knitting school dropout

the pictures aren't great, but if i have to wait for the weather to cooperate, there won't be any for awhile.

i wish i could capture just how insanely gorgeous this yarn is. it's officially my favorite yarn ever.

pattern: leaf lace shawl from fibertrends, designed by evelyn clark
yarn: handmaiden sea silk (70%silk 30%seacell), 1 skein in the ebony colorway
needles: us5 addi turbo 40"
thoughts: someday i will take this out into the sunshine and take some better photos. this yarn is so amazing. i was a little worried that one skein wouldn't be enough, but i wanted only a small shawl and i ended up with a little left over. it's a perfect size for me.
the pattern is really easy as far as lace goes. it contains both written and charted instructions and the result is so pretty. i can't wait 'til i can find an excuse to wear it!

Posted by melissa at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

i'm here to report that i really haven't been knitting much at all. i've been in a kind of funk lately, the kind that makes you feel anything but creative. instead i've mostly been reading, (now it's BITCHfest and human oddities), indulging in a little retail therapy in the form of really cute boots and thoroughly enjoying my copy of fitted knits. i'm pretty sure i'm casting on for the puff-sleeved cardigan as soon as i finish my books.
i did manage to knit 2 hats. i am very new to having longer hair and all the fitted hats i have leave me looking like i have a giant lump on my head when i pull one on over a ponytail. i decided to knit up a couple looser hats. the slouchier one is made from naturewool chunky in a grey/black color, the pom-pom hat is navy felted tweed. both are in constant rotation in this bitter cold.

(don't you love my ancient peeling mirror? )

my next post will be totally dedicated to my sea silk leaf lace shawl, which is currently blocking. i think it's real purty.

Posted by melissa at 05:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

ahh...the post finished object blahs. you know the ones where you have lots of ideas, lots of little starts, but all lack the excitement to sustain you through to an actual knitted object. that's my problem at the moment.

i did start this:

it's the leaf lace shawl, from fibertrends. the yarn is the absolutely amazing, i won't eat for a week just buy more, handmaiden sea silk, in the ebony colorway. i'm only posting a little peek, because i'm so close to done, that i'll be showing the whole thing off soon enough.

knitting this was the absolute highlight of a crappy week. i think i exclaimed "i HATE today" a dozen times a day for at least 4 straight days, i think i may have mimiced punching and kicking the wall during these exclaimations also, but one can't be sure. the good thing is, things are better now. it helps having a supervisor who also happens to be a good friend.

i highly recommend this shawl pattern for people who like to knit while doing other things. the repeats are easy to remember, so i've been able to watch several subtitled films and not screw it up. i highly recommend renting tony takitani. i loved it. it 's based on a story by haruki murakami, which is reason enough to see it, i think.

have a great week!

Posted by melissa at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)