I'm in a never ending sea of UFOs

Well my last post (i know it was a while ago) involved me starting my first sock and turning the heel and that was basically it. Well in all this time I've got a bit of the instep/sole done and that's it, still on the first sock and to be honest i think it'll end up getting frogged anyway. I received a book for Christmas that is so far looking great. It's 2-at-a-time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. It's a technique that involves (quite obviously) knitting 2 socks at the same time, however this technique only involves one circular rather than the more common method requiring 2. This appeals to me because it seems to make more sense but also because now I don't need to invest in a second set of needles (at least for the smaller sizes) just to make socks, which frankly I'm not sure yet if I'm even going to knit all that many pairs of them anyway. Before owning the book or hearing anything about it I toyed with the idea of coming up with a method to figure out doing this actually, however I figured I should knit a few pairs conventionally before attempting to develop my own method. Well now I don't have to wait, nor do I need to develop it myself because this Melissa lady did it for me. The book (so far) is well written, in a somewhat conversational tone rather than just step by step. Rather than just giving steps for the technique she first describes it and explains how it works. I've always like that in knitting books, or any instructional/technical book because after-wards instead of just knowing how to do something i know why it works in the first place and what advantage it has. Currently I've started the sample pair of socks it has in it, and though i only have a few rounds done the technique is easy and already advantageous. The first round is a total of 32 stitches, first 16 knit, second 16 k1, p1 ribbing. Well in my infinite haste I didn't pay attention to that and instead just assumed it was knit across both sets of 16. Since this was a test anyway even though it wasn't many stitches botched up nor would it have been difficult to fix, why fix it? Didn't seem to make sense to me, so i knit across all 32 stitches on the second sock as well, which is where the big advantage i see lies. I now don't need to remember i did that. For instance on the sock i was working conventionally I know i made some modifications while knitting the leg, but now (6ish months later) I can't for the life of me remember what they were, I don't even remember if i modified the pattern, the length, etc. No clue. So instead of having to make notes of every change made I'll just make the same change to the second sock while it's fresh in my memory. Brilliant.
Aside from that I had a hat about 75 percent of the way done for my cousin for Christmas. Until I (again) didn't pay attention to the pattern, messed it up and had to restart it. Other UFO's include another hat that I'm about 1/4 done with, a purse/bag knit out of VHS tape for my cousin, and a chess set I'm working on for my brother which was supposed to be a Christmas present but turned out to be a bit more involved than i thought so he obviously is getting it a bit late. He's ok with that and saw that pieces i have done so it's ok.
I finished a hat that i had made for myself, it was really quick and easy, sadly i have no photos of it. But the nice part was that someone complimented me on it on christmas at my grandma's house, asked to try it on. Well she loved it and it fit her (i'm not sure how because i have a big head) so since it was Christmas I told her she could have it if she'd like. I was on my way out anyway but later got quite a few texts from relatives that she won't stop talking about how much she liked it, and later i find out that that hat was the one and only gift she received that year. That last part made me overwhelmingly happy but also quite sad, as she has a couple of kids, who apparently didn't get/make her anything, not even a card.
Well though there are many other UFO's at my house, in fact enough to over fill the Home Depot shopping basket i have at my house (which I haven't the foggiest idea how it got there) that's all I'm going to get into for now.

maybe at some point I'll go through this post and proofread and add links but that isn't happening right now.

Finished a project!

Finally finished the Traveling Woman Shawl (link to pattern, not to my project) I was making for my mom the other night. Gave it to her last night and it was only a month and a half late for her birthday. She's sadly had to wait much longer than that for gifts before, in fact I'm pretty sure i still owe her for birthdays/christmas' from years and years ago. Sadly i don't have any pictures yet as i can't find the charger for my camera. Pictures should be up soon though.

Also went to knitting group for the first time in a long time and for the first time ever my mom joined me. It was a good time. Worked on a sock and aside from a minor mistake that i think i made i managed to turn my first heel, so pretty psyched about that. It seems a bit holey where a picked up the gusset stitches but as it isn't meant to be a winter sock and the holes aren't too bad I'm not really worried about it. In progress shot:

It's Knitpicks Felici Sock yarn in the "Time Traveler" colorway using the Earl Grey Pattern from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I like the pattern a lot, so assuming they fit well I'm sure to make more of these. And the yarn is great, feels great, works up great, looks great, and i love the stripes. I've used a few self striping yarns before but they didn't have stripes even close to as bold as this stuff does. The other self striping stuff i have looks more like variegated yarn than actual stripes. Maybe that's because i have big feet or something but i doubt that anything short of a dolls socks would actually appear to have stripes even just a couple of rows long.
Also working on a few other items like a baby blanket for a friend that just had a daughter, and a few small things, dish clothes, fingerless mittens for myself and possible a pair for my brother as well.
I'll have more pictures as this get completed.

Just started my first pair of sock!!!

Yeap. It's going well so far but i just finished the cuff and I'm starting the pattern rows next. The pattern is http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2007/08/30/earl_grey.html and they'll end up being for me assuming they fit. These are sort of warm up socks, I got some Felici Sock yarn from knit picks in the Time Traveler colorway, the yarn I'm using for these socks I picked up ages ago on sale, it's also self striping but due to the sale it was a lot cheaper and I don't like it nearly as much as the Felici. I just don't want to start on the Felici and have to learn on that and possibly frog a few times or something like that. When I do get around to the Felici though i'll probaby end up using the same pattern, since I like it and I have 4 balls of it, so that should be enough for 2 pairs so I can do the first in this pattern and when I get a bit more advanced with sock knitting I can do something a bit crazier with the other 2 or whatever I have left over.

Also just ordered a cheap drop spindle and some roving from etsy to give spinning a "whorl." Yeah it was lame but it's ok because nobody really reads this aside from my girlfriend and she probably won't get it anyway. I've wanted to try spinning for quite some time, just never got around to it. I'd like to get a wheel but at this point I don't really have the space or money to get one, aside from which I should probably give a drop spindle a try first to see if I like it since it cost me $3 (and that's after shipping) rather than well over $200-$400 for a wheel just to find out that I don't really like it or something and end up just knitting with bought yarn anyway. I'm still keeping my eyes peeled on craigslist and ebay and maybe if I'm lucky I'll run across a sweet deal on a used wheel, but in the mean time I'll give the spindle a try. Thinking about actually getting a kick wheel/mother marion as the next step instead of jumping right from spindle to wheel, but we'll see.

Working on some new stuff

I've been knitting quite a bit recently just nothing has progressed enough to get to the point of being blogable quite yet. I've been working on the antlers scarf from the Son of Stitch and Bitch book, which is a rather easy cable pattern but the results are really nice, however it's maybe got 3 pattern repeats done so far so it's only  about 4 inches long or so.
And in an effort to try new techniques I'm starting a version of the "We Call Them Pirates" hat. I've never done stranded color-work before, never read from a chart before, never done a lining before, and never done a provisional cast on before so the pattern is choc full of things I've never done while still being within my skill range. Also I'm going to start a lace shawl of some type for my mom's birthday, i just haven't decided on a pattern for that yet, so that'll be my first lace project and shawl so yet another learning adventure for me.
Aside from that I've also been working on some original designs but nothing crazy, just some wash-clothes and small things, and a scarf, again nothing nutty though. I've also done a couple more of the beanie hat I've already posted but since it isn't something crazy and I've already posted it in other colors/yarns it really isn't worth posting again.
So while the blog may indicate I'm not doing much as far as knitting goes I actually am, just nothing worth posting (at least not yet).

Another plain hat for a dude

Well after a good amount of beers i lost the hat that i posted a few days ago. But no big deal, it had an error in the ribbing that bothered me(couldn't really be seen but i knew it was there kind of thing). So yesterday on the way up to my grandma's easter feast i started another one. Finished it up last night and i like it a lot more. It's made of Wool of the Andes from Knitpicks and i love it, going to be super warm! Anyway here's a couple pictures of it and more proof that i really need to find the charger for my camera or get a new one. the iphone doesn't cut it especially for stuff like this.

Bella's Hat

Well my girlfriend loves Twilight (I personally can't stand it) so when i decided to make her a hat it was fairly easy to go with this pattern which is based on the mittens that Bella wore in the movie(s).
I had some Lion Brand Jiffy laying around for ages to make something for her, it's kind of an ice blue heather (i don't know the actual color name.) And i think it ended up being great in that color. Anyway here are a couple of pictures. (It isn't pointy when it's on a human's head. i'll try to get pictures of it being worn.) The pattern was very good, and it was a fairly quick project, started it one night finished it the next day during my lunch break. Not bad at all. And if i did it a time or 2 more i'm sure the pattern memorization would be easy even for me.

Finished up a beanie for myself

Started this last night while watching Psych finished it up during my lunch break today. It's a really simple beanie hat, the pattern is here. I actually could've finished it up sooner had i kept going on it last night. I really enjoyed doing it, and the pattern is super simple (this is the first time i made it and i didn't have to look at the pattern much at all after reading through it the first time (i did try to make it last week but i read the pattern wrong because i'm an idiot)). It fits great and i'm sure i'll be making more because it can fit a wide range of head sizes. My big old dome is 24 inches, and this hat can definitely fit well under that and at least a couple inches bigger without being stretched out and looking weird. Also oddly enough this is the first thing i've completed while knitting that's actually for myself, everything else i've made was either a gift or still isn't done. Very happy with how it turned out and this will probably be my default hat pattern from now on.

Pattern for the baby blanket posted earlier

OK i had some time to write it out so here it is (i proof read it quickly, i'll recheck it tonight and fix any errors that may be there):
Yarn: Pentex Monster Ball Worsted. Any worsted weight though should get the job done.
Gauge 4 sts per in. in stockinette

CO 123
Row 1-8 K
Row  9: K10, P103, K10
Row  10- K (from here on all even rows or right side rows are K)
Row 11,13,15,17: K10, P103, K10
Row 19,21,23,25: K10, P5, K93, P5, K10
Row 27,29,31,33: K10, P5, K10, P73, K10, P5, K10
Row 35,37,39,41: K10, P5, K10, P5, K63, P5, K10, P5, K10
Row 43,45,47,49: K10, P5, K10, P5, K10, P43, K10, P5, K10, P5, K10
Row 51,53,55,57: K10, P5, K10, P5, K10, P5, K33, P5 K10, P5, K10, P5, K10
Row 59,61,63,65,67,69,71: K10, P5, K10, P5, K10, P5, K10, P13, K10, P5, K10, P5, K10, P5, K10
Row 73,75,77,79: K10, P5, K10, P5, K10, P5, K33, P5 K10, P5, K10, P5, K10
Row 81,83,85,87: K10, P5, K10, P5, K10, P43, K10, P5, K10, P5, K10
Row 89,91,93,95: K10, P5, K10, P5, K63, P5, K10, P5, K10
Row 97,99,101,103: K10, P5, K10, P73, K10, P5, K10
Row 105,107,109,111: K10, P5, K93, P5, K10
Row 113,115,117,119: K10, P103, K10
Row 120-127 K
Bind off.

I Used long tail CO and a Knit BO, so that adds 2 rows of knit, 1 at each end.




It isn't the most readable thing i know, if you put it into Microsoft or Open Office or whatever office suite you use, Word document and double space it, it looks like it'd be easier to see and keep track, but for the sake of space in this post i tried to take that out.  Same reason i didn't write in all the even rows since they're all knit rows anyway. Some things to consider, this pattern is how it should be, if you look at the actual blanket i made (you might be able to see in the pics, there are some errors), i didn't write the errors into the pattern for obvious reasons. Also if i could do it over again like i said i would've probably some some cables in it and made the center "block" a bit less simple, nothing crazy though because a lot of the reason i like it is because it's simple (and therefore really quick and easy). Also i would've only cast on 120 stitches and then the center block would've been 10 sts across, it isn't a big deal at this point but in the future that's how I'll do it, as well as probably changing other things so it's all in increments of 5 or 10.  Aside from that i like it and like i said i used the Pentex monster ball, i can make at least another one from the same skein, maybe even 2 more blankets, it's good for inexpensive acrylic, has a decent drape and feel, no problem with yarn barf(i think people will know what i mean?), and i since it's acrylic i don't have to worry about giving it to a baby with allergies nearly as much, plus it's machine wash and dry-able.

Another reason i like this pattern is it'd be quite easy to add to it to make it a full sized adult blanket, in that case however I'd probably use a wool or wool blend instead of 100% acrylic.



well that's the first pattern I've ever written and shared with people. enjoy it, and if you use it (especially if you modify it) please post photos of your work! I'd love to see that.

Finished a quick baby blanket

A coworker of mine had a baby in december but just recently came back to work. His name is Sean, so i figured, a kid named Sean has to have a green blanket. I knit this up for him, took me a couple weeks to complete (around 21 hours total, since i'm slow). At first i was just going to do garter stitch for the whole thing but then after a few rows decided that i wanted to throw a bit of design into it, and since i didn't feel like frogging the few rows i did and start over with a pattern, i just designed as i went and came up with this.

I didn't think to do it till after i was almost done, but next time i think i'm going to do something with the center block, maybe the first initial of the person or something like that. And if i had it to do over again i think a cable pattern going up the stockinette "columns" would've been a nice touch. There's always next time though.

An introduction of sorts

I've been knitting for about a year and crocheting for about 5 or so years. I'm not overly good at knitting yet, I haven't been doing it long enough (or often enough) to get into the more advanced technics and things but for the most part i can follow a pattern and though i can't really design things I do have the ability to modify patterns to my liking and I can design my own cables but that's pretty much it. I'm decently good at designing as far as crochet but I've somewhat fallen out of love with it since picking up knitting, I do still crochet though when I need to for a quick gift or just to take a break from knitting.