I've got a secret...

First off, thanks for all the nice comments on the graknitti... sadly both times that cozies were put up they had been removed by the next morning... so I've been putting off working on mine. We're going to save them for when she moves the LYS into the new space down the street in a month.

Next... there's a reason I haven't posted in a week and it isn't because I haven't been knitting... in fact, I've been knitting feverishly. And I've been hiding something:

Green Bonzai Tunic, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I started working on this last Friday and could not put it down. I cast on Friday evening and finished it up this morning. So this picture is was taken inside Lovelyarns by the lovelyowner, Sue, during Saturday SnB. (Note the lovely skeins of Malabrigo behind me? I have plans for those... oh yes, many many plans...) Anyways, back to the tunic... I loved making this, so it was about process, but I also really REALLY wanted it... so it was at least partially a product knit too. (I haven't yet decided if I'm a "process" or "product" knitter... I love to knit, I love the process, but I also generally pick projects that I can't wait to wear/use either.

Anyways, here are the details:

Pattern: Interweave Knits Spring 2007
Yarn: Berroco Bonzai in Sage (9 skeins - the pattern in my size called for 10, which I bought, but I never touched the 10th one, so I traded it in for something else delicious!)
Needles: Bamboo straights, sizes 6 & 8, Inox DPNs size 6

I've also decided that I need to focus on some serious stash reduction before I can buy anything else for myself! I'm going to participate in Flash your Stash tomorrow (although I didn't see anywhere to officially sign up) and that will help me sort through a bit and see what exactly I have and remind myself what I had planned for it!

Graknitti

Tonight I took part in my first ever graffiti experience, as only a knitter could. Some local knitters made parking meter cosies and we put them up near a local yarn store. It was so hilarious and fun... especially when a cop walked by, wondered what all us women were giggling about and didn't even notice the fact that the parking meters were now covered in knitted stockings. He probably figured that we were drinking or something. I'm designing another one tonight and hopefully it will be up in a day or two.

Below are some pictures... one of the "anonymous" knitters sewing up a meter cosy and one of the other cosy. More to come in the following weeks, we hope!

FO: lace cap

lace hat, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I finished the lace cap from knitty summer '03. I love it! I chose a single strand of teal bamboo and I have enough left over for another hat, at least. And it's warm enough here that I could wear it today with a new dress I bought a few weeks ago. Yay Spring!

And I got an email today from my secret pal! Exciting! She's in France, which means that maybe I'll get to see some interesting yarns and things that we don't always get on this side of the ocean! Maybe I'll even get to practice my (very rusty) French, too!

And I went to my fav LYS today and got the rest of the bonsai that I'll need to make bonsai tunic in the new interweaves, and I picked up some things for the first package for my secret pal! Unfortunately, there was a bit of a snafu with the vest for the oscbf, so I had to frog the hood and start over. My plan is to finish that up sometime soon, hopefully, and then cast on some summer projects! :D

Edit: here's a picture from the top... do you know how incredibly hard it is to take a picture of the top of your own head?!

surprise hat

surprise hat, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I almost forgot that I can now blog the hat I made for my dad's birthday. It was finished quite a while ago, but I didn't give it to him until his birthday last Saturday. The brim and top are Berroco Ultra Alpaca, and the rest is Trendsetters Tonalita. Sorry about the lumpy look the hat has in the picture, I stuffed it with plastic bags and it didn't make for the most attractive shape... Someday perhaps I'll actually be able to get pictures of my family members wearing their FOs...

Oh, and the pattern is, as almost always, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

back to baltimore and a brand-new bag!

Whew, that was a lot of "b" words! I was home all week for spring break, and I am now back in Baltimore. I didn't get a whole lot of knitting done, or reading for that matter (whoops!) but I did find a new knitting bag at happysq's etsy shop. Here it is:


And the back - which I think is super awesome:


The back has instructions for casting on and the knit stitch. I think it's super cool anyways!

As for actual knitting this week, like I said, I didn't get a whole lot done. I've got a few inches on the lace cap now, and I "finished" the hood for the bf's vest. I say "finished" because now that it is done I think I might have to frog the whole hood. When I pull it over my head it doesn't even cover my ears. Oops. I have two options: 1. Pull the hood apart and start over, cast on closer to the centre of the neck, or, 2. Add a ribbed collar to the hood and sew it to the neckline afterwards. I'm leaning more towards option 1 now because it will look closer to what I was originally aiming for... but it means ripping out all that hard work and starting over on a bigger garter stitch hood. Oh well, that's the price you pay for love... and man is he lucky I love him after an entire garter stitched vest!

secret pal 10

Secret pal 10 matches are being made soon, and even though it's in my title bar, I though I'd post another link to my Secret Pal 10 Questionaire. I got a little gung-ho about it when I first signed up so it's now buried in my february archives. I'm really excited to start spoiling... and getting spoiled!

A new ssk, or, is it wrong to take shortcuts while knitting?

I'm still knitting the lace cap from knitty, but I traded in the berroco cotton twist for a single strand of bamboo. The cotton twist was not the right weight for the project, nor was it very fun to work with... the strands would split and fray really easily. Anyways, the pattern calls for a lot of ssk's and I'm not really a fan. Plus, with the tiny needles and bamboo yarn (it's sort of like working with toothpicks and floss...) it's really easy to drop a stitch and then it's pretty much gone forever, making you rip out and start all over again. So instead of ssk's I'm knitting 2 together through the back loops. Is this wrong? I mean, the final product looks the same to me. I haven't found anywhere else where someone mentions exchanging an ssk for k2togtbl...

In any case, while researching it I realized that I wasn't slipping my stitches correctly in the first place. I tend to slip as if to purl and all the blogs, instructions, etc that I found said to slip as if to knit. So far I'm happy with my method so I think I'll stick with it and we'll see how the final product turns out.

In other news, I went to this crafting warehouse in my parents town (I'm home in the land of snow for "spring" break) yesterday and picked up another skein of the Lett Lopi to finish off the vest for the OSCBF, and I got some superwash merino for the Space Invader socks. I can't wait to start working on them, 'cause there are some interesting colourway techniques that I want to try out. And if they turn out ok then I'll probably make a second pair for myself!

I take it back

The more I look at them, the cooler the space invader socks, featured on the cover page of the new knitty, become. I'm think I'll make them for my little bro, perhaps. And then maybe a pair for myself... but in shades of pink, of course!

In other news, the second pair of Cindy Lou Who mittens are now completed. With any luck, pictures will be taken in full daylight tomorrow to be posted. And I've started the lace cap from knitty's summer '03 issue, although it's hard to tell right now how it's going to turn out... I think the yarn I'm using may be too stiff...

just in case you didn't already know...

The new Knitty issue is out for Spring. Check it out here.

I gotta be honest, I didn't see anything that I was really thrilled with except a cute skirt, made for little girls but with the idea that you could (if you check gauge and all that) size it out to any size you want.

In other news, the sample mitts for Lovelyarns are almost done... And I'll be teaching beginner lefties in April!

The underground world of crocheting...

weekend recap

I spent a lot of time on public transport and things this weekend (I was helping out at a conference downtown) and I went to my LYS's sit n' knit on Saturday. So I got a lot of knitting done, is what I'm trying to say. On Saturday I got these both started and finished:


For a friend back home in Canada who is having a baby boy in a couple of months. I used a yarn called Sprinkles by King Cole which is impossible to use on small needles, so they turned out a bit large. Oh well, maybe he can use them around 6months.

And for myself I finished up the legwarmers:




Both patterns are from Last Minute Knitted Gifts... if anyone's interested I post more specs later. (Must run to school and teach now...)

bad blogger

I've been a bad knitting blogger. But to be honest there hasn't been a whole lot of time for knitting lately... I finished one of the leg warmers and am about 3/4 of the way through the second. I hope to go to my fav LYS's Sit n' knit on Saturday and finish it up. I'll post pictures when it's done. Then I'm going to use the leftovers to make another pair of my mittens.

It's sad 'cause the weather is warming up significantly here in Bmore (whoever would have thought that I would lament the coming of warmer weather?!) but I am going back to Canada for March Break and I'm sure I'll have to show off my winter gear again!

Edit: Check it out: Protesting as only a knitter can!