PuNk rAwK pUrL

Moving Right Along....

2009-06-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

i have been super busy with some amazing stuff the past couple of months. This will be a short post to fill you in. Once the magic dust settles a bit, i will be back on blog track!! all aboard!

#1. i am working on a top secret project, designing a knitting pattern for an upcoming book.

#2. i participated, as a vendor, in my first street fair. The 6th annual Temescal Street fair in Oakland was earlier this month. The photos in this post are just some of the goodies that i had up for sale. see #5 for more info on this. & click here for more street fair photos.

#3. my dear old Powerbook G4 finally took the big dirt nap a couple of months ago & i have been essentially without a computer. i am happy to report that i am typity tappity typing this post from my sexy new 15" MacBook Pro.

#4. i am moving again. i have been one year in my cool warehouse loft. it has been mostly fun living here, aside from a freezing cold winter, more dust than you can shake a stick at, and the inability to watch movies without the subtitles on... due to XTRA loud soothing sounds of BART. don't get me wrong... i truly love the sound of BART and the train... not my first time living close to the tracks... but in this non insulated building... the sound level is insane!!!

#5. the street fair gave me such positive feedback... and i had SOOO much fun making the goods to be sold... that i am finally ready to launch my etsy page. I should be launching in about two to three weeks... once i am all moved out of my current loft.

I shall be posting again in just a couple of weeks. until then my lovelies.... XOxOxoXoXo

Knitting Naughty Deer

2009-04-28T16:48:00.001-07:00

Using the same earflap hat generator as in the post before this one.... and the fornicating reindeer chart (by Anne Rutten) from here... and i made a fu**ing reindeer hat. I believe that you have to be a member of ravelry in order to view that link. This was my second project using the stranding technique, and my first working from a chart. I had to re-chart the deer and trees from the original 32 stitch repeat to a 36 stitch repeat in order to accommodate the sizing for the hat. I basically flushed the trees out, adding one extra stitch to each half of the trees, and added an extra space in between each tree and deer. I also made up my own border design... that part looked better on paper.

Other fun stuff is the conversation whether these are reindeer or moose. Apparently some very straight men were upset that both reindeer have antlers... which would make them gay. Some husbands actually insisted that the front deer have the antlers edited out, to be sure no confusion would be made. Hell... makes me want to make one in rainbow colors.

It is a little big on me... but should fit the recipient like a dream! I love this hat generator...pattern.. thingy. Can you call a generator a pattern? A hat generator pattern? Whatever it is... it is fabulous! I was a little concerned about the reindeer chart being so high and that the seam created by sewing the inside hem down was going to create an unsightly bulge that would land directly across their cute little fu**ing noses... see note below about blocking

I used ella rae classic (#132-dark charcoal) for the main color of the hat & cascade 220 (#8401-light heather grey) & cascade 220 (#8400-medium heather grey) for the contrast colors. **side note... i did not like working with the ella rae, mostly during the short rows, when you un-knit or slip stitches back and forth the yarn splits like crazy** I used #7 addi turbos. I might actually use a #6 with this weight yarn for future stranding projects. After blocking it relaxed enough that it could stand to be a little tighter.

If i weren't a believer in blocking before... this project alone would sell me on it. Every single little lump and bump literally melted away when i dunked this mofo into a bath of water & woolwash. Of course i waited til days AFTER the heatwave had passed to block... so it is taking several days to dry... but oh so worth it.

Stranded.... and LOVING Every Single Stitch of it!!

2009-03-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

I am not sure what took me so long.... i LOVE color... the combining and pariring of colors specifically. I have knit for about 4 years now. Everything else in knitting has come super easy to me. So why I have not given stranded knitting a go until now... I have no idea. About 3 1/2 years ago i did some intarsia... which was easy enough. That was the first and last time that I did any kind of colorwork.

I am now working on a secret project that has called for me to give it a whack. And lo and behold... it is ridiculously easy and FUN!! To practice stranding for said secret project I have chosen to make an earflap hat. I trolled around ravelry to find a cool basic pattern that i could throw some super simple blocks of color into. I hit pay dirt when I found the Earflap Hat Pattern Generator!!!!! It's a super cool, and super easy "pattern" that uses short rows to create double thick earflaps. You plug in your stitch and row gauge, the generator does the math and gives you a pattern. Once you have your numbers, then start knitting the inside hem (yes the headband is double thick as well) you knit 3-ish inches, do your cool short row flaps, and then begin the outer 3 inches of your headband. You can end your colorwork there or carry it up to the top of the hat. OR... You can do a three needle bind off and just sport a headband with earflaps.

The yarn for my hat is Malabrigo worsted merino in Frank Ochre. Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in Rosado Rose. And Jil Eaton Minnow Merino in Orangini. I used a US #8 addi turbo.

I was so enamored with how the hat was looking right after completing the earflaps.... that i wore it like lion's ears and snapped a pic for the camera.

Yellow Monday Yellow....

2009-03-09T21:54:00.001-07:00

Yellow Monday, originally uploaded by punk rawk purl.

I often discover that in my day to day life.... i.e. not planned out... not staged... I end up developing unintended very distinct and striking color palettes.

Today I grabbed one of my MANY coats as I was on my way out the door. I tossed it on the passenger seat... atop one of my MANY hand knit scarves that had been on the passenger seat for a week or longer. I went to place a large package on the floor of the car and picked up one of my FEW umbrellas, which has been floating around in the car during the last couple weeks of insane rain. I tossed the umbrella on the seat... and noticed that the entire seat was glowing!

Today was already an exceptionally sunny day... and my rainy weather gear... kicked it up a notch.

"Be Still My Bacon Heart"

2009-03-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all of you!

I knit an anatomically accurate heart for my valentine. And although this Valentine post is belated... the heart was completed well before February 14th.

The pattern is from Knitty... it is called... are you ready for this... Heart. It was a quick-ish knit... or maybe I was just having so much fun knitting it.. and so much excitement knowing that the recipient would adore it that I could not put it down for a minute.

I even knit the whole thing on double pointed needles!!! I could have easily used magic-loop. Which as the entire world knows, i am in love with the loop of magic. But I had so much fun using double pointed needles again. I did use a 32" addi as a stitch holder, I didn't want my addis to feel left out.

As I had suspected... the recipient LOVED it. He has a bacon fetish... well fetish makes it sound sexual... which I don't think it has gone quite that far... but let's just say that he is obsessed with Bacon. So I titled this project "Be Still My Bacon Heart". I made a little banner with the title and our names and the date on it. And of course I did not photograph that before handing this heart over... haha

Bush Removal Headquarters [the local wax shop]

2009-01-31T11:48:00.001-08:00

Bush Removal Headquarters [the local wax shop], originally uploaded by gwen.

This morning I had an eyebrow maintenance appointment...

I have been going to Matser Waxing Studio for at least five years. The owner, Tashana Master is a *mastermind* when it comes to the artistry of hair removal. Her eye for detail and balance is right on... my brows are always perfect when i leave. I have others "parts" waxed by her as well... She makes it as painless as possible. She has such a great sense of humor, and every appointment is sure to be a giggle fest. She also ALWAYS has great window displays... always bright, colorful, and lively.

So back to this morning... as I was driving to the shop I noticed that there was a new window display.... all red white and blue... how cool... she was showing her support of the inauguration with her windows... then i read the sign "Bush Removal Headquarters"... how cute... she is showing her specific glee for the departure of former President Bush... as I continued to steer into the u-turn to park.... i GOT IT!

Waxing studio.... bush.... bush removal headquarters... this was Tashana at her genius best!!!

Thanks for the lack of bush and the witty humor my darling!

btw.... she is offering 20% off on bikini waxes for new clients... not sure how long this deal is on... so call to check the details. I believe you can see the phone # in the photo.

Tammy and The Cowl

2009-01-22T22:46:00.001-08:00

Tammy and The Cowl, originally uploaded by punk rawk purl.

first post of the new year....
well, first post in a long long long long time!
this is also the first post i have ever done through flickr. it's an experiment... so bear with me as i explore this new to me feature. click on the caption to link to the original photo with all the yarn details.

2009... shaping up to be an AMAZING YEAR!!

-new haircut... which i LOVE! thanks Donna Summers... my hairstylist, not the singer. but why not thank her as well... thanks for the disco-licious tunes to the 'other' Donna Summers

-new friends.... how did i get so lucky?? i am SOOO grateful for all of the amazing people in my life!

-endless possibilities... what else can i add to my life?

Gimme A Hand...

2008-04-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's been freezing cold lately. I gave away the fingerless mitts that wore on a daily basis. I was out of town, visiting friends & one of the gals really liked them, and they looked great on her... and well, it just seemed like she should have them. Mind you, when i forked them over I was in SoCal & the weather was much warmer. So I am back on the glove kick again. This time I am doing them in sock weight yarn. And this particular pair, to replace my mitts, are going to be real fingerless gloves...

You see, there is a difference between a glove and a mitten. I hear people refer to fingerless gloves all of the time, but when I look, it's not at all glove on their hot little hand. Gloves have 5 separate tubes for each finger/thumb. Mittens on the other hand... HAHAHA "on the other HAND!!" Anyway. Mittens have 2 separate tubes, one for your thumb, and one large one for the other four piggies. (can fingers be piggies? or is the term piggies just for toes?)

So my point is that when someone says fingerless gloves... there should be 5 separate tubes for the fingers/thumb, with the tips open of course. Otherwise they are talking about fingerless mitts. Or maybe all mittens are fingerless because they don't have tubes for your fingers... hmmm...

Yarn is Claudias Handpaints Fingering (HA! fingering.. glove... ok, I am done) in colourway "Eat Your Veggies"
Needle is Addi #1/2.5mm
Pattern, I am making it up.

Sweaters For Geek Babies!

2008-03-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

First Elizabeth Zimmermann project... DONE!! And it was an awesome good time. It was a quick and easy knit for the most part. All things considered I will say that I am 98% happy with the final product. I would have been done with this in far less time, but I put it down a couple of times to work on other stuff... and just procrastinate in general. I have swatched for the me-sized February sweater. I will be knitting it along with a friend... Knitsonya and I will be casting on together next week. I will be using Rowan Cocoon... see three posts ago for photos of said luscious yarn.

Notice the vast span from neck to armpit....

First issue: in her "pattern" she says to knit the yoke in garter stitch for however long... then "change to" lace pattern... add buttonholes (which despite reading other people gripe about it... i screwed up the first time around). Then it says at 4 1/2" divide for sleeves. Now the part that grabbed me by the girly gonads was 4 1/2" from WHERE? 4 1/2" from the beginning? 4 1/2" from the lace pattern? 4 1/2" from the Moon? I looked and looked... Ravelry, Zimmermann blogs, all kinds of resources... I Googled my ass off and couldn't find anything. I asked around and a few people suggested that it would be 4 1/2" from the lace pattern. Now the rough part here is that my instinct told me that it should be 4 1/2" from the beginning edge. I feel super silly now when in retrospect I think how simple it was to figure it out.... duh... measuring from the neck edge to the armpit... on a baby will not be more than 4 1/2". My sweater ended up being almost 7" from neck edge to armpit... which is more than the measurement from my neck to pit. Lesson learned. And what was the ultimate lesson? It sure wasn't anything to do with knitting... but to listen to my own instinct. So the sleeves look like they were designed for a baby with flippers instead of arms. I should call this the Geek Love Baby Sweater.

Issue Numero Two: Row # two of the lace pattern! Could this lace pattern BE any easier? Probably not. I am not sure what in the heck the deal is, but row #2 tripped me up almost every time... for a while at least. Eventually I worked out a system using a stitch marker every 3rd repeat of that row. I did feel better after talking with others who had similar experiences with good ole' row # 2 of the gull stitch pattern. Because of my struggle warming up to row # 2 there is an off-set to the lace pattern on the back. It's not really that noticeable so I left it.

despite this photo, taken pre-blocking... the yoke DOES line up.
There is NOT a jog in the color change.

This yarn was pleasant enough to work with. I would definitely use it again. No complaints, no excessive fuzzing, no splitting... just super dooper lush-ness. It held up very well to me frogging the yoke a bunch of times before I was happy enough to move onward. I do like EZ's pithy way of writing. I enjoy the challenge of trying to figure out what in the F**K she means when she is less than vague. Today I bought the Knitters Workshop, came directly home and started knitting the Heart Hat. I guess I am an EZ girl at last.

The little details of this sweater make me smile!

Yarn: RYC Baby Alpaca DK
Pattern: February Sweater from Knitters Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Needle: US # 6 & US # 8 (bind off)
Cast On: 2/22/08
Bind Off: 3/20/08 (ends woven in & buttons on 3/25/08)

Fourteen... and counting

2008-03-23T23:10:00.001-07:00

#1. I am in love with these buttons. They make me smile.... plain and simple. I bought a bunch of them about a year ago, & I used a couple on a project back then. As I was knitting this project, I wondered what buttons I might use. It was a clear match when I was looked through my button stash (yes, that is correct. I am cheating on my yarn stash with a button stash... please do not tell my fabric stash about the buttons and the yarn). Don't you agree that these buttons really suit the rustic nature of this yarn?

#2. I am in love with Brioche stitch. I was all up in my head over it for a month or so. I wanted to knit this pattern, I read the pattern, and it didn't sound like the Brioche stitch that I had heard people bitching and complaining about all these years. So I pulled out my Barb Walker books, did some online research and found that the pattern is actually written for Fisherman's Rib, which from what I also understand is very similar, if not identical in appearance to Brioche. One and one half dozen the other... or something like that. So the one consistent thing that I found in all of my glorious research is that everyone does Brioche stitch a little differently... or that there are many variations on Brioche stitch. So being the good little over-analyzer that I am... I let my brain stew and cook... bubble bubble, toil and BLAH. I cast on and gave it a feeble attempt. Even though I knew that it wasn't that difficult and that I have done more complicated things... it was still too much for my brain. So I just put the whole idea of this super fun and quick painless project aside. LAME. Last week my neck was cold and I really wanted to work with this yarn.
So I went back to this one website... it made the most sense and was overly thorough... which i like. As usual, once I just climb down out of my head (a scary and confusing place) and just do it... anything is not only possible, but pretty damn easy... and fun. I was concerned about the edges so I chose a Brioche stitch with a selvedge stitch. There were three to choose from on this site. I went with the one labeled "my favorite". It sounded like a good choice. And a good choice it was. The stitch is really cool, so thick and dense, but it still has a touch of drape. I had so much fun knitting this scarf that I wanted to knit another.
For a a little over a month now I had been wanting to put the Lamb's Pride colors, Sunburst Gold and Rosado Rose together. I was obsessed with it. I would look at the two skeins everyday. I went out and got some sunburst Gold in worsted so that I would have the two in the same weight. I had worked with the Sunburst gold in the Prairie Boot pattern that i did a couple of months ago, and had the left overs laying out on the craft table. Rosado Rose is one of my all time favorite pinks and it's always laying around. The two were destined to be together... but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to make with them... stripes are awesome, I love stripes... but it didn't feel like a stripey project that I was after. Holding the two colors together was the path that I was on. For this pattern two strands of worsted would not be thick enough, I would have to add a third strand. Frank Ochre, of course. It was a gorgeous mix. I cast on. I knit. Two hours later I had a Fourteen finished for my friend Sunnie who was visiting from out of town.
The first version is with Malabrigo Aquarella in the color Palamar. Needle size 13. Cast on 15 stitches. This yarn is super slubby. I am very happy with the end result but after knitting the second scarf in the lamb's pride mixture I realized that super slubby yarn does NOT showcase the Brioche stitch. The second version is with the above mentioned worsted weight yarns, size 13 needle, and cast on 11 stitches. I used the same selvedge edge stitch for both... in the second
though you can really see the rolled edge and the details of the brioche stitch. I think I may have to replicate Sunnie's version to keep for myself.

Home on the Range...

2008-03-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

Another project done. These were actually finished last month. It was a button thing keeping them from total completion. Why is it always so difficult to find the right darned button for a project? The pattern is the Prairie Boots from the fabulous cocoknits. I called mine the Home on the Range Boots, they were made for a friend. The yarn in Lamb's Pride Bulky in chocolate souffle for the soles, autumn harvest, and sunburst gold for the uppers. When I started out on this project I had no intention of gifting them to anyone... I wasn't even intending to make them for myself... for some odd reason I just wanted to make them. Julie's patterns are always so damn enticing. I am looking at these going, "I would never wear those, not even in my house. Those are silly, they look too much like UGG boots," a fashion statement which I do not have an appreciation for. The days roll by and I come across the pattern again, and I think, "they look fun to knit. I kind of want to make some...they look like they might be comfy." So I say to myself, "what the hell, I'll make a pair!" I decide to just use leftover yarn and piece it together, I'll surely have enough. So I cast on and knit. As I am knitting along It begins to wash over me... "Wait... I kinda like these." Great, Now I am invested in the damn project! So I knit on... and as I am going I realize that I will NOT have enough yarn. Turd! I have to hunt for more yarn. Project on hold....
A couple of weeks go by as I locate more Sunburst Gold Lamb's Pride Bulky. I get the yarn... I continue to knit... and "Wait! These are awesome, super cute... I cannot believe that I didn't love these from the beginning. I'll wear them all the time!"
I finish the boots. There was something a little wonky with the soles... not sure if it was because of my not paying attention or if it was the pattern. I met a gal who had the same experience as me... but it still could be a user error. Basically the number of stitches I ended up with was between the small and medium, so when i went to pick up stitches to start the upper part of the boot there weren't enough. I tried them on and they didn't fit my foot or my calves. I don't have particularly big calves, I don't have a hard time shopping for tall boots. Just a heads up... measure your calf and count your gauge. I should have increased more to fit my calf. I have a friend who loves orange... done deal. She LOVED them and they fit her.

I am making a second pair for myself. I am using Lamb's Pride Bulky Again, in deep charcoal for the soles, lime green for the uppers, with just a touch of lemon drop somewhere in there. I will pay better attention and see what happens with sole. Also... sewing buttons on back to back, especially when one is a four eye and the other a two eye... was a challenge for me.

February/March Sweater

2008-03-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

I DID start the February sweater in February! But being me, i had to rip out 2 1/2 inches of the yoke 3 different times. The first time I just didn't like the cast on edge (that was only about an inch of yoke before ripping). The second time i forgot the buttonholes... even though I read through the entire pattern AND read, on ravelry, everyone else bitch about forgetting the buttonholes. The third time I didn't like the way buttonholes looked, they were too close to the edge and too loose and floppy. So I got through all of that... which actually only took me a day and a half to reknit it three times...
The next saga was me swatching for the lace pattern. Also a me trait is to want to alter the hell out of anything that i do. I wanted to use a different lace pattern. So I hauled out all of my Barbara walker treasuries and my Vogue Stitchionary and found a couple of lace patterns. I found one that i loved. Did I swatch for it? nope! I just picked up my yoke that had been reknit 3 times and went for it.
I knit a couple of repeats of the lace pattern (a 6 row repeat) and it just didn't look right. So I ripped it out and did it again.... It just looked HORRID in that yarn.

So on to look for a different lace pattern. This time I would be "smart" and swatch first. I found one and I thought would be perfect, swatching I a went. I knit a few inches of the swatch before it donned on me that the sweater is knit from the top down.. and the sweet little heart lace that I chose would be upside down hearts and in actuality would look like butts. So I gave in and knit the gull stitch pattern that EZ used. Aside from the the one row where i screwed up the lace, it's offset a little, it is looking great and I love it. I have another inch to go before I start the sleeves.
I have already purchased the yarn to make a punkrawkpurl sized February Sweater. It is Rowan Cocoon, which is only the dreamiest yarn ever. OK not EVER... it's just the dreamiest yarn ever... for this post. The color I had envisioned using for this project, Crag, was not available at AP. I thought about the color Polar... which may be pretty on me... but i can just see me knitting a white sweater for months to spill grape juice on it. I don't actually drink a lot of grape juice, it just provided the most dramatic scenario. So I looked at a couple of the tan/beigey colors, everyone agreed that they were too similar to my skin tone and looked gross on me. So I went for Mountain... it's darker than i wanted, but it is gorgeous. A friend said that it was too close to my hair color, another friend said that she was concerned the lace pattern would get lost in yarn that dark. So I added the color scree to the mix for the yoke to break up the separation of my hair and the Mountain color. Besides I will just plan to always wear my hair up with a white shirt underneath... problems solved. I am going to squish the numbers, swatch, cast on and just go! Itching to start before I finish the mini version.
Saturday night speedyneedlefreeman, wondermike, Kim-Chi Crafts, Knit Ya Ya!, and special guests KNITSONYA came over. It was a knitting food fest. We had red velvet cake, an awesome bean salad, roasted potatoes, fancy cheeses and breads, homemade pizzas, thin mint girl scout cookies... yummmmm! hizKNITS was sadly missed.

Rock Me Ladybug!

2008-02-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

I want this!! How flippin cute is it?! I have been toying with getting a new set of ipod speakers for awhile. i am not an audiophile... i do not need anything fancy. No mega woofers or tweeters necessary here. I just need to be able to hear the music at high volume. Sure I can hear the subtle differences between good and awesome speakers... it's just not that important to me. Am I going to get it? I don't know. I have to grapple with the decision of which color... ladybug red
or sexy silver.

Toe To Toe

2008-02-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a month. I swear that I want to be a good blogger. I swear that I love to blog, and to read other people's blogs... knitting blogs of course. Once again I am going to try really really really hard to be better about blogging!!!

So in the last month what has happened....
There have been some ups and downs for me. The downs have been dealt with so there is no need to go there. Lets talk about the ups...

I taught another fabulous class for the fabulous Sile at knit one one. This time around I was so lucky to co-teach with the super adorable Knit Ya Ya. We taught Beverly Galaskes' Felted Clog pattern. It was a full house. And as usual we had amazing students. Just look at those color combos!

Other exciting news... knit one one has a sexy new location. We can now have multiple classes at the same time. It is warm and spacious, and exciting. These photos are form the grand opening weekend.

This weekend I will be teaching the mega awesome Kent's Moss Stitch Beret at knit one one. There are still some spaces left. You can see photos of this wonderful beret in my previous post.

Other news... hizKNITS and I had Pedis today! It was FABU! Look at our pretty pretty toes.

I Got Class...

2008-01-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I taught the "Leafy Lace Scarf" class at knit one one. It was a full house, and super fun. As usual it was a great mix of people; school teachers, tax specialists, swim coaches, structural engineers for the Bay Bridge, new moms, retired moms... And as you can tell from the photo above, we had some gorgeous Leafy Lace Scarves... Joan used an amazing variegated green bamboo that is going to make a breath taking light weight spring time scarf. And Kimberly used my all time fave fiber... yup, she used a sport weight alpaca in a lovely mauve-y color. They were all gorgeous, and I was very proud of every one's progress. Learning how to do yo's, psso's, k3togs, SK2P's and all that good stuff amongst a large group of chatty people... not the easiest task.

Next Class... Felted Slippers!! Let me correct that... The BEST Felted Slippers ever! Knit extra giant and then felted down to fit, these slippers are heaven for your hoofs! They are knit with two separate soles for double the cushiony goodness. I have worn the same pair every single day for two years!! When they start getting a little ratty or stretched out... just pop them back into the washer, and they are good as new!
The beauty of this class is that you will get two fabulous instructors for the price of one. The lovely and super talented Carrie will be by my side to demystify the mysteries of short row shaping, three needle binding off... and quite certainly more.

And then the next class after that is Ooooh La La... Berets. Just look at that bevy of beautiful berets! Keep an eye out on the knit one one class schedule for the beret class. The dates are February 16th and 23rd, two Saturdays, at 1 P.M. Save the dates!

And now I will present one finished Purple Tweed Tudora! The pattern was super easy, and super quick. Cabling without a cable needle was fun. But I must say that I was not pleased with the fit. I don't think that I have a short stubby neck, but it is just too tall and curls inward at the back of my neck. Also, the bind off edge is a little too tight. It was fun to make... I will make another and experiment with the sizing and bind off looser.

Cable Me

2008-01-11T16:01:00.000-08:00

Out of pure necessity... okay! okay! It was out of pure laziness combined with impatience I finally performed the ridiculously easy task of cabling without a cable needle. I had always "known" or understood the concept of the deed, but for some reason I had just never tried it out. I am a tschotze gal, I live for my accoutrements, my tools, my thingy-ma-bobbers, and so on. So why on earth would i not want to lug that big bulky cable needle around with me while I am working on a project with cables?!
Last night at work I started working on Tudora and after casting on 112 stitches I realized that I did not have a cable needle with me. So rather than just working on one of the other three projects I had with me & waiting 45 minutes until I was home to begin cabling... I said "Flip it all anyway! I am going to just cable sans cable needle". And I did. And it was super easy. Many people say that it is much faster to cable without using a cable needle.... I don't know if that is the case for me. Sure, it is nano seconds faster than shuffling that cable needle around from between my pinky and ring finger, but I never really felt that a cable needle was slowing me down.

But anyway.... what about Tudora? I am excited about this simple little project. I love having a cozy scarf wrapped around my neck! I have had some serious problems with my neck in the past and find that keeping it warm makes a huge difference in my general comfort. So even when it's not terribly cold outside... I tend to have at least a little something wrapped around my neck. (same as my wrists... and my super cute cuffs).

The pattern says that it will be approx 17 inches long... mine is 19 inches. And there is still a button band to be added. I am using the yarn which she recommends as the substitute yarn; Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed. I just happened to have a ton of it laying around that I have had no plans for. I made a beret out of this same yarn. I must say.... I am not a fan of this yarn after working with it twice now. It is a little scratchy, which for the beret was not a big issue, I lined the brim with squishy soft malabrigo. But for this neck warmer, don't know what was thinking. The other issue with this yarn is that it is somewhat brittle. It is super thin in some areas and when cabling.... comes dangerously close to breaking.

Speaking of berets... it's my new pastime.

Last month I made three of Kents Moss Stitch Beret. This hat is soooo popular! I had never made a beret before, I really wanted one to wear, I really wanted to make one, and I DO love me some moss stitch. So I made one for myself, figured that if I liked it, it would make great gifts for a few special folks in my life. I had so much fun knitting it. There where a couple of wonky instructions in the pattern. I emailed Kent to verify that what I had thought he meant was actually what he did mean... he was so sweet and replied to me toot suite!

The decrease section is where it is a bit wonky. my interpretation of it (confirmed by Kent) is as follows:
divide into 8 sections (17 stitches in each section) & place markers the beginning of each section. Every other round you will decrease the first four stitches after each marker as follows; {slpw, K1, psso} then {K1, slkw, psso}. Ok... so that second decrease is the wacky one. you will need to {K1, slip one knitwise, then slip BOTH stitches back onto the left needle, now you can pass the second stitch over the first, and then pass the knitted stitch back onto the right needle}.

I made two more, a red tweed one for Sile, and an olive green malabrigo one for Kate. They are such a hit! And you are in luck because I will be teaching it (with Kent's blessing) for knit one one in February.

Where has all the Knitting gone...

2007-11-14T08:23:00.000-08:00

Yes I still knit. I know it is few and far between my posts about knitting. My apologies. Some of you are saying that it is few and far between ANY of my posts... fair enough.

A small amount of my yarn that we used in class

In the Knitting News....

Way back in October I taught a Color Class. No, not colorwork like fair isle or intarsia. Color work, like the color wheel. Only not anything like the color wheel. We asked everyone to bring a few different balls of yarn, in addition I hauled a ton of my stash to the class. I organized it in big buckets, and on pretty trays. I talked a little about shades, hues, tones, blah blah. I talked about color proportion, and the texture of color. We discussed distribution and placement. Then I asked folks to step outside of their comfort zone with color, and try combinations that they would never dare to try on their own. I asked each student to pick a color that they hate. Then I asked them to choose at least two additional colors and try to make the hated color work for themselves. Every single person was able to do it. It was fabulous to watch people get turned onto a new way of seeing color. We worked in pairs so that everyone could bounce their ideas off of someone else. Then we discussed as a group what worked and didn't work about each combo. At the end everyone had to talk about an upcoming project, and the colors they may have envisioned using before the class, and then how they changed their mind about using color for that specific project. It was an awesome time for all.

What am I knitting? Excellent question! I am working, or not working on the following;

The moss stitch beret from Kent's Crafts. I am making it in Harris/Rowan Scottish Tweed, an amazing bright apple green!
A baby alpaca scarf in trade for massage sessions.
TWO elmer Fudd hats (I am in process of teaching the class)
Half a dozen or so unfinished/abandoned projects (log cabin blanket, a couple pairs of socks, a super basic hat for myself that I started over a year ago....)
Swatched for a sweater a month ago... haven't touched it since.
Swatched for a lace scarf a few weeks ago... what's going on there?!
Just finished a pair of birthday fingerless gloves... finally!
Just finished a felted hat in Cascade Pastaza... which felts like a brick... in a good way

But maybe the biggest thing that i have been working on for the last month, the thing that has really sucked up a great deal of time... and yes it is a knitting project.... I think it might be a secret... I am not sure of the extent to which I am allowed to talk about it. But trust me... it's WAYYYY cool!

Can you SEE how flippin thick that felt is?!

Other news...
You should really check out my cabled cuff class coming up in December. You can learn the magic loop technique AND make something that totally rocks, AND get some hand-made holiday gifts out of the way in very little time.
Also check Kate's Hella Cable scarf class. You will be sorry if you miss it.

Red is Dead...

2007-10-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

just some of my awesome new office supplies.

Crisp Little Apple Clips! Even though they are red...

I am finally working on my bedroom suite. I call it a suite because I have the entire upper floor of the house... my own bathroom, bedroom, office, and walk in closet. It's not HUGE, but it is a healthy sized space. When the ex still lived here the suite was done up in red, black, brown, and cream/white. It was good. I liked it. It suited us as a couple. Not too girly, not too masculine, and playful, fun. When the space became my own, I left it pretty much as is. Sure there were changes, I got new bedroom furniture. But overall I kept the same color palette.
I DO like red... and I like black. I also like brown. And cream & white are ok as an accent. My original plan a year ago was to keep the red and black (the strongest presence with artwork, and accessories already in the room) and to add a mossy lime green. I slowly added some green here and there... but with all that red, it just wasn't floating my boat... and slowly started feeling a little like Xmas. Last month I went to IKEA and bought a gorgeous leafy printed green duvet cover. I brought it home but left it in the package for over a week... I wasn't sure if I was going to go for it. But every time i looked at that cover I got so happy. THOSE were my colors. that was my sanctuary. So I decided to ditch the red, pitch the black, and go green!

Last year i bought some raw wood shelves to use as... well shelves. I also got a couple of 5ft long ones to use on top of two filing cabinets as a desk. My intention was to stain them, make them look nice, etc. Over the past month, and a year after their original purchase, my awesome roommate stained all of the shelves and the desktop a gorgeous espresso. He also spray painted my filing cabinet. They were the UGLIEST fleshy tan color. And now the are gorgeous mossy green. And i have been shopping at work for super awesome green desk accessories. Like a little green magnetic hedgehog that holds my paperclips for me, his name is Dozi. And then there is Winni, the green dinosaur guy that has a mohawk and mane of bristles for cleaning my computer keyboard. Archibald is the green turtle that floats upon my desk with a pad of post-it-notes atop his tummy. Or what about Johnny, the little green guy with open arms just waiting to hold my cell phone. Though I am pondering introducing some orange. Dozi might get swapped out for a little orange ghost type guy. I will also be adding Sebastiano in green. What do you guys think? Dozi or Curly? Curly was named curly before he had spiral paperclips. Dozi looks good in the spiral clips as well. btw... all of the above mentioned names did not come from my creative mind. they were given those names by their creators, and all can be found at the fabulous shop where i work in downtown Oakland.

Reunited... and uh, it feels mostly good

2007-09-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true, Mac is Back...
I got the call yesterday afternoon... my heart raced, my head was dizzy with excitement... Mac was coming home today. But my hair was a mess, and my eyebrows are long overdue for a wax... and OH MY, my desk is so cluttered! I so wanted everything to be perfect when he finally came home... when we would once again be together. Together listening to music, together watching a movie, together sending emails to our dear friends together. Yes it all sounds so idyllic.
But...
I knew that there would be issues. I knew that we would have our problems. All relationships have their problems.
So the lowdown is that all 3,000 and something of my photos were backed up. They are visible and i can open them up one by one as jpegs... but when I attempt to import them into iphoto it kicks em back and says they are unreadable files. I installed ilife 08, new iphoto.... it imports them... spends 10 minutes importing... then it shows me a bunch of empty boxes which are supposed to be my photos. Did I back something up incorrectly? Am I stuck having to view 3,000 and something photos one by one? EEEK!!!

And then there is the issue of ical. I synced all of that stuff to .mac before I turned mac over to the genius. My address book, bookmarks, mail accounts, keychain thingy, AND my ical. Mac came home and i synced again... everything showed that it had last been synced on the day i handed over mac... and when i synced... it was all there, all correct... except my calendar was of a very old version from like two years ago!!! All of my birthdays, my meeting notes, everything is gone. AHA! It's NOT gone. It's all on my ipod. But here's the rub... I cannot sync from my ipod to the computer. I have an app that allows me to transfer my music from ipod to itunes. (that is another issue for another time). But I could not find an app that does same for photos or calendars.
UGH!
I really thought that I backed everything up properly. But it turns out that I did not. There is some stuff missing here and there, I didn't back up or save Office, so now I have no way to view or use all of my Word files. I should have had my genius back it all up with me. Live and learn baby. Live AND learn!

Broken Mac = Lame Photo Post

2007-09-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

My Hard-drive took the big dirt nap folks. The nice "genius" at the apple store said that other than a dead hard-drive, my laptop has lots o' life left in it. In fact he was SHOCKED that it was able to reboot at all considering the state of the hard-drive. He actually gasped, and put one hand to his mouth when he read the "failing" status after running some test program thingy. It's a MacBook Pro- G4... in case that means something to any of you. It's a little over three years old. And with a new hard drive in him... he will be good to go. PLUS.... any day now... well between the first and the thirty first of October I will have Leopard for my newly repaired G4 friend. btw... this is the extent of my ability to geek talk. I really don't know much about this stuff... just the basics to get me by. Really... be nice to your local "genius" at the apple store, they rawk! Mine is named Daryn, and he is truly my hero. Maybe I should knit him a "genius" beanie or something. hmmmm... thinking.

New Vans

Since I don't have my computer... I cannot download photos... So I took some photos with my crappy cell phone cause I just had to share my new Vans with y'all! Aren't they swell? Old Skool OTW (Off The Wall) logo. HAWT I know!!!

And just to throw some knitting related stuff into this post... just one of the MANY things I am knitting... a pair of mismatched, yet matching, fingerless mitts, two-at-once, ala magic loop. The yarn is Lamb's Pride Worsetd, Rosado Rose & Seafoam. The pattern is PuNk rAwK pUrL's & will be available soon. Also.... I was deathly ill over the weekend and knit a to-be-felted hat in one day. It's mustard yellow and plum. The yarn is CascadePastaza, I will get back to you with the actual color #'s. It is gorgeous. I will also get back to you with a better photo of it when my baby is back home.

Just look at those knuckles! Way Cool! haha

P.S. I also do not have my calendar... yep, it's on the mac... so if i have forgotten a birthday, anniversary, or anything important... I apologize in advance!

Tough Knit!

2007-09-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

Allow me to start by saying that i am 110% IN LOVE with my new tattoos! I love the font, the placement, and everything about them. They aren't too big for my lady like hands. The font is unique & fun, yet classic and simple.

Although a few of my friends were skeptical about the idea of me getting ANY more tattoos, MUCH LESS on my hands... I said TOUGH KNIT & I did it anyway. After all I am an adult. I am PunK rAwK. I am headstrong. And I am a designer, and therefore know most certainly what i like and don't like when it comes to aesthetics. I was indeed going to be picky-choosy about what i put on my hands. I assured everyone that having knuckle tattoos would not increase my chances of winding up in prison. I wouldn't be committed to getting into bar fights. Nor would I have to take up smoking.

I was trying my best to look bad ass

I thought long and hard about getting my hands tattooed. I have wanted my knuckles tattooed for some 10 years or so now.... I just never knew what in the hell I wanted to announce to the whole wide world upon my dainty knuckles. Then after my two year knit-aversary, last spring, I realized how much knitting has affected me...

they look a bit blurry & crusty still... this photo was hours afterwards.

Knitting changed my life. In the most rewarding and positive way. It provided me with something crafty, creative, inspirational, and practical to do. It was something that by gosh... I just plain had a natural talent for. And most dear to my heart... knitting introduced me to some of the most amazing people I have ever met. Everyday I am constantly thankful for the people in my life. **Note (All of my friends, non knitters included are amazing people!! Truly amazing people.)
So it naturally made sense to me to label my hands with the words that have served me so well over the last few years. And while I was at it...

I thought it was a hoot to get these. And before the peanut gallery chimes in... YES, I did think about which arm to put which phrase on. I wanted the right slanting decrease on my right arm... the left slant on the left. The way that i imagined it is that it mimics the shape of my body \ / on the top. And if I decide to I could get the opposite / \ on my hips. HAHA

I did receive an email from one of the dearest of dear friends this morning before I left for my appointment. She was one of the naysayers. She emailed me with this...
"ok so i just wanted to make sure you knew that even though i am not sure how i feel about the knuckle tattoo thing- although i love the message! i would totally go with you and be supportive becuz i know you know what you are doing- anyway i wish i could go and be part of the process... i know it is going to be hot as shit- i am just working on my own assumptions of people with knuckle tattoos and the stigma in my head about it- but i'm really excited to see how it looks!!!! "

It meant the world to me.

Mitts with Moxie!!!

2007-09-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

Hurry! While there is still time left you should rush over to the knit one one site and sign up for my Mitts with Moxie class. It is two class sessions beginning this Thursday evening. We will make all kinds of Fingerless Mitts... long, short, stripey, solid, even cabled if you like. These mitts are so popular. When you wear them your friends will go nuts. They are a fairly quick knit... making them great for gifts... and the holidays are coming.
Why do I love wearing fingerless mitts?

Obviously... They look wayyy COOL!
They keep my hands warm, while looking wayyy COOL!
While keeping my hands warm and looking wayyy COOL... I can still

type
scratch the cats behind the ears
open a package of cookies
turn pages in a magazine
poke people in the nose
put on my make-up
KNIT (cannot believe that wasn't #1)
drive safely
eat a bagel
paint my fingernails
put in my contact lenses
pick my nose (if I wanted to)
dial an old school rotary telephone
floss my teeth
get finger printed
smoke (ewww gross! I DO NOT smoke! but I COULD while wearing fingerless mitts.)

The best part is that we will make them using the Magic Loop technique. Now let me start by saying that I do like double points. I have no struggles with them,no fear of them, no beef with the multi sticks whatsoever... BUT, and yes, I do have a big but here... Magic Loop is such a time saver. I find that it is much quicker, the whole ladder issue is avoided altogether, it is easier to try things on while you are knitting them. Use Magic Loop to knit socks, gloves, baby hats, cool cuffs, toys, etc.

See you in class!

More Shopping.... with my Top Off

2007-09-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

Round two of girly shopping spree...
Knit Ya Ya, aka Carrie, and myself slathered on some sun block, took the roof off the del sol, pumped up the tunes on my new car stereo, and drove south for some cheap shopping fun. We were off to Daiso, a Japanese super store that is totally CRAP-tastic! It is bursting forth with plastic, paper, bad engrish, cutsey goodness. They boast that they produce and stock over 90,000 different products. And what's even better... it's all priced at only a $1.50 a piece. (some items, very few, are at slightly higher price points)

For $21 I got:

Two Packs of ADORABLE stationery (and please remember that "Many cars are produced by the every year")
Three of my very fave plastic folder thingys with a way cool clamping device inside (trust me they are way cooler than my description)
The worlds most adorable pouch, it replicates packaging for tortilla chips, with the ingredients on the back. (My friend Zoe had this bag first, I admit copying her. But I HAD to have it!)
Two containers of binder clips. (which i actually NEEDED)
A very cool plastic "brief case" type of thingy.
A cool green and ivory colored bandanna with a repeated arrow print.
Two packages of neon colored hair elastics. (now Carrie and I thought that we were buying headbands. i had opened a package in the car, intending to wear one of my rockin new headbands to tame my hair while riding in the convertible, and to my major disappointment it was "broken". Alas... when we got to Elaine's and reported on our booty, the broken elastic came up. She giggled at us and explained that they come that way so that you can make your own ties. you cut them and tie them to whatever size you want. So it turns out that i could get one head band, and four ties out of one elastic band... two bands to a package... for $1.50... What a bargain!!)
A much needed lingerie bag for laundry. It's shaped like a beach ball with flowers all over it of course.

We had some lunch, then mosied through the mall. We came upon a store called For Love 21. It is an accessories store, much like a Claire's Boutique, yet a bit classier. It is a branch of the Forever 21 clothing stores. We went a little nutty amongst the beads and baubles. So many wonderful color palettes and pretty shiny thingys. I found a bag that I just had to have, the shape and color was just was I had been looking for. And at $25 bucks.... who am I to say no to such a fabulous deal?! (it was impossible to photograph the bag and have it not look like a big blob of mustard. You will have to trust me that it is cooler than depicted here)

We headed back to the east bay, to attend a bbq at the ever so delightful Kim Chi Crafts new home, which is conveniently located on the very same island where miSs PuNk rAwK pUrL lives. We knit, munched, & gabbed, while Carrie and I cooled off in the shade after a long day of shopping with my top off... it was indeed fantastic.

Knit So Sweet

2007-08-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Miss PuNk rAwK pUrL has completed yet another display/art installation/creative endeavor. If you stroll into the ever so delightful and delicious Sweet Adeline's bakeshop in Berkeley between now and... ummm... I am not sure how long the display will be up... you can gaze upon an artfully arranged showing of the Fall class line up for knit one one.

Classes include, an amazing honeycomb patterned felted bag from the mother of felted bags, Petra, a monster making workshop with Sonya, beginning knitting & some mesmerizing enterlac with Miss Kate, a must have (no joke, you will NEED this bag) bobble bag* by the ridiculously talented , yet self proclaimed "beginner knitter" Miss Emily, a sweater workshop with knitting goddess Julie W, & some fabulous fingerless gloves, a woolly cabled winter version of my rock star wrist cuffs, & a super cozy felted cap complete with ear flaps and a brim with yours truly! *note... the bobble bag will be a first time crochet class for knit one one. The class will start off with beginning crochet lessons.

This Saturday, the 25th, there is a gallery opening from 6 - 7:30. Come by and have a mouth watering cupcake and some champagne while gazing upon adorable, yet non edible knitted cupcakes.

I want to say thank you to all of my friends and helpers for assisting, co-creating, and keeping me on track throughout the process of these installations... And especially to the Queen Bee for being a constant source of motivation and inspiration to ALL of us!

So I then I Took My Top Off....

2007-08-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was a fairly crappy day. I would even go so far to say the Wednesday was one of the crappier days in the life of Miss PuNk rAwK pUrL. Let's just say that I actually had to leave work for a couple of hours to come home and cry. I know... super pathetic. BTW- the crappiness had absolutely nothing to do with work. Soooo, then I made some rad last minute plans to cheer myself up Wednesday night... that didn't go so well either. It was a heaping load of totally unrelated salt in my already aching wounds.

So by the time Thursday came around I was chomping at the bit the to make things better for myself. But alas... crying in the shower didn't get "it" all out... I would need some help... Lucky for me my good buddy Kate and I had made plans to go shopping!! Yes, I broke down and took an entire day off from my 6 day work week.

We began with breakfast at La Note in Berkeley. Cinnamon Brioche Pain Perdu soaked in orange blossom water, and sprinkled with lavender honey ... of course that alone made me feel worlds better! The service was SLOOOOOOOW! But the food was tres tres delicious!

We then climbed into the car and took off for Petaluma! Woo hoo! WAIT... Petaluma = woo hoo?? wtf? Don't get me wrong... Petaluma is a lovely town... but why would two hot single gals be so excited to take a day off of work and drive their happy asses up there?? Well... I will tell you why. Y-A-R-N We were going to visit Knitterly, a delightful yarn shop in Petaluma. The drive up was nice. And the shop was gorgeous! We found skeins a plenty to tempt ourselves! And I finally found the perfect dark grey heathered boucle to make my vintage styled capelet... and it is an alpaca blend!! In case anyone was not aware... I *heart* alpaca. It is my fave fiber. I also got some Rowan Felted Tweed in a dreamy shade of blue! And of course I acquired some adorable buttons too. WHAT?! A girl always needs more buttons! Kate picked up some items as well, including some yarn for the super cute Carrie.
Next we headed to the outlet mall... yes, this was a serious shopping expedition. And we did LOTS of shopping at the mall. My fave purchases were at the Vans shop. I bought a pair of old skool blues (just like the ones I wore 20 something years ago... ugh) & a jaunty pair of slip ons. (wish i had a photo of Kates new Vans... white w/ pink flamingos... adorable, just like Kate.)
Ok... now we were about to get wild and crazy! It was hot up there in Petaluma... and we had been shopping for hours by now. And what is the point in driving a two seater convertiable if you don't take the top off now and then?! After changing clothes and shoes in the parking lot and hand feeding one another left over breakfast we pulled out the drivers manual and read up on removing the top from my car. (This would be the first time that I have taken the top off) It was a sight to behold. All buckled in, fueled up on cold pain perdu and homefries... after Kate secured my hair into an updo with the new hair accessories that we purchased at Claires Boutique we took off, waving our hands in the air and yes, we actually were hooting and hollering. It was like some bizarre lesbian spring break... though it wasn't spring and we are not lesbians.
We drove down to San Rafael... to go to another yarn shop natch. We drove with the top down, strands of hair carelessly whipping around, radio blaring, and smiles a plenty. We arrived at Dharma Trading Co. More a craftastic wonder than a yarn shop. I found some Mission Falls 1840 in a luscious green and blue, as well as some more Rowan Felted Tweed, this time in a sultry rusty orange that would set off the sexy blue I had picked up earlier in the day. Kate shopped for some Noro Kureyon and Cascade 220 to start a super sweater out of. So the woman at Dharma recognized me all celebrity style from working at Article Pract. She recommended that we head up the street to yet another yarn shop that shall remain nameless... It is owned by a dude, which is cool... yeah? Hell yeah it is. But it wasn't. Nope, it sure wasn't. Although the shop was cool enough, he was pretty lame. He did greet us when we first walked in, but after that he never got up out of his seat, never asked us if we needed any help or if we had any questions. It was pretty lame.
From there we drove back home, starving and exhausted. But did we go relax & eat? NO. We went to H & M and yes.... we shopped some more. I bought a new purse... it's a sinful shade of plum... which is going to be my color for the fall. It was a good day.