Fingerless Gloves

I made the feller a pair of fingerless gloves. Of course, he knows how to bribe me.

Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Deep Purple and Heathered Olive

That's right. Three balls of a wonderful purple to his one. The yarn was wonderful, and I made a pair of cabled fingerless gloves for him. He didn't want mitts and I didn't want to have to weave in ends for each finger, so I whacked on the fingers from Phalangees. I think they turned out wonderfully.

Pattern here.

I think they turned out wonderfully. The bribe yarn is going to end up being a scarf and hat set for myself.

I'm back!

I've been away for a while. Silly me. I got distracted by NaNoWriMo in November, which I finished! WOO! Then I was doing a few things for Christmas, and couldn't really share the pictures in case someone's gift was spoiled. I'll get back in the swing of things, and for now I'll just leave a picture of the last few things I made in 2012. A commissioned set of 3 headbands for my niece's friends. I think they turned out wonderfully.

Paper Crafting

Okay, so tonight I've learned that I can't cut straight, I don't know where the glue is kept in the apartment, and my little laminating machine has not yet been unpacked. I texted the feller to ask if he knew where the glue was, and he pointed me in the absolute right direction. Shortly thereafter, I had lovely care instructions for washing my 100% cotton dishcloths!

I think they came out quite well despite my ... limitations. As soon as I find my laminater, these babies will be ready to go!

Eight Hats in a Pound

I have turned a Caron One Pound Baby skein into a lovely donation for Knitting for Noggins. My mom brought this program, run by the Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. They specifically asked for larger hats, so I focused mainly on teen or adult hats, though I threw in two smaller ones at the end to use the last of the skein.

 

I cast on the first of these hats, the Rib-A-Roni (Bottom row, 3rd from the left), on August 27th and finished it the same day. I was was so excited to be knitting for a specific purpose I finished the last hat, the Aviatrix (Bottom row, 4th from the left), September 10th. 1 pound, 2 weeks, 8 hats. Two of them have fun cables (see the owls?), two of them are fairly basic. Two of them have interesting construction techniques (the two on the right) and two of them rely on purl bumps to create the design. There are a couple I would never make again, and a few I want to do again right away.

Luckily, I have another pound in purple. Actually, I knit this during the aforementioned two week period also, but I don't like to brag...much.

Scarf Despair and Sock Satisfaction

I have been wanting to try illusion knitting for a while, and found this great scarf pattern with dragonflies and decided to knit myself a scarf. I already had a few skeins of a pretty dark gray yarn from a sale, and decided to get something to go with it. I picked out a pretty purple. I was a little worried about them not contrasting enough but there wasn't a lighter version for me to go with, so I thought I would just make do. I cast on with the gray and knit up about 16 rows of the pattern. I laid it on the floor in a nice bright natural light...and could see precisely nothing. Well, to be fair, I could see the gray, but not the illusionary dragonfly I was supposed to be getting. Frustrated, I took a picture of the two skeins of yarn and edited it, as is talked about in a wonderful blog post at January One. The two yarns had the same value.  There wasn't enough contrast to them for the illusion to pop out. So I guess I'm going to have to find a lighter gray and try again. The dark gray gets to live on for another project.

Instead, I picked out a pattern that I thought would go well with a (different) solid purple yarn and cast on a new sock with a yarn I have since learned is discontinued. I'm using Pace Step, which I found at a Tuesday Morning (great store!) but I'll never be able to get any more, which is too bad cuz I definitely would if I found it again. I'm doing the pattern Asymmetrical Cables from the book Sock Knitting Master Class even though I am by no means the master of a sock. On the other hand, I think it looks pretty good so far.

Modeled on my hand, which is not as smooth as a leg. Forgive me.

I have, however, discovered a problem with me knitting wool socks for myself. I am not sure when I'm going to wear them. As it is, I pretty much only wear socks that start below my ankle. Chatham told me the point of longer socks was to act as a barrier at the bottom of jeans so that your calf isn't chilly. I pointed out that I've worn ankle socks through four Boston winters. He then told me it wasn't his fault I don't get cold like a normal person. Maybe I should've taken up a different hobby.

Birthday Bash

A friend's daughter turned two at the beginning of August. Now, I know dishcloths aren't the most EXCITING things for a two year old to get, so I also got her a soccer ball.

First, a few less exciting yet still useful dishcloths. I did two of grandma's favorites, one plain, one with seed stitch for the inside portion.

Pattern found here.

An A, for her first name. I really like the dramatic letter in this pattern, and I'm considering making a few more with different letters as an easy gift to have on hand.

Pattern found here.

Her astrological sign! Her momma really likes the zodiac, so I figured she'd like it even if the little one didn't understand it, one person using it would like them.

Pattern found here.

A dinosaur! A brachiosaurus, to be slightly more specific. I just could not resist the pattern once I found it.

Pattern found here.

Same designer, only this time a T Rex. Hope he doesn't eat the friendly herbivore washcloth!

Pattern found here.

A shot of all the picture cloths together. I think they're very well done, and definitely soft enough for a toddler.

I couldn't resist throwing in two for mom as well. She requested an assbutt, and I could hardly NOT oblige.

Pattern found here.

I also threw in her own astrological symbol in a nice bright color.

Pattern found here.

Back to the present! I'm going for ecofriendly, so I'm packaging the soccer ball inside a reusable bag I thought she'd like, then used the dishcloths as a replacement for tissue paper, and slid the card in.

It's all ready to be used in it's new home! The bag is pretty full, and I hope the pretty washcloths are appreciated and used to their fullest.

Return of the Computer

I finally have my computer back! Yay! I lost almost nothing with my hard drive, thanks to a recent backup. Unfortunately, my upcoming blog posts were one of the few things I lost. Plus, I’ve moved! So to celebrate, I discovered a new cone of variegated cotton yarn where I am now, and made a few dishcloths with it. I think it’s my favorite variegated yarn so far!

First, a fun short row cloth that makes a starfish. I modified it a bit, as many others have, by only knitting 5 points. It sewed up just fine, though I think I might need some more practice seaming before I give one of these away. It's a bit messy.

Pattern found here.

 I also modified the Mason Dixon mitered hanging towel to make just a square dishcloth. I think I cast on 66 stitches. It came out to be almost 7.5 inches square.

This is actually the first one cloth I knit, testing the variegated pattern. It's a basic Grandma's Favorite cloth. I am really enamored with this yarn, and I'm considering buying a few more cones of it while I can...

Pattern found here.

Now that my computer has returned to me, I will be able to show you all the things I've been making in the last month. Stay tuned for a birthday gift to a wee girlie turning two!