Life, huh...

Contrary to what this blog looks like, I have been knitting between now and September! But life...it gets in the way of these things.

A few brief notes:
I passed the EPPP! Now just studying for the CPSE.
We moved back to the city and are out of the teeny tiny studio!
I started an amazing job.

Knitting-wise, I finished a few little projects.

First colorwork project!

My stranding was a bit tight as you can see, but not too bad for the first one. I love the hat - totally adorable.

I also made a few baby things. A hat and legwarmers for a coworker, and a cute hat with ears for my nephew:

And a late Christmas present for my mother:

I'm still working on the Magnanimity Cardi (aka Golden Cardi), The Fourth Sock (no longer hibernating), and I just started another baby sweater, as a crop of infants are arriving this spring and summer! Lots more baby stuff to come. I've also been destashing somewhat and creating a cozy throw, but it's slow-going.

There was a hat somewhere in there too, but we won't speak of it.

Things that interfere with knitting

There really only needs to be one thing here:
Studying for the EPPP

How else can I explain why it took me since June 25 (!!!) to knit a simple one skein garter stitch and short row shawl?

I'm a little ashamed.

But apparently it was worth hanging in there for almost 3 months. I'm pleased with the outcome.

And hopefully the recipient will be too! 

Now off to find an appropriate shawl pin and package this little goody up!

Next: resume the Magnanimity Cardigan in a lovely shade of goldenrod. I've already got the pocket squares/swatches knit and have 6 rows of the ribbed hem complete. (This one is for me!)

The EPPP? Well, I took it. Waiting for results. While I wait, ample knitting time!

Some lovely new things

I finished the Multiplicity scarf/shawl/wrap a while ago and just got to taking photos:

I'm a little in love with the yarn and colorway (Handpainted Merino with Silk in Pine Bark), though it's definitely more autumn than spring/summer.

And I finally finished the drew top a few days ago.

It'll be a nice summer top and also looks good under my white eyelet blazer and a few other cardis. Not sure if it is appropriate for work though!

Can I just mention that I'm terrible at crochet? I watched several videos about reverse single crochet and mine looks nothing like the pictures. Oh well. It's at least serving the function of tightening up the straps, if not looking decorative. I adore the little ruffle though, and how nicely the top fits as a result of the shaping and the way the bust is fitted at the very end. Che bella!

Exciting things!

It was a bit of a week of exciting things. New shoes, lots of knitting and craft inspiration, kitchen gadgets, and generally getting back on track.

I finished the baby sweater. I am very pleased with it and hope a new mom and her baby will be too! Hopefully I will hear soon. When I found these cute ducky buttons, I knew that I had to make them a part of the sweater and choose the yarn from there. I had originally considered a gray or neutral tone, but none looked right with these buttons, so I ended up with a lovely shade of green, right for baby boys or girls. I'm considering making another, but I also just got Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop from the library, so may do a Baby Surprise Jacket instead. However, this was a fabulous pattern - so well written and easy to follow.

I finally saved enough Amazon gift cards to order a Sodastream Jet. Within minutes I had lovely sparkling water and it was love at first sip. I was concerned that the nasty Oakland city water would ruin the effect, but it's not bad at all. I also found adorable silicone egg poachers at World Market and made some delicious medium poached eggs this morning. Annnnd I have a gorgeous new pair of boots (replacing the ones that Isis scratched), and possibly a cute neutral pump, but I'm still deciding on those. Love Zappos!

And(!!!!): Haircut tomorrow! I can't wait, and hopefully I'll have some nice pictures of that as well.

2011 Knitting Reviewed

Well, here it all is....almost. I guess I'm missing the two round washcloths and the little soap sock I made for myself. So what did I learn? Provisional cast-on, Kitchener stitch and some other kinds of seaming, magic loop (my new favorite technique) and socks (one at a time, cuff down, and two at a time, toe up). I did my first sweater (Creature Comforts...sort of a sweater). Also, I did a lot of gifted knitting this last year! Not sure how I feel about that, but 2012 isn't starting off much differently. (I'm really enjoying the baby sweater though.) I'm ready to be adventurous though - thinking about another sweater or so, finishing some UFOs (the drew top, the fourth sock, a shawl). Perhaps I'll finally get to the Craftsman Afghan, and maybe I'll even take another look at a Kim Hargreaves pattern.

All that holiday knitting

I was so busy with Christmas knitting, and travels, that I haven't blogged in a long time! And my needles have been quite busy.

Here's a quick review:

Checkerboard square washcloth (Rav link), for Mom.

Double-bump cloth for my sister.

Ripple washcloth, for my soon to be stepmom.

Cabled headband to match the Twistler mitts. (I remain quite proud of my flawless Kitchenering on this one!)

My Nutmegger Mitts for Mom as well - I just loved this lace pattern.

Bike helmet ear warmers, also for my sister.

I also made two of these lovely round washcloths (for Babci and my godmother), but forgot to take pictures!

All this within a couple of months! I was determined to go back right back to selfish knitting after Christmas, but haven't stuck to that so far. I'm still working on a shawl for my godmother, and I just started an adorable cardigan for baby arriving in the family in a few months. I'm doing the Peurperium Cardigan in a pretty green and I found the cutest little yellow ducky buttons to use with it. I can't wait to see how this comes out! I'm about 10 rows in so far, but I'm really enjoying how well this pattern is written.

As far as selfish knitting goes, I made a little soap sock for myself, so I don't end up with those little shards of soap going to waste. I used a combination of the yellow cotton Bernat I had leftover from the other washclothes, and then some of the green Classic Elite Star I have. Off the needles, it looked like just the right size, but once wet, the Star stretched a lot, so I may have to figure out something else to make it smaller. It's less of a soap sock right now and more of a soap knee-high.

I also finally started my fourth sock. This is the match to the first sock I knit just about a year ago. Talk about second sock syndrome. In between, I knit a pair (toe up, two at a time) for the boyfriend. I'm about an inch into eight inches of two by two ribbings - ugh. It'll have to be a pretty wonderful pattern to bring me to knit socks one at a time again.

Anyway, I also never did a year in review post, so that will be forthcoming as well (only 3 weeks late). Until then!

Wouldn't it be nice?

Oh, so many things would be nice.

To be living with boyfriend again (and the cat) and not 1000 miles apart....
To not have to study for the EPPP and all of that licensing stuff....
If all the things that stress me out just went away! (When it comes down to it, it's not a lot - just a few big things. Sadly. The little stuff I can handle. The big stuff, not so much. At least lately.)

Or how about some knitting goodies from Knit Picks? I certainly wouldn't mind.

For now, I'll keep dreaming about all those things.

It's been a rough week couple of months year. I could do with some dreaming.

A few new things

One pair of mitts:

This is the delightful Twistler wrist-warmers pattern. Have I mentioned I love cables? And I loved this pattern.

And another pair on the way....These are the Pt. Reyes Mitts, another wonderful pattern with lots of fun stitches. I'm really enjoying these! I especially like how neat the ribbing with k-tbl looks.

Fingerless gloves

Finally! I finished my get well mitts.

For the second time. I thought the additional yarn I got was close enough in dye lot to the yarn I had already used, but in certain lights, it definitely was noticeable. Being a perfectionist, I couldn't stand for that, especially in a gift. I started to rip back to take out one pattern repeat, figuring if I took out one pattern repeat and a few rounds of ribbing, I'd have enough of the original. Then things got screwy with the thumb increases on the second mitt, so I ended up frogging them both and starting from scratch. The second time around it only took a couple fo days! They'll be off in the mail Monday I hope.

And I decided to do some Christmas knitting this year...I have plenty of stash to work from and not so much cash, so it made sense. I started another set of fingerless gloves in what will look like a familiar yarn. (Just a different dye lot!)

I love cables, so I'm feeling pretty motivated right now. I actually used knitting as my reward for cleaning today, and it's finally that time! My teas from our house in Montana arrived, along with my sweaters...never mind that it's 80 degrees here today. I'm ready for a Bay Area winter. The mornings and evenings are already very cool.

So a cuppa it is, some trashy TV shows on Netflix, and lovely, soft merino, and cabling.

Making my way back

I'm getting more into the swing of things, I think.

At least I've got some knitting done, though I'm having a hard time deciding what to do next!

As you can see, the Get Well mitts for my aunt are almost finished, and a kind Raveller has sold me the yarn to finish them; it should arrive soon!

And I decided I needed a little magic in my life, so

I finally knit up the magic ball my sister gave me.

I love it. I have this thing where I try to stay away from neutral colors because I will overdo it and just wear browns, beiges, white, and black if I don't watch myself. I got to indulge that in this scarf. I love the colors. And maybe I'll go easier on myself in picking neutrals in the future. (I did realize today I have an overabundance of clothes in the coral/salmon range of things, but still a lot of neutrals. Yes, my closet is organized by color. It's the one thing that stays consistently neat in my house, aside from my books.)

Anyway, I'm still trying to decide about doing the Craftsman Afghan, the ruffle scarf, the ruffly cardigan...or something else entirely. I did just discover this wonderful, wonderful quilt last night. I'm kind of in love with it, but I am on a strict yarn diet for the foreseeable future, and I don't have a whole lot of sock yarn around! But I just might dig in with the small bits I do have...maybe that second, errrr fourth sock will just never get done. And while I don't have any cashmere to do this lovely hat (Peek), I am hoping to find something in my stash that will work!

Happy knitting!