I have no knitting goals for 2015. I have made knitting goals in the past and haven't stuck with them so I am just going to play it by ear in the coming year.
Showing posts with label finished objects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finished objects. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Year in Review
Wow, I really fell off the blogging wagon. Here is the knitting stuff that you missed.
I knit a lot of hats and a few cowls and one random pair of slippers for a Nerd Wars challenge. Nerd Wars doesn't exist any more so I am now just knitting whatever makes me happy. I have quiet a few works in progress that will hopefully be finished sometime in 2015 but who knows.
I have no knitting goals for 2015. I have made knitting goals in the past and haven't stuck with them so I am just going to play it by ear in the coming year.
I have no knitting goals for 2015. I have made knitting goals in the past and haven't stuck with them so I am just going to play it by ear in the coming year.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Nerd Wars Tournament Ten, Round Two
I managed to finish three projects for this round of Nerd Wars. I think that my knitting would be more productive if I could figure out how to incorporate projects into Nerd Wars instead of using Nerd Wars to select projects. I currently read the Nerd Wars challenge prompts and then select projects based on the prompt. I sometimes have other projects that I want or need to make but I have a hard time making my brain find ways for those projects to answer a Nerd Wars challenge. I think that I am going to try harder to make those project fit which should make juggling my knitting projects a little easier and should give my brain a bit of a workout. I think it is good to find different ways to give your brain a challenge, even if it is something small like making your project work with a Nerd Wars challenge prompt.
Without further ado, here are the badges that I earned for round two and the projects that I knit.
Discovery
The challenge was to craft something inspired by the rocks that are studied by geologists. I knit a red hat inspired by rubies. It is the Giving Comfort hat by Alicia Landi. It is a well-written pattern for a simple, bulky weight hat with a little bit of texture. I can see making a lot of these hats in my future for charity knitting. I used Malabrigo Mecha which is a lovely superwash bulky single that I purchased from my local yarn shop.
Encyclopedia
Please pardon the quality of the pictures. They were taken on a not so great camera and are a little blurry.
Without further ado, here are the badges that I earned for round two and the projects that I knit.
Discovery
The challenge was to craft something inspired by the rocks that are studied by geologists. I knit a red hat inspired by rubies. It is the Giving Comfort hat by Alicia Landi. It is a well-written pattern for a simple, bulky weight hat with a little bit of texture. I can see making a lot of these hats in my future for charity knitting. I used Malabrigo Mecha which is a lovely superwash bulky single that I purchased from my local yarn shop.
Encyclopedia
Please pardon the quality of the pictures. They were taken on a not so great camera and are a little blurry.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Leveling Up My Knitting Skills
I just love it when I learn a new knitting skill! Well, I don't know that it is actually a knitting skill so much as it is a yarn skill but since I use it in my knitting, I'm just calling it a knitting skill. I stumbled across this technique in the Haka pattern by Lee Meredith (you may know her as leethalknits) when she suggested using worsted weight yarn held triple to get a super bulky weight yarn. Now, I don't know about you but the thought of holding three strands together from three different balls of yarn was enough to give me hives. I sometimes get tangled up in one strand of yarn, let alone three! However, she mentioned a technique that allowed you to use one strand of yarn to get three strands held together and she linked to a video tutorial. Just one strand? I knew I had to give it a shot.
The video tutorial was created by Alex Tinsley, another fabulous designer, who can be found at her website, dull roar. The tutorial is genius! I am finally going to be able to use up the lace weight that I have in my stash along with all of the fingering weight. I don't mind knitting with fingering weight but I have so many single skeins of it that it will take me forever to knit through it all. Also, let's be honest, sometimes I get bored partway through a fingering weight project so it just gets shoved into a project bag and thrown in a corner, never to be seen again. Triple-stranded fingering weight will allow me to zip through a project without getting bored and now I will be able to use fingering weight for charity knitting since most of the places that I donate hats to prefer that they be made out of worsted or bulky weight yarns. Here is the video that has changed my knitting life.
It was a little fiddly when I first got started but if you are a spinner, it will probably come very easily to you since it is similar to chain plying. (At least that is what Lee Meredith said in her pattern. I don't spin so I neither confirm nor deny the accuracy of her statement.) Initially, I would chain up some yarn and leave it in a pile on the desk while I was knitting. I am sure no one is surprised to hear that led straight to tangle city. Then I started wrapping the chained yarn around the outside of the yarn cake and unwinding a little bit at a time to avoid tangles. Other than being annoyed at the interruptions to unwind the yarn, that method was working well until the yarn cake started to collapse. It was a center pull cake and I was pulling from the center so when it started to collapse, I worried about yarn tangles. This wouldn't have been a problem if I had worked from the outside of the cake but that's not how I roll. Inspiration struck in the form of a juice glass. I just wound the chained yarn around an upside down juice glass: no tangles, no collapsing the yarn cake, and no stopping to unwind the chained yarn as it just slipped nicely off the top of the glass as I knit. Here is a picture of my setup.
Since I wanted to test this technique on fingering weight yarn, I just knit a basic hat following the Giving Comfort hat pattern by Alicia Landi. I omitted the purl bumps in the body of the hat so I could focus on learning this new technique. The yarn that I was using as a test yarn was some leftover self-striping fingering weight yarn and it turns out, this technique is great for self-striping because you can preserve the striping sequence when would not happen if you held three different strands together! Look how great the finished product is:
The video tutorial was created by Alex Tinsley, another fabulous designer, who can be found at her website, dull roar. The tutorial is genius! I am finally going to be able to use up the lace weight that I have in my stash along with all of the fingering weight. I don't mind knitting with fingering weight but I have so many single skeins of it that it will take me forever to knit through it all. Also, let's be honest, sometimes I get bored partway through a fingering weight project so it just gets shoved into a project bag and thrown in a corner, never to be seen again. Triple-stranded fingering weight will allow me to zip through a project without getting bored and now I will be able to use fingering weight for charity knitting since most of the places that I donate hats to prefer that they be made out of worsted or bulky weight yarns. Here is the video that has changed my knitting life.
It was a little fiddly when I first got started but if you are a spinner, it will probably come very easily to you since it is similar to chain plying. (At least that is what Lee Meredith said in her pattern. I don't spin so I neither confirm nor deny the accuracy of her statement.) Initially, I would chain up some yarn and leave it in a pile on the desk while I was knitting. I am sure no one is surprised to hear that led straight to tangle city. Then I started wrapping the chained yarn around the outside of the yarn cake and unwinding a little bit at a time to avoid tangles. Other than being annoyed at the interruptions to unwind the yarn, that method was working well until the yarn cake started to collapse. It was a center pull cake and I was pulling from the center so when it started to collapse, I worried about yarn tangles. This wouldn't have been a problem if I had worked from the outside of the cake but that's not how I roll. Inspiration struck in the form of a juice glass. I just wound the chained yarn around an upside down juice glass: no tangles, no collapsing the yarn cake, and no stopping to unwind the chained yarn as it just slipped nicely off the top of the glass as I knit. Here is a picture of my setup.
Since I wanted to test this technique on fingering weight yarn, I just knit a basic hat following the Giving Comfort hat pattern by Alicia Landi. I omitted the purl bumps in the body of the hat so I could focus on learning this new technique. The yarn that I was using as a test yarn was some leftover self-striping fingering weight yarn and it turns out, this technique is great for self-striping because you can preserve the striping sequence when would not happen if you held three different strands together! Look how great the finished product is:
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Nerd Wars Tournament 10, Round One
I was a bit of a fail for this round of Nerd Wars. I only completed one project but I did manage to make sure that it was also fit in with the team unity for the round. I was very busy with work and I just wasn't feeling like knitting during February. Below are the badges that I earned during round one.
My amazing team captain always whips up awesome badges but I think the badges for this round are my favorite.
Discovery
The challenge was to craft something that resembles a real, non-extinct, living organism, be it plant, animal, fungus, or bacterium. I knit a maple leaf dishcloth in Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton. That yarn is so soft! I'm guessing the dishcloth won't hold up for very long but I will enjoy the softness & squishiness while it lasts. I tied the color of the dishcloth to a shirt that Stacey wears in the pilot episode of "Gavin & Stacey." I also tied the color and the fact that it was a leaf to the woods that the runners are taking bathroom breaks in during the Marathon for Incontinence that was part of Monty Python's Silly Olympics (the sketch that we used for Team Unity).
If you haven't seen it, here is the Silly Olympics sketch.
Discovery
The challenge was to craft something that resembles a real, non-extinct, living organism, be it plant, animal, fungus, or bacterium. I knit a maple leaf dishcloth in Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton. That yarn is so soft! I'm guessing the dishcloth won't hold up for very long but I will enjoy the softness & squishiness while it lasts. I tied the color of the dishcloth to a shirt that Stacey wears in the pilot episode of "Gavin & Stacey." I also tied the color and the fact that it was a leaf to the woods that the runners are taking bathroom breaks in during the Marathon for Incontinence that was part of Monty Python's Silly Olympics (the sketch that we used for Team Unity).
If you haven't seen it, here is the Silly Olympics sketch.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Nerd Wars T9 R3 Recap
I had a very successful third round for Nerd Wars. I completed projects for every category which in Nerd Wars parlance means that I dwarfed the nebula. This is the first time in the three tournaments of Nerd Wars that I participated in that I managed to answer all of the challenges. One of the captains of Team Most Amused likes to recognize team members when they dwarf the nebula by making a humorous, quasi badge for them. Here is mine:
During this round, the team was a little less social but I think it is just the nature of the timing. December is a pretty busy month for most people with lots of family obligations and travel so there is just less time for knitting and internet shenanigans. We still ended up with 100% participation although we were one person short of having 100% participation for team unity this month. Our team unity for this round was to tie your project to Monty Python and, to extend the unity, our badges were all Monty Python related.
Giving Geeks:
This round of Giving Geeks was an end of the year special and you could answer the any of the challenges that had been done throughout the year. I went with the "donation inspired by weather" challenge and made a donation to the American Red Cross. I opted for this donation as the midwest had just been hit by several devastating tornadoes & the Philippines had just been hit by Typhoon Haiyan. My Britcom tie-in was the episode of The Vicar of Dibley when the vicar installs a plain window instead of a stained glass window in the church and donates the money she raised for a new stained glass window to earthquake relief.
Encyclopedia & Team Unity Project
The challenge for this round was to craft something inspired by some aspect of the European Medieval period. I took my inspiration from the Black Death, the largest pandemic in history, and crafted a black Thorpe hat. I crocheted the trim in red because I wanted to use the Black Knight from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail as my team tie-in and unity project. The Black Knight has a red symbol on his armor and he spouts quite a bit of blood over the course of his scene. I have a special fondness for that movie because I watched it several times with my Dad and brother when I was little. We still use it as a pop culture touch-point.
Discovery
For this round, we had to try something new. It was a pretty broad mandate and there is a lot that I haven't tried when it comes to knitting. I decided that I would try double knitting as my "something new." Although it was a little fiddly it is definitely a technique that I would use again. I went with a very basic potholder for my project so that I didn't have to worry too much about mistakes. I mean, an ugly potholder is still completely functional, right? I tied this project to the Britcom Mulberry as the titular character arrives in a long, brown coat.
Nerdology
The challenge was to craft something inspired by a pun. I found a hippopotamus pun about weight loss so I knit a hippo dishcloth. The pattern that I used suggested knitting with a size 6 needle instead of the size 8 that is often called for with dishcloths as the tighter gauge helps the pattern stand out. I tied the color of the dishcloth to an outfit that a character is wearing in the sketch show Little Britain.
Flexible Schedule
For the flexible schedule category you can submit two projects that you finished during the round, as long as you did at least two hours worth of crafting on the project during the round. If you completed an unfinished object, you need to provide a before and after picture to show how much work you completed. I finished a dishcloth that I had started for a previous tournament and I also knit a pair of slippers. I tied the color of the slippers to the opening credit colors of the Britcom Good Neighbors.
During this round, the team was a little less social but I think it is just the nature of the timing. December is a pretty busy month for most people with lots of family obligations and travel so there is just less time for knitting and internet shenanigans. We still ended up with 100% participation although we were one person short of having 100% participation for team unity this month. Our team unity for this round was to tie your project to Monty Python and, to extend the unity, our badges were all Monty Python related.
This round of Giving Geeks was an end of the year special and you could answer the any of the challenges that had been done throughout the year. I went with the "donation inspired by weather" challenge and made a donation to the American Red Cross. I opted for this donation as the midwest had just been hit by several devastating tornadoes & the Philippines had just been hit by Typhoon Haiyan. My Britcom tie-in was the episode of The Vicar of Dibley when the vicar installs a plain window instead of a stained glass window in the church and donates the money she raised for a new stained glass window to earthquake relief.
Encyclopedia & Team Unity Project
The challenge for this round was to craft something inspired by some aspect of the European Medieval period. I took my inspiration from the Black Death, the largest pandemic in history, and crafted a black Thorpe hat. I crocheted the trim in red because I wanted to use the Black Knight from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail as my team tie-in and unity project. The Black Knight has a red symbol on his armor and he spouts quite a bit of blood over the course of his scene. I have a special fondness for that movie because I watched it several times with my Dad and brother when I was little. We still use it as a pop culture touch-point.
Discovery
For this round, we had to try something new. It was a pretty broad mandate and there is a lot that I haven't tried when it comes to knitting. I decided that I would try double knitting as my "something new." Although it was a little fiddly it is definitely a technique that I would use again. I went with a very basic potholder for my project so that I didn't have to worry too much about mistakes. I mean, an ugly potholder is still completely functional, right? I tied this project to the Britcom Mulberry as the titular character arrives in a long, brown coat.
The challenge was to craft something inspired by a pun. I found a hippopotamus pun about weight loss so I knit a hippo dishcloth. The pattern that I used suggested knitting with a size 6 needle instead of the size 8 that is often called for with dishcloths as the tighter gauge helps the pattern stand out. I tied the color of the dishcloth to an outfit that a character is wearing in the sketch show Little Britain.
Flexible Schedule
For the flexible schedule category you can submit two projects that you finished during the round, as long as you did at least two hours worth of crafting on the project during the round. If you completed an unfinished object, you need to provide a before and after picture to show how much work you completed. I finished a dishcloth that I had started for a previous tournament and I also knit a pair of slippers. I tied the color of the slippers to the opening credit colors of the Britcom Good Neighbors.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Team Most Amused First Place T9 R1
You can't see me but I am doing a little happy dance at my computer. Team Most Amused was in first place at the end of Round One of this, the Ninth Tournament of Nerd Wars. I'm sure that we won't end up in first place at the end of the tournament because other teams seem to focus on getting dissertation points which don't factor in until rounds two and three. That being said, I am pretty proud of my team. Moving on the my summary of round two...
First up, another picture collage of all the badges I earned from Team Most Amused.
Giving Geeks
Our prompt for this round was to "show the smallest among us that you care." To fulfill the challenge, I made a monetary donation to Crisis Nursery, a wonderful organization that provides respite care for children birth to age 6 when the family is in the midst of a crisis. In addition to respite care, the Crisis Nursery also provides parenting classes, support groups, postpartum depression services, play groups, and referrals to other community service providers to help the family to get through whatever crisis they are facing. Did I mention that the Crisis Nursery is staffed 24hours a day, all year long? They are never closed because they are aware that a crisis can happen at any time. If you have some spare money and are looking for a great place to donate it, I would recommend Crisis Nursery. Don't live if the area? See if your community has a similar organization and support it.
Discovery
For this round we had to craft a project in the colors of carotenoids and anthocyanins, the chemicals that are revealed during fall when the leaves change colors. I knit a brown Haka (a hat by Lee Meredith) and tied it to the brown outfit that Mrs. Doyle wears on the show Father Ted. The hat is a super quick knit and I will probably make more in the future for charity knitting. This hat is headed to the charity Wool-Aid as it is made of a bulky wool yarn and it has ear flaps for extra warmth.
Nerdology & Team Unity
The prompt for this round was to raise your nerd flag high and craft something inspired by another teams nerdery. I knit a Nibbler dishcloth inspired by the cartoon Futurama. I am really sad that it is being cancelled. This project was also my team unity project. Our team unity for this round was a cross team unity so we had to craft something that was inspired by Team Space Alliance and they crafted something inspired by Team Most Amused. Futurama is one of the shows covered in their scope. I didn't know it at the time but Futurama is also covered by Team Shady cells so I got to be an honorary member of their team for this round. What does that mean? Another badge for my collection.
I hope that you are having fun with your knitting!
First up, another picture collage of all the badges I earned from Team Most Amused.
Our prompt for this round was to "show the smallest among us that you care." To fulfill the challenge, I made a monetary donation to Crisis Nursery, a wonderful organization that provides respite care for children birth to age 6 when the family is in the midst of a crisis. In addition to respite care, the Crisis Nursery also provides parenting classes, support groups, postpartum depression services, play groups, and referrals to other community service providers to help the family to get through whatever crisis they are facing. Did I mention that the Crisis Nursery is staffed 24hours a day, all year long? They are never closed because they are aware that a crisis can happen at any time. If you have some spare money and are looking for a great place to donate it, I would recommend Crisis Nursery. Don't live if the area? See if your community has a similar organization and support it.
Discovery
For this round we had to craft a project in the colors of carotenoids and anthocyanins, the chemicals that are revealed during fall when the leaves change colors. I knit a brown Haka (a hat by Lee Meredith) and tied it to the brown outfit that Mrs. Doyle wears on the show Father Ted. The hat is a super quick knit and I will probably make more in the future for charity knitting. This hat is headed to the charity Wool-Aid as it is made of a bulky wool yarn and it has ear flaps for extra warmth.
Nerdology & Team Unity
The prompt for this round was to raise your nerd flag high and craft something inspired by another teams nerdery. I knit a Nibbler dishcloth inspired by the cartoon Futurama. I am really sad that it is being cancelled. This project was also my team unity project. Our team unity for this round was a cross team unity so we had to craft something that was inspired by Team Space Alliance and they crafted something inspired by Team Most Amused. Futurama is one of the shows covered in their scope. I didn't know it at the time but Futurama is also covered by Team Shady cells so I got to be an honorary member of their team for this round. What does that mean? Another badge for my collection.
I hope that you are having fun with your knitting!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Kntting Nerdy
So I am still participating in Nerd Wars on Ravelry. I was initially planning on sitting out this round as I wasn't feeling inspired but I found different team to play on and I feel renewed and excited again. I was previously playing on Team Cancelled which is a great team focusing on television shows that were cancelled after three or fewer seasons. What drew me to that team initially? My love for amazing shows like Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies, The Unusuals, Life, and Veronica Mars. However, deadline knitting has never been my forte and I was starting to get irritated by the rules and deadlines.
What could possibly have staved off a big "you're not the boss of me" fit and kept my nose to the knitting grindstone? Team Most Amused, a Nerd Wars team devoted to British television comedies! I grew up watching Britcom Saturday night on the local PBS affiliate and I have many fond memories of my whole family watching Are You Being Served (also on PBS). I enjoy the classic Britcoms. And by classic, I mean stuff I think of as quintessentially Britcom-y: Are You Being Served, Keeping Up Appearances, Mulberry, As Time Goes By, The IT Crowd, Good Neighbors, and Waiting for God. I also really enjoy Coupling (we should never speak of the American remake) although I think of it as a British comedy and not a Britcom (my brain sees them as distinctly different).
I completed challenges in three of the five challenge categories and one of those projects was also a team unity project.
Giving Geeks:
For this challenge we were supposed to express our humanity by combating fear through a donation of time, money or items. I answered the challenge by making a donation to the local foodbank to combat the fear of going hungry. With this challenge, there were so many worthy causes that could qualify but since we were in the midst of the federal government shutdown and I knew several people that were having to make do without a paycheck, I opted to give to the foodbank. Although the federal government wasn't paying employees, their employees still had to pay bills and feed their families.
Encyclopedia:
For this challenge we were supposed to craft something inspired by a trip to the zoo. I was looking for a quick project so I went with a bear washcloth. I knew that I would need to tie it to one of the television shows covered by the team scope so I went with a pattern that looked more like a teddy bear so I could tie it to Mr. Bean and his teddy bear.
Discovery:
For this challenge we had to craft something inspired by an atmospheric phenomenon. I went with a rainbow as my inspiration item because I had some rainbow-colored self-striping yarn in my stash. I went with another quick project, a Kindle cozy. I tied it to all of the colors in the animated opening title sequence for The IT Crowd. This project also served as my Team Unity project because it used two of our team colors (red, white & blue representing the Union Jack flag).
Do any of you participate in Nerd Wars? If so, what team are you on?
What could possibly have staved off a big "you're not the boss of me" fit and kept my nose to the knitting grindstone? Team Most Amused, a Nerd Wars team devoted to British television comedies! I grew up watching Britcom Saturday night on the local PBS affiliate and I have many fond memories of my whole family watching Are You Being Served (also on PBS). I enjoy the classic Britcoms. And by classic, I mean stuff I think of as quintessentially Britcom-y: Are You Being Served, Keeping Up Appearances, Mulberry, As Time Goes By, The IT Crowd, Good Neighbors, and Waiting for God. I also really enjoy Coupling (we should never speak of the American remake) although I think of it as a British comedy and not a Britcom (my brain sees them as distinctly different).
Giving Geeks:
For this challenge we were supposed to express our humanity by combating fear through a donation of time, money or items. I answered the challenge by making a donation to the local foodbank to combat the fear of going hungry. With this challenge, there were so many worthy causes that could qualify but since we were in the midst of the federal government shutdown and I knew several people that were having to make do without a paycheck, I opted to give to the foodbank. Although the federal government wasn't paying employees, their employees still had to pay bills and feed their families.
Encyclopedia:
For this challenge we were supposed to craft something inspired by a trip to the zoo. I was looking for a quick project so I went with a bear washcloth. I knew that I would need to tie it to one of the television shows covered by the team scope so I went with a pattern that looked more like a teddy bear so I could tie it to Mr. Bean and his teddy bear.
Discovery:
For this challenge we had to craft something inspired by an atmospheric phenomenon. I went with a rainbow as my inspiration item because I had some rainbow-colored self-striping yarn in my stash. I went with another quick project, a Kindle cozy. I tied it to all of the colors in the animated opening title sequence for The IT Crowd. This project also served as my Team Unity project because it used two of our team colors (red, white & blue representing the Union Jack flag).
Do any of you participate in Nerd Wars? If so, what team are you on?
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Let's keep the FO train going
I finished another cowl. I made a Donner Pass cowl in Another Crafty Girl's Squishy Aran base in the Punky Brewster colorway. You may be wondering if I have other yarns in my stash, and I do, but right now I am just very inspired by the stuff from Another Crafty Girl.
It doesn't photograph very well but here is the best closeup I could get of all the gorgeous colors.
Any suggestions on my next project? Do you find yourself getting stuck in project phases repeating one type of item over and over until the phase burns out and you move on to something else?
It doesn't photograph very well but here is the best closeup I could get of all the gorgeous colors.
Any suggestions on my next project? Do you find yourself getting stuck in project phases repeating one type of item over and over until the phase burns out and you move on to something else?
Friday, May 4, 2012
I'm on a roll!
I finished another KAL!!! I'm on fire. Not actual fire, but just as exciting...but you know, way less painful. I finished a Single Men Cowl by Laura Linneman or as you may know her, LaLa of The KnitGirllls. I made it out of Another Crafty Girl's Squishy Aran in the Kermit the Frog inspired colorway. It is fabulous and lives up to its name: squishy! I think the bright greens will look fantastic with the brown corduroy coat that I sometimes wear in the winter. The brown coat is a little tatty on the cuffs but I've had it since college and I just can't seem to let it go.
The KAL is for the Super Summer Knitogether (SSK) retreat that I will be attending this summer.
Now I just have to figure out what to knit next. It seems like cowls are working out well for me so I'm off to look through patterns on Ravelry.
The KAL is for the Super Summer Knitogether (SSK) retreat that I will be attending this summer.
Now I just have to figure out what to knit next. It seems like cowls are working out well for me so I'm off to look through patterns on Ravelry.
Monday, April 30, 2012
FO FTW
...or for those not into acronyms, finished object for the win! I finally finished a KAL. I completed the Herringbone Cowl that I was knitting as part of Another Crafty Girl's Muppet KAL.
I used the recommended bind-off and it makes the bound off edge a little floppy and ruffly. I probably could have done a regular bind-off since I cast on more stitches than the pattern called for to make sure that it wouldn't be too snug so I didn't need a lot of stretch in the bound-off edge. Oh well, it was my first time using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off so I have added a new skill to my knitting arsenal.
Now, what to cast on next?
I used the recommended bind-off and it makes the bound off edge a little floppy and ruffly. I probably could have done a regular bind-off since I cast on more stitches than the pattern called for to make sure that it wouldn't be too snug so I didn't need a lot of stretch in the bound-off edge. Oh well, it was my first time using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off so I have added a new skill to my knitting arsenal.
Now, what to cast on next?
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Happy Doldrums
I just love a project that offers near instant gratification and the Doldrums Cowl by Laura Linneman (co-host of TheKnitGirllls video podcast) fit the bill nicely.
It only took a couple of hours to knit & I'm actually looking forward to winter so I can wear it. I used two skeins of Mirasol Sulka, a bulky weight yarn that have been kicking around in the stash since March of 2008. I decided that I needed to find a quick project to kick-start my knitting mojo which stalled when I ran out of time to finish the scarf I was making for the March KAL.
While I was poking around trying to find a project, I discovered a couple of knitting books that need to go to a good home.
I just don't see myself making any projects out of the books. So here is the deal, if you would like either book (or both), just leave a comment by April 25th letting me know which book(s) you are interested in. If there is more than one person that wants a book, I'll draw for a winner. If no one leaves a comment by April 25th, the books will be donated to the Books to Prisoners charity.
It only took a couple of hours to knit & I'm actually looking forward to winter so I can wear it. I used two skeins of Mirasol Sulka, a bulky weight yarn that have been kicking around in the stash since March of 2008. I decided that I needed to find a quick project to kick-start my knitting mojo which stalled when I ran out of time to finish the scarf I was making for the March KAL.
While I was poking around trying to find a project, I discovered a couple of knitting books that need to go to a good home.
I just don't see myself making any projects out of the books. So here is the deal, if you would like either book (or both), just leave a comment by April 25th letting me know which book(s) you are interested in. If there is more than one person that wants a book, I'll draw for a winner. If no one leaves a comment by April 25th, the books will be donated to the Books to Prisoners charity.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Dishcloth Explosion
In an effort to feel a sense of knitting accomplishment, I have been making dishcloths out of my stash of cotton yarn. Who cares that I mostly put my dirty dishes in the dishwasher so I don't need a bunch of dishcloths. Here is a little pile of dishcloths that I made and I'm not tired of making them so there may be more dishcloth knitting in my future. I used the Grandmother's Favorite traditional dishcloth pattern (Ravelry and non-Ravelry) which is super fast and super easy.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
January Progress
There has been knitting afoot here at Chez NerdGirl and there has been some groundwork laid to keep track of my knitting goals for the year. I have added a box to the blog so you can see how I am doing on stash accumulation and project completion. Right now I am in the red since I have added more skeins to my stash than I have used but that fact that I am paying attention to consumption is good. Mindfulness is the key to actually achieving the goals I have set for myself.
I finished two cowls and a scarf this month.
The scarf was a simple mistake rib made out Malabrigo worsted in the Sweet Grapes colorway. I really need to come up with a better way to photograph my finished objects so please forgive the photos. If anyone has some suggestions for me, feel free to leave them in the comments.
The first cowl that I finished was the Chickadee Cowl made out of Huckleberry Trillium in the Colleen colorway. The yarn and pattern were a perfect match and the color worked up in a manner that looks pixilated. I just love it. The cowl is folded in half for the picture since I was using my desk as the backdrop.
The last cowl that I finished was actually the November club pattern and yarn from the Fall in Full Color club that I was in. The yarn is String Theory Hand Dyed Merino DK in the exclusive club colorway and the pattern is called Woodstacking. It is also a club exclusive but maybe next year Anne Hanson AKA: knitspot will release it for purchase. This colorway was hard to photograph because the gold really dominated the picture and you couldn't see any sort of pattern. The photo that I am using is a bit washed out and there is no flash so you can see the pattern. The color is a rich chocolate brown with hints of gold.
I am still working on the Hitchhiker for The KnitGirllls SAL/KAL which I am determined to finish before the end of February. I am also working on another cowl and I would like to get a couple of hats knit. I will be participating in the mitten KAL in February that is being run by Laura of The KnitGirllls.
I finished two cowls and a scarf this month.
The scarf was a simple mistake rib made out Malabrigo worsted in the Sweet Grapes colorway. I really need to come up with a better way to photograph my finished objects so please forgive the photos. If anyone has some suggestions for me, feel free to leave them in the comments.
The first cowl that I finished was the Chickadee Cowl made out of Huckleberry Trillium in the Colleen colorway. The yarn and pattern were a perfect match and the color worked up in a manner that looks pixilated. I just love it. The cowl is folded in half for the picture since I was using my desk as the backdrop.
The last cowl that I finished was actually the November club pattern and yarn from the Fall in Full Color club that I was in. The yarn is String Theory Hand Dyed Merino DK in the exclusive club colorway and the pattern is called Woodstacking. It is also a club exclusive but maybe next year Anne Hanson AKA: knitspot will release it for purchase. This colorway was hard to photograph because the gold really dominated the picture and you couldn't see any sort of pattern. The photo that I am using is a bit washed out and there is no flash so you can see the pattern. The color is a rich chocolate brown with hints of gold.
I am still working on the Hitchhiker for The KnitGirllls SAL/KAL which I am determined to finish before the end of February. I am also working on another cowl and I would like to get a couple of hats knit. I will be participating in the mitten KAL in February that is being run by Laura of The KnitGirllls.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Vacation!!!
Right now I am on vacation and I am taking full advantage of the knitting time. I just finished another Sockhead hat. I don't know when I started the hat but it was in progress and mentioned on the blog in September so it was probably started at the end of August or the beginning of September. I'm not quite sure what derailed the project but I am guessing stockinette boredom since I was near the end of the nine inches of stockinette that I needed to finish before I started the decreases. The hat is made in the Ice Cream Sandwich colorway of Crafts Meow's Soft Serve yarn that I picked up at Stitches Midwest several years ago. My camera had a hard time focusing on the project so I had to use a sort of bad photo but it was one of the few shots of the hat that was actually in focus!
I am currently working on a Hitchhiker for The KnitGirlls SAL/KAL but it is in timeout. I have a problem with sticking to larger projects all the way to the end. I tend to get bored and I either start a new project or I pick up an old WIP to work on. Right now I have 22 or 23 of the points finished so I am a little more than halfway finished. This is obviously not a current photo, but I'd rather include an old photo than have no photo.
In non-knitting news, I went to a holiday party earlier this week and had a wonderful time. One of my coworkers hosted the party at her house and I think that everyone had a nice time. I didn't take any photos but her house was lovely and all decorated for Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I managed to get my Christmas cards in the mail before Christmas this year and I have all of my Christmas shopping finished so I should be in good shape for this weekend. My brother and sister-in-law are hosting Christmas dinner this year and I am looking forward to seeing them.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I am currently working on a Hitchhiker for The KnitGirlls SAL/KAL but it is in timeout. I have a problem with sticking to larger projects all the way to the end. I tend to get bored and I either start a new project or I pick up an old WIP to work on. Right now I have 22 or 23 of the points finished so I am a little more than halfway finished. This is obviously not a current photo, but I'd rather include an old photo than have no photo.
In non-knitting news, I went to a holiday party earlier this week and had a wonderful time. One of my coworkers hosted the party at her house and I think that everyone had a nice time. I didn't take any photos but her house was lovely and all decorated for Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I managed to get my Christmas cards in the mail before Christmas this year and I have all of my Christmas shopping finished so I should be in good shape for this weekend. My brother and sister-in-law are hosting Christmas dinner this year and I am looking forward to seeing them.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Yes, I pay to get disappointed. Wait, is that not normal?
Knitter, know thyself. That is the lesson that I learned from participating in the Fall in Full Color club this year. For those of you not familiar with a knitting club, you pay a lump sum and then (at least with this club) every month you get a pattern and yarn and it is a wonderful surprise that feels you with knitterly glee. Unless...yes, unless you are a knitter like me...a picky knitter. I have often said that I wouldn't join a club because I am so picky but I somehow thought I could change that and have a grand adventure and broaden my horizons. Not so much. I have enjoyed one pattern but I didn't want to use the yarn that came with it because is was a cable and textured pattern and a highly variegated yarn that somewhat obscured all of the cable and texture. I can appreciate several of the yarns that came in the club kits but they were definitely not for me. Just to clarify, there is nothing wrong with this club for other people. It is a great club for other people, it just isn't a good fit for me. December is the last month for the club so at least when 2012 gets here I will not longer being paid to be disappointed. I'll still be paying for a gym membership that I don't use but that is a different issue.
Enough of the grumbling, and thanks for sticking with me to the actual knitting content. Yes, there have been more hats, all of which will be given to a charity. What can I say, they are super quick to knit and I like feeling productive.
There was a Starving Artist beret made out of Malabrigo Chunky that has been floating around in my stash for several years. It took exactly one skein of yarn.
There was a 1x1 rib hat, no pattern needed that used about a half of a skein of Moda Dea Tweedle Dee that has been hanging around the stash for a couple of years.
There were two hats that I made out of one of the yarns from the Fall in Full Color club. The colors are not for me but I can appreciate that if you love fall colors, this yarn will make you happy. One of the hats is a no pattern 1x1 rib brim & the rest in stockinette. The other hat is a Twisted Rib watch cap.
Now brace yourself, there has been non-hat knitting as well. I know. Shocking!! I participated in a knitalong (KAL) of the Fresco Basket Whip cowl for The Knitabulls video podcast. I made it out of some Blue Sky Alpacas sport weight that has been kicking around in the stash for a few years.
Finally, bolstered by the success of the Knitabulls KAL, I joined The Knit Girllls spinalong/knitalong. I am not a spinner so I am just doing the KAL portion of the SAL/KAL and the knitting started today. I am knitting the Hitchhiker out of the yarn that Cloudlover dyed for the SAL/KAL. When you put the pattern name together with the fact that there are 42 pattern repeats the inspiration for the pattern seems obvious. Well, obvious if you have read the book. My progress is tiny but I like the way it is shaping up.
So what have we learned today? I'm super picky and that occasionally ruins some of the fun that I try to have and causes me to whine. I have managed to knit up some of the ridiculous amount of stash that I have. I like hats. I ramble too much.
If you made it to the end, bless you. May your day be delightful and full of laughs.
Enough of the grumbling, and thanks for sticking with me to the actual knitting content. Yes, there have been more hats, all of which will be given to a charity. What can I say, they are super quick to knit and I like feeling productive.
There was a Starving Artist beret made out of Malabrigo Chunky that has been floating around in my stash for several years. It took exactly one skein of yarn.
There was a 1x1 rib hat, no pattern needed that used about a half of a skein of Moda Dea Tweedle Dee that has been hanging around the stash for a couple of years.
There were two hats that I made out of one of the yarns from the Fall in Full Color club. The colors are not for me but I can appreciate that if you love fall colors, this yarn will make you happy. One of the hats is a no pattern 1x1 rib brim & the rest in stockinette. The other hat is a Twisted Rib watch cap.
Now brace yourself, there has been non-hat knitting as well. I know. Shocking!! I participated in a knitalong (KAL) of the Fresco Basket Whip cowl for The Knitabulls video podcast. I made it out of some Blue Sky Alpacas sport weight that has been kicking around in the stash for a few years.
Finally, bolstered by the success of the Knitabulls KAL, I joined The Knit Girllls spinalong/knitalong. I am not a spinner so I am just doing the KAL portion of the SAL/KAL and the knitting started today. I am knitting the Hitchhiker out of the yarn that Cloudlover dyed for the SAL/KAL. When you put the pattern name together with the fact that there are 42 pattern repeats the inspiration for the pattern seems obvious. Well, obvious if you have read the book. My progress is tiny but I like the way it is shaping up.
So what have we learned today? I'm super picky and that occasionally ruins some of the fun that I try to have and causes me to whine. I have managed to knit up some of the ridiculous amount of stash that I have. I like hats. I ramble too much.
If you made it to the end, bless you. May your day be delightful and full of laughs.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
A Murder of Hats
This post is a catch-all for the knitting projects that I have finished recently. I'm in a bit of a hat phase so I have several hat pictures to show you. I thought a collection of hats was too boring of a title so I'm pretending that hats are like crows and a collection of them is called a murder. Why? Because it's my blog and that's what I feel like doing.
All of these hats will be going to a charity because I only have one head and it already has a lovely hat that my friend crocheted for me. The hats will be divided amongst Hats for Sailors (the blog is here and the Ravelry group is here) and Wool-Aid (the website is here and the Ravelry group is here). I'm sure there will be more hats in the future since they are such a quick knit and I can actually finish one before I get bored and move on to another project.
Please forgive the shoddy photos. I work nights and I never feel like heading out to take proper outdoor, daytime photos. The pattern links are for Ravelry and the book links are to LibraryThing. Anyway, here is the murder of hats.
Twistygoo in madelinetosh vintage in the cobalt colorway
Spiral Hat (from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders) in Dream in Color Classy in the happy forest colorway
Mushroom Cap in Dream in Color Classy in the november muse colorway with a happy forest stripe
Spiral Hat #2 (from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders) in Dream in Color Classy in the happy forest colorway
First Hat (from Knit 2 Together) in Dream in Color Classy in the november muse and happy forest colorways
Basic Cable Hat (from Stitch-n-Bitch Nation) in Malabrigo Rios in the aguas colorway
All of these hats will be going to a charity because I only have one head and it already has a lovely hat that my friend crocheted for me. The hats will be divided amongst Hats for Sailors (the blog is here and the Ravelry group is here) and Wool-Aid (the website is here and the Ravelry group is here). I'm sure there will be more hats in the future since they are such a quick knit and I can actually finish one before I get bored and move on to another project.
Please forgive the shoddy photos. I work nights and I never feel like heading out to take proper outdoor, daytime photos. The pattern links are for Ravelry and the book links are to LibraryThing. Anyway, here is the murder of hats.
Twistygoo in madelinetosh vintage in the cobalt colorway
Spiral Hat (from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders) in Dream in Color Classy in the happy forest colorway
Mushroom Cap in Dream in Color Classy in the november muse colorway with a happy forest stripe
Spiral Hat #2 (from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders) in Dream in Color Classy in the happy forest colorway
First Hat (from Knit 2 Together) in Dream in Color Classy in the november muse and happy forest colorways
Basic Cable Hat (from Stitch-n-Bitch Nation) in Malabrigo Rios in the aguas colorway
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