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.....