Happy April!

I've been so bad about updating this blog. I'm going to try to do better. Let's see, what have I been up to? Knitting! :)

I've been busy working on a vest that I bought when I was up in Lake Placid back in February. I picked up the kit at Adirondack Yarns, the yarn shop in Lake Placid. It's a simple pattern - you knit it form the bottom up in one piece until you reach the armholes, then you divide for the front and back. There's no seaming - the shoulders use a 3 needle bind-off. I'm finished with the back and almost finished with the left front. I've been checking as I went along so it should fit when it's done!

Back in January/February I worked on the Knitters Brewing Company's Mystery Sock "Lucky Charms". They turned out nice although they are a little big. I enjoyed all the challenges that were in the socks.

Now I'm working on KBC's Crosswired socks. Mine are being knit in Plum Wine and Tip Jar. The contest between the two colors is making the socks look really good. I'll post a picture when the first sock is done.

I also cast on for a shawl the other day. That's my "sitting beside the tub" project for when the kids are having their baths. I'm looking at it as a long-term project.

That's my update for now. Short and sweet but at least I got it done! If you are on RavelryIt, you can check out my work. I'm Jennilynn there. Cheers!

Catching Up

Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated. I've been busy with so many projects that getting to the computer has been tough. What have I been up to, you ask? Let's see...

Previously Mentioned Projects:
My sock design - it turned out to be bleh. What looked good in a small swatch just didn't look right when I knit the first sock. I went ahead and knit the other sock so I'll have a matching pair but the design just wasn't anything I wanted to share. Maybe I'll try again with something else but I have a feeling design just isn't my thing.

My Mitered Square gloves turned out to be a fun, fast knit. They are awesome, so soft and snuggly. I had enough yarn left over to make a matching Mitered Square headband/earwarmer. Now that I think about it, I designed the headband myself since I didn't follow a pattern...but I wouldn't call myself a designer yet. :) I cast on 41 stitches, followed the directions for how to do a mitered square and repeated this until I had 6 squares total. I sewed the ends together and voila! One matching earwarmer for days when it's cold but I don't want to wear a hat.

New Projects:
"Woven" Fingerless Gloves - from Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders edited by Judith Durant. I made a pair using my leftover Sea Silk yarn from Handmaiden Fine Yarns. I had made a scarf out of this yarn that is absolutely dreamy. Now I have a pair of fingerless gloves to go with it. This pattern is incredibly easy! The pattern does call for DPNs but I found using 2 circs worked out much better. (I've tried it both ways). I'm currently knitting another pair of these using some more left over yarn from another scarf pattern. I'm getting close to running out of yarn, so the thumbs on this second pair might be interesting!

Donation knitting - my daughter started preschool this year at a non-profit school. Every year they do a silent auction to raise money for the year. They know I'm a knitter because my son went to the same preschool. So, as soon the year began they started asking me if I'd knit some things for the auction. Of course I said yes. That's what most of my time has been spent on in the past few months - donation knitting. I finished the Simply Soothing Spa and Bath Set from Knit Picks, which will be entered in the auction. I've also knit two different felted handbags that will be auctioned off too. I hope all my projects bring in some decent money for the school.

I've also been working on a Hoodie vest that I found in Cardigans with a Conscience by Melissa Leapman. It's been going really well. I'm getting close to finishing it. I just have the hood to finish knitting then side seams to sew and a zipper to put in (gulp!). Little nervous about the zipper part. I can't wait for it to be done!

There we go. All up to date, I think. I will be taking pictures of all my projects and posting them the next time I get a few minutes to sit at the computer. Keep knitting! Cheers!

Socks!

It's been hard to get time this summer - both to knit and to update this blog! The kids have been keeping me busy, but I did manage to finish two pairs of socks. I've also been working on test knitting the pattern I designed. And of course because I finished a pair of socks, I had to cast on something new - a pair of gloves. I like having two projects going at all times. The variety keeps knitting interesting. :)

Without further ado, here are the finished socks. The pictures aren't the best since I took them with my phone, but  you can get an idea of what they look like.

The Artichoke Socks
I now have two pairs of socks using this pattern. It's an easy repeat to learn that goes quickly once you get started. Here is a picture of the finished sock. I used Liberty Fibers fingering weight merino in Freeform. I like how the yarn knit up, it's soft and snuggly. I can't wait for cold weather!

The Angee Socks
I had made one Angee sock as part of my mixed-up socks and liked the pattern so much that I decided to make a matching pair. Unfortunately I cannot find the ball band for the yarn so I can't tell you what kind of yarn I used but it so pretty!

Current Projects:

My socks - I finally settled on a design I like and wrote down the whole pattern. Now I'm working on knitting a pair using the pattern. So far, so good! Hopefully I'll have a sock done in a week or so and can get a picture or two up. Once I'm sure the pattern is mistake free, I'll share it.

Mitered squares Gloves - So far, I think these are going to be quick to knit up. I like the look of the mitered squares on the cuff. I'm making these gloves with Bugga! yarn from The Sanguine Gryphon. The yarn is in shades of brown and gold and yummy to the touch. I have a feeling it will make very warm gloves for this winter.

I just received the fall Interweave Knits, and I'm already marking pages for things I'd like to make. Too many patterns, too much yarn, and not enough time! Maybe one day I'll finally knit through my stash...maybe :)

Dipping my toes into sock design

After knitting so many pairs of socks designed by other people, I've decided to give it a shot. I printed out some knitters graph paper (thank you http://www.knitonthenet.com/) and sharpened my pencil and got to work. I came up with a design that looked good on paper but when I tried knitting I could see right away it wasn't going to work out well for a sock.

I tried again, messing around with combinations of k2tog/ssk and YO's as well as some twists and came up with a pattern I thought would work. I knit up a flat swatch to get a general idea of what it would look like. I like it, although I can't tell if it's too busy looking because of the pattern or the yarn - I used some of my leftover blue/teal yarn from my mixed up socks. I'm thinking it's the yarn but I'm not 100% sure. I dug through my box of leftover sock yarn and pulled out a solid color yarn. I'll give that pattern another try today and see how it looks. I'm still on the fence about it. I also charted out a third design that has promise but again, I won't know until I have a swatch done.

To all the knit designers out there, you have my respect! I've only been trying for a few days and I find it's as hard as I expected it to be. Coming up with creative, pretty patterns that will work for a sock is a challenge, at least for me. I doubt I'll ever become a professional designer, but it would be nice to have one pair of socks that I can say is totally mine from beginning to end. :)

To be continued....

Purple Kangaroo and baby too!

They are done! I finished the Mommy Kangaroo a few days ago and wrapped up the baby today. The 2 year old loves Mommy and has been dragging her around the house since I gave it to her. She's been sleeping with the Mommy in or else next to her bed every night. I'm glad she likes it. I gave her the baby today and she's tickled pink with it. I expect both will be carried around the house a lot. Here are some photos of Mommy by herself and with her baby:

 


















And here are two close ups of the baby:

I'm glad they are done. The seaming on the baby was tough because it was small. I did the best I could, and the 2 year old loves both Mommy and baby. Now to finish up two projects that just need to be sewn together, which is why they aren't finished yet. I hope I can get them done in the next few days so I can just take my two sock projects on my vacation with me. Cheers!

Purple Kangaroo Update

The summer has begun! I've been readjusting this week to having both kids home with me, since the 6 year old is finished with school until September. With trips to the pool and the ice rink (the 6 y/o plays hockey), there have been a few nights when I've just been too tired to think, let alone work on the 2 year old's purple kangaroo.

Late last week I finally finished knitting all the parts of the mommy purple kangaroo. I've begun seaming the whole thing together. Seaming is my least favorite part of knitting, and one of the things that I feel like I don't do well. When I first started knitting I had no clue how to seam things, so if you ever take a close look at my son's Blue Kangaroo, you'll see just how bad I was at seaming. But after reading a few books and lots of practice, I've actually gotten much better at seaming. I still don't like seaming, and I'm rather slow doing it, but at least I am making progress on sewing the kangaroo together. It's actually starting to look like a kangaroo instead of a bunch of random pieces. The 2 year old saw it today and was ready to run off with it, even though it's only about a third of the way done. I think she's going to like it when it's done. If she doesn't like it, I think my neighbor's 6 year old daughter would be happy to have it. She was asking me all sorts of questions about it, like how long it would take to make one, what colors could I make it in. I may have to make another one when I'm finished this one. Or maybe I can talk her into wanting something with a little less seaming. :)

I love you, Purple Kangaroo!

When my son was 3 (he's 6 now), I started reading him a series of books about a blue kangaroo by Emma Chichester Clark. He loved them and wanted a blue kangaroo of his own. Being the good mommy and knitter who likes to try new things, I decided to make him one. I found this pattern in Debbie Bliss' book Toy Knits. It was for a mother and baby kangaroo but of course he wanted a boy kangaroo, so it was easy to modify - I just didn't make a pouch or a baby.

I've been reading these same books to my 2 year old. She's been stealing her brother's kangaroo from his room which of course makes him unhappy. I've decided to make her her very own kangaroo. She chose purple, since that seems to be her favorite color these days. I hope I can get the kangaroo done before she changes her favorite color. :)

I'm using Knit Picks Shine Sport in Iris and Wisteria on size 4 needles. The yarn is soft and makes a nice fabric when knit but it tends to curl up a lot. That could just be this pattern though because I remember the Rowan Wool Cotton I used for my son's toy curled up too. Having learned from the first time I made this, I decided to block the pieces as I go rather then wait until everything is done. I've gotten the left side panel done, and here's a picture of it on the blocking board:

It's going to be a good size toy when it's done. I'm just hoping I have enough yarn. I used just over a skein on the left panel, so I figure I'll use about 2 1/2 total for both the left and the right sides, which will leave me 2 1/2 skeins for the rest of the kangaroo. If I have enough yarn left over I'll make the baby. And if I don't have enough, well that gives me a reason to order more yarn. :)