everyday | Laura Chau

Knit, rip, repeat

February 26, 2015

Silly me, I finished both of those hats for my grandmother but didn’t take any photos of them! I think she liked them, though – and she admitted that she lost the last hat I made her (probably 5+ years ago).

I got new business cards! It’s been ages since I ordered some. I think they would be nice if they were shiny, but I decided on recycled paper instead. Pretty minimal.

New sweater release soon, featuring this pretty button from the Vexed Muddler.

The sweater I’ve been knitting has had a few bumps though. It was all going along swimmingly, then I realized partway into the yoke that my math was totally wrong. Sigh!

I had to rip pretty far back! Partway through the yoke for the second time I had to rip again, but not as far. Don’t become a designer if you aren’t willing to rip stuff out repeatedly.

But I actually finished the sweater last night and wove in the ends this morning! I’m really excited to wear this one. Pattern is my own, and will be released next month (I hope). I also took a bunch of photos while I was grafting the underarms, so I’ll have a tutorial soon on how to close up those pesky underarm gaps in a raglan!

Reading:
The Shell Collector by Hugh Howey. Interesting premise, fun quick read, but a little unsatisfying in the end.
I also just finished Sapphique by Catherine Fisher, which is the sequel to Incarceron. Again, an enjoyable read but not super amazing.

What I’m Wearing

November 4, 2014

Since sweater weather is finally upon us, I thought I’d do a little roundup of the sweaters and accessories I’m wearing most often! I know there’s not much time between now and the gift-giving season, but I don’t plan to give handknit gifts – I’m too selfish of a knitter! Instead I’d much rather work on a new sweater or two for myself.

Sweaters as Jackets

I tend to overheat easily, so I kind of like this cool, in-between weather where you don’t *have* to wear a down-filled parka just to survive. It’s the kind of weather where I can wear my thickest sweaters on their own, and don’t have to worry about whether I’ll overheat with a coat on top! I’ve been wearing my Innisfil sweater a lot as a jacket. The yarn (Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted) is nice and chunky, half alpaca half wool (so it’s really warm) and has a nice big collar.

Moraine is the other sweater I’m wearing a lot as a jacket. It isn’t quite as warm as Innisfil since it’s all wool (not alpaca), but I adore the wrap fronts and the belt that doesn’t get in the way. If it’s colder I scrunch up the back collar to help keep my neck warm. Both of these sweaters are quite soft, so they’re pilling a little bit – I use a Gleener to help keep things looking nice. (No affiliation, I bought it myself.)

Clearly I love cabled-back sweaters! And I love this wrap sweater so much that I’m currently working on a little collection of several different types of wrap sweaters. I’m hoping to have that ready in the new year!

Neckwarmers

For accessories, I pretty much always reach for my Wychwood shawl, in black cashmere. It’s just so wearable, goes with everything and is SO soft and cozy.

When I want a rectangular scarf, I go for Ashworth – again, in a neutral colour it goes with everything, and cashmere! It’s a little bit on the shorter side, which I like for crossing and tucking the ends under my coat.

Hats

I have a tough times with hats, because I wear my hair in a bun or ponytail a lot…and because I’m just not really a hat person! I’m also a bit of a delicate flower sometimes, particularly when it comes to fibres that touch my face/forehead. I do love my Lamplight Hat – I wore it yesterday on a walk but ended up taking it off because I was overheated! I’m sure that won’t happen once it really gets cold.

I usually wear it with the ribbing tucked inside, as shown. I think I want a new hat (or two) for this year though, something chunkier. Maybe lined with cashmere? So many ideas, so little time.

Elsewhere

I’ve been doing some pattern roundups on the Craftsy blog too! Check out Office Friendly Knitting Patterns and Cozy Oversized Cardigans for Fall for more wooly pattern inspiration! You can check out all my Craftsy posts here.

A Little Slow

October 27, 2014

I don’t have much to blog about today! I had a bit of a run-in with a box grater last week (grating onion for latkes, worth it) that resulted in a pretty good gash to my right index finger, so I had to take a couple days off knitting. I did manage to get out to take some photos for a couple of new sweater patterns that will be out soon.

Then, I realized the sweater back I showed in my last post was probably going to be too big, so I had to rip it out and start over. Luckily I still really like these cables! The problem with having so many projects in progress is that there’s not much to show even if I were knitting around the clock!

I have posted a couple new skeins of handspun yarn for sale, including this pretty one:

I’m hoping to get lots and lots of knitting time in this week. Maybe start a new shawl.

If you’re in Toronto and haven’t done so already, make sure you get out and vote!

Watching: Defiance – I just finished season 1. It’s not particularly deep, but I like it!

Reading: Starting Mysterium by Robert Charles Wilson. I finished 11/22/63 and it was so good, you should definitely read it if you’re into time travel mysteries.

Eating: Halloween candy (oops) and Chicken Pho. I cheated a bit on the broth and used 1 carton of chicken broth + 2L water to cook 4 chicken legs, instead of the whole chicken, and omitted the 3lb of extra chicken bones/wings. I used the spice amounts from Serious Eats. After we had our dinner, I refrigerated the broth overnight, removed the fat, and now I have a couple containers in the freezer ready for when pho cravings strike!