Socks in progress...and a personal challenge

So, blogging from work again. Let me just take a second to say that I'm loving the flickr iphone app! So easy to use! In less than a minute I've taken a picture of my project and uploaded to the site. :) Let me also say that I'm impressed with the iphone's camera. Even in low light, the resolution and color of this picture is great.

That's my current sock project, some basic improvised socks. I love the color pattern of the yarn. The way the aqua stands out from the dull browns, greens and grays. I've known all along I would keep these socks for myself (a rare occurance). Think of the blue bits as robin eggs sitting in a nest made out of twigs and leaves (the grey/brown/green parts)--how could I not keep them for myself! The cuff is 2x2 ribbing, the leg has a small ribbing detail which continues along the sides of the foot

And the heel is a basic slipped stitch heel but with the yarn held in front for the slipped stitches. I like the little bars created by using this stitch pattern. :)

These socks are almost done (if I get to more knitting and less blogging, they might actually be done tonight!) and I've decided to give myself a sock-knitting challenge: Knit every* pattern in Cookie A.'s book, Sock Innovation, and use only stash yarn to do it! I've wound of a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy and will start the first pair as soon as the stripey socks are done.

*I made the Eunice socks last year. I may or may not make them again. As of now, this pattern is exempt from the challenge.

First FO of 2010!

A dear friend had a birthday at the beginning of the month and that meant it was time for a hand made gift. I dug into the stash for my Lamb's Pride Worsted in a lovely purple color and zipped through the spiral rib wristwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (one of my favorite books). Inspired by these hats, I made a companion for the mitts.

I decided to reverse the rib on the mitts so it spiraled in opposite directions. Not necessary, but I like the symmetrical matchiness of having the each hand's mitt either spiral to the midline or away from it.

I also made a grocery tote using this great tutorial over at Sew Mama Sew. I'd planned on using some lovely floral decor-weight cotton, but this print seemed oh-so appropriate, and it was half the price of the prettier stuff.

I omitted the pocket from the tutorial and there was ample fabric left over to whip up a lunch bag for Raj. I used the same basic directions as the original, just different proportions. I wanted the base to be big enough to fit all the different containers I use to pack his food, so it's something like 6"x7", and 8" tall.

He said his colleagues were amused and impressed by my handiwork. Hehe.

And for your amusement, Butters wrapped up as a gift:

2009 Recap

Before I start sharing some finished objects from 2010, I wanted to do a little recap post of the things I made in 2009.

1. Hoppin' shoppin' bag, 2. Heart shawl, 3. Yellow-Brown Hat, 4. Traveler's Stockings, 5. Purple cardi, 6. Flaming Nuts, 7. surprise--it's a baby jacket!, 8. Hey Buttercup, 9. IMG_2330, 10. Spring Ruffle Top, 11. Eunice socks, 12. Lemon leaves socks, 13. Purple Pangea Shawl, 14. Placemat and napkin, 15. Minty Cowl, 16. School Spirit Hat, 17. IMG_1315, 18. IMG_2992, 19. Natura Paraphernalia, 20. IMG_2331, 21. IMG_1304, 22. Wee socks, 23. St Patty's Day Socks, 24. Red sixteen-point tee, 25. Melisa's b-day mits, 26. Kiddo PJ pants, 27. Noro sweater--all done!, 28. IMG_1309, 29. Bee Fields Shawl, 30. IMG_1312, 31. Blue cardi all done!, 32. vests, 33. Baby Sweater of Many Colors, 34. Greenery hat, 35. Pouches, 36. Slippers

That's a random sampling of the things I made this past year. I accomplished some things I'm proud of--learned machine quilting, tried steeking for the first time, knit some sweaters I'll actually wear (and some I won't), further developed my love for lace knitting, worked a fair aisle project. I don't have any specific goals for 2010. I just hope to further develop my skills and enjoy the process.

Holiday Recap 2

Another project I worked on during this holiday season was pajama pants for some awesome little girls with late December birthdays. Not technically a holiday craft, but it happened during the holiday season, so it gets lumped in with holiday stuff.


I don't remember the pattern number, but I think it was a Sew Easy or some other name like that. I also made matching drawstring nap sacks. As you can see, the pants came out quite roomy--oh well. This was a fun, easy project. I want to make more other fun easy projects like these.

My biggest holiday craft, by far, was the vest I knit for Raj for Christmas. He picked out the pattern, Alberta by Jared Flood, without any prompting from me.

The pattern appears in Wild Fibers magazine, but it was going to take too long to get the magazine--you can't buy it as an instant download. So I improvised my version. I measured one of Raj's store-bought sweater vests, knit a gauge swatch, did some math, and voila!

I used Rowan Felted Tweed, 1 ball of the dark brown and 2 balls of the light brown, and Noro Silk Garden Lite, about 2.5 balls, I think. The fabric is a bit loose and drapy, but I'm pleased with the result overall.

This was my first foray into steeking, and it wasn't without anxiety, but I'm confident that the result will be stable. I made frequent reference to Eunny Jang's tutorial, and used the crochet method with a 7 stitch bridge. When it was all done, I used mattress stitch to tack down the steek facing. The knitting was finished on December 23, the vest took a quick bath, got spun out in the washer spin cycle, then dried overnight. I stitched down the steeks in the car on the way to Christmas Eve dinner so that Raj could wear it.

Tax-Free Yarn Crawl

a.k.a. After Thanksgiving Trip to Portland

The day after Thanksgiving, Raj and I took the Prius out on its first big trip--down the I-5 to the Rose City. I'm happy to say we made it there and back plus around town driving on a wee 3/4 of a tank of gas (around 9 gallons). Woo hoo!

But back to the real reason I'm here tonight...

I took advantage of Oregon's status as a sales tax free zone to expand my stash a bit. We went to 3 or 4 different yarn shops, and they were each great in their own ways. I feel a bit deliquent for not paying attention to their names. One was near Pioneer Courthouse Square and two were out in the NW region somewhere. I guess we only went to 3. :)

My loot:

You might recognize this yarn from my previous post--this is the yarn I used for the fingerless mitts I made for Melisa & Tracie for Christmas. Pink and purple and sparkly--perfect for them!

I'm a sucker for self-striping yarn, what can I say.

I'm attracted to the gradual color change in this yarn. Not sure if I will use it for socks or a shawlette or something else.

The color in the pic is a bit off, the yarn is mostly darn and light gray with a slight red tint in some ares, i.e. relatively manly yarn, destined to become socks for Raj someday.

Some gorgeous Silk Garden Sock yarn.

Last, but not least, some worsted merino destined to become a hat for me!

Holiday Recap 1

Phew! Now that I've managed to come up for air after my frantic holiday crafting, let me catch you up on what I've been working on.

Melisa loved her belated birthday mitts. Apparently her knitting colleague was very impressed with the, as well, which is always nice to hear.

My first bit of holiday crafting was stockings for Raj and I. I made these out of felted sweaters and an old pair of red cords, and used a couple old Starbucks Aprons as the base. They helped add a bit of holiday cheer to our apartment. I had big plans to use the rest of the felted sweaters and cords for other holiday crafts, but decided to forego these other crafts in favor of things that needed to be gifted. But I saved all the stuff for next year!

I didn't craft very many gifts this year. Fewer than years past. I gave my mom my ketchup plant socks that I finished in November. I made Raj a vest (this gets its own post) and I made fingerless gloves for my sisters.

The pattern is Susie's Reading Mitts from Dancing Ewe Yarns in Ellensburg (note to self: visit this yarn store the next time you pass through Ellensburg). A fine, simple pattern--adaptable to yarns of variuos weights. The yarn was purchased during my tax-free yarn crawl in Portland the weekend after Thanksgiving. As soon as I saw it in the yarn shop, I knew it was meant to be mitts for my pink-and-purple loving sisters. The knitting was done largely while I was at work. Although I finished up the last one at about 11pm on Christmas Eve. Tracie saw me working on them and asked if I was making a Barbie dress. Hehe.

The pattern calls for aran weight yarn, but I used sock yarn. I wanted tighter fitting mitts than those called for, so I used the medium-sized numbers with my tight gauge to get the small mitts for Tracie, and the large pattern numbers for Melisa's medium sized mitts.

I made some holiday gift tags last week. I know the holiday's over, but perhaps you could use them next year. I had fun doodling them, coloring them in with colored pencils then scanning them into the computer. I'm using SkyDrive to share them, since I'm not too familiar with other hosting services. If anyone has recommendations of good (free) pdf hosting, I'd be most grateful!

In the next Holiday Recap, some little pjs, Raj's vest, and a glimpse at some of my loot. But first, a rundown of my Tax-Free Yarn Crawl.

Thankful

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. The pleasures of being back among family and friends.

My goofball cat who has adapted quite well to the move and now keeps the howling to a minimum.

My honey, who does the dishes and takes out the trash and rubs my feet when I get home for work and appreciates everything that I cook.

My phone, with its camera and the capacity to upload pictures to the internet.

(Fingerless gloves for Melisa, Collinette Jitterbug)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.