New York trip

Some pictures from my trip to New York a couple of months ago.



More on my flickr page.

Worst. Blogger. Ever.

Oh well.

Here's some sewing projects I finished ages ago and just haven't bothered to post about.

A crayon roll for my niece:




I used Skip to my Lou's tutorial, which was fabulous and easy to follow.

And also a baby quilt for some friends who've got a bun in the oven. It's my first time, so.... all of the mistakes one makes the first time they make a quilt? I made them. But still it's cute, and I think I learned a lot.





I went to and returned from New York quite a while ago. But... I don't know, I'm just lazy, so I haven't posted any pictures or anything. (Ashamed.) Next time (which at this rate, will be months...)

Stripey socks done and Swirly Mittens in progress

Love love love these socks!




Pattern: Generic toe-up socks (I use IK's pattern as a guide)
Yarn: Kool-aid dyed sock yarn (the dyeing of which was described in this post)
I finished these a while ago but only got a chance this weekend to take some pictures.

In other knitting news, I have been interested in making a pair of stranded mittens for a while and been scanning Ravelry for a good pattern. Of course I love Bird in Hand, but I wasn't quite ready for the commitment of buying the pattern. What I was really looking for was something with relatively intricate colorwork and that cool hemmed cuff you see on many Norwegian style mittens. These are beautiful, the pattern is free, and I am in love.

FO: Hairy Sweater

Hairy Sweater
Pattern: EZ's Seamless Raglan from Knitting Without Tears (the best knitting book ever)
Yarn: Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends
Needles: 10 1/2
While making Oscar's sweater, I realized how much I really like this yarn, despite its high acrylic content. It's super soft and warm. So I decided to make a sweater for myself, and finished this one lickity-split. I really like how it came out. The sleeves are a little shorter than I would like, but that's my only complaint. One thing I didn't anticipate was how hairy this thing would be. It sheds like crazy. But right now that's exactly what I need in this crazy Northwest weather. And should I encounter Bigfoot, he's likely to consider me a friend.

Final Christmas gift unveiling post

It's about time, right?

First, a confession. I did it, I didn't mean to, but... I wrapped unfinished knit gifts and gifted them. It's a terrible thing to do. But not as terrible as waiting until a whole month after Christmas before finishing them and sending them off. Oops.
But they're done, so here they are. First, a cowl made for Erin.






Flora Cowl (rav)
Yarn: Knitpicks Gloss in Pumpkin and Kroy Sock Yarn in White
I used the (slightly modified) pattern from the Flora Hat and double knit a cowl instead. There were some serious issues in the end because the two yarns I used were slightly different gauges. So, after some snipping and measuring and reknitting, I managed to get it to stop looking stupid. I really like how this came out. But. I don't really like double knitting, it's a pain.

The second wrapped unfinished gift was Anna's Noro Stripe Scarf (rav):





Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf from brooklyntweed
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden in... I'm too lazy to go figure out the colorways right now. (Sorry.)
Like most people, I heart this pattern and I heart Noro Silk Garden. That's all there is to say.

So, after too long, both of these gifts are in the mail. Merry late Christmas, Anna and Erin.

I have many projects on the needles right now. I finished a sweater in about a week a while back that is blocking as we speak. Pictures when it's dry.

I spent Friday night dyeing some sock yarn with Kool-aid. (Ahem, yes, that is what the cool kids do on Friday night.)



And it came out beautiful.



I'm halfway through the first sock already. It's awesome.

And I have some Jaywalkers going in Kroy Kool Stripes. I'm not in love with this yarn, but oh well.


And that's my knitting world right now.

Christmas Gift Extravaganza. Part 2

And now the second part of this series.

First up, the white hourglass sweater (rav) I made for Anna:





Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from LMKG
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Ecru
This is a fabulous pattern, and fairly easy to adapt to different gauges, sizes, etc. We had measured her about a year ago, so it ended up fitting her well.

And also for Anna, a pair of felted clogs (rav) in the colors she requested, grey and green:




Pattern: Felted Clogs by Bev Galeskas
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool

You really can't go wrong with this pattern.

There was also another pair of clogs gifted this year:



These were for my stepdad, Rick, who is a big Steelers fan (you might remember the Steelers cozy?). Unfortunately the yellow got lost during felting, so they ended up being just black and white. And the black loves to pick up lint. So, oh well. I think he still liked them. They fit, at the very least...

Tired of blogging now. More next time.

Goodbye, 2008.

Happy New Year, everyone. 2008 wasn't a particularly great year (although I did finish my degree--I guess that was great, if anticlimactic). Lots of knitting was done though. Here's an (incomplete) collection of 2008 knitting projects.



I will return to revealing handmade Christmas gifts next post.