I saw this on the Max Studio website, and I'm in love.
I wish I could say I would knit something like this, but I'll most likely just buy it if I'm still obsessed over it in a month... :(

Not much on the knitting front lately. I really haven't found the time with work and running. I actually ripped out that skirt I was doing. When I had about 6 inches done, I realized this was gonna be one FORM-FITTING skirt. Rather than start up a ruckus at work, I decided adding another inch or so to the width wouldn't be a bad idea. But since I took it apart, I haven't started it back up again. :(

Knitting night is next Tuesday, gonna try to make it to this one this time...

Crocheted Skirt

So it's been a while since my last post. Partly because my frequency for knitting has dropped considerably due to various busy events in my life...

Sock #1 is complete, and it reaches just under my knee. Who knows when Sock #2 will begin, but I'm tired of socks for now...

And so, I have started on a new project -- a skirt for myself.

I was originally going to knit a plain pencil skirt, but then dug up this old pattern I had printed out years ago. The pattern was originally written in Italian, and I guess something got lost in translation... I'm gonna have to ad-lib this one I think.

The pattern is called 'Receita de Semana', which was nice and exotic, till I translated it and found out it just meant 'recipe (pattern) of the week'... how original!

I am using this gorgeous yarn I purchased for $60/box at Smiley's annual yarn sale in Manhattan:

Brand: Grignasco
Color: Burgandy
Fiber: 100% Alpaca
Packing: 50 Grams
Yardage: 110 yards

(The boxed picture most accurately shows the color of the yarn... I don't know why, but the pics below turned out more purple than it really is...)

I decided to go with this pattern because 1) I haven't crocheted anything in a while, 2) I thought the crocheting might make for an interesting texture for a skirt, and 3) I get to use my passed-down crochet hook from my grandmother!

It really does have such sentimental meaning to me. I had thought I had lost it the other day when I put my crochet work in my purse and found it wasn't there when I got home. Luckily I had found that it fell out in my car... I am extra conscious of where I put it now, since I realized how much it meant to me.

Update on dem socks...

Here's the progress of my sock.

Crumpets was finally gifted tonight, after a month-long adventure of getting it to the recipient. I seriously thought at some point, I'd have to end up keeping this little baby girl's dress, and since I don't plan on having any of my own any time soon, it'd sit in my closet as a glaring reminder of how pathetic I was...

Anyways, I digress... Not much has happened on the knitting front. I have basically finished one sock. I will post pictures tomorrow. The calf is about 6 inches long and I can't decide just how long I want it. There is a lot of yarn left. I was thinking of making it to just below knee-level... so it'd be good with boots.

Other than the sock, I and kind of itching to start something new, but can't decide what kind of project to begin next. Obviously having one sock done doesn't do me any good, so I will have to start on the matching pair, but I am bored and want something else on the needles...

Itching for patterns...

I am eagerly awaiting the release of an upcoming Teva Durham crochet book. One of her scarves was the first pattern I paid money to get, I just absolutely love her fashion-forward designs. I am just dying to see what wonderful things she creates in this book, and hopefully will be inspired to do some crochet again in the near future.

In the meantime, I bought the Vogue Knitting - Winter 2006/07 Issue, where I hope to someday knit the cover piece, a gorgeous bolero, or as the designer call it, a "capecho". This stunner was created by Norah Gaughan, who also penned the "Knitting Nature" book that I keep hearing about. Now to just buy some appropriate yarn to get started...

Needle hell

I started this about 2 1/2 year ago when I won some sock yarn at a yarn store drawing. I've never knit socks before, and personally, I think it's a waste of time when socks are mere dollars at the store. It just doesn't seem a good investment of my time when you're reaching 10 stitches per inch...

But, I since I won the yarn, I'd figured I'd give it a shot. I had never sewn up multiple pieces together before, so sock pattern that would knit up all in once piece was REALLY appealing to me. I chose the "Generic You're Putting Me On Socks" pattern.

I loved the fact that you just take measurements of your foot, and plug in values to figure out the stitches. All patterns should be like this!!! :)

So I had started a sock, and actually almost finished one about a year ago. (The sock actually fit onto my foot, but once I got past the heel and was time to go up the calf, I got bored and gave up.) So here was this lonely ankle sock... sitting in the closet, until now.

I pulled it out yesterday, hoping to get at least that sock completely finished. Then I had a crazy thought. On Knitty, they had an article about "extreme" knitting... double-knitting both socks at once...

The thought was too tempting...

In desperation to get two absolutely identical socks knit quickly, I completely ripped apart the existing sock. What a disaster!

Perhaps "extreme" knitting is best left to knitting beautiful tubes 4-5" in diameter. But what I discovered quickly is that the "You're Putting Me On" sock pattern starts at the toe with figure eight cast on..., and that doesn't quite work if you're adapting for double-knitting.

Regret came over me quickly as I suddenly missed that cute little anklet that fit perfectly on my foot.

So here I am. Starting over.

I am 3-4 rows in, and despising it already...

Sportin' Calorimetry

Here's some pics of calorimetry on...
I forgot to mention I only cast on 72, rather than the 120. I had a thicker yarn than called for, so had to do some math to adjust... I had to rip this out a few times actually... (sorry James! who so excitedly knit 4 of the stitches as I was teaching him what a 'knit' and a 'purl' was. LOL) I also only did 8 increase/decrease rows (4 on each half) in order to keep it a normal size!

Latest quick knit -- Calorimetry from Knitty

My latest knit is Calorimetry -- kind of a winter headband/headscarf. I love the idea of this when you don't want to squish your hair with a hat.


I knit it with one skein of this yarn I purchased at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn back in June.

Jump Sheep, spun from Cabin John, Maryland (jumpsheep@mac.com)
weight: 2.0 oz
yardage: 84 yards
fiber: wool
color: Guacamole

I was able to knit up two bands with this amount of yarn.

Whenever I next wear it out, I'll take a self portrait...
In the meantime, Coop seems to think it's a new hammock for him -- after all, it matches him perfectly!!!

Finished Crumpets

I started knitting Crumpets November 29th, 2006 after I picked up the yarn at the yearly Smiley's yarn sale in Manhattan. The dress was complete on January 4th, 2007.

The dress is for a friend's daughter, who is turning 1 year old.

I used the following yarn:
Brand: Filatura Lanarota Summer Soft
Color: Turquoise Delight
Fiber: 60% Rayon 40% Acrylic
Weight: Knitting Worsted
Care: Machine Wash
Packing: 50 Grams)
Yardage: 90 yards

Here is a close up of the beading and pattern detail.
I used picot-edging at the top.

All the little pearls were hand-beaded with upholstery thread afterwards since the beads were too small to thread onto the yarn during knitting.

The most difficult time I had was not the complicated pattern at the chest, but rather the never-ending rows of stockinette stitch at the skirt -- doubling from 120 stitches to 240 in a round! Then when all knitting was done, it was the little details that became time consuming. From the hand-threading of each pearl bead in the right place without thread showing, to then weaving in elastic bands at the chest...

All in all, it was a very gratifying project -- I will be thrilled when the dress is finally on and pictures are taken! She will look so sweet!