en plein air

1, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

I haven't had much time for making things while studying abroad. But on spring break in Italy (!) I stumbled across an art store & jumped at the chance. It was so interesting for me to experience people being able to watch me work. Very strange. It felt so good to stretch my drawing muscles though.
Above: Florence, the Gold Bridge/Ponte Vecchio.

Florence: the Duomo.



The breathtaking view in Cinque Terre.

& a cheesy novel with espresso while waiting for my flight back to Barcelona from Venice.

Updates from BCN !

5, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

I'm having an awesome time studying abroad! On the knitting side, I've found a great knitting group to practice my spanish. (Even though it's horribly embarrassing.) I head to Teixicòmanes every wednesday night. : )

Also, I visited the South of France last weekend & stumbled upon two yarn stores. Naturally I bought some Made-in-France souvenirs !



(my travel blog if you want to see more )

¡ Hola !

barca, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

I'm studying abroad in Barcelona for the semester! It's only been a week & I love it already.

& of course I brought a knitting project with me. . .

I'm knitting these stockings when I have time. : )


The view outside my apartment!


I also brought this notebook for drawings here & there. . .


. . . a quick sketch I did of the beautiful Sagrada Familia.

If you've been to/live in BCN, let me know if there's anything I must see or do!

p.s. if you want to keep up with what I'm doing, I'm keeping a photo blog here: conejo-extranjero.tumblr.com

house painting

44, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

I always attempt to make a ton of my holiday gifts every year but this year, I only really accomplished this painting of my childhood house for my mom. I tweeted this picture of it in progress & Diet Coke tweeted back at me! I was thrilled. . .


Here it is finished! I got a nice frame for it & my mom liked it. It hangs in our living room now. : )

Pattern : Polished Pullover

IMG_1535, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

After a very long break, this pattern is finally ready to release !

Supplies:
~1200(1400,1500,1600) yards dk weight yarn
~ size 3 & 5 U.S. 29” circular needles and dpns (or size to get gauge)
~Stitch markers

Sizing:
Xs(s,m,l,xl)
To fit a size 32(36, 40, 44, 48)” bust
With 2” negative ease.
(If you wear your sweaters a little looser, go one size up.)



Polished is worked from the bottom up in the round until the armholes. The lace & cable pattern is charted & written out.


Visit the Ravelry Page or



Feel free to comment below or message me on ravelry if you have any questions !

gold & quartz necklace

1, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

a quick diy between tests/midterms/projects/etc.

I ordered some cut quartz pieces off the internet & crocheted around one with some gold wire.

I've been wearing it on a plain gold necklace chain from a broken vintage necklace. (yard sale buy ! )

how to: simple infinity scarf

577, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

whenever people find out that I can knit, they always ask me to make this kind of infinity scarf. This year I think I might print out this pattern & give it as a gift in a kit (and you can too) . . .

What You Need:
~ two skeins of worsted weight yarn held together or a bulky yarn (I used caron simply soft here)
~ size 13 24" circular needles
~ stitch marker.



-Cast on 120 stitches using your favorite Cast on method. Join in round, being careful not to twist. Place stitch marker at beginning of round.

1. * K1, p2 repeat from * to end of round
2. Knit to end of round.

Repeat rounds 1 & 2 until piece measures 8" from the beginning. Bind off using the k2tog bind off or loosely using a needle a size or two larger.

That's it !

halloween edition !

546, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

Every year I think extensively about the halloween costume I want to make. This year I was an angel & I made the wings from scratch. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out!

I started out with some thrift store knitting needles that I covered in wire & hot glue for the "frame".

Then I cut pieces of cardboard and used pieces of wire like twist-ties to kind of sew them together. After that, I took a long sleeved tshirt & cut off the sleeves & eased them over the frames. Then I glued on feathers like crazy. . .

!
To make them wearable, I sewed elastic sort of like backpack straps & added ribbon tabs to the bottom. . .


That's all!


Happy halloween !

notes & knits

344, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

I honestly swear that I pay attention better in class when I can draw/knit/etc. Above are my marketing notes . . .

I've also been working on some gossamer infinity scarves. This one's in "ice".


It finally got colder out & I can put my knits to function. (The sweater was a $4 find at salvation army. Plus handknit boot toppers.)

I'm going through a bit of a big-cat phase lately as well . . . a quick sketch during a study break.

pattern : sweet slouch

I've been knitting this hat for years & years, but only recently have I had requests for the pattern.

The sweet slouch is a super-quick knit in bulky yarn (alpaca or angora work best, something with drape !) & has a brim that works as a ribbon casing so that it always fits your head & doesn't stretch out!


[check out the ravelry page]
or

recently . . .

022, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

I've been making a bunch of little things here & there that aren't really significant enough to have their own posts.

Clockwise from top left:
* a soft & slouchy hat
* my stats homework turned ballerina sketch
* deer decorations on my spanish notes
* a commissioned infinity scarf !

FO : lace bamboo tank !

33, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

I'm pretty pleased with this one. . . an exercise in complete improvisation.


I used bamboo crochet thread that I bought at joanne fabrics for $1.00 (!)



The secret for this project was really blocking it to pieces. I stretched it out soo much.



I did a wip post about this here


. . .and an instagram picture !


ravelry page

wip wednesday : swatching !

34, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

I just moved back into school, but before I left I managed to start swatching for a new sweater ! I'm using Cascade yarns 100% baby alpaca lace in a lightly variegated lavender. . .



. . . and rather big needles. (10 US) I love the airy-light fabric it makes !

p.s. the above photo is from my instagram feed & I am totally obsessed.


@ekatearcher ! : )

gold chevron knuckle ring

3305, a photo by --erin kate on Flickr.

ultra-simple project. Literally gold wire bent around my finger in a chevron pattern. Simple & pretty.

(nailpolish is "sea" by sally hansen)