Saturday, December 29, 2007

Stay Forever Fall Armwarmers

These are the Hurry Up Spring armwarmers from Stitch N' Bitch Nation but since I love fall I renamed them. These were my Christmas present for myself. I used Noro Kuryon in colorway 214

I know a lot of my postings have been short and blunt lately but with how fast I've been pumping out the projects for Christmas I haven't had time to be creative and quirky with my writing ;) Hopefully I'm over that now.


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Friday, December 28, 2007

Knuckle Gloves

Knucks These were Brian's Christmas present. I used Rowan Felted Tweed that makes the gloves thin, but really warm. They say "Tele Fast & Hard" because he's a tele skiier. He's worn them every day since Christmas so I may have to make him another pair soon ;)


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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Chloe's Coat

My parents got a new puppy and promply asked for a sweater to keep her warm. I made it a little big so that she can grow into it.

I got this pattern from Stitch N' Bitch Nation and used Lily Sugar N' Cream cotton. I modified the color pattern significantly by adding the hearts instead of just striped. I also made the leg holes a little shorter since it's for a Corgi.


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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Penny Loafer Slippers

Loafers For these I used Berroco Pure Merino. I made them for my grandfather and since the penny doesn't like to stay in very well I'm going to get copper yarn and stitch fake ones in.

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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Holiday Pasties

Merry Naughty Christmas! I got this pattern from Naughty Needles and used Lion Brand Chenille and Lion Brand Wool Ease.


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Monday, December 24, 2007

Odessa Hat

Odessa Hat. I used Cascade 220 again since I really overestimated the wheat and wine colors for the santa hats. Another way to be festive, or not- and this project is a favorite project of mine on Ravelry.

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Sunday, December 23, 2007

Lovers Mitten

This pattern is from Knit.1 Winter 2006/7. I used TLC Cotton Plus Solid. I modified the color pattern because I wanted to use 3 colors instead of 4. I also made the cuffs a different color pattern than the pattern called for.

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Saturday, December 22, 2007

Holiday Seaman's Cap

This hat is a color modification of the Seaman's Cap. I used Cascade 220. It's a nice subtle way to be festive ;)


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Friday, December 21, 2007

Fingerless Mittens

Another easy one! This pattern is from the book One Skein Wonders. I used TLC Cotton Plus Solid. I really like these mittens and since these are a gift I may just have to make a pair for myself!

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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Drop Stitch Scarf

This pattern is from the Stitch N' Bitch Nation book. It's going to be a gift for my stepmom. I think that the pattern shows the colors of the recycled silk really well. The picture certainly doesn't do it justice. It was a very easy and straightforward pattern. I didn't pay attention to gauge so it is definitely a different size than the pattern says.


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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Felted Kettle Bag

Brian knit up this purse for his mom for Christmas. The link can be found here: Striped Kettle Bag
He used Cascade 220. Once he felted it he formed it with his hands, packed it with handtowels and put it in front of our gas heater to dry. Then he stitched the handles on it. He said it was really easy to make.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Hot Head Hat

I did a quick knit up of the "Hot Head Hat" from Stitch and Bitch. Straightforward pattern. I modified the stripe pattern a little. I used Cascade 220 and double stranded it to make it knit up faster.

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Saturday, November 24, 2007

In progress projects

Here is a list of the In Progress Projects:

Fingerless mitts- One Skein Wonders
TLC Cotton Plus Solid- Green
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Drop Stitch Scarf- Stitch and Bitch Nation
Recycles Silk from ebay
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Yo! Drop It Scarf- Stitch and Bitch Nation
Lion Brand Chenille in Red
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Brian’s Projects:
Wavy Scarf
Cascade 220 Wool- salmon pink will use 2
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Friday, November 23, 2007

One Hour Hat

One Hour Hat
I used Filati FF Funky yarn in a variegated blue and knit 2 together to get the right gauge. This hat was easy to knit and it looks great. I knit it while chatting up the family and cooking dinner on Thanksgiving. That's my little brother modeling it.

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Thursday, November 22, 2007

Cable Hat- made just for me!

My husband knit this hat for me using Bernat Alpaca Natural Blend. It can be found here:
You Don’t Know Our Women Hat

He cast on 108 stitches and he is a really tight knitter. He didn't like that the cables didn't line up with the ribbing, so he isn't doing ribbing-this makes it flare out a bit at the bottom, but when it stretches over the head you can't tell.He did the first inch in k6,p3 and then started the cable pattern (adjusting it to line up with the first inch, he is starting with a cable, and ending with a p3 rather than starting with p2 and ending with p1).

The decreasing was a bit different as well. Each decreasing round he decreased something different, starting with decreasing the purls from 3 to 2- then decreasing the odd cables from 6 to four, then the even cables. So it looks like the cables are getting smaller (which they are).

The decreasing went as follows:

Cable round
Decrease purl stitches (-12 stitches)

Knit in established pattern
Decrease odd cables (-12 stitches)

Knit in estabished pattern
Decrease even cables (-12 stitches)

Knit in established pattern- cable round
Decrease purl stitches (-12 stitches)

Knit in established pattern
Decrease odd cables (-12 stitches)

Knit in estabished pattern
Decrease even cables (-12 stitches)

Knit in established pattern- cable round

There are 36 stitches left
K1, k2tog (24 stitches left)
Knit
k2tog(12 stitches left)

Knit
k2tog(6 stitches left)
Bind off.

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Brians FO's- catnip mouse and mittens

Brian knit these two projects:
First, a Catnip mouse from Stitch and Bitch Nation for the Helping Hands for Homeless Animals project with some scrap yarn. I stuffed it for him with some scrap yarn and a catnip pillow
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He also knit mittens from the book One Skein Wonders out of TLC Cotton Plus Solid in red for my uncles girlfriend for Christmas.

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Both were pretty straightforward and easy patterns. They were great projects for him to learn increasing and shaping on since the only things he has knit so far are beanie style hats. I’m so proud of the progress he is making!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Travel Pillow

I knit the travel pillow from the travel issue of Knit.1 magazine for my father-in-law out of some random acrylic that I had. This was a tough one to pick out because he is not much of a knit wearer. I think this will be nice because he works hard and needs to relax. Also he and his wife travel a lot. I filled it with a pillow I made and stuffed with pearl barley, which is very heavy, something I should have though about first since we have to mail it. I didn’t stitch the clouds on them because I think that he would prefer it plain. After washing the acrylic was super soft.

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Monday, November 19, 2007

Biggy Quick Knit Caplet

This one I knit in an evening. It was literally- my husband went to bed, and when he woke up it was finished, laying out on the table for his inspection. I wanted something for my grandmother that she didn’t have to fuss with, that would keep her warm without taking up space or needing to be wrapped around her several times like a scarf. She’s in a wheelchair and only has the use of one arm so I think this caplet will be perfect.

You can find the caplet here:
Biggy Caplet
I used Filati FF Funky yarn in purple and ended up using about 4.25 skeins. I knit 2 together to get the right gauge. I had 6 skeins available to use and I think I should have used them all, but it’s long enough to cover her shoulders. The only problem I had was that it was a tight squeeze to keep all the stitches on one needle. I spent way too much time squishing them together.

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Sunday, November 18, 2007

Harry Potter Mittens

The Harry Potter mittens are from the Charmed Knits book by Alison Hansel and they are for my mom for Christmas. I used Cascade Indulgence in bright red. This is the yummiest yarn I have ever felt. I want a whole blanket in it, although imagine how expensive that would be! It is an angora/alpaca blend. I used some scrap green yarn to do the stripes. In the end I used about 1.2 of the Indulgence.

Even though the gauge was right (actually, the yarn I chose was much finer so I made the large size to fit my hand) it seemed a little loose in some places. I decided to felt it to make it fit better. OMG! What a difference that made! I’ve only felted the first one but it is PERFECT! I’m so excited!

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Saturday, November 17, 2007

Foliage Hat

This one is for me. I was feeling a bit neglected and since I bought the green and orange banana silk yarn with the intention of making something that reminded me of fall, I figured that waiting until winter or spring was not on the agenda.

The Foliage Hat was the perfect pattern for this yarn, although with the variations in size and texture the leaves don’t show up as well. I plan on making another one later, but for now this one is perfect. I used up one skein of orange and the border is in green. The green bled really bad all over my fingers and now I’m afraid to wear the hat, but since it’s a pithy hat style (I modified the pattern a little bit to be- just did less foliage and decreased the ribbing to fit my head snuggly) the green lies over my hair, so bleeding will only be a problem if it rains or I sweat a lot.

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Friday, November 16, 2007

FO's starting with Santa Hats

So much has happened in the past few weeks that I have not been able to keep up with blogging. I have been knitting like crazy trying to get Christmas projects done, and not feel neglected myself by throwing a personal project in here and there. I’ve gotten so much done that I’m going to write a quick blog for each completed project and mention my WIPs later on in one blog. Here we go!

I’ve completed 2 santa hats found here:
Santa Hats
They are for my dad and stepmom. I used Cascade 220 wool and heathers in gorgeous maroon and wheat shades. Also, Crystal Palace Kid Merino in wheat was thrown in there to make the brim and pom fluffier. I only used ½ a skein each of the wheat colors and about 1 and 2/3 skeins of the maroon for both. I made one slightly smaller than the other, even though the pattern is only written for 1 size, since my step mom is so much smaller than my dad. Here is a new photo of a finished santa hat.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

R.I.P. Raja

So, tonight my husband and I made the decision that it was time to let our cat Raja go. I had only had him for a few years, but he was old when I adopted him. He developed cancer, which we found out about a few months ago. We decided then that we would do everything we could to help him be comfortable, but when he showed signs of being in pain that we would put him down.

He maintained his wonderful spirit, but a few days ago he seemed to be very tired and was struggling to breathe. Yesterday we took him to the vet, got some pain pills, gave him fluids, and discussed our options. Last night he stopped purring when we touched him and he could barely walk. I spent today taking care of him but I knew it wasn't right to let him suffer. We took him to the vet this evening and let him go. He and Ginger are buried next to each other.

On the counter at the vet they had a quote of the week. It read something like "If I had a star for every time my cat made me smile I would hold all the stars from the night sky in my hands". That is so true.

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Rest in peace Raja (11-13-07) and Ginger (10-25-07)


I'll post knitting updates soon- I do have quite a few ;)

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Lots of Progress

I have been so bad lately about keeping my blog updated with what I have been knitting! I’m really freaking out about Christmas so I have been knitting during all of my free time. I’m averaging about 1 project every 5 days. I have 8 projects left, which means I will need about 40 days to complete them- there are only 54 days left until Christmas! See my Christmas Countdown at the bottom of the page. That isn’t leaving me a lot of time to spare AND get things in the mail. I’m making sure to knit presents in order of distance that they need to be mailed. I just finished Maine and New York and am currently working on Montana. All the rest are in California so they can wait until early December. And then I am left with the question- “What About Me?!” So I am also making very slow progress on a couple of lacy hats for myself.

So on with the projects! Here are a few that have been completed:

I completed the Convertible Mittens from Knit.1 magazines Fall 2007 issue. I knit them in a green wool/acrylic blend. I think the mitten part turned out really well, but the flap was way to small, then the modifications I added made them a little bit to long. I think that adding a few extra rows to the original pattern at the beginning should be enough to get them the right length. I’m still debating whether or not I’m going to redo them.

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I am also 95% done with the first of 2 Santa Hats from Cider Moon that can be found here- Santa’s Ho-Ho Hat . It was a very simple pattern and looks really great. I used Cascade 220 wool and all I have left to do is make the pom pom.

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I was also feeling very left out so I started 2 projects for myself, although, they may take a long time to finish since the Christmas knitting takes priority. I started the Foliage Hat from Knitty found here Foliage Hat and another Lace Slant Hat found here Lace Slant Hat .

I’m knitting the Foliage Hat in an orange banana silk yarn-which is not for the faint hearted knitter! If you like things to be perfect never knit with this yarn! It is very inconsistent in texture, gauge, and color. But I really love it! And the Lace Slant Hat is going to be in a green wool/bamboo blend that Brian got me for my birthday. It’s going to be so great! I’m really excited!!

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More to come later I’m sure!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Nagano Sakura Scarves

I have completed 2 Nagano Sakura scarves from knitty.com found here- Nagano Sakura

I used the Rowan Tweed from the previously frogged Pumpkin Hat and it worked really well! It made the cherry blossom pattern very earthy. I love the pattern so much that I’m going to make one for myself after Christmas.

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Thursday, October 18, 2007

Mohawk Hat and Convertible Mittens

The Mohawk hat from the Domiknitrix book is complete!!! Ok, it was complete about a week ago, but I've been busy and am slow to report ok? Here is the finished product:

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And here is a picture of my latest endeavor, the convertible mittens from Winter 2007 Knit.1 magazine:

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I'm about half way done with the second one now, so I will post final images soon. The mitten cap instructions were way off for me so I modified them to fit. I'm using Plymouth Encore DK (75% acrylic, 25% wool) in a dark forest green. I think they'll be great and easy to take care of.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Knit-along HH4HA

I’ve created a knit-along in the spirit of holiday giving and keeping animals warm for the winter. I hope lots of people want to participate and donate to the animal shelter of their choice. Since the holiday season is a busy time the knit/crochet-along will last until Mid March.

“Helping Hands for Homeless Animals is a Knit/Crochet-a-long where yarn crafters can use their abilities to help animals at their local shelters stay warm this winter.”

This knit/crochet-along can be found on myspace at Helping Hands for Homeless Animals and on ravelry at Helping Hands for Homeless Animals

Both groups will be included together as the same, just more places for more people to get involved!

Be sure to check out the Unloved Yarn group on Myspace, since that is where this idea was born and is a great place to swap yarns and get ideas for critter projects!

* The Knit-Along will start officially on Saturday, October 20th 2007- which is National Make a Difference Day (www.makeadifference.com).

* The Knit-Along will end on the First Day of Spring 2008- which is March 20th. This gives everyone plenty of time after the holidays to commit to the project (5 full months).

* People can join anytime during the duration of the knitalong, but only projects that are completed by the finish date will be included in the tally.

* Everyone will donate to the animal shelter of their choice.

* We can keep tabs of completed projects by posting pictures (I'm also toying with the idea of goal progress bars, but I'll get that figured out when the group gets going.)

* Projects can include anything that you think with help the animals- but the pattern needs to be posted and shared with the group (if from a book, list the book and pattern name).

I’m dedicating all of my projects to my kitty Ginger who was hit by a car and killed about a month ago.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Tulip Toes and Mohawk Hat

The tulip toes are finished! Actually, I finished them a while ago and am already almost done with my next project mentioned below. Here’s the info for the tulip toes first. You can find the pattern at: Tulip Toes

I loved the Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo. It kept its form really well and I was able to machine wash and low dry it as well. This made it super soft and there is plenty left over for more little projects.

I didn't make any alterations from the first one. After blocking the pointy toe thing went away and it looks really cute! So, the differences from the pattern were that I did 12 stitches on top and did seed stitch. I made the premie size since Becky's baby will be born in December and will only need to keep his or her feeties warm until spring/summer.

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The newest project is for my little brother Jordan and it is the Mohawk hat from the Domiknitrix book. You can check out the website here : DomiKNITrix

I have already finished the hat in size medium using Kraemer Yarns Mauch Chunky in black. I felted it a little to get it to shrink up but it is still loose around the sides. I think I will add strings to it so that my brother can tie it if he ever goes snowboarding without a helmet (he better not!).

Now I’m applying the Mohawk, which is taking forever! I’ve already used the 150 recommended threads and I’m only a quarter of the way there. I’m using Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes in a variegated green. I’m doing 3” strips and applying them 7 across so it is a shorter, but thick, Mohawk. I think I’ll end up using more like 500 strips.

The only trouble I had with the pattern was starting the gussets. The pattern confused me. I figured out that it meant (I think) that when you fold the widow’s peak in half to find the midsection for where you start the gussets, you don’t include the front triangle section. You start right after the 4 stitches on stitch holders. It turned out well and I was able to do it on the first try, so I’m assuming I did it correctly. Here are the pictures so far:

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(Brian was tired, it was 1am when I took this)

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Sunday, September 30, 2007

Tulip Toes on their way...

I just completed my first tulip toes sock, and I better hurry because it sure is getting cold here, and my boss, Becky, is expecting soon. The pattern is from knitty.com, found here: Tulip Toes.

I really like the yarn I'm using- Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo. It's soft and holds it's form well.

So far I like the pattern. I think that it could have been easier to knit with less ends to tie in. I'm knitting the premie size and the bootie part turned out a little small. I did the top in seed stitch instead of ribbing and used 2 stitches for the i-cord, but I think I should have made it longer than the 11 inches that the pattern calls for. I'm not sure if I like how pointy the toe is either. I may make some alterations for the next one, and then reknit the first one.

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