doorway

doorway
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

He was about to go out with his dad, and wanted to show me that he will wear his hat. Standing in the doorway, looking out, waiting. This moment was so tender for me.

beret

beret
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

Here we are at year's end. New Year's and Easter are my favorite holidays. Something about endings and being reborn makes me woozy with hope. A new hat for the New Year, pattern here.

gift knitting

I managed to knit a few simple items for gifts. The yarn for this scarf came from the swatch for Sweet Rose in the most recent Knitscene magazine. It is a beautiful cashmere. My swatches are generally huge so I figured I could make a scarf from the unraveled bits. Actually, another bowtie scarf was squeezed from these left overs as well. Sweet! My aunt likes to wear something around her neck during work and who doesn't love cashmere?



This purple confection is another incarnation of the La la Scarf. The pattern can be found in the book Greetings from the Knit Cafe. This is one of my favorite patterns using my all time favorite yarn, lace weight kid mohair and silk. I never tire of the beauty of lace in thin mohair.




My other aunt is receiving this scarf, also made from recycled swatch yarn. The yarn is a Classic Elite merino blend with a touch of cashmere. I was too lazy to wash the yarn to remove the kinks caused from sitting in the bobbled swatch and the stockinet stitch looked pretty bad, so I jazzed it up by running a strand of mohair throughout, altering the colors in broad bands.

stranded

I just finished a big (lace) project and have yet to finish another huge (book) project. So, of course I'm staring at my computer daydreaming and eating cake. *sigh*. I found a great link for stranded knitting. Peace!

hey strand-a-longers

amazing post at habetrot about a massive amount of mitten knitting...

Rosy Tams

rosy tams
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

I bought this book, Knitted Tams by Mary Rowe, earlier this year from Interweave Press; but have yet to put it to good use. It is full of thorough directions on designing your own stranded colorwork tams, something I have longed to do for years but never got around to it. I've never joined a knit a long before as well, so seems like a good time to get into action. Uh, actually, there will be no action on that front until after the New Year but in the spirit of the knit a long I thought I would post what projects I have in mind. There are a couple of amazing sweaters that I’m dreaming of too but I don’t know if I have the time to commit to something huge; on the other hand does it matter how long a project takes? I usually like to knit something as quickly as possible otherwise I loose steam and move on to other projects. I have a couple of UFO’s in the workbasket. Sadly, languishing with just a few missing details. Hmmm, there are only two of those, not too bad for a mad knitter! Anyway, what is quick in the world of knitting? I would say two weeks and that usually entails a couple of sleepless nights and missed meals. It is doubtful that a sweater from Poetry in Stitches could be worked up in two weeks.
Well, I’ll start small with a tam; a beautiful circle of radiating colors.

Irene's backyard

shelf, pot, mirror, purple wall
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

While at my mom's house for thanksgiving I took a few pictures in her backyard. Her place never lets me down, it is always alive with color and her every growing collection of pottery.

Irene

Irene
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

Happy birthday mom!

Thankful

for whimsy and Florine Stettheimer

Picnic at Bedford Hills, 1918

Family Portrait #2, 1933

From Manhattan Fantastica

Inspiration

Top hat and heart are the tender and bittersweet handwork of a love never known. Quilt made for Squire Baldwine signed "Old Maid", 1850 Yonkers, New York; from The Quilt Engagement Calendar Treasury.

Peruvian pilgrim. From (un) Fashion.

alligator chair and EZ knitting

Felix has grown out of his high chair, so Johnny cut off the legs and upholstered it. The upholstery part is a little wacky, inspired by a late night burst of energy. When Felix woke up he was afraid of the chair and tried to pry the black cushion off. Then he threw all his toys on it hoping he could "fix" it. I saw him trying to work the cushion off with his alligator and so I decided to take a picture of the alligator and the chair in the hopes that Felix would see the chair as special. And it worked. He loves it.

I've been doing loads and loads of knitting. So I wouldn't feel so isolated and nutty with all the counting and pattern writing and rewriting, I placed the great knitting thinker EZ next to me at my desk. Good company!

good morning: self portrait challenge

good morning
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

self portrait taken in my bathroom. usually, i ignore "him" but sometimes i can't avoid the ghoulish stare. the mural was painted by my boyfriend before felix and i moved in. felix likes the babies. recently I was looking at photos from my old apartment and feeling nostalgic for the feeling of a place all mine. i guess this picture represents compromise. i'm not being dramatic, life is good; but lets face it this bathroom is pretty extreme.

Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Garden

Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

I can hardly believe we went to a place where flowers like this grow. We had a great trip, a true vacation. Felix is just old enough to appreciate travel. He did good and delighted in saying "I wanna go Hawaii". Even though we kept reminding him we were in Hawaii, he seemed to think that Hawaii was a form of travel and not a destination.
This afternoon I feel fuzzy and tired and want to stay indoors away from the freeways that dominate my neighborhood. Still, it is nice to be home (kind of). I kept imagining myself living in Hawaii and wondering if I would still knit. The humidity did not inspire me to pick up my needles. I brought a cotton yarn project but only worked on it once when I woke up at 4 in the morning excited to be where I was but needing to pass the time till it was decent to wake up the guys.

wash day and get away

It seemed like a good day to start bringing out the knits from their hiding places and wash out all the summer dust;
and to get ready for our holiday!

quiet

ssshhh.....

day dream

After looking at this picture in a book about William Morris the idea of a library skirt formed. The fabric being shelves of books and the wearer a book lover.

Eye Cure

Last night feeling dragged down by things I slipped into a fantasy where the fortune teller pulls the “eye” card and warns of letting things go.

love

Felix said "our house mommy?"

Phobia

Spinaciaphobia!

duck

.

Johnny set up this night-light in our little patch of dirt in front of the house. This week: Felix and I went out to lunch twice without too much trouble, fall came though it’s hard to tell and a spider bit my eyelid. Oh and I grafted a shawl and experienced vertigo in the process.

swatch

swatch
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

for a sweater for felix made when i was pregnant. it matches my sugar skull family.

sugar skull family

with some owls, a balloon, big hearts, stripes, and butterflies in day glo

change

day to night

owl

yeah right

yeah right
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

this afternoon this guy gave me a scare, i thought he ran away. turns out he was hiding in the car while i ran down the street screaming his name.

tree of life

the tree of life has always been a favorite subject and inspiration

snow white

at last weekend's party felix met snow white and fell in love

farm

my imagination

friends

A couple of days ago I took Felix to a birthday party. We had a great time with friends.

safe

in a book, under ground, in a shell, where you belong

fairy knitting

Used to be when I knit lace with mohair my needle of choice was bamboo but when I cast on yesterday it felt like the sticks in my hands were bats. Not graceful. I fished around the place for another needle and all I could come up with was a pair of bright green plastic ones. Okay. They are okay. I would prefer a sharper point, but they are light and easy to handle. Today, as my concentration continued to drift I suddenly realized that the needles and the yarn and the room all matched. Sublime acquatic tones for this lacey confection meant for a small fairy princess.

heart

knit patch. been playing with intarsia. its maddening to do but i heart picture knitting.

run

baby run

fun

this big box of yarn was delivered...fun for me and
for felix!

match

MATCH HEAD
This afternoon the neighbor kids came over and we all sat around and drew with crayons. I love drawing with kids because they are so free. After they left I pulled out my watercolors and painted this.

eyelash moods

A few years ago, when eyelash seemed novel, I used it to embellish the seams on this festive skirt. Yesterday, while wearing the skirt I contemplated trimming the eyelash. Giving it a buzz cut, only I would have to manicure it piece by piece and so, it shall remain. Festive.

play

dear tulip

This is the sketch I submitted to Knits magazine that became the sweater "tulips" in the Fall 2006 Knitscene.
The lovely Julia from Mind of Winter had suggested that I might write something about the submission process as a topic for my sparse blog. My original swatch had been in two shades of linen, a melon and French blue. The fabric felt crisp and summery with lots of air and drape. Part of the design process when making a pattern for a magazine is working with a yarn different from what might have been originally imagined. The editor sent a tencel/alpaca blend yarn that was lovely and soft but created an entirely different garment. I don't feel that attached to things I make for hire. The process is challenging and exciting but I know from the start that my knitting will be packed up and sent off to another place to be photographed and live inside the pages of a magazine or book. And that’s cool! With that in my mind, I am up for yarn changes as part of the process and consider it an interesting aspect of making something new.
Most designs start with swatching. Where does that start? I might see a yarn that looks delicious, and say “ooh I must have”. Yes, that is the usual beginning. But sometimes I might get a picture in my head of something to make and then things start with the sketch. Occasionally, the steps are mushed together and there is no telling of what came first, the sketch, the dream, or the swatch.
While drawing this sketch my mind drifted to a countryside I have never been to but would like to visit, my appetites were tickled with the aromas and flavors of this distant land and it was a lovely experience.

bracelets

.

These days Felix has entertained himself much of the time. He discovered my box of beaded bracelets and claimed them as his own. Shortly after I took this picture the bracelets were off his wrist and on the ground while he squealed with excitement over a large rock.

capture

a little scribble therapy

messy

My desk in it's usual state of disarray is it creative chaos or just plain messy? Lots of things in the works: eyelet top in hot pink cashmere, a doll (that my son declared scary…uh oh) and yarn yarn yarn for massive swatching.

sunday

edna made fresh salsa from her homegrown peaches and tomatoes; deliscious!
when I came home from the shop I found the guys hard at work on the hot rod.