Knitted Fingerless Mitts

About two years ago I decided to make myself a pair of fingerless mitts out of my souvenir yarn from our epic Iowa family trip. I keep them at work because my office can get quite cold and it's easier to type without the fingers on the mitts.

Well one of my coworkers seems to have the same issue as me in that her hands get cold in our office. She's even borrowed my mitts a few times. She's also the sweetest person you would ever meet and is always willing to help others around the office. I wanted to do something for her to show her how much I appreciated her.

So another pair of fingerless mitts! The pattern is Koigu wristers, super easy and fast to knit. I used the leftovers of my starry night sock yarn, but wanted to make sure it would go far enough so I contrasted it with white. Frankly I think it looks even better than one color would (although it led to way more ends to weave in!)

My coworker really loved them! So glad I made them.

 

2015 recap and 2016 resolutions

2015 went by so fast! Like many years, it had its highs and a few big lows. Unfortunately nine weeks after losing my grandpa, my grandma passed away in January. I'm so grateful we got one more Christmas with her after losing my grandpa but it was so hard to lose them so close.

There were a lot of bright spots in the year though. In the spring we finally felt like it might be time to have a third dog again. We had been keeping an eye out at the Welfare League's website to see if it looked like any dogs would fit in with our current crew. While we were looking, we learned about a dog who needed a home from one of our family members. We agreed to meet her and it was love at first sight. Foxy joined our family - a two (now three) year old chihuahua-German shepherd mix. She is everyone's little love puppy and I couldn't imagine not having her here.

I'm still chugging along in year two of my job and I got promoted this year! It's been such a great move for me, both in terms of my career and the amazing people I get to work with. J started Kindergarten; C is in third grade and tested into the gifted program!

We took a leap and bought an RV, which we took to San Diego for what is turning into an annual vacation for us. It was so great having a place to chill, with a kitchen to cook in instead of having to go out for every meal. The boys had a great time hanging with their cousins and riding around on bikes and hanging out at the beach. We took them to the San Diego Zoo for the first time too!

As in years past I also tried to keep up with a goal list, so on to the list:

• Blog three times a month - nope not even close. Things were so hectic and yet so ordinary that I didn't have a lot to say
• Make stockings by Christmas for each member of the family - 50% done. C and J both got to use theirs this year, but I still need to do E's and mine.

• Knit at least three pairs of socks - yep, in under the wire. I finished E's Christmas socks two days before Christmas. Funny enough two of the three pairs were for him this year. But he appreciates them so much.
• Make a shawl/stole - not quite. I'm about 2/3 done with a scarf/stole thing
• Sew an item of clothing - yep. Made four bow ties for the kids in my sister's wedding to wear.
• Make bread - yes!!! After being on my list every year, I made some on Monday! So worth the effort - especially now that I have my kitchen aid
• Make caramels - nope
• Make truffles - nada
• Lose 10 pounds - not even close
• Read at least seven books - blasted through this. I read at least 11; I think it was more but that's all I wrote down
• Learn to play guitar - nope and I think this will end up waiting a few more years
• Learn a new cast on/cast off - no. Most of my knitting was types of things I know how to do.
• Finish office/craft room organization - Almost. I got a new desk that can change heights so I can use it for typing on the computer or sewing, then raise it up if I want to cut fabric. I also got a new (old) file cabinet from my grandparents house when we were cleaning it up. It's super functional and nicer than mine but very 1980s wood and gold finishes. Doesn't match the room. So I sanded it down and am repainting it "Oxford Blue" aka Tardis blue. The handles are painted silver. It's actually sitting in the garage waiting for the last coat of paint. Then my beautiful office/craft room is done!!

So four done, six not and three half done or more. Not too shabby. I wish I had done a little better but c'est la vie. Now onward to 2016. I'm guessing grad school will be a time suck so this is a short but hopefully reasonable list:

• Get accepted into and start grad school
• Sew a skirt for myself
• Lose 10 pounds
• Finish the last two stockings
• Read 8 books (Honeymoon Suite - 4/12/16; Babyland - 4/15/16; Heart of the Matter - 4/19/16)
• Make truffles
• Blog 24 times
• Knit 2 pairs of socks

Happy 2016!

 

 

Happenings

School started a couple of months ago here, so I am now officially the mom of two elementary students! (And goodbye daycare payments, woohoo!) What I'm wondering is when did I become old enough to have a third grader; I remember being a third grader.

Both boys are playing sports this year. J started a second season of soccer a few weeks ago, and after taking a couple year hiatus C had his first basketball practice this week.

On the knitting front, I'm working on a second Christmas stocking. I've pretty much conceded that E's and mine won't be done before this Christmas but I want to make sure both boys have theirs.

 

My scarf is slow going. Unfortunately I missed the deadline for the lace along I was participating in. It's pretty much become just my plane knitting since the stocking is too bulky to take.

 

Speaking of plane knitting, I got to cross another state off my list as I had to go to Oregon last week. I've now hit 40% of the US. By the way Portland is beautiful!

I'm also applying grad school! I'm mildly terrified - I'll be 35 when I start and 37 (hopefully) when I finish. I finished my Bachelors 2 days before my 22nd birthday so we're talking 15 years between the two degrees. My kids think it's funny that mom will have homework like them. I'll also be working full time. Goodbye free time ...

 

A Finished Object

I finished the Christmas stocking I was working on. We took a week long vacation to San Diego, which gave me plenty of time to knit - we planned our vacation to have a lot of down time this year, not so go go go, which I think was great for everyone. By the time we pulled back in our driveway I only had to Kitchener the toe (I'm prone to car sickness so I couldn't look at my hands long enough while riding to finish it).

I absolutely love the way it turned out! But I wanted to try lining it so that nothing would catch on the floats if I stuffed it. While I am not an experienced sewer, lining this ended up being super easy.

I found an awesome snowflake fabric at Joann to coordinate with the knitted snowflake motif. Then I laid out my stocking on the fabric, tracing it and adding a half inch seam allowance. I cut it slightly shorter than the stocking (up to the red ridge).

I cut the first piece out, then used it to trace the second piece (turning it so I wouldn't have two front side pieces and no backside pieces.

I wanted to have the right side of the fabric showing towards the inside of the stocking so I was careful to think through which way to sew it. Using my sewing machine I sewed so the right sides were facing each other, all around the stocking except for the top. Then I turned it right side out. I turned the stocking inside out and slid the lining over the inside out stocking. Once it was on the way I wanted it, I stitched the lining to the stocking using an overlock stitch.

The great thing about this particular stocking pattern is there is basically a ridge that forms on the inside near the top, which was the perfect place to attach the lining. Once I finished attaching it I only had to flip the stocking right side out and voilà it was done!

 

Progress

I think I'm finally getting in the groove with my stocking and am really starting to make progress. In a week I've gone from this:

To this:

It helped to switch needles. I was using my Hiya Hiyas with five inch tips. They were just slightly too long and I felt like I had to force the yarn around because it was stretched so tight. I switched to a four inch tip and now it seems like it's going much more smoothly.

 

Update

What a hectic month! So much happened with family and work. My sister got married! I'm so excited for her and my new BIL is a great guy. I was one of the bridesmaids and my boys were both in the wedding too. I finished the bow ties that I was working on for the little boys.

I'm so happy with the way they turned out.

(Goofy kid modeling the tie at the wedding)

Speaking of this goofy kid, he finished preschool!

And C finished second grade! It's hard to believe that I will have two in elementary school in the fall. They're growing up so fast - J was about 6 months old and C was younger than J is now when I started blogging.

We also adopted a new dog. It was sort of unplanned. We had been talking about getting another dog but hadn't made a firm decision or found one who fit with our family. Then my SIL told us about someone who needed to re home their dog. When we heard more about the dog we knew she would be a perfect fit for our family. So meet Foxy!

She's two and about 30 lbs. She loves our boys and gets along amazingly with our other two. I'm so glad she joined our household.

On top of all of that I also had to travel out of state twice for work in the last month. Not so bad but certainly kept me hopping with all of the other things going on too.

And of course where would I be without my knitting. I finished a set of washcloths for the bride; paired with some Bath and Bodyworks soap and voila I had a nice gift.

Now I'm working on a couple of the projects on my resolution list. I've started the first Christmas stocking. I'm using some leftover acrylic worsted weight from my grandma and a size 7 needle. The pattern is Fiona's stocking and has a spot for customizing names on each one. I also was really drawn to the snowflake motif.

I'm also working on a lacy scarf with a great merino silk blend. This tends to be my more portable project and one that I pick up when I don't feel like eating a chart. It's lace but only has two alternating pattern rows, with a row of purling between each one. The pattern is Strangling Vines and it's perfect for anyone looking for an easy intro to lace. Bonus - one of the groups I belong to on Ravelry is having a lace along, so that is providing the momentum I need to finish it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I was yarn...

...what would I be?

Today is the first day of the sixth annual Knit and Crochet blog week and the first topic is "If you were yarn, what would you be?" An interesting topic for sure. There are so many different types of yarn out there, each with their own purpose for knitting and/or crocheting. Cotton is great for washcloths but can really stretch as a garment unless blended with another yarn. Silk is soft and luxurious but very delicate and wouldn't be good for a child's stuffed animal. In way people are like this too. We all have such different personalities but each person has a purpose and place in this world.

Okay, enough philosophy. Onto me and what yarn I would consider myself to be. I thought about the properties yarn has and think I have an idea. I would consider myself 100% wool. Wool is versatile and can be used in so many projects. Wool can be stretched and molded into shape. It has great memory. But if you agitate it too much, it can felt, shrinking in on itself.

I am known for my memory. I am versatile and can participate in many projects and activities. Too much agitation can be hard on me. So wool-like.

Want to see what other knitters think they are? Search 6kcbwday1!

 

On My Needles

I can finally talk about what's been on my needles lately - birthday socks for my husband. He likes to cycle so I thought it would be fun to make him socks that match a couple of his riding jerseys. I found a great yarn through Yarns to Inspire on Etsy called Holidaze. I used my usual sock method - cuff down and heel flap - but I cast on 72 stitches instead of 64. I also did just five inches for the cuff because E doesn't like socks that are too tall. The pooling on this yarn is really cool, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Unfortunately I only got one of the two socks done before E's birthday. I think I forgot to take into account how much bigger the sock is than mine, just by adding eight stitches to each row and a somewhat longer foot. Plus only being able to knit later at night when he was asleep. Oh well, at least I was able to give him one with an IOU for the other!

 

Update - I finished them, just a couple weeks after his birthday. He liked them

Another pair of socks

Recently I finished a new pair of socks. This pair was my "I need a small project; I want to work on something for me; I have nothing else to work on; my feet are cold" socks. In other words I picked them up and put them down repeatedly over the last six months until I really felt compelled to actually make an effort to finish them.

This pair has actually traveled farther than my other three pairs. I started them on a plane ride to Denver, when I didn't want to bring the boys' Christmas sweater projects with me because of the size it would have taken in my carryon and I was procrastinating on the washcloths I did for Christmas. Socks seemed like a good solution.

The yarn is Candy Skein's in the Blue Hawaiian colorway. This was the August 2013 color of the month. What a great yarn to knit with! The socks are super comfy and the colors just came alive before my eyes. It's amazing to see that the yarn started out as the yarn in the middle of this group.

The pattern was my usual top down, heel flap pattern that I like so much. And with that I'm one third of the way to my goal of making at least three pairs this year.

 

 

Totally turtle time

I knitted another Sheldon - we're having a baby shower for a coworker this week at work. She's having a girl so I thought it would be fun to use pink for the shell. Otherwise I did it pretty much the same as my last Sheldon. I did find the crocheting much easier than the last one but man, the icord border is still super tricky and time consuming. It looks great though so I think it's worth it.

I plan on pairing it with a book (probably Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton). A few of my coworkers and I are putting together a basket of stuff so these will go with some diapers, receiving blankets and the like. Should be cute when it's done!

 

2014 Recap and 2015 Resolutions

2014 was an interesting year to say the least. Lots of changes and quite a few rough patches. Towards the beginning of the year I started a new job after twelve years at my old one. That was definitely one of the high points of the year - I'm very happy with the change I made. Unfortunately I lost my grandpa this year and we had to put down our (almost) 14 year old dog. J broke his arm, I dealt with a bad staph infection, and C had to have oral surgery to remove an extra tooth in his palate. I'm hoping 2015 is a healthier year.

C turned 7 this year. (I can't believe I have a second grader. I remember being a second grader!) J turned five. E and I celebrated our lucky number 13 anniversary. We were fortunate enough to vacation with E's family in San Diego for a week this summer. The boys got to experience Legoland for the first time and we had lots of beach time. I also got to travel some for work this year, going to San Diego, Denver and Seattle. I've only been through Denver, not staying there (for example we ate at Casa Bonita on the way back from Iowa last summer) so it was nice to spend some time there, even if I was pretty busy. I did manage to find time one evening to have dinner with a friend too! Seattle was great too - again really busy but I'd never been there before. Very different than Arizona.

We were also hit with an epic rainstorm here. Our area went one of the longest times without rain but later in the year we had a 100 year storm come through. It literally flooded out most of the freeways. I'd never seen anything like it.

And now onto my 2014 resolution list. Like most of the past few years, I got through 40% of my list. First the hits.

• Read five books - yep, in fact I read at least seven. A couple of reasons, one I put more effort into it; two with the new job I was traveling more. More time in airports and on planes led to a lot more reading time.
• Organizing the pantry - I knocked this out early in the year and kept it more or less fixed the whole year.
• Make a crochet project - I made washcloths to go along with my homemade vanilla extract and one was crocheted. It finally seemed to click with me.
• Sew a needle holder - It was a little wonky - one piece was sewn in the wrong order so a seam shows on the outside. But it works wonderfully and I use it all the time.
• Frosting piping practice - Decorated my son's birthday cupcakes in a Minecraft theme.
• Blog at least three times a month - I'm going to fudge and say yes. Some months I didn't hit at least three times but I did get over 36 posts total for the year and wrote at least once every month.

And now the misses. Make bread, make truffles, make caramels. Nope, still on the baking bucket list. Although I have yeast in the pantry, ready to go... Learn to play guitar - never made it a priority. Learn entrelac, learn a new cast on or off - I really tried a new cast on, I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. Garden - I have such a black thumb! Lose 23 pounds - epic fail, I actually put a little weight back on.

So the list for 2015 will have some repeats on it. But I've got a few new things too:

• Blog three times a month (36 for the year)
• Make stockings by Christmas for each member of the family
• Knit at least three pairs of socks (2/27/15, 4/14/15; 12/23/15)
• Make a shawl/stole
• Sew an item of clothing (5/3/15)
• Make bread
• Make caramels
• Make truffles
• Lose 10 pounds
• Read at least seven books (40 Love - 2/11/15; Sleeping Arrangements - 2/22/15; Baby Proof - 5/18/15; Fishbowl - 5/23/15; The Good Daughters - 6/181/15; Inside the O'Briens - 7/29/15; Funny Girl - 8/3/15; The Help - 9/18/15; Fall of Marigolds - 9/29/15; The One and Only - 10/29/15; Still Alice - 11/1/115; Shopaholic to the Rescue - 12/29/15)
• Learn to play guitar
• Learn a new cast on/cast off
• Finish office/craft room organization

Hopefully I finish above 40% this year! Here's to a great 2015!

 

 

 

 

 

Christmastime!

We had quite a busy December around here. Lots of activities and time with the family.

We started out the month by participating in a parade. I haven't been in a parade since high school and my kids have never had this chance before. Lots of fun for us!

That same night we participated in a fundraising walk for Phoenix Childrens Hospital (a cause near and dear to my heart). We walk along one of the major roads with (fake) candles until we get to the hospital and then hold the lights up so the kids stuck in the hospital at Christmastime can see. A few carols are sung and a short concert is held.

Santa visited J's school this year

And we got a chance to go see some pretty lights. (J kept making faces instead of smiling for the picture.) The boys got to go to a petting zoo and have caramel apples while we were there.

We also went to a carnival at my parents' church. In addition to some bouncies and games, they had a snow hill for sledding. This was my kiddos first time sledding (being Arizona kids). Yes, C is sledding in a tshirt and sandals.

On Christmas Eve we went to church and then came home and put up Luminarias. Our whole neighborhood lines the streets with them - it's an amazing sight to see!

I also finished the boys sweaters as part of of their Christmas gifts

(Pattern is Alec in Cottonish. The one with the tan buttons is a size 5 and the one with the black buttons is size 7 but both have about an extra inch added to the length - I have tall kids)

We had our annual food contest at my mom and dad's house on Christmas Eve. This year we had to make cookies. The twist was they had to include peanut butter and Seagrams whiskey. I only came in third but I was really happy how they turned out. We also had breakfast with the inlaws. I think everybody was really happy with their presents too.

Merry Christmas!

 

Another Sweater

While I was working on Serina my boys kept asking if I would make sweaters for them. I had to explain that as fast as they thought I was, I couldn't just whip up a sweater in just a few days (oh how I wish, though). However that got me thinking and led me to the idea of sweaters as Christmas gifts for them. A few days is not doable, a few months however...

I had two main criteria when starting this project. One, the sweater had to be dk or worsted weight. Any lighter weight would take too long (see Serina above). Any heavier and well, it's Arizona. It wouldn't get worn more than 1-2 days a year. Based on the first criteria, I picked Alec. I can do top down or bottom up sweaters but prefer top down. It's knitted in the round for the most part, which is good for me in terms of speed and tension. And as a bonus, it's got the most darling pattern on the front, with buttons too!

Two, the yarn had to be machine washable and good for this weather. The second criteria led me to Cottonish, a fairly inexpensive cotton acrylic blend. When I purchased it, I had the boys with me and subtley asked them about their favorite colors. They both ended up picking Royal Denim, a nice dark blue with purplish undertones.

It took me a couple of weeks and a couple of false starts to get through the pattern on the front but now I'm just cruising along. In the last week I've managed nine inches. I will probably have the body done by this weekend. This has been a super easy to understand pattern.And once I finish this one, the next sweater will be just like it, but two sizes bigger.

For more WIPs, check out Tamis Amis

 

 

It's about time!

My Serina cardigan is finally finished! After being on the needles for 25 months, I completed it a few weeks ago - I began swatching August 24, 2012 and cast off Septmeber 14, 2014. Granted I wasn't knitting on it the whole time; it sat in hibernation for a while. In fact it looks like I went five months between swatches on two different sized needle. I didn't even blog about it until I had been working on it for four months and it was sort of just an off handed comment.

With that said, I couldn't be happier with the final result. Much to my surprise and delight I have an item of clothing, made by me, that can go to work or be casual.

This photo was taken after wearing it to work for the first time (I've actually worn it once more since then). I love this picture - the color is not quite true to life but I can't wipe the smile off my face!

This is a little more true to color - the blue is brighter in person but this picture shows the color variation. The amazing detail in the pattern also shows better here.

Okay one last time on the details. The yarn is Bernat Sox multi in Wooded Denim, bought on clearance at Joann's. I used a Size 2 needle for the body and collar and Size 3 for the sleeves. The pattern is Serina. My Ravelry project page is here. I also talked about it on the blog here, here, here, here, and here.

Now onto to the next project!

 

 

Work in Progress Wednesday - the home stretch

I am still plugging away at my cardigan, however with any luck, this will be the final time the cardigan shows up on the blog as a work in progress! Since the last time I posted, I have finished the sleeves and have begun working on the collar.

This is actually attempt number two on the collar. The first time I was about six or seven rows in when I decided it wasn't turning out right - I hadn't picked up nearly enough stitches. So I redid it, picking up about 100 more stitches than the first time. This time around, I'm much happier with the way it looks and I'm now past the point where I ripped it out before. I have a mere eleven rows to go and then this will finally be 100% done!

For more WIPs, check out Tami's Amis!

 

Sleeves!

I'm still working on my cardigan but now I have sleeves (yes plural). I finished the first sleeve earlier this week and am about halfway done with the second one. I'm in the home stretch now with only the collar to go!

For more projects, check out Tami's Amis!

 

Work in Progress Wednesday

My cardigan has really come along since I posted about it two weeks ago. I finished the body and have now started on one of the sleeves.

The sweater is supposed to be three quarter length so I'm about halfway done with the first one. I had to switch to size 3 needles for the sleeves. I knit significantly tighter in the round than I do straight. I think my purls are looser than my knits. The sleeves are going really quickly since I much prefer knitting in the round. I'll definitely finish this to wear this winter.

I also managed to finish my washcloth this week but more on that later.

For more works in progress, check out Tami's Amis

 

Work in Progress Wednesday

I have been a bad knitter! I am participating in a WIP down (finishing up languishing WIPs) on Ravelry and have been diligently working on my cardigan and also finishing up a few smaller projects that have been sitting around. But...

...I started something new. I've got another pair of vanilla socks on the needles. In my defense I had to travel for work this week (hence the super crappy picture) and a cardigan is just not portable for my carry on. Let's ignore the fact that the washcloth I am working on is just as small.

I am using the August 2013 monthly colorway from Candy Skein - Blue Hawaiian. It may be the most beautiful yarn I've ever worked with. Seriously, crappy hotel pic does NOT do this justice!

And I promise I'll be good and work on the cardigan when I get home!

For more works in progress, visit Tami's Amis!

 

Work in Progress Wednesday

For Christmas my plan is to give bottles of homemade vanilla extract wrapped in a knitted washcloth and coordinating towel. I decided to start on the washcloths early so I wouldn't be rushing to finish them. I actually find them slightly tedious at times - I am gung-ho to start them, then it drags in the middle before I get excited to finish them (like my recent duck cloth). Hopefully starting early will allow me to not stress about that.

This is the first one so far. It looks green in the pic but in real life it's more of an electric blue. I'm doing what I think is a basketweave pattern on my size 6 needles with some Sugar and Creme yarn.

I'm really excited about my other WIP, my Serina cardigan. According to Ravelry I started this two years ago but the end is finally in sight.

I'm to the ribbing on the bottom - I have about 20 more rows to go on the body. I still have to pick up and knit the neck and knit the sleeves but I think there is a chance this could make an appearance this winter!

For other WIPs check out Tami's Amis!

 

Finished Object Friday

Yay I actually finished a project this month!

I started this washcloth way back in February and finally cast off about a week ago. I wasn't actually knitting on it the whole time; most of the time it was sitting off to the side, waiting for me to get around to it. Nothing about the pattern is hard - it's actually a very well written pattern. I just wasn't motivated to work on it. However, once I finished it, I was very glad I did.

The pattern is Quacking Up and I knit it on Size 6 needles with Sugar and Creme yarn. Personally I'm a big fan of this yarn for washcloths. Cotton is kind of hard on my hands but for something as small as a washcloth, it's doable.

I'll actually be working on more washcloths in the coming months as part of my plans for Christmas too