the joy of saks

while perusing the fall saks catalog, i came across this spread featuring fabulous folkloric clogs and the ultimate knitting bag. (as if.) see? even high fashion has gone crafty!

hazed and confused

finished another rep last night on river. many more to go. but here is a progress pic in case anyone on the KAL is interested:


and my KSH stash continues to grow. not that i am not for an equal opportunity stash...it's just that i can't seem to walk into a yarn shop without becoming one with the silky mohairy haze. but in colors such as this, who can resist??

when i'm 65

get a load of this paper i wrote in 4th grade. actually, not all that much has changed from my 10-year-old vision of domestic bliss. except the part about dusting, doing dishes and making beds. and of course the part about knitting til the phone rang. these days, i wouldn't bother to answer.

river: in the flow

wip: river
Originally uploaded by hitbyabus.

am finally getting into a rhythm with this pattern. i've gone totally schizo with needles on this project. started off on bryspun 10.5 circs. didn't like the cable on those so switched to 10.5 susan bates longs. didn't have 10.5 in shorts, so switched to 10 shorts (the longs kept banging into my leg. ugh.). didn't like the points on those, so today i picked up a pair of balene 10s. couldn't find bryspuns at this particular yarn shop, but the balenes have pretty sharp tips, so we'll see how it goes. if these don't work, i may resort to chopsticks.

solaris how-to

i had so much fun making this...my first felted object! it would actually make an excellent first knitting project or all-around crafting project since there is much craftiness involved...knitting, felting, sewing and beading! i still have to sew on the ribbon ties that turn it into a wristlet, but i was so excited to get this far, i just had to post this little pictorial of the process so far.

step 1: knit a square
step 2: hot wash with flip flops!
step 3: tada: felt!
step 4: cut in to a circle
step 5: using template, make v-shaped slits
step 6: choose your embellishments
step 7: overstitch all raw edges
voila: solaris!
solaris full frontal
solaris close-up

today's diversion

it's a gorgeous day and i have a hankering for some porch knitting. off to the yarn store i go for some rowan yorkshire 4-ply and more KSH to make this:

chicks with sticks

so i went to my first local stitch 'n' bitch last night. i stumbled upon this group while procrastinating the t.v. spots i was supposed to be working on. (to any of my clients who may be reading this, rest assured that it was not your project i was putting off.)

they meet every other thursday at all different local coffee shops and bars. so far, they've met like five times at places like the old toad, lux lounge and last night's site, spot coffee.

met some very cool gals--jenna, chika, mary (who was learning to knit for the very first time), becky, rachel, carol, and a couple of other nice girls. carol was making a booga bag. becky was crocheting an amazing blanket. and jenna was knitting that urban outfitters shrug that some ingenious knitter figured out the pattern for.

as jenna said, too bad we weren't all knitting berets and black turtlenecks. cuz, along with our stich 'n' bitch, it also turned out to be open mike nite at spot. so while we were having a henfest, knitting away, and trying not to spill our lattes, various jack kerouac and alicia keys wanna-be's were waiting all sweaty-palm-like for their turn on the stage.

SNB newbie that i am, i brought along the back hem frill from butterfly. quite likely the least conversation-friendly pattern i could have selected. so in between trying to clap with one hand for the poetry slammers and get to know my chicks with sticks sistahs, i had the added challenge of trying to follow the most annoyingly complex lace pattern i have ever attempted.

i finally gave up and just sat there, listening to the slammers and the jammers and watching mary learn how to knit. i almost thought the emcee was going to drag one of us up there when he looked over at our group and announced that someone had to teach him how to do that "needlepoint" that we were working on.

louisiana 1927

driving my car to buckman's car wash this morning. the WRUR deejay says this one goes out to all the katrina survivors. like they're all tuned in up here in new york state. the left wheel of my mini cooper jams into the track. violins. sheets of water pouring over me. a lonesome piano. a nasal serenade. they're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away. oh god randy newman don't do this to me. and then, in a moment as finely tuned as any i have ever experienced in my life, the music ends. the water stops. and i sit in a car wash, tears streaming down my face.

kim hargreaves speaks

today, i got an email from KIM HARGREAVES.

wow. she reads and answers her own email. imagine that.

i was trying to figure out where i could purchase the amazing WINTER BLOOMS and EARTHLY TREASURES. (had i taken the time to actually READ the copy rather than simply drool over the designs, i would have noticed that they're only sold individually as kits.)

but no matter, because i got this info from the knitting goddess herself:

Hi Kate

Thank you so much for your email, unfortunately we don’t have books available for these two collections.

Our designs are only available in kit form; I know this an issue for many people - please let me say, we are really not wanting to be unhelpful, it’s just that we are a very small business and have only been up and running for a little over four months now. We invest so much into producing our patterns from pattern writing to photography, layout to printing, that we will not survive if we are to offer the patterns on their own at this stage.

Our kits do include yarn, colour pattern, back neck label and any buttons, bead or trimmings needed to complete a design.

Please do not hesitate to get back in touch if you need any further information.

Thank you again and best wishes,
Kim

flourish: please pass the crack

more kidsilk crack please. i have three balls of marmalade burning a hole in my knitting bag. river's just begun and butterfly is barely out of the cocoon, but i gotta get me some of this next.

river: it's a trickle

finally cast on for river during the ride home from the beach today. i'm using KSH in trance...a beautiful azure that reminds me of the last bit of summer sky we gazed from the comfort of our sand chairs yesterday. i'm also sampling the bryspun circs betty from knit 'n' purl was kind enough to give me to try. i like the flexible connecting cable, but the point where it connects to the needles leaves much to be desired. i find myself having to coax the last of the stitches over it near the end of every row. i also think the points aren't nearly as sharp as i'd expect from bryspuns. but never mind all that. this pattern is working up beautifully.

but now i have to put down the river. that's right. step away from the river. gotta finish me a butterfly. gotta fly before i can swim.

beach knitting

we got the last licks of summer in at a family beach party over the weekend. of course, there is nothing better to do whilst dipping one's toes in the sand than dipping one's fingers into a big pile of kidsilk haze. i managed to pay just enough attention to ongoing conversations to focus on butterfly--at least until they started pouring the yellow tail. even my niece stephanie got into the act, bringing on some fine garter stitching that will eventually become a cell phone cozy.