A parade of finishes

Well…I sure have been knitting a TON in my absence from the blog.  Here’s a little taste of what’s been going on here.

These socks are plain socks with a gusset heel, and made from the amazing Kirbywirby self-striping yarn.  Cherie is AMAZING and I’m completely and hopelessly addicted to her yarns!

Next is a sweater that I made for my boss’ daughter-in-law who is pregnant with her 2nd child…a GIRL!!!!  It was also a test knit for the amazing Emily of TinCanKnits.  Emily and Alexa of TinCanKnits are brilliant and I’ve been thrilled to help them with two test knits this spring.  The other test was the Lush Sweater…seen {here}.

The next finish…well…let’s just say I’m glad they’re done.  I promised my brother-in-law a pair of socks while he was deployed in Germany last year.  The deployment came and went and the socks were just NOT happening.  I literally ripped them out about 3 times before I got everything right, and finally they’re finished.

Next up…the Evadine shawl.  This was a Mystery Knit a Along held by PicnicKnits, and one of the few that I’ve actually finished!  I started it on my mom’s birthday, so I knew it had to be for her.  She received it a bit later, but of course she didn’t mind…at least I think so!  Another thing that was memorable for me about this project is that it was my first project with BFL yarn.  SUCH a lovely experience…and I’d definitely love to knit some socks with it sometime in the future.

And lastly…my latest finishes…socks!  I’m really and truly completely addicted to knitting socks.  I love them!  They’re colorful, portable, and amazingly satisfying to work on.

This pair {LOVE} are my favorite…and sadly I wont’ be keeping them.  They’re too small, sadly, and I’ll be giving them sometime later this year.  They too were made with Kirbywirby yarn.

This pair was started April 2012 and finally finished.  They are made from Cakewalk Yarn in the Cherry Blossom color way and the pattern is Hearts and Flowers by Wendy Johnson.

And…the last pair…another plain vanilla with gusset heel.  The yarn is by Sunrise Fiber Co. in the sorbet color way.

Phew!  Honestly…even though I have all of these things listed in Ravelry and can keep track of everything there, it really is amazing to look at them all here!  I have done an amazing amount of knitting this spring…and hope to get a bunch more done this summer.

Next blog post we’ll talk about what is on the needles now…

trying something new

Soooo, lately I've become quite obsessed with podcasts.  My two addictions right now are the Never Not Knitting podcast and The Knit Girllls video/podcast.  They are SO super fun and addictive.  I love the great info and interviews that Alana has on her NNK podcast, but I have to say...I'm SO partial to the video of The Knit Girllls.  Its just like when I go hang out with my best friend and we talk about all of our recent crafting extravaganzas.  SO fun.

All of this to say, I videoed myself tonight.  I'm uploading a video of me just chatting about what I've been working on, and a couple of things that are finished (mostly just to have more than two things to discuss!).

Let me know what you think!!!!

Lush Cardigan FINISH

Well I certainly didn’t intend to be absent for so long…but…C’est La Vie.

The very very GOOD reason for being absent…test knitting the Lush Cardigan.

As I mentioned in the last post I was knitting this as a test for tincanknits.  I loved every bit of this knit!  It is my first adult sweater finish, and it is SO lovely!

I used Malabrigo Arroyo in the color Natural, and I knit the size XL…even though according to the pattern I should have knit the M or the L.  I don’t usually wear my cardigans all buttoned up and snug, so I chose the bit larger size and knit with a small yarn on big needles.  I am absolutely in love with the drape of this one…just perfect.

This pattern will be part of the book Handmade in the UK, and you should all be putting it on your queue ASAP!!!!  The book is expected to be released in May of this year.

All other details raveled {here}.

today

Today was a yucky rainy day.  Yuck yuck yuck.  So after the gym (1/2 way through my 5K training!) we headed back home for yummy Senate bean soup, tea and working on a test knit on a quick deadline.

The pattern is Lush, a beautiful cardigan by tincanknits for their upcoming book Handmade in the UK.  After swatching twice to make sure that I was as close as possible to the called-for gauge, I’ve made a bit of a start.  The lacework in the sweater is intriguing, and very fun to work on, but I really need to get going, as I have barely 1 month to complete it!  All of my details and info are raveled {here}.

What did you do this weekend?

Joji Mystery KAL

I’ve been holding back (a bit) to post about this project because it was a mystery KAL through Ravelry.  The mystery has now been revealed, so now I’m “free” to post away!

Joji is a great knitting designer…such amazing sweaters!  I could easily cast on for ALL of her designs…if I only had the time!  This was her first KAL, and one of her first few shawls…so I definitely had to join in.

This pictures shows parts 1 and 2 and I’m very excited to go on to part 3!  I love the stripes, the fringe, and every part of this shawl.  The bottom right corner of the shawl in the picture is actually what will be the point, or the bottom center of the shawl…so the stripes will actually orient diagonally.  So cool!

I’ve raveled my details {here}, and you can check out the group for this design {here}.

Word of the Year

Every year for the last several I’ve chosen a word of the year…as have many of you.

This year my word is LESS.

Strange you say?

Many people usually have goals that sound something like…I want to read more books, I want to learn more about _______, or I want to concentrate more on me and what I like to do.

More.  More.  More.

All of this more is EXHAUSTING!!!!!

So, this year I’m going to focus on less.

LESS time thinking about myself and what I want.

LESS obsessing over what I need to knit right now…or start or finish right now…or buy right now.

LESS filling my body and time with junk (bad food, bad use of time, etc.).

LESS time trying to always be right.

And somehow in the end…I feel like I’ll still end up with more.

Anyone out there choosing a word of the year?

Cold Pine

A few weeks before Christmas I was able to test knit a pattern for caitlin ffrench…an AMAZING knitwear designer and blogger.  Her blog is amazing…go check it out…I’ll wait here.

She is well known…and seen…on Ravelry, and I was thrilled to have the chance at knitting one of her patterns early!

Cold Pine is a worsted weight shawl/kerchief.  I knit this using Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in Steamer Trunk.  This was my first time using this yarn base, and it will definitely not be my last!

I think that my favorite part of knitting this pattern was watching the design develop.  I love the undulating curves of the design.  It is unlike anything that I’ve ever knit before…and it was so captivating!

This shawl is a bit on the small side but would be amazing if it was knit on larger needles with perhaps an Aran or Bulky weight!  Gorgeous!

I loved testing Cold Pine for ffrench…and I would jump at the chance again. Lovely pattern, and lovely lady.

Raveled {here}.