knotty knitting

where has the month gone?

with the weather getting cooler and the days getting shorter
knitting has definitely been happening again...

finally finished the thinking dress
and now only have the button to attach

i purchased these buttons when in eugene, oregon a couple of months ago
they are hand-made ceramic buttons...aren't they cute?

also visited one of the most beautiful places in the world:

longwood gardens in pa

have been thinking about dolls lately
more specifically, knitted babes

i was never really into dolls when i was a child
but my daughter really seems to like them
she really enjoys her stuffed animals
although i won't allow 'baby-dolls' in the house
(truthfully, they kind of scare me a little...)
i have allowed barbie-just one
but these knitted babes are kind of sweet, don't you think?
the book includes patterns for lace underpants, slippers, ponchos, stoles, cowboy boots
in other words, they're kind of stylish, too!
so, an idea for a christmas present, i think

and, finally, some sweater inspirations:

mayle sweater vest
via la garconne

via the sartorialist

vanessa bruno a/w 07-08
via vanessa bruno

a.f.vandervorst fall 07
via style.com

a.f.vandervorst fall 07
vial style.com

happy knitting!

what a month it's been

went all the way to oregon a couple of weeks ago to attend my cousin's wedding
and was amazed at how many yarn shops there are in eugene and portland!
time only allowed visits to one in each city but, oh, that was plenty.
in eugene we went to soft horizons fibre and picked up a couple of new patterns books
including the new berroco pattern booklet of norah gaughan's designs
here are a couple of peeks:

via berroco

the scarf looks like a nice project to work on in between other projects-
a few circles here, a few there
and the beauty of it is you could put the pieces together however you wish
i recently purchased norah gaughan's knitting nature
i love the way she puts a pattern together
really lovely

in portland i visited knitknot studio

the owner of knitknot studio, elizabeth prusiewicz, is one of the most delightful yarnshop owners i've had the opportunity to meet
the atmosphere is extremely inviting and relaxed
and she has a wonderful selection of blue sky as well as some lesser known novelty yarns
really quality stuff
i could've stayed all day
my mom said we were there for an hour
or was it 2?
i'm looking forward to posting my lovely finds soon!
currently they are in a box somewhere with the rest of our things
we moved the week after (the day after, actually!) we got back from oregon
and things are still moving slowly
my amazing husband and i have been married for nine years
and during those nine years we've lived in eight different houses/apts
this isn't counting the apartment and house we lived in before we got married!
i'm hoping our new address sticks for a little while
i really like it here

...now back to unpacking...

been doin'...

we went to see richard serra's pieces at the moma
his large-scale scupltures were really spectacular

there's a really wonderful video you can view at the moma site
that shows one of his sculptures being installed in the sculpture garden
(middle picture)

almost done with the back of
frilled edge crossover jacket

i'm really enjoying the yarn:
debblie bliss cotton cashmere
the cashmere gives it just enough 'bounce'

currently making a big pile of 'wip's
kind of overwhelming
nice to see some old friends in the mix, though
and sometimes, like old friends, you need a bit of distance to understand why certain
things didn't work the first time around
after a little healing time, you're ready to jump into it again
knowing just what to do differently

and finally:
does anyone know how to do this??

a good friend was kind enough to lend me her sweater that i've been admiring for some time
in order to make a pattern of it
but i can't figure out how to do this!
is it short rows?
i realize now that i should've taken photos of it from the other side, as well
the side you see is the outside, or right side
perhaps it was constructed with the st st as the right side and then finished inside out
???