Holidailies Day 1

I've gotten a pretty neat knitting opportunities lately, that I mentioned breifly in another post. Through a connection in my knitting group I've been asked to knit baby and children's hats for a local shop! I feel really good that my work is thought that highly of, and that I have been given total creative freedom in designing the hats, as well as some mittens. Total creative freedom is stressing me out a bit, as I want to make sure they are GOOD, so I'm working extra hard to make really nice items. They're providing the yarn, and paying me up front for each item, which is really nice.

I mentioned this endeavor at work and my supervisor immediately requested I knit a hat for a friend of hers who was becomming a grandparent. I had some leftover Cascade Sierra, a lovely cotton/wool blend, so I knit something up. She was pleased, and paid me $20 for it happily! I have a second savings account I wasn't using, so knitting-earned monies are going directly in there to fund guilt-free knitting shopping! I'm pretty pleased with how the hat turned out:

I'm considering joining the Holidailies Project where you attempt to post daily from December 5th through January 6th. I will be knitting pretty much every day up until Christmas, to get everything done, so there will be material, and maybe even photos to post. Though, how many washcloth and baby hat photos do you want to see?

I'd really like to post more, and maybe this will get me going again....

Noro Taiyo

Noro Taiyo
Originally uploaded by wendymc

This is some LOVELY yarn I picked up in Hawaii last month. Yes, I was on a trip to Hawaii and was seeking out yarn shops - such is the drive of a knitter! They didn't have much in either shop I checked out, no surprise that knitting isn't as big in a warm-weather place like that - but I did come accross this gorgeous skein, and a hiyahiya 9inch circular. I haven't tried the 9inch circ yet, but I'm eager to see how it is.

I've been knitting plenty. I'm working on a fair isle had for my husband for christmas (or his birthday 2 weeks later if I'm slow) that is taking a long time. My floats are a little tight so I hope the hat fits! I also just got a gig knitting hats for a shop, and I am REALLY excited about that. My boss at Camosun heard about that and comissioned me to make a hat for a coworker who just got a grandson. It's exciting to knit for pay, very validating of my skills!

I'm also trying to crank out dishcloths. I want to knit one for each of the staff at the daycare, about 12, and maybe a couple for my brother and sister as housewarming gifts, both are moving in December.

Another dry spell of posts, that does NOT indicate a knitting dry spell. In fact, I have a number of FO's to share.

I knit this Kimono Top in Bernat Soy yarn. The pattern is intended to come out smaller, and I just knit with larger needles and yarn and it came out around 18month-24month size. It is a super easy pattern, and I'm pretty sure I'll knit more. I gifted it to a friend for her small 2 year old's birthday and it was a hit with the girl and her mom.


This Bainbridge Scarf was a neat project. Basically you knit a short tube, then knit little ties to go at each side. When you wear it, the ties meet up and give you a little tail hanging down, and a lovely, sharp looking scarf! I knit this in Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy. I think it would be nice in something cozier, too, so I may knit this one again.



Just in time, I finished this Totally Autumn Afghan for a friend's wedding. I actually unpinned it from it's blocking space, wrapped it, and headed for the wedding, it was that close. It came out a little smaller than I'd hoped, even adding 2 pattern repeats. I blocked it BIG TIME, and it grew by more than a foot both ways, so I was satisfied. I used Cascade Eco for this, for the price and fibre, since I wanted wool. I have overlooked that yarn before, it feels scratchy on the skein. Once I started knitting it, it softened right up. It's a great choice for afghans and the like, and so affordable.



I'm working on a coupling things right now. Nearly finished a Telemark Sweater, for no baby in particular, halfway through a Broad Street Mitten for my coach (I do plan to knit her a pair!) and considering a slew of washcloths for travel knitting as my family heads to Vancouver this weekend. I'm hoping to get to 3 Bags Full while I'm over there for some shopping. Not that I need more yarn......maybe I'll just look?

Knitting Olympics - day 4

olympicsday4
Originally uploaded by wendymc

I never think to update this blog, even though I'm knitting all the time! Right now I'm dedicated to my knitting olympics project Totally Autumn from knitty. It's a cozy, chunky-weight lace throw. I'm knitting it up in Cascade Eco+, one of the few affordable, but still NICE options available. I'm done 50 rows now (the photo was from last night) and am falling a bit behind. I need to be done something like 64 rows this evening to be on track, and that's just not going to happen. If I'm lucky I'll manage 2 or 3 rows on the bus ride home, and that will be it for the day. But I'm going to keep at it! This is a gift for a wedding that isn't until the END of August, so I have a few extra days even if I miss the olympic finish.

My Aleita tank is on hold while I knit this, and there are countless other things adding to my queue each week. I need more knitting time!

Apple Cozies

Apple Cozies
Originally uploaded by wendymc

My most recent finished objects were a set of 10 Apple Cozies (only 9 pictured, one was gifted early) for the staff at my children's daycare. I like to gift them with something special and unique, since they do such a good job taking care of our kids. These are a great stashbuster, I think they use around 30yards of DK weight yarn each! I knit them in cotton, soy, acrylic, corn and wool, and all came out pretty nicely. I thought I was sick of them, but I think I'm going to make one more for a friend - she shares my birthday on the 16th of this month, so I'm pressed for time.

I'm getting less knitting time in now that it's summer. I'm off twice a week with the kids, and trying to bike more, and my prime knitting time is on the bus to and from work. Still, I'm getting some things done. I'm working on a top for my brand new neice, nearing the end of my Aleita tank, and have my eye on some larger projects for myself. I just need more time!

I'm gaining some confidence in my knitting. Strange pattern directions don't scare me as much anymore, and I'm willing to play with what needles I have on hand a little more, adjusting mentally for gauge on simple projects. But the other day I impressed myself. I'm working on the Aleita Tank from Interweave Spring 2008 and noticed a split stitch. It would have bothered me, and probably been a physical weak point in the garment, so it had to be fixed. So I dropped a stitch down *33* rows to knit it back up properly. It looked fantastic when I was done, you couldn't even see where I'd done it. And this was on the bus in poor light - go me!

Feeling bold, I'm now considering a speed knitting project for Mother's Day. There is a lovely DK weight sock pattern called "Rainy Day Socks" I'm thinking about knitting. I have some Berocco Comfort in my stash - 100% acrylic but really soft and nice knit up. I'd started a mini vestee in it, but it's not really working out, so I'm considering ripping and starting again anyways.....11 days, can I do it?

I have been knitting!

Aleita Tank
Originally uploaded by wendymc

Have I EVER been knitting! I hae got a bunch of projects on the needles, plus I whipped up a few quick things as well. My sister got a cotton water bottle holder (which she liked, very much), 2 newborn hats were sent off with my knitting group's charity bundle for the hospital, and a knit dishcloth was completed to give my coworker as a housewarming gift. I love small projects for the quick satisfaction!

On the needles now is a nearly finished baby cardigan in Cascade Sierra. I realy like this yarn, it feels like really nice soft cotton, but is less stiff due to the wool content. I'm interested to see how it handles wear and laundering. The pattern is nice, I might make another as this one only took one skein of the main colour, and a little bit of two accent colours - I have more than enough to make a second one.

I'm also making progress on the Aleita Tank from Interweave Knits. This project is for me and is knit in Knitpicks Cotlin. Another great cotton blend, it feels like it will be great for summer. I'm a little concerned about the flaring of the ribbed hem, but I'm going to trust it will be ok.

I've got a cabled baby hat with earflaps (Zoe Mellor design) knit up but needing the edge knit on, and lots of projects in mind. I've been swapping on a Karma board on Ravelry, so I've got some lovely new yarns to play with. (cotton cabled worsted weight, some cotton blends, Bernat Soy, and a 100% soy in veregated that looks interesting)

I have more than enough yarn in my stash, but I'm also planning a shopping trip in Seattle next weekend. The trip is actually an early anniversary weekend with my husband (10 years this summer!!) but we've factored in a little retail time. He'll be checking out a couple gaming stores, and I'm meeting a friend in The Fibre Gallery for yarn :)

I'm totally overwhelmed, but in the best possible way. I have SO much new yarn, and SO many project on the needles and in mind, I just don't know what to work on! It's like an all you can knit buffet in my house right now! I got my knitpicks Cotlin for the Aleita Shell, plus some green Swish Superwash for a baby sweater. I purchased a bit of Cascade Sierra from a friend to make up a CUTE baby sweater I'm dying to work on as well. My trip up island on the weekend meant a couple yarn purchases, of course, and those are itching to be knit. Babies are due all over the place this spring and summer so I need to keep knitting gift stuff, and I have a few "nearly done" projects on the needles as well!

Thankfully I have about an hour of knitting time each day on the bus, and then some time in the evenings to knit in front of the TV. Still, there just aren't enough hours in the day, it seems.....

I've been knitting a LOT lately. Good thing, because I keep buying more yarn. I have to at least pretend I'm going to be able to knit it all up in to something!

I am nearly finished Argen's Gansey sweater, and I'm really happy with how it's turning out. It's exactly what I wanted to make for him, and the colour is fantastic for him. Photos when it's completed. (I only have the collar to knit on, so it shouldn't be long) I'm working on some baby knits, I know of lots of babies on the way soon. I've got a seamless baby kimino needing buttons, a baby hat I just finished, and a mini vestee I'm planning on starting today.

My knitting hasn't been going well lately. I'm working on the sleeves for Argen's Gansey right now.....first attempt at the sleeves had me following the pattern but determining that made them WAY too narrow for his hands and arms, once I was 2/3 done. *RIP* Second attempt had me knit to about the 2/3 mark again before I determined a serious needle size error. How Serious you ask? The pattern calls for a 4mm for the cuff, and a 5mm for the main part of the sleeve. I used a 3.75 ALL THE WAY UP!. *RIP* I'm about half way up the sleeves this time, hopefully for the last time. In a funny twist, I am knitting both sleeves together, to ensure they are the same size and gauge, and I don't get too bored to do #2, so my errors were doubled each time - hah!

My second issue was with the Aleita Shell from Interweave knits Spring 2008 that I'm making for myself. I picked up the magazine, happily picked out an alternate yarn of Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy and cast on. The reccomended needle gave me a huge, holey fabric. A needle several sizes down looked nice, but gave a way-too-small gauge. I am not willing to do the math and mess with the pattern, so I have to find something else.

In happier news, I have received some knitting gifts lately. A knitter at our weekly group is moving and brought a bag off cast off acrylic and cotton yarns she doesn't want to pack with her. I picked up a fantastically bright lime green cotton for dishcloths, plus 2 smaller amounts in more moderate colours, and a big skein of thick and thin fun yarn for my daughter to use on her loom. And today I got to work to find 2 pairs of knitting needles on my desk - my coworker was cleaning out her place and came accross them.

Tonight Teagan and I are heading over to visit our neighbour. She's on bedrest following an operation and is bored out of her mind. I'm going to try and teach her to knit, and Teagan's bringing her loom to "knit" with us. Should be fun!

My Haul from the Yarn Shop

My Haul from the Yarn Shop
Originally uploaded by wendymc

Ever since the preview for the Spring 2008 Interweave Knits came out, I've been awaiting it's arrival on the news stands. It's full of cute spring cardigans, a lovely child's dress, and a fitted shell that would make a great tank on it's own. Finally it was in yesterday, and I was home sick from work.....so I bundled up and ventured out. An artist must suffer for her craft, after all!

I picked up the magazine, at the local yarn shop where I knew they'd have copies, and other things began calling to me from the shelves. I knew I would be knitting the Aleita Shell for myself, so I had better scope out yarn options. I found some Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy that came in a beautiful wine colour, and seemed close enough to the reccomended yarn to do the trick. Then I remembered I had a 20% off coupon in my purse, from filling a customer loyalty card. WELL, I couldn't leave with just that one yarn purchase.....into my basket lept the Cascade Sierra I'd been dying to try, and some soft Basics Stop in bright springy colours that should make a great striped baby sweater. I left before more yarn found it's way into my basket, and I'm pretty pleased with my purchases.

I'm finding plenty of time for my knitting. I bike to work some of the time, but at least 3 days a week I take the bus, which is a total of 40+ minutes of knitting time. Throw in the odd evening or lunch hour knitting session, weekly knitting group, and you can see I'm knitting a LOT! It's great!

I knit up a Toasty Topper for my son, but it's a little on the small side. I used Cascade 220 held doubled, and had to go up a needle size to make it knit easily. I think I could have gone up one more needle size, and gotten a nicer fabric and that little extra room I needed for my toddler's large head:



One of the gals in my knitting group is expecting a baby in a week or two, so a surprise shower was arranged for her. I couldn't attend, but I whipped up a little hat for her, using a Pointy Ribbed Baby Hat and some pretty yarn I got at the Xmas exchange. I forgot a button and was pressed for time, so I whipped up a bobble and it worked just fine. Added bonus, no button for the baby to try and eat! This photo is from before I got the strap on:



I finished up Stulpen Fingerless Mitts for my mom's birthday last week. I'm not sure she was that pleased with them, but I know she appreciates the effort. You can't see in this crummy, rushed photo, but there is a beautiful cable on the back of the hand, where the ribs all weave in and out of each other:




Next on the needles? I really want to knit the Bainbridge Scarf as it looks fast and easy, and is a nifty pattern idea. I'm hoping I have some pretty, slightly luxurious yarn in my stash to use. I think it would make a good gift for my mother in law, who has a birthday in a week. (she's out of town for a couple weeks, though, so I have some time)

I'm also working on a Norweigan Baby hat for some folks I hear just had another little boy. (I used to play lacrosse with the parents)

Christmas Knitting!

I think I might actually finish all my Christmas knitting, including the projects I decided to add as of YESTERDAY! Last night I finished up the felted crowns for the neices(I think the little shiny star "jewels" finish them off nicely):



And a felted Squid for my son and felted Spider for my daughter:



I knit a kitty washcloth for my friend and neighbour, and am halfway through a heart washcloth for my mother-in-law. My brother's Police Line Scarf is about 30 minutes from done, not counting seaming and blocking - but I won't need to have it ready until my mom's Christmas gathering on Sunday so I have plenty of time for that.

I have a few fun projects I can't wait to get started on, the Toasty Toppers hat-scarves from Knitty for my kids, and a "Better than the Real Thing" sweater for me from Yarn Girl's Guide to Knits For All Seasons. Both should be reasonably quick knits on thick yarns, so quite satisfying. I need to buy yarn for the sweater, and conveniently the local yarn shop has a big sale on the 31st......perfect!

The plus side to being sick, is it sometimes frees up some time for knitting. I've been off work sick for a day and a half, and missing a few other scheduled activities as well. When I felt up to it, I pulled out the needles and focussed on finishing off a bunch of nearly-done projects. First up, Picovoli:

I'm dissapointed in this one. The picot edging on the sleeves and neck and hem was a real pain to execute, and the result still rolls and looks really funny on the sleeves. I feel like I have 80s wings going on. It's too bad, I like the fabric this yarn made, and the fit is otherwise great. I may see how it looks under something, or if I mod the sleeve caps a little. If I rip back the picot edge on the sleeves and just let them roll up to be thinner, it might look ok.

Next comes Skirtsicle:

Not the best photo, but I think my cute daughter is worth looking at, too! She loves the skirt, and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. It fits her nice, and the fabric is thick enough to be at least a little warm, as we're heading into winter. I didn't bother with a picot edge, with blocking (steam ironing) casting off matching the pattern (knit and purl) seemed roll resistant enough. I like how the yarn stripes worked out.

I'm nearly finished the Baby Surprise Jacket:

It needs a good blocking and some buttons. I think I may have to look at my seaming, as the button band doesn't overlap, but I'll see if blocking helps this out. I think this will be a gift for an expectant friend - I'm headed to her baby shower next weekend. I have about 2/3 of a skein of yarn left, I may try for matching socks or booties.

And finally, I'm making real progress on the Daycare Auction Scarf:

I'm hoping it will be an ok item. The stole I sent last year was much larger, and thus much grander an item for the auction, but I know I can finish this in time and with plenty of yarn. I think a lace scarf is more practical for more people, and the colours are great, so hopefully it will fetch good bids.

I've been knitting some, though not so much as I'd like. The yarns in my last post are rapidly becoming beautiful objects, and I'm enjoying knitting with them very much. The Hacho yarn is a nearly-completed Baby Surprise Jacket for a friend. I ran out less than a dozen yards shy - so I guess I will make matching booties or a hat or something once I buy another full skein to finish it off. I'm a couple inches into a narrower scarf for the daycare silent auction with the Fleece Artist yarn. I'm struggling against the thought that a regular width scarf won't seem that impressive, since I donated a huge stole last year - but I really don't want to run out of yarn. I'm also tight for time these days, and I know I can finish a regular sized scarf. If I'm super speedy I could always make two, I have lots of the yarn from last year's project left over.....

Plans in place to knit up a Police Line scarf for my brother, though I need to research double knitting, first.

Pretty new yarn
Originally uploaded by wendymc

Our family took a little vacation over to Vancouver on the weekend. This is the second year we've done this, and it might become our yearly family vacation. We take in the zoo, aquarium, science world and ikea, plus some shopping and eating, of course. Kid-friendly, low stress, and relatively inexpensive. We may extend it from a 3 day weekend to a 4 day one next year, so we can spend some time on Granville Island.

One of the hilights of the trip for me was a trip to Urban Yarns, a nifty little yarn shop over there. Some gorgeous yarns, and good sales. I didn't need much yarn (have you SEEN my stash lately??) so I didn't buy much, but I couldn't leave a couple special purchases behind. The 2 lovely skeins in the photo above are Hacho by Mirasol Yarns which I'd never seen before. It's really soft and the colours are even richer than they look in the photo. This is destined to be a Baby Surprise Jacket - not the most traditional baby colours, but it should look nice, I think. Sadly I was 2 inches into the first attempt when I found a huge error and had to rip. Ah well, it's should be quick to knit back up again.

I also brought home this gorgeous Fleece Artist Merino:

Which will become some kinds of scarf or stole for the Daycare Silent Auction this winter.

All these lovely, wonderful yarns are making me eye some of my cheaper wools and acrylics more critically. I may have to find new homes for them, to make room for all this nice yarn that keeps following me home.

Finished Felting!

Finished Felting!
Originally uploaded by wendymc

Felty goodness! I finished up the felted hat for Argen. I knit up the brimmed hat from HandKnit Holidays, put an extra row on the brim, and obviously made it extra large pre-felting. (it covered my head and face) It felted up nice, but too small! I had to stretch it out a bit to fit my son's giant melon. He's put it on a few times now, but he's not sold on wearing it.

I also knit up a felted crown out of some leftover koolaid dyed wool I had. The pattern is here at the Fibre Pirate Blog. It knit up super fast, so I think I'l be making a few more - the neices and my kids will get them for Christmas, maybe. I dyed some wool blue and green for the next one, and I'm thinking about some beads or sequins I could sew on for extra pizazz.

Red Dwarf Sock Progress

Red Dwarf Sock Progress
Originally uploaded by wendymc

Making progress on the Red Dwarf socks. I really like knitting with thicker yarn and bigger needles. It moves so much faster and is encouraging to see te sock grow. I like the look and simplicity of the short row heel, this is my first time trying one. Toe-up is also appealing to me - this is just a great all around pattern!

I'm also working on some stuff to felt - a crown and a hat. Also in the queue is a skirt for Teagan. Busy, busy!

Red Dwarf Socks

Red Dwarf Socks
Originally uploaded by wendymc

I am knitting, I'm just not posting. It seems there just isn't time to do both consistantly, so knitting wins out.

I'm working on the Red Dwarf Socks found at Turtlegirl's Bloggy Thing right now. They're knitting up quick, I'm enjoying working with thicker yarn. It's Regia 6-ply (in the Jungle Colourway) on 3mm needles, much faster knitting than my standard 2.25mm ones! I used the figure 8 cast on as reccommended, but doubled the number of stitches to cast on for the start. I like the toe much better done this way, 16 stitches to start makes a really pointy toe, and I don't have pointy toes!