A vacation from knitting

Despite bringing two projects and tons of yarn, I managed only three rows of knitting on my trip. I did all the driving, and spent most of my time eating, riding bikes, eating, walking, hanging out by the beach, and eating some more. Here's one of those nifty flickr mosaics:



My favorite places were Rockport, where we had the best lobsters and bike riding adventures, and Provincetown, a totally funky and laid-back town with great nightlife.

I managed to check out some yarn shops, thanks to some great recommendations I got in the comments (thanks Thea!). Seed Stitch in Salem, MA looked great, but was closed when I came through on Memorial Day. Windsor Button in Boston was something else. It's huge and with all kinds of crafty stuff and a firmly unpretentious vibe. But the lighting is horrendous and grey, and I often had to squint and use my imagination to appreciate some of the gorgeous yarns they have. Well, that didn't stop me from picking up some summery sock yarn. It's Claudia's Handpainted.



Since I've been back, New York weather has been alternating between pleasantly hot and unbearably sauna-like, and that just doesn't motivate me to knit. I've rediscovered my interest in sudoku during my commute, and at home I've been a wee bit obsessed with wii fit. It's awesome. But somehow, in fits and starts, I've gotten close to completing the Phildar top. I'm seaming it right now, but I'm afraid it might need some reconstructive surgery.

It was great to come home to the new knitty. I am so in love with Gigi and am trying hurry up and finish the Phildar top so I can start Gigi guilt free!

going on a road trip

Bobby and I are renting a car tomorrow and doing a weeklong driving tour of some nearby Atlantic states. I'm so excited to drive a car again, even if it's a dorky rental car. We'll be staying in Rockport, Boston, Provincetown, and Newport, and checking everything out in between (please please send lys tips). Our last night will be spent on Fire Island at my sister's summer rental. Looks pretty great, right?



My neck is all better, btw. Thanks again for all the tips and well wishes. I'm now tracking down some fancy pillows, carrying a lighter handbag, wearing heels less days a week, and keeping the window shut while I sleep. I never want to get a stiff neck again!

The many wonders of tiger balm.

For the last couple of days, I've had plenty of idle time, some of it spent admiring the colorful packaging of the tiger balm my sister brought back from India. Apparently it can do much more than relieve muscle aches, Look closely:



I also entertained myself with some online shopping, and ultimately pre-ordered a wii fit. It looks fun, but the purchase was partially motivated by what has happened since Bobby took charge of our eating habits while I'm stuck in bed. The last couple days have been full of pizza, burritos, pudding, egg and cheese sandwiches, and heavy cream based soup.

I also cruised the new Phildar mags and picked up another issue, mostly because of this summer top:



I love anything that's backless. I almost ordered the yarn directly from Phildar, until I realized that it would be 29 euros to ship 34 euros in yarn.

And I eventually was able to knit a bit, and finished up one little jaywalker last night.



Thanks for all the well-wishes, tips, and tricks for a less stiff neck, and for all the hours of knitblog content that kept me company over the weekend.

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

I turned down a free ride from Ivete to go the MD Sheep and Wool Festival because I couldn't get out of work this weekend.

This morning, I woke up at 4:30 am with the unfortunate realization that I couldn't move my upper body without extremely sharp pain coming from my neck and shooting into my right shoulderblade and down into my right arm. After some internet research, I found that I have what's called a "crick" in my neck that should go away on its own with time and rest. Yay.

Right now, after Bobby's help, I'm propped up in bed by every pillow in the apartment. Can't move, can't go to work, can't go to the festival, can't even knit. Major weekend failure.

To everyone going to MD: have fun and take lots of photos please!

I'm on lucky.com street style?

Yep, that's me in the silk jammies. I just found this here on the lucky website.

On their site, they incorrectly guess at (but are very close) what designers I am wearing. I can't afford Marni, but I'm glad that Lucky thinks I can! I would love to own a pair of Marni shoes, but these Vilmas by Chie Mihara are twice as nice at half the price ::end shameless plug::

If only I was wearing a handknit that day!

FO: Side to Side Cable Top

Finished! Just in time for the sudden onset of warm weather. I loved the yarns, especially the color and texture created by carrying along the rose mohair with the beige base yarn. I think this first photo shows the pink tones in the mohair best.



Halfway through the neck/body portion, I realized that this was going to be way too small if I followed the directions. I did swatch this out, but I didn't pay attention to the row gauge. I had to add another 1/4 repeat of the neck cable pattern to make the body wide enough.



This modification made the cabled neckline asymetrical, and while knitting I couldn't decide if that would make the sweater more interesting, or sort of strange. I kept on knitting anyway, and I don't think it made much of a difference in the end.



Details: Side to side cabled top by Louisa Harding from Vogue Knitting's 25th anniversary issue. Knit on 5's and 9's in one piece and then seamed up the sides. 7 skeins of Sublime Yarns Cashmere Merino Silk DK and 7 skeins of Sublime Yarns Kid Mohair Blend, purchased at String Yarns on East 82nd St. This took about a month to knit.



Now onto something more weather-appropriate. Maybe my next knit will be a cotton or linen prairie tunic?

FO: It's a pair!

I didn't think I had it in me, but I am now the proud owner of a finished pair of handknit socks.




Details: Pattern is Embossed Leaves Lace Socks by Mona Schmidt from Interweave winter 2005. Knit on size 2 bamboo dpns with 2.5 skeins of Koigu kppm purchased from Imagiknit in San Francisco. I did an extra repeat on the leg, by accident, and omitted 1/2 repeat on the foot, because the sock was looking long enough.

I think this might be the start of a new knitting era for me...



Yep, I already cast on for another sock! This is a Lorna's Laces Jaywalker in progress. Bobby has read enough knitblogs over my shoulder to ask me if I "have finally crossed over to the dark side." The fact that I don't have another sweater lined up, or already on the needles, makes me think that he's onto something.

FO: Vogue Swing Jacket

Finally! It took two sick days spent in bed with two seasons of Weeds to get all the loose ends tucked away. I'm still not completely satisfied. The front openings of the sweater are curling away from me like a mofo. I'm gonna need to either go back to the blocking board or sew a lining in. I also think my short rows look kinda messy, and I wish I had done the sweater in darker color palette overall to hide the chunky short rows better.

I am happy with it overall. The knitting was really fast and enjoyable and I love how the changes in color define the shape of the jacket.



Details: Pattern by Shiri Mor from Vogue Knitting winter 2007/8, smallest size. 7 skeins of Cascade Superwash in aran, white, charcoal, and black purchased from Knitty City. I only used superwash because I liked the colors the shop had in superwash better than those in 220.

Almost there!

I imagined my "comeback post" to feature a glorious FO that would excuse my long absence, but it's just not there yet. My recent purchase of a Nintendo wii has really taken a bite out of my knitting, blogging, and blog reading. Enough excuses.

But this little swing jacket from the latest Vogue is almost there! I've been withholding after my recent knitting mishaps, not wanting to disappoint or jinx this project. At this point, I'm feeling confident enough to share it. It's definitely not one for the frog pond. I just need to do some minor blocking and weave in about 200 ends. I think I really love it.




And moving on to the next thing:



I have had my eye on this sweater from Vogue's fall anniversary issue, and after seeing an awesome finished version by Nueroknits on ravelry, I decided to shop and swatch for it. I'm pretty excited about this swatch in terms of color and texture. This is sublime yarn's cashmere merino silk paired with their kid mohair blend.



New York seems to be warming up though, and at the slow pace I've been working, It'll be in the 70s if I finish this one. Luckily, all my wii remotes are out of battery power for the moment.

Thanks for all the great comments, because they totally make my day and encourage me to get my knit and blog on!

I'm off to Las Vegas tomorrow for a shoe tradeshow (yes, a shoe tradeshow. It happens twice a year). Wish me luck and happy thoughts of awesome shoes for fall 2008!

bits and pieces

I have been a very very bad blogger lately. And not the best knitter, either. I'm sorry for the absence, and don't have much to show to make up for it.

November was a series of unfortunate events, including some that were knitting related.

First, my trusty size 19 circ broke during Twinkle test knitting! Next, even worse, I finished my pretty and sweet Phildar cardigan, seamed her up and everything, only to find that it was all kinds of wrong! I tried to modify her into a v-neck. Awful idea. Now, she looks like this:



I guess they all can't be winners, right?

I haven't had much time beyond the test knits to get really into anything, but the onset of winter has called for some emergency quickies.



Check it out! Mittens! and ice skates! My first pair of either! The snow is a beautiful novelty for me right now. I spent a lot of fall worrying about how I'd manage to look chic when the weather drops to 20 degrees. Now that it's happened, I've embraced the goofiness of winter gear: poofy jackets, rainboots, pom poms, all of it. There is something so endearing about New Yorkers in their silly winter wear.

And I finished off one of my oldest wips, one I had completely forgotten about until I found it during our move.



It's a 2 year old "branching out" scarf from knitty. My first attempt at fancy stitches.

I knew I wasn't going to go any farther on her, so I just bound off where I had left off, and now she makes a great jogging headband. Much better than those fleece ones I see lots of people wearing in the park.



Not much on the needles, either. Just the ol' afghan and a Christmas hat for my dad. He requested a knitted hat small enough for his tiny head. I'm trying out Jessica's pattern from fig and plum archives.



Sorry again for being a stranger, and happy holidays!

Tagged: 8 things about me

Girl Kae tagged me! Read on if you'd like to know 8 random facts about me.


The Rules: once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I grew up in Avila Beach, a small beach town in Central California. So small that only 40 students graduated with me.

2. I was valedictorian of said 40 student class (didn't have too many classmates to compete with).

3. I used to surf every day before school for 2 years. My shoulders were linebacker huge.

4. I can dislocate my once musclebound shoulders at will, wiggle my ears, and roll my stomach.

5. I have a motorcycle license and rode a Honda Elite scooter before I moved to New York.

6. People always think I am 5-10 years older than my actual age. Yikes! A customer once told me, "You don't look a day over thirty-five." I was twenty-four then, now I'm just shy of twenty-six.

7. I started this blog to force myself to finish more projects, namely the one pictured above. I was terrified to start an 18 skein afghan and I thought that a blog would provide accountability, aka guilt. Well, I'm still working on that dang afghan, but at least it covers my toes now.

8. I keep my knitblog a secret from most of my friends. I still feel self conscious writing about myself, even after a year of blogging!

Now I tag Jen, Julie, kelli, jenna, pearl, janice,

6 people is good enough, right?

Pretty and Sweet!

I love the madly bobbled tunic, but I've been craving mindless stockinette so much. So I started the cardigan. Now I finally have something I can knit on the subway.

The back is finished, and I'm gonna modify the front to be a v-neck.

Yesterday, I was asked to be a test knitter for Twinkle's new book! I'm so so excited.

A really good day

Today has been a really really good day. Here's what a good day looks like:




I went shopping.

I picked up some Blue Sky Alpacas suri merino at Purl, then some Sublime merino silk dk from The Point.

Now, what to do with it? Some possibilities, courtesy of the new Phildar (arrived today):

pretty and sweet


a little more edgy but still classy


If Phildar and Twinkle had a baby, here's what she'd look like. total awesomeness. too edgy? or, am I just too short for this? I'm not sure if I care. I love this. I'm such a sucker for bobbles.

FO: Phildar Vest

Wow. I really really love this vest. It took a long time to knit, but it was well worth it.



This was my first Phildar knit, and I found the pattern to be very clear and easy to follow. I'm hooked. I already bought the winter 08 pattern book, and am waiting for it to arrive.



Details: Pattern is from Phildar #468, spring 2007. I used 3 skeins of Catalina Yarns Baby Alpaca Worsted. The pattern called for cotton, but I wanted a more drapey look, and the alpaca softened the cables and bobbles. I also sized down the needles. No modifications, except I decided not to an extra finishing step, which was some ribbing on the inside of the sleeves. This took about 2 months to knit, but I started it soon after I moved to New York and I was having trouble finding time to knit while settling in to my new routine.



I love it so much. I'm looking forward to cooler weather so I can start wearing it every day!

designer knit: Madeleine Press scarf

I found this beautiful scarf on shopbop and I feel compelled to share it. Has anyone heard of this designer, Madeleine Press? I'm in love. I think I may try to copy this one. I think it should be pretty easy to decipher, right?



Btw, last night was really fun!

Countdown to Knitting in the City

Knitting in the City is tonight and I am really excited! Yesterday was orientation and I met the other volunteer knitters at Wenlan's studio. It was great to meet Ivete of knotology, my first real life encounter with another knitblogger. It was also great to pick out our free outfit to wear tonight!

I loved all the clothing, but all my favorite pieces weren't my size! Ivete scored an amazing cropped jacket and blouse combo in what seemed like seconds, but I scoured the racks for what seemed like forever. There was a beautiful flowing dress in watercolor shades of purple, but even though it fit me perfectly, it just wasn't my style. I ultimately decided to just grab my favorite thing and forgive it for being a couple of sizes too big. I'm not about to complain about free clothes. Here's my selection:




And how I'm going to make it work for tonight:



After tonight, I'm going to take her to a tailor. I don't trust my sewing skills with expensive clothing.

And here's what I'm going to accessorize her with:



I found this on Ivete's etsy shop after we met, and fell in love with it and bought it! Seems like the appropriate thing to wear.

One more essential item for the evening is my new moo cards. I had to upgrade my flickr account to pro after I exceeded my photo limit. After going pro, you get 10 free moo cards, and these came just in time.



I'm really happy with how they turned out, and I'm tempted to order a pack of 100. I'll see how they go over tonight first.

Thanks to all the encouragement and tips on teaching knitting! Luckily, I was given a very explicit instructional handout, so if I get nervous, I can just find the appropriate page and point.

While it may seem like my knitting is revolving around Twinkle, I am still working on my Phildar vest. All those fancy stitches are taking forever, and I think I have about a week more to go.

Signing off for now, wish me luck!

Twinkle this Tursday at Rockefeller Center

This Thursday night, I will be a volunteer assistant at a special knitting night at Anthropologie. Is anybody else helping out, or attending?

I have never taught anyone how to knit before, or even knit amongst other knitters before! I am a closet knitter in my daily life, and taught myself to knit from knittinghelp.com, so I have some small fears that I am doing it all wrong, or that I won't be able to communicate how it's done. I am hoping that my retail sales personality will kick in, squash my little insecurities and do all the talking.

I'd love to see some of my fellow knitbloggers and knitblog readers there! Let me know if you are thinking of going so I can look for you there.

Twinkle Spring 2008 at Bryant Park

A couple weeks ago, a golden ticket came in the mail...



I felt like the luckiest knitter in the world! It was so exciting to attend a show at Bryant Park, even if I had to stand in line for half an hour and then pack myself in next to the photographers and get up on my tiptoes to see the runway over their heads. Waiting in line inside the tent was so entertaining: the best people-watching experience, ever! It was a neverending parade of fashion superstars and visionaries, fashion clowns, fashion victims, etc.

And the show itself was fantastic. Not as many knits as I expected, mostly printed silk dresses and flowy tops. Here's my shot of the final runway parade:




And Wenlan coming out to take a quick bow:





Since I couldn't get a decent photo, here's one from getty of a great knitted vest from the collection:


Other than the vest, I could only spot one more knitted piece, which was a white dress that I wasn't too crazy about. Her fun, colorful and quirky prints really made up for my dissapointment in the quantity of knitted pieces. It was really exciting to be there- thanks for the invite, Wenlan!


**Update** for those who have asked, I got the invite through my job at coclico, and will be selling some twinkle clothing, jewelry, and belts in the shop next spring.

Getting back to knitting

Hello everybody from so long ago and so far away! Sorry for the long absence. Moving is hard! I just wasn't knitting, so I had nothing to blog about. Finally I started to knit, got ready to blog, and then my computer died! Well, long story short, she came back from the dead but she's on the chopping block. She's up for sale on Craigslist right now and I'm waiting for a buyer.

Remember this?

It's in progress and I love it! I just couldn't take any more of the kusha scarf. I love the yarn, but I can only do so much stockinette before I start to fiend for a cable, a bobble, or a rib at the very least. The scarf makes for good subway knitting, and the vest waits at home for me to work on it.

I finally found time between the new job and furnishing our new apartment to make it to my new local yarn shop, Knitty City. I had a great experience there and the staff was really helpful and welcoming. Plus they give out these amazing drawstring top bags when you buy yarn:

And my apartment is coming along. Once we moved in, we realized that our loft scale furniture just doesn't work in the tiny space. We have since gotten rid of some of the things we moved all the way over here and replaced them with miniature versions, like this table and chair set I got at Ikea:

And my favorite part of the house, our tiny new sofa found on craigslist, and coffee table from IKEA.

Moving furniture, without a car, and in and out of a 4th floor walkup is pretty complicated stuff.

I've started a little blog for my new place, coclico. Take a break from ogling yarn and check out the amazing shoes on the site. I'm having a lot of fun getting to know my new customers and giving the store my special touch.