Bella Knitting

Crafty Minds Think Alike

Sarah

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing through the crafty section of the bookstore after picking up a new Dr. Seuss book for Measure (he has quite the library) and came across this little gem: Cute Dolls by Aranzi Aronzo. The book is filled with patterns for cute little stuffed animals, and I couldn't resist -- they all look like they'll be pretty simple, quick sewing projects. I set the book aside until I could plan a trip to the fabric shop (because although I have a small fabric stash, nothing was just right for any of these projects. You know how it is.)

Apparently, crafty minds think alike, because the other day, Measure and I came home to find a package addressed to him waiting on our front porch. What was inside? An adorable monkey, made by our good friend Ingrid from a Cute Dolls pattern! Measure loves his new friend Mr. Munky, so we're working on a cute softie from the book to send to Ingrid's daughter. I won't say which one -- I don't want to ruin the surprise!

A Conversation With Adrienne

Sarah

I was interviewed by the lovely and talented Adrienne recently for her podcast, "Conversations with Adrienne," and the interview is now up! I think I sound dorky -- I always do -- but you should listen anyway, because Adrienne's charming southern accent totally makes up for it.

Double Dutch, Chunky Style!

Sarah

I knit one of Arlette's Double Dutch hats a while back, and it was so fun I knew I'd be making more. That's saying a lot, coming from me, since I tend not to repeat the same patterns very often -- but the knitting of this is clever and different, and it's a hat, so it doesn't technically count as a new WIP. (Yes, I made that rule up. It's kind of like the rule that sock yarn doesn't count as stash. It works.) So I worked on other things, and waited for the right combination of yarns to occur to me.

The other day, I was high off of the rush that comes with completing a UFO that's been in the pile for a long time (this one, if you're wondering) and contemplating new projects (despite the number of UFOs in hibernation) when I walked past a basketful of yarn and noticed these two colors of Cascade Venezia, sitting side-by-side. Perfect! So, I cast on (making up my two-color cast-on as I went along, which explains the wonkiness) and began a new Double Dutch. I want it to be big and slouchy, so I'm using size 10 needles and only subtracted about 8 stitches from what the pattern suggests (all patterns are suggestions, right?) and it looks okay so far. It may end up being a little too big and slouchy, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. For Science.

I don't think it's up in the store yet, but Laura has some of this yarn in three or four different colors (including the two I'm using), if you're interested in trying out your own super-chunky Double Dutch. If I get lazy, I'm going to cast off after knitting a few more inches and call it a cowl, which should be really cute and cozy. Or I might still do a hat, but change it up by doing a gathered top instead of the swirly decreases. I do loves me some swirly decreases, though...decisions, decisions. I'll let you know how it goes!

Go Ahead, Make My Day...

Sarah

Obligatory reminder: enter the Bella Blogiversary contest! We only have a couple of entries so far, so your chances of winning a prize are excellent!

  Meanwhile, we've got a little award ourselves -- Suzanne of Yarnhog dubbed us "You Make My Day Award"-worthy. Thanks, Suzanne! According to the rules, it is now our duty to do the following: "Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."

Narrowing it down to just 10 is the hard part! I've got more than ten times that in my bloglines, making my day on a routine basis. But rules are rules, so here you go, in no particular order:

Lola and Ava of Two Black Sheep -- go congratulate Lola on her new arrival! He's a cutie.
Karen of Yarn is My Metier -- always a great read and a source of project inspiration!
Felicia of Fluffy Flowers -- you can't see her creatures and not smile.
Dave of Criminy Jickets -- among other excellent bloggerly qualities, dude cranks out socks like...well, like something you crank out pretty fast.
Maryese of Monster Yarn -- oy, the gorgeousness of the photos...
Teyani, the Intrepid Fiber Wizard -- a most talented fiberista and knitter!
Cindy of SnidKnits -- Cindy recently moved to Bangalore. Reading about her experiences there is a great vicarious travel experience!
Splatgirl at Splatgirl Creates -- Like food, interior design, craftiness in general, or an adorable gigantic greyhound? Splatgirl has it all.
Kim of Yarn Abuse -- aside from being an all-around pleasure to read, Kim has made me fall in love with Elizabeth Zimmerman's patterns all over again, many times.
Oiyi of Oiyi's Crafts -- Hmm, I guess I'm bookending my list with bloggers who just had babies. Go congratulate Oiyi, too! I hope that even though she's had her baby, she'll still continue to use her cute little pooches as occasional knitwear models.

 

Geek Power

Sarah

Hooray for being a geek! My love of The X-Files paid off recently by helping me to win a contest on Miss Scarlett's blog (and what a fabulous prize it is -- Yarn Love "Scarlett O'Hara" sock yarn in the Armour colorway, a bit of Soak, an adorable sheepy tape measure, and a pattern from Wool Girl!)

It's funny how the meaning of the word "geek" has changed since I was a kid. If I were called a geek when I was ten (and I'm sure I was), the word would have been nearly synonymous with "dork" or "dweeb." All those words conjured up the image of someone with thick glasses, a faceful of braces, and a pocket protector. Now, being a geek, and even a nerd, has a certain cachet -- often, the implication is that someone is passionate and knowledgeable, and I guess those qualities have become "cool." I'm sure there are a lot of complicated sociological reasons for this, but I think the main thing is to just enjoy it while it lasts.

So, other than knitting, how do you get your geek on?

Little Devil

Sarah

Arlette and I hung out yesterday, and while we watched the Creature Comforts DVD she brought over (hilarious, by the way) she knit up this super-cute little devil hat for Measure!

See how he's rubbing his hands together? I think he's plotting something...

Stash Addition

Sarah

So, um, I may have done a little shopping while I was visiting my in-laws in the North Bay. Some of the shopping may have occured in yarn stores. I suspect you are not shocked.

One of the yarn stores my MIL and I visited, Marin Fiber Arts, was having an anniversary sale. Could I resist? No. I picked up three skeins of this gorgeous Cashmere Silk by Jade Sapphire. It's a beautiful colorway called "Oceana." Despite the challenges inherent to the process of knitting lace charts while simultaneously holding a squiggly baby, I've had lace on the brain. I do plan on finishing my Mystery Stole, and I'd like to try my hand (well, hands...it would be kind of hard to knit with just one) at designing a triangular lace shawl. To that end, I also picked up a copy of Victorian Lace Today...it's got an interesting-looking section on lace design.

The other lace purchase I made was at the Knitterie in Novato: two balls of Lacey Lamb, also from Jade Sapphire. It's a really pretty deep marooney color. Each ball has over 800 yards, so I should have plenty no matter what I do with it, whenever I get around to it -- in the meantime, I'm just having fun petting the pretty yarn.

Oh yeah, and I did get some actual knitting done in the past week -- I finished the back of my Minimalist Cardigan, and started on the first sleeve! I don't understand why so many knitting patterns for cardigans (or sweaters) start with the back. I always start with the sleeves or cardigan fronts, which I treat as a large gauge swatch (regular swatches are lying little weasels, in my experience) and which gives me some momentum going into the project. Makes sense to me!

I've Been Saved!

Sarah

I've been saved! When I got home yesterday afternoon, I was pleased as punch to see a package waiting for me -- Sockapalooza socks from my sock savior! Aren't they lovely? Thank you so much, Petra!

The pattern is "Merino Lace" from the Interweave "Favorite Socks" book, and they are beautifully knit out of Trekking Pro Natura. These are so, so gorgeous it's breathtaking, and I am so flabbergasted at how nice it is to have a sock savior -- Petra, like others, signed up to knit socks for those whose Sockapalooza pals failed to come through, and I think that is such an incredibly generous thing to do. Petra rocks! The color, the fit, everything -- these are great socks, and I love them to bits!

That's not all, either -- Petra also sent me a lovely gift (I love tote bags, and this one is especially appropriate considering what I've been up to all week -- it says "shopping queen." My mother-in-law and I did not get a lot of knitting done this week while I was visiting, but we had fun adding to our respective stashes. We also did some clothes shopping. I may have lightly abused the credit card. More on that later!) She also knit an adorable -- seriously, utterly freaking adorable -- pair of wee socks for Measure! (Click on the little photo to see more shots of the socks on my Flickr photostream.) Thanks again, Petra -- this made my day. You're a great sock savior!

Tomten

Sarah

I've been admiring Brooklyntweed's gorgeous adult version of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Tomten Jacket for a while now, and planning on knitting one for myself -- I have some gorgeous cranberry-colored tweed in the stash which should be perfect. I'm planning one for Measure in a different color of the same yarn, as well. In the meantime, I decided to knit this as a quick gift project for Ingrid's baby, Gwyneth. (If you're reading this, Ingrid: surprise!) This was an extremely quick project -- less than three days from start to finish -- and I love how easy it was to construct. The only issue I had was in the directions for a hood -- it was too shallow, and I decided I wasn't that into it anyway, so I instead made a long collar with a contrast-color stripe at the bottom. Click on the photo for a link to more detailed shots on my Flickr page.

Socks for Ingrid

Sarah

Would you rather hear bad news or good news first? Personally I'm more of a bad-news-first girl. The good news that follows usually ameliorates the concern the bad news brings up, and if you get the good news first the bad news can really dash your hopes. So, bad news first: my friend Ingrid is moving away. I knew they've been planning a move for a while, so I wasn't totally unprepared, but it's still sad. Measure and Gwynnie are just getting to the stage where they are interested in interacting with another baby, so it's sad they won't be able to get together anymore. I'm holding out hope that in a few years Ingrid and her family will move back to California, but even if that doesn't happen Jason and I are already talking about visiting them as part of our next summer's vacation.

The good news is, I finished these socks, and they are going to be a sort of goodbye-gift to Ingrid. They seem very Ingrid-ey and she has already seen them and approves. I'll be giving them to her today. Hmm, nope, I guess the good news in this case doesn't really do much to soften the bad news, does it? I guess I'm just glad that I managed to complete the socks before she moves.

These socks have been part of a gift-making trend of late -- the yarn I spun, the cashmere socks I knit, the Monkeys (well, the Monkey -- I haven't cast on for the second one yet), and the baby blanket I knit for my neighbor. She had the baby, by the way: he's a cute little munchkin, and when they brought him over, Measure just stared at him. Measure looked like a giant compared the the newbie, it's amazing to realize that in four months, he has already more than doubled in size.

Anyway, I need your help: I want to knit some really nice socks for my brother, who likes to go up to Tahoe for snowboarding. I know he wears special socks for that, but I wanted to knit him some nice ones to wear around the house when he's up there -- or, come to think of it, even when he's at home, since it can get pretty cold in San Francisco as well. I don't know whether I want to knit from a pattern or design my own, but either way, I'm looking for inspiration. So far, the only thing I've come across that interested me was the two-yarn resoleable socks in the Interweave "Favorite Socks" book, but while those would be interesting for me to knit, they may be a little boring to look at. Maybe that's a good thing for a guy's sock, I don't know. Any suggestions?