A Flock of Christmas Gifts

So no one's getting sweaters this year due to my recent prolific design work, but I've taken a break to crank out some fun projects from patterns I've been admiring. First of all, the Flock of Seagulls wristlets, from the book Handmade Underground Knitwear. Here's number one blocking; number two is on its way.

Second up, a Destroyed Cowl made from exactly one skein of Dream in Color Classy in Cocoa Kiss. I'm a big fan of these almost black colors.

Below: Anyone for some yellow on yellow Malabrigo stockinette stitch on a snowy day? Me! Me!

Finally, grandma's getting socks, as usual, but I decided to switch up her expected pink/purple color palette a bit this year. You can find the free pattern for these here. These are from more Dream in Color, Smooshy sock yarn this time.


Hope everyone's holiday planning and celebrations are going well. I'm actually working on Christmas Day at the bakery, but after that I'm off to Michigan for five days! And now... off to the kitchen to bake the stollens I've been working on this afternoon.

3 designs in 3 posts

KNITTY IS UP! I am the King of Confidence, and you can be, too!

I'm particularly proud of this design because it showcases my very own handspun 2-ply. That and the fact that, a la Athena, it sprung fully formed from my head... I imagined it and then I knit it, with no ripping, no revisions, no tweaking.

Coffee time! It's my day off from the bakery, and I've planned a schedule that revolves around watching the last few episodes of Monk on demand and finishing up some knit Christmas presents (to be showcased in the next post). Enjoy the pattern!!!

New Boots and Contracts

It's a brand new sock pattern, and it's free for everyone.


Anecdote for stressing out about new knitting design projects: Make something and share it. Some days I feel like I should be working harder on my knitting endeavors, producing, living up to a demand that, it turns out, exists for my patterns. As I get more opportunities to design, I've decided to only take those that allow me to make what I want on a schedule that works for me.

I made these socks to remind myself why I started writing down my ideas in the first place. And you can make them, too!

i wanna make a pair

And now it's available here!

Link to the Milk Snake Cowl... $1.99!



Worked from 1 am to 9 am this morning; I think it's time for bed. Is anyone out there planning on going to the Bizarre Bazaar in Boston tomorrow? I'll be there shopping!

New Pattern!

So there's been a lot of knitting secrecy going on here at Haus Weaverknits, and I can finally show you one of the products: My Milk Snake Cowl, available through Knit Picks!


I couldn't get the striped i-cord edging idea out of my mind for months and was just waiting for the perfect design to incorporate it. This cowl is easy and fun, with thick, cozy cables and the chance to showcase two buttons of your choice (I used two vintage square bakelite ones purchased at an antique store where the proprietor and I bonded for about an hour over a sort of large tackle box filled with buttons while Chris humored me).


Best of all, this pattern is only $1.99, as are all the new Knit Picks patterns! AND it takes only two skeins of any heavy worsted yarn... Knit Picks Gloss HW is heavenly. So here you are, just in time for Christmas knitting! Enjoy!

Whatever I do, wherever I go, absurd things ensue.

Hey everyone, I'm on PBS kids! I knew PBS was coming to film at my bakery, but had no idea I'd end up with so much face time.

Check it out here.

Today I did not have to go bake bread

So I was able to take some photos of my recent knitting. Before our recent move, I finished up what may end up being the only large handknit present of the holidays this year. It's a Pi shawl, large and plain, knit in Evilla Artyarn that I purchased from Wollsucht a few years ago:


It doubles as a warm blankie. A blankie that looks fabulous when scrunched up and wrapped about the neck:


I might wear layers of mismatched jammies and blankets as "togas" around my apartment in the winter, but I'm meticulous when it comes to what I wear out (now that I wear the same pair of flour-covered Dickies, t-shirt, hoodie, and work boots every day, I have to make a conscious effort not to give up entirely... honestly, many evenings I think, "why shower? I'll just be covered in flour again six hours from now. Oh, and I'll just wear those clothes in a pile there tomorrow as well. Socks too. Underwear. It's all good"). No sweatpants or any variation thereof, no flip-flops in summer. But a blankie like this? Fabulous!


The fact that I've let the Recession Series of free patterns lapse has been nagging me, so I've started a new design, and it's socks!

I'm actually looking for a test knitter or two for the pattern. I can't afford to pay you, but I can send you two complimentary Weaverknits patterns of your choice in exchange for knitting at least one of the socks within the next few weeks (the pattern should be available in about a week). Just send me an email at weaverknits77@gmail.com if you're interested!

ETA: I have test knitters!!! Thanks to everyone who volunteered.

The luckiest one...

at the Common Cod fashion show last night was ME. I was wearing Rebecca's showstopping design, Tesla!


NOT ONLY was I wearing it for the event, but it will be mine after a stint as a store sample at Windsor Button. All mine! These photos don't do it justice, really (though I am fond of the grainy quality created by the fast shutter speed) ... I'll provide a link as soon as the official show photos are available. For now, Rebecca has a few nice photos on Flickr here.


Rebecca wore my design, something I've called the Redred Trapeze Jacket (love these default names). She's also wearing a hat I got at a flea market in Bavaria. I think she looks like a Tim Burton heroine.

Just a shot of the back for now:

It was such a fun time. I love makin' stuff.

Friday, Friday, FRIDAY!

I will be presenting a new design at the Common Cod Fiber Guild local fibers arts runway show this Friday! I can say that with confidence now that the design is drying in the other room after a good final steam block. Whew! If you live in the Boston area, tickets are $5 if you're not a guild member; here's some more information.

In addition, I'll be strutting down the runway in at least one knit design (is it done, Rebecca?). I promise a post filled with fierce photos on Saturday.

Until then, here are a few photos of our new apartment. We live next door to a grellow house!

Here's the thrift store hutch Bicycle Boy restored, all stocked up and ready for use as our bar:

Yes, that is an educational model of a human ear on top. Among other things. Here's Bicycle Boy's shop, set up on our landing:

The selling point of the new apartment was its huge deck. Chinaski is taking full advantage of it already.

Knitting soon. Sleepy time now!

T-minus 3 days to move completion!

In the new apartment...


My 60" 8-shaft LeClerc loom (it's an 8-shaft Nilus) will have its own room. I christen our second bedroom "The Loom Room." Chris has disassembled it and made a numerical key for reassembly at the new place.


In the meantime, I'm working on a few new designs... here's a tiny preview. How I love a turned hem! It's actually liberating to only have ready access to the yarn for two design projects; I'm flying through them.

I love Chris

Our upcoming move provided the appropriate motivation for refinishing a hutch we bought at the Salvation Army a few years ago. Chris and I had discussed painting it red... but I mentioned that I might like it if it were yellow... and then Chris said "I was planning on red with yellow on the inside."

It's even better than I imagined.

Hello, Interweave!

I wrote an article for the fall Interweave Crochet about my favorite yarn stores in the Boston area:

I also made something for the Holiday Issue of Interweave Knits; the preview went up today. I always like the Holiday IK the best of all issues, and now I'm part of it!

Today, Interweave. What's next? Only I know (okay, and a few of you who came to the Yarn Sale, but keep quiet about it)!!! Here's a shot of me finishing up the math bits for it:


Those pajamas say "Cocktail Hour" on them. When I wear them, it is.

Prezzies!

Happy late birthdays to all! My recent bout with the flu not only kept me away from work and left me unpleasantly cranky, it also gave me time to finish up a few presents. First, the Herbivore shawl:


And a flat shot, with Chinaski centerpiece:


And another happy late birthday: Sunday Swing socks!

As hard as it was to part with both of these projects, I love knitting for others!

What I do when I leave the house in the middle of the night

In celebration of Yom Kippur (okay, I don't celebrate, so let's say in order to facilitate others' celebration of Yom Kippur), we made a bunch of special round challah braids at the bakery this past Sunday and Monday.


On Sunday I worked from 12:30 am to 9 am to get the braids out right when the bakery opened. Here's a glimpse of the pre-shaped braid segments; there are 6 in each braid, and we roll them a bit and let them rest so they're easier to roll out really long. My coworkers Ben and Ali are preshaping.

We make them into these:



Those are braids that I made on Monday when we were down two people (it was just Ben and I, with a little help from Styves who was running the oven. Round challah braid emergency! Round challah braid panic!). Ben pre-shaped and I braided... fitting in 26 round braids in addition to all the regular bread shaping and mixing.

You don't know how hard and fast you can work until you just do it sometimes.

Things I'm knitting: An almost-complete Herbivore shawl by Westknits. The yarn is Elemental (merino/silk/some silver!) by Yarn Hollow in Chili Red. I love it, but the twisted stitches make it more time-intensive than I initially projected. Oh, who am I kidding. I've been busy and usually nod off when I sit down to "relax" lately.


Things I'm digging:


This book! Seriously!!! I can't stop looking at it and flipping through it and dreaming about making every one of the designs. The drama of it! The simplicity of it! The patterns are very well written and quite simple... they make me want to stop designing for a while to give me more time to knit progressive chevrons. Seriously, when you look at the patterns and flat views in the book, there are all sorts of asymmetrical and progressive elements going on, things I've never seen before. After I move I'm treating myself to the yarn for the shawl of my choice.

Speaking of, a huge THANK YOU to all the knitters who made the yarn sale such a success! I hardly have anything left, and what's left will go to charity knitting. I met some very cool people and feel I passed on some love with all that yarn.

YARN SALE!!!! SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY!!! 8 to 3!!!

231 Forest Street
Malden, MA 02148

Take the Orange Line to Oak Grove station. I'm less than a mile away!

This is just the tip of the iceberg... those boxes are stuffed. There is more to come that I will sort out tomorrow. Nothing is over $10, not even bags of stuff (and I've bagged all the multiples together).


Please help me! As I went about my business for the last five years the yarn was taking over. I need to regain some sort of control.

Email me at weaverbergh13@verizon.net if you have questions!

P.S. Um, there's a man with a lovebird, I believe, right outside my window, not 10 feet away, kissing it and talking to it, like "meep meep meep mememe tick tick." And looking at me as I write this. Creepy.

Vacation! Moving! Secret Knits! Yard/Yarn Sale!

Where to start? Life has been crazy! Chris and I are moving from Malden to Jamaica Plain in late October, after I found an apartment... through a carpenter/mechanic I met at a pub. Not only will we live in a real neighborhood, with neighborhood bar, restaurants, groceries, and subway within short walking distance, we will also have a GRANDIOSE outdoor deck and some very creative housemates (a carpenter/motorcycle mechanic and his wife, who is a jewelry designer and artist).

This past weekend Chris and I went to the Lake Champlain islands in Vermont. Here's an idea of what we did:


Why no knitting pictures? I'm finishing up two really awesome new sweaters, one that will be available in December 2009 and the other for March 2010. Here are the buttons I chose for them on vacation...

Bone, found at a flea market in Waterbury, just down the road from the Ben & Jerry's factory (which we toured, of course). When the vendor saw me matching them up with Secret Sweater #1, she gave them to me for free (so sweet):


Plastic ("scoop" buttons), purchased from the Tinker's Barn antiques store in South Hero, Vermont:


Here's Chris outside Tinker's Barn:


Last thing! YARD SALE including BINS OF YARN will take place this Saturday from 8 am to 3 pm at my house in Malden, MA. Less than a mile from the orange line subway, lots of parking, very near Boston proper. More details to come!!! NOTHING OVER $10!!! BINS AND BINS! I HAVE WAY TOO MUCH YARN AND IT CAN'T ALL MAKE THE MOVE!

Goodbye, Fish Job

So, in light of overtime at the bakery and the strain of physical labor, I've quit my second job at the fish restaurant. Tonight is my last shift. Honestly, as much as I want to take on whatever comes at me and push through my perceived limits of endurance, I was cracking. And I have a surprising amount of knitting designs to work on as well, so for now I'll consider that my second job.

One design in progress at the Brendan Behan pub in Jamaica Plain, MA, having a beer after my new tattoo was finished:


Yes, that's my handspun.


And the tattoo? You may recognize it as a tree motif found in Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs. Many thanks to Chad at Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo (once again. Oh, if you click on that link, the last tattoo on the right on the very first row is also mine!).

The Moscow Cat Theatre

If you haven't seen this, you should.

This is as close as we get around here:

Treasures from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Volume I

Thanks for all the happy vacation wishes; it was fabulous. I worked no jobs. Hooray for no jobs!

I found treasures galore. I spent several hours with Rita, the dyer behind Yarn Hollow yarns, and got to paw through all her yarn and fiber bins. Ranging from semi-solid to pastels and rich, saturated variegated colorways, from wool/silk/silver fingering weight to bulky to cottons to merino/tencel blends, her yarns are a wonder to behold. I came back to Boston with, well, more than I could fit into my suitcase, and have skeins for future projects lined up on my floor right now.

Trust me, this is a tiny fraction of what I saw.

I took several trips to the Fulton Street Farmer's Market, which is also an Artist's Market, where I bought perfect handmade ceramic buttons from paperpeacock for a new design:

Handmade soaps from Bars by Bellini; she has so many man-friendly scents. All that Yarn Hollow yarn smells like clove and agave now:


And some woodblock cards from the Beerhorst Family:


If you live in GR, GO to the market. If you live nearby, take a trip! If not, all this is available online; the artist community in GR is unlike anything I remember when I lived there, and this trip was full of serendipitous moments and discoveries.

Bicycle Boy, the post where the hat drama comes to an end.

Last year Chris mentioned that he would like me to knit him a hat with some sort of bicycle chain motif on it, and I, of course, agreed. Several terrible swatches involving cables that attempted and failed to curl, snail-like, around the hat, one completely failed cable hat, and one moderately successful fair isle later, I was still acutely dissatisfied.

But Chris rather liked the moderately okay fair isle hat and started wearing it, and whenever he did its design flaws, its pointy, too-square crown, its exaggerated pattern, its unintended stretch and floppiness, made me cringe.

So I took it away. And hid it. And told him he would soon have another, improved bicycle chain hat. That was in January 2009.

When I finished the pattern for Bluebird and forced Chris to admire it and make flattering comments about my design skills, he finally cracked and said, "HONEY, BLUEBIRD IS GREAT, BUT WHERE IS MY ******** CHAIN HAT!??????"


Here it is. The fair isle pattern is the chain, and the crown decreases mimic the chain ring.

You can make one, too! Hannah already has (thank for the test knit and edits!), for a friend who is traveling across the country by bike... you can read more here.

And you can get the pattern for $2.50 here:



P.S. I'm off to Michigan to see my family for a week as of tomorrow after work!