a little self control, please

Already, ALREADY I'm itching to start a new project. Someone, help me please. I won some free sock yarn last night from sophies and now I can't stop thinking about socks. One year out of college and my concentration is already gone. {{sigh}}

Here is an old progress picture from Juliet. I promise I'll have pictures of the finished garment soon!

another day another project

Today the koigu kpm I ordered arrived on my doorstep. And... I'm lovin' it! (wait a minute, is this a mcdonalds commercial?) It feels great to knit with and the color is a perfect dusty lavender. I have to say, I can be quite picky about my knitting materials. The process is just so much more enjoyable when my yarn feels delicate and luxurious, and my needles don't snag or pull at the stitches. Ok, I'll admit it, I'm sort of a knitting snob. Shhh...



So, the pattern for the Vogue dress calls for size 7 needles and for the yarn to be doubled. Doubled? That means DOUBLE the price. No thank you, Vogue. So, I am knitting just one strand. This causes a little problem: needle size. I get the exact gauge on size 6's, but I like the look of the fabric better when I knit it on 5's. I'm knitting about two stitches smaller than gauge on the 5's. What to do? My gut reaction is that the smaller gauge is okay because I'm pretty small. But, then again, I might have an anxiety attack if I knit the whole thing and then it is too small to wear. Suggestions? Opinions?



Now, I can't end this post without giving a some credit to shop girl for turning me on to the idea of using the koigu kpm for this project. I'm really happy with the way it is knitting up so far. So, thanks!

sneak peak: Juliet

All I have left to do is sew on the button and take pictures with the sweater on (!)

There are a lot more really great patterns from the Debbie Bliss Rialto book - even a guys cardigan that I would actually knit for my boyfriend. (Can I digress for a moment to say how AWFUL most mens sweater patterns are?) The Rialto yarn is 100% merino, and almost identical to Karabella Aurora 8 and Filatura Di Crosa Zara, both of which I love. It's a good weight and shows pattern really nicely. In conclusion, A+ Debbie Bliss!

keep on keepin' on

I must say, I've reeeeally been accomplishing a lot! If blogging is this successful at getting me to do things, maybe I should start more than one. Perhaps one about finding my dream job... and one about paying bills promptly... ahem.

I have been working all day, diligently sewing away at Juliet. She's almost done! Just one more sleeve to attach. I had to take a break because my shoulder was starting to hurt. Knitthing injury? Hmmm... Maybe I should't admit such things in a public space. Anyway, I should be finished tomorrow and have a picture up sometime this week.



In other news... I made a purchase today! This is both good and bad. Good because - yay a new project to start on! Bad because - I still have a million other unfinished things to do. I promise I will have self control. Just because new yarn is coming my way doesn't mean I have to start knitting with it the second I get it. I hope.

The yarn I bought is koigu kpm from purl soho. I have never worked with it before (or even seen it in person, eek!) but I've heard lots of good things. The idea of it being a hand dyed "semi-solid" color intrigues me. I don't normally like yarn that changes colors because it can look to tacky or homemade crafty (if you know what i mean). But this yarn sounds interesting because the color IS a solid but it has a little variation and depth to it. Let's hope it's as good as it sounds.

This is what I plan to knit with it:



The dress is from the Spring/Summer Vogue Knitting. I think it's very cute, and I like the fact that it is something I could wear out or to work. Also, any item of clothing that shows off shoes is always a plus in my book.

Tomorrow I'm going to Chicago to visit the BF. On the itenerary: Mono concert Thursday night, and a Cubs game on Sunday. And maybe even a trip to nina, a knitting store in Bucktown that i loove. But seriously, I'm not allowed to buy anything. I'm not sure what knitting to bring with me to work on. Most of the things I've got going are in the finishing stage and don't really require much knitting at this point. Hmmm.. I"ll have to brainstorm. There's gotta be something unfinished lying around somewhere that I've forgotten about.

first FO for the blog

see, it's working already!

today i finished sewing a needle case that i started moooonths ago. although i would like to take full credit for the design, i have to give credit where credit is due - it was inspired by the cases i found on www.organizedknitter.com. i modified the inside so that I could store all different types of needles and nicknacks.

the case is made out of a beautiful liberty fabric i purchased in london. i had been saving it for something i knew i would get a lot of use out of, and i think i found the perfect project!

here are some pictures of how the case folds up. it seems like a bit of folding, but making it this way allows lots of room to store plenty of things on the inside without being too bulky to fit into a bag or carry around.





aaaand the inside:



aaaand the finished product!



yippieskippie. now time to go fill it up with all my many supplies.

one

well, i've decided to start a blog.

i will be using this blog primarily to post knitting projects (and possibly, my other craft/artistic musings). the reason for this is simple: i need motivation. motivation to FINISH, that is. see, i love to START projects. i have about... oh... eight? things that are approx 95% complete. for some reason, i just seem to lose all interest once it comes time to sew all my pretty knitted pieces together. sewing, ugh. why does that part have to be so boooring? and tedious?

anyhow, i figure, that all of this typing and picture posting might do the trick.

stay tuned.