Spoiled by Ravelry

So folks, have you missed me?

I blame Ravelry and depression for keeping me from blogging. Ravelry for being, in my mind, a sufficient place to communicate what's going on in my life, and depression for making me not care whether or not it was.

Right now, I'm deep in the midst of Christmas knitting, and thinking that I'm way behind. But completed so far, we have:

Savanna's Jayne Hat

Hillorie's Monkeys

Lizzie's Pat-a-Cake Mittens


And I think that's it. Eeek!

What have I been up to?

Entirely too much, and nothing all at the same time. As per usual, there has been some knitting, with very little in the way of life to supplement it. I'm in a race against time to compete in Sock Showdown, a little contest in the Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Swap Group on Ravelry, knit a shawl for someone else in said group, knit a pair of Anglo-Saxon--looking socks for Melisande by Pennsic, and finish a Mary Poppins themed swap package by the end of July. And all I really want to do is knit for me. Selfish, aren't I?

Pictures you say? Here are a few:

A Sagrantino Shawl slowly being knit up in Jojoland Melody Superwash. I love the construction and watching the colors change.

The completed Sock Showdown socks for my partner, whose name I will not divulge yet. Made in overdyed Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet.

And finally, some socks I started in January and only recently finished. Shur'tugal in Dream in Color Smooshy in Black Parade. Love the yarn and the pattern, but I knit them a little too short for me. Will probably go to my sister for Christmas.

And that's all for now, folks!

P.S. I will be moving to Cincinnati in August. I am quietly freaking out. That is all.

A Lazy Bum, That's What I Am

So obviously I haven't been around for a while. Largely because I got married March 28.

Here you see me showing off the garter I made. I'm really also too lazy to post all kinds of pictures here, too, so this is the only shot you get, unless of course you're my friend on facebook.

Knitting-wise, I've accomplished a bit:


Meredith's Blackrose socks. Raveled here.


Liz's Wicked Witch socks. Raveled here.

And finally, Nicole's Leyburns. Raveled here.

Oh, and Molly's Hanging Vines are still in progress. I just couldn't get it all done in time. I am, however, taking a break from them with a pair of Heath's Socks for me, which are over half done now. Then I'll get back to Molly's. Other than getting hitched and spring quarter (my last one!) getting started, I don't have much else to report.

P.S. Enough pictures for ya?

Full Speed Ahead

What I've finished:


A pair of socks for Ben, known as Masonic Lodge, in Knit Picks Essential in Pine. Gigantor socks they are, and they fit him just right. My big accomplishment was knitting the foot of one, heel turn and all, in one day. Size 11EEEE? No problem.

What I've started:


A pair of Blackrose socks for Meredith, one of my bridesmaids in the wedding that is to take place March 28 (!). I've decided to knit a pair of socks for all four of my maids. This may have been downright silly, but I'm doing it anyway. So to recap, that is four pairs of socks plus a giant Princess Bride-themed project, all due by March 28. Oh dear.

Christmas knitting finished!

Read the title. It says all I have to say.

A new project, a new pattern - Barbed Wire

So I just knit this hat for my brother for Christmas from a stitch pattern in Barbara Walker's Charted Knitting Design. The cable is called Toggle Knot, but I think it looks like the knots on strands of barbed wire, hence the name. Someone on Ravelry asked for a pattern, so here it is!


This hat is made up of four 3 stitch ribs and four repeats of the Toggle Knot pattern. It is very stretchy, and should fit most adult heads.

Materials:

• app. 170 yards worsted weight yarn (it might be significantly less than this, but I used a 7 oz. skein of Vanna's choice that contains 340 yards, and I didn't use half)
• size 7 or 8 16" circular needle AND/OR five dpns of the same size (dpns will be necessary for decreases
• a cable needle if desired
• a tapestry needle for finishing

Basic abbreviations required:

• di: Double increase, represented by the flower-stem image in rows 2 and 6 of the cable chart - created by knitting into the back loop, then front loop, passing the stitches onto the right needle, then using the left needle to pick up the vertical strand created by the 2 stitches and knitting it
• dd: Double decrease, represented by the ^ symbol in rows 23 and 27 of the cable chart and referred to in decrease instructions - created by slipping 2 stitches as if to knit, knit 1 stitch, pass 2 slipped stitches over the knit stitch and off the needle
  
• p2tog: Purl 2 together
• p3tog: Purl 3 together
• k2tog: Knit 2 together

Instructions:

Cast on 96 stitches (divide evenly if working on dpns - 24 to a needle) and join to work in the round.

K3, P3 to end for 10 rows.

Next 2 rows: K3, P9 to end

Next 28 rows: K3, work corresponding row of cable chart to end.

Toggle Knot chart:

The dots refer to purls, the x's refer to stitches that are not there for that line of the pattern. (My apologies for the poor chart and explanation, I will try to get up my own chart when I can, for now we'll have to use a picture of the page from Charted Knitting Design.


After completing the chart, revert to K3, P9 to end for 5 rows.

Decrease Rows (These are intuitive decreases, but here are row by row instructions for those who would like them):

Decrease Row 1: K3, P1, P2tog, P3, P2tog, P1 to end
Knit one row in pattern.

Decrease Row 2: K3, P1, P2tog, P1, P2tog, P1 to end
Knit one row in pattern.

Decrease Row 3: K3, P1, P3tog, P1 to end
Knit one row in pattern.

Decrease Row 4: K3, P3tog to end
Knit one row in pattern.

Decrease Row 5: DD, P1 to end
Knit one row in pattern

Decrease Row 6: K2tog to end

Cut yarn, leaving at least a 6" tail. Using a tapestry needle, thread yarn through live stitches twice, then secure. Weave in your cast-on tail, and ta-da, you have a hat!

Any comments on how to improve this pattern would be greatly appreciated, especially since I'm still new at this pattern stuff! You can leave them here or send them to me on Ravelry: I'm swordsandneedles.

Christmas Diversion Complete

Well, I've finished my fun knitting, and now I have to seriously get down to the Christmas stuff. I'm not pleased, but hopefully everyone else will be. I'm still waiting on my swap package, so I hope it arrives soon. For now, all I've got is a pictures of my finished scarf that I love to pieces.



Mmm....warm and fuzzy...

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Christmas Knitting...

For a belated jump onto the bandwagon!


So, I went to Bellevue, Kentucky while I was home for Thanksgiving and hit up a yarn store called Knit On. Amazing stuff they had there. And since I'm setting up a moratorium on yarn purchases until March, I indulged one last time. What you see above is my version of the Noro Striped Scarf done up in a slightly cheaper fashion. I'm using Noro Taiyo and Harrisville Designs Wool and Flax Blend and enjoying knitting a 1x1 rib scarf entirely too much. Don't get me wrong, there is other knitting happening, just not so much while I enjoy myself. I did finish a couple of dishcloths for my step-aunt, though.

Now to just motivate myself on the other Christmas projects instead of the scarf...

Some projects will drive you crazy...

Ask 'Bine. This owl has threatened my patience and my sanity. But he is darn cute. He's for my friend Tim, in exchange for turning a broken epee blade into a dagger blade for me. I'm quite proud of this little guy, but I never intend to knit another owl ever again. So there.

Anyway, school has started back up and I've managed to already bury myself in homework even though it sounds like I'm only taking fun classes. Does History through Star Trek sound like I should be reading essays on anti-colonialism? I didn't think so. It's also the only class where I'm not allowed to knit. So boo. Nonetheless much knitting has been done, but has already been shipped off without pictures, and some projects I'm just too lazy to take pictures of, like a Manos del Uruguay hat I made for myself. Mine. All mine. So pretty and mine....

What? Two Posts in One Month?

A fairly productive Olympics if I do say so myself. I made a scarf and a pair of socks. Now to finish those deadline socks that I should have been working on. I've cast on for the second, does that count?



Anyway, I love these socks, I knitted them on the Magic Loop (Knit Picks Harmony circulars, 40", size 2) in the Jaywalker pattern that originally came from MagKnits. They fit just right. I did a stretchy cast-on to be sure, though, since I'd read about some of them being tight. The yarn is great fun to work with. Lion Brand Sock-Ease in Rock Candy. (All of their colors are named after candies.) There's aloe in the yarn, good for the hands. Not much else going on, though. Trying to convince myself to do some wedding planning. Not working out so well. I'm definitely ready for school to start back.

For Judi

So I don't have pictures of the bag I made, but I do have pictures of a new FO. I signed up to join Ravelympics, a knitting challenge that runs through the Olympics. I signed up to finish a sweater (that I've already started), a pair of socks (still not started yet), and a scarf (just completed). And since my camera is somewhat cooperating with my computer, I have a picture.

Specs: worked on 10s in Mainstays (Wal-Mart brand) acrylic yarn, color is Vallejo Tan. Based on the Komet sock pattern with a 4 st seed stitch border. Apologies to the non-Ravelers on the link. Anyway, it's for my cousin Jenny for Christmas.

Other than that, life proceeds as usual, with some discussion of wedding plans and lots of Olympics watching. Particularly volleyball. And some fencing. The gold medal match for sabre was pretty cool.

Sock Victorious!

You know what these are? That's right, finished!!!!!!!!!

Can I add a few more exclamation points? !!!!!!!!

Now to figure out what to do next.

One Project Down, and a New One Up!

So I finished the Green Tea socks, and now I've started the Eleanor of Toledo socks, mostly because Sabine gave me the pattern and I was amused, so we shall have to see how it works out. (It'll be funny to see what she thinks on Craft Night Thursday.) They're going slowly. I'm only knitting them on 1.5's, so I feel bad for those who used 0's. They will be a looonnng project. I'll probably have something else going at the same time, and I have no expectations of finishing them this quarter. Oh well. Just wanted to drop by and mention the newness!!!

Pictures!!!

See, there it is, I actually finished it and got to take a picture, even if it's not spectacular. Grandma seems quite proud of it, though, which is all that really matters. I went home over MLK weekend to have Grandma take measurements for my wedding dress (she's going to make it) and I got to take this picture and eat some home-cooked food that I didn't have to prepare. Hurray for lazy college students. I really just want to show off my first lace project, so here's a fuzzy, but more color-accurate picture:

Grandma's chair is modeling with the assistance of some pillowcases. The pattern is available for free from MimKnits, and I made mine on KnitPicks Harmony Options, size 5, out of KnitPicks Shadow in Vineyard Heather.

I'm currently making a chevron scarf for a friend, and then I guess it will be socks for siblings, but it's up in the air, really.

Project finally complete!

Finally I have finished my sister's Christmas socks. They are the Boyfriend Socks by slippedstitch worked on 1.5's in KnitPicks Essentials Bare (aka Confetti Socks). It's taken a while, but I am quite proud of them, and hopefully she will enjoy them! Now to figure out what my next project will be...

With Limited Computer Access

At Ohio University we are now on Winter Break and will be so until January. I am remaining in Athens in order to work as a production assistant at a local publishing company. Hurray! However, my internet access is limited to the times I can go to the library, so no pictures until January unless things change. I did finish off my own pair of Rannoch gauntlets, and wear them every day at work (where the office is freezing!). I'm going to start the Adamas shawl for my grandmother and I ordered the new KnitPicks harmony wood needles! It will be my first shawl and I'm a bit nervous. I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving and I wish all a merry Christmas to come! (Just hopefully not to stressful with knitting gifts!)

Dashing, yes?

Life is currently crazy. I got an internship for winter break that will cost me more than I'll earn, but I'm thrilled. Wedding planning is beginning, and finals week is at hand. Christmas knitting is underway, particularly a pair of Boyfriend socks for my sister, a scarf for my uncle, and The Cat has asked for an aran sweater! Do I appear to be Wonder Woman? Mediocre knitter without much time. That's a big request. Anyway, an FO for my friend Sarah.


Dashing by: Cheryl Niamath for Knitty
Red Heart Super Saver in Real Teal and something cranberry-ish

Not so good with the pictures, but she loves them!