handspun raglan pullover

This took exactly 2.5 minutes to knit. Really, it was so quickity quick. Okay, it was more like 2.5 days, but still. It's knit out of these handspun singles. You remember, the ones I originally spun for Poppy? the ones that failed miserably for Poppy?

Well, I grabbed some 8s, and then some 9s and finally settled on 10s and knit up a top down raglan lickity split. I started with 6 hanks and only used 3 for the body. That means I still had 3 left from which to knit the sleeves but I decided I really liked it shortsleeved, gives me a funky layered look because it's very warm merino so it's not summery but wintery when layerd over a long sleeve fitted tee. Maybe I'll use the rest for a baby surprise sweater.

I crocheted a chain of red around the neck and knit a turned hem on the sleeves and bottom. However, my turned hem, while it will work, isn't as beautiful as say, all the turned hems that hello yarn whips out. How does she do that?

Really, if you've any advice, let loose with it! This is what I did. Knit down to length, changed to the red yarn, much finer, purled one row, decreased by 10% on the next rown, knit an inch or so then without binding off, I loosely sewed the unbound edge to the inside of the sweater, just barely skimming the stitches. Yet still, it looks all messy and loose inside until it's on when it starts to look all flipping and weird. I messed around with this one enough that it's passable, from the outside view, as long as no knitter grabs the hem and turns it up, which you know they will. Any advice?

Lace leaf clapotis pulloever combo

Jodi Green, with her constant knitting last weekend, gave my knitting a kick in the ole ass-a-roo! Yep, she knit every spare moment and it was inspiring and endearing.

Jodi -- Hey Jacey, are you going to be chopping those sweet potatoes for long
Jacey -- umm...maybe another 2 minutes...
Jodi -- ohh, I better get my knitting.

Jodi -- How long do we have before the next take?
Director -- 10 seconds
Jodi -- ohh, I can get at least 17 rows of my sweater knit in 10 seconds...

Really, she was a knitting dynamo and she must have tracked it in on the carpet because since she left I've finished 2 stagnating projects, Loop d Loop's lace leaf pullover out of Araucania Nature Wool Chunky (and if anyone knows how you pronounce that, tell me!), and my second clapotis, this one out of See Jayne Knit, some lovely stuff from before she was famous.

Let's see, Lace leaf pullover, super fast, really easy especially with the modifications that I used. As you can see, it's not big and sloppy, I wanted a slighter fit so I knit the small size, however it could have been a bit longer. The pattern calls for knitting it from the bottom up, stopping in the middle, then knitting it from the top down, stopping in the middle and grafting the 2 together. She did this because the lace leaf motif is reversed at the collar and she wanted it worked from the stem to the tip. Well, from what I read around the interwebs, a graft that long is murder on the hands and ego so I went another route. I found a reverse chart for the lace leaf and it worked out wonderfully.

A couple things, I don't love how the neck fits when it's buttoned and I don't think the lace leaves are really that standout in this yarn, I don't know if it's the darkness or the lack of shine, but they don't really stand out (though the YO on the sleeve really rocks!).

All in all I'm medium happy with it. I'll wear it and know that it took 5 days to knit.

The clapotis. What can I say about it. I don't like knitting them but I like wearing them. I need a band of clapotis knitters to work round the clock and fill my closets with claps so that I wrap myself in their lovely bumpy waviness but never have to take needle to yarn for one again. This one is for spring, I used one hank of sock yarn on US#13 needles and it's open and lacy and matches the orange cable hoodie perfectly.

And the knits just keep on coming. Yesterday I got to hang with one of my new favorite people Mama E, her friend (soon to be mine) Jody and Paula. There was much knitting going on. I worked on knitting those singles I spun a while back. On 9s I'm knitting a top down raglan that may be sleeveless depending on how much yarn I've left be the time I get there. It's thick and soft and knitting up quick so I should have another FO soon. Thanks Jodi, for leaving some of your knitting residue (ewww) behind.

Street smart hoodie

You know, everytime I watch America's Next Top Model I think if I were young and beautiful, I could totally rock that photo shoot! I'd speak with my eyes, my intense eyes. I'd have body language that spoke to everyone. I'd totally kick ass! However, when it comes down to it, I fall on my real-sized woman's ass. Yep, so not a model. But, apparently I am a knitter. Check out the Paton's Street Smart Cabled Hoodie! I started it eons ago before baby #2 but couldn't bring myself to seam it until my bosoms were no longer the size of small watermelons and I stood half a chance stretching it around my girth.

That day was last night. After sitting in a bag for a year, untouched, 2 hours of work is all it took. And it's great. After Sweet Pea weans herself the length should be perfect (smaller boobs=slightly longer sweater length).

All in all I'm pleased as punch with the sweater. The hoods a little weird, but it was my first hood and I didn't know any better. Slightly pointy. Slightly huge. The zipper was super easy, barely an hour of work and it was zipping up and down like an old pro.

And yes, the color is that orange.

Jeckle and hyde

Since my pop has received his B-day present now, I'm posting a pic of it being modeled by LB. Warm and scary.

In the website rebuild arena, I've gotten several people interested and am meeting with a local this week! Yeah, I'm hopeful, doing this sort of thing is his actual job.

Update tomorrow, but it'll be small. Most likely the updates will be small until after my secret is no longer a secret -- after Feb. 25th. Until then, I'm busy, secret-keeping is hard work, you know.

Oh, and guess who's turning 33 on Wednesday?

Knits, I've got the knits!

First, before I go on about how I've got the knits!, let me say that if you are waiting on Vitreous Humor or Tomato Vines, I will have them all finished and sent this week! Yes, this is my vow. I'm sorry for the wait, I had a flood of orders all at the same time and got overwhelmed! This week!

Now, lets get down to business, shall we? I have been knitting. Yes, you heard that right, knitting. I picked up my trusty Addi turbos, US#7 and some cone wool that someone gave me a while back, and after I reshined my needles (those babies get a little tarnish if they aren't used regularly), I cast on. And I knit. And knit. I knit for 3 evenings. At the end of those evenings, I had the first FO I've had in months! 10 months! Check it!

It's Vestee from knitty and it was a snappity snap to knit up. Sweetpea loves it, really, she just went on and on about how cute and soft and sweet it is. Yeah.

Also, there's a Yarn shop update and man alive would you look at my new picture takin' skills! LB and I spent 89 cents and 2 hours setting me up a picture taking station to rival a poorly paid and inexperienced professional.

Stranded naughty bum knitting

A Little Bit FO! This sweater took all of 7 minutes to knit. Okay, maybe not 7 minutes but no more than 7 days of non-straight, non-stressed, non-monogamous knitting. It was fast! It also held a few firsts for me -- first EZ's percentage sweater, first yoke sweater, first stranded sweater, and first hemmed sweater. Damn EZ is bad-ass! I can't wait to do lots more of these!

Particulars --
yarn -- handspun 300 yards
needles -- US#11s
pattern -- based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's EZ percentage system, knit all in one piece, circular yoke with stranded color work, and hem.

Also, there's the hat. The hat is my first ever stranded color work. This is what I learned on. This hat marks me teaching myself to knit with both hands at the same time, each carrying a color. Yep, I'm now that badass!

Well, I'm that badass if you don't know how to do this, when I didn't know how I thought it was the baddest-assest thing ever, now that I know, I realize it only makes me slightly badass, maybe a naughty-bum knitter. Yep, that's me, the naughty-bum knitter.

I'm wistful, I'm angry, I'm carefree in my clapotis

The world famous clapotis, or maybe it should be Clapotis? Here's mine, about a year and a half after the craze first hit but I've always been a bit behind the trends, my hair standing (or rather feathering) as proof to that, it's only 2-3 decades late. Drat this growing out stage, why do I even bother? It is growing fast though, pregnancy and all. But back to the Clapotis, here it is in all it's 6+ feet floor-y glor-y. I really do love it and even though during the actual knitting I had to stick my addis directly into my nailbeds to keep my self conscious and you know, knitting, wearing the finished project almost makes me want to knit another...hell, another 5! I'm officially a shawl girl! all vestiges of hipster coolness have dissapeared and I'm a shawl wearing knitter who can't get enough.

Mine is knit out of black pearl by Lorna's Laces, about 10 yards short of 3 hanks, on US9s. I did 2 additional repeats in the straight section so it's a bit longer. So yes, the pattern, easy, though I'm sure you know that because you've already knit 2, right? But you've got to admit it's a bit boring, and not even boring like you can sit and mindlessly knit while watching Starbuck moon over Apollo while at the same time acting like she doesn't give a frack. No, not boring like that, that I can stomach (and you may have noticed, with me, that's saying something, stomach and all), but no, this is the kind of boring from which you get no reprieve. You can't ignore and knit, you've gotta pay attention to those twisted stitches and dropped bits every 5 stitches or so. Argh. But look how lovely it is. I twirl and it makes me look just like a real model. heh. The sign of a true great FO -- knitting it was truely painful but when it's done, you think about doing it again, like childbirth. Hey, think I could get an epidural for the next clapotis I knit?

Slippedandlockedsweater

It's been done for a long while but I finally got it seamed and (lightly) blocked. It's a bit big, or at least long in the arms, which is a good thing right? 2 seasons instead of one?

This is his reaction --
When it gets too small for me, my brother or sister can wear it, and then the next 8 babies we have can wear it, and then we can sell it.

Clearly I'll be busy for the next 15 years and you can put a price on handknits. Yep, I'll be the one with the mess 'o kids sharing one ragged sweater and pulling my uterus behind me in a radio flyer.

For more pics, check the flickr FO gallery on the right, I just set it up and damn, flickr rocks my world. I mean, there are things, and there are things, but flickr, flickr is THE thing!

Here's 275 yards of a lovely 2-ply that I spun up yesterday for a trade. Sometimes it's so nice to spin some even 2-ply.

Oh, bea...

Yes siree, it's done! The bea arthur cocoon monstrosity is finally done. And come to find out, it's not such a monstrosity after all. I knit it on US11s, using 1000 yards of handdyed kid mohair, 80 yards of 2 wacky handspuns from a while back that just happened to match (for the vertical stripes), and 150 yards of 2-ply even handspun (for the seedstich band and cuffs. The pattern was made up as I went along. It's knit from side to side, well...kind of, that was the original plan but how it worked was something like this -- a provisional CO down the middle of the back, knit over just past the neck, a provisional CO from there down the front and then the front and back knit on the same needle until the reached the shoulder.

A short rowed sleeve cap right in the middle, then the sleeves knit straight down to the cuff (which is in seed stitch). The same thing was done on the other side, picking up from the PCO. Then the front stitches were put on the needles all the way from one bottom, up around the neck and down the other side (these were not PUs, it was knit this way so they are just put back on the needle). Lots of short rows to build the front middle out without getting too much at the neck or bottom (because bea would have liked a nice curve). Finally, I picked up the stitches along the bottom and knit the seed stich band (all 100000 stitches scrunched up on a 24" circ).

I have to tell you, it was dicey up until the very end. I really did this sweater to learn the provisional CO and to cement my short row skills, so I was only slightly grumbly as I knit it, thinking all the while that it was crap. Tacky, terrible crap. I felt that way up until I put the band all the way around it, it really tied it together and now I love it! Look at those sleeves! Wowsa! Forget tissue, I could hide scads of snacks, tampons, and tiny toy unicorns in there! Blanche, eat your heart out!

Orangina

A finished object that I absolutely love! For those of you who don't know, this is orangina fromStefanie Japel of Glampyre and I knit it with the sexy knitter's kal. It was a simply delightful pattern to work, my first in lace, in fact. The pattern was easily memorized and was interesting yet mindless enough to knit while enjoying season 1 of Galactica on DVD. I used the rec'ed yarn, 4 balls of rowan 4-ply in a color most-not-me tutti-fruitti. But forget about how easy and fun it was to knit, how brilliantly simple the construction was, and instead just look how cute I look!

Garnet sweater

This is gonna do much to dispel the myth that I'm in the family way. I'm not, I promise. I'd tell ya if I was. I will tell you when I am, how's that? deal? Okay. I have dear friends that are babylicous and this is for their little one when it comes rockin' into this bright world. On a real baby I hope the sleeves are more short to 3/4 instead of the puffy monstrosity they are on Garnet, my childhood friend. I know it'll only fit for a month or two, but won't it just be the cutest 8 weeks ever?

And yes, that is a short row collar, my first off-the-cuff employment of shortrows, and it worked just like I planned. And puffy sleeves. The lovely yarn is less than a hank of wool in the woods, 98% cotton 2% nylon. And the pattern is, like I said, off the cuff.

Red wedding and organic

60 yards of red wedding make up this skinny scarf that's a little bit billy idol, a little bit steven tyler. Lace, ribbon, yarn pieces, and flowered bits spun right in and knitted on US11s.

Skinny scarf over 10 feet long with a alternating diagonal dropped stitch pattern, knitted with 70 yards of organic fret on US13s. Lots of cocoons and puffs and sparkles!

Tempting

Pattern:tempting from knitty. Easy as pie pattern, if you don't mind endless, mindless 2X2 ribbing. I wanted to tear my nail beds out, but that's just me. It's a well designed and written pattern, especially for the beginner. I started this when I first learned to knit and put it away after about a week, not to finish it until almost a year later. Continuous nightly knitting could've produced this in a week or so. And in the end, I think it's lovely and simpl but it's a good thing I don't need a bra cause I'm not so fancy as to have a strapless bra, plus, I think you've gotta have a bit more upfront to make those puppies stay up.

Picture: Little Bit, he's got an amazing eye for detail, look at how he chopped off the rest of my face but made sure he got that brute of a chin pimple. Yeah...he rocks.

ragamuffin-mittens (3 pairs)

all from my handspun raggamuffin-mitten knit kits

Monster hats

Monster hats knitted from my own handspun knit kits.

Corporeal glee hat

Easy peasy no pattern hat to give a go to some of my wackier yarn, corporeal glee, to be exact, 75 yards of self-striping yarn replete with monsterous supercoils and uncarded fiber galore.

It's a nothing knit, no pattern, just knit knit knit on circ with a little decreasing and kitchner at the end. I wanted to leave it simple and let the yarn speak for itself. Check out that texture! Beautiful! Check out that guy! HOT!

Q. Eliz Cowl

Super collar, cowl (a really terrible word, ick) or, as I like to refer to it the queen elizabeth, taken right out of loop d loop and knitted with my own handspun thick and thin yarn, 120 yards.

Such a super easy knit, and took less than an evening total. It's amazing, warm in just the right places. I get all toasty without the annoying rubbing under the arms, promoting bitter pit stink. Plus, how much do I resemble Queen Elizabeth? Like exactly, right?

Hipster

Pattern at knitty fall/05.

Summer Tunic

Supa easy and fast knit (2 evenings). From Loop d' Loop, a simply brilliant book. Knit on 9s with choo-choo ribbon yarn, though it coulda been knit on 7s and be just a bit less of a peep show.

Pennywise scarf

Glampyre's fabulous pennywise scarf. It was fun, fast, and well-written. Here's a coy close-up. Both yarns are from my early handspun collection.

Harley socks

Basic sock knit with my own harley handspun. Cuff and foot in self-striping singles, heel and toe in 2-ply

Honeymoon tank

Honeymoon from knitty is now gently covering my own honey moons. DK Luxor cotton in fingering wieght.

School-boy sweater-vest

my own pattern made out of my homespun yarn --

Father's day socks

Free form socks, merino sock yarn, dyed by me.

Cleaves, my way

First it was merino top, then I dyed it to this, spun it to this and now, after only 4 hours of knitting, it's something I never thought I'd wear but I totally LOVE! I'm so happy I could almost wear it out into the 90 degree, humid as hell day. Almost. It's lovely to feel and wear and it's the first thing I've knitted from my own handspun. Werd to ya mutha.

Zoe

free form pattern knit with bemidji wool, dyed by me.

No, it's not my child's vest!

Based on #19 in Spring 2005 vogue knitting, knit with bemidji wool, dyed by me.

Mosaic Socks

free form experiment with merino sock yarn dyed by me.

mother's day socks

free form pattern, knit with cascade stretchy sock yarn.

First socks

Pattern by A good Yarn yarn shop, knit with jameson wool.

mismatched sweater

Freeform pattern knit with bemidji natural wool.