I've been away too long

I've lost my knitting mojo. I haven't knit for quite a while. I started a sweater from one of the Jo Sharp Knit pattern books but could not bring myself to start the sleeves. I finished one "monkey" sock and am about two-thirds done with the second one. I can't bring myself to finish that one either.

Instead, I've been sewing. Let's go back. My husband gifted me with a Bernina serger (model 800L) for Christmas. It sat unused for quite a while but no more.

I've finished the Amy Butler "Sophia" handbag. It took quite a while and was somewhat tedious. But it turned out well, at least on the outside. I'm not so pleased with the lining so would change a couple of things next time around -- assuming there is a next time. Pictures later.

I finished a flowered, knit dress, which I like to call my mumu. I will post pictures of that too.

For now, here are pictures of an apron I made for my sister. The pattern is from Hoodie, and it's a fully reversible circular apron. I loved how it turned out!! The fabric was from Fabric Depot -- a huge mindboggling place with too many options. I believe the fabric designer was Michael Miller, but don't quote me on that. This is side 1...

Followed by pocket detail of side 1...

And side 2, with pocket detail...

Tweed Beret

This was the second one I made, the first went to my sister. I like mine OK, but my sister's turned out better. This was a very easy pattern and only took me a few hours, all told. Sorry the picture is not the greatest.

Too busy to be productive

We definitely hit the ground running as of the new year. My husband is in the middle of a three-week, multi-million dollar trial (BTW, we're both lawyers), which means that the boys and I get to see much less of him. Of course, it's not always like this, and it won't last forever. Work has also been unbelievably busy for me and has been for the past three or four months. In the midst of all this, everyone got sick, the baby worst of all, poor boy.

Despite all of the above, I have managed to finish two projects to start the year. Of course, both projects are hats, but I'm still rather pleased with saying I have to FOs. I finished the Skull Isle hat for my husband -- he wears it all the time. It gives him a little bit of an edge.

The other hat is a lilac colored tweed beret. The pattern is from Jo Sharp's Knit, Issue 3. I had made one for my sister for Christmas and liked it so much, I made one for myself. Plus I had almost one full skein of yarn left, and only needed to buy one more. The yarn is lovely to work with, works up quickly and has a very soft feel but definitely tweedy appearance. The odd thing is for some reason, the one I made for my sister looks much better than the one I made for myself. Something went weird with the decreases at the crown of hat, which also threw off the finishing. With my sister's, I was so happy with how the finished seam (the hat is knit on straight needles with one seam at the back) appeared to be almost invisible -- you had to look really hard to find it.

Yarn details are as follows: Jo Sharp's Silkroad Aran Tweed, 85% wool, 10% silk, 5% cashmere; 95 m (104 yds)/50 g (1 3/4 oz); tension 18 sts & 24 rows over 10 cm (4") st st using 5.00 mm (US 6) needles.

I have two projects on needles currently -- this despite my early resolution to only have one project going at a time. The first is a hat, Shedir from Knitty's special PDF breast cancer awareness issue from 2004. I saw so many posts about this hat on other blogs, I just had to make one too. I picked out a chocolate brown color in Rowan's Calmer. I'm about half-way through.

The second project I just started yesterday. It is a fitted cardigan, also from Jo Sharp's Knit, Issue 3. I picked out a dusky blue color, kinda by default. My LYS (Yarn Garden in Portland, OR) didn't really have enough of any one color I liked. There was a steely gray color that I loved, but the store only had three skeins. Bummer. I also purchased two skeins of Silkroad Aran for a hat, color burgandy.

Other yarn purchases since my last entry, for my birthday (12/29), I treated myself to a day off work to go yarn and fabric stores that I otherwise would not have the time to frequent. I went to Close Knit in Portland's Alberta Arts District. The store is small but just crammed full of yarn and books. In addition to the skein of Calmer in brown for the Shedir pattern, I picked up a skein of Colinette's Jitterbug -- I can never resist a new sock yarn.

I also went next door to Bolt, a fabric store that specializes mostly in cotton print fabrics. I picked up some from designer Joel Dewberry for Westminster Fibers -- I had intended to make Amy Butler's swing bag and bought the pattern at the same time. Since then, I used part of the fabric to make a stuffed cat for my pre-schooler. It helped him sleep by himself for about one week, until he got tired of it and started throwing "Kitty Cat Stripe" out of his bedroom at bedtime and requesting I stay instead.

This brings me to my last point. I've rediscovered the joys of sewing. I actually sewed before I knitted. But sewing involves a lot more equipment set-up and is much less portable than knitting. My wonderful husband bought me a Bernina serger for Christmas (UNBELIEVABLE) so now I have my little sewing corner set up in our basement playroom/computer room.

My current sewing project is Amy Butler's Sophia bag. It's an adorable shape. I'm about one-third of the way done. The exterior is completed, but I still have to put together the lining and attach it. I am actually quite proud of how it is turning out. Most of the sewing is using a sewing machine zipper foot because of the piping, which can be difficult. I had read from Joelle Halverson's "Last-Minuted Quilted Gifts" about this attachment called a walking foot. I picked one up at the huge Fabric Depot in SE Portland. It's the greatest sewing invention ever. It's meant to sew through several layers of thick fabric, so it sort of scootches all the fabric through without causing any of the layers to stretch or pucker too much. I love it.

Too Much Yarn, Too Little Time

Last weekend, I told my husband I was making a quick run to the yarn store (Yarn Garden in Portland, OR). As promised, it was quick -- including the drive back and forth, I was gone only 40 minutes, tops. But $60 later, I ended up with yarns for three different hats.



From left going clockwise, the sage green is Berroco's Ultra Alpaca; the blue is Araucania's Nature Wool. I thought I would use one or both to do the koolhaus pattern from Interweave Knit's Holiday 2007 issue. I've also read about the hat on the Brooklyntweed blog -- it seems like a great project.

The third yarn is Jo Sharp's Silk Road Aran Tweed. I actually made a beret from Jo Sharp's "Knit," Issue 3. I gave it to my sister for Christmas, but I loved it so much, I wanted to make one for myself. Plus I had enough yarn left over from the first project that I only needed to buy one more to complete a second hat. So my sister and I will have matching hats, just like we did when we were little girls.

But I didn't stop there. I also bought MORE sock yarn:



I do not need more sock yarn. I already have more than I can probably knit up in the next five years, but as you can see, that is not a deterrence for me. The one on the right is from Noro. I have never knit with Noro yarns before, but they have such an interesting texture (and beautiful colors), I could not resist. The yarn on the left is Araucania's Ranco, a superwash wool/nylon blend that looks soft but durable enough for socks.

Tomorrow I am taking a day off work as a mini birthday celebration for me. I plan to hit a couple of yarn stores, as well as some fabric stores. My purchasing is definitely outpacing my knitting speed at this point.

Good-bye 2007; resolutions for the new year

Along with several other resolutions for the new year, I've decided to start tracking my projects -- part of the "get organized" resolution I make every year.

Currently, I am working on the Skull Isle Hat from Debbie Stoller's new book, "Son of Stitch 'N Bitch." The fair-isle pattern looks deceptively complicated but is fairly simple. I had been trying to complete it as a Christmas project, but with only one day left until Christmas and only half done...well, you know how that goes. I love the yarn, Dalegarn's Baby Ull, which I've worked with before. It's a superwash fingering weight-wool (50 g/165 m).