Finished Object Round Up for '09...

I don't think I've ever done one of these, but I thought it might be interesting to tally up the total for the year. So here goes, from most recent backwards. Note: The following are a list of pattern names, the links to which I'm not going to post. If you're on Ravelry, you can visit my project page. If you're here visiting the blog and aren't into knitting, this will be very boring for you.

Hats

Flakey Baby Hat (my own devising)
We Call Them Pirates
Cabled Hat with Earflaps (kids)
Bonnet from Itty Bitty Hats
Rollin' Baby Beret
Bunny Tail hat
Pom Pom Beret by Debbie Bliss
Flame On
Bonnet of my own devising (part of little A's coming home outfit)
Whale of a Tail

Total; 10

Socks

1 pair Flakey Baby Socks
3 pairs plain vanilla kids socks
2 pair Better than Booties baby socks, Chevron pattern
2 pair Broadripple
1 pair Paraphernalia
1 pair Harris Tweed
1 pair 3x1 ribbed socks
1 pair Blackrose socks
1 pair plan vanilla pink Tanis for me and a matching pair for little A
1 pair Duck Feet slippers for the wee one

Total; 15

Sweaters
All kids sweaters mind you

2 Top Down cardigans
1 Classic Cabled sweater
1 Owl sweater vest
1 Cable Tank Top (Debbie Bliss)
1 Modified Drops Eyelet Baby Cardigan
1 Helena baby sweater
1 Seamless Baby kimono
1 Baby's Hoodie to Knit (Bernat pattern)

Total; 9

Other

1 Thermis neck warmer
1 Pretty Thing cowl

Total; 2

Crochet

15 bibs
8 coasters with holder from the Summer Coaster Set pattern by Chicken Betty
2 stuffed toys

Total; 25

Works Still in Progress from 2009

Clapotis scarf
Babette Blanket
(non-fiber related) Pinta Bean (although at least I finished the pregnancy part, which, near the end, I really wasn't sure was ever going to end).

Grand Total FO's for 2009; 61

Hmmm...neat. They really do pile up when you knit small things. Wonder what will grab my attention in 2010.

Until later...

Stuff I Made for Other People...

First off, just wanted to say thanks to all who left a lovely note of congratulations or encouragement, either on the blog or on Ravelry about my little announcement. Such lovely people you are!! To answer a few inquiries, if I can remember correctly, here is some rapid fire answers.

-I'm 10 wks. 6 days along
-Yes, What to Expect When You're Expecting is the scariest book I've read since Stephen King's IT. I've put it aside for a while and will consult when necessary. I'm of the opinion that a little (and I do mean a very little) 'ignorance is bliss' is helpful in this condition.
-A couple of you made me crave burgers with bacon and slices of pizza.

Now here is some stuff I made for people that I couldn't show you until I had given it away.



This was for some friends back home expecting in October. The dad-guy I've known since, well, even before high school I guess and he's quite the Detroit Tigers baseball fan, so I conjured up this little chart (all by myself!!) and knit the tiniest sweater ever. I chose Lanett Superwash, which I have to say I'm a big big fan of. They know they're expecting a boy, so it's all good. I would've knit this regardless though. With the orange onesie (the other Tigers colour), the little hat and the Robeez baseball shoes, it was just to die for. My favourite part? The baseball buttons.



This was my BFF Carrie's wedding present, which she received while I was home for vacay, just shy of her second wedding anniversary. I started it in April of '07, well after she was wed and would likely still have it stuffed in a bag, haunting me from some deep dark recess if it were not for the gracious and unselfish help of one of my knitting compatriots who kicked this project in the arse by knitting nine of the remaining twelve squares for me. I'm forever in her debt. I think I finished it around April or May of '08.



Knit from Patons Decor in Aran and Sand Castle variegated, I think it turned out quite lovely. I was pleased with the result and I think Carrie was too. And Carrie? I don't know if we were actually competing to see who would be done first, but I seem to recall that there was mention of a quilt at some point. I'm still waiting. Oh and neener neener, I win. (love you!!)

And that was the sum total, with the exception of some socks, of my spring knitting. At present, I seem to be suffering some burn out. I have a few things on the go, none of which are really capturing me. I sit in front of the tv all fidgety and bored, thinking 'I really should grab some knitting' and then four hours later I just go to bed. Not even my new WHOLE BAG of Rowan baby cashsoft DK or the other WHOLE BAG (bought super cheap online...thank you Heddy) of Debbie Bliss alpaca silk DK is doing it for me (though I do have a project in mind for it). Not sure what the cure is for this. Patience I suppose.

Anyhow, time to graze. Until later...

Finishing Frenzy...

I go through cycles where I start a bunch of stuff, let it linger for a really long while, then get crazed and finish that bunch of stuff. Which is where I'm at now.



A pinwheel baby blanket that had been on the needles since May. It's quite small, but I once made a teeny-tiny blanket for a friend's baby when I first started knitting and while I thought it was far too wee, she told me it was perfect for in the car or the stroller since she didn't have to fold it over a bunch of times. So I decided that this blanket was to have the same destiny as I was just plain sick of knitting it. It was a stash busting project anyhow, and I cut the stash yarn I had in half by knitting it and I'd like to use the other three balls for myself for something in the future. I wasn't totally enamoured of the yarn to begin with (Marks and Kattens Bomull, 50-50 cotton/wool) but it was more the project that I started using it with just didn't suit. I quite like the yarn now. I've since lost count on my stash buster projects...this might be #5.



A friend's birthday present, on the needles for a little while (some other socks my have taken over while in the midst of knitting these) and now finally finished and given. I made another pair out of the Patons Stretch Sock (which these are) out of the bluey-green Kelp colourway but didn't think to take a pic of the finished pair before I gave them away. Anyhow, both sets of feet seem to be quite pleased, as am I. Both pair were an attempt at a new technique for me. This Plum pair were my first toe up and short row heel socks. The heels turned out a little lacy, but I liked the way it looked, especially for a summer sock. The Kelp pair (not shown...grrr) were my first two socks knit at a time on two circular needles. Didn't care for the technique. I can't go just as quickly with one at a time on my double pointed needles, thank you very much. I actually gave up half way through the two at a time and took one on my dpns, finished it, then went at the other. But surprise surprise, I really like the toe up method. For some reason, doing a really long cuff doesn't drive me as insane when starting at the toe. Anyhow, I've enhanced the breadth of my knitting knowledge...it's all good.

Hank is adjusting well to the new digs, although I said to the constable when we first moved over, 'How long do you think it's going to take before I regret getting such light coloured carpet?' to which he replied, 'I dunno...an hour?' It hasn't bee quite that bad, but yesterday I did wash about four or five little marks out of the carpet, most definitely the result of Mr. Hank. Ah well. Whaddya gonna do.

Yesterday I was very much Charlie Brown standing in the middle of a deserted ball field yelling 'AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!' I was on my way to work, the one day I actually need to go out of the house, stopped for gas, hopped back in the Jeep and it wouldn't start. Wanted to turn over, but just wouldn't catch. I had a couple people help me boost it and nothing. So there I waited for an hour (hood up, at the pump...wouldn't even go into neutral so we could push it out of the bloody way) after calling CAA (best Christmas present EVER) for the tow truck guy so this great heaping P.O.S. could get hauled down to the dealership for the fourth time since we've moved here. Have I happened to mention that we've only lived here little over a year? We hadn't even finished paying off the last repair. So I was not happy yesterday. Today is a little better, but when I think of it, everything clenches up. I...hate...that...Jeep. Hate. The Jeep. We've been going back and forth for a great long time now about getting a new vehicle, but it's sooo nice not to have a car payment that we just couldn't decide what to do. I actually hate all cars. All of them. They're the worst necessary evil in our society today. They're nothing but a money pit, all of them. And I couldn't care less about what kind or what features...who cares???! It's just this great bloody hunk of junk that depreciates incredibly the very minute you drive it off the lot that will cause me nothing but grief for the duration of ownership. I hate having to pay for gas, I hate having to limit where I go and when because of the cost of it; I hate having to shovel it out and clean it off in the winter, hate driving in the snow (and the heavy rain for that matter...it's my eyesight). I'm hateful. But it's towards an inanimate object. So it's okay.

Anyway, that's my rant. Today is a lovely day. Gonna get my work out of the way and go enjoy it. Until later...

ETA @ 5 pm; The Jeep and I have resolved our differences. It was only some sort of emissions valve which is only in the neighbourhood of maybe a hundred bucks for parts and labour. Whee!

The Secret to Increasing Knitting FO Output...

I have discovered a revelation. Knit Nite is not only fun, but it can be incredibly productive. Case in point, I made great headway on not one, but two projects last Wednesday night, both of which I was able to finish when I got home. How is this accomplished you ask, when the main goal of Knit Nite is to drink hot chocolate and eat crack-filled cupcakes (they put it in the icing, I swear)?

Have someone else do the knitting for you! One of our esteemed members brought a project that had been put down for some time, and she didn't feel much like trying to figure out where she left off. After a brief stint with Heddy's dish cloth cotton, I handed over my second little sock that I had started and then put down in favour of my newly acquired alpaca. Granted, it is an itty bitty sock, but she got to the heel by the time we left and I was able to finish the foot of the sock (and the crown the hat that I was working on) when I got home.



Did someone mention alpaca? Ah right, that was me. Well, I dropped into the LYS with the intention of just picking up one ball for another pair of baby socks (I'm doing some baby knitting, can't you tell? There are few babies who need knit wear out there in the near future) and I had a bit of a falling down. I found a cute little pattern for a baby cardi and hat, and four balls later, I walked out on a bit of an alpaca high.



I lurve working with this stuff. It's so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick some up. The pattern is SRK 164, Cable Hat and Cardigan and I'm using Luxury Collection Alpaca Peru in sort of a beigey colour. It's delightful. I'm doing the 3-6 month size, and it looks really big to me. Ah well. Whatever!



And no Friday would be a Good Friday without this guy, at least in my opinion. He had his third-to-last puppy class last night and was totally like a kid who just came off of two weeks vacation. Not interested in doing school work, just wanted to play and find out what everyone else did with their time off (we had a week off from puppy school last week because of March Break). Of course, the blame rests squarely on my shoulders as we didn't do as much practising of the exercises and commands that we should have and somewhere along the way, Hank just stopped wanting to do down altogether. I'll even get into a deep crouch and put my hand all the way to the ground and he'll just sit there and stare down at my hand like 'that's nice...not laying down though.' And I have never encountered a dog that is so disinterested in treats overall. At home, yeah, he can get sort of excited about them, but with new treats? He's so cautious you'd think that he was convinced the world was trying to poison him. He rarely takes treats from strangers. Anyhow, even hot dogs weren't tempting him to co-operate at some points last night. He's going to have expensive taste, I can just tell. We'll have to do a little better with our homework before next week. Only one more class before graduation. I kept telling him before we started our training that he'd get a gold star. Can't let the poor guy down. Could you disappoint that face?

Hank and I wish you all a Happy Easter. Watch out for rabbits bearing chocolate.

Until later...

Stash Buster # 1...

Janette, if you're reading this, could you look away for a little bit? I haven't decided what I'm going to do with this particular project yet, whether I'll send it to you now or later. I'm sure I'll have it figured out by the end of this post.

...

Alright. Well, first off, it's Hank day, so here's the obligatory puppy pic:



Such a handsome devil.

Last night was the first night of puppy school! Lexa and Jewel and Hank and I all piled in the Jeep together and after a brief stop at the wrong location, we got ourselves straightened out and managed to eek out a few basic exercises. Hank finally got to meet Jewel, who is just as sweet and cute as can be, and I realized upon meeting her that I need to get Hank around more dogs more often, just to be reminded of how huge he is. I was expecting Jewel to be at least comparable in size from the pictures on Lexa's blog, but she's just wee.

My brute on the other hand, with the exception of a large Collie that was there as an example dog, owned by the trainer, will shortly out weigh every other dog in the class, and maybe already does. He's not taller than all of them yet, but it certainly won't be long. You wouldn't know it to watch him though. I keep forgetting that despite his size, Hank is still very much a puppy, and he likes to stay pretty close to 'mom'. The training exercises only last about five minutes or so, and then the class gets to play with one another. Hank hung around the outside of the group, wanting very much to play and join in, but just wasn't too terribly sure. Another girl puppy was having a grande old time, wanting to play with Hank, but I guess she was just a little too aggressive with her sniffing. Hank's ears went straight back, tucked his tail between his legs and ran up against the wall.

Since he wasn't too sure about joining the group, he went and had a drink of water. And he drank. And he drank. And he drank. You would've thought I'd never given this dog water in his life. But this is what he does. We've been over to friends houses, and he drinks their dog bowls dry. I don't get it, but it's his quirk. As odd as this may sound, he almost takes after me. When I was younger, I was very much a wallflower. I'd be off in the corner, trying to look very engrossed in something else. Is it possible to pass on one's neurosis to another species?

Anyhow, the whole thing was a hoot. We got to do sit, down and recall, which really wasn't a problem for Hank. The trainer held his collar while I walked across the room, like 20 paces mind you and Hank freaked the frack out. He was positively despondent over the prospect that I might be leaving without him. You're supposed to call the name once and the command once, as in "Hank! Come!". I think I got out the 'H' sound and he was already upon me. It's nice to know I'm loved.

Towards the end of the class, Hank was starting to come around. He and Jewel were starting to really get into the puppy wrestling and as he is such a big lumbering lovable lug, he took one swipe at her head with his paw and totally had her pinned. She's feisty though. I have no worries. Anyhow, Thursdays from now on should be a lot of fun and I just love that Hank gets to socialize with other dogs. And is completely pooped when we get home. Oh, and PS: I let it slip the other day that Hank is a knitting term...the constable was not amused. Tee hee!

Now, onto the knitting content. Here is my first stash busting FO (finished object);



Pinwheel Baby Sweater by Shelley Mackie from Elann.com. Knit with 5 mm needles using all Patons Classic Wool. I call this one my Cherry Chocolate Pinwheel, cuz it reminds me of, well, cherry chocolates.

I had a tonne of Classic Wool left over from the tams and the slippers I knit and even though I bought different colours for different projects (the variegated for a tam, the rust and brown for the hubs felted clogs), they all went together really nicely. I'd had my eye on this project for a while, and tried it a few years back with double pointed needles, which just didn't work. This time I did the magic loop method, and this project just flew off the needles. To give you an idea, I started it last Sunday, Feb. 17/08. I worked on it all day, realized I'd made a bunch of mistakes, decided I'd be okay with that and just make an afghan, changed my mind, ripped it all out and started again Sunday night.

As is usually the case, I didn't read far enough ahead in the pattern to realize that you do the I-cord as your casting off, so I cast off and then did the I-cord. I wanted to this twisty thing with two different colours, so knit two lengths of I-cord, started sewing, realized I didn't have enough, ripped that all out and just attatched the one colour of I-cord, which I could've knit in as I went anyway, even after casting off. The hubs is always chastising me for taking short cuts, since it nearly always creates more work that it avoids. It still hasn't sunk in. I'm getting better with regards to sewing patterns though. I nearly always follow the directions as written now, since ripping seams is my very least favourite thing to do. But I digress...



I can't tell you how much I love this little sweater. I think it just may be my favourite thing I've knit so far. It's simple, easy and fast to knit, interesting construction and I love the colour combo's I picked. And it says in the pattern that it's supposed to fit from infant to toddler, around 4 yrs. We shall see. Mine looks a little small to fit a four year old, but then again, I have little to no reference for children's sizing. That being said, I doubt I'll wait to send it to Little Miss K, as I'd like it to get as much wear as possible. It needs a good blocking before it goes though, and I still have a little bit of brown left, so I plan to knit some more I-cords and attach them to either side of the front for a little tie. I'm kind of into knitting I-cord. It's kinda fun.

This stash busting thing is going pretty well so far. I've figured out what I want to do with that pink and white Shetland Chunky, thanks to the suggestion of a few faithful readers. I think it may become a little Lopi sweater, we shall see. And whilst knitting this Pinwheel, I thought up at least two more projects for yarn I have in my stash. Progress reports on those to come as they happen. I feel as though I am yarn abundant at the moment, which is quite nice. Should help keep the yarn purchases at a minimum for the next little while.

And as I've rambled on long enough, we'll end here for now. Have a lovely weekend y'all!

Until later...

A Flurry of FO's...

As small as they may be, they are indeed finished, and therefore, they count towards overall knitty productiveness.

Seems as though I've been on a bit of sock jag lately. When am I not though, really? I always seem to have at least one pair on the needles. It's almost a kniterly must. For each complicated or intricate project, an equal number of socks must be on the go. One project to challenge, one to 'ease the mind', in the immortal words of my then six year old nephew. He was referencing colouring, but it's all the same bag.



So here we go...two pair of commissioned work socks for the lovely fellows who have been working on the siding. I don't know when or how it came up, but the constable was chatting with them one afternoon and mentioned that I knit and before I knew it, I had orders for five pairs of wool work socks. The darker grey pair, size 10, are for one of the guys. He only wanted one pair, so he's done. The other dude wants four pair total. I told him it takes me at least a week to do one pair, as I am still of the school that knits top down, dpns, one sock at a time. He seemed okay with that, but really, I have no clue when I might get three more pair of socks done. Let me re-phrase; three more pair of plain grey work socks. Top down, dpns...one sock at a time. Gotta tell ya, it's really making me step out of my knitty comfort zone and perhaps learn to do two socks at a time on two circs. or something. I started toying with double-knitting a pair of socks, and kinda got the hang of it, so I may try that again as well. For some reason, I dig the double knitting.



Up next, more socks! The adult pair are knit in Bernat Hot Jazz and are for me. I started the first sock in July as a travelling sock. It flew home to Ontario with me and kept me company on my two week sojourn. The second sock was intended as a tutorial sock to get Carrie over her heel hump, but she figured it out all by her little self and now has a fabu pair of Hot Tamale to call her own.

The children's pair are knit from Regia Nation Colour and really, the pictures don't do the colour justice. They are way more yummy in person. Bright and bold, but not loud. I spied the yarn in Mahone Bay, at where else, Have a Yarn and it leapt right into my arms and refused to be left behind. Something must be changing in my colour personality, cuz I'm all about bright and bold colour lately.



As you can see, the socks are fraternal, rather than identical, which I personally love. I've done a few self striping socks that matched one another, but I think I prefer this route. It just makes it all the more fun for me. Anyhow, these socks were started shortly after our company arrived and were intended for my neice, but unfortunately I didn't get them done by the time they departed. Hopefully by the time they reach her by mail, her feet won't have grown exponentially. Can't wait to see them on!



I was going to hold off on showing this project until it too had been sent off and received, as it was a commissioned project as well, but I couldn't wait. This hat makes me feel like a bona fide knitting GENIUS! I mentioned it in my last post. This is the project where I tried a whole bunch of new techniques, like provisional cast-on, fair isle and double knitting. I didn't use a pattern, just measurements, and completely improvised the entire thing. And if I do say so myself, I think it turned out pretty dern well. The hat was knit from the bottom up and I cast on provisionally so as to be able to make it reversible. I knit the striped version first, leaving enough stitches on both sides on spare yarn to knit the ear flaps at the end. After finishing the striped version, I picked up the live stitches off of the provisional cast on, cast on additional stitches to match the ear flaps, knit the fair isle version of the hat (being mindful to weave in the ends as I went before the whole thing was closed up at the crown), tacked it down to the other hat and voila, reversible! Then I picked up both sets of stitches for the one ear flap, double knit them and finished off with an I-cord tie. Same for the other ear flap. But you know the thing that impresses me the most about putting this hat together? I had the forsight to make sure that all my wonky bits where I started new colours were at the centre back! Now that's smart. Can't tell you how many times I've done striping in the round and my wonky bits are right smack dab in the centre of the front. Grrr. Anyhow, the hat is intended for a wee one, and since it is doubly thick, I'm hoping it will be nice and warm for all those days of playing outside in winter. Hope there is some appropriate weather to accompany it!



Lastly, a pair of cotton dishcloths, Bernat Handicrafter, for my mom. She loves these things, and as she bleaches her dishcloths within and inch of their lives, she's always in need of a steady stream to restock her supply. She's a knitted dishcloth junkie. This pattern is so simple I can probably knit it in my sleep now. They make for a great teaching project though. While my SIL was here, she decided to try her hands at the needles once again. We'd been down this road before, and since I was fairly novice myself the last time I tried to instruct, I feel as though I was a very inadequate teacher. I used a loosey-goosey cast on at the time, couldn't really give any insight as to how mistakes were being made. This time though, we made great progress and she caught on frighteningly fast. Picked up on things that I wouldn't expect beginning knitters to really notice. In any case, I showed her this simple dishcloth pattern and she finished one a quarter of the size in an evening. I was mightily impressed. My favourite quote from the evening was when she had completed the first couple of rows and turned to me and said, "Is this supposed to look like something? Cuz it doesn't." Ah yes, a true knitter in the making I hope. I do believe I also heard her say, "I want to finish this before I go to bed." The force is strong with this one.

Well, it seems that my prolonged absense from the blogsphere has left me with a lot to say! There's still more projects to talk about and some exciting news to share, but I will leave it here for now and return another time. Today is one of those perfect knitting days, where it's blustery and rainy outside, in addition to being a Saturday, so one feels completely justified in doing little else than curling up on the couch for a very loooong knitting session with a stack of movies to keep company. With that in mind, I'm going to go complete the few chores I absolutely need to get done and then hunker down to crank out some more FO's.

Until later...