Sassy Does It

My affinity for things green continues, as evidenced by the new moss-green purse I bought over the weekend.  I wasn’t out to get a green one on purpose, but lo and behold, all the finalists in front of me on the store shelf came up shades of grass.  In the same store I had another Green Incident:  I needed new sheets…hmmmm, how about these sage-green ones?

I know my Green Problem is likely to fade away before too long and be replaced by some other newfangled color, so it’ll be fun while it lasts.  I do have a history when it comes to such things.  Ah, who can forget Black (the New York and London years), Periwinkle (ever since I bought a suit jacket the exact Crayola color), and Red (intermittent, usually when I want to feel busy and important, à la Bridget Jones answering Daniel Cleaver’s phone calls)?

The Red Problem hits me hard when it comes to toenails.  For the life of me I can’t seem to commit to anything other than blood red, usually something named “Vixen” or “Not Just A Cocktail Waitress”.  Friends, sisters, nail technicians:  “Hmmm, where have I seen this before,” they say.  “Maybe…on your toes right now?” 

Well, at least I’m not putting green on my toes.  Yet.

In both knitting and green news, my Tree-colored Fifi is coming right on along. 

This was my first time using the cable cast-on and I loved the way it came out; such a nice smooth, pretty edge. 

I swear, knitting with Calmer makes me feel like I’m a better knitter than I am.  The slightly elastic version of the yarn keeps the stitches looking very uniform even as they’re flying off the needle.

It kind of feels like cheating, but I’m not going to stop.

That said, when I don’t spend more than 10 minutes knitting in a week, it tends to make that knitting-machine feeling grind to a halt.

Work has once again sucked the life out of me in the past two weeks, and I’m grateful to have a moment to connect with my computer that doesn’t have to do with a presentation or a deadline.

In the bit of knitting time I afforded myself this weekend, I went back to the Summer Baby Gift to knock out the remaining bit of my third skein so I could hook up the fourth and feel some progress.  Five skeins total will knock out the bulk of the project, and then I’ve got another skein of Skinny Organic for the trim.  No, I’m not ready to talk about the details of this little gem yet!  More when I’m in the home stretch.

Queue-wise, I’ve got a couple of other ideas brewing.  I’m targeting quick items that might be construed by some as summer garments, but could go the distance later in cooler months to be worn over blouses or layered under suits.  Case in point is Wendy Bernard’s Jewel, which is a pattern out of Custom Knits, a book I resisted buying until a few weeks ago when the Rav-generated Jewel craving started up.

Yes, OK, the picture in the pattern book shows the sweater in green - ha, ha, laugh all you want.

This may be reason I fancy it, since there’s not much to the design, really; simple enough that I probably wouldn’t need the pattern.  The variegation might be working its charm, even though I’m not easily wooed by variegation.  The drape of the tank with the silk fiber is nice - yeah, it’s probably the silk I like.  It’s shown in Regal Silk, but I’m not sure that’s what I’d choose.  I’ve never knit with silk, but given my recent brush with cashmere I’m feeling fancy.  Life’s too short.  And it’s not a huge sweater, just a little guy.

Probably the other reason I like it is because all of the projects in Wendy’s book are pictured on models that are ridiculously pretty and trim.  Note to self: phone is not ringing off hook with offers to model in knitting magazines.

So - grain of salt then, before purchasing yarn.

The other book I bought is another manifestation of my embarrassing cowl fetish.

Once again, I ran across a pattern that I probably don’t need in order to make the garment pictured, and once again, the influence of color is probably stoking my burning desire to look fabulous in it.  The pattern book is an older one from Adrienne Vittadinni, Fall 2004 (hard to find; I bought it here).  I like the pattern on the cover, but that’s not the one that sucked me in.

The red tank on the left has a removable cowl (kind of looks just like the cowl top on Sheer Poncho, eh?).  As knit in that to-die-for shade, the overall look is similar to a Target special I had a few years ago.  I wore it so much that they had to drag me away from it when the Goodwill truck came by to pick it up, lost among others in the well-loved-but-time-to-let-go pile.

The red sweater on the right illustrates the other neckline preference toward which a gravitate:  straight-line, boatneck-y type looks.  Not so much as to be off-the-shoulder, usually, but I like this look.  Again, not a complicated design that requires a pattern to figure out how to make, but this is how it works, right?  We look at patterns, we get inspired, we buy patterns.

There were a few other cute designs in this book, but it was this red-infused spread that got me. 

Ah, the very same red that is now covering my bed, since I caved and bought a (goregeous, wonderful) quilt in the same store as the aforementioned sheets this weekend (good to myself lately, huh?).  The sheets didn’t end up green, though (shocker!), since the quilt won first and I didn’t want to sleep in Christmas colors.

So maybe Green is losing its hold and really it’s my old friend Red that should keep me on my toes.  Toes!  Red nail polish!  Oh la la.

Howdy, doody - the Girlfriend Tank is finished.

Maizy likes it, which is good enough for me.

Super simple to make.  I like the way the striping came out, even though I flew by the seat of my pants with it, alternating colors along the way, gradually working toward a higher white-to-blue ratio closer to the top (excluding the straps).

Pattern:  Short Snort Girlfriend Tank, by Wendy Bernard at Knit and Tonic (available free here)

Yarn:  Louisa Harding Coquette (blue, 2 skeins) and white acrylic baby-weight of unknown manufacturer from the stash

Time to complete:  about a week

Suggested alterations:  add a couple of decreases in each of the four rows coming up to the underarm area (prior to the 6-stitch bind-offs) to create a bit of a tighter fit and prevent accidental boob exposure

It's a high-fashion item

Upon being presented with this garment, Maizy asked, “What’s this thing?” in reference to the silver ring on the front bodice. 

I explained that this was a high-fashion item that would make her shirt more special. 

Later that day, she followed up with several other questions about high fashion, which I answered confidently, if not in a laughably unqualified manner.  

Once the tank was blocked, the two different yarn types flowed together much more smoothly, as one might expect. The few rows of solid blue that I’d done at the bottom came out just as I’d hoped; a bit breezy and airy looking, owing to the use of the lighterweight Coquette on its own.

Hot off the needles, unblocked, plenty of strap length

Fully blocked, shorter straps

Initially I made the straps plenty long, so that I could just shorten them to fit once Maizy could try it on.  The problem, as I had figured might arise, was a bit of unwanted boobage on display with the straps anything less than as short as they could be and still fit over her head. 

I shortened the straps to this short-as-can-be length and it looks much better, but any sudden movements and she’ll be flashing the general public.  Not that public toddler-boobage is the world’s biggest crime, but since she usually does wear a shirt when she’s out on the town…Sissy B may add a small dart tack  (½-inch or so) under each armpit to keep things contained.

All in all, it’s a cute little project that I hope will be a bit of bling for the wardrobe, even over a turtleneck on snow days.

I think she looks fabulous in it, but I’ve got major auntie bias.

I did embark on one other wee project recently, inspired by my sister’s a) craftiness and b) environmentally-friendly choices.  Months ago we made a trip to Jo-Ann’s during which we picked up some fabric for making cloth napkins.  She of course forged ahead with the project, churning out a number of cutie designs that have since replaced her paper napkin supply (she’s also gotten rid of paper towel - even with two little ones - using washcloths and towels to clean up all spills).  I on the other hand made no such progress.

Spurred on by the chance to use my mom’s feisty Bernina (Sissy B now keeps the legendary sewing machine at her place), I got down to it in making a few cloth napkins of my own.  That said, sis did end up doing most of the sewing while I was blocking my knitting.  But I did some of it.  And cut out the pieces and pressed the seams.  Not that there’s much of a pattern to these puppies, but we did follow Amy Karol’s Bend the Rules Sewing pattern, because we could, and because we like Amy and her phenomenal blog.

I dig these.  Not only are they pretty, but I can do my part by decreasing the unneeded consumption of paper products in our household.  The Napkins That Saved The World.

OK, one other funny thing to share before I sign off.

For Maizy’s b-day, her parents got her a Barbie Rock Star Guitar. 

Absolutely hilarious. 

It comes with a headet mike (think Britney) that really works, real strings to strum, and a number of not-that-annoying music tracks, which you can speed up or slow down to meet the mood. 

The frontrunner of the available songs it plays is “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” (Sissy B said that once she heard that, the guitar was immediately added to the shopping cart).  Maizy was very serious about her newly unveiled instrument, and she serenaded us with a full concert of her best material, complete with professional-looking shimmying, hopping, and facial expressions.  I think my favorite was the swaying - “Guys, I’m going to do a slow one now.”

Anyway, had to share.  Her leader-of-the-band rocker chick impersonation will forever be linked in my mind with the sparkly Girlfriend Tank that she sported around for us the weekend she turned three.  Happy Birthday, Maiz.

I’ve cast on something new. My poor second sock and Fisherman’s Sweater sigh collectively in their relegation to the bench. Sorry guys - I got distracted by a couple of balls of yarn in my stash, and I gave in to the ADD.

Speaking of. I can’t focus on telling you about my new project until I post a few pics that have recently grabbed my (fleeting, fickle) attention in the way of inspiring future knitting or sewing ventures.

The other day I was driving along and saw a billboard with a super-cute cowlneck sweater - didn’t get a great look, but long enough of one that I saw it was a Gap ad. Here’s what I saw, revealed again to me in more detail later online:

Cowlneck pullover, at Gap

Completely cute.  I’m such a sucker for cowls, I really really am.  I want everything to be available in a cowlneck.  So cozy, and so cool-looking.  This one is cotton knit, available in the color shown (”terrain”), charcoal, and heather gray.

“Cool-looking” is a bit vague (as well as juvenile, but there you go) - let me be more specific.  It looks sophisticated, to my eye; the way the fabric gracefully swirls into an artful arrangment, tossing light around, managing to look classy without trying too hard.  This Gap version is especially casual-looking with the i-cords and the short sleeves, paired with a striped long-sleeved tee.

If I were to knit this, I may want longer sleeves.  It’s a fine-gauge knit, which makes it even nicer-looking, but alas, more daunting to knit, which makes it less likely to happen.

I’m not saying I’m going to run out to the Gap to buy one ($34 isn’t hugely expensive, but…I’d rather get it on sale).  However.  They do have these available in Tall sizes, which is just so awesome, regardless of the fact that the sleeves aren’t actually long, such as to require a Tall size to make them longer for monkey arms.  The long torso would be fully covered, though - no inadvertent belly shots.  I feel like I should patronize Gap and Banana Republic more than my once-a-year average so that they keep the Talls in their portfolio.

Hmmm.  Maybe I need to buy one just for research purposes.  In case I get around to making a knock-off of my own, like in 30 years’ time.  Hmmmm.

All that joyful day-dreaming, just from one glance at a billboard.

In the not-quite-the-same-but-close category, the two designs below ended up under my gaze a few weeks ago via a banner on MSN.com.  Normally I don’t click on these things (I’m not usually that ga-ga about being fashion-forward), but what can I say?  I did.  These are definitely just eye candy for me as well:  the pretty little pictures clicked me through to Neiman Marcus, where my pocketbook doesn’t normally allow me to tread.  Anyhoodie:

Hooded cardigan, at Neiman Marcus

Sweater coat, at Neiman Marcus.

Did someone say hoodie?  The first one, on the left, looks soooo cozy. 

You can barely tell it has a hoodie from the front; not that there’s anything wrong with looking like you have a hoodie.  What I mean is that it has a very clean, simple look with straight yet soft lines on the front.  I like the hoodie-in-the-back part because it keeps the sweater from taking itself too seriously.  This kind of feels like a “business in the front, party in the back” cardigan - you know, like a mullet.  Except much, much, much less scary.

The price tag to obtain this look, however, at least from Neiman Marcus, is a wee bit steeper than a mullet.  This was priced at a few hundred bucks…cashmere blend, you see.

The price of the sweater coat on the right was approaching two thousand dollars (not in Monopoly money, either).  I didn’t bother to take specific note for a wish list of any kind because I’m a normal person and I wouldn’t go spending 2 Gs on a sweater coat, no matter how pretty it is.

But since very few of us are actually going to go out and buy it, let’s just skip ahead to talking about how pretty it is indeed, because that part is free.  I know what you’re saying:  another cowlneck?  Well, that’s what I thought at first, hence the initial draw.  But the item description said it’s an “attached scarf”, which I can see, upon closer inspection.  This too, is knit in cashmere.  I don’t care if it’s cashmere or not (although if I had the money to burn - I’ll take the cashmere) - I just really really like the design.  In a more durable fiber, this would be a great go-to, wear-it-all-the-time staple.  I love the look, and it would be fairly easy to construct something similar on the fly, I think.

The last design that caught my eye recently is one would be in the sewing vein.

 

Tweed dress, at Neiman Marcus

Tell me, is this not the cutest little dress you ever did see?

Not so much in a garden-party summer dress kind of way, but more in a polished, I’m-feeling-quite-pulled-together-today kind of way.  Now I’m not a size 0, which I’m sure is the size the model is sporting (my booty can only occasionally squeeze into a single-digit size…well, maybe less than occasionally; in theory, I guess it could, like if I quit eating for a couple of weeks), but I think this could be a flattering size on anyone.  Almost anyone.  The shoulders would have to be a bit broader than average to accomodate my frame, especially with the cap sleeves (which very often on me look like a mistake, perhaps the result of a good shrinking in the dryer).  But.  If I were to embark on, say, a sewing project (bringing my machine out of the hibernation it’s been in for the last year or so), I could make it to fit.

So.  The snaps above have been inspiring me as I think about projects on the horizon.

Back to the project I’ve cast on.

I discovered Wendy Bernard’s website, Knit and Tonic, via MLE’s blog (MLE Knits - love Emily - get it?  M-L-E …emmm-elllll-eeeeee).  Wendy is the author of recently-released and already very popular Custom Knits, which MLE reviewed here, and I think looks like a great book.  It’s now on my Amazon Wish List, where all my dreamy pattern books hang out until I can afford to tell the boys over at Amazon to pick it off the shelf and send it - rescuing it for my exclusive perusal.

Wendy is great.  She’s got a daughter that’s only a bit older than my niece Maizy.  She calls her daughter Girlfriend, which I love.  Her writing is so much fun to read; you feel like you know her.  She’s fabulous yet not imtimidating.  Her photos of projects are well-considered and creative; often the photo seems more like a potrait being created, it so happens, whilst the model is engaged in some kind of activity fitting with the knit design (à la Rowan - you know what I mean).  Her snapshots make me feel like I’ve been pulled into her movie set.  [Director's notes in the margin: Gorgeous yet down-to-earth woman enters stage left; she walks gracefully through her lovely, bright, inviting home, adorable daughter in tow.  She moves through to the garden, peering over her shoulder into the camera's lens as the stunning knitwear she wears catches the glowing light of dusk, the scene thus enhanced by the play of light and shadows.]

In other words, she’s hot stuff.  Oh, and did I mention that these knits as featured are of her own design?  Yeah, that’s right.  She also has a few patterns that are free, which I’ll get to in a minute.

Needless to say, her blog is quite popular.  There’s a lot to look at.  I started with the links under her Photo Album section in the left sidebar, which drew me in with links called The Winners and The Losers: her buckets for categorizing FOs.

The Zephyr Gals, at ZephyrStyle.com, promoting the 2008 Race for the Cure

I discovered the Zephyr gals while stalking visiting Wendy’s site.  One look and I knew these two were my kind of chicas.  They are the starter-uppers of Zephyr Style, a site through which they offer great original knitting designs (I liked Green Gable, which I’d initially seen on Wendy’s blog). 

The Zephyr Style blog is located here, just in case, like me, you’d like to lurk for a long, long time get to know them.

My heavens, I keep getting distracted.

Here’s the start of my new project - hopefully off the needles very soon because it was only meant to be a quickie:

Beginning of Short Snort Girlfriend Tank, by Wendy Tan (KnitandTonic.com)

It’s Wendy’s Short Snort Girlfriend Tank, available for free on her Knit and Tonic site.

Simple pattern, but fun.  Upon seeing it I became inspired to find a loving knit-home for two balls of Louisa Harding Coquette that I’d picked up on clearance a few weeks back.  At 73 yards each, this amount wasn’t going to make much, but the wee sparkles were calling my name at the time.  Or rather, Maizy’s name, since she is the person I thought would enjoy them the most.

I didn’t have quite enough to make the tank completely in Coquette, so I thought perhaps I’d stripe it by mixing in some run-of-the-mill white.  I swatched it and liked what I saw.  Even if it’d be a bit more work, I decided it would be worth it.

See how it sparkles?

The gauge was spot-on with the two fibers held together, and pretty darn close with just the white (standard baby-weight acrylic left over from a previous project - the label is long gone).  I decided it would be funky to alternate fairly randomly between white, blue, and both colors combined.   The gauge with the skinny blue-sparkles fiber alone (a.k.a. Coquette) was a little peek-a-boo on my size US 6 needles, but a couple rows here and there seemed to give it a fun texture.  Why not?

So far so good.  I really like it.  The project’s not a major commitment at under 250 yds total, but little things can be fun.  Plus, they look bigger on a pre-schooler.  It may be getting a little cool in Colorado (where Maizy lives) to go around wearing only a tank, but she likes to layer, so she can work this look even through the snowy season.

I’d better blog off - time flies.  Especially when you spend a good chunk of your evening drooling all over the Anthropologie website (releasing pent-up desire after a brief and fortunately inexpensive trip there with Sissy B while we were together recently).

During that trip to Anthropologie, we got two of these mugs (on clearance, of course; my aforementioned pocketbook can’t handle that store on a regular basis, either).  The idea was that we could each have a cup, one half of the twin set, from which to sip our tea and think happy thoughts about our visit - later, when we’re miles apart.

(long, happy sigh)

Then Maizy, who upon fervent request and subsquent cautioning took on the task of carrying the bag with my cup in it, took a bit of a spill as we were walking to the car, bless her heart. She’d been multi-tasking: bag in one hand, my wallet in the other, and my phone - in the locked and off position - anchored in the crook of her neck as she carried on a very serious one-sided conversation with an imaginary version of a family friend.

Poor thing.  We had boo-boo scrapes on each hand.  Cup…was kind enough to break her fall. Not so much in one piece anymore, darn it.

Awwwww.  No biggie, I said.  Sissy B was sad.  Really, it’s OK, I said.  Small potatoes!  Sissy B later went back to the store, unbeknownst to me.  She returned with another bag containing another cup, all wrapped up in one piece.

“Some things just have to be remedied, sis.”

(warm smile, then muffled sniffle)

Love you, sis.