Sharing a few of my favorite instagram snaps from the past month. Oh that Henry, he sure finds his way in there a whole heck of a lot. Miss Daisy even makes an appearance as we got to see her when we visited my parents ranch over the Thanksgiving holiday. She is queen of the ranch and loves it there.
You can follow my instagram antics here.
Have you heard of the new knitting/craft/food/drink/music/art magazine Pom Pom Quarterly yet?
I came across Pom Pom on Ravelry and was instantly smitten with what these lovely London ladies are doing; this is a beautifully designed/laid out/photographed and printed magazine that is so different than your typical knitting mag.
The patterns are interesting and ones that you’d actually want to knit AND wear and they are photographed and styled so beautifully. Plus, there are food and cocktail recipes, a bit of music love and some great articles that you want to read while snuggled under your favorite knitted throw. (That’s what I did!)
There is a lot more to this great new publication, but I don’t want to show you everything here, because I think you should hop on over and buy an issue or subscribe and support what these fabulous ladies are making. Something this great doesn’t come along too often, but I’m very glad to see that it has.
The Bushwick Beanie is an easy to knit cabled hat that can be knitted as a classic-fitting beanie or with a bit of Brooklyn-inspired slouch.
Both versions knit up quickly with bulky weight yarn (110 yards for the classic version or 130 yards for the slouchy version) on size US 10 ½ (6.5 mm) double pointed needles (or appropriate needle size to obtain gauge at 3.75 stiches per inch). The pattern includes charted and line-by-line instructions for each version and can be purchased via Ravelry by clicking the link below.
Buy it Now or View Pattern Page on Ravelry
I knit the original slouchy version about a year ago when Joey and I were living in Bushwick and he needed a warm hat. Since then, it has traveled with him on tour and kept him warm in NYC, Texas, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Ireland, England and Portugal. When a hat sees that kind of mileage, sometimes you need a backup (or two!) and so I decided to knit another one for him with a more classic look and fit.
Way back when Joey and I were discussing color choices for a grandpa cardigan I was planning on knitting for him, we decided upon a bright shade of turquoise. I knew in the back of my mind that a bright, eye-searing turquoise might not be the best choice but I went for it anyways because I am always up for something fun and a little different. The cardigan, which I knitted using Jared Flood’s Smokin pattern, came out really great and Joey received lots of compliments on it. (I’m quite sure it was due to the eye-searing shade that it was noticed and commented on so often.) Flash to three years later and that sweater has migrated its way to the back of the closet specifically because of that eye-searing shade of turquoise that we were once so excited about. It was in retrospect, perhaps a little too turquoise.
With thoughts of a more classic-looking grandpa cardigan in mind, I decided I would dye the sweater grey. After a very long hour spent stirring a lumpy mass in a pool of dingy grey water in my kitchen sink, I discovered that using grey dye on an eye-searing shade of turquoise does not result in a classic grey cardigan, it only results in a somewhat dingy-looking turquoise cardigan. And so a second dye was attempted, this time using black dye which resulted in the very nice, classic-looking navy blue that you see here.
And thus, the sweater has been saved from the depths of the closet as I can now see Joey wearing it much more often this winter. Also, I think I might need to go back and study my color theory a bit more because in all honesty I was expecting the sweater to come out black!
I’ve recently updated my Infinity Cowl pattern to have a cleaner layout and more detailed instructions and I hope you’ll take a peek because its FREE!
Download here
This is an easy pattern for a cute and quick cowl that can be highly customizable. If you want to take it beyond basic stockinette this pattern is a great jumping off point. You could knit it in a classy allover textured pattern stitch or even add some trendy stripes or a fun argyle!
I’m excited to say that I have another pattern coming soon that I have been working on behind the scenes. Something warm and cable-y.
On Sunday I met up with two girlfriends for brunch and knitting. Both ladies know how to knit but wanted to take things beyond just garter stitch, so I suggested my Infinity Cowl pattern as a pretty easy way to learn a new skill (circular knitting) that results in a cute wearable cowl. With our pattern agreed upon, I sent them out to pick out a bulky weight yarn and appropriately sized circular needles, and we giggled at brunch when we realized that they both picked out the exact same yarn in the exact same color!
I helped them out with the provisional cast on and then they both quickly took off knitting round after round of stockinette stitch while we enjoyed mimosas and chatted about recipes and painting. It was only after an hour or so that I looked over and noticed that Briana’s circular knitting was twisted and my heart sank as I realized that I must have twisted it when I was joining it in the round for her. Then I proceeded to rip it out and create a huge tangled mess of her yarn. I blame the mimosas….
It was such a fun afternoon with the ladies and we’re planning on meeting up again soon to share in each others progress.
Just popping in to show you all how the hat turned out after a few days of leisurely knitting. Not bad for just winging it without a pattern, I think 🙂
Please pardon the cheesy bathroom mirror cell phone pic- Joey and Henry are still down in Hill Country this week. (Not that Henry could take a pic for me, but you know!)
Joey is recording the new Israel Nash Gripka album so we are out in Texas Hill Country for the week. There are eight of us holed up in a big ranch house surrounded by tree-covered hills and cacti for miles.
The cathedral-ceilinged living area has been turned into a recording studio, where the music goes late into the night. Last night I sat in a hammock on the patio and listened to the sounds and watched the moon rise.
I have some knitting- a simple slouchy hat- but like me, this knit is taking it easy this week. There are good times to be had, pools to swim in, trails to explore, and music to be made.
I woke up Saturday morning dreaming of yarn. I had an overwhelming desire to go through my yarn stash for inspiration, so I decided to do a little reorganizing while I was at it. I usually keep everything in shoebox-sized boxes from ikea inside my armoire, but keeping everything contained in boxes makes it easy to forget some of the goodies that lurk under those lids.
I still have some yarn in boxes (the brown and white flowered boxes in the background of the top shelf), but I decided to display my favorite yarns front and center, so I can be inspired. I open these doors every day and smile while contemplating what I want to knit with each skein on that shelf. I have many colors of Palette, which are lined up and at the ready for all the hexipuffs I’ve been knitting for my Beekeeper’s quilt; a skein of Shelter, leftover from the Guernsey Wrap I knitted last year which is dying to be knitted into a tweedy beanie; a luscious skein of Jade Sapphire cashmere, waiting for something that is worthy of cashmere; and lots of soft wonderfully tweedy Rowan Felted Tweed, which I am completely in love with and can’t wait to knit with again.
The bottom shelf holds the fabulous crocheted Henry that my sister in law made for me and the panda bear I made after I forced her to show me how to do amigurumi. I have a basket full of hexipuffs, and some of my favorite knitting books– lots of Elizabeth Zimmerman and a few Vogue Knitting Stitchionaries for good measure.
I’d love to know what yarns and books you’d bring to a stash party. Please let me know in the comments or post a link to your blog post if you’d like to join in and share.
My Joey has been working really hard to accomplish one of his dreams- he’s building a recording studio with one of his close friends- and it’s ALMOST finished. My favorite part is the interior walls, which are covered in reclaimed wood from shipping pallets and planks of cedar.
I’ve been dreaming up ways to get some knitted goodness into this studio, so when Joey asked me to knit some coasters I jumped on the chance. I looked around on Ravelry and decided upon the pattern Calla Coasters by The Purl Bee. I knitted these two with simple Sugar ‘n Cream cotton and sewed faux leather on for the backing so that they’ll look right at home in this wood-filled studio.
Love Is All You Knit 