Time to Catch up!

I finally got my camera back. I've never missed a piece of technology so much. In honour of my new found love for my camera I've decided to name him. His name is Cameron the Canon Powershot S2 IS.

Now on to my projects. I've gotten a few things done while Cameron was in the hospital. Last time I had anything to show you I had just completed my first cables. Well since then I've been cable crazy.

Here are the cable booties I finished. They knit up pretty quick so I got some more wool to do some for Christmas gifts. They are great because you don't have to know the exact foot size since they fit kind of loosely and were meant to go over socks.

Then I moved on to a cabled neck gaiter. The bottom one is done in a angora wool blend. It's really nice. The top one is done in a 75% cotton 25% acrylic blend. I wanted to see how it would work in this yarn. It's called Ecofil and it's made from recycled material. I wasn't thrilled with the result but in a minute I'll show you a good use I have found for this yarn.

The next thing I did was an asymmetrical hat. I was doing it for my uncle, hence the hunter orange but it looks too feminine so I've decided to give it to my sister in law who was wearing the hunter orange ribbed hat I made for my brother last winter. I may put a pompom on top.

All of these patterns came out of my book - One Skein - 30 quick projects to knit and crochet by Leigh Radford.

My latest project is a hooded sweater for me. It's from the ecofil I spoke of above. I think I have finally found a good use for this yarn. The pattern is a free pattern from Lion Brand. It's my first sweater, that's why I'm making it for myself. If I screw it up, it's only me who has to wear it!

I've also got a potato chip scarf on the needles. These are simple and produce a great end result but I find them a pain to knit. This is my second (remember the first one turned out way too short?!) and I mixed yarns. I'm now worried that I won't have enough to bind off and the multi colour yarn in bling bling by bernat seems to be discontinued. I may have to use a third yarn which will be okay, it's going to be one flashy scarf!

Whew! That's enough for now. I gotta go knit!

No Camera - No Pics

I have finished a few projects but my camera is currently out for repair. But to keep you entertained I've added a new section - PODCASTS! Fantastic. And you don't need an ipod to download these. You can listen right from your computer, burn on to CD or burn on to any mp3 player. Enjoy!!

Too many knitting projects for me (and not enough for everyone else)

I have been busy finishing up a sock to match one I had already made for myself. It was suppose to be for my mom but the toe knit up too small so I had one for me, made 2 bigger ones for her and then just finished this one for me. Just in time too as it got cold and I needed something warm for my tootsies!

Then I seriously debated what to knit next. I figure it's time to start thinking about Christmas so I should start knitting gifts now. I started with this potato chip scarf. Tanya had started this and found that the 200 stitches the pattern asked for to cast on was a bit much - it would make a 12 foot scarf! So I cast on half thinking that a 6 foot scarf was plenty long. However, I was not using the same alpaca blend and surprise, it is way too short. I like it so I'll keep it for me. So much for getting a few gifts done...

Then I wanted to attempt my first cable so I thought I'd do a quick project for me that would let me cut my teeth on cables. I had some italian cotton I had picked up on sale in Freeport, ME. I only had 2 small skeins so I thought this pattern would work. And this time of year, booties for chilly evenings are a good idea.

So here is my very first cable!! I'm so excited. Tan was right, they are easy. Which is a good thing because I love cables! Aren't they beautiful?!

After this I'm taking my cable skills and knitting a hat for my uncle. I must knit for others, I must knit for others.... Or else I'll be knitting like a mad woman come December!

Basia's Birthday Lime Green Shell

First a little joke... What did the scarf say to the hat? "You go on ahead and I'll come around from behind". Okay, I thought it was a funny knitting joke.

So I finally completed my sister-in-laws birthday gift only a week after her birthday. This was my first top. I can see why knitters lean towards scarves, wraps, socks, etc. The 14 inches of rib pattern was deadly boring to knit. But I wanted to keep it simple since this was my first top. I had a horrible time with the shoulder seams. They just didn't want to sew up nicely.

So after some consultation with Tanya, I undid the shoulder seams and graphed them. Obviously it didn't give a seamless graph due to the ribbing but I do think it looks better. Problem with this yarn is that is it 5 or 6 strings and it really gets unraveled the more you mess with it. But it's really soft. It's Lion Brand Micro Spun.

I can't wait to start knitting with the wool Tanya spun for me! Isn't it beautiful?!

Green Purse for Me!

I finally knit something for me. This is the very first thing I did for myself! I was trying to make a purse like the one I had made for my neice...

however, as per usual, it didn't turn out like the pattern...
After I felted it I ended up with a long narrow purse. No way was a button closure going to work here so I ended up putting in a zipper.
Not my best zipper work but it's very functional and I really like the end result.

Mom's Birthday - Knitting Tote and Socks

I can finally show my mom's birthday gifts to you. She had her birthday this past Saturday. I made her a Marsupial Tote out of the Stitch and Bitch book but I made it a little longer to hold knitting needles. I call my variation the "One Project Tote Bag" as it will fit one knitting project on the go quite nicely. The colours match a felted purse I made her for christmas. I used Briggs and Little wool and it took a long time to felt. I put it through my aggitation cycle 4 times before this pic was shot.

Once I gave the bag to my mom we talked about the handles. They turned out just like the picture in the Stitch and Bitch book but I don't like the way they curl up. Mom mentioned sewing them up to go with the curling so they would be more like cords. I wasn't happy with the felting of the bag either so I asked her to let me keep it. I sewed up the handles and felted it 3 more times. Now I am happy with it. I also made her socks. I followed the Thula pattern from knitty.com. It said to stop making the foot 2 inches from the length I wanted it to be. But then the knitting of the toes only took 1.5 inches to knit. So I ended up with a sock that fit me perfectly but would have been too small for my mom. So I knit the second one bigger and it fits her perfect. I'm still working on her second sock. I wonder how long it will take me to complete the second one for me.... The yarn is a 75% cotton and 25% acrylic. "Ecofil" it's called. It's made of recycled material. It's a nice warm sock. The pattern is really nice, I love how the heel turns in it. And it would be a good base for me to start making adjustments to change the look of the sock.

Baby Stuff

It started with a hat. How cute is this?! And it was so quick and easy to do. And I had lots of the yarn left over.

So I thought I'd do some booties. I still had almost half a ball of yarn leftover.

So I did a bib too. And I still have a bit of yarn leftover but I thought that was enough.

So here's the gift package. I already had the cookbook. It's a great cookbook for new parents, even if they don't cook. It's my way of trying to prevent more "chicken nugget" kids who are destine to live shorter lives than their parents due to those awful processed foods. There I said it! It's all going out in the mail today. I hope my cousin likes it.