Large Illusion #2

I love this piece. I finished it very, very quickly for the size and amount of yarn. Apparently October was a good month for knitting. November and December, not so much.

Pattern: Tiger's Head Illusion (Ravelry)

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cloud and Fedora, 4 skeins of each

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: October 4 - 31, 2011

Mods: None really, 2-color cast on/bind off and slipped the side stitches rather than giving it a garter edging.

Problems: None, though it turned out so large (28.5" x 33.25") I kind of wish I'd knit it from a sport weight yarn instead.

I'm also really happy with this one because I used it for Transfiguration homework for the Harry Potter House Cup. That's a group of people on Ravelry, sorted into the four houses of Hogwarts, who complete homework for classes to earn house points, where the classes are project categories or prompts and the homework, or projects, have to be started and completed in the same month. You have to complete at least one homework in any class every month of the three month term in order to remain in good standing, and every homework you complete gets you house points. There are other activities to play along with as well, but one homework project per month that matches a prompt in some way is the bare minimum. Anyway, I was playing as a not quite first year for the Fall 2011 term, and this project matched the prompt of knitting something representing your animagus form. Not only did I take it from start to finish in October, this project was also nominated for a prize. Didn't win, but to be nominated my first time playing along was great!

Final Christmas Scarf

We've got the Snowflake Scarf, the Dark Mark Scarf, the Penguin Scarf, and finally the last one, the UB scarf:

Pattern: My own, based off of the Oh You Illusion Scarf (Ravelry)

Yarn: Anny Blatt Princess Anny, 2 skeins of each (blue and white)

Needles: US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: October 4 - December 11

Mods: Technically the whole thing was a mod because it's my pattern. So there.

Problems: None I noticed while knitting...

As you can see, I accidentally knit a row of white towards the end. If I'd noticed and either fixed it or added a couple more, it could have been a design feature, but now it sticks out like the mistake that it is. Oh well, not going back to fix it now! I was originally going to put the "UB" logo along the entire scarf, but decided against that. Love how it turned out, just hope my sister feels the same way!

All of the illusion scarves are now done, hopefully to their recipients' liking, the in-laws gifts have already been wrapped and sent, and now I just need to finish up the last few things for my family's gifts, like the three HUGE, what-was-I-thinking?!?! illusion pieces and the little keychains as gift tags to go with the scarves. I also have a dismembered elephant to piece together.

Black Sock Down

It's the home stretch for holiday knits. One of the last few things on my plate are socks for Lee. Nice black socks in a yarn and pattern we'd chosen awhile back that I just hadn't gotten to yet, but now, I was finally going to give him some more warm socks to wear to work.

My work computer is very, very, very slow, and decided to be extra derpy yesterday, so while waiting for pages to load and Word to cooperate (never happened!) I knit on his socks and got almost the full 3" heel flap and a good chunk of the gusset decreases done:

Guitar Man Socks. They look great but black is so difficult to photograph!

Last night, we had a work party, and since we'd be taking our shoes off, he wore the Malabrigo Rios Thujas I'd made for him a few months back. Since Rios is not a generous skein, the legs are not as tall as one might like, but I intended for them to be house socks so I wasn't too worried. Of course, he was ribbing me all night regarding the length of the socks, and we got into a discussion of the heights of the legs of the other socks I knit him.

When I first knit him socks, I noticed that he always rolled down the cuff of his work socks, so I assumed he liked that height, and when I told him I was knitting him socks and I wanted to measure it so I made them the length he liked, he didn't object. Now, I come to find out that actually, he rolls them down so the elastic isn't a problem, and also, he wouldn't mind having another half inch to an inch on the legs of the socks I'd knit for him.

Of course, I already had in my file of knit measurements that he likes his cuffs at 5", rather than the standard 6", so I have to change that. Have you picked up on the problem yet? I already knit the leg of the first sock. To 5". And my only accomplishment at work Thursday was in fact the inches of sock I have to rip out. So, now that I've also mentioned that these socks are for him (work parties are all you can drink, and the sake was pretty good!), I think they'll be sitting in the WIP basket for a bit. At least until the other couple socks I'm working on are done. He should still get them sometime this winter!

Another Whoops

I made an adorable ball from Paton's Classic Wool scraps for my nephew for Christmas. I was going to knit him a Celestine, but decided that it was too much work for me to make a second one, so I kept it. Bad aunt, but hey, who's going to know? Aside from everyone who reads this blog?

Ahem.

I also planned to knit an elephant, Elephante to be exact, from some of those same scraps. I made the ball first, though had I been thinking correctly, I'd've made the elephant first to be sure I didn't run out of the yarn I wanted to use for it.

I suppose you can guess where this is going.

While I'm not actually out of yarn, I am going to run out before I finish. So, should I keep going and pretend I don't notice the lack of yarn until it is very, very obvious, and figure it out then? Should I rip out the blue and use the lighter blue? Should I rip out the head and make the trunk, legs, tail, and ear edging dark blue while the body is the lighter blue? Or, and I think this is what I'm leaning towards, should I use red to make the body? I just hope I have enough red. It won't be a gorgeous elephant, and I don't know why I just didn't do it as a solid color with the lighter blue from the outset, but I think a red body will work. Babies like bright colors and contrasts, right?

Winter Wear

for Siberia.

Lee and I are planning to walk the entire Appalachian Trail next spring/summer, after Japan but before Grad School (ohgodohgodohgod), and one of the recommendations was to bring a warm wool hat and a balaclava, for the really cold bits towards the end. I'd already decided to make us hats, because what's the point of being a knitter if you don't knit the simple wool hiking hats you need? Instead of carrying a hat and a balaclava, I decided that a hat plus a ninja mask/cowl/half balaclava of some sort was the way to go. Not like these though:

I found this lovely pattern that is meant to be form-fitting for a ninja mask that is perfect for biking. I probably won't test that since I don't usually bike when it's that bad out, but may use it for walking to work this winter! I used thicker wool than recommended, so that they'd match the hats and be extra warm, but I'm not sure they're as comfortable as they could be. I may re-knit this pattern in the future if I live in an area where such winter wear makes sense, in a thinner, softer yarn. As they are, they'll be perfect for the Trail, and any other winter activity we might ever want to do. Like go to the South Pole. Or scale Everest.

Hats:

Pattern: A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend (Rav)

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool, roughly half a skein.

Needles: US8/5.0mm
Timeframe: Roughly a day for the hats, maybe a couple of evenings - quick easy pattern!
Mods: I knit a nice rolled hem on mine and an extra inch fold-up brim on Lee's. Same hat pattern, different personalities in the details.
Problems: None.

 

Masks:

Pattern: Ninja Bike Mask (of awesomeness)
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool, same as the hats, a little over one skein for the masks

Needles: US6/4.0
Timeframe: April 17 for mine, 29 for his, finished both with a block on May 11.
Mods: None, it's a fill-in-the-blanks with your gauge pattern.

Problems: None really, though a thinner yarn would have been better. 

 

My mask doesn't like to play nicely with the amount of hair I currently have, but I won't have any when we do the Trail, so it should be fine! I just hope they don't stretch out. Two skeins was a good amount for the hat plus mask, and you can also get a pair of mittens or fingerless gloves with the leftovers if you want a full set of worsted weight snow gear.

Baby Knits

 I made another Placket Neck Pullover since the first one turned out so well and I had enough yarn to make the next size up. This is a nice quick knit, I think it looks great, and it should fit the kid nicely next year and probably the year after. Maybe even the year after that. I'll have to find a different pattern for next year though if I'm going to keep knitting things for him!

Pattern: Child's Placket Neck Pullover (Rav)
Yarn: Almost exactly four skeins of a very soft Japanese acrylic/wool called Mamarm.

Needles: US7/4.5 mm 

Timeframe: October 15 - 31
Mods: None, if you don't count omitting the buttons.
Problems: None!

 

I also figured I should make something for him to wear now, rather than something that won't fit yet, so I took a look through my stash to make the hat. Found the perfect yarns, now I'm just hoping it fits! Cute hat, very quick knit, and my submission to the House Cup* Care of Magical Creatures October homework:

Pattern: Cozy (Rav)
Yarn: Multiple Japanese aran/bulky weight acrylics

Needles: US8/5.0 mm 

Timeframe: October 23 - 31
Mods: No intentional ones.

Problems: Slight problem - I misinterpreted the pattern at one point, knitting a bit too far after the stripes. The pattern meant to measure from the bottom of the earflaps and I knit about a half inch extra before realizing my mistake. Not a huge problem, I just left it in and kept going!

 

I finished the knitting on this one in a single day, but didn't block it until the end of the month with all of my other finished knits. It does look warm and cozy, and I hope it fits and the baby likes it!

 

*The House Cup is a Harry Potter themed knitting group/competition on Ravelry. Every three months, they sort people into different houses, and you earn points for your house by completing homework and extra assignments (Ravelry projects) each month. You must complete one homework assignment from any class each month to be eligible for sorting for the next round because so many people are interested, and additional homework or a lot of yardage earns extra points for your house. I've joined as a NQFY, Not Quite First Year student, so that I can learn the rules and play along so I can be sorted next time. There are multiple classes each month that assign homework, all from the Harry Potter series (Transfiguration, Potions, Muggle Studies, etc.), and each one has a specific theme for the month. For Care of Magical Creatures, the theme was zombies, and one possible way of meeting that theme was making something that would protect someone's head from a zombie looking for brains. This project fit perfectly!

FO: Blaze

This one's been around for awhile.  I started it way back in 2007, thinking I'd have a nice fall sweater.  With over 300 stitches in a round for the yoke and lots of cabling every other row, this is a nice fall sweater...for 2010.  It's finally done, less than ten minutes before I wore it out to a nice dinner on Halloween, all decked out for the occasion! A year later, I re-did the cast-off (it contributed to the gapping) and had a friend take good pictures of it, so here, a year later than I originally finished it, is the official FO post!

Pattern: Blaze, 36" bust
Yarn: Peru DK Luxury in Orange, around 11 skeins.

Needles: US5/2.75 mm and US6/3.0, DPNs and Boye Interchangeables.
Timeframe: September 4, 2007 - November 1, 2010, with a 2+ year break when I left it in the US and didn't have enough yarn to finish it.
Mods: None.
Problems: None except the cabling takes FOREVER and I think the sizing is a bit off.  The arms are great, lengths are awesome, but I think the body stitch count might have looked better with a smaller size.  No way in hell am I re-doing that to fix it though!

I think that while I don't love the sizing, I'll still wear it a bunch, and this just confirms my inherent mistrust of circular yoke shaping.  If I stand straight, the back should be smaller than the front, at least for my body type, so standing straight up with my shoulders back, the back gaps.  I have the same problem with my Valencia, the back gaps a bit if I'm standing correctly.  Ah well, live and learn, and I shall continue to stay away from sweaters with such shaping, no matter how much I think they're cute.  I may do a Bohus at some point, but I have culled (nearly) all others from my Ravelry queue.

In ripping out the cast-off, it took me much, much longer than it should have to find the end. Plus for my knitting skill, minus for spending a long time going 'round and 'round the yoke! Then, I realized that I'd originally done a sewn bind-off for stretchiness (hah!), so that took a bit of time to pick out once I found the woven-in end. I also found a dropped stitch that I apparently didn't in fact bind off, so there's another plus with the re-do - that stitch would have been quite problematic had it decided to run later on, though considering how sticky and prone to felting this yarn is, it may not have been a problem.

A note on the yarn - this is my favorite yarn EVER and I would absolutely love it if the base could be found again. I think I had found it once, but have no idea. It's a very smooshy 70% merino, 20% alpaca, 10% silk yarn that I love, love, love, and would stockipile some in every color if it hadn't been discontinued years ago. Sadface!

Finally, a Lopi FO Post

I did drag out the camera and the sweater for better pictures this time - I've been using really bad ones with my dalmation shorts on Ravelry for the longest time ever! See:

This is a very warm sweater - so warm that I really can't wear it all that often! In addition to how warm it is, it gaps, which is the style and I knew that's what it'd do when I was knitting it, but I don't particularly like it. I do enjoy the sweater and wear it instead of a jacket on cold fall days. It's warmer than my leather jacket, as long as there's no wind!

Pattern: Toggle Cardigan
Yarn: Reynolds Lopi

Needles: US9/5.5mm and 10/6.0mm
Timeframe: Not sure
Mods: None

Problems: Not really, first sweater, lots of learning! I do wish the front edges wouldn't curl so much. I have extra yarn for a matching earflap hat, and I may make some kind of insert or flap so it doesn't hang open so much.

So Freaking Close!

Originally written May of 2007, the final saga of the Lopi cardigan.

Well, the seaming is done, the collar is done, the front edging is done, and I have decided on toggles. Now I just need to buy the stupid things!

Trying it on, I was still worried about the bust. It really seemed to want a zipper, as I just automatically reached down to zip it up the first couple times trying it on. I think that's just because all of my knitted (all store-bought) cardigans have zippers. After wearing it around for a bit, I decided I should probably knit the collar on. Those seven inches of ribbing took FOREVER! Hours and hours of mindless ribbing, I hate ribbing! Though I must say, I finally have fixed the problem I used to have of ugly knit stitches next to the purl stitches. Practice does make perfect, who woulda thunk?

When the skein of yarn I was working with ran out most of the way through the collar, I decided to do the edging of the front bit next to save myself from the miles of ribbing, at least for a little while. Since the side with the buttons was going to be straight single crochet no matter what I did with the final product, I did that one first. It added enough to the edge that I decided that toggles were the way to go. So, I did that edging, and now I can pull the cardigan closed over my bust and not have the color changing bits next to the raglan seams go all wonky.

Now I just need to find somewhere that sells toggles. I was at Jo-Ann's because I needed a new Tunisian crochet hook for my washcloths/handtowels project and looked quickly for toggles, but could not find them. I think AC Moore may have them as I recall them having a macrame section, and it might be there. Who knows? I certainly don't.

I found that spit-splicing when you've recently put on lotion actually helps the fibers to join faster. Kinda gross when doing it, but there you are. I finished the collar, the last bit of knitting, while going out to dinner with friends. Actually, I was binding off when we pulled in, so bound off the last fifteen stitches at the table, cut the yarn, realized I neglected to bring a crochet hook to hide the end of the yarn, and wore it anyway. I like it a lot! The collar needs to be blocked a bit though; the ribbing needs to be more relaxed as right now it just all bunches up in the back. Easily fixable. So all that needs to be done is weaving in that last end (I did all the others in my break from the endless ribbing), adding toggles and blocking the collar. And then I have a sweater, yay!!!

It Seamed Like A Good Idea...

Another one from cleaning out the drafts, this one was from before Japan even, May of 2007!

Yup, I've been seaming. And honestly, it ain't so bad! In fact, I'm rather happy with my seams. Not so happy that each piece didn't quite have the same number of rows, but apparently I was angry working on the right front piece and my tension was tighter.

Here is my beautiful seaming job:

I'm just so freaking happy with it and proud of myself for getting it so nice (on my first try, no less) that I was dancing around. Lee was even impressed.

Here's a half-done shot:

I'm just so freaking happy with this thing! Though I tried it on when it was half done, and it seems as though the front is a bit more open than I'd like it to be. Gotta finish to be sure, but I do believe that it is a bit snugger in the chest area than desired. Then I gotta figure out what to do for closures...

Extra Panels in Blanket of Awesome

I got a comment on my original post regarding the extra panels, and realized that as a reader of blogs, I would find the process of adding to the original design interesting, so as a writer, should probably write about that!

The original blanket is meant to be more of a lap blanket, perfect for keeping on the couch. I wanted a blanket that could be used on a queen- or king-sized bed. This required lengthening the blanket in all dimensions. Making it longer was easy, just knit more repeats until it's as long as desired, roughly 80". I did that for the three original pieces, and then had to figure out how to make it wider. Some people also widened theirs, knitting the edges or inner piece again. I didn't like that solution. Instead, I wanted to make something that looked like it could have been part of the original pattern, if the pattern were originally made for a queen-sized bed. I tend to be better at taking something that exists and improving it (changing the decreases, ways things are attached, small technical details) rather than coming up with something 100% from scratch, so a knitting designer I am not. However, I think this modification turned out well!

In the original panels, the main panel is a nice mix of a lot of cables:

The side panels have one main cable, a lot of background stitches, and a nice border on either end, separating the panels. The edging braid is repeated in the last two pieces knit for the blanket, a top and bottom border as well:

I knew I needed roughly the equivalent of two more edge panels to bring the blanket to the size I wanted. I decided I liked the outside panels as-is so I wanted to add something in between the two original panels, something with some background stitching (the trinity stitch on either side of the main cable in that second picture) and some cables. I wanted the panel with many cables to fade into a panel of few cables to fade into the panel of one cable. I also wanted to keep the border braid in between each panel; the outside panels had one on either side so I would just need one on the side closest to the center in the new panels. Thus far, the general stitch count was set (about as many as the edge panels, give or take a few to make the patterns work), two motifs (more than zero trinity stitch, one braid on the edge by the center panel), and I knew that there would be more than one cable but less than three.

Both original panels have a fairly intricate and large cable down the center. Since I was trying to match them, I decided I should have a large-ish cable down the center, with trinity stitch on either side. I didn't want any stretch of trinity stitch as large as the stretches on the end, in keeping with the fading from many cables to a lot of background. I'd knit Valencia from Gardiner Yarn Works somewhat recently, and really, really, really liked the front cable motif. It fit the general cable requirements, fancy, large-ish, so I chose that one as my main cable:

Ooh la la, I know!

I also needed another smaller cable to break up the trinity stitch on either side of the main cable for this panel, so I chose a little fun one that I think I used somewhere sometime but I don't remember anymore because this was over a year ago. For that one, I decided how much of the trinity stitch I wanted on either side (one repeat on one side, two on the other, because it worked out nicely that way and you really can't do half-repeats) and then figured out roughly what size cable I needed to fill the rest of the space. I recall looking online, but am not sure where exactly I got that little cable from. Either way, it fit, I love it, and here's the panel I ended up with, shown off in blocked and unblocked format:

I love this blanket, love how well the panel I came up with works with it, and really truly am planning to knit it again, even if it was months and months and months of knitting. It ended up being late, actually, and I was knitting it in the car on the way to the wedding, frantically trying to finish the borders so I could give it to them there:

Had I not knit one of the borders 10" too far, it would have been fine, but I'm almost happier I didn't finish, because then I was able to give it one final block and take finished pictures of it!

As Promised

Here's a final post for my Mystery Stole III, something that gets A LOT of use! I love this thing, I wear it as a scarf in the winter and give it a good wet block whenever I want to wear it out as a shawl. I never really got good pictures of it or did a final post showing it off, so I pulled out the camera and the shawl and got some a good shots:

The beads were originally silver, but I suppose when you buy beads from a big-box craft store for $1, you can't complain too hard when the silver wears off! At least they're clear underneath, so still work well for the shawl. Not as nice as the silver was originally against the black, but not bad.

Pattern: Swan Lake/ Mystery Stole III (Rav)
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare, dyed black

Needles: US3/3.25mm
Timeframe: July 2007 - January 2008
Mods: None

Now, knowing more about lace (this was my first major project), I'd use larger needles by a size or two. This one came out much smaller than anticipated, and while I love the design, would much prefer a larger, more open piece!

Hemlock Ring from Way Back

Along with that Blocking Part III post, I never did a final post for the other two projects that I blocked in that session. I never even took better pictures of them after blocking! To rectify that, here's an FO post and usage recap for the Hemlock Ring.

It's made from acrylic, so it was never going to keep its shape well since I didn't melt it into place well enough. I left this one with my mom and it's a lap blanket kept on the couch and I believe mostly used by the dogs at this point. Being in Japan, I can't get a better picture of it, but that's all right. My grandfather absolutely loves his, the first one I made, and keeps it by his chair in the winter for constant use. It's always gratifying when the objects you make are actually used by the people you make them for. I'd love to knit my grandfather a sweater, I just need to make the sweaters I have stash for first and get a bit better at understanding shaping and construction. The blanket:

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket (Rav)
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, 4 skeins of Taupe

Needles: US10/6.0mm
Timeframe: November 2007 - January 2008
Mods: None

I really liked this yarn for an acrylic and would use it again anywhere that shaping or holding its shape (like lace) wasn't an issue. A plain blanket, a stockinette sweater, a scarf, they would all be great in this yarn if you wanted an easy care, low-cost acrylic. Not the best for this pattern though and I would definitely recommend wool if you're thinking of knitting it!

Blocking Part III, or I Knit THAT?!?!

Here's a post from waaaaaaaaay back that is the final post of a series. I also apparently never did a final project post for this project or probably the other two associated with it, so here you go!

As you'll recall from my last post the Aaaargh-yle socks did not require massive blocking. As I said, I "Laid them into place, made sure the toe was rounded correctly, and left them to dry"... for three days. Three days these things took! Granted, it was four strands of yarn at the skulls it had to dry through, but still...

They are now with their intended recipient, and I will show the blocking picture again, since there isn't really a difference between seeing them on the blanket and seeing them anywhere else.

Yarn: Was supposed to be four colors of KnitPicks Essential, but that yarn order never made it, which is a good part of the problem of why it's not done for Christmas. (The other part is that it takes like 20 - 25 hours to make one of these instead of the 10 - 15 I was estimating. Whoops.)
I also used Wildfoote for the white and gray and Lang Jawoll for the brown. The Jawoll is slightly thinner than the other two which are about the same thickness, but a knitter's gotta do what a knitter's gotta do, and it's not really noticeable.

Needles: US1.5/2.5mm KnitPicks 6" metal DPNs from the set of six.

Pattern: Adaptation of others. 82 stitches for the leg, 1" 2x2 cuff and then the argyle pattern, all knit flat and adapted from the Aaargh-yle .pdf and the 82 st chart found at MothHeaven. Instead of continuing the pattern down the foot like a traditional argyle, I made the foot all black for ease of knitting and fewer seams. Standard heel flap (sl1, k1 row, *sl1, p1* next row) with gusset and a French toe.

Next up, MS3! I am so amazingly happy with this. While it's more of a stole-ette, it's perfect for going just over the shoulders in something strappy. I am so amazed at how well it came out after blocking, every time I walk near it I have to pick it up and start dancing with it.

Going Rogue

Or at least, finally posting about finishing this well-worn sweater!

Pattern: Rogue (Rav)
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Fern

Needles: US7/4.5mm and 8/5.0mm
Timeframe: March 9, 2008 - February 14, 2009
Mods: I lengthened it by an inch.

Problems: I should have lengthened the body by another inch or two and I didn't start the pocket correctly, so it doesn't look quite right. There was also a LOT of lag time in between the start and finish of this one!

I wear it all the time, and I love it so much! The only real problem with the wear is that it pills easily. This would probably not be a problem if it were knit in a tighter gauge, but I like the gauge and just need to go over it more often than I do with a de-pilling device. Love the cable details, it was really an easy sweater, it just needs to be longer to look good on my torso!

The main picture is from our trip to Taiwan, and is actually a pretty good  photo so I'll just use it rather than having this post sit in my drafts forever waiting for me to pull out the sweater and the camera at the same time on a day where the lighting is good enough to get a better finished picture.

Blanket of Awesome

This blanket has got to be the hardest, most rewarding piece I've ever made and gifted. Possibly second to the Sierpinski Carpet blanket, but they're close.  It's lovely, awesome, amazing, took ever-so-many hours and then some, and came out absolutely gorgeous.  I will likely make another one for one other friend's wedding, if she gets married someday, and may someday make one for me as well.  I loved the yarn I used, however, and getting more of that, especially at the price I got it at, would be difficult.  This is one yarn that, if I do manage to find it again, would buy 120 more skeins in a heartbeat for two more blankets.  This was the absolute perfect marriage of yarn and pattern, and for the amount of yarn required, highly inexpensive!

This was for a friend's wedding in August (of 2009). I spent most of my vacation in July and a good portion of the first part of my travels in the US working on it.  The edging took a heck of a lot more time than I'd've thought, considering how long everything else took!  It may have also been because I'd seamed all the blocked panels and was thoroughly finished with working on the huge, warm pile of wool in my lap in August, and so was slower than I could/should have been.

I cannot describe my love for this yarn enough.  It is so warm but light and gives great cable definition with a soft halo from the cashmere content, it is thin yet does what it needs to, and is just perfect all around.  This amazing wool/cashmere yarn was on sale when I got it for a mere $2/skein.  Yes, $2/skein at a New Year's sale in Tokyo.  Well, $20 for a bag of 10 skeins.  I estimated 60 skeins for the project, and used 54, absolutely perfect.  Had I realized how amazing this stuff was, yes, I would have spend $500 right then and there and gotten enough for two blankets in white and one in charcoal, probably, and maybe even an extra blanket's worth, just in case.

Pattern: Burridge Lake Aran Afghan (Rav)
Yarn: Cashmere Wool Nature, 53.5 skeins

Needles: US7/4.5mm
Timeframe: February 1 - August 15, 2010
Mods: Some.  I wanted a queen-sized bedspread, so I lengthened the panels (22 repeats for Panel B and 33 for the side panels).  I also designed additional panels to complete the bedspread, which I am planning to write up nicely and offer for anyone else who wants to do the same.  I think the new panels complement the rest of the amazing design well.

Love, love, love the way this turned out.  Absolutely love it.

Third Scarf

We've got the Snowflake Scarf, the Dark Mark Scarf, an in-progress UB Scarf, and here's the finished penguin scarf:

Pattern: Linux Illusion Scarf (Ravelry)

Yarn: Anny Blatt Princess Anny, 3 skeins of each (pink and black)

Needles: US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: June 1 - September 17

Mods: Some. Cast on/Bind off to match sides, used instructions from the two-row Noro scarf slipping the first and last stitch of every second row to make a nice edge. Did the penguin on both ends.

Problems: None really, though I incorrectly reversed the pattern so it's the same penguin rather than mirrored penguins. Oh well, no big deal!

I discussed the scarf a bit here, so I won't get into it too much. This one is wide and long, and I hope my sister likes it! One scarf left, as well as a few other illusion pieces before I'm finished with the Christmas knits.

Mymymymyy Corona

That song gets stuck in my head every single time I thought about or picked up this project. I used just under four skeins of Cascade 220, making it just barely count for the Loopy Ewe project. To count, it needed to be 800 yards or more, and I made it. I think that it would have looked better in a larger size for the body up through the "v", but I love how the arms fit, the collar works very well, and I absolutely adore the sleeves and everything about it from the "v" up. I don't always like how raglan sleeves look and fit, but these are absolutely perfect and I think I will use this as a raglan example in the future. Love it!

I'm not in love with either the color or the feel of the yarn, but I'm not all that upset either. It will be a good sweater for fall and unless I finish another sweater soon, people may get sick of seeing me in it!

Pattern: My Corona (Ravelry) 

Yarn: Cascade 220 in 7178 Blue Velvet

Needles: US8/5.0mm

Timeframe: August 16 - 31, 2011

Mods: Lengthened the sleeves, raised the collar, changed the hood into a complete collar, made the increases/decreases matching, more details here.

Problems: Nothing really, just wish I'd've knit the lower body a bit larger than I did. Though if I had and kept the larger size through the top, I wouldn't be as happy with the collar and shoulders, so I can't complain too much!

Walking and Knitting

Still working on the Christmas presents. Still wanting to knit things that are not Christmas presents. Sigh.

Really, it's not that bad. I'm loving one of the illusion knits I'm working on, the keychains are quick and adorable, and I just started a baby sweater that is flying off the needles. It's just the scarf that is, like many scarves, long and boring, and it has a pattern that is just complex enough to have me checking the pattern all the time so it's not mindless, and just boring enough that the fact that I have to look at the pattern annoys me. It has been my carry-along project, but I've been not really knitting on it, just carrying it around recently due to project boredom:

Want to make people look at you like you're crazy? Knit a scarf like this one that is ostensibly a simple striped pattern, and then go to check the pattern and count stitches. I found the confusion to be quite amusing! It's another illusion scarf, the last of four I'm knitting for Christmas, and rather than motoring through because the end (of the scarves at least) is in sight, I'm just about halfway done and dawdling.

In order to make better progress on the Christmas front, I've switched up to a nice little DK weight baby sweater for my nephew, and it's really coming along quickly:

One sleeve done (instead of swatching, I start the sleeve and rip it out if it isn't working), and the body over 2" so far. That's really good because I had the sleeve plus the first row of the body done this morning and only worked on it while walking around today. Hopefully the quick sweater will give me the boost I need to enjoy working on the scarf again, or at least get me motivated to finish it!

A note on the bags - a supermarket just opened near us and gave away these cute little bags for their opening weekend. I got two, and love how they have a little pocket that's perfect for my iPod and fit a carry-along knitting project nicely. My typical bag is suffering from a broken zipper pull, so these bags have come in handy. They say "refill our green earth" and I'm not exactly sure what they're going for there, but I do like the bags!

Distracted Knitting

I keep looking at all my other yarns and wanting to knit things that I should not knit until the Christmas things are done. Getting things done early is a good thing! Just because it's not yet Christmas time doesn't mean I should hold off on that knitting! In fact, if I finish the Christmas stuff, I can cast on ALL THE THINGS and knit whatever the heck I want for however long I want! Or so I keep telling myself, as I continue to look over at the pile of yarns already paired with season-appropriate patterns. Sigh.

Since I can't seem to buckle down and just FINISH STUFF ALREADY, even the small crochet things I'm mostly done with, I decided to just go ahead and cast on all of the Christmas things I have open needles for. This way I can switch up to a different pattern if I'm bored or restless but am still moving forward on deadline crafting. So many things I want to knit, so little time to do so!

And completely apropos to this post, I started it a week ago and didn't post it because I wanted to get some pictures, but never did. I am now on a finishing jag, which started with this skirt:

Made from a recycled Happi Coat, from a kimono recycle shop/secondhand store. Today, I'll be finishing some small-ish things, though most of the things on the needles are not in that category. Just the crochet/sewing stuff. In fact, judging by the progress I've been making with one of the Christmas presents, I am now somewhat worried that I either won't have enough yarn to finish or I won't finish them all for Christmas, and I was doing fairly well on that front! Ah well, I'll just keep going and see where that gets me.

Love this skirt!