In Progress

I've fallen into the habit of thinking that I can only blog about projects that are done. Since I've been on Instagram I'm taking more and more snapshots of everyday and I've realized that I enjoy seeing what others are working on too, not just what they've finished. So, I thought I'd try to share more of what I'm working on at the moment...

Tulip Cardigan in gorgeous retro colors for my littlest kiddo. I'm planning on using the leftovers on a striped blanket.

Honey Cowl. I gave in to the hype and knitted this beauty with some Madelinetosh DK. It's actually done, just waiting to be blocked and gifted. Then I think I'll have to have one for myself! 

Quilting this bad boy. It's going to take FOREVER. Wrestling a queen size quilt through my itty bitty machine is a chore but I know it'll be worth it! 

 Two at a time socks from this book. These are a gift as well. That super adorable bag? It's from the super adorable Mrs. McPorkChop and it matches my house perfectly. This is actually my second pair from this book, I'll make sure to blog about the first pair this week! 

I'm sure there's other in-progress things that I've completely forgotten about but that's the life of a crafter! I'm always jumping around from project to project, it's amazing anything gets done! :)

Pogona

I wish I could capture how much this yarn absolutely glows. I picked up this Madeline Tosh Merino Light when I went to Stitches Midwest in August. "Snatched" it up would be more appropriate. There's some serious magic going on here, I have no idea how a simple 1 ply, wool yarn can be so beautiful. It's got amazing drape and is just buttery soft. Drool. The pattern is Pogona by Stephen West. It's deceptively simple and perfect for showcasing a beautiful yarn. I've got a million more of his patterns bookmarked for future knitting. Here's the link to my Ravelry project page.

In other news Kid's Clothes Week is going strong over on the Elsie Marley blog.  There's too much shop sewing going on right now for me to participate all week but I'm hoping to at least finish a little dress that I started forever ago. I still have a few more days to get at least one project done! 

August Socks

(Don't look too close or you'll see the dog hair on the bottom of my feet, eeep. Time to sweep!)

The August socks are finally done! (Shhhh, don't tell them it's September)  Truth be told, I finished them over the weekend but have been dragging on taking their picture. Speaking of pictures... I've been really irritated with my camera lately. It used to take such nice, crisp photos and lately they're all coming out grainy, even in the best of lighting conditions. I even tried restoring it to factory settings thinking maybe one of the kids played with the settings but no luck. It's still taking crap photos. Why is that!? Is it possible for a camera to just get old and take junky photos? 


Back on the subject of socks... These are the Monkey sock pattern by Cookie A. I've made these a few times before and they're fast. I knew I needed something fast if I was going to finish the August socks before the end of September, haha! Since I didn't even start them until the last two weeks of August I feel pretty good about getting them done. The yarn is Tosh Sock by Madeline Tosh and it's delectably squishy. I really, really loved the color in the skein but knitted up, not so much. I'm not too keen on how they pooled and striped but they're comfy and will keep my feet warm. 


My goal is to knit a pair of socks a month, part of my 30 Before Thirty list. Now, I just have to get cracking on my September socks. I haven't even picked a pattern yet, yikes! Thankfully I'll have lost of knitting time this weekend! 

Knitting Labels

The sun peaked out just long enough for me to snap a picture of these today. The holiday knitting season has officially begun and finances being the way they are this year, there's going to be a lot of it. I plan on not buying any yarn for gifts, only using what I have stashed. I'll get to pare down my stash so I can buy more yarn in the future as well as save some money on Christmas this year. So I whipped up these cute little tags to sew into knitted gifts to make them just a tad more special, using some twill tape and t-shirt iron-ons. I seriously think that printable iron-ons are something every crafter has to have on hand at all times. It's the workhorse of crafting and has gotten me out of many a pinch. I've been any ironing-on maniac the last week making shirts for the kids labels and even some new baby gifts. I can't proclaim my love enough.

Umbilical Cord Hat and Booties

Here's the first of many finished projects I'm finally getting around to writing about and just to warn you the first of many many baby hats that I've knit. They're just so addicting... So portable, so fast and so darn cute! These I knit before Miss Mabel was born. The hat and booties took just 1/3 of a skein of Misti Alpaca. I don't have the band anymore so I'm not sure of the weight but I'm pretty sure it's a sport weight. The color is the palest of pink and so incredibly soft. These will be a "go-to" for gift knitting because they require so little time and yarn and are such a luxury. The hat pattern is of course from the first "Stitch 'n Bitch" book. The bootie pattern is a great match to the hat, here's the ravelry link. The only changes I made were to omit the ribbing at the top to create a rolled cuff, mimicking the brim on the hat. I also omitted the eyelet section because I didn't want to include the ribbon on this pair.

Simple Yet Effective

An appropriately named project. Simple, mindless knitting with gorgeous yarn... Does it get much better? This is JUST what I needed. I have probably a dozen completed projects both sewn and knitted that need photographed and blogged but my brain is just too full of baby right now to do it. There's FIVE different socks that need mates knitted and a baby sweater that needs the ends woven-in and blocked. For some reason I just can't face them right now... I needed something to keep my hands busy and my mind clear. No thinking, no counting, just repetitive movement. Listening to the clicking of the needles, feeling the yarn travel through my fingers and watching the stripes come together...complete relaxation. Nine days until this baby girl is due to enter the world and this project has been such a calming influence. All the other stuff can wait.

Louise Cardigan

Louise Cardigan from Vintage Baby Knits
3-6 months
Louet Gems Fingering Weight in Cherry Red (2 skeins)
Size 3 Needles

I was so anxious for this book release and I have to say it's one of the first knitting books that completely lived up to my expectations. The book itself is gorgeous with beautiful photography and great layout. The patterns are perfect and it was so hard to decide which to knit first. This baby girl in my belly is going to have a full knitted wardrobe by the time I'm through. I ultimately decided to start with a project I already had yarn for. This louet sock yarn was originally going to be a pair of Baudelaire socks but it seemed like a perfect match for this adorable sweater so I made the sacrifice. I've knit with the louet gems one time previously and I can't say that I'm a huge fan. I think it's got a little bit too much twist in it for my liking, it makes the stitches uneven and bumpy looking. Blocking helps quite a bit but I think I prefer a smoother yarn for projects where there's a pretty large section of stockinette where the uneveness is really obvious.

The pattern itself is so incredibly simple and oh my, so fast! I was a little daunted at first by knitting with such fine a yarn and such small needles but it took less than a week for me to finish, it literally flew off my needles. I love the way it's constructed, from the bottom down, in the round. The only seaming was the underarms and sleeve seams. I made some covered buttons with fabric from a vintage apron that I had in my stash and I love the way they look with the sweater. This is by far one of the most satisfying projects that have come off my needles in awhile and I can't wait to knit more from this book. I've got some yarn on the way for another project that I'll hopefully be able to start this week.

Congrats to Kristen on her first book. In my eyes it's a smashing success... I can't remember the last knitting book where I really loved 90% of the patterns. I hope there's more to come from her.

Some Knitting

I've been really productive the last few weeks finishing projects that were "on-the-cusp", that needed just a little time to pull the last bits together. This teeny tiny Baby Surprise Jacket and bootees was one of them. This isn't my first BSJ but it is my favorite so far. I think mostly due to it's tiny size (it's made for a newborn). This was knit for a very sweet girl that I work with who is expecting her first son sometime soon. I think making it for such a special person made it that much more special to me and it never felt like a chore working on it. The bootees are the "Roll Top Bootees" from the book "50 Baby Bootees to Knit". They were incredibly easy and a super fast addition to the jacket. While I love the colors of the yarn, which are perfect for fall babies the yarn itself left something to be desired. This is my second time using Panda Cotton and don't get me wrong it's amazingly soft and silky and has a wonderful little stretch to it, it's just so "splitty". You have to be ever diligent that you're not losing bits of the strand of yarn you're working with or you'll end up with random loops here and there. The twist is just so loose and doesn't like to stay twisted, probably because there's absolutely no grip to this yarn. No natural "burs" to keep it together.

Despite being productive all week the weekend has been pretty counterproductive. The munchkin had a stomach bug and I seemed to be feeling some of it yesterday, so most of the day was spent watching many many cooking shows that had slowly been filling up my DVR. So, I guess in a way it was productive, I know have a long list of new things to cook and an even longer grocery list.

In Progress...

Things around here have been a bit slow this week, what with birthdays and hectic work schedules. I'm coming to terms with the fact that it's just utterly impossible to do all the things I would like to do and just need to learn to prioritize better. Right now things are in a sad state of "In Progress", like the pretty sock above. The poor thing has been "In Progress" for weeks now, not to mention the two other finished socks that still need mates. The "In Progress" list grows and grows (2 quilts, summer clothes for Brodi, a dress for me, a sweater, three pairs of socks, gocco prints, and on and on) and I wonder when it will ever be finished... Maybe never. I think I'm okay with that. It does keep things interesting and there's always some little project for me to pick up and work on in those fleating, quiet moments. However, winning the lottery would be nice. I could stay home and craft to my hearts content! Although, one probably has to actually play the lottery to win. -Sigh- But, when all is said and done, I have to say I've never been happier. Now is probably one of the best times in my life and I can only hope it keeps getting better! Thanks to my dear friends that pushed me to start my Etsy shop (I'm truly sorry we don't see more of eachother - Again with the hectic schedules!) and the wonderful folks that have purchased things from said shop. You're all the sweetest and I'm so lucky to have you!

Dancing Tulips

Last weekend I spent a wonderful day with my two best ladies and I was lucky enough to go to my favorite yarn store for the first time in forever. This Misti Alpaca Chunky somehow jumped into my bag and made the trip home with me. I immediately cast on for a super simple spring scarf. I think the garter stitch shows off this lovely yarn so well. The knitted fabric reminds me of a field of tulips. Those little pops of pink and purple make me so happy. This had to be the fastest project ever and probably one of the most satisfying. Now I'm craving more Misti Alpaca to knit, I think I have to try the sock yarn next!

Wicked Cardigan

Hi all! I recently finished a Wicked Cardigan. I was inspired by this beautiful version.

I couldn't find the original Craftster thread but I think it was in the Wicked sweater knitalong. The original pattern from Zephyr Style is fantastic and is really great for modifying and creating your own unique sweater. My modifications were pretty simple. I added 18 stitched for the button band and changed the seed stitch sleeve and bottom bands to ribbing. I have a previously knit Wicked sweater that I used the seed stitch on and didn't like how non-stretchy it was, so I thought I would try ribbing on this one. I used Malabrigo in the Sealing Wax color and made my own fabric covered buttons. I'm so thrilled with how it turned out and love how it fits.

The Lady E

I spent some time last weekend photographing some past projects and will hopefully do the same this weekend. I'm getting a good stockpile, so I'll have plenty to post in the next few weeks!

This is my lovely Lady Eleanor stole from Scarf Style. I knit it usting Noro Silk Garden in color 249. This was an amazingly fun project and I learned a lot of new skills (like knitting backwards! which I highly recommend). It took me about a month of on-and-off knitting to finish, mostly because every few rows I had to stop and admire how lovely the colors are. I absolutely the love the rustic look and feel so I haven't blocked it which I think would smooth it out a little too much. I'm not completely happy with the fringe so I'll most likely rework it. I started with the knotted fringe but it was just a little too fiddly for me and went with a regular fringe instead which I think is just too long. It already engulfs me so I really don't need another 2 feet of fringe and it also tends to tangle quite a bit. All-in-all, quite a satisfying project.