jadematter

Hello from sunny DC.  I can hardly believe it’s January here with all these temps in the 40’s and more than the occasional snatch of sunshine.  Not the type to take anything by storm, Liz and I are easing into our new environment.

We usually start off the day with coffee, knitting, and sudoku.

on the needles: lacy baktus in mini mochi

Our preferred plan of attack is to choose a coffee shop, then in the process of finding it, endure the incidental adventures.  Like almost getting eaten by a T-Rex.

I look pretty calm, considering...

So far, we’ve visited Peregrine Espresso near Eastern Market, and Baked and Wired in Georgetown.  As far as I can tell, both serve Counter Culture coffee and espresso, which is fairly traded and sustainably grown. And don’t get me started on the sweet treats at Baked and Wired.  Wow.  It took me 15 minutes to decide on the pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  The espresso drinks we had at both of these places were exceptional.

We’ve walked around a lot, in and out of (FREE!) museums, up and down Metro (not at all free) escalators, around a few traffic circles.  We even found some vintage cobblestone.

we're pretty sure George Washington laid these stones

Meanwhile, I got some knitting done on the way over.  Here’s a classic kid sweater, the Knitting Pure and Simple Baby Tunic, made from Elann’s Lana Pura in Zucchni Blossom.  I used just over 2 skeins for the 6-month size (and it looks big), and added the kangaroo pocket according to my own whims and fancies.  The yarn is unbelievably soft and supple.  It’s 100% Tasmanian wool; those sheep down under must be sooooft and snuggly.

this looks kind of weird against an oriental rug

I knitted it at a slightly larger gauge than it called for, making the fabric drape like silk.  I’ve ordered a bunch more of the stuff in brown so I can make something for myself just as soon as possible.

In other news, I’ve gotten the sewing machine out, so stay posted for progress reports.  Hats, mostly.  I have some wool pants to turn into hats, as well as some store-bought corduroy that I might just line with fleece for cozy winter ear-flap hats.

Apparently, ’tis the season for hats.  I can’t stop myself!  Not to mention I’ve finally started selling a few at Maude Vintage, a great little shop here in Columbia.  Knowing there are folks out there who want them has certainly been incentive to keep the sewing machine running.

this was L's old blue velvet skirt

and I tried a new design!

In the last couple of weeks, the combined booty of a visit to a thrift shop and a purging of the closet have provided me with some fun new fabrics to play with. I cut up a bunch of old wool suit jackets and pants, ignored the ‘dry clean only’ label, and gently washed everything in cold water, letting them line-dry on the only sunny day we’d had in about 12 days. Not to complain or anything.  I guess the ‘bright’ side of this is that I didn’t want to leave the house, so I’ve spent a lot of time making hats.

This little hat is my first attempt at earflaps.  I hope it’s as wearable as it is charming.  I considered adding a chin tie, but decided it might be a little too much.  This one is for a wee friend up in Canada, where I guess it’s getting cold enough for fully-lined wool caps.

small-person hat with eaflaps

stretchability for growing noggins

another Cory-style topper

made from an upholstery sample

Sorry this post is flowing a little bit like a glamour shot; I really need to make an adult-size head form to model these things.  The next one here is yet another stab at a modified design.  It’s a lot like the blue velvet, but even floppier.  I made a little bit deeper, so it comes all the way down over my ears.  It’s cozy, though; starting to feel more like a winter touque than a simple sun-blocker.

grey/green herringbone

see what I mean about floppy?

That’s all for today’s fashion show.   But before you go, I’d like to direct your attention to your chance to win a kids’ hat!  Jadematter is sponsoring a giveaway on QuirkyMomma.  You have all week to enter; drawing will take place next Friday, October 23rd.  If you’re a mom or dad who stays at home with your kids, or know someone who is a childcare provider, you’ll love this website.

This morning’s work is done:

leif --

this one's

for you!

As my first successful attempt at a variation on Cory’s pattern, I figured he might as well be the recipient…if he’ll have it.  This fabric is from an old hand-made, extensively pleated wool skirt that I scrounged from a thrift store.  The zipper was broken, so I didn’t have any qualms about taking it and cutting it up and gleaning the 4 yards of fabric.  If I can find the original brass button, I’ll sew that on top, classic beanie style.  This is a 6-panel hat with a cotton band and bill lining.  I put some elastic in the back, which explains the wrinkle (hopefully the ultimate owner has a bigger head than mine, which ought to stretch it out a little).

I was never much of a hat girl (apart from the necessary toques to combat Alberta, Ontario, and Michigan winters).  Most hats have these big long bills that impeded my vision, and trust me: my vision can’t stand any impeding; I run into things even with all my senses working well.  But when I started working at a coffeeshop, I needed something to keep my flopsy hair outta my face when I was sick of wearing bandanas. Enter my inspiration, Sir Cory, with his gorgeous bicycle hats.  The short bill and shallow construction provide effective hair support without producing visual obstruction.  YES!

But that was about a year ago, and this if the first Cory hat that I’ve made.  Indeed, I went to town on my own designs in the time between.

various sizes, various stages of completion

My preferred technique is to raid the closet for old pants, make sure they’re clean, and then take the scissors to them.  There’s obviously a limit to how long one can carry on in this manner, however, so I’ve started to raid other people’s closets when I’m visiting.

the jadematter signature closure

There is much, much more to come in this department, so stay tuned…

My crocheting sister and I have an arrangement: if she sees a knitting pattern and loves it Just So Much, she acquires the yarn, sends it to me, and expects to wear the finished product within, oh, the next 5 years, depending on how much the excitement has spilled over into my territory.  And it works both ways.  Just last week I sent off a big pile of Berroco Ultra in the great expectation of wearing the Big Bow (Big Bowless, I should say; neither of us is fond of the Bow) Cardigan from last winter’s Interweave Crochet.

But I digress.  In May, a bag plus one of Elann Incense in color #11 (capri) arrived at my door, destined for The Cropped Hoodie (pattern #9, Vogue Knitting Winter 2008/2009).  Of course, I’d already purchased this issue because my cousin Elli had a pattern published in it.

bodice band + picked-up stitches

It took me all summer to knit the cuffs and bodice band.  That was 36+12+12 inches = 5 feet with that pesky cable needle, folks.  This was 2 days ago:

2 sleeves + the beginning of a bodice

Then I really went to town.  There’s a ton of short-row shaping, so I’ve had to pay attention, but it’s coming together with great vigour.

this was slippery business

This is a characteristically concise Vogue pattern, which leaves a little to the imagination.  I’ve found myself studying the [one measly] photo a lot in the hope that it will inspire me to construct it in the manner intended.

10 points if you can spot the cable boo-boo

Well, off I go to keep working on the raglan decreases.

This one goes out to my favourite Hogetwerp, because apparently I’m a lazy-ass blogger and don’t post enough.  I know so far this blog is a little heavy on the produce, but it’s summer, so no apologies.  When it gets colder and I feel like modeling cozy knitted things, you’ll start seeing more warm stuff up here.

Meanwhile, there’s nothing like seeing eggplants, peppers, and butternut squash growing in my very own back yard.  This is the first year I’ve ever planted such things, and while the garden on the whole really isn’t much to look at right now, there are some gems hidden among the tired foliage.

we will be yellow when we're ripe

pretty, but too spicy for my kitchen

look at those little ones! this is all one plant

Yes, things are decidedly monochromatic, but I guess most things start out green.  Just a few more…

the single most anticipated fruit

As anyone who has dined at my table can attest, I sneak butternut squash or pumpkin or sweet potato into just about anything.  Not just muffins and pies where they belong, but lasagna, scones, cakes, cookies, enchiladas, you name it.

can't resist. this is a beautiful thing.

And now for a bit of colour.  I audibly squeaked when I discovered this specimen, because there have been odious little bugs chewing the stuffing out of our poor eggplants.  This must be one tough customer.  Yay, survival of the fittest!

aubergine

I can hardly believe what I picked today.

The Hungarian word for tomato means "heaven." I concur.

Then I chopped them up and put them in a soup with fresh basil, parsley, and zucchini.  If you have the cookbook Simply in Season, it’s the Zucchini Garden Chowder recipe on page 93.  If you don’t have it, you need to buy it asap.

So that’s the culinary. Now for the crafty.

what could we be?

I’m please to say that I’m back on the sock wagon.  I left on a 2-week vacation and only brought one set of 32″ US #1 circular needles and two skeins of sock yarn.  I didn’t bring a pattern, unrealistically planning to design my own lacy something or other to put on my feet.  Well, after two days of messing around with some simple ideas, I had a healthier respect for knitwear designers and a tangle of green yarn.  Let’s hear it for the internet, though, because within minutes of deciding to submit to the expertise of others, I had a number of lovely choices.

my big hobbity feet

I settled on the Hourglass Socks in Knitty’s Fall 2008 issue.  I used Louet Gems Super Fine Merino in Shamrock.  I used almost the full two skeins.

From start to finish, the pair took me about 2 weeks to make, knitting mostly as a passenger in just about every possible mode of transportation imaginable: plane to Buffalo, train to Ottawa, bus back to Toronto, trolley to Union Station, GO train to Burlington, car to Michigan.  Yes, my socks and I get around.

good balancing, eh? took the photo myself.

The pattern was well-written and clear; the yarn was great.  I was previously snooty about Louet Gems because it’s a 2-ply and I wish it looked more round, but it’s so soft and flopsy, with such vibrant colours, that, well, I’ve converted.  Now I have to wait about 4 months to wear them.

I told you I’d be posting this year’s finished projects, and I finally had a bright enough day here to get my picture taken outside with my very colourful new jacket.

Here I am from the side

This here pattern is Veronik Avery’s “Mosaic Yoke Jacket” out of Color Style from Interweave Press.

And here is my shoulder

Behold the neck decreasing!  The side decreases and increases look similar to the neck, contributing to the tailored look of the jacket.  And if you want to hear about the solid orange collar and lapels, leave me a comment and I’ll elaborate later.

This is one of those patterns that looks way harder to make than it actually is. The big secret is that the colorwork is accomplished by carrying only one strand of yarn at a time, and slipping the contrasting color’s stitches from the previous rows to make vertical stripes and, in the case of the yoke, the diamond pattern.

Why am I wearing a sweater? It's 80 degrees out here.

Now for the specs on how I followed the pattern:

• Yarn: mostly Cascade 220 (100% wool, 220 yards per 100g skein), 4 skeins of the burnt orange, 2 and a tiny bit of a third skein of the oatmeal contrast.  The contrasting colours in the yoke are all leftovers I had of Nashua Julia (wool, alpaca, and kid mohair blend, 93 yards per 50g skein).  Both yarns are a delight to work with.  If I could have afforded it, I would have knit the whole thing out of Julia, but Cascade 220 of those less expensive workhorses that always turns out nicely and wears extremely well.
• Pattern: Mosaic Yoke Jacket by Veronik Avery, in Interweave Press Color Style
• Size: I did the first size in parentheses, which I think was the Small.  It was also the size on the model in the book’s photos.

Well, these little garments were quite a hit, if I do say so myself.  Boy is wearing the “Oz Vest” in the 6-month size, pattern from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding.  I used a discontinued cotton yarn from Crystal Palace, called Cotton Flamme.  It was a slubby yarn, which accounts for the less-than-uniform texture.  Which I like.  

I'm dapper indeed!

Girl is wearing a majorly-modified version of Knitting Pure and Simple’s “Baby Tunic.”  As you can see, I added the eyelets and drawstring, shortened and flared the sleeves, lengthened and flared the hem, and dispensed with the hood.  Otherwise, I followed the pattern to the tee.  The yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece.

Don't you think this brings out the blue in my eyes?

I’m brand new at this, and I’m not even sure I’ll be able to attach a photo to make things a little more visually interesting for you.  But I’m to going to start getting used to this by posting about the projects I have done this year. 

Before I moved Down South (Missouri is classified as such, right?) last year, I worked at just about the chic-est, coziest place in the Midwest, a yarn shop called City Knitting.  There I learned how to knit like a woman possessed and practically drowned in all the wonderful yarns and designs available.  Since moving away from that haven of temptation, I’ve actually been chipping away at all the yarn I managed to accumulate over 2.5 years, and have produced quite a pile of nice things in a few short months.  This is thanks mostly to my inability to just sit quietly and watch TV.  So I’ve knit and crocheted through about 8 thousand episodes of Gilmore Girls, The Wire, The West Wing, and countless movies.  It’s up for debate if I could actually recount the plots of any of these things, but who’s asking?

A great way to use up yarn and still feel like I’m making “real” things is by making things for small people. As some of you know, there are plenty of small recipients of handmade objects in my life, two of whom came into the world just months ago.  Baby Girl and Baby Boy have been my wee charges while their mom and dad do various teaching gigs.  But they’re moving away from me, and they need farewell presents.  Not to mention some stylish garments to keep them warm in the Rocky Mountains.

The sweater dress with leggings is quite the in thing.

The little man will be dapper in a vest.