one I'm sure I'll use later on - especially as I may have a sweater commission coming down the pipe (a friend wants me to make him a Christmas sweater - it could be absolute comedy gold depending on what direction we take it in, heh)!