Innovations in Knitting?

My world if finally coming to a calm period again.  Which means I can finally update!  As a birthday gift to myself, I took my first ever knitting class.  The class was to make the Hugs n Kisses Wrap designed by Shiri Mor at Knitter's Therapy, a most amazing LYS run by the wonderful Shawna.  She has definitely been the sweetest and friendliest person I've ever met working at a yarn store.  Shiri is a super nice and down to earth person and very enthusiastic about what she does.

The pattern itself is a rather easy cable pattern.  I really love how the center braid looks.  Our yarn used for the pattern came out a lot fuzzier than Shiri's sample had, even though it was the same line of yarn.  I don't mind though because it's just so soft and cuddly.  The yarn is Suri Merino by Blue Sky Alpaca.

This is where I was early in the month with it...

Not too long into the pattern, I can't help but notice mistakes I made at the very beginning of the cables.  I try to ignore it, continuing to the knit knowing no one but myself will ever see them.  

Can I leave it alone though?  Of course not.  My knitting OCD took over and I dropped 3 different cables down to pretty much the first couple rows just to fix it.  

But now I'm happy I did because I know it's perfect and I can't let myself have anything but when I know I am capable of doing it.  

The XO's are so adorable and you can see the mitred border that I started on the bottom.  The wrap is much longer now but no new pictures yet.

I started to get bored with this recently actually so I've been looking for some other patterns to do.   At the second class for the Hugs n Kisses Wrap I bought lots of yarn to make the Favorite Cardigan from Custom Knits.  I love Wendy's blog....it's definitely one of my favorites out there...and I love her book.  The yarn I bought for the project is Karabella Margrite...soooo soft I'm in love with it.  I spent all of last night knitting the swatch.  Usually I'm a loose knitter so I just automatically go with a needle size smaller than the pattern recommends.  That didn't work for me so I tried the recommended size...still no luck.  I'm actually using a size larger than recommended...something that has NEVER happened to me before.  I guess there really is a first for everything!

Now for my little "innovation" update.  At the Hugs and Kisses class, Shiri commented that it looked a little weird the way I was wrapping my yarn.  She had me do it slowly so she could watch closely and discovere that I knit wrong.  Not a first, but it's been so long that I've done it this way!  Luckily, it's not a big deal, I'm just wrapping the yarn over the right needle instead of from the underside to go over it.  All it does is twist my stitches a little bit and really it doesn't bother me (this actually helps me count rows a lot easier in stockingette stitch).  She said it would affect my gauge but I've never had a problem with it so I have no intentions of changing my ways now.  I just need to note if I'm ever teaching someone to knit (again) to show them the right way to wrap the yarn instead of my way.  I think this is partially why I'm such a fast knitter...it definitely takes noticeably less time to wrap my way.  Maybe this is also why I'm such a loose knitter?  Either way, it works for me.

Pretty Pretty Headbands

My unemployed friend has started to make pretty headbands to pass the time and try to make a few extra bucks recently.  Lover of all things Etsy that I am sent her there to create a store...and she did!  Everyone should go and buy some cute cheap headbands.  She's making me one tonight so I'll have to try to get a picture wearing it tomorrow...it's getting to be a pain not having a camera anymore!

Finally!

Chris's ski mask is finally done!  All the finishing is done and everything is woven in.  Unfortunately, I don't know when Chris will be coming up from North Carolina so I'll have to mail it to him.  

Pattern:  Lucha Libre

Source:  Son of Stitch 'n Bitch

Yarn:  Cascade 220

Mods:  I knit the pattern in the round because I loathe seaming.  I also only knit in one color because Chris would not appreciate the obnoxious wrestler face designs :o)

I had to put it on so you can get the full effect.  It doesn't quite fit my head since it was designed for a guy's face, but you get the idea :o)

2008 Is Done Already???

Wow I can't believe it's been a year...A YEAR since I've posted. I've definately done a lot of knitting this past year and definately have had no time for posting. Probably because most of the time the only chance I had to knit was on my lunch break at work...but I'm definately anticipating a lot more time for knitting soon. I feel like I've knit a lot, but have nothing to show for it this year. So many FOs and no pictures because I was always in such a rush last minute to get them done as gifts. Here's some of the bigger projects from this year...

Lesley's Bikini from Greetings from Knit Cafe came out absolutely awesome. She never did send me a picture of her wearing it though like she promised :o( .

I made my first pair of mittens...bum gloves if you will. I bought the handspun yarn from http://www.sheknitigans.com/ aka Coley at the West Islip Craft Fair in September or October. The yarn was half bamboo and half wool...absolutely amazing to work with, even though it leaves little fuzzies everywhere :o) After making these I went on a mitten frenzy...I made a pair for Grandpa for Christmas, even though I got them to him late. Unfortunately, he didn't quite appreciate the removable cap as much as I thought he would (he thought they were awesome when I first made them...he told me to pattent them...silly since I got the pattern out of knit.1 magazine) and he had me sew them closed. All well they still came out awesome :o)

I had my first experience using the double knitting method and now I'm absolutely addicted. I made a friend a scarf for Christmas (finished it that day!) using it and it was sooooo easy. I've got two more double knitting projects lined up in the queue. I'll have to harass him for a decent photo of that scarf.

Nicole's Argyle Socks still aren't done. I think they're going to get scrapped actually. I still can't bring myself to look at them now. They frustrate me beyond belief, even though I really enjoyed the argyle pattern. There were just soooo many strands of yarn, always getting tangled...ugh. Even now the thought of it stresses me. Maybe eventually. One of them was up to the heel too so they're close to being done. Hopefully they'll be done by her next birthday.

These days I'm working on a baby blanket for my ex's brother and sister-in-law. I know...it's weird but I promised her a hand knit baby blanket. She uses the knifty knitter loom thing because she didn't have the patience when she tried to learn to knit. I tried the knifty knitter (I was jealous how fast she finished projects!). Yea...I'm not a fan. Give me my harmony needles any day! The blanket is from Vogue Knitting On the Go Baby Blankets Two...seriously can they make that title any longer?? It's a really simple cable and rib blanket that I've made before and I'm using stash yarn (yay for not buying any more!) that I got on clearance at Michael's forever ago. I really didn't think it was worth buying nice new yarn...might as well use up the cheap stuff taking up valuable stash space.

I'm also making a ski mask for the step-dad. He requested it and I actually had a pattern...from Son of Stitch 'n Bitch. I adjusted the pattern so I could knit it in the round instead of flat and took out the color work...my step-dad definately wouldn't be a fan of the interesting wrestlers design on it. Unfortunately I can't get a good photo of it...I lost my camera and only have the camera phone to rely on these days for pictures and the dark brown wool just isn't looking so great in the pictures.

Back to Knitting

The night before New Year's Eve was the official end to my unintentional sabbatical from knitting. Thank goodness.

The week of Thanksgiving I got an awesome promotion at work...I now have my own classroom at the day care (a whopping $3 raise...more awesome for my resume than anything). The only problem with this is I have had NO time for ANYTHING. The house is a mess and I literally did not knit or even keep up with my knitting blogs. I could barely keep up with my email inbox. I dropped Weight Watchers (maybe restarting this week??). I worked overtime every day and worked at least one day a weekend at the card store.

I know I'm whining. But it was a crazy 2 months. But now they're cutting down on overtime and I'm having more time during the day to get stuff done at work. And I'm so happy to be knitting again.

I caught myself up on lots of knitting blogs this afternoon. Last weekend I found a blog of a girl I graduated high school with which lead me to Etsy. This is great for anyone trying to sell anything they knit or otherwise make. I'm thinking of opening my own store soon for all my random knitting projects (subway scarf projects and leftover yarn baby blankets).

I also recently got my very fist iPod. I know I'm behind, but I had an awesome Creative Zen mp3 player from before iPods were even known...but I dropped it too many times and it stopped working. I tried so hard to fix it but nothing worked. With lots of Christmas money, I caved and bought an iPod. Oh the wonders I was missing out on. I have been addicted to listening to back episodes of the KnitPicks podcasts. I can't wait to get the books Kelly talks about and try some new knitting techniques. I'm really getting bored of the same old projects and am so ready for real sweaters and socks.

Slowly Making Some Progress

Work is still keeping me busy these days and on top of that (and getting ready for the holidays) I just applied for a grant to take an online class. The class total costs about 2 grand and there's no way I'm paying for any of that. If I get the grant, then I'll take it. The class is 3 sections that at the end I'll have an Associates Degree for preschool. Just something else to add to my resume that will hopefully help me get a real job for next school year.

As for my knitting, I've started the Menswear Striped Scarf for Chris' Christmas gift, although if it's done early enough I'll just give it to him for his birthday. Not that he really needs it in NC but maybe for when he and Mom come up here for visits or his trip to Mt. Everest, if that ever actually happens.

I've also finished a simple blue crochet scarf that I work on in the mornings. Some of the traffic lights take so long that I work on it mostly when I'm sitting at them. It only took about two weeks of mostly working on it only then.

I frogged the almost finished fingerless glove I was working on. I totally screwed up one of the cables and since it wasn't going to fit my hands anyway, I just took the whole thing apart. I have to re-work the pattern to fit my hand. I actually checked the gauge on this and everything so I'm not sure why it came out too tight. I think it's because the yarn is thinner than was used on the glove I was copying.

Last week I went to the Village Knitter for some yarn for a pair of socks that will eventually be for Nicole. They're going to be argyle in pink, purple and an off-white. I actually already have her Christmas gift for this year so I'll probably save them for a post-holidays project for next year's birthday.

I feel like I've got so many projects to get done for the holidays and so little time to work on them. I stayed at work late Wednesday for a meeting (2 and a half hours!) and I worked on Chris' scarf through the whole thing. I need to stop reading so many knitting blogs so I have more time for my own knitting!

la di dah

I still haven't been able to take a picture of the finished poncho yet :o(. Daylight Savings is killing me. I can't remember the last time I got home from work when it was light out. And the 1986 lamp in our living room just isn't going to cut it for taking pictures of my FOs. Also because I've been getting home so late, I haven't had time to work on pretty much ANYTHING. I started the cabled baby blanket just as something to do during my breaks at work but then switched to a Harry Potter scarf for a lady who left work for another center. Needless to say, with 2 days notice to her leaving, I did not finish. Now in the mornings when I get to work a little early I started a double crocheted and shells scarf. I made a bunch of these last year as Christmas gifts and figured that I could just make it for a backup gift. They work up really quick (it's 3 rows of dc and then a shell border).

And speaking of gifts, I still have not finished Nicole's birthday gift or started any other Christmas gifts. I think I'm going to the Village Knitter for some new yarn for one project (it's their first birthday and I got a 25% off coupon in the mail for my whole order!!!). I don't think the yarn I originally bought will work for the pattern.

Part of the reason I haven't started any gifts is my needles. The situation with them is disasterous. I don't know where pretty much all of them are. Some are in a decorative box at my mom's (or maybe I brought it here....I don't really know anymore). Some are in the living room with my current projects. And some are in the screen house packed away with all my things from college. AAAHHHH! I have to start moving things out of my mom's house so they can put it on the market so hopefully soon my life will be somewhat more organized.

Not knitting related, but I'm telling you anyway. So far I've lost 6 pounds! Woot. And that's without exercising. I know I should exercise more but I just don't have the time or energy after chasing my kids at work all day. I do my best to get a nice 20 minute walk in while the kids are on the playground...they love to hold my hand and just circulate the playground. It's not much but it's the best I can do right now.