WIP Wednesday

I've been making slightly more knitting progress lately, but not by much.

First up, we have the Chroma Striped Scarf.  I'm using the Noro Striped Scarf pattern, but since I am really not a fan of Noro, I'm knitting it up in Knitpicks Chroma Worsted.  I picked the colorways Midwinter and U-Pick because they complement each other well, but have enough of a contrast to really make the stripes pop (also, the U-Pick was on sale).  The pattern calls for two balls of each color, but I'm still on the first of each and I'm pretty sure I don't want it to be over twice as long as it is right now (almost 5 feet!).  How long do you guys think a scarf should be?

This scarf is taking me a really long time to knit because I'm using it as my travel knitting.  It's a little bulky at this point, but it's nice to have something that I don't have to think about at all when I can get interrupted at any moment, and 1x1 ribbing fits the bill.

When I'm at home, I've been working on the cowl from the Knitpicks Luxe Accessory Set in Knitpicks Aloft in Blush and Knitpicks Capra in Velveteen.  It's knit flat sideways, then the ends are grafted together to make the cowl.  It's been a little frustrating, because I somehow seem to keep dropping stitches, noticing several rows later, and then having to frog back.  It is not easy to frog 75% mohair yarn!  It is nice and soft, though, and I can't wait until it's done.

Last but not least is my Girl Friday sweater.  The pieces are done and have been for awhile, but I didn't get around to blocking them until last night.  As you can see, I chose not to bind off the top of the pieces.  It seems silly to bind off when I'm just going to have to pick the stitches back up again!  I unpinned just before taking the photo.  After this, I will need to seam, then knit the button band and collar.

Maddie, of course, was extremely helpful through the photographing process:

"I can help, Mom!  Just let me tug on these strings for you..."

New Knitty!

Have you all taken a look at the new Knitty? I was very pleased to see the patterns this issue- during a lot of the recent issues, I haven't really seen anything too exciting, but I loved what I saw in this one! Some of them really stood out to me:

Creekbed, the cover pattern, is amazing. It's a Stephen West design, and I love his work. The colors play off of each other beautifully- I'd love to knit this scarf this winter, maybe in blues or purples. This one went right into the queue.

Rhodion is breathtakingly beautiful. I would love to knit something like this, but I think it's a bit above my skill level at this point. I think I'll just have to drool over other people's FOs as they post them on Ravelry!

I am in love with the Lingerie Socks pattern. It's so elegant and pretty! I'm a little intimidated by the fact that they're knit on size 0 needles, but it will be so worth it to have those beautiful socks! Queued!

Leaflet also went into the queue. The detail on the back is so pretty!

What do you guys think? Did anything in particular catch your eye?

WIP Wednesday

My mom’s mitts are coming along nicely- The first one is done (except for the thumb) and the second one is coming along quickly. These are a super-quick knit, and they turn out looking so pretty. They have a cabled look without the cables!

My Truly Tasha’s shawl is also looking good. I’m not going to bother putting a picture of this up, because really, the picture looks pretty much the same from week to week, just a bigger triangle! At this point, I’m almost done with the third ball (which will mark the half-way point of the shawl!) I have been having some issues with this shawl, however. First of all, the tips of my Knitpicks nickel-plated size 5 needles are really sharp! I tend to push the needle through the loop with my left index finger. I was not pleased when I realized I was starting to get a hole in my finger from the needle! Rather than stop knitting, I’ve been using a band-aid while I knit. I’m hoping a callous forms soon so I can knit bare-fingered without pain!

The other potential problem I’m encountering with this shawl is that it’s getting big! This is a good thing because it means I’m making progress, but it also means that it will soon be too big to take places with me. This has been my travelling project because it’s so simple and requires so little attention- once it gets too big, I’ll have to find a new travelling project.

Last but not least, my swift finally arrived* so I was able to wind the yarn and get back to knitting my Pipp’s Openwork Eyelet Scarf. The second skein is a little less purple than the first, and you can tell where one skein ends and the next one begins; however, I don’t think anyone will notice but me. The knitting part is done, but I still consider this a Work-In-Progress because it still needs the ends woven in and a good blocking.

This post is part of Tami's Amis WIP Wednesday. Head on over to see what everyone else is working on!

*By the way, if anyone is interested, I’d be more than happy to post a review of my swift!

WIP Wednesdays

I spent the last week pretty sick with a really bad cold that was totally kicking my butt (thus no finished object posts- I simply didn’t have the energy to take pictures!), but I still managed some knitting, and I’m finally starting to feel a little better.

I made a fair amount of progress on my Everlasting Bagstopper. I think I’m about half-way done with it.

I also did a ton of knitting on my openwork lace scarf. I’ve knit an entire skein of the yarn; I do have a second one, but I just ordered a swift and I’m holding off on winding it so that I can use my new swift! Unfortunately, this means that all progress on the scarf has come to a halt until my swift arrives.

Having recovered from the problems I had with Katika last week, I apparently have taken leave of my sanity and committed to try to knit 11 Shawls in 2011. I started Truly Tasha’s Shawl out of a soft alpaca acrylic blend. The body of it is really simple, although the edging looks like it might be a little complicated. It should make a really thick, warm, large, soft shawl. My office is freezing, and I wanted something a little more classy than huddling under a blanket at my desk, so a shawl like this seemed like the perfect compromise between freezing and blanket. I’m still on the first skein (of 8), but I’m making progress!

This is part of Tami’s Amis WIP Wednesday. Head on over and see what everyone else is working on!

FO: Strangling Vines Lace Scarf

I wanted to make my aunt a nice, lacey scarf for Christmas. When this yarn arrived (I purchased it in a destash), it seemed like a perfect match for a pattern I had had in my queue: the Strangling Vine Lace Scarf. I was a little wary of the pattern- after all, who wants to wear a scarf with the word “strangling” in the title? However, it was a very pretty pattern and looked nice and simple.

It was a very easy, simple pattern. It’s a four row pattern, but two of the rows just involve purling. If you can yarn over, knit two together, and slip slip knit, you can do this pattern. However, it gets really monotonous. Knitting a scarf in fingering weight yarn takes forever, and seems like it will never end. I wasn’t sure I’d get it done in time for Christmas!

I heard a rule somewhere that a scarf should be about as long as you are tall. My aunt is 5’4” (64 inches). I knit the scarf until I reached 55”, and then decided to rely on blocking to do the rest. Speaking of blocking, this was the first time I used blocking wires. They take forever to thread through, but it’s very worth it to get a nicely-blocked scarf without points along the long edges. I was impressed with how the yarn blocked. I was expecting the yarn to spring back a bit after blocking, due to the 20% nylon content, but it maintained its blocked shape perfectly. I forget to measure it after blocking, but I tried it on and it seemed to be a nice length.

The yarn is a little bit of a blah color for me- I prefer accessories that add a pop of color to an outfit. However, I think that my aunt will love it. The yarn is so soft and wonderful. Although it’s intended as a sock yarn, I’m not sure that I would like socks made out of this, and how well they would wear.

Pattern: Strangling Vines Lace Scarf

Yarn: Classic Elite Alpaca Sox

Colorway: Sky, possibly- I don’t have the ballband, but this is my best guess.

Needles: US4

The Verdict: It’s so soft and lacey- it was a ton of effort, but I love the finished object!

FO: Traveling Woman

I've had this pattern queued for awhile, but it looks so complicated- I was kind of afraid to take it on! Finally, however, I bit the bullet and cast on- and it was so much easier than I expected! I messed up the stitch count a couple of times on the stockinette part, but that was completely my fault because I wasn't paying enough attention- it had nothing to do with the pattern. The patterned, lacy part at the bottom was easy, too- the charts were nice and big, and so easy to follow!

This is a great yarn. It seems really sturdy, and has great stitch definition. I'd definitely knit with it again. I also love the color- it's a nice, bright purple.

Pattern: Traveling Woman

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino

Colorway: Purple

Needles: US6

Mods: None

The Verdict: I am very pleased with the result of this! I think I may make more shawls in this pattern, possible in heavier weights for a larger shawl.

FO: Just Enough Ruffles Scarf

Well, I promised you FO posts, and then…life interfered. And then I misplaced the pictures. But now I have taken more pictures, and am ready to talk about knitting again! So onto my pretty Just Enough Ruffles scarf:

I bought this pattern awhile ago, but just wasn't inspired to knit it. I later bought three skeins Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in Fuchsia with the intention of making a scarf and hat set out of it. You know how sometimes a yarn just "speaks" to you and tells you what it wants to be? When I opened the package and saw the yarn, I knew it wanted to be the ruffles scarf, and I cast on almost immediately. It was really slow going towards the end (600 stitches on that ruffle!), but totally worth it for the finished project- so pretty and elegant and (surprise!) ruffle-y!

The pattern was very well written and so easy to understand. The short rows to make it a little curved are a brilliant idea- I never would have thought to design the scarf like that, but they really work perfectly. The pattern is also really reasonably priced at $3.50. I generally avoid buying patterns that require you to pay for them, as I prefer to look at the pattern before I decide whether to knit it- not being able to see the pattern means I'd be buying it before I was even sure I'd want to make it! However, there's nothing complicated going on with this pattern to scare me away, and $3.50 is really not all that expensive- plus, when I bought it, half the profits went to helping with the Haiti disaster.

I love love love working with Ultra Alpaca. It's definitely one of my favorite yarns. It's fairly soft, but has enough texture to make knitting with it so much fun!

Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles

Needles: Size 9 Knitpicks Interchangeable (Also, I loved that the cable was almost the same color as my yarn!)

Yarn: Berrocco Ultra Alpaca

Colorway: Fuchsia (6325) (Also, I had to look up how to spell fuchsia- seriously, does that LOOK like it's pronounced few-sha?)

Modifications: None- the pattern was perfect as written!

The Verdict: I love this scarf. It's soft and feminine and ruffle-y, but the color is also a bold choice, and should be a gorgeous pop of color in the winter.* It's a tiny bit itchy, but not enough to prevent me from wearing it.

*I buy plain gray, black, or brown coats, so that I can wear fun accessories without clashing. As much as I covet some of those gorgeous red coats, I do not own one for this reason.

FO: Cabled Scarf

For Christmas, my big plan was to make my aunt a DNA Scarf. The fact that this post is not titled "FO: DNA Scarf" should be a testament to the fact that this didn't actually happen. I tried, I really did- but the cables were going so very slowly. I gave up, and decided to make her a simpler scarf that would match her Cabled Brimmed Cap.

It took me long enough, but I finally finished- better late than never, right? Here is my aunt's belated Christmas present:

FO: Herringbone Scarf

Christmas is quickly approaching, and I'm trying to get my Christmas knitting done early so that I don't have a massive day-before-Christmas-knitting panic. Exhibit A: A scarf for my grandfather.

Pattern: Night on the Town (ravelry link) (non-ravelry link)

Yarn: Patons Angora Bamboo

Colorway: Urban Gray

Mods: I didn't want it to be quite as wide as the pattern called for, so I only cast on 26 stitches.

The Verdict: I wanted something warm, soft, and fashionable. I also wanted something a little more complicated than seed stitch, but still masculine enough to give to a man. This scarf totally fits the bill. It's so incredibly soft and warm, perfect to keep Grandpa warm on cold days. I love it, and I know that he is going to love it too. I just wish I didn't have to wait until Christmas to give it to him!

Mostly Moved in- And Knitting Pictures!

I’m almost done setting up the new apartment. The kitchen is unpacked, the bedroom is unpacked. I have a bed, a table, a desk, and a few chairs, although I’d really like a sofa. I’d also like to know where I stuffed a few things while unpacking too quickly and not paying attention.

I took a few knitting pictures for y’all the other day. However, I took them before I got most of the furniture, so while all the other blogs out there have pictures of WIPS lovingly draped over a table or other piece of furniture, specifically chosen to show off that piece of knitting, my pictures are on the floor.

The St. James sweater is close to being finished. All I have left to do is knit one more sleeve, seam the undersides of the sleeves, and then knit the neckline.

I’ve also started working on a nice, basic scarf pattern for the Red Scarf Project. For those who don’t want to click, the Red Scarf Project provides scarves to foster kids who are supporting themselves through college. They send out care packages, and this is one of the items in them. It gives me a chance to try out some scarf patterns I've been waiting for an opportunity to knit.