FO: Wedding Shawl #2 (aka Ishbel)

Holy cow guys, I can’t believe it’s been almost 3 months since I’ve posted something… maybe because I’ve been spending every spare minute on this WIP:

Dave and I finally found a house! We closed about a month ago and we’ve been painting, painting, painting. We bought some furniture from IKEA yesterday and spent today assembling about 30% of it. We’re hoping to move in next weekend!

Needless to say, I haven’t been knitting as much as I want to, but I’ve been doing enough to stay sane. Since I haven’t posted in so long, I do have a handful of FOs to show.

Pattern: Ishbel (Ravelry pattern link)

Source: Ysolda’s Whimsical Little Knits

Yarn: Madelinetosh Wren in Afternoon

Needles: US 6 25″ circular needle

Mods: None

Notes: I made this as a shower gift for my friend Kate who got married in October. This yarn is totally luxurious and a dream to work with… totally worth the cost! I need one for myself now. This pattern is very well-written and I can see why so many people have knit it.

FO: Kiila Sockdown Socks

Pattern: Kiila (Ravelry pattern link)

Source: Ravelry Pattern Store – I got it free by participating in Ravelry’s SKA group’s May Mystery Sock KAL

Yarn: Pagewood Farms Alyeska in Misty

Needles: US 1 1/2 40″ circs

Mods: My first attempt at TAAT toe-up socks! I didn’t knit the cuffs as long as the pattern called for since I was pretty sick of knitting k tbl rib.

This was a completely spontaneous project for me. I had just discovered the Sock Knitters’ Anonymous group on Ravelry and their May Sockdown challenge had just started. I had just order the skein of Alyeska and it was taunting me by sitting on my desk, so I grabbed my needles and casted on! I love the colors of the socks and how they didn’t pool too terribly. The cable details are a little lost in the dark yarn, and there’s some laddering along the cable edges, but I still like the way they came out!

FO: Super Secret Wedding Project

Holy crap guys! It’s been almost two months since I’ve posted? Yikes. Sorry about that!

The good thing is that I’ve really, truly been knitting up a storm. I have four or five WIPs right now, and actually they’re driving me crazy. I just want to finish them so that I can start new things. My immediate queue just keeps getting longer and longer… I ended up joining the WIPs Wrestlemania 2009 group on Ravelry in an attempt to finish up current projects. I’m not letting myself cast anything new in July. Oh, except my July SKA Sockdown project. Yup, another Ravely group! This one’s my new favorite, so addictive and sock-inspiring.

What’s that subject heading say? I actually finished the Super Secret Wedding Project? Yes, I did!!

Pattern: Estonian Garden Wrap (Ravelry pattern link)

Source: Fiber Trends – Evelyn Clark

Yarn: JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 in White

Needles: US 5 circular needle (my first Addi Turbos!)

Mods: None

Notes: Dear lord, this project was a serious undertaking for me. A year and a half later, it’s finally completed. When I first started, I actually got through a good fourth of the wrap and then didn’t work on it for awhile. I couldn’t figure out where I left off and had to frog it. I feel really confident about my lace skills now, nupps and all! Dorothy was thrilled, even if the wedding was 15 months earlier.

Dorothy, the Beautiful Blushing Mysterious Bride!

Heads up, I actually finished another project today, so hopefully it won’t be another two months before you hear from me again!

FO: Icy Icing Swirl Hat

Yes, I’m still chugging along with the three never-ending projects, but progress is definitely being made so I can’t complain. A couple of weeks ago, however, I had an urge to cast-on for something new. I had two skeins of Plymouth Baby Alpaca Worsted I picked up at the WEBS annual sale. It seemed like the perfect yarn to make a floppy beret, so I searched around and found Ysolda’s pattern in Whimsical Little Knits. (An awesome pattern collection, BTW, and I’m not alone in thinking so, since Ishbels are popping up all over the place!)

Pattern: Icing Swirl Hat (Ravelry pattern link)

Source: Ysolda

Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Worsted in 6074 (Icy Blue)

Needles: US 10 1/2 DPNs and 16″ circ

Mods: Held the yarn double to create bulky weight. I was really afraid I was going to run out, so I may have skipped a row or two. I just made it with the two skeins. I need to block it eventually, but it’s not a huge deal.

Notes: It seems silly making a beret right at the beginning of spring, but I’ve been able to wear it a couple of times before work on chilly mornings. This is a great hat pattern, so quick!

Some catching-up to do… including FO: Fetching Gloves

Oops, it’s been awhile! I’ve been pretty pre-occupied lately, for multiple reasons:

1) Finishing one class and starting another;

2) Serious house-hunting with Dave;

3) General work craziness.

I’ve been trying to relax by knitting any one of the three never-ending projects, but no matter how much I work on them, they never seem any closer to being finished. I’m about to head off to Boston with Dave and the fam, and I’m only bringing the Jaywalkers, so hopefully I can start the heel flaps!

I have one last FO catch-up to show off too! I feel bad about the lack of actual knitting pictures lately.

Pattern: Fetching Gloves (Ravelry pattern link)

Source: Knitty

Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Nocturnal

Needles: US 6 DPNs

Mods: Added length to the palm and thumb, an extra cable on the top edge, and did a straight BO rather than the picot BO.

Notes: I waited a bit to post these since I was mailing them to Cherise for her birthday. I was very glad to hear she liked them of course!

Just some random pictures…

I’ve been working on the same old stuff for the last couple of weeks (Brilliance pullover, Jaywalkers, wedding shawl), and of course you can’t tell I’ve made any progress with any of them. Typical! Anyways, I did a lot of running around the last couple of weekends, mostly bringing my brother to the airport in Boston and picking him up. I figured I’d post some pictures to keep the blog active.

A week ago Friday I took a day off of work and headed up to Northampton. I got lunch, wandered around my LYS, and did a little shopping.

 

Painted Shamrock in Holyoke for the St Patty's Day parade

I parked next to this car at WEBS

 

WEBS!

 

Remarkably, I didn't buy any yarn, just a knitting purse!

The next day I drove into Boston to drop Peter off. Andrew (my other brother) and I wandered around Boston, mostly looking for pastry shops. 

Original subway sign in the Boston T

 

Seals at the Boston Aquarium

Easter Eggs for sale at Modern Pastry

 

Squiggle Cupcake at Modern Pastry

 

Faneuil Hall

And last but certainly not least, my Dad was able to bottle his beer this weekend, so that was pretty exciting.

 

Papa bottling his beer!

I had to pick up Peter last night really late, then bring him back to Amherst, so I didn’t get home until after 2 am. Needless to say, I’m exhausted so I’m off to bed!

FO Catch-Up – Monkey Socks

I don’t really have much to say about these socks except that I really adore the yarn. It was a last minute purchase, I added it to my cart for free shipping, but I’m really glad I did. It’s so *shiny*! The color is beautiful too.

Those darn Monkey socks are so popular that I had to see what all the hype was all about. Visually interesting? Check! Easily memorized? Check! Fast pattern? Check!

Pattern: Monkey Socks (Ravelry pattern link)

Source: Knitty

Yarn: Pagewood Farms Yukon sock yarn in Turquoise

Needles: US 2 DPNs

Mods: None

Notes: The heel flaps are HUGE on these, so they don’t fit so well. I wish I had gone with my gut feeling at the time, but I’ll know for next time. There will be a next time!

2 balls of yarn are better than 1

Once I finished the Flutter Sleeve Cardie a few weeks ago, I immediately cast-on two new projects. Sad, right? They were both justified, I swear!

The first thing was my February Malabrigo Club project, a pullover sweater (Ravelry link). The shipment was 8 skeins of Worsted in Lettuce. I was pretty excited, since it was definitely not a color I would have picked myself. Of course, I had to finish a sweater before I could start a new one, so I was practically chomping at the bit to start the new one.

It’s nice and easy to have it on a circular, the cardigan sure put me off of lots of seaming for awhile. I decided to play it safe and alternate skeins for the sweater. It would be just my luck to end up with some weird pooling, even though the skeins look pretty close to each other. It’s really easy going right now, but I have a feeling that the bust shaping will be hard. We’ll see!

The other project was the first pick of my personal sock club. I figured that late February was late enough to start the first sock project of the year! The winner was Jaywalker Socks (Ravelry link) in Knit Picks Felici. Since it involves two skeins, I decided to try the 2-at-a-time sock method, on one long circular needle.

It was pretty interesting at first, getting the technique down, especially since the yarns kept tangling together. Once I got a few rows in, however, it got much easier. Actually, now it’s just addictive! I love being able to see the progress on two socks. I really hope this method is faster than DPNs… although I know I won’t be able to give those up completely.

FO Catch-Up – BR Knockoff Hats

A month ago, my aunt turned 50 and she definitely deserved something handknit. I considered some thick and cozy house socks, but I just knew something like that would take forever. 

Pattern: Banana Republic Hat Knockoff (Ravelry Project link)

Source: Craftster

Yarn: 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky in Olive

Needles: US 8 circular, US 10 1/2 DPNs

Mods: I held the yarn double for the band since I originally thought the yarn wasn’t chunky enough. I also added a couple of rows before starting the crown decreases, this hat is short otherwise.

Notes: Cute hat, everyone loves the button detail!

My aunt had complimented my own BR hat so much that she needed her own. The Cashmerino is so much softer than my own hat, I’m kind of jealous. Oh wait, I never posted my own hat, huh?

The specs are the same as above, but I used Wool-Ease Thick ‘n’ Quick. It’s a warm hat, just a bit scratchy. My big white scarf is also Thick ‘n’ Quick and it’s started to pill something fierce this winter. Methinks I’m going to have to think about a new scarf and hat set for next winter…

 

I'm a goof with an unfinished hat!

FO Catch-Up – Malabrigo Axel Mitts

I promised to showcase some of my latest FOs, since I’ve been so focused on finishing that damn sweater. The first up is a pair of fingerless gloves I made with my first Malabrigo Club shipment. They’re soft and cozy, although I’m still getting used to typing with them.

 

Pattern: Axel Mitts

Source: Blue Garter

Yarn: 1 skein of Malabrigo Chunky in Brisa 

Needles: US 8 DPNs

Mods: I used the definition of RT and LT from Barbara Walker rather than the ones given in the pattern.

Notes: Quick and easy! It took less than a skein for these.

I’m still trying to figure out what to make with the second skein. I’m leaning towards a Foliage cap, but I don’t have any plans to cast-on anytime soon.