My Crafty Life

Welcome to 2009

2009-04-12T16:47:00.005-05:00

It has been a LONG time since my last post. I've been fairly busy with life. Thankfully life is starting to calm down a bit. I did get a few projects completed during my break from blogging. I completed a baby blanket that I had been working on. I used white and sea blue I love this Yarn from Hobby Lobby and a size I crochet hook following a basic ripple pattern. I think it turned out pretty good.
I've also recently developed an interest in quilting. My husband bought me a sewing machine the Christmas before last. While I have played around a little with it, I haven't done anything major with it. All of that is about to change. My mom showed me a simple quilt pattern in a Quilts and More magazine. The pattern uses 36 10 inch squares to make a basic patchwork quilt. I used several batiks from fat quarters from JoAnns and Hancock Fabrics. Right now I am in the process of sewing the squares together. Next I'll have to sew the rows together to complete the quilt top. Here is a pictures of all the squares laid out in the order I want them.
I still have some supplies to pick up before I will be able to complete the quilt. I need to order a walking foot for my sewing machine and pick up the quilt back and batting. I figure I'll be able to get it completed in another month or two. In the mean time I have plenty to work on. I need to finish up a red shawl I am working on and I have started yet another baby blanket. I also, in an effort to develop my sewing/quilting skills, have been toying around with making quilted coasters. My goal is to improve my sewing skills with every coaster so when it comes time to do the quilting my lines will be straight.

Another item I have been working on. I have been studying to get my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute. I plan to take the test sometime in June of this year.

That's all I have for now. In the mean time....

~~Happy Crafting~~

Saving Peanut

2008-08-28T13:24:00.003-05:00

My little Peanut

Last weekend we were in Tulsa to visit family and drop my puppy off at my parents house in preparation for our Colorado vacation next week. Saturday morning we found a baby squirrel who apparently fell out of his nest in one of the big trees in my parents yard. It broke my heart to see the poor thing shaking on the sidewalk. His eyes weren't even open yet!

So naturally we adopted him and took care of him. I named him Peanut. Hubby did some research on the Internet about caring for baby squirrels. We hydrated him and got some formula in him and he started to do better. He slept most of Saturday and Sunday. Sunday morning I woke up to feed him and his eyes were open! He's such a cute little critter! My little Peanut.

Sunday evening and Monday after work he was pretty lively. He'd make the cutest little noises and crawl around on my shoulders and lap. Even though I knew I couldn't keep him, I got WAY attached to him. I took several pictures and Hubby even recorded him crawling around on me out on our front porch.

Tuesday we contact an Animal Shelter to see what we could do for Peanut. We couldn't possibly take him to Colorado with us. We are going to be high up in the mountains camping, it would get WAY too cold for his little body up there. It broke my heart to give him up! (Yes I cried over a squirrel). He was my little Peanut. He would crawl up and rest his little head on my shoulder and fall asleep like a baby.

Giving him up was hard, but I know it is what's best for him. He would never survive the cold climate in Colorado. He got too cold in our apartment and we had to turn it so the AC wouldn't kick on. We turned him over to a volunteer group called Wild Care. They took our address and said that when Peanut was ready to be released they would release him in our neighborhood. So I may see my little Peanut again someday.

I really miss him. He was such a cute little squirrel. At least I know he is being cared for by good people.

More yarn and some finished projects

2008-08-21T09:18:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since my last post. I've been doing lots of knitting! I finished a few projects. I've been in this knitting hats phase this month. I've completed 3 hats and am working on a 4th this month. I made yet another beret from the Hip Knit Hats book using the lionbrand homespun.

I finished up the knitted hat that I was making for my hubby. I used the Lionbrands Fishermans Wool. The hat turned out really good. I also knitted up a hat using the Suri Dream Hand Dyed yarn from Knit Picks. The yarn is listed as super bulky weight, but it really didn't look all that bulky to me. I was a little worried that it would not be good yarn for a hat. Well, I was wrong. The hat is real light weight, but real warm! And I love how soft it is! It turned out really good with the striping. The colorway is Falling Leaves. Granted the hat turned out a bit different that the pattern. It's more of a slouch hat than a normal hat. But I really like it!

The fourth hat I am working on is from the Hip Knit Hats book also. The pattern is called Ella. It has a band of Entrelac knitting around it. It's a beret-like hat. I'm using Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks in Blackberry. It's turning out great! I can't wait to finish it!

Also this month I placed another Knit Picks order. A girl always needs more yarn! I ordered four more lace hanks, 3 hanks of Swish Bulky, 4 balls of Telemark, 2 balls of Palette, 1 Suri Dream Hand Dyed, 1 Suri Dream, 2 hanks of Wool of the Andes, a hat pattern, a book, some stitch markers, and I wanted to try their circulars so I ordered size 4 tips and 40" cable for the Peacock shawl I am going to knit after my vacation next month.

Lace: 2 hanks Shimmer - Galaxy, 1 hank Gloss - Blue Bird, 1 hank Gloss - Basalt

Swish Bulky - Brindle Heather: This is going to be a mobius.Telemark - Persimmon Heather, this is going to be for a scarf.

2 balls Palette - Asphalt Heather and Marble Heather: I ordered the Tam O'Shanter pattern and am going to knit it up using these two yarns.

Suri Dream Handyed - Falling Leaves, this turned into a hat and the leftovers are being knit into a skinny scarf.

Suri Dream - Strawberry Heather, I'm thinking this is going to be either a beret or fingerless gloves. I'm leaning towards the fingerless gloves and then whatever I have left over will probably be another skinny scarf to make a set. Book: Hip Knit Hats - I just love this book! There are so many great hat patterns and they are all knitted on the larger needle sizes so they knit up real fast!
Wool of the Andes - Blackberry (Ella Hat) and Coal. Both are going to be hats.I don't have pictures of the stitch markers or the circular needle. I do however have some pictures for your viewing pleasure from my trip to the zoo last weekend! They had two new baby snow leopards! Oh yeah, and the Red Pandas! Gotta love the Red Pandas!!!!!

~HAPPY KNITTING~

Finised a project!

2008-08-05T08:58:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend I finished another hat project. I'm really enjoying the "instant gratification" aspect of knitting small projects such as hats. I finished up the Lace Leaf Hat project on Sunday morning.I think it turned out pretty well. It was knit on size 5 16" circulars, using Knit Picks Palette in Lipstick. I really like how the leaf pattern turned out. They really do look like leaves! Here's a close up: I can't wait to wear this hat in Colorado in September! It turned out so good.

I also cast on another hat project this weekend. I'm working on a simple hat that for my hubby. It's a K2P2 ribbing through the whole thing, very easy, a good TV project. I'm knitting it up with Lion brands Fisherman's Wool in the Natural Brown color. I'm about half way through the body of the hat, I hope to either start on the crown decreases this weekend or have it finished before the weekend rolls around.

I'm desperately trying to finish up my mystery shawl. I already decided to opt-out of the knitted on boarder. I'm just going to do an extra knit round and then bind off with larger needles. I just want it to be done. I didn't realize how long the final chart section was going to take. I can only get about two, maybe three, rounds done before I have to put it down and switch to something else.

I also started on some mittens from my Selbuvotter book. I chose what I thought looked to be one of the easier patterns to knit up. I'm just on the ribbing of the cuff, but I hope to have these done by November. That might be pushing it, but I'm going to try.

I'm using Knit Picks Palette in Black and Fog. I think they will turn out good. They will be my third stranded knitting projects ever. I completed two hats earlier this year. I can't wait to get into the body of the mittens and the real color work! It's going to be a challenge, but I'm up for it.

Until next time!

~~HAPPY KNITTING~~

Yarn Winding Madness

2008-07-24T08:12:00.002-05:00

So I finally got my yarn swift created. Well, actually hubby did most of the work, I watched. I did glue the peg holders on though. Anyway, the swift was completed last week. In good time too, I had several hanks of lace that needed to be wound. I spent all of Saturday morning working with the ball winder and the swift. My poor right arm and shoulder got quite the workout. It ached all weekend! It was worth it though, I was able to get all of my lace wound into nice neat center-pull skeins!

Don't they look pretty! The ball winder and the swift were definitely good investments. Also over the weekend I completed two more hats. I'm definitely going to have to order the Hip Knit Hats book from Knit Picks on my next yarn order! The hats are very easy to knit and can be completed in a matter of two days. I knitted a second beret using some leftover I Love This Yarn in peacock. I think it turned out fairly decent. I knitted the larger size to see if it would fit a little better than the first one I made. The top turned out a little weird, I tired the crocheted circular cast on where you can just pull the string to close up the hole. I think for future hats I'll stick with the normal cast on and join in the round.
I also knitted up the Nina Hat from Hip Knit Hats. This was an extremely easy knit. It took two days to knit, but that's only because I started on in later in the afternoon and then had to finish it up the next morning. I bet this could be knitted up in one day. I used a skein of Lion Brand Homespun, The tag was lost so I'm not sure about the colorway on it. But it did knit up pretty neat. You can see some wide subtle strips in the hat. It starts out sort of reddish, then blue, then a light blue-green. I'm thinking about knitting up a beret using the leftover yarn in the skein. I could probably get at least one more hat out of it, if not two.

I've also made some pretty decent progress on my Arctic Diamonds stole. It's still coming along pretty slow, but you can see the diamond pattern now.

I also started another lacy hat. The pattern is Lace Leaf Hat. I'm using a ball of my Knit Picks Palette yarn in Lipstick. I ordered 4 balls of this yarn for a shawl pattern, however after knitting a few repeats into the shawl, I found that I didn't really like the yarn for the pattern. The Palette isn't as soft as I would like a shawl to be. So the 4 balls are going to turn into a hat possibly two, and probably a set of Selbu mittens. Here's where I am on the hat: I'm on row 3 of the actual leaf pattern. The first ten rows of the hat were knit on size 4 needles. I moved to size 5 for the body of the hat. I think it is going to turn out pretty good.

Until next time!

~HAPPY KNITTING~

This week feels like Christmas!

2008-07-17T08:47:00.003-05:00

The last two days have felt like Christmas. I received my Peacock Feathers kit on Tuesday. I cannot wait to knit up this shawl! It is so beautiful! The kit included the pattern and enough yarn to complete the project. The instructions seem pretty straight forward, and the charts are nice and big. The yarn is just wonderful! It's a zephyr silk/wool in Jade. It's really pretty! It's going to make a real nice shawl I think. I'm going to try to make myself wait until after I have completed one of the two other lace projects I have going right now.
Yesterday I received my Knit Picks order. Talk about ending a long day of work on a happy note! 3 hanks of Gloss Pinot. This is going to make a real pretty shawl!

3 hanks of Alpaca Cloud Bermuda Heather. This is going to become the Water Turtles shawl from my Wrapped in Comfort book.
4 Balls of Palette Lipstick. This is a fingering weight yarn and it is going to become an Argosy shawl that I found on Ravelry.
3 hanks of Shadow Aegean. It is so pretty! I'm not 100% sure yet what it wants to become, I'm pretty sure a shawl, just not sure which one yet.

2 hanks of Shadow Hot Rod Heather. This is going to become a Adamas shawl.

I had such a good time sorting through all my new yarn! I plan on using my ball winder this weekend and get everything into nice neat little yarn cakes.

Also yesterday, I finished knitting a black beret. I find it helps to have a smaller project that can be completed rather quickly when working with larger projects that take considerably longer to finish. I have some more hat patterns to work on, a few lacy that will count in the season of lace competition, and a few more that aren't lacy. I just like to feel the joy and satisfaction of completing a project.

Here's a picture of the beret. I got the pattern from the book Hip Knit Hats. I have two more patterns from the book to knit up. I plan on ordering the book with my August Knit Picks order. Well that's all the news for now. I also plan on making significant progress on my Arctic Diamonds stole over the weekend. So hopefully I'll have some better pictures of it to post next week.

Until next time,
~~Happy Knitting~~

Lots of progress

2008-07-14T17:32:00.002-05:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted! I have made significant progress on my projects that I started in June. My mystery shawl is really grown!
Here it is at clue 1:Here we are at the end of clue 2:Here's where I goofed with the lifeline at the end of clue 2! I totally threaded the lifeline through the stitch marker. Needless to say I took the lifeline out! LOL!
And here at the end of clue 3:I'm currently working on clue 4, I'm thinking that this one is going to take a while to complete! It's pretty big. After this clue I'll be working on the knitted lace border. Yet another new technique to tackle. I'm curious as to how it is going to turn out once all the knitting is finished and the shawl is blocked!

Although the mystery shawl has commanded most of my attention the past 5 weeks, I've managed to make some pretty good progress on my Arctic Diamonds stole that I started. I really like how the snorkel is knitting up. It's such a pretty color! The diamond pattern is starting to show too! I'm very pleased with it.
So much has taken place since my last post. I'm not even sure where to begin! I finally made it into my local yarn shop! I was excited to find some lace yarn that I have never knit with before. I picked up some JaggerSpun Zephyr Silk/Wool yarn! It is so soft and so pretty! I bought two skeins of Daffodil and one skein of Dianthas. I'm thinking the yellow will be a shawl, and the pink is going to be a scarf from my Ocean Breezes book! I can't wait to knit up a project with them.I have so many lace projects lined up that I want to knit. I don't know where I'll find the time to get them all done!
I also placed another knit picks order on the 3rd of July. I'm still anxiously waiting for it! I thought it might be in today, alas I was wrong, and very disappointed! I've ordered several more hanks of lace for more projects! I also ordered a new color (Lipstick) in the palette yarn for a shawl. In addition to my knit picks order I also ordered the Peacock Feathers Shawl kit from Fiddlesticks.com. The kit includes the shawl pattern and enough yarn in the color of your choice to complete the pattern! This pattern is just beautiful! I chose the new Jade color, fitting for a peacock I think. I've always loved peacocks and their vibrant feathers! I can't wait to make this shawl! I'll post pictures of these goodies once I get them in!

Some other ideas I have in the works right now. I'm planning on turning my side of our office into my knitting command center! I'm in the process of cleaning up and organizing my desk my bookshelf to better suit my knitting needs. I also am going to be organizing my desktop PC to file and store the electronic copies of all my patterns! I have big plans for this! I'll have to post a picture once I get everything moved around and situated!

One more idea before I end this post. I'm thinking about starting another blog that will be connected to this one, where I will write reviews. I'll be reviewing my knitting books that I currently have as well as books that I will buy in the future. I'll also write reviews of the books I am currently reading for pleasure. For example, I have recently discovered Debbie Macomber! She is a great author! I've already read the first three books in her A Good yarn series (The Shop on Blossom Street, A Good Yarn, and Back on Blossom Street). I've read these in a matter of about two months! I'll post an announcement once I get things up and running!
Until Next time!
~~Happy Knitting~~

It's Lace Time!

2008-06-24T14:03:00.003-05:00

The Season of Lace competition began this past weekend. I got off to a rather rocky start too. I kept having issues with my Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl. Getting the round shawl was by far one of the most frustrating things I've done here recently.

On Saturday I had to just put it down and leave it alone, it about brought me to tears. I didn't like how it was originally turning out on my DPNs, so I decided to give magic loop a try. I found a great resource on the internet with videos for different knitting techniques. It appeared fairly easy, and I actually did get the first clue completed, however, I had some big holes in the yar where I joined in the round. So I decided to start over and try again. I ended up not even touching it on Sunday. I worked on another poject instead.

On Monday, I had a couple rounds of frustration with stitches twisting. I decided that the magic loop was best saved for another day. I returned to my trusty DPNs, and after explaining my side of the story with them they forgave me for abandoning them and decided to cooperate with me. We started again, going slowly and carefully. I completed the 14 rounds of the initial cast on, and it looked much better than my first attempt. I really like the nice neat stitches. I'm not really much of a neat freak as a rule, however I'm fairly OCD about my knitting and how the stitches look.

I decided it was best not to push my luck and put it down for the evening. I plan to insert a lifeline before I begin with my selected chart from clue 1. I hope to finish the first chart this evening after work, afterwhich I plan to insert another lifeline and then put it down until tomorrow. I hope to have the second chart completed tomorrow evening. Then I will be all caught up. I hate feeling like I am behind on something.

It probably can go without saying that all of my projects will be lace project from now until the Season of Lace Competition ends in September.

Since I won't be able to do any more with the mystery shawl, once I finish chart 2, until Saturday I have cast on another lace project to knit inbetween clues. I'm working the Arctic Diamonds Lace Stole from the Arctic Lace book. I believe it has a different name in the book. I actually got the pattern from one of the Interweave magazines. I'm using KnitPicks Shadow Snorkel. I absolutely love the color! It is so bold and deep coloring. I just know this stole is going to turn out amazing!

I finished with the beginning edge over the weekend. The main body of the stole is divided into three sections. The beginning section, the middle section that is repeated a certain number of times, and the ending section, and then you have the ending edge. I was able to get two rows into the beginning section. I'd like to have the beginning section completed Thursday night.

Another thing I really need to get done this coming weekend is building my homemade swift. Mom bought me a ballwinder, and I have a few hanks that need winding. I have everything I need to build the swift, I just need to make the time to do it. I'll probably get started on it Friday night and finish it Saturday morning before the third mystery shawl clue is posted. I also need to sit down and finalize my next Knit Picks order.

There are so many things to do and so little time to do them in! I really don't know where the time goes. Sometimes I loose a day and sometimes I gain one, it's weird!

Until next time!

~Happy Knitting~

Long sad week

2008-06-17T14:09:00.005-05:00

My grandfather passed away last Tuesday, June 10, 2008. He was diagnosed about two months ago with a brain tumor that was growing in the middle of his brain. The doctors said that there really wasn't anything that they could do that would prolong his life. His passing was very hard on all my family, even though we knew that it could be a matter of months. It's hard to prepare yourself for this kind of thing.

My grandfather was an excellent man, and an avid fisherman. He was one of those up before the sun to go fishing types. I remember the first time he took me fishing out at a small lake in Bixby, I was catching fish left and right, just having a blast! Granted they were too little to keep, it was still fun. After about two hours or so someone, don't really recall who exactly, told me that I had caught my limit for the day. To the best of my knowledge there was not a limit to how many perch one could catch, I think they all were just tired and wanted to go back home to relax. My mom still has the pictures from that day.

My grandpa loved nature. He use to take my grandma on nature walks in the park, or go out to one of the state parks to see deer and hawks and the like. He always had a big garden in the back. One of my favorite things about going to my grandparents in the summer was the fried okra fresh from the garden....yummy! I have fond memories of going up to Oklahoma on summer vacations and staying at grandma and grandpa's house. Playing with all my cousins. They always kept frozen cheese pizzas stocked for me, I was a major picky eater when I was little.

Another memory that I treasure is our nicknames. Ever since I can remember my grandpa has always called me pighog. I have no idea where this came from. My mom says it's a term from the backhills of Arkansas (where my grandpa was from). We use to buy each other stuff with pigs on them. Grandpa would always draw a little pig in my birthday cards. I'm going to miss him so much.

His last days were spent at home with my grandma and my mom who stayed with them to help take care of grandpa. The people from the hospice were all really nice and did an excellent job of helping the family through this. Grandpa really didn't have much pain in his last days, he was mostly just sore from being in bed full time. While it was really hard being there when he passed, I am thankful that I was able to say goodbye and tell him how much I loved him and would miss him. My husband was so great throughout the whole thing. He stayed by my side and tried to comfort me as best as he could. I'm not sure I could have got through it without him. I love him so much. I'm so thankful that he is in my life. I don't know what I would do without him.

The whole family was there when he passed. It was really hard on all of us. We all loved grandpa so much, and I know he loved all of us. We are taking it one day at a time right now, sometimes one hour at a time. I'm back home and at work this week. The days are a little easier because work keeps me busy. The evenings are harder. I know it will get easier as the days pass. I know he is in a better place where he feels no pain and no sorrow. I'm happy for him and sad for our loss at the same time.

One of the biggest things that came out of this, is an acknowledgement of the fact that life is short. We should make the most out of each day and never pass up an opportunity to talk to family members and tell them that you love them. Cherish every day. Be good to one another. Life is short.

I finished my Bigfoot Shawl!!!!!

2008-06-08T19:59:00.004-05:00

I finished my Bigfoot Shawl this weekend. I have to say it turned out very good. I'm very pleased with it.

When I first started the shawl it was a little awkward. I only started out with around 12 stitches that were to be spaced about 1 inch apart. I had never done that before, it was different. I actually had to use my straight needles to do the cast on.

The shawl is basically made up of three parts. I cast on 12 stitches and then there is a 13 row section where you increase every other row. I went from the original 12 stitches and in 13 rows it grows to 192 stitches. The second part of the shawl is called the yoke. The yoke consists of 14 rows and increases the shawl to 385 stitches. The first two parts of the shawl knit up very quickly.
The third part of the shawl is a 4 row repeat to create the body of the shawl. The pattern was a fairly quick knit, thought the purl side sometimes felt like it would never end. I originally put a marker to indicate the wrong side of the shawl, but I quickly found that it was pretty easy to differentiate between the wrong side and the right side of the shawl.
This was also my first knitted project to block. I have plans to create a blocking board, I just have to get the rest of my supplies and construct it. So, I decided to block the shawl on my bed, praying that it would be dry before bed time. I pinned it out around 6 this evening. I turned the fan on high to help it out. I think it dried in about an hour and a half maybe.

I've been wearing it around the apartment. I'm just so proud of it. My first lace shawl project using lace weight yarn. I can't wait to wear it to work tomorrow. Although I'm the only woman in my office, it's though sometimes. I'm not sure that the guys will appreciate the art work that is my shawl. Oh well, I'm going to wear it all the same.

Now I have to figure out which shawl I want to knit next. Also I need to place another Knit Picks order. I believe all my lace yarn is spoken for right now. Now, to persuade hubby that an order is necessary.

Until next time!
~Happy Knitting~

lace, lace, and more lace

2008-05-30T14:28:00.003-05:00

We visited our families last weekend, got to love those three day weekends! We had a pretty good visit with our families. Saturday evening we had a very good dinner at my mother-in-laws house, and then my hubby when fishing with his younger brother. They seem to have had a good time, and even cought some fish!

My mom and I spent part of the weekend showing off our lace yarn we both had ordered from Knit Picks. Knit Picks has such pretty colors in their yarn. Makes you want to order a couple of each. We ended up swapping three hanks of yarn. My Hot Rod Heather for her Jewels Heather. It turns out that mom already had a few hanks of the Jewels heather and did not need the extra three hanks. So I lucked out! The Jewels heather is so pretty!

Mom also had the book Arctic Lace from the library to look through. While most of the content in the book is about the history of lace knitting from the Arctic area, there are a few patterns in the book that are very pretty. I have one hank of the Jewels Heather that is going to be a Mobius wrap, and the other two hanks are going to be a shawl from my Wrapped in Comfort book.

I'm about half way done on my Bigfoot shawl. I'm not going to post any pictures just yet, I want to make one big post with pictures from beginning to end. But I will say that the shawl is coming along very well. It's going to turn out really pretty in the Oregon Coast Heather yarn. And that's all you get on that for now!

We're gearing up for the Season of Lace competition. I've been rolling yarn and planning patterns it's been very exciting. Well, the rolling of the yarn probably isn't all that exciting when you get right down to it. I just really enjoy the planning phase. I guess it comes from working as a project manager. I like to lay things out and plan in advance for events. I'm working on writing up every lace project that I want to tackle for the competition and assign a yarn to it so I'll have everything ready and won't have to waste time wondering what I am going to do next and then go back and forth on what yarn to use. But, I always reserve the right to change my mind at the last minute!

Next week I'll be placing my large knit picks order to get the rest of my lace yarn in. I have what I need to start out in three weeks. But I want to make sure I have more than enough to get me through the competition.

That's all for now. Until next time!

~Happy Knitting~

Lots of new stuff

2008-05-17T14:09:00.008-05:00

This past week I finally received my yarn order from Knit Picks. 11 hanks of lace! My right arm is sore from rolling the hanks into balls. I have 6 hanks left. I wonder if rolling yarn builds up arm muscle. Anyways, the new spring yarn colors are beautiful! Here's what I received:

Papaya Heather - 100% Baby Alpaca. This color is absolutely beautiful, the picture does not do it justice in my opinion. I'll be knitting my mandala shawl out of this yarn. I already have the yarn rolled into three balls. I just need to pick up my 32" size 5 circular needles and I'll have all my supplies ready to go when the first section of the chart is revealed.

Oregon Coast Heather - 100% Merino Wool. This is a lot softer than I had expected it to be, and I'm thinking it will be even softer after blocking. This sandy color is so pretty. I've already rolled the two hanks and have cast on for a shawl from the book I ordered, Wrapped in Comfort: Knitted Lace Shawls by Alison Jeppson Hyde This is a wonderful book! The shawl patterns range from easy to experienced skill level. So even if you are new to lace and/or shawls this book is great for beginners as well as experienced lace knitters. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow and she also includes a section with tips to make your lace knitting easier. I highly recommend this book. I'm part way through the yoke and then I'll begin knitting the body of the shawl. It is knitting up really fast.Snorkel Heather - 100% Merino Wool. This color is so much richer in person than the picture on the website. This is another one of those colors that a photo cannot do justice. It is more beautiful than I had originally thought it was going to be. I am very pleased with it. I'm planning on knitting up a Arctic Diamonds Stole from the Arctic Lace pattern book that was printed in the Winter 2006 issue of Interweave Knits magazine. I believe this pattern in the snorkel heather is going to be absolutely gorgeous. I think this is going to be one of my projects that I do for the Season of Lace Competition that is starting on June 21st.
Hot Rod Heather - another 100% Merino Wool. I'm not positive what I am going to knit up with this one. I just love the color! It will probably another shawl from my Wrapped in Comfort book.Yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby (love that store!) to pick up 16" size 5 circulars, and came home with some blocking pins, stitch markers, and a pretty basket to hold my lace knitting. When I got the basket home, I started worry that the yarn might catch on the edges and inside of the basket. So I fixed it! I used my sewing machine! Finally!
My hubby bought me my first sewing machine for Christmas last year. Up until now I didn't really get a chance to do much with it. I had a lot of reading to do to figure out how to work it. I don't think what I did was really all that impressive, but hey I used my own sewing machine! I just hemmed the edges of a large rectangle piece of fabric and then fastened it to the basket with safety pins. No big deal really. But I think it turned out pretty good.
I also finished up the feather and fan scarf that I was working on. Here's a picture, it turned out kind of dark, the yarn is a pretty purple color.
Well, I think that's about it for now. My shawl is calling me to knit on it some more. So until next time!
~Happy Knitting!

Mandala Shawl

2008-05-13T08:34:00.016-05:00

As previously mentioned, I will be participating in a mystery shawl knit along next month. I'm very excited about this upcoming project. The inspiration for this project comes from the sand mandala's that are created by Buddhist Monks. I actually had the opportunity to watch Tibetan Monks create a sand mandala a few years ago in college. So I did have a little prior knowledge of what a mandala was before hand. It was very interesting to sit and watch the monks work. The mandala was absolutely beautiful.

This is a very interesting concept to fit into a shawl. The shawl will be circular. Each Saturday, beginning June 14th, a clue (or a portion of a chart) will be posted for us to knit. Here's the neat twist, there will be a couple, possibly 3, chart sections to choose from each Saturday thus making it possible for each person to make a unique mandala shawl. I was very intrigued when I read about this knit along and decided that I had to be a part of it. I also decided to do a bit of research into the back ground of the mandala. I knew what it was, but I didn't know the philosophy or history of it. Here is what I found.

The dictionary definition of mandala is any various ritualistic geometric designs symbolic of the universe, used in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation. In the spirit of the mandala I plan on knitting in a quiet room where I can reflect.

The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia gives this information:

"In Tantric Hinduism and Buddhism, a diagram representing the universe, used in sacred rites and as an instrument of meditation. The mandala serves as a collection point for universal forces. By mentally 'entering' the mandala and moving towards its centre, one is guided through the cosmic processes of disintegration and reintegration. Mandalas may be painted on paper or cloth, drawn on the ground, or fashioned of bronze or stone. Two types of mandalas represent different aspects of the universe: the garbha-dhatu (womb world), in which the movement is from one to the many, and the vajra-dhatu diamond world), from the many into one."

One last definition from the Buddhism Dictionary:

"A sacred circle or circular diagram having mystical significance. Mandalas are most commonly found in tantric Buddhism, where they are believed to represent the body, speech, and mind of a Buddha, and are used for initiatory, meditational, and other purposes. Mandalas are said to exist in several planes of reality: the intrinsically existent mandala, not accessible to ordinary beings, with is the actual configuration fo the qualities of enlightenment; the meditational mandala as visualized by a tantric practitioner, and the representational mandala which is the mandala as depicted with colours and so forth. Mandalas are also subdivided according to whether they are Body Mandalas which embody the body-form of the deities or aspects of enlightenment, Speech Mandalas which represent the speech aspect with seed-syllables, or Mind Mandalas wich represent the mind aspect with symbols such as lotuses, vajras, or wheels."

Here are a couple pictures I found of monks actually working on a sand mandala.

It is very interesting to watch the creation of a mandala. It can take several days to create on mandala. I read that sometimes there will be four monks working on the same mandala. They use these long metal rods to distribute the colored sand into just the right place. I cannot begin to imagine the amount of concentration it takes to create on of these. If you ever get the opportunity to watch one being created, do not pass it up. It is such as amazing thing, really captivating to watch. I would almost go so far as to say it could be a once in a life time experience. One of the more interesting things I learned when reading about mandalas, once the sand mandala is complete, the monks peform a ceremony and sweep up the sand to release the blessing contained in the mandala.

And here is a picture of a mandala I found on the internet.

I am really looking forward to creating my own mandala in June. I will give progress updates periodically, however once the mandala is complete I plan on posting one big post detailing the journey, complete with pictures of course.

~Happy Knitting~

Pictures!

2008-05-05T12:24:00.004-05:00

As promised, here are pictures of my projects that I want to finish before June 14th.

Feather and Fan Scarf:

Midwest Moonlight Scarf:

La Dentelle Belle Scarf:Entrelac Scarf:

Raspberry Lace Triangle Shawl:

Long time, no post

2008-05-05T09:35:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I last posted. Things are kind of crazy right now. Lots of different things going on right now. Life as a project manager for a state agency is keeping me busy during the week. I also was bitten by the spring cleaning bug. I'm in the process of trying to get my apartment all nice neat and organized. That project is going to take some time. I have a vision, which unfortunately requires a lot of moving stuff around and throwing stuff away. I'm also trying to make time to work on my knitting as well. I have not been knitting as much on the weekends as I have been able to in the past.

I finally decided to take on the challenge of knitting a triangle shawl with lace weight yarn. I found a simple pattern and cast on. It is going pretty good so far. I'm using my Raspberry heather Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks. The yarn is so thin! When I first started working with it I felt like I was going to break the yarn. I had to rip and start over a couple of times. But I finally got the hang of it. I've found that I actually like working with the lace weight yarn. Although, I think this shawl is going to take some time to complete. I've been working on it since April 20th and it doesn't even look like I have made a dent on the ball! Another thing I have discovered, after working with the lace weight yarn for a while, when I switch over to my scarf project, the worsted weight yarn feels huge in my fingers! It's very interesting.

Last month I joined a mystery shawl KAL (knit a long) that is set to start on June 14th. I'm very excited about it, and will post more information on it in another post this week hopefully. I feel that the basis and inspiration for this mystery shawl deserves a post of it's own, coming soon. I feel another evolution post coming on.

In preparation for this mystery shawl (and in the spirit of spring cleaning) my goal for May is to finish up at least three projects that I have on the needles. I'm not positive just how realistic this goal is. I have three scarves and a shawl on the needles at the moment. Here's what I have on the needles right now: Lace Triangle Shawl, Feather and Fan Scarf, Midwest Moonlight Scarf, La Dentelle Belle Scarf, Entrelac Scarf. I'm debating on which approach to take. It might be easier and more time-efficient to tackle the scarves first, as the lace shawl is going to take time because I will be knitting up the whole 440 yards of lace. I think I will focus my efforts on the Feather and Fan, Midwest Moonlight, and La Dentelle Belle scarves.

In June I will be participating on my mystery shawl and working on my first pair of Selbuvotter mittens. I'm going to go ahead and post this without pictures. I'll post again this evening after I upload pictures of my shawl and scarves.

Until next time.
~~Happy Knitting~~

Finished another hat

2008-04-23T20:03:00.003-05:00

I finished my second stranded hat this evening. I think it turned out pretty well. I'm glad to get one of my many work in progress projects completed. I've already cast on for my first lace shawl with my new lace weight yarn. I don't have pictures as of yet, and I've had to start over a couple of times. But I'll figure it out in the end.

Here's a picture of the new hat:

In other news, I have been bitten by the designer bug. I have ideas for a hat pattern and possibly a shawl pattern. I already have the design for the hat charted, but I still have to knit it and make sure it turns out okay. I have so many ideas for designs in my head, I just need to find time to knit them up. It's starting to get hard to find time to knit, especially with the summer weather finally arriving.

Until next time.
~~Happy Knitting~~

Yarn!!!!!!

2008-04-14T17:57:00.010-05:00

I ordered some yarn and a book from KnitPicks about a week ago. It came today! I'm very excited about this new yarn. Usually I get my yarn from either Walmart or Hobby Lobby. So usually my yarn is mostly acrylic, and if you've done much yarn shopping you know it's hard to find real soft yarn that is acrylic. I do like the I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. I've found it to always be pretty soft and easy to knit with. But, this new yarn from KnitPicks is all natural. Here's the run down of what I ordered, and what I plan to do with it!First off, I got 4 deals of Wool of the Andes. 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. 2 different colors, Stream and Sapphire Heather. Both of these colors are beautiful. I really love the Sapphire Heather. Each ball is 110 yards. I'm thinking about a skinny scarf, like an accent scarf rather than a keep you warm scarf. I'm not 100% positive what I am going to do with them, I just had to have the colors.Second. I got 4 balls of Palette. 100% Peruvian Wool. Colors: Black, Rainforest Heather, Fog, and Clematis Heather. I'm planning on knitting some mittens. I also ordered the book Selbuvotter: Biography of a Knitting Tradition. This book has some amazing mittens in it! I can't wait to knit every pattern. I got the Palette to make these mittens. Each ball is 231 yards, so I figure I can get a set of mittens out of each ball.Third. I got 3 things of Telemark. 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. Colors: Colonial Blue, Delphinium Heather, and Snow Leopard. I had intended to get 4 things. However, I forgot to order the 4th one. So that will have to come in another order in the future. Maybe in a few months after I knit the rest of this stuff up. I believe these will also become mittens as well. Each ball is 103 yards.Fourth. I got two types of lace weight yarn. first is the Alpaca Cloud. 440 yards of 100% Baby Alpaca. It is so soft! The color is Raspberry Heather. It is so pretty and sooooo soft! I love it. I believe it is going to become a real pretty lace scarf. I'm super excited about the alpaca yarn!The second lace weight yarn is Shimmer. 70% Baby Alpaca and 30% Silk. It is super soft. The color is Stained Glass. The colors in it are so vibrant and so pretty. I absolutely love it! It is going to become a shawl. It is also a 440 yard hank. So pretty. I've been petting it this afternoon.Now I have to take the hanks and turn them into balls before I can knit them. I don't even want to think about trying to untangle lace weight yarn.

One last item to report. I finished my first stranded project. A hat. I turned out real good. I'm very proud of it. The brown and pink turned out real good, a lot better than I thought it was going to turn out. I'm not working on a second stranded hat in black and white.

I also have a hat pattern of my own in the works right now. I think it will turn out pretty good. I'm planning on knitting it in a light purple with the chart pattern in a dark purple. It should turn out. If it turns out real good I might post the pattern for others to use. Well just have to wait and see. I have lots going on. I want to finish the black and white hat and the purple feather and fan scarf I have going before I start on the mittens and my purple hat. So may projects and so much yarn to choose from.

Until next time!

~~HAPPY KNITTING~~

Stranded Knitting

2008-04-03T20:19:00.006-05:00

I finished my pink fingerless gloves. I'm very pleased with them. Too bad it took me so long to learn to knit fingerless gloves on dpns. It's April, it's getting warmer. Figures.

Anyway, I started a new hat on dpns. This is my first attempt at stranded knitting. I would just like to say that trying to hold yarn in both my hands and use my left had to knit is just plain hard! I'm very right hand dominant. The first few rounds with the two colors felt very clumsy. I was finally directed to a wonderful website that has a video on it teaching how to do stranded knitting.The video was excellent! The lady doing the video is really good at explaining and demonstrating two color knitting. It was very helpful. Now, I understand how to do it. I understand how to hold the yarn. However, it's still difficult! I'm working on issues of keeping the tension with my left hand.

This is going to take some practice. I use hope this hat turns out good. After all the struggle and frustration, I'm going to wear this hat everyday!

More Spring pictures!

Until next time!

~~Happy Knitting~~

Some finished objects

2008-03-30T19:31:00.009-05:00

Since my Evolution of a Fingerless Glove post, I've been working on my double pointed needle skills. I've successfully completed another fingerless glove in a peacock variegated yarn,
and another fingerless glove in a pink yarn. I plan on making a mate for the pink fingerless glove.I also started making a pink hat on dpns with the idea of it wearing it with the gloves. However, I goobered the pattern and I now have a pink baby hat! I'll save it for my first little girl whenever I have her.I visited my parents and grandparents this weekend. My grandfather is not doing so well right now, so I went down to visit and hang out. Saturday I spent the morning over at my grandparents with my mom, and then my mom and I went to Hobby Lobby for some yarn shopping. I don't think I have ever visited my family and not come home with new yarn for my stash.
As you can see I picked up some lovely browns. I also picked up my first taste of Alpaca yarn. Granted the Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends is 70% Acrylic and 30% Alpaca. The color is Wheat and it's still pretty soft. I plan on getting some 100% natural Alpaca from KnitPicks to see how soft it is. Anyways, I'm using the Alpaca to knit up some mittens. Here's my first mitten. I kind of goobered this pattern a little too. So I might make two more mittens since I have more than enough of the yarn left.

And last but not least, Spring is here!

Until next time,

~~Happy Knitting~~

Short update

2008-03-14T08:19:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to give a quick update on some things. I did get a new digital camera. It takes great pictures! I've been playing with it this week taking lots of pictures of my various projects. I also tackled some new knitting. I sucessfully knitted a fingerless glove on size 3 double pointed needles. I'm working up a post to detail my experiences on that, I just need to transfer the pictures from my camera to my computer so I can insert pics into the post. I'll get that done hopefully this Saturday. This weekend is going to be fairly busy for me. We have a wedding to go to Saturday evening; and since the wedding is going to take place in our home town, we'll get to see our parents as well. So naturally my mom and I have planned a trip to one of the yarn shops in the area. It wouldn't be a visit without a trip to a yarn shop.

That's really all the news I have thus far. Stay tuned for my next post about the evolution of my first fingerless glove on dpns!

Until next time,

~~Happy Knitting~~

Evolution fingerless glove on dpns

2008-03-12T15:46:00.009-05:00

I did it! I knitted in the round on double pointed needles! Now, to document my endeavor with words and of course pictures. This past weekend I decided that I never try knitting on dpns then I'll never learn, and there are a lot of really cute fingerless glove and mitten patterns out there that are calling out to me to knit them. Seriously, I hear them, it's freaky!

Anyway, I set out on a mission to find a nice basic pattern for fingerless gloves that also outlines the creation of the thumb gusset. I finally found one on Ravelry (such a wonderful resource). I got out my size 3 dpns and then looked up the tutorials I saved on casting on and joining in the round. This is the point where I learned that my dpns were much sharper than my other needles. I have the callous to prove it! I joined in the round and off I went on my adventure.

The pattern called for a knit 2 purl 1 ribbing, easy enough. The first major problem I ran into was moving to the next needle. I'm a fairly tight knitter, and I kept pulling my needle out of my stitches trying to do the purls. That was pretty frustrating for the first several rounds. But I got the hang of it and took my time. After about 10 or 20 rounds I decided this wasn't so bad. I did notice though that on my third needle ending the round, my stitches were kind of loose. Something to improve upon, no biggie for a beginner in my opinion.

So I continue the ribbing in the round until my poor pointer finger on my left hand can take no more. Apparently I got in the habit of using my left pointer finger to push the needle back down to slip stitches from the left to right needles. I didn't even realize this until these sharp dpns started making my finger sore. So I'd work as many rounds as I could until my finger got sore and then I'd put it down. I have to save my finger for the massive amounts of computer related work I have to do during the day at work. My job requires intensive use of the computer.

I took several pictures along the way to document the progress. By the time I made it to the thumb gusset, I'm fairly confident in my knitting abilities. Confident enough to download some mitten patterns that I want to try in the future. Though I'm thinking about investing in some not so sharp dpns, plus I need larger sizes.

I read through the directions for the thumb gusset a few times, I like to make sure I have a decent understanding of what I am going to do. I pull out two more markers. I begin the gusset. So far no problem. I get the prep round completed and continue in the ribbing patter around. Not bad, not bad at all. I can do this no problem.

Knit two rounds in pattern. Easy! Time for the second round of increases. Again I make it through with no problems. Two more rounds in pattern. Third round of repeats. Just for kicks I decided to count the number of stitches I have between my markers. I'm supposed to continue in the increase pattern until I have 15 stitches between the markers. Uh oh! I have one to many stitches! This can't be good. I count again, yep same number of stitches. I go back to the pattern, I'm still not sure where I went wrong. I'm supposed to increase two stitches on every increase round. Following that the last round would give me 16 stitches. I figure I'll just continue with what I have. The thought of trying to unknit on dpns is too much.

I get the thumb gusset complete and on the stitch holder. I decided to just increase one on the last round to keep with the 15 stitches in the pattern. I rejoice in my thumb gusset! I show my husband. He just looks at me. I take several more pictures of the completed gusset. Oh NO! I didn't to the Make one stitch properly on a few of the increase rounds! Oh well. I am not about to undo my thumb gusset. Most of the people I know are not knitters any way and they will never know cause I am not going to tell them! :)

I prepare to join the round again and finish up the glove. I'm feeling pretty good about myself at this time. I'm knitting in the round! On dpns! Go me! I get to the point where I'm ready to end the glove and cast off! Then I begin to over think the process of casting off (I'm famous for making easy things hard). I start to make myself believe that casting off in the round is somehow different for casting off straight needles. Silly me. I go ahead with the normal cast off! I tie off the final loop. Uh oh! The edges aren't meeting up. The last needles ending is not flush with the beginning.

My joining stitches were definitely loose. But I don't care! It's my first attempt, and as far as I was concerned it is perfect! Again, I rejoice! I show my husband. Again, he just looks at me. I don't think he is as in tune with my knitting as I am. Weird.

I take more pictures. Time to finish the thumb. I slip the stitches back on my needles. Uh oh! My needles are long! This makes the thumb difficult. But I continue on determined to finish!

I finish! YAY! More rejoicing! Again husband just looks at me! It's time for the happy dance! I declare victory and begin the happy dance, and take more pictures of the glove!

Final inspection. The work is fairly sloppy and does look like a first attempt. The stitches are tight, but the glove does fit on my hand! See.....

I made notes of where I went wrong and what I wanted to differently on the next one. I'll definitely make two more for practice. This first will probably not get worn outside much. There is a small, not real evident hole where the thumb is supposed to join the glove to close it off and make it round. This is okay though. I'm satisfied. I'm definitely going to use a larger size on the next set. Like I said I knit tight, so a larger size would make it easier I think.

That about sums up my adventure. I'm very happy with the outcome. I learned alot. And I am sure my next one will be better than the first. Eventually I plan on making a set of mittens.

Until next time!

~~Happy Knitting~~

Progress!

2008-03-02T18:54:00.012-06:00

This weekend was a pretty good one for me. I finished up my pink Kelp Forest scarf from the Ocean Breezes book. I love this book. All the scarves are just beautiful! I intend to knit at least one of each pattern. I may have to make that a goal for this year, to try and knit one of every pattern in the Ocean Breezes book.

I also started the Plaited Cable Scarf as planned. I started it on size 6 needles as the directions state, however after repeating the 8 rows three times I decided I needed to move up a couple needle sizes. So I ripped it this morning and started again on size 8 needles. It is turning out much better. The smaller needles resulted in a much tighter fabric and the edges were wanting to curl more.

I think it is going to turn out much nicer on the size 8 needles. Plus, it will make the scarf a little wider as well, which is what I really want it to be.

I'm also making good progress on my Entrelac scarf. It is really nice to have one project that I don't have to refer to the directions every time I'm done with one row, or in this case one pass. The only thing that I don't particularly love about Entrelac is on the third pass where you have to pick up and purl the stitches. For some reason picking up 8 stitches on the knit side is much easier for me than it is on the purl side. I'm not real sure why that is. It could be that I am just weird, but I have a little bit of difficulty keeping the yarn around the needle when I am trying to pull the tip through to finish the picked up stitch. But that's the only thing that bothers me. And the pattern comes out so neat and beautiful that it's worth the minor irritation.

A side note that is not related to knitting. I have the most wonderful hubby in the world! Not only does he completely support my knitting addiction, he also buys me flowers. He bought me the most beautiful flowers! He bought these absolutely gorgeous roses. So naturally I have to post a few choice pictures for everyones viewing pleasure.

And finally, I've been thinking about upgrading my camera. I'm getting tired of working with a camera that has a proprietary battery. I have yet to locate my charger for my battery and am very lucky that the battery has not run out just yet. Of course I can always take over hubby's camera until I actually get a new one. My current camera does 4.0 mega pixels. I'm wanting to upgrade to one that is at least 7 or 8 mega pixels.

I think I have decided to go with a Panasonic DMC-LZ7K Black 7.2 mega pixels. All the reviews on newegg.com are very positive and it's resolution is really good too, and the price is really good too. Though, I think I am going to have to wait until next month to order it. It just depends on how long it takes me to talk hubby into letting me order it early! He already said I could upgrade, but he's not real upbeat on the upgrade taking place this month. But I'll work on him. Hehehe!

Well, I guess that is gonna have to be all for now. We have some pretty heavy storms moving in and I want to get this posted before the lightening picks up! Back to my knitting to keep me clam. I hate storms! That is one down side to living in "Tornado Ally".

Until Next time!

~~Happy Knitting~~

A Knitter's struggle

2008-02-28T14:23:00.003-06:00

These past few weeks have been a struggle for me. My list of "to do" projects seems to grow exponentially on a dialy basis. And the urge to start new projects grows as well. I'm trying to be good and finish up a project before I add another one. I'm almost done with my Kelp Forest scarf I started this month. I want to get it finished on or before Friday. Which I just realized tomorrow is Friday - I better knit up a storm this evening after work.

Probably the best way to go about knitting up a project would be to focus on that project and only do one at a time. I, however, cannot do that. I always have multiple projects going on at the same time. It allows me to jump around and gives me a variety of knitting to work on. Right now I have one lace scarf project [La Dentelle Belle], one plain knit/purl project [Kelp Forest], one new technique project [Entrelac scarf], and one scarf project that requires a lot of attention and counting [Midwest Moonlight Scarf].

My pending list however, is about 100 times longer that this short list, and of course I want to knit everything now! But since I can't do that (not enough knitting needles to go around), I'm trying to become (or make myself) more organized. Ravelry is such an awesome tool for that purpose! I absolutely love Ravelry! I'm sure I spend way too much time on it. But I don't mind! Currently I am in the process of arranging my project queue. My ultimate goal is to order the projects in the order I intend to work on them, assign a yarn and color to them from the yarn I have stashed, and then as I bind off a project I'll cast on another one! Hooray! I have my goal, now all I have to do is work towards reaching it. That is something I'll take on this weekend after I finish Kelp Forest.

Until next time

~Happy Knitting~

The beauty of finished projects!

2008-02-17T21:30:00.004-06:00

I must say it feels great to finish projects that I started. I am now a huge fan of the fingerless gloves. They are fun and fast to knit. These are the perfect little side projects to work on while working bigger more complex projects. With that said, I finished the camo fingerless gloves for my hubby and the black fingerless gloves for myself to use at work.

I've also made decent progress on my La Dentelle Belle scarf project. As I am typing this I look over and notice that my husband's cat has decided to lay on my scarf! Oh well. That is about all I have to report on project wise.

In other knitting news, this past week I tried two new things at the same time. Knitting with two colors and knitting on circular needles. Obviously I need to slow down and tackle one thing at a time because that was the most frustrating thing I ever tried. I went to bed Friday night very frustrated and disappointed. I think I am going to take a break from trying to do new things with my knitting and stick with the lace and cable patterns for now.

I plan on taking a sock knitting class in April at one of the local yarn shops. I'm excited about it. I'll also be learning how to knit on double pointed needles at that time. I'm one of those people that learns better when I have someone to explain things to me and walk me through the technique.

Until next time

~~Happy Knitting~~

This weeks finished projects

2008-02-10T11:11:00.000-06:00

This past week was a long one for me. I spent most of the week in a moderate amount of pain due to some dental work that was done the previous Friday. Lucky for me knitting can be therapeutic. My knitting really helped me keep my mind off the pain in the evenings. Thankfully I am well on the mend and am in no pain this weekend. Now, to the projects! I completed my Irish Hiking Scarf! I'm so proud of this scarf, I wore it the last two days to work to show it off! It turned out so good! I'm really pleased with it. Here's a pic:

I also finished my fingerless gloves project. I finished the right glove yesterday morning. They turned out so good. Since I still have a fair amount of the yarn left over I'm thinking about either making a headband to go with the gloves or a scarf. Now that I think about it. I'll probably use the left overs to make a headband and buy another skein to make a matching cabled scarf. I wonder if that would be too much matching at once? Oh well, I don't care. I absolutely love the coloring of this yarn. And here's the pic of the gloves:

A really exciting thing happened to me this week too! After about a week of waiting I got my ravelry invite!!!! I was super excited about that. I have to admit I spent the better part or work on Thursday and Friday thinking about all the stuff I wanted to enter into my notebook. I also spent Friday during my breaks setting up my flickr account so I could upload my pictures to it. Despite the pain I went through this week it turned out to be a pretty good week for me knitting wise.

In other news, I briefly mentioned sometime ago about my ongoing charity project. I've been crocheting preemie baby caps to donate to one of my local hospitals. I am proud to announce that upon completion of two more hats, that are currently in progress, I'll have my first batch of hats ready to donate. The group picture is a little blurry so I'm also including two pictures of just a few of the hats also.

I plan on dropping off the hats sometime during this coming week. If I can't find time after work, then I'll drop them off on Saturday. That about does it for this post. I need to get back to searching for the battery charger for my camera. I tried to put it in a place where it would be easy for me to find, and apparently I picked a bad place. Oh well, next time I'm just going to stick it in my crafty box with my label maker!

Until next time!

~Happy Knitting~

Fingerless Glove Success!

2008-02-05T21:34:00.000-06:00

Well, I decided to pick up another minor side project. I found a great fingerless glove pattern that has a simple cable in the middle of it. I started this yesterday. The idea is that the fingerless gloves will keep my wrists warm while knitting. So like I said I started this yesterday (Monday). I got off to a good start, and I figured I could probably get the left glove finished today. This is where I left off last night.

Today I finished the left glove. I'm really excited about it. It fits....well...like a glove! Not too tight and not too loose. I'll get started on the right glove tomorrow after work. Then I'll finish my Irish Hiking Scarf this weekend. Here's a picture when I started sewing up the sides. (Thankfully this cute pattern only required size 5 straight needles and not double pointed needles. I'm still working on the double pointed needles. I need to pick up a smaller pair, I only have size 10.5.)

And here's a couple pictures of the completed glove.

Until next time!

~~Happy Knitting ~~

A Knitter's Ideal Weekend

2008-02-04T14:03:00.000-06:00

I believe the ideal weekend for an avid knitter should always start out with a Saturday morning trip to the yarn shop. This is how my weekend started off. Actually it started with a two hour drive on Friday evening to my parents house. (Hubby and I try to make monthly visits to our family, since we moved to another city for work.) Saturday morning my mom and I ventured out for some yarn shopping. I have several projects lined up that I needed supplies for. Now some people might say wait and buy the yarn when you are ready to actually start each project. I say...what's the fun in that?! Besides, my hubby told me to "buy lots of yarn" on my way out. (Yes, I do have a witness that heard this and would back me up if needed, haha.) I got plenty of yarn to keep my hands occupied for the next couple of months.....maybe....hopefully. I also picked up some smaller needles for my lacy scarf patterns I intend on tackling next.

After yarn shopping we headed back to my moms house where I sorted through my yarn and worked on matching my yarns to patterns. It took much self-restraint to not start another project while doing this. I plan on waiting until I get the Irish Hiking Scarf finished before I start my next project. I did however line up my next scarf project and matched a yarn to it. So that's all ready to go once I finish.

The rest of my weekend revolved around knitting on the Irish Hiking Scarf and looking through mom's knitting books and magazines, selecting which patterns I needed to have a copy of, and making those copies. I now have more projects to think about and line up, I'm so excited. I want to hurry up and finish my hiking scarf so I can officially move on to the next project. Lucky me I am almost done with the hiking scarf. I anticipate finishing it by the weekend. I could finish before the weekend if I had more time to spend on knitting. But, well see.

~~Until next time, Happy Knitting~~

Another Day Another Row

2008-01-30T19:16:00.000-06:00

So after several days working on the Irish Hiking Scarf I'm feel pretty confidant with cables. I've lined up several other cabled scarf projects that should keep me busy for the next several months. Learning how to do cables has given me the learning bug. I've spent the past couple days looking up new patterns online. Besides the cabled scarves, I'm planning on tackling knitting lacy patterns. I'm also in the process of learning how to knit on double pointed needles. While searching for scarf projects I found several awesome patterns for fingerless gloves. My attempts last night to knit in the round with double pointed needles was very frustrating. So, I did what any other resourceful crafter would do.....I searched the internet and viewed several videos and watched as others knitted with their double pointed needles. My attempt tonight was a little more successful. I'll have a picture shortly. I also plan on posting some pictures of my past projects that are already complete.
Speaking of other projects....I'm on my second go around with a fun little scarf that kicked my tail the first time and I had to rip the whole thing! I put the pattern aside for a few months, and restarted it recently with different yarn. Here's what I have so far, the top image is what I have of the scarf done, the bottom is a close up of the pattern.

I can't remember the name of the book this is from. It's a book of my mom's, she made a copy of the pattern for me. It's a really interesting pattern. Exciting to knit, but you have to pay attention to what you are doing it's easy to get turned around on the rows. I had originally started this scarf in white yarn, got a little over-confidant and stopped counting stitches and...well.....was defeated. But I am determined to finish this scarf and beat the pattern! Well, as it's almost 8:00 pm now, I'm running out of my quality knitting time. So until next time....happy knitting.~~

Newest Obsession: Cables - project one

2008-01-28T19:02:00.001-06:00

So, this past weekend I took on a new challenge....Cables! I had originally decided that cables were too advanced for me. But, I decided to try and learn with a sampler that is supposed to teach you to cable. Wow cables were easier than I thought....now I'm obsessed! I immediately went to my trusty internet connection and searched for cabled patterns. I found a nice easy-looking scarf to start as my first official cable project. The pattern is the Irish Hiking Scarf I found from the knitting pattern central directory under scarves section. I started this on Saturday and just took off with it. I'm really excited about this project. Today I downloaded several future cable project patterns. I can't wait to start them! Here's a pic of my Irish Hiking Scarf from yesterday. So comments? What cable projects have you been excited about?