Selbu Class

I must say, the first session went rather well!

I had chosen NHM #3, as I figured everyone could speed on up the striped ribbing and get to the harder parts (colorwork and thumb increases) quickly. As it turns out, only one or two people made it to even the increases before the first chart for the wrist, and so a third session will probably have to be added for the completion of the thumb. I told everyone to keep going at home if they felt comfortable, but to stop right before the thum stitches are put on hold and then more cast on. I want to be able to make sure everyone's thumb will blend as well as possible into their palm. Granted, it will never blend perfectly, since the two are knit in opposite directions, but still. Ideally, it will look something like this...

Decently well done, I must say. A different pattern, but the same general idea.

This brings me to my next topic...my first Annemor #2 mitten is, obviously, complete!

I actually bought Norweigian wool for this set, Heilo, up in Lake Placid. Thick and warm, yet light. The colorwork is charming, and there aren't too many parts where it is required to wrap strands for long stretches. I had to stop right before the thumb stitches are dealt with, so I'll have something to demonstrate on, but by the time the class is over I'll be able to whip through the rest. (Actually, I have a feeling I'll give in and knit the pair and have to sprint to catch up on a demo version, but we shall see).

As a last little addition, I finially have a picture of my Harry Potter worsted bookmarks.

The house colors aren't all exact, as I was using scraps, but they get the point across. I picked up some pearl cotton for a few laceweight versions at Joanne's. I had planned on getting some wool for a full-size slytherin house scarf, year one, or ravenclaw, year three, but I was disappointed to find they didn't have any of the full sets of house colors in Patons Classic Wool. There was only ever one color of the two, such as grey, but not green. Burgundy, but not gold. (Yes, I was at the point of considering another Gryffindor scarf)! My business will probably go to the local Ben Franklin...perhaps its a good thing, supporting small business and all that.

Anyway, off for some tea and a lovely winter morning...

Picture Gallery

A quick backtrack...here are all of the projects that I haven't mentioned up to this point!

Dad's Hat for Christmas. Groovy Tuque patterm, Patons Classic Wool.

The Knotty but Nice hat. Patons Classic Wool. Lots of compliments at school. Started and finished on Christmas Day.

Down-to-Earth Russian-y hat from Hattitude. Took two tries, as the first came out too large for any human. Made with the chunkiest Wool-Ease.

Cabled Hat of Awesomeness. Malabrigo Chunky. Finished in a day. Beyond soft and warm.

First sweater ever! An EZ seamless, probably the Saddle Shoulder, thought the Hybrid keeps tempting me. It's still in pieces :P

An attempt to re-cerate a pair of my mom's old gloves, the pair she bought years before they became so fad-y. Probably will frog it-I want an orange hat, and the second swirl repeat came out looking like a mutated crescent moon.

Gloves for Becca, cabled and ultra dense. Too dense to knit very fast though, meaning she's had to wait a week or more. Whoops! Oh well. She's paying me-I may as well do a good job.

My mom's socks have yet to be photographed. I feel as though I'm stalking an elusive wild animal for the good of modern science...will get to that eventually.

NHM #14

One mitten is done!

I like the effect that the white on black has with the speckled stitches, and it fits near perfectly. The lace looks more stripey than chevron, but hopefully if I actually bother to block these (a rare occurrence) that will sort itself out. With any luck that will help the hemmed edge lay flatter too. I love hoe finished it looks though, so I won't complain much.
I also have picked up the ol' House Scarf again. (I finally read Beedle the Bard, and am now re-reading the entire series)! It's coming along...

ETA: Just checked the page on Ravelry for NHM #14, and apparently Terri Shea had the same color idea as me. Aww...I was feeling so rebellious too :(

Ok, SOOOO...

Gwynedd is finished, and she was quite the marathon! (Or, at the very least, a 5K).

Super thick and warm, this scarf will be a gorgeous staple in my wardrobe this winter, I do believe.

Al so finished a while ago was my Fern Glade, the slouchy version, and while it's a bit big (shocking, I know. Usually my cranium is beyond any other sizewise), it's pretty and a nice change for boring outfit days when I want to funk it up a little bit.

Lovely.

When I needed a small, easy project to work on while on the recumbent bike, I cast on some easy handwarmers in Knitpicks Peruvian Highland Wool, color Cherry Blossom. The picture turned out terrible, I'll take another one later, but these have proved super useful. The pattern is called Emerald Green Handwarmers, but obviously these aren't. The wool is inexpensive, and the pair was knit in two or three hours, so these have become my workhorse handwarmers. I can wear them in the frigid school basement when writing essays during study hall, and if they start to pill or lose texture on the right hand from friction it won't be too large a loss. I even have two more skeins of the yarn if I want an exact replacement! (This pair took less than one skein).

Lastly, I finally started my Harry Potter scarf!

I picked up four skeins of Paton Classic Wool Merino in Burgundy and one in Old Gold, and so far the colors are pretty close to that of the movie. Some of the others I've seen looked too cranberry or plain red, and that was something I wanted to avoid. The 1x1 ribbing isn't boring yet, as the stripes keep it interesting at regular intervals and I'm a relatively quick knitter. It's fabulous mindless knitting for just before or after school, right before bed, or while watching tv. (These also happen to be the only times I'm really able to knit these days, so it all works out perfectly).

The merino is so much softer than the new Patons Classic Wool-I so wish they hadn't changed it! But of course they have, and I'll just have to resign myself to the fact that any other house scarves I make may not be quite as comforting on a cold winter day. I can't wait for this to be finished so I can wear it! (And start the Ravenclaw one soon after I finish Luna's)!

Two Gifts Done!

I handed over the completed Tridactyl gloves to Bonnie last night for her 15th birthday. She had been asking for fingerless mitts, but I couldn't have her know what her present was! There had to be SOME surprise! But she loved them, and they'll serve her well on the bench.

I thought this pattern was pretty original, and the wave pattern kept it mildly interesting, although it was still kind of a zone-out meditation project in some parts, so it was cool for watching movies.

The twisted rib cuff is extra tight, and should keep snow out. I think I'm going to try it out on my next pair of mittens for me-in fact, I'm kind of surprised I didn't try it before :P

I also finished Kelley O's bday hat, but I don't have any pics yet. I'll post one once I give it to her-I think the off white is going to contrast fabulously with her reddish-auburn hair :)

Nanoo, nanoo!

Quick check in-the first Tridactyl glove (or, er, mitten?) is finished, and the second on the needles. When I showed it off yesterday, an unexpected perk was discovered by my aunt...

...while wearing them, you can hold your wine glass oh-so-elegantly, like so. Although why you'd drink wine outside in that kind of cold I'm not entirely positive. To each his own, I suppose.

Another Hermione Hat Finished!

I finished this hat while stitching and bitching at a emmydee's for a sleepover:

I had been worried that my overly large head would tug open gaps around the cables and make it a little less warm, but I think my fears were unfounded. I'm sure I'll find out for real when the mercury dips below 32 degrees, but for now I am a happy camper! The cabling is as addicting as the pattern description said, and very impressive yet tasteful, bobbles and all. Even one of my Flogging-Molly-loving fire-fighting friends agreed that it was "badass" (or was at least able to convince me that was his opinion), and informed me that I am to wear it when we go sledding this winter :) Can't wait!

And of course, the now discontinued Patons Classic Wool Merino (I still can't get over that...) performed beautifully. I have just started a pair of Tridactyl gloves from Knitty using the replacement line, Patons Classic Wool, and it definitely seems coarser and more dense. At least the color is nice. "Aquarium" to pair with the wave pattern on the back. Will probably be a present for one of two people for Christmas...can't say who yet, of course.

KICK BUTT ! ! !

No picture of this FO-it had to be handed off to the recipient far too quickly.

The occasion? As they do every year, people from our dojo go up to the Kanreikai tournament in Montreal. My bff from our dojo and I had been planning to make our first saunter north side by side, so we could room together and root for each other from the sidelines. However, due to conflicts with my softball season and lack of training, I wasn't able to go. How could I show support without actually being there?

Of course, you're right. Knitting is always the answer.

Knucks, in Patons Classic Wool. A dark smoky grey body, reddish magenta ribbed cuffs. And across the knuckles, in chunky white letters, I embroidered my message to her: KICK BUTT. Enough said.

She will too, mark my words. Look out Montreal! The Americans are coming! And the girl in the gloves is a badass!!!

Good luck E! Love ya! <333

Saturday

Though hardly a lazy Saturday morning, today started off well with a 10:00 softball practice with all the girls and plenty of fair bunts on my part :) So proud!!! The aftermath of a chilly two hours running around outside was a cold brought back on with a new vengeance, so the rest of the day was spent indoors. I knit on the Selbuvotter #1 gloves I started a few days ago, and managed to make it past the pinkie and onto the ring finger. Granted I've had to frog the same ring finger three times, but that's beside the point. I'm using the same yarn as last time, Regia, only with red and white instead of red and black to shake things up a bit. Looks pretty sweet if I do say so myself, and it matches my jersey for cold games spent on the bench. The best part? My set of five size 2US dpns are occupied, so I went hunting for a size 3US to work with my set of four...and actually found a misfit size 2US at the bottom of my dpn canister! Beast!

Of course three froggings has driven me to drop the set for a day or so, but fear not-knitting has yet to be forsaken. My Coupling socks still grace my feet, underneath the hem of my cheery pink-and-yellow flannel pj pants.

I think it's time for tea.

OhMyGosh

Softball season has begun, and thus knitting has fallen by the wayside (*sniff*). A sad fact, but at the very least it is being replaced by spending time with a great group of girls whom I love like sisters and not something pointless or illegal, right? Aside from practices and games 5-6 days a week, our coach encourages us to hang out together outside of that schedule, and thus we all had a massive dinner and sleepover at Bonnie's house over the weekend.

Perhaps the best thing she has suggested was the Kindness Swap, which got my sticks going again. We picked a name, and some time during the week had to do something nice for that person. Most people gave out sugary sweets and home-baked treats, but of course I had another idea in mind :) For Erica, I knit up a pair of Knucks out of Patons Classic Merino Wool in some heathery tan color, with the ribbed cuff option. Across the knuckles I embroidered "Redd Head" (yes, with two "d's" to make it fit). I got hugs back, so I think it was well received.

Now to continue knitting a pair for myself...this pair in royal purple, with puffy paint writing instead of embroidery, and the textured cuff. Across the knuckles? GANGSTER! Haha doesn't describe me in the least, but I'm just so proud to have figured out it has eight letters it has to be used! They'll probably end up on the hands of a certain teammate, but however this comes out, I can always knit more!

A Quick Catchup and Some Progress...

Alright...many FO's to report. Well, four, but that's four more than last time! :)


Most recently was a pair of Fetchings in some clearance Moda Dea Eclipse, Nile Green, for my friend Robin. The yarn itself is encased in almost a netting of silvery stuff, so I figured it would be just her style. She loved them, and they're up on Ravelry already. (Well, so is everything else, but that's quite an accomplishment for me...most of my projects are still picture-less).


Next picture in line...a pair of socks for my friend Emily. The Yarn Harlot's Basic Sock Recipe, Kroy sock yarn, Kool Stripes colorway. I ran out of yarn for each toe due to many false starts on some more, erm, interesting patterns, so they don't line up with the rest of the stripe sequence. I could have lined them up, but I figured she's a little quirky herself in the most endearing way possible so the mess-up fit her perfectly!

Alright...next up, I finished a pair of mittens from Selbuvotter, Annemor #16. I tried to loosen up on the second one to nix any puckering, and ended up with a large puckered mitten :P It's hardly anything to worry about though, as they're super warm even for being so fine and all of my friends are impressed :) Sorry I only have a palm picture...the picture of the back didn't save correctly.

Now forgive the horrendous lighting in the final picture, but what you see is a pair of Monkey socks for my friend Abby, knit out of Lion Brand Sock-Ease in Sour Ball. My mom attempted to con them from me before I could bring them into school to give them away, but they got to their destination safe and sound so all is well.


Ahhh...it's so great to not only finish something, but to bother to photograph and post about it! (Like that tea cozy that never got catalogued...right...) I'm on a roll, so I'll have to keep it up and crank out some new stuff that has been sitting idle for months. I've got my fingers crossed! Wish me luck!