2008 Knitting Roundup.

I don't know why, but every year as January 1 approaches, I always feel the need to finish up knitting projects. It's like a game I play with myself to see how much I can get done in one year. This week has been no different. I sat around all weekend and knit knit knit. I think you can still see my ass print in the couch.

First, I finished my lovely Leyburn Socks from the KAL on Ravelry:

What delicious looking socks!My feet want to do a happy dance in these socks!

I love these socks so. They are quick to knit, and I think it is the PERFECT pattern for yarns that are variegated. I almost always have pooling issues when knitting with STR, but I think this pattern really helps those issues. All those slipped stiches and strands make a huge differnce.

To sum up:
The Pattern: Leyburn Socks by Pepper Knit
The Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Mediumweight in the Purple Rain colorway.
The Needles: Size 2 dpns, as always
The Reason: I joined the Leyburn Socks KAL in the Socks That Rock Group on Ravelry. If you have some STR you have been wanting to knit up, I recommend checking it out.
The Results: I love these socks. These socks are making me want to explore more stitch patterns similar to this one when knitting socks. I think the results are so beautiful.

In addition to the socks, I also knit this hat this weekend:

Slouchy Alpaca Hats Make Me Happy!

I am calling this hat Slouchy Alpaca Hats Make Me Happy because they really do. I love this hat. It is a pattern that I made up in my head and I love it. I used Plymouth Baby Alpaca D.K. double stranded and just went to town. I have already had several people (non-knitters even) tell me they love my hat. That is usually a good sign that your hat is awesome!

I have a couple other things on the needles, but I don't think that they will be completed before the New Year in a couple days.

I thought it would be fun to round up all the things I knitted this year. I think I may start doing this every year on my blog.

• 16 - Number of pairs of socks I knit this year. I actually thought this number would be lower with the great sock knitting hiatus of Fall 2008.
• 5 - Number of hats I knit. I gave away all the hats except the above slouchy alpaca hat. That one is mine....all mine. **insert evil laugh here**
• 1 - Number of angry uteruses knit. I think this number will go up in 2009. A few of my friends who have heard about my knitted angry uterus have requested one of their very own.
  
• 3 - Number of garments I knit for myself (two sweaters and a vest....not bad)
• 7 - Number of baby items knit for various spawn of my friends.
• 6 - Number of wedding gifts knit for my friend JC. That included three dishcloths, two garters, and a shawl. (Typing this I realize I have three (YIKES!) weddings to attend in 2009. I better get crackin'!)

Overall, not a bad knitting year at all. Hmm, what will 2009 have in store. I already made some knitting goals a couple weeks ago. Wonder if I should make any spinning goals?

What's this? Is that more roving!?*

Spinning? Roving? Hmm, it's almost like I plan to buy a spinning wheel this week. Stay tuned for that little adventure. :)

*the roving pictured is from Whimzy Pimzy. If you spin, get over to her Etsy shop and buy something!

One last Christmas post. . . .

Wow. Twice in one day. I have a lot to say on the blog these days I guess.

Actually, I wanted to post about this before I took my Christmas tree down and completely forgot about it.

I wanted to share a couple pics of the ornament I bought from Polpette Clay:

Just some peas in a pod, knitting away.Damn, we look good on the Christmas tree.

If you are ever looking for something cute and inexpensive for a gift or swap or something, I highly recommend visiting the Polpette Clay etsy shop. She will even do custom orders for you. This is the second time I have bought from Holly and both times have gone very smoothly.

You can get all kinds of goodies there. Just wanted to share.

Excuse me, I must go back to knitting a sock now.

The Sock Goddess is back

Awhile back I was getting nervous that my title of Sock Goddess was going to be revoked my members of my knitting group. I had pretty much stopped knitting socks completely and was opting for things like sweaters and vests and things.

I am happy to report that I have caught the sock knitting bug again. Hooray! Here is the latest thing I have been obsessed with:
I joined the Leyburn Sock KAL in the Socks That Rock group on Ravelry. The idea is that everyone picks a different colorway of STR and then knits the same pattern. What an excellent way to see how all those different colors will knit up. I chose Purple Rain, and I am in love with it. Those socks literally rock my socks.

I also have done, um, a little shopping for myself this holiday season. First, I was stumbling knitting links a couple weeks ago and saw this and had to have it:
It's a shawl stick from Knitcellaneous. I had been wanting a shawl pin or something for a long time, and at only $5.00 I thought it was worth it to try it out. This will keep my Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl secured to me in a much prettier way than the freaking bobby pin I was using when I wear it!

Finally, I bought some Lorna's Laces sock yarn in the Roadside Gerry colorway:
This was the yarn that we saw being dyed when my knitting group went on the Lorna's Laces tour earlier this month. We had to swear on our yarn stash (ok, not really, but that sounds good for dramatic effect) that we would not show pictures until it had been revealed on the Lorna's Laces blog. This colorway is part of the color commentary series, where each colorway has a story behind it. This color is named after Annie Modesitt's husband. You can read the commentary behind Roadside Gerry here.

Oh, and here is the yarn being dyed at Lorna's Laces:Well, that's all for now. I probably should go to work now. Just a couple hours today and then a full day tomorrow and then I have the next six days off! That is a lot of knitting time!

Happy knitting.

I am an actual knitting machine. . . .

So a couple days ago I posted about how I was thinking about knitting a hat for my brother hat. Yesterday morning, I did just that.

I present Mike's Fair Isle DJ Hat:

95.7 The Rock is the station my brother currently works.

Gunnar is his radio name. He does not have big guns, in case you were wondering.I always like to see Fair Isle inside out. I don't know why. It just makes me happy.

I just made the pattern up pretty much. I just charted out the Fair Isle part on graph paper and then started knitting.

This took maybe two and a half hours. A couple episodes of TLC's Moving Up and I was done with this baby. I think he is going to love it.

The Christmas Knitting Continues. . . .

Well, I have been knitting like crazy here at, well, Knitting Like Crazy. I had the last couple days off of work to deal with angry uterus (which is far less angry now. Hooray!!!) and I had lots of time to sit on the couch and knit.

First off, I finished the sweater dress for Lily. You may recall I finished Jenna's sweater dress sometime ago, and I finally got Lily's done, and just in time for Christmas:
The Sweater Dress Specs:
The Pattern: Baby/Toddler Sweater Dress
The Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease, double stranded in Cream
The Needles: US 9 and US 10
The Time to Knit: About a month. I worked on it on and off.
The Mods: I measured Lily and did the math accordingly. I thought I was going to put a button in the collar to accommodate a large kid head, but I think it is going to be fine the way it is. I went with a sewn bind off this time, and I think it will be stretchy enough to get over her head.
The Result: I love it. I think Lily will love it. I recommend this pattern for someone needing something quick and easy to knit. And, it's easy to adjust the math to fit your larger than baby/toddler sized daughter!

Then, yesterday, I finished my brother's Mega Man hat:

I think a nerdy 23 year old man living at home with his parents will greatly enjoy wearing me to his part-time job that he maintains in order to buy more video games for himself.

I will kick your a$$ with this hat on.

This hat is a little big for my head, but it is not meant for my head, so that's good.

The Specs:
The Pattern: Mega Man Hat by TrinKnitty
The Yarn: Lion Brand Jiffy one skein of blue, one skein of turquoise/green
The Needles: Size 7
The Time to Knit: About a month and a half. I lost interest in the project about halfway through and didn't work on it for awhile.
The Results: My brother will die when he gets it. He is going to love it.

There is other Christmas knitting out there (which you can see if you are on Ravelry), but I will not yet reveal it on my blog.

So, I think all the Christmas knitting is done. I may try to crank out a hat for my other brother, as I don't want him to feel left out of the knitted Christmas. I made socks for my sister and the Mega Man hat for my other brother, so it's probably only fair. He once told me to knit him an afghan but he definitely won't be getting one of those. What a silly boy.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

I may post again before Christmas, or maybe not. Depends on if I do anymore Christmas knitting I suppose. :)

Happy knitting and Merry Christmas!

Maybe it's not angry, it just has a drinking problem

That's right. I am talking about my uterus again. Really, I think it is not angry, but rather it has a drinking problem. See what I mean:

Dum, Dee, Dum. Just a uterus looking for a beverage.

What's this? A tasty martini? Don't mind if I do!

Yumm. So tasty.

ROAR!! Now I am one angry uterus! F$%* OFF!!

I knit up this up in just a couple of hours. And, I have to say, I think everyone needs one.

Here are the specs:

Pattern: Womb from Knitty
Yarn: Patons Merino (it was in the stash)
The Needles: Some dpns. I just grabbed what I could find. They were a size 5, I think
The mods: I added the face to my uterus. To make it angry. I had seen Cilona's Angry Uterus on Ravelry, and that really was my inspiration to knit this.

In addition to the angry uterus, I also finished up some purple socks for my sister (I don't think he reads my blog, so I am safe sharing them with you):
These were very fast-going socks. I just did a plain sock, 60 stitches around on size 2 needles. I knit them in three days (which is fast sock knitting for me!). The yarn was Kaffe Fassett Regia yarn. You can find some here.

I do have some other Christmas knitting to show off, but that will remain a secret for the time being. And, I also have a little bit left to finish, which will be my project for tomorrow. All in all, I have been having a productive week so far.

How is everyone's Christmas knitting going? Nearly done?

Happy Holidays

I just wanted to say that I have sent out a couple gift certificates to people for their friends for this holiday season. If you would like to send one to your friend or family member, or would like to tell your friends and family to get you one, I would be happy to work with you. You can email me at jen@knittinglikecrazy.com or visit my etsy site http://knittinglikecrazy.etsy.com.

I have been emailing the gift certificates, but would be happy to print one out and mail it to you, if you would prefer. I cannot guarantee if I mail it that it will get to you by Christmas though. :)

Also, I just wanted to say that while I know my etsy site has fizzled a bit in terms of being updated frequently, I do plan to get back into yarn dyeing in the early part of 2009 (say, like January). I have had some issues with my uterus being angry, and it has left me little energy to dye yarn (even the knitting situation was getting bleak there for awhile). I think after some anger management my uterus should be back to normal in a week or two, and then I can get back on the yarn dyeing horse again. Ride 'em, cowgirl! (wait, what?)

Thanks so much for everyone's support and loving my yarn and my blog and everything! I appreciate your blog stalking, blog comments, and yarn purchases so so much! I promise 2009 is going to bring lots of exciting things. New base yarns! New dyeing techniques! More colorways to fall in love with.

Happy holidays from all of us (ok, it's just me) at Knitting Like Crazy!

Lists

Well, it's that time of year when I start thinking about making a lot of lists. I am a list-maker in life, and when it gets to the end of the year, I always want lists. Lists, lists, lists.

I have been thinking about knitting goals for next year. I have several things I want to try to do, so I am going to make them my knitting New Year's resolutions.

1. Knit from the sock yarn stash. I know everyone says sock yarn doesn't count as stash, but when you have as much sock yarn as I do, it's definitely stash. I am going to make the exception, that I can purchase sock yarn at Stitches Midwest, but that is it. The sock yarn around here is about to take over the apartment.
2. To go along with item one, I am going to try to knit at least one pair of socks a month. And, I am going to try to make most of them with Christmas gifts for next year in mind.
3. I am going to try to complete 5 sweaters in 2009. I think I could actually complete more than that, but I think 5 is a good goal.
4. Finish all those things that have been uncompleted for a long time. This includes the Embossed Leaves socks of forever ago, and the Katherine Hepburn Cardigan. I completed one of those socks about a year and a half ago and it never got its mate. The cardigan I started almost a year ago, and got distracted. I am going to say the cardigan can count towards my five sweater goal. I only have about six inches of the back done and that's it.
5. Start Christmas knitting no later than June. Because, as always, I am cutting it a little close this year. :)
   

These are my knitting goals for 2009. I think that they are totally attainable. We will see. The one I am most concerned with is the knitting from the sock yarn stash. I figure I will cave by February on that one. We'll see.

Anyone else have knitting goals for 2009?

Happy knitting.

Lorna's Laces: A Tour

So, today me and some of the ladies from the Northwest Suburban Knitting Group went to Lorna's Laces for a tour/shopping excursion. We are very lucky that the company is in Chicago, so it was an easy trip (well, I say easy in that it is close, we actually were fighting the snow and cold and late running trains and closed Corner Bakeries and unplowed roads, but I digress).

We arrived at Lorna's Laces (a little late, but not bad considering the weather) where we were met by owner Beth Casey, her husband, and their dog. We saw a secret colorway (I could tell you what we saw, but I would have to kill you with a knitting needle) and we got a demo on how they dye yarn there (Beth got dye on 40 skeins of yarn in about 10 minutes - I couldn't believe it!) and then we got to shop. The whole thing was wonderful, they were so nice there, and I HIGHLY recommend that people call and take a tour if you are in Chicago. You just need a group of 12 and have to be able to go on a Saturday. It is free!!

Here are some of the pictures:

Hello! I am a crap ton of yarn waiting to be dyed.

Some dye. Ok, a lot of dye.

Rows of drying yarn. I swear we died and went to heaven.

The knitters....they are going crazy for that sock yarn!

A table of worsted yarn waiting for me to pet.

So, there was all this yarn, and I somehow managed to show some restraint. I got four skeins total. First, I got two skeins of Shepherd Worsted in some awesome shades of blue:

And then this sock yarn was calling my name:
All in all, it was a wonderful day. It was amazing to see how they manage to get all that yarn dyed. And, it makes me want to knit more with Lorna's Laces. :)

After the tour, Jenni and I took a quick trip to Loopy Yarns. We have been dying to check them out and we were sort of dying for some Malabrigo sock yarn. I really liked Loopy. The shop is very cute and they had lots of great yarn. Jenni and I managed again to show restraint and we each got a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn. I don't know what mine will become, but I am sure it will be great.

I am tired from all this yarn excitement, but it is worth it. I think it might be the most fun I have ever had doing something yarn-y.

Happy knitting!

Random assortment of knitting.

Well, here I am. Back to the blog, finally! Things in fiber-land have been a little slow these days, but I have managed to crank out a thing or two.

First, I had a coworker who wanted a Corgi dog for his daughter. Although my crochet skills are marginal at best, I did give him something that was quite Corgi-like:

Woof! Woof!

Corgi Dog Specs:
The Pattern: Corgi Dog from Planet June
The Yarn: Lion Brand Thick and Quick, Brown and Cream.
The Hook: N (9.0mm)
The Time to Crochet: I started this thing over about five different times over the last few months, but once I buckled down and had something I was happy with, it took about three days.
The Mods: I big-i-fied my Corgi so it would be more stuffed animal-like. And, I still don't understand a lot about crocheting things, so I really just looked at the pictures in the pattern and tried to make it work. There was a lot of making it up as I went along!
The Result: I am pretty happy with it. My coworker says his daughter loves it so much, so it's all good!

I also have been working on two sweater dresses for the little girls I babysit for (well, I watch their brother too, but I am not making him a sweater dress, but I digress). Last night, I finally finished the first of the two dresses, this one for the younger of the two sisters:

What a lovely sweater dress!

And, Jenna looks quite cute and happy in it! A success!

The Sweater Dress Specs:
The Pattern: Baby/Toddler Sweater Dress
The Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease, double stranded in Cream
The Needles: US 9 and US 10
The Time to Knit: About a month. The majority of the knitting was done in about two days.
The Mods: I measured Jenna and did the math accordingly. I also did a crocheted bind off because that was the only way I could get the dress over her head. With her sister's dress, I think I am going to put a button in, so it will more easily get over her head.
The Result: I love it. Jenna loves it. Jenna's mom loves it. A very fast and easy knit.

So, that's all the FOs I have for today. I started on the second sweater dress yesterday and I am over halfway done already. I have a little more Christmas knitting to do and then I can start thinking of something to knit for myself. I have yarn for about three sweaters and all of them are calling my name!

Happy knitting! Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

It was just what I needed.

So, today was not the greatest day of work. In fact, it was pretty stressful. Lots of things were messed up today (both at work and in my head). I was feeling a little down this afternoon when I arrived home, but something managed to turn it around. It was this:
A wonderful package from my Office Swap Partner, metoteach! I joined the swap on Ravelry awhile back and was so excited to get my package today. It definitely made my day improve greatly.

And, while I am here, I would like to show you the latest sweater off the needles:

I am not only a joy to knit, but also to wear!

The Specs:
The Pattern: Hey Teach from Knitty
The Yarn: Lion Brand, Cotton Ease, 5 skeins, I think.
The Needles: I had to go way way down on the needle size. The pattern calls for size 8. I had to use size 4!
The Time to Knit: About a month of knitting. Then, a week or so to finish the seaming and what not.
The Result: Pure joy! I love this sweater.

I think that's all I have for now. There is lots of other knitting (and actually a bit of crochet too) but nothing to show off just yet. Soon.

Hope everyone has a good week. Happy knitting!

OMG! OMG! OMG!

So, I don't know about anything else, but I frequently turn to Lime & Violet for all that is good and wonderful in the fibery world.

You can imagine my excitement when I discovered I am the Etsy Site of the Day on the Daily Chum!!! You can see the post here.

Hooray! Oh, how wonderful a day this has become!

Happy knitting.

Oh, Juliet. . . .

Finally! My Juliet Sweater is done. I finished it up this morning. Hooray! It feels like so long since I have completed something.

I think Juliet needs to be taken on a hot date.

Here is the scoop on this thing:

Pattern: Juliet
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted, which I got in a yarn trade from someone on Ravelry. Yarn was double stranded for whole project.
Needles: Size 9
Time to knit: About three weeks, but then it sat for a month needing buttons and a good blocking.
Result: It's fabulous. I absolutely love it. I can't wait to wear it (probably to knitting group tonight!)

And, I am happy to report that not only is this sweater done, but my Hey Teach! sweater is nearly complete. I just have a little more seaming to do and I need to go get some buttons for it. So, it looks like by the time this weekend is over, I might have have two completed sweaters.

Hmm, what to knit next? :)

Happy knitting.

Long time, no see. . . .

Well, I have finally got around to blogging again. It seems like every time I make a vow to blog more, things get busy and I blog less. Hmm, maybe I should vow to blog less. Would I blog more? Probably not. Oh well.

My sock mojo has started to come back. And, just in time too. I am going Ruth's Mystery Sock KAL, and so far, I am in love with my sock:
Jealous of my sock, aren't you? :) Well, you can visit Ruth's Blog and get the first couple of clues. Ruth blogs at http://theyarnarian.blogspot.com. I am knitting my sock with some yarn I got from Creatively Dyed yarn while at Stitches. I like that this is my dive back into socks. One clue every Monday makes for a manageable amount of sock knitting.

I have been working on some other things too. My brother, Matt, has requested a Mega Man Helmet (like this one) for Christmas, so I have started on that:
He is going to be so happy when he gets it. He has been wanting video game themed knitted gifts for a long time now.

Finally, since I have today off (hooray for the county job that gives you election day off), I have finally blocked my Juliet:This thing cannot dry fast enough. I want to wear it so bad. Hopefully by this weekend the buttons will be sewn on and I can wear it to knitting on Sunday.

Other than that, things are good. I can't complain about anything. Life has been very good to me lately. I haven't been dyeing a lot of yarn these days, but that's ok. I have a couple custom orders to finish up in the next couple weeks, and I probably will dye a bit for my shop for holiday time, but it's been slow going. I think it will pick back up a bit once the economy in general picks back up. I don't think many people are spending extra money on things like yarn. One of these days. :)

Have a happy election day everyone! And, please get out and vote! Happy knitting.

Uh, I think my sock goddess title is gettting taken away. . . .

It's true. I have been known as the 'the sock goddess' in my knitting group for the last year. It even says so next to my name on our website. But, I am pretty sure that title is being revoked. Why? Well, there are no socks being knit around here!

I am something awesome, but not a sock.

It's a sweater. Hey Teach to be exact. I saw it in Knitty and saw some pics on Ravelry, but was swayed to start immediately knitting it after seeing the Yarn Harlot's Hey Teach. I just needed one.

So far, it is going well. I have been knitting on it here and there for the last week or so and have a lot done. I dream of wearing this on Thanksgiving, which gives me more than enough time to finish it.

Other than that, I have been knitting a bit on my Clapotis as well. But, it looks only slightly bigger than the last time I showed it to you:
I am enjoying the drop stitch-y goodness on this project. And, I look forward to wearing it when it is done.

That is it for the knitting these days. I got my yarn dyeing mojo back, so I have been updating my shop more regularly (including today!!). I am glad the mojo came back. I enjoy my wee little yarn dyeing business.

Hope everyone has a good week! Happy knitting!

1 Jackson Down, I don't know, a lot more to go. . .

So, I know this is a knitting blog, not a look how awesome I am blog, but last night I officially became awesome. So, that's kind of a big deal, and therefore blog-worthy. Why? Because I got to meet Janet Jackson:

I can't believe that Janet Jackson is my new BFF!

How did this happen, you ask? Well, I had won some concert tickets from The Mix one morning, and was apparently entered in to win the backstage Meet and Greet thing. I didn't think I would actually win. It was ridiculous that I won the tickets in the first place. I don't win anything! So, on Monday, I was at work, doing some lab stuff that required me to stay at the lab bench and not walk away. My cell phone rings. The caller ID says 'unknown.' I put it back in my pocket. It rings again. I ignore. Then the third time (and I am finishing up the work I was doing by this time) I start to get nervous. What if it's some kind of emergency? So, I answer. The lady on the phone is like, "Please hold for Eric and Kathy." (those are the morning show hosts) Anywho, I get on the phone with them, they tell me I have won and get to go backstage. I was in utter shock! So crazy!

So, that was my last night. Now, to keep in the theme of this blog, I will now show you some knitting. Here is my Clapotis I have been working on:

The yarn is STR Mediumweight in the Cobalt Bloom colorway. I bought this yarn at Stitches specifically for this project. So far, so good on this. It is practically a mindless project, which is perfect for me.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope everyone has a good weekend. Mine is looking pretty good. Tonight we are having Knit N Drink with my knitting group. Tomorrow is the Cubs/Brewers game in Milwaukee. So, lot's of knitting time this weekend.

Happy knitting!

Abrazo!

Well, I have still been on that sock hiatus, and have started and finished a nice little fall/winter-y project: Abrazo!

Damn, I am one warm vest!

Ah, the cable-y goodness.

The Specs:
Pattern: Abrazo from Knitty
The Yarn: Araucania Limari, purchased from Stitches Midwest 2008, 7 skeins (I got the bag of 10 skeins for $45)
The needles: Size 10 and 11
Time to knit: One week
The result: This thing sure is going to keep me warm this winter!

I really really enjoyed knitting this pattern. The needles and yarn were definitely bigger than what I am used to (I mean, I am known as the sock goddess in my knitting group). The vest still could use a good blocking, which I plan on doing tomorrow on my day off.

The knitting on my Juliet is also completed, but it still needs a blocking as well. The only other major thing I have been working on is a Clapotis I just started the other night. I needed one, just like everyone else. So far, so good on that. I am really enjoying the pattern!

Have a good weekend. Happy knitting!

From Socks to Sweaters?

So, last night, some of the ladies from the Northwest Suburban Knitting Group came over for Charity knit night. We meet once a month at a member's house to knit rectangles/drink some alcohol/eat ourselves silly. Last night it was me, Mary, Jen, Tammy, Cathy, Melissa, Beth, and Cindy. We had a wonderful time. And, in between all the chatting, we got some more squares done for our charity blanket:

Yes, we are supposed to all be 7x9in, but we all like to be different. You can block acrylic, right?

I actually like the colors of those squares together. There is some chance I will try to dye some yarn like that in the near future.

My sock mojo is still gone, but I have been making some considerable progress on Juliet:

Thanks to the deary weekend we seem to be having, I am thinking it may get finished my tomorrow. And, I have another project in mind, for the moment this one is done (actually, it's all I can do not to cast it on right now). It's Abrazo. I love that little vest. I think it is positively adorable. I have just the yarn for it too.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. And, I hope everyone is staying dry and safe!

Happy knitting.