A curly haired knitter speaks from NYC
Theatre anyone? This is what the post performance stage looks like at the Daryl Roth Theatre, home of the off Broadway hit, De La Guarda . This show may not only be called the hottest ticket in town, but also the messiest! One review warns potential patrons of this show to,
"[d]ress in clothes you don't care about and be prepared for anything." If Shakespeare in the Park is not your thing, then this just might be the ticket for you. [Don't bring your knitting]
I am a morning person. I like to wake up early. I like the early morning sun and sounds of the day. I like to work out in the morning. Breakfast, the morning meal, is my favorite meal of the day. I also tend to do my work best in the morning hours, when my head is clear and uncluttered by the distractions of the day. It comes as no surprise to me that I also like to knit in the morning. For me, a fresh pot of tea, some whole grain toast with strawberry jam, the New York Times, and some knitting are the prerequisites for the perfect start of the day.
For the past few days my morning knitting has been devoted to this cute little berry hat from Fiber Trends (project idea courtesy of Becky!!). For this project I am using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, Barn Red and Holly Green. This yarn is yummy and I see more projects with it in my knitting future. This particular hat is earmarked for Master Dylan, my sweet little great nephew. Fortunately, this yarn comes in generous skeins and I will have enough leftover once it is finished to knit another for some other lucky baby!
Now, you must excuse me, for I have to finish my tea, read some more of my morning paper, and knit just another row or two or three or .... before I start the day.
To the Frog Pond..went that orange short sleeve raglan sweater that I was knitting out of Filatura Di Crosa Elena! But, oh, oh, oh, you should see how fabulous that yarn looks in its new incarnation.
Currently Reading: City of Djinns, by William Dalrymple; back issues of the New Yorker; TimeOut NY; and Real Simple.
....was sort of how it went as a group of knitting bloggers met up in NYC this weekend! How do you do Alison, Jackie , Jenn , and a special non-knitting guest, Alison's mom! The funny thing about this knitting meet up was that first name introductions were quickly followed by "I'm [inset blog name here]"!! We wandered (with purpose) to Purl, where many in the group swooned over the delectible yarn goodies stacked on the shelves, tables, and in baskets throughout the store! [Me? I sat and knit, thank you very much!!][Honest!!] After Purl, we had a snack at Once Upon A Tart and then trekked across town to Dowtown Yarn. We met up again today at KnitNY and had a breakfast/lunch/brunch stitch and bitch....a bit of a treat for me, since I tend to knit solo [unless of course, I am with Mason-Dixon Kay, my knitting mentor and pal]. If I can speak for the group, a good time was had by all!! I enjoyed not only meeting some of the people who I feel I have come to know by reading their blog, but also seeing what everyone was knitting, buying, thinking of knitting, and/or thinking of buying. It was a mini knitapalooza, not to mention a fine start to a new week!
I call this Friday Postcard, "Portrait of an Artist as a Not So Young Man." Meet Jim Powers. (Thanks, Ellen!!!) Jim is one of my favorite brand of artists, the outsider artist, someone who is compelled to create without formal training or instruction, typically using an unorthodox medium. Using bits of tile, rock, marble, broken dishes and glass, Jim creates beautiful and intriguing mosaics on NYC lampposts. That's right, lampposts. Have a better look at some of his work:
Jim's handiwork can be found on lampposts in the East Village, although when I ran into him the other day, he was working on a corner lamppost at 8th Street and Broadway. A few years ago when I was in graduate school and taking a class in landscape architecture, I came back to NYC for a few days to write a paper about Jim and his work. Try as I might, I could not find Jim or any signs of his work, for it seemed at the time that the City of New York was taking down his work as fast as he could put it up. That said, you can imagine how overjoyed I was to stumble upon Jim as he furiously embellished another lamppost! "Art is for everyone, man, and you don't have to be dead to honor someone," said Jim as we chatted away. Indeed! To Jim!
Look what surfaced out of the "sew me up now, please" pile!! Why, it's the Bed & Breakfast Sweater!! [emphasis to sound like Becky, intended!!] Seems like life and this sweater have got me by the collar. Batten down the knitting hatches folks, for it looks like it's going to be a lonnngggg night as my finishing party resumes.
Coffee please!!
I had a bit of a finishing party this weekend, with this project as the guest of honor. Cinnamon!! The Cardi!! Cinnamon is now not only one of my favorite spices, but also one of my favorite summer cardis.
Cinnamon, the Cardi is made from Rowan Summer Tweed, in a shade appropriately called Brilliant. And brilliant it is. Now, Rowan Summer Tweed is an acquired taste and is not for everyone. I equate it to how one feels about sushi the first time one tries it; it takes some getting used to. (I hated sushi the first time I tried it, but oddly enough had a craving for it a week later, and the rest is, well, culinary history.) Without a doubt, Summer Tweed has a stiff, funky texture and feel to it. A review of this yarn in Knitter's Review noted that it had a funny smell. My batch of Summer Tweed smelled of salt water....a smell I find particularly comforting. After a few false starts with this yarn (it was originally purchased last summer to knit Elderflower, also from the Rowan Summer Tweed Collection) it soared on the needles once the marriage between it and the pattern for Cinnamon was arranged. Better still, the yarn softened the more I knit with it.
I hit gauge on the recommended needles (US 8's)( I love when that happens!!). The shawl collar was fun to make, although picking up the requisite stitches to start it was a bit trying. The collar came out great though, if I do say so myself. See? I also managed to adjust the pattern appropriately to my measurements. The result? Sleeves that are just the right length!!
I am v.v. pleased with how this project turned out. This cardi is the perfect sweater for the over airconditioned office or movie theatre. It is also perfect for chilly nights at the beach house or country retreat. That said, I do have some hesitations about this sweater, hesitations that are directed only at the yarn. Like many of its cotton/silk counterparts, Summer Tweed has no memory and I fear that this sweater may lose its shape after one or two wearings. I also fear that this sweater may not have a long shelf life if worn alot, for Summer Tweed is not a robust yarn. I say this because although the yarn did not break while I was knitting with it, it did break with great frequency as I tried to sew up with it. (Note: Summer Tweed should not be used as part of the sewing up process.) I hope that none of my fears in this regard are realized.
All in all, I am happy that it is Sunday and that I have new cardi, Cinnamon, the Cardi, to accompany me to the movies this afternoon!!
This just in...my Extremities Exchange buddy has just received her gift! It's an orange multi scarf!! I used two different yarns for this scarf: a fabulous cantelope coloured mohair, Plassard Flore and a rayon multi from Kiki. I used a v. simple, but fabulous, stitch --uneven rib---that gave this scarf, with its lightweight yarn combo, heft and depth. This picture does not do either the scarf or its colourway justice!!
If you are in the knitting doldrums, you might want to try out these two yarns for scarf of your very own. The stitch pattern for uneven rib is as follows: (multiple of 4 plus 3) k2*p2; repeat from *to the last 3 stitches, k2, p1. Enjoy!!
It's been quite the knitting fest here at CurlsandPurlsNYC....Cinnamon, the Rowan Summer Tweed cardi, is in the final stages of finishing and sewing up. The Koigu scarf that I wrote about the other day got sent to the frog pond on the grounds of shoddy lace knitting (caused by this curly haired knitter's inability to remember what the last row she knit was!!). My midnight blue merino ribbon pullover is moving along quite nicely AND the latest edition of Interweave Knits arrived in my mailbox this week! My knitting cup runneth over.
In the midst of all of this knitting and reading about knitting, I remembered this fun fact...it is the one year birthday of CurlsandPurlsNYC !! Or damn close to it! This blog was born on the pages of blogspot and migrated to Prettyposies shortly thereafter! (Thanks to Becky, my beyond fabulous web host!!) Happy Birthday CurlsandPurlsNYC!!! Of course, I used this birthday as an excuse to justify this purchase:
Yes! Some luscious Jo Sharp cotton yarn in my signature colours for two knitting projects that I have been contemplating from the Jo Sharp Holiday Island Collection ! (This yarn, as well as this pattern book, are currently on sale at Elann!!) Let the swatching begin!
Thanks for reading CurlsandPurlsNYC and for sharing my experiences, knitting and otherwise, with me....and for making my entre into the knitting bloggers community a positive one.
I did it! I tried my hand at some lace knitting. Inspired by the beautiful lace knitting that is going on over at Emma & Co and All Tangled Up, I took the plunge into the lace knitting pool.
Meet my version of Caryl's Kerchief, in Koigu KPPPM Shade 534. I love the colourway of this yarn (a gift from my pal Lori in LA)!! I will admit that it took me several tries to get comfortable with this pattern, but after a few false starts, I was well on my way. I learned something v. important by embarking on this project -- the proper way to do a yarn over. I am embarrassed to say that until last week I had been incorrectly executing a yarn over. I stand corrected now.
In other knitting news, these knitted flip flops have become some of my favorite footwear:
Thanks Lori! They fit perfectly! Without knowing me or my shoe size, how did you do that?
The Main Branch of the New York Public Library! A mecca for bibliophiles in NYC!! How I love thee!! How I love the library, period!! Yesterday, much to my dismay, the New York Times reported that the reading of books is on the decline in America. Reading is on the decline? According to this article, which quoted a National Endowment of the Arts study entitlted, "Reading at Risk," in 2002, only 47 percent of American adults read "literature'' (poems, plays, narrative fiction). How can that be when every Barnes & Noble or Borders I visit is packed!?? (Note to anyone who cares, my favorite bookstores here in NYC are the small, indie ones. Give me Shakespeare & co, Three Wishes, or any other indie store!! Or better yet, the NY Public Library!!) These super stores are always packed with people strolling through the aisles, or crammed around the "Summer Reading" tables, or sitting on chairs strategically placed around the store, or on the floor, acting as if this store were a library?!! Can it be that Americans are merely buying books but not reading them? Is it better to own a book than to read it? Please, someone tell me that isn't so.
Lord Ganesh, or Ganesha, the Hindu elephant-headed god, is known as the Remover of Obstacles, the god of domestic harmony and of success. Welcome, Ganesha, welcome.
I have decided to turn off the television this summer. There will be more knitting while listening to music rather than watching mindless reruns.
Austerman Barcelona, that is!! Yes, my friends, there is a new project on the needles at House of CurlsandPurlsNYC in a frothy merino ribbon yarn! I bought this yarn at Elann.com several months ago after I got a sample of it in the mail. I must say that I am quite taken with this yarn, for it is different than any other ribbon yarn I have seen. As a general rule, I am not a big fan of ribbon yarn...too slippery, too fiddly, too, well, not me. (Truth be told, ribbon yarns, or at least those that I have come across are not very flattering to my figure...too chunky and bulky. )This yarn, however, is different.
Austerman Barcelona is a blend of merino and nylon and, as you can see, has two different textures throughout. The combination of textures creates a two tone effect, which looks beautiful when knit up. (The colour is called "Midnight Blue." The best of the lot, I think.) The yarn is not only warm and luxurious, but also incredibly light and stretchy. My yarn purchase came with a free pattern for a a very nice, albeit basic, pullover sweater. After combing through many a pattern book (yes, mostly Rowan pattern books) I decided to use the free pattern, although I may modify the neck.
Even though this pattern is nothing more than row upon row of stockinette stitch on US 9 needles (Addi's worked best for me with this yarn, for my usual bamboo needles kept getting snagged in the yarn) this project is very pleasant and soothing...and I need that right now.
I also started another new project, details to follow. I am feeling very industrious right now, hence all the new projects. In fact, I am feeling so knitting industrious right now, that beginning tonight, I am hosting a "Finishing Fest."
There you have it!
Look!! It's the perfect July 4th knitting project!!! Isn't there someone in your life who would love to have any of these red, white, and blue striped accessories? Without a doubt, they are the perfect gift for the truly patriotic family member or friend, or better yet, for that special someone who will be attending either the Democratic or Republican nation convention!
I am away for the next few days. I will be out of NYC! I will be hiking!! I will be swimming!! I will be having fun!! And, best of all, I will be knitting!! Enjoy the weekend!
