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....

Shrug-a-thon: Complete!

Woohoo! I finished knitting the shrug SUNDAY, and blocked it tuesday, and gifted it last night!!!!


She LOVED IT! I am so happy I got to make her something she can wear over her bridesmaids dress this weekend! AND as a fabulous payment for the shrug, she made the most delicious cake!!!!! We have a ton leftover too. (Eeek... lookout thighs, here it comes!) It was actually pretty fun to do some speed knitting, and it didn't take as long as I thought. I may be crazy enough to do something like that again! :)

In the meanwhile, i've put in a little time on this doggie sweater I decided to make a month or so ago (yeah I know, a sweater for a DOG? but its for my coworker's dog, and besides, its girly and hot pink and has ruffles. LOL) But I really need to get on the finishing of my mom's sweater!!!! I need to pick up and knit the second front edge and the neck, and then block and take care of any finishing needs! Her bday is in 2 weeks so I still have time, but I better get it done!

Well today is sunny and nice, I am stuck at work, and 80% of the office is not here. Then the husband sends me a note saying HE is going home at noon. AUGH. It is going to be a loooooong afternoon....

UPDATE: Here is a pic of the dog sweater:


Told ya it was girly!

Shrug-a-Thon 09

Day Three of my Shrug-a-thon (trying to knit a shrug before end of next week!)


Continuing along steadily :-)

Famous!!!!

I would like to announce that one of my knitted projects has become FAMOUS!!!!!

One of my favorite blogs I read is "My Charming Kids". It's the personal blog of an amazing lady and her family (including 4 kids under 4 yrs old, whew!!!) Anyway, her youngest baby boy has had some heart problems, and recently was in in the hospital and underwent a serious heart surgery. I thought, since I knew from her blog she liked babylegs and bright colors, that I could knit her some! You probably remember these from an earlier post:



Anyway, if you go to her blog, you may notice one of her recent posts she posted a picture of her little boy wearing MY legwarmers!!!! Now this might not seem like a big deal, but this woman has a LOT of readers!!!!! I may be a huge dork, but I totally freaked out when I saw it :-) I am so glad she likes them!

And for anyone else who wanted the pattern, it is right here: Legwarmies!

Have a great week!!!

Weekend Recap

Oh dreary rainy Monday.... Hope everyone had a good weekend! It was too short, per usual. I got a lot done on my mom's sweater, and also got a lot of yardwork done - I am feelin' it in my sore muscles today!

Here's a somewhat updated progress pic of my mom's sweater:


It is actually farther than that now! I finished the main part of the sweater (casted off the neck - that was very satisfying) and now am working on the front and neck edges!!!! Then I need to sew up the armpits, weave in the ends, and give it a wash!!!! (then potentially some more finishing, if the edges continute to roll...) I am so excited to have this done by my mom's birthday (end of June).

Today I am going to embark upon a knitting challenge. Last night I was chatting online with one of my friends, and she mentioned she has a wedding she is going to be in, but she cannot for the life of her find a cute little shrug to wear with her bridesmaid dress! (color - chocolate brown) Soooo it ends up I think i am going to try and knit her one!!!!! I have a pattern I found, the Cloud Bolero. It uses bulky yarn, so I BELIEVE I can do this in the next week and a half (she lives out of town so I need to finish it by like next wednesday?) I don't know how crazy I am to try this, but I might as well give it a shot!!!!! Today at lunch I am going to run over to the craft store and look for yarn. If I can't find something suitable I will have to try the yarn store tomorrow! Whew! Wish me luck!

Anyway, it was a nice weekend. I got to meet some of my husband's extended family who were visiting from out of state. AND of course we got to play with the nephews:


I love those boys!!!!

And I will leave you with a photo of one of the rosebushes found on the side of our house... I was thrilled to discover these when we moved in!

Happy Mother's Day!

Love you mom!



And you too mother-in-law!



And of course the coolest mom around... my SIL ;-)



Happy mother's day to all you moms out there!!!! Hope you celebrate!