P&PS

You can consider this part two in a series of crazy knitting jags or you can think of it, like I do, as a redo, ultimately a more successful version of the project I started last year. Apart from picking out a bunch of patterns, I've also purchased the yarn for all of them and started my first sweater. Pattern : Boxy is a repeat from last year and most definitely at the top of my list, both because I need a light grey sweater for my capsule wardrobe and because I'm still totally in love. Inspiration : Wile I would absolutely love to get my hands on the original inspiration behind this particular undertaking, the Forever21 sweater featured here , I've come to appreciate Boxy more in its original form . Yarn : I picked Knit Pick's Stroll Tonal in pearlescent for this project. While it's a cheaper alternative, I'm not sure how I feel about the cream undertone in the yarn. Pattern: Beeline although I've altered it enough (taking out the purl stitch...

Knitting! Yes, finally. Between the wardrobe planning and editing I've been doing I finally have a to be knit list again.  Granted my ravelry queue hasn't been updated but this is a start. Pattern : I'm 90% positive I'm going with  Boxy although Relax ( e.g. ) is also very similar Inspiration :Unknown Forever21 sweater featured here . Particularly I love the fabric and drape of that sweater and while I do like this Topshop sweater , I prefer the neckline and the airier feel of the first one.   Potential Yarn (and yardage) : Fingering weight (14 wpi) || 23 st and 20 rows = 4" on size 4s after blocking (1,680 yds) Required Notions : 1 or 2, and 3 size needles (2.5, 4 recommended), stitch holders, tapestry needle, an extra needle for 3-needle-bind off Sizing Notes : 64" body and ~9.5" sleeve circumference desired.  Use smaller body.  Check project notes for tips on picking up different sized (i.e. larger sleeves). Pattern : I'm lea...

I don’t know what surprises me more, the fact that I finished a project this month or the fact that I’m blogging about not one project but two.  I can say though, I am more than pleased that I finished these socks, they’re for an awesome friend of mine and I was a bit peeved they took me this long to sit down and finish.  I would’ve cut myself a bit of slack, but I still owe her socks from Christmas (I was a bit overzealous in planning last year as usual).    This is a pair of Traveling Lace Vine socks from Writing and Living ( rav link ) made from some acrylic I had laying around.  I used a standard toe up sock formula like this one from knitty and adjusted the stitch counts to account for the blukier yarn and larger needle size.  While the orange isn’t an exact match to her school colors, it’s still spectacularly orange which is the important thing.  I had originally planned on making a pair of Japanese Garden but I didn’t have my copy of the patt...

It's been rather hot here for what feels like forever.  I've recently caught up on Criminal Minds  (and started a shrug) so I was in need of something else to do.  I ended up making this little guy for a friend.  He's an incredibly quick knit.  The Rav pattern is here .

Sometimes I think I should rename this blog and turn it into a cat appreciation page but then I come across old project photos or pick up a pair of needles and remember why it is I love documenting my work; there's something magical about turning yarn into something so useful and beautiful. A simple single crochet stripped scarf: My first go at a Hermione Hat. The yarn was a horrible choice for this project. I ended up frogging it and turning the yarn into a pair of arm warmers. More on the arm warmers and the finished Hermione Hat in another post.

I get a little excited when my favorite shows have knitted items.  OK, maybe excited is a bit of an understatement.  If it’s there I have to have it.  So, when   I   can’t find a pattern I make one.   Kate’s Subarctic Hat Size: Standard women’s hat (21 inches) For a larger/smaller size I would (because I’m an authenticity nut) adjust your gauge.  Adding or removing pattern repeats also works   Materials: Size 7 (US) circular needle or dpn’s Size F crochet hook Waste yarn or second circular needle Gauge: 4.25 st/in or 17st/4 in Yarn Used: Red Heart Super Saver Solid in orange, black and white.  Any worsted weight yarn with the appropriate gauge would work.  I prefer the Caron of the three I used.   Pattern:  Earflap (make 2): Cast on 4 stitches in orange (MC) Row 1: Purl All even rows: m1, knit to end, m1 All odd rows: purl End after the purl row with 22 stitches Transfer the earflaps to waste ya...

I haven't been feeling very chatty or very crafty lately.  I have been working on stuff for some friends and am either waiting for official photos or am waiting to ship the gifts off before I can share.  In fact this afternoon I have to put the finishing touches on a couple of things before I mail them tomorrow (I keep saying this so we'll see). Tomorrow I also need to start another hedgehog.  I swore I would give this pattern a break (the loop stitch it uses eventually turns me into whiny knitting girl because it's a bit slow and odd), but it's too cute and it's been requested by JB as a gift for someone.  After that I'm back to trying to clear out my queue and backlog or WIPs (story of my life). January was a bit of a book month which continued into this month.  Currently I'm a quarter of the way through the Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes and half way through The Golden Compass.  This had lead to a bit of a Sherlock kick and really hasn't helped...

Do you have a “Knitter Hero” or someone that is just way too awesome for their own good? Do share!  Becca 's my favorite knitty person but this really shouldn't surprise anyone.  She's a horrible enabler (and I love her for it), she's forever knitting and sharing the sordid details with me, and she loves her wool as much as I do. As for the celebrity bloggers of knitty awesome, Yarn Harlot 's a fav of mine.  Her sense of humor rocks my socks (no pun intended, her knitting is shiny and awesome, and um, hi Canada!

Do you have a favorite pattern or designer?  If we were talking about sewing I'd be directing you all over to Bridges on the Body so you could all stare at the pretty and wonder, like me, why you don't own a copy of Corsets and Crinolines .  We're not though so I should probably get back on topic before I go off on some crazy ramble. As I mentioned I recently purchased a copy of Judy Sumner's book Knitted Socks: East and West.  The socks are absolutely gorgeous, definitely some of my favorites.  While I was trying to decide if I did in fact want to buy the book, I ran across Modern Top Down Knitting by Kristina McGowan.  I've been itching to get my hands on it ever since.  I have yet to actually see a hard copy of the book and I can already tell it's going to be my new favorite.

What fiber or yarn do you love working with?   Hands down, without hesitation, WOOL.  Seriously anything that comes from one of these guys: I've always loved wool.  I'm not sure why, maybe because it's warm.  Surprisingly though it wasn't my first choice when I started knitting.  That was until I actually knit with it.  I fell head over heels in love.  There was no turning back.  Nothing compares to the experience, the texture, the weight, the slight elastic nature of the yarn.  It's heavenly.  Cotton's also a favorite of mine although working with it in the round tends to be a bit trying. Basically for me natural fibers are the only way to go.  I do knit with a lot of acrylic, but that tends to be what I'm gifted and I'm not one to complain.  There is some really nice acrylic out there, but I am a crunchy nature girl through and through and if natural fibers can do just as well (if not better) I seen no problem with that....

What’s your most challenging project?   Maybe I'm just insane but I always pick a project with something new, something a little bit challenging (a new lace or cable pattern, an improvised pattern).  This makes picking a "most challenging project" difficult.  There's a couple of things that to this day that allude me, like the Italian cast on (which I know is similar to Judy's magical cast on which I love but shhh) but these don't belong to any singular project. Looking at this more broadly I could say, however, that projects with lots of small parts, like toys and dolls tend to try my patience.  Working on such a small scale requires lots of casting on and binding off which is fine if it weren't so repetitive and if it didn't require me to eventually sew all these pieces together.  I love tedious tasks (really I do no sarcasm here), but I'm not one for final finishing details.  Maybe it's the perfectionist in me but it's been known to driv...

Your least favorite?   I generally don't finish projects I don't like.  I tend to frog them and move onto something else.  I'm having problems with my Ron Hearts Hermione hat ( Rav link ).  I love the pattern but the yarn I picked is the worst possible yarn for that project.  If I ever finish it that hat will be my least favorite project. As for completed projects or near completed projects I would have to say the computer case I've got a dozen rows left on.  It started off fine, but looking at it now the bottom section's too narrow (so it stretches something horrible) and while the cable pattern's great I'm so sick of looking at it.  Plus the texture of the yarn is disappointing.  I used the yarn (Carrousel Wintuk) for a cowl a year or so prior to starting the computer case and I love the texture and the feel of it.  Knitting it up for this project not so much.  For the cowl it's soft and thick for the computer case it's rougher, a...

What is your favorite piece that you’ve knit?  It's far from my best knitting (the majority of it was knit between 2am and noon for a 3pm deadline aka sleep deprived and between classes) but I'd have to say the final version of my Monmouth cap.  It's shorter than it should be and not quite wide enough to fit my head but it's the only hat I've made starting with roving.  I spun the wool (on a hand spindle...thankfully the spinning wheel was invented), dyed it using black walnut and knit the final cap over a span of about two months.

I'm combining these two days as the first question answers the second for the most part... How did you learn how to knit?/How long did it take from the time your learned how to knit, to finish your first project?   I had (re)learned how to crochet (from my grandma) about a year prior.  I was totally in love.  I crocheted 24/7.  The more I crocheted, however, the more dismayed I became that I couldn't make socks (at least not socks that looked like conventional socks*).  So, one day when I was more bored than bored (hard to imagine isn't it?) I asked my mom to show me.  She did and I hated it *gasp* I couldn't figure it out, it was painstakingly slow and I gave up after about an hour. I tried on and off again for about six months before I finally got it.  After frogging and reknitting the same swatch to perfection I moved on to dpns and things took off from there (even if dpns I do not love). *Note: I have since discovered this shiny book in the k...

Do you have any other WIPs (works in progress)?  I have tons.  I'm unfortunately fond of starting stuff and not finishing it. With knitting alone I'm sure I have a good dozen projects completed to some degree.  Photos below of two of my older WIPs; the headband I started last summer and the fingerless glove/mitten combo I started the prior winter (which will probably be frogged in favor of another project.  

What was your first finished project?  I could make you a list of the zillions of projects that I started and frogged or flat out never finished but I can't tell you what the first project I finished was.  I know I spent ages knitting and frogging my first swatch.... The first project I know for certain I actually finished was my Monmouth Cap mock up for a school project (it was a bit more than a project but we'll go with that anyway).  Granted by this point I happily knit away on dpn's (thanks to the half dozen socks I had started) so I must have finished something by that point. The cap was made following a pattern by Jennifer Carlson ( Rav Link ).  The yarn used is a double strand of white acrylic I'd been gifted.  It makes for a headache of a knitting experience and a useless hat but the material is wonderfully smooth and drapey.

Meme and banner stolen from Becca because everyone knows she's a bad influence... (aka I'm not even going to attempt to top shiny circs and sparkly table of crafty <3) Day 1 : What was your first finished project? Day 2 : What is currently on your needles? Day 3 : Do you have any other WIPs (works in progress)? Day 4 : How did you learn how to knit? Day 5 : How long did it take from the time your learned how to knit, to finish your first project? Day 6 : What is your favorite piece that you’ve knit? Day 7 : Your least favorite? Day 8 : What’s your most challenging project? Day 9 : What fiber or yarn do you love working with? Day 10 : Do you have a favorite pattern or designer? Day 11 : Do you have a “Knitter Hero” or someone that is just way too awesome for their own good? Do share! Day 12 : Where do you keep your stash? Post pictures! Day 13 : Do you have yarn that you love but can’t find a project for? Day 14 : What’s the worst yarn/fiber that you’ve worked with and why?...

Here's another recently completed project....still trying to get used to my new camera lenses :)  A rough pattern's is at the bottom of the post. With worsted weight yarn, cast on 36st (if using 36 st use size 5 needles otherwise (size 4 needles) cast on 40 or 44 adding the stitches to the stockinette portion of the lace pattern) st st for 2” start lace pattern (reverse for second arm warmer): row 1: k2 p1 k2 p1 yo ssk p1 k2 p1 k2 p1 yo ssk p1 k remainder of row. row 2: knit and purl when appropriate row 3: k2 p1 k2 p1 k2tog yo p1 k2 p1 k2 p1 k2tog yo p1 k remainder of row row 4: same as row 2 row 5: same as row 1 rows 6-10: knit and purl when appropriate repeat until piece measures around 8” ending on row 10 st st for another inch. bind off. seam leaving a gap for the thumb. weave in ends. crochet picots along the bottom edge (in first st sc, ch 3, sc in next st, continue joining with a slip stitch into the first st) optional shaping: decrease...

No WW for me today, just not feeling like it.  So instead I bring you some photos of my latest mini project.  Pattern on Rav ( blogger link ).  It all started with an obsession with crochet thread....

This month’s theme for the Ravelry one skein KAL is ‘February is for lovers’, at the beginning of the month I didn’t have any projects in the running (since then everyone seems to want something ;) ) so I decided to do up a bunch of hearts.  I figured they’d be quick, something fun I could do while watching tv or during study breaks.  The only thing was I couldn’t find a pattern to make them up in the round, so I modified one by Mochimochi Land . Supplies : Yarn Two circular needles to fit yarn weight (you can do this with dpns as well but you’ll need a different cast on and a stitch marker to mark the halfway point in the round where the pattern repeats) Yarn or other large-eyed needle Stitch holder of some sort (a third circular needle or piece of scrap yarn works best) Favorite fluffy material/fiber fill Cast on 6 stitches using Judy’s Magic Cast-on Row 1 : k1, kfb, knit to last stitch on needle kfb , repeat on the second needle Row 2 : knit Repeat rows one ...