Polyvore!

Hey, have you all heard about Polyvore? With it, you can create collages of just about anything, by swooshing photos from any website you wish! Use it to plan an outfit for a special event, create a fashion storyboard, or even develop a wish list!

Here's an example of a collage I made this morning:

"Modern Day Cinderella"

I just heard about this yesterday over on the Simply Knitting blog, and I'm already addicted! This is going to be my second-biggest time waste after Ravelry, I can tell. Unfortunately, unlike Ravelry, Polyvore doesn't seem to actually be helpful or productive in any way, so it's just for fun!

Enjoy!

Till next time,

Sarah

Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera....

I know, I know...it's too late for a Memorial Day post. But look! There was knitting!

and a picnic, to boot!

and fireworks!

We had a great time at Celebration at the Station here in Kansas City. There was a free concert by the symphony, yummy food, and fireworks! What's that? You want to know what that lovely piece of green silk turned out to be?

No. 6 by Wendy Bernard for Stitch Diva Studios

Based on a classic Chanel piece, this new pattern (available soon at http://www.stitchdivastudios.com/) features seamless, top-down construction with set-in sleeves. In over 15 years of knitting, I'd never constructed a sweater like this before, and I have to say: this is something we should all know how to do! There's no better pattern to give it a go with than this one, either. Wendy's no-nonsense style of pattern writing gives clear, precise directions on how to master this interesting technique! Knit up in delicious Tilli Tomas, this is going to be one piece you'll be reaching for again and again!

pretty sleeves!

There's been another test on the needles in the past couple of weeks! This one is another knockout:

Silken Scabbard by Jennifer Hansen for Stitch Diva Studios

Knit up in delicious 100% cashmere, this design features morphing cables that outline the raglan shaping, sleeves, and waist shaping. Bee-you-tee-ful! This one's sure to be a big hit. The pattern will be out soon and I believe will feature both a short-sleeve and long-sleeve version.

for this test, i knit only what you see here - jennifer added the rest

pretty girl says: you need one of these!

Well, that's it for now, I guess. There's been more knitting going on, but I've been meeting book deadlines, so I can't show you!

Till next time,
Sarah

In which knitting appears on the knitting blog!

It seems like I've been knitting a lot of socks lately. Now, I don't by any means consider myself a Sock Knitter, but socks are just so darn easy to design that I've been doing a lot of that lately. Two of the pairs will be seen in the upcoming "Tops & Toes" by DRG Publications/The House of White Birches, due out this fall. The other pair, well, we'll have to see.

So anyway, since I've been knitting all these pairs of socks, I started thinking I needed to get a pair of sock blockers. After looking in all the local yarn shops and finding only those awful plastic things (no offense, Amber!), I decided I wanted something a little prettier. And where else do you go for something that's pretty and practical but Etsy??

swoon!

I got these from Leggy Creations on clearance at a stunning $20 - for the pair. Her usual price is only $30 per pair, which is a steal considering that most of the plastic blockers are $25 per pair. If you're in the market for sock blockers, I'd highly recommend checking out her Etsy shop. I believe she takes custom orders, as well as the items already in her shop. I only regret that I only need one pair, because these could get addicting! I was also really happy with the friendly, personal service that Becky gave me, as well as super-quick shipping. Very, very happy! And these got put to use as soon as they arrived. On what, you ask? These:

monkeys!

Yes, I know there are like 5,000 pairs of these on Ravelry. Mine are the non-lacy version, knit in Koigu. Didn't they turn out pretty though? I absolutely love how they blocked so nicely on my new sock blockers! Hmm...maybe I will become a Sock Knitter, after all!

Till next time,
Sarah

A Brilliant Ikea...

I paid a visit to the Sunrise Ikea before leaving south Florida (that's a whole other story for a whole other blog post, but I can sum it up in one word: Hellhole!!!) and snagged some goodies. Among them was this lovely herb garden container, which I filled today:

pretty little green things!

Clockwise from top left, we have lavendar, large-leaf basil, chocolate mint, lettuce-leaf basil, rosemary, and sweet basil. I like basil a lot! I use it quite a bit to make fresh pesto. Yummy! Plus, it smells unbelievable! And since this lovely little collection is inside instead of on the porch, my whole sitting room is going to smell delicious - and I can't wait!

Loads of knitting is going on at my place these days. I'm trying to finish a dress, a sweater and half a pair of socks before the end of the month. Wish me luck!

Till next time,
Sarah

Rusted Root!

I finished my Rusted Root a couple of weeks back, and have been too lazy to take photos until this morning:

Look, there are green things here now!

I love my back porch!

I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease, 3 skeins for the Small size. I thought it might be knitting up a little too tightly at first, but now that it's finished I love how it turned out! Get all the gritty details here.

I'm also currently test knitting a design by Jennifer Hansen for Stitch Diva Studios. It's a sweater, and it'll be out for the fall line.

100% Cashmere by Jade Sapphire

It's coming along nicely and is going to be just gorgeous! One of the things I love about working for SDS is getting to use these wonderful luxury yarns that I'd never choose to afford for myself. This stuff is just amazing! It's also eerily similar to the 4-ply mongolian cashmere that Sarah's Yarns carries.

I'm also working on a sooper-secret project for an upcoming book by Cherry Tree Hill Yarns! Here's a tiny peek:

Shhhh, don't tell anyone I let you see!

That's it for now!

Till next time,
Sarah

They Do. . .

This past week has been a whirl of activity, preparing for my oldest brother's wedding on Friday. Here's a shot of the happy couple:

Cutting the Cake

And what did I wear, you ask? Why, this:

6 yards of silk dupioni!

I designed it myself! I wanted a super-full skirt (over 300" inches at the circumference), with a satin cumberbund at the waist and neckline. The back slopes sharply from the neck to the small of the back, attaching to the cumberbund. Finished the whole thing off with these, this and a 10-inch black satin bow worn aside my parted, chignoned hair. Only about 4 days from start to finish - I was surprised I could pull it off without a pattern! I haven't worked with fabric in a long time. I may have to start doing it more often. . .hmmm. . .summer dresses, anyone?

Till next time,
Sarah

Free Pattern Day - Angularities!

Featured in Magknits, April 2008.

Knit with sock yarn, these lovely armwarmers will keep you warm in style, while munching up those leftover skeins! As seen here, they use 1 skein of Lang Jawoll and 1/2 skein of Tess Super Socks & Baby - but you could use any odds and ends you might have lying around! In total, you'll need about 400 yards for the pair.

UPDATE: Magknits has gone offline! This pattern is now available for purchase for $1.00. I have reformatted the pattern into a lovely PDF, which will be available for download immediately upon purchasing. Click the button below to purchase, or click here to add the pattern to your Ravelry queue.

Till next time,
Sarah