Pictures, Pictures

Okay, Above are three of the 4 hats I made one weekend. This is the scarf I made going long-ways. I would rather do a few really long rows than knit short rows ad naseum.



Above is one of the three scarfs of the scarf/hat combos that are as yet only completely designed in my little mind. For this scarf the hat that is to go with it is one repeat of this lace-like pattern wrapped around the head and then I plan to pick up stitches going down in ribbing and goin up in this same lace until time for the decreases at the crown. (If you can understand that gibberish you are ahead of the game...).

Next is a dishcloth from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I highly recomend this book!




Above left here is the Midget seen wearing his favorite orange and yellow hat and the Target Wave Mittens from Knitting Nature (or something close to that). The mitten pattern was also in one of the major knitting mags (IK or Vogue or I don't know...I have absolutely no memory...anyway it is out there) Above is the Fibonacci sweater I designed but haven't yet finished the last sleave. Since taking this pic I put buttons on the top of the one shoulder and finished one sleave.



These are the socks I knit one-inside-the-other! They are a little too small for the Midget (I bypassed that whole measuring and swatching thing again...oops!) but they will fit baby Reagan just fine...do I hear unintended Christmas present anyone??






I made a sweater vest for the Monkey a couple of weeks ago. I designed it myself and made it in less than 24 hours and he wears it constantly. I am currently working on a hoodie for him that the middle of is knit sideways. I have finished that part and picked up and knit down for the ribbing. I now have to knit the sleaves and then I will pick up stitches going up and attach the sleaves and work my way up in a raglan fashion to finish the body. Then, add a hood and tada. Because of the size of this thing (knitting 2 strands together and making stripes so I have an XL Ziplock bag with 10 balls of yarn in it) I can only get to it at home on weekends. So, it will take a month or so to finish. Say it with me...Christmas. Present.

I am still enjoying spinning...I alternate between two different fibers. Although the spindle I bought seems a bit heavy for the sock yarn I would like to eventually make. I have dropped some hints about a lighter one for Christmas but I am not holding my breath. DH loves when I make something (socks especially) for him but then hates that I knit all the time. Oh, well.

In a couple of weeks I am going to teach another knitter how to make socks. We met at the Middle School soccer games that my teenager played in. I think she had a grandson a couple of years younger on the team. She has been knitting for years but never tried socks. Like so many people she thought they were hard. When I told her that this coming February will be my second anniversary of teaching myself to knit and that I have already made over a dozen pair she was flabbergasted. I was so flattered that someone wants to learn from me!

Hopefully this is the beginning of getting back to a regular blogging schedule. My work hours and responsibilities have recently changed and my internal clock is completely out of whack. Besides having to learn a whole new job I now work from 11:30 PM to 7:30 AM. I then have to catch a short nap in the late morning with the 2 year old and again in the evening...it's killing me! You gotta love corporate america.

I can spin!!

I will try to post this without a bad case of exclamation point usage. It will be hard.

While some of you very lucky folks were at Rhinebeck (I did not know these fleece and fiber events even existed until very recently), I finally ordered my first drop spindle (a Louet) a small portable niddy-noddy (such cool names for things), and 2 ready-to-spin, already dyed, mixed with some other cool stuff (silk and what-not) fiber from Carolina Homespun.

And, while I have a very long way to go (gee, there's a silly undersatement) I can spin!!!!!

It is so cool. to make. your own. YARN.

I have made maybe 20 yards in 3 sessions. I plied it back to itself for a (obviously) 2 ply yarn. I want to try Navajo plying but want all of this wool to be the same (as best as possible) type of yarn so that I can use it on one project. How on God's earth do people knit with the turn-back-on-themselves-singles???

I will take (and post) pictures soon. I promise. If it kills me.

In other knitting news....

I made a pair of Nora Gaughn's "Target Wave Mittens". They were intended for the Midget. He did take them with him for Trick-or-treating but didn't really like them as they are a bit too big. The Monkey, however, swooped in on them and claimed them in a heartbeat. The DH says they remind him of something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

I finished a pair of socks for the Midget. The great thing about 2 year olds is you can try a garment on them for size and they still won't remember that you are making something for them. These are going in the finished-for Christmas-basket for Santa to wrap.

I attempted ANOTHER pair of mittens with the left-over sock yarn. The first one is complete but there is a strange web-thingy going on where the thumb meets the hand. As it is sock yarn on a size 2 (instead of my ususal 1) it is not going to be very effective at keeping hands warm so I am cutting my losses at 1 mitten instead of a pair. I will try again with a worsted weight. I even used a pattern this last time. It was written for porcupine needles though and I use a long circ. So, I had some issues. Since I have to date made 5 mittens and only have 1 matching pair to show for my efforts, I would say that I have issues with mittens in general. I wonder why that is? I'm thinking that maybe measuring AND swatching AND using an already established pattern may be the way to go from here. Nah, I'll just re-read what EZ has to say on the subject and knit on.

Still on the needles and not going anywhere:

Rug for bathroom
Large pillow
Small pillow (formerly large swatch of really cool pattern in Patton's SWS)
Buzzie Scarf/Wrap
3 Designed only in my head scarf/hat sets
Socks for Dad
Socks for the Monkey
Fibonacci Sweater for the Midget (only needs another small sleeve)
Neckline-done-4-times-sweater that the Monkey wants (has 2 million tails to tuck still)
Ponchos that might still fit Leslie's girls if I ever pick them up and finish them
Harlot Snowdrop Shawl
Baby Bender Blanket (3/4 finished and since baby was born 10/10 must be first priority this weekend)
Log cabin quilt inspired thingy
Ball band dish cloth
Fair isle socks for me (if they fit)
Pink and orange bag to felt eventually
And.....how could I almost forget the outrageous Christmas stocking for the Midget (I'm on the foot and almost done!!)

And I will not even list the things that are only in my head/drawn in my notebook that will soon find their way to this in-progress list. To me they are already in-progress but thankfully they are not really.


And, now I can spin too! Wow!