Sand and Stones

Irina got her Christmas gift early:

They are fingerless mitts of my own design and I've been making them for a few people on my Christmas list. These particular ones were knit in Noro and I love how the colors worked up. It reminds me of sand and stones.

Are you still trying to finish (or start) making any last-minute gifts?

I know I am.

Marimekko, for me?

Today Logan came home with a couple of really lovely mugs. They were a holiday present from the family he works for and they're Marimekko and so so so pretty. They look like this:

I'm not really the kind of person to buy designer dishes. Things break too often at our house and I'm happy finding sweet stuff at thrift stores. But to receive some Marimekko as a gift? I'm very happy about that. When I was looking for the photo of the mugs I couldn't help but admire some other stuff from Marimekko:

Check out this tea set!

And this print!

Yes. I do like them very much.

All Our Most Brilliant Friends

I've had this song stuck in my head all day.

Hope you're having a nice weekend!

Luv-able & Hug-able Recap

I went to the opening of the Luv-able & Hug-able show last night and it was great. There was so much awesome work and a lot of things from people I hadn't heard of before. Everything in the show is for sale and if you buy something they take it right off the wall for you and wrap it up. I bought a little something but I can't say what because it's going to be a present for someone who (I think) reads the blog.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from the show:

These awesome dogs are by Keighty Crochet. They are so creepy cute!

These dolls are by Evangelione. So rad. I wish I had taken a better photo of their hair. It looked really sweet. And the outfits too! The adorable bear is by Kumanta but I couldn't find a link for that artist.

And, if you've been reading along, you might know how much I love anything made by Hine Mizushima. I just think she makes such great work. Check out the wreathes she made for the show! Do click the link if you're not yet familiar with her stuff. You won't regret it.

And lastly this cute lil guy. I love it! Unfortunately, I can't remember who made this one. If I figure it out I'll let you know.

There was way more amazing stuff at the show and you can see more of it at Gallery Hanahou's site.

Granny Time?

So, it's about two and a half weeks until Christmas.... can that really be right? Yeah. I think so. Yikes!

It's getting down to the wire for holiday knitting and general making of things. Time to decide who's going to receive a handmade present and who's getting something store bought.

I've been thinking about these crocheted Granny Square Slippers from the Purl Bee a lot. I have some Manos laying around... this could happen.

Right?

photo via The Purl Bee

Iranian New Art

How beautiful is this fiber art?

These works are by the Iranian New Art group, a "collective of Iranian artists and students who use recycled and natural (typically fiber) materials to draw attention to the ecological and social issues of their homeland."

So inspiring.

Images via the Textile Arts Center blog. Click the link for more information and amazing photos.

Luv-able & Hug-able 2010

It's that time of year again... Time for the Luv-able & Hug-able show at Gallery Hanahou!

I'm genuinely excited for this show. I go every year and it's always a really fun time with lots of amazing and inspiring work (not to mention super cute). This show is a must-see if you're in the NYC area.

See you there!

p.s. If you can't go to the show in person, you can check out all of the pieces on the gallery's site. And I think they go up for sale online the day after the show (something like that).

Hi

I'm knitting and knitting away. Not much to share at the moment but I've been test knitting a new pattern and I'm hoping to have it up here soon. I just want to make sure I can write it out in a way that will make sense to other knitters (it's a simple pattern but I'm new to pattern writing).

I saw a photo on Pip's blog this morning that I think is so stunning.

It's a photo by Erwin Olaf.

I'm in love with the color yellow right now.

A Touch of Vintage

Hi.

So, if you've stopped by here once or twice before you know that I love to knit... right? And you might also know that I like spinning yarn, and crocheting, and doing some dyeing as well. Show me pretty much anything crafty (especially wool-related) and I've probably tried it before or want to try in the future.

Something else that I really love is vintage fashion. I feel like about 90% of my thoughts are about knitting, vintage dresses, and eating.... yeah, I think that's about right. So I'm going to start sharing that side of myself here. Not all of the time, but sometimes. Just images that I think are inspiring or photos of neat things I've picked up. Things that I think are beautiful or striking and that I think you might like as well. The knitting and crafty things are staying, though, and I hope you will too.

This morning I stumbled on the website The Selby. Have you visited before? The site contains photos by Todd Selby, a photographer who captures images of people in their personal or private spaces and they are just lovely photos. The photos of Jamie and Anthony at their home in Brooklyn are gorgeous:

I love the gold velvet chairs. They are so beautiful. I also like that there is a ton of stuff hanging on the walls. Sometimes I feel like my walls are too cluttered with little paintings and embroideries but after seeing these photos I'm thinking maybe my walls are actually a bit bare...

Madewell Made Yarn

Check out the window displays at the Madewell store in Soho.

So cute, right? Click on the image if you wanna see it bigger.

I had to snap a photo. I want to knit something BIG now.

Autumn in Central Park

.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to get to spend most of my day in Central Park. It was chilly (but no uncomfortably so) and very windy but really beautiful

I spent about an hour sitting by the boat pond, listening to This American Life and watching the little radio-controlled boats struggle against the wind.

Lovely.

Bulky Beanie

Have you started making holiday gifts yet?

I'm working on it.

Sort of.

Slowly.

But I think this new hat pattern is really going to speed things up for me.

I designed this hat as a pattern that can be knit in a day or two and then given away. It looks good on women and men and even older kids and the hat can be thrown in the washing machine so there's no chance of your lovely handmade item being ruined in the wash. It's definitely not revolutionary or anything but it's the kind of thing I like; simple and classic. Also, I was able to use yarn that was left over from knitting my Acorn Head which makes me feel like the yarn was free!

It's the kind of thing you could knit a pile of and then decide who to give each one to later. I like to do that. Do you do that?

I think you could wrap up a this hat with some homemade cookies, or a box of tea, or a book and it would make a very sweet gift. Can you tell I'm starting to get excited for the holidays?

Well, anyway, here's the pattern. I hope you like it.

Bulky Beanie

You Will Need:

- Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (The colors I used were Denim and Cilantro, less than half a ball per hat)

- Size 13 Circular Needles or DPNs

- 1 Stitch Marker

- 1 Tapestry Needle or Crochet Hook (to weave in ends)

Cast on 36 sts.

Place stitch marker and join to knit in the round.

Work K2, P1 rib for 6 rows (feel free to use a 1x1 or 2x2 rib if that's what you prefer, I just think the 2x1 rib looks nice and tidy).

*K6, M1* repeat to end of round (42 sts).

Knit stockinette until hat measures 6" from cast-on edge.

*K5, K2tog* repeat to end of round (36 sts).

Knit one round.

*K4, K2tog* repeat to end of round (30 sts).

Knit one round.

*K3, K2tog* repeat to end of round (24 sts).

Knit one round.

*K2, K2tog* repeat to end of round (18 sts).

Knit one round.

*K1, K2tog* repeat to end of round (12 sts).

*K2tog* repeat to end of round (6 sts).

Cut yarn, thread through remaining 6 stitches and pull to close up the hole. Weave in ends and you're ready to do some gift giving!

p.s. If you like the sample hats I knit, they are both for sale at Treehouse.

Jonathan

I've been listening to this song a lot lately. A lot of Jonathan Richman in general. He's just great, I think. A girl actually got mad at me at a Jonathan Richman concert in Chicago because I guess she thought I was yelling too much between the songs. I was just really excited... gosh.

But anyway... this is a really great song. Sorry about the weird video.

I'm working on a couple of new patterns right now. One is the pattern for mitts that I mentioned a few days ago (still writing that out so that it makes sense on paper) and a beanie pattern in some super bulky yarn. The hat will probably come out first because it's just a lot easier to write out. It might even be here tomorrow...

Olek Again

I know I've written about Olek before... but her work is incredible.

Find out more here.

Hexagon Love

The lovely and sweet Pip, of Meet me at Mike's, has posted a new tutorial on how to crochet hexagons!

So cute, right? I learned how to crochet granny squares from one of Pip's tutorials so I'm excited to learn how to make hexagons too. I think you could make a few of these in red and green and give them as Christmas presents with a little loop tied at the top. Little crocheted tree ornaments? I bet they'd be a hit.

p.s. Remember those crocheted pearl necklaces I made a few months ago? I've made some more... They are for sale at Treehouse along with some of my knit stuff. Hooray!

New Pattern Soon

Hi. I've got a lot of projects going right now. One of them is a pair of mitts. I wrote up this pattern last winter and now I'm test knitting it in hopes to have a new (free) pattern for you within the next few days. I'll also have a new pair of pretty green Malabrigo mitts for myself so it's a win-win situation...

100

Hello hello hello

So, did you know that this is my 100th post? It is.

And the time between this post and my last post has been quite a while.... Why? Because I thought, "Oh gosh. One hundred posts. People do something cool when they reach 100 posts like giving away a cool prize or doing some meme or something. I should do something like that!"

And I thought and thought and then forgot about it for a while and then resumed thinking but well I don't know. I guess I didn't think of anything. But I missed writing in this space the last couple weeks and so I decided to just say thanks. Thank you for reading the words I type. Even if you don't comment or whatever. I love looking at the numbers on my Google Analytics page and wondering who's knitting the patterns I've written or maybe being inspired by something I've tried making or maybe just cringed at one of my horrible jokes... I like feeling like people are crafting along with me...

So yeah, thanks.

And because I can't stand to have a photo-free post, I thought I'd just post something a bit random. A Halloween photo!

I made this costume about an hour before going out on Halloween. Can you tell what I was? I'll give you a clue.

Brambles and Shakti

Hi,

I knit most of my Brambles Beret. Then I took this photo:

Later that day I finished the hat but I'm holding off taking any more photos of this thing until it's blocked. Blocking might happen tomorrow but I'm not sure... I really enjoyed knitting this hat and it went really fast. Each row of the chart was different enough to keep it interesting but not so different to make it annoyingly difficult. I'll definitely be knitting another one soon and I really recommend this pattern.

I cast on for a Shakti hat this morning. I'll give you an update on that later. For now I'm just home from the bar and off to bed!

Bowerbirds

Last night I pulled myself out of bed (I've had a cold the last couple of days) and went to see Bowerbirds play a show in Manhattan. It was beautiful and amazing.

Casting on Brambles

I cast on for a Brambles Beret from the latest issue of Knitty today. I'm using some vintage wool yarn that Michelle gave me. The color is such a pretty dusty gold, it reminds me of curry.

I'm excited to knit this hat because I usually just knit my from my own Simple Slouchy Beret pattern (I've probably knit about 15). That pattern is just so easy and mindless and I really like the plain design of it (it is my own pattern after all).

I think Brambles is going to be a really great pattern to knit, it has some cables and texture but not too much craziness. A ton of people have already knit this hat and they all look really cute.

What's your favorite pattern from the new Knitty? Did you make anything today?

Visiting Mochimochi Land

I went to the opening of the Greetings from Mochimochi show at Gallery Hanahou (as I said I would) on Thursday and it was really great. I have just a few photos to share:

There were fat little unicorns prancing up onto a rainbow and getting eaten by big purple guys, and ghosts in a graveyard, a rat-infested city, and a god with an Elvis-stule pompadour sitting on a cloud. There was also a train with a knit cover that would randomly begin whizzing around the track and which made me slightly (and perhaps unreasonably) giddy every time it started up again.

I made a super short video if you'd like to see the train in action.

It has been estimated that everything in the show took 200 balls of yarn and over a million stitches to complete. I think those numbers almost put the enormous amount of work in perspective (but just almost). I strongly suggest that you see this show if you can. It will be on display until October 29. More info is here.