If you want some punk rock feet, come over to Necessitae.com! I have stocked a skein of my yummy BFL superwash sock yarn in my "Hard Heart" colorway.

I am aware that my level of obsession with Project Runway has reached epic, unhealthy proportions, but I decided to use that obsession to make something beautiful. Tonight at my store, I'm debuting the first two colorways based on my favorite people from PR.

TIM GUNN:





HEIDI KLUM:




Both go on sale tonight along with two other new colorways,

SILVER BIRCH:




ESPRADILLE:



To get to the store, click here. Thank you!

When your day starts out with this, it has to be a great day, doesn't it? What did I do without these in my life?

So, the last month or so has been blurry.

These are the things that I know happened:

I managed to finish some knitting (pictures later)

I accrued late fees at the library (BAD girl--I work at a library!)

I killed a fish and a plant.

I blanked out on a wedding shower.

My brother and his wife had their first baby, a girl named Kennedi.

That's about all I can recall. The flu killed my memory, I swear it did.

Now, on to the knitting! A wonderful soap maker,Rachel, and I did a trade and I shipped off my part of the trade this week. It's a bodice knit in a cotton/wool blend yarn. I knit it so that she can attach a fabric skirt to it. It also contains an adjustable neckline so that her girlie can always have the "perfect" fit as she grows.



Bear with me as Flickr and I figure out this blogging thing together!

Next up is a shrug I designed on the fly (meaning I made ZERO notes in my notebook and will have to re-figure everything if I want to make another one--which I do, of course) . I especially love the sleeves and want to make another one so I can make those sleeves again. The yarn is 3 ply Merino I kettle dyed in my "Crest" colorway, which is one of my faves. This little number is being sent to a paper artist mama for her birthday celebration.




That's all for now, don't forget to change your clocks tonight!

It's Sicksville here. First time in a long time that a bug has managed to hit all five family members of my family. So...this will be brief.
I finished a sweater to celebrate the Lantern Festival for Chinese New Year. I really love the way it turned out.

If you like it, it's up for grabs at www.Necessitae.com

Also, a sweet sweater for a customer:

I need to go to bed before I fall over from exhaustion, so more soon!

I need a PR person.

I forgot to mention ages ago that I've had a pattern published! Remember the secret orange and brown project of a year ago? Well, here it is:



This is the High Top Hoodie in the new SnB book, "Son of a Stitch n Bitch" and the book has been out since Novemember. (Proof I need a PR person.) It's been exciting to see my work in print in a book that thousands of people buy! So, go get one and knit your man a hoodie in his favorite colors.

A creative buzz has been happening around here. Many of my projects are in the middle and it's driving me nuts that they're not all done. SO many ideas, so little time.

However, in the middle of the drawing, the dyeing, the knitting, I've been doing some reading. I was off of work during the holidays and started one of the saddest books of my reading history. Mary by Janis Cooke Newman is a page turner which leaves you disheartened but compelled to move forward, hoping to find that the woman's life contained any joy. Not much is known about Mary Todd Lincoln, save for the usual references to her insanity. This book has been an eye opener for me and my husband and I plan a trip to Springfield, IL this summer with our children to visit the Abraham Lincoln Museum.

Here is a recent finished object! This is a cabled wrap made from Hempathy by Elsebeth Lavold. It was an interesting yarn to work with and it has a beautiful drape.

Oh! Also, some exciting news! I've been asked to become a part of Necessitae which is a huge privilege, considering they have several immensely talented knitters already. I will begin stocking there on the 30th of January.

MIL gift

MIL gift
Originally uploaded by Knitter Kim

Deck the Halls

IMG_2002.JPG
Originally uploaded by Knitter Kim

Our tree was easy to decorate and I admit I like having it around to keep me company at night as I knit on presents.

Ballband Washcloths
Originally uploaded by Knitter Kim

IMG_2016.JPG
Originally uploaded by Knitter Kim

These were Teacher Gifts this year! The recipients seemed appreciative of the beautiful soaps and marveled at hand knit washcloths. :)

And one more...

One of my favorite musicians:

chaiglovesandearwarmer.JPG

chaiglovesandearwarmer.JPG
Originally uploaded by Knitter Kim

A few more FO's--warm earwarmer and fingerless mitts from cozy 2 ply targhee in Morwenna's "Chai Latte" colorway--www.Mosaicmoonyarnstore.com

Tonight, it's fun on YouTube. It seems I'm always the last person to get into the cool things on the net. I have been having a TON of fun tonight looking up videos from some of my favorite bands from the 80's and 90's. One of my finds--Camouflage! Anyone else remember this German techno band?

BUNNIES!

BUNNIES!.JPG
Originally uploaded by Knitter Kim

A preview of a new design! It's almost ready to go to an expecting mama :)

Widdershins in Maple Leaf

Widdershins in Maple Leaf
Originally uploaded by Knitter Kim

I like to make shorter socks, so the ribbing at the top is only a couple of inches or so.

Close up of sleeves

IMG_1973.JPG
Originally uploaded by Knitter Kim

Just another picture. Figuring out how to use Flickr and Blogger together.

Simple To Wear Sweater
Originally uploaded by Knitter Kim

This is a quickie design, I wanted an easy-to-wear sweater that could be casual enough to wear with jeans or cords and wouldn't require a lot of fussing. Just slip it on and go!

It's made from Purewool single ply merino that I dyed in what I call my "Maple Leaf" colorway. Scoop neck so it's flattering on top. A little ribbing under the bust to keep it from looking like a potato sack, and some slight flaring at the sleeves. I ended the bottom hem and sleeves with picot cast off and did ribbing around the neckline.

I wore it yesterday and love it. It's super, super soft so no layering required! It's perfect for next-to-skin wearing. Last night, I also finished a pair of Widdershins in the same colorway. The yarn for the socks dyed up darker than the merino did, even though I used the same dye lot. I still love them and the idea that I can wear matching socks and sweater!

Baby Mary Janes.




Could there be anything sweeter? I made these using a pattern from ShesCrafty using worsted weight yarn I had dyed. I didn't have the recommended fingering weight yarn in colors that I liked, so I felted them after knitting and love the way they turned out. The little iridescent glass buttons are perfect, I think. Baby Grace received her new Mary Janes today and appeared to like them very much.

Spring is busy around here. I spend hours every day out of doors pulling weeds and fussing over my plants. It's more fun than it sounds, really! Things are going pretty well in the gardening department except a wily mama bunny made a nest in the mulch that covers my garlic bed. I wondered how my lettuce and strawberries were getting eaten! I lost a whole tomato plant before the mystery was solved. The babies are gone now, so I hope they've moved onto greener pastures.
I've been doing some dyeing lately. Playing with colors, to see what I like. I have no names for these colorways yet, but what do you think?





Also, work has been ongoing for the art fair I mentioned previously. Entered for the jury's consideration:


Organic merino dyed gray with light lavender yarn violets.

Also, some scarves and a hat knit from beautiful hand-painted yarn.


My friend Morwenna at Mosaic Moon dyed these lovely colorways--"Malayan Orchid" and "Guinevere" on Targhee and Blue Faced Leicester.


It will be a month of nail-biting to hear if I've been accepted as a vendor. Then, if I am, only two months to prepare the merchandise! I've been doing some knitting as I wait in an effort to be optimistic.

A short rant




Seriously. What is up with the freaking stickers on fresh fruit? How much time is wasted placing these stickers ON the fruit and then trying to remove them from the fruit?
I remember when I was little and the checkers at the grocery store knew all of the produce codes by heart. When was it decided that the checkers couldn't memorize the codes any longer?