ObsceKnitty

Mischling Mitts

2010-11-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

I am testing a pattern I have tweaked based on patterns here and here. Please note that this is a preliminary written-only pattern. Testing will begin henceforth.

Size US7 needles, worsted weight yarn, approximately 220 yards. This pattern is worked in the round. I knitted with magik loop.

CO 36

Cuff:
Rnd 1, 2 and 4: (P2, K4, P2, K1) 4 times
Rnd 3: (P2, CB4, P2, K1) 4 times
Repeat 5 times (or more for longer cuff)
Rnd 5-6: Knit
Rnd 7: Purl
Rnd 8: (K2tog, YO) repeat around
Rnd 9: Knit
Rnd 10: Purl
Rnd 11-18: Knit
Rnd 19: begin thumb gusset next round (see below)
Knit until 1/4" past your longest finger, then work decrease/shape top (see below)

Thumb gusset:
Right mitten: K17, PM, K1, PM, K
Left mitten: K15, PM, K1, PM
Increase by making one (however you like) every other round until you have 11 sts between markers. Knit one more round, then slip 11 sts on waste yarn, CO 1 and K to end.

Decrease/shape top:
Rnd 20: (K2tog, K4) repeat around
Rnd 21: (K2tog, K3) repeat around
Rnd 22: (K2tog, K2) repeat around
Rnd 23: (K2tog, K1) repeat around
Break yarn 3", thread through remaining 5 sts and pull tight, weaving in ends.

Finishing thumb:
Place 11 sts from waste yarn back on needle
Pick up 5 more sts around thumb hole
Knit until thumb is covered, begin decrease:
K2tog, K3
K2tog, K2
K2tog, K1
Break yarn 3", thread through remaining 4 sts, pull tight and weave in ends

Legend:
K = knit
P = purl
YO = yarn over
sts = stitches
K2tog = knit two stitches together
CB4 = cable back four. Slip 2 sts on cable needle and hold to back. K next two sts, then K two from cable needle.

Twirlz

2010-05-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

It has literally been months since I have touched needles or hooks. I have been so busy with school! The good news is that I have done very well with that endeavor for the year and now have summer break to get back to my knitting projects!

My first FO since December are a pair of fingerless gloves made for my intartoobz friend, Crabbie. Unfortunately, I made a silly error when I got to the second glove, so one pair became two. Thus, Crabbie has been made to wait until all the chaos of school passed and I could find time and attention to focus on getting her a legit pair. I'm sending her both. The backside is identical, however note the palm-side differences.

Made with KnitPicks Swish Worsted in Clematis Heather, the photos do the color no justice whatsoever.

Pair 1 (the odd pair)

Pair 2 (the "good" pair)

Please also feel free to note that I have new tattoos. I blogged about it at I'm Beautiful Like Me. Look forward to sharing lots of new projects in the coming weeks!

The Burdens of Life

2009-10-30T17:17:00.000-07:00

Life has been interfering with knitting! I started back to school just after my last post and haven't had much extra time. I have managed to do some fingerless gloves, though. This pair was started on August 17 and finished up 12 days later.

This next pair took much longer! I started them on September 1 and didn't get them done until October 15. Yikes. But they are soooo pretty. I decided they are going to be mine! It is hard to tell in this photo that these are actually an incredibly dark shade of purple and not black. That's part of why I love them so.

I was gifted some incredible yarn from my knitting pals for my birthday (August 31). I adore the purple yarn. I will be sitting on it until I find the perfect pattern or until I find some equally fabulous yarn to go with it, as there are only about 90 yards there.

The gray Stockbridge was gifted to me by the very resourceful Sonya, who scored it for $1.99 a skein! It's 50% wool/50% alpaca and each skein has over 100 yards. I decided that it would best be used for my very first sweater, so I started it a week ago. It's going slow and steady, but I'm proud that I've worked on it a little each day. It is a rather boring pattern, but I figure better to just knit, knit, knit than to be overwhelmed and not knit at all!

I hope I'll have more time to work on knitting projects in the weeks to come. It'll be even better if I have time to post about it here!

Bliss Like This is Obscene!

2009-08-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

My yarn finally arrived! I placed the order on August 7 and expected it to arrive on August 15. Apparently, FedEx tried to deliver about half an hour after we left on Friday to Tennessee. I waited all day on Saturday waiting and waiting and it never came. Sir (aka Husband) called FedEx for me late this afternoon and they stated that they turned it over to USPS, but our mail had already run for the day. It's not quite the same when your package isn't delivered to your home! But I did manage to get it today and it's just divine.

I'm excited to get some new projects going! Most yarn will be used for Christmas gifts, but I've commissioned my services as a knitter to a couple of friends, too. Stay tuned for projects yet made!

Red Winter WIP

2009-08-11T12:53:00.001-07:00

I'm on a fingerless glove kick. However, I'm waiting on my first shipment of yarn from KnitPicks (I have bought from them before - the Harmony interchangeable needles - just not yarn), so in the meantime, I thought I'd try out this Jack-in-the-Box pattern I found in a friend's book for fingerless gloves that have a nifty flip-top. My mom requested something similar months ago and to be perfectly honest, the pattern intimidated me so I've put it off. I did buy some fabulous yarn (Classic Elite Yarns Waterlily 100% extra fine merino wool that is just lovely to touch) from Grinny Possum just for this project, though, so I had everything I needed to get started. As I suspected, it's definitely tricky!

Here is my first glove while still on the needles.

This part was super-tricky for me, but I made it through!

The first glove is finished!

I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I do still have some sewing to do. The button needs to be attached and there is a strange flap that goes around the back of the hand that needs to be sewn down to the inside back of the glove. The flap has a purpose besides keeping the glove pretty - it rises above the flip-top to keep the knuckles covered.

The second glove is on my needles now, about one-third of the way complete. I won't be able to wait until Christmas to give them to my mom. Just as well. It'll be cold before then anyhow and she's the type to not be a stickler for gift-giving because the calendar dictates it.

Fiber is FUN!

2009-08-09T21:30:00.001-07:00

Hi folks, tata here! I've decided it's time to dedicate a blog to my love of all things fiber. I thought I'd start off by sharing how I became a fiber addict!

I learned to crochet on March 5, 2008 when an online friend not only inspired me by posting pictures of these fabulous creations of hers, but she also sent me some magazines to really pique my interest. I randomly picked up a crochet hook and some cheap yarn at Wal*Mart whilst we were about one day and several days later, I sat down with the magazine and tried it out. Of course, I had bought only one hook and the charts read like hieroglyphics to me. Thank my lucky stars for the internet! I wasn't going to be deterred. I watched some videos and learned the basics. A few weeks and about 9 skeins later, my first afghan was complete.

Not long after, my friend turned me on to Ravelry and I was growing a yarn stash. Ravelry is amazing - I can't believe it's still in Beta! If you are unfamiliar, it's capable of keeping track of your projects, your stash, your hooks and needles; there are forums for virtually every type of fiber-lover; patterns galore (it's a pattern *heaven*) and so much more. I found a group nearby that meets weekly, but I was a little hesitant since I was still only a n00bie crocheter and the group embraced the word "Knitter" only in their Ravelry title.

In the meantime, I ventured out to find the LYS (that's fiber-junkie speak for Local Yarn Store) and learned we have 3 in my area! Woohoo! I fondled and groped all sorts of fibers and realized quickly that the stash I had at home paled in comparison. I touched angora, alpaca, silk, bamboo and countless more fibers that were simply amazing to touch. I inquired with the lady at the first LYS that if a girl were interested in learning to knit, what would be a good needle size to start with? And what kind of yarn?

I left that day with a pair of size US10 bamboo needles and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky - my very first wool buy. Within days, I checked out the other two shops and decided the last - Grinny Possum Fiber Arts was my absolute favorite. The shop owner was not only absolutely lovely and kind, the place was immensely more comfortable for me than the previous two. I felt I had come home.

I checked out a book at the library and one night I sat down with those needles and that yarn and taught myself how to knit and purl. That was July 13, 2008. Later, I picked up another book and used the entire skein of yarn to make half a scarf (I decided I didn't much care for the mohair content in the yarn - especially for a scarf! - and abandoned that project altogether).

Somewhere during that same time period, I finally met up with the aforementioned group of knitters. It was nothing short of bliss. I had a new challenge before me and new folks around me encouraging me, guiding me and praising my efforts and outcomes.

Since that time, I have accumulated a gob of gorgeous yarn of all sorts of fiber content, started 44 projects, abandoned 5, frogged (knit-speak for having ripped it out - get it? "Rippit, Ribbit") 6 projects, currently have 2 WIPS (more fiber-talk, this time meaning Work In Progress) and the rest - a whopping 32 FOs (again with the yarn-gab! FO = Finished Object). I've made hats, scarves, blankets, a little baby sweater, socks, a cowl, headbands, a cozy for my French Press, a purse, fingerless gloves and even key cozies! I've even gotten a little adventurous and combined a few patterns to make my own derivative desig n! A few of the ladies that meet for Knit Night even spin their own yarn and I've enjoyed trying out their spinning wheels (although I'll admit to being a smidge intimidated by it).

Fiber is an adventure. It may seem tedious (it sometimes is) or like something old ladies do to pass the time, but the immense popularity of Ravelry and my own experience out in the real world while crocheting or knitting away proves otherwise. There is nothing quite like starting with a seemingly meaningless ball of string and creating some comfy socks.

It is my hope to catalog my yarn-inspired adventures, my frustrations and my victories, garments I hope to someday design and sell so that I can continue to feed my yarn obsessions.

ObsceKnitty is born!

(in the event that it's not as obvious to you as it is to me, it's pronounced like "obscenity")