Decadence

I've really been indulgent this month. First I decided to make this sweater. In response, perhaps, to the very bright yarn of my last sweater, I ended up buying up a sweater's worth of this yarn:

It's Berrocco (the company name now makes me think of a certain presidential hopeful) Pure Merino Nuance. It looks like cloudy skies to me, and that makes me happy.

Then I saw this sweater in the new Interweave Knits and decided I had to begin knitting it right then. So, I went out and bought this yarn.

It's Classic Elite Classic Silk in a very spring-y green. I have dreams of wearing it with a nice, bright navy.

But I didn't stop there. Mr. Crafty's birthday is coming up and I wanted to get him something different. The poor guy's gotten clothes for every gift-giving holiday for the last two years. After some Etsy shopping I settled on this:

It's a linoleum print by redhydrant. Mr. Crafty is a bike fanatic, so I know he'll like it. It's a bonus that I certainly would enjoy having it on the wall, too!

I should have just signed off the Internet right then, but no, I had to keep browsing Etsy. I came across this print which was, as I'm sure you'll understand, absolutely irresistible. It's by ashleyg, and all of her prints are just as profoundly awesome as this one:

So, a present for me and a present for Mr. Crafty. Or should I say, three presents for me and one for Mr. Crafty?

Digital Collages

This morning I was all set and ready to make some pictures to try out with my Gocco. I was envisioning some old fashioned but quirky naturalist drawings. First I set out to the library for inspiration, but their naturalist section was pretty picked over. Someone has a report due at school, I'm guessing. So, I turned to the Internet.

It turns out that turn of the century naturalist drawings abound on the Internet. I began downloading images in rapid succession, then realized I had the perfect tools to create a digital "sketch" of just what I wanted. Now, I know many of you would have come to this conclusion much sooner, but I've never been much of a computer whiz kid. I've always likened my relationship to computers with most people's concept of faith: I trust that computers know more or less what they're doing and far be it from me to disagree. It's what comes of not really knowing how they work, I think.

Anyhow, I created these little pictures with found images and a pretty font:



In the end I would like these to be hand drawn before I make a screen with them. There are always potential copyright issues with directly copied images, and I think there's far too much detail in these considering their intended purpose. Still, I love this method of "sketching." It's so fast, and it did offer me some ideas pencil and paper couldn't have. For instance, I think I'll keep the typed captions. Initially I was envisioning hand-done calligraphy, but I like the tidiness and exactness of the typed words.

The Coolest Grownup Toy Ever

May I introduce you to my new Gocco:


It doesn't look like much, I'll grant you, but it is mighty cool. For those not in the know, it's a Japanese screen printing device that allows you to burn your image on a glass screen using light exposures. So freakin' neat. It beats the unwieldy homemade screens (not that there's a thing wrong with them, they have their own inherent charms), as you can make images that are so exact they're more or less photographic. And it can be done all fast and easy-like.

The rub? Gocco isn't going to be made for much longer. But never fear! The web community has risen to the challenge and created Save Gocco.

Still not feeling the Gocco vibe? Go see what it can do. First I'm thinking about making something like this, then something like this, and then something like this.

I'm also happy about this for two other reasons, the first being that this thing is hardly bigger than an old school Polaroid camera. I love screen printing, and the one thing that's kept me from doing it for the past couple of years is living in my very small (but very cute) apartment where there is literally no room for such things. We don't even have a closet. The second reason I am so thrilled is that I've been wanting to open an Etsy store for forever but I wanted part of my key merchandise to be screen prints. Well, now I can get on my way. For tax purposes I'll probably wait until we move to Chicago to open up shop, but I can start experimenting and building up merchandise now.

I only wish I'd found out about this very cool gocco print swap before it closed.

Woah Nelly!

Look at this thing. It's almost blinding, isn't it? Nobody's gonna lose me in the snow when I'm wearing this sweater.

Excuse how horrible I look. My face was all puffy from just having woken up. That's never the best time to have your photo taken.

Anyway, I'm sort of happy with how this turned out. Due to the unique construction of the sweater, the length is directly related to the width. Since I needed the smallest size (33") my Sunrise Circle Sweater turned out pretty short. Now, I'm pretty short myself, so it wasn't a disaster, but I'd imagine that taller slim folks would find this more troublesome.

I am very happy with the buttons, though. Aren't they neat? That's a real little flower in there.


After the sweater I still had twitchy fingers, so I cast on for Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's (aka YarnHarlot) Unoriginal Hat. I love the yarn I used, although I can't find the tag. I think it was called "La Llana Grosa." It was sea foam green, purple and brown. I became so ridiculously happy every time I got to knit a purple stitch.

The hat did turn out a bit small, I'm afraid. My head is huge, it would seem. Every hat project I've knit this winter suggests that's the case, at any rate.

Now, back to the subject of the sweater: what's the verdict, folks? My friend Jen was pointing out that I could just lop off the arms and have something that resembled a bath mat! Do I keep it, or is it just too strange and bright for words?

Happy Valentine's Day!

We were greeted this morning with snow. It's lovely, and it's not supposed to stop until Saturday evening. The only downside is this:

That's ice on the inside of our living room window. We live in an apartment carved out of a very old mansion. It's got these awesome antiquated radiators, but they don't always do the trick, especially when the rest of the residents have their heaters on.

Mr. Crafty and I had to rearrange our V-day plans, as we figured that by dinner time we wouldn't be able to drive to our destination. That's fine by me, though. I have plans to make a cherry pie for our dinner, with hearts on the top crust, of course.

I've been making a lot of bread lately, mostly because I found this book. Everything in it is so simple. And I have to admit, I hate kneading bread.

This is my favorite recipe so far:

It's called Kuchen in the book. The author claims it's a traditional Czech bread. My Czech friends tell me this is all wrong, though, and that Kuchen is a cookie. All I can say is the bread is awesome. It's a dough that's left refridgerated overnight to deepen flavor. The next day you make one of five fillings to bake into the dough. So freakin' good.

And here's a shot of the basic wheat bread recipe. It's salty and rich. Unconventional, but terribly good. And a lovely color.


The Sunrise Circle Jacket is blocking as I type. I'm still not sure what I think of it. Hopefully it will be dry enough by tomorrow to sew on the buttons and photograph.

Mail Love

Finally... my wonderful vintage knitting books prize!


First, please note the book to the far right. That is a woman (beautiful, tanned, with perfect nails) wearing a hand knit cardigan that matches the hand knit cardigan her (presumably) daughter is wearing. They are also wearing matching skirts and have a cat all curled up next to them on their lovely green lawn. Now, I know that this is all creepy and Norman Rockwell-y, but I really love this little faux reality. I mean, if I had a little girl I'd totally knit us matching sweaters. And I've already got the cat...

The book right below that one, the one with the men's patterns, is absolutely golden. There's this great combination of classic patterns and totally whacky things, like really long vests with belts. Mr. Hadley has already demanded that I knit him an argyle vest he saw in the book. I tried to talk him into the loose knit, very tight, fringed vest thing, but he gave me a look that put the kibosh on that right away.

The other two books are just as wonderful. One is almost entirely devoted to sweaters with cables and raglan sleeves. The other has a fella with some pretty kicking sunglasses on the cover, and some very puffy sweaters.

Thank you so much, Cosy. You've got great taste, and are so generous.

On an unrelated note, I've been diligently working away on the Sunrise Circle Cardigan. I've been finished with the actual knitting of it for over a week. What's been taking so darn long is all of the sewing. That sweater has more sewing than a quilt, it seems, and it all needs to be done by hand. Yeesh. I did find some truly awesome buttons. I hope to reveal the finished product next week. I hope you'll all help me decide its fate.

Vintage Craft Book

First, I should begin by saying thanks to Cosy, whose blogiversary prize I won. She sent me the most supremely awesome vintage knitting books ever. I'll photograph them soon; they deserve accolades.

Now, I'd like to show you all the coolest craft book ever (yes, that is Barbara Streisand in the background):


This book was bought for $9.50 at a used bookstore, and it may be the best $9.50 I've ever spent on anything crafty. I've always got at least three books out from the crafting section of the library. Well, no more. This book has how to do everything. How to pot, smock, make lace, cut silver, embroider, make natural dyes, screen print... I could go on forever, it seems. It's totally a relic of the seventies, so some of the sample projects are more than a little dated. They're charming, nonetheless.

I think it's out of print, but any sleuths out there might be able to track it down. The copyright is 1977, and the ISBN # is 0 8069 5378 0.