G-'s Hat on Hold Again

So it looks like this is going to be a Saturday thing, Saturday being really the only time I have completely free (lunch doesn't count anymore). Anyway.

G-'s hat is coming along quite nicely.


I had to rip it apart and start over from the beginning (I had after all started it when I was fairly new at knitting), but I think it looks better this way. It, of course, has now been put on hold once again. Halloween is coming up, and we're having a miserable time trying to find a monkey costume size 4T so I'm going to attempt to sew one for Say-say with my new sewing machine, a generous gift from my mom. I also have another project to work on, a knitting project, that must be kept secret until the first weekend of November (birthday present and all that).
One more pic of G-'s hat:

After the Hiatus

So after nearly a month-long blog hiatus, I'm back to show off my wears. Last time on Suzy Q's Knitting Life, I showed off my beach bag in progress. I did indeed finish it up quickly which led me to believe an easy cardigan wouldn't be too much of a stretch by beach trip time.





I, of course, was wrong. After searching the web for two nights for a simple pattern that drew on my stash yarn, I finally went to work on what I thought would be an adorable bolero to stave off chilly September beach nights. I worked fiendishly on the thing, giving up lunch at work and tv time at night. By the time the beach trip weekend rolled around, I was extremely close to being done. I just needed to finish up one sleeve and then sew the whole thing up. I threw the bag with all the pieces into the CRV with the intention of finishing up by the time we arrived (despite G-'s objections that I was endangering all our lives "what if we get in a wreck and that needle puntures the airbag???"). After a knit-free hour on the road, I pulled out my work and, with a sinking feeling, realized I only had a tiny portion of a skein left with which to finish. In my haste to pack everything we could possibly need at a hotel for three days, I had neglected my knitting. I worked anyway, running out of yarn before we even got halfway there.
Ah twell.
I left it in the bag for a couple days after we got back. Once I finished sewing it all together, I decided it needed something. I had sewed the pieces together with white yarn so I decided to give it a white trim. I really wanted a large ruffle all the way around, but I couldn't find a pattern to merge. I did find instructions on adding edging though so I just copied the ruffle from my cinched waist top. I used seed stitch for the ruffle, but bound off with ribbing (knit the knit stitches, purl the purl stitches). I ended up ripping out the white yarn I had used to sew the sleeves onto the body (at G-'s request); I was up anyway watching the Apex fire on the local news and hoping the wind wouldn't turn Raleigh's direction (you may have caught that, turned out to be a bit of a story). I wore it yesterday, and I must say I'm rather pleased with the result.



Everyone at work liked it too. I think I'll take small break then tackle G-'s hat that I was supposed to finish last winter. The weather is always goofy in Raleigh during September and October so I really have until November before his bald head starts to go goose-pimply.
Ta-ta for now.

Another project on the needles

I have a beach trip coming up in a couple weeks. My first thought was to start a cardigan to keep me warm during chilly breezy nights. That would take much too long. So I decided to start a bag from stash yarn instead.




I'll finish up the bag portion of it this morning and start the handles this afternoon. Since it didn't take too long even with just working an hour a day on it since Wednesday (not counting Friday), I might attempt another or even try a light easy cardigan.

As for my U-Neck Top, when I remembered I had the beach trip coming up, I decided to drop it back in the project basket. I'll get back to it later.

I'm Addicted

Well, I figured since I wasn't going to be doing a lot of reading at home with two little ones, why not start something new? So I started my U-neck top. Not much to speak of yet. I've just been knitting a few minutes here and there. But my hands were just itching to create something else. Yes, I'm an addict.

Perfection

My shrug is done. And I look cute in it if I do say so myself. Finally, something I'll actually wear on a regular basis. I added the button after trying it on. It didn't really fit the way I wanted it to, but with the button, perfection. The button came in a bag of "vintage" buttons I picked up at AC Moore ages ago and have never used. Oh I'm so excited!



Well, now that this is completed, I'm going to take a small break to focus on my Harry Potter fact-finding mission. When I finish book 5 (again, this time making notes, yes I'm a geek), I'll pick something off my wish list. Probably the U-Neck top from the "Vogue Knitting" spring/summer 2006 issue. Course, now that the Fall 2006 issue is out, there are several more patterns for my wish list. Woo hoo!

Mistake Corrected

While my mom was up here for my 2 year old's birthday party, she was able to magically correct my disastrous mistake on the "cinched waist top." I was able to sew it up and try it on!




I still hate it. Undoubtably my bust and waist measurements don't match the bust and waist measurements on the pattern. Well, I'd never knitted a shirt before so I consider it an accomplishment regardless of whether I actually wear it or not.

Another finished project

I have finished one sleeve/body piece of the hug-me-tight shrug. It took longer than I expected so I'm in no hurry to start the next piece.



So naturally, I pulled from my project basket. And I finished another one!


I didn't particularly like it as I was working on it. The circular needle I used was plastic so it kept sticking unpleasantly to the yarn (which is a boa feather-like material), and since it's so black I had a hard time not knitting two stitches together or increasing one by accident. But now that's it done, I really like it. It's one of those "magic scarves", the kind that goes over your shoulders like a poncho. It's a little too tight at the bind-off, but I'm just so happy to be done with it, I'll take it as is.