tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2010://1 2010-01-21T01:27:45Z now with 10% more bitterness Movable Type 3.2 tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2010://1.311 2010-01-21T01:22:56Z 2010-01-21T01:27:45Z

I've noticed that a lot of knitters have been turning to sewing and quilting lately. nothing like another obsession to increase our stashes I say. I thought I would help spread the word about the modern quilt guild. the original branch was started by alissa in l.a. and it's spreading like wildfire. there's even a philly branch now! if you're in the area why not join? get in touch with julie, she's been putting everything together for us. I think it's going to be fun meeting up with other quilters beyond the internet. I'm still in the middle of...

bitter purl I've noticed that a lot of knitters have been turning to sewing and quilting lately. nothing like another obsession to increase our stashes I say. I thought I would help spread the word about the modern quilt guild. the original branch was started by alissa in l.a. and it's spreading like wildfire. there's even a philly branch now! if you're in the area why not join? get in touch with julie, she's been putting everything together for us. I think it's going to be fun meeting up with other quilters beyond the internet. I'm still in the middle of... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2010://1.310 2010-01-11T22:40:02Z 2010-01-11T23:09:19Z

I reached my goal of finishing everything that was on deck before the new year. barely. I was still binding the quilt new year's eve night until we had to go out. I love the way it came out (and having it finished!) and wish I had photos showing the whole thing. but being short and not finding an empty enough wall have made that hard. I might trick tom into helping me next weekend though; I didn't have the heart to make him stand outside when it was super cold this weekend. I originally started quilting in close...

bitter purl I reached my goal of finishing everything that was on deck before the new year. barely. I was still binding the quilt new year's eve night until we had to go out. I love the way it came out (and having it finished!) and wish I had photos showing the whole thing. but being short and not finding an empty enough wall have made that hard. I might trick tom into helping me next weekend though; I didn't have the heart to make him stand outside when it was super cold this weekend. I originally started quilting in close... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.308 2009-12-24T14:22:16Z 2009-12-24T14:27:03Z

I know I said I wouldn't start any new projects until I cleared my old ones out. but I also did mention there were a couple of exceptions. and, really, ishbel knits up so fast that it hardly counts as a rule breaker. pattern: ishbel yarn: colinette jitterbug, fruit coulis, 1 hank and a smidgen needles: 4mm date started: 12.10.09 date finished: 12.21.09 this ishbel isn't for me, but for my lovely friend amanda, she asked if someone would knit her an ishbel in exchange for a mini quilt. I jumped at the chance, I love amanda's quilts (and...

bitter purl I know I said I wouldn't start any new projects until I cleared my old ones out. but I also did mention there were a couple of exceptions. and, really, ishbel knits up so fast that it hardly counts as a rule breaker. pattern: ishbel yarn: colinette jitterbug, fruit coulis, 1 hank and a smidgen needles: 4mm date started: 12.10.09 date finished: 12.21.09 this ishbel isn't for me, but for my lovely friend amanda, she asked if someone would knit her an ishbel in exchange for a mini quilt. I jumped at the chance, I love amanda's quilts (and... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.307 2009-12-23T23:51:15Z 2010-01-12T02:06:17Z

starting a quilt is pretty easy, almost too easy. just grab some fabrics and cut, cut, cut. it's the sewing and finishing that are hard. piecing, pressing seams, actually quilting, and binding. that's a lot of stuff for a procrastinator. on a side note, how do some people finish two or three quilts a week!? let's just say thank god I started early. how early? sometime in july. I didn't mean for this to be a christmas present, it was just a happy accident. I started with guns a blazing. I cut out the fabric and started piecing the...

bitter purl starting a quilt is pretty easy, almost too easy. just grab some fabrics and cut, cut, cut. it's the sewing and finishing that are hard. piecing, pressing seams, actually quilting, and binding. that's a lot of stuff for a procrastinator. on a side note, how do some people finish two or three quilts a week!? let's just say thank god I started early. how early? sometime in july. I didn't mean for this to be a christmas present, it was just a happy accident. I started with guns a blazing. I cut out the fabric and started piecing the... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.306 2009-12-22T22:40:54Z 2009-12-22T22:41:49Z

I had planned to post earlier this month about a finished vest, but things didn't pan out. oh, I finished it the vest. I just hated it. my pattern indecision should have been a sign. it doesn't usually take me weeks to find a pattern to knit. I'm the person that has way too many pattern ideas floating around. OK. so I don't like vests. there, I admit it. more to myself than you, but it's out. you know what else went wrong? not only did my gauge swatch lie (actually, I think I liked to myself just so...

bitter purl I had planned to post earlier this month about a finished vest, but things didn't pan out. oh, I finished it the vest. I just hated it. my pattern indecision should have been a sign. it doesn't usually take me weeks to find a pattern to knit. I'm the person that has way too many pattern ideas floating around. OK. so I don't like vests. there, I admit it. more to myself than you, but it's out. you know what else went wrong? not only did my gauge swatch lie (actually, I think I liked to myself just so... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.305 2009-11-26T02:00:00Z 2009-11-26T02:00:15Z

I originally thought I was going to post about this sweater, tell you how it was a fail and then frog it. but my flickr friends have changed my mind, so think of this as a "before" post and sometime next month we can talk about the "after". pattern: owls yarn: louet riverstone chunky, neptune, 5 hanks needles: 6mm and 6.5mm circs date started: 10.31.09 date finished: 11.04.09 for the most part, I ignored the owls sweater because as cute as it was I wasn't sure about the actual owls. would it fit with anything else I wear? and what...

bitter purl I originally thought I was going to post about this sweater, tell you how it was a fail and then frog it. but my flickr friends have changed my mind, so think of this as a "before" post and sometime next month we can talk about the "after". pattern: owls yarn: louet riverstone chunky, neptune, 5 hanks needles: 6mm and 6.5mm circs date started: 10.31.09 date finished: 11.04.09 for the most part, I ignored the owls sweater because as cute as it was I wasn't sure about the actual owls. would it fit with anything else I wear? and what... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.304 2009-11-17T15:09:33Z 2009-11-17T15:09:53Z

pattern: aestlight yarn:shibui knits sock, sand, 4 hanks needles: 4mm date started: 06.29.09 date finished: 10.28.09 poor aestlight. what can I say about it? you know it's a bad sign when it takes you four months to finish a shawl. for a while it seemed the fates were against her and wanted her gone. she lived through some indignities, including traveling the east coast while stuffed in a bag, surviving a puppy mauling, and just plainly being ignored. I cast on for aestlight as a little knit along with rangsiwan, and amanda. the garter stitch triangle went by super...

bitter purl pattern: aestlight yarn:shibui knits sock, sand, 4 hanks needles: 4mm date started: 06.29.09 date finished: 10.28.09 poor aestlight. what can I say about it? you know it's a bad sign when it takes you four months to finish a shawl. for a while it seemed the fates were against her and wanted her gone. she lived through some indignities, including traveling the east coast while stuffed in a bag, surviving a puppy mauling, and just plainly being ignored. I cast on for aestlight as a little knit along with rangsiwan, and amanda. the garter stitch triangle went by super... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.303 2009-11-17T02:44:12Z 2009-11-17T02:46:39Z

somehow tom (unintentionally) saved up all of his vacation time for the fall and we've pretty much taken full advantage. we've mostly gone places we can simply drive to and got to step out of our every day lives for a week at a time. one of our trips was a drive up to ithaca since we missed the town and hadn't been there in years. I used the car ride as an excuse to test knit for kirsten. pattern: miller's hat yarn: louet riverstone worsted, charcoal, 1 hank and smidgen needles: 4.5mm and 5mm circs date started: 10.10.09...

bitter purl somehow tom (unintentionally) saved up all of his vacation time for the fall and we've pretty much taken full advantage. we've mostly gone places we can simply drive to and got to step out of our every day lives for a week at a time. one of our trips was a drive up to ithaca since we missed the town and hadn't been there in years. I used the car ride as an excuse to test knit for kirsten. pattern: miller's hat yarn: louet riverstone worsted, charcoal, 1 hank and smidgen needles: 4.5mm and 5mm circs date started: 10.10.09... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.302 2009-10-26T20:49:30Z 2009-10-26T21:36:44Z

I really hope you all enjoyed the preview for pure knits! posting all the pictures got me all excited for the book all over again. I need to figure out what I have in my stash that will work with some of the patterns. actually, I still need to decide what to start first. stash diving should help. what about you? what do you think you'll knit? what yarn and colors are you planning on using? I would love to hear your ideas! thank you so much for all your comments last week. I loved reading all of them and...

bitter purl I really hope you all enjoyed the preview for pure knits! posting all the pictures got me all excited for the book all over again. I need to figure out what I have in my stash that will work with some of the patterns. actually, I still need to decide what to start first. stash diving should help. what about you? what do you think you'll knit? what yarn and colors are you planning on using? I would love to hear your ideas! thank you so much for all your comments last week. I loved reading all of them and... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.301 2009-10-25T04:58:08Z 2009-11-17T15:11:44Z

tonight brings us to the fourth and final chapter, cables! I didn't realize until now how much bigger this chapter is. designed by andrea tung both the scarf and hat in the cameron set are knit in the round with multiple strands of baby alpaca, making them quick knits for the winter. I love that the scarf is basically a big cable you get to wear....

bitter purl tonight brings us to the fourth and final chapter, cables! I didn't realize until now how much bigger this chapter is. designed by andrea tung both the scarf and hat in the cameron set are knit in the round with multiple strands of baby alpaca, making them quick knits for the winter. I love that the scarf is basically a big cable you get to wear.... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.300 2009-10-23T19:43:24Z 2009-11-17T15:12:24Z

chapter three features touches of lace to full on lace sweaters. there's a nice range of styles and experience levels for everyone. designed by melissa wehrle I love the easy styling of athena. not to mention the fact that it's knit in silk with a silk mohair trim. it's all about the details for me, like the full fashioned shaping in front, the subtle draping neckline, the little bit of lace at the hem, and the braided belt. it all comes together to make a sophisticated tunic....

bitter purl chapter three features touches of lace to full on lace sweaters. there's a nice range of styles and experience levels for everyone. designed by melissa wehrle I love the easy styling of athena. not to mention the fact that it's knit in silk with a silk mohair trim. it's all about the details for me, like the full fashioned shaping in front, the subtle draping neckline, the little bit of lace at the hem, and the braided belt. it all comes together to make a sophisticated tunic.... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.299 2009-10-22T17:00:32Z 2009-11-17T15:15:47Z

I'm sorry I'm a little late on today's post, but I was hit with insomnia last night and I'm really dragging today. hopefully I'll actually make sense! while chapter one is all about shaping and contrasts, chapter two plays with textures using stitch patterns. designed by erika seelinger the herringbone and chevron patterns in the pilatus hat and scarf set are set off by the use of two different yarns, grace wool and silk and a merino wool. the sheen of the silk really highlights the "crags" of the pattern....

bitter purl I'm sorry I'm a little late on today's post, but I was hit with insomnia last night and I'm really dragging today. hopefully I'll actually make sense! while chapter one is all about shaping and contrasts, chapter two plays with textures using stitch patterns. designed by erika seelinger the herringbone and chevron patterns in the pilatus hat and scarf set are set off by the use of two different yarns, grace wool and silk and a merino wool. the sheen of the silk really highlights the "crags" of the pattern.... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.298 2009-10-21T16:12:29Z 2009-11-17T15:15:24Z

with a book of all white pieces I had to figure out a way to organize the patterns. there obviously wasn't going to be a color work chapter :) if you picked up sensual knits, then you noticed that it was pretty sweater heavy. pure knits follows suit; what can I say, I love sweaters. don't worry, there are a few accessories, a couple of baby projects, and two men's sweaters included. eventually I split up the projects by how the yarn was used. the first chapter, pure white, is about the little details. designed by kalani craig I love...

bitter purl with a book of all white pieces I had to figure out a way to organize the patterns. there obviously wasn't going to be a color work chapter :) if you picked up sensual knits, then you noticed that it was pretty sweater heavy. pure knits follows suit; what can I say, I love sweaters. don't worry, there are a few accessories, a couple of baby projects, and two men's sweaters included. eventually I split up the projects by how the yarn was used. the first chapter, pure white, is about the little details. designed by kalani craig I love... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.297 2009-10-20T22:20:11Z 2009-10-20T22:21:33Z

or rather the book is shipping early from amazon! I'm so excited that it's finally out there for people to knit from! I may be biased, but this is a gorgeous book. there's cables, there's lace, there's cashmere, there's silk... pretty much all of my favorite things. I'll be posting photos of the designs this week, but in the meantime you could win a copy of the book plus a bundle of yarn. I've been saving up this yarn now since we wrapped up the book, which feels like eons ago! the bundle includes some louisa harding grace, pear...

bitter purl or rather the book is shipping early from amazon! I'm so excited that it's finally out there for people to knit from! I may be biased, but this is a gorgeous book. there's cables, there's lace, there's cashmere, there's silk... pretty much all of my favorite things. I'll be posting photos of the designs this week, but in the meantime you could win a copy of the book plus a bundle of yarn. I've been saving up this yarn now since we wrapped up the book, which feels like eons ago! the bundle includes some louisa harding grace, pear... tag:www.bitterpurl.com,2009://1.296 2009-09-23T16:14:26Z 2009-09-23T16:15:12Z

the first full official day of fall has not impressed. hot, cloudy, and humid? maybe fall has an identity crisis or summer is trying to trick us. either way, I broke down and turned the a/c back on after a few glorious days of living with opened windows. wool yarn? not touching it for another day or so. in the meantime, in attempts to cleanup my sidebar (and clear up my conscience) , I thought I'd finally blog about a sweater I finished eons ago. pattern: my own "chocolate scoop" yarn: laines du nord cashsilk needles: 4mm date started: 03.08...

bitter purl the first full official day of fall has not impressed. hot, cloudy, and humid? maybe fall has an identity crisis or summer is trying to trick us. either way, I broke down and turned the a/c back on after a few glorious days of living with opened windows. wool yarn? not touching it for another day or so. in the meantime, in attempts to cleanup my sidebar (and clear up my conscience) , I thought I'd finally blog about a sweater I finished eons ago. pattern: my own "chocolate scoop" yarn: laines du nord cashsilk needles: 4mm date started: 03.08...