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Maryse put up the bat signal a few days ago and I've answered with two squares so far. Another episode or two of Project Runway and I'll have a third. I'm surprised at how addictive they can be to make. I get to pick my own stitch pattern and crank something out in one night. I loves me some instant knitting gratification
Who else is coming out to play?
The black and white knitting zips are in the shop. Get 'em while they're hot!
I haven't made any resolutions per se, but I wanted to use the New Year to tackle a few things differently. The biggest change for me is how I'm going to update the splityarn shop. Without a posting deadline or any pressure, I'd been making things in dribs and drabs. That wasn't really working very well creatively or financially. My studio days weren't producing much and the shop reflected that. This year I'm going to set a fixed schedule for shop updates. Every other Monday afternoon beginning January 21st, I'll be posting new items. This week's update will have black and white knitter's zips and a few more needlecases.
I was hoping to add a few new designs to the shop and to do that, I monkeyed around with an idea I'd had for a few months. My knitting project bags used to small fabric totes that I'd made a few years ago. When we added a yarn eating feline to the house, I was forced to put my projects in something that requires opposable thumbs to open. Because above all, every knitting bag in my house needs to be absolutely Teek proof.
With the exception of a gallon ziploc bag for sock projects, most of my knitting has ended up in the zippered clear bags that you get with a new set of sheets. The construction seems quite simple; two rectangles, interlocking to make a cuboid. My hope was to try out my own version and possibly have a new product and pattern(!) to add to the shop. I grabbed some scrap fabric, two zippers (I didn't have one long enough, so I faked it) and set out to make a small sock bag version.
The resulting box bag is cute. At 5" square and 8" high, it's a great size, shape and I think it will work well as a sock project bag. The problem is that the construction was incredibly fiddly and allowed no room for error with seam allowances. I don't think this one will end up as a regular shop item without some serious pattern tweaking. Certainly not with this shop update, but we'll see if I can't simplify the process. In the meantime I'll road test this one and mull over my options.
After finishing Twist, I wasted no time starting on the next big project. As soon as I hit 'post,' I printed out the pattern for the Knitscene Central Park Hoodie. By the end of the day, I had the ribbing on the back finished. This weekend with an impromptu trip to New York, I finished up the back on the train. I won't be able to keep up the pace for long, so it's best to get the biggest part done first, right?
The Rowan Scottish Tweed is pretty crunchy coming off the ball, but judging by the swatch, it will bloom nicely after a quick wet block. For now though, my stitching looks uneven due to the stiffness of the yarn, so pardon the mess.
