Oops!

I haven't updated in awhile. My next update is going to be a fairly lengthy one. Lots of crafts to talk about and photos to post. Sometime in the next week, I think.

Aside from the usual craft business, there are a few things I'd like to learn/do before school starts:
- Weave something. However small.
- Learn to spin yarn on a drop spindle.
- Knit (at least) two sweaters, one of which I design myself.

Other things I will be doing: charity knitting, some sewing, putting together family photos and a cookbook. Oh, yes, and solidifying a few ideas for the RRJ.

The end of the squares

The end of April came before I could really crochet as many squares as I had hoped. Ah well. I just didn't have enough time.

The first few squares I did aren't exactly perfect, so, I suppose the group will see whether they're good enough, and if not, I'll just use them to make something else. Photos to come.

I still need to crochet the edge on that blanket, too. Ahem.

Let's not forget how I knit (almost an entire) sock on the way to and from Ottawa, magic loop, to match a sock I knit two years ago. Except it seems as though my gauge has gotten looser. I might need to rip it out. What a waste.

I can't afford Anthropologie

...so, I made a knock-off.

This photo is pre-blocking (meaning: it will hopefully look better after I wash and pin it out). Love this little thing.

What have I been up to?

Not finishing projects, that's what!

Here are some things on the needles/hook:

A blanket I knit in January. I'm only now feeling comfortable enough with crocheting to do the edging. Should be doing that some time this week.


Crocheted squares for the Casting off the Cold square competition.


Yes, I am crocheting! Granny squares...I don't know if I will submit my initial ones because they're a bit wonky. Perhaps a good blocking will sort them out.


A basic garter scarf also for Casting off the Cold. This is for when I'm reading/talking/busy and just want something mindless to work on:


I was working on this Anthropologie knock-off scarf but realized I won't have enough yarn because I finished the first ball of yarn I had. I went to Mary Maxim Thursday failing to remember what I needed yarn for and bought this gray yarn instead. Then I came home and remembered I was going to search for a turquoisey colour to add in. This will be on the needles until I find something appropriate:



In all fairness, I have finished one thing. I wasn't going to knit Toast because they seemed like a waste of time, but I really like mine! They're comfortable, soft and keep me the perfect temperature.

Started: March 29, 2009
Finished: April 1, 2009
Needles: US 7 / 4.5mm
Yarn: Half a skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran Weight (purchased at The Purple Purl)
Pattern: Toast
Mods: CO 34sts on 4.5mm needles but it was too big (didn’t swatch). Switched to 4.0mm needles after a few rows. Then I decreased two stitches on each sleeve about 4-5 rounds in. I did them two at a time to make sure they were the same length and so I had instant satisfaction. I love this magic loop business.

Thoughts: This yarn was AMAZING. The colour is rich, the texture is smooth, the stitch definition is amazing but unfortunately, it's too costly for me to make an entire sweater out of it.)

-----

I'm starting to get tired of looking at that green yarn (thankfully the skein is done) and am getting kind of bored with granny squares in one colour. I went to Mary Maxim the other day hoping to find some yarn for squares but didn't find what I was looking for. Hopefully I'll get some time this week to visit a Wal-mart.

I'm also bored out of my mind doing this garter stitch scarf, but I couldn't really imagine that ragg yarn done with any other pattern--it would be too distracting.

I feel like knitting a sweater of my own design but I'm too busy/tired at the moment to sort that out. I think I'd like to tackle something really complex so I can appreciate basic knitting again. Perhaps fancy socks? Not too sure as yet.. Just want to work on something exciting.

Square Crazy

So Casting off the Cold is having a competition this month to see who can knit the most amount of 6" x 6" blanket squares and who can crochet the most. I figured it would be the perfect time to practice crocheting. In February, Tracy taught me how to crochet but my rectangles kept turning into triangles. I did make a flower but it wasn't that great and took a great deal of concentration and hours before I got to that point. I don't have time right now to ponder flowers so I've begun basic squares.

I crocheted a square completely of single crochet and then did one of half double crochet. Very simple and my squares look like squares! I started doing one of double crochet but a. I ran out of time and b. it's looking very airy. I might rotate between dc and sc.

I'm amazed by how fast the squares went! Two in about an hour and a bit ... and I've only just begun! I'm quite excited by this new skill (that still requires a lot of learning/experimenting). I'm going to try a few more simple squares of things like the popcorn stitch and then try out some granny squares. I'm using a deep green Red Heart yarn. I was searching for Bernat cause it's softer but the Wal-mart didn't have any.

I don't really find the Red Heart that rough, though. My only complaint is that it's really splitty which is not pleasant for the first row.

In any case, I'm basically saying that crocheting is awesome and I'm glad I had someone show me how to do it beforehand because the diagrams make a lot more sense now. Yay!

End of March FOs

Amidst feature articles, essays, and tests, simple knits are heaven. Considering the only time I have to knit is on the train at the moment, I want quick knits, too. Here are some finished knitted objects from March:

1. Denim Storm Hat

This hat was fairly simple but the yarn drove me crazy. My wrist hurt everytime I worked on this because of the lack of elasticity and the constant splitting. I'm glad it's done. Something seemed off about the decreases or maybe it was me, so I  just winged it. 

Started: March 12, 2009

Finished: March 13, 2009

Needles: 6.00mm US 10 -- magic loop

Yarn: 0.5ish skeins of Patons Divine from donation to charity (Denim Storm)

Pattern: Divine Hat by Rilana Riley-Munson. (Currently only available on Ravelry.)

For: Casting off the Cold

2. Denim Storm Scarf

Same comments as before. Does seem like it would be warm to wear and it's long enough to wrap around one's face for cold days. :)

Started: March 13, 2009

Finished: March 28, 2009

Needles: 6.00mm US 10 

Yarn: 1.5ish skeins of Patons Divine from donation to charity (Denim Storm)

Pattern: Just cast on 20sts and knit until the yarn ran out.

For: Casting off the Cold

3. Evangeline Armwarmers

I bought the yarn for this project because I just happened to be near Lettuce Knit. So, funny story. I cast on for these at school when I was tired. I thought I was knitting the Evenstar Gloves. I couldn't wait to subtly show off my Lord of the Rings pride. Later that night when I looked down at what I was knitting, I could not understand how the cables I had would form anything like the Evenstar gloves. I re-read the top of the paper. There in blue ink I had written "EVANGELINE" weeks ago. Oops! I decided to just carry on and knit them out. Two-at-a-time, too! These finished in a week. 

Started: March 21, 2009

Finished: March 29, 2009

Needles: 3.25mm US 3 -- magic loop, two-at-a-time 

Yarn: less than 1 skein of Cascade 220 Heathers, from Lettuce Knit $7 (Light Celery Green 4011, with some leftover!)

Pattern: Evangeline by Michelle Szeghalmi (was originally on Magknits but can now be found on Ravelry)

Mods: Added a thumb gusset by increasing stitches until I had 13sts and put those on a "stitch holder" (read: scrap yarn and an elastic band). Then picked up 4 sts, knit a round, k2tog and knit rest of round, then k2p2, then bo in pattern)

For: Me -- to match my pink spring jacket!

That's it from the past few days! I finally finished a sweater I have been working on for some time now but photos for that will come once I find grosgrain to attach to the button band. I think I will cast on for a pair of Toast next with some squishy yarn I bought at The Purple Purl.

On a side note, school needs to end soon so I can experiment with baking (and working out.) Though I have a lot of ideas for new projects, requiring new yarns, this spring/summer I want to get through most of my yarn stash. This means: socks, a sweater or two and knitting partners for my single mittens and sock.

Why a blog?

As a journalism student who has repeatedly heard that newspapers are dying and online is the way of the future, it seems somewhat senseless not to contribute to the online world. I don't plan on using this blog to give my own opinion on what is going on in the world --though I very well may do so-- but rather to say a thing or two about knitting and other delights. These delights include but are not limited to cooking, crochet, scrapbooking, travels, technology, etc.

I want it to be a personal resource for my trials and errors in the crafting world. (And if it helps you, yay!)

I won't be blogging very often at the moment as I'm busy in school, but there's nothing wrong with slow-blogging, is there?

:)