I couldn't resist casting on for something else! Startitis is definitely a disease....

Someone at my stamping group was talking about a really simple knitting pattern for a baby sweater, and emailed me the link. I couldn't face reworking the pattern to work with my Patons Pixie yarn, so I found another pattern instead. I'm doing this pattern. It looks very simple and fast, and unisex, since I don't know the sex of either baby left to knit for. This yarn is SO soft, you can almost see the softness in the sleeve part I knitted so far:



It feels so neat on my fingers, I can just imagine how great it would feel holding a baby dressed in it!

I'm a little worried about Bob. I think the yarn I'm using drapes too much......It seems REALLY stretchy. When I hold up the front and back from the neck area, it stretches pretty long. All I have left now is the sleeves though, I think I might just finish it, then try it on and worry about the fit. If it does stretch out too much, I can always rip it.

"Bob" is coming along nicely. I'm about 2/3 of the way up the chest, I would guess. The ribbing pattern is nice. I think I am going to have to buy more yarn though. I'm on ball number 5 right now and still have part of the front, the back, and two sleeves to do. We'll see.

I'm headed to a friend's place tonight to play Settlers of Catan. (a really cool board game) I'm going to bring some knitting to work on. I don't need to watch my hands much while I knit so it gives me something to do between my turns. I don't know whether I will take Bob or my socks yet though.....I'm eager to finish both projects.

The next project I have in mind is another baby gift, probably with that Pixie yarn I picked up. I'd love to make a sweater but I don't know if I want to wimp out and do a hat and booties again instead. Does anyone have any nifty and easy patterns for baby items done in a yarn that is almost like Snowflake?

The afghan has been given! We drove up to the wedding on saturday. Sadly we got lost and missed the ceremony! We did make it to the reception though. The couple looked so happy! They weren't openning the gifts until sunday, and we had to get home, so I didn't get to see their reaction. Hopefully they liked it! My brother hasn't uploaded the photos from his camera yet, but as soon as he does I will share photos!

I got a good chunk of the ankle socks done on the trip up island. I'm about halfway down the foot now. They look kind of cute with the solid color heel and veregated yarn for the rest. I don't have a lot of the veregated yarn left, I'll be doing the toes solid too. Still working away on Bob. I'm up to the shaping at the chest. I'm not sure how its going to work out though. Do you ever find yourself following a pattern thinking " this doesn't SEEM right, but I'm going to trust the pattern" and hoping it all works out? I'm there now, a few more rows and I will be able to see how it works out.

I managed to check out "Mad About Ewe" in Nanaimo. Cute shop with a great selection. I picked up a couple balls of Pixie by Patons to make more baby stuff. It's a lot like snowflake, but about half the price. ($4.99 Canadian - which is like $3 US) I got the Gelati colour, blue, green, yellow and white veregated.

Still no photos of the afghan, I will have to email my brother to see if he will email them to me. I'm anxious to share!!

I do have a scan on my progress so far on Bob, though. It's whipping right along, lots of straight stockingknit with shaping to keep it interesting:




The colour is a little off, my scanner insists on scanning this particular yarn REALLY dark, so I had to play with it in photoshop a bit. (And a photoshop whiz I am not!) It's really coming out nice, I can't wait to finish and wear this top! Despite the main colour being dark navy, the flecks of rainbow make it seem summery, and I'm knitting it nice and loose to be light and airy.

I got bored with the socks. Maybe the tiny needles were getting to me after the big needles I used on the afghan, but for whatever reason, they weren't seeming like fun. I set them aside for now, and decided what to make with my lovely Grignasco Safari yarn. I wanted something pretty and flattering, but not overly complicated, so the funkiness of the yarn would still work out okay. Then I remembered to check out knitty.com and there I found it - BOB! Simple, flattering, and knit mostly in the round, how perfect?

So I started on Bob last night. So far I have about 3 inches done, and it looks like this yarn will work really well. It's coming out light and drapey, which is what I was hoping for. It should be great for the warm weather that is starting to show around here.

IT IS DONE!

I completed the afghan on sunday night. I've never felt such overwhelming releif and happiness at completing a project. Even my very first sweater wasn't as big of a deal as this afghan to finish. I did some math and given the number of "oopsie's" I had to fix and piles of frogging when I messed up, I spent in the neighbourhood of 100 hours on this afghan. I can hardly beleive I spent that much time on one single project!I'm very happy with the result, though. I made it to be a "couch afghan" but it ended up the perfect size for a twin bed, so that is another option. The different patterns of all the panels look really neat, and the cable edging ties it all together wonderfully. The lettering turned out alright too. Duplicate stitch on loosely knit acrylic is difficult to get straight and even, but the end effect is really nice, I think.I washed and dried it yesterday, and now I just need to make a card and wrap it up. I'm so pleased with myself! I hope the couple really likes it. I'm quite certain they will - if I had any doubts I wouldn't have undertaken a project like this! I had my brother snap a few photos with the digital camera before I washed it, so once he sends them to me I can show you all what it looks like :)

Now I'm working on some anklet socks for myself, while I decide on a top to work on. I really liked a top that is in the current Vogue Knitting Magazine, but I checked the pattern and it calls for an elastic yarn (cascade fixation) not a straight cotton like I was planning on using. I noticed something was up when the Large size was only 35inches around.....my waist may fit in that, but not my chest! I am considering just altering the pattern to work with the cotton yarn, basically by knitting it larger, but I may just find something else to make, and buy fixation or Patons Katrina to make the vogue top later.

It's nearly finished! All I have left are 8 rows of nearly all garter stitch, the embroidering of the names, and weaving in a couple of names! I was going to work on the embroidery last night but I discovered I can't find the chart I drew up with the names on it. I'm going to have to rechart them today, I guess. My plan is to head to mom's house tomorrow to wash the afghan and block it out. I've been handling it so long and taking it everywhere, I'd like to wash it. Plus I think washing it will help all the stitches even out and look nice. I'm going to try to get my brother to snap a couple photos of the afghan with his digital camera too.

I want to finish this morning, so I can start on my next project this afternoon. I found a top in the new Vogue Knitting Magazine, it's a sleevless top with triangle details at each side at the waist. Very pretty and done in the round - YAY! I'm going to make it from that navy/rainbow yarn I got, my original plan for that stuff just was not working out.

It's kind of boring, just posting updates on the same, huge, neverending project. But that's pretty much all I'm knitting, so it's all I have to talk about. I'm making progress, only 23 rows to go, then weaving in a couple ends and doing the lettering. The end is in sight!

I did take the time to knit a couple of baby socks to match a baby hat I made. The planned recipient may have already made his or her entrance into the world, so it was about time I finished them!

I've been home sick from work a couple days, I feel really rotten. Sadly I haven't gotten a lot of knitting done in this time. Well, I DID get a bunch of knitting done yesterday but last night my husband, with his eagle eye, noticed a mistake I'd made. I had knit halfway across the afghan, then somehow got mixed up, turned around and knit back the same way. I've done this before, I have to be careful when I set a project down midrow to double check my direction! I lost about 2 hours worth of knitting ripping that error out! I haven't made that time back yet either.

I'm getting tired of the afghan, its a VERY large project. I'm looking forward to knitting more quick baby items once it's done.

I'm getting very nervous about this afghan getting finished on time! I only got a couple rows done last night, I estimate I have around 100 rows left to do! THEN the embroidery! I need to average 8+ rows a day starting now if I want to get it done in time. I'm really going to have to pick up the pace! I sense some heavy duty tv knitting time in my future.....

I haven't had a lot of time to knit lately. Work has been very busy (plus the afghan is TOO big to tote around) and lacrosse is really getting going. 2 practices a week plus a game night keeps me busy!

Finished the bright coloured baby sweater! It's VERY bright. I still need to get some buttons for it, then I will try and scan a photo. I also made a baby hat out of the same yarn. Saw a cute idea in a magazine to do a hat with an I-cord at the top and then tie the icord into a little knot.....I did that on a roll-brim hat and it turned out quite cute!

I'm getting a bit nervous about the afghan, I have just over 2 weeks to finish it and 1/4 left to do, PLUS the embroidery. YIKES!

I haven't been posting much, I just haven't had much to say! I'm still working on the rainbow baby sweater. I am partway done the second sleeve, then I just have to weave in all the ends. It's actually trickier I think with veregated yarn as you don't want to weave blue into yellow, etc. Still working on the afghan too, 3 weeks left, I'd better hurry up!

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"!

I have a dilema. I've discovered an error in the afghan. Not in the pattern, something I have done. I've lost a stitch in one of the panel sections. Not a dropped stitch, just a missed, M1 or something. Problem is, the error is 58++ rows back!!! As I see it, my options are:

1. Rip out 58++ rows (OUCH!!)
   
2. Try to rip out 58++ rows of that one 18stitch panel and knit it back up correctly
   
3. Find a way to fudge it and create the extra stitch I need
   

Obviously number 3 is most appealing, but I worry about making an ugly VISIBLE mistake by doing that. I REALLY don't want to rip out 58++ rows, and don't really have time to do that. (nor do I have time to keep setting the whole thing aside in disgust which is what I have been doing)

The hat felted up BEAUTIFULLY! It shrunk more than I expected, but it seems to be the perfect amount. It needs to be kid sized, and it looks just right. The red, orange and yellow all felted together so nicely to really look like fire. It's just drying now, I'm trying to keep the brim nice and flat. It seems a little floppy but I think a lot of that is due to the water weighing it down. I wish I had a digital camera to take a photo of it. Hopefully the recipient can share a photo with me later.

I started a hat for my sister too. I don't know that she wears hats, but the style seems like what she would wear. I'm sort of stuck for birthday ideas for her.

Off to felt! I'm leaving in a moment to head to mom's to felt the hat and a little side thing made out of the spare yarn - wish me luck!

I brought some socks I've had on the needles for a while to work on once I finished the hat knitting. I screwed them up, big time! I was knitting away on them when I realized I'd done them as toe-up socks, but done the heels as though they were top-down socks! Very silly! Off to the frog pond with those I guess.

The afghan is going ok. I screwed up a panel back and lost a stitch somewhere. It wasn't dropped, just not done properly so I ended up one shy in the end. Hopefully I can fix it without mass frogging. I am going to run out of yarn too, so I headed to both walmarts in town. One doesn't carry it, the other won't give me a straight answer on whether they will get my shade back in. ((sigh)) I lucked out on ebay though and found 2 balls (I needed one) on fairly cheap. Shipping will be over $7 US (that's $10++ canadian) but it's worth it to be able to finish the afghan :)

As promised, a photo of my pretty koolaid-dyed yarn:




Isn't it pretty??? I love how it turned out, I think once it's felted it will look really cool, orangey-reds with little sparks of yellow in it. I have 3 skeins (though the third has lots of cuts in it, what you get with thrift store yarns) so I should have more than enough for a great big hat. I think I might start again, I don't think it's quite pointed enough, especially considering it will shrink vertically most. I also think the stitches might be a little tight for felting. No worries, I only just started so it's not a lot to rip out.

I dyed the wool for the hat tonight. It's hanging in my living room drying right now. It looks gorgeous, red, orange, and a little touch of yellow, it looks like fire!! I'm a little concerned that since I handpainted it, the colours wouldn't match up right using two strands so I might have to knit it in one strand. That would take MUCH longer. Does anyone know if using one strand rather than two makes a big difference in felting? I'm going to try and scan the yarn this evening if it's dry to show you the awesome colour :)

Afghan is going well, finished row 105 yesterday, almost 1/3 done!

The afghan is going great guns again! Hopefully I can stop getting ahead of myself in the pattern, since that just leads to me ripping and losing lots of time :(

Still puzzling on the hat. I think I may felt it, just make it bigger than I want and see what happens. It shouldn't take too long to knit up, especially if I do double strands. That seems to help in felting too. I may skip the brim or leave it as is. Someone gave me a good idea of using single crochet around the bottom to make a flat brim, so I may even try that.... I'm also considering kool aid dying the yarn, I have some beige wool that should felt nicely, and it's crying out for kool aid!

Un-progress is being had on the afghan. [sigh] more ripping thank knitting lately it seems. On the plus side, I seem to have mastered the art of ripping out just a small section of cable, and fixing it back up, rather than ripping out full rows to correct an error way back. Since there are over 200stitches in each row, I'm glad I figured this out!!

Another project is in my head, either this HAT or something a little different. Do you think it would felt well? I think it would be hard to make the dimensions right if I was felting, I'd have to make it a lot "taller" since stuff seems to felt most vertically. Also, does anyone have an idea how to make a flat brim instead of the rolled one in the pattern?

Thanks to Ivete for the idea, a list of my knitting projects:

Active Projects:

• Sampler Afghan
  
• Small Secret Gift Item
  
• Bow Tie Scarf (for me!)
  

Set-Aside Projects:

• Confetti socks for me (seeking a reasonable yarn match to finish up the cuffs)
  
• Baby Socks (many pairs for many pregnant friends)
  
• Summer Top (was desigining it for Knitty originally...)
  
• Lacey T-top from freepatterns.com
  

Projects in mind:

• summer tank top for me (maybe a rowan pattern)
  
• wool sweater for sister (xmas)
  
• More socks for me
  
• lime green and blue baby sweater for ? (found the coolest yarn that begs to be a baby boy's sweater)
  
• summery top to design_
  
• knit animals for gifts
  
• felted box idea
  

So I have a lot of projects in mind, and quite a few being knit or temporarily set aside. Still nothing compared to Ivete's list though, so I guess I'm okay!

I found nothing at Michaels yesterday. They were all out of that nifty veregated baby yarn, and didn't have anything else I liked the look of. If I think of anything I *need* I still have the coupon so I can head there on my way home today....

I have been mulling over my knitty idea today, but then I came to a realization. I was trying to think of a project "for knitty" not "for me that would work for knitty" which seems kind of silly. I have so many things I want to work on, and less time than I wish I did, so why waste it making things I'm not totally into? I kind of wanted to submit to Knitty early on, while I figured my chances were better, but I guess it's less important to me than I originally thought. I think I will just go on making what I want, following patterns that already exist, and making up things if I WANT to. If I manage to dream up a pattern or two, I can just post them here or something.

I've thought of a new possible idea for knitty, so I'm puzzling away on that right now. The other item I'd been working on has been set aside for now, adding to my even increasing UFO count. I have SO many things I want to work on, it's hard to stick to only a few. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

I have a 40% off coupon for Michael's so I'm going to stop by there on my way home today. I hope they have the new Vogue Knitting in, I liked the look of that, just not the $8 pricetag. If not I'll probably get another skein of that great bright baby yarn :)

***CRYING***

I've been working away at designing something. Focussing on making the pattern workable, keeping the sizing adjustable with the math, all the things you need to do when you are designing a pattern, because I wanted to submit it to Knitty. I ran out of time for the Spring issue but my idea was fairly summery so I didn't worry, I was going to submit it for the next round. I was finally nearing completion when the current Knitty issue came out. The current issue of Knitty has an item that is extremely close to what I was working on. Actually, it's better, more what I WANTED to do but my limited experience made difficult. My pattern would be too close, it would look like I copied this other designer's great pattern, with a mediocre one that was only slightly different. **sigh** very sad times for me.

So I have set that project aside and just focussed insead on a large afghan I'm working on. I'm really enjoying the afghan pattern, so I'm feeling less sad about knitting now :)

I found some very cool yarn at Michael's. I was there yesterday armed with a 40% coupon so I couldn't leave empty handed. I need to make a mess of baby booties for the many gals on my sports teams who are expecting, so I checked out the baby yarns. Nothing looked fabulous..........until I saw this:

Isn't it awesome yarn?? It's so bright and fun, I can't wait to make baby things from it. It's a touch softer than it looks in the picture, but still wonderfully bright and loud!

Still working away on secret project #1, more than half way done now though. Still planning for secret project #2....gosh I have to get some non-secret stuff to work on or this will be a VERY boring blog.

Had a friend over yesterday (for a pizza and survivor party) and she wants to learn to knit! She's quite eager, so I will have to set up a time for us to get together, and grab a set of needles at a thrift store soon. I don't have any multiples of needles around 5mm to give her and I think that would be a good size for learning on. I do have a spare skein of veregated cotton though, so she can do a dishcloth to start. Dishcloths are great starter projects. You can do them in plain old garter stitch if you want, and they work fine even if you make a bunch of mistakes. And they aren't big and intimidating, instant gratification is a good thing

Okay, as pennance for being SO DARN SMUG about enjoying frogging a bit, I discovered a major mistake that led to my having to frog the whole darned thing! *sigh* Oh well, it's probably for the best, I tried something different at the beginning this time that is working out much better. And I still maintain that I enjoyed the first bit of frogging!!!

How to make frogging (ALMOST) exciting and fun!

A while back I read about a nifty way to go about ripping a number of rows at once, in Vogue Knitting I think. Basically, you decide where you will be ripping to, then at that row, insert your needle into the right half of each "V" all the way along. (This only works for stockingknit, you'd have to do it a little different for garter stitch) once all the stitches are picked up on the row you are ripping to, rip away, and the stitches all magically land on your needle, ready for you to start knitting again!

This is really quite cool to do, I always hate struggling to pick up stitches after ripping, not twisting them, not dropping any, this makes it so much easier. The excitment of this new technique made ripping out about 8 rows of my secret project nearly painless!

Yet another ripping session at the D&D game last night. I'm happier with how it's going though, so I'm glad I ripped it out. I'm up to 4 inches now too, so I'm making some good progress.

I have another project in mind that would be quite ambitious. I fell in love with a photo of some knitting I saw online, and asked the creater for some info. Turns out the item was made on a machine, but I think it would be do-able by hand. I'm a little afraid of attempting to create the pattern myself though, the actual project would be a challenge, let alone creating the pattern! Must think on it for a bit.

Ripped out what I'd done on my secret project. The gal in our building that just started knitting was quite upset at this! She couldn't imagine ripping out that much work! Ripping out work can be traumatic, but I do enjoy the process too so it's not so bad when I really want the end result to be correct. I got started again last night and hope to make some progress today........

A little more KIPing (knitting in public) yesterday waiting for tests at the medical lab. I got a couple glances, but no one outright stared or asked questions. It's fun to pull out my knitting and go at it. I find I get the most looks from older woman, surprised a young woman is knitting away I guess. I'm one of those people that doesn't want to be the center of attention, but likes a little bit, know what I mean? So the sideways glances I get for KIPing are just about right.

Sadly I think I'm going to have to rip out what I've done so far on my secret project. The edging I was trying (purl rows and YOs) is rolling up which is just what I didn't want. I don't want to do k2p2 ribbing either, so I'm not sure what will work to prevent the rolling. I've done plain garter stitch on a sweater at christmas and it rolled, so I guess that isn't an option either.......

The burgundy sweater is DONE! It feels like I have been working on that thing forever. I guess I started it around September, so that is a little while.....I wore it to a friend's place and got lots of compliments. I like the design of the sweater, but now that I can put it on and see it's fit, I would have preferred it be a little narrower in the chest and shoulders, and an inch or so longer. I do like it though, and can see myself wearing it a lot!

I'm trying to get another woman in our building knitting. She's friends with my pal/neighbour who I got knitting, and mentioned she'd tried to knit a little years ago. She said she couldn't "Start" (cast on) so I started a cotton dishcloth for her, knit 2 rows to get her going and packaged it with a printout showing the knit stitch in pictures to help her. I stuck the package on her apt doorknob on my way to work this morning. My friend ICQ'd me that this woman had gotten the package and was pretty happy about it, which was great! (I was worried she was just talking knitting to be polite, but it sounds like she's really interested in getting going with us) Now we can all get together and knit while we watch those silly reality tv shows our husbands hate!!

Cast on for my secret design project. It's pretty exciting and scarey to be making this up myself. I'm excited to see how it ends up!

I've almost finished the project I can't mention, due to who reads this blog. I tweaked the pattern a little, both in size and construction. It's quite a good feeling, adjusting patterns. At first it was a frightening though, I mean, what if I totally messed the thing up? But now it builds my confidence, if I can think of a better way to do something, than what is written in the pattern, that's pretty cool!

I'm scribbling away at plans for the item I want to design. Too much time pressure to try for the Feb 1st knitty deadline so I let it sit for a while. It's a summery thing anyways so I can see how I do for the next issue. There is a lot to think about when designing a pattern. you have to think of the pattern you want, how to work in shaping, guage and the type of yarn you want to use, and edges/ribbing. I have pages of sketches and scrawlings already and I haven't even picked up the needles and yarn yet! I'm stuck on ribbing ideas now. Does anyone have any nifty resources for ribbing ideas? I don't like the plain old k2,p2 thing, but I don't want the edges to curl up like they do on plain stockingknit edges. Thoughts? Suggestions??

Does plain garter stitch ribbing roll up like stockingknit does?

I'm finally back at work today after being off sick since Wednesday afternoon. I almost never get sick, and certainly not for this long! I'm still sniffling and coughing today but feeling much better, plus I have a private, secluded office so I'm not sharing germs or anything. You'd think will all this at home time I would have gotten lots of knitting done, but I didn't. My brain was so foggy that I knit, ripped, reknit and reripped the same 5 rows of my ribbed sweater over and over all night on sunday. That's all I managed in all that time. Damn.

I tried felting some of the mohair my mom keeps finding for me but it didn't seem to do anything. I was doing it by hand but I figure if it didn't felt AT ALL by hand, its not likely to do much more by machine. I really had hoped that it would work because everyone is doing the Fuzzy Feet Felt Along now and I feel so left out! All the wool I have is plain old beige that needs dying so that is no good. Hubby could USE some slippers for work too. Perhaps a visit to Michael's on the way home is in order....

No more takers on the Rubber stamp chain letter thingy? It's pretty cool, send one card, get up to 36 back!!

New small project!! But it's a secret so I can't say what it is. Too many people I know read this, hehe. (now everyone that knows me is going to think "oooh something for me??" so there will be some dissapointed people I think!

CALLING ALL RUBBER STAMPERS!! I just got a really cool stamping chain letter kind of thing from a friend. Is there anyone reading this who might be interested? You only have to stamp and send ONE card to someone who lives in canada, then send out the letter to 6 other stampers to do the same.. If everyone participates, and I understand the directions correctly, you should get 36 cards back! I figure it is worth a try, anyways, for one card. So, if you rubber stamp, and are sure you could send out one stamped card and find 6 other stampers to participate for sure, email me or leave me a comment with your email address so I can send you the letter!

The burgundy sweater is getting so close to finished, I can't wait to wear it! It's so totally "me"! :) My socks are moving along quickly too, though I ran out of yarn. I knew this would happen, they were sort of an experiment to see how close to a pair of socks I could get out of the leftovers from mom's socks. I got the heel turned, and gussets picked up, and then ran out of yarn. So part of the heel and the ankles will have to be a different colour. I'm hoping to find some grey, blue, black or white to match the colours in the socks, so they may have to wait a bit.

I'm going to need to get some more projects started, I can't be without knitting on the go! I'm dreaming up ideas to use some of the mohair my mom keeps finding for me at craft shops. I mean, mohair is nice and 50cents a ball is a killer price, but how much of this stuff can I use?? Anyone have ideas for tops to make in mohair? Keep in mind I live in western BC, where we have seen NO SNOW this season, and I don't know if the temps hit freezing even once yet! I want to make something cute, not bulky and cozy, but is that possible with fluffy mohair?

I got some more work done on my burgundy ribbed sweater last night. We watched the movie Simone, which was pretty entertaining. I noticed some of my stitches are a little uneven. Cotton has a lot less "give" to it so the slight varyations in stitches show more. I'm hoping it relaxes up with washing. I guess that's what I get for making a sweater in cheap-o handicrafter cotton! I'm so cheap! I'm really excited about finishing this, though, I'm getting closer and closer to binding off the neckline..........

Well, thanks to advice from Shetha on the knitblogs list, I just made the necessary increase and decreases to make bmy socks each have 60 stitches, and knit bravely on! They seem to be doing okay with that, there are only slight varyations in the patterns and I don't think the fit is going to be affected. Now I just have to figure out the heel....all the patterns for toe-up socks seem to just say "turn heel" and nothing more, so I'm going to have to search for a pattern that is a little more explanitory.

I had to go to the hospital for an echocardiogram (nothing serious, just checking something out) and I knew there would be waiting involved so I brought my socks to work on. A lady who was also waiting to have an echo started asking me about them.....she thought I was just amazing knitting all those fancy patterns into the socks without even looking at my fingers, so I had to tell her about the wonder that is self-patterning yarn. She had knit in the past but not since this yarn had been available. So we started talking about knitting and crochet.....she created by sight, not pattern, just sort of making it up as she goes along, which is pretty neat. I love how knitting can spark conversation with all sorts of people in random places!

I screwed up on my socks!!!!! I couldn't figure out why one sock seemed to be a bit farther along in the yarn pattern, since I am doing them both at once on 2 circs, so I counted the stitches and found the problem. One has 59 stitches and the other has 63. Nice considering it should have been 60 or 62. I tried both on (the beauty of toe-up socks) and they both fit, which is a little puzzling. So now I don't know what to do. One option is to choose one as the 'correct one', rip the other and knit it up to the same point. I could rip both out and start over, which is not appealing. Frankly I am feeling tempted to just leave them "wrong" and finish the way they are! They aren't that much different, perhaps due to the stretch of the Confetti sock yarn, so I'd probably be the only one to notice.

Suggestions?

So as soon as I get all my yarn stash organized and contained, my wonderful mother finds me bags (yes, more than one bag) stuffed full of nifty yarn at thrift shops!! There is a 3/4 finished black and purple mohair sweater and the yarn to finish it, needs a front and finishing only, so I might just finish it off, it looks pretty nice. There are other mohair balls, multiples and singles, some offwhite yarn for dying and felting, and some curious nylon-like ribbon yarn, probably enough for a tank top or tshirt. There are some other treats in there too but I'm not looking at the pile now so I can't recall it all. I found a huge ball of a soft bumpy boucle and some "Patons Moon Rise" that is white and black with white nubs, in my own thrift shopping. I must stop buying and start knitting!!!

I don't think I'm going to get anything together for knitty this time around. The idea is still in my head, not on paper or in yarn yet. I think I will puzzle on it for a bit longer and see about next issue if I can. I really do want to try my hand at designing my own pattern though, I think it would be very gratifying!

I got a little further on the "two socks on two circs" but haven't had a lo of time to work on them. It's not nearly as confusing as I imagined it would be, though I'm not up to the heels yet.

I'm toying around with designing a top myself. Maybe even something for knitty, maybe just for me, I don't know yet. I don't have a clear design idea yet, just a few thoughts I am tossing around. The idea of actually designing a whole top, start to finish, is a bit daunting. Much as I don't mind tweaking a recipe when I'm cooking, I can face altering a pattern a little if I don't like how it's going, but I NEED that base instruction, to guide me on my way. I also buy mostly thrift shop yarn, which makes guage and writing instructions trickier. Hmmmmm.....I guess I will just keep thinking and sketching for now.

I finished hubby's birthday socks this weekend and he's wearing them happily at work today :) I must say working with a double strand of worsted weight makes socks knit up FAST! I'm going to keep my eyes open for some cheap wool blend at the thrift shops to make him more socks I think. The Wool-Ease I used for this pair was about $4.50 a ball and the socks take two balls to make two socks, so it gets expensive that way. Especially when socks are $2.00 or less at places like Zellers!

I got going on the socks I'm making for myself out of the leftovers from mom's christmas socks. I'm trying toe-up on two circs, at the same time! I had some trouble getting them started toe-up, I kept losing track of the short rows and having to start over. Now that I'm moving along on the straight stockingknit stitch for the foot though, it's speeding along. Keeping the two balls seperate is fairly easy now, I just stick the ball of wool into the toe of the sock and pull it out when it's time to knit that one. It seems like knitting them both at the same time is going much faster than if I did them seperately too, I got a couple inches done at DnD last night!

Hubby liked his sock, and is happy enough with a raincheck for its mate. I should have it done for him to wear to work Monday at least.

And now some long primised felting photos! First, a photo of the felted clogs I made for my father in law. I am amazed how well these turned out, they were about 2 feet long and so floppy before felting!



Here is the jester hat I made my brother for his birthday. He was too shy to pose (and was taking the photos for me) so you get a picture of my darling hubby sporting the hat. He felt the need to make an apropriate pose to match the hat ;)



This is one of the THREE attempts at purses for my cousin for christmas. First one didn't felt, this one OVER-felted. It ended up looking more like a vase than a purse! The chair it is sitting on shows you how tiny it ended up. (she liked it and wanted to keep it anyways, though!)

Speedy Sock!

It's my hubby's 26th birthday today, and since he got a rather pricey large xmas gift from me, that was his combo xmas/birthday gift this year. (Diving Lessons, in case you were curious) That said I felt rotten about not giving him anything. He started a new coop job on Monday, and the place is really cold, and he commented how he needs to buy some warm socks. BINGO - I can make him socks! Of course, I only got the idea yesterday, while at work, not leaving much time! I knit like mad while he was at band last night, and whenever I found a spare moment at work today, and I just finished one sock. I figure I can wrap it up and promise him the mate to wear them for work Monday :) Now I am feeling rather speedy, but I should note that these socks were made using a double strand of Wool-Ease Worsted Weight, and 5.5mm needles, so it's less of an accomplishment than it may seem at first. But to make it a bit more of an accomplishment, I will tell you I managed to graft the toe quite neatly withour a darning needle - go me!

Isn't it always the case that when you NEED to do a project RIGHT NOW you don't have the needles it takes? Never mind I have a kajillion needles, straight, circular, DPNs, in all manner of sizes and styles, I didn't have 5.5mm DPNs or circs! I was in a panic as I couldn't buy new ones in time, and I didn't have the guts to adapt the pattern too much with no time to spare. Then I noticed a pair of LONG plastic straights that were 5.5mm. Using every tool imaginable I somehow got the "knobs" off them and broke them in half, and after some work with the pencil sharpener and a nail file.....A pair of pretty yellow DPNs in the size I needed! It was a little bit of work but I won't dismiss all the plastic straights I see at the thrift shops so quickly now!.

Stash Storage Time!

I returned a dissapointing christmas gift to get something I could really use - storage for my growing stash! The superstore had the tall rolling cart storage units on sale for $29.99 (that's canadian$ so pretty cheap!) and it was just what I needed. I already had one of the regular sized ones, but I had it full and still more boxes of yarn and things to deal with. I sorted most of my stash into the two units last night and have a little room to spare. (this must mean I need more yarn!)

I haven't touched the ribbed sweater in a while. It's to the complicated part where I have to join the arms to the body and I don't want to mess that up, so I'm waiting for some uninterupted knitting time. I've been trying to start some toe up socks in the meantime, but had a few false starts. Sucker for punishment that I am, I am going to attempt 2 socks on 2 circs this time! So far I haven't even gotten both toes done so they aren't together on the needles yet.

KNITTING SCORE!!

My mom's friend saw me knitting one day, so next time she visited my mom's place she brought over all her knitting stuff, since she didn't use it anymore. What a nifty assortment she brought me:
straight and DPNs in many sizes
knitting guage
sample fair isle glove and pattern to make my own
some blue wool
embroidery floss
Vintage Vogue Knitting Magazines!! (1953, 1964, etc - I think 5 of them)
McCall's Needlework magazine, also from the 60's or 70's
A quilting magazine
a needlepoint magazine

Pretty cool score, eh? The Vogue magazines are so fun to look through, the few ads at the front are funny, and the patterns look pretty neat. The guage on them sure is tiny though, I don't know how many of the items I would have the patience to make! A couple of the magazines are "child and baby" issues, so I may do something from them, since smaller sizes would make up for the tiny guage. The funniest thing was, two of the sweaters I saw in these old magazines are pretty much identical to 2 sweaters I saw in current magazines we have out now! There is a lacy cardigan just like the one in the current Knit It and a bulkier sweater with large panels of ribbing at the cuffs like I saw in another magazine. Interesting that some styles prevail, or make a comeback!

I managed to do some knitting over the christmas holiday, but not a lot. Mostly I just spent it shopping and relaxing, which was just fine for me! I got a couple neat knitting gifts: A Passion for Knitting which is a great all around instruction manual, nifty read, and has some terrific patterns in it, a large denim knitting bag from my neighbour, and a magazine rack to use as a knitting bag. (my aunt taped the words "knitting bag" over "magazine rack" on the box too, how cute!) I got a gift that didn't work out, and when I return it to WalMart I'm going to get another one of those rolling plastic carts to store my yarn stash in. I have far too much yarn to fit in the one cart I already got.

Coming soon: Photos of the felted clogs, one of the 'failed' felted purses, and my brother's felted jester hat!

Well, the felted bag was kind of a flop. If it was not as wide, OR if it were taller it would be okay, but it's a rather strange shape as it is. Its basically the dimensions of a shoebox, but with a strap. {sigh} It's a little too "funky" for the 13 year old girl it was intended for. I may still show her both failed bags tomorrow, let her know I tried and see if she likes either one anyhow. In the meantime, I will be finishing a beaded heart necklace and maybe a star bracelet for her, so she will still get a gift from me :) I had to dash into walmart on the way to work to grab fixtures for the necklaces, and I prepared myself for the crowds, but it wasn't bad! Certainly busier than it usually is at 8am, but not the crazyness I expected.

I got a knitting bag last night! My friend got me one as a christmas gift and it's perfect. It's a lightweight denim (I live in jeans so it will always match my clothes, hehe) and it's a nice large size so it will hold larger projects. I guess she got tired of me toting my projects over to her place in plastic shopping bags!

I've been knitting like mad, trying to finish up all the christmas gifts. I finished stitching up the seam on Sister's sweater, so that one can finally be wrapped. (though I may still do a scrunchie or head band) I knit an altered version of "My Constant Companion" from the book "Knitter's Stash". It's a large felted bag with a flat bottom. BUT I tried to make it a little smaller, partly due to the amount of wool I had, and it may be TOO small now. It's wide enough, but not very tall, it's almost shoebox size and shape. I'm just letting it dry now to see how it is with the strap in it. I'm going to work on mom's socks at work, they're nearly done, then I just have to finish a beaded necklace for my cousin. (3/4 done already) Whew!

Hubby kindly stepped in to help me today with some baking. We made piles of dogbone shaped gingerbread cookies for my brother-in-law, and a bunch of homemade dogbone shaped dog biscuits for his dog. We're going to package them the same, hee hee! (nothing harmfull in the dog biscuits if he DOES get them mixed up!)

I'm back! We had a fabulous time in Vancouver, Peter Gabriel was AMAZING!!! And I couldn't beleive how close our seats were. (4th row floor)

I got to check out a couple yarn shops when we were over there, but I didn't buy anything. I went to Birkland Brothers Wool Ltd. and A Touch of Wool. A Touch of Wool had a great selection of yarns, and cheap notions. I fell in love with a yarn called "Flamenco". They had a sweater in it on display and it was gorgeous, the dying of the yarn made it create wide stripes of colour, and it was so pretty. Only problem was the balls of yarn (300g) were $39 each and I would have needed 2!! Sadly that's a little rich for my blood, so I'm HOPING I can find it online or locally cheaper than that. I haven't found it online yet though.

Came back to a wonderful package from Shetha in trade for some stamping things I sent her. She sent me soaps she'd made herself in two scents and they smell so good! I hope hubby isn't reading this blog or he will know what one of his gifts will be on wednesday ;) It was a lot of fun putting together a package to trade and getting something in the mail!

Christmas rush time! I'm madly working to finish christmas gifts, and it seems like there just isn't enough time! I'm ALMOST done sister's sweater, have one sock to finish for mom, a second purse to try for cousin, since the first didn't felt right(though I'm not giving up on it) and some beaded jewelry. I'm heading to vancouver on sunday for 5 days, so I have even less time to work on stuff. I haven't decided what I'm taking to work on during the trip yet.

Oh, and did I mention I haven't finished making my christmas cards, nor have I sent out a single one yet?? AHHHHH!

I took the leftover red yarn from making my brother's felted jester hat, and added some koolaid to try and make purple. It came out kind of burgunsy, after using 3 packets of blue koolaid, but I liked it. (the yarn was BRIGHT red before I touched it) I'm also impressed that the koolaid seemed to 'lock in' the red dye too, it was leaking a lot when I felted it before. I'm going to try to make my cousin another purse, though I haven't decided on a design yet. Here is a pic of the yarn:

Felting Failure!!

I set to do my felting sunday night at the in-law's place. After stumbing my way through their washer's unique controls, my clogs happily felted down to size, but the purse did not felt at all. In fact, I think it might have gotten BIGGER!. It still looks nice and I may still give it to my cousin, but I will at least have to shorten the strap. I love how the colours turned out, with the patterning making wavy stripes. The clogs amazed me. They were at least 20inches long before felting, and so floppy. Now though, they are only slightly bigger than my feet which should be perfect for my father-in-law! They stiffened right up and look very cool! I will try to take them to mom's place next weekend to get my brother to snap a digital photo for me, they don't fit in my scanner very well.

More projects!! I just found out I have a new baby cousin, so baby socks are in the works. Thankfully they go really fast, one is finished and the other will be today. I'm also making progress on the purse. I did 2 rows of eyelash yarn near the top and it looks pretty neat. I'm still undecided on how to do the bottom though, flat, round, ???? Does anyone have any suggestions?

As promised, a photo of my latest koolaid dying adventure:


It's hard to show you the true colours, my scanner doesn't work very well and I'm not too good at photoshop editing. It's a mix of lavender, grape, red, burgundy, hot pink, and a few variations in betweel. I think it looks gorgeous! It will hopefully become a felted purse for my cousin, I just have to decide on a shape/style and get knitting.

I managed some KIPing yesterday. (Knitting in Public) My husband is in a concert band and they were doing an outdoor christmas concert so I sat there listening, knitting away on my sock. Not too many odd looks......

Another koolaid project in the works! I have an idea in mind for a gift for my cousin, and had one skein of white wool handy, so I'm dying again today. I am trying something a little different, to create a veregated colour on the wool. I used a bunch of elastics to cover small portions of the skein, tie-dye style, and then dyed it with grape koolaid. Now I've taken the elastics off and poured some bright pink(strawberry lemonade) over most of the white spots. Its turning out more orangy pink though, and I might do the whole thing over in some cherry koolaid or something to "pink" it up a bit. Hopefully a scan to follow in a day or two!

I ripped the sock back to the error, almost to the beginning, and went at it again. Once I'd finished the heel flap I found ANOTHER error!! This one was small and I was able to hide it (thank goodness). I'm hoping to finish this sock today and get started on it's mate. Tonight while watching the Sopranos with the neighbours I want to finish knitting the felted clogs. I'd like to felt them at Mom's tomorrow, since I don't have a washing machine of my own. Both clogs still need the second sole piece done, and I have a bit more to do on the second one, but I think I can get them done.

I found some yarn at Value Village last night! Most of a ball of brown Regia sock yarn with the tag for 69cents and a 1lb cone of blue cotton for $1.99. There was also a lot of bright green aran wool that was a bit too bright for me, and some pretty veregated pink skeins. I couldn't tell what the pink yarn was and when I felt it I found it really scratchy so I left it behind. Still, I'm happy about the cotton and Regia!

I have nothing new and exciting to show you knitting-wise. I've been working on the Fibre Trends Felted clogs for my father in law. I am finished all but the 2nd sole piece on hte first one and MY GOODNESS they are HUGE!!! Seriously, I think this thing is 20inches from heel to toe! I sure hope it shrinks a lot in felting! If they end up a little big they may become a gift for someone else with bigger feet, I'll have to see how it goes. I made a beaded heart necklace and bracelet for a friend last week. Once you get the pattern in your head those things move along quickly, I finished both in one day.

Our local stamping group had a class on using Chalks last monday. Here are the cards I created:

Well I wanted to show you a scan of my beaded knitting (or bead knitting, I never can sort out the difference) but I've lost it! I had my little project in a ziploc and its no where to be seen! Hopefully it turns up soon. Im trying to make a beaded purse necklace for my cousin. I got almost tot he halfway point when I ran out of beads. No problem, I figured I could hop over to walmart and grab more......but they stopped carrying the brand and colour I'd used. So I sent hubby to a bead store to get some. He got a perfect match except his beads were of higher quality and more uniform, and would have made the bag look strange. {sigh} So I may be starting over. I wasn't thrilled with the colour using white thread, I might try it with dark thread instead this time, and I might try making it a little smaller. I was only half done and it was already getting pretty heavy from the beads!

Started a second pair of socks for mom. These are in confetti jacquard yarn as wekk but in olive, mustard, purple, beige and white. Quite a neat colour combo actually. I'm doing these ones on two circular needles too, which is a nice change.

I finished my gloves on friday night. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out. They fit my hands wonderfully, I'm proud of myself for adjusting the pattern to fit my large hands :) Here is a crummy photo of them:
The colour doesn't come out great but they are a pretty green mix, 2 plys green, one darker green, and one grey. They'll be perfect to keep my hands warm while typing at work!

I also gave my brother his jester hat yesterday. He was quite pleased, and apparently wore it out bowling. (and name himself "the jester" hee hee) Hubby tells me when my sister saw it and found out I made it she was quite impressed. Hopefully she will be impressed with the sweater I am making her ;)

Glove #1 is done!!!! (I'm wearing it now as I type - hee hee) I can't believe I worked it up so fast, hopefully its mate will work up quick too. I started getting frustrated near the end, it's hard to work in such small rounds, each finger being only about 15 stitches or so around. I also still have to darn in all the loose ends, my least favorite part of knitting things! (well it's a tie with sewing I think!) I didn't bring a needle to work though so I will have to wait until later to deal with the ends. Maybe I will start on the mate in the meantime.

I liked working on 2 circulars as compared to a set of DPNs....I might do my next pair of socks this way, if I can find some small circs at the thrift shops.

Brother's jester hat has been knit and sewn! I just need to felt it now, I may do that this afternoon before I go to stamp club. Something odd happenned though, The 'head' part of it had nice even stitches, but when I did each of the points, the tension went funny. It was like half of each stitch was tighter than the other half. The first point I did on straight needles (main hat part was done on a circular needle) so I thought that was the problem. I did the second point on the circ, though back and forth, not in the round of course, and it was the same! Very strange. It didn't make a big difference, and I suspect once felted. IF anything the points will end up a little stiffer which is just fine by me. I can't wait to give this to him, I hope he really likes it!

I started on some fingerless gloves for myself from This Pattern. My fingers get cold at work, when I'm typing or knitting or anything really, so I thought fingerless gloves would be a good thing. I have some neat stash yarn that looks like 2 plys olive green, one ply forest green and one ply greyish. I don't know what the yarn is made from, possibly a wool blend, but it feels nice and looks cool. I'm trying these on 2 circular needles, which is much different than the DPN method of knitting in the round. So far I like it, I'm getting the hand of which "loose end" to knit with so I don't knit myself into a circle. (did that a couple times already)

I started the jester hat for my brother the other day. I'm doing it in bright red and bright blue, and it looks pretty cool so far. I'm totally guessing on how many stitches to use, I made up the smaller one as I went, and don't remember how many stitches I used. At least with felting by hand I have a "little" bit of control on how the sizing goes.

The scarf I'd had nearly finished for my mother-in-law fell off the needles. Sadly the combination of Snowflake and eyelash yarn, while pretty and soft, does not lend itself to easily picking up slipped stitches, so I think I may have to rip it and start over. I'm not too unhappy, I found it to be a bit wide and short, so I can make it 2 stitches narrower and probably be happier with it in the end. I don't really like working on the huge needles though, I find them awkward.

OUCH!

It was bound to happen, and my own darned fault.....one of my knitting needles slipped between the cushions of the couch and when I plunked myself down to knit later, I sat right on it! I was pretty lucky, it only went in maybe an inch tops, and into a well padded area of my upper thigh, so other than a tender spot and some light bruising, I'm okay. It was scarey though, I jumped up once in happenned and couldn't tell how far in it was!

In happier news my sister's sweater is getting really close to completion. I'm half done the second sleeve, then I need to sew it all up. Mom's socks are nearly done, I will finish them today I think. I bought red and blue wool yesterday to make a larger jester hat for my brother too.

I still haven't found wool to make another jester hat. I want to make one for my brother but in bright red and blue maybe. The shop downtown seems to be the only place that carries the stuff I want, and I haven't managed to get down there yet. I'd better hurry I only have a few weeks! I'm still working on my sister's sweater, stalled while I wait for arm measurements from my mother.

I made a jester hat with my koolaid yarn this weekend. It was super easy and loads of fun. Basically I just knit for a while on circular needles, then split the stitches in half and decreased on each side to make triangles, folded each in half and sewed them up. I then tried my hand at felting, by hand since I don't own a washing machine. (I'm certainly not about to pay $1.25 a load at a laundromat to play around!) I'm quite happy with the result:



Sorry the image is so big, I don't have photoshop here so I had trouble resizing it. It's toddler sized, so it will be for my neighbour's little 2.5 year old girl. I bought round bells at walmart this morning to finish it off. I'm going to make another one now, larger, for my brother. He's a bit of an oddball and would love something like this. His birthday is in less than a month too. I'm not sure if I did the felting right, It did all bind together and shrink some, but it seems like my stitches still have a lot of definition to them, should they? at the bottom of the hat, where the edge rolled up since I just did straight stockingknit, it bound to itself, which was kind of cool. The seams on the points almost dissapeared too. I just used HOT tap water in a bowl with some sunlight dishsoap, and alternated between that and cold running tap water, rubbing the fabric against itself in both temperatures. Is that right? Tips anyone??

Whipping along on the mate for the sock pictured below, when this morning I discovered a problem. The dreaded dropped stitch! Worse yet, it was about 20 rows back! I couldn't bear the thought of ripping back that much, so I set to trying to just pick it back up. It took a little while but I did it, and you can't even see where! I remember being MESMERIZED when a woman at the knitting shop picked up some stitches for me several months back, amazed at how she managed it with just needles, no crochet hook, and here I am doing the same now. Go me!

New projects are forming themselves in my mind way faster than I can knit them. I REALLY need to think about something for my brother first though, his birthday is in less than a month!

Sock #1 is finished! After many false starts and multiple different patterns, I managed to create a sock from This Pattern. Here it is:




I think it turned out pretty well. This pattern makes a fairly pointy toe, though. I started grafting a couple rows early to combat this, but it's still pretty pointy. I hope I can finish it's mate fairly fast, I want to try socks on 2 circular needles next! Everyone keeps raving about them and it sounds like fun. I'm going to head down to the LYS, Beehive Wool today to see what they have. I want to look into felted slippers as a maybe gift idea for my father in law!

It's finished!

I love how it turned out, I'm so proud of myself, hehe. I'm going to take it to work today for the raffle. I hope they like it, I sure enjoyed making it! I used the hooded baby sweater pattern from Knit It! magazine. The yarn is Lion Brand Microspun, which is wonderful to knit with and came out so soft.

Still working away on the sweater for my sister. I'm done the front and back and am about halfway through one sleeve. It's nearing completion now, getting closer to the dreaded sewing up stage. I really don't like the finishing part, I am not good with sewing pieces together. I think if I looked up how you are actually SUPPOSED to do this, it would go better, usually I just wing it.

I also need to restart mom's socks in that nifty Confetti Jacquard yarn. I need a good simple pattern, my first few toe-up attempts failed, for one reason or another. I may have to start from the cuff on this one. But I still have to decide on a pattern. Most I found so far have detailing and patterning, but with the Jacquard patterning of the yarn I want something plain.

Well, here is at least a low quality image of the dying I did the other night:


What do you think? Funky colours eh? The green is a little brighter than that, but the purple is fairly close. I was just playing around so I didn't want to "waste" my good koolaid colours! I don't know what I will make with it now, maybe socks, as it's about a fingering weight wool. This was so much fun I can't wait to dye some more! I have one more small skein of wool to play with and then I will have to find some more. I've been unlucky finding more at thrift shops, and Michael's doesn't carry any pure wool yarns! Lewiscraft had a couple but they were a little pricey so I'm waiting on them.

I found a cute baby sock pattern at http://home.earthlink.net/~nanknits/5hbssock.htm that was designed to match the "5 Hour Baby Sweater" pattern you can find online. I am doing them to match my hooded baby top I'm doing. I took a crummy photo of that, I will try and scan it in soon. These socks are so cute, much better than any of the bootie patterns I tried before. I have to get busy this weekend, the baby stuff and stamped cards are due next week!

I dyed some wool last night!! Thanks to the great directions Kristi Porter wrote in an article in Knitty.com it was all so easy! I wanted to buy some wool at michael's on the way home from work to play with, but they didn't have anything that wasn't more than half acrylic! So I just got to play around with 50g of fingering weight thrift shop wool I had. I made half of it a bold kelly green and the other half eggplant purple. I'm hoping to have scans of them for tomorrow, or later tonight. I can't wait to dye some more, I need to find some wool!

The top is done! Well, I still have to sew up the underarm seams, weave in a couple ends, and attach the buttons. I bought the CUTEST buttons the other day, they are little yellow stars! They work really well with the lavender yarn I made the top out of. I started and frogged a couple pairs of booties to match, I just haven't found a pattern I'm happy with yet.

I started the Sweater for my sister last night. Already I have done over 5 inches on the back, this stuff knits up quickly! It's "hard" to knit though, like I have to put out more effort to make the stitches, if that makes sense. It looks nice though, I know she will love it.

I'm NEARLY done the baby top for the day care raffle! I feel stupid that it came out so tiny, I must start doing a guage swatch!! That aside, it's turning out very nice. I've learned on this item, which is very cool. I got lots of practice picking up stitches, as that is how the sleeves are attached AND how the ribbing around the hood edge is done. I also got to do grafting for the shoulders - way cool! I loved how easy it was and how nice the shoulders looked, no seams! I'm about 1/3 done the second sleeve, then I will just have to "block" it and get the buttons! (I put "block" in brackets cuz I've never blocked anything before, and am only partly sure I will do it for this piece. Also I suspect I will sort of half invent how to do it as every site I find has a different method!!) I may make booties to match this top since I have more than 2/3 of the second skein left of the purple microspun. I love working with this yarn! I would make myself a top in it if I didn't know it would take about 10 years given the guage!!!

Once I finish this baby thing I can start the sweater I am making for my sister. I've changed my mind AGAIN on what I am making for her, but think I'll stick to what I decided this time. I am making THIS basic sweater in Bernat Denimstyle . I'm using the Indigo colour, which is the dark blue they did the swatch in on that page I linked to. It's totally "my sister" so I'm happy with this selection. The yarn is so soft and cozy, totally machine washable, and fairly cheap($4 a ball retail, I need 6 total). This pattern is the basic sweater from Knit It magazine, but altered to be used with a lighter weight yarn (wool ease) so it will be perfect for the yarn I chose. I am excited about making this top and want to start on it, but because my other project has a deadline, I am forcing myself to finish it first.

I've finished my "6hr sweater" and wore it last week. It's warm and fuzzy, but fits a little funny. I made the arm holes too tight and the whole sweater is a little short. (sigh) I think I am more of a process knitter, I get impatient with finishing and details, and then end up frustrated with the results.

I'm moving right along on my day care raffle items. I've made three stamped cards so far, and hope to do another three and envelopes tonight. The baby sweater is more than half way done as w3ell. Made a boo-boo on the sweater though. I MUST learn to swatch. I used the recommended yarn and needles so I assumed it would be fine, but my item is ending up about 2/3 the size it should be!! I didn't notice until I was too far along to rip back. So....my "12 month" sized sweater is going to be more of a "newborn" sized sweater. Oh well, it looks really nice, and its a raffle prize so there aren't any restrictions on size or anything, I just thought a 12month old size would be more versatile.

I have hardly touched my new knitting book, I've been too busy working on this "6hr sweater" I started last week. Though I have put in a little more than 6 hours on it I would guess, I am using mohair, which is a little slower going. Plus the HUGE needles are a little awkward to use. It looks and feels really nice though. I only have to sew it up now. I may do that after work and wear it to stamp club tonight.

I've got to get moving on my items for the Day Care Raffle! They are due in one month, and I promised "knit baby items" and a set of "hand stamped cards". Maybe I can do the cards tonight at stamp club. I had made some but wasn't happy enough with them, so I need to make something new. The other cards I had made used stamps by a stamping company that wouldn't give me a clear answer about their Angel Policy, so to heck with them! (An angel policy states whether you can make items to sell using their designs. These items aren't for me to sell, they are for a charity raffle, but still, I wanted to be safe)

My book is here!! My husband picked up our chapters.ca order from the post office today so my copy of The Knitter's Stash is at home waiting for me! I'm very excited, I rarely own big fancy new books. :)

I started ANOTHER sweater last night. It's a very simple pattern for a Six-hour sweater. you knit is on huge needles, 9mm and 12.5mm, with two strands of worsted weight yarn, so it's no wonder it only takes 6 hours. I'm doing mine in some pretty purple mohair blend yarn I bought at the salvation army yesterday. Its so soft and fluffy! It's a little awkward knitting on such big needles, but very cool to have the top knitting up so fast. I'm a third of the way up the front already, and I'm going to get as far as I can on it tonight. Two women in my building seem interested in knitting and I think this would make a great beginner pattern. The large stitches make them easy to see, and the instant gratification factor is important too. I wouldn't suggest they start with mohair though, I think a cotton would work well for this!

I had a great weekend away. It was so relaxing and fun to just "get away". We really need to do that more. Knit-wise, the trip didn't go well though. I screwed up on the socks, dropping a couple stitches somewhere that I COULD not find. So I think I will have to rip it out yet again. I'm starting to consider abandoning toe-up patterns for now and just doing a plain old ankle-down pattern. What do you think?

I also didn't find any yarn stores. Because we were on a tight schedule trying to get to the wedding, then getting back to Victoria so I could be at work again today, we didn't have a lot of shopping time. We tried to chase down one yarn shop in Vancouver on Monday, but when we got there it was closed. In better news, I am expecting a knitting book I ordered last week to come today or tomorrow. I ordered The Knitter's Stash from chapters.ca. My husband needed to order a book from there anyways for school, so I decided to splurge. This will be the first knitting book I will OWN as opposed to borrowed library books and patterns from the net. I'm excited. There are a lot of patterns I like from that book, mostly for stuff for myself, haha!

Well the sweater is still coming along. I started one of the sleeves the other day. I'm a little nervous as I peeked ahead at the directions and its quite confusing when you get to attaching the sleeves to the body. But I'm not going to worry until I get there, and I decided NOT to take the sweater on our road trip. I'm going to rip out that sock I've been doing {sigh} and start it again with a different pattern and take that. A sock is a much better travel project anyways. It hurts to frog, but it would hurt worse to give my mom socks I wasn't proud of!!

I'm nearly done the main body part of the sweater. I've got 10inches, of the 11 needed before I start the arms. I wonder if I will finish this before my trip this weekend!! It's doubtfull, but If I get close I don't really want to take the stitching together portion on the road with me. I may start those socks over as a project to take instead. Mama Kate said she used Wendy's Generic Toe-up" pattern for her socks, and they look much better in shape than the one I did so far. The toe of mine is so pointy, and the pattern I'm using has lame heel instructions. I may just frog the one I'm working on and start over. Socks make good travel projects.........

I missed my stamp club meeting last week, just wasn' feeling crafty, but I need to go tonight. I have two wedding cards to make, one for the wedding this weekend, and another for a friend who got married a week or so ago. I don't have a lot of "wedding" theme stamps, hopefully someone else will bring a nice rose stamp....I have an idea in mind.

I'm up to about 5.5" done on the ribbed sweater! That's pretty good especially since it is done in the round, that's like having 11" done on a flat pattern ;) I love how its turning out, the colour will be great with my dark jeans (it's burgundy) and it's just so "ME"! I hope the pattern will be suitable for my sister too.

We're driving to a wedding in Kootenay Bay next weekend. It's a place in South Eastern BC, near Nelson, if that helps. It's apparently an 8hr drive AFTER the ferry to the mainland (which is over an hour and a half, plus driving time to the ferry on our end). Sooo....we're splitting the trip up to make it manageable. We're leaving friday night right after work, getting reserved tickets for the ferry and hoping to make it to Hope that night. Then we'll only (only??) have about a 6 hour drive on saturday. It should be fun though, it's a really casual affair, and I like driving trips with my husband. Does anyone know any good knitting shops along the Highway 3 route in southern BC????

My sweater is coming along nicely. It's so nice knitting it in the round so I can start and stop anywhere. Makes it a perfect "take along" project. (if only it wasn't a supersize skein of cotton - almost 10 by 5 inches!!) I really like how the ribs look, its going to be a great smart-looking but casual top. I think when I make the one for my sister I will use a fancier fibre for sure, I just haven't decided what yet. Even using a nice mercerized cotton might give it enough sheen to dress it up a bit.

I had been wanting to try making thos Fruit baby hats I keep hearing about, but didn't want to splurge on the kit at the LYS. Imagine my surprise when an old Family Circle magazine I picked up at a garage sale on the weekend had the pattern in it!!! So now I can try the pattern out, it looks fairly easy. I need to make a "baby item" for the raffle here at work, so a fruit hat and booties might be just the thing.

I'm not happy with my socks. They have this silly pointed toe! (If you look down to last friday's post you can see a photo) I'd been ignoring that pointy toe, because I was so enamoured with the jaquard pattern as it emerged, and enjoying the tiny needles. But I am getting to the heel point on the pattern I'm following and the pattern sort of disintigrates for me. I'm doing the pattern from http://home.earthlink.net/~jeffnstasia/sox.htm and it does NOT explain the heel very well at all! I don't have a clue what to do. So I am contemplating ripping the whole damn thing out and starting over on a new pattern. This one looks good, but is done on 2 circulars. I spent a few bucks on getting these nice 2.25mm DPNs so I don't really want to have to buy more needles. What's a gal to do? Does anyone have a suggestion for me? A toe-up pattern with better heel instructions? A different toe-up pattern I can use? HELP?!?!?

I found it! I found THE pattern I was dreaming of for my sister's christmas sweater!!! I finally got The Knitter's Stash from the Library, where I'd reserved it way back in April. It must be popular, I only get to have it for 2 weeks!

Anyways, there, as like the second project in the book, is the sweater. (if you have access to that book, take a peek and tell me what you think, and if you've made this sweater, let me know!!) It's done in a k4 p2 rib, with I-cord cast offs for trim, and it looks perfect. It's casual, but smart looking, and looks very comfortable. Even better, it's done in the round! The pattern calls for a 100% cotton yarn, too, so I am going to start myself one with some burgundy cotton yarn I had already. It's totally something I would wear, and I want to see how it knits up for size and stuff. I might want to try a "nicer" fibre for the one I make my sister, or I might just splurge and get "good" cotton yarn.

My sock is coming along nicely. It seems to fit pretty nicely now. I took my sock to the Dr's office on Monday since I was early, and my doc was teasing me about it. "Ooooh, aren't you getting all domestic!" but he was impressed with the sock thus far.

I'm thinking more about getting started on the sweater for my sister. (christmas present) I'm thinking more and more that this Berroco pattern might just do it:



But I don't like the fuzzy cuffs. Well, I do like them, but this is for my sister and I think she would hate them. Do you think I can just leave them off, and knit the sleeves and body a little longer in the pattern stitch? I'm worried about it looking funny or rolling up is all, but since the whole sweater is a sort of rib, it might be okay. OR, does anyone else have a good pattern for a ribbed, fitted sweater along these lines?

I also need to pick a yarn. I want her to really like this top, so i want to make it out of something nice, but it has to be machine washable. "Lay flat to dry" is fine, but I don't want to give her something she'll never wear since it's too hard to care for! Does anyone have suggestions for a nice yarn, something that feels really nice, but will have a little drape to it so it fits nice? The pattern suggests "Sensu-wool" but its hard to care for.........

I ripped back the sock and got rid of a couple of increases and it seems to be fitting a bit better now. I've got about 4 inches done now, it looks really neat! It goes a lot faster than I thought it would on 2.25mm needles and this tiny yarn.

And now for something different, photos of my "garden":




It's not much, but it's something! I only planted the beans a short while ago, jealous of my neighbour's carrots and herbs. My mom gave me the tomato plant. The beans are doing much better than I expected....I used some old seed I found, probably at least 2 years old, and planted some morning glory seeds with them too, thinking I'd only get a few plants and needed to fill them out! Now I see I am going to have to thin them out and move a couple of the plants to another pot. I love growing things! Next year I am going to plan early and have all sorts of things growing on my balcony.

I'm working on a pair of toe-up socks for my mom. This is my first ever toe-up pair (and only my second ever attempt at socks) and I'm having a little trouble. The instructions say to do increases each side (4 stitches total) every other row until it fits the widest part of hte ball of your foot. Then stop increasing and just knit. I did that, but where I am "just knitting" seems to still be growing! The sock is getting too wide. I don't THINK my guage is increasing, so what am I doing wrong? I think I am going to have to rip back and get rid of a few of the increasing rows and try again.

In happier news I LOVE this jaquard print yarn! It's so fun to watch the pattern appearing, and wait to see what will come next! I also like how small a sock project is, so much nicer to tote to work with me! Here's a picture of the sock and yarn showing progress as of a few days ago. If you look closely, I stopped increasing at the beginning of the black row, but its still getting bigger and bigger....



I need to rip back and get organized this afternoon. We have plans to go to the neighbours house and rent The Sopranos for tonight, so I'd like to have the sock back to "straight knitting" mode to work on it.

YAY I fixed my blog! from now on I will TRIPLE check my HTML code before publishing. Anyways, go check out my photos!

Today I have a special treat.....PHOTOS! My husband had to pick up a digital camera last night for his workplace, and we figured we'd best test it out before he took it in to work today ;) I took a bunch of photos, but I'm going to space them out a bit. I'm no whiz with Photoshop, so I'm just going to toss them up on websites to share I think. So if you want to check out pics of my boatneck shell, the failed shell, my sleeveless turtleneck and the cap sleeved top, CLICK HERE (there are even photos of my pretty face!)


I have a couple more photos I can add tomorrow. Sorry the photo quality isn't great, I had maybe 5 minutes to snap some quick shots this morning before the camera had to go. Still, I'm glad to actually have some knitting photos to share!

I've left the knitting be for today, may pick it up again this weekend, and moved my focus back to beading!! I found another nifty pattern to try: Sweetheart Necklace. So far its turning out very nicely. I'm using dark blue beadsfor the hearts, and pearly-clear beads for the rest of it. I'm almost halfway done already, and I brought it to work with me since it looks like another slow day. (yet again I am happy to have my own office in a remote place where no one comes in!)

I have questions for all you beaders though. When you are doing a project like this, where you are doing more than just stringing beads on, and need to make a starting point, how do you not run out of thread?? I mean, I can't very well work with 4 yards of thread on my needle, but if I use a manageable amount, I run out when the necklace is about 5 inches long! What I did so far on this heart necklace is start and have as much thread as I could manage, but didn't cut it from the spool, so the spool is still attached at the end I started from. Then when I ran out of thread, I unrolled a pile more and started working from the other end. It's working well so far but I still don't know if I will have enough thread to finish the necklace. I'm super bad at joining too, I don't know how I would join in more thread. Ideas?

Knitting has taught me that:

• Sometimes it is the journey, not the destination, sometimes it's the actual knitting, more than the completed item, that is enjoyable
  
• Mindless (stockingknit, especially in the round) knitting can be a wonderful thing
  
• Sometimes it's good to splurge on luxurious materials/Sometimes you don't need to splurge on luxurious materials
  
• Knitter are fun, friendly, helpful people
  
• Knit clothing can be really hip and stylish!
  
• I look better in something I made myself - it fits just right and my pride shines through and makes me smile ;)
  
• A complete flop of a project isn't a complete flop if you learned something from it. (the importance of swatching!)
  

Okay, it's official, Boatneck Shell #2 is a flop. I finished it last night, and it turned out horribly. The sleeves are a little small (and I didn't do the finishing on them even), it's way too wide, and way too short. Oh and the neck is snug too. [cry] That yarn was not fun to work with and I SO wanted the top to turn out. There really is no way to salvage it, the yarn will not stand up to another frogging, not that I would even have the heart to try. I'm going to try shrinking it in the wash, to see if I can bring in the width some, make it a crop top or something. (not that I would wear one)

So now I need a new project, and I need to work with a more "normal" yarn for a change. All these novelty ones are driving me crazy!