Progress

I've made some progress on the Olympic Sweater. It's about the length of my Mac Mighty Mouse.

Needles: Knit Picks Zepher Acrylic Size US 7
Yarn: Briggs and Little Regal Color Brown Heather
Cast on 180 stitches knit 6 bumps of garter stitch - joined in round increased to 200 stitches stockinette.

Knitting Olympics

The Yarn Harlot announced Knitting Olympics. I will be signing up officially and tracking progress here (prolly crappy mac pics because this is about quantity of knitting time, not quality of blog).

I hope is that this will be an exercise in not only knitting a sweater, but as seeing this blog as what it is: a place for me to document stuff I do for my own future reference.

I'm going to make Elizabeth Zimmerman's Seamless Yoke Sweater following the instructions on the Knitting Workshop DVD my parents got me for Christmas.

The yarn is Briggs and Little "Regal" in a lovely heather brown. The color looks like bright red, magenta, and blue streaks.

Why yes, those are new floors...

I call this one "The Purple Crown affair" it is a play on the intended name of an expected girl, due on April 9th. When I marry her uncle in October, she will officially be my niece.

The pattern is the "Sunny Side Up Hoodie" from a Michaels pull off pamphlet in the yarn section. The pattern can be found , with some signing up, here (I didn't sign up, so don't know how much they spam). If you are really interested in the pattern, I googled it and found it all written out without having to sign up at Lions Brand.

This is my first sweater and it was easy - the pattern is written well, but I ended up ripping back a few times because I wasn’t measuring correctly (I wondered if at all once I laid out what I had done :P )I didn’t use the suggested yarn for this pattern because it contains Acrylic and I would rather use natural fibers for baby clothes.

Modifications:
I didn’t make the hood
added a stripe and some embroidery with Lily Sugar’n Cream.

Notes:

—-still needs buttons

And now for some Knitting

The Purse /*




Clockwise: 1- Kim's purse strap on the blocking stretcher 2- Strap with stabilizing ribbon on the blocks 3- Close up of the beads that will add weight to the flap (in lieu of buttons or other closure) 4- what the purse may look like when it is all sewn together.

*******Mom, does it look like a purse now? ;) don't be shy... click on the link near the bottom of the post that says 0(1 2 3...) Stitches and leave a comment**********

I haven't worked on this for a while. The knitting part is long done; I have been stuck on how best to sew the ribbon (I envision this will add stability and prevent this becoming an ankle-length bag) to the strap. They are pinned together, but I don't have a sewing machine and am left with the task of holding the work taut while hand-stitching slick yarn to ribbon...maybe I will wait until I have access to a sewing machine...

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The Scarf ***





K2P2K2P2K2P2K2P2 ... until sanity is lost, regained, then ripped so far from reach it may only come back as a 3rd cousin -- twice removed.


I jest. K2P2 ribbing is relaxing, can't really be messed up and lets me work on purling.





I picked out the yarn (Cascade 220) during my very first trip to an actual yarn store. I think I may finish it before MN winter shows up. Paul will have a neck warmed with love-infused wool. The pattern is a collaboration between Paul, the yarn and the knitter - we all are pleased with the progress

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The Sock???

I cast on 62 stitches on two circs - following what I remembered from watching Cat Bordi on YouTube, demonstrating circular knitting on two circs. The yarn is "Blue Jeans Delight" purchased from http://www.extremeyarn.etsy.com/ . It is really pretty, and completely gratifying to see a recognizable garment.

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And that is what I have been doing.

ChChChChanges

KnittingStar will be undergoing some cosmetic changes. Paul has been designing me some really cool vector graphics.





In other news... the camera batteries are charging and there will be much prettiness to view soon. I have been knitting a lot. There will be updates on Kim's purse (yes Mom, it actually resembles a purse now); a first view of a 2x2 ribbed scarf I am making for Paul; and a peek at my first sock (no idea how I am going to turn the heel or do any of that fancy jazz...but in the words of Stephanie Pearl McPhee "I can do that -- it's only knitting") plus, I have read enough about knitting socks that I can totally figure it out.

Next step - getting gauge on something. Gauge is an animal that is an important part of the knitting world and since I have yet to follow a pattern, I haven't had to make gauge to turn out some pretty cool and functional pieces. Oh darn, I might need more needles...

Anticipation

I placed my first order with Knitpicks and am really looking forward to it's arrival. The package will contain my first US 2 and US 3 circulars. I am going to try to learn how to knit 2 socks on two circs.

I have accepted that I do not finish things well so if I make both at the same time, I won't suffer from the dreaded second sock syndrome.

She Knits!

I saw this yarn and it reminded me of my friend Kim, who has a personality like tie-dye. She is always doing kind acts for others. I think she will enjoy having a bit more tie-dye.



Yarn: Moda-Dea Swirl: Happy
57% Nylon, 27% Wool, 16% Acrylic
Needles: US 10.5 Circs - stockinette body of bag
US 8 Circs - garter stich base
Pattern: (base) Cast on 40sts, garter til it looks about right, BO
(body) Cast on to fill most of 29" Circ, knit til tube looks about right to hold stuff
add flap, maybe garter, maybe stockinette --- who knows, yarn hasn't told me yet
Button closure?

You all knew I knit, and now there is proof!