Another Nella FO

This one is from C.C. over at Rapt With Fiber. She modified the pattern so that the reverse-stockinette of the body is on the outside. It's looks great!


I just love this colorway.

Nella FOs!

Check out this Nella FO from Dawn over at Knitting Nonstop. Doesn't it look amazing?



I also reknit it, to check the pattern, using a different yarn: Plymouth Yarn's Boku. I don't adore it as much as the Noro, for various reasons, but it is a good, lower-priced alternative for this project.

Have you knit a project from Fiber Smarts? Send us your FOs--we'd love to see them and share them with everyone.

On Ugly Sweaters

Jordynn and I are talking over knitting at the moment and we have come to a conundrum.

Let me approach the conundrum via simile.

You know how your friend with the ugly kids thinks her kids are just gorgeous, simply because they are her kids? As though her act of creation has blinded her to the irrefutable fact that her kids are ugly?

I'm having a funny feeling that the sweaters I knit are actually ugly, and that I would never wear them if I didn't knit them. Then, I start getting this horrible feeling that I'm walking around in ugly sweaters and that I can't tell that they are ugly.

I usually have fabulous fashion sense. I can look at a fashion trend that blinds other people because of its trendiness and simply say, "Wow, is that ugly."

E.g. Uggs boots with mini-skirts or on anyone that isn't an Australian surfer; wool short-shorts with tights in winter, especially the kind with the stupid buttons on the front like a Bavarian child would wear and make you ask "what's with the lederhosen"?; the resurgences of leggings a la Lindsay Lohan.

Wow. Hideous.

But then, what's with me presuming that my hand-knits are cool just because they're my handknits? That's just a logical fallacy. Hand-knit does not yield coolness.

In fact, most often it's just the opposite.

What else would explain this?

Overheard at University Coffee Shop Today

Female Student #1: I like Teen Vogue so much. It's the perfect mix of fashion and articles. I used to read Vogue, but the articles are just too dense.
Female Student #2: I just like to look at the pictures. And the ads.

Arg.

Bordello Scarf FO: On Knitting with Homemade Yarn

Here's a recent FO, a scarf made with yarn I plied and dyed after reclaiming it from two thrift store sweaters. The pattern is "Noro Silk Garden Scarf" by Karen Baumer at Angel Yarns. It's a short-row multi-directional scarf that shows off the Noro striping. Since the "Bordello" yarn that I made is striped, I decided to try it out with this pattern. Here's the yarn:


And here's how the scarf turned out:


I think it looks great. But more importantly, there was a strangely powerful satisfaction that came from knitting with yarn I'd made. When I worked on this one in public, and someone inquired about it (because hey, knitting just screams, "Come talk to me, strangers." Why? Why is this?), it felt great to say that I made the yarn.

Plus, the scarf is actually butch enough for my husband to wear.

Knitty Bargain Hunting

The last few days have yielded a bounty of knitty bargains, thanks to Craigslist and my local thriftshop.

First, I found these lovely vintage circular needles listed for $20 on craigslist, and absolutely had to have them! They are still in the original cases; the second one (not pictured) includes smaller size needles (2-5).


2) Yesterday Katie and I decided we'd like to knit lace. After placing an order for some lovely cones on knitty (at $22.50 a pop), I found someone listing 4 cones of JaggerSpun 100% wool laceweight yarn on craigslist-- we bought all four, with a few balls of random yarn thrown in, for $60! Here are mine, in aegean blue and bottle green:


3) And, today I was browsing through the local thrift shop, and, lo and behold, I found these cones of yarn. The burgundy one is Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport, 100% wool, in Chuck Berry. I'm not sure how old it is, because they no longer make that color, but still, they currently retail for $27 and I got mine for $1. I'm not sure what the beige one is, because it isn't labeled, so I'll have to do a burn test. I'm not crazy about the color, but I figured I could always try dying it...


So what's with all the bargains on laceweight yarn? Either the universe wants me to become a lace knitter, or everyone has realized that knitting lace is a big pain in the ass. Katie and I are doing a knitalong for the Candle Flame Shawl. Here's what I have so far (modeled on my new vintage needles). Kind of pathetic, huh?

Stitch Markers!

I made these with some leftover jewelry kit supplies. So much more fun than the regular plastic markers!
Modeled by one of my current WIPs, Sylvia Plath: