Another must have project

Stitch n Bitch Nation has a cute fair isle sweater that I just happen to have (almost) enough yarn for:


I need one more ball of:
and

and these will be used too (already have them).


This stuff is from an elann binge long ago, but Wednesday morning they are selling the yarn again so I have to grab a ball of the aubergine so I can make this sweater. The aubergine is the main color with reds for the stripes and the dots in hazelnut. Should be fun!

And once again... back to the christmas knitting.

More Cristmas Knitting

I've been knitting christmas gifts.... mostly for family at the moment. All the girls (cousins, aunts, etc.) are getting sophie felted purses. But that left me with nothing for the boys. Thankfully my Stitch n Bitch Nation book showed up the other day. Now all the boys are getting the Basic Cable hat:



of course they won't be bright like this and I'll leave the pom pom off the top :-)

The one I'm working on now is a dark and light gray tweed (cascade 220 yarn). I'll post a photo when I finish up. It's about half way done and is really turning out to be a nice hat (And a quick knit as well). If anyone else is making this hat... I read on craftster that the hat comes out a bit too short, so add a cable repeat or 2.

Kathy Zimmerman

With my current obsession for all things cabled.... I started going back through my past year of Interweave Knits Magazines. Originally I had ignored the cabled patters as I didn't know how to cable, but now I do :-) And apparently Kathy is the cable master. Here are a few cabled sweaters on my to do list (all Kathy's)




And here is some yarn from yet another elann.com binge that should work out well for at least a couple of these sweaters. It's Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran and I can't wait for it to arrive!


and the last one is Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed from a few days ago :-)

SnB

I ordered Stitch n Bitch Nation a few days ago and can't wait till after christmas to make some of this stuff.... I mean how cool is a sweater with flames on it?!?!??!



And I love this bag:



Anyway, off to work on more christmas knitting.

felting, felting, felting

Yet another sophie purse:


And here are the 2 backpacks felted and dry. They really don't flare out at the top so much... I just didn't position them that well.



And my Jo Sharp Silkroad DK tweed came in the mail yesterday.... yummy! The color is great and I just can't wait to use it. It'll be awesome for a ribbed / cabled pull over!

Did I mention that I really LOVE yarn ;-)

photos finally

So here are photos of everything I've been making.

This is the frogged and re-knit (in progress) cable poncho:


Here is my 3rd irish hiking scarf. It's for my brother for christmas and is being knit from 100% merino from handpainted yarn.com. It's really soft and cozy.


Here are a couple finished sophie bags. I think I have 5 more to knit but luckily they go quickly:



And here are the 2 backpacks I've been working on for my cousin's kids. They are felting in the washer right now:



And last but not least here is my completed ruffle scarf:

made me laugh

Elann.com is evil

Couldn't they just carry ugly yarn? So today I ordered some of this:


Jo Sharm Silk Road DK Tweed in Emporio (maroon)

to make something close to this sweater:



Not sure where the yarn will live but I'll find a nice home for it :-)

Wow I just can't pass up great yarn for a great price.

Knitting like an insane person

I knit at every available moment these days. It's the only way I'll ever finish all this stuff by Dec 25th.

Tonight I'm going to start the second of 2 felted back packs I'm making for my cousin's kids. Last year I made each of them a scarf and they were both really into the fact that I had made them... so this year they get a more complicated project. I'm a sucker for people that appreciate my work. The kids are 8 and 11 and lots of fun.

I'm also going to start an Irish Hiking scarf for my brother this evening. My dad is the only real issue. I have no idea what to make for him. I may just make him a scarf and hope he wears it a couple times a year. He appreciates the work... just isn't much of a scarf or hat wearing kind of guy. He's also too warm for a nice hand knit sweater... not a sweater guy.

The poncho pictured below is no longer with us. It's now about 5 inches of a circular poncho with a cable running up the front and back. It's turning out much better (well, better meaning more appropriate for my cousin). I think she'll really like it.

Ok back to the needles!

Ruffles done!

I need to take a photo but I finally finished the ruffles scarf from scarf style. It's for my mom for christmas... one more christmas gift done :-)

Now I think I'm going to pull apart the lace/cable poncho I started for my cousin. It's about 25% done but I think I got carried away with the cables... it might be a bit too fussy for her. So I think I'll make the yarn harlot poncho with one of the cables down the front and back. It should go pretty fast (I hope).

This is what the poncho looks like so far:


and although I think it's pretty... it really is too busy for my cousin. Oh well... it was my first cable attempt so at least something was learned from this project.

New projects from the winter Interweave Knits!

I must make these.... as soon as my christmas stuff is done :-)

Christmas Gifts

I'm getting a bit worried... not sure I'm going to get all of my gift knitting done. So far I have 4 Sophie purses done, a poncho (and a half), a scarf, and most of another scarf done. So I still need 2 felted backpacks, half a poncho, and 6 more sophie purses.... so if I quit my job and knit all day long I might be able to finish :-) Oh yeah and I need something for my brother and dad as well. Hmmmm ok I'm going to get back to work now.

Couldn't resist......

Before I cut myself off from buying any more yarn I ordered 3 skiens of the above yarn and 2 skiens of the merino handspun in natural from http://www.handpaintedyarn.com/. Well they finally arrived on the 3rd. I copletely loved them both. But REALLY wanted to make a sweater out of the pesto colored stuff rather than a scarf like I intended... So I promptly ordered 7 more skiens and broke my yarn diet. And by the way... the sweater is totally going to be for me.

It's such yummy stuff..... ok back to my yarn diet.

Progress photos

I've started so many new projects lately... I'm a bit out of control. But many on them are christmas gifts so I guess starting them all at the same time is ok :-)

Here is a spin off of the irish hiking scarf with a different cable. I'm using some blue sky alpaca that I bought a really long time ago. It feels great... really soft.




And here is yet another scarf from the scarf style book. It's Vintage Velvet. The touch me yarn is awesome. I had 5 balls in my stash that I picked up on sale about a year ago. So I'll be putting stripes in this scarf:



I've also finished another sophie bag in pink cascade 220 and started yet another. The current one is made from Araucania Nature Wool in olive green with a couple oatmeal colored stripes.

The ruffle scarf is moving along nicely. I worked on it in the waiting room at my Orthodontist's office today. She is also a knitter and oohed and ahhhed over it. She's going to the buy scarf style book now as well :-) I think I'm a knitting related pusher as well.

Ruffle progress

Apparently this scarf taught me to do short rows :-) I didn't know that was what I was doing... but it is.

Here is the progress on the ruffle scarf for my mom made of baby camel yarn from a previous elann binge ;-)

Elann.com binge

Ok so the Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra and Rare Comfort mohair were just too much for me. I ordered a bunch of yarn.... as if I needed ANY more. Of course it's all gorgeous and I love it :-) So today I did a bit of organizing of my stash.... I have to say that I finally hit the point where I think I have too much yarn. So my goal is to not buy any more yarn till at least my birthday (january 10th) that's just a couple months and some change. I reserve the right to pick up yarn to finish christmas gifts but that's the only exception.

Wish me luck!

Felting is so cool!

Felting isn't new to me but every time I felt a project I'm reminded about how cool it is. So here is a sophie bag that I knit in a few evenings after work (it was sooooo quick to knit). This is a good thing as I'm making about 8 of them as christmas gifts. They will all be different colors and some will have stripes or some sort of 2 color option. So hopefully it won't get too boring making so many of them :-)

So here's the first:

before & after:



I think it turned out really cute :-)

Hoodie and Irish Hiking Scarf photos

Done with my hoodie! It needs washing and blocking but I think that will have to wait till this weekend. It's just too cold for it to dry at night.



And my Irish Hiking Scarf in Manos. This scarf is so cozy. I'm sure I'll make another one!

Irish Scarf Done...

So I finished my Irish Hiking Scarf in Manos. I'll get a photo here tomorrow. In following the finish 2 projects start one rule... I just cast on for a sophie bag. It'll be a christmas gift... one of many sophie bags I'll be making in the next month. The bottom is done and I'm about 2 inches up the side. I'm using cascade 220 quattro in a blue/green/purple mix. It should turn out well and is knitting up pretty quickly.

Ok I have to go change my clothes. My Boyfriend and I are going to go into San Francisco and see The Producers. I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life and have never seen a musical. Hope I like it :-)

another quiz :-) What kind of needles am I?

You are "turbo" charged.Fast moving and classy, you get things done with power and grace. Your expensive tastes can be deceiving, since what you really value is quality and efficiency. As you're careening around those corners in life, finishing a dozen knitted objects each month, stop and smell the roses. Don't miss the beauty of process!

What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by

Scarf Style

Yummy! My copy of Scarf Style showed up in the mail today. On the Knitters Review Forum there has been a lot of discussion about the poor quality of the photos in the book... They were right. The photos suck. But I can tell enough from the photos to see that I HAVE to make many of these patterns. But first I MUST make some felted purses as christmas gifts. Maybe I'll make the Ruffle scarf for my mom for christmas. Then I can make a fun pattern and get a gift done as well :-) And there is also a knit along for any scarf in this book here. I'm tempted to join but I really have to finish a few other projects first.

Ok back to my Irish Hiking Scarf.

40 inch scarf

I'm so proud of myself.... I have a tendency to bounce from project to project and not really finish much. Sunday night I finished the hood for my sweater and since then I have only worked on my Irish Hiking scarf (which is due for another photo). So I just measured it and it's 40 inches long.... that makes it 2/3 done :-) I plan on finishing it this weekend as well as sewing together my Hoodie. Then I will continue this new found completion spree with the cable/lace poncho I started a month or so back. It'll be nice to have less projects on needles (although still a billion future projects in my head). Maybe I will actually dent my stash ;-)

Hoodie Hood

I finished the hood for my Under the Hoodie last night. The finishing will have to wait till Sunday as I'm just not up to it after a full day at work.

So back to work on my Irish Hiking Scarf. It's so nice to actually finish something :-)

What kind of knitter?

hmmm guru.... not sure about that but I'll just take it as a compliment.


You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can't imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Shetland Wool.You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by

Dreamweaver Class

Last weekend I spent both days from 10am to 6pm in a class on how to use dreamweaver. It's Web page layout software. Since I own the software I figured I should learn to use it and FINALLY update my photography web site. Here is what I mocked up yesterday in class. I now need fix my old site that hasn't been touched in a couple years. So now I get to re-scan all of the images I want to put on the web and re-design the site... yikes. The class was through bavc and I really enjoyed it. I also took one on Photoshop that was great.

So my knitting has been neglected. I have yet another class this coming weekend... Shake. Which is compositing software. Thank god work is paying for all this.... But damn I need a day off.

Ok I'm going to have some dinner and knit this evening :-)

LYS

I think I need a chaperon for yarn store visits....

Just got back from Creative Hands (San Carlos Ca.) They are close to where I work. So I needed to exchange some Addi Turbos that have a kink in the connecting wire. After several attempts to straighten it out using hot water I gave up. Creative Hands has a really good sale area which always gets me. Picked up a couple skeins of Lorna's laces Dove at a nice discount as well as a ball of cascade 220 tweed in gray (for a sophie purse) and some other various novelty type yarns that I'll use for christmas presents. Oh yeah I also swapped my needles for ones without a kink.

Hoodie progress... The pocket is attached and I'm about 3 inches up from there. This weekend I'm going to take some more photos and also a photo of my hiking scarf to illustrate the two color technique.

Back to work now :-)

pocket for Under the Hoodie

So i finally got the pocket knit for my under the hoodie. I of course misread the directions and decreased every other row rather than every other RS row. So I ripped it out and fixed it. Tomorrow I will connect the top edge of the pocket to the body. Here's the pocket:

And here's the rest of it:


Oh yeah... confession. I caved and ordered some lopi for felting from elann.com this morning. I swear i need more yarn like I need another hole in my head. Hmmm where will I put it once it gets here?

Photos... new yarn and Irish Hiking scarf

My Irish Hiking Scarf in manos:


Here's the Elsebeth Lavold Angora:


And here is the inspirations yarn:

new yarn!

4 skiens of Elsebeth Lavold Designer's Choice Angora - 2 in a dark purple/plum and 2 in a burnt orange. This will be a scarf for me ;-) The yarn feels awesome. I just couldn't resist picking some up from a yarn shop in Capitola this weekend. My boyfriend and I had our 9 year anniversary so we were driving down to Carmel for the weekend and made a pit stop in Capitola to avoid some traffic... and there it was... a yarn shop. We did make it to Carmel and had a great weekend.

Then in the mail today (at work) I got my inspirations yarn in casual friday. I got the decaf (superwash wool) and it looks great. Not quite sure what it's going to be... probably a scarf or maybe gloves.

Oh yeah... my Irish Hiking scarf is started. Obviously I didn't get much worked on this weekend but I did some knitting in the car on the way down (traffic just isn't that interesting to watch). I'll post a photo of my scarf and new yarn as soon as I sort out my photobucket woes. Either they will restore my photo albums or I will re-upload. Not sure which yet.