Best of Knitty

Recently I received an email from Knitty Magazine asking for donations on Patreon to keep the site running. I have been a huge fan of Knitty for a long time and being a fledgling designer myself, I have a massive appreciation for what they do. To work so hard on such beautiful, complex patterns, then publish them for free absolutely boggles my mind. Pattern designing, for those who haven't tried it, is a long, arduous process, which is why I have no problem paying money for well-written patterns and why I had no problem pledging a donation to Knitty after years and years of free patterns.

Being a college student, I don't usually have much money to donate to worthy causes, but if you have the means to donate more, they are offering some pretty good incentives! Special webchats with other knitters, stickers and patches, and an exclusive bag are all up for grabs for those especially generous patrons. Many of the more expensive spots are filled, but any donation will help this amazing knitting resource continue for many years to come.

To celebrate Knitty reaching 2 of its milestones so far, I've put together a list of my favorite Knitty patterns.

Skew Socks

I attempted these socks once years ago in a gorgeous colorway of Knitpicks Felici self-striping yarn, but I had to frog it because my first attempt at Kitchener turned out horrible. But I definitely want to attempt a pair again soon, hopefully in another nice self-striping.

Urban Tribe Shawl

This is a new release from the newest issue, and I've fallen in love with it! I am a sucker for colorwork done with gradient yarns, and this one is no exception. If I were any good with stranded colorwork, this sucker would be on my needles already.

Opus the Octopus

I think this little guy is a beautifully designed pattern! The detail, from to two-tone tentacles to his little eye bulge, is absolutely perfect. He is knit with yarn held double, but if I ever knit him, I'd use a single strand.

Fetching Mitts

My freshman year of college I knit three pairs of these for Christmas presents out of Knitpicks City Tweed, and neglected to take pictures of any of them. But I do remember them being a very fun, quick knit! I will definitely make more pairs in the future.

Krydda Cardigan

I LOVE this cardigan. Living in South Louisiana, we only have very cold temperatures for maybe a week or two out of the year, so I get the most use out of lacy, open, or light cardigans and I think this one would be perfect! 

Do you have any favorite Knitty patterns? Are you considering becoming a Patron? Let me know in the comments below?

Disclaimer: I am not sponsored by Knitty, I just really love them. All photos are (c) of Knitty Magazine

Revival

I've had a lot on my mind lately knitting-wise, and I have decided to revive my knitting blog! This blog is several years old now, but it was always a casual thing, with me just posting if and when I felt like it. Now that I've spent about a year working on a makeup and beauty blog a little more in-depth, I think I would like to revisit this blog and make it a regular thing. 

I have dreams of starting a knitting podcast in order to get more involved in the community and make some more knitting friends, but my computer skills are minimal, and I'm not sure how comfortable I am in front of the camera yet, so for now blogging it is!

I love how many podcasts are formatted with different sections for finished objects, WIP's, stash acquisitions, and future projects, so I think I will format my blog in a similar way.

Finished Objects:

These cute little hats are destined to keep a kiddos head warm in a few weeks! I decided to participate in the Caffeinated Knitting Podcast's Hats for Kiddos drive this year, so I whipped up a few of these babies. They are requiring 5 hats for one entry into the prize drawing, and although I am not in it for the prizes (but lets be honest, they do sweeten the deal), I like the idea of spending the postage money to send more hats, rather than less. I had an old spiral hat I had made years ago, and a Barley hat I made earlier this year, but the little hats above were made just for this. 

I didn't use a pattern, which resulted in the pink one at the bottom being minuscule, but the other two turned out fine and I'm really happy with them. The yarn is Daylily by Nashua Handknits, and although it is very beautiful, it was a pain to knit with, splitty as hell, and - unsurprisingly- now discontinued. 

Works in Progress:

None of my knitting projects have been inspiring me much this week (there's only so much you can knit on a plain, grey sleeve) so I've mostly been spinning up this gorgeous braid of BFL from Edgewood Garden Studio in her Gentians color way. My singles are resting right now, but after I post this, I think it will be time to ply.

I've also been working on my Mosaic Sock out of Knitpicks Felici, and my Mama Vertebrae out of Quince and Co Chickadee, but not much interesting progress has been made.

Stash Acquisitions:

While I didn't get to go to Rhinebeck this year (*cue weeping*), I did score a skein of Verdant Gryphon Bugga Sportweight in their Purple Island of Morocco during their "Virtual Rhinebeck" sale! This skein has 20% Mongolian Cashmere and more than 400 yards, so it's destined to be a gorgeous, buttery-soft cowl or shawl. For now I have too much to knit so it will be marinating in the Stash until its time comes.

Next Up:

I purchased these two skeins of Regia Arne and Carlos Design Line in the Summer Nights color way a few months ago when I saw Susan B Anderson knitting a gorgeous pair on Instagram and I was determined to knit a pair too. I haven't done a contrasting heel and toe in a long time, so I found this older skein of Valley Yarns sock yarn in a creamy white, and now I'm itching to cast on! But I've got a sweater, a pair of socks, a scarf (that's destined to be a Christmas present so it gets priority), and a hat actively on my needles, so I shouldn't cast these on just yet. Waiting will make it even sweeter when I do!

DiY Favorites of 2013

Last year was the year my mom and I decided to start making and trying new things every week. Towards the beginning I made lots of DiY furniture and decor accents, dusted off my sewing machine, and made some of my own clothing!

This dress was the first attempt I ever made at making my own clothing! I had never done darts, pleats, installing a zipper, or finishing armholes, but all of those were new skills I learned doing this dress! I love the color and the fabric, but I haven't had the occasion to wear it much. I also experimented with making my own pair of cutoffs from dark wash, holey jeans. I love them, but I don't have any pictures unfortunately. In July I got my ears pierced for the first time, so that gave me an excuse to make my own earring display!

I picked up and old $2 picture frame at a mixed-media art supply store in Houston, painted it mint blue, and strung some lace trim across it to hold my earrings. It was difficult to get the lace taut enough that the weight of the earrings didn't drag it down and it's starting so sag a bit so I may redo it. But it's a great way to store my earrings. I even made that mushroom pair up at the top!

My knitting this year involved more gifts than usual, and a sweater (the first one I've made in several years!). This Huntress Shawl is my absolute favorite project of the year. I waited until I could pick up the yarn in person instead of just ordering it online so I could find the perfect shade of pale blue-grey. I ended up buying two gorgeous skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Polar Morn from Quarter Stitch in New Orleans. I finished this scarf in record time. I loved the yarn, I loved how well-written and simple the pattern was, and I love wearing it!

I am looking forward to making new things in 2014 and already have several projects planned. I can't wait to get started!

New Year, NotD, Peanut Butter Bars

I'm starting out 2014 with a whole slew of resolutions. One of the ones I made last year was to try something new every week: a book, a recipe, a craft, or something knitted. I had such a fun time and learned so many new skills that I am continuing it on to this year.On my "love to learn" list for this year are weaving, nail art, silk screening, and cooking (besides baking). I started off this year making peanut butter bars with my best friend, Shelby.

We used the recipe found here. We crushed up our own graham cracker crumbs instead of using pre-crushed ones. They came out a little chunkier than probably intended, but I like the extra crunch. They aren't the most beautiful things, but they taste amazing!

I've also decided to start cataloging my nail polish designs. My collection was getting out of hand, so I spent a few hours straightening it up today. Keeping track of my NotD (nail of the day) seems like a fun thing to do!

This week I tried to replicate a look I saw and pinned to my Manicure board on Pinterest. I like how they turned out, but I next time I try this look, I will use significantly less glitter.

Base: Beauty Secrets Ridge Filler

Essie No More Film

Orly FX Too Fab

Top Coat: Seche Vite

FO: Cowls

I've started playing Guild Wars 2 earlier this month with my boyfriend, Luke, and while I love the game and love playing with him, it has really sapped my time for making things. In order to knit and play at the same time I have been trying a few fairly simple cowl patterns. I am trying to flesh out my wardrobe (but that is another post in itself) and I think that some of my new cowls will be perfect finishing touches. Even with the warmer weather approaching, I will probably still be shivering, especially when people start turning on their air conditioners.

This is my Pedestrian Crossing Cowl. I love this simple little pattern repeat and I really love the way the variegated yarn came out! This is Malabrigo Rios in Playa.

This little cowl, modeled by my lovely sister, is actually one of my own design! It's called DragonScale Cowl, and is currently being test-knit right now. It should be available for purchase at the beginning of May. It uses angled increases and decreases to form a texture that look like reptile scales. I thought it looked a bit like all of those dragons I have been slaying in World of Warcraft and Skyrim. It's knit in Malabrigo Rios (Again, I love this yarn!) in the Archangel colorway. It seems like the colors in any given skein of this colorway are a toss-up. I was hoping for skeins with more yellow and orange in them, but these were pretty too.

Learning!

I've had a large hiatus recently because of some events in my personal life, moving and starting school, and I haven't had the time to make blog posts. I do really enjoy keeping track of my life through this blog, and I really will try to do it more, even if no one really reads it.

 Late last year, my mom and I decided that we would try something new. Each week of 2013, we would make something new, modify something we had, or learn a new technique. I have loved this so far, and have done tons of new projects in the past month, instead of just one a week. Thanks to Pinterest, I have plenty of new sewing patterns, recipes, and craft ideas to keep me busy all year.

I got a Singer sewing machine for Christmas last year, and I am finally getting around to using it. My first project was a yellow polka-dotted skirt. I made my own pattern by taking my measurements and some simple addition. I hemmed it, sewed it into a half-circle, and attached the elastic. It was super easy and looks adorable with tights and boots! I plan to make a few more in the future, but make a waistband, or learn to insert a zipper.

My mom has been wanted to learn to sew for a while, so the next week we decided to learn to make a box bag together. This is the first time I had sewn a lining into anything, and also the first time I had ever inserted a zipper

I had used a light-weight interfacing, and I wasn't entirely pleased with the finished product. It wasn't quite sturdy enough to be the makeup bag I had intended it to be. My second attempt was far more sucessful.

I love the bright blue paisley print! I used a medium weight interfacing, and finished the seams on the inside, which I had never done before. It is the perfect size and weight to carry all of my makeup!

My Girl

Today my little girly-girl is one! We have had her only 6 months, but I can't remember life without her.

She is a handful though. She is always knocking thing off of the counter and trying to climb up the bookcase. Sometimes I want to kick her furry butt, but she is so sweet and friendly I can't stay mad at her for long.

Her favorite spot is on top of the rolling cart by our bedroom window. There is a huge tree right outside so she can watch the birds and lizards, and sometimes stray cats come and hiss at her through the glass.

She is a little character and we love her very much!