La Cumparsita Completed!

I finally finished the knitting portion of La Cumparsita! Hallelujah! Of course it still needs the ends to be woven in, to be dyed and to be blocked but I'm soooo much closer now! Honestly, I'm not really sure what I will be doing with this shawl. I may give it to my mother, haven't decided. But I will document the dying process since it will be a first for me.

Last night I cast on for the Cable Chapeau from Debbie Stoller's new book Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting: Go Beyond the Basics. I completely forgot that I pre-ordered this book and it just showed up in the mail yesterday! Nice surprise on a Monday, especially since I didn't think that it was being released until November!

I'm using up some old Cascade 220 that I've had in my stash for quite some time. It's a lovely heathered plum color. Hope it's not too itchy for me to wear. I really need a quick, instant-gratification project after the last 2 shawls that I slugged through!

Secrets, secrets...

Written on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010:

So I've been working on a couple of secret projects. I realize that I haven't posted in over a month but the big reveal has come!

My brother and his fiance are getting married Nov. 12, 2010. I've been busy working on a wedding shawl and a garter set for my soon-to-be sister-in-law. Her bridal shower is being held on Sunday and I will finally be able to give them to her.

I knit Annis in Ivory Handmaiden Sea Silk. I think that it turned out lovely. Her dress is ivory so I thought that this colorway would really compliment the warmer tones in her dress.

I also made her a garter set. They are planning on doing the traditional garter toss at the reception so I made 2 garters.

The garter with the blue ribbon is for Sam to wear on her wedding day-- it can be her "something blue" and the garter with the eggplant ribbon (our bridesmaid dresses are eggplant so I was just following the theme) is for the garter toss. They both have clear Swarvoski crystals sewn onto the bows. I made Sam's garter to Sam's specific measurements and the eggplant garter slightly larger-- who knows whose leg it will end up on!

The gifts are all packed up and ready for my trip to NY tomorrow. I hope she loves them!

Ishbel for Michele!

My Ishbel is finito! I wet blocked it last night and it was dry by this morning! So of course, I'm wearing it now. Couldn't resist.
On a seperate note, I got and drank this last night:
It is delicious blood orange flavored soda inspired by HBO's True Blood series! Love it.

The 9th Anniversary of My 21st Birthday!

Well it happened today...I turned 30. My entire family came up from NY and surprised me at Douzo yesterday afternoon. My Dad and Ilise came to visit and Jorge coordinated a family surprise party for me. My Mom and Ed, Jonny and Sam, Kristin and Gram. I've never been surprised before but I was totally shocked (and confused at first!) when I saw them all at the table.

Not only did everyone travel up to Boston from Long Island but they brought me fabulous gifts.





I can't believe that I'm no longer in my 20's. I feel like I was just celebrating my 21st birthday and here I am checking the 30-35 box. How time flies.

In knitting news, I'm almost finished with Ishbel. Just have charts C, D, and E left. Then to the blocking board.

Back in the game

I actually want to knit. I cast on for Ishbel the other night. I'm using 1 hank of Handmaiden Sea Silk in Marine.

I'm on the first lace section right now. I decided to make a size medium-- the stockinette section in the small size and the lace section in the large size-- since I only have 437 yards to work with here.

I'm using un-waxed dental floss for my life line. I figured that I would place a life line after each lace section. Just in case...

On another note, I was contemplating reviewing make-up and other beauty products here. Would anyone be interested in this? I love to buy and play with makeup and thought that it might be fun to share. I know you're saying, "but isn't this a crafting blog?" I do feel like make-up is an artistic medium and that techniques used to apply it can be very creative. We'll see. I have been test driving several different eye makeup looks as of late. I'd like to start photographing my work. I know that it's tough to take pics of yourself but think I'm gonna give it a shot.

Tuscany, Puerto Rico!?

Gee, that doesn't sound right at all! Okay, that's because it's not. What I meant to say is that I'll be bringing my newly finished Tuscany shawl to Puerto Rico next week! I really didn't think that I'd have it finished but here she is...

I used a lovely cotton blend yarn the I bought for another project, for which my desire fizzled, a couple of years ago from Elann, which has since been discontinued. It's called Elann Endless Summer Luna and it is a fiery red colorway! It's has a shimmer and a great drape, but is a bit too splitty to work with in my opinion. I only did 9.5 repeats of the lace pattern because I used a larger needle size than called for and a heavy weight yarn.

All in all, it was a pretty easy and quick project. I think it turned out beautiful for my first lace project of this caliber. I hope that I get to wear it!

Birthday Fish & Vacation Shawls

I've been slow yet steady with the shawl knitting. I'm more than half way at this point! It's turning out lovely and I can really envision what it will look like with my cute black dress. I also cannot wait to block it. Blocking lace = knitter's high! The color is off in this picture-- truly it's a more fiery red!

I also started a knitted Angler Fish as part of Jorge's birthday present. I ordered this pattern from Etsy ages ago but never got around to knitting it for him. This pattern isn't a difficult one just lots of row-by-row instructions. It has tons of short-rows which, luckily, I taught myself to do recently. This is a quick and fun knit and I can't wait to give it to him!

New Yarn, New Project and, yet again, another Bad Haircut

So the weekend before last, I had a Saturday appointment to get a haircut, my first since I was traumatized back in November 2008. By some ridiculous circumstances, I ended up missing the appointment and was totally bummed (this should have been a sign!).

I rescheduled for the next Wednesday (last week) and took a few hours off from work. When I arrived my stylist was giddy over getting her new shears and texturizer-- the scissor guys was still there. I told her that I essentially wanted the same cut but was open to suggestions for a bit of change. She went totally scissor happy and chopped soooo much hair off my head, of already short hair, making me look like a demented little boy. I just don't get it. We discussed how different did NOT equal shorter. I'm gonna chalk it up to a one-time bout of crazy due to her new equipment, but if it happens again I'm outta there.

Good thing is: hair grows. And mine seems to grow fast. I'm really sick of walking out of the salon with tears streaming down my face though. This should not happen when you articulately describe what it is that you're looking for. Maybe I'll post a pick but no promises so you can all see my misery.

I was feeling so bad after my haircut appointment that I decided to got over to Windsor Button for a pick-me-up. I was in search of Malabrigo Silky Merino in teal. I couldn't find it out on the floor so I asked the sales lady. I do NOT usually do that there because they're pretty weird and not usually too customer service-oriented, but I was in a desperate place.

To my surprise the lady was kind and outgoing. She found more stock, and specifically the color that I was in search of. I purchased two beautiful hanks of this heavenly soft yarn. I plan on making a Reclamation Scarf , Stephanie Japel's newest invention, out of each-- one for me and one for my bff.
Though I have been working on the second sleeve of my CPH, I'm at a standstill with this project. I'm just really bored of knitting it. I wondered why so many people took an average of a year to complete this project and now I know why. Though it's got more interest than a straight up stockinette project, it's still very rhythmic and boring to knit. I need more instant gratification. I decided that I'd start a new project while I was in NYC this past weekend to awaken my mojo.

I cast on for Tuscany from No Sheep for You. I'm using my stash of Elann Endless Summer Luna in red which I bought ages ago for another project that I never got around to (and lost interest in). I've always thought that this was a pretty shawl but had no desire to knit a lace project of that magnitude or knit a shawl, for that matter. But then I had this vision of me in Old San Juan, wearing a black dress with a red lace wrap around my shoulders so I figured that maybe it was worth a try. We leave for PR March 12th...less than a month away. I'm not sure if this is going to be possible to finish in time but I'm going to give it a shot.

I work on it on the bus home yesterday afternoon until it got too dark and I got a massive headache. It seems to be working up fast. I guess we'll see.

Change of Heart
So, Icarus--RIP. Not only have you completely bored me into stockinette hell, but the more I think about it the more I feel that you just aren't the right choice for Bec's wedding shawl. You're too solid throughout most of the body (being in stockinette) and maybe just a little too much for her gown. So, I've decided to go with Wisp, who is simpler and can be worn more like a wrap rather than a shawl in the August heat. I promise not to frog you, for maybe I will come back to you at some later date. I still think that you're beautiful. Please forgive me.

Wisp, you are working up rather quickly but I do hope that you grow with blocking-- I'd hate to have to abandon yet another project. I've never blocked lace but I've heard that it is very gratifying. Don't let me down.

Thought that I lost my crafting mojo...

Turns out I'm just anemic. I've been so tired lately. I finally saw my PA last week. She did a ton of bloodwork, scared me into thinking that maybe I was preggo, and told me to wait a couple of days for the results. Luckily, I manage the medical practice where I get my care...I looked up my own results the minute they were available. So I need more iron in my diet and possibly supplements (which I'm avoiding because they hurt my tummy-- which you you rather be tired or in pain? It's a toss up).

The fatigue has drastically affected my knitting production. I've barely touched Rebecca's Icarus Shawl in the last couple of weeks. I've started Fad Classic but am not in the mood. And the desire to work on the Puff Sleeve Feminine Cardi has come and gone. I need some energy and some motivation. Here's my pathetic attempt at progress:

Since I haven't felt like knitting, I've read a few books. One of great notice is The Kite Runner. It was beautifully written and an amazing story of life. I loved the author's, Khaled Hosseini, style so much that I just started his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. So far, I'm interested but I literally just started it--so it's more like a "TBD".

Well, you guessed it, I'm tired. I'm going to go rest and maybe read a little if I can get through the guilt of not wanting to knit.

In the beginning...

The wedding isn't until the end of August of this year, but I've started the Rebecca's Icarus Wedding Shawl this week. I figured that I'd start early just in case I run into any snags along the way. After all, it is my first big lace project.

So far, I'm only 16 rows in. I'm not a big fan of charts but at least it's easy to memorize at this point of the pattern. It's just really slow going. I wonder if I'll pick up some speed as I get more used to knitting lace on such a grand scale.

In other knitting-related news, since I'm on a self-inflicted yarn diet I've decided to purchase these to make me feel better! They'll be here next week!!! I've wanted them for awhile but couldn't justify the purchase when I already own a Denise set and a companion set. I still can't justify it but I was dying to buy something for my knitting obsession!

Ok, that might be it for now. Hopefully I work up the courage to steek my Wicked Cardi this weekend. The button band are done and waiting to be seamed on. We'll see.

Please don't tell...

Even though I have tons (literally!) of yarn, I do not have much lace weight. Actually, I do not have any in my stash to be more precise. The reason that I bring up lace weight yarn is that I'm planning my first big lace project: Icarus for my best friend's wedding at the end of the summer. I've never attempted a lace project on this scale before and am more than a bit nervous to take this on.

So....

I had to buy yarn for this project. I know....I said that I wouldn't be purchasing yarn until I was through my stash in one way or another, but this is a special circumstance. I purchased 4 hanks of Knitpicks Gloss Lace Yarn in Natural for Rebecca's wedding shawl. And then I purchased 4 hanks of Sterling for myself. I know-- it was unnecessary to purchase yarn for myself. I just figured that it would go nicely with my navy gown and silver accessories.

Please don't tell on me. I'm bad...