where'd she go?

I seem to have had a bit of an unexpected hiatus away from Ravelry, my blog, and even my knitting since posting the last time earlier in March. I have no other reason why except that I've just been purely exhausted from my busy 40 hour work weeks and life's responsibilities. It's been very disheartening for me to feel so disconnected from the things I love, and I've missed you all and my knitting so much. If you've commented, e-mailed or sent messages without as quick an answer as usual, please know that I'm going to make every effort to get back into my routine this month and that I appreciate your patience and understanding immensely.

With that said, I also feel like I owe everyone somewhat of an update on Julissa's makeover! The pattern write-up is coming along nicely - all numbers and instruction have been figured out, so all I've got left is to get everything together into some coherent instruction, which I'm diligently working on now. The little knitting I've been able to do since posting the first sneak peek picture has gotten the sweater quite a ways along and it's proving to be a very quick knit when I am able to focus on the project. It now has both sleeves and much of the bodice done, and I'm already halfway through the hip increases. I'll get to work on it again this weekend and hopefully have some more pictures soon :)

Hope everyone is having a beautiful start to Spring!

a little off topic :: zucchini bread

Most of my friends and family know me well enough to know I'm not really the domestic type. Sure, I'll do the laundry and do some basic cooking from time to time, but that's pretty much the extent of it. My hubby has been great and very accepting of this and he does a lot of the cooking and cleaning, which also (thankfully!) gives me more time after a long day of work to sit down and knit. Every once in a while though, something really special comes along the way and I'll get the itch to bake or cook something myself, which is what happened recently. A co-worker of mine brought a zucchini bread to the office and invited everyone to help themselves. I did, and it was love on first bite. I didn't skip a beat before asking for the recipe. It was that good! It's also so good that I'd like to share it with all of you!

What you'll need:

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 2 cups shredded zucchini

What to do:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans. (8x4 or 9x5 inch)
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla extract until smooth. Beat in the cream cheese. Whisk in flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. 
3. Fold in walnuts and zucchini. Evenly divide batter between the two prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove from pans and allow to cool completely.

In a temporary lapse of excitement and pure newbishness, I dumped more than 2 cups worth of walnuts into my batter, so... you might notice that there are just a tad too many walnuts in the above photo of my first attempt at this yummy bread. Ah well! I'll know better next time :)

Enjoy!

Julissa's getting a makeover

Hi all! Wow, is it really already March 11th? This month - no, make that this year - is just going by way too fast. I can't complain too much though. After what has been a pretty crazy Winter, Spring is starting to make an appearance here in Washington and the sneak peeks of sunshine we've had over this past week are much appreciated. I'm ready for Summer. :)

Anyway, about that title! For those of you who follow my projects on Ravelry, you may have seen my most recent Julissa work in progress. For my third iteration of my first sweater pattern, I wanted to change things up a bit, and what better way than to change the neckline?

After I posted this picture on Ravelry, I got several comments and messages requesting that I write up this pattern variation. It meant so much to get this kind of feedback, and I figured, why not?!

Unfortunately, since I had no plan whatsoever while knitting this lovely green version of Julissa for myself, I didn't take into account the things I normally would while working on a design piece, like, no fudging allowed! ;) So, this is only a rough prototype and idea of what the final pattern sample will look like. Since I do need a proper sample knit up for this new pattern however, this past Wednesday, I happily cast on my fourth Julissa (does that make me crazy?). I'm very happy with the way it's coming along:

I chose some very yummy Madelinetosh 80/10/10 Merino Cashmere Nylon worsted weight in the color 'Carmine,' which I'm absolutely in love with!

This version of Julissa will no doubt be more feminine, a bit flirty, less sporty, and also, perfect for a summer sweater worked in a cotton or bamboo blend yarn. I plan to make the bottom ribbing shorter since there will already be a lot less of the front cable and lace panel running down the center, and I'll also include instructions for super cute cap sleeves, in addition to the original 3/4 length.

I'll be knitting like a mad woman over the rest of the weekend and into the week, so stay tuned for more photos very soon! :)

New Pattern Release :: Meira

After last weekend's preview, I'm so excited to announce the release of my new shawl design, Meira! 

I can't say exactly what inspired this piece, to be honest. All I know is that all of the elements that came together in this shawl, and especially how they fit together, spoke to me the same way every time I sat down to sketch some new ideas. I knew I had to get this off paper and onto the needles as soon as I found the perfect yarn. Madelinetosh Pashmina definitely added to the beauty of the finished product, wouldn't you say?

After getting the charts in order, the knitting itself didn't take long at all and made for a very fun and enjoyable knit. I'm very happy with the finished result, and hope you love this shawl as much as I do!

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ABOUT THIS PATTERN
A beautiful balance of stockinette, lace and texture come together to create Meira, a crescent shaped shawl knit in a versatile, sport weight yarn. This piece will be easily worn throughout the year, no matter the season! Its generous wingspan wraps gracefully around its wearer in a variety of ways, providing just enough warmth on a crisp Spring day, a cool Summer’s eve, or bundled under a coat during the Fall and Winter.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: 68” (173 cm) across the top edge
Width: 13” (33 cm) down the center stitch

Measurements were taken after blocking.

YARN
• (2) skeins Madelinetosh Pashmina Sport, 75% Merino/15% Silk/10% Cashmere, 360 yards (329 meters) per 100g skein. Shown in colorway ‘Tart’
• OR approximately 515+ yards of any sport weight yarn

RECOMMENDED NEEDLES
• 32” (82 cm) long or longer circular needle, size US 6 (4 mm)
• (1) US 10 (6 mm) spare straight or circular needle (used for bind off only)

GAUGE
21 sts and 32 rows = 4” (10 cm) in stockinette stitch, unblocked

Getting exact gauge is not critical, but it will affect the final size and yardage needed for your shawl. Final size is also dependent on how gently or aggressively you choose to block your shawl.

NOTIONS
• (19) Stitch markers
• Tapestry needle
• Several rust-proof pins
• Blocking wires or smooth, strong string

$6.00 USD

Featured Finished Object Friday :: February 24, 2012

Since the last Featured Finished Object Friday post, the Knit Rhapsody user activity feed has been wonderfully sweater filled. It's definitely a sweater time of year, isn't it? I have a few on the needles myself and can't wait to share what they become with you, but for now, take a look at these beauties made by other lovely knitters :)

The first project I'd like to share with you is SplitStitch's Julissa. I adore everything about her sweater: yarn choice, color, and fit! Plus, this was Jesse's first sweater, and I'd say she did an amazing job, wouldn't you?

Next, is another Julissa, this one made by jessibean on Ravelry. Jessica used a beautiful dove gray yarn, dyed by Tanis Fiber Arts and the finished sweater looks gorgeous on her. And, after seeing two very lovely Julissa's made with this yarn base (including one made by the dyer herself), I'm thinking it's a must try yarn! I'm also quickly realizing why so many knitters love gray yarn! :)

This next project is a stunning example of my Ardelise design, which I haven't seen very many of quite yet:

Not only is the fit awesome and the color absolutely perfect for Spring, but after seeing the back of Davina's cardigan, I was even more inspired:

She cleverly used one of my personal favorite cable embellishments from the well known Gathered Pullover to add some visual interest to the back of the cardigan, and I really love this mod! I'm thinking I may need to follow suit and make a DK weight Ardelise a la sabinaknits, and add this cable detail a la twouglyducks! :)

I hope you've enjoyed seeing these projects as much as I have! Until next time ♥

Note: The photos featured in this post are not my own and are the Copyright of the wonderful knitters mentioned above. Click the links provided to see the Raveler's project page and more gorgeous pictures!