Beaded Year of Lace Scarf KAL

Hello again all!

So I said I was going to try and get better about posting things again, so here I am!

This time, it's with a Scarf KAL!

Every Year, Elizabeth Ravenwood Designs does a yearly Lace Scarf.  It's a free KAL, with one clue a month. 

It's basically a sampler scarf -- which is great, because then each section only takes a little bit of knitting!

The KAL is free to join (though you will have missed the first sections for February and March), and it's a lot of fun.

So, without further ado, I present my Beaded Year of Lace Scarf!

This shows the January and February Sections, and the start of the March section.

It's a lot of fun, honestly, and if you can join in, please, feel free!

I find I end up quite happily looking forward to each section of this.  I intend for it to be a Christmas gift for my Aunt, since she was gushing over the 2014 scarf when I wore it to the family new years party.

Audio Book Knitting!

With two KAL deadlines coming up, plus having to finish my One Cable Mitts by May, I was looking and hoping for a way to have more knitting time.

I think I found it.   My church is doing a bible study/book study, and we're looking at "The Heart of Christianity" by Marcus Borg. It's definitely an interesting read for those who are interested, but there's a lot there to unpack.

(Also, I can't help but think of The Borg whenever I read his name!)

All tangents aside, though, a friend of mine who is also in this study, happened to have the audio version; of which she was kind enough to lend me a copy.  This has proven incredibly useful, as I can sit with my headphones on in my computer chair, and just listen and knit.   I'm actually glad I'm listenening rather then reading, the material is pretty dense.

Regardless, though, it gave me my knitting time;

My One Cable Mitts progressed really rapidly, I'm now done the left mitten except for the thumb:

and my Business Casual Socks are now past the heel and onto the gusset decreases for the foot.

 I have to finish these by March 31, to make the KAL deadline,  so I really don't know if I can do it.  Then again, I have finished a mans sock in ten days, so maybe, maybe I can pull that off. If I can't they're actually for a summer birthday, so I've got lots of time to actually finish them, if I just can't finish them for the KAL.  But I'm going to try!

Finally, though there's no new picture, I'm done the thumb gusset on the first of the Vancouver Fog Gloves. They're also for a knit-along with a deadline of April 1, but they seem to be knitting up a lot faster now that I'm actually paying attention to them!

Birthday Knitting Done Early!

Usually, I find most knitters writing horror stories of knitting the day of someone's birthday, or frantically knitting presents on Christmas day.

And I admit to doing that myself.

But not this time.

I finished the River Runs Through It Mittens.

They're for a birthday in December, so I finished with lots of extra time.   No frantic knitting on this project!

Also, they're for the Sweet Georgia Knit-Along on Ravelry -- for which I've started a third project, the Vancouver Fog Fingerless Gloves.  These are also a December Gift, though in this case, they are a Christmas gift.

See, I'm really trying to be good about my knitting this year!  And even better yet, so far it's working!

I even assembled a big list of all the things I want to knit for Christmas/Birthdays this year here, on Ravelry.  (I'm glad that pretty much no one on that list has a Rav account, and those that do don't know who they are on the list!)   Anyway, I'll see how well I do!

Illness and a knitting reprive.

Ugh.  So I feel horrible today.  I know why, it's just health stuff, it will go away on its own in a day or two, hopefully in time for New Years.

But that means that the party I was supposed to be going to tomorrow isn't happening.

I was originally trying to finish the Sit and Knit Mitts for it, but that wasn't happening either.

So, after a lot of shuffling around of ungifted knitted stuff, trying to find things homes where I know they would be appreciated and worn, the Marian Cowl will go to a friend, (my step-sister couldn't make Christmas Day and I don't have her mailing address)  and the Sit and Knit mittens will become next year's Birthday Gift for the same friend. 

This makes things a lot less rushed, which is wonderful.

Dragon Rider Gloves are done!

Well, that's pretty much what it sounds like! I finished them off on the transit while coming back from my parent's place for Christmas.

My apologies for the less-then-awesome picture, but I'm stuck with the tablet camera for the moment.

The photo's not quite true-to-colour, but I'm still quite happy with how they turned out, even if the pattern does need some erratta written up.   Maybe I'll do that for Ravelry.

. . . and Knitting on Christmas Day!

I think a lot of knitters have been guilty of frantically knitting on Christmas Day.

This year, it's the Dragon Rider Gloves that didn't quite make it done in time.

 I think that's for two reasons.

One: is because I couldn't knit them at home when my roommate was home.

And Two: is because I considered them a 'fast knit' I neglected them in favour of other, more complicated or fiddly projects. 

That being said, though, I expect to have them finished by the end of Christmas Day -- I have a bus ride to my parent's place, and I'm at the point now where I can knit these on the transit without having to refer to the book constantly.   I can also knit -at- my parent's place too, if I need to.  I'll also take the Sit and Knit Lace Mitts, too, since they need to be done for the 30th of December.

Knitting on Christmas Eve. . .

Yep, it's Christmas Eve, and I'm still knitting.

However, I did finish the Marian Cowl (it knits up superbly fast!)

Unfortunately I have not yet finished the Dragon Rider Gloves.  I've got about a glove-and-a-half to go, still.  But these are my only project for the day, and hopefully I can finish them before my roommate gets home!  She's getting home early, though, because it's Christmas Eve.  Here's hoping.  In fact, one of the reasons they've taken longer is simply because I can't work on them when she's home!

Also, I started a new project, a pair of Lace Mittens in old worsted-weight acrylic.  They're for a Secret Santa on the 30th. The pattern is called 'Sit N' Knit Mitts', and it's available on Ravelry as a payed download (I was lucky enough to get it for free with a coupon a while ago!)  No picture yet, but they're coming along.

That's the end of the Christmas Knitting for now; here's hoping everyone has a great Christmas; and is staying safe with all the ice still out there.

Surprises for Christmas

I just found out my Step-Sister will be around for Christmas.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing.  She and I aren't close, but we get along reasonably well.  I didn't expect her, since she'd just moved down to the States for a new job.  But apparently, things are going well enough for her that she can fly back on Christmas Eve.

Ok, awesome. . . but everyone else in my immediate family has knitted christmas gifts.  And I don't necessarily mind knitting for her.

Well, the Purple Purl's Sale worked out in my favour this year -- I got a skein of Sweet Georgia Superwash Chunky, and a set of monstrous 12.75 mm needles (I usually use 4mm or smaller!).

I've already balled it up, and unfortunately the light isn't the best, but here:

 It's actually far more of a tan colour, the light makes it look more blue.

(I got other stuff at the sale, too, but I don't have good pictures since I'm currently taking pictures with my tablet. )

I also found a (free) 1-skein cowl pattern, which is the Marian Cowl.  It actually calls for super-bulky, but I thought that might be too stiff, and besides which, I was working with what I could a) easily get my hands on and b) was superwash. 

Also, it's supposed to be worked in the round, but the only bigger needles I could find were straight needles, but I've decided I can just seam it afterwards. Yes, I hate seaming, but I can put up with it in this case.

So, my step-sister is getting a cowl, a cowl that is actually kniting up really, really fast.  I'm already 1.5 inches along with just some work on it tonight.

 Man, for instant gratification, bulky yarn and big needles can't be beat!

One Christmas knit left, and updates on the Sock-Along.

I finished the Pine Cone Mittens yesterday night, and got a picture this morning in the sun.

I am glad to have yet one more thing done.  The pile of WIP's is starting to come back down to a manageable level, which is nice.

Currently, I'm frantically knitting on my test-knit socks to make the December 15th deadline, but I should have most of today and tomorrow to try and finish them.

Unfortunately, I've kind of given up on the Sock-Along.  If I do manage to finish, great, but I'm honestly not expecting to at this point, sadly.  I've been neglecting my socks, and I don't think I can knit two more socks by the 15th.   It was good incentive for me to make those hand-knit pairs of socks I wanted, though!

Christmas Wrap-Up and Pretty Yarn

I just went back and checked my Christmas List, and actually, most of my gift knitting is done, or getting close to done.

Last night, while at the Knit Cafe's Knit Night, I finished up the Mini Dalek Coffee Cozy.  Let it dry overnight after blocking, and volia!

 Ugh, and yes, the pictures are sideways.  I thought I'd fixed that, but I guess not.

Also while at the Knit Cafe, I discovered that they sell some of the Fleece Artist yarns.  I don't know how I missed this, they've apparently had them all summer!  I was seriously debating waiting until the boxing day sales to get this, (given that I already got yarn at EatSleepKnit's Black Friday sale) but it just kept calling me.

Anyway, given my roommate's love of deep forest and regal greens, I came home with a skein of Fleece Artist BFL Sock, in what I think is "Spruce."  (Fleece Artist doesn't label their colourways, so that's my best guess).   The photo doesn't do the deepness of the greens justice, I think.

When I showed her the skein, she loved it, and requested a hat in it.  I was kind of hoping to make socks, but she declared that "it's too pretty for socks!"  So it's going to become a Small-Gauge "Knotty but Nice" hat.   It may be next year's birthday or Christmas present. I'm not sure yet.

Pretty (but annoying) Dragon Rider Gloves

The title pretty much says it all. 

The Dragon Rider Gloves are quite pretty, and I'm really happy with how they're turning out.  They're also a quick knit, so I'm not too worried about not being able to finish them for Christmas.

I've gotten past the thumb gusset, and I'm onto the hand proper now, which isn't that many repeats since they're stretchy lace and worsted-weight.

 (Not the best shot, but it works to show progress).

However, the pattern is riddled with typos and weird construction.

First, it's one of the glove patterns that isn't identical, it uses mirrored construction for the left and right glove.  That in itself is fine, but it does require you to pay attention. 

Where it describes the pattern row for the hand, it adds in markers that you only use for the thumb gusset, and the marker placement didn't seem quite right anyway.  I just ignored those. 

It also increases oddly for the thumb gusset, using 3 markers and increasing 2, 3, or no stitches.  (For that, just follow the pattern, it does look odd but it does work).

Finally, when you put the thumb stitches onto a stitch holder, the pattern doesn't tell you to cast on an additional stitch to replace the one you started with for the thumb gusset.   However, if you don't, your pattern stitch won't line up properly. You have to cast on 1 stitch to make the thumb work.

Also, in reading ahead in the pattern, the descriptions to split the stitches for the fingers is rather vague.  I'm glad I've done gloves before because it would be very easy to not realize that you have to take half your index finger stitches from the palm and half your index finger stitches from the back-of-hand. All the pattern says is to 'divide 12 stitches evenly among 3 needles' for the index finger.   If you just take the next 12 stitches from the needle, that won't work, and your index finger will be in the wrong place!

All that being said, though, the pattern is a fun knit, and isn't hard once you realize what's going on.  Provided you have experience making gloves/mittens, you should be able to figure it all out.

Christmas Knitting Update

I finished the Christmas Mittens!

I actually finished them last night, but only got the picture today.

They were a nice, simple knit in stocking stitch, and the 'string' is chain crochet attached by a small tab of single crochet (I wanted a sturdy connection between the chain and the mittens). 

They're for someone who is rather forgetful, so now these will be mittens that are harder to lose.   He (obviously jokingly) asked me for a pair of mittens-on-a-string for Christmas.  He thought it was a joke, so these will be a great surprise.

It's nice to have another finished Christmas gift, that's for sure.  

A search for stitch-holders and cable needles

First off, thank you -so- much!  Almost 2500 views -- I never thought I would really get any views. So, thank you!


Now, onto my realization of the day:  I need more stitch holders.

I mean, I have one holding the sleeve for my Cabled Cardigan (I'm hoping to join the yoke in on that next week, which will be exciting and picture worthy), I have one holding the thumb for my Pine Cone Mittens, I have one holding the one leg of my Pyjama Shorts, and I have one holding the thumb of my Christmas Mittens.

I never, ever thought I would need more then 4 stitch holders.

"But can't you just use scrap yarn?  That's what you use for stitch markers." 

Well, yes, but I find it really hard to get stitches off of scrap yarn and onto a needle, so I really don't like using scrap yarn to hold stitches.  As stitch markers, yes, I love scrap yarn.  It means that I can't accidentally knit my marker into my work, and I don't have to worry.  It also is a nice way to use up yarn scraps.  But for holding stitches, no, it's not my first choice.  I grudgingly use it for lifelines (when I remember to put in lifelines), but that's about it.

So, my current "important" projects are now the projects that are using my stitch holders, so that I can put the thumbs on my various christmas knitting projects.

Also, I lost my little cable needle.   I have several cable needles, but one is this little purple one, and it's thinner then most cable needles I usually see.  The other ones are a bit too big for working on my Cabled Cardigan.

I would say that since I lost it at home it can't have gone too far.  With two cats, though, that cable needle could be just about anywhere. . . .

 I can pick up a new cable needle at Knit Night, it's just annoying because that one was nice and thin, perfect for cabling on socks and such. 

Knitting and Novel-Writing

So, November is here, and with it comes colder weather.  This means, it's quite nice to sit inside and knit with a warm mug of hot chocolate. 

However, I do have to be aware that National Novel Writing Month is now happening, and my spare time is, well, pretty much non-existent.  However, luckily, most of my Holiday Knitting is transit friendly, and it's also a good way to give my brain a break when I just can't think of the next line to write.

So, the Mini-Dalek is progressing quite nicely.  I had an in-person chat with my giftee earlier in the week, and I now have a proper reference point for the sizing of this -- I'm going to have to make it longer, so I'm adding a second set of bobbles after the first welt.

 I'll have to go hunting through my button-jar to see if I have 3 matching buttons for this, but if not, a trip to the fabric store is in order anyway, as I have several projects that need various notions.

The Pine Cone mittens are also coming along well, especially considering that they were a stash-dive.  Left mitten is done except for the thumb, now, and the cuff's cast on for the right mitten.

The charted pattern on the back of the hand means this is a bit less transit-friendly, but the ribbing and such still is something I can bring with me while travelling.

Finally, the Christmas Mittens are one of the fastest knits I've ever done.  They're been almost completely made on various bus and subway rides, as I'm already done the thumb gusset and half-way up the palm for the right mitten.  It really does help that they're basically plain stocking stitch.

However, with all the various mittens I've been making, I'm beginning to run out of stitch holders!  They're all being used to hold thumb gusset stitches!

In less-stressful knitting news;  in my rare moments of relaxation where I'm not trying to write frantically, (usually while working on my Mass Effect 2 re-play), I've been working on my Evening Star Cowl and my Cabled Cardigan.  Even if it's only one row a day, I'm really enjoying my work on both of them, it keeps me feeling accomplished, and it's nice to see that the second sleeve for my cardigan is almost done. 

Progress, and things off the needles!

Well, it's been a bit of time, but life's been busy over the last few days.

I'm not feeling so great today, thank goodness it's a slower day.  I was supposed to have a volunteer meeting today, but I let them know I won't be able to come (I don't think running to the bathroom every few minutes would make me that productive).

On the plus side, feeling like crap means I'll just stay home and knit today.

But even over the last few days, I've been productive with my knitting.

1) The Christmas Mittens are a wonderfully simple pattern, and I got mitten number one finished on the bus and during a volunteer photo shoot. (I did, I found, have to go up to 3.5 mm needles for the right tension, but that's ok.)

It seems like this picture is better indicative of the true colour, even though it was taken at night with a camera flash.  Weird. . . .

I've since added the thumb, sewn in the ends, and started in on mitten two.  (And one of the complete non-knitters at my volunteering asked me in surprise if I was knitting with the tapestry needle while I was sewing in ends at the photo shoot.  I laughed and explained that 'no, this is just for sewing it together.  She told me that made a lot more sense, and we both laughed.)

Also, the Fall Lake Slippers are finally done!  The tubular cast-off takes a while, but it's worth it for the stretchy edge.

No new picture there, since I gave the second one to my roommate pretty much the moment it was done.  But I think you folks can get the idea.

That's it for the moment, more to come when I feel better.

Slipper Love and Christmas Knitting Update

Well, it's hard to have second-slipper syndrome when the slipper is really well loved.

My roommate took the finished Fall Lake Slipper and is wearing it mis-matched with her remaining old slipper -- she loves it that much.  Apparently it's really nice and warm.

 It's really heartening to see a knitted gift so well received.  And she's not pestering me for the mate, either. . . though when I was uninspired when my knitting tonight, I asked her what I should work on, and she grinned and told me I should work on her slipper.   But I consider that funny, not pestering.  Besides, I did ask.

Beyond the slippers, the Christmas Knitting is progressing nicely.  There's not yet pictures of everything, but, I'll share the pictures I do have.

1) The Pine Cone Mittens:

These are turning out better then I'd hoped, considering that they were a complete stash-dive and I wasn't sure how the yarn would turn out.   There's more ribbing done now then the picture shows.

2) The Mini-Dalek Coffee Cozy:

This is easily my most complicated Christmas Gift, but it's a nice challenge.  I do find I can only take so much of the bobbles, though, before I need a break from this.   Also, it was a real trick getting the gauge right, since I'm scaling down the pattern.  Basically, I took the dimensions my giftee gave me (about the size of a water-glass), and then did some swatches to see what stitches-per-inch would give me that finished size.

Didn't -quite- work as easily as that, but I got it sorted out in the end.


3) The Dragon Rider Gloves:

I was surprised by this pattern, since there's no ribbing around the edge of the cuffs, just a band of ribbing on the palm.  Also, there's some typos in the pattern before the thumb gusset, which make things kind of confusing.  If it weren't for Ravelry, I probably would be a lot more frustrated with these then I am.

So for once, the Christmas Knitting is actually kind of under control.  It's keeping me busy, yes, but I don't feel overwhelmed by it.

Piles and Piles of Christmas Knitting (and stuff for me, too!)

I decided to enter a KAL featuring Christmas Knitting.

While only one entry can actually be entered, you can knit as many things as you want, provided you only post one finished object in the final thread for the knit-along.

While you can't knit until October the 15th (tomorrow), you can swatch and wind yarn before, so I spent yesterday winding a whole bunch of yarn for these projects.

1) Dragon Rider Gloves.  They're for someone who reads this blog, so I'm hoping not to spoil the surprise too badly.

2) Mittens on a String.  These are a simple free mitten pattern.  My giftee for these is one of those types, while a really sweet person, who would leave his head behind if it wasn't attached to his body.   Hence, the mitten-string.

3) Mini-Dalek Coffee Cozy.  This is going to be the most complicated of my Christmas gifts since I'm re-sizing the pattern.  It's just a matter of recalculating and shrinking stitches per inch, but it still has to be done. Gauge isn't absolutely crucial on this, which does give me a bit of wiggle room.

4) Pine Cone Mittens.  Yet another pattern from Knitting Everyday Finery, these are the only project I haven't created a Ravelry Project Page for, because the yarn for them doesn't need to be wound, it's a giant ball of worsted-weight mill ends I got ages ago that came pre-wound.   These are for the friend who was kind enough to lend me a netbook to get through the laptop being down.  He wasn't initially on my knitting list, but he really did come to my rescue since I need the computer for work.

Finally, there's a project for me, as part of the idea of this KAL is that you don't forget about yourself during the frantic rush of holiday knitting.  The idea is you get one entry for a gift, and one entry for something you knit for yourself.  So, like I mentioned before, I'm going to be making myself a fair-isle hat/cowl/mitten set.

It's going to be a busy next few months.

Scarf is done (or, progress on the Christmas Knitting!)

So, the Entrelac Scarf for my Father is finally done.

Yeay! 

It's nice to have something off the needles, since several more things will be going on the needles in the next little while.

There's another KAL here on Ravelry that's all about Christmas knitting, so I'm going to enter that with my remaining Christmas Gifts.

Also, that KAL challenges you to make one thing for yourself, as well, so I'm going to make these (non ravelry link here), using Briggs and Little I got early in 2013.  The DROPS patterns are actually really nice patterns, even if sometimes the instructions are a touch vague (but that's probably just due to the translations, I suspect.)

Project Update -- September 27th, 2013

No pictures (it's dark now, so pictures don't turn out as well), but some news.

1)  I've determined that yes, I -will- need more yarn to finish my Mariah Cabled Cardigan. It's been an interesting adventure, knitting this, because I started when I knew a lot less then I know now.

So, I've put 1 more skein of the Dream In Colour Smooshy with Cashmere on my wishlist at EatSleepKnit.  (It's not in stock there right now).    Where I originally got the yarn, back in 2012, is no longer carrying Dream in Colour yarns, in fact, I haven't found a local place that carries the Smooshy with Cashmere.  Knit-O-Matic could order a bag of the Smooshy with Cashmere, I've been told, but I don't need a bag, just one more skein.  And though yes, I could use the other skeins in luxurious socks, I don't like the cashmere content in socks, because I want my socks to be machine washable.

However, this means that my new skein, like most hand-dyed yarns, won't be an exact match.  So, my plan is to finish up the sleeve with the skein I have now, then alternate the new skein with the ends from my various old skeins, and hope that hides the worst of the dye lot variation.

2) My Cowl KAL is progressing. . . slowly.  I just sat down with Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (can I say that I love the original series far more then the JJ Abrams reboot?)  and knit through that, which got me to the second pattern repeat (the pattern repeats 6 times).   When I'm done here, I'm going to stick on the Star Trek original series episode "Space Seed" and see if I can't get more knitting done tonight before my roommate gets home from work.

3) My Christmas Entrelac Scarf is getting closer to completion.  It's become my take-along brainless knitting for the moment, because it really is.  Entrelac looks complicated, but so long as you don't knit too many stitches in a section, you're fine.  I'm going to use three balls of the Liberty Wool Light, and then I'll see how much longer I think it needs to be.  I'm also going to add some fringe to it -- I think it would look better.

Job Interview and plans for another day around downtown:

I got a job interview! 

It's a place I applied for ages ago, and they got back to me and asked if I could come in tomorrow.  The position's part-time, so it won't interfere with my current job.

I'm excited, nervous, and going to try and go to bed right after I finish typing this.

Thing is, I'm meeting someone downtown later, so there's no point in me going home. It makes more sense to hang around and do some of those errands I didn't get to earlier, but even then, I'll have time to kill.

However, I realized I'm going to be close to Lettuce Knit.

I've never been there, and it's convenient that I can go there and sit and knit to kill some time.  There are a good number of little restaurants nearby it that I can get lunch/dinner (hopefully with better luck then last time!), including the place that I originally wanted to go to.

With a bit of luck, I might even be able to clear a project off the needles.  That would be nice.

On another note, I put in another order at EatSleepKnit -- with the Sweet Georgia Superwash Worsted back in stock, I just ordered the last of the remaining yarn for my christmas gifts.

Finally, after all that, the choir at my church is starting back up for the fall, so the first practice is tomorrow evening.  It'll be nice to be singing in the choir again. :)