Spinalcat's Crafty Adventures

You can find me + my yarns, fibers, and patterns + some other great stuff at Sock Summit booth 305 in Portland next weekend! I will have hard copies of my 2 brand new patterns- the previously-mentioned Vertebral Socks and the Dagon Cowl worked in my Silk Sock. The pattern for the cowl includes both a floppy version and a collar-like tapered version. As for the "other great stuff," I am super excited to have stitch markers from Decor Noir , project bags from Bad Amy Knits , and Sock Bug project bags from sockdiva ! I'm also going to have undyed versions of most of my yarns. So if you're curious about dyeing or want to get first pick before the fall Knitspiration Guild dye day, come on by and I'll be glad to refer you to dyeing resources.

I've been re-knitting some of my sock (and sock yarn-using) designs in my own yarns for my Sock Summit booth. This is my Damask Cable Socks pattern in a mostly-solid kettle dyed SW BFL. The BFL base I fell in love with around last December died in a fire (for reals), so this is a new one. It is on the thinner side, but works up nice on US 1.5 needles (which is what I normally use for socks). I might use a US 1 if I were designing something new for it. It has a nice tight twist and makes a great feeling fabric. I love BFL. I'm knitting up my Zombie Apocalypse Merino/nylon sock yarn (also SW) in my yet-to-be-released Vertebral Socks pattern. You might have seen the prototype I made in Colinette Jitterbug a few months ago. I'm looking for some help with a sample of my Dianthus Scarf (you don't have to finish the whole scarf before Sock Summit) and possibly Instar Hat . I could use a fresh Basic Self-Striping Sock in one of my striping MCN colorways. I've ...

I made this Ab Fab Throw as a present for Bryan's dad's wedding. Kim happens to have the same thing for red that I do. This is Morello Mash, one of their new colors. I'd link to the Colinette website, but it is just terrible. I saw the new colors in an ad in Yarn Market News and the URL is not findable by using their main site or Googling, so I lost it until a rep emailed it to the shop. This is something I'd been wanting to knit for years, and it was pretty fun. It actually went a lot quicker than I thought.

Asian Asymmetry is a top from Knit Kimono Too . I can't see myself wearing any of the kimono in the book, but there are several very cute tees and tanks! The book comes with a DVD, and I still have no idea what's on it. This top has fake overlapping fronts. It's really just a v neck with a narrow band of trim sewn on. Bryan thinks it looks very Starfleet. :P It is absolutely imperative that the top be on a mannequin or human when the neck trim is being pinned into place. It really won't sit right otherwise. I did some modifications on the body. I worked the first and last stitch in regular rib instead of twisted to make seaming easier. The body was written as an a-line shape, but I changed it to an hourglass shape. I made the body a little bit longer than called for. Some of this was due to a row gauge issue. The sleeves came out pretty wide, but it isn't really noticeable unless I point it out. I'd rather have them too big than too tight for somethin...

Here are my handmade finds from the last month or so. No more bags this time! (I do have to confess that I bought one of the new Lantern Moon parachute bags from Yarndogs. I held out for a few days, but it's just so soft and squishable! And so many pockets! I always justify buying new knitting bags when I have a trip coming up.) Here's my miPattern Saver and magnetic Pattern Keepers from Slipped Stitch Studios . We recently started carrying her line at Yarndogs as well (lots of cute owls, sock monkeys, and sheep prints). This one was a custom request after I saw another product in her Etsy shop made up in this fabric, which is one of my all-time favorites! I got some of it at Natural Expressions bead/quilt shop in Los Gatos last fall. I haven't sewed anything out of it, but I've been using it as a tablecloth at fiber shows. I love the swift covers in the Slipped Stitch Studios shop. The only reason I haven't bought one is my swift is in almost constant use....

Here's the absolutely 100% finished photo of my Coquena the Llama ! It took me a while to do all the little finishing touches. The hat I made following the pattern was too big, but it was easy enough to remake it smaller trying it on the llama as I went. The little floppy pom poms/tassles are actually tiny crocheted balls with loop stitch on the outside that you cut afterwards. It's a lot faster than making traditional pom pons, at least the ones you can make with a non-hinged maker. I've updated my Ravelry project page with estimates of the yardage I actually used since the pattern doesn't give yardages. For many of the colors, I used just a couple of grams or less. And here is my finished Ella Crochet Scarf . It's a Knitwits pattern or kit. I love her stuff! We carry the kits at Yarndogs, but I wanted to try picking out my own colors to get just reds, pinks, and purples. I got the Tahki Cotton Classic (same yarn as the kits) at Purlescence. It takes so li...

In February I used my evil enabling powers to spread the word about the Namaste Bitty Bag . This month, I've been doing a bit of shopping on Etsy. Tee hee. First up is a box bag from Bad Amy Knits - Bad Amy Knits had some fabric from the same collection as the fabric in my beloved bat project bag from The Silver Pumpkin . This doesn't quite capture my excitement. Let's try that again. She has trick or treating black cat fabric that matches my trick or treating bat bag. (She also had fabric that matches another knitting bag I own and fabric that matches a corset I own!) The box bag is super sturdy. I think there is interfacing between the layers of fabric. It's probably not even necessary to use point protectors on my needles, but I will anyway. Next up is 2 ladybug bags from Sock Diva - The adorable little one on the left is the Omiyagi Ladybug size. It's just a little too small for cramming a knitting project in, but it's perfect for keys, ID, and cell phone....