Evangeline Wristwarmers

Just finished these today. They're a set of wristwarmers I made for my sister-in-law for Christmas. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read my blog, so the surprise isn't ruined :P.

I have enough yarn left over for another set.

Malabrigo Kettle-Dyed Merino Wool
Paris Night

For Courtney

So this is a giant scarf I made recently. It's made out of Lion Brand's Wool Ease Thick and Quick. It's a super bulky that knits up ridiculously fast. The scarf is six feet long and about twelve inches wide or so. It took a few hours to knit.


I had some scrap yarn sitting around so I made a hat. Just seed stitch because I felt it would highlight the yarn. Can't remember what it is though. Once again, it's super bulky and only took about two hours to knit (was watching Made of Honor at the same time).

A hat with a button. Jojoland Melody Superwash - superwash merino wool. Another quick knit. I used two strands and sewed the button on afterward.

I've been working on this armwarmer for awhile. And by "working on" I mean I started in early October, finished this much of it, then ran out of yarn. It's some kind of Plymouth Yarn wool. Galway something, maybe. I still need to do the thumb, and then start on the right arm. I have a fabulous three quarter sleeeved wool coat that looks great on, but needs extra arm warmth. That's what these are for.

Yup, knitting something new

I think I might need to go to KA - Knitters Anonymous. You might say I've entered the ranks of "prolific knitter." After finishing Calla, which I've decided makes me look a little Pollyanna-ish - it sort of looks like a country girl 1840 pioneer's corset - I've started two new projects. I decided to knit the Butterfly Dress from Romantic Style (a knitting pattern book) after I received my shipment of Alpaca Cloud yarn from KnitPicks. It was my first lace project, and it's definitely tedious. To break up the monotony (because I know that dress will take me forever), I started the Lace and Cable Top from Summer 2008 Vogue Knitting, shown below. In about 2 1/2 inches, I'll be able to start the neck opening.


Here's one layer of lower fringe for the Butterfly Dress. You have to make two layers and put one on top of the other before beginning the body of the dress. I'm working on the second layer (which will go on the outside). I'm not so great at blocking since I haven't been knitting long enough, but I guess I did a good enough job - you can see the lace pattern, at least.


So this is my life for the next few weeks. That and searching for a job.

She's done!

Everyone, meet Calla. Calla, this is ...... everyone. (Everyone, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend Jake. Jake, this is....everyone....Name the movie!)

It didn't take too long - knitted off and on from Mar. 22 to April 3. That even included a good deal of frogging. I made the strap wider than the pattern called for and changed a few little neckline details. I made it short so I could wear it as a vest. There are def too many holes for it too be worn without something underneath.


Gratuitous dog picture. "Cants yu see I's sleepin on momz feets?"

busy fingers again

I'm working on a pattern called "Calla" from Magknits.com. It's a camisole knit with cable and some arans (I think). I'm using 100% mercerized cotton in a lilac purple. Everything's goin' really well so far.

I've gone about another 50% farther since this picture. It looks small, but it will definitely be big enough by the time I'm done. It's knit in the round, although the pattern calls for straight needles. I'm not exactly sure how to convert straight patterns to circular, so when I get to the armhole shaping I might just drop the back half onto a stitch holder.

non-busy fingers

The fingers have not been busy lately. I'm waiting on a kit to arrive from knitpicks.com. I'm making a tunic in a lace pattern.

Had my first knitting group meeting this week on Tuesday. So much fun!

First Sewing Clothing Project

"Why the goofy grin?" you may ask. Andy had just said "I'm gonna punch you in the ovaries" right before he snapped the picture.

Anyway, I made a shrug out of 10-dollars-a-yard crepe from a McCall's pattern. It took a few hours - probably 5-ish - to complete. I'm actually surprised that it came out so well. Look mom, I can sew!


Rudy was confused and half asleep when I took this picture.

Fascinating

I made my very first fascinator today. I thought it would be a good idear to make one to match the lovely silk dress I'll be wearing for the 3rd annual Baetjer Ball. The dress is sorta 50s-ish, so why not wear a bit of glam, rockabilly-ness? I hit up the local Michael's and Hobby Lobby, paid about 14 bucks for the supplies (of which I have a poopload left) and got to work. It took about two hours to complete. I took some artsy pics afterward.

Sweater and Painting

The sweater is nearing completion. The collar, buttons, and arm holes need to be sewed, and then it's done. I was irritable today, so didn't feel like finishing it; something about relentless stitching when you're in a funky mood just pisses you off even more.

Gratuitous self-plug. It's me and my Spain oil painting. Looks funky with the flash, but I promise it's much nicer in person. It also needs a frame. Kinda hard to find affordable 30x40 frames.

I picked up a few patterns and some fabric from Hobby Lobby today. McCall's patterns were only 99 cents - holy crap! Had to get me some of that. I went and checked out a fabric store in town called Pruitt's. It's old and dingy in there, but you can find some great fabrics at good prices. The guy that owns it travels around to find the fabric. It was cool, but I think I'd rather stick to well-lit locations with less accumulated dust.

A strong cold front blew in today - it's getting down into the 30s tonight. There's a lot of standing water in the area, which is just asking for it all to freeze later. How awesome would it be if school was canceled....?

Happy Birthday Rudy! etc.

This is Rudy in one of his birthday presents. He luvs it. He's also getting a Beneful meal tonight. Those things smell just like Campbell's Thick and Chunky Soup. He must be in heaven.



Japanese knitting haiku above. Oops, lost the 'photo courtesy of' link. Anyway, I'm not passing it off as my own, just sharing.

I'm working on a cropped puff sleeve sweater from VOGUEknitting Winter 2007/08 as of two weeks ago. I'll probably finish today, I hope! Progress estimate: hmm, say 90%?

This is the "Hi. I still need to be pieced together" picture.

I'm getting excited. I just hope it fits. I'll post 'finished' pics this evening, maybe.

It's finished!

The capecho is done! Hooray! I had to do some alterations, and I think I might convert it into a full sweater by adding fitted ribbing all the way down to my waist. Not sure yet, but hey, it's my first full knitted garment! :D

The ruined capecho, take 1

Capecho project A is no more. I say "A" because I had to scrap it and am now working on B. B is going splendidly, though, and is progressing much faster than A. It turns out that Vogue Knitting described the pattern incorrectly, saying it was "close-fitting," which led me to make it a size larger. For some reason, going a size larger ended up adding about 10 inches of circumference to the project. WTF? Grrr. Anyway, Rudy loves Capecho A. It makes for a warm blanket.

Covering the Ugly Chair - Complete (kinda)

I finally found a good fabric to cover the chair - it matches the ottoman and a couple pillows I've already made. It only took about an hour to start on sewing the panels together.

I haven't sewed up the sides yet - I think I want to leave double "vents" on the side so the cover is easy to pull on and off (gotta wash it - doggie). I was thinking about making some cutesy ties made from scraps from making the ottoman. Result - the chair is covered, but the project isn't quite finished. I haven't figured out what to do with the top of it yet (hard to explain). In the end, the whole product will look smoother than it does now. But hey - the chair is no longer ugly :P

Capecho

I'm knitting a "capecho" from the Vogue Knitting magazine Winter 2006/2007 issue. The design is the cover picture. It's rated Intermediate/Advanced, and I'm pretty surprised by how well it's coming along so far - it's a lot easier than I thought. I'm learning new stuff like picking up stitches and piecing a pattern together. I looked for a yarn color similar to the cover, but I couldn't find an affordable look-alike in a natural fiber. Instead, I got this synthetic yarn with a great color - "heather" - and it is really soft and glides smoothly on the needles. Maybe someday I'll get the natural stuff and knit this again, because I just love the design. All the yarn only cost 12 bucks!

The pattern is composed of 11 cabled pentagons pieced together, with the sleeves and collar added at the end. I'm on pentagon 3 :)

My ugly chair

I'm working on slip-covering this butt-ugly chair in our living room. Southwestern style, anyone? Blah. Obviously, the blue is the new color. I'm gonna get some matching/complementary fabric to cover the chair. It needs to be able to handle a rowdy dog with a penchant for chewing things on it. That's HIS chair.


Look how freakin' cute my dog is.

Le Hat

It's finished - the cable knit/crocheted hat. Well, sorta finished. I just mentioned to Andy: "I really think a pom pom would tie the look together." Andy's reply: "That would be cute." We'll see.

My Day Off

I didn't have work today! Since Andy just got me a sewing machine (my first!!), I decided to try to make a pillow. I did it! I didn't even poke myself, sew the wrong sides together, or forget to iron the fabric before measuring. I gotta admit, I'm pretty impressed with myself. Well, I was, at least, until I realized that I didn't leave enough room for the foam form on the inside. I was gonna put a bit of foam inside before adding the fiber fill, but oops, I messed up the measurements. It still looks like a pillow, which was the goal.


Annnnnd, with all my extra free time, I made a hat. It's not done though - I'm adding a crochet border to the bottom.

Beer Brewing

Ok, so this isn't my project, but I did take pictures of it anyway. Andy got a beer brewing kit for Christmas, and as I type the first batch of pale ale is fermenting in our pantry. Andy is a certified "brewmaster," even though we haven't actually tasted the final product. That won't happen for another couple weeks. So, here's a thumbs-up to Andy's new hobby.


Priming the bottles with sugar. The reaction of the sugar with the yeast in the beer causes it to carbonate. He used different colored bottles so see if light would affect the taste. Or something.

Handsome Devil

My dog is too cute for his own good. This is his "Hey everyone, come see how good I look" pose.


Latest creation: A baby hat. I got invited to a baby shower this weekend, so made this today. Only took a couple hours or so. I'm gonna try to make some booties to match. The pom pom is a little overpowering, so I'll trim that down.

embroidery progress

Taking a daily picture of the project seemed like a good idea. It's neat to see it progress bit by bit every day.

Today's work added satin stitch and Jacobean couching - my first try. Looks alright to me, I suppose.

Scrapbook in Progress - Shortwave Radio

Andy loves him some shortwave radio, and he got me into it too. We sit in front of this gigantic radio and scan through broadcasts that come from all over the world. If the signal is pretty decent, we take down the info (air quality, what was playing, etc., broadcast location) and mail it to the broadcaster. Usually, they send back a thank you letter and all kinds of nifty stuff. Andy had all this stuff sitting in a folder, so I decided to make a scrapbook out of it so he could show it off.

Scrapbook in Progress - Spain

This one has been in progress for about a year and half, haha. I tend to go more for pictures and less for frilly-scrapbook-type stuff, like borders and stencils and whatnot. I just have to finish the Barcelona section, based on my three-day jaunt in Barcelona. It'll have pics of Park Guell, the nudie beach, the hostels I stayed in, and other odds and ends.

El Escorial:

Toledo:

Daily walk home + Embassy ID:

Old Center of Madrid and Palacio Real:

Center:
Maybe in another year I'll finish the rest of it.