Wednesday, April 30, 2014

WIP Wednesday: Lots of Colours

I still had heaps of yarn left after finishing the Hitchhiker. The obvious choice would have been to use the rest for a pair of socks, but I didn't really feel like facing the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome, so I decided to use the rest for a shawlette instead to get my knitting mojo flowing again. That worked out rather nicely, and though this started out as the Simple Shawl for Fancy Yarns shawl, after about 20 rows I realized that it was actually *too* simple, and I was getting slightly bored by it. Mojo achieved! :)

But instead of frogging, I decided to play around it with a bit, so I've added a couple of fan-and-feather motifs, some flower motifs, and now I'm trying to make up my mind where to go next.
If nothing else, it certainly is colourful! ;)

Friday, April 25, 2014

FO Friday - Big and Small

During the Easter vacation I managed to finish not one, but TWO sweaters!

First done was my September Morn sweater by Thea Colman. Unfortunately I'm slightly disappointed by how that turned out, as it ended up being slightly too big! The photo below is before blocking - even then it was a tad on the large side, but it grew another half-size when blocking! Really annoying as for the first time EVER I blocked my swatch, and that one didn't grow at all!
Fortunately I did only intend for it to be an informal sweater (rather than one I'd wear at work, I mean), and it's not so big as to be unwearable, so it wasn't a total loss. Besides, the yarn (which had been rather stiff while knitting it up) turned SO soft during blocking that I can almost forgive it growing too.

Besides, I haven't tried washing it yet -- it may just shrink down enough to fit me! Of course, with my luck it'll shrink down TOO far! ;)

Pattern: September Morn
Yarn: Lana Grossa Classic Tweed 100% Merino
Mods: None.

Fortunately my second FO was a HUGE success :) Prairie Fire was a testknit for tincanknits on Ravelry, and immediately I saw it I knew I just HAD to make it for my niece! Which one would depend on which size was available for me to test ;) Since I knew I'd be seeing my nieces for Easter I was very diligent in getting it done in time for it to block and be dry by last Sunday.
It turned out a tad big for its size, but my oldest niece likes oversized clothing, so my sister said it should be alright. She was right - my niece LOVED it! She immediately put it on over her top, and only took it off when she got too hot from running around :)
My sister texted me yesterday to let me know that she couldn't even get my niece to take it off to get washed!!! It's stuff like that that warms a knitty aunt's heart :)

Pattern: Prairie Fire (no pattern page on ravelry yet).
Yarn: Essentials Cotton DK by Rico Design 100% cotton.
Mods: There were a few errors in the pattern, but no real mods.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

WIP Wednesday - Slippers

Over the last few weeks I've managed to finish pretty much all of my active WIPs (so I've got a bunch of FOs to show you on Friday!) and was at a bit of a loss as to what I wanted to knit next! I even made false starts on two shawls that I ended up frogging again because I didn't like the way the yarn behaved.

Finally I decided to just pick something and stick with it, even if it might not be the most fascinating project ever. I have 100g of various DK/Worsted weight yarn that I'd been meaning to knit into Salomas Slippers but just never got around to, so I figured now was as good a time as any.

Not the most challenging knit ever, but they're fast and fun, so I'll take it. And I'm very amused by how they look with no foot inside.

They're slightly too small - I knit size medium and should probably have gone for a large instead, but I wasn't sure I'd have enough yarn. I have PLENTY so now I'm considering whether I should frog the first one and knit a pair in size large instead, or if I should just knit the second one as medium as well, and pass them on to somebody with smaller feet! ;)

Friday, April 11, 2014

FO Friday: Meet... What's-His-Name

I finally finished my "secret project"!!! DH has been SO good with accepting my new obsession hobby, so I wanted to make him something to show my appreciation. I couldn't really figure out what it should be though, until I happened to come across Kimberly Golynskiy's Minions! (Thanks to Tami's Amis :) ) DH and I both ADORE the Minions and I immediately knew I had to make him one of these.

The body itself is a quick knit - knit in the round, just a few increases and decreases to shape the body and Bob's your uncle - but the charm is in the details, and especially the hands and eyes took forever. Not to mention the double stitching of the overalls and mouth. It was my first attempt at double stitching, and I'm rather satisfied with how it turned out :)
He's as of yet unnamed, but Kevin is very glad that he showed up, so he has somebody to party with while DH and I are at work :)

Pattern: Despicable Minions
Yarn: Sandes Yarn - 100% cotton
Modification: I didn't see any reason to knit the pupil separately just because I was knitting 2 eyes instead of just one so used the technique for the larger eye and just adapted it. Less seaming that way ;)

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

WIP Wednesday - What's One More?

Still working away on the same WIPs as well as adding a couple of new ones. I'm hopeless like that ;)

September Morn is almost done now! I'm missing just half a sleeve. Of course that does mean I've only knit half a sleeve since last time, but I kept procrastinating about picking up the stitches and actually only got around to doing so on Sunday, so with that in mind it's been half a sleeve in 3 days, which isn't all that bad ;)

Also still working on Prairie Fire for my niece. I had hoped to have that one further along by now, but I found a couple of mistakes in the pattern that I have to get verified before I can continue, as it's a test knit. As it is, I'm 15 rounds away from finishing the body, and then I just have to make the sleeves. My sister and I agree that my niece will probably get the most use out of it with long sleeves, so long sleeves it is :) Besides, it's easier to change long sleeves into short sleeves than vice versa ;)
Lots of lace, both on the front and the back (it's interchangable, so she decideds herself which is the front and which is the back) - hope she'll like it! Sorry about the glare. There's something about this yarn that catches any kind of light and makes it almost impossible to photograph properly.

Apparently I didn't feel like I had enough WIPs already, so I started a new pair of socks! This project is just zipping by, and I'm enjoying the very easy pattern. I started out using a 10" circular as Stephanie (of FreshStitches) seems to swear by it, but I just couldn't cope with the needles. I like holding the needles with most of my fingers, and it ended up being way too cramped with these toothpicks. So I switched back to my trusty magic loop method and am much happier for it :) Lesson learned.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

WIP Wednesday - One Big, One Small

Two WIPs again this week... well, three, but the Hitchhiker hasn't seen enough progress to warrent a new photo.

September Morn has though. I've finished one sleeve and the body itself. I put it on and asked DH if he thought something was missing. He just replied "You're an idiot..." - can't imagine why ;)

Haven't even started on the second sleeve though. They're a bit of a hassle to get started as there are too few stitches for a 60cm circ and too many for a 80cm magic loop. By the end of the first sleeve I finally found my 40cm circ which helped matters a lot, but I still just need to get on with it. However, I have gotten sidetracked...

... by a gorgeous testknit that Tincanknits put up. I absolutely adore her designs, so once I saw this I just knew I had to sign up for it! Once again I'm stealing one of my nieces to knit for - although this time I'm not entirely sure which one, as it all depends on who it'll fit once it's done :)
I have the choice of making it with long or short sleeves. I haven't quite made up my mind yet, as I keep going back and forth on what will get the most use. Perhaps I should just ask my sister :) But it's adorable :) And I'm thrilled to finally find a use for this yarn.