Yarnageddon

Book Deal!!!

Mandy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:13:00 +0000

This is my friend Leanne and I, right after we signed the contract yesterday to write our first book! Have a gander at our call for submissions:

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Are you a knitter or crochetier? Do you design (or want to design) unusual pieces of street art out of yarn?

If so, you should design a pattern for Yarn Bombing: The Art of Knit Graffiti, to be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in fall 2009.

A DIY guide to the art of yarn graffiti and a history of hand-crafted textile street art, Yarn-Bombing will feature patterns such as street-smart disguises, useful wearable tools like gloves and tool belts, street art such as knit car cozies, bike covers and headlight toques, and outdoor installations such as crochet shawls for leafy trees. The sky’s the limit as long as it’s knit or crocheted! Projects should be fun, colorful and a little bit wacky.

Designers are asked to submit a sketch and detailed description of their project, along with a brief bio, by the submission deadline of May 15, 2008.

There is no entry fee, and you are encouraged to submit multiple designs. Please include your complete contact information (email and mailing addresses) with your submission. Hard-copy submissions will not be returned unless an SASE or International Mailing Coupon is provided.

Digital sketches (under 2MB) can be emailed to mandy@yarnbombing.com, or hard copy sketches can be mailed to:
Leanne Prain
203-884 Bute Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6E 1Y5

You will be notified via email if your design has been selected for publication. Selected designs will need to be knit or crocheted by their designers over the months of June-August, and mailed to the publisher for photography and editing by August 30, 2008. Patterns and any accompanying diagrams must be mailed to mandy@yarnbombing.com by the same date. Designers who are chosen to participate will receive the yarn necessary to complete their project, an honorarium, a free copy of the book, and credit for taking part in the book.

For more information, please visit Arsenal Pulp Press (arsenalpulp.com) or the Yarn Bombing Blog (yarnbombing.com).
If you have any questions or concerns regarding submissions, please contact Leanne (leanne@yarnbombing.com) or Mandy (mandy@yarnbombing.com)
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I am so excited!!

Necklace Prose

Mandy — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:35:00 +0000

I've really been enjoying writing the short descriptions for the necklaces in my Etsy jewelry shop. Here are a few; they're kind of cheesy, but they amuse me. (The listings in the shop also include information about length, materials, etc.)

Early Spring
Sure it's misty and rainy out now, but look! Buds and sprouts are already appearing. Tiny glass beads in fresh blue and green tones provide a cheery contrast to vintage lucite beads in fashionable, versatile shades of grey.
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Summer Afternoon
Sun-bleached shades of yellow warm the beads of this summery necklace. It reminds me of reading with my little sister in a tent made of bedsheets in our parents' back yard, smelling the warm grass and dozing off in the sun...
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Midnight
The darkest shades of red, green, grey, brown and black form a little bit of deepest night that you can wear all through the day.
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It's true, I'm a cheeseball. :)

A Story About A Tattoo

Mandy — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:36:00 +0000

It turns out my new friend Colleen once worked at a coffee shop in Calgary that I used to go to when I was in college. About 13 years ago I saw this tattoo on her arm, picked myself up off the floor and asked her about it. I have never forgotten the tattoo, it has remained one of my favourites of all time. What a surprise it was to catch a glimpse of it when we were thrifting a few weeks ago, and to realize that the legendary tattoo in my memory belonged to this new person in my life!

Zak and the Sky Sock

Mandy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 23:41:00 +0000

Zak posted this photo in his photo stream today. He's in Montreal for a conference right now, and he just completed this little sock. It's a Sky Sock from Cat Bordhi's amazing book New Pathways for Sock Knitters, adapted for a different gauge; he knit it in Sweet Georgia sock yarn.
I love this photo so much. The sock is cute, but the knitter is cuter. And he's coming home tomorrow. :)

Necklace Obsession

Mandy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:46:00 +0000

I recently put some new necklaces up in my other Etsy shop. I've been making a different type of necklace lately; instead of stringing a bunch of beads together on wire, I string each bead separately on its own piece of wire, then link them all together with rings. This type of necklace is more time-consuming to put together, but I've been so obsessed with them that I'm getting faster!

When I first started making this type of necklace, I did some with keys; lately I've been making them without. I'm curious: what do you think? Do the keys make them more effective, or are they just distracting? I'm really enjoying the effect of the beads on their own, but a bunch of exciting keys that I bought on eBay just arrived...

I'd really love to hear any thoughts on the necklaces in my shop. I'm still having a lot of fun learning this new medium, experimenting with new ideas, shapes and colours.

Rachael and Susie Patterns (Finally) Available for Sale!

Mandy — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:19:00 +0000

Well folks, I'm sorry it took so long, but the patterns for the Rachael and Susie Neckwarmers are now available for sale in my Yarnageddon Etsy shop! Please let me know what you think.

I'm really happy with these designs. I had to make one of each for myself, and I wear both of them a lot. The Susie (at the top) is knit in the last bit of precious Manos del Uruguay that Amy gave me for my birthday a few years ago. The Rachael is knit in the delicious and sadly discontinued Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Chunky. There are so many great yarn options for these patterns, they're proving to be real stashbusters. I just finished a Rachael for my Mom in scrumptious Kathmandu Aran Tweed, I'll post a photo after I choose buttons for it!

Bloody Stupid Johnson

Mandy — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:27:00 +0000

This is the Bloody Stupid Johnson hat from beloved Knitty. I love how it turned out!

When we first published the pattern, there were a couple of errors in it. It's my job to ensure that this doesn't happen, and I feel pretty sick about it when I miss something. I worked out the corrections as soon as I realized there were errors... but I wanted to knit this hat, to test my work. (Also, come on, it's a brilliant design! I couldn't resist it.)

I changed a few things - the gauge, ribbing, and crown decreases - but I worked the short rows and cable panel as per the pattern. They're the parts I had to test, and I'm happy to say they worked out perfectly! There are a few more photos on Flickr (click any one of these photos to get there), and further details are on Ravelry (username yarnageddon).

On another topic, the Susie and Rachael neckwarmer patterns are just about ready... I should have them available this weekend, hopefully! Things always take longer than I think they will... I'm sure this never happens to anyone else.

My First Patterns of 2008

Mandy — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:05:00 +0000

For Christmas this year, for my friends Susie and Rachael, I came up with a plan that would result both in gifts I would be excited to give, and patterns I could sell.

It started like this: Rachael and I tend to spend ridiculous amounts of time on the phone looking at Etsy, and she kept showing me neckwarmers that knitters and crocheters were selling. I really enjoyed looking at the different ways people have of constructing them, and I told Rachael I'd knit her one for Christmas (she doesn't knit).

I started thinking about designing a neckwarmer for Rachael that would suit her tastes and personality. It was a really fun exercise. And then, because Susie and Rachael were both among the friends I'd be spending Christmas with, and because they are both close friends of mine who inspire me a lot, I decided to do the same exercise for Susie.

I'm really happy with how they both turned out, and I think they're fairly different from anything I've seen around. I'm currently knitting a version of each for myself, to test my patterns (and because I want them!). When they're complete (they almost are), I'll photograph them on me (or another willing human) and prepare the patterns for sale. I expect everything to be ready late next week.

I want to do a lot more design work this year than I have in the past, and plan to regularly release patterns for sale here. I have a couple of sweater projects in various stages of completion which will be on their way soon, including the revised version of this lacy summer sweater, which I was supposed to release last summer. (Erm... sorry about that.)

If you think you might be interested in purchasing the patterns for the Rachael or Susie neckwarmers, can you please let me know which you'd prefer: buying them separately, or buying them together (at a lower cost than buying both separately)? They will each be offered in 3 sizes.

Thanks for reading. I hope your 2008 is off to a great start!

A Shawl for Sivia

Mandy — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:35:00 +0000

I crocheted this shawl for my friend Sivia using Kid Silk Haze and Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn, with big fat red glass beads. I'm very happy with how it turned out. The pattern is one of my favourites; it's by Doris Chan, from the 2004 issue of Interweave Crochet. I've made it a few times in different yarns, and it always looks wonderful.

If you are a knitter you may be familiar with Sivia's work, and it will seem redundant to you that I decided to make her a beaded shawl. But I happen to know that she doesn't really crochet, so I figured that in that way, I could make her something she wouldn't have made for herself.

Besides, I really enjoy receiving things people have made for me which give me a glimpse into how they see me and what they think of me, and I thought this would be that sort of gift.

And... who appreciates a knitted or crocheted gift more than a knitter or crocheter? They know what's gone into it! Sivia seemed very surprised and happy, she said no one ever knits her things.

Or am I wrong? If you are a knitter or crocheter, do you think "Oh, I could have just made that for myself" if the gift is not terribly complex or time-consuming? I'd like to know... especially if you are a friend of mine... :)

Shetland Shawl Turned Vest

Mandy — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 22:54:00 +0000

Just a quick post to show a recent finished project. This is my adaptation of Véronik Avery's "Shetland Shawl Turned Vest", from the beautiful book Lace Style.

I knit it at a different gauge using Jo Sharp Classic DK Wool. I changed the lower edge, the bodice pattern, and the shape of the bodice.

Here's a close-up of the lace pattern in the skirt, which is the same as in the pattern.

Here's the lace pattern I devised for the bodice.

And here's how I've worn it!

I'm so happy with how this turned out. It's terribly flattering, comfortable and easy to wear. I think I may need to make more sweaters in this shape.

Elizabeth and the Swamp Thing

Mandy — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 09:39:00 +0000

Early this spring, Elann was selling R2 Rag yarn for 80% off its original price. I'd been wanting to work with this yarn for several years, but it was always stupidly expensive and never seemed like a practical choice.

If you're not familiar with R2 Rag, it's a very bulky cotton yarn made from bias-cut strips of jersey-knit fabric. I rarely work with either cotton yarn or bulky yarn, so I could never quite bring myself to pay for it. When it was suddenly affordable, I was excited by the opportunity to work with it. I designed this sweater specifically for this yarn, in this colour. It was a fun knit, it turned out very much as I had planned, and and I love the way it looks. For obvious reasons, it's called the Swamp Thing.

One fun thing that I did with this yarn was to sew the end of each ball of yarn to the beginning of the next, using red thread. This eliminated most of the yarn ends, which would have been impossible to weave in nicely, and I like the way the red spots look in the olive-coloured fabric. I left any remaining yarn tails hanging, which suits the look of this yarn well.

Unfortunately, I didn't love the sweater on me. It fit the way I had intended it to, it just didn't do me any favours. I am usually pretty aware of what my body is like and how it looks in clothes, and I can usually plan garments that suit me fairly well. Sometimes, though, I'm just wrong. I have had this sweater sitting in a basket since then. I couldn't bring myself to rip it out because I just love it so much, and could not imagine a better design for the yarn.

Later in the spring, I met my dear friend Elizabeth. In the last few months, Elizabeth and I have realized that we are not dissimilar in clothing size, though we are differently shaped. I know that a lot of people have friends with whom they can swap and share clothes, but this isn't the case for me. When it does happen, it's quite a treat.

Elizabeth was over at my place recently and somehow the Swamp Thing showed its face. Elizabeth loved it, and tried it on at my insistence. I absolutely love how it looks on her; it might as well have been made for her. It flatters her much better than it did me. She was persuaded to take it home with her. And so, the story has a happy ending.

Two Necklaces

Mandy — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 01:07:00 +0000

Bound

This is the newest necklace in my Etsy shop.

I started this piece with the key from the handcuffs I bought at a novelty store as a teenager. As I was working on it, I was remembering owning them; how risqué I felt buying them (I was pretty sheltered), and how audacious I felt wearing them to a show, cuffed with my goth boyfriend, when I was 17. At that time of my life, I used to wear them as jewelry (both on one wrist).

When I had one half of the necklace done, I showed it to Zak. He liked it, but I thought it might be a bit boring. I was trying to think of how to make the second half more interesting but still compatible with the first half, when Zak thought of adding the awesome cherub.

This necklace is the first one that's been a collaborative effort. It seems appropriate that we make at least one together, as the shop name derives from the name we made years ago from our combined last names (Moore and Greant). It also seems appropriate that both its appearance and its contents make me reflect on what I used to think I knew about love, and what I know now.

Diary 4

One thing that's been interesting about selling necklaces is that my choices are influenced by what sells. The 4 necklaces that have sold in my Etsy shop have been built around keys. I like the keys, but admittedly I'm more motivated to keep using them than I would be if they weren't selling, or if the other necklaces were selling as well.

I've been making things as long as I can remember, but this is the first time that I've really tried to sell anything I make. I've resisted selling in the past for a number of reasons, and this has been one of them: I generally just want to explore my ideas without worrying about whether things will sell.

On the other hand, having a parameter provided can often inspire great creative problem-solving solutions. Maybe using keys (not always, but often) can do the same thing for me.

I've now bought more keys. I'll be interested to see where they take me.

Mograh Open for Business!

Mandy — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:04:00 +0000

This summer, during those months when I was neglecting my blog (more than usual), I started making beaded necklaces.

I've been enjoying learning how to use beads. Stringing beads on a length of wire is a very different way of organizing visual information from desiging a garment, or composing a painting. It's been more challenging than I had expected to come up with interesting and pleasing pieces, and I feel like I learn something new with each piece. I have yet to feel like I'm really innovating at all, but I've made some things I'm proud of.

One thing I particularly like about beading is that it's possible to make something satisfying and lovely in less than a million hours. I'll likely never knit for money, but beading is fast and interesting enough to do that I am happy to sell necklaces. And so without further ado, I present my Etsy shop!

Please check it out and let me know what you think. I'm quite excited and would love feedback.

Family Tattoos

Mandy — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:21:00 +0000

First things first. To those of you who read my last entry, especially those who commented: Thank you!! Thank you for sticking around. It was really nice to know that my crappy blogging habits have not lost me *all* of my readers.

When my brother Dan and his friend Mike visited last year, Dan and I got matching tattoos. I can't believe it's taken me this long to post a photo, but that's them, above. Rachael took the photo for us when Dan visited again this summer. A year on, we're both still pretty nuts about these tattoos, though we both need touch-ups.

Posting this makes me think of all the tattoos I have that match those on other people. Of the 16 I currently have, 8 have a match that lives on someone else. Of the remaining 8, 3 were acquired as shared experiences with friends or family.

I'll post photos another time, but for now here's what I've got:

1 and 2: Zak and I have matching tattoos on one finger of each hand. The first, on the traditional fingers, are our wedding rings. We call the others (on the index fingers of our right hands) our engagement rings, though we got them over a year after we were married.

3 and 4: My mother, her 2 sisters and I all have a little vine tattooed on a toe. When we got them, I also got the Chinese charater for "family" done on my ankle. My great-aunt went for a tattoo with us, but got a butterfly on her ankle instead. At the beginning of that day, I was the only one in the group of us that had tattoos.

5: My sister and I have little matching blue stars on our stomachs. You will never, never see a photo of my blue star. We got them on the same day I got #6:

6: I have an abstracted cog wheel on my right shoulder, which was designed by my high school friend Chrys, who ended up doing 10 of my tattoos, including our wedding rings and the blue star. He has the same design circling his navel.

7: My aunt Sandy and I have matching maple leaves. Mine is on the inside of my left wrist, hers is on her ankle. My friend Jane went with us and got the same maple leaf, on her upper chest. My friend Sara also joined us, though she got a different tattoo. I've lost touch with both Sara and Jane.

8 and 9 are, of course, the lovely monkeys you see above. They're derived from a joke my brother and I have which falls 100% into the category of you-had-to-be-there. I've now got matching tattoos with everyone in my immediate family except my Dad, who hates tattoos, so I don't think that one will ever happen!

10 and 11: When I visited my friends Amber and Brigitte in Montreal in 2003, Amber and I got tattooed together. She got a fabulous abstracted fish design on her leg. I got a rocket ship on my inner right wrist, and a beautiful moth on my upper right arm. I get more compliments on that moth than on anything else, even from people who profess to dislike tattoos.

That leaves the ones I got alone:

12: A star behind my right ear. I got this in 2000, at the same time as the one that would become the "engagement ring".

13: A frog on my upper back, with the character for "love" by its foot, and with a speech balloon containing the character for "happiness". I got this for our wedding, and had the dress cut to show it.

14. I love the frog tattoo so much I got the exact same frog on my left foot... so I could see it! I had saved the stencil from the first frog.

15: If you have read The Little Prince, you will be familiar with an illustration of a tiny planet ovewhelmed by 3 huge baobab trees. I adapted this illustration for a tattoo on my inner right forearm.

16: I have a large octopus around my right knee. Its body sits on the outside of my leg, with tentacles trailing down my kneecap and the top of my shin, and up the back of my thigh. It hurt like fuck.

And that concludes our tour. I would like to close with some sort of reflection on what my tattoos mean to me, or their place in my life or SOMETHING, but unfortunately the only reason I'm awake at this godforsaken hour is that the empty house was making freaky noises in the rainstorm last night, and I psyched myself out and couldn't sleep. So I'm afraid the best I can do is a list, and a rambilng, run-on sentence or five.

I'd love to hear thoughts about tattoos from other folks. If you have them, how do you choose the tattoos you get? How do your feelings about them change over time? If you don't have them, do you want them? What do you think of them?

Now I'm going to go try to sleep, I am so very, very tired. Have a lovely Sunday!

Rip-Off Post

Mandy — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:31:00 +0000

This post is a total rip-off, cross-posted from my Flickr photos. I started posting to the Wardrobe_Remix group this summer, and this is my most recent shot. Zak has been bugging me to post my W_R shots to my blog; is anyone interested?

I missed you guys (I hope you're still out there). I don't really know what was wrong with me this summer; in many ways it was even a great summer. My sister had a beautiful wedding. My brother came to Vancouver for a nice, long visit, and my "Little Sister" came out for a short one. I learned more about beads and am planning to open an Etsy shop of beaded jewelry within the next week or so. I am getting ready to (REALLY REALLY) publish my first self-published design (not the Summer Sweater, that will have to wait til next spring).

I will post for real, soon. But for now:

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I've been away from my online life for too long, it feels daunting to try to step back into it... so I'm cheating and cross-posting this to my blog.

Zak took this photo for me of the outfit I wore last Saturday afternoon. It was a fun outfit. I've missed my fall clothes (and everything else about the fall) and am glad the weather is getting cooler again.

Hat: Peter Grimm
Jacket and jeans: Made by me
Shirt: Blatantly copied from this photo, using a thrifted shirt
Shoes: These ones
Purse: Thrifted from Kawabata-Ya
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A Satisfying Distraction

Mandy — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 10:13:00 +0000

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. It seems like there are a lot of things, large and small, that have to be done in the next couple of days. Today, I needed a break from stressing about them.

I called my mom and sister, and while I talked to them, I made a couple of necklaces. This first little one is for my sister, Shawn.

It looks vaguely Egyptian to me... I really like the bone and copper beads combined this way. I think I need to play with this combination some more.

This one is for me. I have been admiring the work of Natalie at Pashupatina for a while now, and in this necklace I used some of the ideas I've picked up while poring over her beautiful work. I am definitely a beginner when it comes to beading, but I want to learn more!

Except for the large circular bead, all the beads in both of these necklaces are from a bunch that Zak gave me for our wedding anniversary this year. It was our eighth anniversary, and he gave me eight strands. He took his time choosing them, and chose based on colours he has either seen represented in my yarn stash, or that I have been obsessing over lately. The strands are each made of a different material: there are beads of bone, carnelian, copper, coral, garnet, glass, peridot, and turquoise.

We're not always that good at buying gifts for each other, but sometimes we get it right. When he gets it right, he really gets it right.

Silent Night

Mandy — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 08:59:00 +0000

I was at a noisy party tonight. It was a good party held by beloved friends to celebrate their Canadian permanent residence status. Now I am alone in my silent house. Why do I feel depressed and crappy after going to parties? This happens so often, even after the best parties.

I'm reaIly not up to writing right now, I just wanted to write and say I'm sorry, I don't have the pattern for the summer sweater ready. It will be a few more weeks. June has been eventful.

When a decent blog entry is not forthcoming, form demands a photo. Here is a photo of the very, very second-hand Coach bag I bought via eBay and received in the mail on Friday. I adore abused, broken-in leather. No photo can adequately convey the charms of this bag. Click for big.

I have been having exciting ideas about leather lately. If any of my experimenting is successful, I will share.

I hope you're all having a great weekend. My fellow Canadians, happy Canada Day!

Personal Shoppers

Mandy — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 09:31:00 +0000

First: Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm for the new sweater design! I am working on the pattern and a sample; I should have it available by the end of the month ("should" is the operative word...). I really appreciate your feedback about the edging as well; I think I was being a bit silly worrying to much about using a crocheted edging. :)

And now: Why my friends are awesome, part #4973

My sister is getting married next month, and I am a bridesmaid. I will be wearing a red strapless dress, with silver accessories. Tracking down the necessary shoes and underpinnings is proving to be a challenge and a half; I am difficult to fit. I did manage to find a bra in my size after a depressing 5-hour shopping marathon yesterday, but I failed to find a pair of shoes.

Today I had coffee in the afternoon with Susie. The plan was for us to meet up later with Travis, Rachael and Rachael's mother to go to the Richmond night market, which is a ton of fun; I had been looking forward to it all week. In the end, I bailed on that part of the evening because my back and legs were killing me from my shopping marathon the day before.

They dropped me home on their way to Richmond, and dropped in again on their way back. They brought me the items you see in the photo below. Combined cost: $30.

I love my friends.

Thinking About Edgings

Mandy — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 21:49:00 +0000

Thank you for all the comments and requests for the summer sweater pattern! (And thank you so much to dear Rachael to posting about it on her blog!)

I spent a large chunk of the weekend working up charts and numbers for the sweater, and have knit most of the yoke of the second version. I've changed the way the raglan and neckline shaping are worked; they are much more refined, and are charted out to integrate more beautifully with the lace pattern. The finished-measurement size range goes from 81cm-142cm (32"-56").

Version 2 will probably have the same simple crocheted borders as the original, unless I come up with a knitted border that will work as well with the lace and stockinette. (I have an idea to try, but I'm not sure if it will look as good.) For any non-crocheters out there, I'm curious; what would you do with a pattern that had simple crocheted borders? Would you try to learn the stitch involved? Would you come up with your own knitted border solution? Would you just make something else? Please let me know, I'm curious.

I'm a bit torn on this. On the one hand, I want to make a pattern that's accessible to a wide range of knitters, and I know that not all knitters know (or want to know) how to crochet. On the other hand, I feel that crochet offers the best solution for the borders of this sweater, and I want to be able to produce designs that use the best technique for the job.

This is where my impatience with all the knit vs. crochet crap comes in. They are both excellent ways to make things from yarn. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Each is easy to misuse, and can make things of unparalleled hideousness as well as things of beauty and delight. The question of one being superior to the other is ridiculous; the problem comes in thinking that they are interchangeable.

The lace pattern I'm using for this sweater would not have the same deliciously clingy, squishy, collapsible drape if I substituted a crocheted pattern, no matter how pretty and drapey it might be. Likewise, the crocheted border gives me the chance to make a lovely, stable border with perfect buttonholes, that looks both distinct from the fabric of the sweater, and harmonious with it. My original idea for the sweater involved knitted borders, but the crocheted border worked much better in the end, both visually and functionally.

I will probably end up keeping the crocheted borders, though perhaps I will offer a suggestion and photographed swatch for a knitted alternative. What do you think?

Summer Sweaters

Mandy — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 01:07:00 +0000

The multi-project tech editing marathon that has been eating my life since last fall is almost over, and I am regaining my ability to compose rudimentary sentences that do not contain bracketed sets of numbers.

Except for beloved Knitty, I am planning to take a bit of a break from tech editing now. I have some other goals to pursue in the second half of the year, one of which is to do more design work... that is, designing things that will actually become patterns.

One of the first pieces I will pattern will most likely be a revision of this little sweater, which I knit in at the end of May.

It took less than six 95m (104yd) balls of Katia Mississippi, to fit my 116cm (46") bust. I'm planning to make the second version in Rowan All Seasons Cotton, which is the same weight and has a similar construction.

I'm really happy with how this one turned out. I worked it from the top down, and incorporated the waist shaping into the lace pattern.

In the next version, I will change the way the raglan lines and front neck shaping are handled. I may also change the lace pattern slightly. This one had a six-row pattern repeat, with patterning worked on the third (WS) and sixth (RS) rows. To make the pattern easier to write, I may change it to be all RS or WS rows... I'm still figuring out how I want to handle this. Or maybe I will suck it up and not be so lazy, because this really made a nice fabric.

One of my favourite things about this in the end was the buttons I used. They are from Zak's late grandmother's button box, and I managed to find five similar buttons that made a nice colour gradation (though I didn't manage to get a good photo of them). Unfortunately, the bottom one broke the second time I wore the sweater, and I have yet to find a replacement that pleases me as much as the original button.

The other sweater I completed recently was a gift for my sister Shawn's 30th birthday. This is the first sweater I have knit for her, since she is seriously allergic to animal fibers, and I really can't handle knitting with inelastic fibers. (I'm starting to learn about sister-friendly yarns that don't kill my hands, but wool is still my Most Beloved.) I have recently discovered that I enjoy working with some cotton/acrylic blends, like Mississippi and the delicious All Seasons Cotton, and seized the opportunity to design a sweater for Shawn.

This is All Seasons Cotton in Sea Foam, an unreleased (beautiful) shade which is being sold on eBay by Cucumber Patch and Jannette's Rare Yarns. It took just under 8 balls.

I won't be patterning this sweater, though details of it (like the patterning at the back neck) may show up elsewhere. This is partly because I've moved on to other things, but also because I like the idea of Shawn having the only sweater exactly like this.

Here are a few more shots: a detail of the buttons and lower border, and some crappy shots of me modeling it. I tried to get better photos, without avail.

As clothing sizes go, Shawn is close in size to me, though she is considerably more... well-endowed. She's a few inches shorter than I am, but is not as short-waisted, so I think the length should be good on her. She says the length is good, but I want to see it! If she sends me a photo, I will post it. Until then, these will give a rough idea of fit.

I foresee more little summer sweaters in my near future. These ones were fairly quick to knit (if you don't count all the agonized ripping and second-guessing I did at the beginning of the birthday sweater), they don't take much yarn, and they're fun to experiment with. If you think you'd be interested in the pattern for the first sweater, which will most likely be a pdf available for a few dollars, please let me know; it will motivate me to get off my butt and get it done!

Old Hair vs. New Hair

Mandy — Sat, 26 May 2007 12:07:00 +0000

It often seems that when I have a lot of things I'd like to write about, I am least inclined to write. Therefore, I am a crappy blogger.

I ran across this photo the other day, and I've been feeling compelled to post it again, since my blog archives from when it was taken have been lost.

This photo was taken in January 05. I feel like I've changed a lot since then... my new hair is a symptom. I used to cut and dye my hair very frequently. I've done neither for over a year now. Sometimes I miss having hair like this, but when I think of doing it again, it feels like it would be returning to the past.

(The hat in the last post wouldn't look as good with the old hair, for one thing...)

The beautiful wrap was a 30th birthday gift from my beloved friend Bel (which is how I know this photo was from January!)

I'll write more soon. I even have knitting to show you.

Trying Something New

Mandy — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:41:00 +0000

Zak and I were buying yarn at Three Bags Full last week, and I had a splitting headache from the sun. Just a block away at My Orange Bag was a hat that hadn't looked too bad on me when I'd tried it on with a friend a few weeks earlier.

It's been a surprisingly practical purchase. What do you think?

Come Back, Words...

Mandy — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 07:35:00 +0000

Words are not my friends right now. I don't know what I did to them, but lately I'm finding it amazingly difficult to compose even the simplest email. If you're expecting an email from me and I'm taking forever to write back, I'm sorry... I hope the words and I will work out our problems, and that they will come back to me soon.

In other news, Happy Anniversary, Honey!

One Advantage of Being Large

Mandy — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:28:00 +0000

I've spent the last hour or so trying to write a blog post about marriage that's been rolling around in my head for the last year or two, and I'm not having any luck getting it out. So for now, I'm just stopping by to say thank you for all your interesting and thoughtful comments about Pan's Labyrinth, and to show you a beautiful thing that was given to me recently.

You'll likely recognize the design as the cover sweater from the Winter 06/07 issue of Vogue Knitting. Ande knit it and it was huge on her, so she gave it to lucky me. Sometimes, it is a very handy thing to be much larger than one's friends. ;) I need to take more photos, but here's one for now:

Note the monstrous pin. I bought a bunch of kilt pins off eBay, and I have a few of these 12.5 cm (5") ones. I love them madly and need to think of more ways to wear them.

And I think that's it for me right now. The killer projects of the last few months are finally wrapping up, and there are others on the horizon. I'm catching up with the friends I hadn't seen much while I was working like mad, and I've met a few new friends. Though I seem to be unable to write a decent blog entry or reply to email, life is pretty good.

Pan's Labyrinth

Mandy — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:39:00 +0000

Have you been to see Pan's Labyrinth yet? Please tell me, what did you think?

Zak and I went to see it tonight. I can't remember the last time I saw something so cruel and dark. I do often enjoy dark and violent movies, but after this one we both felt like we'd been physically beaten. While it's true that it was beautiful, we both felt that it was gratuitously brutal.

It's possible that it was just not what either of us needed to see tonight. I was strongly inclined to leave, and I know Zak would have been happy to leave as well, but I really wanted to see it and I knew I would never be able to sit through that first murder again.

There were a few years, in my mid-twenties, when I had a really hard time watching violence in movies. It's possible that I'm going through another such time; I keep thinking I would have enjoyed the movie more at other times in my life. I really would like to hear more opinions about this movie.