Finally, some pics to display

As promised, here are the current projects I am working on. Please forgive the blurry photos - I have very unsteady hands!

This is the baby blanket that will never end. However, it is Koigu, so I will try and be forgiving. I am about 2/3 of the way through, and should be done with it in the next couple of weeks. The shower is tonight, so it will be a little late, but the baby should still get some good use out of it.



I am also deep into the Lace Leaf Pullover, and loving the color and the pattern - it's so easy and quick! However, I think these are The Sleeves That Ate Orange County. They seem too long to me. So, I think I will start the body before I finish the second sleeve, and see how everything comes together. The pattern instructs you to knit the top of the body and bottom of the body separately, then kitchener the two pieces together. I'm going to see if I can just reverse the pattern on the bottom and knit all the way down. Wish me luck, people!



I am just getting a start on Clapotis. I haven't even made it to the drop stitches yet, but I love the Silk Garden, especially this colorway. I may have to buy more of it for a sweater! I am having to pick a lot of flora and fauna out of the current skein, but it is still beautiful. This color is swaying me towards pink.



And I also have a toe-up sock in the works, using Wendy's pattern. Since I have about a million other WIP's right now, I haven't been able to get as much done as I would like. But it sure is purty!



And I realized that I have yet to introduce you to my kitties:

Molly

Morrigan

Fionna

You will see more of them, especially Molly. She's a little camera ho.

Case in point - this pic is of the only other remaining yarn in my stash. It's some yummy Classic Elite Inca Alpaca in a dark red. This is destined for a poncho, eventually.



Of course, Molly had to get into the picture:



So I blinded her with the flash, which she didn't appreciate.

SP5 Questionnaire

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? Yep, I am turning into a yarn snob. But I am ok with acrylic blends :) Anything to increase the stash!

2. Do you spin? Crochet? I don't spin, and I only crochet if I have to.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) Not that I know of!

4. How long have you been knitting? Only about 5 months, but I have been a quick learner!

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes! You can find it under my email (slfrtsbabeATcoxDOTnet)

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Lavendar, any Vanilla combination, Jasmine, Musk

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Not a huge fan of chocolate, but I love caramels.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Making some of my own clothes.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I tend towards alternative or "modern rock", i.e. The Cure, Depeche Mode, Yaz. Newer bands along the lines of Interpol.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I love fall and winter colors. I look like hell in yellows and browns. And I'm not really fond of pastels, except for roses and grassy greens.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I'm married and have three cats.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) Hee...um, just to be content and not to have too many financial worries.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I'm just starting, so I'm still exploring that. So far, I like silk blends, merino wool, and alpaca blends.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? 100% acrylic. Very hard on my hands.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? The designs out of the Teva Durham book. I have a love affair with bulky yarns now! I am also pondering lace knitting, i.e. shawls.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Don't know yet. I really liked making my felted purses.

17. What are you knitting right now? A baby blanket from Koigu KPPPM, Clapotis from Noro Silk Garden, sock from more Koigu, and the Lace Leaf Pullover from Lamb's Pride Bulky in Limeade.

18. What do you think about ponchos? I like ponchos, and will be knitting myself one in the near future.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? I like both.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo, definitely.

21. Are you a sock knitter? Just starting on socks, but I love the idea of handknit socks.

22. How did you learn to knit? I learned from Stitch N Bitch, and my friend Terri.

23. How old is your oldest UFO? 5 months.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? I love cats, and I adore Stewie from Family Guy. I also like Edward Gorey illustrations.

25. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween

26. Is there anything that you collect? Anything with witches, or cool cat stuff.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, does Bust count?

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? See my Amazon wish list :)

I'm a slacker

I'm such a slacker. I had every intention of taking some photos of what I have on the needles to put on the blog. But between vacuuming the house and the heat this weekend, I felt like sitting on the couch and not moving for long stretches of time. We borrowed our friends' Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner. OMFG - that vacuum works great! I will have to save my pennies so I can buy one of my very own. Our carpet hasn't looked this good since we moved into this house a year ago.

I purchased the new book by Teva Durham, Loop-D-Loop. I was hard-pressed to find something that I DIDN'T like out of this book. I was so taken with the Lace Leaf Pullover that I cast on and finished a sleeve in two days. Technically, only about three hours worth of work. This in spite of the fact that I am still slogging through the baby blanket and have three other projects in suspended animation. The pattern was just so darned easy and quick to work up, especially with the bulky yarn. It's all about the instant gratification. I think I will work on this project on my lunch hours at work. At the rate I'm going, I'll have it finished by the weekend. Craziness!

I'll have pictures up sometime this week. Yes, an idle threat at this point, but I'll make the effort.

On second thought...

About that Clapotis? I just came across this blog entry from Cari at Dogs Steal Yarn. Be still my heart... and that would look divine in the colorway I purchased.

I've been knitting wrong

Forgive the lack of pics, I am blogging from work...

You read that right - I've been knitting wrong. Now, before you say that knitting is an art form, and there is no "right" or "wrong" per se, hear me out. My knit stitch is fine. Apparently, it's my purl stitch that I have been doing bass ackwards. I'm a thrower (as opposed to a picker), so when I do my purl stitches, I always throw the yarn clockwise. On my most recent projects where I have been doing lots of stockinette, I've noticed that my stitches looked a bit twisted. Could not for the life of me figure out why. Then I pulled out my Knitter's Handbook (something every knitter should keep in their bag), and discovered that I should be throwing counterclockwise instead. Quelle horror! So, now it's like I'm having to re-learn how to purl all over again. Argh - what a pain. But my stockinette is looking rather stunning now!

I have been a good girl, and have forsaken all other objects save the baby blanket that really should be done by the end of this month. But I made a drastic change - I decided to change the yarn that I was using. I determined that, although Wool-Ease is easy to take care of, that it really wouldn't be all that nice against a baby's skin. So, I ordered 8 skeins of Koigu in a beautiful bluish colorway (pics later, I promise), and am almost a quarter of the way through the blanket. My husband even approves - he always looked askance at the other blanket I had been working on. So I am feeling really good about the change.

A couple of weeks ago, Terri and I took Colleen on her first yarn store expedition. We went to Yarn Lady, which is a huge store and has all sorts of yummy yarns to look at. Overwhelmed doesn't begin to describe Colleen's reaction to the place :) But a great time was had by all. I also purchased some yarn for other projects that I had in mind. I got 6 skeins of the Classic Elite 100% Inca Alpaca for the Very Harlot Poncho. I got some sock yarn. And I got 6 balls of Noro Silk Garden for....something. I was thinking about making a Clapotis, but I'm not a wrap kinda gal. I could always do another Harlot poncho. Or maybe a cardigan? I just can't decide. I'll have to think on that one a bit more.

After I'm done with the blanket, I need to get going again on my hooded sweatshirt thingie. I've finished the back, and just started on one of the front sides. The bummer about that is that I will have to continue knitting in that twisted stockinette style, just so it will be consistent. Hmmm - not looking forward to it.

Finished Objects and Works in Progress

As promised, here are some pictures of what I have been working on so far.

This is my first project, the Wavy Gravy scarf from Stitch N Bitch. The only change I made was that I knitted this with only one strand of yarn. This was so I could master tension, and increases and decreases. I remember frogging this at least 4 times before I got it right.



It's a little bit short, so I may increase the length at some point.

Next is a picture in progress of the Kitty Hat from Stitch N Bitch. I made two of them, one for our friend's daughter Casey and one for my friend Terri. Casey's was made from Patons Classic Wool, and Terri's from acrylic. Here is a pic, minus the ears and pompoms.



This is a picture of my first felted project, the Sophie bag. I think mine turned out really well - I was very pleased with it. I used 2 strands of Cascade 220, so I would get a sturdier fabric.



And now, on to the works in progress.

This is a baby blanket from Stitch N Bitch I am working on for a friend of mine. It is made from Wool Ease in their Autumn colorway. The colors are actually not as bright in real life - my fault for photographing on a red tablecloth.



As you can see, I haven't gotten very far on this one. I find that endless stockinette stitch bores me silly. I think this is only a week's worth of work, so I've made some decent progress. I do really need to get this one done in the next month - the baby is due in June.

And here is a project I am pretty proud of. This is the My So-Called Scarf pattern, and the stitch pattern is very interesting - it makes kind of a herringbone pattern. Very slow going, but is holding my interest. I'm using Manos del Uruguay, in the Flame colorway. I love the Manos - it's so easy to work with.



Unfortunately, the camera has run out of batteries, so I cannot take pics of the other two projects on my plate right now. I am working on the Lo Tech Sweat, and another Sophie bag in stripes, and I've messed with the pattern a little bit to get a different result. I'll get pics of these up soon.

Looking at this list, it is pretty sad how many things I have in progress. Except for two of these WIP's, there is no deadline for completion, so I'm not gonna sweat it.

Today, a couple of us hit the yarn store. I am thinking about investing in a ball winder and a swift today, but I may talk myself out of it. We'll see....

I'm already ranting

My second day with a blog, and I'm already ranting about something.

I am frustrated with a LYS in my area (which shall remain nameless because I believe they do blog). Last week, I went to said LYS for their knit group. For one, I was being pretty brave. I am not an outgoing person, so the idea of going to a shop full of complete strangers was daunting. I was hoping maybe there would be 2-3 different groups of people, so I could blend in more easily. It was not to be. When I showed up, it was a small group of women that had been knitting together for a few months. They seemed nice enough, so I introduced myself and sat down to start knitting.

I had brought the back of the sweater that I was just starting on. A couple of the ladies were trying to figure out what kind of yarn I was using. "Rowan Summer Tweed?" When I told them that it was Wool Ease, they nearly dropped their needles, and I was met with a wall of silence. I was honestly shocked at the intensity of their reaction. Through the next two hours I was asked why I was using straight needles instead of circulars, and told how using two circs for socks was SO MUCH BETTER than using dpn's.

This hits on a few pet peeves of mine:

- I hate feeling ashamed of the type of yarn I am using
- I like doing things how I like doing things, and don't like to be told that what I am doing is somehow wrong

Now, I'm not trying to come off as being overly stubborn. And I do realize that I have just begun on my journey as a knitter. But I really do like knitting with my straight needles whenever I have a chance. And I have used dpn's and have no problems with them whatsoever. I do intend to give the Magic Loop the ol' college try, just to see what it's like to use. I love trying new things. It just makes me mad when people tell me that THEIR way is the RIGHT way. It automatically makes me shut down emotionally, and tune out whatever else that person has to say. Ok, maybe that part is kinda stubborn....

Needless to say, I no longer feel comfortable going to that LYS, so they will not get any more of my business. Which is a shame - they are so close to my house. But there is another a few miles away that has a much better selection, so I am not totally TSOL.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest...

I just went to my parent's house this past weekend to go through mom's knitting stash and needles. She no longer knits - probably hasn't picked up the needles since the mid to late 70's. She didn't have much yarn left to speak of, but I think it is safe to say I will never have to buy a pair of needles again. I now have everything from US 1 to US 35. I have no bloody idea what I will use those 35's for, but I'm sure something will come up. It always does. I also inherited her copy of the Reader's Digest Guide to Needlework, which has got to be one of the best instructional books ever. I read this thing from cover to cover when I was a kid, so I am thrilled to have it again.

When I have time in front of my computer at home, I will post pictures this weekend. I promise.

Very First Post

Hello, and welcome to my knitting blog! I just lost my first post, so I will recreate it the best I can...

This blog will serve two purposes: (1) As my knitting journal, and a way to meet other knitters out there; (2) To spare my LJ friends my ramblings on knitting. And there has been much rambling as of late. So, it was time to set aside a special space for my newest obsession.

First, a little about me. I am 31, and live in Southern CA with my husband and 3 cats. No kids, and we're not planning on having any, ever. We are far too selfish and have many expensive hobbies. I like horror movies, books, gourmet food, good wine, and spending time with good friends. And now I can add knitting to that list.

I started crochet when I was but a wee lass. I learned from my mom, so I worked on the same types of projects that she did at that time - doilies, and lots of them. So I learned patience from an early age. I dabbled in knitting briefly, but it didn't take. Later on in my teenage years, I got into counted cross stitch, but I have no finished objects to show for it. I would inevitably make some mistake in my counting, and the project would end up in a closet to rot for all of eternity.

Four months ago, my friend Terri got me back into crochet. This time I tried my hand at making a hat, a scarf and an afghan. None of these projects were ever finished, and I now have a ton and a half of acrylic yarn taunting me from the closet (some in colors that I will never use again). Terri then got into knitting, digging out her copy of Stitch N Bitch that she'd been sitting on for the past year. She lent me the book, and folks, it was all over. I now have many small finished objects to my name, and am working on my first sweater.

I plan to post at least once a week, depending on how much I am working on at any point. I currently have 4 WIP's in the queue, so I suspect I will be posting quite a bit, at least initially.

Expect pictures in upcoming posts of my FO's and WIP's. Until then, happy knitting all!