Don't you wish your slipperS WERE hot like mine?

I finally have a finished project to share with you. Now I have 2 sexy slippers – “woot woot woot” - like my sister would say.


It took me a while to finish the second slipper, probably because I was dreading the knitting of ties. Remember, I made a mistake when knitting the ties of the first slipper and it made my knitting life so much more difficult. I did not want the second slipper look any different so I purposefully knitted the ties in a wrong fashion. But now, all of this is behind and I am enjoying my super-warm Twinkletoes.


There are a couple of mistakes (they are all on the sole so it would not be noticeable), also the second slipper is slightly looser at the back – this is what happens when you wait too long before completing the project.


And what would look nice with these slippers? A pair of matching socks. Here is a beginning of “Cablenet” in Regia #5769. I am very excited to attempt this rather difficult pattern. I would not stress myself with knitting it fast – it would be one of those “knit a bit when feel like it” projects.


Since I am sharing my progress here is how the felted purse looks like:


It is growing pretty fast and I am excited about felting it. By the way, is it me or felting is super popular today? While in Toronto I saw Toronto Outdoors Art Expo and was amazed to see several stands with felted purses. I also noticed felted items in different clothes/accessories stores. I better hurry up to learn this technique if I want to stay “cool”.

How far is Toronto?

Here is Palette on my way there:


And this is what I brought home last night:


I did not knit all the time while on the bus but I am happy with the progress made.
The pattern for Palette comes from one of back-issues of Knitty. I decided to experiment with yarn and used a skein of Noro(S185) sock-yarn I've picked up at Mouline Yarns.

The picture comes from THIS German website.
And HERE you can find another gorgeous picture of the yarn

Originally I was thinking of making socks, something like this beauty by The Loopy Ewe. At the same time I wanted a fun project that would be easy enough to knit on the bus, yet challenging to prevent me from dozing off. This lacy scarf proved to be ideal.

In my defense ....

Members of the court,

it is not a defense that I present to you. I am not in any way seeking to escape the reprisals of the knitting society in general and lace knitting society in particular for the mistake that I had made. I wish merely to give you an explanation of my acts and to tell you how I was led to perform it.

I have been a lace knitter for a very short period of time. I started knitting lace on the 28th day of June, 2008. Since that day, my life had changed dramatically. Everywhere I went, I saw lace patterns emerging in front of my eyes, I dreamed about lace, researched on lace-knitting, and spend every free minute of my time knitting lace. I would like to point your attention to the fact that lace knitting is addictive and that I was never warned about it. In fact, to prevent further incidents, I think that all products related to lace-knitting should bear a warning about it's addictive properties (similar to the warnings on the cigarette packages). As a previous smoker, I can also assure you that knitting is highly more addictive than smoking, which in turn is more addictive than such drugs as cocaine and heroine.

My previous statement informed you about an unhappy experience with lacy shawl, that took place on the 2nd day of July, 2008. This incident did not diminish my enthusiasm for the lace-knitting and I began a new lace project: the Print O' The Wave Stole on the same day.
Previously, I had purchased 2 skeins of Alpaca yarn and this small fact can not be neglected. The presence of the second skein is the sole reason to why I did not rip out the swatch for the shawl, and kept looking at it, while working on the stole. I would like you to take in consideration the fact that the purchase of 2 skeins was not premeditative, thus I could not be held responsible for keeping the first swatch.

At this point I was completely impaired by the addictive properties of the lace-knitting. The image of the pattern haunted me, I had visions of the lacy pattern not only in my sleep but in the middle of day. My inability to see the resemblance between the swatch and the original picture caused even more distress. Here is Exhibit A, the blocked shawl swatch that caused me so much distress:


Although I was intoxicated by the lace-knitting, I was able to recognize my mistakes. The recognition happened at the moment of scrolling through the lace-knitting tutorial by Eunny. I fully understood the wrongness of committed lace blocking when I saw the following diagram (Exhibit B, diagram of trinagular-shaped shawl knitting, as depicted in the tutorial):

When I looked at the star and followed directions of the arrows I felt very very stupid. I would like you to take in consideration the fact that I realized my mistake of not blocking the swatch correctly. The shawl pattern started with 5-stitch row which I assumed to be the bottom of the triangular. I also earlier confessed to attributing "shawl is knitted from top down" instructions as a typo, and hope that it would diminish my punishment.

Here is a side-by-side look at the same swatch, blocked differently (Exhibit C):















I hope that this comparison will make you understand the frustration I experienced throughout this whole process. As it could be seen, the incorrectly-blocked swatch (depicted on the right) has a slight hint of the pattern, which causes a great trouble to the novice lace-knitter. Moreover, the horizontal position of the needles makes it counterintuitive to block the swatch in any other way.

In conclusion, I would like to say that several outlined reasons (my inexperience, addictive nature of the lace-knitting, possession of the second skein, and the needles themselves) should definitely be considered when determining my future fate as a lace-knitter. Meanwhile, I would keep this shawl swatch as a constant reminder of the foolish mistakes I made:

Defeated

There are no knitting news today. I slightly advanced on my second slipper and a bit on my new project but I did not even take pictures of the progress. Reason?

LACE

I started knitting lace and the last 2 days have been spend decoding ssk, k2sp, and k2tog(s). Inspired by my own post about the alpaca yarn, I decided to get back to my shawl, ripped down whatever I had knitted earlier, and started fresh with a 5-stitch chain.

- After the first 13 rows I had a light suspicion that the shawl did not look like what it should be

- After the 30th row, the annoying voice in my head told me to stop but I convinced it that I should keep going and that the pattern will miraculously emerge (I believe in miracles, I really do, even after last night!)

- After the 64th row I started panicking, wet the swatch, tried to pin it down, failed miserably, stretched it and looked at it from every possible angle to see the glimpses of the design.

- After yet another hour spend meditating on my swatch I said:
(I don’t think I should write down what I said, because there might be children reading this) and began looking for another …. lace pattern (did I mention before that I am very stubborn? Wait a minute; let me put it in my profile description).

- By 2 AM I learned how to do invisible cast on (KnittingHelp video), did it 2 times (again, I’ll omit everything I was saying and mumbling at that time) and knitted first 3 rows of this gorgeous stole, by Eunny.

Oh wait, there was also an incident with scissors but do not worry, everyone is alive and in good health.

Today’s plan for the evening: knit the first rows of the stole. G-d, give me strength and patience.



Meanwhile, I would have to admire the work of others, like this gorgeous Turquoise Lace made by The Daily Purl (click on the image to see the original post):


If you like knitting, weaving, and beautiful photography - visiting her blog is a must!

Don't you wish your slipper was hot like mine?

Do you remember a little secret project I started a while ago? I think it is time to share some of my progress with you. The little blue swatch turned into a wonderful sexy slipper (I have been a slow knitter recently and the second slipper is still in progress).

For those of you who do not know me or my taste in shoes, here is a picture of the sexiest shoes ever, according to Anna. And yes, I owe a pair exactly like this:

Now you can see why I use the word “sexy” when describing my new slipper. The pattern comes from one of back issues of “Knitty” and it is called: “Twinkletoes”. I slightly modified the original pattern: by mistake, I did not knit the strings same way as described on the pattern. I also did not knit the 1k1p border, since it was making slippers a bit bulky-looking. Because of this modification I am afraid that the back of the Sexy Slipper would slip off my foot (no pun intended). A loop in the back of the shoe that would hold the slipper and the straps would prevent slipping. I will definitely post pictures if this modification will be made.

When my dad saw the Sexy Slipper he asked with terror in his voice whether I was planning on wearing it outside! Sometimes I wonder what others think about me.

The new technique I learned from this patter was a "Lifted Increase/Decrease". Although the pattern provided explanations and instructions I searched some detailed instructions and videos and here are links to the most useful ones:

Wonder How To has links to every possible "How to" video. Here is the one for Lifted Increase/Decrease

Stich Diva Studio has some useful instructions with step-by-step photographs. Here is her version of LI/D. I really like the way she uses yarn of 2 different colors to make explanations easier.

Out with the old ....

As I write this on a grayish summer day my feet are happy. Happy and warm …..They are also pretty, stripped, and soft. Well technically it is not my feet; it is Mr. Socks that are pretty, stripped, and soft. Nine days after the birth of Mr. Sock, Mr. Sock II came to this world on June 19^th at exactly the same time as his older brother 3:18PM. Weird coincidence!!!

I definitely enjoyed knitting socks. Enjoyed so much that my next project would be “Fluke” (click on the link to get the pdf pattern and see where the picture comes from), for my sister, made from the wonderful German “Fortissima Socka” (color #2048).

What would I have done differently? I definitely made first sock too loose. Socks in general should be knit tighter than other garments. Also I had to adjust the first sock (decrease and increase) and be careful when knitting the second one – I wanted the color-pattern to be identical. I would also follow the PDF pattern, because it has calculations, rather then casting on 60 sts without considering the tightness of my knitting and the circumference of my calves – I find that design on the back could benefit from a tighter fit.

While I was working on the second sock I crocheted yet another dishcloth. Now I have a set of 3 and still lots of yarn left – expect more dishcloth pictures in near future.

And finally, here is a sneak preview of my next project. I already have socks and some slippers, to go with, would be nice. I picked up bright blue yarn yesterday and started my knitting.

The color of yarn is much brighter and livelier in real life. It's "Galway" Irish worsted knitting wool in color # 5050 Oh, the pattern … I'll keep it a surprise for now!

Knitting in public

I had a great weekend and even though I did not make it to the wwkip celebration at ParcLafountaine I still contributed to the knitting in public more then once. I got some interesting comments and considering writing a book of “knitting prejudices” … but let start from the beginning:

It was my friend’s birthday on Friday and we were meeting for some drinks and the local bar. Since Anna (that’s the name of my friend, and “yes, Russians have no imagination so every second Russian girl you meet is called Anna”) so Anna does not like surprises and I couldn’t make a big surprise party for her, instead I had a very special guest who traveled all the way from Seattle. I LOVE seeing people’s reaction at these kinds of situations – it is priceless.

Once all the gang was there and the conversations, sangria, and beers were flowing, I decided to get my yarn out and knit. Little did I know, but some people find it rather embarrassing to be seen with their knitting friend in public, and especially in the bar. To jump ahead, I told the story to my dad and he was shocked that I actually knitted while drinking wine. According to him it is impolite to knit outside of one’s house.

Friday’s disappointing experience didn’t diminish my enthusiasm and I decided to continue my knitting in public escapade. I brought my bright yellow crocheted purse and my knitting project along with me on Saturday. First, I knitted on the metro. All-in-all it was very nice.; one lady actually smiled at me. After, I met with Eric and we sat down in the park, where I got my Mr. Sock II out. People would look or smile and then the older gentleman asked the most unexpected (to me) question:

- Is it a boy or a girl?

First, I was sure he was referring to me. From the picture above one can see that I am clearly a girl, with longish blond hair. I was also wearing a long skirt that day so his confusion was surprising.

Then I thought that he was referring to the knitting project. The sock is bright red and tubular …. I doubt it looks like either a boy or a girl.

I was very perplexed and didn’t quite know what to answer. Thank G-d Eric was there to save me. He jokingly said something to the gentleman (I was too perplexed to pay attention) and then explained to me that knitting is usually associated with being pregnant, so the gentleman was enquiring about the gender of my future child. I found that hilarious. So not only you are an old babushka if you knit, you are also a pregnant old babushka!

My third attempt in knitting at public happened later on that day. At a “house-cooling” (it'a the opposite of house-warming) gathering I was showing off to one of my friends, parading the yellow purse, when a GUY standing next to me said that he used to knit, and he would do it on the way to school in public transportation. Apparently girls find it sexy and he is contemplating the idea of joining one of the knitting groups since he is on the search for a girlfriend.

And what did YOU do for the knit in public day?

I could not leave you without some knitting pictures, so here is Mr. Sock II. He is getting bigger and bigger and I can not wait to do the heel.

Next is a felting project I casted on. I never felted before but I fell in love with this purse and with the yarn. I am a bit nervous about it.

And here is another half-finished project. This is a scarf I am knitting for Eric. I really like the autumnal colors and the rustic edging. I find it’s a great project for a beginner because you get to practice your purling and knitting.

HOT

It is hot in Montreal. Third day in a row my brains (that small amount of substance living in my skull) are melting. I envy those who find this kind of weather "beautiful" and "sunny". My friend called me on Sunday (the day we beat all the records for the heat and humidity) telling me that I have to get out because it's "gorgeous" outside. I might be weird but I don't find sauna-like temperature and humidity "gorgeous", I find it disgusting, suffocating, and too much to handle.

OK I am done complaining and can switch to more crochet/knitting related things. By the way, I never complain about cold and you will never hear me saying: "Darn winter, can't wait for it to finish" even if it's snowing in April. This is why I believe I have the right to complain in summer. And yes, at any given moment I would take -30 over +30.

OK OK this time I will talk about knitting. I've been browsing through a lot of blogs, online yarn-stores, knitting/crocheting communities over past couple of weeks. I save all of the links and will eventually (that's the key word, in case your brain is as melted as mine) post my favorite ones. Today however, I couldn't wait to share with you these:


First I was not sure what these were and why anyone would knit them, but later on I followed the link to this wonderful website (TitBits).

I love when people turn their experience into something creative, I also love when people find more accessible, easier, and cheaper options to solve problems. And in case you were too lazy to check out the website, I'll explain you that these are knitted breast prosthesis for breast cancer survivals who had to undergo mastectomy. I think that the idea is BRILLIANT. You can buy the already-made one or you can make one yourself. They are inexpensive (~60$ - compare to silicone ones that are $400) which allows women to have several prosthesis. They could be weighted or not, depending on the "feel" you prefer. They come in natural as well as wild and funky colors. They are SO beautiful. Once again let me tell you that I find this whole thing AWESOME!!!!!

P.S. The image comes from Knitty website.

First yarn shopping experience

I finally made it to one of Montreal’s yarn stores. La Tricoteuse is situated on the corner of St. Hubert and Rachel (779 Rachel East). The store is full of yarn: sock yarn, mohair, beautiful silk, yarn of different colors and textures. I must admit I was slightly overwhelmed when I walked in there (and so was Eric).

After spending good 20 minutes simply looking at all the yarns I decided to approach a nice lady (the owner?) for some help. To tell you the truth, the quantity of the yarn made me forget all the project possibilities I had on my mind and the only thing I remembered was sock yarn for the long-promised socks for my sister. After yet another 20 minutes of admiring all the sock yarn, I finally decided on “Canadian color" (#4746) from Regia. It’s a mix of wool and polyamide. The gentlemen at the cash (husband of the lady?) asked me if it was my first time knitting socks and after my affirmative answer he wished me “good luck” (I am not sure I liked the underlying message in that wish. Is sock-knitting really that difficult???). Oh, I also picked some sock needles for the project.

All in all I was really happy with my first yarn shopping experience. Once the socks are done I will return for some new yarn and I might even take some pictures of the store.

I picked “Reverse Psockology” pattern from “Stitch-and-Bitch” calendar (thank you Es'ka and Jen'ka) for the yarn. It is going pretty well so far, but I am expecting the worse.

Since I am posting the picture of half-finished sock, here is one more of “work-in-progress” projects: the baby scarf (to go with the baby carpet) that I crocheted about a month ago. It is still missing white fringes.

My dad is refusing to call it a scarf. He says that it could be anything! I guess I should hurry up with those fringes.

La Tricoteuse
779 Rachel East (corner of St. Hubert and Rachel, not far from Mont Royal metro station)

Patterns

I finally found the dishcloth pattern on the Coats and Clark website. For some reason mine is not as "fluffy" as the one on the picture. I got some orange and multicolored yarn and will crochet more of those in different color-combinations.

I also managed to take pictures of all the new and old unfinished knitting projects. I'll try to write a coherent blog-post and upload it later tonight. For now, here is a link to wonderful Stephanie Pearl-McPhee who is known in the knitters' world as Yarn Harlot.
Not only she is a knitter (a very fast one), she also has an amazing writing style, and manages to update her blog almost daily as well as write some knitting books. Oh yeah, she is Canadian.

P.S. click on the "button" to get to her blog.

Links

As promised, here are the links to the websites where I got my patterns.

1 - The baby carpet comes from "Instant Expert: Crochet" book.
2 - The pattern for dishcloth was found on the website, but I can't trace back the link. I am pretty sure I have it printed out somewhere and I promise to post the URL as soon as I can.
3 - The purse comes from January 2008 issue of "Crochet today!" magazine.

4 - The pattern for hook case is a modified version of this one. I changed it to a 2-color model and also adjusted the dimensions.