3rd time's the charm

OK, Paintbox took 3 times through the laundry to felt, but now it's beautiful. FO! I finished something! Now... what else was I knitting? ;)

Not done quite yet... It needs at least another cycle. And I will definitely have to hunt down my sweater shaver.

Another Day, Another WIP

So, another project...
"Do you ever finish anything, Meg?" you ask. No, Knitters, I only start projects.

This one took precedence because a woman signed up for the Entrelac Bag class at the shop. So I had to knit one up really fast to figure out how to write the pattern.
There it is -- from the starting squares to the knitted bag prior to felting. It's in the wash right now. Exciting!! It's been through one cycle, but it definitely needs another one. The Paintbox takes a long time to felt.

If you would like the pattern, it's free on Ravelry here. And soon I'll put it up on my website. By "soon" I mean someday. ;) Or you can email me at meghandahar@yahoo.com.

Darn it! I forgot a bunch of button holes along the edge of my corset. I tried to drop the stitches and pick them up with button holes, but after three tries it looks like crap. I guess I'll just have to rip out a few inches to fix it... :(

It's been so long...

Wow... I'm not very diligent in writing here in my blog. I have actually been knitting. Alot.
Last night Neil came to knitting night at Cafe Racer, and we had 7 projects between us. 4 were mine.
On my needles:
1. The Frangipani girl's cardigan from Sublime's Soya Cotton book.

2. Annie Modesitt's Corset Tank in Berrocco Comfort DKThe corset is fun so far, but I think it may turn out a little small. I'll have more to say soon, but I've been distracted by ....

3. Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Sweater on Two Needles, which I love!! It'll be done soon.

And 4. A cabled cardigan from Reynolds in Soft Sea Worsted that I've been obsessing over since I started working at Bad Woman.

Quickie

Ok, I LOVE this sweater!
And what is happening here? Knit cigarettes?

Not-so-Cropped Carie Cardi

I'm working on Stephanie Japel's Carie Cardi from "Fitted Knits".

I'm using US 15 needles with Kraemer Yarn's Bear Creek, purchased at NW Handspun Yarn in Bellingham, WA. It's a super cute knitting shop, and Bellingham is a great town. I was up there over Thanksgiving visiting Mishon, who is a Kninja crocheter and my former housemate (my favorite housemate!).

The Bear Creek is nice and woolly, though not especially soft. It is definitely softer than, say, Reynolds Lopi. It has great yardage (130) for a great price ($15).

I've knitted the bodice and have yet to start the sleeves. My intent was to lengthen the shrug to a sort of babydoll-shaped jacket. I followed the instructions for a size 36", except that I added one row of stockingette before the garter stitch, extended the garter stitch for 11 rows, and then knit some more to lengthen it.

Here is how everyone wishes it were fitting:

(I'm making a funny face because my mom was asking me a question as she took the picture. She and my dad are visiting nextdoor for the weekend.)

Instead, it's HUGE. I swear my gauge is close to the recommended 6 st/4". It's hard to tell with such bulky knits.

I also would have liked the garter stitch to have landed higher, like right under my "best girls".

As I launch into my complaints, I should confess that I am too lazy to put my stitches on string and try it on in progress like you're supposed to. My fault. :)

I was thinking, however, that I could cross the front to make a wrap style. I think I'll get the sleeves on before I rip out the body and see what I think. This is the effect of the wrap on the fit:

Any thoughts?

Knitting in the dark

I went with my sister Katie to see the Pacific Northwest Ballet's performance of Romeo et Juliette. It was fabulous! The choreography was very different, very modern but still graceful. I absolutely loved it.

But... since I'm an addict... I still knit through the entire performance. I made these two Calorimetries in the dark!

To knit a Calorimetry I reduce the instructions by 1/2. I cast on 1/2 the number of stitches (60), and make my short rows after sets of 2 stitches rather than 4. I knit until it's 4" wide and then continue back for the second half.

I bought this Filatura di Crosa Print in Black from Bad Woman Yarn in Wallingford Center. Great store... Very helpful, friendly, and beautiful sales people... ;)

A little late, but so cute

I know it's too late this year, but I think this is a super cute idea to use for next Christmas.

I confess that I have been compusively saving wine corks since Jonesy was a kitten. He was such a little terror! He especially loved "killing" my knitting. When he had a ball of yarn, it looked for all the world like a dead thing he was dragging by the scruff of its neck. The only toy that could distract him from my yarn was a wine cork bouncing erratically across the floor. I used to keep my pockets full of corks to distract him while I knit. Now I have a big basket full of them, and I still keep throwing more in it. I guess I'll be ready to give a little gnome orament to the entire neighborhood next Christmas!

Hooray!! Some one actually made a purchase from my Etsy shop!!!

Thank you, Amelia from Minnesota, for being my first Etsy customer! I'm so excited...

She bought a hatlet, which I've been selling at Horseshoe, and which was in Daily Candy.

(Thanks, Phoebe, for modeling) I'll post a pattern for this soon.

Tomorrow I'm working at Bad Woman. I love my job!

A new start in the new year

Hooray! A brand new blog! I was having too much technical trouble on the old blog, so here I am.

There's so much content to get in here....

To begin with, I've just started working at Bad Woman Yarns in Wallingford Center. I love it! It's only 5 blocks from my house, right in the middle of Wallingford in the old school building. My job is to knit and help people and talk about yarn and knitting all day -- perfect.

Last night we hosted our first Wednesday night (6pm to 8pm) knitting group. Teresa brought her friends Kate and Hanna, and my old roommate Susan attended as well.

Here are some pictures (thanks, Teresa!):
This is me talking to Hanna.

This is Susan in the backgroung with her Noro sock project and me showing Kate how to knit in the foreground.

Here's Susan and Kate.

And Susan.

Hanna

Fast knitting!!