Adventures in Intarsia

Now that people have actually started giving me money for the items I make (I am just as shocked as you!), I've been able to experiment more with interesting textures, yarns and patterns. My newest project is a completely improvised intarsia design using (what else?) Knit Picks yarn (this time Vacation in Sunshine and Get Away in Rafting). Both of these yarns are going or are already out of stock over at Knit Picks (it's my habit of getting yarn on sale...) so once my stash is gone that's it. I decided to make this scarf really wide and long, so that it would be nice and bulky. The material is an acrylic/nylon/tactel/cotton blend. It's really soft and bulky to the touch.



The intarsia also produces a magnificent amount of ends I'll need to weave in at the end. I've been trying to do most of them as I go along, since not only are the ends annoying, but they get tangled with the three balls of yarn I happen to have attached to my needles. It's all very exciting.

Speaking of exciting, I discovered a great web service today, and I vow to sign up for it soon! It's called Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/) and it's basically the Ebay of the D.I.Y. folks (I like to include myself under that rubric). Not only will it help with my visibility, but it will enable me to ship all over the county without panicking. Hooray! I've kept away from Ebay because I feel that people go there to find the best price. I just didn't think my items would fetch a fair price there. But with a service like Etsy, people go there for the quality and not the cost, so I'd be much more likely to get the price I want for my stuff. I'll make sure to post a link to any Etsy listings I make for my knitting.

In the meantime, contact me at sweet-avocado@hotmail.com for orders.

Armwarmers: An Addiction

Did I ever mention I'm addicted to making armwarmers? These little guys are an absolute crowd-pleaser, and I love to make them. They're fun because I get to play around with all kinds of designs and textures. Here are the latest additions to my array!


I was thinking of taking the norse design and doubling it, so that there would be two mirror-image designs facing each other in a wicked long armwarmer. I know I would dig it. Here are some production shots for your viewing pleasure.


I really like the color combinations for both of these items. The green really pops out beautifully from the black wool, and the silver really works well with the viking design. I know I was thinking of Breton metalwork when I chose what color to use!

For questions and ordering information, contact me at sweet-avocado@hotmail.com.

Cheers!

Research and Development

Although I am already backlogged into kingdom come, I can't resist doing some design development. Right now I've been working primarily with accessories, and scarves and armwarmers have been flying off the proverbial shelf! Thank you to all my customers for keeping me in business!

I feel awful that I can't credit my source of inspiration, but yesterday I was surfing the blogosphere and came across a woman who was knitting a scarf for her favorite band, Tyr (yeah viking metal!). The whole viking/norse thing stuck in my mind, and I decided I wanted to do a folk motif for my next project development, and what I came up with was a pair of armwarmers donning this heart-shaped motif (you can find these in Brittany metalwork as well, sometimes made from horse-shoe nails).

...and the guts. I'm working on the second one of the pair right now, and then I promise I'll come running back to all the orders I've got backlogged! I'll also post a pretty hand-model image when I'm done knitting the second one.

For questions or order information, contact me at sweet-avocado@hotmail.com.

Thanks!

Filling an Order

I have finally finished an order on a corkscrew scarf for one of my clients! For this project, I used Knit Picks Spinnaker yarn (100% pima cotton) in Pink Quartz, and Knit Picks Butterfly Kisses in Plum, double stranded for the fuzzy effect. Sadly, Knit Picks is selling off the last of the Spinnaker, so I won't be able to get more of this material.

I went in a couple different directions for the production of my corkscrew scarves. First, I started with the Potato Chip Scarf pattern on KnitPicks.com. Working on size 11 circular needles, I cast on 100 stitches. I knit into the front and back of every other stitch every other row, starting with a knitted row and ending in two rows of garter stitch for a grand total of eight rows (those last couple of rows feel like a lifetime...). I also worked the scarf in this same way, but starting with 60 stitches for a slightly shorter result. I found that the shorter version works well for me (I'm sort of small and thin). The longer version works well for those taller than myself (I guess most people!).

The second approach I had to this scarf was similar to the first in terms of the increase pattern, but instead of using a make one increase, I used a yarn over. The result is a light fabric that drapes nicely. Here it is in the Spinnaker Oasis. I've included a detail image of the yarn over increase for your viewing pleasure.

And finally, here it is, wrapped snugly around my freezing neck (it finally feels cold here in NYC! What a weird fall it has been...). As I mentioned above, Spinnaker is going out of stock over at Knit Picks, but I will still be working with this pattern in other yarns. Contact me at sweet-avocado@hotmail.com for any questions or ordering information.

Cheers!

Provisional Cast-On

This is my first official post as a knitting blogger! This will hopefully be my launch pad for experiments and development experiences. I am an obsessive knitter, and I wish I could do it full-time. Alas, there are bills to pay, and my knitting brings in little revenue. I do make items for sale. Generally I'll produce a knitted piece, show it to my customers, and collect orders. Sometimes, a client will want a modification of some kind, and I'm happy to accomodate!

A few facts about how I run my little mini-business (after all, it's just me, myself and I!):

- I'm located in Brooklyn, New York. I have no safe-guards against money-wire fraud, so I deal locally (think Craigslist)
- I buy yarn in small quantities, so once I run out of a particular yarn chances are I won't be able to replenish my stock
- Keeping the above in mind, once an item is gone, it's gone!
- All my items are made by hand, by me
- I give beginner knitting lessons for the very reasonable rate of $30 an hour in the metropolitan area of New York or in my home. Contact me for group sessions.

Most items I post on this blog are available for sale. If they are not, I will try to make a note of it. If I am working from a design by another knitter, for example, it will not be for sale. I ask that you extend the same courtesy to me. I will try to make patterns available when I can, and note my references as faithfully as possible.

For questions and ordering information, contact me at sweet-avocado@hotmail.com.