Huge Balls...

of yarn that is... :-P

Here are some pictures of the souvenir skein of yarn that my bf gifted upon me when he went home for Christmas.

Better yet, he spent 2 hours on a late Friday night helping me winding it onto my ball winder with my tabletop swift. It took that long because it became really tangled on the swift, and he had to undo all the knots and tangles. After countless times of me telling him it cannot be done, (after all my ball winder is the standard $36 kind from Royal with the blue handle), he proved me wrong. :-)







Yes, that is 390 yards!

Freebies

I love freebies, especially when it has to do with knitting. Remember how I posted on 4/3 about the awesome spring designs in the latest issue of Verena Knitting? Well, since I was subscribed to their newsletter, they sent me a survey geared towards their American readers. As a special thanks for completing the survey, they sent me a coupon code for a free digital issue of Verena Knitting. Naturally, I chose the latest spring issue and I'm in love with this pattern...

Also, this one totally looks like an Anthropologie sweater. Reading through the pattern, I realized that the leaves are embroidered onto the sweater. Interesting, but I can't even really sew let alone embroider.

It's a treat looking at these gorgeous patterns, but I don't think I'll have the time to actually knit one. At least not until I have learned how to seam. I have yet to knit a sweater that is knit in pieces. Baby steps, I suppose.

If you like the SweaterBabe patterns (e.g. Talia from Spring 2008 Knitty), you might be interested in the 2nd freebie. While I was browsing the 20 Spot forum on Ravelry the other night, I came upon an offer for a free pattern from the SweaterBabe. All you have to do is go to her website, www.sweaterbabe.com, look at her directory of patterns, and send an email to wwmag@sweaterbabe.com with the following info.

Pattern # that you would like

Pattern Name

Your Name

Where you heard about the offer

I requested Lush and Lacy Cardigan since I've been lusting over that for over a year now, and sure enough I received the pattern in about 2 days!

Now I just need to find the perfect yarn...

FO: Backward Cabled Pullover

* Doing my best impression of the dramatic model pose

* Sleeve detail

* Side. (Forgive the bad hair day.)

* Back

* Collar detail. Goes perfectly with my new necklace!


* Freshly blocked on my beloved blocking board

Pattern: Backward Cabled Pullover from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Karabella Margrite in Plum, Colorway: #24
Size: XS
Amount: ~5.5 balls
Needles: US 7 and 6
Mods: Increased armholes by 2 stitches each. (In hind sight, it was unnecessary as there seems to be too much ease under the arms.) Placed scoop frontwards. Added a couple rows before beginning the waist shaping. Lengthened sleeves to 3/4 length. After all the sleeve decreases, kept working even at 44 stitches around until desired length was acquired. Lengthened ribbing at the hem.


This yarn was really scrumptious and felt decadent running through your fingers. It was also the recommended yarn for the pattern too. I rarely use the recommended yarn for a pattern as the size XS-S alone for this pattern would run you at least $100, but I had 3 balls gifted upon me for Christmas. Therefore, I went and bought the other 3 from my LYS. Therefore, my sleeves are made from different dye lots than the body, but I don't think it's very noticeable.


In conclusion, I really love this FO. It feels really light and drapey, yet still very warm. I was surprised by how much it bloomed in the wash and for a while, I was afraid it would come out too long. But it came out to the perfect length for me in the end. :-)

Knitting News

I am happy to say that Backward Cabled Pullover has finally been finished. That has been my longest FO yet, totalling about 2 months. It still needs to be washed and blocked, but I promise I'll get my FO pictures posted soon!

In other news, Ingenue is zipping along quite nicely. I had to frog back about 3-4 inches last night though because I had placed the decreasing markers in the wrong place after my mind stupidly read over the notes section and I should have been following directions more closely. Luckily, it was no biggie and here is what I have so far...



* Forgive the bleak, bathroom lighting.

* An accidental, "artistic" shot that shows the true color of the yarn better.

P.S. Oh, and that trip to the mall over the weekend, I did manage to score a grey, cabled sweater (totally hand-knit looking) for only $20! It was the last one in the store, but better yet, it had wool and alpaca content!!! It's pretty rare for me to find sweaters with alpaca content in department stores that don't cost $200+. :-)

Eyecandy and Shopping

Spring is my favorite season of the year. There is something comforting about the long winter days becoming lighter earlier and the weather easing up and becoming warmer, yet not too hot. It is also my favorite season for knitting. Well, either that or fall. I can't deny my love for wool sweaters. f only I had more hands and time!

As I was stalking the daily Elann.com specials the other day, I came across an European knitting magazine called Verena Knitting. I don't know too much about mags other than Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, and the other usuals you would regularly find at your grocery store. These are the two patterns that caught my eye.

The thing I like most about knitting other than the decadent joy of running beautiful yarn through my fingers is the fact that you create a garment that is unique and that you can't find in stores anywhere. You'll rarely ever run into somebody wearing the same thing as you (unless you go to a yarn convention or LYS). If you know me, I take this approach with me when I go to the mall. "Hand-knit looking" is what my eyes automatically scan for while browsing the racks. And springtime unfortunately is when I tend to do the most damage at the mall.

Ever since I discovered my favorite sweater ever at Macy's, a beige INC number that bears a striking resemblance to Printed Silk Cardigan from Interweave Knits Spring 2008, I keep going back to Macy's looking for more. But, alas, that is probably the closest unique sweater I'll ever find. So I went to Macy's last week absently browsing the racks when a certain magenta sweater caught my eye on the rack. The cables reminded me of Tangled Yoke Cardigan, and I decided to try it on. Luckily, it was just my size and fit me perfectly. Even better, this $80 sweater was on clearance for $20, and armed with a coupon, the total price went down to $17! True, I rarely ever wear magenta, but it was a nice shade of magenta, nothing too horrifying. And $17 for a sweater that is made mostly of silk and angora? I say, bring it on! :-D

Afterwards, I bought a green, v-neck cardigan at H&M. It was another good deal at $20, and I was so bummed that they didn't have the bright orange version in stock in my size. Yet, there were 4 XS's left. Figures. I was really surprised by the amount of cute, work-appropriate and affordable clothes they had at H&M. Last time I went was to a H&M in San Francisco a year ago, and my impression was that all the clothes seemed to be black-colored and somber looking.

But not to worry, it looks like I will be going to the mall again tomorrow...*hangs head in shame*.