News Bulletin

Thought I'd finally let you know what I've been up to.

Mid-Feb I was really busy putting my portfolio together. I had a review to get into upper division at FIT scheduled for the 26th. I worked really hard to get everything together, then there was a freaking snow storm and my review was rescheduled for March 11.

In between I went to Vegas.
My first time. J and I stayed at Cesear's Palace. Here's the view from our room:
That big pool of water is the Bellagio fountain. I swear our room was bigger than our apartment. Guess that's not so surprising considering we live in a studio.


Our friends from Fargo met up with us there and we had a really good time. I even played poker. Now J and I want to go down there for a weekend every year :)

When we got back my schedule was thrown off and I still haven't gotten totally straightened out. I had my portfolio review and was accepted into the BA program. Yay me!

Oh I've also taken up baking bread.

This is a loaf of sandwich bread and some buttery rosemary dinner rolls. Yum.

There has been some knitting too. I participated in my first Ravelympics. Its an event on Ravelry where you try to knit a project start to finish during the Olympics. Unfortunately I was a total failure and didn't finish my project. I did finish this before the Ravelympics started:

Another Duck Soup Sweater. This one was for Elise, the daughter of our friends that met us in Vegas.

Here's the project run down:
Duck Soup by Anny Purls
Yarn: MC Cascade Yarn 220 Superwash Color #858 - 2 skeins
Closures Regia Design Line by Kaffe Fassett Color #4451 - maybe 1/4 of a skein
Size: 18 months
Needle size: US9/5.5mm and US1 for closures


Pretty cute.

And I did another swap. This is what I gave my partner:

And I got this lovely package in return:


Whew! A lot has happened.

Now I'm working on:
Getting my portfolio in digital format to apply for a scholarship
Finishing my Clothilde shawl (I'm currently mad at it)
Finishing my Whisper cardigan that I started for Ravelry
School
Work
Sleeeeep

Ok I'm off to knock that last one off the list. G'night!

Burnished leaves

The Pattern: Burnished Leaves Cowl by Chrissy Prange
The Yarn: most of a skein of Sundara Aran Silky Merino in Tulip
Needle size: 6 (I think, but possibly a 5 - sorry!)

Started: 10/20
Finished: 10/28

You may remember this yarn from my lightside cowl. Well except for the pictures I never actually wore it :)
I never wear my promenade cowl either. So I've come to the conclusion that cowls are just not my thing.

However when stalking my swap partner I discovered that she had fav'd several cowls and her swap questionnaire said she liked pink. Somehow giving her a cowl I made for myself and never wore just didn't feel right. It felt like I was regifting...a gift i gave myself. So I frogged the lightside cowl and found burnished leaves, which seemed appropriate for a 'harvest' swap.

It was a quick knit and came out pretty nice. And I love this yarn, very soft and shiny.

The Harvest of Zen Swap: The End

Here are the packages from the last part of the latest swap from the yoga swap group.

Again I sent knitsandbricks a package and received one from Heatherdox.

Heres what I sent knitsandbricks:

Project bag (aka Paperchase cosmetics bag), Toe socks, the fall issue of Interweave Knits, Burnished Leaves Cowl, Berroco Alpaca yarn, bent tip needles, yarn cutter, notecards with the design from my August calendar, and stitch markers.

Here's a close up of the stitch markers. They were made out of these really pretty agate beads that I got at M&J Trimmings

Since this was the 'Harvest' swap I thought that the Burnished Leaves Cowl was appropriate. Details on the cowl to come.

This is the second package I got from heatherdox:

Lulemon bag, aluminum water bottle, issue of Knit Scene, green tea, Brooks Farms Solo Silk Yarn, and homemade pumpkin bread. The pumpkin bread was really delicious and made from organic ingredients.

And I loved the yarn so much I used it right away to make a Shetland Triangle for myself.

Harvest Shetland Triangle

Happy Thanksgiving!
I thought I'd share my new Shetland Triangle, because it is such a lovely fall color.

The Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark
The Yarn: 1 skein of Brooks Farms Solo Silk in Sierra
Needle size: 6

Started: 11/6
Finished: 11/14

I had to make another Shetland Triangle since I could keep the first one. The pattern is so easy and quick. And it looks great. I did 10 repeats of body chart and was left with less than a fistful of yarn.

I really like the solo silk. It is shiny and soft. It was a gift from my swap partner (more info to come). The color is a wonderful orange with hints of pink. Perfect Thanksgiving day wear. Thanks Heatherdox!

Rani Satchel

The Pattern: Rani by Katherine Matthews
The Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Berry Blast (this is my kool-aid dyed yarn)approx. 1/4 of a skein
Needle size: 0

Started: 9/11
Finished: 9/27

Pattern & images © 2009 Katherine Matthews of Purl Diving. Contact Katherine

When I saw this pattern on the Knitty website I fell in love with the pictures. The colors and bead work are really beautiful. I'm not really a wristband wear'in girl, but I just had to knit this pattern.

So I decided to turn this into a bag. Red makes me think of fall leaves and I had extra yarn and beads from the entomology I'm working on. So I thought this would be a perfect peice to make for my fall swap partner.

I knit the pattern exactly as directed, using a crocheted provisional cast on. Once I'd joined both edges I had one wristband.

I chose one of the openings to be the bottom. Then using 4 dpns I picked up a stitch in every other row. I think it was 56 stitches in all, 14 per dpn. Knit one row. On the next row knit 12 sts then k2tog, you should have 13sts on each dpn now. Repeat these two rows about 7 more times (16 rows in all). Break the yarn and thread through the remaining sts, pulling the opening closed. Weave in ends.

The finishing touch is a ribbon threaded through the top part of the bag. The finished size was big enough to hold a candle that was 2 3/4" in diameter.

Overall I'm pleased. If I make this pattern again I'm going to use a contrasting bead color like in the designer's pictures.

The Harvest of Zen Swap: the teaser

I just finished up the fall swap with my yoga swap group.

This swap was a bit different. We did a round robin this time, so instead of having one partner we had two. One that would send us a package and one that we would send a package to. We also sent two packages this time. One smaller, teaser package at the end of September and then a larger package at the end of October.

I sent knitsandbricks this for her teaser package:

The journal and red bag are handmade. The basket represents 'Harvest' and the red bag holds a candle representing 'Zen'

I really like how the journal turned out. The brown diamond fabric worked well and the red end papers add an element of surprise.

This is what I got from heatherdox:

A really great project bag, measuring tape, and leather organizer things. I love the birds printed on the project bag.

Sounds of Spring Part 2

So this is what I received from craftywillow:

Yoga Daily Exercises book - has some really great photos
Yoga block - wanted one of these for a while
Stitch markers
Homemade beeswax candle
Knitted beaded bag - perfect for my iPod shuffle
Bija Seeds of Prayer CD
Magnet with yoga pose :)
And Sundara silky merino yarn in tulip - I’ve wanted some of this for a long time :)

Close-up of some of the details

I'm really excited about the sundara yarn I think I'll make one of these with it:

Sarah Fama's Dark Side Cowl

Thanks craftywillow!

Mossy Shetland Triangle

I know, I know. Everyone under the sun and then some has knit one of these. But how can you resist? It is such a great pattern. And really easy.

The Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark
The Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Verdant Heather and Clover held double stranded. Somewhere between 1 ¼ - 1 ½ balls of each color.
Needle size: 4

Started: 5/20
Finished: 5/26

The pattern starts at the top in the middle and works outward (is that a word?). Like this:
You start by chaining four in the middle, ch4. And then working around three sides of the chain you start increasing every other row.

I have to admit that I stared at the ch4 instruction for the longest time trying to figure out just what the hell it meant. 'Am I suppose to go to chapter 4?', 'Am I missing chart 4?'. Eventually I came to my senses and realized it is the crochet abbreviation for chain 4 loops. duh.

After that I still didn't really know what the hell was going on. I'm a really visual person so reading the cast on instructions for something I'd never done or seen before had me stumped. Eventually I just stopped trying to wrap my brain around it and just did it. Exactly as instructed and it worked out perfectly. So if your brain malfunctions like mine, just stop thinking so hard and follow the instructions a step at a time. It'll work out. I promise. I think.

After casting on it is a cake walk. You just repeat the main chart like 9 times.

And it is really easy to expand the pattern if you find that the finished size isn't to your liking. I actually did one repeat more of the main chart than called for. When you do the edging you just have to repeat the center area of each side an extra time.

Blocking this sucker is essential. If you don't you'll just have a bumpy blob like this:

Doesn't show off the lace pattern quite as nicely, huh?

If you want a nice straight edge at the top I recommend you get some lace blocking wires.

You don't have to use them on all sides, but it'll make the top edge straight as an arrow.

I really loved how this turned out. I'm only sad that I couldn't keep it. At least I know craftywillow loves it :)

I was really touched by this. I don’t think anyone’s ever knit me anything! The photo doesn’t do it justice. I can’t believe you knit a whole shawl, Marn…it would take me forever, I’m such a slow knitter! It’s the most beautiful shade of green. Thank you so so much!

-craftywillow

Hmm... I hope she doesn't mind me quoting her here

Sounds of Spring Part 1

Another swap package completed. Same group but slightly different swap than last time. And a different partner: craftywillow.

On the questionnaire craftywillow said that for spring colors she likes dark greens and bright yellows. Hehe I said the same thing! She also said she likes lilac and hyacinth colors.

I knit her a Shetland Triangle in dark green. I chose this pattern because it was in her queue and it is something I've been wanting to make for awhile now. I'll post details about this project later.

The yarn is Berroco Ultra Aplpaca Light in a lilacy colorway.

I found these lemon scented wipes for yoga mats, feet, etc. They smell soooo good! And it got me thinking that if I include lemon scented/flavored items they could represent bright yellow, one of her color preferences. So I also put in ginger lemon flavored badger lip balm.

I also made these stitch markers. This is the third set that I made last weekend.

I made these the same way I made the first set. Almost exactly as CJ instructed, but without the wrapped loop.

There is a wild card item from each swap. Last time the wild card was something with a sanskrit symbol. I sent 3littlebirds a stitch marker with the OM symbol. This time the wild card was music. Get it, SOUNDS of spring?

I chose to send some yoga tunes: Music for Yoga and Other Joys. Sounded good in the store, I think I'll have to get my own copy.

Craftywillow I hope you enjoy your package!

Remember details on my Shetland Triangle coming soon...

Multi-Section Case-Binding

For the Winter Solstice Yoga swap I decided to try my hand at multi-section case-binding.

What is multi-section case-binding?

The multi-section binding is the king of binding structures and is one of the most recognizable. Its sewn and glued structure is strong and durable, making it suitable for binding an important book that needs to stand the test of time.

-Heather Weston

So basically it is the method most commonly used to construct hard cover books and journals.

To make my journals I used a combination of the instructions in Heather Weston's Bookcraft and a tutorial from Curiously Craft Blog.

Bookbinding supplies are available at your local art store. I bought most of mine from Utrecht. Another place to go is Talas. A bookbinding supply store I've been dying to go to, but unfortunately they have rather limited hours; 9-5:30 M-F (I'm usually at work then).

I got my paper and cardstock at Paper Presentation, which also had a number basic bookbinding supplies. I used the above flecked paper for the book block aka the pages.

I used a few different kinds of 80lb. cardstock for the endpapers.

I really liked the effect of this french paper, because it is patterned on both sides.

My fabric came from B&J Fabrics in midtown. I bought 3 different types:
Cotton shirting - the darker violet. I don't recommend using this. The fabric was too thin, so the glue bled through. I found a way to avoid the bleeding but it was a hassle.
Cotton twill - the lighter violet. Worked out ok but I preferred using...
Cotton Canvas - the damask print. It was the thickest, which I was actually concerned about. But it ended up being the easiest of the 3 to work with.


Check out TJ Bookarts to find more resources on bookbinding - that's how I found the Curiously Craft Blog