Another Knit Down...Litterally

Pun intended, this was knit top down. Took me FOREVER to get my butt in gear to weave in the ends on this bad boy. Not sure why, but I wore the day after I did and loved it. It's definitely too big but still cute with a belt, incredibly comfortable, and not too hot. Perfect fall sweater tunic.

Happy sunny autumn afternoons

Cerise

Blocking Out

This sweater was in the works not too long ago. I started it in March this year and trucked along pretty quickly with it, especially for fingering weight on a size 3 needle. I decided to knit both sleeves at once since the yarn was getting low and maybe if I ran out I could shorten the sleeves. When the yarn did finally run out, I realized this would not work well with the style. Alas, I had a sweater without it's full sleeves. I searched around for a skein in my dye lot to no avail so I took a risk and ordered one skein last week. After the exciting Wednesday of getting my Quince and Co. package in the mail I was even more excited to see that the new dye lot matched quite perfectly to my old stuff. So I've been knitting away every night this week on the last bits of the sleeves and finally finished around 1:30 am yesterday. Quite tame to my 5 am sweater completion a few years ago on my French Braid Pullover. I force myself to bed, not before considering some intrelac and the weird way I cheat my ssk's and if it really makes a difference or not, and woke up eager to weave in my ends and decide whether blocking was worthwhile. I'll admit I was more excited to get pumpkins first, even in the chilly drizzle of Oregon. With ends woven I laid my Lightweight Pullover sweater out on my bed, yes I need to invest in some blocking pads but the bed seems to work just fine for now, I sprayed and tugged away. Voila! I can't wait to wear it out the cider press party tonight. I think it will be perfect for a cold, grey fall evening!

Happy blocking yarn friends

Cerise

Pattern Published!

Howdy all! It's been FOREVER since we've blog. Please forgive us, we will get blogging more!

I've been a knitting mad woman lately and have even started hosting knit nights at my house every other week. I purchased a bunch of Knit Picks yarn a while back with the intention of creating my own patterns and getting them published through the Independent Designer Program (IDP). One of the yarns I purchased was Capra, a wonderful cashmere blend, that was as wonderful as I could have hoped. I also bought some beautiful lace weight yarn with really great Northwest related names like basalt. The Capra project became a herringbone hat and mitten set. This is my second stranded knitting pattern (hopefully the first one will be published soon!) and it took quite a bit of tweaking, frogging, and re-knitting before I got it just right. I'm happy to say that it was accepted by the IDP at Knit Picks and is now for sale! You can also find it on Ravelry. I haven't sold any copies yet but there are Ravelers who heart it. A big thanks to Knit Picks for their help to get designers started with a publishing program and inexpensive yarn!

Happy Knitting!
Cerise : )

Cute Stinkin' Sweater!

Okay, it was 90 degrees today. Doesn't mean it won't get chilly. We welcome these warm days here in the Willamette valley as we had a very late start to the summer. But looking at all the lovely yarns and patterns makes me wish for just a little chill in the air. This pattern came through Knit Purl's newsletter today and I love it! The Levenwick Cardigan is an intermediate pattern level which means Krafty Katina can make, Ommama, not. I can aspire, though!
Happy crafting!

Feature Friday (on a Thursday!): Dawn Finney

Okay, I know, it's not Friday. But I didn't get to blogging much last week and missed featuring a knitter. Don't worry! You get twice the features this week and nothing really sounds good with Thursday so just play along.

Welcome back from the moon and to a sweet volcano! Dawn Finney keeps knitting her magic with adorable toys! Check out some of her cute patterns:

This knitter definitely needs to get her a published book! Thanks for sharing all your great knitting ideas Dawn!

Happy Knitting!

Cerise : )

New Knitting Books!

The mail held an awaited treasure today. Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs From Interweave was stuck in the mail box. The first time I used this book I checked it out from the library and held on to it forever (yes, the was quite a late fee) and made socks for presents from a few of the patterns. I actually still have my favorite pair from there, though it is currently hibernating. There wasn't enough yarn to finish the toe and I realized that the legs weren't even the same length! There are quite a few patterns in this that I absolutely love.

I have indulged in knitting books that past few weeks and picked up Itty-Bitty Toys from my LYS and Last Minute Knitted Gifts I spotted on the back stock shelves in the basement at work one day. My tangible knitting library is starting to grow quite fast (the digital library has been beyond control for a long time). A new bookshelf is in order but it will have to wait. A few piles are collecting on my knitting cabinet and in a basket on the living room floor. Next on my wish list:

What's new in your library?

Happy Cataloging,

Cerise : )

Here is one on Ommama's wish list (and I wish I could knit better!)
Silk Cloud Pullover from Shibui knits
Theresa, Ommama

Fall Knits Wish List

These are my fall knit wishes:

Excitable Cerise : )

Knitting Christmas Gifts

Last year for Christmas we tried to do only hand-made gifts. As happens every year, we don't stick to our rules. This year we are going for just stocking-stuffers. We'll see how that turns out! I still owe embroidered dish towels and knitted socks to my mother-in-law and embroidered dish towels to my parents from last Christmas. Though I am slowly working on those open ended gifts, I thought ahead this year and got sock yarn for my parents' socks. I need more yarn like I need a hole in my head but I once again couldn't resist Shibui Staccato Sock Yarn and this time I found in at Fiber, Nooks, and Crannys in Corvallis! Yes, I still have about seven skeins of 50s Kitchen sitting around. But I had to get something special for the holidays, right? The silk is what gets me. And not to mention the great color schemes. To simplify my crafting and to keep a yearly track of what I made, I decided to make the same sock pattern for everyone who's getting socks. I should be able to knit them in my sleep by the time I'm on the third pair!

While sitting in a hotel room in Seattle, I started knitting up my dad's socks, two at a time. I'm pretty sure I'm not doing the whole two pairs of socks on one needle thing right but it's working, sort of. No, I can't put a picture of the socks up until after the holidays. Don't want to ruin the surprise!

Happy Knitting,

Cerise : )

Knitted Foodies for Passover

Happy Erev Pesach!

I've really been into knitting monsters lately and now I spend a lot of time obsessively browsing Ravelry for toy knitting patterns. Of course, knitted cupcakes and pastries are always appetizing and little mice of all sorts are very cute. Some fun Passover food patterns for the seder plate that are out there as well so I thought to share a pattern set for Passover Eve. (I even found a knitting pattern set for the 10 plagues of Exodus! I really love the origami froggy and little locust but the Egyptian kid is a bit iffy.) So many fun knitted noshes are out there it's hard to pick just a few to share. I've found that I can always find someone to give my newest monsters to but I never could think of what I would do with little knitted foodies. These would definitely be fun play knits for young children, and I have a few younger-aged relatives who might enjoy playing with my food. So watch out monsters, there might be some knitted food fights in with the youngin's in the future!

Happy Food Fights!

Cerise : )

Happy Valentine's Day!

I got the awesome Big Book of Knitted Monsters from my sweetie for V-day and whipped up a little love monster last night! This book is GREAT! And it's a good way to use up leftover yarn scraps. More monsters to come and some MochiMochi too!!

Happy Hearts!

Cerise : )

Yarn Yarn Yarn

When my grandpa died last summer I went into yarn thereapy mode and obsessed about Shibui's Staccato yarn in 50s Kitchen. Three skeins seemed enough to make a pair of socks. But after I started the knee-high button-up sock pattern (also from Shibui), there suddenly appeared to be a shortage of yarn in the yarn bag. So the wonderful ladies at Knit Purl in Portland let me buy it online and I'm off to pick it up this weekend. The socks are going to be amazing! Not only is this yarn divine and in a wonderful color scheme (wool and silk, so soft!), the stockings are going to be quite eye catching. They may be a bit too warm by the time they are done but I can knit like a maniac and the weather hasn't gotton much warmer here. The buttons will only go down a little ways on the thigh, which will hopefully help hold the stockings up. Unfortunately there looks to be some frogging in my future because the fit is very loose aroung the knee so far. Now that I know I won't be stuck with just three skiens I might fudge with the pattern a bit to get a nice legging fit. These are going to be so fun when they are done!!

Happy Knitting!

Cerise : )

Portland Day Trip: Part 2, the crafting

The best part of our day trip to Portland and our main goal was to visit Knit Purl (in the Pearl district!) and Josephine's Dry Goods.
Knit Purl is an amazing yarn and fiber store that has an incredible array of sumptuous fibers. It is very comfortable with cushy chairs, wonderfully helpful clerks and lots of books and patterns. Often there are people sitting and knitting and getting help as needed. An interesting fiber blend that was new to me is Seacell, a seaweed deriviative. There is a wool (70%) and Seacell (30%) blend in sock weight and a silk (70%) and Seacell (30%) blend in laceweight. There was also a blend with fique, a plant fiber from the Agavaceae family, closely related to agave and pineapple. This is an amazing fiber that was used extensively by pre-columbians to make rope, clothing, baskets and hammocks and has been "rediscovered." It is very strong and feels similar to hemp or linen. There was a silk and stainless steel blend, too.
I had to hold in my own hand a 100% Pashmina. This is the softest yarn ever, but at $55.50 for a 50 gram skein you'd have to knit up something really special! For more exotics they also carry bison yarn and qikiuk yarn. In the end Cerise settled on a nice bright red merino wool blend to make a shawl. I went to Josephine's Dry Goods mainly for their wall of buttons! But they also carry some splendid fine fabrics that you won't find in any chain store. Linens, wools, silks... unique patterns and if you ever were to tackle making a wedding dress that is the place to go. They are very helpful and are always working on projects so you can see patterns come to life. And they sell their samples, two of which I bought last time we visited. I stuck with the button wall and selected several buttons while Cerise chose a very cute cotton print to make a blouse and a pattern. Go to their facebook page to see some of their finished products. I LOVE the Vogue skirt in houndstooth wool.
Look for Part 3: Shops in Lake Oswego and Nordstrom's (is not so much for us)
Theresa, Ommama

Trippin' in Portland

We are on a day trip to Portland! Our big city neighbor is full of lots of great places to visit. Last week, my beau and I went to Portland to visit for a friend's birthday and discovered some great places to eat for dinner and breakfast. I found a cute little flower shop on Alberta and got a sweet little spikey vase. I can't wait to get flowers for it!

Today we will be going to some crafty spots. We will be visiting Knit Purl on Alder (their Shibui yarn is divine!) and a fabulous fabric store around the corner, Josephine's Dry Goods (go see the wall of buttons). Hopefully we will find our way across the river to New Cascadia Traditional bakery for some yummy gluten-free treats for a sugar recharge. They look like they will be worth the trek! If we can muster up some extra energy we just might make our way into Powell's Books. Last time we were there we didn't even make it past the new books section in the front entry way! I'm sure there will be other great stops during our day. Maybe we will stumble upon something wonderful and unexpected. Check back to see what we found today!

Happy day-tripping!

Cerise : )

Birthday Book Review

My birthday is something I rarely and shyly share with people but this year I got a really great book from my long-time best friend and I had to share it with all of you! I was so excited that my friend once again got me a really great fiber-related book for my birthday. (Last year I got a copy of the fabulous math-nerd crochet book Crocheting Adventures With Hyperbolic Planes!) This year Mochimochi Knitting surprised me in the mail. This book has been on my top 10 wanted knit books list so you can imagine I was thrilled to see a Mochimochi slipper monster staring at me when the gift wrap was torn away. I can't wait to start knitting one of the adorable critters from this book. The first one to come alive off the needles already has a well deserved home with my best friend! Thanks!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Dr. MLK, Jr. and everyone else celebrating today!

Cerise : )

Bella's Sweater

This weekend I made a little sweater for my "niece," Bella. It was my first baby sweater and it came out so cut! I took advantage of Knit Picks's cyber Monday sale and got a ton of yarn, some for specific projects like this one, and some for whatever comes along. Who could pass up Oregon Coast merino lace yarn? Dexter was also supposed to get a sweater out of this but apparently hyacinth is a purple color. Who knew? It's really not his shade. Bella's sweater was made with KP's Andean Silk in the colorway Cerise (cool, right?). This is my new favorite blend. Alpaca, merino, and silk, oh my! It's a fabulous as it sounds. A nice halo and a lovely sheen and it feels divine. The pattern is Lion Brand Yarn's Eyelet Yoke Sweater and it's a really great and fairly easy one to knit up. I want to make a million of these in every color! Fortunately I know a few baby and toddler girls who might need a sweater. After one other sock mate, my holiday knitting is done. Post holiday knitted gifts is another story...

Happy Knitting!

Cerise : )

P.S. If you aren't a blog follower get on it! Look to the right of this post to follow. Thursday is giveaway day and you can't win if you aren't a follower...

Weekly Favorite: Ravelry Pattern

I love to browse all the newly added knitting patterns on Ravelry and this week I came across Baby Black Hole by Dawn Finney. He's absolutely adorable with his little eyes. And he's a scientific knit pattern. Well, sort of. I love sciency crafting (and Ms. Finney has a few crafties) and this little guy definitely falls into that category for me. What are your favorite science crafties?

Happy Crafting,

Cerise : )

Fiber Friday: Alpaca

What a yummy fiber. I just started knitting a new scarf (my third knit project!) with an alpaca blend. It is tri-colored with a creamy white, light brown and dark brown. I began to wonder if alpaca raised in warmer climes and lower elevations is as good as Alpaca from the Andes. As far as I have researched, the fiber looses some luster when the animals live in Australia or the U.S. and the fibers aren't quite as fine. Most alpaca still comes from Peru, Bolivia or Chile. Alpaca is very fine, less than 34 microns. Compare that to a human hair which averages 90 microns.Photo fromSnow Mountain Alpacas from Keenesburg, Colorado

Alpacas are sheared just like sheep, usually annually. The best fleece comes from the blanket of the animal, the part covering the back, side shoulders and rump. Baby alpaca fiber comes from the first clip that commands a premium rate because of its extra fineness, 22.5-23.5 microns. Shearings can produce 5-6 pounds of wool. Alpaca is hypoallergenic and less itchy than wool as alpaca has no lanolin. Vicuna, alpaca's wild cousins, have wool that is only 12 microns thick. They are rounded up and sheared every two years. What a chore that must be! You can buy a ball of vicuna yarn for a mere $300!

Here is a lovely superfine alpaca tweed from Knit Purl. This one is $27.50 for 8 ounces.

Oh, and if you want to buy and alpaca they run $1000-$16,000!
Theresa, Ommama

Finished!

My first scarf is done and thank goodness as it is nice and warm and our weather is cold! It actually snowed here in Corvallis a couple of days ago and we have lingering below freezing weather. We are not prepared for this! No one has snow tires, boots or anything. A half inch of snow closed the schools. This is my second knit project to come to completion. It was a simple stockinette with some switcheroos thrown in to make it my own pattern, the Cocoa Palm. Actually, they were mistakes turned into a pattern. I believe that is the secret to knitting!
Theresa, Ommama

Knitting is FUN

I am still working on my winter scarf (my first knitting project.) I promised myself I'd finish it this weekend. I was watching a movie (seen it before, my husband forgot he saw it) so figured I'd knit. I did two rows, got up to refresh my beverage, and when I came back I swear there were two little loops just sitting there not belonging that weren't there before. I tried moving them to the other needle, studied them from all angles and concluded that I do not know how to fix them. Help Cerise! **sigh**
I decided to give away the washcloth I made (only project #2 of my knitting career) as part of a new baby gift. It actually came out okay. I am not sure if I will make another. I really want to get onto something bigger like a sweater, but am very fearful. Maybe another scarf...
Theresa, Ommama