My Vogue Sweater is Finished!

After about a month of hard on and off work, the sweater, she is finally finished (insert bad french accent)! After a few false starts with bad gauge I was on a roll. This was a super easy sweater even for a novice like me. This is the Off the Shoulder Tank from the new issue of Vogue Knitting, Spring/Summer 2008. It is knitted in Ella Rae Silkience on size 5 needles.

I had to extend the top a little to account for boobage (technical term), and I made the waist length a little shorter. I wanted it to sit just above my hip bones so it wouldn't roll like my tops normally do. I think it ended up shorter than I wanted, but it was a learning experience. I think it's pretty damn good for my first garment!

Vogue Knitting Off the Shoulder Tank

I've been afraid to post an entry about this sweater, because it seems that as of late any knitting projects I post as I'm doing them don't get finished. I really want to finish this sweater. As skimpy as it is, it might already be too hot in Austin to wear it. We've already had 100 degree days this week. Anyway - the pattern is from the spring/summer edition of Vogue Knitting. I started about a month ago, but my gauge was way off, so I had to restart. It's moving along pretty fast. It would probably faster if I could figure out how to switch back and forth from knit to purl in continental with slowing down exponentially. I am using Ella Rae Silkience yarn in "silver", which is actually a light lavender. I love this yarn! It's a great combination of affordable, soft, and easy to work with. It's a combination of cotton, nylon, silk and rayon. I bought it at Yarn Market.com for $5.85 a skein. I'm over half done with it and haven't yet finished with the second skein. The pattern calls for for a yarn size that is almost the same size, and size 7 needles. I'm using size 5 needles. I think my gauge works up smaller, which is fine. As you can see to the right it fits my dressform pretty prefectly. I did make the length shorter, since I have such a short waist.

I just can't wait until I finish this! I'm hoping maybe another week or two at most. I've been taking it everywhere with me, and probably driving my hubby crazy.

Interweave capelet finished

I finally finished the Interweave Grand Plan Capelet after about two months of knitting in endless circles. And I hate it. Ok, hate is maybe too strong a word, but it's definitely a dislike situation. I don't know if it's the pattern or me, because I'm a new knitter. The neck fits wrong, and the bottom is too tight. It's a shame after putting so much work into it, but so be it. I'll chalk it up as a learning experience. I'm just happy I used cheap clearance yarn. :)

This week has been so long; it seems like a few weeks packed into one. I had promised myself that since I’ve finished school I would post more often. It seems that school has not yet released its tenterhooks on me, though. My official graduation date is March 22nd, and because of a very catastrophic loss of my un-backed-up hard drive, I have to create an entire portfolio from scratch. So in the last 5 days I have:

a. reorganized my messy closet and yarn stash (pictures coming soon, cause it’s not yet finished)
b. attended SXSW
c. driven to San Antonio and back for Cirque du Soleil
d. worked feverishly in Photoshop and Illustrator, plus my sketchbook, to create portfolio pieces

So – as for SXSW, it was awesome! I’ve lived in Austin almost 8 years now, and this is the first time I made it downtown for the festival. I had always mistakenly assumed that if you didn’t have a wristband, there was nothing for you. I was so wrong! My hubby and I both took the day off work and headed downtown around noon, to the Dell / Stereogum / Paste lounge and saw Lightspeed Champion and The Weakerthans. I especially enjoyed Lightspeed Champion. Lead vocalist Devonte Hynes must have been miserable in his signature furry hat though, as the temperature was 92 degrees!

We then headed to Waterloo Records where we saw a couple of free shows. We saw Division Day, Elf Power, and the amazing Kimya Dawson. Although we went to see Kimya, I was really impressed with Division Day. We ate at Central Market after the show, and then hiked the mile plus over to Mohawk where we caught some really strange experimental type bands as we waited to see the show that took us downtown to begin with – Be Your Own Pet! Brian and I have been listening to them for a while, and so we were really excited to see them play. They put on an amazingly awesome show. They managed to blow a fuse or something on the equipment, and we had about a 15 minute break before they were able to play again. We felt a little funny being amidst a bunch of teenage girl groupies, but the energy and the music was way worth it.

Of course I took my current knitting project with me. I worked on the Prairie boots in slow moments and when we had to stand in line. I got no few strange looks for that, but hey - I like to keep busy. Not to mention that I'm addicted to knitting like it was some high grade crack. :)

I promise to get some pictures and videos up soon!

Prairie Boots in Progress and a new Ikea Closet

I promised a photo on the new knit Prairie Boots pattern and here it is! It is amazing how quickly this pattern is working up. I'm really impressed with how easy it is as a beginner to make these. I want a pair in every color!

Besides knitting today, I hit up Ikea to pick up the supplies to organize my understairs closet. It's currently a jumble of fabric, yarn, wrapping supplies, and (multiple) vaccuums. So my goal for this week besides attending SXSW and seeing Cirque du Soleil in San Antonio is to install all of this stuff and make a beautiful closet. And as usual, my kitty Anubis wants to help. So as much as I'd like to pontificate on the thrill I get from organizing things into bins, baskets, and shelves, I have a lot of chores to do before we head downtown to party with all the SXSW festival goers from around the world.

I have become absolutely addicted to knitting. It’s true. I’m a fiend, carrying my knitting with me everywhere and getting in a few stitches here and there. I knit at the movies, while waiting for a table at restaurants, and I knitted at SXSW in various quiet moments. Just a month ago, though, I couldn’t even knit more than a single row. Thanks to the folks over at The Bluebonnet Yarn Shoppe in Cedar Park, I have become the yarn fiend you read today.
A couple of years ago my grandmother showed me how to knit and purl, and before leaving her house in Nevada I had a neat little square of stitches. When I got home, though, I couldn’t remember how to do it at all. I couldn’t cast on, I couldn’t purl. I picked up a couple books and tried to teach myself, to no avail. After awhile I gave up, and decided to teach myself to crochet. It seemed infinitely easier to learn from a book, and I stuck to that.




While being very happy with my crochet, I was disappointed at the lack of good patterns. (Recently some great books have come out for crochet, so this trend is changing, if somewhat slowly.) I looked at wonderful knitting patterns on the internet and in books so longingly, and decided I just had to figure it out. I came across a video on Amazon that had a lot of good reviews, so I ordered in December. It’s called The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Knitting. Within hours of watching it I was indeed knitting and purling away. It’s a great video for those who know nothing about knitting. However there were some things that I just couldn’t seem to catch from the video that I really needed to know, such as un-knitting and switching from knit to purl in the same row. Those items are on the video, the information just wasn’t sticking. A friend and I decided to sign up for a knitting class, and headed over to our LYS, The Bluebonnet Yarn Shoppe.




After two hours of their class, I had learned to knit, purl, increase and decrease, cable, un-knit, and much more. The lovely Sue-Ann, our instructor, was extremely helpful. Of course I also left with a lighter wallet thanks to their wonderful yarn selection. This was the first time I had ever bought yarn outside of a hobby shop, and it was heaven. I made a scarf from the yarn I purchased that day, but being the stubborn and mule-headed person that I am, I instantly jumped to making a garment. Scarves are nice, but I made plenty of them when I learned to crochet. I want to knit so I can make gorgeous clothes that fit my small frame! So with no further adieu, here is my first project. It is the Grand Plan Top Down Capelet from Interweave Knits’ Wrap Style book. I am working it up in and inexpensive Bernat acrylic, but it is soft. I plan on embroidering it when I'm done to jazz it up a bit. I might line it too, I'm not sure yet. I have gotten a little further that when I took this picture, and I hope it will be done soon!