Baaaaahhhh

Another finished project:



I think I'll call her Nan.

Details:
Yarn: Less than one skein of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Cream, less than a skein of Dale Svale in Black
Pattern: Nellie the Sheep from Debbie Bliss' Baby Style
Needles: US size 5
Comments: Debbie Bliss patterns are so sketch. It was really difficult trying to figure out what the hell I was knitting at any given time since there are no schematics and the directions are really hard to follow. But I really think he's cute. I reworked the feet by casting on 24 sts in the round, working 11 rounds and then k2tog until there were 6 sts left. I also worked the ears in the round since seaming the flat pieces didn't end up looking good (and I hate seaming black knits). And I used I-cord for the tail rather than what the directions called for.



I also made another pair of baby socks, but I don't feel like taking pictures. They look a lot like the others.

I'm starting on a top for me! It's this one, in navy:

Cat and the hat (and a bear and some socks)

Knit, knit, knit...

I'm doing a great job of clearing out all my old stash yarns.



Details:
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted in Deep Charcoal, about 1/2 a skein
Pattern: Kate from the 2005/6 Knitty
Needles: US size 9 dpns
Comments: Completed in one evening, baby! I don't have size 8 dpns (I know, me not having a certain size of needles?!?), so I used size 9's and the fabric is a little thinner than it should be, but I didn't feel like using the Magic Loop method with the circular. I also added some whiskers and a tail. Pretty cool pattern!

Another stuffed toy:

Details:
Yarn: Dale Tiur, about 1/2 a ball
Pattern: Cashmere Teddy Bear from Erica Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies
Needles: US size 5 (I think?)
Comments: I knit these pieces a year ago (again, I think?). I even sewed them together, but by the time I got the stuffing, I was tired of it. I pulled him out of the storage ottoman Monday and finished him off. He turned out pretty cute. I like knitting stuffed toys.

A hat:

Details:
Yarn: Leftover Classic Elite Gatsby
Pattern: None, it's just a hat
Needles: US size 10 dpns
Comments: I had just one measly little ball leftover from the Hot Lava Cardigan I made last year (and forgot to show you - oops, maybe in the fall). And I actually still have a few yards left; I just can't seem to get rid of it!

Socks:

Details:
Yarn: Leftover Sock It To Me in red
Pattern: Braided Cable Baby socks from the Summer 2005 IK
Needles: US size 1 dpns
Comments: Holy crap, so cute! The picture doesn't really capture the saturated red color.

New stuff

Okay, so none of these are the projects I promised last time, but those other projects take models and good lighting. So I submit for you viewing a shawl and some baby stuff.



Details:
Yarn: Indeterminate amount of leftover Plymouth Suri Merino (pattern calls for a little over 300 yards)
Pattern: Summer Shawlette from the Summer 2006 IK Knits
Needles: US size 10 circular
Comments: It's really cool. Too bad it's too hot to wear it. But I really liked the construction (knit in one piece from the top down) and I think I'll try to knit something like it in the future.

Three pairs of baby slippers:

Details:
Yarn: Blue and brown leftover Paton's Grace, leftover cream Schachenmayer Micro
Patterns: Center - Silk slippers, Left and Right - Cashmere booties, both from Erica Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies
Needles: Silk slippers - US size 2, Cashmere booties - US size 5
Comments: Really cute. Baby stuff is always cute. This book has some good designs, but as a non-novice knitter, the directions really irritate me. Not precise enough.

The sleeping baby cushion:


Details:
Yarn: Leftover Wendy's something or other (several years old)
Pattern: Sleeping baby cushion from Erica Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies
Needles: US size 2
Comments: The cushion is meant to be hung on a door knob to indicate that the baby is sleeping, hence the ribbon at the top. Directions were only to embroider "bebe" and the X on the front, but I felt like doing something on the back too for when the baby is not asleep, so I got out the graph paper and charted a squirrel. I like him. :-)

Love and frustration

All in one picture:


The air conditioner is my new best friend. The stole is my new least favorite project. I got 1/3 of the way around with the border before confronting the truth that I did not have enough yarn to finish. I bought the yarn at Elann a few months ago and this color is sold out. I had no choice be to frog all the border and I have to figure out how to rework it with fewer stitches so I use less yarn. But I will not be doing that now. For now, it's on timeout.

3-month-old socks

I can't believe I finished these at the end of LAST term and haven't blogged about them yet. Yeesh.



Details:
Pattern: Embossed Leaves from the Winter 2005/6 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Sock It To Me in East Coast Blue from Elann.com, 2 balls
Needles: US size 1, dpns
Comments: I altered the pattern a little. I wasn't into the German heel, so I gave it a French slip stitch heel. I'm truly a creature of habit and if a pattern differs from what I expect, I change it to what I'm used to. I probably should have left it alone, but the socks turned out well anyway and I really like them. Only 5 more months until I can wear them. :-)

More updates to come, including Matthew's socks, the stole in progress, some more socks in progress and a tank from the Summer IK.

Good stuff

We can all use more good stuff. Here's some good stuff Kristi sent me a few weeks ago.

The top I made her last year:


The socks I made her for her birthday, aka the mystery project:


Details:
Pattern: Pomatomus Socks from Knitty
Yarn: Sock It To Me in Desert Sand(?) from Elann.com, 2 balls
Needles: US size 1 dpns
Comments: Tough pattern. Not a bad pattern, but I'm really slow at knitting through the back loops, so it felt like the socks took forever. But the outcomes is pretty nice.

Also, my sock pal got a pattern published in Mag Knits. Once again,
I'm really impressed with her work. Did I mention she's only 13?!? Wow.

SockapalOOOza socks!

My socks arrived from my sock pal last week! Her name is Katie and she made me some awesome socks. Here are some pictures:







Too bad the weather has just turned to hot to wear them! But I'm looking forward to padding around in them on the cold hardwood floors in the winter. I really love the color.

In other knitting news, here are some shots of the shawl I'm working to wear to Bridget's wedding. The first shot is the first half of the shawl blocking and the second is the blocked half compared to the (still-being-knit) second half.





Once the second half is done and blocked, I will graft them together (so the shawl is symmetric) and then knit the border. BTW, the funky yellow yarn at one end is waste yarn that was used as a provisional cast-on so I can use the live stitches later.

The pattern is the "Print O' the Waves Stole" from Eunny Jang's blog. Her patterns are all really interesting and this one is free!

Back to school work with me.

My favorite knitting blogs

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. I have been knitting regularly and have even finished a bunch of stuff, including 2 pairs of socks, the reknit on Dad's sweater, and about half of a sweater. But between distractions and my camera batteries kicking the bucket, I guess I've let the knitting blog languish. I will have new pictures soon.

In the meantime, I give you my favorite knitting blogs to read. Maybe I'll try to put them on the sidebar soon.

In alphabetical order:
And She Knits Too!
Carrieoke's Knitting Blog
Grumperina goes to local yarn shops and Home Depot
Knitting Escapism
My Fashionable Life
See Eunny Knit
The Blue Blog
Yarn Harlot
Yarn-A-Go-GO
and of course
You Knit What??

I know Nick probably can't figure out why people read these things, but I get a fair amount of creative inspiration and new project ideas from these things (all except for You Knit What, that is). And after reading some of these for over 2 years now, it's strange but cool to feel like I know people that I've never met.

I check in on many more than this, but these are the ones I look forward to reading.

PS - I never get over the fact that the spellchecker on Blogger doesn't recognize the word "blog".

I hope my sock pal is pleased

My socks for Sockapaloooza are finished! First one was started Friday before last, finished on Wednesday; second one was started this past Friday, and finished Sunday evening during my dinner/Oscars break from studying for my public exam. It's amazing how fast I knit when I'm stressed. They are shown here amidst my practice exams and scribblings. Let me tell you, tax incidence is a bitch.


Details:
Yarn: Dancing from Knitpicks.com in “Jig” color, 2 balls
Pattern: Gentleman’s Fancy Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Needles: US size 1, 4 dpns
Comments: I really liked this yarn. The pattern works well for variegated yarn, not too much stitchwork to get lost in.

A shot of the bottom, you can see the light blue pooling, which I really like:



One of the stitches close up:



And to prove that they are stretchy and fit more than just my midget feet:

One foot down

After receiving my yarn last Friday, I finished the first sock on Wednesday. Too quickly to even post in progress pictures. After waffling so many times, I eventually decided on the first pattern I had wanted to make, the gentleman's fancy sock from Knitting Vintage Socks. I used the yarn called "Dancing" from Knitpicks. My sockpal mentioned that she liked Sockotta, and this yarn is almost identical. Between the stretchiness of the yarn and the ribbing in the pattern, I feel confident that the sock will fit well.

Here's a picture I took before I grafted the toe: