A curly haired knitter speaks from NYC
The finished objects just keep coming here at House of CurlsandPurlsNYC! [You see, it pays to have many unfinished projects lying around, for it gives a knitter with limited time to knit the opportunity to finish something!] This project, the Ballet Top from Debbie Bliss Quick Baby Knits, has been a long time coming. [Ready for a closeup, Mr. DeMille? Click here!] The yarn, Patons Grace, Tangelo, substituted for Rowan Cotton Glace, was originally slated for another project. [Minnie, from Rowan 33, the child's version.] [The picture here does not really do this yarn justice! This yarn is a delicious creamsicle and tangerine variegated dream! The brights are bright and the creams are creamy!!] I got an attack of the stupids when I started that project, causing me to knit each piece in a different size! [Really!! I only discovered my error when I tried to sew the darn thing up!] Once I realized my mistake, I sent the whole thing to the frog pond and vowed to knit something else with this yarn. That something else was the Ballet Top, which I thought was a happy marriage of yarn and project.
I nicknamed this project "Tiny Dancer," inspired by the Elton John song of the same name. It was one of the first projects I started specifically for Jamie. This project was fun to knit, for it had many little interesting twists and turns in the pattern, literally and figuratively. I had fun knitting the "turning rows" on the two front pieces. Those were the fun twists and turns. The not so fun twists and turns came up when I realized I did not have enough yarn to knit the shawl collar! What to do? I did not want to frog yet another project with this yarn, so I sat down and figured out how to modify the collar. [A v. liberating experience if ever there was one, for as a general rule, I am not one to tinker with a pattern.] While the shawl collar is a nice touch, my pattern change works too.
I came to realize something as I knit this project -- I really like working with a good mercerized cotton yarn, especially this cotton yarn. Patons Grace has a lovely feel to it, knits up like a dream, and has generous yardage, all things considered. There is something I don't like about knitting with cotton: that I cannot use the method of splicing the end of one skein to the beginning of another, as I can with wool. As a result, there are too many ends to sew in for my liking and patience. Oh well, such is the knitting life!
Jamie loves her new sweater! Alas, she is going to have a wait a bit before she can wear it proper, for it is too big for her right now. Just as well, for it gives her more thing to look forward to!
Favorite photo to date! My two girls, my daughter and my niece, enjoying a ride on the Bryant Park Carousel. How they spoiled me with love and hugs on Mother's Day!! My FIRST Mother's Day. It was a beautiful day here on that very special greeting card holiday and we enjoyed it by taking a stroll over to Bryant Park. Bryant Park, once a forlorn and forsesaken drug and crime riddled place, it is now a jewel in the crown NYC. This park is a lovely green oasis, a perfect place to have lunch on the lawn, dine in the fancy schmancy restaurant, or sit under the stars and watch a movie during the summer. It is one of our favorite places. And on Mother's Day, with my two favorite girls in tow, I was one of the happiest women alive. And as for a carousel, well, I love them! I love their whimsical animals, the music, and if luck is with me, grabbing the brass ring at first chance as they go round, and round, and round. [Note to anyone interested: Carousel is one of my FAVORITE MUSICALS!!]{This was a real nice clambake, we're mighty glad we came!!}{June is bustin' out all over!!] A beautiful day, my two favorite girls, and a ride on the carousel! I DID grab the brass ring that day, didn't I??!!
My Girl is a big fan of the creative arts. She loves to colour!! [Who doesn't?] Every day, we break out the colouring books and crayons and colour away!! Favorite colouring book? Sesame Street. Jamie is especially fond of Elmo. [Who isn't?]
Lately, since I prefer to spend my free time knitting as opposed to colouring, I have been knitting while Jamie scribbles to and fro in a creative frenzy. [So many crayons. So little time to colour.] As a result, I was able to knit the collar of my Nicole Jacket! [Jane Ellison Queensland Collection] [V. Mommy Chic appropriate for those of you who are interested in such a thing.][Which means go buy the book before it is too late, ok?][No, I do not get an endorsement fee for this plug.] As I sat there knitting away, talking to Jamie, and watching her colour, she handed me a crayon. Clearly she had enough of me knitting. The crayon, was blue. Not just any blue mind you, but Cerulean blue, the EXACT colour of the yarn I was knitting with!! [Cue to spooky weird coincidence music.] I promptly set down my needles and began to colour. No questions asked.
Now, the yarn I am using for my Nicole Jacket is Classic Elite 03 Tweed. Colour: Cardinal Bay Blue. Not really sure why it is called that, but it is. It is a BEAUTIFUl shade of blue. Really and truly. The thing is, every time I take a picture of it, it comes out Washed Out Blue. On the few occassions I have gotten the lighting right, the stitch pattern gets lost. So, since I am in the final sewing up phase of this project, I thought I would forgo colour accuracy in the photo and refer those colour curious readers out there to this link if you want to see the true colour of this yarn. Any day now this project will go from my project basket to my closet as a ready to wear garment. [Hopefully this sweater jacket, once completed, won't be a What Not to Wear.]
The Knitting Gods paid a nice little prank on me with this project....letting me think that I did not have enough yarn to finish it. Since I bought the yarn at Elann months ago, it was completely gone when I searched for more. Fortunately I found more of this yarn IN THE EXACT DYELOT from a store in Indiana! I bought more yarn than I needed, of course, and now have enough yarn to make something for Jamie. And that something? The Embroidered Jacket from the Debbie Bliss Quick Baby Knits collection. The jacket is a cute little moss stitch jacket. A jacket for me AND a jacket for Jamie. So, you see, the Knitting Gods little prank was a NICE prank, for it enabled me to finish my jacket and have enough yarn to make Jamie one too. How lucky can a girl on a yarn diet get?
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Thanks to all of you for your kind words for a speedy recovery for Jamie! She is doing GREAT!!
[Warning! This post contains extensive discussion of acrylic yarn. Reader discretion is advised.]
Every yarn has its purpose. Really and truly. And that goes for those acrylic yarns that send many a yarn snob running and screaming into the night. Take Red Heart Camouflage, a yarn I purchased some time ago at P & S Fabric! Now, now, settle down. I have not abandonned my penchant for high end yarn. It's just that I saw this yarn and thought my Too Cool For School Nephew would like a hat made out of it and as I said, every yarn has a purpose. He. Did. Or at least I think he did. He said he did and since gifting it to him I have not grilled him on the frequency in which he wears it. [Isn't it true, Too Cool For School Nephew, that you have only worn your handknit hat ONCE?]
This yarn knits up to look like good ol military cami! A fun yarn if ever there was one, assuming that you think military cami is fun. This yarn, despite its complete and total acrylic composition, is v. soft and nice to work with. It does not have that slimy, yucky texture that many acrylic yarns have and on US 7 or 8 needles the stitches are plump and well defined. I. Love. That. I had ALOT of this yarn leftover after knitting the Too Cool for School Nephew's hat, for Red Heart is v. generous in yardage but could not think of what to do with it.
Enter my daughter's babysitter, who is quite taken with the many knitting projects that are in my project basket. Babysitter is a lovely woman who takes wonderful care of my daughter. She is also fond of handknits! When she told me that her three year old son was having a birthday, a happy marriage between project and yarn was made! I knit this hat and mittens, pattern from Yankee Knitter, in a flash.
While I almost always expect an adult to appreciate my gifted handknits (sometimes foolishly), I am never so sure that a little one will be happy to receive them. In this case, Son of Babysitter was THRILLED!! (Although at the time he opened his presents, I thought he was happier to see the motorcyle toy that was also stashed in his bag of goodies!!) Babysitter has reported that Son of Babysitter, despite the moderate temperatures we are having here in NYC, will look to find any excuse to wear his hat and mittens! (I am cold Mommy!) Bestill. My. Heart. (Babysitter loves them too and is especially happy that they can be mashine washed and will endure a good old fashioned snowball fight or frolic in the snow!)
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Things have been quiet around here for the past week or so because My Girl has been sick. Unfortunately, we made our first trip to the emergency room this week. Fortunately, she is being watched over by some fairly capable doctors and appears to be on the mend. Here's to hoping that next week is easier for both of us.
And thanks for all of your many kind comments and emails regarding my last post. They were most appreciated.
Nostalgic for high school? You might want to check this website out!
[I know, I know, I hear what y'all are saying as you read this post: Bestill my heart, two finished somethings in one week!][Fab!!]
High fives all around, Jamie's Jumping Dress, pattern from Miss Bea's Playtime, is finished!! My interpretation of this pattern bears little resemblence to that of its designer, Louisa Harding. While I did use the recommended yarn, Rowan's All Seasons Cotton, I did not make it stripey the way Ms. Harding did, and really pushed the envelope with the colourway selection -- three shades of All Seasons Cotton Melange. The colourway is funky, but it WORKS, even though the picture above does not quite show that. I also added a garter stitch row between each colour change to give greater definition to the change. I love it! I found the most DARLING buttons for the back closure --pink ducks! [Sorry no pictures, for the batteries for my camera are giving me a hard time right now. You will just have to trust me when I say that they are DARLING and JUST PERFECT for this little dress.]
While the pattern is an easy knit, I do have one complaint. Instead of advising the knitter on how to make the back closure, the pattern just directs the knitter to make the closure as you know how. [In words to that effect, for those of you who are checking the pattern book right now to see if I am making this up!] I would have preferred more guidance, actually ALOT more guidance, but such is the knitting life. [I am over it!]
All in all, I am happy that the Jumping Dress is done and cannot wait for the day Jamie can wear it. At present, the dress is a tad to big for my little girl, sweet little thing that she is, so we might have to wait a year or so for her to wear it. That's ok, for it is one more thing for both of us to look forward to.
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Since Mother's Day is this weekend in the US, I thought I might share with all of you my Mother's Day wish. No, it is not a wish for flowers or jewelry [although both would be nice] but rather a wish that people would not be so darn insensitive, rude, and/or ignorant towards Jamie and I. For reasons that are inexplicable to me, complete and total strangers come up to me and Jamie and ask the most rude and intrusive questions. Some examples: is she yours; what is she; where did you find her; what about her real parents; and does she have a father. I want to reply "none of your business, but since you brought it up, tell me about YOUR parents? Where did they find you?" One woman this past weekend came running up to Jamie and I this weekend as we were leaving our apartment building. She felt it was appropriate to try and touch my daughter and pepper me with questions as we were waiting for our ride to pick us up. This woman, someone I had never seen before, had the nerve to ask me whether or not I was her mother!! [She said, "you can't be her mother!, can you?] [I wanted to say, "you can't be such an ignoramus or can you?] She said, among other things, that "she wanted one just like her!" I did not respond to her questions, but merely turned my back on her and said good day. While I had been warned that things like this might happen, I did not realize that they would happen with such frequency or that they would bother me so much. While my daughter is small, she understands what is being said around her. And, I never want some insensitive oaf who has never seen either one of us before to say something that will hurt her feelings. EVER. [In fact, I will take this one step further, I do not want ANYONE, regardless of whether or not we are acquainted, to say such things in front of her.] So, my Mother's Day wish is for these stupid folks to leave us alone, now and always. Maybe an amulet, with TANIS root in it? [Yes, a Rosemary's Baby reference!!] And if they don't, I might have to start asking some hard questions back!! [Were you raised by wolves?]
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Inteview questions for Stacy and Anna soon to come. And don't worry, I won't ask any questions about paternity!! :)
[I finished something! I finished something!! Please alert the media!]
Yes, the rumours are true. I have indeed finished something. A small something, but a finished something noneless. The something? The Berry Hat by Fiber Trends. My version of this hat is the strawberry, for it is knit in a v. berry red and a v. green green. The yarn? Cotton Fleece.
I started this hat almost eight months ago.... it languished on the needles after I made a mistake, put it down, and then couldn't remember where I was in the pattern. Ahhh, the jokes and pranks of the Knitting Gods. After I went on one of my "finish it or frog it" binges, the hat was frogged. A few weeks ago I decided to try my hand at knitting this hat again, for I knew that it would look FABULOUS on soon to be Toddler Jamie. The Knitting Gods foiled my efforts again, because I could not find the pattern. Once I got my hands on the pattern, it was smooth sailing. [Thank you, Oh Poweful Knitting Gods, thank you!]
Cotton Fleece, if you don't already know, is a lovely yarn. It is pleasant to touch and an absolute pleasure to knit with. I thought that Jamie might like the feel of this yarn on her cute little head and be less inclined to take it off. I. Thought. Wrong.
I thought wrong because "the not wearing of the hat game" is the most fun game ever. For. Jamie. I put the hat on, she pulls it off. Again. And again. And again. Lots of giggles and peals of laughter...for both of us. Alas, while the game is fun, it does nothing for a woman [me] on a mission to take a picture of her daughter in her newly minted Berry Hat.
After many unsuccessful attempts to take the perfect blog photo of Jamie in her hat, I gave up and came up with Plan B: use the newest addition to Jamie's Dog Posse, Dreyfus, as the Hat Model:
[Jamie's little fingers reaching to get both the hat and her dog, duly noted!] Clearly, Dreyfus was far more accommodating as Hat Model than Jamie. [He's new to the family and is trying to win me over.][Mission Accomplished.]My version of the Berry Hat does not look as berry-like as the one pictured on the pattern. For some reason, my berry puckers are not as puckered as those in the pattern picture. I like it nonetheless. I am thinking of adding not only some elastic to the green border, but also some kind of leafy earflaps and ties to the hat to keep Jamie's ears warm AND to keep the hat on her head. Necessity really IS the mother of invention.
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Now, for something completely different. The lovely Cybergoddess Amy has agreed to submit to an interview by ME!! Her questions are as follows:
1. What is your favorite movie soundtrack? If your life had a soundtrack, what would that soundtrack be and why?
2. If someone said to you that a woman who knits cannot call herself a feminist, what would your response be?
3. What has been your best blogging experience? Worst?
4. When deciding whether or not to knit someone a gift, do you have any criteria to determine if someone is "knit worthy"?
5. Do you have a guilty pleasure, if so, please tell all!!
[Congratulations, Amy, on the publication of your book!!][Now, get crackin' and answer my questions, will ya!]