FO: Bubba's hat

For the first time this year, I got a knitting project done in a reasonable amount of time!

My brother's Christmas present, which I decided on a hat, is completed. Believe your ears, my friends, this IS an FO post!!

 I am so please with how it turned out. I made a couple of mistakes, but nothing disastrous and I think my brother is going to love it!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(pictures are on the way...my phone is being weird and won't upload them but as soon as they have uploaded then I will post!!)

Pattern: 

Hill Country Hat

Yarn: Red Heart Soft Yarn in Black

Needles: Circular US10.5

Size: About 7 inches from crown to bottom of brim.  

Modifications: Knit on one circular needle with magic loop method instead of on DPNs. 

Who it is for: My bro. 

What I learned while knitting this project: That I can totally knit hats! And that hats are totally fun to knit! 

What I was doing/Where I was while knitting this project: I sat in my project chair in my room enjoying the fact that I'm almost done with my first semester at Cameron University. 

How long: Approximately 6 hours total, over 3 days. I cast on Monday and knit all the way down to the brim; yesterday and today I finished the brim and cast off. 

Happy Scarf

Hey check me out! I took a picture of me knitting. Hey, I had some knitting to take a picture of. Hey, I updated my Ravelry project page and linked it to this blog post that I'm posting.

Since today was my last day of classes for the fall semester I am feel all sorts of motivated. I have accomplished more today than I have in any one day in quite a while. I got some laundry switched over this morning before I even left the house, I left early so I could print some stuff out at the library, I ate breakfast, then I attended classes where I kicked booty, and now all of this knitting stuff. I'm amazing. So are you, Valry.

Fair warning....this scarf will not be completed until next Christmas. So you can expect an FO post in about 2013-ish. ;)

Plus I actually need to take a break from this to cast on my brother's Christmas present, which I have no idea what that might be at this point. Wish me luck.

Anyway I thought I would share a picture and a Ravelry linky link. :)

Seasons Greetings

Thanksgiving is just a few days away. I cannot wait! I am also looking forward to Black Friday, and then finals weeks, and then Christmas, and then my birthday. This time of year is always so awesome. It always takes me a while to get warmed up, but once I do it is game on. Yesterday was when I finally got geared up for the holidays. I have completed my Christmas list of knitting goodness for my people; now all I have to do is start knitting....hahahaha

Personally, since it has gotten colder I cast on a new scarf. I know that I have hundreds of other UFOs, but ya'll know how I am! I literally cannot help myself. Every hobby that I have has tons of UFOs. I go where my inspiration takes me, and most of the time inspiration takes me somewhere new and away from something old. Eventually I finish projects, but sometimes that takes months or years. I'm more than fine with that. Sometimes it is frustrating having so much unfinished business, but most of the time I actually enjoy being so fluid in my decisions on what to create, and when.

Pictures will be posted soon. I always intend on taking pics when I get home from school and while I work on projects, but as you can plainly see that does not happen as often as I plan for it. Then again, that is how my life goes with ALL of my intentions...craft and otherwise. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Anyway I wanted to post SOMETHING to make it known that I am working on things (slowly but surely). Most of my time will be consumed with Christmas projects (knitting and other). Yay! :-) 

hello!

I know that it has been forever since I have updated! I still do not have anything to share because I have been so busy with work and school.

The plan is get started with my Christmas list ASAP, but I probably will not be posting much of that list until after the holiday.

For now I am still working on Corona. I have made it all the way up the body to the point just before it Vs open (the cable section). For now, I am taking a break from the body and working on the arms. As always, I have cast on a million times and am still nowhere. There are a lot of kinks to be worked out apparently...and they are all on my end cos the pattern is perfect! Three or four time there has been 4 or more inches of knitting frogged, but I am perfectionist so I am fine with that.

When I get home later this evening I will try and remember to take some pics to post...so at least there is something along the lines of updates.

How are all of you projects going?

This blog needs some serious editing and updating and all sorts of stuff! I have tons of knitting news to share and maybe even a picture or two, but for now I just wanted to say hello! Next week hopefully I will have time to get more in depth on the updates that I want to share. Right now I am going to go to bed! Work and school have been hogging all of my time. Knitting news is down a bit farther on the list than I would like it to be...but that is just how it is right now. Stay tuned...but be patient lol.

Great Wound Balls of Fire

The scarf turned out well. I think that I will need to block it again soon because it is still curling a bit, but for now it is satisfactory. I learned a bit even though I blocked a simple project I still got a bit of a feel for the process.

Not much else is going on in my knitting world besides winding balls, and doing some finishing on various projects. Nothing new will be cast on until after my vacation. As for what I will be taking with me I think I will take my sweater with me, and another small project or two. There won't be much time for knitting, but there is noway I can go anywhere without needles and some yarn.

Expierements in Blocking

So believe it or not I have never officially blocked anything before. Although from what I've heard on some podcasts and read on other people's knitting blogs I am not the only one! Not the only one that worked through quite a few projects before they discovered blocking. I figured out what blocking was after my first handful of projects but I just have never done it.

Well within the last week I got my shipment of goodies from Knit Picks, and in those two wonderful boxes were: a ball winder, blocking mats, lack blocking wires with T-pins, and a new book! More on the book later. I plan to do a review of the book in fact because I am so in love with how wonderful it is!!!

Since receiving so many blocking products I was inspired to finally block the Waffle Scarf that I knit for Mother's Day. Yeah it is a little over due...but at least I am getting it done now! Presumably I will be able to present my mom with a completed scarf, finally! On Mother's Day I actually gifted the darn thing while it was still on the needles. Now it has taken me a couple of months to weave in the ends and block it. But hey we all know that is how I am with my knitting projects...as well as everything else that I have going on in my life.

In other news, the Windmill Blanket has been frogged because the person I was making it for does not deserve anything handmade or anything at all really. No, I don't want to talk about it.

The most exciting news of the day is that since I got my ball winder my stash is so much neater now. All of my HP yarn as well as the yarn that I am using for projects I have on the needles right now is wound into neat little honeycombs. Which may not sounds like a lot, but it is. There was a lot of HP (Harry Potter) colored yarn that needed to be wound and organized, and I have three projects on the needles right now. So anyway about half of my stash is in much better shape now.

Finally, I can't show any pictures of the progress of my knitting projects because I am doing a swap (my first ever!) and not that my partner would check my blog, but just in case I want to keep everything a surprise.

I feel like I have much more control over my knitting now that I have a ball winder to organize things with and blocking mats, et all to finish the projects that I complete. I am a much happier knitter now! If that was even possible. Book review to come shortly (and of course by shortly I mean...eventually).

Ta-ta for now. Happy knitting.

Gryffindor!!!

I just bound off the Harry Potter scarf that I have been knitting like a fiend for the past couple of weeks. This is the second HP scarf that I have knit, both were the same pattern.

It took a lot of work, and a lot of work to be completed. So to be nearly done with it is a huge accomplishment. I am even more excited that I it is done in time for me to wear to my upcoming vacation to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter next month.

Before my trip I plan to complete one more scarf, and I would love to knit one of the HP sweaters but I doubt that will happen. You never know. We'll see how it goes. All I can do is try, right?

update time

First of all I have some good news! My brother is home from Afghanistan.  My parents and I picked him up from the airport today! It is WONDERFUL to have him home safe.

So as usual I have made little or no progress on my projects with the exception of my HP scarf. I am about 80% done (less finishing) with the first scarf (out of 2) that I need to finish before I leave for my awesome vacation. Oh yeah, I am going on a vacation next month. For the first week I will be in Vegas, and for the second week I am going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! So naturally I HAVE to have something knitted to take with me. It is going to be miserably hot during the day, but I'm hoping that the temperature drops enough during the nighttime for me to be able to wear my scarf at least once.

So I have been working away on my scarf for the past few days.

My corona sweater is sleeping right now. I have re-knit about seven or eight inches. So I did make some progress, but I haven't worked on it in ages.

The Twilight scarf has been frogged. I will get back to it once I finish the HP scarves, and my sweater. I ripped out because I did not like how wide it is. My gauge was right on and it is as wide as the pattern calls for, but I just don't like how it looks. So when I get around to it I will do some test swatches to find a width that I am happier with.

The windmill blanket is also sleeping. I really need to get to work on it since it is a gift for someone. Especially since they already know I am making it for them.

There is just too much going on for me right now to knit as much as I would like, but I squeeze it in as much as possible. Most of the stuff (paperwork, meetings, tours, etc) that I needed to get ready before I start school again in August is taken care of so I've had a bit more free time in the past couple of weeks.

Anyway that is pretty much it for now! I noticed I hadn't updated the old blogy blog in quite awhile so I thought I would throw something out there. Hopefully there will be an FO post on the way soon...but you know how I am with those so don't hold your breath.

P.S. How do you like the new look of my blog? Google came out with the new blogger template designer and I think it is fabulous. I played around with it for about half and hour before I wrote this post up. Not sure how long I will stick with this specific design, but I am overjoyed that there are more options for the look of my blog now!

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!

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.

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. 

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/

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!

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!!

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. 

yarn-love

Oh and I forgot to mention that I have fallen in love with a new yarn. I have not even seen this yarn in person, let alone knit with it, but I can foresee a long-lasting and loving relationship between this yarn and myself.

  Cascade 220. 

There are 95 (NINETY FIVE!!) colors in this worsted weight yarn. Cascade makes many different types of yarns and I am sure that I will fall just as madly in love with all of those other yarns as well. http://cascadeyarns.com/

There is another company that makes fabulous fiber that I have learned about from my favorite knitting podcast Cast-On. The company is called Briar Rose Fibers. 

All of these yarn discoveries are very exciting, and they make me even more excited about my future projects than I already was. I feel like I am finally started to build my own yarn "stash", and I know that as I can afford it, my stash will continue to grow with all of these fabulous fibers that I am discovering.

sweater, sweater, sweater

Currently on the needles: Corona sweater. Which I am calling "My First Sweater". Lately, I have had issues with coming up with clever names with things, and apparently that block is still happening.

This sweater is knit from the bottom up. I cast on 160 stitches. Knit one round, and then began the 1x1 ribbing pattern (K1, P1) for five inches. I ripped out no less (but possibly more) than six times to get where I am right now. Anyway I am pleased to announce that the first five inches of my first sweater have been completed. I just finished knitting one round in knit stitch so I can start the stockinette stitch that will make up the main part of the body of this sweater (the part that will go around my stomach). As I work the stomach of this piece there will be a decrease round every inch until the sweater measures 11''.

Hat Box Foundation

I just read about the Hat Box Foundation which is an organization that strives to give out handmade hats to cancer patients. Each hat is handmade using various mediums and then is individually wrapped and boxed and then given out to someone! This seems like a great organization so I thought I would share with all of you crafters out there in case you wanted to make a hat to send to someone. Here is the link if ya'll want to check it out. :)

http://www.hatboxfoundation.org/

Corona

As always I have not had as much time to knit as I would like. However, last week I did place an order with Joann and an order with Knit Picks and I got one of the boxes in the mail yesterday! (See up there^!)

Since I had yesterday off I decided to cast my first sweater which is what I bought the circular knitting needles from Knit Picks for. It is the Corona pattern, which is a hoodie with some cable knitting around the neckline. It is adorable and I am very excited to be knitting it.


Yesterday I cast on and knit about five or six rounds before I frogged. Then I cast on again and have knit about ten rounds and I am going to frog again. The problem was me trying to figure out how to make 1x1 ribbing work while knitting in the round. I think I have discovered the problem and the secret to fixing it. That is all just a theory at this point but I will let you know how it goes. :)

The other problem that I have is that I have no idea what negative ease is. The pattern calls for the sweater to be "knit with 5' of negative ease". Since I have no idea what that means I am currently in the process of searching the internet to figure out what the H the pattern is talking about.