Thursday, April 22, 2010

four on

For the first time in over a week I had the pleasure of sitting down and knitting for a couple hours solid. All I did for like 2.5-3 hours was sit still and knit. I worked on my hoodie and made a lot of progress. There was about an inch of the ribbing (which is the bottom of the sweater) at the beginning of the session, and 3 inches when I finished.

All of this was accomplished over at honeybear's house while he watched the NBA playoffs and I listened to knitting podcasts. Overall it was a fantastic day. First of all, I got some housework done, and then I just got to hang out and relax for the rest of the evening.

Now ya'll might be wondering why there is only 3 inches of a hoodie knit up. Well...I made a mistake in my first attempt waaaaay back in the ribbing section and out of shear stubbornness I convinced myself that I would be able to live with it so I just kept on knitting away. After completing 14 inches of the sweater I finally broke down and frogged. There is nothing wrong with that fact, however, because even though it took a lot of work and time to make it that far...in the long run I will be much much happy with the final outcome. This is my first sweater and I want it to be perfect. However many times it takes of me ripping back and correcting mistakes to make it perfect is fine. It will be perfect, durn it!

In other news: There are still four projects on the needles. Harry Potter scarf number two, Twilight scarf, hoodie, and honeybear's blanket. So for the sake of my sanity I currently plan on finishing the ribbing section of the hoodie, and then I am going to put it down for a while so I can get the two scarves off the needles. There comes a time when it is necessary to just finish what I've got going on, and that time has come. Most of the time I prefer to have multiple projects going on, but for now I would like to pare down the list so I feel like there is progress being made in my knitting world.

That is all for now! Tomorrow there is a lot that needs to get done so it is off to dreamland for me. Happy Knitting!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Knitting Ladies

A wonderful lady that I met at work saw me knitting in the break room one day, and as many other people due commented on my knitting, asked what I was working on, then she told me that she used to crochet a lot.

Apparently she does not crochet anymore (because she is focused on scrapbooking). When she was pregnant with her daughter she crocheted like a mad women, but now she spends her free time on other hobbies. Since she no longer crochets she doesn't need any of her yarn anymore. She asked if I wanted any of it, and I OF COURSE told her yes. I also mentioned that any of it that I did not use I would donate to a charity.

That charity is a charity called Knitting Ladies.

On their blog (http://mcduf.blogspot.com/) they describe their program as such:
"Interim House, Inc. is a 6 month drug and alcohol residential and outpatient program for women. In 2004 Interim House began a knitting program that has been very successful ... Yarn Donations are always welcome, appreciated, and put to good use."

Donating to the Knitting Ladies at the Interim house is the perfect charity for me to donate to. Addiction is something I have a connection with because I have had a lot of personal relationships with people that were addicts. Anyway, that and the fact that it is a place I can donate yarn to really struck me.

Thankfully I heard about this charity around the same time that my fabulous co-worker gave her entire yarn stash to me. I was elated to have the welcome addition to my stash, but I am even more thankful that I get to pay it forward. It is not like I am doing anything grand, but I will do anything that I can to help someone else. So hopefully the yarn and crochet needles, etc that I send to the Knitting Ladies helps them one way or another.

The huge box of yarn that Fabulous Co-Worker brought to me included 30 skeins of yarn, a handful of crochet hooks, and a couple of crochet books. 19 skeins of her yarn was added to my stash, and the rest will be going to the Knitting Ladies along with several skeins of yarn from my stash. There are about 30-35 skeins of yarn being shipped out to the Knitting Ladies.


Below: On the left is the box of yarn that will soon be headed to Philadelphia, and on the right is what my stash now looks like after the new additions from Fabulous Team Mate (where I work we are not employees, we are Team Members). Thankfully I was able to keep my stash about the same size as it was before.



Friday, April 16, 2010

FO: Waffle Scarf

Mum's birthday was on the 31st of last month. For her birthday I knit her a scarf. My plan was to have it done well before her birthday, but that didn't happen so I was forced to give her the scarf on the needles. The good news, I finished the knitting that day. The bad news, I still haven't blocked it. I have been meaning to do it every single day since I finished it, but obviously haven't gotten around to it. I figure it isn't a big deal because it is spring after all and has been very warm around here so she doesn't need it. On to the pictures and info on the project!!



As usual these pictures are not the best quality. However, you can get a decent idea of what the scarf looks like. I would recommend checking out the pattern on ravelry and looking at pictures of other people's projects if you want to see any of the detail of this pattern. Eventually I will have the time to take pictures of my projects in much better lighting, but for now this is what I have. :-D




 
Pattern: Free pattern. Visit the Ravelry page for more info or you can go to the designer's blog if you are not a Ravelry member.


Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Solids & Heathers. Colorway = Brick. 



Needles: US9


Size: 48'' in length. Which is shorter than the pattern called for, but my mom likes shorter scarves. 


Modifications: None



Who it is for: Mom



What I learned while knitting this project: Nothing new.


What I was doing/Where I was while knitting this project: Cast on and worked on the project at home. I also took it to work with me, and over to my honeybear's house to work on.


How long: 17 days

My Knitting Life

I am often curious wondering what other knitter's lives look like. Especially their knitting lives. I am fascinated with the yarn stashes, neat-o accessories, storage ideas, books, etc of other knitters. So to be fair I thought it would be fun to show off what things look like in my day-to-day world. So here is a little peek into the window of my knitting life. So without further adieu, here are some pictures to share with all of you what my knitting world looks like right now. 

Here is a what my puny stash looks like right now. The bottom (blue) crate contains my knitting library, various projects that need to be blocked, and random thingymajiggyies. The shoe box contains baby yarns. The crate above that contains Harry Potter yarn. Next up is all of the skeins of yarn for projects I currently have on the needles. Then in the wicker basket are my cotton fibers, and sock yarn.  My mom found an awesome piece of furniture that would work perfectly for a yarn stash, but I haven't been able to find that same piece of furniture yet. Perhaps I will post a picture of it when I do the virtual tour of our craft room.

That handwoven basket is from Africa, and I snagged it at a craft fair that Mum and I went to in December. It is HUGE and perfect to use as my knitting bag. Inside you will find several knitting projects, all of my knitting needles, a knitting book or two, and various accessories needed for finishing and whatever else. This bag will going to my knitting group with me whenever I can make it. Which isn't right now because I currently have to work Monday nights so I haven't been able to go in a couple months.
However, the beautiful handwoven basket is not practical to carry around everywhere. So I use the black bag that I got from Hot Topic to take my knitting on-the-go. The black bag goes with me to work everyday. Inside it you will find whatever project(s) I have on the needles and are a portable size, a reading book (currently a biography on my fave band Guns N' Roses), my knitting binder with patterns, and probably my mp3 player.
Aforementioned knitting binder.

Various knitting gadgets. Included in photo: Two styles of stitch holders, row counter, stitch markers, yarn needles, and folding scissors.
Knitting needles. On the left: Straight needle holder that mum sewed up for me a few months ago. On the right: Circular and DPN pouch, purchased at www.knitpicks.com



This is the knitting section of my library. Eventually this collection will grow to an overwhelming size, but for now the hobby budget has to be kept to a minimum! 




These are the magazines that are in my library. As you can tell I am a big fan of Interweave Knits. I would love to have hundreds more magazines in my collection, but I'll just have to be patient for now.






The only aspect of my knitting life that I did not photograph for this episode was the internet. Trust me when I say that I spend A LOT of time on the internet stalking ravelry and other knitting websites. As you can see from this pic I spend time knitting while sitting at the computer. So I can multi-task doing things like stalking ravelry, reading Aunt Purl's blog, and/or listening to knitting podcasts while knitting. Check out the links on the sidebar to see a complete list of knitting websites, blogs, and podcasts that I frequent.


                 These pictures are of what it looks like when I am sitting at the computer knitting. As you can see, I was listening to a knitting podcast, taking notes from the podcast, and casting on (for the second time, but more on that later) a hoodie. Plus there is a drink hanging out there too. My favorite drink is Arizona Iced Tea, which actually this was the first time that I have had it in a few months.

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the ride.That's all for now. More posts to come soon. Look forward to some FO posts that are waaaaay overdue, updates on what's on my needles, and information on a new knitting charity

Thursday, April 15, 2010

I heart knitpicks

Yet another reason I love knit picks: There are TONS of knitting tutorial videos and articles on the knitpicks website. One would assume that since I spend so much time on the knitpicks website that I would have found these resources many, many months ago.

All that matters is that I did find them...not how it took me to find the fantastic videos. All of the "stupid questions" I have been avoiding asking other knitters can now be answered in the knitpicks' Tutorial section on their website. How fabulous is that?!

http://www.knitpicks.com/


http://www.knitpicks.com/tutorials/

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Pictures, as promised

Finally got a chance to take some pictures of the knitting that I have been working on. They are not very good pictures, but at least you can get a vague idea of what I have been talking about. The pictures were taken on my cell phone so don't expect any sort of quality in the images.



This is the test swatch for my windmill blanket. I LOVE how the yarn knits up in the pattern, and trust me the pictures does not do it justice. It looks fabulous and I can't wait until I am finished knitting a couple of repeats on the blanket so I can take pictures to share of what that looks like.




These are just a couple of close-up shots of the the test swatch for the pattern. I have cast on for the actual blanket and am about halfway done with the first pattern repeat. I did not think that this would be a portable project, but for now it is so I will be working on it a bit more when I am out and about. I try and working on my knitting during breaks at work, and most nights that works out fine. We'll see how long it takes me to finish this blanket. Hopefully it gets done soon so I can give it to my honeybear. :)

As I announced a couple of posts ago, I FINALLY completed the curtains for my room. I am so excited about my first sewing project being done and hanging up in my room. They look fabulous. Again, the pictures aren't amazing, but they will do for now.


Pictures need to be taken of my curtains in better lighting and that would help show off the fabric a lot better,  but for now here is the gist of what they look like.







It took me a lot longer than it should have to finish my curtains, but that is just how I am with projects. I got most of the work done in just a couple of days. Within three days of buying the fabric I had the two panels measured, cut, pinned, and sew together. Plus I had all of the tabs cut out, and mostly sewn together, but that is where the hold up was for like two months. I was just too lazy to sew the tabs together and then sew the tabs onto the curtains. However, I finally got the motivation (thanks mostly to my mom) to just get it done. She sewed the tabs onto the curtains for me, and then we hung the curtains. So now on to my next sewing project, which I think will be pillows and sheets for my bed. It will probably be months from now when I get that done, but like I said that is just how it goes in my craft room!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The hold up

Finally picked my hoodie back up. I have only made a small amount of progress on it today, but that is because I am finally getting to the "meaty" part of the pattern (it isn't just 1x1 ribbing or stockinette stitch anymore) and it took me a couple of tries to get the stitch markers in the right places for the cable section, and it took me two tries to get the necessary stitches on the holder.

This is the first time that I have knit cables so I am taking a break from knitting the body of the sweater to practice cables a couple of times before I do them on this pattern. In the meantime I decided that I was going to knit the arms of the sweater. Well things aren't going so well thus far in that endeavor. For some reason, I have serious issues when joining in the round. Not sure what the problem is, but it ALWAYS takes me multiple tries to get it right. Today is no exception. Nor have I ever had luck when knitting with DPN's in the past. However, I figure that now is my chance to work out the aforementioned issues: knitting on DPN's, joining for in-the-round knitting, and knitting cables.

This pattern seems like it knits up very quickly so I am sure that I will be knitting it again very soon. It will be nice to see how it goes the second time around...that is if I ever figure out how to make the dang sweater that first time around.

In other news, the windmill blanket is on the needles. I finished the test swatches a couple of days ago, which I took pictures of and will post pictures (along with all of the other pictures I promised in the last post) in a couple of days. I am a little more than halfway done with the first pattern repeat. Did I mention how in LOVE with this yarn I am? When the blanket is finished there will definietely be a ravelry search for a pattern of a top or something so I can use this yarn on something for myself. The colors are fabulous.

More later, but until next time happy knitting!!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

On the needles

As always I am behind on posting to my blog and updating it with pictures of what I am working on, but that is just how it is going to be with this blog I suppose especially since I am working full-time again.

For my mom's birthday I knit her a scarf. FO post to come on the...eventually. I need to finish blocking it and take pictures of it before then.

For myself I am still working on the hoodie. Haven't made too  much progress on it since my last post because I wanted to get the birthday scarf done, and didn't really have as much knitting time as I would have liked. Part of that has to do with work, but the biggest reason I haven't been knitting as much in the past couple of weeks is I met a wonderful man that I have been spending a great deal of time with. =D

Speaking of that wonderful man I am going to knit him a blanket. Tonight I started some test swatches for  "windmill blanket". The yarn that I bought is from knitpicks, and I am in love with it. It is almost a tweed looking yarn. It is primarily red with flecks of white, black, and several shades of gray throughout. When I finish a test swatch I will post pictures. I am in LOVE with how this yarn is knitting up with the windmill pattern. I am very happy with the choice that I made for this project.

Other than all of those promises for upcoming pictures there is some sleep that needs to be caught up on! Until next time...when there will hopefully be pictures of things. =D Happy knitting!!

P.S. In the next post there should be pictures of the my curtains that I FINALLY finished. It is very exciting news that I am very proud to announce and am looking forward to sharing the pictures! Night night.