lindsey marcella

coming soon

A little tutorial for the "Jackie Camera Case". The sweet Jacqueline requested one (from J's so cute it hurts) so I figured I'd put it together. Disclaimer: it's really not that difficult, as it really is just 2 pattern pieces. There's nothing really special about it, but I did come up with the size that's perfect for my digital SLR. Hope to have it up by tomorrow if all goes well with the photos!

Here's a silly picture I took of myself in the Aira hat I knit. I have that funny look on my face because I'm awful at these "self portraits", and I wasn't sure if I was even getting myself in the frame at all!

aira

Have you been to the Joli House blog? And seen how talented both mom and daughter are? Aira is a hat that Lily designed, and they sent me the pattern to help test knit! I started it in San Fran and finished it up shortly after I got back home.

 

I'm sorry that all you get is this sad picture of it. Go to the blog to see Lily's pretty version. This is a great hat - nice and slouchy and kind of pleaty all over. And the yarn is some of my favorite Sundara sock. This was actually a knotted skein so the color was a surprise but it is perfect. Very peacock-y in real life. And I only ran across one tiny knot.

Anyways, this hat is adorable. It grew a bit during blocking but I don't mind. If you could see the brim (no model photos since no one but Cosmo is here), you would see that it is a pretty picot. So thanks again Joli House, it was a pleasure. I did go down one needle size but I wasn't getting gauge.

Aside from my secret Christmas knit (secret that is unless you're on Ravelry), I have plans to start a few more things. I finally got my hands on some gorgeous Malabrigo sock from my LYS. Look at these colors:

 

So pretty, and so me. (I actually just typed "sew me" there by mistake...yikes.) Won't this make a pretty shawl? Keep in mind I don't really like knitting shawls, but I might make another exception for these colors.

Knitting demon

I've been keeping myself busy with knitting. I like being able to bring something with me and working on it when I get a free minute. Can't really do that with sewing, so it's been knitting instead. The scarf/shawl above is the Meandering Vines pattern (found on Ravelry). This isn't the best photo, but the scarf is lovely. This was my first significant lace project and it went pretty well. My goal was to finish it before San Fran and I did it! Even got to wear it on the flight out.

 

And this is what I finished on that flight! This is the April Showers scarf (can be found on Ravelry or the Purlbee blog). This has been a WIP since last August! Yikes. It was a great pattern, but I could never really get into it. Maybe it was the yarn, but I do love the color. Can't really beat hot pink!

I'm working on a few things now too...some are Christmas presents and some will be for me. I'm deerlyneeded on Ravelry if you care to find out any more details on the projects!

Sweet Potato Hat

I won a pattern from Cosy last week, and immediately started the hat. It's the adorable Sweet Potato Hat, and it was so great to knit. It was really my first go with colorwork, and even my first real attempt at reading a chart. I have some tension issues here and there but love the hat!! I will definitely be making more...this one fits me perfectly!

I've finally got a few projects up on Ravelry. You can find this one here. I have so many that I need to add though it's crazy. I've got a few more projects in the works and I would like to work on them all at the same time! At least I'm headed to CA this weekend so I'll have lots of plane knitting time...

cozy

 

A new set just in time for a dusting of snow.

 

No one even has to know that the hat is striped because I ran out of yarn.

 

The perfect light blue vintage button with some wear.

First Socks!

I could also title this post Clown Socks, but First Socks seems nicer! I finished my first pair of socks last night. I had finished the first sock in August, but the second sock waited patiently until I finished my chevron scarf. These were a learning experience, and mistakes and all I still love them.

 

I used sock yarn I won from Whip Up 2 years ago (!), and a #2 40 inch long circular needle. I was going to do two at once, but needed baby steps with the long circ. I actually knit the leg inside out for both socks by accident, but was able to right everything before I knit the heel. The only major problem I had was on the first sock, which is on my left foot in the photos.

 

The instructions told me to pick up and knit 16 stitches, but that more may be necessary due to the length of the heel. I took that to mean I should pick up every single stitch. Whoops; that made the gusset area huge! You can see in this photo the floppy bottom of the sock farthest away.  I realized what I did wrong so I was able to fix everything when it came time for the second gusset. I am still happy with them though, and have already started a new pair!

And I'm trying two at a time! With this reference of course. I got mine from the library, but it's pretty inexpensive at Amazon.

The Chevron

 

Here it is. This picture was taken outstde but with the flash, and it's the most accurate representation of the colors. One skein of Koigu was pink with a tiny bit of blue, and the other skein was bleu with a little bit of purple. Started mid August, completed October 17th. I am proud of this little scarf. If I made a mistake, I went back and fixed it. I blocked it to size, and it's so soft. I've already worn it out today but didn't really get a good picture of it on. Here's one, but it's really just to show size:

 

I think 60 inches is perfect for this one. I can wrap it around once, twice, wear it like an ascot or tie. I'm so glad I actually made this!

Pretty 'n Pink

 

I've got a little cold, so I've spent more time than normal knitting. Last night I finished my chevron scarf. I was a little nervous it would be too short since I only used one skein of each color, but blocking did the trick! This was the first time I've ever had to use blocking to get my project to do something, and boy did it work. I just rinsed it in a water bath and layed it down on some towels to get it to the right width, pulling a tiny bit as I pinned. It wound up being about 60" long, which is perfect for me. I can't seem to find my yarn needles though, so no pictures of it today. Hopefully tomorrow I can get out and buy a new one and weave in the ends.

In the meantime though I started something new. I've had this yarn since August and started this knit about 4 times. Most were started in FL at night, and I wasn't paying enough attention to the pattern so each time it got ripped out. This yarn is gorgeous. It's worked 2 strands all the way through. The color is a great bright pink which didn't photograph well in my room. Anyone know where I got the pattern? I've had it bookmarked ever since it appeared on a site last spring. Anyone else take notice to it?

I've also started swapping out the summer for the winter here. Clothes, candles, etc. It can be a big project but I've already done most of it. I'm a little sad though. I really do prefer summer...so it's sad seeing these things boxed up. Maybe my new scarves will help!

I did it!

All by myself! I read the instructions, and it worked. Wow I am impressed! Everything written was something I could do, ssk, psso, etc. The only thing new to me was picking up stitches, but that was easy. I'm using the magic loop, so that's why there's a crazy tangle back there. I got a 40" addi because I wanted to try knitting both socks at once, but I chickened out. Since this was the first, I made the cuff short at only 3". It's actually a good length for me, but I knew how to rib so I wanted to get to the heel right away.

Glad so many of you enjoyed my last post! It's all true. Is it weird though that this past week while knitting this little bit of a sock very very slowly that it was all I could think about? I'd knit until I was so tired I had to go to sleep, then at lunch at work. Sometimes even in the morning before work. And last night I had a dream I was buying yarn at a yarn shop. I'm not even joking. I was shocked because my total was $200 and I didn't want to spend that! Haha. Anyways, back to knitting. I also didn't mention that I can't have ANY distractions. TV, music, talking, no way. I sit on the bed in the other room and knit. And I'm still this slow! Oh well, back to it!

finished scarf 1

Here's my scarf! I'm pretty proud of it; it's the first time I've sat down and followed a complex (to me, beginner knitter) pattern. This again is from One Skein Wonders. It took me two skeins to finish, but I also made it longer than the pattern said it would be. I wanted to have it long enough to actually wrap around my neck.

I ended up blocking it twice, but it still doesn't lay completely flat. The edges want to curl in towards the middle bobble things. I think it might just be the pattern, because I blocked this thing like crazy!

Oh, and again, nothing new purchased to complete this project! Had the yarn, had the needles, had the book!

This pattern used Make 7, which I had never done before. That's what caused the pretty lacy holes at the beginning of the repeat. I've already got something new cast on- a little neck cozy!