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lelah finished!

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i love love this top! it was a quick and beautiful knit, and since it needed a little under two skeins of bernat’s cotton tots, it cost less than $7 – incredible!

thanks to christine for a wonderful pattern—she’s coming out with more in the near future and i’ll be sure to keep an eye out. for more detailed stats about laleh, go to my project page. photos by yy.

in other news, i am picking up my long-awaited yarn today since the ups guy couldn’t get them to me at a reasonable hour (grrr) and on monday i finally received those phildar mags – beautiful patterns! but first, a loose-fitting v-neck sweater for me and (possibly) a clapotis for a friend of mine’s upcoming wedding.. in italy! hopefully some big news about that coming up soon too.

comment [13]

posted 30 March 05 & filed under lelah

sleepy sunday, with updates on monday

three things making me knitting-happy:

~ i just went to my first yarn tasting—and it was as great as you’re thinking it is. i’ll post up detailed pics later, after i play with them for a bit. to sum up: 14 yarns in an hour and a half, ranging from novelty to ribbon to hemp to bamboo to silk/wood blends to mohair. perfect for a newbie like me who tends to not stray from basic wools and cottons. [update: see details below!]

it was held at the great unwind yarns store in burbank, where, in a few weeks, they’re also going to have anne modesitt teach some classes. i’m tempted to take one but for now i bought her book so i can get a feel for her general knitting attitude as well as maybe even figure out for once and for all if i’m a combination knitter or not. not that it matters that much, it’s just be nice to know where i belong. ;)

~ lelah is blocking—mmm, i can’t wait. the pre-blocking try-on was fabulous. and this top is just too perfect for the gorgeous spring weather we’ve been having around here.

(yes, you east coasters, turn green with envy—we’re talking about picture perfect blue skies, tank-top and flip-flop-wearing, and top-down driving. so hah! to your gorgeous snow-pics.)

~ and, with lelah done (and you know i’ll post photos once it’s all dry), i feel very comfortable looking for new stuff. yes, there’s old stuff, but i don’t wanna even think about it. previews for the new interweave knits are up and i’m loving this lace leaf pullover by teva durham. isn’t it gorgeous? besides being in the newest knits, it’ll also be in durham’s new book coming out this spring loop-d-loop.

what else to make, what else? i’m thinking a clapotis (largely for the thrill of dropping stitches), an oversized v-neck raglan with that pink cotton on it’s way to me, i’d love to make a dolman of some type, maybe that modified one from knits last issue, and.. some more shapely and lace-y stuff – i loved watching the ‘fishtail’ pattern emerge while knitting up laleh and fitted handmade garments feel like magic. so fun! i like this knitting stuff.

hope everyone’s weekend went beautifully ~

update: here’s the first batch..

1 Cherio by Skacel, 100% polyamide—very stiff, reminds me of R2’s paper yarn, would be good for bags
2 Jewel FX by Berocco, 94% rayon, 6% metallic—yuck, this is why i don’t like novelty yarns: ugly and scratchy
3 Optimum DK by Southwest Trading Co, 100% optim wool—beautiful, a cashmere substitute
4 Kid Merino by Crystal Palace Yarns, part kid mohair, merino wool, and micro nylon—so tedious! how do people manage to knit entire things out of mohair? drove me crazy, but very pretty afterwards, i must admit
5 Amerino by Laines Du Nord, 58% cotton, 42% acrylic—very bulky, but that was all there was to it
6 Rapture by Reynolds, half silk, half wool—gorgeous! the hit of the party. seriously, we were all oohing and ahing over this yarn, so shimmery and plush and see how pretty it knits up? blocked it would be even better, i’m sure.
7 Macao by KFI, 90% nylon, 10% cotton—a surprise hit. fun to knit, though it caught a bit, but the resulting fabric is very stretchy, surprisingly soft, and the colors are so cheery.
8 Isis by FFF, 78% nylone, 22% cotton—again, a surprise hit. you can’t tell by this pic but i did a 2×2 rib and it just shines withi this yarn, which is also surprisingly soft.

more to come later tonight..

comment [9]

posted 27 March 05 & filed under knitting, lelah

i should be stressed but i'm not, hurrah

hello! i’m in a cheery chirpy mood this morning, even though i have a teeny bit of work to do still for school that will officially be late in about an hour. but it’s a beautiful day, i’m going to drive up to palo alto this weekend and hang out with one of my sisters, i got a new (well, new for me) computer at work, the sun is shining beautifully, a lotta rain is on the way (i love rain! especially now that my car window is fixed..), and more.

plus.. what is this? knitting?! yes, yes, starteritis is over! i’m very excited about this beautiful project so far. it’s a pattern i found procrastinating the other night called lelah – it’s so pretty isn’t it? i happened to have two skeins of bernat’s super-soft cotton tots in white lying around and i wondered if it would be enough. happily, it looks like it will be – what you see in the picture is just barely over one skein used and i’m in the homestretch, with just about three or four inches of stockinette to go.

there’s a bit of post-knitting-work to do, including sewing in some elastic for the top, blocking it like crazy, and, i’m thinking, making an elegant little i-cord tie for the middle as well as possibly (i’m getting ambitious here) some attachable ties for added security/support/style when i’m wanting it. we’ll see about those i-cord additions, but i’m feeling so happy with this whole thing, i might just very well do it.

this last pic just makes me happy – my mom got me these really cute ice cube tray, and in some weird spurt of spring-antsy energy, i’ve been smoothe-ing like crazy. a little ice cube heart slowly melting in my smoothie has been making me laugh and smile for days now.

yesterday was ‘world water day’. though that might seem a bit silly to some, it’s not. many people are more and more talking about how water will be, or is, the oil of the 21st century. in bolivia, for example. there’s been so much struggle over attempts at privatizing the water and all over the world, access to drinkable (potable is such a weird word) water is a serious serious issue. (over a billion peple lack access to safe drinking water – what a scary fact. ‘water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’, right? shudder.) a new documentary i want to see called thirst talks about some of these issues, and so does this one... basically it all comes down to the idea of whether or not water is a human right. damn right it is, i say. (i say it chirply, btw – my mood remains up up up!)

comment [4]

posted 23 March 05 & filed under lelah

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