Beer Budget Project

This is what I am referring to as my champagne taste, beer budget project. I love, love, love Adrienne Vittadini knits but can't really afford to buy her yarn. Instead I have replaced VA Diana yarn with Lion Brand Cotton Ease. So far the front half appears to have worked out well. See the finished work taken from her book in my previous post (three or four posts before this one). Cotton Ease knits unevenly with stockinette stitch. It is soft, but will it last and maintain that softness?




Seafair is coming!

Hooking may not be so bad

Of course, I am referring to the crafty kind and not the illegal kind.

Check these out:





Patterns can be found here.

Additional comments on the Trina top (I'm happy that people like it!):

-- Online Clip is suppose to gauge 5sts/inch, but I was able to get the pattern gauge of 4.5sts/inch with my #7 Addis.
-- It was easy to manipulate during the blocking process, so don't fret too much if it looks a tad small while knitting.
-- Definitely use a size 4 hook for the crochet edging. I used a 5 and spent a lot of time loosening the sc stitches so they weren't too tight.
-- As I mentioned earlier, check the sleeve measurements because the pattern given is too small. If you needed to add stitched to fit your arms it should be pretty simple since it a raglan sleeve; more decrease rows than what the pattern instructs.

What to call it?

I don't know what to name this one. Rowan always has a name for its sweaters, but VK and Rebecca don't. Trina? I like it. Let's call it Trina. Love the yarn: Online Clip. It's cotton, but knits like wool, it is soft and has some elastic give to it; just lovely. With regards to the sleeve, it is raglan shaped and the armhole is a slight raglan, so knitting the size small sleeves and getting it to fit the armhole didn't work out, and it was too tight on the upper arm. Who has a ten inch upper arm circumference, I would like to know! I had to redo the sleeves in a medium.


Okay, I just realized why my photos have been blurry as of late. I had the setting on the lowest resolution. Doh! I think that this red look much better against white.


The scallop edging was much simpler,and quicker to crochet than the picot egding on the Rowan Elspeth. You would think that to get the twist the mid section was seamed together at the end, but it's not. Tricky, isn't it?

Sleevage:


Looks like someone else (namely Trina Turk) had the same idea.

FO

Okay, it has been a long time coming but I finally put on the last button for Beaded Martha. Um... wait, I still need one more button. I bought two packs of four shell buttons but the garment needed nine. I think it looks just as good with the "missing" button. The sleeves are longer than I would have liked. The pattern calls for three quarter length, but on me three quarter is too long or they look too short. The alpaca silk is so soft and smooth.

It was hard to take a picture to show off the sparklie beads.


Here's a bit of the sparkles.


Strike a pose!


Another FO, almost. It is from the Spring VK. I know, can you believe that they finally have some decent patterns in this issue.


Again, the camera does not capture the intensity of the red. The red has a blue tint to it making a really reach color




I love these t-shirts. Pho shizzle!!

Weekly posting

I guess I should talk about knitting or else the knitting patrol will kick me out.

I started another project. Mystery number two.

Ca-ray-zee!!

Work has been super busy and cuts into my blog time. I come home to eat and sleep, so no time to blog. Progress on Beaded Martha is nearing an end. Seaming is such a chore that I motivate myself by starting another project, which guilts me into seaming. Does that even make any sense to anyone? Whatever.

Got myself the new Adrienne Vittadini and VK, first one I've purchased in years. VK's Spring issue has some nice things in it. Love that AV, but I have yet to make anything from the three books I now own.

So, I visited a LYS on Friday, this one has been around for a while, and is pratonized older ladies who have money to burn (or should I say, who have lots of their husbands' money to burn) tend to go there. While there I over heard conversations about the Pope, who the new Pope should not be, antique furniture, and European cut diamonds. Back to the store. I hate stores that arrange the yarn by color as it is not practical. How am I suppose to know what different brands you carry in a certain weight? I go to the LYS knowing what I want to make and am looking to see what selection the LYS has in the particular yarn weight I need. You don't select color then yarn weight, hello, that is determined by the pattern! You go to see if they carry the yarn you need and choose the color based on what that brand offers. Strike one for the fancy schmancy LYS. Ooh, yes, they carry a very extensive collection of the Rowan, Debbie Bliss, AV, and Filatura di Crosa yarns. Very nice to look at. Imagine my surprise when I checked the price and see that a ball of Rowan Wool Cotton was something like $14! and the Online Clip, the egytian cotton yarn I wanted was over $15! I kid you not. Wanting to browse at the new Spring AV book I asked if they had a copy, yes indeed they do. Very nice and I think about getting it... that is until I saw their price, which was almost $20. Strike two! (I didn't stay any longer to find the third strike, I mean, really, after seeing those prices I was too shocked.) And I high-tailed it out of there and headed to my favorite LYS, Weaving Works, where I got the AV book for half the price they charged at the fancy schmancy LYS and got the Online Clip for just under $10 a skein.

Okay, on to the pics. Martha is pretty straight forward. Nothing much to report, oh, except that all Rowan patterns seem to be a little on the long side. The body always comes out a little long on me.

We have sleevage.


We have the body. Just need to finish seaming the armholes and a couple rows for the neckband.


Already on to the next project. I know, red, so not the color this Spring, but you should see how pretty and shiny it is in person, and so soft to the touch that I can't believe it is 100% cotton and not a cotton blend.


I'm feeling Spring-y:

Too Lazy


...to take pics of my first completed Beaded Martha sleeve. Had to spend most of the time fixing the friggin' template 'cause it wasn't up to snuff. So close to being done with Martha. I've been so unfaithful during this project. I kept looking for the next thing to knit and spending time looking for yarn to start the next project once Martha is done with when I should have been working on Martha. I strayed. I'm a knitting floozy!! Speaking of wandering eye, have you seen the new VK? First issue I want to buy in a long time. There is a bolero in there that is very similar to Elspeth.

Those who love Cook's Illustrated will love Christopher Kimball's latest venture.

It full of comfort foods like fried chicken, potato pie, pasta...

dessert ideas...

yummy...


Crafty ideas with plant supplies. One plant stand, six plant dishes, six candles, and two pot "bras," as I like to call them.

The "bra" slips over terra cotta pots, but they are also great as votives.

Cut some vellum paper into lampshade shape, slip on the inside, add a tea candle in the middle, and you've got yourself a votive.