a snowstorm, some knitting, and 1800 yards of thread
Each Wednesday, I post little snippets about what’s happening, and what I’m working on.
First off, the obligatory snowy photo. We got a decent amount of snow (more than ended up on the fire escape) – not nearly as much as other people though.
My snowstorm project of choice was the shawl I’m working on. Which included dropping down and re-knitting part of it when I didn’t follow my own pattern.
And more bead crochet bracelets.
Prior to the blizzard, over the weekend & into Monday, I was sewing a bunch of gigantic pieced together drops for a theater project. The project has already emptied 7 spools of thread (2 not pictured), for a total of 1800 yards of thread – and it’s not finished yet…
shawls, sweaters, sewing, yarn, and a new pop up yarn shop
Each Wednesday I post little snippets about the projects I’m working on.
You can see all of the Wednesday posts here.
I bound off my shawl! Knit out of Julie Asselin’s Merletto and of my own design, I can’t wait to block it and see how it turned out!
First I need this sweater to dry.
I’m so accustomed to knitting & blocking lace shawls (which can dry in a couple hours) that the day or two sweaters require to dry feels like an eternity.
I took a break from my frantic sweater knitting to do a little bit of sewing…
In my brain I know that sewing is faster than knitting – a lot faster – but every time I’m away from the sewing machine for more than a week or so, I sort of forget how much faster it really is.
Mostly though, it’s been sweater knitting all the way.
My boring black sweater is nearing being finished. I started the first sleeve yesterday – and thanks to a long evening of knitting & drinking with friends it’s to the elbow.
Got to love a good distraction for many hours of knitting stockinette.
Last weekend I went to the opening party of a new pop up yarn shop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Gauge + Tension is run by two friends of mine, Michele and Melissa. G+T specializes in high end, hard to find yarns – and it does not disappoint!
I was restrained and picked up one skein of Western Sky Knits – superwash merino lace weight, in the colorway “elephant.” It’s a really beautiful irresistible purple-grey-y color.
They also carry, Julie Asselin, Brooklyn Tweed, Quince & Co. Jones & Vandermeer, Sleep Season, Hedgehog, and Tanis Fiber Arts. You can see all of their yarns and fibers here.
If you’re around for the NYC Yarn Crawl this coming weekend, Kristin of “Voolenvine” is going to set up shop at Gauge + Tension.
If you’re in or around NYC, be sure to check them out!
G+T’s address, days & store hours can be found here, on their website.
And my G+T project bag is already hard at work protecting my boring black sweater from harm – not that you’d be able to see a stain on this sweater…
In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun…
“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun, you find the fun, and snap, the job’s a game.” -Marry Poppins (film) “A Spoon Full of Sugar”
Naming patterns is, by far, the most challenging part of writing patterns for me.
It’s always the last piece I get to, and I’ll often use some sort of characteristic of the shawl as a sort of working title, or short hand, while I’m knitting.
So, I’ve been trying to publish a pattern for every letter of the alphabet.
A: Anwar. also A-ha, Arrowhead Stole, and Asymmetrical Bluebells.
B: Baby’s Magic Blankie and Birds of a Feather.
C: Climbing Trellis. (the first pattern I ever published)
E: Eirwen.
F: nothing yet!
G: Gene Tierney, Ghosts & Mirrors, Gothic Spires, and Gratia.
H: nicht!
J: nada!
K: Kora.
L: Lapidarius.
M: Mayur also Mrs. Peacock, Mirror World and Malus domestica.
N: zip!
O: zilch!
Q: squat!
R: diddly-squat!
S: Spider Silk and Stereotypical.
T: Tumbling Deco.
U: naught!
V: nein!
W: Wafian.
X: Xylia.
Y: Yuki.
Z: Zodiac le Plume.
9 more letters to go! After I finish the alphabet I’ll need to find a new challenge to help me name my patterns.
I know it’s a little thing, and ultimately having a pattern named after every letter of the alphabet doesn’t mean anything, but sometimes having a challenge that’s a little bit silly is a great motivator.
