It's Finally Here

I received my Ravelry invite today. That was fast it only took about a week and a half. I did an inventory of my yarn to prepare for my invite. I think I might have to cut myself off from future yarn purchases. That is until I use up more of my stash. The next two projects that I am working on I'll be using some yarn from my stash. The first project is a cute capelet that I found here. I am using blue sky alpaca sport weight in a dark charcoal grey. I am using it held doubled to get proper gauge. It's really knitting up quick. I should have it done tonight so I will post some pics soon. The second project I am working on is from the cover of Vogue Knitting Holiday 2007 issue. The long red sweater looks so warm yet it drapes really nicely. I am not using the same yarn so I hope I can achieve the same drape. I'm using cascade 220 because I wanted a yarn that I knew would hold up well; this one is going to take me quite awhile to finish.

Boy or Girl

I know that I have said this before but, it seems like everyone is having babies. Another friend of mine is going to be a dad. He and his wife don't yet know the sex of the baby so; I decided to make two blankets. Baby blankets around here never go to waste. I love this pattern because it's so fast and great for mindless TV knitting. I enjoy making them so much I usually have one of these on the needles for that occasion when I loose my knitting mojo and I can't decide what I want to work on.

Pattern: 8 Hour Baby Blanket
Source: Plymouth Yarn Co.
Yarn: Encore Worsted & Encore Colorspun Worsted (1 of each held doubled)
Colors: 208 & 7962 (Top) 0896 &7744 (Bottom)
Needles: US size 13, 24 inch circular needles
Modifications: None this is a great pattern.

The one thing that I have noticed since I started blogging is I have more FO's. I have always been someone who can't work on just one project at a time. The problem is that at times I find myself working on up to five projects. This usually results in several projects that go ignored for months and by the time I pick them up again they are out of season. I have decided to allow myself to work on two projects at a time, one advanced project and one mindless project. So far so good. This seems to be helping my FO quota increase. Below is another FO. It is the first garment that I have designed (Violet). It is a shrug made with Buckingham from Bristol Yarn. I will be working the numbers up so I can make the pattern available in the next couple of week. (That is my knitters block that Violet is drying on.)

Not Bad for the First Time

I was feeling a little adventurous today and thought I would try to make some stitch markers. All that beading and wire wrapping looks so easy on TV. It's not as easy as they make it look but, I think I did OK for my first try. I will definitely be practicing the wire wrapping.

I made two different types of stitch markers. The ones in the middle were made with flexible bead stringing wire. Since I'm not very good at wire wrapping I thought it would be easier to make this type to fit my larger needles. All the other markers were made using a head pin to string the beads and a jump ring. The markers were quick and a lot of fun to make. If I can figure out how to use my new camera I'll get some better pictures of the how to process and post a tutorial.

Knitter's Block

I don't know how you all feel about blocking. I block everything that I knit because I think it really improves the look of the finished product. I have a tendency to have uneven stitches when I knit. A little blocking and my knitted items look 100% better. Usually I use a big towel to block with or without blocking pins. I had been thinking about buying a blocking board but they are so big and I really have no place to store one.

I was really excited when I found this knitter's block. I bought mine here. I love the fact that it fits nicely into a little bag and is really easy to store. You can also make it any shape that you want. Now the only thing I have to figure out is how to keep the dog from laying on whatever it is I'm blocking.

On a side note, I put my name on the Ravelry list and am anxiously awaiting my invite.

Free Time

Recently I have had my Saturdays free because my LYS, the one that I taught classes at, has closed its doors. It is nice because I can spend more time with my family and friends. On the other hand I very much miss the wonderful people that I met. I can truly say that I have developed long lasting friendships with all the lovely ladies that I worked with and taught classes with. Although the shop has closed we have vowed to have a monthly dinner/knit/chat session and the first one will be at my house the end of this month. I will make sure to take pictures of what each of the ladies are knitting. They are all very talented knitters.

So with all of this free time I have been doing a little bit of blog reading and shopping. First up is Jennie the potter. I fell in love with the mugs that she makes. The quality is excellent. I think I am going to have to buy another one. This is the yarn ball with needles mug. The yarn is


dark green kinda hard to tell in the picture. The mug is the perfect size because it is large, perfect for hot drinks or soup.

My next purchase I discovered while I was doing some blog reading. I found these piddleloop bags on Stacey's blog. Stacey had such an extensive collection she convinced me to get one. I loved the goldfish bag that she had and I had to have one for myself. Luckily there was one left so, I treated myself. The bag is the perfect size for a sock project. Since I have at least 50 balls of sock yarn the bag was a necessity. Now I just have to make some socks. My only problem is I suffer from second sock syndrome.

If you're interested check out Jennie's website and the Piddleloop teams etsy shop.

The First FO of 2008

I'm not sure why it took me so long to complete this sweater. The body knit up really quick. The sleeves however took forever. It could be that I kept forgetting which row of the lace pattern I was on. Not something I could knit while I was tired but it still worked for TV knitting.

Pattern: Cherie Amour
Source: Knitty
Size: Small
Yarn: Malabrigo worsted
Color: 610 Red Mahogany
Quantity: 3 hanks with a little left over
Modifications: None
What I would do differently: Knit a couple extra
rows for the bust. I feel that the ribbing comes
up a little high.

I am hoping that the sweater will stretch a little so that the bust fits better. Trust me I am not busty by any means. I would like to make this again maybe with another yarn so I could wear it during the summer months.

December

December was a very busy month. I even managed to finish my Christmas shopping early and had all of my gifts wrapped. It did not seem to make a difference. It left me plenty of time to do other crafting. I visited one of the local garden centers and saw a tree that was decorated with shells and star fish. I loved it but did not want to spend $5 - $7 per ornament.

So I decided to go to Michael's and buy some shells that I could decorate myself. I think I paid about $10 - $15 for all of the shells.First I used white acrylic paint and a dry brush and painted the shells. Then I used glitter glue and some glitter and WHALA I had some ornaments. I also hot glued ribbon to the back so I could hang them and I used a big star fish for the star at the top of the tree. I thought they came out perfect.

I also bought some new
decorations for my fireplaces. First is the first floor fireplace. I decided to get a wreath and garland that had fruit on them. The family room/grate room is open to our kitchen. I added my own lights to the garland and the wreath. I also bought some new stockings and stocking holders from Target.

Second is the fireplace in our basement. I purchased the Christmas stockings and holders at Target also.


I didn't get any pictures of all of the baking that I did. I baked into the wee hours of the morning on more that one night. No knitting content today but I promise in the next few days I will have finished pictures of Cherie Amour. It is blocking now so all I have to do is attach the sleeves. Happy New Year!!!