I will soon be a member of the sweater club. I'm making impressively fast progress on Interweave Crochet's Josephine pullover (...and it's a good thing, too, because my list of projects to finish before Christmas is growing by the minute. Oh Plymouth, how I love thee!) I chose this sweater not only because it looked like a fast project, but also because it has my 2 favorite things ever: an empire waist and bell sleeves which I cleverly plan to make even bellier. I just wouldn't be me if I didn't modify the pattern somehow, so I'm making it in Sirdar Snuggly held double for the knitting and single for the crocheting, and following the instructions for the small in order to get an XL due to my gauge difference. So far, it looks like a doll sweater, but sure enough, it stretches out to half my bustline, so I have faith that my calculations are correct and that I will not have spent all this effort for nothing. Here's what I've got so far:


For this month's free pattern, I've got a little credit card holder wallet-type contraption. This was such a great excuse to finally buy one of the little horse buttons I've been eyeballing at the 'Ewe for so long:


For those wondering, the HP puppets are still coming, and also a pinstriped & flower-adorned felted clutch purse as soon as I sew a zipper on.

Have you heard of this stuff? I bought some Ingeo fiber to spin and my inner hippie is going crazy over it. It's a synthetic fiber made from 100% annually renewable resources. Here's a link to the Wikipedia page about it, and also another website that explains the process of making it. I have spun 2 small batches so far and had mixed results. The colorless skein I made was easy to deal with but the lavender was short-staple hell. I am hoping that it was just a crummy batch of fiber and not something to do with the dying process making the fibers break apart into smaller pieces. I am NO GOOD with short fibers and lace-weight yarn, which is what may have to happen to the rest of them if it turns out all the colored ones are difficult. But as soon as I get them all spun, I'll probably be selling them in little "veggie plate" sampler sets over in the store, along with some hemp, bamboo, and flax yarns.

This happens to me constantly: I come up with some knitting technique and start thinking, "Oh wow, I just invented something totally new! I am a genius!" Then afterward I feel silly because I realize that it's highly unlikely that it's never been done before by anyone in the history of knitting. It's probably already been invented and I just don't know about it yet. But there's no easy way to find out, because it would involve either reading through every book of obscure knitting techniques ever written, or google searching "toe up sock knitting cast on method where you alternately slip every stitch onto 2 double pointed needles and begin knitting in the round" and hope someone, somewhere has blogged about it. So... yeah. I "invented" a toe-up sock cast on method the other day, and I plan to post a tutorial about it later today when I get the digital camera out and take some pictures to go along with it. Be on the lookout!

The Plymouth yarn company must love me by now. I sold OH MY to no less than 5 yarn store customers yesterday. Every time I saw anyone wondering around in the baby section, I would casually walk by, grab a ball of it, and say "Here, feel this." Then later they'd come up to the register with a basket full. (It backfired on me because I ran us out of a color that I had wanted to buy for myself.)

My new favorite thing to do: Weave in ends as I go. Lately I've been bothered by the messiness of a bunch of hanging ends, especially when doing multiple colors. So I weave in everything as soon as I attach it and everything is nice and pretty. That's all for now.

NEW FREE PATTERN! The Bowtie Sleep Mask is available for your... sleep mask wearing pleasure. I'm going through a can't-sleep-unless-it's-dark-and-quiet phase for some reason, which led to the invention of this pattern. It's 1x1 ribbed so it's nice and thick, and the yarn is really soft. Gedifra TOP soft, in fact.


NEW YARN FOR SALE: The Kirk Bear yarn set is available over in the store. Get it while it's hot, folks.


NEW WORK IN PROGRESS: The Potter Puppet Pals finger puppets are coming along nicely. Pre-felting, they look awfully stupid, but I'm hoping they'll turn out ok. Come to think of it, my one-armed, post-felting Voldemort prototype looks stupid as well, but I have made some pattern modifications since then. Check him out, and Ron & Hermione too:


And check out my loot from the White Rock Weaving Center! I got all these crazy new fibers I've never worked with before:

I will most certainly be going back there next time I need to stock up on awesomely soft and affordable fibers. I have never felt anything as soft as baby camel fur. (On the way home from buying it, I theorized that if I drove past a sign for a "Who has the weirdest stuff in their car" contest, I could pull over and blow the competition away with my bag of baby camel fur.)

The bad news: I was forbidden to attend the 40% off yarn sale. The good news: the reason for the sale was to clear out all the old stuff to make room for the new stuff. Rejoice! New yarns of the season are here!

Everyone get to your LYS immediately, for I have found the world's best yarn. Plymouth has invented what I hereby proclaim is the softest fiber known to man, appropriately named "OH MY!" I'm already going to town on a free pattern to put up later this month, and many more are brewing in my head to submit to Plymouth for publication.

In spinning news, I brought a big new batch of handspun to sell at the Woolie Ewe, and I am planning a gargantuan project: I'm submitting a handspun project for Pluckyfluff's next book (and crossing my fingers that it will be good enough!) This wednesday I'm going to make my first trip to the White Rock Weaving Center and see if they have any crazy fibers that I can't live without to add to my already overstuffed spinning supply drawer. Pictures of the work in progress will be available when I get started.

Wow, I have been neglecting this thing for quite a long time. In the time I've been gone, I got married, moved into a new apartment, and started working full-time. I had convinced myself that maybe I didn't have time for this website after all. WHAT A SILLY IDEA! I'm back and better than ever, with a whole slew of new things for you guys. My goal is to add a new free pattern and least once a month and also to keep everyone updated with my works in progress.

First things first: NEW PATTERNS!

WOOLIE THE EWE will be featured in the 2007 Stitch 'n' Bitch Pattern-a-Day calendar, but you guys can go ahead and get a head start on him now.


THE LAMPSHADE PURSE is exhibit B of my current obsession with loop stitching. It also adds in some sewing since I've learned to use my new machine, but it could theoretically be stitched by hand if someone was determined enough.

Second things second: MY KNITTING-RELATED PROJECTS!

I finally made myself a needle case, modeled loosely after the one in Stitch 'n' Bitch. I knew I needed it to be much more customized that the one in the book, so I painstakingly planned out my elaborate pockets and compartments. It was so crazy, I don't think I could make a tutorial if I tried. Sorry guys. I used the most heinously mis-matched fabric remnants I could find and made tall pockets for my long needles, squat pockets for my circulars, and shallow, skinny pockets for my double points. There's even a space for my crochet hooks and a notepad with pen, but I unfortunately did not stick with my original grand master plan of including a zippered compartment for stitch markers and the like. Maybe next time. Here's a photo of the inside:


And last but not least, WORKS IN PROGRESS:
Here is a short-list of the things I'm either currently working on or that are swimming around in my brain waiting to be invented: "Potter Puppet Pals" felted finger puppets (started), crocheted baby blanket (started), a pair of socks that don't make me too hot in Texas (NO WOOL!!) and also don't take a hundred years to complete because they're on #2 dpns (still pondering this one), a sleep mask and pillow set (tried and failed, will try again), and roller derby-themed hats for Hollie with stars & stripes for pivoting and jamming (soon).

Am I done finally? Looks like it; there doesn't seem to be any more text under this. Good.

...and I'm published! The comeback issue of Spun has my pattern for this jazzy little number called Santa's Little Helper. I can't wait to brag casually mention it tomorrow at the "big sale" at the Woolie Ewe. (If you're coming, come early!)


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UPDATE: I can't believe I almost forgot to mention that there's another new free pattern here called the Snow Bunny wine bottle cozy & stem warmer. It was inspired by my new part time job as a grape-stomper at a winery.

I'm trying to get a jump start on my Christmas gifts so I knitted through the wrist pain and finished a couple already. I made the kitty hat from Stitch'n'Bitch out of furry black Nordica yarn, the sheddiest thing on the planet. Not so much the fabric, but the pompoms. Every time you walk by it, you get black puffs on your clothing. Maybe I should run it through the washing machine before giving it away.

Also, I had planned to make a little coat on size 6 needles for my soon-to-be-niece, but seeing as how I despise small needles, my wrists hurt, and she'll outgrow it in a season anyway, I opted for mittens and a hat, with a little toy rabbit wearing a matching outfit. I modeled him after "Pants" the bunny from the July 24th entry on the Bunny-a-long blog. He's made from Trendsetter Zucca and stuffed with cotton balls.



And... *drum roll please* I think I will start spinning again this week! I want to have a less barren store in time for everyone to knit holiday gifts. I'll send out a mailing list email as soon as I get some stuff in there.