What in the world??...or I'm crocheting now

Whew! I almost missed today's post! It seems I'm so busy and yet I don't have much to show for it, knitting-wise. It's because I have those top-secret projects, and I can't talk about them until a certain time. So, even though I'm knitting my fingers off, you all can't see any proof of that. Just be patient with me. The proof will be in the pudding, come Christmas time. :)

I know I promised some Malabrigo fun for this week's post, but I haven't been able to photograph them yet. I will do that for the next post, hopefully (unless something more exciting comes along. But I don't know what could top Malabrigo!)

For today's post, I'm going to share something different I've been working on for months now. It's crochet. I'm sure you are thinking "What in the world? But this is a knitting blog". I know, I know. The two crafts though can be complimentary, and a friend needed these for a project she's working on, so I thought I'd give it a try. I went on YouTube to learn how to crochet properly, learned how to read crochet patterns and diagrams, and read the patterns to make these samples. It was hard!! But I think the end product is beautiful. Plus, I got to work with Cascade Ultra Pima, which is absolutely fantastic! The sheen of that yarn is indescribable. Anyway, enjoy this new installment, and I'll see you all next week.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Wham Bam Thank you Ma'am

This a quickie blog post, because I do not want to leave any of you lovely people hanging for more than a week. So here is the weekly update from NiseyKnits Studios!! Yay!

I've been super busy finishing up on some secret projects, and also starting some other fun projects. First up is one of the giveaway shawls, the Snow Drops and Snap Peas for Anjali. She wanted the shawl in the exact color as the one from the pattern, so I got the yarn from Quince & Co, and got to work. Below is a picture of my work in progress (WIP). I'm on the second repeat of the pattern. The pattern is very intuitive and easy to follow, so I'm always excited when I pick up this project. I can't wait to be done with it and take some beautiful photos of it.

Snow Drops and Snap Peas by Kirsten Kapur

Next up is ANOTHER grey wisp shawl, in KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud, for one of my colleagues at work. She loved the one I made for Marienell so much that she asked me to knit one for her. As the Wisp pattern is one of my favorites, I definitely said yes. It's my "travelling" project i.e. I take it everywhere with me so I can sneak in a few rows while waiting for one thing or another.

I just received more yarn packages containing yarn for the other giveaway shawls. Below is the KnitPicks Palette shipment. This first one here has three colorways that I'll use to make the Moody Kerchief for Veronica. I'll mix the yarns so they give me the same color effects as seen in the Sunset Multidirectional Scarf.

Sunset Multidirectional Scarf

Moody Kerchief by Kirsten Kapur

These lovely green Palette yarns, also from KnitPicks, are for Megan's Roma Shawl. I am quite excited to start this project as I think the combination of these two shades of green in that particular pattern will be just stunning.

Roma Shawl by Kirsten Kapur

Now the next two pictures are yarns for a project that I haven't solidified yet. I'm thinking of a super easy scarf or shawl that shows some color migration as it goes along. Once I figure it out, I'll let you all know. The last three are for some cowls I'm hoping to make and put up in my Etsy shop, just in time for winter! In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of these yarns. They are just too beautiful.

Have a wonderful rest of the week, and see you next week for some Malabrigo love!

Wool People Vol. 1 - A collaborative design project

Since early July I have been working on some secret projects that I can't blog about, and will be doing so until mid-September. As such I thought I would share with you something new and beautiful from one of my absolute favorite designers, Jared Flood of Brooklyntweed.net. He just put together a collection of designs based on his yarn line, Shelter.

First off, Jared is an amazing photographer and his knitted items and patterns are always drool-worthy because of the photos. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent reading his blog posts and looking at his pictures and wondering how I could come up with patterns like him. In this pattern collection, Wool People Vol. 1, Jared has curated patterns from various knitwear designers and put them together in a book that will make you want to knit even if you aren't a knitter. The Look Book for the whole collection can be found here, but I wanted to highlight a few items that I would love to knit if I ever get some free time. :)

Allegheny by Thea Colman

This pattern is the one that grabbed me by the horns the moment I saw it in the lookbook. Now I've only successfully knitted 1 sweater and 2 blouses, and so I'm not sure if I'll ever get to this dress, but if there was a dress I was sure to knit, it would be this one. The simplicity of the design, coupled with that cable panel running along the side of the body, gives this dress some undefinable wow. ( I know, I'm almost waxing poetic over a knitted item. But JUST LOOK AT THE DRESS)! The ribbing at the waist that gives it a fitted silhouette, and the little belt with button detail at the waist all come together to make this the perfect sweater dress in my humble opinion.

Now, what color should I knit this in? Or what color would YOU want to wear this dress in? Let me know. :)

Levenwick by Gudrun Johnston

Levenwick snuck up on me when I wasn't looking. The lovely, lovely golden curry color, and the femininity of the feather and fan edging, just pulled me into the cardigan's loveliness. If I had to knit this I would do so in the same exact color as the designer did. The shape, the fit, the profile it creates for the wearer, all make this cardi a fall wardrobe favorite. If I could knit it in time, that is. :)

What color would you want this cardigan in? And how would you wear it? Paired with jeans? Dressed up with a skirt for work? Please share! :)

Holl by Kirsten Johnstone

I have never owned a sweater with the dolman shape, but for some reason I want this one. I really want this one. The simple garter stitch striping effect going on is just driving me crazy. It's so simple it's stunning. I love it. I don't know how I would wear it, or whether the shape would look good on me, but I want it. I think it's beautiful. And that charcoal grey color just calls out to me.

You could definitely wear this sweater in a casual look paired with jeans, or with a nice pencil skirt and some sexy boots for work. Or a party. :) Please tell me how you would wear this. I'm trying to improve my fashion style. :)

I hope you've enjoyed all this knitting eye candy. Next week I'll have a bit more to report on the progress of the giveaway shawls. Have a wonderful week!

Fall Breeze Shawl Custom Order

My friend Elfriede ordered a Fall Breeze Shawl from me. She came to visit last weekend and I got her to model her own shawl. :) This version of the shawl was knit with Berroco Vintage in the Buttercream Colorway. Yum yum! I got this yarn during my last order from WEBS. You can see this post for more on the delicious yarn I got from WEBS.

I originally designed this shawl using worsted weight yarn, but after knitting two of them, I'm thinking a sport/dk weight yarn or even fingering weight yarn might do better justice to this one. The lacy edging is just three repeats of a lace chart but most of the shawl is just straight stockinette stitch. Anyone out there interested in some mindless stockinette knitting? Just get the yarn of your choice and start knitting. The pattern is free! :)

A Little Wisp of Smoke

I know I promised in last week's post to put up the pattern for the Megdans shawl. However, a submission call for a new magazine in the UK came out and I thought I'd try my luck and send the pattern in. So in its stead, I'm going to share pictures of my newest finished project, a grey version of the Wisp stole (by Cheryl Niamath) for my friend Marienell. It was a quick knit, and the pattern is just lovely. I used Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud yarn in the smoke colorway (hence the blog title). The pattern is very aptly named Wisp because the finished stole is so light and airy it's barely there.

I took the pictures hurriedly as I wanted to deliver the stole to Marienell on the same day. I used Picnik to edit the photos a bit but they still aren't awesome. I promise you I'm learning and I will get better at the photography thing. Enjoy this little wisp of smoke. :)

Megdans Part 1 - Pictures

My actual first design was a shawl for my mother. I called the pattern "Megdans" after her.  What did I do? I took four lace patterns and placed them next to each other, and added a seed stitch AND a garter stitch border to make this gigantic shawl. It's warm and cuddly, and I was very proud of it.

I had huge dreams of publishing this pattern and submitted it to Knitty.com. The lovely people at Knitty knew that the pattern was soooooooo not ready to be professionally published. I was disappointed, but it was a good learning lesson. I think I've grown a bit since I submitted that pattern, and although I'm not submitting as many patterns as I would like to, I'm still designing.

Looking at it now, it looks like it should be an afghan and not a shawl. Who knows? Maybe I will make an afghan version of the shawl. I'm also thinking that a DK weight and a lace version of this shawl might look nice. Any people out there interested in test knitting this pattern? I would love some help with knitting this pattern in different yarn weights, as I just can't do it alone on my own. 

Anyway, I will be posting up the pattern for "Megdans" here on this blog next week, and also on Ravelry. In the meantime, I thought I would whet your appetites with a few lovely pictures that my friend Hector Plahar took (two years ago!!). The fabulous model is my sister Danielle. Enjoy, and stay tuned for the pattern next week!

Yarn for the giveaway shawls

I ordered some beautiful yarn from Quince & Co to make the shawls that six lucky people won in My First Givewaway. I just had to show how beautiful the yarn I received is, so please bear with me. The yarn came in a brown paper bag sealed with the company's beautiful monogrammed sticker.

Upon opening, I found the skeins of yarn I had ordered from their Chickadee line. First up is the Snap Peas colorway for Anjali's Snow Drops and Snap Peas shawl, followed by the Nasturtium colorway for the same shawl, requested by Reema. The colors are so vivid and eye-catching aren't they?

The last three to come out of the paper bag were the Peacock, Twig and Clay colorways that Alexandra wanted for her Moody Kerchief shawl.

I'll update on the rest of the yarn for the giveaway shawls when I receive them, and also keep you updated on the progress of each shawl when I start working on them. 

Check out the post I did on My First Giveaway, and the Quince & Co Chickadee line, and let me know what pattern you would have chosen, and what colors you would have liked for your shawl. 

Have a great rest of the week everyone! 

Fall Sheila and Black Anthro custom order available in Etsy Shop

I finished another version of the Red Sheila pattern, this one called "Fall Sheila", because the yarn colors remind me of fall. This scarf was also knit in Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica, and I must say that I love the colors that pop out of this yarn. I'm really loving working with this yarn. At 7.5 inches wide and 6 feet long, this scarf can be worn all through fall, and also during the spring. "Fall Sheila" is available in my Etsy shop for $30.

Another project I completed was a black version of the Anthro-Inspired Scarflet that Giovanna requested. It's worked in Vanna's Choice acrylic yarn, and came out so soft and squooshy that I can't help squeezing the scarf (and the yarn ball) over and over again. I hope Giovanna enjoys her scarf.
PS: I took a stab at modeling this time. I didn't enjoy it, and I don't think I make as lovely a model as my friend Caroline does in the Fall Sheila pictures.

Let's have a quick poll: So far I've done a Red Sheila, a Mermaid Sheila and now the Fall sheila. In what other colors would you like to see this scarf?

Yinka's Scarf

My friend Anna gave me this yarn in 2009, and at first I was stumped as to what to do with it. When my sister-in-law came to visit me after my son was born, I decided to knit a scarf for her to say thank you. She wanted a scarf knit in this yarn. Upon completion I realized the scarf was about 12 feet long! If you would like a super long scarf to wrap around your neck during the cool fall, or drape around your neck when your office airconditioning is too high in the summer, this is the scarf for you. Made with acrylic yarn, this scarf is machine washable, making it very easy to care for. The scarf has now been listed in my Etsy Shop for only $15.

Strawberry Lemon Sorbet, or Summer is Finally Here

Summer has finally reached the Bay Area with temperatures hitting 90 degrees Fahrenheit and above. As such, this is going to be another short and sweet post (because it's too hot to be behind a computer. :P). I knit this scarf over a year ago in some luscious cotton yarn for the summer, but I never got around to blocking, photographing and listing it. Here it is now. The scarf will be up in my Etsy shop soon for $10. Very reasonable no? Be stylish and keep cool this summer with this long skinny scarf knit with fun colors in cotton yarn. The scarf is 4 inches wide and about 7 feet long. As usual, here the pictures.