Been A While Again

Yeah, yeah, I know, I've been MIA again a while. Partially because I've had another extended period of not being able to do anything, thanks for my fibro acting up, and partially due to the fact that what crafting I've done has mostly been for a swap. One that isn't done yet, so I can't share anything at this point. I will, though, once it's over and my recipient's gotten her package. ;-)

Finally!

I've had this blanket finished for close to a year now, and was finally able to ship it out to my friend's little boy. Only a year late, but hey. She received it today, so I get to share it with you!

We Interrupt This Program...

I'm starting to have a minor issue (well, it's minor now, but it's serious and potentially a major problem if ignored) with carpal tunnel. My wrist's been hurting a lot more lately, and my fingers are tingling and numb. Not a good sign.

So I asked both on Ravelry and twitter and the following things were shared with me to try to help it. I'm sure I'm not alone with this problem, so I thought it might be a good idea to share them with you.

It was also suggested to do wrist curls with hand weights, 3 sets of 10 reps each, as well as use icy hot. Now, I'm allergic to the stuff (never mind the fact it gives me asthma attacks), so I generally use Sombra instead.

As you can imagine, having wrist problems isn't making knitting any easier. It's been very slow going (and technically it shouldn't be going at all for a while at least), so there's not a hell of a lot to share.

Deirdre Et Al

Deirdre is now officially blocked. I've decided to keep her as a birthday present to myself. Hopefully she'll be all dried up and ready to wear by Sunday (not that I'm planning anything, but it's the idea of it).

Deirdre!

I just finished binding off on my Deirdre shawl! The colors worked out so nicely, I'm quite pleased. The shawl turned out very differently to what I was expecting, given the image provided with the pattern. It's definitely a bit smaller than I was wanting, so I'm hoping it'll block out well.

Catching Up

Wow, I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted last. Life went just a little crazy (okay, a lot crazy) and I lost track of time. So sorry about that.

Anyway. Hubby took me to Black Sheep Gathering last month, and we had fun. There were a few things I missed from other years (no Angora bunnies on display, nor were there Alpacas, bar two out front). I noticed there was a huge increase in fiber for sale, compared to actual yarn for sale, which struck me as interesting. I guess spinning's becoming more and more the thing to do. Too bad I can't do it (no, really, I tried. My hands hurt like crazy when I use a spindle, and since I have neither room or money for an actual spinning wheel, I'm not likely to find out whether I can do it that way instead).

Socks!

Well, I finally took the plunge after much searching for a pattern that might work for me. Since I'm fairly inept as of yet, at understanding and tweaking patterns, it needed to be very cut and dry for me. I couldn't really find one, but the girl on Ravelry came to my aid, and pointed me to a wonderful tutorial and a recipe rather than a pattern. Isn't that the same thing, you ask? Yes, but not quite.

Hesitant

I just cast off on the Tongues of Fire stole, and I'm having doubts on the length of it. I'm hoping that it'll gain some length once I block it. I did try to see how much there'd be gained by blocking a small part of it, and I think it'll be okay... but to see it off the needles as it is right now, I'm worried... very worried.

More Show And Tell

Yay, I learned something new today! What did I learn, I hear you ask? I learned how to make a thumb in a glove ;-). I'd always been a bit scared about trying, because the idea of having to drop stitches (tiny ones, at that!) in the middle of something I've worked hard at... well, it scared the shit out of me. Even now, after I've done it.

It was tricky, and I messed up and had to re-do the thumb twice, but in the end, I think it worked out okay. I'm pretty pleased with them, anyway. Too bad they're a gift, and not for keeps.

 

Slowly But Surely...

I'm making strides on the crafting front, albeit very slow ones. I knit this Liesel scarf back in 2007, and I've only just blocked it. Yeah, kinda fail there, but oh well. Better late, than never, right?

the whole thing all blocked:

Almost Forgot!

I can finally show the second Elise shawl I crocheted, since I gave it to my Mother-in-Law last week for Mother's Day (okay, okay, a few days, late, but it still counts).

Here's a picture pre-blocking:

Blocking Away!

I just finished wet-blocking my At The Deep End shawl (aka the Elise Shawl I crocheted a while back). It was a little intimidating, because while soaking, a lot of dye seemed to leach out of it. Never had that happen to me before, but then again, I've never worked with that yarn before, either. Hopefully it won't do so again if it ever gets wet.

Anyway!

Here's a before picture:

I Did It... I Think

I took my first stab at blocking today. Not entirely sure if I did it right, but it seems to have worked.

Hey, MsKathy, I remembered to take before and after pictures, just so you could see. Hope it helps.

Before blocking:

Clever, I Am.

No, really. >.< I had my friend send me a copy of the HTML for the FO-tables, so I could have all the information together and stuff, and what do I do? I forget to add them to my FO posts! Silly me! So I just went and added them to the various posts, excepting the gift posts, since I obviously can't share that information yet.

Another Peek

Just thought I'd share another look at the shawl I'm knitting. I'm hitting a groove with it and have memorized the pattern (don't even need to glance at the chart anymore, woo!). I'm about 1/3 of the way through, from the look of things.

Also restarted the crocheted shawl, but I'm still trying to figure it out and don't really have much to share there.

Like I said, not much there yet. Also, may have figured out a way for me to block some of the FO's I have lying around, so will try to get around to that this week, hopefully.

Work In Progress

I'm nine repeats in already and finally feel like I've got the pattern down. It's not too hard of a one, really, but it took me a while to get into the swing of it.

I'm loving how it's working up, though. Check it out:

Have quite a way to go before it'll be finished, but I'm hopeful.

Casting On... Again

So I needed something to do, as I'm not feeling well and I am in no mindset to write. I found a bag of yarn I'd forgotten about, and I know there's enough of it this time, so I cast on for the Tongues of Fire again.

This is the yarn I'm using. So far, it's looking okay, but it's early days yet, as I'm only on the first row of the actual lace. So I'm back in the knit-a-long, which is cool. Still need to re-start the crocheted shawl I'm doing, too.

Good times. Good times.

Caved... A Little...

I've been teasing poor Jen about her gifts, and figured I'd show her one of the things I've been working on. Since I'd just cast off on these, they seemed the perfect choice.

Project:	Falcons Fingerless Gloves
Pattern:	none used
Size:	medium
Yarn:	Red Heart
Colors:	Black & Red
Needles:	US5
Gauge:	none
Ravelry link:	Hop on over!

I've got one other thing completely finished, and I need a little help from hubs to finish the other, but it's basically done, too. What else do I have up my sleeve? No idea. I have the rest of this month to figure it out, though ;-)

Slugging Along

Well, sort of. I finished of gift # 2 for Jen the other day, and cast on for #3. This should be the last of the knitted items (at least, that I had planned). Then I just have to figure out what else to do. I have ideas, it's just a question of means.

I haven't had the heart to look at my shawls yet. Kinda got burnt on that after the yardage fiasco. Do want to pick them both up again though.

Also, need to figure out a way to get the lace I've done already, blocked. Twice now, I've taken it to MIL's and not done it. Why? Because I'm worried they won't dry in time for me to take home again, and I do not trust them not to mess with it if I leave it (kids + dog = trouble). So home it is, just need to figure out a way.

Bugger It

Couldn't really do it, shouldn't really do it, but I did anyway. Scraped enough together to buy the yarn I needed for my gift project. Needed to feel good about something going the way it's supposed to, and that was it.

Knitting part of it is now done, and hubby said he'd do the sewing part for me (he's a lot better at hand-sewing than I am). Then there's just finishing touches left to do, and it'll truly be finished. But at least the knitting of it is done with. And yes, it does feel good.

That said, I started on part two of the project. So far, so good. I just hope it ends up fitting. Gah, sucks  having to be so damn cryptic, but since it's supposed to be a surprise, I can't very well post it here where she can see ;-)

Patience is a virtue, isn't that what they say?

Bah

So I got a PM from the designer of Tongues. All in all, I do appreciate her contacting me, but I'm still bummed as hell. The pattern page isn't very clear. The reason I chose that pattern was because the yarn I had was a little more than the minimum required, as stated on the page. The pattern itself says it used 2 skeins (but not how much yardage said skeins had, so for me that was no indicator at all. I don't know that much yet about yardage and stuff).

Turns out the minimum was added for people "wanting to make scarves". Well, it doesn't really say that anywhere. I wanted a shawl. Not a scarf. And apparently, the yardage I have is for... a scarf.

So now I'm bummed as hell. I'm not feeling the yarn, or the pattern. Hell, I don't even feel like knitting at all, which sucks. 

Eep!

Am casting on for Tongues of Fire. I'm a little intimidated, but it looks fairly simple as far as lace patterns go. There's a knit-a-long on Ravelry, so I'm hoping to be able to join in and get this done. Have no recipient in mind as of yet. I just want to see if I can do it.

Wish me luck!

An Impromptu FO

I needed some utterly mindless knitting, since I couldn't get my brain to function properly enough to focus on a actual pattern (that's what I get for thinking I can start on that shawl this time of the month). Since I still haven't been able to get yarn for the other project I've got going, and I wasn't in the mood to deal with a huge blanket, I resorted to this:

Project:	Kitty hat
Pattern:	no pattern used
Size:	22"
Yarn:	Simply Soft
Colors:	Raspberry
Needles:	size 8
Gauge:	none
Ravelry link:	Hop on over!

I look utterly ridiculous, but there you have it. No, I didn't knit it for me. I just knit it because I had scrap yarn, and I could. No idea what I'm going to do with it.

Now I have another problem. What to work on next, because I'm still not in a mindset for anything complicated.

Another FO

Just cast off on my scarf. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. What do you think?

Project:	Pink Dr Who scarf
Pattern:	The Corrugator
Size:	one size
Yarn:	Patons Classic Wool
Colors:	Rosewood
Needles:	US 8
Gauge:	none
Ravelry link:	Hop on over!

Now... do I keep this for myself, or gift it? *ponders*

Oh, and of course now I have to find another project to work on that doesn't require too much concentration. Time to scour patterns and yarn, I suppose. ;-)

WIPs

Gah, I hate when I run out of yarn before I run out of project. Alas, it happened, so the gift for Jen is on hold until I can afford to get more of it. Oh well.

So, what's a girl to do in the mean time? Cast on new projects, of course. I actually started two. One crochet (the lace shawl I was going to make with the yarn Amber got me). Unfortunately, I botched it up already and have to frog it. I'm not sure I have the stamina today to do that.

Which is why Jen helped me find a pattern for the Rosewood yarn I got as well. I'd tried the One Rose Handspun by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but it was far too busy a yarn to fit the pattern. Jen found me this pattern, instead: The Corrugator.

It's much calmer, visually, than the other one was, and the colors seem to be more gradient with this one. I'm enjoying the knit. It's simple, easy to memorize, but visually pleasing. Win/win, in my book. I'm all for mindless knitting right now.

Random Act Of Kindness

A friend from Ravelry sent me a care-package! I couldn't believe it when I opened the box and found all these goodies! Check it out :-)

A lot of yarn, chocolate, a card, DPNs, and a UU-stitchmarker (UU is the acronym of the group we're in on Ravelry). So cool!

 These two are designated to (hopefully) become Endpaper Mits, by Eunny Jang.

 

 I have no idea what I'm making with this yet.

This, however, I already know what I'm making with. Next on my to-do list. We'll do a crochet-a-long in the thread for the Eva's Shawl.

Thanks you again, Amber, for the lovely gifts. It made a crappy week a lot brighter. I look forward to show off the projects as they come along.

Cast On

I ended up casting on a new project. It wasn't much of a choice, since I have a mini-swap going on with my friend, and what I'm making will take a while to finish. Since I finally got the last of what I needed for it, I figured I'd best get a move on ;-)

Sorry, I can't tell you what it is, or show progress pictures, since it's a gift. Sure you understand. But, I will share pictures once she's received it. :-)

Yippie!

I just cast off on my scarf! I love it! Now I just need to find a way to block it, so you can really see it pop. I'm so pleased with it, though. I'm almost sad to see it done, actually. Once I got the hang of it, it was a pleasure to knit, especially with this yarn! So soft!

Project:	At The Deep End scarf
Pattern:	Feather and Fan scarf
Size:	one size
Yarn:	At The Deep End       50% Superwash Merino 50% Tencel
Colors:	blue/green/yellow
Needles:	US 5
Gauge:	none
Ravelry link:	Hop on over!

Now to figure out whether I'm casting on something else, or working on one of my WIPs ;-)

Progress!

I've finally gotten the hang of this pattern without constantly having to count my stitches, which makes me happy. What makes me even happier?

This:

I'd guestimate I'm about halfway through my skein right now, so it's looking to be a decent length scarf. And pretty! I'm loving how the colors are working up, and the pattern, too. So simple, and yet...

Showing Off WIP

Well, I frogged the first attempt at the Feather and Fan scarf (yes, scarf. I read the name wrong, earlier. It is, in fact, a scarf), but have made some good headway with it now.

The pattern itself is fairly easy to memorize. Less easy is not accidentally adding stitches. Oh well.

See? I know it's not easy to see, given the lighting and the backdrop of my laptop screen, but you should get a fair idea. I like how it's turning out. At first, I was iffy on the combination of yarn/pattern, but it seems to be working out well enough. The yarn itself is yummy to work with. So soft. *sigh* Love it. Almost don't want the scarf to come to an end. Lucky for me, I still have a ways to go before it's done.

Oh, I found a picture of the yarn pre-wind (though no longer all nicely rolled up. It gives a better idea on the colors, though).

Isn't it lovely?

Gah!

*cry* I knit about 4 inches on the scarf last night, only to tink back 4 rows because I added stitches where I shouldn't. Only to now figure out I did the stitch wrong to begin with. Have to frog it all :-(

Selfish Knitting

Going to cast on for something for me. Maylin gifted me with two specially dyed yarns, inspired by At The Deep End. The first, as you have seen, I made into a crocheted shawl. The second (which was actually the first version of the yarn) took a while longer to talk to me.

I think I have finally figured out what it wants to be. At least, I hope so. I'm going to try to make this simple Feather and Fan Shawl. Since it's a rectangular shawl, I should be able to knit until I run out of yarn. It looks simple enough, but I'm a lace-novice, so we'll see.

Wish me luck!

Another FO

Behold, another set of fingerless gloves. I kinda like making these, they're quick, simple. And look pretty good. Hopefully Em will like them.

Project:	Easy Fingerless Gloves
Pattern:	Easy Fingerless Gloves
Size:	one size
Yarn:	Caron Simply Soft
Colors:	green
Needles:	US 5
Gauge:	none
Ravelry link:	Hop on over!

Not planning on casting on any more for a while, though. Mind, "planning" being the operative word. There are, after all, several other projects already on the needles. Not to mention, have some gift knitting to do shortly.

FO

I just finished the gloves for Em. I wish the color came across better, but alas. Still, I think they're lovely. May knit a pair for myself. Hopefully Em'll enjoy them :-)

Project:	Easy Fingerless Gloves
Pattern:	Easy Fingerless Gloves
Size:	one size
Yarn:	Caron Simply Soft
Colors:	Country Blue
Needles:	US 5
Gauge:	none
Ravelry link:	Hop on over!

ETA: Found the green yarn she mentioned she liked, so am going to cast on for another pair. Did I mention I was crazy? ;-)

So...

I didn't end up blocking my shawls, since I was far too scatterbrained to do it when I had the chance, to that is waiting for another day.

I've been working on Danny's blanket again, which is coming along nicely, even if I do say so myself. I really like the idea of having a blanket in the works at all times - they're great mindless projects to have around. Must take that into consideration once budget allows for that sort of thinking again.

It Sucks...

When you run out of yarn before the project is complete. It really, really does. I am using a new (to me) yarn for the shawl I'm working on. One that I've knit a hundred times (well, not quite that many, but I've made it a lot). I took into account that I would need a little more. Even went so far as to compare it to what I normally used and made an attempt at calculating the difference.

I went up a needle size, and reduced the amount of stitches in order to compensate for the difference in the type of yarn and how it was knitting up. Technically, this should have meant I was using less yarn than I'd anticipated.

Destash Alert!

Gah! I wish I had the money to spend for something like this, but since I don't, I'm more than happy to pass this along anyway.

Alaskan Purl is destashing her yarn, big time. She's putting yarn up for the next three days, and her prices are pretty good, I think. Here are the details of the how, and here is the link to the actual yarny goodness. Seriously, I'm drooling over some of these *wistful sigh*

What Was That About A Break Again?

Yeah, not so much, it seems. I cast on for a prayer shawl, and have been knitting on and off all day - wearing braces and all. I just couldn't sit still, and I've not been up for much of anything else. *sigh*

Ah well, if nothing else, it means 2011 is looking to be a creative year, one way or another. Right?

Woot! FO # 2!

I just cast off on the second shawl. I love it. It isn't blocked yet (but then, neither is my shawl), but it seems a bit smaller. Used two very different yarns though, so will be curious to see how they end up after they've been blocked.

In the mean time, yay! Another FO already, and a Christmas gift checked off my list. *dances* I wish I could share pictures of it, but obviously that can't happen yet. Sorry to make y'all wait a whole year before seeing it.

I'm not sure what I'll work on next. I think I may give my arm a break for a couple of days though - am feeling the strain of so much crochet ;-)

Interesting

So I was doing laundry at my mother-in-law's today, and working on my shawl. My oldest nephew (who's staying with her for the time being) walked in and saw me. Last time, he saw me knitting the fingerless gloves, and he was interested in those, too.

Today, he asked if I would make him gloves, too. He wanted to have a pair just like the ones I made for MIL (same "pattern" as the ones I posted about, but in Duck's colors; they're on Flickr). I told him I'd think about it, but I wasn't making any promises.

Then, I showed him some cool patterns for amiragumi on Ravelry, and he got all sorts of excited. Not asking if I could make some for him, but I planted the seed for him to learn, and now he wants to learn crochet so he can make gifts, just like I do. I told him to ask MIL, because she crochets better than I do, and (far as I know, at least) can understand patterns, whereas I don't. (Sorry, MIL)

I'm curious to see whether this'll amount to anything. After all, he's an eleven year old boy, who's generally excitable and will talk your ear off about any ol' thing. We shall see, I suppose.

Still, it was interesting. I actually kinda hope he learns. It'll be good for him, I think.

 On another note; I got to wondering about Christmas. I've got a few things in mind already for a few people (and let me just say how good it feels to be in this mindset again), and am pleased to know that I'll soon be done with the first of them. And I have ideas for more. Well, technically I suppose I'm done with one already, since it's already a FO, but yeah, you know what I mean.

I am still trying to work out what to do for certain people, but it's only just February - I still have plenty of time. As of today, 325 days, as a matter of fact. So far, I think I'm doing pretty good.

So what about you? Do you have anything planned for Christmas already?

Elise Shawl, Take Two

Yep, you read that right. I started another shawl. Figured I might as well get it worked on while the pattern was still fresh in my memory. I had to frog the first three rows twice before I got it right, but I managed to get there all on my own this time! *happy dance*

I'm using a very different kind of sock yarn this time though, and let me tell you... All yarn is so not created equal! This one'll be much more muted than the one I finished yesterday, as it's dark greens and grays and browns, but it'll look nice, I think.

I hope.

No pictures as of yet, as this one's intended as a gift, and while the person who's supposed to get it may or may not be reading this blog, I'd rather not spoil everything, if you know what I mean.

Oh My God, I'm Done!

*dances* I just cast off on the Elise Shawl! I'm sooooo happy! Just need to sit and block it, but it's done!!!

 

I'm so happy with the end result. Definitely worth the tears I shed (yes, no lie there) when I started. Going to probably make another one at some point. 

ETA: since it was so late last night, I didn't really get to post everything I wanted to. My friend, BrightShadowSky made a table for FO's (Finished Objects) that I aim to use from here on out. 

Project:	Elise Shawl
Pattern:	Elise Shawl Pattern, on Ravelry
Size:
Yarn:	At The Deep End #2, 50% organic cotton 50% tencel
Colors:	blue/green
Needles:	I hook
Gauge:	N/A
Ravelry link:	Hop on over!

Old FO's

Finally got around to taking pictures of two blankets I've had done forever now, and thought I'd share them with you.

One is the Moderne Baby Blanket, by MasonDixon Knitting, made with the same colors as the blanket I made for our Queen-bed. No particular recipient in mind when I made it; I simply had the yarn left over and figured I'd use it for that. Why not, right?

Finished!

Yes, I did it. I finished the second pair of gloves. These are for a friend of mine. Same as the ones I made before, so not much to tell about them.

Project:	Easy Fingerless Gloves
Pattern:	Easy Fingerless Gloves
Size:	one size
Yarn:	Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Sisilk
Colors:	Red
Needles:	US 5
Gauge:	none
Ravelry link:	Hop on over!

Now that they're done, I am free to start on something new. That was the goal I had set, so that's what I'm sticking to. For those who are on Ravelry, you can see what I'm going to attempt next here. It's the Elise Shawl, and it's crochet. I've never managed to crochet my way beyond a granny square (yes, I've tried and failed before) but this actually looks simple enough that I'm going to try my hand at it. There's a crochet-a-long going on in one of the forums I frequent, so I'm hopeful that with their help, I can do this. Wish me luck!

Tinkering

As you can see, I'm still tinkering with the blog. Just how I, of all people, ended up with a pink template to tide me over is beyond me, but there you have it. I just wanted something other than white, and this came up. *shrug* It won't be staying, but it'll do for the time being.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this blog, since - in all honesty here - I've quite forgotten most of the things that I had going on with it to begin with. I know I want it to be solely for my crafting related stuff, so that will remain. Just what, or how, that'll happen, I'm not sure yet.

*blinks and looks around*

Wow...where has the time gone? Has it really been a year and two days since I posted last? (ETA: oops, make that two years!)

*checks date*

Guess so... What can I say? I haven't really been crafting much. A combination of health (mental and physical) and doing other things, like writing. I've caught the knitting bug again, though, which is a good thing. I don't know half the things that claim to be WIP's on the sideline there anymore, so will be scrapping the lot and working on the blog basically from scratch. Hopefully you'll bear with me as I get myself sorted out...again.

I just finished one project (go me!), but it's a gift, so can't show it just yet. I'm thrilled to have my first FO for 2011 though! My plan was to do some selfish knitting, and I even brought it with me, but not I'm waffling. I want to knit fingerless gloves, but I'm itching to work on... another blanket. *sigh*. It's a sickness, I'm tellin' ya.

Anyway, thought I'd show my face again and let you know I'm still alive and kicking. I'm hopeful that there'll be more to report on the crafting front for this year.