novamade

what's on my plate

 
Were you aware that November has been renamed Vestvember?  If you weren't, please now consider yourself duly informed.   While some may argue that the vest is experiencing something of a resurgence, I don't think they ever really went anywhere.  My mother has always worn vests, more as a matter of practicality than style (if we are being honest here).  Her arms always get hot in sweaters (I don't understand it; but, there you are).   I have never really thought about it, perse, but I guess a vest is a good venture to undertake as a knitter for no other reason than the lack of sleeves. 

Given my enthusiasm for the vest knitting (as surely that is what I am expressing), one would think I could manage to finish a vest in a reasonable amount of time; but, no, one would be wrong.

 
So I am using Vestvember as an opportunity to finish up Special K's specially requested vest that I have been working on since March (MARCH!).  It's not difficult, I just find the knitting uninspiring.  But he requested it, and it's almost done, so I just need to make the effort.  I have four hours of train travel tomorrow for a one day conference in Boston, I think that will probably help.

 
Most of my crafting hours, of late, have been taken up with crochet.  I am putting the edging on the Babette blanket.  It'll be done this weekend, because it has to be, my friend Lori is going to Costa Rica next week and plans on taking the blanket with her, so, yeah.  Gotta love a real deadline.

 
Other things that have been occupying my time...baking.  I know some of you miss the pies, quite frankly, so do I.  But the best pie (real pie) has butter in the pie crust (especially if it's a shortbread crust...) and I can not imagine eating fake pie crust, which is what I would have to do with my new dairy-free lifestyle. 

I will be honest.  I have missed bake goods.  A lot.  So I finally decided to read up on dairy-free baking, which basically amounts to vegan baking (which I used think was an oxymoron...oh the hubris). 

But thanks to Vegan Cupcakes Takeover the World, there are now baked goods on my menu again.  And they are, delicious.  Who knew?  I just made the "sexy lowfat vanilla cupcakes with fresh berries" last night, and I am not ashamed to admit that I ate one for breakfast this morning.  I guess I might be willing to rethink my stance on the real versus fake pie crust thing...eventually, but I will just stick with the cupcakes for now.  Happiness is a cupcake!

 

what'cha doin'?

 
There's really not a whole lot to see here; but, I was finding my blog silence a little sad, so I thought I'd drop in.  I am in the midst of various and sundry projects in progress and have nothing in the way of finished articles of brilliance to share.  And since there was a time when people who read knitting and craft blogs liked to read about what other knitters (and crafters) were working or how knits were holding up, I thought, "I could do that."

A long time ago, when he was wee, I knit Little Sir a hat to warm his noggin. 

 
This picture is 2.5 years old!!

It was a little big; but, it did its job.  When we got the first big chill in Connecticut earlier this week, we were scrambling around to find things to stay warm and we found his old hat again.  My first thought was to use it on Little Mister's head; but, Sir was having none of it.  It was his and he was going to wear it.  Surprisingly, it fits.  Actually, it fits much better now and he is super excited about it.

He is convinced that his yellow mittens work with the hat as a natty ensemble.  I don't like to argue with him, so I just agreed.

Of course, this means that Little mister is a bit on the hatless side right now.  This makes him sad. I need to do something about his hat situation; but, it would mean covering up his curls, which I am loathe to do.

 
Aside from digging through winter wear to find knits that don't exist (since it takes me forever to finish anything these days), I have been slogging away on my Babette Blanket which got stalled due to yarn shortages. 

 
I grossly underestimated the amount of yarn a crocheted blanket would require.  I think I read somewhere that a crocheted blanket takes 30% more yarn than one that is knit.  I can see why some many crocheters love acrylic, because seriously, I have had to put in two more orders for wool and you know, the natural fibers, they are not inexpensive.

 
I am a little obsessed with crochet right now.  Aside from the amount of yarn required, it's so efficient.  If you are measuring efficiency by time and not resources, I suppose.  The economy of movement required is pretty thrilling too.

 
I am still knitting too, of course.  I started a pair of socks for charity. 

 
It's a plain old stockinette sock.  I am not in love with the way it's turning out, which is probably for the best.  If I liked it too much there would be danger in not wanting to offer it up for charitable purposes.

And then I am still knitting the vest I have spent an inordinate amount of time working on.  You'd think I was knitting a man's sweater for Pete's sake.  Thank goodness for two-hour line waits for flu shots, I guess.

 
So that's what I am about right now, what about you? What'cha doin'?

it's fall y'all

When I was growing up in a part of Florida that is included in the charmingly referred to"Redneck Riviera" (though I prefer the Emerald Coast, myself), people would often joke around about the passing of seasons.  Usually, we had to remind each other that fall was supposedly in the air because the seasons could basically be descibed as, "kinda cold" and "really hot."  I don't remember there being a lot of in-betweens, weather-wise. 

But now that I am a Yankee (that's what my friend Alanna calls me now, it's kind of funny), I have the opportunity to experience the passage of seasons and all the trappings that go with the seasonal changes as they happen in New England.

Aside from being the most colorful and, and in my opinion, the prettiest season, fall is also transitional.  You may not need a huge bulky scarf; but a lacey shawl or scarf made with a touch of wool is nice. 

That's why I like knitting shawls in the summer, I can be wardrobe ready in the fall.  The newest addition to my shawl collection is Percy.  The pattern is a freebie on ravely as well as on the author's blog.   I have no idea why she might it available for free other than kindness, because I would (and I am sure others) would gladly pay for a pattern that produces something so pretty.

I won't say the pattern was easy.  There are people on ravely who have said this, I think they are lying.  The pattern isn't overtly difficult; but, it is not what I would call a piece of cake.  I would not reccomend this to a new lace knitter (if I had chosen this as my first lace projects, I can say with a great degree of certainty that I would have never picked up a lace pattern ever again), there are way easier patterns out there to cut your lace teeth on (Lace Leaf Shawl, Flower Basket Shawl, and of course Ishbel, to name just a few).  The intricate pattern detail requires you to pay attention on the right and the wrong side of the shawl.  Both sides are charted for most of the shawl.  There are a great many nupps to contend with.  You could, I am sure, knit the shawl without the nupps, but I think the nupps really add a lot to this shawl (there was a time I thought nupps were kind of frivolous, but now, I sort of like them).

This shawl is something of a show stopper.  Every time I wear it (and I wear it quite a bit), I am asked (if the person is a knitter) where the pattern can be acquired or (if the person is not a knitter) where I bought the shawl/scarf.  Just this morning someone asked if I would make one for her, because she loved it so much.  And you guys know how I am about good friends asking me to make them things. Sigh. Clearly, I need to start walking around with my fall crafting list upon my person (just as soon as I finish the leftover crafts from the summer, of course).

Specifics on the rav and in the gallery.  Happy fall!

autumn on the horizon

Summer, auf wiedersehen. Bonjour, Autumn.

If there is one thing a contest or giveaway is good for, it's learning that you are not alone in your insanity.  Some of you have some crazy long lists; and, I totally respect that.  My plans for fall seemed ready, and then a friend gave me a request that might push a ton of my fall projects into winter (as opposed to the few projects I was previously expecting).

So I think this is all of the fall knitting that I have planned.  The grey (back left) is some Beaverslide Dy Goods McTaggert Tweed destined to be a sweater.  I have no idea which one since I have changed my mind about the pattern no less than 6 times between taking it out of the cabinet and winding the cakes.  The orange yarn next to the grey is going to be a shawl, very fall, no?  The taupe/brown yarn next to the orange is going to be a Wallaby,  I think it's time that Little Sir had one that was easy care and cotton.  Below that is some dyed Perrendale wool that is going to be spun up and knit into a sweater for Little Mister.  Next to the blue roving and underneath the orange yarn is a sweater that has been in progress since last fall--it needs sleeves, that's doable.  A skein of Cherry Tree Supersock in birches for socks.  Some Louet sport...maybe another sweater for Little Mister, clearly one who gets so happy about fall needs fall sweaters?  And then the single sock with the remainder of sock yarn for a sock that has been mateless for two years.  So sad.

I was all set with the knitting plans; and, then a friend who bought a house in Costa Rica last year asked if I would make two afghans for her new piece of paradise to brighten things up.  Um, how could I say no?  I could not.  So I am going to be crocheting two afghan throws; but, I need to finish them so she can take them along to her new place in November.  So that is likely going to be where my efforts get concentrated first.  I haven't gotten the yarn yet (and can I just freely admit how giddy I am to be ordering new yarn?  It's so exciting to looks at the colors and imagine what the yarn can be turned into!  I wish I could be a personal shopper for yarn types, I would be so good at that.  Really.).

And then there are the quilts.  I wants to make tons, but I have to finish the log cabin quilt. Little Sir is very interested in helping me.  I think the hold up for this quilt is the fact that I decided to quilt it myself, when the sensible solution would be to send it out to a professional quilter with a longarm machine.  But deep down, there is some part of me that wants to be able to say, "oh, quilt a queen-sized quilt, I've done that, it's not so bad."  That is also the part me that I refer to as my naive and stupid side, so there you are.)

And then there is this autumnal stack for a kid's quilt.

And don't even get me started on my weaving plans.  I don't know what they are, but I know I have plans to weave...

In case you were wondering, I wasn't as successful on the summer finishing front, the red scarf is done (needs wet blocking); and, I am super close to finishing the lacey shawl...I should be able to get things from the summer list done this week though (with the exception of the sweater vest, never have I felt so plagued by such a simple project).  I don't feel so bad about it, I had a nice and restful weekend with my boys, and that was where my priorities were for the holiday.

And as for the contest/giveaway, I used a random number generator to "pick" a winner, and that would be Ali who blogs at Skeins Her Way.  Thanks for playing everyone, good luck with finishing your summer projects and getting through your fall knitting list!

and we're off!

                                            above: summer spinning

I know that, technically, there are 17 or 18 days left of summer (for those of us north of the equator); but, I think that I am not alone in thinking that fall pretty much starts afterLabor Day (next Monday, the 7th).  For me, a deadline serves as a strong motivating force to get things done.  I do not quake about deadlines, I welcome them (I hope for them, actually).  So with a minute past midnight, the 8th (day after Labor Day) as my deadline, I have a couple of days to finish a couple of things.  Because, quite frankly, I am way more excited about my fall projects than I am about my summer ones that are sort of languishing.

I have been working on a vest all summer, I already know it's not getting done by Monday, so the vest will be my carry over project to the next season (I only work on it during my lunch hour at work, so it's slow going, but I know it'll get done).  It's the one fall project that I am not particularly excited about.

I have had a red silk scarf on my Kromski rigid heddle loom since last October.  The loom got buried underneath some fabric and batting at some point and it was out of my sight, so it went out of my mind.  I am finishing this scarf if I finish nothing else this weekend.

Actually, I am going to spin this roving for Bertha, even if I finish nothing else this weekend.  Sorry, Bertha, when I said I would post this Friday, I really meant that I would post it to you on Tuesday.

I have two quilts that I would like to finish up, one needs binding and the other needs quilting and binding. 

 

Finish two quilts in a weekend? Totally doable.

 

I have been working on a shawl all summer that needs to be finished, because I am sick of working on it.  I don't really like knitting shawls in laceweight yarn, so I am not really sure why I started this.  It's almost done...32 rows, that's nothing.

Of course, I am going to try to finish this stuff while taking the boys to the beach or some other such nonsense (that is what one does over Labor Day weekend, apparently, that and grill things), and generally having long holiday weekend family fun.  And when I am done with all of that, I am going to read some books.

Yes.  I know.

For those in the US, Happy Labor Day!  May your laboring be fruitful.

And you still have time to enter the contest (it's not really a contest, but, there you are)/givewaway if you haven't already done so.

on economy: treatise 2, making do*

 

There are many knitters who pride themselves on the size of their yarn stash(es).  Some people are proud of how much they have accumulated; while others are proud of how little they accumulate, instead making deliberate purchases for planned projects (admittedly, there are not that many of you).  There is another camp of course, the one I am a part of, the stashers who have, basically, greedily hoarded, so much yarn and fiber that they are humbled, if not embarrassed, by the volume of stash accumulation.

I have a lot of yarn. Amount assessment is relative, to be sure.  My definition of "a lot" may be minuscule to some; but, let's get real here, any sane person will agree with me, there is no shortage of yarn and fiber in Novaland.

This great epiphany of my yarn stash having a life of its own occurred to me last March.  When I bought yarn that I pretty much already have to make a vest for Special K.

  

I wish I could say that my argument was: I didn't want to use part of a sweater's worth of yarn for a vest; but, that wasn't it, not completely any way, the fact of the matter is this: I forgot I had the yarn.  Let me say that again: I forgot I had the yarn.  In my defense, there was a time that I packed my stashes of yarn, fabric and fiber away in bins, boxes and bags; and, there was a good deal of "out of sight, out of mind" action going on.  But here's the thing, if you have twenty-two (22) sweater's worth of yarn sitting in your stash, you (and by "you" I mean "I") should probably just make do with what you have and figure out a use for any surplus yarn meant for a sweater project.

After this purchase of yarn that I didn't need to buy because I already had it, I decided to go off of buying yarn for a while.  I don't feel deprived at all.  It's not a yarn diet, I am simply making do with what I have; or, if you'd rather, making use of what is in the stash.  If I can't knit a project with yarn that I've already got, I probably shouldn't be thinking about knitting it right now.  Seems so logical.  Surely, it's the economical approach, wouldn't you say?

  

Lest you think me virtuous, let me say that my hoarding tendencies moved from yarn acquisition to increasing my stash of fiber since the yarn shelves were full.  I burn through fiber pretty quickly; but, I ventured into fiber stashing in the least fiscally responsible way possible (basically, if Krista or Carrie did an update, I competed with other buyers to purchase the fiber--I can be a wee competitive).  I am all about supporting independent crafters, but for my health and the health of my bank account, I need to bar myself from etsy sometimes, like now.

And really, it's called for when you start to accumulate fiber at an exponential rate.

 

And when that fiber starts encroaching on the fabric stash, well clearly, it's time to stop.

So I am in full "making do" mode.  Which, for me, isn't such a bad thing.  I have a ton of good quality yarn and fiber.  Over the years, I have become something of a fiber elitist (for whatever reason, I like "elitist" better than "snob"), that is not to say that I don't recognize a good deal especially when it comes to utility and function.  While I am not overly enthusiastic about acrylic.  I recognize that this synthetic material makes caring for knits made for children more doable.  I wish there was more Cotton Ease in my stash right now, because I would really like to make sweaters for the boys for Christmas in yarn that will actually facilitate utilizing the garment.  I'll figure something out, I am nothing if not industrious.

Lately, I have noticed that yarn and fiber that was once coveted (by me anyways) is more easily attainable now.  I am not sure if it's because I am not purchasing right now and the materials are beckoning to me with some sort of weird siren's call; or, perhaps, it's not just me.  Maybe other knitters, and spinners are out there looking at what they have in their stashes and thinking, "I have a lot enough.  Maybe I should just make do."

* alternatively: I'm a greedy hoarder and I need to stop

blue fabulous

It occurred to me, when I threw my shawl on, that I never posted info about my Ishbel here.  I knit this a month ago, and it was, without a doubt, the quickest lace knit ever.  And it's so pretty!!

I used Socks that Rock lightweight in the Blue Moonstone colorway, I had enough yardage to make the small shawl as written (there was maybe 60 yards left when all was said and done). 

I have taken on a new challenge that my friend Ruth started in January, "no twine in "o"-nine.  I started in March after I purchased yarn I pretty much already had for a project; but, more on that later. 

 

My challenge is to use the yarn I already have in my possession (there's a lot of it).  To that end, I am trying to come up with new things to use sock yarn for, because I knit socks at a rate equivalent to maple sap dripping in the winter.  That would be very slowly, so that means knitting shawls.  I am probably going  to weave some of it up too, that goes by pretty quickly.  But shawls are a pretty good option too, don't you think?

knitting for a special someone

 I have so many things to tell you; but, since I don't want to overwhelm you all, let's just talk about this scarf that I knit.  I will get to the rest later this week, which means I will be blogging more than once this week (actually, more than once this month, whoa.  I know.).

 

This scarf has been done for a while now; but, my mom just got it so now I can talk about it.  I could have talked about it before; but, you know, surpirse ruination=sadness.  In any case.  I started knitting this scarf in March while on spring break.  My mom saw it in my knitting bag and not so coyly volunteered herself to be the recipient.  For your edification, this was the conversation:

novamade mom: [unabashedly sifts through knitting bag, pulls out scarf project]  Oh, what is this?

nova: a scarf

novamade mom: It's so pretty.

nova: I think so, the yarn is a wool and cashmere blend, there is nylon in it too, it's supposedly sock yarn; but, I'd rather have cashmere on my neck rather than on my feet, I think.

novamade mom: Oh, me too.

nova:  Great minds, I guess.

novamade mom: You know, this is my color.

nova: It's mine too.

novamade mom: If you haven't gotten me anything for Mother's Day or my birthday, this will do.

nova:  [unbelievingly] Seriously?

novamade mom: I am being very serious.

nova: [petulantly] Okay.

It's sort of difficult to begrudge one's own mother anything, isn't it?  Also, it's unlikely that I will deny anyone in my family a knitted good if they actually ask for it.  But since I was knitting this scarf for myself and you guys know how I feel about knitting scarves in general, I was a wee perturbed about finishing it, so I missed the Mother's Day deadline.  But I finished in plenty of time for her birthday, so, Happy Birthday, Mom! 

I am sure you will like the scarf, as it is your color...and you, basically, told me to give it to you.  I hope it keeps your neck warm and cozy when the Georgia air brings a chill. 

 

This is the Montego Bay scarf from the Summer 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.  It is a really easy lace project for those interested in trying lace on something easy and doable.  I modified a bit because I had this great yarn from the Knittery that I got myself for my birthday either last year or the year before, I can't remember.   More notes will be put in the gallery and on ravelry, FYI.

may is mitten month

Or, May Day is mitten day, at the very least.   Last year, Little Sir was going through some of my yarn (he likes to do this as we have identified yarn as my "toys;" and, if they are toys they are fun, right?) and he came across a small little skein of yellow handspun.  I think it might have been the first handspun spun from my "fancy fiber stash" (I think most spinners will know what I am referring to when I say that...the good stuff...from the indie dyers).  I started out with 4 ounces of beautifully dyed bfl from Spunky Eclectic dyed in the Sunflower colorway.  It was like a puff of sunshine.

The first 2 ounces was my "learning process" (that sounds much better than 'disaster') before I "got it," the singles wer ultra-overspun, unsalvageable.  So I spun the remining 2 ounces and had a little bit of yarn, maybe 55 yards.  When Little Sir found it, he asked me to make him a pair of mittens.  I said I would; but, I hoping he would forget, there was a little bit of sentimentalism with that yellow yarn.  He didn't forget.  Every time he put on his silly commercially made mittens with dinosaurs on them, he asked about his non-existent yellow mittens.  So I finally got around to making them (they took me all of 4 hours in total to knit), and since it's now spring, he is going to get so much wear out of them, I am sure.

  

I am glad I made the mittens.  The yarn became something.  I fulfilled a promise to my kid.  And Little Sir loves his new mittens (LOVES them!).  He likes to wear them around the house (it's not like he needs to wear them outdoors at all).  Notes in the gallery and on ravelry.

If anyone is going to Maryland Sheep and Wool this weekend, say hi!  I will be the one with the Littles in tow (or, alternatively, chasing Little Sir all over the fairgrounds, possibly with Little Mister strapped to my chest).

i'm one of those people

I am one of those people who is unsure of the whole hat thing (though I do love a baseball cap on sunny days--I am nothing if not practical).  I never know what to do with them, to be honest.  My head is really large and my hair, if I bother to make it look presentable, prefers to be left uncovered.  If I try and cover it with, for instance, a hat, the resulting reaction is either hat-head or some unfortunate frizziness that most would label "a bad hair day."  That being said, I thought it would be fun to knit a beret.

Also, I just like saying the word "beret," and said it repeatedly while knitting my little project--to anyone who would listen, really. "Oh what am I knitting?  It's a beret.  From the "Beret Gaufre" pattern. It's a pretty easy beret to knit..." and so on and so forth. The reasons I picked  Véronik Avery's Beret Gaufre pattern were threefold: it was free, the circumference looked like it would accomodate my large noggin; and, the fabric looked good.

I think the beret is great.  I just don't like it on me.  I have no idea how to wear it.

If worn the wrong way, one could look like a Guevaran revolutionary reject (viva!).  I do not thing Che would approve of the suburban revolutionary vibe I have going on here.

I will keep the beret around since it might come in handy on a weekend during the winter when I am shoveling snow; but, in general,  it won't get a lot of wear, if we are being honest here.  Oh, well.  Notes in the gallery and on ravelry.