I’ve been working diligently on my cardi and more diligently on security for a software release at work, but I did find time in March and April to make a few presents. This pair went to two awesome little girls: Their mom tells me there has been much singing of “Little rabbit foo foo” as … Continue reading
Strawberry gloves
My other goal for 2015 was to try some more stranded colourwork that wasn’t double-knitting. I had intended to do more simple stuff, but I fell in love with this pattern and you know how it goes from there. The pattern is Strawberry Fields by Jami Brynildson. It was one of the shop patterns offered … Continue reading
Japanese Knot Bag
I was browsing this thread about project bags, saw this design, and thought I should try it out. A quick search of the internet found me some basic instructions (this tutorial has particularly decent pictures and nice clear indications of where to sew), so I free-handed a pattern and gave it a shot. In the … Continue reading
A sweater for me (just started!)
One of my goals for 2015 was to knit an adult-sized sweater, but I cheated a bit and made one for my sister (who’s smaller than I and one of the smaller adults I know). So I revised my goal for 2016 and here’s the start of something cool, I hope: That’s the swatch for … Continue reading
Yarn of the Month Club, January 2015
January’s Yarn of the Month package has some serious variety in it! Raffia, cotton-linen gradient, and a single ply acrylic-wool super-saturated gradient. These were all super fun, but I was most taken with learning to block raffia. So flexible and shape-able when damp! Continue reading
Jimmy Beans Wool Beanie Bags, January 2016
January 2016’s Beanie Bag was all about yarn construction. I got the purple version, which was really quite nice! This month’s notion was a shawl pin from Knitter’s Pride (I was so glad mine arrived intact — apparently a few got broken in transit!), there was the usual little package of wool wash from soak, … Continue reading
Jimmy Beans Wool Beanie Bags, December 2015
December’s theme was “superwash” and it included 5 samples in worsted weight. This seemed like a perfect time for me to practice my colourwork, since “do a small fair isle project” is on my craft goal list for this year, and I need practice with colourwork. In addition to the yarns, there’s some pom-pom makers, … Continue reading
Pi day swap!
One of the Ravelry groups I enjoy runs a pi/e themed yarn swap and I decided to participate this year because seriously, how awesome is that? The deal was that you had to include yarn or spinning fiber, some edible goodies, a handcrafted item, and other goodies related to pi or pie. Target value was … Continue reading
Yarn Subscription preview, February 2016 (Yarn of the Month and Jimmy Beans Beanie Bags)
One more preview photo for today! These yarns have been sadly neglected in favour of Rose City Yarn Crawl stuff, but they’ll be coming up soon! I’m very much looking forwards to more teensy tiny sample knits. Yarn of the Month is on the left, with that tempting stained glass pattern that might have me … Continue reading
Yarn Subscription preview, January 2016 (Yarn of the Month and Jimmy Beans Beanie Bags)
I took this picture back in January but apparently never actually shared it, so here’s a belated preview, if that makes any sense: Yarn of the Month is on the left, Beanie Bags on the right. Since I’m planning to block the YOTM samples tonight and nearly done with the project for the Beanie Bags, … Continue reading
Yarn Subscription preview, March 2016 (Yarn of the Month and Jimmy Beans Beanie Bags)
Both my subscriptions arrived on the same day, so here’s a quick preview! My Jimmy Beans Beanie Bag on the left is a collection of sport weight merino in pretty pinks, with the newer square bag like they did last month, a Soak wool wash packet and this month’s notion, which is plastic spiral stitch … Continue reading
Rose City Yarn Crawl – Mystery Crochet-a-long (Clue 3 and 4)
Crawl starts soon, and of course I’m last-minute blocking! Here’s clue 3: And the final clue, clue 4, unblocked. I actually missed the final colour change, those last points are supposed to be cake-coloured. But honestly, I’m so in love with the yellow/orange yarn that I’m kind of glad I made the mistake. Plus it … Continue reading
Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Crochet-a-long (Clue 1 and 2)
This pattern is named after Rimsky-Korsacoffee house, one of the local places that takes “keep Portland weird” as a personal mission. Also, it has great cake. Continue reading
Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit-a-longs (Clue 1 and 2)
As I mentioned in my post about knit-a-longs, the Rose City Yarn Crawl runs both a knit and crochet a long in the month leading up to the yarn crawl. It’s a real treat seeing people wear their creations out on the crawl, and I wanted to be one of those gals sporting a new … Continue reading
Catch a Falling Star MKAL Clue 3
I’ve paused on this knit-a-long since the Rose City Yarn Crawl ones have started and I foolishly have tried to do both, but here’s what it looked like at clue 3: I really liked the bind-off in this. You can’t tell from the in progress photo, but it’s designed so that the bind off is … Continue reading
Jimmy Beans Wool Beanie Bags, November 2015
I finally sat down and made a decision about what to make with my Beanie Bags yarn. So freeing! First, let’s look at the package. The mailing envelope contained a single bag filled with stuff: The packaged contained 4 balls of yarn in the same shade of grey (although the light catches them differently in … Continue reading
Yarn of the Month Club, December 2015
Astute readers may note that I’m doing the December YOTM review but still haven’t done the Beanie Bag full review. That’s because even though it’s January I still haven’t knit up anything with any of my Beanie Bag yarns. How embarrassing. Now, I could blame a busy holiday, but I the answer is much simpler … Continue reading
Catch a Falling Star MKAL week 2
The week 3 clue came out on Friday, so I’m a bit behind still. But Clue 2 was much easier than clue 1, at least! Here’s what clue 2 looks like for me and my dino buddy: Still loving that thick cuff, but not so much loving the transition at the wrist bead line — … Continue reading
Catch a Falling Star MKAL
I did manage to cast on one of those knit-a-longs: the fingerless mitt “Catch a Falling Star” MKAL. since clue 2 has now been released (as I write this — I think clue 3 might be released by the time this posts), here’s my pictures from casting on and clue 1!
Yarn of the Month Club, November 2015
Not sure what I’d say what November’s theme was, but it certainly resulted in some pretty yarns arriving on my doorstep! The Pattern A drop stitch shawl. Probably won’t make it into my repertoire because there are just so many shawl patterns in the world, but who knows, maybe it’ll be perfect for some specific … Continue reading
Celtic Shawl for M
Made this one for my friend M. But apparently this is the only picture that turned out! Pattern: Celtic Myths (heh, I typed “Mythos” first — I think a bit too much Cthulhu in my life) Yarn: Timberline Ice by Alexandra’s Crafts. This is a really lovely blend: 63% superwash, 20% silk, 15% nylon, 2% … Continue reading
Alpaca Pome Hat for Mom
This one was always intended to be a Christmas gift to my Mom, but I finished it in May. That might be the earliest I’ve ever started or finished a present. Continue reading
Why are there so many knit-a-longs starting in January?
January is apparently the month to start knit-a-longs! I guess it makes some sense, since many people are done with holiday gift knitting, but oh my goodness, I’ve seen so many of them that I feel rather overwhelmed. Here’s three I’m seriously considering. Continue reading
Yarn Subscription preview, December 2015 (Yarn of the Month and Jimmy Beans Beanie Bags)
Quick peek at my yarn subscriptions for December 2015: On the left is Yarn of the Month Club, on the right is Jimmy Beans’ Beanie Bags. As with last month, Jimmy Beans Beanie Bags really wins on presentation. The bag is cute and just packed with pretty cards and offers and patterns. I think they … Continue reading
Yarn of the Month Club, October 2015
It’s Dec 13, which means I’m a little overdue for my October YOTM review. I did the swatches and I’ve had the pictures ready to go for a while, though, so it’s time to write! October 2015’s yarns have a autumn colour scheme: brown and orange. The swatch descriptions this month also included the maker … Continue reading
Building the best bacon cookies (Recipe: Spiced Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies with a hint of Sriracha)
I’ve had a few different types of bacon chocolate chip cookies now, because I have the type of life where that’s a viable dietary choice and plenty of friends who are willing to try something new. But I’ve got to say that I’ve got mixed feelings about them. Some bacon chocolate chip cookies are pretty … Continue reading
Things I always forget about setting up git
You may have seen xkcd’s comic about git: I feel this pain. Because of Mailman, I actually learned Bazaar when many people were learning git, and did most of my contributions through launchpad, so I’m a relative newcomer to git and doing contributions on github (Mailman’s on gitlab now, but I do github for work … Continue reading
Easy Kitty Hat
Remember my simple hat post? It’s been done for a while now. The cloud helpfully made a collage out of my selfie attempts showcasing the finished object: What’s fun about this hat is that it’s actually just a rectangular bag that you wear on your head. the “ears” aren’t built in at all, they’re an … Continue reading
Yarn of the Month Club, September 2015
September was blue for Yarn of the Month. The Pattern This month’s pattern is “UTurn Scarf” which is a fun mitered knitting scarf, good for self-striping yarns. I don’t know if I’ll try it or not! Amitola Grande Louisa Harding Amitola Grande “This single ply yarn is subtle and soft” 4.5 sts on US 10 … Continue reading
Clapotis Wrap for S
I was visiting So Much Yarn in Seattle and looking for possible presents for folk with September birthdays. When I saw this beautiful rayon yarn with a thread of gold in it knit up in the store, though, I knew I had a winner for my sister. The Pattern Clapotis on Ravelry (so you can … Continue reading
Yarn of the Month Club, August 2015
August’s colour scheme was a light lavender grey. I decided to liven up some my photos a little, colour-wise, in part because I haven’t found my light box since the move, but also because I like a tad more colour in my selections. The pattern This month’s pattern was for a bracelet made of woven … Continue reading