I’ve moved!
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: December 30, 2009
My craftiness and other artistic inspirations are now documented over at Handmade in Heels. Come visit! : )
The perils of left-handed knitters
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: July 10, 2009
First of all, my apologies for not keeping up with my poor, neglected craft blog! I realized that I just don’t accomplish enough crafty progress to keep up with regular posting, but I suppose I’ll keep this site around for occasional spurts of progress or interesting tidbits (like the little gem I have for you today). Such is life, I suppose. : )
Anyway, get this: Last week one of my coworkers requested that I teach her how to knit, and of course, I enthusiastically obliged. How exciting! Another future knitting addict… mmmm… [insert evil laugh]. We scheduled a little lunch meeting on Monday, and I came armed with extra yarn, straight needles, and my knitting instruction book (this one). I showed her the basics – casting on, knitting, and purling – and she actually picked it up surprisingly quickly. She was a natural! And despite my awkwardness in trying to do everything backwards (well, “the right way” for all you right-handed knitters out there), I thought I actually did a pretty good job…
Blue and purple miters
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: June 9, 2009
Fresh and juicy!
A fresh crop of miters has recently been harvested – blue and purple mixed with bright white, ready to join the heap of colorful squares patiently waiting to be sewn into a finished blanket. I love how these new miters came out – the contrast between the darker colors and the bright white will add a lot of interest to the finished piece (I hope!), and there’s just something about the cool colors that’s so refreshing in the summer heat. This project is just getting more and more enjoyable as it goes along – who knew? : )
Historic FO: Endpaper Mitts, part deux
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: June 5, 2009
Admiring my handiwork : )
After I posted about my first pair of Endpaper Mitts, I decided to grant my second pair a temporary leave of absence from my office drawer for its oh-so-deserving glamour shots. Don’t they just say, “Hey baby, you know you want me…” in that coy, seductive kind of way? Wait… is it just me who hears their knitting talking in sexy voices? Oh, ok then. Nevermind. : )
Historic FO: Endpaper Mitts
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: June 3, 2009
Oh Endpaper Mitts, how I adore you
As I’m knitting away on the Mitered Square Blanket (which is actually going really well – I’ve been knitting about a square a night all week), I figured I’d post about an old finished object (FO) that’s near and dear to my heart… and hands. The Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang, a beautiful and cleverly-designed pair of fingerless mittens, perfect for keeping chilly hands and wrists warm in an arctic-like office (i.e., my office every single day of the year, regardless of the actual temperature outside) while still being able to type. But I digress… these mitts were a really fun project and came out great, if I do say so myself. : )
Just born: pink and green miters
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: June 1, 2009
Welcome, my babies!
Allow me to introduce the newest members of my Mitered Square Blanket: eight little pink and green miters – aww, how cute! : ) I squeezed in a boat-load of knitting time this past weekend, and what you see above is the result. These bright-white squares are really growing on me, and I really like the way these came out. Plus, as I was gazing at the half-used skeins of pink and green yarn on my couch, I thought about even making some pink/green miters in the future – ah, so many possibilities! Hence the allure of the beloved Mitered Square Blanket.
Unearthing my Henry scarf
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: May 30, 2009
Awake from hibernation & relaxing by the window
From the vast darkness of my bottomless “craft closet” (an actual closet in my apartment overflowing with crafty mayhem), I managed to unearth a very noble, classy, and sophisticated project – the Henry scarf, originally published in the Fall 2007 Knitty. I absolutely love the design of this scarf. The cleverness is astounding, really. I love how the pattern makes this knitted piece look like woven material, and herringbone in particular. Oh, herringbone, you are my long-lost love! I really can’t wait to add this stylish and elegant scarf to my winter wardrobe.
Hello, MSB? Meet bright white.
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: May 27, 2009
Do we make a cute blanket or what?
Remember the other day when I bought a bunch of white yarn to mix into the Mitered Square Blanket (MSB)? I was a little dubious at first as to how the blanket would handle such a bright white, but I think it’s growing on me. The colors are all pastel anyway, so I think the white will fit right in. And besides, “white says summer” (as Ann and Kay so adorably put it in their book), and this is most definitely summer knitting. Oh, bright white yarn, you had me at hello. : )
Saying goodbye to my favorite LYS
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: May 26, 2009
Even their shiny pink logo is adorable!
Now that I’m reinvigorated with knitterly excitement, I checked out the website of my favorite local yarn shop (LYS) to see what was new, thinking that a trip and a little purchase were in order. But lo and behold, I found that this yarn nirvana is going out of business after six years of serving the Greenwich, CT community with all things warm and woolly. How sad!
The Knitting Niche is truly an exceptional shop, somehow cramming a full range of mouth-watering yarns (from delicious cottons to exquisite cashmeres and alpacas) into a bright, friendly, and tiny storefront shop. It was my favorite place to spend a Saturday afternoon fondling, sniffing, and even taking home a few specimens from their scrumptious collection. I can’t believe I won’t be able to go back there and soak up the knitterly love anymore!
Yarn shopping shouldn’t be this difficult
Posted by: The Left-Handed Crafter on: May 25, 2009
After rediscovering the beloved Mitered Square Blanket (and also discovering that I was almost out of the appropriate yarn!), I went to my local Michael’s to restock. I had decided to add a bunch of white to the blanket (it’s summer and I’ve got white on the brain), and I also picked up a skein of most of the other colors I had already been working with. Here’s my haul:
New yarn for the Mitered Square Blanket
Not bad, right? They didn’t have any of the bright pink, but I figure I can just pick it up another time. The interesting thing about this pile of future-miters is that I almost got into a fight with the Michael’s yarn section employee to get it. Yarn shopping shouldn’t be this difficult, seriously!
I do things backwards, on purpose.
Name: Carolyn
Location: Westchester, New York
Affliction: Left-handed, left-brained craft addict
Warning: I knit backwards. If you feel yourself twitching at the very thought, take a deep breath and hold a mirror up to the screen. Trust me, it will be ok. : )
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