FO: Endpaper Mitts

I queued the Endpaper Mitts pattern back in my first year of ravelry (2007). I started them once, in a color combination that was lacking oomph. So, I let the pattern languish, and then tried a second time, in a much more vibrant and happy color combination. I was enamored with this project, and chose similar colors in a different yarn for my pair.

They took me over a year to finish (really, I finished one and didn't cast on the second for months), but now I love them so hard.

Colorwork is so fun to knit.

FO: Mittens for Jeni

It's a little embarrassing when I think about how long these took me.

The actual knitting took place over just a few months.

But there was a.... year and a half hiatus before the second one was started. Yeah, something like that. Oh, well. They're done now, and living in a much more appropriate climate than Houston, Texas. The pattern is O.W.L. Mittens, from this magazine

I'm really proud of my colorwork progress.

This was the most complicated colorwork I've completed so far. I hope to try something even more challenging next year!

On ravelry

Knot a Problem

You may have noticed, but I didn't get very far in that photo-a-day challenge last month. In fact, I got exactly eleven days in, and some of those were taken late! Total fail.
It was fun, though, and something super awesome resulted from the challenge.

My February 8th photo was of an abandoned knitting project.

My sweet kitty Olias had a not-so-sweet freakout back in April of 2010, and destroyed this WIP. I was furious. I had to cut the yarn in several places, because he had strewn it all over the house. I vented here, if you'd like to read more.

The story has a happy ending, though, and it's all thanks to the photo challenge!

Celtic Cast On commented on the photo and let me know about a ravelry group called Knot a Problem.
Basically, members of this group love to untangle yarn/projects. Seriously!

I contacted a member of the group who lives in Austin, Ana (aka Badgersmama), and she agreed to sort out the mess Olias made.
I mailed her the project and a return stamped envelope, and she returned the yarn (in several balls, since I had to cut it in more places than I remembered!), ready to be knit again!

It was so nice of Ana to do this for me, and I'm so appreciative!

A yarny giveaway - Project Spectrum style

As part of my efforts to reduce stash, I have decided to share some items with you. So, in August, I will have three giveaways. Each will be related to a different craft, so hopefully, there will be something for everyone!

Giveaway one is all about the knitting.

One winner will receive this skein of Malabrigo Sock in Eggplant (here's where Project Spectrum comes to light, since August's color focus is pink and purple). The winner will also receive an electronic sock or shawl pattern of his or her choosing.
I think the easiest way to do this will be a gift on ravelry for the pattern. If the winner doesn't have a ravelry account, we'll work something out to make it fair.

How does that sound? Any takers? I've sung the praises of Malabrigo before. It's lovely, squishy stuff.

International entries are welcome.
One entry per person.

I'll take entries until Monday, August 1st, 8:00 PM CST.
If you are a no-reply blogger, PLEASE leave your email address so I can contact you.

ETA: Comments are now closed.

Stash enhancement by trade

These three skeins of yarn came to me by trade on ravelry, in exchange for some stash I've had for at least a year, maybe longer.

My favorite, a skein of MadelineTosh Tosh Sock in the Scarlet colorway. I've never used this yarn (but recently purchased another skein as well, in the Mourning Dove colorway). It feels squishy soft, and I'm looking forward to trying it.

Two skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn, in the Velvet Port and In Vino Veritas (great name) colorways. This is another yarn I've never used before.

Sorry for the lack of posts around these parts. I do have some things to share, but time, that's the tricky part!

I'm hoping to have some craft time this weekend, and I've got a new knitting project to share, as well as a (nearly) finished object.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the cool nights here in Houston (all week, lows in the sixties!). Welcome, autumn!

I lied + progress check

Remember when I said I was going to wait to cast on for something new? Well, yeah. I should never say things like that. Starting a new project is such an awesome process that I just couldn't resist.

I actually have two projects to show you. One was started before I made such a silly statement, but the other was started just this weekend.

Using Noro for the first time, here's my Noro Stockinette Scarf using Chirimen, a silk/wool/cotton blend. it's so lovely to work with, and I love the color changes. It feels less scratchy than most Noro yarns. I'm just knitting a simple stockinette scarf with a two-stitch garter border.

The exact date of cast on has escaped my mind, but it was sometime in February. The scarf will be as long as two skeins will take me, and I'm already well into the second skein.

This weekend, I cast on for Clothilde, using some stashed Stricken Smitten sock yarn. I've been dying to knit Clothilde, but wasn't sure which yarn to use. This lovely purple shade called out to me as I was headed out of town. My mom saw me knitting this weekend, and she has since claimed this shawl as her own; she adores purple.

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I got a new job about a month ago, and it's been a difficult, albeit good, transition. I have more responsibilities, and I'm working longer hours, but it was a good move. I've still got some DC pics to share, so I'll work on getting those posted soon.

FO: Squirrelly Baby Sweater

Is squirrelly even a word?

Well, whether it is or not, these buttons are definitely squirrelly, or squirrel-ly, if you prefer.

This is the baby sweater for my fella's sister, who was induced last night, and has probably had the little guy or gal by now.

I get to hand-deliver the sweater to the new addition in the next few days, and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out. Since the parents chose not to discover the sex ahead of time, I tried to knit something that could work for either gender. When I found the squirrel buttons on etsy, they just fit. The yellow and brown yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Cotton Patine. The blue is Cotton-Ease. I used less about half a skein of each.

The pattern is easy to follow, and the variations I've seen on Ravelry are just lovely. Several people chose to do applique, and I considered it, but I felt that the stripes + applique would be too busy. The knitting went quickly, but the total duration for the sweater was about 2 months. This was mostly because I knew my deadline, and I procrastinated on the finishing. Story of my life. Plus, finding the perfect buttons took some searching. The only trouble I had was due to these very buttons. They were a bit too big for the buttonholes, but I was able to stretch them enough to fit.

FO: The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine

Given my lack of time for blogging as of late, I guess it's not surprising that I never even showed you this piece in progress.

After casting on the day before Valentine's due to a craving for vibrancy, I blocked and photographed this past weekend, only two weeks later.

Feministy created this lovely pattern, Traveling Woman, which is lovely to knit, and a free pattern to boot! As a sideline, I am seriously coveting some of her Femme Fatale Fibers yarn. Lovely!

Back to the subject at hand, the pattern is straightforward, and I can tell my lace skills are improving, as I only had to tink back a row once while knitting this.

Even before blocking, the pattern is visible and appealing. I used less than two skeins of Shibui Sock in Poppy, which I purchased on my Boston trip last fall.

I'm so big on semi-solid yarns like this, and I really love the Shibui Sock base. I purchased another couple of skeins in the Wasabi colorway from Clumsy's Flocks of Yarn.

My grandfather commented to me this weekend that I should make my grandmother one in a shade this bright.

He says a girl needs some color in her life, at any age. I want to keep this one for me, but the next shawl I make for my grandmother will indeed be in a bright shade than the first.

See? Even Olias wants in on this shawl.

Raveled

In case you're wondering the name of the shawl is a Spoon song, one of my favorites!

Stash Enhancement: Always a good thing

Okay, okay, so I've bought a little yarn in the last few months. I've also destashed quite a bit on ravelry, so that makes up for it, right? Up first, from Weezalana's destash, two skeins (purchased at different times) of sock yarn:

Some Hazel Knits Artisan Sock, which I've been dying to try

and some Yarntini in Peaknit.

I've actually been contemplating using these yarns together, maybe for a Daybreak Shawl(?).

I also scored some Sundara Sock Yarn, in the Delphiniums colorway.

My biggest purchase in the last few months was seven skeins of Silky Wool, purchased from Twisted Yarns in Spring.

I love this yarn. It's so soft.

Finally, I had a girls weekend in Austin a couple of weeks ago.

Sarah, Rhonda and I checked out Gauge, and I found this Robincat Handspun lace. It's a gorgeous, silk/wool blend.

Black Friday Destash : any takers?

I've noticed I really like using a colon in my blog titles. Hmm. Interesting.

So, I would like to share with you all some of my stash. I don't know when I will use any of this, and I'm trying to save up some Christmas money. Hope you find something you like or need!

11 skeins of Elann Sonata in Tarragon (it's a sage green color; a little richer than the picture shows)
$20 Paypal including US shipping

Fiesta Ballet, 1 skein (wound into a cake; ball band is missing) Iris colorway
$17 paypal including US shipping

8 skeins of Merino Style in Storm
$20 paypal including US shipping

2 skeins Karaoke (variegated orange/yellow)
$11 paypal including US shipping

La Lana Streakers, 1 skein of lovely fluffiness!
$15 paypal, including US shipping

Louisa Harding Jasmine, 8 skeins (2-3 balls were knit and re-wound; all yardage is present)
$45 paypal, including US shipping
This stuff is soft and sparkly DK weight.

Three Irish Girls Adorn, 1 skein in Kelly (I partially knit and re-wound this into a cake)
$19 paypal including US shipping

I will combine shipping if you buy more than one item. Comment here and we can discuss.
I will not be available Friday, but I will answer your comments in the order received on Saturday

Thanks!

Stashy goodness

I've been relatively good lately. I haven't spent that much on yarn, and I've refrained from clicking add to cart on more than one occasion in the last few months. There have been a few missteps, but I've also sold/traded a bit on ravelry, so I guess it all evens out (by the way, lots of stuff still available here on ravelry. I still have entirely too much, but it's not the worst vice I could have.

Here are a few of the newest stash items:

Lorna's Laces, traded on ravelry (for my Cherry Tree Hill)

Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Sterling

My biggest weakness, Malabrigo

This is one of about 5 Malabrigo skeins that have been added to the stash lately.
I'm a bad girl.

My first Noro, Chirimen

Enjoy the eye candy, folks!

Next up: a once-(nearly) perfect FO, botched by trouble cat and Ishbel revealed!

Cleaning out my (yarn) closet

I'm destashing a bit this week. After considering the use for some of my stashed yarns, it's time to face facts and realize that some of these lovelies will just never reach their full potential while sitting in bins/drawers.

If you're interested (and on ravelry, since this is a rav link), here's the goods.
I'm open to haggling, although I'd rather not trade for other yarnage, since that would sort of defeat my purpose here today.

Have a lovely Friday, all.

Yarn for sale

So yes, I'm sorting through my stash and selling some yarn. Most of it is sock yarn, and given that I haven't actually completed a pair of socks, selling some seems appropriate.

Information on pricing and stats can be found on here for ravelry users and here on flickr.

Ravelympics

So, if you're not a knitter, or, if you're not a raveler, let me tell you a little about the ravelympics. It's a knitting event that takes place during the Olympics. There are different events, based on what you intend to knit, such as the Bag-and-Tote Backstroke, Hand-Dyed Hurdles and the Itsy Bitsy Bikini Backstroke. The object is to complete an object for whichever category you choose from the time the Olympics start to finish.
Since I am apparently really presumptuous about my knitting abilities, I signed up for two events: the Shawl Relay and WIPs Wrestling. For WIPs Wrestling (that's works in progress wrestling for you, mom and Jill) I'm hoping to finish two projects that have been sitting for months.

The majority of Something Red (and Yellow) was completed this spring, including on my New Mexico trip. All that's left is the collar. You knitters know that's a pretty intimidating portion, but I'm hoping I can knock it out. I'd really like to wear this in the fall.

The other WIP I'm hoping to wrestle is my Zig Zag Pillow. I started this last year (I think it's my oldest WIP). Since I'm only doing a pillow front (and then I'm going to use fabric for the back), it's possible that I could wrap it up during the Olympics.

And finally, to really prove my insanity, I'm hoping to start AND finish Angela's wedding shawl. Har. Considering I've never done a full lace project (unless you count Square Cake). The plan is Juno Regina in this yarn:

So, these are the things I'll be focusing on in the next few weeks. Hopefully, I can accomplish at least one of these three outlandish goals.

Little baby skeins

Ravelry has some fantastic ads, and while they usually are at least worth a glance, two in the last few weeks have been so tempting that I couldn't resist clicking them. The first was for Zen Yarn Garden on etsy, and they had an amazing offer of five baby skeins, each of a different sock yarn, for just $5.00 including shipping. While I'm not yet a sock knitter, and I have plenty of yarn, I couldn't resist trying out their lovely yarns for this low price. So, click! Yarn is on it's way. I got it this week, and it's been fun practicing with the baby needles.

It's nice that they give you all yarn in one colorway, so you actually could conjure up a little FO using all of them. Another bonus is that they give you a discount on your first purchase if you first get the sampler. Pretty awesome in my book.
Today I got suckered in AGAIN, this time with Wool Girl, and again, with sock yarn! Geez. I really need to start knitting some socks! I ended up buying two different types of sock yarn in colorways I could not live without. I'm not at all opposed to using it for non-socks, but we'll see-maybe this will be the motivation I need to learn.
Here's another example of baby skeins I came across in New Mexico. While at the Fiesta Outlet in Albuquerque, I scored some beautiful baby skeins for just a buck a piece. Amazing, right?

I got six skeins, in semi-coordinating colors (paired off, I mean). There are 3 skeins of 100% silk (La Luz), some 100% cashmere, and a wool blend.
Ah, they make me happy.