Moving Right Along....

i have been super busy with some amazing stuff the past couple of months. This will be a short post to fill you in. Once the magic dust settles a bit, i will be back on blog track!! all aboard!


#1. i am working on a top secret project, designing a knitting pattern for an upcoming book.

#2. i participated, as a vendor, in my first street fair. The 6th annual Temescal Street fair in Oakland was earlier this month. The photos in this post are just some of the goodies that i had up for sale. see #5 for more info on this. & click here for more street fair photos.

#3. my dear old Powerbook G4 finally took the big dirt nap a couple of months ago & i have been essentially without a computer. i am happy to report that i am typity tappity typing this post from my sexy new 15" MacBook Pro.

#4. i am moving again. i have been one year in my cool warehouse loft. it has been mostly fun living here, aside from a freezing cold winter, more dust than you can shake a stick at, and the inability to watch movies without the subtitles on... due to XTRA loud soothing sounds of BART. don't get me wrong... i truly love the sound of BART and the train... not my first time living close to the tracks... but in this non insulated building... the sound level is insane!!!

#5. the street fair gave me such positive feedback... and i had SOOO much fun making the goods to be sold... that i am finally ready to launch my etsy page. I should be launching in about two to three weeks... once i am all moved out of my current loft.

I shall be posting again in just a couple of weeks. until then my lovelies.... XOxOxoXoXo

Knitting Naughty Deer

Using the same earflap hat generator as in the post before this one.... and the fornicating reindeer chart (by Anne Rutten) from here... and i made a fu**ing reindeer hat. I believe that you have to be a member of ravelry in order to view that link. This was my second project using the stranding technique, and my first working from a chart. I had to re-chart the deer and trees from the original 32 stitch repeat to a 36 stitch repeat in order to accommodate the sizing for the hat. I basically flushed the trees out, adding one extra stitch to each half of the trees, and added an extra space in between each tree and deer. I also made up my own border design... that part looked better on paper.

Other fun stuff is the conversation whether these are reindeer or moose. Apparently some very straight men were upset that both reindeer have antlers... which would make them gay. Some husbands actually insisted that the front deer have the antlers edited out, to be sure no confusion would be made. Hell... makes me want to make one in rainbow colors.



It is a little big on me... but should fit the recipient like a dream! I love this hat generator...pattern.. thingy. Can you call a generator a pattern? A hat generator pattern? Whatever it is... it is fabulous! I was a little concerned about the reindeer chart being so high and that the seam created by sewing the inside hem down was going to create an unsightly bulge that would land directly across their cute little fu**ing noses... see note below about blocking



I used ella rae classic (#132-dark charcoal) for the main color of the hat & cascade 220 (#8401-light heather grey) & cascade 220 (#8400-medium heather grey) for the contrast colors. **side note... i did not like working with the ella rae, mostly during the short rows, when you un-knit or slip stitches back and forth the yarn splits like crazy** I used #7 addi turbos. I might actually use a #6 with this weight yarn for future stranding projects. After blocking it relaxed enough that it could stand to be a little tighter.

If i weren't a believer in blocking before... this project alone would sell me on it. Every single little lump and bump literally melted away when i dunked this mofo into a bath of water & woolwash. Of course i waited til days AFTER the heatwave had passed to block... so it is taking several days to dry... but oh so worth it.

Stranded.... and LOVING Every Single Stitch of it!!

I am not sure what took me so long.... i LOVE color... the combining and pariring of colors specifically. I have knit for about 4 years now. Everything else in knitting has come super easy to me. So why I have not given stranded knitting a go until now... I have no idea. About 3 1/2 years ago i did some intarsia... which was easy enough. That was the first and last time that I did any kind of colorwork.



I am now working on a secret project that has called for me to give it a whack. And lo and behold... it is ridiculously easy and FUN!! To practice stranding for said secret project I have chosen to make an earflap hat. I trolled around ravelry to find a cool basic pattern that i could throw some super simple blocks of color into. I hit pay dirt when I found the Earflap Hat Pattern Generator!!!!! It's a super cool, and super easy "pattern" that uses short rows to create double thick earflaps. You plug in your stitch and row gauge, the generator does the math and gives you a pattern. Once you have your numbers, then start knitting the inside hem (yes the headband is double thick as well) you knit 3-ish inches, do your cool short row flaps, and then begin the outer 3 inches of your headband. You can end your colorwork there or carry it up to the top of the hat. OR... You can do a three needle bind off and just sport a headband with earflaps.



The yarn for my hat is Malabrigo worsted merino in Frank Ochre. Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in Rosado Rose. And Jil Eaton Minnow Merino in Orangini. I used a US #8 addi turbo.

I was so enamored with how the hat was looking right after completing the earflaps.... that i wore it like lion's ears and snapped a pic for the camera.

Yellow Monday Yellow....

Yellow Monday, originally uploaded by punk rawk purl.

I often discover that in my day to day life.... i.e. not planned out... not staged... I end up developing unintended very distinct and striking color palettes.

Today I grabbed one of my MANY coats as I was on my way out the door. I tossed it on the passenger seat... atop one of my MANY hand knit scarves that had been on the passenger seat for a week or longer. I went to place a large package on the floor of the car and picked up one of my FEW umbrellas, which has been floating around in the car during the last couple weeks of insane rain. I tossed the umbrella on the seat... and noticed that the entire seat was glowing!

Today was already an exceptionally sunny day... and my rainy weather gear... kicked it up a notch.

"Be Still My Bacon Heart"

Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all of you!

I knit an anatomically accurate heart for my valentine. And although this Valentine post is belated... the heart was completed well before February 14th.

The pattern is from Knitty... it is called... are you ready for this... Heart. It was a quick-ish knit... or maybe I was just having so much fun knitting it.. and so much excitement knowing that the recipient would adore it that I could not put it down for a minute.

I even knit the whole thing on double pointed needles!!! I could have easily used magic-loop. Which as the entire world knows, i am in love with the loop of magic. But I had so much fun using double pointed needles again. I did use a 32" addi as a stitch holder, I didn't want my addis to feel left out.



As I had suspected... the recipient LOVED it. He has a bacon fetish... well fetish makes it sound sexual... which I don't think it has gone quite that far... but let's just say that he is obsessed with Bacon. So I titled this project "Be Still My Bacon Heart". I made a little banner with the title and our names and the date on it. And of course I did not photograph that before handing this heart over... haha

Bush Removal Headquarters [the local wax shop]

Bush Removal Headquarters [the local wax shop], originally uploaded by gwen.

This morning I had an eyebrow maintenance appointment...

I have been going to Matser Waxing Studio for at least five years. The owner, Tashana Master is a *mastermind* when it comes to the artistry of hair removal. Her eye for detail and balance is right on... my brows are always perfect when i leave. I have others "parts" waxed by her as well... She makes it as painless as possible. She has such a great sense of humor, and every appointment is sure to be a giggle fest. She also ALWAYS has great window displays... always bright, colorful, and lively.

So back to this morning... as I was driving to the shop I noticed that there was a new window display.... all red white and blue... how cool... she was showing her support of the inauguration with her windows... then i read the sign "Bush Removal Headquarters"... how cute... she is showing her specific glee for the departure of former President Bush... as I continued to steer into the u-turn to park.... i GOT IT!

Waxing studio.... bush.... bush removal headquarters... this was Tashana at her genius best!!!

Thanks for the lack of bush and the witty humor my darling!

btw.... she is offering 20% off on bikini waxes for new clients... not sure how long this deal is on... so call to check the details. I believe you can see the phone # in the photo.

Tammy and The Cowl

Tammy and The Cowl, originally uploaded by punk rawk purl.

first post of the new year....
well, first post in a long long long long time!
this is also the first post i have ever done through flickr. it's an experiment... so bear with me as i explore this new to me feature. click on the caption to link to the original photo with all the yarn details.

2009... shaping up to be an AMAZING YEAR!!

-new haircut... which i LOVE! thanks Donna Summers... my hairstylist, not the singer. but why not thank her as well... thanks for the disco-licious tunes to the 'other' Donna Summers

-new friends.... how did i get so lucky?? i am SOOO grateful for all of the amazing people in my life!

-endless possibilities... what else can i add to my life?