Get Knitting

The weather here in Phily has truned in the past week from hot and muggie to cool and breeze. There was no gradule change in the temp here like usual. One day it was 80 degrees out and the next it was 55 degrees and damp. I must admitt I love fall weather and have accepted the fact that fall is here. I am ready for sweater weather, and with that comes the fact that i want to knit all the time. Not ony are there projects I need to complete, write up and test for patterns for my etsy shop, but there are tons of patterns I want to knit, most of them garrments, (vests and cardigans and pullovers oh my!).



How oh how will I be able to knit all that I want? First off day light hours are reserved for my shop knitting because this to me is my "work", work that i love doing so there is no probem with that. The evning hours are dedicated to personal projects. The only problem is there are so many that I want to make lately. I have noticed a trend with myself that I am becoming a sweater knitter and that my skill for creating finished pieces that I actually want to wear is growing. Last year I compleated one vest, three sweaters, and one knit shell by the end of January. I could have made more, but gift knitting got in the way, damn holidays! (I say this, but I love knitting gifts so I should stop my belly aching). So I say this and have no sweater on my needles just yet, this is a lie of course, I was knitting the puff sleeved femine cardigan from Stephanie Japel 's "Fitted Knits", which had a ton of errata or things that just didn't add up, as to that the yardage needed for the project was off and I have one ball of yarn left and need to do both sleeves and my button bands. I can tell you now that my one ball will not be enough to finish all of these elements. I had to make a ton of mods for the yarn that i had and now i must decide on how I am going to finish the darn thing. It is however off my needles and can wait for a solution. I will post a pic once I have my new data cable.

Along with all the patterns I want to knit for myself I have a cardigan that I designed last fall that I need to size and test knit. I alread knit my first one, but the guage was off so my medium came out about 3" larger than desired. My mother got the first cardigan and she loves it. I am thinking going down a needle size will do the trick.

Wel I am off to get some knitting done.

In the Mail

So, after my summer job I realized that I some how misplaced my camera's data cable in the camp office. Once you miss place something in that space it is good as gone. This posses a problem for me as I have a ton of camp pics still on my camera and I can't take pics for my etsy, or this blog. But not to worry I have ordered a new cable which should arrive about the same time I receive the new base yarn I ordered. This will be good timing, new yarn, new pics, and a new data cable to upload said pics with.

Also, Simon and I are now almost real adults, we recently bought a real couch for our living room and no longer sit on a futon to watch tv. We are also getting a new shelving unit just for my yarn and fabric stash. (Simon is a tad bit of an enabler, I think that he has just accepted his fate that he lives with and married a knitter and wants to make the best of it.) As of right now our living room looks like it exploded, well at least my yarn stash looks like it has exploded, and I have found some yarn that I dyed and never took pics of and some hand spun that was meant to go in my etsy shop too. To sum it up, expect some new items to pop up in my shop as soon as I get my new data cable.

I've Been a Bad Blogger

I have been, I constantly forget to blog even when I post a little not above my computer that says blog or die. I always think I have a good excuse so your probably wondering what it is this time. My excuse for not blogging since the beginning of September is that I recently got married to my Aussie Boyfriend. We had a small wedding in my home town and a lot of the elements we made or did our selves. I sewed two dresses for our wedding party and made ties for the guys. I also made both bouquets (with help from Simon, he cut felt for me). We also made all the decorations our selves and set up the barn where we had the reception.

So I leave you with a pic of Simon and I with our wedding party out in the vineyard at the winery where we were married.

But now for some quick business, I have just ordered some new base yarn to dye its a worsted weight wool, alpaca, silk blend that will work wonderfully with the new pattern I have in the works.

The Southerly Tam Pattern

Here it is The Southerly Tam Knitting Pattern! I just listed this in my etsy shop. If your looking for a new take on an old hat check this one out. I suggest it for intermediate to experienced knitters. This tam also knits up pretty quick and is perfect for last minuet gifts.

I suggest using a yarn that has good stitch definition or a semi solid hand painted so that you can see the movement in the stitch pattern.
I designed this tam while I was in Australia which was interesting because It was sweltering when I was working on this hat. So the only time I was really able to comfortably knit was at knit when the "southerly" would blow up the coast bringing a cool breeze to relieve the hot day. I have yet had a day since I finished this tam where I could wear it out, but with fall moving in I'm hoping I can show off my new tam shortly. Simon is getting really good at taking my photos for me. We did the photo shoot while we were in Oz at one of our favorite beaches. It was right around sunset so we got some great shots.

Hat Pattern

Here's a close up of the top detail of my new pattern. This tam is knit top down and incorporates some interesting techniques and a unique stitch pattern. The tam knits up quick and is perfect for last minuet gifts.

Yarn: The yarn I used is Louisa Harding's Grace Hand dyed which is a worsted weight yarn that is 50% wool and 50% Silk. Warm, soft and shinny.

Check my etsy shop tomorrow for this pattern.

The Return of Vintage Finds: Fall Days

Fall, one of my favorite times of the year. It marked the beginning of a new school year, a return to friends, the promise of cool weather and cozy sweaters and apple cider.

vintage 1970's eggplant wrap dress

By Thrush


1970s vintage DEXTER OXBLOOD campus boots 5.5

By allencompanyinc

Vintage SILK Knit ARGYLE CARDIGAN

By NestEggVintage


Vintage Oversized Chunky Irish Cable Knit Cardigan Sweater Jacket, S, M, L

By TWIGVINTAGE

Vintage Owl Necklace

By CatchTheEye

Take me Home Country Roads - Men's Vintage Blue Gingham Cowboy Shirt

By moonshinejunkyard

Vintage wool blazer Small

By PrettyRaccoon


Lumberjack Plaid Wool Pullover

By sweetcrocodile

New Design!

What oh what is this! Could it be...no it can't, but wait it is! A new design!!!

That's right a new design, this one I've been sitting on for awhile and finally think that it's time to release it into the world. That date being Tuesday September 7th. Expect to see a new hat pattern listed in my esty shop. This pattern is a bit tricky compared to my last hat pattern, but has lots of fun and new techniques in it. First of all it's a top down hat pattern.

I'm really excited for this pattern as I had such a great time designing and knitting this one. The stitch pattern is interesting and works great with semi sold hand painted yarns as well as solid and variegated. That's all I'm going to tell for now, I don't want to spoil the release of such a fab hat pattern. Check back here or on Blue Betty's fan page to see more of whats to come