8 posts tagged “pics”
In case you all wondered, I actually DO knit and crochet, not just review magazines on those subjects. As evidence of such, I submit to you all the projects* I've finished over the last few months.
Pattern: Checkerboard Cowl by me
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted Multi in Purple Club 701
Yarn: Rowan Kid Classic in 822 Glacier
(a)
(b)
Yarn: Rowan Plaid in (a) Moonlight Wave, and (b) Lavender Mist
Pattern: San Luis Mitts by me
Yarn: Rowan Plaid in Moonlight Wave
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky in 03526 Leaf Green
Yarn: Rowan Plaid in Lavender Mist
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky in 03520 Russet
Yarn: Bernat Berella 4 in 01010 Soft Heather
Every single one of these pieces was given away. Merry Christmas to you, and you, and you over there! And may someone knit for you in the coming New Year.
*All the projects of which I've taken photos, that is. There's one more, a triangular scarf, that has not been modeled and photographed. Soon, though.
First, the bad news: I decided to frog the Gathered Pullover. Yes, at about 95% completion, I took a good long look at the fabric and how it draped, and decided the Mirasol Cotanani was not the right yarn for the job. The color was gorgeous, the stitch definition was fabulous, but the whole thing was just too heavy, and I'd have hated wearing it. So, we took a trip to the frog pond. However, I did take a picture of it before destruction...
And a closeup of the cabled knot detail:
I'll definitely make this top someday, but with a lighter yarn (i.e. NOT a wool/cotton blend). Gee, maybe even the yarn the pattern suggests. Now there's a concept! *grin* And as far as the Cotanani is concerned, all is not lost: I have a couple of ideas for the right pattern for that particular stash.
Onward.
The Houndstooth Bag is awaiting assembly:
Assembly involves heavy duty fusible interfacing (not shown) and a zipper. I have always disliked sewing zippers. However, I have a new sewing machine:
Which should make sewing a pleasure again instead of the struggle it was as my old machine died a long and painful death.
I only work on Delphine when I can pay fairly close attention; therefore, we're just inching along:
The lace pattern is easy, but it's not mindless. Gotta watch that stitch count carefully.
And then there's the Denimbrigo, so called because I'm using Rowan Denim instead of the suggested Malabrigo laceweight:
Do you see the problem? I didn't, at least not until I took this photograph. Notice the major color variation where I changed skeins, that is. Checked the yarn...different dye lots! Damn! I thought I'd been so careful. Luckily, only two skeins are different, so I'll use them for the upper bodice. I already ripped this one out and expect to start over this evening. As you might expect, given the vastly different weights between the suggested yarn and what I'm using, I'm making some major modifications to this pattern. Notes will be posted with the finished project.
Of course, the baby blanket is still in pieces:
and the Pom is in permanent hibernation:
Still, the goal of the moment is to finish something before picking up the Cotanani again. We'll see how well that goes.
Finished last night....I call it my California Poppy:
Pattern: Ring Around the Posie by Tammy Hildebrand from Interweave Crochet Spring 2008.
Yarn: Bamboozle from Crystal Palace Yarns, color Ember Glow, 9 skeins.
Size: 45"
Satisfaction with end product: LOVE LOVE LOVE!
MODS: Used size K hook because I couldn’t find the J. 11 motifs for
side strips; 5 motifs for back center strip; 4 motifs for center front.
The extra motifs on side and back strips added necessary length; using
4 motifs for the front gave the finished piece a deeper front neckline
which is more flattering to my (ample) figure. Eliminated side gusset
and used single crochet for seaming.
The neckline isn’t really crooked: Just before spouse snapped the pic, I had adjusted the straps on the cami under the shirt so they wouldn’t show and accidentally hiked the neck up a tad too much on one side.
I wore it to work today and loved every minute of it.
First, I'll show you the pretty one:
Pattern: Petunia Tote by Katie Himmelberg, from Interweave Knits Spring 2007
Yarn: Bernat Gloucester Sport (I'd link to it, but it's discontinued) in French Blue, 660 yards
Satisfaction with end result: I really like it. It's the perfect spring/summer casual running around town bag. The lining really sets it off, as you can see in the picture below.
In fact, here's the entire bag turned inside out, so everyone can see the fabulous lining fabric.
The fabric is half a yard of a 60" rayon challis purchased from JoAnn. Other than that, I can't tell you a thing about it.
The only modification to the pattern was making the strap somewhat shorter than the pattern dictated. I'm not tall, you see, and didn't want the bag to hang down to my knees when worn slung across my shoulder. Additionally, I'm thinking about adding a magnetic closure at the top. I'll carry the bag around for a while before making a final decision.
Now, the not-so-pretty one. I finally finished spouse's Treads socks from Son of Stitch and Bitch. The cuffs turned out beautifully:
The rest of the socks, not so much:
Yarn: Cascade's Heritage in #5601 Black, approximately 656 yards (approx. 1.5 skeins)
The foot is so wide you'd think I made them for a hobbit. My fault totally. I didn't pay attention to gauge. If I had, I'd have realized I was using the wrong size needle (a 2 instead of a 0). Even then I probably could have saved them if I had decreased across the instep when I turned the heel. Instead, spouse ended up with a baggy, saggy, shapeless pair of socks. I told him it wouldn't hurt my feelings if he never wore them outside the house. Note to self: not all sock patterns are created equal. One must pay attention to the damn pattern while knitting the foot!
Okay, I don't play one on TV. I've been on television, yes, but that was a very long time ago and no one in the world remembers it but me. And I wasn't wearing a shawl at the time. I was wearing a 4-H uniform.
However, I made a shawl. As a gift. Because I'm not a shawl person, as you can plainly see from the pictures below:
The pattern: Seashore Shawl by Drew Emborsky
The yarn: Patons Brilliant in Beautiful Burgundy, three skeins (498 yds total)
Satisfaction with end product: I think it's pretty. My main concern is that its recipient likes it (mailed it off today).
This pattern is easy and quick to stitch. I think it took me 4 or 5 evenings of watching TV, plus another day to pin it out and block it. The finished piece is smaller than the pattern exemplar simply by virtue of the sportweight acrylic/nylon yarn I used versus the worsted weight silk/rayon/linen yarn used for the original. I probably could have blocked it out wider and killed the yarn to maintain the blocking, but I liked the elasticity of the finished piece.
As for my other projects, I finished all the squares for the baby blanket and all the strips for the afghan referenced in this entry. The squares need blocking; the strips have all been blocked and are now my sitting-on-the-sofa-and-seaming-while-watching-television project. I also picked up spouse's wayward Treads socks again, fixed their problem, and am proceeding apace toward the toe.
In magazine news, I'm still waiting for Crochet Today! to put up the preview for the May/June 2009 issue I received last week. In the meantime, the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting landed in my mailbox a couple of days ago. Give me another two or three days to go through it thoroughly and then I'll post a review.
For the edification of the blissfully unaware, March is National Crochet Month. Although I haven't done anything (as yet) on the scale of many of my fellow hookers (such as teach a class, crochet a sweater for a tree, or even take my hooking public), I have set my knitting aside and been working diligently on my current crochet projects, with the intention of finishing them this month.
The Cable Rerun afghan (which is in the September 2008 issue of Crochet Today! but inexplicably is NOT shown on the web page for that issue) awaits blocking and assembly:
The Solomon's Knot Shawl referenced in this blog entry was finished two days ago. I hated it. I hated it so much I didn't even take a picture of the finished project but took it straight to the frog pond. (It's intended as a gift, and I want it to be perfect.) I am now working on its second incarnation, which will not be a shawl (remember, I'm not a shawl person) but will be a stole (even though I'm not a stole person, either). Once it's done, I believe I'll add some kind of lacy shell edging to the bottom to give the piece some weight. We'll see.
And a closer look at the stitching (but not too close):
And then there's this silly little thread piece intended as a hatband for spouse's Aussie-style cowboy hat:
Pineapples. They're not just for doilies anymore.
Alas, the Pom is still dead. 
(I keep hearing that song from Oklahoma: "Poor Judd is dead....")
In a previous blog entry, I mentioned something about having too many unfinished objects (UFOs). Here they are, in order from earliest start date.....
One should always have a spare baby blanket on hand; at least, that's my belief. One never knows when someone in one's circle of acquaintances/friends/family members is going to procreate. Although I'm getting to the age where it's now the children of my acquaintances/friends/family members who are doing the procreating. But I digress.
I started this blankie on August 17, 2008. Thus far, I have finished the three squares seen below:
At least they're blocked. And only 9 more to go...
On August 23, 2008, I had the bright (?) idea to lead a crochet-along for this adorable crocheted Pomeranian. Didn't have too many followers, so my leadership skills are questionable. Especially since my version of this project stalled right at its assembly stage. Yes, I finished all the pieces by September 6, and then it sat there. And sat there. And sat there some more. Today I officially put it into hibernation on Ravelry, and offer you this photo of a dead project:
After all this time, the poor Pom is still in pieces, and I seem to
have lost not only one of its legs, but also my interest in finishing
the thing. I still have plenty of the yarn left over, though, and I may
re-make the leg and actually assemble the poor benighted misshapen creature, or just
start the project all over again. Someday. Maybe. But don't count on it.
And then there's the Petunia Tote from Interweave Knits Spring 2007 issue. I cast on for this sweet shoulder bag October 16, 2008, with the intention of giving it to one of my sisters-in-law for Christmas. Obviously, that didn't happen.
The knitting bit is done; the bag is blocked; the lining is almost finished...All I need to do to is add a pie-shaped wedge to the lining to make it fit correctly inside the bag, and sew it in. By hand. Now, I am no stranger to a whip stitch, but I don't like handsewing anything, unless it's decorative, like embroidery for embellishment. And so the bag sits there on the project table. Waiting patiently. *sigh*
Spouse's Treads socks were begun on December 17, 2008. They were also supposed to be a Christmas present, but weren't anywhere near finished on Christmas Day. I wrapped up the two balls of yarn along with the two or three inches of cuff then accomplished and presented that to him instead, with the promise that I would get them done as quickly as possible. The project went along smoothly enough: I finished the looooong cuffs, knitted the heel flaps, turned the heels, and then the damn socks misbehaved.
Spouse asked me about them the other day. I told him they were in timeout. "Because they were bad?" he asked, incredulously. "Yes, they were bad and I'm mad at them. Although I'm much less so than I was, and they may be allowed out of timeout very soon." He shook his head in that way of his which indicates: "It's a good thing I love you, because you're certifiable and no one else would put up with this sort of nonsense."
On December 30, I was so sick of knitting knitting knitting all those blasted Christmas presents that I desperately craved a crochet hook. Did I pick up that baby blanket again, or finish the Pom? Nooooo. I started the Cable Rerun blanket from Crochet Today!'s Sept/Oct 2008 issue, using my beloved Bernat Berella 4.
I've actually made decent progress: three of the five strips required are finished and the fourth strip is well on its way. I have high hopes this will be finished in the not too distant future.
On January 20, 2009, I was ready to pick up knitting needles again and cast on the Duo Cardigan, so named after the yarn (from Jarbo Garn). The pattern is improvised from Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, with a seed stitch border and plain stockinette stitch for the body and sleeves, the better to show off the self-striping colorway.
The bottom half of the body is done, and one sleeve is partially done. So we're making reasonable progress. This is the project I've been spending the most time on recently. Easy mindless stockinette stitch: no thinking required.
And finally, on February 3, I added one more project to the list: A shawl. No, not for me. I'm not a shawl person, remember? For a friend.
I'm sort of winging this one without a pattern, and I think I might have made it too wide. If I run out of yarn, I'll know I made it too wide and have to frog it and start over. Let's hope I don't run out of yarn.
Seven. Unfinished. Objects. I've told myself I have to finish four of them (the shawl, the cardigan, the socks, and the afghan) before I start anything new.
I don't know if I can do that. That stashed Mirasol Cotanani has been calling my name for quite a while now, and it's getting louder...
The mini Pom is nearly done. Some assembly is required, but all the pieces are ready.
Stupid fiddly mohair yarn nearly drove me insane on the little bits. *grrr* The body, legs, tail, and ears need brushing out to fluffy fullness, and then all the bits will be sewn together. I expect to finish it tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a pic of the latest finished Christmas present, a scarf for my niece:
and a rare photo of yours truly wearing said scarf:
Gotta love those mirror shots.
Project details
Yarn? "Dream" by Dark Horse Yarns, 1 skein, colorway 106.
Pattern? Don't make me laugh. I simply cast on 15 stitches using size 17 circular needles, and worked row after row of stockinette until the yarn was gone.
Satisfaction with end product? I like it. I hope the 5-year-old for whom it's intended will, too.
