Cthlulu

Sorry I've been MIA. It's this whole gestating/graduating thing. It's a real time suck.

But in between the naps and the papers, there has been knitting. A few more baby sweaters. A pair of toe- up socks. And a Cthlulu Balaclava. The Cthuluclava, as it's called.

T is pretty awesome. Not only did she only learn how to knit last year (in our Saturday Beginning Knitting class--I was going to say that this was some shameless self-promotion, but isn't that what a blog is?) and become a regular, not only is she the nicest person in the whole universe, she has the most kick-ass DVD collection, which she shares (see the second compliment) with all the knitters (see the first).

So if you come to Stitch and Bitch and wonder why we're always talking about Buffy and Angel, it's because of T.

As I was watching Buffy, I thought about knitting something to say, "Thanks for being awesome, T!" And knowing that she's a huge sci/fi nerd and HP Lovecraft fan, I knew what I had to knit.

It was a difficult project (lots of little pieces and picking up stitches), but it ended up looking pretty awesome. I told T that I was sorry that I didn't block it.

"That's okay," she said. "Cthlulu is from a dimension that doesn't recognize Euclidean geometry, so it makes sense that he's a bit wonky."

Wow, did I make the right hat for her or what?

Kentucky State Fair, 2010

The Kentucky State Fair is over, so hopefully you all got your fill of donut burgers, fried butter, farm animals, and Joan Jett. I didn't bother going. I'm six months pregnant. Which means no beer tent and food poisoning would be even more unpleasant than normal. Not to mention the heat.


The only thing I felt like I missed out on were the textiles, but luckily, some of our customers sent me pictures of some winning entries. The Knit Nook really represented this year!

Suzanne entered Paloma's owl sweater [rav link], but it didn't win anything. Suzanne said that the fair was just lousy with owls this year. (Just do a Ravelry search for "owls" and you'll see that it's true.) But her beautiful alpaca shawl won second place. We think that the colors were just a tad subtle and dark which is why she didn't win first. But she's got a strategy for next year.


Sharri entered three things and won three ribbons. The Bob Dobbs vest she made for her hubby won a ribbon (no, that's not intarsia; crazy lady did the color work in DUPLICATE STITCH!)


Her Piper hat and scarf set (and Sharri made up the scarf pattern herself to match the hat) won a ribbon.

And her Bex socks (no picture--Sharri, if you have a pic, send it!) also won a ribbon. Good job, Sharri!

Mary Beth's Dale of Norway ski sweater won third place. It's an exquisite piece of craftsmanship (she steeked the armholes for crying out loud!), but unfortunately for Mary Beth, craftsmanship doesn't seem to be a requirement for ribbon-winning at the KY state fair. Cute always beats difficult.

Mary Beth's gloves won second place, which I would have said was a travesty, if they hadn't been overlooked all together last year. So at least they were recognized. Finally!

Martha's crochet wedding purse won a blue ribbon. It's absolutely gorgeous. There are beads and everything. This purse is so lovely, that it has actually converted some people to crochet. Seriously. Martha worked on it in the shop and we had two people sign up for Beginning Crochet.

So remember Mary Beth's exquisite Dale of Norway ski sweater with the steeks and the colorwork? This is what won the blue ribbon. Jane's Sheep Yoke Baby Sweater (free pattern on Ravelry). But honestly, it's adorable.

And remember Suzanne's owl sweater that didn't win? This won a ribbon instead. Jane's Top Down Raglan. (Man, it's a wonder Jane can even show her face around this shop! If she wasn't the Mayor, I'd be worried for her safety!)

But Jane wasn't finished winning ribbons. Her Noni purse with the fairy garden needle felting won Honorable Mention.

Of course, there were plenty more Knit Nookers who submitted items to the fair and won ribbons. If you know of anybody else or have any other pictures to share, please email them to me! Congratulations, everybody! I hope you treated yourselves to some deep fried butter because you deserve it!

Cravings

I would say that since I've been pregnant, one of the most frequently asked questions (besides "Is it a boy or a girl?" or "You're not shutting down the Knit Nook, are you?!") have been about cravings.

I have had two very strong cravings, but neither has been food related. No pickles and ice cream cravings striking in the middle of the night. Which is odd. If you know me at all, you know that I already have disgusting food habits. I drink pickle juice straight from the jar. And that's when I'm not pregnant.

My first craving has been for cigarettes. Almost every single night, I have had dreams where I am smoking. And in these dreams, I am pregnant, but I somehow convince myself that "one or two cigarettes won't kill the baby." Obviously, I have not indulged this craving in my waking hours.

The second craving is less hazardous, so I've been indulging with abandon.

(Ripple stitch blanket out of Mission Falls 1824 cotton.)

Crocheting.

I seriously can't get enough.

Candy Babies by Candi Jensen is one of the best books for baby crochet projects. When I saw Victorian Charm, I got a SERIOUS craving.

Made out of 3 skeins of Debbie Bliss Eco Baby [rav link] in color 14009 and US G/6 hook. I just love it and she's going to look so cute in it!

Unfortunately, sewing on pieces of lace trim has not been one of my pregnancy cravings.

It's a Mini Pini!

It's a Mini Pini!

It's a February Baby Sweater!

It's a Confection Shrug!

It's a GIRL!

Summer Sale!!!

(gratuitous picture of me knitting on the beach a few years ago. cause what's a blog post without a picture?)

I hope everybody had a wonderful Fourth of July. I swam, ate a few burgers, drove over 1000 miles. God Bless America!

But if you thought that the festivities were over, think again! What better way to celebrate this great country of ours than to buy some beautiful yarn on sale? (Yes, I know that the connection between liberty and yarn is a stretch. But I'm talking about yarn. On sale. So you'll forgive my clunky segue.)

Our Summer Sale is this Saturday, July 10! I know, I can't believe it's here already! Everything in the store will be 15%- 75% off. That includes books, patterns, needles, bags, yarn, everything (except gift certificates--but feel free to spend your horded stamp cards and gift certificates at the sale.) We're opening at 10 am so be here early!

Also, our Fall 2010 Class Schedule is posted on the website. I'm going to try my very hardest to get some hard copies in the shop by Saturday.

See you all then!

Audrey in Unst

Just because I wasn't blogging doesn't meant that I wasn't knitting. Here's one of my FO: Audrey in Unst from the Fall 2009 Twist Collective, knit out of Misti Alpaca Tonos Pima Silk DK in neon yellow. I made the fourth size and it took 3 skeins. The real color name is "Roasted Corn" but I don't think that conveys just how loud and obnoxious this color really is. Hey, I'm a child of the eighties--I love me some bright ass yellow!

This was one of those situations where I fell in love with the pattern and the yarn separately. I would dream about this cardigan, wondering what yarn I could possibly use. Simultaneously, a skein of this yarn would end up sitting next to me at the table. And a few skeins were even squirreled away in the back. But it really took me a while to make the connection.

Despite the tiny needles (the pattern calls for US 4 but I used US 3 because those were the only needles I had at the time--it was late at night and I wanted to get started so I told myself that 3 and 4 were practically the same needle--and then later I wondered why the sweater was a smidge too small...hmmmm) this was a really fast knit. The body of the sweater is done from the bottom up and the sleeve stitches are picked up from around the arm hole. The pattern incorporates ingenious short rows to shape the cap. And the lace was fun and easy.


Tonya was good enough to model the sweater for me. She even wore a green shirt and everything. (In this picture I told her to "do a Kevin pose." Not enough muscle-flexing, but good attitude.) Can you believe that it was only four months ago when Tonya has a baby? That's right, Johnny is four months old and Tonya is looking and feeling great. I'd like to say that it is all the sweater's doing because it's just that fantastic, but I'm sure that it has more to do with breastfeeding and Johnny finally sleeping mostly through the night.

Here's a close up of the unst. It's a great stitch with an awful name. Reminds me of smocking and it's very easy.

You can also see that I still haven't put the buttons on it. After I finished it and realized that US 3 needles are in fact smaller than US 4, I also realized that no amount of cajoling could get my pregnant boobs into that cardigan anyway. So for now, it's button-less, but no less wearable. It's the perfect summer sweater--great over a tank.

Tangled up in Yarn

I've been trying to get some knitting done, but it seems like every time I get going on a project, I turn away for a second only to find this:

Tangled yarn all over the living room. Chewed up needles. I find myself spending more time untangling than I do knitting. Needless to say I've learned to put my knitting up high when I'm not around.


Because who knows when the beagle will strike!