back again!

tenten’s back. tell a friend.  You patience, my friends, for a new post from me is has not been in vain!

I know I’ve already stated on this here blog how much I truly love my mother but I just don’t think I did it justice.  If you only Knew what she has done for me, what she’s done for her mom, for her husband and son, for us ALL you will say, "wow, I know Love incarnate."  I know there are mothers out there just like her and boy aren’t we LUCKY and blessed.

Project: Bedroom

My mini bedroom is probably about 6×10 feet.  The queen Juuust fits with a comfortable walkway on the left side of the bed.  What you see there is a door on the back wall which makes it feel more like a hallway than a bedroom. 

My mother had an idea and I let her just roll with it.

Add a little AP dust (my mom’s initals) and you have this Goregeous bedroom.  My BF couldn’t stop exclaming each time he walked in.  We bought a few yarns of fabric, some slats, a strong stape gun and whola!  No more door, a goregous backdrop that actually matches the beige landlord paint and a very cozy bedroom indeed!  I also found that my cubes (albet two) fit on the left hand side so I can easily have my lamp and alarm clock there! 

Project: Kitchen

Let’s take a tour of my kitchen.  The room itself is huge – it’s actually more  a dining room/kitchen in my mind.  What we see here is a large counter top with just space underneath and a shelf.  No sliding drawers… it needed something. I went out and bought some tubs to put away pots and pans and the like but there was something missing. 

Enter my mom and her lovely creativity.

I picked out the fabric but she did the rest. She’s also working on curtains for me!  What a freakin’ lucky girl am I!?  Of course I really want to learn how to sew so I can do all these things but for now I’ll let her take all the praise and credit!!

Plus, All of these mama creations makes me excited to be creating again.  The whole moving process sucked out so much of my knitting mojo I didn’t know what I was doing with myself.  Perhaps it’s the hope of the 75 degree spring weather (where are you!?),  the wonderful feeling of being DONE with moving, or the ideas that were sparked with the final night of my beginners’ knitting class I taught – but I am ready so excited about some new knits (and am inspired to finish some old)!

My wonderful beginner’s knitting class opened my eyes to how fantastically simple and fulfilling home knitting is.  They all were searching the shop for patterns outside the cliche beginner’s projects of scarves or hats.  What they did find were great simple home knits and a fabulously cute pillow in the process.  Nothing makes a new apartment say "home" then a few hand knitted pillows I say. 

And that Victorian Lace KAL, geeze, every time I see it updated I want to cast on. I’m actually a lurking member and need to get my act together to cast on for one of those beauties.

OH, Cathi, guess who got herself some Wallace and Gromit patterns!?  They’re in the ‘post’ as we speak. I’m so excited.   Toys will so be finding a home on my needles this spring and summer…

Of course Cherie will be popping her head in, I have a feeling I’ll have to modify her in some way – but I figured I’d go ahead and finish the way the pattern says and then go from there.  It will be my first true time of doing a major mod on a pattern. (shivers!)

Also, with all the apt cleaning I’ve found that I have quite the extensive collection of old corks from the many bottles that have been popped over the past two years or so.  With a little help from a friend I’m envisioning a cork board to be placed in the kitchen! I’m so excited about the simple project. 

Phew, talk about a lovely long photo filled post!  I hope everyone has a lovely weekend (Happy Easter and Passover!)  Thanks for waiting and popping by 🙂

m

is the only way to explain my knitting this beginning of  March.  The sleeves are progressing with Cherie but nothing truly noteworthy to show.  Plus with the transition to my new apartment my knit time may be minimal. Knowing me though I’ll be knitting a few rounds in between carring my boxes up my 3 floor walk up.  Despite the "yawn nature" of my knitting…

I am so excited to get my move on! I cannot wait to show you all my new digs.  I promise to get some pics as soon as I get the keys.  It’s such a great space even though I keep thinking about how teeny tiny my bedroom will be.  It’s seriously no more than 9×7 and I think it will just fit my queen bed with inches on either end. But it’s just dear ol’ me for a while and as long as there’s a place for my yarn………….

Speaking of moving, my fav local yarn shop is moving to a new location! She’s moving out of her cute basement spot to a ground floor space two blocks away.  I’m so thrilled for her and excited to be a part of her move! I’ll be sure to post pics of that too when she’s all moved in.  More space, means more yarn! (Right, Trish! ;-))

All in all I’m still on the hunt for new knits…I am thinking of casting on for Le Slouch (I know I’m all talk at this point), saw a cute headband project I’ve spied on the blogs and I have another hat for my BF to finish.  Perhaps these mini projects will make March end with a bit of a roar!

The beginner’s luck that I had with my first two sweaters this year has spolied me.  I was crusing along having deluions of closets full of sweaters by the fall.  Cabled, lace, v-necks, rollnecks, boatnecks, buttons, snaps, zippers, you name it – I can dream it.

This deliusion was only fed more by my winter break which allowed me to knit an insane amount of dear ol’ Cherie.  Fronts – BAM! Backs – BAM! Now Sleeves! Um, not so BAM.  I’m starting to get a sinking feeling that this may not fit as well as I had hoped. (and who wants to really think that all my Bam! moments were for nothing!? ughh)

My first suspicion was with the schematics that were acommpaning the sweater.  There was only two measurements for the front and back piece – the width at the bottom and the length.  It doesn’t tell you if that’s with or without the picked up ribbed collar nor does it tell you how much the decrease was for the waist shaping – nor the armsleeves, you get my point.  Plus, the total length of the sweater I’m knitting is 22inches – which on my humble 5’3” frame would land the bottom ribbing around my hips.

The sleeve schematic is even more suspect.  It lists only the length of the sleeve and that’s it.  No width what so ever.  No real sense on how I should block the sucker.  In the end the pattern then turns into more of a guideline than a real sweater pattern which is all new territory to me. 

I am a pattern follower.  I am the one who will follow the directions for pancakes on the back of the Bisquick box to the T.   I love to follow directions for some reason.  To whip out schematics or directions and put things together step by step.  I like being told what to do.  Takes that whole area of thought out of it and let’s me put my energies into creating.  What’s strange about this idealism in me is that I also wholeheartedly LOVE to be creative.  To come up and brainstorm new things. To have a blank slate and do whatever it is I please… but once I come up with it it’s nice to have someone else tell you what to do and how to make it.

Perhaps I feel like I’m not ready yet with that kind of knitting.  That I don’t want to crash and burn with my own ideas rather follow the trusted and true patterns that will get you a pretty sweater 90% of the time.  This fear is stupid I know, I laugh all the time to myself when I say I’m afraid of my knitting.  Be afraid of sky diving or something.  This fear lies in the idea that you’ve wasted time knitting something that wasn’t right and that stinks! But it happens to all of us and the "wasted time" turns into "learning time" because without it you probably wouldn’t have learned something new. Right?

In the end, I have to believe in my gauge swatch which is telling me that I will have a shorter sweater that in the end should fit me perfectly.  Easier said then done…

Oh a much cheerier and non-suspect note, my dear friend Dana, who so needs a blog, got me a very unexpected (or very late Christmas, however you’d like to look at it) present! Stitch Markers from the Zephyr ladies and look what it says!!

Do you love it or what!? She and I are going to knit Glee together.  It will be her first sweater project! (Obsessive knitter I will make her, yet!)  Thank you Dana, I LOVE THEM and can’t wait to ues them. 🙂

Having the time to finish the front and back of Cherie and start on the sleeves.

Waking up at 8:30am instead of 6:30am.

Enjoying a few more hours to hang out at your LYS and to talk about exciting new happenings on the horizon!

Staying up late and drinking wine (well I do that normally but sans guilt)

Getting a facial and a neck massage from a local spa. (Ahhh!)

Being able to blog more often and with energy which leads to meeting new people and getting a few surprises. Thanks again Mai!!!

         

A trip to NYC with blogless Dana to find buttons for the CPH and Cherie at MJ Trimming (Tender Buttons – I will see you next time!)

Getting time to truly assess the stash and feeling good about going to School Products and walking out without any new yarn.

A round trip to the Jersey shore to find a house to rent for the summer.

Meeting my dad for lunch in the city and walking around 5th Ave. with the handsomest man I know.

Stalking Bloglines 24/7 to see some great looking Le’Slouch’s that make me want to cast on for one like now.

Having the time to make pancakes for me and my BF not once but twice this week.  I’m an excellent flipper.

Getting a call from my mom at 8:30am to help her figure out how to purl and knowing that she’s knitting with the women at her office!

My day job isn’t the most glamorous nor does it pay the big bucks but these are the things that make it the best job in the world. 

Who knows, the way the weather is shaping up tonight maybe I’ll squeeze just One More Day…  I’ll be sleeping with my pajamas on inside out tonight.  ETA: That pajama thing works every time! Woo hoo! i heart snow!

Thanks for all the wonderful comments on Leaf Lace!  I am so happy you all were patient enough with me and my laziness in finding a button!! But good things come to those who wait I guess.  So now, what’s next for me?

Why Mon Cherie!

This is what happens when you stick someone in a yarn shop all weekend with nothing to knit. She goes back and forth on knit patterns, checks out what’s on all the shelves but comes to her senses and using something from her ever growing stash.

I knitted up a swatch with the gorgeous Cormo Silk Wool I had gotten way back at Rheinback from the great people at Foxfibre.  It seriously is about time that I made something with this gorgeous wool.  I didn’t want to knit just anything, I wanted to knit something that I knew I would wear, that would make buying this lovely soft silk/wool worth it.  At first  I though I would do Jemima by Anna.  A fabulous and simple raglan sweater which is still hot on my knit list. 

Then after seeing Classic Knits I thought, hmm a V-neck would be nice too! Such a great wearable work knit.  So I took out my 5s and went to work on the gauge swatch.  I was getting 21 sts to 4 inches pre-wash which was one stitch off the gauge (22 sts for 4in).  I then gave it a little soak and as suspected the yarn bloomed a bit to 20 sts to 4in.  Sigh, not going to work for the V.  Part of me wanted to go down a needle size but the other (slightly impatient) part knowing there are so many other great knits out there with that gauge decided to do a little hunting.

While at B&N on Friday I also got myself a copy of Vintage Knits which I had been coveting ever seen I saw Jarrett and Demi.  I paged through this fabulous pattern book and one simple yet stylish knit caught my eye… ahhh Cherie. 

Gauge swatch, Check!  (despite the fact that I was using 5s and it asked for 6s, but I digress). 
Color: Dark rust, Hmmm Goood.
Needles: Knit’em if you Got’em (5s and 4s, check!)
Yarn Mojo: Pretty little knit that I adore!

After the leaf lace I find I like the slight boatneck on sweaters and this one has a similar style and I feel it is So Very Wearable.

Sing it with me Stevie, "La la laaa la la la, La la laaa la la la!"