All Purpose

So I finished Ovaltine on Thursday night (I think I mentioned that).

Pattern: Ovaltine from Big Just Got Bigger (Rowan)
Yarn: Rowan Biggy Print (Thunder) and Rowan Big Wool (Smoky)
Needles: US 19 (body/arms), US 15 (all bands and cuffs), US 13 (collar)
Notes: This wasn’t a bad knit, it went pretty fast because of the yarn’s bulk. I had some mishaps (the felting, the tight collar) and it’s definitely not perfect, but for the 3rd ever sweater and my first using such bulky yarn I think it turned out pretty good.

My next finished item as the Amelia Earhart hat for my step mom. Warning, my pics of this kind of suck.

Pattern: Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap by Flor from Head Huggers
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted (Cuarzo)
Needles: US 7
Notes: Easy knit, would totally recommend it. I’m thinking of doing one for myself. I might go down another needle size though if I do. The finished product seemed a little loose to me, but my step mom says it’ll be great for her since her scalp gets sensitive during chemo.

So 2 down, 2 to go for my march to the finish.

No Comments | In: finished object, knitting | tags: cardigan, finished object, gift, hat. | #

Ok, sorry for the lapse (for the like 2 people who might read this). I’m all better now and back on track.

So I finished the hat, finally! It turned out pretty good. I could’ve made it a little longer still, but it turned out nice and it’s very cozy. I do have big hair right now so maybe if I cut my hair it wouldn’t creep up so much…anyway, I’m happy with it.

Chugging along with the blanket, square number 8 is underway:

Disaster strikes on the Sweater Workshop sweater. You know I read yarnharlot‘s blog and she often talks about not mocking the knitting gods. I laugh at these posts because they are well written and funny, but damn she has a point. So I was getting all smug last weekend about being way ahead of the game with the sweater. I had the back and 2 sides of the front done and I was well underway with the sleeves. Then it happened. I decided to block the pieces I’d finished and in a fit of complete laziness and utter stupidity I put the pieces in the washing machine. Hey, in my defense, I tried to felt some stuff in there before and it never worked since it’s a front-loading energy saver. AND I did run it on cold/gentle cycle. It was total carnage. I ruined my finished pieces. They are all felted and shrunk and ALL the weaving in came undone. A total nightmare. Pictures of the horror to come soon. *sigh*

So I reordered some more yarn (that really hurt), and started again with the back. I’m over the initial trauma I guess, though the cost of having to buy more of that pricey yarn is smarting a bit. I’ll post some pics later…

In stash news…

Yeah, I know I am supposed to not be buying things. But I rationalized that if I paid cash for something I’d be allowed. I know. But here’s what I’ve got…

More sock yarn:

More just everyday wool:

And the extra balls of Rowan Biggy Print, which I don’t really have a pic of. Really that’s not too bad. I need to exert more self control. I did get very tempted by some Mountain Colors Mountain Goat in some beautiful colorway, but I did not go back and get it. I was good.

And one last thing…in honor of having discovered Stash and Burn. I knit through 1744.5 yards of yarn in January, but only 1261 yards were truly from my stash. The rest was ordered for the project they went into.

No Comments | In: fever, finished object, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: finished object, hat, socks, stash, stash burning, sweater, work in progress, yardage, yarn. | #

Ok, I’m still sick but I’m feeling better enough that I hope to take some photos after work to illustrate my week in knitting.

I have finished another square for Ella’s blanket, and started my almost last square.

I did the bind off for my sweater and cast on the left side, and I’m almost done with that, then I’ll do the right side so I’ll be caught up on homework.

I finished the coaster madness.

That’s pretty much it.

No Comments | In: finished object, knitting, work in progress | tags: blanket, coaster, finished object, sweater, work in progress. | #

Ok, no pics right now (I’ll add them later I guess), but here’s what’s going on around these knitting parts.

I started my sweater workshop at HCW’s. There are 8 of us in the class and it seems like it will be pretty good. I realized in class that I am bad at knitting math because when the teacher was trying to explain to me about gauge and needles, etc I just did not get it. Later when I was mulling over my DPN purchase at the front I did finally get it, but now I’ve forgotten again. So does that make me old? Senile? Absent-minded librarian?

Anyway, the workshop is going to be good even though it’s straining my wallet a little right now. I think it will be worth it in the end. I have managed to do all my “homework” already. I knit the entire back of my sweater (not as impressive as it sounds since the needles are BIG and the yarn is super bulky) and did my swatch for buttonhole practice.

Let’s see I also got mad fever to knit a hat (probably because it was so freakin cold last week) and when I saw Malabrigo + hats on Ravlery, well that sealed the deal. So I totally cast on and completed a hat over the weekend only to discover that yes swatching is important. I almost always have to knit 1 needle size down for gauge so why I thought this would not be the case for a hat, I don’t know. I frogged and restarted last night, should be able to finish tonight I hope since it’s getting cold again.

We got new furniture (yippee!) and I have this Noro Kureyon that I have been trying to find a use for, so I made 2 coasters last night. It’s really true that energy efficient front loading washers are not made for felting, but oh well they still turned out pretty well. So my reasoning on this was that the Noro is nice and multi-colored so it’ll go with everything and wool is a wicking fiber. Plus I really hate those particle board coasters because when drinking cold drinks (ie, beer) they stick to your glass. So I think wool coasters are the way to go for the entire house.

I so have sock fever. I am not sure if I’m just attracted to the yarn (there is some gorgeous sock yarn out there) or what, but I really want to give these a try. I accidentally bought 2 skeins of Mountain Colors (made near where I used to live in Montana!) last week and had them balled (so of course I can’t return them now) so I need to make some socks with them I think. I cannot for the life of me find a pattern that freakin makes sense though. I see HCW’s has a sock class in March, I might take it if my wallet has recovered from the sweater workshop, but I don’t know if I can wait that long to learn about socks.

2 Comments | In: fever, finished object, knitting, ravelry, stash, work in progress | tags: coasters, finished object, hat, ravelry, socks, stash, sweater, wool, work in progress. | #

I finished my little glovettes. They came out a little big even though I did the small size, but then again I can barely grasp gauge in knitting, much less crochet.

I finished another blanket square and started a sixth one…

I bought my yarn for the upcoming sweater workshop:

In other news my neck is hurting a lot, not sure if it’s all the knitting, the data entry at work or what but it’s putting a bit of a damper on my knitting fever.

I <3 Ravelry. I’ve found so many cool patterns, forums, blogs, yarn on there that it’s not even funny. Please never leave me Ravelry.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object, knitting, ravelry, work in progress | tags: crochet, fingerless gloves, finished object, knit, ravlery, work in progress, yarn. | #

Ok, so I got one of my Harmony Guides yesterday and while I didn’t find the exact stitch I was looking for I did figure it out with the help of looking at the diagrams and then trying to diagram/chart out my pattern. After reading it, crocheting the first row and paying attention to what my stitches looked like the directions for the second row finally clicked. It’s moving along swimmingly now:

I finished my wonderful Malabrigo purple scarf last week. It’s so freakin soft and snuggly I want to keep it wrapped around my face at all times. It would look a little weird though.

I’m also progressing nicely on my blanket for Ella, here’s the proof:

I also un-hibernated my Noro throw project just because I need variety in my knitting/crocheting so I don’t get bored or frustrated with any one project.

So a pretty good week of knitting, though not nearly as productive as I would like. I start my Sweater Workshop in like 10 days and I need to get a little further with the blanket and maybe finish the gloves by then.

In other news, I attended the HCW “blow-out” sale and was able to save almost $50 on the yarn for my sweater project. My yarn was not specially discounted but it was 20% off which is nice.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object, knitting, work in progress | tags: blanket, crochet, finished object, gloves, knit, malabrigo, scarf, throw, work in progress. | #

Hmm, so I’m working on this new project (fingerless gloves) in crochet and I seriously don’t think I’m doing it right. Check it out:

It’s done in blossom stitch and it just doesn’t look right. I think I don’t really understand what I’m doing and none of my crochet books has blossom stitch so I’m kind of at a loss. I guess I’ll work on it a bit more then try to get to HCW’s or a book store to find a good crochet resource to help.

In other news, I’m almost done with scarf 7, yes I got scarves 1-6 done on time and 7 is my LAST ONE. Yay!

I’m making good progress on my scarf and I’ll be starting my sweater workshop pretty soon, I’m very excited about that.

No Comments | In: crochet, knitting, work in progress | tags: crochet, finished object, gloves, knit, scarf, work in progress. | #

So I’m so getting my ravelry invite either today or tomorrow (less than 600 people ahead of me), I’m psyched! I have been pulling together all my magazines and books, marking all my wishlist projects, gathering all my stash in anticipation.

I’ve finished scarf four and five and I’m almost done with six. Yes, I’m rocking the xmas crochet. I’ll try to do pics of scarf 6 and 7 soon, scarf five is already gone but is like the green scarf I did (#1 I think).

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object, ravelry | tags: crochet, finished object, patagonia, ravelry, scarf, xmas. | #

Here’s number three:

I am a wee bit behind on the xmas crochet. I need to finish scarf 4 today and I haven’t started it yet. Good times. I have a vision of myself at like 10 pm tonight (it may not seem late to you, but for me it’s the time to be getting into bed) furiously crocheting while baking bread and trying to create and burn a gift DVD of my wedding for my dad and stepmom. We’re going to their house tomorrow for a little xmas celebration since we won’t be with them on xmas this year, but in the holy land of malls: Dallas.

I did also get some nice things for myself in the mail yesterday. Check it:

Some lovely Malabrigo yarn in Velvet Grapes and the Fern Wrap Sweater pattern from Glampyre Knits. Do you think the sweater will work with the Malabrigo? Ravelry, I need you please hurry!

Not the best pic, but it’s Tilli Tomas Pure and Simple in Moroccan Blue. Oh how I wish I had bought enough to make the Fern Wrap in this, but alas I could not afford it. Maybe next time.

I also popped by my LYS yesterday to get some more Patagonia (scarf #4) and I signed up for a Sweater Workshop that starts in January. Yippee! I’m hoping to really take my knitting to the next level and actually learn how to finish properly.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object | tags: crochet, finished object, malabrigo, patagonia, queue, scarf, stash, tilli tomas, yarn. | #

So here are the two scarves, the blue is done in colorway 212, and the green is 207.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object | tags: crochet, finished object, patagonia nature cotton, scarf. | #