the yarn related update

Hi friends! How in the world has a month gone by? I wish I knew, but I guess all this getting up and going through the day has got to add up to something at some point. Anyway, here we are, and guess what! I have some awesome things to share!

The first thing is that I have been working right along on my cardigan sweater (the pattern is Grace by Jane Richmond). I am so excited about this one and I can't wait to wear it. It is a bit slower than I'd like since it is not knit in the round and back and forth takes longer for me with the purl rows in there, but I am down past separating the sleeves and I just have to soldier on. After I get the body and sleeves done I have to admit I am a little scared of the neck/button bands that I have to pick up and stitch, but I am really hoping it will be worth it in the end. This plucky yarn I am using (primo fingering in high cotton), it's just dreamy. Soft and light and wonderful.  So far I just have these instagram progress pictures, but oh man I am loving it!

I started it just about a month ago, and I am just a couple inches further now, but still have quite a ways to go. I may have gotten a bit excited and ordered the yarn for my next sweater, which will involved thicker yarn and should therefore be warmer and quicker. That, however, is a story for another day. One thing at a time.

In other knitting news, I wanted to quickly share the bag I made for my dad for his birthday. He taught me how to knit and does some really fantastic knitting himself, so I thought a project bag was quite appropriate. Some stencils and a sharpie and I had this beauty all ready to go!

Aside from knitting and organizing years of digital pictures (not my favorite thing, but I just keep telling myself if I can get it all caught up, it should be fairly easy to maintain), I have been sewing some great clothes for myself. I have revisited a couple favorite patterns and also tried a couple new so I will be sharing those over the coming week, and let me just say, I am very excited.

drachenfels {the finish}

I am a knitting madwoman! Let it be known that even though it took me days to block and photograph this beauty (thanks crappy weather), it was finished by the end of October, which is what I was aiming for. This is the drachenfels pattern, by Melanie Berg. I kind of love her patterns and do have plans for others eventually. I fell in love with this one as soon as some test knits started popping up, and it was a long wait before it was published, but oh it was worth it!

I admit my color choices are a bit suspect and more of a throwing together of what I had instead of a careful selection, but I love it. I used knitsomniac designs plushy sock yarn in stormy weather and sea glass, and a skein of plucky primo in miss manners. An odd pairing, to be sure, and definitely a bit more spring and less fall, but I can't even begin to tell you how soft and wonderful this thing is.

It did turn out a bit smaller then the pattern said. I used a fingering weight yarn but the swatch was fine once I blocked it and all measurements are right except for across the top, which is substantially shorter. However, it is still plenty big and I am not in the least worried about it, just thought I would mention it. I think something about my increases was too tight so that top edge doesn't have the stretch it is supposed to. It was a super easy and enjoyable knit and I already kind of want to make another one.

Between this, the zilver shawl I made at the beginning of the year, and my rayures cowl, I think it is time to stop making things for my neck for a while haha. Instead, I am moving on to a pair of fingerless mitts, which seem a bit intimidating, but I am going to give it a go. I may also sneak in some top secret holiday knitting if I can manage it, but we'll see how time is going I guess. Also, I have actually been using my sewing machine and making a quilt! Seriously! Proof will be coming soon :)

drachenfels {part I}

Can't.stop.knitting! Last week, I cast on a drachenfels shawl, and now I am about halfway through. To be honest, halfway is an unfair assessment since it is the much smaller half, but still. I started at 6 stitches and am up to 136, and by the end will have 260.

This is the first section finished. I am in love with these awesome stripes, and now I get to switch to more traditional stripes and eventually add in my third color. This sea glass color is just amazing. And I love the way it goes together, starting at the corner and ending at the long edge.

These yarns are a dream to work with. I think I must have cashmere in all the things from now on haha! Soft and squishy and perfect. This project is so great for relaxing in the afternoon after school with the little and hearing about her day (when she cares to share) or snuggling up at night with a movie.

I still have some reservations as to whether I will wear these colors, but since it is so soft and will look great with my black jacket, I think it will be alright. I've never really worn a shawl much. Or at all. So it will be an experiment.

I am hoping to have it finished by the end of the month. If I don't slow down too much as the rows get longer. And then will come decision time and I will have to pick what is next, the sweater or the fingerless mitts. I have some time though, and whole lot of knitting to do before then. I am hopeful I will get some sewing in too, sometime soon.

a tiny cowl

Happy Monday! Or something. I actually have that finish that I mentioned...done and photographed with a model! As I mentioned earlier, after making a whole sweater, I felt like I needed a nice small project that I could get done quickly. Since it has been on my list for a while, I decided to go ahead and make my little one a cowl, even though the likelihood of it being used in the near future is very low.

I let her pick the yarn and she picked this tweedy recycled yarn that I have had for a while that I used to make myself some leg warmers a while back. I was surprised since I thought she would pick something more colorful, but it is a very sensible choice haha. She surprises me a lot with things like that actually.

The pattern is the child version of the sophia cowl by green bee patterns. It is a nice simple pattern that makes a nice little cowl. I did get bored and make it about an inch shorter I think, but since she is only 4 I figured that would work, and it does. I know I'm biased, but I think she looks so darn cute! Love this girl.

So that's my recent finish. I am making good progress on my shawl, which I am totally loving, but will definitely take a while to get to a finish I think. As the rows get longer and longer I am definitely slowing down. I also do have a few sewing plans in the works, a travel bag for the little and some clothes for me, along with working on my DWR quilt, so hopefully I will get going on all that soon. It turns out I have a harder time focusing and sewing when the baby isn't sleeping....and since we've had 2 molars come in, in the past two weeks, with another one almost through, not to mention the walking and almost talking....yeah, not so much on the sleep. I just have to keep reminding myself, this is not a race or a contest, just something I do to make myself happy, and as long as I am happy with the things I do make, it's all good. Have a good week friends!

yarnish things

The knitting continues! I want to do some more sewing, I really do, but quilts seem so overwhelming and until I can get myself to work on things already started, I am not letting myself start any new quilts. I did work on some DWR arcs this weekend, and will hopefully be working on more of them this week, but mostly I am finding myself obsessed with yarn. I want to knit all the things. It is much easier to pick up at night and do a bit, or snuggle with the little during nap time while knitting a bit. So while I do have some {rather large} quilty plans, right now I have just as many knitting ones.


After my sweater was finished, I decided I needed to do something {much} smaller and quicker, so I had the little pick some yarn and started making her a little cowl. I am using the sophia cowl pattern by green bee designs and it is cute and simple. I really want to see if it fits, but I shouldn't have long to wait, I only have a couple more inches to go!

Of course I was gathering these supplies and realized I didn't have any project bags for a smaller project (really?? how did that happen??) so some cats and stars later, we were good to go.

I also have some pretty combinations picked out for a few other things. I have this gorgeous purple  (I'm your huckleberry) from knitsomniac designs that I think is going to become a pair of fingerless mitts, for a gift I think if I can bear to part with them. Probably this adrift pattern, but I haven't committed yet.

And then I have this combination that strikes me as a bit strange, but makes me so happy. It is plucky primo fingering in miss manners, and knitsomniac designs plushy sock yarn in sea glass and stormy weather. This is destined to become a drachenfels shawl which I am hoping to start this week, once I figure out how to adjust it for fingering weight yarn. I am hoping it will be a good movie knit since starting October 1st, we kick off a halloween movie month around here, watching all kinds of old, and usually bad, halloween movies. I am so so so excited to work with these yarns and see how they knit up!

I also have had plans, the pattern and even the yarn for my next sweater for months and I am just working up the nerve to start it. I am hoping by december I will be ready and I can work on it while we are traveling.


So yeah, pretty grand yarn plans around here. As slow as it goes, I do feel like I am making progress. I have also been working on making a scrapbook for each of my girls about their first year. Like everything, it has gotten complicated and a bit out of control, but hopefully I'll get it all ironed out soon and get it done. I know they would love to have that to flip through, and if I'm honest, so would I. It would be much better then the piles of stuff in boxes, so I am really trying to get going on that. I am almost done ordering pictures and then I begin for serious. I keep telling myself that eventually things will start falling off the list, since right now I can only do small pieces of things at a time so it feels like I am constantly spinning my wheels and never really getting anywhere. I guess what I am saying is, I have no idea when I will have much of a finish to share (aside from the almost finished cowl), but I think I am going to try and keep up with some progress posts, and if nothing else it will remind me that progress is indeed being made, no matter how slowly. I suppose it is just the ebb and flow of my crafty life. Have a good week friends!

Transmute: the finish (!!!!)

You guys, I made a sweater!! A whole sweater!! One that is soft and fits and is wearable!! And I did it within the time frame of the Summer Sweater Knit-Along (which ends today, in fact)! Honestly, I am still in a bit of shock. I love it!!

The sleeves went pretty quickly, although, I did not love the double pointed needles, and despite my best efforts the lines where the needles joined are pretty obvious. Still, I managed to finish the knitting part just a few weeks after finishing the body, which I didn't really see coming. I not only finished knitting, but wove in all my ends, fixed a pull from the cat, and blocked it. This baby is ready to wear! Just as soon as the weather cools down.... I just don't even know what else to say. I am just so amazed that I knit this. Although I have been knitting for quite a few years, it was never a craft where I was incredibly overwhelmed with love for the products until recently. I am really glad to have knit things that I am super proud of and look forward to wearing.

 Now I am already on to a new knit with the next couple planned. And if my internet cooperates, I will be back very soon with another very special finish!

transmute: a finished body!!

Well hello there, September! My goodness, with a holiday weekend and my little starting preschool, things feel nuts around here. I find myself always feeling a little behind these days, but I am working on it. I have been finishing quite a few things though, small ones mostly, but also this next pause on my sweater journey, which feels huge.

I am now done the body of my sweater, and more than that, it even fits!!! It is not without mistakes, of course, and I might end up wishing it were a bit longer, but it fits and it's beautiful!  It took me a month from start to finish, which I am actually really happy with, and now I have another 3 weeks or so to do the sleeves before the knit-along ends. I won't know until I start them if that is possible, but I'm hopeful.

One afternoon this week I am going to sit down and figure out how to pick up the sleeve stitches I need and how to use my double pointed needles and get to work. Also, I am kind of on a sewing tangent right now, since I got it into my head that I needed to make a bag. So I am doing that, plus I have a lot of non sewing/knitting projects that need some attention soon. I am feeling pulled in many directions right now, but nothing a few deep breaths and a little focus won't help :) Next up, some clothes for the kidlet to be shared!

Transmute: update time

After a long weekend of fun and celebration, I think that a sweater update is in order! I have to admit, I was a little worried that I would be bored with a stockinette stitch sweater, but it is actually great! I feel like it is going fairly quickly (until I remember that the sleeves are still coming) and I have made some really good progress on the body of this in the past almost 3 weeks. It even looks like a sweater!!!! It is also super relaxing to just knit away at this while hanging out with my littles or watching something with the hubs.


So here are a few pictures. I don't know if anyone can really tell aside from me, but I did mess up one stripe and do it two rows later than I was supposed to because it was right at the part where I made the sleeves and I was so focused on learning to do that properly that I forgot. I think it's okay though, I just have to remember to make the same mistake on the sleeves. So far this yarn is lovely to work with and is make a really nice, soft fabric. I still haven't tried it on since I am scared of messing it up when I go to put it on the waste yarn/holder, but it looks like it will fit, so I hope that's a good sign.

I think the next update will be when the body is done and I have tried it on and everything, which I am aiming to have done in the next 2 weeks. Then I will just have sleeves to tackle, which I have mixed feelings on. I don't love working with double pointed needles, but I really really want to get this done and try it on, so I hope that keeps me motivated! Anyway, now that all our guests are gone, I need to sit down and regroup and figure out what needs to be done and when. No small task, but a necessary one. As always, so much to do, so little time. Does life ever calm down?!?!?

Transmute: the beginning

Today is the day, my friends! Today, the summer sweater knit along begins over at Very Shannon and I am taking this opportunity to jump in and start my very first {adult} sweater! I have been waiting for this moment all year. No lie. The kal runs from today until september 24, and while I am not sure I will have a finished sweater by then, I am going to give it my best shot and see what I can do. With any luck, I will at least end up with a garment that fits at some point.

After much deliberation, I have decided to make transmute, by melanie berg. I actually bought a plucky yarn kit for this a few months ago, but wanted to use the main color yarn for a different sweater. I would have started with that, but I thought I had better start out with some less fancy yarn in case I totally suck and can't do this. So a trial run it is! I am using knit picks capretta yarn, which is a cashmere blend and feels quite nice. I am using harbor as the main color, and platinum as the accent stripe.  As of right now, the only modification I am planning is 3/4 length sleeves since I know I will be more likely to wear that.

I already made and blocked my gauge swatch and have my needles ready to go. Now I just need those pesky kids to give me the time to work on it. I think until I really get going and get the hang of it, this is going to require some concentration, so I don't know how much time I will actually get to work on it. I am so nervous and excited! I keep telling myself that if I can make a sock, I can make a sweater, but really I have no idea what I am doing or how this is actually supposed to come together. So here's hoping that I get something to wear and this doesn't go terribly wrong! So you can expect some periodic updates, and if, in the end, I have a lovely sweater to wear, be warned that there will be no end to my excitement :)

sweet baby wrap sweater {a first}

Lately, I have been a little obsessed with always having a hand project going on that I can work on while on the couch or bed or wherever I happen to be relaxing with the people I love. I really dislike EPP, so mostly it's been knitting lately (although the current is a cross stitch, more on that another day).

I decided before she was born that the babe needed a sweater. Keep in mind I have never knit a sweater before, but clearly that is beside the point. I have had this book, Easy Baby Knits, for a long time and have made a couple things out of it, but until now, I hadn't gotten brave enough to try a sweater. Let me just say, I think knitting sweaters is scary, a fear I am very hopeful of conquering this year. All that work and it has to end up actually fitting someone! But anyway, I had this yarn that I had gotten from my dad and it seems a perfect match for the wrap top pattern in the book. I had enough to make the 18-24 month size, which will hopefully fit this fall. It was a lot of firsts for me and I am proud that I made it and that it looks like it is supposed to. It only took me a little over a month, which is making pretty good time for me, especially considering this has been waiting to be made for....at least 10 months I think and I had to change the size so it would be for this year instead of last haha. If you want more info, it's on my ravelry page.

With that done, the next knitting item is a sweater for me. Pattern and yarn are already on hand and I am just trying to get this cross stitch done, and hopefully I can join in with the summer sweater knit along at Very Shannon. I doubt I'll get it done in their time frame, but it would be so nice to have a handmade sweater to wear this fall/winter. Anyway, that's my knitting news. Next time: quilting news!!

stripes, lots of stripes

That's what I have been knitting. And let me tell you, I find few things as motivating to knit as some good stripes. Somehow, you can always make just one more. It took me about 2 weeks to knit up this awesome rayures cowl. Seriously, once I started I just couldn't stop. Always one more stripe, always wanting to add the next color.

I learned a few new things too, such as a provisional cast on (not so bad) and grafting the ends together (terrible). Other then that it was just straight knitting, round and round and round. The yarn I used is a wool from Quince & Co called finch and I love it so much. I am trying to figure out what I can use the rest for actually (mittens perhaps?). The final join gave me a lot of trouble though and looks pretty terrible. Which is okay since I will just wear that as the back, but it still bothers me a bit. That was my only complaint with the pattern actually, there was no guidance at all for that part, not even a website to reference so it was just me a google. And while I would have sworn I was following the directions exactly, it is not a smooth, seamless join at all. 

Otherwise, it is a pretty perfect cowl. It is just the right length I think and is nice and snug when wrapped twice, without being suffocating and I am just in love with the colors. I am choosing to ignore the fact that it will be many months before I can actually wear it, but at least I'll be ready, right?? I've already started working on a little sweater for the babe that I want her to wear for thanksgiving or something, so hopefully that will be done by the end of the month and then I have a cross stitch pattern to try, and with any luck, I will start my first sweater this summer! I can't wait and I really want to be able to wear it this fall/winter if I can make it that fast. I am a little scared, but I already have the {super amazing} yarn and everything, so it needs to happen.

Does all this knitting talk bore you? Fear not, I am still doing a bunch of sewing and have even more to catch up on. In fact I am over halfway done my pony club top so I have hope that I really will finish that up this week along with a few smaller things. Soon though, I will be back with some clothes I've been making that I {finally} have some pictures of.

a home for my interchangeable needles

Guys, I am totally obsessed with knitting right now. Really, I can't stop. And I have a gazillion things I want to make! Gazillion! Really, I have enough to keep me busy for years all planned out I think, and ever since my parents brought me some very belated birthday yarn last week, I have been going to town. I can't wait to show you what I am making, and I think I will be done by the end of this week! That combined with my avoidance of my pony club quilt (yep, still avoiding, but much closer to actually doing it) got me rethinking my knitting needle storage. Ultimately I need 2 cases, this one which is for my knitpicks interchangeable needle set that I am slowly collecting, and another for the rest, which I have thought out and designed, I just need to buy a few things and get to work.

Anyway, this needle case, I love. It is kind of from a tutorial I found in French, which I got the gist from and then got to work. It actually works out super well, with a place for the needle points, a snap pouch for the cables and a zip pouch for the little extras. I opted to change the closure to a tab with a magnetic snap. This color scheme, it just makes me happy. It was fun to make and while it is a bit wonky (like most things I make....we'll call it character....) it holds things just perfectly and will have space for any new needles I may acquire.

At least my avoidance is getting other things crossed off my list. Except for the totally not on the list pencil case I obviously *need* to make. But seriously, I really do plan to have a finished pony club quilt top by next week. If I can make myself stop knitting that is......

Zilver

Happy Monday everyone! Minus the happy....which just leaves Monday....which didn't sound nearly as nice haha. We are having a rough time around here, so, instead of dwelling on that, we are going to look at pictures of my pretty new shawl!

I decided this year that I wanted to knit a shawl. I have been thinking about it for a while and looking at different patterns, but finally I found Zilver and decided to give it a try. It is not too difficult, but I had to learn how to do the increases. I figured that made it a good stepping stone for the sweaters I want to try at some point. I got the yarn for my birthday and it is really nice wool/cotton blend from Italy and was lovely to knit up. It went pretty quickly too, up until it got to be so many stitches that I had trouble finding the time to sit down and do a pattern so it took me a while at the end. I washed it in some Soak and blocked it when I was finished and that made it much nicer. It still has a slight bump at the top which I don't love, but it's not too noticeable if I'm wearing it. More info on my Ravelry page in case you are interested.

I have a lot of other yarn things I want to make too. I am working away at the crochet blanket, I have a sweater to knit for the littlest that I am hoping she can wear for Thanksgiving, and my dad is supposed to get me some yarn for a cowl as a belated birthday gift. After I do all that I am going to pick one of the sweaters I am dreaming of and I am just going to do it. I imagine it will be a while before that happens though and even longer before I have a finished sweater though. Does anyone else find themselves slipping into like 10 year goals? Like if I get things done in the next decade I'll be happy. Because I feel like things are taking me so long these days....