Year in Review

I thought I'd be like everyone else and show everything I knitted this year. Prepare yourself for lots of pictures!

The 2nd Howlcat for Stacy and Dan

Redundancy Hat

Soda Shoppe Hoodlet

Holla Back Tank

Black Swan 1

Black Swan 2

Scallop of the Sea

Wallpaper Cowl

Xia 2

Delores Park Cowl

Striped Tee

Delancy Cardigan

Happy New Year, everyone!

My first KAL, complete!

Even with all my procrastination, I managed to complete my first KAL (again, that's a knit-a-long for the non-knitters).  As shown in an earlier post, we knitted the lovely Delancey Cardigan by Alexis Winslow.

See?  Lovely.

Pattern: Delancey Cardigan by Alexis Winslow

Yarn:  Knit Picks Merino Style

Needles: US 7

From the back with my new short hair.

Obviously I made some changes to the pattern.  Mine has short sleeves and a more simple collar/button band.  I thought it would be more suitable for the very mild weather here in Charleston.

Also, it looks OK open.

I'm happy to be finished with this cardigan.  It was fun to knit, but there are TONS of patterns out there I want to get started on.

Red pole love!

My kind of jewelry

As soon as I saw this brooch I knew I had to knit it as soon as possible.  It is just so stinkin' cute.  I quickly procured the necessary yarn and knit it up earlier this week.

I know you're jealous of the awesomeness.

Pattern: Panda Pin by Stafanie Fail

Yarn:  Knit Picks Wool of the Andes

Needles: US 6

The cuteness is almost too much!

I basically used the pattern as a guideline.  The pattern involved both stranded colorwork and intarsia.  I'm basically not down with anything more complicated than stripes.  Instead I just knit all the head in white and used duplicate stitches for the face.  I then picked up stitches for each of the ears.  Then things got messy.

Those with OCD should look away!

I decided to add felt to the back for tidiness and stability.  I am such a sloppy sewer (maybe sewist is better).  I really try to do a good job, but things always end up a mess.  I suppose the important thing is that the felt is on there and it is never coming off.

Let's not even mention the crooked brooch pin.  Here's a cat to distract you.

Bosley might just be the most handsome cat ever.

Delancey KAL Week 1

On Monday, the knit-a-long officially started for the Delancey Cardigan. If you want more info, visit Allyson's blog.

I quickly jumped right in and got to knitting.  This is my first of two triangles.  It was completed on Monday night.  In fact, I got the first done so fast I decided to wait a few days to start the second.  Once that second was complete yesterday, I realized a sad, sad fact.  My first triangle was smaller than it should be.  That tends to happen when you forget two whole rows.

That, my friends, is why you count your rows properly.  Above you see my counting method for this pattern.  I would usually use lines to count rows, but for this one I'm writing the actual row numbers down as I do them to make extra sure I get things right.
The most frustrating thing about fixing the first triangle was the fact that I had cut both colors of yarn when I finished it.  All I had was little tails left.  Not nearly what I needed to add two rows.  That's where the beautiful spit splicing comes in.

You take your tail and the start of a new ball of yarn.  Trim half the plies off the last couple of inches of each end, add spit... I know, gross!  I actually use water.  I put a few drops in my hand, then position the overlapping ends of yarn on my wet palm.  Next you rub your hands together over the overlapping yarn.  Wetness and friction cause natural animal fibers to felt together like above.  Now you don't have to weave in extra ends.  Sadly it doesn't work well with superwash wool which is one of the main reasons I don't use superwash.

As you can see from above, I finally got all my errors fixed and joined my two triangles together.  That completes this week's goals.  Stay tuned to see what happens next week.

Fail Big or Go Home

I will soon join a KAL (that's a Knitalong) for the lovely Delancey Cardigan.  It was love at first sight with this particular cardigan.  When the design first came out I immediately bought it and found some stash yarn and started knitting.  It wasn't until I finished the body that I realized it might be too big.

Before the sleeves it wasn't too bad.

Here's what I've determined as my problem.  Gauge, of course.  I knit a swatch like a good knitter.  I did not wash and block the swatch, but I did knit one.  That has to count for something.

To break things down: 

     My swatch was 17.25 sts x 24 rows = 4 x 4 inches in Stockinette stitch

     The required gauge was 18 sts x 26.5 rows = 4 x 4 inches in Stockinette stitch

The truth is I almost never come close to Row Gauge no matter what I do so I ignore it.  In most patterns this is not a problem.  In this pattern, IT MATTERS!!!

With sleeves, it is obviously HUGE!

Once I started picking up for the first sleeve, I realized I couldn't pick up the amount for the size I was knitting (36, btw).  I had to pick up the number for the next size up because my armhole was much larger than it should be.  I still managed to fool myself into thinking everything would be ok so I kept on knitting.  At some point I tried it on again and realized this thing made me look 50 lbs heavier than I am and it was unacceptable.

I think I could get about 5 arms in that sleeve.

This is my worst failure as a knitter so let's hope my second take on this cardigan will be more successful.

Purple fever!

I've been knitting tons of purple stuff lately.  I guess that's what happens when I decide I need to take a break from greens and blues.  My latest purple item is a cute, summery tank.

Ignore the crazy eyes. I was cold.

Pattern: Loop Entrelac Tank by Allyson Dykhuizen

Yarn: Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport

Needles: US 4 and 6

More details… here (ravelry link)

What? I'm just trying to show you the neckline detail.

This was fun to knit.  The construction is really neat and keeps things interesting.  I wore it out tonight (with a jacket, of course) and it was very comfy.  I have yet to actually wash and block it.  I think I'll try to make it a bit more roomy around the waist when I get around to blocking it.

Gotta go now.  I've got more knitting to finish before the week's out.

Can you say curly?

My new shawl/scarf is very, very curly.  I decided that's ok though.  It is colorful and the back is as cute as the front so all is well.

I'm happier about this scarf than I look.

Pattern: Speedline by Alexandra Tinsley

Yarn: Berroco Vintage and Cascade 220

Needles: US 9

More details… here (ravelry link)

Look at that masterful knitting!

The pattern was super easy and great football knitting.  The only change I made was to cast on less stitches (40 less, I think.) because I was using up stash yarn.  The pattern calls for DK weight yarn, but I used a worsted weight instead.

Just so you don't think I was too serious today.

Now for a little known fact about me (until  now).  Although I don't get the whole fake mustache craze, I am a bit obsessed with making mustaches out of random things.  My favorite is the kitty tail mustache, but I will use a vine or scarf  in a pinch.

I'll have ten, please.

It seems it is time for finished projects to start rolling in again.  I have two so far this week.  One is a gift that I won't blog about, but have posted pics to Google+ so most of you have probably seen it.  The other is a top I've been dying to make since the preview of the pattern came out months ago.  As soon as the pattern was released, I purchased it.  Since I had purchased the yarn for it the month before I was ready to start right away.

Behold the loveliness (of the top)!

Pattern: Xia by Kessa Tay Anlin

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Sport

Needles: US 3 and 6

More details… here (ravelry link)

Look at that crocheted edging!

I actually made it too small, but I think it's cute as a more fitted top.  Also, I got to crochet for the first time.  I think I did pretty good for a beginner.  As for the pattern, it was pretty straight forward.  The only thing that wasn't really obvious was the lace chart and how things repeated while doing waist increases.  It was easy enough to figure out as the the lace pattern is obvious, but a beginner might be thrown off for a second.  Also, I should've listened to other knitters, the armholes are snug.  For my fitted top, they are fine, but when I make another larger one, it might look a bit funny with pit-hugger sleeves.  I will definitely make them about an inch bigger.

Outside is so dirty!

Picture Post FTW

I'm lazy.  We all know it.  I just wanted to show you what I'm knitting for Dan and Stacy.

The yarn I'm using (and Stacy's hat started)

Blues, Greens, and Very Trendy Grellow!

I didn't think Stacy would want to see her hat on someone else's head.

For anyone interested, the pattern  is Howlcat by Alex Tinsley.

I'll talk more about things once I've completed both hats.

Everyday I'm Hustlin'

Who finished all their knitting goals?  I DID!  That's right.  I took 4 projects that were all no more than half done and finished them all up before the NFL season starts.  In an earlier post, I showed you the two scarves that I finished.  Now to show off the other two.

First up, the Americano Vest.  Loops says it's a waistcoat.  I say, this is America and I can call it a vest.

Lovely, no?

Pattern: Americano by Cirilia Rose

Yarn: Berroco Vintage Chunky

Needles: US 10

More details… here (ravelry link)

I <3 Gray!

In all honesty, I got really tired of all the finishing on this thing.  In the end I sewed up the front so the buttons are just for show.  Speaking of buttons, there are suppose to be 5, but I got lazy there too.  After putting 3 on, I decided it looked fine that way.

As long as we're talking about laziness, I might as well show you the shawl I finished.

It's big enough, right?

Pattern: Sweet November Shawl by Caryl Pierre

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Covington

Needles: US 11

More details…  here (ravelry link)

I stopped after finishing up with the first ball of yarn.  This was another thing I just totally tired of knitting.  Also, it seemed big enough.  I also opted not to put the fringe on.  I'm just not really that into fringe.

If all this excitement wasn't enough I should be back soon for another post.  I have a gift for my sister that is almost done. ;)

Love it or Hate it

It's not often I knit something that I'm not sure if I'll like or not.  Usually I have to be in love with it before I ever think of casting on.  That was not the case with Espenson.  I saw it and, while I liked it, I really thought it might come out about as flattering as a flour sack.  When on that same night I found I was able to get the yarn on sale (plus get an extra discount), I took it as a sign and decided to make it.

I think it was a success. 

Pattern: Espenson by Cirilia Rose

Yarn: Berroco Linsey

Needles: US 8

More details…  here (ravelry link)

It's a big ol' rectangle with a hole in the center. 

It's very comfy.  I wore it to supper tonight.  I think it's pretty cool.  That's all I have to say about it.

Talk to you again soon.

Coming Right Along

Just wanted to do a short post to document some FOs (that's finished objects, for you non-knitting types).  That's right.  I've actually completed a few things from my last post.  I have two scarves to show you today.

First off,  we have a scarf/shawl I started in February of 2010.

Saroyan in Pink 

Pattern: Saroyan by Liz Abinante

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted

Needles: US 10

More details…  here (ravelry link)

I really liked knitting this.  It would have been finished much earlier if I hadn't set it down for over a year.  It's actually a quick knit.  Loopers picked out the color so if it doesn't suit me, blame him. ;)

Next up, is a pattern I just kind of threw together.  I discovered garter ribbing and loved it.  I combined that with my love of gray and circular scarves and this is the result.

Gray squishiness! 

Pattern: None

Yarn: Frog Tree Meriboo

Needles: US 8

More details…  here (ravelry link)

In case you were worried I was being too serious... 

I also finished the Twin Cities Headband, but didn't get any good photos of it.  So that's 3 whole things complete.  I just counted.  There were 11 UFOs listed in my last post.  I'd be more depressed about this, but since there are 2 more projects on the brink of completion, I'm feeling pretty good about my progress so far.  Stay tuned for more FOs coming your way soon.

UFOs Everywhere!

No, sillies, it's not alien abduction time.  It's time to get my butt in gear and try to finish some  of the knitting I've started.  I figured I'd organize them into groups in hopes that the organization will help me with my procrastinating ways.

There are some things I don't have a hope of finishing soon.

Winging It Blanket 

Pickadilly Cardigan 

Soft Bubble Tunic 

These things are less than halfway through and are big projects.  Sadly, they've all been sitting for far too long.  I should really be ashamed of myself.

Then there are those projects around the halfway mark.  If I apply myself to them, there is a chance I could finish them in the near future.

Sweet November Shawl 

Americano Vest 

Saroyan Shawl 

Uhura Tank 

Garter Ribbing of Joy Scarf 

I know.  The amount of UFOs is already alarming.  Sadly, I'm not finished.

There are a couple of projects that are almost done.  I just have to take a bit of time and they could be finished.

Espenson Caftan Tee 

Twin Cities Headband 

Last, but definitely not least.  The project I must complete before Christmas.

Sofo Baby Blanket 

We'll have to wait and see how many of these projects I actually complete in the next month.  I'm not optimistic, but now that I've shown them all to the world, maybe  I'll be shamed into completing at least some of them.