Casting on for Backward Cabled Pullover

After many false starts (I counted at least 8) due to not knowing how to do short rows, I have finally got going on the Backward Cabled Pullover from Custom Knits. I'm glad I learned a new skill though although those short rows were making me very frustrated for a while. This was the pattern that made me decide to purchase Custom Knits. However, I'll be making the alternate version they show in the book with the scoop in the front. I guess it'll be like Opulent Raglan. I'm using Karabella Margrite (3 balls which were graciously gifted upon me by my cousin during Christmas) and I have bought 2 more balls. I get the feeling I'll have to buy another ball for the sleeves so I'm a bit wary that this sweater will be made from yarn from 3 different dye lots. Oh well, hopefully it won't be too noticeable.

Here's what I have so far...


* Don't they look luscious and plump?


* Slowly growing

The yarn is supposed to be worsted weight, but it appears to be more along the lines of DK. It looks pretty thin to me but it's still so soft and luxurious. This is the first time I've used the actual yarn suggested for a pattern. (Not counting Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece.) :-)

FO: Woodland Collar

Here's a second "scarf" for my cousin.

Originally, it was supposed to look like this...

This is the St. Brigid's Scarf pattern that they sell at Imagiknit in San Francisco. However halfway through, I realized that what I have above constituted 2 complete balls of the Bingo Mouline. And I only had 4 balls total. And it's a discontinued yarn that I cannot find for sale anywhere online. A few months ago, I won a free pattern in a knitting blog contest that I was intrigued to try.

Enter Woodland Collar!

* This shows the truer color of the yarn.

* Hmm...cables.

* Quick bathroom shot.

It wasn't until after I sent off the neckwarmer to her yesterday that I realized I forgot to take a close-up picture of the button. I bought the button in downtown La Jolla at a sewing/fabric store that carries hundreds of buttons. Good thing I did buy an extra button. There was a really gorgeous button that caught my eye. It looked more like a butterfly shawl pin than a button, but it cost $25! Nonetheless, it was very beautiful and I probably would have bought it if it had been more affordable.

Pattern: Woodland Collar by Hanna Breetz

Yarn: Lana Grossa Bingo Mouline in colorway 815 (Green-Purple)

Amount: 2 balls

Needles: US 9

Mods: None

FO: Reversible Cabled Scarf

My cousin (who feels more like an aunt since she's the same age as my mother) was very generous and added many, many luxurious balls of yarn to my stash recently during my trip to San Francisco. Most of the yarn I have never had a chance to knit with before since they're expensive and very Italian/European and buttery soft.

I'm too lazy to photograph all my additions, but they were 3 balls of Karabella Margrite in Plum, 3 balls of Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran in Gray, 1 skein of Dream in Color Classy in Black Parade, 2 balls of Cascade 220 Heathers in Brown, 4 balls of Lana Grossa Bingo Mouline in Green-Purple, and 3 balls of Cascade 220 Superwash in Black. Needless to say, I was very touched and speechless by her generousity. I love the Karabella Margrite and I plan to buy a couple more balls to make Backward Cabled Pullover from Custom Knits which actually calls for the Margrite!

So this was made for my cousin. She loves cables and the color black. I have never used Cascade 220 Superwash before, but thought it looked really beautiful and soft in the ball. However, it bled a lot and grew disappointingly longer than I had expected so I probably won't use this again in the future.

Pattern: Reversible Cabled Scarf by Lion Brand
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Black
Amount: 2 balls
Needles: US 8 and 7
Size: 72" ?
Mods: None

* Folded in half

* Black cables are so hard to photograph

* Cabley goodness

Pictures from San Francisco

I know I promised pictures of my Christmas trip to San Francisco, and here they are!





* The Ferry Building was really amazing and teeming with tons of fresh, food vendors.

* Inside the Ferry Building.

* The mushroom shop.

* Another shop.

* Outdoor skating rink across from the Ferry Building.


* The most awesome yarn store in San Francisco! It was so hard for me to leave the store...sob. (Also, I am wearing a brand-new, grey Gretel that I furiously knit before the trip and the red scarf I made last year.)

* Imagiknit was huge (for a LYS). This is just one room. The store is composed of 2 main rooms. I literally stood in awe for a couple minutes staring at all the yarn lining the walls.

* More yarn. I forgot to take a picture of the second room, but it was basically filled with springtime and novelty yarns. They also had a huge table heaping with handknit pattern models for sale too.

* I loved the Castro District! They had many really distinct and unique shops everywhere. Too bad I didn't have time to go into the chocolate store. This shot is taken near 18th Street, near one of the yarn stores I visited.

* Chocolate!

* Teeheeheh. Giggle giggle.

* Crepes! We had strawberry nutella crepes and a turkey artichoke. They were yummy. That's my mom on the left wearing the Gretel I had initially made for an aunt. (Mom loved it upon first sight and decided to steal it. The aunt ended up getting chocolates instead. Hehe.)

* Entering the indoor mall at JapanTown. That's my mom and dad. Dad wearing one of the first crochet caps I ever made him, and Mom with her Gretel.

* Cool, tall buildings near downtown.

* A yarn store in the Castro.

* Inside Noe Knit.

Funny Realization

I went to a Vietnamese supermarket today and happened to see something on the door that totally made my day.

Apparently, I am a type of payment!

Updated Basketweave Vest FO pics

I am back from vacation! I had so much fun in Northern Cali that I almost didn't want to come back. More on the trip to San Francisco, my experiences at SF yarn stores, and suddenly growing yarn stash to follow later.

My dad loved posing for his FO pictures. So much so that he insisted on taking lots of them complete with the many hats/scarves that I have made him in the past. I'm glad to know that there is at least 1 (well 2, including my mom) people in this world who appreciate my handknits/handcrochets works so much. :-D

Basket-weave vest with crochet newsboy cap

Basket-weave vest with crochet scarf

Basket-weave vest with knit beanie

The matching Koolhaas I planned to knit for my dad was a bust, so I'll start that over some day. However, I did manage to finish knitting a matching scarf for my mother's Gretel. I binded off the night before my flight. Talk about the nick of time! However, I forgot to take a picture of it. :-(

Vacation

Tomorrow, I will be going home to visit my parents for two weeks. During that time, we are going to go to San Francisco for a couple days. There are a couple of yarn stores I would like to see, but I'm not sure if I'll get the chance. I heard there's a store called ArtFibers in San Francisco that is rumored to have gorgeous yarn at very expensive prices. Not sure if I will go if I know I definitely won't buy anything. I'm also excited to finally go see a certain yarn store in my parents' city. They're holding a bottle of Soak for me to pick up. (I can't wait to introduce my parents to Soak and the joy of washing hand-knits.)

I'm going to bring some needles and patterns with me. Currently, I'm working on a Gretel (finally, the first one for me) and hopefully I can get it finished in time before I hit the cold streets of SF. I'm going to bring along the pattern for Ingenue from Custom Knits, but I'm not sure if I want to start a large project over vacation. I tend to do smaller projects when I'm traveling for portability. It also makes sense because I wouldn't have Internet and access to Ravelry. *Gasp*. Most likely, I'll make another Koolhaas and various dishcloths to show you when I come back!

FO: Gretel #3

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Camel Hair

Amount: 1 ball

Needles: US 5 and 7

Size: Regular
Mods: None

If this hat sounds familiar to you, it's because it's exactly the same as the Gretel I made for my boyfriend's mother. Right down to yarn and color of yarn. :-) My mom asked me to make a hat for one of my aunts that we will be visiting next week.