One Down, Many More to Go

I told you last week that this was an easy finish. How long do you think it took me to get around to it between last week and today? Again, too long.

Scaled Armor

Pattern: Scallop of the Sea by Katie Canavan of Holla Knits
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Woodland in Fern and Prussian Blue
Needles: US 6
Project Page

I would venture to say that most patterns I'm drawn to on Ravelry are because of the photo on the pattern page. If I'm on the fence about it, I'll look at photos of the finished objects for a couple fabulous pics to sway me. Sometimes, I see one amazing finished object and trace it back to a pattern I would have otherwise overlooked or dismissed. This is a case of the latter. Let me tell you, before I properly got to know her (as much as that is possible in Ravelry groups and through blog posts), Michelle (of  My So-Called Handmade Life, and mamatronic on Ravelry) and her stunning photos of her perfect finished objects inspired me to pursue projects that I was hemming and hah-ing about. This is probably the only one I've finished, but that has nothing to do with her leading me astray. I'm just easily distracted. :)

I spotted her photos in my Ravelry friends page and found a link to her blog post about this great clutch. It's just so functional and finished! I think I was really drawn to the challenge of lining it.I found the perfect fabric at the yarn store I mentioned last week and took it to my grandma's. She helped me decipher the instructions and sew it up. I think it turned out damn-near perfect (for my rather poor handmade standards, that is ;]).

Mine is a cover for my Surface tablet. I needed it a year ago. Well...here it is at last. :) The big pocket is a bit of a hindrance for tablet insertion. I have a bit of fabric left over, so I might put a flap on it. the interfacing I chose is also a bit heavier than I needed, but it should help protect the tablet, I suppose.

The yarn is surprisingly great. It has nettles in it, so I thought it might be rough on the hands. It wasn't. Ginny's Cardigan calls for this same yarn and I'm considering getting enough to make it. I don't know that it's wearably soft, but it's not bad. It blocks beautifully and has a lovely sheen. I picked it because the colors were great, but also because I knew I needed a hard-wearing fabric for the use I expect this thing to get. The nettles are just the fiber.

It's been too long for me to give any knitting notes. Hopefully I have some on the project page if you need any. :) Now, onto the next Michelle-inspired, too-old, so-close-to-finished project: my Corona Camisole (it only needs straps :P).

For more FO Friday posts, visit Tami's Amis!

Back to the WIPs

I really need to get rid of these suckers. Here's an easy one. It's been entirely knit for nearly a year now and the only thing left to do is hand sew the zipper in. Sewing scares me. I have always had a bit of an irrational fear of the sewing machine, but used to sew things by hand often when I was little. I hand-sewed a Pound Puppy from a kit. That thing was adorable! My mom was an excellent sewer and my grandma wishes I'd pick it up. She thinks my knitting skills would translate very easily to sewing skills. She actually helped me with this project, but I'll tell you more about that in the FO post. ;)

Last year, for my birthday, I treated myself to a sewing class at one of my local yarn shops (that also happens to be a sewing/quilting shop). I made a cowl and it wasn't that scary after all. just fiddly. And very, very precise. At least knitting allows for a bit of fudging. For the rest of the year, I eyed a class to make a dress, but wasn't sure if I might be jumping too far ahead of myself going from a super simple scarf to a dress. I have to keep reminding myself that sewing isn't knitting. I can't as easily undo my mistakes on a sewing project as in a knitting project.

This year (again for my birthday, though I bought it a month early), I treated myself to the pattern and fabric for the dress I'd been eyeing all year. The owner of the shop (who taught me to make the cowl) told me I could do it and said she'd be happy to help me through any rough spots. So I'm going to do it! I don't have a sewing machine and haven't decided if I should camp out at the shop in front of a rented one, wait until I'm back at my grandma's, or call up one of my local sewing friends for a social afternoon, but I'm going to make this dress and I'm going to wear the crap out of it.

My step-mom told me she plans to bring me my mother's sewing machine this summer if they drive out here. I don't know if I can wait that long to make the dress, but the idea of owning a sewing machine to make other things with is really exciting. We don't have room for the sewing machine...but that's another matter altogether. :)

Do you have any non-yarny hobbies? Which do you find more difficult? For you sewers, do you have books or online resources to recommend to me about fabric properties, different stitches and their uses, threads, etc.? I'm seriously a total n00b.

I hope you have a lovely weekend! I'll see you next week!

2nd Annual WIP Demolition

About this time last year I got a bug in my bonnet about finishing my very many unfinished objects. I've got the same bug this year, so I will once again be demolishing that pile one project at a time!

I've decided to work on at least a project a week until I've finished a few. I have about ten. I'm hoping only working on it for a week will keep me from getting bored or going mad. I obviously put most of these down because I don't like to work on them for very long. :P

This week's lucky winner is my year-old Double Leaf Saroyan. It was a knit-along last fall and I'm not sure I even made it halfway through the scarf before the KAL was over. Now it gets it's big return. I doubt I'll finish it this week, but I should hit the 3/4 mark. I don't know why it's such slow going.

Actually, I have to finish some baby things for a shower this weekend, so the Saroyan won't be the only project getting attention this week, but it will get the most. A few buttons here and there and that will be one well-dressed baby!

Are you casting on lots of things or do you have an itch to finish everything hogging up your needles, too? If you would like to demolish the WIP pile with me, we can make it a party! Work on one WIP a week until that pile is small enough that you aren't crazy anymore. It's that simple. :) Then, we can parade our accomplishments proudly instead of shoving them in a dark corner.

I Totally Started This Post Yesterday

And then my cousin came to town a little early, so I hopped up and went downtown. :)

I don't have any progress on anything to show you today, so I thought I'd tell you my grand plan for the rest of August: FINISH. ALL. THE. THINGS.

I have racked up a ton of WIPs in recent months, mostly due to my HPKCHC knitting eyes being bigger than my little hands are fast (I'm Slytherin, after all). The clutter of it all is driving John nuts and it's beginning to drive me nuts too, but mostly only because I haven't finished a damn thing in quite some time. It's uncharacteristic and I don't like it.

Now, I've got a full and luscious stash just waiting to be knit up. At least half of it has a pattern just dying to come to fruition, but I won't cast on anything until the WIPs are done. Well...except one Ravellenic project, but it's for the good of Bunny Slaves everywhere.

I actually only have 9, which is about where I left the list last December. If I can knock it down to 6-7, I'll be super happy. Looking at the list...I think I can actually get it down to 2. That would be kind of awesome!

In other news, Eliza is doing another 30 for 30 starting Monday and I told her I'd join in! The last time I did it, I was trying to figure out how to dress up a bit and what to buy to revamp the 'drobe. Now that I've got the new style and digs, I'm going to have to figure out how much of my old stuff is still viable. This weekend I'm going to clean out my closet and take a trip to Goodwill, I think. Then, I'll have fresh eyes for my picks and the start on Monday. The good news for you is that we have a new camera and John's pretty great at using it, so my photos should be oodles better. You should join us!

For some working WIPs and real Summer Sweater KAL posts, go here and here respectively.

Demolition Wrap Up

I believe I have completed Work-in-Progress Demolition Week with marked success! I finished three of the five projects I laid out last weekend, a fourth will go down easily (probably not too long after I post this), and the fifth I didn't think I'd get done until this following week anyway. Yay! Now I have to focus on my school work and not start any other knitting to distract me. :S

Anhinga

Pattern: Anhinga by Norah Gaughan
Yarn: Berroco Comfort
Needles: US 8
Project Page

This pattern is pretty great. My own finished project, not so much (nor is the picture...sorry about that!). Nylon doesn't drape. Period. I may attempt it again some day with more suitable yarn, but right now I'd rather not think about it for at least two years. Blocking it helped a little, but I think I'm going to have to kill the yarn* to get something resembling what I initially planned. That might not work either, though. The project was a full-blown saga. If you have days to read my Ravelry notes, have at it. :) But it's finally done! I can't complain about that!

Peabody

Pattern: Peabody by Leila Raabe (for BrooklynTweed)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in Mallard (2448)
Needles: US 6 & 7
Project Page

Now this sweater is a real winner! The color is smashing, the lace is gorgeous, and the fit looks pretty good. I made this for my aunt because she wanted a pullover sweater. I'll probably wash it once more before I give it to her because when I washed and blocked the body, there was a lot of excess dye. And the lace panels in the sleeves need to be flattened out. I really think she'll look great in this sweater! I hope to get a picture of her in it during the holidays.

I had initially planned to make it a v-neck, but I made it too deep and it didn't look quite right. I think a shallow v-neck would look pretty cute. On the model, the crew neck looks too high. I had 12 sts more in the collar than called for, so mine might be a little deeper. I hope. I kind of want one of my own, but I have soooo many other projects I want to make first! You guys will have to help me pick one or two. :)

I'll finish up Rocky Coast tonight, but I can't show it to you until after Christmas. Hopefully I'll have Willoughby for you Friday. I'll be lost in grading and paper-writing for the remainder of the week, so don't be surprised if I don't post on Wednesday. In the meantime, I hope your holiday knitting is going well! I can't wait to see all of your projects too!

*You can "kill" acrylic or other synthetic yarns, making them limp and soft, by steaming them. You just have to be careful not to melt them.

I Thought Today was Thursday

Oh no! It's already Friday! Where did this week go?! That's okay, though. I'm ready for Friday. As of this moment, I have completely finished two of the five projects I set out to complete this week. Rocky Coast will be done tonight, Peabody will most likely be done tomorrow, and Willoughby (as I suspected) might have to wait until next week. I will do a Work-in-Progress Demolition Week wrap-up post on Sunday with all the goodies.

Anhinga is in the washing machine right now, as it needs a really good block (and maybe a good yarn-killing if the block isn't enough), so its FO post may have to wait until tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime:

Christmas Stocking

Pattern: Drifting Snowflake Stocking by Marinda Lariz
Yarn: Dalegarn Heilo
Needles: US 7
Project Page


This project is a commissioned project for a regular client. I knit a baby bunting and baby hat for her last year and now the baby needs a Christmas stocking. She was not too worried about the pattern as long as it was 18" and skinny. We both thought this one was cute. She picked the colors in Dalegarn Heilo (none of us at the shop know how to pronounce this. Do you?). I've never worked with it before. I rather like it! It knits up really unevenly, but blocks like a dream.

I didn't mind the pattern too much, but if you ever use it, be aware that the cuff directions make absolutely no sense at all. I tried to follow them and ended up with a weird mess. From the pattern pictures, it seems you are supposed to start knitting the CC in reverse stockinette, which might help the loop directions make sense, but it never says to do so. In fact, it says to switch to CC and knit 8 rows, or something similar. When I ripped back and tried again, I realized I would have to modify the cuff to get the name on there anyway, so I sort of made up my own cuff as I went. It works for me.

Overall, it's pretty cute. I hate intarsia, so will avoid it (and probably stockings in general) in the future, but the finished project looks pretty cute in spite of the unpleasant technique. :)

Head over to Tami's blog for more FOs! Come back here tomorrow and/or Sunday to see more of them here too! :)

Chuggin' Along

Over the weekend, I declared this week Work-in-Progress Demolition Week. If you noted my works-in-progress progress bars to the right over there, you may notice that one's gone. I was really hoping I'd have two or three done by today, but I had some paper trouble. :( Now the paper's going much, much better, but the knitting is on hiatus. I still think I can get four or five things done by this weekend, though, so come back Friday to check it out.

I only took pictures of my aunt's Peabody, which could have been done today with a bit more attention. I have to turn it in for partial points at the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup. There's no chance I'll get a sleeve and all the finishing done tonight. If only I had started it a tad sooner....This time in the semester is just ridiculously busy. Everyone wants something all at the very same time. I always make it through, though. Next week should be nice and relaxing. :)

I hope it is for you too! Head over to Tami's blog for more WIP Wednesday posts!

Time to Check the List

I hope everyone had a great holiday this week (if you had a holiday this week)! I had every intention of posting a Work-in-Progress Wednesday post before we left town Wednesday, but we had an unexpected accident that required attention that morning instead. Long story short, turns out tetanus shots can ache much longer than whatever you needed it for. :) We had a good Thanksgiving regardless. John got a glimpse of just how large my family really is, but he had fun, I think.

In any case, I'm supposed to do a style post today (even though I've slacked off the last two months :P), but with a paper draft due Tuesday that needs lots of work, I figured I'd make up for my lack of posts this week and substitute that one with a declaration: I declare the next week (maybe the next two) Work-in-Progress Demolition Week! If all goes as planned, you will see the list of projects at right diminish by about half. I really should hibernate some of those projects, but I keep thinking that if I see them here, I'll be more inclined to finish them. That might be true this week....Maybe.

Right now I am aiming to finish five of those projects. Here they are in progress:

Anhinga: just needs to be seamed and washed (or washed and seamed maybe).

Old photo from two years ago b/c I'm lazy.

Christmas Stocking: will probably be finished today. Intarsia eats my soul a little, but I only have a few more rows left. Then it needs to be steam blocked, seamed, and personalized.

Peabody: has to be done by Wednesday or I fail my first Harry Potter House Cup class! D: All it needs is sleeves, a wash and block, and finishing. Yep. Only. It'll get done, though. No worries.

Rocky Coast Cardigan: just needs to be washed, blocked, and finished with a button band.

Still kind of secret.

Willoughby: I probably won't be done with it by the end of the week (especially with all the above plus teaching and learning to do), but I only have 18 repeats left to do and they don't take that long.

I don't think I'll have the time or inclination to post more than the usual Wednesday and Friday this week, so keep an eye on the list and come back next Friday, when I hope to sprinkle finished objects galore upon you! Then, the following week I will probably start just as many. I have to knit a hat for my grandpa, mittens for John, and one other mitten (Love Bytes, Robots Rule) for me before the cold sets in for reals. My Office is a Fridge and Baobab may join that list too. And a pair of fingerless mitts. And two Elijahs....I have a lot of knitting to do.

I can't wait to get back to being a selfish knitter. It's much less stressful. :) Fewer deadlines, too!

If the paper goes well, I may post a style post later today or tomorrow. It will be better than the first one, but don't hold your breath, haha. Have a great weekend!