knitting school dropout

have you seen the 1st issue of CRAFT? i was so excited that i completely missed the price tag. i almost aspirated my cappuccino when i realized it was $14.99, but bought it anyway. it's full of neato projects that i may or may not ever make, but it fills that void in my crafty heart, by providing a welcome distraction from what i should really be doing.

stefanie japel's new book is scheduled to be released on my 32nd birthday, march 22! yesss..

what i should really be doing is finishing my sweater. it seems like every time i get 1/2 way through one sleeve, i completely lose interest. that happened yesterday and i ended up making this hat instead:

i just bought a new camera, a little canon powershot digital elph. it's been a whole lot of fun messing with the settings so that every picture comes out terrible, but i think i should read the manual now.
it's really hard to take pictures of a hat on your head:

the hat was made using one ball of rowan scottish tweed dk in a dark brown color and some twisted stitches. i made it while bawling my eyes out while watching brokeback mountain. it's warm and i love it.

my sweater needs another sleeve, button bands, neck ribbing and maybe a dye job. i just tried it on again and i like the fit, but the color, even after alternating between 2 balls every 2 rows, is making me feel like a wild animal. i really love dark brown, so i might just darken it some.

i also just scored some yarntini from yahaira's lovely shop, pureknits. once i get over my past sock failures, i'm gonna have some damn cute socks!

Posted by melissa at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

this giveaway was fun, but it made me kinda sad that everyone couldn't win. you are all winners to me though!
ok, ok, names have been pulled and...
the 2 skeins of noro will soon be making their way to sylvie!
the rowan 38 will soon be in the hands of amanda!
thanks everyone!
ah, i'm a bit of a knitting bore lately. i started 3 sweaters in the last week, the first 2 are already rewound. this sweater is the newest. it's an off-center cardigan, knit in naturewool that was on sale for super-duper-cheap at webs. i'm alternating skeins every 2 rows, as the tones in each skein seem to vary significantly. right now it's driving me crazy with all this stockinette curling business, but i love it, just the same. i'll be picking up the stitches for the button bands, collar, etc. later because i can't seem to make a decision about what color they should be. should i make them the grey-blue of the skein in the bottom photo? or should i stick to having the sweater all one color? either way i'd wear it, i guess.

have a great weekend!

Posted by melissa at 07:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

inspired by a post by grumperina and a lack of anything more interesting to show you:

10 knitterly things about me

1. i first learned to knit from a woman who hated me. 10 years ago, i was working in a nursing home and sporting a shaved head. one particularly grumpy resident liked to comment as i passed: "you look like a man!", or "you look disgusting with your hair like that!" at the top of her lungs, every time i passed her, 5 days a week. this REALLY bothered me, so made it a point to spend as much one on one time with her as possible, painting her nails, playing card games and eventually learning how to knit from her. she cried when i left that job a few years later.

2.i knit a few ugly garter stitch scarves in the first few years, but never learned how to cast on, bind off or purl. i had other people cast on or bind off for me.

3.i didn't knit a single stitch for 5 years, then suddenly i was dying to knit again, so i taught myself with the help of a few books.

4.i rarely knit from a pattern. i usually make a drawing, buy some yarn and wing it. i think this is an attention span problem, as i can never seem to stick to a pattern for long because it gets boring.

5.i have a shockingly small knitting book library. this consists of three barbara walkers, two zimmermanns, and a righetti. i have purchased lots of knitting books in the past, but i never use them and end up selling them (refer to #4).

6.i don't like cables. there, i said it. i do love how they look, and i like admiring the cabling of others, but i feel like they make everything seem bulkier. seeing as i'm only 5'2" tall, anything that adds bulk only makes me look shorter.

7.i think lace knitting is the best thing ever. EVER! unfortunately i need lots of quiet, which is rare, to knit lace, so i don't get to do as much of it as i'd like.

8. i live dangerously close to webs. a lot of the time sometimes, i end up choosing yarn over things like food or car repairs because of this.

9.i knit almost everything from the top. i think it's the perfect way to knit, if you want things to fit properly.

10.i think the knitting blog world is one of the greatest things ever. a bunch of knitters being supportive, sharing ideas and being generally awesome, just because of a shared interest, makes me happy.

bored yet?

how about a little giveaway

this giveaway is open to anyone, in any country, and i will ship the items for free.
if your interested in winning, just leave a comment specifying which item or items you are interested in. you have until 4pm EST on friday oct.6 to leave your comment. winners will be announced on friday night.

item #1 2 balls of noro silk garden, 1 of color 34, and one of color 208 . these are the exact 2 colors i used in my last noro scarf, in my last entry. now you can make one of your own!

item #2 a copy of rowan 38. i've stared at this long enough without making anything from it. now you can stare at it instead. lots of purty patterns up in there.

good luck! actual knitting content soon!

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Posted by melissa at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)