Aug 1, 2007

Ravelry, I Blame You

TF first sock 1There is so much to say, I keep forgetting to take pictures of things and post them. lol Last night I was up til 5am on Ravelry. Knitting keeps me up at night. Really, I couldn't sleep last night thinking about my latest projects/ideas. First there was the impending spending spree. Justin told me I could spend $50 since I hadn't been buying much yarn lately. (The yarn from Philly was bought on my card) So I was online doing some pre-shopping, and then I realized that I actually have plenty of yarn. And that what I really wanted to do, I didn't want to do in Project Spectrum colors. However, I did just buy that lovely hemp for a modified Eiffel. Instead of long sleeves I plan on just doing a little cap sleeve, maybe with some lace detail. What do you guys think?

Eiffel swatch


We'll talk about Eiffel first. So far I have swatched once, it didn't work out so well. No matter how far I stretched it, it would only reach 4.5". I CO enough for 5 though. Unfortunately, you have to block the swatches to get an accurate measurement. So it is sitting all wet and pinned out on the floor. Looking sad and wrong. Gotta wait til it dries to measure and try again. (the post from this point forward was written the next day) I was right, the swatch was off. I got Twisted Flowers SSS17sts to 4". Boo. But I'll just go up to size 7s. I swatched...kinda. lol However, I plan on finishing Twisted Flower before I actually cast-on for Eiffel.

Yes, that's right, I've got SSS! Which I don't think has ever actually happened to me before. The second sock now has a turned heel, and I am slowly working through the top of foot chart. There are basically 59 rows (49, plus a 5 row repeat that I did twice and should have done three times...I'm ahead of myself though), and I am on row 19. *sigh* Forty more before I can start Eiffel. I think Bockstark wanted to see some better pics, there are more on Ravelry and Flickr. Oh, you know you can see Ravelry on the computer in the background. lol

My shopping spree went very well. I spent more than Justin said I could, but shhhh you don't know anything about that. lol Only like $10 over my limit. Anyways, let's talk about what I purchased. Because I know that is all you guys wanna hear about. :D First I bought some Cascade Sierra for the Shapely Lace Tee from KLS. sierra 2We've had this yarn in the shop for awhile now, and every time I see it I want it. Even though it is red, and I don't like red! It is just very pretty and soft. Next up, I bought the Goddess pattern from StitchDiva. They were having a sale, and I've been kinda loving this pattern since I spotted it on the site. Way back when the Sexy Knitters Club was doing their Sahara KAL. So, I snagged it. Then, of course, I had to find the perfect yarn for it. Something with a lot of drape...and fingering weight?! So, I swatched some sport weight cotton I had sitting around, 29sts over 4" on size 3s. The exact same gauge as the example yarn. Woohoo! I knew SWTC made a great bamboo yarn (because I have some), and I remembered it being really lightweight. When I looked it up it turned out to be sport weight (yes!) and I saw this. Could it seriously be any prettier? Hopefully it is really that color, because it's gorgeous and I'm excited! That was where the extra money went. Goddess will be next on the needles after Eiffel.

KLS Halter 6


tunic fin 1I took a ton of update pictures, better shots of things for Ravelry and whatnot. Finally put the elastic into my boy shorts, so I took a picture of the halter/shorts combo. Oh! And I got some shots of Nolie in his little hoodie. This is such a great pattern, generally I don't like the Knitting Pure & Simple patterns because they have no shaping really. However, for a baby that is perfect. Also, I've been spinning a little. It's Beaten from Serendipity Fibers on Etsy. I love the colors as well as the name. Get it? Beaten black and blue? Get it? lol Lastly, I snagged a shot of the huge sweater on the mannequin in the shop. It looks better on something other than my floor. As usual, click any pic to see it larger.

beaten 4 sweater in store

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Jul 28, 2007

Absence Makes the Needles Go Faster

My computer is still...problematic. It doesn't work right. So I keep using the old one, which is soooooo slow. I am impatient, so you can imagine that I just don't have the time to deal with it most days. This means, no I have not really been reading mail, blogs, or posting. Instead I fill my time with knitting. Except...I have nobody to share it with!! ACK! This will be a long post. Prepare yourselves.

I'll begin with the post I wanted to do immediately after my last one. That same day, in the mail I recieved this lovely stitch marker. Sunne sent it to me in angel wing 2rememberance of my FIL. Her family has a tradition to give a seemingly normal object that can (in some way) create new things, so that the love you have for the person who has passed, becomes a part of this new thing. In this case, a stich marker, used in creating garments. Right now it's being used on something for one of the children. We'll get to that. First, I want to tell you how incredible this simple gift is. Whether or not Sunne knew any of this, I can't be sure. My heritage is a mystery to me. My parents and grandparents don't really seem to know anything about it either, or can't tell me. Or maybe won't. Because of that, I've always been obsessed with traditions and cultures with a proud/strong heritage. Tradition is important to me, and it fascinates me. To become a part of someone else's family tradition is truly touching. It makes me feel special, especially since Sunne has never met me, and we live across the country from one another. Thank you so much! I really appreciate this! Not only that but, well, it's supposed to be an angel's wing, but I've decided gracefully gathered 3in this case it's an eagle's wing. My FIL was a Harley man, and every time I look at the stitch marker, that is what it makes me think of. It's just the most perfect thing ever. Okay, I'm actually tearing up (out of gratitude, mind you), so it's time to move on. lol

The best thing about summer knits? They require very little yarn and time. Especially since the ones I've chosen this summer are done on larger needles. Most of the patterns I see for summer are done on size 5 or 6 needles. But so far, since I've been back, the needle range for my projects has been between 8 and 10.5. First there was Coachella. Then the Gracefully Gathered Halter and Boy Shorts from Knitting Lingerie Style. Both were finished in a matter of five days, total. Sleeping would probably help. :D Still need to put the elastic in the shorts, totally procrastinating on that, it's not the highlight of my life. I might not take pictures of me actually wearing the shorts. Then again, I might. Who knows.

boy short 1


So, that was done. What next? I mean, I have no internet so I might as well start a new project. lol Actually, next I started the Ruched Camisole, also from KLS*. But well, Elizabeth, did you warn me about the Rowan Kidsilk Haze? It's SO freakin fiddly and difficult to work with. To get gauge I had to go from a size 9US to a blue sky cottonsize 10.5US!! And I just wanted to rip it out every three second. Maybe if I double it, it would be easier? What do you all think?

After my disaster with the Kidsilk, I ditched that idea for a time when I'm less stressed (which will be...when exactly?). At the LYS this past Tuesday, actually, it might have been Wednesday, I can't be sure. It's not important. Anyway, (it had to be Wednesday), I did some yarn substitution checking and pricing for several KLS projects. I badly wanted to buy some too, but resisted the urge. We don't have that much money right now. Instead I bought a baby sweater pattern ($4) and went home to my stash. Nolan's birthday is two weeks away, and there is some beautiful Blue Sky tunic 1Organic Cotton sitting in there. Actually, I'd been waiting for the LYS to get another shipment of patterns from Knitting Pure & Simple. The pattern had already been chosen for the yarn, she just ran out of them. lol When I found it there in the shop, I snatched it up.

Can I just tell you how in love I am? With both the yarn and the pattern. If it weren't so expensive (rightly so) I would make myself something with the Organic Cotton. It's sooo soft. The color is beautiful. In this pattern too, it just looks so natural and perfect. Just wow. Then I found, amongst my sewing stash, these baby tunicadorable buttons. When this is done I want to do some nice wool sweaters (using this pattern) for Kyran and Heather too. They can all have the same button. It'll be cute. For Heather I might have to line it though, she has really sensitive skin. Mr. Shad stole my camera (again) so you'll have to deal with crappy webcam pictures of my progress.

With all of that happy sounding stuff, I don't think I want to go into why I am mad today. But Mr. Shad owes me some yarn, some cute shoes, some lovin and maybe a pattern book. It depends on what bills we need to pay. lol

*Knitting Lingerie Style will be KLS from this point on. I'm sick of typing it out all of the time, and I plan on doing a LOT of knitting from this book.

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Jul 22, 2007

All Aboard the Crazy Train

coachella back 1Actually, I had no really good title. That's just completely random.

I realized a few days ago that I neglected to take pictures of the back of my Coachella. Which is kind of important considering that it's the only part that is different. From the front it looks exactly the same. Mr. Shad says that he likes the opening in the back...because it shows of my tattoo. lol I'll let you know when I believe that. Anyways, a few things I would change if I did it again: either not knit the beginning and end on smaller needles, or at least not Ktbl. It made the edges so firm that they don't really roll. :( Since I didn't knit the back piece, I just CO the extra stitches. I should have done that on smaller needles. Maybe not 7s. Maybe just 8s? I don't know. But it has a tendency to slip sometimes. Which wouldn't be a problem if that didn't mean bra exposure.

Also, finished the huge sweater Friday night. sweater comparisonTook it into the shop on Saturday. So my pictures were taken at night. Sorry about that. Linda (LYS owner) loved it. Which is great since it was for her. I still stand by my conviction that it is the ugliest sweater I have made. It pretty much reinforces the "old lady sweater" knitting cliche! How am I supposed to convince my friends that knitting is not only cool but hot too?! (wow...did anyone else feel that was contradictory? No? Just me.) To show you exactly how big it is, I put my Wicked sweater on the floor with it. It seriously made me laugh. I still don't know why she had me knit that size, Linda is not that big. Eh, maybe she wants it to be oversized? Either way it's done. Which means...I get to CO for a new project!! Woohoo.

So, in my excitement to be done I swatched and started the Gracefully Gathered Halter top from Knitting Lingerie Style. This is pretty much the best book ever. Maybe other people gracefully gathered 1don't think so. But I am not other people. It's a lovely book, with amazing patterns, beautiful photographs, good instruction, and fun informative writing. Totally worth the $30. Okay, back to the newest WIP. When I swatched I got 15sts over 4" on size 10.5 needles, instead of the 14sts over 4" on size 10 needles. Of course, that could be because I was using a worsted weight yarn instead of a bulky weight. *duh* Oh well, I am convinced that this will work. So far it is. Just to make sure I tried what I have done on. It fits. So all is well. Knitting this made me realize that I am way more attracted to dark color combinations than bright ones. Anyways, this is going SO fast. The piece measures 9" already, and I start the shaping for the back and bust at 11! Thanks again Sunne for the yarn! My LYS owner was impressed that you bought me anything with cashmere in it. lol When I told her you bought me four whole balls she said you must really like me. :D I'm totally rambling. I had to buy some yarn to compensate, apparently I need like...400yds to make the halter and the boy shorts. All four balls of yarn only add up to 350yds. So I bought some Cascade Cotton Rich. Five dollars for 80yds. Not too bad. The white was the only color that I could buy that wasn't like...horribly mismatched. There was a blue and a purplish color, but they were both too light.

cotton rich 1


P.S. You should all favorite Yarn Bouquets, and email the link to your loved ones. It's awesomeness!

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Kitty's Story


Vintage 008

First, I must confess my name isn't Kitty, or anything even close. It just comes from an affinity for cats. Second, I love to craft, create, and imagine. I can draw a bit, knit a lot, and sew just enough to get by. My world revolves around the loves of my life; my three children. Anything more you want to know about me is on Ravelry or check me out on FB!

Crystal Shadrick

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*Disclaimer!* I'm totally crazy. The patterns I offer are often variations of other patterns, things I have reverse engineered. I don't claim to be wonderful and smart and an all-knowing designer. So enjoy them!.

LINK ME!
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