My Creekbed Featured!

Hello fellow knitting fanatics!

I have the honor of one of my projects being featured on the Knitty Blog! I am currently working on the Creekbed Scarf by Stephen West, published in th elitist edition of Knitty.com.

Stephen is a long time knitting crush of mine, and have often referred to him as my future husband (a boy can dream, right?).

Picking the yarn for my Creekbed was a complete coincidence. Through my work as a knitting instructor at Abuelita's Knitting and Needlepoint in South Pasadena, I was asked to reverse engineer a bias striped wrap. The bias scarf took far less yarn than I originally anticipated, leaving me with 4 partial skeins of tosh merino light (my all time favorite yarn!)

A few days after completing the project, I came across the new Knitty Issue. Serendipity and my love for Stephen West aside, I knew I had to make one for myself.

Without further ado here is a current photo of my progress on the scarf.

I am currently working on the last repeat of the 3 stripe pattern, and I can't wait to get this off the needles and blocked!

- Chester

Quick update...

Hello fellow knit fanatics!

I have been a very very busy boy and just wanted to update everyone...

I've been knitting up a storm, but have unfortunately failed miserably at maintaining my yarn diet. There's more yarn than ever in my bins!!!

Here's a smattering of what I have finished so far:

A Holden Shawlette:

A commissioned beanie for Kendall Schmidt from Big Time Rush (I'm making a few more as well- can't wait to see my stuff on TV!!!!)

An iPad cozy modified for sport weight yarn for an existing pattern. Including a Stylus holder on the flap:

I'm sure I'm missing more....but thought I would just update to make sure everyone knew I'm still alive and knitting up storm like always!

-Chester

Bad, Blogger! Bad!

So once again, Chester has managed to completely ignore another blog.  Over 2 months and no posts… I’m surprised the Blog Authorities haven’t broken down my door… or at least charged me a fine… Well, Dear Reader,  let’s suffice it so say that a whole lotta nothing has been going on… aside from me being fastidious in my yarn diet, and finishing all my projects in a timely manner (hah!  If you can’t sense the sarcasm… you’re not reading hard enough!)

I should be shot.  In the head… for completely obliterating any hope I had of actually completing my resolutions for this year.  I’ve apparently been doing a lot of yarn shopping lately… and have not been finishing ANY of my projects… It’s sad… really sad…. I worked sooooo hard to pare down my stash, and here I am buying yarn like crazy… I do chock part of it up to being it being my birthday yesterday (February is usually a decadent month for me… with my annual bonus and tax returns paying out)- So I’m going definitely feeling the squeeze on my budget and yarn storage space!

Hi… my name is Chester… and I’m a tosh-a-holic.  About 90% of the yarn I purchased this past month has been madelinetosh… and I just can’t seem to help myself when it comes to checking out her etsy shop, or to see what other tosh-a-holics are putting on their chopping blocks (Let’s just say the madelinetosh lovers group on ravelry is full of evil enablers… sweet, but EVIL!)

My cardigan has gone completely on hold.  Just looking at that thing and trying to wrap my brain around weaving in all of the loose ends on the body and the sleeves… I am NEVER going to make a striped anything ever again.  I’m thinking I’ll have it done by next Christmas…  if I’m lucky anyways.

My Clapotis is completely on hold.  Ever since I’ve stopped being consistent about going to Friday Night Knitting, I’ve just been so blah about working on it… even though I know it will turn out AMAZING…  I haven’t even gotten to a point where I’m dropping stitches yet!

I have been doing a few stitches a night on my bridgewater shawl.  It’s actually turning out quite amazing… I can’t wait to get that center square finished out… then the daunting task of picking stitches along the edge of that thing… makes me shake inside!

I’ve decided that I’m going to frog the knit-a-long project.  I think the main reason I lost so much steam working on it is that I really don’t like how the shawl turned out… it’s a little too… granny looking for my taste and I’m not a fan of how it is shaped.  I think I’ll make myself a lavalette out of it. Yes, another one… so stop judging.

Aside from my usual Hulla-Balloo… nothing has really changed.  My goal is to release 3 new patterns this year… we’ll see how she goes.  1 Pattern is going to be a beaded heart cowl, originally in honor of Valentine’s day, but I’ve come across a couple of snafus and have decided we will need to push it towards Mother’s day.  Hopefully I can finally get the beading to look right.  Also working on a simple pattern for a triangular or crescent shaped shawl.  Nothing super fancy, but something that can look delicate and dainty in lace weight, or nice and rich in a worsted.  More to come, and I promise you’ll hear from me before the 2 month mark.

2011: The Year of Process and Product!

Hello dear readers and fellow fiberphiles,

I have been a very bad blogger… a very bad one indeed.  It’s been ages since my last blog post, and I fear that my already meager readership has suffered (I don’t think any one really reads this, but I don’t do this to be read… or to become famous… I do it merely as a way to keep track of all my thoughts, processes, and of course… my failures!)

My Queue, and my stash have both managed to beef up in my nearly two months of going dark here on Blogger.  It seems that I have fallen off the proverbial wagon in terms of my goals and resolutions.  Suffice it to say, I’ve been a very busy little boy with the major holidays and the multitude of knitting that I’ve been trying (so desperately trying…) to accomplish.  Sadly, I don’t have much to show.  A smattering of small projects here and there…  but my major projects have fallen by the wayside.  My v-neck Cardigan, has had quite a few setbacks… making it extremely late for the holidays… and it looks like it won’t be completed until mid to late January (I am NEVER making a striped anything ever again!)

I am seriously contemplating ripping out my 22 Leaves Shawlette as I have come to realize that I am not in love with the finished piece and really don’t know anyone who I could give it to… at least not anyone who I seriously think would wear it… so it may just get ripped out… or I could have it sit there another few months till I get around to actually finishing clue 5.

My Clapotis has been collecting major dust. It hasn’t been touched in FOREVER….

I am proud to say, however, that I have joined the 12 in 2011 group on Ravelry, and hope to accomplish 12 projects in my queue (things that I already have yarn for in my stash, of course!) 

So, as this will most likely be my last entry for 2010… I’ve decided to list out my resolutions:

1. Maintain my yarn stash to take up no more than 2 large tubs (still a pretty sizable amount, but enough to keep me from feeling like a n00b knitter)

2. Finish all 12 of my 12 in 2011 projects (technically there are 15 items on the list, I’d like to finish just 12, but all 15 would be awesome.)

3. Lose 15 lbs

4. Decrease my fabric stash to fit in one under-bed tub (if you think my yarn stash is ridiculous, my fabric stash is worse… a yard or 2 of Fabric is sooooo much more inexpensive than a ball of yarn!)

I think these will keep me busy for most of the year. 

A lot of the projects that I completed this year have really taught me a few things about myself.  I’ve really come to the conclusion that I am more of a product knitter versus a process knitter.  I am very invested in how the final product will turn out, albeit I do experience a great deal of satisfaction from the actual act of knitting (process!), nothing gives me more pleasure than blocking/finishing an item then wearing out!  Knowing this about myself, I did notice a lot of foibles in how I knit.  Gauge is one of them.  I need to be a bit more diligent with measuring gauges, and blocking swatches.  A big reason why I love knitting lace and small accessories is the fact that gauge is negligible.  Can’t really do that with garments.  So my queue for next year is pretty garment heavy. No more rush rush rush through a project.  Slow and steady at the beginning, then a mad dash for the finish (no cutting corners, though!).  So my number 5 resolution really is to hone my skills as a knitter, and to take it much more seriously. It looks like 2011 is the year of process (Resolution number 5!) AND the year of product (resolution number 2!)

We’ll see what the New Year brings.