Off the needles: UILI #2

UILI project #2 is done! I had some Malabrigo sock yarn left over from a shawl I knit for myself and decided to use it to make a mini shawl for my little girl (almost two years old now!). 

I chose the Light and Up by Caroline Wiens for a few reasons. 

(1) The center increases are done with either a M1L or a M1R stitch which means no holes like a YO increase will give you.

  

(2) The YO lace border is pretty but simple enough for a toddler to pull off.

(3) I could easily make a small version of this pattern without having to do lots of calculations.

AJ is pretty pleased with her new "less" (think necklace), and I'm pretty to have my second project done! How are your knitting/ creative resolutions coming along?

Off the needles: UILI #1

Got my first FO in the Use It or Loose It Challenge:

Unfortunately, it doesn't fit me the greatest, but I still have a little prego weight left to loose. One project done, twelve more to go!!

I've got something on the needles!!

It seems like it has been ages since I have had a knitting project. (here is my last project)

The recent project by Purl Soho of the Sweater Shawl (Ravelry link) got me all excited to be knitting again. Unfortunately, I could not get gauge with my Cascade O-Wool. 

Since I really, really want to only knit from stash, I had to find another pattern.

A quick search of my Ravelry fav's brought me to Rosa's Sleeveless Cardi-Jumper pattern.

Super cute, right? It is a simple pattern, can be layered and gives me an excuse to have an Alias marathon on Netflix. What more could a girl ask for!!

I'm not sure if any of you are Stash and Burn fans, but I'm thinking of taking on their Use It or Loose It Challenge (here are the guidlines). I've already starting matching my stash with possible projects on Ravelry and would love to see anyone else's queue as well!!

Update: Finished project here!

Off the needles... legwarmies for AJ

So, I had 24 grams of yarn leftover from this project and wanted to use it up so that it would no longer be a part of my stash.

I was thinking about knitting up a headband for AJ so that she could match her little brother when he wears his hat, but I realized that legwarmers would have a greater chance of actually staying on her.

With such a small amount of yardage (and having to double up the yarn to get gauge), I ended up with ankiewarmies instead of legwarmies. :-)

The color repeats of the yarn were as such that I would end up with one mostly green and one mostly brown warmie (see pic above). Instead, I opted to hold the yarn double in such a way that a variegated look was created. 

I have a 10+ hour (each way) road trip coming up, and I hope to be able to bang out more stash-busting projects. Stay toasty and Nae are looking to be my patters of choice!!

Off the needles and ready to be seamed/blocked!

When I first saw this picture on the purl bee website, I knew that I had to make it. It was the neckline and color of the yarn that did it for me. Had I not just knit a gray sweater for AJ, I would have knit this one up in the same color as the picture below (but in Malabrigo instead of Koigu for budget reasons!). 

I was going to knit this in pink, but my LYS only had one skein in the colorway I wanted so Lilac it was!

With about 3/4 of a skein of this yarn left, I am either going to knit a cowl for my sister in law (who LOVES the color purple) or make leg warmers for AJ. Will let you know what I decide!

Off the needles: sweater for AJ

I finally knit my first sweater for AJ!

I know that a lot of knitters make things for their children from before they are even born, but I just didn't have the heart to knit her something that could only be work for a very short time.

Using some recycled Cascade Eco-Wool and Veera Valimaki's Fisherman's Pullover pattern, I was able to whip this up in less than a week.

The pattern is easy to modify and for this version I choose to shorten the sleeves.

If you are interested in making a similar modification all you have to do is knit one row, knit two rows of a 2x2 rib and then cast of. Easy peasy!

What's on and what's off (the needles)

This poor yarn of mine has now been knit up into three different projects. The one that I'm finally happy with is Wingspan by Maylin Tricoterie. I *LOVE* this pattern!! It was really interesting to knit and would look great in a heavier weight yarn.

Once it is done blocking, I will be delivering it to my dear, patient sister (this was supposed to be a present to her two Christmases ago!). 

Now, for what I'm up to at the moment! This lovely yarn has been sitting in my stash for over a year and a half now just waiting to be made into a baby boy something. I purchased the yarn before I found out the sex of my first baby (a girl), but can now use it to knit for my next baby (a boy). 

(The lighting in my living room makes the eggplant strands look more purple-ish than it really is. )

I think that this super-soft yarn will be make up one comfy hat for little JD. Round Head in a Square Hat by Stefanie Lavan is my pattern of choice and is a really quick knit.  The only issue I've had so far is how to keep all my stitches on those darn DPN's! Enter craft foam sticks.

I cut one of these into eight pieces and stuck one on each end of the needle.  

A solution that is super cheap and will hopefully lead to some other craft opportunities!

Just in time for St. Patrick's day...off the needles

I really love Noro yarn!! The color combinations really brighten up whatever I'm wearing which is especially nice since I have a bad tendency of filling my closet with neutral colors.

And since the Taiyo in my stash just happens to be in the perfect colorway for St. Patrick's Day, I figured that I better knit up something quick!  

This project requires short rows to form its shape and is simple enough to knit while watching Star trek Voyager with you spouse. :-)

Road trip knitting...off the needles

This past weekend, my husband and I took our annual trip to Denver for skiing, brewery tours and fine art gazing. It usually takes us eight or so hours to get there plus many hours of hanging out with our friends so several knitting projects are usually required. :-)

I cast on the Social Climber Cowl by Liza Gustain about halfway along our journey (had problems with my first project which I will write about when I finish that project), and it kept me very happy both on the road and during our vacation.  

If you have never knit lace and are thinking about taking it on then this is the project for you. The pattern makes it easy to "read" your knitting and mistakes are easy to find/correct with this weight of yarn. 

 Since I was often talking while knitting, there were a few instances where I had to drop down several rows to fix an error. Also, I think that it is important to note that I finished weaving in my ends the day after I finished knitting. See! There is hope for me yet!

Off the needles!

So I finally finished Clockwork by Stephen West and am loving it!!

 And by finish, I mean that I got around to sewing in the ends after I completed the knitting two months ago. (If case you haven't been reading my blog for very long, this is completely normal for me.)

Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with my leftover yarn from this project, but I'll leave that to another day. 

For now, I've got my eye on some nice Kureyon that I've had for quite some time now...

... and these Easy Peasy Mitts are looking quite nice. :-)

Off the needles...finally!!

I am now officially done with all of my Christmas knitting!! Yay!

Truth be told, I really didn't do much knitting this year, but I'm excited to have it all finished just the same. 

I originally knit this scarf for myself, but I knew that my all-things-orange obsessed sister would immediately try to steal it from me so I figured that it would just be easier to give it to her.

So here comes confession #2 for this post. I finished knitting this about a year and a half ago but wasn't in the mood to weave in the ends so I just tossed in onto the "gift" shelf in my closet...... and then forgot it was there last year at Christmas time......and then almost forgot about it again this year. Oops!!

{Notice the cat hair that became embedded in the scarf as a result of its long stay in my house? :-)}

So earlier this week, I took a whole ten minutes out of my day to weave in those ends and am now ready to wrap it up. 

Just in case any of you still have presents to wrap, here is this awesome video I found on how to make gift bags using wrapping paper. 

How to Make a Gift Bag From Wrapping Paper -- powered by ehow

And for all the specs on my "Better Late than Never" scarf, head on over to my project page on Ravelry!

On the needles...

So I made a decision concerning which pattern to use for my next dishcloth project.

Is the suspense killing you? :-)

I selected the Chinese Waves pattern by Margaret Radcliffe!!

 I'm loving it so much that I think that I'm going to start tackling this cone-o-yarn. 

Happy knitting to you all!