10.14.2006

Ms. Fix It

My husband's cousin has commissioned my help in repairing 2 sets of knitted slippers her mom made for her years ago. Sadly, her mom passed away a few years ago, so you can imagine how much more these slippers mean to her.

This task is a daunting one, to say the least. At least 3 of the 4 slippers are in bad shape. To start, I found a matching RH yarn. I gathered my tools and sat down to get to work. Here's the before picture:


Starting out, I didn't really have any plan. My goal was to mend the slippers without my work being a complete eye sore. After fiddling with different methods of mending, I ended up attaching the yarn with some slipstitches and crocheting chains, back and forth, to create the new fabric. Then I whipstitched the crocheted chains together and voila! Here's the mended slipper.


I think I did one heck of a bang up job, considering what I had to work with. One down, two to go...

10.12.2006

Yarn on the Brain + Work = No Productivity

I'm sitting at work, trying so very hard to concentrate, but I have yarn on the brain. Have Ewe Any Wool (my LYS) is open 'til 8 pm tonight, and I've planned a shopping trip on my way home from work. I settled on the cabled turtleneck (scroll down to previous post to see a pic), and I'm on the search for yarn. Not sure what color I'm looking for. Hopefully I'll see *the perfect* color and it'll sing to me.

Alright, back to work...

10.08.2006

What to Knit, What to Knit

It's that time again, folks: time to pick a new project to knit! This is quite the bittersweet task for me. I really enjoy revisiting all my old mags and pattern books, and all those patterns I mentally flag with "Someday I'm going to knit that." At the same time, though, this is quite a daunting task. I want to pick a project that a) I'm going to enjoy knitting; b) not going to break the bank; c) going to fit me well (if I so choose a wearable item); and d) I've wanted to knit for awhile. (D) especially because at times I can be impulsive and pick a project that I hate 50 rows into it. And, I'm sure there's an (e), (f), (g), etc., but those criteria are probably on a more subconscious level that I can't quite express.

Now, if I was a good knitty girl, I would stick to the projects that I should be knitting, such as my current design projects. But, you know, I always need a project I don't have to really think about. I need that project where I can just sit back, relax, and read the pattern.
So, here are the candidates thus far:


This cabled cardigan is from Vogue Knitting's Holiday 2004 Issue. Very pretty in purple, although I think I'd knit it up in a different color.


This cabled turtleneck is from Vogue Knitting's Fall 2006 Issue. It would be ready to wear just in time for the snow!


This cute little crocheted jacket is from Debbie Bliss's The Happy Hooker. I've wanted to crochet this baby since I laid eyes on it, but I'm not sure if this is the wrong time, wrong place - it looks a bit too springy for this fall weather.


And this cute bag is from another of Debbie Bliss's books, Stitch 'N Bitch Nation. This is another one I've wanted to knit up for awhile. I've never felted before, so it could be fun, but at the same time, it could be a pain. I live in an apartment with a laundry room - nasty quarter machines with not-so-great settings. So, I may have to felt elsewhere.

So, these are the runner ups. Not sure which one I'm leaning towards. Stay tuned...

10.05.2006

For the Love of Knitting

I recently picked up this book at a local bargain book store (only $12.99!)



I had big plans to read through portions of the book and post a nice grown-up book review on it. Unfortunately, every time I open it up, I end up drooling over the great pictures. It contains pictures of vintage knitting patterns and yarn ads, photos of women knitting and some truly amazing knitted art. I have made some progress, though - the last time I thumbed through it I managed to read some of the captions. That's a start, right?

So, I thought I'd post a few pics from the book every now and then. Here's a great one:


It's a pattern book from Red Heart, published in 1952. Only 10 cents! Look at those cute husband-wife matchy-matchy sweaters. Too cute! If only my husband was that interested in my stash...

10.04.2006

Life? Yeah, I guess I could write about that.

I haven't been knitting as much as I'd like. And, as a result, I haven't been blogging as much either. I started this blog to document my knitting projects and designs, but since I haven't been knitting or designing all that much lately, I've been neglecting my little blog.

Soooooo, I thought maybe I could widen the scope of things I talk about. Why not? I work in Chicago, commute everyday... there's got to be some interesting shit I can write about. So, from this point forward my goal is to post more often - no matter what the topic. We'll see how this goes... (I hope this isn't like my goal to finish up all those UFOs laying around, because then I'm doomed!!)

10.01.2006

The Pointy Sticks Chick

I recently found a knitting podcast that may be one of my all time faves. Christine Selleck is the host of Pointy Sticks and this chick rocks! I love the poignent and thoughtful essays, her eclectic choice of music (including her humorously appropriate theme song), and most of all, her delightful personality. It's sad to say, but I don't have many gal pals to knit with. But, with Christine's groovin' music and knitty talk, it's all good. I just pop in the ear buds, settle in and knit for a spell. Check her out: