CreateWithMe

A knitting blog that will invariably have stray pieces of my life woven in as well.

Friday, April 22, 2005

No summer wardrobe worries after all!

We've just found out that I'm expecting again! We have 5 children, but let me tell you, It's just as exciting to see those 2 pink lines the 6th time around as it was the first. I'm so thrilled I can't stop smiling!
I think I'll start on this:

It's the Diamond Seed Baby Jacket from the winter 2004 Interweave Knits.

Monday, April 18, 2005

"YA" Weekend

Yarn aquisition

I've debated over whether or not to share my yarn purchases here. After all, I've got quite a bit of yarn already. Some of it I've had for years. I know I have no business buying more just to stash away, because I know that in reality, I rarely knit from my stash. When I start a new project, I think that naturally means that it's time to go spend an hour or so perusing the LYS.
I'm ordinarily a pretty thrifty person. There are just a few exceptions to this:
1. Eating out (I love to eat out, but detest fast food. I likewise hate eating at places like buffets, or places like Denny's that have reheated frozen food for me. If I ever experience a taste bud reformation and want frozen food, I'd eat it at home.) Hence, we spend a chunck of change eating out at decent resturants.
2. Quilting fabric. If I'm going to spend many, many hours creating a handmade quilt, I want it to last next to forever.
3. Clothing and shoes. (Got this from my mother, so at least I have an excuse. I'm obviously not haute couture, but I dont' want to wear around cheap stuff either. I actually hate shopping, so I like for my clothes to last a long time, and stay somewhat in style for a long time as well.
4. Yarn. Much the same as for quilting fabric. If I'm going to spend hours making something, I want it to be made out of decent yarn. It does irk me that it costs more to make a sweater than it does to buy one....but I tell myself that that is beside the point. Herein lies the problem with stash purchasing. I feel duty bound to buy yarn when it's on a good sale. I ignore the previously stated fact that I rarely use yarn from my stash. (And much of it has been there for at least 4 years when my LYS was changing owners and had a half off sale. Some of it I don't even like anymore.)
Well, they did it to me again. They know I love a good deal, and getting good yarn on sale makes me feel responsibly frugal, even if I have a problem with actually using it. Last week my LYS had a Rowan/Jaeger trunk sale, with all of the yarn half off. I HAD to go.
I finally decided that I would share it with you, because I love salivating over everyone else's yarn purchases. Here's what I came away with:

Jaeger extra fine merino

Rowan handknit yarn. I actually ordered this from Ebay recently.

Rowan silken tweed. I have 7 balls of each color.

The first is a Rowan cotton/wool blend, I have 10 balls of that one. The second is Rowan all seasons cotton, 10 balls of that as well. The last is Rowan handknit again. 10 balls of the lighter, 3 balls of the darker color.
I told the lady in the store to kick me out if I came back in any time soon. She told me they would post a picture of my hubby's face on the door to help deter me, lol.

My latest project:

It's from Rowan's Classic Cafe book. It's actually crocheted (which I ordinarily hate for clothing), but I fell for this pattern. I have to admit that crochet doesn't have the same 'pull' on me that knitting does. I really want to have this sweater, but It doesn't call out to me, saying 'oh, you can sit and do a row for a minute'. I'm not getting any thrill out of making it. Especially since it's already getting too warm to wear it this year. I'm persisting, because I know I'm going to run out of my yarn (Tahki Cotton Classic). I need to know how much more I'm going to have to buy before everyone sells out of it.

Friday, April 01, 2005

Easter sweater????


The Easter sweater is done, but not on time. I totally lost my motivation to finish on time when I found out that Easter Sunday was going to be cold and rainy. I ended up finishing yesterday.
I like the finished effect, but I wasn't very fond of working with the bamboo yarn. It's VERY drapey. It also splits A LOT. I have to admit, however, that it's hands-down the softest fiber I've ever felt.
Now I need to get busy on the next spring/ summer sweater. I have serious warm weather wardrobe problems. I have been either pregnant or nursing for the past 3 summers. I should be finished nursing my son by the time this summer hits, so I'll need some clothes that will actually fit my (hopefully) smaller form.