WIP Wednesday: 15 rows forward, 14 rows back

My mother both horrifies and impresses her knitting group when she casually rips out her work when something goes wrong.  She's very adept at fixing errors by tinkling back or other means, but she has no qualms about just frogging away (rip it, rip it) whenever necessary.

Maybe I'm finally taking after her a bit in that respect, because on Monday I didn't feel overwhelmed or unsettled in my decision to undo more than a dozen rows of colorwork in my latest WIP, Mittacles.  When I first cast them on, I was planning on using the yarn I had leftover from Affection-ite, blue and turquoise.  But as the rows went on, it didn't seem like there was enough contrast between the two colors:

You can sort of see the octopus starting to emerge, but without knowing what to look for, it could end up more like a Rorschach test.  And because this is another project destined for my swap partner, I don't want to leave her guessing when she unwraps them.

So after a little contemplation and relatively little anxiety, I backtracked and now I'm a few rows into my second attempt, in which red has replaced the turquoise.  I don't have a progress photo of it, but I'm already much happier with it, because the stitches pop. If I'm going to mess around with DPNs and two different yarns, I want you to be able to see it.

Do you feel traumatized when you have to frog your work, or do you take it in stride?  Leave me a comment, then check out more WIP Wednesday posts at Tami's Amis.

Inspiration Saturday: OctoMitts

I know that usually I end up with a slew of patterns as part of my inspiration posts, but today I just have one pattern that's on my mind: OctoMitts by SpillyJane.

Photo credit: SpillyJane

SpillyJane is known for her adorable colorwork designs.  She's done gnomes, flamingos, cupcakes, and all sort of fruits and vegetables.  There are so many of them I would love to try.  But the pattern for these just happened to be free on Ravelry on Tuesday (now it's available for $6 if you're also feeling 'inspired').  And my spoilee in that long term swap just happens to like sea creatures.  So I think I might need to push my colorwork skills and try to make the fingerless version.

I'm wondering if I have enough of the Winter Night and Kenai left over from Affection-ite to do them.  That wouldn't make them quite as colorful, but still sea-faring.  Or maybe one of the yarns should be Chroma, for slightly psychedelic octopuses?  I have time to decide, I won't attempt to cast on until I've finished my Twist of Death.

Do you do colorwork?  What kinds of projects or designers do you prefer?

Inspiration Saturday: 380 meters of DK

For the long-term swap that I'm in, we often chat in Ravelry, asking questions both general (what's your favorite animal?) and specific but theoretical.  Like, 'What would you like knit for you out of 380 meters of DK yarn?'  Tasked with finding the answer to this query, I did one of the always-dangerous browsing searches on Ravelry patterns.

Here are just a few correct solutions to the equation:

Knitting + DK weight yarn + 0-380 meters =

Hemlock Mitts

By: Gabriella Henry

Photo credit: sweetp

I like the texture of this cable-that-isn't-a-cable, it gives interest to office mitts that look warm but not bulky.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but I most definitely need mitts for my office.  I've never experienced claustrophobia, but earlier this week I feel as though I went through something like it, but instead of panic due to being trapped in a small space, it was panic due to being trapped in a cold space.  So really these are medical mitts.

Super Eyelet Shawl

by Fiona Wright

Photo credit: The Woolly Brew

Breezy is the word that comes to mind with this shawl.  Good for keeping around in the summer when the outside is burning up but the inside could be a bit chilly.  This way you have something for your neck that's pretty without looking like you've got a touch of heat stroke madness and think you are a character from 'Dr Zhivago'.

Lonely Skein

by Diana Rozenshteyn

Photo credit: Diana Rozenshteyn

I just think this looks so pretty, I can't think of anything else to say about it.  Pretty.

McKellar Honey Mitts & Hat

by Carla Pletzer

Photo credit: Amy Vincent Photography

Again, the honeycomb texture looks interesting and insulating without bulk.  Also, I love honey.  Especially when stirred into some plain Greek yogurt for breakfast before walking down to the beach in Kefalonia...but there might be a cumulative effect of the awesomeness of being on a Greek island that the bees can't take credit for.

Oblique Rib Mittlets

by Alana Braedley

Photo credit: Alana Braedley

With the way the rib goes around these mitts, they just look like they would fit really nicely.  Otherwise, they are just the kind of simple knit that makes me wonder about perhaps using a crazy variegated yarn, just because you can.

Smock and Roll

by Susan Ashcroft

Photo credit: stitchnerd

Recently I've been drawn to the look of the long cowls that can be twisted and worn doubled over.  And this one has an interesting stitch to it.

Yoga socks

by Lori Owen

Photo credit: Lori Owen. Stitchy Love Thing 2013

Since going to yoga seems to be my new Wednesday fitness class of choice, it would be nice to have some yoga socks.  They are meant to keep your feet warm while leaving your toes and heels free to grip the floor so you don't slide ungracefully out of your downward dog.  Worth a try!

And of course these are just a few of the patterns I found myself clicking and imagining either knitting for myself or receiving in the swap.  Could I decide what to tell them in the swap thread?  No, not really.  But they know me, so they understand:

Haha Decisive Joanna is Decisive! :D

What would you ask for out of 380 meters of DK in a swap?  For more inspiration, go to Woolen Diversions.

Inspiration Saturday: Shades of Pemberley

I showed you most of my FOs from the Jane Austen swap yesterday, but here's one that I thought deserved its own post.  Inspiration is always an important part of these swaps for me, extracting something from the theme, mixing it in with the likes and dislikes of your spoilee, and applying it to something you can create.

In this case, I took some Kool-Aid, some bare mini-skeins, and more than a dozen quote from Austen works to create a collection of colorways that I called 'Shades of Pemberley' (as in, are they to be thus polluted?).  As always, home dyeing is about tempering your intentions with your results, and just enjoying the colors however they turn out.

So here are the shades of Pemberley:

And here they are a little closer up, followed by their inspirational quotes:

Top row:

From left to right:

1. "My dear Mr. Bennet, you must not expect such girls to have the sense of their father and mother.  When they get to our age, I dare say they will not think about officers any more than we do.  I remember the time when I liked a red coat myself very well - and, indeed, so I do still at my heart; and if a smart young colonel, with five or six thousand a year, should want one of my girls I shall not say nay to him; and I thought Colonel Forster looked very becoming the other night at Sir William's in his regimentals."
2. They had a very fine day for Box Hill; and all the other outward circumstances of arrangement, accomodation, and punctuality, were in favor of a pleasant party.
3. Her father's comfort was amply secured, Mrs. Bates as well as Mrs. Goddard being able to come; and her last pleasing duty, before she left the house, was to pay her respects to them as they sat together after dinner; and while her father was fondly noticing the beauty of her dress, to make the two ladies all the amends in her power, by helping them to large slices of cake and full glasses of wine, for whatever unwilling self-denial his care of their constitution might have obliged them to practise during the meal. - She had provided a plentiful dinner for them; she wished she could know that they had been allowed to eat it.
4. Elinor, this eldest daughter whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment...She had an excellent heart; her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong: but she knew how to govern them...Marianne's abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinor's.  She was sensible and clever, but eager in everything; her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation.  She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was everything but prudent.
5. "Mrs. Bates, let me propose your venturing on one of these eggs.  An egg boiled very soft is not unwholesome.  Serle understands boiling an egg better than any body.  I would not recommend an egg boiled by any body else; but you need not be afraid, they are very small, you see - one of our small eggs will not hurt you.  Miss Bates, let Emma help you to a little bit of tart - a very little bit.  Ours are all apple-tarts.  You need not be afraid of unwholesome preserves here.  I do not advise the custard.  Mrs. Goddard, what say you to half a glass of wine?  A small half-glass, put into a tumbler of water? I do not think it could disagree with you."

Middle row:

From left to right:

1. ...Elizabeth continued her walk alone, crossing field after field at a quick pace, jumping over stiles and springing over puddles with impatient activity, and finding herself at last within view of the house, with weary ankles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise.
2. Mrs. Elton, in all her apparatus of happiness, her large bonnet and her basket, was very ready to lead the way in gathering, accepting, or talking - strawberries, and only strawberries, could now be thought or spoken of.  "The best fruit in England - everybody's favourite - always wholesome. - These the finest beds and finest sorts. - Delightful to gather for one's self - the only way of really enjoying them. - Morning decidedly the best time - never tired - every good sort - hautboy infinitely superior - no comparison - the others hardly eatable - hautboys very scarce - Chili preferred - white wood finest flavour of all - price of strawberries in London - abundance about Bristol - Maple Grove - cultivation - beds when to be renewed - gardeners never to be put out of their way - delicious fruit - only too rich to be eaten much of - inferior to cherries - currants more refreshing - only objection to gathering strawberries the stooping - glaring sun - tired to death - could bear it no longer - must go and sit in the shade."
3. “The Very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrevocably gone.”
4. Emma...then joined Harriet at the interesting counter, - trying, with all the force of her own mind, to convince her that if she wanted plain muslin it was of no use to look at figured; and that a blue ribbon, be it ever so beautiful, would still never match her yellow pattern.  At last it was all settled, even to the destination of the parcel.
5. Catherine's blood ran cold with the horrid suggestions which naturally sprang from these words.  Could it be possible? Could Henry's father - ?  And yet how many were the examples to justify even the blackest suspicions!

Bottom row:

From left to right:

1. The letter, with a direction hardly legible, to "Miss A. E. - ," was evidently the one which he had been folding so hastily.  While supposed to be writing only to Captain Benwick, he had been also addressing her!  On the content of that letter depended all which with world could do for her.  Anything was possible, anything might be defied rather than suspense…sinking into the chair which he had occupied, succeeding to the very spot where he had leaned and written, her eyes devoured the following words:
2. "Will not your mind misgive you when you find yourself in this gloomy chamber - too lofty and extensive for you, with only the feeble rays of a single lamp to take in its size - its walls hung with tapestry exhibiting figures as large as life, and the bed, of dark green stuff or purple velvet, presenting a funereal appearance?  Will not your heart sink within you?"
3. The day was uncommonly lovely.  It was really March; but it was April in its mild air, brisk soft wind, and bright sun, occasionally clouded for a minute; and everything looked so beautiful under the influence of such a sky; the effects of the shadows pursuing each other on the ships and Spithead and the island beyond, with the ever-varying hues of the sea, now at high water, dancing in its glee and dashing against the ramparts with so fine a sound, produced altogether such a combination of charms for Fanny, as made her gradually almost careless of the circumstances under which she felt them.
4. To this nest of comforts Fanny now walked down to try its influence on an agitated, doubting spirit, to see if by looking at Edmund's profile she could catch any of his counsel, or by giving air to her geraniums she might inhale a breeze of mental strength herself.
5. Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim.  Catherine knew all this very well; her great aunt had read her a lecture on the subject only the Christmas before; and yet she lay awake ten minutes on Wednesday night debating between her spotted and her tamboured muslin, and nothing but the shortness of the time prevented her buying a new one for the evening.

For more inspiration, go to Woolen Diversions.

FO Friday: Projects universally acknowledged

It may not seem like it, but I really am cutting back on my swapping in favor of more 'selfish' knits.  Having said that, here are some FOs from a recently completed swap themed around Jane Austen.

First, a pair of fingerless mitts from the first volume of the Jane Austen Knits magazine from Interweave.  I call them Sense & Swapping Mitts:

I love the subtle color shift of the yarn.  The lace pattern isn't the easiest to 'see' while you are knitting, which for a paranoid knitter like me can be troubling, but in the end I was happy with how light and delicate these turned out to be.

And with some of the extra yarn, I used instructions from another volume of Jane Austen Knits to make some matching Dorset buttons:

Once I got the hang of it, making them was really fun.  Is there a more specific verb than 'make' when it comes to buttons?  Haberdashed?  Whatever it is, I'd like to do some more of it, to have buttons that perfect match my knitwear.

Here's another fun verb: decoupage.  I decoupaged the cover of a hardback copy of Sense & Sensibility:

I sourced the scraps of paper from what I cut out while turning the book into a secret hiding place:

With Mod Podge and an Exacto knife, this is relatively easy, if a little tedious, to do.  It does feel a little bit wrong to destroy an Austen novel, but I don't think she would mind for these special circumstances.

Here's what I think I'm most proud of.  I'm calling it the Wibbly Wobbly Cosy Wosy:

It's for my spoilee's Kindle Fire, with a cameo-esque silhouette of the Tenth Doctor.  Colorwork and a made the chart myself.  I'm not a Time Lord, but this made me feel like a Knit Lord.  My calculations and swatching didn't take into account a change in gauge while doing colorwork, though, so it initially ended up a bit bigger than I intended.  My mom lined it with some sweatshirt material, so it's smaller on the inside.  Ironic, yes?

I cast on this morning for my Sochi Socki, and so far so good.  Between those and my cardigan, hopefully I'll be able to show you more FOs in the coming weeks.  For more this week, go to Tami's Amis.

WIP Wednesday: One step (and a few stitches) at a time

This is 'the' week in my marathon training plan.  Yesterday I ran five miles, I just put in ten on the treadmill at the gym, and I'll do another five tomorrow.  And then, oh and then, it's the big 2-0 on Saturday.  That's right, twenty miles.  The long run that's the longest distance until actual race day.  Once I get through that, it's a tapering traipse to the starting line.  I'm trying not to psyche myself out about it, though, because it's only two miles more than I did the other week, so it's really just a matter of time.  I know I'll get it done, I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Unlike running, where you can only ever take one step at a time, in knitting you can be working on several things at the same time.  Okay, so you probably still can't physically knit more than one stitch at a time, but you don't do half a run, start another, then hop back onto the first trail again.  Whereas this week I did a little jumping around between projects.

My Fruit Loopy Shawl is tantalizingly close to completion.  I just have one more section of gussets before I finish up.  I would probably have cast it off by now if I hadn't decided to cast something else on over the weekend.  It was a super-quick knit, so I actually just have to add buttons and some i-cords.  I'm hoping that I might get that done in time for Friday, so I'll optimistically save it for a possible FO post and keep you in suspense.

Part of the reason I started a whole new project was because I just wanted to be doing something other than the gussets that I feel like I've been making for so long now.  And that something wasn't seaming my cardigan.  I know, I'm so picky.  The other reason is that I've joined another swap.  This one has a longer timeframe and will involve several handmades.  And I always feel a little antsy about a swap until I have at least one concrete idea.  So I was perusing my spoilee's favorite patterns and found one that intrigued me.  Once the idea was there, I had to search my stash for a yarn to try it out.  And to further build the suspense, I'm really pleased with it.

Do you ever just feel the need to cast on something new before you finish a WIP?  Or are you strictly monogamous when it comes to knitting?

More WIP Wednesday posts at Tami's Amis.

WIP Wednesday: Practically perfect in…some ways

Happy 2014 everyone!  Did you pop champagne bottles?  Set off fireworks?  Watch Carson Daly and think, 'Wow, I'm old, and I wish this was TRL'?

I celebrated the new year with some friends in an all-day knitting, eating, and chatting session.  It was good times.  We had fruit, veggies, chips, dip, and for dinner we did baked potatoes with all of the fixings.  And, of course, I baked something for dessert.  Stay tuned for that recipe coming soon.

It's always nice to be able to spend some quality time with fellow crafters.  Especially when you're facing some frustrations with your WIPs.  Because as sympathetic as non-knitters may be, they just don't understand what it's like to be a few rows away from finishing a shawl, only to discover that you need to rip it back to the halfway point.

Ouch.

Yes, unfortunately my Fruit Loopy Shawl has suffered a setback.  I was finishing up the final section, all of the gussets behind me, when I decided to check and make sure that the end was shaping up symmetrically to the beginning.  It wasn't.  After doing some digging in others' project pages and the comments, I discovered that the Coquille Shawl pattern has an erratum.  Well, it's an erratum if you were expecting it to come out symmetrically, which I was.  Basically, the shawl is constructed with short row 'gussets' that turn out kind of like ruffles (here's a picture from when I first started):

For the first half of the shawl, you are also added stitches on the rows between the gussets.  Then for the second half, you are decreasing at the same rate.  The problem is that the pattern has you including these increases for the center gusset section.  When you do that, you end up with four more stitches then you should have.  So your second half ends up being a fatter wedge than the first, and when you are working the final section to get back down to three stitches to cast off, you have to work several additional rows, resulting in a longer length from final gusset to tip than you have from cast on to first gusset.

Would the shawl still have been fully-functional and 'fine' had I just accepted this asymmetry?  Yes.  But it would have irked me, and taken away from the happy feelings I wanted to have every time I looked at this colorful shawl.  It didn't need to be perfect, but this was too much.  So I bit the bullet and ripped back to the halfway point so that I could reknit the center gusset sans increases.

What adds insult to injury is the sneaking suspicion I have that if it weren't for the extra four stitches across the entire second half of the shawl, I might not have needed to buy extra yarn, and this shawl could have been done not just in 2013 but at least a month ago.  Grr.  But I'm taking deep breaths and letting it pass.  This way, I know I have plenty of yarn, and I've gone ahead and done the two gussets on either side of the center that I eliminated the first time around in order to try and conserve yardage.

Just so you don't think I'm a crazy perfectionist, I have another project that I'm nearly done with which had it's own unexpected results.  And this time I didn't respond to it by redoing the whole thing.  It's for the Jane Austen swap, so I can't give you too many details.  But suffice to say, it involved some colorwork and for some reason my gauge between a swatch of just plain knitting and the actual knitting with the colorwork was different.  The image I was aiming for in the colorwork is fine, but the item itself is a bit larger than I was hoping.

Thankfully, I have my mother, who has a lot of experience with knitting fixes.  She picked up the stitches on the shawl for me, and she's helping me reconcile the dimension issues for this project.  Then I just have to quell the voices in my head that start to pipe up anytime something turns out even mildly disappointing.  I know that in the end it's still going to be amazing, and that my spoilee will love it.  At least I hope she will.  I think it's a good sign that I'm still really excited to be able to show it to you all.

So my 2014 crafting didn't necessarily start off on the best foot, but I think the bright side is that I faced them all with relative calm and without any tears of frustration.  After all, it's not about the problems you face, you can't control those.  It's about how you face them.

Before I turn into a Hallmark card, I'll send you on to Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesday posts.

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap: Poppy Seed-Filled Cookies

Huzzah!  The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap has commenced!  And it was delicious!

As I was preparing my three boxes of a dozen cookies, I thought I should add something to reflect my knitterly side as well as my bakerly side.  So I whipped up these Cookie Swap Badges with safety pin backs:

They were pretty quick, being so small, but it did require figuring out how to sew a French knot.  After a few frustrating tries, I finally figured it out.  And though I hope that all of my cookies made it to their destinations uncrumbled, at least I know that these were safe.

My fellow bloggers did very well with their packaging, crumble-wise.  I received yummies from Ashley from Memoirs From My Kitchen and Kimberly from Kimberly's Treats.  I'm still waiting on a mysterious third dozen, but I'm spoilt for choice each night as I decide between dessert options as it is.

I sent cookies to three fabulous food bloggers you should check out: Catherine at The Cat Dish, Alison at Heart of Gold, and Jen at What Jen Does.

As I hinted on Saturday, I took my inspiration for my own cookies from a favorite Czech treat of mine: poppy seed kolaches.  I've been lucky enough to have them in Prague, but there's also enough of a Czech immigrant population here in Texas that kolaches are a not entirely uncommon baked good.  Which is why I hoped that this flavor profile would be the perfect mix of being personal and interesting,  without being too out there.  And since these are special cookies, I decided to give them a special photo shoot with some other Czech favorites.

They take a little bit of love, bringing the dough together, rolling it, cutting it, filling it, crimping it, and baking it.  But that's what the holidays are all about, right?  I had so much fun scheming, baking, and receiving in this truly great swap.  If you want to get a heads up for next year's event, you can sign up here.  And many thanks to our lovely hosts Love & Olive Oil and The Little Kitchen.

Poppy Seed-Filled Cookies
Makes at least 6 dozen

Adapted from Taste of Home: Raisin-Filled Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 12.5 oz can prepared poppy seed filling
• Additional poppy seeds for sprinkling (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together the sugars and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. 
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk (Note: I used a powdered buttermilk as directed). Cover and refrigerate until easy to handle.
3. Preheat oven to 350°.
4. On a floured surface, roll out dough into 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 3" round cookie cutters. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of poppy seed filling on each of the rounds, near the center but not quite. Using water, milk, or an egg wash, wet the edges of the round and fold in half, creating a half-moon dumpling.  Crimp edges together with a fork, and cut a small slit in the top. Using more of whatever wash you used for the edges, wet the top of the 'dumpling' and sprinkle additional poppy seeds on top.
5. Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

FO Friday: Cuddly Cowlgirl

This is me finally making good on my promise to show you the cowl I made for a recent swap.  I showed you the wonderful cowl I received a few weeks ago:

Well, this is what I sent off:

I call it the Cuddly Cowlgirl.  It's the Bandana Cowl, a popular free pattern on Ravelry.  It's a very quick but interesting knit, working from the bottom tip of the triangle up.  I would definitely like to make it again for myself.  For my swap partner, I made it in a natural brown and cream alpaca, so it's super soft.  I like that the fabric it made is also relatively loose, so it drapes and even though it's warm, it doesn't end up too hot.

For flair, I added a tassel and cowboy hat charm on the end.  Just to make sure everyone would know that someone from Texas made it, ya'll.  Here's a close-up of the tassel and charm:

I really enjoyed this project, and I'm hoping that the owner is just as pleased.  I know she enjoyed the Gingerbread Pancake Mix from Kerbey Lane Cafe I also sent, which you may remember as the scene of many of my WIP Wednesdays.

For more FOs this Friday, go to Tami's Amis.

Inspiration Saturday: Cowl Swap Grand Opening

I feel like I haven't been able to really dedicate the kind of consideration I usually do to my blog posts since NaNoWriMo started, sorry about that.  Somehow I've managed to fit in writing 1,667 words into each day while still working, knitting, and running, but my blogging has become somewhat rudimentary.  I'm still thinking of you all though and trying to share what I can.

I need to show you some goodies from a fiber festival last week, but that will involve some photo loading and entering stash into Ravelry first, so instead I want to show you what I was allowed to finally open after running my ten miles this morning: my cowl swap package!  I mentioned it a couple of times in my WIP Wednesday posts (here and here, for instance), it was a very basic swap, to include a cowl and some nominal extra goodies.

I'll save what I sent off myself for an FO Friday post, but here is what I was the lucky recipient of.  First, the cowl itself:

And then, the British candies my spoiler also sent me, including some local specialties:

Isn't the cowl lacy and gorgeous?  The poor thing had to endure a trans-Atlantic mailing journey, so forgive it's slight rumpledness.  And forgive my own slight rumpledness in this photo of me wearing it, I was fresh from my post-run shower and just so excited to try it on and show it off:

The pattern is Glimpse Maxi Cowl by Jane Sowerby, it was published in Issue 38 of The Knitter.  It's a delicate lace weight that I think is going to be perfect for the holiday season, especially with the red yarn having a bit of sparkle to it.  It adds a lovely touch without a lot of bulk, and drapes nicely over the shoulders.

It's always so much fun both to give and to receive in these swaps, even if I am going to have to admit to people when they compliment me on this that no, I didn't knit it myself.

Alright, I hope I have inspired you enough.  Although, even if I have, you should still go to Woolen Diversions for more.

Inspiration Saturday: Even more ado

Last night I snuck a post in about going to see the new 'Much Ado About Nothing' directed by Joss Whedon, and I'm still in a Bard-ly mood.  So I took a stroll down project memory lane.

First, in my own projects.  I participated in a Shakespeare swap last year, where my spoilee's favorite play was 'Macbeth', and she particularly loved Lady Macbeth.  Well, who doesn't, really?  So I tried to pick out some of her quotes in my crafting, like this owl cowl, for 'I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. Did not you speak?':

See the owls around the neck?  This was my first time doing beading:

I really want to do more things with that owl pattern, it is so cute.

Of course, you can't reference Lady Macbeth without the damn'd spot that won't come out.  I used Kool-Aid to dye some yarn rather than kill a king:

Okay, onto some other, less bloody, things from Stratford.  I also received a wonderful swap package myself, if you're on Ravelry you can see the post about it.  Part of my spoilage was a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy in Ruby River:

I already have a project all queued up for it, funnily enough inspired by another literary genius, Jane Austen.  I want to make the Rose Garden shawl from the Summer 2012 issue of Jane Austen Knits.

And having inspired myself to want to knit that now, I must get back to my spinning.  One week of Tour de Fleece down and I haven't crashed yet!  For more inspiration, go to Woolen Diversions.

FO Friday: Joss Whedon said, 'Create,' so I did

Thank you, Canada Post, for not leaving me in suspense for too long before delivering my Joss Whedon swap package to my spoilee.  Now I can share some finished projects with everyone and prove that I really have been knitting for the past few months.

I'll start with my first main handmade.  It was inspired by Topher Brink from 'Dollhouse'.  That juice-box-loving genius was also a fan of sweater vests, and with my spoilee being a tea-drinker, I thought that her teapot could use a cosy.

I've called the project Sociopath in a Sweater Vest based on another character's description of Topher, not as a remark on the model you see in these pictures, a wooden duck figurine.  Remember, I mentioned this in a WIP post?  I didn't have a teapot readily available for photos, so I dressed up the duck.  I loved making this, it was like a small scale trial for garment knitting, color switching, and cables.  And it's just so cute!

Having finished the cosy, I decided to be ambitious and tackle a shawl as my second knit.  That had me knitting right up until a few days before the deadline, with just enough time after casting off to block and dry and pack.

I'm pleased with the way it turned out, though.  I was worried about the colors, using Knit Picks' Imagination in Pirate King, being too varied and hiding the lace work at the edge, but I think it works, and the color changes are so short you don't get any weird pooling in the stockinette body.  The pattern is Out of Gas (free!), so it was always meant to be 'Firefly'-related, but I have called this A Beating Heart Shawl just to connect it more to one of my spoiler's favorite characters, Jubal Early, who admired the engine as the beating heart of the ship.

Back to 'Dollhouse', everyone knows that when three flowers are in a vase, it's dangerous for that third one to be green.  But when it's yellow, that's okay.  So I also made a tape measure cover, just for good measure...pun intended.

This Third Flower in the Vase was a quick knit from one of Nicky Epstein's patterns of knitted flowers, with a little crocheted backing courtesy of my mom.  I also knit a small flower on the end.  This was really fun, I think I'm going to have to make more of these in the future.

So there you have it, two months' worth of crafting in one blog post.  And that's not including the Jayne hat project bag my mom sewed for me, or the cocoa candied pecans I baked based on the Sugar and Spice Nuts.

For even more FOs, go to Tami's Amis.

4KCBWDAY6: Thank Bob

Saturday may be the weekend, but it's still serious business.  I cast off, washed, and blocked the final handmade for my Joss Whedon swap.  In between the washing and the blocking, my mom and I went out and found ourselves some comfortable but stylish shoes at a great price, then indulged in some delicious frozen yogurt and scoured Half Price Books.

All the while, I was trying to think of what tool of my crafting trade I should extol the virtues of for this sixth post of the week.  I have a gorgeous Turkish drop spindle from Jeri Brock that constantly inspires me to improve my spinning to match the worthiness of the tool.  I'm also proud of my DIY noddy noddy, but I'll have to save that mini-tutorial for its own post.  Then again, I also love my polymer clay cupcake stitch markers, which never fail to put a smile on my face every time, even in the most boring/frustrating/never-ending row.  And knitting life really is so different after you get a swift and ball winder and stop having to coordinate winding time with Mom.

But when it comes right down to it, I think that Ravelry is far and away the most important tool in my crafting.  I don't doubt that if it wasn't for that site, I would probably not be knitting today.  And not just because of the ease with which it allows me to look up a yarn and figure out what to knit with it (as I stand in front of the shelves of the LYS, pecking at my iPhone).  Though that is certainly a factor.

I may have started with my college's Stitch 'n Bitch group, but having graduated and returned home many states away, that would have left my mom as the only other knitter I knew.  With Ravelry, there are literally millions.  Several of whom I feel as though I know very well.  And when something goes hideously, hideously wrong with a lace pattern, or even if something in 'real' life goes awry, I have them to turn to to keep me going.  And if it wasn't for swaps, I probably wouldn't have had the motivation to try so many new patterns and projects, and to make sure to get them done in time for shipping.  Manatees aren't really known for their speed, you know.

Unfortunately, you all know about Ravelry already, so I'm not giving you any new insights.  I can recommend trying a swap if you haven't already.  You'll just want to make sure it's well-run, that moderators will make sure that everyone gets a package in case of a flaker who doesn't hold up their end of the swap.  Other than that, there are swaps for all kinds of crafters, in a variety of themes and spanning a range of budgets.

I'm hoping to utilize more of Ravelry's features myself to make it an even more helpful tool, by getting my stash fully logged.  And one day Casey will figure out how to connect my library with my mom's, because right now we share our shelves, but she's the only one entering the books as they come into the house.  Like the stack we got at Half Price today...

Now that I've fulfilled my post for the day, I'm ready to start browsing other posts for great tool advice. For more posts, use the tag '4KCBWDAY6' in the search engine of your choice.  As always, our host Eskimi is a great place to start.

4KCBWDAY2: Mana-squee

Today, Eskimi has challenged us to post about a mascot project for our chosen house.  This might be cheating a bit, but the first thing that came to my mind was not a project I made myself, but one I received in a swap.

In my early days of Odd Ducks swapping, I participated in a Bento-themed swap.  This was after my first trip to Tokyo, and just before I started my current job, so a swap theme that mixed food, Japan, and bringing lunches was perfect.  And just like the theme, my package was perfect.  Amongst other awesomeness was this little guy, swimming in a sea of Malabrigo:

Isn't he cute?  He just about fits in the palm of my hand.  He's crocheted rather than knit, so I don't currently have the skill to make him myself, but one day I do aspire to wield a hook beyond a lacy edge for a shawl.  That's one of the things I love about swaps: it's a chance to get some handmades that aren't in your own wheelhouse.  And there's nothing like the feeling of unwrapping a swap box and finding something that shows that your spoiler read your posts and thought about making something just for you.  Because not everyone in that swap would have squeed in delight over getting a sea cow.  But I sure did.

Go team Manatee!

For more posts, use the tag '4KCBWDAY2' in the search engine of your choice.  Why not start with our wonderful host, Eskimi?