The aftermath…..

So my apartment flooded yesterday morning…I woke up at 3am to the sound of gallon of water falling onto my teak coffee table and soaking my couch.  Unfortunately to those reading, almost ALL of my knitting books were ruined by the water, which is so sad cause I had a ton of great books that I loved.  Not to mention all my knitting magazines were lost too with all the fantastic patterns that I was dying to knit.  Hundreds of dollars of knitting patterns totally ruined….as a PhD student I clearly can’t afford to replace them since the couch and other electronics, etc are the priority right now.  This sucks so much!!  I was in the middle of knitting a pattern from one of those books too, and now I’ll have to rip it out and make something else I guess.  Floods suck, and having renter’s insurance with a huge deductible sucks even more because the replacement costs are going to fall solely on my husband and I, and we’re not exactly swimming in money these days.  The worst is that the flood was of no fault to us, we live in a new-looking building with old galvanized pipes.  This is the second flood we’ve had since August where a pipe has burst on us.  Luckily the first time there was little to no damage….wish I could say the same of yesterday.  

Missing my knitting books….

~M

Knit.1-inspired sweater

So, I was looking around on Ravelry a month ago while avoiding doing work (as usual) and I saw a finished sweater that I adored, the Gathered Cardigan from Knit.1 Spring/Summer 2008 by ravelry user knitchick2.  And I decided that I HAD to make that sweater….however after an almost exhaustive search I couldn’t find a copy of the magazine at a reasonable price, so I decided to wing-it and figure one out for myself.  The first pic is from the magazine, and the other pics are from my sweater.  I love, love, love how it turned out, I’ve already worn in a dozen times.  Mind you, the knitting did not go quickly, the gathered part is so many stitches it’s insane and I almost gave up a couple of times…..but trust me, stick with it cause the result is worth it!  If anyone else can’t find the magazine for the pattern leave a comment and if I get enough I’ll draft up a pattern for my version.

 

New boots

In addion to the hats, mittens, and neckwarmer that I made as gifts for the fam, I also made a couple of things for myself, which I rarely get to do cause I’m always making gifts or requested items or things for my store (which I haven’t updated in AGES and really need to do).  So I made the Prairie boots (www.cocoknits.com), and I just love how the pattern works it’s super neat.  However, I definitely had to fiddle with the sizing A LOT in order to get them to fit just right, so I’m not sure how well these would work out as gifts since it was invaluable for me to try them on as I go.  Also, if you plan on making these two BIG tips: 1) Make sure they feel tight when you’re trying them on as you knit, because I found that they stretch out a lot, 2) Get something to act as a sole for these…because after wearing mine with just the yarn for a week the soles are completely worn out (maybe my yarn choice?), so I’m going to figure something out to fix them…just not sure what yet.

~M

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  Hope the holidays were fantastic for everyone, mine were really great this year.  No drama, just relaxation with the in-laws and my own family, and lots of knitting  For Christmas I made hats and mittens/neckwarmers for most of my immediate family, and everyone loved their gifts.  I think that my knitting is definitely getting faster because I can easily finish a hat or a single mitten in an evening.  Here are the pics of what I made:

As always comments are always appreciated!

~M

Androgeny Scarf

Here’s my newest design, it’s a menswear inspired scarf called Androgeny.  I chose the name since the scarf looks equally fabulous on my husband as it does on me!  I knit this in Bernat Berella…I know it’s not fancy yarn, but I really like the colours and I find this yarn really easy to work with.  I came up with the design because I have seen a ton of gorgeous lace, cabled, etc designs….and I thought maybe there should be a super cool stockinette scarf design too!  Basically one say I put on a wide scarf and tied it like a tie….and thought “This could work!”…and here it is!

Depending on the colours you choose it can be as feminine, unisex, or masculine as you want.  There are so many ways to wear this scarf too!  I’m so excited because I have the pattern available to purchase on my Etsy store, and soon to be on Ravelry…so hopefully soon I’ll be able to see how other’s have styled it to make it their own!

Pattern Information:
sizes
one size (63” length)

materials (what you’ll need)
• 375 yards of worsted weight yarn. Yarn used in photograph is Bernat Super Value 
and Bernat Berella (about 1.5 skeins)
• 10 yards (or less) of worsted weight yarn for contrast band. Yarn used in 
photograph is Bernat Berella (scrap yarn in a fun/cool/bright colour will look great)
• 1 pair US size 10 (6mm) straight needles
• 1 stitch marker
• 1 yard of fleece (or soft fabric of your choice) for lining, pins, and matching thread
• Tapestry needle (weaving in ends)

This pattern includes many pictures to help you along while making Androgeny, and well as detailed instructions for not only the knitting of the scarf, but also for how I apply the lining. 

You can purchase the pattern at my Etsy store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5696207

 

I hope you download and enjoy the pattern!

~M

Some adorable baby stuff, and a new sweater

My sister-in-law’s sister (is she my sister-in-law once removed?) just had a little baby girl, so I made a stuffed turtle from the Sheldon pattern, and I just made a little bunny hat for the baby at Christmas.  I improvised the hat pattern since hats like this are so simple to do, and then made some impromptu bunny ears for the top.  I love how it turned out, so freaking cute!  I’m clearly going to make tons of these when I have a baby….boy or girl hahah!

Enjoy!

 

I’m also currently working on a design inspired by the gathered cardigan in Knit.1′s summer 08 issue…I couldn’t find a copy of the magazine so I’m trying to copy the design myself.  It’s turning out really well, and I changed it a bit to have a high collar to be more dramatic.  Here’s the progress so far:

Comments are greatly appreciated!

~M

Back to blogging!

Okay, so I have been absent from my blog for quite a while now.  I’m in the midst of finishing up my Master’s thesis and so everything else has gone by the wayside for the past couple of months.  So what have I been up to you might ask?  Well…..I opened my own little store on Etsy!  And I’ve already sold 3 things (which is VERY exciting for me), and I’m in the process of putting some more patterns together and designing up a storm lately.  I’ve also inherited a fantastic sewing machine which I’ve been playing with…so expect some sewn garments on here in the near-ish future.  I will be posting more often since the thought of writing isn’t as reprehensible since thesis is close to being done-zo.  

Here’s the link to my little store Blonde Ambition Knitwear: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5696207  please take a look and of course contact me if you want custom things too.  I’m designing a sweater and a new bag at the moment for custom orders.  I love to design!!

Here’s my newest item, it’s a super long scarf/wrap done using two totally different yarns held together and using a dropstitch pattern.  Also…notice the lack of blonde hair.  I’ve dyed my hair back to my natural-ish colour (I’m not really sure what my true natural colour is…)…but I’m still staying Blonde Ambition cause the name has really grown on me.

 

Slouchy Gemma Beret

I haven’t had too much time for knitting lately with the wedding coming up in a month now, so I made this slouchy beret to have some quick satisfaction.  It was a decent pattern, albeit quite a few errors and sizing problems that needed to be modified, but the finished product is cute.  Overall I’m happy with it….mostly because it was a quick project.  Here are a couple of (bad) pics, comments are always appreciated!!

Thanks for reading….probably won’t have another post for a month or more!  Weddings are INTENSE!

~M

Bridesmaid Shrugs!

I’m now finished 2 of the 3 bridesmaid’s shrugs for my wedding.  I can’t believe it’s coming up so soon!!  Only 47 days to go!!  I can’t believe it…..so many more things to plan.  To be honest, I really can’t wait for this wedding planning to be over with, so many things to think about and do…and it doesn’t stop until the big day! Anyways, I knit both of these in Lion Brand Cotton Ease.  The minisweater is for my junior bridesmaid who’s 15 (will be 16 on the wedding day!), I’m really, really happy with how it turned out, I just know she’s going to LOVE it.  I will post lots of pics of them on my girls after the big day.  The first pic is a bit orange-y….. 

  

 This next one is for one is for my Maid of Honour.  I used Cotton Ease again in Almond, it’s a really nice buttery colour, I’m making the other bridesmaid shrug in it right now, that one will be posted soon!  I really liked this pattern, it was easy to memorize.  I love making anything that doesn’t require shaping!  

 

Lots and lots of pics!  As always comments are much appreciated! 

~M     

On the cover…

Following along with Knit Your Love (and CatCat), I made my own magazine cover….of course with me on the front!  Ch-ch-ch-check it out!   Wish it said VOGUE not VAGUE hahaha, but it’s still hot!Make your own at www.magmypic.com Oh and I did my dog too: ~M