the pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty
the yarn: Rowan 4 Ply Cotton in Shale (145)



I've gathered my supplies for the Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty, I hope it works out using cotton. The Rowan 4 Ply Cotton is pretty, it's like 1/4-scale yarn. (more...)

I was so excited to be finished with my light gray Ribby Cardi that I forgot to include a few notes for posterity. So, here is a final wrap up: (more...)

the pattern: Central Park Hoodie
the yarn: Dark Horse Fantasy in Charcoal (#13)
the previous entries: 1



It's true what they say, the CPH pattern manages to be fast and interesting. This sweater is coming along very quickly, it's luxuriously, thrillingly satisfying. Especially for very slow knitters like myself. (more...)

I've started knitting the Central Park Hoodie which (you already know this if you knit) is a very popular pattern. It was printed in the Fall 2006 Knitscene magazine but you can purchase a downloadable pattern at the Knitting Daily store that comes with expanded sizes and corrections. (More on the corrections in the next post.) (more...)

the sweater: Ribby Cardi
the yarn: Cotton Ease in Stone
the previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14



I have thoroughly annoyed myself with how long it took me to get the zipper into this. I finished the actual (re) knitting back in mid-February but couldn't seem to find the energy for the amount of focus it takes to put the zipper in. Happily I managed to get it last weekend and it's FINALLY OVER. (more...)

Adhesive Hold It Strips for putting stuff other than paper into three ring binders, how useful! at Bluelines.

After buying some essential oils, how do I use them as cologne? at Ask Metafilter.

I like Moop stuff, on Etsy.

Sew Mama Sew, fabric store to keep in mind

Felted Stone Rug taken from the Pebble Carpet, I think I like this even better than the Pom Pom rug in Craftivity, via Craftzine

Adorable Knit Strawberry Baby Rattle, over at Blue Arts.

Oudh – the sweet smell of tradition at Gulf Weekly. I wonder if this is the scent that comes on some imported fabrics?

Jen wrote to me asking about a wolf doll with a see through stomach that could eat other characters, which I kindasorta remembered. Happily it wasn't hard to find: the See-through Predator was made by Lizette Grecco, and you can see a video of her son operating on it at Daddy Types. Awesome.

Knitting stuff found on Ravelry:

Ceallach Dyes Summer Cotton yarn, fingering weight.

KA bamboo circular needle set, #5 to #15

Bamboo Sister interchangeable circular needle set, #5 to #10, thumbs up at Knitter's Review

Cabin Fever Cotton Tweed, partly acrylic, the natural and brown colors look great when knitted, DK and Aran

I'm currently paused between projects. I merely have to install the orange zipper in the freshly lengthened gray Ribby Cardi. I feel shameful having a sterotypical unfinished object sitting there, staring at me, reminding me about itself being unfinished.

In the mean time I've been swatching some yarns I picked up at a fire sale at Hilltop Yarn in Seattle. (more...)

the sweater: Ribby Cardi
the yarn: Cotton Ease in Stone
the previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13



It's been all shocking deconstruction around here. (more...)

the sweater: Ribby Cardi
the yarn: Cotton Ease in Stone
the previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12



I'm finally, finally finished.



(more...)

the sweater: Ribby Cardi
the yarn: Cotton Ease in Stone
the previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Here is how I finished this sweater, with apologies for the very! bright! orange, my camera has hissy fits over the magenta to orange scale when it's forced to take pictures indoors at night. I like to wrap the edges of the zipper tape in soft twill, and finish the top of the zipper with the twill -- this makes it nicer against the skin on my neck and creates a stop for the top of the zipper at the same time. I sew the zipper in by hand in a pathetically fastidious manner, you can also find excellent directions for sewing a zipper into a sweater over at Chicknits.



Step One: Wash and dry sweater to shrink it about as much as possible.



Step Two: Wash and dry twill tape to shrink as much as possible. This orange twill is hand dyed from Glamscience (also at Etsy) and is fantastically saturated with color. When I washed it I knotted the ends to keep them from fraying and stuck it in a mesh bag with some white socks. The socks were to determine if there would be any bleeding from the dye. The socks emerged completely unscathed. Viva Glamscience! The twill is nice and soft and makes all the difference where the zipper hits the skin on my neck, the sweater is far more wearable for it. Iron the twill when it comes out of the dryer.





(more...)

the sweater: Ribby Cardi
the yarn: Cotton Ease in Stone
the previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10



Look! All that I have to do is wash and shrink it and put in the zipper. Which means I'm officially done with the knitting part of the sweater. Yay. (more...)

Tubular cast on without the waste at Fluffbuff

San Francisco fabric stores at Fuzzy Galore

make a sympathy doll at Craftzine

Tutorial - How to use Purse Twist Turn Locks at U-handblog

Golden Compass Hat at Froggie Meanie

Can my sewing machine be fixed? as Ask Metafilter - the answers offer a lot of fix it yourself encouragement

Velvet & hot irons... at Ask Metafilter, oh, dear, I know this pain

Techniques with Theresa: Cabling without a cable needle (second half) at Knitty

Will properly sized TECRE button/mirror parts work on a Badge-a-Minit hand press? at Ask Metafilter. Turns out: no.

Narrow Hemming Foot at The Secret Pocket, I could never get the hang of mine, time to try again

Reminder to self: PBS is showing The Complete Jane Austen starting January 13th, lots of good knitting television.

pretty crepe flower tutorial at Two Straight Lines

Too late for Christmas, or simply very early?:

How to Make a Christmas Tree Pop up Card at Wikihow, very simple and yet dramatic

Christmas tree in a box at Popgadget