Knit One, Martini Two

the baby blanket that wouldn't end

2006-02-15T16:19:00.000-05:00

I finished a baby blanket for my husband's cousin this past weekend. It was just the Big, Bad Baby Blanket from SnB, but it took forever. It was the second one I made in two months, so it was really just boredom and other fun projects that got in its way. I have no picture because the camera batteries ran out and I mailed it before I had a chance to buy new ones.

A great Valentine's Day gift - my two balls of alpaca boucle arrived yesterday. I needed them to finish a shrug I started in December. So the yarn is here. Where are the notes I made about how many I cast on, when I did my increases and decreases? Beats me. So now I'm in a quandry about what to do. Do I rip it out? Do I just guess? Do I pray that I'll stumble upon my notes? The answer remains to be seen.

a socky kind of night

2006-01-19T19:20:00.000-05:00

Thuja is done! Two nights, people! I love this sock pattern. It was super easy and I love the results. Worsted yarn + 6 US = awesomely fast socks. These are for my husband, but as I happen to have mammoth sized feet, I could very easily make a pair for myself, but casting on only 40 sts. These are done in Wool-Ease. Yay for machine washable!

I made Thuja instead of making a second Pomatomus sock. I'm just impressed that I got the first one done. Here it is in all it's hot pink glory. I'll definitely be making the second one, but will probably work on a few mindless projects before jumping back in.

success!

2006-01-12T11:32:00.000-05:00

Pomatomus is back on a roll! I had the patience the other night to take out four rounds and figure out where I went wrong. I now only have one more chart repetition and the toe. Oh yeah, and a whole second sock. At this point, it may be easier just to cut off one foot.

Also completed this past weekend was a One-Skein Wonder. I love it and I'm hoping I'll actually get some use out of it. I think I may have to make another with long sleeves because my house is chilly lately.

I'm also making progress on the baby blanket. It's my official knitting group project until it's completed. Chat, knit, chat knit. Work wells with stockinette.

resolutions

2006-01-03T11:06:00.000-05:00

I don't make resolutions because I never keep them. And I think that anything important enough to make a resolution about should be followed through. But if I had to make a knitting resolution, it would be to finish one project before moving on to the next. Right now I have the following projects on the needles.

Pomatomus socks - I like socks better now since I have the hang of how they're constructed, but the lace is going to be the death of me. I ran into a snag on the chart and I haven't had the patience yet to correct. But isn't the part that's done lovely?

A shrug of my own design - my mother got me two balls of boucle for Christmas. I decided to make a shrug for which I needed 6 balls. She got me two more, the other two are on back order.
A baby blanket for my husband's cousin - no excuse, it's just not as much fun to work on as some of the other things.
A scarf for a friend - I randomly started this last night just because.
Simply Marilyn - I knit this, frogged the whole thing and am now reknitting with a tighter gauge and different neckline. I'm about half way up in the body.

And I bought yarn last night to make Fuzzy Feet for my great aunt, the one-skein wonder for myself and socks for my husband. And I wonder why I have no more cords in my Denise set.

Pasha

2005-12-27T11:21:00.000-05:00

I made Pasha for my brother who likes Penguins. I think it's adorable and my family was flabbergasted that I actually made it. Clearly, I'm on a stuffed animal kick. Also featured are the tags I designed to attach to gifts so I can name them and also include the care instructions on the back. My mother came up with the name Woolly Boolly last year while fantasizing about what we would name our yarn store if that dream were to ever come true.

It's Kate! - the kitten in britches

2005-12-16T14:12:00.000-05:00

I just love this pattern and she turned out so adorable. She's made of Classic Elite Bazic, which was 50% off at my LYS. I also used size 7 dpns since I didn't have 8s. She was a super fast knit as well. I also taught myself French knots for the eyes. She's featured here with my furbaby, Aphrodite. Pete wouldn't sit still long enough for a picture.

snow! new knitty! life is good

2005-12-06T08:22:00.000-05:00

The new Knitty came out yesterday and the ground and all the trees are covered in snow. It's little things like this that make me pause and be grateful that there really is beauty in the world. The new Knitty is just fantastic. Really, what an issue. Rarely have I ever clicked on every pattern, every time saying, "I have to make that." I am so in love with Kate, the kitten in britches. And I already made Knecklace in some TLC Cotton Ease, just because I had it around. And last night I cast on and did the ribbing for Pomatomus. I'm a bit nervous about them, but up for the challenge. I want to make Thuja for my husband. Mrs. Beeton! Aren't they the best! I could go on and on. What a truly, truly fantastic issue.

socks!

2005-12-04T13:35:00.000-05:00

I made my first socks for my aunt who last year at Thanksgiving asked me if I could make socks. I knew I could make them, but had never actually attempted it. So for her birthday in July, I made her socks. Well, one sock because I then fell victim to second sock syndrome. But I finally got my act together and completed the second by Thanksgiving. So these have been a year in the making. These are the Petticoat Socks from Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick. They're very pretty, but kind of a pita to make.

design and a coffee maker

2005-12-03T10:11:00.000-05:00

My mother used to make mini-Christmas stocking ornaments. She had since lost the pattern and we got to talking about it. So I decided to try and recreate it. Hence, my first design! I used principles from other sock patterns and came up with something I think pretty closely resembles what used to hang on our tree. So now I'm going to try and make one for everyone in the fam as an extra gifty since they're such a quick knit.

In free stuff related news, we're getting a free Senseo coffee machine (less the $15 cost of shipping). I sent a picture of the old carafe to the Drop Your Drip promotion and it was accepted. Woo hoo! Here's the pic we sent in. Oh so reminiscent of college.

baby in a turkey hat

2005-11-28T12:37:00.000-05:00

Here's my nephew wearing the turkey hat. It's hard to check out the hat when the wearer is so freakin' cute!

comments

2005-11-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

So, I'm new to the whole blog thing and realized that people have been leaving comments on posts. Some contain questions that I never answered because it didn't occur to me to check the comments.

So to answer the q about Simply Marilyn:
I knit the version featured here on size 11 needles. One day, in a fit of frustration because it really didn't look right, I frogged the whole thing. The yarn was just too expensive to keep it as a sweater I'll rarely wear. So I'm revamping the whole thing now. I'm doing a combination Simply Marilyn and Big Sack Sweater from SnB. I'm now using size 10.5 needles, which I like much better. I'm also knitting up to the armholes in the rounds. Still using the horseshoe cable, but I'm changing the neckline. To what? I don't know. We'll see when we get there.

In the meantime, I'll try to pay attention to comments more.

Turkey Viking Hat

2005-11-02T10:33:00.000-05:00

I was so inspired by the chicken viking hat that I saw on the knitty.com board that I had to make a roast turkey viking hat for my nephew for Thanksgiving. So freakin' cute! Hopefully after Thanksgiving I'll be able to get a picture of him wearing it.

Holy finished objects, Batman!

2005-10-21T09:42:00.000-04:00

Despite a lack of blogging, there's been a whole lot of knittin' goin' on.

Most recently - Pumpkins from knitty.com. I made the body with some left over Araucania Nature Wool. Although I tied it up before felting, the strings popped off in the washer. So I had to retie them before the drying process. I made the top and tendril (not felted) out of some left over Debbie Bliss tweed that had lovely flecks of orange. Here's a close up shot and then a shot of it on my mantel.

Next is Blackberry, also from knitty.com. I knit it with the full intention of wearing it in reverse stockinette. But when it came time to seam, I liked it better the traditional way. I also didn't do any of the arm flourishes. I'm having problems with an every expanding neckline and may sew a ribbon around it so it keeps its shape. It's knit with two strands of Peruvian Highland Wool.

Next is a Harry Potter - Prizoner of Azkaban scarf, which I fully intend on wearing the premiere. I couldn't be bothered with knitting in the round, so it curls in on itself like regular stockinette. But I love it all the same. I knit it in Patons traditional wool. And I didn't have enough maroon left for the tassels, so they're maroon and gold.

tea time

2005-09-09T11:28:00.000-04:00

It's time for tea! And thank god! My hands were aching after knitting the kitchen cotton on those tiny needles. I couldn't bring myself to make the sugar bowl and creamer. But I think the two cups and teapot came out very lovely. I hope the recipient (a 3-year old girl) will enjoy it. Dan suggested I knit tiny tea biscuits to go with it. I told him he was crazy.

Woo hoo for the new Knitty! Everything is SO gorgeous. I've already started, and am halfway through, Blackberry. Although I'm making it in orange, so I keep calling it Orangeberry. I'm using two strands of Peruvian Highland Wool held together. I had ordered it originally to make the Hourglass Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. After contemplation, I wanted something more unusual looking. I'm still not sure if I'm going to do the cable and bobbles on the sleeves though. Here's the back, right front and a bit of the left front. Since the fall knitty just debuted two nights ago, obviously an extremely fast knit.

I think I'm also going to make Arisaig for a very good friend of mine. I think I'd like to make it for her for Christmas, but it may have to wait until her birthday in April.

when you can't decide...

2005-08-19T13:26:00.000-04:00

Just knit a bunch of things at once. I couldn't decide what I wanted to work on next. So I started and finished a headband, started the Lacecap and started another baby bathrobe, this time in yellow. I think I'll be finishing the bathrobe before the cap. Then the cap. Then maybe I'll finally get around to the other sock. Or maybe I'll do the sock first since I'll probably see my aunt in a couple weeks.

In writing related news, I have 42 pages of my book completed. It feels good. But I also feel like I've hit the point where I need to do more strategic brainstorming instead of just writing and seeing where it takes me. I've also been annoyed with the lack of Starbucks around my house. I've been going to one about 9 miles away. It was in a B&N which was good because I could a) get caffeine b) look at some of the books on the table and say, "hey, if this can get published, so can I c) it was fairly quiet with just enough background noise to keep my brain from falling asleep. But honestly, 9 miles is a bit far. All the Starbucks are 9 miles away. What I do have close is an Atlanta Bread Co., but they make horrible coffee/lattes, take a very long time and they have no outlets. So I've decided to set up a home cafe and plan on training myself to become more disciplined so I can actually accomplish some work at home.

Pictures of work in progress to come.

craftiness extends to diapers, too

2005-08-16T15:01:00.000-04:00

I LOVE the diaper cake I put together for my husband's co-worker's baby shower. It's so cute. I wish I had made one for my SIL's shower a few months ago. Oh, to be a party planner in my next life.

In knitting related news, I decided to make a quick head kerchief in a glittery black. My curly hair has been unruly with all the humidity, so this tames it quite nicely. I'm also making the Lacecap from knitty.com as another way to tame the beast that is my hair. Lace in the round is a bit more tedious than I'd like, but at least it will go quickly since it's only a hat. I love the yarn, so I think I'll crochet a matching flower pin.

knitting update

2005-08-15T18:24:00.000-04:00

Considering I started this as a knitting blog, it's looking pretty lean. So I figured I'd update with some recent finished and in progress projects.

First is Simply Marilyn. I was looking for a great sweater for the winter. I was originally going to do the Big Sack Sweater from SnB. But I thought this was similar with more pizzaz. My lys was having a 50% off everything 2nd anniversary sale, so I picked up Tahki Bunny in this great ballet pink. The knitting itself went very quickly. I think it looks really great laying flat like this. Not so much on though. The neckline is a bit too unruly for me. The arm holes are a little too big. It's just not as cozy as I wanted it to be. So I'm considering frogging it so I can get a good project out of this highly pricey yarn. We'll see...

Next we have the baby bathrobe that I made for my husband's co-worker that is expecting next month. It's a Filatura di Crosa pattern and knit in Patons Be Mine, which is super, super soft. The gauge doesn't match up, so I made modifications. It may not be terribly practical, but I think it's super cute.

Lastly, in progress is the Fiesta Tea Set. I'm making it for my knitting friend's daughter's 3rd birthday. I'm making it in Sugar n Cream cotton. So far I have two saucers and a cup (sans the handle). I think I may need a thimble for this one considering it's rather hard to get the worsted kitchen cotton to operate smoothly on size 2 and 3 needle. I may just go for another cup and the teapot and skip the creamer and sugar depending on how ambitious I get.

Next on the needles...decisions, decisions...

Frida poncho? 2nd petticoat sock for my aunt's birthday (which was in July)? a second baby bathrobe for a friend? a lace cap for fall?

Premiere post

2005-07-06T19:26:00.000-04:00

I've been inspired to create this by my newborn nephew, Dylan. I've always wanted a place to share my knitting projects and ideas. And I figured that if he can have a blog, well than so can I. Pictures and ramblings to come shortly.