What a difference a block can make!

My first shawl! all done, pre blocking:

My first shawl! post blocking:

I loved the knitting of this shawl. And I love the finished object. It was quite a stretch, but I managed to get the finished object to block at the size described in the pattern: 50 inches along the hypotenuse. It's a definitely on the smaller side, but it should make a nice scarf-like piece. A few close ups:

This is a special birthday gift for a very special birthday. I hope the recipient likes it! I've already moved on to lace shawl #2. :)

Friday Night Craft Projects

Last Friday, Josh and I each worked on craft projects

Each project involved intricate work, care, attention and precision.

But they're vastly different. Josh built a computer over the span of a few hours. And I completed a few more rows of My First Lace Shawl. His project cost him about $800 and mine cost me about $40 (including the cost of the needle). My project could be a family heirloom, and his project will be out of date in a few years (or months).

But it was a fun crafty night. :) And the shawl is all done, I'm just waiting for the lace blocking wires to arrive.

5 month catch up--photo heavy

Things I've made in the past 5 months:

Argyle Baby Blanket
yarn: Cascade 220 superwash merino
pattern: based on Danica Scarf
for Baby Charlotte Heinze



Mighty Miter Mittens
yarn: Lambs Pride worsted
pattern: from Knitter's Almanac
for me!



Diamond Socks
yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit 100 Multieffekt
for ???



Assorted Dishrags
yarn: Sugar n Cream Cotton
for Melisa's Bridal Shower



Blue Socks
yarn: Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino
for Josh



Monet Monkeys
yarn: Colinette Jitterbug
pattern: Monkey
for Tracie's 18th Birthday



Bittersweet Socks
yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock
pattern: Monkey
for Jessica's birthday



Old Man Cardi
yarn: Araucania Pomaire
for Dylan's 1st Birthday



Purple Diamond Blanket
yarn: Cascade Sierra
for Sungmi's Baby

What a bummer.

Hey look! A new post!

I made these socks for my mom as her end-of-tax-season present



They're the Merino Lace Socks from Interweave Favorite Socks. I used Fleece Artist Seawool yarn and 2.5mm Addis.



I think these socks are just lovely. The pattern was interesting enough to keep me going but not so complicated that I had to carry around the chart.



The pink is girly but classy. The seawool is soft, not at all itchy. I'm not sure how durable it will prove...time will tell.

Coming up next, the Jester Blanket!

Do you think I can get yarn delivered to Africa???

I've been having an awful time with technology. Yesterday when I got home from work my iPod stopped working. Today when I got home from school my Treo stopped working. I think this is a sign that I truly am meant to move to Africa. I think I could really like Africa. I might have to put aside my passion for new music and movies. I would have to subsist on BBC world service.

I'm sure I could ship my stash over. Yarn's pretty light. I could even use it when packing to help cushion things in my luggage! But what happens when I burn through my stash? And what am I going to do with knitted items in Africa? Mail them all to people in the US? Hmmm.

I made some toddler socks a while ago:

From the same Socks that Rock mediumweight that I used for Melisa's fallen leaves wrist warmers. I also made Tracie an earflap hat like mine:

Aren't we cute? :) I've made some other stuff. I need to take pictures of it, though. And I'm wrapping up a totally AWESOME baby blanket for Heinze baby #3.

socks by the sea

My mom went to the beach last weekend with my Aunt Jill and their friend Kris. They "camped" in Kris's trailer. Though it was chilly, they seem to have fun. And they all had their hand knit socks to keep their feet warm!

In honor of the new year, I've set a couple of goals for myself. In the hopes that it help me stick to them, I'm going to list them for you now:

1. Eat out or take out once a week. When I told my sister about this, her response was "Is that a lot or a little?" Poor girl, you have no grasp on NYC life. To be clear: that's a little. I think the hardest thing is going to be to avoid getting take out on the way home from school after a 12 hour day. But the eat out part is going to be equally hard. Often on days off from work, I would eat out, sometimes for multiple meals. The point of this goal is to save a little money.

2. Read more. This is such a vague goal that I've made a book-buying rule for myself. No more new books onto my book shelves until I read some of the un-read ones up there already. I did a count. There are currently 16 unread books on my shelf. Do I think I'll read them all this year? No. But I would really like to have half of them read.

3. Begin to tackle color-work in my knitting. (Yes, a knitting-related goal!) I want to knit a fair-isle yoke kid sweater.

I think that might be it for the goal department.

I've been knitting. Right now on the needles: a pair of monkeys for a friend's bday made from Shibui Knits sock yarn in a luscious raspberry color; a pair of merino lace socks for me(???) made from Fleece Artist SeaWool; an alpaca hat for a friend back home. And I still haven't quite finished the plum tweed sweater. All that's left is one button band, sewing up the armpits, blocking and finding buttons. That's so little work, it's a shame that I haven't touched the sweater in probably a month. Probably because I have no motivation. I tried on the sweater after the first button band was done and realized the fit is AWFUL. So, once it's done, it's probably just going to sit on the shelf in my closet. It's a bummer. No pictures of this knitting. How about some pics of one of the gifts I finished last month?

February Baby Sweater in Classic Elite Provence for Hannah's 1st Birthday

I love the way this sweater turned out! The yarn is slightly shiny. I'm so happy to have found the bird buttons and it fits her!

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Now playing: Chicago Public Radio - #303: David and Goliath
via FoxyTunes

(thank god)

Christmas is over. I made a lot of gifts.

For a while there, I was knitting like a maniac. But I think everyone liked their gifts. The February Baby Sweater fit little Hannah perfectly! Melisa liked her embossed leaves fingerless gloves--I was so worried she wouldn't.

But the gift knitting continues. Tamiko's bday is in 2 days, and in the holiday knitting frenzy, I forgot about it. So I'm casting on a pair of socks today. They'll arrive late, but that's better than never.