This week's posting is going to be short and sweet. I finally have something new up in my Etsy shop. It's a green, teal and lavender scarf version of my "Red Sheila" pattern, knit in Manos del Uruguay yarn. Here's the link to the listing: http://www.etsy.com/listing/76045223/green-blue-teal-and-lavender-mermaid. So beautiful and simple to knit. I won't talk about it anymore. I'll just let the pictures do their job. Enjoy! :)
In the words of Usher "these are my confessions....". I started this blouse for my MIL last year, when she came over to help us with the little poopoola. June last year to be precise. I just finished it this past Sunday. It's been exactly a year since I started this project. There's nothing else to say about that. I have some projects that I started 2 years ago and I'm still not done, so this isn't too bad. Hehehe...
The pattern is Sea Urchin by Ilga Leja. I used the exact yarn she used in her pattern, Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino Dream in the Mermaid colorway, hence the name Mermaid Sea Urchin. I must say I'm quite impressed with myself, because I hate sewing, and I'm not too good at it. I've been avoiding making tops and cardigans and all that because of having to seam the ends together. (I know there are tops that can be knit in the round. I'll be exploring those soon.) I suppose you can see this project marks a new stage in my knitting career: knitting actual garments. So without much further ado, here is the Mermaid Sea Urchin, modeled by my lovely MIL.
BTW, I got a camera!! A Nikon Coolpix L120. It's beautiful, and takes beautiful pictures. Now I don't have any more excuses for crappy photos, and I don't have to bother my favorite paparazzo who is currently...ahem, indisposed. Yay! Okay, more pictures.
I finally finished the Fallberry Mitts by Anne Hanson for Alyssa. I used Malabrigo Silky Merino in Amoroso colorway, with US #2 dpns (double point needles). Once I sat down to finish the mitts, they just flew off my needles. I'm really excited with the finished project. I think I would like to make one more pair in another color. My photographer is back now, and we got a lovely model to help with the pictures. :)
It's no secret that I love yarn. My stash bears testament to this fact, as do the numerous hours I spend each week looking for good deals on yarn. I recently made some lovely yarn purchases and I couldn't wait to share it with you all. I bought some of them from WEBS and others from some lovely fellow knitters on Ravelry. So here they are. I'll try to put the yarns next to the pattern I have in mind for them. Let's see how this goes.
The first up is the Mirasol Tupa yarn in Purple, which I hope to use for the Chiton Pullover by Melissa Wehrle. I love the pattern style, and I'm ready to knit a real clothing item for myself. I'm terrible at sewing and this pattern is knit in the round with no seaming required, so I think I actually might end up making the blouse. :)
I've been meaning to try out Berroco Vintage yarn, and so when my friend Elf placed an order for my Fall Breeze Shawl, I thought "Why not"? So here is some Berroco Vintage in Buttercream (yum yum!), and a picture of the Fall Breeze Shawl that I designed. Woo-hoo!
I also got some more Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica to make more versions of my Red Sheila scarf. The colorways are Mermaid and Caribe. I've already started knitting a sample in the Mermaid colorway. It's so beautiful.
Yes, I ripped my post title from the Chaka Demus and Pliers 1993 song "Tease Me". But it IS pretty fitting for today's post. I have two teaser pictures of new patterns I've been working on, and a picture of Anne Hanson's Fallberry Mitts which I'm currently knitting for my friend Alyssa.
I'm hoping to submit the two new patterns to KnitPicks as I think their new Tonal Worsted yarn line would be great for the patterns.
DISCLAIMER: My photographer is still indisposed and I still haven't managed to buy my own fancing SLR camera, so these are pictures using my phone. I apologize for the bad quality. I'll make it up to you all soon with some drool-worthy pictures.
I'm almost done with one of the Fallberry Mitts. My goal is to finish them this coming weekend so Alyssa gets them next week.
That's A LOT of pink isn't it? Anyway, that's all I have for you this week. I hope to have more exciting stuff and fun pictures next week.
PS: If you are a winner in the giveaway, please contact me ASAP so we can make plans for your lovely knitted gift. I'm ordering some yarn and would to batch order and save on shipping.
My friend Stacey D. asked for one of these, the Anthro-Inspired Scarflet by Kim Seio. It's a lovely, lovely pattern and I had a great time knitting this scarf. The yarn I used was Waterlily by Classic Elite Yarns, Color #1919. It was beautiful to knit with and the finished scarf is so soft. I hope Stacey likes it.
I was hoping to get a foot in the designing door by offering one of my patterns for sale on Ravelry. Unfortunately it's been one year and no one has taken the bait yet. I guess there are hundreds of thousands of patterns available on the site and my pattern got lost in the lot. Anyway, I'm offering the pattern for free now on Ravelry. The pattern is "Pretty Little Thing", a scarf that includes some little feminine details to make any lady feel like the pretty little thing they are. Pictures are by Irene of livedstories, and the model is my lovely MIL, Evelyne.
The three designs you all picked are:
1. With 35 votes, the Snow Drops and Snap Peas Shawl
2. With 24 votes, the High Line Shawl
3. With 19 votes, the Moody Kerchief
You are all so amazing for voting, and to show my appreciation, I'm going to give away gifts to 6 people instead of the 3 as originally planned. The lovely people who will be getting a custom knit item are....drumroll please.....Anuli, Vero, Alexandra, Meg, Kenyandesi and Reema! Congratulations to you ladies! Please email me at niseyknits@gmail.com with your address and your specifications. Thank you all once again, and please subscribe to my blog to be notified of other giveaways!
Enjoy the rest of the week. :)
One of my favorite designers is Kirsten Kapur, who has a lovely blog called "Through The Loops" that I'm currently following. Now Kirsten is celebrating her Birthday/Blogiversary with a sale of her beautiful patterns: buy 2 patterns, get a 3rd free. She has SOOOOOO MANY beautiful patterns that I just can't decide which ones I want. I would love your input on which three patterns to get from Kirsten's shop. And to sweeten the deal, here's my giveaway details: if you comment on this post and pick which pattern you think I should purchase, you will be placed in a drawing to win your own custom handknit version of the design you picked!! Now ain't that sweet! Spread the word people. Three people will be winning some sweet handmade items from my store.
And here are the contestants:
4. Snow Drops and Snap Peas Shawl
6. Roma Shawl
The pictures are used with the permission of Kirsten Kapur. So pick, 1, 2, 3, heck, rank all 6 patterns in order of preference, and help make my decision easier! The deadline for commenting is Tuesday April 26th at 11:59pm PST. I'll put up the results of the winning patterns in next week's blog entry.
I made all these scarves using the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf pattern by Karen Baumer. The finished scarves are listed for sale on my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/NiseyKnits
This is such an intuitive, easy pattern that I just fall back to it whenever I want to knit outside but don't to carry a pattern or a book around. I just love it! Now for the pictures....courtesy of livedstories
