pretty

These yarns were purchased from ReBelle for two bucks apiece! I can't pass up two-dollar yarn... unless it's Christmas-themed, which is currently what's on sale at Hancock Fabrics. I got these awesome happy shades because I want to do something in rainbow colors. After the difficulty of fitting them and my UK colors in the tiny bag, I thought "Hmm, maybe I'll make a bag to hold all my sewing stuff... needles, yarn, projects, etc." But then I thought that might be hard. So I'll just buy a bag. Or keep using a ripped plastic grocery bag. I've tried to find cute rainbow patterns, but most things that are labeled as 'rainbow' are really just things made with yarn that fades from one color to another (see below!). So I finally found something I think is absolutely beautiful!! And it could actually be useful. That's what I've been having a problem with- knitting useful things. I don't wear scarves. Socks are pretty much useless too, because I don't just walk around the house with socks on. I need a fashion sense overhaul if I'm going to be any good at this whole knitting thing. Anyway, the blanket:

http://www.loopknits.com/2008/08/09/wave-blanket/

(it's really worth looking at, even if you don't care about knitting or blankets. The colors are so pretty!!)

eBay

I've been wanting to try some circular needles, so I got some on eBay today! A whole bunch actually. Circular needles let you work with things that are lots of stitches across- think blanket or sweater- because that number of stitches wouldn't fit bunched up on a regular needle. These give stitches somewhere to go and chill until we're ready for them again.

They also came with some extras, since they're being shipped from Hong Kong. I love getting eBay stuff from there! You always get candy or Magic Dirt Crystals or whatever (can't wait to use those, btw). So this time, I'll be getting some non-surprise extras:

I have yarn needles already, but more cannot possibly hurt. I'm amazed I've held onto both of my original ones for so long. I also have a stitch holder, but like I said before, they're crap. Or I'm too much of an idiot to figure them out. Maybe I'm just impatient! Yeah, that one. The neat thing is those pastel-colored thingees that look like a flock of birds flying at you. Those are needles for doing cable-knit. I'm pretty excited to try that!

UK scarf

This is my real current project... the one I'm likely to finish. It's a UK scarf with yarns purchased from ReBelle. They're 75% acrylic, 25% cotton. They're easy enough to work with. As you can see, I am not weaving in my yarn ends as I go... that's because I've been mostly working on it at school, and I'm not taking a yarn needle to school.

I like the "professional" side, but I also kind of like the reverse. It reminds me of dishtowels we used to have, with the funky lines that interrupt the other color.

I got the pattern here: http://knuckleheadmusings.blogspot.com/2007/09/team-sport-scarf.html. It is really simple! I changed the number of rows worked in garter stitch, just to make it look a little more even, and I used smaller yarn. The one over there is better =) But this one will do.

I don't have a particular recipient in mind yet- especially considering it will be warm outside (I hope) by the time it's finished.

iPod sleeve

I saw this yarn and HAD to have it. It's extremely soft and it's a beautiful turquoise color that doesn't translate quite right in the pictures. The only problem was that I didn't know what to do with it.

So I did a pattern search on LionBrand.com for anything using the microfiber yarn, and this is about the only useful thing... and iPod sleeve. I say "useful," but I don't really mean it. I'm going to give this beauty to Chris if it ever gets finished. You just fold it in half and sew up the long side and a short side, and slip the ol' iPod in! It said to cast on 40 stitches, but I felt like that wouldn't be wide enough, so I did 50. This sounds genius, but it's not.

The pattern is just k2, p2, making sure that you knit the knit stitches all the way up and purl the purl stitches likewise so that it makes the beautiful Vs and upside-down Vs. However, since I increased it to a width that produces an odd number of sets of two, both ends are the same type of stitch. So when I sew it together, it won't alternate sections all the way around. That's a tiny nitpick, but it still stinks.

What stinks even more is working with this yarn! To begin with, I hate purling at all. Then try doing it with this birth defect midget yarn, slick like leave-in-conditionered hair to boot. And on size 4 needles. If this gets finished, I'll treat myself to dinner.

Here's how it's supposed to end up:

rainbow scarf

Here is the project I thought I'd use to finish up this rainbow yarn. Of course, I got about 16 inches into it and ran out of the yarn... so I bought another ball of it, and will of course have about the same amount left over as before. Unless I just make a freakishly long scarf. I'm not opposed to doing that, but I have much more exciting projects right now. This one is currently sitting on my stitch saver or whatever that big useless safety pin is called. Someday maybe I'll figure out how to use it correctly...

It's the same pattern as the UK scarf. Kind of boring to redo, but this yarn is softer. It's 100% cotton instead of 100% acrylic. Maybe when I'm older I'll know the real difference and look down upon former me for using acrylic yarn.

raspberry scarf

So here we have something that is legitimately nice-looking! It's a raspberry-colored scarf, knitted with Size 13 needles and Lion Brand "Thick and Quick" yarn. I had to buy two things of it to make the five-foot-ish long scarf, but it knitted really quickly. I started it on a Saturday morning and finished it on Tuesday afternoon, and of course did lots of terribly important stuff in between.

About 6 or 7 rows in, I must have repeated a line of stitching so that the pattern got reversed. I didn't notice this for another 6 or 7 rows, and I really didn't want to undo that much. So I decided to repeat the same "mistake" about 6 or 7 rows from the other end, to make them look like intentional cuffs. Here's another photo, so you can really tell the texture difference.

I think it ended up looking really nice! I really enjoyed that yarn. Mistakes just aren't visible. The only problem is that the yarn ends don't nicely weave into the ends of the scarf. The yarn is so thick that when it frays, it sticks out and looks pretty awful. If I had readers, this is where I'd ask for suggestions.

Anyway, this is the reason I thought I'd go ahead and start the blog now- I'm giving this scarf to my cousin for her birthday. I love it, but as I've said before, I don't even wear scarves. And it looks like one of her colors. I don't care if she ever wears it, as long as she cuddles with it for at least two seconds after I give it to her.

The pattern was found at LionBrand.com, and it goes like this:

cast on 19

odd-numbered rows: k3, (p1, k3)

even-numbered rows: k1, (p1, k3), p1, k1

The directions inside the parentheses are to be repeated. On even-numbered rows, you knit the first stitch, then p1k3 until there are two stitches left, which will then of course be p1k1.

Also very easy to remember and very easy to tell which stitch order is in the previous row.

blue scarf

UK blue! This is a weird fabric to work with, but it made a nice basic scarf.

I basically just knitted until I ran out of yarn, and it ended up being about five feet long. That sounds about right... also, I don't wear scarves, so size REALLY doesn't matter. I liked working with this pattern because it was easy and mindless, but it wasn't just "knit every row." Every fourth row had the yarn over/knit 2 together combos. I didn't have to count rows though; it was very simple to tell where I was within the pattern. This is the last completed thing from my Size 8 needles. At one point, I was knitting a row and the feeder yarn just stopped. Peejay had decided to investigate it and chew it in half, which is what he does with everything he's not supposed to chew in half. So I got my first lesson in switching yarns, without having to switch colors!

get your mitts off me

Fingerless gloves! Actually, they're so much less than that. They're like mittens without tops... or thumbs... They aren't warm, and they don't cover anything vital. Actually, they somehow make my thumb colder than it would have been had my whole hand been naked.

You can tuck your thumb underneath the rolled-down part, but your thumb will feel awkward. I could knit some thumbs and attach them, but these are so lame that I wouldn't even dignify them with thumbs. I should really just throw them out... they're basically just 10 inches of rows of 33 knit stitches. Then you sew up the sides, leaving a thumbhole unstitched. They're not even lame enough to be hip.

coozie

I googled it, and while "koozie" is common, "coozie" is also acceptable. I used to date someone that spelled it "kuzzy," which made me sick.

That is a small can of corn in there. It goes about 3/5 of the way up a soda can, but I don't have any of those. I was pretty pleased with this, because I didn't screw up the k1p1 pattern. Also, it's made with the first yarn I ever bought, which makes it "very special" in a Timmy! way.

pink ball

So here was one of the first things I did, after a few embarrassing squares on which I practiced butchering k1p1.

It's a ball. For awhile, Peej really liked to lick it, but "awhile" means "about 90 seconds."

It's from a book, and the pattern is supposed to teach you how to increase and decrease stitches. I was okay at it, but I was REALLY quick at forgetting it. It is stuffed with paper crinklies that are used to fill out gift bags. Peej actually really loved that stuff; he finished off the rest of the bag after I filled the ball.

I still have a bunch of this pink/white fade fabric left. We'll see where else it turns up...

Explain yourself!

I'm just recording some of my projects for myself. Not for you!

I always wish I had photographed all the cross-stitching projects I've done. I'm definitely more into knitting, but ask me again tomorrow... It really just gives me something to do. And something to buy. And something to put on my birthday/Christmas list ("give me some yarn and a project you'd like me to make for you").