on the road again…
… so all I can do is knit.
I made this hat a while ago, and other than that have just been working on the endless good ole cabled scarf.
Misti Alpaca hat
Used less than one skein of Misti Baby Alpaca chunky yarn! I suppose this counts as my first “design” if something so simple can count as a design. I just cast on 58 (I think it was too much though, next time I’ll try 50 I think) and then did about 1.5 inches in 1×1 rib stitch, then stockinette (knit around) till it measured 6″ (again, think this was too much – 5.5″ would be better) and then started decreasing, k9, k2tog, around, then k8, k2tog, around, till it was all k2tog and then I finished it off!
Finished the hat!
So that’s one resolution (“make a non-rectangular knitted item”) down!
About the pattern, I think the 7″ to knit before starting to decrease is too long. 6″ would have been better. Also, I don’t really like the way the ribbing is not consistent with the body of the hat – I’ll have to change that next time. But overall, it was so much fun, I’ll have to make more! next time with better yarn – this is Lion Brand Wool-Ease and you get what you pay for.
Crafty book club
craft books are my absolute weakness. I am even more prone to buy craft books than I am on buying craft supplies. and you know that’s bad. So I somehow got enticed to join a craft book club. It was only $1 each for the first 4 books, and I think I only have to buy 2 more at “regular club prices” which are more expensive than Amazon, but I think I still come out ahead.
my books came yesterday! too exciting. you can’t choose from all of the books for your first four, but I got:
The Yarn Girls Guide to Beyond the Basics
and Knitting in No Time.
Knitting in no time is terrible, I wish I’d read some reviews first instead of being too lazy to hop over to amazon and read them, but I’m really happy with the other 3. I wanted to buy Vogue Sewing anyway, so I was doubly happy.
Now how long do you think it will be until I actually make something out of these books? Let’s see, I have yet to make anything from Happy Hooker, and I bought that about two months ago. Yet to make anything from Mason Dixon, purchased last month. Sew U, at the same time, read through and put on the bookshelf where it stares at me willing me to try sewing. Origami Boxes? Years ago, still haven’t made anything. (my partner made a cute box once though. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s much craftier than me)
I did find a great free pattern on the internet that I want to make though – it looks like the perfect hat, and even better, it doesn’t require crazy expensive yarn, and I even have some Wool-Ease around. here is pdf link to the pattern. she even made little checkboxes on the pattern so you can easily count your rows!
maybe a hat I could actually finish in a reasonable time; I feel like these scarves will never be done! I can’t believe it’s November and I have yet to finish a single present! aaaargh!
Knitting WIPs
I’m putting this picture up only because I promised a picture, but it’s so craptacular I think the world would be better off without this picture in it.
On the left is a scarf I am making for my best friend, on the right is the good ole cabled scarf I am making for my partner.
I knit cables!
it has been a dream of mine for sooooooo long. And now I can do it! Oh how I wish Grandma could see me now.
this was just scrap yarn. Now I'm going to start a "real" cabling project. I think I'll try the good ole cabled scarf.
I’m trying!
yesterday I turned that t-shirt pictured in yesterday's post into some boyshort underwear. I also crocheted a thong panty, but I didn't have enough yarn, so it's too small! I'm going to modify the pattern and I'll post pics of both. I still have a bit of the t-shirt fabric left over too, so I think I'm going to try and make a fabric headband. that fabric is super stretchy!
in other news, in order to do something about my severe lack of sewing skills, I signed up for 3 sewing classes within the next month and a half! I'm going to an Open Sewing class, where you take a project and get help on it – the biggest problem will be which project I bring! – a zippers class, and a class on making a pattern from a finished item of clothing. one of my favorite dresses is completely falling apart and I must make another one! I even have the perfect polka-dotted fabric for it.
on the knitting front, I managed to do my first cables today! I'm so excited. again, pics to follow.
