My First Shawl

I'm pretty excited about my current project. I wasn't even planning on making this shawl but over the weekend I took a trip to Knit This, Purl That! for some needles...haa, haa. I'm funny, did I really think I was going to get out of there with just a one little pair of needles....NOT! and did I mention how much I HEART this store. The people are super nice and I love their yarns. The store is well organized and just has a nice warm welcoming feel to it. Anyway, I went in to get needles so I can start my French Bag and walked out with a whole new project and more yarn. I also wanted to get yarn to make a ruffle scarf neck warmer thingy from my new One-Skein Wonders book. I did manage to find some pretty yarn and named after me :o) It's Claudia's Hand Painted Yarn in color Argyle Socks.

It'll be my first time knitting on such small yarn but I'm looking forward to seeing the end result. The yarn is nice and soft and I really like the color.

The whole time I was there I was admiring the owners shawl, it was super cute but of course the whole time I was there I kept thinking to myself that there was NO WAY I could ever make a shawl. It was probably super complicated and would take me forever and 100 years to make a shawl. We were chatting about something else while I was paying and then I just decided to ask her about the shawl. She said it was super easy and of course she carried the yarn. She said she was out of the pattern but she could tell me how to make it. I basically just needed to cast on a stitch and increase one stitch every single row until I got to 175. WOW, I can totally handle that. I thanked her and left and then about a few steps into the parking lot I turned around, came back inside and went straight for the yarn to make the shawl :o( aahhhhh! MUST NOT BUY MORE YARN! I did :o) :o(

The shawl is made with Berroco Suede. I picked a green and pink, got the needles and then really headed out the door. When I got home I looked online and found that the pattern, Crystal Cove Shawl, was actually free so I downloaded it and started my shawl :o) I am about 50% and it's turning out really nice. I can't wait to finish it. YIPEE another new project for me. I'm really enjoying moving on to new things.

Of course since I started working on this cause I was so excited I haven't done much on my scarf but I'll pick that back up this weekend, maybe that's what I'll work on while watching Super Bowl :o)

Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit

Those are the words coming out of my hubbys mouth...haa, haa. He just realized he missed a stitch in his crocheting so he had to frog :o(

anywho, I continue on my quest to finish my unfinished projects. I finished the last one today, don't ask me why it took so long cause it was the simplest thing to do. I had to make a pom pom for my asymetrical cable hat. I did and now that project is complete and I really love the way it turned out. I don't really wear beanie style hats but I like this one so I might actually use it :o)




Oohhh my new books I ordered last week arrived today. They both have quite a few patterns I want to try out. I can't wait.

Booga - COMPLETE :o)

I FINALLY finished my booga bag. I added the straps today and it turned out pretty darn cute. It turned out a bit smaller than I had anticipated but I still like and it will come in handy for my Weight Watcher snacks I carry around everyday. I used Manos del Uruguay and it turned out very sturdy but not rock hard like my Bell Hat turned out with the Crystal Palace yarn :o(

I'm happy with the finished product.

Finally Finished Fetching

GEESH, I only started these gloves last March :o( I had finished the left glove and was almost done with the right glove when I just shoved them in a bag and never worked on them again. So silly cause all I needed to do was finish the right thumb on the right glove. I decided that this week I would finish one unfinished project each day. I think I only have 2 left. I need to put the straps on my booga bag and put the pom pom on my asymetrical hat. So not too bad. Here are my nice pretty finished gloves. I like the way they turned out but once again because I knit so tight they came out a little small. I might give them to my mother-in-law since she has smaller hands than I do .

Productive

It's been a very productive knitting weekend for me and oh shopping too :o)

I went back to Knit This, Purl That! on my lunch break Friday. I found a pattern for a scarf to use with the Karabella yarn but I needed to purchase two more balls of it. I also picked up another malabrigo :o) and one of the things I wanted to look for at Stitches West was Cascade 220 for my big bag I want to make. I did the math and the Cascade 220 at the store was pretty inexpensive and since I needed 8-10 skeins that was probably the best place to get it. So I went back :o) I also managed to get Cindy, Jeanette, Amy & Olivia over there on Saturday for their own shopping....hee, hee.

Cascade 220 for the French Bag from Knitty

I worked on my scarf a little yesterday before my hubby's b-day party and today I haven't done anything on it but I may do a few rows before bed time. I did manage to finish Daisy's Hoodie Sweater though, she hates it :o( and lucky for her it will probably go to one of her chihuahua cousins because although the measurements are right for her it came out small, probably due to my tight knitting. Her cousins are super duper tiny and skinny so I'm sure it'll fit one of them. She looked cute in it though and allowed me to take a quick picture of her.


I also started and finished a ribbed hat for Rocky. Man, I'm getting good and fast at these hats. This may have to be my specialty :o) I had originally wanted to make Rocky a Brangelina hat with the Malabrigo Chunky in Olive but I made the mistake of only buying one skein and it wasn't enough. Today I knit him a 2x2 ribbed hat in that yarn and guess what? It was plenty of yarn and I even have half the ball left :o( what? how'd that work out? I dunno, kind of frustrating. Oh well, he likes the hat. It turned out nice.


My goal this week is to continue on my scarf and then hopefully start the French Bag next week with the new Cascade 220 I bought. I'm excited about making this bag, we shall see how it turns out.

It's Amy's Fault

That is my story and i'm sticking to it :o)

I did not realize that there was a yarn shop in Pleasanton until I was on Ravelry the other day and saw that Amy was a part of their group. I added them to my group as well and then last night decided to head over there and check out the store since the hubby was going to be at school and I didn't need to go home right away. EEEEKKK, bad idea, okay good idea :o)

The place is called Knit This, Purl That!, it's a small store but SUPER cute and the owner was very friendly. That is a biggie, I've been to other stores where the owners aren't so nice and maybe grumpy :o( She is doing inventory on Sunday so right now pretty much everything is on sale, YIKES! Of course I had to shop. She had quite a bit of nice yarns on sale for 40% off and a lot of the yarns I use on sale for 20% off. I couldn't pass up a good deal. I know we are going to Stiches West but even there somtimes the yarn is only 10% off. I may even take another trip back tomorrow :o)





I heart malabrigo :o)

So since Amy's site is where I saw the link to this store, I fully blame here for me getting in my car driving over there and having yarn jump in my shopping basket.

A little here, a little there

My So Called Scarf is coming along nicely although slowly. I've been knitting a few rows at lunch and a few rows before going to bed. I love the way the pattern is showing up with the yarn I chose. Note to self: Must buy more of this yarn :o)

I had a little party at the house on Sunday. It was suppose to be small stitch-n-bitch but turned into a very fun small party for 8. The ladies got quite a bit of knitting done while the boys watched football. My mother-in-law joined us and had such a great time. We gave her some pointers and I think since Sunday she has managed to finish 2 more hats (finished one while at the party) and 1 of them she even croched. Man, she's good. She is trying to figure out how to knit in the round so I sent her some tips and some online videos. I'll be seeing her on Saturday so I'll be able to help her out. I think we gave her the knitting bug and she may even join us when we head to Stitches West.

I did it

Woohoo, I figured out what I was doing wrong when I was trying to start the "my so called scarf". It was doing one extra step which was messing up the whole thing and making holes in my scarf :o(but now I've figured it out and although I only knit a little last night I'm looking forward to knitting somemore this week. I think it might take me a little while to finish it but it's a fun knit.

Chunky Cable Beanie #2

I finished another Chunky Cable beanie for my hubby. I really liked the yarn and how the pattern turned out with the color of the yarn although it did turned out a little smaller. It still fits him and he really likes it but I think I should have maybe done another cable or two before starting the decrease.





I also found a new pattern for a scarf that I liked so I started that last night. Hubby and I took a trip to Article Pract to find some yarn because of ALL the yarn I have I wasn't liking any for the scarf. I was thinking of going with Malabrigo because it's so soft. The pattern used Manos de Uruguay which I've used before but it's way to itch for a scarf. After looking around the store for a while I found some new yarn, new to me, that I loved and bought that. It's Araucania - Aysen, it's Alpaca, Silk & Merino Wool and it's very soft and I love it.

This scarf required me to do a few stitches I had never done before so I went online and found some great video's from Knit Witch on YouTube that really helped me out. I decided to cast on and try it out and see how I did. I got how to do it but for some reason the scarf wasn't looking like it was suppose to so I decided to FROG it and restart and then I FROGGED again :o( I decided to put it down and try again tonight. I looked at the pattern again this morning and realized I was making one small mistake...OOPS. Now that I've figured that out I'm hoping that it'll look the way it's suppose to. I'm looking forward to going home and getting it started.

The scarf is called, My So Called Scarf, and here is what it should look like when I'm done with it.

Knitting Bug

The knitting bug is back full force :o) For some reason my knitting motivation was way down in the dumps and I had taken a long break. I know part of it is the frustration of my hands hurting and part of it was just being plain lazy. When we went to New York our friend Petra told us about a website, Ravelry, where you can catolog your projects, stash and books. You can also find patterns and join all sorts of groups. This is only a few of the things you can do and you can just go on there and look you have to be a memeber which took about a month because so many people want to sign up. I finally got my email to join and OMG, I LOVE IT. I think that's what has totally motivated me to start knitting again and I'm loving it, hands still hurt but oh well :o( I'll deal with that later.

I have already finished a Chunky Cable Beanie for my hubby and I'm currently knitting him a second one. I am also about 50% done with a sweater for Miss Daisy, our chihuahua/yorkie. The hubby and I also hit the yarn shops today and I picked up a new pattern for a fun weekend bag but I won't start that til after I go to Stitches West since I need about 9 to 10 skeins of yarn so I'm hoping to get a good deal on yarn at the show. I also hoping the girls and I can get together a little more this year for out Stitch--n-Bitch, it motivates me to see what everyone else is doing.

Oh and hubby has picked up his crotching again :o)

Chunky Cable Beanie

Daisy's Hoodie Sweater (50% complete)

Yarn for 2nd Chunky Cable Beanie

I'm Back

Wow, it's been forever since I've blogged on here. It's also been a while since I really really knitted.

I managed to knit up another Brangelina for Rocky in Baby Alpaca Grande, very soft :o) I'm also working on a Reverse Cable Scarf in the same yarn which I was making for him but now I think it might be to skinny. We'll see when it's done.

Now that training is over I will have way more time to knit and I'm excited. I've got lot of yarn and lots of new patterns I want to try. So knitting here I come :o)

Bell Hat #2

WOOHOO my 2nd Bell Hat is complete. Last Wednesday we had an emergency Stitch-n-Bitch session at Amy's house to work on the "secret project" and while we were there Ms. Amy was kind enough to felt my Bell Hat I finally finished knitting. I used different yarn this time so I wasn't sure how it was going to felt. It took a few more washes than my first Bell Hat which was knit with Cascade 220 but eventually it got there. UMMMM, but why did my hat weigh like 15lbs. I know it was pretty soaked but even a few days later while it was still drying it felt super heavy. I know the Iceland Crystal Palace yarn is a thicker wool but holy smokes I didn't realize how heavy it would make my hat. This would be perfect yarn to use for a nice sturdy purse. I tried it out last night and it's much much lighter but still heavier than my hat knit with Cascade 220. Very Very interesting. I do like it though and the colors came out super cute.

Zig Zag Scarf

I started the Zig Zag Scarf (free pattern here) on Sunday evening but had to rip it out cause I had made a mistake on it. Luckily I was only a few rows into it. I started it back up yesterday and I am already liking how it's coming out. I like the yarn I am using.

I am using Di.Ve' Teseo yarn by Cascade (Color 30426)

Fetching Gloves 98% Complete

WOOHOO, I started my right hand glove yesterday and I am almost done. I just have about 4 more rows left on the glove part and then I need to finish the thumb which is about 3 rows. I think I can finish it tonight. I'll post pictures of both my gloves next week.

Finished/Unfinished

I have finally finished, sort of, quite a few of my projects. I say sorta of because I finished my Asymetrical Cable Hat but need to put the pom pom on it. I finished my Booga Bag but need to put the handles on it and I finished my Bell Hat but I will need to felt it now. My Bell Hat can also be used as a doggie cozie :o) haa, haa. I used Iceland Crystal Palace Yarn and it gave it a cool pattern, I can't wait to see it once it's felted. I also finished one of my Fetching Fingerless Gloves. I am hoping to work on the other one this weekend. My goal will also be to complete all my other semi-finished projects.

Iceland Crystal Palace Yarn (in Jazz)

Unfelted Bell Hat

Using my Bell Hat as Doggie Cozzie

see Patch's feet poking out?

Booga Bag w/no straps

Asymetrical Hat w/out the pom pom

Fetching Glove (left)

Still Knitting :o)

I'm still knitting I just haven't written in a while.

I've finished 2 projects since I last wrote. I got my booga bag done, it came out smaller than I had expected but it turned out cute. I'll have to take a picture of it and post it. I used Manos Del Uruguay (Handspun and kettle-dyed over wood fires, no two skeins are exactly alike and there are no dyelots) yarn in Wildflower.

I also finished the baby hat I made for Andrew, my friend Brandy's baby. Funny store on the hat though. Brandy invited us over to their house for a small house warming/happy new baby party and I brought the hat over to give Andrew as a gift that day. I had not felted it yet because we don't have a top loading washer machine but Brandy does so I figured she could just felt it. I explained to her how to do it and she said she'd get it done :o) haa, haa. During the party little Ms. Emma, Brandy's 2 year old, got ahold of the hat and started wearing it. No biggie :o) I emailed Brandy later in the week to see if she'd felted the hat and she said NO :o( waaahhhttt? Emma loved the hat and wouldn't allow Brandy to take it from her, haa, haa. I now owe baby Andrew a new hat :o) darn, more knitting for me. I knit the hat all in Cascade 220. -

Currently on the Needles

The Asymmetrical Cable Hat from the One Skein book. I love this book, it has some great projects in it.

I am using Malabrigo in the Hollyhock color.

Very cute and perfect for TNT because it's a purply color. Is purply a word? I think I'll also knit one in green :o)

3 Projects Completed :o)

YIPEEE I got three projects done this week...so excited. I had been working on the Bell Hat, Sophie Bag and Brangelina Hat and I got them all done. I love how they all come out. I felted the Bell Hat and Sophie Bag last night and they are still in the process of drying but they look realy cute. I forgot to take a picture of my Brangelina but I'll do that tonight and post it. The Bell Hat also has a flower on it which I still need to knit and felt but that won't take very long.

Unfelted Bell Hat

Felted

Unfelted Sophie Bag

Felted

Currently working on:

I have started another bag from my One Skein book. I've been working slowly on that one though. It's going to require lots of color changes because it's striped.

I am also making a little hat for my friend Brandy's baby. I am a pattern from the Knit One, Felt Too book by Kathleen Taylor. It's also going to be felted and should look like this:

That's it for now. Happy Knittin!

Sophie Bag - 95% Done

I am almost done wtih the Sophie Bag, it was a super easy pattern and I enjoyed doing it BUT I've now come to the handles and I have no idea what to do :o( I'm gonna have to go into the knitting store one of these nights and have them help me. The handles are I-Cord and I've figured out how to do it but the pattern doesn't make sense unless I'm just not getting it. Amy was over for dinner last night and she wasn't quite sure of it either so I'll have to turn to the professionals. I love how the colors came out though and I can't wait to finish it and felt it. I used a brown and rose color and it looks great.

Until I figure out what I need to do to finish my Sophie Bag I am working on a K2P2 Ribbed Hat for Rocky for when we go to New York. I'm using Annie Blat Alpaca, it's very very soft. We had a seen one at Bloomingdales that Rocky liked but we can make one just as nice and not $100..haa, haa..so take that Bloomie's. I've also started another felted bag from my One Skein book. I am going to use black, grey and pink and do a stripe pattern like in the book.

Stay tuned for more pics.

Happy Knitting!

Finished Clutch

I still need to sew on the buttons but it's complete :o) my first felted bag. I just finished knitting the Bell Hat and just need to felt it. Last night we had a few of the girls over for knitting and managed to be productive. Lately we meet but all we do is eat and drink wine and barely have time for knitting. Last night we knitted for 2 hours. I started the Sophie Bag. I'll post pictures up soon of the Bell Hat and Sophie Bag in progress......Happy Knitting!

Felted Clutch Bag

Update 8/4/06
WOOOHOO we are done knitting the clutch. I can't believe how quick that was. We just have to felt it and then sew the buttons on it. Stay tuned for pics.

I am super excited because last night I started knitting my first bag which is going to be felted. For my bday I got the One Skein book and they have a really cute clutch bag in it. I am using Lamb's Pride Yarn (blended of 85% soft wool and 15% mohair) in the Orchaid Thistle color.


I have a feeling this little bag is going to be done in maybe a day or two since we are using size 15 needles. I can't wait to finish it. I'll post a pic when I'm done.