Wrapped in love

Or at least alpaca and bamboo. =)

Last winter, a friend saw my then newly-knit fingerless gloves and asked for a pair so we went off in search of some great yarn while working in Portland. She picked up two skeins of Qina from Mirasol Yarn, a blend of alpaca and bamboo, in a beautiful charcoal grey. I haven't been knitting much this year so the yarn has been sitting, unloved, for much too long. Now that the temps are starting to drop (everywhere but here apparently), I thought it was time to pull this out and give it a go.

This weekend I finished off a few of my older projects that sat unfinished far too long, with this project as a bit of incentive. I didn't want to start anything new with all the old stuff still sitting there. Mission accomplished and guilt abated. =) So after finishing the others, I cast on the pair of delayed fingerless mitts for my friend on Sunday.... finishing Monday. This yarn is so yummy! Soft and warm. I think they'll be well-received. The pattern I chose, Fetching, knit up incredibly quickly and took only one full skein and just a bit from skein two for the second thumb. They weigh exactly 50g though so had I been careful, I could have used just the one skein after all, but I had fears of running out on that second thumb and having to pick back. heh

Love the picot bind-off!

Since we didn't have a specific pattern in mind all those months ago, she purchased two skeins of this luxurious-feeling yarn. Still having almost a full skein left, I decided I wanted to make something else cozy to go with the mitts. Using the cable pattern used on Fetching, I worked up a pattern for a small cowl/neck warmer with a button closure but didn't like the way it was coming out halfway through so I reworked it into a circular cowl instead and started over. Had to resize it halfway through and start over, but I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Here are the details for A Fetching Cowl:

Yarn is DK weight, size 6 needles (a set of dpns will work, but a 16" circ makes it even quicker!)

Gauge: 25 st and 26 rows to 4" (worked in rib pattern, unstretched of course)

Finished measurements: @17" around and @5" tall (again, unstretched, the rib allows plenty of room to pass over the head)

CO = cast on

BO = bind off

PM = place marker
st = stitches
K = knit
P = purl

C4F = transfer 2 st to cable needle, hold to front of work, K2, K2 off cable needle

C4B = transfer 2 st to cable needle, hold to back of work, K2, K2 off cable needle

CO 110 st in a stretchy CO (I used the cable cast-on)

PM and join in the round.

Round 1 (R1): *K4, P1*, repeat to end of round

Repeat R1 until just before the halfway point. If using my measurements, repeat until your cowl reaches just shy of 2 1/2". (I did this by weight since I was working with a small amount of yarn and wanted to get the most out of it - just weigh the remainder of the ball you're working from and work your cable round when you have a little over half left.)

Cable round: *C4B, P1*, repeat 10 more times, *C4F, P1*, repeat 10 more times.

Repeat R1 for another 2 1/4" (or adjust if you've made yours smaller or bigger).

P 1 round. (This will help a bit with the cowl wanting to roll and make it match if you've used the cable cast-on.)

BO in your favorite stretch manner. Weave in ends. =)

Resizing the pattern -For a larger or smaller cowl, simple add or subtract your CO stitches by multiples of 5 and adjust your cable round to suit your CO number. A multiple of 10 CO stitches will result in an even number of cables leaning right and left, but no one will notice if there aren't an even amount!

Perfect as a set! (And ridiculously quick to knit! Hmm, Christmas gifts anyone?)

What's this?!

Not one...

not two...

but THREE finished objects today???

Yep! I now only have TWO UFOs! And one of those only needs a strap added (all crocheting finished) once I manage to actually find one. The other is a crochet blanket started earlier this year that I really need to start working on again. Been awhile since I didn't have any UFOs from previous years lurking around. heh

**The pics all link to the project pages on Ravelry if you're interested in details. =)

Happy October!

I'm a few days late, but I LOVE October! The apples and pumpkins, the chill in the air, the crunch of fallen leaves under my feet, the gorgeous, colorful trees! What's not to love?! I can't wait until the trees really start turning around here - so far, not much color to be found, but it's coming!

The cooler temps have brought back a bit of my knitting mojo. I pulled out the scarf I started back in August and am pretty close to being finished. Just deciding how long I want it to be. No new pics. It looks the same, only longer. ;-) Trying to decide on a hat pattern to go with it. Or maybe just a pair of mittens - I know those would get more use. Any suggestions on patterns?

Haven't finished up my crochet bag either. It's all finished other than adding a strap... something I haven't had any luck so far in finding. I'm looking for something probably an inch to inch and a half wide and long enough to carry messenger style across the body. I looked at Joann's but only found thin straps. Anyone know of a good place for something like that? I thought about using a belt, but would really like something with the rings attached on both ends for easier attachment.

Maybe a week or so ago, I hit Big Lots and found some awesome deals on critter stuff! Not sure why I never think of them, but I'll definitely be going in more often now. Seriously, dog toys for $2-3, pet beds for $7! Speaking of beds... I bought the beds for my mondo (but getting slightly less so) cats. These beds are roughly 15" across in the center. Perfect, comfy fit:

Well, someone else decided they just might be a perfect fit for him as well:

"What?! It's got a dog bone on it, right?"

A little spillover, but not bad for a 13-yr-old, 35-lb dog! heh

I've spent the past two days watching another photography seminar online while I work my day job (thereby making the day job not quite as mind-numbing). Nope, I can't get enough! It's so inspiring listening to those who've been there and made their businesses successful already. I always come away from these seminars amazed at how much I can learn in such a short time. I loved my photography classes, but I think I've learned more from these free (or nearly free) workshops/seminars than I did in school... and saved a good bit of cash too! Always a good thing. =)

Sweet, tart and a little twisted

I finished the bag I'd started in my last post. No finished pics yet though. The bag itself has been done a couple weeks, but I still need to find a strap for it. Just haven't made it to a store that has that sort of thing quite yet.

I also started a scarf.

I'm about halfway done and planning to make a hat and gloves with the same yarn. It'll go well with my chocolate brown wool coat. =)

I also baked just a bit.

A little sweet, a little tart... lemon bars! Haven't had these since I was a kid so when I saw these in The Joy of Vegan Baking, I just had to try 'em out. Seriously, good eats! =)

Christmas Gifts - Done!

Finally finished the never-ending scarf! Scarf + sock yarn = way too much knitting the same pattern over and over! I pretty much knit this exclusively on planes/in airports so it took awhile to finish, but it's done! And it's been getting lots of compliments from flight attendants along the way too. =) I love it... but I'm SO glad it's done! Really felt like the miles (okay, 6 feet) of scarf would never end. haha Fingering weight yarn (and boredom with the pattern) makes for sloooooow going. Not the pattern's fault. It's super easy and there was no pattern I had to keep handy to refer to... just reminded myself why I rarely knit scarves! =) Scarves remind me of being a kid, riding in a car with my parents asking, "Are we there yet?!" Tomorrow, the scarf and matching fingerless mitts will be heading a bit north to Everett, WA, to keep their new owner warm and toasty.Should be a good fit for the mild Pacific NW winter. =)

Be mine?

Got to the office this morning and this little guy was hanging out on my charts! =) Thankfully, he's pretty squishy so he should fit into my (already overstuffed) suitcase for the trip home in a couple weeks.

Hope you all have a happy Valentine's Day! I'll be spending mine in Seattle... alone. Planning a little road trip. Had I known Madrona was going on this weekend, I'd have planned to head down there. Still a little tempted. =) Alternatively, I do have a few choices here to while away the time:

The Unoriginal Surf & Turf Hat

I've been planning to make this hat for awhile now. I love cables and had the perfect, chunky yarn with me here in Seattle. I wanted a quick project to knit between socks and this fit the bill perfectly. Made to match my Flippy Scarf and took only one evening to knit up, start to finish. Couldn't have been easier. =) And I should have enough of that yarn left to knit up a pair of matching fingerless gloves too.

Back Knitting in Seattle!

I'm back in Seattle at last! I headed onto the plane with three WIPs to keep me busy. =) I finished Tito's dog sweater (other than finding buttons) and had mostly finished the scarf on the plane. I like the look of ribbing, but geez, that's a lot of 1x1 ribbing! It is finished now though.


Not so sure I'm loving this yarn though. It's Moda Dea Tweedle Dee. Seems like it might pill badly and look kinda ratty rather quickly. Too bad. It's so pretty. I have another skein of this yarn too.

The socks have made it past the heel finally! Took a few tries to get it right, but I finally got the hang of the short row heel. Had to try a couple different methods to find one I liked the look of. I'm now about an inch into the ribbing for the cuff. =)

How many do I need?

Just how many WIPs do I need? Apparently, FOUR. heh

There's a ruffly scarf that I ended up frogging last night. (Soon to be replaced on the needles by a cabled hat to match... this scarf:

Sort of. The yarn's the same, the pattern doesn't really match, but whatev. =) Different ruffly scarf pattern from the first, turning out better due to a more appropriate yarn choice. I'll definitely try that first pattern again... with completely different (much less droopy) yarn. =) Then, there's the dog sweater that I still need to finish:
Kinda stalled on that one a bit. I'm about up to the shoulders and need to figure out how I want to do the front portion. I'll have to go in search of buttons in Seattle. Luckily, there's a yarn shop just half a mile from my hotel!

And last, but not least (def. the one I'm most excited about!), my socks! Here's my second (much better) attempt after frogging the first. It's actually an inch or so longer than in this pic now. =) I'm starting to get the draw of socks. It's fun knitting round and round and seeing something wearable come of it (that's not a hat)! And so small and portable too! I see many socks in my flying future...

Love, love, love the colorway! It remains to be seen how many of these will need to make the trip to Seattle this weekend to be finished. The socks, surely. The sweater, possibly. The hat, probably. The scarf, doubtful. =)

Another FO - Branching Out Scarf

Finally finished! Here's my Branching Out scarf in Berroco Pleasure (angora, merino wool, nylon blend). I love it! Glad it's finished and I can concentrate on other things, but I love it!! All that's left to do is blocking.

The knitting gods have been smiling on me lately. I only had maybe 3" of yarn left from the hooded scarf (yay!) and this one I cut way too close for comfort. I ran out of yarn just two stitches (yes, you read that right - two measely stitches!) shy of having it bound off and finished! I'd sort of done a quick measurement when I started getting low on yarn and had decided I had just enough yarn left for one more repeat of the lace pattern and the few rows of garter stitch. I came SO close! Luckily, I had left a bit of a long tail where I joined in the second skein so I was able to attach a few more inches of yarn and finish binding off without having to rip back anything. Whew! Of course, had I left a shorter tail in the first place, I'd have had just enough in the end without resorting to knots. haha It all worked out though. =)

Lace is pretty and interesting, but it's something you definitely have to pay more attention to - certainly not mindless knitting. This pattern's a 10-row repeat and around row 150, I was getting really bored and wishing for it to end. haha I think I'll try some lace patterns on some dish cloths - pretty, but over quickly. =)

Next up: wash/dish cloths and a pair of fingerless gloves for Christmas gifts!

Mom's Hooded Scarf

I'd planned a completely different project for my mom for Christmas (a mobius scarf), but she had other ideas... She'd bought a new pair of knitted golves and wanted a hooded scarf to match. I've looked at multiple yarn shops and chain craft stores looking for appropriate yarn to make it out of and finally settled on some Bernat bulky weight yarn in a tan/cream combo. It's not quite what I was looking for, but it's machine washable (her preference) and close enough color-wise to work. So then, I went in search of a simple pattern that I could knit up quickly and wouldn't be too intricate since this colorway doesn't show stitches very well and cables or most other stitches would be pretty much wasted. I found a few sort of promising patterns, but nothing exactly like what I wanted (simple, one-piece, minimal seaming). So... I made up my own pattern. =)

SUPPLIES:

256 yds of bulky-weight yarn (I used 2 full skeins of Bernat Softee Chunky Twists in Taupe Twists with just a few inches leftover)
size US 11 needles (either circular or 14" straights - I started on 14" and then switched to 10" for the scarf since I had both on hand)
2 stitch markers (not necessary but will make this an even easier project)
stitch holder
yarn needle

gauge = 12 sts/16 rows to 4" square (adjust needle size to get gauge)

PATTERN:

CO 90 sts

Row 1 (wrong side): (p2,k2) 4 times, (place stitch marker) p58, (place stitch marker) (k2, p2) 4 times

Row 2 (right side): (k2, p2) 4 times, k58 (to next stitch marker), (p2, k2) 4 times

Repeat rows one and two until hood is within 1" of desired depth front to back, ending on a wrong side row. Mine measured right about 9" at this point.

Ribbing Row 1 (right side): (k2, p2) 22 times, k2

Ribbing Row 2 (wrong side): (p2, k2) 22 times, p2

Repeat ribbing rows 1 and 2. This should give you about an inch of ribbing if using bulky-weight yarn.

Next Row (right side): (k2, p2) 5 times, k2, transfer these 18 stitches to a stitch holder, bind off next 54 stitches in pattern (you should have two stitches left before stitch marker), (k2, p2) 5 times, k2 (18 live stitches left on needle)

Now, you're ready to knit the scarf on one side.

Scarf Row 1 (wrong side): (p2,k2) 4 times, p2

Scarf Row 2 (right side): (k2, p2) 4 times, k2

Repeat scarf rows one and two until scarf is desired length, ending on a wrong side row.

Bind off on right side in pattern.
*If you have a limited amount of yarn to work with, knit the first side to the length you think you want and then transfer live stitches to a stitch holder and wait to bind off until second side is completed. Do not cut yarn. Use the free end from the skein to knit the second side. This is the best way to be sure you have enough yarn to knit both sides to the same length - you'll be able to add to or rip back from the first side - and also avoid wasting yarn. I tossed maybe 3" of yarn from the 2nd skein this way. =)

Transfer live stitches from stitch holder to needle and repeat scarf rows until length matches other side, ending on a wrong side row. Bind off on right side in pattern. Bind off first side if not already done.

You now have something that looks like this:

Fold in half lengthwise and stitch up back of hat. Weave in all ends.

Finished this in one day. I really like how it came out. =) I think I need to make one for myself... after Christmas.


I'm thinking the next one will have some minor changes. I'll CO 98 sts in order to add another repeat of the rib pattern to the width of the scarf section. I'll need a bit more yardage though.

Excited again!

My Branching Out scarf is just over halfway finished and it looks like I have just enough yarn with the two small skeins to get a scarf of a decent length. Blocking will help. Not sure yet who's getting that one. I picked up yarn tonight for my sister's wrist warmers. She likes black so I'm hoping she'll like this:


It'll be more fun to knit up than just plain black and I'll be able to do a simpler (quick) pattern and it'll still look good. =) I also picked up something for a friend's new puppy:


Had to find something appropriate for a boy and again, I'll be able to do a simpler pattern and get something more impressive looking than just a solid color. =) Gotta remember my tape measure tomorrow to measure the pup for his new sweater.

Off to work on my scarf...

Current WIPs

As I was photographing my stash for Ravelry (whew), I had to face up to my WIPs...

This is my oldest WIP - It's a cushion meant for the bottom of my kitty kennel (color coordinated even) and has been on the needles for a veeeeeerrrrrrry long time (years) - halfway done. I occasionally pull it out and knit a few rows before sticking it back in the bag. haha I love the cushy texture and that there's no need to carry the alternate yarn across. Pattern is from the Snuggles Project (Hugs for Homeless Animals). Someday I'll finish it. =)


Something more recent - A Gryffindor Bookscarf (Charmed Knits)! This is meant for my mom who is a HUGE Harry potter fan. I'd hoped to finish it before she finished the latest book. She's reading slowly. It may still happen. Stockinette in the round just isn't holding my attention. =(

Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting. So cute and quick to knit up. All that's left is the seeming. Um, it's been a couple weeks since I cast off... Not a big seem fan. That's why I love knitting in the round - other than stockinette apparently. =)

Latest cast on - A fabric stitch bath mitt. This is nice and smooth on one side and bumpier on the other. Perfect for face/body. I'm knitting this wide enough to fold over and seem for a mitt instead of a washcloth. So far, so good. =) The pattern is simple and the colors pretty. However, classes start Wednesday... Might put a tiny crimp in the knitting plans. =)