Another sweater

I guess I must have secretly LOVED knitting my February Lady Sweater, because I recently found myself casting on another sweater with the SAME yarn! LOL! I guess it is because I had so much leftover and wanted to find a good use for it, but it is still kind of amusing. Can't go very long without this stuff on the needles!

Pattern is Hey Teach!  Just chugging along on the back for now! This is going to be a gift. I really hope I am knitting the right size, AND that I don't run out of yarn!!!! Wish me luck !

"Where did these come from?" Part 2

Continuing our parade of unspeakable horrors, or as some would say "projects I threw aside in a fit of passion for some other knitting project that was WAY more important"...

Second in the 2-item lineup, we have a pair of socks I cast on in April of 2008.

Yes folks, 2008. Sheesh!!!!!!! Here is the amazing progress I made in 2008:

It started off so well... I was excited to make "real" socks.... I even took it with me when I went to meet the Yarn Harlot! (post: here)

What happened in 2009 and 2010? Who knows! I guess I just wasn't feeling the love for this, or something? NO idea. I wish I had thought about picking it back up, because it literally took me like a WEEK to finish knitting that half-sock above and then the OTHER ENTIRE SOCK.

Seriously people. DON'T be me. Finish knitting your socks before the years slip by! Ok I'm probably the only person who would fling a sock aside for YEARS thinking it wasn't fun, only to discover how quick and portable they are. And cute!

Yay socks! They fit my feet so well, it's nice. I originally went with this nice blue-black yarn thinking they would be great to wear to the office with my dress pants.... Oops! I guess that ship has sailed! (I'm rocking the SAHM thing!) Oh well, I think my 5 month old daughter will appreciate me wearing stylish handmade socks around the house, right???

This is my first "real" pair of socks too... I technically knit my first pair in 2007 (blog post here), but I used worsted weight yarn, so they are more like slipper socks. They fit nicely, but are just a little too thick to wear in "regular" shoes, if you know what I mean! This pair of socks seem more official to me, since I used sock weight yarn, and they should be fine in shoes!

I'm not sure if this is the end of my startitis binge, or if I will tackle this lace scarf from 500 BC. Just kidding, I started it in... 2007? Wait, WHAT? I guess I am working backwards here!)

"Where did these come from?" Part 1

I don't know how it happened, but I somehow contracted a case of Finishitis! If you know what that is, then you know how lucky I am to have caught it!! Please don't be scared, but I am about to resurrect 2 projects from the GRAVE! (Ok, perhaps not the grave, but from the bottoms of baskets or containers tucked away in random hidden locations in my house)

First up: a hand towel I started in August of 2009. (LOL)

I think the stiff cotton (I used some sugar n cream kitchen cotton) and long slightly boring middle section caused me to toss this aside time and time again in favor of more "fun" projects.

But FINALLY.... finally I got up the gumption and FINISHED IT! It really wasn't so bad :-)

I knit the middle section longer than what the pattern called for, because I wanted it to be the size of an actual average hand towel (I used one as a template). My towel turned out almost EXACTLY the same length, but slightly WIDER! Go figure.

(tan hand towel laid on top of my knitted towel.. yikes, too much TAN)

I am very happy with it, and I have decided to gift it to some friends who have built a house in the last year... it will be a nice belated housewarming present methinks! :-)

Stay tuned for more HORRORS FROM THE GRAVE! Oops... I mean, projects I am unearthing from long, long ago!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (belated)

From my little Irish gal to you all, hope you had a fun St. Paddy's!

(her shirt says "Slainté", which is the Gaelic equivalent for "Cheers!")

Quick hat for a growing boy...

Our friends had a baby boy in late December. I had made him a cute little stripey hat and socks (post here), but it was definitely sized for a newborn! I thought since we surely would have a few more weeks of chilly weather (if not more) that he needed a slightly bigger boy hat :-) This was quick and easy, I love how it has the bold stripe in the middle of the hat!

Here is the adorable model (wearing it upside-down, but still cute!)

Shawl for Grandma

This thing absolutely flew off the needles!

Pattern: Dandy Kerchief
Yarn: Caron Country (I had slightly less than 2 skeins, I just knit the shawl until I ran out of yarn!)

I am hoping to get out to Arizona to visit my grandparents and other family this year (at least for my cousin's wedding in November) and I really wanted something nice to give to my grandma! Last time I gave her something it was a ballband dishcloth (I had a brief addiction to those), but this time I wanted something a bit more complex and wearable. This scarf/shawl fit the bill!

FO: February Lady Sweater

I finally got a chance to have Greg take some nice photos of me in my FINISHED February Lady Sweater!!!! YES that's right folks, FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!! It only took me (almost) an entire year... but I made it just in time. Done and done!

I was a bit worried that it would be too tight around the bust, but it blocked out beautifully! Actually I think I nearly blocked it out too large (have to remember when you wear a sweater it will "hang" (stretch) on your body), but it ended up fine.

An interesting thing is I ended up with a TON of leftover yarn! Like 7 skeins. Ridiculous, huh? That is like 700 extra yards I ordered. I really thought I carefully calculated the yardage using the pattern and ballband, but maybe it's a gauge thing. Oh well... I really can't complain about extra yarn! (Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Kettle Dyed)

Anyway I am pretty darn happy with it....I might sew up the buttonholes a little bit so they are "tighter". What's funny is I definitely felt a little "lost" without this thing on the needles! 

Since I completed the sweater I've been working on a few little things I will post about soon, but right now let's all revel in a FINISHED OBJECT!!!!!!!! (Maybe someday I will be able to knit sweaters for myself a LITTLE faster!)