2009: A look back

I guess since we're moving to a new DECADE I could be doing a look back on the decade, but considering I only started knitting about 4 years ago, I better just stick with this last year.

Overall I am pretty happy with my knitting progress this year! I made several things that were in a new category for me, such as an adult size vest (2 of them!), I made some really fun projects, and also in general got a good volume of knitting done for people!

The year started out with some baby knitting, as 2009 brought lots of wee ones to my friends and family members:



I made a cute keyhole scarf for my mom, and then I tackled my first big project and also a commissioned project (for megan), the turtleneck shrug from Scarf Style:


It turned out pretty cute, and megan says it has been keeping her warm this year! :-)

I made one of my favorite baby sets for a gift for my coworker's soon to arrive baby girl:

Totally "punk" baby, eh??? :-)

I made several baby and adult hats in general, and I did a cute owly vest for Holden for his first bday! One new technique I mastered this year was felting... my first and second projects were cute felted bowls like this:


I made some baby legwarmers, and this sweater is probably my fav baby girl sweater:


One of the funniest things I've ever knit was this finger mustache thing... LOL....


I knit a shrug for one of my friends in less than 2 weeks, that was crazy, but I got a delicious cake in exchange :)


And of course, I made a cardigan for my mom's birthday!!!! I am so glad she likes it :-)


Other new things... I knit a dog sweater, little bunnies, dishcloths, dishtowel, scarf, baby vest, baby mittens, lots more hats, its been fun!



I will post about my christmas knitting next, but for now, here's to another adventurous and fun year of knitting in 2010!!!!! Knit on!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all have a lovely holiday season, whatever you celebrate!

What????

Wait a second, we still have 4 days till christmas and I am all done with the Christmas knitting this year??? Wow.

Next year is probably going to come back and hit me hard for this one!!!! :-) Today I found ribbon for some lace-up fingerless gloves I made for my friend, and I cast off the last armhole ribbing on the vest for my dad! YEAH! Now I am going to block it and it will be DONE!!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad I decided to go ahead and knit it even though at the time I never thought I would make it :-).

Oh, and I whipped out a super fast bulky 1x1 ribbed beanie for my brother, that only took 2 days! Love those projects.

Anyway, I feel like I should offer my free hands up to anyone else who is pushing deadlines. I would offer Cynthia my services, but it looks like all she has to do is seam up her mom's sweater! Talk about fast knitting. Congrats on your hard work girl!!!!!

Pics coming soon, I promise!

Sometimes the simple things....

... are the best! I whipped up a simple ribbed hat on large needles (holding some Patons yarn double) for my coworker Joe. I gave it to him the other day and he went NUTS over it! Wore it around the office the whole day, and he said he's been telling everyone about it! Its funny that it was such a quick and easy project! It's always awesome when someone loves something you've knit!!!!

Number 4

Happy 4TH Blogiversary to me!!!! WOW! Have I been really dragging this thing on for 4 YEARS? I guess so! Thanks to anyone who has ever read a sentence here... or left a comment - It's nice to hear from you all!

Hope everyone is getting ready for Christmas.... it is getting CLOSE. I got to the point where I divided for the sleeves on my dad's vest, and I still need to buy something for my secret project... and then maybe squeak in a hat for my bro! Good luck to everyone else with your Christmas knitting (especially you, cynthia!!!)

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am so thankful to be healthy, have people that love me, and have money to buy yarn with :-) Hope you all find something to be thankful about too!!!!


(a family tradition, to serve your cranberry sauce in the shape of the can - hee hee!)

Official Christmas Knitting List

OK folks, its almost Thanksgiving, so you know what that means..... its time for the 2009 Christmas Knitting List!!!!!!!!!!!! Time for me to list everything I am imagining I will finish in time to give as a Christmas present to some lucky recipient! Am I finally reasonable this year? Have I gone off the deep end with entrelac duvet covers? Let's find out!

1. Secret project - This is about 95% done and will definitely be ready on time! Probably because I started it back in JUNE. Apparently I knew it would take me awhile!

2. Vest for my dad - This one I have been trying to be good about working on, since its not even up to the armpits yet. Luckily its a VEST, so no sleeves. I am knitting it in the round also (original pattern is here: Peter Easy Vest) so I hope the rest will go quickly! Also... I hope my dad doesn't read this blog... hmm I should ask him sometime.



3. Gloves for mom - Done! As you saw in my last post, these are ready to go! Woot!

4. Kitchen towel - This is about 1/3 the way done, but I am not sure who I want to give it to yet.... so we will see about this project... hmmmmm

5. Hat for my brother maybe???? - still need to find a good pattern, something very plain and manly :-)

7. Another secret project that is not even close to done, and I probably am not going to even try.... buuuuut we will see. ;-)

Well thats not too bad. Hopefully dad's vest will go smoothly. I am also still working on some preemie hats for charity. I want to have at least 10 of them before I mail the package! They go so fast though!!!!

Hope everyone else's christmas knitting is going well! I am pretty good at helping other people (ahem, cynthia) at paring down their outrageous lists, so if you need any help, let me know ;-)

Glovies!

These have been done for a few weeks, but cross one xmas gift off my list: Gloves for my mom!


It started when my mom took me shopping for my birthday in October. While perusing the hat/glove/scarf section at a store, she saw some cute (abet fingerless) gloves that had a little strap across the wrist fastened with a button. I immediately took a mental note that I could make something like that for xmas!


When searching Rav, I wasn't finding anything that I really wanted, so I used a plain glove pattern and added my own strap! How did it turn out??? Well thanks to the PERFECT buttons I found at a fabric store in Indy...


They are perfect! Hope mom likes them!


(like the camera strap in that pic? oops! hehe)

Cable Needle?

Last year for Christmas I received the Yarn Harlot’s Page-A-Day calendar. I’ve been enjoying it all year so far! Yesterday’s page was about cable needles. She talked about how “losable” they are since they are so small, and also listed a few household items that could be used in a pinch if you don’t have a cable needle on you. Some of those things listed were: “dpns, toothpicks, hat pins, Q-tips, crochet hooks, pencils…” Hah! I would have never thought of Q-tips. Basically what you need is a thin enough rod that your stitches can slip onto it, and also the stitches must be able to slip off both ends of your object.

A few weeks ago I was working on a cabled project. I had brought it to work per usual to knit during my lunch hour (the best way to spend your lunch hour if you ask me!). When pulling out my project, I realized I had left my knitting kit at home (my bag containing scissors, tape measures, stitch markers, etc)! What would I do? Of course there is a method to cabling without a cable needle, but I’ve always been too lazy to learn (ironic because it would probably be easier). So there I am at my desk, pondering my situation. I begin to search around for a suitable cable needle replacement. Pens? Highlighters? The caps would get in the way. Pencil? Unfortunately I only have mechanical pencils, so they have a “clip” on them, which would snag the yarn. Paper clip? Kind of small and flimsy…. Wait! I got it…. Rummaging through my drawer I pulled out a large colorful drinking straw. I realized the dull ends of the straw would be hard to get in the stitches…. So a few snips of the scissors later I had this:


Hey – it worked! I made sure the next day to remember my knitting kit! :-)

What unusual things have YOU used for a cable needle in a pinch????

Mad Hatter

There seem to be lots of random knitted hats scattered around my house these days! Let's see what we have....

Just finished this simple brown beanie (kind of a small adult size or child) to donate along with an unused scarf I knitted awhile ago to my friend's church. They will hopefully be given to someone who needs them!


This is a warm wool kiddo hat, might be going to a lucky nephew of mine! I am pretty happy with how it came out, I was just making it up as I went along. I knew I wanted a warm thick brim though! (and stripes of course)


Preemie hats! Besides the original blue one I knitted while creating my cabled preemie hat pattern (link), I knitted an additional one in pink, and then 2 more hats using a different pattern, then a light blue hat using my own random pattern. Add those to the cute white preemie hat that Cynthia donated, I have 6 hats so far to give to charity!!!! I hope to have at least 10 before I mail them to the lady in Indy, and I think Jess is knitting me one, so doing pretty good! The more the merrier really.

November????

Wait, its November??? Where did the year go! Wow!!!

Well my Baby Cables Preemie hat (my first official written pattern) is up on Ravelry (linked here) and is in 5 people's (strangers!) queues so far!!!! Jessica has it cast on in her projects (thanks Jess!) too. A good start for me! Anyone reading this, feel free to knit one up and mail it to me (leave a comment with your email and I'll email you my snail mail address). Why do I want preemie hats? Charity! I am collecting them for a person in Indianapolis who puts together kits for families who have premature babies in the NICU. Isn't that awesome? So please feel free to use my pattern or any other preemie hat pattern (head sizes for preemies are like 12-14 inches I think!). It's for a good cause, uses up tiny balls of yarn you have lying around, and knits up super fast! I love instant gratification!

Places I've Been

visited 12 states (24%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Thought that was cool! I'm not counting texas because I've never left an airport when I've been there, and not counting georgia or pennsylvania/new york/west virginia/virginia because I've only driven through them and not stopped there!


visited 5 states (2.22%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Not too shabby. I think I have North America well covered! ;-) I'd love to go back to Europe someday...

Baby Cables Preemie Hat

This pattern is a tiny cabled preemie hat knit from the bottom up with a ribbed brim. I designed this pattern in the fall of 2009 as part of a personal project to knit a dozen preemie hats for charity.

(This pattern is the property of Lauren Estes and may not be reproduced except for personal use. Please do not otherwise print or distribute this pattern without Lauren Estes’ express written permission. Thanks!)

Size: Preemie (12” head circumference)
Gauge: 5 sts/inch
Needles: 4 US 6 double-pointed needles
Yarn: less than one skein of Caron Simply Brites (Or any soft worsted/aran weight washable yarn)

C4F Cable stitch:
Slip 2 stitches onto cable needle and hold to front. Knit the next two stitches, then knit the 2 stitches off the cable needle.

Pattern:
CO 60 stitches, divide evenly on 3 needles. Join to begin working the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.
Rows 1-3: (K1,P1) repeat till end.
Rows 4-6: (K4,P2) repeat till end.
Row 7, Cable row: (C4F, P2) repeat till end.
Repeat rows 4-7 (3) more times.
Repeat row 4.

Decreases:

(K2tog, K2, P2) repeat till end.
(K2tog, K1, P2) repeat till end.
(K2tog, P2) repeat till end.
(K2tog, P1) repeat till end.
(K2tog) all the way around.

Bind off and weave in all ends.

Finished dimension: 4" long from cast on to cast off.

Note: If your hat is too short, you can repeat the cable (rows 4-7) an additional time or as many times as needed until hat is correct length.


© Lauren Estes, 2009

I'm baaaaack!

Sorry for the absence folks, I was off on vacation all last week! I barely did any knitting, but how can you blame me with a view like THIS!



Anyway we should be back to your regularly (or not so regularly) scheduled knitting soon.... Christmas seems closer than ever! EEK!

And the FO's keep coming....

Finished the seed stitch scarf for the hubby!!!!!



Finished the little grey baby vest just in time to go see little 2 week old Jackson! Pattern: Pebble



His mom thinks it may even fit him soon, perhaps a little long though :) I do think she will appreciate how it completely unbuttons for easy addition and removal!



Finished just NOW these teensy baby mittens!!! Don't you love the colors? <3


Pattern: Infant mittens from Knitting to Go

This weekend will be busy but fun! Saturday I am running a 5K race (I havent run one in a couple years, eek lol) and hopefully hitting up both the zoo AND Johnny Appleseed festival! Can't wait for the festival... its always so much fun!!!!

Finished "cocoon"

I finally sucked it up and finished this baby "cocoon" to give to my SIL - I am hoping she can use it in some photoshoots if she gets to do any newborn photoshoots!


She is a great photographer... if you're in the Indianapolis area check her out! http://www.photosbymare.com

I also completed a cute little coffee cup cozy for my mother-in-law! Her birthday is today (Happy Birthday Jo!!!!!!)


Cute eh? I found this pattern but used a different cable pattern in the middle.

Otherwise been plugging around on my other projects! Hope everyone else has a good short week :-)

QUICK projects rock!

I love knitting baby things!


I started these last night and finished them on my lunch hour today!!!!!! Pattern from Itty Bitty Nursery.

If only EVERYTHING I knit went that fast :-)

Knitting things....

Finished booties to match the baby hat I did in my last post (I knit these mostly in airports on my AZ trip the other weekend!)


Secret project going well. (no new pics of course! hehe)

Started a cute little baby vest to go with the hat and booties to make a complete set!!!! Ooh la la ;-)


Languishing: baby "cocoon"... I finally got a chance to hold it up to an actual baby and have decided to make it a bit longer :-)


Seed stitch scarf: worked on it some, its getting close to being done. (its my 'tv' project!)


Dish towel: got past the decorative edge and am on the big ol plain middle part. I have to decide whether I want to do the bobbled edge design again on the other end of the towel like the pattern says, or to just do the other end plain? Hmmm.


The other day I got the opportunity to teach another friend how to knit! We met up at Borders and her initial statement was that she's been worried about it all day! Poor thing :-) I told her she would do fine. We got to work and by the end of the night she said "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be"! Hooray! I hope she can get into it and really enjoy knitting. I got ger started on the classic grandma's favorite dishcloth, but we are going to have her start soon on a baby hat project (the reason she wanted to learn to knit, for a friend who is having a baby!). What baby hat you ask? The pumpkin hat from "itty-bitty hats"! Should be super cute!

Hope everyone's having a good week, I get to go to a wedding this weekend so that should be fun!!!!!

Busy!

Well this last weekend wasn't fun in the sense that I got an infection and even had to stay home from work friday! (That may sound awesome but trust me, I just laid around and slept and tried not to moan lol)

Luckily enough, I had the strength to do some knitting - and made some awesome progress!

Dishtowel (from Mason Dixon Knitting)


I am going to give this as a gift to my grandma, whom I am going to see (along with my grandpa, uncle, and cousins) this next weekend when I fly out to see them!!!! It should be a great trip.

I made this for my cousin:


This has been done for awhile but I forgot to blog about it! Super cute pattern here: Arrowhead Lace Headband

Baby hat made up on the fly using scraps of yarn....


A little bit of Dream in Color Classy goes a loooong way into making a beautiful hat! (also has some cascade 220 in there). I just realized I know a baby boy due the first week of september, ANOTHER baby boy due in november, and a baby girl due... i think in dec??? So yikes, I am getting my baby knitting started!

AND THEN there's Christmas! I have already started a list in the hopes of coming up with a manageable group of projects to knit by Dec 25. :-) We will see come December how many will actually make it!

Secret sweater project is going well! I loooove the pattern, and I am almost done with the back!!!! Yeah!!!! Let's see, I worked on this seed stitch scarf I've had for awhile a little bit, but nothing crazy.

Hope everyone has a great week! I am going to bed! Zzzzzz

Knitting meme

Mark with bold the things you have knit at least once, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

Afghan (I have made squares but never made a full size one yet!)
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Top-down
Hat
Knitting with silk (I am counting silk blends?)
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn (I have the yarn all ready!)
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting) (I need to look this up...)
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting (what???)
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn (that is a whole other world!)
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street) (I want to do this!!!!)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments (I technically made up some things but ive never made it official and written up a pattern before)
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book (ha! i have no ambition for this one!)
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit (hmm no kids yet, but plenty of adults!)
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money (I have gotten a cake as compensation for knitting lol) (Oh and megan bought the yarn and pattern for me to make her something???)
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding (yeah, MY wedding!!!)
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars (I did a baby hat on 2 circs way back in the day and it drove me NUTS!)
Olympic knitting (who needs the pressure? ;-)
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn (i have some i bought at a fiber fest!)
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting (of course)
Teaching a male how to knit (I've taught 2!!!!)
Bobbles (meh...)
Knitting for a living (ooh why can't this happen???)
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn (i'd rather just buy it... lol)
Steeks (scary!)
Knitting art (hmm?)
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting (bowls!)
Knitting with wool (duh)
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO (Its okay, I think i did it right?)
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching (I did when I was a beginner LOL now I am just lazy!)
Long Tail CO (I need to try this)
Entrelac (It was fun to do it but its crazy to learn!)
Knitting and purling backwards(Cynthia showed me but I really havent done it)
Machine knitting (nah)
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys (really simple small ones)
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere (mmmm)
Darning
Jewelry (maybe sometime)
Knitting with synthetic yarn (blech lol)
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia (scary!)
Knitting with linen (I want to make a towel sometime!)
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting (I think I am too OCD for this)
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows (on my couch!)
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug (I bought yarn to make one but havent started!)
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift (like 90% of my knitting is gifts lol)
Knitting for pets (my coworker's dog LOL)
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair (erm... no thanks)
Hair accessories (Does a headband count? i think yes)
Knitting in public (very covertly in the jiffy lube... haha)


OK...(if you haven't done this one) I tag Cynthia, Laura and Jessica. Go! :-)

Back on track!

I got in a bit of a knitting funk with my latest sweater project. it was going okay until I tried it on and realized it was toooo small. :( Rip rip rip... ripped it all out. After that I was a bit depressed and scrounged around to see what else I had. Luckily this resulted in some "finishitis" where I finished off 2 projects! I had a blanket square half done, and I had a baby sweater I was unhappy with that I "fixed"! I will post about the baby sweater later when I have current pics!

The adult sweater though... I was griping about restarting the pattern, and before that I would have to do MATH and try and upsize it (it only came with numbers for one size, lame). Then - TO THE RESCUE - Cynthia happened to randomly email me a link to the most perfect pattern EVER! It was FATE! I can't share it with you all yet though...Just know it is really cute & the yarn I was using for the other pattern works perfectly!


Just know, I have 2 pattern repeats done and I am loving it and it is going to be MUCH better than the last pattern! Yippee!!!!

Stellan...

This little boy who I previously knit babylegs for is NOT doing well. (he has a heart condition, you can click the pic to read more on his mom's blog) Keep him in your thoughts!

Summer!

Summer...


Fresh fruit is the best!

Lazy knitter...

I havent got a ton of knitting to blog about - Lately I've only been in the mood for a few rows here and there.


Can't show you what I'm working on either, but I can tell you I am currently worried it is too small. I am plugging on a bit further and then giving it another look.

Summer has been great, I am trying to get myself outside more (still have that tendency to websurf all night!). We have been working in the yard making new flower beds, and I even planted some herbs in a rectangular planter I had lying around! Hope to have some basil before winter rolls in!

This weekend we are going out of town, so probably not much knitting, but I hope everyone else is soaking up the summer and having fun!

P.S. You all should check out this coffee cup cozy that my friend Larissa made for me:


Isn't it the coolest??? It fits/works so great and I love the color and the cabling!!!! I taught her to knit and she has really taken off! I love spreading the love of knitting :-) (especially when it gets me knitted presents!)

Ravel-versary!

Today is my 2 year Ravel-versary, the anniversary of the day I joined Ravelry!!!!!


I honestly don't know what I would do without that website, it really has encouraged my knitting, and given me a place to search for patterns and ideas!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Sweater mania????

Whew! Over the last week I have finished not one, but TWO sweaters! Yeah!!! OK, well... one was a DOG sweater. But still, sounds pretty accomplished! :-)

In corner #1, we have mom's birthday sweater: (Sitcom chic)


It turned out pretty good! I had to do a lot of little finishing things to it though, like sewing on a ribbon on the front inside edges to keep them from rolling.


Thats why there is some puckering (my lame handsewing skills) but I am going to DEAL with puckering because at least its not ROLLING!


It fits me snugly, so it should fit my mom too, only a smidge looser. I really like that decorative part around the yoke.


Oh and the clasp! I actually found 2 that I liked, but thanks to an email vote from all my knitting gals, they helped me decide on this one. It works great :-)

In corner #2, we have my coworker's doggie Ellie's sweater:


Isn't she just the cutest model???


What a princess doggie! :D It was fun knitting for an animal, my first time! I learned a bit about dog proportions too. The pattern is the ‘Little Black Dress With Pearls’ Dog Sweater (scroll down to the bottom of the page). It is written for small "toy" sized dogs, but if you check out the sizes they are easy enough to increase for the size of dog you need! Other mods I did include doing only one ruffle at the bottom, doing some ribbing on the bottom edge (on the dog's stomach area) and of course adding a turtleneck. The neck was HUGE when I first finished it and sat around the dog's shoulders! I picked up stitches and did 2x2 ribbing with a little decreasing at the start. Worked out great! :-)

Now that those projects are done, what did I do? Cast on another sweater of course! I may just be addicted....