Straight Bourbon and Not-So-Straight WIPs

Buenas tardes, ya'll.

Does anyone else feel like November is just straight up craziness? When did October end? How are we already halfway through the month? How do I have so much to do? Why is it so dark? So many questions, so little time. Ugh. Let's just get started.

As I am running around like crazy with projects, Christmas orders, day job work, travel, and market prep, this week's cocktail? STRAIGHT BOURBON. Yup, that's right!!!! It's straight bourbon. (Or whiskey. Or booze of any kind). Or, be fancy and call it Bourbon Neat.

Nectar of the Gods

You will need: Bourbon. A glass. Skip the glass if it's too much.

Pour bourbon in the glass (or just swill from the bottle). That's it. Neato.

Moving On!!!!

I've got WIPs coming out the wazoo, kids. First up, my current test knits.

Ooooooh sweet baby cheeses, I went a little crazy signing up for tests :) :) All worth it though because I'm so excited about all these projects.

The Silver Bell Sweater by Knitatude

I was lucky enough to test knit the Silver Bell Sweater by the fabulous Chantal of Knitatude, and unlucky enough to get laid up with a sinus infection for about 5 days. However, this ended up working to my advantage as the Doc wrote me a work note and I knit pretttttty much all day. Knit and slept and drank tea for 5 days straight. It. Was. AWESOME. I banged that sweater out pretty quick ;) All of Chantal's patterns are simply and beautifully designed. I really like the layout of her patterns and the diagrams she provides. It creates a clean and simple framework for patterns that you can easily adapt and make your own.

For this sweater, I used the recommended Lion Brand Winter Nights yarn and it is GORGEOUS! I'm a huge fan of the little iridescent sequins and the shimmering tone of the color. It's not the softest yarn (acrylic and polyester) but it's not nearly as itchy as I first felt it could be.

Dem Sleeves

The fit of this baby is drapey, airy, and billowy and it would be awesome with leggings (or as a bikini cover up for cool/cold beach days and nights!) or with a pair of dress pants for holiday events. Chantal will have it out with plenty of time to knit it up for the holiday festivities, so make sure to follow her and grab it when it comes out.

It gets cold in Florida, honestly!

The next test I completed are the Coffee House Mitts by the lovely Tif of Tif Handknits. I have followed (....stalked) Tif ever since I first saw her Wanderer Pullover with the herringbone stitch. When she posted the testing call for these lacy, long fingerless mitts, I dropped everything to apply. I did have to size my needles down quite a bit to meet gauge (I'm a rather loose knitter. Loose morals, loose knitting, whatevs.) but using a smaller needle with the aran tweed yarn creates a really dense, cozy knit that I'm reallllly into. I like fingerless mitts because I, like all of my generation, am addicted to my phone and being able to type and swipe is mandatory. The lacey pattern is really simple to do and turns out quite elegant. These are a relatively quick knit (took me about 5 hours for both gloves) so it would make a great Christmas gift.

The Coffee House Mitts by Tif Handknits

Oh, the yarn I used was some leftover Vanna's Choice in Oatmeal I had "lion" around................. Those of you who don't know yarn are lost, I know. ;) Don't worry, it's punny.

Right now on my needles is the Poinsettia socks by the wonderful Rachael of Mavencrafted (pics soon to come). The lacey socks have a traveling lace leaf pattern that is just so pretty. I'm using yarn by one of my favorite dyers, Briana of The Little Wolf Knits, in Beach House. I think the sandy/oceany look of the yarn will pair really nicely with the leafy lace pattern. This is MY FIRST PAIR OF SOCKS and I don't know how I've made it this far in my knit life without making a pair. I wasn't sure of the pattern I would use, but I bought the yarn from Briana as this color way screamed "SOCKS" to me.

Now, as I've told you before, I'm a loose knitter. My gauge is a little off, but with Rachael's permission, I'm gonna keep on keeping on. I'm using size US1 needles so there's not a whole lot I can do to alter my gauge, but I'm actively trying to knit as tightly as I can, so we'll see how it goes. I'll keep ya'll posted.

Finally, I wanted to show you guys a little peek of the newest items that will be hitting my Etsy and all markets where Rows and Rosé appears. These have turned out to be a bit controversial with some people LOVING them and others straight up unfollowing me for posting pics of them.

These are my Willy Plushies, Coochie Cutie Pins, and Rainbow Pride Pins.

Cutest Netherbits I’ve Ever Seen

I was looking for a few cool items for the Lazy SaturGAY market with Milk Mart Orlando on November 30th. The market will have many LGBTQ+ small businesses and makers, as well as resources to get involved with the LGBTQ+ community here in Orlando. I'm so excited and proud to be part of it and I will be donating 15% of all my sales to Come Out With Pride Orlando.

Both the rainbow pride pin and the willy plushie are patterns by the coolest crocheter around, Crystal Rose of Not Your Nanas Yarn Work. I think her work is outrageously amazing and if you haven't seen her Boob Planter or Valentine's Day Heart Vuvlas, do yourself a favor and go check them out. She sadly does not have a pattern out for her Vulva Pins, so with her permission (THANK YOU CRYSTAL!!!!!), I'm designing my own "Coochie Cutie" pin to sell.

That’s a vag!

I really had a blast making these and while some have not loved them, the response has still been overwhelmingly positive with people requesting orders right away. SO. I'm hoping to have these posted on my Etsy in the next week or 2 and I will continue to donate 15% of all these sales to local LGBTQ+ organizations in Orlando.

***If you are uncomfortable with the fact that these are penises and vaginas or don't want this stuff cropping up on your feed at work, ok. I get that. If you are unfollowing me because I'm participating in a Gay Pride event, supporting LGBTQ+ organizations monetarily, and because I support Gay Rights.........well, Gay Rights are Human Rights and I don't need your negativity in my life, Linda. Regardless, if I have offended you with these makes, hit that unfollow button friends. It's why it's there :) :) ***

Fuck off, Linda

Phew. That was a lot.

And there's so much more to come! Make sure to check in next week to see if I've made any progress at all or if I just piss all my time away on whiskey and fun ;)

And make sure to check out my Instagram LIVES each Wednesday at 8PM EST to have a drink and chat with me.

Ciao, guapos.