Peasblossom Creations

Hi there! I've moved things around a bit...

Are you looking for my new blog? Try here: http://PeasblossomCreationsblogspot.com

Are you looking for my shop? Try here: http://PeasblossomCreations.etsy.com

I am holding onto this blog to post how-to's (coming soon). Check back for updates in the future. :-)

Maloja Mitts for Lily

You'd think that after coming back from Las Vegas my first project would have sequins or yarn with some super-sparkle to it or maybe involve feathers...

That is not to say that this project isn't REALLY exciting.  Because I think it is.  Dark purple fingerless mittens with a subtle cable just isn't the expected project.  What makes this project so exciting, you ask?  Well, I knit both of these gloves at the same time and I used a technique called Magic Loop to do it. I'm pretty impressed with myself; this was something new for me.  I'm planning on writing a tutorial for how to do magic loop (complete with pictures and/or video if I can figure out how to film and knit at the same time) and posting it here, so keep a look out!  If you want to be emailed updates, send me a note at knittinsmitten@gmail.com and I'll add you to the mailing list.

In fairness to the visually inspiring city, these gloves were planned in advance and not a product of the Viva Elvis Cirque du Soleil show (which, I must admit, was pretty spectacular).  Like many of us who choose (or are forced) to leave our homes from October to mid-March, my friend Lily's hands get cold.  Mittens may seem like an excellent solution, but not for Lily.  I know she is asking a lot, but she wants warm hands and to be able to use her fingers at the same time, a demand that mittens just can't meet.  So!  Behold!

Maloja Fingerless Mitts for Lily

This isn't Lily. This is me.
But soon I'll try to take a picture of
Lily wearing her delightful new gloves.

I used one of my favorite yarns for this project: Cashmere Merino Silk in DK weight by Sublime.  This yarn is so soft and it knits really smoothly.  This is the same yarn (different color though) that I used for Lauren's gloves back in August and it was just as easy to knit with.  No pilling, no splitting, no yarn barf.  (Yes, Mom, yarn barf is a thing.  Remember that ball of pink lace-weight yarn that you so kindly detangled and wound up for me?  And how it would go really well for a few seconds and then you'd pull a little more yarn out and BAM! it would be all messed up and tangly again?  That was yarn barf.)

The original pattern, designed by Tracey Grzegorczyk, had the gloves being quite a bit shorter.  I added a few inches in the wrist section so more of the forearm would be covered and I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.  This also had the added benefit of having a more fitted look to the glove.  Without these few inches, the ribbing of the cuff was pretty loose around the wrists, but when it is up higher on the arm it fits more snugly.

The pattern was really well-written.  She even had a little chart to help you keep track of the increases in relation to where you were on the cable pattern -- something I hadn't seen before and most sincerely appreciate.  If I had been knitting the gloves one-at-a-time, this would have been especially helpful to make sure that they were the same length and that the thumbs happened in the same spot.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with how these turned out.  I need to figure out a way so that when I knit in the round, my cast-on edge is even.  I usually have to do funny things when I weave in the ends to make them even.  Maybe a question for Debie at Serial Knitters!

But this doesn't mean sequins, beads, and feathers aren't in my knitting future...

Peasblossom Creations

Well, I've done it.  I've made the first steps to opening my own (small) business!  I am rationalizing this as a way to pay for graduate school (side note: I got into the University of Washington's Information School for fall 2011! Woo!) but really I just like the idea of people wearing and using the stuff I make.  And maybe making a little bit o' cash on the side.

I've been reading The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin and have been making preliminary plans.  All this is tremendously exciting!  I have a new blog and an Etsy store but there isn't anything in them yet.  I want to get a little inventory stocked up before I go live and have a better plan for how to maintain my online presence.  There is also a whole bunch of tax, "doing business as", and official stuff that I need to figure out before I really get going.  I need to do this right; accidental tax evasion is apparently the same thing as intending not to pay your taxes.

This book has been really helpful and I foresee it continuing to be so in the future.

So, without further ado, let me introduce...

Peasblossom Creations!

The blog will be at PeasblossomCreations.blogspot.com and the store lives virtually at PeasblossomCreations.etsy.com.  As I said earlier, there isn't anything there yet.  But just you wait (Henry Higgins)!  Soon enough there will be things to buy and request and comment on and generally admire.

On Facebook? Like my page at (Facebook link)!
Do you Tweet? Follow me at @PsblossomCreate (Twitter link)!

In the mean time, if you're interested in ordering a hand knitted object, send me an email at knittinsmitten@gmail.com and we'll talk.

Happy New Year!

You know, if I posted more regularly, I wouldn't feel compelled to make MONSTER posts like this... well... New Year's Resolution: post more regularly.

I'll try to keep this as concise as possible. But here is a four month update on my knitting life (or at least what I remember of it).

Cowl for Mom 

(finished July 4, 2010 -- gifted December 25, 2010)

Waaaaay back in July, I finished a cowl for Mom for Christmas. Since she is one of my most reliable readers, I wasn't able to post about it, but since Christmas has passed *and* I remembered to give it to her, here are some pictures and some info about the project.

The pattern is Plucky Curacao Cowl by Thea Colman (click HERE to download the pattern for free from babycocktails.blogspot.com). I shortened it so it would only wrap once around and I also left off the smocking. I'm not sure if it is because I wasn't able to smock the ribs tight enough or if the yarn wasn't right for the project, but I was really unhappy with how the smocking looked on mine so I didn't do it. If you look at other people's projects or the one that Thea Colman did, the smocking looks lovely; mine just looks way better without. I used Plymouth Yarn Suri Merino Wool in an off-white. Very soft!

Mom with cowl and gloves

September Knit-a-Long Fingerless Gloves 

(finished October 8, 2010 -- gifted December 25, 2010)

I did finish those fancy travelling cable gloves for the September knit-a-long: just not in September. I was very close, but pesky things like coursework kept getting in the way.

I showed them to Mom when I finished them and she thought they were quite lovely. Quite magically, she got a pair just like them for Christmas... oh Santa and his elves!

Argyle Vest for Jack 

(started October 6, 2010 -- still in progress...)

This one didn't quite make the Christmas deadline. Not even close, in fact. I'm aiming for his birthday in early August now. I'm still working on the back and haven't even made it to the arm hole shaping yet, but I'm getting close now. I've done about 25cm (in twisted rib stitch... 169 stitches... on size 3 needles... no wonder it's taking me forever!) and the shaping starts in just 13 more centimeters!

I'm going to need to do some pretty serious blocking on the project. Unstretched and unblocked, the vest is 11" - 12" wide. Ari has assured me that I am knitting the correct gauge and that it should block just fine. After all this work, I certainly hope so! And if it doesn't fit him.. well.. we'll figure that out when we get there. But I always think stuff isn't going to fit and then it does. So I'll probably be okay.

Whitman College Craft Fair! (December 3, 2010)

Early in December, Whitman hosted their first annual craft fair. As any good knitting club leader would, I signed the club up for their very own table! The week before finals seems to have been a rough time to have a craft fair. Only Hadley (a knitting club member) and myself had anything knitting related to sell (Ari had some prints from an art class that she tried to sell), but since I was trying to de-stash a bit before the holidays, the table was pretty full.

Ari and I also tried to sell knitting lessons and a bunch of people stopped and said what a great idea the lessons were. They included a trip to a yarn shop with assistance picking out a pattern, needles, and appropriate yarn. Unfortunately, no one actually bought a lesson. We were hoping that more faculty would come through and want to buy a knitting lesson for their children, but almost no faculty even looked into the craft fair.

I knit some quick projects for the fair. I sold two headbands (should have made more! They were super popular and gone within the first five minutes), but nothing else moved. I think the fair might have been too far from Christmas for people to be really thinking about Christmas gifts. Most students seem to go Christmas shopping once they get home from break. I ended up donating the red and white striped scarf (see image above) to a man who works with youths whose lives have been affected by HIV. He was collecting scarves to give to the kids in his support group. So at least it went to a good cause!
Note: The three hats (blue beanie, blue cuffed hat, and red-white beanie) are still available if anyone is interested. Email me at knittinsmitten@gmail.com to inquire.

Fingerless Arctic Blast Gloves for Lauren M.

(started December 2010 -- finished December 24, 2010)

Modelling by Mom

One set of three fingerless gloves I hope to finish over winter break. My friends Lauren M., Lily, and Alyssa saw a pair of fingerless gloves (from earlier post HERE) and really liked them. They all asked for a pair and since I was going to be knitting stuff anyway...
The pattern I used for Lauren's gloves is called Arctic Blast by Star Athena (click HERE to get to Star Athena's blog and see her pattern). I used Rowan Cashsoft DK yarn in Opulence and they turned out quite lovely if I do say so myself. Mine didn't turn out nearly as lacy as the gloves that others made, but I like them all the same.

Fingerless Maloja Gloves for Lily

(started December 29, 2010 -- still in progress)

I'm trying a new technique with these gloves. I'm using my brand spankin' new Addi Naturas (soooo nice!!) and trying magic loop AND knitting two at once. It looks like I'm having a laddering problem so I might have to start over which would be a huge pain. Getting everything lined up and started is by far the most challenging part of magic loop. Once you get going, it's super easy.

Imagine these gloves...

in this color!

The pattern I'm using is Maloja Fingerless Mitts by Tracy Grzegorczyk (click HERE to buy the pattern). I'm using Sublime Yarns Cashmere Merino Silk DK in Black Cherry (purpley-plum.. very pretty).

Learn How to Knit Fair Isle Swirls Hat!

(started January 3, 2011 -- class on January 6, 2011)

I’ve been talking about learning stranded Fair Isle for a while now and since Serial Knitters in Kirkland is offering a class that works out with my schedule while I’m visiting my parents, I figured, why not?! So I’m signed up for the class, have bought the yarn, and have already done the ‘homework’. The first few rows are finished up to the first Latvian braid (the chevrony arrows near the rim of the hat).

The pattern is Swirls Hat by Carolyn Doe (click HERE to purchase). I'm using Cascade 220 superwash wool in charcoal grey, white, and light pink. The main color will be grey with white swirls and pink accents. Hopefully it will be cute... we'll see!

The class in on Thursday, January 6, 2010 from 6pm to 9pm. There isn't very much to take a picture of, but hopefully after class I'll have some color work done and will post about it then.

I’m using the magic loop method. I’m might have a slight laddering issue where I switched colors for the first time, but I think that it’ll be small enough that it will either be an easy fix or not noticeable.

Things I hope to learn:

- Stranded color work!

- Latvian braid trim

- Braided tassle

Spring Beret for Me!

(Planned)

I have this pretty light yellow yarn and I'm planning to knit myself a slouchy spring beret. The pattern I've picked out is called Pasha by Jane Richmond. I'm pretty excited to start it! I hope to get it done before April 2011. (Check out RAVELRY to get this pattern).

Big Tree Blanket

(will be in progress forever...)

No progress has been made past the first 6 or so rows. The blanket is currently about the size of my hand. We'll see how much work I get done on it before summer 2011...

**

That's all for now! Happy new year to everyone!

My first novels...

It's Friday night and I'm working on a paper (due on Monday) for my history class on the Sundiata (history of Mali) epic. That being said, I haven't updated here in over a month: a situation that requires immediate action.

Brace yourself for my massive update. I am going to try to be relatively brief since there are numerous topics that need to be covered, but I make no promises with regards to its brevity.

Book I: Things I Have Completed

Chapter 1: That Cabled Pillow

I finally got around to sewing that cabled pillow together and stuffing it. It's a pretty funny pillow. I blocked the squares to be 12" x 12" and when I sewed them together the pillow is a squat, poofy little thing. It works as a headrest and looks adorable in an "I'm an awkward size" kind of way, but it isn't quite the decorational/functional pillow for which I had hoped. But at some point in the indeterminate future, a corresponding pillow will be made and I'm hoping it will look like a big-pillow-little-pillow set. Note to my mother: they will not be matchy-matchy.

Chapter 2: Those Fingerless Gloves for Lauren

I am astonished at how quickly these gloves knit. If I had sat down and focused (non-casual knitting, but determination-mode), I probably could have done both gloves in one day. I definitely could have finished them in two days. I'll have to remember these if I'm ever in a gift-giving bind. I made these for Lauren, but with a Knit-A-Long group that does different fingerless gloves each month. These were August's gloves and I happily completed them within the month!

I used Sublime Cashmere Silk Merino DK yarn in 'rhubarb'. Soooo lovely. The yarn is super soft and it has a little bit of shine to it and it shows the stitches well. It slide on and off the needles nicely; it was just a comfortable yarn to work with. In the future, when I have made it through my queue of planned projects, I am going to look for patterns that call for this yarn (or similar) and use it again.

Oops! Too big for Douglas!

I am still debating about whether or not I should make matching (yes, matchy-matchy, but in a pleasant way) a cowl or a mini-scarf (with a pin) for Lauren as well. She has pretty curly hair and I'm not sure that a cowl is such a good idea; it might be miserable getting it on and off for her. Also, though cowl necks on sweaters appear to be in style (as far as I can tell anyway), I haven't seen anyone around my age (other than myself as Curtis pointed out) actually wearing cowls. So I'll figure that out later as her birthday gets nearer (mid-November).

Chapter 3: A Cabled & Cuffed Fisherman Style Hat for Curtis

While ordering (and returning... and ordering... and returning...) all that yarn to find the right color for the blanket I'm planning (see below and previous entries), Curtis found some that he thought would make a great hat. And it turns out it did. The hat turned out awesome and, to be completely honest, I am astonished. The hat was knit flat, rather than in the round, and I couldn't tell until the very end if it was actually going to be the right size. I also couldn't tell if it was going to even look good. But I finished it up and it looks great and it fits. No pom-pom, but I think that it would look kinda dumb and less fisherman hat with a pom-pom. I altered the pattern a little bit so it wasn't so pointy at the top so it's more like a beanie. The pattern itself was frustrating; it assumed a lot of knowledge and left gaps in the pattern that you could figure out, but I spent all that money on the book... I shouldn't have to figure it out. I have no intention of ever making this hat again.

Chapter 4: A Cabled & Cuffed Fisherman Style Hat for Daddy

I made another one of the cabled and cuffed fisherman style hats. 

Before I gave the grey one (above) to Curtis, I asked Daddy to try it on. I figured if it was big enough for him, it would fit Curtis. Dad tried it on and just looked so gosh-darned cute and then seemed so sad when it wasn't for him... so I made him a different one. His is in black to go with his ninja outfit (or because he requested charcoal grey-black and the yarn looks more black out of the store than grey). It's basically the same pattern, but with a different yarn so I did some adjustments. It came out a little looser, but the same resting size so I think it'll work out. It shed all over the place while I was making it (either that or Douglas did), but I think it has pretty much shed all it is going to now.

Red pandas get cold
in Walla Walla!

The hat has a twisted rib for the cuff and the body of the hat (rise) has an alternating cable and a twisted rib. Because the yarn is so dark, I'm sure you can't tell in the picture, but it has some nice visual texture in real life. I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out. The only real problem I had was when I was seaming it (using my newly learned mattress stitch), the yarn, since it was single ply kept pulling apart. Now, I know I'm a pretty tense knitter -- I knit very tightly -- but this was annoying. I had to keep tying it back together. Apparently, this yarn doesn't like shear stress (I just finished a geology course). 

I'm planning on giving this to Daddy for Christmas, so if you talk to him between now and then, don't tell!

Book II: Things I Have Started

Chapter 1: Fingerless Gloves for an Unknown Party for a September Knit-A-Long

This month for the Fingerless Gloves Fanatics monthly Knit-A-Long (KAL), rather than having one design and everyone knit the same design, we did a theme. The theme this month is: support a designer! You can knit/crochet anything you want as long as you purchased the pattern (no free patterns this month!). So I bought "Very Terhi" fingerless gloves and ordered some Rowan Cash DK yarn to make them. Granted, I got off to a late start (I didn't even cast on until September 11, 2010), but this is an unbelievably slow pattern. The gloves featuring a travelling pattern (see all those criss-crossing ridges?), which essentially means that every stitch (or just about) gets cabled one way or another every single row. And I'm using a chart rather than written instructions (or a combination of the two) which means it's slow going. I've finished one of the cuffs last night (September 16, 2010) which might sound really exciting, except that I shortened the pattern by two whole repeats. I don't think these are going to get done in time.  

The palm side of the glove is entirely ribbed which will be nice since the back of the hand will be quite stiff with all of the cabling. I've reached the thumb gusset, and since this whole thing is a chart, I am quite confused. I'm not exactly sure where the stitches are supposed to go. Maybe I'll just wing it if I don't hear back from anyone on Ravelry (I asked if anybody knew what they were doing).  

And who knows? Maybe you'll get a slightly crazed update at 11:58pm on September 30th saying "I did ittttt! I gottt them donnnnneee! Bwahahahaahaaa"! But I doubt it. There are only two Sundays between now and the 30th and I work in the art gallery on Sundays and that's when I get most of my knitting done. Or at least the only time I can plan on having to knit.

Chapter 2: Fingerless Gloves for an Unknown Party for a Different September Knit-A-Long

Since the KAL last month went so quickly I committed (mentally, anyway) to a second KAL for September. This one is a mystery KAL! All this means is I don't know what the gloves look like when they're done and the pattern is released in chunks over the course of the month. I thought this would be fun to do and I found a skein of yarn that I'd forgotten I had (from my first ever 'real' project!) that is exactly right for the pattern (the author tells you what type of yarn and how much you'll need).

I haven't even made a gauge swatch yet. But I'm still considering this 'in progress' and probably will until the end of September. Then it will go back to 'planned'.

Book III: Things I Still Haven't Gotten Around to Working On

Chapter 1: A Sweater Vest for Jack

In making the Cabled & Cuffed Fisherman Style Hat for Curtis, I discovered that I'd been checking my gauge all wrong. I don't know if this would really have made much of a difference for previous projects, but since this is a garment and actually needs to fit or I might cry, I am going to make a new gauge swatch.

Chapter 2: A Stupidly Large and Complicated Blanket for Curtis/Me

The fishermen style hats that I made for Daddy and for Curtis needed the same size needles that were required to start this blanket. This means I haven't been able to start it since I knew I could finish the hats by Christmas (way earlier than Christmas as it turns out). But now the hats are done and the 10.5 needles are available... and I still haven't started it. I'm more scared of this project than I thought I was. But I wound up a skein of yarn so it's ready to go whenever I get the nerve. 

Chapter 3: A Tank-Top for Me

This image is from astealerofhearts.com.

I've been working on other, smaller projects and now that it's September, I'm not really thinking about tank-tops. So I'll make this next summer when it's hot and then it will be ready for... next September. Good plan. Maybe I'll do this over winter break? I'm going to use the Nuna yarn that I got with Curtis (pictured on the right) and make the "Heart Lace Top" (http://www.astealerofhearts.com/2010/06/heart-lace-top-knitting-pattern.html). I'm also going to get tattoos. (Just checking to see if anybody will actually read this far).

Book IV: Yarn

I recently de-stashed (and donated to my knitting club) and took photos of all of the yarn I have and updated my Ravelry page. This is pretty exciting for me, but I don't think anybody else cares. All of my yarn is organized in gallon-sized ziplock baggies too. I'm so pleased with myself. Except now I'm out of ziplock baggies.

The End.

In other news, I really hate the program that Blogger makes you use to enter your blog entries. It wreaks havoc on the formatting. Bah. So apologies if the fonts are MASSIVE or if they're too small to read. I tried. This is somebody else's fault. Not my responsibility. (I'm currently listening to Atlas Shrugged on audiobook). Really though, I'm pretty sure all the fonts will turn out the same size (readable) on everybody's computer.

Blanket and Hat and Gloves

Big Blanket
I've got this big blanket planned (the one with all the cables and the trees in the middle... see image on right) and I have had one heck of a time getting yarn for it. Curtis and I decided we'd go with Cascade's Eco Wool (it's big and bulky and you get an absolute ton of yarn in one skein), but that was the easy part. At first, we'd planned on having the blanket be shades of blue. It'd start off in the middle sort of a light silvery blue and then fade out to a navy blue on the outside border. So I ordered the yarn. When it arrived, I came to the startling realization that *my* monitor is one of *those* computer monitors that doesn't necessarily display color correctly. I had colors from robin's egg blue, to grey-brown, to ocean-green-blue. The only color that looked anywhere near the same was the navy blue. This was going to be a very ugly blanket. As I'm packaging it up to mail the yarn back, Curtis spots a grey skein and says, "Well... I don't think I'd want a grey blanket, but I think that would look great as a hat!" So, Curtis is getting a hat: more information below.

After the shades of blue fiasco, Curtis and I decided to go with a nice, dark forest green -- all one shade. So I order the yarn. It arrives and it is the most nauseating shade of kelly green I have ever seen. That one gets mailed back too. This time, I contact Jimmy Bean's Wool (click HERE to visit their online store) and ask for some advice. I told Amber, the lovely lady who helps with the customer service what type of green I was looking for and she suggested a color and even mailed me a little snippet of the yarn for FREE so I could see it. That yarn worked out (Lichen 9338 -- dark green and browns) and has arrived at my new apartment (mostly unpacked... reluctant to finish my closet). So, once I finish Curtis's new hat, I will begin the biggest knitting project of my entire life.

Curtis's Fisherman's Pride Hat
This hat is knitted flat and I don't think I will ever knit a hat flat again. I can't tell if this is going to fit or not. I can't even tell if it will fit me. Every time I measure it, I get anywhere from 18" to 24"... and that's a huge difference. Once I sew it up (mattress stitch), I'll see if it fits anyone.

This is what the hat is supposed to look like except Curtis is convinced he doesn't want the pom-pom:

This is what the hat looks like so far:

August Knit-Along with Ravelry Group
So, since it's August 14, I figure I should get around to starting the August Knit-Along with Fingerless Gloves Fanatics. I'm pretty sure I can get a pair of fingerless gloves done in 15 days... I think. The pattern I'm making is called "Cafe au Lait Mitts" by Paula McKeever (click HERE to see the pattern on ravelry). Hopefully, they'll fit and look like the image on the left when I'm done. [The image is from Ravlery user Spirals and are of her finished project.]

I'm going to make them for my friend Lauren and make a matching cowl. Her birthday is near the end of November, so they'll either be a birthday present or a Christmas present... not sure which yet. I bought Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK in Rhubarb for the project. I think the color is lovely, very dark purpley-pink.

News from KnitWits

For the past week or so, I've been in the process of moving into my new apartment. (See image on the right). This is a much bigger undertaking than I anticipated; this was my first big move (and I moved into my own place so I had to furnish the whole darn thing.. thanks Mom and Dad!) and, as if that wasn't enough pressure and stress, Curtis moved back to Seattle the same weekend. Two moves to coordinate! I suppose it's not surprising I haven't gotten more knitting done. 

I've received two very exciting bits of information from the lovely KnitWit duo in Kirkland, Washington.

1. A knit shop is opening up in Kirkland! It's called Serial Knitters (click HERE to visit their website). The shop is located in Kirkland, Washington at 8427 122nd Avenue NE. Opening weekend is next weekend (August 6th - August 8th) and they're having drawings and door prizes! And of course, there is yarn for sale. It looks like the store is going to do lots of interesting things (they have a 'sci fi' night where they'll be showing a sci fi television series while you can come knit... the first one is Farscape) and they have a ton of classes and events listed. Since I'll be busy that first weekend taking care of middle schoolers (I'm a resident assistant for the Whitman WISE program), it looks like I'll have to send Curtis to do some reconnaissance.

2. If you're feeling charitable, RedHeart has a knitting kit for you! The HeartScarves project benefits the WomenHeart organization (Go Red for Women). For just $12.99 ($3 of which get donated by RedHeart to WomenHeart) you get yarn, needles, a booklet instructing you how to make a scarf, information on how knitting is good for your health, and a plastic carrying case. After you finish knitting your scarf, you can donate to WomenHeart and it will go to a woman struggling with heart disease. Interested? Click HERE.

Well, that's it for now! I've got more unpacking to do.