What have I been Knitting?

I love January. It is such a quiet month. The house feels quiet after putting away all the christmas decorations. Outside feels quiet with the cooler weather. My knitting feels quiet after the mad dash to get everything done in time to mail and to put under the tree. My knitting is so quiet I am having a hard time finding something that I really want to knit. A bit of a stooper I would say.

Camera to the rescue. Time to take pictures of finished projects and show them off.

Socks for The Marvelman

This is actually the first thing I have knit for the Marvelman. You see he is a surfer. The dress code for all surfers is shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. Where would a knit garment fit into that I ask you. But the last few months he started to ask for a pair of socks. I decided that I could make him a pair to wear around the house, I don't like the sock flip flop look so no toes in these socks. Of course they had to be red. 

Yarn: Jitterbug "Vatican Pie" and misty alpaca sport. I needed gray and that is all I had. I hope it doesn't wear out to fast. 

He loves loves loves his socks. They have been seen peaking out from underneath his black slacks and loafers!!

Gloves for Mom and my Sisters, 

I really enjoyed making these and the stretchy fabric makes them an easy fit. They are the Ringwood pattern from knitty.  

I blogged about these here. But here they all are done and beautiful.  

These are made with socks that rocks light weight. The color is Peaseblossom. I am pretty happy with the way they came out. This sister loves color and I new a solid pair of gloves would not be for her. These are just right. The buttons are vintage mother of pearl. 

The last pair is made with Madelinetosh dk, color tart. I really loves these too. The color is so wonderful. 

Yes, I need to knit one more pair for myself, maybe that is the next project to jump onto my needles. 

My Leaf Print Fingerless Gloves and they are knit with Mink!

Yes these are all mine. It was really cold all of December and these got a lot of use. Mink yarn you ask? Yup, Great Northern Yarn Company has yarn with a mink and merino blend. I love these. They are soft and the mink gives them a really nice halo. I have warn these a lot and they show no pilling!

Another yarn that I am totally head over heels about is Shelter.  This is the brain child of Brooklyn Tweed. It is completely sourced in the United States and is woolen spun yarn. 

Pattern is Saroyan

I had never really had any woolen spun yarn before and always thought it would be to "wooly" for So. Cal.  How wrong I was. This yarn is very light weight. It has a lot more air in it because of the spin. I wore this non-stop during the cold December. I wore it the house, (I do keep my house cold) and out side with my sweater. It didn't itch the back of neck and never got "heavy".  I can not wait to make a sweater with this yarn. 

I think that about does it for the finished garments. As I said I am a little stumped at what I want to knit next. The weather has heated up to 80 the last few days so that is making difficult to knit something really wooly. 

I have decided to do a lot of knitting for the house this year and I have a new knitting chair!

I am losing weight (weight watchers with some of my knitter friends) and don't want to knit any sweaters right now. So the house is the perfect solution. 

I have a new knitting chair I found on Craigs Lists for $25. It needs to be painted ( green, peacock blue?) and a cushion, but it is very comfortable. 

I could knit a cushion or Maybe some of these will find my needles soon. 

What are you wanting to knit this year?

Knitting, Lot's of FO's

I have been finishing a lot of projects lately. Feeling the need to find all my needles missing in action or held captive on different projects. Finishing projects and gaining back needles is much more fulfuilling then buying more needles because I can not find the size I need.

Botanical Hat by Stephen West

I made this for Wesley. It was sort of an add on christmas present I made when he came down mid January for a visit. I used Casacade for the black and Noro silk garden for the color. This is a really fun hat to make. I think there are at least 3 of them in the knitting group now. The guys seem to really like it too. It is reversible and designed from a really cool architectural design. Very guy like.

Barb's Koigu Ruffle by Kit Huchin

I was looking for something fast and with a lot of color. This has been in my queue for a while. I went stash diving into the Koigue corner and come up with this. The pattern is a really easy knit as long as you can get past the idea that you cast on and cast off a crazy number of stitches (648!!) But you are knitting two together right away for the ruffle...... It was a great addition to my wardrobe.

Hemlock Ring by BooklynTweed:

This has been in my queue even longer then the ruffle scarf. I used the Knitpicks City Tweed in Brocade. I love this yarn. It is really soft and the tweed is wonderful. I made mine bigger then the pattern so I could use it as a lap blanket. I had a hard time getting the blanket to block perfectly flat. I would go up at least 3 sizes needles sizes bigger to cast off and use Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy bind off for the k2tog sections and a regular bind of during the yarn over sections. I really enjoy using this as a lap blanket in the evenings while I knit.

Byzantine by Susan Pandorf

This was one of the most fun projects I have done in a long time. Mosaic knitting is really easy and fast and watching the colors change made me happy!

Clapotis by Kate Gilbert

This is one of the most knit projects on Ravelry (14,735 as of this post). The pattern came out in Knitty the Fall of 2004. I resisted knitting this one for years and then within a few of months I have now finished my second one. Why did I finally fall you ask?

Because of Noro sock yarn and Noro Scarf Stripping. I love love the way this turned out and the silk garden sock yarn is pretty soft.

Whirligig Shrug by Stefanie Japel

I knit this up really fast for a class. It is another great instant gratification knit. The pattern is from Interweave Knits Weekends 2009. I used Soft Wave Cotton from Queensland. I think it was a closeout yarn from Webs at some point. It was in my stash. Of course Miss Claire will end up with this at some point. It sure is fun having a little princess to knit for after having boys of my own.

Last, but the most fun of all, is Mr. Bender, a character from Futurama. This is a B-day gift for Wesley. We used to enjoy watching this show together when he still lived at home. As an art student he has great appreciation for such creations.

I have most of my needles back and the knitting is a bit quiet right now. The only thing really on my needles is Baudelaire by Cookie A , my second pair of Toe-up socks. I am already on the second sock in less then a week. The pattern is easy to memorize, learned a new heel and I just love knitting these. Socks may be back in my life just in time for summer!

How many needles are missing in action at your house?

FO: Holiday Gifts

My Christmas knitting has all been received and I can now post about them. I was pretty ambitious this year but I did complete it all in time, which has often not been the case. So I am feeling rather good right now.

I knit the Every Way Wrap for my Mom. (Ravelry).





Yarn: 12 skeins (1,176 yrds, 600 oz) of Berroco Ultra Silk.
Gold 6113

Make sure you down load the Errata before you start. The key to the chart is wrong.

This was a pretty straightforward knit with cables. I love that they are reversible so there is no wrong and right side. I have to say that cabling with yarn that has no stretch is a bit hard on the hands and made the progress a little slower then I wanted. Having said that, the yarn showed both stitch patterns beautifully and the sheen from the silk makes this very luxuious. I chose the silk because my mother doesn't like wools around her neck and I new this yarn wouldn't be the least bit scratchy. It was also on closeout at Webs so the price was right. The silk makes this something she can wear throughout the year in Utah.

I knit the Sweet Pea Jacket by Kate Gilbert (ravelry) for my youngest sister, JN, who also lives in Utah.



Yarn: Berroco Peruvia.
#4777 Blue Nile 7 skeins (700 gr, 721 yrds)

Needle size - 11

Size: I had major gauge issues (blogged here) with this. I ended up knitting the medium size as far as number of cast on stitches and such go, but used the measurements from the small size. This ended up working out perfectly.

My sister is amazed at how well it fits, as though we had fittings during the making of the jacket!! This was a very succesful knit and after I figured out how to deal with the gauge it was a fast and easy knit. Big needles and big yarn, almost instant gratification.

This is the Striped Clapotis for my other sister, LA, who is in the Bay Area.


Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden sock. I used three skeins of color 211.
Needle: #6

I used both ends of the same skein and alternated the two ends every two rows, like the Noro Scarf. I love the way the dropped stitches stripe one way and the colors striped the other. I love the colors. A few times I took out a color as it came up so I didn't have the same color on both ends of the yarn. But that didn't happen to much.

I was burning some late night knitting oil to get these done and in the mail before we left for our vacation on the Dec. 13. Even though I started them relatively early in the holiday process, LA's in Aug, Mom's in Sept, and JN's in Oct. that was still too late.

Next year I am going to reinstate the "knit the christmas present when their birthday comes up" rule. I did this one year and it worked so well I am not sure why I have not continued to do that. Their birthdays come in May, June and August so it works out really well.

I am telling you this now so that you can remind me in Sept or Oct when I come up with the big idea to knit a major project for someone for christmas you can refer me to this post. I have too many other things to knit, with class samples and all, not to be more organized about knitting the things that are really fun for me.

My family really appreciates handmade gifts so it is pleasure to knit for them.

Do you have any good ways of dealing with handmade gifts for the family?
Do you knit for your family and/or friends?

My Knitting Weekend

I am in full swing of holiday knitting. My little knitting fingers are tired indeed. But I have to be honest and say that the project I have worked on most this weekend is an UFO.


This is the blanket I started for Josh last christmas. I worked on it a lot last winter. But it is a big blanket, he is a big guy and I just couldn't get it done before the weather turned too warm to have a giant blanket on my lap. The hardest part of pulling out a hibernating project is trying to figure out where you are and what still needs to be done. I was so happy to find that I have only the borders left to do.

But oh those borders are longggggggg.
If the stars work in my favor this week I should have it done by Thanksgiving. As long as I get it to him before this christmas I have been successful. Right??



Added Dec. 28, 2009
I finally got some pictures of the finished Bronco Blanket with Josh. He uses it all the time!!

The Finished Project Parade

I have finally put up a lot of my FO's on Ravelery which means that I have finally taken pictures of everything. Here are some of the projects that have been keeping me busy the last couple of months.

Baby Blanket Tulip Style



Yarn: Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton
1 skein of pink, cream and green. 2 skeins of the brown
Needle: #10
Cast-on 100 stitches.
Blanket measures about 32x32

I love this yarn. It is really soft and has a lovely weight to it. This pattern was inspired by the Tulip Baby Sweater. You do a seed stitch pattern on the row that you add the new color and that makes the "eyelet" effect. I think EraLunaris came up with the idea.
Simply Lovely!

Veyla Gloves



Pattern: Yoslda's Veyla
Yarn: Knitpicks Gloss 1 skein (had a good amount left over)
Needle: #3

I loved making these gloves. The lace is a simple 23 stitch pattern (except for evil row 4). The pick up edge for the hand is done with the wrong side facing and the slip stitches form a wonderful edge. The thumb is shaped with yarn overs, genius. Every little detail is just beautiful. I hope I have time to knit another pair of these for myself. Yes, these are mine!

Beaumont Tam



Pattern: Jared Flood's Beaumont Tam
Yarn: Classic Elite Fresco in Cool Raspberry and Graystone
Needle: #4 and #8

I love this yarn. It has some angora which makes that wonderful halo that looks so good in color work. I never noticed the angora when I was knitting it. It wasn't on my cloths or in my nose. The finished hat is so soft and lushes.

The hat pattern was a fun knit. Easy to understand. I enlarged the charts so I could see what I was doing. Have I told you how much I love color?

Damson






Pattern: Ysolda's Damson
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock Yarn
Needle: #6

I have knitted several of Ysolda's patterns and have enjoyed them all. This one is no exception. Super simple, lot's of garter stitch, yarn overs and K2tog. Talk about something you don't have to think about yet the results are wonderful.

Malabrigo, need I say anything more. A simply beautiful pattern + luxury yarn = my definition of heaven.


Most of these project where either for classes or for christmas. I am starting to think about classes for the winter and what I want to knit. The goal is to make them one and the same. I find that the project I love to knit are the classes that end up with most of the buzz.

What are you looking forward to knitting after the holidays?

2008 in Pictures

January ~ Finally the whole family was able to be together after the holidays.


February ~ We lost a long time member of our family. We miss Callie a lot.



March ~ There was much knitting going on during the last few months. Baby sweaters, hats, purses, socks. February and March where the very productive months.


April ~ 5 1/2 weeks of jury duty began on April 7. I spent most of my lunches at the wonderful fountain at the LA courthouse crocheting and listening to a book on my ipod. Crochet kept me sane during this never ending stint.


May ~ As soon as court duty was over I was blessed with being able to watch Miss Claire 4 days a week. She has been such a joy and has brought back the magic that only little ones can bring into our house.

June ~ Josh is home for the summer and Wesley and his girlfriend came down for a visit. The house is full once again!

July ~ Was a wonderful summer month with lots of time for reading, knitting, and enjoying the perfect weather before August comes.


August ~ The olympics and ravelympics. Need I say more.




September ~ Claire is sitting up now. Playing on her own. August was a rather mild month. I know that meant we would be in for it in September.


October ~ I visited my mom and sister in Eden Utah. My first time there during fall. It was beautiful and a great visit.


November ~ Fall seems to not want to come to So Cal. Scott and I spent Thanksgiving in San Diego. It was a beautiful weekend. Scott grew up here so we visited many of his favorite places around La Jolla and Coronado.

December ~ December was all about getting gifts made and mailed in time. Success!! Once again only one of the boys was home for the holidays. It really makes for a quiet time. So we are taking Josh with us to San Francisco mid January to visit Wesley and take one more road trip with the whole family to Utah!! I thought family road trips where done. But we have squeezed one more in. The best present ever!!

No Posting but a lot of Knitting

When does a knitting teacher get to knit her own projects?
Maybe never.
I have been knitting up samples for the april classes at Unraveled. It has actually been a lot of fun because they are relatively easy knits so the instant gratification comes into play to keep me happy.
Two of the new classes for me are Baby Hats and Booties



and Beginning sock class using a child size sock to learn from.



I have one more class to get samples made up for, a spa set for mother's day. And then it will be time to think about next month.

Along the teaching thread, I am not sure why we have not been taking pictures of our classes and what the students make in them. There have been so many great things made and fun times to be had. So I have started doing that. This was a beret class from last month. Everyone finished their project. Yeah!!!


I will be adding an FO page to the stores website for our customers. If you have anything you have finished bring it in so we can take a pic and but it up on the website!
Gotta love knitting for work. Doesn't get better then that?

Speaking of getting better. Hubby and I went down to San Deigo last weekend. Of course I had to go to a couple of yarn stores.
First I went to Knitting by the Beach. It was a great little store. With lots of good yarn. But the best was the owners own designes, she is really good. She has made up a lot of garments using Habu yarns. Just beautiful. Well worth the trip in if you are in the area.

Then I went to The Black Sheep in Encinities. It was a great store. With so much yarn. I mean it is as big as Unraveled and filled to the gills with lots of things. They use a lot of ribbon yarns in their class projects so they had a wall of yarn from colnette, fiesta, great adirondack and some prisim. Now I am not one to use a lot of these yarns, but the wall was a spectacular sight full of amazing color. I did find something to come home with though.


First some lace weight Alpaca, just because it is so pretty. Misti Alpaca and Alpaca with a Twist which is Alpaca and silk. Be still my little heart. Now I know I won't be knitting on this any time soon. So it will live in the treasured basket in my living room where I can see it everyday.
Bet you can't guess what my favorite colors are?


And some Lousia Harding Cinnabar for the great bag on the front of Knitting Little Luxuries



I can still plan and dream about my own knitting projects.

I Must Knit Faster

I have come to the conclusion that I have to learn to knit faster. There are just too many things to knit and not enough time. I know that that is the way all knitters feel. But really, have you looked at my queue on Ravelry or my list of favorites? I want to do them all and I am having a really hard time making choices.

I was going to knit for myself this year. What happened? I have been doing class knis for Unraveled and that always takes more time then I think it will and I have some good classes coming out of them. So I really can't complain about that.

My great joy is the new baby in my life. One of my dearest friends just had her first baby. she is an older mom which means I get to play with a very small baby. That has to be one of the greatest joys in life. And of course the second greatest joy is knitting for a baby, the third greatest joy is that she is a girl! Having boys of my own and nephews this is so much fun!!

Right now on the needles I have a pair of socks, presto chango #2, Cocoon Lace Scarf, Montego Bay, Celtic Tote, Mom's golf club covers, a hibernating felted stash tote, and my "larger then life" bag that needs lining and finishing.

The solution? Knit faster so I can enjoy knitting all the things I want to knit. I am going to try and do combination knitting. I hate the continental purl. But after watching Mary knit today, I think that maybe combination is the answer.

But of course I am deluding myself. No matter how fast I knit there will always be more to knit. So really I need to knit, enjoy every stitch, and enjoy all the ideas and inspiration that is out there in Ravelry land. Because after all, isn't knitting supposed to be relaxing?
Didn't KnitDad just have the same post?




One Day Beret by Kirsten Kapur, free online pattern






Raisin Beret by Raven Jakubowski







Quantt by Star Athena










Boho Beret by Shannita Williams-Alleyne is a free ravelry download







Baby Sweater on Two Needles (February) by Elizabeth Zimmermann