More Knitting.....

I had a very busy knitting weekend, and I have the sore wrists to prove it. I finished the second sock for my dad (2 days before the "deadline" - woohoo!).


I also continued my holiday knitting with this yellow sock for my MIL. The pattern is written for Wool-Ease, and I have knit it with that. But Wool-Ease is a little too scratchy for my taste, so I'm making these socks out of Caron's Simply Soft. Yellow is one of my MIL's favorite colors and I happened to have this in my stash. Sock #1 completed - sock #2 not even started.

And last, but certainly not least, I cast on these SUPER COOL gloves - for me. Yes, I know I should be finishing my Jaywalker socks, but I just had to start these. I picked the yarn up at The Yarn Cafe when they were closing. I have 4 balls of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4-ply (discontinued) in Feral - a dark chocolaty color - that I paid about $10 for. This should easily make this pair of gloves with some to spare. They won't really match my red and black coat, but who cares!! I guess that just means I need to buy a new coat - LOL!!

Yikes - after not having many projects on the needles for a bit, I now have a bunch! Sore wrists or not.....time to get knitting!

Mom's Sweater

More holiday knitting is underway! This sweater will be for my mother. It's a very basic top down raglan and so far I really like it. The yarn is Joann's Sensations boucle in an old color called Berry (I think it's old. I can't find it on their website anyway.) I like the long color change - very pretty for this pattern. The yarn is a bit of a pain to knit with since it snags on everything and the ball/skein is huge and a pain to work with. (I never did manage to find the center pull, so I'm having to use it from the outside end - yuck!) But overall I'm pleased and I think my mom will be too!

(Don't mind the bits of red yarn - those are holding the sleeve stitches. And the black at the bottom was just so I could try it on for sizing. I'm thinking it'll be perfect!!)

And I have to admit that I'm not working hard on Dad's birthday socks. DD has a dance class today, so I'll bring them along then - they are much more portable than a sweater with a huge ball of yarn! I'm sure I'll get them done in time - there's probably only a few more hours left on them.

Until next time, knit on!

Another fun card

I've drawn a line in the sand. I will NOT be buying any of the new Stampin' Up In Color ink pads or ribbons. I did get and assorted pack of card stock so I could participate in the color challenges on SCS, but that's it!

Whew - it feel good to get that off my chest! Now, on to the card. Of course the color challenge used 2 of the new In Colors - Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze. I decided to use one of the dragons from the Doodle factory line at Starving Artist stamps. I just used my markers to blended colors to for the right shade and then watercolored the dragon. And the Detours line from October Afternoon is a perfect match for the In Colors - so if I need something I always have a few of those ;).


I'm not sure who this card will be sent to - I'm sure I'll find the perfect reason soon enough. It's always nice to have a few generic cards around.

In the knitting world - I just cast on the sweater I plan on knitting for my mom. It's a very basic top down raglan. It was designed for the huge skeins of Joanns Sensations boucle yarn. I picked a pretty plum/purple yarn. (I think it's an older color since it's not on their website.) I like it so far, but my circular needle is a little too long. I'm hoping that once I get a few more stitches added it will be more comfortable.

Dad's socks are coming along nicely. I turned the heel of the second sock this weekend, and I'm about 1/3 done with the foot. If I would just concentrate on these I'd have them done in no time, but I just had to cast on something new. *sigh*

Knit on!

Super quick knit

I don't think I've ever knit anything this quickly before. OK - maybe a hat - but that's about it! (Note to self: search the internet for more patterns using a super bulky yarn.)

The new Fall Knitty is fabulous, but when I saw the Abrazo pattern it was love at first sight! I picked up the yarn last week and started it yesterday. Yep, that's right - yesterday! I did knit a lot yesterday, but it was a super quick knit. I finished up the first arm last night, but I wasn't thrilled with it. I asked the gals at the knitting group today and got a few suggestions. I ripped back the arm and re-knit it there.


This was knit with Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Charcoal. It's tough to get a good picture when the yarn is so dark, but I wanted to show you something! I'll have DH take a picture of me wearing it later today and try and post it too. I'm really pleased with how it came out. I might re-do one of the arms - I think it's longer than the other one......but I'm not certain yet. I'll have to do some measuring.

AND - I did the crochet around the arm holes and back of the neck. I'm so darn proud of myself! Kate showed me the basics of crochet at one of the Rav knit nights and I managed to do it. (With a little help from the internet, but still, I'm pleased.)

Now back to the birthday/holiday knitting.

Something knit for a change...

I offered to knit a wool diaper cover (commonly called a soaker) for a gal that is preggo and planning on using cloth diapers. I have never cloth diapered nor knit a soaker, so this was all new to me. I found a free pattern on Rav and went from there. This is a Curly Purly soaker - very easy and pretty darn cute too.

I didn't do anything fancy with it (I thought about adding some butt ruffles, but the math got to me *sigh*). I used 2 colors so I would have enough yarn left over to make my daughter a felted crown.......but more about that later!

I know it's a bit hard to figure out what that darn thing is supposed to look like, so I had one of my daughters dolls model it! (This is one of those dolls that is supposed to be very life-like in size, etc.)
It will stretch quite a bit after the first washing, but I don't have any baby detergent, so I told the intended recipient that it will need to be washed. I hope she liked it!

I still have the socks for my dad OTN, but after finding out he will be out of town for his birthday - they went on the back burner since I have some extra time. I also started a shawl. Not because I wanted one or had a burning desire to knit one, but because I had some yarn that I just didn't know what else to do with. (Can I admit that I bought some Red Heart Symphony yarn? It has got to be the worst yarn ever - absolutely horrible to kit with.) It's a simple Turkish stitch triangular shawl that I think will end up as a holiday gift for my FIL's girlfriend. (And as horrible as it is to knit, the shawl is really quite pretty, soft and warm.)

And as a side note - I just googled Turkish Stitch and found a different stitch than this shawl uses. I'm sure it's one of those crazy knitting things where they call multiple stitch patterns the same name, but heck - that's confusing!!

Knit on!

A tricky card...

...for me on more than one level. My DH and I were invited to our first bar mitzvah this weekend. Which meant I needed a card. This was tough on two levels - first, making a card for a young teenage boy, and second, making a card for a bar mitzvah. Other than a very rudimentary knowledge of the bar mitzvah ritual, I have no idea what is appropriate. I asked a few questions on a very informative thread on Splitcoast about Jewish card making.

I figured my JustRite monogram stamp would work perfectly. You can basically make it say whatever you need! How perfect was that? No more needing to buy a stamp for every obscure holiday! I took my color cue from the invitation, a golden yellow and red. I used the papertreyink Guidelines set to make a nice masculine background. Then I added a little black for some contrast, and there you go. My very first bar mitzvah card.

Details:
Paper - Summer sun and Real Red from Stampin Up
Stamps - Guidelines from Papertreyink, and JustRite monogram stamp
Misc - Circle Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Black grosgrain ribbon, brushed gold brad from Making Memories

I'm still working on the bike helmet ear warmers for DH. Nothing like waiting until the last minute - his birthday is tomorrow!

Knit on!!

Another Christmas card

One more down! (Only about 20 more to go - yea!) I used the sketch challenge from Splitcoast combined with yesterdays color combo - Riding Hood Red, Green Galore, and Going Gray. Since I'm refusing to buy any of the In Color ink pads this year, I have to get a bit more creative. I did buy the paper, so that makes things easier at least ;).

And since I didn't have any black sparkly brads, I made my own. I dipped some brass brads into my black pigment ink, then dipped it into sparkly embossing powder. It did take 2 coats, but I like how they turned out. (But watch your fingers - it gets pretty hot!) I did the same thing to the snowflake brad to make it match.


I also used my "sparkle" sentiment. I never seem to know when to use this, except on a very sparkly card! I guess it fits in this case.

Have a great day!

The sock fits!

I did go to my parents house yesterday to have my dad try on "the sock". I am so glad I did because it fit! I finished the first one up last night and have started the second. I'm making them out of Lion Brand Wool Ease - it wears well and it machine washable. Two very important attributes for a pair of socks for my father. They didn't have the exact Maroon color I wanted - this is more of a cranberry, but it still looks nice and my dad didn't complain!

I'm not really following a pattern for these socks - I mean after you know the basics of sock knitting, you can make a basic sock. I am using a knit 3, purl 1 pattern for the leg and instep, which Yvonne (aka - the knitting goddess, in my opinion) suggested at knit night. And when she said that I nearly fell out of my chair since I had started this sock nearly a week prior! (But seriously, Yvonne is the most amazing knitter and woman. I want to be just like her when I grow up!)


I admit, the picture looks a bit odd. It's partially the angle and also the K3, P1. It makes the leg look super skinny, but it provides a fabulous fit!

Knit on!!

Another Gift done

I asked my sister what hat she though her older son would like - something with cables or a Hurricane hat. She said definitely the Hurricane hat. So I cast on last night and finished up this afternoon. I made it a bit long since Andy has *thick* hair. I hope it's not too long. I suppose he can always just roll up the brim.


And here is DH modeling it:

On a side note - do you all think cables are too "girly"? I asked my DH and he said they certainly were, so I asked the gals at my knit night. For the most part, they all agreed that cables are feminine. I'm amazed - I always thought of them as fairly masculine. You know, cabled fishermen/Aran sweaters and all. Oh well - it was news to me.

I've decided to take the socks I was knitting for my dad to him to try them on. Since I have quite a bit of time invested in them, it would best best to be SURE they are too small before I frog them. On the off chance that they aren't too small, I've saved myself about a week of knitting! I wish I could do it without having him look at his feet so they would still be a surprise, but I think that may be a bit tricky.

Knit on!

A ton of Randomness

Not any one big thing to post....just a lot of little things!

First - the G man started Kindergarten this week. He was thrilled to be riding on the "big" bus with all the other kids. No tears were shed by anyone :) .

(How cute are those knee socks?? The kid just cracks me up sometimes!)

Second - Starving Artist Stamps is having a preview of their new Halloween releases.

Just leave a comment on their blog for a chance to win them!

Third - the socks I started for my dad (in Maroon and gold - the U of MN colors!) are going to be too small. I'm not sure why I thought I was making them big enough, but I wasn't. I'm about 2/3's done with the first sock, so I'll have to frog it and start over. Blech.

Fourth - On a whim, I decided to knit something for DH for his birthday (next Friday for anyone keeping track.) He loves to ride his bike to work, but the weather in MN does not allow him to do that very often. I found the coolest pattern for knit ear covers for a bike helmet. Super easy and quick and I think he'll like them. At least I hope so.

Fifth - Miss C and I seem to be recovering from our bout with the flu. Nothing worse than having a sick 4 year old when you are sick yourself. Thankfully DH stayed home to take care of us. Which was good since I barely got out of bed all day.

And lastly - tonight is my knit night!! I think I will be on the receiving end of 2 charity blankets to knit. I just joined a group of knitters that knit blankets to donate. One person starts the blanket, knits a border then 4 inches, then mails it to the next person. The next person knits 4 more inches and sends it to the next knitter. The knitting needles are mailed with the project. Each blanket has a theme for continuity. I should be receiving the "Over the Rainbow" blanket in the mail, and the "Little Boy Blue" blanket from Kate at knit night. I'm excited to work on them. I'll post pictures when I mail them on to the next knitters.

Knit on!!