Wedding Knitting!

In case you didn’t know, the girl behind TTL (that would be me, Alice) is getting MARRIED!

Me and my guy, Thanksgiving 2011

He’s a journalist and I’m a part time legal secretary/etsy seller, so needless to say money is tight. The only way we can *possibly* plan a wedding is with a lot of help from our friends and a healthy amount of DIY projects.

This, obviously, lead me to thinking about what I could *knit* for the wedding! I decided very early on that I want to knit myself a veil, so I started scouring the internet looking for just the right combination of yarn and pattern. It has been a frustrating search, but I think I’ve come up with a few good leads… I’ll have a whole post about the veil soon, though, so I’ll tell you more about it there!

I think I’m also going to try and knit as much of my bouquet and the decorations as I can, too, but I’m a lot more flexible about that stuff. I think I’ll just start knitting and see how far I can get along the way!

Stay tuned, I promise I’ll share all of my fun wedding projects here along the way

New Hat and Free Pattern – Vinter Hat!

Ah, fair isle… I love it so, but my hands don’t! One of my resolutions for 2012 is to complete a fair isle sweater, and if I’m *ever* going to reach that goal, I have some serious work to do. I designed this hat as a way to start training my hands to cooperate while holding two strands of yarn at once. To all the stranded-color hopefuls out there, I recommend giving this a shot! By the end of the straight section of the hat, I was feeling much more comfortable!

(This is a very basic teaser shot, I’ll be replacing it when I get a chance to do a real photo shoot.)

Yarn:

• Main color (MC) – Patons Classic Wool, 100% pure new wool, 223 yds/100 g, Woodrose Heather, approximately 110 yards needed
• Contrast color (CC) – Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool, 100% pure virgin wool, 465 yds/227 g, Oatmeal, approximately 30 yards needed (I think?)

Supplies:
1 16″ size 8 (5.0mm) needle
1 16″ size 4 (3.5mm) needle
4 size 8 DPNs
1 stitch marker

Gauge:
4.5 sts and 6 rows per inch over flea pattern
4 sts and 7 rows per inch over ribbing

Lice Pattern:
Row 1 – k 1 MC, k 1 CC
Row 2 – K all in MC
Row 3 – K 1 CC, K 1 MC
Row 4 – K all in MC

Pattern:

Cast on 80 stitches loosely (I suggest using the sz 8 needle to cast on).
With the size 4 needle (or whatever is needed to obtain gauge), work in k2p2 ribbing for 20 rows.
Switch to the size 8 needle, (K 5, make one stitch) all around, you now have 96 stitches
K 1 round in MC
Work in lice pattern for approximately 4″ (for me, this was 6 repeats), and end with either row 1 or row 3.
Start decreasing – Instead of either row 2 or 4 in Flea pattern, (k 14, k 2 together) all around with MC.
Work next row in Flea pattern
(K 13, K 2 together) all around with MC.
Work next row in Flea pattern

Continue like this until you have 48 stitches on the needles (switching to DPNs when needed).
At this point, continue in Flea pattern but decrease on *every* round now.
When 12 stitches remain on the needles, break yarn and pull through the remaining stitches.

Sew in all ends, lightly block (the body of the hat, *not* the ribbing), and enjoy!

(IF YOU KNIT THIS PATTERN, please let me know what you think of it! Hit me up at through.the.looking@gmail.com with any questions, comments, errors, or just to say hi!)

Geek Gift Guide: Twilight

I’m not going to lie… I’m very conflicted when it comes to Twilight.

On one hand, it just plain makes me angry. The books are poorly written, the story is half-formed, and the main characters are just plain obnoxious.

On the other hand, I love the base elements of the story. (I’ve often been heard to say that in the hands of a better writer, I’d love it unconditionally!) I love many of the supporting characters in the movie – I think the entire Cullen family does a spectacular job, and Bella’s dad is just the sweetest. But most of all, I *love* all the imagery (and knits!) it inspires! Combining Native American legends, the pacific northwest, vampires… yes please!

Twi-hard: With a Vengeance

Shopping for your favorite Twilight fan? Just like an overprotective vampire boyfriend, Etsy is always there for you!

(I was reluctant to include one of my own items in a treasury, but I couldn’t leave the mittens out!)

Geek Gift Guide: Dr. Who

Making up for lost time… with this guide, I’m now current!

The Doctor Who Gift Guide

Etsy: It’s bigger on the inside!

Hello sweetie, I hope you find just the right thing for your companion!

Geek Gift Guide: Star Wars

Once again, this is most definitely a topic that could have been further broken down… it was *agony* narrowing this down to just 16 items!

I hope you, my lovely readers, are enjoying these guides! I am *such* a fan of Etsy (not just because of my store), and I am really enjoying this opportunity to introduce y’all to the width and breadth of what you can find there.

A long time ago, in a treasury far far away…

Show your rebel spirit, give some handcrafted Star Wars love for the holidays!

Geek Gift Guide: Lord of the Rings

Our second gift guide focusses on the Lord of the Rings! I was tempted at first to break this down into smaller sections (by movie, by race, etc.) but I’m not here to hand you *everything* on a platter, just to whet your appetite and point you in the right direction

So, without further ado, I give you:

Not All Who Wander are Lost: LotR gifts

Oh, the spirit of adventure, the wonder of seeing the world through tiny hobbit eyes!

It’s so very easy to escape into the magical world that JRR Tolkien created – may these gifts remind you of the little hobbit or stately elf inside of you.

Geek Gift Guide: Game of Thrones

In an effort to encourage myself to blog more, I have decided to commit to making a nerdy gift guide treasury on etsy every day this week and sharing it here!

So, without further ado, allow me to present the first in the series:

Winter is Coming: Game of Thrones Gifts for the Geek in your Life

Winter is coming, folks, and with it comes gift-giving season. Are *you* ready?