Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Double Moss Ensemble

So, apparently having a job makes me lazy as well. That and it took forever to get good pictures. No one wanted to pose for pictures, and my crazy neighbors kept me from just laying them outside and getting pictures that way. I would have taken pictures indoors but the lighting in my apartment is terrible. But it got done finally!


Check it out and let me know what you think!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Unexpected Twists

Ok, so apparently being unemployed just makes me lazy and not want to work on anything.

I have knitted quite a lot though, but have been slackin on pictures and stuff.

I have finished an entire set consisting of a hat, scarf, and mitten in double moss stitch! I should have the pattern up sometime next month. I would normally say sooner, but I have a feeling I'll just keep putting it off again and again.

I really like double moss stitch, I have decided. The only bad thing, is that it tends to be very airy. Even when using a tight gauge, it still tends to have a little bit of spread and small holes.

I also like the brioche stitch. I have started a blanket for my mom for christmas out of brioche stitch and I enjoy it. It tends to use more yarn, but for a blanket it makes a big, squishy stitch that will be wonderful to wrap up in. I hope.

Hopefully I will have pictures and other stuff soon. I am starting a job soon so hopefully that will motivate me to get my butt in gear!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Dear Lion Brand Homespun,

Your colors are beautiful. Even though you are an acrylic yarn, I am half in love with you. Not only are your colors rich and vibrant, the heathered quality of the yarn makes me drool a little. The best part about you is the way your colors blend into one another and still stay unique. The more I look at you, the more depths and hues I find.

But why oh why must you be a boucle yarn? And a bulky one at that. In my opinion, you are only good for making large items like afghans and pillows. Due to the nature of your construction, the likeliness of any garment that is knitted from you actually flattering any figure is very low. Unfortunately, the high price assigned to you makes you an unlikely candidate for even the large projects you are suited for.

But your colors still make me want to knit everything I can out of you. The only thing keeping me from buying all the stock I can afford is the underspun quality of the boucle.

Would it be possible to compromise and just spin the gorgeous colors a little tighter? Possibly into smaller plies to make at least a worsted weight yarn?

Still dreaming of your gloriously saturated colors,
Abby

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Buzz Buzz

I've been a busy little bee. Not having a job means I have a lot of time on my hands. I'm trying to clean a lot, and knit a lot, and sadly I have ample time to do both. Ideally, I would only have time to knit so the cleaning could wait, but such is life.

Projects!


Crotched Scarf, courtesy of Lion Brand.
This project was fun. It was my project while watching the prisoner and during the brief period I had yarn and no needles. I kind of did my own thing on the ends because I didn't want to puzzle through the directions.
Kindle Cover 2!
I like my first kindle cover. I like it a lot, but I wanted something that was a little bit more snug. I used US4 with a double strand of caron simply soft and it turned out thick and a little stiff, but I like it. I still need to close the top with a zipper or some other fastener. It will probably end up being a zipper, but I might get creative one of these days and do something more fun.

Crotcheted potted plant, also courtesy of Lion Brand.
This project was fun and a pain at the same time. Crotcheting 18 little flowers then sewing them on after wasn't really a good time. It didn't help that my flowers turned out small so I had to crotchet even more. It also doesn't help that I like a lot of leaves so I made significantly more leaves. It turned out all right and I survived with the help of a little Fringe.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Internetz again!

Hurray! Except for a few small things I am moved! The big excitement is now I have internets again! The comcast guy came this morning and gave us our borrowed modem and now I am happy. I have ravelry access again, as well as the whimsy to look up exciting new recipes and try them on a whim. Plus the whole job hunting thing, but that seems secondary right now.

I also have some sad news. It was bound to happen, I know, but I didn't think it would set in this soon. While moving in yet another container full of yarn, my SO loudly announced that I wasn't allowed to buy any more yarn until I lessened my stash a bit. :( I protested, of course, and pleaded to have my yarn privileges reinstated, but he was solid as a rock. I got nowhere. Now I have to find a bunch of projects that are fast and use up a bunch of yarn. On the bright side it means I get to spend more time on ravelry :)

I did finish my scalloped scarf, as well as an adorable octopus from Amigurami Knits! I have started another kindle cover as well as a sweater (crosses fingers).

I've realized I don't knit as many sweaters because the annoyance of the gauge swatch is nearly too much for me to handle. I knit one swatch, sure that I know myself and my knitting tendencies well enough, only to find its not correct. Then I take it out and knit another swatch, usually with smaller needles, and it still isn't correct. After several repeats of the swatch at numerous needle sizes, I usually either give up and decided the project isn't worth my time or I give up and randomly choose a needle size I think was closest. I think this is a good indication that I need to learn patience.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Been a while

So much has been going on it makes my head hurt. I finished a bunch of projects and am really happy but am probably never going to get good pictures of them. Sadness. A good part of the problem is that I'm moving! Sterling/Rock Falls, here I come!

This has been a huge thing on my mind lately. My wonderful boyfriend asked me last month if I would move in with him. I haven't been dating him for very long, so naturally I was worried, but we looked at apartments together and we picked one out! Now he's stuck with me for at least a year. I'm terribly worried because all the other times I've had roommates I've wanted to kill them with a couple months, so I really hope that doesn't happen. I'm definately going to do my best not to let it.

I have also discovered something very important. Well, two things actually.
1. Home is where the stash is.
If you move half your yarn, then wait a couple weeks to move the second half, you feel a little lost. It's sad really.
2. If you're only going to move half of your yarn, MAKE SURE YOU BRING NEEDLES!
I completely forgot to pack extra needle so when I forgot the yarn for my current project I could find something else to start. I ended up wandering around my new apartment for a few hours doing small chores until I decided to go to wal-mart and buy cheap needles.

I started this cool new scarf from Lion Brand, too. Its crotcheted which is a little weird for me (but crotchet needles are cheaper than knitting needles and wal-mart doesn't carry the size circs that I want), but it's coming along nicely. I watched the miniseries The Prisoner (good show by the way) while I started it and I almost finished it! It's a little short, but something this pretty isn't really meant to be super functional, I don't think. Pics to come later!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Discovering slipped stitches: A beginning

So I have decided that some knitting techniques are just overlooked. For example, the slipped stitch. I like slipped stitches. They create texture and interest and they're kind of fun to do.

Since I will most likely be jobless at the end of the month, I have decided that in between job searching and stressing, I will be knitting, probably a great deal. Instead of starting new projects, I think I want to explore the world of slipped stitches, and how to manipulate them and create interesting textures. I feel that the slipped stitch is almost forgotten, used only in some stitch patterns, and I want to make it interesting again!

I have no idea if it will work. I have no idea what my knitting foray will discover, but I think it will be fun to explore this technique that I really haven't used. I think it will be interesting to pair it with reverse stockinette and see the textures emerge and discover how they drape together.

Hopefully I don't get bored and ignore this project after I've started. I'm hoping at the start that the swatches will be small enough that I can take them anywhere with me, which is good for me.

Well I'm off to job hunt before starting my project. :)

Thursday, March 11, 2010

A series of unfortunate events

So my last post referred to the printer being broken at my job. Unfortunately, the part that needs replaced is $19,000 to fix. Bummer. Combine that with the fact that the last manager was not only incompetent but also dishonest, and then you find out that the owners decide to close the store. Major bummer.

I can't really say I blame them, but I also am sad that I will no longer have a job. Now I could go on and on about how my job really isn't that great, but since come march 31st I won't have it anymore, the point is moot anyway.

On a brighter side, I did finally finish my last sock. It is very interesting and the ribbing gives it a great texture, but i think they will end up as house socks when it gets cold again. I think if I had knit them out of scrumptious sock yarn they would have turned out much better. Pictures to come.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my future. The problem is that everyone seems to think they know what is best for me and is pushing to do it. My mom wants me to go back to school and get my nursing bachelors. The problem with that is I don't really know if I want to become a nurse.

One of my friends wants me to get a part time job and collect unemployment. This would be great and I could concentrate on knitting. The problem with that is I don't want to get tired of knitting and I get stir crazy if I'm not doing something. I think I would like working part time, but if I don't work enough I'm going to go mad. I need something to keep occupied.

Another of my friends wants me to quit cameraland all together before the end of the month and get a part time job just for the summer to hold me over until i get another job. I don't really want to have a job for a month then say, "So long!" the instant I find something else. I think that's kind of rude.

The way I see things right now, I will only go back to school if I'm guaranteed a job afterwards. Nursing will do this. Teaching will do this. I already know I do not want to jump through the bullshit hoops to become a teacher, even though I think I would enjoy the profession. I really just want to start paying off my student loans and have a savings account.

On a lighter note, in a weak moment I bought Amigurami knits this past weekend and I love it. The cute little knitted critters have stolen my heart. I started the starfish last night and aside from finding a mistake, I love it. I can't wait to knit a whole host of cute little stuffies!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Butterfly Trellis Scarf


The Butterfly Trellis Scarf

Designed around a herringbone fagoting, this scarf includes lacy trellises and playful butterflies. This pattern incorporates a lot of techniques including picking up and knitting on the edging as well as a variety of knitting techniques.

The file is formatted as a PDF and comes with charts for easy knitting, but written instructions are available on request.

Download here:
download now

Pictures!









Tuesday, March 2, 2010

FO MANIA!!

Well, maybe not mania. I did finish my southwestern shawl which really hadn't been a UFO for long. I got it blocked because I finally got a new vaccuum and could sweep then pin it out on the floor! Pics of that to come. After that, I decided I would work on my second glove. Yeah....

So I've been knitting on it all weekend. Today at work, the printer broke so there's nothing to do. So I've been knitting. I finished my second glove. Unfortunately, its enormous. How enormous? Well my boyfriend's hands are probably 3 times the size of mine. I think it would fit him quite well. Don't believe me? Proof:






























The right hand I did first. It fits well. It's nice. The left hand I started last week. Its enormous. That's what I get for waiting a couple years in between each.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Apologies

Ok. So I realize I'm not the best blogger in the world. I get too distracted and then I don't want to sit down and type out an entry. I do love to knit though. And that is what makes me happy.

So I have been doing a lot of stuff. Right now I'm on a spree to finish a lot of my UFOs that have been sitting around. I'm finishing a sweater right now with knitpicks swish worsted. I love this yarn. Its soft, it feels great while you're knitting, it comes in great colors and is superwash wool! I can't wait to finish this sweater.

I also need to finish my sahara. I still have just one sleeve left to do and I just need to sit down and say, its getting done. That is next on my list. After that I am going to finish my second sock. No if, ands, or buts. Its getting done. Then I need to finish my second glove. The real problem there is untangling the yarn where its gotten hopelessly gnarled during my months of shoving it aside and the moving fiasco last july. I'm not aware of any more UFOs that need finishing, but I'm sure the next time I clean a couple will pop up.

I am currently working on the fiery bolero, but the problem with that is I need to unravel another project to reuse the yarn and the thought of unraveling, then stretching out the yarn, then rewinding it while untangling the inevitable tangles really turns me off. I just want to knit. Maybe one of these days I'll start feeling productive and tackle it, but I don't think it will be soon. Its probably going to be a UFO for at least another year.

I really want to start on the airy wrap sweater from fitted knits. I even have the yarn for it, but i keep telling myself I need to work on getting other stuff finished. Casting on will be my reward for finishing all my other projects. I hope.

So sometime a long time ago I went through a lot of my stash and decided projects for it, and then somewhere along the way I never started any of those projects. It is my goal to try to work on some of these and possibly destash. I don't think I'll ever destash enough that my apartment won't look like a lunatic yarn bin when my cats get into it, but I do want to get rid of some of the yarn I will never use. This is probably why I made the list in the first place.

Hopefully I'll get off my butt soon and start taking a couple minutes to update and post pics.

Until next time.