Knittin' Time

So I know I'm all hook happy and just a little stuck up about knitting... And I know I frequently rant about knitting, knitters, and everything needle-ish.

But I'm also tired of looking at awful, awful crochet patterns, and wondering "What the hell...?" And waiting for Interweave Crochet to come out, only to have the 'Carmen's Jazz Scarf' on the cover. What is wrong with the crochet world that this scarf is on the cover of our fanciest magazine? WHY?!

Look I'm all for motifs and funny colors, but no one in their god damn mind is going to wear this scarf. Unless you're 80. And if you're 80, then go ahead and stitch this, but, there is a whole new generation of fiber lovers out there and if crochet mags keep putting this crap on the cover, we'll never grow.

--End Rant--

Anywho... I started knitting because I want to make the cute patterns that I see on Ravelry all the time. I started by using wooden straight needles and just started knitting a scarf-y thing. After doing this for a week, I got the hang out of it, and I started to be able to read the stitches so I thought "Hat time!" Enter the "Regular Guy Beanie" from Yarnman Knits.

This hat is meant for double point needles and I used circular, but in the end, it came out really cute and with very little cursing. I used Vanna's Choice yarn (and by the way, knitting takes waaaay less yarn), so I could see the stitches well. If you're an avid crocheter and you're going needle-y, its important to learn to read your stitches before you throw yourself into a pattern and using a yarn you can see well is absolutely necessary.

And now I'm working on knit hat #2. I'm using Malabrigo yarn (drrrrroooooool). I'll keep you updated!

photo: Interweave Crochet

Hello again!

Alright, I know its been a long time since I've updated; but to be fair, I moved across the country...

I am now officially an Ann Arborite. Which is a pretty significant change from the Rocky Mountain Wonderland that is Salt Lake City, UT. There are no mountains here and while there is a blizzard raging against the Wasatch Front, its sunny and brisk here in the Great Lakes region.

Two months after we moved to Ann Arbor, my lovely man friend and I went to California and got ourselves hitched, and that was pretty life changing too. It was a very successful marriage and the weather was beautiful.

All this life changing stuff made it really hard to update the ol' blog. But don't think that I wasn't hooking and knitting and spinning. That's right... I was knitting too. Because I have no friends in Ann Arbor, I decided that my new best friend would be fiber.

First and foremost, I ventured into the land of home decorations and made a curtain for our kitchen. Living in an apartment complex is really f-ing depressing, and Pete and I didn't even have furniture until October, so anyway, I decided that yarn would make my kitchen feel better and it did.

I got it out of Special Techniques and Stitches and it worked up really really fast (I

actually crocheted it during my lunch breaks at work). It was a pretty easy pattern, but it did eat up a lot of yarn.

When I was done in the kitchen, I decided the try my luck at a new hat. Its pattern that's always evaded my understanding and patience, but I was feeling stubborn...

Its the Lattice Hat, by Sarah Arnold. Its a really unique pattern, and the hat you end up with is thick and oh so warm. But you have to really read the pattern. It gets a bit tricky when you first start to lattice, but once you pick up the pattern its easy and very quick. This is a yarn eater too, so make sure you have a lot before you start in on it.

The pattern also calls for an H hook for the body and a G for the ridge, but I went one hook bigger because 1) I have a huge head and 2) I crochet on the tight side. If you're a little looser, then by all means go with an H, but I would gauge this one out if you don't know your hooks terribly well.

Finally I went into Christmas land right around Turkey day and made Pete and I

Lauren Osborne's Stuffable Stockings to spruce up the fireplace. I got the Pattern from Crochet Today, and while their patterns tend to walk down the cliche road, this one is cute and not stab your eyes out with a blunt object annoying.

I used scraps from my yarn shed and they came out very nicely. When I did the first one it took me a solid five minutes to figure out why my sewing was being so annoying. I then realized I am left handed. And being left handed means sometimes (always) your patterns come out backward. So if you're crocheting on the left side of life, don't get disgruntled, and take a deep breath before you start to sew.

Anyway, I think that's all the space I have right now. But don't fret my friends, I will be updating regularly again! Being alone in the midwest makes fiber arts 1000x more important.

Keep on hookin'!

Wallets!

So I'm feeling a bit under the weather but I wanted you to see my newest creations. They're wallets! The blue and the multicolored ones use a basket weave stitch which is a really easy stitch but it makes amazing patches. The brown is just a back stitch crochet but I still like it.

Sorry this won't be longer but I'm afraid I'm allergic to SLC... Ugh...

Little Red Riding Bag

So I've been experimenting with fabric and yarn recently so I made a bag for fun. Its just a test bag but it turned out good enough that now I know what I'm doing so I can make a "final copy."

Its a cute little 8in by 8in bag with a checkered cable pattern. I thought the red would be cuter than it actually turned out to be. But it makes a good hand bag if nothing else.

Sewing together cabled squared is a little trickier than I originally planned it would be but its a good little floppy bag. What I really needed was just a base to be able to sew fabric into.

A few weeks ago, while going through our dressed Pete became incredulous when he saw just how many pj pants I actually own. He told me that I needed to find a new place for them because we weren't moving 18 pairs of pants to Michigan in August. So I took a pair of checked red ones my brother bought me when I was 20 pounds lighter and cut them up.

I then measured them to the size of my bag (before I stitched it all up) and sewed the fabric into the yarn. It worked surprisingly well too!

Now my stuff won't fall through the cracks of my stitches and I have a very cute, very washable bag.

Now to make a much cleaner, much neater final version!

Guess who's hats are for sale online?

Revolution climbing, via Pusher gear, is up on the internet!

They're selling them for $35 which is a good price. I was really worried when I saw they were selling them for $50 but they lowered them to a much more manageable price.

Anyway, I am so very very excited because I'm on a website!

My current project is a cable bag with a fabric inside. I've never sewed fabric into my crochet before. I hope it works.

Photos to come!

-Sarah

Cheese Heads

So this past weekend I picked up some Queensland Collection - Kathmandu Aran yarn. I purposely picked out green and yellow so I could make myself a Cheese Head Beer Sweater.

I knew the minute I picked up the Queensland yarn that I was going to love it. Its soft but sturdy and its thick enough to do what I need it to do without having to double it up.

Plus, I feel so damn fancy when I get to crochet with silk and cashmere. I mean really.

In other news. When I was in CA the last time I picked a bunch of lavender in my mom's garden. I then put all that lavender I cut in my carry on luggage and brought it home with me to SLC. I'll admit, I smelled really weird and I'm sure the security guards thought I was insane, but whatever.

But now I have a ton of lavender and not much to do with it.

I was thinking I could do a sachet with it, and make little bags with my really thin white yarn, but I'm still not sure how to do that.

But as of right now, my room smells like my mom's garden which is pretty awesome.

Lastly, in very exciting news, Pete and I bought a freakin' iMac last night. Its ENORMOUS! (27 in. screen). I have never bought something so expensive or so fancy in my whole life. The Dell that I'm working on right now is like half the size and not nearly as nice. I'm still a little sick over spending that much money in one fell swoop.

But still... its super exciting.

That's all the news I have for today. Keep on hookin!

Three Wishes Fiber

So I went out to West Jordan, UT today for a yarn spinning class. But unfortunately it was cancelled. But I did look around the shop and bought some yarn too!

Three Wishes is one of the only places in the Salt Lake area that offers classes in more than just knitting. They have all sorts of classes on all sorts of topics! From knitting and crochet all the way to basketry, if it has to do with fabric, the ladies at Three Wishes teach it.

I went for the Drop Spindle class but I was the only one who did. Which was a huge bummer because I have been looking forward to this class for a couple months. But I did get to take a look around the shop and I really liked it.

The owner, Kristine Bullock, opened up the store for me and showed me around. I've got to say that this shop is unique. They have a ton of yarn that you just don't find very many places. They have the standard Noro, and Berrocco, but they also have Nashua, Queensland Collection and a pretty good selection of local hand spun/dyed yarns which I really don't see in very many shops.

I picked out some Queensland Collection - Kathmandu Aran yarn. This yarn is beautiful, and well priced at $7 for a 1 3/4 oz ball. Because its a blend of merino, silk and cashmere, its extra soft, but thick to call worsted.

I think I'm going to make a Greenbay Packers inspired beer sweater for Pete and I. Cuz its adorably and I love my Packers.

Generally speaking, the yarn was affordable. There were some really shockers (like $48 2.5 gram ball of hand spun yarn) but all in all this was a place that you can find high quality yarn that won't break your bank.

For you hookers out there, Three Wishes is very crochet friendly. Kristine told me that she was originally a crocheter, and totally appreciates the burden we bear! They carry a ton of crochet books and really nice hooks too, so if you're in search of some new reading material, you should check this shop out.

All in all, even though I didn't learn to spin, I was happy with my experience, and I will definitely try and get back out there (especially now that I have a frequent buyer card!).

Keep on hookin!

Three Wishes photo from Three Wishes Fiber