Stitches West V

We've been to FIVE Stitches Wests now? This is crazy to me. Anyway, last Saturday, my knitting gals and I headed down to the Santa Clara Convention Center for our annual knitter-spotting and yarn-buying spree (Ok, that was just me. And sort of Sophy, too.). As usual, I headed in with all sorts of plans for the photos I'd take, but ended up getting all distracted and over-stimulated and only taking a few.

By far the highlight of the trip was getting to meet some very cool and very inspirational knitters. I actually took a photo of Romi last year, but didn't officially meet her because I was too shy (darn those introvert genes of mine), but this year I actually went and said hi. She is extremely awesome. We chatted a bit about motherhood and geekiness and took a picture of each other taking pictures of each other...my favorite (her version here).


And because I had treated myself to a latte before the show (thought I'd go all out since I was missing a baby-feeding anyway) and was literally vibrating from the extra caffeine, I had to take another picture, this time with two hands. Sheesh.


We also stopped by Ysolda's booth, tried on her beautiful samples (I'm in Laika, which I now MUST MAKE AND WEAR IMMEDIATELY), talked to her about her designs, and took a photo in her photobooth.

Ysolda is super sweet and even more adorable in person than on the internet. I wish I had told her that Arisaig was what got me started on sweater-knitting five years ago, but I forgot. (The caffeine made me a little conversationally spastic, too.)

I love spotting my designs out in the wild. Here's a particularly beautiful Citron on the convention floor, made in Miss Babs sock yarn.

After spending quite some time petting yarn and chatting with the ladies in the Tess' booth, eating some lunch, and making some purchases, we decided to call it a day. But not before getting our obligatory (and inexplicable) yarn-hat photo. Love the heavenly quality of this one.

Good times, had by all.

Yarn U

Now that I'm finally getting enlightened in terms of iPhone/iPad knitting apps, I have yet another one to add to my "How did I not know this existed?" list.

Do you guys use Yarndex at all? I do, all the time, and surprisingly often from my mobile phone. So for quite awhile, I've been wishing there were some sort of yarn database to access in app form. Lo and behold - there is! Introducing: Yarn U.

Yarn U is not quite as comprehensive as Yarndex, but it is a really nice guide that is searchable and filterable by almost any factor you can think of including yarn weight, hand dyed-ness, washability, crochet-recommended, etc.

And you can display results in an alphabetized list or grouped by manufacturer.

There are really pretty photos (including yarn skeined up as well as knitted or crocheted, which is nice), user comments, and yarn descriptions with a great deal of personality and humor.

Many of the yarns also include links to free patterns (adherence to copyright doesn't allow for the patterns to be accessible directly through the app) custom selected for the yarn in question, too.

(Oh look!)

You may also notice the map in the screen shots above -- another nifty feature is the ability to see where you can purchase the yarn you're reviewing. I unfortunately couldn't get the app to find me anything closer than Reno, NV (about 3.5 hours away), but I'm sure this will improve as more shops are added to the database.

And though there are a whole lot of yarns included already, there were still some I looked for and couldn't find (e.g. anything Madelinetosh). But again, I'm sure there will be more as time goes on. It's got to take time to build something like this.

So. Yarn U. A pretty darn nifty app that will only get better!

Knitting for your iPhone

In the past couple of years, I've been completely out of the loop in terms of knitting apps. I downloaded Stitch Minder as soon as I got my iPhone back in 2008, but, for some reason, stopped there. And I feel like I've been missing out on something....probably because I have. So I apologize if you already know all about the apps I'm going to talk about in the next couple of posts, and if you don't, well, you should really check them out! There's some really cool stuff out there.

So today, let's talk about JKnit Pro. (Note that this is partially self-serving because my patterns are offered for sale on its sister site KnitPoint.com -- but I really do think it's awesome.)


JKnit Pro (there's an iPad version, too, as well as a free version to give you a taste) is a really neat app that will keep track of your knitting pattern instructions for you -- each time you complete a row, you advance through the pattern and it will tell you what's coming up next. And you can either enter the pattern instructions yourself (using the web portal or the app itself) or, since the release of their latest version, you can purchase patterns pre-loaded in the JKnit format. You get the pdf and the instructions ready to go. Let's take a look:

Here are my projects...
Let's make a Gemma! In the JKnit format, the pattern is broken up into its various pieces...

We'll start with the collar....and here we are on Row 11. You can see how the specific row instructions are matched with the specific row. And because it keeps track of increases and decreases, it will also tell you how many stitches you should have at any given time. And see the little "PDF" button mid-way down? If you ever want to refer directly to the pattern, you can toggle back and forth between this screen and the pattern pdf.

My favorite part is how it keeps track of increases and decreases. No more making hash marks on a piece of paper...

Another really nifty feature is this highlight bar that you can add when you're in the PDF view. This is particularly helpful for charts (check out the app page in iTunes to see it put to better use), but you can also use it to keep track of where you are on the page.

I encourage you to check it out! And, if you're into it, you can get several Yarniad patterns (both for sale and free) pre-loaded in the JKnit format on KnitPoint here.

Daniel's Nursery

Sooooo, a post I've been meaning to put together for, well, let's just say awhile (given that Daniel was born over 10 months ago and his room was ready a couple of weeks before that) is about Daniel's nursery. The only thing knitted about it is his Solar System mobile, but thanks to my mom and others, we did end up with quite a few other handmade crafty items. So I thought I'd give you a little tour.

Let's start with the neat side...



The geniuses who built our place made the fantastic choice of creating a closet that is too narrow to fit a standard-sized coat hanger. (And it's not like it was built before there were modern coat hangers. It was built in 2003.) So with anything useful hanging in the closet, the doors would get pushed outward and be hard to open and close, something that has irritated both Neill and me since we moved in. So our first order of business was taking off those doors and replacing them with curtains. The fabric is Zoom! from Spoonflower and, oh, do I love it. It has rockets, stars, a pretty blue, and lime green (love). It's good for a baby (I think) without being too baby-baby. Now get this. After putting in the order for 7 yards, I got an email from Spoonflower saying that after about 6, the printer would go on the fritz and stop printing the blue color. Would it be ok if they printed it in two pieces and send me all the extra? Um, ok!! So we ended up with several extra yards, which was later put to good use.

A couple other items of note -- the space collage hanging by the door from my uber-talented art-teacher friend, the "May the Force Be With You" pillow from my in-laws (so awesome), and my very first quilt hanging on the back of the glider, which I have an in-progress blog post on dating back to February of last year.

Now, I know we're not supposed to use bumpers anymore, but that Zoom! fabric was just too tempting. Many thanks to my mom for designing and whipping it up in about a day.

A note on the artwork behind the crib: instead of purchasing prints, I ordered a lightly used copy of Eric Carle's Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me (sort of in keeping with the space theme), ripped out the pages, and framed them with materials from Cheap Pete's in San Francisco. I think the whole set of 6 cost about $30 when all was said and done. This was a very easy DIY!

Ok, back to the bumper. The green lining is the fabric from the curtains...

...which are AMAZEBALLS and which were also courtesy my mom.


Now on to the messy side...

This room was our office before Big D came along, and that prior incarnation has unfortunately lingered for awhile in the form of the filing drawers, printer, boxes of toner, tax records (so appropriate for a nursery), etc. etc. Our ugly storage thingy in the corner has also lingered, but Neill and my mom had the great idea to put a "cozy" on it. This was made by a woman in my home town who sews custom quilts, bedding, and baby things. She incorporated the Eric Carle artwork and matched the blue of the Zoom! fabric perfectly. I feel bad that this is Daniel's view from his crib...

...but he doesn't seem to mind too much!

Felted Sweater Stocking Sale - Last Day

Well, I'm sure that knitting Christmas stockings is the furthest thing from anyone's mind right now, but I wanted to send out a little reminder that I'm currently running a special on my Felted Sweater Stocking pattern. Actually, the promotion was supposed to end yesterday, but I completely forgot, so I'm extending it another day. So, until I change it when I wake up on Friday, you can still get the pattern for the discounted price of 2 buckeroos.

Felted Sweater Stocking - $2 via Ravelry (no account needed)

Swatches

In my time as a knitter, I have compiled quite the collection of swatches. Part of it is that I just can't get myself to throw away anything that I could ever use for a craft-related purpose. Another part is that saving swatches helps me remember how certain stitch patterns look in certain yarns with certain needles. And yet another is that looking at them is like going back in time -- feeling a swatch brings back so many memories of the time when I was knitting it. Sometimes I can even remember what I was watching or listening to at the time.



I've arrived at the point where my swatches can barely be contained by the box I've assigned to hold them and I'm wondering what to do. Sew them together into a blanket? Put them in a folder and make a little history book? Have any of you ever done anything interesting with your old swatches?

Peppermint Candy Cowl

The Peppermint Candy Cowl is something I whipped up in about a night and a half to go with my mom's brand new running jacket. It uses just 1 skein of Malabrigo Chunky (plus about 32 yards of the same for the contrast color), US 13 needles, and a couple of episodes of your favorite podcast or tv program, and you're done! The stitch pattern is called "Swedish Weave", is from Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and involves flipping your contrast yarn from front to back while you're knitting to create those little woven pops of color.

The semi-solid nature of the pink Malabrigo made things interesting -- I got varying shades of pink in each little piece that popped up. I think it would be really neat to try this out with a heavily variegated yarn on a solid background.


This was such an fun and quick little knit that I've written up the pattern, which you can find below.



(Oh, and I have this odd habit of associating Malabrigo with various kinds of food...this particular combo reminded me of the peppermint taffy my family always gets at Christmastime, which is just as squishy and yummy as the yarn.)

Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky (100% Merino wool, 104 yards/95 meters per 100 grams/3.53 ounces) - 1 skein in Natural (MC) and 32 yards/29 meters of Cactus Flower (CC)
Needles: US 13 (9mm) circular needle
Gauge: 10 sts per 4"/10cm
Finished size: 24"/61cm circumference at bottom, 21.25"/54cm circumference at top; 10.5"/27cm high

Abbreviations:
BO - bind off
CC - contrast color
CO - cast on
EOR - end of round
k - knit
k2tog - knit 2 sts together
MC - main color
p - purl
RS - right side
st(s) - stitch(es)

Pattern:
Note: This cowl is knit with the RS facing, then turned inside out once you're done.

With MC, CO 61 sts and join to work in the round, being careful not to twist sts, and placing EOR marker.
K 1 round.
P 1 round.
Repeat last 2 rounds 2 more times.

Next, get out your CC and begin Swedish Weave. This stitch pattern does not actually require knitting with the CC; rather, you will flip it from front to back as you knit with the MC, thus weaving it through the knit fabric. To start, place your CC yarn in between the last st of the last round and the first st of the next round, with the yarn end on the inside of your knitting.

Round 1: *With CC in front, k1 with MC; move CC to back, k1 with MC, then move CC to front again. Rep from * to last st, k1 with MC with CC in front, move CC to back.

Round 2 is worked the same way, but offset by 1 st from the previous row so the weaving is staggered: *With CC in back, k1 with MC; move CC to front, k1 with MC, then move CC to back again. Rep from * to last st, k1 with MC with CC in back, move CC to front.

Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 until piece measures 6.75"/17cm from your cast on edge, ending with Round 2.



Next round, decrease: Work first 11 sts in Swedish Weave as before, k2tog with CC in back, k2tog with CC in front, work 31 sts in Swedish Weave, k2tog with CC in front, k2tog with CC in back, work last 11 sts in Swedish Weave - 57 sts.

Work 3 rounds in Swedish Weave, beginning and ending with Round 2.

Next round, decrease again: Work first 11 sts in Swedish Weave, k2tog with CC in back, k2tog with CC in front, work 27 sts in Swedish Weave, k2tog with CC in front, k2tog with CC in back, work last 11 sts in Swedish Weave - 53 sts.

Beginning with Round 2, work in Swedish Weave until piece measures 9"/23cm from cast on edge.

P 1 round.
K 1 round.
Rep last 2 rounds 1 time.
P 1 round.

BO all sts knitwise.

Weave in all ends, turn cowl inside out, and enjoy!

Alternately, if you like the look of the right side...


...feel free to wear that way!