It's Just Another Manic Monday

I didn't know Prince wrote that song.  I spent Sunday knitting a beret, because "that's my fun day, my I don't have to run day". Here's the colors I picked in Lorna's Laces Staccato mini skeins.  Rippey for Purple Rain, Violin 5 for Raspberry Beret and Bold Red for Little Red Corvette.
 
Yeah, it's my tribute to Prince.  The pattern?  Luminara, which is mine.

The lace motif looks like a flame to me is from Stitch Definition by Annie Maloney, it's pattern #47.

My Manic Monday posts used to be all about planning.  Lining up your ducks.  I had a different career then which was pretty stressful and crafting helped balance things.  I'm without that particular career now and it's been a year trying to accept that it's over. Every now and then I toy getting back in but that thought quickly goes away.  I just don't want that life anymore.

So what am I doing now?  Crafting fulltime!  Living the dream.  But wait, before you get all excited...it pays nothing.  So I'm planning again. I need to figure out how this is going to generate moola.

Manic Mondays
Tech Tuesdays and Thursdays
WiP Wednesdays
FO Fridays

Not that I'll be blogging everyday.  But when I do that day will be devoted to the above themes. If I'm not blogging that day will still be devoted to the above themes. Mondays will still be all about lining up those ducks.  Tuesday's and Thursdays will be about either high tech and how it applies to crafting or techniques like brioche, mosaic, and designing. WiP Wednesdays and FO Fridays will be just that, working on stuff, finishing stuff.

Prince also wrote Nothing Compares 2 U, I didn't know that either. There's a line "Girl you better try to have fun no matter what you do" I'm gonna try that -- because Prince was no fool.

I'm back!

I haven't post in over a year, but I've still been knitting (and crocheting!).  I'll start recapping 2015
FOs and what I've been up to while keeping abreast with current projects. First up though is Caramel. This is the sweater I referred to in my last post.  It's still a little big, but I wanted more room in the arms, maybe not this much.  I like to wear things under my cardis  and I hate when my sleeves bunch up. The back neck could have been narrower too. Next time. Changes in the pattern, I added lace!  I love sweaters from Anthropologie, in particular those by Angel of the North.  Their sweaters always have some feature on the fronts and back.  I've got the same lace going down the back, although narrower.  Also, I added pockets with the contrasting color as the inside.




I still had a bunch of this yarn leftover so I gave it to my aunt.  Stashdown!  For awhile I kept thinking of other things to make, but the yarn served its purpose in my hands so it was time the rest go to someone else.

Lots of sweaters in the queue to help me hone my "fit" skills, but other things seem to derail me.  All in all I got a baker's dozen made in 2015 so, yes, I've kept busy.

Fiberarts Friday, FO Friday and WIP Wednesday blog-a-longs have all gone by the wayside.  If you know of other parties drop a link in the comments.

Happy New Year!

For the last 16 years I've spent the first weekend after New Year's at a knitting retreat.  Last weekend was the 17th year and we returned to the San Juan Bautista Retreat Center for the second time. I worked on my mosaic vest almost religiously (ha, ha, no pun intended -- San Juan Bautista is one of the California Missions, and the Retreat Center is run by Franciscan Monks).

And it's done!  It's a little big though.  I don't know what I was thinking when I cast on for this, um, a long time ago.  Details here.  I guess I just picked the Large, guessing that the sizes were S(M,L,XL). But for that the chest measurement was 46".  And well, given that I knit a tad loose, it ended up more like 49".  It fits ok, the fabric composed of garter stitch with worsted weight yarn, it's pretty thick.  I love the construction, I just wish I paid more attention when I knit the back.  I should've known early on (like within the first repeat of the pattern) how off it was going to be.

Which leads me to what I plan to work on this year...knitting sweaters that fit.  Actually this was last year's goal but I didn't knit that much (house remodel -- floors -- which means I spent half the year moving furniture in and out -- twice each -- of the house).  This time for sure.  The sweater I'm going to start with is Caramel, because I already have yarn waiting, an on-going goal, stash reduction. Besides since it has overlapping fronts -- I only have to pay attention to the back. Plus it's knit top down so I can try it on as I go!

Other goals, the usual, knit more (wip reduction), spin more, weave more, lace more.  What about you?  Leave a comment then head on over to Fiber Arts Friday to see what everyone else is up to!

Air Nomad

Yes, I'm an Avatar fan.  Not the blue creature kind, the bending kind.  What can I say, I have teenagers and we enjoyed the antics of Aang and his conglomeration of benders.  Katara was my favorite then so I'm a huge fan the new series lead by Korra. Still don't know what I'm talking about?  It's a cartoon, on Nickelodeon.  And this?  This slouchy hat just turned out to be the right color and have the right elements for an airbending nomad.  I hadn't planned it that way, in fact, the arrows are kinda going the wrong way.

Pattern: available at Stitches West then downloadable from Ravelry starting March 1st.
Yarn: Handwerks Merino dk, also available at Stitches West

It's FiberArts Friday and I hope to see you next week!  I'll be in the Handwerks booth #1235.

Here's one more view for the folks at FO Friday!


ETA: link to Korra on Nickelodeon.

Knitting Changed my Life

I taught myself to knit in 1996.  I accompanied a friend to a yarn store, then a new mom to a 1 yo, and saw all the cute baby sweaters.  Muggle that I was I asked if she would knit a sweater for my daughter to which she replied, "Sure, but you could, too."  She bought the supplies for a cute dino sweater (which I gave back to her when her son was born).  Anyways, I must have thought about it for a bit, but eventually bought a book or two, some yarn (red heart variegated) and needles -- US size 6 straights, Inox, I believe.  I knew how to cast on (long tail), knit and purl (or I thought I did) from childhood and proceeded  to knit this:

I went to my first Stitches in 1997 (and have gone every year since), joined a knitting guild (to which I still belong -- hello SBKnitters!) and took spinning lessons at the shop the guild met.  I joined a spinning guild and in 1998 I joined a weaving guild and taught myself to weave, this is also the year I started taking lessons in bobbin lace.  All throughout, I knit, took more classes, bought yarn (lots of yarn), books, patterns, needles, spinning wheels, sock machines, looms, learned inkle and card weaving, ... Prior to all this I was quilting and did some embroidery, and as a child I learned to sew, crochet and tat.  But nothing really took off like knitting.  And definitely, nothing stuck like knitting.

Here it is 17 years later and while I've done a little weaving, some spinning, a little more sewing (not so much quilting, just garments), and more bobbin lacing, I've done a lot more knitting.  I even started designing hand knit patterns.  And I don't see an end to it.  I can't even imagine my life without it.  There isn't a week that goes by that I'm not knitting.  I always take knitting when I travel.  Always -- it's the first thing I pack!

I know it's WiP Wednesday and while I've got a ton of things on the needles, looms, wheels,...I think the biggest WiP I've got going is me.  Knitting brings me joy, a sense of accomplishment when I'm done and inspiration for all the wonderful projects to come.  It's made me more patient, it's kept me sane but most of all it's just made me better.