A Big Project

My life is a little unsettled at the moment. The recent move to Milwaukee has a lot to do with that, mostly because there are now 3 people (and all of their stuff) living in a not-large-enough apartment. This means that most of my possessions are currently still packed up. There is hope that things will get better soon, but in the meantime I at least have access to the 2 Rubbermaid tubs containing my yarn and needles.

Since I can really only knit and have some free time before classes start again, I cast on a rather large knitting project: a Telemark Ski Sweater. I've had my eye on this fair-isle pattern for a long time and thankfully bought the pattern and the KnitPicks Telemark yarn before the KnitPicks discontinued both (though further reading of the Ravelry project notes had me scrambling recently to buy more balls of my main color from a fellow Ravelry user). I'm making progress, but wow is this sweater growing slowly.

Perhaps it's good that all of my crafting stuff is still packed up if this sweater is going to be such a big project. I had big sewing plans but those can all wait until I have space to set up my sewing machine. And anyway, I will at least have to do a little sewing on this sweater when I steek the collar and armholes. Thankfully, that potentially traumatic experience is far away and I still have lots of progress to make. Lots of slow progress.

A Cherished Posession

While not every project that I knit turns out like expected, there are certain projects that end up as favorites. These projects have a certain something in their color, their design, and the feel of the yarn that makes me return to them again and again. Sometimes these projects start out as favorites and sometimes they grow into that role but, either way, loosing one of these precious items can be downright depressing.

I experienced such sadness recently when I lost one mitt from my pair of Veylas. These were my absolute favorite pair of fingerless mitts (and I have lots of pairs) because of their Ysolda design and go-with-everything grey color. They became a favorite without me realizing it and, after loosing them, I knew that I needed to knit a new pair as similar as possible to the first.

Unfortunately, the colorway of the original yarn, KnitPicks Shimmer in Cumulus, was discontinued. I think the replacement yarn, Classic Elite MountainTop Vail, is a pretty good match (a new mitt is on the left, above, and the old mitt is on the right), even though the new mitts lack some of the color subtlety. Still, the light grey color promises to compliment most of my clothing.

The one thing I learned when making this pattern the first times is that while the Veyla pattern is truly beautiful, the key to making it shine is good blocking. I admit to obsessively blocking my Veylas again this time. It took a lot of pins but I think the cuff pattern looks all the better for it.

And to compliment the beautifully blocked cuffs, I got lucky and was able to find 8 more coordinating buttons from my late Great Aunt's button collection . The buttons were one of my favorite details on my first pair and I'm happy that my new pair will also have this special touch.

The new pair is not quite the same as the first, but I know that they will be just as loved. I guess I'm pretty lucky that this story has a happy ending. It required a bit of work on my part, but it's worth it to have a cherished piece of knitwear back in my possession.

Christmas Crafting Revealed

Now that all of the Christmas presents have been sent and received, I can finally reveal what I was working on in that blurry photo from November: earrings! I got on a wire-wrapping kick and made 6 pairs of earrings.

The earrings were made from turquoise beads, Dumortierite drops, and some gorgeous Swarovski Briolette pendants. I absolutely love these Swarovski pendants--they're the perfect shape and they catch the light brilliantly.

In addition to the pile of earrings, I sewed up a silk bow tie for husband. It was the perfect sized project for how busy I was this fall--plus, husband looks great in bow ties. I made this one using this tutorial and one of husband's old bow ties as a template. So now I have a bow tie pattern that I can make adjustments to for later use!

So that was my Christmas crafting. Not bad for being so busy, but I hope to craft a little more for next Christmas.

Sherilyn

I finished my Sherilyn shawl over Christmas vacation and have worn it several times since. Between the lovely Ysolda pattern and beautiful color and subtlety of the handdyed yarn, this may be my favorite thing I knit in 2012!

The great thing about finishing this shawl during vacation is that I was able to block it at my parents' house. (Due to my recent move, there isn't any floor space for me to block anything at home right now.) This meant that my mother got to help me pin everything out. She's a fiber artist herself, a weaver, but had never blocked lace before. I think she enjoyed the process once she got used to really pulling the lace open while pinning it.

There is something magical about blocking lace. You get some sense of the pattern while you're knitting it, but the lace doesn't truly shine until it's stretched during blocking. My favorite part of the whole process is removing the pins once the shawl has dried--the fabric stays in the exact shape it dries in. Truly magical stuff.

So now I have a big cozy shawl to keep me warm the rest of the winter. There is nothing like beautiful knitwear to keep the chill out.

Happy Holidays

I hope you all are having a very happy holidays!

The morning after the huge snowstorm in Madison.

I'm lucky to staying with both my family and in-laws over my holiday break and I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to relax for a little while. I hope your holidays are just as relaxing and joyful and that all of your travels are safe!

The Final Countdown

I'm two days away from being done with my craziest semester ever and, while I still have several things left to do, my mind is already sliding toward holiday break. For example, I should be studying for my databases final right now but all I really want to do is knit my Sherilyn shawl and read The Manhattan Projects (my latest geeky obsession).

I've actually had a bit of time to work on Sherilyn this week: I completed a whole 6 rows. Seeing as I'm in the middle of the third chart and there are now over 250 stitches per row, this is no mean feat. I'm right at the point where the rows are so long that I wonder why knitting a large lace shawl was a good idea. Thankfully, I'm so close to the end of the shawl that this phase will not last very long.

In other crafting news, all of my craft supplies were moved to Milwaukee last weekend in preparation for moving the rest of my stuff there this weekend. While moving is always a pain, I'm really looking forward to living under the same roof as my husband again. Just one more reason I can't wait for this semester to be over!

Seeing the Light

This past week went totally to hell in a handbasket. I knew it was going to be busy, but it got out of control very quickly. Honestly, if it weren't for husband doing some cleaning in my apartment, helping me wrap Christmas gifts that need shipping, and making sure I was fed during his visit to Madison this weekend, I would probably be in a corner crying right now. He's a real keeper and I'm so looking forward to us living in the same city and under the same roof again.

The good news is that I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and getting motivation to craft again. This is manifesting as an itch to make progress on my Sherilyn shawl.  I'm not sure how much knitting I'll be able to do on it in the next two weeks, but I plan to get some serious work done on the shawl over Christmas Break.

The best part is that I'll have lots of free time in January and I already have lots of ideas for things to make that month. Toward the top of the list is knitting a new pair Veyla mitts because I tragically lost one of my previous pair. I've also got lots of plans for sewing. I hope to do something with the fabric shown in this post (perhaps another Peony dress?) and I'm thinking about making a Weekender Travel Bag and possibly a Negroni for my wonderful husband. No matter what I decide on, I'm sure that January is going to be craftacular!