Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Orange Wednesday


bodem teapot
My (very blurry) Bodem electric teapot

orange (and red) books
Orange (and some red) books (also blurry)

april curtains
Old picture of new curtains.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Yellow Tuesday

yellow 270
Some graffiti from my street.

fabric from Ikea
Fabric from Ikea. I love that gold detail.

cafe bustelo
My favorite coffee!




A dress & necklace that I made last summer. I am still in love with the color of both!

Up next: Orange Wednesday
I'm taking part in Color Week via Curious Bird. I was a little under the weather this weekend, so I'm recycling some old images for Green Monday.

manos
My favorite colorway of Manos ever.


CANDY JEWELS green
A shot from a series of vintage jewelry and candy that I did for work.


tote detail
The perfect summer beach tote.


napping Monk
Gratuitous kitty picture on my old green coffee table.


Stay tuned for Yellow Tuesday!!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Back in March, when I posted my survey on what projects to take on my trip to Paris, the Alpaca Super Cowl was one of the chosen. I actually knit quite a bit on the flight over. (The way back was devoted to reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union.) I finished ASC just about a week after we got back. I've only just now been able to photograph it.

v.1

Of all the sweaters that I've improvied, this has to be the best fitting and maybe, just maybe, my favorite. I learned a lot about negative ease on this project. Something that's easy to play with when you are knitting from the top down and able to try the garment on as you go. I'm not sure how I would work this into something that I knit in pieces. Or how many knitting pattterns out there account for it. I mean, sweaters stretch, right?! How come I only just realized this?

The cowl is not as super as I envisioned it. This is mostly due to running out of yarn. Aparently Alpaca with a Twist was backordered "forever" on this particular color. I used 1,100 yards of sport-weight (they call it worsted, but it's not) alpaca. Knit on #4 needles for a nice tight fabric with lots of stretch without sagging. For the cowl I just doubled the yarn and used, I think, a #15 needle. More details on ravelry.

v.2

Master P has gotten really good at photographing me now. He basically just lets me stand against the wall and fuss around without telling me when he's taking the picture. The result is the natural kind of shot that I like.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

With temps in the high 70's today and a 4 hour lunch break, what's a girl to do?

tulips!

Enjoy some Springtime lovliness...

shack burger!

And lunch at The Shake Shack, of course!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Can a girl have too many neck warmers? Apparently not.

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This one is the result of Malabrigo that I bought at The Point's 3rd Anniversary party. I finished it in about a week. It just took me forever to get a picture of it. Details are on Ravelry. Now, of course, it's too warm to actually wear it.

present from john

This is one is a present from John, Mr. KnitBoy if you're nasty. You may recognize it from his blog a while back, where there is a free pattern. Lucky me I have a friend who likes to knit and crochet cute stuff that he'll never wear! I got really lucky on that one!

Oh, and the fabulous green neck warmer in the previous post? Mine, too. Another gift from my generous friend. I saved you a picture of me in that one. I figured the model look a heck of a lot cuter!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

MH230752

No, this is not something I knit. I didn't design the pattern. I didn't even take the picture. What it is, is my favorite image from a little photo shoot that I styled back in February with KnitBoy.

This is one of John's original designs and you can go to his blog for the free pattern! This was such a fun collaboration, both of us getting to do what we do and coming away with a bunch of lovely images for our respective portfolios. I hope you'll be seeing more from us in the future!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

OK, so there wasn't a photo shoot this weekend. There wasn't much sunlight and I had to hurry off to NJ to spend the weekend with my family. So instead, I hope the following will appease you.

new shoes!

No trip to NJ is complete without a trip to Target! I picked up these super cute shoes and the perfect navy blue eyelet skirt! Yay!

giftie!

And my co-workers got me a little present. What girl doesn't need a fancy pair of scissors?

Friday, April 11, 2008

Over the last couple of days I've been trying to compose an elegant and clever post about my knitting in this last month. It's been kind of scattered and, consequently, so have been my thoughts.
I'm just gonna dive in, OK? I promise you lots of pictures and maybe tomorrow and FO post!

It all began with the 3 Year Anniversary party at The Point. I can't believe that I've been a part of that wonderful place for 3 years! How it's changed my life! I, of course, had to buy something. The lovely ladies at my table shoved a one skein pattern in my hand and sent me off to buy yarn. I came away with this.


Malabrigo in the most scrumptious golden color that I am completely in love with. It's the color of dandelions. Or forsythia. Or egg yolks. I love it! I finished the project in a matter of days. It's a neck warmer and it used less than one skein. It's the perfect knit for when you need a little luxury fiber fix.

CE Cotton Bamboo swatch

Then there is this monstrosity. It's a cotton bamboo blend (to be revealed later) that is to be the yarn of the month for June, for The Point. I hate it. You can see the progression of needles I used on my swatch to get the correct gauge. The top one was a #4. The last one was a #1. I now have to come up with a pattern for this yarn and knit it using a #1 needle. Oh Lord, save me now!

Calmer detail.

And saving the best for last! Da da da DA! Rowan Calmer! Why had I never knit with this before? I have to admit, I was curious. Then I had a little browse through the Rowan Studio Issue Nine, which is entirely devoted to the Calmer, and found an adorable little pattern. Only five skeins? Sign me up!
I've never experienced such joy knitting with cotton before. Never! I almost got the correct gauge on the first try with the recommended needles! I could have copped out and just used the #8s but I was worried that my gauge might loosen up over the course of the project, so I went down to #6s. That's a heck of a lot better than #1s! And look at the perfect little stitches! My knitting never looks like that!

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I'm on love!


Wednesday, April 02, 2008

covered buttons


This week has been kind of long and maybe a little difficult. It seems as though, for all the time I spend alone, I'm not very good at being by myself. I'm trying to create new routines for myself that go hand in hand with my new job and new hours. I know it seems like it's been a long time in my new position, but old habits die hard and I'm still adjusting.

This is a picture of something that makes me smile. I just love covered buttons with a passion that is maybe a little inappropriate. They make me crazy! Since I bought these little button makers, I just seem to be making them with no particular objective in mind! These were from some fabric l used for a Christmas project. I really loved all of it and, consequently, saved every little scrap that was left over.