My first mittens!

Tonight, I started a project for myself!  I'm so excited- these will be the first pair of mittens I've ever made.  I'm making the Canadian Mittens pattern from Knit Simple using some gray and pink yarn from my stash.  So pretty!

I also started a new orange and black scarf for one of my cousins.  The first try wasn't going so well.  This seems to be better.  I'm using Lion Brand Jiffy in Black and Yarn Bee Glitzy Girl in an orange color.  The scarf is just a garter stitch with the two yarns held together on US17 needles.  So far, so good! I think its really cute and fuzzy.  I hope she likes it!  

I should be able to finish the scarf this weekend, and add eyes to the fish hat so all those warm things can be sent to my cousins before spring.

Boo. Blogger is being dumb and not uploading pictures.  I will add some tomorrow morning.  

In other news- the police came for my neighbors again! I don't know who keeps calling them, but it sure does give me an evening's worth of entertainment when they do :)

Blind Fish

The fish is done! (Except for the eyes.)

On to something new!

1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish...

Blue Fish!  I made a ton of progress today on the Fish hat!  I just need to finish the tail and fins, and attach some goggly eyes.  I hope my cousin loves it...I think its adorable.  

I also tried a new pattern for the orange and black scarf, but didn't like that one much better.  I may start over on that with some super chunky black yarn and some orange/gold fun fur.  The first pattern I started with just wasn't working.  

Soon I will knit myself something beautiful!

Idea...

I'm wearing a sweater today that I got for 80% off at Kohls.  I like it, but not as much as I could.  I wish the sleeves were less pouffy and a little longer, there were no pockets in the front, and that it was about 6" shorter.  I bet I could make it...

2 FOs and an update!

Yay!  I finished 2 projects tonight...one of which I started tonight!  

First up:  The V-day Heart Scarf for my friend Laura.  I made major progress on this yesterday.  We had a girls' craft night, which was a blast and very productive.  The only problem was that this isn't really mindless knitting, so I didn't get tons of conversation in.  Oh well...Next time I know to bring something simple! 

 The scarf really turned out beautiful, if I do say so myself.  I hope she likes it!  Its a pretty and fun way to do some basic lace knitting, too.  Happy Valentines, Laura!

Next:  Since my mom made my 3rd grade cousin a scarf from the same yarn I had purchased to make her a scarf from (freaky, I know), I made her a hat instead.  This pattern is mostly "Chunky Knit Beanie" by Leslie Friend, but I extended the height of the hat using the decrease pattern from "Umbililcal Cord Hat" from Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook.   The yarn is Yarn Bee Soft Illusions in Splash.  

The colors are nauseatingly bright, but I think she will like it.

I also made a little progress on the fish hat for the 2nd grader yesterday and today.  I've added some stripes, and even experimented with Faire Isle a bit.  It is a lot of fun to knit, and I think he will like it.

Next up to finish:  The orange and black scarf and the Joyful scarf come next, and the I'm done with scarves for a while.  The cable scarf will just have to wait until I'm in the mood again.  I'm thinking mittens or socks are up next.  Hmm....

Go Fish!

I got the itch to start a hat  tonight... so here's the "mouth" of the fish!  The pattern is "Fish Hat" by Thelma Egberts from Knitty.com Winter 2008.  I'm using a bunch of different colors of Lion Brand Wool Ease Worsted Weight.  I started with blue, but I haven't decided what color scheme to do yet.  Right now I'm thinking grey, white, and blue with green fins and little green flecks.   Knitting in the round with dpns was new for me, but once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad.  

Last night I also got the first repeat on my Joyful scarf done, too.  Its turning out a lot more purple than I thought, but hopefully once there is more yarn knitted up it will be more blue-ish.  I think its pretty none the less.  

Tomorrow night is girls' craft night!  I'm excited...I'm hoping to finish the V-day scarf for Laura so I can give it to her this weekend.  

Soon to be mine!

Sigh.. I found the sweater I want to make as my first...(Knit.1 Fall/Winter 2008 Garter Yoke Cardigan. Picture from magazine below)  Its a top-down one, so I can try it on as I go.  Its also rated pretty easy, so it could be a good one to start with.  Now I just need to finish up a couple projects so I have time and needles!  Maybe as a February reward...  

I've got the Joy...

Yay!  I finally found the right yarn and pattern for another scarf I'm making!  Whoot Whoot!

 Here's a pic of the yarn, and here's the pattern I'm going to use: A Joyful Scarf (aka Painted Circle Scarf)

I also made more progress on the V-Day scarf- I'm half way done!  There was a lot of un-knitting going on tonight, mostly because I was watching NCIS and talking on the phone while knitting.

Other updates...

No more work has been done on disclothes, but I have made some progress on my cable scarf and the heart scarf.  Pictures below!  

I also have found the yarn for a scarf for my 3rd grade cousin, and a pattern for a hat the 2nd grader!  http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTfishy.php  

I'm still trying to find the right thing to make their mom, though... 

Orange and Black

As requested by my lovely teenage cousin, an orange and black scarf.  

The pattern is from Knitty.com's Fall 2004 Special issue.  I'm using Orange and Black yarn from Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn" line.  Its super soft!  

I hope she likes it!

It was cold out...

...so I made an earwarmer!  It took only 2 nights, one of which I only worked on it for like an hour.  The pattern is"Calorimetry" by Kathryn Schoendorf and I found it on Knitty.com.  I made it from about a half a skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease in Oxford Gray.  

The general reactions are either 1) Cool!  (mostly girl friends) or 2) That is not at all attractive. (boys).  I don't care though!  It keeps my ears warm.  At -27F, attractiveness is no longer an issue.  

One note, though. I didn't check my gauge before I started, and I ended up with a much bigger ear warmer than the pattern.  I don't mind though...this keeps more of my head warm!

Cables and Lace

So, apparently knitting is a kind of expensive and addictive hobby.  I spent a good portion of my day looking at interchangeable knitting needle kits online.  It seems to me that these would be more economical than buying new circular needles anytime I needed another size.  I’m kind of in love with the Knit Picks harmony needles.  They are GORGEOUS, and I also like knitting on wood.  I have a couple metal needles, which I like when I’m making cotton dishclothes, and a bunch of plastic, which are fine.  My one pair of circular needles (that I got to make Sophie’s hat) are bamboo though, and I LOVED them.  They were very light, and my yarn stayed put.  So, I think I may get the Knit Picks set, but it will have to wait for pay day.  I am very open to any suggestions on this part, however.  Does anyone have a favorite kind of these needles?  I’ve read good things about the Denise’s, and not very good things about the Needlemasters (?).  

In light of this decision to make a major knitting-related purchase, you may think that I, as a poor student, would stay at home and save her money.  You would be wrong.  I went to Barnes and Nobles tonight and bought the SNB: SNB Nation and SNB: The Happy Hooker books tonight.  The first one has been so amazing at teaching me how to knit and read patterns, and as a reference guide, that I figured these books will also be great.   I’m very excited to start some of these projects!

I also got some yarn to go with the patterns I have been collecting online this week.  The below picture is the first 22 rows of “Simple Cable Scarf” from www.lionbrand.com.  I am using Lion Brand Jiffy Bulky yarn in Grape.  This seemed like a good project to learn how to cable with!  I’m very excited!

Tonight I also started the “Heart” scarf by Stephanie Roy from the Knitty.com special print issue (Fall 2004, I think).  I am using Lion Brand Jiffy Bulky in Dusty Pink for this.  (You may be seeing a pattern.  This yarn was on sale when I was at Hobby Lobby recently).  Its not quite the perfect yarn for this pattern, but I think it is going to turn out okay.  It is very exciting because it is lace work!  After the 2nd repeat of the pattern, I realized that this scarf is PERFECT for my friend Laura.  So....Happy Valentines Day, Laura!  I hope to have it done by then.  Sadly, the picture isn't uploading right, so maybe tomorrow you can see an updated version.

Baby Hats!

A friend of mine has THE CUTEST baby girl ever.  I adore her, and since I have been dying to try to make a shape other than a square or rectangle, I decided to make her a hat.  This is also from Stitch ‘N Bitch - the umbilical cord hat.  This was super easy and fast...I made it in one day.  I lost my yarn wrapper, so I can’t tell you exactly what yarn I used, except that it was bulky instead of the suggested medium, and I used size 8 needles.  The reason for this was 2 fold: Number 1: She is 9 months, so her head is a little bigger than the  0-6 months the pattern was designed for.  Number 2: Michael’s was out of US7 dpns.  I also made sure the yarn was soft, and machine washable and dry-able, as babies are crazy messy.  Here’s some pics of the work in progress...

And so it begins...

                     

The second kind of scarf I knitted, a K2 P2 ribbed scarf, AKA the 2nd project from SNB.  This is also the first time I shopped at a LYS and used “nice” yarn.  This is Saphira 100% Superwash Merino wool. Its kind of hard to tell here, but it has gorgeous tans, pinks, and purples.  

        

When it was all knit up, a really neat purple diamond pattern appeared!  The downside to this scarf was that it took freaking forever to knit (compared to the garter scarf on US17s with super chunky yarn).

This cream and green washcloth below is actually the second one that I have made like this.  The first I made at my parents home over Christmas, and my mom loved it so much she kept it!  I have found that I really like making dishcloths...they are fast but you can do neat patterns and colors pretty easily. I also like knitting with the cotton yarn AND its super cheap!  This pattern is “Citrus Salad” from Susan Robicheau’s Bright and Cheery Knit Dishcloths (Lily Sugar and Creme in cream and hot green).  I have also made “Strawberry Shortcake”, but it is currently in use and so no picture is available -unless you want to see my dirty kitchen sink :)  

 

The pink project below is also from this book, and is called “Fresh Persimmon” (Lily Sugar and Creme hot pink).  I forsee a lot of dishcloths as presents for friends in the near future...