Sunday, November 27, 2011

FO: Snappy Coin Purses

snappy coin purse

 I whipped these cute little Snappy Coin Purses a couple of weekends ago using some stashed fat quarters and muslin. These two will go to a couple of my favorite kiddos whose birthdays are coming up. I think I'll make one for myself to hold my knitting tools (scissors, tape measure, stitch markers, tapestry needles, etc).

snappy coin purse

The trickiest part was definitely the snaps. I tried to use the little snap guide and hammer, but ended up needing to get one of those hand-held snap tools. I'll definitely be making more of these--gotta get my money's worth for that snap tool! Also, if anyone needs to apply some heavy-duty snaps, let me know...

snappy coin purse

Overall, a great, quick little project. Would make a great stocking stuffer!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

FO: Botanic Hat

Botanic Hat

Pattern: Botanic by Stephen West (ravelry page)
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted and Manos del Uraguay Maxima

I'd had my eye on this hat pattern for a while, and decided these two yarns, remnants from other projects, would be a nice pair for this hat. The pattern is very straightforward. I did go up a needle size for the body of the hat. Even with this change, the resulting hat is a bit snug for my large noggin. But if fits the recipient just right!

Next time I make this pattern, I'll go up a needle size for the brim and an addition size for the body of the hat. And maybe consider using aran weight yarn (pattern calls for worsted).

Friday, November 4, 2011

FO: On The Sea Shawlette

On The Sea Shawlette

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label (Midnight), Shibui Knits Sock (Rapids, Ivory)
Needle: US4
Pattern: Earth & Sky by Stephen West (ravelry project page)

As a fan of Stephen West's designs, I was excited in July when I found out that he was going to be doing a mystery shawlette. I cast on eagerly and knit the first couple sections rapidly... Then the repetitiveness of the mostly-stockinette hit me and this languished in the WIP pile until after we got back from India, at which point I would knit on it as a break from the tediousness of that blanket border.

I made the large size, but in retrospect, I probably would have enjoyed this project more if I'd chosen to make one of the smaller sizes. It wasn't until I was blocking this shawlette that I realized who it was destined for--all of a sudden it was perfectly clear to me that this needed to go to a friend who loves all things ocean--boats, fish. Finding a good home for the shawlette definitely improves how I feel about it.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Today I like...

  • Flannel sheets. I got these sheets from Target. Not only are they cozy and warm, but the pattern is imitative of fair isle knitting!
  • 8tracks.com. Like Pandora, only way cooler. Joe Schmoe makes a mix and you can listen to it! You can search by artist or genre. And they actually have an app for my phone! 
  • The book A Visit from the Goon Squad. (Shout out to Chana for passing this along to me!) I don't really have any books to compare this one to--it's that different. It's sort of like a series of vignettes--each chapter is from a different character's point of view; the characters are related directly or tangentially. There's an entire chapter told using PowerPoint-style slides full of flow charts and diagrams--I feel like my brain is working that way sometimes, and that chapter my favorite.
  • The radio show/podcast Snap Judgment. I stumbled up this one weekend afternoon on NPR a few months ago and I have been so happy to have it in my cadre of podcasts for my time commuting. I think the easiest way to describe it would be to say the hip hop version of This American Life. It's great.