And Lots More Knitting...

I'm proud of myself today. I worked on most of today's to-do list. However, I've quickly run out of time to complete the list. On the upside, I had today weighted heavily compared to the rest of the week, so hopefully tomorrow I can catch up.

I've made one shawl before, and there's something magical about them. For example, here's where my Malabrigo Lace shawl is now:



I'm to the point where I can't wait to finish it, because I can't wait to block it and see the pattern. It's at 68% completion, there are actually only 33 rows left before binding off. Of course with triangular shawls, you start with very few stitches and work your way out, so every 4 rows this shawl gets wider and wider. Unlike items knit with heavier yarn, you really can't "see" the pattern before you block it out. It's like taking a tangled mess of yarn, waving a magic wand, and transforming it into a beautiful work of art.

I had this magical lesson just over a year ago when I finished the Echo Flower Shawl. It's my go-to winter scarf. I need to re-block it, as it's had a good amount of wear, but I just love the lightweight baby alpaca.

I also worked on my half-square triangle quilt. Of 644 initial squares, I have 50 finished. I've chain-pieced a bunch of the initial squares, but then there's cutting, pressing, trimming, seaming, pressing, seaming, pressing, trimming on each one. I can finish about 12 squares a hour. It's going to be a long road. I'm very excited about this one, though. I have the feeling it will remind me of the "Babymaker" quilt from the movie, The Proposal.

Anyways, happy crafting!

First Pattern!

And It's On Ravelry!

It's free. It's also a very, very easy pattern. I sort of made it up as I went along. I wanted something for my Sister-In-Law, who loves the University of Tennessee. I saw the yarn and had to make her something!

It's easy, it's newbie friendly, and you can do it in any colors you want to!

Cables and Sweaters and OMG It's Done!

Ok, so I know it's not the best picture ever. But I don't have a dressform, I don't have a tripod for the camera, and it was 2:30 in the morning. So please do forgive. That's the Starsky sweater, a Knitty.com pattern, and it's finally finished! I made it out of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted, and it used about 1400 yards. The yarn is very similar to Cascade 220. Feels just like it. Acts just like it. And now, lives in the same box.

A Sweater A Day...

Or, 4 hours a day on the same sweater, day in and day out.

My Starsky (not photographed at the moment) is in pieces. All the pieces are completed. Once you complete the pieces, you seam the shoulders and knit the collar. That would be the point the sweater is currently sitting. IF I get the collar done tomorrow, all I'll have left is seaming.

Oh, forgot. It also requires a belt. I'll take that with me to Thanksgiving and hopefully I can get the belt mostly complete. I can't wait to have a finished photo! The cabling pattern is awesome!

It's Done!

This is the shawl that never ends...

...yes it goes on and on my friend! One day I started knitting it, not knowing what it was, and now I'll still be knitting it forever just because...

(Earworm, anyone?)

Anyways, it's 11 rows from complete. Except, in 2 rows, there's yet another increase row. But after that, it'll be smooth sailing. I expect to finish it on Monday and move on to finish the Starsky sweater.



Anyways, this is the "nest" which is gleefully modeled by labrador, Rusty. He was all cute and everything, and at the second I pushed the button on the camera, he shook his head. I still think it's cute, just not AS cute. You can see that I have a couch, coffee table, and glass of Kool-Ade, the Lemonade flavor. The shawl sits on the coffee table, next to the pattern. I do almost all my knitting here, since the couch faces the computer, and I do all my TV via Netflix Instant.

A New Month

I promised bat pictures, didn't I? This is the Fu Scarf, a cute and free pattern. I made it in something that I thought was possibly Caron Simply Soft (some of the acrylic stash from the ultimate acrylic collection) but really feels more like a cotton blend. Either way, lovely stitch definition.

I'm also finished with the body of the Echo Flower Shawl and just need to do the border and edging. It looks like a big pile o' tangle but I'm assured that all lace looks like that, at first.

Blankets Everywhere

The bag-up-the-yarn project is going well. There's still quite a long way to go, but I have most of the non-white yarn sorted out. My queue of knitting projects is presently 37 items long. While only 6 or 7 of those are blankets, it represents over 50% of the yardage in the queue.

Yes, I'm scared.

Ooh! Here's part of the craft closet, which has been cleaned out and re-organized and only those things which will live there will be allowed back in.



There's more storage to the right--a shelving unit and some plastic drawers--but most of the stuff is right here. You can see a shelf for books (and my knitting stuff organizer), and then there are bins of sorted projects. The white drawer unit has fabric yardage in the bottom, and scraps in the top.

Tomorrow I should have a haunting finished scarf...and then it'll be on to November!

Oops...A Few Weeks Passed...

Oops. It's been a couple weeks. There's a good reason. I went on vacation for a week, and the week before that was preparatory. So I didn't do much besides pack stuff up and decide what to take with me.

I started my trip with the Rhinebeck Fiber Festival, one of the largest in the country, I believe. It was awesome, but I was a little bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it. I ended up buying nothing, saving my money for a trip to WEBS in Massachusetts. Also awesome. Not as overwhelming. Lightened my wallet by $86. Sorry folks, no pics. You'll see why in a moment.

Then, on to NYC! I visited The City Quilter, a very awesome little fabric shop (Little compared to the ones here in Michigan, it's actually quite large for a NYC shop). in the heart of Manhattan. I picked up some really great fabric for a Christmas quilt that I begun yesterday, as well as some black & white prints.

I arrived home late Saturday night. Sunday, I focused myself on my crafting, and worked on the blocks pictured below. You might recognize a few fabrics from City Quilters!




I really hope to turn the Christmas quilt into a published pattern. This is just the beginning of the first block.



I also spent significant time rearranging the craft closet and yarn stash. I'm matching all my yarn (gasp!) to patterns, bagging it up, and sorting it by desired end product. I'm doing this mainly because there's so much acrylic, and I'd like to really focus, and I can't with four totes of white acrylic staring at me every time I walk past the stash. So, here's the start. All the "good stuff" is already sorted.

Retro - Halfway!

Starsky, I declare you halfway finished. That's the entire back and one side of the front. I have a belt, collar, two sleeves, and the other half of the front to complete. I'll be moving on to some lacework next, since this now has just over 6 weeks until it must be finished.

70s Retro - Starsky

I've always had it in my head that I wanted to knit myself a sweater. No, not one of those Grandma Fair Isle ones, or a cream cabled Aran. A nice cardigan, in a lovely color that complements dog and cat hair, as well as my wardrobe.

I settled on Starsky, a free Knitty pattern. I prepared initially by knitting a basic baby sweater, because it'd be crazy to make myself a nice huge sweater and do a poor job finishing it. So that went well.



Now I'm nearly halfway through my Starsky. I took this pic of the left front panel to show the cable pattern.

I also had the lovely experience of needing to replace both my keyboard AND my mouse in the same week. I was smart and bought a set--and it's wonderful finally having a wireless keyboard. And switching back to a Logitech mouse. I forgot how much I missed my last one. Then, the next day, it went on sale. I was prepared to spend the full $50--but I got them both for just $20! Rockstar awesome!

1 Down, 5 To Go

They're finished. The Sharp Diamond Mittens came out lovely, very easy pattern, and I do love knitting in the round. Which reminds me, I have several other in-the-round projects lined up this month. I need to get going on the Starsky cardigan, I'd like to finish the back today and cast on one of the front pieces.

A Day of Diamonds

Today's big project was the Sharp Diamond Mittens, available for free on Ravelry. It's your basic fair-isle mitten, and is a great starter project. The instructions are clear, except that the pattern needs to be reversed in the second half of each row: The stitches that were pink in the first half are now purple, and vice-versa. I made a few modifications on mine as well. For example, I knit the thumbs solid, because I hate stranding in itty bitty circles. I also kitchner'd the tops together because it was easy enough. I prefer pointier mittens, but I did like the diamond pattern, and wasn't feeling the need to design my own.

They're about 3/4 finished, should be completed entirely tomorrow.