yaiAnn knits!

I've moved!

2007-12-31T16:02:53Z

Didn't get the memo? You can now find me here!

http://www.yaiann.com

Happy New Year!

Happy Knitaversary to me!

2007-11-20T20:07:39Z

Happy four years of knitting! What better way to celebrate than with a present.

Here's something from me to you. Now I finally feel like I have a proper blog. Please update your bookmarks and I'll see you there!

It's a Knitting Nature kind of week

2007-11-14T09:02:37Z

While I'd love to say that my BFF and I exchanged a sweater for lifetime FO modeling, that was certainly not the case (especially since I already divulged that she was voluntold into the duty).

I originally intended to knit the Turbulence U-neck Pullover for myself. I decided to knit it with negative ease and also lengthen the body as I thought the fit was too baggy on the model as well as a bit cropped. Despite the 2 inches I added to the length, the sweater was still to short for my liking. Additionally, the negative ease was a bit too much on the negative side. The stitches across the bust looked stretched out and overall the sweater just felt a bit on the snug side. As it turns out, I had my BFF try it on and it fit her perfectly!

Pattern: Turbulence U-neck Pullover, Norah Gaughn, Knitting Nature
Size: 36"
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Merino DK, color 225003, 10 skeins
Needles: Addi Turbos, 4.0mm, 3.5mm
Started: May 2007
Finished: November 2007

Notes:
Easy, simple and straightforward pattern (unlike the Ram's Horn Jacket). This is definitely suitable for beginners and a great pattern for learning cables.

I added a few fun details such as tubular cast-on. Did I ever tell you that the Italian tubular cast-on is the best thing since sliced bread?

I also decided to do slipped stitch edges which is one of the reasons why I didn't even bother trying to fix the sweater.

But all's well that ends well. The sweater has gone to a good home and has already been worn in public! Couldn't ask for anything more, except for some inspiration for my maid of honor speech.. any tips?

----------
And thanks so much for all your wonderful comments on my Ram's Horn Jacket! I got so many compliments on it at work and from friends. It was really flattering!

Ram's Horn Jacket

2007-11-12T18:00:03Z

Is not being able to find an appropriate closure a good enough excuse NOT to post an FO? I'm definitely going to say yes. My little old Ram's Horn Jacket has been sitting around since April for exactly that reason (yes, it's been waiting around for 6 months to be debuted). I've worn it a few times around town without a closure and needless to say, it felt naked without one and was also a bit annoying to have the big old collar just loose and flapping about whichever old way it pleased. So are you ready to see the jacket in all it's ram's horn-ee-ness glory? Of course you are, lots of you have been waiting 6 months!

Pattern: Ram's Horn Jacket, Norah Gaughn, Knitting Nature
Yarn: Cascade 220, color 4011
Needles: Addi turbos, 4.0mm and 3.75mm
Started: October 2006
Finished: April 2007

Notes:
I fell in love with the pattern as soon as I saw it in the book. But honestly, it's so easy to fall in love with anything in Knitting Nature. The patterns have been styled and photographed so beautifully it's hard not to like anything in there. But what I loved most about this pattern was the insanely huge collar (despite the minor construction issue I had with it). This pattern jumped out of the class of being one of a run of the mill swing jacket patterns to something you could consider a piece of modern art.

And of course the upturned hems on the sleeves and the body are also a nice touch.

I did have a few issues with the pattern. First off, the pattern was severely lacking construction and finishing instructions. It gives instructions on how to knit the hemmed sleeves and body pieces, but no where does it indicate how to finish them. Since I've knit hemmed edges before, I merely knit them up as I knit the piece. However, if I were a beginner who had never knit upturned hems before, I'd be left scratching my head.

Another thing lacking from the instructions was how to attach the front bands. Are you supposed to put them on before or after you finish the upturned hems? Oh wait, they never tell you when or how to finish the upturned hems, so maybe you don't attach them at all? And if you attach them, do you try to seam it to both sides of the hem or just the one? What I did since the hems were knit up as I knit the body piece, I attached the front band to the outer layer of the hem, then went back, and seamed the inside layer of the hem to the band so the "tunnel" created by the hem wouldn't be exposed.

The most major issue I had with the jacket was the collar. The collar is basically knit from the skinny side to the large side and is constructed using short rows. The short row technique used in the pattern left pretty visible stitches, but trusted the pattern and I hoped that they would block out. Unfortunately they didn't but I decided to leave them as is instead of reknitting the entire collar. If you decide to knit this jacket, use the traditional short row method instead of the one the pattern sugguests.

The visible short rows were actually the least of my concerns regarding the collar. If I knitted according to the pattern and ended the collar at 94 stitches, the collar would have stopped at my shoulder, no where near where the collar is supposed to end according to the pattern picture. I was pretty positive the collar wouldn't block out an extra 8 or so inches so I kept knitting. I knew the collar would end up ginormous, but that is what makes this jacket. I ended with about 124 stitches or so and it turned out to be just the right size. There would have been no way that a wimpy collar of only 94 stitches would even do the jacket justice, not to mention even resemble the pattern picture.

And my final construction rant about this jacket, the pattern doesn't even suggest how to attach the collar. Once the collar is knit up, you fold it in half and then seam it. Again there's this issue of two sides of fabric (the folded collar) being attached to one piece of fabric (the neckline of the jacket). I finally decided to bust out the handy dandy crochet hook, and sc'd the free edges of the collar together. Then I seamed that to the neckline. The pattern also does not tell you which end of the collar goes to which side of the neckline. Each front is a different height. The skinny end of the collar is attached to the taller front and the large end is attached to the shorter front.

Are you thoroughly discouraged from knitting this jacket now? I hope not! I've gone through all the knitting pains for you, so now you don't have to. I just apologize that it took me so darned long to post about it. Oh, and for the closure. I was searching high and low for an appropriate shawl pin or something to use. They use a wooden shawl pin in the book which has a HUGE wooden stick. I'm not sure how they were able to manage to get that stick through the fabric, but I do hope they didn't wreck the yarn. With the gauge I knit my jacket, I couldn't imagine taking something of that diameter and forcing it through four pieces of knit fabric (two layers of the collar, the left front and the right front). I was debating alternative closures, such as sewing on a snap or even hook and eyes. But the perfect closure was the most obvious one, a kilt pin. Whodathought?

And one last note, not pattern related, but the cure for my OCD on photo shoots is to find a suitable model and take the photos yourself. There was a marathon putting-together-wedding-stuff-day yesterday and I voluntold my BFF that she would be my model. It worked out well and is even better than taking photos on a dress form! Why? Because you can tell her to do whatever you want, including, I'm a little tea pot!

Sew I What?

2007-11-09T04:16:25Z

Sew? I Knit! is back! The next project starts November 15 and it's all about The Holiday Party. If you're planning on sewing something to wear over the holidays, come join us! Want a little sewing inspiration? I have four words for you, Burda World of Fashion.

The November issue, if you haven't seen it yet, is full of gems! Don't trust me, see here. And you must click through the photo to see the entire red dress. I think I'm leaning towards that one. What will you sew? Come on over and join the fun!

Listen to me..

2007-11-08T07:44:34Z

No seriously. Listen to me here! Adrienne interviewed little old me last week for her podcast. We chatted a bit about knitting, sewing and cooking. Fun times!

As I'm coming down from 3 super busy work weeks, not to mention my BFF's wedding next week, I'm finally going to have time to do some serious updates. The fate of the houndstooth sock will soon be revealed as well as some FO's and some more exciting news!

Until the next post, here's another musical interlude.

Like the remix better? Click here.

This emergency post brought to you by..

2007-10-17T16:39:52Z

a Motorola SLVR (cameraphone action at its best)..

Need opinions ASAP. I've committed to knitting a friend a FABULOUS sock. After trying three different patterns I decided to go it on my own. I originally wanted to knit something textured, but decided to do colorwork instead. I decided on a houndstooth motif and went from there. And now I'm not sure if I should go on. The pattern seems to disappear to me and you can't discern the "houndsteeth" from blobs of color. What do you think? Should I dunk, soak, and block this before I make a decision to go back to the drawing board or just scrap this pattern altogether?

Flat

"modeled"

Happiness is..

2007-10-16T06:20:26Z

After spending all weekend tracing patterns and anxiously awaiting for Monday so that I could pick up my wool fabric from the cleaners, I discovered that I won't be able to sew up Simplicity 3631. Why? Because I am SUCH the math genius. Sometime in between tracing patterns and waiting for Monday, I had added the following up in my head: 2 3/4 yd + 1 yd = 2 3/8 yd ... WTF? yes, WTF.. I got so excited to have something new to wear to a work event on Friday that I had imagined that I had extra fabric to make the skirt in addition to the jacket I was originally intending on sewing. I would have made a suit! I was so excited about that possibility that it made the wait to pick up my dry cleaning unbearable. So this evening I picked up the wool and proceeded to work on cutting. I started out by cutting off 1 yard for the skirt. I looked at the remaining fabric and thought to myself, wait a sec, this can't possibly be 2 3/4 yards. I ran back upstairs, checked the card and realized, rather reminded myself, that I only had 2 3/8 yards. The SADNESS! I must have had a huge brain lapse! Even if I didn't decide to make the skirt, I still wouldn't have had enough to make the jacket!

So as I'm simultaneously feeling sad and pissed at my wonderful math skills, I remembered that I had a gem waiting for me in the dryer..

Beach Stripe Quilt
Pattern: my own, based on 10" and 5" squares and 5"x10" rectangles
Fabric: Alexander Henry's Beach Stripe, symphony broadcloth and country classic solids
Size: 40 x 40"
Recipient: CJ

Why yes, it is another baby quilt. I tell you, they're popping out all over the place!* This quilt was made for my good college friend's little boy who made his appearance this weekend. I swear this would have been done before he was born! His shower is happening this weekend, but HE wasn't supposed to happen until next month! So welcome to the world little CJ!

This quilt was supposed to be based purely on 10, 5, and 2.5" squares. I played and played around with all the pieces and finally decided on something. As you can see, there are rectangles and no 2.5" squares. The design changed and I'm pretty happy with it. There is one little boo-boo in the layout, can you spot it? I caught it early on that I could have fixed it, but decided to keep it that way, partially out laziness and partially as a "design element" (which do you really believe?).

Some of those 2.5" squares show up on the back. And to be honest with you, I like the back a lot better than the front. But that's the good thing about this quilt, instead of having a plain back, you've got a design on both sides so you can flip back and forth depending on your mood.

I learned two things while making this quilt. Painter's tape is your best friend when quilting a geometric motif. I basically quilted 5 square spirals, one in the center, and one in each quadrant of the quilt. Then I quilted diagonal lines on the corners of the quilt. Detail here.

I also learned that you shouldn't use dark colored thread to sew your pieces together. I used green thread to piece the quilt together. Bad move. While you can't see the green show through the yellow from afar, it's definitely noticeable when you look right it. Quilting tip of the day: When piecing fabrics of different colors, use thread that matches the fabric with the lightest color.

And because I'm always amazed at the pre and post wash transformation, here are some before and afters. Click through for links to see each individual photo.

* I've got three more friends expecting little ones (three little girls, one in November, December, and January). More cutting and piecing to come. At this rate, I'll never get my own quilt done!

Five down..

2007-10-15T07:17:41Z

Five to go, (that is, if I don't finish anything before I've blogged all my backlogged FO's)

Did you have any doubt in your mind that socks would make up the majority of the 10 items I haven't blogged about? C'mon now! Count 'em up, five pairs knit between April and August.

mamaFasu's Birthday socks
Pattern: 3x1 ribbed socks
Yarn: Regia Jubilee, 1 skein
Needles: Inox 2.25mm

Your basic 3x1 rib, my go to ribbing pattern. Nothing fancy here.

Pattern: Charade, Sandra of I May Be Knitting a Ranch House fame
Yarn: Yarn Pirate in Pure Knits, 1 skein
Needles: Addi Turbo 2.0mm

These were problem socks, not the pattern, but the yarn! It kept pooling something awful no matter what pattern. So I decided to start another pattern but from the other end of the ball and guess what, it worked!

Pattern: 3x1 ribbed socks
Yarn: Yarn Pirate in Shamrock, 1 skein
Needles: Addi Turbo 2.0mm

These socks are also known as the Incredible Hulk Socks, named, of course, by B himself. They're his socks so he can call them what he wants. I had the same pooling problem with this yarn as well, but hey, it pooled into stripes which is helluva lot better than pooling in to blobs any day!

Pattern: Conwy, Nancy Bush from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Koigu KPM, 2 skeins, color 242040
Needles: Addi Turbo 2.5mm

Love these socks and now I finally have a pair of my own! I knit my first pair for Lori two years ago for a holiday sock swap. This time I knit them exactly as written and only used two skeins, but just barely as only a few yards were left from each skein.

Pattern: basic stockinette sock with cuff from Giotto sock pattern
Yarn: Cookie A. yarn, 1 skein
Needles: Inox circulars and Crystal Palace dpns 2.25mm

This pair of socks were blatantly copied from Kris. That woman and her socks never fail to impress, I tell ya. I want to make every pair she makes.

And to appease the shoes with socks god(s)..

No worries, B's wearing shorts. It's not quite cool enough to bust out the hand knit socks, but it's getting there. Fall weather, hurry up and get here already!

I'm so ready for the weekend..

2007-10-12T07:39:35Z

Coming back from an awesome trip last weekend was not the best way to start the work week. I've been looking forward to the weekend since I stepped off the plan on Sunday night! I know you've all had this kind of week. What am I looking forward to this weekend? More of the same, aka too many things to do and not enough time to do it. Things I hope to accomplish this weekend: tracing and cutting Simplicity 3631, tracing at least ONE BWOF pattern, and finishing up another baby quilt.

I'll leave you with a little musical interlude inspired by Adrienne's Throwback Friday video for this week.

Have a great weekend y'all!

5 knitters + 5 cameras = ...

2007-10-10T05:54:33Z

a whole lotta photos with everyone looking at a different camera ...

L-R: yours truly, Leah, Maria (blogless), Yahaira, Stefanie, and Stephanie

This weekend one of my best knitting buds got hitched, Miss Yahaira.*

Not only was it the wedding of the year, but it was also the knitting meet up of the year as I got to meet my other best knitting buds, Stephanie and Leah, and also got meet Miss Glampyre herself, Stefanie Japel.

Another example of the "too many cameras" syndrome

What can I say about the weekend aside from the fact that it was too short, waaaaaaay too short? I had a BLAST hanging out with all my girls. We ate WAY too much food and had WAY too many sweets. We experienced` the "Wharton Walk," an excuse for the business students to look a fool by walking around in a shirt, coat and tie up top and boxers, dress socks and dress shoes on the bottom (the women's version is a blazer and slip, garters and thigh high stockings are optional).

I didn't get to see as much of Philly as I would have liked (we stayed mostly in center city and on South Street), but all the fun times I had with everyone was well worth missing out on what the rest of the city had to offer.

Congrats, my dear! Bon Voyage and have an awesome time in Kauai!

*Thanks to those that wished me congrats, but it's not my turn yet (I've deleted those comments to protect the innocent). I'll definitely let y'all know when that time comes.

A knot was tied this weekend ...

2007-10-08T07:07:27Z

but my dress, it didn't get done.

It was a long, fun-filled weekend. More to come...

8 things at 7:53 on a Friday night..

2007-09-29T03:06:31Z

And I'm still at work! Yes, your eyes do not deceive. I'm now done with my work for the week and fortunately B will be here shortly to sweep me away into the weekend (gosh that sounded romantic, but there's nothing romantic planned for the weekend at all -- getting me out of work is plenty romantic for me right now). So what's in store for this blog post, a meme.

Katie from katie sews tagged me so here goes.

Eight things you probably don't know about me:
1. I can speak German (it's rusty)
2. I was in a Thai Classical dance and music troop
3. I was in a hip hop dance troop
4. I was in a sorority and was also the president of my chapter (don't ask, cuz I won't tell)
5. I secretly wish I was a DJ (DJ Neta is my all time favorite female DJ)
6. I secretly wish I was a b-girl

and B's here, so you get jipped.. I'll continue in another post.. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Where I'm at

2007-09-25T17:28:36Z

Here's an overview to the state of things at bahn yaiAnn..

Number of FOs to be blogged: 10
Number of knitting projects in progress: 1
Number of knits planned: 0
Number of sewing projects in progress: 2
Number of sewing projects planned: 5+
Number of quilts planned: 5
Number of sewing patterns purchased in the last 2 months: too many to count
Amount of fabric purchased in the last two months: My wallet just hurts thinking about it

So yes, it seems that mamaFasu's dream has, for the time being, come true. Sewing is starting to take a huge chunk of my attention and knitting is getting pushed to the back burner (For those of you who are unfamiliar with mamaFasu, she made half of her living in Thailand as a seamstress. When I started knitting, she saw it as a waste of time and expressed to me how much more efficient and useful sewing is). So yes. Here I am, spending most of my days thinking about sewing, patterns and fabric. I watch the time and wait for 5 o'clock to come so I can head home, trace patterns and just feel the soothing hum of my sewing machine against my hands. Gosh, it sounds like I'm turning into a sicko!

So what's the immediate happs in terms of projects and such? The wedding of the year is happening in less that two weeks and I haven't even cut fabric for the dress I was planning on sewing, Vogue 8386. I did, however, make a muslin and am currently working through some pattern modifications. But something happened this weekend and yesterday that stopped me dead in my tracks. I found fabulous fall fabrics that are just calling me out to sew pieces for some new fall clothes. I snagged some black cotton twill, mini black and white houndstooth, creamy taupe wool, and brown tweedy wool. Here are the pieces I'm thinking about.

McCall 5480

Vogue 8413

Design 118, capelet from BWOF 9/2007

Design 117, dress from BWOF 9/2007

Design 116, skirt from BWOF 9/2007

I feel like I'm asking for trouble by even just THINKING about sewing from BWOF. My original intent was to try the "one dot" patterns. But out of the three issues I have, NONE of them have a single "one dot" pattern. I guess I'll give a go at the "two dots" and just take my time.

As for my dress for the wedding of the year, who knows now. But I do have a back-up, so I'm prepared. And as far as knitting goes, don't give up on me yet because I haven't given up on knitting. I can't drag my sewing machine on the bus, so the knitting will continue to live on.

Craft Negligence or just ADD?

2007-09-19T01:55:24Z

I started Plain Spoken a full month before my friend was due and I was on track to finish and send the quilt off by her due date (scheduled c-section). babyG was born on July 17. It's been over two months. What have I been doing? Naturally working on other things, like dresses and tops and shirts.

Poor babyG has gone quilt-less for two months while I've been crafting away selfishly. I can name the reasons, but the amount of time to go from quilt top to quilt was less than 2 hours. I totally could have finished it and sent it on time. I'm definitely guilty of crafty negligence.

Okay babyG, this ones for you.

Pattern: Plain Spoken, The Modern Quilt Workshop
Fabric: Country Cotton Solids and Symphony Broadcloth
Size: Approximately 38" x 40"

Notes:
This was a fun quilt to make. I followed the string piecing method as instructed in the book. The hardest part of the quilt was the layout. As I mentioned in a previous post, it will probably be easier to use more than 4 colors (the book, I believe, recommends at least 7). Other than that it was easy as pie. I quilted it using this "rolling pin" motif crisscrossed with a bead type motif rather than the nice stiple/free motion style they show in the book (I'm not versed in free motion, yet).

Love those ripples and rumples

I also attached the binding by machine instead of half by machine and half by hand like I did on the Charlie Brown quilt. Sewing it on by machine gives you a visible stitch on both sides whereas attaching one side by machine and slip stitching the remainder by hand gives you an invisible finish. It is more time consuming to do it by hand, but I prefer the invisible finish over saving time.

The quilt back is nothing more than a coordinating polka dot print. I was lucky to find one that pretty much matched the greens I chose for the top.

I hope they like it as much as I do!

And for those of you who want the full shots of the quilt, here's the front and the back.

Butterick 5040, Majick dress

2007-09-17T04:21:22Z

After taking a million pictures of your most recent FO, how do you choose which ones make the cut?

You've got the artsy, odd angle shot.

You've got the detail shots.

And you've got the shots look the same, but are oh so different.

So in the end, how do you decide which one best represents your finished product and how overjoyed you are without showing all of them? Your guess is as good as mine. Without further ado, I present to you my second dress.*

The "half superhero" pose

Pattern: Butterick 5040, View B
Size: S
Fabric: Majick Beads jersey from purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics

Process Notes:
This was my second time working with a knit (I'm overdue on posting about my first foray into knits, but that will come soon). Much like the first, it wasn't bad AT ALL. The sewing process is pretty much the same as sewing with wovens except that you have to adjust the type of stitch you use (just as Blossom told me, stretch stitch all the way). I also discovered that polyester matte jersey won't take a crease (for the experienced sewers out there, is this true for all jerseys?). This made ironing hems and such difficult, but I was able to work around that by sewing a "crease/fold line" where the crease/fold is to be made and pressed. Then I folded and pinned along the fold line, stitched down the work, then ripped out the fold line. A walking foot was also very handy in making sure that the top and bottom fabrics were advanced along at the same rate as well. (Oh, and the front "wave" from the yoke lining up with the "wave" on the body, TOTAL coincidence. I didn't plan for that at all.)

Pattern Notes:
I would have sewed a size M but I didn't want all that ease (and minimize the likelihood of anyone thinking I was pregnant) so I sewed a size S. I made no modifications at all and I think it fits perfectly. The pattern is labeled very easy and in my opinion (considering this is the second time I've worked with knits), it is. It's well written and I had no points of confusion. However, this dress took me longer than I thought because of all the gathering.

Verdict:
I LOVE the dress and I LOVE the fabric! It's too bad that the style of the dress and the fabric is so distinctive that I can't wear this more often. The fabric is so soft and comfortable, not to mention wrinkle resistant, that I want to make everything in it!

Style questions:
Is this dress work appropriate (I work at a non-profit where the dress code is business casual)? Do you have any ideas on what other shoes I can wear with this dress? I think the black pumps are okay, but I definitely think there's something that goes even better. I feel that the black stands out a bit too much but it works for the time being. I have some strappy camel shoes, but I think those may be too summery since we're moving into fall.

*I've blogged my FO's out of order, but will blog about my first dress soon. I was just able to get pictures of this dress first since an opportunity represented itself (my best friend's bridal shower).

I'm ready..

2007-09-14T08:17:10Z

It's practically 1am and I'm still up despite the fact that work has been crunch crunch crunchy as hell this week and as a result, sleep has been lacking. So the deal is this. I'm waiting for my Plain Spoken quilt to complete its whirl in the washer so I can finish it up in the dryer. And why couldn't this wait til tomorrow? My friend's baby was born almost TWO months ago and the quilt has just been draped over the back of a chair waiting to be quilted. I finally picked it up on Tuesday and started quilting. I was almost done, but had to run off to dinner. Then today I decided to try to finish it off. I finished quilting, made the binding, attached the binding, and the next thing I know, it's midnight. I felt like I was on such a roll, that I just had to finish it. Do you ever get that way? It happens to me often, that urge to keep going despite the hour or presence of a deadline.

So here I am.. waiting for the quilt.. wondering if I should make a wedding quilt for my best friend who's getting married in two months .. thinking about the three other quilts I want to make for my three other friends that are expecting in the next 3-5 months.. realizing that I really want a quilt of my own now.. wondering if I really have time to do all of this, plus sew garments, plus knit. You ever have one of those days? Today is that day for me.

Hurray for crafting ADD. Have a great weekend y'all.

Imitation can be knotty

2007-09-12T06:30:35Z

After a long unintentional hiatus from yoga (me losing my yoga pass and being too darn lazy to get a new one), B and I finally started up again (There's nothing like having 20 prepaid classes that expire in November to get yourself motivated). At our first class back I saw this woman with this really cute yoga mat bag that I've never seen before. She carried it sling style across her body yet there was no strap. At the end of class I asked her to see it and it was nothing more than a tube of fabric with the ends tied into a knot to form a sling! Instant lightbulb. So me, not having a proper yoga mat bag decided that I could make that very same bag. So guess what.

So instead of going to yoga this past Saturday, I decided to finally make my bag. And let me tell you, it was easy as pie. I literally sewed a tube, keeping the ends open. Then I stitched the middle of the bag closed making one side longer than the other and that was it!

Grab your yoga gear.

Put your yoga mat in the longer of the two halves.

Put your other items in the other half.

Grab the ends of the bag with the mat half against your back and hold them up to your collarbone.

Tie ends into a knot.

Now you're read to go sweat your ass off at yoga.

Easy, right? Right!

Pattern: "Knotty Yoga Sling", by me!
Fabric: random cotton from the sale section at Joanns

Notes: Making this bag really couldn't have been easier. It's cute and functional. What more can you ask for? Except that I already have a modification in mind that will make this bag even better. Stay tuned for a redux!

Up to no good

2007-09-10T06:46:23Z

I entered the weekend late Friday afternoon boarding the bus carrying a thick file folder. You know what that means, I'm supposed to spend the weekend doing some work. The plan on Saturday was to start the day of with yoga, then get some work done and work on some crafty projects. The sewing bug bit me nice and early Saturday morning. So what did I do?

Skipped yoga, traced patterns, washed fabric. Clearly I have my priorities straight. But I was productive this weekend. I have two new FO's to show! And I also have a lot of "old" FOs to show, too. I have at least 10 FOs I haven't blogged about. I really wouldn't be such a back-logged blogger if I wasn't so anal about my FO photos. But of course it also helps to be patient during my self-timer photo shoots, take way more photos than I think I need, have a patient photographer (when available) and also a good background. I just can't stand to just post an FO only photo (with the exception of socks). I like to include modeled "action" shots as well. Ugh, but that's the part I get anal about. Care to share any tips on how I can reduce my anal-ness?

In the meantime, here are some sneak previews of FOs to come.

Something red ...

and something brown ...

.. and some other colors as well. Oh, and before you think I've completely quit knitting, I can assure you that there are knitted items as well. Now pardon me as I get back to my weekend work.

The last one on the block..

2007-09-07T06:20:34Z

Every since the very first iPod came out waaaaay back in 2001, I wanted it. I laughed at and loved watching the commercial of the dorky dancing guy bounce around his apartment which this new fangled contraption. And of course, back then being in grad school, there was no way I could afford one. I lived most of my grad school lifetime locked up in the computer lab or in my office plugging away on the computer. And what lived in my backpack aside from books, readers, yellow pads of paper and pens of various colors, but a set of headphones and a wallet of CDs. My "don't-bother-me-I'm-hard-at-work" and "y'all fools are being way too loud! don't you have some regressions to run?" tactics at blocking out the rest of the world. And of course it's a way for me to enjoy my music since the older I get, the less I can relate to any music played on the radio (Gosh, it seriously is scary for me to say I can barely relate to what's on the radio now.. and also scary for me to listen to the old school mixes at noon and realize that all the songs they're playing are all the songs I grew up with!). But I digress..

This lovely thing landed in my hands this past weekend. In all it's orange glory. I love it. I know the new iPods just came out this week, but I'm lucky I got this when I did. Orange is no longer in the shuffle rotation. So what took me so long? And why didn't I get a full size or nano? Honestly, the main thing holding me back was the money. I got the shuffle mainly because I want to use this when I work out and an armband holding a nano or full size was just too fussy for me. Plus for $80? It was just a no brainer, that and using my phone to sub as a music player just wasn't cuttin' it.

So do you want to hear the funny thing about this whole iPod business? I'm totally obsessed with podcasts right now. It's not even about the music for me anymore because aside from all the crafty/knitting/sewing podcasts, I've discovered that I can get NPR podcasts and listen on the way to work (very cool because I'm too lazy to switch my clock radio from the sports talk/giants flagship station to NPR in the morning). And my other best podcast discovery is the free language podcasts! I've been all over Coffee Break Spanish and Japanese Pod 101. So for the past week, I've been listening to NPR and trying to learn Spanish and Japanese on the way to and from work. So now I'm a bit addicted to finding cool new podcasts. Aside from these, do you have any favorite podcasts you want to share?

Turnaround time

2007-08-27T04:07:12Z

There's been this running joke (with a hint of truth) between B and I about my sewing turnaround time. You may recall back in May of last year that B picked outfabric and a shirt pattern. It's been a really long and slow process for me to deliver him his shirt. So long and slow that when he's around when I offer to sew or fix something for someone or someone asks me to sew or fix something for them, his response is, "Sure she'll do it, but it will be a 2 year turnaround time." Har har, I can't deny that because as of May, a year later, he still hadn't received his shirt. So I finally said to him definitively, I will finish your shirt and you'll have it by August.

August 5th arrived and I had a shirt for him, just not a shirt he could wear yet. Why you ask? Because yaiAnn couldn't find her bottle of fray check to finish off the buttonholes. And it took yaiAnn one week to get her butt to the store to pick up a new bottle of fray check. And by August 15th, the shirt was done. And on August 16th, yaiAnn presented the shirt to B and he proudly wore it to dinner that night, thereby dispelling the 2 year turnaround time myth. As of then, the turnaround time is 1.25 years.

Pattern: Simplicity 4760, view B
Fabric: Green seersucker purchased from Michael Levine

Modifications: I omitted the front yokes per B's request (I also thought they looked very odd), and the top button loop, but followed the rest of the pattern as written. This was a very easy pattern that went very smoothly except for attaching the collar. I had a bit of trouble interpreting the pattern for that part but did something and it managed to work out. I definitely hope to improve my collar skills as my shirt making requests increase. I also should be a bit more precise when making the collar as well since one is slightly larger than the other. B even noticed it. Ooops.

All in all the pattern was simple and straight forward (except for the collar attachment). My only disappointment with the pattern is that it's for a basic collared shirt that didn't have any RTW details, such as the back yoke and a stand up collar. I would have liked for it to look more like a store bought shirt, but I don't think it looks homemade either. I'm really happy with the way it came out and actually can't wait to make more if he asks me to. He's pretty happy with the shirt too. As I sewed up the the shirt, I realized how simple of a pattern this was and shouldn't have let things such as figuring out how to straighten the grain on seersucker (I've been using the snip and rip technique instead of the snip and draw a thread out -- the snip and rip didn't work on seersucker as the fabric wouldn't rip up the width more than 3-4 inches).

What's the verdict? I hope B asks me to make him more shirts as I had fun making this one. In fact I already have one in mind and may just surprise him with it!

Because the good outweigh the bad

2007-08-23T06:20:52Z

And because you never remember poor service and a poor sock yarn selection (The good stuff, including the crafty, to immediately follow the bad).

I remember what I sadly couldn't remember what I did on Friday, July 13. I went to Queen Anne to check out Nancy's Sewing Basket. I probably shouldn't refer to this as poor service, because it was more like no service. I walked into the store and they had really pretty fabric. Browsed and touched fabric for a good 20 minutes. I was really interested in some of their super soft jerseys and spent a lot of time there. And flipped through their selection of Burda magazines. There were at least 3 employees in the store, on in the back helping another customer with buttons and two at the cutting table discussing jewelry making. There were no more than 5 people in the store including myself and B. Not once did anyone even greet me. B always notices those kinds of things and it bothered me ESPECIALLY because I was hanging out in the knits for a good 10 minutes or so. Did I need help? Possibly. Did I have questions? Surely. Would asking me either of those questions result in a sale? Most likely. But I guess they didn't want my business, so out the door I went.

Lucky for us, we discovered Hilltop Yarn Shop right across the street. It was a beautiful, beautiful store! One of the prettiest yarn shops I've ever been in. It probably helps that the shop is in a huge house! I wouldn't be surprised if they carried the entire Rowan line. Every where I turned was Rowan. The one thing I was really disappointed in was their poor sock selection, two measly shelves. They had Shibui, Fleece Artist, Jitterbug, and maybe one more line, but only had at most 2-3 colorways for each line. Eh? I always try to make some kind of yarn purchase in every city I go to, but there was nothing there for me and I didn't want to buy something just for the sake of buying something, so away we went.

There were three stand-out good things that happened on this trip. First and foremost, we completed STP in one day, despite TWO flats (one for me and one for B) within 15 miles of reaching Portland.

This was B's tire. How would you like a gash like that
staring you back in the face standing between you and a double century?
Thank goodness for my tire boot! If you want more info about how a tire boot
will save your life, shoot me an email.

Number two, seeing my talented friend start to make his mark as an artist. I was in awe of every single piece at his opening. It made it really hard to decide which piece to buy. Darv has always been a talented guy. I've seen most of his work in his graff art and sketches, but at his opening, my eyes totally opened to well rounded and versatile he is, from watercolors, oils, to wood burns, and I bet he can still work a can of krylon like no other.

And last but not least, I finally sewed a mother-bleepin' garment!!! Wouldja look at that? All I can say is that it's about time! I also have to be honest and say that this isn't the first garment I've sewn. I made two of the BBW peasant tops but they're nothing to write home about (one was in a basic natural colored linen and the other was a batik print with two unintentional placed flowers right where the girlies are -- remind me to be more careful about that next time.)

Pattern: New Look 6706, View E
Size: 16
Fabric: Black gauze purchased from Fashion Fabrics Club

Notes: This is a straightforward pattern to which I made no alterations aside from omitting the strap ruffles (why are they even necessary?). The directions for attaching the straps also didn't seem very secure as they only have you hand stitch the straps down the top of the elastic casing on the back. So I also machined sewed the straps down at the bottom of the elastic casing, matching up the stitching on the casing. What I would have done differently is use black interfacing. They make it for a reason, buy it. It's a good thing that it's not that noticeable.

Verdict: The perfect summer top! I love it!

The Portland Seattle Sandwich

2007-08-22T07:34:16Z

How do I catch you up with all my goings ons the past month and a half? Let's start with quick down and dirty photo montage cliff notes of the first vacation of the summer, STP aka "The Portland to Seattle to Portland to Seattle then back home again" trip.

Tuesday, July 10..
Leave San Francisco at 7pm and roll into Medford, Oregon past midnight. Note to any late night road trippers, not all fast food joints are open 24 hours. For the vegetarians out there, especially those that don't eat seafood, these make food options severely limited especially when Burger King isn't the joint that's open past midnight. My dinner, Filet'o'Fish with the tartar sauce scraped off. Finally headed to bed past 2am.

Wednesday, July 11..
Continued onto Portland. Spent WAY too much time at the outlets, leaving us no time to stop in Portland. Got our view via the bridges.

Rolled into Seattle past sunset.

Thursday, July 12..
Headed to Macrina Bakery in Belltown and had breakfast with two wonderful knitters. Headed to REI to pick up some necessities for the weekend's activity then met up with friends for a "practice."

Friday, July 13..
Sadly, I can't remember much about first part of the day, but in the evening, we went to my friend's gallery opening and purchased our first piece of art.

Saturday, July 14..
Headed back to Portland at 5am with 6 friends via two-wheeled man-powered vehicles.

Rolled into Portland by 10pm and crashed out at our super cool hotel.

Sunday, July 15..
Headed back to the finish line to cheer on the rest of the riders. Then made our way back to Seattle after lunch via 4-wheeled gas-powered vehicle.

Monday, July 16..
Grubbed on some of the best Indian food EVER (second to the food at my grad school roommate's wedding)!

Strolled down to the neighboring yarn shop and got some yarn for a hat for B. Then headed out to meet some friends for a refreshing frosty drink at the market.

Then off to Lake Union for a boat ride and some cool views of Seattle.

Tuesday, July 17..
Boo, time to go home. Of all the times I've been to Seattle during the summer, it has never rained, except for this day.

All in all it was a great trip. But MAN! That drive from SF to Seattle is long and BRUTAL! Feel free to look at more pictures from the trip here.

The face of the earth

2007-08-21T03:51:30Z

I still know what it looks like. I've just been on the other side of it (more like the super busy side of work and most recently the other side of the US). I'll be home tomorrow with lots to show! Sit tight!

Back and stitchin', but not while "pitchin'"

2007-07-26T19:33:10Z

I'm back! I've actually been back for a little over a week. What can I say? Vacations are NEVER long enough. I'm finally caught up with all the blogs and I just wanted to drop in and say hi! Oh, and also that I'm knitting, but only socks. Hey, it's a start right? I also wanted to share a brief moment in my life where two of my favorite things, converged.. knitting and baseball

I went to the Giants game on Tuesday night and it just happened to be Stitch'n'Pitch! Who'd have thought? We just happened to be sitting in one of the Stitch'n'Pitch sections, too. That's a screen shot of the "knitting competition" they had in place, which team, boys against girls, could knit a catchers mitt the fastest (Do you see Lou Seal? Of course he HAD to be in the shot, too, right?). They had until the 8th inning and the boys won. I must admit, their mitt was cooler and more authentic. The embroidered the cursive "R" for Rawlings.

Don't stone me as I'm about to express my opinion on knitting at baseball games as this only applies to me. But I won't knit at a baseball game and most likely won't ever participate in Stitch'n'Pitch because knitting wrecks my enjoyment of the game. I'm a pretty active fan, so I will jump, yell, scream, clap and high-five. I can't do any of this with knitting in my hands. Baseball and eating also go hand and hand for me. It's hard enough for me to try to cheer while eating, especially nachos *yum* without getting half of it on me. So the thought of cheese on yarn, not pretty. So I don't even bother. I WILL, however, knit and watch baseball on tv. I have no problem with that whatsoever, with the main difference being, I've got all the space in the world to spread out!

More crafty talk to come including details of my trip! And for those who are wondering, yes I did finish sewing that top to wear during my vacation.