Wry Punster

The Huntress

Last summer, I treated myself to a day trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I carefully packed my day bag- two very long bus rides were ahead of me!- and selected a juicy citric orange for a circular shawl idea that kept coming back to me.

I don't know whether it was knitting while sitting in the Temple of Dendur, one of my most favorite places in this world, or meeting up with my one of my closest friends for a cool drink, but the shawl that started that day is one of my favorite designs.

I'm proud to present the newest WryPunster design: The Huntress! Happy Friday!

Knit in Malabrigo Lace, 100% merino, 470 yards per 50 grams, 3 skeins in color 16, Glazed Carrot

Gauge and Needles: 20 stitches and 24 rows in 4 inches in stockinette stitch in the round on US 6/4.0 mm

Pattern is both written and charted.  You will knit in the round, work yarn overs, decreases, provisionally cast on, and do very limited grafting.  

Whether you are at home on the prairie, or stalking the urban jungle, the right accessories can elevate the simple to the sublime.  A shawl knit from the center out, with a knit on border is perfect for the first time lace knitter to practice her aim; more experienced knitters can enjoy a perfect bulls-eye with this eye catching shawl in the perfect complement to Pantone’s 2013 color of the year.

Purchase The Huntress for $6.00

Queue The Huntress

The Lovely

My sweet friends have been such a place of support and love this past year.  2012 was really hard, but refreshing in so many ways: I re-aligned my priorities, with the luxury of great advice from wise, kind, generous women.

I've found such celebration in knitting for the ones I love. It's one of the many small ways to thank them for their love and care these past months.

Shaelyn, from the Leila Raabe pattern, knit in Madelinetosh Merino Light, "Magnolia."

Ravelry details.

Pleasing

Confession: it's not often I am impressed with a pattern.  Between having very definite opinions about construction and strong feelings about "reverse shaping," there isn't a lot of room for a pattern to knock me over.

This pattern knocked me over.

 

Picture by Sara

 

Dragonflies Jumper, in Spirit Trail Fiberworks Sunna, color: Saffron. (or as Sara observed: Mimosa.)

 

Picture by Ann

 

When the pattern says "Increase in pattern," you really can.  There's a chart, with each and every increase drawn out, for every size.

I plan to knit about nine hundred more of these.

 

Picture by Ann

 

 

Tap, Tap

Hello, Punsters!

Great transition afoot.  I've been loving my new job (hooray!), in my most favorite of cities (hooray!), and while that means I'm away from Punsir during the week, there's the solace of a job that feeds my heart and my bank account.  At the end of the day, however, I usually have the energy for a shower and a half a sandwich before I fall asleep with my glasses askew.  My normal, sweat shop like knitting production? Non-existant.  Sometimes I will cuddle with a ball of yarn while I listen to NPR in the evenings, but that's often the extent of my yarn contact.

In commuting, I've knit several pairs of socks (I know, it's weird) but they all seem to run together.  For some reason, sweaters seem daunting.  I finished up a sweater I took to France; it had been waiting for three months for one sleeve.  That was embarassing!

All those socks have led to great leftovers, and the project I've been enjoying the most.  At the start of the year, I was giving my sock leftovers to some of the wonderful people from my my old knitting group (hi, guys! i miss you!), but somewhere between handing over little baggies of yarn, I got the craving to join in on the fun.  My friends gave me their own little baggies, because like all good dealers, they understand that the first hit is free.

Oops.  Getting a little carried away.

When I first mentioned my sock yarn blanket a few months ago, I got some great questions.  I regret to say that I never responded, but I hope I can use this post to answer a few questions.

Question 1: What on earth are you doing over there?

Answer 1: Living in a tiny apartment with a super awesome roommate.  Apologies for the box in the corner.  That's not my sofa, but my roommate is kind enough to let me drape knitting all over stuff.

Question 2: Um, E, I meant- what are you doing with the knitting?

Answer 2: Oh, HA.  Right.  Each of the squares in the picture above are knit individually, and then joined together.  I've been crocheting the seams, but that's because I'm lazy and it's speedier than seaming.

Question 3: Are you cracked?  All that seaming?

Answer 3: Probably.  But I also like sewing together knitwear so there you go.

Question 4: But seriously, what's with the squares?

Answer 4: Glad you asked!

Step 1: Get about 20 grams of left over sock yarn and needles that give you a comfortable drape.  I'm using US 2s, so normal people probably want a 4 or 5. Cast on 10-12 stitches and work in garter stitch for about 2 inches.  Bind off all stitches and do not break yarn.  Turn the piece 90 degrees to the left and using the last loop from your bind off, pick up and knit along the side of the work.  Knit all rows until the piece is about as long as it is tall.  On next RS row, bind off all stitches, and repeat the pick up and knit row after turning the piece 90 degrees.  Repeat these steps twice more, then bind off everything and break yarn.  Square complete!

Keep the finished squares in a giant basket, until they threaten to take over your wee bedroom, then roll around in them before starting to sew them together.  Crazy Knitting Lady Achievement: unlocked!

 

Rhinebeck!

Three sleeps to sheeps!

Normally, I make two monumental projects for Rhinebeck, but things got away from me this year.  I spent most of the Spring and Summer in a bit of a funk, knitting lots of socks on the way to my part time jobs.  I did knit a lovely cardigan designed by lovely Glenna (a housemate this year!).  I wanted to make her new Chatalaine, and even found yarn for it in the stash, but I just didn't have time.  Normally, I'd bang out the sweater; I have three days before I leave, and let's be honest, that's a totally doable time frame for me.

Instead, I am going to back-burner that project for a little bit.  I think I may wear my Emilie or my giant cashmere cowl neck sweater.  What do you think?  

Cashmere Cowl Neck

Emelie Cardigan

See me there?  Please come say hi! 

Favorite Shawls

I had such a good time walking down Knitterly Lane with my posts on cardigans and pullovers, I wanted to mention my most worn knittery goods: shawls.  Everywhere I have ever worked, the office has been cold, verging on frigid.  Part of that is that my office is usually in- quite literally- cold storage, but I am also from a long line of tiny, potato loving people and so I am almost always chilly.  

Multnomah, from the lovely Kate Ray pattern  This is a great, single skein pattern for all those lovely hand-dyes in your stash.  I wear this a surprising amount, given my usual preference for shawls to be larger than I am. The soft, neutral gray (another Sundara, natch) makes this a really seasonless accessory; it looks great with my green leather jacket and nice with my fancy black dress coat.  It also looks lovely and beachy over a summer maxi dress, which has been an unanticipated benefit of all that pebbled garter stitch.

An Ishbel in Felted Tweed. I am stupidly in love with this shawl. Is the lace fancy?  Not at all.  But somehow, combining lofty Felted Tweed (one of my very favorite yarns) with a dead-simple pattern gets significant wear time.  I wear this so often that a friend recently told me that I appeared to her in a dream, wearing this shawl and saying, "Well, of course I'm wearing a shawl. It's Felted Tweed." (I really, really love Felted Tweed.)

  Color Affection in Sundara Fingering Silky Merino in Fields of Provence and Juniper Over Sage, with Tanis Red Label Fingering in Dove.  I knit most of this on a trip to Canada to visit Glenna, so this has the added bonus of using souvenier yarn from a fabulous day visiting Toronto yarn stores. I love the enormous size of this: it's more than 80 inches long, and almost 24 inches deep.  I can wrap it around myself several times, and the dusty, softer pastel colors look great year round.  I've been wearing this a lot with the aforementioned green leather jacket, which brings out the cooler grays in the colors, making this a sophisticated topper for the days when my hair is wet and my makeup is more on my teeth than my face.

Finally, but most importantly: my Hanami.  I did not knit the gorgeous, rose gold perfection I am wearing, but I did make the royal blue one on my friend.  She, in turn, made the crabapple beauty on our other friend.  We did a round-robin swap in 2009.  Fun fact: the brunette knit the lovely orange sweater two posts ago.  Knitterly love!  There's nothing like wearing a handknit from your BFF.

There we have it!  My favorite handknits.  <3

Cardigan Love

After showering all that love on my favorite pullovers, I wanted to talk about my favorite cardigans.  I know I was suprised when I started pulling images for this post!

This is the Emelie Cardigan, knit in the most fabulous brown: Arabian Nights from Sundara Yarn. I knit this with a lot of modifications, including adding about a foot to the body; it's written as a cropped cardigan.  I also worked this with about 3" of positive ease, for a softer shape than I usually wear.  Combined with the shorter sleeves and the rounded neck, this is a sweater I wear all the time.  I brought it to France and wore it every day! When we got back, I still wanted to wear it, which is the mark of a great garment in my book. 

Aidez is such a departure from Emelie.  While the latter was knit in sock yarn on US 2s, this sweater was knit on 10.5s in some coned wool I held tripled.  I love it.  It's the perfect knockaround cardigan; probably not for work wear without a severe heel and a pencil skirt, but great for evenings and weekends.  I confess: when our old apartment had heating issues (by which I mean: functionally, had neither heat nor insulation) I slept in this a lot.  Probably more than I should be admitting on the internet. (also: Raglan! Suprise!)

  This is the Minimalist Cardigan, in its natural habitat: sitting on the steps of a museum.  While knitting this pattern made me want to take up competitive nostril waxing, I love the finished product.  The loose shape and crystal blue color make it a seasonless garment.  I love this in the winter over work sweaters- you know the kind, thin merino, designed to fit under a suit jacket and be utterly devoid of personality- and in the summer over linen pants and a silk shell.  Delicious.

  This is a patternless yoked cardigan which originally got a lot of attention because I cut one of the steeks on the subway. Though the simple, off brand wool is nothing special, wearing a made-to-measure garment is one of my greatest pelasures.  Is this sweater going to win me great fashion awards?  Probably not.  But it's a great garment to wear on my way to the grocery store.

These last two posts have shown me that even if I love making the super complex cable and fairisle garments, I wear the simple things again and again.  Maybe it's because the more ornate garments are- I hope!- more memorable, but it could also be that I get dressed pre-caffeine and only have the capacity for minimum hoopla!

Hit Parade

The wonderful, always inspiring Glenna has been doing a fantastic series about sweaters recently. One of her drum beats is about selecting a pattern that suits you, and then making intelligent modifications so a garment moves beyond homemade to handmade.  This is a topic I've been thinking about recently, because I am living out of a suitcase, and making my clothing decisions a week at a time.   I thought the footwear would be hardest part of this equation, but it's definitely the knitwear!

Since Fall is one of my favorite seasons, a lot of my knitting is selected with Fall in mind.  My favorite things:  3/4 sleeves, rich colors, lend themselves to an autumnal palette.  To springboard from this, I wanted to do a recap of my favorite knitwear.  I make a lot of garments, and it seems silly to only talk about them when they are brand new.  How are they wearing? What's my favorite? 

First up:

I should probably be embarrased to wear my Lightweight Pullover outside the house, since I wear it ALL THE TIME, but there you go. Why? The gray is a great neutral; I can wear it over black, gray, brown, or denim, and it's a simple shape, so it can be dressy or casual, depending on the accessories.  Dynamite.

This is a bottom up raglan with a rolled edge turtleneck in Queensland Kathmandu Aran.  For someone who generally does not like raglans or high necks, these two sweaters are funny pick.  I love how versatile the shape of this sweater is: it's a great platform for a piece of jewelry.  I love the shorter sleeves and the longer length: a winner!

And another cowlneck raglan!  I wear this sweater all the time. This is a heavily modified version of Finial, from Twist Collective. The beads at the hip add visual interest, but the voluminous cowl keeps things from geting frousy or twee.  Plus, 100% cashmere.  What's not to love?

Including this sweater is cheating a bit, since I didn't make it.  One of my dearest, most wonderful friends gave it to me. She designed it for her portfolio and I love it with a passion usually reserved for discontinued Rowan or my husband.  It is also a raglan (!), with a wide boat neck and a bloused shape.  I love the color, the neck/hip detailing, and the feeling of being close to my sweet Sara whenever I wear it.  It's the perfect antidote to a hard day.  Some people may buy shoes, I freebase other people's handknits.

Lastly, another raglan: the Folded pullover. I love the subdued shape, the pleat detailing- it provides just enough interest to make the sweater unsual without making it a single wear item- and the wide boat neck.  The yarn, Dream in Color Smooshy, is not my favorite, but it has held up admirably.  This is the kind of sweater I will do an entire load of handwash to be able to wear.  

What have I learned in writing this post? I wear the heck out of raglans.  I am normally very averse to them, since I have relatively broad shoulders, but they seem to be the sweaters I wear again and again. I love bright colors, sleeves that stay out the way and WOOLWOOLWOOLWOOL.  Of course, that last one probably isn't a surprise!

Stop by later this week for a roundup of my favorite cardigans.  I promise: they won't all be raglans.

 

Transitions

I have a bevy of finished objects to share- four pairs of socks! three sweaters!- but I'm not with my camera.  I'm living bag to bag, suitcase to suitcase, very much on the kindness of friends.  When my dream job opened up in my dream city, sweet Punsir said, "Don't be a fool! Get the job, and we'll find a way," so that's what I did.

Weekdays, I am in my favorite city, working at my dream job.  Weekends, I am home with my sweet fellow, our wonderful cat, and all my yarn.  At the end of the month, I will move into a new apartment, and I look forward to getting out the sewing machine, reorganizing the yarn stash, and sharing my crafting.

Lunch Money is Yarn Money

Punsir and I are still recalibrating our budget, because my part time jobs aren't as lucrative as my earlier position.  We've always been people who love to eat- both at home and in restaurants- and we've really enjoyed experimenting in our kitchen.

I wanted to share one of our favorite dishes, which makes tons of leftovers, reheats like a champ, and is about as healthy as this butter loving girl can stand.

Ingredients:

16 ounces of dried beans, prepared by either the quick or overnight method  (I use these interchangably;  16 ounces is one bag)

5.5 cups of water

3 cups of brown rice

Two large onions

One and a half pounds brussel sprouts, cabbage or other firm veggie (we use whatever's on sale, but I cannot eat enough brussel sprouts; they're my favorite by far)

Good dash of olive oil (you know, a glug.  Techinical term)

One stick of butter

Lots and lots of fresh garlic (a head? two heads? there's a lot of food here)

Half cup citrus juice, whatever's handy.  (Limes make the dish crisp, oranges make the dish a little bit sweeter, lemons are nice cross.  If you're juicing the fruit, save the rinds and toss them in the water you're using to soften the beans.  And then you can toss the rinds in the garbage disposal to give that a good scrub.  Efficiency is ever our watchword.)

Salt and pepper, as you require

Steps:

Whack the butter in half and melt in two large pans.  Chop the onions and throw in the first pan.  Chop the sprouts and throw in the second.  Cook both until they are lovely and brown (about 40 minutes) over moderate heat.  We like to separate these because we find onions tolerate higher heat than sprouts, but it also creates another pan to wash.   Split the garlic evenly between the sprouts and the onions. When the veggies are 95% done, toss them into a single pan so everything can play well together.

While the veggies are cooking, bring the 6 cups of water to a boil with the olive oil and add the citrus juice.  Lower the heat to medium and add the rice.  When the rice is almost finished, toss in your beans and check the salt/pepper levels.  When all the water has evaporated, leave the rice on the stove and add the sprouts/onions.  Give everything a good toss and correct the seasonings once more.

Serve with a a big salad to you and everyone you've ever met.  I'm not lying when I say this dish will feed both of us for a week: lunches and dinners.  It also makes great breakfasts; I throw a big spoonful into a pan to reheat (no microwave!) and then scramble an egg into the rice.  Protein rich and super cheap.  The prep time is mostly inactive: waiting for things to cook and while you can have three burners on, it does make so much food that it's a great summer dish.  Enjoy!