Wishful Knitting

I have fizzled a little with Sizzle. There's no good reason, I just have been distracted lately. I am still working my way through the Stitch and Bitch crochet book. It's going well and I have made some huge swatches that the girls are using as blankies for their baby dolls. Anyway, the Sizzle pattern is great and I am loving the yarn. It has good drape and kind of a "cool" feeling to it. It's Berroco something or other, I forget at the moment. I only need to finish the bands on the sleeves and weave in the ends. I have the sides seamed up already. It would really only take a good hour or so to be completely done with it. Maybe I will do it this weekend. I think it will be a little snug on me, and a little shorter than I would like, but that's okay. I can always make another one. I think I will still get some wear out of it. I have also been working on this. It's from some mystery yarn that we (Nanny) bought in France at a yarn shop- pics later. It's ...

Another One Skein Wonder. Sure, it's the same color as my last one, but that one has been sent over the pond to my MIL. This one is a little bigger- I think the 17 inch across the shoulders size. I love the color. I love the pattern, and I would love one in every color available. Specs: Pattern-One Skein Wonder, Stefanie Japel Yarn- Cottage Knits Cotton Gauge- 16 sts/4 inch Mods- None I have slowed a bit on the knitting scene- what with summer and all our visitors. I am working on Sizzle and should likely be done by now. I am having gauge problems again. I don't know why I bother making a swatch at all!

I have been knitting, I just haven't been posting. We have had an influx of visitors and it has been great. I have a hard time sneaking away to blog about knitting, when really, two of my three fans are here in town : ) So, I finished the Tiny Elf's blanket and I love it- she does too. It really went fast at the end, which is odd as it is knit from the center out. I think I just can knit faster than I used to. Progress is good. The yarn is warm and fuzzy after a trip through the washer and dryer- I splurged and used the dryer. I think she will like hers as much as elder elf likes her own fuzzy blanket. EE noticed that TE's blanket had pink on it, and yet hers did not. I noticed that her blanket had a hole. EE requested that I fix the hole with pink yarn so hers would have some pink too. Cute and no problem, as I had some pink left over! Project specs: Pattern: Vogue Baby Blankets Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted. I also have been working on Sizzle- due to a gauge i...

The One Skein Wonder is such a fun little knit. This is my second wonder, in approximately the same blue. The first one was gifted to my MIL as she expressed desire and it was a wee bit tight across the shoulders. I would have worn it anyway, mind you. Since I never know what to get her, and her b-day is in May which is the same month as Mother's Day, it seemed like a perfect match. (She is consequently very happy with it as it allows her to wear sleeveless clothes to work without breaking the dress code. ) This wonder is being made from 100% cotton from cottage knits. Like I said, the first one was a bit too small as I was nearly out of yarn. At that time, I was thinking that the wonder part was in the "one skein." After knitting one, I have come to conclude that the wonder part isn't the one skein, but rather the simple, elegant design that produces a lovely, wearable and practical knit! It is well worth it to invest in however many skeins it takes to fin...

I always thought I liked to knit lace. I loved working on the Ripple skirt, but the lace wasn't too intense. The Lotus Blossom tank has been relegated to the frog pond- before my hubby could stop me. (He hates it when I rip out!) I was making it with Hempathy in black, as you can see. I swatched like a good little girl and then started working it on the appropriate needles- size 6, I think. Well, that's how much I had done- (like 1 1/2") after 5 hours of good car knitting. Part of the problem was that I was using the markers to try and stop myself from making too many mistakes, but the pattern kept shifting, so I had to keep moving the markers. (PITA!) I thought it looked a little big, so I pulled it off the needles and it was like 10 inches wider than it was supposed to be at the waist. I guess my lace is tons looser than my stockinette swatches. I am not completely sold on the value of a swatch, to be sure. I wanted a nice breezy little tank (much like that on Dipsy...

I would knit a giant swatch and then practice crochet! When I was considering changing my knitting style to loosen up my gauge, I started making this mammoth swatch out of crunchy acrylic yarn. I am kind of between projects. Well, more that I started a project with which I am not thrilled. So, instead of working on that, I just picked up a crochet hook to add a border and even out the swatch. My elder elf has appropriated it for her dolly. This pic shows the true size. I have learned that I mostly know how to crochet- I have been taught several times. I still don't know how to turn around without losing stitches so that the finished project is a square. I don't know how to go around corners well. Crochet is really pretty quick!

This is the picture that elder elf took of me! I am shocked by how well she did! The skirt is done : )(You can just ignore the pink bra showing through- I never would have guessed it would....oh well....live and learn) Also, while we are ignoring things, lets ignore those really white arms, shall we? Another view.... It was a fun project that knit up pretty fast. The pre-blocking picture was frightening: After looking at that I thought, "What a waste to make this weird thing!" But it stretched out well. I am very eager to see how it wears. I think I will debut it for the first world travellers who get in on Monday. I am not sure what time on Monday, but sometime. If any of such travelers are reading this, about what time do you land? That will give me an idea of what time you will be here. The knitting details are at the KAL blog...so I don't think I'll repeat. I was kind of sick of the whole thing by the time I got done with the ruffle. I think that had something to ...

I have been posting on the KAL website for the Indigo Ripple skirt. I think joining has spurred me on to finish this project when I may have strayed otherwise. I hope I didn't transform the pattern into a frump-suit by making it longer, but I was going for practicality- heh, heh, yeah, that's right, a practical knitted skirt- out of cotton. It looks more like a pillowcase at this point! I have started the ruffle after 50 (rather than 60) rounds of lace- enough already. It's a long-winded bind off, but it's coming along. I hope to have it done by the first wave of international visitors on Monday. No problem. I am not sure what to knit next....Sizzle?

If it weren't for Bonne Marie at Chic Knits and her articles about sizing and fit, I don't think I would ever knit a garment that fit! Thanks to her and knitty , I have had some recent projects that I have really loved. More about the hourglass sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I am very happy with the way it turned out-finally. The yarn gave me terrible troubles, but is so soft! It's wonderful. I probably could be talked into working with it again, if I don't find another Merino of comparable softness. If I were to work with Karabella Aurora 8 again, I would put the balls into hanks and wash them before doing anything else. That would take care of my gauge issues and would make it bearable. It's really soft, did I mention that? I will be curious to see how it wears. There's a picture of my Friday night. Casting on...again for the Indigo Ripples skirt.. somehow on a size 5 needle, my gauge has more stitches per inch than on the fours! Swatches do lie! So, ...

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.

Ta da. I love this sweater and wore it all day today and still love it. It's the green gables pattern (from Zephyrstyle) - it knitted up very quickly and it fits great! I am very happy with it. The celebratory glass of vino- it's good to have an excuse once in a while : ) I don't know if the lace shows up, but you can see it in yesterday's post. I really enjoyed making this and I might make another one. This is before the blocking of the lace. It still rolls out a little bit at the top, but I don't care. One thing- I was wondering if I could feel the 20% wool content....I felt a bit itchy a couple of times today. Still not enough to make me stop loving it. Specs: Pattern: Green Gables Needles: Size 6 (pretty old metal ones) and 4 circulars Yarn: Brown Sheep cotton fleece, color dusty sage Comments: quick knit from the top down- great fun. I am currently obsessed about knitting a skirt, Indigo Ripple to be exact. I have to figure out a yarn as the one in the pattern ...

I have been knitting! Aren't these cute little markers? I couldn't take a decent picture, but there are little blue birds and a snowperson, which is the signature of the creator and she sent it as a free little extra marker. I definitely need practice with the pics- the flash kept whiting them out : ( The markers are from Good to be Girl . What's this? Could it be matching yarn to finish the languishing Hourglass? Excellent. I have to say that I really didn't think that in this time dye lots mattered anymore- I mean with computers and all...but they do! Oh, is that Hempathy yarn for a little black tank top? Indeed it is. Will this be a finished object soon????

It seems like I am always behind the latest web craze. I sometimes make the popular projects and sometimes, I just think about them and then forget about them eventually. Last summer, everyone was making the OSW by Stefanie Japel. I bought the pattern and then didn't get around to making it, but I had every intention of making one. I finally made one with Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton and it's such a great pattern. I like a lot of Glampyre's patterns, and would like to check out her book eventually. Here's the final product. It's a little looser around the bottom edge than I would like, but it has to stretch so I can move- plus it's cotton. I bound off with needles 2 sizes larger than called for so that it wouldn't be too tight, perhaps it was a bit much. I won't even begin to tell about the problems that I had with the gauge....seems like that's the story of my knitting life these days, but I think I got it worked out. I knit and re-knit and re-k...

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...

So, here I am not getting things done. No, I was productive today, and here I am whittling away precious time doing this. Oh well. I can likely justify this as needing "a break." The children woke up in their crabby pants this morning, which didn't really make for the most fun day. I have ends to weave in and ends to tie up before the big move! (it is becoming ever more and more a reality!) I am still struggling with the neck for the flashdance-esque Hourglass, and should be done with it by bed time tonight. No comments on what time that might be. I ran out of stitches in the decrease raglan sections but it was still too wide, so I came up with a center decrease of some kind. I think it looks okay, but we'll see after it gets washed and re-dried- all before weaving in the ends, of course. And then there's this, which I think is cute- it will be a kitty (Kate to be exact), but this is as far as I have gotten....I think I will try and get finish her for el...

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?????