How Could Anyone Resist?

Such an adorable pattern ....

Project details: Saartje's bootees....try Googling or search in Ravelry's patterns. ]

Actually, make that two adorable patterns:

[Project details: Pinwheel Jacket - from elann.com a free pattern... I used Encore for the black and white and Cascade superwash for the pink. Sorry about all of the unwoven ends, I was in a hurry to get this in the mail for a Christmas present!]

Merry Christmas!

Rapid Fire!

Two posts in 2 days - nobody saw it coming! Today is most definitley worth posting about because:




1) All Christmas shopping /packaging is COMPLETED!



2) All Christmas cards are in the mail!



3) 4 more days to vacation!



And last, but most certainly not least:

4) I got my acceptance letter today!





P.S. The Pinwheel jacket nears completion - joy, oh joy!
P.P.S. Merry Christmas from me & the hub

I am here.

Our new place is starting to feel a like more like home, as things get unpacked, organized & decorated. I'm convinced, based on past experience, that hiring movers was what made the move entirely tolerable and even bordering on pleasant. The dogs did not agree- all of this change was awfully traumatic for them, but I think they are warming up to the new digs as well.

Now that Finals are over, I can redirect my energy to some knitting projects again. I spent some time this morning finishing the body of the Pinwheel Jacket:

It doesn't really look like much while its still on the circular needle, but the border and binding off are done at the same time. I plan on using pink for the sleeves and border, but my pink is dwindling and I can use black or white for the border if I need to - would rather just utilize what I have on hand and be more flexible about colors.

Found those ultra-warm toe ups from the sock class and got in a picture during the unpacking - love these!

Have a wonderful week!

Projects for Gifting!

Gave the Wild Stripes baby blanket to my friend at her shower this past weekend - she really liked it! We are in the midst of packing up our apartment to move to a new place a few miles away - can't wait to start unpacking and to be able to find things again! (My yarn has been stashed away in that little plastic bin, still accessible just in case!)
Speaking of finding things, I have finished the pink toe-up socks, but they are in a suitcase so I can't quite post pictures right now! After BO for those, I started a Pinwheel jacket for my niece for her Christmas present. Its going really quickly which is good because I have a lot of projects lined up after this one; I plan to be finished with it by the end of the week.

That's about all in my little world. May be a while before I post again depending on setting up our internet again at the new place. Have a lovely December!

Worth the Effort

I got back the Wild Stripes Baby Blanket from "my" finisher today at AFY and here's the combination of our work - let me just say I'm pleased![Also, there are more close-ups for details under socalknitter on Ravelry if anyone is interested.]

I went to the first 1/2 of a toe-up sock class at AFY today and walked away from the class with this:

I'm digging this technique so far!

Minimalist Cardigan tease

Finished this last weekend - just within the same month that I began - not too bad! Its just barely getting cool enough to wear this anyways - I can believe its November already! I shortened the sleeves AND the body on this and need to find a brooch or something because I prefer the way it looks partially closed. Good thing I altered the pattern, because this is whats left:

I've been cutting it close lately!

Facing the Finishing

Just thought I'd share:
1) I conquered the zipper installation & my fear of zippers has been squashed to oblivion!
2) This FO is finally a true, wearable FO - as Husband demonstrates in his male model pose:

Have a Happy Sunday!

Return from the Big Apple

This past weekend my friend from Houston and I met up in NYC for a few days of exploring and living it up! After going through my photos, I realized out of 121 - they are all either arm-length shots of our faces or pictures of buildings. I'll only post a couple to limit the repetitiveness. We did lots and lots of shopping and a moderate amount of sight-seeing, ate really great food, and even took in a show. (The 1/2 price ticket sales are unbeatable) Must go back again!

Finished Object #1: Apple Green BlanketI finished this on the plane to NYC this weekend and although its a little on the small side, I do like it a lot. I hope the recipient parents love it too! I even like the ruffle effect that the border ends up with, makes it a little more girly. However, if I made this again, I'd probably knit the main panel and pick-up stitches for the border since the gauges are so off.

Overall picture w/ very bad lighting:

and a better one of the stitches...

Finished Object #2: Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet (Free Pattern online at: LINK) I finished this last night and I'm not sure what I think about it. The yarn choice (Baby Alpaca Bulky) is not one I'd repeat because of the fuzziness of the yarn - although it is super warm and snuggly. I'm a little disappointed because I thought I'd give this as a gift, but I'm not sure its up to snuff. For a second try, I do have another (fabulous AFY) button waiting in the wings for some Manos de Uruguay, 2 skeins of Kohl.....

Must also credit http://ysolda.com/wordpress/pictorial-guides/sewn-button-loops/ for her excellent button loop tutorial!

By the way, **Does anyone know how to update your Ravelry page with the blog updates? I can't seem to get them to link-up**

Don't Mess with Texas

Freshly off the plane from San Antonio, we had a fun time @ my cousin's wedding as well as a miniature family reunion - it's been almost 10 years since I have seen some of the family I saw this weekend - what a trip to see your "baby" cousins posing as adults all of a sudden! I was a total slacker at taking pictures, but I might have some later in the week from relatives who were more camera conscious! We were too busy dancing!





It was a whirlwind weekend, but I got some serious knitting in on the plane ride - check out the baby blanket:

It doesn't photograph very well, but I have 2 more skeins of yarn to add and then I'll block the heck out of it! You can tell where the border of seed stitch buckles up against the herribone panel in the middle. Hence the blocking!

Random

Seriously, the less time I have for knitting, the more projects I find that I am crazy about. Last night, I stumbled across this pinwheel jacket and had to physically restrain myself from buying yarn on the spot! I'm trying to convince myself that this would work for a boy if it was in blues, but its a pretty hard sell - anyone else think so?

Still plotting on the baby blanket - I think I'm going to sample the Dr's Bag for the houndstooth stitch pattern and apply it to the main panel with a seed stitch border - in my head it looks great. Really don't want to frog it again (3rd time) so I'll cross my fingers it lives up to my imagination.

I am planning to head over to AFY this weekend to buy yarn for the Minimalist Cardigan this weekend. There are 39 (and counting) projects in progress on Ravelry* and they are so cute, I can't wait to start! This looks like something I can get a lot of wear out of in the upcoming seasons as long as I do a good job finishing.

School is great - I love the class I'm actually attending and the online course is just ok. I knew I wouldn't really enjoy the material and that's why I took it online - won't have to listen to lecture 3 hrs/week - always thinking!

*This is my favorite feature of Raverly - seeing other people's projects and yarn choices as I contemplate beginning projects....

Back to School, Back to School!

Much progress on the Dr. Bag now comes to a screeching halt as the yarn has run out. But only 1 color, so the yardage was not right. My LYS is also out of the yarn in the needed color, so the search begins....what else can you do?

Lots of LYS within driving distances carry the yarn, I'll just starting making calls to find the color I need.



Began a baby blanket for no one in particular on Sunday because I needed something to work on before school started this week. Got about 4" done in seed stitch - this is basically a duplicate to one I made for my sister in-law's baby a couple of years ago - green Flexi brand yarn. This one will actually be a rectangle and not a trapezoid like the one she got! Hers also got accidentally felted which makes me sad because I loved that first one so much. Maybe I'll stash this one away for myself some day...or maybe it will save me in a last-minute gift scramble. Either way, I love working with this yarn & will enjoy the process!

Pictures soon, once I find my needed yarn and can resume knitting...

Looks Can Be Deceving

I've deemed this project the "Elephant bag" and its going quite well so far.

I'm kind of worried that its going to look pink & purple instead of pink & gray, but I'm going to try and play up the gray with accessories (button & fabric lining). It WILL be cute! For once, I'm pretty much "spot-on" with gauge on my US 11 needles (HUGE).

On another note, I discovered a fellow knitter in my apartment complex that I actually know from my childhood - its truly a small world & what a fun surprise!

Husband & I traveled to Santa Barbara on Saturday and checked out the zoo, hence the lovely elephant picture. We planned on seeing the mission too, but that building that LOOKS like a mission from the 101 freeway is actually a golf course. Doesn't that make you feel slightly ripped off? I felt that way, but this leads me to.........

During our earlier days whilst living in Long Beach, we decided to visit the aquarium. Well, there is a building, round with whales and marine life painted all over it. So we naturally gravitate there, assuming its the aquarium.

When you walk up to the ticket window there is a huge sign saying:

"This is NOT the aquarium, it only LOOKS like the aquarium" posted along with directions. We thought it was quite funny and felt only slightly idiotic since we obviously weren't the first ones to make this assumption.

I hope we're getting wiser with age, but this mission incident makes me wonder...

Miles and miles of Entrelec

Husband and I went to a good friend's wedding in Texas this past weekend, which was a blast - always good to get in a little Grand March, two-stepping, and Cotton-Eyed Joe - SO FUN!

Between the plane rides and a few more rows during the week, I finished the "rainbow" Entrelec scarf! Woo hoo! I really enjoyed this project, especially once I memorized the pattern - its pretty intuitive after a while - and I could pick up the pace on it! I took a break, which is why its taken me several months to complete - no rush with the summer weather!

The fellow knitter, Sandy, that I blatantly copied on this idea has picked up hers again and when we're finished, I'll try to get a picture of the two of us modeling at once - or at least post a picture of hers! I hope this ended up long enough to get Julie's approval (she's always encouraging me to keep truckin' on the scarves when I run out of steam!)

Pattern: Entrelec, 4 reps of 8 stitches
Yarn: Trekking (if anyone is interested, I can post the colorway)
Finished Dimensions: 8"? wide x 72" long ( about 1 foot taller than me!)

For my next challenge, I'll be returning to the Bud project. I'm pretty nervous - there was a lot of pattern manipulation on the sleeve and if I can get a shoulder on the front piece to match up, I'll be in good shape. If not, I will be frogging the first sleeve and rethinking my choice of yarn... Wish me luck!

[Disclaimer: There is a sale at the LYS, so I hope I can stay focused even if I buy some yarn for the dr. bag, etc.] [Which I did since I started this post - the only thing keeping me from CO is that its not wound yet!]

Vices

My knitting vice would have to be......starting projects. (Big surprise, right?) I can hold off on yarn purchases without a specific purpose or snatching up books (although I do have a weakness for magazines, but that's not solely knitting-related). This habit lends itself to "project saturation"....

This week I finished a cabled felted purse for my little niece who's turning the big 3 this fall - I think its just right for holding all of her little "treasures", this pattern is from the S&B daily calendar for 2007.

Actually - while this was cute BEFORE I felted it:

Not so much after....oh well, its always an experiment felting:

This weekend I have been re-committing to finishing up that entrelec scarf I started back about oh 6 months ago or so. I do enjoy knitting entrelec - its so engaging - hope to have this finished by the end of a trip next weekend. (I'm using Treking sock yarn and size 4 dpns ) There is a picture on an older post if you want to check it out.

I think I forgot to post this FO last weekend - not my best work, but they are cute (turned out a little saggy which tends to happen when I work with Koigu)

New project (singular!) on the horizon: Doctor's Bag....this or a cabled afghan from Interweave will be my reward for finishing ALL of my current WIP. I've already picked out this beautiful pink and grey wool at the LYS.....I have to finish some other projects first - I'm trying to convert to a one-project lady... =)

My Kind of Project

Vacation + simple tank pattern = quickly finished project! CO Thursday and finished up this Sunday afternoon - the Honeymoon cami from the http://www.knitty.com/ pattern archives. Cute, simple pattern that was pretty easy - the v-neck/back shaping intimidated me at first, but turned out to be surprisingly simple. The only alteration was skipping the lace in the ribbing - here are the results:

Perfect for summer time lounging!

Happy Independance Day!

I've got a few filler projects going on right now - I CO last weekend for a pair of "plain ole" socks in a beautiful Koigu variegated color ( by the way, "variegated" was on the GRE vocabulary list - I felt so smart already knowing that one! That's proof that knitting makes you smarter)

Looking at the yarn I have an impossible time describing it - my first attempt was cotton candy on acid, but that sounds so unattractive and surprisingly I think its quite lovely after its knitted up, but judge for yourself:

Bonus - this was in my stash from a big sale a month or so ago & there's more sock yarn where that came from!

Second, I am about to CO for a "Honeymoon Tank" from knitty.com in Rowan Calmer (black). Looking forward to this simple tank for a summer wardrobe staple! I'm salvaging the Calmer from a project I frogged a while back. STASH knitting again!

Third, I have digressed on a sewing project - pajama pants! The pattern I bought has some cute tops/dresses I may attempt if all goes well! Check out the results from the teeny tiny sewing machine that I got a few weeks ago - my "starter" model. New hobby/obsession? We'll see...

Free At Last

SO. since Saturday I'm officially "free from responsibilities" (above and beyond bills & oh yeah, that job that pays the bills, etc.) for the next few weeks and I intend to dedicate a significant portion of that time to knitting, sleeping, and watching bad TV. (And redecorating the apartment, And going to the beach, AND going shopping, AND....the list is long & ambitious........)

Proof positive of the knitting part anyways: I finished the stripey blanket AND the first sleeve of "Bud"! I present you with the evidence:

Bud is turning into an interesting project - yesterday I completely re-wrote the sleeve pattern. GASP. I won't believe that this is a success until I see that right front fit with my grossly tweaked sleeve. Even Husband is rooting for success - I think he's coming around to love BUD (it wasn't love at first site). =) Looks cute on my arm though....

My baby blanket is done and just need a gingham border, but I have a solid 5+ months to knock that out - no sweat. Good thing I'm not trying to pawn off a wool blanket to someone in the middle of summer, that would be really well received! =) By the way, I LOVE it in case you didn't gather that already!

More soon!

"Bud"

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I had posted!

June is heating up (off and on) and I've just got to get to the beach this weekend and wear my blue tunic as a cover-up! I really want to go to Cabo, but I won't hold my breath!

I have kicked off two new projects:

1)* "Bud" from a Rowan mini-book - that my knitting bud Cheryl is also making. Hers is purple and pink and mine is blue and white because I loved the example so much. We also subbed the "Cotton Fleece" yarn for the suggested Rowan Bamboo Soft to make it more wallet friendly, although the bamboo yarn is lovely I was looking for something I wouldn't feel guilty about spending for a whole new project when I have a ton of stash yarn.

Ta Dah!

*Since i posted that comment I've been having some pattern reading+ gauge issues. I like actually knitting the garment, but these technical dificulties have put a kink in things and really slowed me down. LOL, anyone noticing a pattern in my battles with gauge? =) Cheryl also had some size issues and had to rip, so at least I'm not the only onen with these struggles.


2) "Mystery project" which is actually a gift for a friend - I'm officially 2/3 finished with the knitting portion as of Sunday night & hope to finish the rest by this weekend. OK, I'm 99.9999% sure it won't spoil anything for the giftee & I'm not good with waiting to reveal surprises...

I love it and I think its beautiful - its inspired me to make this fantastic blanket with cables from an older Interweave magazine when I'm done with this. Its been in the back of my mind for at least a year now - I'll probably finish it just in time for winter this year!

School's Out for Summer!

Finally, I bring you tunic pictures - it has been finished for about 1-1/2 weeks, but I had to get ribbon for the straps and take a picture of me wearing it when I looked halfway decent, so here it is minus my mid-week post-workout frazzled face =)

Ooh la la - very summery, no?

I liked it and it was an easy knit (except for the swatching), I just hope I will get some use out of it this summer!

I also got a giddy mood-inducing package in the mail yesterday from www.knitpicks.com for my "secret project" - here's a preview of the yarn, but I think it will be more confusing than anything else - see what you think:

Husband and I drove up to San Fransico this past weekend and had a blast shopping, touring, and visiting Alcatraz- one of the cells even had knitting in it! I spaced and didn't take a picture, but they were supposedly using pink yarn which I found hard to believe, but I guess you don't get a whole lot of choices on "The Rock"!

And I thought this was cute - it reminds me of those Yaris commercials, which crack me up:

Other than that I am doing some "spring cleaning" and am planning on frogging quite a few projects that I lost interest in....other than the secret project I will be working on the Honeymoon Cami from www.knitty.com archives and quite a few pairs of socks.

Procrastinating with Knitting

I finished my blue tunic on Saturday and I'm just missing the final touch - a blue ribbon for the shoulder straps. I even went to a craft store to pick it up tonight, but it was already closed - man! I attribute finishing so quickly to:

1) drastically shortening the top due to my short stature
2) I knitted a lot more than I studied this weekend - bad when you have 2 exams and 3 papers to write - don't be like me!


Pictures very soon, very soon!

TGIF

Finished Mom's socks (she liked!) and that means I get to start a new project, right? Well, I have one picked out but its a secret for now! I'm sure the girls at the NLYS will get to see it quite a bit, but no blog posts for now. I bought the yarn on knitpicks today (GOOD prices!) and have been looking forward to having an excuse to make this project for a really long time actually - cool!

The blue tunic is coming along quite well & although its not very exciting to post pictures about - here you go:

That's about all for now - short post because its time for me to go catch up all of my taped TV shows from the week that I haven't had time to watch yet and sadly, I've been looking forward to this all week because I'll also be knitting while I watch.

Did anyone else know June 9th World Wide Knit in Public Day ? Spread the word, my friends...

Baseball, Socks & Those Evil Swatches

Yesterday we trekked down to the Angels stadium for our first attendance since last season! It was fun and I even finished Mom's socks during the first couple of innings! You got to do what you got to do for deadline knitting, even if that means KIP (knitting in public)! The man sitting next to us asked if I was going to finish an entire pair during the game - I wish I was that fast! But the 2nd sock did enjoy itself immensely:

I'm back to the grind at my new job after almost 2 weeks off - geez, it really didn't feel like that long of a break! It's going pretty well, a huge change is how friendly everyone is and how many more women work at this place, a good change - maybe some of them knit!

OK, I'm already don't enjoy swatching. I sucked it up & made one and it was dead-on. So I cast on with haste for the Summer Tunic pattern from the new Interweave Knits edition. And after about 16 LONG rounds I get suspicious that it was too big. And it was....insanely too big. I was in denial for about 6 rounds, so I only have myself to be upset with. But I put it down yesterday and haven't had the urge to pick it up again. I'm trying to think of it as a very time consuming gauge swatch. Sigh.....

And, Yes I know I'm being very melodramatic =) Pretty color isn't it? Can't wait to wear it! (Its Debbie Bliss, Cathay in "Colour 12007")

To answer a comment, I am ear-marking the Koigu I bought for socks...what else can you do with Koigu? Any suggestions??? I only bought 2 skeins of each color so I may have limited myself on other options.

That's all for this Sunday - Husband and I are off to check out Spiderman 3 shortly. Adios!

Weekend shopping

Tomorrow I start at my new job - oooh, very exciting and nerve racking. Hope the first week goes well! I have used this as an excuse to go shopping for some new work clothes of course!

Speaking of shopping, I got a gift card from some of my friends at my old job and I put that towards some stash enhancement - some Flexi for a baby blanket and the rest is Koigu sock yarn, check it out:

One more shopping theme, last night we were wasting time until a movie started (we should never go to a "late" movie - we can't hack it anymore, falling asleep - that was just sad!) and were at the mall and I discovered how cute Baby Gap is. Our nephew is turning 1 in May and we got him the most adorable little outfit. It was all I could do not to buy about 10 more - everything in there is so darned cute! I think it was a mistake to enter that store!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Back from our trip to the East Coast and it was really gorgeous weather over there! I of course packed for mostly crappy cold weather, so I had some interesting wardrobe choices - was almost forced to purchase a souvenir T-Shirt to get me through the trip! We checked out all of the big memorials, the Smithsonian museums and finally Mount Vernon, which has changed quite a bit since my trip in middle-school!

First, before I get into the monuments - Husband and I were delighted to find that WaWa's were around - my favorite gas station chain EVER. I don't know what it is, but these places are awesome &unfortunately they are only on the East Coast. If you ever find yourself in the area, be sure to check one out!

The Jefferson Memorial

The Capitol bulding...

A tour group on scooters (I thought this was hilarious)

Mount Vernon....

And finally, I got a lot of knitting done on my Entrelec scarf and at the risk of boring anyone to tears, here's a picture:

I JUST joined the second skein of the Trekking yarn, so I'm betting I'll have enough left over for some socks, always a good thing. I'm trying very hard to stick to one project at a time and its working out pretty well, but the 50% off sale at the LYS which I'm about to take off for is going to make it pretty darned difficult. Wish me luck!