Football and fiber!

It's football season and that means excellent time for knitting!

I finished up a second shawl in the Azzu pattern, this time in alpaca (Classic Elite Yarn Alpaca Sox) for AS. She looks great it in!

And another shot in full sun and full spread:

It makes me deliriously happy to knit for friends and a little bit of extra pocket money.

This cute hat and matching baby legs is for my friend MA's son, whom we expect to arrive mid-October. The pattern for the hat and for the legs. I used Plymouth Dreambaby DK, a nice acrylic which is machine-washable.

Finally, I just finished up some new fingerless gloves for myself and this upcoming cold season. I have made literally dozens of gloves in this pattern, but these will be the first for myself! I did extend the cuff so my wrists are still covered in the event that my sleeves move up.

Close up of the cable work:

Happy knitting! Until next time, go team!

Hectic Again!

Classes started back this week for Sir and I, as well as both kids. That means less time for yarn-squishing and knitting. Sadface. 

But.

I am interning at the state crime lab and let's face it - that's pretty awesome. Give a little, get a lot!

I did manage to start and finish a hat over the weekend and I think it might take over as my new favorite. KnitPicks Preciosa (in Petal) is so deliciously squishy. The pattern is Antelope, if you are interested in finding it for free on Ravelry.

In the past several weeks, I have been teaching my friend J how to knit and she just purchased her first non-acrylic yarn. She bought me a skein of Preciosa in Tortuga! I'm working slowly (okay, slow for me) with it to make the Drop Stitch Scarf (also free on Ravelry). It's as if this yarn, this colorway, and this pattern were made to be together. I'm incredibly pleased with it so far.

At knitting last night, the wonderful and amazing JP gave me an incredible deal on two skeins of Wollmeise and two skeins of JulieSpins. I can't wait to get this beautiful yarn onto the needles!

JulieSpins

Wollmeise

Happy knitting all! Until next time :)

Abstinence

With school and life and the compulsive need to devour two dozen books the second the semester ended, I have not knitted much in the past year. I definitely am the kinda girl who is either utterly obsessed or completely apathetic; knitting is no exception. 

Since June 26, I have completed a ton of projects and as of today, I also have two projects on my needles.

First, I made a simple yet feminine scarf. 

Then I made my first ever shawl! I love the free pattern (Azzu's Shawl) from Emma Fassio.

I love this one so much, I have another on my needles right now. This time in Alpaca, with smaller needles, and I'm planning on a picot bind off. And because it went so well, I made a shawl in a different pattern.

By now, most people observe the pattern developing here. I have a lot of FOs in purple. What can I say?

Discovered an AMAZING pattern for showcasing the wonder that is Manos wool. It was so embarrassingly simple, I'm pretty sure it doesn't actually qualify as knitting. This sucker is just shy of 6' long and it took about 3 hours to make, most of which was spent on the fringe I added.

Then I made a fancy and smooshy cowl. It's pretty and wears like a detachable turtleneck. I expect some bonus warmth from it this winter.

Then I posted on Facebook that I want to be paid to knit, so I was commissioned by JL to make him a Cunning Hat (as seen on Firefly, worn by Adam Baldwin as he portrays Jayne Cobb). I scoured the web to find a decent pattern and using yarns handpicked by JL, got this gem. I'm so happy he loves it, and let's face it, it looks damn good on him. See my pattern notes on Ravelry.

Currently, I'm working some socks for CS in a most delicious yarn found on etsy - doesn't it make you think of Van Gogh's Starry Night?

And lastly, I indulged in KnitPicks limited edition Preciosa - one cherished skein. I am still hunting for the perfect project for this gloriously delicious yarn. Look how squishy!

Until next time!

Mischling Mitts

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

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

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!

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!