endless lace

I've completed two repeats of the lotus blossom lace pattern and I've got 2 more to go before switching to stockinette. It's going very slowly and I'm dying to cast on for a new project but I'm not letting myself do that. So instead of knitting, I'm spending a lot of time dreaming of what my next project will be. I think another summer tee or sweater. I'm sort of on a sweater kick right now.

On Monday I cut out all the pieces for a new wrap skirt (McCall's 5430) but have gotten no further. I don't know why I stalled, since cutting is the part that I loathe, but I just don't feel like sitting down at the machine.

And here is my loom, which has been in the exact same state for about three months now. This is only a sampler, which I started in a class in March, and I haven't been able to make myself finish it so I can move on to a real project. I want to make some coasters and maybe some placemats, but I feel like I need to finish this sampler first, unless I want to give up on it. I guess that's one thing that might be good about weaving...if you only have one loom, you can only have one project going at a time.

in the light of day...

...rusted root looks a bit big, after all. But not enough for me to frog the whole thing and start over.

rusted root

I finished this little sweater almost exactly one year ago, but I was dismayed by how big it was on me, especially the sleeves. I tried ripping out the little cuff and adding in some decreases on one of the sleeves, but that just made it puff up like a balloon. So I shoved it in the back of my closet in frustration, and it languished there for 12 months. Tonight I pulled it out, tried it on, and realized that it's not so big on me after all. (Getting fatter has some advantages, I suppose....) So I redid that sleeve and wove in all the ends and here it is, one year later, finally done. In retrospect, I should have chosen a less girly color; with the lace panel it's a bit over the top in bright pink. But, I'm determined to make myself wear it nonetheless.

coming along...

I've managed to knit down to the elbow of the first sleeve on this cardigan. I simply did not feel like knitting the sleeve separately and sewing it in, as the pattern called for, so I picked up stitches around the armhole (consulting many different articles online about how to do this) and knit short rows until I finished the sleeve cap, then knit in the round down to the elbow. It looks a bit messy on one side of the sleeve cap but hopefully I can tighten it up after it's done. But now I'm stumped as to how I want to finish the sleeve. I'd like to do something to counteract the boxiness of the sweater but I have no idea what that might be. 3/4 length sleeves? Long sleeves? Straight sleeves? Cuffed sleeves? Bell sleeves? I guess I will browse through about a million more patterns to find the answer.

excuses

Someone has made herself very comfortable on top of my currently favored WIP; therefore, I shall not knit tonight. (I did get some work done on my alpaca cardigan while I was babysitting a 15 month old this afternoon.) I also got to meet the twins (3 days old!) who shall be the recipients of my crocheted baby washcloths, completed a couple weeks ago.

In other news, I had my first rattlesnake encounter while hiking this morning! He was coiled and rattling while my friend and I sped by him on the trail...of course, we turned around and came back to get a closer look. It was quite thrilling.

I'm tired from this day so I may go get cozy in Sophie-like fashion pretty soon.

shawl collar cardigan

Phew....the collar is finished and only the arms are yet to be done. But I can't bear knitting alpaca in this summery weather, so it might be a while before I get around to finishing it. It's looking tremendously boxy at this phase, but ah well.

Four reasons why I love teaching:

Who can craft....

...when it looks like this outside?
Actually, I wasn't feeling well this weekend so I did spend a fair amount of time lying around inside and knitting. But I still don't have anything camera-worthy. I have finished the front pieces of my cardigan and sewed the shoulders and side seams, and now I'm in the process of knitting the shawl collar. I think I'll finish that in the next day or so, then whip up the sleeves, and then I can put it away for the next 4 or 5 months until it's cool enough to wear it!

work in progress

It's going to be a while before anyone around here is wearing a lotus blossom tank. I'm thinking summer 2009, maybe...

first outing...

for the split-neckline cap-sleeved tee from Fitted Knits, which I finished last fall but had not yet worn. I'm moderately happy with how it turned out.

baby washcloths

For a friend who's having twins in a few weeks!

purl frog, improved

Here he is with his new set of peepers. Much better! In other news, the lotus blossom tank is on the needles, but it's going to be quite a while until I have anything to photograph.

treats

Today my friend/knitting guru Jenny and I got together to knit and then made a trip to the yarn store. It definitely reinvigorated the knitter in me...I have been very lax about knitting lately. But today I bought these lovely summery yarns and I'm feeling inspired again! The pale turquoise yarn is for the lotus tank from Interweave Knits (which I'm going to start this weekend...possibly tonight) and I'm not sure what the pale lavendar yarn is for...I just saw it and had to have it. It's called Panda Silk from Crystal Palace and it's bamboo, merino and silk...so soft and delicious! I think it's going to become some sort of little lacy shawl or wrap.

While I'm hankering to start these projects, I have to keep plugging away at my alpaca cardigan. I'm knitting this without a pattern (though I don't know how I, with only one successful sweater to my credit, have the chutzpah to do this) and it's a bit of a challenge. I'm loosely basing it on Jordana Paige's starsky sweater on knitty, I'm sort of generally following her shaping instructions as I construct the pieces. But I'm having to make a lot up as my gauge is completely different, I'm using stockinette stitch instead of her complicated cable pattern, and I want to have a button closure instead of a belt. It might be a complete disaster, but so far it looks hopeful. I finished the back a couple days ago and the left front today. Here's what I've got:

purl frog

This pattern came from http://www.purlbee.com/. I'm happy enough with how my little frog came out, except I think I'm going to take off the embroidered eyes and add buttons instead.

Another creation I will never use....

I had an overwhelming urge to make an apron a few weeks ago, and this was the result. Turns out, it will barely tie around my ever-widening waist, so it will probably go to my mom or sister, but I sort of doubt they'll use it, either.

Sheldon

This is Sheldon. I didn't name him....that's the name of the pattern on Knitty. I actually finished him a couple months ago. He now belongs to my dear friend's Nirupa's son, who is 3. He is officially the cutest thing I've ever made, so I thought he deserved a little internet action.

Ta-Da!

I finished this leaf-tie cardigan (from Fitted Knits) about 2 weeks ago. It was a relatively easy knit--no ripping out was required, which was a first for me! I substituted Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (color: lime light) as I'm not skilled enough with sweaters yet to want to fork over the $80 or so for the Cascade Yarns Indulgence that the pattern called for. I only made one alteration to the pattern: I had read somewhere in a knit-along that the leaf-ties came out kind of big and ugly, so I made them about half as big as the pattern instructed. Oops, can't see those leaf ties in that picture. Here's another view:


Hooray! My first sweater that I will actually wear!

placemats

My mother has had the most hideous placemats on her kitchen table for as long as I can remember. They are crocheted in a teal and avocado acrylic yarn, and they are incredibly grungy. For years I tried to get her to upgrade; I even bought her a set of lovely linen placemats, but she refused to use them. Once when my Auntie Anne was visiting us, she and I were sitting at the kitchen table and the following conversation took place:

Auntie Anne: Your mother has had these placemats for 30 years!

Me : I know! Aren't these the ugliest placemats you've ever seen in your life?

Auntie Anne: I made these placemats.

At any rate, I am hoping that if I make her a replacement set, perhaps Auntie Anne's will finally be retired. So this is what I whipped up yesterday (made from a free pattern that I found online.) If mom agrees to use them, then a set of matching napkins will be coming her way, too!