I just need a little Breathing Space!

After six months, I finally finished something yesterday. Something big that will quickly become my favorite thing to wear. 

"Breathing Space" by Veera Välimäki. It's pretty likely you may have seen this pattern, as it is from the ever popular "Interpretations" series and has been made 1691 times on Ravelry. Also, Veera is pretty famous for her work, especially her "Color Affection" Shawl. 

Mine happened by accident.  I have had 2 skeins of Malabrigo Sock, in the colorways "Lettuce" and "Solice" for a few years now, having bought on sale.  I had been looking for something to pair these two with and I was flipping through the Interpretations book one day and fell in love with this pattern.  I quickly bought a second skein of Solice and got to work.  This was in July of 2017. 

When I started, I ran into a few kinks, the main one being my gauge, which was off by a few rows (more rows per inch than the pattern asked for).  As my stitch gauge was correct, I went with it, knowing I'd need more rows/stripes to equal their numbers.  It was pretty smooth sailing for awhile until I got to the bottom part of the body this past December. The math got confusing and I just couldn't decide how long I wanted it.  I ended up binding off and then un-binding to make longer. 

The sleeves were the same story, having decided to make them a little bit longer and having to redo a few things on them.  But I'm pretty happy with the length and so glad I did redo things. I bound off for real on Saturday evening, February 17.  Exactly 8 months after Ravelry says I started. 

The whole time I was trying it on as I went - a perk of sweaters in the round - and it fit pretty well, so I was a little worried blocking may make it huge.  But it really needed some breath (yes, pun intended) and so I took the leap and blocked.  Let me just say that I am very glad I did! It's so nice and drapes really well on me now. 

A few more notes:

• I actually provisionally casted on at the neck, as I wanted to go back and do a stretchy bind off on it.  I am glad that I did, but pulling out that provisional cast on was a pain.  I think I did it wrong :/
• I decided to make a "gradual fade" at the bottom of the body and sleeves with the stripes, which I enjoy. Although I wish I had striped it longer before going back to solid.
• The stripe pattern is 2 rows one color, 2 rows the other. If you look at the body close enough you will see a stripe that is a bit thicker.  That's my "Birthday Stripe" which is from when I had too much wine on my birthday and ended up doing 3 rows of the darker color.  I like telling that story, so it stayed.
• The diagonal rows are created by one of my favorites, short rows, and so much fun to work.
• I will likely make another some day, but I need a break for now.  It was suggested I try it with random stripes of sock yarn.  Yay?

For the record, I will NEVER paint in this sweater. In fact, I'm even scared to wear it to school on days we will be painting.  BUT it felt appropriate to do some studio shots in it, as it's such an artsy piece.

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Thank you for taking the time to read today.  I have the day off from school for President's Day and had to stop and blog for a bit.  But now I need to get back to life, AKA dying yarn all afternoon. 

~Lisa 

The Knitting Police

Ever feel like you just have too many WIPs on your needles?  While most knitters will laugh and say "There's no knitting police!" or "There's never too many",  I still feel some days that maybe I'm overwhelming myself with projects.

Today is one of those days, as I sit back and look at all the projects I have started and realize that the odds of finishing them all by Christmas is a pretty lofty goal.

First on my list is the cowl that I am designing with my handdyed yarn in the colorway "Fallen Moon Drops".  Featuring staggered double-yarnover holes and a feather and fan border, this is coming a long nicely.  I'm hoping to write up and publish the pattern before my first festival showing. 

Something inside of me felt an impulse last week to knit some dishcloths for a friend who just moved, despite the overwhelming load of knitting/art/work things I already have on my plate.  Luckily, these are fast and I should be done with the set of three by tonight.

I need to return to my Breathing Space sweater soon also, as I would love to have it done in time to wear when it finally gets cooler here.  However, all these other WIPs seem to be calling me instead.  I do enjoy the beauty of the teal paired with the green though and will hopefully return to this come September.

Started at the beginning of the summer as a crochet tank top, I ran out of yarn after the first side and gave up.  And then a miracle happened and one of our Guild members had some of the same yarn she was destashing.  I grabbed that up and went to town, turning this tank into a tee that I can hopefully wear to work.  Right now I'm just starting the back side, crocheting it all in once piece and then folding it over to seam.

Last, but not least, is something I NEED to start, but haven't had time to.  The year of socks has come to a halt, as I haven't done any for August yet and even if I start them now, probably won't be able to catch up to 12 pairs.  However, I do know what my next pair will be! I participate in Big Brothers Big Sisters and my little turns 11 next month.  She always envies my knitting and I just know she'd love a pair of socks.  So if all goes according to plan, this yarn will become a new pair for her. ;)

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Whats on your needles right now? Too many or not enough? Has the knitting police found you yet!? 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll see you on the flip side.

~Lisa

Been Too Long (again)

One would think that having no real job, but lots of time to create would give me time to photograph things and update on here more. Yea right....

I have lots of new knit things to share today! Maybe that's why it's been so long - I was waiting to share all at once.

Flying Home Socks

I don't think I've ever started a finished a pair of socks in a week, so doing so with this pair made me really happy. The reason, not so much. I started this pair right before having to emergency fly home to attend a funeral for my last living Grandmother. It was a sad time, many tears were shed (but not me - I don't get emotional).  But back to socks. I was able to get the first one completely finished in transit back to KS.  I stayed the whole week just for kicks, and ended up finishing the second one during that time. The yarn is Verdant Gryphon Bugga! that I received as a gift. It's probably been my favorite to work with, what with the cashmere content. The pattern is Show Off Stranded Socks by Anne Campbell. Yet another "Almost Vanilla" project that I loved! 

Flying Back hat

After finishing the socks at home I ran into a dilemma. I had packed my sweater project, but in the rush I didn't pack enough of the yarn. So I couldn't finish it like I hoped. And I had no other projects other than my needles and the left over Bugga! I COULD NOT spend another day flying and layovers without a knitting project. The result was a quick Hobby Lobby run (when you're poor and it's a hat, you make do) for some basic white DK yarn. I was able to start and almost finish this hat that day as I traveled back to Texas.  The pattern? Fruju Hat. It actually calls for self-striping, but there is no reason you can't just use two yarns ;). Yet another pattern I will remember for the future.

Texas Tell It 

And now the big reveal. I am farely certain I have mentioned my "Tell it Slant" sweater on here at least twice. The yarn was purchased at my new (and favorite) LYS, W.C. Mercantile on my birthday weekend with the intention of making this sweater. I loved the pattern and design and use of short rows. And my use of blue really helps it pop! I ended up redoing the sleeve cuffs three times because of length, but otherwise there were really no kinks. My only wish is that the neck wasn't so scoopy. But I could have fixed that if I really wanted to. The pattern is "Tell it Slant" by Mary Annarella. The yarn I used was HiKoo Simplicity. I have a little less than one whole skein of each color left, which means I need to find it a good colorwork project to become. 

The irony is that it is currently 70 out here in Texas. But I am still wearing this as much as I can, after all, a good sweater means you don't need a jacket!  And it's fairly light weight, so I think this spring I can still get away with it.

Weekly Inspirations:

Knitting: I am currently designing some toe up socks to use with this yarn. It took me forever, but I think I finally got a good thing going. 

Art: I hit up some art shows in Houston last weekend. I got to see some really inspiring works. Especially at this show. And the interesting thing is that I realized after that I remember seeing Jackie Titleston in a magazine in undergrad and loving her. So amazing to see it in person!

Food: No new recipes, just random experiments. But if you feel like reading a rant, I posted my opinion on restaurants and calorie lists on my food blog. 

Life: Maybe I should eliminate this category. Life is usually everything I already talked about on here. 

I hope that weather you are enjoying the warm weather or snowed in and cold you are able to have a good week !

~Lisa

WIP Wednesday Round-up

I haven't done many WIP Wednesday posts as of late, but it seemed fitting for today because I have so many WIPs happening around here and being home for the holiday this week is giving me lots of time to work on them!

I'm still knitting balls, and although this photo looks exactly like the last one, I promise it's a different ball. I'm discovering different ways of making them using short-rows. I even made a square by accident last week!

This scarf has been on the needles for a couple months now. It's my "movie theater" scarf - I take it with my anywhere that I can knit without looking. It's been to three movies, a couple of knit groups and of course my couch! I'm really excited to finish it and I'm hoping that will happen between the movie tonight and the plane ride Saturday. 

My "Texas Tell it!" is going well also. It's so easy (Although those short rows aren't the most fun when you have to purl). I finally hit the second color - the blue - and it's turning out really beautiful. I didn't bring the light brown with me back to Kansas though so if I get to that point before the weekend I'll have to put it on hold.

Finally, I was going through my yarn stash here and found this scarf that I started over four years ago. When I started it I was only about a year into my knitting career and I was struggling through it. I decided to pull it out and take a crack at it, and now it's flying off the needles. I guess that goes to show how much better I've gotten over the past years!

Weekly Inspirations:
Knitting: I have a few Christmas presents on the horizon, including another one of my cat hats (for my sister) and a market bag (for my secret santa).
Art: Some of my former classmates are having their BFA shows coming up. I'm really sad that I am going to miss them (being in TX) but I can't wait to see the photos from the show. This one in particular I am really sad about missing!
Food: I had planned on making this pumpkin/pecan pie for the holiday tomorrow, but extenuating circumstances may change that. Either way, this recipe is on my radar.
Life: Speaking of extenuating circumstances - my dad fell at work this morning and broke his knee. So the holiday is pretty much shot for us and he's pretty much bound to his chair for the next month. I am really feeling for him and everything he's about to go through...

If you are in the US, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. And if not, I hope you are enjoying your week.

~Lisa

FO Friday: Bucket List Review

It's pretty much the middle of the year and after finishing my Salacia I decided to take a look at my 2013 goals, since I know the Salacia was on it. Turns out that I actually have more done from that list then I thought.

First of all, I was able to finish the very first thing on my list, knit an in-the-round pullover, Dragonflies. I am not going to go into detail here, but if you want more information, you can read my post about it.

What I really wanted to talk about was my recent completed project.

SALACIA.

(huge thanks to my amazing sister for the photos!)

I successfully finished her up last Saturday and proudly walked into my LYS wearing her, only to be met with great enthusiasm. Kennita and all my knitting friends were so proud of me and all agree this pattern was definitely made for me. :)

When I first saw this pattern in the Spring issue of Knitscene I knew it was going to be the first of many that I knitted out of it. I quickly rushed off to Wildflower where I had some amazing help picking the perfect yarn -- Nashua Natural Focus Ecologie Cotton.  A lovely 100% Cotton worsted weight yarn, I fell in love the second I started knitting. It's so easy to hand and so easy to wash that I wish it wasn't going to be discontinued.

Starting out I was a bit worried. This pattern is intense lace and also in parts, which meant SEAMING. I have never seamed anything before so the idea scared me. The lace did too, but I quickly had the pattern memorized and ended up with very few mistakes on all 3 body pieces. (And the ones I do have you can't notice.) The sleeves however are loaded. There is something about the cellular lace stitch that always messes me up (See - Make up your mind tank).

Well I quickly worked through all the parts and was ready to seam. Once again, I am eternally grateful to have such an amazing LYS and people there to help me. Kennita walked me through the basic seaming process at knit night last week and before I knew it I was seaming like crazy. And you know what? It wasn't even that hard! That's right, seaming will no longer scare me when it comes to knitting. That's something I never thought I'd say!

Overall, this will be my favorite summer cardigan, I seriously think it is going to get it's money's worth and then some in wear. Besides my friend's wedding next week, I just see myself wearing it over any and everything. I am just too proud of it not to :)

And with that, another item is crossed off my bucket list:

Last year I wanted to conquer lace and I feel like I did. Well this year I want to FINISH something lace, with very few mistakes. I have some amazing bison blend yarn that would make a lovely lace scarf! - Although the lace scarf didn't happen, this is even better! (And as a bonus I can add seaming to that list!)

Finally, I wanted to do a quick recap of my knitting progression on tops. When I started 4 years ago I never thought I'd be knitting sweaters, and now it's all I want to knit!

Date refers to finishing date :)

I hope everyone had a great week! I sure have. I spent all day yesterday at the cutest little coffee and book shop knitting away. It was amazing!

~Lisa

And its FO Friday over at Tami's Amis!

I wish...

Super Epic (and late) FO Friday

Wow, I have 30 minutes left and then it's officially Saturday here! Considering my lack of any real productivity today, the hours still flew by....

I have been patiently waiting to share this post with you guys, for it is a major milestone for me! However, lack of roomies means I have to find other means of photography, so I wasn't able to get pictures until my parents came to visit for dinner, hence the late post. But without further ado, I introduce my proudest knit piece to date: DRAGONFLIES!

Knitted with Cascade Pacific, in a berry wine color, this sweater is my first in the round pullover and definitely not the last. Seriously, why have I not knitted more of these!

The size on this fits perfect with a top underneath and still allows for breathing room. The only mistakes I made were a couple in the cables on the back (but since it was the back I didn't really care), and I did the decrease on the  left arm on the outside instead of inside, but it's not a noticeable thing. I really like the edging for the bottom, neck and sleeves: it's nice to see something besides ribbing, although the rows of purls were a bit tedious. I decided to shorten the neck height, and I'm glad I did. It's a bit snug to get my head through as it is.

Overall, this is a lovely pattern and one I would definitely recommend for anyone wanting to knit a simple yet elegant pullover.  I am a bit worried about the yarn, for it reminds me a bit of my Vintage sweater, which has started to pill already.  And I love it so much I know it will get lots of wear, which means I need to learn how to seriously hand wash, because I am not about to put this in the machine. I wish the stitch definition was a bit better on the pattern, but beggars cannot be choosers.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. They're expecting more snow here in KS; go figure.

~Lisa

WIP Wednesday: Halfsies!

This week's post is dedicated to halves. As in, every project I have is half done. 

Let's start with those socks. I finished sock number one over the weekend and have since started sock 2. Although I don't really know when it will get done, with school work, it's on the top of my list. Isn't the color just amazing? I love how it pools. I do wish you could see the pattern a bit more, but beggars can't be choosers. I can't wait to see how sock 2 comes out. 

The next halfsie is something I haven't talked about lately on my blog, but I really want to get done. My Dragonflies sweater that I started at the end of my school break. I just finished the 2nd repeat of the body pattern before I cast on those socks. I tried it on and it fit PERFECT. I really really want this bad boy done, I wish I would stop getting distracted by my other projects. And don't forget life. Life is important too. 

Bad photo -- my camera hates this sweater!

Mom's Christmas gift is literally half way done. Exactly 40 out of the 80 inches it needs to be. I've been knitting on it at Wildflower knit nights, because it's my only "Wildflower yarn" project right now. She'll get it by next Christmas haha. It's practically a blanket, it keeps me really warm when I work on it. 

Finally, I should probably just classify this one as "in hibernation" because I haven't touched it since December. The Autumn shawl I started for a KAL with Evelyn at Project: Stash. I had been working on it before figure class last semester, but then the yarn got all tangled and I just have had nothing but grief with it. I wish I didn't have so many issues, because it's MALABRIGO! Ugh. But to prove that it fits today's theme, I pulled it out for this photo to find myself HALF WAY through a row. Wow...shows how much I care about this one.

I'm half way through a lot of other things right now. A collaborative spinning project with Ivy; a painting; an interesting drawing experiment. The list could go on and on. Why do I keep doing this to myself? I've been having trouble focusing lately. Oh the joys of being a senior.

~Lisa

And don't forget Tami's Amis :)

Welcoming 2013 with Dragonflies and Friends :)

Today I spent the afternoon with my amazing friend Ivy, of whom I have know a couple years now and thoroughly  love spending time with. Since she was visiting me in Salina, we absolutely had to visit the gem of a yarn shop, Yarns: Sold and Told.

This is one of those shops I hardly buy from but wish I could more. I love looking at all the amazing colors, yarns and brands they carry. The selection is far superior to the selection at the shop in my college town, Wildflower.  My budget has been really tight lately, but I knew when I was going to get the yarn for my first pullover (Dragonflies) eventually. So one thing led to another and I walked about with 7 skeins of Cascade Pacific. 

Cascade Pacific is 60% Acrylic, 40% Merino and super smooth and squishy. I picked out the most beautiful wine color and could not resist, despite my lack of a decent income.

I couldn't wait to get started, so I broke down and purchased the pattern when I got home and promptly started swatching. As it turns out this yarn is more a light worsted than DK, which brought me a bit of anguish when I started. Luckily, going down a needle size and blocking my swatch led to the perfect gauge and a very excited me. 

And now comes the fun part, casting on. I am a bit scared, the pattern looks pretty difficult to be honest. But I told myself I'd do it and I am bound and determined. This sweater is seriously calling my name. 

As I mentioned, me and Ivy had a chance to hang out today. We spent a good couple hours of stitch and bitch at the cutest coffee and book shop downtown. It was such a great way to just relax for a day and hang out with someone so like minded. 

And Ivy being amazing, she brought goodies with her. The cookbook is going to become one of my favorites and the yarn (Berroco Borealis) is going to make an amazing cowl when I get around to it. Ivy knows me so well! 

As soon as I finish this post I'm casting on my sweater .I cannot wait to share my progress with you all. Hopefully if all goes well I will be crossing something off my resolutions list pretty soon. 

~Lisa 

Max getting Horny :)

WIP Wednesday: Busy, Busy, Busy!

Ok, where did the week go? Seriously??! It's already Wednesday night, which means the tomorrow is Thursday (my last day of classes for the week) and then the weekend, in which I am going home for my Grandma's 90th birthday. WHOA.

As of yesterday I have not one, not two, but THREE WIP's on the knitting front, plus some more spindle drawing spinning, a painting, and a new drawing project.  How do I have time for this and stay sane? Really?

First on the list is my Berry-boned wrists, a pattern by a good friend and fellow blogger, Alicia at Woolen Diversions. I started these over the summer with yarn I dyed with berries, but got a bit bored. Well I picked them back up last week and finished the first and started the second! I can't wait to finish them. Looks like I will have lots of extra yarn too!

Then there is my Mom's Millanese Wrap.  This would be so much further if I'd stop casting on other stuff in the process.  Contrary to the shortness of the pattern and the repeats, this pattern likes to mess with me. It's not mindless, that is for sure! It has some issues with the YO's and decreases.  There are already a few mistakes. In fact the reason I haven't picked it up in awhile is cuz of a mistake.....

I didn't think I'd cast on anything new until I finished the Berry-boned Wrists, but then I saw the fall KAL for the High Plains Drifter Shawl on Eveyln's Project: Stash KAL and had to join in! This is such a simple project and I've been loving my shawls/light weight scarves a lot lately, so I can always use another! This is being made with some amazing Malabrigo Sock yarn that Ivy sent me for my birthday last year.  It took a bit of coaxing to use it but I am so glad I am!

I have finally found the motivation to work on my painting, so that is coming a long pretty nicely, but still very slow. I feel like I am playing paint by numbers with it or something.  On the drawing front, I started my new project today and had amazing success. I think the best part is that it will keep me active as well!

For more WIP's check out Tami's Amis!

~Lisa