I learned how to knit a hat!

This is very exciting for me! Last month I took a class at a little knitting shop I just found on how to make a fair isle hat.  I'd never made a hat, used circular needles, or done anything fair isle before, but I was pleasantly surprise with how quickly I could pick it up.  It turned out really well so now my whole family is getting hats for Christmas.  Here's the first one I made for myself (pardon the ipod pictures, they start out ok but get worse as it gets darker outside.)

Next, this hat is for my husband.  I still need to fix the loose ends and block it.  Oh, and can I just say that I've never blocked one of my projects before and it is just amazing.  I think I was always a little scared of soaking it in water and somehow ruining it... I don't know.  But my hat was too small after I got done with it, but then I blocked it and magically it fit perfectly. Amazing.

This next one is for my mom.  It is a little bit different pattern - rather than a ski hat it is supposed to be a tam.  I guess I am supposed to block it with a plate inside and it will get somewhat of a beret look to it.

I still have to make one for my dad and one for my brother.  And they all have to be completely done before we leave on our trip next Saturday. 12 days for 2 hats?  I better get off the computer and get back to my knitting!

That is pretty much all I am making this year.  My husband is making a set of cornhole boards for his parents.  Come to think of it, though, I'll probably help paint them since that seems to be my job around here.  Anyway, he's working on them tonight so I ran out to the garage and snapped a picture:

pretty colors? or camo?

Here's my latest blanket.  This beast was made with the size 50 needles.  When I first picked out the colors for this it all seemed like such a good idea in my head.  Two pretty shades of green, and then a brown and a cream color as neutrals to compliment the green.  About halfway through it occured to me that maybe it looked more like camo than anything else.  This was not my intention.  :-/  What do you all think?  Is it just a lovely green blanket?  Or is it camo?  If it's the first, then it's going to my mom for her birthday next weekend.  In the case of the latter, it will probably go to my brother in a few months for his birthday.  Either way, I don't think I'll be keeping it, so I'm trying to judge how someone else might see it.

 I also wanted to share a few of the things I knitted for Christmas.  I made some dishcloths for a few relatives.  I know it's not the most exciting gift, but I'm still learning, and it was fun to experiement with different effects.  I even figured out how to cable.

Finally, I made a few scarves with Fun Fur yarn.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures.  I'll try to see if I can get some from the recipients.  For now, I'll just leave you with a photo of the type of yarn and you can imagine the rest. 

Some Marie Retro Work

Marie knitted this sweater for Ella 8 years ago.  It didn't fit her when it was first made but she grew into it and it's lasted through the years and all the kids have worn it at one time or another.  Thank you Maire.

Willoughby!

Here is my latest finished project. Made for me (aren't I selfish! ha ha) I knitted this with a cheap acrylic yarn since I am allergic to wool. I do like the yarn, but the scarf probably would have been nicer had I used a good wool - the acrylic doesn't block very well. At least I can wear this as much as I want with no rash!

This pattern was also by Jared Flood, who wrote the Girasole pattern I did last. This I found much harder. There was just no way to memorize the pattern, so it took a bit more time than I originally thought. And, I learned to do bobbles! I also had to do a provisional cast on. That in itself was not bad, it was taking out the cast on and picking up the live stitches nearly did me in!

Can't wait to start something new, though. Had planned on starting a lace project using actual lace-weight yarn (this was DK weight), but can't seem to get the yarn I order to actually make it to me. Darn military APO boxes!!!

Oh- and would someone PLEASE teach me how to load the pictures in the order I want.... they never seem to come up right and I can't manage to move them around properly.

My first blanket

I made this blanket for a very good friend of mine who is pregnant with her first child. She isn't far along enough to know the sex, so I tried to pick a yarn that would work for any baby. (and naturally I rebelled against the plain yellow or green neutral baby colors, cause that's just what I do.) It turned out quite a bit larger than I anticipated. I wasn't really following a pattern, so I cast on way too many stitches. Then by the time I realized it, I had gone too far and didn't want to start over again.

By the end of the blanket, I was having a little trouble and scared of losing my work, so I knitted the edges tighter so they wouldn't fall off the back end of my needles (this happened once so I was paranoid.) This resulted in the edge of the blanket being tighter than the inside, so it doesn't really lie really flat unless you smooth it out each time. And apparently I cast off tighter than I cast on, so the whole thing is more of a trapezoid than a rectangle.

All in all, it's definitely not perfect, but it's the first blanket i've ever knitted so yay! I gave it to my friend last weekend and she loved, flaws and all, because it was made with love. awww. I currently have a second blanket in the works, using size 50 needles - yikes. more on that later. :)

Knitting - Take Two

So, if you all remember, I started knitting way back here, but that was basically all I did. Recently I picked it up again. One of my friends knows how to knit and has started having a monthly "knitting night". This blog has been kinda slow lately, but I finally have something share again :)

Here's the project from our first meeting. A dishcloth, not sure if I'll ever use it though!

I started a scarf with some wool yarn, but I dont have pictures of that yet. Coming soon, though.

Getting Back Into Crafting

Andrew is officially one month old! The time has seemed to go really fast, although I wouldn't have told you that the first two weeks or so. But now Andrew has gotten the hang of sleeping at night, which makes all the difference in the world.

Now that I am getting more than one hour of sleep at a time, I have gotten back to my sewing machine and knitting needles. I even pulled out a crochet hook! I cannot put everything I have made up here because some of it will be given to people who read this blog for Christmas gifts! But I can put up the rest.

You know that before Andrew was born, I knitted up several hats and some booties for him. I made them all based on the sizes of my first two boys since the doctor kept telling me that Andrew based on the ultrasound scans I had, Andrew was also going to be around 9 pounds. Well, he wasn't. He was 7 lb., 10 oz. and he had a slightly smaller than average head. So none of the things that I made fit him except for one pair of booties. (The other pair I actually intended to fit a 3-6 month size, so we are all good there.) So I had to knit him another hat. I actually used a preemie pattern for this hat! I decided that rather than leave the end in stockinette stitch and let it roll like the pattern suggested, I would crochet a border on it. I did four rows of single crochet and I really like the way it turned out!

I also did some embroidery. I had stitched out two burp cloths for Andrew the day I went into labor and didn't have time to add fabric to the back, so I did that.

I also made two other burp cloths for a family friend who just had her second baby. We are in a Bible Study together and she had her baby four days after me. Our study had scheduled a baby shower for us together that ended up being a week after Andrew was born and only three days after her baby was born, and she actually came! But because they didn't decide on a name until after the baby was born, I wasn't able to give her anything other than the promise that I would make her something when I was able. Now I can finally give it to her three weeks later!

The rest of my projects will have to wait until after Christmas to go up on the blog! What kind of Christmas crafting are you all doing?

Getting Down to Business

If I recall, both Joanna and Meagan started cranking out sewing projects after they were well into their third trimester. Apparently, I am no exception to this pregnant-crafting rule! I suddenly feel motivated to get stuff done. That could have something to do with the fact that our adoption paperwork is almost completely done and I feel like I can actually focus on this baby that is coming soon rather than the baby that won't becoming for another three years! Whatever the cause, I finished knitting matching hats for all three boys. I haven't washed these yet so they are a bit stretched in funny directions for now, but you can get the overall effect.

Of course the yarn is scarlet and gray - Buckeye colors! I realized halfway through the third hat that I had actually made the pattern incorrectly, which would explain a lot of the frustration I had in getting the hats to be the right length, but they are still cute anyway. The top of the hat has a cute little point, which Aaron is now old enough to not quite be sure if he likes!

I personally think it is adorable...but that is a mother's perspective for you! I want to try the pattern as written to see what it would be like, too!

I also have almost all of Andrew's crib items cut out and ready to sew. I found I am a little bit short on a few things so I have to order another half yard of a couple of fabrics...oh, well. That's what you get when you decide to make it "just a bit different" from the pattern! Hopefully, I'll get sewing on it soon, and when I do, I'll post pictures.

I also knit another bootie pattern with some awesome cream colored yarn that I love. I followed the pattern exactly as far as weight of yarn, size of needles, and everything, but the 3-6 month pattern would totally fit my three year old. Something isn't right about that! So now I have to find a new pattern that I like, because the yarn is too good to waste.

Successful Resizing

You may remember the last Seed Stitch Hat I made and liked, but was disappointed because it was too big to truly be in infant hat. If not, just click on the link. Go ahead, I'll wait for you - I don't mind! Okay, so now that you remember that hat, I have successfully resized it by using a sport weight yarn rather than a worsted weight and using smaller needles (sz. 6 rather than sz. 10). It worked!! I really like it and it is just the right size.

And it looks really good with the sockabooties that I made out of the same yarn...in my humble opinion, of course!

Now I need some suggestions from the knitters out there. I still have 5 or 6 ounces of this yarn, which is quite a bit. What else should I do with it?

Alright. On to the next project.

Sockabooties

These did turn out cute. I like how they are a cross between a sock and a bootie. The directions were confusing to me at first - especially the w&t (wrap and turn) which I had to try a few times before it made sense and worked right. It was also hard to pick up the wrapped stitches when using a purl stitch. I think the very last time I did that last night, I found a way that is easier. Of course by then I didn't have to do it again in the pattern! I am amazed that these are both the same size and actually look like the pattern, too! It was my first time to ever knit in the round using 5 double point needles. It wasn't actually as hard as I thought it would be!

I think that I am going to use this same yarn to try that seed stitch hat in again with smaller needles. This is a baby yarn, so it is much thinner than the one I used on that hat before. These booties look to be about the size I remember the boys feet being when they were born, so hopefully the smaller yarn and smaller needles will give me a matching hat that is also the right size for a newborn. I'll let you know how it works!

Her Confidence Grew

Feeling bolstered by completing a pair of knit booties, I decided to tackle a hat I had a pattern for. I was a bit nervous because it has seed stitch, which I had never done, and decreases, which I had also never done. But I was feeling confident and decided to go for it. And it worked!!!! I am just smiling from ear to ear about this hat! It isn't perfect, but it is the first thing that I have done that hasn't either been in all garter stitch or in all stockinette stitch. Or that wasn't a rectangle in shape, for that matter! Check it out:

A few things I am disappointed about: I think there is too much seed stitch before the stockinette starts. I think it would look better if the seed stitch looked like more of a brim and not the main part of the hat. Also, it is bigger than I want. I really wanted it to be infant sized (which is what the pattern called it) but they apparently think that my baby is going to come out with a 17" head since it has a 16" diameter. Heaven forbid that should happen! So I know how to adjust a pattern size in crochet, but I am nervous about messing with the gauge because of the decreases. They are perfectly spaced right now. One idea I have is to use smaller yarn and smaller needles to change the size. This is a worsted weight washable wool and was done on size 10 needles. I am thinking about using a sport weight yarn and size 6 needles, then following the pattern as directed and seeing how big it is. I would really only have to do several rows to know what the finished diameter would be so it isn't like it would be too much wasted time if that doesn't work. Anyway, the whole thing was done in 2 days! I am just so pleased that I decided to try it.

Now I want to try other bootie patterns. I have been looking online and found a few that I like. One that I really want to try is this one. I even actually already figured out how to do the crochet provisional cast on that it calls for!! I looked for a video of it on the knitting help web site, but they didn't have the crochet method and the one they had was so confusing! I couldn't get mine to look like hers. Then I found this. Now that one made sense! Since I have crocheted so much longer than I have knitted, this was right up my alley! Anyway, I'll let you know how the booties go. I have found about 13 patterns for booties and hats that I want to try...I already placed one decent sized yarn order at www.knitpicks.com and I now realize that there are some other needles I could use if I actually make those...I am thinking I should have added them to my previous order because I didn't quite spend enough to get the free shipping, but if I had added the needles, I would have made it! Oh, well. Lesson learned.

Oh, dear. I have a feeling this wee one will have quite a variety of hats and booties...

Woo-Hoo! I Can Knit!!

So knitting has been my Achilles heel. I start projects, but get frustrated and confused and just stop. Months and months ago, when Marie first posted the pattern for the knitted baby booties that she just sent to Meagan, I decided to start a pair too. They looked cute and easy. No increases or decreases, garter stitch, squares only...I thought, "This, I can do." And I did! When I was on vacation this last week (which you can read about here if you want to), I made these booties:

Aren't they just adorable?? I used the washable wool that Marie gave me last summer. It is leftover from a sweater she made Caleb, and I had *just* the right amount of the dark green to finish a pair. I didn't want to add the flower detail since I am having a boy, so I just crocheted a chain stitch in light green around the top for a bit of detail. I am really happy with how they turned out. Plus, I just bought an outfit for the baby at an outlet store, and just look how well they match:

Come January, I'll show you his picture in the outfit with the shoes - as the outfit is a 3-6 month. But if history repeats itself, he'll be wearing that size in no time!

Thanks, Marie, for the inspiration and the yarn!!

Amazement

On a regular old day, in a somewhat sunny Florida, a little girl and her pregnant mommy walked out to the mailbox to get the mail. Inside that mailbox was, innocently enough, was a manila envelope, encased in tape. Now, not only was it excitement to just get a package in the mail, it was what was in it that was simply amazing.



Little baby Zoe, is now the proud new owner of a pair of Marie shoes. Aren't they just beautiful??? They are so tightly knit (or is it crocheted?)and even after looking, I can't find a single seam. No matter how hard I would have tried I would never have ever been able to do such a wonderful job. I am simply in awe. Thank you Marie!

Knitting Status

Okay, so I haven't actually finished anything. But I thought I'd just share with you all what I'm doing because I really am knitting a lot lately. Here's one bootie that I made. I started on the second and already made the flower and leaves. It shouldn't be long before I finish. The pattern is free and if anyone is interested, you can get it here. It's very thick and sturdy and more like a boot than a bootie. Super cute though huh?



I'm also working on this sweater, which I started probably a year ago (or more). I'm determined to finish it now. The thing that I love about it is that it has a lot of different stitch patterns all put together in one sweater. I think it's interesting and doesn't look like something I could easily find in a department store. Which to me helps to justify the hours and hours it will take to knit this up. Oh, I'm not doing the tassels. I'm just not into tassels.





It's hard to see, but this is a close-up of the bobbles. This is the first time I've knitted bobbles. The only thing getting me through it is knowing that when I'm done, I'll never have to knit another bobble again. They are such pains. It's really hard to keep the tension right. The stitches on the row with the bobbles end up being looser than the other rows. I actually had to pull the first row out and re-do it. I'll be doing five rows of bobbles (with 3 rows of stockinette in between) and I've done two.



Here is the progress I've made on the maternity shirt. I'm a little worried because I thought that I was knitting the front panels and back all at once (I have a bad habit of not reading the pattern through before beginning to knit). But it turns out that this is only the back. It's going to be huge. It might end up being a true maternity top that I won't be able to wear when I'm not pregnant. I'm knitting the smallest size, but it measure 36" at the bust. Which is 5 inches bigger than what I really am.

Scarves...

So, here is my mom's scarf (finally). I did the faggot stitch (why would anyone call it that?). I just tweaked it a bit and added 2 stitches in garter stitch on either side so that it would not look all wonky. All in all, after re-starting a million times, I am happy with how it turned out!

With the extra yarn I made Katherine a scarf.... Fancy, huh? Just a garter stitch. A friend lent me a book with all these different fancy fringes and when I let Katherine pick, this is what she picked.... the basic ordinary run-of-the-mill fringe. Funny, huh?

learning to knit

This is what happens when you try to teach yourself to knit by watching videos on the internet.

About a month ago, I went to Maryland for the weekend to visit a friend of mine. While there, we thought it would be fun to take a knitting class at the craft store (yes we're super fun like that!) The class was called "Nifty Knitters" and we thought great, how nifty! Well apparently the nifty knitter is a device to help you knit... actually it's more like weaving than knitting. anyways, once we saw that we decided not to do the class, but we were already at the store and wanted to learn to knit, so we bought some yarn and needles anyways.

So, we ended up googling learn to knit videos and tried to learn from those. by pausing, rewinding, and replaying a bunch of times, i think i've got the basic stitch down. but that's all I know. I have no idea really how to hold the yarn or how tight/loose to make it. I don't have anyone to give tips on what I'm doing wrong or to ask what to do when *insert problem here* happens. Anyways, I don't mean to sound whiny, cause it's really been fun so far, I just feel like I could be doing so much better with some help. I've tried to find a class or group near me, but so far i've had no luck.

Here's a picture of one of my first attempts. It's not very even, and the corners aren't really square... but it's a start I guess.


And here's my current "project": I'm calling it a potholder, because I only have to get it a little longer and then I can say it's done. :)

Look Who's Knitting!

Katherine begged for (and got) a knitting kit for Christmas! I finally got 5 seconds to sit down with her and try to teach her a bit, which is kind of funny since I only just learned myself! She seems to like it in short bursts and so far can do a knit stitch correctly about 85% of the time. Now she is begging to go to knitting group with me. Hee hee.

Getting Caught Up

Believe it or not, I've actually been knitting lately. I made Caleb and Shane matching hats last winter and Shane promptly lost his. I was nice enough to knit him another. Although, to his disappointment, I never miss an opportunity to remind him that he lost something I made for him. I'm such a meany. Here's Shane in his I'm-too-sexy-for-this-hat pose.



Months ago, I had some cash and couldn't help but spend it all on yarn that I didn't need. I have tons of Rown Big Wool Fusion in three colors. I thought that I should knit something and decided on this.



I do this all the time. I buy yarn I like and then settle on a pattern that I'm not in love with cause it's the best thing I can find. When I first saw this pattern I thought "oh. that's too bulky." But I saw that quite a few people are knitting it on Ravelry and I convinced myself that I'm just not getting it and if I knit it, then maybe I will get what all these other people see. Then I saw this:



I really love this. Unfortunately, I've already started on the other pattern. I have this much done:



What to do? The second pattern (the one I love) calls for 7 skeins. I only have 6.5 left that is unknit (not counting what I've knit up with the first pattern. So I was thinking that I will start on the second and hopefully will have enough to finish it. Then I can salvage the first pattern by turning it into a vest. I will have to do some finishing to make it look less rough.

I've also started on a sweater for Caleb using some of the yarn that Kainoa gave me, which used to be her tutu's. It's a size 3/4 and looks like it will be way too big for him. This makes too sweaters in a row that I've made the wrong size for Caleb. I'll try to finish this though.

Bunnies on Ravenhill

Here is the post with the bunnies on it. They are really cute. It says they are a Debbie Bliss pattern. I looked at your bunnies too, Marie. Very cute. Funny how you swore to never make another one, then did anyway! Have you made any others since then???

Errrrr.....

Okay... trying to upload a pic of my attempt at knitting... my computer has been messed up and although Aaron fixed it, I can't seem to get the picture up... very irritating
I had my friend take a look and I was twisting the yarn around the wrong way while I was purling... hmmm purling, is that a word? it doesn't sound right. Purling. Purling. hmmm.
But, now that I have gotten that okay it is MUCH easier. She let me borrow a different book and this one is great. It has some wonderful pictures.
Also - Jo, I think, gave me a link to a website that was helpful for knitting... could I have that again??? Please?
:-)
I am determined to make one freakin great scarf!
hee hee