Long time gone....

As in me. Been kind of absent lately on the internetz. No particular reason. The world has not gone under. I've not died or even gotten too sick I was unable to do anything. I've just taken a break from it all. ^_^

I've come to a conclusion though. Things have gotten tighter lately, in our pocketbooks. We've all noticed it, I'm sure. Higher gas prices, higher grocery prices, the list goes on and on. In our house we've certainly felt it. Which is why I've not bought yarn in a long time (not including the few skeins here and there for a WIP for Treanna, since I didn't have enough).
So what have I been doing, you ask? I've been *gasp* stash busting. Everything I've been working on has been made pretty much from stuff already in my possession. My stash. Working pretty well, too.
I managed to actually knit a clapotis for myself and have a second on in the making (though I'm worrying about running out of yarn on that one). No pictures yet though. I've also been working on 3 blankets (one of them being the aforementioned WIP for Treanna). One of them is done except for figuring out a way to make an edging. The other I'm still working on as it is a patchwork kind of thing.

It feels pretty good to be able to keep on knitting without spending more money on it. Though I will admit I wish I were able to get more lol. I've got a stash, but mostly it's oddballs of this and that (the downside of "inheriting" most of your stash rather than buying it yourself).

Anyway, back to this conclusion I was talking about before. The reason so many knitters acquire a stash over the years? We buy yarn when we are able to afford to do so, so that we will have it in times when we can't. So, for those who would look down on those of us with a stash of yarn, I say ha! Now you know why ^_~

By the by, after posting I looked at the banner above this post. The number of days left before Christmas is starting to scare me -_-.... so much to do, so little time!

Did Anyone Ever Tell You....

that knitting can be horribly addicting? ^_~ Seriously. I'm not kidding. I started on The Moderne Log Cabin Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting. For myself. Had to put it away because I have only 3 colors and it requires (read: I want to actually follow the pattern) 4.
But! I had 4 colors that would be perfect for a blanket for Treanna. So guess what I did. Yep. You got it. I cast on for another blanket. And I've been knitting on it practically non stop. I am loving it! It's just garter stitch, but I am in love with this pattern. It is highly addictive.

Don't let anyone ever tell you knitting is anything but ^_~.
Oh, I promise there will eventually be pictures. But my batteries have died and I need to locate my charger, before I can take any pictures.

Some more FO's

In no particular order, I bring you....

A cabled coffee cozy

A honeycomb coffee cozy




A trinity stitch coffee cozy



A long sleeved One Skein Wonder


A semi-long sleeved One Skein Wonder


The colors of the last two are way off, due to horrid lighting. The long sleeved is raspberry pink. The semi-long sleeved is a mix of orange, purple and red.

On the work in progress front, I've started on a Liesel using the left overs of Teresa's clapotis. It's acrylic, but there supposedly a way to kill the yarn so it stays in shape. I figured this was as good a way as any to learn about it.

Happy New Year

and all that jazz.... Well, since I'm taking pictures (slowly but surely) for Ravelry, I figure I may as well update bit by bit here, too.

And, since it's after Christmas, why not start out with some Christmas presents!

First up, Bethany's clapotis. This one is relatively on the mark for color. Not the best picture, but it's all I've got. Here's another, closer, view.








Then, we have Teresa's clapotis.


Treanna had, at one point, requested a set, similar to the one I had made Trina. But instead of green/yellow, she wanted it yellow/green. I made her a hat and scarf, with a slight twist to the Harry Potter style scarf she had asked for. Dustin was kind enough to sew on the patches (by hand!) for me.



Sorry the layout with the pictures is so horrible. I can't ever seem to figure out how to make it look nice on here :(. It's always wanting to be contrary, which sucks.

I finished knitting a Liesel yesterday. Haven't blocked it yet, as I have nowhere to do so, nor anything to do it with. So it'll remain like this for a while. The yarn is actually a lot more pink in real life.


I think that's about it for the time being. I'll make another post once I've got more pictures taken, of some of the older FO's.

I give up.

On Christmas knitting for this year, that is. ;) I managed to finish the stuff for Teresa and Bethany (pictures'll have to wait until after Christmas). I need to put a finishing touch on Treanna's gift, but that's it. I'm not doing any more! It means I have no idea what to give 4 people, but I'm not going to stress myself out over it. There's always next year.

So what am I doing now? I'm learning lace! I wanted to try and make a shawl for myself to wear to when we go see Riverdance in January. However, what I have in mind requires lace knitting, so I figured I'd try and make Liesel, and if that works out, perhaps double it up for a small shawl (the pattern, I mean). I'm making the scarf version out of some pink yarn I had in my stash. So far, so good. We'll see how I fare though, once I get further along. If I can do it right, I'll try (given enough left over time) making the shawl version with some green acrylic/mohair yarn from my stash.
I'm actually looking forward to it. Even if the lace aspect is somewhat intimidating to me.

Once I've done that, I'm going to finish the WIPs I have lying around. I have a lot of knitting to catch up on, and January is the time to do it in, I think. I've gotten my confidence back, and *knock on wood* my body's been playing a little nicer for me, as far as my knitting goes. So I'm hoping to take advantage of that. Be on the look out for plenty of Fo's!

In the meantime though, I wish everyone

Merry Christmas

and I hope you will be able to make it through your merriment in one piece.

I get it now...

I finally get why a lot of people become yarn snobs, and why they do not make clothing items with acrylic yarn. I made the One Skein Wonder for myself with Caron Simply Soft, right? I love it, and I love how soft it is. One thing I don't love about it? It stretches a bit and won't stay on my shoulders properly anymore. And since acrylic has no memory to it, unlike wool.... it won't "bounce back" after washing. *sigh* No fair. And I just (well..."just") bought yarn to make myself and Treanna cardigans with, too. Now I'm not sure I want to use it anymore. I think it may get re-purposed for afghans or something. Means I won't be making cardigans for a good long time, and definitely not for both of us, which peeves me a little. I don't know. I feel deflated now, which sucks. Using nicer yarns means more money spent and I can't afford that for as much as I would like to make (since I intend to do gift knitting next year). Bah. Can't I win the lottery or something? That'd work, right?

Eep! Christmas Is Coming!

Yep. You read that right. Christmas is coming! Can you believe we're only a week away from Thanksgiving? And after that.... *shudder*. I found a countdown banner, as you probably will have noticed. Figured it couldn't hurt to put it up (though Dustin'll call me crazy if he sees it).
I don't know about all of you, but I still have tons to try and finish. Not happening this week, but I'm hoping to get something done lol.
So what about you? How's your Christmas Knitting coming along?