Come Closer

Let me tell you a little secret about WIP Wednesdays here at Bunnies and Bettas: if you get tired of seeing me post the same old projects every Wednesday, just wait until the first Wednesday of every month. New classes will be posted for the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup the first of the month and I will abandon everything in progress, and cast on a ton of new ones! Yay!

Here's the last time you'll be seeing this until it is finished sometime at a later date. I thought a worsted weight shawl would take no time at all. I was wrong. I am halfway through it and working on it in the lecture I T.A., so it'll get done, just very slowly.

The first is Friday, which means I've finished five or six projects, so the shawl's the only work progressing at the moment, besides the secret one I can't show you for a while. It should be done soon, though. It's really cute! If you are my Facebook friend, shhhh!

The good news is that every month leaves me with weeks of FO Friday posts, so do come back every week for those, of course. ;) Maybe you don't need an excuse for startitis? I don't either, but the HPKCHC is a good scapegoat. Wanna start a ton of projects with me? Eh...?

For more WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis!

I Haz a Sad

A big fat one! :( It's 100% wool. Will some dryer time fix it without felting it? I don't know what the hell I did wrong!

Fortunately, I also haz a happy. My other bulky hat came out perfectly and I want to write a pattern for it. I'm going to try it in another yarn and try to get it out before the end of March. I've never written a pattern before, so that may not be realistic, but I'll try!

EDIT: I may have been prematurely sad. I tried it on while still damp. It has since dried fully and fits much better, but not perfectly. Dare I try a few minutes in the dryer?

Let it Snow

I've been draggin' my feet all day (and not only because of my 10 lb snow boots!), so a blog post should be no exception, right? :)

Racing Stripes

Pattern: Leg Warmers by Jane Richmond
Yarn: Cascade Alpaca Lana d'Oro in Hare and Navy
Needles: US 8
Project Page

We got some snow last night. I was braced for some serious blizzard action, but it was actually really pretty, big flakes with almost no wind at all. I think we got five inches in all and, as usual, no one in our neighborhood was plowed out until 2 or 3 pm, long after we all needed to be somewhere that the rest of town could get to easily by 8 am. :P

In any case, these legwarmers are timely. They would have been more timely if I had woven the ends in when I finished them earlier this week (though that didn't stop me from wearing them on Monday or Tuesday when it was a bitter -19 degrees out), but I got all that out of the way on the bus-ride home so I could wear them this evening and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and....They are incredibly warm! I'm nuts about them! Best stash-busting project ever!

I have thick calves for someone my size, so I had the inclination when I began to cast on an extra 4 stitches. I didn't. I'm a little bit sorry that I didn't, but I keep wondering how well they would stay up if I had. As they are now, they don't budge, but they look tight, and I'm not sure I like that. When I switched colors, I knit one row around, which resulted in the very clean line. I thought I would notice the knit row, but it's not obvious even if I look for it.

All in all, an awesome project. Probably my favorite practical knit!

For more FO Friday posts, go to Tami's Amis! I have to go fight with a hat before bed, so goodnight! I hope you all have an amazing weekend. I'll post Monday, promise. :)

P.S. These are not my 10 lb snow boots and both legwarmers have a blue end, I just wore them in different directions for demonstrative purposes. ;)

It's All Downhill from Here!

I've got a few things in the works. Nothing new, nothing terribly complicated. Nothing terribly close to being finished, either. I'm too lazy to link to anything today, but you can find the Ravelry pages to the right with all the info you could want and more!

Levenwick (Egg Shell)

Textured Shawl Recipe (Nebulous Shawl)

John's Less Fun Socks

If I don't get snowed in this weekend, I'll get a chance to line Scalloped Armor! I'm really excited about that. I feel like I understand sewing and garment construction pretty well, I just need more practice with a machine. It will be amazing when it is done!

Well, I'm on the cusp of being completely on top of school, which has never happened...ever, so I better get back to it! What are you up to this weekend? Are you expecting this giant snow storm too? The Weather Channel has named it Q. Couldn't they come up with a better Q name? What about Quincy or Quintus or Queequeg or...?

Downton Cowl

Daisy at Downton

Pattern: Downton Cowl by Shannon Cook
Yarn: Shibui Knits Merino Kid (discontinued) in Peacock
Needles: US 8
Project Page

In the interest of finishing something for a luvinthemommyhood KAL for the first time since last summer, I abandoned ship on my Sybil sweater (temporarily) and cast on a Downton Cowl! I'm glad I did! I love it! I was able to de-stash a bit of yarn from a sweater I knit a couple years ago that I've been a little stumped about, so that was an added bonus.

I named it for Daisy because I'm rather amused at her envy for Ivy, and my yarn was green, so the pun was too tempting. ;) The pattern is easy to remember and doesn't require too much concentration, so it was perfect for a Sunday night knit. Take note that the odd rows aren't charted, though. If you are like me and can't read patterns anymore (I don't know what's wrong with lately!), your cowl will look funny without those knit rows! All rows are written, though, if that is more your flavor. It's a great pattern! I recommended it to a friend before knitting it myself and she loved it. Her cowl came out lovely too. She knit it in alpaca that was super buttery soft! Mine's a little rough, but not so much that I can't wear it next to the skin.

I added two chart repeats for a deeper cowl. I'm glad I did. It stands a little taller for more neck protection in the wind. I still have a bit of the yarn left. I think I'll chuck it in my "all used up" bag so I don't have to agonize over it anymore, but it will still be handy if something does come along. The rich color bleeds like crazy. I glad I knew from the sweater so I was sure to rinse it completely. No green on my light grey coat! Win!

For more FO Friday posts, go to Tami's Amis!

The End of 2012

I think this is my last 2012 project.

PMG Socks

Pattern: Pointelle by Cookie A. from Knit. Sock. Love.
Yarn: Cascade Heritage
Needles: US 1
Project Page

I started these in June. Socks don't usually take me six months. I was probably distracted by any number of other knitting projects. :) For the record, I don't recommend you put down Cookie A. socks for any extended length of time. I had a hell of a time trying to figure out which row I was on in the lace charts when I got back to it!

Aside from the fact that I was knitting charted lace socks in black yarn, I mostly liked knitting this pattern. I'm learning that I'm just not a complicated sock kind of person. They are incredibly interesting, beautiful, and  just plain genius, but if I can't haul it around in my purse and knit it for five minutes on the bus without dragging a book and a cone of silence along with me, I don't really see the point. John's really the only person who sees my socks and he's only so appreciative. :)

All told, they were pretty fun to knit. I made a pretty major mistake in the second sock by putting the heel on the front of the sock. I didn't realize it until I was at the toe. John said it looked fine, but I knew it would forever haunt me, so I ripped back to the heel, discovered I don't read so good, and fixed my stupid mistake, haha. I wear them a lot! I might not always wear them on the right feet (another peeve I have about fancy socks), but I do wear them a lot. The Heritage is totally awesome, too. I haven't yet met a Cascade yarn I don't like.

Here, I'll sneak in my last January knit as well! It's just another pair of 70 Yard Mitts in Vintage. Not much to tell that I haven't already. They haven't turned a fuzzy mess yet, though!

I sound so snarky today! I guess I better go knit! :) I'll have a fresh new project for you tomorrow!

Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day from Ness, John, Spike, and Sweetpea!

Bunny hearts for everyone!

Newbies

I'm pretty sure everything I showed you two weeks ago is still on the needles (except Scaled Armor, which needs its loads of finishing work), but do you think that has stopped me? HA! The Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup is a fun but scary beast. I must always start and finish new projects every month to get points for Slytherin! Slytherin will be getting very many points from me this term. :D

These are all projects I've started in the last week or so. I have gotten surprisingly far on them in very little time while still keeping up with school. It helps that I can knit through the lecture I TA for, I suppose. :) Or that I can read and knit mindlessly on a few of them. This one isn't really a mindless one. It's perfect for procrastination. It's the Textured Shawl Recipe in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Worsted. I am nuts about this color (Nebula)! I want to live in it!

These are the beginning of some stash-busting legwarmers from a Jane Richmond pattern. They have been knit almost entirely in the lecture I mentioned. I started them yesterday.

And these I started two weeks ago, so they are the eldest of these projects. Socks for John. I improvised a pattern using a toe-up heel flap. I'm finishing gusset decreases and the heel seems to have worked. I did the short-rows of the heel-turn backwards, though. Live and learn! In any case, they fit.

Have you ever knit elastic into the cuff of a sock before? John requested it in these and all future socks. I think I know what to do (just hold the elastic with the yarn for the last few rows and bind-off), but I'd love any advice you can give me!

For more WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis! Oh, and the Downton KAL wraps up today with a post over at luvinthemommyhood if you want to see all the gorgeous knits from it. You can see a sneak-peek of my Downton Cowl. :)

2012 Lingers

I think I only have two lingering December FOs to share, so here is the first and the second will come Thursday, if I can get a good photo by then. It's black, so we'll see. :S

Quite Bespeckled

Pattern: Based on A Most Bespeckled Hat by Alexandra Tinsley
Yarn: Berroco Vintage in Lilacs and Mushroom
Needles: US 7
Project Page

I've been on a stash-busting binge since about November. This is the product of said binge (which is still rather active!). I have two skeins of the purple Vintage for no real reason, so I used one to make a hat with some leftover cream I've had for ages (knit, frogged, reknit, and frogged...hence the curly pompom). I think I might have enough of the cream to knit a hat with different speckles. I don't know what I'll do with the other purple skein....

This was my first real foray into reverse-engineering a pattern from a photo. Lots of counting and mathing, which somehow ended up just right for my big head. I think my stranded knitting skills are regressing a little, though. My specks are not very well tensioned at all. I never got around to blocking the hat, though, so maybe that would fix everything.

I wear this thing all the time and have plans for at least one other, as I said. I wouldn't mind it a touch slouchier, so I'll work on that in the next one. I also think I need greater contrast between the two colors. I had a hard time knitting it when it started to get dark because I couldn't tell the difference between the colors very easily. Maybe I'll play with a different stranded design than the speckles next time and venture into the land of design. :)

Hmm...

I've been trying to think of a blog post all day today to no avail. I've been busy trying to keep up with school and knitting, so nothing worth sharing has really happened (not until WIP Wednesday, anyway :]). I think I should pile on all my December FOs this week, though. They've gotten a little backlogged and superseded by my January FOs. I'll try to persuade John to help me photograph them tomorrow so I can share them throughout the week.

I missed my own blogiversary last Thursday! I'll think of something to do to celebrate. Or not....There's just not enough time in the week!

To make up for a meaningless post: Sweetpea. :)

Not Top-Secret Anymore

Last June, I had the pleasure of knitting my first sample knit for The Fibre Company. I can't even tell you how shocked I was to get an email from Courtney Kelley herself! She told me she needed a new sample because they were re-vamping some popular patterns, so I had to do some pattern checking along the way, too.

She let me choose what I might like to knit and I chose Hawthorn in Road to China Light. I can't even begin to tell you how delicious this yarn is! It's like knitting with cuddly bunnies! Baby alpaca, silk, cashmere, camel. 'Nough said. The way it is dyed makes the color incredibly dynamic, though it isn't really variegated. For as much stockinette as there is in this sweater at such a fine gauge, I loved every second of it!

copyright Kelbourne Woolens

Two weeks ago, I learned via their blog that Courtney and Kate Gagnon Osborn (they are The Fibre Company) are releasing a book of these tuned-up patterns. I flipped through the look-book and...there it was! I knit that sweater! How cool is that? I am just as excited for them as I am to see something I made with my own hands in a book. The Fibre Company is really an amazing company because of these ladies. Their yarn is to-die-for. I'm planning a striped spring cardi in Acadia and want to buy every color of Terra whenever I walk buy it. Their patterns are really carefully and clearly written and incredibly functional and classic in design. I can't wait to finally knit a Selbu Modern!

I have a hunch that Volume 2 is on its way soon, also, and not only because this one is called Volume 1. :)

P.S. Just so you know, The Fibre Company has only ever paid me for my knitting services, not for endorsements. Everything I write here, I write because I mean it.

Belated FO Friday

Navy is Sexy

Pattern: Red is Best by Jane Richmond
Yarn: Cascade Alpaca Lana d'Oro in Navy
Needles: US 6
Project Page

John has been wearing the scarf I knit him a year ago and he seems to like it a lot. He requested some nice, thick mittens to wear. We settled on these convertible mitts. He didn't like that these are "girl" gloves, but, c'mon. Do they look like a girly glove? Didn't think so. :)

The large size fit him perfectly without any mods. I guess I did shorten the thumbs by one row, but that's because I'm really paranoid about baggy thumbs. Nothing worse than a pair of gloves or mittens with baggy thumbs, right?

In any case, he hasn't worn them yet, though they've been done for probably a week...the coldest week in two years...but I don't think it will take a year to get him to put them on. :) Do people wear what you knit for them?

For on-time FO Friday posts, go to Tami's blog.

Fourteen and Fifteen

There are not enough hours between Thursday and Friday to do anything I want to do, but I did finish up my 15 for 15!

Blowfish: boots; Target: tights; Athleta: dress; Banana Republic: shirt; Forever 21: necklace; handmade!: legwarmers

Thursday's outfit was a minor stroke of genius. If only it hadn't been so cold! After I took this photo, I went upstairs and put leggings on over my tights. They warmed me up quite a bit. The braid was actually only one of many hair-does. It didn't know what to do and neither did I.

Gap: top, cardi, cords; Blowfish: boots; handmade!: shawl

Friday was supposed to be all about staying warm. I could have done better, but I didn't freeze to death, so that's a small win. I'm actually not sure I had't worn this outfit or something very similar to it already, but I was too lazy to look.

So there it is! I feel like this remix was much more successful than others, though the middle was a bit rough. I'm really glad I experimented with a dress and a skirt so that now I feel a bit more compelled to wear them. My heels were pretty much the only thing I didn't wear. I can't wait to do it all again! Well, I can because I miss my other clothes, but next time will be great. :) Thanks for all the encouraging comments and just for reading!