Happy Snails?

At least mine is. Ain't he cute? I still have to make the baby snail and the mushroom that comes with the kit. I'm sure it would take another night or two to make both but I'm ready to go back to a knitting project. Yippee...I can crochet!

Hooking Can Be Fun

I bought Stitch 'n Bitch's Happy Hooker last year and I've been dragging my feet cracking it open to teach myself. I've been wanting to learn so I can make some cutie cute cute cute amigurumi and Interweave Crochet's Babette Blanket. I finally put down the needles, pried myself away from the next knitting project and picked up a crochet hook. I'm still learning the basics (yuck...learning new terminology) and this is my beginner swatch. I keep losing stitches. I think I figured out what I'm doing wrong. It's frustrating when I keep thinking that it shouldn't be this hard! This is supposed to be easy, right?

Dexter "Ice Truck Killer" Socks

Yay! Socks for me. It only took a month, but I'm finally done.

Zigzaggy Goodness

It fits really well. It's a shame I couldn't figure out how to knit two socks on one circular needle. I didn't have 40" length needle anyway. Just working on one sock on a 32" kinda screwed up the cable of my Addis.

One more sock to knit and I'll be done with the pair. I need a break from this project so I'm thinking about breaking open my Happy Hooker book to figure out crocheting. I'd really like to finally make the amigurumi kit I ordered through etsy.com last year.

I'm a knitting fiend!

The mojo is back baby! I've been knitting up a storm.

I'm working on Dahlia from the Knitty Winter 07 collection. It's a knitted top down raglan but the first part is not knitted in the round. I'm still trying to figure out how this will eventually be done in the round. I don't get it yet. I'm using Cascade 200 wool in a cranberry color.
I got bored by all the stockinette in Dahlia and decided that I needed a side project. I knew I wanted to use my ITK sock yarn and teach myself how to knit 2 socks at the same time with two circular needles. One problem. I couldn't find the book I bought to teach myself. I realized I left it at my brother's place when I dog sat for him a few weeks ago. CRAP!

I was eager to start the Jaywalker socks so I settled on figuring out magic loop. I looked up the video on knittinghelp.com and casted on. The zigzag pattern is easy to memorize. Magic loop goes so much faster than knitting on dpns. It's fairly easy so far until I turn the heel...that will probably be a challenge. It's a shame I can't seem to figure out how to do 2 socks at once. I'm already feeling second sock syndrome.
I'm using a basic superwash sock yarn that's been hand dyed from Cosmic Fibers. It's zig zagging along quite nicely but it's like knitting up dental floss. This is the finest gauge yarn I've ever used.

I've lost my knitting mojo

Picture 035clap
Originally uploaded by Filipina Sakura.

I should be done with clapotis by now but since catching this ass-kicking cold over a week ago, I haven't been able to finish. Believe me, I've tried. I'd get as far as getting it in my lap and holding the needles getting ready to knit...then I get sidetracked. Most of the time I'd have it in my hands, knit a couple of stitches and then...zzzzz. I pass out on the couch. Argh. On the brightside, I am finally satisfied with the length of the straight rows and now I'm in the decrease section. Yippee! I'm in the home stretch then I can finally move on to making some socks.

STITCHES West 2008!!

I joined Erin and her mom at the knitting/yarn vendor show over the weekend. Was it just me or did it seem more overwhelming than it did last year? I'm sure it's because we went on a Saturday this year when the majority of attendees go. We did go late Sunday and it was pretty mellow, although I felt ill and was in no mood to shop.

I made a list of what I wanted and stuck to it. This is what I found:

• 2 more skeins of the Malabrigo Silky Merino I need to finish up my Clapotis.
• I bought enough Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Burgandy to make a jacket.
• Addi circular needles (Sizes 1 to 3, two diferent lengths each) to make socks.

I couldn't find yarn for 2 other projects I want to do and didn't feel like finding substitutes. When I get to them I'll know where to find it at the LYS or online. I talked myself out of buying a different color of silky merino since I didn't have a project in mind. I always know where to find it at LYS's that don't mark it up higher. Most of my budget went towards the Addis. *pout* I needed them so I can make more socks without dpns and other lace items on my To Do list.

Oh wait, let me geek out for a sec. I have to share my knitting celebrity sightings! Yes, I'm a dork. First stop at Stitches was the Ravelry booth and saw Jess and Casey! They were crazy busy of course with all the Ravelers swarming about them. We picked up a Ravelry Passport and played the stamp scavenger hunt. For those of you who are familiar with Knitty Gritty on the DIY network, I saw Vickie Howell!!! We were waiting to get a stamp on our passport at a vendor. I hear a familiar voice...I turned around and there she was standing next to me talking to the vendor. She's petite up close as I imagined. There were other Ravelry regulars I recognized on boards I frequent. It was kinda cool actually seeing them in person. Anyway...

It was pretty fun looking and shopping but soooo exhausting. Can't wait till it's in town again next year!

Do you like it raw? Silk...that is.

I forgot to mention that I'm done with the Filigree Scarf. It's gorgeous!

It's made with Artfibers Golden Chai. It's a very nice light scarf. I like the idea of wearing raw silk but it's very "sticky". I probably won't seek out any 100% silk yarn any time soon but I'm finally happy with this finished knit. =)

I attended the local knit group down the street from my house for the first time tonight. Why the hell did I wait so long?! I truly enjoyed meeting the people I met...everyone is so friendly. Knitters generally are really nice people. =) I hope to attend regularly from now on.

Silk + Merino = Luscious

I finally found Malabrigo Silky Merino at Imagiknit earlier this week. YAY! This stuff is dreamy soft. They had just got in 3 colors, 4 skeins each. I took all the Nocturnal. I just LOVE purple. I had decided that if I ever found a good deal on Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb or found something similar to it I would make another Clapotis. I hate the first one I made using Noro Silk Garden. It's pretty but so scratchy on my skin. I've barely used it. Silky merino is very similar to Lion and Lamb but a smidge lighter in weight.

I couldn't wait so I casted on Clapotis. It's beautiful :) I'm probably going to buy every color of Silky Merino I can find at Stitches West!

I should be fixing (or frogging) TD but I don't wanna. Not ready yet.

Last week I went to Daiso (Japanese dollar store) in Union City. Lookie what I got:

- stitch holders

- bamboo crochet needles

- buttons

- foamy mats to use for blocking

All $1.50 for each item. Daiso is awesome.

I love it. I can't have it.

*sigh*

This lovely pea coat pattern that calls for a bulky wool is so cute. Problem is bulky wool and my bulky Jean-sized body don't mix. As much as I want to make this I can't. I'll end up with a sweater that will make me look like a linebacker. Not the look I'm aiming for.

I'd knit it up if I could figure out the math/stitch count using a different weight yarn for this pattern. I'd rather not think that hard. On with my quest for another pea coat.

Another lesson learned after knitting a sweater

I'm done with the Tilted Duster with the exception of button placement. It's blocked and the sleeves were a bit damp but I tried it on anyway with the anticipation of loving everything about it.

Before blocking, the ribbing was ridiculously tight and I was concerned. There was a lot of "butt hugging" going on. Last thing I need is attention in that area of my body. Fortunately I found other Ravelry TD knitters who gave tips to assure others that the hugging will become drapey after blocking and they were right. The back turned out great. It's the front and sides of the skirt that came out too big. *pout*

The sides of the skirt. Oh man. Where do I begin? They look like wings. OK, I'm being way to critical but it's just not how I expected this sweater to turn out. I wasn't expecting so much positive ease when I thought I was going to have too much negative ease. There must be a way to re-plump the wool without fucking it up. I swear there's an article somewhere...


So my hard lesson learned this time? Wet block swatches before casting on and be patient. No matter what. I read this tip all the time regarding swatching but I never do. Now I know why. I could've gone down a needle size or gone down one sweater size.

Once I move my buttons to a better spot on the collar I'll take some pics. For now, I need some time to grow to like my TD because I'm not sure if I want to take her out in public.

One more TD sleeve to go and an addition to my stash

Seaming sleeves = NO fun

It's not difficult but it took me HOURS to figure it out on my own. I researched online, asked around in Ravelry, and looked for tutorials in my knitting books. Jeezus! If I drove over to my favorite yarn store and asked for help I would've had it down in minutes. Unfortunately any yarn store is out of the way for me around here. It sucks. The Antioch/Brentwood area needs a yarn store BAD. It would do very well out here considering this area has grown quite rapidly and there are crafty people out here. There's no competition except Michael's and Walmart but us snobby yarn enthusiasts prefer premium yarn stores with great customer service. Know what I mean?

What was I was talking about before my rant? Oh yes, my finishing. So yeah, I need to sign up for a finishing class (too late now to sign up for anything at Stitches West). My shotty job is ok for now but with future projects I would like to make my finishing much nicer. I still need to block and re-do the placement of the buttons. This isn't a great pic, but here it is:

On Ravelry I'm part of a fan group for Showtime's series, Dexter. I LOVE that show and have seen every episode. Carrie, of Socks in the City created Dexter themed colorways available for purchase that are sooo cool. Some of the colorway names are Dexter, Dexter's Canvas, "103", Lila, Hawaiian Shirts, Ice Truck Killer, Dark Defender, Bay Harbor Butcher, Beneath the Bay, and Hooker's Fingernails. If you watch the show then you can only the imagine the colorways. Carrie is so right on with the dyes. The one I had to have is Ice Truck Killer, pictured below. It's a basic superwash sock yarn. I can't wait to knit myself up a pair of socks! I found a little red splatter on the skein. I find it kinda funny, like a little blood splatter that the ITK missed. Not that blood splatter is funny, but if you watch the show...OH nevermind.

I gotta get back to seaming now.

The knitting plan in 2008

This is the beginning of my third year of knitting. I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished so far (such as learning how to knit continental and knitting socks) but I have so much more to learn and many more things to knit. I decided to make a very short underwhelming list of what I'd like to do this year:

1. Knit a Fair Isle pattern...something small, like mittens.
2. Learn how to knit a pair of socks on a circular needle. I have no problem with dpns but the less needles to use the better.
3. Learn how to knit using magic loop methods...which is probably similar to #2.
4. Learn better finishing methods for knitted garments.
5. Figure out how to read Japanese knitting patterns.

Told ya it was short. I'd like to avoid disappointing myself whenever possible. =) I'm sure I'll get sidetracked somehow but we'll see how it goes.

**edit** I need to add one more thing to my list: LEARN TO CROCHET!

Swiftless no more

Bubba will be very happy when I tell him that I don't need him to help me wind up my yarn anymore. My most anticipated knitting toy arrived today. My swift!!! I can now wind skeins independently! I found it on etsy.com (my other addiction) by theknitstore.

It's so inexpensive compared to other swifts I've found online and at yarnstores. I love a good bargain. Plus it's handmade. It's a simple wood swift and you don't have to clamp it on to anything like most swifts. You don't need a winder but it helps to cut down on tons of winding time. TONS.

Here's my set up on the coffee table:


And here's the resulting pretty ball of yarn:


Yippee!

TD update and the "happy" gift recipients

I haven't worked on the tilted duster as much as I wanted to this past week. I thought I was going to knit the entire time I was dog sitting for my brother because I'd be bored out of my mind but that didn't happen. When I finally got a chance to take a breather I figured out how to seam the shoulders of the TD (as seen here)
and seam the sides of of the front and back portions using the mattress stitch seen here:
I love learning new stuff about knitting! I still have so much to learn. Here is the upper body finished:
I'm a bit further along since I took this photo. I knitted one sleeve, skipped the other and went for the skirt next. I'm about 5 inches into the skirt. Picking up stitches for the skirt was a complete bitch. I kept losing count of how many I needed to pick up and for some reason I was having a really difficult time picking up and knitting the stitches because they were really tight. Was anyone else out there having this problem? But anyway, I'm in skirt rib hell right now. It's taking forever. Peruvia is extremely rough on my hands while knitting but after blocking the front and back pieces they were surprisingly soft. I have about 5 more skirt repeats to go, still need to knit up the other sleeve, and then do the ribbed collar. Yup. That's all.

Here's my niece and cousin with their knitted gifts I made them:Marhiel has a purl scarf with some floofy yarn I found at Jo-ann's. Yes, it's acrylic but whatever...it can be thrown in the washing machine. There's no way in hell her busy mom would remember to handwash it. If I used wool it would be a felted mess by now and my efforts would've been wasted and I'd be upset.

Leila got the fingerless gloves and foliage hat made out of Malabrigo worsted. (She wouldn't put the hat on because she didn't want to mess up her hair. Whatever. *rolling eyes*)

If they didn't like them they definitely humored me and flashed a big smile for these photos.

Happy New Year to everyone and more fearless knitting in 2008!

No more gift knitting till next year

The Red Sox Socks I'm giving to my friend are finito.I'm over my sock anxiety. This is a good thing since I have some sock stash yarn waiting for me. But that will have to wait. I'm off and running on the Tilted Duster from IK's Fall 07 issue. I'm using Berroco Peruvia in Sea Turtle. I swatched it up last night and got the correct gauge on the first try on Size 10 needles.
I casted on this morning and mid-way through finishing the upper back. A pretty quick knit so far and it's looking good.
If I didn't knit up my last cardigan in gray I probably would've chosen a gray shade for this one. I love green, but not sure about this green. There's a bit of gold in it that I didn't catch before and not sure if this will suit me. On the other hand, how can I go wrong with Oakland Athletics colors?

Second time around

Back in August or September I started one sock. It's twin never saw the light of day. It came out wonky and huge. I felt defeated, gave up, and moved on to other projects. Since this is a Christmas gift I'm on a knitting deadline now. I frogged the unfortunate sock last weekend and made myself knit it over. I am halfway done with the second sock. I notice myself slowing down with the 2nd sock and dragging it out. I would love to learn how to knit 2 socks on circular needles at the same time. It wouldn't take me 5 months to finish a pair of socks.

I HAVE to stay away from yarn shops

Purchase overload!!!I walked into the Yarn Boutique in Lafayette intending to only buy 2 skeins of Shibui sock yarn and check out the Berocco Peruvia colors for Interweave Knits' Tilted Duster. That's all. I couldn't help myself. They had just got in a huge stock of Peruvia in every color. I fell for the Sea Turtle colorway and purchased it...and the sock yarn...and more sock yarn. Wow. I guess I'm making socks.

The blue Handmaiden Sea Silk yarn on the bottom I received via UPS today also. It's for the Montego Bay scarf from the IK Summer 2007 issue.

Gosh I love green. I can't seem to steer myself away from it.

Anyone have a clue on how I can sprout 2 more sets of arms and hands so I can start all these projects at the same time?! I can't decide on what to start next! These are all selfish purchases BTW. It's all for me me me! Well, except one pair of socks if all goes well.

I thought it was done

Juliet has become a work in progress again.

It's been sitting in my closet for over a month, unworn because I wasn't happy with the results. The armholes were ginormous. I seamed them up and it looks much better now. It finally has the cap sleeve effect that I've seen in other Juliets.

I'm not loving the buttons either. When I find buttons I like better I'll change them out.

Foliage Version 2.0

I made a few modifications inspired by a cute slouchy hat I found at Old Navy the other day. It was chunky with a soft brim. I think it was crocheted, but I had to figure out how to make a knit version.

Modifications:

• Knitted double stranded for chunky Foliage version.
• Added brim. After looking at knitted hat patterns with a brim I settled on using knitty.com's Topi brim.
• Repeated leaf pattern 2.5 times (instead of 2 for chunky version) to make a bit slouchy.

I'd like it to be a bit slouchier and maybe blocking it will do the trick. The brim is a bit thick and should have knit it single stranded. It's not exactly how I wanted it to turn out but close enough. As much as I love Malabrigo, this colorway isn't the best for the lace pattern.

I suppose I have no excuse now to not work on gift knitting. Back to working the socks. Maybe after I make more fingerless mitts with the extra Malabrigo left over.