Backstrap Weaving, Take 1.

Posted by Emily In | 1 comments»
Last weekend I took a great Guatemalan Backstrap weaving class at Weaving Hand in Brooklyn. It was an intro class, so we made little sampler belts. I used three different colors of sport-ish weight velour yarn, one of which is variegated. I had a lot of fun making it, and learned enough new stuff to get me excited about weaving again. Yay!

Chic Knitted Turbans

The last time I was at the Brooklyn General Store I picked up this great new book, Knitting Vintage by Claire Montgomerie (using my Groupon, no less!). This little gem has a bunch of cute and sometimes goofy (condiser the looped jacket on the cover, which I really wanna make...) patterns, including one for a knitted turban. 

I decided to knit up one for myself and one for my coworker Olivia, who had taken care of my puppy over Christmas. The pattern itself is very simple, it's basically a loop of ribbed fabric folded over and twisted, but I ended up making a few changes to it. First I made the band more narrow than it called for. Other peoples' versions on Ravelry just seemed too big (wide), and on closer inspection, so did the picture in the book. Secondly I used a provisional cast on and a three needle bond off to connect the ends instead of just sewing a seam. And lastly, I decided not to secure the knot with any tacking stitches. I like the option to loop it around my neck when I'm not wearing it on my head. 

All in all I think they turned out great! And despite being made of cotton (Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima, Jeremy @Purl's suggestion as the best sport weight with a sheen) it is very toasty warm. This project took way less than one skein, so it's a perfect stash buster. Or a perfect reason to buy one skein of whatever super fancy yarn you've been eyeing... 

Et voilĂ ...


Babies who appreciate my knitting include...

This one!




And this one!


Hooray for kitty hats! And stripey overalls! Read more about them here

Wrapping up 2011, looking forward to 2012.

Once again its time to take a look at what I've accomplished in the last year and set some goals for the new one.

Sadly, looking back on last year's goals, I realize how few I managed to meet.... This is especially sad since I did so well with my 2010 goals! But, frankly I'm going to cut myself a little slack since a whole lot of my lack of productivity can be blamed on Harley, my wonderful wonderful pup who came into my life in June. He is a joy, but also a spare-time-destroyer, which affects my knitting/blogging. In 2010 I managed to churn out 25+ projects, 2011 came to a close at only about 15, and my blog with similarly fewer posts. BUT. I will not let this setback get me down! 2012 is going to be my best year yet! Here are my goals:

Christmas Knitting 2011

Christmas this year was filled with little knits. For my Starbucks obsessed cousin a coffee cozy (and a gift card inside...), for my Eli warm and woolly socks, and for all the little ones Candy Cane Ponies! 


The cozy was knit on the fly with some left over yarn from Gary's hat. I knit it in a 2x2 spiral rib pattern with a few rows of plain ribbing at the bottom and some stockinette at the top to make a curled edge. Super quick to knit up and a very satisfying little gift.