project: karma's winter sweater

Karma, all tuckered out in her new sweater

Karma is a Florida dog, and will always be a Florida dog. Which is why her haircut is still always a 1/4" shave. But the temperature here in Chicago finally dropped the other day, and I knew that she was gonna be one cold puppy if I didn't get this sweater done.

This sweater is actually a second go around. I've been wanting to make Karma a sweater since moving to Chicago, but didn't like any of the patterns out there. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. Last winter I went to Target, purchased a dog sweater I liked and that would fit her, took all the measurements from it as well as some pictures, and returned it. Then I started coming up with my own design based off the yarn I was going to use and the final look I wanted it to have.

I used Malabrigo Rios yarn for both sweaters, which was perfect since it's a superwash wool and a great mid-weight yarn. The colorway shown in the pictures here is Candombe. I used a size 7 needle for both straight and circular.


The first sweater came out too big and a little short in the chest area. So I decreased this pattern by about 8 sts all over, and added a turtleneck collar. It still seems a little short in the chest area again, so this dog might be so lucky as to get a third sweater by the time winter is over. If that one works out, I'll write up the pattern for it and post it for my fellow puppy loving knitters!

She's a little camera shy

I also put together a wintery holiday playlist!

playlist: karma's winter sweater

1. "i do not care for the winter sun" - beach house
2. "artificial snow" - atlas sound
3. "kindle a flame in her heart" - los campensinos!
4. "star witness" - neko case
5. "17" - youth lagoon
6. "christmas wrapping" - summer camp
7. "sister winter" - sufjan stevens
8. "gift" - firebird band

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: 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: 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!