Oh Shknit!

Yes, insert generic title up yonder.

My Christmas was wonderful.  I actually got some yarn from my mother who is constantly riding my ass about not buying more yarn, so that put a huge smile on my face.

I just finished her ruffled scarf this afternoon, so I will post some pics of those tomorrow.  I am on glove 2 for my brother’s friend, and have the index finger, thumb, and weaving in allllll those ends and I can get them off in the mail.  My brother and father both showed up for Christmas and I thought it was going to be a very melancholy holiday for my mother and I.  But it made it a wonderful Christmas.  I told them they could take all my presents back because I had what I wanted – my family together.  I found out the day before my brother was leaving (he only stayed for 3 days!) that he was indeed leaving, so I didn’t get a chance to finish the gloves to send home with him, unfortunately.  But they should be done in time for me mail off on Monday.  Then I only have to finish the 2nd twin sweaters and get those off.  Those who know me know I am a late runner always it seems, so I am hoping that the fact that these are handmade items will lend some forgiveness.

I have been cracking out on getting caught up on Knitmore Girls, and KIPing it Real podcasts.  Every night I listen to them without fail, and when I am cleaning and stuff, they are always playing.  I am thoroughly enjoying both of them.  It took me forever to get caught up on the CogKNITive podcast, and I did get caught up, so I found some others that I really enjoy, and the 2 mentioned above have been my onlies lately.  I am listening to Jackie’s darling voice as we speak, as a matter of fact!

Johnathan’s fingerless mitts were a hit, I have some pics of them and they are so comfy on him, he LOVES them.  So tomorrow, scarf FO, glove UFO update, and fingerless mitt FO pictures.  I hate blogs that don’t post pics, and I am horrible at posting them.  Pot calling the kettle black, much?

Back soon with more updates!  I have some exciting things coming up I hope, and knitting is at the top of that list!

He wants out.  Now.  He is not due for another month.  This has been a rough pregnancy, I am extremely uncomfortable and I am not getting around well these days.  So who knows when he will show up.  Sooner rather than later, I hope though.

I have been continually working on Christmas gifts.  I have abandoned the gloves that I originally was making for my brother’s friend.  They were coming out too small, the yarn just wasn’t working for the project, and I just wasn’t feeling it.  I can’t give away something I have made that I don’t feel 110% proud of.  So I went to plan B, picked up some Cascade 150 in this gorgeous red color (which was his friends first choice anyways), and am making the Lace Panel Gloves from the Vogue Knitting Fall 2009 issue.  I am almost done with the thumb increases and ready to start on the fingers.  This project is giving me much more of the warm and fuzzies.  It is the first time I have knit with this yarn and I ADORE it.  Great stitch definition, not splitty at all, and it just knits up so nicely.  I am excited to try it on another project one of these days when I’m not broke!

I still have to finish the sweater for Marie’s twin #2, and I am making a last minute hat for my son per his request that knits up on US 7’s, so it should be a fast project.  It’s the Batman Hat, and I just went and bought some acrylic for it.  He has several wool hats that I have made him, and I think that this hat is going to be more used to run around the house wearing his ‘Thing’ hands, a scythe, and an Iron Man costume.  Yes, you read right.  His outfit combos CRACK ME UP.

So I have just been knitting away, trying to stay off my feet, and ignore the contractions as much as I can.  That’s about where I am right now!

I have no pictures, sadly, at the moment…but hope to get them up soon.

First off, I did finish my first project that required picking up stitches.  I have shied away from those types of projects (we will pretend I don’t have a fully knitted Hey Teach that I haven’t seamed together yet!) where I have to pick up stitches or seam.  This one I have to do both!  I did pick up the stitches but have not seamed yet.  The picking up of the stitches actually turned out way better than I expected it to…and the seaming is such a small portion of the project I don’t really see it giving me much grief.

My friend Marie had VERY premature twins and they are finally both home.  I am making them matching Ribbed Baby Jackets.  I did a lot of researching the forums on Ravelry and found a couple of posts about specifically picking up stitches for this project.  I found a blog post today that does a really good job of figuring out how to calculate, and why, what your ratio of picked up stitches is.  Of course it is knitting goddess Amy Swenson, and it is a post from last month but oh how I think I will refer back to it.

My brother also called me out of the blue over the weekend and asked if I could make a friend of his some gloves.  Once again, a project that I have never delved into before, but I am going for it.  I am using a heavily modified version of Deborah Newton’s Garter-Cuff Gloves and Mittens from Weekend Knitting.  It’s a fun knit so far.

At least I have a little more focus now.  I have to finish another of the Baby Jackets and finish the fingers on the gloves and get moving on glove 2.  Let’s hope it works out the way I plan it to!

I have been a blog reading freak today and came across Stash, Knit, Repeat’s blog and the Fit to Flatter series of tutorials.  You can either purchase printable versions or just read from the blog posts for free.  Since I am busty and seem to like all the things that really need adjustments to accommodate said boobage, I am excited about this series.  Not only that, but just to learn more about my body and fits that flatter it.  This of course will be post-baby, but I am still excited about it!

I am almost done with the raglan increases on Juliet…it’s going slow because I had done more LOOKING at knitting than actual knitting.  I know if I really get moving on it I can make some huge strides.  Seems that once I get passed the boring ole stockinette (did I mention I was doing stockinette instead of garter) and onto the lace I think I will be more motivated.  Love the raglan increasing, but it just seems to take forever when you are getting close to the end of it, because of all the extra stitches.  Anyways, it’s nothing you don’t already know, right?

Also, on the Domesticrafts blog, I found the poinsettia wreath from Paper Source that I must have.  I loooove it.  So thank you for the Christmas crack, Domesticrafts! (PS – I love your blog and pretty pictures…pleeeease update soon!!)

So I don’t have any pictures up yet.  This has been a busy week, as last week has been, too.  My little man started Kindergarten yesterday.  All day long I was obsessed with what he was doing, how he was doing, if he was ok, if he was scared, etc etc.  That boy was SO happy to see me when I was at his door waiting for the bell to go off.  But he said he had a great time and he really likes his teacher.  I hope this keeps up because this morning he played that song and dance of ‘I don’t want to go to school, I don’t like it’, which was just because he was tired and wanted to stay home.  I thought 11.5 hours of sleep was enough for the kid, but I guess he needs a little more.  That’s ok, I will oblige my growing boy!

On the knitting front, I am taking a break from baby knits to knit myself Juliet with Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, but on smaller needles and the yarn not double.  I don’t have enough of any of my yarn to double it to make this, but I love it, so here goes nothing.  I am working on the raglan increases right now and so far so good.  I have heard it runs a little big, so I am just making the largest size on size 9 needles in hopes that it will hold it’s shape.

I have, sometime in the last few months, lost my ipod and it’s driving me nuts.  I miss listening to my podcasts while I clean and do things around the house.  While I’m on my computer or knitting I can just listen from my PC, but ugh.  Those things are so small, and I think mine is buried in my bedroom somewhere, possibly with the crates of yarn that I have to go through and organize.  Lots to do before this baby gets here!

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!