The Christmas Gifting is over.

Thankfully. I didn't make near as many projects as I had hoped, but thats the way it usually goes. I think I'm going to start a box where I put in little knitted projects for gift giving. I am pledging to knit at least 1 gift per month. Will I keep this pledge? Only time will tell.

I did manage to make these for Greg. He was my KK at work. I always exchange gifts with him anyway. He seemed to really like these. His MIL's reaction was very funny. She couldn't understand why I didn't finish them. She told Greg that she was sure I had run out of yarn otherwise I would have knitted some tops on them. lol.

Its 'Dashing' from knitty.com. The yarn came for the Magic Yarn Ball Swap off of craftster. Print 127 I believe. I really like this yarn, I find the colour very masculine.



I've picked up the Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan again. I had put it down during the madness of Christmas. I'm off all weekend so I hope to work on it some more.

Here is a progress shot. I heard from a poster on Ravelry that the knitpicks superwash merino had felted on her!! I haven't washed the swatch yet, but maybe I should. Not that anything will change now, just the care of this garment.

Crochet Bib Beanie

I've been looking for a pattern like this for a while. Someone on Ravelry posted this freebie. It is a great quick pattern, and I'm so grateful. It turned out super cute. I sold it at the Girl Guide's craft sale this past weekend for 15$. I will likely make more of these, since they seem to be in style right now.

In other news, I finally finished the 'Danica' (from knitty.com) scarf for mom. I'm not blocking this one. She likes the texture of the entrelac, and so do I. I've been knitting this off and on since this summer. Its not a difficult pattern at all. Its my fourth 'Danica' I think. But Christmas is mere weeks away, so the pressure to finish was on. This scarf is done is Paton's SWS natural earth colourway - and I like this colour the best of all the Danica's that I've done.

Argosy

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Beautiful pattern from knitty.com. I love lace, though it requires more concentration then I am able to muster sometimes. Its definitly a project for the daylight hours too. I'm knitting it from fleece artist's (yum) peter rabbit in pitcher plant colourway. I couldn't resist the colourway, especially with that name.

I am still working on my tilted duster by Norah Goughan. Very nice pattern. I'm a fan of Norah's so I'm not surprised that I like this pattern. Its a nice pattern to work on in front of the TV. I can't wait to finish this sweater. I've seen some other FOs on Ravelry and they are gorgeous.


One other thing that I finished lately is a pair of mittens for Amy. She was complaining the other day that she didnt' have any mittens. Shameful, I know. Child of a knitter - mittenless. Anyway that was remedied after a fortnight.



No pattern used for this one, I just made it up as I went along. It wasn't that hard. I used that yarn that I got in the magic yarn ball swap (from Taiwan)

Christmas Gifts

Here are few things that I've made recently. Not sure who is getting what, but we shall see. The scarf is made from Noro yarn, its my first time working with it. I'm not sure what the hype is all about - but the colours are lovely. The coloured hat is made from the kool aid yarn that I dyed a few weeks ago. It still smells a little of kool aid.

A Pattern in the Works?

I made this "Mad Eye" eye patch for my daughter to give as a gift. I've posted the project on Ravelry and gotten some positive feedback and requests to write up a pattern. It was actually very easy and fast, and I'm sure most crocheters could figure it out if they tried, but...I may just try my hand at pattern writing. How hard can it be??? (right, I'm not that naive, but I still might try it)

I think I may have a New Hobby!

So I've read about Kool Aid dyeing. I've seen so many beautiful results. I've even bought the little packets of Kool Aid with the intention of giving it a try. Well, today was that day. And Oh. My. God. It was so easy, so fun and the results were amazing. I am going to cast on right away - for what? I'm not sure, I just know that I have to knit with this, like now. This started out as a Bernat 100% wool in a light beige colourway. I have some light brown and some light blue Bernat in my stash that I'm going to overdye too.

I used the method from Stitch and Bitch, except I just put the yarn into four separate measuring cups and nuked away until the water was clear (or milky white in the case of the blue, for some weird reason)

See, I told you.

That these were my new favorite things to knit. I love how the striped yarn looks as it travels up the mitten. I forgot to do the knit row to eliminate the purl bumps on the colour change, but oh well. I'm sure I will be making more and more of them, just to perfect the overall pattern.

And, here is a seamless beanie that I made for.......ummmm.........someone for Christmas. Yes, the majority of my Fos will now be for Christmas gifts. Free pattern from here. http://schmeebot.com/nid/283.htm Check it out, its well written. Oh, this hat was made in SWS natural russett. I'm a sucker for this yarn. Alot of people complain about it, but I do like it...a lot!

My New Favorite Thing to Knit

Newfoundland mittens....OMG! These are so fun to do. Its from a free pattern at Creative Whimsy. They work up so pretty. These are the first ones I've done, but I've also finished one grey one with bright varigated yarn, and am now working on another black pair with a self striping yarn.

Booties for Crystal's baby

These are so cute. I made these for my friend Crystal who is having a baby any day now. I love that they aren't your tradional baby colours. The pattern is a freebie and can be found here. http://www.saartjeknits.nl/

I'm on Ravelry! Squee!

Yes, I'm excited about that. I've spent the last few days drooling over all the FOs there. It is AMAZING! I'm so inspired. I've posted a few of my 'in progress' things. So, maybe I will be nudged into actually finishing them.

It so neat to look at things that other people have finished and you are still working on. Its nice to get to see other colours and yarns. Oh yes, Ravelry how I love thee.




These two tops are both for me. This is what I worked on mostly all summer. They are both done in a KnitPicks cotton. The crochet top is from BHG crochet and the yarn I picked is really too heavey. But I do love it. I love the lace pattern. I need to find some suitable buttons for the back. And maybe I will wear it - next summer.

The green thing is knitted, and I still have to finish a sleeve. It will be so pretty when its finished. But I need motivation to finish. And now that its colder, I don't feel the need to finish it. This pattern is from Vogueknitting Spring/Summer '07. On Ravelry several people have finished this, and oh...they are so lovely! I will finish this....I must finish this. Even though both tops are done in the same yarn, this is an excellent example of how much denser crocheted fabric is compared to a knit fabric.

Here is a close up of the crocheted top lace pattern just cuz I love it so.

Some WIPs

Yet another Danica hat. This ones for Mom. Its about halfway done. I started it on a plane trip. I've done this pattern so often now that its committed to memory.

The mohawk hat is from "Pretty in Punk". Its for my friend Adam. It needs to be felted but I'm a bit nerveous about that. Adam has a ginormous head and once felted there is no going back.

And finally a Griffindor scarflette. I made this for Amy to give to a swap partner on Craftster. I think it is ubercute. I want one for myself, but in different colour(s) of course. It is a knock of of the "Pidge". Google it to see.

EZ's baby jacket - Done

It turned out nicely, I think. Mehrnaz had her baby on the 28th. I went to visit them in the hospital today, but she'd left! Only 1 day in.

Oh, did I mention I have a new camera. Its my birthday gift. Pretty spiffy no?

EZ's surplice baby sweater

I'm knitting this for a friend's baby. She is due any day now. Its the first time knitting an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern. Its from Vogue Knitting. I love it. I hope to buy one of her books, maybe the Knitters' Almanac. Its a classic.



And here is my third Danica (from knitty). I made this for Kathryn. I love this pattern alot. I'll be making one for mom for Christmas

I'm an angel!

Here are some items that I sent to a lady in NWT. She was flaked on in a swap, and I happened to have some handycrafts kicking around.

Trash to Treasure

All of these little treasures were made from things destined for the trash. The adorable pink scarf is a revamped sweater. The idea came from knitty.com. I think the technique is called shiburi...basically resist feltin. Pretty cool. The apron is made from some old canvas I found while cleaning out one of our vacant apartments. The slippers are also from an old sweater. And the gift tags were little upc tags that came on a bunch of cloth shopping bags that I bought. No point in being environmentally consious if I don't make a point of recycling everything right??

Swap Items...Long since finished

I know, I'm a terrible blogger. I'm really not sure why I do this anymore, but oh well. I still like it. And hey, my birthday is coming up, I might just get that new camera.

Here is a pair of slippers that I made for the Magic Yarn Ball swap. These went all the way to Taiwan (on a very slow boat, I might add). Very simple knit from the Pattern a day calendar.

I really need a new camera

I think I figured out why I haven't been blogging much...erm...well at all actually. Its because my camera isn't working and I've had to rely on Amy's camera to take pics of my FOs. Usually she ends up downloading them to her computer and from there...I usually never see them again. Unless I hound the crap out of her to get them.

I do have one FO to show off however. It is a crocheted hat (the pattern is on the net somewhere...called eastwoodly hat) It was for a swap (natch). Pretty cute, I think. The yarn came from knitpicks.

Swap things that have been received.

I just love this little doll. She was so easy to do too. She was sent to a swap partner on Craftster as part of the 24 hour swap.

Mind you, she had to go all the way to Texas and it took over 2 weeks for her to get there. My swap partner liked her. I do too.

Peek a Boo Mittens

I got this yarn from a Magic Yarn Ball swap over on Craftster. Its called (I think) Print 27. It came all the way from Taiwan. (along with a bunch of other goodies!!) The premise of this swap is that all the goodies come wrapped up into this magic yarn ball and you have to knit your surprises out of the magic yarn ball.

Of course I didn't have the patience for the this and promptly unwrapped the ball. My swap partner sent me so much yarn!!! My pattern was Mag Knit's peekaboo mittens.

I'm very happy with how they turned out. Not a 'flip top' style of mitten at all, but yet you can get your fingers out without having to use your other hand at all. I really love them.

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Pizza Purse

Here is a little purse that I crocheted for a challenge over on craftster. Its a little bizarre, I admit. But I like it. Someone suggested a whole pizza beret. Who knows?

Calorimetry

I'm don't think I've posted this yet. Here is a picture of the calorimetry (from knitty) that I knit from the yarn I got from a magic yarnball swap on craftster. I have to say that this swap is probably the most fun I've done. The premise is that little goodies (handcrafted and not) are wound into the ball. You discover the treasures by 'knitting them out'.

Crocheted backpack

Before I was assigned a partner for the Earth Day swap, I started knitting a market bag........in recycled pink cotton. Well, I was in for a suprise because my partner was a guy so no pink market bag for him. I came across this pattern in crochet magazine I had (I can't remember the name). It was made for a young boy. Amy gave me the go ahead and said that several of her guy friends would definitley like it. I really liked this pattern. It was very easy and the end result was very sturdy.

Something Else for my Earth Day partner

It seems I'm a one trick

pony lately since whenever I'm required to make something for a swap I turn to crochet. Its become apparent to me that crochet is my preferred way to express myself with fiber. I do love to knit (I find it more relaxing), but crochet is more results driven. I get results faster. Anyway this is a waterbottle holder. Oprah's program today explained how much energy is wasted in producing bottled water and one of the simplest things we can do for the environment is to stop drinking bottled water and to drink water from the tap.

Earth Day Swap

Here are some pictures of things I made for the Earth Day swap over on Craftster. All of these things were made from items I recycled and I'm proud to say I didn't buy anything to make these. (Well, I did buy some flax seed to stuff the comfort bag - I'm told flax seed doesn't smell as bad as rice- which is a load of hogwash, because the flax smelled kind of bad too.)

Dollar Store Swap

These are the things I made for the dollar store swap. I was limited as to how much I could spend (10$) and I could only use supplies that I already had in my stash. I think I did pretty good. My swap partner seemed most impressed with the sock bunny. I liked the scissors caddy (made from a pot holder) with attached pin cushion. I was most impressed with goodies I received from her. She really went above and beyond what I expected from a dollar store swap. My most favorite thing was the bottle of robins egg soap.

I pledge to post more often...(really)

I seem to have lost my desire to post regularly on this blog. Probably because I don't think anyone is actually reading it, but who knows. Its nice to be able to access pictures of things I've completed when I'm showing off to my friends at work. Speaking of work, I made this scarf for my friend Mehrnaz. She just completed a 10 week internship with me. I absolutely adored her, and I wanted to make something nice for her.

The pattern is a freebie from cider moon.

In other news, Amy bought herself a new digital camera. And wonder of wonders, I've learned how to upload pictures from it. So, hopefully in the future, my pictures will be a little more clear.

I'm still partaking of swaps on craftster. I just completed a dollar store swap and an earth day swap. I like how swaps can get your creative juices flowing. I'll try to post some pics of the things I've made.