Happy Holidays

Happy holidays to all you gentle readers out in the blogosphere, and I hope that 2010 will be a great year for you.

This photo was used as our holiday photo greeting card this year. Large Dog is wearing the same cowl that I used in the yarn bombing escapade. I first yarn bombed the dog, took the photos, then dressed the statue.

For those of you who are curious, the knitwear stayed on the statue for just over three weeks. We think it might have gotten removed when additional street decorations were added to the downtown area.

FO gift and a WIP

I finished this vest as an Xmas gift for my mother. For some reason, knits for others always seem to take longer than I'd like, probably because it's not for me, me, me! This is a variation on the diamond quilted vest pattern (ravelry link). The yarn is Valley Yarns Amherst. I decided to do buttons instead of a zipper, and I used seed stitch for the bands and bottom. The neckline came out too wide for a standing collar, so I just made a tapered one by using gradually smaller sized needles. The overall color and style of this vest is too subdued for my own taste, but I do like the faux-quilted stitch pattern. I can see using a different yarn and a different treatment for collar and bands to knit a more modern look for myself.

Since I finished the vest, I can get back to knitting for me, me, me. This is a self-designed top-down raglan pullover. It will have short puffed sleeves that will be brought in with pleats at the cuff. The yarn is Mirasol Tupa, a merino/silk blend. The neckline will be finished with a narrow attached scarf knit with the Mini Mochi. I've always liked the Mini Mochi, but I don't like scarves wrapped closely around my neck because it's just too warm. Also, I just don't like dealing with loose scarves. A narrow attached scarf on a wider neckline would be a fun way for me to use this yarn. I'd show a sketch of my planned sweater, but I'm afraid my sketches are undecipherable to anyone but me.

Shawl pins

Thanks for all the nice comments about my kimono vest. I thought I'd post something about that shawl pin, which some of you seemed to like. I actually have 2 of these in different sizes. I bought the smaller one at Stitches West this year, and the larger one from an LYS. The interesting thing about these pins is that they were originally marketed as hair ornaments, and you can buy them online here. The interesting about them is that they are flexible, and they have no sharp points. The bars are curved and stay attached to the ornamental figure 8. I found that with the larger one, it's best to actually bend the figure 8 a bit or else the bar tends to separate.

FO: Long kimono vest

This is the long kimono vest. I used 4 skeins of Malabrigo merino worsted, one of my favorite worsted weight yarns. Mine is shorter than the pattern's version -- it's about 29 inches from shoulders to hem. I chose this vest because I really liked the stitch pattern, and I wanted to make something that I could wear over leggings. I wanted a garment that was more or less age-appropriate, because even though I love leggings, I'm almost as old as dirt, and I did not want to look ridiculous. I'm very happy with the result.

The pattern is basically knitting 3 large swatches and sewing them together. I did add some 2x2 ribbing to the bottom, and I knitted a shawl collar. My shawl collar starts out as 2x2 ribbing, then changes to 3x3 ribbing, and then it's knitted with needles one size higher for the 1" depth of short row shaping around the neck. It sits nicely flat on my shoulders and back. I added an infinitesimal amount of waist shaping by using smaller needles for a 5" middle section.

On a styling note, I did try wearing this with a wide stretchy belt, but I think I looked like an elf, even without the elf shoes and hat!

A WIP and some yarn

I'm currently working on this long kimono vest, a free pattern. Mine won't be quite as long as pattern's version, but it is long. I chose this because I really like the stitch pattern. It's semi-open so my vest won't be too warm, and it's easy do. Also, the pattern shows up even with this dark Malabrigo worsted yarn I'm using. The color is a dark blue-black that looks great in sunlight because these overtones of blues and greens appear. In dim light, it looks like the color of squid ink. With a flash, as shown here, it looks like a medium gray. I'll have to be sure I show the FO in sunlight. I added a ribbing on the bottom, and I'll do more of a shawl collar. The vest in the photo doesn't look very trendy, but I've seen lots of long vests in the shops lately. I figure I can wear it over leggings if I want to be au courant this winter.

On the subject of Malabrigo worsted, I recently bought 5 skeins of this cognac color. I purchased the yarn on a recent trip to the Lake Tahoe area at the Lake Tahoe Yarn Company. I also bought 5 skeins of dark grey Shepherd's Wool, which is the store's best selling yarn.

Yarn bombing update: He's stylin'!

I did my little yarn bombing thing on Thursday night, Nov. 12, and I was pleased to notice today that not only is my statue still wearing his yarny goodness, but he's been re-styled! Someone else has styled him to look like a cool snow-boarding dude.

Yarn bombing

Lately, I've become mildly fascinated with the yarn bombing concept. I've even purchased this book, Yarn Bombing: The Art of Knit and Crochet Graffiti, which has photos of some great fiber art. The authors' website is www.yarnbombing.com I decided it was time for me to try a little yarn bombing myself, what with the holidays coming up and everything. So, I decided that this statue in our little town center clearly needed some holiday cheer.

I did this at night, and The Other Half helped with the photography and driving the getaway car. The next morning, I went back to take a daylight photo, and I was ever so pleased that no one had removed it. Doesn't he look nice with his cowl? (or is it called an infinity scarf?)

The Other Half has decided that my pseudonym should be "Yarnabomber". I'm not sure I like that name.