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.

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.

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.

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)

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!

Out of hibernation

I have really been awol from blogging this winter...Rita's prolific crafting is really putting me to shame, and reminding me that I'd better get to work on some baby stuff for a niece who's due in June. I spent the month or so after the holidays just working on my growing scrap blanket, which is fun & mindless after the holiday gift-making frenzy. I also knit a pair of knee-high socks for myself and crocheted a scrap baby blanket for my at-work charity crafting group. What else...oh, I also finally finished the cotton throw for my in-laws!

Now I have to shake off the winter lazies and get to work. In the last couple of weeks I knit a couple of chemo hats for a friend of a coworker (which I of course forgot to photograph), and started a scarf for I don't know who, knit a hat also for no one in particular, and started knitting a couple of uteruses (uteri?) for my sister's friend who is a birth care worker. So I'm starting to be productive again but I don't feel very focused - have to nail down some goals and get moving.

a bunny on its way to being real

I made a velveteen bunny. I didn't like any of the patterns I found in softy books so I decided to make my own. I think he turned out ok. I'm really happy with the fabric I found (remnants, all for under $5.00). I am still thinking about his face. I don't like the idea of a mouth but I think his personality doesn't shine at this point. I have until Easter to think about it. I am posting two pictures because I can't decide between the two.


























And here's a tocks close-up:

More toys

I'm afraid this blog is becoming "What did Rita make for her nephew this week?", and it must stop. But first, here's what I've been working on :)

I saw this cute little pattern and thought it would be a great way to use up stash yarn. He's a pretty cute little godzilla.

Second, when I made the set of felt letters back in January, I had plans on making the lower case letters as well, so I've been slowly stitching them together and now they're done. I kept all the colors the same-- the b, d, p, and q all were the same shape so they are a little hard to tell apart without the color difference. I am now wondering if I should make numbers.



Aside from these little projects, I'm still working on those darn leg warmers. It's sunny and 70 today--I'm thinking I missed out on using them this season.

More baby things

Well, just one more thing, I guess. I've decided that the best way to use up some of my stash yarn is to knit baby sweaters. I have so many kinds of yarn that I only have one or two skeins of and that is not enough for much of anything. I knit up this sweater (in action on its new owner). It's Hoodie #60554A (it's like a prison number --maybe I've been watching too much of The Wire lately...) from Lion Brand. I used some of my scrap Patons wool. It took about a week to knit, although the striping was very annoying. I had a lot of loose ends to weave in before I decided to just carry the yarn. It was a quick, fun pattern to knit though.

A birthday present

I went to a 1st birthday party this weekend and, like all the gifts I give this little guy, I made the birthday boy something handmade. My gift is probably a little too old for him right now, but it never hurts to give fun, educational toys.

I made felt letters. I just made the upper-case alphabet for now, but have plans on making lower-case letters and numbers eventually. I made a template for all the letters, cut out felt, blanket stitched, and stuffed all the letters. I started this at the beginning of January, thinking I'd make one letter a day, but it actually went faster than I thought it would.

I made a bag from scrap fabric (using up my stash!) to hold
all the letters, with plenty of room for additional letters as I make them. I pretty much followed the instructions from happythings to make the bag. I made mine much bigger than the tutorial though and it still worked out great.

All bundled up!

A Scarf for the New Year

Per my goals, I've started going through my yarn and assigning projects. I love the yarn search on Ravelry --it lets me browse projects and see how the yarn turns out for different people. I had some fine Red Heart yarn that was an impulse purchase. I love the colorway, but I didn't know what to do with it. I finally found a great scarf pattern: The Dropped Stitch Scarf from Frazzled Knits. I really like how it turned out. My grandma loves handmade gifts and her birthday is coming up next month, so I think I have the perfect gift!

A Year in review

I really fell off the blogging bandwagon this past fall, but school is now done and I can concentrate fully on crafting and blogging. I thought I'd start with a mosaic of my finished objects in 2008. I made quite a few things for my nephew! Despite my hectic final semester, I managed to create a couple handmade gifts as well.

There were several things I created at the end of the year that I never blogged about. One was a sweater for my cousin. I had her name for the family gift exchange. And inexplicably, I forgot to document it! I decided to make Flint Knit's February Lady Sweater. I used Cascade 220 for the yarn. It knit so fast and I think it turned out really well. I want to make one for myself now.

Other items I made for various gifting needs were: a toy alpaca, a felted rug, a lunch sack, and a reusable Target bag. I fused Target bags together and tried to recreate the real bag Target advertised earlier in the year. Stay tuned for my 2009 goals!

Almost there

These gifts for the newest niece in the family are the second- and third-last gifts I had to make - just one more left to finish! I made the bear from a cashmere sweater that I'd accidentally machine washed; he is so so soft! I made his face with embroidery floss and knit a tiny scarf to hide his neck seam. The balls are each about 3" in diameter, made with the same yarn I used for the ruffle scarf. I have plenty of these colors left over for another fun kid project or two in the coming year.

So close!

Three more completed gifts! The rainbow scarf is from the book Scarf Style; it's for my goofy (in the best possible way) niece. The hats are for my brothers-in-law; they live in Phoenix, but even the desert gets cold at night, so I made these with cotton to be climate-appropriate. I can't believe how close Christmas is!

And another!

Not a great photo (as usual) but I didn't want to wait till daylight to shoot this and put it into the finished gift trunk - got to keep the momentum going! This is the Thrift Shop Shawl, another Ravelry find. The pattern is so super simple, which is the perfect way to show off this lovely red cashmere yarn that I got for a steal from Smiley's last year (the picture doesn't do this color justice!). And it's so soft! This year's Smiley's Manhattan sale is next week...I may not be able to stop myself from going and looking for more of this yarn.