Wishful Knitting

This tank top was seriously languishing in my project bin forever. I started it when I was knitting just about every project from Last Minute Knitted Gifts . I heavily modified it to make it more wearable- I made the straps wider and added a little waist shaping. Then, when I had but a mere 20 minutes more work to do, I ignored it for a year or so : ) It turned out quite nicely. I am eager to wear it to see how the hemp behaves. This is the first time I knit with hemp- it was a bit rough on my hands. When I washed it, there was not any color bleed, but the smell was very strange. I happen to have a very good sense of smell- most of the time, I wish I didn't! Nonetheless, when I was washing this tank top, it smelled kind of "chalky." There are some bugs that smell like that when they are smushed. It's a strange smell. The garment did not smell when it dried- thankfully! I know it looks lumpy here, and I was in a hurry to get the picture, but it fits well. It's reve...

I had never had this happen to me before. Here I was, knitting along, thinking everything was fine, and it was not. I was very surprised to see this. The knitting version of the "cosmic slap." The moment has long since passed, but, it's part of the story. I am following the silk camisole pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I am using Hempathy to make it. I didn't choose this pattern becuase I am in love with it- and the picture in the book is rather "unfortunate." I chose to knit this based on the fact that I had the correct material, and I wanted to try the hemp. Of course I am modifying the pattern to make it more "wear-able." Of course, I don't have an "extra" skein. So, I can either stop the mods, or scour the internet. It calls for I-cord straps over four stitches. There's no way I would wear that, or if I did, my bra straps would be hanging out. Despite current fashion trends, I am not a fan. Sure I could go ...

I made this for a baby shower recently. The pattern is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts . It was easy and fun to knit- but there is an error in the pattern that isn't corrected on the errata page. Following the given instructions doesn't leave enough openings to thread the tie properly. This time, (as I was running out of time and wanted it to be washed and ready to wear) I simply overlooked the defect and tied the hat. Next time I make it, I will add another eyelet. The yarn is Mission Falls cotton- from the stash. I also made this.... I have started to crochet little items (read....current obsession). It seems so freeing to be able to create simple sweet designs with only a hook. The baby's name will be Sofia and the shower was the day before Easter.

I think that could be the title for all my recent knitting endeavours. My not-so-little sister is the recipient of these little goodies. It's an awesome, quick knit. The color makes me think of beautiful Washington State- I wish I had more leftover. Project specs: Hand/Wrist Warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts Yarn-Aurora 8 Because of the stretchy nature of the pattern, they fit almost all hands.... almost. (Yes, sister dear, I did reknit the sweater...there are pics somewhere on this blog. Oh, and the washing instructions- hand wash in cold water, roll in towels to get rid of the excess water and then lay flat to dry.)

Another finished object : ) This is Hourglass from Last Minute Knitted Gifts- I finally finished it tonight and have been wearing it for several hours. It definitely deserved the Cosmo rather than your typical glass of wine. What a marathon. I love it so far- the yarn, Karabella Aurora 8 (my nemesis) is so fabulous. It's like a warm snuggly hug! More later on the details. Also, a few swatches were underway with my handy helper.

Here is a sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts- my current source for projects : ) I made it for my tiny elf after the first sweater I made for her only fit her for a day- I thought I could do a lot more knitting right after she was born- HA! It didn't take long to knit and I only made two little adjustments. I made the body length much longer than the pattern called for. I wanted good coverage and that's what I got. I also made button holes and put buttons on it rather than the beads being pushed through the band. As an aside, you have to really go by the measurements of the child and not the "sizing" in the book to pick the right size. This was the 2 year old size, and she was closer to one year. I am thrilled with it. The yarn was Debbie Bliss Merino DK. I loved the yarn and the pattern and I will definitely make another one of these- for the elder elf- here she is trying it on for me!

Happy Spring from Italy! (No one really needs to know that the elves got their Easter baskets a week late : ) These two little guys/gals were knit from a pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts- which is a great book. I used the possum yarn my hubby brought back from New Zealand. It's a bit strange, the yarn. It has a merino feel, but then has real hair that fuzzes like an angora. It works well for a little bunny. Of course, the elves didn't pay much attention to these bunnies and played with their other gifites after devouring the meager chocolates they got- except the tiny elf who just held the M&M's in her hand until they were good and soft. I am pleased with the bunnies and the only change was the faces. Nanny Nonna did a splendid job as my resident bunny face creator. I think the faces look fabulous! Of course, we were up til the wee hours working on these, but that's to be expected!

I hereby swear I will never knit with Karabella Aurora 8 again. Even though it is soft and wonderful, it can be hateful when it comes to gauge. I think I said earlier that the gauge really changed after it was washed. What I should have done was to wash all the yarn and then re-knit the gauge swatch and then knit the sweater. (Who thinks that sounds like fun???) What I tried to do (and failed) was to knit the gauge swatch, then calculate how much bigger the swatch became after washing, then make the size that would fit AFTER washing. The opposite of shrink-to-fit. Uh, yeah, not so much. The sweater was just too small. I decided to frog it and start over. It wasn't fun to have all that kinky weird yarn. Then I gave the yarn a bath, and with the trusty help of my two elves, dried the hanks. Now, re-knitting the sweater bigger, I think I am going to run out of yarn! Lovely. By the way, I didn't re-do the sleeves even though every OCD bone in my body wanted to. So, t...

It's the weekend...so, we are lucky enough to get a visit from my sister. (We don't have too many weekends left : ( So, what's a girl to do? Make her sister try on her new sweater! Looks great on her- not too flashdance with a tee underneath. She was kind enough to pick up that extra ball o'yarn for me. And yes, we have decided that I am one skein shy of a sweater. Here's a photo of the kids, just because. Oh, and mom, you can make comments right on the blog if you want. No one has ever tried, so let me know if you do. Where's your blog?????

I know, these are TERRIBLE pics, but I thought they were better than none-there's one more at the end. Maybe not. Hey, since it's just me reading this, and I want a memory of the 2 am photo shoot, I am posting them! Yeah, in the mirror, not pretty. About the Aurora 8. So, while I was knitting, it was SUPER tight. I gave it a quick bath and it fits great! I am amazed and have a renewed faith in the whole swatch thing. Usually, I don't wash the swatch first, but I will start. Here are some terrible pics- hubby was sleeping as it was 2 am when I got done. I wanted before and after pics. I got the before, but not the after. I tried the sweater on several times while it was damp and it looks to be just fine. Amazing. I also read on another blog that someone else had the same experience with this yarn. That made me feel a little better too. The only thing is that the neckline has stretched out a ton. It's way too flashdance for me, so I will reknit it and add an...

These are stitch markers from Good to be Girl. (see sidebar- it's too late to link : ) They say "I knit with Greys" and are soooo fun. Maybe I will get better with indoor photography....maybe not. When I learned to knit, I was living in France as a foreign exchange student. My french grandmother taught me. I don't remember any details about the lesson. Not a thing. Really strange, nada. I know that she was trying to teach me and my french host sister at the same time. My "mami" didn't speak a word of english. I think I just watched and she said, "Non, non, comme ca!" a lot and that was that. I eventually learned to read french patterns and I made 2 sweaters while I was there. One was hot pink synthetic mohair- hey, it was the 80's after all. The other one was a nice cotton short sleeved "pull." I don't have any pics of me wearing either item. Sadly, we didn't discuss gauge and the sweaters were CRAZY huge. I mean so big ...

In keeping with the time theme, I need to keep working on Hourglass from Last Minute Knitted Gifts . Of course, I am about a year (or more) late. All the KAL's are long over. The party is over, everyone has gone home. I don't see this posted on anyone's blogs...but still, it's new to me, and I really like the style. I think most of the errata have been corrected in my version of the book, so that's an advantage to starting late. This is the first time in a long time that I am making something for myself. I would like it to fit, but that's another story. We'll see how it goes. This is being made out of Aurora 8 from Karabella in green. I figured it's my tribute to the Emerald City. It feels heavanly soft and keeps me warm while I knit it. When hubby was gone, I got most of it done, and now I have stalled a little bit, for no good reason. I had tons of knitting time last night and instead of working on this, I started a new project.... Kate . I don't ...