Monday, December 22, 2008

Fir Cone Shawl

I started this project on our drive to the Grand Canyon in November. It was rather experimental, as I took a stitch from the Stitch-A-Day calendar of Jill's and improvised a shawl design using the stitch. It worked out really well, with the only problem being I had a limited amount of yarn (it is leftover from the chevron clutch that I made) and would have liked to make it a little larger. I think the size is okay though, it does keep a neck warm! The fir cone stitch was really easy to memorize (it is basically the same line repeated through the whole thing, and purling every other row) and I think it looks pretty fancy for how easy it is. This is a gift for a friend who asked for a lace shawl/scarf for Christmas so I hope she likes it!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

I'm back.....



So, finally after a many-month blogging sabbatical, I'm back. My mom and I finished the ginormous blanket we've been knitting since May and it's on the way to S.C. as we speak to meet it's new owner.

I made a quick trip home last weekend to assemble the blanket and pretty much worked two days straight so that we could get it sewn together (we went with mattress stitch, which was imperative since many of the squares weren't exactly the same size).

Now, I'm excited to finally finish the tree jacket, but I have to rip out some mistakes.....Hope you girls are doing well and Happy Holidays!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Glittens


Pattern: Minnesota Mittens from Folk Mittens
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden
Needles: US 2
Start: November 11, 2008
Finish: December 11, 2008
I really have not been doing much knitting lately. About a month ago I cut my little finger on my right hand, right on the back of my nuckle. I cut it with a piece of glass and it was a pretty bad cut. I use my little finger to 'grip' the needle, and although it has healed, it hurts when I knit. These mittens are knit with worsted weight wool on size 2 needles, so they are REALLY tight, which made it even worse.
But, I think it was worth it. These mittens are awesome. They are super warm since they are knit so tightly, I love the colors, and they are really nice for riding my bike to the bus stop at 6 in the morning!
They are definatly a winner and I'm even thinking of making another pair for a Christmas gift... except there's less than 2 weeks until Christmas!!!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Christmas gifts

In the recent weeks, I have been knitting away at Christmas gifts for friends. These are some finished products. They are all original patterns using leftovers from the Shalom Cardigan! I am so sick of this army green, but I still have more than one more entire skein left (over 200 yards) so it looks like I'll probably be staring at it some more in the coming weeks. I have changed gears a bit after this and started a lace shawl project, also an original pattern. It is using some leftover wool in a gorgeous dark cerulean blue. Don't be too impressed; the lace pattern I am using is pretty simple. If it turns out it should be really nice, though. Pictures to come soon!
Green Cable Hat
Just your typical cable hat.

Norway Mittens
A first attempt at multiple-color patterns (is there a name for this?), and it turned out to be pretty easy, but some of the looped white yarn on the inside are annoying when it catches on your fingers/jewelery. Overall I'm impressed. These are inspired by the patterns in Folk Mittens: Techniques and Patterns for Handknitted Mittens by Marcia Lewandowski.

Chevron Hat
I really like chevron patterns. So I decided to make a hat with one. This stitch pattern came from the clutch that I finished earlier this fall. I made it into a hat with only minor flaws (knitting this stitch in the round was a little challenging for me).

Moonlight Mittens
These are knit from the pattern I wrote. In knitting them I realized how terrible the pattern is. It is dire need of some revisions, but I don't know that I am up for it. eek.

Thing
This thing turns out to be a trivet, I think. It was an experiment that didn't necessarily turn out the best since some of the "wool" yarn I had did not felt. But, it is still pretty cute I think, and will serve its purpose.