Pile o' Dishclothes and other miscellanea

Yes, I have a camera. You wouldn’t think it since I haven’t been posting pics. So here:



This is the pile o’dishclothes I’ve been talking about. Who would have thought knitting glorified gauge swatches would be so fulfilling? Well, it is.

I made these from the “pile o’ cheap cotton” that’s been lying in my stash for a while. I’ve never actually used handknit dishcloths before, so we shall see how they hold up. I was also partly inspired to knit cloths because my MIL was complaining about the thin, cheap dishcloths at the store and the lightbulb in my head proceeded to flicker…




My favorite ones are the garterlac dishcloth (above – yeah new skillz!) and the linen stitch cloth .



What you see here is what I’m currently knitting. It’s what I’m tentatively calling the “rib lace henley”. See my awesome sketching abilities? This is the back and I’m closely approaching the armholes, which should be a fun adventure. I’m being optimistic here.

1.5 weeks till Montreal!

Links and Excuses

I’m always busier during the summer. My free time is normally spent being social (which isn’t a regular thing for me) or traveling. The husbeast and I normally plan for one “big vacation” and a couple smaller day trips, events, or 3-day weekends. Since there is no evil snow in site, this time of year also brings the family up for visits (we live in central NY, most of our family is in PA). We’ve had a lovely time with my SIL and 3 year old niece last week (they’re actually from NC). My mother is planning a visit in late August. My Dad will probably squeeze some time in before then end of summer, I’m sure. My MIL is coming along on our Montreal adventure (this is the “big” vacation). (btw- anyone have any Montreal tips?)

What’s the point of all this rambling? Well, I just haven’t been knitting a lot. Summertime is just one long distraction. And it’s not that I don’t have visions of purls dancing in my head. The only clear progress I’ve made recently is I finally weaved in the ends for my pile o’ dishcloths. And I took back my vow to not frog the Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties. I gave up, it’s just not flattering. Once again, I have proven my lack of perspective when it comes to clothes and my body type. Will I ever learn? History says no.

I will have some pictures soon, but not in this post so you can stop wondering already.

But I do have some links for things I’ve been perusing (knitting and non-knitting related):

- Previews, previews, and more previews. Fall is around the corner and the knit mag previews are up. Freebie lovers will enjoy Vogue Knitting’s array of free patterns. I’m glad to see they’ve finally jumped on the free web pattern bandwagon. (really VK, there’s no need to be stingy). I like some of the offerings, but VK is just too trendy for my tastes. IK and Knitscene’s are up, too.

- Is anyone else in awe of Norah Gaughan? She makes the loveliest patterns, and once again she has taken the cover of IK. She shall now be referred to as the Gaughanater. Oh why did I let my subscription run out?

- Damn you Wii for stealing (some of) my precious knitting time!

- I’m already planning the Cropped Cardigan's re-incarnation. And I’ll finally be able to use my Sweater Design in Plain English Book that’s been hanging out since last Christmas.

- Environmentally conscious? Worry about toxic shock syndrome? Hate lugging around feminine hygiene products? Here’s something just for you ;) The Diva Cup. Don’t ask, see for yourself.

Katja from Knitty

So I wanted to be better about posting, but you know, once summer comes around and even I (the homebody that I am) have other things on my mind. But that doesn't mean I'm not knitting. No, siree!

In preparation for the arrival of my SIL and her 3 year old daughter from North Carolina this week, I made a kiddie-sized FO.


It's Katja from Knitty. Ah, if only I could wear such a cute summer halter! But I'm one of those types that has to wear a bra with EVERYTHING. Strapless ones just don't cut it since they seem to highlight gravity's effect on the jumblies. But when you're three you don't have such worries. I made it with some cotton yarn I had in my stash (yeah, stashbuster!). I don't know what brand it is because I bought about a pound of it at an AC Moore in Canada for about 5 bucks. It was stuffed in a plastic bag marked "factory mill ends, 100% cotton", not the best for garments imo. At least not grown-up size ones. I still have several skeins left, which I've been eating up by making dishclothes. Lots. of. dishclothes. But that's another post.

Hmm... back to Katja, well it's a fun quick knit that only took me about two evenings to complete. I kind of did my own thing with the body since my row gauge didn't match up quite well. Actually, the st gauge didn't match up either. I knit this with worsted weight yarn on size 6 needles (in the round) and still couldn't get the gauge. So I worked out the numbers and decided if I made the 12 month size instead of the 24 month size, it should work out. And it did, sort of. It still seems a bit big for a 2T (she wears a 2T even though she's three, she's teeny). So I added some elastic to the back. It'll probably shrink a little once it's washed, assuming she uses a "washer/dryer of death" like we do.

Next up: the pile o' dishclothes, reverting back to Frog status, and why knitting from my stash is starting to get old.

Stay tuned.

My First Alpaca Encounter Lead to My First Spinning Encounter

A couple weeks ago, my mother surprised me with a trip to see alpacas! We were visiting her and her boyfriend and she suggested we drop by her friend’s budding fiber farm to check out her alpacas. My face lit up! Did she say alpacas? She didn’t have to twist my arm.





We arrived at Debbie and Tom’s (unannounced, mind you) and they were more than happy show us there three alpacas. They were recently sheered in preparation for the warm summer weather so they weren’t super fluffy, but they were still cute. If I remember correctly they’re all males and one is brown, one is off-white, and one is black and she’s keeping them mainly for the fiber business. Much to my surprise many people don’t keep alpacas for that reason, they’re in it for the breeding which can be quite profitable.



Then after giving me the low down on the alpacas she let me fondle some of the alpaca fiber she spun. Alpaca is soo soft. Why, oh why, do I knit with acrylic!

THEN, she whipped out her drop spindle and demonstrated how you spin with that.

THEN, she whipped out her spinning wheel and gave me a crash course on spinning and plying. Needless to say this lady is AWESOME! Once she gets things up and running with the business I will share her contact info for anyone who is interested in some alpaca roving. Soon, I shall invest in a drop spindle of my very own and maybe someday in the future some alpacas of my very own. But that will be in distant future since my apartment doesn’t even allow cats.





Again, I can’t tell you how incredibly nice and welcoming Debbie and Tom were. She was a great teacher. You can tell she’s had lots of practice from her spinning demos.

Thanks to my Mom for remembering to bring a camera (not to mention taking me to her friends house). mwah.

Ah, Simplicity!

Late last Saturday night I was a little restless. I was stumped (or mad, what have you) with the Cropped Cardigan, but I was still feeling the urge to craft something. But I had so many ideas running around in my head that all I could do was lay face down in a pillow in a sort of mental state which some would call pouting, but I call meditation. Finally, I decided to get up and rummage through my stash.

I never seem to use a full skein of sock yarn for my socks and thus, I have leftovers that really can't yield another adult sock. So what do I do? Why, make a head band, silly! A head band in a super easy lace netting in a fun summer colors.

Nevermind that I almost never wear headbands.


It was pretty easy and in total, only took me a couple hours. It's made from leftover Knitpicks Dancing sock yarn of which I made Jaywalkers. I used size 1 needles following this pattern for RS and WS rows: k1, *YO, p2tog* repeat to last stitch, k1. That's it.

It's cute! Maybe a little too wide. I could've used some brain cells and decreased on a diagonal for the back part. But oh well.

ACTION SHOTS!!




(Tyra, you know I'm FIERCE!)

So what do you do with leftover sock yarn?

I lament.

Why can’t I knit a sweater and be absolutely in love with it? I see it all the time on Craftster. Someone knits some gorgeous pattern and the fit, color, everything is perfect. Why can’t I knit like that? Where do I go wrong?

Well, for one I’m not good at picking patterns that fit my body type. My mind seems to think I’m 5’10”, 110 lbs, with perfectly proportional bust/waist/hip measurements. And I also live a magical world filled with fairies and leprechauns. Sadly, this is not true. I acknowledge this, but I somehow can’t get this acknowledgement to cross over to my knitting.

Secondly, I’m still a newbie when it comes to fit. My garment making experience has it’s origins in sewing where you almost always need extra ease. Knitting is the opposite and I’ve been learning this the hard way.

The “Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties” I’ve been knitting is almost finished. In my excitement I tried it on and examined myself in the mirror a couple inches shy of finishing the second sleeve. Much to my dismay, I wasn’t immediately thrilled. Why? It’s too friggin’ big! It’s 44” around the bust, a full 6” larger than my bust measurement. I’m not sure how this happened and I’m willing to admit it is my fault (ahem, gauge swatching). It being a cardigan, I didn’t want negative ease, but this is ridiculous.

But I refuse to FROG. I’m done frogging, people. Either I start planning and gauging better, or I make do with what I have. So this time, I must make do.

I pinned the body and sleeves in about 1.5” and then I tried it on. Much better. It’s decided. I will take this sack-o-sweater and alter it via sewing machine. I’m not sure how this will work, but I’m willing to risk it in the face of option B (frogging). Anyone have any experience sewing hand-knit items?

If I still don’t like it, I’ll give it to my MIL.

Cropped Cardigan by Stephanie Japel, Progress Post

Been a little MIA lately. But I have NOT been unproductive:

Better?

Here's a little sneak peek at the Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties by Stephanie Japel (current knitty surprise). It should be finished by the end of this weekend. Can't say I'm completely in love with it. After trying it on, I think I could have gotten away with a size smaller. Which makes me think that I should always make sweaters with negative ease, no matter what the numbers say. I figured since it was a cardigan I'd want a little extra room. Thankfully, it's 100% cotton and may shrink a bit once my building's "washer/dryer of death" gets a hold of it.

Better gauge swatching would probably help too. But I like to skimp on that and get to the good stuff. Blasphemy, I know.

I have some special news!

I fed alpacas!

I spun!

I spun alpaca fiber!

And I have pictures!!!

But you have to wait, because the pics were taken on my Mom's camera and I have yet to receive them. I'll start bugging her soon. She just moved, but this is important. This is ALPACAS, damnit!

Stuff

A hiatus and stashbusting FO. Double-score!

I wore it for the first time today. I’m a little iffy about the “flattering” nature of this design. It’s the Ballet Tee from Loop-d-Loop. It's probably not the best design for my figure. I know other people have had issues with this. I’ll wear it, but you won’t see me waiting by the dryer for this. Especially since the dryer makes it grow strange fuzzies. Well, I’m not sure if it’s the dryer or the economy cotton I chose to knit it with. Who knows?

Thanks so much for the kind words on the “green feet” socks. I’m sure I’ll be re-naming it something spiffier when I post the pattern. I’d love to see the sock in different colors. Hell, it might look better. (hint, hint)

I can’t tell you how delighted I was to see comments on my recent posts. Thanks so much for sticking with me. Considering my blogging skills are amateur (at best) and that there a pasquillion other blogs out there, I’m so surprised I’ve managed to keep your interest. I’m glad you stuck around because I’m feeling refreshed after my hiatus and I’m aiming to step up “my game”.

Anyhoosen…

Not much in knitting content to report. I’m working on the Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties by Stefanie Japel which was posted as this Knitty’s surprise. I’m just about ready to split the sleeves and work solely on the body. I’m excited, It’s a cute top-down cardigan which is guaranteed to eat up 10 skeins of Bernat Handicrafter Cotton I have in my stash.

Yes, 2007 is the “Year of the Stashbuster” for me. I know someone out there in blogland is hosting a Stashbusting event. I’m not biting off of someone else’s idea, honest. I resigned myself to knitting only from my stash before I came across the event. My main motivation is to clear out my collection of cheapy acrylic and cotton yarn so I can by somewhat nicer yarn. You know, yarn that originates from some exotic animals nether regions. Plus, it would be cool to be a knitter who's not dependent on fossil fuels.

Fledgling

The ultimate goal for my knitting skills is to one day create lovely designs the likes of Anna, Eunny, Ysolda... etc.

But since I've only been knitting for just under 2 years (and they, I believe, since they were 2) I have a lot of work to do. But I have taken some steps in the right direction. Before last Christmas I completed my own sweater from my very own pattern. Simplistic in design, and modern in fit. It turned out well and wore it several times throughout the winter. I would have worn it more if the neckline wasn't so wide that it revealed my bra straps, assuming I didn't have a tank top underneath. Despite that, I considered it a success.

Then, during spring I kept myself sane/busy with designing my own sock. I've made a simple sock on my own before thanks to tutorials such as this. I did the same thing on this sock, but made it fancier. I grabbed the lace pattern from The New Knitting Stitch Library by Lesley Stanfield. I liked that it was a more geometric than foo-foo so I paired it with some bright green yarn to give it a "sci-fi" theme.


This version you see here is take two. The first take was to small since the lace pattern doesn't have a lot of stretch. Of course I waited until after the sock was complete, ends weaved in and all, to actually try it on and discover this. So for my redo I added stitches to my CO and split the lace panel in two with some 2x2 ribbing in between. Much better fit this time. It's actually a little roomy.

So I'm thinking this will be my first pattern that I will post on this site. It will be free, of course, since I can't take full credit for it's construction. I'm going to complete the second sock to test my notes, then post the pattern. Hope you like it. I think they're pretty neat myself.

Specs:
Pattern: My own
Construction: basic top-down
Yarn: Knitpicks Palette "Mint", less than 1 skein for one sock available at www.knitpicks.com

Testing, testing...

Is anyone there? Um, I'm back.

waves cobwebs from face
inhales dust bunnies
coughs

It's been a while. A long while.

crickets, chirping

So the class I was taking this Spring is over. I'm not sure why I thought that was a good idea, but now I can get back to important things like incessantly wrapping fiber around pointy sticks, taking pictures of it, and posting it on the internet. Ah, priorities.

You'll be happy to know that I HAVE been knitting. I have a small gallery of FO's I've been developing since Christmas. Nothing big.

Just bear with me. I have to get reacquainted with this whole blogging thing again. So if you're reading this, thanks for being a loyal blog reader (and writer, which I'm sure you are) . I have plans for this humble blog o'mine. One-step at a time, though.

On Hiatus

Wow, so I haven't posted in 2 months. Sorry about that. I also haven't been commenting on other blogs either, but I have been lurking so I'm not gone completely.

I'm officially putting Eat-Sleep-Knit on an indefinite hiatus. I can't say I'm ready to give up blogging completely, but I think I would like to just focus on knitting right now. Rest assured I will NOT be giving that up. Since October I finished the Baudelaire socks from Knitty, a sweater using my own pattern (a great success!), and right now I'm working on Starsky from Knitty.

I'm taking a class next semester in addition to my full-time work schedule, so I'll be a bit busier. But we'll see what happens. So please check in every once in a while, otherwise I'll see you on your blogs and on Craftster (as Knit_Dork24).

Happy Holidays to everyone! See you next year :D

A Socktoberfest Story: Some Moggle Response’s to a Twenty-Something KIP’ing

Preface: I don’t normally KIP, and that’s only because when I’m out in public I’m normally occupied. The only exception to this is when I’m waiting for my car at the shop. A few days ago I had my brakes replaced and state inspection which required an extended waiting period (I have to wait, because we only have one car). So after a walk to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast I came back, sat down in the rather cramped waiting room, and whipped out the Baudelaire sock I’ve been working on…

I noticed a couple lingering looks as I sat there with the lace chart and yarn ball on my lap and needles in hand (magic-loop! Yeah, baby). I brush them off. It was at this point I began to wonder when exactly someone would inquire/comment about what I was making. It was no surprise to me that the first one was an elderly man who waiting for his car to be prepped for his seasonal migration somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon Line:
“Watch ya making?” he asked. I sensed he was desperately trying to break the silence as I’m not one for small talk, “a hat?”
Now, I’m well into shaping the gusset on this toe-up sock that is meant for my rather petit step-mother. But I try to hide my “WTF?” look and muster a polite response.
“No, it’s a sock.” I lift WIP slightly to reveal the sock-like shape.
“Oh, definitely need those around here.” He replied.
Indeed. The frost on my car windows was quite thick and the act of scraping them off ended up making me a tad late for my 7:30 appointment. At least I don’t live in Buffalo.

About 30 minutes later…

The owner/manager of the establishment looks intently and asks “What are you making?”
“A sock,” As you can tell from my minimal response, I’m not much of a people person.
“Do you have kids, or something?”
Huh? My brain scrambles to make the connection between knitting and kids, which is somehow obvious to him but not to me. Does he think I’m knitting a children’s sock?
Again, politely: “No, I just like making socks. It’s a Christmas present for my stepmother.”
The owner/manager, who really is a nice guy btw, then adds that his wife crochets and he thought that’s what I was doing until he saw the two needles. In hind-site, I guess the “kid” question was a more politically correct way of asking me if I was pregnant. Thus, proving that the cliché of the “knitting-mother-to-be” is still alive and well. But this is just an assumption. I can’t help but to wonder, though.

Sometime time later, still knitting away in the cupboard/waiting room…

One of the mechanics squeezes into the cupboard for something, notices me knitting away, and gives me a wide smile.
Ummm, okay. Trying not to get too creeped out I continue on with my gusset increasing. I guess I was expecting something like “hey, check out the grannie!” So it’s not so bad, I guess.

500 years later…

The same mechanic returns to the cupboard but this time he has to wait in line for the boss-man.
“Man, you’ll have a whole (something or another, I couldn’t understand him since he had a slight case of mush-mouth) before we’re done here.”
I smile, interpreting it as a compliment to my mad-knitting skills, but before I could get a response out the owner/manager replies, jokingly:
“Maybe not, if you actually finish sometime this year,”
Hmm, come to think of it, I was there for a little over 2 hours. But I really didn’t care since I was knitting.

A Kni-story of Socks

I've been a little absent lately. With settling into the new place, shopping for decorations to adorn our bare walls, a family visit, and enjoying the beautiful fall weather I haven't had much time (or energy) to blog. I am just now getting some semblance of an everyday routine back, even though we've been in our place for several weeks. I have been knitting. Honest. I finished the baby Zoe project and I got a good start on my Socktoberfest project (the Baudelaire socks from Knitty). But first, in keeping with the Socktober-festivities, a gallery of my sock knitting history:


Traveler Socks from d-made in LB Wool-Ease


Rapunzel Socks, also from d-made, also in wool-ease


Hedera Socks from Knitty (first pair in actual sock yarn, Knitpicks of course)


The infamous Jaywalkers!

And most recently, a simple pair (my own pattern) in Knitpicks Simple Stripes for my MIL:




Three of the five socks above were gifts. If you're ever unsure what to knit someone: knit them socks! Here are my reasons: 1. they'll actually get used by the recipient (as long as they're not hippies) 2. they'll think that it's the most complicated thing you could possibly knit for them (you know their not but they can keep on thinking that for all you care) 2. knit socks fit the best (period) 3. Socks are convenient for you (they're portable and can be as quick or slow as you want them to be depending on time constraints).

So go knit some socks, dangnamit!

So this is my Zoe X-mas Project. For those of you just tuning in Zoe is my baby neice. I find the degeneration of my original idea to what I actually have quite comical. I went from the super cute Trellis sweater to a square with some intarsia (or fair isle, colorwork, whatever). In the end I decided to make the square into a bib by adding some i-cord straps to the ends. It's not bad, but not completely X-mas worthy on it's own. I plan on making something else from the book Knitted Toys by Fiona McTague. I got it from the library along with Beautiful Knitting Patterns by Gisela Kloepper. It's another one of those books that just has stitch patterns and charts. I love it! It's inspiring to page through and drool over the lace and aran patterns. There's more stitch patterns in there but those are my favorite. Oh, if you get the Knitted Toys book you abosutely must NOT knit the clown. If you knit the clown it will come alive at night while you're sleeping and eat you. That's what my brother would tell you, which is why I should knit it for him. ;)

Next up is a knitted toy for Zoe. Hopefully, I can get a good start on that before Socktoberfest. I don't plan on starting right on the Oct.1, but I might gauge swatch or something to celebrate.

My mother is visiting this weekend so we'll be out and about today. We're checking out the Regional Farmer's Market, CNY Great Pumpkinfest, and of course, no Syracuse visit is complete without a stop by the Dinosaur BBQ. I hope she likes mounds of meat!

One Cheek on the Saddle

First knitting news: *sounds of trumpets*

I joined! Have you? Click here to learn more. Thanks to Bryony and Erin for alerting me to the existence of such a fun event! It's perfect timing too since I was planning on gift-knitting Baudelaire socks for my stepmom soon. This will be my Socktoberfest project. I'm looking forward to it. I love knitting socks. I love knitting socks for other people. I'm pretty much convinced that socks are the best knitted gift EVER! My mom raves about them and now my MIL does too. She loved her b-day socks! And she said the fit was perfect so that's a relief. In conclusion: socks are awesome so join Socktoberfest and knit some socks!

NEXT!

Moving is pretty much over. THANK GOD! We did the U-Haul portion of the trip last night and my arms are quite sore. I had to stop and take breaks when we were moving our loveseat. My hands kept slipping on the leather (alright, pleather) and my arms were going limp in protest. Of course, out of the corner of my eye I see a pair of people in the distance looking in our direction. >.<>

Remember those chairs I said I would redo? I finished those and will be pictures posted ASAP. Also, I dumped Trellis. I was just going to take me too long. The cabling slows things down a bit. So I started experimenting with colorwork (how does it go: huzzah?) so I'm making something else for baby Zoe. What it is just yet, I'm not sure. But I'll post pics soon. I also have to make some curtains for our new, rather large windows. Eek, sewing!

Ta!

Taking the Backseat

Moving is so tiring! We just finished packing and moved our first load over yesterday. We were able to spread out the move over the rest of September so it shouldn’t be so crazy. Unfortunately, I won’t have much time for knitting and I won’t even be able to post from home until our internet is setup at our new place sometime next week. I can post at work though so don’t count me out completely. ;) But no pics for YOU!

I’m starting the Trellis baby sweater today (hopefully). I have to do a gauge swatch, a necessary evil. I don’t despise gauge-swatching, but I definitely half-ass it in order to get onto the fun stuff. Some people suggest knitting a 6x6 square with a garter stitch border and then washing or blocking it. Holy crap, that’s just too much for me. I’m sure I would have better luck fitting garments if I did it the “right way”. But I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t purposely try to make things harder on myself. I’m planning on knitting Trellis with some Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in something called “Pale Seafoam”. I would call it a unisex color. If I’m feeling adventurous I might even knit up a matching hat.

Is it me or is 100% cotton hard to knit with? I’ve heard comments like cotton is “unforgiving” and it has no elasticity. If that’s true, then I should be in for quite a treat knitting an uber-cabley sweater. Not the smartest yarn choice in the world, I’m sure. Luckily it’s mini-sized. I need to get my hands on some cotton blends like TLC Cotton Plus. I like the idea of cotton as opposed to 100% wools. Cotton is softer and normally machine washable, and unlike acrylics, allows your skin to breathe instead of forming pools of sweat which isn’t fun for anyone. I am likely to not wear something at all when faced with the possibility of hand-washing something (pathetic, I know). So cotton blends seem like the way to go when it comes to sweaters and other garments.

But I’m on an unofficial yarn diet. If I buy more yarn Mr.V’s head will explode and I don’t want that to happen because I like Mr.V’s head the way it is. So for the sake of Mr.V’s head, I will be stash-busting well into the New Year. So no new yarn for me.

The magic 8ball says there will be some more sewing in my near future. It’s saying something about window treatments…?

Ms Sniffles

Argh, so I've been sick this past weekend and I actually took a rare sick day from work yesterday. I'm not sick very often so when I am I'm always reminded of how much it sucks (damn you, microscopic germs >.<). I've also been reminded that sleep quality is directly related to your ability to breathe through your nose (stupid mucus). On the cute side, Mr.V has dubbed me "Sniffles" and has taken to adding his own fake sniffles to match my own, all in good fun of course. Humor helps. Anway, enough of this pitty-party. I've actually been a bit productive this weekend, considering. First, I finished my MIL's sock. This time it's the right size.

I've started the second one and I'm hoping to be done with it this Friday so I can mail it out. That'll be quite ahead of schedule, but starting next Monday we'll be moving our stuff over to our new place I don't think I'll have a lot of time for knitting or blogging. Especially, deadline knitting. But I knit a good bit of the second sock yesterday so I think I'll have no problem finishing by Friday.

I've also started a non-knitting project. I have a pair of old wooden chairs that my Dad gave me. I've had them for about 2 years now with the intention of re-finishing them and putting them to use. I was afraid these would be destined to live in the basement with the troll, but now I actually have a use for them in our new place. We actually have a private balcony where we're going, and it faces something that we don't mind looking at: trees!



So I plan on making these chairs our balcony chairs. I have the one chair sanded down and ready to stain already. We're hoping to eventually find a little table that we could touch-up and put out on the balcony as well. As far as knitting goes. After the socks are complete I'm going to continue with the gift knits, except these will be christmas gifts. I'm not knitting everyone something for Christmas, because in all honesty I'll go freaking insane. No. thank. you. Instead, I've decided to pick a person who hasn't received a knitted object from me yet and another person (or mini-person) who is just too small to care what she's wearing, thus, choosing what to knit is really easy.

- Knitty's Trellis for my niece Zoe
- Knitty's Baudelaire for my stepmom

I'm starting Trellis next so I can give myself a break from sock knitting. Not that I don't like knitting socks, I'm just the kind of person who likes variety. Other than that I probably won't be blogging much until after we're moved. :)

PS- Have you seen the new Knitty, yet? If you haven't do it NOW! I really like Viveka and the assortment of cute socks!

Knitted Happiness

I contemplated last night while I finishing the Simple Stripes sock how much I love knitting. Specifically, my adoration for such simple and clean touches like twisted rib and the kitchener stitch toe. There is something so neat and tidy about them. Maybe I'm attracted to these neat and tidy things because by nature I am NOT neat and tidy. I am the poster girl for disorder. But I am so proud of myself when I do things like this:


Well, the colors don't make it look real tidy, but you get the idea. I love finishing toes with kitchener's stitch. At first I thought it was sort of tricky, but then I discovered that there is a certain rhythm to it: knit, drop, purl/purl, drop, knit, and so on. The seamless connection is clean and professional.


Ah, twisted rib! Oh, how I love thee! I think most knitters would agree that twisted rib is WAY nicer than plain old 1x1 rib. The knit stitches are nice and snug and don't loose their structure when stretched. Genius! So last night after completing the sock I just sat there admiring the little details. Taking a few minutes to appreciate the act of knitting rather than just the finished object.

And then I tried it on and realized that the size was suited for a pre-teen rather than an adult. So next stop: Frogsville >.<

Hoodie Scarf from D-Made

Phew! I’ve been busy lately searching for a new apartment and such so blogging time was replaced with apartment searching, calling, appointment-making, etc (fun, fun). But, thankfully, the search is over and I won’t be busy again until about mid-Sept when we start moving. I’m really excited especially because we’ll be moving to a nicer area that’s closer to my job (and my job’s new location, come March of next year). We’re within walking distance to one of the nicest parks EVER! And the craft stores are in a good location as well. So once again, all is well over my way. So without further ado, my most recent FO:

Hoodie Scarf from d-made.com! This is my mother’s birthday gift, which isn’t until early Oct but I was really excited about the pattern I figured I get it done early. Plus, knitting on a deadline while moving is probably not a good idea. Where the heck did these time management skills come from!?

Pattern: Hoodie Scarf from D-Made.com
Yarn: Bernat Berella So Soft 100% acrylic in dark blue, less than 2 skeins
Needles: Size 8 Denise Interchangies
Mods: garter stitch edging on the scarf pieces
Woulda-Shoulda: Thankfully my mother doesn’t mind cheap acrylic yarns since that’s what she crochets with. So, no regrets there. Plus, a winter accessory should really washable. Stuff like that can get yucky pretty fast, and I know my mom would rather not be bothered with hand-washing. Secondly, for some reason my mind could just not accept this scarf’s construction so the garter stitch modification was my way of eliminating the wicked rolling on the edges. But I didn’t realize that the edge would be picked up and worked in 2x2 rib to help tame the edges. Read the pattern. Trust the pattern. The pattern is good. The pattern… is…. your friend…

And seriously, the pattern is good. I looked around quite a bit for a cool hooded scarf a few months ago and was disappointed. Then d-made came along and made everything all better. There's enough to this pattern to keep you entertained and easy enough to finish in a short period of time. Not exactly knit-stant gratification, but satisfying nontheless. Since this is my third FO from d-made I think that warrants an official link in the “Awesome Knitting Resources” section. So check out d-made’s quality, free patterns. NOW!

And since I’m on a roll with this gift-knitting I decided to start on my MIL’s birthday present which is in late-Sept. She’s getting socks made from some Knitpicks Simple Stripes. I'm following Knitty's Socks 101 tutorial for this, so it's nothing fancy. I’m about half-way through the first sock so it looks like I’ll be finished with this ahead of schedule as well. Nice!

What's a Knittah to Do?

I was going to frog my self-designed tank, but I'm really not in the friggin' mood. I'm so tired of ripping and re-knitting the same thing over and over. I needed a new, smaller project. My mom's birthday is coming up in early October and I finally found a hooded scarf pattern that would be perfect for her. It's the Hoodie Scarf from D-Made. My mom requested one of these because she hates hats (since she styles her hair, unlike myself), but the winter chill is just too much to go without any insulation sometimes. She requested this last winter, but I couldn't find a pattern and I wasn't particularly inspired (or confident) to create my own. I CO for this the other night and I'm moving along nicely although the scarf part is kind of boring. But once I get to the hood part things should liven up a bit. I'm starting pretty early, but that's ok. I hate having to knit things at the last minute and feel rushed. Plus, my mom is visiting in late Sept so I want to give it to her then. PLUS, come mid-Sept Mr.V and I will be moving so I won't have time to fool around with last minute gifts. Plus, - just kidding. I'm done rambling.

I'm making it with some navy blue Bernat SoSoft acrylic that I have in my stash. So far, it's turning out alright, except that it's bunching up a good bit because of the cable and the ribbing. I'm hoping a run through the washer and dryer will help relax the acrylic because, of course, blocking is out of the question. Other than that...

Oh yeah, question: I need some project ideas that would be good for a 4 1/2 year old boy. I could go the stuffie route, but I've kind of done that already. I thought maybe a cool scarf or hat. He likes trains. I mean really likes trains. I don't know if I want to knit him a sweater because that's just not any fun for him. Anyone have any ideas?