The Bodysnatcher!!

So, I tried on my sweater before I seamed the sleeves, just to get an idea of how it would fit. I am home with my mom, so she becomes my fashion critic.


Me: Mommy, I want you to tell me how this looks.
Mom: Stares at me like I have two heads
Me: Come on, it's just not finished yet...but I need you to tell me if the fit is ok.
Mom: It looks like revenge of the Bodysnatchers. Look at how those two things are just hanging on the side.
Me: Those are the sleeves. I just have to seam them. Ugghh!!!


Fast forward to the Sit N Knit Holiday Party, where muggles are not allowed.
"Oh, I LOVE your sweater" "Did you make that?" "How long did it take?" "Oh, and it matches your hat" "I LOVE Bobbles" "You must be so warm in that" "Is that a Twinkle pattern?" "Where can I find a pattern?" "You look all cuddly and snuggly.. can I touch your sweater.. can I hug you?"


Rule #1 when knitting - Never ask a Muggle for advice.
Here is my sweater. I am contemplating making a second one.

Here are some more highlights from the party.

First off, I met Louise who was my gift exchange knitter. She picked my name out of the bag, and I couldn't be any happier with my gift.

She made me a Tudora scarf/cowl. It matches my coat perfectly. Yay!!
The recipient of my gift was Katya. I made a hat that I designed, which I now declare "The Fashionista Hat". Yes, it was inspired by the super-fashionable MJB many blog posts ago. I think that had a little to do with it. LOL!! Don't we look super-cute?? Katya loves the hat, and I am so happy to have her as a new friend. It was made using Cascade Magnum, and it took somewhere between 2-3 hours to make and seam together.

So, next up was the raffle with super-cool prizes. I donated 4 sets of Sit N' Knit Stitch Markers to the raffle. Jen, who was sitting at my table won them, and then she won another prize, and another, and another. I actually won a pair of my own stitch markers as well, but I put my name back into the raffle to give someone else a chance to win them. Karma is good. I won this book in return, with the same ticket number. Yipee!!

I got to hang out with some cool friends. Yes, we had a baby in a bar!!! Good thing she wasn't reaching for my drink. LOL!!! And, here is the proud and beautiful mommy, Tawana. She is wearing her Tilted Duster, and the hat that she received as a gift. It looks like the Republic hat.

I also got to see some familiar faces that I haven't seen in a while.

Here is Allena who moved out of New York to pursue a different career path.

Here are Sahara and Marva who I haven't seen in months, even though we live in the city. Life just gets busy in the city.

The best part?? Homemade cookies with my initials on it!!! They were super-good. Kudos to A-M for baking them.

Although the beginning of my weekend was a little downtrodden with some Corporate America BS, the knitting party on Saturday truly lifted my spirits. Knitting friends are the best!!! I had such a blast.

On another note, I have all the time in the world to knit now. So, hit me up if you wanna go fondle some yarn at a store, or if you are still stuck on how to do two socks at a time, toe-up, on a magic loop.

My next stop will be volunteering at the Seaman's Church Institute. They need people to knit for the men and women who work on those freight ships and barges, and don't get to be home for the holidays. Won't you send them a little love. Contribute to a care package.

Big, Pink and Bobbly.

This sweater is growing very fast!!! I just attached the sleeves last night. I am working on the decreases leading up to the neckline. The sleeves also need to be seamed. I am about to attach the last skein of yarn. Hopefully, it is enough to complete the tunic.

Here is the latest picture.

I really think that I can finish this!! More updates soon.

Pink and Bobbly

I think that I vaguely remember saying that I wanted to finish the sweaters that are currently on the needles for my New Year's Resolution last year. This will clear my "palate", so to speak, so that I can "taste" new patterns. Having said that, I am hoping to make some room so that I can make Sylvi from the winter edition of Twist Collective.

So, in my attempt to get things off of the needles, I have given myself a deadline on Friday, December 12th for the Twinkle Bobbled Tunic. I am planning on wearing it to the Sit N Knit Holiday party on the 13th. Saturday is supposed to be 34 degrees outside, so that totally cooperated with me wanting to wear a chunky 100% Wool sweater.

So, here is my progress so far.

Here are the complete sleeves, and the hip portion of the tunic.

I continued working on the tunic portion, and have made my way past the pocket. I have about 20 more rows to go before I can add the sleeves. After that, I decrease for the neck, make the collar, pick up and knit a ribbed edging for the pockets, seam the sleeves and then I am done. I like having to only sew 2 seams. Yay!!

Wish me luck on completing this! I still have to knit the gift exchange gift that I approximate will take about 2.5 hours. More updates on that later. Back to knitting!!!

Reflections of my blog-aversary

My first post was December 28, 2006

Wow!! It has been a year since my first post, and I must say that it has been wonderful. Through all of the ups and down of hats that didn't fit, and seams that didn't come together right, and ripping back of row after row, I can still say that I love this knitting thing. I have met some amazing people, and I have a bunch of new people that I can actually call my friends. It is great to have other people who understand why you rip back 20 rows because you see a miscrossed cable, or a dropped stitch.

Here are some of the things that have learned/accomplished in the past year.

• I knit a sweater. My very first sweater, and it fits, and it is gorgeous, and I love to wear it. I feel very validated as a knitter because of this.
• I learned to knit cables
• I learned to knit patterned socks, instead of the plain stockinette version. I actually completed a full pair of socks.
• I learned to knit toe-up socks on two circulars
• I learned how to avoid stair-step decreases when shaping an armhole or shoulder.
• I have finally learned how to do a Yarn over, and make pretty lace.
• I have learned the difference between a left slanting decrease and Make 1, and a right-slanting decrease and Make 1.
• I learned how to make a bobble.
• I learned how to do Fair Isle on the round (very loosely)
• I learned how to do a one-row buttonhole
• I finally know what Rhinebeck is, and oh what an experience it was!
• I designed a hat that is superwarm and super gorgeous. (Don't worry, I am stilll working the kinks out of the pattern. I didn't forget about my newfound friends who are itching to cast on!)
• I learned how to make one-of-a-kind stitch markers to make knitting just a little more fun

I have also found some of my favorite Yarn stores this year, all for different reasons.

• Knitaway of Brooklyn (Atlantic Avenue) - It is close to the 2 train, and they have a huge selection of needles and notions, and I really like the owner. She is very encouraging.
• Brooklyn General - The store has moved to a new location that is more than double their original size, and the yarn selection is fabulous.
• Knit New York - I love the 10% discount after you rack up $200 in purchases. They have a lot of colors of Cascade Magnum, and they have a wall of Malabrigoooooo. Wait.. my heart stopped for a minute.. hehe!! Oh , and their Xocolate Chai Latte is better than anything I have ever tasted at Starbucks.
• Seaport Yarn - It is walking distance from my job (a recipe for danger), has a room full of sock yarn, and a very huge selection to choose from (Koigu is very reasonably priced). Also, they have knit night on wednesdays, which is very cool.
• The Pointe - Since they have a new manager, there has been a lot more sales and special classes going on. One day, I will try some. The yarn selection is great in there as well.

The only downfall to this knitting thing is that I have experienced a severe case of "Startitis". Here are two new projects that I started working on in the past few days.

Juno Regina scarf from Knitty.

I am using the Malabrigo Lace (Cactus Flower colorway) that I originally bought for the Secret of the Stole. I have decided to stop fooling myself into believing that I will complete the Secret of the Stole. The secret is out, and I am still on clue #1. I will use the beads in another project, or just make some pretty jewelry with them. This is about 30 rows intothe pattern. Woo, I've got a long way to go.

Bobbled Tunic (#17) from Vogue Knitting Holiday 2006.

I am very excited about this sweater. I have wanted to make it for a whole year, and just got my act together. The Cascade Magnum is a dream to knit with. This is a great learning sweater, as I learned to make bobbles with it. Also, I am getting instant gratification since it is knitting up so fast. I was a little confused because the instructions start off with a K2P2 rib on an odd number of stitches, but I just went with the flow for that last odd stitch. It's gonna get seamed anyway. Here are the sleeves about halfway done.

I want to give special thanks to all of my knitting buddies that I have met in person at Sit N' Knit meetups, at Rhinebeck, at yarn stores, and those who live far away but make my creative juices flow over the internet. This knitting passion of mine would not be complete without you. You have helped me prove that anything is possible, and some of these difficult things can be done step by step, and stitch by stitch. For those that I have the honor of seeing in person from time to time, I love being able to create beautiful memories with you. I love all of the laughter, and just being able to put aside the day to day stresses. Taking it out on two sticks and a piece of string is very heartwarming. And, look at the beautiful things that we are able to create? I would also like to give a special thank you to those who have taught me what good yarn is, and I promise never to buy Red Heart A-Cry-LY-Yuk again. I have been forever transformed into a yarn snob, and I am loving it. We are all one deep in our hearts, because we all have our favorites. That is why me, being the great enabler that I am, will always let you now if I find out about a good sale on some good yarn. Thank you for all of the encouragement.

Goals for 2008

• Finish all of the sweaters that have been started
• Finally create a lace accessory and finish it to completion.
• Design more garments and accessories
• Make more stitch markers with jewelry to match
• Buy even more yarn at Rhinebeck. LOL!!!

The Never-Ending Stash

So, I must admit....I went a little knitting crazy today. My first stop was Border's on Broadway, where I went to purchase Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. So, why did I leave with 2 magazines, and another book? Actually, I read an excerpt of Knitting Under the Influence, and got upset when it was over. So, of course I HAD to buy it. Here is my reasoning for my purchases....I had a 25% 0ff coupon.

Now the yarn, I have no excuse for. I don't even know where it will fit in my closet. On second thought, in order to justify this again.....all of these yarns already have projects. Come on, I shop with a purpose.

The pink yarn is Cascade Magnum #9424, and I plan to make the tunic designed by Twinkle, as seen on page 81 of Vogue Knitting Holiday 2006 magazine. Also, because I am an avid shopper at Knit New York, I have managed to rack up over $200 in purchases over the course of the year, and received a discount on the yarn.

The green yarn (Manos Del Uruguay Spring) and blue/green variegated yarn (Manos Del Uruguay Caribe) will be used to make a Haramaki. It is the rage in Japan, and it is basically a corset for your belly, that is supposed to keep your core warm, and promote circulation and healing. Personally, I think they would just all look cute with a button down shirt and some jeans. I went to the website of the Japanese man that has copywrighted his own designs. Too bad I can't read a lick of Japanese. Or else he would have had me sold. However, being the resourceful knitter that I am, I will design my own pattern, and make it fit perfect!!! Well, I can at least try. More updates on that later. I bought these yarns at The Point, when they had their anniversary sale. Thanks, Berhan for helping me pick it out!!! (I hope I spelled your name right)

The sock yarn is there for me to practice using the book. I want to try the two circular needle technique.

So, now I am waiting on my Knitpicks shipment, because the yarn shop did not have size 17 needles that I needed for the "Magnum" tunic (40 inch and 20 inch). Let me clarify...Knitpicks's smallest option cable size is 24", but the pattern is knit back and forth for the sleeves on that needle, so having 4 extra inches really isn't going to hurt. I have looked at about 5 different internet shops, and decided that Knitpicks is the best for Jumbo needles. I ordered the Options cables, and needle points separate. I do not have the whole kit, but I only needed the 17. I have also found it to be very affordable, considering some needles cost $25.00 alone, especially at the jumbo size.

So, I made a promise to a really good friend whose name shall remain anonymous, that I would not buy any more yarn until I had projects finished. Well, I want to keep my promise, but the willpower level is at zero when the two words Yarn and discount go together. Sorry. However, I will be hanging out with her tomorrow, and I know I am never going to hear the end of it. Hopefully she won't yell at me too much in front of her sister. :-/

Another thing that happened to me recently, was that I got to experience a presentation given by the Yarn Harlot at FIT. It was amazing. She joked about acquiring yarn in secret, and justifying your purchases. And here I am hiding my yarn (although it is in a see-through bag)from my mom who thinks I am bonkers for trying to find space in my closet for everything(cedar balls are my new buddies). Hey, If I were to buy a Ralph Lauren handknit sweater, it would be 4-5 times the amount I spent on the yarn. So, there you go!!!

All the non-knitters out there... you don't even know the type of jovial insanity you are missing out on. Write me....I am a certified instructor... we can meet for coffee... let me show you a piece of my world.