Finishing Presents

i tend to knit almost all of the presents i give to people. just love giving someone i care about something i made. the only problem with this is when you are in the middle of the project and really aren't enjoying the process but need to finish or else buy something...

here are two cases of that exact problem. although, i think the receivers of these gifts will like them a whole lot more than i liked knitting them!

choice

yarn: berroco bonsai and berroco seduce - both in a natural color

needles: size 7, circular

pattern: choice by norah gaughan in her vol. 6 book for berroco

i wouldn't say this yarn was horrible to work with - but i definitely didn't love it... i wanted an easy no brainer project so i used the yarn the pattern called for and made no modifications. i probably should have gone down a needle size. made the smallest size but it is still a little big. this is going to be for my brother's fiancee and she is very little but she has a great sense of style so i am sure she will find a way to wear it!

golf club covers

yarn: berroco vintage in green, blue and tan

needles: size 5 and size 7, circular (magic loop method)

pattern: argyle golf club covers by sarah wilson

now this yarn i would say is horrible to work with!!! maybe i am just being a brat but i cannot stand knitting with this much acrylic! i bought some beautiful malabrigo sock yarn to make my dad socks for father's day but my mother didn't think he would wear them and would prefer golf club covers. i did like the pattern and only made a few modifications. 1- changed the ribbing to a 2x2. 2- added the stripes to the ribbing to mark the different sized clubs. 3- made tassels instead of pom poms for the tops.

i am going to be teaching a baby surprise jacket class at brooklyn general on wednesday mornings - starting next week. check out www.brooklyngeneral.com to sign up.

Happy Mother's Day

hourglass socks

yarn: claudia hand painted merino fingering weight yarn - honey color

needles: size 1.5 circular

pattern: hourglass socks from knitty

i have wanted to make these socks for the longest time and finally found the perfect excuse - i would make two pairs. one for my mother and one for my mother-in-law for mother's day. only problem - i hated the pattern. don't know why but i found it really really annoying. they are going to my mother-in-law since they were a little short and she has smaller feet! the only modification i made was to change the heel to an eye of the partridge stitch - which i use on all the socks i make...

tribute socks

yarn: claudia hand painted merino fingering weight yarn - chocolate color

needles: size 0 circular

pattern: tribute socks from knitty

definitely have a thing for the frost flowers lace pattern :) i had to make these socks as soon as i saw them. made them for my mother for mother's day. really nice easy sock pattern - only mod was the stitch pattern on the heel that i mentioned above. only regret is i didn't make them in a lighter color yarn so you would see the pattern better.

that's it for now. we are finishing up a major house renovation and to say i have been a little overwhelmed would be an understatement. hopefully i will be able to get some good shots and will post some before and after soon!

Happy Friend

bitterroot shawl

yarn: knit picks shadow in spring green

needles: size 6

pattern: bitterroot from knitty

you may think i am strange but lace is really my favorite thing to knit. i am trying to make at least every other project be a lace one - to make myself happy, of course. but how many shawls does one person need? so i started to knit this one not really knowing who it was going to - i had some left over yarn for a shawl i made my grandmother. as i was knitting, i decided it would go to a really good friend of mine who is also a knitter. i find we don't tend to knit a lot for fellow knitters, after all they could just make it themselves. but my friend wasn't having the easiest weeks and i thought she could use a little pick me up. who doesn't feel better getting a little present? once i decided who the shawl was going to it became an even faster knit. i highly recommend this pattern to anyone wanting to try knitting with beads. since the beads are only at the ends it isn't too much. the only negative is that it is a little smaller than i would like.

oh, i use the oral-b super floss method of placing the beads on.

Feeling Green

there has been a lot of knitting going on with green yarn... first up i finished the leg warmers!

leg warmers

yarn: dream in color smooshy

needles: size 3, 12" circular

pattern: some cloudy day by owl knits

these were such a quick knit. i don't know why it took me so long to finally make leg warmers for myself. i am always so cold. don't have a lot of comments on the pattern - made no mods. i love the color of the yarn but i don't think i would like the feel of it for socks - leg warmers or socks, perfect though. here they are on ravelry - the picture of them not finished is closer to the actual color.

and now i am working on a beaded lace shawl from knitty - bitterroot. i have a friend in mind that i am going to give this to - i think she could use a little present. i've been so into knitting lace shawls lately - but how many can one person have? very happy to have so many deserving people in my life!

Little Knits

i haven't been in such a knitting mood lately. so i have been working on lots of little projects that i can finish quickly. (it is also my niece's birthday next week - so had to make something for her :)

peasant hat

yarn: cascade 220 heathers - purpley

needles: size 10.5 straight needles and size 5 for the band

pattern: just like a peasant cap by amber daniels

a friend of mine had a hat like this and i wanted one for myself for awhile. i came across the pattern on ravelry. it is a funny little hat - took a while to figure out how to wear it but once i did i fell in love. speaking of love - love cascade 220. i cannot believe i never made anything out of it before. but what a great yarn - can tell this will become a major workhorse in my stash!

oriental lilies

yarn: one made of fibre company savannah, one made of blue sky alpaca melange

needles: size 5, 24 inch circular and 12 inch circular

pattern: oriental lily by georgie hallam

i made one of these for my niece for her birthday and one for e. such a great pattern. super fast and always love something with minimal finishing. i have had the melange in my stash for a while and it may be my favorite colorway ever! - it is very similar to the color of the peasant hat. i thought i had 5 skeins of it so this was just the perfect project for it. but then... i found 4 more skeins! this is when i realized that maybe i am not the best mother - my first thought was, "i could have made something for myself." but i guess i'm not that bad because i didn't frog what i had already started. still need to do the arms of e's but it won't fit her until next year so i'll get to it when i get to it.

since i haven't been into knitting that much i decided to get the spinning wheel out. i have a ton of fiber that i have been really excited about spinning. of course, though, i have this mohair/romney blend that i started spinning already on the wheel. so i just figured i would finish spinning that up.

i am not a huge fan of knitting with mohair but a friend of mine made a beautiful dress out of it - so i think i'll give it to her :)

on the needles now - a pair of legwarmers!

Hello Kitty

hello kitty sweater

yarn: spud & chloe fine, pink #7808

needles: size 3 24" circular and 12" circular for sleeves

pattern: elizabeth zimmerman seamless yoke sweater

since h's star wars sweater was such a big hit i really wanted to make a fair isle yoke sweater for e. but i learned my lesson and made this one big - the star wars sweater is already getting a little small - eeks! the spud & chloe yarn has a great feel and great colors for kids - e is a little bit of pink freak...

the pattern is elizabeth zimmerman's seamless yoke sweater. have i ever said how much i love this pattern? so simple and i love how easy it is to add motifs of whatever the person is into. for e's i thought hello kitty was perfect - she loves her (and truth be told - so do i!). the cherries and hearts are basically from a sweater i saw on ravelry - subculture girl: stranded yoke pullover.

i used a lime green for the hem. have i ever said how much i love a hem on a sweater? also used the hem for the neck - i think this works fine and never feel the need for a ribbed neckline.

i have the chart of hello kitty and tried to post it but can't figure out how to do that - so if any of my fellow bloggers out there know how to paste a chart in a post, please tell me how!!!!!

next up for me - some little girl dresses and a hat for myself. plus, the house renovations are coming along so hopefully my craft room will be ready soon and i can actually sew a little...

February Flowers

frost flowers stole

yarn: colourmart cashmere heavy lace weight, blue

needles: size 6, knit picks harmony 36 inch circular

pattern: from interweave holiday 2008

this stole was a long time coming. i had wanted to make something out of frost flowers, from the cover of barbara walker's first pattern book, for awhile and i've had this cashmere lying around for a couple of years. then i came across this shawl pattern in the interweave holiday 2008 issue and thought perfect! it took me awhile to get to, with holiday gifts and sweaters for my family to get to. plus a surprise elizabeth zimmerman thrown into the mix. anyway, it took me awhile but it wound up to be perfect timing. it has been a rough couple of months for me personally and a detailed lace project was just what i needed to take my mind off of things. something else to concentrate on!

the cast on took a little more than 2 hours - 992 stitches! really crazy! but the brilliance of this project was that it got smaller (faster) as you went along - the opposite of the typical shawl. i don't really have any more notes except - make sure you mark every 50 or 100 stitches when you cast on and trust the charts - there are no erratas, it works out perfectly. there are a few more pictures up on ravelry.

right now i am working on a yoke sweater for my daughter and think hello kitty may make any appearance... i learned my lesson with my son's star wars sweater though and am making it big enough to fit for a few years!