Wednesday, October 31, 2007

mmm, i could really use a trip up to the drug store for some halloween candy .... i want mars bars!

i was sick in bed all weekend! sucks. i think it was a new virus, i was all queasy in the grocery store last night.


when i bought this gretel pattern a friend said that the designer, ysolde, was the next up & coming designer. i didn't think so, and now that i've made one of her patterns i'd like to reaffirm my correctness. the pattern worked fine but the hat does not fit!

  • the 1x1 tubular cast on does NOT look good. it also makes the ribbing unnecessarily stretchy. i e-mailed the designer to ask her if she used a 2x2 tubular cast on and if so where i could find it on the net because it isn't in any of my books, but i didn't heard a peep from her.
  • i made size small for my very small head, but it was short. i would add an extra 6 rows throughout to get an adequate length.
  • so i washed it block in some length and it grew beyond belief! see all the extra fabric?! it's gotta be an extra pattern repeat! i hate silk, i always hate the way silk behaves (or misbehaves). i tried steaming the hat afterwards but it didn't do anything.
  • you really need short cable needles for this. i have to get some brittany if i'm going to try it again. she refers to a needleless technique but it was a pain, not an asset.
  • the cabling was a little niggly but i knew what i was getting into. still, not for novices.

it might work better with a yarn that doesn't have any silk in it, like a 100% merino like mission falls wool, and adding 6 rows and using the brittany cable needles.




i pinned the hat, at least the picture can look good.


and here is the cashmere metrosexual urban man hat. in the end it was only 2cm too long. steven sized it and got grabbey, so i think it is a success.


Wednesday, October 17, 2007


prada coat fall 2007: gorgeous in up close!
i didn't get much accomplished over the weekend, just some seaming of babette. the large squares don't look right, i like the regular and small size alone. i'll make a throw with the large ones. i helped michelle do some styling for an internet advertising movie. i don't actually do the styling, i'm more of an assistant or handler. i help michelle find stuff, i deal with the sales staff 'cause i'm pushy, i keep her moving because time is always tight with these things, i call other locations to find sizes, i return things while she's paying for something better, i scan stores for a particular colour she needs, i remember where we parked and how to get back there the fastest, and most important i strategize our shopping, plan our route, and keep michelle focused and lower her anxiety level.

i had a god shopping weekend:
while i was out with her i scored some socks at H&M: 5 pairs for 12 bucks! prior to that i went to winners and found 2 bras (it's really hard to find good bras that fit at winners, but when i do what a score! only fifteen bucks!)


after i left i did some super shopping. scored a pile of chinese cashmere for myself at romni at cost. it was cheaper than i could get because i don't do business with that company. i'm going to make myself a sweater for this winter.

i had to walk to the Eaton centre because of construction on Queen. when i got to the bay i found out they don't carry prescriptives any more! i went to old navy to return the pants & got a couple of cool t-shirts on sale!



Prada Hat, Fall 2007: looks
like it's made from fiberglass


then i went up to bloor & got my long awaited lip gloss at holts. the women at the counter were really laid back, didn't try to push me to buy stupid face creams & stuff. i'd been waiting since may to get my personalized lip gloss made because it is so expensive (but sooooo good). i figured while i was there that i might as well walk around and visit the sweaters. i love it there, it's like the louvre or the metropolitan museum of clothing. the bags were uninspiring and i skipped the footwear, but oh my, the Prada, the Missoni! the Prada was so beautiful, the green coat is very textured and rigid. those cool prada hats look really itchy, they look like they're made of fiberglass.

then i managed to find a salon in the underground that had the blue nail polish i wanted - an opi colour that doesn't register as black (russian navy). it was sold out everywhere i went, but this place had just got it in stock that day.

on my way home i figured i should stop by winners and pick up more of the knee socks that fit nice. while i was there i found a pretty, dark brown cashmere sweater on sale. after taking in the price of cashmere at romni and how my skin is becoming more sensitive, i thought maybe it was a good idea to get it. i'm wearing it right now, it was a great idea! while waiting in the check-out i spotted some home things, including an all season down duvet for 50 bucks. i have my current duvet, it's qualofill and doesn't keep me warm. i got it, changed my sheets and slept in the new duvet. it's soooo good! i love the crinkly sound it makes! i love not having to wear 3 layers to bed!

on my way back i passed through wholefoods, went home and gorged on rugalah, cantaloupe, chicken wings and shepherds pie.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

onehundredhatsandamouse

another cashmere hat
i can't stand not having a photo for my projects on ravelry. it's like the thing doesn't exist. {that's a very metaphysical comment. kinda shamanistic. i should talk about that with my old art history friends or my supervisor about that .... sorry, thinking while typing. none of you reading will care too much about my ruminations of the meaning of images, and the knitters i know who would should be busy finishing their theses/books.} consequently, i've been taking boring pictures of my projects in progress; skeins of yarn, 6 rounds of knitting, etc.

i'm on my 4th cashmere hat. {by the time i'm done i'll be able to mount an art installation titled 100 hats and a mouse. probably only my mom & brother will get the joke. i grew up with lots of art in the house including a print 100 cats and a mouse. it was the 80s, we had lots better.} i knitted the above last night in under 2 hours while i was at michelle's 39th birthday party. i gave michelle the latest magazines as a gift. they were sitting in front of her all evening, both of our eyes kept drifting over to them again and again. more interesting than people talking about kids & schools & beer.


here's my latest creation in the making. misti alpaca, going to be a sweater. i'm thinking about revising the Gaia silk tank, changing the shape.

Friday, October 12, 2007

for reasons unknown to me nobody seems to have time to come in, so i'll update the blog. i'm feel guilty about the time i'm putting into ravelry, i feel like i'm cheating on the blog.


i finished another toque and am about to wind the next skein.

yesterday i dyed some cash iroha a green-blue i've been really into with dylon in the microwave. i'm really happy with it, i'm just waiting for it to dry.



the seaming, but it's turned out to be really nice, not at all like seaming a sweater. it's much easier, mattress stitch works really beautifully, and it's pretty zen. i was itching do you remember my babette blanket that i started last year? well last fall i made all the squares but then i found putting them together daunting (there was a full bankers box of squares) so i put it in hibernation. i made it initially because my cheap duvet doesn't keep me warm and i needed something extra for winter nights. it's getting cold and the blanket is back! i've started laying out the squares on my living room floor. i don't have enough space to do the whole thing at once (the space between the squares takes up a lot of extra room). i was avoidingto bring it in to work today to do some but i really have to keep everything together and as it is laid out and it just wasn't going to travel well. once i've got the pieces together in large blocks maybe i'll bring it to work. i have so many squares, i may have made too many, i may have enough for a throw left over.


Devin's Toque Revisions


Pattern Revision: Devin's Toque
Handmaiden Fine Yarns

i'm making a pile of these toques for hanukah this year. i love them, they are fast, i can do them in my sleep, they feel great, they look great and are well received. but i don't like the crown decreases in the pattern, so here are my revisions.

based on my brother's request i suggest that if the recipient's head is not water melon sized reduce the overall pattern by 4 to 8 sts. the hat is VERY stretchy!

devin's toque decreases


- work in pattern until 12m of yarn are left.
R1 *k2tog, p2, k2, p2; rep to end.
R2 & all even rows: k the k sts & purl the purl sts.
R3 *k1, p2, k2tog, p2; rep from * to end.
R4 *k1, p2tog, k1, p2; rep from * to end.
R5 *k1, p1, k1, p2tog; rep from * to end.
R7 *k2tog, k1, p1; rep from * to end.
R9 *k1, k2tog; rep from * to end.
R11 *k2tog; rep from * to end.
R13 *k2tog; rep from * to end.
- break yarn, pull through remaining sts with darning needle. weave in ends.



Creative Commons License
Devin's Toque Decreases by Haley Waxberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.knitomatic.com.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

i'm sorry i've been absent lately, i've been feeling so lethargic.! anyway, you know where to find me, just poke me on facebook.

so i finally made it to ravelry and i'm a little obsessed: my screen name is knitomatic, what else?! it's very fun to browse through projects & patterns.

i finished the iro shawl collar jacket last sunday. it's big, more of a shawl collar coat. the arms are way too long. i'm letting them hang for a few days and get a big stretch before i shorten them. the seaming was tedious but relatively simple. i put it on, it's too stripey, too much colour, too granola. it reminds me of the long sweater coats worn by woody allen's cerebral upper west side ex-wives in his movies from the 70s (worn with a turtle neck, really chunky bead necklace and huge glasses. she's always writing a novel deconstructing their failed marriage. you know, the foil to the young free spirited lolita he'll chase and then lose). it will be gifted. i always forget that i like to knit a kaleidiscope but i can't stnd wearing it. it's ok, i have people who are due special gifts.


in my spare time i've been working on my hanukah gifts: cashmere hats this year. i'm on my third.

and i've been working on a new pattern in misti worsted alpaca. i started with the hand painted blues & greens (ez02) but i've been getting sea sick looking at it so i'm switching to a heathered solid dark olive green. no, i'm NOT pregnant! anyway, in light of my recent distaste for uber colour i figure maybe i should go simple.

i've been thinking about making an
ysolda gretel for myself or michelle. maybe in the handmaiden 2 ply cashmere silk (hold strands together)? or a stitch diva parisian beanie beret?

i have to go research baby elf shoes for anita. also, looking at the sea sick yarn on the screen is making me queasy.





Sunday, October 07, 2007


more spring


i made it to ravelry and now i'm a little obsessed. you should sign up too, it is very good. you'll never have an excuse to be uninspired again.

i'm finishing the shawl collar jacket/coat in noro iro, i'll have a picture soon. i'm very happy with it but it is way too bulky to wear the way it was shown in the pattern photo (they have pinned it very strategiacally on the model). i have enough yarn to make it again in iro #42


noro iro #42





Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Finally! Milan fashion week!


Ravelry
  • You signed up on August 1, 2007
  • You are #22398 on the list.
  • 590 people are ahead of you in line.
  • 16275 people are behind you in line.
  • 56% of the list has been invited so far