Smile

Only Monday

2009-02-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

Sigh.... it's only Monday. I am already ready for the weekend. I was able to get an insane amount of knitting done for me, my bag that I started on Saturday is almost half way done. It is I bag that I am designing as I go. It will be like a messenger bag, but not exactly. I hope it will turn out exactly like I picture it, but probably won't since it is my first design attempt. I am using Lion Brand's Wool Thick and Quick. Although it is not exceptional quality, I find it quite relaxing to knit with. I want to just like curl up with this ball of yarn, it seems like it is worn in and almost homey. I got so far already with my bag, I have to go buy a button so I can finish the first part. I need to measure a button hole for it, but if I don't know how big it is, it might be a little problem. This bag will hopefully get some use, unlike my other knitted things. Next time I post, hopefully there will be pictures!

First Week of School: DONE

2009-01-09T14:09:00.000-08:00

My first week back and already school is hectic. I have some homework I am hoping to get ahead on, as well as catch up on some that I didn't do yet. Lets just say, I am glad that the weekend is finally here. I have more stuff that I want to do than I have time for, since I won't have any time at all tomorrow.

I want to just make a huge list of things that I want to do and cross them off one by one as they get done, but it will probably just be too taunting. Well, at least for this weekend I want to finish the heel of my sock and make a spindle. I am a little afraid for the latter, because I am afraid I will start spinning and will never want to stop! That is just another thing to drain my wallet, but I want to try it anyways!

Back From Disney

2009-01-05T05:56:00.000-08:00

I just got back a couple of days ago from Disneyland. It was amazing, I haven't been there in forever. The weather was nice, no snow over there. I am not a big ride person, but I got to spend New Years Eve there and that was a once in a lifetime thing. Now that I am back there is so much I need to do.

My knitting definitely lacked over this break, since I was extremely busy. Now that I am back, I got to the heel flap on my first sock and I am crossing my fingers that for once it goes sort of right, but I think I got unraveling down to a science, I have had to do it so many times with so many projects. I learned that I am bad at reading instructions because I left out one stitch in the beginning and now I am just going to try and make the pattern work since I am so close. I ordered my first two knitting books, thanks to Christmas giftcards, Knitting For Good and The Knitter's Bible: Knitted Accessories. I am sure I will fly through Knitting For Good, I read a little in the store and it was interesting. There are so many amazing patterns in the other book that I am going to need to get some awesome yarn before it arrives. Thats it for now, too bad school has to start again, I need more time!

Unexpected Day

2008-12-16T15:28:00.000-08:00

This week is exams at my school, and I have a ton of studying to do. I miscalculated what classes I have to study for and now realize I have a lot more studying to do than I thought. Not to mention I had to make an unexpected visit to the hospital because one of the family members was admitted in. They are okay now, but have to stay a couple of days under the hospital watch. I chose to visit them, but it really put a cut into my study time, not to mention the time it took to get there and back. I am sure they will bounce back and be healthy in no time.

Can you get readdicted to knitting?

2008-12-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

So I have just became re-addicted to knitting. It all started when I dyed this wonderful Knit Picks yarn from awhile ago. I used half a container of teal Wilton's and one packet of black cherry Kool-Aid. I was afraid this yarn was going to be boring so I made it a little saturated and its coming out in stripes, but I still like it. Currently it is being made into a wonderful pair of socks as a present for someone. Not only had I become addicted to knitting, I became addicted to dyeing as well. I really want to start my own etsy shop, but I doubt that is going to happen. Maybe with a little luck it will though!

Help!

2008-11-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry, listening to Beatles' songs. But I am in desperate need of time management skills. Way too much work for the time I have. There about three things due Friday for me and some of them I haven't even started. Sounds like there will be a lack of sleep for the next couple of days.

On the other hand, I have gotten some knitting in. I am making a children's vest and am done with the back. I do worry that I will not have enough yarn for the front, there is no way that I am buying more yarn to finish this project since it was to use up yarn. There was probably a miscalculation along the way somewhere, so I only have myself to blame. I am proud that I actually figured out my gauge before knitting! Hopefully I will get into this habit for future projects.

Back to the load of work I have to get done. I hope I can spare some time to post pictures again in the future!

Gloves!

2008-10-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

I finished my fingerless gloves finally! Plus I even have pictures. I think they turned out good, a little uneven though, but still pretty good. This yarn is so soft, a little itchy, but I still like it. This yarn is the stuff that I first dyed awhile back. So enjoy some pictures. Now I don't know what to do next?!

Busy

2008-09-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy, I haven't even had time to knit. My last two weeks have been so hectic, it is insane. Between school, family, friends, and getting a cold I haven't been feeling up to doing anything. I promise to have a more detailed post up by this weekend, including pictures!

New Layout

2008-08-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I got tired of the old layout so I decided to change it. The picture is from wordle. I love it! You should make one yourself, its so fun. It is funny how my biggest words are "Know" and "Going". I must say those a lot, guess my procrastination skills are showing. I sort of also changed the design because I didn't have any new pictures to post and I felt like I needed to do something. I hope you like it, because I sure do!

I am about three thirds of the way done with my fingerless gloves. I hope to finish them this weekend (since it is a long weekend). Pictures will be up soon. I am happy to be able to have fun with my camera again. Hopefully I will get some good pictures.

School

2008-08-15T17:17:00.001-07:00

Well school has started. I have lost a ton of time to do things (i.e. knitting). I have one fingerless glove done. It is not what I expected, but I am still proud of it and decided not to frog it. I realized that my yarn had more blank/white spots than I realized, but it looks good with the rest of the color scheme. I will just make sure to try a different method when dyeing yarn different colors.

School is okay, I don't really know what to say. Work. Boring. Tiresome. Classes are okay, at least I know people. I am sort of getting tired answering the question about how school is going, so I am sorry for the lame answer. Once something exciting happens I will be sure to let you know.

(Sorry for no pictures, next time.)

Operation Sweater: Complete

2008-08-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

Finally! I finished my sweater a couple of days ago. It was just in time before the Ravelympics. I have been working on this sweater for way too long, since March. Wow, well I feel that now that I have finished this sweater that everything will hopefully be finished a lot faster. The only thing I have left to do is mail it to Knit for Kids. I will hopefully do more sweaters and projects like this in the future.

Now about the Ravelympics. I didn't realize that the pattern I want to do, Twist on the Wrist Warmers requires 8 dps. I do not own any so I have to run to the store and I won't be able to get there till later. I will have nothing to knit (that's a lie, but I will have nothing that I want to knit). Off to do stuff. What stuff I don't know at the moment, I need to figure out what to do.

Sorry

2008-08-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

I am such a bad blogger. Shame on me *slaps hand*. I have a lot to update, but I decided to do it in more than one post. I know it isn't fair that I have been gone so long and now not posting one super post but this way I will have more to tell later on.

What has been going on is that I dyed the first skein of yarn. It isn't an even overall color, sadly, though I did get this amazing brown from Kool-Aid. The only bad thing is that it smells horrible! I need to do something about that before I knit with it. Here's an amazing picture (I love the lighting) that I took about 5 minutes ago without thinking much of it. Hopefully I can knit this up into a hat after the Ravelympics.More posts to come! I am sorry that I haven't posted like all month. I blame World of Warcraft, it is too addicting for it's own good.

KnitPick Package

2008-07-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

I got my first KnitPick package last weekend. I ordered two skeins of yarn to dye, one worsted and one sock. With the worsted I am going to make a hat after I dye it today. For the sock, I don't know what pattern I am going to do yet. Does anyone know an easy pattern I can do? I also got to pairs of needles. One 8 16" circular to finish my sweater that has taken forever. The other one was a 10 16" for the hat that I am going to make with the yarn that I will dye. (A lot of will's and going to's)

Now For Some Pictures:

Toeless Socks

2008-07-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

I decided to finish my one sock just to say that I finished it, plus to use up my stash. I finally took a ton of pictures so heres some of my sock, lets just say it was a disaster. You can see for yourself. Usually I can't get it over my ankle, but today to my surprise I was able to, but the top was so stretched out that it didn't make a difference. It still didn't fit.

I am deciding if I should go ahead and make the other one, just so I will have a pair of socks that don't fit instead of one. Yes? No?

Plurk!

2008-07-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

I know, I have been a bad blogger. I was really busy with other activities that I didn't have a ton of time to knit. So I almost was finished with my sock so I went to try it on. This lead to a lot of problems, starting with IT DOESN'T FIT!! That really put a damper on my day. I have to decide whether I will continue on with the sock and hope that after washing it will fit, or frog (I cut the yarn when I changed colors so if I do frog, I will have a ton of pieces.) I have no idea what to do, but I only have like 3 inches left on it. From now on, I promise to do a gauge swatch! (If you want to see pictures of it, let me know)

So as the title says, Plurk! I am addicting to Plurking. You should try it out too. all you do is write little tibits about what you are doing/thinking/need to do/etc. People from Raverly are on it too, so join the fun. I am knitter819, so add me when you get one, cause I know you will. This, sadly, is also a reason that I haven't been blogging that much, but you will understand once you get on it.

Phew..

2008-06-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Well, my Internet is up and running again. Yippee! But I am having a hard time with making a heel on my pedicure sock. It turned out way too small, and this time I have pictures to show you. Also I ended up with less stitches than I should have had. Can anyone help me out on this? The pattern is listed in one of my posts below and I would be very grateful if you could give me some help.

I joined team teen in the Knitting Olympics! I am planning on making this fingerless glove pattern with my own dyed yarn. I am so excited I can't wait to see how these get knit up. I have never done cables before so this might be a little bit of a challenge and I hope that I will finish in time.

Internet

2008-06-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

My internet is down, this is just a short post to let everyone know that. Don't think I have given up on my blog, I still will keep posting. For my next post look for: a finished sweater (hopefully!) and my troublesome heel on my sock (it didn't work out at all).

Socks

2008-06-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

With the help of Merenwen, I was able to find a new worsted sock pattern that I like. I decided to choose the Pedicure Socks. They seem like a cool sock to make for my first pair. I won't have to worry about making the toe part of the sock. I frogged the socks that are in my last post, but am using the same yarn for these new socks, it is part of my summer stash buster. I am starting to get into my regular knitting speed. Everything seems to be getting closer to getting done. I have about 2-3 inches on these socks with just one day's worth of knitting, which is good for me. Sorry for the lack of pictures but my computer crashed and we just got it back but without all the programs and stuff. It might be awhile until I have pictures again.

The List Goes On and On

2008-06-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

This summer I made a list of things that I want to do. Things on the list varies from crafting stuff (knitting, scrapbooking, etc.) to other random stuff like beating a video game or organizing my closet. I hope to get most of it done, since I am trying to be realistic and I have other things than just cross stuff off my list to do this summer. I think it is a good way to remember what I want to do, since last year I had things in my head I wanted to do but would then forget about them. Now they are down on a sheet in front of me pushing me towards being motivated.

About the socks that I have been knitting, I don't like them. I want to do something more interesting but this is the only pattern that uses worsted yarn that I know of, and are ankle socks. I am really bugged by the ribbing, it looks bad. It is so big compared to the rest of the sock that it drives me insane! The striping is okay, but you can tell when I change to a new color because it sticks out. These socks are ready to be frogged, and anyway I can use one of the needles for my make-shift cable needle anyways.

Music To My Ears

2008-05-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

I am listening to music as I upload a stack of cds on my iPod. I just realized that I have such a variety of music it is insane! I am starting to make playlists for each genre, or like artist that sounds similar. I have no idea what you name playlist so the four or five that I have are all smiley faces =] So in case you are wondering what I listen to it goes any where from Sherl Crow, The Beatles, Train, Plain White T's, Daughtry, Panic at the Disco! and more. Yeah, I know its a ton of different sounds and rhythms but I like it! The only problem is that I have so many songs I could listen to a song only once or twice because I have so many.

Okay, now a little about knitting. I have been knitting up a storm, well not compared to most knitters, but for me it is good. My sock is about two inches long but I am sad to say that I am taking a little break from it. I won't have time to knit for the next couple of days cause I have a jam-packed start to summer! Yes, summer is here for me, no more school. I have so many upcoming projects that require circular needles that I am thinking about buying KnitPicks Harmony set. The only problem is that they don't have a 16" loop which is the one I really need because I adore making hats. Well thats about it. I promise next time I will have pictures!

Stash

2008-05-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Me and my blog buddy knittchick decided that we wanted to talk about our stashes in a post this week! So I took a picture of my stash, minus two balls of yarn that I am using to make socks with and anyways they will soon be gone. It all fits in my nice portable knitting bag that is stationed in my closet. So my stash is pretty small compared to most people but I like it this way. One, I don't have much room to store it without forgetting about it. Two, I don't want to one day drop knitting and then have a ton of yarn sitting around my house.

I decided to join the summer stash knit down and most people right now are probably like why? I am twisted the rules a little bit for me. I am allowed to buy yarn as long as I have a project in mind to go along with it. The problem with some of the yarn I have now is that I have no idea what I am going to make with it and some of it I don't think I will ever use. So my yarn buying rule is as long as I have a project for it to go with I can buy it!

Sidenote: Does anyone know of a good place (preferably online) that sells birght, colorful yarn? Either multi-colored or solid? Thanks in advance!

Relief

2008-05-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Only a little more than two weeks left of school for me! Yippe! I am so relieved and also because of the fact that my AP test is over. I failed that thing, it was really hard. But anyways, a little update on my sweater, I am more than halfway done with the second sleeve and after that it is the collar and I am done. Except for that fact that I have to put it together, that will be a pain but it's worth it.

For my socks, I have some pictures (not of socks but the yarn I will use). So it doesn't complete match together, but for a first pair of socks I think it will work out fine. I started my socks, then messed up and frogged. I am going to change my pattern though, so maybe that will help. I decided on using this pattern. I am hoping that they will turn out okay enough to wear.

New Project

2008-05-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

So as I am nearing the end of the sweater I am making (I am on the second sleeve) I decided I should start thinking about my next project. I am deciding between some things and I need your help! I am choosing from:

Finishing the other half a teddy bear I started
A bag (Haven't made one yet)
Socks that I said I was going to do, but didn't

Any feedback would be great!

About my sweater, I fixed the collar so I am going to donate it probably. I am working on the sleeve, while doing so I realized that I revised the pattern a little (well more than a little). The sleeve was suppose to increase in size slowly but instead I did it all at once. Opps! But it looks like it will still work. I was going to post a picture but it looks sort of like a square and didn't bother because I thought it would bore you. That's it for now! I promise to try to post more often as summer is coming up.

Yawn

2008-04-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

Well, if you couldn't tell by my title I am pretty tired but wanted to take the only time I have in my jammed pack schedule to post. I have just realized that I have basically not really finished any of my projects in forever. I think I am running on slow-mo when it comes to knitting. Sweater still not finished (it has to be over a month now!) and I haven't finished some other things that I have started.

I almost finished the first sleeve of the sweater, only one more inch to go! This weekend I plan on finishing the other one, sewing it all together, and then finishing the crew neck. Still am undecided about whether I will donate or not. I am thinking about unraveling the one part with I messed up (see post below) and trying again, because it would be a shame to have done all this work and then have a sweater that I will not fit in because it is a small children's size.

Yarn Galore!

2008-04-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I have a ton of yarn, well some of you might not consider it a ton. But for the rate at which I use it, it is a ton. I need to stop dyeing/making/buying yarn until I use some of this stuff up! Well recently I have added to new skeins to my stash. The first one is made out of four handkerchiefs cut up and tied together. I am curious to see how it knits. I still have no idea what I will make with it, but it is pretty cool.

The second one is one I dyed. The original yarn was Bellezza Dolcetto from Jo-Ann. I remembered to check to make sure it was wool before I went off and bought the wrong kind again. I am trying to figure out a name for this one. It has more orange in it than I expected, I was hoping for a balance between orange, yellow, and pink, but the orange overpowered. I am pretty proud of myself because this is the first multi-dye I have done. I want to use this yarn on maybe a hat, but it would kind of match the other one I had made.

I Love The Smell Of Spring

2008-04-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

If you couldn't tell from my post title. Spring is here! I just love the smell of it, there is just nothing better in the world to me. I insisted that we put screens on our windows this weekend just so I could open mine up and get the smell in my room (it ended up floating through the whole upstairs). I have been spending a lot of time outside so I am in a good mood =]

Despite my other post, which I deleted, I have got a lot done on my sweater. More than I could have hoped for. The only problem is that on the front side, one shoulder is longer than the other!! I am so sad, because I decided not to donate it because it is messed up. I don't want to give someone a sweater that isn't well-made. But I will finish it anyways, I have done more than half of it so I will just make two sleeves and be done. Also I still have a bunch of yarn in this color that I need to use up.

Me and my blog buddy knittchick, visit her here, decided that today we should blog about socks. Everyone just loves socks! Sadly, I will admit that I never had the patience to finish this sock pattern that I was struggling with. I unraveled my blue socks, but I think it is time to give them a try again. I got confused when it came time for the heel. I looked for tutorials but it never matched the instructions on my pattern. The pattern calls for, "Knit across 22 stitches using waste yarn. You will be coming back later to "unzip" these stitches and work the heel." This just down-right confused me and I never gave these socks another chance. I am thinking about giving this pair of socks another try.

April

2008-04-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't posted in awhile plus I don't have any new pictures of anything! Well I have been really busy lately so nothing much has been getting done. I am half way done with the second side of my sweater and am starting to get bored with it (oh no!). I have to keep focused and stay on task because I really want to finish this project.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I was really anxious to dye yarn. So last weekend (not this one) I bought kool-aid and yarn and all that fun stuff. Once I get home and start skeining the yarn I realize, "Oh I bought acrylic yarn." I was devastated. But I gave it a try anyways. I use two packets of black cherry and the acrylic surprisingly soaked up a little of it. After it dried and everything the yarn turned a light peachy color. Today I wanted to try it again with lime jello this time. So I set everything up and dye it. After dyeing the yarn and letting it hang there to dry for a little bit I remember that this jello wasn't sugarless. The yarn was gooey and I didn't even try to save it, just headed straight for the trash. Hopefully after I finish a couple of other projects I will be able to master the technique of dyeing.

I have heard of people using fabric for yarn. When I was looking through my closet I found some handkerchiefs that I never use anymore and thought, "What a great idea to try and use this for yarn!" I finished cutting them into strips but am now trying to figure out how to tie them together. If anyone knows any good ways of doing this please let me know.

Sweater

2008-03-31T16:31:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my sweater I am donating to Knit for Kids. I believe it is coming along pretty well. But as I was previewing the rest of the pattern that I am using, I realized that I need size 8 circulars to finish the neck hole. But I think this sweater is going to turn out really cute (well I hope it will anyways). The only problem I am having is with the yarn I am using, Red Heart Ltd. Super Saver Multis/Ombres. The yarn unravels in the middle shown in some of my pictures (sorry about the blurriness). It keeps getting tangled. The weird thing is that as I pull more yarn out, the end comes out too, creating a big hole in the middle of my yarn. I am hoping it is just this skein, and that my other one will be fine.

Back

2008-03-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Back from my long road trip. I didn't get as much done as I thought/hoped. I started to make a sock then I tried doing the stockinette stitch and it didn't work? So I was like oh well, I will keep going anyway, but the time I got to the heel I was so lost I just frogged it. So being as prepared as I was, I had brought things in case this happened. Instead I started on my Knit For Kids sweater which I think is turning out well. The only concerns I have is about it being too small for the size they want (even though the site said all sizes). I guess I am just worried that I will put all this work into it and they will send it back saying they can't except it, I don't know what I would do then. The only thing I don't like about this project is the yarn! The yarn unravels from the middle? I should of wound it into a ball before starting, but I decided that I didn't need to. It keeps getting tangled up and every couple of rows I have to untangle it. Hopefully it is just this skein, and the other one I have is some what normal. Well, I was hoping I would have gotten some more done, but I only got up to where the shoulders attach on the sweater (remember it is a small child's sweater, so it isn't very big!). Thats it for my exciting knitting adventures!

On The Road Again

2008-03-23T06:12:00.001-07:00

We have a 9 hour drive ahead of us today for our vacation. I bought a ton of new knitting stuff to bring along with me. I just got my first pair of double-pointed needles to make socks. I started one, but miss counted the stitches so I had to restart. But I am bringing so much knitting stuff; 3 different pairs of needles, 4 different yarns, and two different pattern books. I am prepared for just about anything. Well I will be gone for a week, we will have to see how much I can get done!

Research, Research, and More Research

2008-03-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

I have two big research projects that are due next week. I am not really looking forward to spending my whole weekend researching. It is really boring, plus I always get sidetracked while online. One is a project for science in which I am splitting the work up with some other group members, so that is a plus. The other one though is a paper, ugh. So I have to do all my research for that. At least we get time to research in school, but I am on the computer for about three hours straight. So between working around my group members and my crazy schedule to be able to work on my project, all my other homework, and sport practices I will have to find time to start my socks (or at least a swatch) for my mom since her birthday is coming up. Wow, what a hectic weekend. I am tired think about it already.

Teddy Bear

2008-03-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

My teddy bear is coming along. I am almost done with the back, so I am like half way done. I already have stuffing from previous projects. The only thing I don't want to do is put it together after I finish the front, that is always a pain. But I am so proud of myself this is the first teddy bear I have every made and by far the hardest pattern I have ever attempted. I will post a new picture once I am finished.

Next on my list of things to do is to make a pair of socks for my mom. I just bought this new fuzzy yarn that was on sale. I got it for half of the regular price, so I am happy. Also I have never attempted socks before so I am crossing my fingers that they turn out well. I want to give them to my mom for her birthday, but if they look bad I won't be able to. Finally it let me post my picture of my yarn. The yarn is purple and is very fuzzy. The swatch look like it would be good to use for fuzzy socks and I just can't wait to knit with it, since I have so far only really knitted with cotton and acrylic. I hope it is enough though, I don't know how much you need to make socks?

Howdy!

2008-03-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone who is not paying any attention to this here knitting blog. This is the first of many posts. Just a warm welcoming and to explain a little about what this is about. I will post my current projects, projects I am planning on doing, etc. Might even end up making a list of stuff I want/need to do just to remind myself. Well thanks for stopping by, hope you come back and read more of my posts soon.