Update, not a lot of knitting...

My band is on a deadline. I haven't been knitting very much, but for a good reason! Open Hand is finishing our album "Honey," due out in March. Hope to have it completed soon!

I've been...

working this week on a top of my own design. It's a simple design, but sizing is trickier than I thought. I knit up the first pass at it (sized for me), and it's a little bigger than I'd intended. The yarn looks great and I love the way it looks, it's just a little big. So I'm going again with different colors (for a change) and a smaller gauge. I've never really written out a pattern before, other than little scribbles on post-its, so I'm challenging myself. I'm referencing the Craft Yarn Council's (CYC) sizing standards to try and make sure I'm doing it right. As for the first attempt at knitting the design... I know I say this every time something doesn't fit me, but maybe it'll be a gift.

Rowan 44

I got the new Rowan magazine, number 44, last week. This is the 30th anniversary edition. It has some gorgeous clothes in it, though I haven't picked any to knit up yet. I've been working on some projects that I'm not posting for a while, but I will get new pics up soon.

Finished Vest

Okay, here's what the vest looks like on. It's a little wide I think, but this is a much better representation of the color. Who knows if I'll wear it, but it was fun to make something so quickly!

Balthazar Vest, Continued...

I finished knitting up the vest and here's a photo. I'm not sure I like it. Tried it on and it's bulky to the point of being unattractive. I'll post pics of me wearing it later, when I have someone to take the photos. My photography is not great, the color is actually quite different than what I'm seeing on the screen. More soon!

Twinkle's Balthazar Vest

I think my next project is this vest, designed by Wenlan Chia, from her book, Twinkle's Big City Knits. I think this entire outfit is just darling, and I want it. I've checked out the completed vests on Ravelry, and see that quite a few people have had problems with the pattern, or are unhappy with the fit, so I'm proceeding with caution. I don't have the size 19 circulars, but I've ordered them. I'm going to give it a shot with 17s for now, because I don't want to wait. For more about Twinkle, click here.

Aspen Neck Cowl

I'm back in Los Angeles. It was hard to leave Oregon, but I'll be back for the holidays. While I was there I needed a simple project to keep my hands busy, so I knit up this Aspen Neck Cowl, designed by Andrea Tung. This was painfully boring to knit.
I used Cascade Yarns in 100% wool, so the cowl will definitely keep me warm during the harsh L.A. winters. Though I don't think I'll keep it. I'll probably give it as a gift. You can also pull it up over your head for a hood! Or wear it as a skirt or tube top, if you're really wild.

Knit Knit, the book

Ahhhh, yes! I finally got Knit Knit, the book. I've been wanting this for a while now. It's a fantastic book full of profiles of a wide variety of fiber artists. The photography is great and the projects range from political to philanthropic to microscopic to extremely large-scale. It showcases artists with their own unique approach to knitting. I'm so excited to get into this. For more photography and profiles of the artists, you can check out http://www.knitknit.net/book/.