sweater redux

does anyone remember this sweater?

this is the only extant image of it.

well, i wore it for the second time a couple of weeks ago, and i realized something. i hate this sweater. i don't like pullovers, i look like i'm trying to be waldo, the 3/4 sleeves were never right, and i'm never going to wear this sweater again.

so i debated about giving it to one of my friends, but no one is really my size. i debated selling it, but that's a hassel. so i went to my ravelry favorites, and found this little beauty. just sitting there, quiet as can be: a lovely little cardigan, with full length sleeves (to push up, as i usually do). and, it only took 2 more skeins of each than i had used on the first sweater. which my darling LYS just happened to have!

with the help of my friend, Alyssa, i unraveled that norwegian summer sweater. now it looks something like this:

the point of this post is: be sure what you're knitting is something that you'll actually use. i know that seems like quite *derp* advice, but i didn't really think about that when i knit up that pullover. i liked the stripes, but now i can't honestly say what else attracted me to it. don't spend all of that money, and time, and effort in general on something you're not sure you'll like the second time you wear it. point 2 of this post: don't be afraid to tear out! use that yarn, don't let it languish there.

final point: i'm recycling. take that, budget constraints!

It's still christmas, right?

so, back in october, my dear friend Yolanda, and I, decided that we should knit each other a little something and exchange them at christmas!

well, now it's january, and i finally finished! and by all reports, she loves it!

the pattern is pasha by jane richmond, in the ever lovely sublime dk (merino, cashmere, and silk *swoon*). i really like how it turned out, though the lace isn't really intuitive. be sure to pay attention ;)

this is the super-secret project i kept alluding to! and it's already counted in this month's tally. go look at jane's other patterns on ravelry, there are a few more i want to try my hand at! 

New URL and title

hey everybody! i felt that our blog title and URL were a little clunky and difficult to tell people as you're running out the door. so after talking with my ever lovely sister, we are now Stitch & Zoom! please bear with us as i make up a new banner and generally make our blog prettier. feel free to comment here or email us at stitchandzoom@gmail.com!

happy tuesday!

Game of Hats

i've had a super secret series of projects going on since late last year, and now they're all finally done! one night, five of my closest friends and i all decided which Game of Thrones house the others would be in. by coincidence, they put me in House Greyjoy, who's sigil is a kraken...and you might remember my squid hat from earlier last year? what could be better? so i decided that it'd be a fun thing to do to make each of them a hand knit, needle-felted hat with their house sigil on it.

here, from top left: lannister lion for amanda, stark direwolf for john, baratheon stag for chris, arryn bird for sam, tully fish for alyssa, and greyjoy kraken for me.

i made them promise that, as a condition of this gift, i had to have a picture of everybody in their hats. so hopefully i'll get that soon ;) i used jared flood's turn-a-square hat pattern for stark and baratheon, and  hannah fettig's early morning beret pattern for tully, greyjoy, lannister, and arryn, both of which are lovely, simple patterns, and perfect for needle-felting! all of the hats were made with donegal tweed, 100% wool, 100% delicious.

oh! and this really helps my mile/month challenge! greyjoy, lannister, and stark were finished in and counted for last year's. but, i've still got 549 yards from baratheon, tully, and arryn! that leaves me 387 yards this month.

however, i did something else knitted and nerdy! using Erica Lueder's Hermione's Everyday Socks pattern, and using an Opal Harry Potter colorway, i give you: Hermione's Favorite.

this is actually the 'Ron' colorway, and i have to say, my favorite of those put out by opal. i'm so sad this yarn has been discontinued! but, my honey found this for me on eBay! mum helped me get the self-striping yarn to match for each sock at christmas, and she's such a master that they're only off from each other by a few stitches! i love this stitch pattern, it gives a perfect amount of texture to give these socks depth without detracting from the yarn's own pattern. and the stitch pattern translated super easily for toe-up socks.

and, i'd say these socks took about 400 yards! goal: met!

that also means i've gone over by 13 yds... what do you think, blogland, should yards roll over to other months?

better photos, as promised

it has recently been revealed that my honey is quite the photographer! so when i told him i needed good pictures of my knit gear, he happily grabbed my camera, gave me direction, and gave me these beauties! i've been promising better pictures for a long time now, here's the first wave!

my amriki vest (americano by cirilia rose)

my tbl pattern (coming soon!)

my desert summer wrap (sunshine wrap by amy butler)

my bee's delight cowl (honey cowl by madelinetosh)

my dahlia cardigan (finally finished/blocked/looking great!) (dahlia cardigan by heather zoppetti)

little blue riding cowl (riding hood scarf by amy butler)

i realized that i'd probably never find more yarn of the same dye-lot, that i'd want to buy it, or that i'd want to do all those big cables again. so! took out my bound off and cast on edges, 3-needle BO them together, and added buttons! no longer will this languish in my craft closet!

and while none of these projects count for 2012, i did just finish a secret-squirrel project, using about 254 yards! 936 yards left for january!

Euros Aestlight Scarf

thanks to my honey for the photos

aka 1st FO of 2012!! get some!

*deep breath* i'm ok, just excitable. My Euros (pattern: Aestlight Shawl) is an ingenious design by Gudrun Johnston who has a lot of other fantastic patterns I'd love to try. poor little euros was started in mid-november, but got put on the back burner for christmas knitting (i actually used a little of the 2nd skein to make my mum's turkish bed socks). i used colinette jitterbug in color #48/Florentina, and it is divine! so squishy and absolutely gorgeous colors!

instagram fun. follow me @kkpwnall

so, assuming that i used a skein and a half, i have 1,190 yards left to knit this month.

Euros is the East Wind in Greek Mythology

wtf 2011?

where the hell did 2011 go?!
i did have to put a lot of stuff aside in order to focus on myself and school this semester. i wanted to blog, i even thought up a number of posts. but, i really had to set some things aside.


one of the things that didn't get set aside was knitting!

malfoy socks, maeby's bear, amriki vest, tbl, poofy purple beret, celtic scarf, rita's cloche, dinosaur slouch hat, desert summer shawl, riding hood scarf, firefly triangle scarf, thigh high legwarmers (finally sewed those ends in!), rita's shiny triangle, paul/squid/octopus/greyjoy beret, flying sparks socks, oo la la moulin rouge mitts, faux-isle mitts, liesl, midsummer sample scarf, noro moster, accidental waldo sweater, sun-soaked cami, adventerous slouchy hat, bee's delight honey cowl, unicorn of the sea hat, dahlia cardigan, rita's tangerine gaptastic cowl, penny's santa hat, xmas stocking, mum's turkish bed socks, chris' bicycle hat, mum's haleakala mitts, & tbl #2. still on the needles: aestlight & hermione's every day socks.

not pictured: a 2nd midsummer scarf, redux of unexpected hat, another beret, & another turn-a-square, as well as some secret squirrel items ;)

using ravelry, and taking a conservative measurement, i knit 9.5 miles this year!

for 2012, i'd like to knit a mile a month. should the budget permit, of course.

happy new year, blogland.