Stitches West 2013

Oops.

For the last 4 years, I’ve been going to the giant Stitches West knitting expo in Santa Clara. And for the first three years, I’d posted a fair amount of detail about my time there. Not this year.

This year I still went, took classes, met friends, shopped, had fun, and slept very little, but I have no proof. No pictures, no daily posts. I haven’t decided if I was too busy or too lazy. Maybe both. So you’ll have to take my word for it. A good time was had, but I can’t be arsed to write it all out right now. Maybe later.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap. Zzzzzzzzz…

Surface Tablet Cozy

Last year was an exciting year to work at Microsoft. Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 came out, and to celebrate, Microsoft gave all of its employees Surface tablets. Not to brag, but I was one of them, and one of the first things I had to do was design and write a pattern for a Surface cozy. Naturally.

Download pattern (PDF)

If you recall, I already designed a cozy for another Microsoft device, the late great Zune. I still love Noro, and love showing it off, so I simply adapted the Zune cozy for the Surface. I also added a pocket for a stylus, which is a nice touch (so to speak!).

And, since I know not everyone has a Surface, I also included measurements for various other devices (iPad, iPhone, Windows Phone, Kindle, etc.) so it can be easily adapted. Aren’t I nice?

The PDF of the pattern is available here. Have fun!

Some holiday knitting… and weaving

I had a pretty low-key holiday this year, but did manage to bang out a few handmade gifts.

First, a headband for my sister-in-law. The pattern is Chunky Turban Headband by Lorna Watt, and the yarn is Sheep Shop 2.

The headband thing was inspired by my mom, who wanted one of those flowered ear warmers. So I made her one. The pattern is Knit Earwarmer with Crochet Flower by Ashlee Prisbrey, and the yarn is Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica.

And then there are the nieces. I bought some Mini Mochi years ago to make them some striped gauntlets, but never got around to it. So this year I wove them striped scarves instead. These are based on the knit Noro Striped Scarf by Jared Flood, but of course woven. I used Valley Yarns 8/2 tencel doubled for the warp and alternating skeins of Mini Mochi for the weft.

And lastly, I participated in a Top-Secret Santa gift exchange at work this year. I know this will reveal my secret identity as this person’s gift-giver, but I’ll share anyway. It’s a beanie using the Case of the Mondays pattern by Haramis Designs. The yarn is Three Irish Girls Galenas Chunky.

That’s it! Amazing what one can do when they stop being so lazy!

Still alive

Things have been a bit quiet around here. I haven’t been very crafty lately, but I have had a project on the needles for the last few months. Just a hat, which I’ve just been stabbing at a few rows at a time here and there, so it took a while. Just finished it, so here it is!

The pattern is Soft Linen Lace Beret by Meg Myers, for Classic Elite Yarns. The yarn isn’t linen, though, it’s wool. Dream in Color Everlasting DK (100% merino superwash wool) in colorway Tidewater. Very pretty color. The beret is on my head as I type this. Nice and cozy.

Happy fall!

Well, hello there.

Things have been quiet on the crafting front. Nice to take a break after all those Things-a-Week. But, I did recently finish something small: a little baby hat.

The pattern is Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat by Keri McKiernan, and the yarn is Pagewood Farms Yukon (70% superwash merino wool, 20% bamboo, 10% nylon) in color “Greens.” This is going to my aesthetician who’s due any day now (but not before I see her next, tomorrow!). The hat is lovely and soft and so tiny!

The pinnacle of achievement

I couldn’t help myself. I just had to make these gloves. I was surprised how quickly they knit up, and the results are spectactular. Aren’t they fantastic?

The pattern is the Emperor’s New Mitts by Louise Zass-Bangham (pattern available for download here, Ravelry herd here). The yarn is handspun phoenix down in “Gold.”

I might as well stop making things right now. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to top this.

Thing-a-Week: bonus round

I know I said I was done and was going to be lazy for a while then do some longer-term projects, but inspiration struck and I did a Thing-like thing this week anyway. And it was too cute not to share. So, I give you Mr. LumpyBear, the tiny felted bear.

Mr. LumpyBear is needle felted using some of my dyed Romney wool, and sits at about 2.5 inches tall and less than a fifth of an ounce (5 grams). He’s a little lopsided, but how could you not love that face?

Say it with me: “Dawwwwwwwwwww.”

Thing-a-Week #52

Last March, I pledged to try to do one fiber-related thing each week for a year. And here I am, one year later, having mostly fulfilled that commitment. Sure, I took a whole quarter off, and this week’s Thing is fully a week late, but who’s counting?

For my final Thing, I wove another pooling scarf. This is something I promised to a friend at Stitches West, using some yarn she bought at the show.

The warp is Western Sky Knits Magnolia Sock (superwash merino, cashmere, & nylon) in “Fall Sky,” and the weft is Valley Yarns 10/2 Bamboo in “Silver Grey.” Seems a fitting end to this project, don’t you think?

Thanks, everyone, for following along. I’ll no doubt be posting more of my fibery adventures, just not on this cadence. Next, I think I’ll be lazy for a little bit then start looking at some longer-term projects. Stay tuned!

Thing-a-Week #51

Just something quick and cute this week.

It’s a beaded Easter egg from Betsy Beads by Betsy Hershberg. I bought the book while at Stitches West and wanted to try something from it. The yarn is SWTC Bamboo and I picked up the beads cheap from Tuesday Morning. Fast and fun!

Also, this is my second-to-last Thing. Hard to believe I’ve been at it almost a year!

Thing-a-Week #50

While I was in California at Stitches West, I met up with a high-school friend and her family. Knowing I was going to be meeting them, I decided to whip up a hat for their boy while at the conference. Well, I sort of ran out of time and decided to delay it a week.

This hat is called Cozy by Alison Williams (she also made it available as a free Ravelry download). The yarn is Crystal Palace Cotton Twirl in colorways “Blue Bonnet” and “Ketchup.”

I’m not sure I’d use this yarn for this particular hat again; while it’s a great yarn and I would use it in other projects, it was really difficult to get gauge for this one and I think the hat may actually be a little big. Which is ok, I suppose, since kids’ heads only get bigger.