Friday, June 24, 2005
You've probably already seen everyone else's closeup, but here's mine anyways.
Orangina the White is so much fun to knit. I've only had time to sneak quick bits here and there but so far, and even with the teeny tiny 3mm needles, I've got 6 inches going on. I'm hoping to finish this up in time for 4th July weekend so I can wear it during various bbq's and have people lining up to congratulate me on such a stunning piece, and to place an order for one, ha....Sigh. Chances are no one will notice. No one cares about my knitting. Except for my mom. And Duck. And you. Actually Duck's put a few requests in for a sweater, but I'm selfish and won't make one for him yet. Guys are too BIG. In the time and money it takes to make a large guy sweater, I could make a hundred sweaters for me. So I always pick me. Ha.
As I posted previously, I cast on 27 stitches less than the smallest size, or in other words, have only 8 repeats of the lace pattern. The width is a little less than 12 inches across. I was afraid this was going to be too small even for me. When I hold it up I think, am I really going to attempt to wear this doily? The material is extremely lightweight as well so it seems that much more unsubstantial. But it's stretchy too, so hopefully no problems there. I do want it to be fitted.
I'm so glad it's the weekend, and I'm so glad it's going to be a scorcher. Finally! We're going to be pushing 100F/37C degrees. I would have liked to have gone to the Cape this weekend, but it was just our luck that the one time we were invited, it turns out to fall on a crappy weekend sandwiched between two great ones. Anyway last weekend at the beach wasn't bad at all despite the chill; we just didn't get any proper tanning done. And I drank a lot more than I would have otherwise.
Happy weekend everyone!
Filed Under: Orangina
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Alpine vest be mine
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that vest is HOT. In that vest the model is churning out the sexiest and creamiest vat of buttermilk this world has ever known. I came across this Gedifra pattern book while killing time at Spark Studio and Had to Have It. No idea why I'm so enamoured with it when it really is kind of kitschy. Maybe it's the dirty peek of the belly button. I think an eggshell-colored version accented with that green snowflake and trimmed in the white would look totally smashing, paired with a white thin sweater underneath, and red red lipstick. Ha! I'm in love.
Filed Under: Projects
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
I visited a certain yarn store on Newbury with the intention of buying Rowan 4-ply for Orangina, but instead came out with Filatura di Crosa "Mirto". The gauge is 26 stitches/10cm and the material is a cotton/linen/rayon blend. Filatura di Crosa has left a bad taste in my mouth ever since I visited its boutique in Taipei where each skein of yarn cost inexplicably between $20 and $40 USD. I still haven't figured that one out. Mirto was about $6.50 per skein.
So the only reason why I didn't get Rowan 4-ply was because the owner didn't stock any. That's different than saying she had none in stock. She literally had no Rowan yarns. What a crazy business decision. I'm not necessarily a big Rowan fan, but I do know 99% of other knitters out there are. Yarn Lady (that's what I'll call her) is the nicest lady but the biggest scatterbrain on the planet. It also doesn't help that rather than grouping yarn by brand, she groups them by color. Visually this is very pretty, but usually we knitters walk in with a particular yarn in mind, then we decide on a color among what's available, right?
I walk in, look around, have the usual thought of Ah pretty, so many colors...but ah crap, so where do I start...?. I think organizing yarn this way is great for new knitters who come in without a pattern in mind, ie those who are more lured by all the pretty colors than by specific material or gauge, etc.
Like if was just starting out and I visited this store, I would have tried to stuff every orange-tinted yarn in my mouth, and declared this the most spectacular yarn store ever to have opened before my head exploded.
But for those who have something specific in mind...Finally I ask, "Where are your cottons?" and she points in every which way.
"Oh," she sighs as if aware she's a victim of her own shaky organizational skills. "They're everywhere, as usual. There...there...there..."
When she tells me she has no Rowan save for the 1 ball of Glace (which I can barely make it because it is literally 10 feet above on the top-most shelf), I am reaffirmed why it is that I don't patronize this particular YS. I go in with happy anticipation of what I'm going to find, and walk out disappointed. Then she suddenly turns to me and says, "You were here awhile ago looking for cottons weren't you?" The last time I was there was back in March, trying to find some cotton blend suitable for the Apricot Jacket. She had told me back then that it was "too early" in the season for cottons (?) and that she would be ordering some soon. I had nodded and told her I'd come back, and then went to Windsor Buttons for my yarn. Or maybe it was Woolcott. Point is I don't seem to have problems finding what I need everywhere else.
"Well," continues Yarn Lady, "I meant to order some more cottons but I would have nowhere to put them, as the existing inventory hasn't much moved." You know how you have those moments where a small piece of information can instantly reset your attitute? She just made the offhand comment that she had no space for new stuff and I suddenly felt terrible. OK so maybe she doesn't have Rowan, but she has lots of everything else, if you don't mind sifting through each and every ball. I almost want to tell her not to organize her stock by color but it really isn't my business. Instead I made the conscious decision that I would try to patronize her store when I could. She's just trying to make an honest living, you know? That's when I found the FdC Mirto and decided it would work for Orangina. We later had a great conversation at the cash register about her homeland and my homeland, and I walked out of there feeling great about my purchase instead of feeling unfulfilled.
So my Orangina is going to be stark white. I was debating between yet another ecru color, but Yarn Lady declared me to be a "winter cool." Alrighty then, white it is. I've casted on 27 stitches less than the smallest size. This is going to be Baby Whiteygina. Or something.
Filed Under: General Knitting | Orangina
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Pattern: Tank with Lace Pattern from Rebecca 29
Yarn used: Cotton Fleece in terracotta, 2 skeins (woo hoo!)
Just in time for summer, Coral hits the town. This was a fun and easy knit, though not normally my style nor my color but what the heck, I wanted to try something different. I did employ a never-before-used-by-me knitting technique here - purling and knitting into the same stitch. I shortened the length of the piece by several inches, and combined with the super exciting yardage of Cotton Fleece, I managed to use only the 2 skeins I had. So total cost (minus labor of course): $16. I love an economical knit.
For the collar I picked up stitches and knitted in the round once, then bound off. But for the armholes I instead did a round of double-crochet edging. It's easier than picking up stitches and binding off with needles, which I don't enjoy too much. I'm definitely not a stickler for consistency. You can't really tell the difference between the two anyway.
Next up: finish up AV Allegra. Maybe. I might put it aside again and hop on the Orangina bandwagon. I've seen some lovely finished O's and its totally my style. Today during lunch break I'll scrounge me some 4-ply cotton. Only 3 skeins needed! How can you resist?
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Rebecca 29
Friday, June 17, 2005
There's the kind of sleepy you get from lack of sleep. From too much sleep. From too much pot. From too much sun. From too much cough syrup. The worst kind of sleepiness though, is the kind induced from sheer boredom. So ruthless and savage this boredom is. And I'll leave out the details as to how one can be busy yet bored at the same time. It's too depressing. Thank god it's Friday, I say. THANK GOD.
Well, only a couple of more days left until Summer, so I think it's safe to say that this year, Spring never came. I've been daydreaming what life would be like in the Southwest, like Arizona or New Mexico or Southern California. Who cares about foliage in the fall or powder in winter when you're wearing a coat and scarf until mid-June?? All overrated. Enough of the hibernation already and let's get on with it.
I would never ever get tired of the sun, even though a few friends in San Diego complain that all the "nice weather" "day after cloudless day" gets kind of "boring" after awhile. Oooo idiots.
So I post these pictures in memory of the Spring That Never Came.
Tomorrow we make an attempt at summer-time fun with a trip to the ocean. If it's warm enough, there will be no knitting. Has anyone ever knitted while sunning at the beach? I don't imagine the Coral Tank will be very nice covered in sand, sweat and sunscreen. I am so desperate for good summer weather that I would choose sunning over knitting right now.
I will now make lemon squares.
Filed Under: Life
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
After a week of glorious 90 degree weather, all humid and sticky like it should be, it's all gone, all gone. 50 degrees right now. Grrrrrrrrrr. The positive thing to come out of this bullsheet weather is that I've whipped out AJ yet again. And speaking of AJ I've been commissioned by a friend to make one for her. Hooray!
Nothing much going on the knitting front. I haven't had much time. This weekend we're going to a friend's house on the Cape, and since it's supposed to be freezing still by then, perhaps I can get some knitting in.
Blah blah nothing interesting to say blah blah blah.
Filed Under: Life
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Many thanks for all the positive comments left about Dianne! Maybe I should give it to one of you so she can be appreciated more. It's true we're our own worst critics, especially if we have it stuck in our minds that it's going to turn out a certain way. I do prefer my tops to be more fitted, the smaller the better, not because there's anything I'd like to show off, but because I don't have anything to show off. If it's loose, if there are one too many air pockets, then I'm walking around looking like a small leafless tree covered in burlap. I can't be wearing anything that looks more like it's wearing me than I'm wearing it, know what I mean?
Anyway I'm hoping my mom will appreciate it more, because that's where Dianne's going.
So here's what I got going on in the project queue:
"Allegra" aka Twist Top, from AV Spring 05
 I started this several weeks ago and have only done several inches. The yarn I'm using is AV Allegra, which consists of cotton with a thread of shimmery nylon running through it. The elasticity the nylon gives is great.
I'm pretty sure the front of this pattern is going to make me wish I never chose to do it, even though it's the very reason why I am doing it.
"Coral Tank" aka Top with Lace Pattern, from Rebecca 29
 I was in the mood for something lacy and started this on a whim. I'm using Cotton Fleece in terracotta, and hoping I will need only the 2 skeins I bought and no more. I'm making this one shorter.
This style I normally wouldn't bat two lashes at, but I've been seeing A LOT of open knits in all kinds of styles - shrugs, ballet wraps, cardigans, belts - and I guess the trend is growing on me. Plus lace is more interesting to knit. Plus it'll look cute with a visible and obvious camisole underneath. Unlike that model, I have nipples. But I'm squinting at the photo now and perhaps she's wearing a nude tube top...which is just as bad as showing your nipples because now you're inviting others to wonder if you are truly nippleless or if you're wearing a nude tube top and already way too much speculating has been done.
Filed Under: Adrienne V | Rebecca 29 | Allegra
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Today I'm wearing the Eyelet Cardi/Bunny Wrap, and my god! The hair, the dander! There's pink bunny fur everywhere, inclduding the back of my throat and underneath my eyelids, and wisps of it floating about my keyboard. This will deter me from using Classic Elite Lush again, even though it's such a nice and soft and delicious yarn.
Filed Under: Rebecca 29 | Eyelet Cardi
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Woo woo woo, cheesy pose
Pattern: #6 Shaped Top from Adrienne Vittadini Spring 2005
Yarn: Adrienne Vittadini Dianne, cotton/microfiber blend
Gauge: 17 sts=4" on US6/4.25 mm needles
OK I don't know how I feel about this piece. The part that gave me the most trouble was of course the lace pattern around the bust, and thus had the potential to look the wonkiest. But I ignored the chart in the book, drew my own (BIG help), and despite a row boo-boo which I now can't even see, the lace turned out pretty decent. No complaints. The picot finishing around the neck and armhole edges look really nice too.
It's everything else that looks off, from the bottom front to the waist shaping to the entire back piece, knitted in plain ole stockinette stitch. It's too big. I used the yarn specified (for the first time ever, ironically), went down a needle size to get a smaller gauge, and still it came out all billowy. Not at all a fan of the drape. I could shave a whole 3 inches off from the width next time. If there is a next time. Most likely there won't be.
Taking a break next to a cemetery in the Boston Commons.
Despite this, Dianne's grand day out included getting passport photos taken, dinner at Parish Cafe downtown, and a movie afterwards (Star Wars Ep. III. Horrible). I figured if I wore the top around for an entire day in public, Dianne would grow on me. That isn't even a choice really. I am determined that she WILL grow on me, I WILL like her. Because you can't just not wear what you've slaved hours and hours and hours on.
I did very much enjoy seaming Dianne. Left side, right side, done!
Filed Under: Adrienne V | Completed Projects
Friday, June 03, 2005
Putting Dianne under 30 lbs of books was a bad idea. So was soaking her thoroughly in a waterbath. That was three days ago. A spin in the dryer seems to make Dianne even wetter. I was actually feeling good about the finished piece before the flattening trauma. Now not so much. All that manhandling has stretched her some more. She's too big, too flappy in the breeze and too limp and boohoo I am too sad. Maybe I will give her away.
I have a hangover.
By the way, I have been getting a lot of mileage out of AJ. In fact I wore AJ twice this week to the office, paired with even the same shirt underneath and the same pants. I was able to get away with such a fashion faux pas because since Tuesday I have seen and spoken to exactly no one (okay maybe I spoke to one person. Two at the most). How is this possible you ask? First, many people were away on conferences. I think. Second, I have this weird corner office in the way back of the floor that gets little traffic and even if there was traffic, the wall directly in front prevents anyone from seeing the office's occupant. If there is one. If a consultant sits in an office and no one knows she's there working, then has she gotten anything done?
And so I wore AJ over and over. AJ's been in the wash too, and although the color faded somewhat, she's holding up extremely well.
Filed Under: Adrienne V | Life
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
The good news is I finished Dianne the other night. The bad news is that in an attempt to uncurl the unruly bottom edges, I subjected Dianne to the force of Webster's Dictionary and two more text books, and any little bit of air has been entirely stamped out. Dianne and all her perky picot bobbles are flat, lifeless and crushed. I tried her on after retrieving her from underneath the pile of books, and hey I was wearing a box. Poor Dianne. Stupid me. I'm going to attempt to plump the stitches back up by soaking the piece and maybe give it a quick run-through in the dryer.
Filed Under: Adrienne V
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