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.

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....

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.

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.

$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.

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!

O-wool

I finally busted out the O-Wool Balance that I had bought on the internet. Since I didn't think it would be a good yarn substitution for Le Slouch, I found a hat pattern on the O-Wool website that was cute. Knitting with this yarn isn't that all that nice. The finished product feels good but while knitting the yarn is so dry that my hands were getting sore.

I went up a needle size because I have an enormous head. If I would have used the correct needle size, my hat would have been uncomfortably small, but now my hat is just a little too big. I probably won't rip it out though, at least not any time soon. I have one more skein left and I think I am going to use it to make Knitty's pattern, Knucks.
I'll try to post pictures of my Fad Classic progress and another small project I am working on to finish off the last of my Malabrigo from my fingerless mitts.

Another finished project!

Wow, two finished projects in as many days, I am feeling good. These are my fingerless mitts all finished and beautiful. One thing I don't have to worry about is warmth, I wore them for five minutes while Jim took pictures and my arms are hot. I suppose that could also be because I live in Chicago and it is July. Wait until January and then I'll be complaining that my fingers are cold.

A FO, finally.

Lately I have been spending so much time researching new yarn and patterns and then starting new projects, that I feel like I haven't finished something in a long time. Don't worry, I have been knitting, but I pick up a different project to work on everyday. Well, last night sat down with some movie that Jim put in about Denver, CO and a glass of wine and finished my enormous bright blue scarf. I knew I wanted this scarf to be just ridiculous in length...I measured it and it is 130 inches. That is 10.8 feet, or 3.3 meters to those of you outside the States. I can comfortably wrap it around my neck three times and the tails still hit right at my waist. Chicago winters are nasty, nasty business and I don't mess around with my winter wear.

(the picture is horrible, this is the best of the 6 that Jim took of me last night. I have red eyes and the all of you get to see my laundry behind me in the hall. Oh well.)

I used three skeins of Cascade Yarns, Baby Alpaca Chunky and size 11 needles. The entire thing is k1, yo, k2tog. I love this yarn, it was on sale at my LYS and when I went back, I bought more in a creamy off white color. I've been holding off to buy the needles I need to start my Fad Classic because I would like to finish Jim's scarf first. For those of you who remember, Jim's scarf is just garter stitch using Malabrigo yarn. I love the yarn (I'm bought more and am using it for my fingerless mitts) but when I know I could be knitting something with pattern, garter stitch just doesn't seem that exciting.

Toys from Knitty

I can't believe it! I forgot to list Pasha the penguin with my completed projects post while back. Pasha is a free pattern at Knitty. I remember her because I was finishing up Norberta the dragon and she needed somewhere to live. I don't really have the kind of house that allows space for stuffed toy decorations, so I put them on the bookcase. This are fun, fast projects that let me practice shaping but don't require a big commitment. However, after finishing Norberta, I am seriously considering going to the store and getting better colored cotton yarn to make a nice version of her as a gift for someone. I think they are just adorable, perhaps I will give them to my little cousin. (or selfishly keep them forever on my bookshelf)

Sushi Night

I have been, until recently, in job search mode. Jim and I decided that when I got a job, I was taking us out for sushi. We went to Bob San and it was delicious. A few days later we decided we needed sushi again but choose not to leave the house. About thirty minutes later, fresh sushi was at our door. Mmmm...I wonder if you have the same feeling as we do when we eat sushi. So full, you can't even think about eating another bite. Then about fifteen minutes later (when the sushi is gone) you think that a couple more pieces would taste fantastic. Sound familiar?

Well, I saw a pattern for these online (MagKnits.com) and made Jim some more sushi. A little salmon roll, wasabi, and ginger. Jim wanted to know where the soy sauce was, I told him to shut up and enjoy his knit sushi. Overall, he thought it was hilarious. I'm sure this will be one of those things that only we find funny. Oh well. (Sorry about the bad picture, I shouldn't have used the flash.)

knit t-shirts

I have seen patterns online and in magazines that use cut up t-shirts as yarn. The summer issue of Knit.1 has a pattern for a small clutch that I decided to try. Cutting the t-shirt to make a ball of 'yarn' took longer to do than actually knitting the purse. It turned out cute. Just cute enough in fact to give to my cousin Riley. I think I am going to see her this weekend and hopefully she likes it. (I am planning on putting gum, play-dough, and bubbles inside of it so at least she will like it for two minutes.)

Finished projets to date

Before I get into things that I currently have going on, I'll let you in on what I have done so far.

My very first finished project was a garter stich scarf on size 11 needles with cheap red heart grey yarn. Looking at it now, I see about 20 mistakes and the stiches are all sloppy but, at the time I was very proud. I am sure when fall comes I will probably still wear that scarf because it was my first.

After the scarf, I attempted a hat. I love this hat, I found it on Treats & Treasures. It is a little bigger than it is supposed to be. After this project, I realized the importance of needle size and yarn type.

So... I made another one! This one fits much better but the yarn is a little stiff so the back of the hat doesn't fall like it is supposed to.

Up next was a pattern I found on Knitty. The Calorimetry taught me the value of getting the gauge correct before starting the project. Mine turned out huge! I will have to make another one that fits before fall comes. It was easy to knit and only took a few hours to finish.

The next project is the best one yet. I decided to make a baby blanket for my friend who is expecting. I decided on the Big Bad Baby Blanket pattern that is in Stich and Bitch. This project was the reason for my first trip to a yarn store. I had previously been using cheap yarns from Joann fabrics. I went to Nina and asked the woman there for advice in yarn. The pattern calls for merino wool and that would require handwashing and line drying. How exactly is that a nice gift to a single new mother? It would be too much work to wash and it would never be used. Not to mention little guy might be sensitive to animal fibers. The woman at Nina suggested a cotton yarn. I picked out a pale green blue Sky Cotton yarn. It took some getting used to knitting but I finally finished the blanket (that is, after a 6 hour trip to Kentucky and a total of 8 hours on a bus to visit my parents). The blanket turned out beautiful. There were a few mistakes but my friend isn't a knitter so I doubt she will notice. This project started was is sure to be a long standing debt with yarn stores around Chicago. I can't knit with itchy, squeaky, acrylic yarns anymore.

Ok, the last thing I have finished (well, half finished) was my sock. I have been practicing knitting with double pointed needles and still wasn't ready to start a big project with them. I found a really simple pattern online for a basic sock and tested it out. I took me a few hours to do one sock and it was actually very easy. I'm excited to start knitting socks that have some pattern to them.