Friday, February 25, 2011

FO Friday 23


YAY, I have a FO to share! Finally! It's been two weeks but it feels longer than that. Sorry it took so long to post the pics, but my internet hates me apparently!

I'm really happy with this scarf. It's a simple garter stitch, 30 stitches across. It was a perfect project to travel with and work on it when I didn't feel like concentrating. At first I was unsure of the yarn, Filatura Lanarota Alpaca Cloud, that I bought from Smiley's. I bought 3 skeins, but only used two. I'm not sure what to make with it yet, but the yarn is SO soft.

Materials used:

US 9 needles
Filatura Lanarota Alpaca Cloud (2 skeins)
Yarn needle






Share your FOs!



Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 29

I am back from vacation and very rested, yet injured. Milo pulled me down as we were walking him early in the morning while standing on an icy street. Let's just say, he hates snow plows. I fell on my left wrist, so I didn't get as much knitting/crocheting as I had hoped on the trip. I still had a great time and forgot how much I love snow. We had a great time sledding and just walking through the four feet of snow on the ground. I got to see my first full blown snow fall and it was amazing.

Anyway, here is what I'm working on.


This is the scarf I hoped to finish before/during the trip so I could use it while we were there. Unfortunately, my hurt wrist slowed the progress. I love how it's turning out, even though it's a simple garter stitch. I'm getting used to the very fuzzy yarn, which slowed me down at first. :) I hope to finish it this week for FO Friday if my wrist can handle it.



This is actually a sneak peek (though a very bad picture) of my new self striping dyed yarn. I'm working on the swatch, so I figured I would count that as a WIP. This is my first time knitting with fingering weight yarn and I'm loving it! I'm also in love with the needle, my US 2 Hiya-Hiya. It has a great point and is slippery but not insanely so. I need to have this swatch done for my next Dyeing for Fun post Tuesday, so cross your fingers my wrist holds out between this and the scarf.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Dyeing for Fun Part 8

I'm a little late on this post, as I was unable to take a picture of my latest yarn dye before I left on vacation. I realized that I haven't dyed a lot of blues, which is shocking since blue seems to be the color of yarn I always gravitate to in the store. I decided to go for a kettle dyed look, using my new (old) crock pot to see how it compares to the one I had been using (which is the one I also cook with, hence wanting to get one for just yarn dyeing). I'm very happy with the results, giving it an almost tie dye look of blues, pinks and white.




Colorway: Blueberry Cheesecake
Fiber content: 75% Merino Wool, 25% nylon superwash
Weight: Sport weight
Yardage: 274 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Machine wash/tumble dry low
Dyed with: Wilton's Icing Dye

Friday, February 18, 2011

FO Friday 22

I feel like I'm slacking, but honestly I'm not. This is the first time since FO Friday (in 22 weeks) that I have back to back posts with no FO. I blame it on the garter stitch scarf! Anyway, I have many projects in the works, but still have a bit to do on all of them. I plan to get a lot of knitting done this weekend, as we are going up to a cabin in the snow (yes, people in Southern California actually take vacations to see snow!) to just relax. I'm sure I'll have awesome pictures to share from the trip, including my foot tall corgi in 4-6 feet of snow. It should be interesting to say the least.

I went to the yarn store today (Yarn Dieters, I was good and didn't buy actual yarn) to get size US7 DPNs to work on the legs and arms of my monster. We'll see how it goes, as I have never used DPNs before. Seriously, what else new could I possibly learn with this monster?

This isn't a FO, but I didn't want to share how excited I am to have found a crock pot at the thrift store near my house for only $8. I was really worried it wouldn't work since, A) it was $8 and B) it is brown and olive green which means that it's from the 60's or 70's. I dyed two skeins yesterday (see I HAVE been busy!) and not only does it work, it actually started BOILING. Good thing my yarn was superwash! Yikes.

Anyway, enough rambling. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Please share your FO posts and I will comment on them when I return.


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 28


I'm working on the same projects this week, but have made a little progress. I finished helping my sister move this week, which was great to get through. It was something that I knew was coming, but was dreading it beyond belief. Like everyone, I hate moving. I'm glad she's the one and not me, but it's still not fun helping. I'll hopefully have time for some knitting soon, which I'm excited about. Editing is almost done and then I'll be plotting my new book.



Last time you saw my monster, Petunia the Patio Monster by Rebecca Danger, it was just the start of the magic loop. I must say, going through the process, magic loop is a little slow moving the needles back and forth, but I still love it. I didn't have to worry about the other needles as I would with DPNs or double circs. As you can see in the first picture, I finished the body area. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. There are a few areas where the the yarn piled a little, but huge a huge deal. I've learned SO many things with this project so far and will learn more with the arms and legs. First, the magic loop. Second, the 3 needle BO, which I'm so proud of, I shared with a second picture. I didn't have a 3rd US7 needle, so I changed the back needle to a US6 and used the 7 not on the cable to do the actual BO. I think it turned out great. One thing I'm disappointed about, I hoped to finish the project for FO Friday, but I need US7 DPNs for the arms/legs. I hope to get them sometime this week. :)



I haven't done too much work with this, but it's to the point where I'm just working sc all the way up and not increasing/decreasing. I'm making the pattern up as I go. You may remember, it's going to be my manuscript holder when I'm editing away from the house. I hope to finish this soon, but sc is kind of slow.

I've worked a little on my scarf, but again, it's a garter knit scarf so not too much to show. I hope to really crank through it this weekend, as I'll have a lot of relax time on my hands. :)

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!



Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Dyeing for Fun Part 7

This week I'm sharing a kettle dyed lace weight skein. This is the first time I've ever dyed lace weight, and to be honest, I have yet to knit/crochet with it either! The yarn is so very soft, and I love how the color turned out. It's exactly what I was hoping for. You may notice the pictures aren't where I normally photograph my yarn. It was because most of the lighting made the yarn look blue instead of a red purple, but these are verily accurate. I love the light and dark spots of the kettle dye so that it goes from a lavendar all the way to a deep blue purple.








Colorway: Raspberry Sorbet
Fiber content: 100% Merino Wool
Weight: Lace Weight
Yardage: 880 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Hand Wash/Dry Flat
Dyed with: Kool-aid and Wilton's Icing Dye

Friday, February 11, 2011

FO Friday 21


I was hoping to get a project done this week, but editing and helping my sister move took all of my free time, so sadly I don't have anything to share. Next week I will have something though! Make sure to still post your FOs in the Mr Linky. Thanks everyone!


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 27

I have so many WIPs right now, I don't even know if I'm coming or going. The issue is, most of them I've shared and they don't look too different at this point, so I won't bore you with many pictures of the same stuff.

The blanket from last week was frogged, do to realizing it needed to be wider. Lisa, a lady who is a regular at the crochet meetup I co-run, suggesting adding a third color once I made it wider. I have a fear of running out of the blue color, and since it's a discontinued color and I got it on clearance for $2 a skein, there is no way to buy more in the same colorway unless I want to fish around on Ravelry in hopes that someone has it. I went to Joann's this weekend, armed with a coupon and found another colorway in a darker brown than the tan I'm using that seems like it will work well. If you're reading this, thanks Lisa!

I'm working on the scarf, but well, it just looks a little longer. I figured I wouldn't bore you with pics of it until it is a decent length. :)


I've been taking my editing on the road, a la Panera Bread and Starbucks. My manuscript is 241 printed pages long, so as you can imagine, it's hard to wrangle. Currently, I hold it together in a gallon sized zip lock bag that includes the pages, a red pen (yes, the dreaded red pen!), my idea/notes journal and those little flag things to flag pages. Yesterday, I realized how ghetto the plastic bag is, so I started on crocheting a re-usable crocheted bag/envelope type deal that can hold everything and be cute. I plan to line it when I'm done, and also add a pocket. I've made it a little bigger than needed, wanting to have room to expand for more pages, etc. We'll see how it turns out. I'm just using acrylic I had sitting in my stash that I bought on a whim last 4th of July during the massive sales at Joann's. I love diving into my stash and picking yarn from it!



Alea and I decided since we both had The Big Book of Knitted Monsters, we should do a KAL and both make them. Sunday night I sat down to start, picking what should be the easiest pattern from the book, Petunia. Wanting to challenge myself, I learned the long tail cast on, which I will say, IS SO EASY! I'm not sure why I'd been avoiding it, but I love it. Stupidly, I didn't stop there. I decided because that went so great, that I would also learn the magic loop. Rebecca Danger, the author of the book/patterns, suggests using the magic look, so I thought, why not? Seven times later, I still had a twisted mess and much frustration. I have no clue what I'm doing wrong, but once I get around to the second side of stitches they seemed twisted. Honestly, I wanted to scream. Before I start knitting, I make sure that both cast on seams face down, with no twisting. Then, after I start knitting, they look twisted. I think when I knit, I twist my hands, which then twists the stitches. Sunday night, I wanted to scream. But GOOD NEWS! I figured it out yesterday and am now slowly on my way to making my own monster! :)

If you're interested in joining Alea and I in our KAL, feel free. You can do any monster you'd like from the book, or you can purchase a pattern from Ravelry. (I am not associated with the designer in any way. I just like her designs.)

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!


Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Dyeing for Fun Part 6

This week I tried something a little new with dyeing, self striping. After reading a discussion thread on the What a Kool Way to Dye group on Ravelry, I learned an easy way to do self striping. I thought I would give it a shot and then knit a swatch to see how the stripes fared. I was VERY pleased with the end result, and I hope you like it, too! I call this new color Watermelon. It's hard to get a good, exact picture of the colors since they buzz a little being they are complimentary colors. The lighter green is more of a lime color, and the dark is more of a mid-toned green. The stripes are approximately 1 1/4" thick.

Since I used 32 yards of the original skein to knit my swatch, and will be doing so with all of the self striping colorways on the first batch so that I can document what each looks like, I will be selling the remaining 241 yards (approximately) at a discounted rate than I would normally. Please let me know if you're interested!




Colorway: Watermelon Self Striping
Fiber content: 75% Merino Wool, 25% Nylon Superwash
Weight: Sport Weight
Yardage: approximately 241 yards (originally 274 yards)
Unit Weight: 88 grams (originally 100 grams)
Care: Machine Wash/Tumble Dry Low
Dyed with: Kool-aid and Wilton's Icing Dye

Friday, February 4, 2011

FO Friday 20


It's Friday again! Thank god, I think I'm ready for some time hanging out with my husband. I love days we can spend together, even if we just sit at home and play video games. This weekend should be beautiful here in San Diego, getting into the 70's on Sunday. Sorry to all of you who are stuck inside and surrounded by snow. I don't mean to brag. LOL

I had a fun week of packages arriving at my door! I ordered several knitting books from bookcloseouts.com, a knitting book from Barnes and Noble and tons of fingering weight sock yarn to dye. All of it came within two days of each other. So awesome. Here are the books that I got. I can't tell you how excited I was to find the Charmed Knits book for super cheap. I've been dying to get this book! The Big Book of Knitted Monsters was the one I got from B&N (obviously since it just came out).

Have any of you knitted any patterns from these books, or read the Yarn Harlot's books? I'm excited to dive in to all of them. What are your favorite patterns from these books if you own them?


Anyway, back to FO Friday. I have a few projects to share, and one that you've seen before but I thought I would show it to you completely finished.

You may remember the purse I made for my sister in law that I shared in FO Friday 18 and how I debated on a ribbon or not. Well, I found one that worked pretty well, so I went ahead and bought it. Here is the purse completely finished with the ribbon. Do you like the new addition?





I finished the heart washcloth, and also pretty much finished off that skein of yarn, so I marked it off of my yarn diet skein count. I had fun knitting this because it was easy, especially since it's hearts so that it was symmetrical. Once I read the first part of a row, I knew how to finish the row off without looking at the pattern. It made it an easy tv watching knit. Also, I loved how the yarn pooled when knitted.

Materials used:

US 6 needles
Bernat Handicraft cotton
Yarn needle





This has been a long time coming. I'm not sure why it took me so long, but I think it might have been the annoyingness (I know, it's not a word but just go with it. LOL) of the color change on such a small ami, BUT I finished the corgi!!! Planet June's pattern was great, and once I stopped complaining about all of the color changes, I finished it quickly. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The only thing that annoys me a little is that it turned out SMALLER than the wiener dog, which doesn't make sense, but oh well. I just need to do a collar and get a name tag before shipping it to my mother in law, along with the other dog I made for her.

Materials used:

5.00 mm (H) hook
Red Heart Super Saver (body- white)
Vanna's Choice
Caron Simply Soft (nose- black)
Poly Fluff Stuffing
Safety eyes- 9mm
Yarn needle




Share your FOs!




Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 26

Do you know what I just realized? Today marks six months of WIPW. Can you believe that? I can't. Thanks to all of you who have grown WIPW to where it is today. I can't wait until we hit our 1 year mark!

I might as well call this work in progress I HATE THIS YARN! Yes, for some reason I have two projects to share with you today and both have hard to work with yarn. I'm not exactly sure why I did this, but at least I'll appreciate regular yarn when I switch back.


The picture doesn't do the color of the yarn justice. It's actually more of a raspberry redish purple instead of blue purple. Either way, I'm making a garter stitch scarf. Nothing fancy, because this yarn is a little annoying to work with. It's Alpaca Cloud that I got from Smiley's. It is INSANELY soft, but very wispy.




This is a blanket that I started from Light and Lofty. I started with this pattern but changed it a little since I'm using such difficult yarn. The feeling if it crocheted is AMAZING, but working with it is almost impossible. To find the stitches, it's all by feel. I wish it was a little wider, so I was thinking of frogging and starting over so that it's a little wider. It's a little more of a throw than a blanket, so I'm not sure if it matters really. We'll see. I will also be using a tan color right after I finish this row.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!


Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Dyeing for Fun Part 5

I had great fun with this colorway, but had to be super careful not to felt the yarn since it's 100% wool. I knew what I wanted to get going in, a colorway that looked like caramel apple, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

That being said, I can't wait to show you what I have next week. It's a fun colorway and also is self stripping.






Colorway: Caramel Apple
Fiber content: 100% Peruvian Highland Wool
Weight: Worsted weight
Yardage: 220 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Hand Wash/Dry Flat
Dyed with: Kool-aid and Wilton's Icing Dye