You know that it is a great pattern when you knit it twice!

As soon as I finished my mittens Scott asked me if I could knit him a pair. Of course feeling guilty that I don’t finish anything for him I conceded especially when he asked if we could go find the yarn that weekend. So we went to a LYS that I’m not too fond of but I wanted to get the yarn to start this project right away with hopes of finishing them in time for my birthday. Scott of course picked out his favorite colors orange and blue. Can you see a pattern here? I’ve got a huge Mets fan in the house.



I finished the first outer shell in a flash; it only took me a day and a half. However the lining gave me trouble once again. I had planned that the pair would be done for our trip into the city for my birthday but they weren't. I did finish the second outer shell while on the train and waiting to be let into the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (which was wonderful!) and I hope that the lining will be completed in time for Valentine's Day.

First finish of 2009

The car accident left my hand so bruised that I was unable to knit for almost a month; I was dying to get back to doing something that would comfort me and take away the anxiety and sadness I felt. There were a lot of things that I was unable to do, and still cannot but thankfully it is only temporary and everything will heal in another month or so. My hand still hurts if I try to do more than I should but at least I can knit some now. My left Bird in Hand mitten was lost at the scene and couldn’t be found the next day so I began to think about a replacement pair. I had admired the Fiddlehead Mittens for a long time and desperately tried to get my hands on a kit for them but I always missed my opportunity. I purchased the pattern and found the perfect colors over at KnitPicks and my yarn arrived on New Years Eve. What wonderful timing, a new year and a new start. New Years Day I cast on with hopes that I could finish before the real January temperatures settled in. Fifteen days later I have a finished and lined pair of mittens to keep my hands warm!





I love the lining; however I did have trouble getting it to fit in correctly. The first mitten’s lining was too large and scrunched at the tip, so I ripped out the top and made it shorter. The second pair’s lining ended up being too short. I still think it is a bit short but when I do block the lining I think I can stretch it a bit. Honestly all the trouble I had was because I was too lazy to take the stitches off the needles and put them on some waste yarn to test as I knit. I guesstimated it and was wrong, but live and learn. Overall the pattern was wonderfully written and all the directions were clear. These are my favorite mittens ever! In fact I’m looking to find more colors and make Scott a pair.

100th post/2008 wrap up

I love how my 100th post also coincides with my 2008 wrap up.



I knitted/crocheted and or finished 5 pairs of socks, one of which is from my own handspun, 1 pair of mittens, 5 toys, 2 washcloths, 1 blanket, 1 scarf, 1 hat, 1 shawl from my own handspun, and 1 Christmas tree ornament.

I am very proud that I was a bit more selfless with my knitting this year. The duck was for a coworker before I left for my full-time job, the elephants and washcloths were for my cousin's babies, the crocheted toys were for Scott and my brother and the shawl was for my mom. I think I was most proud that I finished the Saffron Cables blanket and my mom's shawl. I never thought that I would finish something so large; it is the most used knitted item in our home. My mom's scarf was the most beautiful thing that I created from the almost very beginning to a completed item.

I also improved on my spinning throughout the year.


The most important thing I learned this year with my spinning is to make sure that I spin all that is needed to finish a project at the same time. I did not spin enough "Walking on the Sun" to finish my shawl, the second attempt at this yarn is a bit thicker than the first sitting but that is fine with me.

There were also some items that were not finished:


I finished 3 single socks (one of which is a knee-high from my own handspun) which are still waiting for their mates, 2 sweaters, 1 which only needs half a sleeve and the zipper, 1 shrug and 4 shawls, 3 which are not pictured (Lily of the Valley, Peacock Feathers and Ene's Scarf), also not pictured 7 socks various stages of completion.

My 2009 plans are to spin one skein of yarn a month to decrease my fiber stash. Now I know that by doing so I will only be increasing my yarn stash, but let's ignore that for the moment. I also want to start finishing my lingering WIPS, especially the sweaters. I would also love to knit a pair of socks a month, but I know that is a lofty goal. I did not finish a single sock from the 2008 Rockin Sock Club, I would love to be able to do so, along with knitting down my sock stash. This will probably not happen, but I would love to try to at least keep up with the current club that will be shipping out soon.

Well there it is, my 2009 goals out in cyberland for all to see and for all to keep me honest. This might be the first year that I set actual goals that I can keep track of so December will be interesting.

Catch up part 4

My mom taught me to knit when I was little, maybe about five years old. Like many children as I grew up I lost interest while in my teen years but as I left for college I asked her to show me how again. While in college I visited a beautiful yarn store not too far from where the school was. It was there that I learned how to read patterns and took a class on how to knit a sweater. Looking back I really should have gone there more. When I graduated from college I wanted to learn how to make socks and from there it just snowballed. My mom always admired my work and asked for me to knit her something. Over the years I made her some mitts, and two pairs of socks but this Christmas I wanted to make her something very special. I could not think of anything more special than spinning the yarn myself and then turning it into a beautiful shawl.

I began spinning some beautiful red roving from Spunky Eclectic on my very fast flyer. It was a learning experience as I was still very new to spinning.

This


turned into this


which then was knitted into the Garden Party Shawl






I am the most proud of this project than anything else I've knitted. I learned so much along the way through spinning and knitting. The pattern is written very well, the construction is something new to me. The center leaf panel is knitted first, then the sides one at a time, you then knit across the entire thing to finish the body of the shawl, finally the edging is picked up from the live stitches. Over all this was a very fun and quick shawl to knit. My mom is absolutely over the moon with her new shawl!

Catch up part 3

I finally finished a pair of socks from the 2007 Rockin' Sock Club, the colorway is Firebird and the pattern is Fawkes. This colorway and pattern fit so well together that I could not pass up making these.


They were finished the week that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was supposed to be released. Which by the way I'm still ticked off that I have to wait until July to see.

Catch Up part 2

I had grand plans for hand made gifts this year and I was well on the way to actually doing it before Christmas until the accident happened. This January my brother will be going to his first grown up job in the corporate world so I found the best gift ever, the crocheted Corporate Zombie from Creepy Cute Crochet. I picked up this book and instantly had to start making an army of cute. My first attempt was the monkey to decorate Scott's desk at work.


I love how his came out; I really think that the clay eyes really make this little guy. I started to make and assemble the corporate zombie, the cyber zombie(my brother is a huge World of Warcraft player) and the ninja. The day of the accident I finished the ninja:



This picture isn't the best because I had to take it inside at night but you get the idea. I will finish the others for him soon and continue to build an army of cute!

With my mom's and brother's help I was able to finish and stuff this little heart sachet with the pine needles from the first Christmas Tree that Scott and I put up during our first year of marriage.



This was knitted from left of Socks that Rock in Mustang Sally from the first year of the Rocking Sock Club.

Catch Up Part 1

A new year has arrived and I have made it my resolution to make the effort to blog more. I had planned to blog about my trip to Chicago and a FO but in early December my husband Scott, myself, and two of our closest friends were hit head on by a drunk driver on a Sunday night. Scott broke his wrist, our friends have whiplash and since I was leaning forward to play with the radio my collar bone snapped nearly in two. We were all badly bruised, my worst was around my pelvis which at one point everyone was concerned that it was also broken. We are all on the mend but it will be a slow and painful process. Finally after nearly a month I am finally able to knit again because the bruising has gone down on my hand.

Chicago was lovely, not at all cold or windy when we went. It was nice to have Thanksgiving with relatives that we hardly see. This was the first time Scott has celebrated a holiday with his father's parents. Wednesday we took the train from his grandparent's house into the city and did all the touristy stuff you can cram into a day. We went to the top of Sears Tower and saw the skyline:



and the Hancock Building:




Took photos at the Bean:




I'm sporting my new Koolhaas knit from malabrigo yarn in bijou blue. This was knit in two days, because the first attempt was too small and I desperately wanted to finish it before we went on the plane.

We also visited the Art Institute of Chicago and hit up Loopy Yarns where I picked up some Koigu yarn for Twilight Mitts and some Colinette Jitterbug.







I really love the little bag that they gave me with my purchase. I would love to have a shop like that close by, I could have easily bought up a lot more but I was trying to be good.