Knitty-bitty teeny-weeny

About a month and a half ago I picked up my knitting needles again in a MAJOR WAY. It had been about 5 months since I'd knit anything and prior to that probably almost a year. As most knitters know, it can be difficult to get excited about knitting in the summer - it's too hot to even imagine a knit item not to mention hold one on your lap every evening! So I suppose I blame the last 2 summers for my lack of knitting. Last winter - I have no excuse other than being in Africa for a month...which is a pretty poor excuse. But the perfect thing happened this year - a lot of babies started arriving! Knitting baby items is something I hadn't done yet. But they're the EASIEST knitting since they're so small and fast, and size doesn't have to be exact - just make it a tad bigger and they'll grow into it!!

Handknit "Merry Jane" booties for Lexi and Tali

They'll grow into the booties soon enough

The first babies to receive a hand-knit item from me were Andrea's twin girls, Alexis and Natalia (Lexi and Tali). I had been at Andrea's home 2 days before the girls were born and knew she was low on hats. She was prepared to bring them home from the hospital in poor-fitting and un-matching hats. *OVER MY DEAD KNITTING NEEDLES!* I had already started a previous project for the girls but I pushed it aside and started in on Nona's Newborn Hats [non-Ravelry] instead.

The hats fit perfectly... but they sure won't for long!

Newborn hats in purple and pink

As you can see, I changed the pattern a little. I made the hats a tad smaller (knit 4" before decreasing, instead of 4.5"), did a seed stitch trim instead of the ribbing, and added the stripes. I was really happy with the results and they fit the girls (~6 pounds each) PERFECTLY! It wasn't confirmed to me but I think they wore them home from the hospital. I certainly know they wore them in the hospital.

"We wore our hats in the hospital!"

Now onto that other project I'd put aside to frantically make the hats... a pattern I've had in my Ravelry queue for literally over a year - just waiting for a very close friend to have a baby girl; or two. Bekah Knits' Baby Merry Janes (non-Ravelry). Oh My Goodness these were just about the cutest things I'd ever seen. I started the booties on my flight to Hawaii in early September and that flight was the perfect length to make one bootie minus the sock. I spent my afternoon (quite tired from my early flight) finishing the rest. So 1 bootie perhaps took about 8 hours to complete. And I had 3 more to go...

The strap and button actually work - but it's still easier to
just leave it buttoned and slip the bootie on

CJ modeled them for me before they were gifted

I made sure to differentiate the booties with different colored buttons

I gave the booties to Lexi and Tali when I met them at 1½ weeks old. We couldn't help but play dress up with them and I personally think they're quite the little fashionistas! Hot off the knitting runway: hats and booties!

While they look like clown shoes on the girls, the booties stay on because of the stretchy sock. I love that they will fit for at least a couple months due to the stretchiness! I think Andrea the girls love them too.

"OMG I can't believe I just said that" ~~ "Oh well, let's laugh about it instead" - Lexi

For both the hats and booties I used all Rowan yarns: Cashsoft Baby DK, Cashsoft DK and Cashsoft 4 ply. LOVE these yarns. LOVE. They are {gentle} machine washable and so soft. And there are so many beautiful colors! Stay tuned for more knitting. I had to keep it all under wraps until I finally gave Ali her gifts, but I feel like it's all I've been doing lately!

Happy St. Patty's Day to me!

OK so it's not really Irish. Nor green. Nor St. Patrick's Day themed. Nor did I even complete it today. But I finally have a knitting post to enter here and thought it might be nice to coincide with a holiday! Happy Saint Patrick's Day to ya! I had my corned beef and cabbage on Saturday - did you get yours?

For St. Patrick's Day - I wore green!
And modeled 2 styles of my most recent knit goody!

I haven't done any knitting since I completely OD'd on all these purses I made for good girl-friends last Spring. The thing is, most of the work involved in those purses was assemblage and not knitting; but I was still fried anyway. So I took a loooooong break. I couldn't bring myself to cast anything on until just last month. That's a full 11 month long break!

Casting on after 11 months off

I wanted to make a neck cowl last year and even tho it'd be a very simple knit, I never did it. I found my fingers itching to pick up the needles again this winter and thought I'd better hurry and get this cowl made before the cold weather is no more. Just in time! I've worn it 2-3 times now and it's been just what I needed on some brisk March evenings!

Coulda eventurned it into a hat! - 1 skein of the Eco Alpaca made 3/4 of the cowl

In Eco Alpaca by Cascade Yarns - I only needed a skein and a half (if even that entire half). I used size US6, 16" circular Addi Turbos, my FAV-OR-ITE needles. Easy-peasy knit. The pattern calls for a lot or purling, which I don't love doing...so I knit it backwards and got to do way more knitting instead!

Style 3: this is my favorite way to wear it - very warm

The thing that's cool about this pattern is you can really wear this knit a few different ways. I've thrown all 4 (5 if you count the hat) ways up here for you to see. Note - all the photos with my green striped St. Patty's Day top are there to show the different styles.

Style 4: knit side out and pulled tight up to the front of my neck
(try with all your might to ignore my double chin?)

I hope it stays cold out for a few more weeks!! And can I tell you - self portraiture is a pain in the neck (arm) when one is too lazy to get the tripod out...

Gifts made by hand

And with that...the last knit handbag has been gifted!! Whew! Those handbags are a lot of work! And it's actually the non-knitting that takes the longest. Funny how these handbags all began as knitting projects but in reality they're totally "craft" projects. I need knitting needles, yarn, a tapestry needle, a dowel, a saw, a pencil sharpener, paint, polyurethane, fabric, interfacing, thread AND MORE to make one! You'll perhaps notice that Ali's purse is the same as Liz's purse but in a different color. I made the pink flower (the classy corsage from The Knitter's Bible: Knitted Accessories) a while back. It's a pretty tedious little flower though, so instead of making another - Ali got my original.

Ali particularly asked for "an off color" for the lining that didn't match her requested pink flower on the outside. Hence the bright green lining! She didn't know I was making this for her (I don't think) but I asked her long ago "if I were to make you a purse, what colors would you like?" and quickly tucked her answer away in my mind.

I forgot to take pictures of the purse after hand-stitching in the lining
so you have to look at all my cute pink pins

Here's a photo I took of all three bags! Liz, Angela and Ali -- all in my living room at the same time!

I also gave Ali one of my knit Hello Kitty washcloths. If I know anyone who loves HK it's Ali. If there's anyone I thought of when I first knit this washcloth, it's Ali. If I had anyone in mind when I bought lavender cotton yarn to make one, it's Ali. So Ali finally got her Hello Kitty washcloth.

Ali also got a box of my (what else?) French macarons. SO many birthdays in April... and all girls! Girls get girlie French macarons from me! I'm still fully admitting that I'm crazy. I made three batches last night...

{Quickly becoming favorites from my "fans"} Green tea; pistachio; pecan praline with dulce de leche

I love these little boxes that allow the macarons to peek through the front!

I hope Ali liked her gifts! This year has been a very satisfying one for me since I'm able to hand-make all my friends' birthday gifts - especially post surgery. In fact, we were asked to state a non-work related, 'personal win' during a meeting in the office today. And after wracking my brain - I decided that was my personal win: "I've been hand-making all my friends' birthday gifts this month... and there have been a lot!" A couple coworkers quickly joked that their birthdays were coming up soon too. ;)

My girls are getting gifts!

I revealed the first of my recent knitting in this post here. All my knitting has been under wraps lately since it's mostly being done as gifts for people! But I was able to give away another gift to Liz in Napa this past weekend! I'm really proud of this purse because it is 100% my own design. Okay I guess I have to give Ruth some credit because I used a lot of her instructions for her cabled clutch and adapted it to give this bag a "handle". Used some of my Amy Butler fabrics to make the super cute lining. Pinned a brooch on the front. Sewed on my designer label ;) and voilà!

The purses are a lot of work but it's so worth it to see people enjoy them so much. Liz told me she loved her purse and totally appreciates the amount of time and energy that went into it. She's such a sweetheart that it was totally worth it.

I obsessively did a little more macaron tests Friday afternoon too and packaged some up for our friends on behalf of Liz's birthday on Saturday. I don't know what happened this time though - the only thing I can find to blame it on was the heat (my kitchen was almost 80° because of the warm day outside) but I had a lot of failures. Roughly half the batch was sticking to the mat (using either a Silpat or parchment paper) and overly fragile, while the other half of the batch seemed fine. I have no idea what was going on, but that's the most angry I've ever been at cookies before - lemme tell you! There was even some cursing going on. How can one curse at cute little cookies? I think I've lost my mind. After retelling the story though, I now have a plethora of "failed cookie eating" volunteers...

The picture above should very quickly spell out my new flavor tests for you.

I apologize for the bad color - I took the photo pretty late at night and had to do some Photoshopping to brighten the colors a bit. You'll notice various versions of similar flavors there - cuz I ended up doing 2 batches of some after my previously mentioned curse session with partially failed batches. I even tried a raspberry that didn't make the cut at all whatsoever. We'll be back at the drawing board with that one. Let's just say - attempting to color macarons with pureed raspberry (trying to avoid food coloring) didn't work the way I planned it to. Perhaps using food coloring isn't quite cheating... I'll definitely be trying again.

Some knitting revealed!

Okay - one down! More to go (and for quite a long time out, I must say - we're looking at perhaps summertime here). I'm referring to the knitting that I swear is happening but that I haven't been able to reveal due to the "gift" factor. Meaning, I'm making a bunch of gifts for people! [Including a few choice macarons I packaged up] I was finally able to give this purse to Angela at her birthday dinner tonight!

This is the same purse as the one I showed you in this post. Princess Philo's Cabled Handbag. Truth be told, I had this little bag completed a couple months ago, but procrastinated on the worst part ~ the lining ~ until just the last few days. Oh man doing the lining sucks... Picking out the adorable fabric is the best part. I asked Ang what her favorite colors were and she said pink, green and purple. So when I found this really pretty pink and green Amy Butler fabric (look familiar?) it seemed perfect for Ang's lining! I made a cell phone pocket fashioned after the fabulous ones in both of my Gucci bags, put in a magnetic snap, my "designer" label, stiffened it a little with a with some interfacing, sewed it all together on my machine, and then hand stitched it to the knitted exterior with some invisible thread. WHEW! I was just finishing up this afternoon. Talk about down to the wire! Oh and can't forget the hardest part - pinning the cute brooch on the front. The best part is that she can take that off, swap it out, move it etc. But I love how it dresses the bag up.

I think {hope} she liked it. That's my biggest fear - is that I'll put all this hard work into making a bag for someone and then they don't end up using it much. I think she will though - it's definitely her style. See how cute it looks on her already? Her mom is another great accessory! ;)
Happy Birthday Angela!!

For now, photos

Knitting, knitting, knitting... I swear to you I am! As I mentioned in my last knitting entry - I am knitting up a storm, I just can't share because most of my items are gifts for upcoming events! Just be patient folks. But I promise I am definitely knitting. See - there's proof at the bottom of this entry!

As you wait patiently (since I'm sure everyone who reads this is positively on the edge of their seat) I'll throw down some extremely random photos here that I've snapped yet, for which I had no lengthy commentary. First up and really quite random, I wanted to show you the adorable Amy Butler fabrics I found recently. I was in the quilting store looking for other items but stopped in my tracks when I saw this "oh so cute" collection (and lots more) of fabric. I quickly scoured my brain and came up with projects so that I could buy some. Is it bad that this fabric is so slightly expensive that making 6 napkins (as I have planned for one of them) will still cost me almost $4 each? I guess I have to remind myself that it's a deal for specifically, very pretty napkins...

Mom and I had some amazing breakfasts at the Headlands Inn in Mendocino last week. One which she'd even told me about in advance (from her experience during a previous stay) was the Stuffed French Toast. It was fantastic! And don't you love it when B&B's share recipes? Mom showed up at my place Saturday night with all the makings for the French toast, so what was I to do? I whipped it up - let it sit overnight and baked it for breakfast Sunday morning. SO yummy. The bread/toast part fluffs up all light and airy but is still crispy and sweet on the outside!

Peachy Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
1/2 loaf sweet French bread
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 t vanilla
1/4 c peach preserves
6 eggs
1/2 c heavy cream
1/4 c maple syrup
peach slices for garnish

Cream together cream cheese, jam and vanilla. Spread generously between 2 slices of French bread. Place in pan (4 pairs). Mix eggs, cream and maple syrup then pour over bread slices making sure egg soaks in as much as possible - try to evenly coat. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Set overnight. Bake 35-40 minutes at 350. Serves 4

Next up is the rather stunning "Red Sky at Night" photo I captured in my neighborhood one evening last month. This is not Photoshopped at all. I still can't believe the intense color of those clouds. I noticed a pinkish tint as I glanced out my window that night and went outside to investigate. I'd never seen a sky like that. I remember when I was little my dad saying something about "red sky at night, sailors delight; red sky in the morning, sailors take warning". I suppose that meant that we should have had nice weather the evening this was taken - and I think we did.

Finally, I'll leave you with a couple of great photos I got at the Giants Night-time Season Opener last night. I've been trying to get to a Giants game on a fireworks night for about a year now and for bizarre reasons - failed twice. Finally last night was perfect: the Giants beat the Padres in the bottom of the 11th inning, I saw my fireworks and there while it was COLD, there was no wind! To top it all off, I got these great fireworks pictures! Fireworks are usually quite challenging for a budding amateur photographer. Tri-pod present and shutter set at 2.5 seconds produced these. 2.5 seemed to be just the PERFECT amount of lag.

Speaking of lagging... time for bed! I've gotta rest up 'cuz before tomorrow ends there will be more macarons to gaze upon. 8-)

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

It may seem like I haven't been knitting at all lately if you go by my entries. But really quite the contrary. The problem is that just about everything I'm knitting right now is a gift for someone who might check my blog! I'll drop a few hints here but probably won't be able to go into any details for another 2-3 months. *sigh*

I've also decided to start in on a summer knit. Something I can get full satisfaction from in that I can complete it and then wear it and not have to wait until the Fall or next Winter. Trying my hand at Coachella in Berroco Suede. So far I'm not very excited about the "yarn". It's nylon and sort of like flat ribbon so if it gets twisted while you're knitting (which it certainly does, and I'm actually not anal enough to untwist it while I knit) then it doesn't lie flat. From reading about Berroco Suede I think it will perhaps fluff up a little if it's washed and dried (?) but I won't know for sure until this is done. I'm also a little worried about about the fit. I should have done a more research before starting this pattern 'cuz everything I read now says it runs really big. I'm making the M and I'm worried that I should be making the S. Not even sure what I'll do if it's enormous when I'm done and the yarn alone cost me $50! Wish me luck!

Simply the vest!

It's completely done! I finished knitting my first piece of clothing - the vest! I realize it's nothing fancy but I'm still really satisfied that I could [not so much complete the knitting, but] figure out the pattern. That's probably the hardest part of knitting for me - figuring out what the pattern's telling you to do. But I suppose it's not always a disaster if you DO miss something. In fact, I actually decreased the front armholes a little more and started the V a little higher, than either called for in the pattern. But I managed to make it work, and now - no one would know. **Must thank Dad for the engineering genes I have floating through my head and hands.**

Please forgive the particularly silly photos. I finally got someone to take pictures of me (my brother, Mark - on a visit to my parents' place for dinner tonight) and of course that someone is one with whom I probably goof around the most. The funny thing is - upon viewing the pictures they were actually pretty great at showing the details of the vest. You can see the sides - which you couldn't have if I was in "non goof mode" with my arms at my sides.


Now that I’ve worn it and seen these pictures - I think it could stand to be a tad longer. I tend to have a long torso (and short little legs) though, which I should have thought of as I was knitting this sucker. Well, let's see if the more I wear it and stretch it and (essentially) block it after washing it - the more it relaxes.

I'm attempting some new designs in handbags right now. Something I visualized, drew up and am trying out. I'm also tempted to try another sweater. Now that I know I can do it... I want to try something more complicated. Looks like my days of hittin' Michaels for yarn and books are almost over as I find myself investigating patterns and yarn that can only be found at legitimate knitting stores aka. Local Yarn Shop (LYS)s.

*sigh* 5 years ago Saturday nights were spent clubbing in the city. I guarantee tonight I'll be knitting... what happened?!

They say what goes around comes around...

...but for the love of God - I hope leg-warmers never come back into style!

So take a look at my next knitting project - the entire outfit on the left... Kidding, of course. But is that not one of the funniest things you've seen lately? I couldn't help myself but take a picture of this unbelievably awesome knit outfit I discovered while flipping through some of my mom's old knitting books. Seriously - that model is ROCKIN' her 'warmers. That's the closest I've seen to "knit pants" ever! I wonder how many ladies-of-the-eighties actually sat down to knit these beauties. WOW.

And just in case anyone wants to hunt these fashion-forward patterns down and get ready for when they cycle back onto the haute-couture runways, here's the cover of the book. Heck, you can message or email me for the patterns and I'll send 'em on over - just cuz I'd love to know and keep in touch with anyone gearing up to essentially make themselves some Fisherman knit pants!
Title: "Great Classics"

clas·sic (klăs'ĭk) adj.
1. Serving as the established model or standard
2. Having lasting significance or worth; enduring.

Yah, I'm gonna say perhaps not so Classic.

1985 was a good year. Women feathered their hair, and wore fanny-packs, and high waisted jeans and...
.... leg-warmers!

Getting vested!

I've been doing a lot of knitting since getting my cast off on Tuesday. Truth be told, I was knitting even with it on but it was very slow going. I couldn't use my thumb so I was using my index and middle finger to hold the right needle and wrap the yarn! Crazy, I am... I know. The pictures aren't great (had to set the focus on the banister, and not myself...) but it at least shows that the vest fits. It'll be perfect post-block! I'm so glad. And boy is it warm - I'm sweating after running back and forth from the stairs to the tripod. That's a great thing but means I need to finish it soon - before Spring really hits and I no longer need it!

So overall, my attempt at knitting a piece of clothing seems to be going pretty well. I'm a little nervous about seaming but we'll see how it goes. I'm heading out to my auntie's tonight to help her make a copy of my black clutch. Since she's one of my "Master Knitting" aunties she'll be able to answer any questions I have with my vest too.

Hope you all have a great weekend! It's supposed to be very cool here tomorrow but warming up next week. Spring's coming - I can feel it.