knitting catch-up: JDRF mittens!

One of the many things I love about my job is working for a company that gives back.  In August, we had an in-office carnival to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and of course, the knitters of the office were ready to represent.  Here's what I contributed to our booth!

 

These cuties are the Fingerless Gloves With Owl Detail pattern.  I actually knit two pairs of these.  They were quick and easy, and the cable pattern added some interest to the knitting.  The pattern is written to be knit flat, but I modified it to be knit in the round because I am all about avoiding seaming my knitwear.  I knit these mitts (and, actually, everything else in this post) with Berroco Vintage left over from the Never-ending Boyfriend Blanket.  It's a lovely, squishy wool-blend yarn that can be given to non-knitters without fear of shrinking or felting.  Good thing I like it, too-- I still have lots left over!

 

Next up is a pair of Emma's Mittens! These were super fun to knit, and Emma's Mittens will definitely become one of my go-to mitten patterns.  There's definitely a lot going on in this pattern, what with all the cables and the many, many bobbles, but the pattern repeat is short enough that the knitting seems to fly by.  I knit these while sitting on my mom's porch, watching hummingbirds darting around her flower garden.  

 

Another pair of dark gray Emma's Mittens, but fingerless!  These were actually a custom request from one of my coworkers.  She loved the dark gray Emma's Mittens in the knitting club booth, but she felt that a fingerless version would work better for her.  I was happy to knit them up for her-- apparently, this particular coworker always buys lots of handknits from the knitting club's booth at the JDRF carnival.  How cool is that?  I love knitting for other people who work in creative fields or have creative hobbies, because they truly understand how much time and thought and love goes into every handmade object.  

Last up, a pair of Emma's Mittens in a lovely robin's egg blue!  It was a wrench putting these into the booth, because I love this color and thought these mittens turned out particularly pretty.  Lucky for me, they were the only thing I made that didn't sell!  So now they are mine, mine, mine.  Yay!  I also knit a bunch of little mug cozies, and it has been so much fun seeing them snuggled around mugs on desks in the office.  

Happy Halloween!  I will be spending the day curled up with Bucky and Cocoa, watching Halloween movies and knitting away on Christmas presents.  I hope your day is cozy (or spooky, whichever you prefer)!

Impressions Jewelry by Romano Sculpture!

Hi there-- I hope you're having a wonderful week!

Today I'd like to share my mom's new Etsy shop, Impressions Jewelry by Romano Sculpture!  She creates beautiful, unique handmade jewelry using pearls and semi-precious stones.  I'm so impressed by the way she can combine colors and shapes and textures in ways that are completely unexpected and gorgeous.  Her shop officially launched on Sunday, July 13th, and it was stocked with 14 stunning pairs of earrings.

 

 

The sunstone in this pair has the prettiest subtle sparkle when it catches the light!

 

 

I love my mom's take on the classic color combination of pink, black, and white.  They're a bit feminine and a bit tough.

 

 

This pair is one of my favorites-- the Baroque pearls are so beautiful and I've never seen anything else  like them!

 

 

 

This pair reminds me of a walk on the beach at night-- the luminous moon shining on bits of beach glass.

 

 

I love this pair-- the combining of sterling silver, rose gold, and yellow gold looks so modern against the sleek black onyx.

 

One of my favorite aspects of these earrings is the mix of textures.  The pearls are polished, but soft, in contrast to the matte finish of the amazonite and the reflective smoothness of the tourmaline and onyx.

 

This pair is no longer in the shop, as they have already sold, but they were one of my favorites and I couldn't resist posting them anyway!

Which pair is your favorite?  If you would like to stay up to date with Impressions Jewelry by Romano Sculpture, add it to your Etsy list of favorite shops so that you can see new pieces as they are added!  Custom work is also welcome-- my mom is happy to work with you to create the perfect jewelry to give as a gift, or to wear for a special occasion! (I've already asked my mom if she will make my bridal jewelry, when the time comes!)

Thank you for letting me share my mom's beautiful new creative endeavor with you-- I am so proud of her and so impressed with her work!

♥

summer sky citron

There are few knitting-related things more satisfying than planning out a project and having it turn out just as you'd hoped.  Happily, that was exactly what happened with my handspun Citron shawl!  Yay!  I started out with eight ounces of beautiful blue and white roving from Skirted Fleece Mill, in a soft, perfectly prepared merino/alpaca/silk blend.  It came from the mill labeled as 'Snow Angels,' but the colors looked to me more like fluffy clouds in a summer sky.

   

 I debated whether to spin this into a two-ply yarn, for a more barber-poled look, or to chain-ply it to keep the gorgeous, pure colors together.  In the end, I decided to two-ply it to prevent weird color-pooling when the rows on the knitted shawl got very long towards the end. 

  

 

  

After plying, I had 888 yards of a fingering-weight yarn.  It's one of my favorite handspun yarns to date-- the merino kept it from becoming too wiry even though I was spinning thin, the alpaca added some staple length to the shorter-staple merino, and the silk gave the yarn a beautiful sheen.  And of course, the fiber prep was gorgeous.  This is the second fiber I've spun from The Skirted Fleece (this was the first one) and both braids have been a pleasure to work with.  There have been virtually no felted bits at all, and the fiber is dyed consistently through the braid, not just on the outer layer.  

And for all of the above reasons, I bought four more eight ounce braids of fiber at The Skirted Fleece Mill when I went to visit my mom for a weekend.

I regret nothing.

  

I cast on the Citron Grande pattern a few days before my trip to Boston as relaxing travel-knitting, and I finished it in two and a half weeks. The very, very long purl-back rows at the end got a bit tedious, but over all, I really enjoyed this project.  

  

I'm so happy with how the finished shawl turned out!  It's huge and light and airy, and it's very cozy either wrapped close to my neck like a scarf or wrapped around my shoulders like a socially acceptable Snuggie.  It's hard to imagine needing it at the moment, since it's been so hot that I run the risk of actually melting every time I leave my apartment, but when winter gets here, I know I'll be glad that I made myself a hoard of knitwear.

  

 The only modification that I made to the pattern was that instead of knitting my increases through the back loop to close up the holes, I knitted into the front of the increases to create a radiating pattern of eyelets.  I did this by accident on my first Citron shawl, when I was a newer knitter, and I liked it so much that I decided to do it intentionally this time. 

  

As soon as I finished this project, I wanted to start a zillion other ones.  I cast on a pair of socks and a shawl, spun up a four ounce braid of Malabrigo merino (and speaking of felted bits and inconsistent dyeing, Malabrigo roving, I am looking right at you.  Good thing you're so pretty), spun a Loop Bullseye Bump (perfect prep, I want to buy a hundred more of them), and did tons of knitting on a super-secret project.  And I'm having to resist the urge to cast on a hat and another shawl and some fingerless mitts.  I want to knit and spin all the things!  I think it's the influence of those sneaky KnitGirllls.  I want to win Stash Dash!  For non-knitters, that means knitting or spinning a 5K worth of yarn, or 5,468 yards, before August 7th.  At the moment, I'm at 3381.2 yards.  I think I'm going to make it!

What projects are inspiring you lately?  

♥

...can we rename it pink friday?

technically we're still a few days away, but I, for one, will be busy enjoying Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches (seriously, anyone else think they're they best part of the whole holiday?), so here's a jump on the Friday festivities over at my etsy shop!

. The coupon code is active as of Wednesday 11/23. Check back on Sunday for a coupon code for Cyber Monday!

♥