12.29.2007
Hey! It's starting to look like a mitten!
But, hey! While I'm here, I will show you my Bird in Hand mitten #1: That's one good lookin' mitten, I think. Not bad for a girl who has not knit any real Fair Isle before.
And, while you're reading my blog, why not check out the details of my contest I am running?The details are here.
Have a good night. Happy Knitting!
12.27.2007
Inside out sock....and a contest!!
(And for those of you who don't want to read my blog, just want to find out about the contest, the info is at the bottom of this post. But, hey, while you're here, why not read the blog. . . . .)
Anyway, I hope everyone had a nice Christmas or holiday or whatever. Mine was pretty good. On Monday afternoon I went to my parents house, went to visit the grandparents with my dad and then hung out with Alex family. Tuesday there was much gift exchanging and eating going on. Overall, it was good! Pretty stress free, which I like. And, I got some good stuff too. My parents bought me a kitchen scale for yarn dyeing purposes, and my sister got me some Addi Turbos from The Loopy Ewe so I can knit my socks on two circulars! She also got me this:
It's a hoodie that says Knitting Like Crazy with my etsy site! I love it. I am now a walking billboard for my yarn. Good times.
Also, I signed up for a Indie Dyer Swap on Ravelry, and I got good stuff from my swap partner, Ruth:It's some hand dyed yarn in colors she thought I would like (Like? Um, I love them) and a project bag. I have been eyeing those little project bags for awhile, so I am quite excited to have one. Thanks, Ruth! (Btw, Ruth has an Etsy site with lots of good stuff....just sayin').
Between all the squeeling from all the good yarny gifts, there has been some knitting. First, I have completed one sock with the Panda Wool yarn from my Ravelry Secret Santa:
The cable, or I should I say 'faux cable' I took from a stitch dictionary, modified it a tad, and put it on my sock. I really love the way it came out. I was already to knit the second one, but then I got distracted. By this:
It's a Bears sock! I don't know why, on Sunday I felt the urge to knit a Bears sock. So, I got out some of my Superbowl Shuffle yarn and started a-knittin'. A-knittin' the Bears right into a victory, I think! I have noticed when I am knitting Bears-related socks, the Bears do well. I mean, I don't want to say it's all my fault for the bad season, but, well, it might be entirely my fault. I wasn't knitting any Bears socks until Sunday. Sorry!
Finally, I had been seeing the Bird in Hand mittens popping up more and more in blog/Ravelry-land, so I decided I need to knit some:
This is my first real attempt at Fair Isle. It's going well, I think. I only have a tiny bit of mitten, but I am loving it so far. This is likely what I will be knitting on this evening. I think this mitten might be addicting! :)
Well, that's all I have for knitting, but now, a contest!
Ok, so my dear friend, Mel (the one that I am teaching to knit), is going one of those Polar Bear Plunges in February. I think she is nuts, but it is for a good cause. It's for Special Olympics Wisconsin. Mel is such a good egg and does all kinds of stuff to help people with disabilities, and I thought it would be nice to try to help her. So, here is what I am going to do. It's all on the honor system here, but I figure knitters are pretty honest. You can donate to Mel's Polar Plunge here. Once you donate to her, send me an email (jenATknittinglikecrazyDOTcom) or a message on Ravelry (I'm knitlikecrazy) and tell me your name and that you donated. It doesn't matter if you donate $5 or $500, your name is going to be entered into a random drawing for some fabulous prizes.
The prizes?
Prize number one will be two skeins of custom dyed Knitting Like Crazy yarn. You can tell me the weight of yarn you want and the colors you want and I will dye it up for you. I typically dye with 100% Superwash wool or a Superwash Wool/Nylon blend.
Prize number two will be one skein of yarn from my etsy site. That's right, baby! Once I have emailed you to say you won, you can go to my etsy site, pick one of the available yarns and it's yours...for free!
The contest starts now and will end on January 26 at midnight, central time. The winners will be notified on January 27.
So, let the donating begin!
Hope everyone has a good weekend! Happy knitting! :)
12.19.2007
Another Wednesday Post. . . .
Anyway, much has been going on in the land o' me. First, I joined a Ravelry Secret Santa Yarn Exchange, and here is what I got: Panda Wool...yum! I may have a wee toe of a sock with this stuff. So nice! My package came from Kris in PA (quiet1 on Ravelry). Thanks Kris!
I finished some Fetchings in the last week: These will be gifted to someone this Christmastime. I do love them so. It will be hard to see them go.
Here are some specs:
The Pattern: Fetching from Knitty. I am sure none of you have ever heard about this pattern. :)
The Yarn: Kathmandu Aran, bought out of a clearance bin at I'd Rather Be Knitting a few months ago, one skein
The Needles: Size 6 dpns
The Results: Another fine Christmas gift!
Then, I started working on a pair of mittens:
The yarn is some that I dyed especially for my sister. She requested some yarn in the Bed of Roses colorway, and then she informed me that I am to take the dyed yarn and knit her mittens, a scarf, and a hat. What a nice sister! As it turns out, I love knitting mittens. Like socks, but faster! I am planning more mittens in the near future, especially these ones.
Other than that, I have been knitting a little on the Morning Glory Wrap and I am going to be starting on my sister's scarf tonight. I am going to knit My So Called Scarf. I have been dying to knit it for sometime, and I think the yarn will look nice with it. We shall see.
Anyway, that's probably going to be it on the blog before Christmas, so Merry Christmas and happy knitting! Hope Santa brings you lots of yarn!
12.18.2007
KLC Patterns for Sale
FREE KLC Patterns
Faux Cable Socks
download now
Mock Cable Rib Socks
download now
A very easy two row pattern repeat. Just as stretchy as 2x2 rib but so much more pretty!
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Book and Product Reviews:
One thing that I like to do on this blog is book/product reviews for fiber related items (this includes knitting, crochet, spinning and general fiber related items). Some of these products I receive are review copies/items from companies. While I am not compensated in cash or any other way for these reviews, I do keep the free products that are sent to me (and occasionally use them as blog giveaways). That being said, the fact that I have been sent review material of something does not mean that I will give it a good review. I take a lot of time to read, study and review the materials I receive and work hard to make sure that I convey my honest opinion about these items.
- Amazon.com
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- Interweavestore.com
12.12.2007
It's in full swing, people!
Anyway, I have been doing my best to set aside knitting time. And, it's working. Things are getting finished. First, I have this little purse:
Look at that crap-tastic lining! I tried my best to sew/stitch it in there neatly, but I am no good at these things. I think it is good enough though! I love this little purse and I think the recipient will love it too.
Here are the specs:
The Pattern: I don't know, I made it up. I did some seed stitch, then some stockinette, then some seed stitch, etc, until I could fold into a purse-like shape. Then I knit a strap and attached it, threw some lining in it and some buttons on it and called it a day.
The Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky Tweed, one ball
The Needles: Size 9
The Result: A fine Christmas/birthday gift for my coworker.
Then I finished my Lacy Socks, Part II: The Specs:
The Pattern: Toe up, modified stitch pattern from stitch dictionary. I swear, one day I will finish writing up the pattern. It's getting there.
The Yarn: Koigu KPPPM, that I bought at Mosaic earlier this year
The Needles: Size 2, my standard sock knitting needles
The Results: Pretty good. I love these socks, but the foot is slightly long for me. Next time I would start the gusset/heel parts a little sooner.
That's all for the FOs for the last week. I have been working on existing projects and not starting new ones, which is good. I am almost done with the Fetchings I have been working on, and hope those are done tonight. I have about six-seven more rows and a thumb to knit. That's about an episode of Friends, I think. I even picked up the Morning Glory Wrap again. Well, I picked it up, realized it was all sorts of messed up, had no idea where I was, ripped the whole thing out (only about three inches) and started over. It's going much better now. There are post it notes involved this time.
Hmm, what else? Well, I ordered some more yarn to dye, and I don't know what happened, these somehow came in the box too:
Harmony needles! Hooray! I will be knitting with these babies soon!
And, finally, I just updated my etsy site with this: It's called Sunset Dreams. It makes me think about taking a vacation somewhere warm.
That's all for now. Have a good week. Hope it doesn't go by too fast! :)
Happy knitting!
12.05.2007
Let's Be Honest Here. . . .
The yarn is Koigu (yum...Koigu) and the pattern is my own. Remember the blue Lacy socks of earlier this year? It's the same pattern, but I went toe up this time. I am still trying to write the pattern to maybe put it on my website. One day. One day. These socks are going pretty fast. I started the first one on Sunday and had it done by Monday night. Of course, on Sunday I went to two knitting groups so there was a lot of knitting done that day!
Finally, there are the Fetchings:I knit the first one in a day, but Fetching number two has been sitting at the bottom of the knitting bag for a week or so. The goal for this week is 1) finish purse, and b) finish Fetching. These will likely be gifted as well.
There are a few other WIPs around here, but I am ignoring them for the time being. Someday they will have their turn. It's so hard to not cast on for new things. I bought a new pattern this week and I am so in love with it. I even bought some yarn to go with it, so when I have finished some things, I will be ready:
This is my first skein of Fearless Fibers and holy crap it is nice. So soft, so pretty. I want more!
Like I said earlier, on Sunday I went a-knittin' all over the Chicagoland area. First I went to the Northwest Suburban Knitting Group in the morning then it was down to Strands in the afternoon for some more knitty goodness. While I was at Strands I delivered much yarn:
It's all superwash worsted weight. I am really liking dyeing the heavier weight yarns. Hmm, I might have to dye more of that soon!
Anyway, the rest of this week is going to be a little low key. Tomorrow there will be some yarn dyeing and possibly some more Christmas shopping. Maybe I can squeeze some knitting time in there too!
Happy knitting!