back to basics

It's January 1, 2014, and I haven't touched this blog in years. Let's change that.

For Christmas I taught myself how to crochet, specifically to make a Hobbes for my nephew. Here's how it turned out:

He's a little bit askew here and there but he's loved. I followed the pattern found at sukigirl's blog. I used worsted instead of DK yarn but it turned out great anyway :) Especially for a first big project doing a craft I'd never really done before (aside from a hideous placemat I made when I was 12, which was big and bulky and not very good haha).

That's about it. I have a ton more stuff going on at Ravelry. You can find me there. Happy New Year, all!

Hello, is this thing on?

I keep forgetting that I have a knitting blog, mostly because I got all entangled in Ravelry and its many delights.

For those of you with ravelry accounts, I have recently been set up as a designer, woo! It's pretty exciting to me, although I am worried that what I wrote won't make sense to others - we shall soon see.

The knitting fair is coming up, I am super excited about it and doubly excited because my daughter is coming along with us - she has become a little knitter all on her own, with no prompting from me. It's nice to see her following my footsteps, however minutely.

Ok, time to get some rest as my head is pounding, just wanted a brief update about the Ravelry thing. Cheers!

Tons of things

So I am a slacker but I've made a ton of stuff since my last post. Ravelry has made me lazy to post here, it's so much easier to create and edit a project there than blather on about it here. Mea culpa. Here's an example of my latest work, a pair of mitts for my boy.



Later gater.

Something to crow about

I already posted in my personal journal about this, but I'm posting here as well. I got a crapton of yarn from a nearby yarn store that had Needlecrafts yarn on for 40% off - she was making room for more Noro stuff. Because I'm on her mailing list she sent info on it before the sale so a friend and I got there early for it. Italian silk and chenille for 40% off? Yes please. Worth the trip, in spite of pain and fatigue which I bit back and ended up napping the rest of the day for it. There's a knitting fair in September, which I am already gearing up for.

In other news:

My dear friend gave me my birthday present a little late. First off, it was wrapped in some beautiful fabric that I can make something out of, tied with real ribbon that can also be used.

Inside there was:

Knitpick Wool of the Andes Yarn - 3 of the Sapphire Heather, 1 Black Cherry Heather, and 1 Amethyst Heather. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff.

There was also:

Sensual Knits by Yahaira Ferreira.

I have to tell you, this made my sucky day so much better, I can't even tell you. I have had so much crappy and when I get these little bolts of happy, I find myself fighting tears - grateful tears.

So now I am giddily considering the prospects of knitting a fab coat from my new book, and this gives me more incentive to go to the yarn fair in September (thanks for the tip, Karen @ Shall We Knit?).

I showed my sister in law the new book and stash (memo to self: take photos to update ravelry stash info) and now she wants to knit more than ever. My friend wants to coordinate some time with me her and my sis in law so we can both teach her how to knit. They both have more than that in common and I believe they'd get along famously, so I'm trying to figure something out that works for all of us (and then there's the equal challenge of finding a day where my health does not prevent me from enjoying my time with them).

Anyway, no need to get in that, I just wanted to crow about my treasures.

Amigurumi!

So cute! I especially love the zodiac ones. Hmmmm.

I love amigurumi, but I know nothing about crochet. But what a good way to learn, no? Tiny projects so that I don't go all batty, and if I make a mistake it's on something small rather than something big. Hmmm. Decisions...

Shrug

So I'm working on a gorgeous shrug to have something to cover my poor cold arms whenever I get back into office work, but also because I love shrugs. The pattern for this can be found here (Click on "Staff Shrugs", I'm working on the one called Minimalist Ribbon Shrug).

What's nice about this project is that it's finally giving me a chance to use just plain straight knitting needles again. That may seem strange, but up to this point a lot of my projects have involved either circulars or dpns. It's also giving me a chance to use a bulkier yarn, because again most of my projects have been using finer weaves.

So here are a few shots of the work in progress. I feel sad because I get tired so easily so it takes me forever to do the little I've done, but I'm pleased with it thus far.

wrist warmers

wrist warmers

Here is a photo of some wrist warmers I made for my daughter. She uses them ALL THE TIME so it was worth the effort. Made from this pattern. And it took me more than a day but only because I was a slacker who kept putting them down.

If you know me, are within personal delivery range, and want me to make a pair, let me know, ok?

GIR completed

GIR completed

Here he is, in all his glory! Isn't he cute???

GIR

GIR head done & body

I've been working on GIR in robot form for my sister-in-law. I have the head arms body & legs done, just need to finish eyes & stuff it. Here's a small photo of my progress in the middling stages.

Happy New Year.

The hero of canton...

Making another Jayne hat for my sister in law. Except in green! Photos below.