Hexagon Scarf

I tried piecing together a cowl with my hexagons but couldn't get it to look right. 

Apparently they wanted to be a scarf. 

It felt so good to get back to my crochet. 

 Noelle snapped it up as soon as she saw the camera in my hand and started posing. 

She is so used to wrapping up in woolens and getting her picture taken since birth! heehee

I edged the whole thing in Cascade 220 Fingering...leftover from Rae.

Love all the colors...

"so warm and soft!"

apparently no complaints about the pure wool. I love this kid.

so does Ellie. 

peace, blessings and Happy New Year to all my lovelies!

Hexagons!

Hope everyone had a Happy Christmas. Ours had just enough excitement for our little family, and I am feeling more blessed than ever.

I have been feeling quite unmotivated on the knitting front, mainly because I was walloped with major finish-itis on my main project, Aidez. But after gritting my teeth I now only have to do the raglan decreases on the body, block and seam.

With the light somewhat visible at the end of the tunnel, I allowed myself to indulge in a new project. 

Hexagons: I love em. Don't have patience for this now ubiquitous lovely...I will just live vicariously through others.

These are my hexagons. Crochet ones, in Noro. I'm fashioning a cowl, kind of making it up as I go. Nice way to reunite with my hook.

aren't they pretty? I'm kind of obsessed. Just. one. more. and the like.

I had no patience to make this:

I'm doing them up in Noro yarn, which is woolly and textural and the colors can't be beat.

I used the full tutorial for hexagons and connecting them together

by Lucy of Attic 24. I love her chatty style and of course gorgeous photos as usual.

gorgeous hexagons scarf utilizing the hexagon tutorial, by fanalaine, mentioned in a Ravelry thread. Her (prolific) projects are all so colorful and inspirational. Love. Them. 

Christmas Crafts - Poinsettia Wreath

And so it begins...

How a dollar store adventure turned into our Christmas wreath.

Tacky green glitter wreath:

Two bunches of  artificial poinsettias.

one fah-bulous (if I do say so myself) Christmas wreath.

Four dollars total!

It's so simple to do. Just cut the flowers about two inches below the bloom and wrap them into the wreath. I have pretty tough fingers but pliers would work too. 

I had big ambitions for a crafty Christmas but I realized simple is best. Can't wait to set up our tree!

WIP - Aidez

I've chosen to knit the body of Aidez in one long piece.
It was initially a bit frustrating because there are so many cables to work, but I think I've finally hit my groove.

I'm SO glad I pushed myself to finish the sleeves. Can't wait to finish up so I can cuddle up in it!

Another part of the L.A. landscape...walking from school to the playground.

Not something you see so much in Ohio or New York.

too bad this is sold out. isn't it dreamy? 

magnolia cowl

First project from the ISLAND collection:

z

Arbutus cowl in Madtosh DK

colorway: Magnolia Leaf

This scrumptious yarn was so easy to knit with, I couldn't resist snapping pre-blocking photos. 

See the squish!

The cowl looks like a triple loop but is knit in one piece using short rows. This was also my first time doing a cable cast-on. It was fun to learn a new technique.

The first time I saw this colorway I knew I had to have it, because the area around our new home is lined with magnolia trees. I wish I could capture the color better...
Happy Election Day!

ratatouille

Fun to say, fun to eat!

I made ratatouille last night. I'm sure I'm the last person on earth who's seen the movie Ratatouille to make this recipe, but oh well. 

I used this recipe for the instructions but modified it a lot to my personal taste. This is quite a forgiving recipe and I'm sure I will be making it again. Hubs was like "what the heck is that" but then gobbled up half of it. ha.

I also got my digital copy of Island. What an accomplishment for Jane and Shannon! can't wait to cast on...

Rainbow Cowl

Before I jump into holiday knitting...I had to make this cowl.

the Stasia Cowl, pattern by luvinthemommyhood

A simple pattern with a twist

Yarn: Noro Kureyon Worsted

Can't beat the colors, and with size 13 needles the fabric is squishy and so warm.

I had a lot of fun knitting this!

It was my reward for finishing my Aidez sleeves and casting on the body. hee hee.

misty

Just Knit It  pattern by Susan Ashcroft

yarn: Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in Mist colorway

love the curvy shape

improvised a 3-row crochet border 

(took a lot of experimentation to get it right, but it was fun to try different things)

the Sweet Georgia is just so shmooshy, esp. after blocking.

the drape is incredible.

I just love it!

LYS

For those not in the knitterly know, LYS stands for "local yarn store/shop".
I was kind of feeling bummed by all the gushing reviews of Knit City everywhere so I decided to console myself by checking out my new LYS. So this morning I dragged Ellie with me to this shop while Noelle was in school:

Wildfiber in Santa Monica

Cutest.yarn.shop.ever.

Today and tomorrow is their "yarn tasting" event, which, as you can see, allows you sample different lovely yarns and even knit with them. 

Ellie had as much fun as I did, truly! I was so happy the ladies were so cool with me having her in there. In the course of our time there Ellie managed to lose her stuffie which instigated a store-wide search by all the locals...it was so sweet. 

You can imagine Ellie's face when she saw this table!

Notice the Spring Garden tee on the wall?

The shop samples were well executed and well curated.

This is a blurry shot but I was kind of snapping pics with my phone like a very uncoordinated spy!

Pros: So many! The ladies who work there are energetic, helpful without being in-your-face, and have computers in the front hooked up to ravelry for easy access to pattern information.

They also have a "knit night" on Wednesdays. 

It's not an official one, but all are welcome and they are open until 8. 

The traffic today was a good mix of young and older knitters, exemplified by the mix of people on the couches, including the paper-reading bored-ass hubby and the two Japanese grandmas who were occupying the comfy couches. They were such fast knitters!
It really felt like everyone knew everyone, like Cheers. It was such a great vibe.

The only slight con was that they are not a ginormous shop so they didn't have many of the items I was planning to try out. But, it will not deter me from visiting again. My experience was too good!

Not to mention...

Madtosh DK in Magnolia Leaf. I've been lusting after this colorway for a while.

Noro. I personally love the rustic nubby feel of this wool. and the colors? To die for.

Happy Weekend everyone! 

Back on track

I was a little thrown off by the final decreases, but I finally bound off my first sleeve of Aidez:

After I knit Julissa I find myself only wanting to knit patterns with cables and/or lace. 

Lookit these pretty cables.

I want to cast on for the body so badly but I know I should just crank out the second sleeve while the pattern is still fresh in my mind. 

I ended up cabling without a needle, which is surprisingly easy and makes me feel like a knitting superhero every time I do it! haha.

Several ladies have already finished their Aidez and I'm loving all the fall colorways that are popping up. I still love my Malabrigo though...sigh. So Soft. 

Also finished this tiny little dress...love baby crochet. So easy and fast.

Ruffled - Day 5 and 6

KCWC Day 5 started off with a whole lot of seam ripping. I was determined to turn a never-worn pair of my shorts into a cute skirt for Noelle. FAIL.

Digging around in my stash I found this:

appa's old shirt. Big rip in the sleeve. Jackpot.

I used this tutorial: the ubiquitous Shirt Dress

and this pattern: Sweet Dress

For the ruffle I just cut a double length of stripey fabric and ruffled it up using the highest tension and basting stitch. Then I tacked it on. I left the edges raw on purpose because I prefer the unfinished look 

(plus the fluffiness covers up the less than perfect sewing...ha!)

Since I did the ruffle I nixed the elastic in the sleeves to complement the style. 

I also used the original hem of the dress. Easy peasy.

Waving to her loyal fans...

It's been a gloomy few days so it's difficult to get a proper picture.

I don't know how many shirt dresses I've made but this is the first time I combined patterns and it made me much more confident that it was going to turn out right. Ellie loves her new dress! 

This is my first KCWC and I'm learning so much. The Flickr pool is full of crazy inspiration! 

I miss my yarn, though...there. I said it. Can't wait to finish my last project so I can get back to my needles and fiber.