Knitting and I have not been the best of friends lately.  I started the February Lady Sweater with Knitpick’s Cotlin, and got all the way through to the 2nd lace repeat before I noticed this stupid little mistake up near the buttonhole.  It probably wouldn’t have been a big deal, it wasn’t very noticeable, but I couldn’t go through with it.  While I was trying to hype myself for ripping the whole damn thing out, I had decided that the Cotlin at the gauge I was using just wasn’t working anyways.  I wanted a little bit more of a firm fabric for that sweater.

See, my problem has been lately that I have been DYING to do a lace project.  Not a little hat or fingerless mitts. A sweater.  A cardigan.  SOMETHING WEARABLE.  Something I have yet to do.  So off to search.  I only have 2 yarns I have a sweater’s worth for, and they are both cotlin, just in different colors.  So I was really limited on what project I could pick that would work for my lack of skills and my yarn.  But it had to have lace.  That was the big thing.  So I decided on Hey Teach.  I am now almost up to the arm decreases for the back panel.  No problems, it’s turning out beautifully, and is making me fall in love with the process of knitting all over again.  I have done no lace but a little beanie and a scarf for my mom…knitting repeats of lace and being able to look at the yarn just turn into…lace.  It’s amazing to me.  I keep stopping just to admire how pretty it looks.  I love the product, but I really have come to realize that I am a process knitter.  Why it does this, does that…and it’s all just a bunch of loops and loops getting pulled loops!  Truly impressive, knitting is.

OK, WIP pics tomorrow.  I’ll try to get outside during the light of day so I can show off my pretties.

So Project Spectrum just ain’t happening for me this year.  I have all the right colors and all, but I am finding that these days small projects that don’t destract me from the bright and shiny of life are much better for me.  So I’ve been working on an afghan using 200 Knitted Blocks, and that seems to be going really well.  I joined a group in Ravelry where you have to knit a square a month for 12 months.  Well, these squares were coming out small enough that the cat would scoff at a 12 square blankie of those proportions.  So I have decided to knit 4 a month, which really goes so quickly.  I am kind of in the planning stages now as I begin to knit the squares, but I think it is going to tur out beautifully.

Teeny tiny projects that take little time.  I am DYING to knit some socks but am just not in that mode right now, and I know I would end up with 5 or 6 single socks and no happy mate.

I love Ravelry.  Every week I go in and check out the new patterns that were just added to the pattern directory.  There are so many amazing patterns and designers out there.

These are my favorites:

Chevron Scarf Pattern – This is a variation of a pretty common pattern, but I am REALLY digging the colors she used.  I was actually thinking of a more narrow one using some royal blue, lime green, black, and white LB Microspun that I have hanging out in my stash.  A nice year-round scarf.

Golden Rose Sundress – I would love to buy this pattern when I have a little bit of extra moolah.  I don’t really have any little girls to knit for right now, but it is SO cute.  I could see it in a pretty light blue, adding a little pocket on the left front with a little darker blue star double-knitted on it.  Super cute!

Running with Scissors Socks – Um.  HOLY CRAP.  How talented is Phyll Lagerman?   Here is a close-up of the scissor cable.  I adore this pattern.  Once I delve a little deeper into the joys of sock knitting, I am going to make these for my mom.  WOWSA!  She is working on trying to get the pattern up on Ravelry, and wants to start blogging.  For now all we have is pictures to drool over.

Many, many pretty blocks. These are washcloths, but this is really an inspiration to get moving on mom and dad’s anniversary afghan that I wanted to make for them.  I have a book that I bought to assist me.  Between that book and this sites tons of patterns, I have no reason not to make a gorgeous afghan for my folks!

Bekah Knits has designed THE cutest baby sock/shoe combos EVAR!  I can’t believe how darling and perfect these are.  I definitely, as soon as I know someone who decides to breed, am going to make me some of these.  Agh, the cuteness is killing me.

Never have snails and slugs looked so freakin cute.  I have a friend who I jokingly refer to her cubicle at work a nursery because of all of the plants.  I am thinking of knitting her some of these and just randomly putting them in her plants to see how long it takes her to notice them.  She’d get a kick out of that.

And last but not least, showing that awesome things can come in small packages, this little leaf sachet.  How cute is that?  I would love to make my mom a lavender-colored set with lavender in them.  This little guy was beautifully done.   The link is a PDF, so you have been warned.

Oh, and there is one more.  Rather a collection of them.  The new issue of Knitty is just out, and wowee.  They really did great this time.  There are just a couple things I’m NOT a huge fan of.  Usually it’s the other way around.  Nothing at all against Knitty, I think it’s faboo…just personal preference.

Right now I am working on the Frock Camisole from the latest Interweave Knits.  I am using Twize in Twed, a 100% bamboo yarn that is so soft and lovely.  And it’s red and pink, of course, making me step out of my happy neutral and blue/green comfort zone, thanks to Project Spectrum.  Pictures coming soon.

Well, I not only finished the one I had started on last week, but I have another one done, and another one on the needles. I have decided I am going to make these for Christmas gifts. They are fast, easy, and completely affordable for a broke girl like me. The one I have on the needles right now is Peaches and Cream Peppermint, red and white variegated (what else)? I wanted to try one with just one color/colorway to see how that looked too.

Anyways, this weekend mom is going to come over and help me dye yarn for her Christmas present. She doesn’t know that’s what we are dyeing it for, but shhh, she doesn’t need to know that. I am taking this yarn, measuring it out, and using some grape kool-aid to dye it a sort of muted, dark purple. She isn’t much of a beige chick, and she likes purple a lot. I am going to knit her Branching Out. I will be starting on that as soon as I get it dyed, washed, dried, and reskeined. I got that HUGE cone of yarn for $3.99 at a thrift store. So this gift is going to literally cost me pennies to make! Yay!

This is a super quick knit! I started it this morning and am already half-way done. That says a lot for me, world’s slowest knitter. I got some of this random cotton yarn from my mom. It’s really splitty but I wanted to use it for a dishcloth, and thought it was a good time to try this pattern out!

The pattern calls for size 7′s, but I had 8′s readily available so I used them instead. I should have used 7′s, because it’s too loose. It’s still fully functional, though, so I will keep on keeping on. I have 2 more skeins of this yarn, so I will try again with 7′s and compare.

I have knitting A.D.D. right now. I didn’t get any done on JD’s sweater, and I tore out the very little bit of Rusted Root that I had started. I want to finish the sweater and the capelet before I cast on any other big projects. I finished my iPod cozy but the cast off was horrible, so I am trying a couple of things before I post pics of it.

That’s about all for now!

I don’t know who here peruses Colour Lovers, but I love that place. I am a budding, self-taught web designer, and I love colors. Well, they have a special blog entry just for SOCK KNITTERS and the color schemes that stem from said socks. *drool* I actually tried using the Opal Colourway to revamp my MySpace Layout, but I don’t like how it looks, so I’ll have to be redoing that (I’ll screenshot it before I change it).

In other news, I am working on a little iPod sock from some wool that I dyed in limes and aquas. The dying was a little experiment, so I don’t have a whole lot of it, and since I wanted yet something else to pad my poor little abused iPod, iPod sock it is! I hope to at least get the back of Johnathan’s vest completed. I only have about 10 more rows, then I have to weave in the loose bits and stitch the front and back together, and add ribbing to the collar and armholes. I would like to say I have worked on mom’s socks, or Rusted Root, but I haven’t been doing much knitting. My usual knitting time is spent perusing Ravelry, it’s completely like crack and something the online knitting community has really been in need of. I am glad it’s around.