Sunday, March 22, 2009

redone & rejoicing



this is the finished snakish scarf all redone. it was designed using persian tiles afghan squares. it still rolls, but now i that it is soft, i find it charming.

here was the first attempt in acrylic

finished jelly




i finished this yesterday and it got my kid's approval.
i offered to add a face, but the offer was turned down.
stuffing it really stretched out the stitches too much
on the topside, for my liking. not sure how to fix that.

Friday, March 20, 2009

double knitting

I am learning this new way of knitting - and so I am practicing it by making potholders to take to my parents' "new" home when I visit them next month.

Here is the first one:
Front....
and back...


I kinda messed up a bit at the beginning, but i don't think mom will mind much! It makes a nice thick potholder. The other one will be a little more colorful and have a different pattern, but still this same reversible double-knitting thing, because I need more practice!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Sigh. We got Spammed

So - I just changed the comment format. Anyone at all can comment, even anonymously, but one of us will review it first, just to make sure it isn't another spamattack.

Sorry about the inconvenience!

tenticles aplenty


I also finished the tentacles of the jellyfish today!
All I need to do now is sew it up and stuff it!

(I hate my camera beyond words.)

redo on the scarf

Well, I tossed out the first scarf. No, seriously, I threw it out just inches from being finished. It was just so unpleasant and scratchy! I picked up some new wool and silk yarn from JoAnn's and started all over. I love this new fresh green!

Friday, March 13, 2009

jellyfish o' luv


I am working on a jellyfish arigurumi pattern designed by NeedleNoodles.
So far, I have the top completed and I am hoping it will round out better when it is stuffed.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Knitfest

Ok - the first 2 real knitting projects I did were present/surprises for a friend. And while the knitting part of them has been done since last July, the sewing/finishing part has not. So I won't show those until my friend has received them!

However, I have one long-term project in the works and several short-term ones.

First up is my first-ever finished project - a hat from the book "Charmed Knits". I started this the week I went to NYC with the Chorus as I needed a winter hat! I worked on it all that weekend while waiting for things (waiting for the plane, waiting for rehearsal, waiting for the bus, etc.) and finished it up about 10 days after I started it.


Next is a project for Cloudpic. She had asked for a "Dobby Sockmark" - which has introduced me to the "joys" of double-pointed needles. For reference, the sock foot is almost exactly as long as an Equal packet.


Finally - my long-term project is a Tree of Life afghan from Lion-Brand yarn. I started this last August as my Olympic knitting challenge. That was back when I was young and naive, believing that it would be possible to knit something that large and complex in 2 weeks. But it is gorgeous, and I love working on it! Right now, it is a little over halfway done. The afghan itself is too bulky to bring here to Panera's for photo ops. However, the trim (a leaf-trim design) is knitted separately and then sewn onto the finished afghan. I have been working on that as well. I have over 30 leaves done (about a third of the way). Here is a sampling of the string (the leaves are interconnected, so it will be one long knitted trim to attach):
There - that catches me up! As you can see, I am a huge fan of complex things - if it is too easy, I get bored. Go figure!

Oh, and to see a more close-up view of each pic, just click on it!
:)

Snakish Scarf!

Here are the finished "Persian Tiles" pattern blocks connected in a scarf. My husband called it the "Reticulated Scarf" and sure enough, it does look like a snake pattern!



The problem I have encountered is that I have 10 feet of scarf that wants to curl into a long snakelike roll...and it is made out of acrylic and will not block properly. D'oh! So now, I am considering putting two layers together and making it a 5 foot long scarf. It won't have that lacy quality, but I really hate the curling. Next time, I will not cheap out!