FO Friday: A layette of custard and mint

My first ever time making booties and mittens (thumbless ones)! Eeeee...everything is co cute, I feel like I could already eat those tiny little fingers and toes that will be cuddled in these!

My friend will hopefully be thrilled.

This was my third(!) Little Coffee Bean cardigan. Not my last I am sure. It's so easy and so cute. Maybe I'll even knit a solid version at some point? I tried to size down with smaller needles. I omitted buttonholes entirely and will be sewing on some snaps later.

The label only goes on the cardi :)

My second or third time making the Magic Coffee Baby hat. It just goes so well with the cardigan that I often wonder it isn't part of a set. I use regular ribbing and a smaller needle. Baby hat brims need all the stretch they can get IMO! Of course I had to add the pompom on top. It looks way cuter than an Icord I think.

I'm soooooo in love with these wee little mitts! Each one took me under twenty minutes to make on magic loop. I sized these down too.

The booties are well...not my favorite paret of the layette but they're still kinda cute. I'm not happy with the toe shaping on one of them. But that's my poor sewing at fault.

Link to all patterns here on my Ravelry page
Yarn used throughout: Knit Picks Brava, in mint and custard colorways
Needles- varied but ranging from 3.75 mm to 4.5 mm

Sharing today's post with FO Friday, Fiber Art Friday and Creative Friday. 

Pastel overload!

I've taken a break from the lovely Latvian Garden to work on some much needed baby stuff. They're all meant as gifts but I'm keeping the recipient a secret till the little munchkins arrive. All I can say is that everything needs to be ready by September, so that they can be sent to the recipient in good time and everything needs to be gender neutral.

First off, I'm doing my old standby for baby jackets- yes this is my third Little Coffee Bean cardigan!

I got a little tired of the grey stripes so this one is in pastel yellow and green. It makes me think of spring. So refreshing!

I'm also working on a matching hat-- yes its the Magic Coffee Baby hat again (another third!) in the same colors.

I've been asked to make matching booties and mittens too. I don't have a fixed idea of what pattern I'll use yet, but the color scheme will continue :)

I'm using the yellow as MC for the entire layette, so the green leftovers may work their way into another project.

I can't say enough good things about Brava worsted. Its the softest acrylic I have ever worked with, the colors are fabulous and so is the price. Plus I bought all the yarn during KnitPicks summer sale!

Sending to WIP Wednesday. I'm sure I'll have an FO post for Friday if I can get Blogger to work on my phone as we'll be traveling-- off to Cape Cod!

WIP Wednesday

Still working on my Latvian Garden, still making little mistakes but still LOVING it!

Action shot!

I finished Chart 1. Three more to go!

I'm using CC 1 (the red) for part of Chart 2.

Sharing post with WIP Wednesday.

Repost for Friday

ETA: Still plugging away at the blanket. I worked 3 rows of hearts in red, 2 in bouquet (a heathery purple) and 2 more rows in red. Will add a final row of red hearts and then move on to Chart 2 :)

Reposting for Fiber Arts Friday and Creative Friday.

Color! Why was I so late to jump on the color work bandwagon? I love bright, saturated colors (as Vianden, Aidez, and many more of my projects testify), so color work and I should be natural affinities. Sadly, I was scared of all the twisting of yarn and long floats of yarn that stranding involved, of the bobbins intarsia involves and I just find double knitting a bit tedious.

So I drooled over the Latvian Garden pattern for months. Years, maybe.

Till I decided to jump in last week. And I couldn't be happier! Tension issues, and minor mistakes notwithstanding.

I'm leaving reasonably long floats since the wool is scratchy and the blanket will be lined.

The stockinette curls terribly. As expected, I suppose. The Palette yarn is lovely and saturated but I've found so many frayed and broken bits in the green its disgusting. At  least it splices together like a dream.

I'm sure there will be many more color work projects in my future. And I will need some hand holding and possible Dutch courage for the steek!

Sharing with WIP Wednesday

Friday: An FO and some freaky weather

Taken by the Hudson, with the WTC tower in the background

We haven't seen the sun for almost a week here, instead we have fogs and 96-99% humidity levels. Ugh weather. It was so sunny on Sunday too! Sigh.

There are very few times when I stop knitting altogether. That's kind of what happened with this pullover. Unfortunately, it was a test knit, so I do feel bad that I took so long to finish it, but luckily I made the deadline and I wasn't the last to finish, so that sort of consoles me. It was a project that was interesting at first, but got a bit boring too once the lace part was over and there were miles of stockinette to do.

Its a tad loose- an issue most testers have reported to the designer. I had trouble starting the yoke too, but once Nell, the designer, clarified the positioning of the marker it went very well. The lace was actually pretty interesting to do.

I skipped the waist shaping with Nell's permission.

Other than that my only mod was to do a k2p2 rib at the hem instead of k1p1.

I love the color and the yarn. I might have mentioned how much I love the Dolce Merino yarn in my last post...well I can't say enough nice things about it.

Pattern: Daisy
Yarn: Dolce Merino (DK weight) in the Sassafras colorway
Needles: 4.5 mm (US 7) and 5.00 mm (US 8)

Sharing with FO Friday, Fiber Arts Friday and Creative Friday. This is FO #11 of 2014.

P.S- Thanks to all the readers who commiserated with my meltdown post last Wednesday. It's nothing I've (or the DH) has done, just circumstances that are frustrating for us and over which we have no control. Your sympathy is deeply appreciated. Shukriya! 

WIP Wednesday: knitting through a meltdown

When I have a lifarmageddon, I stop knitting and curl up into a (metaphorical) ball. When its just your normal, average meltdown, I knit lace.

The more complicated, the better.

I actually won the pattern for the Mehndi stole on Ravelry. Well, I won a pattern of my choice (the sponsor paid for the pattern) and I chose this. The lattice like cables, the sprawling vines, the smell of henna (ok so that's a memory!), I knew I had to knit this pattern.

Pic taken after 1.5 repeats of chart A

The complicated twisted stitches, the need to read the chart for almost every stitch is exactly what I need right now. It calms me and I can't stop to think! 

Even the reverse looks gorge!

I'm using a yummy, yummy yarn. Its Universal's Dolce merino, a merino and microfiber blend and it is soft! I just knit a pullover with it and it was a dream to work with, no splitting, no fuzz and frogs wonderfully. My swatches didn't grow or shrink either. It's going to be a cuddly wrap.

If the p2together tbls don't kill me first.

Sharing with WIP Wednesday 

TGIF!

I know I've been away for a very long time. I would start out by writing posts, then delete all my drafts. April was a hard month for us and we're only just getting over it. So much so that I lost my knitting mojo. I'd sit with the same unfinished sweater next to me, work a few stitches, then give up.

I've never been so slow to knit before. I guess sometimes knitting isn't therapy.

On to the FO, then. This one was finished ages back, but I never got round to writing about it. Mainly because of inertia-- why blog when its easier not to? Also my mods didn't quite work out like I had imagined.

I love how to top half of the sweater fits. Its like it was made for me- oh, wait, it was.

Now the bottom half, I wanted to make longer than the pattern and also try to give it an A-line shape. To that effect, I went up a needle size and made several increases on the sides. I'm wondering if I should have made increases all round to get more of a skater dress effect. In reality, I sbhould have started the increases sooner. Oh well. You live and learn.

I chose not to knit the cowl that the pattern calls for. I really liked the boat neck.

Still the color is very me and it does fit well. Maybe too well around the tummy!

Pattern: Francis revisited
Yarn: Knit Picks Brava worsted, wine colorway
Needles: 5.5 mm, 6 mm, 6.5 mm

Sharing this post with FO Fridays, Fiber Arts Friday and Creative Friday. (Linking up anyway even though Tami and Natural Suburbia are yet to add their posts!)

Wip???

After endless swatching and two false starts all I have left is this:

What does one call a disaster of such epic proportions?! Lol. This just proves I am math impaired. And I can't read directions either. 

Oh- the blue box is where I store my stitch markers. I have quite a few of them it seems. 

Gah! 

Farewell, T!

One of the saddest truths about being an expat, living in a mixed, mostly transient community, is that people come and go. They leave to start families. They leave to sometimes return home. They leave to put down roots.

One of my closest friends here, is leaving for good. She's returning to her roots and while I am deeply saddened at her imminent departure (she flies out today), I'm happy that she's happy with her choice to return home. With their family growing, it makes sense for her and her husband to go back.

I dedicate this post to you, T.

Today's FO is the baby blanket I knit for her. I won't be able to meet her or her baby anytime soon and although I will miss seeing her and cuddling the little one (due in a few short months), I hope the blanket will comfort him or her in my stead.

I knit the blanket super fast because I did want to finish it before she left. Since they have decided to keep the baby's sex a surprise, I used a pastel yellow shade, acrylic for ease of washing and larger needles because it doesn't get very cold in Bangalore, where she's headed.

The ribbon finishes the whole thing off nicely. I was hoping the hearts were brown when I bought it, but oh well.

And my label, to remind her of me.

The pattern, as written, has no real edging. I added a crocheted scallop trim to make it prettier.

Finished dimensions are about 30"x 30".

I gave it to her on her farewell a few days ago. She liked it!

Pattern: diagonal tweed baby blanket
Yarn: Lion Brand Pound of Love, pastel yellow colorway
Needles: 6.00 mm (US 10)
Hook: 6 mm

Linknig up with FO Friday, Fiber Arts Friday and Creative Friday. 

WIP Wednesday: Aggravated!

Sorry there are no pictures today. I'm kind of upset, because my project keeps encountering the same problem! I've been working on my Francis revisited pullover, and at last count, the cable on my knit picks options needles has snapped four times. Four times!!! Each time I end up dropping several stitches before realizing the darn thing has broken and picking up the dropped stitches. Ugh. The join where the plastic cable meet the metal holder must be weak because the plastic keeps popping out. I've thrown out three of the cables, kept the last one- which broke yesterday- in case knitpicks asks me to send the cable back. I've emailed customer care but I don't know what they will say. I'm really not inclined to spend postage money on returning a broken cable!

Ah.....end of rant. How much better I feel!

Friends, Friday and 'Frisco

First off--I have a terrible sinus problem. Dry winter air + indoor heating + leaky humidifier + dust allergies= a very unhappy and congested nose. And just a few days before we head to San Francisco too. Ugh! I've been sleeping (and basically living) with the humidifier on all day, but it doesn't do much good. I've taken steam, irrigated my sinuses and popped several pills to stop the sneezing and the general feeling that my head will explode. Will we survive the long flight and the dry air?

We can only hope.

Today I'm sharing something I finished awhile back, but couldn't call it like 'finished finished' because the buttons took forever to arrive. These winter storms have much to answer for (including my present state of misery).

I've never made leg warmers before, but I can see the attraction. Warm and cute! And a very easy knit, especially if you do them in the round. I made these for a friend, and the pattern she chose is knit flat. Its a cute pattern, but if I made it for myself, I'd knit in the round and the buttons would be sewn on just for show. As a matter of fact, some designs have mysteriously appeared in my Ravelry queue....wonder how that happened :D

She does seem to really like them so I'm happy. And they turned out cute which makes me happier.

Pattern: Legendary Leggings
Yarn: Lion brand wool ease, wheat colorway
Needles: 5.00 mm (US 8), 5.5 mm (US 9)

Linking up with FO Friday (although her post isn't up this week), Fiber arts Friday and Creative Friday. I'm catching an obscenely early flight tomorrow and will be traveling all of next week so there likely won't be much posting done. Have a great weekend!

WIP Wednesday: Working on a wearable

The Voice is back! Its the perfect show to knit to in my opinion, because all my attention can be on my knitting, so especially perfect for cables or lace or whatever. I am however, working on stockinette at the moment. I bought the yarn for Francis revisited during the Knit Picks cyber Monday sale and was it a steal! I cast on early in January, worked the body down to the hip increases (its a top down) and then...stopped.

It would have been sensible to have worked on and finished this cute tunic when the polar freeze was shivering me timbers (is that a phrase that works in this context?!). I'm kooky that way however, and I got so bored of the mindless stockinette that I bundled int up in a bag and shoved it out of sight and started working on so many of the other things I've worked on and finished these past few weeks. I've just dug it out again so that I can at least wear it this spring!

I'm about 60-65% done with the baby blanket too. It will hopefully block to about 30 inches square. Since all that garter was also starting to get to me, I felt like I needed a change :)

I have enough yarn to lengthen the body to tunic length. I went up a needle size after finishing the hip increases to accommodate the extra length and get a figure flattering A-line shape. It just depends on how bored I get :)

The color is a very rich, very saturated wine. Its (yet another!!!) snow day here today so the color may be a tad off. Ugh. I'm tired of the snow. At least I've got coffee with my friends to look forward to later on.

Linking up with WIP Wednesday with Tami. And now off for my usual Wednesday blog hop. Stay warm!

The great switcheroo and hey its Friday too

Hello everyone. Firstly, please excuse any untidiness and missing links etc from the page, which unlike today's project, is still very much a work in progress. I've had a lot of fun with the header, but I'm still behind on updating my blogroll and linking my Google+ account so that anyone who wants can follow this blog.

As I mentioned in my last post on my previous blog, I have decided to focus my blog posts solely on my crafting endeavors as of now. Things at home are in flux and I just don't have the mental bandwidth to deal with anything else right now--except for knitting!

Why the name?

I used to store my yarn stash in my oven when it was small enough to not have taken over the house. I live close to New York city, where women have been known to store shoes, clothes and handbags in their ovens, so I figured an ovenful of yarn isn't really that much of a leap from there. My stash has long outgrown my oven though!

I still love the name.

And now, on to the show and tell.

Today, after many weeks, I'm actually showing a finished object made for me :) I started this beret during the first polar vortex in January, finished it by the second and have been wearing it incessantly ever since. The problem is, I never got around to taking pictures till like yesterday!

The angora merino keeps me cozy even with the lace pattern.

I love the cables!

Pattern: Rose red by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Cascade yarns Cloud 9
Needles: US 6 & 4

Linking up with FO Friday, Fiber Arts Friday and Creative Friday. I apologize for not having put up your images yet, but will do so very soon. 

Reality check

I am embarrassed to say this but last night, we could not find the camera's battery charger. I was cooking dinner at the time (mattar ke parathe, nothing says winter to me like peas!) and my hands were all floury, so did not help the hub turn the place upside down. I eventually remembered that it was next to the TV. He then muttered under his breath, 'there's wool everywhere, wherever I look'. Sheepish looks.

Now, he's generally a fairly liberal guy and he usually doesn't bother me about the housekeeping and whatever money I spend (he knows I keep a fairly strict budget) but I think I need to go on a yarn budget now. After all, with enough wool to knit my way through probably 2013, I should stop at some point, I guess :(

I worked out how much yarn I have by yardage, even if it has been assigned to a project. I lost count after this number because it was exhausting and flat out shocking. Here goes.....66.3 km. Probably only about 70% of that humongous stash! Really? I don't think any more- I'm SURE I have a problem. and yes, I did post about snagging some stuff at the knitpicks sale too :(

Reality check. How much money could I have saved from not buying so much yarn? I'm betting $500 is a too conservative estimate. Especially since I have stuff to save up for! So, starting today, I will not be purchasing any new yarn until my stash drops down substantially. How much more depends on the total number, like I said, I lost count after 66.3 km. So according to my knit meter I have worked 8.4 km this year. I am not liking the stats. Of course, it does not include crochet, but then am not a big crocheter, although my granny square has eaten up 6 balls of yarn so far. Sniff.

And to think I signed up for classes at the lion brand yarn studio in January. Will have to make do with yarn from my stash if possible.

Baby blankie redux

I don't know why I find making anything with purling so boring. I'd rather work in the round all the time, even while working lace (which is why I love circular shawls!). However, a baby blanket made in the round is probably beyond my patience due to large numbers of stitches. Or is it just that they look doily like to me?

I offered to make my friend K one. She's expecting her 2nd baby, a boy, in early Jan. I went to the Lion Brand outlet in Carlstadt, NJ with her (she crochets) and we picked out the yarn. Pure wool in worsted weight, red in color. Now pure wool would probably not be my first choice for a baby, given all the hand washing and TLC it would require, but hey, it's her kid right? So I CO with 5.5 mm needles, worked 20 odd rows and decided the resultant fabric was too drapey and not stiff enough for a blanket. I ripped it all out (sigh, yes) and restarted on 5mm needles. Not too much better but it will have more structure I imagine. The yarn feels funny, honestly, it just does not feel worsted to me. Is it just a bum lot? I have worked with lion wool before with amazing results, but I honestly cannot remember how it felt, especially since I used it to make a shawl :D! Rav comments are mostly on how scratchy the yarn is, K will probably want to line it with fabric, which will help with re blocking afterwards I suppose, hope the red will not bleed too much. Anyway she has used this yarn loads of times, so i suppose she knows what she's in for.

I cast on for 11 blocks of 10 st each, and added 5 edge st on both sides. The other time I made this blanket (for yet another friend), I had used thicker yarn, 6mm needles and CO for 12 blocks. It was huge. My lil niece will probably use it for many years. This time though, I was aiming to size down a bit.

I'm so sleepy now, and it's only 10.16. How boring my life is.

Brigade pullover

So, I've been working on (not secretly of course!) this snazzy pullover for S (the DH). It's an acrylic yarn in worsted/aran weight. The pattern, Brigade, is available for $7 on Ravelry. Before you gasp- oh no, acrylic, let me just say that its really hard selecting colors for him and that he loved this grey. His reason for acrylic? He wanted a machine washable sweater which did not need to be re blocked with every washing (sparing me the trouble, oh boy is that kind!).Machine wash is good, especially when you tend to spill stuff on your clothing. Shh.

However, I've not worked with 4mm needles in forever, and the agony of miles of stockinette with no end in sight is driving me CRAZY. I knit and knit and it never seems to grow. Ah despair, we meet again. Anyway, it's just over 10" long. 7" more to go before I work the armholes. Here's a WIP pic (grey on a rainy day, so poor pic quality)

Is there no way to get the damn image where I want it to be?!!

Anyway, there is a wonky bit in the ribbed part- I tripped over my ball of yarn on my rush to take a phone call, and ripped out a few st from the needles. I picked them up, but carelessly, as I couldn't find a crochet hook just then. My bad. Will need to use duplicate st to fix it after all the knitting is done...which right now, seems like never. Sigh.

This thanksgiving, I thought....

So S, my DH and I come from middle class backgrounds, and that I believe sometimes muddles up his head. Um, is that why we are here, in smelly New Jersey, trying to carve out a better life for ourselves? Or for our babes unborn? Or did we just drift here, without thinking too much about the whys and the wherefores of it all? Who knows.

Trouble is, working in the hue melting pot that is finance, makes you insecure. Especially if you're starting out. The wealth on display here is mind boggling. What does that matter though, in NYC where appearances are everything?

My poor husband. I wish you would join me and sit back and think about what we have here. Or should I go first?

Sure, I have friends who are rich and successful...or at least they have husbands or families who are. Sure, everyone wants to be wealthier, prettier, everything else, but here I am...

And here is my list of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

1. I am extremely grateful for my loving DH. He is so amazing and enriches my life in a million different ways. Most importantly, he knows every detail of my past and still embraces me with all my flaws and scars. I am grateful to be married to you, take care of you and have you to hold on to when nightmares come and when I get scared after watching trailers of Paranormal Activity 3 :)

2. My sweet puppies, Serafina, Xena and Leo...angels alive all three. Serafina who saved me in a million ways when I was alone and friendless in Bangalore, Xena, the enthusiastic licker and Leo, the pup who will not walk nicely on a leash.

3. I am so grateful for the use of my hands- and all the craft that helps keep me both usefully occupied and sane. Because I feel like I create a piece of beauty every time I pick up the needles or the hook. And all the pretty yarn!

4. I am grateful that I can still write, even if it needs constant pruning and refining and reworking. Even if no one will ever read my novel, stories or poetry, I feel privileged to be a teller of tales.

This thanksgiving, I am so grateful for all my blessings, and so thankful to S, because every day, in a different way, he makes me happy.