Cyprienne's Blue Period

The second secret shawl is complete, including blocking!  But you don't get to see it yet. Not even the nupps.  Unless you have a Rav account, then go ahead.  I'll wait.  :)

ALERT: new stuff on the needles!

New Stuff #1 AKA Travel Knitting:

Since the Sock of Doom has recently been demoted from travel knitting, I've cast on something purse-sized to take its place, destined to fill up the waiting spaces of my life.  Behold!

Oooh.  Aaaah.

What you see here is the very beginning of Happy Legs [Rav link] by Dani Sunshine, a quick free pattern for baby legwarmers.  Toddler Flashdance!  Punkin can already do the fast tippytoe running move.  Plus it's getting colder and she still fits into her shorts, so I want to get as much use out of them as I can.

The yarn is a skein of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK (20% OFF at Yarnmarket for the rest of 2011!) from deep in the stash; it's so soft and I wish I had more.

New Stuff #2 AKA Major Project:

The other blue project is also made from yarn that's been sitting around for a bit.  I originally bought thirteen skeins of Karabella Aurora 8 in this awesome electric blue color; it's pricy for what you get ($8.85 per 98-yd 50 g ball) BUT the blue was too gorgeous to pass up.  Anyway, I was hoping to make a magical sweater for my friend.  The pattern of choice: Twist & Shout [Rav link] by Robynn Weldon.

image via Knitty.com

Time passed.  Turns out, we're old friends, good friends, but not surprise-here's-a-cabled-cardigan-out-of-nowhere friends.  So the yarn stashed around; it lived sealed in plastic in the UFO bin, which meant I got a surge of electric blue joy every time I opened it, immediately followed by a wistful wish I knew what to do with it feeling.

In the Year of the Yarn Diet, there are no survivors.  I'm biting the bullet and knitting a baby blanket.

The free pattern is Leafy Baby Blanket [Rav link] by Leyla Alieva and I think it's purty.  Better yet, it won't use up all the Aurora 8, so I won't have to say goodbye just yet.

p.s. happy birthday, Jason.

The Sock, It Grows

Hey, remember before, when I found a long-lost UFO and was all excited about it, but then I got distracted by Harry Potter and a bunch of other movies with knitwear, and I kept knitting on that first sock but didn't blog about it because it was sooo boooorrrring?

Well.  Now there's this:

I turned a heel.  Yes, thank you, you're too kind

This horrible picture was taken literally five minutes ago.

I had been carrying it around with me and whipping it out (in a totally non-suggestive fashion) to complete a couple rows here and there, especially before meetings, but...  today I dug it out of my purse only to discover four stitches dropped from the end of one needle and IT PISSED ME OFF!!!!!!!  Sorry about the excessive punctuation, but US 1 needles are a chore to use and I hate socks in general and I promise you I'm swallowing this rage ball right now.  It's fixed.  Deep cleansing breaths.  Woosah.

So, as of right now, the sock has been demoted (promoted? whatever.) from travel knitting to sitting-in-the-usual-spot knitting, if only because it's safer and less stress-inducing to have the goldarn ladder-pickin crochet hook nearby at all times. I can't believe I have to make another one. WHY MUST HUMANS BE BIPEDAL???

Aaaaand now I'm going to bed.  Because when something as insignificant as a sock makes you apoplectic, it's long past time to sleep.

Too Busy to Knit This Weekend

but of course, I found time to start cross stitching a monkey.

pattern from andwabisabi's Etsy shop

FO: Little Lace

It got colder quickly, so I took a two-day break from knitting things that are secret and/or boring to whip up this confection for one small girl child of my acquaintance:

 

 

The pattern is a free Ravelry download: Victorian Lace Baby Shrug [Rav link] by Melanie Lok; knit with one skein of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK in colorway 18006 Wine.  Thank you to Maisy for keeping her relatively still for the photo shoot.

I consistently had a problem in the later rows of the body sequence; I’d blame the pattern, but it was probably my fault for not paying attention and possibly doing something dumb on the purl rows.  I also had to redo the bindoff after the first time through produced unusable and constricted.  The elastic bindoff did the trick.  The other problem: lots of finagling to get the finished product on her body -- the close fit of the neckband required considerable stretching to go around her shoulders without breaking her arms.  I finally had to make her raise both arms and ambush from above!

I love this yarn a whole lot.   I've had it forever, since I bought it waaay back when a] I didn't know that most things I want to make use more than one skein; and b] the cost of yarn didn't factor into my purchasing.  Anyway, it's like buttah and there's only a yard and a half left.

and it's not this color.

Cue blocking photos!

Please note the presence of blocking wires and pins borrowed from the lovely Jill Factotum -- thank you!

KATM+PR: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

I can't write about the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World without making several confessions:

* I play video games frequently

* I've wanted blue hair since I was 10

* I've wanted to be in a band since I was 7

* I was thisclose to leaving the country, just because
* I'm a sucker for distorted guitar, bass solos, and girl drummers

* I did some wildly inappropriate dating at and around the age of 22

So basically what I'm saying is: in the alternate universe of my mind, I'm some strange chimera of Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers.  And it doesn't matter to me whether the movie version of the comic got a good review or a bad review (in the same publication, no less).  No surprise, I loved this movie, which allowed me to realize my charming disaffected itinerant blue-hair band-girl DDR dreams while staying an awkward married librarian mom IRL.

........On to the knitwear!!

"Do you know this one girl with hair like this?"

Scott's Wristbands

Scott Pilgrim (Age: 22; Rating: Awesome) likes to wear striped wristbands:

They come in assorted colors to go with his assorted band T-shirts and assorted moods.  And they're easy to make!
free!  Scott Pilgrim Wrist Bands [Rav link] from the brain of cyancomet

Scott's Slouchy Hat

If this hat were a person, it would have an ironic handlebar mustache and muttonchops.

...it would listen to Daytrotter sessions and vinyl; it would wear skinny jeans and drink PBR; it would own this hat. 
Scott Pilgrim Hat (The Original Costume Pattern) [Rav link] by Lulu Bee; $5.00 USD
Scott Pilgrim's Slouchy Hat [Rav link] by Joy Smith; $5.00 USD
free!  wurm [Rav link] by katushika
free!  Scott Pilgrim Stocking Hat/Snail Hat [Rav link] by Rochelle Mantanona
free!  Scott Pilgrim hat [Rav link] by Anna Steinbrink

Kim Pine's Cap

Alison Pill does such an awesome job of bringing Kim's combination of thinly veiled rage and not-at-all-veiled ennui to life.

She and Kieran Culkin are my favorites (sadly, no Wallace knitwear to be found).  No Kim hat patterns, either, but I found a couple lookalikes; add a big ol' pompon for more fun!
free! knit/crochet  134-25 "VEGA" - Crochet hat with knitted top [Rav link] by DROPS design
Squawk [Rav link] by kim mac donald; $5.00 USD

Ramona's Berry Sweater

It's striped and fuzzy!

May I also note: it'll go with whatever hair color her ninja-delivery-girl heart desires.

Ramona's Knit Hoodie

I'm a sucker for teal, what can I say.

Comfy, simple, teal.  And easy enough to duplicate with a lookalike free pattern.  Ta-da!
109-1 Jumper with hood in "Eskimo" [Rav link] by DROPS design; NOTE: the pattern is for super bulky weight yarn, but I'm sure yarn choice and other things could easily cut down on the bulk factor.

Ramona's Film Set Mitts

But seriously, what's on the back of them?

Stylized skull and crossbones? Floppy bows with rhinestones? Some sort of Galaga... thing? 

Ramona's Sweater Tee
Now this I would totally wear.

He's so sad... but still stares at her boobs.  No pattern for this, unfortunately, but you could heavily modify this free pattern:
Blossom Tee [Rav link] by Linda from clickertyclick

Ramona's Battle Mitts

Safari clothes and a Warhammer.  Pfft.  Nice look, Rammy.

I do so love the teal gloves/electric blue hair shot, though.  Lovely.  And there's a free pattern for these, so yay!
Ramona Flowers Fingerless Gloves [Rav link] by Shannon Foss

Knives's Scarf

Aww, Knives.  Poor, sweet, marginalized Knives.

She doesn't even get a non-curling scarf.  But at least she doesn't (necessarily) have to date losers anymore.
free!  Knives Chau's Battle Scarf [Rav link] by Melinda Melin
free!  Easy Broken Rib Scarf [Rav link] by Knitting on the Net as styled by HexiJosh [Rav link]

Knives's Battle Gauntlets

Because sometimes you need knitted opera length finger loop gloves:

See?
free!  City Gauntlets [Rav link] by Lion Brand Yarn as styled by OmegaMoth [Rav link]; NOTE: Lion Brand patterns are free, but require registration

BONUS CRAFT HAPPY:  Renee, the Domestic Scientist and fellow geek, made an "I'm in lesbians with you." cross stitch!
EVEN MORE BONUSER: Ravelry user sefronia made a Sex Bob-Omb hat [Rav link]! Alas, no written pattern.

No Nupp for You!

...what I mean to say is, I get lots of nupps (nupp is pronounced "noop" because Estonians want to mess with you; I don't blame them), but you don't get to see my copious nupps, because the secret shawl project is still, well, secret.  Unless you Rav stalk me or click through from my last shawl post.  Then you can totally see shawl pics.  But they aren't updated all the way, so still no nupps for you!

This project is my first foray into the world of nupps generally and Estonian lace knitting specifically.  Needless to say, there was research.  Does this mean I get to call myself an "advanced" knitter?  That would be pretty sweet.  Anyway...

My point is, research led me to a couple awesome YouTube instructional videos...

• There's this one produced by Knitting Daily TV and demonstrated by guru Nancy Bush, AKA the real way to nupp it up:
• And this one, produced and demonstrated by genius Myra Wood, AKA the cheater way:

If you're curious, yes, I'm cheating.

A Word about Today

A lot of people have some high emotions regarding today.  Our daughter has already noticed that we're sadder than usual and has set about to be extra sweet to make us smile.  My birthday will be arriving very soon, which only serves to further remind me that every moment is a gift.

Let there be peace on earth.

Not a Thirsty Thursday

The constant drip-drip-drip-WOOOOSH-drip-drip-drip-rat-tat-tat-tat-drip-drip-drip of the rain has just stopped for the first time in 24 hours.  I'm sure it will start again soon.

All this water has made for a sudden chill in the air, so I'm frantically looking through my queue for some quick raglan baby cardigans to warm up the small one using random stash yarn!

I've been steadily moving on both the second wedding shrug [Rav link] and the secret shawl (but here's a [Rav link] - feel free to take a peek if you have never been my boss...).  The shawl is being used as my first "homework" practice for the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup group I've joined on Ravelry.  I haven't been sorted into a house just yet, but I've finally gotten my bearings as to the rules and timing and s.t.u.f.f.  So... yeah.  That's fun!

...and the rain's started again.  Told you.

A Little Miffed

So I was juuuuust gearing up for a visit to a LYS I've had my online eye on: mapping out the driving route, noting the hours of operation on the website to making sure it's open today, planning out Punkin's nap time accordingly, doing some last minute Ravelry queue yardage checks... when I notice there's a Ravelry group for said LYS—and they've closed the store as of July 23, 2011.

Wait, WHAT?!  You're kidding me, right?  Noooooo.

< rant rant-type="first-world-problems">
You close your store and you don't even update your website with that rather crucial information?  What, am I supposed to show up, eyes full of hope, baby in tow, to see a handwritten sign on the door?  I was supposed to go to Sit-and-Stitch on Thursday nights and make some knitting friends who could give me their opinions!  My husband, while wonderful, really super fantastically does not care about 100% merino vs. merino/silk blend decision-making; that was your job, now-only-figments-of-my-imagination fiber friends!  And hey, store owners: I was going to give you so much money in 2012!  All this stashbusting is emotionally fatiguing and I'm going to be thisclose to throwing cash at the nearest sport weight wool, regardless of price or suitability!  What am I supposed to spend money on now?  Diapers and paying off my crippling debt??!  I'M OUTIE 5000!!
< /rant>

Oh wait, the Internet says there may be another yarn shop in town.  Huh.  Looks like I'm going to do some sleuthing on Thursday.

Knitwear at the Movies: The King's Speech

The King's Speech!  So good so good so good so good!!  Also: Colin Firth!!!  (p.s. Jennifer Ehle, too!*)

So guess who wears knits in this movie.  It's not really a question, not even a rhetorical one.  The answer is: not royalty (one notable exception; you'll see).  And so I present to you: the Logue Family...

Myrtle Logue's Cardigan

Skeptical Myrtle questions your motives.

A simple cream wide-rib cardigan is elevated by the crossed collar detail.  Buttons FTW.

Valentine Logue's Scarf

Simple, but serves the dual purpose of conveying the character's bookishness and keeping him warm.
NOTE: he is wearing his dad's sweater here (see below) -- high fives to the costume designer for these details.

Lionel Logue's Cardigan

One must wear a mustardy waffle cardigan to lend gravity to any situation...  reading is good!  Also: that wallpaper's gotta go.

Lionel Logue's Vest

Cables with deep side ruts and columns of stockinette and garter stitch blocks -- pretty darn classy.

Anthony Logue's Fair Isle Vest

He is his mother's son.

The color combinations remind me of a Navajo blanket almost.

...and then: there's Guy Pearce.
King Edward VIII's Diamond Vest

Hot.
_____
* (p.p.s. Derek Jacobi as Archbishop Cosmo! You can't make these names up.)

Secrets, Secrets are No Fun

So I finished the secret project, a black shawl...

...which still needs blocking, obviously.  I'll post true FO pics with description and pattern link once it's in the hands of its rightful owner.

Here's the two-part bad news:
1) I don't currently own blocking wires.  So that has to happen first.
2) I'm about to start another secret shawl project— 

Wait, where are you going?! There's a picture!  Please stay!

Busting stash cuz I got no cash!

I'm also working on a not-at-all-secret second modified Burnished Bronze Shrug [Rav link] for my friend's excellent wedding, and I'm not even procrastinating:

CAT and eric are keeping me entertained to the tune of ten rows a night.  AND I made dinner.  Booyah!

Thar's a Hurricane a-Comin

Most people in the western hemisphere are aware that Hurricane Irene is taking a jaunt up the east coast of the United States this weekend:

image via crisislanding.appspot.com

I live very near that turquoise cone of doom, and while I may be just west enough to be safe from the bulk of the damage, there's no doubt that something's in the air today...

 

The first few drops have started to fall.  We're hunkered down tight.  Stay safe, everybody.

Knitwear at the Movies: Little Children

Have you seen Little Children?  It was a really good movie. Several people thought so.  Not a lot of knitwear, I must admit; that's not really the draw.  But there was this pretty awesome skater hat...

A Pretty Awesome Skater Hat

 

It's not a skater hat per se, but the young gentleman wearing the hat was cast as a sk8r boi (hate you, Avril!) and he probably wants to be Shaun White.  ANYWAY.

This slouchy beret seems so soft, yet still structured enough to keep its shape and show off the stitch definition for the cabling.  The openwork lattice motif is unisex and appropriate for basically any cold-weather situation.

Since there aren't a lot of patterns to "round-up" for this post and I couldn't find this specific pattern already written, I may just have to figure it out for myself.  Eventually.  For now, you just get some look-similars.  You're welcome!

Pretty Darn Close

Fenimore [Rav link] by Jared Flood; $5.00 USD
Gramps Slouch [Rav link] by Kate Oates; $6.00 USD

Kinda Remindy

free!  Tidal Bore Beanie [Rav link] by Inge Sandholt
Double Crossed [Rav link] by Katie White; $4.50 USD
Diamant Tam [Rav link] by Lindsey Stephens; $4.95 USD

Still Here, I Swear

I've been knitting and watching movies and working and knitting some more!  Who knew my secret project would be this much of a timesink?... (A: not me.)

lotso stitches, lotso yarn

More after cast off and blocking -- almost there!

Getting Back on the Knitting Horse

All that movie watching and I've only gotten halfway finished with my secret project??:

Well.  That's just sad.

And I've watched a lot more movies that I've detailed here.  Tip for you: do not watch "Pretty Baby" starring Brooke Shields; it's very well acted, but criminy, I couldn't handle the subject matter.  I pride myself on being pretty unflappable -- is it in print? I can read it -- but sometimes onscreen images get under my skin in the worst way.  A scene in which a twelve-year-old's virginity is sold to the highest bidder made me physically ill; I'm sure it's worse for me now that I have a daughter... just heartbreaking.

ANYWAY: during my blog break, I did some knitting every night.  I've had two projects going on at once: said secret project PLUS a prototype for a shrug for the bridesmaids at my friend's wedding in November.  It's the Burnished Bronze Shrug [Rav link] by Lion Brand Yarn, knit with three skeins of Bernat Satin Solids in Amber.  I'll link to the project page on Ravelry, but no pictures here yet, as my self-photo shoot was rather disastrous.

So this post is kinda lame.  But at least it's not Potter-related.

The last HP post for a good long time

I didn't quite intend for this blog to be hijacked by Pottermania, but I am a bit of a superfan and I don't know when I'm going to be able to see the movie and there's lots of knitwear in the series and I'm done with excuses now.  This is it.

Hey, is it just me, or should these guys be cast as brothers at some point?:

left: Jason Isaacs AKA Lucius Malfoy; right: Mad Men's Jon Hamm

Also, in case anyone has been doubting my HP cred:

on the right: movie hand holding movie prop; on the left: my actual hand holding actual box.

There was a chocolate frog in the chocolate frog box at one point, but I eated it.  And, because "chocolate frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect":

Rowena Ravenclaw  Medieval (precise dates unknown)

"One of the four famous Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Rowena Ravenclaw was the most brilliant witch of her time, though legend has it that a broken heart -- cause unknown -- contributed to her demise."

You can expect our regularly scheduled knit-blog programming on my return.  I'm going to let the incomparable Tessa sing us out because this is my new favorite thing:

Pattern Round-Up: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

HEY guess what, it's August.  I completely burnt myself out with the earlier pace, hence the gigantic break.  This one is long overdue, so here it goes:

Pattern Round-Up: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

relevant links to the KM post with pictures are helpfully provided in the pattern title heading

Screen Grab: Hermione's Hat

This one is very popular, for obvious reasons; all free:

French too!  Hermione Deathly Hollow [Rav link] by Chantal Boucher

German too!  Hermione's Godrics Hollow Hat [Rav link] by Melanie Richter

Godric's Hollow Hat [Rav link] by Rebecca Beam

Hermione's Deathly Hallows Graveyard Beret [Rav link] by Grace Falls

and a twist:  Hermione Inspired Openwork Headband [Rav link] by Katie H Kibler

Screen Grab: Hermione's Fingerless Gloves

image via Life After College

Also popular, as Hermione's knits are classy and sassy.  Crocheter innermindofthefreakz seems to be working on a pattern, but it's still in the planning stages, I guess.  So far, all the patterns are knit:
free!  Hermione Fingerless Gloves [Rav link] by Lindsey Carroll
free!  Hermione Granger inspired gloves by The Lady Fritzler
free solid stripes!  Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Hermione's wand gloves [Rav link] by Nancy Fry
solid stripes!  Hallowed Hands [Rav link] by Sandra Paul; £1.60 GBP
free fair isle!  Hermione's Magic Mittens [Rav link] by Genevra Lee

Inspiration: Obliviate

image via The Leaky Cauldron gallery

I usually position the "inspirations" after the "screen grabs," but this pattern is a little of both.  Designer Owl in Socks sought to duplicate the scrunchiness and bunchiness of Hermione's fingerless mitts without necessarily duplicating the colors or colorwork [Rav link]; pattern costs $3.99 USD.

Screen Grab: Hermione's Scarf

image via The Leaky Cauldron gallery

Designer Nancy Fry put together a free pattern for the simple scarf [Rav link] worn by Hermione.

Inspiration: Dark Mark Arm Warmers Pattern and Chart

For those on the Slytherin side of things, designer Christa Casebeer has created some Magic Loop fingerless gloves [Rav link] to assist you in alerting the Dark Lord.

Inspiration: Deathly Hallows Wristband

This cute, free wristband pattern [Rav link], designed by not_gini, has the symbol of the deathly hallows with stranded colorwork.

Oh yeah: good times from Lion Brand, too; they've got some HP inspired Deathly Hallows patterns on their blog as well.

EDIT 12/22/2011: There's this one, too!

Screen Grab: Ron's Cabled Cardigan

It's the cardigan, but for a baby!  Say it with me: aaaaawwwwww.
free!  Hallows Cardigan [Rav link] by Melissa Metzbower