Blue Canary Creations

A lot has happened

O hai!

So, since I last posted, I had a baby!  Here's the latest addition to the clan, Aidan Joseph Small, born Nov 3, 2008. 

He's my cutie blue-eyed babe.  All are well and happy.  :)

And, I've done a TON of knitting!  Here's the things I've finished (for approximately 1 million babies and friends):

This is a Solar System hat to go with Alec's sweater -- he loved it and wore it all winter.  Hooray!

I had knit this BSJ a while ago, but never finished it.  FInally got buttons on it and got it mailed out in November.  Here it is on its cute recipient:

I also finally did the finishing on Aidan's BSJ.  Unfortunately, he was so large (9lb 11 oz) that he only got to wear it about 3 times before he outgrew it!  I've passed it on to 2 other new babies since then.  Here's the shot of him in it, for posterity.

I also knit a new batch of my veggies, using Opal brand yarns for Arcadia Knitting -- finished these a few weeks after Aidan was born.  Here's the artichoke:

And, I knit a whole sweater as a surprise gift for my friend's birthday!  Sadly, it turns out that not only is it too short (fixable), but it's not what she wants (not fixable).  Oh well.

  That's the stuff I finished in 2008 (!)

Here's 2009 FO's so far:

This is a grown-up version of my Spyhunter hat, commissioned by the girlfriend of one of the top Spyhunter players in the country.  Given as a Valentine's day present -- evidently he loved it!  Knit in a variety of worsted weight yarns.

THis is a super warm hat for my mom, knit in two layers of Misti Alpaca Chunky.  Came out great!  I knit a plain hat, then picked up stitches from the edge and knit the same shape as a lining.  I just attached the two layers at the top, and it was good to go. Modeled here by my friend Jenny.

 

Another BSJ, for my friend's baby Maggie -- knit with Panda Silk DK and some Opal fingering weight.

Here she is, lookin cute!

And yet ANOTHER BSJ -- this one for my friend in San Francisco, found again via Facebook after 14 years out of contact!  This is knit with Noro Cashmere Island, with handmade dichroic glass buttons. Sadly not machine washable, but beautiful!  I now will always remember this lesson: Noro feels MUCH SOFTER after washing!

And after all that, here's what I'm currently working on:

Rainbow Tomten for Aidan.  This is using Mini Mochi sock yarn.  Boy, is that a lot of garter stitch in sock yarn!  I'm actually farther along than this photo -- hood is done and 1 sleeve is done.  Getting there.

And, because my husband requested it, I'm doing a Big Colorful Blanket in my spare cycles -- it will be 16 squares of log cabinny goodness, loosely based on the Mason Dixon Buncha Squares afghan.

And, I still haven't finished the Caterpillar Blankie or Auntie's cable sweater.  But I will!  I haven't had any ability to concentrate on anything except garter stitch, but I seem to be out of that now.  Looking forward to a full night's sleep some time soon, too!

OK I promise to blog more regularly now.  See you soon!

You need me
Like the wind needs the trees
To blow in, like the moon needs poetry

Halfway Home

So I finished the Solar System sweater:

All the smaller planets are chain stitched on.  Saturn and Jupiter knitted separately and then sewn on with yarn...  I'm going to fix Saturn's rings to be a bit bigger... 

 

Just in time for the 4th birthday party!  It was planet-riffic.  Here's the cake -- we made it and decorated together:

  Yes, I know there are 6 candles not 4.  But, he wanted ALL the candles.  Some battles really not worth fighting!!!

He LOVES the sweater.  Very good ego gratification for Mommy here, he's wearing it every day.  It is pilling up a bit on the arms, but I'll give it a good shaving.  Such is the price of the cashmerino softness.  Also please note -- it relaxed quite a bit in the blocking, so this is definitely oversized for him now.  It's OK, it can be a two-season sweater, but he's got a good extra 2 inches in the sleeves and body...  let me know if anyone wants a pattern, I'll write it up.

We had a lovely solar system birthday party, and in the meantime, I have continued to crank away on the Caterpillar blankie for the not-yet-born son:

 

I've adjusted the charts a bit for the second set of fruits.  I have to remember that when doing fair isle, you don't need a squashy grid, things come out pretty much square (same height to width ratio).  So I've taken a few rows out to make some of the fruits not so tall.  This thing is getting pretty big and heavy -- it's either a blanket or a very very very warm miniskirt.  I think finished dimensions will be about 36" by 40".  Still fun though, thank goodness for gigantic yarn!

Steek freek-out

I'm still a little nervous about cutting this thing made of superwash yarn and having it not unravel.  But if the Mason Dixon ladies say it can be done, it can!!  Here's a pic of the steek area:

 

I will breathe and trust.

Oh, also, I'm teaching a class on fair isle/intarsia combo at Arcadia Knitting this Saturday, for anyone who's in Chicago, come on over!  It's from 1 to 3 in the afternoon.

Other stuff, mostly politics

I rewatched The Contender recently, and really enjoyed it even more.  Worth watching again in this election season, and this attack ad festival.  Jeff Bridges is outstanding as the President.  And Joan Allen is awesome. 

Also, I just read a terrific interview with John Hodgman.  Funny, but also some insightful political analysis of the campaign.

There's always someone cooler than you

Geeking Out

So this weekend was a triple threat of geekery...

On Saturday I went to YarnCon, which was a lot of fun, and kind of like seeing a bunch of old friends too... everyone was super friendly and the Chicago knitters came out in force.  I got to see Franklin's new book (fantastic!) and previews of his Men and Knitting calendar (woo hoo!!!).  But the star moment, and the reason why I went, was to meet Ann from Mason Dixon Knitting and get her to sign my copy of the book!  Terrific!!  She was super nice and enthusiastic, and I got to show her the caterpillar blankie in progress:

 

I'm really pleased with this, it's coming out quite nicely and it's really, REALLY fun to do fair isle at a gigantic gauge like this!!

Also, I showed off progress on the Solar System sweater -- doesn't look like much, but it's chugging along:

   

For those of you playing along at home, I'm past Saturn's orbit and on to Jupiter (Pluto will be chainstitched in after the fact).

So then Sunday, we went to the Long Grove Apple Festival and sang in Renaissance costume.  Turned out to be a good time, and a good demo opportunity, although there were only 6 of us so we didn't sing all our strongest pieces.  Still we got good crowds of people listening, so that was nice!

And then raced back to the city to take part of the MP3 Experiment!  It was raining by that time so it was quite a wet and cold event, but I'm still so thrilled to have taken part in it.  Can't wait for pix to be posted, and video too!! If you haven't seen any of Improv Everywhere's stuff before, it's really fun and exciting.  I personally think that adding more weirdness into the world is a good thing... nothing should be too predictable.  My favorite:  the best little league game ever.

So that was quite a few geeky pursuits in one weekend!  Stay tuned for more, and I'll review The Contender, which I rewatched this last weekend.

It is strong and you are tough

Long Time No See

Well I fear that I have been remiss in my blogging.  A lot has happened since last time.  The most important one being that I am pregnant, and due to deliver in November!  Hooray!  Another boy on the way, so I'll get to see my handknits worn on another baby before they go in the heirloom chest - excellent!

After a long slump in knitting, characterized by endless slogging on a traditional offwhite aran sweater for Alec's daycare lady (Auntie Betty), I am finally inspired and energized -- mostly by Ann and Kay's new book, Mason Dixon: Knitting Outside The Lines.  After several failed attempts at a baby blanket for the new baby (mitered -- didn't like the way the colors were going... diagonal garter -- too boring and the yarn turned out to be handwash -- even though synthetic!!), I'm inspired by Baby Dotty (ravel it here), but since I'm doing an Eric Carle themed baby room, I'm doing some fruits instead:

   

I'll be using a combination of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky and Dream In Color Fatty, for bulky varigated awesomeness!  I'm so excited to do fair isle on size 10.5 needles, I can't even believe it.

But the fun doesn't stop there -- I've gotten super juiced!  Alec is almost 4 and, shall we say, extremely focused (*ahem* obsessed) on the Solar System.  My friend challenged me to make him a Solar System sweater, while he's still willing to wear things with things on them, if you know what I mean.  I proposed this to him, and he was super excited.  Here's the picture I came up with, it's a circular yoke sweater based on EZ's percentage system:

 I'll do a contrasting garter ridge for each orbit, and embroider/applique the planets on.  When Alec saw this picture, he was so excited! "And my neck will be the sun?"  He took the picture to bed with him last night, he was so excited.  *Sigh* - it does a knitter's heart (ego) good to have the positive regard of a preschooler.  This sweater will be out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.  More updates soon.

 

My Debut

So, I had a booth at the DIY Trunk Show!  It was a lot of fun.  Here's some pix of my layout:

 

I sold some patterns, sold ALL the booties, sold a hat and some knitted veggies, but most importantly had wonderful conversations with knitters and fellow crafters.

Guess what vegetable is a good display stand for a baby hat?

Answer: Spaghetti squash.  Who knew?

So, the blog had been quiet for a while as I knitted like crazy to get ready for the show.  But here's what I made:

The Veggie Set (Carrot missing)

The Ducky Hat

The Pastel Ducky Hat

Ribbit Hat

The BlueBeary Hat

The Pretty Please Hat -- with Ruffle!

And 4 pairs of ducky booties, 1 pair of froggy booties, and a partridge in a pear tree...

Whew!

After the show, all my knitting mojo that had been pent up in little baby hats was RELEASED!  I immediately made a dragon hat for Alec, which he rejected (no picture!) in favor of the hat I made him last year, out of Misti Alpaca Chunky double knit.  My feelings weren't hurt too much, since he is still wearing a hat I made, and he LOVES it, wants to wear it all the time.  I made him a scarf to go with:

which he currently will not wear, but I am sure he will when it gets cold enough!

I also made him some Lovikka mittens out of Cascade 220 wool, they felted up really nicely:

And now I need something for MY head.  I was so jealous of that Misti Alpaca that I got some for myself, and am making a Coronet hat.  Here's how far one skein got me:

Of course, that brim is folded over, so there's actually more hat than just that little bit.  I'm liking this pattern so far -- it's flexible, the cable was fun and not too onerous (no cable needle, of course!), and I think it will be warm and delicious.  Actual color is dark chocolatey brown.  Now I just need to get another skein!!

I've also got some present knitting underway.  The Hanami Stole for my mom is SLOW going, so I think this is a birthday present (March) not a holiday present.  But it is beautiful.  My first real lace project!

By the way, this is Malabrigo Laceweight if I didn't say so before.  And those are 4 mm swarovski crystals (clear AB) on the bottom edge.

And, I'm halfway through slipper sox for Ken, in Mountain Colors Twizzle.  He loves the first one a lot, so I am girding my loins to get through the rest of that damnable 2x2 ribbing.  Ugh!

OK that's it for now.  Next time I will give you much movie and TV reviews, coz guess how I've been getting all this knitting done??  So, I've seen:

• No Country For Old Men (Outstanding.  Devastating)
• The Devil Wears Prada (Charming, fluff.)
• Underworld (Terrible, 2nd rate Matrix)
• Ocean's 13 (Predictable and nonexciting, but a great payoff/ending)
• Pushing Daisies (I LOVE this series, it is my New Thing)
• Bandits (It was OK, needed about 20 minutes edited out of it to get it moving, but good ending!!)
• I also tried to watch Cradle Will Rock, but gave up after an hour.  Where's the plot, already???

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh

Duck parade -- and many reviews

The duckie booties have been multiplying:

And they have spawned some other water creatures:

So my knitting is now all-DIY show, all the time. I'm going to charge through one more pair of duckie booties, and one more froggy one, then move on to some hats.  I am going to try to find some wool-blend for more froggies today though -- the Pima Tencel hurts my hands too much, and I think the booties are better in something softer and more luxurious.  So what have I been doing while I produce all this (relatively) mindless knitting?  (There is something to be said for doing the same thing over and over -- you get fast!)  Well...

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

We went to the premiere of this movie, despite mixed reviews.  A bunch of us went in costume and handed out flyers for the SCA -- it was a low-key demo that was very successful!

The movie -- meh.  Yes it was rich and well filmed.  But it was kind of boring, with overacting, and costumes that were truly fantastic, as in, not accurate.  :(  Although the lace collars were gorgeous.  I think it's an interesting meditation on the psychological fallout of the decisions Elizabeth made in the first movie.  It answers the question "How long can she keep this up?"  But still, it was just a mishmosh of plot points, with no story arc.  And you know, I can handle iffy historical costumes and bombastic music in the service of a great story and script, which is what I thought the first one was.  But this one was definitely the Spinal Tap version -- everything is turned up to 11, including the acting.  Which I think is unfortunate, because in the first movie the performances, although sometimes over the top, are often nuanced and delicate, and human.  Even the "I too can command the wind!" line from the previews comes off as pathetic and desperate in the film.  Rather than going on about the first film and how great it was, and how meh the new one is, I direct you to two excellent review:  Antagonie & Ecstasy's review is very excellent -- gives a low score but calls the movie a "must see" -- sort of wonderfully awful.  Nick's review of "Elizabeth: Full Throttle" is more scathing, but accurately so, I think.  So go rent the first one again, please.  *Sigh*... sequelitis struck hard.

On the other hand, I also watched...

The Science of Sleep

Quiet, sad, elegaic, poetic, painful... this move is painfully evocative of the gap we have between our ideal, romantic selves and the crummy, jerky selves we actually are, especially with people we're attracted to.  And how are friends can be true friends and jerks simultaneously.  And how it feels to have an utterly meaningless job.  The visuals are delightful and stunning.  The cast is terrific.  It feels like a very autobiographical sketch -- the details are so factually weird and emotionally plausible that it rings with authenticity.  I also appreciate that it doesn't follow a formula in terms of its arc or ending.  Salon's review captures the movie well.  Definitely rent this, and then be sad and moved.

And, I've also been reading a ton! 

Robin Hobb -- Farseer and Liveship Traders

I tore through two trilogies by Robin Hobb -- The Farseer trilogy and the Liveship Traders series, both set in the same world, with events roughly in the same timeline.  These books are not escapist fantasy -- Hobb builds a plausible political world with real, solid characters in her fantasy setting.  I was thinking about the difference between science fiction and fantasy, and how I think people expect fantasy to be big, romantic, epic heroes' journeys.  Science fiction can sometimes be this, but is often more of a what-if -- what if we built a world with these conditions, how would people live in it?  While Hobb's books are set in a pseudo-feudal, low-tech world, magic takes the place of science and she creates more of a what-if scenario.  Both series are pretty tough -- bad things happen to good people, some good things happen to bad people, and no one is particularly all-good, but everyone is very human.  I felt myself upset but riveted, especially by the second series -- the characters have to deal with some tough ecological and ethical dilemmas brought on by their forefathers.  Very thought provoking and intense.  I approve.

Maia

I'm now delving into this monster (1200+ pages!) and although I find it suffers from made-up-names-for-things-itis (a common fantasy illness), and its politics are not as elegantly intertwined with its primary plot, I am still finding it compelling.  I will press on.

Side observation:  How do you know it's a fantasy novel?  If it has a hand-drawn map in the front.

And finally, in music...

The Go! Team

I heard a review of their second album on Sound Opinions, having never even heard of them before.  Sounded totally compelling to me (cheerful, sampleriffic music with double-dutch hip hop vocals), and when I checked out their first album on iTunes, wouldn't you know they provide the soundtrack to the demo for my most eagerly anticipated PS3 game!  So, I'm a convert. Here's how this reviewer describes them: "Sesame Street on speed infused with hints of Jackson 5 meets Lee Greenwood and Nancy Sinatra and a pinch of Sonic Youth."  Accurate!

That's a thing that I keep in the back of my head

Et Voila!

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen!  The completed Caterpillar Sweater!

The back...

A little more of the back, including caterpillar sleeves...

The front...

Sleeve detail...

And the sweater in action!

One of the most gratifying things about this sweater is that Alec loves it a lot, and recites the story when he looks at it.  The other gratifying thing is that it really looks like my concept drawings!

And the other other gratifying thing is that people have  been marking it as a favorite in Ravelry!!  How cool is that???

I am completely satisfied with this sweater... EXCEPT that I might redo the zipper.  I hand sewed it in (fine), but I just laid it out with what seemed natural, and the two sides are not exactly the same, and they are both longer than the back.  So I think I might take it out, measure the zipper tape against the back, cut it, then sew each side in to the absolute zipper length, I think that might work better.

So here's the stats:

Caterpillar Sweater

Pattern:  My own, based on Ann Budd's universal drop-shoulder cardigan pattern

Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in a variety of shades, Lorna's Laces in Envy, some local handpainted green yarn, and Natural colored Karabella Aurora 8 for the body.  Plus a little bit of Socks that Rock to make the hairy caterpillar back, and a little bit of Louet Gems for the yellow outlines of the eyes.

Notes:

Did my own math for the decreases on a garter stitch sleeve.   I knit the body all in one piece, dividing for the fronts and backs, then did a 3 needle bindoff at the shoulders.  I picked up the sleeves in the armhole but then knit them back and forth, joining again for the cuff.  I then seamed up the sleeves after the fact.

I knit the fruit by shaping them on the fly, and invented a funky way of making the button holes two rows high for the holes in the fruit (I am sure it is cheating!).

I knit the caterpillar in garter stitch with short rows to shape the segments.  I bound off at the end of the green part, then knit the head separately.

Everything is applique'd onto the sweater using  running stitch with its own yarn ends (left them long).  I sewed the top of the caterpillar on with some Socks That Rock to make the hairy top of the caterpillar.

I used yarn to do chain stitch embroidery for eyes, horns, stems, and leaves, with a little satin stitch thrown in.  I used a bit of Opal sock yarn to do the yellow around the caterpillar eyes -- I couched a double strand down with another strand of the same.

I was able to bury the ends of a lot of the applique into the layer between the sweater body and the shapes, so the back is pretty tidy.

Whew!  A lot of work but soooo cute!

A few notes on the fit -- I was worried this would be too narrow across the chest, so I wet-blocked it and stretched it out a bit.  Fits fine, and the sleeves are plenty long.  Had I known when I started that I was making a 3-4T size (instead of 2-3T -- this took a while!), I would have made the body longer too.  Also, I think the neck hole needed to be set into the back more -- it pulls to the back a bit.

I wish I knew a good way to pick up the collar in a contrasting color and have it look neater -- does anyone have any suggestions?

Oh, also, I'm in full swing production for the DIY trunk show now.  Just finished my second pair of booties.

I was going to review Elizabeth: The Golden Age today, but I think that's enough for one post!!!

It's an occupation where the wind prevails

Big updates, and Movie Review -- 3:10 To Yuma

While little posting has been happening, much knitting has been happening!

Here is the completed Twins Blanket #2, from Araucania Pomaire and a few other assorted bits.

It is super soft and delish.  Center got messed up a bit and inexplicably I chose not to tink back for it.  But it looks OK.  The edge is garter stitch with M1 increases.  Were I to do it again, I'd probably forgo the increases in the border -- I don't thinnk it needs it.  Here's a detail shot with more accurate color:

Yummy!

Also, I got my Ravelry invitation!!!  I am bluecanarygirl.  It is super cool to see people making my designs too!  There's one Pondemonium in the works and more than 20 bunny hats!  Makes me feel like a real designer.  Ravelry is so huge, I could take a week off work and just plumb its depths.  As it is, I have merely stuck my toe in, but it's terrific.

OK in other knitting news, I have sewn 5 of the 6 strips of the Patchwork Rainbow Twins blanket (#1) together so I'm on the home stretch.  And I started another Sweet Baby Cap for Greta -- this is instead of another pinwheel blanket -- I frogged that one.  The cap seems like a more appropriate gift, and it's very sweet indeed.

The yarn is Socks That Rock in Fairgrounds.  I was going to stripe this with something else, but it's stripey enough on its own!

Now I just need to finish the Caterpillar Sweater in time for Alec's birthday and I'm good to go for DIY Trunk Show Prep!

And in case you're wondering what else I've been doing with my time, it's this:

I designed all the embroidery patterns, and did a ton of embroidery and beadwork on these babies.  They were a lot of work!  Here's some detail shots:

Yes, that's a lot of beads.

3:10 To Yuma

This was a great classic western, with just phenomenal acting from Messrs Crowe and Bale.  It's completely predictable in a way, and very comfortable working within the tropes of the western.  But throughout the whole thing, I just kept whispering, "this is SO FUN!"  Strange to be so tickled by a somewhat tragic story, but it was just delicious.  I would even use the word "rollicking" as in a rollicking western.  And you know what?  I forgive Russell Crowe for any stupid movies he's been in.  He's awesome.  That is all.

They turn into the kind of joke that Keith feels isn't that funny

A festival of color

First, I want to say, thanks for all your comments over the last few months!  For some reason, Typepad is no longer emailing me when I get comments -- I'll be getting them to fix it, reading your comments, and replying!

Blankie madness

Hooray!  I have the body of knitting done on the first Blankie!

Next step is to sew all these strips up (and the ends in), and then knit a garter border in this leftover Organic Cotton I have:

The Patagonia was super yummy to knit with, but this blanket ate up the yardage!  I basically have none left (6 skeins = 36" square blankie). 

Also, partway through the last strip, I just got tired of the whole thing.  It was enough with the color changing and the fiddly 20-stitch rows with all their purling etc.  So, I started another blankie:

This is a Pinwheel Blanket for Greta, another friend's new baby.  I'm making it out of Socks That Rock (doubled), and some leftover Rowan Cashsoft DK in ecru.  The STR is two skeins from the 2006 club -- Peaseblossom and Fairgrounds.  I'm glad to be using it -- I had a ton of sock yarn, and it's so nice, it doesn't have to meet its destiny as a pair of socks!  Glad to be stashbusting too.

This blanket is so much fun and so easy that I think I'll make the second Twins Blanket as a pinwheel too, but out of this nice Araucania Pomaire:

I'll do the cool colors in wide stripes, with the red as narrow stripes between.

So, a lot of baby blanket action around here!

In addition, with my stash busting going on, I've lined up some holiday knitting!  My mom would like the Hanami Stole, so I'll be looking for blue or purple laceweight for that project.  My first big lace project -- any suggestions for good lace yarn for a beginning lacer?  I will be going to Indianapolis twice in September, so I will definitely be stopping by the Knit Stop again (source of Araucania goodness)!

Also, some of my singers have requested socks and scarves, so now I've got a full plate on the project list.

BIG NEWS

I have gotten in to the DIY Trunkshow in November!  Check out my vendor page.  So, I'm going to knit a slew of baby stuff (13 hats, 10 pairs of booties), and make some kits too.  I'm so excited!  This show was terrific last year -- I shopped a ton, it was like a holiday craft bazaar for cool people.  So far I am the only knitter listed... hopefully this will lead me to more fame, and possibly fortune.

Vintage movies

I've been on quite a retro kick lately.  Here's my reviews, for all you 80s folks out there...

Dirty Dancing, super fabulous deluxe DVD edition

Nobody puts baby in a corner! *Sigh*.  Still fabulous.  The thing that really strikes me this time through is that this movie is all about fathers, and truth, love, and respect in those father relationships.  Baby's relationship to her father, and how he adjusts to her as an adult, and then Johnny's hunger to be respected and his rebellious resentment of being misunderstood... at the heart of this is Jerry Orbach's lovely performance as Baby's father.  It's really a nice piece of ensemble acting.  I can't even tell if this movie is cheesy or not, whenever I watch it I am instantly transported into the drama, the heart, and the DANCING of course!  Maybe that means it holds up...  here's a nice review I found while looking for a picture.  Oh, also!  The extras on the DVD are terrific!  The interviews are really fun to listen to, for the die hard fan.

Next time:  Flatliners and Goonies

Switch off the mind and let the heart decide

FINALLY, Sockapalooza AND vacation pix!

So I found my camera, and actually got to wear my wooly sockapal sox today! The upside of cold and rainy weather.  Here they are, in all their sparkly goodness:

Here's a detail shot where you can see some of the diamond texture.

These came along with some yummy fruit galettes.  Thanks so much, Kate!

And here are a few cute Alec shots from Pennsic, our fabulous (but VERY wet and rainy) medieval camping vacation:

Father and son

Cutie pie

And here's some marzipan I made in about 20 minutes at camp -- combat sotelties!

Here's my quickie marzipan recipe:

1 can almond paste
1 egg white
2 teaspoons orange extract

Mix these together with a fork until the mixture forms a smooth paste.

Then, add much powdered sugar as necessary to make a workable dough.  The consistency should be like play-doh.  Divide for colors, add food coloring and mix.  Add more powdered sugar to bring it back to dough consistency.

Shape into delicious fruit shapes and enjoy!

Ain't nothing flashing but the fireflies