Picture Day!

The Beaded Scarf:

I finally got around to blocking this scarf. It was incredibly easy to block - I just wet it and pinned it to my blocking board. A few hours later it was flat and dry. I can't wait for fall to come so I can start wearing it! Here it is, all finished:

The Garden Plot Dress:

I am really proud of how this turned out. I got it all blocked and sewn together in a day. A tip for anyone doing this - block the skirt first, then sew the side seams. The directions say to sew then block but it was so much easier to block it first. Here's a pic of it in the blocking stage:

And here is the finished dress, modeled by the happy recipient:

Yes, those are toys around her ankles. She discovered yesterday that she can slip the soft rings from one of her baby toys on her ankles and has been parading around the house with them on all day. They jingle when she walks. It's a nice accessory for the dress, eh? :)

Here's a few more pics of the dress:

 All in all, this was really easy to do. The lace might seem intimitating to a beginner, but the chart is actually really easy to follow. I only found one mistake in it and I was able to compensate for that. There is probably a correction for it out there, but since I was able to make it work I didn't bother looking for it. The bodice was easy to do - you knit part of it in the round and you do a 3 needle bind off for the shoulders so there are no seams to sew on it. The only seeaming I had to do was the two side seams of the skirt and I was able to do that in a very short time. If you know a little girl who loves dresses, I highly recommend making the dress!



Hello June!

The formerly dreaded beaded scarf is done! I finished it about a week ago but haven't had a chance to block it yet. Hopefully I will get to that tomorrow - finding the space to do it is more of a challenge than finding the time! It looks really nice and has a good weight to it. I probably could have made it longer than I did but I just got tired of stringing the damn beads on the yarn. :) I think it will be best for fall and spring, since the beads will probably end up being a bit cold next to my skin in winter but I'll just have to wait until then to try it out. I already posted one picture of it, pre-blocking. Once it's all nicely blocked I'll get a good picture of it.

Since I finished the scarf I've been focusing entirely on the Garden Plot dress for my daughter. I have one skirt panel done and I've got about 20 rows left on the second panel. I should be able to have this finished in a week or two (in theory). Then we'll see if she actually will wear it. She's gotten picky about her clothes lately, so I never know what she will wear. Hopefully I can get her to wear it once so I can get a picture of her in it.

Once it's finished I will be working on two unfinished pairs of sock and starting on a purple kangaroo.Yes, the daughter has asked for a purple kangaroo. I made a blue one for my son a few years ago that the two of them have been fighting over. Once she has her own kangaroo they can find something new to fight over. Ah, the joys of children!

Picture Day!

I finally got a chance to sit down and upload some pictures of finished objects. Here they are!

Raspberry Nutkin Socks - of course it's now to hot to wear socks, so these will have to wait until fall to be worn.

Angry Birds - Here is one of the pigs I made and one of the cardinals. I actually now have a bluebird made but I haven't taken a picture of it yet.

 

The kids really love the Angry Birds animals!

I've been spending most of my time working on the beaded scarf (formerly dreaded). I'm in the home stretch for it. Once it's done it will need to be blocked. Here's a work in progress picture of it:

I'm actually getting excited about it being finished. Once it's done I will be focusing on the dress for my daughter. I need to finish that before she gets too big to wear it. That's all for now!



Update on WIPs

Finished Projects - pictures soon!
The Nutkin Socks - they turned out slightly loose but I like them. The yarn was a bit rough at first (Fibranatura Yummy in raspberry) but as I worked with it I noticed it softening up some. I think washing them will help soften them up more.

Angry Birds - I've also been doing a bit of crocheting lately. I made not one but two pigs and one cardinal from the Angry Birds collection. I'm not a big fan of crocheting although I will do it when there's not a knit pattern for something I want to make. I probably could have converted the pattern to knitting but I was in a hurry to get the green pigs done for the kids' Easter baskets. They loved that the Easter Bunny brought them 'Happy' and 'Bob', their green pigs. Now I'm working on a second cardinal. I have to make two of everything otherwise my 2 year old and my 6 year old will fight over them and that's never good. :) It will be fun to see what they name their cardinals.

WIPs:
Garden Plot Dress - I've made some progress on the dress for the 2 year old. It's slow going with the bobbins but it's simple enough that I haven't messed the lace up too badly...yet. Lace isn't one of my strong points, so it takes more of my concentration than usual.

The Dreaded Beaded Scarf: - I've also managed to finish 4 full repeats of the beaded scarf I'm working on. The first repeat was tricky but now I've gotten the hang of it and it's not so dreaded anymore. It's one of those 'long term' projects. :)

More Socks! - Since I finished the Nutkins I cast on not one but two pairs of socks. Since I made a single Angee sock (Cookie A) before and liked it so much, I cast on a pair of them using some beautiful yarn that I lost the ball band for. I have no clue what kind of yarn it is but it's knitting up nicely. I've also cast on a pair of Artichoke socks in some cool yarn from Liberty Yarns.

As I listed out all my projects I realize I've been a bit of a short-attention span knitter lately. It's fun but it sure makes it hard to complete anything. I just love using all the pretty yarn I have. :)

Mixed Up Socks

I finished these socks about a week ago. When I originally knit the first sock I loved how it turned out but I had problems with the pattern. I'm thinking that the error was on my part, but I can't be sure. Instead of knitting the second sock with the same pattern, I chose a second pattern from Cookie A's book Sock Innovation. I loved how the second sock turned out and I plan on making a matched pair of socks using that pattern.

Here's are the socks, Wainda on the left and Angee on the right:

I doubt anyone will realize that they are two different patterns unless they are staring at my feet. :)

I'm hard at work on some new projects. I've been busy working on my new Nutkin socks in a cool reddish-purpley color. I've turned the heel on the first sock, so as soon as I finish it I'll get a picture up. I've also been working on the Garden Plot Dress for my little girl. She chose the same colors as in the picture. I've only done a few rows on it so far but it's coming out nicely. I got some nifty bobbins to help me keep all my yarn straight for this one. I'm also working on a beaded scarf. I like how it looks but knitting it is so tedious! It's one of those 'why did I start this project?' projects. It will get done...one day. :)

Staggered Squares Blanket - Done!

I finished the Staggered Squares Blanket last night and I love how it turned out. The yarn is so soft and squishy and the pattern gives it enough texture that little fingers will enjoy touching it. The 16 row pattern was very easy to remember after a few repeats - I got to the point where I didn't have to look at my pattern anymore. It lays flat and has nice straight edges, all without any blocking - my favorite kind of pattern! It will be delivered to the mommy-to-be on Monday. I hope she likes it.

Here are some pictures of the finished blanket:
First, the whole blanket:

 And a close up of the pattern:

Now that the blanket is done I can finish up my mismatched socks tonight. Just have the toe decreases and grafting to do on the second sock. I love finishing up projects because it means I can start new ones. :)

Goodbye, Nutkin Socks...

Alas, I have worn out another pair of handknitted socks. Yes, I do this quite a bit because I wear my socks a lot and seem to be hard on them. This pair was in the Nutkin pattern and was made with Ellen's Half-Pint Farm yarn in Purple Mountain Majesty. Here's what they looked like. I finished them up 2 years ago, so I'm glad they lasted as long as they did. I know next to nothing when it comes to darning, so they will join the other socks I've worn out in the Big Sock Drawer in the Sky. As soon as I finish the baby afghan I'm making (it should be done tonight!) and the other pair of socks I'm making, I'm going to start on a new pair of Nutkins. I already have my yarn picked out - and it's stash yarn. I'm trying to be good and knit from my stash. :)