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.



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.



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!!





More to come later I’m sure!

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.

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:





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



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.

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.

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.






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:






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