Knitting update.

I have been making progress on my knitting, believe it or not ;) In fact I am nearly done with two projects. The blue socks are at the finishing stage. I need to find a smaller needle for grafting the toes together, then I'll block and be done. I am also very nearly finished with the pinkish tunic. I have all the knitting done, just need to weave in the ends and block.

I have begun working on the black Apocalypse scarf again as well and made a couple inches of progress on it last night. I am very frustrated with all the orange kitty hair that always manages to find it's way onto the black yarn. Not sure how I am going to get it de-haired before mailing it to the recipient.

I hope to finish the socks and the tunic today or tomorrow. When I do get them finished, I will be starting on my last gift project. I have those green socks to make, and I am thinking they will knit up pretty quickly. I am looking forward to working with the cotton yarn.

Another project I hope to start soon is a gown to wear in a friend's wedding. The wedding isn't for 3 months, but I want to leave myself some slack in the timeline for comfort's sake. I was hoping to lose weight before then, but not sure how that will go. I am losing weight much slower than I had hoped this month. I want the dress to actually fit me, so I am planning on making the skirt during March, the bodice in April, and the finishing touches in May.

I will start on the salmon colored summer tunic after the dress is complete. Hopefully I get things done in a timely manner and stop with this knitter funk I have been in. I'm not sure why it happens, but sometimes I just can't force myself to knit. I love knitting, so it always confuses me when I don't feel like picking up the needles. I do seem to be coming out of it some (which is good, because I am way behind where I wanted to be).

I have not bought a book about knitwear design yet. There has been so much else going on lately that I just haven't had time to focus on it or think about it much. I figured I will forget about getting the book for a couple months. Once things settle down and there isn't so much going on I will pick up the book.

I hope to get pictures posted of the socks and the tunic tomorrow or the next day (it all depends on if I finish them today or tomorrow). I will watch a movie and work on the black scarf for now, then worry about finding yarn needles later.

Update.

I have not been updating regularly for awhile, so thought I would do a general update.

I have been sick recently, and am just now feeling almost healthy again. While sick I did not knit or work on anything really. Before getting sick and in these past two days I have been knitting some. I have been working on the tunic for myself. I have the body complete and the shoulder seems grafted together. I picked up stitches along the neck and have about three inches of double ribbing so far. Once I finish the ribbing around the neckline I will finish around the arm holes and be done with it. I think it is looking pretty good so far.

I need to start working on the blue socks again soon. I am behind on my knitting so badly, but I was getting pretty burned out emotionally and just didn't feel like knitting at all. I am starting to feel recuperated (some) and hope to get the blue socks finished by this next Sunday. I won't be working on them much today, since there is so much catch-up work to be done from when I was sick.

So basically my update is that I have been sick, lol. Hopefully I will have a more impressive update at the end of the week :)

Christmas knit #11 "Muscari" socks progress.

I ripped out the "Muscari" socks after deciding the medium size was going to be too big. They would have been okay for me, but I am making these socks for a petite woman and they would have been big and sloppy on her. Starting over set me back a bit, but not too bad. I have worked on it until I have the cuff and three repeats of the patterns. I am not going to make the leg portion very long because the recipient is petite, so I will only be doing 2-3 more repeats before starting the heel.

You can see that I am working off of one ball this time instead of two. I made a center pull ball and am using the inside end for one sock and the outside end for the other. This is not much different than working from two balls, only I have to make sure to keep the strands from wrapping around each other. This is probably how I will be doing it from now on, as it makes winding less of a pain.

I was trying to show the pattern here, but it isn't really showing up very well. The pattern shows up quite well in person. In fact the designer said creating a pattern that handles stripes and hand painted yarns was her goal when she designed the Muscari pattern. I would say she succeeded beautifully, even if my pictures don't do it justice.

I am still enjoying working on these socks. I m really enjoying this yarn and especially this colorway. The colors are beautiful and they really pop. I like this "Lullaby" color much better than either "Make Believe" or "Juice box" which I had recently used. I keep thinking that if this were in a sport or worsted weight it would make a handsome sweater. (I don't plan on making a sweater out of fingering weight yarn again anytime soon, lol).

I will post more pictures once I get the heel done :)

Personal knit/new design - Tunicus Maximus.

I started a new project late last night (after midnight). I don't know why, but I just really wanted to start something fun and different than my other projects. I had plans to make a long sweater tunic, so last night I cast on and work a bit of the bottom ribbing. I am making it up as I go, but writing down the steps as I make them. Hopefully in the end I will have a working pattern for my size, then just have to figure out how to change the pattern for other sizes.

I am using size 10 40" circulars and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky Hand Painted yarn in the color "Juicy." I wanted a hand painted yarn for some interest since I am going to keep the design very simple and clean looking. I measured around my hips to find the size I needed in inches then multiplied it by how many stitches per inch I got from my swatch. I cast on 168 stitches and started working in a 2x rib. I worked on it for a couple hours last night and have approximately 2 inches of length.

 I am really impressed with how the colors are working out. I think it looks very pretty. The yarn feels softer in hand than it did on the hank and has been nice to work with so far.

I plan to knit 5-6 inches of rib before I start working stockinette. I am making this out of chunky yarn and thought a bigger band at the bottom and around the neckline would help balance out the look.

I won't be working on this very much as I still have 3 projects to complete from Christmas. This is something that I will work on when I need a change from little needles to give my hands a break.

I don't know why I decided to name this "Tunicus Maximus" but I thought it was both fun and kinda cheesy.  It doesn't really have anything to do with the sweater tunic or the design I am going for, but I guess I was in a gladiator type mood when I started working on it. We'll see if I decide to keep the name or if I come up with something else later.

I don't really know what the protocol is when making a pattern similar to someone else's. I have been wanting to make a sweater tunic since about fall time, and have seen several patterns that I liked. I particularly liked "Diva Tunic"by Phoenix Bess. (I do believe you need to have a Ravelry account (it's free) to view the links). I am drawing most of my inspiration from this pattern, but I am not copying it exactly. I did not purchase her pattern and my tunic will look similar but not exactly like it. I will be making my tunic longer and will be fashioning the neckline and arm holes how I want. I will also be doing the shaping in a way to suit me. I am creating my tunic from the ground up while looking at other tunics for inspiration. I just wanted to say where I was getting my inspiration from and to give a nod to Phoenix Bess. I like many of her designs and think she makes beautiful clothing. I have one of her books in my wishlist on amazon that I hope to buy in a couple months. Her stuff is definitely worth checking out.

XMAS yarn haul

 As the title says, this post is a yarn haul. These are the yarns I got as gifts for Christmas (except one, but I'll get to that :).


This first yarn is from my husband. He told me I could pick out some yarn from Knit Picks as my gift from him this year. I usually buy my yarn from Knit Picks because I like the quality and their yarn is a lot cheaper than comparable blends and quality yarns from other brands. Both colors are the same kind of yarn; Wool of the Andes bulky weight. It is hand wash so not exactly easy care, but isn't supposed to pill and should last for a very long time. It isn't really soft, but I don't really care as I will be making sweater tunics out of it and will be wearing them over another shirt for added modesty and comfort.

 This is the color "Juicy." I picked this color because it is bold and fun and should go great with black leggings/skinnies or the thigh-highs I had started. Just FYI, I plan on making this long enough that it will be more dress than tunic.

This is the color "Polar" and is reminiscent of icy mountain peaks. I liked the concept behind  this colorway and thought it was great for a more muted look that would be great for winter and would go good with jeans. I am not planning on making this tunic as long as the pink one as I plan to always wear this with jeans or pants and not stockings. I am also planing on making arm warmers for this tunic, but haven't decided if I will for the pink one.

The next yarn I picked out using the very generous gift certificate I received for a local yarn and needle craft store. It was fun to go into the store for the first time and see all the yarn that is usually out of my price range. I had a $100 gift certificate and spent it all on one bag of yarn. I went in looking for an easy care cotton blend in a peachy color in a dk weight. I didn't find exactly what I was hoping for, but am happy with what I selected.

 As you can see from the pictures I picked out yarn by Cascade. I have never used this brand of yarn before because of the hefty price tag. This yarn was $11.50 per 191 yard hank so it was $103.50 for the bag of 9 hanks. This isn't the soft peach I was going for, but it is a pretty salmon color that will work nicely and be bright and fun for summer. It is a worsted weight, so a bit bigger than what I was thinking of, but that is just fine. This is the Cascade "Sierra" yarn so is a 80% Pima Cotton and 20% Wool blend. I am hoping the wool helps add a bit of springiness to the yarn (but not too much!) and will make it a bit warmer for summer nights.

I am still planning on using this yarn for a self-designed spring/summer short sleeved tunic. I decided about adding extra beads or glittery thread for embellishment and think I will just use a more interesting stitch for added interest around the neckline. I am hoping to keep it simple and elegant but very wearable. I am not sure how washable this yarn is. I have never used it before and have found conflicting reviews online. Some people say it washes great in the machine, while others say washing it ruins it. I think I will try washing it in the machine, but on a gentle/delicate cycle only.

I am excited to use this yarn because it is the most "high-end" yarn I've ever had. I wish I could start working with it now, but I still have Christmas knits to complete and will probably do the cold weather tunics before doing this warm weather tunic. The yarn feels nice and has a pretty sheen to it, so it will be interesting to see how the finished product turns out.

 This next yarn is yarn I purchase while picking out yarn from my gift certificate. I wanted to get some sock yarn to knit a pair of socks for a friend, but didn't really want to order one skein of yarn over the internet. I am happy that I found something that will work.

This yarn is not the typical wool sock yarn that I usually use. The friend I will be making these socks for lives in a southern state and I wanted the socks to be wearable for more than a month or two out of the year. This is Kraemer Saucon Sock yarn in the color "Lime." It is 44% cotton, 43% acrylic, and 13% nylon. I would have preferred more cotton or nylon and less acrylic, but the yarn feels good and will be easy care. I picked this color because I thought it would go very nicely with the lacy wave-like sock pattern I picked. I have never used yarn from this brand before, but given it was $12.50 for this one skein I am expecting it to be good quality.

There you have it, the entire yarn haul. I got some very nice yarn and am excited to get started on these projects as soon as I finish the Christmas knits I have going now.

Happy New Years!!!

Christmas Knit #11

I've just started on another pair of socks. I am making the "Muscari" pattern from Knitty.com. I will be using KnitPicks Stroll hand painted fingering yarn again. This time I will be using a beautiful blue colorway called "Lullaby." I am using my nickle "Options" needles again, this time in size 0 (2.00mm).

See what I mean about beautiful blues? These colors are very vibrant and pretty.

 Here is my progress so far. This is the cuff and one pattern repeat.

 Here is a close up of the sock. You can see the flower pattern some here. It is also worth noting that the blues are deeper and not so bright in real life as they appear in this picture.

 So far I am liking the pattern. The cuff is shorter than I usually make them, but it is cool how it transitions into the flower pattern. The flower pattern is pretty straightforward with no tricky stitches and easy to work up. I have a feeling that these socks will knit up way faster than the last pair. That's all for now on these socks.

Christmas knits #9 "Hourglass" Complete!

I finished the "Hourglass" socks last night, finally! I think they turned out pretty great, though I'm not too thrilled with how the color worked out. A solid color would have looked better. The socks are longer than I usually make, hopefully the recipient doesn't mind taller socks.

The pattern worked up okay. It was kind of fun and quite engaging even if it did take forever to complete. I would definitely make this pattern again as I think it is really pretty and fun to work. I don't think I will use a hand painted yarn for it though. If I make these socks again in the future, I will be using a solid or lightly marbled yarn that doesn't over power the pattern.

This is the second time I've made socks with KnitPicks Stroll Fingering yarn. I really love this yarn. The colors are very vibrant and the yarn is soft and better yet it is affordable.