my life in stitches

cushion cover #002

meet cushion cover #002. well, this is the start of it. i'm making this for my new internet friend, Signe, in exchange for a custom made sock monkey. with this cushion cover, i'm trying to branch out from my usual palettes and try something new. it's seems like everything i've been knitting has an undertone of greyish-lavender. it's really weird/hard not to fall back on that, but i don't like to get myself into a rut. it's always good to stretch your creative muscle.

i feel like i'm on a roll with these pillows. i have a lot of ideas for them. i'm hoping to create a few to sell on Etsy. i'm  debating whether or not i should create a pattern or two to sell.  maybe you guys could leave me a comment and let me know whether or not that's something that you might be interested in?

justina is coming along nicely (though i should be careful not to jinx myself by saying that!). i love this project and i feel like it has restored my knitting mojo! i'm working on the cushion cover during the day. that's when my mind is clear and i can make good decisions about color and design. i'm mostly knitting justina at night when i'm in bed watching television.

i've done something terrible to my back, so i'm propped up in bed with a heating pad and i've made this my center of operations for the day. i really can't stand to hang around in bed, but instead of bitching about it, i'm just being grateful that i work from home and have the luxury of working from bed when i need to.

new project!

you might think that i'm casting on for new projects all the time, but it really isn't so. as far as my personal projects go, i've been having a bit of bad luck with them lately. it seems like it's been ages since i've had a project that i haven't had to rip out or that turned out exactly the way that i had envisioned it. i've had my eye on this Norah Gaughan design, Justina, for some time. however, due to my recent run of bad projects i was loath to spend good money on a yet another project potentially destined for the UFO pile. the only way that i could justify buying yarn for this project was to do it on the cheap. so, i'm knitting this with Lion Brand Cotton Ease. i was originally looking for a yarn that was either a wool/cotton blend or a wool silk/blend. i needed something that would give the fabric a bit more durability and enable it to be worn throughout the seasons. it's knitting up beautifully, so i think i made the right choice. i  usually stay far, far away from acrylic, but this cotton/acrylic blend may prove to work very well for this skirt. that and i won't have to feel bad if i eventually abandon it. i am loving knitting this, so i don't think that will actually happen. i predict a completed Justina in my future!

this television strike is getting old already. i feel bad for the thousands of people who are out of work because of the strike. i have some friends in the industry who are really beginning to suffer because of this. i've sort of gotten used to not having much to watch on tv. every sunday night i eagerly await the newest episode of The Wire. Project Runway is a bit tamer this season, but i still enjoy it. Christian is definitely my favorite! Make Me A Supermodel is pretty good too. i think it's about 1000x better than ANTM. i was over that show several seasons ago. at least there are still a couple of good shows to knit to. i'm counting the days until Lost...

oh! and even though he doesn't have a chance in hell of winning against Daniel Day Lewis, i was really pleased that Viggo Mortensen was nominated for his performance in Eastern Promises. my god! what a amazing character! if you haven't seen EP, you should. i'm guessing that you've already seen There Will Be Blood. how could you not? DDL gives the performance of his life. crossing my fingers that the strike is resolved before Oscar time rolls around...

Yarnplay At Home Blog Tour: one sofa, four looks

what i love best about my sofa is it’s clean, modern design. It’s the perfect backdrop on which to showcase my beloved, hand knit afghans and cushion covers. i get bored by rooms that look the same for ages and ages. i can barely make it through a month without doing something to freshen up my décor. changing the afghan that adorns my sofa changes the entire look of the room.

on the left, Metropolis. this lovely throw is one of my favorite projects in the book. it’s beautiful and it’s really easy to knit. even a beginner can take this on. wondering how you can make this throw larger? Knit strip one, then repeat strips 2 and 3 to make it bigger (every repetition of these 2 strips increases it’s size by 2/5) and then finish it off with strips 4 and 5. i will be really interested to see what color combinations knitters come up with for this. it is shown here with the Potluck Patchwork Pillow.

on the right,Bauhaus. this super chic, minimalist look seems to appeal to just about everyone. i’ve received more comments and compliments about this than any other project in the book! this is sure to be the both the most beautiful and the most pain free project that you have had on your needles in a really long time!

on the left is Dada. are you a member of the cult of denim knitting? i wasn’t before, but i think i am now. denim is not the easiest fiber to work with nor to care for. you have to be careful that the darker denim doesn't leave a stain. nevertheless, the results definitely make the work and care well worth the trouble. just the sight of this throw on my sofa makes me really happy. it has a  vintage look really appeals to me.  also, it has a well-defined, modern design that I find really pleasing to the eye. that’s the Hudson Cushion Cover on the right.

and, last of all, is an old favorite. it’s Mod on Mod from Yarnplay! i absolutely adore this blanket. It bounces back and forth between my bed and my sofa. the sunny colors never fail to lift my spirits!

change your afghan, change the mood of your room!

(I really wanted to say, ‘change your afghan, change your life’, but I guess some people might not take décor as seriously as i do.)

tomorrow the blog tour stops at Mad For Knit. see the previous post for the entire blog schedule and info on the Yarnplay Knitalong.

happy knitting!

 

Yarnplay At Home happenings

the Yarnplay At Home Blog Tour begins here on monday. i'm really excited.

monday, 1/21 - http://mylifeinstitches.net/
tuesday, 1/22 - http://madforknit.blogspot.com/
wednesday, 1/23 - http://purljam.typepad.com/purl_jam/
thursday, 1/24 http://purlsjustwannahavefun.typepad.com/
friday, 1/25 - http://www.scoutj.com/

The Yarnplay At Home knitalong is here.

naturally, my book signing and workshop is being held on the coldest weekend we've had in a year. i hope you'll bundle up and come out to say 'hey'!

Book signing for Yarnplay At Home  - Saturday, January 19th from 11:30 am – 1 pm at Gauge followed by a workshop;

Yarnplay: Knitting From The Stash
A cushion cover workshop with Lisa Shobhana Mason

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

1:00 – 4:30 pm at Gauge

5406 Parkcrest Dr., Austin, TX 78731
Cost: $40 plus materials

To register, contact Gauge at 512.371.9300

today i'm off to an 11 am showing of the new Daniel Day Lewis film, 'There Will Be Blood.' now, i just have to decide which sweater and which pair of boots to wear. can you tell that i'm thrilled to finally have a bit of winter? =)

FO and what's a girl to knit next?

i have completed the cushion cover for the upcoming workshop at gauge. i am really pleased with how it turned out. these colors are difficult to photograph, but believe when i say it's really lovely. there were moments when i was really worried that it wouldn't turn out the way that i had envisioned it. and there were things that happened that i hadn't really planned on, but i managed to successfully incorporate these detours into my design. all the fancy design work is on the front (shown here). the back is knit using the instructions from the Potluck Patchwork Pillow in Yarnplay At Home.

aside from the usual ongoing pair of socks, i have nothing on needles now and i have no idea what to knit. it's strange not to be lusting after some design and eagerly awaiting the moment when i can finally cast on. the weather is so unpredictable and freakishly warm that i can't muster up any excitement to cast on for a sweater. the only design that is even remotely tempting is Justina. if only i had the yarn for it in my stash. i suppose i could make a trip to my LYS. however, because of my chronic lack of follow through and my growing pile of ufos, i feel that i couldn't, in good conscience, fork over the cash. that and i bought a Diane von Furstenburg wrap dress today.

taking shape

the workshop cushion cover is finally coming together i finished the button band and facing this morning. i contemplated blocking it, but i don't want to run the risk of having any of the colors run. my guess is that a cold water wash would be fine, but considering that i had to redo the buttonhole band several times because of various stupid mistakes and miscalculations, i had better not take any chances. even the simplest of tasks becomes complicated when i'm operating under PMS brain fog. there's not enough chocolate in the world to bring me out of it.

i blocked the back this morning. i sort of regret that i didn't knit the button band in a color different from the rest of it. for the aforementioned reasons, i decided against ripping that part back and reknitting it in another color. knitting disasters almost feel personal when i have PMS, so i thought it best to avoid creating one.

workshop cushion cover

this is the front of the cushion cover that i'm creating for my workshop. next, i'll add a buttonhole band along the top, block the front and back and sew them together. to be honest, this is the stage in my designs where i don't always get how the final piece will come together. i felt the same way about Potluck in Yarnplay At Home. while i was creating it, i couldn't stand it, but i loved it once it was completed. it's a weird thing. it almost only happens with projects where i'm using a gazillion colors. i think i just reach a point where i OD on all the colors and i just want it out of my sight. i'm a little bit undecided as to whether it should be vertical, as shown, or whether i want it horizontal. vertical was my original intent, but i like the way it looks horizontal, too. this is the kind of detail that could hang me up for days. i need to make a decision before i can add the buttonhole band. and i'm anxious to do that because i need to look at this project and not see a hot mess. it's just something about gazillion colored, over the top projects... i only want to look at them when they're completely done.

the knitters taking the course won't be knitting this exactly, but using this as a template from which to create their own unique cushion cover. at least, that's what i hope they will do. with this kind of project my aim is always to get knitters to color outside the lines and not follow a design word for word, for lack of a better way to put it.

apropos of nothing, i managed to hook up my new TV and dvd player to my cable  box all on my own. i feel like a total genius! now if only there was some fresh, new television to watch. i'm counting the days until the new (and final) season of The Wire begins...