Abby's sweater--now for Alice--update

So far i have sewn the shoulders together and one of the sides. i have also picked up stitches for one of the sleeves and it is nearly halfway done. i think they're going to end up being 3/4 sleeves but i'm worried about running out of yarn and no matter what i do they're going to be too short on Alice eventually. So hopefully i'll be finished with this project within the next couple of weeks.

whew

So i didn't finish one of the gifts i wanted to give, but it was the one i started a long time ago for Abby and meant to give Alice, so i did finish everything i started this past year (hurray!). Abby's upset that she got a scarf instead of mittens or gloves, d'oh; guess i can't please everyone. (: Pics will be forthcoming soon (well, within the next month sometime).

I FOUND IT!!!

:jumps up and down in glee:

Which is a relief, because otherwise i would have wasted the last two hours of my life and never gotten to try this method. It was on a site that i had bookmarked the hompage of, Ysolda, which wasn't very helpful to myself. It's called Tubular Cast On and apparently there are a couple of different methods (that are featured on other websites and blogs) and i'm going to try them all! Eventually, at least. (: Here's the video, which you can find by searching for "Tubular Cast On" using her site search engine.

Casting On

So i have discovered (though long suspected) that my casting on method does not really have a name or actually exists as a taught method. i learned to knit a long time ago, when i was still in junior high, and taught myself from a book that did not have the best illustrations. For a long time my knitting was perfected through the elbow grease of trial and error, and as a result i probably don't know all of the tricks that would have been taught to me had i learned from another knitter. i'd been meaning to look up cast on methods, but last night i was talking to one of the women i work with, and she said that all cast on methods are supposed to have elasticity, and i inwardly knew that my cast on has never been elastic. It used to be tight, even, but though my tension has improved with time, the resulting edge has always been rigid. i imagine that this might actually be something that could be helpful in certain situations and projects, but not usually. (:

So i visited KnittingHelp.com and here is my discovery: my cast on is a modified version of Knitting On, though i don't twist the stitch the way they do (i sometimes twist the sts while working the second row, but usually just leave it as normal).

Grandma tried to teach me the Long Tail Cast On when i had only been knitting for a few weeks but my brain couldn't wrap around it at the time, and she didn't do enough knitting anymore to really answer my questions (i couldn't even form them yet, as i recall). Though now it looks easy enough i still am not thrilled about figuring out how much yarn i need before hand.

The Single cast on looks like it's cheating. A row of half hitches, come on, how sturdy can that be? But there a lot more methods of casting on for me to try that there are videos for on this website! i am so excited. Incidentally, the KnittingHelp website also says "Casting Off" instead of "Binding Off", so i'm not a total loser!

But the method of casting on that i really wanted to try i can no longer find for some reason. i know that i had it bookmarked, and i know that i watched it last week, but now i can't find it! i went through all my knitting bookmarks and still can't find it!!! And that's why i started writing this post in the first place, to tell you about that method, and in the meantime i got sidetracked finding the other webpage and trying to find the one video i wanted to show you in the first place. ):

December already?

Another present project down, three to go, and i'm dreaming of knitting my grandma some socks with a new elastic-y cast-on that i saw online. Today i joined Ravelry and archived what knitting needles and crochet hooks i have. i wish i could knit more!

Christmas projects update

Well some of my Christmas projects have morphed into sewing instead of knitting, but they are coming along. In the knitting department i have two completely finished, one finished but i think i'll be adding another piece, one started, and two planned. In the sewing department i have three projects with the material and notions purchased but haven't started on any of them yet. i have my work cut out for me.

Working where i do, at a Hancock Fabrics, i get plenty of inspiration, but no time to sew and little time to knit. i want a new job, mostly because of coworkers. The job isn't hard, but it can be annoying and is definitely exhausting. It's also tempting... i have got to stop buying fabric and start working on projects, whether the items are on sale or not.

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...

re: beanie visor

Would you believe that i still have not knit this project? This winter Wal-Mart had rip offs of the elusive Fox beanie visor but they looked poorly knit. i'm still searching for the zigzag knit stitch pattern that i know must be out there in order to allow me to recreate this pattern myself... So far my efforts have been unsuccessful.

Has it really been that long?

Well i've been working full time, going to school full time, and not knitting nearly enough to keep down my stress levels. i've knitted two hats for Christmas presents for next year... but i'm not posting photos of them until at least December 25th! Now that i've finally bought a digital camera i guess i need to start updating though, huh?

re: messenger bag

i got most of it sewed on Saturday but my machine will not sew the strap on for nothing. i'm going to borrow a family member's machine to put on the finishing touches and then put the two parts together. i didn't really have enough fabric so i'm going to be making pockets on the sides which are great for my water bottles (just the right size) but i hope they look okay. Pics are probably not going to be forthcoming for a while though. ): i've got no-nothing digi camera to use (okay, so sue me, i liked Jar Jar in ep. i).

Summer's here

Well my swimsuit has become a swimsuit coverup and is currently in progress using a Vogue pattern. Brinna's swimsuit was crocheted (based on a Macy's product, i believe) and i hear it's done but haven't seen it. i've began collecting yarn for Christmas presents; need to get started soon while i have plenty of time! So far i will be knitting a fancy fur coonskin cap, a scarf, and some socks.

oh yeah

i finished knitting my coffee brimmed beanie and it was such a fiasco that i'm not sure i'll ever wear it again (i wore it to church once on a very-bad-hair-day). i may just take it out and do something completely different with the yarn.

i am so sorry that i haven't been writing lately! i haven't had the time to knit lately hardly at all. The semester is over next week, hopefully my sewing and knitting will be able to resume then. My goal is to knit everyone's Christmas presents this year!

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.

re: the $60

Incidentally, i also spent my money on Christmas presents. But me trying to not knit (or crochet now it seems) is nearly impossible. I enjoy working on projects in class or while listening to books on tape. I'm going to have to start bringing my work while on carpool. And i can't believe that i'm becoming such a yarn snob!

I never thought i'd see the day that i'd become a crocheter, though. I'm still highly selective about which projects i'd like to do, but then, i'm that way about knitting, too, aren't i?

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.

Happy Harry Potter Day!

i wore my PoA inspired skirt today (along with a white shirt and marroon tie) and was pleased with the response i got (no one could tell that i sewed the skirt myself). i didn't get my scarf done (i just hit the 3/4's mark), but i worked on it during certain classes (per usual), something which really cracked up my Women's Chorus professor (i was knitting during warmups and "wearing the scarf at the same time"). My next project is going to be to finish the GoF cloak i've been working on, after that i haven't decided.

my PoA scarf

I'm halfway through! I wish i could post a picture, but i can't. It's not going to be as long as i wanted but i don't have the money to buy more yarn. I'm so short that it probably wouldn't be wise to make it the same length as in the movies, anyway. I mean, i may be 5'5", but Dan, Rupert, and Tom are all around 6' tall now, right?

camera update

No luck... I downloaded a driver from the brand's website and now the computer will register that i have a camera but it keeps saying there are no photos on the camera. I don't expect any better results.