Is it Time to Knit Yet?

Ribby Pulli

I wasn't going to model this as I'm feeling a little uncomfortable with myself lately, but what the hell.  I absolutely love, love, LOVE this sweater!!  It is so cozy and snug, it just feels like an all over hug :)  The best part about it is that I dyed the yarn myself, and it didn't turn out to be a complete disaster.  As always, Bonnie Marie has provided another great and easy-to-follow pattern for a fabulous design.  I know I will wear this one over and over, and then some.  If you're interested, I used Jacquard dyes on the yarn, mostly 'painting' it and then steaming in packets.  I didn't get too technical with it, but if I had it to do over I would make the color lengths a lot shorter.  At first I was dissappointed that what was supposed to be black turned out mostly grey, but I think it worked out pretty well anyway.  I also did the sleeve increases in plain stockinette, to make for a slightly looser sleeve - I just didn't like how it looked otherwise.  This was such a fun and satisfying project, and I'm very happy that I decided to do it.  ( Hopefully it will look better on me when I drop a few pounds!)

• Pattern - Ribby Pulli by Bonnie Marie of Chic Knits
• Yarn - Kramer Janice, around 5 skeins after dyeing
• Needles - US Sizes 7 and 8
• Took me - Overall about two weeks
• Comments - What's not to love?!

As always, thanks for looking!  Have a great weekend :)

Plain Sweater

It took me a while, but I have discovered a new, wonderful yarn.  That would be Peace Fleece.  I know, its not new, but it is to me.  I was lucky enough to get a good deal on some last year, and I had waited a whole year to actually use it.  I'm glad that I finally did.  I just love all of the different colored flecks in itI pulled out the trusty copy of Knitting From the Top, did a swatch and a few quick calculations, and off I went.  The goal was to have a basic sweatshirt-type top, and I think it worked out pretty well.  Talk about mindless knitting though, I did no shaping and it is all just stockinette, save the ribbin g for the cuffs.  I knit it kind of loose on size 7 needles, and then I took Margene's lead and try to fuzz/felt it up when it was all done.  There isn't a great big difference, but it did bloom a bit and it is much nicer having done it.  And it really did get a whole lot fuzzier!  I'm really happy with the sweater and I know it will get a lot of use this winter.  Here's the stats:

• Pattern - None, with the help of Barbara Walker's Knitting From the  Top
• Yarn - Peace Fleece DK, about 3 1/2 skeins
• Needles - US Sizes 6 and 7
• Took me - About a month
• Comments - It is so nice to have a basic, comfy, and warm plain old sweater to lounge around in.  And it is pretty too, in a plain way!

When bad things happen to good tools and knits

I failed to get a photo of the FO I wanted to show you today, so I'm sharing some bad news and my newest WIP.  I spent the better part of the afternoon going through my stash, organizing, and re-skeining leftovers.  I had two paper grocery bags packed full of odd leftovers and it was a little more than I had planned for.  It took freaking forever, but it was well worth it.  Now my desk isn't completely covered in yarn, and there is less overall mess in a few rooms as a result.  I did have something horrible happen though.  I was going to help The Baby and wasn't watching where I was going, and the next thing I heard was a loud snap.  My poor niddy noddy!  It was the 2-yard one too :(  I still have a 1-yarder so I was able to keep going, but I was really dissappointed in myself as you might guess.  Luckily I have some Gorilla Glue and many clamps around here, so it should be fixable.  All this time and I never would have thought that I would be the one to break/ruin it, with a 3 year-old and a puppy in the house.

On to the next bad thing.  The Baby saw the snow we were getting and went over to the winter wear drawers in the closet to get hats for us.  She was trying them all on, and I couldn't believe it when I saw this one.  I do believe this one was caused by a naughty puppy, yup.  Oh well, it was kind of too small for her anyway.  Thankfully there were no more accidents or discoveries yesterday!

For my newest WIP, I have started on these Big Snugs.  They were posted on a message board and I just had to go and order both pattern sizes right away!  I just think they are too cute, and I know I'll enjoy lounging around in them at home.  I'm using some Cascade 220 in a boring but pretty grey, and for the lining I'll be using some yummy Knitpicks Ambrosia that has been lingering in my stash for a really long time now.  I'm pretty excited.  Of course I am selfishly knitting my pair first, and then will come The Baby's.  It's so I can work out any kinks before I do hers, right? ;)

Argosy Scarf

After my post last week I decided to quit procrastinating and I promptly blocked the Argosy scarf.  I ran out of pins, and I just did a quick job without being too picky about making it perfect.  I think it turned out pretty snazzy for a such a simple pattern.  You gotta love that.  I just might have to make another one of these, but I'm thinking maybe in Noro Kureyon or something colorful  like that.  I'm not lucky enough to have any of the Silk Garden in my stash, I'm sure that would be lovely too.  This one is going to a friend as kind of an early Christmas gift.  I hope she likes it!

• Pattern - Argosy Scarf by Vyvyan Neel, found at Knitty.com
• Yarn - Socks That Rock Lightweight, colorway Hoofle Foofle, 1 skein
• Needles - US Size 4
• Took me - I don't remember exactly, but probably 2 weeks
• Comments - I really liked knitting this. I thought it might get boring and get slow-going, but it didn't.  The pattern is easily memorized, and interesting enough to have kept my attention and not drive me crazy.

As always, thanks for looking! 

Moon Child Hat

Do you remeber my Moon Child yarn?  The one my sister wanted to steal from me and I said I wouldn't make anything for her from it because I loved it too much and wanted to use it all for me?  Yeah.  Well guess who will be getting a Moon Child Hat (if she wants it!!).  Really though, I tried to knit her a different hat, this hat in fact.  It turned out bad, after a lot of problems, so I just said forget it and grabbed the good yarn and whipped this hat up on Sunday.  The pattern is my own, you can't really see the cable work, but there is quite a bit of it.  They don't really match up either, but I still think it looks pretty good.  It is kind of a beanie-style so it doesn't cover the ears, but it is super dense - it's like a dk/worsted yarn knitted up on a size 2 needle, so it should be warm and durable.  I hope she likes it!  If not I don't care, I'll keep it for me, me, me!  While it is not a superbly done hat, and I'm definitely no designer, I really had a good time working this up all on my own.  I may have to expiriment more with this making-up-your-own-patterns-thing.  Oh, and I know it is a little pokey at the top, I haven't washed and blocked it so I'm hoping that will help it out.  Here's the stats:

• Pattern - My own that I just made up as I went
• Yarn - My handspun, a merino/mohair blend, colorway Moon Child by Snake River Fiberworks
• Needles - US Size 2
• Took me - A day
• Comments - I love it, I may have to make another for myself!  Good thing I still have another skein of this yarn :)

Thanks for looking!  I have a few more finished things to show you this week, that is if I remember to get some photo shoots done by The Boyfriend.  Stay tuned.

I need a mini finishing spree

Even though there has been a lack of knitting content here on this blog, I really have been knitting.  I even have some stuff that is finished, I just need to get around to weaving in ends and washing and blocking.  I've finished two sweaters, just a plain old sweatshirt type one out of Peace Fleece, and also Ribby Pulli which I just finished weaving the ends on this morning.  I'm wearing Ribby Pulli as I type, it is so comfy and warm!  I still need to block the Argosy scarf I finished up a while ago too.  It's a good thing I've finished the big stuff (sweaters) because I really should get to knitting some things that I want to do as gifts!  I'm finding myself busier than usual lately, trying to get in some exercise in the mornings and afternoons when I would normally be knitting.  It's a toss up as to what is more important, but the exercise is winning out for now.  Anyway, I hope to get this unfinished stuff finished up and ready to show off next week. 

Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!

Vegas on the brain

Just when I thought I was off the hook after planning and executing the Redwoods vacation, we up and decide to go to Las Vegas.  In case you missed it, we are going to see Bill Maher in December, just in time for Christmas!  I am super excited and cannot wait, so I've been scouring TripAdvisor and all of the other travel sites I can find to plan what we'll be doing, where, we'll be going, what we'll be eating, etc.  So far it is just overwhelming trying to figure out from everything that is on the strip what to do (besides gamble of course!) and where to eat, mostly where to eat.  I'm adventureous to an extent but I hate going somewhere and having it not be good.  So the search will continue for now, in the meantime if you have any good tips for me, let me know!  I'm open to all suggestions :)

I did come across a pretty nice deal for a room though.  Never would I have ever thought I would be staying here, but the price wasn't too much more than what we were planning already so now we are staying at The Bellagio - ooh la la, no?!  I know, they steal water from us here in Utah and shame on me, I'll repent and redeem my karma somehow later!  I've decided to splurge as well and get a massage there at the spa, possibly even an in-room one.  I really could use one and I love a good massage, so Merry Christmas to me I guess.  Now I'll just have to do a little shopping for a couple of nice-ish outfits to wear, as all I have on hand right now are jeans, khakis, and t-shirts.

Vegas isn't going to be all gambling for us though. So far we are planning to see Hoover Dam and the Red Rock Conservation Area, among some other touristy sites.  Again, any suggestions on what to do besides hang in a casino will be greatly appreciated if you have them!  Okay, I've taken my break, now it's back to the grind of planning...

Handspun hat, scarf, and mitts

Okay, I finally got a picture of the handspun set that I told you about.  I'm pretty happy with it, even if the mitts are different sizes!  If you are interested or didn't read about it before, you can check out a little more about the yarns I made and used for this project.  I know they aren't perfect looking and are even a little crazy, but that's what I love about handspun.  I think it is just what I needed for a little unexpected fun in my knitting!  I winged it on all three of these and used no pattern help whatsoever (no big deal, right?).  I did the scarf lengthwise with about 190 stitches and a gauge of about 3 sts/inch.  I added fringe after 13 rows off garter stitch and a bind-off.  I had just enough left to do the brim for the hat, then I just picked up stitches along the brim to do the hat from the brim up.  I did run out of yarn so I had to add some Manos I had leftover but it almost blends in to where you don't even notice.  For the mitts I just casted on 44 stitches and knit about 60 rows of garter stitch.  When I had enough width I just seamed up the edges, leaving a hole for the thumb - I know, total rocket science huh?  Anyway, here's all of the other stats:

• Yarn - my own handspun, one super bulky and one worsted weight
• Needles - US Sizes 11 for the scarf, 11 and 6 for the hat, and 6 for the mitts
• Took me - All of it took 3 days
• Comments - Crazy and fun!  I just love knitting with my own yarn :)

Thanks for looking - have a great weekend!

On the bookshelf

Knitting New Scarves.  Have you seen it?  Do you have it?  It is a really, really cool book.  I got my copy in the mail yesterday, after hearing of it here, and I am so glad!  Of course Grumperina's post about it will be a lot better than mine, so if you haven't read it go do so, and then go buy the book!  I haven't had time to pick through it thoroughly but I can tell I'm really going to enjoy trying out the different techniques to make some unique new scarves.  Now the only question is which one to pick!

Yes, this is a 'look over there' post, because I have once again forgotten to take pictures of any Finished Objects I have lying around here to share with you.  I swear I'm going to remember to have The Boyfriend snap a few later on today.

I am America (And So Can You!)

If you're looking for knitting content, stick around, I will have some!  I have some finished stuff that needs either blocking or a photo, I just have to get around to doing it.  I had a few more pictures of my most favoritest thing from our vacation, but it is 'just' more trees and I think I'll save them for another day. 

I finished up this book the other day and I wanted to share my thoughts.  This book was fantastically hilarious, just like the show only better.  You don't have to stop reading after a half-hour's worth of funny!  Stephen gives his opinons through the whole book, from Higher Education to Old People and even Science.  It was especially fun reading it after I had just finished another opinionated book by 'Papa Bear' - or is it 'Bert'?.  The are complete opposites in a similar way, which is just how Colbert intends it.  If you watch The Report, you'll get it.  If you don't, well you won't.  All I can say is I laughed so hard through the entire book and I'm convinced that Stephen Colbert is one of the most intelligent people out there, and he's extremely funny too.  I would vote for Colbert, if he wasn't so damn funny and if they'd only put him on a ballot :)  Anyway, the book is great, I'd buy it (and I did) just for the fact that there is a copy of his infamous speech at the White House Correspondence dinner.  You've gotta admire a man who would stick it to the administration and the press like he did and not even think twice about it.  If you like him, go get it and read it.  It would be a great companion now that the writer's strike is going on and we probably won't get to see him again for a while :(