So I haven't blogged since October.. Tournament 9 is now over. I completed a few projects for rounds two and three. November was the month of hats. I made another Jayne Hat for a friend of mine:
This is the third Jayne Hat I've made. I was hoping to use up the left over Vanna's Choice I had lying around from a previous Jayne Hat. I severely under-estimated the amount I had left. I decided to buy more, since the Vanna's Choice is cheap and fairly good quality as far as an acrylic goes. I was able to find the colors I needed and they matched perfectly. The Vanna's Choice is actually softer now.
The other two hats were from this pattern: Baby Bunny Newborn Hat. I made the first hat straight from the pattern, since it was for a newborn. I used Queensland Collection Super Aussie. I got the yarn on a tremendously phenomenal sale, but it was cream colored. The recipient wanted pink. I've done enough dying at this point that I was confident I could dye it to my liking. It went from this:
to this:
I used a combination of Kool Aid and Wilton's Gel. I was extremely pleased with the way it turned out. Here's what it looks like knit up:
This hat is adorable! The second bunny hat needed to fit a two year old, so I used the gauge I got knitting the first hat to figure out the second one. It worked out pretty well.
My client was very pleased with the final results. If I ever have children of my own I will make a few of these. They are simply adorable. The pattern is simple and easy to follow. I converted it to an "in-the-round" pattern for ease. The trickiest part was sewing on the ears.
I only completed one project in December. It was lace-weight and large, so it took the whole month. I made another Jeweled Cowl, this time at the request of a former co-worker of mine. She is getting married in March and wanted a cover up. I cast on 250 stitched and knit per the pattern after that. (52 beaded rows) I actually did the math for this once since it took me the whole month to compete. There are 104 patterned rows and two rows extra at the beginning and the end, if you include cast on and bind off that 108 rows, at 250 stitches each, that's 27,000 stitches! I used Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace for this, its plied unlike the Malabrigo Lace, so it does knit up differently. Its drapier (if that's a word) and the fabric is more open and loose. This cowl stretches more than the other two. The beads are Fire Mountain Gems Delicas. They are 8/0 seed beads in the opaque pearl color. Love the Delicas! I need to get some better pictures before I send it out to the client, but here is a prelim.
I've been working on my dissertation since the tournament ended. I want to get it done so I can give it to my grandmother. I just joined the second skein the other day, so its getting quite large at this point. I don't have any pictures of it yet, I've fallen behind in my picture taking. I have some new stash to put up as well. Once I get this done I think I'll start the scarf I had intended to make back in October.
Alright on to the business of New Years resolutions. Of course by resolutions I mean Knitolutions... So lets look back at last years goals:
-Color work, stranded knitting and I think its called Swiss Darning, where you follow over existing stitches with a different color.
-Real lace knitting, shawls or wraps with small needles (I have a small needle phobia)
-I think 2013 is the year I'm going to learn to spin.
So lets look back at 2013 and see how I met all three of those goals.
Faire Isle:
Snowflake Hat; March 2013
Brain Wave Hat; August 2013
Lace, real lace that is, with small needles.
Cassis Shawlette; August 2013 (fingering weight with US4)
Jeweled Cowl(number 1); August 2013 (LACEweight with US8)
Cassis Shawlette (number 2); September 2013
Jeweled Cowl (number 2); October 2013
Jeweled Cowl (number 3); December 2013 (still laceweight)
Zig Zag Lace Shawl (WIP) Laceweight US8s
Now for the doosie as far as the needle phobia goes: (Drum roll please...)
Jack's Knucks; still a WIP (fingering weight with US1s and US2s) 1s and 2s!!!
Spinning:
Yup, I did that too. I'm not very good yet and I find it really tedious, but I like the challenge, so at some point here I'll work on some more. This is just a really wonky single. I want to work on my consistency and then try plying. Its a pretty good start though if you ask me, I've just used the internets for videos, I haven't had anyone teaching me hands on.
I guess I need some new knityears resolutions now that I met last years so, here goes.
-More color-work. I only checked Faire Isle off my list, there is still Intarsia and duplicate stitch.
-Also more lace. I see now why people refer to it as being bitten by the lace bug. It is truly addicting. I enjoy making shawls. I have tons more patterns queued and I have some more yarn ready and waiting. I think what I enjoy most, is beaded shawls. Since I stated beading with the Jeweled Cowls, I now add beads to anything I can manage.
-More spinning, good spinning.
-More dyeing and knit up what has already been dyed.
-Publish my first pattern.
-Possibly open up my own Etsy shop. I want to get my available FOs out there and make a little money.
-More sweaters or other large projects.
-I think this is at the bottom of every year's list. Finish up those WIPs.
That's it for the happenings of late. As far as personal life goes; Paleo is awesome and I wish I would have started it sooner. I feel like a million bucks. I sleep better, I have energy, all my funny little aches and pains have disappeared. I've lost 10 pounds. I fit in clothes that have been in the back of my closet for three years. After a week or two, when my husband noticed I was loosing weight just by changing my eating habits, he decided to try out Paleo too. He pretty much hates it, but he's loosing weight and he feels better so he's sticking with it. I miss some foods, but I don't have cravings and there are so many resources around I really don't have an excuse not to eat well. That's it for now. I'll do my best to keep up with the blog better. My work life is getting more and more crappy. I'm hoping to change that soon. Until later, Happy Crafting!
-Q
The other two hats were from this pattern: Baby Bunny Newborn Hat. I made the first hat straight from the pattern, since it was for a newborn. I used Queensland Collection Super Aussie. I got the yarn on a tremendously phenomenal sale, but it was cream colored. The recipient wanted pink. I've done enough dying at this point that I was confident I could dye it to my liking. It went from this:
I used a combination of Kool Aid and Wilton's Gel. I was extremely pleased with the way it turned out. Here's what it looks like knit up:
I only completed one project in December. It was lace-weight and large, so it took the whole month. I made another Jeweled Cowl, this time at the request of a former co-worker of mine. She is getting married in March and wanted a cover up. I cast on 250 stitched and knit per the pattern after that. (52 beaded rows) I actually did the math for this once since it took me the whole month to compete. There are 104 patterned rows and two rows extra at the beginning and the end, if you include cast on and bind off that 108 rows, at 250 stitches each, that's 27,000 stitches! I used Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace for this, its plied unlike the Malabrigo Lace, so it does knit up differently. Its drapier (if that's a word) and the fabric is more open and loose. This cowl stretches more than the other two. The beads are Fire Mountain Gems Delicas. They are 8/0 seed beads in the opaque pearl color. Love the Delicas! I need to get some better pictures before I send it out to the client, but here is a prelim.
Alright on to the business of New Years resolutions. Of course by resolutions I mean Knitolutions... So lets look back at last years goals:
-Color work, stranded knitting and I think its called Swiss Darning, where you follow over existing stitches with a different color.
-Real lace knitting, shawls or wraps with small needles (I have a small needle phobia)
-I think 2013 is the year I'm going to learn to spin.
So lets look back at 2013 and see how I met all three of those goals.
Faire Isle:
Lace, real lace that is, with small needles.
Now for the doosie as far as the needle phobia goes: (Drum roll please...)
Spinning:
I guess I need some new knityears resolutions now that I met last years so, here goes.
-More color-work. I only checked Faire Isle off my list, there is still Intarsia and duplicate stitch.
-Also more lace. I see now why people refer to it as being bitten by the lace bug. It is truly addicting. I enjoy making shawls. I have tons more patterns queued and I have some more yarn ready and waiting. I think what I enjoy most, is beaded shawls. Since I stated beading with the Jeweled Cowls, I now add beads to anything I can manage.
-More spinning, good spinning.
-More dyeing and knit up what has already been dyed.
-Publish my first pattern.
-Possibly open up my own Etsy shop. I want to get my available FOs out there and make a little money.
-More sweaters or other large projects.
-I think this is at the bottom of every year's list. Finish up those WIPs.
That's it for the happenings of late. As far as personal life goes; Paleo is awesome and I wish I would have started it sooner. I feel like a million bucks. I sleep better, I have energy, all my funny little aches and pains have disappeared. I've lost 10 pounds. I fit in clothes that have been in the back of my closet for three years. After a week or two, when my husband noticed I was loosing weight just by changing my eating habits, he decided to try out Paleo too. He pretty much hates it, but he's loosing weight and he feels better so he's sticking with it. I miss some foods, but I don't have cravings and there are so many resources around I really don't have an excuse not to eat well. That's it for now. I'll do my best to keep up with the blog better. My work life is getting more and more crappy. I'm hoping to change that soon. Until later, Happy Crafting!
-Q
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