I'm making pretty good progress on the insanely bright rainbow baby top. I'm starting to think it is TOO bright, but anyone I ask says it's great, so I'm just going to keep going. I started on the hood, which is straight stockingknit now. Just the sleeves after that, and a bunch of ends to weave in. I don't think it will take much longer, I hope to get a good chunk done during Friends and Survivor tonight.

Good progress is also being made on the afghan. I'm approaching 3/4 done, so it's nearly the home stretch now. It's been an enjoyable pattern, but akward lugging an afghan around. I also am finding faults with the pattern. It is a series of panels, each a set of 9 pattern squares. Poor planning in the design puts a ribbed square next to a stockingknit panel, where the "knit" part of the rib sort of runs into the stockingknit panel. (does that make ANY sense?) I would have planned it so the "purl" rib started next to the stockingknit square. There are a few other things like that I'm noticing too. Overall they aren't a big deal, and I'm certainly not going to start fussing about it now!

The Safari sweater is still set aside. Instead, I started ANOTHER project! All those babies my hockey and lacrosse gals are having start coming due very soon, so I started working with that pretty Patons "look at me" yarn. The colouring in the yarn is pretty wild, so I decided to find a more basic sweater pattern. I ended up with the hooded baby top from knit-it (first issue) again! It's a great pattern, and I think it will suit the yarn. I got started last night, and here is my progress so far:


I need to check my guage soon. The original pattern calls for Lion Brand Microspun doubled up, so this is definitely thinner, but I am using 4.5mm needles instead of the 3.75 called for, so I don't know how it will turn out. I need to find out how big a baby is to know what I am aiming for LOL. I love the colours, knitting them up makes me want a top for myself out of this yarn! I love how the colours line up into rainbows at some parts, not as keen on where it ends up really random, but I will have to wait for the big picture.

I have to rip out my progress on the Safari top and try again. THIS time it's too small. [[sigh]] This happened due to a combination of poor swatch measuring and forgetting I have [[cough]] explanded a little in the waistline recently. I did the math for the size I THOUGHT I was, not the size I actually am. There are a couple inches difference in these two numbers, unfortunately. My poor measurements of my swatch also contributed to it ending up and inch or two too small. So the cumulative effect is too big to ignore. So I am going to pull it off the needles, do some more measuring, and hope I can end up somewhere between the two attempts.

I'm contemplating setting the whole mess aside for a few days, and picking up something else to work on, since it's frustrating. (It also sucks big time to have to adjust clothing ideas to fit a larger than expected waistline!!!) I want to make a whole mess of baby stuff, several gals on my sports teams are expecting this summer. I have that cute rainbow yarn to knit with, and I know it would make cute baby things. I'm going to look for a cute but non-frilly baby sweater that would suit rainbow veregated yarn....

I got knitting on the Safari top the other day, and decided to measure to see how my guage and math had been. It's hard to measure circumfirence when you only have a couple inches on circular needles but I could tell I was WAY off. I ripped the thing off the needles to see how bad, and it was SO far off I had to laugh. It was probably 45inches around!! (I may wear a large - but not that large!) I recalculated my guage, and cast on 46 less stitches, and things seem better this time. I don't have good measuring tools here, a piece of ribbon and a 6inch ruler tell me it may be a tad small this time, but I will measure better when I get home. It's knitting up quickly, the first ball got me 4.5inches, and I'm well into the second ball now. I love the fabric this is knitting up to. It's light and airy - but not see-thru - and the rainbow bits running through it look so neat. I can't wait to finish this and wear it.

Once I get a little farther I will try another scan. The first one (below) turned out so dark many people can't even see it :(

I tried something new the other day - making a hemp necklace! I bought a kit at Michael's and it had everything in it to make a necklace, bracelet and anklet, including the instructions. I think it turned out pretty well, it was very easy to make. Only problem, is, it tore the heck out of my fingers in two spots, hemp is rough stuff!

I could definitely see myself making more of these, trying my own designs and adding different beads, but I might need to wear gloves or something.

I went back to Lewiscraft and bought that great yarn yesterday. I couldn't resist knitting up a swatch right away. The swatch looks a little funny as I was doing stockingknit, then some ribbing, and then trying larger needles.....



Isn't it pretty? It's a little dark for summer but the other shades had more neutral threads running through and I wanted the rainbow! So now I am trying to decide on the needle size. I think a looser fabric will drape better, and be more airy for summer, plus make the yarn go farther.........

I found a new project, to add to the large stack of WIPs I already have. (hey, the wizard hat is done, I need to replace it, right?!?) There is some new yarn at Lewiscraft the other day. It's called Grignasco Safari, but I can't find it online ANYWHERE! The yarn label didn't seem to have any info on it either. It's a cotton blend, with a main strand of a solid colour and a rainbow thread running through it. Very pretty and it seems like it would drape nicely for a summer top. I'm thinking either a rowan V-neck tank or a top our of the current Vogue Knitting magazine.....a t-top with split sleeves. I might go with the second one, as an excuse to buy the magazine!

I am wrestling with my growing stash. I'm planning this next project which would have me buying more yarn and possibly a magazine. I already have HEAPS of yarn at home. so much that it fills two of those iris carts on wheels, a huge shopping bag, and spills out onto the floor. Some of that yarn is, well, kinda garbage. I bought it at thrift shops cuz it was "neat" but I don't know WHAT I will do with it. Some of it is just waiting for the right project. But still, I feel guilty buying new yarn and stuff when I already have so much! How do you all deal with that?

As promised, photos of the Wizard hat!




The one photo has him sort of hidden behind his friend's head, but shows you the point of the hat at least. I am SO pleased with how it turned out. I didn't really use a pattern, I just used ideas from a flat brim felted hat I saw online, and a pointy elf hat pattern online, and made it up as I went along. The felting also made the colours merge nicely, I was going for a "fire" look and I think it worked well. Oh and the little bag is a felted drawstring bag of "spell components" like a rubber bug and shiny stones. He really liked that part of the gift! It's such a treat to make something, thoroughly enjoy the end product, AND have the recipient love it as well.

I managed to fix the afghan. I created an extra stitch to make up for the lost one (after making DARNED sure it wasn't a dropped stitch that would haunt me later). It's right on the edge of a pattern panel and doesn't even show, so I'm happy.

The hat went over wonderfully with the little wizard on the weekend. I have photos, I just need to edit and upload them, so I'm hoping to do that tonight. I was so pleased with the hat, it's so much fun to make something "different"!