Cultured Purl

fo - more hats

2007-01-31T14:06:00.001-05:00

More hatty hat hats!

These are for two friends of mine in Colorado. I used Noro Kureyon for the self striping one, I loved the colorway. I need to check and see which one it was so I can get it again!

christmas hats

2007-01-02T23:58:00.000-05:00

I started making adult-sized hats last year for Christmas gifts, they're so fast and easy to make, plus they're practical! I use a simple pattern, 90 stitches cast on size 7 straight needles. An inch or so of 1x1 rib, then stockinette stitch for the rest. The only slightly tricky part are the k2tog decreases, and those aren't hard at all.

Here are two FO I made for my husband's cousin Matt:

I'm still working on a throw blanket for my sister, but it's been slow going.

I might start going to a Stitch N Bitch group that started up in the last year down the street from me. I joined their Yahoo group and they seem like nice ladies. They meet Thursday nights at the Starbucks in Old Town Fairfax.

fo - sadie's blanky

2006-09-17T19:03:00.000-04:00

I packed these up last night for shipping, so here are the pictures of the finished blanky - sorry they're a bit dark, I liked the non-flash images better than the one I took with flash.

My next project is a chenille throw for my sister's new apartment. This will be the biggest project I've attempted yet, although the pattern is basically the same as my baby blankies, just bigger and with bulkier yarn.

Hopefully I'll have it done in time for xmas, but it's going to be a hectic fall semester. I am taking one lecture class, plus one 3 credit internship, while working 20 hours a week and rehearsing with my choir. So bizzy!

sadie's blanky

2006-09-12T20:10:00.000-04:00

My husband's family is about to welcome a very special new member; his cousin and her husband are adopting a baby girl from Vietnam, who we hope will be coming home in the next 4-6 weeks. To that end, I recently completed (yet another) blanky for her and a matching hat to go with it!

I think this is my favorite color/yarn combo yet. Unfortunately, I don't remember which yarn I used, so I will have to go on a label hunt in the bottom of my knitting basket. No pics yet, but I will have some soon as I'm getting ready to pack and ship the items to Sadie Kathryn's new family.

still around and still knitting!

2006-03-19T18:17:00.000-05:00

I have not abandoned my little blog, I promise. I just got busy with non-knitting projects and school and a new job at a nearby public library. Here's what I've been working on, I call it my Blanky of Many Colors:

It is made up of scrap yarn from lots of my other blankies, and is meant for a little girl named Kate who is due in 2 weeks. I better hurry and finish the last few inches on this one!

merry hat-making xmas

2005-12-18T17:03:00.000-05:00

My holiday knitting this year consists of making hats for the boys I know.

My secret santa from The Something Awful Forums received my first attempt, of which I took a FO pic just for blogging purposes:

Now I'm working on a neutral-toned one for my sister's boyfriend. If I have time, I will make another gray/red version to go in my husband's stocking. I started out using Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes, (as pictured) but have switched to Lion's Wool Ease for convenience's sake - it's easier to run over to Michael's than to wait for more to ship.

I am almost finished the baby blanky I started at the end of the summer, I just need to finish the garter stitch border and weave in all the ends. I'm thinking of making a "rainbow" multicolored blanky out of the leftover DK yarns I've collected during my blanky-making adventures, but I'm not sure if the colors will look funky and diverse or just randomly ugly. We'll have to see! I have another baby to knit for, due in March-April.

My first semester of library school ended well - I'm expecting a 4.0, but anxiously awaiting my group project grade in one class. I have no idea how she's grading that one. I was awarded a fellowship with The Association of Research Libraries, which is a very big honor and which I'm really excited about. Eventually I will do a 6 week internship with one of their member libraries... but not until I finish my coursework! The really fun part is that the fellows are being sent to a leadership symposium at the ALA Midwinter Conference in San Antonio, TX. I've never been to Texas before, so I am really looking forward to the trip; plus it is my first professional-type experience, and I feel very grown up all of a sudden.

We're having a quiet Christmas at home this year, just Gerry and me and the kitties. Last year he was in Afghanistan, so we are counting our blessings and feeling very fortunate to be together for the holidays.

A current xmas tree pic, which I like in spite of the blurry:

Hope you all have a warm and bright holiday with those you love!

a link button of my own!

2005-10-06T22:00:00.000-04:00

I know there's like, two of you who read this, but I made a button for linking purposes and I thought maybe it would come in handy

Just save and upload to your webspace, then link back to http://culturedpurl.blogspot.com! I'd be happy to add a reciprocal link back to you, just let me know.

I created it using the button maker here

No knitting news of note... just that fall makes me want to make woolly scarves and hats, and I'm starting to plan xmas gifts for a few lucky people in my life. ;)

librarian knitters

2005-09-02T12:18:00.000-04:00

This week I started classes toward my MSLS from the Catholic University of America. One of the great things about their program is the ability to take distance learning classes right here in Fairfax, so I only have to trek to the main campus one day a week this semester. I'm really excited about my new degree program. I hope to become an academic research librarian, possibly specializing in rare books and archives. My dream job would be to work at the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC, but I would also love to return to UNC-Chapel Hill and work at the Davis Library there. Trust me, I already know my way around the stacks...

While waiting for one of my classes to start yesterday evening, I wasn't at all surprised to see one of my classmates knitting. Knitting and librarians seem to go together like yarn and kitties. We started chatting about local yarn stores (she usede to work at Knit+Stitch=Bliss in Bethesda) and she told me that there's a large subset of the students in the SLIS program who are knitters and even have impromptu SNBs before class starts sometimes. I was glad to hear it! I usually knit on the DC Metro while taking the train downtown, so I often have a WIP with me on campus as well.

In project news, I'm close to finishing the gauzy wrap I posted pictures of a week or two ago - I got a LOT done on it while we were visiting Gerry's mom in Miami. It was too hot to do much else besides knit! I'm also working on another baby blanky in a pastel version of the yellow/turqoise/orange blanky I finished earlier this summer. It's a little more than halfway done. I've decided to just keep a blanky on the needles all the time, since they're so easy and fun to make and there's always a baby on the way somewhere in my circle of friends and family. And if I ever get too far ahead of myself, I can always just put away the banky for my own future babies!

summer knit update

2005-08-11T23:36:00.000-04:00

I haven't updated in forever, but I have been knitting!

I am currently making a light summery wrap using 2 balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze and the pattern for the Lacy Scarf in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I tripled the width and am probably at least doubling or tripling the length.

I finally learned how to yarn over! These pics are from very early on in the process - I've now got about 4x that length but I'm going to keep going for another foot or two. I plan on wearing the finished wrap over my bridesmaid's dress at my father's wedding next month.

I've also got another baby blanket on the needles, a pastel version of the same colors I did for the last blanky. And I'm thinking about getting started on a laptop tote from SNB Nation - I just bought an iBook and I love the stripes!

fo - the summer blanky

2005-06-20T13:09:00.000-04:00

Well it's not 100% finished, I still have to weave in the ends and block this bad boy, but it's almost there! I've spent most of the last month on it and I like the way it turned out. I wanted it to be very bright and summery for the July baby it was made for. Baby is due in about 2-3 more weeks, so I am right on schedule! I know it's a girl, and the colors are a little boyish, but like I said, I wanted it bright and fun. I think the mom is not the super-girly-everything-must-be-pink-pink-pink- type, so it will be okay.

These pics were taken in natural light with no flash, so the colors are as true as possible:

For the 2nd blanky in a row I used Debbie Bliss DK Cotton instead of the Rowan, and I like it better. It's a bit softer and thicker, slightly more plush for baby. Now for the first time in, like, a year, I have no baby projects in the queue!

Next up, I should really go back to Tempting. I stalled out on attaching the sleeves to the body, and I know I can do it, I just have to work up the gumption. I'm also planning a lacy scarf/wrap to wear over a bridesmaid dress for my dad's September wedding. More on that stuff later.

Hope everyone is enjoying the first days of summer!

booga 2: electric boogaloo

2005-05-01T19:15:00.000-04:00

My 2nd Booga knit up much faster than the first one, using Peruvian Collection Highland Wool from Elann. It felted much more than the Kureyon did. In just one cycle it shrunk significantly more!

I cast on 40 stitches for the base to make a longer and leaner bottom than the first one. After shrinking, it became the perfect clutch size.

I hope Renee likes it!

I'm giving it to her when I see her next weekend for Mother's Day and Dad's Birthday festivities back home in Philadelphia.

Booga the First has now made several public outings with me, and I have to admit I keep desperately hoping someone will notice its handmade-edness and say something. Not yet, though.

fo - booga bag!

2005-04-22T20:43:00.000-04:00

I am so proud of this thing, I just can't tell you.

I included the Sims CD case for scale. You can see it's not quite the full size as given in the pattern, plus I attached the handles a little differently. I wanted it to be a bit shorter and wider. It's got a piece of thinnish cardboard in the bottom to hold the shape, though it's not attached in any way.

I'm going to make a pink version for my sister Renee next. AND I've now got one Tempting sleeve finished and the other started on DPNS. Wish me luck!

booga update, blanky pics

2005-04-21T12:39:00.000-04:00

The Booga Bag is almost finished! I felted it yesterday with 4-5 towels in hot water and some Tide. I added about a gallon of boiling water from the stove to the first cycle. I put it through twice before unpinning the pillowcase, and it looked pretty good! It's blocking right now with a small cardboard box in it, and safety pins holding the corners together. The I-cord was especially neat, it felted up so nice and hid all my lame mistakes.

I'll have more pictures of the FO soon. In the meantime, here's some of my last completed project, a blanky made for our friend's little baby Maya Linda.

The little orange kitty was part of the gift, it was soooooo soft to the touch. As you can see, Smokey wanted the kitty for himself. He was pretending he wasn't that interested, but as soon as I snapped the picture he grabbed it and ran.

works in progress

2005-04-15T23:02:00.000-04:00

I have two projects on the needles right now, and both have pushed me to learn new things. The Booga Bag is my first wool project as well as my first felting project, AND I learned picking up stitches and I-cord while making it. It's almost ready for felting... maybe four more inches of height and I'll bind it off. I used the recommended yarn, Noro Kureyon, in colorway #55. I'm really happy with the color, I was worried it would be too drab but there are all sorts of blue and red tones to the browns and grays that make it really interesting to look at. I think the picture I just took captured that well.

And here is my very first sweater, knitty's Tempting, which was also my first project on circular needles (and DPNs). I'm making it in the recommended Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, colorway #612. I love the Cashmerino, it's very plush and easy to knit. The first picture is from a month ago, when I first started on the body. The second picture is current!

You can see the beginnings of a sleeve there on the DPNs. I must have frogged it and cast it on 5 times before I got the hang of them. I think I may have been dropping stitches between needles, since my rib pattern kept coming out wrong. But I have about three rounds of non-messed-up-2x2 now, so I think this is the time it's gonna stick.

This week the yarn arrived for my next three projects. I'm making another baby blanky, in turquoise, tangerine and lemon yellow, this time in Debbie Bliss Cotton DK. The baby is due in July, so I thought the summery colors would be nice. Then I ordered two balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze in "Pearl" from a seller on eBay who was offering free shipping from the UK! It arrived in less than a week, I was amazed. That's going to be a lacey scarf from the Last-Minute Gifts book. I'm making it a little wider and longer than the pattern calls for in hopes of using it as a wrap/shawl for Dad's wedding in September. Finally, I ordered some inexpensive wool from Elann.com to make a striped Booga bag for my sister in various shades of pink.

I like having a backlog of projects, it's a very satisfying feeling for some reason.

my knitting library

2005-04-11T18:26:00.000-04:00

Knitting for Dummies
Pam Allen
ISBN 076455395X

Before I was using the internet for knitting info, and before the advent of Stitch N Bitch, this was the first knitting book I purchased. The description and illustrations of the standard cast on method were especially helpful!

Complete Idiot's Guide to Knit and Crochet
Barbara Breiter, Gail Diven
ISBN 1592570895

What I do with these all purpose books is this: whenever there's a technique in a pattern I haven't used yet, I get out all my how-to books and compare the instructions. One book's pictures might help me figure out another book's illustrations or vice versa. I figure if I have nine books open to the page on picking up stitches, odds are I'm going to understand one of 'em!

Stitch 'n Bitch
Debbie Stoller
ISBN 0761128182

Now almost a cliche among younger knitters, Stoller's book was the one that exposed me to the new wave of knitters, a large group of women (and men!) my own age looking for non-grandmotherly patterns. It also introduced me to the community of knitting in the form of the Stitch N Bitch groups - though I still have yet to attend one of those! Tons of internet links got me started on shopping for yarn online and browsing other people's blogs.

Pipsqueaks
Kim Hargreaves
ISBN 0952537575

This is the first book I bought for a particular pattern. I had been looking for a simple baby blanket pattern and found pictures of a finished "Peaches" blanky from this book in someone's blog. This was my intro to Rowan yarns and designers, and it was a great experience. The Peaches blanky has become my signature baby gift, I've done six of them now and I have fun swapping colors and substituting yarn for each one. I haven't tried the other patterns yet as they were a bit over my head, but I think I'm ready to make some of the adorable baby sweaters now.

Tadpoles and Tiddlers
Kim Hargreaves
ISBN 0952537508

This book came with Pipsqueaks in a package deal from Amazon. I love the patterns and photography, it's only a matter of time before I tackle a few of these myself.

Knitter's Handbook
Montse Stanley
ISBN 0895774674

I'm pretty sure this was recommended in Stitch N Bitch as an invaluable resource for the beginner onward. I bought my copy used on Half.com and use it often when I need pictures of techniques or definitions of something new I've come across.

Simple Knits for Cherished Babies
Erika Knight
ISBN 1855859262

I love this book. The patterns are gorgeous and the writing is superb. The only drawback is that they all call for very expensive yarns, sometimes impractically so. Cashmere baby sweaters and teddy bears look and feel great, but they're still going to get spit up on. As I get more familiar and confident with yarn substituting, this book becomes more and more useful to me. My favorite pattern is the simple baby's beanie hat knit in Rowan all seasons cotton. I made one to go with every blanky I gave out!

Baby Knits for Beginners
Debbie Bliss
ISBN 1570762481

A lot of my friends are having babies these days. A LOT. That's why when I branched out from the How To collections, I stuck to baby books. This is a great one because of the ease of the patterns and the wonderful beginner tutorials on basic techniques. The only pattern I wouldn't make is the garter stitch scarf for infants (it's modeled on a kid under 1 year of age), because I'm just not seeing the moms I know wrapping anything around their baby's neck. I love the blanket made of garter stitch squares joined together, which I want to try as practice for seaming. This book also introduced me to Debbie Bliss yarns and designs for the first time.

Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Joelle Hoverson, Anna Williams
ISBN 1584793678

Gorgeous patterns organized by the length of time it takes to make them. I recently read a thread on the forums at crafster.org full of finished works from this book and they were awesome. I can't wait to get into this one a bit more.

Knit Wit
Amy R. Singer
ISBN 0060740701

This book was a slight disappointment. The stand-up format is awkward and annoying, and the patterns are pretty hit and miss. It suffers from the usual "hip" knitting book flaw of trying too hard for "unique" patterns. I don't want to knit a yoga mat bag or an ice cream pint cozy. The writing is good, however, and there are a few patterns that I can tell will make the purchase worth it for me.

Stitch N Bitch Nation
Debbie Stoller
ISBN 0761135901

Of course like any good Next Gen knitter, I bought the Stitch N Bitch sequel. I think there's a few more dumb patterns than in the first one. Seriously? Another yoga mat bag? But there's enough really cool ones to keep me hooked on the Stoller series. I love the Fairly Easy Fair Isle sweater, hopefully I will be ready for that once I get Tempting and a few baby sweaters under my belt.

Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles
Cat Bordi
ISBN 0970886950

World of Knitted Toys
Kath Dalmeny, Carolyn Clewer
ISBN 0715312243

Knitting Without Tears
Elizabeth Zimmerman
ISBN 0684135051

These last three I can't review yet, as they're currently on their way to me from the warehouses of BN.com. They came highly recommended by fellow bloggers and posters on the @forumz Knit and Bitch board, and I'm really looking forward to them. I'll post an update once I've gotten a chance to read and knit from each one!

And that's my knitting library thus far. Any hobby that involves books is going to be a winner for me. I'll take any excuse I can get to buy more books!

it's about time!

2005-04-10T12:27:00.000-04:00

In the three and a half years since I've learned to knit, the internet has become a vital resource for me. I can't tell you how many blogs and messageboards I have browsed, looking at others' Works In Progress and Finished Objects, learning new tips techniques, becoming simultaneously jealous and inspired.

I have an online diary elsewhere for my everyday minutiae and Deep Thoughts™, and so far I have been posting my knitting flotsam there as well. But that diary is only semi-public for obvious reasons, and I wanted to join the vast community of bloggers who are out there primarily to be a part of the knitting community.

A little about me:

I'm 25 years old, a native of the NE Philadelphia suburbs currently living in Fairfax, VA.
I'm married to my husband of 3 years, Gerry, who works for the government.
I'm the proud mom to 2 cats (every knitting blog has at least one) named Smokey and the Bandit.
I have a BA in English from the U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (GO HEELS) and a MA in Literature from American University here in DC.
Shockingly, those degrees have not led to steady employment thus far, but in my free time I am volunteering with a local animal rescue org and singing in a wonderful community choir.
I am probably what you'd call an "Advanced Beginnner" when it comes to the craft. I love learning new things, which I mostly teach myself from books and the internet. My mother-in-law was the one who originally showed me how to knit and purl, and I just took off from there!
I'm currently working on my first sweater and my first felted bag, pictures of which will be forthcoming.

Stay tuned!