Pattern: Short- Sleeved Cardigan with Ribbing by Stefanie Japel
Yarn: From Yarnia in Portland OR
Needles: 9, 10, 8

My first me sized sweater! Overall I am really happy with this sweater, only bad things are that the yarn is a bit on the scratchy side and I kinda flubbed the purl stuff before the body ribbing…oops.  I decided on wooden buttons and I am really happy with how this fits into my wardrobe. I hope that any other sweaters I make in the future are successful as this one.

Pattern: Fiddlehead Mittens
Yarn: Cascade 220 and Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Silk Print
Needles: 3

Once again it is that time of year for my sister to get a knit birthday present. Last year she got a pair of Endpaper Mitts, this year she requested mittens and then a hat to match. The longest part of this project was picking the color. My sister said she liked warm colors and I almost decided to go with the same colors as last year but then she told me she thought blue was a warm color. (I never thought that) I waited until she came up for a visit, sat her in front of the screen and made her pick out yarn. She ended up picking purple her favorite color when she was a kid.

Pattern: Inga Hat
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: 3

I a pretty happy with the way both of these turned out, though I should have blocked the mittens before knitting the lining (they don’t match perfectly now) and I had to aggressively block the hat to make it large enough to fit. Overall I think they are a nice pair and they will serve my sister well next year in med school.

After seeing me whip out these mittens and hat my mom decided that I am now the official workhorse when it comes to gifts for family and friends. First with the deadline of a week she requested a nice lace scarf, like the one I just finished, for a friend we stay with while we are in Portland. Fortunately I had the yarn, I just had to pick a pattern that I could finish in time. Even before I finished the scarf she also tasked me with making market bags for an Aunt and Uncle, who knows what she will ask for next.

Pattern: Melon Scarf
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss Lace
Needles: 6 for body 3 for border

I basically followed the modifications that Grumperina made and I think it turned out pretty nice. It is definitely the fastest I have ever knit a big lace piece. If I ever to do the pattern again I would use a slightly thicker yarn so that the melons would be all nice a fluffy, the lace weight yarn just seems a little thin. Hopefully the recipient will like it. 🙂

Pattern: Myrtle leaf scarf with willow border
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Aegean
Needles: 4

I started my myrtle leaf scarf last May, it got put aside several times due to other projects, moving and just general fear of the project. I was worried about starting the border, which turned out to not be so bad. Then I was worried I would run out of yarn, I did. After ripping back to salvage yarn several times I just gave up and used some sock yarn in a similar color and now it is done. I really didn’t want to hit the year mark so I had the motivation to finish it.

I have only worn it once and while it is no longer as pretty as when I first blocked it but I can always reblock it if it gets too scrunched up. Overall I am very happy with my pretty lace scarf. 🙂

A few months ago I mentioned the fuzzy muff I had made a couple of years ago and how I never took a proper picture. I figured I would wait til it got colder and perhaps we got snow. We got snow, lots of it, so much that I was too cold to think of taking a picture and the only shoes I had that worked were my old ship boots. So I waited and forgot. We had a light dusting of snow the other day and I remembered my muff, though by the time I got out there most of it was gone. I am happy to report that the muff did do its job, it kept my hands nice and toasty.

Since my mom has a habit of taking blurry pictures  I usually set the camera to the timer and then run in front of it when I take pictures of my knitting. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t as you can see below.

You can see how the small amount of snow melted away.

This is my good walking picture

This is the not so good walking picture. I had the camera on some steps which were just too far away from where I wanted to be so I only just made it into the frame. Kinda a funny mistake don’t you think?

Currently I am working on my first adult sized sweater (I have made a baby sweater) The Pattern is Short- Sleeved Cardigan with Ribbing byStefanie Japel. The main part knit up really quick but now I am stuck on the sleeves. I have already made them longer than the pattern but the question is where do I want to stop. At first I thought I would make them full length but now considering the chunkyness of the sweater I am leaning towards 3/4 length. I haven’t touched it in a few days so hopefully that will have been enough time for me to look at it with fresh eyes. Though I have some socks that are asking to be knit and hopefully they don’t distract from the sweater

One thing I miss about Japan are the Cherry Blossoms.  They would start to show up about this time of year and were a way of saying spring in on the way. So in hope of spring here is Shammy posing by some blossoms in Tokyo.

Another swap with the Odd Ducks group on Ravelry. The theme for this one was the wives of Henry the VII. Instead of me explaining it here is the note from Anne Boleyn about the projects.

Her Royal Highness Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, Ireland and France, Marquess of Pembroke wishes to present you with these gifts. First a cowl, which Her Royal Highness feels is a version of the ruff more suited to your climate, made from wool spun from the very finest merino by the good folks at Knit Picks, bejeweled with little glass beads. Her Royal Highness wishes that you feel like a queen when you wear it and should you feel inclined to make your own she has included a set of beads for your use. Her Royal Highness also wishes to give you a cone of yarn from the famed Yarnia, she feels that it’s soft feel and colors will bring you great joy. From our Spanish friends a treat from the new world, it is called chocolate. This was very hard to procure due to the Spaniards holding on to its secret. From the orient Her Royal Highness has gifted you with some tea. Finally Her Royal Highness graces you with her likeness in the form of a paper doll with two dresses.

The Ice queen was fun to make, though a little tedious with the beads, but I had the most fun with the paper doll. I grew up with a rather large paper doll collection and it was fun to draw from that knowledge to make my own.

We had a death in the family so I haven’t felt like blogging for awhile, but that hasn’t stopped me from being a busy little bee when it comes to knitting and crafting.

First off I finished my Sodera Socks. I like having a pair of knee highs but these are probably my least favorite socks to date. Given the fact that I had never done the heal prescribed in the pattern I think I made the foot portion too long and the pattern just doesn’t show up properly. They are cute and it is a nice pattern but I would do a different heal were I to make a second pair.  I can tell that I have improved in knitting because the lace pattern is the same as that in Hedra socks (which were my first pair of socks.) At that time I was sorta attempting to do combined knitting with out really reading though all of the direction of adapting regular knitting patterns to combined knitting. It still looks like the pattern but there is something off. I now knit in continental style.

I have also started on my first adult size sweater. When I first saw the Owls pattern online I fell in love, so cute yet sophisticated. Perfect first sweater I thought. We had an upcoming trip down to Portland so I figured I should combine this great sweater with a trip to Yarnia.  I picked out this lovely combo of browns and a small burgundy. Unfortunately when I knit a swatch the owl disappeared in the colors of the yarn.

Nice colors but the yarn is just to busy for what I want. So what was I to do, I had a pattern I wanted to do with no yarn and all of this yarn in need of a pattern. Since it is my policy to buy yarn for a project in a effort to not have a giant stash a pattern needed to be found for this yarn. Out came my knitting books and magazines, I was looking for something simple that would let the yarn shine with a similar gauge. While flipping through Fitted Knits I found it, the Short Sleeved Cardigan with Ribbing. I don’t have any pictures of it in progress but it has gone really fast, I am already on the sleeves.

Happy Holidays Everyone (a late holiday post)

I am tickled pink that this years Starbucks decor has yarn EVERYWHERE. There is even a knit pattern on the cups! Shammy couldn’t resist sitting on this big ball of shiny yarn.

I participated in the Darjeeling Limited Swap through the Odd Ducks Group on Ravelry. I havent gotten my package yet (there is still time so not worried yet) but my partner received and likes what I did so now I can show it off.

Since the theme of the swap is a movie that takes place in India I wanted to make a scarf that was as close as I could get to a sari. I did the scarf with the open and solid diamond lace edging from Victorian lace today with Noro Sock yarn. It is the best blocking I have done to date and I am really happy with how it turned out, but I think the real crowning glory of what I did (and the most fun to do) is the train.

The train in the movie is blue but I had this great box and one day it just dawned on me how train car shaped it was and thus the train project was born. I used acrylic paint and pen. I really love how it turned out. There are more picture of it on my flickr if you want to look. Next swap I am doing is the Wives of Henry the 8th and I already have a great idea for it cooking in my head. Now if it would only stop snowing so I could get supplies.