Sunday, January 31, 2010

IWTMT: The Amanda Hat

So I kind of dropped the ball on the "I Want To Make This" feature of the blog. I was hoping to do it weekly; maybe monthly makes more sense!

Sneaking in for the month of January, this month's IWTMT is The Amanda Hat (warning: PDF link), designed by Gina House of Sleepy Eyes Knits. One skein of Malabrigo Worsted (used very carefully) can get you two hats, and the pattern is FREE. Yes, free. I think it'll be great with that Malabrigo I picked up a few weeks ago!

Edited to add: I assume the pattern specifies you can get 2 hats out of 216 yards of Malabrigo Worsted, but Ravelry states that new skeins will only be 210 yards. Proceed with caution.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Help For Haiti -- Knitstyle!

Hopefully you haven't been living under a rock and you've heard about the horrid earthquake that hit Haiti barely a week ago. Support and donations have been pouring in from all over the globe. I like to think that crafty people also like to be charitable, and support has also been given by a little thing Raverly likes to call "Help For Haiti". Tons of designers are pledging to donate some of the money they make from certain designs to different charities that will help Haiti's recovery. So if you've been waffling over purchasing a certain pattern that's included in this group, now is a great time to buy!

I know it's tempting to want to make something and send it over, and that's such a great impulse, but what Haiti needs right now is money. Everybody benefits from this: I buy a pattern I already wanted, the designer makes some money, and we both feel good for having been charitable.

And yep, I totally bought a pattern: the Dipped Infinity Scarf I can't shut up about. The designer's chosen charity is Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). It was easily purchased with my bank card through Paypal and I received a PDF copy saved to my Ravelry library. Convenient, exciting, and makes you feel good. What more could you ask for?

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Mmm-Mmm Good

"Jen," you may be saying to yourself, "Jen, why do you leave us hanging so? Why do you blog about something going on and then never mention it again? I need closure."

First of all, though, I'd like to give an update on my Storm Moon Knits scarf. I was so glad to finish it, I really was. The color scheme, while awesome, wasn't quite me. The yarn also had some negative associations with the death of my brother. I posted it on Facebook to share with my friends and found someone local who seemed to love it. I offered it to her as a gift, and she accepted! I'm so happy the scarf has found a new home with someone who can fully enjoy it. (Though I'd seriously love to knit with the yarn again.)

So, we were looking for closure, were we? Closure for what? Ah, the blood drive! Did I get to donate? Did I buy red yarn? Did I mention I'm trying to knit from stash and not buy this year? How does that work?

Okay, okay, I did get to donate! I'd gone to my LYS and looked at some contenders, including Cascade Eco+ and Schaefer's Miss Priss in Clara Barton. The Miss Priss was especially seductive, but I've worked with it before, and I did want to try something new.

And then ... and then I found out my LYS had bought out the inventory of another store and now they had ... this.

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Ahh. So pretty. So rich and varied. So awesome!

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Yeah, I fell in love with a skein of Malabrigo and I haven't even knit with it yet.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Yay, I Didn't Kill the Blog!

Happy 2010, all! I may have taken a short break from crafting in the last days of 2009, but the new year has brought both endings and beginnings.

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Pattern: One Row Handspun Scarf by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn: Celestial Worsted from Storm Moon Knits, in colorway What Dreams May Come
Needles: Boye interchangeable set, size US 6
Timeline: 3.20.09-1.3.10
Modifications: None.

Opinion: The Celestial was a gift from a college friend that I received in the mail the day my brother died. It was a beautiful yarn, but I had some unfortunate associations with it. I finally cast on for the scarf in March of 2009, and languished with the finishing of it (I think I finished knitting in the summer). The pattern itself is easy and visually interesting. Having received blocking wires for Christmas, I decided it was time to weave in the last ends and block this sucker.

Random Thoughts: It's too bad Storm Moon Knits is taking a break from dying yarns. Love her eye! Originally I was disappointed with the length of the scarf, but I hadn't really done a lot of blocking yet. After blocking, the scarf is 78" x 5": much better!

Ahh, it's nice to have that finally finished.

Oh, and that beginning?

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Yeah, that feels pretty good too.