Alberta

I have my dear girl Earthchick to thank for so much, but most recently for this vest.  It was her example that got me interested in this pattern. I am the person who sees what another person is ordering in a restaurant / buying at Trader Joe's / knitting and immediately must have it for myself. And so it was with this vest--she was knitting it and I had to knit it too! (Nevermind that she is basically the fastest knitter west of the Pecos and just makes mincemeat of FOs as she charges ever forward, if I concerned myself with such matters I would never get the gumption to try anything at all, now would I?).

Specs:
Pattern: Alberta by Brooklyn Tweed
Size: Large
Yarn: Shelter in Woodsmoke (3) and Tent (1); Noro Silk Garden 359 (2). I think that yardage is correct?
Needles: Size 8
Mods: Well, you know Jared loves his short row shoulder shaping. I took one look at that and was like "Umm, yeah. Probably not this time around--but nice detail nonetheless!".

I am just gaga for this vest! I love the stripes beyond all measure. I love how the stripes change. I love the rustic look of the Shelter combined with the sheen of the Silk Garden. I love that I did not have to knit sleeves for it. Yes, that it was I really love.

 This vest represents a real first for me: steeking! I know the experienced steekers in the house are rolling their eyes at this point, but he, BABYSTEPS. I must have watched 11 or so painstakingly-filmed Youtube tutorials on the subject as well as bugged people on Twitter to share their best practices tips with me. There are many schools of thought on the matter of steeking: to crochet a reenforement, to sew a reenforcement, or to not reenforce at all and just cut? The decision was made for me by my piss poor crocheting skills and my utter lack of talent as well as limited access to a sewing machine. Yes folks, I just CUT and it felt great! I am here to tell you that it's basically no big deal. And if for some reason you have special information regarding the secret news that "cutting without reenforcing" is a sure-fire way to have the garment unravel in six months time à la some sort of time-release knitting catastrophe, can you please keep it to yourself? I prefer to blame the recipient for somehow being too rough with it and wearing it out rather than face the notion that my own laziness was somehow to blame.

Attention Philatelists!

A few weeks ago I was pottering around the ol' stash (yes, it's a geographical location) and came across one of the rarer skeins of yarn a knitter d'une certaine age could possibly have. I came upon my finding quite by accident and when I set my eyes up it I let out a mini-gasp. People I am talking about a yarn whose discontinuation and subsequent departure has left a gaping whole in our community. No amount of Calmer, Yorkshire Tweed, Maratona or Jaeger Chamonix will ever come close to leaving the empty fetal-position inducing DTs that Classic Elite Skye Tweed has left in its wake. It is the original Dag Hammarskjöld stamp of yarns. I am certain that the decision to discontinue it will go down as one of the massive blunders of the 21st century yarn industry. Sorry Classic Elite, your name will live infamy for this!

To celebrate my reunion with this yarn I knit a hat.

Specs: Snowtracks Cap by Timothy Peters. Meh. It was free!

Needles: Size 5 and 7

Yarn: CE Skye Tweed. I just can't even...

The pattern was a nice enough pattern with nothing to recommend nor discourage someone from doing it. If you're itching to do cables for a spell and don't want to pay for a pattern, I see no reason why you shouldn't give this pattern a whirl. my only tiny complaint is that the shape is somewhat bucket-like, but who really cares? I guess my extreme enthusiasm for the yarn eclipses any genius that the pattern might have...

Muckle Mitts!

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.

EPIC Destash!

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.




Ella Rae Classic (yellow) 6 skeins, #115 [$24]

N O R B Y and my most prized possession

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...

T R E M O N T

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?

Ripley and a woodland delight

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?

féileacán hataí

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!

Effie!

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...

Horatio Hornbobber

Of one of the pure joys of fall is being able to fire up the hat assembly line and crank out hats in pure Fordist fashion. Nothing is more exciting to this knitter than making hats. Sweaters are fine and dandy but oh when you have a lot of real estate to cover they're decidedly less exciting--can I get an amen from the XLs among you? Scarves start with a bang and invariably lost their luster when it's clear you're in it for the long haul. Mittens and socks are fun and games until you have to replicate the whole thing--suddenly not so fun! But the hat is a perfect project, from start to finish. No time to fizzle out, you are just going great guns from start to finish.

The Specs
Pattern: Horatio by Knitting Kninja (Kristen Hanley Cardozo)
Size: Adult M/L
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Merino in "Vaa", .85 of a skein
Needles: size 7
Modifications: None except accidentally doing slightly more on the brim that was called for in the pattern. Oops!

I have pure, unbridled enthusiasm for this pattern. Is saw Kristen post it on Flickr and was immediately hot to trot for it. I shamelessly asked when the pattern would be ready because I was dying to make it and luck would have it, it was ready earlier than expected. I am leading such a charmed life.

The pattern is loads of fun because it's composed of the semaphore stitch which keeps a potential stockinette snoozefest interesting and visually appealing. The Malabrigo knit-up on a 7 gives such a nice, tight gauge. This hat is going to be a warm one, folks.

I have dubbed my particular version of this hat Horatio Hornbobber to fit the individual you see pictured here. Similar to the Little Girl with a Curl, when he is good he is very, very good but when he is bad, he is...a hornbobber! This is term that we have invented amongst ourselves and are trying to have gain traction and become a term for general usage. To hornbob is to ceaselessly complain, belly ache and generally grouse about insignificant details that one has inevitably blown out of proportion. It is a behavior that does not endear the hornbobber to those around him. The individual you see pictured here is the person most likely to hornbob in our household, hence the masculine pronoun in the previous sentence. This photo shoot was done post-hornbobbing fit, the topic of which I honestly can't recall, but it is likely that the complaints involved the number of lip balms owned by your truly, the mounting number of yogurts in the fridge and their impending expiration dates of doom, or some other matter of great import. I'm sure you might know a few hornbobbers, please do not hesitate to categorize them as such and let them know of their horrid hornbobbing ways. Hornbobbing will only be tolerated in small amounts!