My Future Husband is Disappointed In Me.

This last week I went on a business trip to Houston. I left Tuesday afternoon and returned Friday evening. 


I packed 3 different knitting projects. 


I finished none of them. 


In fact, when I pulled out the glove I began working on, FH asked me why it wasn't close to done. I sadly admitted it was the only knitting I did on my trip. He told me he was disappointed. 


Guess I'm not leaving the apartment this weekend and will instead be spending my time knitting feverishly. 


Sigh. I guess there could be worst self-inflicted "punishments."

Christmas Knitting is in Full Swing

Christmas is 41 days away. That doesn't sound like much. Luckily, I was a very clever and motivated girl this year and I'm already halfway through the Christmas knitting crunch time. 


I finished up these babies for my future step-MIL (complicated right?)

The pattern is my own and I plan to publish it formally on Ravelry after I've had an opportunity to get some good photos of these socks.


A few other items on my list are a couple pairs of the Prairie Boot slippers. I finished up a pair of my own and have a few tweaks in mind to make them perfect. 


I'm also planning a pair of these gloves for my mom. I bought a skein of Smooshy by Dream in Color that is this unbelieveable shade of burgundy and black. I'm positive she is going to adore them. 

Inspirational

Today I went to Book People here in Austin to hear the Yarn Harlot speak on her book tour:




It looks a whole lot like I'm a million miles away from her, but really I was just a few rows back standing behind a bookcase. She read a few chapters from her book and did a little Q&A.

I've always enjoyed her blog and her books and was happy to learn she's just as funny and witty in person.

Unfortunately, I didn't get my book signed because I didn't have a receipt for it. I actually preordered it on Amazon weeks ago and didn't think about it. Oops.

She did talk about the sweater from hell and her harrowing story was motivation for me to come home and finally get to working on finishing the Pole sweater that's been about 75% complete for several weeks now.

You can sort of see that I'm making some headway on the sleeves. This part is always the fastest bit and I actually really like the DPNs that I bought at my LYS. They are much smoother than the Clover Bamboo needles that have been in my yarn bag for years.



I have to admit that I've been having second thoughts about giving this sweater away. It was originally meant as a Christmas gift for my future MIL, but I'm worried about the size. I guess I can always just give it to her and if it's too big, I can shock it in the dryer for 30 seconds at a time to shrink it up just a bit. It's so hard to get sizes right for people who live a few thousand miles away!

Because I have no freakin' self control, that's why.

I went to my favorite yarn shop today to pick up a pair of DPNs so I can finish the Pole sweater. I knew I should have just picked up the needles, paid for them and then been on my merry way, but oh no noooo! I had to take a quick look around. Bought this beauty for no reason. I told myself, "That would make a beautiful Christmas Multnomah for someone." What it really meant, "That would make a great RIGHT THIS SECOND Multnomah for me."

MadelineTosh Merino Light - Opaline color way


Ya, no freakin' self control.

Goodies!

I am on a knitting roll! I finished the knitting of my Prairie Boots and picked up some gorgeous, inexpensive buttons for them today. 

I'm just waiting on the slipper bottoms from my friend to get these babies 100% finished. I also ordered more yarn to make 2 more pair this morning. Mom is getting a pair of navy colored with these gorgeous buttons:

Lastly, I went by Gauge Knits yesterday to pick up my special ordered yarn for my Dahlia Cardigan. I'm really thinking of scaling back the Christmas knitting this year so I can get started on that sweater as soon as possible. It's too beautiful to sit in a bag! But, I've promised myself to finish the Pole sweater first. It just needs two little sleeves!!

Sorry for the terrible picture. Really, it's awful.

Goals for the Weekend

Although I am working 8AM - 5PM on Saturday to help out my dad's company and we have football beginning at noon tomorrow and lasting til nearly 11PM, I have a few goals I intend to meet this weekend. Who cares if I need extra hours to get them done?


Goals:
1) Knit at least one sleeve on the Pole sweater. 
2) Finish one Prairie Boot slipper.
3) Knit at least down to the heel flap on the Boot Socks. 
4) Drink a whole pot of coffee.  DONE!


To my Canadian friends, Happy Thanksgiving! 

Knitamania

It seems lately I've been too busy knitting to blog about knitting. Imagine that. A few of my most recent projects include:
1) Pole - the sweater that has been sitting on my desk sleeveless for a week and nearly damned finished

2) Prairie Boots - I've had this pattern in my library for years and finally decided it's time to make them.

3) Multnomah - This is one of those ridiculously easy to memorize and whip-out type project so it hangs out on my desk and I knit a few rows here and there while waiting for other things.

4)  Falling Snow Stocking - OK so I'm still waiting on the yarn to arrive for this one, but I'm still looking at pictures on Ravelry obsessively and daydreaming about how mine will look.

5) Pints On! mittens - Still waiting for the yarn to arrive for these too. DFH (darling future hubby) used the wrong suite number for the shipping address and the original order was sent back. Luckily, Knitpicks has fantastic customer service and sent me out a replacement order to my work address lickety split.

That's really it as far as the knitting goes. Oh wait. I lied.


6) The Dahlia Cardigan has been calling my name in my dreams every since I gazed upon it in the Fall 2011 issue of Interweave Knits. Two of my lovely bridesmaids gifted me with a $35 gift card to my favorite LYS, Gauge, and I used that to put toward buying myself yarn for this beauty. They had to special order the yarn, so I've got some time on this one as well.

In between knitting a ridiculous amount of projects that I'm all equally obsessed with, I'm also planning a wedding and have fallen head over heels into the Pinterest trap. At first it started with just a wedding inspiration board. Then it grew to fall inspiration, Christmas inspiration, knitting ideas, other crafts, home ideas and sweet treats. If it weren't for pets and a DFH, I don't think I'd be able to pry myself off my laptop and go to bed at night. 


Gotta go make dinner now. No really, I swear I'm going to make dinner and NOT go add more things to my Pinterest board. Seriously. Promise. 

As promised - Kool Aid Dyeing!

I think it's safe to blame the thrummed mittens for my sudden and fleeting obsession with kool aid dyeing. 
Here are a few things I did over the last week.

The process is extremely fast and easy. I used the Knitty.com instructions found here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html

The instructions also include a very handy color guide to help you determine what flavor of kool aid will produce what color.

Temporarily Obsessed with Kool-Aid Dyeing

Full story at 11.

Day Dreaming of Thrummed Mittens

I'm not sure what came over me yesterday, but from about 3PM onward, all I could think about was making myself a pair of thrummed mittens! I'm fairly confident that I've already got enough worsted wool to last me a lifetime choose from for the body, so my main task at hand is to procure some rainbow dyed roving. 

I started checking out some listings on Etsy and saw some really beautiful things when I remembered that a dear old friend of mine dyes fiber as a hobby. So, I hit her up on Facebook and she'll be beginning on my order today. I've requested either traditional ROYGBIV colors, or rainbow neon colors, whichever is easier.

The Yarn Harlot wrote up a very simple thrummed mitten pattern years ago that I've got book marked. You can find the instructions on or about here (it kind of spans a few posts.)

Ultimately, my finished mittens should look something like this:

Photos borrowed from the Yarn Harlot's blog.

This will be my first try at thrumming anything, but I'm really excited to give it a try!

Finished: Leaf Yoke Top

It's finished! And I'm wearing it to work tomorrow!

This pattern was so super easy. The only reason it took me so long to officially complete is that I absolutely am terribly at creating the hem. I just couldn't get it even and perfect so I elected to allow the edge to roll. I think it makes the top look a little more casual.

Un-knitting

Otherwise known as "tinking."

This morning I had to take our car to Discount Tire to get a nail taken out and make sure one of the tires is still good to go.

Here's how my morning looked:

I was all like "YAY! Morning knitting with coffee in the nice 75F weather!" Everything was going great and I was smiling and knitting, knitting and smiling. 

And then, I finished my pattern repeat and thought it best to stop and measure the sleeve opening to make sure I was on track. Lo-and-freaking-behold, I knit too much :-( 

The arrows indicate the correct measurement. So, rather than making some good progress on this sweater this morning, I had to un-knit about 1.5". Now, I'm always terrible and terrified of taking out the needles and ripping out stitches. I'd much rather go backwards, stitch by stitch, and un-knit my knitting. Oh well.

Caring for Knitwear

It occurs to me that the future recipients of my hand knits may not be sure how to care for their new items. Although I always include a care instructions card with my gifts, I know they can be easy to lose. Here are some tips that I wrote for another article that can help you keep your hand knits looking new for a lifetime.

Wools (fiber from sheep and other animals)

Wools are a particularly dangerous yarn to give to non-knitters as it has a tendency to felt when washed. Felting is the process by which agitation and/or heat cause the tiny fibers in the wool to latch onto each other tightly. This causes the fabric to shrink and become denser and stiff. Fortunately, washing wools is as simple as soaking the garment in lukewarm water with a small amount of detergent. It is OK to swish the item around a bit, but do not rub the fabric against each other. 

After you are satisfied that the garment is clean enough, drain the water and fill the sink back up with cool water. Repeat this until you no longer see suds. Next, gently wring the water out as best you can and then lay the item flat out on a towel to dry. Once it is dry, inspect the item to see if it has "grown" at all. If it seems a bit stretched out, put it into the dryer on low heat and run it through part of a fluff cycle. Check it every few minutes to make sure there is no evidence of felting or shrinkage. 

There is one type of wool that can be machine washed with no worry. It is called "superwash wool" and is God's gift to knitters. The term "superwash" refers to a treatment that the wool is subjected to that prevents the tiny fibers from latching onto each other. The best way to care for superwash wool garments is to wash the item in the washer on the gentle cycle. Then lay it out flat to dry. 

Cottons

Cotton is a wonderful fiber to use for hand knits. It's breathable, natural, comes in tons of colors, and is quite durable. Many cotton hand knits can be machine washed on the gentle cycle inside a lingerie bag. Be sure to use cool water as cotton does have the propensity to shrink. As such, the best method for drying the garment is to lay it out flat on a towel. Similar to wools, if the garment feels stretched out after washing, it is alright to put it in the dryer for 15 minutes on low heat to fluff it up. 

Synthetics

Yarns are made in a huge variety of fiber content and design, and as such, there is no one-size-fits-all method for laundering. The best way to safely launder synthetics is to use the hand wash and lay flat to dry method as directed for wools. If you feel the fiber and garment are sturdy enough to be put in the washer, do so, but take care to wash it on gentle cycle with a mild detergent. As always, lay the garment out flat to dry. 

Other Tips and Tricks for Preserving Your Hand Knits
- Don't ever hang a hand knit sweater on a hanger as it will cause it to stretch
- Keep wool away from cats. Many cats are attracted to the wool and may try to eat it.
- If you are worried that your detergent is too harsh, consider giving Eucalan a try.

- Do not use bleach - EVER!

Making steady progress!

Last Thursday, my Future DH let me pick him up late so I could go to the yarn shop to pick out some new yarn for a Christmas sweater I have been planning. It's the Pole pattern that I linked a while back. After debating with myself whether to use Malabrigo as suggested in the pattern, or to look for another heavier worsted weight yarn. Ultimately, due to dye lot and stock restrictions, I settled on 5 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in a dark charcoally grey mix. 

To the first touch, the yarn isn't quite as soft as I would prefer, but I know that after being knit up on size 10 needles and then given a good wash, it will fluff up and feel just heavenly! 

Now, at first I was a little confused about the construction of the pattern, so I did my usual pre-knit process of reading through the entire thing and then checking Ravelry for any questions that might help me along the way. I'm very glad I did because one knitter suggested not binding off part of the back piece so it would be easier to pick up and knit the stitches later with the bottom part of the sweater. This is something that would have come to me after I started the sweater and I would spend the rest of that section cursing myself for not planning ahead.

Here's a picture of the sweater.....though it looks more just like a big blackish grey lump right now! However, I think these nice 60F nights lately will provide me some more inspiration to finish this sweater up so I can make one for myself!

Pretending It's Fall

With the official start of football season just a few weeks away, a forecast that includes temperatures under 100F, and me ordering single skeins of wool to test, I know that fall is on its way! It may not feel like it - it was 112F here yesterday, a crazy temperature that has not been seen before in Central Texas.

This evening, I've picked a pattern to use for a simple pair of welly socks for my step-Dad using, hopefully, either Brown Sheep's Lambs Pride Sueprwash or Swish Superwash from Knitpicks. 
Here's a link to the pattern that I'm using for inspriation: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/irish-wellington-socks


Also, I snuck in yarn for me for my winter mittens. I'm hoping the color is close enough to the Bill's royal blue, but since is a cashmere/wool blend, I'm fairly certain I'll fall right in love and couldn't care less if the yarn turns out to be vomit colored (they do warn you that monitor colors might not be truly representative of the yarn. But, I'm willing to throw caution to the wind.)

I've Been Knitting -----I swear!!!!

So I've been a little MIA lately. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that in the last two months I've been traveling, on average 3 days a week to various locals around the southern US and part of Canada. With that said, here are a few of my latest projects and some plans for the very near future!

FINISHED:
Baby bibs for a new baby at work :) (well, not at work)
Also, this picture absolutely *refuses* to display the correct way. I'm tired of dealing with it!

Next up!

Christmas fingerless mitts for my future SIL:

Some Buffalo Bills items for me and the fam, mostly so my future husband doesn't look like this:

Yarn Pr0n

Today, much to my surprise, I received a box full of lush yarn from Knitpicks. Now, normally I wouldn't consider buying from them as I prefer to support my LYS, but for the particular project I am planning, I found several projects in their Comfy Worsted yarn and couldn't help myself - the price point was incredible!


Here's the project:
Leaf Yoke Top by Angela Hahn featured in Knit.1 Spring/Summer 2009

As I mentioned, the yarn I'm planning is called Comfy Worsted by Knitpicks in the Fairytale colorway. 75% Pima Cotton % 25% Acrylic. It's absolutely gorgeous!

Sorry about the pictures - for some reason I just can't seem to find a good setting and light to really capture the color here. It's really more of a raspberry than a red. 


It's taking every ounce of will power I have not to cast on this project immediately. I promised myself one project at a time so I actually can finish things!!

Paper Flower Tutorial

Perhaps I haven't mentioned it a few hundred times so far, but I am being married next March. So, you can imagine how many crafty type things I've got floating around in my brain that I hope I can implement in time for the big day.

My latest inspiration: paper flower adorned favor boxes
I saw these sweet little things at Jo-Ann the other day. They were priced around $10 for a pack of 6. Since I've already bought my favor boxes (100 of them for around $20 shipped from Uline), I set out to learn to make these sweet little blooms.

Here's what you need:

• Tissue Paper - the softer and thinner the better for puffier flowers as shown
• Beading wire - not sure what gauge I used, but it should be malleable enough that you can twist it easily with your hands
• Beading wire cutters 
• Scissors
• Kraft boxes - got mine super cheap at Uline.com

Step 1: You'll need to cut small 3" x 3" squares (or size desired). You should need between 6 and 10 sheets for each flower.

Step 2: Line the sheets up and fold them accordion style. For smaller flowers, you'll want smaller folds. In the final pictures shown, my folds are around 1/4".

Step 3: Fold the sheets in half. Then with a short length of beading wire, loop around the middle and twist a few times. If you're going to want to attach the flower to something, it might be best to use a bit longer wire. 

Step 4: Trim the ends of the paper. (I like either rounded or in a sharper V shape.)

Step 5: Holding the flower with the wire in your grasp, begin separating and pulling up the paper, one layer at a time. 

Voila! You're done! Now you can finish it off by adding some color, attaching it to something, or wrapping the wire with some floral tape to build a stem. 

Here are a few of my finished flowers:

This is what I'm going to make for my favor boxes, but in a light pink. 

Other examples: These papers are the same size, but I did sharper edges on one and rounded on the other. 

Doing my best not to get distracted

My current project is the Featherweight Cardigan that I am knitting for my sweet coworker. Although I adore the pattern and the yarn, all day long this thick and thin aran weight yarn that is living in my office closet has been popping in and out of my thoughts.


The pattern I came across tonight that makes me want to run to my yarn closet and cast on with wild abandon......

It's called "Pole" by Joji (Ravelry link.) This sweater just looks so dang cozy and something simple you can throw on and be toasty warm without wearing a big bulky sweater. But, now that I think of it, while this pattern might be suited to the yarn I have, it's definitely not suited to the color (white.) 


I think a Dye Day is in order! Thoughts on color?

My next big project

Recently, my fiance and I bought a new memory foam mattress and 14" bed frame, but we still don't have a headboard. So, I've decided I'm completely in love with the shutter headboard idea and am just waiting for some free time to get started on this project - it's so simple! Here are a few of my favorites so far along with links to their tutorials:

Shutter Headboard by Kiki Creates

Old Shutters Headboard by Girl in Air

Single Shutter Headboard by Remodelaholic

Repeat Post

Or so it seems. Here is how I spent part of my evening last night:

You might be thinking to yourself, "Oh! How nice! More knitting with a delicious looking beer." For the most part, you'd be 100% correct. I was indeed knitting with a delicious (512) Pecan Porter and enjoying the company of a good friend who also enjoys yarn-based crafts.






Here's where you're wrong:

Notice anything? Ya, my sweet little tank top most definitely is two different colors. In my previous picture, I was definitely past this point in my knitting but didn't realize the color problem until I saw the sweater in natural light. I was super confused. This yarn was all from the same bag, stored in the same place for the same amount of time and yet somehow one of these skeins is might lighter than the others. Unfortunately, I had to rip the whole thing back because the off-color started halfway through the ribbing and went up another 4 inches or so.


Sigh.

How I Spent My Lunch Today

The Beer: Spaten Franziskaner
The Project: Summertime Tunic by Katie Himmelberg
The Yarn: Craft from the Vickie Howell Collection (discontinued!)

After many, many, many false starts (as a product of bad gauge, mistakes, wrong yarn, wrong color, etc.) this project is finally going my way and is practically knitting itself. The yarn is smooth and silky feeling with a bit of shine. I have been through nearly 3 skeins of it and haven't found a single knot. What a shame it's discontinued!

Why I Love Raglan Sweaters

I know it's been a while. It's been crazy busy at work and life...oh, and I'm planning my wedding! Yep! My boyfriend proposed to me while we were on vacation in Aruba. It was perfect and the wedding planning is now in full swing.

Now on to the knitting! I was finally able to finish my Whisper Cardigan sweater that I was hoping to have in time for Aruba (oops.) It's great though and my friend Kristine would like one too. The yarn is already purchased for her. I'm using the same yarn (Malabrigo Lace - SO yummy) in the Orchid colorway. Perfect for summer, especially in the freezing cold terrain of our office.

Reasons why I love top-down raglans:


1) You get to start at the part of the sweater where all of the action is.
Countless times I've started a sweater that begins at the bottom and have gotten bored and quit before I made any headway at all. With a top-down raglan, you start off with the collar work and the sleeve increases right away. Then before you know it, you've got half the sweater done and you're on the downhill slope!

2) You get to try on your sweater as you go.
Nothing is worse that finishing a garment only to find it doesn't fit. As well written as some patterns are, women (and men) are not all the same size and shape. I love that I can make sure the sleeves are fitting before I close them off and begin the body of the sweater. I also love  toe-up socks for this reason.

3) You can finish the item (albeit a bit shorter than expected) if you run out of yarn.
Running out of yarn when working from the bottom up can leave you without a neck, or sleeves, etc. With top down, you can just opt for a cropped look!

I'll post some pics of my finished sweater soon, and the project I'm taking on while waiting for the Malabrigo to arrive.

Sweet Easter Treat: "Deviled" Cadbury Creme Eggs

One of my favorite parts of spring is the arrival of Easter treats. I'm not sure why I love Cadbury Eggs so much, it could be that they are just so darn delicious, or it could be that they are a seasonally limited product.

Check out this sweet recipe for a fun twist on a traditional Easter favorite.

Socks in Progress

This week I find myself in Houston again for work. I don't really mind it so much because I get loads of free knitting time!

This week, I packed the Monkey Socks (above) in Shi Bui Sock yarn for a secret surprise and Watershed  (to the right) that I'm working on for my friend at work. They're both great hotel knitting projects because they are lace and charted and require an extra bit of concentration that can be hard to come by at home :)



I always feel so silly when I pack for any trip because rather than worrying about clothes, toiletries, etc getting packed and being adequate, I always pack my yarn and books first!

In keeping with this week's theme of awesome knitting projects and other knitting related items, I packed my current book, Needles and Pearls. It's the second in a 2-book series by Gil McNeil. I adore these books because I love the author's writing style (she capitalizes Important Ideas, which I totally identify with) and the main character is a woman who has recently begun running her gran's wool shop in a small, seaside town. It really is just a nice feel-good series and I hope there will be more soon.