Vegan Craftastic

Of Socks and Sweaters

2008-09-03T15:14:00.008-05:00

Yes, I'm working on more socks. But I can't show them to you yet so I'm going to talk sweaters. I am dying to knit a great fall sweater for myself, I adore fall and all the things that come with it - the weather, the smells, and the food (pumpkin pie anyone?). And I love fall clothes, I feel more dressed up than I do in summer clothes, but it's not the crazy bundling up that I have to do to live through winter. Here's the sweater yarn I bought a little while ago:

This yarn is totally impossible to take a good picture of, I had to yoink this one from Berroco and it's still a bit dark. It's Berroco's Comfort in a beautiful teal color called Agean Sea (#9753). I bought 6 balls with the idea that I was going to make the Tree Jacket from Jephyr Style. I've even started it, I'm a good ways through the neck, but I don't think I'm liking it. There's something about the floppiness of the neck that bugs me so I don't know if I'll end up finishing that up. But then I look back at my favorite one from Ravelry and it makes me want to trust the pattern and chug along. Sigh.

So what are Your fall sweater plans?

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Trail Mix Socks!!!

2008-08-30T13:38:00.005-05:00

Yay, my first design with Crystal Palace is up and ready to go, I'm so excited!!!

The pattern is called Trail Mix Socks and they are sized for men. I used 2 skeins of Maizy in the earth colorway and they would work great in Panda Cotton or Panda Soy as well. It's an easy pattern to knit and makes for some very handsome socks if I do say so myselft, and the husband loves them so that's always nice! Those are actually my feet in the picture above, so it'll work for ladies with larger feet as well (I wear a US size 10 shoe).

I'm so glad I can finally share this free pattern with you, it's been in the works for a while. Here's the Ravely link too!

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State Fair Madness!

2008-08-28T12:59:00.011-05:00

I love the Minnesota State Fair, it's a lot of fun and you get to eat all sorts of crap (and yes, there's plenty of vegan crap if you know where to look). I also love looking at all the wonderful (and sometimes weird) stuff in the creative arts building, home of the creepiest mannequins ever:

There was lots of knitting to see:

And some handspun yarn:

I loved this bunny quilt, so cute!:

I didn't go on any rides though, I just can't bring myself to trust a carnie ride operator:

We ate a lot of stuff that day (including falafel of a stick) but my favorite thing came from here:

All in all, it was a wonderful day spent with Mr. Husband, especially since it was one of his first days off in a long while of late shifts.

More Badia Pics!

2008-08-23T12:01:00.004-05:00

Before the Mr. could get ready to leave for work, I got him to take some pics of me in my Badia. Please excuse the unbrushed state of my hair, I'm pretty fresh out of bed:

And why is there always one picture where I look annoyed?:

FO: Ravelympics Badia!

2008-08-21T19:05:00.006-05:00

Holy crap, I'm done! I was starting to have my doubts because I had to take a few days off and I've just been generally busy the last few weeks (you know how I hate that). But today, while recovering from a super fun day at Valleyfair, I finished up my Ravelympics project.

The pattern is Badia, a free pattern from the lovely folks at Berroco. The yarn is the super nice GGH Bali, a cotton-poly blend. Overall, I'm happy with how it came out but the bust area could definitely fit better, I should have left out the bust increases due to my lifetime membership to the itty bitty titty committee. It's so hard choosing what size to knit because my bust is so small (even with the uber padded bras I tend to wear) but I have definite hips to deal with. But it's ok and in all honesty, I'll be wearing this in the fall under a jacket so it doesn't have to fit perfectly. Perfectionist I am not, especially when it's something for me. Oh, and better pictures are coming but Mr. Husband is working crap shifts all week so he's not super available to be my personal photographer.

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Can't Knit, Clowns Will Eat Me

2008-08-15T11:39:00.003-05:00

Ok, maybe not, but I can't knit today anyway! You see, I'm not in any way a fast knitter, and for me to be as far on my vest as I am in a week means that I've been knitting a ton. So much that I've shmungled my shoulder and have to take at least a day off. When I work too much on anything (sewing or yarn stuff) I feel it in my shoulder (usually the right one) and then the pain travels up the side of my neck at up my face to my ear. Sounds fun, eh?

I actually didn't knit very much yesterday, I was out with Mr. Husband most of the day, I even went to a yarn store I hadn't been to before, Linden Hills Yarn. It definately wasn't my cup of tea. The store was pretty messy and all of my lovely vegan yarns were waaay more expensive there than at the other stores I frequent. But then we had falafel sammies at Holy Land and all was right with the world again!

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The Half Point

2008-08-12T14:32:00.002-05:00

Now I just have to knit the front, although I think if I do half some sort of magical elf should at least help out. Stupid lazy elves!

Going for the Gold!

2008-08-11T12:56:00.010-05:00

I normally wouldn't care even a tiny bit about the Olympics, but the Ravelympics, now that's something I can understand! I sort of went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to play along, (you know how I hate deadlines!) but I figured it could be fun to challenge myself and I'd have something 100% done at the end of it. So what's my project?:

It's a vest from Berroco called Badia. This is actually the back of the thing, but the front is going to look the same so yeah. The yarn I'm using is a very orange shade of GGH Bali and I absolutely looooooove it!!!! It reminds me a lot of Love It but it's a bit thinner. This lovely yarn was free too, I got it in the yarn swap we had at Borealis a while ago. I don't know if I'd normally be drawn to orange, but I think it's good to step out of your color comfort box every once and a while.

It's coming a long really well, the pattern is very easy to follow and I'm staying very monogamous to this project. I might have made a little more progress by now, but I took a trip to Maple Grove yesterday to finally check out Amazing Threads. Oh my gosh, it's awesome and I wish it was closer! They had all sort of lovely and tempting vegan yarns and a huge amount of books, booklets, and magazines. Here's what I finally picked out:

It's a super huge-gantic ball of bulky purple yarn! I took a picture of it with a skein of Maizy for scale. This big boy is James C. Brett Marble Chunky and it's 100% acrylic (very soft though). You get 341 yards and it cost $12.50, not bad. I'm thinking hat and mitten set.

Well, I wish I could say that I'm off to knit but I have annoying things to do today like drop off a job application. Did I mention I'm looking for a job (shudder)? Well, I am and I can safely say that it's no fun at all!

Wee Knits

2008-08-06T12:29:00.005-05:00

Cute eh? I love this little hat, so much that I ended up making 2! See, I made the first one way back in May for a friend from knit night who was having a baby in August. But then my sister in law had her baby a little early and she was uber tiny so I had to send her this hat, it ended up being the only hat that would fit her and it stopped her from shivering in the hospital. Shivering babies are just no good! But I loved how cute the hat was so I knew I had to make another one, plus some socks:

The pattern for the hat is Cherry-O by Susan B. Anderson from her wonderful book, Itty Bitty Hats. I used 3 colors of Tahki Cotton Classic (love the colors that yarn comes in) and US size 7 dpns.

For the socks, I used the Fixation Baby Socks pattern and some leftover Fixation from some socks I made for myself. I altered the pattern a bit, I knit them on dpns instead of circs and did the heel a little more like a traditional heel.

A bunch of us also worked on a knitted and crocheted baby blanket for the mommy to be, here's the Flickr link for more pics from the shower.

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And the Winner is...

2008-08-05T11:42:00.004-05:00

...by way of random number generator, Jes from Well I'll Be a Monkey's Mama. The generator picked her out and she was the very first person who commented. Thanks to everyone who entered, it was a lot of fun reading everyone's favorite lines (especially the nerdy ones!)

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FO: Honeymoon Cardigan

2008-08-02T10:58:00.004-05:00

Holy Shemp, did I just finish something that isn't socks? Indeed I did folks, I finished my sweater that I started in June. June 5th to be exact, right after we got back from our honeymoon in Duluth. It's been close to done for quite a while, but I couldn't decide what kind of closure to do. In the end, I realized that I never wear little cropped cardigans like this closed so I might as well leave it open. So I finished the fronts off with some garter stitch, wove in the ends, and called it a day. And I love it! (even if I look annoyed in the picture). Here's how it looks on my dummy:

The pattern is Knitting Sure and Simple's Summer Cardigan #221 (Here's the Rav link). I made mine in XS (36" bust) and used just under 2 skeins of 2nd Time Cotton in the Berry colorway. I bought the yarn on our honeymoon at the very lovely Yarn Harbor (I totally recommend going if you're even close to being in the area). I used US size 7 (4.5mm) needles and did the bulk of the knitting in around 2 weeks, it's really a very fast knit, and it's topdown so you can try it on as you go. The pattern was super simple to follow and the result was a simple but lovely garment that's very versatile. Yay for successful knits!

Firefly Box Set Contest!

2008-07-28T13:03:00.003-05:00

So I have this extra unopened Firefly Complete Series Box Set that I got last Christmas (or was it birthday?) Anyway, my husband already has it and even though I love me some Firefly, one per household is enough. I've been going back and forth deciding what to do with it but I've finally decided to give it away here on ye olde blog! Rules:

1. To enter, leave a comment on this post that is your favorite (or one of your favorite) lines from any movie or tv show.

2. In your comment, make sure I have some way to contact you, either through e-mail or Ravelry is fine too.

3. This is open to those in the cont. US only, paying loads for shipping makes me sad!

4. Entries will be accepted until I wake up on Tuesday August 5, 2008.

5. Winner will be chosen at random.

Yay, good luck!

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Borealis Scarf

2008-07-25T11:47:00.006-05:00

This scarf has been on the needles for a very long time. Since February to be exact, which for some might not be a terribly long time. Anyway, it was meant to be finished in time to wear it to the Yarn Harlot with some of the ladies from knit night at Borealis. We were all going to knit scarves from the same pattern, Karen Baumer's Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf. But fate stepped in and my husband (boyfriend at the time) got me tickets to Jesse Malin as a present.

Of course it was on the same night and I can't say no to Jesse! I was sad to miss out on the Harlot, but I had gone the year before so it wasn't so bad. Plus I got to see Jesse! Ok, back to the scarf.

The yarn is Marble by James C. Brett in the Berries colorway and it's a lovely color-changing acrylic. I used US size 8 (5mm) straight needles and just finished yesterday. Not that I've worked on it much since February. But when I brought it along up to my parents' house earlier this month, my mom saw it and loved it so I decided to finish it and give it to her, either for Christmas or her birthday in November.

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Ooooooh, I need this now!!!!

2008-07-24T11:06:00.005-05:00

Have you seen the Knitty suprises? Of course you have, but holy crap on a stick I neeeed to make Hey, Teach! It's so gorgeous and exactly the style of sweater I adore. Plus, it's knit in 2nd Time Cotton, I'm using that yarn right now for a sweater and I lurve it. Seeeee:

I love the lace on top and the flared from the waist style, and I think it might look really nice in green...

Do I knit anything other than socks?

2008-07-22T14:47:00.007-05:00

I think so, but not lately! It's been all about the footwear for a while around here, although today I was working on a scarf for a little while and the size 8's felt HUGE. Hey, I finished my first Spring Forward:

I really want to make some of those sock blockers from place mats that I've seen around blogland to make it easier to take pictures of my socks, it's not always so easy to take good pictures of your own feet! Or maybe I can score a creepy mannequin foot that would freak out my husband, he gets weirded out by my dress dummy sometimes so I'm sure he would just love it if I had a fake foot lying around! But anyway, I loooove this pattern and how my sock came out, it fits perfectly and the lace is so pretty. These are my super easy relaxing stockinette socks:

I'm using Skacel's Sockina in a fall-ish colorway and I think I like them. I'm mostly amused by the novelty of vegan sock yarn that makes those little faux-isle patterns. The yarn contains 55% Cotton, 25% Polyamid, and 20% Polyacryl. It feels like a soft brushed cotton, it's nice stuff but doesn't have stretch to it if that bothers you. I bought this over a year ago at The Yarnery and am just now getting to it (slacker alert!)

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Spring Forward!

2008-07-19T12:36:00.003-05:00

Is this pink bright enough for you? Can pink ever be too bright? These socks are knit using the ever so popular Spring Forward pattern by Linda Welch that was in the latest issue of Knitty. I'm once again using my beloved Panda Cotton in the lovely fuchsia colorway. There's a kal on the Vegan Socks blog and on the Vegan Socks group on Ravelry so check that out if it sounds interesting. There's a contest that goes along with the KAL with prizes being donated by Crystal Palace (Panda Soy!!!!) so hop on over to the blog or Ravelry group and join us!

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Knit Pink for Boobies!

2008-07-16T21:14:00.002-05:00

Hey all, just a quick post to let you know that I have a spankin' new sock pattern up at Knit Pink called the Mossinette Socks. If you haven't heard, Knit Pink is a new site that sells pattern pdfs and donates the proceeds to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, so check it out and see if any of the patterns catch your eye! The socks use (of course) 2 skeins of Panda Cotton and are super easy to knit but keep your interest with a touch of patterning. Here's the Ravelry Link.

Oh, and I got a comment about my slacking about posting more wedding pics, sorry, I'll get to that soon, I promise! I'm still waiting for my friend to e-mail me some pics so yeah. Plus, I'm pretty slack-tastic. :)

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Swappy Madness!

2008-07-14T20:36:00.005-05:00

Long time no post, at least for me, I just got back a few days ago from a mini-vacation up at my parents' place. There was much fun and much stash enhancement (more on that in another post - and it's spinning related!). And look what was waiting for me when I got back:

It's my package from the Ravelry Veg*n Craft*n Summer Swap! Everydayautumn was my partner and she sent such a lovely and thoughtful package! There's yarn for mittens (SWTC Pure), chocolate that I can actually eat (and did within minutes of opening the package), monkey stickers, tea, a fan, spices, and a really cute notebook, yay!

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FO: Ellie!

2008-06-30T21:39:00.006-05:00

Who did I spy this poking around the park this afternoon? It's Ellie the bamboo elephant! Aren't all elephants made out of bamboo? Yeah, I thought so.

I'm super happy with my little Ellie, she's knit out of 2 skeins of Crystal Palace's Bamboozle in Fall Herbs using US size 5 (3.75mm) needles. I used Susan B. Anderson's Elefante pattern and it was wonderful, very easy to follow. Here's the Ravelry link.

The Bamboozle was lovely to work with, I was scetical about the stretchiness but it worked great for little Ellie. If you've used Panda Cotton before, it's like a thick version of that yarn. Although I think Bamboozle came out first so I guess Panda Cotton is like a thin version of Bamboozle. Love it!

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The Blues Are Still Blue

2008-06-28T12:41:00.005-05:00

Before I even talk about the pair of socks I just finished, I want to show off the lovely handmade knitting journal my friend over at JFibers made for me as a wedding present. See, isn't is gorgeous?:

Ok, so onto socks. Waaaay back in March I started a pair out of Berroco Comfort Sock, their semi-new acrylic/nylon blend yarn. Well, I finished one and then put the other one on hold for quite a while to work on design stuff. But the pair is finally done:

I used my standard sock pattern from Getting Started Knitting Socks and my trusty US size 2 bamboo dpns. It's a little chilly in the apartment today so I'm giving them a test run, so far they're really comfy and keeping my feet warm but not sweaty, which is of course nice. Oh, and the colorway is #1811, Hari Hari and I used way less than one ball to make this pair. Each skein has 447 yards (412 meters), so that's quite a bit of sock yarn for me.

Ok, that's it for now. I should have another post soon about our bowling trip, hint - I did something really stupid!

Those things that go on your feet

2008-06-22T14:47:00.005-05:00

Yes, I finished my Socks of Sanity! I already blogged about these on the Vegan Sock KAL so I'll spare you the details if you've already read about them. All I'll say is that I absolutley adore them!

Ok, so I can finally talk about one of the secret projects I've been working on! I present to you, the Trail Mix Socks:

I need to take better pictures now that there's actual light in the apartment but I wanted to at least show one pic of them. These are men's socks knit in Maizy and I designed them for the Crystal Palace site, cool eh? I'll post about these again when the pattern is up, eeeh, I'm so excited!

On a completely unrelated note, I finally saw the piece of crochet graffiti I keep hearing about on the Lake Street Bridge:

I was on a walk to Corazon, this really cool little shop in Minneapolis, and on the way back I finally spotted it. I wonder who crocheted this piece?

If the allergies don't kill me first...

2008-06-18T18:33:00.005-05:00

...I may finish my socks this week! What socks? The socks of sanity of course. But death from dandelion fluff is a real possibility, ok maybe I'll just wish I'm dead. I was really thinking I was going to have a mild allergy season this year but then my old nemesis Mr. Dandelion decided to send all sorts of fluffy white doom into my poor little lungs.

Here's me after my walk to the bank and Whole Foods:

Lovely, eh? The sneezing is starting to die down though, I've got the air filter going but I haven't taken any meds yet. Allergy medicine doesn't really work for me, it just makes me fall asleep on the couch which sounds really nice right about now. But I can't because I need to get cracking on dinner pretty soon, the husband is working late tonight so I have to fend for myself. I wish I had leftovers from my stir fry lunch, doesn't it look yummy?:

Interweave Crochet Preview - Yum!

2008-06-14T12:30:00.007-05:00

I love crochet. I knit a lot more than I crochet these days, but I still love to pick up the hook every once and a while, and not just for amigurumi. I have yet to make a garment though, mostly because I have an aweful time getting gauge with crochet. But some of these lovelies in the new Interweave Crochet might just get me past my garment fear:

This is the Midsummer's Dream Camisole by Amie Hirtes and I must have it!

Also made of awesome is the Flirty 30's Tank Top by Mary Beth Temple. It's gorgeous but I don't know how well I can pull off a drop waist.

The Gladiolus Vest by Robyn Chachula is another must have, I love the little buckle closure!

Awww, you guys!

2008-06-11T17:39:00.006-05:00

Thanks a bunch to everyone who left such nice comments, you guys are awesome!!!!

Ok, so on my little honeymoon in Duluth, I stopped by Yarn Harbor (how could I pass up honeymoon yarn?) I picked up 6 skeins of 2nd Time Cotton in Berries, I've used this yarn before for one of my Everlasting Bagstoppers and really liked it so I thought I'd give it a go as sweater yarn. The pattern I'm using is the Neckdown Summer Cardigan (pattern #221) from Knitting Pure and Simple, it's a really cute short sleeved cardigan knit in worsted weight yarn. Here's my progress shot:

It's coming along disturbingly fast, I started it last Wednesday and I'm not usually a very fast knitter.

So have I mentioned how much I love knit night? Well I do! Last night we had a really fun yarn swap where we all brought in yarn, magazines, books, and needles to swap. I unloaded some stuff that I knew I would never use and some magazines that no longer thrilled me. Want to see my super awesome score?:

This my friends is when it pays to be the only vegan in a group of knitters. Less competition! I scored all sorts of stuff but right now I'm most excited about the 8 balls of GGH Bali. It's very soft and yummy, very very much like Berroco Love It. I don't know what it's going to be yet but I'm super excited about that much free yarn!

Vegan Wedtastic - Part 1

2008-06-08T12:45:00.010-05:00

Hey, I'm a Mrs. now! Long time no blog, I've been a wee bit busy :). The wedding was wonderful and there are a crap ton of pictures from all sorts of people's camera's to go through but I wanted to share some before too much time slipped away.

Here's some of my friends from SoCal and I up to no good as usual a few days before the wedding:

My "little brother" who I've been friends with since I was 5 and he was 2:

Outside of First Avenue:

Me and m'lady:

She was such a huge help, we couldn't have done it without her, she totally rocked the flower arrangements:

The Big Day (there are better pictures to come later but they're mostly on other people's cameras):

Well, that's it for now, and hey, I actually had time to knit this week!