The only prescription is MOAR CAST ONS.

I really did love being in school and the whole academic environment. These days, when I find myself falling into the unavoidable winter slump and feeling like I'm not doing enough and that I need to be living (?) more, I find myself missing learning. I realize this sounds pretty lame, because life as a whole should be a learning process, but it's just not the same (for me) anymore.

This is part of the reason I love working at a knitting store. I'm pretty much expected to be a knitting "guru" and should be able to answer most questions about most different kinds of knitting, whether I have done it before or not. I still haven't gotten past the cuff of a sock, but I've turned a heel. I have never done set-in sleeves...but I have. I was borderline scared of mattress stitch, but when a customer asked me to seam for her, I just did it. And it was great practice.

I am blessed in the fact that I am so passionate about a hobby that always teaches me. In the past two weeks I have "taught myself" how to seam, duplicate stitch, work set-in sleeves, etc. All for work. All for this part-time job that some of my careered friends look down upon. Forget about the haters; do what you love and what fulfills you.

Anyway, there's my rant. Now I just need to overcome the crippling fear of steaks (oh god, why?) and all will be good. I've been in a weird place lately and since casting on for new projects makes me happy, I have cast on for too many new things and stripes seem to be the theme of the week my life

My dormant Cladonia. Which I have touched maybe three times since I moved here.

I started a Delancey cardigan after lusting after one for a long, long time. Doing this as a KAL with The Sweatshop of Love group on Ravelry. I LOVE THIS COLOR COMBINATION. Even better? I scored the last of the Cascade 220 at Rosies...making my sweater super cheap. I will probably spend more money on the buttons because ohmygod I love buttons.

Fletcher Mittens by Amy Swenson, who just happens to be from my hometown. Which I need to just suck up and finish. The thumb that is finished looks like it has a toe attached to it, so I have one thumb to knit, one thumb to fix and two cuffs to pick up and knit. Why don't I just do it? Same reason I don't knit the lace section of my Cladonia: it's not neeeeew.

Another recent cast on...as in yesterday. This is my first time using O-Wool Balance and I love the colors. Aiming for some gradually changing stripes. I guess I had Valentines day on the brain when I selected these. Did I mention how that corally color is driving me CRAZY these days? This is going to be another cowl because I'm trying to figure out just how many neck things one person needs. 

Another shawl. This one is in Fibre Company's Terra in "Belladonna," which I love love love. It reminds me of the "Stephen Loves Tosh" coloway from the Stephen West shawl club...except I like this one better. And it's less ~exclusive~.

And that's that. I still have a few more that didn't get to be photographed (like my mohair/silk concoction from last week), but that's probably enough for now. Started planning crazy KALs with Andrea from work, but we are going to be strong and finish things before we even dare. Did I mention we are going to turn Rosie's into a hobbit hole/fairy wonderland? Shh...you didn't hear it from me. 

Happy knitting!

-Ashley

P.S. I miss my kitty babies. Buy me a kitten...

P.P.S. I still haven't started Matt's Valentine. Oh god why?

This week's palette & knitting tattoos

I call this "the heap of knitting hope" or something along those lines. This week has been slo-ow in terms of knitting related nonsense and tomfoolery and pretty ridiculous in terms of all other things. There have been a lot of work hours and quarreling and running (oh my!) and lazy sloth-like behaviors. I find that when I run more and more, I get so tired and don't even want to knit. Say what? Yeah, I said it. But, yes. That is my heap of hope. This week I find myself drawn more and more to grays and blues above all others. I'll sum it up to the weather and the hopes that I will (someday) soon see some body of water. I'm looking at you, Pacific Ocean.

Spring Beret in Debbie Bliss Amalfi

Things have been pretty slow at the shop since I got back from Christmas break, and earlier in the week I went through and made a list of our underperforming yarns. Once that was done, I set about the task of selecting a pattern per yarn and making little "sample to-knit" lists. For Debbie Bliss' Amalfi, a blend of cotton, viscose, linen and silk, I decided on revisiting an old favorite of mine: The Spring Beret by Natalie Larson. I haven't knit with many cottons before and though I have made this beret twice before, I have never used a higher-end cotton. These knits were back in the day, when I bought all of my yarns at Jo-Ann and didn't even know what linen was. 

Now, the pattern calls for a worsted weight, so I've had to make a few modifications to this pattern. I decided to knit the slouchier pattern, as I have done in the past, but I'm knitting the whole thing on size 6 needles. It's ending up kind of awkward slouch, but I'm confident that after a good blocking all will be well and the pattern will really stand out nicely. As for the yarn, well, I'm not so sure how I feel just yet...

Wee Heap of Koigu

This wee heap was meant to be a Father and Son tie for Matt, but now I'm rethinking it. While my boyfriend has some Joseph Gordon-Levitt characteristics, I'm just not too sure how well he can rock the skinny, tragically-hip tie. Matt is a skinny lad and skinny ties...well, they look a little awkward on him. Plus when I think about skinny ties, it leads to thoughts of sweater vests and how good they look together. Since I already owe Matt a sweater to go with his Ranger sleeves, I am not in the market to be knitting him sweater vests. After talking with Andrea at work today, I decided I might try and finagle a chevron tie out of these three colors. I wanted to use the gray as the main color and alternate stripes, but we only have one ball of gray in stock at the shop, meaning it's "make it work" time. I do love this color combination. 

Heritage Silk and Angel 

The gray in this photo is Cascade Heritage Silk (charcoal) and I had originally bought it to use for Matt's hipster tie, but then I kind of fell in love with it after seeing this scarf, which is just garter stitch on larger needles, but is so simple and beautiful. I've been in love with this plum Debbie Bliss Angel (color 17) since I started working at Rosie's and decided that it was time to take the plunge. I plan on knitting both yarns together (maybe on size 6-7 needles) and just doing an oversize garter stitch cowl. This is my first time using mohair, and, though I am a bit apprehensive, I'm hoping the color combination will cancel out any qualms I may have.

Since I keep jumping ship with many of the WIPs I have going, I have so many FOs looming on the horizon, but I just need to get things reigned in a bit before I finally have anything to share. I'm working on a wonderfully luscious everyday shawl in Terra by Fibre Company (yum), so I'm hoping to have that finished by weekend's end. It's perfect for lazy evenings and weekends when all I want to do is stare at Ryan Gosling's face and overdose on girly movies.

This whole "hey girl" meme makes me way too happy

Oh, and I decided on my first tattoo. At long last. Now I just need to find the right venue and get it done. My goal is to have it by my birthday, so hopefully I can stick to my guns and not wuss out this time. Of course it is knitting-related. And literary...kind of.

"Knitting is the Saving of Life"

I've never been a fan of color tattoos (why? I'm not sure), so I'm undecided as to whether mine will be colored in or just shaded. The quote is from Virginia Woolf, a lovely writer and self-declared "Mad Woman," a lady I happened to fall in love with during my final year of college. Colors could be lovely and if I do decide to use them, I would opt for various shades of colors of life. You know, greens, blues and yellows. However, I do love the black to soft gray that I was able to create with my pen shading. Because I have no markers here. Either way, I am really excited about this idea and it is the first tattoo idea of mine that I have felt truly passionate about getting. I'm planning on right forearm, just below my elbow, because when I first learned to knit I was a thrower. Now I pick, which is supposed to be better, but still manages to sound a little grosser.

Happy knitting!

-Ashley

First World Problems aka Need MOAR Fibre Co.

Is it really that difficult to find a good mitten/fingerless mitten pattern for a skein of Koigu or two? I have spent hours scouring the deepest trenches of Ravelry and have come up with *nothing* that can please me. When did I become so picky??

Even though I am in dire need of mittens, I decided that two+ hours on Ravelry searching for the perfect pair was just a wee bit too much. So I cast on for another hat. Because I really need one more. Really. No, I'm just kidding. Just check out my Ravelry page (though I have donated a lot of them to my local Caps for Cancer chapter) and become both shocked and appalled at just how many hats I have knit these past few years.

The hat in question: Hineri by Olga Buraya-Kefelian

Since I never dedicated a full blog post to my knitting resolutions for 2012, you dear blog readers have no idea what my plans are for the new year. The full-blown hat obsession is what inspired my 2011 resolution and since that was a big fat failure (knit something new every month), I decided to loosen the chains a little. This year I am going to focus on trying out as many new yarns as I can and writing reviews as I use them. I'd also like to focus more on designing, but that's a whole 'nother story. I figure this way I can knit whatever I'd like and also widen my scope a bit...and stop stockpiling Madelinetosh.

While I had heard of the Fibre Company yarns before I started working at Rosie's (we stocked Terra at Wool & Co.), I had never really seen them around the Chicagoland area. Fibre Co. specializes in yummy, yummy blends and because of this I had written them off as, "oh boy. I cannot afford this stuff! Moving on..." and had left it at that. While most of their yarns are pricey (and understandably so), I realized that the world won't end if I treat myself to a skein of something or other. While I might never be able to afford to make a sweater out of Road to China, that doesn't mean I can't make myself an ultra luxe cowl out of it.

We got Fibre Company's newest yarn, Acadia, in the shop a week or so before I headed home for the holidays. As per usual, the fiber content was so luscious that I fondled the skeins a bit too aggressively as I put them on the shelf. So many beautiful colors and I couldn't help but separate them into the "perfect" color pairings.

Blackberry and Amber...driving me wild!

Rosie's currently stocks 10 of the 17 available colorways and each one is as yummy as the next. Acadia is a 2-ply blend of 60% Merino Wool, 20% Baby Alpaca and 20% silk. Those little nubby tweeds are similar to the ones found in Terra and are created by the silk noil. While this is the first Fibre Co. yarn I have used, I think it might just be my favorite to look at (and feel).

Moar yarns

This past Wednesday, I knew that I could resist the call no longer. While the Amber and Blackberry combination makes me swoon, I decided that I would rework the Dalloway Cloche in one of these luscious colors. Douglas Fir (far left) was jumping out to me, but then I remembered just how much I loved Pete's Habitat hat after I finished it, so I knew it would have to be Asparagus, the "springy" green in the center. I wound up my first skein, hunkered down and finished the puckered edge that same afternoon. 

Dalloway in Asparagus

Distractions never felt so good. This yarn is sinfully soft on the hands as you work with it. As I think back to the days before I fell victim to yarn snobbery, which is both a blessing and a curse (for my wallet), I wonder how I ever knit with anything else. I find myself having more and more #firstworldproblems day after day and the case of "when can I get more Acadia?" is just the most recent. 

No joke. 

In all seriousness, this yarn is wonderful. And I can't wait to use it again, perhaps next time for something more substantial. You shouldn't be afraid to indulge every once in awhile...except don't do it too much or you will end up #firstworldproblem-ing far too much. Oh god, it's a verb now.

Happy Heap

And with the third clue for my TTL mystery sock KAL being published tomorrow, I have to get on it. As it grows more and more beautiful, my production slows to an ever increasing halt. Bah! 

Happy Knitting!

-Ashley

To the Future...Week One WIPs and ideas

I remember when I used to be a reader and a writer above all things. The two go hand in hand, methinks, and I felt the most passionate about what I wrote when I was reading nonstop. Those days have come and gone and I find myself feeling like I should be writing moreso than I want to write.

Knitting and designing have kind of filled the void that writing and reading used to fill. I feel like I spent the first half/three quarters of my life with my nose buried in a book, and, while I miss that, I feel more fulfilled now. I've always been scared of showing off any writing I may have produced, but with knitting it's the complete opposite. When I finished knitting something, whether it be my own design or somebody else's, I can't wait to show it off. I find joy in accepting a compliment on the street and responding with, "thanks so much. I made it!" Knitting has afforded the opportunity to create, in the way writing did, but it has also given me a surge of confidence that I never knew I had before. I still don't think I have what it takes to ever earn a living from it, but I'm going to have fun trying in the meantime.

Manos del Uruguay Rittenhouse 5-Ply

The past few days I have been suffering from a crazy case of knitting ADD. I spent almost three weeks back home for the holidays and upon coming back to Rosie's, there were so many new things to be seen. And since then I've been looking at new color combinations that I'd never noticed before and seeing the possibilities that they offer. As I mentioned before, my boss is the US distributor for Manos del Uruguay, meaning we have access to most Manos yarns at any given time. Rittenhouse was fully stocked when I got back earlier this week and I fell in love with the combination of English (the sagey green) and Magenta. I threw in Nickel and sketched out an idea for a very textured, tricolor cowl.

Quince & Co. Chickadee

I think that color will be a HUGE inspiration for me this year in terms of my designing, as well as trying new yarns and fibers. I have finally fallen in love with the gray and yellow combination and when you add blue to that mix? Holy bananas. I decided to finally take the plunge and order some Quince & Co. yarns after lusting after them since they opened for business. Pretty sure. The colors are so rich and the yarn is just...so nice to the touch. I have the feeling I am going to end up ordering more. These four colors will be used for a hat I've planned out. I really can't wait to get started on this one.

Noro Silk Garden

I've been working with these two colors (252 & 349) of Silk Garden for awhile now. My initial plan for them was to design a fringed stripe/chevron shawl, but that ended up turning out to be fuuuuugly. I spent Christmas Eve frogging the whole damn thing (took me HOURS) and recast on for a multidirectional, fringed chevron cowl. I guess you can't have it all? I am really excited for this to be done, but it has been taking me a little longer than I had anticipated. Impatient Ashley is impatient.

So while I love that all this creativity is finally pouring out of me again, I can't help but hate it at the same time. The feeling of needing more hours in the day (and I only work part-time right now) is overwhelming, especially when you are trying to stick to a 2-3 mile a day plan as well.

Through the Loops Mystery Sock KAL 2012

My WIPs for today (and this weekend) include the first clue in Kirsten Kapur's TTL Mystery Sock KAL 2012. I am absolutely in love right now. Two of my best yarnie friends were going to do a KAL and, while I love Kirsten Kapur and her designs, I wasn't too interested in knitting any socks. If you will remember my Socktober socks, you will (not) be shocked to read that they have not been touched since mid-October. That was before I decided to spoil myself and take a peek at the WIPs from the first week. That cuff sold me and I bought the pattern that very afternoon. I'm even using stash (!!!) yarn (Dream in Color Smooshy in "Strange Harvest") and I love it too. I'm knitting both socks at the same time, which is very fiddly and tedious, but I know I will thank myself in the end. Because this time there will be an end. Muahahahahahahahah. And I will definitely use this yarn again.

Hineri hat

When I packed for winter in Philly, I did not anticipate just how windy the city can be. I packed my Capucine, which is my favorite hat knit out of the beautifully luxurious Elsebeth Lavold Angora, but it doesn't stay on my head all that well. One of the pleasant surprises I faced when returning to Rosie's was a wall full of Rowan Cocoon, which I used for my Bandana cowl a few months back. I dug into the far reaches of my Ravelry Queue and found the Hineri hat by Olga, the perfect one skein project for one of my new favorites. It works up super quickly and would not be surprised in the least if I finish it by the time Matt comes home from work. I just hope it's long enough to cover my ears; nothing is worse than cold ears.

As my beloved day off comes to a close, I should conclude that my other weekend goals are to run 4 miles and (finally) start reading The Woman in Black so that I can finish it before the movie is released.

Happy knitting! And sorry for the hipster instagrams :p

P.S. I lobbed off all my hair. And today I like it (most days I don't).

Let's Talk About Socks (baby?)

As you may recall, I started out the year with goals. Real, silly, and optimistic goals that I kind of managed to stick to for the first month (and third and kinda fourth). I really wanted to spend 2011 breaking out of the spell that knit hats seemed to have cast upon me and knit new things. My FO count has dwindled as each month has passed (excuse me for walking and designing and being silly), but I have tried new things. This year has seen shawls, shrugs, a pullover, 1.5 cardigans (I still hate you, February goal), fingerless mitts...and a few hats.

But the one goal that should have been accomplished in May (and then August) brings me to this very post: the sock.

I'm not scared of socks, but it would be a lie to say that they don't intimidate me. I've heard about second sock syndrome from countless people and I can share their pain. Remember the 6ish single gloves/mittens I have lying around? Yeah, remember these guys (and their lost little friends)?

So, yeah. SSS. I am a little intimidated. But I will survive! And celebrate my first Socktoberfest!

The yarn I've elected to use is  Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Rustic Wedding," the Jimmy Beans Wool exclusive color for September. If you know me, then you know that I love me some Lorna's Laces and some Jimmy Beans. Every month I look so forward to the JBW exclusive color, and while I have bought quite a few (oh man. Harry Potter madness), I decided that Rustic Wedding is the perfect, perfect first sock color. A couple of my crafty ladies were supposed to buy it too *cough, cough*, but they decided to be responsible. Boo. Hiss.

The colors in "Rustic Wedding" are nothing that I usually go for, but the combination was just too beautiful to not buy. As it is a variegated yarn, my sock options are a little limited in terms of what I usually go for (cables, lace, etc.). But there are some crazy beautiful sock patterns out there that were just  *made* for variegated yarns.

Like Monkeys. As you can see, October has not necessarily yielded me a bountiful, socky harvest. While I have knit a few more repeats since that photo was taken (this post has been sitting in Knit Blog Limbo for far too long), I still kind of suck at this goal thing. I selected Monkeys as my first sock because the pattern is interesting and simple without being boring. I like to challenge myself and I didn't want to do plain vanilla stockinette socks. Monkeys have managed to keep me entertained and make me think, but I'm still able to throw them in my purse (carefully) and lug them around the city with me.

And the colors...oh my. I love Rustic Wedding even more now that I've started knitting with it. On my size 1 DPNS (oh god, whyyyyyyy?). Maybe I will be able to finish one before November 1, but my hands have run away from me and picked up too many other projects. Too. Much. Knitting.

Did I mention that Christmas is only two months away? Maybe my second Monkey will have to wait...

*smacks self in face*

Happy Knitting!

-Ashley

Winning (at Frogging)

On Tuesday, I was here:

My Levenwick was coming along at the speed of light! As much as I hate to admit it, my bust is about a 39" (blah), so I cast on for the large size to allow myself about an inch of positive ease, which was recommended. When I was finally able to put it on and pull it shut, I realized, "oh crap! This thing is HUGE." I mean, the yoke was halfway to my elbows and the larger half of the front almost reached my armpit. I debated just keeping it as it was and pressing on. I'd come so far!

But I couldn't do it. This week has been so hard: my best friend moved 800 miles away, I've felt down about myself and the life that I'm leading, and then I discovered that my sweater is waaaaaay too big. So on Tuesday, I ripped back to the collar (tore out maybe 1.5 skeins of Cascade 220) and started fresh. It definitely hurt. After comparing the two photos I definitely don't regret my decision.

Check out more of my notes on Levenwick on my Ravelry.







(this week has probably still been one of the worst of my life thus far)

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Matt is being transferred to Philly on Monday. While I appreciate the five days notice that he was given (*snark, snark snark*), this does mean two things:

1. I guess I will be resuming his going away/Angstmas/Valentines day Urban Aran Cardigan. I haven't worked on it since February, but since the original purpose was for it to be a going away present, I guess I should try to have it ready before winter. Philly gets cold :(

2. I guess it's time to empty out his travel bag.

Blah. I hate this.

Blue on the brain (and I must be insane)

I find myself buying more and more colors I used to stay away from. Take blue, for instance, which seems to have invaded my life lately. Either that or I am becoming more and more like my crazy boss lady ;)

Cool colors

I guess I should also mention that I have WIP fever and have cast on for three new projects this week. Because, yeah know, you can never have too many WIPs.

I kid! I kid! But I have so many design ideas and very little time to get to work. I figure it's better to cast on and see how it goes. Now, what's buried in that pile?

The never-progressing Rock Island

July's Orchid Thief KAL

Novella Shrug (in tosh dk!)

WIP hat design in Malabrigo

Design WIP in Lorna's Laces

Oh, and P.S...I wound my Solemate :)

He Who Must Not Be Named//Lorna's Laces Solemate

What are your go-to colors for this season? As much as I am enjoying this weather, I almost can't wait until Fall and all those fabulous warm colors. Each year it's like coming home.

Happy Knitting!

Naughty girl - WIPs, Quince & Co. and new MadTosh

I've been a very naughty girl.

As you knitters know, there are few things as exciting as starting a new project...even when you already have multiple things on the needles as is.

On Monday night (or maybe Sunday), I cast on for Camilla by Carrie Bostick Hoge, aka Madder. I'm not sure if I have expressed my love for Quince and Co. before, but every time they post a new pattern on Rav it immediately goes into my queue. The patterns are always unique, the photos look like they're out of an Anthropologie catalog, and their models are gorgeous.

Some of my favorites? (All patterns from Ravelry)

Belfast Hoodie (also by Carrie)

Luna Scarf by Carrie

Kilkenny Cowl by Pam Allen aka the first Quince pattern I feel in love with

Estelle Cardigan by Melissa LaBarre

And of course...

Camilla Pullover by Carrie

After working with fingering weight yarn for the past three months, though it feels like much longer, I decided to cast-on for something moderately chunky. I'm not sure how flattering the pullover will look on me, but I don't care. Bulky yarn and garter stitch be damned, I am too in love with this to not knit it. So I cast on immediately.

And look at how far I am! I've been averaging one shell repeat per day and it is coming along so quickly. I shot this photo yesterday afternoon and have since added one more repeat. I think I only have one more to go until I get to the armpit. Sadly, I am not using Quince & Co. yarn for this. Instead, I opted for some Ecological Wool by Cascade, a wonderful yarn that I have worked with on a few occasions. This particular shade is "Antique" and, if my calculations are correct, I will need just two and a half skeins to complete this lovely little pullover.

Someday, dear Quince & Co., someday I will own your yarn. And did I mention how beautiful the colors are? Buy their yarn here and I can live vicariously through you.

A yarn vendor for Madelinetosh came into the shop a few days ago and brought some samples of the new colors with her. They. Are. Fabulous. In case you missed it (or don't follow them on facebook), Madelinetosh posted some shots of their new colors a few days ago. And they are all wonderful. And I got to touch them :) Sometimes working at a LYS has its perks.

All photos are taken from the Madelinetosh facebook.

Alizarin

Badlands (I'm kind of obsessed with this one)

Cousteau (and this one)

French Gray (this one is beautiful irl)

Magnolia Leaf

Mica

Smokey Orchid

Yeah, because I need to buy more Madelinetosh. The two other WIPs I'm actively working on both use tosh, but those are coming along a lot more slowly than the Camilla Pullover.

Rock Island in Tosh Prairie (Turquoise)

Ecuador Test Knit in Tosh Merino Light (Filigree)

Thus ends your photo-overload for the day.Remember to tell me about your favorite summer knitting here for your chance to win a pattern of your choosing.