Happy New Year!

Is anyone else having trouble with Ravelry?  I notice that there are some new features, but things such as searches, adding favorites, project progress, adding needles/store info to a project, organizing sets/tags, and my inbox are not working properly.  It's a little frustrating.  I have come to rely on Ravelry a great deal.
 ETA: It seems that i needed to clear my cache.  That is what their help/faq advised and it worked.

I didn't knit as much in 2011 as the two previous years.  I tried knitting my last semester in college for stress relief but it didn't work out past the first couple of weeks of classes.  There were many projects that i was dreaming of but didn't have the money to buy the yarn for.  Now those dreams have changed a little.

What has been an improvement of sorts is that i am now teaching knitting.  The first semester was craziness with the younger kids (who were mostly too young, so i am going to teach an Intro to Needlearts class now with more crafty objectives) and all of my classes shrank before the end of the semester.  I have high hopes for the semester starting in a couple of weeks however!

State of Knitting 2011
new projects
Sky Slippers (still incomplete)
Cloudy Giselle (for my sister using Giselle pattern again...about halfway finished)
Autumn Leaves (frogged)
Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret (frogged)
Braidy (probably soon to be frogged)

older UFOs (that i hope to return to soon)
Starfish Snood
Funky Grunge Cap
Slip-Stitch Baby Cardigan
Mom's Sampler Afghan
and the Liberty Cap

Oh, btw, i do still intend to write an update about my hammock.  I lost my camera's battery and only recently found it again (which was such a relief, let me tell you!).  I also have plans to blog more often this year.  My goal is to finish old projects and learn how to spin this year.  Here's hoping...

February already?

It feels like it's been forever since i've posted here...wait, it has been!  So knitting, unfortunately, has been on the back burner lately.  I had Bell's Palsy this past fall and school things started requiring a lot more concentration than usual (i.e. multi-tasking was impossible for a while).  I have gradually improved and think that my brain is finally pretty much back to normal.  However, this semester is even more hectic than the last one!  In fact, i'm going to be dropping a class tomorrow (no worries, it was an elective, i took a class in January Term so i could complete my final semester with only three classes if need be).  So i've only been knitting a little bit here and there and don't really have anything substantial to tell about...other than my Christmas knitting, and even in that case i unfortunately didn't get as far as i meant to.

So, in 2010 i completed the following projects:

Dashing Evi mittens FINALLY

Ginny's Hex Vest...which somehow ended up felting in cold water

Tangy Giselle - even more FINALLY, as i had been dreaming of this project for years and had multiple issues with it

Drunken Bees Toes - my socks still have issues that i need to work out

Gentleman's Matrimony/Cozy Socks

four Monteagle bags (with various variants)

a Lacy Starfish Snood that i'm in the process of reworking the band of (it turned out to be too loose)

Mega-Sonic Screwdriver for Megan

Shy Adipose for Josh

Wisp scarf for Abby

Lacy Skull Cap for Alice with matching mini-hobo purse

Baby Totoro cap for Caleb (that turned out being huge)

And my Asymmetrical Wrap...which doesn't have finished sleeves yet, but i've worn a couple of times as a vest.  The sleeves are in the works (i've finished the cuffs so far...pathetic, i know) and i'm planning to make them removable anyway.  I'm also planning to add ribbing to the back waist because it rolls up so much right now.

I guess i did get a lot of knitting done in hindsight, with about 15 projects completed and a few more started.  This year i hope to improve upon my finishing methods (weaving in ends, putting the zipper in my Fair Ginny cardigan, figuring out how to seam that baby sweater i knit years ago, etc.) and will probably eventually get around to working on quite a few projects.  River's vest (from Firefly) being among them... yeah, i've been crocheting more, even tackling amigurumi for the first time.  Yeah, i have been dreaming of a couple of projects but have no idea when i'll be able to tackle them.

wha???

Read some blog the other day, can't remember where, in which a woman said something along the lines of "Oh, my daughters and I love to crochet, except for one of my daughters who prefers to knit because it's more time consuming." And of course i was like, "Wha...??????" i haven't been a slow knitter in well over a decade, and am even faster now that i've made the switch to continental. Crocheting is more time consuming (for me) because i crochet less than i knit and have to think about it more, and i have to constantly watch what i'm doing (if i'm knitting stockinette i don't have to be too focused on my hands really, i can watch tv or whatever. i knew i had arrived as a knitter when i was knitting in the round in a dark theater while watching Underworld 2, and no, i do not use glowing acrylic needles). Knitting is not slow any more than crocheting is, it merely depends on one's amount of experience. This weekend i knitted two hats; they both took me 3-5 hours once i worked out the kinks of learning a new pattern and figuring out what to do when i ran short on yarn (they never mention that in the project books that laud knitting with leftover yarn...). As a result i made a beanie instead of a beret and a two-colored hat instead of a solid one, but it all worked out, and rather quickly (i will admit that i was getting rather tired of the k2, p2 ribbing on the second project, however). Anyways, back to the point: enjoy the craft you love, realize that it takes time to master a new one, but eventually crocheting and knitting are both rather like riding a bike: once you know how, your fingers always remember the way.

Overall, i feel that the art of knitting is a rather misunderstood pastime. i am so sick of people giving me dirty looks when i bring my knitting along to class or church. Please understand, that if i feel comfortable enough to knit in front of you, it is a compliment. Knitting gives me a heightened sense of awareness: i retain lectures better and notice more details (which is saying something, as i am pretty observant on my own as a rule). i am great at multitasking, but knitting focuses me enough to not let me be distracted, allowing me to give more of my attention to what is at hand (well, rather, what is not in hand, but being discussed, taught, etc.). Just because someone doesn't know how to knit does not mean that one should look down on me because i can!

It disturbs me how we have fallen away from the idea of never having idle hands and always contributing to society, the war effort, etc., to become a culture that is threatened by the fact that i can create something with merely a ball of yarn and two (three, four, five) needles. i didn't know that i was going to be making some sort of statement every time i picked up the needles when i taught myself how to knit from a book nearly fifteen years ago. If i have to, i'll continue to make that statement, because i fully intend to continue knitting for the rest of my life, and i hope to be knitting more in the future. i'm already working on another hat and fully intend to start crocheting the hex vest this week, too.

End of rant. (;

update

sigh...

Well, i've completed knitting projects for two Christmas presents, and bought some yarn for additional projects, but haven't started them. It seems like so many of my projects don't turn out the way i expect them to or age prematurely. My PoA scarf looks horrid, probably because i washed it in the machine and wore it every day and the yarn was hand wash only, and the scarf really wasn't wide enough or long enough in the first place. My messenger bag never got truly finished, it turned out that i didn't purchase quite enough fabric, and the flap was too short, which didn't stop me from using the bag every day... and a seam needs to be repaired as a result, but i don't even know where i stashed the bag, it probably needs to be washed, too. i've never found a pattern that would work for the Fox beanie visor. The crocheted newsboy cap from Knit 1 has never looked right on me, and i'm not happy with the visor on it. My swimsuit/coverup project has been a complete fiasco. i haven't taken the time to sew all the projects i've cut out. My digital camera's screen is totally messed up now for no explicable reason. It's all very discouraging. i must get some more projects done but i'm not sure that i can take failure right now...

messenger bag... almost done

Yep, after being unable to find a messenger bag or sling backpack that i was happy with for the new semester i started knitting my own! It's all done now in Lion Brand thick & chunky in Denim and going to be reversible with matching courderoy. I need to sew the lining and then put them together. The project will cost about $40 when all is said and done but it's my own creation.

Other projects that are almost done: my ecru newsboy cap and my coffee brimmed beanie.

crocheting again (yes, you read that right!)

Yesterday (was it only yeterday? it seems so far away) i finished crocheting a lacy hat that i just happened to find in a book at the library. See, on Monday i sold my books back and instantly had $60 burning a whole in my pocket. I headed over to the new knitting store in town (the Cozy Knit & Purl) for the bamboo needles that i know i can't buy anywhere else and while i'm there i stumble upon some Rowan yarn that is just beautiful and the perfect color. It matches Arwen's chase jacket. And as soon as i had seen this hat pattern i thought it looked elvish. So i splurged on the yarn and now have a completed pattern. Not only that, but i'm currently working on an advanced pattern that's in the newest Knit 1 magazine.

Of the Rowan yarn: i really wasn't happy with the quality of it. I think this is the same color that i got, but it seems a bit greyer in person. It's a very pale color. Just a bit more turquoise in it than Arwen's chase outfit.



Of the Lion Brand suede that i'm currently using for two different hat patterns i am fairly happy. It's a bit difficult to cast on with but it crochets like a dream. I'm crocheting with Ecru and knitting with Coffee.



Hopefully i can post pics soon, but Brinna is on the road again... rather, she's in Korea seeing her husband for the first time since May.

PoA scarf: finished!

I just finished putting on the fringe. I think i might add more, but for all intents and purposes the project is finally done. (: I didn't get my GoF cloak done, but i will be wearing my school uniform costume to the movie tonight (or, as the theater's recording says, "at 12:01 am, a special advance viewing"). I have a little leftover yarn that i'm considering using for a hat (not sure it will be enough) or a head scarf/headband like the one my sister made. Not sure what my next HP related project will be, yet, maybe a hat like the twins' or Ron's in PoA.

beanie hats galore

I have finished my beanie visor, am nearly done with brinna's, and am finally posting this image that i saw shortly after Star Wars 3 came out: they're crocheted but i think it's a great idea. As an R2-D2 fan i may have to make one of these myself.

brinna's hat

I worked on the hat over the weekend and it's almost completed. I'm not sure we're going to be adding a visor to it (there might not be enough yarn left) so we should be posting pics (and the pattern) soon.

brinna's beanie bupdate

ha ha ha, i'm so witty that i amaze myself d:

I'm doing this cable pattern for Brinna's hat using size 10 1/2 needles. It's a rectangle that will wrap around, i'll add the cap and brim afterwards with size 10 circular or dpn. So far i've done the chart twice; i'll have to do it twice more to reach around her head. Hopefully i'll have some pics soon.

Btw, i love this hoodie and may have to buy the pattern. I'm planning to knit my hat with size 8 circulars which will be a much tighter stitch.

beanie visor

The newest knitting project i'm going to take on is some beanie visors. I can't find patterns for them anywhere on the internet so i'm going to have to modify beanie patterns and add the visor. I'm going to knit one for Megan with celtic cables and i think mine is going to be double knit with a wing pattern. We're using craft foam for the visor that's probably about four millimeters thick. Both of these hats are meant to match our new snowboards and will be quick to knit up because we've purchased Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Claret for her and Sky Blue and Charcoal for me. I'm sure we'll have plenty left over for mittens or scarves, etc.

I plan to make more than one beanie visor this winter. My inspiration was a Fox beanie visor at PacSun but the whole collection is lovely but expensive. Our projects are quite a bit cheaper.