Sparkley goodness!

A girlfriend of mine is celebrating a birthday today. When I made this scarf for another friend of mine earlier this month, she strongly started dropping hints that she wanted a scarf too. So.. I made her a scarf.

She has this really awesome hat that is charcoal and white with sparkles, so I thought I would make her a sparkly scarf to match. The colors look a little washed out in the pictures, but believe me, there's some serious sparkle in this sucker!

I tried a few different stitch patterns and then realized that I just needed to go plain old ribbing to get the full effect. It was a quick knit. I picked up the yarn Saturday and had all but the last few inches done by Monday. I finished up the last of it this morning, cast off.. and then whipped up a little sparkly gift bag on my new handy-dandy sewing machine!

I shopped the 50% off the clearance fabric sale at JoAnn's and picked up some silver fabric and lining. I just kinda winged the bag, but I think it looks ok. I only got 1/8 a yard of each, but I have enough leftover for another gift bag! Yay for remnants!



In Summary:
Pattern: 2x2 ribbed scarf
Yarn:

• 1 skein Cascade 220, Gray, $6.60
  
• 2 skeins Filtes King Australian Merinos, $8.60
  

Needles: Size 11
Time: One knit night and one evening of movie night
Total Cost: $24

Totally unrelated to knitting.

For Christmas, I asked Santa for a sewing machine. I'm in love with my new toy. So far, I've made several small things that are almost done, and one thing that's 100% completed.

I made a skirt out of the brown flowery material, and I had a lot of leftovers, so I went back and got some muslin and made a little bag. I didn't really use a pattern, but I based the idea in my head off of this pattern. Mine isn't reversible though.

This has now been christened my new knitting bag. I debuted it last night at our knitting group and it held up pretty well. I can already tell that the sewing machine and I are going to be great friends!

Mysterious appearances.

It's amazing what you find when you clean your apartment. I don't even remember knitting this, but obviously I did.


Pattern: Bib O' Love, Mason-Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Sugar n' Cream
Needles: Size 7
Time: I have no clue.

Benjamin's Cable Hat

I made this hat for my brother at Christmas, and then made a second one to donate. Over Thanksgiving, I taught my mom how to do cables. She was so shocked at how easy it was. We then sat and designed a simple cable scarf for her to make, and she decided that it was going to be my brother's Christmas present, and I should make him a hat. So, like a good daughter, I cast on for a hat.

I did a little bit of a modification and added about an inch or so of ribbing at the bottom.

Pattern: Chunky Cabled Beanie, Free
Yarn: Less than 1 skein Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky, Charcoal - $4
Needles: 10.5 dpn's
Time: 1 night of TV knitting

The only cute for a knitting emergency

While studying for final exams last fall, I had a knitting emergency. You know the kind. The "I-Must-Knit-Something-Before-I-Go-Crazy" kind. So, I dug through my stash and pulled out some Lion Brand Homespun that I bought more than a year ago and had forsaken for more delicious yarns. I immediately cast on for a Diagonal Baby Blanket.


I've made like 3 of these things so far, so I hated to make yet another carbon copy, but - again, this was a knitting emergency. The requirements were that the project be simple and made on big needles. It really just fit the bill.

Again though, the stupid yarn was different dyelots when it said that it wasn't. So, some of my blanket is a different color. Oh well, what can you do? I wove a purple ribbon through the eyelets to spice things up a bit, and personally, I think it's really cute.

Pattern: Diagonal Baby Blanket, Free
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in lavender sachet, 2 skeins; less than $10
Extras: 1 spool of ribbon, less than $2
Needles: Size 13 circs
Time: About 2 weeks of random knitting
Total Cost: Less than $12

Have a great weekend everyone!

Another one for the collection.

I'd like to apologize up front if this post sounds churchy. It isn't meant to be. It's just meant to be about things that are important to me.

I have to admit, sometimes it seems like I'm sending all my knitting off to others, and it makes me feel really selfish for a moment. Why shouldn't I be making things just for me? It's my free time, and as I don't have much of it as it is, I should be able to reap the rewards of my knitting. Then, there's times that I realize just how important my church's shawl ministry is. While we were doing Meals on Wheels on Christmas Eve, I noticed that a lady was wearing a beautiful scarf. Then, I noticed that the label on it said "UMC Shawl Ministry" and realized its significance. This lady had lost her son during the past year in an unexpected accident. The scarf was more than just a scarf. It was a symbol of all the love that we as a group had for the woman and her family.

That realization really spoke to me, and I've decided that I'm going to try to do at least one item a month for the shawl ministry during 2008. I don't do resolutions, so I'm choosing instead to call this one a goal. Big and/or time consuming items count as one thing, while baby hats will only receive half credit.

So, in the spirit of knitting for others, here's item #1. I did another So Called Scarf because I just love the pattern. To be honest, I tried about three different patterns and nothing at all looked good enough to me. The yarn really pooled and I was concerned that it wouldn't do that with the second skein and one side of the scarf would look different - it didn't. Both skeins behaved the same, so I lucked out!


I used Vanna's Choice in Charcoal Print. I packed really, really inappropriately for such a long visit, and found myself at Hobby Lobby itching for a new project. A knitter must have something on her needles at all times!

Overall, I was pretty happy with the finished project. I don't really care for the yarn too much. It just kinda felt weird in my hands, but it was a nice quick project for me, and that made me happy.

Pattern: My So-Called Scarf
Yarn: Vanna's Choice in Charcoal Print, 2 skeins
Needles: Size 11
Time: A couple days of TV knitting with the fam
Total Cost: Less than $6

Mindless Knitting

While I was home over break, my mom really wanted me to make my step-sister a scarf to match her newly decorated room. It's bright pink and bright green and is perfect for a 13 year old girl. She'd already picked out the yarn and told me exactly in Wal-Mart where I could find it. How can you say no to that?

You can't. I didn't even try. I just said "Yes ma'am, I'll pick that up in town tomorrow."

I actually made two of these scarves. One was made in an evening while watching TV with the fam, and the other was knitted on here and there - specifically while watching National Treasure 2. (Great movie! I loved that they set it up for a third movie by using my favorite random number - 47.)

Pattern: Garter Stitch Scarf
Yarn: 1.5 skeins of Wal-Mart No Boundaries, $4
Needles: Size 11's
Time: About 4 hours each

Another Scarf Completed!

I'm back from Tennessee and I miss everyone already. I did a lot of knitting, a lot of eating, and a lot of visiting and loved every minute of it. I finished a lot of little projects, so I'm going to post pictures of them periodically because there's just too many for a single post.

The first thing I completed was My So Called Scarf for my friend Meredith's birthday. I wanted something easy but not completely and totally mindless, so this was a great project for me. I wrapped it up and tied a ribbon around it to make it cute for mailing. It seems that while I was in Tennessee it was freezing here in Michigan so the scarf came in handy for her.


Here's my mom modeling the scarf. She's so cute. She fell in love with the pattern and made me teach her how to make it. She's about a foot and a half into her first My So Called Scarf right now.

I love the stitch pattern, and the semi-solid Malabrigo really just did wonders with the pattern, in my opinion. I liked the pattern so much that I've actually made another one since. Details to come!


Pattern: My So Called Scarf, Free
Needles: Size 11
Yarn: 2 skeins of Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Velvet Grapes

One for the Handknit Hall of Fame.

I survived another semester.

I always hate how when you turn in your last exam, there's never confetti & balloons and people serving cake. It feels like such a big deal to me, yet the proctors rarely even look me in the eye. That's ok, I'll find my own cake.

I'm back home in Tennessee for the holidays and knitting away. I've finished up a few things but forgot to pack my camera cord, so pictures will have to wait.

Here's a neat story. Al Gore is my hometown hero. Everyone loves him. Some people from my community went to Norway to support him when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize recently. They decided to take him a scarf from my church's shawl ministry - after all, who needs more prayer than a man who is trying to save the world & has won an Emmy, an Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize in the past year? Turns out, they took him one that I had contributed!! He's definitely a man that I have admired for many, many years and I deeply respect the work that he's doing now. It's really cool to know that if only for a brief moment, he held one of my handknits.

Eyelet Cardigan

I started this sweater in August when I was home in Tennessee for a few weeks. Mom and I went yarn shopping, and they had this sweater knit up in this color on a model. I fell in love with it instantly and had to make it - in that exact colorway. (Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton in Pickle) Of course, that yarn store was out of my color. So, I called my trusty yarn store in Lansing, and they shipped the yarn out to me immediately.

I was so excited. I cast on immediately, and then the project went on the back burner when school started. I need instant gratification during the semester, it seems. I finally finished it a few weeks ago, and I really like the turnout, although I have something funky going on at the sleeves that needs some repairs. It's too wide & likes to fall off the shoulders a lot. The 80's Flashdance look is so out right now.

I made some modifications from the original pattern. The sleeves and the body were supposed to be cropped, but I made the body long enough to cover my belly and the sleeves are 3/4 length.
I used wooden buttons that I picked up from Jo-Ann's. They aren't anything too special, but I figured that the eyelet pattern had enough "umph" to handle plain buttons. Plus, sometimes simple is better.

Ironically, I'm currently working on Tomato and it's in the exact same color, only a different yarn. Apparently I really, really like green lately.

Final Specs:
Pattern: Blue Sky Alpacas Eyelet Cardigan, $4.50
Yarn: 7 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton, $66.50
Needles: Size 7 circs
Time: August-November off & on knitting

Thankgiving & Knitting Go Hand In Hand

Warning: Seriously Picture-Heavy Post. Sorry!

I've been offline for the last week and loved every minute of it. My trip home for Thanksgiving was all that I could have wanted and more. I realize how much I miss my family when I go back home. I cried all the way until Indiana on the drive back today. *sniff*

Anyway! There's been knitting. Whole days of movie marathons with the fam allow for plenty of knitting time. There are now officially enough baby hats for all the babies that are expected to be born (in my hometown) in the month of December.



For all these hats, I used variations of this pattern and then just kinda made changes as I felt like it when knitting. For the most part, these hats are all made out of stash Caron Simply Soft (my favorite-est acrylic yarn). However, there's a little Knit Pick Shine Worsted and Classic Elite Premiere thrown in for good measure.

Also, I know that the black and yellow "bee look" might be a little disturbing to some people out there. However, black & gold are the high school colors, so they make a little more sense when put into that light. My little sister has already requested one the grandson of one of her teachers.

I also finished up two more scarves that have been my bedside knitting for awhile.


Yarn: Wal-Mart No Boundaries Yarn, 2 skeins
Pattern: Plain old garter stitch - cast on about 20 and go!
Needles: Size 13
Time: About two months of just looking at it resting in the knitting basket, about 6 hours of actual knitting time
Cost: Gift yarn - Free!

Before we all snicker & laugh at the Wal-Mart yarn, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I don't shop there, but my mom sent this to me in a care package last spring. It's really soft & has a very pretty sheen. If I didn't live in the middle of Siberia, I'd actually keep this one for myself. It's just too thin to be useful here in Michigan.



Pattern: One-Row Handspun Scarf, by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Free
Yarn: Adrienne Vittadini Nadia, 4 skeins - $11 (on sale!!)
Needles: Size 10.5
Time: About 1 month of travel knitting

This is another scarf that's going to the shawl ministry. It's very pretty, but just not quite the right color for my winter coat.

On a funny note, I posted this up on Ravelry earlier tonight and I went back to check something about 5 minutes later, and someone had already "favorited" it. Aww.. I feel special.

Believe it or not, there's actually more pictures to show, but they are just going to have to be brought out at a later date. I'm pooped from all the traveling. I hope that everyone else's Thanksgivings were as wonderful as mine.

(My family! Aren't they cute?)

Small little projects..

I spent today going through my yarn and organizing it. It's nice to re-remember what all I have. Even though I'm on Ravelry, I don't have all my stash uploaded because I'm just plain lazy.

One of the things that I did was to put all my remnant yarns in one central location. That's what I use when I'm making baby hats, so having the colors all together can let me see exactly what it is that I have to work with. After doing that, I made a hat:


Pattern: My favorite trusty Basic Knit Hat, Free
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, Leftover from another project
Needles: Size 7 DPNs
Time: 2 hours

I'm in the Monthly Dishcloth KAL group, although I can't remember the last time that I actually did the KAL. One of the members just lost her husband so the group has banded together to make her an afghan. Every one is supposed to make the same heart cloth in whatever cotton they have laying around.. so I did.

Pattern: Victoria's Heart Pattern, Free
Yarn: SnC, Robin's Egg Blue; less than $1
Needles: Size 6 straights
Time: About 1.5 hours

I'm going home for Thanksgiving next Friday (YAAAAY!!!), and I'm hoping to have a few more hats done to deliver before then. Right now I've only made 3 newborn caps since my last delivery in August, and three just doesn't seem like too much.

I've been knitting for me a little too much and not knitting for others as much as I should. On that note, I'm hoping to debut my first completed handmade sweater this week!! I just have one more section of ribbing to go. The best part about it?? It fits.

Me v. the Postman, Round 1

The post office refuses to leave things at my door, so if I miss the mailman then I have to go to the main post office to pick it up. Of course, that does not work at all with my school schedule, so if I'm expecting a package, I try my best to be home so that I can avoid that hassle.

I had a knit picks order that was supposed to arrive on Saturday (according to USPS tracking). It didn't. I watched the mailman drive away and I was left with no yarn. I was a little sad to say the least. I'm planning to make the Tomato sweater by Wendy Bernard and I really just wanted to play with the yarn. (Don't lie - you all know that feeling!)

This morning, I rushed home after my morning at school for the sole purpose of getting that dang package. I had my windows open so that I could see then the mail truck drove up. He arrived. He left. No package!! I went out to check my mailbox & there was a card telling me that I could pick up my precious yarn at 7:30 the next morning.

The guy never even bothered to knock on my door! Angry and desperately jonesing for a yarn fix, I ran back to my apartment to grab my car keys and I chased him down the road. That's right - it was me versus the mail truck, and I was determined to win. He finally stopped about a half mile down the road and I zipped my little Civic in behind him and whipped out the little orange "you have a package" card. He looked at me like I was a crazy woman, but he handed the yarny goodness over to me. He mumbled something to me about "just missing me" and I politely said, "I guess so."

So, needless to say, I'm now the neighborhood freak who stalks the postal workers. I am not sure that I'm ever going to be able to get deliveries again. I'm definitely on the blacklist. However, the yarn was all worth it.

I wound up with some Shine Worsted on sale, so the sweater is costing me less than $25 to complete. Plus, there was a miscount & they sent me one more skein than was ordered. Yay for free yarn!!

Have a great week everyone!

Another Baby Cap

I got a little excited about the instant gratification from the baby hat the other night, so I made another one. I made some pattern modifications, so mine is a little different from the original. I used a thicker yarn and bigger needles, and left off the i-cord tie. Although it was oh-so-cute cute, I was low on leftover yarn, so I just bound off and left it naked at the top.

It was a nice project.. not too mindless with the color changes, but not too complex that I couldn't watch The Way We Were on OnDemand. (Moment of silence for such a great movie!)


Pattern: Errsie's Easy Beanie, Free
Yarn: Remnant Caron Simply Soft in Orchid & Iris
Needles: Size 7 circs
Time: Two evenings of TV knitting

It's way too big for it to go with the other newborn cap donations, so I'm not sure where this hat is eventually going to find a home. For now, it's just going in the closet, but I'm sure a worthwhile cause will find me. I really like the Afghans for Afghans idea, but they request that you send only wool items - and this baby is 100% acrylic. So, I'll just be patient in finding this cap a new home.

**Edited to remove the link to the pattern per the author's request, as she's now charging $3.00 for it & doesn't want people to be able to access it for free. I apologize for this. When I found the pattern on ravelry, it was listed as being a free pattern. If you want to use it for free, you'll need to contact her directly.

A fun way to spend a Saturday..

I went to the Ann Arbor Fiber Expo today with Amy. We got there bright & early to make sure that we got the best finds.. and we did! I was really excited to see all the fuzzy animals. They had llamas, alpacas and bunnies - what could be better??


When I got home, I started to kinda feel bad about all my recent yarn purchases, so I decided to whip up a baby hat from my stash as my act of attrition.



Project Specs:
Pattern: TLL Basic Knit Hat Pattern, Free
Yarn: Universal Yarn, Classic Worsted Long Print, Color 9728
Needles: Size 7 circs
Time: Two episodes of Law & Order SVU
Total Cost: Stash yarn, baby!

She's alive!

Yay for surviving this past week. My mock trial went well and the midterm is over. I used to think that never having midterms in law school was a terrible thing. Your entire grade for the semester is based off of one exam. Too much pressure, right? Wrong. Trying to find time in the middle of the semester to study for an exam is even worse. There's definitely a reason why law school is set up the way it is - and that reason was apparent this week.

The exam was horrible. The prof had led us to believe that it was going to be open note, and less than 24 hours before the exam, we got emails to the contrary. Plus, there was a change in format. So not cool! The exam was still being written about 15 minutes before the test, and it was so obvious while we were taking it. I can't tell you the number of times I had to make notations such as, "Assuming that X is true.." because the questions were written so haphazardly. I had this prof last year and thought she hung the moon. Not so much this year. I'm very disappointed.

Anyway, I have a FO to show! It isn't much, but it has been turned over to the FO pile, so I feel that's an accomplishment in itself.

This was my "knit a few rows at night in bed" project. I got the yarn on sale at my LYS and thought that I could use it to make something my church's shawl ministry. There's a lack of things for teenagers and men, so I thought I could turn this into something cute for a pre-teen with the bright candy apple green color.

I used Rio de la Plata Faded. It's a thick and thin yarn, so I wanted the scarf to have a messy look but I didn't want it to be the typical ribbing or garter stitch. Also, because the yarn has so much texture variations, I also knew that I couldn't have something complicated. So, I picked this little beauty!


I'm pleaded with the end result. I think it looks like some of those "haphazard" scarves that seem to be trendy lately. But, I'm even more pleased that I've actually been knitting and have something to show for it!

Final Specs:
Pattern: Sinful Knitted Scarf, Free
Yarn: Rio de la Plata Faded, 2 hanks, $10 total
Needles: Size 10.5 addi turbos
Time: About two weeks of bedtime knitting

Contest Winners & Thank yous

I'm proud to announce the winners in my first ever blog contest! In no particular order:

• Carrie Penny
• Kate
• Elaine
• Donna

I put everyone's name in a list, and then used a list randomizer to sort it. The first few names were the winners. Congrats ladies!

And to everyone else who entered the contest - thank you so much. You have absolutely no idea how much it meant to me to read all your inspiring stories. It made me realize that I can get through whatever it is that I'm facing, and do it with grace. You are all inspirations to me.

Also, BIG, BIG shoutouts to Jen and Amy who sent me the cutest care packages when I was down in the dumps. I love you guys. You're the greatest. (I would post pictures, but I tore into the packages like I was a 12 year old at Christmas.)

_________________________________
Update: It will likely be awhile before my next post. I'm in the middle of crunch time at school. I have a mock trial this weekend, a mid term next week, a major paper due after that, and somewhere in there I have to take the ethics portion of the bar. (Insert favorite lawyer/ethics joke here!) Plus, I still have to find a job for next summer.

I sent out 82 resumes this week in addition to the ones that have already went out in the past weeks. 82! Between resume paper and the stamps, those suckers get costly. Don't they know they are dipping into my yarn budget?!

A small little FO

This past week was the lightest one I've had this semester, and I loved every minute of it. I was home from the library by 11:00PM almost every night, and when I did come home - I brought zero (count them - ZERO!) law books home with me. It was fabulous!

I actually got to do some knitting and I was much happier because if it. I worked on a sweater for me and I finished up the last i-cord on a baby hat. I used some of the leftovers from the Tulip Sweater kit. I know that I've raved about Dream in Color yarn before, but if you're ever in a position to use it, do it! It's slightly pricey, but worth every single penny of it. The variegations are beautifully subtle and it's so soft & cushy. I have some left overs in other colors too, so I'll probably make at least another baby hat out of that.


Final Specs:
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy
Pattern: Last Minute Knitted Gifts, Children's Cotton Hat
Needles: Size 7 double points
Cost: Umm.. all stash yarns, so free??

P.S. Don't forget to enter my contest! Be sure that you leave me a way to contact you back in case you win.

P.P.S. Go over to Sarah's blog and wish her a happy birthday on Monday. She's one of the most wonderful women that I know and deserves a lot of birthday shout outs on her big day.

Lemons into Lemonade - A Contest!

First off, thank you all for your lovely comments to me about the loss in my family. Your positive spirits mean more to me than you know. It's so reassuring to know that people out there that I've never met in real life can care so much. (I've chosen not to address nor delete the negative comment from an anonymous reader, and I'm still allowing anonymous comments from now on hoping that it doesn't happen again.)

So, now that I have a small fortune worth of secret pal stuff bought and paid for (and non-refundable), I wondered what to do with it. I decided to turn lemons into lemonade and have a contest. All you have to do is leave a comment about something that you did to turn a bad situation into a positive one & you're entered. You can talk about something that happened to yourself, or something that you helped another person deal with in their own life. It's the positive karma that I'm looking to read about.

However, there's a catch. I'm tired of hearing about rules, so there are no rules for the contest! If I think that your story is just plain awesome - you're going to get more entries. If you post about it on your blog - more entries. Just let me know! The point is that I'd love to hear your stories about the goodness that surrounds us. You can definitely leave an anonymous comment, but if you want to win, make sure that you leave me contact information too.

I might pick one, two or ten winners. I'm not sure just yet, but since there are no rules, I can make it up as I go. I'm not going to tell you exactly what's in those packages, but let me just say that one of the items rhymes with Naddie Lurbos.

Free yarn! Free needles! Free Gadgets! Oh my.

The contest ends on or about October 12th because I just like that date.

Secret Pal

I got kicked out of secret pal for not blogging. I didn't blog because I haven't knit. At all. However, I did send things to my pal and apparently that doesn't count. At all. I did comment on my pal's blog from time to time and apparently that doesn't count. At all. I did send her emails from time to time (which she sometimes would respond to) and apparently that doesn't count. At all. All that matters is that I blog. Nothing else.

Life lately has been chaotic, and apparently I was supposed to blog about nothing. However, I hate reading that. I like to read posts with pictures, a pattern, and yarn specifications. I like to read happy posts about pretty projects.

No one wants to read about me being stressed out with school. No one wants to read about how not one, but two, family members died this weekend and I'm stuck in Michigan away from those that I care about most. That just brings down your day. People go to knitting blogs to read about knitting. And I just simply haven't been knitting.

I think the part that stings the most about being kicked out of Secret Pal is that they just don't care that I was trying. I sent a gift a few weeks ago, and I actually sent one this morning before I was forcibly removed. My pal has now been instructed to mark the gift as returned. I figured that I had time to either 1. Blog about nothing, or 2. Send some gifts. Apparently, I chose the wrong option. Silly me. I would have thought that a present was better than a silly email any day.

I had a great pal. She was so kind and understanding. However, I will not sign up for this again. Any group of women who can't understand that life sometimes happens isn't a group of women that I want to be associated with any longer. Additionally, anyone who thinks that blogging is the most important thing in life when you're faced with TWO unexpected deaths in your family while you're 600 miles away - isn't someone that I want to be associated with either.

So Secret Pal, here's your update. I hope the rest of you have a great day.