leaving on a jet plane...

well, not really. but alas, i am going into chicago to spend new year's, and then leaving sunday to go to Nashville, not to return until friday. to Maryann's delight, i have now finished attaching the zipper to my Mariah. and i am not entirely happy with the sweater as a whole, but it is wearable and warm and soft. oh how i love Cascade 220. pictures when i return, as well as pictures of the mittens i made from the Gifted pattern using the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superbulky that Ariel swapped with me.

on my trip, i am taking the ruffles scarf, as well as my lace shawl, and some sock yarn. i shall be attempting two socks on two circs (or so i hope) as i cannot find an online tutorial i like, that helps me. i thought i found one last night using google, but today's search results do not match. grrrr. stupid google. anywho, i will be using the elann free toe-up stockinette pattern and moda dea sassy stripes yarn. this way i can mess up and learn what to do before using my lorna's laces sock yarn. i think for that yarn i will use elann's wavy sock patter, as i really like how it turns out since i have already used it.

okay. so i leave you the cutest picture in the world, even though most of you have already seen it. heh heh. my youth pastor's kids wearing the sweaters i knit them for Christmas.



HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Catching up....a monkee post! (in more ways than one)

hmmm...i know, i know. i haven't posted in a while. school has kept me busy. as has knitting. so here's another pair of Chipman's Block mittens...i'm addicted! i have the pattern memorized! Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted weight in Amethyst and Peruvian Pink, size 1 and 3 CPY dpn's. i love them, and my hands will finally be warm!! here they are, attractively laying in the snow.




and now, for monkee, here's the six inches of snow that fell yesterday:





so today i go out for the mail, and am almost on the porch when the mailtruck reverses from two houses down, and the guy hands me a package he almost forgot.....hmmmm,

egads, look! she actually picked up a cr*chet hook and made purty chains to tie up my parcels!!


some shirts from her b'ling...one from his school, and one loving a state i have never set foot in...


then Missy went to the thrift store and bought me Texas goodies!! bowling and barrel racing! fun!

oh my gosh! look! polyester!


this is the BEST thing in this package, hands down. just call me Linda! doesn't my hair look fab as well??


that's the true colour..and it rocks...even better? the back!



and then a little something for me to make:

awww, my monkee loves me!

i promise my next update won't be so far away...gotta knit one last Christmas gift.

it's a Coronet!

okay, this is some mystery wool i got from my Knitty SP3. haven't attempted to felt with a swatch yet, but it feels like your standard wool. size 6 dpns...used my brand new Comfort Zone needles! woo hoo. i love my hat!





super fast post, no linkage...i'm lazy. i also have gift knitting and homework...

holiday gifting KAL update

so....i finished a huge gift..the largest one i have, so i am so glad it is off the 'hook' ;) so...i don't wanna put that pic here cuz someone might see what HE is getting. so yeah. if you are a guy that knows me in real life, and there might be a possibility you would be getting a homemade gift, do not CLICK HERE i warned you!!

and if you're here for the warm hands KAL, check the post underneath this one...

picture intensity!!

so yeah...been a busy little elf lately. if you know me, and know you might be receiving a certain knitted item for your hands...don't read any further!!!

first off, after my successful oven mitt, i decided pot-holders/trivets were in store for DBF's grandparents. so pulled out what appears to be the last (thank goodness!!) of my lamb's pride worsted, and doubled it to make these:


started about 11-inches square


ended about 9-inches square. i hate felting garter...but they will make a nice size for trivets.

next up is a craptacular picture (since i am fully capable of crappy pics) this is a lovely pattern that Danielle from NoNoKitty Yarns came up with (pattern here and be sure to visit her brand new blog.) it's some sorta superwash wool i got from bargain bin at LYS..i frogged a scarf i had already made out of it..pic around here somewhere...maybe...someday


and i cast on for mitten #2 on the train yesterday morning....three classes and two train rides later....


i LOVE the insides!! i absolutely do!



The outsides aren't too bad either!
Chipman's Block Mittens, size Ladie's small from Knit Mittens!, size 1 and 3 CPY bamboo dpn's, Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted in Eucalyptus and Natural. cannot wait to make my own pair, but i am soooo glad to have another gift done!

guess that is it for today! whee! ;)

Warm Hands KAL update!

STINNY! if you are reading this, stop now. do not read further and spoil your christmas gift!!!

Oven mitt! Gift for little bro (he's 13) Lamb's Pride bulky in a beautiful sable/chestnut colour, with a maroon worsted, doubled, for the cuff. I magic-looped it with my Denise 13's.





then my Covered with Color mitten from the Knit Mittens! book. size 3 bamboo dpns, lamb's pride worster. blocking let the cuffs lay mostly flat



and from same book, Chipman's block mitten in brown sheep nature spun worsted in natural and eucalyptus. super fast and easy! i would try it on to show you, but it's too small which is great cuz it's a gift and i think it'll fit perfectly!

it's a WRAP!

TWO WEEKS EXACTLY! that's right. two weeks for my purty-rific vest to be complete! Here's a pic to capture your attention. nice and casual-like:


and then how i will wear it on Thanksgiving, 'cept with dark dark jeans:


now the specs:
pattern #25 in Fall '05 VK. Made in Cascade 220 in colours who's ball bands i have lost so don't ask what colours. they are listed in an old entry, i believe. The grey is left over from Mariah. Oh wait, shouldn't have said that. moving on now.... Denise size 8 for all ribbing, and 10 for fair isle. I love my 40-inch cable!

notice my design feature:

the first section (bottom) is incorrect. it has a row of pink/greay/pink/grey up the center of it..supposed to be blue/grey. it completely changes it. but i like it that way!

and on to my huge list of mods: they said knit flat! i said, two pieces of ribbing to then seam? i think not! plus that way i got to do at least some of the fair isle in the round before splitting for neck/arms. as for flat fair isle: kill me now! lol but i found that knitting backwards, i was better able to keep my tension than if i purled the row. luckily the solid colour rows landed on purl rows, so that helped keep me sane. all the ends! i actually didn't mind weaving them in. it was ok.

then, their chart was totally dumb. the last stitch and first stitch were the same..which meant you would have two stitches the same in a row during repeats, and when i visualized it, it wasn't working for me. so i made the chart 18 stitches instead. i also wanted a size between the two largest. so i fudged with the 18-st repeat and my gauge, and came up with my own number. then i started the chart on like, stitch 14 so that the pattern would be centered over the front.

i put a ton of work into this vest, but it was TOTALLY worth it and i cannot wait to wear this!!! will wear it Sunday, methinks. nice and casual for church. then it's Thanksgiving, baby!

WOO HOO!

photo blockage

just some quick photos on my vest and mittens! woo hoo, vest will be done thursday, i am sure...exactly two weeks after starting it

photage of back with way incorrect colours:


photoage of blockage:


and the mittens being blocked:


right now i'm crocheting my afghan...close to done, but of course each round takes longer ('ghan is a single granny square). pics upon completion

a pile of ends

so today i cut all the ends in those Covered With Color mittens. now i just need to severely block the cuff to lay flat...tricky, tricky!

then i knit the right front of my vest, and here's a craptastic picture of an idea of the fringe i have:


and then i WOVE THEM ALL IN. figured i may as well get started. my knitting MO has changed...now i have been loving every single step of this project. it rocks my socks that i am liking it, and doing all these things as i go and modifying every little thing i can...go figure. i will need another section of colour for the fronts, but i want to get the back to the same level first to see exactly how much length i need. like it?

i've fallen in love all over again...

i dunno...i am so in love with this WIP! as much as the mitten i am knitting. this is from Fall VK, pattern #25 if you have the mag. a fair isle vest. i have changed so many things in this pattern to mold it to my liking, and i will go over them all when i finish. i will wear this for thanksgiving, over this blouse i got at Gap, which is why i was lead to these particular colours. close-ups of fair isle later in the project. whoever thought up flat-knitting fair isle needs to be shot. purling two colours is next to impossible. but i'm handling it, and i'm zipping right along! few more inches on this front left, then the right front, then the back...(eek! all that purling!!) and then more ribbing around the neck/armholes.



question, though...when i do a 3-needle bind off at the shoulders...how will that effect my patterning? if i do it in a solid colour, will it show up as a plain row? or not...because the patterning would 'drop off' the needle, and the new colour (bind-off row) would be the 'seam' inside the garment? help me think this through.....

catching up

i know, i know. it's been forever since i have updated. so here goes:
(yes, Ana. i know my pics are crappy. there is no sunlight. ever)

i got an RAK monday! i was so excited to pull an unexpected envelope out of my mailbox, from the lovely Terby.

then today i got another envelope! this one from a wonderful online store Cotton Clouds. This is a cone of Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in 'Cherry Moon' and it photos kinda orangey, but it's the loveliest deep pink colour.


then we move on to my mittens! i join the Warm Hands Knitalong, and the mittens FLY off my needles. i made the right one last year, and finally cast on for #2 yesterday, and cast off today. all that's left is to trim ends (i wove them in as i knit!) and then block. 'Covered with Color' from the 'Knit Mittens!' book, in lamb's pride worsted. odd colours. was a kit from my LYS, and the actual colours used in the book. the blue motif on the left mitten pulls a bit, but it's still good. pics of inside once trimmed.


and then i cast on this lovely mitten! 'Chipman's Block' from same mitten book, in Lamb's Pride Nature Spun Worsted in Natural and Eucalyptus and i must say this is the most fun project i have ever ever knit! i am loving the two-handed knitting action, and also the colours and it reminds me of when i used to do cross-stitch because the back is supposed to be as neat as the front. oh yeah, this'll be a fun, fast project.


i might cast on for the fair-isle vest tonight as well, take that to school with me. woo hoo for all this knitting!

new LYS!

so..class gets out, and my train doesn't leave for an hour...so i wander two blocks south on State St (That Great Street (tm) ) and take a gander at Loopy Yarns. they are still kinda setting things up, putting in some finishing touches, but it's great. the prices are FOB. 220 for 6:45, fixation for $5.45, lorna's laces shepard sock for $9.75...they have lots of Cascade, Berroco, Lorna (tons of LL! all kinds!) and many other odds and ends...even the Addis seemed to be decently priced. so i would definitely go back. without my wallet. we should plan a knitty meetup, Mitten and everyone else :D so yeah...this came home with me:

sorry for the crappy photo...colour is Puprle Iris..green, purple and a bit of tan. definitely brigther in real life, but it's a cloudy day today.

on the shawl: 6 repeats done on second half. 6 to go. i'm getting there!!

it's my blog-o-versary!

woo hoo! i have been knitblogging for one year. :D click on the oct 2004 archive link to see what was up one year ago.

Laura knows me so well!!

my mom picks me up from the train and says i have a big box from Texas! I'm like, from Pearland?!! the UPS guy came today, woot woot!



and i must say, Laura knows me so well as she picked a great assortment of Ms. Stranger's yarn to fling my way.
first off was the brand new in the bag linen/cotton that i loved when she posted it on her site:


and then Laura knows me so well, this'll totally be a sweater for me cuz i LOVE this stuff...no tag, but it's soft and fluffy and bumpy and slightly thickish:


and then this green stuff...not too keen on it yet, but it's 15% mohair and the rest petrol products. but it'll come in handy for something:


now, hiding this box in the back of the closet til after the holidays are done..cuz i need to make gifties, then the current list of things i want for myself and THEN can use this stuff. see if i have the willpower....

THANKS LAURA!!!

half-way there!

my shawl has 12 repeats, and we are calling that half done. now my biggest challenge is casting on the other side so that the colours stack up in the same manner. wish me luck!

the cursed socks are done. that's as good as they get

so the kitchener on #2 is marginally better..but i'm glad they will be in my shoes most of the time. almost ran out of yarn. stupid, stupid big feet of mine. this is actually the third sock knit of this yarn. ripped #1 to make '#2' (left sock) and then made sock '#3' (right sock) so now they are done and i will never ever make top down socks ever again!! and i only want wool you can spit splice. or that has enough yardage for my feet. or or or
i'm crabby and the pics are crappy, the colours are actually brighter. sock '#3' is ever so slightly bigger and i do not know why and i do not care why. these better be machine washable cuz they don't deserve better treatment than that.

never enough knitting

hmph. 11 repeats is 26 inches. guess i need a few more. but i am not tired of this pattern, and it is mainly memorized so it flies...but here's the proof:


maybe tomorrow i will finish sock #2 during class. then concentrate on lace all weekend. (forgot pic of sock *shurg*)

i met a monkee!

well, almost...

she sounds just like you'd expect. except the accent is a little light...but yeah. the way she types? just like she speaks..with a *grumblemutter* and a *blink, blink* thrown in for good measure..and her motherling told me to enjoy the snow. and missy and i were then IM-ing on Trillian whilst on the phone. which was quite amusing and had me in stitches. which caused Ceci to call us:
"oh my god. you are geeks.
nerds.
dorks.
dweebs."

hehe. that was quite the enjoyable convo. until my phone battery died..leaving missy staring at her dial tone *sigh* at least she is okay for now...

quick and dirty post

okay, y'all keep asking me questions. school keeps me so very busy! so here i am, just taking a quick, yucky photo to prove i have been knitting this during class and on the train...i am in the middle of repeat #8, and it's getting long. nothing in pic for scale..no measurement yet. after this repeat i will try and block it a bit to get an idea of the length so i know how many more repeats to do.
Pattern: Gothic Leaf Stole
Yarn: Knit Picks' Gossamer in 'Caribbean'
i love, love, LOVE it!

look! lace! that WORKS!

looooooook....my sweetie Anne sent me FOUR lovely skeins of KP's Gossamer and I LOVE it. 'cept the part about winding it without a swift lol



and these stitch markers that i cannot photgraph with my crap-tastic camera:


and look! it's lace! 1.5 repeats, they are easy and look lovely. these colours are truer than the pic of skeins