FO no. 50: Dad's hat

2011 Knit Challenge: 50 knit, 10 to go!!

This is the hat I knit for dad, for Christmas. Except we decided earflaps would be perfect, so I am in the process of adding those.



Used a Fair Isle motif from Melissa Leapman's Mastering Color Knitting, but other than that, the pattern is my own :)

I used Patons Classic Wool, in a dark gray and aran on US 8. Deciding how many stitches to cast on was tricky and a little frustrating because I needed a certain repeat for the Fair Isle motif. I solved my problem by casting on 116 stitches and then increased my stitches at the body (this is horrible, but I can't remember how many stitches!!). 

Hearts in the morning

I woke up at the perfect time to witness this special moment:

Merry, Merry

A tad late... but I figure I had better write about Christmas before I write about the new year!

I have a few finished projects to post about that will count towards the knit challenge, I think I'm at 52 of 60 finished. Alas, I don't believe I'll reach my goal. So close! More on that later.

One of the FOs was started and finished on my new set of Knitpicks Harmony needles!!!!! Scott gave me a full set of interchangeable needles :) They are such a delight to use! One of the neat things about them is Magic Looping, and not needing to switch to double pointed needles at the end of the hat. Very cool!

I can't believe 2011 is almost over. Just a few more days left!

FO nos. 47, 48, 49: Little Tuffys

2011 Knit Challenge: 49 Knit, 11 to go!

These are awesome little things! Really nice texture. I knit four, three to gift and one to try out myself. I do hope they work!

The pattern is from Adrienne Medrano and the pattern can be found on her website.
Yarn is Sugar 'n Cream that I had leftover from when I knit a market bag, so that was a plus!
Needles: US 10 double pointed because I don't have that size in straights :)

I took this picture from my iPhone! I cannot get over how impressed I am by the quality! Like, wow!

FO no. 46: Dean Street Dos

2011 Knit Challenge: 46 Knit, 14 to go!

This was the first Dean Street hat I knit. Originally it was for Nate, but I felt it was a little small even for me. It sort of inches upwards when you are wearing it. Which drives me batty.

Looooove the texture!

The Ravelry pattern link is here and is designed by Nina Machlin Dayton.
I used Patons Classic Wool in Aqua, I think. This color is a staple in my stash and I don't even know its name.
I believe I cast on 108 on US 7, and never changed sizes.

I definitely love this pattern and recommend it for a quick knit. The right front cable cross is not at all difficult. I do suggest using POINTY needles! This hat I knit with Hiya Hiya bamboos, and they are fairly blunt. It was a challenge to not split the yarn when doing the RFCC. Very frustrating. But when I knit the hat for Nate, I used Knitpicks Harmonys and what a joy!!! It went soo much quicker and I didn't have to constantly double check that I split the yarn.

Current WIP

Dish cloths!! They are called Little Tuffys and the pattern can be found at http://magicpixieknitter.blogspot.com/2010/02/little-tuffys.html

I am gifting these for a christmas present and am hoping to have a bundle of three dish cloths in three different colors. I already have two knit but I will keep one for a trial run. I generally use a sponge to wash the dishes so I am curious as to how these compare. I like their compactness and texture.

100% cotton, Sugar 'n Cream yarn

FO no. 45: Dean Street hat

2011 knit challenge: 45 knit, 15 to go!!

This is for Nate's birthday which was December 13 but we just celebrated it tonight. Which is lucky because I only finished tying the ends together today :)

He really likes it! Only in this photo he's wearing it a little high on his head so it makes the hat pointy.

Pattern by Nina Machlin Dayton can be found on Ravelry.

Happy birthday, Berny !!

Yup, she's turning five years old. This means for the next month or so, we are the same age. Leap Year age, that is :)

Guess what she received?

Happy birthday, little.

Work in progress

Remember my last post, where I said I was going to cast on a hat for kicks? I did and it ended up becoming a real live hat. I did use a pattern, which I'll share when I post about that hat. That hat originally was to be a present for someone but it was too small, almost too small for me! So I cast on again for a slightly larger head, and I should be able to finish by Christmas! Although I just got this iPhone and it's really snazzy to play with. This phone was an early present from my parents!

I did finally get the picture upload thing down! Easy once I downloaded the blogger app. I hope the picture looks alright on a computer screen because on the phone it looks good but this is a much smaller screen! I hope it's not blurry.

Argh

I'm stuck between projects and can't choose one to begin. It makes me feel so unsatisfied to not knit once during the day. I've finished a few Christmas gifts that I probably won't be posting until after the holidays. I started another round ripple afghan (it's my third).

Blarghy blarg blarg blarg.

What the hell. I'm just going to cast on a hat for kicks.

FO no. 44: Henrietta the Hippo

2011 Knit Challenge: 44 knit, 16 to go!!!

A hippo for mom :)  I love this pattern sooooooo much from Rebecca Danger. She's genius.

FO no. 43: Save yer bags II

2011 Knit Challenge: 43 knit, 17 to go =)

This is a gift to my brother and sister-in-law. I hope they don't mind the colors :)

Pattern is adapted from Anna Peck's. 

I fiddled with the hanging loop again. I like this loop better than the first one I made and it allows the bag holder to be hung in different ways.

FO nos. 40, 41, 42: Go Lions! Beer Cozies

I'm counting each cozy as one finished object because they are all each a little different. And it's not cheating, because I made the rule up :-P

2011 Knit Challenge: 42 knit, 18 to go!!!!

These are for my brother's birthday... Go Lions!!

The pattern is from Michael del Vecchio (Rav link), which I tweaked.

I love beer cozies; they keep the beer colder and if they sweat, your hands don't get wet! Also, no need for coasters :)

FO nos. 37, 38, 39: Tree mittens

plus Berny's face

2011 Knit Challenge: 39 knit, 21 to go!

These are so cute! I love them. I want to make a million of them, except I can only knit so many mini mittens in one day.
.

The pattern can be found in Knit Simple's holiday 2011 magazine and are designed by Loretta Dachman. I used worsted weight yarn (Patons Classic Wool) and size US 4 needles. And they knit up so quickly! By the second pair, I had the pattern memorized.

These are my favorite <3

 I needed a quick gift for grandma's birthday this Sunday and I think these will be perfect. We were just talking about when to put up our Christmas trees too. I hope she likes them.

Mittens with crazy fur

This pair is kind of fun with the crazy fur, but what a pain to knit! Crazy fur is only okay in small doses, which is why I'll have this skein for the rest of my life.

"SPIIIIIIIIIIIIDER!!!"

OMG! This cracks me up each time I look at it. I love her.

Today I knit my brains out

All last weekend I didn't pick up my needles once. Instead I worked on crosswords. That was fine, except my grandma's birthday is in two days and I haven't knit anything for her. So today I am going to knit.

Plus, I have three finished objects (well, it's actually more like five) and one almost finished object that I want to blog about, but haven't taken pictures yet. My goal for today is finish the WIP, take pictures of all FOs, and finish grandma's gift (it's going to be cute!).

Oh! I joined a tea swap on Ravelry and received my FIRST swapped tea yesterday!! They smell delicious but I have yet to try them. She included two bags of three different types, so Scott and I can have a cup of each :)

All's quiet on the home front

Pinterest has proven itself to be a humongous time suck... but I'm finding very awesome craft ideas (including some great bows and bags made out of magazines and newspapers, which I will definitely use this Christmas!) , recipes, and cute pictures.

I'm working on a birthday present for my brother and I'm almost finished. I am also (since yesterday) finishing my second Hippo...poor girl has been armless for weeks.

I've taken to using an old Knitpicks box to store my WIPs. It's handy to have them all in the same place, except they are starting to overflow. I feel like I really need to get a handle on my projects, as far as organization. I like those big, plastic bins with lids but they smell funny. And I really need a bucket/box/bin with a lid or else Berny finds her way in.

Today is my First Friday!! We're closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving :) but open again on Friday (which will be my Second Friday). I am definitely looking forward to some days off. Hopefully I will use the extra time to finish some more presents! 

Pinterest

I just joined Pinterest! I'm a little overwhelmed by the hugeness of it, but I'm dipping my little toe in by starting a knitting board :)





I do hope that's the right link!

Lessons in steam and sock knitting

The other day I made tea before work. Even though I was running late, I stopped to admire the steam rising from my mug.

The tea string says, "When the mind is backed by will, miracles happen."

I knew I was in a hurry, but still I took time to enjoy this moment. I believe this to be the secret of life.

It has made work that much easier, because let's face it, work is stress. I focus on the delights: puppy feet, happy dogs, cats with spots on their noses; and try not to hold onto negative moments. This practice seems easy enough but it has taken me several years to reach this point.

Part of my daily pleasures is knitting. I've found that if I don't knit for at least thirty minutes every day, I am more grumpy and short-tempered (Scott asked me today if I wanted a "Crabby" Patty, har har).

And look! I'm on my second pair. I started a pair for Scott this morning also. Once I've made more progress on his, I'll take a photo. Knitting is just a delight.

FO no. 36!!: First time socks!

2011 Knit Challenge: 36 knit, 24 to go!

As I wrote yesterday, I am soooo pleased with these! They fit my feet perfectly; nice and snug. :)

I ran out of yarn (Sensation's Bamboo and Ewe) and finished the toes with another sock yarn in my stash (Paton's Kroy Socks Stripes - in Sweet Stripes). I like the way it looks too, so much so, I bought two more balls of the Sweet Stripes last night so I can make another pair!!

I knit these Magic Loop style, on Addi Turbo Lace size US 0 40", because to be honest, the toothpick  DPNs required to knit these scare me! I did try to line up the stripes, but it was more difficult than I thought. Is there a Sock 101: How to Line Up Stripes seminar out there? ;) Don't take me wrong, I don't mind the look of misaligned stripes!

For somebody like me, Magic Loop 2-at-a-Time was the way to go. It ensured that I finished both socks at the same time, and that they would be the same size. As it is, I started these back in May... they went on many camping trips with me, even to Yellowstone, and always came home smelling like fire. I hope my next pair of socks take considerably less time :)

Guess who finished her socks??!

Me!!!! I am over the moon with them.

I will post pictures and a real blog post about them later tonight or tomorrow. I have to work earlier than usual today, so no dilly dallying!

FO no. 35: Goodbye Summer; A Twisted Toque

2011 Knit Challenge: 35 Knit, 25 to go!!

If you remember this post then you will remember that I had a very difficult time starting this hat. It is featured in 60 Quick Knits and designed by Helen Sharp.

The yarn is Patons Classic Wool in Leaf Green. The only modifications I made to this pattern is knitting it shorter. It is about an inch or inch and a half shorter. I think if I would have knit it to the called for length, it would be very pointy. I'm interested to see how the other KAL gals knit theirs.

I do think if I knit this again, I will not knit such a large brim with size US 7 because it makes it a little tight. I would either start with two inches of US 7 ribbing then switch to US 8 for the rest of ribbing, or start with US 8 for the whole ribbing. The twist pattern would also look nice with a larger needle, and maybe make the hat less pointy and stiff at the top.

I have a feeling I will gift this to somebody for Christmas, I'm just not sure for whom yet.

There's a kitten under my couch!

Berny will sleep under the couch for hours at a time. If ever I can't find her, I shake her treats bag and sure enough, the runner on the couch twitches and out she comes, stretching.

WIPs

I thought it would be nice to show my Works in Progress, because I have a few going right now. Also, it might motivate me to finish them because a few have been on the needles too long. I have something like 26 more things to knit by the end of this year in order to fulfill my 2011 Knit Challenge, which is to knit (or crochet) 60 things this year. I am not sure I will succeed, but I am going to try my dangest :)

1. Socks! (these have been on needles the longest)

I am pretty darn proud of these. Socks seem like such an impossible thing to knit, and they kind of are, but now that I have almost knit a pair, they are much less daunting! I will most likely run out of yarn before I'm done grafting the toes, which sucks.



2. I cannot show you WIP #2, because it is a gift for someone who may or may not read this blog :)



3. Twisted f*cking Toque

Funny story. This a KAL on Ravelry and I was excited to reknit this because the first time I tried, it never twisted. I started this one on Halloween, and guess what? It still wouldn't freaking twist and I was so frustrated. I even tried to chart it on graph paper and was about to rewrite the freaking twist pattern.

So I messaged other Ravelers who had knit it for help, I even messaged the woman who designed the hat. She wrote back saying she didn't actually write the pattern !!!!!!! what? I didn't even know this could happen.... if you've designed something, why wouldn't you write the pattern?? So I asked how she knit it, whether in the round or flat, top up or top down and you know what she said? SHE HASN'T EVEN KNIT IT. ever. This is about the time Scott came home from work, and I unloaded all this on him. I was hopping mad! But luckily, after all my ranting, it started to twist.

I just don't understand how someone can get credit for a pattern if they have only made a swatch, while not even writing out the pattern or even knitting the dang thing. It doesn't make sense to me.


4. I'm also knitting another Harriet the Hippo for mom, but I felt it was cruel to take a photo of a hippo without any ears or limbs. So you'll have to wait (I did have the sense to give her eyes and a belly button, for gosh sakes).

ETA:

5. Dammit. I forgot about the Purple Plaid Mittens. I didn't take a picture. I don't really like them. They will be finished someday.

Whoo Boy

I have pretty much failed at the 30 Days of List challenge, haven't I? That's ok, because I was feeling less creative. And to tell the truth, the list topics were getting less creative and less interesting too... so I very much doubt anyone would want to read it, much less me wanting to write it!

Right now I'm working on two projects, another Hippo for mom (this one will be Henrietta) and another KAL with the gals on Ravelry (it's the Twisted Toque from 60 Quick Knits). And I still have the socks and the scarf on needles; I cannot predict when they will be done. At this rate, which is a few rows every three weeks or so, probably not until next summer.

I placed a Knit Picks order, with A LOT of yarn and two books, one which I've been coveting for months now: Rebecca Danger's Big Book of Knitted Monsters! I cannot wait for it to be here!

I am working on making the work environment more structured. I chatted Scott's ear off last night in bed, trying to figure out how to make our system better functioning. It's really difficult for me to take a step back and assess a program that's already in place, and try to change it. I can definitely see the flaws though.

I have not run in many weeks. I try to motivate myself each day, but so far nothing.

And now, my dears, it's time for coffee, a bagel, and a pear. Thanks for listening <3

FO no. 34: save yer bags!

Unstuffed. This is the only project I've ever enjoyed this colorway knit in. It stripes!!

 
2011 Knit Challenge: 34 knit, 26 to go!!!!!! woo hoo!!









Fancy side by side, huh? :) Left, unstuffed. Right, stuffed.

I modified the pattern I linked a few days ago, but it looks like I can still make some more mods.

For one, it only holds 15 plastic grocery bags. I don't know about you, but we certainly have waaay more than that. Although to be honest, those 15 are among the ones that we've accumulated since living in this house. (We try our hardest to use reusable fabric bags.) The others are in a laundry hamper, and are from Scott's previous life. To be fair, they were a great help protecting dishes and glassware when we moved.

close up!

This is one of the mods I made.... a little loopy to hang it!! I would like to make the loop wider and bigger, especially if the entire bag holder is going to be bigger.

Eee!! I am so excited to use this!! Growing up, we used a bag holder that grandma made out of fabric and elastic ends. It was HUGE. My parents still have it. And now I have one of my own :)

FO no. 33! Starfish Hat

This pattern is from 60 Quick Knits, designed by Anne Farnham. It was also a KAL on Ravelry. Even though I've been wanting to knit this hat since I bought the book, I probably wouldn't have knit it without the push from the KAL. Things are always easier when you have support, aren't they?

Thanks to Scott for taking these pictures

2011 Knit Challenge: 33 Knit, 27 to go!!


I used Cascade 220 in a pale yellow. I did not make any modifications.

There's a lot going on in the side photo, but it's hard to see. Bobbles, ribbing, reverse ribbing...

The starfish on top is so cool! And it was formed all by decreases. Amazing.

FO no. 32: Harriet the Haberdashery Hippo

Squeee!! She is too cute!

2011 Knit Challenge: 32 Knit and 28 To Go!!

I used Cascade 220 in orange. I bought it in Helena on the Shop Hop. And this is a pattern by Rebecca Danger!

I am very pleased with how this hippo turned out! Even though she does have her imperfections... mainly being I knit her legs on wrong so she has saddlebags, and her left arm is longer than her right. And I used buttons instead of safety eyes (the gal at Jo Ann's said they didn't carry them, but they really do) so her eyes stick out a bit.

And I've decided it looks better to close up each arm hole/ ear hole/ tail before sewing them on to the body. I loved stuffing her! (that sounds dirty, doesn't it?) And putting the eyes and embroidery one was fun too.

But she seems to get along well with Berny.

Let's get regular!!

There were a lot of poo jokes to be had this morning...

...as we pitted and quartered and arranged plums.

We have a bucket with probably 25 pounds of plums, and I'm not sure we're even a quarter of the way through it. The plums came from a tree Grandma Jeann gave us years ago. It's an Italian Plum tree, I believe.