Current projects – Knits and Ass

Hooked on a feeling. Or at least a Hunch.

May 25, 2013May 25, 2013alpaca, Current projects, Yarn StoresLeave a Comment

That’s pretty much how I feel about California…I am pretty sure I need to move back to New York, but really, it’s just a hunch. But shouldn’t you trust your hunches? Or your haunches? (Like Rocky).

Or your guts? Lily Tomlin said, “What is reality anyway? Just a collective hunch.” So if I have an individual hunch, is it just as valid? Well, I’m going to go for it. We’re moving back to Brooklyn! I’ve got a feeling, a hunch, a Karen Smith weather alert, and we’re doing it.

In honor of the intuitive reckoning that drives detectives, Quasimotos, and, well, me, I present the Hunch hat, by Wendy Bernard of the fantastic blog Knit and Tonic. I knitted this extra slouchy (took the 1.5″ suggestion), using a bulky yarn that I frankly don’t consider bulky – Lion Brand’s Martha Stewart Craft line, alpaca blend. I’ve used this many times before, and it’s inexpensive, soft, and incredibly versatile. Imagine my horror when the kindly Lion Brand store employees told me it was half off – because they’re discontinuing it! Say it ain’t so, Lion! Or Martha. Or whoever. I immediately bought as many as I could take on the plane. A couple of skeins of Buttermilk, which I used in this pattern here, also used to make the previous Chevalier Mittens project for my friend Devon (I made a pair for myself too), and a couple of skeins of Pea Coat Blue, a pretty, almost marbled dark blue that’s not quite navy. No idea what to make with that at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.

Back to the Hunch…this knit up fairly quickly, as you might imagine with mostly all stockinette, but I particularly enjoyed top down knitting. Don’t think I’ve ever done that before, but it gave me more control over the slouch and allowed me to check the fitting more accurately (I think) as I went along. And the finished product? I’m pretty proud, not the least of which because Greg actually said, “Hey, you can like, wear that!”. I have a hunch that I can.

Happy Easter from the Red Baron and her trusty Bunny Rabbit!

March 31, 2013Books, Current projects, Dog envy/Dog joy, Filatura di Crosa, holidaysLeave a Comment

It’s Easter Sunday, which means I get to indulge in lots of things that are usually forbidden: swedish pancakes, champagne in the morning, deviled easter eggs, a BBC marathon and knitting. Pretty much everything I want in life, so thanks Jesus. And there’s nothing like dyed easter eggs and marshmallow peeps as a gorgeous spring pallette for inspiration, even if all the yarn I own is black, gray, white or tan. Come to think of it, that’s consistent with my wardrobe too.

Speaking of the tan yarn, I started and then abandoned a capelet a few years ago, but kept the pricey yarn. The pattern haunts me from the back of the yarn closet, but the yarn is a really lovely Filatura di Crosa, which I think is part of the Takhi Stacy Charles empire. What to do with this yarn? And so much yarn…enough yarn to make a “capelet”, which sounds small but is something that Gandalf would find cozy. Let’s start with something small, and adorable, and huggable, and spring-like.

Lucky for me, a lovely friend from work gave birth to a sweet girl named Wesley (what a great name!) a few weeks ago. She (both mom and daughter) are small, adorable, huggable and spring-like. So I made baby Wes a small, adorable, huggable and spring-like toy: a floppy eared bunny from Joelle Hoverson’s More Last Minute Knitted Gifts. These patterns (there’s an elephant and a bear too) are modeled on vintage toy patterns, and are fairly uncomplicated designs. It’s also pretty fun to play with stuffing, and it was an interesting challenge to tackle. I made one version about a year ago for baby Ryan, but this yarn is much finer, making some of the sewing and increases and decreases a bit more tricky. Still, all in all a fun Easter pattern for a small, adorable and huggable creature in springtime. Ryan the mom even sent me a photo of Wesley, who looks ready for adventure dressed as the Red Baron! With bunny rabbit beside her, she’ll be ready for anything. Squee!

The Grown-Ass Women Knitters Club.

February 10, 2013February 10, 2013Current projects, Indiana, moviesLeave a Comment

Mittens, and hats, and even huggable bunny toys…these are all well and good. Accomplishments even. What separates the little girls from the Grown Ass Women? The real knitters from the dabblers? The bad asses from the run of the mill jackasses?

I will tell you: knitting an actual piece of clothing, a wearable piece of clothing. And today, I join that Grown Ass Women’s Knitting club. Someone needs to knight me with a pair of straight needles – barring that, I think I’ll just have a glass of champagne and snuggle with my dog.

For many years, I’ve tried and failed, in some cases spectacularly. I spent a weekend with a friend in Bloomington, Indiana (our menfolk were there separately on a bachelor party), knitting away on a cardigan, only to reveal that I apparently made a cardigan for a two-year old. I’ve also made sweater parts, only to fail in the grafting/sewing stage, and then ripped apart the work in deep and abiding frustration.

So what did I accomplish? An actually pretty gorgeous cardigan from Berrocco (although I did not use their yarn) called Aidez. It’s slightly long, mid-butt length, with long sleeves, no buttons, a semi-cowled-ish collar, and utterly awesome cables and mini-patterns. Ear of corn, trellis and cable patterns made this challenging but also supremely fun. The front panels have the ear of corn pattern, easy but very pretty in 8 rows, and the sleeves have sort of a variation on that theme in the seeded wishbone pattern. I can see myself repeating this for something else, a blanket maybe? The trickiest pattern was called simply the Left and Right Cross- Stitch Cable. You had to wrap the stitches twice around to create the cable, and drop them in the following RS row. Once I got the handle of it, it was fairly straightforward, but I guess I was expecting more from a all the work required of that cable pattern, hrm. It just kind of looked like a regular old cable. As Eddie Murphy said, “These are just some regular old crackers.” I couldn’t find the Berrocco in a light oatmeal color as the pattern indicated but I found something similar, soft and off-white. The only challenge with this yarn was that it was a little fuzzy. But dang – over Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I made this Grown Ass Woman’s sweater.

And huge hat tip to the lady who is responsible for the (apparently short lived but loved by me) Gro wn Ass Women’s Club, and always good to review her definition of Grown Ass Women. Take note, all you women under 35. Haters gonna hate. Grown Ass Women stand tall.

Rumors of my knitting death are greatly exaggerated

November 21, 2009November 21, 2009Current projects, movies, wineLeave a Comment

I just got a promotion, is all! And my workload blew up. And, I got engaged to the most fabulous man of all time. So, I’ve been working harder than a one armed paper hanger. And I bought a weekend house. So shit’s been cra-zy. The nice part is that when I’m up at my house (in Barryville, NY – the southwest corner of the Catskill mountains) it’s all knitting all the time. There’s vodka, a fireplace, wild turkeys and not much else.

barryville_house — weekend Catskill house.

Here’s a photo of our lovely upstate abode. I met the builder and saw the bones of the house in January, and closed June 1. All in all, a relatively painless process and it’s been incredibly fun since then. It’s small, but with an open floor plan design and tons of windows that really let the outdoors in, it feels huge.

Greg is up there with a bunch of dudes this weekend, which is why I’ve got a free pass here at home, watching Jane Austen movies and drinking sparkling shiraz by myself. Think the dudes are having a good time. No bears just yet, but they’re killing lots of zombies in Left 4 Dead, which is my new favorite Xbox game.

I’ve started the Concetta cardigan, which is an awesomely simple, well-designed shaped cardigan. Two big buttons, slighly belled sleeves and a funnel neck give it a really modern shape, and I re-allocated an ill-devised plan for a wrap sweater’s yarn supply to make it happen; it’s a nice Berroco wool (Peruvia) in a pretty green called Peat Moss. Sounds very Wuthering Heights, which I guess the sweater is too.

I am now watching Emma for the 456th time. Oh, comfort of 19th century Regency. “It sounds as though he eats a worrisome amount of custard!” Mr. Woodhouse is adorable.

A Likely Story

April 14, 2008Current projects, wineLeave a Comment

Yes, I’ve been in planning hell. No excuses. But I’ve been in Dallas for Christ’s sake. However, it has meant I’ve completed and come close to completing some actual projects. My AA miles (not related to my wine consumption, but close enough) are coming close to allowing space travel, so I guess that is good too.

So! A completed project. I bought 4 hanks of Lion Brand yarn’s Thick & Quick wool yarn in a lovely burnt orange called Butterscotch. An aside: I really hate that they call this yarn “Thick & Quick”. It makes you slur the words. Or else I’ve had too much Cabernet already. It’s like my man friend’s joke about saying Linens N’ Things – you always sound a little drunkie when you say it.

Anyhoo – I actually made this scarf for my man friend. I hope he enjoys it! Also, I’m thisclose to finishing the Kelly cardigan mohair jobby. Hopeully will finish this week/weekend. I’ll be in Bloomington, IN, crossing my fingers for some quiet college town time. I am so excited!

The Last of the Alpacans

February 17, 2008February 17, 2008Current projects, moviesLeave a Comment

So, achingly close to completing Cloud Bolero I ran out of fricking yarn. I had bought a boatload of Debbie Bliss alpaca silk, lovely stuff, in a couple of colors. One was “denim”, a gorgeous light navy. Ran out of it. Local yarn shops, like Stitch Therapy here in Park Slope, offered advice on replacement yarn but had no Debbie. Knit NY on 14th street in the city, no dice. Called several others…apparently no one ordered more DB alpaca silk, and no one had that color left. Enter the wonders of the introwebs, where I was able to buy two skeins of the exact yarn needed from Seaport Yarns (apparently their last two!). Came quickly, packaged well and I was able to finish Cloud Bolero yesterday. Or so I thought…again inching toward completion, literally maybe 4 picot edges left to do I run out of it AGAIN! So I spied a lonely sock I never completed the partner for and cut it up (it was partially knit wit the same yarn I’ve been using). Eh voila!

This is the first time I’ve used the picot edging. While Ysolda’s pattern instructions on picot were pretty straightforward, I found some nice visuals and more explicit instruction in Knitty’s archives:

And so, I have a finished product I am proud of. I need a little fancines, either ribbon or a cool brooch to bring it all together but it’s a nice finished object. Especially needed after my Briar Rose Disaster. Wee!

Also, it’s a gloomy, wintry morning in Brooklyn. I’m knitting, drinking tea and watching Chinatown. This movie is amazing.

Mohair wishes and champagne dreams

February 6, 2008February 15, 2008Current projects, movies, wineLeave a Comment

Make that Sauvignon Blanc. The Kenwood was on sale so I had to make it happen, plus I’ve been drinking red by the barrel-ful, it being the winter of my discontent and all. It’s a Wednesday night, and my man-friend is at the Knicks-Pacers game with Indy friends. Potentially the two worst teams in the NBA – I guess that might make it a good game.

So: my most recent project is a sweater I’ve knit poorly before, albeit with the wrong guage/yarn happening. This would be the Kelly Cardigan, a lovely, simple pattern from Erica Knight’s Classic Knits, one of my all time favorite books. Now I’m starting with yarn I should be working with, a mushroom/taupe shade in kid mohair blend from Sublime. It’s 60% mohair, 35% nylon and 5% extra fine merino. The cardigan itself it fitted, with 3/4 sleeves and a simple 1×1 rib trim. That’s what I like about Classic Knits – it’s shit you’ll actually wear.

Meanwhile: I’ve begun to watch this creep-tacular, awesome movie about 45 minutes in called The Prophecy. The TWC description was intriguing (“Jealous angels wage war against humanity”, 1995), but then you add Christopher Walken as an angel, Viggo Mortensen as THE baddie angel Lucifer, and a young Virginia Madsen and – wait for it – a younger Christopher Meloni! Playing a cop! Now with more hair.

Speaking of hair and back to knitting: I’ve never really knit with mohair before. Mohair sweaters are for girls in the ’50’s with big torpedo boobies. Mohair is indulgent. It’s soft, and seems expensive. It’s ok so far to knit!

Update: Ok it’s not Christopher Meloni. It’s Elias Koteas. Is it me or are these two separated at birth?

So close, yet so far away

January 16, 2008Current projects, movies, Stuff I like, wineLeave a Comment

Last weekend was the first time since before the holiday that I was able to really relax and do some knitting. And just freaking chillax for a second, although it wasn’t a total and unadulterated weekend of sloth like I’d hoped for.

So I’ve sort of “finished” Briar Rose! But not really. The border on this thing is like, most of the damn sweater. So while the sleeves, body and shoulders are complete, it still looks like a sweater for Mary Lou Retton, and not me and my linebacker shoulders.

I’ve got a free hour before Somnus takes me to the land of Nod [run + shower + jammy pants – cell phone left at work + 1 goblet Pinot x comforting sounds of Alien in background on HBO = happy sleepy time by 11:45p], so I’m going to take a crack at the border. I haven’t even gotten to the baby cable part! [Marge Simpson annoyed noise] impatience!

The F stands for fleur

December 24, 2007January 1, 2008Current projects, moviesLeave a Comment

So I made a flower for the new ribbed hat. May I also take a moment to note that the hat? Is mostly knitted in purl. So purl folks, knock your collective selves out.

I found this flower pattern on the most excellent Knitting Pattern Directory – Flower Pattern 2. Even though it calls for a different yarn and size 8 needles, I used the super chunky (same as the hat) and size 10s (same as the hat).

It’s super cute. I still am without a digital camera! But the video function is cool so tomorrow I will model. Tonight me and my man friend Greg had our own Christmas, and now we’re drinking wine and watching Amadeus. Actually Greg is napping and I’m making the same hat in leftover gray yarn, possibly for Greer? Possibly for Mom? TBD. More to come. Amadeus is funny!

[2.5 glasses Capella Sant’ Andrea Merlot later]

The reason why I love this movie so much is that I love a good historical dramatization of something, but also F. Murray Abraham. A couple of years ago, I worked at a start-up ad agency where one of our clients was MSG,who at the time still did A Christmas Carol. They alwayd hired some tired old B-list former famous actor to be Scrooge because it was a HUGE draw to be “Oscar-nominee” fill in the blank. He came on the set and there was a smattering of applause, and he said, “The F stands for Famous.” No one could tell if he was being completely self-aware, that he was an oscar-winner now reduced to playing Scrooge at MSG? Or was he demanding that we all address him as a big star because he won an oscar like 16 years before? It was all very weird, and funny. F, you’re a big star in my eyes.

PS – Gray version of hat with fleur knitted and completed for my friend Kate’s 31st birthday.

Thirty-third time’s a charm

December 23, 2007December 24, 2007Current projects, Fantasy patternsLeave a Comment

Norweege blogi hat continues. I bought 40 cm size 10 needles, and cast on 60 sts. Hat is progressing well (knock on wood) and I’m moving between some red wine from my friend Kate (we just had our annual christmas gift exchange), Arnold Palmer Lite, and Poland Spring sparkling water (or fuzzy wee-wa as it’s also known).

I’m also watching Nightwatch. Apparently it’s a fine Josh Brolin performance. A very young Ewan MacGregor. Bradley Whitford? And a way whory chick – you can tell because her lip liner is roughly 800 shades darker than the lipstick.

And now I’m ready for the decrease. Rib row means row 1, not the cable row. After the first decrease, I now have 53 sts. Is that right?

[one dinner at Bar Toto and one whisky at Barbes and one Melatonin-induced dreamscape and then coffee/Big Lebowski later]

I am decreasing steadily according to the pattern, and the percentages are working out (ie, the 53 sts are correct, and they continue to be so). I think I am going to end up with all knit sts – and I think I do a ssk to keep the right-leaning knit pattern. Actually, it was ktog, well, I ended up doing a combo of both but it didn’t really matter b/c it only needed one last decrease before I was done! DONE! and it’s cute! It’s very snug on my head, which is a pretty normal sized head. If I were making this for my friend Devon who has an enormous noggin, I would start a bit larger.

Now, on to the fleur…but for the moment, here’s the base hat (uploaded with my new Flip camera).