New Beginning?

So, I think this was my New Year's resolution for last year as well, but I'm vowing to keep up with this blog this year. I had a crazy idea to work through all my stash before venturing out and buying more yarn last year. That really sapped my energy to knit but I've lifted my yarn buying ban and have started knitting again (I did manage to use up a fair amount of my stash in the process, so I'm calling Success! on one of my resolutions!)
So, to begin this year, here's a little something I've been wanting to knit for years and finally did for my nephew's 3rd birthday (he's going to love me, the boring aunt who gives him sweaters every year!) It's the Leif's Twisted Tree Pullover. I love that she was inspired by the Yggdrasil tree- I'm a sucker for incorporating Norse mythology in anything I knit (see Example A).
I bought a bunch of Malabrigo yarn on sale and it was great choice for this sweater. It's so soft and I love the green.



Twisted Tree pattern close-up:



I made the 4/5 size so of course it's way too big and my nephew will eventually fit it sometime around July and outgrow it sometime around September! I hope not because it's so much fun and very satisfying to knit things for him and I'd like him to wear the stuff a little too.

Gift season is underway

I have decided to try and make most of my holiday gifts again this year, after taking a break from handmade gifting last year. I'm getting a bit of a late start considering how big my family is, but I plan to do some sewing as well as knitting, and I'm hoping the quick sewing projects will balance the more time-consuming knitting. But I've still tried to choose small projects, and after a week or so of working on these two I feel pretty confident I can pull it off.

On the left is the Reversible Cable Scarf from Lion Brand. The yarn looks horrible in the picture but is actually quite nice and very woolly. I've been using a method of knitting cables without a cable needle that I found on Knitty.com, and it's really helped speed up the knitting. This is the project I've been carrying around with me so I can knit on the subway or at lunch or whenever else I have a few spare minutes.

On the right is the Deirdre Shawl by Linden Down, which I found on Ravelry. The yarn is so pretty - merino, silk, and cashmere, and I love the color. It's a really simple pattern so I wanted the yarn to be very special, and I spent a bit more on it than I might normally.

However, all the yarn for the other projects I've got planned was already in my stash! Even after selling off about 60% of the yarn I owned (to make space for moving into a studio apartment), I still have plenty left to feed many projects for the foreseeable future.

I finally finished something(s)!

Remember when I moved about 6 weeks ago and I was like, "I'm going to be so productive and so crafty and make so many things in my new place!" Well...better late than never. I finally managed to finish two projects that were languishing half-done in the pre- and post-move weeks: the Baby Sophisticate sweater, and this mitered square baby blanket. I wanted to hide all the little woven-in ends on the back of the blanket, so I lined it with some scraps of chambray I pieced together, and then I tied it in a few places with contrasting yarn to keep the backing from bagging out too much. I'd have done a few things differently with the blanket, but at this point I'm just so glad it's done that I'll take it as it is. The sweater, I'm very happy with. It was a really easy pattern and it's so darn cute.

With those projects finished, I was able to tackle the first thing on my long list of other projects: a slipcover for our white Ikea loveseat. The fabric is actually a few curtains from Target that I bought on clearance; it's a cotton-linen blend and was really easy to work with. It's the first major sewing project I've ever done, and I'm pretty happy with the result. I have plans to make two others in different colors, and should have enough fabric left over for pillow covers too. By finishing this project my to-make list has actually grown: in the process of all that sewing & pinning I realized I *really* need a good pincushion, and I also noticed my sewing machine is getting rather dusty, so I'll want to make a cover for it sooner rather than later.

Hopefully now that I've broken out of my creative rut I'll manage to retain some momentum. The next big priority on my list is an afghan I want to give as a gift for an August wedding...it's about half done already, but even with air conditioning the idea of knitting a queen-size blanket in a heat wave makes me squirm. Time to put my head down & power through!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

More stash busting knitting:

I found a cute cat toy pattern on Ravelry and used my stash yarn. I will have to keep these in mind for the future. I loved how the different yarns felted to different sizes. I've always just bought Cascade 220 for my general wool and/or felting needs, but that yarn took a lot longer to felt down and wasn't as nice as the Paton's. I'm sure everyone else in the knitting world knew this already. Hrm.

The magic of socks

I think I've thoroughly documented my love/hate relationship with socks. I've decided to explore the magic loop technique to see if it's any easier. I've never attempted this before only because I don't want to buy multiples of the same size needles. I have enough needles as it is. Well, I had to buy a super long no.2 needle for some edging on a sweater once (and I didn't really need it when it was all said and done). I had this seemingly useless needle just taking up room in my needle case so I looked into magic loop on one needle...and now I've started a new pair of socks:

I'm knitting them toe-up, which wasn't that hard to start on one needle. I think this needle is around 40 inches, and I wish it was a tad longer, but they're Addi Turbo so the plastic is super flexible and it's only a little tight ---not enough for me to buy another needle at least!

I have a whole bag of this yarn from last fall's Smiley's Yarn Riot. Two socks started, ten to go!

Mitered Squares

I finally got around to exploring mitered squares. I needed a great stash-busting project so I made my cat a little cat-carrier pillow.

She approves.

Wormy

My cat has an 'attack the arm' problem. Until now, I didn't know how to solve it. Then I saw a Slimey project on Ravelry. I now have the perfect 'toy' for when she tears into my arm like she hasn't been fed in three days.

Here is my wormy monster looking outside:

Here he is watching The Colbert Report:

And here's wormy looking like the inanimate puppet it is:

My first socks

Yes, I finally finished my first pair of socks. Ok, so these aren't the first pair of socks I've knitted but this is the first yarn I bought to knit socks, and it's taken me five+ years to complete them! I have been serious about cleaning out my stash and getting this yarn out of ball format was a major accomplishment! Of course, after staring at the yarn for so long, I'm sick of the pattern and the colors and I can't imagine wearing them. My mom likes them though so she will be getting a present soon.

Attention!

Knitters of the Internet:

I have a washing machine in my basement. It's a top loader. I don't have to pay to use it. I can't knit fast enough to keep up with all the felting I will be doing this summer. The basement might have a nice serial killer vibe going for it but I don't care. I'm too excited to worry about the strange room in the back corner. Felting! Now I know what an adult feels like. Stay tuned for my Summer of Felting posts!

-Rita

Day 15

Imagine cute silver buttons...and this sweater is done! I've decided that I'm not going to fight the ridiculous city I live in and just hold off on finding the right buttons. The sweater won't be wearable until next winter anyway. It turned out pretty well, even with it being a scrap yarn sweater. I finished before closing ceremonies as well! (I don't think I get a gold medal though)

Day 14

I'm done knitting! I finished up the collar and the button bands last night. I started to weave in the ends but I hate that part so I'm going to work on that tonight...or just watch Apolo Ohno skate....no, I must finish this!

I still have to finish the sleeves, find buttons, and block --all in two days.

Day 13

Well, I almost made it. I'm about three rows short. I could tear it all out and knit a row or two of brown where the sleeves meet (what I thought about doing initially but didn't think of the consequences of only having 200 yards a yarn even though the pattern says I will need 205 yards.)

I'm just going to knit a couple rows of orange to make up the difference.

Day 10

Whoops, I was supposed to post something everyday...well, I got sidetracked with Men's figure skating and curling matches! The sweater is coming along great. I like the color scheme I created and as long as the cream yarn for the yoke holds out, I'll finish on time.

Day 3

I finished the bottom part of the body and started on one of the sleeves. The pattern calls for only two contrasting colors, but I'm using three --I like the blue and orange together. I hope it looks ok in the end. I don't want to tear this out!

Day 2

I finished a skein of brown and watched Apolo Ohno skate to silver (and J.R. Celski win bronze) and Hannah Kearney ski to gold (and Shannon Bahrke win bronze).

Day 1

I thought I'd update my knitting on a daily basis to keep on track...I am knitting this sweater only when the Olympics are on at night to give myself a bit more of a challenge. I want to have it all knit and blocked by the 28th.

I have about 5 inches knit so far --I'm knitting the easy part though. If I don't get too wrapped up in the curling matches, I should be ok!

Ravelympics!

I've been a bad blogger, and knitter, but all that is going to change with the Ravelympics! I still have obscene amounts of stash yarn I want to use up and I tend to be glued to the tv during the olympics anyway so I'm diving in (or because these are the winter olympics, bobsledding in?) to the craziness.

I've decided to make the Pikkuveli sweater. It's so cute and it seems like a reasonable pattern for the next two weeks.

And because I haven't cast on yet I'll share a bit of what I have been working on while I've neglected this blog:

Hellooo?

It's been crickets and tumbleweeds around here for months...I guess Rita and I have both been having kind of a weird year. I just completely stopped crafting at all for a long while, but I picked it back up again this month and finally have a little something to post about. On the left is a pom-pom wreath I made after seeing a few different versions on the Internet. It was lots of fun to make and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm thinking about making really simple pom-pom ornaments for next year. On the upper right is a baby sweater made from a Knit Picks kit; other than spacing the buttons a bit weirdly I'm happy with it. I actually started it way back in the summer; more than anything I'm just glad to be done with it! And on the lower right is a hat made from a WWII pattern; not much to say about that one. Here's hoping I can keep it up in the new year...

I knit for 6 whole months...

and all I made was this stupid washcloth.

I have reached a low point, knitting-wise. I am seriously trying to use up my stash, but I hate every little scrap of it (and most of it is scraps so I can't think of decent projects with what I own).

I have some Sugar and Cream cotton and thought I'd knit up some washcloths. They're always useful and they knit up fast. I've made one and a half in this hideous bright green (It's not that I just knit half a washcloth, I am working on the second one). What was I on when I bought this stuff? Gah.


I also appear to have lost ability to knit since this washcloth should only have four seams --that fifth one is my handy invisible seam! I can't see it at all! I used the 4-corner dishcloth pattern I found on ravelry. It used about 3/4 of a hank?skein?roll? I don't even know what to call yarn balls anymore....sigh.

Blankie

Here is my finished Baby Chalice Blanket, which is for a niece who is due next month. It's unblocked because I worked up to the last minute before I had to send it for the baby shower. I was bummed that I didn't get to break in my new blocking panels from KnitPicks! Anyway, the yarn is Misti Pima Silk Hand Paint - it's mostly cotton with a little silk, so it's a bit special but still practical for a summer baby. I had hoped to have another blankie finished by now, and some booties too, but those will have to wait - hopefully they'll be ready in a month before she gets here!