Khristmas Knits: Part 1

Christmas time is hard for us knitters. What should we make people? Do they deserve that? Is this going to cost way to much? How much work will that take? Well I have come up with a few different projects that absolve all these questions. My first project is for all that leftover cashmere you have sitting in your closet. Its for all those scrapes of luxurious yarns that you know you will never be able to make anything with it but its so nice and soft so there is no way that you can throw it away. I am just like all of you until I made this hat. I was up in the middle of the night going through my stash and I realized how much of this yummy scrap yarn I had hidden away and I thought what can I do with this? I vaguely remembered coming across this hat on Ravelry and I thought to myself "I like it but lets do more...lets be creative". And here is the result. Now for those who love to follow a pattern I would go back here and purchase her pattern and make a wonderful gift, or something special for yourself, you deserve it! For those who like to take a leap of faith, like me, then please go have fun. The lace pattern that I used was from another project that I had really enjoyed. I say do the same as me, find some old patterns you loved and throw them in.

My yarn choices starting from the bottom of the hat moving up
hand-spun cashmere: ribbing 2x2 CO: 
Angel: 15 row lace pattern 
Habu Looped Mohair: stockinette 
Sweater: eyelet rounds 
8-ply Cashmere: cables 
Beaded Silk: stockinette 
Habu Looped Mohair: stockinette 
Angel: decrease eyelet round


--I think I may have even edited this when I actually knit it but it was fun and organic no matter what!

A Thanksgiving Thought

I have been perusing many different fashion blogs for Thanksgiving inspiration. Something I have noticed that looks great but does not seem pratical is the dark lip look. Do not get me wrong I love me some vampiraic lips. But for a day of eating I am not trying to reapply between my first course of turkey and my third. Lets be honest you know we all go back for more then seconds. So here is my thought when you wondering what lip color to choose. Go with a nude look so that if you forget to reapply throughout the night at least it won't look like you forgot to reapply. I am going to wear a new Super Lustrous Lipstick (shade: 820 pink cognito)I had just recently picked up by Revlon. Surprise because it is my favorite drugstore brand for lips. It has become one of my go to lip looks as of late for a reprieve between all my different dark lip looks. It goes on really smooth with such a soft color and great lasting power. I love to pair it with a nude gloss on top, this one is from hourglass. I won't be going with the gloss for Thanksgiving because that is an extra step I do not need between me and my pumpkin pie. 

The naked lip

Just the lipstick...do they not look lustrous?

The lipgloss on top to give it even more luster!

Swatch of just the lipstick

Swatches of both the lipgloss (top) and lipstick (bottom)

I love how this lipgloss applies because of the flat applicator

Is it Christmas Yet

Let me be honest with you all and admit to my christmas obsession. I love Christmas and what is that I love so much about it you may ask? Well I love it all. I love the colors, the weather, the fashion of winter, the gifts (giving them), all the sweaters I can wear, the long nights, the food of course, family get togethers, old friends, and last but not least the music. And if I was being honest again I have been listening to it all year long periodically. This year I did try to restrain myself and wait until November for me to really get all my Christmas stuff going. So the first thing that I could not wait to get my hands on literally is my Emerald nail polish. I have been in love with Emerald nails sense Christmas 2010 and have made it a tradition of sorts, plus I just love the color in general. I finally invested in an emerald polish sometime last winter and I have not had the chance to use it until now. I do not know why I didn't use it last year either. I picked this up at Francescas in the shade evergreen, and I do love love love the color. That being said I do not know how much I like the actual nail polish. It is very pigmented and goes on very smoothly and only to two coats to get my desired look. The down side is it too forever to dry and ended up botching my nails quite a bit. It did that thing were the nails on top were dry but if I pressed on it it was almost like the nails were still newly painted a few seconds ago. This lasted a good half hour to forty minuets. Sense I had to cook dinner there was no time for me to wait and of course that resulted in some dented up nails but I will redo them soon enough anyway.

The Winner Has Arrived

So typical I get rid of Rimmel London mascara only to end up with another Rimmel London mascara. Is it just me or when you read Rimmel London do you say it in the tone and accent from the commercials? Anyway lets go onto why this mascara, Rimmel London's Scandal Eyes, is the one for me. It somehow has been able to merge the pros from both The Rocket and the Photoready 3-D Volume without gaining any of their cons. It gives me great length and volume without being clumpy. The formula is wet and has great lasting power, yet still easy to get off. The one thing that I think really makes it the winner though is the brush. I had originally been apprehensive about the shape but it is great! The way that it hits my lashes, well I do not really know what happens but all I know is my lashes turn out just how I want them. Which means in my mind that they give my eyes the appearance of doe eyed innocence with a wink of "I am sexy as sin". Of course I understand that if I actually tried to wink I may look like I am trying to catch a fly with my eyelashes.

Deciding on Details

Sometimes I feel the need to knit something real quick. I could be working on anything, a beautiful sweater ,like I am now, but I need to make a baby sweater or a slouchy beanie. This unexplainable need is where this blog is headed. At my work some Tosh Chunky went on sale in a beautiful creamy color and it was calling my name. All of a sudden I had everything that I needed, a drive to make a baby sweater and some beautiful super-wash merino wool...Hello project! I chose to make the Debbie Bliss Ribbed Baby Jacket. This is a great project that is so very easy and knits up crazy fast. I whipped it up over the weekend but now I have a dilemma, I first cannot decide how many buttons, do I go with 2 or 3? My second thought is do I add cuffs? And if so what kind of cuff? A rolled hem? Tacked down reverse stockinet? Ribbing? I have so many questions and I would love to hear all of your thoughts and opinions.

The adorable wood buttons

To cuff or not to cuff

Three Buttons

Two Buttons

Weaving In Color

At work in the last few weeks I was given the opportunity to come up with a project for Noro’s new yarn Shiro. Let me tell you, I have never been happier to knit with Noro. The feel of the yarn was so soft without getting to fluffy like most other cashmere blends. For a little bit more fun and something new I decided to do this woven cowl. The waffle knit pattern lined up beautiful with the self-striping nature of the Shiro. But the woven part was defiantly my favorite thing to do, and after experiencing the ease of the knit I cannot wait to integrate this woven look into many other quick knit accessories like a headband or shawl.

How I would actually wear it

I loved making the waffle texture look

Cuddled in Fog

Have you ever been on a long drive through the mountains or cruising down the coast surrounded by fog. Its that feeling of being all alone but yet at peace? Thats how I always feel when I found myself in a fog day. I can be either really sad or feel so scattered brained and frazzled but it doesn't matter once I am surrounded by fog. For some reason I find fog romantic so every time I am blessed to be within it, I think to myself this must be what the artist during the romanticism era must of felt. This deep appreciation for a natural occurrence and managing to only see the beauty and none of the negatives.

Eyelashes in 3-D

Round Two of the mascara face off has begun and so far I am so very very happy with Revlon's Photoready 3D Volume. If you compare the brushes of The Rocket to 3D they have a very similar look and feel during application. So there is no suprise that I love how this mascara brushes on, I feel every eyelashes getting coated in volume. The formula is sadly not as wet as I prefer but I am so pleased with the end result that I can over look that detail. I have a feeling that this may be the winner, but don't hold your breath I have one more mascara to go... possibly. The reason why this may be a winner though is because the 2 reasons why I didn't like the in The Rocket I love in the 3D.
1. It gives me the thicker lashes and volume that I was looking for.
2. The mascara has just as good lasting power but comes off much easier at the end of my day.

Manicure...Wednesday?

Sorry everyone I did not do my nails on Monday but they still looked so good there was no chipping! Of course I woke up Tuesday and it was like my nails knew I had missed my weekly manicure. My nail polish started falling off left and right so I had to do my nails last night when I got home. I decided to mix it up a little this week and use Essie in the shade Bordeaux. I am way more then suprised with how great this nail polsih is. If anyone has ever used Essie I am sure they have had the same experince as me. I sit there for an hour applying coat after coat only for the color in the bottle to never show up on my nails, but at least they end up being about an inch thick! Ridiculous (comment below if this happens to you). But so anyway last night I was thinking...hmm benefit of the doubt I like this red color and I don't mind having a kind of milky sheer red shade. Of course the one time I am ready for Essie to fail me they give me the most pigmented nail polsih ever!!!