bits and bobbins

catching up again…there’s a lot going on personally and with family and we’ve been pretty overwhelmed.

anyway…

seen here getting ready to go get brunch, and then groceries, etc, back on the 7th.

i just finished this sweater, it’s the “swing pullover/bell sleeve turtleneck sweater” from knit simple’s fall 2010 issue (ravelry link). i’ve been crazy obsessed with garter stitch for a while. and the color yellow. so i pretty much did this one exactly as shown on the cover/in the mag.

this was a ridiculously fun and easy knit, but their instructions for finishing the neck area (in my opinion) are incomplete in the pattern as written. wrote them. unsurprisingly, got no reply. finished it my own way. whatever.

i’m calling it my “ronald mc big bird sweater”. that said i love it so. might make it in say, gray someday. it’s crazy cozy and comfortable but does weigh half a squillion pounds.

other deets:

-yellow thermal long sleeve tee: old navy, thrifted
-vintage levi’s 501’s: etsy
-red resin ring: dinosaur designs
-striped bag: from a vendor at the BAM africa festival summer 2010.
-red patent ankle boots: nordstrom’s rack in chicago
-acid yellow hat: crocheted by moi
-red acrylic earrings: UO
-crocheted scrumble pin: made in a freeform crochet class linda p. and i took years ago.
-star pin: thrifted in SF

on miss p.:

-hat: handknit by her great aunt patty (thought i lost it when she was around 6-7 months, found it in an old purse yesterday and almost cried!)
-red plaid windbreaker: polarn o. pyret
-pleated jeans: baby gap
-moto boots: target

how did almost another month slip by without me posting anything?

whoopsie.

oh well!

i’ve been busy…amongst other things, i have mostly rabidly working on what you see above:

-a granny square blanket using scraps from my yarn stash (will probably go on our bed, we shall see), edged with white…

-a garter patch throw blanket, also using yarn from my stash (i have a LOT of scraps, ok? it’s pretty extreme!)…

-and seen in the center, a liberated “log cabin” (very loosely defined!) quilt, a la gwen marston, using all solids.

the patchwork work mostly gets done during the day (to take advantage of the daylight coming into my studio), and the knitting and crocheting fills many of my nights. i may start doing more patchwork stuff at night, as i now have a wonderful set of powerful tracklights in the studio, thanks to a local electrician.

i’ve been checking into the interwebs daily, but mostly, i’m just continuing to take a rest and i’m going through a period where i am mostly observing, rather than doing much contributing. i want to come back, but at the same time, i feel like i still need and want this time to step back, to just be in the background for a while, whilst i figure everything out.

calling all knitters & crocheters who happen to read this here blog!

what’s your favorite way of using up your random ends of yarn? particularly your worsted weight yarns? can you recommend a favorite pattern or several patterns that are just the ticket for yarn oddments?

i have a gazillion little leftover bits of wool and wool blend yarns, the remainder from the myriad of projects i’ve completed over the last six (!!!) years. they are up there in the photo above. and that’s only a small fraction of what i have…it’s merely the tip of the remnant yarn iceberg, if you will.

so far, i’ve put them to use as a wavy crocheted blanket, numerous cowls, a random stripey kids sweater, and a few more things…

i can think of a few more ways i might want to use it: to make striped legwarmers, striped mittens (for me and maybe a bunch of other folks!), more cowls, a top-down raglan fitted cardi for moi, a granny square or circle blanket for p., and, hrm…i’m still thinking ha!

anyway, i’m putting a call out to you, to ask for help for genius ideas to do with all this yarn. can you help??

maybe it will help more than just me!

do share!