Thanks to all for tolerating my brief foray into merchandising. If you are still itching to acquire more stash, just click HERE and HERE. Ahem.
Several weeks ago I participated in a swap (the one that brought the aforementioned quilt as well as this unbelievable doll my way. Yes, a doll, Go look at it!). Now sometimes swaps give me the shakes and fill me with dread and fear, but with certain people you know it's just always going to be a complete gas. Case in point: Muckle Mitts! Specs: Pattern: Muckle Mitts by Mary Jane Mucklestone For: My all-around stellar pal Nova, seen modeling them here. Ain't she sweet? Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca Mélange in Chili Pepper, Cornflower and a touch of Blue Earth. Needles: Size 3 and 4s Mods: Not a one As you might know I am gaga for color work, and this pattern definitely scratches that particular itch in a big way. So many combinations! Each one completely different! Just take a gander at the Ravelry project page and you'll see what I mean.
Fingerless gloves are such a curious garment--they are perfect for about 3.5 months out of the year. When you need them, they do the trick. When it's freezing/balmy/humid/frigid, they are the most pointless hand knit with only the lowly poncho being more needless. Chances are you have the yarn for this already just laying around, any sport weight will do. This is also--and I know I am prone to exaggeration--a maximum two nights worth of knitting. It is guaranteed to speed by and definitely has GIFT KNITTING written all over it.
From: The Department of Shameless Mercantilism To: Yarny Public Re: Yarn that is priced to SELL
It has come to my attention that I have, as it would appear, acquired an amount of yarn that even if I were to employ a Triangle factory-type sweat shop knitting round the clock for several years, would not be exhausted. So my gluttony and disgraceful miscalculation is your gain!
Several things to keep in mind:
1.) Shipping is included in the price.
2.) Lots won't be broken up. Please don't ask because it'll make me sad.
3.) The prices are the prices. If you want to bargain, take your business to the souk in Marrakech and we'll see how you do!
4.) If you want to BUY BUY BUY just email me hmccoyATgmailDOTcom and we'll set you up.
One final note: I realize that this type of crass post might offend your finer sensibilities. Let us never speak of it again.
February: Groundhog Day is a snoozefest, President's Day is underwhelming and Valentine's Day is perennially fraught (short version: "forgot it was a holiday, we're celebrating it? blah blah, oops". Yes I'm aggrieved and petty, it's why you come here, remember?). However there are some mighty nice things that happened this February and it would be a shame not to mention them! For one, I knitted a hat in the called for yarn, something that delights me to no end. You know that feeling when you see a pattern and remember you have a skein of that very yarn just hanging around in an unclaimed state? Sort of like Neely O'Hara when she found her vodka and the red pills in this beloved classic of American cinema:
The Specs Pattern: Norby by Gudrun Johnston Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Loft in 'Longjohns' Needles: size 4 Mods: none, except that it might have taken me a few tries to get the tassel just right. The pattern was lots of fun to make. Sometimes knitting at a smaller gauge is just what the doctor ordered. I debated about doing the tassel, worrying that it might be slightly gimmicky. But I listened to good sense and did the tassel. I mean, it's basically why you're doing the hat anyway, right? The hat is a life support system for the tassel! And with that I have just referenced a corny/dirty/kind of funny joke from the 80s... The yarn is beautiful BUT you must handle with care. Why? Because if you even look at it crossly, it was break. Just come apart. So my advice is to be gentle with it and DO NOT tug it. Trust me. Luckily its fragility is redeemed by the stunning panoply of colors it come in. So score one for Jared! Funnily enough the name of the pattern is our family nickname for the elder model you see on this blog. Instead you see pictured here two of my fave people, sneaky tricksters who had a hand in the item pictured below...
Another really nice thing that happened in February was that I got together with some of my favorite people anywhere and they gave me an astonishing gift. They made a quilt 100% tailored just to me and my life! You see, when my dad died, I was supposed to meet up with them, but of course wasn't able to do so. So they hatched a secret crafting plan and made me this quilt:
Look--a phrenology head,just like my dad used to have in his museum, except this one is filled with my own preoccupations:
And a sad tomato (his favorite expression) and a hog de hedge:
Sometimes I just stare at it and think "I have friends...and they made me THIS?!!". It's truly one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me. There are so many touching, darling details on this quilt that I am overwhelmed by sweetness of it. When they gave it to me (at our last meet-up, just last week!) I thought I was going to come unglued. They made this--FOR ME. Since then I take a little time every day to notice a new delightful detail. As Gary enthusiastically put it, "this is our new most prized possession".
So I guess what I'm saying is that even with the lame-o faux "holidays", February wasn't bad at all...
January, almost over? Sheesh, I really need to get with the program. I have loads and loads of WIPs and FOs people, so if you can still tolerate my erratic and maddeningly undependable ways, you are in for quite the treat once I get my blogging act together. The Specs Pattern: Tremont by Cecily Glowik McDonald Yarn: Quince and Co. Lark, 1 skein in "Goldfinch" Needles: size 6 Mods: Accidentally doing more cable repeats than called for. I'm an over-achiever! First off, the yarn: ARE YOU KIDDING ME it it so unbelievably soft! Not sure how Quince and Co. has achieved this, but man alive is it luscious. A true joy to knit with. I chose "Goldfinch" but spent about 20 minutes deliberating in my decision-making process because there are many tempting colors. The pattern was an easy, simple knit. Sadly it has only been made by two other people on Ravelry. This is completely surprising to me and I don't quite get it. Is it too plain? Or do people see the pattern and say "please I could do that myself" à la my dad re: every Jackson Pollock painting ever?
I am going to give this pattern and yarn combination a sold stamp of personal approval. Yes it's not earth shatteringly unique but is quite pleasing in its utter simplicity. It's solid. Not flashy. Functional. Practical and utilitarian. If our Amish pals were ever to make hand knits a part of their 21st century garb and yellow an approved color for outer garments, this hat would be a perfect addition to their wardrobe. Perhaps the pattern should be promoted by the Seamen's Institute as a perfectly cheerful and not too snazzy option for their knitting program? Not sure, but I am quite certain that this pattern has yet to find its niche. Any ideas?
Oh hello! Yes I'm the person that was just going to give away a skein of Malabrigo a few days after posting and BOOM it's a month later. Yes, well, that's par for course around here I'm afraid to to tell you. However I am rectifying the gross injustice that has been committed by sending it out straight away to the Greenhorn Knitter. Enjoy! I recently acquired a few skeins of Rowan Creative Focus Worsted in a series of events that went something like this: go to lys for something totally unrelated->chat with owner Cynthia (love her!) about Rowan->buy Rowan pattern mag "City Retreat"->get home and feverishly order four skeins (don't hate on me, her store doesn't carry it!)->twiddle thumbs/stare into the void waiting for yarn to arrive-> receive yarn but realize the Rowan hat pattern I'd wanted to do is knit flat (HATE THAT WHY DOES MARTIN STOREY DO THAT)->troll Ravelry for a better pattern and voilà-> Ripley!
The Specs: Pattern: Ripley by Ysolda Teague Yarn:Rowan Creative Focus Worsted in Heathery Lavender, .75 skein Needles: size 10 Mods: see below Ripley was quite a lot of fun once I got past the band. The pattern gives you the choice of either a picot/lace band or a garter st one. I chose the latter as it seems less fussy and femme, and I'm happy with this choice although next time I might just instead do a regular cast-on band as this took a tad longer than I'd like. This is the first time I've ever done the "knitting pleats into the back of that hat" maneuver. Yeah, that! Such a nice built-in slouchy effect and bonus: you always know where the back of the hat is. Nice touch, Ysolda! As I am on the record as being a bona fide alpaca nut, it will come as no surprise that Rowan can put me down as a Creative Focus Worsted fangirl. So soft! And yet sturdy (thanks wool, I still like you too). The color selection is nice as well. Rowan, I was mad at you for the whole discontinuing Calmer debacle, but this makes me slightly less angry with you... You might notice a disturbing trend in the photos shown here. They all feature a young lass who is, dare I say it, not unhappy? The smiles you see pictured here are real. She was, at this particular moment, the opposite of glum. But stay tuned! Things can turn on a dime around here...
Not only have I been knitting like a whirling dervish (lots to show you in due time), I've also been dabbling in other areas. Why just look at this delectable woodland hideaway that made its way on to our Christmas dinner table yesterday: To say that I was thrilled with this scene would be an understatement. After arranging my tiny pals just so (I knew I was collecting wee woodland wooden figurines for a reason), I basically went into a fugue state and stared at it (think: drooling) for a good 20 minutes. The kids were, oh how shall I put it, concerned for my mental health/mortified? "If you post that on Facebook I AM GOING TO DIE!", I believe one of them said. Feh! Not sure which one because I was too enthralled with my special fantasy world of toadstools and tiny hedgehogs to really notice. In any case, this was our stump de Noël cake. It's like a bûche, but it's a stump--get it?
I consider myself quite lucky because just as my tempermental junior divas grow increasingly weary of my FO photo shoot requests and start to try to write riders into their contracts with me (iTunes gift cards & the Justin Bieber perfume in exchange for modeling a hat, are you kidding me?), I have new talent rising up through the ranks. We had the good fortune of hosting the Ireland-Brooklyn-Moroccan contingent of our family for Thanksgiving which meant that the younger siblings of my daughters would be available for action. The older sister here is quite fond of the camera and the younger one can't speak yet, so no protest from her at all!
The Specs Pattern: Butterfly hat by Sofiya Cremin Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Uva and Tigerlily, about 60% of each skein Needles: Sizes 4 and 7 Mods: none I originally made the orange hat for the big sister. She quite craftily let me know that "...this hat is for the baby, MY HAT is purple". I mean, how can I refuse a sly request like that? You better believe I was off like a shot to rifle through my stash to find the perfect color. The older sister noticed the butterfly motif right away and exclaimed "Féileacán!" (fail-uh-con-- butterfly in Irish) in her excitement. The butterfly stitch is gimmicky for sure, and it's definitely a one-trick pony typa deal, but for kids it's a super cute idea, right? Malabrigo is a dream...for certain projects. I would never be so foolish as to knit a sweater out of it, it's an accessories only affair in my opinion as the pill factor is a little out of control. But the colors, the colors! Honestly they are quite unreal. I used to wax poetic over Frank Ochre and Bobby Blue, but this Tiger Lily is pretty dazzling. What's your favorite shade? Let me know in the comments and I'll set up a mini Tombola. I'm going to the post office on the last day of November, so leave your comment by then and you might be a winner!
Seeing as I seem to be acquiring "special order" yarn like it's my job, I figured it was time to actually knit with the stuff. What good is stoking an Internet yarn sensation if you don't actually knit with it? I had the perfect pattern ready to go, so I made myself a cocktail (unrelated), got out my X-acto knife and tore into my box of shiny new yarn. Hot tip: don't use X-acto knives around boxes of yarn unless splicing and dicing is your game. Yarn carnage aside, all I can say is I was so pleased with the Internet super shopper me that had ordered the assorted Quince and co. yarn ten days previously because WOW. Soft. Colors for days. Gorgeous hand. Swoon. The Specs Pattern: Effie by Melissa LaBarre Yarn: Quince and co. Osprey in "Twig", .85 of a skein Needles: size 9 Mods: why? I love the ribbing action on this hat. Cute! Classy! (Just kidding, I hate that word). The shaping is perfection and the knitting couldn't be more pleasingly mindless. I am so happy with how this hat turned out. And the yarn is so unbelievably plush. I strongly urge you to fondle it soon. This hat is a long overdue donation to a local charity. Over a year ago I became inspired (first warning sign) to donate a knitted hat to a charity auction (they should have run screaming) A very nice lady had the misfortune to bid on my hat THINKING she was getting a wooly garment that would keep her warm during a blisteringly cold winter. BWAHAHAHAHA! Oops. Somehow this one got away from me and the guilt started to fester. But now it's done, so...there's that? In any case, I should not be permitted to ever volunteer my knitting services for any charity function whatsoever. If you are soliciting knitted donations for your (probably) worthy cause, please don't ask me to knit for you unless you want to engender Bad Feelings toward you and your organization. Just go ahead and mark me down in the "will make a small token cash donation" column permanently for life. Thanks! Also, I can't hear the name of this pattern without thinking of this song and my previous life in the swingin' town of Athens, GA...
