Yarn Review: All for Love of Yarn Seella

You may have noticed something new on Knitty.

I designed those socks!  And they are in Knitty, and this is super exciting!  (Hi everybody from Knitty!)  They also happen to be made out of one of my very favorite yarns, All for Love of Yarn Seella.  "Seella" apparently means "strong" in Russian, and at 75% BFL (strong!) and 25% nylon (strong!), this yarn earns it.  I have another pair in this same yarn that I have dried in the dryer, and they come out looking brand new.  I can frog it as many times as I like and it has never gotten ratty on me.  This is seriously yarn of steel.  But it does not feel like steel - it is still luscious and soft on the toes.  And of course it comes in Angela's special non-pooling variegated colorways, for added awesome.

My pattern is socks knit sideways - so the cables run the other way.  I love non-standard sock construction, but I won't just do it for fun, I need a good reason (because there are reasons that toe up and cuff down are standard!).  I'm really pleased with how these turned out, and the cables were interesting to make.  Plus they look awesome with my Sunday shoes.  So they are called Socks of Angst but I don't think they caused me any, what do you know.

Playing Catch Up

I swear I am still alive and mostly unwounded, even.  I have however been very busy.  Aspen is out of testing, and turned out very nicely.  Thanks again to all the wonderful peeps who helped me out!  I have also released the second sock, Indian Paintbrush:

Again, yay testers - I couldn't do this without you!  I also owe y'all a review of the yarn I used, Your Mom Knits Lolo.  Short version: super scrumptious.  The third and final pattern in this book - Columbine - is coming along, albeit more slowly than I would like.  Which brings us to why I'm only mostly unwounded.  I'll spare you the details, but my right hand had a bit of an accident with a steak knife, so knitting is quite painful right now.  Fortunately typing is not a problem, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up on the computer side of my work.

Also, this came out this month:

I may be slow, but I'm also in Interweave, baby!

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Sweater

Chocolate Sweater!  This is the last pattern in my ebook, except for a super special surprise just for ebook customers.  Chocolate is about my favorite thing ever, because to me, chocolate means comfort. This sweater is worked in a super stretchy ribbed pattern with fancy cabling at the hem and cuffs. Tunic length with kimono sleeves, the arm shaping is generous to accommodate sleeves underneath. Sweater is worked in one piece sideways from the center back. Sleeves are worked join as you go sideways from the center underarm. Cabled collar is added join as you go, as well, for a bare minimum of seaming.

 This one is going to be a little bit different from usual, because my tech editor Carmel is awesome.  Pattern is available at the discounted price of $3.99 for the first week (until 12/7). At that time, the price will revert to $4.99.

I present as proof I have not been slacking...

...a beautiful new pattern!

My Strawberry Cream Shrug combines a fun wagon wheel stitch with simple cables, to make a figure flattering faux-cardigan shrug.  Faux-cardigan because I love the look of buttoned shrugs, but can never get them to fit properly, so I made this pullover to look like it is buttoned.  For cuteness.  Now available at a discount preorder price of $3.99.

It is also the first pattern in my cool new ebook, Cake (Because It Has Layers).  It is also currently the only pattern, and yes technically still in preorder, but let me tell you, this is super exciting and my hooks are on fire, baby!  Keep checking here or on my Facebook/Twitter feeds for continuing updates.

Nerd Wars

You know what I like to do?  Play stupid crafting games.  My favorite right now (and possibly ever) is Nerd Wars.  This could quite possibly because I am so nerdy, I could fit right in on almost any of the bajillion zillion teams.  Anyway, the current tournament just ended, and I wanted a bonus chance to show off my awesome dissertation sweater:

As you can see I am very pleased with it, and it fits just the way I wanted it to.  The sleeves are even long enough, which is typically a big problem for me, since by the time I start making sleeves I'm just ready for the freaking thing to be done already so I overestimate blocking growth.  In any case you should consider playing Nerd Wars when the next tournament starts in a month, because you will finish all kinds of things.

Lovely, lovely socks...

I know I've been quiet awhile... but, I have a new sock pattern to show for it, at least.  My Branches and Blooms socks are a fun combination of cables and lace, for a sock that has some substance as well as being lacy.  Plus, they're the polar opposite of boring.  :)  On Ravelry for $1.99.

Progress report: WIP down!

So, I'm trying to cut back on the number of WIPs that are floating around my house.  If you remember my post about how I was drowning in them last month, you should note that after that post I actually found MORE WIPs floating around my room.  Apparently I have more project bags than I thought I did, which is turning out to be a problem.  Also a problem: not putting projects on my Ravelry page right away, which allows me to forget all about them.

But anyway, I am proud to note that I have finished not one, but TWO sweaters this week, and a pair of socks last week.  This means I still have four WIPs in various states of hibernation/doneness, but hey.  Three less than I had before.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have broomstick crochet/lace knitting/fair isle knitting to do.

Full of sweaters...

I have two sweaters on needles currently.  One for me, one for my husband.  The husband sweater was originally going to be a surprise (Facebook and Twitter peeps, this was the secret sweater), but I gave up so he knows about it now.  The me sweater is out of the yarn I got in exchange for the rabbit angora sweater I made, then realized I was allergic to.

The husband sweater has been in the works for quite some time now.  I started the me sweater about two weeks ago.

Guess which one looks like it's going to be finished first.  XD

The best sweater I've ever made...

...and I designed it!

You don’t need to knit to create a beautiful cabled pullover! This boatneck sweater has simple waist shaping to hug your curves, gorgeous cables, and (because it is crochet!) works up in a snap. Constructed in one piece from the top down.

Happy International Crochet Day!

I didn't find out about this until last night!  And isn't Crochet Month in March?  Hooray for crochet love!  At any rate, I'm celebrating by putting some finishing touches on an awesome sauce crochet sweater pattern.  And look, I have a teaser photo:

Yup, cables!  Hopefully I will have a pattern and more awesome pictures for y'all within the week! 

Mmmm, cashmere...

I have two yarn reviews for you in the next week, and both have on thing in common... CASHMERE! Cashmere, the god of fibers! Well, I've got a personal soft spot for silk, but come on... cashmere!

Today's review is on Knitpicks Capra. It is 85% merino, 15% cashmere and all soft and fluffy. It just feels luxurious... and at a very reasonable price, to boot! It is round, plied, and oh yeah, did I mention fluffy? It is listed as a DK weight but because of the poof factor, I find it works better when worked at a worsted gauge. I haven't had any problems with splittiness, and it does ok with frogging.

It's also perfect for next to the skin wear - I'm designing a cowl of it. It is also incredibly warm, so great for winter gear. Seriously, I put the cowl over my neck, didn't even button it, and my first thought was "wow, I'm warmer than I was a second ago." Really snuggly. Because it is so round, it also shows complicated stitching really well.

All around, this is really nice yarn, for a good price. As with anything Knitpicks, are there better cashmere blends out there? Yeah, probably. But they're freaking expensive. This is an excellent "workhorse luxury" sort of yarn. Seriously, I want to make the whole WORLD hats out of this stuff, because it is so great to work with and so great to wear. My ONLY complaint is that I wish it came in more colors. The palette is overwhelmingly bright. But as it's a fairly new addition to the KP line, I'm sure there's more to come.

Do you have something you want me to review? Needles? Yarn? Notions? Drop me a line! marusempai at gmail dot com Put "Maru reviews" in the subject line.

Evergreen Gloves

I love fingerless gloves!  Braided cables make these interesting to make, but they work up fast... perfect for last minute gifts.  Thick but not too thick, these are nice and warm.

So you can hold me to my word...

I have a number of tutorials that I'd like to do, and no time to do them right this second, so I'm at least going to tell you what I have planned, so that I'll be accountable.

1. Crochet cables.  I am continually surprised by how many people don't know you can cable in crochet!  It is definitely possible, and not that much different from knit cables.
2. My crazy unvented method for doing short row heels.  I have never seen anybody do a short row quite the way I do, and my way is awesome.  No wraps to pick up (I can never see them anyway), no holes! 
3. One piece, top down cardigan construction.  I have one pattern published and one in the works that use this technique (both crochet), it is really great that when you're done, you're DONE!  No seaming!  This one will be a bit down the road, because I am currently in the process of adapting the technique to knitting.  I am afraid of steeking and like cardigans, what can I say!

So now you know what I'm going to do.  Not when, necessarily, but what is a good starting place.  Eventually!

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Yarn review - Mountain Colors 4/8's Wool

I like working with smaller dyers.  Mountain Colors is fairly local to me (Montana), and small enough that I can be reasonably certain the yarn they sent me was indeed dyed in Montana.  The first thing I have to say about this yarn is THE COLORS!  Most of their colorways are available in all of their yarn bases, so this isn't really specific to the 4/8's Wool, but my goodness their colors are pretty.  I am working with Harmony Mist, and it really is better in person.  The Harmony group of variegateds is my favorite - it has enough variegation to keep things interesting, but not so much that it obscures the stitch-work so much.

4/8's wool is a smooth, plied worsted weight.  It has a nice fluffy texture, and is very stretchy.  As you can see, my project with it is in crochet cables, and it is working as well as or better than I expected it to.  It is nice and soft, without being "pills as I work it and felts if I frog it" soft, and has good stitch definition.  Did I mention it takes frogging well?  I do a lot of frogging when I design, and this stuff has taken it and come back for more.  I suspect this means that it will wear well, although I haven't tested that yet.  (Some day, I am going to pin swatches to the baby's knees to test how yarn wears, but first I need a good way to measure my results.)  Good stuff!

Do you have something you want me to review? Needles? Yarn? Notions? Drop me a line! marusempai at gmail dot com. Put "Maru reviews" in the subject line.