coffee + knitting =

Haven't had a coffee-fueled idea in a while, but caffeine makes my brain whir at frequencies even I can't begin to comprehend. For some reason I was thinking about color wheels, and I cross-reference every thought I have with knitting. (You see where this is going, right?) A knitted color wheel!!! How sweet would that be?!

Also, would it be weird to request a 19th-century treatise on colour by Goethe from my local library? At least it would be translated from German. And it's 1400 pages long...

pretty baby sweater

Here's the second baby sweater! I'm very pleased with it, finally...let me tell you, this sweater got more angst put into its design than was really necessary. It all started with me thinking I was all clever and could figure out any edging after the fact, so I just knit the basic sweater without any button bands, collar, etc. I thought it would be easy to pick out a contrast edging and knit something cute. At KNITERARY CLUB we tried (I swear) every single color edging, every single possible button...nothing looked good. And I mean nothing.

I left that day with a plan: I was going to knit a ruffle using a periwinkle contrast, then use orange buttons. (See below.) Seems like an okay idea, right? Well...if you edge the entire sweater in a ruffle it will look like a clown suit. I ripped out the ruffle edge and tried to knit a ribbed cuff...it looked so retro and so awful. So it was back to the drawing board. (I even got angry at the sweater for a couple days and stuffed it in my knitting bag and couldn't look at it.)

But then I was inspired, and came up with what I still credit as a genius idea: minimal edging (just one row of single crochet around the collar and down the front), and a cute flower sewn into the center with one button as the closure. And that was the winning idea!

speechless

SHEEP.

Go here. Now.

OMG.

kc update #3

Carrying on my theme of inspired knitting, the KNITERARY CLUB members brought pictures that they found interesting. We went around the store and selected yarns that we thought could be used to re-create the pictures. It was great fun, and look at some of the different colorways we picked out! One is a postcard with a Russian artist's painting on it, the other is a jewelry ad from a magazine. Two of us brought the free Eunny Jang pattern from Knitting Daily as a possible project for our color combinations! How funny is that?

further down the rabbit hole

If you've come here for the answer, you'll have to wait...come see on Sunday.

knitting 911

This is the first pair of socks I knit, ever. They were for my brother, and he's pretty hard on knit goods...which isn't a bad thing, that means he uses them...but it also means fixing some pretty interesting problems.

Since I knit these so long ago, I didn't have any more of the original yarn (worsted-weight self-striping wool). Since they're weird looking socks anyway, I figured why not fix them with even more bizarre colors? Okay, purple.

The fixing itself was a little tricky, I don't have a lot of experience with knitting repair; they came out okay and for now there will be no more unraveling! I did happen to have some DK weight yarn in the same color stashed away, so a new pair of socks is forthcoming. Votes on what the heel color should be?

thought process --> wait, what?

Late it may be, but here is last week's KNITERARY CLUB update! I brought in a picture of a waterfall (see here) and wanted to combine yarns that were inspired by the colors and luminescence of the water. It was a group process, but we narrowed a large field of choices down to a very beautiful combination. Tomorrow at our meeting we'll all bring something- anything- that inspires us and play around with yarns that relate to that picture, object, literary passage, etc.

This has been a long time coming, but my Quail Purse is done! I am so happy with the result. Probably the rest of the world thinks I'm insane and/or that it's bizarre...but it's a good size to carry around and I succeeded in lining it! Sewing machine vs. Caitlin...1-1. Enjoy the beautiful weather and please, come knit tomorrow!

what would carrie bradshaw knit?

My newest silly creation is a little wrist corsage inspired by Sex and the City; I love that show almost as much as Sarah Jessica Parker's character loves shoes! At one point, Carrie Bradshaw starts wearing corsages everywhere and with everything. I haven't figured out which season it is (it's about time to re-watch all the episodes again), but I wanted to imitate the idea. The flowers are crocheted and the wristband is knitted. I have to say that, as a knitter who resisted crochet for many, many years...I was being ridiculous. Knitters, go out and learn crochet! (And vice versa.)

This I included simply because it's funny- normally my OCD self wouldn't anything exist in such a state of chaos, but when I'm excited about knitting I just surround myself with all the yarn pertaining to my current projects (current meaning anything I'm thinking about, whether it's started yet or not).


Exciting: IKEA now sells mini versions of their shopping bags and they're perfect for holding knitting. Bonus: they're indestructible and only cost fifty cents.

tah-dah!

So our first meeting of KNITERARY CLUB was last Sunday and we're meeting again this weekend (you should come, it's at Old Village Yarn Shop in Plymouth). We talked a little about basic knitting skills you should have/know and books that are helpful to have if you're a self-taught and/or adventurous knitter. My favorites are The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and both the Knitter's and Crocheter's Companion. I just think it's really important to have a go-to reference so that when (as inevitably happens) you're stuck on something at midnight and can't ask for help...you have something to turn to. After that, we knitted and talked about...knitting! I started playing around with Louisa Harding's yarns (sooooo pretty, all of them) and embarked on my newest design:

This is knit using Louisa Harding's Thalia...a really cool wool/acrylic ribbon with a tiny hint of metallic thread. I began randomly alternating between garter stitch and stockinette...which worked until I got halfway through and realized that I only wanted it to be MOSTLY random but mirror itself from the halfway point...which, naturally, I hadn't written down! So that was annoying. But I knit obsessively for basically a whole afternoon/evening and it was done the next day!

If you want to know where I got the idea...I reluctantly admit that I watch MTV while knitting and was fascinated with a neckwarmer that Chris Brown wore in his video for "Head of My Class". Plus those kids are amazing dancers.

this is the inane part

So last night I had a dream that Knitty posted their new spring issue and I woke up really excited...until I realized it wasn't true. How sad.......on so many levels.

inspiration

This waterfall is so beautiful in the sunlight; I don't think any picture can do it justice. Somehow I would love to imitate the colors in a knitted garment...there are shades of green and grey, shimmery gold...I have a few ideas. I'll explore during Kniterary Club on Sunday when I have access to a whole store full of yarn...

so cute i want to...

I finished baby gift #1...hopefully going to wrap it up and give it away tomorrow! I went a bit button overboard here, but found perfect little green flowers that look adorable with the sweater. It was astonishingly difficult to find buttons that match since this yellow is such a strange color (a very greenish yellow). The nice bright trim compliments it nicely and will help the sweater not look too washed out.

This was a modified version of a Cabin Fever pattern- the sweater was knit from the top down (meaning you start knitting at the collar and increase to begin the sleeves...after the body is done you go back and pick up the sleeves and knit them in the round as well; this means you don't have any sewing to do once the sweater is done!). The crochet edging was entirely my idea, not too bad for a beginner, wouldn't you say?

Another baby gift is soon to come, I cast on for the collar tonight but couldn't gather enough energy to knit. Amazing, right? So stay tuned.....for now, good night to all.