Thursday, December 22, 2016

WIP Thursday: Meet Bimbi

Haven't been doing much crafting this past week, but did manage to finish two things :-)

We celebrated "mini-Christmas" with Nina, Christian and the kids last Sunday, and since Miriam had seemed to love the other doll clothes I made her so much, I decided to make a few more ;-) Of course I figured this out Wednesday, as I needed to have them ready the following Sunday, so I suddenly got a tad busy ;-) Managed to finish them all in time though. So Rosita (the doll) now has two extra pairs of socks, a t-shirt and a skirt :-)


And after a 6 month hiatus I finally finished Bimbi the Elephant, and once again reminded myself that though crocheted animals are cute, sewing the pieces together is a hassle and a half! I somehow managed to get the head on crooked this time! Fortunately Lars talked some sense into me, and reminded me that it really didn't matter - it just meant he was looking to the side, rather than straight at you. And besides, it also meant the trunk was out of the way when you went to hug him! Good point...
I have a recipient in mind, but we'll see what happens ;-)

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

WIP Wednesday: A bit of w(h)ine...

I've been doing a bit of knitting on a lot of different things this week, so I'll refrain from spamming you, and just stick to posting the projects that have seen significant process of some kind or another.

First of all I finished an entire hat since last week! Rebekka asked for a Simple Beret like the one I'd knit Nina a few years back, and of course I was happy to oblige. She'd asked if I could add a bit of colour to it, so I played around a bit with pattens and ended up adding three rows of diamonds on the straight part :) I'm rather happy with how it turned out myself, but worry that it might be just a tad too large. We'll see when she gets it (Sunday, hopefully)

I finally, finally, FINALLY got my act together and stopped procrastinating on sewing in the grosgrain ribbon and buttons for my Paradise Cardigan. Once I got the hang of how to sew in the ribbon, I didn't mind that too much (although hand-sewing will never be my favourite), but I am NOT a fan of sewing in buttons :-P It does look a LOT nicer with both things done though!


One day I may even fix the two buttons that ended up a bit crooked compared to the button hole... that day is NOT today though.

My Skew Sock is coming along nicely :) It's a tad too big as I completely ignored gauge (usually not an issue with socks, but due to the unusual construction of this one... I should have known better), so I briefly considered passing them on to somebody else... but they're SO warm and comfy (and knit with NZ wool I'm not likely to get my hands on again), so I'm keeping them for myself after all ;)

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

WIP Wednesday: What's an Auntie to do?

I finished the HamilKnit Hat last Friday! I absolutely LOVED knitting it, although the star at the top was a bit of a hassle. But now it's done, and looking gooood :-) It gave me a really good introduction to two-handed fair isle. I still think it's faster to just keep both strands in one hand, but this way of doing it certainly made it a LOT easier to wrap the floats and made it look nice and even. I'm still not sure that I'm ready to start a full size fair isle sweater, but a few more of these and I might be ;) Besides, it was a FUN knit, and definitely something I want to do more of.

Saturday I had a good friend over for some "knit and chat" quality time. Always a pleasure to spend time with her, and I got quite a lot done on my Skew sock while she was here. I've been wanting to knit this pattern forever, and finally found the perfect yarn for it :) This is a merino, alpaca, possum nylon blend and will make for SUCH lovely warm socks once they're done.
Unfortunately I had a slight #whenknittingattacks that same evening, as I accidentally broke one of the needles! :-/ Fortunately I have a spare set, but still...

Last week sometime my 7-year-old niece sent me a text message asking me if I'd knit some clothes for her doll! Of course I said yes :) It was actually quite a fun challenge, as I had to design the patterns myself (the doll's an odd size, so I couldn't use any of the patterns I found on ravelry), and I ended up making a skirt, a cardigan, a dress and a pair of socks! The items are currently blocking, so I can get them dry and the ends weaved in by Saturday.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

WIP Wednesday: Why do I knit like I'm running out of time?

Only two things this week. I've weaved in the ends of my Paradise Cardigan (and worn it twice!), but though I bought the grosgrain ribbon and buttons yesterday, I haven't had time to sew it on yet, so that'll have to wait for another week.

I finished my Christmas socks though :-) Almost don't want to give them away, as I love the way they turned out :-) Hopefully my sister-in-law will like them too.

Ever since finishing those (which happened over the weekend), I've been knitting pretty much #non-stop on the HamilKnit hat by Emily Straw. It's so clever! And thanks to a link to Philosopher's Wool in the pattern, I'm now learning two-handed fair-isle knitting! I still find one-handed knitting a lot faster, but this way certainly makes it a lot easier to manage the floats! Also, I love that the two yarns don't tangle.
I didn't swatch ahead of time, so I have no clue if it'll fit, but I don't actually care too much - I'm having fun knitting it, and learning a new technique as I go (not to mention getting each song firmly stuck on my mind while knitting it! Thanks for the ear-worms!). I've already picked up a few things I'd do different next time (including changing some of the words - in particular swapping "1776" out with "Burr", which would make it say "Burr, sir"... it would fit perfectly! But I didn't realize until three rows later, and I was NOT about to drop stitches that far down.)

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

WIP Wednesday - Lots of FOs

I finished my Paradise Cardigan! Weeeee!!! And I love it! The colours really work together and suit me exactly as well as I'd hoped when I started knitting it. As usual with such a heavy garment, it grew quite a bit while blocking. I don't think it too bad... and probably actually not very noticable unless I button it up, which I'm not very likely to do anyway (I hardly ever wear my cardigans closed). The only problem is, we're having unseasonably warm weather (not that I'm about to complain!), so it's actually too warm to wear! I'm sure that'll change soon enough though.


Still need to weave in a bazillion ends, so I'll try to get a better photo once I've done that. I also need to buy backing ribbon and buttons for it. I usually don't bother with the ribbon, but I think this one might need it in order for the button bands not to sag... Let's see how long I go about procrastinating on that!

Last I saw Isabella, she told me she'd misplaced one of the mitts I knit her 3 years ago (I'm impressed it didn't happen until now!) and sweetly asked if I'd knit her a new one. She specifically said I only had to knit one, as she still had the other one, but considering how old and obviously well-used it is, I decided to just knit her the pair :)
It's a really quick knit - they were all done in ~3hrs.

I'm still working on my Christmas socks. I've finished one, and am just past the ribbing on the other.

Finally, Mixi asked if I'd knit some more tube socks for Nora. As I needed some mindless knitting for a meeting last Thursday anyway, I got right on that and have finished the first one there too.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

WIP Wednesday - I love it!

I haven't been knitting all that much this past week, and the knitting I did get done was all on my Paradise Cardigan. This past weekend, it was finally big enough for me to try on and get a proper idea of what it'd look like, and fortunately I love it! :-) The colours work much better together than I'd feared.
Unfortunately it turns out that I've seriously miscalculated the amount of yarn I need! As in, I need somewhere around 2-3 skeins extra of each colour! Good thing I know where to get them online!

Friday, November 11, 2016

WIP Friday

I was going to post this Wednesday, but I got too wrapped up in following the news and forgot to post photos. So here goes, a bit late.

Still knitting on the Christmas socks for my SIL, although I haven't gotten much further. I'm in the process of turning the heel, and doing a heel-flap and gusset always slows me down a bit, as I haven't learned that technique off by heart yet (much prefer the fish-lips-kiss heel, but this looks more stylish, and as it's a present, that's what I'm going for).

I've picked my Paradise Cardigan back up and have finished the first sleeve! Still not entirely sure about the colour choice - it could go either way - but I don't actually think I'll make up my mind until it's done, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I'm almost done with the second sleeve, so I'll be able to return to the body soon :) Am starting to think I may not have enough yarn though, but we'll see how far this gets me - otherwise I know where I can purchase more :)

Finally, I've added a few more squares to my cozy memories blanket. I don't think you can see much progress since last week, but I'm loving working on it :-)

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

WIP Wednesday - Finally some finished objects...

After a long drought I finally have some FINISHED objects to show you!

I finished my October socks - they were just a plain 3-by-1 rib and SO boring to knit! Definitely not something I'll attempt again anytime soon. I hadn't thought it'd be so bad as I love knitting vanilla (=plain stockinette) socks, but there you have it... Ah well, they're done and currently winging their way to the US. Hopefully the recipient will like them.

I've also finished the scarf for Liz! Actually it turned out more like a stole... I got less bored with knitting it as I went along. The colours are gorgeous, and I just loved seeing it grow. Still not a huge fan of knitting scarves, but gorgeous glittering self-striping yarn certainly helps! :)

And now I'm DONE with obligation knitting for the time being... well, sort of... I do still have my November socks, but I'm totally in love with both the yarn and the pattern for those, so I don't see that being a hardship at all :-) They'll make an awesome Christmas present for my sister-in-law (who recently mentioned that the other pair of socks I knit her were her very favourite socks ever... that kind of compliment gets you another pair of socks! :) )

Finally I've done what I always do when I'm FINALLY done with some obligation knitting that almost turned into a chore and picked my Cozy Memories blanket back up. It's actually big enough now, that I can fall asleep under it. Still want to add a few more rows though :) I love it - it's definitely my guilty pleasure knitting. Won't finish it this year - possibly not even next - but a deadline of 2018 should be doable ;)

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

WIP Wednesday: Same old, same old

I don't have too interesting a WIP Wednesday post today, as I've been knitting on exactly the same things as last week. However, that just makes the progress extra obvious, so I'll post photos anyway.

The simple ribbed socks - I've just finished the first one, and am ready to cast on for number two.

Looks like I get about half a repeat done a week on the Feather and Fan scarf. I'm still not quite half-way, but at least I haven't neglected it completely either.

I've knit another 4 hexagons (or starfish) for the Polygon blanket. I'm going to start out with three of each colour, and then decide from there how much larger I want to make it.

And finally, I've done a bit of knitting on the Paradise Cardigan. I decided to just go head with the sleeves, and have managed two more stripes there. Not that much, but I've actually deliberately put this aside to focus on my obligation knitting, so I don't feel too badly about that.
(The colours are WAY off! My camera really doesn't like the lighter red!)

... and as always I have a TON of other things I want to cast on ASAP. I want to get the socks and (most of) the scarf out of the way before casting on anything new though... we'll see how long that lasts.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

WIP Wednesday: Starfish

This has been a knitting-heavy week, and I've got a lot of knitting done on several different projects.

First of all, I frogged the socks I'd cast on last week. I didn't care for how the yarn and pattern worked together, and found myself procrastinating from picking it back up. Not worth it. Instead I cast on a simple pair of ribbed socks, and it's coming along much better :-)
They look a tad small despite being my usual 64sts socks. I'm thinking that's probably just because of the ribbing, but should probably try them on before I get to the heel, to see if I'm knitting for myself, or making a pair for someone else ;-)

I've gotten a bit more done on the Feather-and-fan scarf I started last week. It's exactly as boring to knit as I'd feared, but thanks to the gorgeousness of the yarn, I don't mind too much. Still, I need to get a move on if I want to finish this by Liz' birthday. Although I know she'll understand if it's a tad late.

The hexagons for the polygon blanket is coming along nicely and I've knit 10 so far :-) Still haven't decided how big I'm going to make the blanket - for now I'm just enjoying the knitting. Each hexagon takes me about an hour to knit.

Finally, I decided I didn't have enough projects on the needles already, so I cast on the Paradise Cardigan by Kristen TenDyke. I'm adding stripes as I didn't have enough of either colour, but really wanted to use this yarn ;)
I've separated for the sleeves and am trying to make up my mind whether I want to continue with the body, or take a page out of Jasmin Knitmore's book and knit the sleeves first, while the body is still relatively small and manageable. I think I'll do one more stripe and then decide :)

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

WIP Wednesday - Catching up again!

Haven't done a WIP Wednesday post in awhile, so it's about time :)

Despite a bit of a delay, I managed to finish my September socks in time for me to gift them to Liz when I visted her last weekend. She'd asked for long socks to keep her calves warm in winter-time. I didn't quite make them knee-length, but definitely longer than any other socks I've knit so far. They were knit toe-up with a heel-flap. That's the first time I've succesfully performed a toe-up heel-flap, but it went perfectly! No clue what's gone wrong the other times, but this is heaps easier than a heel-flap top-down (no pesky stitches to pick up! ;) )
The pattern is Kyma by Tammy Bailey which is a really satisfying pattern to knit, and definitely something I'll knit again.

Since the beginning of September, I've happily cast on three new things and am swatching for a fourth. Obviously I needed something new after all the finishing of Stashdash ;)

First cast on is a pair of socks. I needed some easy travel-knitting and socks tend to be my go-to in that regard.
I never got very far though (and might even frog them - not quite sure I like how the yarn and pattern work together), as Liz commissioned a Feather-and-Fan scarf in some beautiful yarn we found at the craft fair. I cast that on the same evening, and it's coming along nicely :-)
Slightly boring to knit, unfortunately, but it's turning out so lovely I don't mind much. In fact, I'm even contemplating making a similar one for myself, as it's so nice and wide, it might turn into a shawl rather than a scarf.

Finally I've joined the Polygon craze and found the perfect yarn for it at the craft fair. I've only knit one hexagon so far, but I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this one :)

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

WIP Wednesday - Catching up!

I've been on vacation for the past few weeks, so have a LOT of knitting to show off this week... mostly socks though. They tend to make the best travel-knitting.

I finished the Striped Beach Sweater three or four weeks ago. It's been blocked and just needs ends woven in and the buttons sewn in. I'm still thinking which colour buttons to use, as I have 3 different contenders (all red, all blue, one each of red, green, blue and black - am leaning towards the latter). Doesn't matter too much just yet - looks like Nora won't be able to wear it until NEXT winter at the earliest.

I knit and frogged a complete sock. Awhile back, I bought the "New Directions in Sock Knitting" book, and wanted to knit my way through that. I found some yarn I thought would work nicely for the "Vanishing Point" socks and cast on for that just prior to my last WIP post. Despite a really fiddly start, and a lot of purling, I really liked the way it was turning out... until we got to the grafting. Grafting takes FOREVER, and here I had about 130 stitches to graft! Ah well, I made the best of it, but when I ran out of yarn 30 stitches before the end, I decided to try on the sock before adding more yarn for the rest.
I'm glad I did. The sock makes for a fun knit, because the construction's so unusual, but when push came to shove, I didn't care much for neither the look nor the fit of the sock itself.

So I frogged it! And immediately reused the yarn for a much simpler sock pattern, which shows off the yarn nicely and is coming along much faster
.

While on vacation I finished two pairs of socks (the Rose City Rollers and a pair of plain vanilla) and started a third (the Kyrma). It's coming along nicely, but I've lengthened the leg significantly so is taking a lot longer than usual. That's fine - I just have to finish by September 23rd, as they're meant as a gift for a friend of mine :)

Once I've finished those socks I'll have no more obligation knitting for awhile, so I want to cast on something new... perhaps one of the sweaters I've been meaning to knit for myself for awhile :)

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

WIP Wednesday - Stashdash goal reached!

Since it's August, I've cast on my August ankle socks for the "Just One More Row 12 in 2016" challenge. I've finally jumped on the Rose City Rollers bandwagon, and am knitting these for Lizziey. The first one took just 3 days to knit, so I fully expect to be done with the second one today or tomorrow.

I've finished StashDash!!! This weekend I performed sweater surgery on my Spring Showers cardigan, and lengthened the sleeves, so they're now FINALLY exactly as long as I'd like them! I cut off the cuffs (as the ribbing was plenty long as it was), added the extra length in plain stockinette and then grafted the two parts together again. I'm very pleased with the result - you can't see the graft at all! And once I've blocked them, the 'fresh' stockinette should be invisible too :)
With that, I reached 7188km! Booyah!

Lastly I've gotten a little bit of work done on the Striped Beach Sweater, so it now has one sleeve! I reeeeeally want to finish that this week too, so I can give it to Nora when I see her on Saturday, but we'll see how that goes. It also depends on whether or not I have suitable buttons, or if I have to go shopping for those first.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

WIP Wednesday - Owl Milo

Still going strong with the toddler sweaters :-) I finished the body of the Striped Beach Sweater last week, but for some reason ALWAYS procrastinate when it comes to picking up stitches for sleeves :-P They shouldn't take long to finish once I get going on them though.

Sorry about the photo - I didn't realize how blurry it was until I uploaded it to Picasa.

This next sweater vest didn't even have time to be a WIP! I cast on the Milo Friday afternoon and finished yesterday morning. Such a quick and fun knit! I decided to go for the Owl cables, and added eyes. Really love the way it turned out, even if I did have a minor knitting attack, as I couldn't read the pattern and knit almost an entire own past the point where I should have switched to garter! Ah well, ribbit, ribbit.

And finally, I have a HO :) I finished the first 9" sock... and decided I am NOT going to knit the second on 9" circs as well. I've tried it, and it's alright, but I enjoy normal magic looping SO much more. And since I knit purely for the enjoyment of it, it seems counterintuitive to not just stick with what I like best :)