project: 3rd St Hat

Well, if all goes well, in about 7 hours, I will be back in Chicago.

Not gonna lie, the only thing I'm really looking forward to in Chicago is Karma. And giving her the puppy sweater I knit for her (that's tomorrow's post; gotta nab some pictures first).

Honestly, it's been an awesome week off. I didn't get all of the projects done that I brought with me, and I still have about 100 pages left in my book, but all the down time and cheese and crackers were a pleasure I know won't be as available to me back home.

About a week before I left for Florida, I finished up my friend Mikey's gift. Yep, it was another hat. Yep, it was knit out of a Malabrigo Merino Worsted yarn (colorway Forest), yep, it was purchased from Loopy Yarns and yep, the pattern was the Dean Street Hat.




I just got a text yesterday from Mikey saying that he loves it and I'm awesome. I named it the "3rd St Hat" because he is currently living in Louisville, and my favorite place to eat in Louisville is the 3rd Ave Cafe. Road trip soon!

I think I'm gonna take a break from hats for the next few projects...maybe.

project: ruffle rock star scarf

Happy birthday, Jesus!

Today, my holiday will consist of a trip to the beach and a movie later tonight (most likely True Grit). Somewhere in between there, I will finish up Karma's dog sweater to bring back home to Chicago tomorrow night. I'm sure she needs it after the loads of snow that's been lending itself to a white Christmas.

Running on this hand dyed yarn theme, I found that I had three skeins of hand dyed cotton, all colored over three years ago. One of the skeins I named Rock Star, and decided to make the Ruffle Scarf out of my Scarf Style book.

The yarn was the Inca Cotton purchased from Dharma Trading Company. I used fiber reactive dyes, with the cold water process, in the colors Fuschia, Cocoa Brown, and Chartreuse. The fiber reactive dyes take to the cotton incredibly well, with a vibrant finish. The Inca Cotton is super soft and did not pill or halo throughout the process.

The scarf was being made for my sister, who is a fellow crafts lady and wears scarfs on a regular basis. I thought it was a clever idea and a chance for me to make a scarf (which I rarely ever make).



Until I realized the other day, after she opened it and said she liked it, I had made her that same scarf pattern three years ago.

Ugh.

Kinda bummed since I was so excited about this scarf being made with hand dyed yarn, and turning out super cute. And, I mean, it did turn out super cute and I was proud of myself for following through with a scarf. And my sister insisted that she loves it and will wear both of them.

I need to get a picture of her wearing it, so you can see how it twists and drapes - so rock star!

In honor of baby Jesus, I made a Christmas/holiday inspired playlist. By far, the last two songs are staples for me at this time of year, and are put on repeat all. day. long.

I encourage you to do the same, and to turn on 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TBS.

Football? What's a football??


playlist: ruffle rock star scarf

"come saturday" - pains of being pure at heart
"artificial snow" - atlas sound
"in the new year" - the walkmen
"all yr songs" - diamond rings
"something to do with my hands" - her space holiday
"soak it up" - houses
"hearts of love" - crocodiles
"gift" - firebird band
"sister winter" - sufjan stevens

project: sexy holiday thongs

This Christmas Eve just got sexy.

I decided to shake things up a bit with the gift giving this year. My Knitting Lingerie Style book has been sitting on my shelf for years, and recently I decided to open it up, and knit two very close friends a thong.

Yes. A hand-knit thong.

I wasn't exactly sure how this was going to work out, but I went to Nina's as a start and picked out some super soft, 100% silk yarn for the first one (note: still searching for the tag with all of the yarn info on it).

thong #1

I just used the Babydoll thong pattern in the book, and made a ton of adjustments along the way. There was no picking up stitches along the edge, but rather using a crochet hook, a basic double crochet was done to finish of the siding. I opted against a 3/4" wide back strap, and took three strands of yarn and braided them to create the strap.

I followed the pattern for the waistband, and the cast on stitches they told me to do for the first friend's waist, and it came out HUGE. Like, four inches too big. So I found my elastic thread, and from the inside ran the thread along the top and bottom part of the waist (cutting the thread at her correct waist length to ease in all the excess). Then I found some sexy black ribbon to weave into the middle eyelet portion of the waistband; the colors turned out to be super hot!

Since I had made the first, I knew exactly what adjustments needed to be done for the second. Her yarn was purchased at Loopy Yarns, and is a Berroco Seduce yarn in the Dream colorway (all entirely too appropriate for this project).

thong #2

I casted on a smaller number of stitches for the waistband of this second thong, and it turned out to be a better fit where I didn't need to sneak in elastic thread into the waistband. What really surprised me about this yarn is that the color was actually variegated. I didn't know that when purchasing, but it starts off darker on top and then lighter down to...well...you know where.

I'm really happy with how these turned out, and so were the two ladies! A really easy, quick knit that I will definitely make more of.

One of my students was inspired by me knitting lingerie where she decided to knit some for her knitwear final, using the full Babydoll pattern listed in the book. The lace pattern for the top got a little jumbled, but for her first hand-knit garment, it deserved an A!


There is only one song that can combine the fact it is Christmas eve and this project specifically.

Hope Santa is good to you this year!

project: grounded earth tote bags (series 1)

Believe it or not, I actually made a few other things besides knitted projects these past few months. Again, being inspired from my surface design class, I had to make a silk screen to demo for the class at some point during the quarter. So I came up with an organic design (go figure) that has a little day of the dead feel to it.

After making a sample for the class, I decided to whip up a few tote bags for my friends as holiday gifts.

(up close and slightly photoshopped)

I used the paint-on screen printing method (that involves no dark room). The result isn't as precise as some prints can be, but I do like the look of it. The fabric was some dark denim purchased from Vogue Fabrics, and the paint was your basic Jacquard screen ink. I just squashed the yellow in-between the fuschia before I passed it through the screen. I definitely enjoyed the orange glow that came from the color mixing!



In attempt to create a series of these bags, I tried my hand at another screen of a different original design. This screen, however, did not make the cut when I went to rinse off the drawing fluid. I have a feeling that there was leftover screen cleaner on the screen, and that's why the filler didn't stick after it was dry. Lame. I will give it a second go around sometime soon, considering I already have like 3 other blank tote bags waiting at home...

Picture from my friend, Beth, who received one of the tote bags!

project: tiffany's solstice socks

I missed a post yesterday. Damn. I'm blaming me being up too early to watch the lunar eclipse and then spending as much of the day outdoors for the Winter Solstice. It was a beautiful day and ended it by watching the sunset on Siesta Key Beach.

Happy Winter Solstice!

In honor of solstice, I am going to share with you the solstice socks I knitted for my friend Tiffany. There really isn't anything new about these socks, considering it is a pattern I think I have used about 4 other times so far this year. It's just that they were made with love and warmth for my good friend Tiffany.

The pattern is Alison's Ankle Socks, and the yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in Ashburn (purchased, of course, at Loopy Yarns). I finished these socks up sometime in November, and I really like the way the colors striped (unintentionally) around the foot.

(close up of stripe pattern)

The good news is, they fit Tiffany and she loves them! I hope they keep her cozy during these chilly and rainy winter months in Seattle...

There is something incredibly therapeutic to me about knitting socks. I can't really explain it, but I have two other sock projects (full socks, too) that I am just itching to start. And the one set is going to be using yarn that my friend Lee got for me from Finland! So excited.

project: some hand dyed yarn

This past quarter, I was teaching a Surface Design class. This is a class where the students learn how to dye their own fabric, use different fabric manipulations with dye (such as shibori, tie dye), learn how to batik, silk paint, embroider, bead....the list could go on for days. It was a pretty successful class, and the students truly surprised me with their creativity when putting the different manipulations together for their final project.

Teaching this class was a breath of fresh air for me, considering I haven't taught it in over a year. Also, this was a main focus of mine while in grad school: fabric modification. So by having all of this creative energy around me, and also teaching a knitwear class this past quarter as well, I decided to dye some of my own yarn.

The first yarn I dyed was using an indigo dye bath. The dye bath that was mixed was using pre-reduced indigo crystals and color remover. This project definitely got messy and was super smelly, but was a lot of fun. I would dye with indigo all of the time if I could!

The Blues are Still Blue

The yarn is a Malabrigo Rios in Natural, and I did about 2-3 dips into the indio dye. Definitely had to make sure the wool was absorbing the dye with each dip (Note: if you have note dyed with indigo before, it is when the dye comes in contact with oxygen that it turns the deep blue color. The color after the first initial dip is a blue-green, an as it "sits" in the air, it turns blue. The longer it is "sitting" in the air, and the more dips it gets, the darker the blue).

The whole process was loads of fun, and my students thought I was crazy. The rinse was the biggest pain, and I still think there is some dye in the yarn that will come off with use (similar to your jeans). So I clearly cannot make a hat out of the yarn, but will probably make some fingerless gloves, etc.

I was really happy with the variegation of the blue color, and the yarn is just as super soft as when I first purchased it (from Loopy Yarns, of course). I am calling it The Blues are Still Blue (yes, after the Belle & Sebastian lyric).


The second yarn I dyed was a Cascade 220 Wool, using all Fiber Reactive dyes. I normally dye cellulose (plant) fibers with Fiber Reactive dyes, so this was going to be an experiment with me.

The yarn was purchased from Dharma Trading Company, as well as the dyes. The process used is very similar to the process of tie dyeing: soaking the yarn in soda ash, mix the dyes with the water/urea ratio, removing the yarn from the soda ash, laying it out and then adding the dye to various spots on the yarn.


So the colors I used were: Rose Red, Chartreuse, and Navy. This is the result, 12 hours later:

Cape Dory

None of the colors were what I was hoping them to be (the navy is more purple, the chartreuse is more yellow, the red is more hot pink), but it is a very pretty colorway that I am calling Cape Dory (yes, after the Tennis song).

Definitely more yarn to be dyed in 2011! I am very excited about it, and just need to figure out how to a) sell it or b) make thing from it. Suggestions?

project: mark's birthday hat

Here it is: a project finished back at the beginning of November. My friend Mark celebrated a birthday in November, and considering the seasonal change in Seattle at that time of the year, I decided that he needed a new hat.



So I pulled out the good old Dean Street Hat by Nina Dayton pattern, purchased some lovely Malabrigo Worsted yarn (colorway was Autumn Forest) from Loopy Yarns and got to work. I absolutely love this pattern and for a brief moment thought I might be overusing it as a men's hat pattern, but dammit it keeps me happy while knitting and looks so good when complete!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARK!

With hat finished and vegan banana bread baked, I shipped the package to complete it's duty of making a birthday man happy. Thankfully, it worked (and fit). The colorway looked amazing on him as well, as he wears a lot of warm, neutral colors.

project: susan's darkside cowl

Alright folks, I know it's been awhile. Two months awhile. A lot has happened the past two months. I'm not sure where to even begin socially, physically, mentally. All I can say is that, I am in a better place now (Florida, specifically) and now is the time to ground myself, reflect and grow.

One reason I haven't been here since September is due to the fact all of the project I have been working on (and there are many) have been for holiday gifts. And since all of my holiday gifts are finally out, and most of them open, I am allowed to share them.

Let's start with a cowl I made for my friend Susan back at the end of September. Susan is a very close friend of mine who lives in Florida. Since Florida winters don't require heavy wool scarves and hats like Chicago ones, I wanted to make her something light weight but still seasonal. I came across this beautiful Silky Merino yarn by Malabrigo in the colorway of Indiecita. I admit, I am a sucker for any yarn made by Malabrigo. The purchase was made at Loopy Yarns, the local favorite.


The pattern is called Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama. The yarn for this pattern worked out absolutely perfect. The silk spun with the merino gave the cowl just enough shine and drape to look elegant, yet it is still casual enough to wear day to day. The colors are perfect for day or evening wear as well.


I only used about half of one skein for this project. I originally purchased two, not having the pattern yet and knowing how long the cowl was going to be. I'm considering making one for myself...

Just radiant.

I mentioned earlier how I have been having many moments of reflection, and one of those has been musically. Everyone has been putting out their year in review, top ten lists, so why not me? I went through my itunes and found the songs that have been the most played, and most meaningful to me throughout this year. I couldn't narrow it down to just ten songs, so there are thirteen. Many of the songs have been put on previous playlist, but it feels really good to put them all together in one. Let me know what you think! And please note, these are not in a particular order.


playlist: susan's darkside cowl (aka. my top 13 songs of 2010)

"sentimental x's" - broken social scene
"zebra" - beach house
"drying of the lawns" - tallest man on earth
"desire lines" - deerhunter
"3 umbrellas" - avey tare
"cape dory" - tennis
"jesus" - dom
"while i shovel snow" - the walkmen
"airplanes" - local natives
"'81" - joanna newsom
"carolina" - girls
"sprawl II (mountains beyond mountains)" - arcade fire


The goal is to blog a project a day this week. I am pretty sure I have enough projects for every day this week, it's just going to get a little tricky with the playlists. But I have an idea I might put into fruition...

project: r+j opening nite dress

Back in April, I blogged about a dress that I was working on for a Windy City Soul Club event. I called the dress, "WCSC dress" and well, the fit was a mess and I wasn't in an alteration kind of mood, so it was left hanging (literally).

Revisiting this dress 5 months later, I now am calling this dress my R+J opening nite dress! Any excuse to get it done, right? The dress I patterned myself, and the polka dot is a metallic silk that I backed with muslin for extra stability. The bottom is a rich ivory bridal satin, including pockets! Yes, pockets.

I started the alterations on Monday, was refit on Tuesday, only to take the entire dress apart for more alterations to get done by the opening nite party Wednesday nite. It wasn't the best sewing job ever, but man, did I look good.


This is the only picture that was taken of the full dress, my only bummer is that the shoes didn't make it into the picture as well (imagine: gold BCBG strappy stilettos. yes). The picture is being taken with Juliet herself = stunning!

The party was fabulous and the champagne kicked my ass, but that was to be expected. I'll try to nab some more pictures of the dress when I wear it to a wedding next month. By the way, where the hell did this month go?

And here is how the night ended.

I'm a little bit behind on my playlists, so please be patient.

project: tiffany's vancouver hat

A few weeks ago, my wonderful friend Tiffany sent me a care package. Inside the package was beautiful hand made bamboo stationary, a 7 year pen, and yarn. Damn, does this girl know the way to my heart or what?

The yarn just so happened to be purchased on the trip her and I took to Vancouver about a year ago for an accordion fest (have I mentioned how much I love this girl?). While we were breaking from all of the fantastic accordion parties, we stumbled upon a yarn store. Of course, I had to go in. I purchased some great yarn for myself, and Tiffany purchased some yarn in hopes to make something for herself as well. Tiffany knew a few stitches, but I promised I would help her.

Then I moved away.

So she sent me the yarn saying that I would make better use of it than she was. There was only one thing I could do with it: make a nice knit cap for her!

(picture without the flash on)

I think I sent the tag with the hat to her, so I believe the yarn is a Berroco yarn named Jasper. I also used some of my leftover black yarn from Mike's Dashing mitts for some additional texture (and to be completely honest, I wasn't sure if there was enough yarn in the skein for an entire hat).


It turned out beautiful! The yarn is super soft and just the right colors for fall. I can't wait to get some pictures of Tiff wearing it (nudge nudge)!


The picture to the right does have the flash on...I'm a big fan of this one.



playlist: tiffany's vancouver hat

"bulletproof" - la roux (nacey remix)
"cameras" - matt & kim
"fireworks" - animal collective
"some kinda love" - velvet underground
"sprawl II (mountains beyond mountains)" - arcade fire
"the rat" - the walkmen
"dog days are over" - florence and the machine
"slow motion" - panda bear

project: mike's a little more dashing

SPOILER ALERT!!! MIKE'S BIRTHDAY ISN'T UNTIL OCTOBER 24TH!!

But I'm thinking he could use these now for biking to work, so he might just have an early birthday gift coming his way.

A few years back, Mike requested that I knit him some arm warmers for his birthday. Mike is a very tall guy, and sometimes has a hard time with sleeve lengths. The idea was that these wrist warmers would help with the length of his winter coat.

Well, as usual, I got busy and didn't get around to knitting them until now. I've had the pattern, yarn, everything. Just never got around to it. But they have turned out lovely and I think they will fit him wonderfully!




I purchased Cascade 220 wool yarn from Weaving Works, and one skein made both warmers. The pattern was a Knitty pattern from back in 2007 called Dashing. It is the men's version of the warmer, and I must say, I'm glad that Mike is a big guy because these warmers turn out very, very long. I do wish there were more cables in them as well. Now that I have made the pattern, I will definitely make my notes to tailor them a bit better for future recipients.




The yarn was a breeze to use and knit up fairly quickly. If I had more hours in the day, everyone would get a pair of these for holiday!

These songs are part of my Summer 2010 playlist. Since Labor Day has ended, I think it is time to commit to these songs and start sending them out to my friends for a good listen.

playlist: mike's a little more dashing

"glitter" - no age
"mouthful of diamonds" - phantogram
"round and round" - ariel pink's haunted graffiti
"to the east" - electrelane
"marathon" - tennis
"jesus" - dom
"heart to tell" - the love language
"sleepy tigers" - her space holiday
"from the mouth of gabriel" - sufjan stevens

project: the ott girls hats

Yes, I've already started my holiday projects. This is what is going to be the challenge about blogging now: not to give away what people might be receiving from me this holiday season. While I am known for working on numerous projects at once (and rarely finishing them), I can at least try to balance a holiday project for a friend and something for myself!

So one of the first knitted holiday projects I've started were new hats for the Ott girls: Avery, Claire and Nora. This has been a request by Momma Ott for quite some time, and while on the Chicago Yarn Hop, I came across Noro Kureyon yarn on sale at Loopy Yarns. Perfect! The hat pattern used is one I've adopted from the book, Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. It's a great pattern that has kept many a heads warm throughout the years.

Each hat's colorway has been chosen to fit each girls features. I opted not for full on pom poms at the top of each, but rather what I call "sprigs of yarn." How organic of me...

Avery's hat

Claire's hat

Nora's hat

Let's just hope that Momma Ott can contain her excitement and keep these photos from the girls until December!

In the meantime, let's finish off the summer season with one more summer themed playlist...


playlist: the ott girls hats

"summersong" - the decemberists
"summertime clothes" - animal collective
"deadbeat summer" - neon indian
"all summer long" - the beach boys
"it's summertime" - the flaming lips
"summertime" - the sundays
"summerteeth" - wilco
"summer song" yacht
"here comes the summer" - the fiery furnaces

project: stephanie's birthday socks

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPHANIE!

Well, it only two two weeks after the fact, but I finally finished Stephanie's birthday gift! I must have sent her three packages full of little birthday gifts before she got the big one: a pair of hand knit socks! And, of course, I used my favorite ankle sock pattern and Lorna's Laces yarn to create them.

This yarn was purchased at Nina's in Chicago, and the colorway is South Shore. I knit the socks in about two weeks, and I must admit, was some of the best drinking-while-knitting that I've ever done!

Haha, look at Karma's butt!

This playlist was created in honor of Stephanie's birthday actually being in the heat of the summer, and that summer is quickly coming to a close. The more songs with the word 'summer' in it the better! And I had so many in my itunes, another summer word playlist is soon to come...

playlist: stephanie's birthday socks

"everyone has a summer" - lovage
"wait for the summer" - yeasayer
"66 sleepers to summer" - hope of the states
"jogging gorgeous summer" - islands
"summer on the westhill" - kings of convenience
"indian summer" - pedro the lion
"summer skin" - death cab for cutie
"in the summertime" - the rural alberta advantage
"sweet summer's night on hammer hill" - jens lekman

project: shauna's baby socks

Oh, hey. Yeah, I still blog every now and again...

This past weekend I got very ambitious and decided to knit another pair of baby socks. The Costume Shop Manager, Shauna, at Chicago Shakespeare is leaving in a week to focus on the baby boy that will be coming out of her very soon! With this in mind, a baby shower was put together at the last minute to celebrate! Key words here: last minute.

So instead of buying something, I went to the Knitting Workshop (now located in Bucktown) to get some Cascade Fixation yarn in a boy-ish color way. This happened at noon on Sunday, the shower being held at 4pm Monday. Damn.
Had I decided not to go to North Halsted Market Days, I could have gotten the socks done in one afternoon. But there is just something about many gay men wearing very little that leaves nothing to the imagination that really gets me going...

I finished the socks around 3:30pm on Monday. Just in time for the shower. And they were a success!

So tiny and cute! Just like the little boy that is on his way!

In other news, in case you haven't heard, I was doored on my bike ride home from work last Thursday. If you don't know what that means, look it up on urban dictionary. Very painful, but thankfully nothing was broken. But in honor of getting doored, and still being in shock that it happened, I made a small playlist. This is it:

playlist: shauna's baby socks/getting doored

"the shining" - badly drawn boy
"polar opposites" - modest mouse
"someone great" - lcd soundsystem
"fluorescent half dome" - dirty projectors
"benton harbor blues" - the fiery furnaces
"summer in the city" - regina spektor
"i don't want to see you" - camera obscura
"let me know" - the yeah yeah yeahs

project: tammie's birthday socks

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMMIE!!!

After five years of Tammie being my best friend, I realized that I never knit her a pair of socks. This woman is waay overdue for a pair of hand knit socks!

Since she has moved to el lay, I figured a pair of anklets would work best with the heat. And the colors, shown in Rockwell by Lorna's Laces, are just screaming Tammie!

Note: ever since I was offered a full time job at Lorna's as a dyer, I swear by only purchasing their yarn for any future sock project.

So I've used this sock pattern for the 4th time now, and I am still in love with it. I still need to use it to make a pair of socks for myself...

I hope this is the best present a lady could ever ask for! I LOUVE YOU!!!

playlist: tammie's birthday socks

"sentimental x's" - broken social scene
"all my little words" - the magnetic fields
"it doesn't have to be beautiful" - slow club
"40 day dream" - edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros
"o katrina!" - black lips
"our deal" - best coast
"shelia" - atlas sound
"home" - lcd soundsystem

project: logan square market bag

It's finally Sunday Market season! Oh how I miss those lazy Sundays in Ballard, when there was nothing better to do than to take the puppy on a lovely stroll down to the Sunday Market. The flowers were always the highlight of the trip (and maybe a cupcake from Cupcake Royale). There were a few Sundays when I would decided to get an impromptu haircut from Loufel at Rudy's as well. Ahh...those were the days!

Now that it's summer in Chicago, it's also market time! The Logan Square Farmer's Market just started last Sunday, and I am more than excited to take my bike down to the square every Sunday until October to gather my weekly produce and enjoy some fresh [city] air!

How ready am I? So ready, in fact, I even knit a market bag for the occasion!
Let's be honest. That's a total lie for two reasons: a) I purchased this yarn back in 2007 while vacationing in Key West. b) I started this bag on a trip to Portland in 2009. And here we are in June, 2010.

The yarn is awesome (and expensive) Euroflax Originals. It's 100% linen, machine washable and dryable, and also discontinued. The fact it's now discontinued proposed a slight problem when it came down to me deciding what to do with it. I original purchased 3 skeins of it at Knit Wits: 2 in a green colorway and 1 in a yellow colorway. I figured the easiest and safest thing to do was to pick a smaller project and have left overs. A market bag was the most logical project.


I used a combination of two bag patterns: the Everlasting Bagstopper from Knitty and then the Ilene Bag by Hannah Ingalls. A majority of the bag was following the Ilene pattern. I did a smaller cast on and other variations along the way, but the lace repeat was the same. I do feel like I might have made the strap too long, but we'll see how it goes when I actually take it to the market and fill it up.

I am very excited about this bag, and am hoping that the linen fibers hold up well. The lace repeat is super stretchy, so it should be able to hold many delicious items of produce!

Now I need to figure out what to do with the other 1.5 skeins I have left. I thought about knitting some dishcloths (with the fiber content being linen) but the yarn was so damn expensive. Any suggestions on what to do with some Euroflax leftovers?

playlist: logan square market bag

"bang bang" - nancy sinatra
"louisiana" - the walkmen
"percussion gun" - white rabbits
"i want you back" - the jackson 5
"julie" - jens lekman
"trying my best to love you" - jenny lewis
"myriad harbor" - the new pornographers
"starting over" - the black lips
"i know what i am" - band of skulls

This is a playlist I originally made for Summer 09, and it - hands down- is one of the best playlists I've ever made. This is only half of it; I'll save the other half for a rainy blogging day. Enjoy it and the sunshine for the time being!

project: nikki's birthday hat

A few years back, I knit my friend Nikki a hat from some lovely Noro yarn. When I moved back to Chicago this past winter, I asked Nikki where the hat I made her was, and why she wasn't wearing it.
Here's the story: apparently it got left outside in the snow, and her (not knowing the properties of wool) put the hat in the dryer to, well, dry it.

Are. You. Kidding. Me.

After being slightly heartbroken and then explaining the properties of wool and how they have scales on their fibers so that leads them to felt when being wet and agitated, Nikki got it. And I love Nikki, she's a best friend and a part of the Dream Team, so for this year's birthday gift, I decided to knit her another hat.
This hat is the same pattern as my Mariposa hat, only using Manos del Uruguay yarn. I believe I purchased this yarn at Weaving Works in Seattle a few years back (again- using up the stash!). The colors seemed right for Nikki, and I know she enjoys the variegation of color in hats. While taking a break from my market bag (which I finished last nite, btw), I whipped up this hat.

I finally saw Nikki this past weekend while we were meeting up with the girls and gave her the hat. As the nite went on, we decided to have a photo shoot with the hat:

Here is Kayla wearing the hat

And Carrie wearing the hat

And, finally, Nikki wearing the hat. Can you sense the anticipation for winter to come???

Next post: logan square market bag!


playlist: nikki's birthday hat

"let the cool goddess rust away" - clap your hands say yeah!
"can you tell" - ra ra riot
"lost coastlines" - okkervil river
"heart it races" - architecture in helsinki
"yeah yeah" - matt & kim
"ambling alp" - yeasayer
"let's go surfing" - the drums
"whirring" - the joy formidable
"10:1" - rogue wave

project: adam's pants

Is this really the last week of May, and only the 3rd post I've made for the entire month? Ugh. Clearly I've lost all track of time for my projects this month. Let's shoot for a better craft month in June.

I finally made it to the Rhythm Method's show this past Monday, only to be greeted with open arms and another pair of razor crotch pants. Hard to believe, but this was the third pair of razor crotch pants I have fixed this year, total of 4 so far in my life. Clearly, the word is getting out that I can help you with your razor crotch needs.

So Adam from the Rhythm Method gave me his favorite jeans to repair. I have to say, this is the worst case of razor crotch I have been called onto repair thus far. Like, yarns have disappeard. There were three holes all leading to one another. And on top of that, one belt loop was half way off cause the yarns were worn away (HOW??). But I said I would fix this, and am always up for a good challenge!

The before picture of Adam's pants

And so, since so many yarns were missing, I really had no choice but to have the patchwork denim show through. Sigh. I tried my best on the large hole in the front, but that was a tough one. I should have probably cut away the excess white yarns, but I think they will eventually wear off in time.

I'm hoping that the repair is acceptable for Adam, as it was quite a challenge. I guess I should now start marketing myself by saying, "will repair razor crotch pants for beer."

On another note, this Friday is another Windy City Soul Club...and I didn't finish my dress. Next month? I have, however, started a research sketchbook that will hopefully get me on Project Runway Season 9. Come on- we all know that the show is in need of a quirky, red headed vegetarian that can't keep her mouth shut to save her life...right??


playlist: adam's pants

"walking with a ghost" - tegan and sara
"let's go surfing" - the drums
"despicable dogs" - small black
"sunrise/sunset" - the dutchess & the duke
"the way i feel inside" - the zombies
"title and registration" - death cab for cutie
"no sleep" - sam roberts
"digging a hole" - the chapin sisters

project: circular knitting needle organizer

Last week, I was attacked by my circular knitting needles.

While I was on the hunt for my size 9 16" circulars to start a hat, I got lost in the tangled web of circular knitting needles. I had been tossing all of them into a ziploc bag to keep them all together and "organized," but this wasn't going to be acceptable any longer.

When I finished class on Tuesday, I realized that I had no plans for the afternoon/evening. This would be the only afternoon for the rest of the week that I had free, so I was going to take advantage of it. I decided that I would make a circular knitting needle organizer. I went to the fabric store, bought some calico fabric, drew a quick sketch of what I wanted my organizer to look like, and got sewing!

My first mistake was not drawing a technical sketch of how I wanted everything to be finished. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, and the main reason for that was because I was working from a design that was in my head. So I cut the binding wrong, but made it work somehow. I did decided to back the main floral fabric with muslin to add some stability. Another thing I would have done different is to put two small tabs at the top to hang the organizer, not one long strip of fabric.

The best part about this project was slipping all of the various needles into their designated size slots! That and hanging it on the wall. It fits perfect right next to my window, and I can't wait to get my yarn racks made to place right next to them on the wall. It feels good to be getting organized!

Oh, and the last thing I would like to share is a picture of the Mucho Margarita Cupcakes I made for FD221's Seis de Mayo party last week. Hands down, the best cupcakes I ever decorated...and tasted. And yes, they were vegan. Yum.




playlist: circular knitting needle organizer

"stay close" - delorean
"mouthwash" - kate nash
"friends with lofts" - netherfriends
"stillness is the move" - dirty projectors
"angel echoes" - four tet
"she comes alive" - baby monster
"life magazine" - cold cave
"rough gem" - islands
"antichrist television blues" - arcade fire

project: mariposa hat

The Windy City Soul Club dress didn't make it to Friday's event. I tried it on: too big. So I need to fit it and make some alterations. The new goal for the dress is May 28th. It looks absolutely stunning! The fabrics are great together, and I think the colors will still work with my skin tone. Future blog posts about the dress to come!

In the mean time, that knit tank top I was working on got pushed to the side for a mindless project, like a hat. Every year I visit Minneapolis to see friends and family, and always like to check out the LYS while I'm there. So while visiting back in 2008, I stopped by Linden Hills Yarn and was overwhelmed by their AMAZING Malabrigo selection. I don't know what was going on with the yarn stores in Seattle, but none of them carried much Malabrigo yarn. Major bummer!

While drooling all over the Malabrigo selection, my eye was immediately drawn to this one color way called Mariposa. As we all know, red heads look good in green. This green was a beautiful mix of mint, with hints of chartreuse and then flecks of purple and brown along the way. Gorgeous! I had to have it for a hat.

Upon getting back to Seattle, I started searching for a hat pattern that would suit this lovely yarn. I came across a pattern called "The Amanda Hat" by Sleepy Eyes Knitting. I printed the pattern out, and didn't do anything with it until last Monday. Noticing a trend?

Pattern was a piece o'cake. I knit it up in a week (mostly on the blue line to and from work). I'm extremely happy that the colors did not pool, and are all spaced out really well. The hat a little big on me, but I do have a ridiculously small head size at 21 1/2" inches. Why do I know this? Thank you, grad school wig class.

So one more project completed that I can't wear until Fall! But hey- the yarn is out of my stash and one more project has been checked off the list! Woohoo!


playlist: mariposa hat

"like janis" - rodriguez
"the funeral" - band of horses
"fly around my pretty little miss" - built to spill
"i don't blame you" - cat power
"quicksand" - david bowie
"rose parade" - elliott smith
"do you realize??" - the flaming lips
"perfect day" - lou reed
"recommendation" - mirah
"don't let it bring you down" - neil young
"winterlong" - the pixies
"please please please let me get what i want" - the smiths
"marquee moon" - television

Props to Adam for making this wicked rad playlist!

project: baby socks

So I'm a little premature with posting this baby sock project (ZING!), but I know I will have the second sock done this evening. I'm totally loving knitting baby socks, because I can finish a set in a day, rather than a month (as it would take me that long for regular adult socks).

My friend Angie is due to have a baby girl this June, and I had this scrap Cascade Fixation yarn from 2008 when I knit a pair of baby socks for newborn Nora James. Cascade Fixation is an interesting yarn because it uses cotton as a primary fiber, but also sneaks in some spandex! It is a great yarn for baby socks especially, since you don't have to worry as much about the socks falling off the baby's feet. This was an easy project with all of the supplies ready to go! Now I just need to finish the other sock, make a little card, and send it off to Seattle. One thing at a time- finish the second sock today...

While I have actually semi-completed one sock so far, I have really been all over the place this week. While I have been working on the baby socks, I have also been knitting that tank top I described in the last post with the yarn from 2005. Man, the pattern for that Caprice tank by Rowan yarn stresses me out! It is definitely not a mindless knit, and if this tank does not go through this time around- I'm done and giving away the yarn. The tank itself is really cute, but in my opinion, the pattern is written terribly. Major frustrations.

On top of the two knitting projects, I have also had this grand idea to make a dress for this upcoming Friday's Windy City Soul Club. Again, I've been doing really good about using up what fabric or yarn is in my stash. I came across this polka dot metallic/silk blend the other day while cleaning, and thought it would be really cute to use in the top half of a 1950's inspired dress. I brought the fabric into my class to get some opinions on coordinating a fabric, and the decision amongst the students was to find an ivory satin to match the ivory polka dots in the metallic fabric. I was a little hesitant, only because I am really pale, and didn't know how well ivory will look against my currently winter-hibernated legs. But I do have a pair of dark shoes that I think will go with the dress, and if it doesn't work, then I need to wear a pair of tights (which means it will then be a winter holiday dress).

I bought the ivory fabric yesterday, and have the pattern pretty much completed. I would love to start cutting it out and sewing it up this evening as well, so I can maybe have someone fit it for me on Tuesday. It's overall a really simple design, it's just finding the time to sew during the week. Again, this is really ambitious of me to try and make this dress in a week, but hey, I made a shirt dress in a day, right??



playlist: baby socks

"gigantic" - the pixies
"lean woman blues" - t.rex
"new kind of kick" - the cramps
"walk a mile" - holly golightly
"i'm so free" - lou reed
"when i'm with you" - best coast
"jezebel" - reverend horton heat
"the kkk took my baby away" - the ramones
"breakout a-town" - julie ruin

I was kinda going for a lo-fi theme with this playlist...I don't know why. Blame it on the weather?