Denial

I know some knitters have issues with double pointed needles, but usually, I’m not one of them. Occasionally, I’ll have an ugly gap where you can tell the round was being joined, but it’s never that bad. I have been working on the Whisper Cardigan this week with the Malabrigo lace, which starts at the sleeve, and can be done on a 12” circular or double points. I didn’t have the circulars, so I chose to start with the double points. I’ve been knitting casually on this all week, and have noticed some loosey goosey stitches, and then some really tight stitches where I’ve tried to make up for the loosey goosey-ness. Since it’s never been that bad/noticeable in the past, I just kept on going. I finished the first sleeve and held it out to look at the full picture.


(I'm a little embarassed to show this)

Not good. Really, I knew this all along, but was just in denial and only wanted to move forward rather than go back. I’m not much of a perfectionist, and usually have mistakes in my knitting, but this is really bad. Looks like I’ll be ripping out and getting myself some size 7, 12” circulars….

Hooked

Watch out world, I’ve been hit by the crochet bug. Something never really *hooked* me in before; it never really made a lot of sense. This week, I was a little discouraged with a knitting project (I’ll show you soon), and so I decided I’d finally sit down with my Happy Hooker book and just relearn the basics. I cruised through the basics, and on Tuesday through my never ending on call shift, I grabbed some cotton yarn, and worked on a little basket I had recently queued on Ravelry. I improvised some flowers, and viola! This is what happens when you have to listen in on a call from 9pm – 6am:

I think it turned out cute. It’s a little floppy, but I think starching it should do the trick. Last night I worked on this little number:

Cute and so easy, although I still managed to have an extra petal. Must be the lack of sleep.

Anywoo, I think I’ve got this crochet thing licked. At least the basics!

Is it late or early?

Last Wednesday started my first week on call for my job, and overall it was pretty quiet, right up until the end. I'm writing at 3:00 am to stay awake while I hang out on an emergency conference call, which I've been on for the past SIX HOURS. AHH! The reason I haven't gone too crazy leading up until this moment is because yesterday I revisited my crochet books and hooks, and today while I waited for whenI was needed on this call I crocheted a little yellow basket. I will have picture proof tomorrow! While it's nothing fancy, I'm pretty pleased, and I love how fast it goes...unlike this phone call.

Sunday Loot

I visited the Beverly Hills Farmer's Market on Sunday and picked up some gerbera daisies

and deliciously sweet strawberries

and stopped at Kings Road Cafe on the way home to pick up pastries for breakfast.

Great way to start the day! I can't help but smile when looking at these.

Rusty Red Root

A little bit of blog silence, but I’m back with a finished object! I’ve been knitting like a mad woman for no particular reason, and finished up the Rusted Root pattern.

(ignore the gross picture - just admire the sweater)

I am really happy with how this turned out, and it is super wearable. I made this from Rowan Calmer, which I had to frog from sweater parts I made years ago. I still have quite a bit left over, so I see a few red accessories in my future!

We happened upon a new little place down the street on Fairfax, called The Golden State. The burgers are YUM. All ingredients are local, featuring some locally brewed beers, and Scoops ice cream. If you’re in the Farmer’s Market area, I recommend walking on down.

I’m on to the Whisper cardigan…I scored some Malabrigo Lace on sale. It’s in a color I would have never picked out, but I’m hoping it will make for a very airy, Spring-like cardigan.

Silly Knitting

I hope you had a nice Easter!

Time to share the most recent knitting ridiculousness: I was requested by my cousin to make a dog sweater for her parent’s 3 lb. poodle. I had to guess a bit as the dog lives in Maryland, and I didn’t have the measurements. The pattern I used was made for a 3 lb. puppy as well. It is off in the mail right now, so here’s hoping it fits! Here is my Ugly Doll modeling it (hopefully his three-eyed head didn’t stretch out the neck too much!).

Continuing the impractical knits, here is a little cat finger puppet I knit up to resemble my boyfriend’s parents cat, in time for his mom’s birthday. I feel mine doesn’t look quite as kitty like as I had envisioned, but I do like the look of her big head on top of a little finger sized body.

This weekend I was able to resume more serious knitting…next up the Rusted Root.

Come Sail Away

Yesterday was a beautiful day for sailing…

My friend Jeff was our captain

And we set off and encountered lots of birds, a pair of dolphins, and a sea lion,

And were back in time to watch the sun set.

Bluebells

I don’t usually pick out blue things, but this bright blue yarn called out to me during a LYS’s Spring sale. I originally bought the yarn thinking I’d make the Just Enough Ruffles scarf, but I saw somebody knit up this little number from the Vogue Holiday 2008 issue on Ravelry with two skeins of Malabrigo, so I thought I’d give it a try. Plus, knitting a thick, wooly scarf at the start of Spring in LA didn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.

This knit up quickly (I feel like I always say that – I guess I’m drawn to fast patterns!), but I felt like the pattern could have been written much better. Overall I’m pleased with the result, but not gaga over it. It’s a cute little wrap to throw over a dress or top, but it curls a little and doesn’t sit quite right. I’m not sure on a closure. I found this belt in my drawer, which sort of works, but it makes it stay open. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for the right type of closure. I also think I may re-block it now that it is sewn together to try to make it a little longer. The last few sweaters I’ve made have been knit in one piece, and dudes, that’s so much better. I was able to get this together during a night of America’s Next Top Model and American Idol though, so I guess it wasn’t so bad.

Enjoy your weekend!