Hats, Holidays and Headaches

It's official. The holidays are here. Work is crazy, there are tons of people on 34th St. and I'm knitting gifts. I only decided to knit two presents this year. Both for co-workers. Both hats. And both quick knits.

















Colorimetry for my manager. She's very sporty and loves blue.


















And a very slighty slouchy hobo hat for the girl who writes in the same dept as me. Shes very classic with a touch of vintage.


I also made Allen a hat. He wanted one made entirely of cashmere. (who doesn't?!) I used Debbie Bliss Pure Cashmere and was inspired by the Cosima pattern in Hip Knit Hats. My yarn was at a different gauge so I improvised. It came out great. I love it so much that I'm going to make one for myself in different colors.


















And finally (and I do mean finally. I'm sick of making hats.) I made myself Hannah. I had a lone skein of Misti Alpaca chunky laying around and knew that it was fate. I added a flower from Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers. Now I can wear a hat and have a ponytail!












And of course it wouldn't be the holidays without my tree. Here are some of the hats under it.




















Happy Holidays Everyone!

Forced to be Santa's little helper...

No, I haven't forgotten that I have a blog, nor have I dropped dead. I got a new job as a retail copywriter and it's the holiday season for us. I have been up to my eyeballs with work for the past month and will most likely be swimming in more of the like until January. I am also still teaching at The Point on some weekends. Of course, I have still been trying to knit but it's been a rather slow process. I finally finished my Claw Vest for Allen! Made with Noro Silk Garden in a lovely black, blue, gray, green combo. It's detailed with a claw cable going up the front and half way down the back.


















At first he didn't like the green but after trying it on a week ago, he decided it wasn't all that bad. I think he looks quite smashing in it.




















I've also been working on the Cowl Pullover from Knitting Nature. I'm using Suss Alpaca Tweed and its coming along nicely. I'll have photos next time. For now, here the cutest photo of Hope I've taken in a while.

When it rains...it pours.

I finally have a weekend off after working 2 whole weeks straight. Thank god for holidays. Even though I barely had time for sleep, I somehow managed to get a lot done since the last post.

I in love with my new kitchen and it has inspired me to be more of a "chef". First I made some honey mustard wings.










Then I decided to try my hand at brownies with my new Bakers Edge brownie pan. BTW- this pan is worth the investment.













After that, Leia, a girl I worked with at The Point got me hooked on her chili. So of course I had to make my own. Turned out better than I had hoped.













On the knitting front, the end of summer spurred me on to finish at least one summer knit before the hot temps left for the season. So I finished up the Keyhole Top from Spring Interweave. It turned out very nicely, except the yarn sheds like crazy. It's knit with Classic Elite Premiere. 50% Prima Cotton and 50% Tencel. A dream to work with but please carry a lint roller with you when you are done.








































Button detailing.



















After learning that my mother was visiting today, I quickly finished up the last couple of rows on the Brioche scarf I was knitting for her. She loved it. YAY!



















Here are my two lovelies just being goofy.

Back in the Saddle

It's mid August and my last post was more than a month ago. Where has the time gone?!

After closing, I immediately started renovating. It took a total of 3 weeks, 130 dollars in additional cell phone charges, several pimples, and 2 total meltdowns before I finally got to move in at the end of July.

My kitchen went from this:

















to this:


















To this:
















To finally this:






















After I moved in, the first room to be set up was the master bedroom:










There are still some shelves and art to be placed in but for the most part, it's finished. It's a little smaller than I had pictured in my head once all the furniture went into the room but overall I'm very happy with it.






I also got the craft closet I always wanted. It is at maximum capacity right now so I think I might have to rearrange a few things. Here it is in its glory:












9 feet ceiling and the yarn and fabric go all the way to the top and bottom.





















I've been so busy with the apt that I really only worked on one knitting project. A brioche rib scarf for my mother out of Alchemy Migration.











A very simple 1 row repeat with a great yarn will keep any busy knitter entertained for weeks.



I recently purchased the fall Rowan book. Inside was a pattern that I fell in love with: Striven.













Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy all that new yarn to make it so I improvised. I picked up 2 skeins of Schaefer Anne in complementary colors to add to my one skien at home. I dug through the stash for 4 skeins of Jade Sapphire Mahogany 4 ply cashmere and using Ann Budd's Book of Patterns, I am making Striven-ish! Inspired by Striven by made using very different yarns. Pulling both ends of the Anne and alternating every other row, I'm creating a somewhat similar color pattern that Striven has on its front and back panels. My only concern now is running out of yarn!
















Well, that's all for now. I'm off to organize the rest of my apt!

On the Moo-ve...

Starting tomorrow, I will be an apartment owner! Very exciting but also very scary. And most of all very busy.

The blog will be quiet for the most part til I get myself settled in. There will be knitting in between boxes and paint brushes so fear not. The next post will include photos of my WIPs. For exciting photos on what I have been up to - go to CityMinx's July 6th blog entry, where we watched the fireworks from Allen's apartment.

Til next time - countertops, paintbrushs, and hardwood floors!

Science and Angels

Allen and I took a bike ride up the West Side Highway to 44th St. where we found the Science Barge. I had read about it at Apartment Therapy. They have public tours almost every day at 4pm.



This barge is a self sustaining greenhouse that is completely off the grid. It uses solar and wind power. It also has a back up bio diesel generator for the cloudy days. The water they use is collected off the roof of the greenhouse or taken out of the Hudson and purified. The hope is that one day all the rooftops of the city can be turned into greenhouses. This way the energy used to transport the produce here can be eliminated. Also stated was how this form of agriculture is much more friendly to the earth by reducing water waste and saving trees from getting cut down for farm land. You can find more info here.



































































As for knitting, this Monday I met Nicky Epstein at the book signing at The Point. She is so fun and so is her new book Knitting Never Felt Better. I started on her Angel Puff Scarf. It takes one ball of Kid Silk Haze (I chose Kid Silk Night for some glam.) and is worked in plain stockinette. I'm just about finished with the knitting portion and can't wait to get started on the felting.
















I have also finished the baby knits. They are just darling.
















I've noticed recently that I'm knitting a lot of drape-y items in drape-y yarns. And I've loved it - The Flair, Delicious, Phyllo Yoked Pullover, etc. But this week I got my shipment of new craft books in the mail and fell head over heels in love with Fitted Knits. Almost everything in there has a little body to it and I just couldn't wait to get started. So I went through the stash and found some plum colored Woolbale that I was saving for a Fair Isle sweater (that I know for a fact I'll never get to), and casted on for the Puff Sleeved Feminine Cardigan.





















Many more projects to talk about but I think I'll save them for next time. BTW: I got my invite to ravelry.com! Come find me: Knittini

Goodies, Pillows, and Aprons

It's a new issue of Knitty and a new project I must make. This time it's Wisp! So simple so pretty and yarn that I can quickly pick up at The Point!




















Here are some of the goods I got from the Renegade Craft Fair.
















ReproDepo fabric ends at 1 dollar an ounce! The japanese fabric at the end with the blue dolls was 6 dollars an ounce.






















A cramcream carryall. Too cute to resist at 10 dollars.
















And beautiful illustrations to hang in my new place.




I discovered Amy Butler's Gum Drop Pillow pattern and adore it. I need an ottoman in the new apt and couldn't find just the right one. Now I can make it!





















And lastly, one apron down, one to go.




Allen and I took a bike ride up the West side and took a tour of the Science Barge. It was fantasic and I will post photos next time.

Good things come in tiny packages...

It's small, cute, and looks great in knitted items... it's a baby, of course! Allen's best friend from college just had their first baby, a girl! And as any over obsessed knitter, I must make something for her.

First is the Baby Shrug from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby book. The Point didn't have Cashmerino Aran so I subbed in Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran instead. I'm more than half way done. Only the right front and the ribbing to go.





















The other knitted item are these adorable little baby socks. I can't stand it - they're so cute!

















I also plan on sewing up a changing pad but I have yet to decide on a fabric print(s). I want to stay away from the pink since the shrug is already pink. Maybe something orange or peach?

I was very excited yesterday when I got a chance to go to the Renegade Craft Fair. I didn't make it there til the late afternoon but made some purchases none the less. It was held in the old pool this time and it definitely looked like there were a lot more vendors this year. Thankful, I knew exactly what I wanted: items for the new place and fabric. It took most of my strength not to buy the sock yarn that I spied there. I made my purchases in a rushed, almost panicked hurry because the sky was starting to get gray. And in the end, all that running around paid off - two blocks before I made it back to the train, it started raining. None of my goodies got wet and for the most part, neither did I. Photos of the goods coming up in the next post. Till then, it will be baby knits, aprons, and lace yoked pullovers.

New kitchen, Vintage aprons...

Inspired by the fact that next month I will have a new kitchen with modern stainless steel appliances, I've decided to sew up some vintage styled aprons. One green/red and the other yellow/orange. Great pattern and fabric from Purl Patchwork. I'm very excited to start!





















I haven't forgotten my Phyllo Yoked Pullover though. I'm currently at 6", only 10" more to go in stockinette in the round... *pulls out gun, locks and loads it*. Seriously though, it's not as bad as I make it seem. The yarn slides on the needles very nicely and it goes rather fast.


















Here's just a proud mother photo. My Hope resting on my knee on the couch earlier. She is just the more darling dog ever.

Irony and a sweater....

After a month and a half of non-stop knitting ... Delicious is finally finished!!



The sassy Jill A. helped me take this fabulous photo. But here comes the irony... it was about 80 degrees out today. Not exactly the right conditions to be sporting merino/cashmere/silk blends. And so in this spirit... the next item to be cast on is this...















A beautiful COTTON LACE yoked top. Pattern from Knitting Nature. The yarn has been in my stash since the Suss sale and I've been waiting for the right moment to start it. My hope is that I finish it before the summer is over. I am on a finishing streak so it may not be as impossible as it seems.

Here's to wishing!