Girlyness!

I have been one busy lady! I have two FOs to show off today (one won't be quite as exciting since you've already seen most of it), but regardless, I'm still excited. What took me so long you ask? Getting to the store to buy that darn ribbon! I finally mozied on over to pick it up at 1 am Wednesday morning after I finished my late shift at work. By 2 am I had ribbon in hand and was ready to finish these little items off! Brace yourself, here is the first:

The pattern itself is from the book "Special Knits" by Debbie Bliss. Overall, I'd say this little top was way more tedious than it needed to be, but mostly due to user error (knitting in the wee hours) rather than pattern error. I will say though, thank goodness for Ravelry! There is no picture in the book of that cute little keyhole button closure in the back, and trying to make sense out of that part of the pattern without seeing it first would have been madness.

(My photoshop refused to make that bigger, but all of those photos are uploaded onto Flickr here!)

Quirky

Uff da. I just finished up a crazy week of projects, studying, meetings, work, and exams--and let me tell you, this girl is exhausted! I've been pretty much useless this week in the realm of knitting, and all I had to show for myself is about 4.5 inches of stockinette stitch on a baby garment for Leah's little one. It's not too exciting yet (stockinette rings never are), but here's what it looks like as of 11:45 this morning...
How riveting. Luckily, stockinette goes quickly and now that I have some free time, this little monster shouldn't take much longer. I'm using KnitPicks shine sport in the color Coral which I got on clearance for $1.99/skein [!]. It is so soft I can't even handle it--perfect for sensitive baby skin. Eventually, it'll be turning into this adorable baby top (I apologize for the increased amount of "cute" content lately, it'll stop soon). here it is:In other news, I was recently tagged by Susan and Rachel to talk about 7 things that make me "unique" (my first thought was "heh, just seven?!"). Due to lack of good knitting content, I figured this would be as good a time as any to do so. Here it goes:

1. I prefer to walk/always be on the right side of people
2. I always check my back seat before getting into my car--thanks a lot Urban Legends.
3. I've never eaten a McDonald's hamburger before. I've heard I'm not missing much...
4. I collect sugar packets wherever I go.
5. I managed to make it into the .5% of women who are colorblind. Hooray for heredity.
6. My right thumb is about 1/2 shorter than my left. (Causes to consider: problem with growth plate in wrist, shop class, UFO abduction...[lol?])
7. And lastly, I learned how to land an airplane after becoming paranoid reading Gary Paulsen's "The Hatchet".

So there you have it. I am what some people might consider "quirky", which I actually rather enjoy. I could have gone on, but seven was the lucky number. I'm not keen on tagging people for these sorts of things, so if you haven't been tagged yet and are interested in doing this, consider yourself TAGGED! Also, thank you to Sarah for awarding me the "You make my Day" award, it (for lack of better words) made my day!!

Blackout

Everyone knows what a blackout is, yes? Some people have medically related blackouts, some have anger blackouts, and then there's me: I have knitting blackouts. What do I mean by this? I mean I sat down to talk with a [close] friend last night and about three hours later I had 3/4 of a children's hat completed.

I don't [consciously] remember choosing to make this hat, finding the yarn, downloading the pattern, checking gauge (okay, realistically I know I didn't check gauge on this one), or any of the other preparation type activities that go into starting a new project. I'm starting to think that this might be the cause of my accumulated WIP collection though....sigh. I give you: Thorpe
Mr. pumpkin is hiding underneath this time...maybe he's camera shy tonight, who knows. Anyway, this hat was made for my fantastic manager's [sited here] daughter, Allie. She will be turning 2 in April, and cozy hats are never too plentiful this time of year in Wisconsin! Here are the stats:

Pattern: Thorpe
Designer: Kirsten Kapur
Needles: US 10 Addi turbo circulars
Yarn: Plymouth yarn Indiecita Baby Alpaca Grande
Start date: sometime (?) early a.m. 2/18 End Date: Afternoon 2/18

So exactly what happened during those hours between midnight and 3am, nobody will ever know. What is known is that a cute and simple toddler hat was born in the process. Modifications? Well, my gauge was obviously smaller so that's how I go the hat to be kiddy sized. Since the pattern size was making the hat longer and I didn't know Allie's actual head size, I opted to leave off the earflap part, despite how cute it would have been. Also, I used magic loop from the top down which was challenging at first, but better than futzing with DPNs in my opinion (also I didn't have any, and in my "haze" I decided I didn't care). The alpaca knit up so smooth and dense, and the double thickness of the colors will really help keep Allie warm!

Also, here is a shot of my pet chicklet helping me show off the other label Lindsey graciously gifted. This one is a little more feminine than the one I sewed into Koolhas, and I love them both equally.

And yes. I know that's not a real chicken, but I don't have cute cats to drape my knitting over...wind up toys will have to do.

Awwww....

I have been busily working on finishing up some baby items for my friend Leah, who (as evidence by the photo below) is one of the cutest pregnant ladies ever. Leah would be classified under the "one of my favorite people of all time" category. I met her in high school and she, being several years older, acted sort of as my adopted big sister during those years. She married a wonderful man (also pictured below) my sophomore year of hs and now is expecting a little baby girl within the next few weeks.

Can you even handle how cute she is? I can't. Speaking of cute...

Enter the most adorable baby hat ever. (I should make it known ahead of time that ruffles excite me almost as much as poms do)

This hat, graciously modeled by Mr. Pumpkin, makes me so unbelievably happy. My mom had made one [Ravelry] several years back and I um..."borrowed" the pattern from her so I could make one while I was at school.

Why the holes in it you ask? Well, in a few days this hat is going to get even cuter (as if that's even possible) than it already is. Yes, ribbons get tied through those little holes and are looped around the whole hat. The original pattern called for twice as many ribbons as will be on mine since I think there is a very fine line between "adorable ribbons" and "nauseating ribbons". I'm opting for adorable. More photos and pattern info coming once it's actually finished, I just couldn't resist showing it early. Oh, and I almost forgot....

One of the coolest features of the Artist's Koolhas hat was that it was the first time I'd been able to use my new labels (!) given to me by the artist's sister--we'll call her "Lindsey". This was such a thoughtful gift from her and I absolutely love them! Thank you so much Lindsey!

For the Artist

Oh who are we kidding, I can't keep anything from you guys! No more secrets! I cheated on my promise and there's no getting around it--100% guilty as charged. Heck, I was even apprehended by one of the local police officers who, after reading of my promise, caught me knitting this forbidden item on one of my shifts! That's when you know you've crossed the line. I know I said I wouldn't slip, but that being the case, at least my fall from grace was not done in vain...

My outcome was a surprise Valentine's Day gift for my [patient] boyfriend. Here are the stats:

Pattern: Koolhas
Source: Interweave Knits, Holiday 2007
Designer: Jared Flood
Needles: US size 2 & size 7 Addi Turbos
Yarn: Berella Muskoka --100% Superwash Merino
Start Date: 2/10 End Date: 2:12

I loved making this! Something snuggly (err...manly) to keep his head warm was overdue, and this pattern was the perfect remedy. This hat went very quickly and was so fun to knit! It's a very easy pattern to memorize, and without a cable needle, all of those little twists were fun rather than tedious. I highly recommend this pattern.

Sneak Peak

It's confession time, for I fear I have let you down.

My lack of willpower can be seen here on Ravelry (apologies for those who can't access yet!). More [and much better looking] photos to come later this week-- stay tuned!

How on Earth?

So here's something knitters don't exactly love to do-- showing everyone our mistakes. I was knitting along on Tree Jacket when I realized I'd made a mistake...or two...or three. I was definitely in denial about the back of this sweater. Keeping in mind that this was primarily football knitting, so it's possible that some of the mistakes came when an interception was thrown or an opposing team threw a touchdown. Yeah. That's where the mistakes came from...

So first, here is the front of the sweater (aka what it's supposed to look like):See how the rows all go straight back and the stitches between the lace portions all match? The front, minus the wrinkles from being stored in a Ziploc, is looking good.

Now, to show you the [misbehaving] side in question:Most of the problem has been contained in that middle column. I have no idea how, but I've slowly been losing stitches (which means I've added them somewhere else since my stitch count is still dead-on).

It has gotten to the point where I can no longer deny that this is a problem. What's even worse is that I've started to strongly dislike working on this sweater because of the mistakes--I know I wouldn't wear it often either. As a result, I've decided to frog back to the start of the lace pattern. Do I have the support of the masses on this one? Am I making the correct choice to remove my Treebeardy from the needles to make it right again?

Regardless of my decision, I'm staying positive on this one. The lace pattern on this one knits up so quickly it won't really be a setback. I do hate ripping out afternoons of work though-- It's a good thing it's in my favorite color...

There's Always Money in the Banana Stand

Any knitting Arrested Development fans out there? Check it OUT! That's right, we've made some serious ground as far as getting our presence known! The Arrested Development Documentary project is sweeping the nation to interview die-hard AD fans for their film! I'm a huge advocate of this project (who wouldn't be?) and wanted to spread the word. Especially because it has now been made known that we collectively (as knitters) love the show! Here is a link to their trailer for the project!

And I know it's posted right on the side of my blog, but again I proudly state:

I promise it's not cheating...

Okay. So I know Foliage wasn't exactly on my list of things to finish. Okay fine, it wasn't on there at all. But here's the thing: rather than jumping right into my second Bird-in-hand mitten, I opted to work on something a little lighter, a little more slouchy. *Enter Le Slouch*. Le slouch and I had been having this sort of love/hate relationship all along. Meaning I loved the way it was looking in my hands but absolutely hating the way it looked on my head. For whatever reason, it just wasn't a good fit. So I put the beret on "time out" (which is quite typical for my knits when they get into trouble) until I was in a better state to deal with it.

























That state never came, and I knew I had to take account of my situation. On the one hand, I have 200 yards of gorgeous Malabrigo worsted, and on the other hand, I have a hat I'll never wear. *Enter Foliage*. This hat pattern was well written, cute, fast, easy, and everything else a good hat should be. I barely even remember making it next to casting on last night and finishing early this afternoon. Here are some stats:

Pattern: Foliage from Knitty Fall 2007
Yarn: 1 skein Malabrigo Worsted - Polar Morn
Needles: I decided to do it all on magic loop size 7's for body and 2's for the brim
Cast on: 2/1 Cast off: 2/2

So there you have it. One project done, 6 more to go!

Absence Makes the Gauge Grow Smaller

Has this ever happened to anyone else? I leave my mittens alone for 2 weeks and what do they do? They changed gauge on me! (as if this is their fault...). Sometimes I forget that I'm controlling my knitting and not the other way around. It's almost as if I look down and smile sweetly (like one would do to a small child) and think "Ohhh, is that what we're doing now?". Sigh. Essentially my change in gauge means that my mittens actually started to fit rather than being fit for, say, a linebacker. Well, at least a linebacker with huge hands.This not only was my first experience with stranded knitting but also my first run-in with the Kitchener stitch. Now, after hearing horror stories about this part of the finishing process, I was a little tentative to sit down and do it. Who wants to ruin their weekend with that? However, being the "go-get-em" college student that I am, I decided to tackle this move in one play (yes, I am looking forward to the Superbowl).
Despite a minor error on my part (which was conveniently blurred in this photo), the grafting was completely seamless (ba da-bum *ching* hehe). But in all seriousness, it really was quite simple! Primarily because I was following Sandi Wiseheart (of Knitting Daily)'s guide to Grafting on the Needles. Now, I don't know if her tricks are any easier than a normal one (since this is my first time) but this description was definitely easy to remember & execute! So there you have it. Updated photos + me well on my way to staying true to my promise! I consider that success.

Dear Wisconsin, please make up your mind.

I say this with the deepest sincerity and warmest affections. Well, as warm as they can be on a day like today! Why my impatience? Yesterday the weather was sunny with a high of 45 degrees (balmy weather for January in Wisconsin) and today I had classes canceled due to winter weather advisories and a -30 degree wind chill! How is a girl supposed to knit under these conditions?I have decided to give myself a new strategy for tackling some of my WIPs. It has come in the form of organization that I took the liberty of doing over winter break. Let me introduce you to yarn central!Now, I should probably take this time to point out that Yarn Central is conveniently located next to Shoe Central--an area of slightly lesser passion in my life, but definitely still pleasure-inducing.

Now to explain the awesomeness of my new layout. The set of two drawers each have their own category of contents, both of them yarn-related. The bottom drawer contains the yarn of projects to come. Yarn that can continue dreaming to seize their own destiny. Well, until I seize it for them anyway.
The top drawer contains all of my works in progress. All of them! It is so much easier to take account of what i have to work on when it's all physically in one place to look at. So here is my vow: I solemnly swear that I will finish every single object in the drawer before starting something new. With the exception of ONE baby sweater that I have to knit for a close friend who's due in March. This is my promise to myself, to ultimately gain control over my projects.

Projects in Question include:

1. Wide Collared Vest
2. Tree Jacket
3. Back to School U-Neck Vest
4. Bird in hand Mittens
5. Forest Canopy Shawl
6. Embossed Leaves Socks
7. Le Slouch

Do you see why this has become a problem? I'll certainly have enough there to keep myself busy for the semester.

It also [unfortunately] means that I have to overlook all of the beautiful yarn I showed off yesterday until this mission is completed. Who thinks I can do this?

All my bags are packed

That's right, I have just completed the grueling (maybe not that bad) and tedious 4 hour drive back to school. Admittedly, it was a tight fit getting all of my belongings (read: all of my yarn) to fit into the back of my compact sedan. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of having my yarn basket loose in the backseat, so quick fix there:

(Well if you'd buckle up a cute child, why wouldn't you buckle up a cute basket of yarn?)

No trip back home is complete without a visit to Iris Fine Yarns. It was my one last hurrah before starting the semester, so obviously that meant stocking up on goodies to keep me busy over the next few months (who cares if that's what homework is usually for!)
The major purchase was 10 (count them, TEN) skeins of Elizabeth Lavold Silky Tweed. I had kept reading about how amazing this stuff was and I honestly couldn't figure out what the big deal was. Yeah. That was until I felt it. Talk about smooth and amazing, this stuff is incredible! So, why 10 skeins you ask? Because it's being made into this . That is the sweater "Patti" by Sarah Hatton. Granted, it is slightly more trendy than most of the stuff I wear, but I think it's cute enough that it won't matter.

Moving on, we have 3 skeins (I know only two are photographed, one was prematurely wound) of Blue Sky dyed cotton. I'm thinking of making them into this which is the Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher. Who doesn't love an extra lacy shrug for spring?

Lastly, we have one [adorable] skein of Malabrigo Lace in Tuareg --This will definitely be made into a lace shawl of some sort, but I have yet to decide which one.

To close, As I was unpacking, I noticed that my collection of knitting books has expanded to the point of being considered an actual library. Admittedly, I have discovered that I love buying new knitting books almost as much as I enjoy knitting the projects inside of them. Hilarious. Click on the photo to see a more detailed list of titles, Twinkle & Jo Sharp are apparently too big to stand upright with the rest of the group...troublemakers.

Oh, my mom is on Ravelry now, check her out!

I Seriously forgot?

How on earth could I forget to blog one of the most pivotal moments in a knitter's life? How could I? I mean, if making the analogy between knitting life and real life, what I forgot to blog was comparable to graduating from college, getting married, or maybe even having my first child! What was it I did you ask?

I turned my first heel!

Was it unbelievably difficult? Not exactly. Was it slightly more nerve wracking than knitting a hat or scarf? Yes. Luckily for me, I had my mom there to show me what that heck I was doing during the entire process (Thank you mom!). There were moments when I was spotted saying things like "I have to pick up stitches from where??" and "What do they mean cut yarn?!". Apparently I chose a sock pattern that wasn't exactly ideal for the first timer sock knitter, but with some creative reworking on my mom's part, I ended up not having to "cut yarn" and I did manage to successfully complete my first heel! HUZZAH!

Oh, and here is an updated shot of my mitten. Much love.

An Intentional Accident

Okay. I'll come right out and say it: I like the way dark purple looks with yellow.
Call me crazy (you're crazy!) but I just think that those two colors make an attractive pair. Why is this a problem? I'll tell you: last night I was reminded by my brother's fiance [Keri] that, as nice as purple and yellow are together, that they belong to a certain Minnesota football team that will go un-named. Okay, maybe they won't go un-named-- it's the Vikings. Am I a Vikings fan? No way. Do I love the Packers? Absolutely I do.
Now, that all being said, when I chose the colors for these mittens I was absolutely intentional about choosing my colors (as before mentioned, I think yellow+eggplant = fantastic)--my accident was not realizing I was inadvertently supporting the Vikings by doing this. None of this would really matter, but with my college being so close to Minnesota, I feel like I'm going to have to make a disclaimer every time I wear my new mittens! Uff da.

Now that THAT'S covered, I can talk about the mittens themselves and how much I love working on them! This is my first colorwork project and I must say it is not only addicting but is very enjoyable to work on! Here are the Stats:

Pattern: Bird-in-Hand mittens by Kate Gilbert
Made for: My Green Bay Packer loving hands
Yarn: 1 skein Cascade 220 Goldenrod & 1 skein Cascade 220 Royal Purple
Needles: US 2 Addi Turbo circs
Date Started: 1/18

I've always prefered chart reading so that's not really the obstacle here. The color work is going faster as I practice more, and I'm finding that I want to work on them more just to see the pattern developing. I suppose this is probably a common condition among knitters who stranded color projects. I will be posting updated progress of my identity confused mittens as they progress--in the mean time, GO PACK GO!

It's been a while....

Yes. It's been a while since I did plain stockinette knitting. No cables, no seed stitch, no yarn overs, lace or anything fun-- just plain stockinette.
Yesterday I received the pattern book Jo Sharp 3 from my fantastic manager, Kristy (a slightly belated holiday present). I love the book, it is 39 patterns of gorgeous knitting. Immediately I chose one that I wanted to start and I decided to make the Wide Collared Vest. I think the pattern is classic and beautiful, however is pretty much an endless sea of stockinette. I equally love and hate working on it because It goes quickly but is boooor-ing!

Ideally, I'd like to cast off before I finish work next week Friday so I can wear it before going back to school. I suppose stockinette does have its place, it'll be good to have a mindless project to work on during the Packer/Seahawk game today -- my vest is ready for some football!

Oh I just LOVE surprises!

Here's a surprise FO for your viewing pleasure!

So, operation Holiday '07 was secretly knitting my roommate this vest! This mission was deemed successful tonight when she finally received her [belated] holiday present! The verdict is...IT FITS! Note to self: it is very challenging to knit something in secret with somebody you live with! I can't believe I pulled it off without spilling!

It might look familiar to Fitted Knits fans, it is the Back to School U-Neck vest by Stephanie Japel. The exact same vest that I started (and never finished) in purple- see, here! That is all in the past now because I can have the satisfaction of looking at my version for Jamie instead. Much better. The only modification was making the ribbed portion a little bit longer, nothing crazy. The yarn, Cascade 220 in a happy yellow color, I can't remember the name/dye lot off the top of my head. That mustard-like yellow is Jamie's favorite color. My favorite color is aqua blue which is why my title photo above makes me so happy.

A project of Firsts

I'm not usually one to shy away from new knitting techniques or items in general, and this project is proof of me embracing this statement. I was, admittedly, avoiding double pointed needles until this project. I love (love) magic loop knitting for projects in the round, and honestly have never needed double pointed for anything until now. Until now. I've decided to try my hand at socks! My reason for avoiding sock knitting for so long was different than my reason for avoiding double pointed needles. I knew that once I started knitting socks I would love them and never want to stop. This, for someone who is a compulsive project starter, isn't necessarily the best thing. Regardless, I decided to tackle these new skills to see what I come up with. Here are the stats:

Yarn: 2 skeins of Claudia's handpainted sock yarn in Sea Dreams
Pattern: Embossed Leaves socks from Interweave's Favorite Socks
Needles: set of 5 US 3 double pointed needles
Size: Rachel-foot size

I have 2 of the lace repeats done so far and I'm loving it. One more to go until I turn my first heel--Yikes!

Ooooh! and no ladders so far! (knock on wood)

Here I am!

Hellloooo!
Apologies for my absence, I don't really have many excused besides finals & holiday knitting deadlines. Okay, I guess those are pretty good excuses...

I have some fun little new things knit up that I will share with you!

First of all, I have been a little ridiculous when it comes to this "Mercy" pattern. I have made 4 for various people this year and will probably continue to make more as I acquire the yarn.


Also, I made a Christmas knit for one of my favorite people of all time. The striped cable hat was chosen (yarn, colors, pattern, pom) by Nick for Nick. This is a very nick hat. He goes to Madison and will fit in quite well now--GO BADGERS!!


More FO's and information to come very soon--just thought you might want something to hold you over in the mean time!

Oh, I almost forgot.... Merry Christmas! (and happy New Year!)

C is for Cookie, That's Good Enough for Me!

I haven't had much time to knit, but here's what I've got to show for myself:














That is the start of my Slouchy Cabled Beret. I found this pattern by mindlessly browsing Ravelry (seeming to happen more often lately than normal) and decided to use it as relaxation knitting working up to finals week. The yarn is Malabrigo worsted in Polar Morn. so far I'm very pleased with the way it's coming out, it's unbelievably soft! The photo doesn't do the colors justice, it's really a more purply grey than it looks. Actually, I'm making this hat to go with this new addition to my wardrobe.

Much love for this coat. It should be arriving tomorrow via DHL and I'm definitely looking forward to it. It is, admittedly, retail therapy to cope with the loss of the puppy I've had since I was 9. She was too cute for words, and she will be missed and never replaced.


I love my Mabel. How can you say no to that face?













Lastly, earlier tonight (to prevent me from having a homework meltdown), my fantastic roommate Jamie decided we should make holiday sugar cookies! They were a success, and the definitely took my mind off of schoolwork for an hour. Mission Accomplished. Here are some photos of what we created.
Some of my personal favorites include the field of grazing sheep, the angelfish, the menorah, the hat, mittens, ball of yarn, and of course, the sad-looking dreidel that really meant well.
What a fun night!