knitting school dropout

i tend to knit certain things when i'm stressed, bored, or just in need of a little break from a larger project. usually, i just knit hats. i still do that, but more often these days, i can be found knitting these random little leaves in various shapes and sizes, then looking for a use for them.
since one of my very best friends is super pregnant right now, i've been adding those leaves to lots of baby projects for her.

first up, a sweater that i'll give to her today. it's knit from local handspun and embellished with a leaf made from handspun scraps from other projects.
it's a pretty basic raglan, knit to itty-bitty measurements. i made shorter sleeves in the hopes that it could maybe still be worn in the spring.

i knit her this little hat out of noro's cashmere island (on super discount at webs), and finished it by knitting an i-cord at the top which morphed into a leaf. i then knotted the i-cord, so the leaf would stick out at the top. i love this hat, it's sickeningly soft. i must have a little cardigan for myself out of it someday.

then, there's this other simple ribbed hat that i knit, then stitched one of my many leaves to.

speaking of leafy things my top down leaf tee from classic elite's spring/summer book round pond is now up in ravelry.

here's a photo from the book (photo from classic elite yarns)

i have one more leafy thing to finish, and then maybe i'll move on to something else. I'm hoping that i'll be able to warp my new kromski harp rigid heddle loom, after the first attempt had me pretty frustrated. i picked up weaving made easy before i left for my trip, i'm hoping it'll make the process less aggravating. i hate when i'm not good at things on the first go.

Posted by melissa at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

i have a new pattern available in classic elite's spring/summer pattern book
heron island.

it's the sundance lace bottom tunic (ravelry link)

i knit and wrote the pattern for this in july of last year, and because i couldn't really write about it at the time, i neglected to take photos of the finished garment. luckily, one was snapped when i was nearly done with the whole thing and just trying it on.

i really like the way it was styled for the book. i envisioned it worn over jeans, because i'm a big fan of that short dress/long tunic cover my hips kind of look, but it's nice to see that it looks good this way too.

here, have a look at classic elite's photos:

I have a pattern in another one of their spring books, and as soon as it's posted somewhere else, i'll tell you all about it here too.

Posted by melissa at 01:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)

i wish i could say that i've been knitting a lot. i haven't. instead i've been suffering from the flu, which i'm pretty sure at this point has turned into bronchitis. i started to feel a little better and went to work friday, sneaking in a little trip to webs afterward (i saw jenna there too!). but then yesterday i started losing my voice and it was back to coughing all the time. today i woke up to find out i have pink-eye, or should i say PINK EYES. i am so over being sick.

i am enjoying the entrelac, but after i started my 3rd ball of silk garden, i had to put it down for a little bit. i finally cast on for a little summer sweater i've been thinking about. it should turn out to be a 3/4 sleeved cardigan with little lacy panels on the body and sleeves. i'm taking better notes this time too. i'm using dark green brown sheep cotton fleece.

i'll post any little progress pics in my flickr until my next post, when hopefully, i'll have something more interesting to say. i've also started posting some of my favorite yard sale/ thrift store finds there too.

here's a little peek at the summer cardigan:

Posted by melissa at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

it is so hot right now that all i can really do is sit in front of our little air-conditioner and spend some time with my yarn. this has had mixed results. let me explain...

1. upon close examination of fad-classic, i discover something disturbing. it is 2 different shades of gray. i think i exclaimed something like "noooooooooooooooooooo!". there was swearing. there was some examination of yarn labels. yup, 2 different dye lots. totally my fault. you can probably see this in my last picture, but i didn't until now. luckily it's too damn hot to wear it, so i have time to fix it.

2. i restarted that lacy tank. i think i'm keeping it pretty simple from the bust down. i keep changing my mind about what i want for straps, so i'm leaving that for last.

3. i learned MAGIC LOOP. yeah, i'm kind of a late learner. i would try it for 5 minutes, get frustrated and not try again for months. last night, i was just determined to figure it out, and i did. it's so much easier than i thought. i'm probably more excited than most people were when they first learned, but man, magic loop rules! someday, there might be socks on this very blog!

stay cool! drink water

Posted by melissa at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

i want to finish this cardigan, but i knit, and knit, and it doesn't seem to get any bigger. maybe knitting a long-sleeve sweater on size 3 needles in this humidity wasn't the best idea i've ever had. i'm into the end of the second ball of d.b. wool/cotton in dark brown. the whole sweater is knit in stockinette, and the edges will be picked up and knit in that light yellow. the button band will be wide, with 2 rows of buttons, that i've yet to pick out. even after the edging is knit, it should have a pretty wide neckline, just the way i like it.

the lacy tank has been partially frogged. i still need to get that sucker back on the needle. sooo not looking forward to that.

Posted by melissa at 08:31 AM | Permalink

it was a beautiful day here. we woke up at 5:30 and scrambled to get the last few things together, buy coffees and head to the local outdoor flea market. when you amass large collections of various old things, there comes a time when you must either let some things go, or stop accumulating new ones. we chose the former.
in only a few hours, we managed to unload at least half of what we came with. i even crammed in a few rows of knitting early on. then it was suddenly 90 degrees.

now i have a nasty sunburn.
my new knit isn't going as planned. i may have to frog the whole thing in the end. nevertheless, i knit on.

Posted by melissa at 06:59 PM | Permalink

i love knitting lace. i love summer knits (no sleeves=fast!). after the leaf t-shirt, i now love cathay. i don't think i have to tell you again, but i REALLY love Barbara Walker. so after swatching a few different lace patterns, i'm working on a new summer somethin'-somethin'.

over and out.

Posted by melissa at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (52)