So much stuff, so little to show

In the past few weeks, my visits to other blogs have been taunting me with all sorts of lovely projects. Maybe it's just me but somehow it seems that with the beginning of fall, you guys are churning out more socks, sweaters and shawls than in the months before. While it is always inspiring, it was also giving me a little anxiety. Usually I'm a one-project-at-a-time kind of girl and stuff gets completed at a moderate pace. Lately though I've been gripped by startitis and while it's been fun to knit a little here and sew a little there, nothing gets finished, everything just drags on in various states of completion. I'm missing a sense of accomplishement and I miss putting something on my body that doesn't have ends hanging out and pins poking me. As much as I wanted to indulge in an orgy of projects, I've got to stop. No more gazillion projects, just one or two please. Oh and in case you're wondering just how many unfinished knits I have, I won't tell you, because you'll just laugh at me. That's why I'm only going to tell you about two! Sewing excluded.
Thanks to Vanessa, who I got to meet two weeks ago for the first time and already feels like an old friend, I picked up Buttercup again. We're having a short spell of really beautiful days here, and if I finish it this week I may actually get to wear it once before it gets rainy and cold. The body is blocked and seamed and it fits perfectly. Thank god, for awhile I was afraid this little shrug would end up in the hate pile. I finished a sleeve over the weekend which is blocking this very moment, and tonight I'll baste it in to check its fit. Just one sleeve and the tie left, it should be done next weekend, hooray!
My latest project is Eunny’s Argyle vest. I’ve been wanting to knit this for a long time, but I’ve never found the right yarn (pure dk wool in colors I like) until two weeks ago, when I spied some Blue Sky Alpaca Melange at my lys. It feels even softer than their regular dk and comes in few but lovely heathered colors. I chose an olive shade as my main color and a slightly lighter pine needle green for contrast, the difference between the colors is subtle, which is what I was hoping for. I can’t wait to wear it with some tweed pants and boots and indulge my Scottish Highlands fantasies. I’m not sure yet if I’ll actually do the steeking bits. I’ve been reading the knitalong blog over and over and it seems that a lot of people have fitting issues. My plan is to make the v-neck a little less plungy and to eliminate some of the fabric around the shoulders and armholes, not too difficult, right? I got some good hints on how to fair-isle from Mr. Brooklyntweed himself. Weekend before last, Jared was in town for a few hours and the girls and I got to hang out with him. Breakfast at San Francisco’s most coveted bakery, admiring each others projects (man, the finishing on the Jarrett, so perfect!), shadecards (oh, the shadecards!), learning a few tricks, knitting a little, taking pictures, rounding it off with a visit to Imagiknit, which as always is just sensory overload. So much fun! I wish I could hang out with my knitting peeps every weekend.
Christmas is in seven weeks. Since my family is far away we don't do gifts, bf is the only one who gets something knitted. Socks, of course. Friends and bf's family have gotten handmade photoalbums, cards, and jewelry in the past, so this year they get something sewn. I've decide that Denyse Schmidt's ovenmitt is a fairly quick and easy project (maybe together with an apron if I like you lots), great for using up spare fabric.

I may have to undo the red mitt again, in my eagerness I forgot to add another layer of batting (I'm using warm&white 100% cotton and it's not as thick as polyester stuff). It's a fun project though, to be completed when I get more of the filmy silver stuff that goes in between to prevent heat transfer.
For all you guys wondering what Kureyon colors I used for the Rainbow scarf: Two skeins of #95 and one skein of #148. The latter had a lot more yardage than the former.

Rainbow and Rhubarb

Last week it seemed like summer had said good-bye to the city and hello to fall. I'd been poking through my yarn bin hoping to get an idea of what to do with odd balls of yarn when I found my unfinished Kureyon scarf. I'd started it back in february when it was grey and dreary outside and I desperately needed some color. There's no better yarn to pick for some instant happiness than Noro (ok, Malabrigo), it's like the chicken soup of yarn, knit it and you'll feel better. I'd wanted a grown-up version of the Child's Rainbow from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and got two skeins of Kureyon, thinking that would be enough. But then one color ran out much earlier than the other and the scarf wasn't long enough, I didn't want to purchase more yarn. I lost interest. So when I picked it up last week I decided to get one more skein and knit from both ends.

The colors are so beautiful, I want to hang it on the wall so I can look at it all the time.
During my vacation I finished a pair of socks. They were supposed to be for me but then I started missing my boyfriend and they morphed into socks for him!

It's just a standard top-down rib pattern, but the yarn is a treat. The colorway is called 'Rhabarber' (rhubarb in English) and it made my mouth pucker a lot during knitting because the colors are just like the real thing. You can buy it here. I got mine as a surprise from Suzi, who I got to meet while I was back home! It's a pretty exciting thing to meet someone you've only known via blogging and email, but it's even more exciting when you have so much fun together you don't want the day to end. It was just a perfect day of sitting in cafes and talking, shopping a little, ending with a wonderful dinner. I was a little sad afterwards, because it'll be another year before we get to have another day like this. But I'm so happy to have experienced that day at all. The possibilities of the internet still boggle my mind!

A Hop, Skip and a Plane Ride

I'm back from a very sunny and lovely trip to Munich, which was almost perfect except for the masses of people in town for Oktoberfest (I wish it would have been Socktoberfest!!). I'm not big on crowds. But I got to meet my niece for the first time and that was incredible. I know childbirth is the most natural thing in the world, but seeing this little human being that is part of my sister - and therefore a part of me as well- was very moving. I get all choked up just thinking about her. Here she is with her new quilt:

It was difficult to get a good picture of it, here it is a little wrinkled after the long plane ride.

And a close up of the front and back:

Size: 36"x45"
Pattern: I don't have the book so I came up with my own wonky shapes of Denyse Schmidt's 'A Hop, Skip and Jump' pattern from her book Denyse Schmidt Quilts. You can also download it for free here, just scroll down to Flea Market Fancy.
I used four different solids, all Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton, the rest is a mix of fabrics I purchase online and at my local quilt store. I was especially happy to find the musical kitties fabric which I used for the binding, both my sister and her husband are musicians. The batting is almost 100% warm&white cotton JoAnn's sells from the bolt. It's all machine pieced and quilted, and since the fancy walking foot I bought for exactly this purpose messed up my stitches, I used my regular foot which worked fine. This was my first quilt, and I'm glad I had no problems with it at all. Otherwise I wouldn't have wanted to try quilting again, but now I can't wait to make a big one for myself! I have to give lots of credit to The Modern Quilt Workshop by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, their quilting instructions worked really well for me and I followed their quick binding technique, which doesn't use bias strips but has you cut strips on the straight grain, thereby saving a lot of fabric.
I didn't think too much about how I wanted to quilt this project. It had to be quick and easy so I could finish it the weekend before leaving. I did a few figure eight shapes (the ones you see on many of Schmidt's quilts) on a practice swatch, they look really pretty, but took too long. I went with diagonal lines for simplicity but also because they add a little bit of movement. On a larger quilt, I would definitely take the time to either machine quilt very dense shapes if that's the look I'm going for, or I'll quilt by hand. For some reason I feel a real need to once quilt by hand, I just love the look of handquilted stitches and their soft tension.
I've got some knits to show you, but no photos yet. Sunset tonight is 6.54pm, maybe a few rays will stick around long enough for a little photoshoot.

Crafty Bootcamp

While the blogging has been sparse, the crafting is going full throttle! I'm leaving for Germany next Wednesday and though I had done such a good job these past weeks in adhering to strict crafting schedules, I'm running behind all of a sudden. A few things I hoped to have done will have to wait until I get back (my sunhat may just turn into a rainhat then). I wanted to sew a dress and a top, that'll have to wait too. Buttercup may not get done either. I finished the back and front pieces, but now I'm stalling on the sleeves. See, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be more useful if the sleeves were elbow length instead of short (I'd be eliminating the button closure part). Also, having stared at the tie closure for awhile, I picture that tie coming undone easily unless I double tie....but do I want a chunky knot right above my belly button? No. Should I just do a button closure? What do you guys think?

I finished the quilt top for my niece and I'm really happy with it. It's based on Denyse Schmidt's 'A Hop, Skip and a Jump' quilt from her book. I don't have the book so I made up my own pieces. For those of you unfamiliar with the design, yes, they're supposed to be crooked. I'll machine quilt it this weekend, so you'll see it finished before I leave. At the top right corner you can see a bit of the green backing fabric, it's called "Happy Homemaker". Nothing like subliminal programming starting in the crib (I love those little irons, I started ironing my family's laundry when I was five or six, it was my absolut favorite thing to do. My sister may thank me a few years from now). Did I ever mention that I went to a girl's high school AND a women's college? A double feminist education and all I dream of is being able to stay home all day to sew, knit and bake. Well, and travel.

Do over. And over, and over .......

That's been the story of my crafting life these last few weeks. Some of you have wondered whether I'm still alive and kicking, no worries, all is well, I've been reading a lot more than usual lately, and putting my bookbinding skills toward repairing some old books. A lot of my crafting hasn't resulted in any mentionable fo's so far, and I didn't feel like talking about the many incarnations of works in progress. Like this floppy hat I've been sewing. When I finally made crown number seven, which at last fit perfectly on both my head and the brim part, I got dirt on it. Beats me where it came from and it doesn't come out. So I had to take a break. I made this instead, a cover for my sewing machine.

You can't go wrong sewing a rectangle! All you Pure Knits addicts will recognize the cute ribbons Miss Y ties around her shipments. Yay for recycling!
I've also started working on a baby quilt for my niece. I'm still waiting for some more fabric so no pictures yet, but the design is based on Denyse Schmidt's 'Hop, skip and a jump' quilt. In various pinks, a lot like this fabulous piece. Isn't that beautiful?
Knitting is back on the program. I had finished the back of Buttercup using my own modifications, when I ran into serious problems on the left front. So I gave up and emailed Kim for some help. That was on a late afternoon, and the very next morning I had got an answer from her mom. She was so nice and helpful, it really resolved any resentment that had grown towards the pattern. I re-knit the back and finished the left front, it's pretty quick knitting now and I hope to have it done in a couple of weeks. I love the new collection, especially Beth. They've also got a preview for the newest collection, Light and Shade up, it looks like some of the pieces are recycled from previous collections, but there are a few new designs as well. I like the beret, but it seems to be made from fuzzy wool and I can't wear wool on my head, too itchy!
When everything else either take so long or doesn't work out I grab my bead stash and make jewelry. It's quick and satisfying and I love dainty sparkly necklaces. Here a three I made over the past week:

On the left, a very long gold chain with blue quartz beads, it can be worn doubled up; in the middle, a piece of rutilated quartz on gold chain; on the right aquamarine rondelles with a lemon quartz drop.
Saving the cutest for last, a squishy squirrel from knotty bits.
Go check out her etsy shop, the are some more squirrels and adorable kitties, all lovingly and perfectly stitched.

Kiri

I finished this shawl over a week ago after almost two weeks of intense knitting. Kid Silk Haze is lovely and works so well with my cheapy Phildar needles, but the pattern rows grow mindnumbingly looong towards the end. I was getting bored fast, hence the (for me) quick turn-around.
When I blocked it, the points on the left side refused to get as pointy as the ones on the right, and I have no idea why. The cast off turned out loose enough with US8's. It's not really bothering me though, I'm happy with it.

Pattern: Kiri, available for free here
Yarn: 2.5 balls of Rowan Kid Silk Haze in 'bleached' (discontinued color)
Needles: US6 for the shawl, US8's for binding off
No changes, no problems, ahhhh.
I never thought I'd jump on the shawl bandwagon, but after Kiri I'm craving more, something open and crisp and possibly black.

A little give-away

Update: It's all taken! Lori, c.e, and Elizabeth, please email me your addresses. Thanks guys!
Here are some fabrics and yarn that deserve to be used and loved. If there is anything you'd like, just leave me a comment and some way I can get in touch with you. Everything is from a smoke-free home, has been safely stored in plastic, but may have been exposed to cat hair at some point.

On the left is a high quality olive wool jersey, about 67"lx41"w, it feels like liquid wool. The photo doesn't do it justice.TAKEN. c.e. it's yours, email me your address!
In the middle, a 24"x25" piece of cotton-linen mix, with a cute muted orange-y fan print.
On the right, a long piece of Thai Silk in blue-purple-gold-black. It is 80"lx39"w, and stunning in person.
2 balls of GGH Soft Kid in a terracotta color. One ball has been used a little and rewound. TAKEN.

TAKEN.