Festivities!

Halloween was a total blast! Even without help from my husband, who's been out of town for work, I managed to get enough help from my wonderful friends to pull off a great party. For the week preceeding, I did nothing with my extra time but decorate and plan food & party festivities. Here are just a few shots of what the night was like:

(left) A bottle of "V Blood". Any True Blood fans out there will appreciate this!

(below) This is my "fairy dust" display. I had a ton of old jars that I put labels on with all sorts of yucky and spooky & miraculous contents! It was a lot of fun to make the labels and decide how to make what was supposed to be inside.

Here's the witches brew. It was acutally a drink my friend made with vodka, rum, sprite and juice - it was so good! We put dry ice in it to create the bubbling fog. Since dry ice is simply really cold carbon dioxide, it evaporates as a gas instead of melting down to a liquid the way that regular ice does.

Dont worry, it's totally safe if you do it right!

We had a ton of fun but I'm glad to have time now to get back to what this blog is supposed to be about: crafts! I have some new jewelry to post to Etsy and I am pushing along on the Rena cardigan.

Stay tuned!

The Revelry is About to Ensue...

I just wanted to drop a quick line to say that I will have so much to share after Halloween this weekend! Halloween is probably my favorite time of year, and I have been crafting and decorating like a crazed goblin! Check back next week for some updates.

:)


“Presently, I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief - oh, no! It was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me.”
-from Edgar Allan Poe’s
The Tell-Tale Heart
First published in 1843

A Little Bit of Everything

Though I haven't been as faithful to this blog in the past month as I would have liked to be, I have been very busy in my crafty little world! From knitting, to beading, to the start of a sewing project, I feel like I've been around the world.

I am pleased to say that Rena is well on the way to the final stages. Here's a peek:

I apologize for the really crappy photos, but something is better than nothing!

I'm currently knitting downward on the body. Another few inches and I'll cast off and begin the shawl collar. I was worried that the collar would take forever, but it has to be better than the monotony of the body. Hopefully it will pay off!

If I'd had more time in my rush to photograph my progress, I'd have put Rena on this:

I am finally the proud owner of a legitimate dressform! My husband surprised me with this on my birthday. My favorite knitted sweater of all time, Quirky Queen, has been proudly displayed on it ever since. She's also modeled a couple of pieces of my jewelry from time to time!

Speaking of jewelry, I suppose it's time for some explanation as to why Rena has taken a ridiculously long time on the needles. I've been working almost every night on my Etsy shop. Jewelry has been on my mind a lot!

Next time, I'll have some more of Rena, and my sewing project. It should be interesting, because I've never used a sewing pattern to make anything....

Slow Going

These past couple of weeks have left me feeling like I'm stuck in a strange sort of time warp. The daily grind keeps me so incredibly busy that by the time I sit down and breathe, I realize it's almost eleven at night. If I didn't swear about how much I need to have my creative outlets, I might actually realize that on some days, there isn't enough time fore me to make any real commitments to them. Nevertheless, I must create! Who knows, maybe I'm crazy that I manage to steal a few minutes each day to work on something that is only for me...

My new sweater finally has a name! I've decided to call it Rena. Unfortunately, this project has been pretty slow on the needles this past week. I was so hoping to be over the half-way mark by this point. The drive is definitely there but the time simply isn't. I am taking notes (good ones, so far) on my work. If nothing else, it keeps me on track with what I've done since I've had to take so many breaks on this one. Usually when I get really involved with a project, I put other duties on the backburner. I've been reluctant to do that lately because I hate the thought of housework piling up, especially laundry.

Anyway, here's a peek at where I'm at right now. I've casted off stitches for the neck shaping. At this point, I'm knitting the back yoke.

I'll more than likely do each sleeve separately and there will be a seam in the middle of the back where the two top pieces join. That's how the inspirational sweater is constructed, and It will be easier for me than continuing it in one piece.

By my next post, I will have a lot more of Rena to share!

My Needles Are On Fire!

Guess what??! I started a new project - another of my hairbrained on-the-fly designs. I knew I'd get bitten by the bug again, and since it's August - it's about damn time! I've been scanning my favorite sites for inspiration, patiently waiting for the fall sweaters to appear. Last week in Fossil's website I stumbled upon this:

It's Fossil's Tobie . I figured a lacy sweater in a cotton blend would be a nice easy start to my knitting season. After searching high and low for a durable cotton-blend that wasnt skimpy in the yardage department and didn't contain any wool, alpaca, or silk, I settled on the Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I decided on "stone", a light silvery gray hue. To be honest, using this yarn was my first choice and then I drove myself crazy browsing for better quality (sometimes just means more expensive) yarn. I spent about an entire week debating my yarn order, and then I simply drove to Michael's and bought something off the shelf. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I used Cotton Ease on the Spring Beret that I was knitting (finished now - need to photograph). Anyway, I'm happy with the choice and I'll be the first to raise my hand for the affordability - not to mention convenience - of craft store findings.

What drew me to this sweater was the casual look of the eyelets and rolled collar. I don't plan on making my version quite as long as its inspiration since I'm lacking in the height department. Remember my September Sweater? This will be a lacy, buttonless version. The unique construction is so much fun for me to knit!

So far I am just about finished with a sleeve and because of the sideways design of this sweater, I'll be casing on for the yoke. Maybe I'll have the top half completed over the weekend. Here's a peek of the lace pattern and color:

Anyway, that's it for now. More progress to follow soon :)

Back in the Saddle!

After an entire summer of non-knitting related crafting and blogging, I am so very pleased to say that I actually spent my free time last night working on this:

It's not much, but it was really nice to get back into doing something I love so much. By the way, the hat is the Spring Beret by Natalie Larson, in Lion Brand Cotton-Ease. I am only about halfway into the second pattern repeat, and I am embarassed to say that my fingers were hurting so bad after doing only this much! What a lightweight I've become! Normally I'm a speedy knitter and I better shape up because I already have plans for two sweaters for the fall. As a matter of fact, I'm planning to go browsing for yarn later today.

In other crafty news, I have completed a commissioned jewelry piece for a friend and I can't wait to give it to her. She simply told me she wanted a ring, something in the pink palatte, and let me run with it. Here's couple of shots:

I used brass filigree for the base and a brass filigree adjustable band, both of which I hand-aged to a bronzy patina. I attached a magenta round glass cabachon and surrounded it with amethyst crystals and brass components - a flower and a butterfly. I sure hope she likes it!

Creativity, Interrupted

I would love to have something more interesting to write about, but the craziness that is my life has had me too busy to work on anything other than motherhood for the past several days. Last Monday, my washing machine broke! We replaced it by Thursday, but with three kids, the laundry had piled up so high by then that I'm still not completely caught up. Eeeh.

I am proud, however, to say that I've been doing some organizing of the crafting madness! Wow, me and organizing. It's been interesting but now I'm ready to get back to work. Hopefully I'll have something fascinating to share in a few days. Oh, and I'm totally ready for fall weather. I've been patiently waiting for some new yarn and knitting wonderment!

Stay tuned!

Officially Open for Business!

After a few weeks of organizing and reorganizing my plan for my Etsy shop, I am so happy to announce that I have finally listed a few items and I'm ready for business!

I had no idea what an undertaking this would be. This has been quite a lesson in vigor for me!For any readers out there who have ventured into the world of Etsy, you know that it's not as easy as you think. Making items that you think will sell for a profit is only the beginning. Sorting through costs and Etsy fees to determine pricing, and then coming up with something creative to say about everything was a little mind boggling. Then comes photography. I will say that photographing my jewelry has been easier than my knits. Nevertheless, it is time consuming!

I thought at first that I would make about 20 pieces before I began listing so that I could have a big selection before offering it to the public. After listing my first item, I realized that there's no way I could sit down and do that twenty times consecutively without going bonkers. So I've listed 7 items so far and I've got much more that hasn't even been photographed yet.

I'm doing some self-promoting here on the blog, though I do feel a little bashful about it! If you would like to visit my Etsy shop, scroll to the bottom of my blog and you will find my mini Etsy gallery.

And don't worry, I have not given up on all things knitted! I promise that there are some great things to come in the future!

Now, back to work ;-)

A New Adventure

I'm so happy to say that after a too-long hiatus from my creative endeavors, I am back! Albeit without knitting needles. Though I have started the Spring Beret, (Ravelry link) I just can't get with it! I've said it over and over, but it's just so hard to knit in the summertime for me. Maybe my brain has seasonal aversion to it.

After much deliberation and a few nudges from friends and family, I've decided to try to start actually making money doing what I love. It's only a start, but I've opened an Etsy store and have been cranking away updating my stash of materials and putting together some pieces. I think I'll wait to post listings until I have a more substantial collection, but I'll share a peek at what I've done so far.

This charm bracelet is a combination of antiqued brass colored chain and ceramic beads on an elastic cord. The charms are a mix of glass beads and antiqued brass bugs.

This is a simple two-strand charm necklace with a mix of metal and glass baubles. The chain is a gold tone with a matching spring ring closure.

This chunky charm bracelet so summery! Again, it is a combo of chain and lightweight wooden beads on elastic cord. No fussy clasp! Charms include a turquoise nugget, glass beads, and two antiqued brass color charms.

This ring is my personal favorite and I'm going to have a hard time listing it! It features raw brass filigree, which I antiqued by hand using vinegar and flame. The band is adustable and is the same finish as the round base. On it, I attached a bumble bee casted in brass along with a crystal in a brass pronged setting. I may have to make one for myself!

My plan is to offer more than just jewelry on the site. I do have some small knitted items in the works (probably when the weather cools down) and possibly a few home accent pieces. It's just the beginning and I'm really excited so I've been cranking out at least two projects a day.

I'll post more pieces as soon as they are completed and soon I'll be ready to open for business :)

I'm Still Here....

....Though I haven't been doing any knitting. I feel ashamed as I type the words! Spring and summer are always such a ridiculously busy time for my household. It seems like everyone we know is ready to plan parties and trips and lately I've felt like begging to be sick just to have a day at home alone to rest. Well, no one wants to be sick, but I think I've made my point.

I will admit that the lack of creativity in my life has made me feel like I am definitely missing something. Corny as it may sound, my life is incomplete without it and I am in serious need for some needles. I do sincerely want to play with some hand-dyed yarn - I just need to get it started :)

Anyway, since I don't have any WIPs or FOs to show off, I'll share a few pics of a bachelorette bash I was at this past weekend. Totally random, I know.

I'm on the left below, with the bachelorette (it was an 80s themed soiree)

Til next time, I'm throwing pennies for some time to get something going!!

Hand-Dyed Yarn Love

Lately I've had an insatiable tendancy toward handpainted yarn. I suppose it began with my purchase of one of Stefanie Japel's hand-dyed hanks in the Hope colorway. Here's a peek:





The muted spring colors are absolutely gorgeous on this worsted 100% bamboo yarn. Stefanie included directions for a scarf with a choice of three different stitch patterns. She also sent a couple of beaded stitch markers and a "Glampyre Knits" magnet. I have it on my fridge holding up the handwritten note she enclosed! I've only knit with bamboo once and it was perfect for warmer weather wear. I'm excited to get this on the needles.

While I waited for it to arrive, I played around with dyeing a couple of hanks of my own. This was my second attempt at dyeing and painting yarn.

Here is a collection of blues and teals on 100% mercerized cotton yarn:



It's not the greatest picture, because the actual yarn looks better in person. I have started a simple linen-stitch cowl and the result of the colors together is a very denim-y look. It's definitely no masterpiece, but it's pretty enough for my second try. I guess I'll get some photos when it's finished.





Next, I figured I would try working with wool. In the little bit of research I did, I read that wool is easier to dye and generally produces better results than non-protein fibers. As a beginner, I would agree that it was a lot easier.
Here is a food-coloring (with vinegar) experiment on 100% wool yarn:


I loved the way this wool came out. It was a lot nicer to work with than the cotton. And since I was using food colors, I knew when the yarn was ready, as all of the dye was absorbed and the water was almost clear. It was a neat experiment. I'm planning to buy some acid dyes and play around with it more over the summer, since I probably won't be doing a lot of knitting. Mobile's summers are not exactly conducive to knitted items, especially not wool!


Since my appetite for colorful yarn had not been satisfied, a bit of perusing through projects on Ravelry turned up these fingerless gloves by dawn76. I adore them! As soon as I found out that the Hazel Knits yarn was available for purchase through Etsy, I bought it! I hoped that the color would be as beautiful in person, and it did not disappoint! Have a look:

The colorway is Olympic Rainforest. I'm not sure if my feet are worthy of this sock yarn, so I'll probaby use this 400 yd hank for some sort of scarf. Or I might be a total copycat and make the same fingerless gloves that inspired the purchase. Then again, I could just marvel over it and never knit a thing with it.....




My last and most anticipated splurge was something I had my eye on and almost missed out completely. I found a really awesome collection of hand-dyeds called Fresh From the Cauldron (FFtC) on Ravelry. To my delight, one of the limited edition colorways was inspired from the Twilight series! The artist's username is Squibstitcher, and she has an Etsy shop. I didn't know if she was still dyeing any of these Twilight-inspired yarns, and when I checked her store, there were none for sale. I was very excited when I read on the FFtC group page that she was taking custom orders for colors in the series up until February 28, and then the colors wouldn't be dyed again until possibly 2010. I believe it was 2/27 when I contacted her on Etsy and requested three hanks. Thankfully, I had made the cut. All three hanks arrived yesterday and I couldn't wait to take pics.

• The first is titled Bella Swan. I believe these colors are perfect for her character, as blue is Edward's favorite color on her. It is a beautiful arrangement of blues and silver.

• The next is titled Edward Cullen, obviously for his "liquid topaz" eyes. The color is so warm it is just like sunshine in the middle of summer.

• I love all of them, but the third is definitely my favorite, titled Forks, WA. I have always loved green, and these shades of green combined with silver and a touch of gold is perfection!

All three hanks are a merino/silk blend sock yarn. It has a great sheen and is ultra soft. I highly doubt I'd allow any of this beautiful yarn touch my feet. I've never attempted knitting a sock and I certainly wouldn't want to use this to practice. I've no clue what it will be used for, but I had to have it!

I must sing praises for Etsy. I've browsed the site over the past couple of years and gotten ideas for different things. The yarn I bought from Stefanie was the first purchase I ever made. All three transactions went smoothy and the site is easy to use for communication. I have pledged to buy handmade! I think it's very important, especially in these difficult economic times, to support people who make a living with their art. Someday it could be me!

What a Ride!

After spending most of Saturday sitting at my sewing machine, I am happy to announce that my newest baby, the Quirky Queen Cardigan is complete! The journey of this sweater has been the most enjoyable knitting experience I have had to date. Knitting is definitely a hobby that hasn't ceased to excite me after over four years. It just keeps getting more fun!! Here she is:

The idea for this sweater came from one of my favorite sources of inspiration, Anthropologie. When I had first seen it in the fall of 2008, I hadn't been drawn to it. When I saw it on Grey's Anatomy, I fell in love.

The design process turned my brain a little wacky for a few days, which might be why I decided to start knitting at the waistband. I measured the smallest part of my waist and knitted a simple six stitch cable until it measured just a bit shy of my size. I allowed two purl stitches on either side for selvedge. Then it was back to the drawing board. The fact that this sweater is almost seamless wasn't a design element, it just happily turned out that way! I did some measuring, picked up stitches around the edge of my waistband and began knitting the top portion. I separated the front from the back when I reached the armholes and knit the back first, then each front.

I had a hard time deciding what to do for the peplum of the sweater, so I settled for a 2 x 2 rib. I felt a little defeated at the time that my brain was a bit too fried to come up with something more creative, but in hindsight, I am most happy with that choice.

It was also pretty difficult to come up with the collar I wanted, so I designed that portion while I was knitting it. I probably could have done a better job with it by doing short rows instead of m1 increases, but it's good enough for me. Besides, short rows confuse me!

The sleeves were easy, which I only thought then because I had thrown my reservations out the window by the time I knit them, again an "on the fly" design. I scribbled down my stitch numbers and decreases only so that I could replicate them on the second sleeve. I probably should have taken the time to analyze what I was doing a little better, because they didn't come out exactly the way they were supposed to. I knew I wanted a puffed sleeve, but even after sewing the pleats, they are a little too loose. I might go out and get some smaller coverable buttons and make another pleat at the bottom edge and attach a button, but I'm not sure if the sleeves bother me enough to go to the trouble.

I seamed the sleeves and set them in with my sewing machine only after I attempted to do it by hand. I won't say it was any easier, but it was definitely quicker and produced a better look. Sewing the knitted fabric by machine is a bit trickier than it may seem.

By the way, her name is largely a result of the season of her birth, Mardi Gras, which has a lot of royal themes. I had thought she would be ready right around Fat Tuesday, but me and deadlines are not great friends!

Somewhere along the ride, I realized that the sweater I was knitting didn't look anything like the eclectic Sylvan Scene by Leifsdottir sweater that inspired it. I doubt I could have ever replicated it exactly, but that's why it was such fun - for the first time, it seems more like my design. Well, if you forget that I copied the idea of the big buttons and knitted loops.

Here is a (terrible) shot of the back:

Here's where I reinforced the buttons and loops from the inside:

My husband was like, "that looks raggedy", with a confused look on his face, when he saw what I had sewn on the inside of the sweater. Obviously the man didn't realize that it was exactly the vintage look I was going for. Besides, this Queen has her Quirks! Sometimes men are so clueless! Anyway, here's a shot of the tag I made for it:

I played around with it, and I will probably add an applique' or some other kind of embellishment. I need to get some custom tags made...

Anyway, the Queen is ready enough for her debut, and that will probably happen tomorrow at my office. There's no telling what some of the clueless guys I work with will have to say about it (or what their looks might say). Maybe it will be good enough to write about....!

;-)

Evolutions

My brain has been on overdrive for the past couple of weeks and it seems to be moving a lot faster than my body, my fingers, can keep up with!


Since my last post, I've delved a little further into the world of dyeing. I think its almost as much fun as knitting! I have a few more color ideas that I'll work on more after I've finished knitting my newest project, which has been inspired by this:




While watching Grey's Anatomy on 2/12, I saw someone wearing the beautiful Sylvan Scene cardigan from Anthropologie's fall catalogue. I hadn't paid much attention to it before, but I knew while watching the episode that I would at the very least try to knit something largely inspired by it. Upon further research - the sweater is sold out online, so I dug around on ebay - I realized how amazingly complicated this sweater is. I thought about what elements of the sweater I liked the most and began the design process.


So far, the things I have knit without patterns have been directly inspired by store-bought pieces, and I have tried to design and knit them in a way that is more or less an exact copy. The creation of this sweater has been completely different. I've had a lot more fun this time with improvising and adding my own details. The finished result may not resemble it's inspiration much at all, but it has been an awesome experiment in how an idea evolves.



At this point, I have knitted most of the body. I will do the collar next, then the sleeves. I am contemplating at this point whether to add a ruffled trim at the bottom hem, both for extra length and extra quirkiness! Here's a sketch of where I'm going with it:




I'm going to block tonight, and hopefully I'll start the collar within the next few days. I'm aiming to be finished with this in about a week. Of course, I do work much better without deadlines.....

Uncharted Territory

The past few weeks have proven unproductive in my knitting world. I have had a few ideas but no new projects have materialized. I think it may be time for me to dust off the cobwebs and just come up with something.

Turning to yarn for some inspiration, I have discovered how amazing hand-dyed and hand-painted yarns are. Besides, maybe a small project will lead me into something larger. Last weekend, I bought a skein of Stefanie Japel's newest batch of bamboo, the Hope colorway (she came up with it while watching the inauguration). It hasn't arrived yet, but I am so excited to crank out a little spring scarf as soon as it gets here. But I joked to my husband that it may be too pretty to knit!

Looking through all of her photos of the colorways she has made got me thinking that I'd like to experiment. So I did a little research and got some ideas of different methods and tools. Not to my surprise, my town's selection of products for such an experiment wasn't great. But since this was just a practice trial, I made use of what I could find.

I looked through many hand dyed yarns on Ravelry and came up with some colors I'd like to try. Here's my first attempt, before & after:

I'm pretty happy with my first hand-dyed hank! I used some inexpensive 100% mercerized cotton, which took the dye almost too good. I was hoping for more muted colors, not pastel, just not so bright. The real test will be how a knitted item turns out. I'm looking through cowl patterns, and I think I've decided to try the Darkside Cowl first. I may wait for my second hank to dry and use it first, since I think it turned out better.

Here's number two, in the same colors, at a different concentration:

I like the way the brown came out better with this one. I've washed it again since this picture was taken, in the hopes that I could fade the colors slightly. I'll have to wait to see if it worked until it finishes drying.

Here are a couple of pics of the process:

I'm already thinking of new colors to use next time!

Surrender to Pop Culture

Like a child who can't sleep on Christmas Eve from anxious excitement and wonder, I must confess I have become deeply engaged in something that I would have never seen coming. I feel like such a child saying it aloud, much less typing - but I am undeniably hooked on the Twilight series.


It all began last Friday, January 9th. I had to make a quick trip to Target near my office. I do have quite the knack for noticing their conspicuous, red-trimmed sales signs in my periphery. On this occasion, the one that caught my eye was announcing a price break on Stephenie Meyers' ridiculously popular series of novels. While I don't live under a rock and usually consider myself to at least be aware of current trends, I hadn't quite understood all this fuss over a few books and a movie about a forbidden teenage human/vampire love affair. Yes, I have seen the previews for the movie, and I knew books were out there that were probably a lot better than any movie based on them would ever be! But, I was certain that I was too old to ride that train. As a 25 year-old mother of three children, I couldn't possibly be interested in sapppy teenage love anymore, right?

Hmmm.....

So, I began reading Twilight on Friday evening. I was finished before the same evening hour on the next day! I realized a few moments after closing the book that I was impulsively planning a trip to town to purchase the second installment of the series. Yes, I was hooked! I was truly surprised by the feeling of immediately needing to know what happened next. I surrender!


Anyway, I'm not going to become an obsessive forum-message-poster. And I'm not certain that I'll even see the movie, though I was compelled to check a theater sign and I noticed it is still showing...


Naturally, this newfound theif of my spare time has lead me to intertwine it with another, older (perhaps jealous) theif. When I'm not reading, I'm working on these:

They are Bella's Mittens (ravelry link). An awesome knitter designed these after seeing the movie. Aside from their connection to Twilight, I think these are so cute and I'd probably want to knit them even if I wasn't eduring this current preoccupation with the trend. Besides, it is definitely nice to try something more different - I've never knit mittens before. I thought they would be challenging, but the pattern is so well-written, I'm coasting right through. Another bonus: the pattern is free!

I'm using Lion Brand Wool-Ease, double stranded on US 8 bamboo dpns. The pattern calls for the magic loop technique, but I didn't want to bother learning it in my haste to start them! I must add that working with bamboo dpns is so much easier than their metal counterparts.

Here they are, further along:

If I weren't so busy reading, I'd probably be done now! By the way, I'm already on Eclipse. I literally went to three stores today so I could start it. I'm pathetic! At least I'm not letting my knitting needles suffer too much senseless jealousy!

Updates

I guess I wasn't kidding when I swore that Bianca was my last FO for 2008. At least it was the last I'd blog about. I did whip out a baby blanket and beret for a couple of Christmas gifts, but I was too caught up in the madness to take proper photos and share them. Oh well!

My family had an awesome Christmas, and as always, once I finally allowed myself to stop fretting over shopping, I enjoyed it to the max! I know that these precious years of us having young kids who still believe in every bit of the magic are limited to a handful - and I don't want to remember them being stressed!

Now that the holidays are over and I have officially settled in to the new year (thank goodness my kids are back in school!), I have had a hard time lately coming up with something that I am craving to knit. This seems silly, but I almost feel like I am letting myself down if I knit something that a ton of other knitters have done, and more than likely done better than I could hope to. I feel like I spent all of fall being in a knitting frenzy, as I hardly got going on one project before I was already planning the next. Maybe that's why now I feel like I'm in a slump. I'm also trying to force myself to come up with something practical that I'll wear over and over. I am absolutely open to suggestions, anyone?!

Despite the fact that we have had ridiculously high temps for this time of year, even in Mobile AL, I have decided that I would love to finally knit a hoodie. I'm pretty sure that I have decided on the Pebble Hoodie from Knitscene winter 07/spring 08. Of course, I already have several mods in mind (cables??). I came across this sweater (ravelry link) that sold me on the idea.

Altough I've had a rough time committing to a large project, my needles have definitely not been idle! I knitted a third Gretel, in Plymouth Tweed:

I'm not exactly thrilled with the yarn I chose. Actually, I'm not thrilled with the way it photographs. It looks so much better in person. Tweed is difficult to knit precise cables, I've found. But after knitting this hat twice previously, I knew that I wanted something a little more casual. I couldn't bear to look at this yarn for another moment without knitting something!

Well, I'm off to bed to do a little reading before I stay up too late. More news soon ~ and hopefully some progress shots!