Things I have knit and not posted about: Part 1.

This is a hat that I made a few weeks ago for Jim. I found this yarn and loved it. It was the perfect shades of grey. After I got home, I immediately wound a ball and started knitting. Hmm... looks a little more purple now. He says he likes it and I believe him. I also think I will wear it more than he will. Either way, it was a great, quick knit.Pattern: Cap Karma Hat from Smariek Knits.

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino worsted

Goodbye, Christmas. See you again next year.

Whoa, where have I been? The older you get the more stressful Christmas seems to be. Remember the days when all you had to do was wake up Christmas morning? There was no shopping, no traveling, and no splitting time between families. Those were the days.

Anyway, in the upcoming weeks there may be some posting that isn't knitting related. I was much more into crafts when I was younger and learning to knit has got me started up again. I received some great books that I am really looking forward to getting into once I settle down from all the holiday action:I also got 2 years subscription to Martha Stewart Living. What a lucky, lucky girl I am!

Creepy?

Does anyone else think this picture is a little creepy? It is the Kitty pattern from the Winter issue of Knitty. Once I scrolled down and saw the second picture, I felt a little better. But that first picture, man. Creepy.

Le Slouch

Because I mentioned it, here is Le Slouch:This was finished while the camera was broken and I never bothered with this post. It is, of course, Le Slouch by Wendy of Knit and Tonic. I used Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight yarn in black.
So...maybe I like black hats. Don't judge me.

Oh, a hat.

Another slouchy hat? Yes, please!Pattern: Sea Urchin Hat

Needles: US size 10 circs and dpn

Yarn: Knit Picks Cadena in coal, just over 1 skein

Modifications: I only made the hat about 5.5" before starting the decrease rounds because I didn't want it to be that slouchy.

Yes, it is similar to the Le Slouch that I made but that hat is made of sport weight yarn and this one is bulky yarn. (I just realized I never posted Le Slouch here, you can find it on Ravelry though.) This will actually be a great warm hat when it starts to get really cold.

I'm really starting to wonder how many hats one person really needs. Well, the most basic answer would be one. To keep a head warm, one hat would be needed. Alright, add in the fact that I am a female: two more hats. Take into consideration I am knitting them myself: two more hats. I live in Chicago and it is really cold here: another hat, maybe. I ride the bus and the subway and hats seem to be left on seats at least once a year: one hat for every hat lost. How many is that? Seven hats; seven hats are necessary for a girl who knits living in Chicago. How many do I have? Well, lets just say we are currently in double digits. How many have I made myself? Four...in the last three months. So, I need just a few more and I'll be set.

Really?

So I saw this post on Re:Knit and just starred at it with a gaping mouth. I absolutely love this. It is made by an artist named Rachel Denny and you can find more examples of her work at her website racheldenny.com.My childhood home is decorated with not one, not two, but three deer heads. One of which, lucky for my mother, is in my parents' bedroom. While I am a vegetarian, I still love the aesthetic and homey feeling this represents for me. A knit deer head is a perfect compromise. I really can't afford a $550 knit deer head right now but maybe someone will be generous for Christmas. Is it silly that I do really, really want this?

Take that, Harry Potter.

It's finished, it's finished! That dang Harry Potter scarf that has been giving me an ulcer is finally finished, tassels and all. I was thinking that this scarf would be a lot longer than it is. But, I've followed the pattern exactly and there is no chance that I will make it any longer.

Now on to more Christmas knittng....

Lace knitting?!?!

I've read online that people who try lace knitting for the first time are often frustrated and feel like it is learning to knit all over again. It can't be that hard, can it? These people have probably known how to knit for most of their lives and don't remember learning to knit. I'm still fresh, still learning, it won't be that hard for me.

Well, yesterday I cast on with my newly purchased knit picks yarn. No pattern in mind, I wanted to knit a few rows garter stitch and then stockinette stitch just to get the hang of it before I started in on a pattern. All my feelings of, 'it can't be that hard,' went out the window. This is hard. I have cast on and then ripping out different shawl patterns five times in hopes of finding a pattern that will work better than the previous one. Eventually I am going to have to suck it up and just pick one and come to terms with the fact that the finished product isn't going to look very nice.

To all you lace knitters out there: you are all crazy and I am envious of your skill and patience.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a great day planned. Today I am thankful that I am finally blocking the Harry Potter scarf and that winter is here in Chicago. We woke up and it was snowing.

We are going to Jim's Aunt's for dinner and will be bringing a peach pie with candied pecan topping and a loaf of multi-grain bread baked by yours truly. With some help from a very naughty cat named Tabitha.

Clean Slate by 2008

I just joined the Clean Slate by 2008 knit-a-long on Ravelry. Not sure if it is too late to be including officially in the knit-a-long but I thought it would be great motivation to finish up some UFOs. (All the links are to Ravelry)

UFO #1:

Harry Potter Scarf from atypically.knit: this is being knit for a friend to give her boyfriend for Christmas, Gryffindor of course. Current Progress: 75% done.

UFO #2:

Camo hat- a basic ribbed hat, this is an experiment with cheap camouflage yarn I found at Jo-Ann Fabrics. My family loves hunting, fishing, and other camo related things. Current progress: 40% done.

UFO #3:

Gloves for Mom-Christmas present for my Mom. She picked out the yarn so I'm not ruing a surprise here. Current progress: 50% done.

UFO #4:

Shawl collared tunic from Vogue- started this a month and a half ago, I'm afraid I am not going to like the way it is going to fit so I've put it aside. This will be my first full sweater project. Current progress: about 40% (I have to finish both sleeves and the shawl collar)

UFO #5:

Sheldon from Knitty.com-I love this pattern. All I have to finish is the legs, 4 little legs have taken me over three months! Current progress: 90%

UFO #6:

Mystery Christmas gift- Someone who may read this blog can't see what this is. The link sends you to Ravelry if any you are curious. (the recipient of course is not on Ravelry). Current progress: 85%

UFO #7:

Nautie from Knitty.com- don't really know why I haven't finished this. Just got bored I guess. This may be one that gets frogged. (I couldn't find this picture on my computer, it is on Ravelry) Current progress: 35%

UFO #8:

Elisa nest tote- Not for anyone in particular but will probably end up being a gift. Current progress: 10%

UFO #9:
Knucks for me- O-wool scratches my hands and it is annoying. I do like the finished product and need to suck it up and finish these before it gets unbearable cold outside. Current progress: 50% That is currently all of them. Only nine, that isn't too bad, right? I'm not sure what the rules are about casting on new projects. Do those have to be finished before New Year's as well? That could be what gets me into trouble. Ok, wish me luck!

hunting gloves

My dad goes deer hunting every year before Thanksgiving. This past summer he mentioned (in a way that you can only truly appreciate if you know my Dad) that he would like a pair of gloves with only the trigger finger missing. Well, happy hunting, Dad!Pattern: Cigar, from Knitty.com

Yarn: Knick Picks Swish Superwash in Lemongrass Heather, 2 skeins

Needles: US #5 Dpns.

Modifications: I made all the fingers to length except the right index finger. Also, Instead of doing two decrease rows at the end of the fingers and then pulling the yarn through the last six stitches to bind off, I did one decrease round then used kitchener stitch to bind off. I just thinks this looks nicer.

Hopefully they will fit him well. Jim put them on and they were just a little tight. My Dad has smaller hands than Jim so that seems like a good sign to me.
These were finished a few days ago but I didn't want to post this until he got the package in the mail. Hopefully my mom will take some pics of him wearing them for me.

Knucks

I had one glove syndrome with these for a couple months. Since it was starting to get cold, I just sat down and finished the other glove. Pattern: Knucks from Knitty.com

Yarn: Knit Picks, Swish Dk in Coal, 1.5 skeins

Needles: US #4 Dpns

I didn't do any modifications but somehow one of the gloves ended up a little longer than the other. Ooops! Also, I'm not crazy about this yarn, or the pattern for that matter. The yarn is too thin for these, and I like the cigar pattern from Knitty better. Jim likes his gloves really tight and the way the fingers are done on Knucks, holes are appearing at the knuckles. This is probably just my fault but the fingers on my Dad's gloves are just fine. I'm going to eventually buy more Swish Superwash and make a pair of fingerless gloves for Jim based on the Cigar pattern.

Jim's Garter Stitch Scarf

Jim's had his scarf just in time for cold weather.
Pattern: none, just garter stitch

Yarn: Malabrigo in chocolate, 2 skeins

Needles: US # 10

Although this was intended for Jim, I wear this scarf a lot now too. Of course, he gets first pick of the scarves in the morning if he wants it. It is only fair.

Foliage

I've noticed that everyone has a preference for knitting certain things. You have your sock knitters, sweater knitters, toy knitters, etc. Well, I think that I may be a hat knitter. Yes, another hat! Pattern: Foliage from Knitty

Yarn: Cascade Yarns, baby alpaca in white, less than one skein

Needles: US #10 Dpns and circular.
Modifications: I don't really do any major modifications to anything yet. But, I added two extra rows of ribbing for the band.

This hat fits well but I would like it to be a bit baggier. I plan on doing the bind off over and using a sewn off method so the ribbing stretches more. Hopefully that will take care of it.

8 Random Things

Well, my camera should be fixed by early next week. I haven't really posted since it broke because I am a very visual blogger. When I browse other blogs, I'll be honest, unless something really catches my eye, I'm just looking at the pictures. I assume that is how everyone else is and I see no point in posting text about knitting without even one picture.

But...Amanda tagged me for the '8 random things' list and it is a good excuse to get back in there.

The Rules: once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I am a crazy cat lady. We have five cats; it was an accident, I promise. We have three black, boy, litter mates and another boy and a girl. The girl, Tabitha, hates the three brothers and we now are constantly fighting a loosing battle to get the cats to at least co-exist in our house.

2. Despite being a vegetarian for about ten years, I looooove to fish. This past summer I caught my biggest fish yet; a 3.1 lb large mouth bass. I fish at a lake that my uncle and four of his friends own and whenever we go there, I just can't get enough 'fishing time with Dad' in.

3. I would rather watch DVDs of TV shows that I have seen a million times than try to pick a movie to watch. My favorites are currently The West Wing and Scrubs.

4. I grew up in a small town and moved to Chicago when I was 18. I love it here but I often fantasize about moving to some small town in the middle of nowhere to live in an old house with a huge yard.

5. My favorite wall color is green. Our kitchen is green, I love it!

6. I am very messy but always come up with some grand scheme to re-organize my life. I pull everything out of a closet, put things into piles, but then get tired before it is all over and end up with a bigger mess than I started with. (Jim doesn't really like this about me)

7. My parents were high school sweethearts, got married when they were 18 and 19, and are still happily married 34 years later. I love this about my family and hope that I am so lucky when I grow up.

8. I would much rather live in a place that was winter all year long than live somewhere that was always hot and humid. I will not be moving to Florida when I retire.

That was exciting, wasn't it?

Do I have to tag knitters? Ok, I will tag Keri, Jen, Charlene, and just to see if he does it, Jim.

Ravelry!!!!

Oh my good God! I was invited to Ravelry today. I am KnittingChicago if anyone wants to know. Not sure how it all works yet but I think it is going to be awesome!

In other news, I finished Jim's garter stitch, Malabrigo scarf a couple days ago. I'll post pictures when I get my camera fixed.

Stripey Socks make me happy.

I finished a pair of socks! Unfortunately you only get to see one of the pair due to camera lens error E18. (I found out my camera is still under warranty and I think I should be fixing it within the week) Anyways, I used Knit Picks Felici yarn in Hummingbird. It is 75% Superwash Merino Wool and 25% Nylon. I didn't really use a pattern but followed along with the Sock Knitter's Companion that I found a link to from Twisted Knitter. Using size 1 dpns, I cast on 68 stitches and started a 3 X 1 rib. After a inch or so, I switched to stockinette and just followed the pattern.

I am really pleased with how well these turned out, I am excited to try an interesting pattern with cables or something now that I am confident I can finish a pair. The new socks had their premiere at work yesterday which is perfect because I almost always wear Danskos to work and they slide off easily. Perfect for showing off newly finished, striped, happy socks. After you wear a pair of socks that were made to fit your foot exactly, how do you ever want to wear normal socks again?

Fad Classic

So I said that I had FO's and I really do. Here is my Fad Classic. I wish I had made it longer and maybe I will one day. This is my first finished garment. Woo-hoo! My boyfriend seemed impressed and the day I wore it work everyone was surprised. I think that they hear me talk about knitting but all they see is the same sock that I only knit during my lunch break. (Which will be the FO for another day. I can't post them all at once, that would be silly)
Hopefully things will slow down a bit here. One of my good friends got married this weekend and I think (I hope) that her wedding was the last of summer responsibilities. I'll have to try to remember to post pictures of her wedding, it was beautiful.
Oh.. and if I don't have new pictures to show, it is because my camera is broken. When I turn it on, the lens comes about halfway out then beeps and the display window reads, "lens error, restart camera.' I will cry if my camera is broken. It isn't yet a year old and I am almost positive it is still under warranty. Besides, it is a Canon and I've heard that they are pretty good with stuff like this.

Coral Garden

Has everyone seen this? I think it is absolutely gorgeous. If I ever get to the point where I can create something as beautiful as this...well, I'll cry, or something.

If you haven't go to the artist's site and check it out. http://hellejorgensen.typepad.com/gooseflesh/

$60 Felt Piece-O-Junk

Yesterday was the first day that I have really been shopping since Fall stuff has been out. I wandered around store after store annoying my non-knitting friend with, "$48!! I could knit that! Those are just *insert pattern* with a 2 X 2 rib at the bottom."

One particularly irritating moment for my friend was when I saw a sweater on sale for $60 dollars that was hand knit. It was knit with really chunky yarn, would only take about 5 hours to knit due to the very holey pattern, and seemed to be knit out of some alpaca blend. Ok, so alpaca yarn is super expensive anywhere I have seen it and $60 doesn't seem to steep. My problem? There were no washing instructions anywhere on the sweater. It had about five tags and not one of them said what kind of yarn was used or instructions for care of the garment. Now you know someone bought that sweater, took it home, then... threw it in the washing machine! $60 isn't expensive for an alpaca hand knit but I do think it is a little pricey for a felted doll sweater. If I had the time or energy yesterday I could have asked the salesperson about the information that was left off the tags. Who knows, maybe when you buy the sweater they give you a little pamphlet entitled, "how to care for your hand knits." I wonder if after you get home and felt your beautiful sweater, does the store give you a refund?

In knitting news...I have not been posting lately because I have been knitting. I have FO's to post about and I promise I will try to post them today or tommorrow... I just had to share my story.

Almost there...

I got a lot of progress on Fad Classic done over my four day weekend. Unfortunately the weekend also involved a bachelorette party which took up most of Saturday and half of Sunday. The second half of Sunday was spent slowly knitting because nursing my hangover seemed to be more important at the time. But, here she is in all of her almost finished glory.I've also been working on a little something when I need a ten minute break from the color teal. Can you guess what it is?

First wash

Not only did I get yarn from Knit Picks, I also bought some Eucalan woolwash. My enormous blue scarf had its first bath last night. I'm thinking I will have to wash it again, the blue color of the leftover water makes me nervous. I don't want to have my scarf get damp from snow and then bleed onto my coat!

It's here, it's here!

My Knit Picks yarn was here when I got home from work today! Oh happy day! Before I get to that, I'll let you in on what has been going on around here lately.

I have been working non-stop because two of my co-workers were on vacation at the same time. This is the main reason why the progress pictures have been non-existent lately. However, to avoid overtime on my next paycheck, I get a four day weekend next week. A four-day weekend is like a birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and a snow day wrapped into one.

I finally ripped out fad classic. I got to the point where I made the mistake, but then looked at the rest of it and decided, "oh, hell..." and ripped the entire thing out to start over completely. Why? Just because, I guess. I am actually happy that I did. Now that I have a better understanding of the pattern, I think it looks much better the second time around. I'm almost to where I was before I ripped it out last time. Although this horrible picture just looks like a blob of blue yarn.I have been slowly knitting Natuie from Knitty. I don't know why it has been taking so long. Usually, I love the cute toy projects because I get to practice shaping and they are a quick fix when I want something finished. All of the other toys I have knit only took me a day or two. I started this guy about two weeks ago. That is about when I started working like crazy and before the post office drama, so maybe I have just been in a funk.I also recently bought yarn to knit a sweater that I fell in love with in this months Vogue Knitting. There will be more posts about it one day I am sure, I told myself I would finish Fad-Classic before I started another sweater. The only problem with that is I can start to smell fall in the air. Do you know that feeling? In my opinion, there is nothing else in the world that compares to that. I am a big time summer hater and after the initial novelty of 'ooo.. lets go to the beach' wears off, I am in a bad mood about the weather until very late August/September rolls around.

Oh and because I wanted to show off how bad my 'knitting area' is:Among the wreckage you should spot the following (it's a little game.. if you are really really bored).

• fad classic pattern
• O-wool tag
• reciepts from online bought yarn
• tv and dvd remotes
• Jim's current work-in-progress painting
• pencil
• beginnings of Nautie
• the book that I used to learn how to knit
• scissors
• and of course, an empty glass that at one point was holding a whole lot of vodka and juice

Some serious yarn storage and organizing needs to be done in my house. Unfortunately that just isn't as exciting as knitting. Maybe after I run through my Knit Picks stash I'll do some organizing. I don't think this yarn will last long. All the yarn I got is intended for small projects; gloves for Jim, a couple little Christmas presents, and a hat. Isn't is beautiful? This will be used for socks: A new and improved Norberta from the yarn the pattern calls for: And of course, Sheldon:

Other reasons that I am really happy right now:

• it is 70 degrees and drizzling rain right now in Chicago, which not only is a sign of fall but also reminds of the weather in Madrid when Jim and I were there last fall
• the Notwist is currently playing in my house.. and well, I love the Notwist.
• Jim is quietly sitting across from me in his vintage barber chair that he aquired from a friend and reading. He looks cute.